Democrats Are Having a Purity-Test Problem at Exactly the Wrong Time

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There has been a burst of stories in recent weeks describing devastating internal conflicts within progressive organizations, the most conspicuous of which was Ryan Grim’s June 13 Intercept piece, “Elephant in the Zoom: Meltdowns Have Brought Progressive Advocacy Groups to a Standstill at a Critical Moment in World History.” …

According to Grim (and those other reports), disputes over diversity, equity and inclusion — over doctrine, language and strategies — have paralyzed much of the left advocacy and nonprofit sector. CONTINUED

Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times

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The decline of SCOTUS

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Radical justices are doing serious, possibly irrepealable damage to the Supreme Court on which they sit.

When the draft abortion opinion leaked, I wrote here that by “slapping two-thirds of the country in the face [those who oppose overturning Roe], the Court will have sacrificed its legitimacy at a time when restoring it may be crucial to preserving democracy.”

It turns out I was right. Even before the final opinions overturning Roe and the New York gun law, Gallup found confidence in the Supreme Court had sunk to its lowest level — ever. CONTINUED

Mark Mellman (Mellman Group), The Hill

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Bipartisan dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the economy

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Americans remain deeply pessimistic about the state of the country and the economy. A view that is reflected in President Joe Biden’s approval rating, which continues to hover around 39%. About 9 in 10 Republicans disapprove, along with nearly three in 10 Democrats.

The national dissatisfaction is bipartisan. Most Americans, 85%, say the country is headed in the wrong direction. A majority of Republicans have been unhappy with the direction of the country since Biden’s election. Democrats had been positive about how things were going, but now 78% say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Most Americans still approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, but they have negative views of how he is handling gun policy and the economy. CONTINUED

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

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Gas Prices Squeezing Americans as More Rate Economy ‘Poor’

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Two-thirds of Americans say recent increases in the price of gas are causing them hardship, which is up from 52% feeling this financial pinch in April. Although more Americans say they are experiencing “moderate” rather than “severe” hardship, the percentage describing the hardship as severe has risen from 14% to 22%. CONTINUED

Lydia Saad, Gallup

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Majority Disapprove of Reversing Roe

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Six in ten Americans disapprove – nearly all of them strongly – of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Monmouth University Poll finds two-thirds of the public feels a pregnant woman should be afforded more rights than an unborn fetus during the first trimester, although opinion is more divided during the second trimester. Overall opinion of how abortion access should be treated under the law remains stable, with more than 6 in 10 saying it should be legal in most cases. Very few Americans back abortion bans that provide no exceptions or support state laws that prosecute residents for having out-of-state abortions. Public disapproval of the Supreme Court has risen by 11 points since before the ruling was first leaked last month. CONTINUED

Monmouth University Polling Institute

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Confidence in Supreme Court collapses as just 33% agree with decision to overturn Roe v. Wade

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A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that more than six in 10 Americans (61%) now have little or no confidence in the Supreme Court after its decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade — a near-total reversal from the 70% of voters who expressed at least some confidence in the court right before conservative justices gained a 6-3 majority with the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett in October 2020. …

At the same time, half of all Americans (50%) now disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is doing its job, an 8-point jump from last month (driven by increases of 11 points among both Democrats [to 70%] and independents [to 52%]). Overall, just 37% of Americans approve.

And even fewer (33%) say they agree with the court’s actual decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — the decision at the center of its collapsing reputation. CONTINUED

Andrew Romano, Yahoo News

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