• The US has become a cautionary tale for:

        • Refusing Universal Healthcare

        • Opposing Racial and Cultural Equity

        • Revoking Women’s Bodily Autonomy

        • Expanding Excessive Incarceration

        • Exonerating Police Violence

        • Dismissing Effective Gun Control

        • Ignoring Mass Shootings

        • Denying Veteran and First Responder Care

        • Allowing Environmental Toxins

        • Approving Carcinogens in Food

        • Condoning High Infant Mortality

        • Eradicating LGTBQ+ Rights

        • Encouraging Religion in Government

        • Dismantling Social Services

        • Rejecting Living Wage, Retirement, and Pension Issues

        • Persecuting the Low-income and Homeless

        • Promoting the Purchase of Politicians and Judges

        • wewbull ( wewbull@feddit.uk ) 
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          3 years ago

          I think you’re learning the wrong lessons on a few of those. My alternative version of a few, which hopefully go further than what you said.

          • Opposing Racial and Cultural Equity

          Not treating all people as equal in the eyes of the law.

          • Revoking Women’s Bodily Autonomy

          Not respecting bodily autonomy in general.

          • Expanding Excessive Incarceration

          Embracing Prohibition which then imprisoned an underclass.

          • Exonerating Police Violence

          Arming the police as if it was a military unit.

          • Allowing Environmental Toxins

          The promotion of corporate structures over the wellbeing of the people.

          • Eradicating LGTBQ+ Rights

          Not holding human rights as a guiding principle.

          • Encouraging Religion in Government

          Not holding your own stated goals as a guiding principle (separation of church and state).

    • clgoh ( clgoh@lemmy.ca ) 
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      3 years ago

      How? No way 75% of the states would agree.

      An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.

      • kent_eh ( kent_eh@lemmy.ca ) 
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        3 years ago

        How? No way 75% of the states would agree.

        By electing sane politicians and not a bunch of weak populists who bend for the loudest rightwingnuts…

      • crusa187 ( crusa187@lemmy.ml ) 
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        3 years ago

        When Dems had the supermajority during the first part of Obama’s term, Roe could have easily been codified into law. They slept on this at the time, saying there were “other priorities.”

        So, while this doesn’t require a constitutional amendment to become the law of the land, with how incredibly dysfunctional Congress has become, it may be the case that Article V conventions are the only way to change the laws to suit the needs of the public over the desires of the elites.

        • How old are you? That’s was a very different demographic of democratic senators you were looking at back then.

          In 2009, the Blue Dog Coalition, also known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats, was a caucus of moderate members from the Democratic Party in the United States. The Blue Dogs were characterized by their moderate to conservative views within the Democratic Party[1]. During that time, the Blue Dogs played a significant role in shaping policy and negotiations within the Democratic Party.

          The Blue Dog Coalition peaked at 54 members in 2009 when Democrats held a large majority in the House of Representatives[3]. These members were influential in various policy discussions and were known for their moderate stance on many issues.

          Some notable Blue Dog Democratic senators during that period included individuals like Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who expressed optimism about reaching agreements on important issues like healthcare reform with a majority of the more than 50 Blue Dogs[5]. The Blue Dogs were recognized for their willingness to work across party lines and find bipartisan solutions to key legislative matters.

          Citations: [1] Blue Dog Coalition - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Coalition [2] The Blue Dogs bark - POLITICO https://www.politico.com/story/2009/02/the-blue-dogs-bark-018434 [3] What the Decline of Blue Dog Democrats Tells Us About … https://www.theatlantic.com/membership/archive/2017/12/what-the-decline-of-blue-dog-democrats-tells-us-about-american-politics/548813/ [4] List of members of the Blue Dog Coalition - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_Blue_Dog_Coalition [5] Conservative Democrats Expect a Health Deal - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/us/politics/02bluedogs.html

          • crusa187 ( crusa187@lemmy.ml ) 
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            3 years ago

            Hello friend. I’m old enough to recognize that the corporatist blue dog Dems are the same corporatists running the DNC now. The very same conservative neoliberals who refuse to deliver on any meaningful social reform that our people desperately need, because their donors don’t want them to. But, I’m young enough to still believe we can find a way to change that rigged system to instead represent us.

              • crusa187 ( crusa187@lemmy.ml ) 
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                Respectfully disagree. As a habitual grass-toucher, I find the vast majority of people I discuss progressive policies with are massively in favor of all of them. Paid family leave, increased minimum wage, access to best quality healthcare outside of employers, universal federal background checks for firearms purchases…these are all massively popular. And it’s not just my anecdotal experiences here, polling data shows these all to be extremely popular, even on both sides of the liberal and conservative ”divide”. We are well within our rights to expect the government to do things for us, not just for the corporations.

                It’s mostly mainstream media outlets such as msnbc, fox, cnn, etc that perpetuate this myth of how the status quo is so wonderful and we could never do better. According to them, the politicians in Washington are political geniuses who should be revered. And wouldn’t you know it - these same multinational companies rake in profits to the tune of billions due to the system favoring them.

                Maybe as well, some boomers who never gave a shit about politics and were able to raise a family on a single income back in the day would think this. Most normal people know this is complete bs and that we’re being screwed, including the vast majority of those under 40 who tend to not consume the traditional news media and get it from varied other sources. You just don’t hear about how we’re all being robbed of our wealth and our dignity on tv.

                • Yes that’s the crux of it isn’t it. Progressive ideas are popular but progressive candidates don’t win. I think it’s a Nixon opening China situation, voters want universal healthcare but they want a person like Ted Cruz to be the one to give it to them.

        • underisk ( underisk@lemmy.ml ) 
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          3 years ago

          their other priorities were arguing back and forth for months watering down a republican-written healthcare reform bill for the supposed benefit of republicans who still didn’t vote for it.

    • HumanPenguin ( HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ) 
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      3 years ago

      And yet. There was absolutely no way the US had the huge support needed to change its constitution.

      66% approval from 66% of states I think. Atm the us could not get that many to agree on anything. Including a right to air.

      • And what, let people who don’t deserve air get the air? I’m always going to get air, they told me that. I deserve the air. So why should other people get my air? Fuck em, they shouldn’t get any air.

        • HumanPenguin ( HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ) 
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          3 years ago

          Grins.

          Thats all right. I’m sure we can get a constitutional ammendment ensuring all citizens are limited to breathing from where the believe the sun resides.

          Trump voters will love it.

    • To add an amendment to the US Constitution, it needs a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states.

      L O L O L

  • Keep in mind that it’s not the right to abortion that has been added to the constitution. It’s the freedom to abort for women. Massive difference. It doesn’t guarantee access to abortion, it says nothing about the delay to get an abortion and it leaves out trans men. Still a victory, but with pretty big nuances.

  • AutoTL;DR ( autotldr@lemmings.world ) B
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    3 years ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Abortion has been legal in France since 1975, but polls show around 85% of the public supported amending the constitution to protect the right to end a pregnancy.

    Before the vote, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told parliament that the right to abortion remained “in danger” and “at the mercy of decision makers”.

    While resistance from right-wingers in parliament failed to materialise, President Macron has been accused of using the constitution for electoral ends.

    In a 2001 ruling, the council based its approval of abortion on the notion of liberty enshrined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, which is technically part of the constitution.

    And so nothing authorised us to think that France was exempt from this risk," said Laura Slimani, from the Fondation des Femmes rights group.

    “There can be no ‘right’ to take a human life,” the Vatican institution said in a statement, echoing concerns already raised by French Catholic bishops.


    The original article contains 515 words, the summary contains 155 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!