LEONARD LEO and his Federalist Society got us here.

[CousinIT]

Dark Money Led To This Moment
A secretive donor network built the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, and brought them the case and arguments to overturn Roe v. Wade.

https://www.levernews.com/dark-money-went-in-supreme-court-rulings-are-coming-out/

. . .

The co-chairman of the Federalist Society, the conservative lawyers group in Washington, Leo is best known for serving as President Donald Trump’s top judicial adviser. Leo helped select Trump’s Supreme Court picks while simultaneously leading a dark money network that boosted their confirmations with TV ads and contributions to conservative groups that promoted the judges.

Leo’s dark money network has also funded Republican state attorneys general and conservative nonprofits that are backing and even directly arguing some of the most contentious cases before the high court right now.

It is with these cases that the Supreme Court has ended federal protections for abortion rights, dismantled the high court precedent requiring police officers to inform people of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney when they’re being detained, struck down blue-state restrictions on carrying concealed firearms, and handed conservative state lawmakers more power to chip away at Americans’ voting rights.

. . .

Leo and his allies first formed the Judicial Crisis Network in 2005 to help confirm George W. Bush’s Justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito — and Leo reportedly played a “decisive role” in both of their selections. The organization has grown quietly and steadily since then, and played a key role in flipping the court and building its 6-3 conservative supermajority.

. . .

Leo’s dark money network has spearheaded a two-pronged attack on the judiciary: First it has worked to install conservative judges, then it has worked to bring those appointees specific cases designed to destroy previous precedents, along with amicus briefs, or “friend of the court” filings, offering them rationales for doing so.

In its first mission to populate the bench with right-wing ideologues, Leo and his allies have worked closely with Republican Senate leaders. In its 2020-21 tax return, the Concord Fund reported donating $9 million to One Nation, a dark money group affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who led the Republican strategy to deny Garland a vote as Obama’s nominee in 2016.

[elleng]

1. and a 'few' of their friends.

[dalton99a]

2. "I just pick random people randomly so I have no idea"

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-supreme-court-roe-v-wade-abortion_n_5b422ba3e4b07b827cc1c6d5

The Guy Behind Trump's SCOTUS Choices Says No One Knows If They'd Overturn Roe v. Wade
Leonard Leo says it's "a scare tactic" to say they'd axe the landmark abortion rights decision.
By Jennifer Bendery
Jul 8, 2018, 12:53 PM EDT

Leonard Leo, a leader of the conservative Federalist Society who is advising President Donald Trump on his Supreme Court pick, said Sunday it’s a mystery whether one of the job’s finalists would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“Nobody really knows,” Leo said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think it’s a bit of a scare tactic and rank speculation more than anything else.”

But Trump himself has said he wants to put people on the court who support overturning the landmark 1973 decision that granted women the constitutional right to have an abortion. And if anyone knows of a potential Supreme Court pick who would support doing this, it’s Leo.

He crafted Trump’s short list of potential Supreme Court nominees. All but one of the 25 people on the list are members of The Federalist Society, a national organization of conservative lawyers, and there’s a clear pattern to judicial nominees being fed by the group: They are young, conservative and have records of being very opposed to abortion rights.

Leo has the powerful track record of helping to pick and confirm three of the court’s conservative justices, John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. He’s also had a hand in Trump’s picks for lower courts; the president has gotten a whopping 21 circuit court judges confirmed since taking office and nearly all were outsourced to The Federalist Society to fill.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


https://gregolear.substack.com/p/leo-the-cancer

[lunatica]

4. I feel so sorry for her! She's in such a tough spot!

I’m trying to squeeze a tear out for her!

[calguy]

5. I tend to disagree

These nutjobs have been around since the beginning of time. The reason they're winning is because hords of lazy Democrats didn't get off their asses and make it to the polls.
This alone has given them a strong foothold after elections when we've gotten trounced because of low voter turnout.

[rsdsharp]

7. When I started law school, the Federalist Society was really

just getting started; it was only five years old. Even then, it seemed to attract only the wing nuts, and weirdos.

The first person I knew who became a member was a guy the women in the class soon started to call “Norman Bates.” Another guy who was a member, and who may have been president of the local incel club, routinely called women he didn’t like, “bull dykes.” Really sweet guys.

[shrike3]

8. During the Dubya administration, the Federalist Society held a conference in Chicago.

"Rolling back the New Deal" was the topic. I remember mentioning it to folks I knew. Either they didn't believe me or brushed me off.

[UTUSN]

9. K&R