The GOP's post-election assault on privacy rights has begun in earnest. The first shot was the hard right's campaign against Arlen Specter becoming chair of Judiciary. Yesterday, Karl Rove said something that is much more ominous.
From yesterday's Meet the Press:
MR. RUSSERT: Does he think a right of privacy exists under the Constitution?
MR. ROVE: Griswold vs. Connecticut, I'm not sure. I've never discussed Griswold vs. Connecticut with the president.
This is a trial balloon if there ever was one. This is outrageous and needs to be confronted!
For those not familiar, Griswold was the executive director of Planned Parenthood in Connecticut. She had been convicted for providing contraception to married couples. The question in Griswold was whether there was a marital privacy right for couples to receive contraceptives and counseling on their use. The Supreme Court held that while there was no explicit privacy right in the Consitution, that the "penumbras" of Amendments 1, 3, 4, and 9 created an implicit privacy right.
If Rove is saying that privacy as defined by Griswold v. CT is up in the air, the administration is talking about turning the clock back 40 years to an America that is very different from our contemporary society. I know there should have been no doubt before, but this confirms how reactionary the social agenda for Bush's second term is. Lord knows where he will find justices that don't believe that Griswold is settled law, but it looks as if he'll find them if he can.
Now is the time to contact your senators, regardless of party, to put the pressure on regarding this. LTE's to publicize this are also needed. The average voter will be shocked to find out that the right of married couples to use contraception in their own home is open to question in the eyes of the White House.
We need to push this hard and take away some of their post-election momentum.
