Joe Scarborough likes to tout himself as a conservative. But on today's Morning Joe, Scarborough actually made the case against overturning Roe v. Wade in the Mississippi case now before the Supreme Court.
Scarborough repeatedly cited opinion polls showing most Americans oppose overturning Roe, as if that is supposed to guide the Court:
I know people don’t like to think that the Supreme Court looks at opinion, public opinion, but you have, like, seven out of ten Americans saying they do not want Roe overturned. It's a 50-year precedent starting next year...70% of Americans support Roe v. Wade. The precedent of next year I think, a half-century precedent. You look at this poll from ABC News, and it’s, again, pretty overwhelming. That one says 60% uphold, 27% overturn. Everything I’ve seen from Gallup through the years, overturning is either one-third of Americans or less than one-third of Americans.
He also said that, the Court should bear in mind that we are a "constitutional republic." Right! And the Constitution has carefully delineated the separation of powers in a way designed to protect the Court from the passions of the day!
Scarborough and Al Sharpton also trotted out the hackneyed liberal line about the GOP not really being a pro-life party, because of their views on gun control and Covid and government programs to support children: "They’re pro-life until the kid is born, then they’re against any kind of support for the same children....And the very people that are running around self-righteously beating their chests, talking about supporting pro-life issues, are the very people who, of course, won’t do what 90% of Americans want and get universal background checks." As if you only care about children if you support big-government programs?
Scarborough continued to bitterly attacked Republicans: "This is not a pro-life party. It's not even close."
Sharpton also slammed "moralists" on the Court: "...those moralists that can’t divide personal views, religious or whatever we may have, from how you govern and giving people the right to choose where they want to go in life." As if the Court's decisions should disregard morality? As if Sharpton wouldn't want Justices to consider morality in cases where morality bent the way he'd like a case decided?
One thing entirely missing from the segment: any discussion of the actual merits of the case, and the utterly lacking constitutional basis for Roe. That's something, as we've noted before, that even an MSNBC legal analyst has acknowledged.
There was one big surprise: Elise Jordan, a classic "MSNBC Republican," said something indicating she might harbor pro-life views. She expressed apparent disappointment that the lawyers representing the state of Mississippi in defense of the state's law law restricing abortion aren't good enough to win their case. Her exchange with Scarborough:
JORDAN: I don’t really have that much faith that Mississippi has terrific counsel that is going to be able to make the case, frankly, if I’m going to give my brutal –
SCARBOROUGH: To get the court off of –
JORDAN: To overturn Roe v. Wade. I’m not – I don’t have that much confidence.
SCARBOROUGH: In the Mississippi lawyers?
JORDAN: Yes.
Supposed conservative Joe Scarborough making the case against overturning Roe v. Wade was sponsored in part by Marcum, Liberty Mutual, Facebook, Xfinity, and Sleep Number.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
12/1/21
6:01 am ETJOE SCARBOROUGH: Big day in Mississippi.
ELISE JORDAN: They’re missing out on covering Mississippi drama, Mississippi—we deserve full coverage as this Supreme Court case is center stage.
SCARBOROUGH: What do you think?
JORDAN: I don’t really have that much faith that Mississippi has terrific counsel that's going to be able to make the case, frankly, if I’m going to give my brutal –
SCARBOROUGH: You mean, to get the court off of –
JORDAN: Yes: to overturn Roe versus Wade. I just, I’m not – I don’t have that much confidence.
SCARBOROUGH: In the Mississippi lawyers?
JORDAN: Yes.
SCARBOROUGH: I've got to say also, the hill is so steep. You look, and I know people don’t like to think that the Supreme Court looks at opinion, public opinion, but you have, like, seven out of ten Americans saying they do not want Roe overturned. It's a 50-year precedent starting next year . . . 70% of Americans support Roe v. Wade. The precedent of next year I think, a half-century precedent. You look at this poll from ABC News, and it’s, again, pretty overwhelming. That one says 60% uphold, 27% overturn. Everything I’ve seen from Gallup through the years, overturning is either one-third of Americans or less than one-third of Americans.
. . .
The question is, does this Court really want to be the Court that overturns a 50-year precedent that only 27% of Americans support? I mean, again, it is, while they look at the law and they follow the law, they also understand that they’re in a constitutional republic.
. . .
AL SHARPTON: The concern I have is two-fold. One, the people that would be most impacted by it are going to seek abortions anyway, which increases dangers --
SCARBOROUGH: Right.
SHARPTON: -- particularly among disadvantaged communities and communities of color. And, secondly, those moralists that can’t divide personal views, religious or whatever we may have, from how you govern and giving people the right to choose where they want to go in life.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.
SHARPTON: And the people that are for life until the child is born. They’re pro-life until the kid is born, then they’re against any kind of support for the same children.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, yesterday, and we’ll be getting into it a little later, you had a senator from Connecticut give a very stirring speech, Willie, about the culture of life. And the very people that are running around self-righteously beating their chests, talking about supporting pro-life issues, are the very people who, of course, won’t do what 90% of Americans want and get universal background checks.
. . .
Really, please? Anybody that I hear talking about being pro-life again [laughs derisively] in the age of Covid, where they are deliberately lying, like Ronnie Jackson, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, deliberately lying to their people and they know they're deliberately lying to their people, and putting their constituents’ lives in danger. This is not a pro-life party. It's not even close.
