Author: Alanna Fichtel
Big things are happening in Washington. Super Tuesday and its aftermath made many headlines this week. Over in the Judicial Branch, the Supreme Court got a little heated. Here’s a summary of some important stories from the week.
Election 2016
What you need to know:
Super Tuesday was super important. Clinton and Trump came out the winners of their respective parties, taking the most states. Highlights from the day include Clinton beating Sanders in Massachusetts, Cruz winning in his home state Texas, Rubio getting his first win in Minnesota and Trump winning, well, everywhere else.
If you’re concerned about Trump’s success, you’re not alone. Many Republicans are too–including past presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain. They denounced Trump this week, stating their concerns with his potential policies. Romney told us how he really feels, calling Trump a “fraud” and “phony.”
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Trump fired back with some of his own name-calling at (yet another) GOP debate on Thursday night, referring to his opponents as “little Marco” and “lying Ted.” His opponents fought back, and let’s just say things got ugly.
But some people are still feeling Trump. Aaron Carter recently announced his endorsement of the controversial GOP hopeful. Looks like someone is ready for a political party.
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Why it matters:
The Republican Party hasn’t been this against a candidate since maybe 1912. (If it’s been awhile since you’ve taken U.S. History, that was when Theodore Roosevelt started a new party to run against the Republican nominee, Taft.) Perhaps we’ll see something like this again soon.
Hillary’s campaign, in her wave of recent success, is beginning to work on a Takedown Trump plan. One of the main strategies they’ll use is to attack what they believe to be his bigoted beliefs. With overall Democratic turnout being low in the primaries, Hillz will need to step up her campaign, should she win the nomination.
Texas Abortion Case
What you need to know: The Supreme Court argued an abortion case on Wednesday, and was clearly divided on the issue. They were debating a Texas law that requires doctors be affiliated with hospitals to admit women to abortion clinics, and that clinics need to upgrade their facilities to hospital-like standards.
In June, the liberal justices–Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Breyer–joined by Justice Kennedy, voted in a 5-to-4 decision which temporarily blocked the lower court decision. The liberal judges this week stood by their position, saying the requirements were unconstitutional, while Kennedy was not convinced. He suggested sending the case back to the lower courts to gather more info, so it might be a long road to a decision.
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Why it matters: The Court hasn’t heard an abortion case in years, so this is a pretty big deal.
One of the reasons the decision is so controversial is that with a tied vote (due to having eight justices with very divided opinions), the law would remain in place. While many believe the law is just a way to close abortion clinics in Texas, Texas officials say these requirements are needed in order to keep women safe. Protests took place this week outside the Supreme Court. The case likely won’t be decided till June, so we’re sure to see much more of this in the coming months.
