On a Woman's Right to Choose, Good News Comes in Twos

     Or to put it another way, as Texas goes, so goes Oklahoma. Of course, we've already seen another victory in Mississippi. 

    http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/10/in-ground-zero-in-fight-for-womans.html

    Part of the very aggressive strategy that many state GOPs have embarked on is about seeing how much they can get away with. They've been doing this across the board-from union busting, to voter id laws-no doubt emboldened by the very poor decision of the SJC to void Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act-but nowhere more than on a woman's right to choose. Often they do things that make it clear it's not just against abortion but birth control in general and indeed women's healthcare, period. 

    Some good news out of Oklahoma following yesterday's good news in Texas:

    "The Oklahoma Supreme Court definitively ruled Tuesday that a 2011 restrictive state abortion law is unconstitutional."

     "In answering questions posed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the court ruled that the law "restricts the long-respected medical discretion of physicians” and effectively bans all drug-induced abortions, according to the judge's order."

     "The Center for Reproductive Rights raised a legal challenge that prompted a district court to strike down the law in 2012, a decision later upheld by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In light of Tuesday's ruling on the scope of the law, it is up to the U.S. Supreme Court whether to review the case. 
On Monday, a federal judge ruled Texas' new abortion restrictions unconstitutional on the grounds that the regulations violated physicians' right to do what they think is best for patients and unreasonably restricted women's access to abortion clinics."

     http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/oklahoma-supreme-court-rules-restrictive-abortion-law-unconstitutional

     "Speaking of good news, Obama finally got his NLRB general counsel pick confirmed today. This is good news and very important first and foremost because the office has functioned under a cloud since 2009 as the GOP hadn't allowed a vote until now-they didn't vote for him but stood down on the filibuster honoring a deal with Harry Reid a few months ago." 

    "Speaking on the Senate floor Monday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said that he wouldn't block the Griffin nomination, but he also said that he didn't have to like it. Not surprisingly, some Republicans aren't thrilled about a former union lawyer taking the general counsel position."

     "I'm concerned about the direction of the National Labor Relations Board as an advocate more than an umpire. I don't think [Griffin's] presence as general counsel will improve that situation," Alexander said. 

     "What I hope we can do over next several years is look for a long-term solution for the restructuring of the National Labor Relations Board ... The board has become far too politicized."

     You have to wonder what it even means to say that a political appointee's office is 'too politicized.' That the GOP hates him means he's probably going to actually do his job which is protect workers' rights rather than do an Alan Greenspan-ie, just let everyone 'self-regulate.'