Jeb's opening gambit was months ago when he put forth Allen "who?" Bense as a potential candidate to run against Harris. Allen Bense (the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives) was never a legitimate candidate. He has no statewide name recognition. The Governor put him out there, and Bense turned him down. That left a hole in the ticket, and I have believed for months Jeb intends to step in as the savior of the party - just as you say.

I'm a little surprised at the timing. I thought he would have done it by now. But maybe he's waiting for her to fully self-destruct, so that he can jump into the race with a clean conscience.

The really sad thing is that Bill Nelson is taking Florida Democrats for granted. I'll vote against the Republican candidate, but I know Democrats who have vowed not to vote for Nelson because of his positions. I almost made such a promise when he said he was undecided about the Alito nomination. He "leads" the Democrats of a key state, and he was waffling on something so obvious? I wish we had some better choices.

When I read that book several years ago, I asked myself what type of society would end up with such a twisted set of rules and values.

And then a few years passed, and I realized exactly what type of society it takes:

A society in which reproduction becomes coercive.
A society in which women are either breeders or not breeders.

And we're on our way.

As the South Dakota anti-abortion law works its way to the Supreme Court, many people are concerned about the future of Roe v. Wade. While a serious issue, the Supreme Court could do far more harm than overturning Roe. They could go farther into precedent and overturn one of the foundations of the case - Griswold v. Connecticut. Griswold is the first case in which the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a Constitutional right of privacy. Griswold made the use of contraception by married couples a Constitutionally protected activity. The Supreme Court is going to need a basis for overturning Roe. If they decide that the basis for overturning it is that there is no inherent right to privacy in this country, they may have to go back and overrule Griswold.

If we reach the point where reproductive rights, including the right to purchase and use contraception, are unprotected for anyone, reproduction becomes coercive. Abstinence, good timing and luck become will be our only safe alternatives to coerced reproduction.

The Indiana law and the same-sex marriage debate bring the breeders/non-breeders issue into sharp focus. The same-sex marriage debate, by defining the primary purpose of marriage as reproduction, rather than creation of a legal relationship between two people, begins to delineate between breeders and non-breeders. The Indiana legislation blatantly creates a class of people who are legally authorized breeders.

So, how close are we to The Handmaid's Tale? I submit that if we have to ask that question, we're already too close. Although we may not end up with exactly Margaret Atwood's future, the possible non-fiction future is chilling enough.

And by the time we know, it will be too late.

It will be because Democrats spent too much time and energy fighting each other over her positions and disposition, and not enough time taking control of the issues, and holding the feet of the GOP to the fires of our indignation.

As long as Justice Scalia is referring to people who see the Constitution as a living, breathing document as idiots, I fear that we are heading backward in time. If his view prevails, the Constitutional basis for civil rights laws that protect against discrimination based on gender, age, religion, ethnicity and disability could be in jeopardy.

In addition, the authority of Congress to enact civil rights legislation based on the Commerce Clause was something we could take for granted. As the court moves to the right, and Congressional power is diluted, will our current civil rights legislation survive?

It is time to consider an equal rights amendment that puts these issues to rest, once and for all, by establishing a permanent list of protected classes and reinforcing Congressional authority to enact enabling legislation. Such an amendment would give new support to the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The amendment could be used to finally protect the rights of all people against discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well.

Is this a farfetched idea? Maybe. But by the time we know, it will be too late.