Where the real damage to people is being done these days is in state legislatures and governor's offices. From attempts to try to throw monkey wrenches into the implementation of Obamacare to voting restrictions to the stripping away of worker's rights to the extreme restrictions on a woman's right to chose to ridiculous requirements in our children's classrooms to even ending unemployment benefits in North Carolina, the Republicans are mounting an all-out assault on decency and fair play in states all over the country.
Its not just happening in so-called "red states" but it is a direct result of the 2010 midterm elections that swept Republicans into power in state legislatures and governorships. In my home state of Minnesota, we initially went there too in 2010. But we elected a Democratic governor by a razor thin margin and were able to hold on for 2 years until we elected a Democratic legislature in 2012. If you want to know what a difference that makes, take a look at this comparison to our neighbors next door in Wisconsin.
I say all of this to emphasize how important the 2014 midterm election is to all of us. Those that are busy trying to distract us with talk about the 2016 presidential race are simply feeding this lunacy by pretending this isn't where the focus should be...shame on them!
What I'd like to see in 2014 is a turnout by Democrats similar to what we saw in 2012. I believe that the over-reach of Republicans lately just might be the spark we need to make that happen. And so I'm hoping to hear this kind of talk from folks like Dr. William Barber (leader of the Moral Monday Movement in North Carolina) as we draw nearer to Nov. 2014.
SCOTUS struck down section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, but not section 5. That means that the federal government still has the power to regulate changes to state voting laws in order to prevent Jim Crow's return. The striking down of section 4 made illegal the current formula for determining which states get monitored. That means that we can put the teeth back into the law as soon as we can get a legislature willing to do it with a new formulation. We MUST show up for the 2014 mid-terms and take back the house while keeping the senate. We do that, and the Voting Rights Act is back in business!
ReplyDeleteWhat up neighbor. The difference between 2011/12 and 2013 is all MN will ever need to know about Republican "leadership" state and nationwide. We have to get the vote out for local as well as Federal elections.
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