Each Saturday, this feature links and excerpts commentary and reporting from a dozen progressive state blogs in the past seven days around the nation. The idea is not only to spotlight specific issues but to give readers who may not know their state has a progressive blog or two a place to become regularly informed about doings in their back yard. Just as states with progressive lawmakers and activists have themselves initiated innovative programs over a wide range of issues, state-based progressive blogs have helped provide us with a point of view and inside information we don't get from the traditional media. Those blogs deserve a larger audience. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite you think I should know about. Standard disclaimer: Inclusion of a diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents. |
At
Calitics,
Brian Leubitz writes—
Sen. Feinstein, the NSA, and the Left:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein has had of a bit of an on-again/off-again relationship with the Left. But to the NY Times, our senior Senator is a "liberal lioness", whatever that means. Clearly she has done a lot for progressive causes, from gun control to fighting for reproductive freedom and many other issues. However, the issue that keeps coming up again and again is the balance between individual liberty and the importance of intelligence. And her position on the NSA leaks, PRISM, and the prosecution of Snowden doesn't help the rift. [...]
Perhaps some on the Left would have expected something different, but for most, this is exactly what we expected. For better or worse, Sen. Feinstein has placed the needs of intelligence on a pedestal, there is nothing new here.
At Left in Alabama, Pink writes—Chapman Proposes Poll Tax, Exits Stage Right:
Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman posted her proposed state voter ID regulation on Friday and announced she was stepping down on Monday morning. Chapman will go to work for a government affairs concern, but denies any lobbying will be involved.
The proposal provides free voter ID's, provided a notarized form is submitted with the application. And there's the rub. The form requires the seal of a notary public. A notary public is a minor state official appointed by the probate judge and is authorized under state law to collect a fee for sanctifying documents.
The state cannot place a tax on voting. Free voter ID's are not free if they must be notarized. On the internet I found notaries, but I would not have known where to find a notary without the internet. The choices I found were $5 across town or $35 they come to me. I suspect in rural Alabama they choices would be much more limited, and without the internet, much more difficult to locate.
At ColoradoPols, Colorado Pols writes A Few Words About Hubris And Ken Buck:
Amid the GOP's ongoing struggle to find an opponent–any opponent–to challenge incumbent Sen. Mark Udall in 2014, the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels puts 2010 Senate loser Ken Buck's name back in the mix:
Buck for months has been mentioned as a likely candidate for state attorney general, but in recent days several high-profile Republicans have announced their candidacy for the office and the talk has switched to a Senate bid.
"We have been talking about it, and I'll leave it there," his wife, state Rep. Perry Buck, R-Windsor, confirmed Tuesday.
Much of the speculation about Buck's political future has been on hold since his battle with cancer was disclosed in March. Bartels reports today that Buck's cancer remains in remission, and he is undergoing his last round of chemotherapy this week.
It's true that Buck lost in 2010 by a relatively small margin to appointed incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet. But the underlying reasons for that narrow and trend-countering loss for the GOP in an otherwise GOP "wave year" revealed a fatal flaw in the newfound political vigor offered by the "Tea Party." Buck lost the election, as our readers know well, largely due to overwhelming opposition from women voters.
Below the fold are more links to and excerpts from progressive state blogs
At Blogging While Blue of Georgia, bloggingwhileblue writes—Who Walks the Talk?:
In a few days, candidates for local office in Georgia will file their campaign finance reports. Georgia law requires that every candidate for elected office disclose every contributor, contribution amount, loan, and expense on a periodic basis. The media and political insiders often look at these reports to determine which candidates are viable and which are not. They will scour the disclosures looking for well-known names and large expenses drawing many conclusions that are much too soon to make. [...]
Most voters don’t know or don’t care about campaign finance reports. Except for the media coverage of the reports, voters generally aren’t interested, even though the candidates they learn the most about usually have well-funded campaigns. Very few candidates can win elections without spending more than half their campaign time fundraising.
At
Bleeding Heartland,
desmoinesdem writes—
Democrat Jim Mowrer launches Congressional campaign in IA-04:
After several months of preparations, Jim Mowrer made it official today: he is challenging Representative Steve King in Iowa's fourth Congressional district. I've posted his formal announcement after the jump. His campaign is on the web here and also on Facebook and twitter.
Mowrer grew up in Boone and lived in Des Moines for a time after his tour in Iraq. He headed the Iowa Veterans for Joe Biden committee in 2007 and was Midwest Veterans Chair for the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008. He was a private contractor in Iraq during 2009 before getting a job as special assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army in the U.S. Department of Defense. Mowrer has also been a senior adviser to Vote Vets, a political advocacy group focused on veterans' issues. [...]
Mowrer would need strong Democratic turnout and probably 70 percent of the independents to have any prayer against King. As of July 2013, IA-04 contained 127,701 registered Democrats, 178,309 Republicans, and 173,985 no-party voters.
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Dirigo Blue,
Maine Dems writes—
Eliot Cutler Shoots First, Aims Later, on Guns:
Earlier today the Maine Democratic Party called on Eliot Cutler, Larry Gilbert, and Paula Silsby to retract their inaccurate and misleading statements about Congressman Mike Michaud. In a blast email yesterday, paid for by and sent on behalf of the Cutler for Maine exploratory campaign, Gilbert and Silsby claimed that Congressman Mike Michaud does not support background checks. Michaud has publicly supported them and is currently working with some of his colleagues in the House and Senate to find a compromise on the issue that can pass both bodies.
Michaud support on the issue is no secret and he recommitted to his stance on background checks tonight on MPBN. Following the failure of the Senate bill, Michaud has been looking for ways to advance the issue in a way that will pass both chambers of Congress.
At
BlueNC,
James writes—
Looking ahead to 2014:
If it's been said once, it's been said a zillion times. Elections have consequences. And right now, North Carolina is suffering the dire consequences of having elected extremists to the lead state government. It doesn't matter that they cheated to win. Unless and until legislative redistricting is overturned by the courts, we are stuck with gerrymandered maps for the foreseeable future.
The first test of our response is happening now with Moral Mondays. Thanks to the tremendous work of Reverend Barber and the NAACP, the ground is being prepared for an uprising in 2014.
And make no mistake, an uprising is needed. Because of gerrymandering, a Democratic vote for the North Carolina General Assembly is worth only 3/5ths of a Republican vote. To be effective, we have to blow them out of the water when it comes to turn out.
The May primary will be our second test, a rehearsal for November.
At
Keystone Politics,
Jon Geeting writes—
Corbett’s Austerity Agenda Has Been Hurting Job Growth:
The other thing to note about this new Corbett ad is the emphasis on the 116,000 private sector jobs that have been created during his time in office – a cute way of ignoring the massive public sector job losses that are a direct result of his party’s budget policies. These public sector job cuts have been a significant drag on economic growth overall, including in the private sector.
Public employees don’t get paid in Monopoly money. They earn real money, and when you lay them off, they can’t afford to pay their mortgages and bills, they cut back on eating out at restaurants, buying furniture, and everything else. That’s terrible for the private businesses who sell stuff to people and it depresses wages and employment in the private sector.
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BlueOregon,
Jody Wiser writes—
Manny Fest Destiny:
Once upon a time a bill was passed called the “Business Energy Tax Credit” (BETC). The Manufacturing part of the BETC has recently been called “Manny.” As a runaway giveaway, Manny essentially gave away a million dollars per job created. In Nov. 2009 the Oregonian headlined “BETC Taking Its Place in Oregon Pantheon of Shame.”
Just Wednesday a new bill we could call “Manny Fest Destiny” was suddenly introduced in the House Revenue Committee as the final nine pages of HB 3367-7 (PDF). In this last minute maneuver, the Legislature could retain the disgraced BETC Manufacturing Tax Credit, with changes. This time it would cost taxpayers $228,000 per full time job. At the going tax rate, it would take 50-65 years of an employee’s income taxes to cover this giveaway for his/her job.
Flawed isn’t a strong enough word for what’s wrong with the bill
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The Progress Texas Daily,
Dan writes—
Texas Lawmaker: Sex Ed Gets Teens ‘Hot and Bothered,’ Leads to Pregnancy:
A reporter from the Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News Capitol bureau caught a Texas legislator arguing Tuesday night that sex education gets previously chaste teens so “hot and bothered” that they can’t even use contraception correctly after rushing out the door to do some unauthorized field testing.
Check out the audio clip of the conversation among state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, and state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. The three were speaking just minutes after the House State Affairs Committee approved legislation with extreme abortion restrictions that could cause most of the state’s clinics to close. Rep. Howard was explaining to her colleagues that responsible sex education, including information on birth control, would lower the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions. Rep. Toth didn’t agree:
My wife worked at a home for unwed moms, and one of the little kids that was born, his name is David. David came about as a result of his mom and dad, who were just 16 at the time, going to a Planned Parenthood deal where they taught them how to use contraceptives. They were not sexually active at that point. They got into the car, and they were so hot and bothered from this deal, he couldn’t even get the condom on.
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KnoxViews of Tennessee,
R. Neal writes—
Is Vlad the Impaler in charge of this office?:
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey touts the launch of the new Office of the Repealer in a press release, saying:
"I'm proud to serve in a legislature where success is measured not by how many new laws are passed, but by the amount of burdensome rules and regulations that are repealed and abolished. The Office of the Repealer is an outstanding tool in the fight against bureaucratic red tape and big government."
State Rep. Glen Casada says "While Washington is out of control, Tennessee is getting it right. We understand that the fewer laws we have on the books that regulate the lives of Tennesseans, the better."
According to Tennessee logic and math, you can reduce the size of government by creating a new bureaucracy.
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Cottonmouth of Mississippi,
Matt Eichelberger writes—
Failure to expand Medicaid to cost Greenville's Delta Regional $3.9M starting October 1:
Well, it's not like Mississippi Democrats (and Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran) haven't warned everyone time and time again. Today, the AP is running a story on how the Phil Bryant-led effort to prevent Medicaid expansion is going to severely impact Greenville's Delta Regional Medical Center. According to DRMC CEO J. Stansel Harvey:
With federal reductions set to hit starting Oct. 1, Harvey said the Greenville hospital is anticipating a revenue loss of more than $3.9 million.
That's because the federal Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to hospitals are being cut starting then. Under the Affordable Care Act (which is federal law whether you like it or not), Medicaid expansion was to replace the DSH payments. Of course, Gov. Bryant led legislative Republicans to reject even a compromise on Medicaid expansion that would have kept the federal money flowing into Mississippi. and he was mighty pleased with himself. Let's see if he's still smiling as hospitals start laying off doctors and nurses and cutting services.