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, inside information and often an edgy voice that we just don't get from the traditional media. This week in progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite state- or city-based blog you think I should be watching.
Inclusion of a diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents.
At Montana Cowgirl, Cowgirl writes—TEA Party Leader Leaves Door to Medicaid Expansion Open:
The statements of disgraced Tea Partier Art Wittich [pronounced "WIT-ick!"] reveal a major shift in TEA Party rhetoric about the Medicaid expansion in an article in the Bozeman Chronicle this weekend.
Rather than close the door completely on any kind of Medicaid expansion, as Wittich has done in the past, the former Senate GOP leader told the Bozeman Chronicle that he is “not opposed to negotiating a Medicaid expansion program” but that his version would look different than what has been proposed by Democrats. By doing so, Wittich is signaling that conservatives have moved on from a single-minded focus on blocking health care for the working poor. This is a major shift and an interesting development in the discussion. It shows Wittich is willing to publicly admit that conservatives may no longer simply refuse to move forward.
To be sure, in the same article Wittich was again caught lying many times about the Medicaid expansion and how it is paid for, saying he opposes how it is funded. So he must be called out for these lies once again. He’s entitled to his own opinion, but not his own version of the facts.
At
Blue Mass Group,
Christopher writes—
Let's waste no time uniting and moving forward!:
First I have to say this—I had a bad primary night. All of my statewide picks came up short. I would have preferred John Tierney be renominated, though that is not my district. I had a couple of friends in the Merrimack Valley who courageously challenged legislative incumbents from within the party, but they too came up short. I guess I did get my way in the Middlesex DA race, but that was always the one about which I cared the least.
There’s no time to dwell on that though, and certainly no excuses to sulk and withhold support from those who were nominated. It is vital that Coakley-Kerrigan be elected over Baker-Polito. Don’t get complacent either by the thought that Dems have it easy electorally (We have recent evidence to the contrary.) or by the idea that Baker is one of the handful of Republicans in the country who hasn’t gone off the ideological deep end. Don’t think Baker can’t be too bad because our numbers are overwhelming in the General Court; many of those would be GOPers in most states and could easily be persuaded to join him. Also, if you talk to people who have worked for the Commonwealth, they will tell you that a Republican Governor means a Republican administration, and that governing philosophy seeps down the executive branch into the departments and agencies. Remember, neither candidate needs us. Either candidate who loses will suffer a bruised ego, but will live to tell about it and probably land a lucrative job. We, however, may suffer if the wrong person is in the Corner Office.
Below the orange gerrymander you can read excerpts from other progressive state blogs.
At Bluestem Prairie, Sally Jo Sorensen writes—"Luxeries": MN07 Republicans terrified that Democrats will take away beer and football:
A friend on the Seventh Congressional Republicans' email list shared the following fundraising pitch from the loyal opposition under the subject line, "Beer and Football":
...are just some of the few great freedoms Americans get to enjoy. But as working class Minnesotans, we are taxed to death and soon we won't be able to afford these simple luxeries.
I've got news for you. Its only going to get worse. If we let the Democrats take charge of the house our already bloated government is going take more from our ever shrinking savings. They won't stop till they take everything! ...
Bluestem isn't sure who absconded with the committee's spell check program and apostrophe in that contraction of "it is" in the second sentence of the second paragraph, but we hope the cad gives both back.
We also hope that the Republicans in Minnesota's Seventh District discover that Americans enjoy more than a "few great freedoms" in addition to the simple enjoyment of beer and football.
At
,
Andy Schmookler writes—
Many Liberals Don't Like the Idea of Battle, But the Alternative in America Today is Much Worse:
In America right now there's a battle that needs to be fought and won in our political arena. It's a battle over what kind of country, and what kind of planet, our children and grandchildren will live in.
Although some people like waging battle—some even insist on it—most liberals I've known are capable of living richer, more balanced and fulfilling lives. Most of us liberals would rather lead those better lives than focus on political combat.
But over the past decade or two, while we've been living our fuller, more rounded lives, we with the more humane set of values have been out-organized, out-fought, out-messaged by a relentless force that has taken over the right, and that has
• Turned our politics into a kind of war,
• hollowed out the middle class,
• debased our public discourse,
• brought out the worst in our decent conservative neighbors,
• undermined the rule of law,
• placed our descendants in greater peril of ecological catastrophe,
• embroiled us in needless wars,
• besmirched America's good name in the world,
• driven our economy into a pit,
• and magnified the ability of corporate power to steal our democracy.
The response from Liberal America to this ugly destructive force on the right has been woefully inadequate to protect the nation.
The combination of a destructive force and weak response has created one of the most profound crises in American history. If our nation is going to stop its descent, and to regain the ability to deal constructively with the challenges we face, this dangerous political dynamic must be turned around.
At
The Political Environment of Wisconsin,
James Rowen writes—
WI War On Wolves, And On Science, Called Out:
Finally—a formal demand for science and outside intervention in Wisconsin's disgracefully bloody, and politicized and now-dog-assisted wolf hunt.
A group of scientists are warning federal wildlife officials that the state Department of Natural Resources' wolf population estimates are faulty...
The researchers, led by UW-Madison's Adrian Treves, recommended an independent review of wolf mortality in the state. They also called for relisting the wolf as endangered and USFWS to demand Wisconsin officials present their data clearly in a standardized format.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned.
At
Burnt Orange Report,
Genevieve Cato writes—
In Interview with ABC's Robin Roberts, Wendy Davis Reveals She Was Standing With Us:
In an interview that aired yesterday on ABC's Good Morning America, Wendy Davis tackled an issue that some accused her of evading in her campaign. Speaking with Robin Roberts, Davis discussed some of the most personal and painful stories in her memoir, which comes out this week.
Though it is not the only shocking revelation mentioned in the interview—Davis also revisits an especially harrowing moment in her mother's life after her father left—her honest and open description of her own personal decisions to terminate two pregnancies has caught the most attention since it was reported on Friday. [...]
When Roberts pointed out that some might criticize her very personal decision, Davis spoke not out of frustration or anger, but instead with sympathy, saying, "This was how my family confronted this tragic experience. I respect so much that people make their own decisions. That decision is the one that is right for them."
Even as she bravely confronts those who would criticize her decisions, or her choosing to share them, Davis continues to champion the central idea that started the filibuster in the first place: the decision to carry a pregnancy to term is one that each individual and their family must make for themselves.
At
Scrutiny Hooligans of North Carolina,
Tom Sullivan writes—
Whose Side Are You On?:
Warren on solving the student debt crisis:
Young people are—they’re not buying homes, they’re not starting small businesses. They’re struggling with the student loan debt. It’s bringing them down. It’s bringing their parents down. This is something that America sees, understands. We know which side families stand on and we know which side the millionaires and billionaires stand on. For me, it’s time to choose and that’s what I’ve learned about Washington. You make people choose, sometimes they make good choices.
Which side are you on? Warren is crystal clear.
Sen. Kay Hagan needs to answer that question definitively. Reacting to last week’s debate between Hagan and NC Speaker Thom Tillis, the News & Observer sees An empty race for the U.S. Senate:
“This exorbitantly funded Senate contest has taken a page from Seinfeld. It is a race about nothing. With Seinfeld, it was funny. With Hagan-Tillis, it’s sad.”
Hagan has a large and vigorous field operation across the state which may carry her to a second term. But as “the most moderate senator,” she’s giving voters little to get off the couch and vote for. The N&O asks:
Is it too much to expect politicians at this level to engage in a bold debate about the issues that matter? Over a thousand Moral Monday protesters gave themselves up to arrest because they felt passionately about the state’s direction under its Republican leadership. Just Thursday, fast-food workers in North Carolina were arrested after they joined a national protest demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Can’t people seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate take the risk of taking a stand?
“Moderate” may be poll-tested and consultant-approved, but will it get Democrats out to vote in a mid-term election this November?
Hagan’s campaign could use a dash of hot sauce. Or whatever Breakfast of Champions Elizabeth Warren eats every morning.
At
Ohio Daily,
Derek K writes—
Ed FitzGerald never had much of a campaign team:
Ed FitzGerald never had much of a campaign team. It's a sad truth. Even if certain controversies didn't materialize he still would have had tough road ahead of him given the people he had around him. As I read reports about top staff leaving the campaign, I found it almost laughable that the people leaving could be considered the "big brains" of anything. I foolishly believed that for a major race for governor that there'd be a few more people with a little more acumen than the people who left. Nick Buis, Daniel McElhatton and Aaron Pickrell these were the main "geniuses" behind the campaign.
Nick Buis was Ed FitzGerald's campaign manager. I had been wanting to write about him for a longtime. I don't know how he got his job. I'm assuming the overall reason he was hired was for a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort. Ohio Democrats have made it clear they believe 2014 will come down to a massive GOTV effort. Nick Buis was the state director in Florida during the 2012 presidential election cycle. I'll guess that Nick Buis boasted massive numbers for Florida's GOTV effort. How much of that Nick, can really take credit for, could probably be debated. In the end though, GOTV work seems to be Nick Buis's only qualification for the job.
He obviously didn't have a clue about crisis communication, how to deal with crises or the press. And he certainly didn't show any understanding of how to position a candidate. He didn't seem to know how to highlight issues that a candidate could run on. He didn't seem to understand the importance of issues at all. He certainly didn't build a platform for Ed FitzGerald to run on. No, Nick Buis's main interest beyond GOTV, was football. And Peyton Manning. Even now, when you follow him on Twitter, that's pretty much all he highlights.
At
Capital & Main of California,
Steven Mikulan writes—
News Series Exposes Massive Employer Fraud in Construction:
Readers of Capital & Main are all too familiar with wage theft and job misclassification—twin plagues that afflict American workers, especially truck drivers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Employers use wage theft to shortchange employees out of their wages and benefits by shaving hours off time cards; job misclassification, on the other hand, allows companies to deny that the people working for them are even employees at all, but freelancers who are ineligible for government-provided benefits such as unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. By misclassifying their workers, employers do not pay the kinds of payroll taxes that provide these and other services to workers.
Now, thanks to an epic investigative series published yesterday by the McClatchy news syndicate (publisher of the Sacramento Bee), in partnership with ProPublica, these two issues have been pushed before a national audience. The series, “Contract to Cheat,” sets out the most comprehensive study of job misclassification—and the problem of wage theft that often accompanies it—to be found in one popular media site. The jump-off point is the federal stimulus of 2009 and the wave of federally funded housing projects it created. In the panicked atmosphere of the Great Recession, the Obama White House decided to pull back from its previously announced get-tough policy on workplace abuses, especially job misclassification and wage theft. As a result, government watchdogs were content to doze by the fireplace while unscrupulous employers— particularly in the construction industry—cheated their workers out of fair wages and communities out of economic recovery.
At
Democratic Diva of Arizona,
Donna writes—
Of Course They Ignored Repro Rights at the Channel 12 Debate:
In Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate hosted by KPNX Channel 12 candidates Fred DuVal (D) and Doug Ducey (R) were asked about topics ranging from the economy to taxation to Common Core school standards to the border and immigration policy. My assessment of it was that Ducey would have gotten away with his recitation of talking points with no specifics to every question were it not for moderator Brahm Resnik, who does not care for that and pressed him for details, causing Ducey to flail. DuVal was definitely better prepared to answer the actual questions.
Noticeably absent, to me and other reproductive rights advocates, were any questions about women’s health and family planning. This deliberate elision is far too common here and not something seen in other red states North Carolina and Texas, where candidates are debating things like abortion and contraception vigorously, as they should since anti-choice laws are being passed like crazy in them. But, for some reason, the mainstream news people in Arizona tend to be squeamish about the topic. You may see the question come up, briefly, in one or two major debates but not in most of them. On the rare occasion moderators do ask it’s typically to allow the GOP candidate to express his support for “exceptions for rape and incest” with no follow-up questions.
This reluctance to draw candidates out on their reproductive rights stances has frustrated and puzzled me for years. My guess is it stems from the obsession with “moderation” in some powerful circles here and the unwavering faith that this can somehow be achieved through “civility” (meaning not calling the Republicans out forcefully on their bad behavior). The only journalist who seems to give the constant stream of anti-choice legislation coming out of the Arizona Legislature the coverage it merits is Howie Fischer of Capitol Media Services. The rest mostly ignore it, as if treating the subject as too controversial and polarizing to cover will somehow make it go away. But it won’t. Anti-choice activists and legislators are not at all squeamish about pushing for creepy, misogynistic, unconstitutional bills that the state then spends millions of dollars defending in court. The bills that do succeed in being implemented as laws brutalize poor women and end up costing the state through unplanned pregnancies and the child abuse and neglect that can sometimes ensue from them.
At
South Dakota's Madville Times,
caheidelberger writes—
Opportunity Knocks: Poll Shows Rounds Below 40%:
In this sample of over 500 likely voters, called September 3–7, a majority said they want someone other than Rounds to be their next Senator. The trick now is to get them to agree on an alternative.
This poll marks the first straight affirmation of Pressler pal Ted Muenster's February assertion that the Republican-turned-Independent Pressler could break 20%. This poll also gets me to roll back my earlier hypothesis that Pressler would hurt Rounds at the polls more than Weiland. Consider the results the KSFY poll finds if Pressler were not on the ballot:
Rounds: 44%
Weiland: 42%
Howie/undecided: 14%
Take Pressler out, and you get a statistical dead heat between a well-financed and well-recognized former two-term governor and a supposedly awful, supposedly ultra-liberal Democrat. Pressler isn't splitting the liberal vote; he's splitting the "Mike Rounds sucks" vote.
I will not presume to suggest that Team Weiland should try to get Pressler to drop out of the race and endorse the Democrat. Pressler is campaigning with total seriousness.
At
Indy Democrat Blog,
Jon Easter writes—
Same Sex Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional in Indiana, Wisconsin:
As was widely expected after hearing the argument and what transpired in the courtroom, a three-judge panel of 7th District Circuit Court judges ruled that Indiana and Wisconsin's same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.
It's likely that this is not the last you'll hear of the issue. Most people expect the Supreme Court of the United States to take up the issue in its upcoming fall session.
While SCOTUS ruled that the United States would recognize same-sex marriages in the landmark Windsor Case last year, I'm told that the current cases percolating through the courts at the state level have different aspects of law involved and may entice the highest court in the land to look at the issue once again. Windsor stopped short of telling states what they could and could not do. The cases have advanced past that.
Congratulations to my personal friends Karen Celestino-Horseman and Bill Groth who were both lawyers on the case. My biggest congratulations to all my fellow Hoosiers who can now marry as well as those plaintiffs that pushed the case this far.
Hopefully, we're just a ruling or two from the finish line.