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 Left in Alabama, countrycat writes—Young People Must Run To The Polls:
We should be the first ones at the polls because we will be left with the tab for every unfunded mandate that has been passed over the past four years. We cannot afford to stay home for these midterm elections.
This election cycle, young voters do not have the choice not to vote. With important rights being stripped away, like college affordability, reproductive rights, public education, healthcare, and job security, we have to exercise our right to vote.
Fights that have already been won are being picked again. [...]
Last year, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and more than a dozen states had voter photo ID laws on standby crafted for the purpose of restricting voting access to people of color, women, and young people also the elderly. Simply put anyone that is not a white man in Alabama.
At the same time, state legislatures have taken up the mantle on attacking women and the working poor.
Deciding not to vote in mid-term elections will have serious consequences. We shouldn’t take our rights being threatened lightly. These restrictions were made to prevent us from voting. Voting is a right people died, were beaten, jailed to gain so that right should always be exercised.
At
BlueNC,
James writes—
Guilty:
My day in court was an uneventful one. As expected, a weary judge found me and four other defendants guilty of trespassing in the General Assembly last June at the Mega Moral Monday event. Having made up her mind hundreds of times before, Judge Hamilton made quick work of our cases. No, a blogger who fails to disperse when ordered does not have the same privileges as a "real" journalist who fails to disperse. Similarly, a former legislator who was arrested does not really have permanent floor privileges. We were guilty, case closed.
After what happened this week in Raleigh, it's more clear than ever that charges against Moral Monday protesters were entirely discretionary, trumped up by Phil Berger, Thom Tillis, in collusion with the Capitol Police. The legislature has rewritten the rules so they can more easily restrict citizens exercising their rights. They have free rein to turn their political opponents into criminals. And they have a judge in their side pocket who will help them do just that. Judge Hamilton says she's sympathetic to the plight of arrestees, but that sympathy doesn't extend to not-guilty verdicts.
We have come to a dangerous place in our state’s history. It is a place where those who rule have given themselves the right to arrest and detain political opponents, using whatever discretion they wish.
I do not agree that the Capitol police acted lawfully to arrest and detain me. Theirs was an act of political oppression, pure and simple.
Excerpts from more progressive state blogs can be found beneath the orange gerrymander.
At Calitics, Brian Leubitz writes—Has the California Fracking Debate Been Mooted?
Many in government were expecting there to be something of a North Dakota style oil boom in California. Perhaps we best not rely on that for all of our future revenues:
Federal energy authorities have slashed by 96% the estimated amount of recoverable oil buried in California's vast Monterey Shale deposits, deflating its potential as a national "black gold mine" of petroleum.
Just 600 million barrels of oil can be extracted with existing technology, far below the 13.7 billion barrels once thought recoverable from the jumbled layers of subterranean rock spread across much of Central California, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The new estimate, expected to be released publicly next month, is a blow to the nation's oil future and to projections that an oil boom would bring as many as 2.8 million new jobs to California and boost tax revenue by $24.6 billion annually. (LA Times)
Now, this doesn't mean that there aren't billions of barrels of oil under California, but it is simply too difficult to access, even using the latest technologies. Some will certainly continue to explore here, and maybe with future technologies more will be unlocked. However, for the time being, the boom won't be coming.
At
Blue Mass Group,
david writes—
Like it or not, casinos are the big issue in this year's Democratic primaries:
I know, I’ve seemed a bit obsessed with the casino issue lately. In part, that’s because (disclosure alert) I spent a lot of time working on Repeal The Casino Deal’s ballot question case that is currently under consideration at the Supreme Judicial Court.
But in more important part, it’s because the casino issue one of the few that is drawing sharp contrasts between the candidates in a variety of races, while major differences on other big issues are proving hard to find. Yes, Don Berwick’s support for single-payer health care sets him apart from the other Democrats running for Governor. But even if Berwick wins, single-payer is years away at best. Casinos are coming much sooner than that.
If the SJC doesn’t allow the question on the ballot, the issue will likely fade somewhat. But if the question does make the ballot, it will be a huge topic right up through primary day. And I think that’s a good thing.
At
Ohio Daily,
Anastasia Pantsios writes—
Looking Backward:
Our Ohio elected Republicans in Columbus are continuing their drive to pull Ohio back into the past. Virtually all of Governor Kasich's policy priorities — the things he's trotting out to make his case for reelection — would be embarrassing setbacks for the state, things that would hamper our competitiveness, compared to other states.
At the top of the list of SB 310, the repeal of Ohio's clean energy standards. This is a real "up is down" campaign coming from Republicans. Of course, they're claiming that moving into the rapidly growing future of clean energy, which is not only providing sustainable energy sources and cleaning up the environment but also creating thousands of jobs, is a job-killer. Sure, it kills specific jobs such as coal-mining, which are shrinking in number of other reasons. But it replaces them with many more jobs sustainable over the long run.
They are also claiming that somehow, clean energy standards are a drag on the economy, that they raise costs.
You know who they are a drag on? The wealth big coal and gas special interests who own the Ohio Republican Party.
At
Blog for Arizona,
AZ BlueMeanie writes—
Last night was not the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ against the Tea Party:
The media villagers and Beltway bloviators have a media narrative that they want to sell you—their “conventional wisdom” is that the GOP establishment is defeating the crazies of the Tea Party in GOP primaries, which gives the GOP a better than even chance of taking control of the Senate, and ending the presidency of the secret Muslim socialist from Kenya a couple of years ahead of schedule.
Here is Jonathan Martin of The New York Times: McConnell Win Leads Night of Victories for G.O.P. Establishment. Here are Philip Rucker and Robert Costa of The Washington Post: GOP’s hope of taking Senate gets a boost in primaries. And here is Alexander Burns of Tiger Beat on the Potomac: Payback: GOP incumbents learn how to win. You get the idea.
The media narrative is, of course, complete and total bullshit. The Tea Party won by losing. How can this be? By moving the goal posts completely off the far-right edge of the flat Earth in which they reside, the Tea Party has forced conservative Republicans to move far to the right in order to win, hanging on to the edge of that flat Earth by their fingernails to avoid falling off.
At
ColoradoPols,
Colorado Pols writes—
Log Cabin Republican Tokenism Gets Kind Of Gross:
We ignored the first round of this–but as the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels reports, the Log Cabin Republicans, which bills itself as "the nation’s original and largest organization representing gay conservatives and allies who support fairness, freedom, and equality," is once again attacking Rep. Jared Polis for his support of Colorado ballot measures to increase local control over oil and gas drilling. [...]
Certainly, the Log Cabin Republicans are entitled to spend their money any legal way they wish. But we did some checking on LCR's website, and we can't find any instance of this group singling out anyone, Republican or Democrat, for attacks on oil and gas issues. Looking back through LCR's press releases for the last several years, the attack on Polis over these local control ballot measures seems oddly out of place from the rest of the organization's stated agenda–which, as you can read above, focuses on LGBT civil rights and equality.
And then were remembered something obvious: Rep. Jared Polis is a gay man.
In these attacks over oil and gas drilling, it appears the Log Cabin Republicans are taking part only because Rep. Jared Polis is gay. Without a doubt, the Log Cabin Republicans won't be the only group attacking Polis should any of these measures reach the ballot, but Polis' sexuality is the only connection to the Log Cabin Republicans that makes sense. Whether the Log Cabin Republicans came up with the idea to attack Polis on their own, or were asked to attack Polis by straight Republicans is irrelevant: it's an unseemly abuse of the Log Cabin Republican brand. At the very best, it looks shallow and catty, and at worst this is the kind of rank tokenism that should give even the most insensitive conservative pause.
At
Blogging Whilte Blue of Georgia,
bloggingwhileblue writes—
Boggs Nomination Rightfully Under Fire:
On Tuesday, one of the federal judicial nominees expected to come up in the Senate is Georgia state Court of Appeals judge Michael Boggs. Boggs’ controversial and fringe ideologies include his vote while in the state legislature to reinstate a revision of the Confederate flag, his anti-choice vote and his opposition to same-sex marriage. Many critics argue that he intentionally left out some of these details originally and wrote an apology to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately apologizing for omitting the information and actually believing in discriminatory and divisive principles are two entirely different offenses.
In what has been widely circulated as an agreement between the White House and Georgia Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, Boggs was nominated as a judicial candidate. There is a lot of procedural discussion about holding up vacancies and the blue-slip rule but a lifetime appointment for someone with such insidious opposition to human rights is a dangerous choice.
This has not been missed by Georgia Democrat US Representative David Scott who has voiced his opposition to the Boggs nomination. [...]
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) has also publicly opposed the Boggs nomination, “I think the president was given bad advice, and I suppose he’s still proceeding on that bad advice.” Johnson said he will actively work against the nomination by contacting Democratic Senators and encouraging them to vote against Boggs.
At
Indy Democrat Blog of Indiana,
Jon Easter writes—
New BlueIndy Program Deserves Praise:
From the credit where credit is due file, Indy's new electric car sharing program is pretty awesome.
The BlueIndy program is now set to serve Indy citizens. It was rolled out formally yesterday in a ceremony with Mayor Greg Ballard and the Bollore Group executives on hand.
According to the Indianapolis Star, the Ballore Group's had success in international markets like Paris, but this is their first foray into the American market. The cars will drive for a limited distance before needing to be recharged, but it would be enough to go to work or to the store. Indy residents can now buy a membership and won't need to perhaps own a car or two. Looks like most of the kiosks will be downtown, but there's one set to be at the Indianapolis International Airport.
Depending on cost, this could revolutionize the way people live and work downtown though I'm very interested to see how everything works with insurance and things. I'm also interested to talk to people who use the cars.
There are some devils in the details. We don't know how much rates will go up to pay for the new program nor do we know how it will be funded.
At
Blue Virginia,
lowkell writes—
Jim Webb for...President?!?:
It's amazing, no matter how long you are involved in politics, it's still possible to be surprised. For instance, check this out:
Former Virginia Sen. James H. Webb Jr. refused Monday to rule out a run for president, saying he is weighing his options.
"My wife and I are just thinking about what to do next. I care a lot about where the country is, and we will be sorting that out," Mr. Webb, a Democrat, said during an appearance on the the Diane Rehm Show, on which he was promoting his new book "I Heard My Country Calling." "It takes me a while to decide things. I am not going to say one way or the other."
Yeah, I didn't see that one coming. Of course, I didn't see Jim Webb saying in October 2005 that he'd be interested in running for U.S. Senate from Virginia as a Democrat either! Ha. Just a few quick thoughts on this.
First, if Webb DOES run, I can see him focusing on the three themes he ran on in 2006:
1. Re-orienting America's Foreign and National Security Policies
2. Promoting Social Justice and Economic Fairness
3. Government Accountability and Balance of Powers
I could also see Webb really stressing Jacksonian Democracy and economic inequality issues (e.g., the space Elizabeth Warren has staked out in the Democratic Party in recent years), especially given that things have only gotten worse on that front since the Great Recession of 2008/2009. And I could see Webb talking about reining in the national security state, including the NSA; civil liberties; criminal justice reform (possibly including legalization of marijuana?); and of course veterans issues (particularly healthcare given the situation/scandal at the Veterans Administration).
At
Appalachian Voices,
Roy Blumenfeld writes—
We’re Back: Moral Mondays Return To Raleigh:
As the North Carolina General Assembly convenes for the 2014 short session, so too have the Moral Monday protests aimed at holding the legislature accountable for its regressive agenda.
Continuing in the tradition of the protests that took place during the 2013 session, North Carolinians traveled from all ends of the state on Monday to voice their concerns about the path the state is being lead down. A crowd of thousands gathered on the Bicentennial Mall between the Legislative Building and the Capitol.
Rather than attack Governor McCrory, Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, Senate Pro Tempore Phil Berger or their colleagues, the rallying call was for them to “repeal, repent, and reinstate.” Rev. William Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, promised not to engage in any more civil disobedience without first giving the state leaders a chance to change their ways. The NAACP has organized a People’s Lobby Day on May 27 and plan to see how legislators respond before deciding how to proceed for the rest of the legislative session.
One issue that was front and center at the protest was the environment and the growing angst among North Carolinians was on full display. Signs about fracking, coal ash, and Duke Energy were seen throughout the crowd.
At
Michigan Liberal,
Eric B. writes—
Detroit News rolls out Stock Editorial #1 in opposition to higher wages:
Sober adults have looked at the minimum wage. We're fond here of citing the Congressional Budget Office report on it, because the rightwng media was fond of citing it, except that it didn't actually say what they were representing it as saying because rather than bringing down ruination upon us all the report said that the more you raise the minimum wage the more people you help and the more you did to help them. [...]
Today, the Detroit News editorializes against raising the minimum wage at all. Their reasoning: It sounds like a bad idea.
But by artificially increasing the annual cost of labor, without corresponding raises in productivity or prices, the impact of this legislation could crush small- and mid-sized businesses, and eliminate jobs at larger ones. It also would take away the ability of employers to freeze wages in an economically stressful year, leaving layoffs as the only option to control payroll costs.
This is the Detroit News, arguing that stagnating wages is a good thing. Their evidence? None.