This week at 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. Here is last Saturday's edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents.
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Tom von Alten at fortboise of Idaho writes—The definition of insanity:
Not sure why they're shouting down in what's usually fine print, but says there this push poll was PAID FOR BY TEAM RYAN, A JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE AUTHORIZED BY AND COMPOSED OF RYAN FOR CONGRESS, INC., PROSPERITY ACTION, INC., AND THE NRCC. TEAM RYAN 320 FIRST STREET, SE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20003 which sounds like kind of a weird mashup, never mind the wood paneling background image.
The "survey" I'm supposed to fill out is teased by telling me that they're "only reaching out to proven conservative activists to participate in this short survey," "because of limited time & resources." (They couldn't even afford to spell out that ampersand.) It's a Leadership Priority Survey don't you know, and I should be flattered to "provide House Leadership with critical data to help form a bold conservative agenda to move our nation forward."
Funny thing is, there is nothing for me to "fill in" (other than my name, email and ZIP code); just a set of nine checkboxes for what issues I want Republicans to focus on, and the list is the same old, same old they've been talking about and NOT DOING forever since they buggered Congress:
- Reforming the tax code so it's flatter and fairer
- Passing a balanced budget
- Repealing and replacing Obamacare
- Securing our borders and fixing our immigration system
- Approving the Keystone Pipeline
- Strengthening Social Security and Medicare
- Creating jobs
- Strengthening our national security
- Combating poverty
I mean... seriously? What makes sense is generic and obvious. What could be expanded to an actionable agenda doesn't make sense. Let's do the time warp again. Repeal Obamacare! Approve the Keystone pipeline! Strengthen national security!
Paul Ryan was supposed to be the grown-up, the policy wonk, the numbers guy, the rational person who could turn things around. But here he is spouting TEA Party nonsense, and he's still not nonsensical enough for the dyed-in-the-wool T.P. Richard Viguerie's Conservative HQ, for example, thinks Paul Ryan's budget was a "major contribution" to the Trump campaign.
The "no" rump of the GOP in the House prefers to just say NO to any budget, rather like the Senate's just saying no to any SCOTUS nominee.
At Left in Alabama, countrycat writes—Will We Ever Repay The Alabama Trust Fund? Legislators’ Long Con Finally Playing Out
It’s important to remember the terror campaign legislators used to get voters to approve the “loan:”
Bentley says he will have to cut the General Fund budget across the board if the voters turn down the constitutional amendment Sept. 18. This raises the specter of the state’s releasing thousands of state inmates and laying waste to the Medicaid program and other vital services such as mental health and human resources.
That’s right campers! If we didn’t vote “yes,” they would open up the prisons and throw Grandma out of the nursing home. Essentially, Alabama set up a hostage situation where the voters were the hostages. And so the amendment passed.
It didn’t even take a year for legislators to start looking for wriggle room on the repayment schedule. [...]
As I noted at the time:
The Alabama Republican Party promised to be the party of “fiscal responsibility” and boldly asserted in 2010 that they could balance the budget by eliminating “wasteful spending.” But their actions speak a lot louder than their campaign promises. The Alabama GOP supermajority is just another con artist with a credit card.
Things got worse in 2015, when half the state’s General Fund budget shortfall was the $160 million repayment that was due on the loan.
Well now, legislators have decided to give up on all pretense that they ever had any intention to repay the money. It’s a long con, but a con nonetheless. The amendment legislators presented to the voters in 2012 had no required payment schedule, so they’ve been free to kick the can down the road at every opportunity.
At The Mudflats of Alaska, Shannyn Moore writes—Mary Epperson Made Homer What It Is:
Alaska has lost one of our best — I would venture to say our very best — this week. Mary Epperson passed away in Homer, surrounded by her family. She was 93.
In 1954, Mary, her husband Jack and two children moved to Alaska. At her insistence they brought a piano with them. Their family settled on the Kenai Peninsula, and Mary set about making the community of Homer what it is today. This is no exaggeration, she literally made our little hamlet by the sea what it is.
She was the city clerk and treasurer for many years. Someone once told me that in the early days people looking to buy land would check with Mary first. She knew who was ready to get out of town and would make a deal as well as to who the good neighbors were. She founded the Homer Foundation, the Homer Council on the Arts and the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. Her commitment to education was fierce and she pioneered the UA Kachemak Bay campus. Five years ago the university awarded Mary with the Meritorious Service Award for “demonstrated profound, unwavering commitment to developing our local campus of the University of Alaska.” [...]
Homer ran out of awards after she won the Governor’s Award for the Arts, Citizen of the Year, Winter Carnival Queen, etc., so they created “Mary Epperson Day” to be celebrated on her birthday, June 6, every year. There were wonderful parties, attended by folks of every age, with lots of music and Mary smiling and clapping. The whole town considered themselves F.O.M. — Friends Of Mary.
If anyone said they didn’t like Mary, they had to move. Well, I’m not sure that ever happened, but she wasn’t just liked — she was loved. Beloved.
At Blog for Arizona, Pamela Powers Hannley writes—Progressives: Stand Up for Clean Elections:
The Arizona Legislature is working “under the influence”… under the influence of wealthy donors, clever lobbyists and dark money.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has passed, and Governor Doug Ducey has happily signed multiple bills that limit the rights of citizens, overturn citizens’ initiatives, suppress voting, consolidate the power in the Legislature, decimate long-standing campaign finance laws, line the pockets of “lawmakers”, mortgage our future, and keep the lobbyists happy. Republican legislators are serving their big money masters– not the citizens of Arizona.
Arizona’s government is one of the most corrupt in the country. [...]
We need reform! It’s time for change in the Arizona Legislature. Many progressives have stepped up to run as Clean Elections candidates,and many are running in underdog races against well-funded Republicans. As progressives, we value Clean Elections, stand against dark money, and believe that Citizens United has corrupted our elections. [...]
If we want reform in the Arizona Legislature, we must elect reformers.
At Juanita Jean's of Texas, Juanita Jean Herownself writes—Texas Republicans:
As you have heard by now, Texas Republicans want to vote on a resolution at their convention in June that says Texas ought to bygawd secede from the United Damn States of America.
I am here to tell you that the Republican National convention is gonna be hotter than a hoochy-koochy dancer on Saturday night in a Del Rio. You should be able to fry bacon on the heads of three-fourths of the delegates.
My position is that we ought to let them secede … and move to Utah and start themselves another of those church things. You know, where the intermarry and never get elected President.
One of my paying jobs this month was to talk about the Texas GOP convention.
Enjoy!
At Dick and Sharon’s LA Progressive of California, Bill Fletcher Jr. writes—Why Progressives Need a National Electoral Strategy and Fast:
Every electoral cycle gives me the sense of “Groundhog Day” within progressive circles. It feels as if the same discussion take places over and again. No matter what has transpired in the intervening years; no matter what mass struggles; no matter what theoretical insights; progressives find themselves debating the relative importance of electoral politics and the pros and cons of specific candidates. These debates frequently become nothing short of slugfests as charges are thrown around of reformism, sell-outs and purism. And then, during the next cycle, we are back at it.
What has struck me in the current cycle are two related but distinct problems. First, progressives have no national electoral strategy to speak of. Second, elections cannot be viewed simply or even mainly within the context of the pros and cons of specific candidates. In fact, with regard to the latter, there are much bigger matters at stake that are frequently obscured by the candidates themselves.
Let’s begin in reverse order. In a recent exchange on Facebook I had with a friend, he raised the point that Hillary Clinton holds some positions to the right of Donald Trump. His, apparent, point was that in a final election, should it come down to Clinton vs. Trump, it would actually not make much of a difference who won. Someone I do not know responded to my friend by pointing out that Hitler was to the “left” of certain candidates as well and that the issue of intolerance needed to be the point of focus. [...]
Right-wing populism, whether in its fascist or non-fascist form, can assume a posture and articulate a language that can appear left-wing. History has demonstrated this time and again. Yet right-wing populism is NOT “right-wing + populism” but is, instead, a specific integral phenomenon known as “right-wing populism.” It is irrationalist, xenophobic, frequently anti-Semitic, racist and misogynistic. And it is a movement, rather than just a few crazed individuals.
At Progress Illinois, Ellyn Fortino writes—Online Payday Loan Borrowers Hit With Hefty Bank Fees, Federal Consumer Watchdog Finds:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report Wednesday on online payday lending, through which borrowers can obtain short-term access to credit. CFPB's analysis spanned 18 months of online payday lending data in 2011 and 2012.
During the study period, one half of borrowers had at least one overdraft or non-sufficient fund transaction when online payday lenders attempted to collect loan payments. Borrowers faced average bank fees of $185 for these unsuccessful debit attempts.
One third of online payday borrowers who had a failed debit attempt by an online lender ultimately had their checking or savings accounts closed by banks or credit unions. Such account closures typically happened within 90 days of the first failed payment. Financial institutions can close accounts when there are long-term negative balances or numerous penalty charges, among other reasons.
"Taking out an online payday loan can result in collateral damage to a consumer's bank account," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Bank penalty fees and account closures are a significant and hidden cost to these products. We are carefully considering this information as we continue to prepare new regulations in this market."
At Hillbilly Report of Kentucky, HBR writes—Here’s how unions endorse candidates:
The union-haters would have John and Jane Q Citizen believe that “rich union bosses” shut rank-and-file union members out of the all-important candidate endorsement process.
They paint a picture of a bunch of old, paunchy, bald-headed guys in expensive suits going behind closed doors, breaking out the booze and cigars and turning thumbs-up and thumbs-down on candidates.
That’s baloney, of course. [...]
Here’s the bottom line: unions don’t tell members who to vote for. Elected union officials endorse candidates they—with input from rank-and-filers and from the candidates themselves—consider most likely to support the union position on issues vital to union members.
By no means is the process secretive. Nor is it carried out by “union bosses” in the proverbial smoke-filled room.
The process starts at the grassroots, in the local union hall. Here, it’s direct democracy: union members vote themselves.
At CenLamar of Louisiana, Lamar White, Jr. writes—“Lamar, it was the right thing to do.” – Gov. John Bel Edwards:
Yesterday, I ascended the elevator to the fourth floor of the Louisiana State Capitol for the first time since Bob Mann and I posed for a selfie in front of the dead-color, underpainting of former Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Hundreds of visitors had seen this surreal masterpiece of Jindal before, a painting that manages to be both tone-deaf and color-blind, a paradoxical yet unintentionally illuminating portrait of a man who spent much of his early adult years struggling with and writing about identity politics and the allure of acculturation.
But for whatever reason, no one had thought to share this vitiligo-inspired, postmodern masterpiece with the public until I asked my friend Robin May to send me a picture she’d taken of it a couple of years prior. Once, I received it, I published Robin’s photo of the masterpiece to the world, in early April of 2015.
And almost immediately, the internet freaked out. Kyle Plotkin, then serving as Jindal’s communications director, attacked me as a “race-baiter,” completely failing to recognize the ways in which the portrait itself was actually both a commentary on race-baiting and identity.
I have some sad news to report: The portrait has not only been removed; it has also been unceremoniously returned to the artist’s commissioner, instead of where it belongs: As a part of the Louisiana State Museum’s collection on loan to Treasurer John Kennedy’s office.
At The Progressive Pulse of North Carolina, Clayton Henkel writes—Trump: North Carolina “paying a big price” for House Bill :
At a town hall meeting on the “Today Show” Trump dismissed the need for House Bill 2 and said North Carolina should have left it the way it was:
“There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic punishment that they’re taking,” said Trump.
Trump responded that he would have no problem with Caitlyn Jenner using the bathroom of her choosing at Trump Tower.
Governor Pat McCrory has said he still supports HB2, which mandates transgender people use the bathroom matching the gender on their birth certificate.
Senate President Phil Berger made it clear Wednesday despite recent economic losses for the state, repeal would not happen in the upcoming session.
At NH Labor News of New Hampshire, NH Labor News writes—Planned Parenthood Votes Releases Scathing New Ad Targeting Kelly Ayotte:
Planned Parenthood Votes has gone on-air with its first ad buy of the 2016 Senatorial election cycle — a nearly $400,000 TV ad buy hitting New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte on her abysmal record on women’s health, and her obstruction of the Supreme Court nomination process.
The ad, “Lifetime,” focuses on Kelly Ayotte’s long-time opposition to reproductive health, in particular her previous assertion that the right to safe, legal abortion should be overturned, and that it should be done via the Supreme Court. The ad is paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, a national independent expenditure political committee. [...]
Kelly Ayotte is one of the key Senators preemptively calling to block the president’s Supreme Court nominee before ever holding a hearing. While she has met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Kelly Ayotte is still refusing to do her job and give the president’s nominee a fair hearing with an up-or-down vote. [...]
Kelly Ayotte has voted repeatedly to “defund” Planned Parenthood, and has even voted against equal pay legislation. This Senator has spent years calling for an end to safe, legal abortion and for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and even went so far as to circulate a letter urging support for a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks that included extreme provisions for rape survivors. Furthermore, Kelly Ayotte won’t protect access to birth control coverage, and proposed a plan that would make more women pay for birth control by undermining the health law that gave nearly 300,000 New Hampshire women access to no-copay birth control.
At RIFuture.org of Rhode Island, Bob Plain writes—Anti-cluster bomb activists arrested for chaining themselves to Textron building:
Peace activists chained themselves to Textron’s world headquarters in downtown Providence this morning, protesting the RI-based conglomerate’s role in supplying cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia.
Police arrested three activists who chained themselves to Textron’s front doors. Pia Ward, Mark Baumer and Lee Stewart used bike locks to chain themselves to Textron’s front entrances. They were handcuffed and placed in a van. An officer said they were being taken to the station to be processed.
“The climate change crisis demands that we end militarism and put those resources towards creating a better world for all, human and nonhuman alike,” said Ward in a prepared statement. “As a resident of Providence I don’t think we should accept a company like Textron who makes cluster bombs, kills civilians and profits off of death and conflict.” said Mark Baumer. “Fighting for my humanity in a country that produces and sells cluster bombs that kill innocent people means rejecting personal complicity by taking action,” Stewart said.