This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Here is the August 12 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents. |
At Eclectablog of Michigan, Chris Savage writes—My County Dem Party asked our GOP counterparts to join us in condemning Nazis & Ku Klux Klanners. Answer: CRICKETS:
As you may know, I am the Chair of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party in Michigan. We’re in a liberal bubble where the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University are. Yesterday, following Donald Trump’s egregious “Both Sides” defense of fascists, our Executive Board composed a press release and then reached out to our Republican counterparts in the Washtenaw County Republican Party asking them to join us in a joint statement.
Admittedly, we weren’t optimistic that they would respond. If you go to their website, they feature multiple photos of our booth at the recent Ann Arbor Art Fair, degrading our members and generally taking snide potshots at us.
Still, enough Republicans are coming out against the white supremacists in Charlottesville and Resident Trump’s offensive “both sides” comments that we thought we’d give them a chance to do the right thing. So, I wrote up the press release, included their contact info and logo, and sent it off to them to add their own statement and to make suggested edits.
Our response: CRICKETS
Not even the courtesy of a “fuck you”.
At Bayou Brief of Louisiana, Mitch Rabalais writes—David Duke: Grandfather of the Alt-Right:
In the age of Trump, David Duke, the infamous neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, has enjoyed something of a comeback, again becoming a part of the national conversation, and launching yet another political campaign. Because of the tragic events in Charlottesville, and the subsequent fallout, it is important for all, but particularly to us in Louisiana, to comprehensively understand a shameful period in our state’s history. More than three decades ago, David Duke took his message of white nationalism into the mainstream.
If Steve Bannon is the father of the “alt-right,” Duke is the movement’s grandfather.
In 1991, then-State Rep. David Duke of Metairie shocked political observers around the country when he edged out incumbent Buddy Roemer to win a spot in that year’s runoff for governor. It was the third time in as many years that the former klansman had rattled the political establishment. At the height of his power, Duke came incredibly close to both the Governor’s Mansion and a seat in the United States Senate.
With bitter political infighting among state Republicans, Duke, much like Donald Trump in 2016, took advantage of a fractured party’s internal confusion and built a movement around his brand. Like Trump, he decried the media as biased and pushed a hard anti-tax, anti-immigration message at raucous rallies packed with frenzied supporters. Drawing massive amounts of free media attention, Duke was the subject of national curiosity and scorn before a 2002 conviction on tax and mail fraud charges threatened to permanently derail his political career. He subsequently exiled himself to Eastern Europe and Russia, and for a time, it seemed as if he had finally faded into obscurity. [...]
At Fort Boise of Idaho, Tom von Alten writes—Ideally:
Dear Diary,
You won't believe what happened yesterday. Oh. My. God.
For just a moment, the decent people of the nation seemed united in disgust and horror at the spectacle they had wrought, but it says here that "by prime time, TV's usual divides had returned." The redoubtable Tucker Carlson brought up Plato's slaves.
If you need an exemplar of white privilege beating the crap out of an army of straw men, check that out.
Liberals. Fanatics on the left. Needless to say there is literally no limit. Let's be honest. If we're going to judge the past by the standards of the present we had better be prepared for the consequences of that. And if you buy this steaming load of reductio ad absurdum, you'd better be prepared for some absurdity.
Meanwhile, Baltimore cleaned house last night.
At Montana Cowgirl, Montana Hat writes—#TBT to Greg Gianforte’s White Nationalist Ties:
I know the latter T in TBT usually means Thursday, but in light of today’s events it seemed fitting for a throwback Tuesday:
ReWire: Montana’s Gianforte Donated to White Nationalists, Anti-Government Extremists
Missoulian: Gianforte on donating to suspected white nationalist: ‘I was unaware of some of his views’
Mic: It’s Not Just the Body Slam. Greg Gianforte Also Has Ties to Accused White Supremacist
New Republic: Greg Gianforte has disturbing ties to white nationalists.
The Montana Post: Let’s Talk about Greg Gianforte’s Support For and From White Supremacists
Weird, nothing really of note comes up when you google other Montana politicians and white supremacy, except for words like “denounce.”
At Blog for Arizona, Blue Meanie writes—Donald Trump to darken Arizona’s doorway again:
When in trouble, Trump sets up a campaign rally in a state that he won so he can appear before his cult followers and bask in their unquestioning adulation.
So naturally, Trump is coming to Phoenix where former Governor Jan Brewer defends President Donald Trump’s Charlottesville remarks, and Tea-Publicans in the Arizona legislature have uniformly voted in favor of Neo-Confederate and “Tenther” legislation for years, as we have documented at this blog. These are his people.
President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally in downtown Phoenix next Tuesday, making his first presidential trip to the West as his administration confronts an uproar over his tepid response to a deadly white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Donald Trump makes it official: He’ll hold a downtown Phoenix rally:
Trump will take the stage at the Phoenix Convention Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m., according to an announcement Wednesday morning. Attendees must register to obtain tickets.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton wrote in a statement Wednesday he was disappointed to learn of Trump’s visit so close to the violent events in Charlottesville. The mayor called on Trump to delay the visit.
At Show Me Progress of Missouri, Michael Bersin writes—Senator Claire McCaskill (D) – town hall in Warrensburg – Press Q and A – August 17, 2017:
Starting after 11:00 this morning close to a hundred people participated in the hour long town hall in Warrensburg. After the town hall Senator McCaskill took questions from the press. [...]
Question:…What are you really hearing? Is, is it all about health care?
Senator Claire McCaskill (D): Health care. Um, public education. A lot of people worried about public education, especially in rural communities. Because they’ve heard all the [Secretary of Education] Betsy DeVos talk about we need to have private schools get a chance and using public money for private school. So, people are really on fire about [crosstalk] protecting public schools.
Question: There’s, there’s a lot of resistance about that in rural Missouri, [crosstalk] isn’t there?
Senator McCaskill: A lot of resistance to that. Because the public, there aren’t private schools in rural Missouri.
At Blue Mass Group, Charley on the MTA writes—MBTA: Well, that’s one kind of turnaround:
Governor Baker and Transport Secretary Pollack have named some rando from Texas as new MBTA chief. Luis Ramirez is described thusly:
Luis Ramirez is currently a consultant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area specializing in business turnarounds. He was chief executive of an industrial supplier to the power industry for nearly three years after working in energy-related positions at GE.
No transit background whatsoever. You can almost hear the eyebrows raised in reporter Adam Vaccaro’s description. And then Sec. Pollack’s description of the search is a real head-scratcher, too:
“In fact, transit expert was not high on our priority list when we launched the search for a new general manager,” Pollack said at an event Tuesday announcing Ramirez’s appointment. “What we wanted was a successful and seasoned executive with a proven track record at leading complex organizations through transformation and change.”
Well then. Under the very best of circumstances, a generous dose of skepticism and scrutiny is called for here. If “transit expert” is not particularly important to you, then you’d better be darned sure he’s capable of delivering on the “turnaround” part.
Unfortunately, WBUR’s Meghna Chakrabarti and Kathleen McNerney poked some serious holes in that story as well.
At Blue Stem Prairie of Minnesota, Sally Jo Sorensen writes—Dayton administration used public dollars to organize farmers before public water meetings:
All Minnesotans are equal, but some are more equal than others when it comes to water quality discussions.
In Dayton's water-quality meeting draws 200, veteran Mankato Free Press reporter Mark Fischenich reports:
Mapleton corn and soybean farmer Steve Trio spoke of his decision to take individual responsibility for how his agricultural production impacted the Cobb River. Working with his son Aaron, Trio has ensured there's protective cover between his farmland and the tributary streams leading to the river, works to be diligent in soil testing to minimize chemical use, and even added a containment system around his fuel tanks long before it was required.
"The thing is, we all gotta dig into this thing, farmers included," Trio said.
Along with being asked to speak to the large group — "I haven't spoke since my FFA days in front of a crowd. I'm just a farmer," Trio told them — he was invited to be the voice of area farmers in a pre-meeting sit-down with Dayton.
Isn't that special?
Bluestem noted Minnesota Department of Agriculture to host five town halls listening sessions on ag issues that the rest of us chickens weren't invited to this meeting--and several others--only farmers and representatives from agribusiness interests.
At R.I. Future.org, Steve Ahlquist writes—Save the Bay’s Jonathan Stone on National Grid, LNG and environmental activism:
Save the Bay is an environmental group here in Rhode Island that is laser-focused on Narragansett Bay and its watershed. As a result, the organization has not taken a stand on some environmental issues, like energy policy, to the consternation of some activists who want the group to expand their mission. In a conversation I was privy to, people were discussing Save the Bay in relation to National Grid‘s proposed liquefaction facility, to be built on Field’s Point in the Port of Providence not too far from Save the Bay’s offices.
On one side, a woman was insisting that Save the Bay is opposed to the liquefaction facility because the group opposes natural gas. On the other side someone countered that Save the Bay has no position of the proposed facility because it will only affect poor people.
In an attempt to get to the core of the organization’s policies and positions on the liquefaction facility and other related energy projects, I reached out to Jonathan Stone, executive director of Save the Bay. Stone was very patient with me and generous with his time answering my tough and perhaps even unfair questions, for which I am grateful. [...]
At Green Mountain Daily of Vermont, BP writes—Monumental removal priorities:
For today at least, and for sanity’s sake I plan to limit myself to following reports about Trump’s latest outburst of support for white nationalists to 140 character bites — such as the one below. This time President Trump angrily went off script — and perhaps the rails to totally reject criticism of the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville Virginia:
At Plunderbund of Ohio, John Michael Spinelli writes—July Marks John Kasich’s 56 Straight Month Of Below Average Job Growth:
There are two impressive records Ohio Gov. John Kasich and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio own. For Jolting Joe, he hit safely in 56 straight games, a record that remains unbroken. For Ohio’s term-limited governor, July marks the 56th straight month he’s underperformed the national job creation average.
That’s the news Friday from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and the Bureau of Labor Statistics when both agencies released data on employment and unemployment in Ohio during July 2017.
According to Ohio’s preeminent job watcher, George Zeller, Ohio gained only 1,600 jobs in July 2017.
“The weak growth was unfortunately centered in blue collar high wage occupations, including a loss of 1,100 Manufacturing jobs and a loss of 1,700 Construction jobs,” he said via email today.
Government jobs that Ohio lost, many during the Great Recession, saw gains of 500 jobs in July. Meanwhile, Zeller notes the “normally robustly growing health care and social assistance was unchanged in July, with growth of zero jobs during the month.”
Ohio’s job growth rate was again slower than the national job growth rate.
At Blue NC, scharrison writes—NC's "hit and kill" bill one of many designed to stifle protests:
And of course it was started by Big Oil protecting its profits:
State lawmakers in Florida, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas also considered similar measures, which the American Civil Liberties Union nicknamed "hit and kill" bills. The bills were part of a broader package of anti-protest legislation floated in at least 19 states after an upsurge in activism over the last year.
Of the half-dozen states entertaining proposals to shield drivers who hit protesters, North Carolina is the one where it has the best chance of passing. And despite the violence that recently unfolded in Virginia, the bill's sponsors have come to its defense, although its prospects appear to have dimmed.
My reference to Big Oil in the intro has to do with how protesters often use their bodies to block access to pipeline or fracking sites, where contractors have gotten into the habit of just rolling slowly through the crowd, like they're trying to push sheep off the road. But even North Dakota balked at passing such an ill-advised law:
The push to protect drivers from suffering legal consequences for injuring or killing protesters began in North Dakota, site of massive protests against the Keystone Pipeline. In its original form, North Dakota's 2017 bill would have given full liability exemption to a driver who "negligently causes injury or death to an individual obstructing vehicular traffic on a public road, street, or highway." One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Mike Brandenburg (R), said the measure would protect citizens against "idiots in masks pounding on [car] windows."
You want to talk about idiots, here's what another "lawmaker" who supported this bill had to say:
“It’s shifting the burden of proof from the motor vehicle driver to the pedestrian,” said Rep. Keith Kempenich, R-Bowman, who admitted the bill is in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in southern Morton County.