When I began this feature six years ago, there were scores of active progressive political blogs covering some measure of state politics. By the peak in 2013, there were 146 that I was perusing each week. The roster included at least one such blog in every state, and several in some states. A ton of choices for good material, so much that I felt bad some weeks that I had chosen from the outset to keep the list to just a dozen selections a week.
But the changing digital dynamic, with writers moving their efforts over to Facebook and Twitter, or simply getting exhausted after years of blogging, has steadily chipped away at those venues, leaving behind ghosts where the last post is months or years old, or simply disappearing altogether. Interestingly, a few of the survivors are some of the oldest in existence, still plugging away. But as of last week, there were just 38 progressive state blogs remaining on my list, and a dozen or so that have hung on are clearly moribund.
Therefore, sorry to say, I am shuttering the feature with this edition.
To all the great bloggers who have come and gone, and to those that remain, a salute for your efforts to inform readers of the political goings-on in your neck of the woods, the plains, the deserts, doing so with depth, humor, and points of view that still never make it to the traditional media, much of which is itself moribund.
And to all here who have over the years supported this feature, much thanks.
In this Final Edition, as always: Inclusion of an excerpt from a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents.
At Eclectablog of Michigan, Chris Savage writes—While Trump lays down multiple smoke screens to shield them, it’s business as usual for anti-environment, anti-worker, corporatist Republicans:
The front pages of any major news outlet, online or otherwise, are full of news of Donald Trump and the corrupt, inept-yet-frighteningly-effective cabal of criminals that make up his administration and circle of advisors. Nearly 40 people tied to him, his administration, his inauguration, and his campaign have been indicted and more are sure to come. Trump’s rampant, bald-faced lying is now an accepted “feature” of his historically horrible presidency and it seems as though as America has come to believe that, so long as his crimes are tweeted and not hidden, they are somehow h
ow okay.
Make no mistake: This barrage of chaff and smoke is no accident. It is premeditated and deliberate. Because behind the smoke screen it is a business as usual for the corporatist actors who want the skids greased for their continued and increasing profits.
While Trump’s criminality and the 2020 presidential election are consuming our attention, our standard political opponents are using Trump’s smoke screen to push their agenda with renewed vigor. In particular, the assault on workers and their ability to bargain collectively for better wages, working conditions, and benefits continues apace. The Janus vs. AFSCME Supreme Court decision last summer prohibits public sector unions from collecting fees from all employees it represents unless they opt in, even though federal law requires unions to represent ALL employees.
Not content to have won this battle, the State Policy Network, the policy arm of the Koch political empire, is pushing further. Documents obtained by PR Watch, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy, show that they are pushing new laws that would require ALL public sector unions to essentially jettison all of their members and force them to rejoin the union.
At Blue Virginia, Ivy Main writes—As Virginia Prepares to Join Carbon-Trading States, Arguments Erupt Over the Price of Admission:
Virginia won’t enter the nine-state carbon emissions trading program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative until 2020 under regulations being finalized by the state, but debate about how much it might cost utility ratepayers is already heating up.
Estimates range from little or no cost — or even a cost savings — to as high as $12 per month for the average household, depending on who is doing the calculations and the assumptions they make.
An Associated Press article reports that State Corporation Commission staff testified before a legislative committee that joining RGGI via the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, SB 1666 and HB 2735, would cost Virginia households an added $7-12 per month. The Northam administration disputed the SCC figure, saying the true cost would be about a dollar per month.
Republicans killed the bill in both the Senate and House committees that day.
A few days later, the anti-RGGI bill, HB 2611 (Poindexter), sailed through the House on a party-line vote. It would prevent Virginia from participating in RGGI or any other carbon-reduction regimen. If it also passes the Senate in coming weeks, it faces certain veto by the governor.
So is joining RGGI an inexpensive way to incentivize utilities to save energy and lower carbon emissions, or will it pile costs onto customers?
At The Montana Post, Don Pogreba writes—Zinke Sinks Deeper Into the Swamp:
t’s almost as if Ryan Zinke wants to go to jail. Politico is reporting that the disgraced former Secretary of the Interior and current resident of Santa Barbara has signed up to lobby at a company with disgraced and discredited Corey Lewandowski:
Zinke is the first former member of Trump’s Cabinet to join a lobbying firm — a new milestone for a president who took office promising to “drain the swamp.” Lewandowski, meanwhile, is one of a multitude of former Trump campaign staffers and fundraisers who have offered to advise corporate America on how to deal with the administration. Some of them have registered as lobbyists, while others, including Lewandowski, have declined to do so.
That Zinke, who oversaw wholesale destruction of regulations and environmental protections at the direct request of lobbyists and special interests while at Interior, has managed to utterly transform himself from a Republican known for moderate positions and passion for public lands into a tool of oil companies is a sad reminder that for most members of the Trump Administration the purpose of government “service” is little more than exploring and exploiting opportunities for personal enrichment.
While Zinke claims he won’t lobby the Trump Administration, it’s hard to understand why anyone would take Zinke–who still faces over a dozen investigations–seriously. Instead, according to Politico, Zinke plans to lobby Congress–a body he claimed wanted him as Speaker while he was a freshman member in his one undistinguished term–on issues he feels “passionately” about.
At Dakota Free Press, Corey Allen Heidelberger writes—Tripled Wind Turbine Setbacks Die; Weis Votes Against Aberdeen Jobs:
In other good news about bad bills, House Commerce and Energy killed Rep. Lee Qualm’s (R-21/Platte) effort to triple setbacks for wind turbines and hamstring the expansion of wind energy in South Dakota.
House Bill 1226 drew all sorts of testimony, from anecdotalists on the affirmative to business, all levels of government, and the Sierra Club on the negative [...]
The wind industry noted that the status quo allows the counties to determine their setbacks. The combo of big business, jobs, and that nod to local control led to a 10–2 vote to kill HB 1226. The only nays came from anti-wind Republicans Rep. Spencer Gosch (R-23/Glenham) and Rep. Kaleb Weis (R-2/Aberdeen). Rep. Weis in particular will likely face questions at the next Aberdeen crackerbarrel (February 23, NSU, 10 a.m.) about why he would vote for a bill that would put at risk the 400 jobs at Aberdeen wind turbine blade manufacturer Molded Fiber Glass.We have lived our entire lives with environment destruction looming over us, and there has never been a plan to address the crisis on the federal level that has even come close to what the Green New Deal presents. The Green New Deal resolutionpresents a vision for the future that is ambitious, bold, and compelling. It is powerful in its simplicity – those three words represent a set of demands that lay out the basis for the world we want to see. It brings me much-needed hope. While it is only a proposed framework, it is changing the conversation entirely and building momentum for stronger climate action and setting up a platform for a real set of policies to be implemented, come 2021.
At Blue Jersey, Ananya Singh writes—Ananya Singh: The climate crisis is a very real threat to my generation. I am 16:
Ananya Singh is a junior in high school, engaged in the movement to address climate change. The movement is optimistic, determined, and fueled by young activists. Ananya can’t vote for two years, but she’s lobbying, writing, organizing. She’s with Sunrise Movement, and NJ Student Sustainability Coalition, and working on the coming NJ Student Climate Strike. Do you know which New Jersey members of Congress back Green New Deal? Do you know why it matters?
The climate crisis is a very real threat to my generation. I am 16.
We have lived our entire lives with environment destruction looming over us, and there has never been a plan to address the crisis on the federal level that has even come close to what the Green New Deal presents. The Green New Deal resolution presents a vision for the future that is ambitious, bold, and compelling. It is powerful in its simplicity – those three words represent a set of demands that lay out the basis for the world we want to see. It brings me much-needed hope. While it is only a proposed framework, it is changing the conversation entirely and building momentum for stronger climate action and setting up a platform for a real set of policies to be implemented, come 2021.
We can all agree that climate action is needed, on a massive level. We cannot effectively mobilize against climate change unless we are willing to make bold commitments and work together to develop and implement comprehensive solutions. Over the past week since the resolution was introduced by Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Markey, it has been picked apart, applauded, and critiques from all sides. A lot of these critiques are well-intentioned and valuable contributions. At the same time, we also be need to be aware that the right and big fossil fuel industries are trying their hardest to fracture our movement, and the way the Green New Deal will be most effective is if we are able to use it to come together as the left.
The timeline we have to mobilize and take action is so limited. [...]
At Juanita Jean’s of Texas, Juanita Jean Herownself writes—I’m Fixing To Make Your Day:
Okay, there’s this woman in West Virginia who got fired from her county job in 2016 for making a racist comment about Michelle Obama.
Pamela Taylor, who is 57 years old, called Michelle Obama “an ape in heels” on her Facebook page.
The Facebook post also cost a local mayor her job when she responded, “Just made my day, Pam.”
As we have learned, racism makes everybody’s day in both the Virginias.
It was in all the newspapers and even the teevee. The teevee even mentions a fistfight, and that she had been removed from her job before. I kinda think she’s the Sarah Palin of the east. [...]
So that bring us to today, Valentines Day.
Pamela Taylor, 57, admitted she took more than $18,000 in flood relief benefits. She falsely registered for FEMA benefits after the June 2016 floods that killed more than 20 West Virginians and destroyed numerous homes along the Elk River and elsewhere.
Taylor claimed that her primary residence had been damaged in the flood and that she was staying in a rental property. In fact, her primary residence was undamaged and she was still staying there, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart’s office.
You can give some people a bar of soap and a Brillo pad, but they just won’t clean up.
At The Progressive Pulse of North Carolina, Joe Killian writes—On Parkland shooting anniversary, competing gun bills in NC:
On the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, two very different bills are competing to set North Carolina’s political agenda on guns.
House Bill 86 – the Gun Violence Protection Act – was filed Thursday. It is an omnibus bill that would, among other provisions:
Not properly storing a firearm in a locked container when not in use would be a misdemeanor
- Allow cities and counties to establish their own rules on where guns are permitted
- Require gun owners to carry liability insurance
- Require gun owners to report a lost or stolen weapon to law enforcement within 48 hours
- Allow law enforcement to destroy firearms they seize
- Make it a misdemeanor to fail to store a firearm secure, locked container when not in use.
“This is not political,” said Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham), one of the bill’s sponsors, at a Thursday press conference. “It is about lives and safety – for our children and the people in our communities.”
On Tuesday a competing omnibus bill, House Bill 61, was filed. Among its other provisions, it would do away with permits to carry a concealed firearm.
Bills to do away with the permit have been repeatedly beaten back, with the help of law enforcement.
At Appalachian Voices, Ridge Graham and Tyler Owensby write—Five Years after Dan River: Coal Ash in N.C.:
February 2nd, 2019 marked the five year anniversary of the Dan River spill that spurred a series of coal ash cleanup legislation, public hearings, film screenings, news stories and community meetings across the state of North Carolina. Since that time, families and neighbors of the fourteen coal ash sites have come together time and again to call for Duke Energy and state regulators to do the right thing. The fight for coal ash cleanup has gained interest across the country and even became an election issue in 2016. But where does coal ash stand in North Carolina now?
This past January, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality held six public information meetings across the state to discuss the closure plans for the remaining coal ash ponds at Allen, Belews Creek, Cliffside, Marshall, Mayo and Roxboro Steam Stations. These meetings served as a chance for community members to ask DEQ staff from various divisions questions about the details of the closure plans and to provide comments about their concerns and preferred cleanup methods. This feedback will help the DEQ decide the fate of the tens of millions of tons of coal ash remaining in the groundwater in North Carolina.
However, problems have arisen, such as the community’s frustration with the format of the meetings. The expo-style format of different section tables, as well as DEQ’s initial failure to use any of the available time to hear public comments (as there would be in a public hearing format), left many residents at several of the meetings feeling that there was a lack of a real space or opportunity to give comments that the DEQ would incorporate into their closure plan decisions.
Another issue came from community members receiving incorrect and conflicting information from DEQ staff at different tables [...]
At these meetings, all six communities made their preference clear: they deserve the groundwater protections received by communities at the eight other sites in North Carolina that are being completely excavated. Complete excavation in South Carolina resulted in immediate improvement in local water quality. And the governor of Virginia has just called for the full excavation of Dominion’s unlined coal ash ponds. If these meetings are true to their purpose, the DEQ should know excavation is the only viable solution for the remaining sites.
At Bleeding Heartland of Iowa, Connie Ryan writes—Protecting Iowa's courts:
Interfaith Alliance of Iowa jumped into the business of protecting Iowa’s fair and impartial courts upon the announcement by the religious right in the summer of 2010 that they intended to unseat three highly qualified Supreme Court justices. They were politicizing the retention elections simply because they were mad the court ruled for the marriage rights of same-sex couples based on equal protections under our constitution.
The thought of a special interest group seeking revenge on our courts for a constitutionally-based and unanimous decision was unprecedented and frightening. Iowans wondered if this was where the division in our country was really taking us? Would extremist, special interest groups actually go after highly qualified justices committed to the constitution and the rule of law as retribution? The answer was yes.
Ten years after Varnum, the religious right is still mad about that court decision and is now equally or more frustrated with more recent rulings regarding the reproductive rights of women and our access to healthcare without the intrusion of the government. The religious right is frustrated again by a handful of decisions and is coming after the courts with a vengeance. This time, however, rather than just targeting individual justices, they are attacking the very process designed to keep politics and the influence of special interest groups at bay. [...]
Without a doubt, the legislation introduced this year in the House and Senate on behalf of The FAMiLY Leader will do great harm if enacted. Lawmakers are, with intent, politicizing our courts by inserting politics directly into the judicial nominating commission process. Their bill moves selection of all nominating commissioners into the hands of a few partisan lawmakers and the governor. The political party in control could end up selecting three-fourths of the commissioners at every level and could very well choose commissioners based on personal connections, political agendas, and a pay-to-play mentality.
At Blog for Arizona, AZ BlueMeanie writes—The ‘Enemy of The People,’ Mitch McConnell, is the real radical:
The “Enemy of The people,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, says the Senate will vote on ‘Green New Deal’ as he seeks to portray Democrats as radical:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he will schedule a vote on the Green New Deal, a sweeping climate and economic plan spearheaded by first-year Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as he tries to portray Democrats as radical ahead of the 2020 election.
Cough! Say what now? Mitch McConnell accusing anyone other than himself of being a radical is a sick joke.
UPDATE: Tom Toles nails it. Being wrong on climate wasn’t enough. Now Mitch McConnell wants to be cute about it too.
When Barack Obama was elected president at the height of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and Americans were truly frightened, Mitch McConnell summed up his plan to the National Journal: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” McConnell was the architect of partisan “total obstruction” at a time of great national crisis.
As Dana Milbank wrote, Mitch McConnell, the man who broke America:
By rights, McConnell’s tombstone should say that he presided over the end of the Senate. And I’d add a second line: “He broke America.” No man has done more in recent years to undermine the functioning of U.S. government. His has been the epitome of unprincipled leadership, the triumph of tactics in service of short-term power.
When Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13, 2016, within the hour of his death, McConnell said the Senate shouldn’t confirm his replacement until after the election.
At Colorado Pols, a staffer writes—Poll: Colorado Republicans Are Completely Fucked:
The conservative polling outfit Magellan Strategies, which is based in Colorado, recently queried Colorado Republicans in an effort to “learn how Republican voters want to move forward.” What Magellan found is that Colorado Republicans are totally and completely hosed for at least the next couple of years.
As Ernest Luning writes for the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman, it’s not hyperbole to call these numbers disastrous for the GOP:
President Donald Trump remains wildly popular among Colorado Republican voters, and they overwhelmingly believe immigration is the most important issue facing them, a new survey conducted by a GOP polling firm finds.
And by a wide margin, Republicans in Colorado prefer uncompromising conservative candidates to moderates who are willing to work with Democrats to get thing done, according to the survey made available in advance to Colorado Politics…
…“It’s all Trump. They love Trump,” said pollster Ryan Winger, director of data analysis for the Louisville-based firm. “Call it partisan, call it tribal — they support the president.”
You can read the full polling memo from Magellan Strategies, but this is the problem in a nutshell for the GOP: Colorado Republicans love President Trump and a majority are only interested in supporting hard-right Republican candidates at every level of government. Unfortunately for Republicans, this is not at all what the vast majority of Coloradans would prefer. As Magellan pollster Ryan Winger tells Colorado Politics:
“Dislike of President Trump was a big reason why Republicans got swept out of the statewide offices in November. When Republicans say the problem is our guys weren’t enough like Trump, there’s a complete disconnect there between what they’re thinking and what other voters in Colorado are thinking.” [Pols emphasis]
At Delaware Liberal, Jason330 writes—Holy Shit – Kathy McGuiness REALLY swore in her Assistant, who is really a wingnut:
I’m in shock. It turns out that the Twerpy looking dude (Rob Peetree), the wingnut radio personality from Sussex who bit hard on the stupid “Chris Coons called on to change his name” story, really is Park City’s assistant and their work relationship really was consummated with a make-believe swearing in. I mean… I’m just…
Fucking… what?
The levels of stupidity of this story are truly astonishing.
So, did McGuiness swear in the entire staff or just Petree?
What was included in the oath of office?
Did she download it from the internet?
I just googled “Sample oath of office” and the top hit was for the Oregon School Boards Association. Did she use that one and just change the appropriate words to “ME” as in “I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the constitution and the laws of the state of Delaware, and the policies of ME.” ?
Or am I way off base? Maybe assistants are sworn in all the time and I’ve just never heard of it. Maybe the Twerpy wingnut who bit hard on the bullshit Chris Coons story isn’t as Twerpy, dumb or wingnutty as recent employment makes him appear to be.
If I’m wrong, let me know.