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 the May 27 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents. |
lowkell at Blue Virginia writes—Two Graphs Show How Badly VA Dems Trounced VA Republicans Tuesday:
I might add a few more graphs later, showing some key House of Delegates districts as well, but for now, check these out (below). Note that for both governor and Lt. Governor, Democrats’ first-place finishers demolished Republicans’ first-place finishers — by over 70,000 votes for governor (Northam over Gillespie) and by over 100,000 (!) votes for Lt. Governor (Fairfax over Vogel).
Also worth noting is that Democrats’ second-place finishers trounced the Republicans’ first-place finishers — by 79k votes for governor (Perriello over Gillespie) and by nearly 50k votes for LG (Platt over Vogel). Let’s keep this up through November and not only win a smashing victory for the three statewide offices, but also carry in a slew of House of Delegates Democratic nominees to victory!
Arica L. Coleman at Dick and Sharon’s L.A. Progressive writes—An Open Letter to Black America:
Dear Black People,
Well, I guess that’s a start. I know who I want to write to, but finding the language to articulate precisely what I want to convey is difficult, perhaps even impossible. But I’ve set my manuscript work aside anyway because I feel the need to write something about the recent killing of Bowie State University senior and U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Richard Collins, III, who was stabbed to death on May 18th by white nationalist Sean Christopher Urbanski. It is uncanny that Collins was murdered on the same day that white female Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby was found not guilty of the murder of Terence Crutcher. As a writer and a “race” historian, I am supposed to be able to, at least in theory, critically analyze tragic events such as these and help readers make sense of the senseless.
I don’t think my difficulty writing this piece stems from the fact that I have chosen to write an open letter to us instead of an article about us. Perhaps my dilemma has to do with the fact that I don’t have anything to say or at least not anything new. As Cord Jefferson asserted in his article “The Racism Beat: What It’s Like to Write About Hate Over, and Over, and Over,” “racial trauma is widespread . . . writing anything would be to listlessly participate in the carousel ride: an inciting incident, 1,000 angry thinkpieces, 1,000 tweeted links, and back to where we started, until next time.”
I certainly don’t need to remind you of the painful reality that there is going to be a next time: today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. The renowned law professor Derrick Bell was right when he argued in his book Faces At the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, “racism is an integral, permanent, and indestructible component of this society.” Indeed, it is woven into the very foundation of this country despite its lofty rhetoric of “liberty and justice for all.” And it is the elusive promise of that rhetoric which is at the center of Black American rage. As James Baldwin stated, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” [...]
Now once again we find ourselves in collective mourning due to justice denied and another senseless killing. It seems the more emphatic we are that “Black Lives Matter,” America’s response is, “No they don’t!”
Eric Ferguson at MN Progressive Project writes—Democrats getting our messages crossed:
Go ahead, get the snark out of the way. “Isn’t that always the case?” Maybe, however, we’re talking about a specific matter where different Democrats put out messages that don’t go together.
This is something I’ve noticed during the last couple monthly jobs reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (the most recent report is always here). Different Democrats reacted in ways to indicate there are two schools of thought on how we should frame the economy. One tries to pick out weaknesses, like a dropping amount of jobs created each month or a decline in the rate of participation in the labor force, to show how the economy is weakening since Trump got hold of it. The other, and I subscribe to this other (or should I say still subscribe), holds that the economy is currently strong and we need to emphasize that Trump inherited this economy.
I understand where the other side is coming from, because there are weaknesses in the last jobs report, but that’s always the case. Even the strongest economy has weak spots, so of course it’s tempting the emphasize the weak points. The problem is an economy with an unemployment rate around 4.5% is pretty good, and it looks ridiculous to argue otherwise. [...]
What’s more, the economy is big and complicated, and it takes a long time for a president to affect it. Economic conventional wisdom holds that a president’s policies take around a year to have an effect, outside of emergency measures that to have a more immediate effect, like Pres. Obama’s 2009 stimulus. How much longer for Trump, who has accomplished bugger-all so far? So not only is the economy strong, but it isn’t yet Trump’s economy. It’s still Obama’s. Trump inherited his good fortune like he inherited his financial fortune.
Delaware Dem at Blue Delaware writes—SB94 / SB119 – Lavelle, Marshall team up to restrict voting rights:
Greg Lavelle, I understand. He is a Republican. He doesn’t want people voting. To him, voting is a privilege for monied property owning white people. He pitched a fit during the special election back in February when it was discovered that minors (or those under the age of 18) were allowed to vote for Stephanie Hansen (D) if they so chose. The reason why is because state election law allows any person who will be 18 by the next general election can vote in special and primary elections that are held before that next general election. So it makes sense that he wants to change that law.
That’s what SB94 is all about. That bill would require you to be 18 years old on the day of the election you want to vote in. He’s got Bryan Townsend as a sponsor on the bill, though. Not sure what that is about (I am going to have to have a talk with the Senator). He’s screwing up my perfect Dem v. Rep talking point here.
But Senator Bob Marshall and Rep. Larry Mitchell? I am not sure why they both are sponsoring SB119. SB119 was introduced as part of a package of bills that aim to protect children from abuse and predators. But this specific bill would just prohibit a person, who was adjudicated a delinquent for a crime that would otherwise be a felony if the person was not a minor, from being a qualified voter for a period of 10 years. It has nothing to do with child abuse or protecting children from predators and criminals. The only redeeming quality is that this deprivation of one’s constitutional voting rights is temporary, for 10 years.
A staffer at Progress Now NM writes—One more reason for NM Women to join the Resistance:
Just a few weeks ago, the current resident of the White House signed an executive order that would allow employers, schools, and other entities to refuse to cover women’s preventative health services – including birth control – in their insurance plans all under the guise of religious liberty.
Trump Just Signed Another Executive Order. It’s an Attack on Women. | Mother Jones
We know that this has nothing to do with religious liberty – it has everything to do with the administration’s vendetta against women and their backroom vows to the wealthy and well-connected to kill the Affordable Care Act as we know it.
Under the Obama administration, even if your employer objected to birth control, a woman was guaranteed to still have it covered by her insurance company at no out-of-pocket cost. This rule changes that. This rule would mean no matter where she works, from private universities to huge, publicly-traded companies, any woman across the country could be denied insurance coverage for birth control based on whether her employer objects to it.
Plain and simple, a woman’s most basic and personal of decisions – when and if to have a child – could now be impacted by her boss. Again, this is not about religious liberty – this is about restricting women’s access to basic health care.
Birth control has meant that women have more opportunity and better control over their own lives. We’ve made important progress for women’s health. The rate of unintended pregnancy is at an all-time low, thanks in part to expanded access to birth control. People in this country, and especially New Mexico, do not want to see that progress rolled back.
For many women, birth control would now be out of reach because it’s simply too expensive.
Shannyn Moore at The Mudflats of Alaska writes—Pink Slips for Alaskans, Green Ones for the Oil Companies:
Remember when the stability of oil companies was so sought that we agreed to give them more money for our resource than they give us to develop it? All those promises of a pipeline stuffed with new oil and more jobs than we’d know what to do with? Well, all that winning didn’t happen. We’re now at our eighth consecutive year with a higher percentage of non-Alaskan workers in our oil patch.
Last week 18,000 Alaskans got pink slips, and I don’t mean the swanky, silky, lacy things in the JC Penney catalog from 1981 still sitting in your outhouse. I mean the “you’re fired because we can’t pay you” kind. Hundreds of teachers across the state are packing up their classrooms, not knowing if they should be applying to different school districts in different states or if they should wait here to see if our state Legislature can get its act together.
Oh, what will those pink slips mean in real life? Maybe Mr. State Employee who is laid off has some savings for a few months and he decides he will just go camping with the family. He can’t go to Whittier because the tunnel is closed. Oh, and so are all the other campgrounds. I guess flying out to see the McNeil bears will have to stay on the bucket list since that’s closed too. How awkward for people who fly in from all over the world.
Mr. Employee-in-Waiting can’t take his kids fishing because subsistence is closed. The option to go deckhand for his brother-in-law’s commercial boat is out because there’s no fishery. Sorry about your salmon. Jumping on the ferry to see his old college roommate who moved to Southeast Alaska right after graduation and has been bugging him to visit since before either of them had kids won’t work either since the ferries are tied to the dock. Rainy days won’t find him and his kids visiting the state museums or libraries — they’re closed. He can come back when all this is figured out. The tourists probably won’t. [...]
It’s tempting for me to turn on my mom car voice and scream I don’t care whose fault it is – just STOP! Some are blaming the coalition in the House, others the Republican majority in the Senate. The stability of working families in Alaska has been sacrificed for the most lucrative corporations in the history of the world. Pay attention. Figure out who is working for your stability — and next election, pink slip those who aren’t.
The blogger at The Wheeling Alternative writes—Congressman McKinley in the news:
This morning, Metro News reported that local congressman David McKinley believes that we are wasting time on distractions -- specifically, President Trump and former FBI Director James Comey [...]:
“When I come back in the district, they’re not asking me about this subject,” he explained. “They want to know about jobs or how we’re moving on healthcare. They’re more interested in that area.”
Not to get too nitpicky, congressman, but how would you know? When do you ever meet with your constituents? (Sorry, occasionally sitting around with a couple of veterans isn't enough.)
Sean Kitchen at Raging Chicken Press of Pennsylvania writes—House Republicans Preparing to Run 20 Week Abortion Ban Next Week; Time to Hold These Democrats Accountable:
There are rumors swirling around the Capitol that House Republicans are getting ready to send the 20 week abortion ban that passed the Senate earlier this year to Governor Wolf’s desk . Senate Bill 3 failed missed a veto-proof majority in the upper chamber by one vote, and the Governor has promised to veto the bill when it makes it to his desk.
After that vote, Seth Goldstein and I launched the “Hold Them Accountable” page on the website. It targets the 20 House Democrats who have voted for this bill in previous sessions. It also targets House Minority Leader Frank Dermody because we’re tired of the feckless leadership coming from the Democratic Party in the era of Trump.
Get the phones ready because below is a repost of “So You Wanna Stop SB 3 from Becoming Law? Here’s How We Do It.”
Progressive Cow at Montana Cowgirl writes—Why did the Bozeman prosecutor roll over for Gianforte?
A crucial question was tweeted by the MTPR news director yesterday:: Had Ben Jacobs been the body slammer and the candidate the body slam-ee, would Jacobs have avoided jail time altogether? The answer is almost certainly No.
And yet at Gianforte’s court hearing on Monday, Marty Lambert, the Republican Bozeman prosecutor who must run for election every four years, sought no jail time for Gianforte and put up little resistance to Gianforte’s defense team’s maneuvers. Lambert never even requested that Gianforte perform community service or anger counseling, as the Judge ultimately ordered. Lambert sought only a deferred sentence and a $385 fine. A traffic ticket, in essence.
The question leading into this event was whether power and wealth get Gianforte less punishment than an ordinary citizen would receive, and the answer is now certainly YES. First, Gianforte was not arrested initially for having body slammed Ben Jacobs. He was instead written a citation and allowed to walk, despite several credible witnesses telling cops that Gianforte violently attacked him unprovoked. Lambert praised this police decision.
Lambert also made no objection to Gianforte’s request that he be allowed to forego the “booking” process. Had an ordinary citizen been the defendant at yesterday’s circus, once the final sentence had been pronounced (40 hours community service, 20 hours anger management counseling), the defendant would have been fingerprinted and mug-shotted, and then allowed to leave. But Gianforte’s team prevailed upon the Judge to consider, at a later date, the merits of whether Gianforte should have to undergo booking.
James Rowen at The Political Environment of Wisconsin writes—Gableman departure bookends ugly WI decade:
Sources are reporting that right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman will not seek a second, ten-year term in the April, 2018 election.
I'd been hearing that rumor for weeks; interesting that the rumor mill is often so accurate.
You could say that the hard-right turn in Wisconsin politics subsidized by big business and right-wing advocacy organizations that has deeply embedded Republicans' control of all three branches of government began when Gableman, then an obscure rural Burnett County District Court Judge, narrowly defeated the liberal Milwaukee incumbent Justice Louis Butler.
I remember being confident that Butler would defeat a newcomer, but a savvier political expert hand warned me that "a couple of million dollars could fix anyone's lack of name recognition."
Gableman rode a wave of campaign assistance from the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and the like, disgustingly negative ads against Butler and personal attacks by right-wing talk show hosts to a 51%-49% win that turned the Court into an all-white, right-wing GOP obeisant tool.
The WMC got the deeply-conservative majority it wanted and now enjoys more than ever, and by writing the opinion affirming Walker's union-busting Act 10 helped elevate Walker and his hard-edged agenda nationally.
BP at Green Mountain Daily of Vermont writes—Job preservation at work in Vermont:
Country Home Products — named one of Vermont’s best places to work in 2017 — has announced it is laying off dozens of Vermont workers. There’s a major layoff announcement in Winooski. Country Home Products informed employees this week that dozens will soon be out of a job.[…
The Vermont-born maker of outdoor power tools gave 67 employees a letter or reached out by phone, telling workers they are out of a job and when their last day will be.
In 2009 the longtime Vermont business Country HomeProducts/DR Power raised $12 million from 24 foreign investors through the EB-5 investment-for-visas program. The $12 million was used to fund product development and market expansion. As a designated “troubled business,” the company escaped the normal EB-5 requirement to create 10 jobs and only had to preserve existing jobs.
Six years passed, and in 2015 Country Home Products, now with a market value of $2.1 billion, was sold to Generac Holdings Inc., a larger publicly traded business. Generac is headquartered in Waukesha, WI, the CEO is Aaron Jagdfeld, and the company employs 4,202 people. Jagdfeld’s overall compensation in 2016 was $3.9 million, while all executive compensation was up 6.51% the same year.
And so now the layoffs start. Country Home Products president Matt Bieber says the full-time, part-time and seasonal layoffs are in addition to the complete closure of their Winooski assembly plant. [Emphasis added.]
William Tucker at Miscellany Blue of New Hampshire writes—TBT: That time Rep. Joe Pitre emailed a totally not racist image to House colleagues:
During today’s House committee debate on school voucher legislation, a representative from a public education advocacy group, Reaching Higher NH, reported Rep. Joe Pitre (R-Farmington) claimed the proposal could be funded with money the state currently spends on “black children and latinos.”