by Julie Hirschler
Remember how relieved we were in November 2020?
Who can forget the media blitz, the myriad controversies, and the mountain of money spent on the 2020 Biden-Trump election? Well, thank goodness that came out on the side I wanted!
We worked hard month after month to secure Biden’s victory; and we breathed a great sigh of relief when he finally won! Not only did we gain the presidency but also the House plus a gain of four seats to win a welcome but tenuous tie in the Senate.
What happened?
But now, the close vote count and intransigence of the Republicans has, for the moment, blocked some of the great legislation put forth by Biden.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a sweeping elections bill and legislation to bolster the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He has so far stymied Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, with dire consequences for our climate, and blocked nearly 80% of his infrastructure package.
Let’s pay attention! There’s mischief afoot in the states!
While Republicans block and grandstand in Washington, their minions are hard at work in the 50 states attacking women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community, suppressing Democratic-leaning voters, and taking over the machinery of elections to ensure the next coup succeeds.
Republicans have long paid more attention to the states than the Dems, but this must change or, like during Jim Crow, states will become laboratories of anti-democracy.
Republicans have long paid more attention to the states than the Dems, but this must change or, like during Jim Crow, states will become laboratories of anti-democracy. In the months ahead, Concord Indivisible will partner with effective local groups in key states to oppose the Republicans’ machinations.
Scan the news map of the US. and you can’t miss the many skirmishes going on in the states. Dems are fighting fierce battles against oppressive GOP measures and to retain or take back state legislatures all around the country!
The truth is that Democrats have not gained a state legislative chamber since 2000!
Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are in the precarious position of having a Democrat governor with both Republican House and Senate. In some states, only the governors’ vetoes keep them from falling into excesses of voter suppression and other regressive legislation.
Why are State legislatures so important to us?
- The legislation and policies state legislatures enact affect each of our lives immediately and directly! They are in charge of healthcare, education, citizens’ rights, voting rights, women’s rights, taxation, wages, budgets, child support and custody, and gun control.
- State legislatures are in charge of redistricting to create fair voting boundaries. Few states have formed independent redistricting commissions. Most are convened by partisan state legislatures resulting in unfair districts.
- State legislatures direct the local, state and Federal election process. The legislatures along with the Secretaries of State enact laws that govern local, state and federal elections.
We’re up against a vast right-wing machine!
“Whatever it takes.”
“Just one of our opponents has pledged to spend ‘whatever it takes’ to unseat me,” says Michigan Governor Whitmer, “and he even went as far as to say that he would self-fund his campaign with more than $10 million.”
Legislator antics
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia propagates outlandish conspiracy theories and spoke at a white supremacist conference. Her “punishment”? Loads of media attention and record-setting fund-raising.
National coordination
A corporate lobbying group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been creating regressive “model bills” that are being introduced into state legislatures. One such bill would even blacklist banks that divest from fossil fuels and has been introduced in Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia so far this year!
State governments and Roe v. Wade
Michigan Governor Whitmer is working with several of her fellow governors to urge Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to extend the protections of Roe in federal law. We should insist senators pass it, too!
If, as expected, the Supreme Court nullifies Roe v. Wade, abortion will become illegal immediately in 26 “trigger” states. In states with politically divided governments, Republican legislatures could overturn the governors’ vetos to pass abortion restrictions. States with Democratic governors on the ballot this year could lose their bulwark against anti-choice legislation.
State-by-state votes will have major impacts on freedom of reproduction! As Gail Collins of the NYT quips: “…when we’re talking about ‘states’ rights,’ we should think about trusting your fate to a roomful of state legislators.”
Governor Whitmer, not wanting to be held hostage to the Republican legislature, has started a “Not on My Watch!” campaign to codify abortion in her state. Republican legislators in Kansas hope to win a referendum vote in August to codify the opposite: that the state constitution does not protect abortion. Pennsylvania has a conservative Republican-led legislature, raising the stakes for the open race for governor.
Fears for the future
Republicans and several Supreme Court justices are advancing the “independent state legislature doctrine,” a dubious theory that would give state legislatures total power to write rules for congressional elections and direct the appointment of presidential electors, regardless of the popular vote. This strategy, cynically pursued by a minority party desperate to cling to power, represents an existential threat to American democracy.
We here in Massachusetts have myriad reasons for focusing our energy on elections in other states. Let’s support them with our donations and our time!!
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