So let me get this straight: If a ballot initiative that disproportionately affects, say, Detroit voters, is proposed, only 10% of Detroit voters get to sign on? That’s, oh what’s the word, FUCKED UP!
And anyone who cites Florida as a model of democracy ought to be given the bastinado.
More and more Repuglicans cannot help themselves from proving how anti-democracy and un-American they really are. Sad!
What these rogue Republicans are doing should be a federal crime. But how do you word a bill that protects ballot initiatives? Those votes should be the last word on any issue. States like Kansas, where the bullies have never allowed ballot initiatives, need some sort of change to that effect, when things turn bluer.
The People are perfectly capable of making these choices, the only reason we have representatives vote on this stuff for us, as legislators, is that they didn’t have mass communications in the horse-and-buggy era.
All forms of representative democracy are incomplete forms of democracy. We should be voting on more issues every election.
Amusing that the pro-dead-women types are the ones complaining about having their names listed as canvassers.
Just vote for Democrats, it’s easier.
I’m not a Democrat. I live in an area where there is quite a bit of Democratic corruption. My State Senator was indicted and resigned. My State Assemblyman is that State Senator’s son, who took $40K in campaign cash from his father (before he was indicted) for web site that nobody can produce any evidence existed for an uncontested primary. My Congressperson is Linda Sanchez, whose husband was just indicted. And well, I could go on.
But I almost always vote for the Democrat unless their last name is Calderon. Because (1) The level of corruption is run of the mill and pales in comparison to the Trump/Kushner gang (2) I’ll take corruption over autocracy any day.
There was a bumper sticker that appeared in a Louisiana Governors race between a corrupt Edwin Edwards and David Duke. It said “Vote for the crook, its important.” I’m not sure that works in my case, because the Trump Republicans are crooks, and it confuses people as to which crooks you are referring too.
The better slogan was one that was popular during the 2002 French Election.
“votez escroc mais pas facho”
“Vote for the crook, not the fascist”
Actually in Michigan that makes sense. There was a guy who had a mental breakdown and killed his Mother’s boss for mistreating her. He didn’t give a toss about abortion one way or another but he objected to the practice of a local Right to Lifer who was parking pictures of bloody fetuses at high schools. So he killed that guy as well.
The pro-choice community offered sympathy and was unsurprised but nonetheless relieved that the killer was not involved with the pro-choice issue.
If “business groups” are behind this measure to limit the success of voter initiatives, that’s because business has better access to the Republican-dominated legislature and wants to preserve its advantage.
Sorry, I didn’t know about that. I had just reflexively been thinking of the targeting of various people working for liberal causes (including those who work at abortion clinics) and figured that the republicans put that in so that bosses could fire any workers involved in petition drives they didn’t like.
(I wouldn’t be surprised if the provision is struck down for infringing on freedom of association, but it will have a chilling effect regardless.)
The GOP is suppressing majority rule, and the article has like 5 “newsworthy” thumbs.
One of Trump’s vapid talking heads spews predictable BS, and it has 40+ thumbs.
I am honestly surprised at the priorities of this crowd, which I have always seen as fellow-travelers.
Kellyanne Conway’s most-recent fabrication is kind of unimportant. The mass disenfranchisement of all of Michigan is a massive injustice.
One is new news, the other has been going on so long there’s not much to say, only things to do to organize.
When there is a policy issue we all uniformly agree on but are stymied as to any personal role (think out of staters) and unfamiliar with the players, there tends to be relatively little discussion.
This was initially the case with the climate threads.
“I’m confident that if Florida could get this right that Michigan could get it right, too,” he said.
Said no one ever.