Lots of updates below — this has become a live blog!
For a group of people who love to wrap themselves in the flag and scream “freedom” while foaming from the mouth, Republicans really don’t seem to respect democracy. This past week has seen sore GOP losers in several states move to subvert the will of voters who rejected them in November by ram through lame duck legislation that will severely curtail incoming Democratic officeholders. Things are on fire in Wisconsin and Michigan, where lawmakers and protestors are clashing as we speak.
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Wisconsin
State legislators are right now debating a host of measures that would curtail early voting, limit the power of incoming Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, and keep the state in the lawsuit against Obamacare. They want to make it harder to ban guns in the Capitol and strip from Evers power to appoint people to an economic council, as well. It was a chaotic scene at in Madison on Tuesday, as protestors lined the halls of the Capitol (reminiscent of the 2011 protests) and shouted down Gov. Scott Walker.
The Republican majority is clearly afraid right now, as the State Senate still hasn’t taken up a lot of the legislation, despite their plan to convene at 11 am today:
Already, one of the bills, which would have pushed a Supreme Court election to the same day as the Presidential primary, a maneuver thought to benefit the GOP, has been abandoned. If they do go through with the rest of it, Kaul has promised strong legal action.
(In the update below, we note that, as the headline suggests, the GOP is now trying to do this in secret)
It should be mentioned that the GOP will be retaining its legislative majority next year only because of its extreme gerrymander, which it won’t be able to fully maintain next time around. Check out these numbers:
Michigan
When Republicans in Michigan passed a $12 minimum wage and paid sick leave this fall, it wasn’t out of the goodness of their hearts — they don’t have those, as has been made resoundingly clear. They passed those laws because otherwise, they’d have passed with flying colors via voter ballot initiatives, which would have made undoing them much harder.
Now that the election is over, the GOP is, as expected, on the verge of gutting both laws, despite the fact that Michigan voters selected Democrats for all state offices, including giving Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer a resounding victory. Their legislation just passed the legislature and is on its way to outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican who is very likely to sign them.
The legislature also wants to gut the laws that voters did approve, including early voting, automatic voter registration, and anti-gerrymandering measures:
A set of bills sponsored by state Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall would fundamentally alter the Promote the Vote ballot proposal allowing same-day voter registration up to and including Election Day. Instead, that deadline would be pushed back to up to 14 days before the election. A provision in that ballot measure allowing for automatic voting registration (AVR) would also be altered to allow people to opt-out.
Michigan voters passed the original Promote the Vote proposal by 67 to 33 percent.
Another high-profile citizen-led ballot measure would overhaul the state’s redistricting process. The Voters Not Politicians proposal, which passed by 61 to 39 percent, would give a 13-person redistricting commission the power to draw congressional and state legislative districts, taking that responsibility away from the state legislature.
A new proposal by state Sen. Phil Pavlov would impose a $500 fine on individuals who mischaracterize their political affiliation while seeking to become a member of the commission. Pavlov’s proposal also includes vague language governing the secretary of state’s role in relation to the new commission.
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Wednesday, Dec 5, 2018 · 2:39:37 PM +00:00
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Blue Tuesday
BTW, my group, ProgressivesEverywhere.org, raised thousands of dollars for a number of Democrats running for the Wisconsin State Senate. The races didn’t get enough attention in 2018 — there were a lot of things to focus on — and the candidates fell just short, allowing Republicans to keep their majority and making this stuff possible.
There is a crucial upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election this April and we will be reporting on that in the months to come. For updates on that race and many more, and information on how to help Democrats fight these evil thugs, subscribe to the weekly newsletter here!
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2018 · 5:16:36 PM +00:00
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Blue Tuesday
So what happens if Walker signs the bill? The AP says litigation:
Democrats say the legislation will spark lawsuits across multiple courts. Judges could block the proposals if they become law by issuing temporary injunctions, which could last the duration of the cases. Democrats would likely need a permanent injunction to stop the changes for good, but Republicans would almost certainly pursue appeals all the way to the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservative justices.
Again, there’s a crucial Supreme Court election in April. More on that soon — sign up for updates from ProgressivesEverywhere.org at the newsletter signup here.