Democratic voters stayed home in 2014, and as a result, Republicans at the state level are more powerful than ever. Their first order of business? Making it even harder to get a safe, legal abortion procedure in a number of states.
Republicans now hold two-thirds of the state legislative bodies, after winning control of 11 more chambers. They completely control the legislature in more than half the states, adding Nevada, New Hampshire and West Virginia to that list earlier this month. And they gained two more governor’s seats, so they will hold 31 next year.
Republican leaders who will control the U.S. Senate come January say they want to take up abortion this year, perhaps on a House-passed bill that would limit the procedure after 20 weeks. But the reality is that Senate Republicans will still fall a few votes shy of the 60 needed for controversial major legislation. It’s the states where Republicans can enact more abortion limits.
“We came out of Nov. 4th with a lot of momentum,” said Chuck Donovan, president of the research and education arm of Susan B. Anthony List, which is dedicated to electing candidates who oppose abortion. He expects the number of anti-abortion measures proposed in the states to reflect that. “I think we’re about to get another uptick.”
Thirteen states have passed bans on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — so-called fetal pain bills — and a couple have enacted earlier limits tied to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, which can be six or seven weeks into a pregnancy. Several of these state laws are being contested in court, and the arguments may eventually end up in the Supreme Court. But that hasn’t deterred more states from eyeing such legislation; in Ohio, a House panel approved a fetal heartbeat bill just a few days ago.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards predicts that 2015 will bring more attempts to enact restrictive state laws. She said she expects “state legislative attacks on women’s health, even though the vast majority of the public wants elected officials to protect and expand access to safe and legal abortion, birth control and preventive health care.”
So yes, these laws are going to end up in front of the Roberts Court. There's no reason to believe that they will rule in favor of women here, and "small government conservatives" and "libertarians" are going to be pushing for even stricter regulation of women's reproductive systems.
But that's what YOU voted for, either in truth, or by sitting home and saying "there's no difference between the two parties, why should I care?"
"But that's what YOU voted for, either in truth, or by sitting home and
ReplyDeletesaying "there's no difference between the two parties, why should I
care?""
That's pretty much it. Although I do have to say that some of these jerks will twist themselves into knots trying to rationalize their decision, even though it's given more power to the GOP. They only care about hurting Democrats for some ungodly reason that I still haven't been able to fathom as yet.
Meanwhile, the GOP will continue to a**f**k the nation as whole, with only President Obama and a handful of Dems standing in the way.
"Refuse to choose, and you have chosen." We really, really need to start getting people motivated to vote in every election. The current fatalism mixed with apathy is fast leading us on a path to a right-wing dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteThe unicorn ranchers at the Daily Kos are busy these days, gloating over their success in teaching a lesson to the hated Democrats by staying home and letting the Republicans win. If this is not enough to force capitulation and appeasement - although their demands are kept deliberatley vague - they are chattering eagerly about bolting to set up a third party that will succeed where the Greens and the Social Democrats have persistently failed. I say that there is no army of "liberals and progressives" lurking in the shadows, waiting on the heroic savior to chant the magic formula that calls them forth to battle. In fact, I say we kick out the malcontents and grumblers so that we can move foreward with a tighter and more dedicated base that is less vulnerable to being stabbed in the back.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost as if they are wearing blinders, suffering from one hell of a case of tunnel vision. They threw the President under the bus, have not even bothered addressing voter suppression, and are too busy hi-fiving themselves about hurting the Dems--when in fact, all they've done is hurt themselves and the country?
ReplyDeleteWhy so many of these "progressives" want the GOP to essentially sodomize the country is beyond me, but since 2000 I've noticed that many of them seem to WANT things to go downhill, because that will somehow lead to such horrific times that Americans will wake up and overthrow the dessicated old order and establish a pure utopia. Of course it will never happen, and the real truth is that thousands, hell millions, will suffer. But they don't seem to care.