Some days I think about renaming this missive “This Week in EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE AND WE’RE DOOMED.”
But that’s not always true, and the terribleness I describe in this space is statehouse-specific, so …
I guess we’re all stuck with the name I came up with almost 10 (!!!) years ago.
Toodles, March. In like a lion, out like … well, it’s out.
You know what GOP state lawmakers very much do not want out?
Any LGBTQ Americans.
As ever, Republicans are scratching away at voting rights and public education and abortion access and … well, anything their grubby little fingers can scrawl a grubby little bill to address.
… get it? Because it’s March?
But also because the coordinated attacks by GOP state lawmakers on everything from gay and transgender kids and women who need abortion services to democracy itself are being carried out across the country with, if not military precision, military relentlessness.
On the first anniversary of Joe Biden’s inauguration, I can’t help but think …
So?
And it has absolutely nothing to do with Pres. Biden himself. Seems like a nice guy, he’s done a lot of really good things already, and hopefully a few jackwagons in the U.S. Senate don’t hamstring him for the rest of his term.
But presidents come, presidents go. Like … the tide or whatever.
Yawn.
Different week, same old GOP statehouse garbage.
Seriously, the sense of deja vu with these cats is real.
Especially because they seem oblivious to the fact that WE’RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING PANDEMIC
But Republican lawmakers are objecting to the most basic of public safety measures, like masks, with a vehemence one might more suitably reserve for, say, drinking spoiled milk.
It’s a new year, and the Alamo is SO 19th century … remembering the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is just SO now. Really, it’s the hottest thing to do during this cold, cold month.
Oh, except for trying to keep up with the myriad legislatures (the vast majority, actually) convening in January. That’s also very hot, but that warmth is probably at least partly due to the friction generated by frantically trying to keep up with all of it.
“It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.”
—Sarah Kay
RUDE.
Because I’m certainly not ready (especially since I realized that Thanksgiving was somehow only a week ago), and I would have appreciated being consulted on the matter.
It’s getting brisk out there.
Temperatures are dropping (don’t get it twisted, the earth is still warming at a terrifying rate), and autumn is in full swing.
And even though the Virginia elections are still on folks’ minds (… or maybe just mine), it’s important to remember that there’s still a lot of trash being perpetrated by GOP state lawmakers across the rest of the country.
Hey, how are you?
I know Tuesday night might have been kinda rough.
To say that Election Day 2021 didn’t turn out the way Democrats and progressives hoped is … a bit of an understatement.
Are you confused? Bummed? Scared? Ambivalent? Numb? Apathetic? In a glass case of emotion?
Well, no matter where you are right now, I’ve got something for you.
I’m back!
(I went to Portugal, by the by, and I love all of you who voted in last edition’s poll. I did, in fact, drink a LOT of wine, and I also got some quality zzzzzzs.
Why, hello there! I almost didn’t recognize you with your mask on, but that’s okay, because I recognize your SOUL.
DISCLAIMER: This is a terrible line and should only be used in jest and not to woo an actual human.
Welcome back!
… to school or work or a crushing sense of existential dread or whatever, everyone’s living their own life.
But most schools in most places are back in (some sort of) session, which affects pretty much everybody in one way or another.
August is winding down, but statehouse action is … not.
And I’m not even talking about Virginia, which has gubernatorial and state House elections this fall!
(And if you’re fretting that I haven’t done a deep dive into that landscape yet, fear not, erudite reader—I will absolutely be talking about the Commonwealth at length in the near future.)
But for the moment, let us, despite the heat, return to Texas.
Welp, y’all, it’s time.
With the Census Bureau’s release of redistricting data this week, the drawing of new congressional and state legislative maps can finally begin.
But … oh, it’s going to be bad.
So bad.
Here’s how, and here’s why.
Don’t look now, but … August is fully upon us.
Normally, this month (August of an off-off year) would be chill as heck, but because Republicans are so desperate to cling to political power, statehouse action persists.
You Can’t Count On Me: Let’s be real—I just can’t responsibly write this missive without catching up on the GOP’s so-called election “audit” in Arizona’s Maricopa County.
We all deserve a little R&R this summer, and frankly we’d better get it while we can, what with the Delta variant driving COVID-19 cases back up and August (i.e. the last full month of summer) just around the corner.
As an erudite consumer of this missive, you’ve likely heard about the Big Sexy state legislative news for the week, which is that Texas state House Democrats decided to derail that bogus special session I wrote about in this space last week.
Texas House Dems were able to bring that session—during which GOP Gov.
Happy (slightly belated) half-New Year!
(Get it? We’re “halfway there”? [Whoa-OH, LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER])
We just crossed the halfway point of this year that at least isn’t 2020 but is still definitely bringing the strife.
Happy July!
… except it’s not happy.
Or maybe it is!
… in which case, you should stop reading right now.
Because this is gonna be a summer bummer for sure.
Voice of America: Of course, the big news kicking off July is one of the U.S. Supreme Court’s final decisions of the term; specifically, Brnovich v.
In many parts of the country, warmer weather tends to bring rain and/or storms—something you may be enjoying from a dry, safe place even as you read this.
But as ever, GOP lawmakers in legislatures across the country continue to cast ominous clouds over things like equality, voting rights, and basic decency.
That’s right—you’ve been caught in a Statehouse Action squall.
It’s June!
Happy Pride Month!
Republicans, unfortunately, are observing in the most awful ways.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off June by signing a bill sent to him by the GOP-controlled legislature that bans transgender girls from competing in women’s sports at the state’s public schools and universities.
Campaign Action
According to Democratic state Rep.
Happy almost-Memorial Day!
The unofficial start of summer is nigh (technically it doesn’t start until the solstice on June 20), but if you think that means Republicans are hitting pause on their awful statehouse antics, I’ve got some bad news for you.
While Biden was driving a cool truck and congressional Republicans decided they’re against a commission to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, GOP lawmakers in GOP-controlled legislatures were partying like it’s 1999 … by which I mean they were busy passing a slew of retrogressive bills that have no place in the 21st century.
Big news today for the fully vaxxed: You can ditch your mask (in most circumstances)!
(As an erudite consumer of this missive, you are no doubt well on your way to or already at full vaccination activation, health/personal circumstances permitting.)
As someone whose face is basically its own emoji, I’m extremely excited about this (though I’m kissing my professional poker playing dreams goodbye).
You know the old saw: April showers bring … well, pretty things the next month.
Except that here in the world of statehouse action, GOP-controlled legislatures keep making things pretty ugly.
But yay, it’s May! … which means that a lot of state legislatures will be wrapping their business this month or next.
Here’s what one of them in particular is getting up to before heading home.
In Florida, Republican Gov.
So the weather is getting warmer, we’re getting vaccinated, and … is this hope?
Nah, that’s indigestion.
Because even as federal politics is boring again, state-level political action remains a shitshow, and this week brought a reminder of the disaster to come next year.
Specifically, redistricting.
This week, the U.S.
Happy Earth Day to those who observe!
And who doesn’t observe? Extraterrestrials, maybe?
But don’t they want us to fix our own planet so we don’t go off and dirty up theirs?
Anyway, this missive missed 4/20 by just a couple of days, but that’s also a holiday worth celebrating.
Regardless of whether you do or plan to partake of marijuana, its increasing legality is a very good thing.
In a normal (or at least non-pandemic) world, April 15 would be tax day.
But things are still far from normal, and you still have over a month (May 17) to get right with the IRS.
No one really likes to pay taxes (income or otherwise), but they pay for a lot of stuff.
… including, to a point, most state legislators’ salaries.
We’re still a few weeks away from April showers bringing anything May-related, but as many state legislative sessions hurtle towards final adjournment for the year, the deluge of bad new policies and laws is right on top of us, like one of those little cartoon rainclouds hovering over an unhappy character.
Take, for instance, all those bills targeting transgender kids that are becoming law.
Yes, I know the headline dates me.
But whatever. It’s that super annoying day of the year when everybody thinks they’re MUCH funnier than they actually are.
But I’m not here for pranks, and the only jokes are the bad ones I make every week.
Frankly, I wish the latest GOP statehouse antics were April Fools pranks.
Alas, they’re all too serious.