You know, it hasn\u2019t been a great week. It looks like President Biden and Majority Leader Schumer were leading us on. I know, both of them kept saying \u201chow hard this was going to be\u201d and \u201cwe have lots of work to do\u201d. But you had to think they wouldn\u2019t have raised our hopes, without some hope themselves that they could succeed in convincing Manchin and Sinema to play ball. Now it looks like it was all a farce, a show put on to demonstrate \u201chow hard\u201d they were trying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t need shows, and we don\u2019t need false hope. All that does is solidify the view that \u201cthe enemy\u201d isn\u2019t the Republicans, but the two recalcitrant Democrats. I\u2019m struggling to see why that\u2019s a good idea for my Party. The reality is the fifty Republicans stand rock solid for voter suppression. Former Attorney General Eric Holder stated yesterday that the average white voter in Fulton County (Atlanta) waited eight minutes to vote in 2020, while the average black person waited over fifty. If that\u2019s not discriminatory, what is? But those conditions will be made worse in 2022 by the legal changes made in that state. A total of nineteen states passed thirty-three bills to do the same. And more laws and states are in the \u201csuppression\u201d pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s not where Democratic ire is directed. The Republicans are getting a \u201cpass\u201d. Manchin and Sinema are taking the \u201cheat\u201d for all fifty-two opposing Senators from both parties. The idea was that the pressure would somehow move \u201cthe two\u201d, but looks now that it\u2019s made them \u201cstand firm\u201d for the filibuster. Wow \u2013 I\u2019m sure the good folks in Flagstaff, Arizona and Beckley, West Virginia are proud: \u201cfilibuster or bust\u201d they cry out as they march down Main Street \u2013 not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know it\u2019s not over \u201cuntil the lady sings\u201d (we will not be body shaming here!) but it sure sounds like she\u2019s warming up. How proud Senator Sinema looked yesterday, standing in the well of the Senate of the United States and defending \u201ctradition\u201d. She might as well have said she was defending \u201cheritage\u201d, a word that has come to stand for the \u201cold, racist\u201d days. And Manchin with his \u201celevator\u201d interviews, always leaving a tidbit of room to wiggle, and reveling in the attention. They\u2019re both raising campaign funds on this issue, though it not regular Democrats giving the money for this. You have to wonder; who is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of that, the Supreme Court played their \u201cTrump\u201d card, and took another weapon out of the vaccine fight. Government can\u2019t mandate businesses keep their employees safe by vaccination. At least five of the Justices agreed that medical workers ought to not infect their patients \u2013 duh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So this has not been a \u201cwinning\u201d week \u2013 more of a \u201cwhining\u201d week in reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there is one small light in the tunnel, though it too is flickering. A few years ago, the voters of Ohio passed two State Constitutional Amendments calling for an end to political gerrymandering of legislative districts. One was for the state representatives and senators, the other was for Congressional districts. The \u201cpeople\u201d made it clear that districts like Jim Jordan\u2019s, which stretches from the outskirts of Dayton to the outskirts of Toledo to the outskirts of Cleveland, aren\u2019t really representative. Even worse, the \u201csnake on the lake\u201d district, stretching from Toledo to Cleveland, fifteen miles wide along Lake Erie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when it came time for the Republican majority to redraw the maps, they went right ahead and kept doing what they always did. Their new district maps would guarantee even more Republicans elected. Ohio averaged 54% Republican to 46% Democrat in the past decades elections, but the Republican gerrymander would guarantee over 80% of the Congressional seats and more than 60% of the state legislative seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ohio Supreme Court Justices are elected, not appointed. There are four Republicans (including the Governor\u2019s son) and three Democrats. The \u201cbetting\u201d was that the Court would allow the maps, by a four to three decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there was a pleasant surprise. Republican Chief Justice Maureen O\u2019Connor flipped, citing the intent of the people in passing the amendments. The state legislative maps were tossed out, and the mapping committee has ten days to come up with something less partisan. The Congressional maps will be up for the same review soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So in a week of disappointment, it\u2019s good to see one government official take a stand, and try to do what she sees as the \u201cwill of the people\u201d. Her willingness to cross \u201cthe line\u201d and side with the Democrats on the court, is refreshing. She didn\u2019t do it because of partisanship, but in spite of it. A flickering flame of hope, for a generally dismal week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Come to the light!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"