Robert Reich | The Secret GOP Plan to Keep Power

18 September 19

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17 September 19 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News Yes, If You Ignore Funding RSN Will Tank - You can be 100% certain that 30,000 people reading and 30 donating (every day) is a formula that will absolutely fail. Again what we strive for is “reasonable” community participation. In earnest. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Robert Reich | The Secret GOP Plan to Keep Power Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog Reich writes: "In 2020, we need to pay attention to state elections as well as elections for president and Congress. State elections could decide whether the Republican Party further corrupts American democracy." EXCERPT: As demographics change — and America becomes more diverse and more liberal — the GOP has responded by implementing policies that will take away power from the American people. Rather than changing with the times, they’ve got another plan: minority rule – by them. Beware. The 2020 elections offer a chance for Republicans to tilt political power in their direction for the next decade. In most states, the party that wins control of the legislature effectively gains the power to draw once-a-decade maps setting district boundaries for state and congressional elections after a new census count. And the next census count will be in 2020.  The Supreme Court recently ruled it has no power to intervene when states use partisan gerrymandering to draw these maps, saying it is an issue for state legislatures and state courts. So you can bet that on Election Day 2020 Republicans will try to further entrench their gains from the last census in 2010, when they swept into power in 20 state capitols and redrew political maps that secured a decade of political dominance. Despite the fact that Republicans continually receive fewer raw votes in national elections, they could regain control of the House through such gerrymandering. And even though racial gerrymandering – drawing district lines on the basis of race – is unconstitutional, the Court’s new ruling could give Republicans an opening to use race and pass it off as partisan gerrymandering. State governments can act now to prevent this power grab by taking redistricting out of the hands of legislatures, and starting independent commissions, as in Washington State and California. Another way Republicans will seek to establish anti-democratic power if they win state houses in 2020 will be to suppress the votes of people of color through unjust voter ID laws and other attacks. These tactics, such as reducing the number of polling places in Democratic districts, tighter restrictions on early voting, or purging voter rolls, make it harder for people of color – who tend to vote Democratic – to cast their ballots. We’ve seen this play before. After gaining full control of key state legislatures and governorships, Republicans in states such as North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin passed restrictive voter ID laws that disproportionately targeted minorities. These voter ID laws not only make voting harder for those who show up, they also discourage voters from even turning out in the first place. So show up and vote in your state elections. Your votes could decide whether a shrinking Republican Party gives fewer and fewer people more power over the rest of us. READ MORE Rob Porter. (photo: WP) White House Tells Former Trump Aides Not to Testify at House Hearing Associated Press Excerpt: "The White House has instructed two former aides to Donald Trump not to appear at a House judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday, saying Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter are 'absolutely immune' from testifying at what the panel is calling its first impeachment hearing." READ MORE Ayanna Pressley. (photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters) ALSO SEE: Inaction on Kavanaugh Allegations Reignites Political Rancor Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley to File Brett Kavanaugh Impeachment Resolution Emily Tillett, CBS News Tillett writes: "Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is introducing a resolution Tuesday calling for an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, amid new reports of allegations of sexual misconduct during his time in college." READ MORE Dan Blue. (photo: NC Channel) North Carolina Democrats Are Aiding and Abetting the Worst GOP Corruption Paul Blest, Splinter Blest writes: "Last week, North Carolina Republicans proved both why they can't be trusted and why they've been in power for nearly a decade. This week, North Carolina Democrats decided to one-up them by showing a complete disinterest in ever having power again." EXCERPT: As Daily Kos writer Stephen Wolf explained on Twitter: Stephen Wolf ✔@PoliticsWolf  · Sep 16, 2019 Replying to @PoliticsWolf Winston-Salem in particular is absurd. A nonpartisan map based on compactness & not splitting cities & voting districts doesn't come close to explaining it, & you can see that incumbency-protection overrode those concerns. But the incumbents were elected in illegal districts! https://twitter.com/PoliticsWolf/status/1173783392938147841 … Stephen Wolf ✔@PoliticsWolf Replying to @PoliticsWolf Here are the partisan & racial stats for the North Carolina Senate districts Republicans & roughly half of Dems just passed. The median districts backed Trump by 10%, 6% more than his statewide margin. That's roughly the barrier this map has against a Dem majority #NCpol #NCGA Stephen Wolf ✔@PoliticsWolf First map is how Republicans (& Dems who voted with them) drew Winston-Salem's state Senate districts. Second map I drew to comply with the court's mandate for greater compactness, & it also splits one fewer city. The GOP's Districts 31 & 32 are a classic gerrymander #NCpol #NCGA 145 10:36 PM - Sep 16, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 48 people are talking about this READ MORE Planned Parenthood. (photo: Daniel Acker/Getty) Violence Against Abortion Clinics Hit a Record High Last Year. Doctors Say It's Getting Worse. Kate Smith, CBS News Smith writes: "For one of the last abortion doctors in Missouri, harassment, stalking and death threats are a part of regular life. But this year, it's been worse than ever." EXCERPT: In August alone, three young men were arrested for threatening mass shootings against Planned Parenthood facilities. At the home of one of the suspects, authorities seized 15 rifles, 10 semi-automatic pistols, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid. READ MORE Hundreds of computer servers worldwide that store patient X-rays and MRIs. (photo: Jason Raish/ProPublica) Millions of Americans' Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek. Jack Gillum, Jeff Kao and Jeff Larson, ProPublica Excerpt: "Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise." READ MORE Sunrise Movement activists rally in support of a Green New Deal outside of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office on April 30, 2019. (photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The New Face of Climate Activism Is Young, Angry - and Effective Ella Nilsen, Vox Nilsen writes: "Unlike some recent college graduates, Sunrise Movement activist Paul Campion doesn't have a five-year plan. Climate change doesn't let him plan that far into the future." READ MORE Contribute to RSN Update My Monthly Donation