For The New Democratic Controlled States, The Time Is NOW

You know, for a year that was supposed to be a big, beautiful red tsunami, there asure were a whole of Democrats, especially in state legislatures and statewide offices, who seemed to live in lighthouses. In the 2022 midterms the Democrats took full control of four states in one night, and it was a bag of M&M’s. Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Michigan.

While the GOP itself has put in the grave the old bromide of Democrats fall in love, and Republicans fall in line, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t serious legitimate differences between the two. When the Democrats win control, it’s like getting a new car. They put on their seat belts and take it for a spin around the block. When the GOP gets the keys, they head straight for a street drag race track.

As I wrote previously, in 2010 the GOP invested millions of dollars on the midterms, not in national races, but in state races, with the whole idea of flipping statehouses before the 2011 census redistricting. Their plan worked, and the GOP put the pedal to the metal, gerrymandering a permanent minority majority, then immediately pivoting to newer and more draconian voting laws to try to ensure that they left nothing to chance. Democrats are more like a college freshman home on break whose parents are gone for the weekend. They want to party down and savor it.

But there isn’t any time for that self indulgent bullshit, not now. The GOP goes into every election cycle with a specific plan in mind, and if they win, they come flying out of the gate. The Democrats are more like Charlie Brown with the football. They’re so sure that Lucy will pull it away that, when they actually kick the damn thing, it takes them three months to figure out what play to call next.

They don’t have that luxury this time, for two reasons. First, the GOP is desperate. They expected to kick ass, and they’re losers. They’re already plotting.second, the Democrats have the more popular ideas, both nationally as well as locally, which is why they won full state control. They now have a narrow two year window to make good on those promises, and in doing so, show voters in other competitive states the benefits they can enjoy if they just elect Democrats.

Of the four states, Minnesota and Michigan are the prizes. After all, Michigan was GOP held for eight years, and they raped voting rights and union rights. Minnesota is a prize because the damn state just keeps teetering on the edge of becoming a swing state. But the playbook should be the same for all four states.

Come out of the gate with the pedal-to-the-metal. Right now the Democrats have a major edge in two areas, reproductive rights, and voting rights. Use It! Get out there in the spring legislative session and;

• Pass automatic voter registration upon applying for or renewing a driver’s license
• Make absentee ballots universal for all registered voters
• Ban Photo ID Laws, for in person voting, and allow forms of ID such as utility bills, credit card bills, or bank statements where the name and address match the information on file
• Extend early voting days and locations, and expand the number of drop boxes for all o those universal absentee ballots
• Update the state’s voter certification laws to make it a purely accounting exercise. The votes are counted, and the results are automatically certified and forwarded. There is no rampant voter fraud in this country, outside of The Villages, so take that toy away
• Pass a law creating independent, non partisan redistricting panels to redraw the states districts every 10 years. Yeah, I know, you’re going to rub my nose in the New York midterms, where spotty redistricting helped to lose the Democrats the House. But I consider that a one-off, there were other factors involved. And when you compare the results of independent redistricting to unfettered GOP gerrymandering, which would you prefer?
• Codify abortion rights into law, with realistic expectations and restrictions. Better yet enshrine it into the state constitution  if that’s an option. And if it means having a referendum in 2024, all the better!Man, talk about cranking up turnout
• Rescind the bullshit 1860’s abortion laws that the GOP tried to use the last time to overturn the will of the people. You can write that right into the pro abortion law

All of these simple things have two major advantages. First, they show rapid, concrete progress on issues that voters put the Democrats in charge to accomplish in the first place. Which gives state legislators a strong platform to run on in 2024. Second, it offers potential long lasting protection, since the GOP would need to totally flip the state government to even try to overturn the Democratic progress. And good luck with that, since the constituents put the Democrats in charge to do this shit!

But Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan and Maryland aren’t the only 4 states controlled by the Democrats. And there are plenty of other popular progressive policies that all of these states can accomplish, even if it means having the Democratic Governor call a special session;

• Codify full and equal LGBTQ rights into law
• Pass a law requiring Equal goods and services under the law for LGBTQ citizens, regardless of religious beliefs. After all, we have a goddamn separation of church and state clause in the Constitution
• Codify into law full and equal protection for the medical rights of all LGBTQ minors when it comes to treatment and therapy
• Pass a law banning semi automatic weapons and extended magazines, and mandate Universal background checks in the state
• Pass a law outlawing Limited Liability, for both police departments as well as individual officers
• Pass a state law requiring police officer intervention in cases of abuse, even if brother officers are involved

Look, I’m not saying that any state can get all of this done, but any of it that they get done only increases their reelection chances in 2024, by showing that they’re serious about getting the peoples work done. And if they do, then it’s a cudgel for GOP controlled states like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio, all with large African American populations to start worrying about their long term viability.

The secret sauce in all of this is to have smart people crafting the laws. The whole point of this is to make the laws homogenous, they only apply exclusively in the state. That way the only legal challenges can go to the state courts, with the state Supreme Court being the ultimate arbiter. If they get too fancy, then they invite outside forces to start filing federal lawsuits, inviting Roberts and his runaway train wreck SCOTUS to come out and play. Keep it plain, keep it simple, and keep it in state.

I know that to a lot of liberals, this sounds like some kind of a fanciful Christmas Wish List. But it’s not! After all, if you said 12 years ago that the GOP would be abler to ride one election into not only a permanent minority majority, but also make a simple thing like voting so restrictive that it would be almost impossible to defeat their gerrymander, you would have said, If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. But they had the power, and they had the will, and they used it. And that’s the exact same power that the Democratic controlled states have right now. All they need is the will to use it. No excuses.