Republican Reopening Vetoed in NC
And a racism contest in Georgia
Welcome to a very exciting midweek edition of Progressives Everywhere!
Every weeknight, I fill a newsletter with headlines and analysis about stories that get overlooked most everywhere else. If you want the daily newsletter delivered right to your inbox, just sign up for the premium edition of Progressives Everywhere. On Wednesday, I send it out to everyone for free!
North Carolina Stays Closed
Republicans in both chambers of the North Carolina legislature fell short of the 3/5ths majority needed to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of their attempts to prematurely re-open parts of the state economy. Senate Bill 599 would have opened skating rinks and bowling alleys, which are both utterly inessential and hives of disease. The State Senate also fell short in its attempt to strip Cooper of his power to unilaterally declare a state of emergency.
COVID-19 has been surging in the state, with Wednesday marking a high in hospitalizations (994) and the 15th straight day of 1000+ new cases. The legislature passed the skating rink and bowling alley bill on June 19, but as you can see, it wasn’t as if things looked all clear in North Carolina back then, either.
Not that it matters to the state’s far-right fringe — now, a group called ReOpen NC is pushing to impeach Cooper, who is up for re-election this November. So far, the Republican Secretary of State isn’t biting, possibly because Cooper is leading in the polls at the moment.
The Assembly voted on Tuesday to lift the Klan-era ban on face masks, which I’ve covered in this space before. The State Senate has to do the same to ensure that, come August 1st, when the temporary law suspending the ban expires, people aren’t at risk of being arrested for taking public health seriously. Cooper mandated mask-wearing several weeks ago.
The GOP had a supermajority in the state for most of the 2010s, but thanks to a lawsuit that led to somewhat fairer districts, Democrats were able to break the Republican iron grip on the legislature in 2018. They need to flip just five seats in the State Senate to win back that chamber outright, which is essential ahead of the 2021 redistricting.
Michigan Police Reform Proposals
Democrats in Michigan on Wednesday unveiled a list of proposals that would together significantly reimagine and reform (though not defund) the state’s police departments and how they interact with communities. Members of the State House’s Black and Detroit Caucuses presented the proposals, which will be rolled out over the coming month.
According to Bridge Michigan, the proposals include:
Ending “qualified community” for police officers who use excessive force.
Prohibiting the use of facial recognition technology
Banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants... An anti-chokehold bill has also been introduced by a Senate Republican.
Requiring citizen review boards in every community, a panel staffed by non-police officers who oversee local law enforcement agencies.
Establishing “crisis intervention teams” staffed by social workers and mental health specialists who are often better equipped than police to handle calls involving residents experiencing mental health issues.
Requiring officers statewide to wear body cameras.
Requiring law enforcement agencies to establish “early intervention systems” that identify officers with high rates of use of force and misconduct complaints and correct or discipline their behavior.
Republicans currently control both chambers of the State House, so it’s likely that some of these proposals will not even receive consideration this year. But they give Democrats an important platform and will force Republicans to go on the record with regard to criminal justice reform. While it may not impact some of their 2020 re-election hopes, the GOP’s gerrymander is about to end thanks to the 2018 ballot initiative that created an independent citizen’s redistricting commission, so by 2022, many will have to defend their decisions.
Slowly but surely making voting rights progress
For the most part, we’ve focused on the fight to restore the voting rights of former felons who served their time and are now free. While we’re still waiting to find out the fate of Florida’s Jim Crow law, some more progressive states and cities are moving on to the next frontier: voting rights for people still entangled in the criminal justice system.
In New Jersey yesterday, people on parole and probation were allowed to vote for the first time thanks to a law passed in late 2019. Technically, about 80,000 people were given the right to vote, though according to The Guardian, it’s unclear how many people were able to take advantage of it. Between limited voter registration drives and government building shutdowns due to COVID-19, it’s likely that many newly eligible voters did not cast a ballot this time around.
Over in Washington, DC, meanwhile, the City Council passed an emergency bill that will, with the mayor’s signature, return the franchise to people in jail… at least for 90 days. According to The Appeal, should the law be ratified by the mayor, the City Council would then try to make the change permanent during its budgeting process later this month.
Right now, Maine and Vermont are the only states that allow people who are incarcerated to vote.
Racism contest in Georgia
For decades, Republicans used euphemisms and subtle signals to appeal to resentful and racist voters. Then Donald Trump came along and tossed away the dog whistle in favor of a trombone, honking out racist slurs that revved up the party’s far-right faction and forced the rest of the GOP to try and keep up. While they were never really academic decathlons, Republican primaries have now become contests to see who can be the most explicitly racist, and in Georgia, we’re seeing a heavyweight battle between two legendary bigots.
In one corner, we have appointed Senator Kelly Loeffler, a remarkably wealthy woman who has already made headlines for what was very obviously insider trading at the beginning of the pandemic (even if Bill Barr dropped his investigation). Over the last week, she’s really flexed her racist muscles; as co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, she posted a written letter objecting to the league’s decision to have players wear warmup jerseys that say “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name,” which drew fierce blowback from the league’s star players and the official Player’s Association.
Before that, in June, she went on Fox News and called BLM protestors in Atlanta a form of “mob rule,” which also earned her the sort of criticism she was probably hoping to receive.
In the other corner is Rep. Doug Collins, a Trump favorite who is running against Loeffler in the primary. Not to be outdone, Collins ripped into Fulton County DA Paul Howard for acting quickly to press charges against the cops who murdered Rayshard Brooks. He’s so angry that police might be forced to answer for murdering an unarmed black man, in fact, he’s asking Bill Barr to open an investigation into the matter!
Now, not everyone is happy with Howard, who has not always been so responsive to these issues and is thus facing a primary runoff in August (his alleged corruption doesn’t help, either). Some even say Howard’s decision to press charges so quickly was politically motivated. But even if he did respond faster because he had a primary challenger, Collins isn’t doing this because he’s suddenly interested in the judicial process — he’s clearly only targeting the case to win over the racist, law and order GOP voter crowd.
Democrats have their own primary race, between US Attorney Ed Tarver and Reverend Ralph Warnock. Both are Black men, setting up a general election that the entire country will be watching.
Quibis
It may have spared abortion rights last week, but today the Supreme Court took aim at women’s health and reproductive rights in a decision that will allow employers to deny employees birth control coverage if they have religious or “moral” objections. It could deny up to 126,000 women birth control. This sucks.
In Ohio, a Democratic legislator and a Republican legislative aide both tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Sadly, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise — House Speaker Larry Householder is one of those awful people who refuses to wear a mask and is forcing staffers to work at the capitol.
I too am screaming inside my heart.
Any nostalgia for former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, it seems, is very misplaced.
And when Nancy Pelosi retires, make sure to read this to counterbalance the inevitable tributes that will be published.
This is a heartening sight. New Yorker have been incredibly united these last four months, probably more than any time since 9/11.
A note about our crowdfunding campaign: Progressives Everywhere will always be a free newsletter. Together we've raised over $1 million for progressives candidates and causes and over $1.5 million for bail funds and grassroots community groups! We’ve grown so much that it costs $100 just to send this email, and there are other costs as well.
We’re now sending out daily news editions of the newsletter, filled with important news, undercovered stories, electoral analysis, and everything else you need to stay ahead of the curve in this intense time. It costs just $5 a month.
To help support the cause, you can also make donations at GoFundMe (you’ll be thanked in future public editions of the newsletter).
Hey bro you are definitely on the right see (good, positive) not that other skanky right side. Please do consider checking out: @4apeoplesparty or movement for a people's party. I have joined as an x-berner because it is powered by the same policies and platform as Bernie had. This is an incredibly organized strong party. The only reason I reach out is because I have faith in this party! They have plans that they are realizing and will ultimately fill. So I'm not a proselytizer I believe people need to come to their own conclusions. I like what you are doing Jordan. What you do you do well. Peace and thanks! Bill sonic Fricke MPP and just life.