Democrats used a procedural motion to water the sports ban down rather than kill it outright out of fear of taking a vote and putting members on record.
Yesterday, many of us in the western part of the state made calls and sent emails pushing back and were all met with the Dem party line minimizing the issue and implying we were making much ado about nothing (my rep said this: "Yesterday, the House considered Bill 4005, and I cast an affirmative vote. Amendment 81 was referred to study committee for further review; therefore, the bill was voted upon without its inclusion. Let me be unequivocally clear: I will never support legislation that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our transgender community.")
This feels like something beyond gaslighting - more like slipping razor blades into an apple and passing it off as a Halloween treat.
Greatly appreciate your vigilance and careful work, Erin. It is making a difference. A city councilor just arranged a town hall with our House rep tomorrow to discuss concerns.
Spoke in person with Senator Oliveira last night. He understands the mission. But I also let him know he would be bombarded with phone calls. He said he already was and he appreciates the ammo!
Thanks for sharing this! We've continued to bombard our legislators with calls and emails, too. I was told today by Sen. Velis's office that they anticipate the sports ban amendment language will be fully removed before voted on by the full senate. We shall see. I'm still skeptical, so still calling.
This development out of MA is deeply disappointing, coming out of a blue state. Erin - up to you obviously, but I would urge you to seriously consider a downgrade on your next map for Massachusetts to light blue (i.e. same category as PA, NV, and DE). I just don’t think the state deserves the highest safety level anymore. Maine actually seems safer, as their state leadership has been much more vocal in supporting trans people. Also - Massachusetts, alone among blue states, still allows the gay panic defense.
Instead of that, I think a case can be made, now that Erin In The Morning is a recognised and respected source, to make it clear to our representatives Massachusetts is faltering. Changing the map signals success to the anti-trans crowd.
Not if we can help it! We're pushing a huge campaign tomorrow to get on our state senators to kill both amendments and stand united for transgender rights.
Massachusetts' state Democrats need to take a lesson from Montana's state Democrats in how to actively fight for trans constituents. The status of trans rights in Massachusetts and other blue states can no longer be guaranteed, and Democrats in blue state legislatures cannot continue being complancent.
Listen the Democrats are not the Trans People or Trans communities friends and allies! They are just as creepy and craven as the MAGAT PARTY! They will NEVER do anything that jeopardizes their political careers or anger their donors Just to help their own constituents, Trans or Otherwise! The American system has failed Americans and it’s time to Replace it with the system that works for The People and not the 1%! Capitalism is dead but the Oligarchy has yet to realize that FACT! We must enact a new system, a Socialist-Democratic One World Government that will actually help The People and Eradicate the Billionaires and the Corporations that oppress Us! I know that the word “Socialism” makes all these Capitalist Goons Quake in their Jack-Boots! It’s because they have never been able to separate their Prejudicial Beliefs from the “Red Scare 50’s” that Socialism is the same as Communism! They don’t even try to understand what it really means! They only care about making sure that their Gravy Train never stops! The sooner Capitalism ends completely the sooner we can turn the world around and make it something to be Proud Of and not Ashamed Of! 👿
Some Democrats (looking at you, Gavin Newsom) are happy to sell us out. Others, like Governor Janet Mills of Maine, are making a very public point of standing up for us. Most don't consider us all that important, which is fine with me. Trans issues don't make even my top five worries for the country right now, and I'm a trans person. Not saying I'm not terrified, just that I have so many other things to be terrified about.
When one political party is basically a modern Nazi party, none of us have the luxury of voting against the only viable alternative.
If you want to work to reform the Democratic Party from within, great! If you want to tear it down and build a progressive alternative in its place, also great! But NONE OF THAT MATTERS until we have a functioning democracy again and the MAGA party isn't an existential threat to humanity.
I agree, and Weaning the Democrats off their Corporate Donors Teats and reforming their political party is a good start! But we must utterly eliminate The MAGAT PARTY FROM EXISTENCE, the Sooner we do that, the sooner we can get to work on fixing this country and Democracy and start Government working for the People!
I absolutely agree! The way I look at it is that it's a primary issue. I won't support any Dem in the primaries that votes against our rights but in the general D vs. R is no contest.
You're talking about a revolution, and sometimes revolutions are necessary. However, they are the LAST resort, after everything else has failed. We aren't even remotely close to that point, and we will never be at that point unless there are enough similarly aggrieved people to make it happen. Even then, don't just assume everyone wants to go socialist. And don't assume the revolutionaries are going to automatically smile upon us trans people. Those are other power struggles still. And then there are the challenges of starting a new government that isn't as bad as (or worse than) the one that got torn down. Trying to set up a democracy from scratch is a maddeningly complicated thing, because it must always be created out of some form of benevolent authoritarianism that has the blessings of the people.
Let's not walk down that dangerous road. Let's do our very best to fix the somewhat broken Democratic Party and then our badly battered government before deciding to throw it all into the dumpster.
I'm so disappointed, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure they've come up with clever ways to rationalize their cruelty to kids who are having a really difficult time as it is. I'm disgusted.
Not all. I suggest you support politicians who support us (who happen to be almost entirely Democrats), and oppose politicians who oppose us (who come from both parties, but mostly from the Republican Party). And hands-down, the very best way to oppose rogue Democrats is to support their Democratic challengers in primaries.
That approach is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
One aspect of this issue that keeps getting glossed over is the proclivity of political office holders to cast their votes according to their priority of not being voted out at the next election. If all they're focused on is keeping their job rather than truly representing their constituents then they're not representing you anymore--they're looking out for themselves first . . . and maybe you later.
Then we have to tie their fate to ours. They keep their jobs as long as they advocate for us. Otherwise, we come at them in the primaries when they are the most vulnerable and when we can have the most outsized role in ending their careers. Primaries typically draw maybe 10% (or best case, 20%) of the number of voters as the general elections. So when any particular interest group makes certain to rally nearly 100% of its voters to the primary, they grow in influence maybe 10x their actual numbers. That's how far-right wingnuts get their people into government. That's why there are so many Freedumb Caucus politicians in the GOP.
Now imagine if we can build power with the rest of the LGBTQ and have them turn out in similar numbers to the primaries. Then our 10-15% becomes utterly overwhelming. No Democratic politician could survive unless he or she fights for LGBTQ people - ALL of us.
But wait, there's more! That's also how we get our own LGBTQ politicians into office - by supporting them in overwhelming numbers in the primaries.
I see the Democratic primaries as the #1 most powerful influence we can have on government, hands-down.
Absolutely . . . and therein lies the rub, getting our voters to speak up and do it early and loudly. I’ve spoken about this before, as a group we are small and they know that. It is part of the reason they attack us. Another part of the problem is the Democrats in a general sense are a big tent which makes it easy for issues to become lost, forgotten, muddied. We need to find ways to stand out in our own way rather than how the anti-trans faction (attempts to) defines us. If we’re not visible within our own party we cannot expect others to even be aware of the problems we face.
True. On that last point, I'm reminded of the efforts of the trans community decades ago to get Annise Parker elected as the first openly lesbian member of the Houston City Council. I got looped into stapling yard signs when I visited my friends in Texas. It seems half of the campaign volunteers were trans. And you know what? She won, and she never forgot the hard work her trans allies put in to get her in the door. She later went on to become mayor of Houston, and she appointed the nation's first trans judge, Phyllis Frye. That's how the trans community can build power within the party.
But it all comes down to one common theme: SHOW UP! ;-)
What a sniveling bunch of weasels. They let this shit slide through with only the flimsiest attempt to mitigate it, because they're worried what would happen if they had to stand up for trans folks during a floor vote?
Earth to fucking morons, you're public servants! 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 you do is public record! Your constituents will remember you cowering in fear just as clearly as they'll remember where and when you chose to take a stand. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵!
Do you know when the public hearings will be? I know the budget bill goes to Senate ways and means committee and they hold public hearings. I'm hoping to get people to testify at those hearings, including myself (https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/tips-for-testifying-at-a-legislative-hearing/ is useful even though it's about animal welfare instead of trans rights).
They usually debate the budget in May but still we have to watch in case someone wants to jam it through (frankly I worry that makes me sound a little dopey but these days you don't know). Testifying is interesting, if there is a strong vibe that the senators we've bugged will band together and pull the amendments a good strategy may be to let them do that work and count on them and not draw negative attention for no reason--it was already frivolous that 81 was thrown in. I'm all for taking names of the house Ds who decided to chicken out and leave us vulnerable. When I saw Sen Oliveira last night he was as angry as we are and I look for him to rally others to the cause of pulling the amendments altogether.This can be an "easy" removal for them.
Republicans have been steering the narrative for years by introducing bills based on lies. Why dont the Dems introduce Trans bills that are based in science and inclusiveness?
Awful politics! They're degrading transgender youth for some perceived threat to some Democrats. It's ridiculous how weak that is! It's very harmful to send that message to the youth trying to live their lives, without the parents support.
So by default, you'd rather allow Republiscum to grow their power more completely?
THAT kind of thinking, which made the Extreme Court give-away possible, got George W. Bush appointed President. It also gave Benedict Donald a bare, but sadly adequate, plurality just six months ago.
Yes, voting for the democrats that keep getting forced on us is what put Trump in office in the first place. Hillary Clinton! Should have been Bernie. Would have been if the DNC hadn’t teamed up against him. That put him in office the first time. Then democrats hid the fact that Joe Biden was senile and our only choice was Kamala.
It's really very simple: Given a choice between two candidates, vote for the better one. If you stay home, you forfeit that choice and let the unjust majority run rough-shod over you/us.
And if you want better candidates, put them in the running in the primary process. Don't wait until the general election to turn up your nose at the choices given to you. Nobody becomes a Democratic nominee/candidate without first winning a primary. And here's the deal: Very few people vote in the primaries, so your vote is particularly powerful there. We trans people should make a solemn pact to show up for each and every primary - ALL of us.
Oh, and then there are protest votes. Let me tell you about my first presidential vote: It was in 1980, when Reagan was running to unseat Carter. It was a period of crippling stagflation that was eating us economically. Reagan's "trickle-down economics" sounded like a stupid solution, and history has proven it was. Carter's laissez faire policies were also bad. So I voted for Anderson, a dark horse independent candidate who seemed to have the best economic plan. And of course he lost. The result: friggin' REAGAN won, and kids of my generation were terrified we were all going to die as a result. (He almost sent the missiles flying - twice!) That was the last time I ever wasted my precious vote on a dark-horse candidate.
EXACTLY this! Because of the way our (two party) system is set up voting 3rd party almost always results in this. Sarah F is correct when she points out that our involvement at the Primary level, or even earlier, is what is needed. Waiting until the field has already been winnowed down is too late. I've said to those who complain to me about the "party" not running candidates they like, "well why didn't you run or support someone you like in the primary?"
Yep! This said, if we can get ranked choice voting passed in our states, that would revolutionize our democracy, allowing us to support our favorite dark-horse candidates without sacrificing our votes.
I really do see the primary process as the best way to weed our garden and replace unsupportive Democrats with supportive ones.
I agree! The problem is getting 50 individual States (and the territories) on board. That’s been a difficult row to hoe because so many do not understand it.
All 50 states (or substantially most of them?) would only be necessary for the presidential election. However, all the other elections could be reformed state by state. I think the Alaskans like their ranked choice voting. That's one state. We just need more. It doesn't have to be all, or even most. Every state that gets on board helps to improve our Congress and even our state and local governments.
Of course the other thing we need to do is to pass the national popular vote compact in enough states to control the electoral college - to give everyone an equal voice in electing the president. I think that's within reach!
I can only say this,- that if the Democrats trying to protect Trans Athletes knew that some of their colleagues would vote "NO" on a straight Yes/No Bill on letting Trans Students participate in school sports, as disappointing as the current option is, it kept Trans Student participation open, with the move to Senate hopefully giving more promise with a Yes/No vote of Yes. But it is ugly and would be good to find out the names of those Reps. who were planning on voting "NO".
Yesterday, many of us in the western part of the state made calls and sent emails pushing back and were all met with the Dem party line minimizing the issue and implying we were making much ado about nothing (my rep said this: "Yesterday, the House considered Bill 4005, and I cast an affirmative vote. Amendment 81 was referred to study committee for further review; therefore, the bill was voted upon without its inclusion. Let me be unequivocally clear: I will never support legislation that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of our transgender community.")
This feels like something beyond gaslighting - more like slipping razor blades into an apple and passing it off as a Halloween treat.
Yup. I wrote this article to help people understand exactly what level of gaslighting is being done. Rep Connolly's comments should make that clear.
Greatly appreciate your vigilance and careful work, Erin. It is making a difference. A city councilor just arranged a town hall with our House rep tomorrow to discuss concerns.
What district and where? Thanks.
2nd District, Hampshire. Town hall tomorrow at Easthampton Municipal Bldg @1 pm
Spoke in person with Senator Oliveira last night. He understands the mission. But I also let him know he would be bombarded with phone calls. He said he already was and he appreciates the ammo!
Thanks for sharing this! We've continued to bombard our legislators with calls and emails, too. I was told today by Sen. Velis's office that they anticipate the sports ban amendment language will be fully removed before voted on by the full senate. We shall see. I'm still skeptical, so still calling.
This development out of MA is deeply disappointing, coming out of a blue state. Erin - up to you obviously, but I would urge you to seriously consider a downgrade on your next map for Massachusetts to light blue (i.e. same category as PA, NV, and DE). I just don’t think the state deserves the highest safety level anymore. Maine actually seems safer, as their state leadership has been much more vocal in supporting trans people. Also - Massachusetts, alone among blue states, still allows the gay panic defense.
Instead of that, I think a case can be made, now that Erin In The Morning is a recognised and respected source, to make it clear to our representatives Massachusetts is faltering. Changing the map signals success to the anti-trans crowd.
I agree. I'm not hearing the same kind of support or fight here in MA as I do, for example, from Governor Mills of ME.
I hope you'll join us and call your MA senator every day. This hasn't passed the MA Senate yet. Thank you!
I will.
Exc point about the state’s failure to rescind the legality of that awful panic defense argument.
Not if we can help it! We're pushing a huge campaign tomorrow to get on our state senators to kill both amendments and stand united for transgender rights.
Massachusetts' state Democrats need to take a lesson from Montana's state Democrats in how to actively fight for trans constituents. The status of trans rights in Massachusetts and other blue states can no longer be guaranteed, and Democrats in blue state legislatures cannot continue being complancent.
Absolutely. What Reps Zephyr and Howell are doing in Montana should be the template for Democrats everywhere.
Anticipatory compliance is the cowards way out.
Unless honor and integrity are more important than job security they are merely cowardly lions not leaders
We're shaming the reps and daring the senators to kill both amendments 81 and 81.1 when it's time to vote.
In other news, the Trump regime is already commissioning the required “study”: https://open.substack.com/pub/erininthemorn/p/the-trump-administration-is-about?r=jkgrj&utm_medium=ios
The bill says the study has to be done by the state's education department, not just any old study that comes along. Not very reassuring, I know.
Listen the Democrats are not the Trans People or Trans communities friends and allies! They are just as creepy and craven as the MAGAT PARTY! They will NEVER do anything that jeopardizes their political careers or anger their donors Just to help their own constituents, Trans or Otherwise! The American system has failed Americans and it’s time to Replace it with the system that works for The People and not the 1%! Capitalism is dead but the Oligarchy has yet to realize that FACT! We must enact a new system, a Socialist-Democratic One World Government that will actually help The People and Eradicate the Billionaires and the Corporations that oppress Us! I know that the word “Socialism” makes all these Capitalist Goons Quake in their Jack-Boots! It’s because they have never been able to separate their Prejudicial Beliefs from the “Red Scare 50’s” that Socialism is the same as Communism! They don’t even try to understand what it really means! They only care about making sure that their Gravy Train never stops! The sooner Capitalism ends completely the sooner we can turn the world around and make it something to be Proud Of and not Ashamed Of! 👿
Okay, no. You don't get to both-sides this.
Some Democrats (looking at you, Gavin Newsom) are happy to sell us out. Others, like Governor Janet Mills of Maine, are making a very public point of standing up for us. Most don't consider us all that important, which is fine with me. Trans issues don't make even my top five worries for the country right now, and I'm a trans person. Not saying I'm not terrified, just that I have so many other things to be terrified about.
When one political party is basically a modern Nazi party, none of us have the luxury of voting against the only viable alternative.
If you want to work to reform the Democratic Party from within, great! If you want to tear it down and build a progressive alternative in its place, also great! But NONE OF THAT MATTERS until we have a functioning democracy again and the MAGA party isn't an existential threat to humanity.
I agree, and Weaning the Democrats off their Corporate Donors Teats and reforming their political party is a good start! But we must utterly eliminate The MAGAT PARTY FROM EXISTENCE, the Sooner we do that, the sooner we can get to work on fixing this country and Democracy and start Government working for the People!
I absolutely agree! The way I look at it is that it's a primary issue. I won't support any Dem in the primaries that votes against our rights but in the general D vs. R is no contest.
Agree 100%
You're talking about a revolution, and sometimes revolutions are necessary. However, they are the LAST resort, after everything else has failed. We aren't even remotely close to that point, and we will never be at that point unless there are enough similarly aggrieved people to make it happen. Even then, don't just assume everyone wants to go socialist. And don't assume the revolutionaries are going to automatically smile upon us trans people. Those are other power struggles still. And then there are the challenges of starting a new government that isn't as bad as (or worse than) the one that got torn down. Trying to set up a democracy from scratch is a maddeningly complicated thing, because it must always be created out of some form of benevolent authoritarianism that has the blessings of the people.
Let's not walk down that dangerous road. Let's do our very best to fix the somewhat broken Democratic Party and then our badly battered government before deciding to throw it all into the dumpster.
Well said!
Cowards! With friends like these...
I'm so disappointed, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure they've come up with clever ways to rationalize their cruelty to kids who are having a really difficult time as it is. I'm disgusted.
May their constituents throw them out.
You know, I'm just about done voting for Democrats entirely, cowards all of them
Not all. I suggest you support politicians who support us (who happen to be almost entirely Democrats), and oppose politicians who oppose us (who come from both parties, but mostly from the Republican Party). And hands-down, the very best way to oppose rogue Democrats is to support their Democratic challengers in primaries.
THIS!
That approach is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
One aspect of this issue that keeps getting glossed over is the proclivity of political office holders to cast their votes according to their priority of not being voted out at the next election. If all they're focused on is keeping their job rather than truly representing their constituents then they're not representing you anymore--they're looking out for themselves first . . . and maybe you later.
Then we have to tie their fate to ours. They keep their jobs as long as they advocate for us. Otherwise, we come at them in the primaries when they are the most vulnerable and when we can have the most outsized role in ending their careers. Primaries typically draw maybe 10% (or best case, 20%) of the number of voters as the general elections. So when any particular interest group makes certain to rally nearly 100% of its voters to the primary, they grow in influence maybe 10x their actual numbers. That's how far-right wingnuts get their people into government. That's why there are so many Freedumb Caucus politicians in the GOP.
Now imagine if we can build power with the rest of the LGBTQ and have them turn out in similar numbers to the primaries. Then our 10-15% becomes utterly overwhelming. No Democratic politician could survive unless he or she fights for LGBTQ people - ALL of us.
But wait, there's more! That's also how we get our own LGBTQ politicians into office - by supporting them in overwhelming numbers in the primaries.
I see the Democratic primaries as the #1 most powerful influence we can have on government, hands-down.
Absolutely . . . and therein lies the rub, getting our voters to speak up and do it early and loudly. I’ve spoken about this before, as a group we are small and they know that. It is part of the reason they attack us. Another part of the problem is the Democrats in a general sense are a big tent which makes it easy for issues to become lost, forgotten, muddied. We need to find ways to stand out in our own way rather than how the anti-trans faction (attempts to) defines us. If we’re not visible within our own party we cannot expect others to even be aware of the problems we face.
True. On that last point, I'm reminded of the efforts of the trans community decades ago to get Annise Parker elected as the first openly lesbian member of the Houston City Council. I got looped into stapling yard signs when I visited my friends in Texas. It seems half of the campaign volunteers were trans. And you know what? She won, and she never forgot the hard work her trans allies put in to get her in the door. She later went on to become mayor of Houston, and she appointed the nation's first trans judge, Phyllis Frye. That's how the trans community can build power within the party.
But it all comes down to one common theme: SHOW UP! ;-)
What a sniveling bunch of weasels. They let this shit slide through with only the flimsiest attempt to mitigate it, because they're worried what would happen if they had to stand up for trans folks during a floor vote?
Earth to fucking morons, you're public servants! 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 you do is public record! Your constituents will remember you cowering in fear just as clearly as they'll remember where and when you chose to take a stand. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵!
I immediately called my senator and representative yesterday. This is a big fucking problem.
Thank you. Keep calling! This will most likely be debated in May.
Do you know when the public hearings will be? I know the budget bill goes to Senate ways and means committee and they hold public hearings. I'm hoping to get people to testify at those hearings, including myself (https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/tips-for-testifying-at-a-legislative-hearing/ is useful even though it's about animal welfare instead of trans rights).
They usually debate the budget in May but still we have to watch in case someone wants to jam it through (frankly I worry that makes me sound a little dopey but these days you don't know). Testifying is interesting, if there is a strong vibe that the senators we've bugged will band together and pull the amendments a good strategy may be to let them do that work and count on them and not draw negative attention for no reason--it was already frivolous that 81 was thrown in. I'm all for taking names of the house Ds who decided to chicken out and leave us vulnerable. When I saw Sen Oliveira last night he was as angry as we are and I look for him to rally others to the cause of pulling the amendments altogether.This can be an "easy" removal for them.
Nooooooo. This is so disappointing. We need the so-called "shield states" to stand firm.
Republicans have been steering the narrative for years by introducing bills based on lies. Why dont the Dems introduce Trans bills that are based in science and inclusiveness?
Because too many of them worry about keeping their job (office) over the needs of their constituents.
Awful politics! They're degrading transgender youth for some perceived threat to some Democrats. It's ridiculous how weak that is! It's very harmful to send that message to the youth trying to live their lives, without the parents support.
I am done voting for Democrats. If they are not progressive then they don’t get my vote.
So by default, you'd rather allow Republiscum to grow their power more completely?
THAT kind of thinking, which made the Extreme Court give-away possible, got George W. Bush appointed President. It also gave Benedict Donald a bare, but sadly adequate, plurality just six months ago.
Yes, voting for the democrats that keep getting forced on us is what put Trump in office in the first place. Hillary Clinton! Should have been Bernie. Would have been if the DNC hadn’t teamed up against him. That put him in office the first time. Then democrats hid the fact that Joe Biden was senile and our only choice was Kamala.
It's really very simple: Given a choice between two candidates, vote for the better one. If you stay home, you forfeit that choice and let the unjust majority run rough-shod over you/us.
And if you want better candidates, put them in the running in the primary process. Don't wait until the general election to turn up your nose at the choices given to you. Nobody becomes a Democratic nominee/candidate without first winning a primary. And here's the deal: Very few people vote in the primaries, so your vote is particularly powerful there. We trans people should make a solemn pact to show up for each and every primary - ALL of us.
Oh, and then there are protest votes. Let me tell you about my first presidential vote: It was in 1980, when Reagan was running to unseat Carter. It was a period of crippling stagflation that was eating us economically. Reagan's "trickle-down economics" sounded like a stupid solution, and history has proven it was. Carter's laissez faire policies were also bad. So I voted for Anderson, a dark horse independent candidate who seemed to have the best economic plan. And of course he lost. The result: friggin' REAGAN won, and kids of my generation were terrified we were all going to die as a result. (He almost sent the missiles flying - twice!) That was the last time I ever wasted my precious vote on a dark-horse candidate.
EXACTLY this! Because of the way our (two party) system is set up voting 3rd party almost always results in this. Sarah F is correct when she points out that our involvement at the Primary level, or even earlier, is what is needed. Waiting until the field has already been winnowed down is too late. I've said to those who complain to me about the "party" not running candidates they like, "well why didn't you run or support someone you like in the primary?"
Yep! This said, if we can get ranked choice voting passed in our states, that would revolutionize our democracy, allowing us to support our favorite dark-horse candidates without sacrificing our votes.
I really do see the primary process as the best way to weed our garden and replace unsupportive Democrats with supportive ones.
I agree! The problem is getting 50 individual States (and the territories) on board. That’s been a difficult row to hoe because so many do not understand it.
All 50 states (or substantially most of them?) would only be necessary for the presidential election. However, all the other elections could be reformed state by state. I think the Alaskans like their ranked choice voting. That's one state. We just need more. It doesn't have to be all, or even most. Every state that gets on board helps to improve our Congress and even our state and local governments.
Of course the other thing we need to do is to pass the national popular vote compact in enough states to control the electoral college - to give everyone an equal voice in electing the president. I think that's within reach!
Yeah that would be great! Still, if there are not progressives then I will not vote.
John, why not handle this the primaries, just support a different candidate if the incumbent voted against our right?
Well of course. I always vote in the primaries. Off there are no progressives in the primaries then I won’t vote. Not voting will be my vote.
Ive been heading ppl say for years that Dems are just republicans with nicer personalities.
Im done with them. Ive put over $100k in Democrat candidate pockets over last decade.
This is my return on the investment in “progress”
No thanks.
Imma put my energy into
Cultural change, and maybe the politics will follow.
Gynger, why not handle this the primaries, just support a different candidate if the incumbent voted against our right?
I can only say this,- that if the Democrats trying to protect Trans Athletes knew that some of their colleagues would vote "NO" on a straight Yes/No Bill on letting Trans Students participate in school sports, as disappointing as the current option is, it kept Trans Student participation open, with the move to Senate hopefully giving more promise with a Yes/No vote of Yes. But it is ugly and would be good to find out the names of those Reps. who were planning on voting "NO".