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Juggernaut of conservative legislation coming to a state near you

Juggernaut of conservative legislation coming to a state near you

WaPo: Be afraid of Republicans in state governments. Be very afraid.

For the last several weeks, we’ve been living in a sort of Twilight Zone episode where many people on the left including Obama and the media haven’t realized how big the midterms were for Republicans.

Until now.

Reid Wilson of the Washington Post has just begun to notice:

Republicans in state governments plan juggernaut of conservative legislation

Legislators in the 24 states where Republicans now hold total control plan to push a series of aggressive policy initiatives in the coming year aimed at limiting the power of the federal government and rekindling the culture wars.

The unprecedented breadth of the Republican majority — the party now controls 31 governorships and 68 of 98 partisan legislative chambers — all but guarantees a new tide of conservative laws. Republicans plan to launch a fresh assault on the Common Core education standards, press abortion regulations, cut personal and corporate income taxes and take up dozens of measures challenging the power of labor unions and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Before Election Day, the GOP controlled 59 partisan legislative chambers across the country. The increase to 68 gives Republicans six more chambers than their previous record in the modern era, set after special elections in 2011 and 2012.

Republicans also reduced the number of states where Democrats control both the governor’s office and the legislatures from 13 to seven.

Was the election yesterday? Is this new information about how many Republicans won?

Furthermore, why is it a surprise that Republicans have plans for when they take over?

Wilson goes on to repeat the Democrats’ warning to the GOP against going too far:

Republicans in at least nine states are planning to use their power to pass “right to work” legislation, which would allow employees to opt out of joining a labor union. Twenty-four states already have such laws on the books, and new measures have been or will be proposed in Wisconsin, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Ohio, Colorado, Kentucky, Montana, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Democrats and union officials warn Republicans against going too far, just a few years after bills targeting public-sector employee unions sparked protests in Wisconsin and Ohio.

Were the Democrats going “too far” when they passed Obamacare? How about when the Democrats went nuclear on the filibuster? Was that too far?

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Comments

Yeah, they’ve gotten such lousy results with their draconian economic measures.

Oh, wait. Those are the states run by the Democratic party.

Never mind.

    Valerie in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 10:24 am

    Seriously, if they stick to economic measures, they will secure the base for a huge win in 2016. If they decide to go nuts with social measures, they will dissipate their advantage.

      casualobserver in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 11:08 am

      Most everything listed by the WaPo author seems to be a safe social area to legislate with the exception of abortion regulations. But those details matter a lot. Otherwise, those areas have fair to good nationwide support.

      If local GOP governments get giddy later, it might detract from the party at the national level. But each national candidate has a chance to take their positions, too.

      Another Voice in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 11:17 am

      Agree. With most Americans it’s still all about the economy!
      Though it is stabilizing, it still remains inconsistent. The loses ensued still need to be remedied to bring back the accrued earnings lost over the previous 8 years.

      Ragspierre in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 11:31 am

      Don’t be cute. Say plainly what you mean by “going nuts” and “social issues”.

      Gun control and voter integrity laws are “social issues”. MOST issues are “social issues”, and the BASE cares about them.

        Valerie in reply to Ragspierre. | January 5, 2015 at 3:13 pm

        OK, I won’t be cute. Gun control, the budget, and voting integrity are all fine. Conservatives enjoy substantial support for their positions. Start pushing positions on abortion and gay marriage that do not enjoy broad support, and watch the Democrats rub their hands with glee.

        Indeed the War on Women nonsense was brought to you by Democrats as a dog whistle for abortion and gay marriage issues. It worked, and it can work, again.

      platypus in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      No, Valerie. What will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (again) is ignoring the ever-growing movement back towards the principles of the founding.

      The base is fed up with indifference to murdering babies, mainstreaming perversion, and generally galloping towards Gomorrah. These defective attitudes actually cause the economic decline by removing the guilt and shame necessary for good people to stay on the good path.

      There is no such thing as a fiscal conservative or a social conservative. You are either conservative or you’re one of those others over there in the donkey corral.

        topcat69 in reply to platypus. | January 5, 2015 at 2:06 pm

        Right! And what are the factors most associated with poverty? Single parenthood, or more generally, the breakdown of the family. Or to put it another way, what is the surest way to avoid poverty? Finish high school, get married before having kids and stay married. In short, social issues have a huge impact on the economic ones.

        And another thing to remember. Although social conservatives constantly get attacked for trying to ‘impose their values’ on others, the fact is that it is the other side doing the imposing. Social conservatives for the most part are just saying ‘stop’.

        I will say that I personally would like to ‘turn back the clock’, however. I would like to go back to a time when character, honor, faithfulness, loyalty, hard-work, common-sense, self-reliance and the like were considered positive values to be admired and respected. Today those exhibiting such values are likely to be condemned as selfish. I find it ironic that I, who would like to be able to keep a fair amount of what I earn, am accused of being selfish and greedy even though I donate far more of my own money and time to charity than most liberals.

      topcat69 in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      I am both an economic conservative and a social conservative, though I have some libertarian tendencies. And one thing I try very hard to do is to avoid insulting potential voters who are largely in my camp and likely to vote my way, but who differ with me on some issues. Talking about ‘going nuts’ with social measures does just that – insults potential allies.

      Why not just say that the focus needs to be on economic issues? Whether you meant to or not, you implied that people that consider social measures to be important are crazy. I don’t think that is very helpful, but perhaps you do.

      JimMtnViewCaUSA in reply to Valerie. | January 5, 2015 at 2:20 pm

      A good, common-sense compromise approach seems appropriate until citizens come to a consensus.
      Here’s an example, using abortion:
      a) abortion is not made illegal
      b) no public funds are allocated to pay for it

      Let the people who believe in it, pay for it. Let liberals allocate funds to pay for abortion for the poor instead of using their money to elect Dem politicians who remove money from our wallets to pay for it.

Empress Trudy | January 5, 2015 at 11:05 am

Keeping in mind that in right to work states they also tend to have few if any sane labor protections at all.

    casualobserver in reply to Empress Trudy. | January 5, 2015 at 11:10 am

    If that were true, why wouldn’t unions be getting more traction?

    Ragspierre in reply to Empress Trudy. | January 5, 2015 at 11:12 am

    We have jobs. Which is the very best of “sane” protections for working people.

    Observer in reply to Empress Trudy. | January 5, 2015 at 11:52 am

    B.S. I live in right-to-work Arizona, and there are plenty of legal protections for workers here, under state as well as federal law.

    The only thing unions protect are incompetent and corrupt employees.

      Paul in reply to Observer. | January 5, 2015 at 1:27 pm

      You forgot the fat salaries and pensions of the Union Bosses, and the kick-backs (“contributions”) that they give to the Dim Politicians that protect them via legislation. They “protect” those things too. Oh yeah, and organized crime.

    2nd Ammendment Mother in reply to Empress Trudy. | January 5, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    The best “worker protection” is the right to chose the job you want and negotiate the wages terms and conditions of your employment without interference. Somewhere along the way, libs have decided that workers are slaves to be held in one job and in one place for eternity. Mobility and ambition is what builds success. We only thrive when we work harder than the next guy and take risks. Safety nets and guarantees lead to mediocrity and stagnation.

Here in NC the republican legislature passed some really good things two years ago, but they’re just now starting to kick in. The tax cuts they passed won’t be effective until next April; I’m still paying twice as much in NC State income taxes than Federal. The voter ID requirement starts in 2016. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I sure wish they had sped up the timetable.

They’re not doing a very good job of messaging, either. The legislature slapped a sales tax on our utility bills and when I called my state representative to complain, he explained that they cut the “franchise tax” on utilities by more than the sales tax. It’s true, my electric bills have gone down now, but who knew the reason? The franchise tax cut is invisible, but the sales tax is printed right there on my utility bill every month.

    platypus in reply to snopercod. | January 5, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    Is it just me or does that remind you of the Stamp Act? The Crown lowered the price of tea so that even with the tax it was cheaper than the competition. The colonists responded by making Boston Harbor into a large cup of tea.

      snopercod in reply to platypus. | January 5, 2015 at 1:34 pm

      I think it’s just you. It would have been nice if the legislature hadn’t added the sales tax on electricity but the recession and Obamacare have left NC in a perilous financial situation. They cut personal income and corporate tax rates by a couple percent and increased deductions; We can already see the effects of those cuts in the declining unemployment numbers.

      Frankly, the sales tax on electricity will mean that even the poor will be paying a little bit where they weren’t paying a dime before. I like that. Call me mean-spirited…

        platypus in reply to snopercod. | January 10, 2015 at 8:27 pm

        You’re probably right; I tend to see things no one else sees.

        Actually, my comment was directed to the manner in which they made those things happen rather than the value of them. Only a NC resident could really advise the rest of us on the wisdom of what the NC legislature is doing.
        glad benefits are coming your way at the state level because it looks like the GOP fed win isn’t going to do much good for most of us.

I’d LOVE to see the state legislatures “go crazy” and call an Article V Convention of States. Then I’d like to see amendments to the Constitution:

— repeal the 17th Amendment…. this upset the original balance of power as envisioned by the founders and put too much power in the hands of moronic low information voters. The Senate should not be a popularity contest, it should be a check for the states against federal power

— do away with the ‘anchor baby’ clause of the 14th… the intent of this was to protect newly emancipated slaves…. today it is being abused all to hell by illegal immigrants

— some sort of ‘fiscal responsibility’ clause similar to the ‘balanced budget’ amendments, but there needs to be leeway for truly dire circumstances (like wars etc)

— term limits

— flat or ‘fair’ tax to abolish the IRS. it’s like a house foundation riddled with termites… it’s chock full of career bureaucrats who have proven they’re more than willing to ‘weaponize’ themselves against those of us who don’t get all cheerful about handing our hard-earned money over for them to take million dollar junkets to vegas and the like

— ditto for the EPA and Dept of Education. The fed government has no business whatsoever being involved in education

In general, the federal government needs to have it’s nuts cut out. It’s too big, too powerful, too corrupt and at this point it is on cruise control to consume everything in it’s path. Drastic action is needed.

peachesncream | January 5, 2015 at 12:40 pm

It sounds like a great agenda to me, but yes they need to stay off so called *women’s issues* The harpies will make their lives miserable , do not give them ammo.

    nordic_prince in reply to peachesncream. | January 5, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    No, they need to educate the populace about what’s really at stake in “women’s issues,” and present solutions that will actually do some good. The wrong thing to do is shut up and let the fascist harpies completely control the conversation. Capitulation will only make matters worse.

      peachesncream in reply to nordic_prince. | January 5, 2015 at 3:30 pm

      Sorry but I cannot agree with you at this juncture. If women’s issues are included THAT is all that will be discussed the entire rest of the measures will be ignored as they focus on women’s issues. They will shut down discussion by screaming “sexism” &
      “war on women” & ONCE AGAIN conservatives will be targeted as anti woman! And important other stuff will be tainted by association.

        topcat69 in reply to peachesncream. | January 5, 2015 at 7:27 pm

        Sorry peaches. In the Colorado Senate race, all Udall talked about were ‘women’s’ issues. And he lost because people are starting to realize that the whole ‘War on Women’ is totally phoney. If you run on that, it means you have no other issues to run on. Except the ever present racism issue. In short, the last hurrah for the WoW was 2014. I certainly hope that the Dems run on it again in 2016.

        nordic_prince in reply to peachesncream. | January 5, 2015 at 8:02 pm

        Only if conservatives run like children frightened by the bogeyman. We’ve got to stand up to their BS and expose their positions for the liberty-destroying lies they are. Can’t do that if we just keep mum about these things.

        For too long we’ve let them dictate the terms of battle. We’ve been like old women fainting at the merest suggestion of a fight. Time to hit ’em first, hit ’em hard, and put our political enemies to flight.

One needs to vote in every election, starting with the local elections for mayor and council. Make sure that they have the same values as you do and talk with them.

Vote for the people that you want to eventually represent you at the state level and then at the federal level. In many cases, it is name recognition that gets people moving up the ladder.

It is also important to keep the press honest, including bloggers. Point out their errors.

    Insufficiently Sensitive in reply to Liz. | January 5, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    It is also important to keep the press honest, including bloggers. Point out their errors.

    Without the monolithic, hard-‘progressive’ press, we wouldn’t be in this situation, stuck with a naïve non-executive President who hasn’t got a clue about history, economics nor foreign policy. That press has carried the Administration’s water and shielded it from almost all serious criticism for six years, and certainly has not provided the public a full spectrum of news.

    It took the public six years to see through the Dear Leader propaganda, but it did finally figure out that ‘labor utilization rate’ means that if you liked your 2007 job, you won’t get it back until the real economy (not Mr. Krugman’s parody) comes back.

Henry Hawkins | January 5, 2015 at 2:51 pm

The media and activist hounds are going to oppose whatever conservatives in state governments do. This is equally true on the national level – whatever the GOP or conservatives do (the two are now essentially mutually exclusive) will be met by the media/activist hounds. Repeat: there is nothing state or federal level conservatives can do that won’t be attacked by the media and lib activists. Nothing.

Therefore………. push everything, full press, all fronts. Economic, so-called ‘social’ issues (Rags is right – they’re all social issues ultimately), tax reform, immigration, etc., all of it.

GOP needs to either fight or get the f**k out of the way of those who will.

GOP pantywaist refrain: “Now, we can’t be engaging in anything controversial, might cost us votes.”

New flash for the GOP establishment: That refrain and your blind adherence to it IS the most controversial thing out there to the base of your own party, ya cowardly dimwits. The GOP has rolled over more than Evel Knievel and Madonna combined.

Insufficiently Sensitive | January 5, 2015 at 4:32 pm

The unprecedented breadth of the Republican majority — the party now controls 31 governorships and 68 of 98 partisan legislative chambers — all but guarantees a new tide of conservative laws.

Guess what, WaPo – that election was the voice of the people. And despite WaPo’s fervent pursuit of ever-more-progressive big gummint, and its careful shaping of ‘news’ stories to conform to progressive narratives, the people have pretty forcefully rejected that trend in government.

So yes, there’s a tide of laws about to rise and wash away some of the worst deposits of the Obama administration. And WaPo, rejoice! This is democracy in action. We’d like to see your future news stories reflect this happy turn of events, and cheer on the people who’ve staked their votes and their future on THEIR choice of governments.

It remains to be seen whether this tide actually happens. Such tides have been foretold before and nothing came of it.