Red Dawn: The GOP’s Growing Monopoly on State Government

[hue]

http://billmoyers.com/2014/10/15/red-dawn-gops-growing-monopoly-state-government/

There’s never been a worse time to be a Democrat in a red state. Republicans now hold all the reins of power — the governorship and both houses of the state legislature — in 23 states. That’s up from just nine before the 2010 elections. There are now more states under single-party control than at any time since 1944. And without even token Democratic opposition, Republicans have busted unions in Michigan and Wisconsin, passed draconian tax cuts in Kansas and enacted sweeping new abortion restrictions across the nation.

This November, more Americans could find themselves living under single-party GOP rule. There won’t be nearly as many states flipping to single-party rule as in 2010?s GOP romp, but Republicans are hoping to add Arkansas and Iowa to the list of states where they can implement their agenda free of Democratic resistance. In Arkansas, Republicans won the state House and Senate in 2012 and hope to add the governorship this year. And in Iowa, a razor-thin two-seat Democratic Senate majority is all that has held back a wave of conservative legislation.

“We are on offense this year,” says Jill Bader, communications director for the Republican State Leadership Conference (RSLC), which works to elect Republican state legislators. “We’re building these new majorities in some states that have been traditionally Democratic.”

Midterm elections present problems for Democrats. The party’s most loyal voting blocs — young voters and minorities, in particular — tend to vote at lower rates than in presidential years. This year, President Barack Obama’s falling approval rating could drag down Democratic candidates for state legislative seats. And thanks to the GOP’s widespread success in 2010, Republicans were able to redraw many states’ legislative maps after that year’s census, gerrymandering themselves into solid and consistent majorities.

[upaloopa]

1. These folks let the foxes in the hen house by

either not voting or voting repuke then spend the next two years on TV demonstrating against the results then vote the same way again. They effect the country as a whole because of the control on national elections. Other than that I find it hard to listen to their complaints.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. We'll never correct this trend if the vote "counters" use proprietary code to hide election results

from prying eyes. As it stands now, all that we have to go by when the election blows up for us is the word from some CEO that our guys lost.

[brooklynite]

3. My wife and I are supporting DLCC to help reverse the trend.

Too many people focus only on the Federal races.