Obviously, the Times sorta takes the side of the Blue states, but, does play much of this straight (you can also see at Yahoo News if the paywall gets you)
Flurry of New Laws Move Blue and Red States Further Apart
After the governor of Texas ordered state agencies to investigate parents for child abuse if they provide certain medical treatments to their transgender children, California lawmakers proposed a law making the state a refuge for transgender youths and their families.
When Idaho proposed a ban on abortions that empowers relatives to sue anyone who helps terminate a pregnancy after six weeks, nearby Oregon approved $15 million to help cover the abortion expenses of patients from out of state.
As Republican activists aggressively pursue conservative social policies in state legislatures across the country, liberal states are taking defensive actions. Spurred by a U.S. Supreme Court that is expected to soon upend an array of long-standing rights, including the constitutional right to abortion, left-leaning lawmakers from Washington to Vermont have begun to expand access to abortion, bolster voting rights and denounce laws in conservative states targeting LGBTQ minors.
The flurry of action, particularly in the West, is intensifying already marked differences between life in liberal- and conservative-led parts of the country. And it’s a sign of the consequences when state governments are controlled increasingly by single parties. Control of legislative chambers is split between parties now in only two states — Minnesota and Virginia — compared with 15 states 30 years ago.
“We’re further and further polarizing and fragmenting, so that blue states and red states are becoming not only a little different but radically different,” said Jon Michaels, a law professor who studies government at UCLA.
Well, yeah. On one side you have states which do not want parents and teachers to force the trans agenda on kids who really do not know better. Which want to limit killing the unborn, especially since Dems seem to treat abortion as contraception. Restricting teaching CRT, which demonizes white kids, and even Asians and Latinos. Giving parents control over what their kids are taught. Stopping the insane climate cult stuff. Upholding 2nd Amendment Rights (maybe a bit too much, IMO. I’m all for permits for concealed carry. That’s a long explanation). And so much more. Dems want the opposite, adding on huge taxes and fees, authoritarian government over citizens, and more.
With some 30 legislatures in Republican hands, conservative lawmakers, working in many cases with shared legislative language, have begun to enact a tsunami of restrictions that for years were blocked by Democrats and moderate Republicans at the federal level. A recent wave of anti-abortion bills, for instance, has been the largest since the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.
They call these restrictions, and they’re right: except, most are restrictions on government and government employees, with the others mostly protecting citizens, especially the most vulnerable, like children
Many, however, send a strong cultural message. And divisions will widen further, said Peverill Squire, an expert on state legislatures at the University of Missouri, if the Supreme Court hands more power over to the states on issues like abortion and voting, as it did when it said in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering was beyond federal jurisdiction.
Some legal analysts also say the anticipated rollback of abortion rights could throw a host of other privacy rights into state-level turmoil, from contraception to health care. Meanwhile, entrenched partisanship, which has already hobbled federal decision-making, could block attempts to impose strong national standards in Congress.
“We’re potentially entering a new era of state-centered policymaking,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside. “We may be heading into a future where you could have conservative states and progressive states deciding they are better off pushing their own visions of what government should be.”
The Conservative vision of government is that it is limited, empowers Citizens, and is based on the Constitution. The Democrat vision is that government is Great and should be huge and control everything, with parents having little control of their children and abortion should be whenever for whatever till birth, and sometimes after. Citizens should be disarmed, at the beck and call of government. That citizens earnings are the government’s money. Dissension is not allowed, on pain of cancellation. Comply, Comrade!
But no state has been as aggressive as California in shoring up alternatives to the Republican legislation.
The state with high taxes, high cost of living, high housing, and massive restrictions on citizen freedom and life choices? The one people and companies are abandoning? And lets not forget about all the high crime in California and other Progressive meccas.
The question now becomes “are we moving to a Big Split”? And, if so, will it be amicable, or war?
As Republican activists aggressively pursue conservative social policies in state legislatures across the country,
HOW FUKING EVIL THOSE CONSERVATIVES WANT CONSERVATIVE VALUES IN THEIR STATES OF CHOICE!!!!!!!!!
Florida is set to become the 23rd state to allow constitutional carry…meaning you can conceal carry without a permit. Something growing more necessary in the light of the left letting Murderers, MS-13 gang members(the most vicious gang in the world)Rapists, criminals, drug dealers and their massive influx of drugs into our country.
“We’re potentially entering a new era of state-centered policymaking,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside. “We may be heading into a future where you could have conservative states and progressive states deciding they are better off pushing their own visions of what government should be.”
This is why people are pushing for a divorce. All states are RED. If you look at any map of the United States after almost any election something like 90 percent of the MAP IS RED. The Blue is concentrated in Big cities and if there was every a civil war the simplest thing to do would be for the RED states to just entrench blue cities and starve them into submission.
Once those people give up we then fly them to California and swell that nation state to 150 million lunatics and let them kill each other. Game over man. Game over.
Doom and Gloom typed: …after almost any election something like 90 percent of the MAP IS RED
D & G makes the flawed assumption that acreage, rather than Americans, vote.
Elwood, you seem to believe that we have a Democracy. We don’t. We have a Republic with democratic institutions.
James,
We keep hearing that from nuCons. Although we do not have a nationwide vote on every issue, we do certainly elect our school boards, city council, sheriffs, judges, mayors, governors, senators, representatives etc by direct votes. We elect our pres and vp by an archaic system to prevent voters from overwhelming acreage. We empower the elected officials to make decisions.
unCons like to downplay the democracy angle for the simple reason that the nuGOP has won a single national vote (2004) since 1988 (Bush I). Clinton (92,96), Gore (00), BUSH II (04), Obama (08, 12) H Clinton (16), Biden (20). That’s one GOP majority vote in 34 years. We understand why you prefer minority rule.
The liar dOwd once again: “That’s one GOP majority vote in 34 years. We understand why you prefer minority rule.”
EWe don’t “prefer minority rule” although if you want to lie and say so to ease your anti American beliefs go right ahead. What we do prefer is Constitutional Rule which stipulates the Electoral College to keep the balance between states fairer than democratic, or mob rule as it’s called.
You and your fellow communists want to use “democracy” as a sword to slash the minority to death. That’s not what freedom is all about. You want to do the the American politic what you have done to the failed, criminal and poverty filled, broken and corrupt “blue cities”. Why? exactly what has the boot-on-face rule of leftist democrats in these blue cities accomplished that is good?
None of you care about freedom or equality, or opportunity or any other foundational idea of America. You care only for power. The power to grind your political opponents (Americans one and all) into fealty and dirt.
Name one thing that an enemy of America would do differently than you.
FJB, and all you assholes.
DOWD seems to make the mistake that a civil war will be voted on and each bullet fired will require a yay or nay.
My contention was a simple one. No bullets need be fired. Just starve the snowflakes out of their high rises when no trucks, trains or planes are allowed to get into the cities. Then when they give up and leave we give them first class flights to California where they are treated with the utmost respect.
No bullets, no violence. Just a simple seige. Land matters when half the country is on the RED Side and half is on the blue side.
Why? Because the left all congretate in giant cities to feel good about themselves I guess. hell why else would you live in a crime infested city filled with degenerate leftiest thinking that Land doesn’t matter when they aint got none to count their own.
Our esteemed host wrote:
Louisville has 39.47% the population of foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy Philadelphia. If I multiply the 125 murders that Philly has seen by .3947, Louisville should have seen 49 homicides so far this year, but has actually seen ‘just’ 46. Pennsylvania has a concealed carry permit requirement, and Philadelphians have been applying for them in record numbers this year, while the Bluegrass State does not require such a permit, yet there are slightly fewer murders in our worst city than Pennsylvania’s.
It does not seem that the requirement for a concealed carry permit has much effect on homicide rates.
Requiring a concealed carry permit affects only the law-abiding public, because the criminals can’t get them and don’t bother.
Agreed. To be safer, every American should be advised to be armed at all times. To be safer, every American home (and auto) should have at least one loaded, unsecured firearm at the ready at all times.
Those stupid, anti-2nd Amendment lib/Dems have been steadily eroding our safety by grabbing our guns. Americans only have 393 MILLION guns in private hands anymore. That’s only about 1.2 guns for every man, woman and child. But that’s an average. Although some of us have some 15 or 20 guns, some Americans have none!!
We’ve been criticized for keeping our firearms secured in gun safes, and for not having a semi-auto with at least a 30 round mag. We’re questioned about what we will do when a “horde of 10 savages” break in and we only have a 4-shot 870 handy? We’ll risk it I guess, but that’s just the liberal in us.
Elwood, are you well?
That’s one of the most reasonable posts we’ve seen from you in some time.