The v**e should have already been protected but Republicans are set to limit the right to v**e for everyone except them.
Sep 10, 2022 09:01:42 #
336Robin
Loc: North Carolina
In the Republican mind (although no fraud has been found to affect e******ns) they use any inperfection to rail against the system so they can appear to justify limiting the rights of working people to v**e. They are laser focused on the v**es of minorities and progressives most of all. They use this tactic to try and extinguish the voice of the common man who is working hard to make ends meet so they can dominate e******ns (even as a minority) which is a F*****t policy. Freedom is about free and f**r e******ns without encumbrances set against race and political beliefs.
You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices.
Politico
Republicans look to restrict b****t measures following a string of progressive wins
Carlos Osorio/AP Photo
Megan Messerly, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Zach Montellaro
Sat, September 10, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Republicans across the country are working to make it harder to pass b****t measures — a direct threat to a******n-rights advocates and other liberal groups’ efforts to bypass governors and legislatures and take issues directly to v**ers.
The next major test for the strategy comes in November: Arizona and Arkansas’ GOP-controlled legislatures are asking v**ers to approve constitutional amendments that would raise the threshold for b****t initiatives from 50 percent to 60 percent. Arkansas’ proposal would apply to constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated state statutes on any subject matter, including a******n. Arizona’s applies only to taxation-related measures, though some see it as a prelude to a broader version.
"Our state constitution … should only be amended when there is genuine consensus among v**ers,” said Arkansas state Rep. David Ray, the Republican who sponsored the proposed amendment. "[The b****t measure] provides a much-needed guardrail so that big money, out-of-state special interests quit trying to hijack our state constitution and b****t initiative system by pulling the wool over v**ers' eyes and effectively buying new laws and constitutional amendments.”
The Republican push to regulate b****t measures has escalated in recent years as citizen-led initiatives have been used to legalize marijuana, expand Medicaid, create independent redistricting commissions and raise the minimum wage in purple and red states.
But the tactic is under new scrutiny after deep-red Kansas’ anti-a******n referendum failed by a wide margin, which gave a******n-rights supporters around the country hope that b****t measures can be a viable way to circumvent GOP-controlled legislatures and restore access to the procedure.
Some progressives worry they could lose one of their last remaining tools to defend or advance a******n rights in a post-Roe country.
"Red states know that this is the one lever that reproductive rights advocates still have in many of these states — where we've lost both chambers of the legislature, we've lost the gubernatorial seats, and we don't have very much hope in the court system,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the advocacy group The Fairness Project. "B****t measures remain the one true muscle that the people still have to flex.”
Conservative groups in North Dakota are expected to try again next year to impose a supermajority v**e threshold for b****t initiatives after their signature-gathering attempts to put such a measure on the November b****t fell short earlier this summer. Republican lawmakers in South Dakota are also expected to take another swing at making it harder to approve b****t initiatives after v**ers rejected one 60 percent v**e requirement during the state’s June primary.
In Florida, a state where proposed constitutional amendments already need 60 percent approval to pass, lawmakers recently imposed limits on fundraising for b****t campaigns, though that policy was blocked by a judge this summer. In Nebraska, legislators this year banned signature-gathering near v****g drop boxes as part of an omnibus e******n bill.
Lawmakers in Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah are also expected to soon renew their push for other restrictions, such as raising the v**e or signature threshold, requiring signatures from a certain number of counties in the state, limiting what topics citizen-initiated b****t measures can address, or dictating what font size canvassers need to use.
“The Constitution is supposed to be a framework and then you have laws that operate within that framework. But, increasingly, our Constitution is becoming a law book in and of itself,” said Missouri state Rep. Bishop Davidson, who supports limits on the b****t measure process.
Davidson added that the threat of a pro-a******n rights b****t measure — something activists are discussing after their victory in neighboring Kansas — may persuade more of his Republican colleagues to support reforms to the initiative petition process next session.
“I would be shocked if there wasn’t a petition circulated from the pro-choice side of this debate,” he said. “I think it is coming. I am concerned.”
Proponents argue these changes, which more states are expected to debate when legislatures reconvene in January, are aimed at preventing out-of-state money from pouring into their states and influencing v**ers to change laws or amend their constitution.
“I know that there’s a lot of paid petitioners out there. Is it truly the people who are wanting these things, or is it just groups that are paying for these things?” said Oklahoma state Rep. Carl Newton, a Republican.
The pattern extends beyond state legislatures into other parts of government.
In Michigan, Republicans on the state’s Board of Canvassers v**ed to block the certification of a sweeping a******n-rights b****t initiative that got far more than the required number of valid signatures over claims the text of the proposed constitutional amendment had spacing and formatting errors. The state’s Supreme Court overrode their decision on Thursday, meaning v**ers will have a chance in November to decide whether a******n remains legal.
And last year in Mississippi, a conservative-leaning court struck down the state’s entire b****t initiative process.
"This new tool in our box to protect reproductive rights and liberty is going to give our opposition even more incentive to take that away from us and to make it harder to pass b****t measures,” said Corrine Rivera Fowler, director of policy and legal advocacy at the progressive B****t Initiative Strategy Center.
Of the two dozen states that allow citizen-initiated b****t measures, 11 have laws prohibiting most a******ns, though some are temporarily blocked in court.
The efforts to stymie b****t initiatives, however, haven’t been targeted specifically at a******n.
Arkansas legislators, for example, acted after liberal groups turned to v**ers to raise the minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana. But these policies may have their greatest impact on a******n rights as lawmakers across the country consider not only whether and when the procedure should be legal but also what punishments to mete out to physicians and patients.
Arkansas Right to Life hasn’t taken a position on the proposed supermajority v**e requirement. But the group’s executive director, Rose Mimms, told POLITICO its passage would help prevent efforts to amend the state’s Constitution to codify a right to a******n.
The lawmakers pushing for the higher threshold, she said, are “very good pro-life people, so I’m thinking they had not only [a******n] but other conservative issues in mind when they wanted to protect our Constitution from being changed so easily by making that supermajority a requirement.
“We’ve seen it here in Arkansas with marijuana, that once you start amending the Constitution, there’s no meaning to it,” she added.
Opponents of the 60 percent requirement argue it would make it much more difficult to pass progressive policies, including protections for a******n, in a state where Republicans in the Legislature outnumber Democrats 3 to 1.
“This is the only tool we have in a state like Arkansas,” said Kymara Seals, policy director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, one of the groups campaigning against the amendment. “That’s why we must fight to protect our access to the b****t because we’re not going to get it in the legislature.”
Groups that oppose the restrictions also argue that the process is already time-consuming and expensive. In Michigan, for example, tens of thousands of canvassers — mostly volunteers with some paid staff — worked for months to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to get the a******n rights amendment on the November b****t and planning for the effort began years earlier.
Both SBA Pro-Life America and Students for Life, two national anti-a******n groups that have spent millions on b****t initiative fights in Kansas and other states, told POLITICO they aren’t getting involved in debates over the b****t process.
“Too many state and national leaders are not responsive to what v**ers really want, so the rise in b****t initiatives as a trend comes from people taking advantage of the course open to them,” said Kristi Hamrick, the spokesperson for Students for Life. “I hope this isn’t about silencing constituents.”
Polls show that Roe’s demise has helped Democrats close the enthusiasm gap and Democratic candidates have benefited from a surge in donations since POLITICO published the draft Supreme Court opinion in May, but progressive groups fear not enough attention is paid to the b****t initiative process.
“We are really raising the alarm bell about what's happening this November,” Hall said. “Because if they succeed in any of these [states], it will be all the more fuel on the fire to say that they should be proposing these restrictions everywhere else.”
The Fairness Project was behind a successful Medicaid expansion b****t measure in Oklahoma in 2020, after which lawmakers introduced several bills to make it harder to pass citizen-led b****t initiatives, including a proposal to raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments to 55 percent.
The legislation failed this year, but Newton said he plans to bring back his bill in the 2024 legislative session.
Newton added that while he’s not specifically concerned about an out-of-state group introducing a pro-a******n rights b****t measure in Oklahoma, “there is a possibility because there are some groups [like] Planned Parenthood … that would want that to be a reality. So they may pick us out as a target state.”
A******n-rights groups within Oklahoma, meanwhile, are contemplating unwinding the state’s near total ban by putting the question directly to v**ers. That’s why protecting b****t access is so crucial, said Laura Bellis, executive director of Take Control Oklahoma, which advocates for reproductive health care access.
“We have to protect b****t initiatives in general before we can even think about having one to protect a******n rights,” she said.
You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices.
Politico
Republicans look to restrict b****t measures following a string of progressive wins
Carlos Osorio/AP Photo
Megan Messerly, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Zach Montellaro
Sat, September 10, 2022 at 7:00 AM
Republicans across the country are working to make it harder to pass b****t measures — a direct threat to a******n-rights advocates and other liberal groups’ efforts to bypass governors and legislatures and take issues directly to v**ers.
The next major test for the strategy comes in November: Arizona and Arkansas’ GOP-controlled legislatures are asking v**ers to approve constitutional amendments that would raise the threshold for b****t initiatives from 50 percent to 60 percent. Arkansas’ proposal would apply to constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated state statutes on any subject matter, including a******n. Arizona’s applies only to taxation-related measures, though some see it as a prelude to a broader version.
"Our state constitution … should only be amended when there is genuine consensus among v**ers,” said Arkansas state Rep. David Ray, the Republican who sponsored the proposed amendment. "[The b****t measure] provides a much-needed guardrail so that big money, out-of-state special interests quit trying to hijack our state constitution and b****t initiative system by pulling the wool over v**ers' eyes and effectively buying new laws and constitutional amendments.”
The Republican push to regulate b****t measures has escalated in recent years as citizen-led initiatives have been used to legalize marijuana, expand Medicaid, create independent redistricting commissions and raise the minimum wage in purple and red states.
But the tactic is under new scrutiny after deep-red Kansas’ anti-a******n referendum failed by a wide margin, which gave a******n-rights supporters around the country hope that b****t measures can be a viable way to circumvent GOP-controlled legislatures and restore access to the procedure.
Some progressives worry they could lose one of their last remaining tools to defend or advance a******n rights in a post-Roe country.
"Red states know that this is the one lever that reproductive rights advocates still have in many of these states — where we've lost both chambers of the legislature, we've lost the gubernatorial seats, and we don't have very much hope in the court system,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the advocacy group The Fairness Project. "B****t measures remain the one true muscle that the people still have to flex.”
Conservative groups in North Dakota are expected to try again next year to impose a supermajority v**e threshold for b****t initiatives after their signature-gathering attempts to put such a measure on the November b****t fell short earlier this summer. Republican lawmakers in South Dakota are also expected to take another swing at making it harder to approve b****t initiatives after v**ers rejected one 60 percent v**e requirement during the state’s June primary.
In Florida, a state where proposed constitutional amendments already need 60 percent approval to pass, lawmakers recently imposed limits on fundraising for b****t campaigns, though that policy was blocked by a judge this summer. In Nebraska, legislators this year banned signature-gathering near v****g drop boxes as part of an omnibus e******n bill.
Lawmakers in Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah are also expected to soon renew their push for other restrictions, such as raising the v**e or signature threshold, requiring signatures from a certain number of counties in the state, limiting what topics citizen-initiated b****t measures can address, or dictating what font size canvassers need to use.
“The Constitution is supposed to be a framework and then you have laws that operate within that framework. But, increasingly, our Constitution is becoming a law book in and of itself,” said Missouri state Rep. Bishop Davidson, who supports limits on the b****t measure process.
Davidson added that the threat of a pro-a******n rights b****t measure — something activists are discussing after their victory in neighboring Kansas — may persuade more of his Republican colleagues to support reforms to the initiative petition process next session.
“I would be shocked if there wasn’t a petition circulated from the pro-choice side of this debate,” he said. “I think it is coming. I am concerned.”
Proponents argue these changes, which more states are expected to debate when legislatures reconvene in January, are aimed at preventing out-of-state money from pouring into their states and influencing v**ers to change laws or amend their constitution.
“I know that there’s a lot of paid petitioners out there. Is it truly the people who are wanting these things, or is it just groups that are paying for these things?” said Oklahoma state Rep. Carl Newton, a Republican.
The pattern extends beyond state legislatures into other parts of government.
In Michigan, Republicans on the state’s Board of Canvassers v**ed to block the certification of a sweeping a******n-rights b****t initiative that got far more than the required number of valid signatures over claims the text of the proposed constitutional amendment had spacing and formatting errors. The state’s Supreme Court overrode their decision on Thursday, meaning v**ers will have a chance in November to decide whether a******n remains legal.
And last year in Mississippi, a conservative-leaning court struck down the state’s entire b****t initiative process.
"This new tool in our box to protect reproductive rights and liberty is going to give our opposition even more incentive to take that away from us and to make it harder to pass b****t measures,” said Corrine Rivera Fowler, director of policy and legal advocacy at the progressive B****t Initiative Strategy Center.
Of the two dozen states that allow citizen-initiated b****t measures, 11 have laws prohibiting most a******ns, though some are temporarily blocked in court.
The efforts to stymie b****t initiatives, however, haven’t been targeted specifically at a******n.
Arkansas legislators, for example, acted after liberal groups turned to v**ers to raise the minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana. But these policies may have their greatest impact on a******n rights as lawmakers across the country consider not only whether and when the procedure should be legal but also what punishments to mete out to physicians and patients.
Arkansas Right to Life hasn’t taken a position on the proposed supermajority v**e requirement. But the group’s executive director, Rose Mimms, told POLITICO its passage would help prevent efforts to amend the state’s Constitution to codify a right to a******n.
The lawmakers pushing for the higher threshold, she said, are “very good pro-life people, so I’m thinking they had not only [a******n] but other conservative issues in mind when they wanted to protect our Constitution from being changed so easily by making that supermajority a requirement.
“We’ve seen it here in Arkansas with marijuana, that once you start amending the Constitution, there’s no meaning to it,” she added.
Opponents of the 60 percent requirement argue it would make it much more difficult to pass progressive policies, including protections for a******n, in a state where Republicans in the Legislature outnumber Democrats 3 to 1.
“This is the only tool we have in a state like Arkansas,” said Kymara Seals, policy director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, one of the groups campaigning against the amendment. “That’s why we must fight to protect our access to the b****t because we’re not going to get it in the legislature.”
Groups that oppose the restrictions also argue that the process is already time-consuming and expensive. In Michigan, for example, tens of thousands of canvassers — mostly volunteers with some paid staff — worked for months to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to get the a******n rights amendment on the November b****t and planning for the effort began years earlier.
Both SBA Pro-Life America and Students for Life, two national anti-a******n groups that have spent millions on b****t initiative fights in Kansas and other states, told POLITICO they aren’t getting involved in debates over the b****t process.
“Too many state and national leaders are not responsive to what v**ers really want, so the rise in b****t initiatives as a trend comes from people taking advantage of the course open to them,” said Kristi Hamrick, the spokesperson for Students for Life. “I hope this isn’t about silencing constituents.”
Polls show that Roe’s demise has helped Democrats close the enthusiasm gap and Democratic candidates have benefited from a surge in donations since POLITICO published the draft Supreme Court opinion in May, but progressive groups fear not enough attention is paid to the b****t initiative process.
“We are really raising the alarm bell about what's happening this November,” Hall said. “Because if they succeed in any of these [states], it will be all the more fuel on the fire to say that they should be proposing these restrictions everywhere else.”
The Fairness Project was behind a successful Medicaid expansion b****t measure in Oklahoma in 2020, after which lawmakers introduced several bills to make it harder to pass citizen-led b****t initiatives, including a proposal to raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments to 55 percent.
The legislation failed this year, but Newton said he plans to bring back his bill in the 2024 legislative session.
Newton added that while he’s not specifically concerned about an out-of-state group introducing a pro-a******n rights b****t measure in Oklahoma, “there is a possibility because there are some groups [like] Planned Parenthood … that would want that to be a reality. So they may pick us out as a target state.”
A******n-rights groups within Oklahoma, meanwhile, are contemplating unwinding the state’s near total ban by putting the question directly to v**ers. That’s why protecting b****t access is so crucial, said Laura Bellis, executive director of Take Control Oklahoma, which advocates for reproductive health care access.
“We have to protect b****t initiatives in general before we can even think about having one to protect a******n rights,” she said.
Sep 10, 2022 09:09:53 #
Sep 10, 2022 09:14:32 #
American Vet wrote:
ELWNJ rant.
These morons don't seem to realize that all the SCOTUS decision did was put the issue of a******n back where it belongs, with the individual states. A******n has already been upheld in several states. What are they b***hing about?
Sep 10, 2022 09:24:20 #
youngwilliam
Loc: Deep in the heart
336Robin wrote:
In the Republican mind (although no fraud has been... (show quote)
Do they pay you overtime to work on saturday?
Sep 10, 2022 09:34:15 #
336Robin wrote:
In the Republican mind (although no fraud has been... (show quote)
Why so hell bent on having a******ns.
Can't you people control yourselves?
Is your place in the world so small it's only gratification is unbridled sexual activity with no regard for reality?
The bolshevik way is to get inside the heads of the i***ts and lead them to places that only create dissent and division. Which leads to mob rule. Which leads to a 1 party system.
Just like you...despicable lying bolshevik.
Sep 10, 2022 10:43:11 #
336Robin
Loc: North Carolina
Smedley_buzk**l wrote:
These morons don't seem to realize that all the SCOTUS decision did was put the issue of a******n back where it belongs, with the individual states. A******n has already been upheld in several states. What are they b***hing about?
They also knew that there were trigger laws in place where people didn't get a choice.
People should be able to v**e on decisions like this from the Supreme Court.
Sep 10, 2022 11:02:28 #
JFlorio
Loc: Seminole Florida
Smedley_buzk**l wrote:
These morons don't seem to realize that all the SCOTUS decision did was put the issue of a******n back where it belongs, with the individual states. A******n has already been upheld in several states. What are they b***hing about?
It's what they do. Cry, whine, and moan, like a bunch of pussies even when decisions they treasure they can influence more at the state level. Damn dumbest people on earth.
Sep 10, 2022 11:04:31 #
JFlorio
Loc: Seminole Florida
336Robin wrote:
They also knew that there were trigger laws in place where people didn't get a choice.
People should be able to v**e on decisions like this from the Supreme Court.
People should be able to v**e on decisions like this from the Supreme Court.
What trigger laws? If your legislature bans a******n and that ban is seen as the wrong thing to do by the majority of v**ers in that state then they can v**e the legislators out and put in like minded unborn k**lers in. Win, win. Except for the slaughtered generation you pigs care nothing about.
Sep 10, 2022 11:08:15 #
336Robin wrote:
In the Republican mind (although no fraud has been... (show quote)
quote "You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices."
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
Sep 10, 2022 11:11:53 #
JFlorio
Loc: Seminole Florida
Bevvy wrote:
quote "You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices."
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
I don't understand why they give that lying POS Obama a pass on this. My wife and I had great, affordable insurance. ACA took that away and gave us much more expensive limited options. I believe most who love this crap either never had insurance or hasn't had to use it yet,
Sep 10, 2022 11:27:51 #
youngwilliam
Loc: Deep in the heart
Bevvy wrote:
quote "You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices."
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
Do biden's v*****e mandates come under health care?
Sep 10, 2022 12:19:03 #
336Robin
Loc: North Carolina
JFlorio wrote:
What trigger laws? If your legislature bans a******n and that ban is seen as the wrong thing to do by the majority of v**ers in that state then they can v**e the legislators out and put in like minded unborn k**lers in. Win, win. Except for the slaughtered generation you pigs care nothing about.
You can't deny the trigger laws, they are a fact. Grow up.
Sep 10, 2022 12:20:16 #
336Robin
Loc: North Carolina
Bevvy wrote:
quote "You may not like everything Democrats stand for, but they are not trying to limit your voice nor dictate your health care choices."
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
now if a lie has ever been told this is it . Obama absolutely limited my health care choices . The lying dude had the nerve to stand before the people and promise " if you like your insurance , you can keep it" Then proceeded to take my insurance away .
How many millions have free health care policies because of the ACA? A lot.
Sep 10, 2022 12:25:53 #
336Robin wrote:
How many millions have free health care policies because of the ACA? A lot.
First - educate yourself. No health care is free - it is paid for by working taxpayers.
Second - it is not as rosy as you would like to think.
Today, 45 percent of U.S. adults ages 19 to 64 are inadequately insured — nearly the same as in 2010 — though important shifts have taken place.
Compared to 2010, many fewer adults are uninsured today, and the duration of coverage gaps people experience has shortened significantly.
Despite actions by the Trump administration and Congress to weaken the ACA, the adult uninsured rate was 12.4 percent in 2018 in this survey, statistically unchanged from the last time we fielded the survey in 2016.
More people who have coverage are underinsured now than in 2010, with the greatest increase occurring among those in employer plans.
People who are underinsured or spend any time uninsured report cost-related problems getting care and difficulty paying medical bills at higher rates than those with continuous, adequate coverage.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2019/feb/health-insurance-coverage-eight-years-after-aca
Sep 10, 2022 12:30:25 #
336Robin
Loc: North Carolina
American Vet wrote:
First - educate yourself. No health care is free -... (show quote)
I've quoted that source before. Sure there are imperfections but the Republican answer to this is not to work across the aisle its to destroy it.
When Republicans come to the table on everything, then we have government. Simply saying no and forcing Democrats to do only what they can do is not governing.
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