Good news and then bad this week, out of Texas, on women's rights and abortion law.
First there was the good news:
One Ms. Wendy Davis stood up to the Texas Republicans and legislature and filibustered yet one more proposed piece of legislation restricting women's rights and their legal abortion rights in that state.
Good for her.
It was, of course, the right--very right, very just thing to do.
Now, the bad, from last evening:
It seems Governor Rick "I Can't Remember" Perry isn't about to let this go so he's spending yet more of Texas' tax money, calling the legislature back for a special session so they can get their precious abortion bill.
It's insane. It's irresponsible. It's not surprising but so it goes.
This, on the heels of the terrific ruling from the US Supreme Court, just hours earlier. The highs and lows of government in the US, I suppose.
What concerns me most about the incident in Texas with Ms. Davis and her filibuster is that it seems as though a sort of "filibuster fever" is beginning in America.
First, months ago, there was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's very famous and public and, as it turned out, too, successful filibuster on drones earlier this year, in March:
Rand Paul filibusters the domestic drone
It was very big at the time and it got him widespread coverage. His supporters were naturally very pleased.As proof, check this out. I just found this article, again from last evening, about Rand Paul and yet another filibuster he's threatening:
Rand Paul threatens to support filibustering immigration bill
It seems to make my point. That is, it seems we are at the beginning, possibly, of more--and more frequent--very public filibusters as a way to effect change in legislatures in the nation both on the state and national levels, instead of getting good government by 2 sides compromising.
And each time a filibuster is "successful", coming, as it does from an already very polarized society, it only polarizes us all the more.
And each time a filibuster is "successful", coming, as it does from an already very polarized society, it only polarizes us all the more.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is not good. It is patently not good.
This is no way to run a government.
Ot nation.
Or state, for that matter.
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1 comment:
It was bad enough when we had two massive political corporations competing to control the government.
And it got worse when they realized they had more to gain by conspiring than competing.
But it's actually managed to get yet worse now they're functionally incapable of even conspiring.
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