this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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I don’t think these issues are being ignored but a two seat majority in the Senate, comprised of red state democrats, does limit the ability to do anything here. If you look at the state level there is a lot happening to address a variety of issues by blue states. Red states are moving backward
Ignored might be a strong word, but, especially on the national stage, there hasn't been the impetus to make strong strides on minority rights for a while. Part of that is the fault of a certain proportion of Democratic voters, and part of that is the fault of Democratic politicians (and all of the blame, of course, lays twice as heavy on the GOP), but it is definitely a continuing problem.
You don’t think there have been huge strides for LGBT rights by democrats over the last 15 years? I have a lot of critiques of the party, but saying they haven’t done anything for any marginalized groups is kind of absurd.
On the national level the last great push for LGBT rights was for gay marriage, and even that was resolved by a court case rather than legislative action or pressure from the Democratic Party.
In any case, my point is more towards the Trump and post-Trump era, when Democrats have largely avoided the issue of improving minority rights due to the fear of backlash from the racism of suburban 'swing' voters brought out into the open by Trump's rhetoric. I mean, ffs we had Pelosi saying "All Lives Matter". Addressing minority issues has not been on the agenda, even in theory. Obviously, in practice there's no current hope for priorities to be put into action considering the razor-thin margins we've held in the Senate.
Since when did we only gauge progress or what a party is doing based on what they do at the national level? That’s ridiculous. Do you also think all of the states enshrining a woman’s right to choose into law are also doing nothing for women’s rights?
Gay marriage happened at the state level first. Then it was decided in the courts. It was a steady march of state after state legalizing it. How could you possibly discount that effort? And now we have governors/Democratic legislatures protecting trans rights at the state level as it comes under attack around the country. Is that not worth something either?
Because, man, I can't address 50 different state parties in one post even if I had the requisite knowledge to address all of them. When most people speak of the Dems, they speak of the national party.
No, they don’t. That is ridiculous. When people speak of their party, they talk about what they have done for them. And state laws absolutely matter. As somebody who lives in Louisiana, I can assure you I am looking at state politics a lot more than national. State politics are why there isn’t a single state we are neighbors with that allows a woman to get an abortion. State politics are why we have such a criminally low unemployment insurance program. State politics are why we are the incarceration capital of the world.
Don’t get all petty with me and act like I demanded you rattle off every single individual state. You know the argument I am making and you’re just trying to win an online argument now. The fact of the matter is there has been a ton done at both the state and national level over the last 15 years to advance rights for marginalized groups. I do not think it is nearly enough, and different groups have gotten more attention than others, but to act like nothing has happened is just ignorant.
Man, I'm not trying to win an argument with you, just laying out what I was expressing when I made the comment.
I apologize for the intensity on my part. I’m just very tired of these “both sides” style points. That might not even be your intention, but that’s functionally what is happening in these cases. Democrats are the only ones moving the needle on these rights and if we are convinced it doesn’t make a difference then it all that stops. What’s more, the GOP will then start to peel those gains back. I assure you you will notice the difference when those rights are gone, e.g. Roe
I may not be thrilled with the state of the Dems at this moment, and will loudly bitch about it, but I also advocate that everyone I know votes blue on the national ticket, straight down, and I'd limp my ass halfway across the country to vote blue myself if I had to. Definitely don't mean to push a "BOTH SIDES" style point, so I apologize if it came off that way.
I might just be being too uncharitable in my read so I’ll gladly own some of that. Sorry again for the intensity.
No worries, I get the same way. If politics isn't worth getting intense about, what is?
Amen haha