Republican Commitment to "Local Control" Only Goes So Far

Republicans continually expose the inconsistencies in their beliefs, especially when it comes to the principle of “local control”.  Apparently, that only applies when Republicans agree with it. Last month, we had the Republican legislature in North Carolina pass, and the Republican Governor sign, the bill that regulated the use of bathrooms, blocking a transgender-friendly ordinance passed in the city of Charlotte. Today, over at Moneybox, we find that Republican-controlled states such as Arizona, Indiana, Idaho, and Wisconsin have all passed laws that restrict local communities from regulating the use of plastic bags. Remarkably, some of these states have no existing community that regulates the us of plastic bags, which only shows the power of ALEC and the plastics lobby as well as the cravenness of the Republicans in those states. Recently, New York City also passed a bag bill  and on Tuesday the State Assembly voted to ban the city from banning plastic bags, largely with Republican votes and the help of some Democrats who worry about the effect of the 5 cent fee on poorer communities. For an interesting history of one person’s crusade to curtail the use of plastic bags, I suggest you read this profile in the New Yorker. But, for Republicans, apparently “local control” only goes so far.