The GOP Fight To Retain One Party Rule Never Ends
Yes, I know it’s Christmas. But just as the American government works every day to protect its citizens, except when much of it isn’t working because Republicans decided to shut it down or when they decide certain Americans aren’t really worth protecting, the Republican party remains ever vigilant in ensuring its one party rule can not be challenged.
I’ve already written about how Republican-led legislatures are using the lame-duck period to castrate the power of incoming Democratic governors and undermine the results of democratic elections that would challenge their grip on power in Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Now Missouri wants to get in on the act, despite still holding the legislature and the gubernatorial mansion.
The current governor of Missouri is Republican Mike Parson. Parson assumed that role after Republican Eric Greitens was finally forced to step down after it was revealed he had tied up his naked mistress and taken a photo of her in order blackmail her into remaining silent about their affair. In addition, he was also charged with additional felonies related to his illegal use of a charitable foundation as part of his gubernatorial campaign.
Parson may just have ended up in the governor’s mansion by accident, but he is ever watchful in ensuring that there should be no challenge to the GOP’s one-party rule in his state. Unfortunately, Missouri’s citizens actually voted to have the state establish new rules for drawing state legislative districts beginning in 2020. These new rules were part of a good government constitutional amendment ballot initiative that Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved. Because this was a constitutional amendment, its backers had to get signatures of 8% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election in three-quarters of the state’s election districts in order to just get on the ballot. The usual threshold for regular ballot initiatives is just 5%.Then the voters of Missouri actually had to approve the measure, which they did overwhelmingly.
The new redistricting system will be run by a “nonpartisan state demographer” who will be required to create fair and competitive districts based on the distribution of Democratic and Republican votes over the prior election cycles. Unsurprisingly, competitive and fair elections would give Democrats a better chance at winning seats compared to the partisan gerrymander that currently exists, so much so that the GOP supermajority in both houses of the legislature might be in jeopardy.
As we have seen, Republicans don’t let little things like pesky elections get in their way when there is a threat to their power. Parson is similarly on the case, declaring that the legislature should not only repeal this constitutional amendment but that it should also significantly raise the threshold for actually getting constitutional amendments or any other initiative on the ballot. According to Parson, these ballot initiative are being used by people who “have their own agendas that they’re wanting to push”. Parson continued, advocating for the repeal of the constitutional amendment by saying, “Fundamentally, you think when the people vote you shouldn’t be changing that vote. But the reality of it is that is somewhat what your job is sometimes, if you know something’s unconstitutional, if you know some of it’s not right”.
And that right there pretty much sums up the modern Republican party. Anyone who has their own agenda that does not match up with the Republican one must be denied access to the voters. And, even when the voters speak, it’s OK to overturn that vote because it wouldn’t be “right” for Republicans. Like the divine right of kings, one party rule must be defended, everywhere, always, and by whatever means, simply because it is the entitlement of the Republican party.
Merry Christmas, Missouri!