Popularity is optional as Republicans find ways to impose minority rule

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) “We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy.” These were the words of Justin Jones, a Black Democrat, to Tennessee Republicans after he and a colleague, Justin Pearson, were expelled for leading a gun protest on the state house of representatives floor.

A week later, Jones and Pearson were reinstated amid applause, whoops and cheers at the state capitol in Nashville. But few believe that the assault on democracy is at an end. What happened in Tennessee is seen as indicative of a Donald Trump-led Republican party ready to push its extremist agenda by any means necessary.

Opinion poll after opinion poll shows that Republicans are increasingly out of touch with mainstream sentiment on hot button issues such as abortion rights and gun safety. Accordingly, the party has suffered disappointment in elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Yet instead of rethinking its positions, critics say, it is turning to rightwing judges and state legislators to enforce minority rule.

Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: “The ballot box didn’t work – the voice of the people said, we’re not going to tolerate these kind of threats by Republicans. But Republicans are using other tools and shredding the fabric of American democracy. It’s a kind of minority authoritarianism.” .................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/15/republicans-minority-rule-tennessee-race-gun-control

[lindysalsagal]

1. Not so hard: Women: 50%, Blacks 13% Latinos 19% 17% left to rule us all

Welcome To The Patriarchy

[housecat]

5. Plenty of women are magats. Insane

[IronLionZion]

7. Let's not ignore the Boebert and Greene types

Conservative women are part of the problem

[young_at_heart]

2. One word stands out..."rule"!

What is the #1 priority for the Republican party? I think we all know.

[blm]

3. The tyranny of the minority.

Forcing its rulings on the majority of the American citizenry.

[peppertree]

6. And - like Hitler, Mussolini and Pinochet - the problem is that you have Big Money behind it all

Without it, they'd be relegated to David Koresh status.

[roamer65]

4. The Repukes are using old Apartheid South Africa as a model.

[d_b]

8. Gee golly

If only there were somethings we could do…

[PatrickforB]

11. We are not excused from fighting the good fight just because

the profit gods of Wall Street and billionaire parasites are trying to take over everything.

Being active in grass roots Democratic party, being active in local and state politics, writing to representatives and senators regularly, calling them regularly, calling/writing corporate offices, commenting on national articles, blogging, participating in demonstrations.

Bottom line - they got a bunch of money, but we have most of the people. It is a battle of centuries - this battle of human need vs human greed.

Capitalism is literally choking the very world in which we all live, and its excesses must be opposed.

[maxrandb]

9. Retrumplicans have won a nationwide popular vote ONCE in 32 years

Yet have appointed 6 of the 9 Supreme Court justices. They're either the luckiest fucking bastards on earth, or it was a fucking plan.

Bottom line is that they could not have done so without a complicit media normalizing their crazy ass shit.

[ancianita]

10. +1

[OMGWTF]

12. It's not luck; they cheat and bend the "rules" when it doesn't favor them.

THE ELECTION WASN'T STOLEN BUT THE SUPREME COURT WAS.