Bringing joy back to politics

If you pay attention to the news you’ve heard that Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate. Walter Einenkel of Daily Kos had the job on that site of officially bringing the news to our attention, though community members also posted early. Einenkel talked a bit of the good stuff Walz has done for his state before comparing Walz to the opposition – as in all the weird stuff Walz has not done. An Associated Press article posted on Kos has a lot more on who Walz is – where he grew up (small town Nebraska), how well he he has worked with Republicans, and that he could help in the Blue Wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania (Blue wall, because if the Democratic candidate can keep all three they win, if they lose any one winning will be quite difficult). I was amused with a news report with Walz saying his hometown was so small his graduating class had 24 people – and 12 of them were cousins. That reminded me of my father, a generation older, who graduated in a class even smaller. jaybeleriand of the Kos community posted a photo that’s going viral, though it was taken a while back. Walz has just signed the bill for the state’s program for free lunch for public school students. He’s being hugged by a scrum of kids. The picture captures something that’s been missing in politics for way too long. That something is joy. Just by bringing joy back to politics will go a long way in this election. Last week Biden proposed reforms for the Supreme Court – a binding code of ethics, term limits of 18 years, and a constitutional amendment removing presidential immunity. Lisa Needham of Kos reported that Chuck Schumer has introduced in the Senate the No Kings Act to do something about the presidential immunity part. This act won’t have the force of a constitutional amendment, however it carefully explains why the Constitution gives Congress the power to do what’s in the bill. Second, the bill clearly explains who can challenge the law – only current and former presidents and vice presidents. This prevents conservatives from getting anyone to challenge the law, whether or not they’ve been harmed by it, something this Supreme Court has been way too wiling to ignore. Third, the case can be heard by the DC District Court and appealed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals – and not the Supreme Court. Finally, the law will be retroactive. Previous Supreme Court rulings have allowed laws that say a law can be retroactive and can prevent the Supremes from ruling on it. There have also been several times when the Supremes issued a decision, followed by Congress overturning it. The only thing that will happen to this bill before a new Congress is seated in January is a Senate vote that forces Republicans to vote against it. And, before the election, that may be enough. Joan McCarter of Kos reported Justice Neil Gorsuch, during an appearance on Fox News, issued a veiled threat with a hidden topic and hidden target. Here are the parts McCarter quoted:

The independent judiciary … means that when you’re unpopular, you can get a fair hearing under the law and under the Constitution. If you’re in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights—you’re popular. It’s there for the moments when the spotlight’s on you—when the government’s coming after you. And don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions? ... I’m not going to get into what is now a political issue during a presidential election year. I don’t think that would be helpful. ... I just say: Be careful.

McCarter wrote, “That’s a nice little fiction he’s trying to create,” considering the big gifts he and his cronies have given corporations, how little they’ve respected the rights of the little people, and how much they’ve gutted rights. Who is Gorsuch telling to be careful? A president and Congress trying to make the Supremes behave? Voters who might vote for reforms? Chief Justice Roberts? Only Gorsuch knows. The Michigan Constitution allows for citizen initiatives, which are different from citizen led amendments to the state Constitution. The people wanting the initiative collect a required number of signatures. Then the legislature may approve the initiative. If it does, the governor does not get to sign it or veto it, and it does not go on the ballot. If the legislature doesn’t approve it then it goes on the next general election ballot. For about 40 years, until two years ago, Republicans used gerrymandering to control the state legislature. At least once they used the citizen initiative to approve an abortion restriction they knew the Democratic governor would not sign. I don’t remember how far that got. Back in 2018 citizens had gathered enough signatures for a minimum wage/sick leave increase initiative. The Republican legislature approved it, which kept it off the ballot. And after the election, in the lame-duck session, they reopened the provision and loaded it with so many amendments that it was essentially gutted. Anna Liz Nochols of Michigan Advance reported last week that the Michigan Supreme Court said, nope, you can’t do that. The decision was 4-3 along party lines. The court said that if the voters had approved the provision the legislature would not have been allowed to amend it. So they can’t approve and amend. One of the judges called it “anti-democratic,” saying ever wonder why public opinion of politicians is so low? It’s tricks like this. I don’t know why almost six years has passed between when the legislature pulled this stunt and when the Supreme Court told them they can’t do it. So the minimum wage in Michigan will go up in February. Second, the minimum wage for tip workers (which is mighty small because restaurants assume servers will get enough in tips to cover the difference and twisted lawmaker arms accordingly) will also rise and within a few years be phased out. Third, workers get a minimum paid sick leave. Workers and Democrats praise the ruling. Republicans and small business owners call it devastating with Republican lawmakers demanding the legislature immediately be called back from summer break to “fix” it. They describe a catastrophe of small businesses laying off servers or closing, their usual apocalyptic way of describing things.

About 91% of restaurant owners say they will raise prices on menus and rooms and 58% said they’ll lay off employees to offset changes to minimum wage and sick leave, a survey published by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association in September 2022 found.

Perhaps. I noticed something not listed there: Restaurants saying their servers are now being well paid so the customer doesn’t need to tip as much. That got me thinking about my travels last month and how often when I made a purchase the worker would flip their computer screen over to show me all the options for entering a tip. These kinds of places did not have servers that brought food to me. I had to get it from the counter.