North Carolina’s Republicans ended their legislative session with fiddling, dancing and ice cream on the floor of the House of Representatives, apparently oblivious to or unconcerned with the fact that only 35 percent of their state approves of the job they are doing.
“It was the final death knell to the progress made by years of social justice and civil rights advancements,” writes SadTimesinNC, who posted the video filmed by Carol Edward on CNN’s iReport.
While Republicans are proud of their accomplishments, what they’ve done reads like a prescription for reversing decades of progress for women, minorities and the working poor:
—The worst voter suppression laws in the country;
—”Disturbing” cuts to unemployment insurance;
—Huge cuts that will wound the state’s respected education system;
—Rejecting Medicaid expansion, which would have covered up to 500,000 working people and created as many as 25,000 jobs;
—New women’s health restrictions they sneaked into bills about motorcycle safety and Sharia law that will likely close 15 clinics—laws the governor promised not to sign just months ago;
—The end of public financing for judicial races to please one millionaire donor;
—The repeal the Racial Justice Act, which tried to keep racial bias out of administration of the death penalty;
—A new requirement for more useless drug tests for anyone receiving public assistance…
—while giving the governor’s staff generous pay increases.
Republicans have turned North Carolina into a laughingstock and they’re dancing for joy.
The people of North Carolina, however, deserve credit for responding to these affronts with Moral Mondays, where thousands of citizens have risked arrest to make their discontent known.
(h/t @Stix_N_Pux)
