“…they’ll all be convinced that, even if our Buzzy maybe has got a few faults, he’s on the side of the plain people, and against all the tight old political machines, and they’ll rouse the country for him as the Great Liberator (and meanwhile Big Business will just wink and sit tight!) and then, by God, this crook… will be able to set up a régime that’ll remind you of Henry Morgan the pirate capturing a merchant ship.”

– Sinclair Lewis, It Can’t Happen Here (1935)

Republican Autocracy

From a NY Times editorial from Thomas Edsall:

“Republican leaders are now adopting increasingly autocratic measures, using the police powers of government to impose moralized regulations, turning private citizens into enforcement officers and expelling defiant elected Democrats just as county Republican parties, particularly in western states, are electing militia members, Christian nationalists and QAnon believers to key posts.”

Read the entire essay here

 

The Democratic Victory In Wisconsin Is a Victory For Democracy In America!

Janet Protasiewicz Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Seat

From CNN.com:

“Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz will win Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election, CNN projects, flipping majority control in liberals’ favor in what could be the most consequential election of the year with abortion access, election rules and more on the line in the key swing state.

Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit court judge, will defeat conservative Daniel Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice, in a race that shattered spending records on state judicial elections. Her win likely breaks an era of Republican dominance in a state that has been ensnared in political conflict for more than a decade.

The race was a critical gauge of whether and how the issue of abortion is motivating voters nearly a year after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state’s high court is poised to settle a legal battle in the coming months over Wisconsin’s 1849 law that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances.

Conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court. But the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack put that majority at stake.”

Click here to read the full article.

Message from our Chair: Uvalde, Texas

Dear Democratic Friends,

It is with deeply sorrowful and heavy hearts that we listen to the news and aftermath of the events in Uvalde, Texas.  As the mother of three young, beautiful girls, I cannot imagine the grief and deep sadness that must be in the hearts of the families who have faced this domestic terrorism in their school.  It is unbearable to think how I could go on.  And I am so angered at the unwillingness of Republicans to protect the people they represent.  In the words of Chris Murphy (D-CT), “WHAT ARE WE DOING?”

Enough is enough.  We must all stand up and raise our voices and demand sensible gun laws across this country, many of which are supported by over 80% of Americans, and yet the gun lobby still holds its grip on the Republican politicians that it funds.  Enough is enough.  Our children and citizens deserve to know they are safe when they are in school, when they are shopping at the grocery store, when they are living their lives.  And it is SHAMEFUL that we have Republican representatives who choose money over protecting the lives of U.S. citizens.

We stand in solidarity and honor the victims of the domestic terrorism tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde.  Let us grieve together and then stand up and fight.  We will vote.  We will win.  Enough IS ENOUGH.

In solidarity,

Nejla

Nejla Liias, Chair

Saugerties Democratic Committee 

Saugerties Democratic Committee