Imho, a significant part of the problem is gerrymandering [1]. A certain party has outsized influence because of gerrymandering (but this shouldn’t absolve moderate/corporate Dems of their failings either, especially with Biden opposing legalization; read the room my dude).
1.8 million voters over the age of 55 age out every year, and election cycles are every two years. We’ll get there eventually (on Medicare for All and marijuana legalization), it’s just a matter of time. Until then, keep knocking it out at the state level. [2]
It’s part of the problem but both parties have had total control in the last 5 years and yet nothing has been passed on the federal level. The problem is that all the representatives are in the over 75 yo group
Yes because of the supremacy clause. That’s not really new? Many states have acted on it but the federal laws still fuck things up for individuals and businesses
Sorry, what's wrong with California regulating emissions?
People have rights. And the most straightforward way to cater for these rights is to split people into groups. If 90% of people in Alabama don't want weed legalized, don't force it upon them. Save the vigor for what's really important.
> Sorry, what's wrong with California regulating emissions?
Nothing. Ideally it would be at the federal level so California wouldn't have to do it though.
> If 90% of people in Alabama don't want weed legalized, don't force it upon them.
No. The hypothetical ninety percent of people in Alabama have no right to restrict the rights of the other ten percent. It doesn't affect them. They should stay out of it.
Absolutely. States rights is no panacea either. You’ll still have power struggle within the state and personally it makes no sense to devolve power to the state, or heavens forbid, county/parish or town level.
The federal government should say things like this is the baseline - you can go one way on it but not the other. Personally, I want more of this, not less. For instance, I want a federal land/property tax that local governments can’t just make go away in a race to the bottom.
I want a federal ban on capital punishment. Meaning no jurisdiction within these United States should have the legal authority to give capital punishment.
Devolving power lower doesn’t solve any problem. It is seriously scary if you’re a minority. And you don’t have to be black or gay to be a minority, you could just be the wrong denomination of Christianity.
From what I’ve read, we used to demonize everyone from the Irish, the Germans, the Italians. Nobody is safe from the tyranny of the majority and the more you devolve power to a local level, the more these problems will grow larger.
Personally the whole point of government is to protect the individual from the whims of the masses. If I want to smoke weed (I don’t but just an example), the rest of the town shouldn’t be able to tell what I can do. What if fifty one percent of a town decides it wants to be “whites only”?
Why does this stuff need to be at the federal level? CA has a very different air quality situation than Alabama. Why can't they both regulate air quality as they see fit?
> both parties have had total control in the last 5 years
Neither party had total control. Now everything gets fillibustered. You only get around it with 2/3 majority or if you can turn it into a budget-related bill and get it through budget reconciliation.
That’s a bit myopic to claim that the nation’s struggles are due to one party’s inability to achieve a majority, isn’t it? Evil sits on both sides of the aisle.
The Democrats have a majority now and did in 2010. They haven’t even attempted to pass marijuana legalization. I have my theories as to why but they certainly have nothing to do with gerrymandering.
Majority doesn't matter if you don't have 60 votes in the Senate, unless you think "attempting to pass"/performative legislation matters, which I do not.
Schumer has legislation in the Senate teed up. Needs enough support to get past Republican holdouts and Biden.
> Key Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), said Tuesday they would work to repeal federal prohibitions on marijuana cultivation and use, vowing to make progress on an issue that has growing public support but still faces sharp objections from most Republicans.
1.8 million voters over the age of 55 age out every year, and election cycles are every two years. We’ll get there eventually (on Medicare for All and marijuana legalization), it’s just a matter of time. Until then, keep knocking it out at the state level. [2]
[1] https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/20...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_U.S._j...