It does appear that at least some folks in the red states are beginning to get it, and all that money the Republicans have to convince them to vote against their own interests just isn’t working as well as it once did.
A few days ago I read this post on Crooks and Liars about a proposed constitutional amendment in Missouri:
Tomorrow, Missourians are slated to cast their votes on Amendment 5, a proposition that seeks to increase taxes on seniors and middle-class citizens in an effort to fund massive tax cuts for the highest earners in the state.
The Amendment would effectively dissolve the state’s individual income tax; money that makes up approximately 64% of Missouri’s general fund and serves as the main pool for everything ranging from infrastructure and schools to healthcare and public safety — all in favor of giving the rich a bit thicker lining in their pockets.
As if that weren’t already bad enough, Proposition 5 seeks to close the gap in lost revenue for the state with a steep hike in sales tax, in a state where low and middle-class citizens already pay a wildly disproportionate lion’s share of the taxes required to fund public services. If passed, this Amendment would only serve to pile more of Missouri’s fiscal responsibility onto the shoulders of middle, working-class citizens — teachers, truck drivers, farmers — who already barely manage to keep roofs over their heads and food on their tables, while further unburdening anyone who actually has the money to spare.
I figured it would pass, but boy was I wrong:
Election results from yesterday suggest that the era of tax cuts as a solution to economic concerns may be coming to an end.
Voters in Missouri resoundingly rejected a Republican proposal to eliminate the state income tax and to replace missing revenue with a higher sales tax. The vote was not close: 83.3% of voters opposed the measure while only 16.7% were in favor, despite the fact that groups in favor of eliminating the tax—many of which kept their donors secret—outspent those in favor of keeping it by a margin of more than two to one.
I should have considered it a no brainer, of course, but given the willingness of red state voters to believe all the bullshit Republicans throw at them…
Besides preferring not to pay more in taxes, the voters in Missouri seemed to think that the the reddest of their congressional districts should not have veto power over their votes:
Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by the Republican-controlled Legislature to make it harder to pass citizen-sponsored amendments to the state’s constitution, preserving a tool that voters across the country have relied on to pass laws their legislatures would not.
The Legislature, like others across the country, had pushed back after voters approved citizen-sponsored amendments that expanded Medicaid, legalized marijuana and sports betting, established a right to abortion, raised the minimum wage and required paid sick leave.
The measure would have amended the state’s constitution to require a majority in each of the state’s eight congressional districts, rather than a simple majority statewide, to pass citizen-sponsored amendments. That would have been the highest threshold in any of the 18 states that allow citizen groups to place constitutional amendments on the ballot.
Who knows, maybe a majority of those voters might wake up and realize they should stop voting for the people who insist on passing laws they don’t like.
Of course, as always, I must add the caveat that it all depends on whether the Republicans are able to steal the election, something they certainly intend to do, and something of which it’s likely the Missouri lawmakers would heartily approve.
