Disempowering the people

Kevin Drum reported yesterday on two issues which show how people are screwed over by policies enacted by republican lawmakers and the present administration.  In the first instance, state legislatures in 9 states controlled by republicans have passed laws disenfranchising anyone with outstanding court fees, fines or legal fees.  In Alabama that amounts to over 100,000 people or more than 3% of voting age residents.  It goes without saying these are overwhelmingly black and poor people who may have been caught up in the system for traffic infractions, missed child support payments or any of the myriad costs incurred by poor people during their interaction with the legal system that most of us take for granted.   Most of these voters being denied their rights are democratic voters, but of course this is a feature, not a bug to most republicans.  Drum's other point was the rapid devolvement of the sexual harassment issue into a partisan imbroglio.  While everyone piously agrees this is a zero tolerance issue, it has rapidly become a continuing story of republican denial and obfuscation and democratic acceptance and punishment.  The parallel stories of Al Franken and Roy Moore are instructive in this regard.  One credible accuser has so far come forth in the case of Franken.  After a brief period of soul searching, Franken issued a humble apology and agreed to cooperate with a congressional investigation. Moore, on the other hand has denied the charges of 9 women (and counting) and has impugned their integrity, implying this is a partisan attack.  This is the tRump playbook.   As Drum points out, if democrats see this is a heads I win, tails you lose situation, their continued cooperation will be suspect.  If being an insensitive asshole gets you a pass, more men of all political persuasions will be more likely to join the asshole political party.  Taken together, these point out essential differences in the political parties at this juncture in history.  It is up to individuals to reward good behavior at the ballot box and punish bad.  Let's hope the majority feels the same way.  Alabama's special election provides a test case.  It will be interesting to see  what the results say about the state of our politics in 2017.