The way Republicans played the voucher game was a first clue here.
When Arizonans overwhelmingly rejected the Republican desire to expand private school voucher-Empowerment Scholarship Accounts at the ballot box in 2018, the Doug Ducey Administration and their Anti-Public School Republican allies in the State Legislature went around the will of the people and passed the expansion anyway and making it so opponents would not have the time to get enough signatures to put up a ballot measure to take it away.
Fast forward to today and Republicans still do not care about the will of the majority.
Last November, voters overwhelmingly supported the ballot measure that overturned the 1864 Civil War Era Abortion Ban and protected reproductive freedom.
Unfortunately in this continuing drama, MAGA Republicans at the State Legislature are not going to let a little thing like the will of the people interfere with their moves to restrict reproductive freedom.
Exhibit A: HB2681, sponsored by Rachel Keshel, which attempts to put up restrictions for women to purchase the abortion pill.
Other reproductive freedom restrictive measures being advanced by MAGA Republicans, according to a press release by the ADLCC, are:
HCR 2058: Amends the language of the voter-approved Prop 139 that enshrined the right to abortion in our Arizona state constitution.
HB 2547: Bars the state or any of its agencies from spending any public money in a contract with a person who performs or promotes abortion care.
HB 2439: Requires the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid health insurance program, to include a link on its website’s home page that leads to information about agencies that could help women through pregnancy and childbirth — but not those that provide abortions or refer patients to abortion clinics.
In response to these MAGA Republicans trying to take away a woman’s Constitutionally protected rights, Arizona State Senator Priya Sundareshan put out a video rebuttal on social media, saying:
“Make no mistake. This is an attack on Arizona’s, abortion rights and reproductive freedoms. Last November, Arizona’s made their voices heard on this issue with over 60% of Voters enshrining abortion rights into the State Constitution. But Republicans are ignoring the will of Arizonans and they’re pushing through this harmful legislation that would make health care professionals jobs harder and limit our reproductive freedom. And we will not let them as Republicans continue to attack our freedoms, Democrats will never stop fighting for Arizonans.”
In a press release of his own, Arizona Democratic Chairperson Robert Branscomb offered:
“Republicans are stuck in reverse and trying to overturn the will of over two million Arizonans that voted to have freedom over their own bodies. If Republicans would show this same energy toward providing Arizonans affordable healthcare, ensuring we have clean water, and funding our public schools, we would be moving our state forward. Instead, they focus on issues that only matter to Trump, his far-right cronies, and stripping Arizonans of their healthcare. Our Democratic officials are the last line of defense in the legislature and statewide; just like they did last year during the 1864 ban, they will fight to protect Arizonans.”
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Republicans (Southern drawl optional but helpful) – “We want freedom and to make lotsa’ White Jesus babies and have tradwives.”
Everyone else – “Go ahead, who’s stopping you?”
Republicans – “Sorry, our bad, that is on us, what we meant to say is, we want freedom to force all ya’ all to make lots of babies and have tradwives and worship who we tell you to worship, which is the White Baby Jesus or course, or else. And by or else we mean some reeeeeeeal freaky Third Reich level shit”.
For all their honking about freedom you’d think they’d look up the word.
And for all the gnashing of teeth the Dems are doing, you’d think they’d have codified women’s rights somewhere along the way and done some of that barrier to Presidential power stuff they talked about after 47’s first term.
And yet these right wing ass hats keep getting reelected. Is it a Democratic leadership problem?