Hello and welcome to another edition of Feel-Good Fridays, #FGF, from Don't Shop on Tuesday! This week was a hopeful demonstration of what can happen when legislators use the power given to them and deliver for the people.
In Minnesota, the legislative session just finished with the Democratically controlled Senate passing a suite of wildly popular bills many of which cover topics we harp on constantly at DSOT. Minnesota Democrats took their newly won power in the legislature and rather than make excuses about bipartisanship used their power to deliver for their voters. Bills addressed recreational cannabis legalization, the right to unionize for Uber and Lyft drivers, universal school meals and more. You can check out a full breakdown of the legislative session here. All this despite the fact that Minnesota only has a single seat majority in the Senate.
There is obviously still work to do, but instead of making excuses or explaining the importance of negotiation and compromise in a divided legislature, Minnesota Democrats took the bold strategy of representing the interests of the people who elected them. The scenes of elation after the session finished should serve to remind timid and/or corrupt politicians just how wise delivering for the people can be instead of just for wealthy campaign donors. However, we know that such victories will not go unanswered by Capital. In fact capital has already persuaded the Governor to veto the Uber and Lyft legislation. It will take organizing and clear action to prevent this capitalist backlash from succeeding further.
But for today, Minnesota Democrats have demonstrated how representatives can meet the needs of their people. Democrats and activists in other states should take note and use this as the new watermark for a successful legislative session. Of course, to make these gains durable, and spread them across the country, it will take more than just political organizing, it will also take economic power to stand against the capitalist backlash. So, enjoy this weekend flush with the knowledge that government can indeed deliver for the people when the conditions are right, and then on Monday and Tuesday let's get back to work fighting for all the American people by making sure that Minnesota is simply the first step in a newly representative America.
Have a great Friday, and Don't Shop on Tuesday!
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Jacob Kravetz and Barrie Friedland
"When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stone-cutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow it would split in two and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before." - Jacob Riis
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