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Today I will post of the ballot measures. Similar to 2024, there were a lot. What is notable to me is that many states that ended up electing Democrat politicians also ended up voting for many initiatives that I'd consider Republican priorities, including lower taxes and voter ID. This includes four states that limited transgender athletes, transgender bathroom access, and more, those four states being Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Washington.
One of my friends in Arizona quickly said that this might be the death of transgenderism as a politically relevant issue. He thought it was likely that the issue would be dropped as an election loser, as something that the people obviously did not want since they voted against it by majority in even what you might consider quite "Blue" states. I said what could be summarized as "I doubt it", maybe along with "you'd be surprised". I think I have been vindicated in saying this, as the Colorado governor is outright saying that he's going to fight these measures that have been passed to the best of his ability, and there are already schemes to nullify those ballot measures. Anecdotally, I see transgender rights commenters saying that the Arizona propositions are illegal even if the people did vote for them.
Most of these culture war issues are not things that can be resolved by simple votes. They can only be resolved through decades-long grueling lawfare. Blues don't take 'no' for an answer, as their responses to Heller and Bruen and now this ballot measure show.
You are right, and your friend is wrong. Progressives are perfectly capable of shoving a political issue down the people's throat regardless of public opinion. California voted against gay "marriage" in 2008. It didn't matter; Prop 8 was found to be unconstitutional by the judiciary, then the Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
Some Biden staffer tried to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment via tweet.
I vaguely recall this, any reading that documents it fully?
The ABA had the year before declared they believed it had passed all requirements to become part of the Constitution.
I don't think there's any logical or sustainable legal argument in support of that stance, but again since when have the progressives let that stop them from doing the policies they'd wanted to all along?
Its crazy that I "don't pay that much attention" to politics (compared to some people on twitter) and yet these little details stick in my memory.
When people say Trump is doing something 'unprecedented' I feel like 9/10 times it something that either Biden or Obama did or tried to do first.
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https://x.com/POTUS46Archive/status/1880271367569895830 and its community note and responses would be a starting point. Didn't find any good articles from a search.
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