Mayer Declares GOP Legislators Passing Laws Is ‘Torching Democracy’

The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer is an unserious person pretending to be the opposite. She proved that on Thursday’s edition of PBS’s Amanpour and Company where she declared that legislators legislating is tantamount to “torching democracy.”

Mayer was on with NPR’s Michel Martin to discuss an article she wrote on the topic with a focus on Ohio. Martin asked, “Did you go there specifically because Ohio is just to see what would happen in the wake of the overturning of Roe or was it on your radar before that?”

 

 

After claiming that was part of the reason, Mayer elaborated, “the reason I looked at Ohio, in particular, was I was hearing from someone who I’d interviewed named David Pepper, who’s written a book about Ohio, that in fact, it’s not really the people deciding when you can give these issues back to a state like Ohio. It is the legislature who decides. In many American states, the legislatures no longer reflect the will and desires of the people. That’s why we talk about torching democracy.”

Mayer didn’t mention it, but Pepper is the former chairman of the state Democratic Party and as Mayer was talking, viewers saw a picture of him on a stage in front of a giant Democratic ‘D’ logo.

Pepper might have an partisan agenda to pursue, but Mayer still recognized him as an authority in the subject. The reason why Republicans are torching democracy is because they don’t follow polls:

One opinion is held by the people, and polls show that one view prevails. However, the legislators don’t always agree with the views of the people. This is true in Ohio, and this was what David Pepper told me. He’s the author of a book called “The Ohio Book.” Laboratories for Autocracy. This is a parody of a phrase Justice Louis Brandeis used to call the American state legislatures laboratories for democracy.

Abortion on demand-loving Democrats aren’t exactly in line with polling either, but they aren’t accused on public TV of torching democracy. Still, Mayer continued citing Pepper, “what he is saying is actually, this is where autocracy in America is—is– growing and brewing. It’s an attack against democracy in these states. Ohio is a good example of this. So, that’s why I went there.”

Martin continued with the theme of the disconnect between legislators and polling, “So, how did it get to the point in a place like Ohio where there’s such divergence between what people say they want in matters of significant public concern and what the legislature is actually doing?”

Mayer then suggested that winning elections was part of some sinister plot to take over state legislatures, “It was actually a deliberate plan.”

Not only that, there were racial connotations behind it, “Barack Obama had been elected in 2008. Many white conservatives were shocked to see a black American president elected who was a liberal Democrat, liberal as it is. They had also lost control of both the White House and Congress. Then they began to look around to see if there was any way to take over power. And the places that seemed to be easiest to capture were state legislatures.”

“Some extent?” Mayer would also go onto condemn Republicans, and only Republicans, for gerrymandering and apply the same polling logic to gun rights.

You sponsored this segment.

PBS Amanpour and Company

8/11/2022

11.35 pm ET

MICHEL MARTIN – You have written this devastating article titled “State Legislatures Torch Democracy.” You’re right, those are strong words. I will ask why. However, you were focused only on Ohio. But why Ohio?

JANE MAYER : Ohio is a state that has long been regarded as an American bellwether. It’s a—it’s a– moderate state that can swing both either Republican or Democratic so that if you look back, recent history, it was a state that elected Barack Obama in 2008 and in 2012 and then Donald Trump in 2016 in 2020. This is an unusual kind of weathervane.

MARTIN – Did you visit there because you were curious about what the Supreme Court would do after it was overturned? Roe v. Wade? The Supreme Court predicted that when Roe was overturned, the fight for abortion rights would turn to the states. That is, as you pointed out, and it’s the entire point. You went to Ohio in order to observe what would occur after Roe was overturned. RoeWas it something you had in mind before?

MAYER, That’s part of the reason. You could also hear, even before the Supreme Court decision, that Brett Kavanaugh, the conservative, had made it clear during his arguments, “If we only send these issues these are the hard issues.”
Like reintroducing abortion to the US, it is up to us as individuals and the people to decide.

What I heard — the main reason why I focused on Ohio in particular was that I had been listening to David Pepper who was a person I interviewed and who has written a book about Ohio. He said it was not the people who decide when these issues can be given back to Ohio. It is the legislature who decides. In many American states, the legislatures no longer reflect the people’s will. This is why we speak of torching democracy.

One opinion is held by the people, and polls show that one view prevails. However, the legislators don’t always agree with the views of the people. This is true in Ohio, and this was what David Pepper told me. He’s the author of a book called “The Ohio Book.” Laboratories for Autocracy. This is a parody of a phrase Justice Louis Brandeis used to call the American state legislatures laboratories for democracy.

And—and– what he is saying is actually, this is where autocracy in America is—is– growing and brewing. It’s an attack against democracy in these states. Ohio is a good example of this. This is why I chose Ohio.

MARTIN: You cite a University of Cincinnati political science professor. He cited a 2020 poll that showed that only 14 percent of Ohioans supported banning abortions, with no exceptions for incest and rape. But that’s not the direction of the Ohio legislature is—is– heading in.

But I believe the main story many people are familiar with is the tale of the 10-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted in the womb by an adult male. Then she became pregnant and had to go to Indiana for an abortion. It was unpracticable in Ohio. How did this happen in Ohio?

MAYER, It was an intentional plan. Because it is so chaotic, there aren’t many things that can be done in American politics to follow anyone’s plan. The smartest Republicans Party operatives were distraught when they looked around in 2010. Barack Obama had been elected as president in 2008. Many white conservatives were shocked to see a black American president elected in 2008. They had also lost control of both the White House and Congress. They were searching the nation to find out where they could take control. The easiest places to take power seemed to be the state legislatures.

So, the Republican Party operatives created a very intriguing plan called Red Map. They set out to flip every statehouse they could under Republican control. They knew that 2010, was the year they wanted to accomplish that goal. It’s an annual census, so every 10 years the U.S. takes a census. The statehouses reapportion districts every census. This applies to both Congress as well as the Statehouse.

The legislature has special powers in those years. They decided that if they could take over the statehouses, then you could draw the lines again and do so in a manner that would benefit the Republican Party. That’s what they did in many states. They chose
They occupied an astonishing number of statehouses in that one year. They turned them over to the Republican Party and took control of some of them. Then they began to carefully and scientifically redelineate the districts so that Republicans can win in most places.

This is what it was, you know? More than 10 years ago. That’s 12 years ago. We are now witnessing the results. This is a democracy experiment. It’s like a science experiment in democracy. You get what kind of behaviour in statehouses. Extremist legislation is what you get because these people are under pressure from the Republican Party to face primary oppositions by candidates more extreme than them.

And so, that’s those – who are the people who come out to vote in primaries. They are concerned about that. The opposing party’s viewpoint is not important to them. And they continue to push the boundaries. That’s exactly what Ohio has seen.

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