Up to states to keep democracy's fires burning
By Mary Ellen Klas / Bloomberg Opinion
If you want to understand the health of American democracy, what happens in state legislatures matters just as much as what happens in Washington, D.C., and Mar-a-Lago.
In 2025, we can assess the health of democracy at the state level by watching four pressing issues: how states respond to federal spending cuts; how legislatures handle November’s ballot initiatives; whether local officials keep trying to subvert elections; and how far states get in eroding the wall between church and state.
Federal spending cuts: The Biden administration ushered in unprecedented federal investments in infrastructure, technology and clean energy that buoyed local economies across the country. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to extend the 2017 tax cuts threatens to endanger many of those commitments. His plan to cut social programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and housing assistance also will exacerbate existing inequities in both big cities and rural areas.
Democrats should have no problem telling the story of how Trump’s policies disproportionately benefit the wealthy and hurt the working class. But Republican-led states will also be hit harshly, and opposing Trump’s priorities is politically trickier for them. If their vulnerable communities are to be protected, Republican leaders will have to find funds to plug the gaps or work to mitigate the federal cutbacks. How they manage it will tell us whether state-level Republicans are totally cowed by Trump (and Department of Government Efficiency figurehead Elon Musk) or whether they are willing to fight for their own voters.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-up-to-states-to-keep-democracys-fires-burning/