A gay doctor who is one of Louisiana’s only specialist paediatric cardiologists has left the state after the introduction of a Don’t Say Gay copycat bill and a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Jake Kleinmahon, who was one of just three doctors specialising in heart transplants for children in Louisiana, chose to leave the state with his family, as they no longer felt safe.
Kleinmahon met and fell in love with his husband Tom in New Orleans, and the couple expected remain in Louisiana, even after retirement. However, he told CNN that the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation made him and his family feel unwelcome and that he ultimately “didn’t have a choice”.
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It is a major part of the GOP strategy.
Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri has openly acknowledged that the GOP strategy is to make it so miserable for Democrats in red and purple states that they will move to blue states. That would, in turn, cement Republican power in the White House, Senate and thereby the Supreme Court.
Well that’s fucking horrifying & anti-democratic.
Yup. Polarizing politics benefits Republicans since the electoral system favors low-population states.
If all Democrats congregate in a few large states and Republicans spread out, Democrats will never see electoral power at the federal level again.
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I don’t see how this won’t inevitably lead to a civil war. Maybe not this decade, but the seeds are being set.
This time, let’s not stop until we get to the coasts.
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It will have to be either that or Balkanizaton. Red states need blue states for their federal handouts, but not the other way around.
Wouldn’t it have the opposite effect? The majority of states which are doing this are deep red states, and someone who flees is unlikely to move into another one. There aren’t a lot of swing states though where Republicans can enact this sort of legislation. Arizona’s got a Dem governor for instance, and Wisconsin a Dem supreme court. The only places they’re going to be able to unleash their horrible agenda are places where they have governorship, legislature, and supreme court, and that isn’t typically the case in swing states.
I think the net effect actually fucks Republicans. They don’t need more voters in red states, they need more voters in swing states. And they’re going to be sending some pissed off Democrats to those states. Margins are tight in swing states, and currently the GOP voter base is dying of old age while more young people turn 18 each day.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I really hope I’m not.