Friday, April 7, 2017

Conservatives suddenly love big government — when it comes to punishing blue cities for passing progressive local laws

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/23/conservatives-suddenly-love-big-government-when-it-comes-to-punishing-blue-cities-for-passing-progressive-local-laws/
"Conservatives are starting to sour on the concept of local control, so much so that Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a leading figure on the Republican far right, recently gave a speech to the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute in which he suggested that Texas should pass “a broad-based law” that would “pre-empt local regulations.” Wait, what? Conservatives are supposed to be the small government guys. Suddenly you’ve got one of the most right-wing Republican governors in the country denouncing local control and arguing that Big Brother should pass broad legislation stripping basic powers from local leaders to do things like pass smoking ordinances or regulate a city’s minimum wage."