Moving from propaganda to problem solving?

 In terms of using cynical political strategies to promote bad agendas, the "war on coal" narrative that emerged in the Obama era worked as well in West Virginia (not in a good way) as the famous Republican national  "southern strategy" that rode white resentment to power in the wake of the civil rights movement.

(Both had a more or less subtle racial dog whistle component.)

The war on coal narrative basically blamed the ills of the coal industry and coal communities--mostly the results of market forces and automation-- on the policies of the Obama administration and similar targets.

 Meanwhile, people who were serious about dealing with coalfield problems, which are very real, pushed for policies promoting what's been called a "just transition," which the Climate Justice Alliance defines as " a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy." As in solutions over propaganda and scapegoating.

There is actually some low hanging fruit here, along the lines laid out in the stalled RECLAIM Act, which among other things would reallocate Abandoned Mine Lands (not to be confused with abandoned land mines) funding to undo some of the damage caused by mining and create jobs. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the WV legislature yesterday, Republican supermajorities and all, approved a resolution calling on the federal government to allocate $8 billion to the state for more job-creating reclamation projects, which is something the Biden administration also supports.

At the risk of sounding like a certain US senator from WV, the measure enjoyed broad bipartisan support--for real--and was also hailed by environmentalists. I'm not sure how far this will go, but this kind of thing doesn't happen very often. Special shoutout to Delegate Evan Hansen (D-Monongalia County), who has taken a leading role in promoting economic transition ideas and addressing climate change. 

Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of legislators formed an informal working group to address coalfield revitalization. It would be nice if this means a real shift in focus towards problem-solving over politics.

A rhetorical question

 Earlier this month, NPR asked "Is American Democracy Sliding Toward Minority Rule?" I'm guessing that was a rhetorical question. As the late John Prine sang, "a question ain't really a question if you know the answer too."

I think the short answer is, we always have been (the same can be said of any class society)...but things are getting worse. For starters, as Princeton researchers reported years ago, with growing inequality and the power of money (not to mention Citizens United), the US is more an oligarchy than a democracy.

However, the NPR story was more about politics as usual than political economy. The Constitution mandates that each state be represented by two senators, no matter how small,  although it was adopted prior to the formation of formal political parties. 

Today, that means that while the Senate is evenly divided by party, Democratic senators represent 41.5 million more Americans than their Republican counterparts. If these trends continue, by 2040, 70 percent of Americans will be represented by 30 percent of senators and vice versa. 

(Then there's the whole thing about places like the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico being denied statehood and representation...and I'm not even going to mention the electoral college.)

Add to that the fact that with the filibuster, 40 percent counts for more than 60 percent. Add the numbers above and it's clear we have a problem that's only going to get worse in times to come.

Something has to give.