'Prone kills kids,' advocate tells state lawmakers as they look to undo restraint ban that prompted police brass to pull cops from schools in protest.
Nearly four years after George Floyd suffocated to death while being pinned face down to the pavement by a police officer, Minnesota Democrats are fast-tracking legislation that would undo a less-than-year-old ban prohibiting school-based cops from using that same type of restraint on students.
As early as Monday, the state’s House of Representatives is slated to consider a proposal that presents a drastic departure from provisions approved by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — rules that explicitly barred school resource officers from using face-down “prone restraint.”
The ban was part of a broader police reform movement that followed Floyd’s murder. The fatal physical hold led to the largest civil rights protest in U.S. history, a national reckoning on racism, policy reforms that sought to address police brutality and, in Minneapolis and dozens of districts nationwide, the removal of sworn officers from school campuses. In Minnesota, new state rules barred police officers from using chokeholds on people and prone restraints were banned in the state’s prisons.
Now, as the state’s Democrats make a 180-degree turn on the campus reform, education equity advocates have accused state leaders of falling to the political pressure of law enforcement groups ahead of a November election where party lawmakers seek to maintain their narrow majority in the state House. The proposal cleared the House Ways and Means committee earlier this week.
We need to stop pretending neoliberals are part of the democratic party.
For decades they have been invading the only left wing party and dragging it to the right.
That's why they get the same corporate donations as Republicans. They want the same shit, and donors buying off both parties guarantees donors always win.
Unfortunately, a lot of the country will only vote for Democrats who barely dip their toe into the left side of the spectrum to throw people a bone on occasion.
That's the only way a Democrat got elected to the Senate in West Virginia. It was Joe Manchin.
Hell, 34 years ago he was more progressive than Biden:
In early 1990, Byrd proposed an amendment granting special aid to coal miners who would lose their jobs in the event that Congress passed clean air legislation. Byrd was initially confident in the number of votes he needed to secure its passage being made available but this was prevented by a vote from Democrat Joe Biden who said the measure's passage would mean an assured veto by President Bush
That’s the only way a Democrat got elected to the Senate in West Virginia. It was Joe Manchin.
Manchin comes from an obscenely wealthy coal family in the state. He could have run under either party and won in a landlord landslide based on that alone.
He just got more concessions from the Democrats, who were more than happy to trade away legislative priorities for a Senate Majority.
unfortunately the democratic rank and file seem to have a humiliation kink cause the party heads keep humiliating their base and the base keeps voting for them.
Party leadership is decided by an open vote of about 450 people/organizations.
Some is elected officials like president, senator, and a shit ton of mayors. Some political organizations, ex Members, random ass people who are usually donors
But it's an open vote, and the people running usually cutthroat.
So if you don't toe the party line, the party might not support you later.
That's when they do get to vote. There was like 30 years where no vote was held, people were just appointed.
The system is way more fucked up than most people realize. And it's designed to hold onto all their power while presenting the illusion of democracy