Senator McDaniel made many, repeated appearances with the group supporting Initiative 74 (new flag vote).
McDaniel made so many appearances, in fact, that one might have thought that group was intended more to build a campaign apparatus for McDaniel than to pass an initiative...
So, anywho...it seems odd that McDaniel's had nothing to say about the court's decision yesterday chucking all pending initiatives.
All he's said is a vague reference to backroom deals and...is that a dog-whistle about violently overthrowing the government?
@ashtonpittman I hope y'all will be reaching out to McDaniel about his views on restoring the initiative process, considering his many... fb.watch/5vPRXC_zPO/
THREAD: Below is a list of constitutional amendments that have been proposed in the #MSleg over the years to amend Mississippi's ballot initiative process in conformity with our four Congressional seats. 1/
QUICKTHREAD: Three bills in the #MSleg would have preserved Mississippi's initiative process, and all three died. 1/
My favorite is @LeeYanceyMS's HC 3,* which would have changed the signature-collection framework to automatically adjust to the number of Congressional districts Mississippi has at any time.
THREAD: The #MSleg should go further than enacting medical marijuana and putting a constitutional amendment to the voters to fix our 5-district ballot initiative framework.
It should also put all of the issues for which initiatives were filed or announced on the 2022 ballot. 1/
☑️ Recreational marijuana
☑️ Medicaid expansion
☑️ Early voting
The #MSleg should put questions on the 2022 ballot to determine whether MS voters support or oppose legalizing recreational marijuana, expanding Medicaid, and allowing early voting. 2/
These three ballot measures not have to be constitutional amendments—they can simply be non-binding referendums, the same way the #MSleg asked voters whether we approved the flag design adopted by the 2020 flag commission. 3/
THREAD: The MS Supreme Court today invalidated Initiative 65 by stripping voters of our right to ballot initiatives, holding by a 6-3 vote that voters can only pursue ballot initiatives when MS has five or more Congressional districts.
The vote does not follow partisan/ideological lines, as MS's two liberal justices—Justice King voted to invalidate Initiative 65, whereas Justice Kitchens voted to uphold it.
Two of MS's seven conservative justices voted to uphold Initiative 65. 2/
Mississippi voters overwhelmingly adopted Initiative 65 in November to make medical marijuana legal in Mississippi. 3/ ballotpedia.org/Mississippi_Ba…
A few weeks ago, the House passed a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act by a vote of 244-172. @CongPalazzo & @RepTrentKelly both voted against that bill, and @RepMichaelGuest did not vote on it at all.
Assuming no significant changes to Mississippi's Congressional map, Larry, Curly, & Moe—ahem, Palazzo, Kelly, & Guest—will NOT lose to a Democrat, but they CAN lose if more civilized Republicans run against them as independents.
Many elected Mississippi Republicans who support criminal justice reform like @bricewigginsMS and @Sparks4Senate, as well as conservative advocates like @grantcallen, argued this year against the same sort of policies Hyde-Smith now sponsors. 1/
CHS's proposed "Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act"—in order to restore a code section ruled unconstitutional by Antonin Scalia—would impose 15-year mandatory minimum sentences for possession of a firearm by a felon with three significant prior convictions. 2/
Creating new mandatory minimum sentences is a one-size-fits-all approach—which is not a conservative approach—which strips courts of the power to consider unintended consequences and exigent circumstances that can make lengthy sentences inappropriate in particular cases. 3/