In the “I missed this in real time” category: On Thursday March 22, U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) spoke at a rally commemorating Congressional passage of the Equal Rights Amendment 40 years ago. According to the Huffington Post, Hanna said that women’s rights are under “assault.”
Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side — my side — has a lot of it. And you need to send your own message. You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can’t succeed without your help.
Hanna, 61, was elected to Congress in 2010. In the race this fall, Hanna is facing Democrat Dan Lamb, 48, in a newly-drawn Congressional district. New York has lost two representatives (from 29 to 27); the new districts were approved earlier in March.
Hanna (@reprichardhanna) is a pro-choice Republican who has been endorsed by the Independence Party for both of his runs for Congress.
ERA Status
Alice Paul drafted the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment; it was first introduced in Congress in 1923. The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress on March 22, 1972 and was sent to the states for ratification. By the end of 1973, 30 states had ratified the ERA. Ten years after Congressional passage, only 35 states had ratified the amendment; 38 were needed. You won’t be surprised to learn which 15 states were the hold-outs:
- Alabama : former Confederacy
- Arizona (statehood, 1912) : aligned with Confederacy
- Arkansas : former Confederacy
- Florida : former Confederacy
- Georgia : former Confederacy
- Illinois
- Louisiana : former Confederacy
- Mississippi : former Confederacy
- Missouri : claimed by CSA, sent men and supplies to both sides
- Nevada (statehood rushed, 1864)
- North Carolina : former Confederacy
- Oklahoma : claimed by CSA
- South Carolina : former Confederacy
- Utah (statehood, 1896)
- Virginia : former Confederacy
Five states (rescinded) reversed themselves:
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Nebraska
- South Dakota
- Tennessee : former Confederacy
Polarized Congress
If Hanna crosses the aisle on issues other than women’s rights, he will be a minority in the House. According to Keith Poole at the University of Georgia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWJ4DT4Efr0With the data from 2011, it has become increasingly clear that Congress is now more polarized than at any time since the late 19th century. Indeed, the growth in the distance between the two parties from the 111th to the 112th House was the largest since that following the Republican takeover of the House in the 1994 midterm elections (0.071 versus 0.085 in 1994)
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com