As a Moral Monday protestor, I don’t expect to have my actions change the minds of the Tea Party-controlled state legislature. That was never the point. The point of the Moral Monday protests is to draw attention to the reactionary agenda of the legislature.
From curtailing unemployment insurance to refusing to extend Medicaid to cover the uninsured, our state government is intentionally harming North Carolina’s families.
At the same time, the legislature is increasing classroom sizes, eliminating teaching assistants and reducing access to preschools.
As well, the state is reducing environmental standards and, most sinister of all, changing the very system we use to elect our legislators — including implementing a tax penalty on parents of college students who vote at their college address.
N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis has criticized those of us who have chosen to exercise our constitutional right to protest against his cruel, extremist agenda.
He says we should meet and negotiate over the issues before the legislature. Tillis’ words sound good, but his actions betray a very different attitude.
Tillis’ Tea Party caucus has consistently refused to consider the input of Democratic (and even moderate Republican) legislators.
They intend to rule with an iron fist, and their empty rhetoric about negotiating should be dismissed as the tripe that it is.
I can’t say I’m surprised that Tillis is upset about the Moral Monday protests. He’s upset because he doesn’t want the public to fully understand what he and his minions are up to.
