USApp Managing Editor, Chris Gilson, looks at the week in U.S. state blogging. Click here for our weekly roundup of national blogs

Gilson, Christopher

LSE Research Online

blogs.lse.ac.ukhttp://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2014/08/16/texas-rick-perry-indicted-missouri-gun-sales-spike-after-riots-and-will-the-dude-abide-in-montanas-senate-race-us-state-blog-round-up-for-9-15-august/New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Credit; Pat Arnow) CreativeCommons BY SA)Texas’ Rick Perry indicted, Missouri gun sales spike after riots,and will the Dude Abide in Montana’s Senate race?  - US stateblog round up for 9 – 15 AugustUSApp Managing Editor, Chris Gilson, looks at the week in U.S. state blogging. Click here for our weeklyroundup of national blogs.NortheastAt both national and state level in the U.S., many have noted the rise in popularity of the Libertarian Party, whichsome see as an alternative to the Republican Party. In Vermont this week, VTDigger writes that the views of theLibertarian Party are too extreme for the Green Mountain state, and that while many of the party’s policies mayseem attractive, others are reckless, such as its position of calling for an amnesty on non-violent drug dealers,and would have the potential to harm Vermont’s communities.Heading over to Connecticut, My Left Nutmeg writes on Monday that sexism and white supremacy have raisedtheir ugly heads in the state. They say that the husband of a local Democratic probate judge candidate is a whitesupremacist, and that it is made worse by the local media’s refusal to cover the primary election, as a localreporter had called it a “beauty contest based on personality”, based on the fact that two women are in therunning.In the Empire State this week, State of Politics writes thatGovernor Andrew Cuomo’s poll ratings have taken a hitahead of November’s general election. They say thatCuomo’s lead over Republican Rob Astrorino hasnarrowed from 37 to 32 percentage points, but that this ismore likely to be due to how voters feel about the state’sjob situation, rather than Cuomo’s machinations over theMoreland Commission on corruption. Staying in NewYork, the Brennan Centre for Justice writes on Fridaythat Cuomo has repeatedly ignored calls for a debatewith Rob Astorino, and his Democratic primarychallenger, Zephyr Teachout.Moving down to the Garden State, Save Jersey writesthat the state’s gun laws are draconian and scary, after amother from Philadelphia, Shaneen Allen, entered thestate last year with a legal handgun in her possession.They say that the woman was pulled over in traffic,announced that she had a gun, and was arrested. She isnow facing at least three years in prison if found guilty.In two years’ time one lucky city will be hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to nominate the party’scandidate for the presidency. On Sunday, PoliticsPA reports that Phildephia’s city leaders are making the case forthe city to host the DNC, having already raised $1 million in their bid.SouthThis week, Blue Virginia writes that a new study has shown that the state is to ‘throw away’ more than $21 billionFormer Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist Credit: Neon Tpmmy(Creative Commons BY SA)in Medicaid money and hospital reimbursements because the state legislature rejected the federal Medicaidexpansion under the Affordable Care Act.On Wednesday, Peach Pundit considers whether or not the state should change the way that primary electionsare currently run in favor of ‘jungle primaries’, which would be a primary where all candidates for elected office runregardless of political party, with the top two proceeding to a runoff election. They say that while other states haveadopted this form of primary with some degree of success, there is a danger if one party fields a large number ofcandidates and splits the vote, leading to two candidates from the same party proceeding to the runoff.Meanwhile in Florida, opponents of Democratic gubernatorialcandidate, Charlie Crist have been questioning hisconversion from the Republican Party. They say that Crist,who was previously the GOP Governor of Florida from 2007to 2011, is facing allegations that his politics are governedby his own personal ambition and that he changes hispositions to fit which way the political winds are blowing.Heading west to Louisiana, Something Like the Truth writeson Friday that under GOP Governor, Bobby Jindal, thestate’s culture of corruption has remained the same, after he,along with the legislature ‘shoveled’ an extra $30,000 inannual retirement benefits to the head of the state police.It was not a good week for Texas Republican Governor, RickPerry. On Thursday, Burnt Orange Report writes that indeciding to deploy troops to the U.S.-Mexico border recently,Perry bypassed the approval of the Texas state legislature,which is exactly the sort of action that Perry has beenattacking Obama for recently. Late on Friday, PoliticusUSAreports that Perry has been indicted by a grand jury forabuse of power. They say that Perry is facing charges overhis alleged efforts to force a county District Attorney to resignby threatening to withdraw state funding to the PublicIntegrity Unit run by the DA’s office. If convicted, Perry couldface a maximum of 109 years in prison.MidwestOn Saturday, Ohio’s Plunderbund writes that the state has lost more than 4,500 state union jobs since GovernorJohn Kasich took office in 2011. They say that nearly half were in corrections and prison related positions, whichmay be making the state’s prisons less safe.Heading west, Eclectablog writes that another benefit to Michigan of accepting the federal government’s Medicaidexpansion is that it will also help to improve the health of current and former prison inmates. They say that theinvestment in prisoners’ health makes sense, as studies have shown that prisoners who are released withuntreated health conditions are more likely to end up back in prison.In Wisconsin, incumbent GOP Governor, Scott Walker, is in a relatively close race with Democrat, Mary Burke. OnSaturday, Political Heat writes that Walker has tried to blame the 133,000 jobs lost in the state on the previousGovernor, Jim Doyle, and his Commerce Secretary at the time: Mary Burke. They say that placing the blame onBurke ignores the economic realities at the time, as the country was experiencing the greatest economic crashsince the Great Depression.Missouri was in the national headlines all this week, after police in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, shot deadMichael Brown, a black 17-year old who was unarmed. The week saw protests and riots in the town for most ofthe week. On Monday, PoliticMO writes that Democratic Governor has called for a Justice Departmentinvestigation into Brown’s shooting. On Wednesday, Crooks & Liars reports that gun sales have increased by 50percent near to Ferguson as people ‘hunker down’ during the riots. On Thursday, Daily Kos writes that much ofthe problems that have faced the St. Louis suburb this week are down to the incompetency of the local policeforce, and that their Iraq-era military gear has helped protestors to see them as an occupying force. On Friday, Hit& Run writes that Missouri’s standard for the use of deadly force whilst making an arrest is ‘absurdly lax’. Theysay that the rules for the state’s police are that deadly ‘force is necessary immediately in order to proceed with thearrest and also that the person either committed a felony or is a threat’. West and PacificThis week, National Journal looks at the potential for Hollywood actor, Jeff Bridges (well known for his role as ‘TheDude’ in the film, The Big Lebowski)  to become the Democrats’ nominee for the Montana Senate. They say thatwith the end to Senator John Walsh campaign for a full Senate term in a cloud of plagiarism allegations, aChange.org petition has now been established to encourage Montana resident, Jeff Bridges to run. They say thatBridges’ and his wife are Democratic donors, but that given that Bridges is not even registered to vote in Montana,a Senate campaign is unlikely.Heading down to Idaho, on Monday, The Spokesman-Review writes that the state’s economic performance hasbeen falling in recent years on the heels of falling investment in education, according to a new report. They saythat Idaho’s per-capita income is lower than all but one state, and that it ranks 31 percent below the nationalaverage for tax collections.In the Golden State this week, the California legislature approved a $7.5 billion water bond to go on the ballot inNovember to address the state’s serious drought. Fox & Hounds writes on Thursday that given that Republicansin the legislature voted to support the measure, they did not act, as many have accused them of being, as the‘party of no’. They say that while they did offer an alternative bond of $11 billion, they compromised withDemocratic lawmakers and the Governor Jerry Brown.Politics in Hawaii got interesting this week, reports The Atlantic  on Sunday, they write that the incumbentGovernor, Neil Abercrombie, lost his Democratic primary election, the first time in History a Hawaii governor haslost renomination. They say the story is made more interesting by the Senate fight between incumbent BrianSchatz, who was picked by Abercrombie, and Representative Colleen Hanabusa, who was Senator DanielInouye’s deathbed choice to be his replacement.Finally, The Mudflats writes this week’s on the extremes that GOP candidates in Alaska have gone to. They saythat the state’s Republican Senate primary has three candidates, all who want all abortions to be illegal, and onlyallowed if the mother and baby would otherwise die, or in cases of incest.Featured image of Jeff Bridges – Credit: Gage Skidmore (Flickr, CC-BY-SA-2.0)Please read our comments policy before commenting .Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USApp– American Politics and Policy, norof the London School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/1sLrrOcCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 2014 LSE USAPP

Texas’ Rick Perry indicted, Missouri gun sales spike after riots, and will the Dude Abide in Montana’s Senate race? - US state blog round up for 9 – 15 August

Texas’ Rick Perry indicted, Missouri gun sales spike after riots, and will the Dude Abide in Montana’s Senate race? - US state blog round up for 9 – 15 August

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