Here's What Happened with Prop 1 in New York...
Here's What Happened with Prop 1 in New York...
Unconstitutional and disingenuous.
Election Day has come and gone, and many people are reaching out to me about Prop 1. Some want to know how such a horrendous proposal could have passed. Others are telling me they just found out what it really means, and they feel like they were tricked into voting for it. And almost everyone wants to know, what’s next. So I've crafted a statement to respond to your queries. Here we go...
After working to try to defeat Prop 1 for over a year now (first in the New York courts, then in the court of public opinion), it’s an understatement to say I am terribly disappointed that Prop 1 passed. In a state where 7,936,358 people voted for President, the fact that 4,491,946 of them voted for Prop One, 2,771,374 voted against it, and 669,826 left it blank, speaks volumes.
This is a lesson in the power of the deceit that comes from our politicians and from our media, for I am confident that if most of the almost 4.5 million New Yorkers who voted for it (or the 669,826 who left it blank) actually knew what Prop 1 really was about, they would have voted against it. New Yorkers were deceived by the politicians that run Albany who campaigned on the false pretenses of abortion. In reality, abortion has been legal in NYS for over half a century (even prior to the famed Roe v. Wade SCOTUS decision). The fear mongering that Prop 1 was needed to preserve abortion rights was cynical, left-wing propaganda.
Still worse, these deceptive politicians also made sure you wouldn't be able to see the true language of Prop 1. How? A year ago, they passed the "Plain Language Act", which gives them the power to summarize Prop 1, instead of showing you the actual language that will go into our Constitution. Absolutely criminal. Not only did they dress up the two-sentence summary on your ballot to sound nice ("this amendment will protect against unequal treatment"), but they kept from you an entire paragraph that gives the government license to discriminate against you! A Trojan Horse of epic proportions. (For more on that, check out my final, pre-election interview on Prop 1 which I did with The Dark Horse podcaster [and fellow Brownstone Institute Fellow], Bret Weinstein, here).
For those of you who are wondering, “Why didn’t you warn us?!” I tried. I teamed up again with Congressman Lee Zeldin (with whom I fought the successful redistricting battle earlier this year). For months on end, we have been doing press conferences, writing articles, giving interviews, social media posts, etc. I have been traversing New York State to give speeches, do panel discussions, giving radio, TV, newspaper and podcast interviews… (I have some of those interviews posted on my website here, if you’d like to peruse). I even created a ballot initiative committee to educate New Yorkers on Prop 1 called Vote NO on Prop One Committee. You may have seen our TV, radio or digital commercials… www.VoteNOonProp1.org
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough time or resources to reach enough people to vote NO on Prop 1. As a result, New Yorkers will now have to fight fervently to preserve our basic rights against Albany's radical agenda... Boys in girls' sports, men in women's locker rooms, bathrooms, showers, prisons, etc., parents losing their right to raise their children how they deem fit, illegal immigrants gaining the same constitutional rights as New Yorkers, the government creating discriminatory laws and programs (like school quotas, reparations and more) all in the name of "correcting" what they deem to be "discrimination", “hate speech” and so on.
And yet, there is a silver lining.
Despite the grossly fraudulent language and fear mongering campaign the politicians and the media ran to promote Prop 1, almost 3 million New Yorkers voted against it. In a State where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, a state that many consider "deep blue" and "radical," this proposition full of woke ideology only passed by 56%. That, my friends, is a win! For all intents and purposes, Prop 1 should have passed by a landslide. So, it shows there is a shift happening in New York. Many once "hard left" voters are no longer voting down their party line anymore. They are waking up to the obvious fact that they are being misled, and the path the Democrats are leading them down is one they do not agree with. I know that of which I speak, because I say all of this as a life-long Democrat. The party that used to represent our values, no longer does, and the more people I can reach to explain this to them, to show them the hardcore examples of just how radicalized our party has become, the better.
I hope everyone reading this, no matter your political affiliation, will help my voice be heard farther, and repeatedly. Whether it's my quarantine camp battle against Governor Hochul, the unconstitutional redistricting battle we defeated with our organization Stop NY Corruption, or this Prop 1 battle, the voice of reason, the voice of our Constitution, the voice of freedom must be amplified. Help me! Help me, help you. Amplify my/our voices. Share, like, follow, subscribe, re-Tweet, re-post, email others, etc...
The burning question…
What's next for Prop 1? Well, first, to those who voted it down, I thank you for voting against this Trojan Horse, for being aware, and for having the courage to stand up to their radical agenda. Next, you must realize that there is no “quick fix” here. Everyone always seems to want a lawyer to simply “fix it” by bringing a lawsuit, but legal battles are not always possible. You need the proper parties, proper causes of action, resources, funding, and an attorney willing to go against the grain, be subjected to the sometimes searing attacks, and take on the case. I did the Prop 1 lawsuit pro bono, and I’m still doing the quarantine camp lawsuit pro bono. That model is totally unsustainable.
That being said, right now, I am conferring with my closest allies and exploring all options. Just realize that it may turn out that the lawsuits that will ensue might come only once New Yorkers have been harmed by some element of Prop 1. Believe me, there will be harm because it’s already happening. It could look like: your daughter is beat out for a college sports scholarship by a male who identifies as a female, or you are persecuted for not using the “proper” preferred pronoun of a colleague or fellow student, or your minor child undergoes some medical procedure or treatment without your consent or knowledge (which you of course still have to pay for), or billions of your tax dollars will continue to go to support illegal immigrants who now have the same rights as you, or your child is rejected a seat at an elite school because there are race quotas to “correct” past “discrimination,” and so on and so on… the list goes on for miles. Feel free to refer to some of my earlier articles about Prop 1 for more details on detrimental effects, or watch some of my interviews and speeches, much of which you can find on one of my websites: https://coxlawyers.com/category/media/ or at https://www.votenoonprop1.org/
In summary, I think that my brilliantly insightful colleague, Bret Weinstein, put it best in a recent Tweet where he responded to someone’s shock that Prop 1 passed, and how “f’ed up” we New Yorkers must all be:
For now, we must remain engaged, diligent, and demand these radical politicians start following our Constitution instead of trying to decimate it. There is a shift happening in New York. More people are waking up, getting involved, pushing back. We can correct this State! We just need more of you to help grow those numbers. I am trying, daily, but I need your help. As I traveled the State to educate New Yorkers on Prop 1 (and other unconstitutional things the Democrat-controlled NYS government is doing), I see a stark difference now from a few years ago. It’s palpable. The people are starting to yearn for true leadership.
Stay tuned.
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Inspirational Quote:
Thank you, Bobbie Anne, for finding a silver lining in this most disappointing defeat! Count me in for the long haul. I love New York and refuse to let power-hungry, self-serving slime balls continue to walk all over us. People have no idea how little representation we have at the state level. Totally up for figuring out how to bring people up to speed and become informed, involved, and a force to contend with. You are remarkable and your leadership is much appreciated!
Wow, disappointing. There is no deceptive technique they leave unutilized: summarizing it instead of putting the actual language of the bill on the ballot. It would seem that this is where the legal challenge might be successful, eventually, but the roadblock of standing would have to be overcome.
I have family living in NY. I shudder to think how this will harm them going forward.
Thanks for all your efforts Bobbie Anne.
The fact that Trump was re-elected in spite of everything the Left has at its disposal shows that telling the truth about the evildoers does matter.
The great problem is people coming to the realization that they are getting screwed. Witness how many are still unable to put the pieces together about the covid tyranny and harms from the shots. I wonder how long it will take for them to come to this realization about Prop one.