How Red States Are Fighting Their Blue Cities
In the second half of 2021, housing prices rose faster in Florida than in any other state. In some cities, rents soared by as much as 30 percent that summer. This put an enormous strain on families living in Florida and already struggling to pay rent, especially those who worked in the tourism industry for moderate wages, many of whom lost income during lockdowns of 2020. Evictions began to rise after a pandemic-related moratorium ended that summer.
Cynthia Laurent, a housing justice coordinator for the political advocacy group Florida Rising, said she heard from people struggling all over the state. In response, her organization worked with others to launch a campaign for rent-stabilization laws in the most affected cities. In Orange County, which includes Orlando, voters passed a referendum to establish rent stabilization for certain apartments for one year, keeping residents in place while the markets adjusted and families found stable footing. For many, this is exactly how local government is supposed to work: A need arises, and people put pressure on local officials or vote to change their local laws. “I believe it was the most popular item on the ballot,” Laurent said. “It wasn’t Democrat or Republican, folks from all walks of life, party, class voted yes for rent stabilization.”
But Orange County’s rent-stabilization ordinance will likely never go into effect, thanks to preemption — a type of law that lets states stop cities from setting their own agendas.
Preemption is an old, broadly used tool, and in the past decade, preemption bills have passed across the country, blocking local legislation on everything from culture-war issues to basic city governance. In Florida, a state Senate bill passed last week would prevent local governments from enacting rent control or rent stabilization. This year, other states are considering laws revoking local authority over school curriculum and punishing local district attorneys who don’t prioritize laws passed by the state legislature. Other states are threatening to take over whole chunks of city government. And there may not be much cities can do about it.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-red-states-are-fighting-their-blue-cities/
Which goes to show conservatives' claim about supporting small and local government is bullshit.
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Nobody lives in the middle of nowhere counties that Trump visits for his idiot rallies. St. Louis is a big city, I go there. So is Detroit, and Denver, and Atlanta, and Chicago, and New York, and Los Angeles (my home) and Seattle. People live in those cities, lots of people do. And they vote against the red land.
I'll never in a million years understand why a county with 500 residents gets the same representation as a city with 32,000,000 people like Los Angeles. Or why states like Montana and Wyoming only have one representative. And they're filled with so many idiots who have been brainwashed by Fox and AM talk radio. 
