One of the things that has been really interesting to observe in the years since I become involved in the right to repair movement is that the right to repair is one of those rare issues that spans party lines. In the four or so years that I have been actively organizing on behalf of right to repair - a period of really unprecedented political division in the U.S. - talking about repair was always refreshing and inspiring for someone inclined to cynicism.
When I was promoting Question 1 in Massachusetts in 2020 - an expansion of the State’s eight year old automobile right to repair law - I saw our efforts cheered on with enthusiasm by folks who - judging by their social media profiles - were clearly “red state” conservatives: Donald Trump supporters, constitutionally suspicious of “Big Government,” but also ferocious believers in property rights and the inherent value of being handy and squeezing every cent of value from your stuff - cars, appliances, you name it.
Those supporters have stood side by side (virtually, that is) with folks who appeared to be (again, judging from their social media profiles) died in the wool “Blue State” progressives and environmentalists, desperate to push our lumbering and recalcitrant political system to enact sustainable policies that protect the climate and also lessen the power of large corporations over consumers.
These two groups may have agreed on VERY LITTLE in September and October of 2020. But they were both ardently behind Question 1, the automobile right to repair ballot measure. That's probably why that measure passed with support of three quarters of voters - 75% to 25% - despite the auto industry blowing $30 million in scare ads to try to defeat it.
That said: I don’t think people who back repair are being served well by either of the major parties in the U.S. - Democratic or Republican. Yes, we’ve seen a sudden rush of progress this week on right to repair, with the signing into law of a Colorado Wheelchair Repair bill on Thursday and - today - New York’s Assembly following its Senate to pass the Fair Repair Act, which - once it is signed into law by New York’s Governor - will be the first state law to create a right to repair electronics anywhere in the U.S. But the New York law also reveals the weaknesses of the current political establishment. Democratic lawmakers there were cowed into carving out exceptions for a wide range of devices that properly should have been included in the law. Among them: agricultural equipment, home appliances and medical devices. Even in “progressive” Massachusetts, a digital right to repair act is languishing in committee and seems unlikely to become law - a victim of the same industry lobbying and influence that kills such bills in redder states.
Which leads me to my Friday Repair Chat question: do we need some new choices? A Party of Repair that would bridge the seemingly un-bridgeable by pulling in both “Red” and “Blue” voters around the (many) issues they agree on (supporting small businesses, promoting competition, reducing waste), rather than promulgating divisions about the (relatively) few issues that voters vehemently disagree on (guns, abortion, etc.)?
We've always worked hard to keep right to repair from getting dragged into partisanship. Its worked for us as a coalition -- and having a common problem to address is definitely the key.
In many ways the Pirate Party already aligns with these types of ideas. I think it would make sense to join them.
https://uspirates.org/platform/
We've always worked hard to keep right to repair from getting dragged into partisanship. Its worked for us as a coalition -- and having a common problem to address is definitely the key.