Now that Charlie has moved on, it falls to some of the rest of us to be the roving reporters for Wisconsin and its too often antidemocratic democracy under GOP majority legislative control.
Kind of a big deal, and worthy of at least a mention in this space, is that after years of fighting against it, the Wisconsin GOP voted yesterday to a…
Now that Charlie has moved on, it falls to some of the rest of us to be the roving reporters for Wisconsin and its too often antidemocratic democracy under GOP majority legislative control.
Kind of a big deal, and worthy of at least a mention in this space, is that after years of fighting against it, the Wisconsin GOP voted yesterday to accept the redistricting maps submitted by Governor Tony Evers (D), deeming them the least objectionable option under a mandate from the recently-flipped (to liberal majority) state Supreme Court to do so or have the court impose its own, ostensibly harsher, maps on them. Said one GOP legislator, clearly unmoved by the opportunity to ensure fair voting for all, "It was a matter of choosing to be stabbed, shot, poisoned or led to the guillotine. We chose to be stabbed, so we can live to fight another day." Translation: they will keep trying to gerrymander and ensure a permanent GOP minority majority. They are not redeemed. They are simply lurking in the weeds, waiting for an opportunity to readvantage themselves at our collective expense. We have been warned. Vote accordingly here, and elsewhere when bad actors tell you in unguarded moments what they want to do for themselves, often not to your benefit.
A side note to Mr. Kristol and Mr. Egger: do not forsake local developments as you spin your narratives about the national scene. So much of what happens there begins at the state or even community level before it comes to impact us all across the country. We all must be diligent and aware of the "little news" in order to understand where the D.C. movers and shakers are coming from when they act. Forewarned is forearmed.
You are correct about keeping an eye on the little news and the local scene. Not only are these experiments in democracy, they are also experiments in demagoguery and authoritarianism.
Re: WI election maps. Robin Vos said that Evers got a big win and that the GOP will just have to accept this. Really?? I would like him to show me any evidence that they are accepting this and do not have a card up their sleeve. The Dems are quite right to be suspicious.
When Charlie announced his move, I specifically emailed him to tell him that I'd appreciated the Wisconsin reporting and that it was one of the things I was going to miss most about his newsletters. It's great news that they're finally getting clubbed into breaking their stranglehold, and while it's disgusting that they're only sourly conceding to the prospect of sharing power in a democratic governance, it's also ammunition for the upcoming elections.
A lot of Republican politicking has been built around the concept that they alone have the true righteousness and that any sort of power share is to be opposed, which justifies any tactics they use. And the only cure for that is to thump them hard enough that they see a point in coming back to the table to actually work with us.
It's interesting how so many politicians who are against academic tenure are so in favor of what essentially equates to legislative tenure and its job permanence for themselves if they so desire. Also known as: do as I say and not as I do.
I don't really understand such an outright rejection of the will of ALL the people in an area. I live in Texas and acknowledge that most of my neighbors are hard core Republicans. Minus voter suppression considerations, it's clear that Texas leans red (state-wide elections show the trend of the people better than local with or without gerrymanders). Do I wish we had a more centrist/left leaning state government? Of course, but my neighbors outnumber me and democracy is about the choices of the most people (except when the electoral college disagrees). I accept their choices with grace.
The issue in TX is gerrymandering. I believe Trump won by 7% in 2020, yet isn't the R/D makeup in the state house something like 2/1? What about the US House? It's close to that as well. TX leans purplish red (Ted Cruz almost lost in 2018) and yet, judging by the laws being passed here, you'd think we are Oklahoma or MIssissippi.
A majority of people in TX don't support the draconian abortion law on the books, yet due to gerrymandering and "safe" seats, the law cannot be challenged. Unlike many states, TX does not have effective ballot measures that can cancel the law.
I have never understood this phenomenon. How can any one person expect their views to be reflected 100% of the time?
What especially makes my blood boil are sheriffs and police chiefs who feel they get to choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore. No, it doesn't work like that. All those people driving near the speed limit? They don't want to do that. They do it anyway. People need to accept that most of their views are going to be in the minority.
And even if their view is not in the minority, sometimes you have to follow the rules anyway. Especially when other people are speaking peacefully and you want to stop them. No. Running over protesters is wrong, no matter what, no matter who.
OK, I'm done ranting! I think. Anyway, I always assume my very sensible views are minority views, and I'm never disappointed in that.
But they're not Kate. Yes i "liked" your comment, because your views may be the minority where you live, but you are in the majority across this country. Remember; there's more of us than there are of them.
It's been an interesting read in the comments. The whole red state/blue state discussion is an oldie but a goodie. Attitudes change based on latitudes, no question. The reality is that collective voices are compelling and will drive the outcome this fall.
Maga shouts louder, it does not make them greater in number. It's why voice votes are never as true as paper ballots (or polling). Shouting louder will never win out over actual votes and we both know and see the differences since the 2020 election.
Better yet, those with the maga microphones are so invested in bad candidates (dare i say fools?) and minority positions (guns, abortion and now by voting down the immigration bill) the vast numbers of us straddling the middle are being pushed to the left (who wisely are becoming more moderate).
Fuel on the fire gang, the dummies just keep pouring it to inflame their base (which is in fact the minority and growing smaller by the day). Their election platform (oh wait, they don't have one) is nothing more than what the orange guys craps out at his "gatherings." So we are clear, they don't even qualify as rally's any more.
The path is clear and bright, because as someone noted above the numbers of those wanting to vote no against trump swell by the day. We cannot, will not let up and thankfully they'll just keep giving us ammunition (unlike they will do for Ukraine).
Agree, do not forsake local developments. Az voter here. Kari Lake is a crackpot. How sweet the NSRC wants to try and make nice with her. That's like trying to pet a rattlesnake. This state is full of TFG and Kari Lake mini me's and I'm sick of them. It must be exhausting to be so angry all day, every day.
Maybe the NSRC has finally accepted the fact MAGA candidates are MAGA candidates because they are amoral cynical grifters like JD Vance, just plain ignorant like MTG, clinically nuts like Desantos, or some combination of all three. This shouldn't surprise them because Trump himself is all three.
“Translation: they will keep trying to gerrymander and ensure a permanent GOP minority majority. They are not redeemed. They are simply lurking in the weeds, waiting for an opportunity to readvantage themselves at our collective expense.”
Would you expect anything different? This isn’t your grandfather’s GOP! It’s a house of horrors, so they sent in the clowns….:)
Sometimes I feel bad about Maryland being gerrymandered D. Then I look at the current GOP and their majority states, and I thank Furry Jesus for the gerrymander.
I live in Maryland and honestly it’s not so offensively gerrymandered anymore, at least at the congressional level. No more drunk pterodactyl shaped districts.
Are you a center-R or hard-R in MD, though? My (few) acquaintances who are seem to believe they are the last outpost of sense in the state, and that, frankly, the incoming migrants are about to cut their throats and convert their children.
In the short term, a nonpartisan districting by the kind of algorithmic system I advocate for every state would probably flip the 6th back for one additional R seat in the west, a 6-2 rather than 7-1 delegation. But, several seats including both R districts would be more competitive than all but the 6th have been.
Fortunately we're making headway on the issue, because otherwise at some point the only valid strategy would be for blue states to embrace retributive gerrymanders as a means of counterbalance. I'd prefer Maryland go to a better system, tbh.
It's less about expecting anything different and more about how obvious and unsubtle they are in their ambitions. They are all but telegraphing that they will accept no less, of their own accord, than unquestioned dominance and choosing their voters rather than letting the voters make the choice for themselves. As long as I'm one of those who pays their salary, pension, and benefits, I will insist that my voice carries the same weight as those whom they select for themselves.
Now that Charlie has moved on, it falls to some of the rest of us to be the roving reporters for Wisconsin and its too often antidemocratic democracy under GOP majority legislative control.
Kind of a big deal, and worthy of at least a mention in this space, is that after years of fighting against it, the Wisconsin GOP voted yesterday to accept the redistricting maps submitted by Governor Tony Evers (D), deeming them the least objectionable option under a mandate from the recently-flipped (to liberal majority) state Supreme Court to do so or have the court impose its own, ostensibly harsher, maps on them. Said one GOP legislator, clearly unmoved by the opportunity to ensure fair voting for all, "It was a matter of choosing to be stabbed, shot, poisoned or led to the guillotine. We chose to be stabbed, so we can live to fight another day." Translation: they will keep trying to gerrymander and ensure a permanent GOP minority majority. They are not redeemed. They are simply lurking in the weeds, waiting for an opportunity to readvantage themselves at our collective expense. We have been warned. Vote accordingly here, and elsewhere when bad actors tell you in unguarded moments what they want to do for themselves, often not to your benefit.
A side note to Mr. Kristol and Mr. Egger: do not forsake local developments as you spin your narratives about the national scene. So much of what happens there begins at the state or even community level before it comes to impact us all across the country. We all must be diligent and aware of the "little news" in order to understand where the D.C. movers and shakers are coming from when they act. Forewarned is forearmed.
You deserve a triple like!!!
You are correct about keeping an eye on the little news and the local scene. Not only are these experiments in democracy, they are also experiments in demagoguery and authoritarianism.
Re: WI election maps. Robin Vos said that Evers got a big win and that the GOP will just have to accept this. Really?? I would like him to show me any evidence that they are accepting this and do not have a card up their sleeve. The Dems are quite right to be suspicious.
Thank you for this!
When Charlie announced his move, I specifically emailed him to tell him that I'd appreciated the Wisconsin reporting and that it was one of the things I was going to miss most about his newsletters. It's great news that they're finally getting clubbed into breaking their stranglehold, and while it's disgusting that they're only sourly conceding to the prospect of sharing power in a democratic governance, it's also ammunition for the upcoming elections.
A lot of Republican politicking has been built around the concept that they alone have the true righteousness and that any sort of power share is to be opposed, which justifies any tactics they use. And the only cure for that is to thump them hard enough that they see a point in coming back to the table to actually work with us.
It's interesting how so many politicians who are against academic tenure are so in favor of what essentially equates to legislative tenure and its job permanence for themselves if they so desire. Also known as: do as I say and not as I do.
Great analogy!
I don't really understand such an outright rejection of the will of ALL the people in an area. I live in Texas and acknowledge that most of my neighbors are hard core Republicans. Minus voter suppression considerations, it's clear that Texas leans red (state-wide elections show the trend of the people better than local with or without gerrymanders). Do I wish we had a more centrist/left leaning state government? Of course, but my neighbors outnumber me and democracy is about the choices of the most people (except when the electoral college disagrees). I accept their choices with grace.
The issue in TX is gerrymandering. I believe Trump won by 7% in 2020, yet isn't the R/D makeup in the state house something like 2/1? What about the US House? It's close to that as well. TX leans purplish red (Ted Cruz almost lost in 2018) and yet, judging by the laws being passed here, you'd think we are Oklahoma or MIssissippi.
A majority of people in TX don't support the draconian abortion law on the books, yet due to gerrymandering and "safe" seats, the law cannot be challenged. Unlike many states, TX does not have effective ballot measures that can cancel the law.
I have never understood this phenomenon. How can any one person expect their views to be reflected 100% of the time?
What especially makes my blood boil are sheriffs and police chiefs who feel they get to choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore. No, it doesn't work like that. All those people driving near the speed limit? They don't want to do that. They do it anyway. People need to accept that most of their views are going to be in the minority.
And even if their view is not in the minority, sometimes you have to follow the rules anyway. Especially when other people are speaking peacefully and you want to stop them. No. Running over protesters is wrong, no matter what, no matter who.
OK, I'm done ranting! I think. Anyway, I always assume my very sensible views are minority views, and I'm never disappointed in that.
But they're not Kate. Yes i "liked" your comment, because your views may be the minority where you live, but you are in the majority across this country. Remember; there's more of us than there are of them.
It's been an interesting read in the comments. The whole red state/blue state discussion is an oldie but a goodie. Attitudes change based on latitudes, no question. The reality is that collective voices are compelling and will drive the outcome this fall.
Maga shouts louder, it does not make them greater in number. It's why voice votes are never as true as paper ballots (or polling). Shouting louder will never win out over actual votes and we both know and see the differences since the 2020 election.
Better yet, those with the maga microphones are so invested in bad candidates (dare i say fools?) and minority positions (guns, abortion and now by voting down the immigration bill) the vast numbers of us straddling the middle are being pushed to the left (who wisely are becoming more moderate).
Fuel on the fire gang, the dummies just keep pouring it to inflame their base (which is in fact the minority and growing smaller by the day). Their election platform (oh wait, they don't have one) is nothing more than what the orange guys craps out at his "gatherings." So we are clear, they don't even qualify as rally's any more.
The path is clear and bright, because as someone noted above the numbers of those wanting to vote no against trump swell by the day. We cannot, will not let up and thankfully they'll just keep giving us ammunition (unlike they will do for Ukraine).
Agree, do not forsake local developments. Az voter here. Kari Lake is a crackpot. How sweet the NSRC wants to try and make nice with her. That's like trying to pet a rattlesnake. This state is full of TFG and Kari Lake mini me's and I'm sick of them. It must be exhausting to be so angry all day, every day.
Another AZ voter here. Totally agree
Maybe the NSRC has finally accepted the fact MAGA candidates are MAGA candidates because they are amoral cynical grifters like JD Vance, just plain ignorant like MTG, clinically nuts like Desantos, or some combination of all three. This shouldn't surprise them because Trump himself is all three.
So presumably she’ll bite the NRSC at the first opportunity?
“Translation: they will keep trying to gerrymander and ensure a permanent GOP minority majority. They are not redeemed. They are simply lurking in the weeds, waiting for an opportunity to readvantage themselves at our collective expense.”
Would you expect anything different? This isn’t your grandfather’s GOP! It’s a house of horrors, so they sent in the clowns….:)
Sometimes I feel bad about Maryland being gerrymandered D. Then I look at the current GOP and their majority states, and I thank Furry Jesus for the gerrymander.
I live in Maryland and honestly it’s not so offensively gerrymandered anymore, at least at the congressional level. No more drunk pterodactyl shaped districts.
Are you a center-R or hard-R in MD, though? My (few) acquaintances who are seem to believe they are the last outpost of sense in the state, and that, frankly, the incoming migrants are about to cut their throats and convert their children.
In the short term, a nonpartisan districting by the kind of algorithmic system I advocate for every state would probably flip the 6th back for one additional R seat in the west, a 6-2 rather than 7-1 delegation. But, several seats including both R districts would be more competitive than all but the 6th have been.
Fortunately we're making headway on the issue, because otherwise at some point the only valid strategy would be for blue states to embrace retributive gerrymanders as a means of counterbalance. I'd prefer Maryland go to a better system, tbh.
I have no idea who “Furry Jesus” is but I love the name.
Jesus in furs, of course. 😜
It's less about expecting anything different and more about how obvious and unsubtle they are in their ambitions. They are all but telegraphing that they will accept no less, of their own accord, than unquestioned dominance and choosing their voters rather than letting the voters make the choice for themselves. As long as I'm one of those who pays their salary, pension, and benefits, I will insist that my voice carries the same weight as those whom they select for themselves.
Compare and contrast the Wisconsin (and national) Republicans in 2024 with the representatives of the Slave States prior to secession.
I agree wholeheartedly, and thought the initial comment was great. I just added my own fun fact, or not so fun…:)