Country before self
Thank you, President Biden, for being the extraordinary President you have been. Now let’s get behind Kamala Harris. Let’s make history.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Elections
50 years of abortion rights, rescinded
Yesterday was the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade that granted abortion rights to women. Last year in their Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court reversed itself and took those rights away. In every election since, women have turned out to restore those rights, including elections in very red states. It’s very clear that this will be a primary issue for all Democrats this year. It’s also very clear that Republicans can’t hide from the fact that their abortion bans continue to harm women around the country. In some states with abortion bans, doctors are fleeing … Continue reading →
Thinking about the Korean Peninsula
If you’re not familiar with Pod Save the World from Crooked Media, it is where Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, both of whom worked in the Obama administration, discuss world politics and all sorts of other affairs. It’s consistently interesting and informative, one of my favorite podcasts and I recommend it to you without reservation. Embedded below is the episode from January 10, 2024. If I’ve done this right it’s cued up to 51:35, towards the end of a discussion of Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the fact that North Korea is currently supplying Russia with a lot of heavy … Continue reading →
Three years ago today
Never forget, and don’t let the Repulicans gaslight you about the truth of what happened. The New York Times put together a visual timeline of the assault. You’ll have to click through to see it on YouTube. Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol
Continue reading →Read the indictments
I am so glad to see that Jack Smith has finally brought forth his charges against Donald Trump in the matter of the Jan. 6th insurrection. Now we will see whether our system can still serve justice to a powerful, wealthy, well-connected man, when that man has committed clear and monstrous crimes. The full text of the indictments can be found here (.PDF file). It’s very much worth your time to read, as it lays out in explicit detail exactly how Trump and those around him conspired to steal the Presidential election in several different ways, invalidating the 81 million … Continue reading →
Republicans are a mess
But Democrats are doing just fine. Earlier I mentioned that House Democrats had completed a shift of leadership for their caucus, with Hakeem Jeffries becoming caucus Leader. He was easily voted in by his caucus, and in fact won more votes in the Speaker’s race than poor, miserable Kevin McCarthy, though like McCarthy, Jeffries has no obvious path to taking over as Speaker. I said this version of Congress was going to be a mess, but I have to say the mess is already more spectacular than I ever imagined, and the whole thing completely belongs to the Republicans. Overall, … Continue reading →
Two podcasts ~ Choose a side
This weekend I caught up with a couple of podcasts, and I’d like to highlight a few things. First is a segment on Pod Save America. I’ve set this up so it goes directly to an interview with Strict Scrutiny‘s Kate Shaw, a lawyer talking here about the Supreme Court hearing Moore v. Harper last week. (Strict Scrutiny itself is another excellent podcast, if you’re looking for some top-notch legal minds discussing the issues of the day.) This case presents the “Independent State Legislature Theory”, which you will no doubt hear about a lot in the near future. It is … Continue reading →
The Georgia runoff election and why it matters
And there we are — Warnock won! (gift link) Senate Democrats look to the future with expanded majority after Georgia win With 51 votes in the Senate now, Democrats are celebrating faster legislative movement and newly obtained subpoena power
Continue reading →A change of Democratic leadership in the House
The entire top tier of Democratic leadership will turn over soon. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have both announced they will not run for leadership positions again. And Jim Clyburn, who would otherwise move up, announced he is instead stepping down into the fourth place position. This makes way for an entire team of new, younger leaders. As ever Nancy has perfect timing, and I’m very glad that she and Hoyer plan to remain in Congress for now. I haven’t heard a lot about Hakeem Jeffries, who they’ve recommended for Leader, though I knew he was sort of “in training” … Continue reading →
Where we stand
I still feel good about the election this week, though the Congressional side of things will remain unsettled for a while longer. But democracy has survived to fight another day, and that matters a lot. Women in particular turned out in defense of abortion rights and every state that had a vote on the issue upheld the right to choose. There is also a strong likelihood that Democrats will continue to hold the Senate, and there was no red wave in the House or anywhere else. The Secretary of State positions have been kept out of the hands of the … Continue reading →