Spring is here!
But everything’s still busted!
If you need a breather from seasonal hard partying, here’s some statehouse action to fill your downtime (and possibly give you a reason to drink more).
Confession time.
I … [[deep breath]] am a hoarder.
I hoard web browser tabs.
I open something I mean to read or use for research, and four times out of five it just … sits. Unused. Unread.
In the Chrome window I’m using to write this week’s missive, I have 38 tabs open.
I’m not proud.
It’s time to admit that I have a problem.
So I’ve decided: Out with them.
While everyone’s “commemorating” the one-year anniversary of the end of Normal Life and the beginning of the Pandemic Era, I’d rather focus on a different kind of fake observance.
March 14 is right around the corner, and as I’m sure you’re aware, 3/14 is otherwise known as Pi Day.
(If you need me to explain this to you, I’m just not, I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
While everyone’s “commemorating” the one-year anniversary of the end of Normal Life and the beginning of the Pandemic Era, I’d rather focus on a different kind of fake observance.
March 14 is right around the corner, and as I’m sure you’re aware, 3/14 is otherwise known as Pi Day.
(If you need me to explain this to you, I’m just not, I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
The pandemic situation is gradually improving (scary variants notwithstanding), but pretty much everything else is bad and getting worse.
I feel a little bad about sharing my sadness and dread here, but I’m always going to be honest with you about Statehouse Action.
You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown: Another week, another slew of voter suppression bills from GOP state legislators.
Today, Daily Kos delivered over 260,000 signatures in support of Rep. Deb Haaland as the Senate is about to begin hearings to confirm her as the new secretary of the Department of the Interior under the Biden-Harris administration. Haaland currently serves as the representative from New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District and was nominated to lead the Department of Interior by President Joe Biden in December 2020.
I don’t know if this is just a quirk peculiar to me or what, but when the weather’s cold and sucky, I find myself taking a little extra time with my breakfast.
Whether it’s oatmeal or yogurt fancied up with fruit and granola or just plain cereal, winter weather somehow makes me want to actually sit down and enjoy breakfast with my coffee (as opposed to slurping it down hurriedly while I peruse morning headlines).
Greetings from Impeachlandia, where everything feels somehow like a bad dream AND deja vu.
Also, the weather sucks.
But as we wait for most Republicans in the U.S. Senate to let Trump off the hook for inciting a murderous riot at the U.S.
Okay, campers, rise and shine!
Groundhog Day is a smidge behind us now, but that does nothing to mitigate the general sense of deja vu pervading action in statehouses these days.
Take, for instance, Wisconsin.
I wrote in this space last week about how Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin were in a rush to pass a resolution that would eliminate Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate.
Hope you didn’t come here looking for stock tips, because I learned everything I know about Wall Street from Trading Places.
Hey, there’s still a pandemic on!
But whatever, say Republicans in Wisconsin.
Campaign Action
On Tuesday, the GOP-controlled state Senate passed a resolution that would throw out Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate—the final anti-COVID measure left in place after months of legal wrangling.
Hope you didn’t come here looking for stock tips, because I learned everything I know about Wall Street from Trading Places.
Hey, there’s still a pandemic on!
But whatever, say Republicans in Wisconsin.
Campaign Action
On Tuesday, the GOP-controlled state Senate passed a resolution that would throw out Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate—the final anti-COVID measure left in place after months of legal wrangling.
We have a new president!
But Republicans still run the show in most statehouses, and they’re not going to be shy about using their power to stymie the Biden agenda at every opportunity.
And then there’s the next round of redistricting, where GOP gerrymandering is likely to return the U.S. House to an artificial GOP majority after 2022.
Sorry, sunshine was for Inauguration Day.
By this time next week, we’ll have a new president! (… hopefully)
But with Donald Trump’s second impeachment (who says Congress can’t act with state legislature-like speed when it wants to?) because of his responsibility for last week’s violence in the U.S. Capitol, we’re very much not yet done with the old one.
Well, shit.
Up until early afternoon on Wednesday, I thought we were only screwed in GOP-controlled statehouses all across the country.
But then a bunch of right-wing domestic terrorists stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol, and … well, we’re still screwed in GOP-controlled statehouses all across the country.
Well, shit.
Up until early afternoon on Wednesday, I thought we were only screwed in GOP-controlled statehouses all across the country.
But then a bunch of right-wing domestic terrorists stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol, and … well, we’re still screwed in GOP-controlled statehouses all across the country.
THIS IS IT, PEOPLE
… the last edition of This Week in Statehouse Action of the year, I mean.
And yes, it’s been a year.
And no, it’s not over.
And no, 2021 isn’t necessarily going to be any better.
In some ways, it’s actually going to be worse.
Oh, you thought we were going out on a sunny, hopeful note?
I am so, so sorry.
But you come here for bad jokes honesty.
Happy December to all who observe!
I confess, I’m finding it a little difficult to get into the holiday spirit this year.
On one hand, we’re about to leave this crap year behind us.
But on the other, so many lousy things are still happening, like, all the time.
… including (but in no way limited to) Trump continuing to attempt to use GOP-controlled state legislatures to help him overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The good news is that we at least have a president-elect now (it’s Joe Biden, in case you haven’t heard).
The bad news is that pretty much everything else still sucks.
Take, for instance, the pandemic.
Which is raging harder than ever, thanks to the fact that Donald Trump would rather tweet election lies and hold superspreader events and, well, do pretty much anything else other than take meaningful steps to combat the coronavirus.
[[mumbles]] days to go!
Yes, the election is just a few days away, but even if we know who’s going to occupy the White House for the next four years on Nov. 3, we’re not going to have a clear picture of how the state legislative landscape is going to shake out.
There’s something about hitting the teens that’s scary.
As in days left until the election, I mean.
Not adolescence.
Or literally assaulting teenagers. Please don’t do that.
But we’re a whole 19 days out now, so there’s no time to waste.
The High Priestess: The fact that the election is less than three weeks away means it’s high time I unveil my state legislative chamber flip ratings.
Happy autumn!
… except nothing is happy and it feels like it never will be again.
But wallowing in our anguish is a luxury we can’t afford, and besides, as one of my favorite philosophers is known for saying, “Pain don’t hurt.”
What does hurt, though, is knowing that nearly a decade of Democratic down-ballot neglect could assist Donald Trump’s schemes to remain in the White House at any cost.
Somehow September’s already more than half over.
Weird, right? Feels like it just started.
But, well, with just 47 days to go until Election Day, there’s no time to waste.
… unless you’re a Republican state legislator trying to hold on to legislative chamber majorities.
They’ve been acting like they have all the time in the world.
Welcome to the sprint, folks.
… that last, long push before Election Day, I mean.
(Fun fact! I actually hate running.)
Fifty-four days. 54. LIV.
Most statehouse candidates are out campaigning (such as it is in the middle of a pandemic).
Which makes sense.
This final November before the next round of redistricting is the most important state legislative election cycle of the entire decade, after all.
Happy almost-Labor Day!
I know we’re all anxious to get on with our holiday weekend (for those lucky enough to get to enjoy it), so I’m going to get right to the point.
Two months from today, Democrats across the country have their very last chance to prevent Republicans from controlling the next round of redistricting.
In most states, the legislators elected in November will play a role in drawing congressional and state legislative district lines.
Oh hey there!
Extremely grateful to you for taking some time from [INSERT CORONAVIRUS-ALTERED ACTIVITY HERE] to join me for the latest in statehouse action.
Me, I’m taking a little time out from attending my first full-fledged virtual conference.
It’s … weird. But it’s good! The content is amazing, and large swaths of the event translate well to the online platform.
Whether or not you weathered the weather that Hurricane Isaias flung at big chunks of the eastern seaboard this week, metaphorical storms continue to rage everywhere.
Amid this, a number of states also held their primary elections.
One of those states was Arizona, which is a pretty good excuse to highlight its House and Senate in this week’s installation of my multi-part look at top legislative chamber targets this fall.
Did you know that we’re only 95 days away from Election Day 2020?
There was some hubbub earlier this week as the 100-days-out-from-the-election point passed, but that’s not actually significant outside of the fact that 100 is a big round number.
Nevertheless, each day that passes brings us closer to the final election before the next round of redistricting.
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
(Sigh or scream? Up to you!)
We’ve almost made it through another week!
But before the weekend, a quick update on what’s shaking in the states:
Fool’s Gold: If you’ve been enjoying my takes and enduring my bad puns and such for, say, about two years or more, you may recall the long-ago time of late 2018, when Wisconsin Republican lawmakers were mourning Scott Walker’s loss of the governorship to Democrat Tony Evers.
Hello, and happy early Independence Day to all who observe!
(And, of course, as an erudite consumer of this missive, I know you’ll observe in a responsible, socially-distanced way. Because Lockdown 2: The New Batch is going to suck enough as it is.
Hello there, statehouse action-seekers!
I commend you for being especially bold right now, as action has a way of seeking pretty much everything and everyone out all on its own lately.
So I’ll not tax your energy further—let’s get into it.
As both protests and acts of police violence continue across the country, some states are taking matters into their own hands and are already moving to rein in law enforcement.