Year: 2023

Michigan Lawmaker Warns Democrats Not to Ignore State Legislatures

Buck Banks

“We gotta stop looking at Washington as the only thing that matters. Something that has been really irritating to me is this idea that somehow state legislatures are the bench. That always implies that higher office means that it’s somehow a promotion. And that gets us back into this mess that we started in, where we ignore what’s happening in the states and state legislatures and then they chip away and chip away and chip away and before we know it we’ve lost two thirds of … state legislatures like we did starting in 2009.”

— Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D), quoted by the Washington Post, offering Democrats a warning.

Trump Is Beating DeSantis on Three Levels

Buck Banks

“Trump is winning on three levels in his shadow primary against DeSantis. First, to the extent that polls matter this early in the race, Trump has widened the gap between himself and DeSantis since the start of 2023. … Second, Trump has out-hustled and out-maneuvered DeSantis on endorsements from elected officials. … Third, in outworking DeSantis on endorsements, Trump is also making it easy for the press to explain in excruciating detail all of the ways in which DeSantis is blowing it.”

— Dan Drezner

Russian Lawmaker Calls for Return of ‘Stalinist Repressions’

Buck Banks

“It’s time to introduce the concept of the ‘enemy of the people’: there’s no need to be shy about this. …Do I want Stalinist repressions? I do! Moreover my grandfather served nine years on this charge.”

— State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulyov has openly called for the return of Stalinist methods to crack down on dissent, the Daily Beast reports.

GOP Candidate Calls for Reparations for Whites

Buck Banks

“They make it sound like America is a racist, broken country. You name a country that did that: that freed slaves, died to do that. You know, they talk about reparations. Where are the reparations for the people in the North who died to save the lives of black people?”

— “Bernie Moreno, a Republican looking to challenge US Sen. Sherrod Brown, suggested the white descendants of northern Civil War soldiers should be eligible for some form of compensation,” the New York Post reports.

SCOTUS with the Mostus

Buck Banks

$24 million or $68 million

Bloomberg: “The nine Supreme Court justices in total are worth at least $24 million. Or it might be closer to $68 million. … It’s impossible to get more specific than that. That’s because federal ethics laws require justices to disclose only those assets that might pose a conflict of interest. As a result, the public can only assess part of each justice’s holdings, valued in a broad range.”