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The banner headline on a key Norwegian news site is that Trump is threatening to withdraw the USA from NATO. And no, that unfortunately is not an April fool’s joke – although it might be argued that it is the April utterance of a fool.
He’s mad his vass- err, allies won’t clean up the mess he made so he can extricate himself from it sans consequences and make it somebody else’s problem.
Just dandy that the Congressional GOP has no interest in checking this madness
Trump does not have the authority to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. It is another desperate attempt by Trump to claim power he does not have, as he gets slapped down by the courts for other such attempts.
Historians in the future will be baffled at how the U.S. decided to just voluntarily relinquish its hegemony because half of its political system got high on its own supply of esoteric culture war bullshit mixed in with jingoism
To be clear: It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. That law was passed under President Biden with bipartisan support. It was supported by Marco Rubio in his previous incarnation.
The 2020 election conspiracy theorist candidates have now lost the SoS GOP primaries in both Michigan and now Arkansas in the past week. Reassuring to see. Those are the ones that would potentially challenge the results of elections down the road
Has anyone done an Excel sheet for all the state legislative seats up this year and added that D+10-12 shift we saw in the IA, FL and TX special elections?
Because I think Rs are going to lose way more seats there than they will for the Congressional ones.
Okay, first does anybody else find “complete and total endorsement” something that belongs in the Department of Redundancy Department?
Second, this is two polls now showing Roy Cooper with a double digit lead, and while the last one I could kind of write off as an outlier by a new polling company, YouGov is anything BUT that And Catawba College has been at this a while too. AND is on the ground in NC. So maybe rating Cooper’s odds at a Half-Stein was overly cautious or maybe Trump is putting a drag on Whatley’s (who has his “complete and total endorsement”). If Cooper pulls the Full Stein in this race, nobody will be happier than me, and nobody will be more nervous thanTed Budd.
Third… wasn’t Danny Tarkanian the basketball coach at UNLV back in the 80s? Seems like I remember his ugly mug on the sidelines when the Cardiac Pack of NCSU dropped them in the ‘83 NCAA Tournament on their way to the most improbable title in Final Four history.
Danny Tarkanian is the son of the basketball coach. He is not my favorite Armenian-American politician. A perennial candidate, he finally won a job as a county supervisor (or commissioner) in a small Nevada county.
In the old Soviet Union, state-funded (or "State-allowed-to-live / stay out of prison) authors & scientists used to bury their state criticisms in the footnotes. Sometimes quite extensive, but apparently rarely read by the censors.
Even if Cooper wins by a massive margin, I don't think Ted Budd will moderate his positions or votes.
He probably thinks the 2028 presidential election turnout will help him stay in the Senate. Be nice to see him and those three MAGA state Supreme Court judges washed out despite that.
Budd is high on his own supply. That guy has absolutely nothing on offer except his blind fealty to Tangerine Cthulhu, and that’s becoming more a liability than an asset lately. I hesitate to call two polls a trend, but two points do determine a line, if not a pattern and the last two polls showed Whatley trailing Cooper by a Full Stein. If that’s not just noise, then a Trump endorsement might turn out to be kryptonite by the time November arrives, and it’ll probably only get worse from there.
Oh, if Budd loses in 2028, I will rub my MAGA brother's nose in it. (He worked at the Greensboro airport and met Budd there while he was slumming it in the House.)
He lives in TX now, so if Cooper AND Talarico win in November, I will be sending him memes and crowing big time.
One thing that would make me happier than Budd losing re-election in 2028 would be Newby, Barringer, and Phil's nepo baby son all losing their state Supreme Court seats to progressive Democrats.
Hall of Fame basketball coach Tark the Shark was Jerry Tarkanian. He died in 2015. In addition to UNLV he also coached at Long Beach State and Fresno State, as well as 3 high schools, two community colleges and an NBA team (20 games as head coach for the Spurs in 1992).
Note the NCAA admitted that part of why they settled the suit he brought against them, is that their prep included multiple mock trials which they lost.
From a North Carolina perspective, I don’t think there’s any real shot Stein will go for Senate in 2028. He can cakewalk to reelection by another double digit margin based on his current approval ratings. I think he could be talked into a Senate run when Roy Cooper retires, either in 2032 or 2038, though. 2032 would make sense if Cooper is planning only a single term, and Stein is term-limited then. But 2028 is too early—he seems to love being governor too much. He’d probably easily beat Budd though, you’re right.
Jackson is pretty widely seen by state Democrats as the 2028 Senate frontrunner, and I like his odds against Budd this far out. He’s proven his ability to win a significant number of Trump voters already, and his political instincts are phenomenal.
I was using “Full-Stein” (and “Half-Stein”) as a unit of measure equaling roughly 15 points in the polls (Stein’s margin over Mark Robinson). If you weren't here yesterday when the poll came out putting Cooper a Full-Stein ahead of Whatley’s, the reference isn’t as clear. For what it’s worth, I think a lot of that margin is owed to … Mark Robinson. I think Stein would have won *anyway*, but he wouldn't have won in a walk like he did. I like Stein a lot. He was my state senator when I still lived in Raleigh and before he ran for AG, and I walsh thought he did a good job repping the district.
And I wouldn’t mind seeing him run for Senate, but not in 2028. I could see him following Cooper though, since Cooper’s term would be up at the same time Stein’s would see him term-limited out. My gut tells me Cooper’s only in this for one lap. He’ll be 75 when this term runs its course, and running for another term would make him 81 when it ended.
And I agree about Jackson. He’s got the energy, the popularity and experience with the DC machine because of his time in the House (brief as it was).. My only hesitation is who would replace him as AG?
I don’t know about Easley Jr.. Full disclosure, I didn’t know there WAS an Easley Jr. but I can picture the attack ads already. The sins of thre father and all that. What he was investigated for and led to was downright quaint by today’s standards, but that won’t matter.
What if we revived Darren Jackson? He has the pedigree, and the NCDP bona fides, and the only knock against him really is that he lost the election for a full term on the Court of Appeals. He was my NC House rep when I lived in east Wake County, and then was appointed to Berger Jr’s seat on the CoA when Berger Jr. was elected to the NCSC. He was a USCM JAG, legislator NC House Minority Leader and judge, and is a partner in his own firm. AG would suit him if he can generate the name recognition.
Would like someone younger tbh. The options in the legislature aren’t great. Ideally you’d have someone who was a prosecutor or worked in the AG’s office at some point like Stein and Jackson did. I don’t think any attacks against Easley Jr. would stick aside from nepotism, but I don’t think many would care. It doesn’t seem to matter in other states, and his dad was governor so long ago at this point that many probably don’t even recognize the name.
Darren Jackson’s not exactly a fossil at 55, and has a broad range of legal experience on both sides. He has one thing in common with Easley Jr, though, in that a lot of people won’t recognize the name — unless they live in Wake County. If your’ looking at the legislature, Jay Chaudhuri might be a good choice, though I can’t speak to his legal chops.
"Complete and total endorsement" is not only tautological, but it's not even accurate these days, what with them being moved on a whim and/or shared with an opponent.
Hmmm, "nobody will be happier than me" suggests that we'll need a happy-dance contest or something between you and MPC to know for sure. 🙂 MPC might be 23 votes ahead at the moment.
They didn't seem to push leaners in NC, and Cooper still isn't breaking 50. It seems like Cooper is still the frontrunner, but the race will be closer than this spread. Stein-type numbers strike me as awfully optimistic
That’s what I was saying yesterday, when I gave him a Half-Stein. I still think he’ll win, and I don’t think it’l be especially close*, but he’s not running against Mark Robinson (more’s the pity… THAT would be a bloodbath!)
Is the Wisconsin judicial decision a surprise? How damaging is it? And how long does this delay a more-equitable distribution of political representation for the State of Wisconsin?
As for the Congressional redistricting, I think if Dems win a state trifecta in WI this year, they will redraw theirs to be 50-50 in 2027 for the 2028 cycle.
They also have to put independent an independent redistricting commission like Michigan’s on the ballot so they don’t get locked out of the process after 2030 again like they did in 2010. Either that or redraw the legislative maps to make the Dem legislative majorities wave proof, which seems less likely. They’d have to have several more districts that have strips going into Madison and Milwaukee, which may end up being quite risky and could spark a backlash in a state where Dems are more likely to be held to the “good government” standard.
A state trifecta can rein in the lawless NCSC by shortening the mandatory retirement age for judges and allowing the governor to appoint replacements he/she chooses -- and not from a list of 3 provided by the party of the outgoing one.
If we win both houses of the NC legislature, one thing we could do is reinsert the Governor into the redistricting process (the removal of which is a massive own-goal by Democrats, although not quite as much of one as putting redistricting commissions in place in deep blue states).
The amount Vindman raised exceeded what Moody raised during all of 2025 (including what she transferred) and he has more cash than she had as of 12/31. (Her 12/31 COH was $5.1 million.) According to the Vindman campaign, “the average donation was $39.44, with 27,600 of the contributions coming from Floridians.“ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/vindman-fundraising-florida-senate-bid-00853729
The top level view of their actions this year are insane, really.
Venezuela and now Iran were both very likely done to create rally around the flag effects to boost republicans' popularity after his actions over the last year caused a significant drop in support. Instead his approvals are dropping even faster.
This is a highly reactive administration that desperately wants to be popular but is fundamentally unwilling to do the one thing that would have worked: sit down, shut up, and enjoy the glow of the (then, no longer applicable) economy successfully recovering from both inflation and the after effects of the disruptions from Covid.
A Republican other than Trump probably could have threaded that needle from the beginning. But Trump’s twin demands to A) always be the center of attention and B) receiving ass-kissing loyalty from every soul on Earth because his political assumptions are formed by shit like Independence Day have kneecapped such endeavors enormously
Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship case - Listening to oral arguments right now via CNN.
So far, two of the three liberals (Jackson hasn't questioned Trump's Solicitor General yet, unless I tuned in after she spoke) and Roberts appear to be clearly against Trump's citizenship executive order, especially Roberts. I would expect Jackson to be aligned with the other two liberals on this case.
It's difficult to pin down the positions of the other five conservative Justices (a potential bad sign for Trump). Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch seem to be leaning in favor of the Trump executive order. The swing votes appear to be Kavanaugh and Barrett, with the three liberals and Roberts likely to support striking down the EO.
What makes you think that? Even the GOP aligned judges are skeptical. Alito asked Sauer to address the humanitarian issue with people who are here, arrested and deported, but have established roots in terms of domicile. Yes, THAT guy.
One attorney who's listening to the arguments (JayJayLegal) thinks this will be a 8-1 or 9-0 decision against Trump's birthright citizenship EO.
Listening to the aruments some more (Jackson started questioning Sauer moments ago), Sauer struggled immensely with Kavanaugh and Barrett's questioning. This is likely at least a 6-3 ruling against Trump in a couple of months or so, if not even more lopsided against Trump.
The vibe I got from SCOTUSBlog was lopsided against EO, with an Alito/Thomas concurrence suggesting they’d be open-minded about a redefinition of birthright citizenship if Congress spearheaded it
The case is a joke. The text of the 14th amendment is clear that if you are born here and remain a resident, you're a citizen. And even if it weren't clear, you can't change the constitution by executive order.
Thomas historically seldom asks questions. I thought him coming in right at the top of her argument was a bit surprising, but then he totally declined during Roberts's COVID-era seriatim section. Where he'll land is a bit of a mystery, but not surprising at all that he didn't question her.
Anything short of a 9-0 ruling will be an indictment of the current court. Birthright citizenship is explicitly, unambiguously, and clearly spelled out in the constitution. The constitution cannot be unconstitutional, and always overrides anything other than amendments to the constitution.
That this case didn't get dismissed out of hand is pathetic in and of itself.
Any opinion in favor of Trump's executive order is going to be effectively an argument against the plain text of the Constitution, which would be absolutely repugnant for anyone in a position of judicial authority to do.
Also, Trump left the SCOTUS gallery after Sauer finished his arguments, although it struck me as an intimidation tactic for Trump to show up in the gallery at all.
What a douchebag, weak move for our POS POTUS showing up to the arguments like this is The Godfather: Part II. You are no Michael Corleone, you are the Dementia Don.
I had that thought and I agree to an extent, but I think the hearing also gives some level of legitimacy to the question, which is worse.
SCOTUS is, ostensibly, supposed to step in when there are legitimate constitutional questions at hand. Either through the core of the issue or due to disagreements across different circuits. An outright dismissal sends a message that the EO is so blatantly unconstitutional that it does not merit their time or consideration.
The weird thing is, I was looking up on this D. John Sauer guy (the solicitor general), expecting the usual useless Trump low-tier lawyer, and while he is clearly a hyper-Republican hack, he actually has some legit accomplishment (Rhodes Scholar, law review editor).
Is this a case of him having a bad day today, or another case of Trump causing people who work for him to become cursed?
I listened too. I thought questions to Wang, the ACLU lawyer, were much easier and less skeptical than the ones asked of Sauer. Gorsuch has a long history of supporting tribal rights, and he asked a lot of questions related to that. I would not be surprised if he votes against the EO related to those grounds.
WOW is not the monolith it once was. Waukesha, the largest of the 3, has shifted markedly to the left in the Trump era. Ozaukee is also moving left at a similar rate. Washington is still Washington, but thats a not even 1/3 of the total population of WOW. Having a larged portion of the vote in rural counties vs WOW wouldn't necessarily be better for Democrats.
Although there are three leading Democratic candidates, the top two primary system will make it so either Connie Chan or Saikat Chakrabarti advance to the general election to face Scott Weiner.
However, knowing Weiner originally defeated Jane Kim by a narrow margin in his State Senate election, the Congressional race is likely going to be competitive in the same sense.
Weiner is such a badass. This is largely going to be a YIMBY vs NIMBY race. What is left of the working class power in this district is highly motivated.
I would not be so naive. Senator Adam Schiff has endorsed Connie Chan and has been pushing comprehensive housing at the federal level. Chan also happens to be a staunch affordable housing advocate in her own district. NIMBYs may come out in support of either Chan or Chakrabarti but that doesn't mean either one of them are going to be NIMBY from what YIMBYs want people to believe.
That said, the recent tango with the housing development in the Marina is definitely NIMBYism even while San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has come out against it along with Supervisor. YIMBYs in SF are making a noble fight on working to stop sky high rent but there's too many powers on the corporate development side that make their agenda much harder to accomplish. By contrast in Berkeley (where I live), which is a pro-tent city, it's much easier for YIMBYs.
Also, Weiner may be an effective leader in housing but as Supervisor, we was quite weak on going after tech's influence in San Francisco, plenty of which back in the 2010's during when Mayor Ed Lee was pushing the Twitter payroll tax break. I admire his housing agenda but believe he's aloof to may other issues San Franciscans face. He also made an ass out of himself when he was accusing former Supervisor Aaron Peskin of orchestrating the recall against Supervisor Joel Edgardio even while there was no evidence of doing this.
6 straight months of winning the voter registration battle. The work continues.
PENNSYLVANIA PARTY REGISTRATION CHANGES
PA is a marginal state politically, & its Dem voter registration plurality has steadily eroded from +618K 4 years ago to +179K Dem out of 8.94M today. For the last six months, however, Dems have reversed some of their prior losses.
(1/2)
In March, Dems outregistered Reps 3,046-36, while Inds gained 5,285.
Folks, the Missouri Democratic Party just had the best candidate filing period THIS CENTURY.
We have a Democrat running in 183 out of 189 state or congressional-level races – compare that to the Republicans who aren't even bothering to run in 25 races.
Threatening Europeans, who the public generally likes (and why not also Canadians for good measure, who the public likes even more), ought to do the trick on turning this ship around!
I feel awful for all the Canadians whose sovereignty has been threatened, and I don't blame the ones I've seen for being pissed at the American people. You have every right. Americans aren't doing enough to fight back.
On that note, I know there are some Canadian commenters here, so I have a question for them: is there a way I, an American, can help Canada in fighting back against this mindless assault on their sovereignty? If the answer is "no" that's fine, I don't blame you, I just want to know if there's anything I can do, like buying Canadian products or something like that.
I’m not at all an expert here, but I’d say if you want to support Canadians, buy products made in/from Canada and travel to/within Canada would be good ideas. People really underestimate how much natural beauty and wilderness the country has, it makes for an unforgettable road trip travelling from coast to coast!
I actually have been to Canada before — I went to Toronto during spring break a couple years ago (and loved it). I’ve also been to Montreal and Vancouver — and Quebec City and Banff are on my list someday.
The cities are also incredible, but there’s so much more to the country than that, which many people don’t even realize. I encourage you to branch out when you come back again!
I would say to call your Senators and Congressperson to voice your concerns about how the regime is treating a close ally, neighbour, and trade partner. As far as personal actions:
1. Quebec maple syrup on everything. EVERYTHING!
2. Your Spotify/Apple playlist should be a heavy rotation of Gordon Lightfoot, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Avril Lavigne, and Stompin Tom Connors.
3. When discussing baseball, loudly and confidently assert that in the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers got lucky and the better team lost.
4. Visit our many wonders, like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and West Edmonton Mall. The Rockies and Niagara Falls are okay too, I suppose.
5. Do you drink alcohol? Ask your local liquor store to stock up on Canadian whisky, ice wine, and microbrews. Then order some, you probably need it for the next couple of years
6. Tired: American as apple pie. Inspired: Canadian as buttertarts. But only the ones with pecans, because raisins are gross. Nanaimo bars are also acceptable.
7. Watch more Canadian content. This isn't difficult, most of the shows and movies set in your country are filmed in Ontario and B.C., but go ahead and look up shows by the CBC and NFB (National Film Board) if you want true Canadiana.
if you're in the nyc metro area like me, we don't even need mention the world series, I just casually mention hey remember when Toronto smoked the yankees last year? captained by maga aaron judge
That's almost a 20-point downgrade from two years ago. If that holds or worsens this summer, it's going to be a bloodbath in the Sunshine State come November.
That’s bizarre, why would a polling outfit choose a Democrat as the candidate to poll that isn’t even running? Or is there some sort of assurance he’s switching races? I’ve never heard of him before and basically see him in place of a generic D regardless.
My guess is they're trying to encourage him to switch. With Vindman raising millions of dollars and clearly being the frontrunner in the race, it might not be a bad idea on Mujica's part.
Edit: It does sound like he's already seriously considering it, so maybe the poll is to "prime the pump" for donors, so to speak. From the article:
"While it’s a smart bet that Mujica’s entry to the CD 28 race is imminent, he’s not in it yet. Federal Election Commission records suggest Democrat Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Giménez in 2024, is the only active candidate running against the incumbent this cycle."
Mujica would be a far better nominee as a Hispanic/Latino Democrat than our last nominee, who is white, in that district. I hope he does end up filing to run and gets the nomination, because Ehr can’t win in any year or national wave. Identity/Race still matters in these Hispanic/Latino seats, especially South Florida.
Completely agree. Also, the fact Mujica is Venezuelan-American could be an asset down the line when we consider surrogates to criticize Trump's handling of Venezuela.
My gut is they'll probably try for 1-2 more seats or not redraw at all over fears of the political environment and/or disagreements between legislators over how many seats to try to net their party.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
(I’ll see myself out…)
The banner headline on a key Norwegian news site is that Trump is threatening to withdraw the USA from NATO. And no, that unfortunately is not an April fool’s joke – although it might be argued that it is the April utterance of a fool.
He’s mad his vass- err, allies won’t clean up the mess he made so he can extricate himself from it sans consequences and make it somebody else’s problem.
Just dandy that the Congressional GOP has no interest in checking this madness
Actually, the congressional GOP has definitely been more willing to speak out against Trump than beforehand.
Trump does not have the authority to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. It is another desperate attempt by Trump to claim power he does not have, as he gets slapped down by the courts for other such attempts.
No, but his voiced intentions are reverberating like a 9.2-Richter-scale earthquake through the political leaderships of America’s allies.
Also, Trump has toyed with the idea of leaving NATO all the time. So this isn't exactly new ground for him.
No, but you can still render it effectively useless just by questioning it
And the USA abandoning NATO is a huge boon for Russia and China.
Historians in the future will be baffled at how the U.S. decided to just voluntarily relinquish its hegemony because half of its political system got high on its own supply of esoteric culture war bullshit mixed in with jingoism
To be clear: It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. That law was passed under President Biden with bipartisan support. It was supported by Marco Rubio in his previous incarnation.
If that requirement was enacted via a law passed by Congress, they could just repeal the law though. But still, requires an extra step.
Republicans don't have the votes. The Democrats would not let it go through in the Senate.
Right
*galaxy brain voice* what if THIS is the April Fool's Joke?
Frankly, Trump becoming President again rendered all April Fools Jokes obsolete.
The 2020 election conspiracy theorist candidates have now lost the SoS GOP primaries in both Michigan and now Arkansas in the past week. Reassuring to see. Those are the ones that would potentially challenge the results of elections down the road
Has anyone done an Excel sheet for all the state legislative seats up this year and added that D+10-12 shift we saw in the IA, FL and TX special elections?
Because I think Rs are going to lose way more seats there than they will for the Congressional ones.
Election Twitter compiles them I’m pretty sure.
Some of the R-to-D shifts are simply incredible, while others are less dramatic.
Okay, first does anybody else find “complete and total endorsement” something that belongs in the Department of Redundancy Department?
Second, this is two polls now showing Roy Cooper with a double digit lead, and while the last one I could kind of write off as an outlier by a new polling company, YouGov is anything BUT that And Catawba College has been at this a while too. AND is on the ground in NC. So maybe rating Cooper’s odds at a Half-Stein was overly cautious or maybe Trump is putting a drag on Whatley’s (who has his “complete and total endorsement”). If Cooper pulls the Full Stein in this race, nobody will be happier than me, and nobody will be more nervous thanTed Budd.
Third… wasn’t Danny Tarkanian the basketball coach at UNLV back in the 80s? Seems like I remember his ugly mug on the sidelines when the Cardiac Pack of NCSU dropped them in the ‘83 NCAA Tournament on their way to the most improbable title in Final Four history.
Danny Tarkanian is the son of the basketball coach. He is not my favorite Armenian-American politician. A perennial candidate, he finally won a job as a county supervisor (or commissioner) in a small Nevada county.
Apropos your Department of Redundancy Department, in one of my university math textbooks, the following entries were found in the index:
Circular definition – See Tautology
Tautology – See Recursive definition
Recursive definition – See Redundancy
Redundancy – See Circular definition
Even textbook editors have a sense of humor, you just have to dig to find it.
In the old Soviet Union, state-funded (or "State-allowed-to-live / stay out of prison) authors & scientists used to bury their state criticisms in the footnotes. Sometimes quite extensive, but apparently rarely read by the censors.
Even if Cooper wins by a massive margin, I don't think Ted Budd will moderate his positions or votes.
He probably thinks the 2028 presidential election turnout will help him stay in the Senate. Be nice to see him and those three MAGA state Supreme Court judges washed out despite that.
Budd is high on his own supply. That guy has absolutely nothing on offer except his blind fealty to Tangerine Cthulhu, and that’s becoming more a liability than an asset lately. I hesitate to call two polls a trend, but two points do determine a line, if not a pattern and the last two polls showed Whatley trailing Cooper by a Full Stein. If that’s not just noise, then a Trump endorsement might turn out to be kryptonite by the time November arrives, and it’ll probably only get worse from there.
Oh, if Budd loses in 2028, I will rub my MAGA brother's nose in it. (He worked at the Greensboro airport and met Budd there while he was slumming it in the House.)
He lives in TX now, so if Cooper AND Talarico win in November, I will be sending him memes and crowing big time.
OK, you might be the one person who’ll be happier to see Budd gone than me. But it’ll be a tight race.
One thing that would make me happier than Budd losing re-election in 2028 would be Newby, Barringer, and Phil's nepo baby son all losing their state Supreme Court seats to progressive Democrats.
As they say int he commercials, ¿Por que no los dos?
Hall of Fame basketball coach Tark the Shark was Jerry Tarkanian. He died in 2015. In addition to UNLV he also coached at Long Beach State and Fresno State, as well as 3 high schools, two community colleges and an NBA team (20 games as head coach for the Spurs in 1992).
Almost took the Lakers job too
Seriously? Wow.
Yeah… he was the one always chewing on a towel, right?
Yep. And notorious for coaching so-called student athletes at UNLV who couldn't read!
He got a $2.5 million dollar settlement from the NCAA for their multi-decade harassment campaign against him at three Div 1 schools.
I didn't know about that. What was the basis of the winning lawsuit? His students actually could read?
Accommodations for dyslexia are a thing.
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/sports/maverick-coach-wins-battle-and-collects-from-ncaa.html
Note the NCAA admitted that part of why they settled the suit he brought against them, is that their prep included multiple mock trials which they lost.
From a North Carolina perspective, I don’t think there’s any real shot Stein will go for Senate in 2028. He can cakewalk to reelection by another double digit margin based on his current approval ratings. I think he could be talked into a Senate run when Roy Cooper retires, either in 2032 or 2038, though. 2032 would make sense if Cooper is planning only a single term, and Stein is term-limited then. But 2028 is too early—he seems to love being governor too much. He’d probably easily beat Budd though, you’re right.
Jackson is pretty widely seen by state Democrats as the 2028 Senate frontrunner, and I like his odds against Budd this far out. He’s proven his ability to win a significant number of Trump voters already, and his political instincts are phenomenal.
I think Jackson is a GREAT candidate. If he runs against Budd, he'll probably announce it in January once Cooper is sworn in.
I was using “Full-Stein” (and “Half-Stein”) as a unit of measure equaling roughly 15 points in the polls (Stein’s margin over Mark Robinson). If you weren't here yesterday when the poll came out putting Cooper a Full-Stein ahead of Whatley’s, the reference isn’t as clear. For what it’s worth, I think a lot of that margin is owed to … Mark Robinson. I think Stein would have won *anyway*, but he wouldn't have won in a walk like he did. I like Stein a lot. He was my state senator when I still lived in Raleigh and before he ran for AG, and I walsh thought he did a good job repping the district.
And I wouldn’t mind seeing him run for Senate, but not in 2028. I could see him following Cooper though, since Cooper’s term would be up at the same time Stein’s would see him term-limited out. My gut tells me Cooper’s only in this for one lap. He’ll be 75 when this term runs its course, and running for another term would make him 81 when it ended.
And I agree about Jackson. He’s got the energy, the popularity and experience with the DC machine because of his time in the House (brief as it was).. My only hesitation is who would replace him as AG?
Easley Jr. or someone from the legislature I bet.
I don’t know about Easley Jr.. Full disclosure, I didn’t know there WAS an Easley Jr. but I can picture the attack ads already. The sins of thre father and all that. What he was investigated for and led to was downright quaint by today’s standards, but that won’t matter.
What if we revived Darren Jackson? He has the pedigree, and the NCDP bona fides, and the only knock against him really is that he lost the election for a full term on the Court of Appeals. He was my NC House rep when I lived in east Wake County, and then was appointed to Berger Jr’s seat on the CoA when Berger Jr. was elected to the NCSC. He was a USCM JAG, legislator NC House Minority Leader and judge, and is a partner in his own firm. AG would suit him if he can generate the name recognition.
Would like someone younger tbh. The options in the legislature aren’t great. Ideally you’d have someone who was a prosecutor or worked in the AG’s office at some point like Stein and Jackson did. I don’t think any attacks against Easley Jr. would stick aside from nepotism, but I don’t think many would care. It doesn’t seem to matter in other states, and his dad was governor so long ago at this point that many probably don’t even recognize the name.
Darren Jackson’s not exactly a fossil at 55, and has a broad range of legal experience on both sides. He has one thing in common with Easley Jr, though, in that a lot of people won’t recognize the name — unless they live in Wake County. If your’ looking at the legislature, Jay Chaudhuri might be a good choice, though I can’t speak to his legal chops.
Wiley Nickel?
"Complete and total endorsement" is not only tautological, but it's not even accurate these days, what with them being moved on a whim and/or shared with an opponent.
Hmmm, "nobody will be happier than me" suggests that we'll need a happy-dance contest or something between you and MPC to know for sure. 🙂 MPC might be 23 votes ahead at the moment.
I'm waiting for a triple redundancy, such as the infamous "new and novel innovations." (I think this was Alexander Haig in the Reagan administration.)
They didn't seem to push leaners in NC, and Cooper still isn't breaking 50. It seems like Cooper is still the frontrunner, but the race will be closer than this spread. Stein-type numbers strike me as awfully optimistic
That’s what I was saying yesterday, when I gave him a Half-Stein. I still think he’ll win, and I don’t think it’l be especially close*, but he’s not running against Mark Robinson (more’s the pity… THAT would be a bloodbath!)
*absent Shenanigans™
Is the Wisconsin judicial decision a surprise? How damaging is it? And how long does this delay a more-equitable distribution of political representation for the State of Wisconsin?
I'm not surprised by it.
As for the Congressional redistricting, I think if Dems win a state trifecta in WI this year, they will redraw theirs to be 50-50 in 2027 for the 2028 cycle.
They also have to put independent an independent redistricting commission like Michigan’s on the ballot so they don’t get locked out of the process after 2030 again like they did in 2010. Either that or redraw the legislative maps to make the Dem legislative majorities wave proof, which seems less likely. They’d have to have several more districts that have strips going into Madison and Milwaukee, which may end up being quite risky and could spark a backlash in a state where Dems are more likely to be held to the “good government” standard.
That and Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina if we somehow win the trifecta in the latter. Pass that shit immediately.
Yup. NC is tough since we need 60% of the legislature to put something on the ballot, which we almost certainly cannot get.
We can at least pass a bill and that would be good enough to hold through 2032 barring Republican supermajorities overturning a Stein veto.
Most realistic option towards un-fucking North Carolina state government remains winning back the NCSC in 2028 though.
A state trifecta can rein in the lawless NCSC by shortening the mandatory retirement age for judges and allowing the governor to appoint replacements he/she chooses -- and not from a list of 3 provided by the party of the outgoing one.
If we win both houses of the NC legislature, one thing we could do is reinsert the Governor into the redistricting process (the removal of which is a massive own-goal by Democrats, although not quite as much of one as putting redistricting commissions in place in deep blue states).
So, according to the AP, TACO will be at the SCOTUS hearing on birthright citizenship today.
How much money on the guy falling asleep while trying to 'intimidate' "his" judges?
FL GOV Vindman with big 1st quarter haul $8.2 million 6 million COH https://x.com/chrismeagher/status/2039328956931776853?s=20
Sen, not gov
oops
You could edit it.
That's amazing. FL is an expensive state to campaign and he's gonna need all the money he can get (plus a major volunteer GOTV campaign).
Precisely. I would be just as interested in hearing how many volunteers the Vindman Campaign has recruited.
Can't wait to see Talarico's numbers.
As long as the DSCC/national groups aren’t diverting money here, sounds fine with me.
The amount Vindman raised exceeded what Moody raised during all of 2025 (including what she transferred) and he has more cash than she had as of 12/31. (Her 12/31 COH was $5.1 million.) According to the Vindman campaign, “the average donation was $39.44, with 27,600 of the contributions coming from Floridians.“ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/vindman-fundraising-florida-senate-bid-00853729
https://x.com/trisha4colorado/status/
CO-4: 2024 Democratic nominee Trisha Calvarese is out, making Eileen Laubacher the presumptive nominee to face Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Another minor candidate, little-known progressive John Padora, failed to make the ballot.
we could do worse than a two star rear admiral
PA Governor Susquehanna:
Shapiro 58
Garrity 36
https://x.com/SusquehannaPR/status/2039323234047340873?s=20
Man, these polls for PA GOV and NC U.S. SEN are really getting lopsided.
I’m presuming this is, at least privately, part of why TACO wants to TACO on Iran, in the hopes they narrow a bit once fighting “ends”
The top level view of their actions this year are insane, really.
Venezuela and now Iran were both very likely done to create rally around the flag effects to boost republicans' popularity after his actions over the last year caused a significant drop in support. Instead his approvals are dropping even faster.
This is a highly reactive administration that desperately wants to be popular but is fundamentally unwilling to do the one thing that would have worked: sit down, shut up, and enjoy the glow of the (then, no longer applicable) economy successfully recovering from both inflation and the after effects of the disruptions from Covid.
A Republican other than Trump probably could have threaded that needle from the beginning. But Trump’s twin demands to A) always be the center of attention and B) receiving ass-kissing loyalty from every soul on Earth because his political assumptions are formed by shit like Independence Day have kneecapped such endeavors enormously
Makes you wonder what a hypothetical president Haley would have for approvals right now.
But Shapiro is well above 50, while Cooper's best is 50.
Which shows how tough of an incumbent Shapiro is for the GOP to unseat. They had their chance in 2022 and absolutely blew it with Doug Mastriano.
if his margin translates to a state senate flip, then hell yea, if he happens to win by 20 but we don't flip state senate kinda a meh result
Valid points. It may though be easier for PA Democrats to capitalize on wins this November than they did back in 2022.
And PA is a bit bluer than NC
True. And the GOP also blew it in NC back in 2024 just like they blew it back in 2022.
Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship case - Listening to oral arguments right now via CNN.
So far, two of the three liberals (Jackson hasn't questioned Trump's Solicitor General yet, unless I tuned in after she spoke) and Roberts appear to be clearly against Trump's citizenship executive order, especially Roberts. I would expect Jackson to be aligned with the other two liberals on this case.
It's difficult to pin down the positions of the other five conservative Justices (a potential bad sign for Trump). Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch seem to be leaning in favor of the Trump executive order. The swing votes appear to be Kavanaugh and Barrett, with the three liberals and Roberts likely to support striking down the EO.
What makes you think that? Even the GOP aligned judges are skeptical. Alito asked Sauer to address the humanitarian issue with people who are here, arrested and deported, but have established roots in terms of domicile. Yes, THAT guy.
One attorney who's listening to the arguments (JayJayLegal) thinks this will be a 8-1 or 9-0 decision against Trump's birthright citizenship EO.
Listening to the aruments some more (Jackson started questioning Sauer moments ago), Sauer struggled immensely with Kavanaugh and Barrett's questioning. This is likely at least a 6-3 ruling against Trump in a couple of months or so, if not even more lopsided against Trump.
The vibe I got from SCOTUSBlog was lopsided against EO, with an Alito/Thomas concurrence suggesting they’d be open-minded about a redefinition of birthright citizenship if Congress spearheaded it
The case is a joke. The text of the 14th amendment is clear that if you are born here and remain a resident, you're a citizen. And even if it weren't clear, you can't change the constitution by executive order.
Now that Cecilia Wang is presenting the ACLU's side of the arguments, Thomas (!!!) didn't seem to aggressively question Wang.
This could be an unanimous ruling against Trump in a couple of months.
Thomas historically seldom asks questions. I thought him coming in right at the top of her argument was a bit surprising, but then he totally declined during Roberts's COVID-era seriatim section. Where he'll land is a bit of a mystery, but not surprising at all that he didn't question her.
Anything short of a 9-0 ruling will be an indictment of the current court. Birthright citizenship is explicitly, unambiguously, and clearly spelled out in the constitution. The constitution cannot be unconstitutional, and always overrides anything other than amendments to the constitution.
That this case didn't get dismissed out of hand is pathetic in and of itself.
Agreed.
Any opinion in favor of Trump's executive order is going to be effectively an argument against the plain text of the Constitution, which would be absolutely repugnant for anyone in a position of judicial authority to do.
Also, Trump left the SCOTUS gallery after Sauer finished his arguments, although it struck me as an intimidation tactic for Trump to show up in the gallery at all.
What a douchebag, weak move for our POS POTUS showing up to the arguments like this is The Godfather: Part II. You are no Michael Corleone, you are the Dementia Don.
Sometimes 9-0 or 8-1is better than a dismissal. It puts it to bed.
I had a similar thought, a fully briefed and argued opinion could kill the idea more effectively.
I had that thought and I agree to an extent, but I think the hearing also gives some level of legitimacy to the question, which is worse.
SCOTUS is, ostensibly, supposed to step in when there are legitimate constitutional questions at hand. Either through the core of the issue or due to disagreements across different circuits. An outright dismissal sends a message that the EO is so blatantly unconstitutional that it does not merit their time or consideration.
The weird thing is, I was looking up on this D. John Sauer guy (the solicitor general), expecting the usual useless Trump low-tier lawyer, and while he is clearly a hyper-Republican hack, he actually has some legit accomplishment (Rhodes Scholar, law review editor).
Is this a case of him having a bad day today, or another case of Trump causing people who work for him to become cursed?
It's a case of him trying to defend the indefensible.
He couldn't answer a direct Gorsuch question on the status of Indians
I have argued against his office in Missouri. He is not that impressive.
I listened too. I thought questions to Wang, the ACLU lawyer, were much easier and less skeptical than the ones asked of Sauer. Gorsuch has a long history of supporting tribal rights, and he asked a lot of questions related to that. I would not be surprised if he votes against the EO related to those grounds.
https://x.com/i/status/2039367957260709909
From @Taniel:
UPDATE: Wisconsin turnout, 6 days out
—218K ppl have already voted
(Compares to 405K at equivalent time in 2025)
—31.5% of ballots cast so far are in Dane & Milwaukee
(31.3% at equivalent time in 2025)
—18.3% are in conservative WOW counties
(19.5% at equivalent time in 2025)
WOW is not the monolith it once was. Waukesha, the largest of the 3, has shifted markedly to the left in the Trump era. Ozaukee is also moving left at a similar rate. Washington is still Washington, but thats a not even 1/3 of the total population of WOW. Having a larged portion of the vote in rural counties vs WOW wouldn't necessarily be better for Democrats.
CA-11:
Although there are three leading Democratic candidates, the top two primary system will make it so either Connie Chan or Saikat Chakrabarti advance to the general election to face Scott Weiner.
However, knowing Weiner originally defeated Jane Kim by a narrow margin in his State Senate election, the Congressional race is likely going to be competitive in the same sense.
Weiner is such a badass. This is largely going to be a YIMBY vs NIMBY race. What is left of the working class power in this district is highly motivated.
I would not be so naive. Senator Adam Schiff has endorsed Connie Chan and has been pushing comprehensive housing at the federal level. Chan also happens to be a staunch affordable housing advocate in her own district. NIMBYs may come out in support of either Chan or Chakrabarti but that doesn't mean either one of them are going to be NIMBY from what YIMBYs want people to believe.
That said, the recent tango with the housing development in the Marina is definitely NIMBYism even while San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has come out against it along with Supervisor. YIMBYs in SF are making a noble fight on working to stop sky high rent but there's too many powers on the corporate development side that make their agenda much harder to accomplish. By contrast in Berkeley (where I live), which is a pro-tent city, it's much easier for YIMBYs.
Also, Weiner may be an effective leader in housing but as Supervisor, we was quite weak on going after tech's influence in San Francisco, plenty of which back in the 2010's during when Mayor Ed Lee was pushing the Twitter payroll tax break. I admire his housing agenda but believe he's aloof to may other issues San Franciscans face. He also made an ass out of himself when he was accusing former Supervisor Aaron Peskin of orchestrating the recall against Supervisor Joel Edgardio even while there was no evidence of doing this.
PA-All: Something about Democratic state party leadership mattering.
https://x.com/DePasqualePA/status/2039101589416260018
https://x.com/WinWithJMC/status/2039012457985802610
6 straight months of winning the voter registration battle. The work continues.
PENNSYLVANIA PARTY REGISTRATION CHANGES
PA is a marginal state politically, & its Dem voter registration plurality has steadily eroded from +618K 4 years ago to +179K Dem out of 8.94M today. For the last six months, however, Dems have reversed some of their prior losses.
(1/2)
In March, Dems outregistered Reps 3,046-36, while Inds gained 5,285.
(2/2)
eugene is the man
He's been a tremendous upgrade from Sharif Street, who I sincerely hope does not win the PA-3 primary.
MO-Leg: Another red state with another incredible recruitment season for Democrats.
https://x.com/MoDemParty/status/2039100471407722713
Folks, the Missouri Democratic Party just had the best candidate filing period THIS CENTURY.
We have a Democrat running in 183 out of 189 state or congressional-level races – compare that to the Republicans who aren't even bothering to run in 25 races.
🔵 Democrats 183/189 seats contested
🔴 Republicans 164/189 seats contested
Jess Piper needs to be given her flowers for a large chunk of the MO candidate recruitment.
There is a real chance we break the supermajority. But most of the seats in places like Buchanan and Greene are pretty far gone.
I think we see some pleasant surprises in Clay, Platte, and northern Jefferson counties.
And at least one in St. Charles County (hopefully).
The 40% floor has clearly collapsed for Trump.
65% of voters say Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions.
https://x.com/IAPolls2022/status/2039328278389932048
🇺🇸 NATIONAL POLL by CNN/SSRS
Pres. Trump
Approve: 35% (-1)
Disapprove: 64% (+1)
——
Trump's net approval on key issues
🟤 Foreign affairs: -28 (new low)
🟤 Economy: -38 (new low)
🔴 Inflation: -46 (new low)
3/26-30 | 1,201 A
https://cnn.com/2026/04/01/politics/cnn-poll-trump-approval-rating-economy
Threatening Europeans, who the public generally likes (and why not also Canadians for good measure, who the public likes even more), ought to do the trick on turning this ship around!
I feel awful for all the Canadians whose sovereignty has been threatened, and I don't blame the ones I've seen for being pissed at the American people. You have every right. Americans aren't doing enough to fight back.
On that note, I know there are some Canadian commenters here, so I have a question for them: is there a way I, an American, can help Canada in fighting back against this mindless assault on their sovereignty? If the answer is "no" that's fine, I don't blame you, I just want to know if there's anything I can do, like buying Canadian products or something like that.
I’m not at all an expert here, but I’d say if you want to support Canadians, buy products made in/from Canada and travel to/within Canada would be good ideas. People really underestimate how much natural beauty and wilderness the country has, it makes for an unforgettable road trip travelling from coast to coast!
I actually have been to Canada before — I went to Toronto during spring break a couple years ago (and loved it). I’ve also been to Montreal and Vancouver — and Quebec City and Banff are on my list someday.
Thanks for the tips!
The cities are also incredible, but there’s so much more to the country than that, which many people don’t even realize. I encourage you to branch out when you come back again!
Oh definitely. There’s tons of places I’d love to travel to.
I’ve heard Banff is supposed to be absolutely stunning
As a Seattleite I’m doing my part this month going to both Victoria and Nelson (the latter less happy of circumstances, it’s for a funeral).
British Columbia is a great place to visit - I’ve had a great time everywhere I go
Don't forget Whistler!
I would say to call your Senators and Congressperson to voice your concerns about how the regime is treating a close ally, neighbour, and trade partner. As far as personal actions:
1. Quebec maple syrup on everything. EVERYTHING!
2. Your Spotify/Apple playlist should be a heavy rotation of Gordon Lightfoot, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Avril Lavigne, and Stompin Tom Connors.
3. When discussing baseball, loudly and confidently assert that in the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers got lucky and the better team lost.
4. Visit our many wonders, like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and West Edmonton Mall. The Rockies and Niagara Falls are okay too, I suppose.
5. Do you drink alcohol? Ask your local liquor store to stock up on Canadian whisky, ice wine, and microbrews. Then order some, you probably need it for the next couple of years
6. Tired: American as apple pie. Inspired: Canadian as buttertarts. But only the ones with pecans, because raisins are gross. Nanaimo bars are also acceptable.
7. Watch more Canadian content. This isn't difficult, most of the shows and movies set in your country are filmed in Ontario and B.C., but go ahead and look up shows by the CBC and NFB (National Film Board) if you want true Canadiana.
Manitoba is basically the backbone of most Hallmark content too, no?
Probably, a lot of small towns for them to use as settings for the main characters to leave the big bad city for.
if you're in the nyc metro area like me, we don't even need mention the world series, I just casually mention hey remember when Toronto smoked the yankees last year? captained by maga aaron judge
You are doing the Lord's work.
FL-28 poll: Gimenez got 65% of the vote in 2024.
https://x.com/IAPolls2022/status/2039330768502079980
FL-28 POLL
🟥 Carlos Giménez (inc): 46%
🟦 Hector Mujica: 40%
FL-28 [Trump +25 in 2024]
——
Edge-MDW Comm. | 514 LV | Early Mar
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/788279-poll-shows-carlos-gimenezs-lead-narrowing-in-cd-28-amid-economic-policy-headwinds/
That's almost a 20-point downgrade from two years ago. If that holds or worsens this summer, it's going to be a bloodbath in the Sunshine State come November.
Worth noting that Mujica is currently running for Senate. He'd have to drop down to FL-28 for this poll to be worth much.
That’s bizarre, why would a polling outfit choose a Democrat as the candidate to poll that isn’t even running? Or is there some sort of assurance he’s switching races? I’ve never heard of him before and basically see him in place of a generic D regardless.
My guess is they're trying to encourage him to switch. With Vindman raising millions of dollars and clearly being the frontrunner in the race, it might not be a bad idea on Mujica's part.
Edit: It does sound like he's already seriously considering it, so maybe the poll is to "prime the pump" for donors, so to speak. From the article:
"While it’s a smart bet that Mujica’s entry to the CD 28 race is imminent, he’s not in it yet. Federal Election Commission records suggest Democrat Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Giménez in 2024, is the only active candidate running against the incumbent this cycle."
Mujica would be a far better nominee as a Hispanic/Latino Democrat than our last nominee, who is white, in that district. I hope he does end up filing to run and gets the nomination, because Ehr can’t win in any year or national wave. Identity/Race still matters in these Hispanic/Latino seats, especially South Florida.
Completely agree. Also, the fact Mujica is Venezuelan-American could be an asset down the line when we consider surrogates to criticize Trump's handling of Venezuela.
Non-Cuban Hispanic voters will be more critical to South Florida in the future.
Will be interesting to see how hard the FL GOP goes with redistricting with numbers like these out there
My gut is they'll probably try for 1-2 more seats or not redraw at all over fears of the political environment and/or disagreements between legislators over how many seats to try to net their party.