Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

We still have time to mess this up!

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Bark louder, little dog.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

“woke” is the new caravan.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Consistently wrong since 2002

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

You are here: Home / Elections / Local Races / Local Politics Open Thread

Local Politics Open Thread

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Let’s talk local politics for a minute at the start of this open thread.

Apparently it’s getting ugly on the Republican side in the run-up to the primary for the open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat.  And I am totally here for that!

If you are on social media, please think about spreading that tweet far and wide (above) and don’t forget to include this graphic (below).

WIsconsin Supreme Court Primary

Reminder: the Wisconsin Primary is one week from today, on Tuesday 2/21.  Last day to mail postcards is today, in time for today’s mail pickup, or drop off at the post office before it closes.

Anything interesting happening with local politics in your neck of the woods?

Totally open thread!

 

Reader Interactions

122Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodingers_cat

    Thankfully, I am represented by Democrats in the state and in the Congress. Our Town Democratic committee meets next week. Looking for ideas of how we can help. We already help out with the various Indivisible initiatives

    Our governor, lt governor, AG and auditor are all women. So that’s kinda cool.

  2. 2.

    Bill K

    I thought Dorow did a great job on the trial of the Christmas parade killer, but now that the focus is on her she is revealed to be a standard GOP activist.  Sitting on the state Supreme Court is about your beliefs – not how you run a courtroom.  Dorow would be anti-abortion, pro-guns, and every other GOP shibboleth they currently believe.  She and her husband want to open a combination gun range and social events facility, for heaven’s sake.

  3. 3.

    Uncle Cholmondeley

    I appreciate these reminders.  My (adult) kids live in Wisconsin, so I have been pestering them to vote, and to bring their friends.

  4. 4.

    brendancalling

    We have a billion candidates for Mayor here in Philly, and I don’t like any of them—including one who was endorsed by my union.

  5. 5.

    TaMara

    Got an email today that Adam Frisch is running again, let’s hope he can find an extra 500 votes.

  6. 6.

    dlwchico

    Here in Chico a local group has submitted a referendum to stop a development.  They collected over a third more signatures than they need but now the county clerk will verify if they are all valid.

    One of the ways they verify is to match the signatures with what they have on file for registered voters.

    Signature matches seem like a terrible way to verify such things.
    Is there a standard system for comparing signatures?  Training for such a thing?

    It just seems to rely a lot on the judgement of whoever is doing the matching.

  7. 7.

    lowtechcyclist

    I’m in Steny Hoyer’s district, and my state legislators in both houses are Dems.  So I’m good.

    I wonder if Hoyer will step down after this term, now that he’s no longer in leadership.  He will turn 84 in June.

  9. 9.

    Mimi haha

    I’m in Chicago and just fired off an annoyed email to my alderman’s staff because we’ve been able to vote for weeks now and they’re just now starting to send out to ‘dont forget to vote’ emails

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    @dlwchico:

    Plus most people’s signatures are crap now, with the steep decline of handwriting. My brother and I were talking about this a few days ago, in the context of his kids not learning longhand in grade school. Neither of us has occasion to handwrite anything, and I find myself struggling on the rare occasions when I have to write a check. My signature is ridiculous. The muscle memory is shot.

  11. 11.

    Served

    The Chicago mayoral race is on Feb 28th. Nine candidates, so we are guaranteed a run-off between the top two finishers. Right now, we are dangerously close to a nightmare matchup of the incumbent mayor, Lori Lightfoot, against conservative Paul Vallas.

    The polling is all over the place. I’ve had my ballot for a week, and still am not sure who is the most strategic choice to take out one of those two. I’ve narrowed it down to Chuy Garcia (who nearly took Rahm out previously, but is sleepwalking through his campaign) and Brandon Johnson (who has lots of union backing, including the powerful Chicago Teachers Union endorsement, but hasn’t captured any public momentum).

    Dreading the outcome to be honest.

  14. 14.

    Eunicecycle

    @dlwchico: when I (in person) voted in November I carelessly scribbled my signature. The woman looked at it for a while and then asked me to do it again. I apologized and did it the “right” way. That triggered a confirmation from another person, though. But it’s kind of good to know they do look at it.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    @Served:

    Chuy Garcia (who nearly took Rahm out previously, but is sleepwalking through his campaign)

    Chuy has lost weight, but, his commercials don’t pack the ooph,

     

     

    and Brandon Johnson (who has lots of union backing, including the powerful Chicago Teachers Union endorsement, but hasn’t captured any public momentum).

     

    I think that Brandon Johnson is concentrating on getting his natural base (his CCB District and the West Side) out to vote in hopes that the strength there will push him into the top 2.

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    @Served:

    The Chicago mayoral race is on Feb 28th. Nine candidates, so we are guaranteed a run-off between the top two finishers. Right now, we are dangerously close to a nightmare matchup of the incumbent mayor, Lori Lightfoot, against conservative Paul Vallas.

     

    I am sticking with the Mayor.

    I despise Vallas.

  21. 21.

    frosty

    @Steeplejack: My 27-year old son has a signature that looks like 3rd grade cursive. Mine hasn’t changed in 50 years. Readable with lots of flourishes.

    I want to tell my kid to sit down and sign his name at least 100 times to get rid of the stupid cursive stuff and make it faster. Mine is basically italic printing with a few connections between the letters.

    ETA: WG we’re talking about whatever we want!

  22. 22.

    Uncle Cholmondeley

    That Milwaukee J-S article is paywalled, and is otherwise hard to find. I finally found it through Pressreader via my public library.

    The ruling prompted one of Dorow’s biggest cheerleaders, conservative talk show host Mark Belling, to attack Grogan, who is endorsing conservative candidate Dan Kelly.
    [snip]
    In an article on his website, Belling wrote that Grogan was calling local lawyers to “mock” Dorow and “crow” about the appellate court ruling.
    “Did Grogan overturn Dorow just so she could rip her?” Belling asked. “Is it ethical for an appellate judge to use her own ruling to score political points against another judge? No one really knows because no one can think of another appellate judge who has done it.”
    But here is where things took a very non-judicial turn.
    Dorow’s campaign told the Journal Sentinel last week that she would not be commenting on Grogan’s ruling because the case had been sent back to Dorow’s court for resentencing.
    Then around noon Sunday, Dorow’s campaign posted Belling’s entire online commentary on her Twitter page, even taking out a pull quote: “State liberals clearly believe Dorow is stronger than Kelly. They are running attack ads against Dorow, but leaving Kelly alone.”
    So much for staying silent on the issue.
    But it didn’t stop there.
    Seven hours later, Grogan took to Twitter to offer her rebuttal – an almost unheard-of action by an appellate judge.
    “Three court of appeals’ judges unanimously reversed Judge Dorow in State v Shirikian,” Grogan tweeted. “Judges Grogan, Lazar and Neubauer concluded Dorow didn’t follow the law.

  25. 25.

    cain

    @rikyrah: but they also not mature enough to work – so for the first 4 years. I can’t believe that child labor is their answer. I can’t imagine boomers and gen xers are ok wtih this – this was the generations that were helicopter parents.

  26. 26.

    Served

    @rikyrah: Vallas is a truly vile person and I would have to vote for Lightfoot in a head-to-head runoff. I don’t think the mayor has lived up to the office and has turned back on so many of her campaign promises. She’s also a disaster at working with the state government to get her priorities through chambers and signed by the governor. Thin skin and a hard head are a really bad combination for the office.

    Part of me wishes Quigley would have run, but alas…

  27. 27.

    schrodingers_cat

    OT News from India.

    Late last month BBC aired a documentary in 2 parts about Modi. From his complicity in the Godhra pogrom to his years in office as the PM.

    First the government banned these documentaries in India

    BBC’s offices in India were raided by the Indian equivalent of the IRS.

  30. 30.

    Three-nineteen

    Some PAC is flooding YouTube right now with Dorow hit piece commercials.  I wondered if Dems had gotten their act together and decided she was the big threat, but it’s probably Kelly.

  31. 31.

    rikyrah

    @Served:

    The Chicago mayoral race is on Feb 28th. Nine candidates, so we are guaranteed a run-off between the top two finishers.

     

    To be honest, I’m tired of all the crime commercials. We live in a big city, and as long as criminals have easy access to guns through gun mill states like Indiana, I don’t see what the Mayor can do with regards to crime.

     

    I’m a Black woman born and raised in Chicago. I fundamentally don’t trust the Chicago Police Department like that. And, there’s no candidate talking about reforming it the way that it needs to be.

    I don’t resent paying the salaries for the Chicago Police Department.

    I DO RESENT my tax payer dollars going for Police Misconduct settlements.

    Those funds should come from the Police Pension Fund.

  34. 34.

    Served

    @rikyrah: Big agreement on this one. All of the candidates’ platforms are essentially “give the police more money” or “hire more police.” They already get 40% of our money, their clearance rates are abysmal, and they don’t respond to emergency calls at nearly an acceptable rate even for current staffing.

    We need new approaches and new strategies, but those are in terrible short supply. People are concerned about crime in the city, and the candidates are taking the easy way out to try and appeal to voters.

    Vallas meeting with John Catanzara and getting the FOP endorsement is all I need to know about the man and what his approach will be. That, and his gladhanding with AWAKE Illinois. He is a clear rightwing nutjob who will be worse for the city than Rauner was for the state.

  35. 35.

    Mike E

    @Baud: Yes, and fully endorsed by Gov Cooper who is a terrific standard bearer tho seemingly too old to climb up to and assume the next level (sound familiar?)

  37. 37.

    JML

    Lol, Dan Bice is still rolling at the JS. I recall him being a fairly nasty piece of work, but generally fair in that he seemed to hate everybody. If he’s got his teeth in on one of the WI Supreme Court candidates, they might have a rough time of it. (oh, darn)

  38. 38.

    Mike E

    @NotMax: True story: Here in NC we Phila types can almost instantly detect “the Philly” when meeting a fellow denizen down here in Dixie…the local symphony’s 1st chair clarinet told me he had the same instructor that taught the Rizzo boys, and was regaled with some colorful stories about their behavior (why they both were allowed to participate in the same lesson, boggles the mind) like when fistfights would break out over who played clarinet the best. To be a fly on that wall! Martin Scorsese ought to direct the Rizzo story and call it Badfellas

  39. 39.

    Soprano2

    @Steeplejack: I find that when someone here signs a petty cash slip I almost always have to ask them to print their name so in the future we’ll know who I gave the money to! I don’t know how anyone matches a signature like some of the scrawls I’ve seen.

  40. 40.

    Roger Moore

    @dlwchico:

    If it will make you feel any better, mismatched signatures are always well down the list of disqualifications.  The main things that get signatures removed from petitions are duplicates and not being registered.  Only people registered to vote in the area count, and only one signature per voter.

    That said, checking the signatures is important.  If you don’t do that, unscrupulous petition circulators will just get a list of registered voters and start forging signatures.

  41. 41.

    smith

    I, too, am distressed that pretty much all candidates in all Chicago races seem to think that all we need to do is let the cops run free and it will solve whatever crime problem we have. Serious crimes are up pretty much everywhere since the pandemic, but Chicago is not in fact the country’s crime capital. Lists of rates of serious crimes by city don’t show Chicago anywhere at or near the top.

    Not in the top three in any category of crime

    Not in the top 15 as measured by murder rate.

    Not in the top 10 as measured by the cost of crime.

    What we do have, both locally and nationally, is a media that likes to lie about the danger of big cities by focusing on raw numbers and not rates. Notice that NYC and LA also do not appear on any of these lists. Yet the media would have you believe that you can’t walk down the street in any of these cities without being shot. Finally, as personal testimonial, I can say I’ve lived on the South side of Chicago for 34 years, and the worst (and only) crime I’ve experienced is when someone stole my snow shovel from the front yard.

  44. 44.

    Math Guy

    @dlwchico: You started an interesting side conversation on handwriting. My handwriting has always been pretty sloppy, much to the chagrin of my students who frequently have to ask me to clarify what I just wrote on the board. One day before class, I was chatting with some of my students, and somehow the conversation turned to backpacking and hiking. I shared with them the story of a climbing accident I had a decade earlier. My right arm was badly injured and it took surgery and physical therapy to get most of the use of my arm back, but I have never recovered feeling in my right hand because of nerve damage. One of my student’s face lit up and he said, “Now I understand why your handwriting is so bad! You had to learn to write left-handed.”

    ”No,” I answered, “I’ve always been left-handed.”

  46. 46.

    rikyrah

    @dlwchico:

    When doing a petition, you really should get 2 signatures for every one that you need.

     

    I prefer human review.

    When we review petitions, we take things into account like the age of the person signing, and even look back to see the year of their official signature on file. If someone is a Senior, and the signature they have on file is 20-30 years old, we give a lot of leeway.

    An electronic program won’t do that.

  48. 48.

    jackmac

    New polling released today in Chicago mayoral primary from BSP Research (including leaners) via CapitolFax.com:

    Vallas 23%
    Garcia 16%
    Lightfoot 15%
    Wilson 12%
    Johnson 8%

    Top two advance to a runoff.

    A Vallas victory in runoff could make him the first mayor from the South Side Bridgeport neighborhood since the Daley dynasty.  He claims to live in a two-flat on South Normal Ave. and whether it is an address of convenience is unknown.

  49. 49.

    rikyrah

    UH HUH

    UH HUH

     

    #JoeMama (@Mama4Obama1) tweeted at 6:04 AM on Tue, Feb 14, 2023:
    Nimrata Hayley is not running for President in 2024. She is running to be DeSantis’ Vice President in 2024.That’s why she tweeting bs about CRT and “wokeness”. She was governor of my state SC and it took the murder of 9 black people for her to remove the fvcking Confederate flag.
    (https://twitter.com/Mama4Obama1/status/1625465989876838400?t=Y1PAdoq9OV69ATopinHhcQ&s=03)

  50. 50.

    rikyrah

    I believe this. They haven’t found a way to blame the Biden Administration….

     

     

    ⚖️ 💛🐝THEE Most Passionate Twist🇱🇨🇺🇸 (@Ms_MMMJ) tweeted at 8:15 PM on Mon, Feb 13, 2023: National media isn’t covering the East Palestine derailment because they haven’t finalized their disaster for Biden narrative yet. It’s not about informing the public it’s about fomenting outrage for ratings and clicks. (https://twitter.com/Ms_MMMJ/status/1625317790893723649?s=02)

  52. 52.

    rikyrah

    TRUTH

     

    Tanesha, BSN RN drinker of white tears (@ERnurse86) tweeted at 9:06 AM on Mon, Feb 13, 2023:
    White folks getting mad about things like HBCUs, minority scholarships, Black History Month, affirmative action, African American studies and even the Black national anthem is fucking wild to me because these things came into existence as a direct response to your actions. White… https://t.co/0rt8ujnCdl
    (https://twitter.com/ERnurse86/status/1625149506848231424?s=02)

  54. 54.

    Sparkedcat

    @NotMax: A friend of mine (long deceased) had the misfortune to be arrested by Rizzo and his goon squad sometime in the sixties. He was worked over pretty good at the 19th precinct station and I can still hear Lloyd saying “That motherfucker Rizzo”. Interestingly enough during the eighties Lloyd ran an escort service in Philly with a woman who had a role in the “Profumo Affair”.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @rikyrah:

    Tyler Jones @TylerMJones 2h
    In 2010, Nikki Haley was interviewed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans ab her feelings on the confederate flag. This rare clip shows a different side of Haley than most know. She defends the flag, insists it isnt racist, and that she’d even support a Confederate Memorial Month. 

    it’s all about heritage and tradition
    “are you still in favor of Confederate History Month?”

  57. 57.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Paul in KY: He is making it sure that people who were too young when Godhra happened will see it.

    The racist Husk that runs Twitter obliged Modi by censoring the links to the BBC documentaries.

    He won’t gin up a mob because he (and the Sangh parivar) cares about their image abroad. Especially since India is going to host the next G-20 summit.

  58. 58.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @rikyrah: That’s partially WHY they cause White Tears™ tho.  All of those things pierce the deeply held myth that Systemic Racism doesn’t exist, in the minds of white people.  Whiteness as an identity and worldview is centered on the denial of White Supremacy/Systemic Racism.  So White People hate HBCUs, Affirmative Action etc., both because they actively address Systemic Racism, but also because they remind us that it is real/true.

  61. 61.

    Sure Lurkalot

    The good: we have a trifecta in Colorado, a D AG, 2 D senators and I have a new rep due to redrawn lines, Jason Crow, who was a gallant defender of the capitol on 1/6. And as Tamara mentioned, Adam Frisch is running against Boebert again and I expect he will get a crapload of support both monetary and volunteer.

    The bad: 4 of the 5 D representatives voted for that stupid horrors of socialism resolution, including Jason Crow and the usually more thoughtful Joe Neguse. My former rep, Diana DeGette, was the only congresscritter from Colorado who voted nope.

  62. 62.

    JaySinWA

    @rikyrah:If someone is a Senior, and the signature they have on file is 20-30 years old, we give a lot of leeway.

    It may have been specific to my county and how long ago the signature was registered, but we had to re-register our signatures a few years back to account for change over time.

  64. 64.

    Sparkedcat

    @Steeplejack: When I write by hand with a pen on a legal pad my pinkie and the edge of my palm are coated with ink. Being a leftie does have its drawbacks. I should learn to write Hebrew.

  65. 65.

    rikyrah

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    That’s partially WHY they cause White Tears™ tho.  All of those things pierce the deeply held myth that Systemic Racism doesn’t exist, in the minds of white people.

     

    I have often said that they hate Black folk because we demand that America live up to his creed – IN WORD AND ACTION. Our very existence demands it. And, we don’t allow them to live in their land of delusion with regards to this country.

  66. 66.

    patrick II

    Amazon Smile ends their charitable contribution program (0.5% of the purchase price to a named charity) next week.  I shouldn’t expect too much from a large enterprise, but I am a little disappointed.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack

    @Sparkedcat:

    That’s why I converted to quick-drying gel pens—Pilot G2, mostly. I like these that have a stylus on the other end for tap-tapping on my phone.

    One of my southpaw tragedies is that I love fountain pens but pretty much can’t use them without making a mess.

  70. 70.

    Mwangangi

    Just because it found it interesting.  Keith Olbermann specifically mentioned ‘hot air’ then specifically ‘balloon juice’ in his 13 Feb episode.  I only bring it up because I’m pretty sure he was on air when I started reading this site back in the day.

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    It’s official

    Ashley Zavala @ZavalaA
    BREAKING: California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announces she will not seek reelection in 2024 but will finish out her term. Her statement:

    I wonder if this is what Barbara Lee was waiting for, or if she genuinely hasn’t decided whether or not to run

  75. 75.

    Jager

    @Sparkedcat:

    I was in Philly on business when Rizzo was mayor. The Ambassador from Nigeria was in town. I saw a TV clip from the reception. Rizzo introduced the guy as the “Ambassador from Nig-a-ri-ah”.

  77. 77.

    narya

    @rikyrah: Thanks; that’s helpful. I was debating between the mayor & Brandon. Some friends had worked w/ Chuy last time through, but he’s never really impressed me. I’m leaning toward Brandon, tbh, but those polling numbers suck.

  78. 78.

    FelonyGovt

    @rikyrah: It’s bad enough that Black History Month is the shortest month of the year. How could anyone possibly have an issue with it? (Yes, I know how…)

    I enjoy seeing all the recognition of it, even though I know a lot of the corporate “support” is performative only.

  80. 80.

    narya

    w/r/t handwriting . . . thanks to THIS site, I dug out my fountain pens and have been using them almost exclusively. I have always preferred to take notes on paper rather than on a keyboard–I find that the thoughts stick better in my head that way, and apparently there’s now some research to back me up. No judgment on others’ choices; I just like the sensation of writing.

  84. 84.

    David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch

    @UncleEbeneezer:
    A rat done bit my sister Nell.
    (with PBS is on the moon)
    Her face and arms began to swell.
    (and PBS is on the moon)

    The man jus’ upped my rent last night.
    (’cause PBS is on the moon)
    No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
    (but PBS is on the moon)​​​

  85. 85.

    Math Guy

    @FelonyGovt: Except fencing. Took it for PE credit in college and learned that lefties have a natural advantage in the sport. We learn to fence against right-handed opponents all the time, but they rarely get to practice against left-handed opponents. If you encounter another lefty then you are on an even playing field vis-a-vis handedness.

  87. 87.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Good to hear.

    My plan is to give no money to anyone running in the primary; it’s essentially an infinite-money sink and the funds will be better spent in districts/states where there are Republicans to defeat.

  89. 89.

    dmsilev

    @Math Guy:

    We learn to fence against right-handed opponents all the time, but they rarely get to practice against left-handed opponents. If you encounter another lefty then you are on an even playing field vis-a-vis handedness.

    What if you’re a Spaniard facing off against the Dread Pirate Roberts?

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    The Nevada State Democratic Party will hold leadership elections next month, and the contest is heating up. Last week state Assemblywoman Daniele Munro-Moreno declared her candidacy to replace Chair Judith Whitmer, and Whitmer’s team announced that 230+ Democrats were being dropped from the party’s Central Committee for “non-attendence.” That was ~40% of the Committee’s members, including elected officials and at least one Culinary Union official.

    Yesterday the Culinary Union local called for Whitmer’s resignation, and today Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager and Senate Majority Leader Nicolle Cannizzaro followed suit.

    Whitmer and a slate of fellow Democratic Socialists of America members won the leadership elections two years ago, whereupon the state party staff quit. She is unlikely to resign, and the Central Committee dimissals will likely be contested in court if she does not rescind them.

    Jon Ralston’s Nevada Independent and other state media sites are covering this story. Mr. Ralston is also providing commentary on his Twitter account.

  94. 94.

    geg6

    I haven’t been paying much attention, but I think it will be a PA Supreme Court election that’s the important one this year.

    Otherwise, sitting back and basking in the warm sunlight of being represented by a Dem for my state rep, governor, lt. governor, congressional rep and both senators.  The only bad thing is having a GOPer as state senator.  And he’s not the worst GOPer that ever held office here.  He’s bad, but he is not a GQPer or a rabid Trumper.  I doubt we can put up anyone who can beat him because he does truly excellent work for senior constituents in the district and that’s how you win that office for life around here.

  95. 95.

    patrick II

    @narya:

    For quick notes whenever, I have Samsung phone with a stylus.  For more extensive writing I use my Microsoft Surface with its stylus.  On both I use a program named Nebu ($10 the last time I bought it) to write on.  The program is remarkable.  It reads my writing literally better than I do and translates it to text or Word. The Surface is about the size of a writing pad, so it feels natural.  You can get a stylus tip with some friction or not, depending on the feel you want.  You can import .pdf’s and mark them up.  I have used it in class to take notes. I grew up writing not typing and I find very little difference between writing on my Surface with Nebu and writing on paper with the added benefit of actual text documents at the end.  Also, I export to email.  So, it just works for me.

    I also have an old-fashioned fountain pen for when I just want the most elementary experience.

  98. 98.

    sdhays

    @rikyrah: My best friend and his partner are pretty fed up with Lightfoot. They say that she’s been ineffective at everything other than antagonizing all of the different constituencies.

    I don’t live in Chicago so I haven’t been following her tenure, although she doesn’t seem to have merited awful national news like her predecessor (at least that I’ve seen).

  99. 99.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​

    Must admit I’m too old to have gotten into hip-hop.

    But Motown completely dominates the list of my all-time favorite music from my youth. Sometimes I ponder how my music listening was not too many years after the era of segregated radio and what a limited experience white-only radio would have been.

  101. 101.

    CaseyL

    @Geminid:

    Whitmer and a slate of fellow Democratic Socialists of America members won the leadership elections two years ago, whereupon the state party staff quit.

    And, if I remember correctly, the DSA purged a lot of people who didn’t quit.  It was a BernieBro takeover, so of course they made a mess of things.

    Pissing off the unions, though: that’s some world class stupidity.

    Is Munro-Moreno one of the more traditional Democrats in Nevada?

  104. 104.

    Geminid

    @CaseyL: I expect Assemblywoman Munroe-Moreno is a mainstream Democrat, and that is why she is running forChair. I don’t think the Nevada DSA has been able put a member into office by running on the Democratic line, at least not at the state legislative level or above. They and their allies could win the party elections two years ago, but that was an easier task. I suspect they caught regular Democrats sleeping.

  105. 105.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

     230+ Democrats were being dropped from the party’s Central Committee for “non-attendence.”

     

    Is there any truth to the allegation? I didn’t realize party central committees were so huge.

  106. 106.

    sab

    @frosty: I had a shortish maiden name. My husband’s is long with complicated letters. When I took his name he said “Don’t worry. In our family we all just do a B and a bunch of bumps after it.

  107. 107.

    sab

    @FelonyGovt: Our local classical radio station always features black classical composers and performers. Boy are there a lot of excellent ones who rarely get much recognition.

  108. 108.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I think Central Committee size varies state to state, and party to party. The Virginia Republican Party Central Committee numbered a little over 100 a couple years ago when they came up with the “Disassembled Convention” that nominated Youngkin for Governor.

    The decision by Nevada’s party leadership is controvesial. One of the dropped members showed he had attended a meeting where he’d been marked absent, and was reinstated. That raised the question of how arbitrary Whitmer’s team had been in declaring absences. It looks like a power play intended to preserve her and her faction’s control, and Nevada Dems are pretty hot about it. Whitmer is also under fire for apparently steering $200,000 worth of support contracts to allies of hers.

    So far as I know, Nevada’s 2 Democratic Senators and 3 Representatives have yet to weigh in on the matter.

  109. 109.

    KBS

    De-lurking to say, the interesting thing happening in local politics for me is my running for city council. :) I’ve been on the school board here for 8 years, and observing the local scene longer than that. I beg everyone I know to pay close attention to those local races, because we’ve had some really awful people run, and sometimes they even win. :(

  111. 111.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: You could still probably enjoy the series.  I’m not a huge hip-hop/rap fan (I like some, but I mainly listen to other genres) but I want to watch it to better understand US/Black history and its’ incredible importance as the most overtly political music genre ever.  One of these days I wanna watch Ken Burns Country Music series, even though I’m not big into that genre at all.

  112. 112.

    Ruckus

    @JaySinWA:

    I was asked to update my signature a few years ago here in CA as the one on file was done in 1970. Yeah it’s changed just a bit

    If my current signature is readable then I didn’t do it. My old one looked like school writing – with an A grade. My current one looks like it was done in a hurry. By a drunk. And no I don’t drink alcohol.

  113. 113.

    sab

    My city had the same mayor for 25 years. He retired and the next guy has been a good mayor, but then the Jayland Walker police murder happened and it blew up this town. Mayor not running again. Trying finally get a police review board up and running and it is going to be ugly.

    Meanwhile state AG, handling the investigation, is twiddling its thumbs because it cannot exonerate the police and does not want to criticize them.

    The police behavior issue looks to be the issue in the coming year.

  114. 114.

    Geminid

    @KBS: Good luck and much respect! I hope you will tell us about it when it’s over, or even during if you feel like it.

  115. 115.

    rikyrah

    @narya:

    I’m leaning toward Brandon, tbh, but those polling numbers suck.

     

    If you like Brandon, go with him. Don’t discount the number of union endorsements that he has received. Those endorsements come with boots on the ground to pound the pavement for him. That counts in a primary election like this.

  118. 118.

    J R in WV

    Having had several medical procedures lately, I had to sign lots of medical forms using a tiny digital slate, and a finger. I have managed to get a digital signature that is legible and looks pretty much just like a ballpoint signature.

    Not every time with every device… also old now.

  119. 119.

    KBS

    @Baud:  @Geminid: @rikyrah:

    Thanks! Right now I’m working on 3 candidate questionnaires, prepping for a forum and a podcast, and trying to figure out how to find time to connect with about a dozen local folks to hear more about their issues. It’s…a lot.

  121. 121.

    mvr

    My Democratic mayor in Lincoln Nebraska is facing an opponent financed by the Ricketts machine. She’s the most prominent D elected official in the state at present (not that there aren’t a baker’s dozen of good D legislators). And Ricketts is bankrolling her opponent. So far I’m in for $700+ if my memory doesn’t fail me and my math doesn’t either. This state used to be saved by the nonpartisan nature of its legislative races. Unfortunately, Ricketts money is taking away that barrier against the crazy. If anyone cares they can give at https://www.leirionforlincoln.com/  

  122. 122.

    mvr

    @rikyrah: Grew up in Illinois. Know what you mean about the Chicago PD from when I was young. Beat the shit out of a family friend (a black reporter for Newsweek at the time iirc) during the Democratic Convention of 1968.  The Daley Machine was corrupt as hell back in the day. Why I was never happy w his sons as D appointees even by my man BO.

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