Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Nothing We Can Do Right Now Will Have More Impact Than This

by WaterGirl| March 27, 202510:05 am| 38 Comments

What is more important right now than:

Having a person of integrity on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the critical next few years
Making sure the Wisconsin gains of the past few years aren’t wiped out
Punching Musk in the (virtual) face
Sending the loud and clear message that Musk’s money can’t buy elections

Because if we don’t do that, we are going to see a lot more critical elections being purchased, just like this.

If you’re not calling, ask yourself – why not?

We don’t need to outspend Musk to defeat him. We just need to outvote the people he’s motivating. Join our phone banks and chip in some dough to help us do it.

Volunteer: wisdems.org/call

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— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM

What a powerful statement:

We don’t need to outspend Musk to defeat him.

We just need to outvote the people he’s motivating.

Totally open thread.

Nothing We Can Do Right Now Will Have More Impact Than ThisPost + Comments (38)

The She Wolf of CECOT (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| March 27, 20257:05 am| 198 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Kristi Noem’s was a long, rocky climb to power. It started with the procurement of a grotesque sculpture she commissioned to aesthetically defile a home state landmark, a Mount Rushmore replica with Trump’s face chiseled alongside those of Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln.

Hers was a path strewn with murdered dogs and goats, a road paved with implants provided by the official cosmetic dentist to the Miss Texas USA Pageant, from whom she received rows of unnaturally uniform and gleaming white Chiclets, and painful plastic surgery to achieve an aggressively synthetic Mar-a-Lago face.

But the 53-year-old director of the federal agency with the most Teutonic name of them all, the Department of Homeland Security, has finally achieved She Wolf of CECOT status.

Had to triple-check this was real. It is.

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— Annika Brockschmidt (@ardenthistorian.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 3:55 AM

Noem’s $60K Rolex and sporty, moisture-wicking LL Bean hiking togs are calculated to form a fetching contrast to the stacks of half-naked prisoners with shaved heads in the background. At the sight of this set piece, angry, recliner-bound, Fox News-viewing shut-ins nationwide likely experienced a frisson that reminded them of the last natural boner they experienced decades ago.

Is this peak degeneracy? Friends, I doubt that very much. We’re just over two months into a four-year nightmare.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but this makes me sick to my soul. Hopefully someone will come along with a more uplifting post soon. Meanwhile, discuss whatever — open thread.

The She Wolf of CECOT (Open Thread)Post + Comments (198)

War for Ukraine Day 1,126: So Much for the Critical Infrastructure Ceasefire

by Adam L Silverman| March 26, 202510:23 pm| 10 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

It’s been a long day, so I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.

I’ll get to all the details of Russia’s attack on civilian targets in Kharkiv after the jump, but the Russians hit a critical infrastructure site in contravention of the “ceasefire.”

One of the russian drone strikes on Kharkiv destroyed a boiler house supplying heat to the neighborhood, right in the middle of the so-called “moratorium on infrastructure strikes.”

— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 5:14 PM

The cost:

Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia NPP engineer Serhiy Potyng was sentenced by sham Russian court to 19 years after nearly two years in captivity. His wife was also tortured. This is the terrible cost of Russian occupation. It’s not just territories, it’s our people.

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— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM

In Russia, 23 Azov POWs were sentenced to 13–23 years in high-security colonies. Eleven, already exchanged to Ukraine, were sentenced in absentia. The sham trial accused them of “violent seizure of power” and terrorism, ignoring international law banning POW prosecution.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:34 AM

President Zelenskyy traveled to Paris today. There is no daily address, but there is a joint press conference with President Macron.

show full post on front page

He also did an interview with the European Broadcasting Union while in Paris:

First Lady of Zelenska participated in a meeting of the Accessibility Council.

Georgia:

Day 119. New, free and fair Parliamentary elections, and the release of the regime prisoners.
We won’t stop, and your sanctions and supporting our cause can help us avoid whatever costs can be avoided. #GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 1:54 PM

Ahead of tomorrow’s #EUCO meeting, 🇬🇪 President Zourabichvili calls on European leaders to stand with Georgia against the growing repression of the Georgian Dream regime.

Europe cannot afford to lose Georgia to Russia.

@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu

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— Rasa Juknevičienė 🇱🇹🇪🇺 (@rjukneviciene.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 11:07 AM

1/ The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, published today a memorandum on the human rights situation in Georgia, outlining his concerns and recommendations.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM

2/ According to the Commissioner, the continuation of Mzia Amaghlobeli’s pre-trial detention is unjustified.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM

3/ “The Commissioner observes that journalists were not only targeted during the protests in November and December 2024 but are also increasingly facing repression in other ways.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM

4/ On 11 January 2025, Ms. Mzia Amaghlobeli, a well-known journalist and founder-director of the newspaper Batumelebi and the online platform Netgazeti, was administratively detained by police in Batumi for placing a protest sticker on the fence of an official building.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM

5/ She was released approximately an hour later but was re-arrested shortly afterward for slapping a senior police officer following repeated verbal insults directed at her.”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM

And on this note, there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with, say, Georgians or Ukrainians as compared to, say, Slovaks, Romanians, etc.
Our only guilt is geography and the consequent lack of proactive interest of Europeans to help transform our societies.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:55 AM

We Georgians are used to being run over and then our righteousness being lamented by Europe, awaken all too late.
But maybe, just maybe, Europe will find leverage over Georgia before we as a generation are wiped out one way or another, & the region’s gone for decades at best?

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM

Lithuania:

BREAKING: Four U.S. soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have been killed, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) March 26, 2025 at 1:40 PM

From The Associated Press:

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO on Wednesday clarified comments that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made earlier in the day, when he suggested that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania had died, even though the U.S. Army said their fate was not yet confirmed.

“The search is ongoing,” NATO said in a statement posted on X. “We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown.”

The U.S. Army said the Hercules armored vehicle the four U.S. soldiers were in during a training exercise had been found submerged in a body of water. It said recovery efforts were underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.

The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting tactical training when they went missing.

During a trip to Warsaw, Rutte told reporters that he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers while he was delivering a lecture, and that his thoughts were with their families and with the United States.

The President is on top of it:

Trump is completely oblivious that 4 US troops died in Lithuania

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM

It’s probably better he doesn’t know or he’d want to invade, occupy, and annex Lithuania too.

The EU:

Brussels rejected Russia’s demand to lift EU restrictions on a key agro bank as part of a ceasefire deal, saying its sanctions regime will stay in place until the “unconditional withdrawal” of Moscow’s troops from Ukraine.
w/ @henryjfoy.ft.com @maxseddon.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/f5fe…

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) March 26, 2025 at 9:12 AM

From The Financial Times:

Brussels has rejected Russia’s demand to lift EU restrictions on a key agricultural bank as part of a partial ceasefire deal, saying its sanctions regime will stay in place until the “unconditional withdrawal” of Moscow’s troops from Ukraine.

The European Commission statement on Wednesday came after the US said it had agreed a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine, covering energy infrastructure and the Black Sea.

The Kremlin later claimed the agreement was dependent on dropping sanctions including those imposed on Rosselkhozbank, a bank involved in financing the production and export of food, and reconnecting it to the global Swift banking messaging system.

“The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions,” Anitta Hipper, European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs, told the Financial Times.

“The EU’s main focus remains to maximise pressure on Russia, using all tools available, including sanctions, to diminish Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine.”

The commission has also rejected Russian accusations that its sanctions against Moscow have restricted food and fertiliser exports, a politically sensitive subject given the importance of both to poorer countries.

“The EU has consistently supported efforts towards enhancing global food security. EU sanctions are not targeting trade in agricultural goods, including food, grain and fertilisers, in any way, between Russia and third countries,” Hipper added.

The EU’s position will come as a relief to Ukraine, which has come under heavy pressure from Washington to make concessions to end the full-blown invasion of it that Russia launched three years ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that western sanctions against Russia must remain in place until the Kremlin stops its war against his country.

More at the link.

France:

The French President announced an additional €2 billion military aid package at a joint press conference with Zelensky.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM

The US:

what’s the English translation of “Lebensraum”?

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM

From France24:

Since coming to power in January, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he wants the self-governed territory to be in Washington’s grip, refusing to rule out the use of force to do so.

“We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,” Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese. “I hate to put it that way, but we’re going to have to have it.”

Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned.

It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change.

Asked if he thought Greenlanders were eager to join the United States, Trump said he did not know.

“We have to convince them,” he said. “And we have to have that land, because it’s not possible to properly defend a large section of this Earth, not just the United States, without it.”

Trump’s comments prompted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to say on her Facebook account: “We mustn’t have illusions — President Trump’s interest in Greenland is not going away”.

“They know that Greenland is not for sale. They know that Greenland doesn’t want to be part of the United States,” she added, saying the message had been communicated “unambiguously.”

Trump’s latest strident comments come as Vice President Vance is due to accompany his wife Usha on a visit to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.

Frederiksen and Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede had earlier harshly criticized plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited for what was initially a much broader visit.

Egede had characterized the initial plans as “foreign interference,” noting that the outgoing government had not “sent out any invitations for visits, private or official.”

On Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed the decision to limit the visit to the US space base.

“I think it’s very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,” he told public broadcaster DR.

Formerly known as Thule Air Base, the Pituffik Space Base is the United States’ northernmost military installation and supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.

The White House on Tuesday said the Vances’ visit to the space base would take place in lieu of the second lady’s scheduled visit to a dogsled race in Sisimiut, where an anti-US demonstration was reportedly planned.

Much more at the link.

Say it isn’t so:

According to military analyst Michael Clarke, Russia has violated 190 agreements.

news.sky.com/story/ukrain…

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 2:28 PM

From Sky News:

We reported earlier this morning Donald Trump has admitted Russia “could be dragging their feet” over negotiations to end the war.

And that may be an ominous sign of things to come, if Moscow’s previous record when it comes to respecting deals is anything to go by.

According to our military analyst Michael Clarke, Russia has broken 190 deals.

One of the most important for Ukraine was the Minsk Agreements in 2014, signed in an effort to end fighting after Russia invaded Crimea in February that year.

“The biggest one of all, I suppose, was 1994, the Budapest Memorandum, which is when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons that it had inherited from the old Soviet Union, and Ukraine was the one country that could have used them,” Clarke added.

“I mean, the other countries were Kazakhstan and Belarus. They couldn’t really have done anything with the weapons that they inherited. But Ukraine had the expertise.

“They could have had their own nuclear force that would have worked if they chose to, but they gave it up in 1994, in return for security guarantees.”

The exception

But Russia has been more consistent on agreements when it involves its own companies.

Clarke said when Gazprom supplied gas to Europe “they always stuck to their contracts, they always did until about 2008”.

But Putin then went on to enter his “aggressive phase”, playing games every winter over isolating Ukraine and Ukrainian pipelines from the rest of the European supply.

Back to Ukraine:

The life of Ukrainians feels something like this🥲

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— Oksii ✚ 🇺🇦 (@oksii33.ukr.monster) March 26, 2025 at 8:28 AM

A Ukrainian F-16 pilot has given an interview for the first time.

In the interview, the F-16 pilot, whose name is withheld for security reasons, revealed that he regularly conducts aerial reconnaissance flights over Russian targets and troops. youtu.be/kwbTB45flFk?…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM

In just half a year, Ukraine has damaged or completely destroyed dozens of Russian military facilities and inflicted $658 million in losses on Russia’s energy sector.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 10:10 AM

Dnipro:

Dnipro right now

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 5:19 PM

Kharkiv:

The Russians pounded Kharkiv all day today.

Kharkiv 📍
Fuck russia!

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM

At least eight explosions have been reported in Kharkiv as the city remains under a russian drone attack! One of the strikes reportedly set a residential building on fire, and a 12-year-old girl was injured.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM

Kharkiv following tonight’s russian drone attack on the city

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM

Kharkiv these minutes. About 15 russian drones struck my hometown. World leaders need to wake up and realize that putin will not stop at Kharkiv, nor will he stop at Ukraine. He won’t rest until all of Europe is drowning in blооd.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 3:48 PM

Kharkiv’s first responders are nothing short of heroes. They often have to extinguish fires, provide medical aid, evacuate civilians, and dig through rubble while attack is still ongoing.

Today, they shared a video of a Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv. The footage captures them as they race

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM

to the scene, even as drones continue to rain down on the city. They try to take cover in the middle of nowhere, and still proceed to race to help. Immense respect for their courage and dedication!

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM

Football when your neighbor is genocidal maniac. Turn the sound on.

Kharkiv, Ukraine, just now.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 3:44 PM

Sumy:

The number of injured in russia’s March 24 missile strike on Sumy has risen to 108, including 24 children.
This level of violence, especially against children, is outrageous!

It’s this strikes against civilians that have to be stopped first.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM

This is what has to be negotiated, instead of the Black Sea and infrastructure.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM

Somewhere in Donetsk Oblast:

Fiber optic drone strike on the Russian MT-LB by the ‘Birds of Magyar’ unit.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:30 AM

Lyman, Donetsk Oblast:

The fighters of the 63rd Brigade are eliminating Russians in the Lyman region not only on the ground but also in the sky.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM

Zaporizhzhia:

A diesel fuel reservoir has been damaged at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

According to the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the amount of spilled fuel could have kept the plant’s emergency generators running for 25 days.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM

Russian occupied Crimea:

North Korea continues to supply Russia with military equipment and ammunition, despite talks of a ceasefire.

In Crimea, a trainload of 7–8 M-1978 “Koksan” self-propelled guns with 170/180mm calibers was spotted, along with several military trucks designed for reloading Korean MLRS.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM

The Kursk cross border offensive:

Russians who tried to enter Sudzha through a gas pipeline suffered severe lung damage and chemical pneumonitis. Doctors are unable to predict the consequences of this.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 7:13 AM

Novy Urengoy, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia:

A Russian An-12 cargo plane made a hard landing in Novy Urengoy. The left landing gear failed to lock and the plane overturned during landing,

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 5:27 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.

Today’s Dogs of War are these cuties Nastia spotted at her weekend getaway in Chernivtsi (a city in Western part of Ukraine). They were impatiently waiting for their owners near the railway station, while they moved baggage to the car.

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— Tim Mak (@timkmak.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 9:59 AM

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,126: So Much for the Critical Infrastructure CeasefirePost + Comments (10)

Afternoon Open Thread and Celebrating the Resignation of DeJoy(less)

by WaterGirl| March 26, 20253:45 pm| 234 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Have we celebrated the resignation of DeJoy(less) as Postmaster Fuckup yet? If so, I must have missed it.

I like to think it’s because he never wants to be questioned by Jon Ossoff again. I know this is from 3 months ago, but I’m not sure this kind of burn goes away. Ever.

I watched the video at the time, and I happily watched it again when someone linked to it yesterday. Since Obama, I haven’t been as excited about a Senator as I am about Jon Ossoff. They don’t come better than this.

If the resignation is part of some plot to further destroy the post office, please break it to me gently.

Open thread.

Afternoon Open Thread and Celebrating the Resignation of DeJoy(less)Post + Comments (234)

This Is Why We Fight for Every Seat

by WaterGirl| March 26, 202512:00 pm| 130 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

In case you missed my post last night, we got a couple of really important special election wins in Pennsylvania. One in the PA House and one in the PA Senate. James Malone (Senate) won in a squeaker and is the first Dem to represent that district since 19-fucking-78!

Dems now have a 102-101 majority in state house. BlueGuitarist reported that this was a Harris +16 district, and Ds won by 29 points.

The PA senate flip was Harris -15 in November, so that’s a similar gain to win by one. Extraordinary!

There are lots of great links in the comments of that thread.

Fighting and Winning

We have a Wall Street Journal gift link from eclare. (Wall Street Journal)

It turns out that Rs are starting to worry about one of the special elections in Florida next week. (That has to be FL-06.) SO SAD!

Bullet points for my favorite parts of the article.

The poor babies think that “the Democrats and media outlets” – because of course the media is on our side???? – will frame it as a setback for Republicans if the GOP candidate wins by 8 points rather than Waltz’s 30 points.
They believe that even if the odious Fine squeaks out a narrow victory, there could be a domino effect – and we would hail it as a repudiation of Trump policies and fundraise off it. Hell must have frozen over because I agree with the Republicans on this!
They also worry that centrist Republicans could feel pressure to distance themselves from the administration headed into the midterms. That would also be SO SAD!

Below is a collection of snippets from the article. (big thanks to eclare)

show full post on front page

WASHINGTON—Republican political operatives have grown concerned about a special election in Florida, with the race for a solidly red House seat emerging as more competitive than expected, creating a potential headache for the GOP two months into President Trump’s second term.

While the party still largely expects candidate Randy Fine, a fiery Florida state lawmaker, to win former Rep. Mike Waltz’s 6th Congressional District seat, the party is rushing ahead of the April 1 election day to reach Republican voters and make sure they turn out. Waltz resigned the seat in the Daytona Beach area to become Trump’s national security adviser.

Trump allies worry a weak showing in the Florida contest would be read—fairly or unfairly—as a referendum on the president’s record headed into the midterm elections in 2026, when control of the Senate and House are on the line. This year’s special House elections, along with other 2025 races, such as a state supreme court race in Wisconsin and the Virginia governor race, are set to be seen as indicators of how the electorate is feeling.

“We have a candidate that I don’t think is winning,” said conservative commentator Steve Bannon on Monday on his show, “War Room,” about the Florida race. “That’s an issue.”

An internal Fine campaign poll found Democratic opponent Joshua Weil closing in, making the race uncomfortably tight, according to people familiar with the polling. A different, recently conducted GOP-led poll found Fine winning comfortably, but underperforming the generic ballot, according to a GOP campaign operative. Waltz won by more than 30 points in November 2024.

Several Republican operatives said they worried that Fine, while endorsed by Trump, didn’t make a strong early push to reach GOP base voters, who might not be paying attention to the House race. Special elections are notoriously low-turnout affairs, making them prone to upsets.

As of mid-March, Fine had raised less than $1 million and had less than $93,000 cash on hand, while Weil had taken in nearly $10 million and had $1.3 million cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Weil has spent much of that money on canvassing and further fundraising, and he aired ads attacking Fine as a radical and dangerous politician.

Fine put ads on TV only last week, a delay that some GOP operatives saw as too late. The spots tied Weil to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). Fine, who worked in the gambling industry before entering politics, also cut a personal check for $600,000 to boost his campaign this month, according to people familiar with the matter.

During a closed-door House GOP meeting Tuesday, Rep. Ron Estes (R., Kan.), who won his own special election in the early months of Trump’s first term in 2017, sought to remind his colleagues how such contests are different from other races. He said Democrats and media outlets will frame it as a setback for Republicans if the GOP candidate wins by 8 points rather than Waltz’s 30 points, according to people familiar with the private remarks.

Trump took to Truth Social repeatedly in the past two weeks to encourage district residents to vote early for Fine. His son, Donald Trump Jr., recorded robocalls for Fine.

The House split is currently 218 to 213, with four vacancies: Waltz’s and one other are in heavily GOP Florida districts, while two are in solidly Democratic areas. If Republicans were to lose the Waltz seat, the ultimate split would be 219-216 if the other races stayed in their current column.

Most Democrats don’t see the seat as competitive, and big-name party figures have stayed away. Still, if Fine only manages a narrow victory, Republicans worry there could be a domino effect: Democrats would hail it as a repudiation of Trump policies and fundraise off it, while centrist Republicans could feel pressure to distance themselves from the administration headed into the midterms.

Fine’s is one of two special elections taking place on April 1 in Florida. There is also a race to fill the seat of former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in the Florida Panhandle. Jimmy Patronis, the Trump-backed Republican candidate running for Gaetz’s seat, is expected to win.

The two vacant Democratic seats in Texas and Arizona will also have special elections. Also, there is expected to be another special election after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) resigns to take on her post as Trump’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

This is why we fight for every single seat! Even for the long shots.

This Is Why We Fight for Every SeatPost + Comments (130)

Smoked Signal (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| March 26, 202510:44 am| 133 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

Y’all will be shocked to hear that Trump’s Signal Corps lied under oath to a Congressional committee yesterday and lied to reporters when they insisted they didn’t discuss military attack plans on an unsecure commercial app that they’re using for the sole purpose of evading government records requirements and accountability. Some excerpts from a new story in The Atlantic:

Yesterday, we asked officials across the Trump administration if they objected to us publishing the full texts… We sent our first request for comment and feedback to national-security officials shortly after noon, and followed up in the evening after most failed to answer.

Late yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emailed a response: “As we have repeatedly stated, there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat. However, as the CIA Director and National Security Advisor have both expressed today, that does not mean we encourage the release of the conversation. This was intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed. So for those reason [sic] — yes, we object to the release.”

An aside: Leavitt is a blithering idiot who wouldn’t last three days flacking for a mid-sized regional shoe repair concern.

Anyhoo, The Atlantic published the entire Signal conversation except the name of John Ratcliffe’s chief of staff. They redacted that name as a courtesy, even though Ratcliffe is a bald-faced liar who impugned the magazine and its editor while lying to a Congressional committee. It’s pretty damning stuff:

At 11:44 a.m. eastern time, Hegseth posted in the chat, in all caps, “TEAM UPDATE:”

The text beneath this began, “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch.” Centcom, or Central Command, is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East. The Hegseth text continues:

“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”

Let us pause here for a moment to underscore a point. This Signal message shows that the U.S. secretary of defense texted a group that included a phone number unknown to him—Goldberg’s cellphone—at 11:44 a.m. This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be killed by these American aircraft. If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds. The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.

The Hegseth text then continued:

“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”
“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
“We are currently clean on OPSEC”—that is, operational security.
“Godspeed to our Warriors.”

The Atlantic also revealed that Hegseth further blabbed plans for more attacks that evening.

Look, these are “war plans” and “classified information” by any reasonable definition. So, not only did these fucking clowns endanger American servicemembers during that operation while illegally evading recordkeeping requirements, they lied about it to Congress. I’m not a lawyer, but I think that’s a crime?

As a result, I’ve added some new talking points for the weekly phone calls to my shitty Republican reps: Demand the immediate resignation of Hegseth, Waltz and Gabbard or stop claiming you give a shit about the troops.

Is that pointless? Probably.

But the Trump Signal Corps’ epic fuckup is significant for at least a couple of reasons: 1) A journalist is at the center of the story, so the mainstream press might be tempted to stay on it longer than they have other scandalous Trump fuckups, and 2) The facts are incredibly damning and easy for anyone to understand.

Remember how a Hemingway character described going bankrupt — gradually and then all at once? Sometimes the same is true of public opinion, and we need public opinion to shift so we can give these incompetent and malevolent shitheads the electoral beat-down they so richly deserve.

Open thread.

Smoked Signal (Open Thread)Post + Comments (133)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Populism Ain’t Beanbag Pretty

by Anne Laurie| March 26, 20256:28 am| 355 Comments

This post is in: Immigration, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Trump Crime Cartel

So… Monday:

“What we see is that they want to dull our free speech rights”: Jasmine Crockett
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) responds to warning from AG Pam Bondi on Tesla protests
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfQ4…

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— MSNBC (@msnbc.com) March 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM

I guess Bondi figured attacking the Uppity Brown Lady was a sure win with the (very) Base, even if it meant giving the vile libs more fuel for mockery. Also too, that ~~other~~ bleach-blond wannabe Alina Habba is getting way too much earned media…

This is so dumb lmao. Crockett will win and make Bondi look stupid and also raise her national profile by like 1000x

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 10:06 PM

Crockett: Pam Bondi, if you have an issue with terrorism, maybe you should talk to your boss about locking back up those guys that he let out that participated in January 6th.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 5:40 PM

To reiterate what I said last night. Crockett would love to suddenly become one of the most important and visible anti Trump voices in the country.
Please continue, general.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 9:49 PM

======

Wednesday:

Jasmine Crockett under fire for mocking Texas governor’s wheelchair: ‘Governor Hot Wheels down there’

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— The Independent (@the-independent.com) March 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM

show full post on front page

#GVerse via @artcandee.bsky.social
MAGA is big mad at Democratic House Rep. Jasmine Crockett @repjasmine.bsky.social for making this comment about Texas Governor Greg Abbott:

“Y’all know we’ve got Governor Hot Wheels down there…and the only hot thing about him is that he’s a hot ass mess.”

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— 𝕲𝖆𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖔 (@gmf1369.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM

I wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition—I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable.

— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@repjasmine.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM

Literally, the next line I said was that he was a “Hot A** Mess,” referencing his terrible policies. At no point did I mention or allude to his condition.

So, I’m even more appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump—a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities—are now outraged.

Keep that same energy for all people, not just your political adversaries.

Finally, this is yet another distraction. Instead of obsessing over and hanging on to my every word, maybe my political foes should focus on doing the work of the people who elected us to improve their lives.

www.texastribune.org/2024/02/21/t…

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— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@repjasmine.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM

Democrat Responds to Backlash After Calling Abbott 'Governor Hot Wheels' https://twp.ai/1VDO4E

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— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 5:16 PM

Abbott’s office has not publicly responded to Crockett’s comments.

I don't like "Hot Wheels" because one of my wheelchair-using friends suggested "Governor Strangelove" and that's so much better

— Balzac Asimov, Tekkaman Green👨‍🦯 (@balzac-asimov.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 11:30 PM

Sorry, but if we got one lesson from 2024, it's that people love dunking on the poor, unlucky, and disabled. we're meeting people where they're at.

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— Cai (@annenotation.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Populism Ain’t <del>Beanbag</del> PrettyPost + Comments (355)

Paul in KY on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 14, 2025 @ 2:13pm)

Karen Gail on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 14, 2025 @ 2:10pm)

Dave on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 14, 2025 @ 2:10pm)

cmorenc on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 14, 2025 @ 2:08pm)

Omnes Omnibus on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 14, 2025 @ 2:06pm)

This fight is for everything.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

We will not go back.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

“woke” is the new caravan.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

How stupid are these people?

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Dear legacy media: you are not here to influence outcomes and policies you find desirable.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Nothing We Can Do Right Now Will Have More Impact Than This

We don’t need to outspend Musk to defeat him.

We just need to outvote the people he’s motivating.

The She Wolf of CECOT (Open Thread)

War for Ukraine Day 1,126: So Much for the Critical Infrastructure Ceasefire

Afternoon Open Thread and Celebrating the Resignation of DeJoy(less)

This Is Why We Fight for Every Seat

It turns out that Rs are starting to worry about one of the special elections in Florida next week. (That has to be FL-06.) SO SAD!

This is why we fight for every single seat! Even for the long shots.

Smoked Signal (Open Thread)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Populism Ain’t Beanbag Pretty