A Good Day

I've been away a bit, how about a little good news?

I’m back!

Ok, so I have been sick. For about a week. It’s nothing serious, just a bug that’s making the rounds, but it’s a bummer. When I was younger, I rarely got sick, and when it happened it was for a day or so. Yeah, yeah, I know… getting old sucks, but it sure beats the alternative.

Anyway, one of the side effects of this bug was a general lack of motivation to do, well, anything. I have been working from home as much as I can in my DayQuil induced mental fog, and while I have been paying attention to the news, it’s not been nearly as intently as usual. Additionally, not commuting for almost a week now has robbed me of prime podcast listening time¹, so I have felt a bit disconnected.

I’m not going to lie; it’s kind of nice not knowing. Alas.

Now that that’s out of the way and my excuses have become a matter of record, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what was probably the “best” overall day since this whole mess started again. Let’s get to it.

Booker’s Big Day(+)

Based on the negative vibes that have permeated all political spaces since late January, one may forget that there were over 75 million people who voted against Trump. Never mind his mandate claims, we all know he barely won.² A common theme from folks who think like us has been “where the fuck are the Democrats!?!??!”

It’s a fair question, even considering there’s not much they can do right now, at least not legislatively. It certainly doesn’t help when they step on their own dick in big moments. Sure, there have been a handful of folks making the appropriate noises, but it just seems like… not enough.

Enter New Jersey Senator Corey Booker.

Booker stepped to the podium Monday afternoon and started talking. I had no idea he planned on filibustering; didn’t even know it was going on until sometime Tuesday morning. Most normies probably don’t really know what a filibuster is, which is understandable. I know, in part because I am a hopeless politics junkie, and in part because I am also a West Wing junkie. Season 2, Episode 17 always comes to mind when this subject is brought up. But I digress, we are talking about Booker. By the time he stepped away some 25 hours and change later, he had captured the attention of not only the Beltway media, but a decent amount of the general population as well.³

To outsiders, the filibuster can seem like literal wasted time, and it kinda is. It’s one of those things that’s part of the way the Senate works, and we mere mortals are not supposed to understand. After all, the deliberate body uses the time for such serious matters as reading Dr. Seuss⁴ or launching fundraising campaigns. In all seriousness, it is a part of the Senate landscape, for good or ill, and Booker decided to use this literal pulpit to drop some heaters, as the kids say. (The kids most certainly do not say this). There are plenty of other places running highlights of the Senator’s comments, I will leave that to them, but know that he didn’t just spend time reading recipes. He talked candidly about the Democrats not stepping up, he talked about the dangers our nation is facing, he talked about getting into “good trouble” as his idol John Lewis would do. (Ok, a little recap, that’s all.)

While Booker’s Herculean effort didn’t accomplish anything specific, it did hit a lot of intangibles, particularly by showing how dedicated just one man can be to the cause. The symbolism of Booker, a black man, breaking the Senate record for longest filibuster set by South Carolina Senator (and racist) Strom Thurmond over six decades ago was not lost on anyone. Thurmond took the podium back in 1957 to filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, and it was not lost on Booker, who reflected on the moment shortly after setting the new record:

"The man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand. I'm not here, though, because of his speech," Booker said. "I'm here despite his speech. I'm here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful."

Congratulations Senator Booker. I hope that your efforts lead to an awakening among your party brethren.

WI Election

There has been a smattering of special elections since November, but the most important one to date was the “non-partisan” race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. Elon Musk, fresh off of buying the US Presidency, likely thought that he could pocket a WISC Justice on the cheap as well. He spent about $20 million in Wisconsin, including a rehash of his Million Dollar Check scam and paying off folks for signing a petition. Musk’s candidate, MAGA Brad Schimel was soundly defeated by Democrat Susan Crawford in a pretty solid repudiation of Musk’s likely illegal attempt to buy another election. Surprisingly, while the Right Wing Media Sphere wasted no time before accusing Crawford of cheating, Schimel put the brakes on that pretty quickly. That said, it’s always great to watch these MAGAs react to bad news. As my good friend Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station⁵ is wont to say, these people have no more self-awareness than a dog licking it’s own ass on the sidewalk.

Remember, Trump won Wisconsin, although it was by less than a percent. Crawford outperformed Kamala Harris across the board, by more that 10 points in several districts. This could just be a one-off, or it could be an indicator of how Americans are reacting to the shit show that is T2.0 so far.

We shall see.

Other Elections

In addition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, there were special elections in Florida to replace Mike Waltz, he of the reporter-adding Signal chats, and Matt Gaetz (lol). Over in Louisiana, MAGA Governor Jeff Landry put four amendment questions on the ballot.

Winning either of the Florida elections would have been a huge task in a state with a functioning Democrat party, so there were no realistic expectations. That said, both candidates performed far better than the results from November, with each trimming the Republican vote share by double digits. In Louisiana all four of the amendments were soundly defeated, leading said Governor to lament that George Soros (of course) had bought the votes.

These fucking people.

Take Care and Stay Strong

1. Odd that I will rarely listen to a pod while at work, or even while working from home. I guess I can only really focus on one thing at a time, so it’s either the pod or work. When I am driving or walking, a pod is almost always in my ear hole.

2. Although I suppose any Republican winning a popular vote in this millennium could be construed as… some sort of accomplishment, I suppose.

3. According to Booker’s staff, his TikTok livestream garnered 350 million likes. That’s good, right?

4. To be fair, Green Eggs and Ham is probably stretching Raphael’s reading level.

5. Jim Wright has no idea who I am. But he can write. Check him out!