This piece by @JeremyStahl about Democratic activists not wanting to raise the issue of Feinstein's age in the recall is quite good, but it misses one HUGE reason for this.

You have to understand careerism in politics. 1/

slate.com/news-and-polit…
Incumbents in major offices have IMMENSE power in American politics. They control powerful staffs which do a lot of hiring and firing. They also control large bases of actors within the party apparatus.

And the fundamental fact about politics is that EVERYONE needs a job. 2/
The result is "nobody can go after the King unless it is successful". This manifests itself in lots of ways.

For instance, ever notice when there's a scandal, at first, nobody in the politician's party calls for a resignation, and then one or two do and the floodgates open? 3/
Or think about why incumbents don't face primary challenges. They used to, believe it or not. But now, everyone with any ambition understands they must stay off the ballot or face consequences. 4/
And this is especially true on the staff level. An example, although it didn't quite involve an incumbent but did involve someone with a ton of political power with incumbent-like powers: when Bernie challenged Hillary, he found very few top-flight Dem staffers to work for him 5/
I don't know if anything quite had to be said, but the premise was clear- a listing of the Sanders campaign on a resume would be a black mark if you wanted a job in the future Clinton administration.

And of course, campaigns that can't find staffers often falter. 6/
Once you understand this, the California Democratic Party's conduct in the recall election is entirely explicable. The First Commandment is not "win the recall", it's don't offend any current incumbent Democratic politicians. Not Newsom, not Feinstein. 7/
Because it's presumed that if anyone speaks on the record about Feinstein not finishing her term, that person is going to have a hard time getting jobs in Democratic political circles as long as she stays in office and maybe beyond (disloyalty is a big sin in politics). 8/
And certainly, any Democrats who get involved in a campaign to potentially replace Newsom will face certain punishment if he survives the recall. 9/
I don't want to single @JeremyStahl or @Slate out, by the way. This crucial part of American politics is almost NEVER discussed despite all the mountains of press coverage on political issues. End/

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More from @dilanesper

13 Sep
HIGHLY recommended.

I've railed about the problems in legal commentary for years. Scott Greenfield manages to say perfectly in a few paragraphs what I have been trying to say imperfectly for years.
"Years ago, the hope was that the internet would democratize the law, enable anyone to have access to statutes and caselaw so they could understand something as critical to our lives as law just like a lawyer. In a way it happened, thought not necessarily a good way."

Oh my.
"Had the case been about pretty much any other legal issue than abortion, the refusal to enjoin not only wouldn’t have been controversial, but would likely have been unanimous. It was a technically correct decision."
Read 8 tweets
13 Sep
How careerism in the media is ruining our public discourse.

dilanesper.substack.com/p/careerism-is…
A couple of points I didn't make in the post because it was long enough as it was:

1. Television punditry is dominated by careerism as well. You rarely see liberal heterodoxy on CNN or MSNBC, and you certainly rarely see conservative heterodoxy on Fox News.
2. Careerism plays out in commentary as well as in selection of stories. For instance, how many times have you heard that if Biden's $3.2t reconciliation doesn't pass his presidency will have "failed"? That's the party talking, through commentators, to Manchin and Sinema.
Read 5 tweets
12 Sep
Important North Dakota Supreme Court case on testilying by police. Cops pulled a driver over for a broken license plate light, but the cops' bodycam video showed the light was working. The court throws out the conviction. 1/ #appellatetwitter law.justia.com/cases/north-da…
The key legal point here is on standard of review. One of the reasons police perjury is so common is that when a trial court makes a credibility finding, it cannot be overturned on appeal. The trial court saw the witnesses testify and gets to judge credibility. 2/
But the problem is trial courts always find cops credible. Indeed, I assume that in many jurisdictions, prosecutors- who need cops' testimony to secure convictions- would put incredible pressure on a criminal court judge who regularly found police testimony not credible. 3/
Read 6 tweets
11 Sep
This looks cute and I look forward to reading it.

But I it's a mistake to talk about extensions, even regularly granted ones, as a norm in litigation practice. Litigators who rely on extensions and don't anticipate workloads to meet deadlines eventually commit malpractice. 1/
Extensions are ALWAYS a function of (1) whether you have a jerk on the other side of a case, (2) whether your side has acted like a jerk in litigating the case (either you, some other lawyer, or your client), (3) whether your judge is a jerk, and (4) whether you deserve one. 2/
Notice what I listed last. That's right, there are situations where you don't really deserve extensions and get them, and situations where you acted in a professional manner and get screwed. 3/
Read 13 tweets
30 Aug
Another meta-comment on Berlatsky: one of the dumbest tics in online discourse is the argument that the only reason one could possibly advocate something is because they want to do it or do do it. (E.g., "Berlatsky must be a pedophile because he advocates X".) 1/
We ALL know this isn't true. For instance, I advocate that many violent criminals should get out of prison once they age to a point where they are a less of a danger. I don't do this because I have committed violent crimes or want to. I just think it is the correct position. 2/
But for some reason, and only with respect to people they don't like, people argue that, e.g., the only reason someone might take an unpopular position on age of consent, or sexual harassment law, or other controversial issues is because they are themselves a criminal. 3/
Read 4 tweets
30 Aug
Things I bet you didn't know existed in 2021: the Mississippi Supreme Court DENIES a woman a divorce because her evidentiary showing didn't constitute "habitual cruel and inhuman treatment" 1/ #appellatetwitter law.justia.com/cases/mississi…
Trigger warning, as I am about to quote some of the stuff that the Mississippi Supreme Court held was insufficient to justify a divorce decree. 2/
"Kemily testified that the couple’s marital problems began as early as their honeymoon when Kelvin got upset with Kemily while talking to her sister on the phone, and the couple had a disagreement about her giving food to a homeless person." 3/
Read 11 tweets

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