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Smoking Gun

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It’s a pretty simple rule of thumb.

The forces attacking democracy have been at it for years.

They know the gameplan.

Which means they know exactly what conditions enable their long-range plan to succeed.

1/ And they know exactly what threatens that plan.

So the side that cares about democracy can learn a lot by watching what those attacking democracy do.

What they value and protect, and what they attack.

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As DOGE, Musk and the GOP attack Medicaid, the FAA, FEMA and education, it’s a good time to remind ourselves what government actually is and can be when run by honorable people, and not the billionaire class:

“Government is more than some remote institution…

1/ that we read about or that is defined for us by angry partisans. And it is not to be simply dismissed as an assortment of bureaucrats.

Government is the policeman who protects your home and your family.

It is the firefighter who faces danger

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Beating Vivek and Stopping Ohio’s DOGE

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It looks like Vivek has taken over the Ohio GOP in his run for Governor.

On the one hand, his candidacy is a risk to Ohio’s future, as he makes one reckless proposal after the next—doubling down on policies already

1/ sending our state in the wrong direction.

On the other hand, his candidacy presents Ohio with a huge opportunity…to toss off that failed direction and finally start lifting Ohio and its citizens again.

To do this, Ohio Dems will have to get it just right.

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The Trump Administration launched another salvo in its Orban-style attack on Harvard University.

But it isn’t so much that they did so, but the way they did it, that’s striking.

1/ Take a moment and read the letter (ostensibly) from Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

Although it appears on her formal letterhead, it feel like it’s written by an angry eighth grader (with apologies to eighth graders). Or maybe it was Trump himself.

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WHITEBOARD: Voter Registration Manipulation

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There is a Death Star hovering over American elections and democracy at the moment

A threat as great as any suppression tactic we’ve seen in a long time

But one well know in the annals of our history—

WATCH & RT

1/ and at our nation’s darkest moments.

Right now, most see it largely as the so-called SAVE Act, along with the president’s outrageous executive order that one federal court has already ruled to be illegal.

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There are so many terrible cuts, it’s hard to rank which are the worst.

But @clevelanddotcom & @sabrinaeaton highlighted one of the most senseless.

Americorps.

I’ve met some of the finest public servants America has to offer thanks to Americorps.

Such a great way

1/ …to lift communities, while inspiring young people to commit themselves to public service.

All being cut. For no good reason.

Here’s how this impacts Ohio alone, and cuts off the path of those public servants in the making:

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Back in the USSR

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Here’s a joke for you: “After a speech, Brezhnev confronts his speechwriter. "I asked for a 15-minute speech, but the one you gave me lasted 45 minutes!" The speechwriter replies: "I gave you three copies..."

1/ I worked in Russia (St. Petersburg) shortly after the end of the Cold War. Made friends while I was there.

I often asked what things were like in the Soviet era….what they were really like.

Here’s another joke:

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An Empty Chair Town Hall…In JD Vance’s Hometown

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Boy, was American democracy on display last night in JD Vance’s hometown—Middletown, Ohio.

Patriotism at its best.

1/ But even though he was invited in numerous ways—including certified mail, so we know he got the invite—Warren Davidson, the House member for the community and the (highly gerrymandered) Eighth Congressional district, didn’t show up.

He missed out.

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Alito Whines

Justice Alito released his dissent in the North Texas case, complaining that:

1) The Court acted before the appellate court below had ruled, and even though it was apparently planning to rule soon

1/ 2) The Court ordered without having heard from the government—only from the plaintiffs; and the Government had no chance to respond at the lower level either

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I always read @steve_vladeck — here’s what he wrote about the Supreme Court’s early morning order: “at least initially, this strikes me as a massively important—and revealing—intervention by the Supreme Court, for at least three reasons:”

1/ 1) “the Court didn’t wait at all….This may seem like a technical point, but it underscores how seriously the Court, or at least a majority of it, took the urgency of the matter.”

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Not long ago, I described how one of the most respected conservative judges in the nation during my law school days was J. Michael Luttig. Judge Luttig, of the Fourth Circuit, was often on the short list to be a Supreme Court Justice,

1/ and considered a top “feeder” judge to prized Supreme Court clerkships, especially for members of the Federalist Society.

So in recent years, as Judge Luttig has raised alarms about Trump’s excesses, and the fraying of our national rule of law, we should all pay attention.

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If you’re continuously stunned by the behavior of gerrymandered GOP representatives in the world of Citizens United, don’t be.

Here’s how to think of them:

They are no longer public servants.

Improving public outcomes is not their goal. Nor do they do better in life…

1/ …by serving the public interest.

In fact, if they serve the public interest, they will likely be primaried. And lose.

Think of them as the servants of certain private interests. See that they are in public office to use public power to benefit those private interests.

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United Defiance or Divided Compliance?

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Two sets of institutions— each central parts of the infrastructure of a functioning democracy—find themselves facing a similar dilemma.

Higher ed institutions, and law firms.

1/ In case people question the centrality of these institutions’ roles in our democracy, know that Trump and Vance fully understand:

That’s why Vance has declared universities and professors the enemy to what he and his allies seek to achieve.

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A Big Day for Democracy

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It’s not just that Susan Crawford won.

It’s how she won—decisively.

And it’s who she beat—Musk, Trump and millions spent against her. Musk clearly was using his money to buy votes and buy Wisconsin justice and power.

1/ And Wisconsin said no!

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Quick take on Signal Gate

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Beyond the egregious security breach involved, the Signal scandal also puts on full display:

1) the appalling dishonesty of these people (lying with gusto even after incriminating evidence is out in the open);

1/ 2) their sheer incompetence/arrogance (they essentially invited Goldberg to release the messages with all their trash talk and bald-faced lies);

3) the inability of most GOP legislators to call out anything—

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Last night’s big PA Surprise

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I chatted with a PA Dem strategist who wears the opposite of rose-colored glasses about last night’s surprise upset in PA.

He was not involved in the race.

A few quotes:

1/ “[F]rom a ‘sign of the political winds,’ the victory last night was significant for several reasons: first, turnout was quite high for a random March date.

Second, this turf has been Republican since the Civil War…”

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“Will we even have future elections?”

The trap

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It comes up regularly in meetings and zoom calls I’ve participated in.

Sometimes as a throwaway line.

Sometimes more seriously.

“Will we even have elections?”

1/ And it’s a dangerous question.

Not because we won’t have elections.

But because if enough people start to believe that the answer is “no,” then they won’t engage.

They won’t prepare. They won’t bother.

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The Caving Continues

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Another day, another institution caves to the threats and shakedowns of Donald Trump.

And the pattern is clear: the more powerful institutions are, the more likely they are to comply.

1/ My law school classmate and friend @DavidLat shared on his substack an email from the chairman of the firm Paul Weiss (Brad Karp), where he described the situation the firm faced:

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More details are coming out that many of those whisked away to El Salvador did not have criminal records, and do not appear to have been part of a gang of any sort:

1/
To sum it up, they were flown off to a prison in El Salvador with no due process—treated as “alien enemies” under a law meant for wartime, as if the United States is at war with Venezuela (when we clearly are not).

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Columbia Caves

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If we’ve learned anything during the Trump era, it’s that once you cave to a bully, the bullying is just getting started.

So isn’t hard to see how this plays out from here: Follow-up letters by the Trump administration…

1/ unsatisfied with Columbia’s response and demanding even more concessions. Then more caving by Columbia. And downhill from there.

And buoyed by his success with Columbia, Trump will no doubt make similar “hold-ups” and lists

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While there were students there for the photo-op, there were also a number of other prominent politicians at Trump’s event yesterday—announcing the destruction of the Dept of Ed

And the old saying that “you are judged by the company you keep” certainly applies here…

1/ Because the governors who were there to cheer on this latest attack on public education all have one thing in common beyond their party affiliation: they are all pursuing disastrous education privatization schemes in their states.

2/