16 thoughts on “Tuesday Open Thread”

1. Great quote today Pols. Also great photo of Woodward and Bernstein. Thanks

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   1. Bernstein and Woodward look so young there. They were just kids, really….not quite 30 in 1972.

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2. Apparently US House Democrats are going after Hur about the details of the report where Hur said we shouldn't charge Biden for having confidential documents. I get the initial outrage about the memory comments but bad faith attacks on Hur are the opposite of helpful both for the country and for political strategy.

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3. CPR has a story about access to political participation:

   What’s the fairest way for candidates with disabilities to get on the ballot? Advocates say caucuses

   To get on the ballot, [Democratic state Rep. David] Ortiz skipped the petitions and instead used Colorado’s caucus process, convincing enough of his supporters to show up in person at local Democratic gatherings to move his candidacy forward.

   This year, Ortiz is sponsoring House Bill 1067, which seeks to preserve this type of ballot accessibility for candidates with disabilities. Under the bill, any attempt to remove the caucus option would constitute discrimination against those living with a disability. 

   “It defines caucus as the only truly accessible way that we currently have to get on the ballot,” said Ortiz. 

   After raising some puppies for a service dog organization and then meeting a number of people who use the dogs, I’m in favor of whatever can be done to build accessibility. This looks like it will have no problem passing.

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   1. As I understand, our unelected elections czar Kent Thiry wants to eliminate caucuses, but it's not yet clear which of his many drafted initiatives will move to the 2024 ballot. It will be interesting to see how the initiative(s) would interact with the Ortiz bill – which has already passed both the House and Senate.

      BTW, while it's obvious to me that caucus isn't popular right now, I'm also not psyched about a future where everyone has to petition to get on the ballot.

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4. Just now on CNN: Buck is resigning his seat effective March 22 and creating a vacancy in the district. He says Congress is the most dysfunctional he's seen in 9 years 3 months he's been in Congress and the worst in 40 or 50 years according to other Members.

   What happens next?  Is this just a big FU to the GOP?

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   1. Someone must have tickled him in the wrong way.  Could any others decide to join him leaving the magat party early turning it into the the minority party? 

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      1. Buck noted in the interview with Dana Bash that everything has been personal regarding how he's been treated including at today's Judiciary hearing where he's been bypassed from asking questions.  

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   2. Please forgive me if wrong, but doesn't there have to be a special election so someone can fill the remainder of his term?

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      1. Yes, according to this…

         

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         1. Run, Michael, run! I'll pitch in a 5-spot.

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   3. Special election in about 2 months. So, about May 22. Jared controls.
      Congressional primaries on June 25th.
      Regular election in November. Tuesday for Democrats and Wednesday for Republicans.

      CD-04 is going to be "interesting".

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5. I just saw this on CNN’s ticker and came to see if it had been posted yet. So CD-4 just goes two months without a Rep.? That is a great big middle finger to the district. So someone will get to serve for 6 months and run as the incumbent? Methinks Buck’s trying to stack the deck somehow. 

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6. President Biden has diplomatically secured a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that will secure hostage releases.
    

   Gaza hostage deal: Hamas agrees to US proposal for Gaza ceasefire – report

   Hamas has accepted a 'modified version' of a ceasefire deal proposed by the United States, a source in the Gazan terror group told Al-Arabiya on Tuesday. 

   The source added that representatives of the terror group are set to visit Cairo soon to discuss the details of the proposal.  According to the source, the modified proposal includes the release of hostages and Palestinian terrorists, along with the gradual return of Gazans to their homes. 

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7. Is nothing sacred on Meta?  Zuckerberg was apparently nosing around in my account yesterday and found a posting from 2016 that "violates community standards on sexual violence". He slapped my hand; I asked for a review with the explanation "it properly reflects Trump border policy". He rejected it a second time and sent me to a page reminding me that repeat offenders can risk suspension.  #UnderHisEye. (and I'm posting my offense in the hope Alva has lower community standards than Meta) 

   

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8. Shame on you, Michael. That’s nasty. Eye bleach! Who’s hogging all the eye bleach?

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