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Its not like just anyone can pick up the phone and call Donald Trump.

If you want Trump to blast out a news release touting his support for your candidacy in this years election, you need to know the right people. And in Michigan, the right people constitute an entire family tree.

Republicans from this political battleground say theres only one way to get the former presidents attention, and thats to know and support Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, her state representative husband Matt Maddock and their adult children, who are involved in varying degrees with the couples political endeavors.

Depending on which wing of the GOP you ask, the Maddocks are either savvy political operators or dangerous extremists who amplify election conspiracies and helped instigate the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The couple solidified their power trying to overturn the election in Michigan, then brokered nearly two dozen endorsements for their allies, according to Republicans who spoke to HuffPost, making their state the ultimate test for Trump as a GOP kingmaker in the midterms.

Its not unusual for a state party leader to consult major national players about endorsements or other matters, but theres no playbook for the states GOP leadership enlisting the former presidents direct involvement in lower-level races for their own political gain.

Its unprecedented, Bill Ballenger, a longtime political commentator in Michigan, told HuffPost. I mean, are you kidding? Richard Nixon or George H.W. Bush endorsing candidates for, you know, the 101st state House district nine months before the election? Its never happened.

Meshawn Maddock also broke protocol when she personally endorsed Trumps two picks for statewide office. Party leaders generally stay neutral until after primaries so they dont appear biased. Her announcement sent the GOP into damage control mode to make it clear that she wasnt speaking for the party.

Its dangerous, its unprecedented and its possibly transactional, said Jeff Timmer, a former Michigan GOP executive director who now works as a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, the conservative group that formed in opposition to Trump.

Meshawn Maddock is like Marjorie Taylor Greene without the charm, he said, referring to the extremist House member from Georgia.

In few, if any, states has the former president weighed in this frequently down ballot: Trump has already endorsed in 10 state legislative contests as well as in two statewide and five congressional primaries. And hell be in Michigan this weekend promoting his entire slate at a MAGA rally designed to preempt a statewide Republican nominating convention later this month.

Its one way for Trump to put his thumb on the internal scale of the GOP in a state he lost in 2020 and still appears obsessed with more than a year after the election. Trump has said he wants a new legislature in Michigan that backs his false ideas about election fraud.

As Trump began spreading lies about a stolen election to justify his loss, the Maddocks were waiting in the wings for the right time to grab power. It finally happened in February 2021, when Meshawn Maddock, a 54-year-old grassroots activist who organized Women for Trump events before turning to election conspiracies, was elected state GOP co-chair alongside a member of the partys old guard and a major donor, Ron Weiser.

The Maddocks have been active since the Tea Party movement, Jason Watts, a GOP consultant, told HuffPost. They always tried to instigate precinct delegate coups in Oakland County, and they hadnt really been successful because they werent on the inside. They were always on the outside looking in. It wasnt until 2016, when Matt Maddock was one of the early Trump endorsers, that their fortunes turned. All of a sudden, people started taking Matts calls.

They latched on pretty quickly to the Trump train. And theyve rode that train for everything its worth.

- GOP consultant in Michigan

Not long into his second term, the 56-year-old private investigator and bondsman announced that he was running for Michigan House speaker, further signaling the couples desire to climb the political ladder.

They latched on pretty quickly to the Trump train, another Republican strategist in the state told HuffPost. And theyve rode that train for everything its worth.

This GOP strategist and several others cited facts around Trumps Michigan endorsements at the state legislative level they say allude to shady backroom deals that may not break the law but are still seen as underhanded.

In late December, a Detroit News reporter tweeted the observation that Trumps endorsed legislative candidates had all received campaign money from Matt Maddock or his leadership PAC, or had a member of the Maddock family serving as their treasurer evidence to some that a reciprocal relationship exists in some form.

Its clearly demonstrated that if you give the Maddocks money, if you hire their kids or ask them to keep the books for your PAC, you get a Trump endorsement, said the same GOP strategist, who was given anonymity to speak freely. Theres too many coincidences for that not to be true.

Neither Matt nor Meshawn Maddock responded to HuffPosts requests for interviews.

Michigan GOP spokesperson Gus Portela confirmed Meshawn Maddocks tight relationship with Trump.

She is arguably the closest GOP official in Michigan to the president, so of course there are rumors swirling about her, he said. But she will continue to have a close relationship with the president. What they talk about ... obviously, those conversations remain between them.

On Twitter, Meshawn Maddock has responded directly to critics whove accused her of running a pay-to-play operation. Jovan Pulitzer, a Texas inventor whom the Daily Beast described as a pillar of the MAGA election-fraud movement, speculated about whether endorsements were being sold in Michigan and the money somehow funneled to Trump. Meshawn Maddock snapped back by threatening to throw him under the bus.

So let me get this right, she tweeted on Nov. 23, youre accusing our great President of being paid off for endorsements? I just want to be sure before I give him a call ...

Even aside from the churning rumor mill, the Michigan endorsement process hasnt exactly been smooth.

Trump has hastily backed challengers in House districts where incumbent Republicans voted to impeach him for inciting the Capitol attack. Two of the 10 Republicans who voted with Democrats Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton are from Michigan, and Trump has endorsed challengers in both of their primaries.

But in Uptons district, Trump acted before new congressional boundaries were settled, leading to a confusing situation this month when he effectively rescinded his endorsement for state Rep. Steve Carra in favor of an incumbent, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, who was lumped into a new seat with Upton. It turns out Carra doesnt even live in Uptons new district.

Carra dropped out of that race after losing the endorsement although there was a short period when Trump was, at least publicly, awkwardly backing two people for the same job. He plans to run for reelection to the state House instead.

Its not clear whether Carra still has a Trump endorsement, or whether it even matters if hes running unopposed in a primary for reelection. Both men indicated there are no hard feelings, with Trump writing to Carra that he has a great future ahead.

Carra, 33, told HuffPost that he plans to see Trump at his rally Saturday. We have a good relationship and its an honor to have his endorsement, he said.

He also credited Meshawn Maddock with getting him Trumps support in the first place.

I had a few people who advocated to President Trump that he should look into and get to know me, he said. But yeah, the final one where he ended up endorsing us was after he had a conversation with Meshawn Maddock.

Mandi Wright/USA TODAY NETWORK

However, during a fundraiser this month for Matt DePerno, Trumps pick to take on Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel, Trump didnt seem too familiar with Carra or his other candidates, according to a video of the event reviewed by HuffPost.

You have somebody running against Fred Upton. Thats another beauty, Fred Upton, Trump said from behind a lectern at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida golf club.

Steve Carra! someone in the audience shouted.

Wheres Steve? Trump asked as Carra approached the front of the crowd.

Trump didnt seem to notice Carra.

Well, good luck with that, Trump said, before turning his attention to other candidates in the audience.

At one point, Trump invited up three candidates for governor, a bizarre moment considering none of them had been endorsed.

Trump fundraisers arent cheap. Individual tickets to DePernos event cost between $2,500 and $25,000, and DePernos campaign paid more than $17,000 for catering and space rental at Mar-a-Lago, Bridge Michigan reported.

But for some candidates, especially ones struggling to break out, its a small price to pay for a brush with Trump that might change the trajectory of their campaigns.

Not everyone is so lucky, even those who worship Trump and parrot his election lies.

Mellissa Carone, the Michigan election worker who delivered a widely mocked and discredited testimony during an election fraud hearing, is running for state representative. She told HuffPost she hasnt gotten Trumps endorsement but would obviously welcome his support.

I believe President Trump will endorse me when the time is right. I have not spoken to him directly, hes not exactly the easiest person to get ahold of lol, she wrote in an email. I would be honored to have his blessing.

Timmer, the Lincoln Project consultant, thinks the Trump slate will have no problem winning their primaries, but ultimately will prove to be too radical or unknown to win in the general election.

Theyre endorsed candidates. Theyre going to win at this nominating convention, Timmer said, referring to the April 23 meeting where GOP delegates will endorse nominees. And theyre going to have complete and utter kooks nominated for secretary of state and attorney general, and theyre going to lose in November.

HuffPost attempted to contact each of Trumps endorsed legislative candidates, and got only one return phone call.

It was the Maddocks daughter Winsome Bricker, whose father-in-law, Mick Bricker, is running for state representative.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the position held by Jeff Timmer in the Michigan GOP.

View post:
Want Donald Trump's Endorsement In Michigan? You'll Have To Go Through This Family First. - HuffPost

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About a month ago, three conservative candidates for school board seats in the west Wisconsin city of Eau Claire stoked controversy about a teacher training program that they claimed could exclude parents from conversations about their childrens gender identity or sexual orientation.

Right-leaning groups across the country seized on the issue, portraying it as another example of schools usurping the role of parents. A few weeks later, the school board president received a death threat.

I am going to kill you and shoot up your next school-board meeting for promoting the horrific, radical transgender agenda, an anonymous email read.

Farther south in Holmen, in the scenic Driftless Area of Wisconsin, local police are investigating a social media post showing a postcard left on cars at a shopping center that read: Keep Holmen Schools White and Christian.

The postcard urged support for two board candidates. Neither candidate has been connected to the incident, and both decried the postcard on social media, calling it a disgusting and vile fake political ad.

I really dont want to make more statements on it. Its been really exhausting, Josh Neumann, the father of six said of the attention paid to the card. His running mate Chad Updike could not be reached for comment.

Voters in Wisconsin and three other states head to the polls Tuesday in what are some of the nations earliest school board elections this year. In a harbinger of what voters across the country will see in coming months, many of the traditionally nonpartisan school board races have become increasingly polarized.

Outsiders who have traditionally stayed out of local races are now trying to influence school board contests across the country, using tactics more typical of elections with higher stakes.

Republicans, and particularly the wing of the party that still supports former President Donald Trump, have come to see local races as a way to energize their base and propel voters to the polls part of what some leaders have called a precinct strategy. Sen. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican, last year encouraged residents to take back our school boards, our county boards, our city councils.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, speaking on his War Room podcast last May, said: The path to save the nation is very simple. Its going to go through the school boards.

Its the precinct committees. Its you. Its upon your shoulders, he added, warning that cultural Marxism is being introduced in schools and promising a Tea Party-like revolt by parents of schoolchildren.

In Wisconsin, as elsewhere, some school board members and other school officials have quit without finishing their terms, saying that the anger directed their way has made serving untenable. Others have declined to run for reelection.

In Eau Claire, school board President Tim Nordin, who received the death threat, is standing firm and running for reelection. This is Eau Claires election, he said in a statement. Others want to control this election by inciting fear in you and driving votes with outside money and news coverage. They, quite literally, are trying to threaten us into submission. I remain unbowed.

The three conservative candidates did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Michael Ford, an associate professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh who studies school board races, said its not surprising that the state, the birthplace of school vouchers and home to one of the most robust open-enrollment public school choice programs in the country, would be a focus for school board elections.

We always, traditionally, are on the front lines of the changes in education policy, especially those that are highly premised on parental engagement, he said. I think its logical other states that have looked at Wisconsin as a pioneer on these things would look again.

Parents, who during the pandemic saw their children struggle with remote learning and other issues, are demanding more control over school management and curriculum decisions. The backlash against mask-wearing by students has played neatly into conservative themes of parental freedom.

Some political observers and academics worry that the politicization of local offices will make it harder to deliver essential school services.

It makes progress impossible, Ford said.

Wisconsin school board races at times have had partisan undertones, but the issues at play have largely centered on controlling taxes and paring the benefits educators received.

Things began to change about a decade ago. Thats when Wisconsin school board candidates who had signed petitions to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker over his push to limit collective bargaining for public employees became targets of conservative talk radio. On the other side, the states largest teachers union typically vetted and endorsed candidates it believed would support its aims at the bargaining table.

Today, school board elections are more heated and personal framed in terms of saving schools, saving children and saving America. Also mentioned: COVID-19 protocols, critical race theory, equity, divisive curriculum, library book bans and parental rights.

Rebecca Kleefisch, the former lieutenant governor under Walker who is running for the GOP nomination for governor, recently endorsed 115 local candidates she calls conservatives, including 48 school board candidates a product of two years of work recruiting and training people for local races. Her campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Political experts say it is highly unusual for gubernatorial candidates to endorse school board candidates, except perhaps in their hometown. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has not done so. The governor generally has not gotten involved in nonpartisan races in Wisconsin, his communications office said in an email.

Another sign this spring that the school board races are taking on a more partisan tone: Rather than campaigning as individuals, candidates in many of the states population centers are running on slates with common platforms and talking points.

Attention Conservative Voters Dont Stay Home: Vote For all Four Candidates, a flyer for the village of Sussex states. Paid for by the Republican Party of Waukesha County, it features the names and photos of two candidates for village trustee and two for the school board.

A particular focus for Wisconsin Republicans has been the traditionally conservative communities ringing Milwaukee known as the WOW counties: Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha.

The counties have shown some liberal leanings of late. In much of the area, Trumps support slipped from 2016 to 2020. Biden even won the city of Cedarburg, in Ozaukee County, though by just 19 votes.

Campaign finance records filed to date show the Republican Party of Waukesha County has funneled at least $10,000 into elections in nine school districts in that county alone.

The Patriots of Ozaukee a newly formed organization dedicated to promoting conservative values and asserting our Constitutional rights is endorsing candidates in school board and municipal races.

The Patriots of Ozaukee did not respond to requests for comment.

National conservative advocacy groups, with members in Wisconsin and elsewhere, also are having an influence on local school district races in the state. They include Moms for Liberty, which has a chapter in Kenosha and on its Facebook page has recommended three of the six candidates running for school board.

Our mission is preserving America through unifying, educating and empowering parents to preserve their rights at every level of government, said Amanda Nedweski, the organizations co-chair in Kenosha and an outspoken critic of the Kenosha Unified School Districts board.

We attend meetings. We do research. We do a lot of public record requests, she said. The tax-exempt organization only recently started asking for dues of $25 per year.

Another group urging greater activism is the Phoenix-based Turning Point USA, which has conservative political clubs on high school and college campuses nationwide. It does not endorse or fund candidates, but has a school board watchlist that names districts across the country it says push Leftist, racist and anti-American propaganda. Its website lists nine Wisconsin districts.

The group uses its watchlist to highlight mask mandates, diversity and other matters, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said. Those types of issues are obviously massively important to parents and other stakeholders in the community, and its not always easy to find out who supports what, he said.

In Ozaukee Countys Mequon-Thiensville School District in the suburbs north of Milwaukee, one of the organizers of an unsuccessful recall election last fall that targeted four school board members is again seeking a board seat. Scarlett Johnson, the former vice president of the Wisconsin chapter of No Left Turn in Education, has said that she wants to bring a fresh perspective to the board.

I think education has changed, she said. I think the way that parents look at education has changed. I think teachers are very frustrated as well. And so thats why I say the status quo is just not going to work anymore. And I dont get the feeling that our current board and our administrators really understand that.

The recall effort was notable because it drew contributions from two out-of-state billionaires: $6,000 from Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, a Trump supporter and founder and CEO of Uline, a Wisconsin shipping supplies company, and $1,650 from the Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. Johnson said members of the recall effort simply wrote letters to the two men asking for donations.

New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims

Representatives for Uihlein and Griffin did not respond to requests for comment.

Altogether, the recall effort brought in more than $58,000 in contributions.

A coalition of parents opposing the recall raised more than $36,000, according to campaign finance reports.

Both sides spent money largely on Facebook ads, direct mail, radio ads and yard signs.

Nicole Angresano, a leader in the coalition that turned back the recall, resents the coordinated attacks on the top-rated district. I dont think infuriating is hyperbole, she said. Its infuriating to me.

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What Increasingly Partisan and Venomous Wisconsin School Board Races Reveal About American Elections - ProPublica

Hello, friends.

In the original schedule for the 2022 season, today would have been Opening Day. The lockout has robbed us of that, but thankfully it didnt push the beginning of the season too far back, nor prevent a full 162 game season from being scheduled. The new Orioles Opening Day is eight days away. For those waiting to see a game at Camden Yards, there are eleven more days to go.

In the meantime, spring training rolls on, with another seven exhibition games that will presumably help the Orioles make their last decisions about who should be on the roster and who should start elsewhere. The Os play the Pirates at 1:05 today. Its a road game, which may affect the caliber of the Orioles lineup. This will not be on Orioles TV or radio, but if you can get the Pirates TV feed, you can watch the game there.

Yesterday, the Orioles pulled off a comeback win over the Rays, with Kelvin Gutierrez clearing the bases with a walkoff double to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 win. Earlier in the game, Trey Mancini, Jorge Mateo, and Ryan Mountcastle all had two hits each. Mancini, Mountcastle, and Austin Hays all batted four times each for the first time this spring.

Cedric Mullins hit an impressive homer against the wind in the game; hes scuffled through spring to date, so hopefully thats a sign hes going to start turning things around. Others riding the small sample spring struggle bus include Rougned Odor, Ryan McKenna, and Kyle Stowers. Batting under .100 through 14-21 at-bats isnt the final indicator of a guys quality, but it would be nice if these guys were doing better.

Following yesterdays game, Stowers was reassigned to minor league camp, along with pitcher Conner Greene. Neither of these guys was likely to break camp with the big league team, so no surprise there.

Wednesdays two cuts leaves the Orioles with 42 players still on their camp roster. Theyll have to trim 14 more to get down to an Opening Day roster of 28. That roster has to be set by noon a week from today. Adley Rutschman is still technically on the camp roster, having not been formally reassigned while out with the triceps strain.

A number of roster questions large and small remain, including Who the heck is going to be in the rotation? and Who the heck is going to be in the fringes of the bullpen? The initial answers to these questions may not be particularly exciting. We can hope that the roster gets more interesting as the season goes along. For April at least, were stuck with some of these other guys.

Stewart nearing return to games (School of Roch)Speaking of some of the other guys were stuck with... no, look, I want DJ Stewart to have something to contribute. I am just skeptical that a 28-year-old outfielder who isnt particularly good at fielding or at doing things at the plate other than take walks has much to contribute.

Looking at the Orioles battles for roster spots (Baltimore Baseball)Rich Dubroff runs through the roster battles as things stand now. The list of rotation contenders is not confidence-building for initial success of the 2022 team.

Bruce Zimmermann makes case for home opener (Orioles.com)Zachary Silver looks at yesterdays Zimmermann outing, predicting that hes got an inside track for a rotation spot. I think hes right about that.

Possible Opening Day lineup, piggyback starters, and PitchCom (The Baltimore Sun)Yesterdays lineup might get run back on Opening Day. Its not exciting! Neither are piggyback starters unless youre our one commenter whos been stumping for years for a 3x3 rotation.

Taking a shot at projecting Os minor league rosters (Steve Melewski)If we end up with a Norfolk rotation of Kyle Bradish, D.L. Hall, and Grayson Rodriguez early in the season, thats going to be an exciting group. The Bowie infield thats going to start out with Gunnar Henderson, Joey Ortiz, and Jordan Westburg also figures to be an interesting one.

The Orioles were most recently victorious on this day three years ago, when they took down the Yankees, 7-5, to seal a series win to start off the 2019 season. Things went downhill shortly afterwards. John Means notched his first major league win in relief of Dylan Bundy, who nearly hit 100 pitches while failing to complete four innings. Renato Nuez, Trey Mancini, and Joey Rickard each homered for the Orioles, accounting for six of their seven runs.

Of all the players to ever play for the Orioles, only one was born on March 31. Thats Dave Koslo, who pitched three games for the inaugural 1954 team before being released. He passed away in 1975 at age 55.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: mathematician/philosopher Ren Descartes (1596), composer Joseph Haydn (1732), boxer Jack Johnson (1878), farm worker labor leader Cesar Chavez (1927), designer Liz Claiborne (1929), and actor Christopher Walken (1943).

In 1774, Americas colonial overlord, Great Britain, passed the Boston Port Act, which mandated the closure of the port of Boston starting June 1 as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. One result of the closure was the meeting of the First Continental Congress later in the year.

In 1889, the Eiffel Tower officially opened in Paris after about two years worth of construction. At 1,083 feet (330 meters) tall, this was the tallest building in the world until 1930, when it was passed by New Yorks Chrysler Building.

In 1918, the first Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States.

In 1995, Tejano singer-songwriter Selena was shot and killed by the former manager of her fan club, who had been caught embezzling money by the singers family.

**

And thats the way it is in Birdland on March 31. Have a safe Thursday. Go Os!

See more here:
The Orioles roster is slowly taking shape with a week left of spring training - Camden Chat

March 18, 2022

March 18, 2022

If you're a betting type, you probably know that oddsmakers have been predicting a Republican takeover of Congress for quite some time. At PredicIt, for example, you can currently bet on a Republican takeover of the House for 85 cents on the dollar, on a Republican takeover of the Senate for 77 cents on the dollar, and on a Republican takeover of both for 73 cents on the dollar.

It's easy to list the reasons for Democratic doldrums. The Biden Administration's approval ratings are well under water, and have been for months. The Democratic base is irritated at the failure to pass a series of initiatives, from voting rights to Build Back Better, that have overwhelming Democratic support, while moderates are unhappy with a Democratic Party perceived as out of touch and tilting well to the country's left. Nobody is happy about high and rising inflation, not only the extraordinary gas prices that make headlines, but also soaring housing costs. Finally, midterm elections almost always go against the incumbent party, and the current Democratic margin of five seats in the House and one seat in the Senate leaves them no margin for error.

So, if on the morning of Nov. 9, we wake up to a divided government in Washington, nobody should be surprised. The surprise will be: What happens then? The truth is we have no idea because the Republican Party has largely eschewed an explicit agenda.

This is not typical. In 1994, when the Republicans aimed to take Congress for the first time in over 40 years, they provided voters with a detailed platform that they called their Contract With America, a mix of procedural and substantive proposals. Most of the proposals were not implemented, but some were notably welfare reform and the mere fact that Congress had run on an agenda meant that Republicans set the terms of policymaking for the next two years.

The Republican agenda in 2010 was far more reactive, with few substantive proposals to address the most important issue of the time, boosting the recovery from the Great Recession. But it was clear what Republicans were against. Powered by the Tea Party, Republicans ran explicitly on repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and more generally on an agenda of fiscal austerity.

Going into this year's elections, though, Republicans have largely refused to articulate an agenda of any kind. The one major attempt to do so, by Florida Sen. Rick Scott, has been widely derided with terms like "bat-s--t crazy" for proposing massive tax hikes on working Americans and the automatic sunsetting of the entire Federal government every five years. Neither the Republican base nor likely Scott himself actually supports anything remotely like that agenda, which suggests that its purpose always had more to do with emotional affect than political effect.

Nor is it clear what a purely negative Republican agenda might be. Most of the Biden administration's major accomplishments were either bipartisan legislative initiatives like the infrastructure bill, of which there have been more than people likely realize, or are faits accompli like the Covid relief bill, withdrawal from Afghanistan and his judicial appointments. There's no equivalent to Obamacare for Republicans to promise to repeal, and the most prominent foreign policy challenge Russia's war on Ukraine is one on which there is broad bipartisan unity.

Republicans, then, will likely win a majority without any positive agenda to accomplish, and without even having a clear unpopular Biden initiative to overturn. All they'll have promised is to stop the Democrats from continuing to destroy America. How will that fact shape the behavior of the GOP in power?

A happy possibility is the continuation of the surprising below-the-radar bipartisanship of the Biden era, but with a more conservative tilt. On confronting Russia and China and rebuilding American industrial capacity, there's already been a lot of cooperation with Republicans in Congress, but there's a lot more that could be done. From alternative energy to housing, there's a readily-articulable and substantively important deregulatory agenda that is not unfriendly to Republican interest groups and is responsive to the most important issues in voters' minds. Biden already announced in his State of the Union address that the right response to rising crime is to fund the police. Throw in some business-friendly tax cuts, and it's not hard to imagine a fairly successful legislative session that at least modestly builds back better.

This is, broadly speaking, what I imagined might happen if the Democrats failed to win the two Georgia Senate seats in January of 2021. In some ways, the prospects for such cooperation are even better now.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can read a map as well as anyone, and he knows that 2024 is very favorable to Republicans. That should liberate him to do what he actually wants do which, in the 117th congress, included spending on infrastructure, science and technology. So long as the Republican brand is reasonably popular, he has every reason to hope to spend his twilight years as majority leader. The 2012 map, though, was if anything more favorable, and yet Republicans lost seats that year. Their failure wasn't only due to President Barack Obama's coattails; extremist candidates and an obstructionist reputation dragged down Republicans across the board. Indeed, were it not for the efficacy of the 2010 gerrymander, Republicans might have lost the House as well.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can read a map as well and so he knows that his own caucus won't have a comparable cushion in 2024. Democrats have been modest winners from the 2020 redistricting so far, thanks to a combination of their own aggressive gerrymandering and a Republican focus on defending rather than expanding their majority, and in the largest remaining states, like Ohio, the prospects remain surprisingly good for a relatively even-handed outcome. If the GOP wins a significant majority in 2022, then, it could be a fragile one. The best way to protect it would be to have something to run on and full-spectrum obstructionism isn't something.

The leaders of both houses of Congress, then, have incentives to keep their members in line and deliver legislative wins. Without an agenda of their own, those wins will likely be compromises with the president's agenda. And there's the rub. While congressional Republicans could run on being a check on Biden, prospective presidents need to be more apocalyptic. Donald Trump, in particular, needs to demonstrate that he alone can keep America from falling into the abyss, and he has a powerful megaphone to denounce anyone who demonstrates too much cooperative spirit. Any would-be rival or successor many of them sitting senators would need to generate a similar sense of crisis to have a chance of prevailing in a Republican primary.

If Congress is pulled between the need for substantive accomplishment and the need for partisan warfare, the obvious solution is: Why not both? And that's precisely what we might get: apocalyptic rhetoric, kamikaze extremist legislation, perhaps even an impeachment or two, combined with substantial but largely unheralded cooperation on a wide array of substantive issues with a relatively centrist tilt.

Which, come to think of it, is a lot like what we have now.

Go here to read the rest:
The secret plan to get things done in Congress - The Week

News

Saturday, March 19th 2022, 5:32 AM CDT

Saturday, March 19th 2022, 8:47 AM CDT

This week at CNN Travel, we look at the countries dropping all their Covid-related rules for entry, innovative airplane cabin designs, new breathtaking bridges and why Finland is living its best life.

A small but increasing number of destinations are lifting all of their Covid-related travel restrictions, regardless of vaccination status, including some European favorites.

Other countries will be watching closely to measure the success or failure of these bold moves as Omicron continues to spread around the world.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's travel advisory list, increasingly a hoarse-voiced Cassandra, still has about 125 destinations in its highest-risk "avoid travel" category -- with the latest addition an Indian Ocean island nation.

Several UK airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have just made mask-wearing optional for passengers and crew on certain flights. The rules are more than a little opaque, however, and are dependent on the laws of the destination country.

Mask-wearing has been a contentious issue on planes over the past two years. The US Transportation Security Administration has issued more than $644,000 in fines for alleged mask violations since February 2021.

The US mask mandate is currently set to be in place through April 18. Whether it's lifted or extended again, there are bound to be some unhappy (and potentially very unruly) passengers either way. And if some industry advocates get their way, a no-fly list for unruly travelers could help keep bad behavior in check.

Turkey opened an impressive suspension bridge across the Dardanelles Strait on Friday that just so happens to connect the continents of Europe and Asia. (Turkey is in a very rare club -- nations that occupy parts of two continents.)

It was a massive, record-setting undertaking. Find out its jaw-dropping stats and how much it will cost vehicles to cross.

Meanwhile, China is setting its own record with bridges. In April, a bridge is set to open in scenic Yunnan province with a "singular" feature that has to be seen to be believed.

The Nordic nation of Finland has just been named the world's happiest country for the fifth year in a row.

The Finns have plenty to smile about, the newly released World Happiness Report says, when it comes to healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support when times are hard, high social trust and more.

Window, middle, aisle; window, middle, aisle.

If you're feeling that airplane cabins are just too same-y, the design shortlist for the 2022 Crystal Cabin Awards should make you perk up.

How about ceiling and wall projections that make you feel like you're underwater? Or maybe a lounge-style couch seat where you can catch up with your travel companion over a drink? Check out the designs here.

From the rock 'n' roll Chateau Denmark in London's swinging Soho to the Greek temple of gastronomy Xenodocheio Milos in Athens, there are a lot of new boutique hotel openings in Europe to get excited about in 2022. Here's our roundup of the best.

Climbers held the world's highest tea party on Mount Everest.

Los Angeles' Koreatown is one of the West Coast's buzziest neighborhoods.

These are the most delicious pies around the world, both sweet and savory.

If you're planning to hit the beach again this spring or summer, you might be looking to refresh your seaside scanties.

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Top image: Scafell Pike and Wastwater in England's Wasdale Valley. (Credit: Courtesy Britain)

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The destinations dropping all Covid rules for entry and more of the latest in travel - KAKE