(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Totalitarianism on the march in the United States [1] [] Date: 2023-09-25 ProPublica: Wisconsin’s Republicans Went to Extremes in Gerrymandering. Now They’re Scrambling to Protect That Power. Heavily redrawn election districts in the battleground state gave Republicans firm control of the legislature — and the leeway to move aggressively against officials and judges they perceive as threats. The new maps have given Wisconsin Republicans the leeway to move aggressively on perceived threats to their power. The GOP-controlled Senate recently voted to fire the state’s nonpartisan elections chief, Meagan Wolfe, blaming her for pandemic-era voting rules that they claim helped Joe Biden win the state in 2020. A legal battle over Wolfe’s firing now looms. The future of a newly elected state supreme court justice, Janet Protasiewicz, also is in doubt. Her election in April shifted the balance of the court to the left and put the Wisconsin maps in peril. Republican leaders have threatened to impeach her if she does not recuse herself from a case that seeks to invalidate the maps drawn by the GOP. They argue that she’s biased because during her campaign she told voters the maps are “rigged.” “They are rigged, period. Coming right out and saying that. I don’t think you could sell to any reasonable person that the maps are fair,” she said at a January candidates forum. She added: “I can't ever tell you what I’m going to do on a particular case, but I can tell you my values, and common sense tells you that it’s wrong.” x The Bully Pulpit doesn't work. Not for Biden, Trump, Obama or Bush. But the press will not let it go. https://t.co/e3w7L0oMtR — David Karol (@DKarol) September 24, 2023 New York Times: As Trump Prosecutions Move Forward, Threats and Concerns Increase As criminal cases proceed against the former president, heated rhetoric and anger among his supporters have authorities worried about the risk of political dissent becoming deadly. At the Federal Bureau of Investigation, agents have reported concerns about harassment and threats being directed at their families amid intensifying anger among Trump supporters about what they consider to be the weaponization of the Justice Department. “Their children didn’t sign up for this,” a senior F.B.I. supervisor recently testified to Congress. And the top prosecutors on the four criminal cases against Mr. Trump — two brought by the Justice Department and one each in Georgia and New York — now require round-the-clock protection. New York Times: The Wrecking-Ball Caucus: How the Far Right Brought Washington to Its Knees Right-wing Republicans who represent a minority in their party and in Congress have succeeded in sowing mass dysfunction, spoiling for a shutdown, an impeachment and a House coup Defying the G.O.P.’s longstanding reputation as the party of law and order, they have pledged to handcuff the F.B.I. and throttle the Justice Department. Members of the party of Ronald Reagan refused to meet with a wartime ally, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, this week when he visited the Capitol and want to eliminate assistance to his country, a democratic nation under siege from an autocratic aggressor. And they are unbowed by guardrails that in past decades forced consensus even in the most extreme of conflicts; this is the same bloc that balked at raising the debt ceiling in the spring to avert a federal debt default. “There is a group of Republican members who seem to feel there is no limit at all as to how you can wreck the system,” said Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. “There are no boundaries, no forbidden zones. They go where relatively junior members have feared to tread in the past.” x A lot of people say “Biden’s age is a problem that can’t be fixed.” Well, according to the 50 folks i talked to, it probably can! — Adam Bass (@AdamBassOfMass) September 24, 2023 Brian Beutler/”Off Message” on Substack (inaugural post): Welcome to Off Message Refuge from a world gone mad Many of my formative political memories and experiences as a political journalist date back to the late George W. Bush years, which in hindsight feels like a more innocent time. But that’s only by comparison to 2023, when social media is ubiquitous and distorting, Americans are awash in propaganda, and one of the country’s two major political parties has embraced a totalitarian kind of dishonesty, which back then it was only flirting with. The truth is the old days weren’t so innocent. Two misbegotten wars—one completely lawless—had become quagmires, the United States had become synonymous internationally with torture and warrantless spying, and the world was on the brink of an era-defining economic calamity. But all of that coexisted with a bracing sense that most people had caught on to the malice and failures of the country’s leaders, were eager to rise against them, and confident enough in their righteousness that they were willing to air their internal differences without fear or favor. Or at least with less fear or favor than now. To put it in more partisan terms, Democrats were tired of losing and ready to fight. Fifteen years ago, it seemed natural rather than heretical that new ideas and leaders should challenge older ones, and Democrats had more confidence to confront Republicans directly across a range of liabilities. They correctly identified a “culture of corruption” that had run rampant in the Bush years, and exposed much of it on their march back to power. They didn’t reflexively close ranks around whichever leaders felt most safe—far from it, one of the big reasons Barack Obama challenged Hillary Clinton for the presidency, and was able to win the nomination, is because Nancy Pelosi (who was then House speaker) and Harry Reid (who was then Senate majority leader) encouraged him to run. Liberals argued in a freewheeling way about the candidates they supported, without panicking that they might undermine the cause of change. That whole spirit is gone. x One of the co-chairs of Blue Dog Caucus visited the UAW picket line in Beaverton, Oregon, on Saturday. She represents southwest Washington across the Columbia River but many of her constituents work at the distribution center in Beaverton. https://t.co/cqZazCtslN — Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) September 24, 2023 NBC: Poll: Overwhelming majorities express concerns about Biden, Trump ahead of 2024 race Trump's lead has expanded in the GOP presidential contest, while Biden and Trump are tied in a hypothetical general election matchup. “Yes, the numbers for Biden aren’t where he needs them to be,” said Horwitt, the Democratic pollster. “But the lens for most voters is still through Donald Trump first.” The above is what most polling is showing (a close race). Some polling thoughts on an outlier (they themselves say so) Washington Post poll that had a big lead for trump over Biden: x This is the responsible, intellectually honest way to handle results that look different from other polling (which happens!). Don't ignore it (that's how we get herding), but do provide readers with the context of other available data.https://t.co/pk7qMLnt9M — Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) September 24, 2023 x Washington Post: We’re pretty sure these numbers are wrong but here’s a front-page story with 30 inches of copy about them, anyway, because these polls aren’t cheap. https://t.co/Cr8mBMzcWY — Robert Mann (@RTMannJr) September 24, 2023 x The poll is problematic on multiple fronts, but let’s just take the most obvious - Trump who has NEVER garnered over 47%, who has never had a majority behind him is some how now garnering 51% of the vote. Come on guys… it’s stuff like this that hurts the entire industry. Stop it https://t.co/w4Hz6Z1n3G — Cornell Belcher (@cornellbelcher) September 24, 2023 x don’t make me tap the sign https://t.co/heepz5j1Gt — G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) September 24, 2023 It’s still too early to worry about 2024 polls. Worry about elections. WTKR: Early voting kicks off in Virginia with abortion as major issue for voters Early voting has kicked off in Virginia with every seat of the General Assembly on the ballot this fall. On Friday morning, it got off to a calm start at the Virginia Beach Registrar's office. Democrats held a small rally outside to discuss the issues they find important this year. "Reproductive freedom is on the ballot," said Michael Feggans, the Democratic nominee in the 97th House of Delegates district. "Support of our public schools and education is on the ballot. Making sure we're taking care of our veterans is on the ballot." On Senator Robert Menendez, D-NJ and indicted on corruption charges: x Menendez apparently plans to run for reelection w/o Democratic support. In the 2018 primary, an unknown, unsupported candidate got almost 40% against him, after he survived a far less-serious corruption trial. That time, he had the many advantages that came w his party's backing. — Matt Friedman (@MattFriedmanNJ) September 24, 2023 Matt Robison and Daniel Cox on Trump’s polling status: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/25/2195216/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Totalitarianism-on-the-march-in-the-United-States Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/