The moment a state legislature passes a voter-suppression law, one guy is always right there to fight back and win. And win. And win. And win. If the name Marc Elias sounds familiar, it’s because he’s that guy—an election lawyer who seemingly never sleeps as he beats back the forces of evil in court.
Marc’s organization is Democracy Docket, and the second the red-hatted cult tries to do pull a fast one, Marc is faster than a Jeopardy! champion’s clicker thumb in announcing “We’ve just filed papers in court to stop this.”
This morning Democracy Docket is in our weekly Energize An Ally spotlight because without strong national voting rights protections (thank you, turncoats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for killing legislation that would’ve enshrined them into law), it’s up to individuals like him, and groups like his, to save our asses in 2024 and beyond.
Continued…
Marc will continue spending whatever time it takes to do his part to save our democracy. In addition to court filings (guaranteed in November when Trump loses to Biden in a landslide and tries to steal the election again), that includes post-election analysis and lessons that can be applied to defang the Republicans and their suppression tactics in the future.
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It is 288 days until Election Day and my law firm is litigating 45 voting and election cases in 17 states.
C&J is happy to cough up a donation from our snow shoveling money for Marc, and we encourage you to add to the pot if you’re willing and able. The donation link is here.You can also follow Marc Elias for updates on the evil Twitter here. Many thanks.
And now, our feature presentation…
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Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Note:January is Bath Safety Month. It’s your duty as an American citizen to follow the #1 bath safety rule: keep a loaded AR-15 hidden under your bubbles at all times. (And don’t forget to scrub behind those ears, patriots. There could be secret Antifa hiding back there.)
—Your Friends at the Still Bankrupt NRA
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4 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days ’til the start of the Chinese New Year (of the dragon): 18
CHEERS to the joyful noise coming from the state next door. We’re very happy that the New Hampshire primary will be over in a dozen hours, mainly because it’ll mean an end to all the political TV and radio ads—courtesy of Trump, Haley, and that two-bit Democratic spoiler Something Phillips—that have bled over into Maine for the last several weeks. As for the outcome, this tidbit we plucked from The Colbert Report circa 2012 sums up just what kind of barometer the proceedings are today:
Clip of Jon Huntsman TV interview: They pick corn in Iowa. They actually pick presidents here in New Hampshire.
Stephen Colbert: Yes, New Hampshire picks presidents. Just ask Presidents Pat Buchanan, Paul Tsongas and Estes Kefauver.
Also: Presidents Hart, Lodge, Romney, and Muskie. But I think it’s safe to say that the two front-runners, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, will carve out an exception to that in today’s drama-less contests. Then again, this is New Hampshire, so don’t take anything…for granite. Ha Ha Ha!!! That goes out to my peeps in the igneous rock community. We’re tight.
JEERS to the gougers. I know it. You know it. The drunk in the corner knows it. Everybody knows it. But now it’s official, according to a new study: capitalism made inflation worse than it needed to be, because the corporate executives needed to add to their collections of cars, planes, fugly mansions, and swimmin’ holes:
Americans’ recent inflation woes were driven by companies that kept their prices high even as costs have come down in recent months, in order to increase their profit margins.
Shocking photo! Consumers getting gouged.
The Groundwork Collaborative’s report, first reported by The Guardian, says that corporate profits are behind 53% of inflation over the second and third quarters of 2023. […]
The paper’s authors stated that scores of corporate executives have even “bragged” about their windfalls on quarterly earnings calls. … The Groundwork Collective’s report adds support to progressives’ argument that corporate greed is actually what is hurting Americans—a phenomenon dubbed “greedflation.”
Oh well. I look at it this way: without greedy bastards lining their pockets in the name of corporate profits and stock value, we wouldn’t have government agencies busting their humps to not do anything about it. And that would be bad. I’ll tell you why this all makes sense just as soon as I ingest my first mushrooms of the day and hit myself with a cast-iron skillet.
CHEERSto timely retro-advice. Twenty-eight years ago today—oh, this is so cute—Bill Clinton delivered aState of the union speechin which he told Republicans that they had to pinky-swear…
“…never, ever shut the federal government down again.
What a weird mixed-bag this guy was in office.
On behalf of all Americans, especially those who need their Social Security payments at the beginning of March, I also challenge the Congress to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States—to honor the obligations of this great nation as we have for 220 years; to rise above partisanship and pass a straightforward extension of the debt limit and show people America keeps its word.”
Read that out loud to a Republican on the hill. They’ll stand there all day waiting for the rimshot.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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The Eternal Flame Falls is a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek Preserve, New York. A small grotto at the waterfall’s base emits natural gas (~ 1 kg of methane per day), lit to produce a small flame
CHEERSto sports shorts. The world of football is all excited this week, asthe Division Something Something competitors won or lost their games last weekend and will now do the Division Something Something semi-finals and swimsuit competition this weekend in search of the crown that will green-light them to take part in the Something Something Bowl. So it’ll be the 49ers ofSan Francisco versus the Lions of Detroit, and the Chiefs of Kansas City versus the Ravens of Baltimore. As usual, I’m putting all my money on whichever team Secretariat is on.
JEERS to patronizing weasels doing patronizing weasel things. Raging anti-Semite Elon Musk visited the concentration camp at Auschwitz yesterday. After giving him a tour, the caretakers politely declined his offer to buy the place and rename it “A.”
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 23, 2014
CHEERSto making the world a better place. The United Nationssays we must actrightnowon climate change or else future generations of children won’t be able to walk to school without fire-proof clothing and frozen potatoes in their pockets for coolth. Meanwhile, Canada‘s conservative leadership says we must decide right now whether or not to approve the climate-change-worsening Keystone XL pipeline. I’m so smart and talented that I know how to accomplish both goals in one fell swoop: nix the pipeline rightnow. That wasn’t so hard, was it? By the way, I can also bend spoons with my mind and herd cats. Book me for your next wedding or Bar Mitzvah.
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And just one more…
CHEERSto our beloved feud food. Today isthehigh holy day here at Daily Kos. Yes…it’sNational Pie Day. (Not to be confused with Pi day on March 14th.) Let us enter the arena now and get it on:
“The Republican party is nuts!” [Brief cease fire as everyone nods in agreement]
“Woozles!” [Splot!] “Pooties!” [Splot!]
“Three point one four one five!” [Splot!] “That’s pi, not pie, you idiot!” [Splot!]
[Ding dong!] “Hello! I’m Mike Lindell and I’m here to introduce you to my new line of fine MyPillow products!” [Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot! Splot!]
Well done. Until next year, my brothers and sisters: pies be with you. (And also with you.)
Have a tolerable Tuesday. Floor’s open…What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today’s Shameless C&J Testimonial
“This place, Cheers and Jeers, I have reverence for it. I love it. Is it perfect? No. Bill, we could use a couple more bathrooms for the kiddie pool splashers.”
