Open Thread April 3, 2023
Open Thread March 28, 2023, Angry Bear, Angry Bear Blog
Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.
Open Thread March 28, 2023, Angry Bear, Angry Bear Blog
In a supreme court race like no other, Wisconsin’s political future is up for grabs
NPR – April 2
An election on Tuesday could change the political trajectory of Wisconsin, a perennial swing state, by flipping the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years.
The race comes at a critical time for Wisconsin, with a challenge to the state’s pre-Civil War abortion ban already working its way to the court and legal fights ahead of the next presidential election right around the corner.
The stakes of the race go beyond a single issue. Should liberals win control of the court for the first time since 2008, they’re almost certain to hear a challenge to Wisconsin’s Republican-drawn redistricting maps, which have helped cement conservative priorities for more than a decade.
Republicans are framing the race in terms of what they could lose, which they contend includes key pillars of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s legacy.
National spending records broken
“I know people keep saying this, but this is probably one of the most important elections for Wisconsin,” said Sheila Hosseini, also of Madison. “Especially because reproductive rights are on the line.”
In a state like Wisconsin where close elections are a way of life, voters are accustomed to hearing every couple of years — or in this case, every few months — that the latest campaign is the most important one yet.
Money has poured into the race, doubling, and by one estimate, tripling the old national record for spending in a state Supreme Court campaign.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the old record of $15.2 million was set in a 2004 race for the Illinois Supreme Court. According to the center’s tracking, nearly $29 million had been spent on political ads in Wisconsin’s race. Another running tally by the Wisconsin political news site WisPolitics found total spending on the race had hit $45 million.
“It shows that Wisconsin just tends to be the center of the political universe,” says Anthony Chergosky, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. “And it also shows that money is flowing into this high stakes battle over abortion in the post-Roe v. Wade political landscape.” …
Ooo! Ooo!
AP (via Boston Globe): Reporters, spectators line up overnight outside courthouse
– 9:22 a.m.
People began gathering Tuesday morning for a “Rally for Trump” in a park outside the courthouse where the former president is scheduled to be arraigned.
The rally with Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was scheduled to start midmorning, several hours ahead of Donald Trump’s court appearance.
– 9:40 a.m.
Spectators, many of them members of the news media, lined up overnight to get a seat inside the courtroom, or even just a glimpse of Trump, who wasn’t expected until Tuesday afternoon.
The building was surrounded by barricades, and people were undergoing layers of security checks. The reporters waiting in line were camped out under tents with lawn chairs, blankets, and pizza boxes. Some reporters even hired professional line holders.
The nation’s 45th commander in chief was expected to be escorted from New York City’s Trump Tower — also surrounded by barricades — into a lower Manhattan courthouse by the Secret Service. …
Trump has turned himself in and will be arraigned later today.
NY Times – just in
Donald J. Trump took his first steps into life as a criminal defendant on Tuesday, disappearing into the Manhattan district attorney’s office where he surrendered to face dozens of felony charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star days before the 2016 presidential election.
In a remarkable spectacle playing out before a divided nation, Mr. Trump’s 11-vehicle motorcade arrived just before 1:30 at the district attorney’s office, part of the towering Manhattan Criminal Courts Building. While in custody, he will be fingerprinted, but special accommodations will be made for the former president: He will spend only a short time in the office before his court appearance and likely won’t be handcuffed or have a mug shot taken. …
Washington Post: In court, Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty. …
The Unsealed Indictment
according to the Boston Globe
Read the unsealed indictment against former president Donald Trump
All 34 specify FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE and cite Trump account check numbers, Michael Cohen invoices or Trump General Ledger entries with voucher numbers.
Also…
A Statement of Facts
And later after, after Trump flew home, there was an Airing of Grievances…
NY Times: After returning to Florida on Tuesday, just hours after Justice Merchan cautioned him against incendiary rhetoric, Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Bragg, the judge and their families during a meandering rally-style speech before supporters at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate.
Mr. Trump vented grievances about the other investigations still swirling around him. When he turned to the Manhattan case, he lashed out at Mr. Bragg and his wife as well as Justice Merchan — whom he called “Trump-hating” — and also attacked the judge’s wife.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly assailed Mr. Bragg, who is Black, with racist language and made threatening statements reminiscent of his posts in the run-up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. …