Dem
47
GOP
53
Sorry, we just didn't have time and space for this feature last week.
The Birdman of Washington: Donald Trump is still beating the drum for Alcatraz to be re-activated as a federal prison, and has requested $152 million to make that happen. It is true that its location, on an island, makes that prison somewhat difficult to escape. However, it is also true that its location, on an island, makes that prison somewhat difficult to staff and provision. Plus, the salty sea air wreaks havoc on everything, such that structures on Alcatraz require much more maintenance than would be normal. Oh, and it's also one of the most popular tourist retreats in the country.
Our Take: What are the odds that this all stems from a showing of the movie The Rock on one of the cable stations available at Mar-a-Lago? 70%? 80%? 90%?
Bigotry, Thy Name is Nancy: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has introduced a bill that would amend the Constitution such that the "natural born" requirement for presidents and vice presidents would be extended to all federal officeholders, including executive branch appointees, members of Congress and judges.
Our Take: A little political theater in service of Mace's bid to be governor of South Carolina. Obviously, this has not the slightest chance of being adopted. If it did, it would not only be extreme and reprehensible xenophobia, it would also deprive the government of an enormous amount of talent.
Bowing Out: After at least a month of insisting she was not retiring, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) has announced her retirement. She is 83, has not been in Washington for well over a month, and was looking at a serious primary challenge.
Our Take: Your turn, Tom Kean Jr.
Even the Golden Knights Didn't Help: Canadians are furious about Donald Trump's tariffs, not to mention his vague threats about making Canada into the 51st state. And so, they have collectively reduced their travel to the United States. There may be no destination that's been hit harder than Las Vegas. That city is noticeably less bustling now than at any time since the pandemic faded, and the drop in international tourism is the clear culprit. For this year's midterms, the Democrats are planning to point this out to Nevada voters, early and often. There's no Senate race this year, but the governor's mansion is up, and so too are all of the state's House seats, of course. What makes Nevada somewhat unusual, on the House elections front, is that all four seats are arguably swingy (at least, in a wave election), with PVIs of D+1, D+2 (x2) and R+7.
Our Take: It would be political malpractice if the Democrats did NOT make this argument, though we imagine that most Nevadans in the tourism industry don't need much help connecting the dots. Meanwhile, leave it to those sneaky Canadians to damage the American economy by staging a reverse invasion. You gotta tip your toque to that kind of strategic vision.
Black Belt in Brown Nosing: The New York Times staff carefully analyzed 12 hours of footage, recorded over 10 different Trump v2.0 Cabinet meetings. They found that 1 sentence in 6 uttered by the secretaries (i.e., nearly 17% of all verbiage) was meant to flatter Trump, either by praising the president, his abilities and his accomplishments, or by demeaning his enemies. The most frequent brown noser is Marco Rubio. In completely unrelated news, Rubio is clearly Trump's current preference for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
Our Take: Only 17%? That should quickly climb above 20% once J.D. Vance ups his game.
He's Got Big, Orange Balls: We speak of New York City Zohran Mamdani, of course. Were you thinking of someone else?
Even those of us who can't afford the $5,000+ per seat tickets know that the New York Knicks are in the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years, as they attempt to win their first title in more than 50 years. And yesterday, in honor of the occasion, Mamdani signed an executive order temporarily repealing kids' bedtimes across the city, so that they can stay up and watch the Knicks play.
Our Take: Nice touch. As we have pointed out many times, the mayoralty of New York City has been a terminal position for well over a century. The last person to have the job, and then get elected to some other office, was Ardolph L. Kline, whose term as (acting) mayor ended in 1913. We think there's an excellent chance that the young and savvy Mamdani breaks that streak. Can you imagine "Madame Vice President, the Chair recognizes the senior senator from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the junior senator from New York, Zohran Mamdani?"
Good afternoon, good evening and good night. (Z)