Keeping the flame alive

March 28, 2024

I start today’s newsletter by recommending that you read someone else’s newsletter: Jess Piper’s The View from Rural Missouri, Uncontested Races are Undemocratic (substack.com). Jess’s newsletter on contesting every race in every state—red, blue, and purple—is timely and urgent. The lessons from her message are important not only to deep-red states where Democratic chances of success are remote but also to deep-blue states where victory seems assured. And her determination and grit are models for all of us in a closely contested election cycle that has many of us on edge.

Jess Piper describes herself as “Executive Director for Blue Missouri. Former nominee for State Rep, ‘22. Rural mom fighting for public schools. Host of “Dirt Road Democrat” podcast.” I subscribe to Jess’s Substack newsletter because she provides important insights into the challenges of being a Democrat in a red state.

I hear from readers in red states every week who tell me how difficult and lonely it can be to be a Democrat surrounded by MAGA extremists who control the legislature, statewide offices, city councils, and school boards. The feelings of abandonment and loneliness are exacerbated when there is no Democratic candidate in most of the races on their ballots.  

Jess Piper writes that in 2022, approximately 44% of the Missouri state legislative races were uncontested, i.e., no Democratic candidate. The message that absence sends to Democrats is bleak. So, Jess ran to be the representative for District 22 in Missouri’s legislature. As Jess describes her experience,

I did not win. I got my butt kicked by a man who is very nice, but who ran on two issues: making sure his grandkids had access to guns and making sure they didn’t have to eat plant-based, meat-substitute burgers. I’m not kidding…here is an article.

Was Jess’s effort in vain? Absolutely not! As she explains,

So what did happen? I made the GOP nominee spend money. I made him show up to town halls and forums to debate me. I made him knock doors. I made him call voters. I made him talk about abortion and school funding and roads and hospitals when all he wanted to talk about was Hunter Biden’s laptop and COVID masking.

I knew my chances, but by God I knew I was going to make my opponent work for the seat rather than just handing him an uncontested victory and a trip to Jefferson City. I didn’t relent and he couldn’t avoid talking about the things that matter.

And there’s this: what happens when you make the GOP spend money in a mostly Republican voting district? They can’t spend it chipping away at mostly Democratic voting districts. The GOP has to drop money into rural races that they haven’t had to think about for decades.

As Jess explains, her run for office was equal parts offense and defense. Her chances of success were long, but the fact that she put up a fight may have helped a Democrat in another district win. The importance of that fact cannot be overstated.

Equally important is that Democratic voters in the 22nd district in Missouri had the opportunity to vote for a Democrat! Those of us who live in blue states take that privilege for granted. In Missouri, it happens only if someone is courageous and selfless enough to run for office when the chances of success seem bleak.

Read Jess’s article, linked above. She features several other candidates who made the same leap of faith. Democrats owe all the ‘Jess Pipers’ everywhere a debt of gratitude for standing on the ramparts during challenging times. The tide will turn, and we will prevail over the long term. When we do, it will be because Democrats stepped into the breach when it mattered most.

There is more to Jess’s article that is worthy of your attention, so I hope you will take the time to read it. For those of you interested in Blue Missouri's work, check out the link here: Home—Blue Missouri.

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Democrat wins special election in Alabama in contested district.

In a timely and powerful proof of Jess Piper’s point, Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands won a special election in Alabama’s House District 10 on Tuesday of this week. See Alabama Daily News, Democrat Marilyn Lands wins in HD10 special election - Alabama Daily News (aldailynews.com).

Marilyn Lands not only flipped a seat previously held by a Republican but also won by 25 percentage points (62% to 37%). The last time Lands ran for the same seat (2022), her Republican challenger won by a 7-point margin!

Lands’ victory came after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that third parties can be civilly liable for wrongful death arising from the destruction of frozen embryos preserved in IVF procedures. Lands made reproductive freedom a major part of her campaign message.

The head of the Alabama GOP acknowledged that Lands won, in part, because Lands employed a “middle of the road strategy in an attempt to bring in swing voters” and that said that “the lesson is [Republicans] cannot be afraid to stand strong for conservative values.”

If you think the statement by the head of the Alabama GOP makes no sense, you are right. If Alabama Republicans believe that running further to the right is the appropriate response to a 25-point loss, let’s hope they continue deluding themselves.

But we must also be realistic. It will take hard work over the long term to make significant progress in a state where Republicans have protected themselves through gerrymandering by creating safe seats where Democrats have long odds.

That is where Jess Piper’s message comes in: We must continue to contest every race. And every once in a while, Democrats will swing a seat by 32 points when Republicans aren’t expecting it. But it won’t happen if we don’t contest every race. 54% of the state legislative seats in Alabama were uncontested in the 2022 elections. That needs to change.

For now, we should take renewed confidence from Marilyn Lands’ victory. It is another sign that the American people do not want “the strong conservative principles” that Alabama voters rejected on Tuesday.

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California State Bar judge orders John Eastman disbarred

Attorney John Eastman advised Trump and members of his administration on strategies to illegally overturn the 2020 election. Eastman wrote two memos that laid out the fake electors strategy that Trump attempted to implement through Mike Pence. A copy of the primary memo is here: "Trump lawyer's memo on six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election" | Policy Memos Resource (harvard.edu).

On Wednesday, a California State Bar judge ordered the immediate suspension of Eastman’s license to practice law in California and recommended permanent disbarment. Eastman can appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court.

The order of Eastman’s disbarment is here: Decision and Order of Involuntary Inactive Enrollment.

The State Bar of California's recommendation for permanent disbarment is an appropriate response. Eastman not only advised Trump to engage in conduct that violated the Constitution, but he also attempted to shield that advice under the attorney-client privilege.

The disbarment is another positive step in holding Trump's advisers accountable for their crimes—although it is not enough. Eastman remains a criminal defendant in the Georgia RICO case.

The disciplinary proceedings against Eastman were initiated after two groups filed ethics complaints with the California State Bar—States United Democracy Center and Lawyers Defending American Democracy. The formal complaints were supported by dozens of leaders in the bar and bench who urged California to begin the investigation that resulted in Eastman’s disbarment. Their leadership helped speed the day of Eastman’s reckoning. We owe them thanks for filing the ethics complaint on behalf of all Americans.

Hopefully, lawyers in future administrations will reflect on the fates of more than a dozen Trump lawyers who have been disciplined or charged with crimes.

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Fifth Circuit upholds injunction against Texas’s immigration law

The Supreme Court gave the Fifth Circuit a “do-over” on its review of Texas’s immigration law (SB 4) that usurps the federal government's role in controlling the border. The Fifth Circuit initially allowed the unconstitutional law to go into effect pending review by the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit reconsidered its original order and ruled that federal law likely preempts SB 4 and allowed the district court’s injunction to remain in effect. A hearing on the merits will take place next week.

For an excellent analysis of the lengthy opinions (majority and dissent), see Chris Geidner’s article on Substack, Law Dork, Fifth Circuit keeps Texas's S.B. 4 immigration law blocked.

This case will wind its way back to the Supreme Court, but the reasoning in the Fifth Circuit’s majority opinion is likely to win the day. As summarized by Chris Geidner, the core of the Fifth Circuit’s analysis is this:

There are two types of preemption — field preemption, which happens when Congress has made clear that an area of law “must be regulated by its exclusive governance,” and conflict preemption, which happens when it is “impossible” to follow both federal and state laws or the state law “stands as an obstacle” to the federal objectives. Here, [the majority opinion] concluded, S.B. 4 is likely barred by both types of preemption.

Although the details are complicated, the result is right: The federal government controls international borders, not Texas. Governor Abbot will undoubtedly move on to his next work of performative cruelty.

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Opportunities for reader engagement.

The Blue Missouri project mentioned in Jess Piper’s Substack newsletter cited above is part of Every State Blue. The organization’s motto is

No more unsupported races. No more forgotten voters. No more free passes for the GOP.

Every State Blue currently has projects in Missouri, Ohio, Texas, and Tennessee—but there is room for growth! If speaking up for forgotten voters and showing up in every election in your state sounds interesting, check out the Every State Blue link above. No “event” is associated with this opportunity, just an invitation for Democrats who are tired of looking at a one-sided ballot to take action. Be the change you want to see in your state!

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Concluding Thoughts

Readers often ask me for advice about giving donations. The question is usually some variant of this: “Should I direct my donations to strategic races where Democrats are likely to flip a seat or should I support candidates who may not have a chance to win but need money?”

The answer to that question is “Yes.”

Both are important objectives, and we must find a way to support both. That doesn’t mean that you have to do both. But we must recognize that $7,500 for a candidate using their credit card to finance their campaign may be more meaningful than $1 million to a candidate in a race that has attracted national attention.

There is a natural tension between those objectives, but they do not present an “either-or” choice. We must be able to do both—and we can. The cost of funding flippable races cannot mean abandoning Democrats in red states. If you haven’t read Jess Pipers Substack article yet, now would be a good time. It will help you see why we must not concede red states to the GOP.

Finding the right way to direct your donations is daunting. I frequently highlight events by groups specializing in vetting grassroots organizations and candidates who need help registering new voters, motivating existing voters, or paying for basic campaign services and infrastructure. I know some readers’ eyes glaze over when they see the latest pitch in my “opportunities” section. (I have heard that constructive criticism from a few readers.) But it costs nothing to attend the online events, and you will, at the very least, learn something valuable.

So, with no agenda other than asking you to be open to hearing about the needs of Democrats who are still fighting despite long odds, I urge all of us not to forget our friends and colleagues who are keeping the flame alive. They are doing it for all of us, including future generations, who will benefit from their work without knowing their names or understanding the sacrifices they made.

Indeed, that description applies to each of us fighting to preserve democracy in 2024.

Talk to you tomorrow!