The Democrat won anyway

Remember that election in Wisconsin last week, the one where the state GOP refused to postpone it or allow vote by mail, the one where more than a million people voted in person anyway, in spite of the hazards of the virus? Yeah, that one. The votes were finally counted and the important race – the one for state supreme court justice – has been announced.

The incumbent conservative Dan Kelly was defeated. Progressive Jill Karofsky won. The victory is annoying to the GOP because they thought their suppression tactics would give them a win. It’s also annoying to the nasty guy who repeatedly gave his support to the guy who lost. Conservatives still hold a 4-3 majority on the court, though the court may not so reliably rubberstamp what the GOP legislature does.



Kos of Kos notes that the GOP in Wisconsin did all they could to cheat in last week’s election – and the Democrat won anyway. Which shows we can’t depend on the judiciary to defend our democracy. Red American can go only so far before Blue America questions the legitimacy of our institutions.

Kos then contrasts two recent events. First, the nasty guy declared himself dictator. I mentioned the incident yesterday. He declared he, and not state governors, had absolute authority to reopen the country.

I also mentioned blue state governor pushing back on that idea. A few constitutional scholars have also pushed back and the nasty guy tempered his comments.

Second, California, which has already asserted it will manage its own virus response, has joined with Oregon and Washington to form the West Coast Pact and as a group will coordinate a regional consensus on how to fight the virus and reopen their economies. A Multi State Council has also formed around New York.

Kos says this is remarkable that states feel they need to join together for collective action because of the failures at the federal level. Which could, as the nasty guy gets less democratic, lead to the breakup of the United States.

And though we might relish the idea of the banking, media, and tech centers in Blue America, leaving Red America trying to pay for things with much reduced tax income, we shouldn't wish it. We can’t abandon the liberals of Red American – like Austin, Atlanta, and St. Louis.

The idea breaking up the country was ridiculous – until the nasty guy did his dictator thing. So we should work towards making connections between neighboring states.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she is doing just that when asked by All Things Considered. I noticed she didn’t mention bright red Indiana or strong pink Ohio.



Tonight’s opera is Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. The most famous piece he wrote is Pictures at an Exhibition, depictions of paintings of a dear friend who had died. He also wrote Night on Bald Mountain though the version we’re familiar with is the one “cleaned up” and “improved” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The original is much more coarse and scary, as it’s supposed to be.

Godunov is the son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. At the opening of the opera he is crowned Tsar. It is good to be Tsar, yes? But he is tormented over both of two possibilities. He either became Tsar because he murdered the brother who was in line for the throne. Or the brother lived and is about to challenge his right to the throne.

This opera is rare in that the lead role is sung by a bass. Most leads, especially romantic leads, are sung by tenors, sometimes baritones. So it is a big deal for a bass to be cast to sing Boris.