Why Are Democrats Such Milksops?

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In November, the citizens of Wisconsin had the gall to elect a pair of Democrats to the offices of governor and attorney general. The Republican legislature, by remarkable coincidence, quickly decided that December was the perfect time to strip the governor and attorney general of many of their powers. This needed to be done quickly so the legislation could be signed by the lame duck Republican governor before he steps down in January.

So what does the incoming Democratic governor plan to do about this?

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers (D) said Sunday that he may take legal action to block Republicans’ lame-duck measures to limit his authority upon taking office, calling their effort “a mistake.”

I’m not making any promises one way or the other, but we’re looking at all issues, all options on the table,” Evers said in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”

Have you ever seen the difference between Democrats and Republicans demonstrated so starkly? If the roles were reversed, Republicans would have long since declared war. They’d have a huge team of lawyers with lawsuits ready to file the moment the legislation was signed into law. Fox News would be screaming 24/7. The incoming governor would go on TV to loudly declare that he was going to ignore the law and continue exercising his traditional powers—and the incoming attorney general would back him up completely.

But Tony Evers, a Democrat? He “may” take legal action but he’s not promising anything.

Fucking hell.

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GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

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So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

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