Even in the frenetic final weeks of election season, it’s important to take a moment to soak in the sights and sounds of autumn.
Leaves turning, falling, crunching underfoot.
The warm glow and low crackling of a woodstove or backyard fire pit.
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Apple picking.
Hayrides.
Pumpkin-spiced everything.
The slightly stale smell of those jackets and coats you suddenly have to dig out of storage when that unexpected cold snap hits.
The bite that’s crept into the night air that reminds you that our time on this planet is short and death comes for us all
Et cetera.
Yay fall!
Now, back to that other stuff.
Autumn Sweating: A couple of months ago, I wrote in this space about the GOP-controlled West Virginia legislature’s opportunistically timed attempt to impeach the state’s Supreme Court justices.
Believe it or not, an already sideways situation got even more tilted this week when the state’s acting Supreme Court (the members facing impeachment recused themselves, obvs) granted a writ of prohibition blocking the legislature from moving forward with three of the four impeachment proceedings (one judge was already acquitted but officially censured).
This whole thing is a mess. Let me break it down for you:
- This whole saga all started last fall, when reports began to surface concerning Supreme Court justices indulging in Trump cabinet-esque spending on fancy furniture amid lavish renovations of their chambers (in the neighborhood of $700,000 for things like fancy couches, elegant flooring, and pricey rugs).
- These ludicrously extravagant refurbs spurred the state’s legislative auditor to investigate the justices.
- In June, Justice Allen Loughry was indicted on state and federal charges (54 in all!) of fraud, witness tampering, making false statements, and more.
- In early July, Justice Menis Ketchum announced his resignation.
- If impeachment proceedings had been concluded by Aug. 14, the open Supreme Court seats would have been on the ballot this November.
But why would the GOP-controlled legislature want that when foot-dragging would let the Republican governor just appoint the replacements himself?
Oh, and just in case you thought this whole affair was anything but a brazen Republican attempt to replace an entire branch of government through GOP appointments, consider this:
- A Democratic member of the House attempted to initiate impeachment proceedings back in February—which would have left plenty of time to resolve the matter and place judicial candidates on the ballot this fall.
- At the time, Republican leadership called the move “a political stunt.”
And why entertain timely steps to remove corrupt justices when you can slow your roll and execute a Supreme Court coup instead?
Fast forward to … now.
- One justice went through her impeachment trial. As I mentioned above, the legislature acquitted but censured her early this month.
- One justice resigned to prevent the governor from appointing her replacement. Impeachment proceedings against her are moving forward anyway, for some reason. (She’s fighting the impeachment process in federal court.)
- The justice who faced all those felony counts of various types of fraud was found guilty last week of 11 of them. He was suspended from the court last summer, but he’s refused to resign, and he has yet to be impeached and removed.
And now the acting state Supreme Court has halted the legislature’s impeachment fun—likely for good.
- The state Senate plans to ask the court to reconsider their writ of prohibition, but … yeah. It’s not likely the court will change its mind.
- And since the writ was issued on a matter of state constitutional law, the state Supreme Court is the final authority on the matter.
So … that’s it?
Stay tuned!
Harvest Moon(Lite): Did you know that a brothel owner was running for the state Assembly in Nevada?
Well, he was.
- Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch and several other similar establishments, ousted an incumbent Republican in the June primary for this red, rural seat and looked to be cruising to the legislature. (The Republican caucus refused to support him.)
- But this week, he was found dead after celebrating his 72nd birthday with porn actor Ron Jeremy, disgraced former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist.
No, I’m serious. Imagine partying with those guys.
- So a brothel owner won’t be joining the Nevada Assembly after all.
- And if you’re wondering what this means for the election itself, well, it’s way too late to take Hof’s name off the ballot.
- Instead, notices will be placed at every polling place in the district to let voters know that he’s dead.
- But if Hof still wins Assembly District 36 (which went 64-30 for Trump, by the by), local county commissioners will select a replacement from his party.
October: Last week, I released my initial legislative chamber ratings (they were awesome come at me), and some folks were surprised to see the Connecticut Senate in the Tossup column.
- But it belongs there.
- The Republican State Leadership Committee (an umbrella 527 organization that includes committees that elect secretaries of state, lieutenant governors, and state legislators) dropped $400,000 into a Republican independent expenditure group in the state last week, and another $400,000 is reportedly on the way.
- And this fat cash is on top of the $235,000 the RSLC has already donated directly to state Senate campaigns.
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Autumn in New York: But Republicans aren’t the only ones ponying up serious dollars to flip chambers.
- In New York, Democrats are spitting distance from flipping the state Senate and establishing a governing trifecta (both chambers of the legislature and the governorship), and Gov. Cuomo is going to help them do it.
- This week he kicked off a $2 million TV and digital ad campaign supporting two Democrats looking to oust two Long Island Republican incumbents.
- TV is wicked expensive in New York, but still. That’s a legit buy.
Welp, that’s a wrap for this edition. You should take the rest of the week off and go jump in some leaf piles. Just print this out and show it to your boss, I’m sure she won’t mind.