January 25

Another week and the first month of this new year is almost done. It just doesn't feel like 2020 ever really left. Some things have changed but others remain as they were. I have enjoyed watching news and not seeing Former #45  hearing his voice. That doesn't mean he doesn't dominate the political scene. He does and he will until either he dies or somehow his political hold is broken. That last doesn't appear to be likely in the short term. I mentioned Kevin McCarthy yesterday but he is not alone. A large part of the Republican Party is still either true believers or scared "s##tless" that he will somehow derail their political careers.

The politics are up in the air right now and no one knows how things will shake out. On the one hand the Texas party has just re-elected a Former #45 supporter as chair and sanctioned three politicians who either did not support his re-election or did not sufficiently violate laws to give him a victory. In Florida, reports say a couple thousand registered Republicans have changed their party affiliation. I have heard the same from other states. Where those voters are going varies: some to the Democrats and some to third parties. I would be delicious justice if the Kevin McCarthys found that they shored up their support from the Former #45 base only to be tanked by the Republicans who leave or who won't support them. Several states are working on voter restrictions to stymie the groups (black, Latinx  women) who delivered President Biden's win. Democracy depends very much on who defines the "demos" (the people) and it looks like the Republican establishment in some states are trying to define certain people out without explicitly doing so.