Author Archives: maplesdave

As new takers for the COVID vaccines decline, it’s time to do stuff that creates incentives for demographic groups that are hesitant. Other states have gotten creative, so why not Wisconsin? Here are some ideas. A vaccine lottery. Ohio just announced “Vax-a-Million”, a special one million dollar lottery drawing for each of the next fiveContinue reading “We Vax, Rodgers Stays”

It could be that the pandemic that made so many people sick could have a healthy side effect on American politics. Here’s what we know. For obvious reasons, COVID drove people out of big cities. The very people who were the most willing to accept public health advice to socially distance were living in theContinue reading “Could COVID Fix Our Politics?”

This morning House Republicans did what we knew they’d do: they shot themselves in the foot — but of course it’s the right of every law-abiding American to shoot themselves in the foot, or both feet, because shooting up everything and anything is protected by the Second Amendment. So there. You have to ask yourselvesContinue reading “Cheney Reaction”

Afghan school girls were targeted in a weekend attack that killed 80. Pres. Joe Biden’s withdrawal means there will be a lot more of this in the future. When the Taliban controlled Afghanistan in the 1990’s they were brutal to women. As the U.S. and its allies withdraw their troops toward a September deadline forContinue reading “More Of This To Come”

My theory on political endorsements is that they generally add up to what John Nance Garner said the vice presidency was worth, which is to say, “a bucket of warm spit.” Well, if you want me to be perfectly accurate about it, FDR’s first VEEP said that the job “wasn’t worth a bucket of warmContinue reading “Lasry, Nelson Pick Up Key Endorsements”

A lot of voters aren’t voting against liberal policies so much as they’re voting against liberals.

I had a chance to spend a little time this morning with Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, one of three announced Democrats to take on sitting Sen. Ron Johnson, assuming he runs again. As the vaccination rate climbs, Nelson feels it’s safe to start venturing out of his garage and basement to make campaign swingsContinue reading “Tom Nelson Might Be the Guy”

Liz Cheney is standing up to Donald Trump and will likely lose her leadership position, and probably her seat in Congress, because of it. But that’s not good enough for Charles Blow and others in the purity business. Blow is a columnist for the New York Times who vowed to remain red-hot angry for everyContinue reading “The Hard-Left’s Purity Tests”

It’s a measure of how strongly I believe in free speech that I almost feel that Facebook should allow Donald Trump back on their platform. (Emphasis here on almost.) Yesterday, Facebook’s Oversight Board told the company that it has to decide within the next six months what to do about Trump: ban him permanently, allowContinue reading “Trump and Free Speech”

It shouldn’t require massive amounts of political courage to simply acknowledge that a president who lost an election by seven million votes, well, actually lost the election. But it’s a measure of just how far gone the Republican Party is right now that Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming will now almost certainly lose her HouseContinue reading “Liz Cheney’s Profile in Courage”