Steve Sebelius

Thinking of Assemblywoman @selenafornevada.bsky.social today as I reset all my clocks to standard time. Hoping next session we can pass her bill to #locktheclock like our neighbor Arizona!

I Watched the Senate Break Down. Here’s How to Fix It. The Senate used to run on deals involving everything from pipelines to feral cows. Reviving them could be the first step to fixing politics.

An insider talks about a broken Senate confirmation process, and how Republicans and Democrats must work together to fix it.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests

“The Trumps are hardly the first presidential family to profit from their time in power, but they have done more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/u...

Opinion | The Republican Party’s NPC Problem — and Ours What happens when ambition no longer checks ambition?

“The NPC criticism got something right. There are real dangers to conformity. Political parties — even presidential administrations — are stronger when they can hear contrary voices.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/o...

Opinion | I’ve Covered Authoritarians Abroad. Trump’s Actions Look Familiar. Trump’s actions remind me of authoritarians I’ve covered for four decades around the globe.

“Determined citizens who understand the stakes can — eventually, inconsistently — defeat those who manipulate opinion and laws. We saw that most recently in Poland.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/o...

Nope.

Attacks on Catholics, Lutherans suggest new Trump approach on religion Allies of the president are leveling attacks on religious groups, including Catholics and Lutherans, and questioning their efforts to help migrants.

The latest evidence that true Christian faithfulness is an ill fit with partisan politics, and that a person cannot serve two masters.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test Candidates for top intelligence and law enforcement jobs were asked to give “yes” or “no” responses to questions such as: Was Jan. 6 “an inside job?”

Spoiler alert: No, Jan. 6 was not an “inside job” and the rioters were not patriots. And no, the 2020 election was not stolen; Joe Biden won in a free and fair election, and by a large margin.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Opinion | This Isn’t the Donald Trump America Elected He is making us a corrupted, brittle superpower.

With respect, Ben Rhodes is wrong here. Donald Trump is *exactly* the person a slim majority of voters elected in November, and he did not hide the kind of president he would be when he was campaigning. No one should be in the least surprised.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/o...

Federal Courts Are the Frontline for Those Opposing Trump Executive Orders With a compliant Congress and mostly quiet streets, the president’s opponents are turning to the judicial branch with a flurry of legal actions. But can the courts keep up?

“The administration seems to have wanted challenges that consume a ton of resources — of opponents, courts and public attention — even as members of the administration know the provisions do not square with the law that exists.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/u...

The Washington Post’s New Mission: Reach ‘All of America’ This week, The Post began trying out a new mission statement: “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”

Definitely not better.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/b...

Johnson Joins the Trump Entourage, Shrinking the Role of House Speaker In positioning himself as a junior partner to the president and doing his bidding on matters large and small, the Louisiana Republican is diminishing a job that involves leading a coequal branch of go...

The Founders counted on ambition and self-interest to ensure each branch of government jealously guarded its own powers and duties.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/u...

Analysis | The 12 Democrats who make the most sense for 2028 There’s a vacuum atop an adrift Democratic Party. Here’s who could fill it.

Aaron Blake writes in the Washington Post about 12 potential presidential contenders in 2028:

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

In 2024 Elections, Most Races Were Over Before They Started A New York Times analysis shows new maps stifled partisan competition for seats in the House of Representatives and state legislatures.

More proof that redistricting reform is an essential pillar of necessary reforms if we’re interested in moving past toxic partisanship.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/u...

Opinion | How a German Thinker Explains MAGA Morality Us and them is all the rage.

“Pluralism requires both law and ethics to function, and without ethics the law will fail.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/o...

Happy New Year! @DavidoffBarLV

One last look back: Top takeaways from Nevada's 2024 political year in review 2024 was a huge year for politics, especially here in swing-state Nevada. Here’s our list of the top 13 political stories of 2024.

The political year that was: 13 takeaways from 2024.
www.ktnv.com/news/one-las...

Way better than doughnuts!

tfw you are sitting in a long, boring legislative hearing and somebody asks a question about “the delta.”

Watching drones above your house on the East Coast? If you see the one on the left, you’re OK. If you see the one on the right, run!

'I pledge to devote my life': Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley sworn in as Las Vegas mayor Former Congresswoman Shelley Berkley was sworn in as Las Vegas mayor on Wednesday, marking the first person not named "Goodman" to hold the post in 25 years.

ICYMI: Las Vegas has a new mayor, and women now represent nearly every ward in the city.

www.ktnv.com/news/i-pledg...

I subscribe to satirical news sites such as “The Borowitz Report” and real ones such as CNN and the New York Times. It’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference as I scroll through my email.

Voters rejected historic election reforms across the US, despite more than $100M push Election reform advocates had hoped for a big year at the ballot box. That's because a historic number of states were considering initiatives for ranked choice voting or to end partisan primaries.

It wasn’t just Nevada where ranked choice and/or open primaries fell flat, the AP reports.

apnews.com/article/rank...

Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal as AG nominee demonstrates that there are still standards that will hold. Note that Republicans will have a Senate majority in January, so this came from the GOP, not Democrats. Question: Is this an exception, or will there be more?

I miss the days when the legislative branch jealously guarded its independence and constitutional role.

Indy Explains: How mass challenges to Nevada voter registrations face uphill legal battle - The Nevada Independent Mass challenges to voter registrations in Nevada face significant legal hurdles due to state laws requiring personal knowledge of each case, impacting efforts to challenge over 30,000 registrations.

Mass challenges to voter registrations in Nevada are harder than you might think, @thenvindy.bsky.social reports:

thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy...

With you from the start. Sucking down government subsidies as a business model while criticizing the government is not innovative in the least! This is why I got that “April Was Right!” T-shirt.

Emphasis on “old,” I’m afraid!

The other place has been an open sewer of hate and vitriol for years, but I still stay for the exact free speech/contrary engagement reasons you mention.

So this is the new meeting place, apparently?