Quick Hits

Florida's top Democrat state senator has resigned, declaring that the Democrat Party is "dead."

State Sen. Jason Pizzo said he was stepping down as the Florida Senate's Democratic leader -- because he is quitting the Democratic Party.

Pizzo, who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, made the surprise announcement on the floor of the chamber after the April 24 session. He'll remain a senator, but as one with no party affiliation.

For months, he had teased at a run for governor next year when Gov. Ron DeSantis will be term-limited.

"Here's the issue: The Democratic Party in Florida is dead," he told fellow senators. "There are good people who can resuscitate it but they don't want it to be me."

Former Republican congressman and hard-core NeverTrumper ne'er-do-well David Jolly is going to run for the Democrat nomination. He just made it official that he is in fact a Democrat, now registering with the party so he can run for office as a Democrat.

At least he's now forced to drop the "I'm a True Republican" hustle.

Last week David Hogg, a Vice Chair of the DNC, announced that the grifter group he founded would be spending $20 million to primary Democrats in favor of even more extremist progressives.

The DNC plans to pass a rule that no officer of the DNC can advocate for or donate money to any candidate in any primary.

Democratic party leaders Thursday morning admonished officers to not take sides in primaries, addressing a situation involving activist and Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg.

"Let me be unequivocal. No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger," DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a press call. "Voters should decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership. Our role is to serve as stewards of a fair, open and trusted process, not to tilt the scales."'

As of now, however, the DNC does not have the power to remove Hogg if he refuses to stand down on funding primary challenges through a separate PAC -- unless the body changes its rules, a senior DNC official told NBC News.

"Under the present bylaws, there is no action that can be taken against David Hogg without changing to the bylaws to extend that policy of neutrality to all primaries," DNC Finance Chair Chris Korge told NBC News. "There is no codified, legal way to remove an officer for doing what David Hogg has done because it only extends to the presidential race. "

Korge said that, as of now, the situation is to be addressed at a future meeting, likely in August.

A federal judge has blocked Trump's executive order requiring proof of citizenship in federal elections.

Donald Trump's unilateral effort to reshape election processes is an attempt to "short-circuit Congress's deliberative process by executive order," a federal judge in Washington, D.C. wrote Thursday afternoon.

In a 120-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and ordering that election officials "assess" the citizenship of anyone who receives public assistance before allowing them to register. She also barred the Election Assistance Commission from withholding federal funding from states that did not comply with the order.

"Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States--not the President--with the authority to regulate federal elections," she wrote. "No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress's deliberative process by executive order."

The Constitution says that citizens vote in our elections, not non-citizens. So this court is basically arguing that non-citizens can vote as they will and we need a special law, in addition to the Constitution's contemplation of only citizens voting.

These abuses will not stand and will not be forgotten.

The left-wing SCOTUSblog has been bought by the also left-wing Dispatch.

SCOTUSblog @SCOTUSblog

As one era ends, an exciting new one begins. SCOTUSblog is delighted to announce that it has been acquired by @TheDispatch and will help bolster their coverage of the Supreme Court and the rule of law.

Sean Davis @seanmdav

Recall that The Dispatch colluded with Facebook to deplatform pro-lifers during the 2020 election by publishing fraudulent fact-checks knowing they would be used as a pretext for censorship. And when they got caught, they lied about it.

Which means that anyone interested in actual facts can now safely ignore everything published by SCOTUSblog from here on out.

I think I see the problem with the FBI.

Just straight shooters all the way from top to bottom.

I missed this: Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy clarified that the Blue Origin Hags "cannot identify as astronauts." The FAA has a definition of astronaut that distinguishes actual crew and mission specialists from mere passengers/tourists: An astronaut must perform "mission-critical" functions on a flight, including piloting the craft but also including conducting tests.

Jeffrey Goldberg has an interesting ability to hear people saying things that no one else hears, so I strongly advise Trump to bring his own video cameras and recording devices. Otherwise Goldberg will claim "Trump said he hates the suckers and losers of the armed forces, I totally heard it."

Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke

This might make sense--and even be pretty entertaining--if the idea is to tape this whole thing and put it out in full. But if this thing is framed as a serious interview, lending legitimacy to people whose only mission in life is to destroy Trump, then it's not a good idea at all.

posted by Ace at 06:34 PM

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