Eight Months From Today, The America We Know Will Be Gone
For better or for worse, America will be truly changed after November’s midterm elections.
Eight months from today, America will vote for thirty-nine Governors, the entire U.S House of Representatives — all 435 seats — and thirty-six U.S. Senators. And that doesn’t even include state legislatures or local elections. Forty-six states will hold elections for some form of state legislative office. And there will be mayoral elections in fifteen major U.S. cities and countless others. Untold numbers of elected officials, from Congressmen and Governors to dog catchers, will be on the November 2 ballot. Primaries have already begun for some of these seats, in Illinois and Texas.
This is a major election, and while not a presidential election year, many seats are up for grabs, especially as term limits are automatically throwing incumbents out of office. Voter anger is high — as is America’s obsession with politics. And rightly so. Whether that anger turns out to more people showing up at the polls is always the question, but those the most angry are often those who show up to “throw the bums out.” Yes, if you’re the incumbent, you could be on thin ice. (Who’s on the thinnest? HuffPo says these eight.)
For better or for worse, or perhaps both, the America we knew just a decade ago has been erased. Much of the progress we saw in the Clinton years has been eviscerated. And what we thought was progress in the Bush years was wiped clean before he even left office.
There’s much at stake here. Too much to not get involved.
Right now I’m in the middle of looking at all the races I can, and figuring out where I want to focus. I’m committed to removing the homophobes, like Virgina Foxx (remember her horrific comments about Matthew Shepard? Fight back. Join FireFoxx!) and Iowa’s Steve King from office. And there are so many more.
What’s at stake? Who controls the House and the Senate. Whether states have Republican or Democratic governors. Whether cities have Democratic or Republican mayors.
Why does this matter? Well, while the Democrats have been no friend to the LGBTQ community, the GOP has been actively hostile. Let me stress that before you start writing me mail about how I shouldn’t support the Democratic party. I’m not.
Let me also say, vote for a candidate and not a party. If you’re going to contribute money, do not contribute to a political party — contribute to a candidate who fully supports LGBTQ rights. Do your homework. Does your candidate support repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and DOMA? Do they support enactment of ENDA? Did they vote for or against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill? Do they support same-sex marriage — not just civil unions, but marriage? And are they brave and transparent enough to be squarely on the record on all these points?
Don’t know? Can’t find their position anywhere? Call them. Write them. Demand a response.
Aren’t getting one? Ask me and I’ll do my best to find out.
So, again, why does this matter? Because governors sign — or veto — same sex marriage legislation. Governors and mayors include — or exclude — the LGBTQ workforce from their anti-discrimination policies. (Thank you again, newly sworn-in Virgina Governor Bob McDonnell, for removing protections for LGBTQ state workers, even though you campaigned on an agenda that you claimed wasn’t about social issues, but financial ones.)
Why does this matter? Because there still are Republicans who would like to not only ensure DOMA doesn’t get repealed, but that there’s a federal marriage amendment written into the constitution that clearly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Think that’s impossible today? Not when support for same-sex marriage in some polls is slightly declining, and not when the last time the Federal Marriage Amendment was voted on was less than four years ago. (And not when just two weeks ago, Senator Mike Pence called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage!)
We’ve seen the pendulum swing both ways.
It’s important, no, vital, that we see the pendulum swinging our way, that we, as a country, move more to the left than to the right, that Democrats get the message that we aren’t a “center-right” nation, that Democrats realize that voting for Democratic ideals is why we put them in office.
Please. Get involved. Involve your friends, your family, your coworkers, your neighbors, everyone you can. When people have the ability to vote on our rights, when we are second class citizens, when the Party of No could become the Tea Party, when the wall between religion and politics becomes slimmer and lower, when corporations become people and money becomes speech, yes, I’d say our very lives are at stake.
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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.
The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”
“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.
The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”
Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.
Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.
Image via Shutterstock
A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.
Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.
Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”
She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”
READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota
The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”
“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.
Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”
He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.
“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”
Sen. Murkowski: “When you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, we do not think that that is a good idea. This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea.” pic.twitter.com/zfitY31LyF
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 16, 2026
READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
Image via Reuters
Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.
Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.
“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”
“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”
The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.
Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”
Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”
READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
Image via Reuters
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