Security On Governor's Travels Costs La. Taxpayers (ap)

“Dear J. D. Vance: Have you found that calling a woman trash has worked for you? Because we generally don’t forget that shit.” — Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), on X.

“House Democrats are increasingly alarmed by a potential threat to the transfer of presidential power: a protracted failure by Republicans to select a speaker if the GOP keeps control of the chamber,” Politico reports. “The House convenes on Jan. 3 to elect a speaker, just a few days before Congress is supposed to certify the results of this year’s election.

Cameron Joseph: “While postelection chaos is quite possible, 2024 is unlikely to be an exact replay of 2020. In important ways, the system has been strengthened.”

Bushra Seddique: “Every four years, some liberal Americans threaten to leave the country if a Republican wins the presidency. Canada has become almost a joke—or maybe a fantasy—in certain left-leaning circles, not just a country but an escape hatch, a next life waiting if the election goes the ‘wrong’ way.” “But some liberals insist that they’re not joking this time: They are very scared, and very ready to leave if Donald Trump is reelected.”

The big secret about Election Day is there’s almost never any relevant news until the votes are being counted in the evening. Here are the stories you can ignore today: .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising.

Philip Bump: “Polling conducted by YouGov over the weekend included a question centered on the alternate universe in which Biden never dropped out at all. And in that universe, Donald Trump has a national lead of seven points. Landslide territory.”