Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 75. Sunrise is 5:36 AM and sunset 8:05 PM for 14h 29m 15s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 73.4% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater will hold a Role of Government training at 4:30 PM, the Public Works Committee meets at 6 PM, and the Police & Fire Commission meets at 7 PM. The Whitewater School Board goes into closed session shortly after 6 PM, to resume open session at 7 PM.
On this day in 1869, the first transcontinental railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory with the golden spike.
Of Tammy Baldwin, Bruce Murphy asks Is Baldwin Vulnerable? Or Unbeatable? The question arises (only) because some national pundits have Baldwin on a list of vulnerable U.S. Senators:
According to The Hill, the Capitol insider publication, Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is “one of the eight most vulnerable Senate Democrats in 2024.”
Wisconsin, the publication warned, “remains a crucial battleground state with a propensity to swing wildly from one election to another.” I guess we’re a little wacky here in Wiscoland.
CNN rated the seat number six on its list of the 10 senate seats “most likely to flip,” cautioning the competitiveness of Wisconsin “shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Murphy correctly notes that, by contrast, those with a better grasp of Wisconsin politics (rather than list-makers looking to fill out a card) recognize that Baldwin is in a strong position:
Baldwin [is] currently looking a good deal less vulnerable than some of those rankings suggest. “It was telling that [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell recently mentioned four Senate races he is focused on,” [pollster Charles] Franklin noted, “and did not include Wisconsin on the list.”
Murphy’s own assessment is good — Mike Gallagher would be a stronger opponent for Baldwin but he likely won’t run; Tom Tiffany will be a much easier opponent for Baldwin and he likely will run.
(Tiffany, slathered in insurrection, would be a worse version of Leah Vukmir. It would be as though central casting sent over the nuttiest, dog-crap-quality opponent they could find to run statewide against Baldwin. Someone should check if Baldwin has a relative in the WISGOP who’s pushing Tiffany as a choice.)
In a post from two weeks ago, this libertarian blogger assessed Baldwin as the prohibitive favorite. See Baldwin as the Prohibitive Favorite.
She is now, and will be in 2024.
Buddy Holly is Best in Show Winner at Westminster: