Opinion | State legislatures are moving too fast, too furious

Karen Tumulty’s column examines what exactly went wrong in the Kansas legislature — and, indeed, in statehouses across the country, which have become increasingly lopsided and undemocratic. She explains that Kansas’s is one of 28 state legislatures with a veto-proof majority, meaning it can do “pretty much whatever it wishes.”

In Kansas, that means anti-transgender legislation as well as other attempts to restrict abortion. Supermajorities in Ohio and Florida have taken on projects similarly misaligned with public opinion.

So what gives? Karen proposes that it’s partly because of gerrymandering, partly the death of local media, a big chunk of voters (and Democratic strategists) who have their minds on other things and then, as the cherry on top, a decline in split-ticket voting.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin might not be able to do anything about her state’s gerrymandering, but she has figured out the key to winning split tickets, columnist Jennifer Rubin writes.

“If you work incredibly hard,” Jen writes, “pay close attention to your state and solve people’s daily problems, partisan labels means less.”

It’s not a particularly sexy strategy — but that’s part of why it works so well.

New debt plan, same as the old debt plan

It might feel as though you’re banging your head against a wall with how little progress has been made in the debt-limit fight. But good news: It’s not true! With the limit so close now, it’s actually the ceiling you’re banging against.

Catherine Rampell has an extra dose of head-banging in her column explaining that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest proposal is just a warmed-over plan from 2011. His vague promises to cut spending across the board are just a punt, she writes — one that didn’t work then and won’t work now. And the only thing that “giving in to hostage-takers” will invite, Catherine says, is “more hostage-taking.”

Columnist Henry Olsen writes that the way out of the impasse is to raise the limit in exchange for a bipartisan commission that would pull together a serious comprehensive budget, which Congress would have to vote on.

Okay, but isn’t that just a … punt plus?

Henry, always a step ahead, preempts that with a list of commissions that made real accomplishments, as well as an explanation why this one could join them.

Chaser: Public affairs professor Steven Pearlstein identifies a lone voice of sanity in the debt-limit fight: Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

From Leana Wen’s column arguing that weed has become too lionized — see the stoner holiday 4/20 — and its potential dangers too obscured.

She presents some worrying data about IQ loss, mental health problems and memory issues, all associated with regular marijuana use. They’re not that different from the negative effects of alcohol; the difference is that with weed, people simply don’t know they exist.

“Marijuana possession shouldn’t be a crime,” Leana writes, “but neither should it be normalized and encouraged.” That starts with prioritizing a little 411 over a dank 4/20.

Chaser: In 2020, then-Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman took “reefer madness” to task and urged nationwide legalization of weed.

Do you all have your predictions in for Thursday’s big event? You know, the blowout night of some guys sitting in a room announcing the names of some other guys? Also known as the NFL draft? Or, as Richard Zoglin calls it in his op-ed, the most “flagrantly overhyped spectacle in all of sports.”

Listen, if you have gone all in with your mock drafts, I don’t blame you — forecasting is fun. Zoglin writes that we as a country are addicted to it: sports, Oscars, politics, you name it.

He writes that this reflects “a desire to peek behind the curtain, to erase the line that separates insiders from everybody else.”

At the end of the day, Bryce Young will (I bet!) be a Panther, and you’ll still be watching from the couch. But until then, why not have some fun?

Chaser: After Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin was grievously injured on the field in January, avid football fan (and columnist) Perry Bacon came to the realization that he’s part of the problem.

• Columnist Greg Sargent writes that Fox News’s ouster of Tucker Carlson means the MAGA movement is shrinking.
• The Editorial Board breaks down a prominent pandemic postmortem. Spoiler alert: The United States didn’t do so hot.
• You might not think the asset managers handling huge investments have much to do with you. But author and professor Brett Christophers explains they could be hurting your housing options.

It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s … The Bye-Ku.

And mental functioning, too

Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me, along with any questions/comments/ambiguities. See you tomorrow!