Fetterman set to return to Senate

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( A morning roundup of worthy pundit and news reads, brought to you by Daily Kos. [Click here to read the full web version.]( - [Fetterman set to return to Senate]( Fetterman set to return to Senate, Holly Otterbein and Burgess Everett, Politico April 17 after more than a month of inpatient treatment for depression. It remains uncertain exactly when Fetterman will leave the hospital, but a person close to Fetterman confirmed he will be back to his Senate business after the coming two-week April recess. Fetterman is not the only senator who has been absent from the Senate. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have also missed significant time. McConnell was recently released from physical therapy after suffering a concussion and a minor rib fracture. - [Daily Kos revenue is down, and we may not be able to continue producing the quality of work you have come to expect from us. Please donate $5 to support independent, progressive news.]( - [Ukrainians in a Hidden Command Post See Bakhmut Going Their Way]( Ukrainians in a Hidden Command Post See Bakhmut Going Their Way, Carlotta Gall, The New York Times Ukrainian commanders said that Russia exhausted all its reserves on the eastern city, though soldiers said the cost in lives had been steep. Six weeks after coming to help defend Bakhmut, the men of the Adam Tactical Group, one of Ukraine’s most effective battle units, were quietly confident they had turned the tide against Russian troops trying to encircle and capture it. “The enemy exhausted all its reserves,” the commander, Col. Yevhen Mezhevikin, 40, said on Tuesday, straddling a chair as artillery, air defense and intelligence-gathering teams worked around him. - [This Election Could Be the Beginning of the End of Scott Walker’s Legacy in Wisconsin]( This Election Could Be the Beginning of the End of Scott Walker’s Legacy in Wisconsin, Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times Walker and his party would go on to lock in G.O.P. rule, enacting shockingly lopsided electoral maps and assuring continuing Republican control of the state legislature, as well as dominance of Wisconsin’s national congressional delegation. Nothing since, not even the election of a Democratic governor, has been able to loosen Republicans’ gerrymandered grip on the state. That grip has been used to restrict voting rights, pass an anti-union right-to-work law, cut funding to education, dismantle environmental protections and make Wisconsin one of the hardest states in the country in which to cast a ballot. Democrats, on the other hand, are powerless to pass laws of their own. In 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled, 4 to 3, that the state must adopt new, even more gerrymandered maps passed by the legislature. As Craig Gilbert wrote in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, under those maps, to win a bare majority in the Assembly, Democrats would have to win the statewide popular vote by double digits. - [How Disney just beat Ron DeSantis]( How Disney just beat Ron DeSantis, Nicole Narea, Vox Ron DeSantis is now losing to both Donald Trump and Mickey Mouse. Last year, DeSantis made national headlines when he went after the company, the state’s largest employer, in retaliation for its opposition to his “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prevents teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues or people. He pushed the state legislature to strip the company of its status as a special tax district, under which it has been able to develop and maintain its theme parks with relative independence. And DeSantis replaced the board members governing that district, who’d previously been controlled by Disney, with conservative figures loyal to him. But it seems that Disney’s lawyers outwitted him. The new board members overseeing the governance of Disney said in a meeting Wednesday that their predecessors had rendered them essentially powerless in a policy ratified just before they took over. - [Unlike a certain tacky red hat, Daily Kos hats are made in the USA and union decorated. Click here to get yours now.]( - [Arizona Democrats to sue No Labels to block third-party challenge]( Arizona Democrats to sue No Labels to block third-party challenge, Michael Scherer, The Washington Post The moderate group has been preparing a possible national presidential ticket for the 2024 elections The lawsuit claims that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who is a Democrat, made an error in accepting signature petitions for the No Labels Party, because accompanying affidavits from proposed electors were signed before all the petitions were gathered, in violation of state statute. As a result, the Arizona Democratic Party claims the affidavits purporting to verify the petitions should be considered false and the petitions invalid. The lawsuit also argues that No Labels, which is organized as a social welfare nonprofit that is not required to disclose its donors, has failed to comply with the federal requirements of a political party, including donation limits and donor disclosure. - [Michigan Democrats Rise, and Try to Turn a Battleground Blue]( Michigan Democrats Rise, and Try to Turn a Battleground Blue, Katie Glueck, The New York Times With a strong governor, a Legislature passing a raft of liberal measures and a looming early presidential primary, Democrats are testing the promise and pitfalls of complete control of the state. The governor of Michigan is considered one of her party’s brightest stars. Her state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature is rapidly approving a raft of ambitious priorities. The Democratic Party is planning to host one of its earliest presidential primaries in Michigan, while the state’s Republican Party is in chaos. Seven years after Michigan helped cement Donald J. Trump’s presidential victory, the state has transformed into a new — if fragile — focal point of Democratic power, testing the promise and pitfalls of complete Democratic governance in one of the nation’s pre-eminent political battlegrounds. Michigan’s Democratic leaders, however, recoil at the idea that their state — once a reliable stronghold for the party in presidential years — is turning blue once more. “No! Michigan’s not a blue state,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer insisted in an interview last week in Bay City, nestled in a windy, working-class county near Saginaw Bay that Mr. Trump won twice. Ms. Whitmer captured it too, prevailing there and across the state in Democrats’ November sweep. ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [A 1998 Disney movie is the latest victim of the real cancel culture: The Republican war on education]( - [100-year-old woman slams Florida book bans and brings the house down at school board meeting]( - [Russia looks to be hunkering down as everyone waits for Ukraine's counteroffensive]( Want even more Daily Kos? Check out our podcasts: - [The Brief: A one-hour weekly political conversation hosted by Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld]( - [The Downballot: Daily Kos' podcast devoted to downballot elections. New episodes every Thursday]( Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Twitter](, and [Instagram](. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team Daily Kos Relies on Readers Like You We don't have billionaire backers like some right-wing media outlets. 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