Mississippi, 1963

A white Democratic governor issues an obviously illegal order. A white Democratic Secretary of State issues a patently inaccurate, and wholly unauthorized, “legal opinion.” And Democratic legislators agree to boycott a legislative session en masse, all in a desperate attempt to prevent the first black Speaker of the House in their state’s history from taking office.

We’ve seen this story before. It’s Mississippi in the 1960s, right? No, actually: it’s Minnesota in 2025.

Scott and I have written about the Minnesota Democrats’ illegal power grab–really, an attempted coup–in which they hope to take control over the Minnesota House of Representatives, despite being in the minority. But one thing we haven’t mentioned is that the Speaker whom they are feverishly trying to bar from taking office, Lisa Demuth, is black.

No doubt most Minnesotans are unaware of that fact. Lisa has never made a point of her race, has never suggested that anyone should vote for her on account of her skin color. Based on my acquaintance, I doubt that the thought has ever occurred to her. She is going to be the next Speaker of the House–the Democrats’ machinations are going to fail–not because she is black, but because she has earned the trust and confidence of her colleagues.

Still, if it were a female Democrat who was going to be her state’s first black Speaker, and Republicans who were taking absurd legal positions and boycotting a legislative session to prevent her from taking office…well, never mind. That would never happen.

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