Isn’t this extremely blatantly illegal and unenforceable? H1B fees are set by Congressional statute. I’m confused why all the reporting treats this as a real thing.

There are advantages to keeping the locus of debate more local. Election admin has become more politicized in recent years but not as much as most other issues. And people trust their local officials. Congressional hearings could polarize it further. But, as always, tough to know the right strategy

Thanks for sharing the paywall-free link! The good news here is that most election officials (from both parties) have balked at these requests for obvious reasons. And it is going to be hard for them to really mess with the existing infrastructure. Doesn’t mean they can’t try and seed doubts tho!

Correct. I think it’s smart for Democrats in Congress to remain engaged with a large range of constituencies while still pushing for a shutdown as leverage with the administration. That doesn’t seem contradictory at all

I don’t understand the point of this comment. Is the suggestion that this is normal and acceptable? It’s also inaccurate re: US and very different rule of law contexts

This is the next step. Lower level defections apparently aren't enough. They want to aim higher, and this is part of the plan

Cambodia's regime is hardening. The road ahead for opposition becomes even more challenging

They have spent the past several years turning the screws to get former CNRP members to defect to the ruling party. It's worked to a large extent (1,000s of lower level officials have embraced the ruling party), but they still aren't satisfied

www.rfa.org/english/news...

The charges were bogus then, and they're bogus now. But the Kem Sokha case demonstrates the extent to which the regime is willing to wield this weapon

Charges of "treason" were the basis for arresting and convicting opposition leader Kem Sokha, and used as an excuse to dissolve his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in 2017

www.hrw.org/news/2023/03...

This makes for a dangerous combination. The gov will likely use this law to further turn the screws on opposition leaders like Sam Rainsy and others, potentially stripping them of citizenship outright or wielding the threat to try and control them

Two points of context are critical:

1) after years of crackdown, much of the remaining opposition is in exile, and many hold dual citizenship

2) The Cambodian regime has not been shy about weaponizing claims about "foreign conspiracies" and "treason" in the past

To be fair, some of that is selection bias. Two more from the Orange side were just blocked from becoming PM in the first place

True. A big question is whether these judges prioritize that form of respect or the maximization of partisan aims. I’ve tended to think the former is important and thus viewed earlier rulings as preemptive compliance to bolster institutional credibility. But that interpretation is under strain

I did write these words yesterday and ponder how close we are to that reality in the United States right now

Thailand would like a word

Combined as well with the pullback in diplomatic support for democracy/rights. The potential broader consequences of this kind of ecosystem collapse might be hard to overturn, I fear

This is from a working paper I have stashed away (with @jennieb7.bsky.social and @sdhyde.bsky.social ).