This may be a secret to Congress and MAGA, but not to anyone in the general public who is paying attention.

Do Democratic leaders broadly have their own theory about this moment? It’s unclear. But here’s what we can divine right now: Governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California do have one. They grasp Miller’s theory of the case, and they are responding in kind, with their own war for attention, on the intuition that voters will side with the rule of law over authoritarian dictatorship—if they are presented with this as a clear choice.

I don’t like the comparison of Pritzker to Newsome. It feels pretty disingenuous, and I have to be honest, there is a part of me that sees the things Newsome is doing to his own state and worries he wouldn’t mind seceding and making California his own left of center Authoritarian super state. Almost like a if you can’t beat em join em.

I really hope I’m wrong about that, but I’m just being honest. I like the way he’s standing up to Trump. I don’t like watching a governor demand a city implement homeless sweeps and establish his own state police force.

Pritzker has actually really impressed me with the way he’s handled defending his state while keeping the people of Chicago and their own autonomy at the forefront. That is the kind of leadership that says we’re really in this together. I’m here to support you and do everything in my power as your governor to give you access to the tools you need to defend yourself.

Cities in California and Louisiana have seen their governors take control for very different reasons, but at the end of the day it feels like L.A. has been seized by Newsome because he believes this is the best way to defend it.

Several of the things Newsome has done have been eerily similar to Jeff Landry in Louisiana, but for some reason nobody wants to talk about that. As your governor, you’re adopting these tools regardless of if you want them or not.

I actually wrote something about the similarities I’ve noticed a couple of weeks ago.