Since we’re commemorating the beginning of Prohibition today, I should note there is still a Prohibition Party operating in this country, though it did split into two factions in a money wrangle in 2013. According to Wikipedia, the Party’s 2012 presidential nominating convention was held at the Holiday Inn Express, in Cullman, Alabama. That’s pretty far from temptation, I guess.

Here are some remains of the day:

* RCP’s Sean Trende suggests Gillespie running for Senate in VA because he’s betting on a huge drop-off in turnout from 2012.

* Interesting Ezra Klein post on the possibility that insurance industry contributions to pols could make a single-payer system inherently corrupt, barring an independent entity to negotiate prices.

* Heritage Action chief labels omnibus appropriations bill a return to earmarks and “Christmas Trees,” a charge we will hear from conservative primary challengers before long.

* At Ten Miles Square, Mark Kleiman predicts investors in cannabis industry will take a bath after legalization kicks in, because it will be a very cheap commodity.

* At College Guide, Daniel Luzer takes a closer look at the rash of charter school failures in Columbus, Ohio.

And in non-political news:

* Russell Johnson, an actor best known for playing “The Professor” on Gilligan’s Island, dies at the (yikes) age of 89.

Let’s end the day with a final protest song against the Prohibition experiment. Here’s Lowe Stokes, a member of the Skillet Lickers, with “Prohibition Is a Failure” from 1929.

Selah.

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.