Some of the first people in the country to vote for @HillaryClinton. pic.twitter.com/BoNVfGxwas
— Catherine Gabel (@catherine_gabel) September 19, 2016
In person early vote begins in some counties across Wisconsin today! https://t.co/fOxzV37f0E
— Lily Adams (@adamslily) September 19, 2016
As a reminder (and for those of you who only read Balloon Juice during office hours), MisterMix did some research and put together an ActBlue widget for those who want to donate to “winnable” races for Democrats competing in the Senate and the House:
(click on the widget pic to be redirected to the ActBlue page)
Apart from continuing the good fight, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Schlemazel
Wish I knew who had the money to waste on Jess the boobie Ventura. His ads, like the video one to the right here are on just about every liberal web site I go to the last couple of weeks. It is not good for my blood pressure to have to be reminded that this dime store Trump wannabe still shares a plane of existence with me.
Schlemazel
And I suppose I should get in a good morning all before I run off to the salt mines
rikyrah
Good Morning ?, Everyone ?
rikyrah
What kind of mess is that? Early voting begins in SOME counties? Why not all?
rikyrah
What Ferret Head wants to do the first week in office
https://mobile.twitter.com/Karoli/status/778003315149770753
rikyrah
I am in moderation. Please help
craigie
Wow, that is some very early voting. Still waiting for my absentee ballot. Also, my wife became a US citizen in January, so this will be her first time voting. Very excited!
BlueDWarrior
@rikyrah: The consequence of having partisan officials conduct elections, and then being all but explicitly partisan in the manner in which they conduct them. Thought it is a meta concern and goes above the heads of a lot of people in a political sense, I really which the Democrats would run on Federalizing the parts of the actual conduction of elections that can be Federalized, and evening out the other parts on a state by state, and really a county by county basis.
It really is pathetic that the Richest Nation In Human History(tm) can’t afford to get working voting machines to urban districts unless they are districts that are heavily Republican.
eldorado
turnout. turnout. turnout.
OzarkHillbilly
Speaking of beating back the rats, fascinating long read over at the Guardian about the long human v rat war:
…..
Snarkworth, short-fingered Bulgarian
I met Steve Santarsiero, PA-8, Sunday. He’s a true progressive, rational and eloquent. Wrote a fat (for me) check. I have no illusions about flipping the House this time, but I sure want to make it harder for the Dark Side to commit their atrocities.
RK
OzarkHillbilly
@RK: No no no, she’s losing, losing I tell you! The world is at it’s end! RUN AWAY!! RUN AWAY!!!
craigie
How 45% of any sentient population could want Trump to come destroy their democracy is a complete mystery to me.
delk
Early, early voting begins in Chicago Sept. 29 – Oct. 23: Only at 69 W. Washington, Lower Level
Early voting at all locations begins Oct. 24 – Nov. 5
I’ve voted at the 69 W Washington location (Chicago Election Board) the last few elections. Never had to wait. Looking forward to enthusiastically voting for Hillary and Tammy Duckworth.
debbie
I’m thinking about absentee voting for the first time, but I have little confidence that absentee ballots really are counted. My state’s SOS, John Husted, is hellbent on voter suppression and I trust him as far as I can throw him.
JMG
Y@craigie: Your keyword there is “sentient.” Social media and the Internet allow us to forget that the overwhelming majority of people give little or no thought to politics. They vote D or R because they always have, and that’s that. I live in one of the best educated towns in America. There will be a special election today on funding for the regional vocational school. That’s important. If turnout is 10 percent I’ll be shocked.
trnc
Good for Gabel. My question for obvious right wing twitter hack @brettrostro is, why is he spreading ISIS propaganda through Gabel’s twitter stream? Now, that’s some aid and comfort right there, brother.
Gindy51
@OzarkHillbilly: The domestic kind make darling, clever pets. We used to have them and their biggest drawback is a short life span, 2 to 3 years, and cancer. They get lots of it.
Good news, rats won’t last long without humans, so if we all go they will too! The biggest reason they do so well inside our cities is the lack of predators. Out here in the country, birds of prey (hawks, owls, jays, crows), coyotes, foxes, bobcats, etc use them as food and we don’t have very many of them. We’ve seen one in the 20 years we’ve lived in our home and for one season only. An owl got it.
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: I read that too, and it is fascinating. I l wish those scientists were my neighbors! (Not because I have a rat problem — they just seem really fun!)
BlueDWarrior
@JMG: In addendum, I think you can convince a lot of people to actively destroy democracy if it meant their particular issues would be served in the new order.
I mean you have a lot of people who yelled and screamed about the New World Order conspiracy in the Clinton years who all of a sudden seem perfectly willing to ascribe to some kind of nu-fascist regime if it means keeping the country ‘white’.
Kay
Ohio has record requests for absentee ballots but it doesn’t mean anything. They (now) send absentee ballot requests to most voters and more and more people will probably vote that way- it says more about the popularity of vote by mail than it does this election.
People really, really want a convenient way to vote. I’m glad that Democrats fight for voting rights, but they could also ding certain Republicans for making voting a giant pain in the ass. People want this to be easier, not harder. The people that want voters to jump thru 15 hoops are a vocal minority. MOST people just consider it a state recording function and they want efficiency.
debbie
@BlueDWarrior:
NPR implied this morning that this is what millennials were doing by supporting Johnson or Stein.
debbie
@Kay:
Do you trust Husted to actually count the absentee ballots?
BlueDWarrior
@debbie: Hrm, that formulation interests me. I mean some people have said, and argued on this very site (not very well, I would add) that in order to get the great Liberal World Order you would need some kind of cataclysmic Conservative regime that could stain the entire movement for at least two generations.
And to me, the only thing that would qualify would that would be a legit Fascist takeover of the government.
Keith G
@craigie: There are a lot of good studies about how poor human beings are at adequate risk assessment. That notion is proved nearly every week as the U.S. Coast Guard finds yet another capsized boat with life jackets still stowed and secured and the former occupants of the craft no longer in sight. The question, “How bad can it get?” implies an answer that often leads to woe.
On a related topic, I noticed on my Facebook wall there were references to articles saying that George HW Bush was announcing his vote for Hillary. I haven’t seen that information on a mainstream information site, so I don’t know what to make of that.
Kay
@debbie:
Husted doesn’t count the ballots. The employees hired and fired by local Bds of Election do. Equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats on Bds of Elections. If there are 4 career employees at your polling station, Republicans and Democrats hired them.
There was a lot of misinformation that was promoted after the 2004 election (Rolling Stone magazine was a prime offender) where people believed that all Ohio process is run from the state level. It isn’t. It’s run at the county level. If there were long lines at polling places where college students vote in 2004 that means the Democrats who are on the Bd of Elections in that county did a bad job.
It is literally their job to make sure there are adequate voting machines and ballots. Democrats failed to protect the vote in 2004.
rikyrah
@craigie:
I would guess that the beginning Absentee ballots will be mailed out next week.
If anyone knows someone in the military or overseas, tell them to get their FPCA Application in-those ballots will begin being sent out FRIDAY (thank you FEDERAL LAW)
OzarkHillbilly
@Gindy51: Living out in the woods, I am quite a ways from any farming operations but I still I have had a rat take up residence in my shop a # of times. I don’t wait for a 2nd one to arrive. My pig farming buddy has an unbelievable infestation of mice (trapping as many as 40 a day). Gawd help him if rats ever move in.
@Betty Cracker: Yep:
Matt McIrvin
@BlueDWarrior: I don’t even think that would work forever. If you somehow got democratic government back (handed on a silver platter by some Juan Carlos figure, say), not everything would be perfect and people would start complaining that it was better before within a few years. Everyone knew their place! There was law and order!
debbie
@Kay:
I remember reports in 2004 of there only being one ballot machine at a precinct in the Ohio State area. Franklin County is a Dem stronghold voterwise, but the head of the BoE is Republican. Frankly, I think any shortcomings have his fingerprints all over them.
rikyrah
@delk:
If you are a Suburban Cook County voter, and you show up at a Grace Period location, October 12th and beyond, you will not be turned away from doing Early voting. Remember, the City of Chicago and Suburban Cook County are separate voting jurisdictions.
Botsplainer
@debbie:
I have to absentee vote this year, and it is a pain in the ass – we have to go to our clerk’s office in the middle of a workday, but of course each of us works 25 miles away in the city, so it will be an asspain.
I know my vote is worthless on the POTUS race, I’m eager to cast a vote against Ron’s boy Rand.
Prescott Cactus
Re-reading Cormac McCarthey’s book about the Trump years, called “The Road”.
Highly recommended gift to the undecided voter.
Kay
@debbie:
So one of the things Ohio Democrats do now is they take a list of questions to the lead elections worker. I call on the phone because I know her. I ask her how she’s prepared, what protections are in place, etc. They use the same list of questions for 88 counties. The idea is if there is litigation or a challenge there’s a record. So if she says (for example) that she based a decision to combine two polling places on fewer voters the election prior and she gets swamped with voters, that answer could be used to get an order from a judge to extend voting hours.
They all know this at the Bd of Elections. It’s a check – it says they’re prepared.
Matt McIrvin
Massachusetts is trying out in-person early voting for the first time this year, but it’s only for 11 days, and I haven’t heard anything about it lately; there has been very little publicity about it, and nothing from my city government. I have no idea where one would go to do it; there may be no locations other than city hall. I suspect many towns may not be prepared for it and are not expecting it to be popular.
OzarkHillbilly
@Keith G: I saw it on the Guardian, but didn’t bother reading the “somebody said somebody heard” bs:
George H W Bush ‘voting for Hillary’, claims member of Kennedy family
rikyrah
Things Black people can’t do without fearing for their lives :
Have a car that breaks down.
#TerrenceCrutcher
Say his name.
Gunned down by the Police while his arms were in the air, next to his broken down car, on the way home from his college courses.
But Colin Kaeperneck though won’t stand for the Anthem written by a slaver. ????
MattF
Via Bruce Bartlett, an academic study, On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit.
JMG
@Matt McIrvin: Check your town or city Website.
Kay
@debbie:
that shouldn’t matter though, that the “head” of the Franklin County BOE is a Republican. The Democrats have to be effective advocates. They start preparing for this in June. They had 5 months to get voting machines. If there’s actual efforts by Republicans to block it, they can file a motion. There’s tons of process available. Ohio has an entire rule book of administrative process for elections and then there’s the code section. There’s TONS of case law, too.
I think what happened is Kerry got younger voters out and the BOE screwed up and didn’t do their job. It’s not like someone was standing in front of them for 5 months refusing a request for additional voting machines. They have to make noise. There are lots of lawyers in Franklin County who do work for the Democratic Party. They don’t lack lawyers. In fact, in Franklin County they’re likely to get a sympathetic judge.
Democrats on the BOE relying on Republicans to protect the vote is just dumb. That’s WHY we have both parties on the bds.
MattF
NYT exec editor says NYT will call out Trump’s lies. This is, actually, a big deal.
debbie
@Kay:
Yes, I remember they extended hours at a few precincts in 2004.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: In my experience, most of the folks sitting on election boards, both DEM and GOP, are invested in free and fair elections. It looks really bad when a polling station runs out of ballots (as recently happened in several GOP dominant areas of STL county) or when irregularities in the handling of absentee ballots causes an election to be overturned (as recently happened in STL’s 78th state district).
Politicians on the other hand, are invested in getting elected by any means possible.
Kay
@debbie:
I think liberal conspiracy theories about elections harms the credibility of voting rights advocates. When Republicans started pushing state law to restrict voting, one of the things we had to fight was “oh, this is partisan and you’re all conspiracy theorists”. It took 12 years for media to take it seriously. Bush won in ’04. He got his religious voters out with the same sex marriage nonsense he deliberately pulled. The state GOP crowed about it after the election. They were thrilled they won on rank bigotry. They thought it was genius.
delk
@rikyrah: Good morning and thanks. During the primaries this year I was really shocked at how empty it was at the election building until I realized I was in the suburban Cook County line. The Chicago line was a little longer, but it moved without any waiting.
debbie
@Kay:
All right, I’ll take your word for it. Thanks. :)
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
I don’t think “they’re invested in free and fair” so much as it becomes A JOB. They lose the zealousness in that job. It becomes about following nit-picky rules and getting thru it.
They all joke that their favorite outcome isn’t GOP or Dem- it’s “landslide!” A close race means an exhaustive review.
Kay
@debbie:
There will be a contested Presidential vote total in Ohio. It’s just a matter of time. In 2012 I had a moment of panic because Romney wasn’t conceding and I thought “oh, fuck, here we go”. Obama had lawyers out the wazoo, but still. It;ll be a clusterfuck.
Tokyokie
@BlueDWarrior: If the unrelenting shitstorm that was the Shrub’s maladministration wasn’t sufficient to scare folks away from the GOP brand for a couple of generations, I don’t know what will. Instead, the Republican Party has produced a candidate with all of the Shrub’s shortcomings multiplied by a couple of powers of 10. I know that the basic hunan quality necessary for embracing racism is stupidity, but I have to wonder how these folks manage to get through the day without a fatal barbecue accident.
BTW, has anyone noticed that those who said they’d like to have a beer with the Shrub are now saying they prefer Trump because he is an asshole?
Peter H Desmond
here’s a freudian slip that was waiting to happen!
“And it’s also unclear what, exactly, Trump’s plan for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already within our borders is, but deportation was surely on his mind Monday. At one point, he said “deportables” instead of “deplorables” while discussing Clinton’s criticism of many of his supporters.”
i like the idea of contributing to candidates who may win. here in mass., there’s no contest, so i just sent some money elsewhere, via your useful fund.
JMG
T@Kay: Trump will contest this election if he loses 42 states.
gogol's wife
@MattF:
I hope I’m not wrong about this, but I held onto my NYTimes subscription not only for the crosswords, but because I thought they had the capacity to change their ways. I’m hoping, hoping, hoping, that there are signs that they are doing so.
Kay
@debbie:
One of the reasons I hate the Ohio Green Party is they file bogus election challenge issues every year. It’s so blatantly list-building. They do it so they can say “Democrats aren’t protecting the vote” and they get email addresses to build their Party and fundraise. In 2012 they promoted this dumb theory that Romney’s son had some business interest in Ohio voting machines. They were asking for a stay. That would absolutely ruin 5 months of election protection planning by Democrats.
They discredit real voting rights advocates, who are low key, serious lawyers, not internet petition people.
MattF
@gogol’s wife: I agree that the NYT political coverage has been dismal, but there’s more to the NYT than that. E.g., did you know that river otters do a poop dance?
Starfish
@Botsplainer: Most of our ballots are now absentee. There are some large metal ballot boxes at the County Clerk’s office and several other prominent locations in town. These boxes stay at their locations permanently, but they are locked up when an election is not going on. And if you want to send in the envelope by mail, you can do that too.
Kay
@JMG:
Well, he can’t because you have to come close enough to contest. It isn’t just “I demand a recount!” There are rules.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: You put it better.
Peter H Desmond
@Peter H Desmond:
oops, i messed up the formatting.
Peter H Desmond
@gogol’s wife: don’t you have to pay a little extra for the crosswords? i’ve been tempted, i admit.
Peter H Desmond
@MattF: the article you linked to quoted an exciting analogy:
The industry embraced a similarly sudden change in tone during its reporting on the Vietnam War, when a tradition of accepting the US government’s point of view in conflict abroad gave way to an urgent skepticism, and in the throes of the Watergate scandal, when reporters piled on US president Richard Nixon, who ultimately resigned.
Keith G
@gogol’s wife: I understand is that people cancel the Times subscription in order to protest some god-awful political reporting. That said, the Times is one of the best single-sources for information one can lay hands/eyes on. They’re reporting on science, medical, and general health issues is very informative and I very much enjoy their arts and food sections. Cancelled subscriptions might have an impact, but keeping access to the other features is very understandable and rational.
Ohio Mom
Although I think the voting period needs to be more than one single weekday, I am very uncomfortable with voting that starts so far in advance. The debates haven’t even happened yet!
If the purpose of campaigns is to give voters the information they need, then give them the time they need to gather it. I can imagine Trump doing some really stupid things in the coming weeks (and the press finally making that painfully clear) and people who already have voted for him regretting what they did.
There must be a political scientist who has done research on the optimum length of a voting period. It isn’t one day but it isn’t six weeks or whatever it is now in places, either.
magurakurin
@BlueDWarrior:
Ask the Spanish Communist how that worked out for them. After they ratfucked the Republic, Franco went on to rule Spain for 36 years until he slipped into a coma and died. History doesn’t provide many encouraging examples of that strategy.
singfoom
Still dont understand why national elections arent a Federally Mandated Holiday that every employer has to give off. Except that it depresses turnout and incumbents hate turnout. Good Morning everybody.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Did you se the thread last night where John’s “carpenter” told him his floors were shot?
MattF
@Peter H Desmond: Yeah, the crossword is an add-on cost. With the puzzle subscription, you can either solve the puzzle online at the NYT site or download a .puz file and solve it on your computer with a compatible app. There’s also a crossword puzzle archive and various other ‘extra’ puzzles.
Peter H Desmond
@MattF: ooh, getting access to the archive is also tempting.
Bruce K
@MattF: If the NYT thing is true, it’s about half past goddamn time. If the mainstream press had concentrated on the facts instead of the drama, Trump would be facing a McGovern-level shellacking at this point instead of planning to gold-plate the Resolute desk.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I did not read the comments but I did see John say he had decided to replace the flooring on both 1st and 2nd floors. They did not look that bad in the pictures. “Distressed” flooring is a bit fashionable these days. It’s gonna hurt his wallet more than a little if he goes thru with that. That’s a BIG house.
Kay
Republican voters will all capitulate to Trumpism, so just bake that in for swing states:
These are the same lawmakers and voters who went along with demonizing gay people in 2004 to get Bush’s religious base out. They deny it now, but they crowed about it at the time- were proud of it.
The GOP is Trump’s Party now. They’re all falling in line, like I knew they would. He won’t get any real opposition if he gets to DC either- they’ll all fall in line just like they did with Bush.
They’ll lie after this is over.
Fair Economist
@Keith G:
It’s on Politico. Normally I’d consider this fluff, but HW’s spokesperson sent a pointed email in response:
I think that’s a confirming non-confirmation.
MattF
@Fair Economist: So, GWB is the only living ex-President who, conceivably, might not be voting for Hilz. I wouldn’t be surprised if rumors about that start to circulate in the not-so-distant future. Just as long as Cheney doesn’t vote for her. I’d have a problem with that.
debit
@raven: In the same vein, I have a closed damper somewhere in my ductwork so that two rooms plus the upstairs don’t get airflow. Problem is, the basement is finished and I don’t know where. Had three separate HVAC guys tell me, “Well, the only solution is to get a mini split system. It’ll only cost you 5 or 6 grand.” Dude! It’s a closed damper! Run a camera through the vents and find it and then bash it open! But no, they can’t, it’s can’t be that simple, it’s just too hard, they don’t have a camera (too expensive), they would have to rip down the ceiling, etc. I went and bought a camera myself, will find and fix it myself. Jerkwads.
Kay
I saw the Wrigley company (they make Skittles) distanced themselves from the Trump brand.
Ideally we won’t just beat Trump. We’ll destroy that brand. We know Ailes will hire the Trumps, but no one else will.
People here say the first generation makes the money, the second generation spends it, and the third generation kills the business. It’s true A LOT.
JPL
@Kay: Skittles are off my list this year, when I purchase Halloween candy.
Gin & Tonic
@OzarkHillbilly:
No shit. You’re looking at north of $10/s.f., at least based on what I’ve had done.
Dadadadadadada
@craigie: Well, IF the goal is to destroy democracy, I’d be hard pressed to think of any better man for the job than Trump.
JPL
@Peter H Desmond: I have Sunday delivery and it costs me $19.95 a year to access all the puzzles.
Dadadadadadada
@debbie: Vote anyway. If he wants to suppress your vote, make him do the work of throwing it in the trash!
Kay
How embarrassing for cable news that they so kiss Trump’s ass. For God’s sake. How much do we have to pay these people to go away? This mutually beneficial business transaction they’re secretly conducting with the fascist is disgusting.
Not credible. On anything. We’ll still be stuck with all these clowns after this is over, right? No accountability at all, as usual? Multi-millionaires and they’re happily kissing this fraud’s ass.
geg6
@Fair Economist:
Barbara has said as much months ago. She despises Trump and has no patience for women who vote for him. Kinda funny.
Kay
@JPL:
Oh, don’t do that! Their statement was great. Just perfect. There’s no reason to boycott a successful business just because a Trump smeared shit all over it. They have no control over unemployed NYC rich kids.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I still believe Trump is going to lose, and lose more resoundingly than McCain lost to Obama. Could be wishful thinking on my part; we’ll see in 49 days. But I really do want it to be a big loss, and not just because I relish the thought of the entire Trump clan’s humiliation (though I do — ardently!) but because that’s the only way the institutional failures you’ve mentioned will ever be addressed. If Trump loses like a regular old Republican — an outcome that most Democrats now seem to regard as optimistic — Trumpism will be normalized. That possibility horrifies me as much as Trump himself.
Dadadadadadada
@BlueDWarrior: It astonishes me that those people don’t seem to remember the eight-year reign of error that immediately preceded the current President. How is THAT not the “cataclysmic conservative regime that would stain the entire movement for two generations”?
Granted, a whole lot of Bernfeelers are literally too young to remember (2001-2009 is a looooong time ago if you’re 18-22 now), but come on, people! The thing you’re wishing for already happened!
Peter H Desmond
@JPL: that’s quite reasonable!
Frankensteinbeck
@OzarkHillbilly:
That article contains cute trivia and philosophy. Unfortunately, the scientist mainly quoted believes in Feng Shui, which is about as scientifically rigorous as anything else offered in the article. Descriptions of rats and humans being unusually greedy or violent are based solely on our prejudices on ourselves, not actual scientific observation of other animals. There is nothing special about the war between humans and rats, either in success rate or ferocity. Using a sterilization agent as a poison for short lived, fast breeding pests is not new, and has no advantages beyond humaneness over any other poison. I do like humaneness, but there’s a big risk of developed resistance. We’ll see.
@MattF:
Also cute, and applies to the previous article.
JMG
@Betty Cracker: For the Republican Party, today’s floor is tomorrow’s ceiling. Trumpism is here to stay no matter what the outcome. I admire your optimism, but this is a 50-50 race now, and will IMO stay that way to the end.
wuzzat
@Matt McIrvin: My town finally posted information on the town website. I’m pretty sure I’m going to wait until next time to try it out, because I know from the board meeting minutes that they’re under prepared logistically for early voting in what’s shaping up to be a 2008-level high turnout election. It’s a small town. The Board means well, but will not be dazzling anyone with their efficiency or competence any time soon, and I’d just as soon my ballot doesn’t wind up lost in a “To Do” stack on the clerk’s desk.
JPL
@Kay: It was, however Jr. Trump’s tweet caused such stomach distress, I’m not sure I can look at them. I have time to get over it though.
rikyrah
Uh huh
Uh huh
Mike Pence Wants to Be Just Like Dick Cheney
by Nancy LeTourneau
September 19, 2016 4:23 PM
To most political observers, VP Dick Cheney was pretty much in charge during the Bush administration – at least until 2006 when Poppy Bush’s crew staged a bit of a takeover. That’s one of the reasons why this statement from Mike Pence over the weekend was so significant.
GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said his role model for the number two spot is the last Republican to hold the job — Dick Cheney.
“I frankly hold Dick Cheney in really high regard in his role as vice president and as an American,” Pence said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Pence said that, like Cheney, he hoped to be “a very active vice president.”
As Steve Benen notes, it is helpful to keep in mind that “Cheney left office with a 13% approval rating – roughly half the support Richard Nixon enjoyed at the height of Watergate.” So it’s definitely not Cheney’s appeal that Pence wants to replicate.
To understand what is going on here it is helpful to go back to how Paul Manafort described what Trump sees as the role of president.
Josh Voorhees breaks that one down.
Dadadadadadada
@JMG: He’ll drop the mask, reveal that the whole thing was a prank, and insist to know how it was possible for such a deliberately awful candidate to win 8 whole American states. ;-)
ETA: You’re the one who lives in Lexington, right? My old stomping grounds.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
This is good:
The thing to remember about Republicans is, though, they are really bankrupt. We’re not making that up. The weeping and wailing we saw after 2012 will be nothing compared to a Trump loss of any magnitude. They sold everything they own for this guy. They went all in.
Frankensteinbeck
@JPL:
As @Kay notes, the response by Skittles really was classy and you shouldn’t blame them for Trump being an ass. They said refugees are people, candy is not people, they don’t approve of the metaphor, and they didn’t want to make this even look like marketing so they weren’t saying anything else. It was about two lines and I’m damn near quoting. I approved strongly.
Dadadadadadada
@MattF: Given his appearance on JEB’s campaign trail and at that police funeral, and the quality of his paintings, I would estimate that GWB has been stoned out of his gourd every single day since January 2009 (or possibly even earlier), and thinks he’s back in 1975.
hovercraft
@MattF:
Nicolle Wallace said that she spoke to the clan a few weeks ago, and they’ve decided none of them are going to endorse, they will each simply vote their conscience. Which I take to mean the y will vote for Hillary but won’t say so publicly because god help us they want to maintain good relations for the likes of George P Bush (who did endorse Trump), when he runs for president.
EDIT: I’m pretty sure the Cheneys have already endorsed Trump. Military industrial complex, duh.
BlueDWarrior
@magurakurin: Well, what it speaks to that some liberals believe that there is some way to instituationally entrench liberalism to a point where it almost runs by itself.
And i believe there is no way to do that, because a liberal system is a dynamic one, and that inherent dynamism means it will take constant education, upkeep, and maintenance. It’s not something you can set and forget like conservatism (which is mostly about perpetuating whatever you feel is most optimal, regardless of extenuating circumstances).
And that is what I think people need to be broken out of on the left – there is no magical set of conditions that will render conservative thought moot or unviable, because of the nature of how we are defining these things. There will always be people who want to keep things ‘the same’, and people who always want it to ‘change’. These fights and struggles will continue until the last of human society falls away into the dustbin of history, so gird yourself for a fight that will last until the last breath you draw, and likely well beyond that.
Kay
I know I seem obsessed with him, but Jake Tapper pushed this. It is truly alarming how many bullshit “scandals” can be traced directly to Jake Tapper.
He’s bad at his job. His Benghazi hysteria should have discredited him, especially because the entire media corps followed him off a cliff. All Benghazi bullshit leads directly back to him. He never had anything, yet he promoted it like he had uncovered something. He’s kind of a paranoid lunatic. He sees conspiracies that aren’t there.
OzarkHillbilly
@Frankensteinbeck:
Ever notice how many people are willing to believe the most clap trap nonsense when they get out of their field of expertise? It’s like a universal principle applied to the entire human race. That’s why I generally accept a physicists explanation of quantum physics, a chemist’s explanation’s of organic chemistry, and a biologist’s explanation of reproductive biology.
Betty Cracker
@Frankensteinbeck: I usually load up on Skittles for Halloween handouts because I don’t like them and am thus not tempted to raid the bowl as I would if it were something chocolatey and delish like M&Ms or Kit-Kats. Mmmmm, Kit-Kats!
BlueDWarrior
@OzarkHillbilly: That’s just how the brain works, it’s looking for a pattern that fits, not necessarily the one that is most correct.
Immanentize
The Skittles thing is so racist and white supremacist I can’t stand it — why Skittles? Why not M&Ms? Why not Ronald Reagan Jelly Beans? Why Skittles?
Trayvon.
artem1s
@debbie:
You can be pretty sure absentees get counted in Ohio. too many seniors in rural and suburban areas depend on it for the GOP to suppress that vote. I suppose they could have an operative at each county office shredding the Dem votes, but that would be pretty hard to hide. Husted will come up with some egregious last minute way to discourage urban participation probably. But this recent business of Rinsed Pubics trying to strong arm Kasich into endorsing Trump is very interesting. I think it has more to do with their bad ground game in Ohio. Maybe Kasich is refusing to spend any money or capital for the Presidential race? who knows. But weirdly, voter suppression is not going to help Kasich or Trump much this year because there are so many GOP and Independents that may swing to Johnson or even Hillary, they can’t easily target who they want to stay away. And they have the added problem of turning away Independents or women who won’t vote for Trump but they need them to vote for Portman. They’ve got some interesting demographic problems here in NE OH.
BlueDWarrior
@Immanentize: Ahh but don’t you dare call them racist, or even the milder ‘racially insensitive’.
As much as they bang on about political correctness, they sure want to reserve the right to talk about non-white people in any fashion, and prevent anyone from talking about them at all.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: That’s why I purchase them at Halloween. Since I’ve been shamed, I might have to do so this year, also. I’m just glad he did show a bowl of peanuts, almonds or cashews.
Betty Cracker
@Immanentize: I said in an earlier thread that sometimes I suspect Trump Jr. is an actual neo-Nazi rather than a garden-variety fascist bigot (!) like Trump Sr. There have been too many white nationalist signals from him than mere coincidence explains: the Holocaust reference, the “Pepe” meme on his Instagram and Twitter feeds, the “accidental” appearance on a radio show with an avowed white nationalist. Doesn’t everyone under 40 who uses social media know the “Pepe” meme?
hovercraft
@Kay:
The thing that put me off Tapper was his obsession with Obama smoking, the constant speculation, he said he quit, did he really quit, is he sneaking cigarettes, did he smell of cigarettes? It was bizarre.
OzarkHillbilly
@BlueDWarrior: And I am no more immune to that urge than anyone else.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Marshawn Lynch too.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Kay:
Are you sure you’re thinking of Jake Tapper pushing birtherism? I don’t remember that, so I started googling and came up with this quote from a GMA transcript about Obama’s sister book tour from 2012:
Are you thinking of Chuck Todd?
MattF
@Betty Cracker: This just in.
Kay
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
He didn’t push birtherism. He pushed the idea that the “former McClatchy bureau chief” who was pushing the idea that Clinton started birtherism was this unimpeachable source.
So he pushed the SECOND conspiracy theory- that Clinton started birtherism :)
There should be some accountability on Benghazi, too. Rice and Powell said it was a “stupid witch hunt”. I thought it was a stupid witch hunt too. Why did they all push a stupid witch hunt? I thought we were paying these people millions of dollars for all their valuable “access”?
ChrisGrrr
@MattF: Too late.
I first voted in 1980. Not smart, in hindsight, but I trusted what the “Big 3” networks agreed upon, in their reporting.
In a comment here I saw someone use the word “corrupt.” That has stuck with me, and it’s more likely than “stupid.” I certainly don’t use it to denigrate every reporter or editor. There is top-management / systemic corruption in every “major” American network and web enterprise seeking to become “major.”
I learned to include British and Canadian networks in my survey, before forming a conclusion… but I have never been so done with US national media. They’ve lost me for good – a No Party Affiliation guy who’s worked hard on Obama’s and other D campaigns – and I’m starting to draft the letters these hideous media machines are going to receive from me.
Done.
geg6
@Kay:
Getting back to that 50% mark is pretty significant. I feel a bit better about things today.
JPL
Harry Reid is on the Senate floor, slamming Trump’s business record. link
Kay
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
The funniest part of this whole cycle is they so pushed the Hillary is a criminal for email management infractions and every single email I see exonerates Clinton.
They should release all their emails, all the time. They’re like the antidote to bullshit. It would have been nice for the public to know that Powell and Rice considered the 2 year Benghazi obsession to be a “stupid witch hunt”. Did they all know that when they were pushing it?
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: OHB, Is there some hatred of Lynch in the “white is right” world too? I mean, beyond the obvious racial animus? I am sorry I haven’t followed that more closely.
Kay
This is a really good question:
They vetted the wrong candidate and now they’re focusing on the wrong group of voters.
I don’t know what is says about them but it says something :)
germy
@Betty Cracker:
I wonder if he’s pissed off about a Jewish guy banging his sister.
Immanentize
@Kay: I hope it says, “Hillary wins!”
Ruckus
@craigie:
They don’t want him to destroy their democracy, they want him to destroy yours.
They are just too stupid to understand that it will destroy their democracy as well.
SFAW
@Immanentize:
It’s because he blew it on Seattle’s last play of the 2015 Super Bowl, calling for a pass instead of running it himself.
Frankensteinbeck
@Kay:
Polls have been assuming that minority voting will drop, and can’t take into account GOTV. It will be an interesting election indeed.
@Kay:
Never underestimate the con artist’s ability to fall for their own con, or the zealot’s ability to find a grift while pushing their dogma. I’m sure most of them believed that there really was guilt in there somewhere to find even while they knew it was a partisan witch hunt. And that includes the media. Maybe they keep plugging at emailgate because they, themselves, look at the evidence that clearly says there wasn’t pay for play and say ‘come on, there had to be pay for play, it’s obvious.’
Gelfling 545
@Keith G: Steve Benen had it this morning. I consider him probably the most level-headed.
James E Powell
@Dadadadadadada:
I’d suggest a two reasons. First, the press/media and more than half the country made a huge emotional investment in Bush because of 9/11. They bought into and promoted him as Our Churchill, the Great War Leader. Neither the press/media nor the more than half the country can very easily admit that they were wrong & stupid. Second, the right-wingers repackaged themselves as the Tea Party and the entire press/media accepted and promoted this rebranding. And I think the first helped motivate the second.
James E Powell
@Kay:
But, if memory serves, the county board votes 2-2, the Sec’y of State breaks the tie, yes?
redshirt
@Tokyokie:
Some of them revel in it.
I drive by this gun store frequently and of course they have a sign out front where they post their political insights. The day after the Orlando shooting they had a sale on AR-15s and offered free cleanings to anyone who brought one in; this past Monday they had a “We’re a Trump deplorable” message up.
They identify with hate and evil, and yet I guarantee you they see themselves as “The Good Guys”.
It’s amazing and bit frightening, the dissonance.
Immanentize
@SFAW: Thanks — As you can tell, not an avid football fan.
Dadadadadadada
@Immanentize: Lynch is widely hated (by white people) because he is often impatient with reporters (who are usually white), being a very tough interview and pulling stunts like answering every question with “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”
He’s understandably suspicious of reporters, because he’s a shy person to begin with, and reporters basically ruined his life back in college. And yet he’s blessed with enough talent to have a very high-profile job where constant press accessibility is literally in his contracts.
Come to think of it, Beast Mode and HRC are kind of the same person in this respect.
But it’s mostly racial, I think. White athletes who treat the media in similar ways are lauded as “authentic,” but black ones are derided as “disrespectful.”
Dadadadadadada
@Immanentize: Then you should know that SFAW’s reply was sarcastic. The last-play debacle was not Lynch’s fault; it was the (white) coach’s inexplicable decision to not put the ball in Lynch’s hands that sunk Seattle.
Aleta
Rats never get credit for their contributions to research. There should be at least one statue put up to them acknowledging this.
Also, how far back in time has “rats!” been a swear word in English? Are there animal swear words in other languages? Is rats the only animal swear word in English? ( as opposed to simply negative words like buggy, bat*hit, piggy, insect )
Matt McIrvin
@JMG:
I did–for the longest time there was nothing there. They did finally put up a notice, though: looks like the only regular location will be the basement of City Hall (that’s where the RMV office is, so people at least ought to be able to find it), though they’ve got another site opening at a fire station for one Saturday.
It’s a start, I guess.
Matt McIrvin
@BlueDWarrior:
Look at northern Europe, which US liberals imagine as a quasi-socialist wonderland: they’re in the process of giving themselves over to crackpot far-rightists just like we are because they’re afraid of immigrants. The welfare state was great as long as it was mostly in the tribe. This is almost impossible to extirpate; you have to keep pushing forever.