I’ve heard numerous people describe this debate as a political Super Bowl and that it will draw Super Bowl like ratings. So fine. Let’s make a football analogy.
If this debate/election was the Super Bowl, the Democrats would be sending the New England Patriots, coached by Bill Belichick. He’s a total asshole to them as he hates the media, he does some ethically questionable shit from time to time, everyone hates him and his team, but he is impeccably prepared, knows the system and the game in and out, always gets the most out of his players, makes the most of bad situations (like having Tom Brady benched for four games and still going 3-0), and they generally just succeed at whatever they do.
The Republicans would be sending this guy:
Or this guy:
And this is not hyperbole, which is terrifying.
gogol's wife
You’re being flattering to Trump and unflattering to Clinton.
JPL
This is what MSNBC stated, one of these things is not like the other.
RaflW
I’m gonna be a jackhole and remind folks that football causes lots of brain injuries. So does voting for Trump.
raven
And the same whiny people would just have to tell us “I’m not going to watch it”. Who cares?
some guy
when Belichek starts Helen Keller at QB for their next win you’llbe sorry!
JMG
@raven: It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that nothing will happen that will change MY mind, so why watch? Commenters here will keep me posted. The audience will make up their own minds (almost all already made up). Watching TV is a passive action that will not help my candidate. She can’t hear me cheer or boo.
Villago Delenda Est
@JPL: MSNBC: where the campaign to cleanse the Village starts.
Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class
I kind of appreciate the Jets fan. He’s an attendee who is not dissimilar from myself.
Villago Delenda Est
@some guy: Make it a challenge. Make it Tim Tebow.
Citizen_X
Hammered Eagles guy is in better shape than Trump.
Rommie
Ew, I have to think nicely about Belichick? Damn you Trump, damn you!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Bill never says the media is unfair, and he holds them in utter contempt, but they don’t ask Bill to smile, do they?
BR
Who wants to sign up for volunteering? No, I’m not going to stop asking. Sad!
gogol's wife
@BR:
don’t stop asking, you’re great.
Betty Cracker
@Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: I’ve sat near assholes like that before, and they mar the experience for just about everyone around them. I’ve always wanted to say, “Sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up, dickhead!” But then the asshole would probably throw a beer at me, and then my husband would feel obligated to beat the shit out of him, and then they’d both get arrested, and I’d have to miss the fourth quarter while bailing my husband out. So it’s not worth it. I hope you’re kidding about being “not dissimilar” to that giant prick. Don’t be that fucking guy.
JPL
@BR: The only events near me are a phone banking and marching in the Gay Pride parade. Neither of which I’m suitable for, but I’ll keep checking.
Keep up the good work!
Wag
I could have sworn that third video was of Chris Christie.
The Dangerman
Let’s see … the Patriots cheat to win … the Orangeskin(s) cheat to win …. I can see the comparison.
Mnemosyne
@BR:
Did I mention that the Hillary campaign made me stay at Circus Circus? I hope you people appreciate the sacrifice I’m making for you. ?
If the giant neon clown on the sign comes to life in the middle of the night and eats me, we’ll all know who’s to blame.
BR
@JPL:
You might show up for the phone banking anyway. There are actually many different tasks that need doing at a phone bank, not all of which are calling people on the phone. At each phone bank I’ve been to, at least 2-3 people are doing data entry, going around and making sure everyone else has all the info / resources they need, etc. That’s a way to help even without making calls.
BR
@Mnemosyne:
I’m doing the one-day trip, so no overnight at Circus Circus for me.
O. Felix Culpa
@BR: Bringing snacks to phone banks is also appreciated.
ETA: To share with and support the phone bankers, that is. Not just for yourself, in case my meaning wasn’t clear. :)
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@The Dangerman:
GTFO
Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class
@Betty Cracker:
Nah – I’ve felt like it, though.
I will say, though, your imagined scenario involving a fight and ass kicking would be entertaining to the drama afficianados seated in your vicinity, heh….
You should have seen the Steve Kragthorpe years at Louisville, though. Those were some dark fucking times – there was quite a lot of shouting at the coach and field.
Stacy
The young guy sitting to the left of the Jets screamer has a Canada Goose jacket on which costs like a $1000. Not sure he’d want beer spilled on it.
call_me_ishmael
@Wag: Eagles fan looks like the bastard lovechild of Christie and Mike Huckabee. Not a good look.
Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class
@call_me_ishmael:
Fat and shirtless with a squeaky voice is kind of a good look if a guy wants to go viral.
Mnemosyne
@BR:
I only have the one weekend available for traveling, so I thought I’d better maximize my time.
Mnemosyne
Also, too, I did the Pottermore “find your Patronus” thing and got an osprey, so I guess that means I have to be a Seahawks fan now. I like Richard Sherman, so I’m not too unhappy.
Shell
Ugh, MSNBC just repeated a little segment where the reporter out in Ohio was interviewing what they call ‘Wal-Mart Moms’ in the parking lot.. Gotta say, none of them came across as rather bright and, yeah, most were voting for Trump.
Calouste
via TPM
Kay
It’s funny, because I have noticed that with the exception of hurting children, nothing makes prosecutors and judges madder where I live than ripping off elderly people. They hammer defendants who defraud old people. It’s one of those crimes that inspires people to strut around outraged and seek not just punishing the defendant, but publicly humiliating them. Next to child abuse, this is the lowest of the low.
Yet this guy and his family are national celebrities. Incredible. It’s just a complete collapse of any kind of standards. A race to the bottom. They’re just ordinary low-lifes, this family. If they didn’t own high value properties they’d be in a county jail on their way to prison.
Trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
SF fans at the office are vewwy, vewwy quiet today. Hard to discern why.
guachi
Something positive has to happen soon. Clinton has been deteriorating in the polls for two months and we have six weeks left until the election.
America is really full of some stupid, stupid people.
Aleta
Die hard fan:
“ACLU ! ACLU !
Major Major Major Major
Reposting an email I got from the nation’s largest NPR affiliate.
goblue72
I hope your analogy is true. Because after 60 minutes when the whistle blows, Bill Belichick is usually wearing the skin of his enemies.
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major:
donnah
John Oliver has a great comparison of scandals on both sides. It’s great. I saw it at Crooks and Liars today.
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: pretty much. Shame that happened.
guachi
Are there enough non-white people in America to save us from Donald Trump?
evodevo
@RaflW: I think voting for the orange ahole is the RESULT of brain damage, not the cause lol
Thoroughly Pizzled
@Mnemosyne: Ew, bad idea. Seattle fans are possibly worse than Boston fans.
Doug R
I’d say Hills is more like Pete Carroll and the Seahawks. Over 60 but with great energy and a smart quick team. Over scrutinized by the refs but still willing to take advantage of a lucky break.
mayyouliveininterestingtimes
Belichick is an evil genius, Trump is an evil… idiot. I’d hate to have to choose between the two.
Lizzy L
@Major Major Major Major: Ewww. Slightly better vocabulary than Fox News, otherwise no diff. They might as well be talking about mud-wrestling. WTF, NPR?
Doug R
@Thoroughly Pizzled: Seattle fans wait for the light to change. Boston fans…..
jl
The Trump quote on climate change gives Trump too much credit.
Global warming is a hoax, perpetrated by the Chinese!
Why is John Cole objectively pro-Trump?
JPL
Trump thrives on audience approval. If the rules are adhered to, that won’t happen tonight I expect him to be sullen and repeat a word salad. In other words, he’ll win.
goblue72
@guachi: We will all find out in 43 days.
catclub
@guachi: Yes. If enough vote.
Yutsano
@Mnemosyne:
Welcome to the flock!
gene108
@Wag:
Christie’s a lifelong Cowboy’s fan*…should’ve tipped of NJ voters about his character….but nooooo “he tells it like it is”….I don’t get people sometimes…
* Not native to NJ, but moved here close to 20 years ago. There’s a contingent of folks about Christie’s age, who never went to Texas, but are Cowboy’s fans because in the 1970’s both the Giants (Northern New Jersey’s team) and the Eagles (Southern New Jersey’s team) sucked and the Cowboys were riding high. Basically front running pansies.
RaflW
@BR: You can also buy/make/deliver snacks to phone banks.
Or to gay pride parade marchers.
Or weekday office volunteers/staff.
Etc.
Sorry, @O. Felix Culpa, I coulda read one more post before commenting!
Major Major Major Major
@Lizzy L: and not just any NPR station, this is basically their flagship.
goblue72
@Doug R: …win.
RaflW
BTW, for those of us freaking out about the terrible cable TeeVee nooooz bullshit:
Outlets like @CNN have utterly embarrassed themselves this cycle (Lewandowski is the tip of the shit-covered iceberg). Folks are turning their idiot boxes off and not coming back.
Anoniminous
Looking at the baseline numbers this election has been stable since the conventions ended. Clinton is keeping the Obama coalition together and improving the 2012 +11 take of women voters to +15 with women voters.
The Infotainment Mediums cannot report this since HORSE! RACE! is driving up the clicks and eyeballs and thus the advertising revenues.
Lizzy L
@JPL: Digby has a good post up on Trump’s word salads. I agree with you, he’s going to do that, and it’s going to make no sense. The debate is 90 minutes. If Trump speaks for 45 minutes, and most of what he says is gibberish, even if he says it is a normal conversational tone and doesn’t call his opponent Crooked Hillary, his lack of knowledge will be very very clear. “His” voters won’t care. But the more he exposes his ignorance of policy, government, history, diplomacy, the military, the Constitution — everything — the harder it will be for people who are not “his voters” to decide yeah, they want to vote for him.
At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. We’ll see.
‘Scuse me, gotta make 5 more calls to Illinois.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Bloomberg TV is going to fact check the debate in real time. Good for them.
piratedan
@guachi: maybe this will help:
Two new national polls out:
NBC: Clinton +7 two-way, +5 four-way
Monmouth: Clinton +4
Kay
Clinton’s voter protection people in Ohio are very good. They’re paid and then there’s volunteer lawyers. In 2012 the lead came from a Lefty lawyer group and I liked her too.
It’s good that Democrats do this now. It’s important for people to know that win or lose Democrats are interested in their voting rights, that it isn’t purely political self-interest and that we’re willing to pay serious people who know what they’re doing. It’s a good investment of campaign funds.
Anoniminous
@RaflW:
The Infotainment Mediums are following the Tush Limpblah scenario straight into irrelevance.
Major Major Major Major
@piratedan: DOOOOM
@Kay: DOOOOOOM!
Gordon, the Big Express Engine
I live about 12 blocks from the shooting location in Houston. Local news now reporting guy was dressed in full nazi uniform and had nazi gear in his condo…
Click 2 Houston local news
Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap
@piratedan: But that destroys the NR narrative. What do we do now?
Baud
@RaflW: I’m not yet sure that the youngs aren’t getting their wrong information from other sources. We’ll find out soon enough.
@piratedan: I stopped paying attention to polls in 2012. It served me well then, and I think this year validates my decision.
Major Major Major Major
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap: DOOOMED!
Peter
@Lizzy L: I really hope that at least once, Clinton asks him to go back and try again because his sentence didn’t make any goddamn sense.
Anoniminous
@piratedan:
The ABC poll that came out over the weekend had to jack-up white voters to 2008 numbers – 74% of all voters – to get the HORSE! RACE! narrative for the talking heads to talk up. Whites are expected to be ~69/70% of all voters this year as the demographic decline continues.
Baud
@Kay:
As much as we all don’t like Citizens United, I’m now concerned that without outside funding, we’ll be even more at the mercy of the media. Not sure what the answer is.
Botsplainer
@RaflW:
The only thing I watch on CNN anymore is Bourdain. Otherwise, I avoid it. Don’t watch MSNBC but about once a quarter when big news is up, and no national Fox at all.
I mostly Netflix.
Jeffro
Trump could easily be any one of several Savage Dragon villains: there’s Dung, who shoots crap everywhere; Cesspool, who does the same thing only with pus; and then of course there’s Brainiape (although it’d probably have to be Orange Brainiape)…the gorilla with the transplanted brain of Adolf Hitler.
Baud
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:
Folks here will probably continue to engage him.
Botsplainer
@Baud:
Not unless they start running ads on my streaming video. Something else blissful – I’m not seeing political ads on FX, Discovery or AMC.
Discovery is my “Naked and Afraid” fix.
JPL
@Gordon, the Big Express Engine: Nothing to see, he was mentally ill.
Gravenstone
O/T but could someone please kill that fucking autoplay plug in ad? Its constant attempts to reload is absolutely destroying site performance on Chrome/Win7 Ent. At least on my home PC, AdBlock stops it.
Baud
@Gordon, the Big Express Engine:
This morning I heard it was a black dude. One confused black dude apparently.
Hoodie
@Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: It’s one thing to bitch about dark times at your alma mater, but this is professional football. This moron has been buying overpriced seats and horse piss for 30 years, and he’s bitching. He could go to a Giants game. Sounds like a typical Trump voter to me.
Kenneth Kohl
@some guy: yeah, sure, against the Bills.. why not.
Major Major Major Major
@Peter: “I yield the remainder of my time to Mr. Trump so he can try to use a grammatically correct sentence this time.”
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: How about a simple “WTF?”
catclub
@JPL: aka white nationalist
Baud
@Botsplainer: It was nice escaping from U.S. politics for a while. I think BJ is the only thing keeping me in the game at this point.
Botsplainer
@Baud:
He was a lawyer of Indian descent named Nathan Desai. Very generic guy. He’d been having issues with his former partner, clients and roofers.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Anoniminous:
The irresponsible media keep doing this, fueling white resentment, paranoia, conspiracy theories and inchoate fear and rage about the changing country. Hillary is doing better with college educated whites and white women than Trump is, and he’s not making it up with other demographics, who are growing 2% or more of the electorate every presidential cycle.
Trollhattan
@Gordon, the Big Express Engine:
Jesus, are you fvcking kidding me?
The asshole shooter last weekend in Washington state has a notable history of aggressive boorishness with women and a lengthy arrest record. No goose-stepping or invocations of Allah, to my knowledge.
It must be Day of the Locust time.
Kenneth Kohl
@JMG: so, this is like a sporting event, eh?
Renie
I bet that Jets fan didn’t stand for the Nat’l Anthem and if he did he talked through the whole thing. Why does he hates the Jets & America?
Baud
@Botsplainer: As an American, I’m proud of our diversity of crazy people.
JPL
@Trollhattan: What we need are more guns.
Lyrebird
@JPL: Won’t phone bank, but will (and do) bring food to those who will!
Kay
@Baud:
I don’t know either. I’m kind of out of ideas with Trump, frankly. It’s unlike any campaign I’ve seen before. I feel as if the Clinton people are getting a bit of a bum rap because there’s no template. Trump to me is like an ordinary criminal con man. The only reason he’s unmanageable is because of his celebrity.
schrodinger's cat
@Botsplainer: Some Indian crackpots are fans of the man with the funny mustache, go figure.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I wish that they would be more diverse in expressing that craziness. Why shooting? Why not shuffling around wearing empty Kleenex boxes for slippers and storing their urine in jars – like people used do when the USA was still great?
gene108
@RaflW:
My niece and nephew are 9 and 11 (almost 12) respectively, and they rarely watch anything broadcast. Almost everything they watch seems to be streamed or DVR’ed or maybe on DVD.
Networks know their days are numbered, and seem to have decided the best bet is to milk the older folks, who grew up watching things as they were broadcast for as along as possible, rather than figuring out how to adjust themselves to the new reality of how people view content.
some guy
@Kenneth Kohl:
“Her vision is just what we need to read the Bill’s defense” Belichek said of Keller, adding that her accuracy on passing is not a concern for the Patriots.
Kenneth Kohl
@Betty Cracker: Good to her that your husband would defend your honor.. but to miss the 4th qtr?? Your love is limitless, BC
Kay
@Baud:
I think in a way that’s why I’m so offended. That’s the only word for it. Offended. It isn’t sophisticated or smart to tell huge lies every 4 and a half minutes or whatever that stat is. To me it’s in the category of “dumb con”. I know people who sell rip-off replacement window contracts who are slicker. I feel like if Trump owned a chain of diners and was from Alabama this con wouldn’t have worked- he gets some credibility with fancy people from his NYC connection and the luxury properties. I feel like they’re shallow suckers for allowing him to do that- not his voters- media and pundits. I think it’s part of the reason Bloomberg holds Trump in such contempt.
Major Major Major Major
Just absentmindedly flipped to Salon and started an article about how Trump will win by Chauncey whoever, because reasons. Quit when they started talking about how this is unlike when Biden had to be polite debating Palin in 2012. Literally saw the ‘2012’ and immediately closed my browser.
Baud
@Kay: I agree. I know we’re supposed to be all savvy and condescending, but I have come to respect what we ask our political leaders to put up with.
JPL
@Lyrebird: I’ve done phone banking in the past, but the difference this time, is my patience is worn thin. Sticking to a script would probably not happen.
I’ll find out if they need help in other ways.
raven
A Nazi lawyer!
Baud
@Kay:
Isn’t that Trump’s whole shtick: offensiveness is power. His people feed off of that stuff.
Omnes Omnibus
@JPL: Yeah, I would not be able to phone bank for that reason. I could probably stick to the script, but I probably would not be able to keep frustration and exasperation out of my voice.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I blame Obama.
Baud
@JPL:
@Omnes Omnibus:
Ditto. I can barely hold it together here.
schrodinger's cat
@Baud: How was your trip?
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Actually, kicking the electrons out of the some of the trolls around here helps keep me from actually shouting “you are a fucking idiot” at people I talk to in meat space.
raven
An Indian Nazi Lawyer!
Baud
@schrodinger’s cat: Too short.
@raven: I kind of hope he was gay too.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus: Interesting. I’d be tempted to try that, but I really hate engaging with the trolls.
Citizen_X
@Gordon, the Big Express Engine: “a few weeks ago, the suspect brandished an assault-style weapon at roofers in the complex;” “one of whom called police and said he’d been threatened with a gun; no arrests were made because the gun wasn’t pointed at the roofer.” Link.
Well, at least he didn’t have his precious 2nd Amendment right infringed!
raven
@Baud: There is still time but one of his Yelp client/reviewers said he hit her up! Switch hitter may be the best we can hope for.
randy khan
For those looking for good news this afternoon:
48-38 poll in Virginia
raven
@randy khan: dead link
catclub
@Kay:
Bernie Madoff, but MUCH louder.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I can’t call my mom an idiot when she sees something on CNN and worries about it. I can call a concern troll a fucking idiot when he cherry-picks the same piece data that CNN is intentionally using to frighten/concern troll my mother.
Amir Khalid
@raven:
Not as surprising as one might think. As commenter schrodinger’s cat has noted in these threads, there is plenty of right-wing, openly fascist political thought in the old country, and some of it has followed the Indian diaspora into other countries.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s disconcerting how so many Dems continue to be credulous even after so many years of false stories about Democrats.
ETA: You are a good son.
Jeffro
Not that it matters one bit, but surprising to look at the issue list and see Trump’s heresy regarding abortion rights (still okay to save the life of the mother and also in cases of r/incest) and also on not cutting Social Security. Subject to change every 15 minutes from now until infinity of course, but still. It’s almost as if those issues aren’t the real motivation for most GOP voters to vote GOP…hmm…
Jeffro
Ack – what got me in moderation? The R-word?
goblue72
@Jeffro: Republican?
raven
@Amir Khalid: Maybe he was just nuts!
raven
@Jeffro: rawyer?
Iowa Old Lady
@Jeffro: I once wound up in moderation for using the word r ea li ty. Apparently it was part of a troll’s name.
Amir Khalid
@raven:
That too is a possibility, and not mutually exclusive with the fascist-from-old-country theory.
gogol's wife
@O. Felix Culpa:
How’s married life?
Mnemosyne
@Botsplainer:
The whole Nazi mythos was that the Aryans from India migrated to Germany and formed the greatest people on earth, so I’m less surprised than I should be that some people from India or of Indian descent would find that bullshit attractive.
p.a.
Bill’s a liar about not doing surgery: he castrates reporters every chance he gets. He’s treated female reporters with contempt, but no dingleberries means no surgery.
About tonight: I think the higher probability is that it will be in tonight’s first debate that tRump has a Saruman-at-the-railing moment, rather than in the later debates.
schrodinger's cat
@raven: RSS the parent organization of the current PM’s party BJP lubs themselves some Hitler.
Pre-independence many freedom fighters (right and left wing) allied themselves with Germany during both the World Wars. British India was a repressive regime with no due process available to Indian subjects, so I don’t blame them for seeking allies where they could find them.
But this idiot doesn’t have any excuse.
gogol's wife
@Omnes Omnibus:
As I said yesterday, I lost it at an after-church meeting and ended up storming out. I just can’t hear about the “write-ins of Grumpy Cat” and the “if you’re not in a swing state it’s okay not to vote for Clinton.” RAGE
Botsplainer
@catclub:
Bernie was at least pleasant to those around him.
I keep likening him to Rodrigo Borgia and Ivanka as Lucrezia. I guess he’d be a good Baron Harkonnen as well.
Botsplainer
@Iowa Old Lady:
Matokochan, Matokochan, Matokochan!!!
The gray adder
@Lizzy L: It’s the same thing that got me off the Bernie train. I liked Bernie, but Hillary knew more, and it showed.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: Is that the reason that Nazis appropriated the Hindu Swastika and flipped its mirror image by 45 degrees?
Brachiator
@RaflW:
People just have more idiot screens to replace the old style idiot boxes. I hear more younger people brag about how they don’t watch the news or read newspapers. But they depend on their friends and social media to provide them with the latest fun info.
And someday soon, with VR they will be able to totally surround themselves with useless,but entertaining fun.
But I don’t blame technology. I remember a few years ago the boyfriend of one of my staff proudly noted that he had graduated high school and college without ever having read a novel. But he considered himself to be smart and well-rounded.
randy khan
@raven:
One more try:
48-38 poll in VA
schrodinger's cat
@Brachiator: What is VR?
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
IIRC, yes.
? Martin
What passes for a normal, average Joe in Houston:
Okay then. Since this sounds like the perfect Trump voter, I’m guessing this is in line with how America’s greatness will manifest.
RK
Belichick’s arrogant, condescending, hated outside of his home turf and lost twice when it counted to an opponent from New York so Cole’s analogy may be more apt than he may like.
Immanentize
@p.a.: I think that may be true. I also think this may be the only debate Trump deigns to attend.
Iowa Old Lady
@Botsplainer: Even with Google, I don’t know what that means. I’m assuming it’s like Beetlejuice.
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
And now that has me thinking: the swastika is also an ancient symbol for some Native American groups and traces back to some of the very oldest ones, like the Mound Builders who lived in what is now the US Midwest. One wonders if it’s something that got carried across the land bridge between Asia and the Americas back in Neolithic times.
(IANA archeologist, so my terminology may be incorrect.)
goblue72
@gogol’s wife: If you live in California or Massachusetts, its entirely ok to not vote for Clinton and make a protest vote. Its entirely ok to be unhappy with the Democratic nominee but still vote for the Democratic nominee if you live in a state that needs the vote (which is a significant # of states, but not the majority of states). And likewise be unhappy with the Democratic nominee and NOT vote for her if you live in a state where it really doesn’t matter. Hillary is not going to lose California and she’s not going to win Alabama. Both states will be blowouts – in their respective directions.
You live in a swing state or a state that appears to be flirting with being interested in a swing state – different story. But a state like, for example, California? Seriously. The sky is not falling.
This is a democracy. Deal with it.
goblue72
@RK: I guess the other 4 victories don’t count? Only counts against the Giants? Is this some form of new math?
SenyorDave
@Immanentize: I think that may be true. I also think this may be the only debate Trump deigns to attend.
Can’t see how that happens, if he doesn’t do all three debates he will get destroyed. He would be fine with his supporters, but there is no excuse that would work with independents.
gogol's wife
@Iowa Old Lady:
Long-ago commenter. The coiner of the term “cudlips.” Don’t ask.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: The cross could also be thought of as a variation of the swastika. Despite what people like Trump would have you believe we are more alike than different.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
My patronus is black and white cat. Not sure what it means but I do like cats.
schrodinger's cat
@goblue72: You are a self indulgent brat. Deal with it.
JMG
fivehtirtyeight has changed its projections for the third time today. Clinton gets a one percent increase from three hours ago on all three models. Like I said earlier, I think Silver may have fine tuned his models a twist or three too tight.
Baud
@goblue72:
So is voting for Trump. So that’s not really an answer.
gogol's wife
@goblue72:
And if Clinton wins the electoral vote but loses the popular vote? Do you think Trump’s just going to step aside?
It’s not okay to not vote for the one person standing between us and fascism. You have the right to do it, and I have to right to say you’re a moron.
SenyorDave
@randy khan: Thank you, i need some good news (although Virginia has seemed pretty safe for a while. NOVA seems to be dead to the GOP, possibly because so many people work for the federal gov’t).
? Martin
@goblue72:
No it’s not. It’s a cowardly cop-out. These voters are looking for an excuse to complain about the result of an election that they knowingly removed themselves from under the cover of voting for a candidate that they knew damn well wouldn’t have any impact on the result. Regardless of who is on the ballot, either Trump or Clinton will be president. If you can’t be bothered to compare the two candidates and measure the real differences between them, then y’all can politely fuck off and die. Your time for a protest vote was during the primaries. Real shit will go down as a result of this next vote and people need to fucking take it seriously.
schrodinger's cat
@JMG: It looks like he is massaging the data to fit his model.
eclare
@gogol’s wife: Completely agree. Live in a red state but I’ll be damned sure to vote for HRC because I want her elected with as big a mandate as possible. And I want Trump destroyed.
eric
@goblue72: No, the more votes she gets nationally, the harder it will be for them to argue that she has no mandate or the vite was rigged. More importantly, we are faced with a fascist, racist running for the Presidency, a vote for Hillary is a moral imperative to stamp out this disease of overt hate before it can take over the national discourse.
RK
@goblue72:
New York would be the connection.
Baud
@? Martin: Yeah, it’s basically a free rider model of democracy. “Other people are going to do the right thing, so I can indulge.” It’s quite a contrast to what liberals usually push for, which is unity in fighting the powerful forces in society.
Botsplainer
@gogol’s wife:
Ask, ASK!!!
Then we can give you a nearly incomprehensible TL;DR…
Steve in the ATL
@Gravenstone:
I second the motion.
randy khan
@SenyorDave:
NOVA is dead to the Republican Party in general for three reasons: (1) It’s the best educated part of the state; (2) lots of people involved with the federal government, as employees, lawyers, lobbyists, etc.; and (3) (not to be discounted) the Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly and any elected to state-wide office pretty much uniformly act against Northern Virginia’s interest. Even when they claim to be helping, they generally are doing it in a way they’d never even try with Richmond or some other part of the state. Highway and mass transit funding are particular sore points.
schrodinger's cat
@Botsplainer: Did you have a different nym in the cudlip era?
Major Major Major Major
@schrodinger’s cat: And not doing a very good job hiding it, either.
randy khan
@schrodinger’s cat:
I bet if you asked Silver, he’d tell you that he regrets doing the “nowcast,” which is about as stable as pin balanced on its point. It basically bumps around for every new poll that’s released.
Whatever’s going on, his models don’t seem to be very stable in general this year.
Major Major Major Major
@Steve in the ATL: I had to switch browsers. But it was time anyway.
Bobby Thomson
@randy khan: he might say that, but I would doubt his sincerity. Ka-ching.
schrodinger's cat
BJ hive mind: For a job interview, what’s better? skirt or pants?
agorabum
@donnah: What frustrated me about the John Oliver sketch is that he started by saying the two aren’t equivalent and ended that way, but still spent about 50% of his time on Clinton.
I’m tired of the “Clinton has flaws but…” arguments. The Clinton Foundation does great work, she was a little careless with a few minor emails, and she’s a very smart person with a great grasp on the issues and how the government works, and would make a good president. The scandals are bullshit; tons of Bush people did the same thing Clinton did and no one cared.
Steve in the ATL
@schrodinger’s cat: All other things being equal, a skirt. But depends on the job, the industry, the sex of the candidate, etc.
JMG
@randy khan: I honestly don’t blame Silver for that. 1, There has been less state polling so far this year (boy, will that change), so each individual poll affects a poll-based model more dramatically. 2. Race has seen more swings than in 2012 or 2008, so any model would bounce around more. 3. Models are based in part on past behavior, but many states are breaking their Bush-Obama election patterns in polling so far, Iowa more Republican, Georgia more Democratic, etc This is probably causing Monte Carlo simulations to throw up more divergent outcomes, also affecting the percentage numbers that are fivethirtyeight’s main if not only marketable product.
hovercraft
Can someone please shoot Chuck Todd for me, please. He has decided that the most important thing tonight is whether Hillary can bait Trump into exploding. And if Trump fails to explode, Hillary will have failed and the election will be over.
Lizzy L
@eric: Exactly!! There are good reasons to want her to have as large a popular vote total as possible.
We want the Senate, damn it.
I am incredibly cranky today, I am holding on to my temper with both hands. I had to stand in line for a flu shot this morning, and just making small talk with the people in the line was a challenge; I wanted to start biting throats. This is way worse than 2008.
Kay
@hovercraft:
Just keep repeating “we can’t do anything about them”. We can’t. It’s like a bad relationship- they do THIS, we respond, they get defensive, which makes it worse. There’s no fix for “media and Hillary Clinton”.
JMG
@hovercraft: That’s about as banal a take as could be imagined. Also stupid. If Trump delivers pure word salad for his half of the 90 minutes, any undecided voters, or Johnson/Stein people who might be edged into voting for Clinton, will notice.
Amir Khalid
@schrodinger’s cat:
If you’re asking for a male friend, definitely pants. Otherwise, it depends on the prospective employer. The more conservative ones may still expect women job candidates to wear a skirt.
Shell
Wish I was packing. His whole attitude of treating this campaign like its all for our amusement is infuriating and dangerous.
Lizzy L
@schrodinger’s cat: Depends what job. A bank? Is there lots of customer/client contact, or are you dealing mostly with the same folks every day? Will they expect you to wear a skirt occasionally, and will you? Do you hate skirts? (I do.) If you have to go out and buy one, fuggedaboutit, wear pants.
randy khan
@hovercraft:
I think there are a few things to watch for tonight, and I agree that a Trump explosion is one of them:
1. Trump goes boom.
2. How Clinton reacts to whatever craziness Trump through at her. If she doesn’t get rattled (and I don’t expect she will), then it helps her a lot.
3. Whether Clinton finds a clever way to get across that Trump either lies all the time or has no idea what he’s saying. If she does, then it helps her a lot.
4. Whether Trump can sound coherent on any topic that requires more than a sound bite. I’m guessing he’ll do it a few times, but largely will spout gibberish. (BTW, this is one area where Clinton can use rebuttal effective: “So the question, Lester, was whether [x], Mr. Trump talked about [pie]. If we think about [x], though, the key point is . . .”).
All the pants suit, “did she smile?” stuff is fodder for the commentators, but most people watching won’t care.
Kay
@randy khan:
There’s a piece out about Trump and federal employees. Sounds like he’s planning a big purge of unbelievers. Newt Gingrich is advising him on it.
They’ll probably just purge the lower level people, because Newt Gingrich is an asshole. Gingrich is mad that people have secure jobs. This from a person who has been making big bucks in or around DC his whole adult life and is STILL drawing from that well although he’s ancient and hasn’t been elected to anything in decades. What nerve. The multimillionaire grifters are mad that there’s all layabouts who should be in the private sector.
randy khan
@JMG:
I’m not sure I blame him, either. The nowcast just highlights the wonkiness in the polling, though, which is why I think he probably regrets it.
(And in response to the other comment above, he’d get clicks no matter what. The nowcast is making him look less serious to people who care about this stuff, and honestly driving me away from the baseball content I want to read at 538.)
Botsplainer
@schrodinger’s cat:
Been Botsplainer for eons. Think I was Michael for a good while, though.
CarolDuhart2
From Twitter:
#VoterRegDay
Wapiti
@Mnemosyne:
I was looking at a rug display in a museum in Germany in the late 80s. An older woman (>65) told me that she had gone to Afghanistan and when it was known that she was German, people started talking about how the Germans were their Aryan brothers… Apparently the Nazis had spread their gospel along the British/Indian border. She was horrified.
SFAW
@Baud:
Hey, welcome back! Just in time for the debate, I see. Give ‘im Hell! [Of course, you’ve probably been back for days, and I’m out to lunch.]
Chyron HR
@randy khan:
But in practice, when people actually asked, he got snotty that someone dared to question his projections and did a sarcastic riff on the five stages of grief.
SFAW
Re: the Jets fan vid:
I don’t remember seeing anyone filming [sic] me at that game. But my apologies if I wasn’t as crass as y’all would expect. I probably hadn’t had enough beer yet.
Geno still sucks, however. Although FitzPatsy ain’t much better, given yesterday’s performance. Is Joe Flacco available?
schrodinger's cat
@Wapiti: The Aryan invasion/migration theories regardin the Indian subcontinent predate the Nazis. AFAIK, this issue is far from settled.
randy khan
@Chyron HR:
Well, I suppose what I really meant is that if you asked him and he was confident you’d never tell anyone the answer . . .
p.a.
Holy Crap, Baud’s in the debate!!!
This changes everything
hovercraft
@Kay:
The goal is to do a complete purge, and then undo every rule that Obama has instituted. The goal is to nullify the Obama presidency. Reward friends and loyalists and lay the ground work to loot the government. Back up those Brinks trucks.
SFAW
@goblue72:
Being willfully obtuse is not an endearing quality, no matter what your age.
Or does every statement goring one of your oxen need to have its own “The following things, which are important to some people, but are not relevant to this particular comment/analogy, have not been forgotten” and then list all 374 points that someone, somewhere, may object want mentioned.
For example: “Obama didn’t say ‘terrorism,’ he said ‘terrorist acts.’ Burn him!”
Miss Bianca
@Mnemosyne: Hey, I wouldn’t mind staying at Circus Circus!
Or maybe I would…wasn’t that the place Hunter S. Thompson described as “what America would look like if the Nazis had won World War Two”?
Strangely symbolically appropriate, then…maybe it was to spur you in your GOTV efforts!
SFAW
@p.a.:
Especially if he can goad Trump into going full-blown whack-job.
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: And to think I actually used to give them money because I liked their jazz programming stream. No more. Never again.
Bill Arnold
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
!!!!! Does anybody know of any other networks that will be doing this? I want a Fact Check Crawl!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uncle Cosmo
@gogol’s wife: If s/he coined the term it must have been prior to 2007, since “cudlip” appeared that year in Richard K. Morgan’s novel Black Man (2008 US edition titled Thirteen) as a dismissive pejorative rough equivalent to the lost singular of “sheeple.” (Near as I could tell, anyway…)
Uncle Cosmo
@Shell: Choke Toad delenda est…
Uncle Cosmo
@SFAW:
For the motherfucking Noo Yawk Jests?? No. Fucking. Way. (BTW just FYI Flacco’s current team is 3-0 & in sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Take that, yinzers!)
Philbert
@Kay: “There’s a piece out about Trump and federal employees. Sounds like he’s planning a big purge…”
Yes the word is indeed PURGE: Chris Christie is recorded saying they have a list of people to fire, and will seek ti reduce civil service protections so they can fire ‘every one of Barack Obama’s appointees. Also to allow business people to work in gov’t while remaining a captain of industry. Google Reuters. .
SFAW
@Uncle Cosmo:
Don’t be a Hater. As I said in the vid, we haven’t had a good QB since Paul Hackett decided that the “West Coast Offense” was his ticket to fame and fortune. I would be more than happy with Flacco. And he’s a Jersey boy, too. (Although he was probably an Eagles fan, given where he grew up.)
I take it you’re a Ravens fan?