Let’s finish off the fundraising for House Tier 1. I think that for most of the duration, I’ll be fundraising for long shot House seats, along with some Senate races where the candidates aren’t completely rolling in it already, and some state stuff.
Balloon Juice House Tier 1 (15 Republican held seats that are listed as toss-up)
Money goes to Kate Schroder, Jill Schupp, Cameron Webb, Hiral Tipirneni, Candace Valenzuela, Sri Kulkarni, Christina Hale, Eugene DePasquale, Dana Balter, Jackie Gordon, Wendy Davis, Kara Eastman, Christy Smith, and Amy Kennedy.
You can see all our candidates here.
Omnes Omnibus
Oddly enough, this song now makes me think of one of the commenters here and vice versa.
piratedan
well I do agree there’s times, when a woman can be a friend of mine…
more power to da ladies, I trust them to at least be more discerning in their affairs (political or otherwise)
PsiFighter37
Kara Eastman seems like a poor choice for NE-02, from what I have read, along with the polls. Bernie-type that lost a winnable race in 2018, and now trailing Biden meaningfully in the polling that has been done of the district. It might be sour grapes since he lost to her in the 2018 primary, but the previous Dem rep (Brad Ashford) endorsed the GOP incumbent, and Eastman has been running well behind Biden in polling done. Just another example, IMO, of the Bernie types completely misreading the 2016 situation and thinking that democratic socialism is just what freakin’ Omaha is raging for.
Maybe there should be a fundraiser put up for Kathleen Williams in MT-AL, since that is a state delegation that could really help if shenanigans come into play.
Mousebumples
Can I suggest long shot House seats in states that have a contested Senate race or that we need to help Biden win?
Supporting GOTV (with $) in WI, FL, MI, NC, AK, SC, etc., give us a shot at that House seat. And the statewide contests(s) can be positively impacted, even if we don’t will out in the long shots.
Another Scott
@Omnes Omnibus: Someone here is a horse-with-no-name whisperer??
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@Another Scott: I will cut you.
Baud
@PsiFighter37:
Unforgivable.
HinTN
I still don’t think that boots on the ground consider Chris Hale a longshot to unseat Dr DesJarlais (R-forced abortion for mistresses) in CD4 TN. But that don’t seem to make no nevermind to you, so there’s that.
Thanks for everything else, tho.
HinTN
@Mousebumples: It’s sad that Ms Bradshaw is given chance in her open seat race for US Senate here in dead red Tennessee, but I get that.
RaflW
I just drove across Nebraska twice in the past two weeks. I know signs are not that great a measure, but it’s a very GOP state. So many Trumpy farms.
Mask use was a joke outside of the required employees.
Oh, and my hotel room in Kearny (national branded franchise operator) had so many flies I called down for a swatter, and eventually demanded to be moved to another room. Feed lots are ruining that state, sadly. Part of the reason we’ve completely given up beef and pork.
I just hope that NE can still deliver one of the five EVs they’ve got.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: Hmmm, you too?
WaterGirl
@HinTN: I am not quite catching your drift. Are you suggesting that the race is closer than DougJ thinks? That he shouldn’t be fundraising for this person? Or that Chris Hale has it in the bag?
Puddinhead
Only three of them have golden hair.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Another Scott: Yeah, somewhere on Ventura Highway.
Jeffro
@Another Scott: gawd I hate that song
Jeffro
I genuinely have no idea what the VA-05 polling looks like at this point…
…but if Bob Good has decided to tie himself to trumpov, more power to him. It’s a big, weird-shaped district but those ads have to alienate many of (former GOP Rep) Denver Riggleman’s supporters, and D opponent Cameron Webb has been running a campaign very similar to Biden’s: unity, progress, getting things done for constituents.
I like our chances! =)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jeffro:
So he’s a TCNJ?
Omnes Omnibus
My downstairs neighbor, who I believe may be a little hard of hearing, is now listening to Gospel music – and not good Gospel. It sounds like it is being played in my place. This morning she had a phone conversation with someone about her romantic life. Sundays are becoming annoying. I am contemplating putting on a pair of hard-soled shoes, playing some early punk, and pogoing.
Dear lord, she’s singing along.
Zelma
I know it’s not one of the high profile Senate races and I know the Democrat is ahead, but the Republicans are putting some real money in New Mexico and their candidate is competent. Is there any chance we could throw a few bucks at Ben Ray Lujan? He’s a good guy and my son’s boss and his lead is decreasing. Not to the dangerous level yet, but enough to be worrying. There is so much money going to some of the big races that some of the lesser known ones fall behind.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh, don’t you start!
Buckeye
I’ve not seen polling for here in Ohio’s 10th district, but as many ads as I’m seeing from incumbent GOPer Mike Turner he’s in his closest race since he first ran back in 2002.
https://ballotpedia.org/Ohio%27s_10th_Congressional_District_election,_2020
WaterGirl
@Zelma: With a little one at home, I don’t know how much DougJ is able to follow along in the comments. If you don’t see a reply, you can send him an email with the information.
Another Scott
@?BillinGlendaleCA: He’s not good.
VPM:
(emphasis added)
Where are the LawnOrder folks screaming “Lock Him Up!!”??
That’s Ok, I guess, after all:
(via Brad DeLong)
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: She may not know how loud it is for you. Have you tried loudly tapping the handle of a broom or something else on the floor? Knocking on her door?
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: She’s a fairly new neighbor, and I really don’t want one of our first interactions to be over something like this. I am just playing my music a little louder than I normally would. In a few minutes I am going go watch a couple of episodes of Utopia and I will just make sure it drowns out the bad music. I must say, though, that just because a song praises Jesus does not make it good music.
lgerard
Is there any news from NC -11 where that punk nazi kid is running for Meadows seat? That would be sweet to flip.
TS (the original)
@Buckeye:
From your link, the changes in some counties between President Obama and Hillary Clinton are mind numbing.
e.g. From Obama +12 to Trump +18
The media did a great job to elect trump in Ohio.
oatler.
60 Minutes has Lesli Stahl interviewing The Lincoln Project guys. “But what about…?”
DougJ
@WaterGirl:
thanks
Sister Golden Bear
@Omnes Omnibus:
There’s always punk polka.
Princess
@RaflW: My kid just made that same drive and told me he and his friends were basically laughed at for wearing masks.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Lakers up by 25 points
King James 6 minutes away from his 4th NBA title.
All hail the King!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus:
I laughed. (sorry) But that is so true.
WaterGirl
@Sister Golden Bear: I am not brave enough to click on that.
Achrachno
I’m glad we hit the target on these house races, I’d already given $100 to those and hoped not to be needed further. What are the best bets among remaining Senate contests? I’ve decided I have enough rice and beans on hand to kick in a more where needed.
BTW — Has anyone heard anything about Trumps former campaign manager Brad Parscale? Is he still in custody/hospital? I just googled and didn’t find anything new about that. Just a side issue I find fascinating. Will he talk? Will he be kept locked away until after the election?
schrodingers_cat
Sunday respite from all the exhausting politics
The internet, explained
?BillinGlendaleCA
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: That would explain the fireworks going off here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@schrodingers_cat: Not true, “The Internet is a serries of tubes, not dump trucks”.
Another Scott
@Achrachno: The latest thing I see is in Politico (from 9/30) – https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/30/brad-parscale-stepping-down-trump-campaign-424069
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
Buckeye
@TS (the original):
Well the media but there’s also the reality that the Ohio Dems are not that good. And there have always been Ohioans willing to buy into a message like Trump’s.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
So, apparently on Twitter, I’ve noticed a lot of tweets (such as this one by Dan Rather) discussing the court packing that the GOP did over the past five years or so have been getting ratioed.
Basically, the counterarguments boil down to:
1. Filling seats that are vacant isn’t court packing. Adding new seats is. The GOP was only filling vacancies.
2. Oh, Merrick Garland didn’t get a hearing and every other nominee in history did? Apples and oranges! The president’s party controlled the Senate those times, so it’s okay.
3. Mitch obstructed Obama? Checks and balances! That’s literally what the system was set up to do! It’s constitutional!
Ken
@Another Scott: Parscale’s resignation was less than two weeks ago?
I think 80% of Biden’s lead is people who just want a few days of peace.
Achrachno
@Another Scott: Yeah, that’s about the vintage of what I found. Thanks for confirming my impression.
All has gone silent. Maybe that’s standard for people with mental/legal troubles, but for such a prominent political operative I expected to hear more.
Ken
I’m not watching, but given that it’s the Project Lincoln crew, I’ll assume the answer is “No, not ‘what about’. Trump is a lunatic, a criminal, and a Russian asset and if he’s re-elected this country is gone.”
Now, whether that answer would ever be broadcast by CBS…
Jeffro
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ll have to look into that a little further, see if he qualifies ?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Keeping seats open until your party controls the nominating process is court packing and is destructive to the orderly functioning of the judiciary.
Nope, it was unprecedented.
See #1
ETA: Oh, and if they want to bring up Judge Bork, he was considered by the Senate and rejected, HE DID HAVE A HEARING AND A VOTE.
Another Scott
@Achrachno: From that Politico story:
Probably not the October Surprise that Donnie was hoping for in Florida, but who knows if it will be anything more than a local story. He’s not a Democrat, after all…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jeffro
@Another Scott: he’s got bigger issues, but I’m glad this double standard – both Good’s specifically and the more overarching one with regards to conservatives – is being discussed more and more.
It really is the only way they know how to operate.
Steeplejack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Deliberate obstruction to keep seats vacant until your president takes office does constitute court-packing.
As I said in a thread downstairs, Amy Coney Barrett is sitting in a stolen seat right now. Obama nominated Myra Selby to the U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit on January 12, 2016. Mitch McConnell never let the nomination proceed—for over a year—and Barrett was installed on November 2, 2017.
Also, see this chart.
(I’m not arguing against you, just giving you ammunition.)
debbie
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:
And with three different teams!
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: I thought you objected to respite threads?
dmsilev
@Ken: No, Parscsle was bottled out earlier than that. He stayed on for a while as a ‘senior strategist’ or some other fig leaf title, presumably so he could be paid to keep his mouth shut. He was fired from that sinecure recently.
Though you’re absolutely right about time being compressed, expanded, dilated, compacted, folded, spindled, and mutilated. It’s only been 12 days since the first debate. Remember that?
Jeffro
@Ken: Stahl put some good questions to Schmidt, Wilson, and the rest of the Lincoln project folks, and they answered quite ably.
I do wish that she had noted more often how unprecedented this kind of thing is for long time operatives of a party to be kneecapping their own incumbent president like this.
par for the course with our national snooze media, though. What does Biden have, like 8000 endorsements from retired military officers and intelligence folks?
but trumpov has Diamond and Silk, and a couple hundred paid goofballs on the South Lawn, so basically equal ?
mad citizen
I hail LeBron. For me he is the greatest, because he builds his teammates up.
Rajon Rando first to win titles with Celtics and Lakers
Also from Pacers country, feel really good for Frank Vogel. A good dude.
debbie
Newman’s back!
Jeffro
In other news, I see that the FoxSpin regarding the Denver protestor-assailant who was shot and killed was a “pro-cop veteran“. Um okay. Perhaps he shouldn’t have swung at and maced an armed security guard, putting the guard in fear of his life?
positions reversed, yadda yadda, they would have no problem defending the guard here – he was clearly “standing his ground”, so to speak.
but double standards gotta double standard…this gas won’t pour itself in the fire…etc etc
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
@Steeplejack:
From that chart thread:
Based on that chart, that would indeed seem to be the case
Also:
I agree with that “PolittleCat” tweet in that the GOP abused the nomination process for their own gain. And that was wrong. And adding seats to counterbalance that would be correct and appropriate. However, I have to give it to the pedants. It wasn’t “court packing”, which has a specific meaning e.g. what FDR threatened to do back in 1938
Another Scott
The mystery of the MAGA, or something.
rofl.
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Why not argue that there is more than one way to pack the courts?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): It is court packing, just a different way to get to the same end.
cain
One thing I never understood is – in the 2nd term – I’m still trying to figure out what Obama’s plan was to get those judges seated even with McConnell blocking everything. Earlier today I saw on twitter – that asshole’s swarmy giggly face as he proudly told Hannity that he blocked everything.
That really triggered me. It felt like (and I think we talked about it even then) that Obama should have called a press conference and kept talking about McConnell blocking judge confirmation. My only thing is that for the press it’s not a great “both sides!” and so they don’t touch it.. but you’d think they live in this country too – and you’d think there would be SOME concern even at the personal level.
DC press are worthless people.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
@Omnes Omnibus:
Conservatives would argue that adding new seats is not the same as filling vacancies, which is not court packing. Also, “advice and consent” does not automatically mean a nominee will get a vote or a hearing
Personally, I agree with you. It does amount to the same thing in essence. But right-wingers don’t care about hypocrisy or norms. All they care about is what the Constitution specifically says and will twist themselves into pretzels to win
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Tell them to prove it. Tell them to show you the names of previous nominees to the courts who did not at least get a hearing.
Steeplejack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
This strikes me as narrow semantic bullshit. If you get a 12-ounce Coke with twice the sugar of your previous one, wouldn’t you agree that it has been “packed” with extra sugar? Or does it only count if you get more sugar via a one-liter bottle?
I resist letting these A-holes narrowly define the terms of debate to further their (specious) arguments.
sdhays
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): In the 1930’s, the Department of Defense was called the (more accurate) War Department. Who gives a shit what they called Court Reform then? The current system hasn’t been updated in a very long time, even though the country has grown larger and different Congresses have created new circuits.
We’re well overdue for Judicial modernization.
gwangung
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The courts are now FULL of judges that share Republican values, while Republicans blocked any judges that didn’t share them.
Sure looks like the courts are PACKED with the kind of judges one side wanted.
No functional difference. And not wishing the spirit of American government envisioned by the founders.
Achrachno
@Another Scott: We can hope. If there are further developments, if he talks, is released, or croaks, it’ll be back in the news again.
We’ve had 10 days of silence on this, except limited recycling of old info. The only “fresh” stuff is recently released police body cam footage from the time of his arrest, with info on Brad’s emotional state and marital troubles.
cain
That’s how they are with the Bible as well.
Steeplejack
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I wouldn’t bother. That “advice and consent does not mean a hearing or a confirmation vote” is evidence enough that they don’t care about what is fair or right. They’re the types that will argue that because a rule doesn’t specifically tell them NOT to do a thing means they can do it i.e., if a political party different from the President’s controls the Senate then it is perfectly legitimate to do what Mitch did; the Senate did it’s job by providing “advice and consent”.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Then don’t engage with them.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t, at least not on this issue. I guess I was a little caught off guard by all of the “ratioing” going on and the BS semantics righties were using
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Steeplejack:
You and others are honestly right. It IS narrow sematic BS. It amounts to the same thing. They can argue all they want about what “advice and consent” really means. The GOP was talking about shrinking the size of the Supreme Court prior to 2016 if Clinton won. They’re hypocrites
RaflW
@Princess: I’m a 6’2″ 250# guy in my mid 50s, I haven’t been laughed at on these trips (did the drive in July as well). But it is weird.
At one rest stop in Colorado on I-76, I saw a guy pushing a woman who was on the little seat of her wheeled walker, coming out of the rest room building. She had a mask on, but he didn’t. She was fairly frail looking. Like, how can the guy not understand that she is at risk and he’s the potential vector? Jeez.
piratedan
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): its the usual bad faith arguments put forth by the guys who demand that you have to follow the rules and you then have to buy in to the same argument that they get to interpret what the rules mean and when they can be changed. In short, its Calvinball government. They made up new rules in 2016 to deny Obama his judges. In 2020, they’re now changing the 2016 rules to ram thru their own unqualified candidate.
Fine, its 2020, if they do so and the Dems have the majority in 2021 and change the rules, well, I guess they’ll just have to accept that, correct?
SectionH
@Omnes Omnibus: You’re really a decent guy. (I know, sorry, it’s been a very long day somehow, I’ll take that back if you object too much) Right now I’m srsly close to going down to the giant jacked up pickup that’s been parked in the 15 minute spot most of the fucking day and slapping some information via sticky stickers on his windshield… oh and the asshole truck has Texas plates on it. Of course it does.