Wednesday Morning Open Thread: The Blue Wave Moves Forward

by 7:38 am. It has 64 Comments.

… The latest Grinnell College National Poll also shows just less than a third of Americans say they definitely plan to vote for him in 2020, while 41 percent say they’re certain to cast a ballot for someone else…

The survey of 1,000 adults, conducted by Selzer & Co. for the Iowa school, reveal stark divisions in how Trump is regarded between rural America and everywhere else.

In rural areas — not including those living in small towns — 46 percent say they’ll definitely vote for him for a second term. But in all other geographic areas, there’s much higher skepticism about a second Trump term. Just 33 percent of those in small towns definitely plan to vote for him, while 27 percent in suburbs and 24 percent in cities say they will…

Trump’s weak support everywhere outside of purely rural areas could foreshadow trouble for his re-election prospects in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. He narrowly won all three in 2016, but Democrats scored major victories in House, Senate and governors’ races in those states last month.

“Those who live in towns act much more like those who live in cities and suburbs than they do rural residents,” Iowa-based pollster J. Ann Selzer said. “They are less likely than their rural counterparts to approve of or feel favorable toward the president. That lack of support extends beyond Trump to the Republican Party overall, which should raise concerns for the GOP.”…

A majority of Americans — 54 percent — say they’re more hopeful for the country following last month’s election. There’s even greater optimism when it comes to expectations for the nation following the 2020 presidential election, with 58 percent saying they feel hopeful about the nation’s prospects after that milestone.…

There’s a message for 2020: Everybody feels better when the GOP loses!


Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: ‘Christian’ Theology Student Has FP Ideas

by 2:25 am. It has 31 Comments.

Trump has given all the Worst People permission to air their murderous fantasies in public.

‘Free helicopter rides‘ is a favorite jape among alt-rightists.

Never has the expression “Christ, what an asshole” seemed so apt.


It was all true.

by 12:36 pm. It has 98 Comments.

Remember when the Trump’s baby-snatching strategy blew up in his ugly orange face, and in the aftermath, it seemed that his minions didn’t have even the most cursory plan in place to track the people they’d taken into custody or reunite the families they’d torn apart?

That’s because they took less care with the thousands of human beings they snatched than your local Kwikie Mart manager does with packages of ramen noodles. Everything we feared upon the election of that monster was true, and then some.


Saturday Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Rotten Apple Off the Poisoned Tree…

by 11:10 pm. It has 291 Comments.

Every time you think Trump and the Repubs have hit bottom, they find a new low.

Silver lining — when they’re reduced to attacking Angus King, they’re pretty godsdamned desperate for attention…


GOP Stupidity Open Thread: Steve ‘Pigmuck’ King, Not Having A Great Week

by 1:55 pm. It has 67 Comments.

Seems like maybe Steve King is the GOP equivalent of that ratty old couch that’s been demoted from the living room to the basement tv room to the awkward angle by the garage entrance, because it’s a convenient place for dumping sports gear or taking off your muddy boots. It was the best you could find, back then, and the horseblanket plaid wasn’t too bad with the crocheted afghan thrown over it. But this year the big Thanksgiving gathering is at your house, and the more you spruce up the rest of the place, the nastier and stinkier that old hulk looks. And yet, getting the nasty thing maneuvered out and hauled away…

After making racist statements for years, Steve King is starting to lose support in the Republican Party. But Republicans still broadly expect him to win his congressional race next week, and aside from losing some financial backing, it’s not clear anything will change for him if he comes back to Congress next year.

One week before Election Day, Rep. Steve Stivers, the chair of the House Republican campaign arm, disavowed King in a tweet. “Congressman Steve King’s recent comments, actions, and retweets are completely inappropriate. We must stand up against white supremacy and hate in all forms, and I strongly condemn this behavior.”

Three corporations — Land O’Lakes, Intel, and Purina — that had previously donated to him publicly announced they would not give him any more money in the future, putting some pressure on other donors to withdraw support…

The backlash comes in the final week of King’s most competitive reelection campaign in years. His opponent, Democrat J.D. Scholten, has outraised King dramatically, and on Tuesday, the Cook Political Report changed its rating of the race in Scholten’s favor, moving it into the Lean Republican column.
Read more


Raw Venality Open Thread: When Your Only Instrument Is A Racist Dog Whistle…

by 12:00 am. It has 44 Comments.

Eventually, even the media stenographers start to lose patience:


Read more


Ooga-Booga

by 4:35 pm. It has 183 Comments.

Trump is about to walk into the Roosevelt Room, insert his tiny pinky fingers into the corners of his butthole-like mouth, stretch his lips, stick out his tongue and shout “OOGA BOOGA” while using his index fingers and thumbs to stretch the raccoon-like white bands of fatty flesh around his beady eyes to make his eyeballs bulge out. I’m not making this up:

President Donald Trump on Thursday will highlight immigration as a “crisis” facing the nation, making remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House before he travels to Columbia, Missouri, for another campaign rally, the second of 11 he plans in a last-minute blitz before Election Day on Tuesday.

At the White House, Trump will speak about “the illegal immigration crisis and give an update on border security,” according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The president’s remarks come as he has called for restricting asylum requests, ending birthright citizenship and sending thousands of additional troops to border as a caravan of migrants makes its way toward the United States from Central America.

There is no goddamned illegal immigration “crisis,” of course (and kudos for the scare quotes, ABC News). This is pure racist demagoguery, and it would be laughable if the racist demagogue in question didn’t command a large standing army and have the allegiance of millions of idiot citizens. I’m not streaming the “remarks” here because fuck that guy.

I hope this shit blows up in Trump’s ugly face in a big way, and I think there’s a chance it could, especially in places like Florida, where this kind of absurd performance art underscores the GOP’s racism and xenophobia problems.