Here, starring in yet another Gangnam Style parody, is a true American hero, Congressman John Lewis, who is calling all voters!
<div align=”center”><iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/UQzuK_Tarvg” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Couldn’t help but smile.
In other news: had dinner with friends last night, one of whom lives on Elizabeth Warren’s block in Cambridge, MA. He told me that several long-time, old-line Republicans on the street are voting for her. Why? She is apparently a fabulous neighbor. I know that’s hardly of earth-shattering moment, but it’s still nice to hear.
With that…have some more thread.
Corner Stone
Will no one protect my lawn?
Violet
That. Is. Awesome. I actually laughed out loud when John Lewis showed up.
aimai
Al Franken came and spoke at the Cambridge Headquarters yesterday and I volunteered and canvassed today. They need people to phone bank to get out canvassers and people to work for the last weekends before the election. They aim to contact each WArren voter 7 times before the election and I was out (unsuccessfully) collecting ones and twos. Its the Head of hte Charles, people! No one was home! But the objective is to drag every single Warren voter in Cambridge to the polls. As Alice Wolf and Marjorie Decker and Al Franken all pointed out
a) there’s no electoral college in a Senate Race. 100 percent of densley populated Cambridge easily outweighs 100 percent of some suburban Brown redoubt.
b) Franken won by 312 votes. That’s right. 312.
Politics in MA is both retail and wholesale. I’ll be poll watching and counting votes on election day in my precinct which will probably be about 90-95 percent for Warren and also very high turnout because we are pretty much all very settled voters. But they are doing the same thing in all the precincts so they can go drag their voters to the polls if they haven’t voted by 4:30.
aimai
Tom Levenson
@aimai: Good for you. I’m off to NH tomorrow for a full day of canvassing GOTV for Obama. That election is going to be a few thousand votes either way…
Hal
Well la dee da. Professor Warren of Cambridge, MA. Did I mention she’s a Professor like Moriarty or Professor Chaos? And she works at Harvard? Totally all good reasons to vote for Scott Brown.
In all seriousness, not a MA voter, but very satisfying to think of Brown going down in flames. I honestly don’t think his ego can take losing so soon after winning, and to a woman. Not just a woman, but a woman he obviously has an enormous amount of contempt for. and a Professor. From Harvard.
weaselone
@aimai:
Is contacting each Warren voter 7 times really a winning strategy? I am voting for Warren, but if I actually received 7 contacts, it would likely be more irritating than helpful. I’m already tossing all her and brownoser’s mailings directly into my recycling bin.
Spaghetti Lee
There are Republicans in Cambridge?
raven
@Corner Stone: You have an endzone that you won’t be able to protect!
evap
That was awesome. Proud to be represented by John Lewis!!
Dee Loralei
I love John Lewis and that was a hoot. But damn am I sick of that song. Please let it die the ignoble death it so richly deserves. Frankly, I’d rather be rickrolled.
arguingwithsignposts
@aimai:
Not to be flip, but is this not true in every state?
Corner Stone
“This man and I, we don’t want to go back. We don’t want to go back.”
/Lewis DNC 2012
dr. bloor
She lets them wear her barn coat when she gives them rides in her pickup truck?
Unsympathetic
Republicans and Democrats living together in harmony? Unpossible!
ruemara
Dealing with the death of my cousin. Got the phonecall from his brother yesterday and it was quite the shock. I’m 43, tomorrow, actually, and he, his brother and myself are all fairly the same age. However, based on weight, lifestyle and the fact that he went home ill and wasn’t heard from for several days, I’m guessing it heart issues. When will men learn to care for the ticker? Not one to pretend some deep bond where there is none, I’m more upset that I can’t be there for my other cousin at the loss of his brother and it’s one more upsetting thing on a life based on upsetting things. I just wonder why I’m the equivalent of a bug trapped in a jar with evil torturer kid deity and his magnifying glass. I hope to cheer up a bit more for phonebanking tomorrow and a friend is actually coming to visit me, for my birthday! For once, I’d like to have good things happen.
GregB
I am afraid that Tisei is going to pull it off. Tierney has the smell of a corrupt loser and the polling for him is not good. It will be a one off because Brown is going to lose. He’s lost his nice guy veneer and has become a full blown AM talk-radio shit heel.
His latest is some supporter in one of his commercials has FaceBook posts calling Warren a douche and also refers to Brandeis as Jew U. and a few more scabrous smears.
Scott can get a job at WRKO being Howie Carr’s water boy after Elizabeth spanks him and sends him to his room.
I approve this message.
aimai
@weaselone:
I know, I think its weird too. My take on this is that a lot of people say they will vote but don’t turn out and the only way to drag people to the polls is to know who they are and where they are and get them on election day. My husband agrees with you that its a weird strategy but I think they know, or think they know, that people turn off their phones and ignore last minute pleas but still vote. And you basically have to go back and go back and go back to the people you know you can count on. There’s no early voting here so you can’t bank votes which would take a lot of pressure off of voter ID issues. I also think the “7 times point of contact” is to be sure you don’t miss anyone. For example tons of people weren’t home when I canvassed–if that counts as one time contact then its no harm no foul, except the wear and tear on my nerves.
As for the people doing GOTV in New Hampshire that’s really doing g-d’s work. Obama took the town some friends live in by 60 votes last time and their daughter is doing GOTV and is responsible for exactly 800 houses or something. That’s, as they say, granular.
The whole process is ridiculous in its inefficiency and complexity and doing it on the ground makes me just laugh at the Jill Stein voters (if anyone read Avedon Carol’s craptacular piece today) because these people couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel. You can’t get to a serious political movement without actually understanding how politics works in your country. You can bypass politics and do outreach. But if you are doing politics then you have to fucking do the political organizing. People on the street might agree with your political platform but if you can’t mount a serious, nationwide campaign and put bodies out there corralling votes its nothing but a god damned vanity shit show masquerading as political action.
aimai
aimai
@ruemara:
I’m just so very sorry. Its a huge shock to the system no matter who or when.
aimai
WereBear
@ruemara: My condolences.
Why don’t men take better care of themselves? Because it would be admitting a weakness.
weaselone
I think Tierney made a mistake by not allowing his wife and brother-in-laws convictions to be raised during the debate. Tisei and his allied PACs have a huge money advantage and are just crushing him in the add wars. He could have addressed the issue, noted that his brother-in-law who was actually convicted is hardly a credible source and built it into an effective counter. Claim that his wife was drug in by the brother-in-law and that his brother-in-law is smearing him because he refused to use his position to intervene on his behalf. Something. Instead he just looks like a weasel who used his position to get out of jail time.
ruemara
@WereBear: He was so mad at us for giving him the hairy eyeball about food and weight at the family reunion this summer. Now I have to go craft some sort of condolence card to his mother. And there are at least 2 other kids in this slot of generations that we’re all worried will just keel over from fat. And they won’t get help! So…MAD. This was preventable.
PsiFighter37
If Tisei does win, do you think it’s a seat that the Democrats can easily win back in 2014? Or is he the ‘right’ kind of Republican who could hold the House seat for a long time? (I suppose this also comes down to his voting record in Congress)
weaselone
@aimai:
I suppose that makes sense. My voting is virtually assured, I just have to walk a block down the street to cancel out some other white guy’s vote so motivation isn’t much of a factor on my end. I can see how prodding might be necessary for others who are less fortunately situated.
aimai
@weaselone:
Our local state rep, who gave us a pep talk, told us that “people will scream at you. They will say they hate you. But they will vote despite that.”
I ended up having a funny conversation on the street with a new citizen–a German girl–and she was just agog at how weird and piecemeal our entire system is. She is registered to vote already and is planning to vote for Warren but she told me she had never done anything other than remote vote for the Green party candidate. It sounds like its just really easy for people to vote there. Whereas its quite hard here. I simply can’t believe we can’t get early in person voting for everyone. And don’t get me started on how complex and difficult the voting process is for the inspectors and the clerks with the incredible pressure on single day voting. We have to hand vote the absentee ballots-that means that you get boxes and boxes of absentee ballots and have to go through the same procedure you do for an in person voter (!) That’s right: you hold the ballot, call out the name, repeat the name, cross off the name in two places and then run it through the machine.
aimai
Phil Perspective
In other news: had dinner with friends last night, one of whom lives on Elizabeth Warren’s block in Cambridge, MA. He told me that several long-time, old-line Republicans on the street are voting for her. Why? She is apparently a fabulous neighbor.
She also used to be a GOPer until she saw how big business keeps screwing over the little guy. Hell, the GOP used to have people like Fightin’ Bob LaFollette in it. Not every one registered as a GOPer is as nutty as the current elected ones.
aimai
@arguingwithsignposts:
No, of course its true in every state. I was thinking about my conversation with the german girl upthread. Most regular voters think politics is all wholesale: signs, advertisements, big gestures. But the real work is retail. That’s what I meant.
aimai
Corner Stone
@efgoldman: I’m thinking of assaulting every thread with a repeated mention of “Condom Style!” until it never fucking shows up here again.
Wag
Just spent two hours canvassing my neighborhood for OFA, trying to get folks out to vote early Met lots of really nice and enthusiastic supporters and all but one plan on either early voting (which starts Monday here in Colorado), or voting by mail. We need to get out voters out, and early voting options help so much for those of us with jobs. Get out there!
pseudonymous in nc
@aimai:
I just saw the arduousness of being a high-information voter. The prospect of having to vote on so many little positions (state commissioner of widgets, county drain supervisor) and on judicial positions that should really be executive appointments is, I think, a kind of drag on democracy. Either you ignore them and let other people decide for you, or you take a stab at informing yourself and that drags out the process of voting.
The US does elections like it does healthcare: it’s barely a “system”, and ridiculous from top to bottom.
arguingwithsignposts
@efgoldman:
And this would differ from the usual Corner Stone approach in what way?
Downpuppy
There were Warren T-Shirts all over Porter Square today.
Which is just an excuse to link to Porter Wagoner & the greatest video ever – PaRKVIEW
max
@ruemara: I just wonder why I’m the equivalent of a bug trapped in a jar with evil torturer kid deity and his magnifying glass.
We all are, except it’s not an evil diety it’s one with a sense of humor. Sorry about your cousin though. (So this is the blog where all the oldist GenXers hang out. Figures.)
I hope to cheer up a bit more for phonebanking tomorrow and a friend is actually coming to visit me, for my birthday!
Not the best time for the sentiment, quite, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
For once, I’d like to have good things happen.
’bout 17 days I’m thinkin’.
max
[‘Thanksgiving should be fun.’]
HRA
Shortly before I went out for a brunch date, I received a call from a canvasser for the DNC. I had doubts whether she was going to take a breath. So I intervened by telling her I support and contribute to President Obama and the other D candidates. That did not exactly work. After a few words to me, she was off to the races again about talking to my friends and relatives. Again I told her I was fully engaged in that respect. Now she is full into donating money of at least $50 to the DNC and I am going to be late for brunch. Finally I told her I understand you have a job to do and if you continue in this way, you will be irritating people instead of getting the support you want for them. It ended on her admitting I was right and she will try her best to listen to the people.
Happy Birthday, Ruemara. We share the day.
I am sorry for your loss.
Dee Loralei
@efgoldman: you really are enjoying ruining my day, aren’t you? Oy. But of course you’re right, new shiny, stupid will hit quickly. And drive me crazy wishing for a Gangnam style song. Or something.
Scamp Dog
Went out canvassing this morning and knocked on 90 doors. While I only talked to 6 or 7 people, I signed two people up to vote by mail, and helped a voter who had inadvertently thrown away her mail-in ballot (I found out where she could get it replaced).
The polling says Colorado looks tight, but I like the looks of our ground game here in Metro Denver.
Svensker
@ruemara:
Big hugs.
burnspbesq
Holy crap.
The little New York Times notification gizmo on my iPad just popped up with “US says Iran has agreed to nuclear talks.”
Interesting little October Surprise, that.
ETA: This feels like Ahmadinejad waving his privates in Netanyahu’s face and saying “you want to fuck with the US election, big boy? That’s a game any number can play.”
Mr Stagger Lee
@ruemara: I’m 49 and it took me a diagnosis of diabetes to wake me the **** up, lost nearly 43lbs since I began taking up exercise and a more healthier lifestyle. I feel that difference already. My condolences for your loss.
Dee Loralei
@ruemara: I’m sorry for your loss.
I hope your birthday is better.
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: The little shrimp ain’t dumb. He knows at least with Obama there is a possibility of restraining Bibi. With Willard the bombs will be flying January 21st.
Spaghetti Lee
@burnspbesq:
I assume that’s bad news for the War-with-Iran! crowd, and as such, good news for the rest of mankind.
sharl
@burnspbesq:
Heh, that could well be. Those of us old enough to remember the 1980 Reagan-Carter campaign and Ayatollah Khomeini certainly know the Iranians have some experience in dicking with our already dicked-up politics.
Cervantes
John Lewis makes my day.
Thanks, Tom.
SuperHrefna
@ruemara: I’m so sorry for your loss – sounds like life has been one slap in the face after another for you lately. Weight is such a tricky thing, the way you describe your last family reunion is so familiar to me. My brother & I really struggle with our weight, while our step sibs don’t so it’s an issue that often comes up at our reunions… I’ve managed to lose and keep off 40lbs with WW, but its a constant fight not to gain it back & I need to lose yet more. I can totally get both sides of this, why your cousin was mad that you were hairy eyeballing him and why you are mad that he wouldn’t take better care of himself. Losing weight & keeping it off long term is so hard that the sense of despair can be overwhelming and paralyzing and flip over into a form of defiance, just to maintain a sense of self worth. I honestly think that generations to come will look back on our obesogenic environment with the sort of incredulity we reserve for the cigarette culture of the early 20thC.
Big hugs to you, I do hope things start to improve for you soon, and have the very best birthday you can under the circumstances!
General Stuck
LOL, here we go.
First up today, the CIA shoots down the wingnuts meme of Benghazi coverup, now President Terrorist signs on to face to face meetings with the evile Persians/wingnut. Bloody Bill and Cheney’s doppelganger Stephen Hayes and the rest of the GOP are going to chew their tongues off at this level of aPEASment. It will be interesting how Romney deals with this development, without sounding like Attila the Hun.
Not a bad October surprise for Obama, unless you’re an insane republican.
sharl
@General Stuck:
Not to worry, I’m sure there will be sober-minded contemplation of this matter, given such policy advisors as John Bolton and Dan Senor and…
BWHAHAHA, I crack myself up.
{ETA, had to add Mr. Campbell Brown’s name too, especially since I recently heard him beating the Likudnik drum so loudly}
Mr Stagger Lee
@efgoldman: Speaking of YouTube you knew it was time before they mixed Downfall Parody and Gangham Style
General Stuck
@ruemara:
Well, it took watching my father go through nightmarish surgeries and complications from heart disease the past 20 years to wake me up. As well as my own non heart related health issues, but I am fairly granola as it gets these days, though not a fanatic about it. I don’t mind dropping dead before I hit the ground, but I don’t want the dangling version of that, dealing with chronic heart disease after the horse left the heart health barn.
But then half my family still wonders if I ain’t a Soviet Spy with a hippy cover, though now retired.
Chris
@General Stuck:
Whoa, what? I hadn’t heard. Good for the CIA, though. (I guess the GOP now has yet another reason to hate them, as if they didn’t already).
SiubhanDuinne
@General Stuck:
And just two days before the Foreign Policy debate! Willard’s not going to get any sleep this weekend, is he?
Scamp Dog
@Wag: What part of Colorado are you in? I’m in Thornton, a northern suburb.
General Stuck
@SiubhanDuinne:
Willard is playing 11 dimensional chess on a checker board. Meanwhile, the wingnut conspiracy balloon is fueled up and ready for launch
dmsilev
@General Stuck:
What makes you think he’ll object to sounding like Attila the Hun?
General Stuck
@Chris:
Now we have a spanky new mystery to solve. Who doctored up revised them CIA docs with Obamabot mumbo jumbo?
dmsilev
@Chris: Probably this:
Patricia Kayden
Really cute video!
Redshift
@weaselone: The basic reasoning, I believe, is that no matter how annoyed they claim they are, no one who’s supporting you ever doesn’t vote just because you called them too much. Whereas there are plenty of lightly-engaged people who won’t bother to vote if you don’t contact them enough.
If it were easier to reliably tell the difference, all of us, at least, wouldn’t have to be contacted multiple times.
General Stuck
@dmsilev:
That is a good point, and I guess we’ll just have to wait to see which Mitt shows up for the Monday debate. But I don’t think many indie voters are looking for a new land war in Asia, or anywhere else.
GregB
Willard’s opening line.
President Obama will meet with the Iranians but not my dear friend Bubby, err Bibi.
Redshift
@dmsilev:
So far, at least, both he and Ryan seem to have concluded that it’s bad politics to explicitly say they’re going to start another war, since they go out of their way to avoid saying it.
There was a bit from the VP debate that was a thing of beauty, where Biden pointed out that R/R claim that the administration isn’t being “tough” enough with Iran, the only way to get “tough” that they’re not already doing is war. “Are you going to go to war, Congressman?”
Ryan said no.
Chris
@General Stuck:
Ahhhh, Instapundit. You know, somebody actually tried to tell me this summer that that shit was unbiased and reliable, and that he proudly used it even though it was outside of his conservative comfort zone.
Heh. Indeed.
Anya
Love John Lewis. Hate that fucking song.
Amanda
I went to the GOTV training at the Warren office in Cambridge last weekend, signed up for poll watching and canvassing for Nov 3-6, and heard similar GOTV stories from Alice Wolf and Marjorie Decker. (Can I just say how cool it was that every speaker at this meeting from intern to elected official was a woman? A rarity in Mass Dem politics, for sure.)
Elections do indeed get decided all the time by very narrow margins — and in the final hours, especially if the weather’s bad so people either get lazy due to weather or because they think the election’s been decided so not worth going to the polls after they get home from work.
I canvassed on Election Day several years ago for a state rep from Somerville/Medford (Carl Sciortino) who ended up winning by around 100 votes and I and many other volunteers had the experience of literally pulling people to the polls after 5pm, knowing that we were super super close.
My guess is that the contacting each Warren supporter 7x will only actually happen for Warren supporters who vote later in the day. All the people who vote first thing or the early part of the day will be contacted, say they voted, and will be taken off the re-call/canvass list for the afternoon/evening. So the universe of folks who will be nagged 7x is fairly small — thank goodness!
Moral of story: Vote early in the day.
And yes we need real early voting here in Mass — we are so backward on some things, eh? Wonder if we could mount a ballot initiative campaign for early voting or vote by mail? I imagine both would be super popular and would drive up turnout, a la some other popular initiatives (minimum wage, medical marijuana, etc.) Might be a way to get that reform but also help out to get some good candidates elected by boosting turnout, especially in a non-Prez election year…Ah well a girl can dream!
I’m off to canvass for Warren tomorrow for the afternoon, hopefully there will be some folks home — weather is supposed to be super nice which normally means very few folks home. But I always leave hand written notes on my lit so they know I stopped by — hopefully that helps a little bit :-)
Oh and I am *shocked* to find out Elizabeth Warren is a good neighbor! LOL of course she is. But very glad to hear that’s translating into a crushing win in Porter Sqaure not that that was ever really in doubt but it will make up for all those annoyingly red hinterlands throughout the state :-)
Cambridge Chuck
I live about 2 blocks from Elizabeth Warren, the street is plastered with Warren lawn signs (except we don’t really have lawns), the cars all have Warren and Obama bumper stickers, the polling place is one block away (halfway to Warren’s house), and I’m still having to convince people to go and vote on Election Day. “Oh, she’s got in the bag,” said my neighbor the other day. “Massachusetts is a Dem state,” said his wife. Uh, we elected Scott Brown (and Romney and Weld and and and …) so every vote counts, even here in the Peoples Republic of Cambridge. Keep working the phones and the doorbells. Everywhere!
MikeBoyScout
It’s nearly the end of October. We need a little October surprise, don’t you think?
U.S. Officials Say Iran Has Agreed to Nuclear Talks
WASHINGTON — The United States and Iran have agreed for the first time to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, according to Obama administration officials, setting the stage for what could be a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avert a military strike on Iran.
And now a little something for Mitt on Monday
Manic Monday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQoijFax5Ic
MikeJ
@General Stuck: The argument will be that we shouldn’t talk to Iran until they’ve already agreed to everything we want, and that merely talking to them is rewarding them.
The Dangerman
Bengazi appears to be a bust for Republicans, Iran apparently agrees to talks, and Syria’s combatants are talking about a truce. Shit, they must prefer Obama’s policies to those of John Bolton.
PsiFighter37
@GregB: I don’t know if it’s just me, but despite Bibi and Mittens having worked at Bain together, I don’t get the impression that they’re really all that close. But they’re both assholes.
OT, but I just picked up Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale. I had no idea that they made this stuff in varieties (as I like the regular just fine), but you can really taste the depth of flavor that the oak adds to the beer. Huge fan! (and don’t freak out people…this is 1 of at most 2 beers I’m drinking tonight)
Corner Stone
@arguingwithsignposts:
In some threads I refrain from responding to simple douchebags like you.
Corner Stone
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Then stay the hell outta my milkshake!
Hill Dweller
@MikeBoyScout:FWIW, the WH is denying the story.
The Other Bob
Started a new job a couple weeks ago, still doing my old position too. Been doing a bunch of home improvements. Too stressed out and have been following the polls several times a day.
Am considering unplugging for most of the remainder of the election, otherwise I might pop a blood vessel.
PsiFighter37
@The Other Bob: Silver’s forecast has stabilized, with Obama generally trending upward over the past week or so.
I’m not really that concerned anymore. And I think something is wrong with just about every non-major pollster. I’m really pissed off at PPP because I think Tom Jensen & co. have let their labeling as ‘Democratic’ pollsters push their samples into Republican-leaning territory. And with the shitty pollsters that have come out of nowhere this cycle (Gravis, We Ask America), as well as the usual shitbags (ARG, Rasmussen), there’s not really anyone outside of Quinnipiac and Marist that I trust to do a half-decent job of doing state polling.
Just frustrating. Polling has just become another tool, IMO, to drive narrative. And if Obama’s GOTV game absolutely destroys the polling results (and, ergo, Nate Silver’s model, which is driven off a lot of polling data), polling’s going to lose a lot of its legitimacy.
dmsilev
@PsiFighter37: Charlie Cook had a column yesterday or day before where he published a summary of insider polls (from the campaigns themselves), and both sides agreed that in the swing states, Obama was in general up by a few points.
I think Obama has weathered the (self-inflicted) storm of the first debate and is in pretty good shape for the final sprint.
Villago Delenda Est
@SiubhanDuinne:
Good. I want the vile parasite to suffer.
Maude
@The Other Bob:
You’ll pop a vessel by not knowing. This is exciting. People are interested in this election.
What’s going on is going on, you just would be wondering what was going on.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
I’m in Tierney’s district.
I too think Tisei will pull it off. Tierney is an old-school Dem wonk, brought $3.5 million to Salem alone this past year in the form of funds for a new commuter rail station… but he’s too tainted to make it past the low-info voter. He probably should have stepped down when his wife’s family’s legal issues came out.
I bitch a lot here about the particular type of Right-leaning “Independent” we have in the affluent burbs of Boston, and Tisei is perfect for this market. Hell, if this were (say) 1992 or 1996, I’d consider voting for him myself (the idea of sending an openly gay tea-partier down to work with the DC GOP appeals to this MA voter’s mischievous side). Obviously I won’t do it this year because the stakes are too high in the current climate.
Tisei will win. And then lose the seat in the next Dem-leaning election cycle (whenever that is).
PreservedKillick
@PsiFighter37:
I’m not so sure about that.
I note that the iPhone 5 was released on 9/21 and millions and millions of people bought that, millions more were gifted older smart phones, and I bet a lot of them ditched their landlines.
Which is to say, I rather imagine that the entire robo polling universe shifted about a month ago.
I’m not sure how they can compensate.
MikeJ
@PsiFighter37: Obama is still at 11 gets you 4 , Romney 1 gets you 2 at Ladbrokes. Which is down from the peak, but still very strong odds in Obama’s favour.
The Other Bob
What is interesting over at Sam Wang’s is that his projected shows Obama’s low EV is around 281, which is what would happen if Obama lost CO, VA and FL.
http://election.princeton.edu/
I stil may pop a blood vessel.
PreservedKillick
@Cambridge Chuck:
Tell the wife to come on out to the suburbs and look at the signs. There is a *lot* of Brown support out here. Hard to tell where it stands, and I do think Warren will win, but I would not take this one for granted.
If for no other reason than to really send a message to Scotty.
TexasMango
@The Other Bob: I think 281 to 277 is Obama’s floor. They are a little nervous about predicting what his ceiling might be.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@PreservedKillick:
The signs multiplied quickly, too. Almost overnight since debate #1. Each individual sign a quiet, passive-aggressive little “i got mine, fuck you” to the neighbors.
If Scott Brown wins, then we’ll be stuck with grade-school politics here for a generation (because his lowbrow tactics will have been proven to work in MA). We don’t really want those tactics legitimized here.
So I do hope he loses, badly.
(And a Warren victory will piss off Wall Street, too. Nice bonus).
weaselone
@Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God:
I think we will be stuck with it regardless. The grade-school tactics seems to be the only weapon Republicans have in the state. It’s what they used in the last two elections for governor and during the midterms and it’s what they’re using now. Plus, the Boston Herald isn’t exactly going away so they’ll always have them as a source of documentation in adds along with cherry picked excerpts from other news sources.
PreservedKillick
@weaselone:
Yup. Drive time radio will keep it alive and well.
I’m really ready for the signs to be gone, frankly.
A lot of people who I generally respect seem to have bought into his bullshit, which I find disturbing as hell. I mean, I have zero problem respecting what the republican party used to be…but what it is now? What is wrong with these people?
arguingwithsignposts
@Corner Stone: Because you are a complex douchebag.
weaselone
@PreservedKillick:
A few decades ago there were a sizable number of sane, moderate Republican politicians. The party shifted to crazy town and eventually drove the moderate politicians out and the moderate Republican voters in the Northeast shifted their support to Democrats. A lot of this chunk of the electorate and their political decedents probably still views themselves as Republicans abandoned who were abandoned by their party. They are primed to believe someone like Brown who rides in on a white elephant and pretends to be a moderate old school Republican who can bring back the old order to the Republicans. Brown’s campaign has amply demonstrated he really isn’t an old school Republican, so these voters are gradually abandoning him and moving to support Warren. This transition should be complete sometime during Warren’s 4th or 5th term.
Joseph Nobles
@Hill Dweller: I saw that, and now Margaret Brennan is tweeting that the EU is reaching out on behalf of the P5 + 1 to Iran, and if Iran is serious, a meeting will be scheduled.
https://twitter.com/margbrennan/status/259824776829341696
Of course, Iran has pulled this kind of crap before. So I’m not surprised the White House is denying it, even if it is true.
AA+ Bonds
This is propaganda for your enemy, intentional or not
Matt McIrvin
@Redshift: You know, it’s interesting, but I haven’t gotten any phone canvassers, not even from the Warren campaign, who I’d expect to be doing it. Maybe they have me down as an email guy, somehow; they email me a couple times a day, in between the dozen pleas from OfA.
The only person this cycle who has actually made an in-person phone call was Tim Coco, a primary candidate for state senate who called me up himself (he lost, but he did get my vote).