Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

This really is a full service blog.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Not all heroes wear capes.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / Early Morning Open Thread: “Come Back Swinging”

Early Morning Open Thread: “Come Back Swinging”

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__
I can’t vote for Joe III — I’m not in that district — but I think this is just a great ad, and wish there were more Democrats framing arguments like this. (JKIII is JoeII’s son, Bobby’s grandson; if he wins, he’ll be taking over Barney Frank’s seat in a slightly rejiggered district.)

Also, Mr. Pierce has a mordantly funny post about Joe’s feckless Repub opponent.

Speaking of mordantly funny, commentor PirateDan linked to RepublicanJobCreation.com: “The GOP, keeping millions unemployed to put one man out of work.” May be NSFW, if your boss or mom spots how Mike Stanfill has altered the postage-stamp-sized GOP logo…

And to calm any morning jitters, Greg Sargent reports (via Taegan Goddard, via Mark Halperin) on how the Obama team views the final stretch:

… Chicago remains sufficiently funded and emboldened by its own polling to compete for the final two weeks in all nine of the battlegrounds: Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia in the South; New Hampshire in the North; Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin in the Midwest; and Nevada and Colorado in the West. As they have in the past, Obama campaign officials say they expect to win a high percentage of those states and conceivably could sweep all nine.

When pressed, the Obama officials with whom I met said that five of the nine stand out: Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and New Hampshire. In that quintet, Democrats believe the combination of their current leads in polling, early voting (where applicable), and ground game makes their chances of winning even greater there than in the other four. And given the Electoral College math, unless Romney picks off one or more of those five states, Obama would win a minimum of 281 electoral votes and re-election.

Meanwhile, early voting is underway, and as Molly Ball reports, more Dems than Republicans have voted in Iowa, North Carolina and Nevada. In Ohio, more votes have been cast from areas that Obama won last time than from Republican ones. Also important: The Obama team believes the early voting foreshadows a diverse electorate. Campaign calculations show that two thirds of those who have voted early are women, young voters or minorities, and that voter registration has gone up the most among Latinos and African Americans…

Reader Interactions

195Comments

  2. 2.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Raven: sending my electronic ballot in tomorrow. i am a masshole so my vote for preznit means f all but excited to fill in the bubble for warren and for medical marijuana!

  3. 3.

    mai naem

    Elliot Management Capital, the company run by Paul Singer with whom Mitt Romney has his invested at least part of his blind trust with is doing this kind of crap –

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20074775

    You just grab a ship of a nation and hold it hostage. Wow! Just freaking wow! And a fvcking wow to the Ghanians who are probably getting paid off by Elliott to do it. Hope Obama admin investigates this crap after the election and get Elliott under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act if they find anything.

    Also, I guess the US Attorney in NY is suing Bank of America for $1 billion. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bank.

  5. 5.

    Narcissus

    @mai naem: This is the sort of power they’re trying for in the developed world, too. I’m starting to put a lot more faith in The Shock Doctrine.

    Frankly if I were Argentina I’d send in the marines and take the ship back.

  6. 6.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Well, sonofabitch–

    Campaign calculations show that two thirds of those who have voted early are women, young voters or minorities, and that voter registration has gone up the most among Latinos and African Americans…

    –I just knew there had to be a good reason the Thuglicans were so hot to gut early voting provisions!

    When Americans show up to vote, the bastards lose. Throw ’em an anvil–GOTV!

  7. 7.

    Allen

    My vote just counted. Being an Oregonian, where we vote by mail, I got my Voters pamphlet a week ago, pre-marked it in anticipation of getting my ballot, which I received last Saturday. Went out or lunch today, filled out my ballot and dropped it off with county elections on my way home. Another one for the Big O.

  11. 11.

    amk

    @mai naem: The international court system is so fucked up. In what way the ghanaian court had the authority to hold another country’s warship because of a lawsuit from a vulture capitalist from yet another country ?

    And wtf kirchner means when she says “As long as I am president, they can keep the frigate but nobody is going to keep the liberty, sovereignty and dignity of this country”.

  12. 12.

    Allen

    I know it is Oh dark Hundred here in Oregon but I’m up, watching Ralph Stanley on the “Song of the Mountains”. All is good.

  13. 13.

    Schlemizel

    I’m sorry but when I read
    “JKIII is JoeII’s son”
    All I could think was “So he’s Superman’s brother?”

  14. 14.

    Schlemizel

    @Allen:

    I didn’t know that was watchable, do you have a DVD or is it video? I’ll have to hunt it down I guess.

    Saw the brothers sometime in the mid-60s but lost track of Ralph after his brother died & I assume maybe he retired or had dies himself. I was happy when Oh Brother came out & I discovered he was still working. He performed during the “Down From then Mountain” tour & was in great voice.

  18. 18.

    General Stuck

    “This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya. We had constant run-ins on the soccer field. He wasn’t very good and resented it. When we finally moved to America I thought it would be over.”

    — President Obama, on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, joking about Donald Trump’s latest challenge.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    @General Stuck:

    Oh no he didn’t!

    LOL. I might have to pitch in another few bucks for that one.

    ETA: I especially love how he dinged Trump’s soccer skills. Trump must be fuming. I hope he continues to inject himself into this election.

  22. 22.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    I’m here in sunny, warm New Hampshire and I just picked up my absentee ballot so I can help to reelect the Kenyan Usurper. We also hope to get rid of the half-bright atavist Charlie Bass and elect Annie Kuster to the House. She would be a great addition to the the Dem caucus and has been a strong supporter of single-payer healthcare for many years.

    OFA has canvassed the hell out of NH for the past year and the GOTV push is very organized AND quite large. They are legion. The GOP has nothing remotely close to matching the OFA effort.

  23. 23.

    kay

    Chuck Todd is moderating the Brown/Mandel debate tonight in OH.

    I’m not sure why. It’s a roundtable w/ local media. I hope he asks about momentum. Ideally he’ll say “the big mo” but that may be asking too much.

    Mandel is a junior Mitt Romney, so if we win in Ohio it will be like beating Mitt Romney, twice, and Chuck Todd :)

  24. 24.

    Boudica

    I voted Monday here in Texas (where my vote means zippo). Lines have been long, filled with older, white, well-off voters in my area.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    @Allen:

    @Schlemizel:

    You will be happy to know that Dr. Ralph Stanley himself was campaigning in Virginia yesterday to turn Eric Cantor out of office.

    Stanley, 85, the Grammy-winning vocalist whose song “O Death” was featured in the Coen Brothers hit film “O Brother Where Art Thou?” said he is an “ol’ timey” Democrat.
    __
    And his bluegrass-accompanied endorsement of Powell Wednesday, along with his son, Ralph II, and the Clinch Mountain Boys, was enough to draw crowds from Ashland to Culpeper, Mineral, Goochland and Glen Allen in a barnstorming tour dubbed, “O Cantor Where Art Thou?”

    He performed “O Death” in Culpeper. Oh, to have been there!

    [Wayne] Powell, a Midlothian lawyer and retired Army colonel in his first run for elected office, is challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, who’s won six straight races.

  27. 27.

    SRW1

    Kind of liked the swing Sargent takes at his ‘colleague’, Jennifer Rubin, in the WaPo piece:

    “My colleague Jennifer Rubin reports that Republican internal polling puts Ohio at anywhere from two points up for Obama to two points up for Romney. I can’t vouch for that, but (perhaps not surprisingly) it is different from what Dem internal polls are finding.”

    Sargent can’t vouch for Rubin’s reporting on internal GOP polls being correct? Ouch.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Voted yesterday in the Land of Lincoln, which will matter little in the electoral college, but Fuck Mitt Romney, I want a respectable popular vote margin to shove down those right wingers throats over the next four years.

  30. 30.

    kay

    @SRW1:

    Republicans have a bad Senate candidate in OH and that will matter w/ Romney if it’s close.

    I think Ted Strickland lost in 2010 because Democrats ran Lee Fisher for Senate, who was also a lousy candidate. I think we could have saved Strickland had it not been for Lee Fisher.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    Powell is on CBS news and questions Romney’s stands on foreign policy since they are a “moving target”. He said his support for Obama is more than foreign policy though and mentioned immigration and health care.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    Powell did a good job explaining why he supports the President. He initially spoke about the economy he inherited and then pointed out how it has improved. He said he was still a Republican and spoke about other moderate Republicans he has served such as Reagan, Bush 41 and Baker. I might have to find the tape later because he seems to have forgotten someone. hmmm.

  42. 42.

    Narcissus

    I really hate that dude. His understanding of the world is on par with that of Luke Russert.

    chuck todd I mean. Dude’s been in Washington for like twenty years and is still just the AV nerd sucking up to the cool kids.

  43. 43.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @kay:

    Chuck Todd is moderating the Brown/Mandel debate tonight in OH. I’m not sure why.

    Because Peter Principle, that’s why.

    Chuck Todd will be a judge on The Voice next.

  45. 45.

    artem1s

    @JPL:

    considering Congress believed Powell’s yellow ore BS, I would have to agree with him. But I would also like to see him shut his yap, considering his endorsement of Shrub before the 00 election stuck us with 8 years of disastrous foreign and domestic policy failures and a white house full of thieves.

  47. 47.

    JPL

    The interview was interesting and hopefully Powell will do an ad for the administration because moderate Republicans might be swayed. He gave a strong defense of the new Health Care law which I think needs to be aired.

  48. 48.

    Wolfdaughter

    @amk:

    amk, I suspect that when all the facts come out about this incident, that Moran will be exonerated. Bear in mind that O’Keefe is already famous for extremely selective editing in his videos, to make someone appear to be saying the opposite of what they actually said. I’m surprised that O’Keefe gets any sort of credence anywhere.

  51. 51.

    danielx

    @kay:

    They have a worse one in Indiana. Every media outlet in Indiana seems to be featuring a picture of Richard Mourdock with a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face, as though wondering why everyone thinks he’s an asshole. Mourdock was, not too surprisingly in this Rethug-rich state, in a close race with Joe Donnelly until his comments during Tuesday’s debate.

    By late Tuesday evening I’m sure that Donnelly and his campaign staff were wondering why God had been so good to them. As of yesterday evening other Republicans, including Mike Pence (MIKE PENCE, for lord sakes) and Willard have run from him like scalded dogs.

    Mourdock was already a loose cannon even judged by Gingrichian standards, which are considerable flexible. Now he’s viewed as an idiot as well, since he seems to be genuinely perplexed as to why anyone would be offended by his remarks. He’s pulled an Akin, which I am proposing as a noun for a gross and egregious political screwup by a wingnut candidate. Or perhaps “the Akining of Richard Mourdock”…

    Every so often one of these guys lets the mask slip, and most frequently, it seems to be a Republican senatorial candidates. Shame, innit?

  53. 53.

    danielx

    It ain’t my fault. I really hate that message about how “…the connection to the server was reset…”

    At least I’m not the only one so affected.

  54. 54.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jeffreyw:

    That’s very cool. I get all the reasons for voting early, totally support it as a principle — and have taken advantage of early/absentee voting on occasion — but personally, I just love the process (the ritual, even) of going to the polling place on Election Day, standing in line, talking with the nice ladies, and casting my ballot on the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

    But I don’t get to vote in an adorable white one-room schoolhouse. Is it still used for instructional purposes?

    ETA FYWP

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    Gail Collins, on the Connecticut Senate race:

    “I got into the race after looking at the faces of my six little grandchildren,” said Linda McMahon.
    __
    She is the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Connecticut, and, over the last three years, she has spent more than $77 million attempting to get elected. When the little grandchildren are grown into the heirs to the McMahon family fortune, do you think they’ll regard that as a good choice?

  58. 58.

    jibeaux

    @Betty Cracker:

    However, all comments to this post that are not either (a) limericks, or (b) strings of paint-peelingly angry swear words in all caps… will be deleted. CIVILITY MUST BE MAINTAINED.

    I like the cut of that jib.

  60. 60.

    Linda Featheringill

    FWIW:

    In the now-famous Time poll of Ohio, All Males and Old Folks voted pretty much the same, 38% for Obama and 50-something for Romney.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    The best thing about the Powell endorsement is that we avoid a week of media obsession about how Obama has lost the moderates, blacks, military, etc.

  63. 63.

    jeffreyw

    @SiubhanDuinne: I know exactly how you feel, I’m the same way. The local kids are now bussed to a consolidated school a few miles away. It’s used as a church these days. The pot bellied stove next to the new voting machines make for a rather incongruous juxtaposition.

  65. 65.

    mai naem

    Here’s a good headline to start the day

    httREUTERS POLL: Obama Is Going To Trounce Mitt Romney In A Landslide

    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-romney-electoral-college-map-reuters-poll-ipsos-2012-10#ixzz2AJUd7a5Ep://www.businessinsider.com/o

    This is in Business Insider – their stuff is usually right wing tinged and the date on it is 10/23 it is not some ancient poll.

    Anyhow, the folks upthread who made comments about voting not making a difference in their states. Dudes – it doesn’t make a difference electoral collegewise but it does popular vote and I don’t want the RW mofos to say that Obama doesn’t have any mandate/right to the office because he gets beat in the popular vote.
    Fvck Chuckee Cheez. It is a big deal Colin Powell endorsed Obama because Obama is still dissing GWBush on their military strategery and he could have sat it out. And Mika, seriously, can go fvck herself dimb bulb self too.

  67. 67.

    Punchy

    Im sure theyll find a way to lose those early votes. “Motherboard crash” or some such horseshit….

  68. 68.

    Napoleon

    @kay:

    Chuck Todd is moderating the Brown/Mandel debate tonight in OH

    Really?

    God I hate Mandel with a white hot passion.

  69. 69.

    liberal

    @kay:

    Republicans have a bad Senate candidate in OH and that will matter w/ Romney if it’s close.

    I hope so, given I laid a shit-ton of money on Brown.

  70. 70.

    Cassidy

    I have a FB friend who is going around lamenting that no one is paying attentionn to third party candidates. A mutual friend proudly proclaimed that she ahd voted, yesterday, and his response was something about drones and a kill list. Of course, that proud libertarian is voting for the failed Republican candidate and doesn’t bat an eye.

    Also, too, this article really pissed me off.

  73. 73.

    Ash Can

    @amk: I’m thinking that at this point, anyone dumb enough to still get taken in by O’Keefe’s bullshit is probably a liability to the campaign anyway.

    @arguingwithsignposts: It may not matter in the Electoral College, but if you live in a district with a close House race your vote is critically important to the entire nation.

  75. 75.

    MrSnrub

    Wingnut radio talking points for the day: Obama is out of touch and not serious on the issues because he was on Letterman, Leno and The View.

    Good to know.

  79. 79.

    Ash Can

    @JPL: Colin Powell calls Reagan a moderate? Nowadays, in comparison, yes, he seems like one, but in reality, no fucking way. Trying to pass Reagan off as a moderate is an illustration of what’s gone wrong with this country.

    @jeffreyw: You live in a really nice area. :)

  80. 80.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    I live in Southern CA. Redistricting has put our House seat back into play and a strong Dem is running so, after all these years, my vote will be more than symbolic.

  81. 81.

    Hal

    @Cassidy:

    I have a FB friend who is going around lamenting that no one is paying attentionn to third party candidates. A mutual friend proudly proclaimed that she ahd voted, yesterday, and his response was something about drones and a kill list. Of course, that proud libertarian is voting for the failed Republican candidate and doesn’t bat an eye.

    I’ve noticed a lot of Romney voters seem to have Stockholm Syndrome. First they say they are voting for Romney. Then in another post, they’ll say Obama sucks. Then, at some point they will point out that both candidates suck, and gosh, if only there was a third party.

    They hate Romney, and the Republicans, but I guess they hate Democrats so much more.

  82. 82.

    General Stuck

    @mai naem:

    Reading the current numbers from state polling, I am feeling fairly better about our prospects in the electoral college. I’ve also been reading some of the wildest catterwalling and Baghdad Bob rantings from the wingnuts that the election is over and Obama has been vanquished from their 4 year long blackmare.

    Clinging onto national polling and some truly off the wall takes on current events. A sample is the usually calm and collected wingnut know as Allahpundit over at Hot Air. Reduced to creepy mind reading Obama and latching onto any number of fatuous concern trolling pieces by loose democrats or independents.

    Allahpundit

    But they are losing.
    The campaign Obama is waging today could be trumpeting the products of a successful pivot back to pro-business tax cutting competence, reclaiming the national agenda following the rise of the tea party movement. But he never did, and even today, the second term agenda he’s laid out seems more like a repeated insistence that his original course was the right one, consarnit.

    Gone are the days of hope and change – now it’s just one long bout of concern trolling. It’s as if the bitterness of the 2010 rebuff has stayed with Obama ever since, gnawing at him, preventing any reflection on his choices. Maybe it’s because it’s the first time anyone’s told him “No.”

    That is some world class fapping.

    But no matter where the Democratic fingers are pointing, the fact that they are already starting to blame each other for an Obama loss has to send chills down the spines of Democrats who are still operating under the assumption that Romney can’t win.

    [I]f you’re looking for a reason (besides, of course, the national polling showing an ever-so-slight Romney edge) why the media narrative has tilted toward the Republicans over the last week or so, I think the Romney campaign’s guarantee of victory has mattered much less than the Obama campaign’s recent aura of defeat.

    The whole piece is but an extension of the Romney flopsweat we saw last debate. The state polling is congealing around a small but solid lead for Obama, with the biggest ace in the hole, a far larger GOTV infrastructure in the key battleground states.

    As of now, however, there is a distinct possibility that Romney could win the overall popular vote, and soundly lose the electoral college. That could come from a bigger turnout of white southerners to register their disapproval of our black president. If that happens, things will get interesting.

  84. 84.

    liberal

    @Raven:
    Very large campaign contribution.

    Despite shitting on O-bots here, , gave Obama a pretty sizable one too.

    Haven’t volunteered any; have small children and don’t have free time to wipe my ass these days.

  85. 85.

    gex

    @Hal: What I hate are the drones/targeting Americans protest votes for the Libertarian.

    So you think the president has too much power eh? And you want to fix that by finding a president who just won’t use it rather than work to get legislation passed to limit the president’s power? Okay, I guess now we have to always be afraid that policy will change instantly when a new president comes into office.

    Seems like they aren’t at all concerned about how much power the president has after all.

    ETA: Oh, and the fact that Romney would be so much worse doesn’t keep them from bitching about Obama and doing their best to put Romney in office.

  87. 87.

    jibeaux

    @Hal: I’ve noticed a real uptick in the “both sides suck” chatter, and it is 95% Republicans who plan to vote Republican and seem to me to lack the sincerity of the conviction that both sides actually suck but seem to think it’s the best way to convince an undecided voter to not vote or vote third party. That’s my read, anyway. They can’t sell their candidate and their criticisms of Obama are not reality-based, but at this stage of the game few people are willing to challenge them on an “everybody sucks” idea.

  89. 89.

    Cassidy

    @jibeaux: Some of them are dispassionate and cruel, but some of them are right. The military doesn’t take single parents and hasn’t for a long time. That is explained from day one. What really gets me is they focus on her being a practicing catholic and her response is “ZOMG! The Air Force wants me to have an abortion!” and then Mom says something about choosing life at the the end. It’s hard for me to be sympathetic. This has nothing to do with abortion. This is about a girl who chose to have sex and not use protection and the result of that makes her ineligible to join. She could have chosen to use protection and started her career.

    @Hal: I’m trolling them today. I posted on FB that I can’t wait for all my libertarian friends to vote for the failed Republican candidatre and then explain how that is entirely consistent. We’ll see.

  90. 90.

    Ash Can

    With so many numbers apparently turning upward, I’m thinking this is the bump from the foreign policy debate that Romney bombed in so badly. Maybe folks were paying attention, and did realize that Romney couldn’t even spin a good enough yarn to cover his ass in that debate. And if Romney really is refusing to talk to the press for the duration of the campaign now (Is that true? Anyone got a link?), I don’t see how he makes up the lost ground.

  91. 91.

    Original Lee

    Actually, I’m freaking out over the impact of Hurricane Sandy on early voting. Current predictions could mean massive power outages for most of next week and maybe even into Election Day. I shudder to think that Romney might win because of an “Act of God”.

  93. 93.

    Schlemizel

    @Raven:

    Yeah after that I did google & also wrote my local PBS affiliate asking them why they didn’t carry the program!

  95. 95.

    jibeaux

    @Cassidy: I agree that the abortion thing is a red herring, but I guess I find the nonacceptance of single parents to be problematic. There are certainly concerns with single parents in the military, but I feel like people should be able to render their informed consent and take those risks in 2012. After all, the military takes two-military-parent families and will even deploy both parents, in my understanding. Plenty of people are unmarried but have either a partner or at least a partner in parenting if not in life, they are not necessarily alone in the world. It also creates something of an inherent gender bias — a woman can’t hide a pregnancy and birth, but a man can hide a pregnant girlfriend. I have a suspicion if this were a man, even if he were going to be the custodial parent, this would’ve gone differently.

  96. 96.

    Schlemizel

    @Ash Can:

    From what I have read & heard (I am doing some cross border calling for GOTV) he is not a lock but does have a lead. WE have to hope for good things from the GOTV work!

  99. 99.

    Cassidy

    @jibeaux: I agree with that. My biggest issue with not allowing single parents is that if she had gotten pregnant after her commission, it wouldn’t be an issue, so I don’t like the lack of consistency in that regard. I also don’t think single moms should be booted out. That being said, single parents, and dual military, have to have a pretty in-depth family care plan and if you can’t generate one you are seperated.

    I can’t speak for the AF, but in my anecdotal experience, the Army is pretty even about not letting single parents join. FWIW.

    I just don’t like the religious freedoms slant of the article as it had nothing to do with it at all.

  101. 101.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @jibeaux: The military doesn’t take two parent families. The military allows members to marry. If they have kids, then the parents have to prove that they will have suitable arrangements for childcare when the parents are deployed, otherwise one of the parents has to leave. I was in the Navy, and saw this a few times. We even had one woman who tried to get out of deploying because she wanted to stay with her child, and the Navy told her to either get out or deploy.

    ETA: Too strong of a statement of the first sentence.

  104. 104.

    Cacti

    @Raven:

    I voted Monday! Doesn’t mean shit since I’m in Georgia but still.

    I feel ya.

    I voted last week in Arizona. But I do have some hope that Richard Carmona may flip Jon Kyl’s senate seat and keep it out of the hands of another east valley Republican turd.

  106. 106.

    me

    @Ash Can: He’s likely to win unfortunately as I know Rob Zerban and he’s a good guy. Ryan is sweating a bit as he’s run TV ads for the first time in a while. I have seen more Zerban signs than I expected out in Kenosha County which is rather but not extremely Republican. During the last redistricting, a chunk of Waukesha County was added to the district which makes the task for Zerban harder than it would have been 4 years ago when the Democratic challenger was weak.

  108. 108.

    smith

    Last might I argued with some guy who insists that Romney is going to “landslide” this election. No matter how many polls and links I gave him, he is utterly convinced that the polls are wrong and that Romney is going to do what Reagan did to Mondale in 1984.

    This is the same guy who, a few weeks ago, told me that he thought California and NY were going to go for Romney. Why I remain acquaintances with him I have no idea.

  109. 109.

    Elizabelle

    @me:

    Thanks for the update with comment 114.

    I shall do some phoning in to Ryan’s district after 9:00 p Eastern. Still another hour to reach people who know Ryan best!

    In his boyhood neighborhood. In his house down the block that used to house a Parker Pen executive.

  110. 110.

    Dork

    This is the same guy who, a few weeks ago, told me that he thought California and NY were going to go for Romney.

    This just exploded my StupidMeter(TM).

  111. 111.

    BGinCHI

    Detroit News endorses Romney, but admits his auto bailout strategy was terrible.

    Shorter Detroit News: WHY would you read our paper? Seriously, is it worth the paper it’s printed on? No.

    Fucking die, shitty newspapers, and hurry up.

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    @Original Lee:

    Yeah, Hurricane Sandy could be an issue. Florida early voting takes place Saturday to Saturday, October 27 through November 3. A maximum of 96 hours allowed; minimum of 48 mandated.

    The Florida legislature reduced early voting days from fourteen to eight. They outlawed voting the Sunday before Election Day.

    Tampa Bay Times has a good roundup on what the counties are doing; it varies and some counties cannot afford longer hours during the prescribed period.

  115. 115.

    Schlemizel

    @Dork:

    No it makes complete sense. When Obama wins, the Dems pick up seats in both houses this will lead to more calls for voter fraud measures since that is the only way a Dem can win an election.

    These people really do live on a different planet

  116. 116.

    Ash Can

    @smith:

    he is utterly convinced that the polls are wrong and that Romney is going to do what Reagan did to Mondale in 1984.
    __
    This is the same guy who, a few weeks ago, told me that he thought California and NY were going to go for Romney.

    Wow. That’s some industrial-strength delusion there. I hope that guy doesn’t have a job that requires him to drive or operate heavy/dangerous machinery.

    It makes me wonder how many Republicans besides him believe a Romney landslide is going to happen.

  119. 119.

    Punchy

    I know TPM is a bad word around here, but wow, they just put Michigan in the toss up catagory. Michigan! WTF?

    They really are just trolling for page clicks, aren’t they?

  123. 123.

    karen marie

    @Raven and @TheMightyTrowel:

    I’m glad the latter of you is voting for sure, but both of you should well understand that your vote does count. In fact, if everyone who said “my vote doesn’t count” voted, this election would not even be close to a question.

    Remember, kids, the popular vote may not be what decides the election but it gives the president added legitimacy which the MSM is all too willing to suggest he doesn’t have without it.

  124. 124.

    rb

    ” he thought California and NY were going to go for Romney”

    Oh for Christ’s sake.

    Dick Morris has totally fucked these people up. It’s a shame, because someone has to govern this country, and with fill-in-the-blank-trutherism having gone so mainstream we might as well be preliterate goons taking our cues from the wind and shadows.

  126. 126.

    karen marie

    @Schlemizel: I understand that inviting international monitors to watch our elections is common practice, because the United States does not want to set an example that can be used by other countries that would prefer no one monitor their voting.

    But, fuck, yeah, Amurka, or something.

  127. 127.

    rb

    @Poll Watcher: “Romney has closed the gender gap according to AP.”

    AAAAAhahaha! I feel a little guilty about how much fun I am having poking Romney deadenders. I can’t bring myself to actually root for R to win the pop vote, but I have to admit I’m enjoying the prospect of an O rout in the electoral college.

  128. 128.

    Chris

    @smith:

    Reminds me of the Communist in “Black Boy” who totally thought there was going to be a revolution if this or that government rule passed.

  130. 130.

    rb

    You know what’s going to be fun? Logging on to the Boston Herald (a pro-Romney rag of gargantuan uselessness) on Nov 7 to rant about how “our” guy Romney could have won if only he’d carried any two of his “home states.”

    (This probably won’t be factually true given the drubbing R is going to take in the EC, but numbers ain’t those readers’ strong suit.)

  131. 131.

    some guy

    Obama pulling away in both Virginia and Ohio. Up by 5 points in OH and VA, and Silver has Obama now at 290 EC votes.

    O-mentum, it can’t be stopped.

  132. 132.

    rb

    @Poll Watcher: With MICHIGAN too close to call Ohio doesn’t matter anymore.

    ROFL. Oh god, I gotta go back to work. Troll Twatcher, thank you (sincerely) for the laughs. What a great week this is turning out to be.

  135. 135.

    Ash Can

    I saw that gender-gap poll earlier this morning. These pollsters must be getting shitfaced before breakfast.

  142. 142.

    some guy

    Hee, let’s hope the GOP does put resources into a state Obama will carry by 6 points. that’s the ticket, MI is totally winnable Mitt, go for it.

  144. 144.

    Ash Can

    @some guy: I’d put as much credence in that part of the poll as in the part that claims that Romney has closed his own gender gap with women. The only thing outlier polls like that indicate is how much crack the pollsters smoked before publishing their results.

  148. 148.

    Hill Dweller

    I’d love to see the FP debate cost Willard dearly, especially after the hacks in the media were saying it didn’t matter.

  153. 153.

    dmsilev

    @Hill Dweller: Viewership for the third debate was only down by about 10% compared to the first one. Which means that quite a few people saw (a) Willard reduced to saying “I agree with Obama” all night long and (b) Horses and bayonets.

  154. 154.

    Brian R.

    @Poll Watcher:

    Troll tip:

    When you use “Democrat” as an adjective, it really gives it away that you’re a Republican.

    Also, when you claim that Michigan is in play, despite all the evidence to the contrary, it really gives it away that you’re a fucking moron. Which is to say, “a Republican.”

  155. 155.

    Chris

    @TooManyJens:

    That dude is losing his shit something fierce.

    Oh well. Not everyone can handle the pressure of having a black guy in the White House, I guess.

  157. 157.

    Brian R.

    Oh, and thanks for inspiring me to kick in another $100 to the DCCC, Troll Watcher.

    You’re doing great work, champ! Keep it up!

  160. 160.

    Elizabelle

    @Joel:

    Not in the mood for a sweet pie this morning, so I am looking at Poll Watcher and seeing

    a delicious slice of spinach quiche.

    Pie. It’s what’s for breakfast.

  161. 161.

    dmsilev

    Re: our pet moron’s new name, let me slightly rephrase a classic line:

    Apes don’t watch polls.
    Yes, they do Otto, they just don’t understand them.

  164. 164.

    Brian R.

    @TooManyJens:

    Colin Powell was an affirmative action general. No surprise he’s supporting an affirmative action president.

    Yeah, the Army is really a place where people don’t rise or fall on their own merits. It’s all identity politics there. I’m pretty sure all the generals are women these days, right?

  165. 165.

    Sparrowgal

    @karen marie: No bigs…yes, indeedy, the hypocrisy is killing. We can intimidate anyone we’d like, just keep your Nosy Parkers out of our business, or we’ll arrest your asses. Amurka, land of the freeee!

  166. 166.

    Violet

    Where in the world are all the front pagers? This thread is still at the top of the page and has been up since 5:23 a.m.

  168. 168.

    dmsilev

    @Violet: Well, mistermix usually has the mid-morning shift, and he’s off on family business.

    Cole is apparently …sleeping late.

  173. 173.

    Yutsano

    @Violet: Oh dear. We know what happened the last time JC left us unattended for this long. I think there are still stains on the wall.

  174. 174.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    “New poll from Wemakeshitup shows Romney up by 12 among left-handed, red-haired, one-eyed blacksmiths! Obama is DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!

  180. 180.

    NotMax

    @jurassicpork

    Recall your same shtick of blogwhoring (occasionally alternating with “we’re gonna be out on the street unless you send money”) from the old AMERICAblog years and years ago – even before your current blog began, IIRC.

    Some of us, at least, know the act and blissfully scroll on past at every possible opportunity.

  181. 181.

    MikeJ

    “You know, kids have good instincts,” Obama offered. “They look at the other guy and say, “Well, that’s a bullshitter, I can tell.’”

  184. 184.

    NotMax

    Anyone seen (or have a link to) anything about how badly Joe the Plumber is gonna get his butt kicked on Nov. 6?

  185. 185.

    Yutsano

    @Cassidy: It’s a hugely important voting bloc. And quite possibly teh next Undecideds. Get to it little media monkeys! Stenography awaits!

    @RedKitten: HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY MAKE THIS SO??

  187. 187.

    Hill Dweller

    @dmsilev:

    Viewership for the third debate was only down by about 10% compared to the first one. Which means that quite a few people saw (a) Willard reduced to saying “I agree with Obama” all night long and (b) Horses and bayonets.

    Willard is a Confidence Man, but he looked weak and feckless during that debate, which is devastating for people like him. His lies sell only when he does it confidently. When he is sweating and flailing, and that veneer of competence is cracked, people see the real Willard, who is a despicable human being.

  188. 188.

    Democrat Partisan Asshole

    Where in the world are all the front pagers?

    @Violet: Apparently all getting laid.

    Long overdue, I might add.

  189. 189.

    Mnemosyne

    @Boudica:

    It matters because it would be 2000 all over again (but worse) if Obama won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote.

    So even if you’re in a red state and know your vote won’t help Obama win your state, it will still help O run up the score and give a nice cushion. My friend is getting her sister to vote for Obama in Mississippi, if you really want to know what it’s like to feel that your vote for the Democrat is totally hopeless.

  192. 192.

    Mnemosyne

    @liberal:

    Haven’t volunteered any; have small children and don’t have free time to wipe my ass these days.

    Depending on how small they are, IMO one of the best things you can do is take them with you when you vote on 11/6. I have very distinct memories of my mother taking me with her when she voted and thinking it was a really, really cool thing that I wanted to do when I was a grownup. And I’ve voted in every election I was eligible for since I was 19.

    Obviously, this is for kids about age 4 and up — smaller kids won’t get it at all.

  193. 193.

    cckids

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I just love the process (the ritual, even) of going to the polling place on Election Day, standing in line, talking with the nice ladies, and casting my ballot on the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

    I get it. My daughter, who just turned 18, is determined to vote on Election Day & not sooner. She wants that experience. And, since there have been lines here in NV for early voting anyway, why not?

    I love, love, love that she is very passionate about issues & voting. We’ve been visited 4 times by Obama canvassers; the first one to see us took quite some time getting the daughter registered & talking issues with her. The whole Planned Parenthood/BC/abortion thing makes her crazy. She (and most of her friends) think the Repubs are batshit nuts.

  194. 194.

    Amir Khalid

    @Brian R.:
    Shapiro understates his own case somewhat, don’t you think? Colin Powell wasn’t just an affirmative-action general, he was an affirmative-action Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  195. 195.

    David Brooks (not that one)

    Joe Kennedy is actually the bastard son of Christopher Reeves and Benedict Cumberbatch. In a red wig.

    I wish I had stayed in that house in Massachusetts. I would have been voting for him.

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