(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)
___
Greg Sargent, at the Washington Post, on “Poetic Justice“:
When all the votes are counted, could Mitt Romney really end up achieving perfect poetic justice by finishing with 47 percent of the national vote? Yup. Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report says new votes in from Maryland put Romney at 47.56 percent. He predicts with certainty that with all of New York and California counted, Romney will end up below 47.5 percent of the vote.
Rounded, of course, that would put the final tally at 51-47. Anticipating this moment, Markos Moulitsas has inaugurated the “Romney 47 percent watch.”
At risk of piling on, a 47 percent finish would represent a perfect conclusion to the Romney political saga. If Romney ran a campaign of unprecedented dishonesty and lack of transparency, virtually all of it was geared towards misleading people about the true nature of his — and his party’s — actual beliefs and governing agenda. This was the case on multiple fronts, from Romney’s dissembling about the size of the tax cut he’d give to the rich, to his evasions about the overhaul he and Paul Ryan planned for the safety net, to the obscuring of the massive upward redistribution of wealth represented by the Ryan agenda — the GOP’s central governing blueprint for nation’s fiscal and economic future…
And Professor Krugman has “A Public Service Reminder“:
Paul Ryan Is A Con Man
So now that the Unperson/Ryan ticket has lost, Republicans are clearly expecting Paul Ryan to move right back into his previous role as Washington’s favorite Serious, Honest Conservative.He might get away with it; but I hope not.
The fact is that Ryan is and always was a fraud. His plan never added up; it was never, contrary to what people who should know better asserted, “scored” by the CBO. What he actually offered was a plan to hurt the poor and reward the rich, actually increasing the deficit along the way, plus magic asterisks that supposedly reduced the debt by means unspecified…
***********
What’s on the agenda, apart from / involving the increasingly frantic preparations for Thanksgiving?
Splitting Image
Was watching the original Police Academy tonight. Years of schlepping around Kensington Market has enabled me to pinpoint where almost every shot in the riot scene was filmed, something I missed completely the first time I watched it way back when.
I’ve been comparing the movie sequence to Google Maps. It’s funny to look at which buildings have been built up or torn down, and which ones are still there.
Cmm
Family is all far away and I have to work Thursday night, so no big festivities here. Gotta bake a batch of brownies to bring to the neightborhood potluck, probably do that tomorrow morning. Today my partner and I are going to try to go see Lincoln. There was a time when I used to go to the movies just about every week, but I would so much rather watch stuff at home these days. I think the last movie I made the theater trip for was The Avengers.
danielx
Finishing up housecleaning and doing as little as possible other than (by request) baking an apple pie. All the sisters-in-law will be present at the same time over the next few days, so I will probably resort to self-medication. I love them all dearly, but having them all together for too long a period of time is one of those situations that you just know will end in tears for somebody, one way or another.
In the meantime, I don’t get to see MY family on Thanksgiving day, which is the only time they will all be in one location during the holiday. At one time I thought that once both the mothers-in-law had gone to their rewards, Thanksgiving and holidays in general would be somewhat less fraught with schedule conflicts. (And pigs might have wings, too.) It gets tiresome being the one who’s always expected to show noble flexibility (flexible nobility?), but it’s even more tiresome to be the surly brute standing in the way of family gatherings. Then you have the double pleasure of resentment from in-laws and spousal martyrdom on the home front…I have already indicated that next year it’s Thanksgiving at our house and I have the intention of not setting foot outside the house unless it’s to fetch more firewood.
There. I feel better.
Schlemizel
@Cmm:
Years ago there was a film made here that had a hang glider sequence in it. It was funny to me because I knew the place he took off from, the places he flew over & where he landed. It was a zig-zag pattern that must have covered 50 miles at least and double backed on itself a few times 8-{D
c u n d gulag
Not only is that number humiliating to Mitt, but 47% means that the Authoritarian core was only able to convince another 20% to its Fascistic side.
Maybe at least some of those 20% are reachable.
And what should really make the Republicans tremble, is that unless Patrick or Booker end up as the Democratic candidate, they have to run against a white person.
So, that might be worth a few points, in and of, itself.
WereBear
I still have to write a Business Plan.
I’m hoping it will be even more thrilling than it sounds.
But if I’m going to cover the USA in cat toys, it has to be done.
Phylllis
Doctor’s appointment and a few errands before we hit the road. Would rather stay home and not move for five days, but hubby gets to see his son so rarely these days, I can suck it up. Plus I get the two-week break at Christmas, so tnere will be plenty of not moving time then.
amk
Sargent has been of the few pundits who has been consistently calling out the mittbot’s fraudulent campaign from the start.
Kirbster
I’ll do some housecleaning today even though 10 minutes after the weekend guests arrive, the place will look like it’s been ransacked.
Speaking of Romney the Unperson, I have never seen yard signs come down and disappear so fast after an election as I have this year.
Joey Maloney
I picked up my turkey from the butcher; it’s roughly twice the size I asked for, but whole turkeys have to be special-ordered here so it was take it or leave it.
And, oh yeah, a bus blew up about three miles from my house.
debbie
The universe always provides justice.
Amir Khalid
I wonder, what will this Thanksgiving be like a chez Romney ? Will Mitt be giving thanks that this year’s defeat leaves him still in good health, his loved ones still with him, his material comforts intact, and his spirit unbowed? (He asks innocently.)
piratedan
on the road homeward bound after a pilgrimage to Denver that will cost about five times as much as the stuff is worth, so I guess I can finally hang a price tag on sentimentality…. wish me safe travels and I’ll do the same to you all….it is kinda worth to wake up in a strange bed with a familiar woman tho…..
Patricia Kayden
Mittens — the 47% candidate. How fitting.
Napoleon
@c u n d gulag:
At most maybe a Dem gets an extra 2% but 45% is basically the Rep floor at this point. They could run Hitler’s dead dog and get 45%.
Cermet
Fixed to better represent reality of their mind’s or really, lack of a mind … .
WereBear
@Joey Maloney: Did you see the movie, Speed?
I hope no one was hurt.
Thoughtful David
@Kirbster: All of the bumper stickers seem to have vanished as well. I’ve started making an effort to find them when I’m driving, and they’re scarce.
No one likes, or ever liked, Mitt Romney. Not his dog, not his colleagues, I wonder about his family. Take away his money and he wouldn’t have a friend in the world.
Schlemizel
@Napoleon:
BLONDI 2012! Not just a real solution, the final one!
sotto voce
well at least he won’t raise my taxes!
JPL
@Thoughtful David: hmmm.. I’m off to the local Whole Foods store and now I’m going to look for those bumper stickers…
AxelFoley
@Thoughtful David:
ROFL
Linda Featheringill
@Amir Khalid: #12
:-)
Oddly, that’s a pretty good description of me right now. I’ve had a rough year physically and economically but my body is still fighting back, my loved ones are with me, I have enough material comforts to thrive, and I’m still making trouble on the internet.
What was this Sinatra song? It was a very good year?
Alex S.
There should be another general evaluation of the polls once the results are certified. For example, Nate Silver underestimated the national vote margin by at least 1%. Gallup cannot support their results with their margin of error anymore. Probably the closest national poll was the RAND Corporation tracker with a final margin of 3,4%, but in the end, almost EVERY poll underestimated Obama’s victory.
Alex S.
Also, Mitt Romney will probably get a few more votes than McCain did. So it’s not only old republicans dying away.
Schlemizel
@Alex S.:
3 little words on why
GOTV
GOTV
GOTV
Any time one side does better than expected that means people who didn’t register with pollsters as ‘likely voters’ got out & voted.
amk
@Alex S.: The 5 million shortage on total votes as compared to 2008 seems to have come from solely dems, especially in “solid blue” states like CA & NY. If repubs vote against their own interest, dems are not voting for their own interests.
Kane
When it comes to the perfect poetic justice of the past election, perhaps the most stinging for Romney and his clan is that they lost to a black man. Mitt and Ann and the boys have to live with that for the rest of their lives. That’s poetic justice generations in the making.
Alex S.
@amk:
Nate Silver’s twitter feed tells me that the 9 states with certified results show slightly HIGHER turnout than 2008. It doesn’t say which states they are, but maybe you’re right. However, CA and NY are already as blue as they can be, so lower turnout there didn’t hurt.
@Schlemizel:
Could be, but it’s disappointing that no poll got it right. Someone should have noticed some enthusiasm.
Cacti
Here’s the real reason for Republicans to be afraid…
Mittens got more votes in FL, VA, CO, and NV than Bush or McCain, but lost all of them.
He also got more votes in IA or NH than McCain, but failed to flip either of them.
SiubhanDuinne
@Kirbster:
Can’t find it now, but a couple of days after the election someone posted a photo on Facebook of a gas station/convenience store sign: ROMNEY BUMPER STICKERS REMOVED FOR FREE.
amk
@Alex S.:
This site gives the state-by-state breakdown for 2008 & 2012.
CA, NY & CT alone account for 3 mil vote loss.
Schlemizel
@Alex S.:
My understanding is the questions asked & the algorithms used to determine ‘likely voter’ are not new, they have been build, tested and refined over many election cycles. If there are real permanent changes the pollsters will adjust but there will always be the one-offs that can’t be foreseen.
You might look for a higher than normal “do you intend to vote” segment but maybe a lot of these unexpected voters didn’t think they were going to vote until they were harassed by people calling & knocking
NonyNony
@Napoleon:
Here are the numbers you need to know:
2008 – Voter participation was 56.8% of the voting age population
2008 – John McCain receives 45.6% of the popular vote
45.6% of 56.8% is 25.9% – giving us the percentage of the voting age population that turned out to vote for John McCain after 8 years of George W. Bush.
There’s your floor right there.
I’m waiting to see what participation rates and final vote tallies look like this time around. I’m thinking that without the extensive GOTV operations in solid Obama states to “run up the score”, participation will be lower overall. And Romney will end up with a higher percentage of the vote than McCain got. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see that 26% number show up again.
(Not 27%, but since this is only one sample I wouldn’t want to say that this breaks the 27% hypothesis).
Schlemizel
The onion has a couple of ‘hits’
the opinion cartoon is dead on
http://www.theonion.com/articles/blown-opportunity,30439/
and then there is this headline:
Israel Calls For Increase In U.S. Taxes To Fund Attacks On Gaza
They also hammered Willards horoscope for a home run:
Pisces: You will soon make a comfortable living exploiting other people’s deep-seated anxieties and crippling fears.
rikyrah
I’m only beginning to exhale that enough people were sane in this country not to elect that pair of sociopaths to the highest offices in the land.
As for the White folks who clung to Whiteness rather than go for the Black man who actually gave a shyt if you could feed your family……..
I’ll pray for you to get some fucking sense.
quannlace
Not so easy for that genius who had the Romney campaign logo tattooed on his face.
Cacti
@rikyrah:
The oldest Silents are in their late 80s now. Time ain’t on their side.
Cacti
@quannlace:
Speaking of the Rmoney logo, did anyone else think it looked like a squirt of Aquafresh toothpaste?
Alex S.
@amk:
Thanks very much for the link!
TaMara (BHF)
Dear Santa, Yes please.
amk
@Alex S.: My pleasure.
Lex
Charlie Pierce thinks Ryan has bigger problems than math. I think Pierce is right; at any rate, Pierce’s keyboard to God’s ear.
Omnes Omnibus
@Lex: Walker, not Ryan. Pierce is right about the way this investigation is proceeding. Slow and inexorable. If there is a solid tie to Walker they will get it. Right now, the speculation is that prosecutors know Walker is deeply involved in illegal crap but do not yet have the evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mnemosyne
@Cacti:
Sadly, the next “problem” generation in those terms is my generation, Generation X. IIRC, we took a sharp turn to the right due to Reagan’s 1980 victory and never quite recovered.
Since the oldest Gen-Xers are currently in their 50s, I’m afraid you’re stuck with us screwing things up for everyone else for quite a while to come.
TooManyJens
@amk:
Two of which got hit by a hurricane a week before the election, so I’d be wary of reading a lot into this.
catclub
@Mnemosyne: “Since the oldest Gen-Xers are currently in their 50s”
1962 is end of baby boom? I thought 1964.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
This Thanksgiving I’m stuffing the turkey with schadenfreude: Dan Senor on Morning Joke by way of the HuffPo:
Hahahahahhaaaaaa! Here’s a nickel Danny Boy. Now run along to the Clue Store and go buy a clue.
Omnes Omnibus
@catclub: Cultural vs. demographic. Demographically, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are Boomers. Cultually, they are separate generations.
rikyrah
nobody has been better at chronicling Willard’s lies than Benen over at the Maddow Blog.
danah gaz
I haz an angry. I got a call one half hour ago informing me that my in-laws had canceled thanksgiving. These were our plans.
A little notice would have been nice. I can’t even find a turkey around here at this late date.
/not happy
Cassidy
@danah gaz: WTF? Any reason?
Tone in DC
@rikyrah:
Amen.
danah gaz
@Cassidy: aunt got sick apparently. She was sick all week I guess, so I don’t see why they couldn’t have canceled sooner.
We should have stuck with volunteering at a kitchen as my s/o and I were originally planning before my in-laws were like “we haven’t seen you in ages, have thanksgiving here!”. I’d just show up to volunteer except I also have to leave town tomorrow evening (to go visit my sister) so it’s not very realistic. Most kitchens operate in the afternoon/evenings and I’ll be gone by then. meh.
Cassidy
@danah gaz: Sucks. Sorry to hear that.
Cmm
@danah gaz:
That seriously sucks. Maybe some other family members pitched a fit about festivities going on while aunt is sick, putting your inlaws in a spot, or maybe the aunt is taking a turn for the worse…anyway, I hope you find something suitable for a small home celebration. Safe travel as well!
Ruckus
@danah gaz:
Crappy deal.
Try a roasting chicken. Cooks much faster, tastes better(IMO) and no 2 weeks worth of leftovers. Usually in stores all the time.
Mnemosyne
@danah gaz:
Actually, the kitchen might be happy to have you there to help prep the meals even if you can’t stay around to serve them. Give one a call and find out.
ruemara
I think I have enough funds to buy food for the cats and possibly even myself, so that is this morning’s agenda, then it’s work on an article and try to craft a few pieces of jewelry. Then I will try to do a little baking of baked things for tomorrow.
May I request a Black Friday Crafter’s post? Kitties need food. Think of the kittens!
James E. Powell
@Omnes Omnibus:
When the Baby Boom is defined in the broadest way, 46-63 or so, it includes at least two large sections. For me, the clearest dividing line was eligibility for the draft during Viet Nam. I missed it by two years. I feel connections, cultural, political, with both those a bit older (Beatles, protests, lefty politics) and those a bit younger (Aerosmith, postmodern literature, libertarian tendencies).
satby
@Mnemosyne: The soup kitchens are so flooded with volunteers on Thanksgiving and Christmas that many of them resort to having individuals lined up and handling out spoons, forks and knives individually. The homeless end up running a 20 person gauntlet just to get a plate of food. What you can do as a really good deed instead is call around to the nursing homes and see if any need volunteers for the meals there, or even if there are a couple of oldsters who never have family visit. Because there are many and you would be a godsend there.
Omnes Omnibus
@James E. Powell: I was born in 64 and can honestly say I share virtually no cultural touchstones with the classic Boomer. I also was the eldest child of fairly young parents – they are both only a couple of years too old to be Boomers. Perhaps a younger child of older parents born in the second half of 64 might have a greater Boomer affinity.
Full Metal Wingnut
@Kirbster: That’s what happens when you’re more passionate about destroying the evil librul that you’ll vote for any white guy.
Mnemosyne
@satby:
Good point! So danah might do better to stop by a senior center than try to cram into the kitchen of the homeless shelter with everyone else.