Austyn Crites says
1. I held up Republicans against Trump sign.
2. I was kicked and choked.
3. Someone shouted gun.
4. I was saved by cops.— James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) November 6, 2016
Thirty-three-year-old registered Republican and designer of high-altitude balloons decided to rush the stage at a Trump rally, chaos ensues. I certainly hope the Secret Service would react similarly if the same thing happened at a Clinton rally, but I also think that a Democratic audience wouldn’t be so quick to panic (or to brag about our manly manliness in the face of nonexistent danger afterwards).
At least it gave Trump’s inner circle a brief respite…
Reality Check: For Trump to get to 270 he needs to win states where he has never led and the GOP has lost in at least the last 5 elections
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) November 5, 2016
Trump wants to win. But two people in his orbit have told me in last week that decisively beating Romney's 206 EVs is increasingly a goal.
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) November 5, 2016
Político writer tells MSNBC that Trump has stopped polling – because he refuses to pay his pollster. May explain campaigning in odd places.
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) November 5, 2016
Trump: "We're going to do all of the things, but we're going to have so much money left over, folks"
— Rebecca Sinderbrand (@sinderbrand) November 5, 2016
RYAN: Good God. You really stopped doing internal polling. Why?
TRUMP: Well, I didn't pay the guy for a year, and it sorta went from there— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) November 5, 2016
Frankensteinbeck
@different-church-lady:
Woah! So my comment got catapulted to the top for everyone? I thought it was a glitch on my phone!
EDIT – I’m embarrassed and would delete it as inappropriate to lead off the discussion, but it’s too late.
Arclite
It’s a shame that the GOP and their proxies (Hi Fox New & Rush!) spent the last 25 years sewing the seeds to undermine Clinton in the minds of millions of voters or we could have had the first 538 to 0 EC victory in history.
amk
drew linzer (the most accurate guy in 2012 who doesn’t get as much love & attention)
Final call – Hillz 319 to 219
Major Major Major Major
@Arclite: Seeds are sown ;)
Hello everybody! Had a lovely dinner with my parents and now I’m chilling at home with my cat and Netflix.
different-church-lady
@Frankensteinbeck: will you use this for good or evil? Edit test
GrandJury
@amk: That sounds about right.
I’m hoping for better but I’ll take that.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@amk: so Trump gets more than 206 EVs and he WINS! and the MSM gets their narrative about Hillary being disliked and just lucky.
guachi
@amk: that’s exactly the call I posted to my Facebook page earlier today. Though I’d put Iowa as a likelier bet than Ohio or Arizona.
I thought there was an outside shot Clinton would get up to Georgia but that would require an 8-10 point win and it’ll probably be more like 4-5.
FYI, 3.9 is the average democratic margin of victory since 1992 and exactly Obama’s margin in 2012.
patroclus
@amk: That seems to be about right – we lose Iowa, Ohio and Maine2, but pick up North Carolina. I think we might do better than that because Hillary’s poll fall has stabilized and because I think the pollsters may be undercounting Latinos and discounting early votes and GOTV, but I’ll take 319-219 so long as we take the Senate and make the House very close.
Adam L Silverman
@guachi: OT: Did you get any of my follow up emails in regard to what you had emailed me about back over the summer?
NotMax
Unchanged from previously, shall be very surprised if Carrot Flop reaches, much less surpasses, 200.
GrandJury
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: It was always about saving face. All the bullshit about saying the election is rigged if he loses. That was just about trying to save face.
You would think the media would call him on it but no they just played along.
Cannot imagine someone so self centered and unqualified being president. It’s unthinkable.
Gretchen
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Sam Wang says he’ll eat a bug if Trump gets more than 240. That’s confidence.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Dunno if you saw the link (posted it during the wee hours); you might find this of interest as more pieces of the jigsawski.
Follow the money to see why Putin wants a Trump victory
redshirt
@patroclus: Trump ain’t takin’ ME-CD2 by gum!
WarMunchkin
@patroclus: Does House “very close” versus “not very close” matter? Hastert suggestion means Freedom Caucus gets veto on legislation rather than crossover votes. Also, looks like Ryan might be ousted in favor of Chaffetz or another booger anyway.
redshirt
@Gretchen: You could roast a bug and it wouldn’t be so bad to eat.
GrandJury
@Gretchen: No it’s just math. Sam is going to come out of this looking very good. Nate is going to come out looking like a click baiting ass.
guachi
@Adam L Silverman: I just checked my email and it looks like you got sent to junk mail. I have no idea why.
In any event, I went TAD for a few months and when I got back they had transferred responsibility to the Army for setting up the training and I unfortunately have no idea what they are doing with it.
Arclite
@Gretchen: Depends on the bugs. Some are quite delicious. ;)
patroclus
@WarMunchkin: Yes, every legislator matters. The closer we get, the more likely that whoever is Speaker will be forced to allow votes on things they otherwise wouldn’t and it makes it that more possible to get a small coalition of Republicans on specific issues to break with their party. Sam Rayburn’s actual power in every Congressional Session in which he was in the leadership was always highly dependent upon the precise nature and breadth of his majority – it has always been thus.
Bobbo
Just tell me what time they’re going to call it for Hillz. I’ve got a busy morning Wednesday.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Gretchen: Steve Schmidt said earlier today he expects Clinton to get over 350. For that she would have to take all the toss-ups, including Ohio, and then AZ, IA or GA. Not impossible, but a long shot
gf120581
Like we need another example that Trump is a bratty child, but that determination to top Mitt’s 2012 performance is really petty. I think that’s his real goal right now, just so he can brag, “I did better than the two losers before me.”
And again, the story of his stiffed pollster proves that if you work for Trump, make sure you get the money up front. And get it in cash too, because I’m pretty sure his checks would bounce.
patroclus
@Bobbo: When California closes at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
jl
@redshirt: People should write Wang and insist it be a big bug.
RE Crites, I haven’t seen any news that he ‘rushed the stage’. He was in right in front of it, but he may have been standing there.
What news report has him rushing the stage?
Adam L Silverman
@guachi: Tracking. Would you please be so kind as to pulse those folks and then shoot me an email with what you find out. As we discussed, just need to know if I need to clear time/deconflict my schedule. Also the Signals BDE CDR where you’re at, the O6 (P), is my former student and she’ll vouch for me. Thanks!
jl
@Bobbo: You can go to bed when (very probably) PA goes for HRC, and if NH holds.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Thanks, I’ll look at it later today. O’m going to bed!
gf120581
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m thinking she at least has a margin of victory similar to Obama’s in 2012. That’s in the EC, anyway; I think her popular vote margin will be more Obama in 2008. But it could easily be larger if the EV turnout is any indication.
If she wins all of Obama’s 2012 states save for exchanging IA for NC, I’m cool with that.
Seebach
The conspiracy types are spinning this as a legitimate assassination attempt, since facts don’t matter. The unhinged Trumpists are buying attempted murder on Hillary’s part. How did so many Americans get to be so crazy?
Frankensteinbeck
@gf120581:
For his followers, beating Mitt’s score means proving to the establishment that hard racism is more effective at getting votes than dog whistles.
@Seebach:
Geez. I’ll try to explain. A fair number of people are crazy, period. A good number were raised to belief systems, like the assumption the Rapture will happen in their lifetime, that we find impossibly alien. A fair number are just hateful shits who enjoy believing Hillary is a murderer. They get a kick out of hating her that way, so they accept it’s true.
But there’s another factor that ties it all together, and it’s about race. 50 years ago, conservatives were warned that if desegregation happened, a nightmare dystopia would result. Their granddaughters would marry black men, or turn gay. Christianity would stop being a central part of society. Music would be about violence and Satan. Fornication would become mainstream. They would be forced to live in the humiliating fear of losing their jobs for using words like ‘nigger.’ Eventually, blacks would take over, and elect their own black president, and whites would be too weak to stop them.
This isn’t a joke. They were told this stuff, and it all happened. They are living in a Hell where no conspiracy is less believable than the actual horror before them. That we see these as basically good developments doesn’t change that to them, every nightmare has come true. Younger generations were raised to this ‘See? Civilization is crumbling!’ attitude.
Oh, and black men kind of scare them. They see black men everywhere now, so they’re constantly afraid.
hellslittlestangel
Someone in the Little Gloves camp has leaked video of him rehearsing his concession speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKIaS0lh-uo
Latino J
Talked with my mom and step-dad down in Florida. 2 Cubans in their 70s and 80s. Both mailed in Clinton and Murphy – though they are lifelong lefties so no big surprise.
I’m half Puerto Rican and we talked about how strong the anti-Trump sentiment is among Puerto Ricans, younger Cubans, and of course Central and South Americans. Latinos have a tendency towards believing in societal and community responsibility and action, so Democrats are a natural fit anyways. This psychotic pervert of a Cheetoo head just sealed the deal.
I imagine the Republican Party in their platform will soon become very interested in getting Puerto Rico ?? its independence so there won’t be tens of thousands of naturalized Latino citizens continuing to be born on island in the Caribbean every year. Especially not at the rate at which they are moving to Orlando.
Major Major Major Major
@jl: Lobsters are basically big bugs…
Calming Influence
l was dreaming that on November 9th 538 electors would descend on Trump Tower and physically pummel The Donald, but right now I just want 270.
different-church-lady
After about a week of fighting off panic I’ve come to my senses and realized that the only way for Trump to come out the winner of this thing is if almost everybody is wrong about almost everything.
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major: True. If you’re allergic to shellfish, do not attempt to add insects to your diet.
Do not ask me how I know this.
jenn
@jl: He didn’t. He moved forward through the crowd, though. Here’s his statement.
sigaba
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: We don’t actually vote for people anymore. We hold a vote but it’s just sort part of the background for the courtiers and baronial estate to make the real decisions :p
jenn
@jenn: And here’s his facebook post on the topic.
redshirt
@different-church-lady: It’s looking good for Team Hope.
If the Ruskies want to win they should launch Tuesday morning.
Major Major Major Major
So all of my timekeeping devices are on newfangled internet-enabled computers except the one on my wrist, AND, as I was just reminded, the one on my coffee machine.
Don’t forget the one on your coffee machine, kids!
patroclus
@different-church-lady: There was a good reason to panic – the media covered the Comey Intervention like it was worse than Watergate for about 4 days and Hillary’s poll numbers were slipping a little and the Republicans were coming home to Trump all about the same time. It went from about a 5-7 point margin to about a 2-3 margin in just a few days. It has now stabilized a bit and looks to be about like the Obama-Romney race, with switches by Iowa, Ohio, Maine2 and North Carolina. Maybe another state or two. There might be some movement back to Hillary in the closing days which could make the margin bigger, but that’s where it is right now.
FEMA Camp Counselor
@amk: Played around with the combo of states Linzer has for each candidate on 270towin and it turned out 323 Clinton, 215 Trump, so I’m guessing that’s the estimated final average?
I can live with that. I’d prefer him being in the single digits, but I can live with that.
I’ll also hold out a candle for Ohio and Arizona and hope for the best. Hard to believe they have a better chance of being blue then Iowa.
James E Powell
No polling? So they only know what they read in the papers.
Major Major Major Major
@patroclus: It went from a 7-point margin to a 5-point margin on Pollster, all of which came from reluctant Republicans coming home. Nothing to worry about!
jl
@Major Major Major Major:
” Lobsters are basically big bugs…”
OK, get a fund for a lobster dinner for Wang if Trump wins. He’ll need cheering up. As will Linzer. Their pres forecasts look very similar.
different-church-lady
@patroclus: saying a nightmare doesn’t happen, I am hankering for Comey’s head at the crack of Nov. 9th. I know it won’t happen that fast, but it better happen. No quarter.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@GrandJury:
yes, but think of it like like your some media infortament hack this is the awesome.
jl
@Frankensteinbeck:
” Fornication would become mainstream. ”
That’s been mainstream everywhere since, like, forever. And what is so horrible about that?
amk
One thing has become a surefire fact now. The rethugs will ‘come home’ regardless of how despicable their lowlife thug candidate is and how shitty his scampaign is.
An admirable trait that dems should adapt. Value your fucking vote.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@patroclus: and the press had 2012 a tie and Obama won by 4 pts. The MSM is all about the drama and doesn’t give a shit about information. That’s why the rise of things like Sam Wang and Nat Silverman.
Major Major Major Major
@jl: They’re probably pretty cheap in Maine’s 2nd.
different-church-lady
Here’s one I’ve never seen before: how the heck does comment number 1 reply to comment 23?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@amk:
They want to make a man president who is an utter mockery of everything the Right professes to value and is clearly incompetent to for the job. Their is nothing admirable about willful, slavish ignorance.
Frankensteinbeck
@jl:
They believed it wasn’t, or at least that people pretended it didn’t happen. Yes, it’s a wildly ahistorical view. They have a lot of false beliefs about tradition and history.
patroclus
@different-church-lady: What happens with Comey all depends on the Senate. If we take it and Schumer pushes through filibuster reform, then he’s removable and a new appointee could get through. And it also depends on how much of a mandate the media interprets the victory. Ideally, Obama would get rid of Comey to save Hillary the headache, but I’m not sure if he’s inclined to do that. If we don’t take the Senate, he stays. If we only make it 50-50, it’s dicey because Manchin, Bayh et. al. might not go along.
Timurid
@hellslittlestangel:
I thought this was his concession speech…
different-church-lady
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: i think for a lot of them, the incompetence is part of the appeal — the more unqualifed the candidate, the more it drives “libtards” crazy, and that’s really the only thing that matters to a lot of them.
jl
@Frankensteinbeck: Crusty old US ur-conservative John Adams was known to praise the blessings of fornication, he put it in a letter once to somebody, or maybe his autobiorgraphy or private notes, at least the married type. At least I assumed that was the type he meant. I don’t remember if he was specific on that point.
patroclus
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: That’s why I think the margin might widen as it did in 2012 – if it’s 2-3 now, it could widen back to 5-7 with better GOTV and Latino turnout. That’s what I’m hoping for because that would ensure the Senate and make the House closer. There’s still a chance of a mini-wave, but confidence is low.
Frankensteinbeck
Okay, folks, when I edit a comment on my phone, it goes to the top. Somebody tell Alain. I’m leaving so I don’t screw things up worse with my magical demon powers.
jenn
Bernie-or-busters in Washington really are something else. I worry that their shenanigans are going to depress the vote there – though I hope I’m wrong. I appreciate the push Bernie has made here in the last part of the campaign, but his campaign’s naivete and unprofessionalism regarding delegates/electors is absolutely inexcusable. In future, the DNC needs to train the campaigns in some basic processes and requirements, because this shite is not acceptable.
different-church-lady
@patroclus: Obama has to do it. Clinton can’t — a conflict of interest so large it couldn’t possibly be ignored. Fuck a replacement. If the GOP thinks we can live without a ninth justice then I say we can live without an FBI director too.
Major Major Major Major
@jenn: You can’t really blame that one dumb fuck elector on Bernie, dude.
redshirt
@Frankensteinbeck: Such power! All hail Frankensteinbeck!
redshirt
@Major Major Major Major: Bernie should specifically talk with him.
? Martin
@patroclus: Yeah, looking increasingly the case that pollsters are underestimating the latino vote to a large degree. Now, that will only affect a handful of states, but it may throw AZ into Dems hands, and it may push TX a lot closer than people are expecting. Obama won Hidalgo county 97K to 39K votes. They’ve already exceeded 2012 vote totals in that county. Clinton could add 40K votes there. 8K votes is 1% in Texas. If El Paso is seeing similar strength, this is going to shake some shit up. The most recent 2 polls put GA at under 3 points. There’s enough latinos there to cover that spread.
I was a bit skeptical that what we saw in Clark Co. was widespread, but I’m seeing numbers out of a lot of different states that suggest that latinos have woken the fuck up everywhere.
Major Major Major Major
@redshirt: Sure, why not?
NotMax
@Frankensteinbeck
Hate to break it to you, dude, you broke the intern- – – – – – – – [
static]patroclus
@different-church-lady: Well if I were Obama, I would tell Chuck Grassley that Garland gets confirmed in the lame duck or Comey gets fired – his choice. But Obama was already quoted as saying Comey was an honorable guy and he just doesn’t do hardball stuff – notwithstanding all the Republican lies about him. Counting on Obama to be vindictive and hardass is just not a good bet. If anything, he’s likely to be even more accommodative in the lame duck so as to preserve his legacy. So don’t be too disappointed if Comey stays.
? Martin
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Pollsters are clearly struggling to get turnout models right. That was true in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and looks pretty clearly true in 2016. Hell, there are several parts of the country that have *already* broken the pollsters turnout models and it’s not even election day.
different-church-lady
@patroclus: I won’t be surprised, but I’ll still be pissed.
redshirt
@NotMax: Come in NotMax! Come in No………ZZZZZT………
redshirt
@Major Major Major Major: If the power of Bernie and laying on of hands can’t change this faithless elector, nothing can.
I was legit worried about the Electoral College in 2008.
patroclus
@? Martin: Two weeks ago, I really thought Texas was turning blue. And possibly Georgia, Arizona and Alaska too and I also thought there was a shot at both Missouri and Indiana. Now, I don’t really think any of that will happen. Even if it widens to 5-7 points. We’d need 8-10 for any of that and I just don’t think that’s possible now that the Republicans have come home to Trump.
Sm*t Cl*de
@Major Major Major Major:
Trufax! Insects are just crustaceans that specialised for life out of water!
amk
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: You can turn up your nose all you want at them. There is a reason they wield and control political power everywhere.
? Martin
@patroclus: Texas is turning blue, perhaps just not this year. Their demographic destiny is stronger now than ever. Now, we may lose Michigan in the process…
James E Powell
Comey needs to resign and the Democratic senate needs to investigate the FBI’s involvement with this election.
Seebach
I feel like Clinton has probably got this in the bag, it’s the Senate that;s key or we’re just going to have 4 years of Siege Presidency
WarMunchkin
@Seebach: It ain’t over till the fat man whines.
Scratch that, he’s been whining like a wittle baby all election, and it just keeps going. Point is, it ain’t over till it’s over. But I’m excited about getting our first Madam President.
jl
@Sm*t Cl*de:
” Trufax! Insects are just crustaceans that specialised for life out of water! ”
Oh great, now we are back to Wang has to eat a yucky bug if Trump wins.
Edit: I hear on the news that Trump went apeshit again tonight, though they won’t come out and say it. But the guy was raving. Either he is moving into the next stage of grief, or last ditch appeal the basest of his base.
jl
@? Martin: A better macroeconomic and international financial policy can do some good to fix that.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major:
Good thing I quit drinking coffee.
Calming Influence
@BillinGlendaleCA: I picked a bad week to stop sniffing glue.
WarMunchkin
Madam President
Major Major Major Major
@WarMunchkin: Nice.
Major Major Major Major
@Calming Influence: It’s always a bad week to stop sniffing glue.
RK
different-church-lady
I hope you’re all flattered that I spent my extra hour here with you.
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: Yayy!
Mnemosyne
Home from a fun party. Everyone go see Moana when it opens on 11/23. You’re welcome.
Sm*t Cl*de
@jl:
Hands up everyone who wants a lecture about arthropod cladistics!
scav
@Major Major Major Major:
Well, I tried really hard to reset my French Press, but I don’t think it took.
Thing doesn’t even work as a hour glass or even an egg-timer (unless you like them really really runny).
Groucho48
Reposting this from another forum I hang out at. If anyone in the Buffalo, NY area is interested in hanging out on election night, I’ll post details.
In 2012, I watched at home. In 2008, I was down at my regular bar. The place was moderately crowded. Virtually everyone was an Obama supporter. It was located on a bar strip and there were lots of folks out on the street just hanging out and hugging each other. I popped into a few of the other places and it was all Obama. We were all confident/semi-scared. The results started coming in. The number actually weren’t very good at first but some of us election junkies expected that and we reassured folks. Then, the big battleground states started coming in. Obama was winning them. Shots were downed. 60’s music on the sound system. The crowds out on the street were getting thicker. Buskers were playing their hearts out. Local news stations had crews on the street. The polls in the west closed at midnight, eastern time. Obama was declared the winner! The street went wild!
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Frankensteinbeck:
You aren’t screwing things up. It’s just an effect of the change off of daylight savings time. Different devices are producing different timestamps, so things are jumbled on the thread.
However, tonight was the first time change, in either direction, since I’ve been working here that I didn’t get all sorts of alarms right at 0200.
Betty Cracker
@James E Powell: Yeah, that’s where I am on this issue. It’s not about “optics” or whether or not PBO is inclined to play hardball or horse-trading for the Garland nomination. It’s about protecting the U.S. from a rogue agency that is attempting to subvert an election. It’s a serious matter than should transcend political bullshit.
Taylor
@different-church-lady:
The problem is that firing Comey will be spun as suppressing Comey’s brave investigation of Crooked Hillary. And the media, which hates her, will happily cover that story 24/7.
Maybe better to appoint an Independent Prosecutor to investigate the FBI interference in a national election. It should start by getting a subpoena for all emails between Comey and Chaffetz. The subtext is that it should clean out the Augean Stables at the NY FBI office.
At some point, Comey should be pardoned. It will have the effect of throwing him to the RW wolves.
Groucho48
It’s been at least 8 years since “optics” have mattered at all. The right spins everything Dems do as bad and the media generally goes along with it. So, forget optics. The main concern would be Comey’s replacement. Republicans, of course, aren’t going to allow Obama, or, probably, Clinton, to appoint anyone. So, anyone have a sense of who could be appointed from the ranks to be a “temporary” head of the FBI? By “temporary” I suspect I mean for the next 8 years, unless there is a real liberal in a high ranking spot that Clinton could slot in, in which case the Republicans will propose another Comey type and whine if Clinton doesn’t go along with their pick. The media, of course, will blame Clinton for being partisan.
opiejeanne
@Groucho48:
We were waiting to see if there would be a meet up in Seattle on election night, but I went ahead and signed up for tickets to the Washington State Democratic Election Party. It’s free, it runs from 6 – 10pm, and a lot of the state and local candidates will show up, including Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee.
The link is here Election Party
Groucho48
@opiejeanne:
Nice! Locally, I’m surprised very few places have advertised to be election night hang out spots. There was quite a number in 2008. Not so much in 2012, but, Obama was an incumbent. In 2016, we have a race that seems even more hyped and dramatic than 2012., but, very few bars seem to be pushing election day specials.
My sad suspicion is that it is because most bar owners and regular customers are male and they just don’t see the transformative nature of this election.
TS
The lies spun by Trump and his allies are beyond anything ever before seen in an election. That so many believe them is a reflection on the media not calling him out & the people themselves. It seems attacking the President with lies was the end for Pierce – I hope many voters see it the same way
Slandering the President
The President when a protester interrupted him:
Trump’s explanation of what the President said
Pierce – the lie that broke the camel’s back
Taylor
@James E Powell:
That would effectively mean the Senate investigating the House.
Bobby Thomson
Why are you helping spread zombie lies? No credible news source said he tried to rush the stage.
Bobby Thomson
@Major Major Major Major: Sure, we can. But fuck em both. There are elections to win.
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: I’m with you and JP: I want the Russian hacking/connections to Team Trump thoroughly investigated, I want the FBI’s attempts to sway the election (including any links to Rudy Giuliani and Jason Chaffetz) thoroughly investigated, and then I expect to see some thorough coverage of the Trump university trial, sexual assault allegations, and all of the people his campaign is stuffing
amk
bbc now – trump rushed off stage by security
gopolitico now – trump rushed off stage by secret service
bbc should simply sell off itself to the murkan msm. pathetic.
Bobby Thomson
@amk:
Not following. Both of those statements are true. No one rushed the stage, but Trump was rushed off the stage because the Secret Service doesn’t get second chances.
amk
@Bobby Thomson: The misleading headline is not the real story here. I expect bbc to offer better than click baits.
Bobby Thomson
@amk: “Protester knocked to the ground at Trump rally” is dog-bites-man stuff. At least they didn’t claim anyone rushed the stage or attempted to assassinate Trump, unlike Balloon Juice.
bystander
@different-church-lady:
Thanks for the tip, DCL!
As someone pointed out to me once, soft shell crabs basically have the cell differentiation of a cockroach. Yet, soft shell crabs have their fanatics just like other inexplicably liked foods. Cupcakes and Beaujolais nouveau.
Hal
That’s not much of a goal, is it?
msdc
@jl:
Yeah, this. All the reports I’ve seen say that he pulled out an anti-Trump sign, the crowd jumped him, and one of those brave patriotic pants-shitters shouted that he had a gun. Nothing about rushing the stage.
different-church-lady
@jl:
If Trump wins, watching that would be the only thing even remotely close to a silver lining.
different-church-lady
@Taylor: ah, maybe counter-investigation is the pressure point: “You don’t want Justice prosecuting your ass for Hatch Act violations? Then your resignation on my desk. If you want to come out of this with some face you’re welcome to claim it’s because there’s no way you could work for the Madame President-Elect.”
Cheryl from Maryland
@bystander: Also the other way around. My mother had an allergic reaction to a bee sting which morphed into a serious allergy against shellfish.
PPCLI
@Latino J: In connection with the Latino vote, Trump’s relentless anti-Latino rhetoric gets most of the attention, and perhaps for some older Cubans the fact that Trump broke the embargo on the sly is seen as playing a role. But also I imagine that people who fled places where they actually lived under dictators recognize the constant chants of “lock her up”, the relentless demonization of opponents, the threats to clamp down on media that don’t toe the line, the completely reality-free rhetoric, etc. as the red flags that they are, much more than many complacent Americans tend to.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Groucho48:
That was the “Everyone chill the fuck out, I’ve got this” election. There were happy spontaneous parades everywhere that night.
Percysowner
Well over at 538 they posted an article noting the ‘stunning’ fact that House Democrats Are Getting More Diverse. Republicans Aren’t. . It actually contains this
Although the article wasn’t written by Nate Silver, such deep analysis doesn’t leave me with tons of confidence in the site right now. Who would have thought that a party who nominated a racist, misogynist for President wouldn’t be fielding diverse candidates?
PPCLI
@Taylor:
Also pull out all the stops to find out who the active agents that Guliani bragged about getting information from are. Just before the story broke he was so giddy and arrogant that he let slip very damaging information — caught on video — about who he is talking to. The urgency with which he is now insisting that he’s only talked to retired agents, and that anything he said to to the contrary isn’t true, is a sign of how he knows he fucked up and may have set in motion a procedure that will burn his sources badly.
I would so love to see Guliani put under oath and asked some hard questions about that.
And though I think that it will be impossible for Comey to function effectively with Clinton as prez, and so he would be wise to resign, and Obama would be wise to make that option look attractive to him. The people in the NY office need not be fired — that would create a bit PR mess. Quietly and gradually scattering all of them to offices in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, etc to crack down on the newly-discovered interstate cigarette-smuggling and non-licensed sports jersey selling crises would have a healthy effect as well.
LAC
@Taylor: optics schmoptics . The hatch act is clear on this. The office of special counsel investigates this and I believe will find cause to fire this idiot . As someone who has worked in government for 20 years and has advised government officials on these sorts of issues, this story is the very one you use to display the textbook definition of violating the hatch act. And that goes for any other government employees that were involved the options are not scatter someplace else. It is a fireable offense
Frankensteinbeck
@PPCLI:
I think replacing Comey will have a huge difference. If the head of the FBI is trying to politically sabotage a presidential candidate, is it any surprise some of his most partisan employees will do the same? Of course, those agents should also be fired and/or prosecuted.
NotMax
@LAC
Office of Independent Counsel hasn’t existed since the act authorizing it was allowed to expire in 1999 (see here for the history). Appointment (or non-appointment) or special counsel since then is at the sole direction of the Attorney General, governed by provisions and strictures of the U.S. Code (ref.).
Barbara
@Frankensteinbeck: Comey made incredibly irresponsible and inflammatory comments back in the summer and instead of satisfying the obsessive Clinton haterrs that he would have indicted if he could he gave them hope and agency to soldier on. Any prosecutor should have understood this. He is incompetent. Giuliani and Kallstrom both made comments to the effect that they were getting information from active agents. Odds are at least 10 to one they are frantically trying to sanitize their communication devices.
Barbara
@Percysowner: The article is interesting because it lays out how much discrepancy there is between the parties in reflecting overall American demographics, but the more surprising stat is how quickly Republican female participation has stagnated. The people most at risk are politicians in diversifying states. Hence Issa’s difficult election cycle. Sometimes the numbers really can speak for themselves.
daves09
I don’t understand the whole *Comey is an honorable man* thing. He apparently did one possibly good thing way, way back and that gives him a plenary indulgence for all the rest of his life?
It all comes down to democratic presidents not appointing repubs to high office-or any office. It can’t be said often enough-there are no moderate repubs, if they were genuinely moderate they wouldn’t be repubs.
Xenos
@jl:
Lobsters are bugs, AFAICT.
Lurker Extraordinaire
@Latino J: plus all the Nuyoricans that have moved from NY to FL for retirement (like my parents did). They have experience with the Donald. They didn’t like him in NY and they don’t like him in FL.
Raven Onthill
@different-church-lady: that’s how suicides think.
Hunh. Are some of the extremists subconsciously self-destructive? Are they, like the liberal third-party voters, hoping that some god will receive the message they are sending?
Porlock Junior
@different-church-lady:
OMG, of course! Might President Clinton II play hardball with these bastards over the Court vs the FBI?
Might?
Gotta be careful about the terms of the negotiation, to be sure. Maybe the administration can get a cut-price copy of a book about the art of making a deal and reneging on it.
Porlock Junior
@redshirt: The Rule of Saint Benedict got it right:
This (a slight misreading of the Rule, per Wikipedia) is clearer on a wall hanging printed sometime around 1940, showing the two stout monks preparing to explain the matter wit the aid of two stout cudgels.
Spider-Dan
@patroclus: I don’t think anyone has ever waited for CA to close before calling it. If Hillary has the win in FL and OH when those polls close, they will call it on the spot. Without OH, if she has FL+NH+NC+PA+VA, they’ll call it then, too.