Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2017 / Election Reaction Open Thread

Reader Interactions

298Comments

  3. 3.

    Baud

    In all honesty, a small part of me is a little sad that Hillary had to be treated the way she was to get us “woke.” But all in all, a good and hopeful night.

    If we turn out, we win.

  5. 5.

    Shana

    Just checked the VA elections page. 52 Democrats are leading in House seats. Not all precincts are in, but if this holds, we’ve taken control of the House of Delegates. 100 House districts. Wow.

  8. 8.

    Mary G

    I thought I’d be up late chewing my nails, but it’s only 6:20 here and I’m off to bake brownies.

  9. 9.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    This is the greatest win for the Democrats and a stunning defeat for Ed Gillespie anf Dolt45. Its pushback on everything Dolt45 us doing and means he’s a big fat loser.

  11. 11.

    guachi

    I haven’t read anything about this yet. But I wonder how the 160,000+ felons enfranchised by Mcauliffe voted. Or how many of them voted.

  12. 12.

    japa21

    @Baud: They don’t have to wait. A redistricting can be done anytime, it just is traditionally done after the census.

  16. 16.

    japa21

    @guachi: Even if all voted for Northam, and their votes were not counted, he still would have won.

    When Brazille came out with her inane comments, a lot of people were worried about the impact it could have on today’s elections. Not sure it spurred anybody to vote for the Dems and may have discouraged some. So just imagine the margin of victory if she hadn’t.

  18. 18.

    dmsilev

    Whine whine whine head in sand:

    Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
    Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!
    5:40 PM – Nov 7, 2017

  20. 20.

    PsiFighter37

    @dmsilev: Wait until the Republicans in Congress start running from him as fast as possible after tonight. Bitches know next year is going to be even worse…

  23. 23.

    tobie

    @Baud: I hear you. The one consolation in all this is for me that the response to Brazile’s broadside has been so overwhelming, and the electoral victory in Virginia so staggering, that many in the party are beginning to wake up to the fact that Bernie does not represent either the Democratic or the progressive base. I hope all the male hipster journalists (e.g., Hayes, Yglesias, Josh Marshall, Ezra Klein, Beinart, Van Jones etc.) will wake up to this soon, too. It’s time to demand party unity.

  25. 25.

    Jeffro

    @dmsilev: What a douche he is (with apologies to douches, which are at least useful)

    Meanwhile, I’m not having any of this nonsense: Virginia shows that anti-Trump Republicans and Democrats still have a pulse. Um, sorry, no Ms. Rubin. I’ve been loving you perhaps a little too much of late. Dems did this without any of your (extreme minority) of anti-Trump Rs, who at best did the country a favor by staying home in some manner today.

    Virginia showed what happens when DEMOCRATS turn out.

  29. 29.

    JPL

    I am so excited that VA looks good, and now I hope that the local candidates that I worked for win.

  30. 30.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    CNN’s VA Exit poll shows 34% of voters said they came out to cast votes against Trump.

    Northam won that segment 98% to 2% (link)

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: Federal court will be redistricting shortly after the first of the year as they’ve found the existing maps to be unacceptably gerrymandered.

  33. 33.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Dave Wasserman‏ @Redistrict

    Wow. Surveying the down-ballot wreckage for Republicans in VA. It’s not pretty. Democratic wave. Details to come…

    137 replies 2,036 retweets 5,586 likes

  35. 35.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker: I’m seeing if he starts a war tonight as recompense for his losses. So far, he’s just reading very poorly. Boring Trump is the best Trump (and still awful).

  37. 37.

    Amaranthine RBG

    Good news in VA

    Polls projected Northam but I’ll be goddamned if I ever trust polls again.

  41. 41.

    Yarrow

    VA HOUSE OF DELEGATES: 45D, 45R, 10 seats left uncalled (districts 21, 26, 27, 28, 40, 62, 68, 84, 85, 94). Dems favorites to win majority at the moment.— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2017

    YES!

  42. 42.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Rick Wilson @TheRickWilson

    A whole bunch of consultants who were ready to roll out ads and messages about MS-13, the NFL, Confederate statues, and sanctuary cities are muttering, “Damn it damn it damn it.”

    69 replies 270 retweets 1,174 likes

  43. 43.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Betty Cracker: Yep, he delayed it about 25 minutes. Apparently he was rewriting it. Or, rather, he was yelling at Stephen Miller who was rewriting it.

  47. 47.

    Mary G

    @dmsilev: The replies to that tweet are really interesting, too. It’s almost all people against him, with gifs of waves breaking and other insults. The bots that usually tell us Twitler is ordained by God and the bunch that go #MAGA are all absent. Can’t decide if Putin has decided to pull the rug out from under him or if the unusual time of the tweet means they are all off work.

  49. 49.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro: Btw the coalition Rubin describes (that turned out to vote for Northam) is exactly, 100%, the Obama coalition. Women and people of color, lower income and middle class, younger people. You know, Americans who somehow despite having every reason in the world to feel ‘economic anxiety’, still manage to vote for Dems.

    Put that in your pipe and smoke it, media cretins.

  50. 50.

    TS

    @tobie: Hayes had Brazille on tonight – both laughing that anyone would dare say she might have caused a dem loss – so he isn’t changing yet.

  52. 52.

    dmsilev

    @PsiFighter37: Not to mention the message that he’s a fair-weather supporter and any failures are Not His Fault Nohow Never. He was all in for Gillespie just this morning. Probably going to be somewhat fewer people eager to stick their necks out for him after this.

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    @Jeffro:

    And by far the biggest plurality of voters voted with health care as their #1 issue. Those votes went 79%-21% for Northam.

    I caught a moment of Rick Santorum on CNN saying people voted against Gillespie because Trump “didn’t get healthcare done.” Uh huh. Idiot.

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    @MomSense: And given the plug for his golf course and his discussion of Korean women golfers, they should have kept revising it.

  60. 60.

    japa21

    And the Republican has concede in the Charlotte mayoral race. This has been a wonderful night.

  63. 63.

    Davebo

    Took one shot of my 30 year old Balvenie tonight. Bottle is now slightly less than half full.

    Back to the Oban!

  64. 64.

    Gin & Tonic

    @zhena gogolia: Not only did she win, she beat a 26-year incumbent who called himself the state’s “chief homophobe” and authored their version of the bathroom bill.

    ETA: And raven beat me to it.

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    How long is this bloated, haggard, inarticulate piece of shit going to drone on? I was hoping to see GOP concession/Dem victory speeches!

  75. 75.

    Kay

    @MomSense:

    Maine’s Medicaid expansion referendum question now up by 16. Phew.

    That’s great. People who never had health insurance love Medicaid. All the comparisons btwn Medicaid and private insurance neglect to take that into account- that for many of them they had nothing, their whole lives. Of course they’re thrilled with it.

  77. 77.

    Jeffro

    @Yarrow: They should have asked him, “And why is that, Rick? Anything about the president* that might have made that a steeper climb than anticipated?”

  80. 80.

    tobie

    @TS: I caught the first minute of that and then turned to the Durrells in Corfu (a delightful show). Yes, Hayes did a classic bait and switch. Exaggerate what your opponent said so it seems silly and indefensible. The fact is that Brazile launched her book with an attack against HRC and the DNC because she thought that’s what most liberals and Democrats wanted to hear. That her polemic had little resonance outside the beltway shows just how much she and people like Hayes misjudge the party’s base.

  81. 81.

    Baud

    @dmsilev:

    Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for.

    Donald is right. GOP candidates need to embrace Trump in 2018!

  82. 82.

    Ian G.

    Considered it’s a miserable rainy cold awful day here, and the Islanders just lost (in OT, so they get a point), I needed news to make me smile somewhere. Getting it in big doses here.

  83. 83.

    BlueDWarrior

    The coalition is strong, the coalition can win both the Legislature and the Executive. You just need to let the WHOLE coalition in.

    We don’t need to shut out working class whites who want to play ball, in fact we should be encouraging them to make a genuine change; but we should not give up urbane whites, minorities, or women in any configuration to do it.

    This is Corey Booker’s party as much as it is Claire McCaskill, or Joe Manchin, or Elizabeth Warren, or John Tester, or Chuck Schumer.

    We have to find our way to making it work for everyone in equal proportion, because we all have a point, yes even the Manchins of the world from time to time, but we cannot give up other parts of to coalition to protect one.

  85. 85.

    Ken

    @divF:

    So a GOP candidate’s choice is the pox or the gallows.

    Their own fault, for insisting on anthrax and tire rims for so long.

  86. 86.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @tobie:

    You don’t build coalitions by denying reality

    Sanders won 13 million votes to Clinton’s 17 million

    Writing off 13 million voters is a really, really fucking stupid thing to do

    Why don’t you do the Democratic Party a favor and shut up?

  89. 89.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Dave Weigel‏ @daveweigel

    In 2014, Gillespie won Loudoun County (DC exurbs) by 456 votes.

    He lost it today by 23,432 votes.

    19 replies 383 retweets 1,201 likes

    Hmmmmm, what could be the difference, what could be the difference..

  90. 90.

    Chyron HR

    Gee, I guess winning the Presidency on a technicality doesn’t actually mean your party is popular.

  91. 91.

    raven

    Looks like our female, hispanic democrat is going to win the local special state congressional seat.

  96. 96.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I can just imagine if the two of them ever met face-to-face. Trumpov would be such a beta, he’d be an gamma. Maybe even a kappa.

  101. 101.

    Jeffro

    @Amaranthine RBG: I’m confused – who’s writing off 13M voters? They’ve been asked pretty nicely, repeatedly, to get on the team and play a part other than spoiler. That’s writing them off?

    Oh right, all or nothing and all that…nevermind.

  103. 103.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: His mommy is on the floor with him and he’s pretty quiet. I kept putting his bowl in front of him and he turned away. When I sat on the deck and hand fed him he gobbled it down. He’s playing us like a Stradivarius.

  109. 109.

    tobie

    @Amaranthine RBG: You also don’t write off 17 million voters via the extortion tactics that Bernie’s supporters have gotten so good at. You work together on what you can agree on. You don’t demand 100% agreement or no support.

  110. 110.

    different-church-lady

    @Jeffro:

    They’ve been asked pretty nicely, repeatedly, to get on the team and play a part other than spoiler.

    And the vast majority of them did.

  112. 112.

    Shalimar

    @Yarrow: Obamacare enrollments are at record levels despite the administration basically eliminating outreach. Santorum is full of shit.

  114. 114.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Joy Reid‏ @JoyAnnReid

    If I’m @TheDemocrats one takeaway from Virginia is to register as many voters of color and college educated white voters as possible before 2018, then invest in turning them out.

    152 replies 1,530 retweets 5,063 likes

    but, but…. working class whites

    but, but…. economic anxiety

  117. 117.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @different-church-lady: When I was stationed in Korea (’87-’88) Armed Forces Korea Network was not allowed to show reruns of M*A*S*H, because the ROK government found it “offensive”. Don’t know if that has changed, but most Koreans probably wouldn’t get the reference.

  119. 119.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Nate Cohn @Nate_Cohn

    I see some commentary on why Gillespie lost that seems disconnected from what just happened.

    He did really well in white rural Virginia! He’s going to outperform Romney, Cuccinelli in all sorts of areas.

    He was *annihilated* in the suburbs.

    36 replies 527 retweets 1,277 likes

  123. 123.

    BlueDWarrior

    @different-church-lady: Yeah, I mean, we should decouple the two sets of BernieBros.

    If we are talking normal liberal Democrats who had had problems with the Clintons specifically (largely since the 90s) but are willing to work with the party regardless, then we should find a way to work them back in; just not necessarily jettisoning anything or anyone to do it.

    If we are talking the real super-hardcore Bros who are getting to cult of personality range with Bernie… nah I don’t have any real time for them.

  125. 125.

    tobie

    Trump’s face is sagging. Either he’s gained tons of weight or he’s recently had botox treatment. He’s saying some incoherent stuff about N Korea not ever having nuclear weapons. Well it does. What do we do not, idiot. The S Korean MPs look bored.

  127. 127.

    MomSense

    @Kay:

    Back in the 90s we expanded Medicaid when we created the Dirigo insurance program(our attempt to create a mining ACA) so we had Medicaid up to 140% of FPL without the requirement of dependents. The Republicans didn’t decide not to expand Medicaid. They actually decided to contract it. One of the most cruel political acts I’ve ever seen in this state.

  129. 129.

    magurakurin

    @BlueDWarrior:

    If we are talking the real super-hardcore Bros who are getting to cult of personality range with Bernie… nah I don’t have any real time for them.

    this. it’s all so beyond tiresome now. And completely wrong and short sighted. They are fighting the last war. They will be a marginalized, lunatic fringe by 2020.

  131. 131.

    Shalimar

    @Amaranthine RBG: As others point out, we’re not writing off 13 million people. I was one of them, as were many others here. We’re writing off the few thousand of you who will never get over being butthurt.

  133. 133.

    different-church-lady

    @BlueDWarrior: Agreed. I was being sarcastic, but the serious part is that it’s only the dead-ender BernieBros who keep telling us the only way back from the wilderness is to give up “identity politics” and embrace the white working class above all else. They seem to be the only ones who want to exclude the other parts of the coalition.

  136. 136.

    Marcopolo

    @tobie: Not sure why you threw Marshall in there. I’m well aware of his opinions and you’re way off base with that. Kinda ruins your overall credibility.

  138. 138.

    p.a.

    Hmmmm… scotch, bourbon, rye, or calvados? Got a micro-distiller gin as a present; Vermont made, juniper & honey. Golden color, way too nice to mix.
    Woodford Reserve it is… better than last November: just took a swig of bitters then.

  140. 140.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Hooray! And I also restrained myself from screaming at the Republican ballot rep this morning as I went to vote in Fairfax County. My spouse pointed out that she may have just been doing it for the paycheck. Spouse is the voice of sweet reason in this household.

  144. 144.

    Gin & Tonic

    @debbie: I’m not as old as Trump, and in much better physical condition, yet when I go from the US to Asia or Oceania, it takes me a couple of days to get on track. And I have a much less demanding schedule, typically.

  145. 145.

    El Caganer

    @Jeffro: Did Trump say anything about how a country with a great golf tradition like South Korea should have been able to knock down those DPRK missiles?

  146. 146.

    Ken

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    He did really well in white rural Virginia! He’s going to outperform Romney, Cuccinelli in all sorts of areas.

    So can we expect a red-blue map with lots of red for all those mountainous counties with fewer than 10000 people, and a few tiny blue dots for all those cities of a million plus?

  148. 148.

    Jeffro

    Meanwhile, in our ongoing constitutional crisis: Trumpov’s CIA Director keeps doing controversial – and suspiciously pro-Trump – things.

    At an event three weeks ago, Pompeo made a highly curious remark, saying that “the intelligence community’s assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election.” This mirrored a talking point previously offered by Trump and the White House, but that talking point is categorically false. The intelligence report said clearly that it wouldn’t weigh in on how much impact Russia may have had, not that it didn’t have an impact.

    That might be a slip of the tongue from an amateur. But how the CIA director, of all people, could get something of such importance — something that for him should be completely basic knowledge — so wrong sure seemed odd.

    Separately, Pompeo has also drawn scrutiny for making an agency unit deeply involved in investigating possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia — the Counterintelligence Mission Center — report directly to him, as the The Post’s Greg Miller reported. And previously, Axios reported that he was among the Trump administration officials who had been enlisted by the White House to beat back a New York Times story about the Trump campaign contacts with Russia.

    Deep State sending a signal here that’s not hard to miss…

  149. 149.

    Marcopolo

    @guachi: Dunno how many wound up voting overall but some outfit was doing great features on some of them as the voting happened today. One was a women who was sentenced for stealing diapers for her baby when she was 18. She’s now 38 and this is the first time she’s ever voted.

  153. 153.

    Emerald

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Yeah! I’m feeling better about Tom Perez now. I supported him because he’s an old-time organizer. Looks like he’s putting that knowledge to very good use. Finally!

    We’re gonna get a lovely blue wave next year. If we organize everywhere, fight voter suppression and focus on turning out PoC we can make it a tidal wave.

    Oh, and the economically anxious can ride along with us.

  154. 154.

    Kay

    @MomSense:

    Wow. That’s something. I meet people who sort of can’t believe they have it. The last time they saw a doctor was their high school sports physical. It’s funny because one of the things I found canvassing middle class voters in 2010 (amny of whom were, sadly, Democrats) was this idea of scarcity they had- like there wouldn’t be enough “health care” to go around and they might not get their allotted portion. It expands with demand. We have two new walk in clinics and I’d bet that’s where the newer Medicaid recipients are going. It’s a nice legacy for Obama- a real, tangible life-changing accomplishment.

  155. 155.

    Davebo

    @Mike J: I’d love to.

    But if decks and winter are involved I’d prefer to wait for spring/summer! I’ve done the North Sea, don’t care to do it again.

  157. 157.

    Ken

    @Gin & Tonic: Didn’t his handlers say they were going to keep the trip short and not schedule too many appearances, to keep Trump from getting cranky?

  158. 158.

    Jeffro

    @El Caganer: Between golf clubs swingin’ and samurai swords a-swirlin’, I’m not sure what North Korea thinks it’s going to accomplish. Japan and South Korea are basically invulnerable.

  160. 160.

    magurakurin

    @Gin & Tonic: yeah jet lag to and from Asia is tough. Even from East Asia to Western Europe puts you down a fair bit. The exact half a day difference though between the Atlantic coast and East Asian is brutal.

  168. 168.

    Zinsky

    I am retiring early next year, so that I can work like a demon to throw the Republican prick who owns my House seat out on his smirky face! If Donald Trump has done anything, worthless lazy narcissist that he is, it is to awaken the sleeping progressive majority in this fine country!

  169. 169.

    Jeffro

    @Kayla Rudbek: I laughed at the one who tried to hand me a sample ballot. Hey, get some principles and maybe I’ll just gently roll my eyes & smile next time, GOP sucker.

  172. 172.

    Shalimar

    According to Rachel Maddow, the speech was bellicose. I had the tv on for the whole thing while not actually paying attention to a word, and I would say from his tone that most of his students showed up for class today.

  173. 173.

    Gin & Tonic

    @magurakurin: Yeah, it’s the 180-degree flip that kills me. I can go to Europe and have no issues after the first night, but Oz or east Asia is bad.

  176. 176.

    tobie

    @Marcopolo: You are likely more familiar with Marshall’s positions than I am. But I find his hemming and hawing and hedging annoying. Even on Brazile…He couldn’t say categorically that she was mischaracterizing HRC’s agreement with the DNC without first conceding that some things were unfair. The reasons I identified male “hipster” journalists as mistaken about the party is that I think they’re wedded to snark. Yes, you’ll find some female pundits like Ana Marie Cox who like snark, too. But I find many more in the mold of Rebecca Traister and Michelle Goldberg, and I actually think they have a better sense of the base of the party and the value of unity at this historical moment.

  177. 177.

    Suzanne

    NPR had a piece this morning following up with Trump voters who had been previously interviewed regarding their feelings on how they think things have been going so far. They I terviewed this coal miner and his wife, and they said that Trump hadn’t actually produced any results for them, but they finally feel like they don’t have an enemy in the White House. I instantly hated them because FUCK YOU, why do you expect us all to support the use of old, dangerous, dirty, expensive technology just so you can fail to adapt? And then I remembered OH YEAH WHITE MALE ENTITLEMENT.

    I hope they feel like we all hate them now. Not just the president. I hope they feel personally despised.

  179. 179.

    Baud

    @Suzanne:

    NPR had a piece this every morning following up with Trump voters who had been previously interviewed regarding their feelings on how they think things have been going so far.

    Fixed.

  180. 180.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Jeffro: I’m a transplanted Minnesotan so I am really riled up about the Confederate monuments. I should get a frame for the print of the Fourth Minnesota marching into Vicksburg that my spouse bought me, and go put it up in my federal office!

  181. 181.

    mike in dc

    I don’t think anyone’s writing off the 13 million who voted for Bernie. I think maybe they’re a bit reluctant to exert maximal effort to woo the fractional number of those who either sat on their hands in the general election, voted 3rd party, or, God forbid, pulled the lever for Trump. There’s certainly been a concerted effort by the DNC to reach out to Bernie supporters. If they want to take over the party establishment, win the nomination next time.

  183. 183.

    Marcopolo

    @Ken: Alas, yes. Where this becomes a problem is in the Senate where every state gets two so in the next 25 years or so we’ll see 70% of the American pop represented by only 30 or so of the 100 senators.

  185. 185.

    satby

    Can I just say I’m relieved? Because if these elections gone differently I would be heading out to crash with Helen in Dublin for the next year. Or more.

  189. 189.

    LanceThruster

    @tobie:

    From the WP.

    Progressives, hungry for wins this year, celebrated the de Blasio victory as one of their own. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed the mayor and stumped with him in the final week to support the idea of a new tax on the very wealthy.

    “Everything that Mayor de Blasio is trying to do is exactly the opposite of what Donald Trump is trying to do,” Sanders said at a pre-election rally.

  193. 193.

    different-church-lady

    @mike in dc:

    I think maybe they’re a bit reluctant to exert maximal effort to woo the fractional number of those who either sat on their hands in the general election, voted 3rd party, or, God forbid, pulled the lever for Trump.

    You clearly do not understand how hostage taking works.

  194. 194.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Suzanne:

    They I terviewed this coal miner and his wife, and they said that Trump hadn’t actually produced any results for them, but they finally feel like they don’t have an enemy in the White House.

    An enemy in the White House, huh? Dumb fucks. There is an enemy in the WH that opposes literally everything this nation (aspirationally) has stood for since its founding. He’s a would-be-tyrant who would love to have his domestic enemies killed, and the rule of law wiped away like his debts down the memory hole. Putin is his idol for a reason. These people are fools to submit themselves to such an incompetent regime, believing themselves immune from the Leader’s wrath.

    Happy to report that “standing for our anthem” “independent-democrat” Mark Hanni is currently losing his bid for municipal judge. Fuck that pseudo-patriotic authoritarianism.

  196. 196.

    Gelfling 545

    Constitutional convention proposition in NY voted down to the relief of all thinking people.

  197. 197.

    Marcopolo

    @tobie: Maybe go back and reread what he said about Brazile. After his initial reaction, which was hedgy because he hadn’t seen the agreements, he came down firmly against Brazille’s line after he reviewed them. But your comment was actually about attitudes about the Bernie wing of the D party and Marshall has never been a Bernie fan.

    Example of Marshall on Brazile’s claims:

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/donna-brazile-needs-to-back-up-her-self-serving-claims

  198. 198.

    Mnemosyne

    @BlueDWarrior:

    The super hardcore ones are maybe 5 percent of that 13 million. At best. Unfortunately for us, many of them are in the media or have their own media outlets and refuse to join the rest of us in reality.

  199. 199.

    tobie

    @Davebo: Yes, Tom Periello has been a class act. I phone banked for him in 2010 and was sorry he didn’t get reelected. He fell on his sword for the party in voting for Obamacare. I’d love to see him back in the House.

    @LanceThruster: De Blasio crests on the Bernie wave. This is the funniest thing I’ve read tonight. Thanks for the chuckle.

  200. 200.

    Jeffro

    @LanceThruster:

    Everything that Mayor de Blasio is trying to do is exactly the opposite of what Donald Trump is trying to do,” Sanders said at a pre-election rally.

    Oh…just like the rest of us! How exciting to see that we are so simpatico with the Mayor, Wilmer, and Dems from here to timbuktu.

  202. 202.

    TS

    @tobie: I turned it off after the “giggles” – and I agree with all you said. She may have had a bad impact on dem voting in other times but the anti trump vote was way too strong for much else to matter. I think I saw on a scroll that black women voted 98% for Northam.

  203. 203.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @tobie:
    Wasn’t de Blasio mayor of NYC before Sanders was a national political figure? He was a nobody prior to 2015.

  206. 206.

    guachi

    Eep!!! By my count the Democrats lead in 50 of the 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.

    There are four really close races and the Democrats lead in only one.
    District 27 -138 votes
    District 28 -104 votes
    District 40 +125 votes
    District 94 -12 votes

    Does the Lt. Gov. break ties?

  208. 208.

    tobie

    @Marcopolo: I’m not going to split hairs with you on this. Go back and read my post. I said male hipster journalists should wake up to who is the base of the party. I didn’t say anything about who they supported in the primaries or whose policies they endorse.

  210. 210.

    Marcopolo

    @Davebo: Seconded. The guy is a total hero in my book. For getting behind Northam a 1000% after what must have been a really hard loss & for his vote for the ACA which contributed to his only being a one term congressman.

  211. 211.

    debbie

    There are a lot of school levies in this area, and they all seem to be passing. I think that’s a first.

  213. 213.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: Me too. Erin go Bragh and all that. Love Ireland, but Ms. O would be chuffed if I left. At least I think she would.

  214. 214.

    Marcopolo

    @tobie: yeah, and by implication I was saying Marshall is well aware of who the actual base of the D party is unlike some of the other folks you threw in there that you are probably right about.

  218. 218.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Villago Delenda Est: Yes it is. And try doing that after an interminable flight with two toddlers, who don’t get the concept of time change, no matter how carefully you explain it to them.

  219. 219.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: “Liddle’ Weak Northie! Scared of his own shadow. How does he expect to lead against a North Korean invasion! SAD!”

  221. 221.

    Jeffro

    Just a reminder to all that now the Corey Stewart total-mouthbreather wing of the GOP will be pushing its officials and candidates to embrace Shit Midas even harder…and that is a losing proposition in most places. If Milquetoast Ralph Northam (and god bless him, he is a great guy but a lackluster campaigner) can pull of this kind of slam-dunk against an establishment/Trumpism-straddling candidate like Eddie G, then the gravity is only going to shift* towards people who’ll stick with the full Trumpian message.

    More power to them! LOL

    *kind of like a Wingularity, one might say…

  223. 223.

    Redshift

    @tobie:

    Yes, Tom Periello has been a class act. I phone banked for him in 2010 and was sorry he didn’t get reelected. He fell on his sword for the party in voting for Obamacare. I’d love to see him back in the House.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows the McAuliffe model and runs for one of the statewide offices in for years.

    McAuliffe pissed off a lot of people by parachuting into the gubernatorial primary and splitting the field, leaving us with a weak candidate. But then he spent the next four years really working in Virginia politics, and helping a bunch of candidates, and had broad support the next time. Periello starts off in a better position (since the candidate he challenged won), but he’s really done great work in this election.

  225. 225.

    Corner Stone

    I’m just glad this guy is elected for four years, and doesn’t have to campaign again anytime soon.

  228. 228.

    Marcopolo

    Anybody else noted Medicaid expansion has passed in Maine. Great night. Curious to see how the D does in Chaiffetz’s special House election. Think if she hits 35% it’s a win.

  229. 229.

    Manyakitty

    @Kay: And it’s a change with community-wide ripples. Healthier kids achieve more, healthier adults are more productive, leading to stronger economies, etc.

  230. 230.

    NotMax

    Repeated from below.

    Yes it’s a bit like reading entrails, but the last time both NJ and VA elected Dem governors was in 2005.

    And remember how the midterms of 2006 subsequently played out well for Dems.

  231. 231.

    tobie

    @Marcopolo: It’s a good night. Virginians gave Trumpism the boot and hopefully the conversation can now move from problems in the party to hope for 2018.

    Goodnight, BJers, and sweet dreams.

  232. 232.

    Another Scott

    @Baud: Northam’s a good guy, I donated to his campaign and voted for him, and I’m extremely glad he won.

    But he voted for W twice.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  234. 234.

    Baud

    @opiejeanne: I assume there is overlap, but I don’t know how closely they were associated with Bernie. They were immigration protestors, however. Sanctuary cities.

  248. 248.

    Redshift

    @Corner Stone:

    I’m just glad this guy is elected for four years, and doesn’t have to campaign again anytime soon.

    Can’t run for reelection for governor in Virginia. He doesn’t have to campaign again ever.

  250. 250.

    Adam L Silverman

    @sukabi: Huge, huge sex scandal and sexual assault scandal a coming in the Florida legislature and Florida politics. I suspect we’ll see it in a lot of other states and in Congress. What began with Weinstein isn’t going to stop in Hollywood. Well past time to clean out the toxic males who pull this crap of harassing and assaulting women. Or who play holier than though while cheating on their wives. Or both.

  251. 251.

    Marcopolo

    @chris: Well, there you go—not gonna crack 30% at this rate. Gonna have to google what the UUT stands for with the third place candidate.

  254. 254.

    Jack the Second

    Preliminary local results for my small town look good. If they stand, we’ve held on to the Town Supervisor (previous Dem retired, new one won), taken an extra seat on the Town Council (which gives us a majority) and our new delegate to the County Leg will be caucusing with the Democrats (technically third-party) which might finally give us a majority at the county level.

  256. 256.

    opiejeanne

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah. I was asking because of the way Our Revolution were treating him and campaigning against him last week. Them and what’s her name who has the BS book out right now.

  257. 257.

    Marcopolo

    Interviewing Danica Roem on MSNBC right now. She just made the point that with this election result there’s a good chance VA does a Medicaid expansion. First time I’ve heard her & she sounds awesome—a former newspaper reporter. I’d have voted for her.

  260. 260.

    Adria McDowell

    @Ken: Not how I would make that map, but….*shrugs*

    In Ohio, Issue 1 wins (“guarantees expanded rights for crime victims and their families in the state constitution. They include notice of court proceedings, input on plea deals and the ability for victims and their families to tell their story”- from WCMH), and Issue 2 (requiring “the state to pay no more for prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ lowest price, which is often deeply discounted”- again, from WCMH) losing.

    The AP called both of those issue results at around 8 p.m.

  262. 262.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Texasboyshaun:

    As I talked about here with several posters, I canvassed for Northam and Kathy Tran with some friends back east.

    So you’re an ignorant fuckwit. That’s number one.

    But yes, I am pissier than usual. This is a great night with good news across the board and 1/2 dozen shithead who are apparently enamored with the idea of being perennial losers, have used this thread to dredge up their ignorant and counterfactual attacks on Sanders.

    You can lead an ignorant shithead to the path to electoral victory, but you can’t force them to stop being an ignorant shithead. Fuck it.

  265. 265.

    Another Scott

    @Marcopolo: Not trying to trash him tonight, but just offering a counterpoint to those (like Kay (bless her)) who is seemingly greatly taken by Northam tonight.

    Wikipedia:

    Political career[edit]

    Prior to entering politics, Northam voted for Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, a fact that opponents raised in later Democratic primaries.[11][12] Northam says that he was apolitical at the time and regretted those votes,[12] saying: “Politically, there was no question, I was underinformed.”[4]

    Virginia State Senate[edit]

    Northam first ran for office in 2007 in the Virginia 6th Senate district, which includes the Eastern Shore of Virginia; Mathews County, on the Middle Peninsula; and parts of the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. On November 6, 2007, he defeated Nick Rerras, a two-term Republican incumbent, 17,307 votes to 14,499.[13]

    It’s kinda weird to vote for W twice, as an “apolitical” “underinformed” voter, then run for office as a Democrat who is concerned about things like reproductive rights and medical care….

    Yes, I applaud him now (generally) being on the right side of things that I care about, and he clearly knows how to win state-wide in Virginia, but there’s something weird about him as well.

    He will be governor for 4 years. He will prevent Virginia from turning into East Brownbackistan – and that’s a good thing. I hope the House flips, that he’s able to get Medicaid Expansion to be law of the land in the Commonwealth, and all the rest. But I will keep an eye on him for potential backsliding as well…

    YMMV.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  267. 267.

    TS

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I’m not as old as Trump, and in much better physical condition, yet when I go from the US to Asia or Oceania, it takes me a couple of days to get on track. And I have a much less demanding schedule, typically.

    I was always amazed how President Obama could travel thousands of miles west & sprint off the plane as if he was walking out the door of the white house. He then gave speeches, seminars and went to meetings, without appearing ready to collapse.

    Jet lag always hits me when having to travel west during the night – BUT – the president* has air force one – comfortable seats, whatever he wants on demand & a bedroom – he doesn’t have to sit up all night squashed between two other people.

  269. 269.

    Captain C

    @Gelfling 545: I have a Facebook friend who thinks he’s smarter than everyone who wrote that he was likely voting Yes. Another example of highly booksmart with less common sense than a drunk college freshman.

  270. 270.

    Texasboyshaun

    @Amaranthine RBG: I backed Wilmer in the primary and then happily switched to backing Hillz in the general. Because I’m a Democrat. I understand Duverger’s Law well enough to know that we have a 2-party system and we have to work within it. Wilmer wants to be our nominee or influence our party? Then he needs to nut up and JOIN it. Same thing with his bros. I’m sick of his leghumpers acting like he’s the answer to all life’s ills. If they don’t want to vote in our party, fine. They can go to hell for all I care.

  273. 273.

    Ken

    @TS: I wonder if it helps if you have regular sleeping habits, versus (say) waking up three times a night to rage-tweet.

  275. 275.

    Marcopolo

    @sukabi: Not just the states. I’m seeing background rumblings about Congress. Think D.C. is as likely to blow up as other state governments.

  276. 276.

    magurakurin

    @Amaranthine RBG: do you have a blankie with Bernie’s picture on it when you take your nappie? let if fucking go. Bernie is the past. Like the 20th century past. He don’t mean shit to nothin. Just a bitter old man whose flame won’t flicker much longer in this mortal realm.

  279. 279.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Marcopolo: I would expect a lot of the House GOP retirements may be as much about getting ahead of this issue as it is not wanting to have to worry about being primaried by Bannonites.

  282. 282.

    Another Scott

    @Mnemosyne: She voted for Reagan more than once, IIRC, but she was a Republican back then. Wikipedia says she began voting for Democrats in 1995.

    I’m happy people change their minds (for the better). I can see the scales falling from someone’s eyes about economic policy pronouncements and their actual actions.

    I find it harder to understand supporting a party and candidate that explicitly and loudly wants to restrict abortion rights, and then running for office as a member of the other party just 3 years later on a strongly pro-choice platform and ticket. I haven’t seen an explanation from him about that (“apolitical underinformed” people don’t usually decide to run for office).

    But it’s an example of how complicated humans are. And how we (or at least I) should continue to resist the temptation to put politicians into comfortable little boxes, but instead find ways to work together to make progress where we can…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  283. 283.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Adam L Silverman: Though I suspect Democrats will be hit harder by the sex-abuse scandals than Republicans, because Republicans will cover for each other longer and more insistently. When the Weinstein thing broke, I saw a zillion Republicans chortling about how Democrats really abused women while Republicans like Trump only made silly locker-room jokes about it.

  284. 284.

    Marcopolo

    @Adam L Silverman: Unfortunately, the realist in me says sexual harassment scandals will hit D’s as well as R’s. And when you think of the typical psychological profile that a lot of politicians seem to present it ain’t gonna be pretty. I will hope that hits the other side of the aisle a lot harder, if only cause there are a lot more D seats held by women who don’t seem to engage in that kind of behavior at the same level.

  286. 286.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Matt McIrvin: @Marcopolo: It’s going to be bad regardless of partisanship. There will be a generational break – so older Congressmen, Senators, and state legislators more likely to have engaged in it. As for sexual infidelity, that’ll break more on the GOP side. It always seems to. The question is whether given the current climate they can brazen it out like Vitter did.

  287. 287.

    Marcopolo

    @Matt McIrvin: See my comment below yours. I suspect with everything that has happened we are beyond the colleagues covering for each other stage and to the point where the accuser now gets the benefit of the doubt.

  289. 289.

    Ruckus

    @magurakurin:
    Didn’t you hear? He’s the second coming, the messiah, the true one, our savior.
    Or at least I’ve been told.
    Seems to be a bit of a stretch to me that a has been, washed up 25 yr national, professional politician with a pretty much nothing record would be all of those things but one never seems to know about whose who play in professional nothingness.

  291. 291.

    Sam

    @Kayla Rudbek: Funny. In 08id just returned from my 3rd visit to Iraq and I did snap when a repub canvasser offered a sample ballot at the polls. Normally reserved, I asked her how she could stand there when Republicans were ruining the country. I went on quite loudly for a while then heard the Dem canvassers… laughing. It felt so good to vote that day.

  292. 292.

    Captain C

    @different-church-lady: It’s too bad he (Wilmer) didn’t spend more time in Staten Island; Di Blasio might have made some serious inroads with the many economically anxious White Working Class people who live there.

  294. 294.

    J R in WV

    Just want to say, although I was raised in a Republican family, who fought unions (by paying more than union scale) in their business, by the time I was 21, with Richard Nixon and Arch A Moore Jr. as flaming examples, I have never voted for a Republican in my whole 66 year life.

    I missed one election when I turned 21 while in the USN, and as I said Nixon won, so I wouldn’t have made any difference.

    And I don’t hold hard feelings against folks who were once lost (in Republicanism) but are now found in Democratic turf!! But people who are still voting Republican, they should move to Siberia where they will be more comfortable, politically.

  296. 296.

    LanceThruster

    @japa21:

    Not credit, just pointing this out amidst the continued Bernie bashing. This ‘not a Democrat’ is still in there fighting the good fight.

  297. 297.

    LanceThruster

    @Jeffro:

    Bernie has an actual plan, whereas neoliberal Dems are getting better mileage from being ‘not Trump’ at the moment.

    Am curious about the Goldman Sachs NJ Dem governor-elect. It’s good Christie was so horrible.

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