Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

White supremacy is terrorism.

This really is a full service blog.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

The lights are all blinking red.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Our messy unity will be our strength.

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

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Celebrate the fucking wins.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Republicans in disarray!

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Good Work, Georgia Dems!

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Good Work, Georgia Dems!

by | 223 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

Fresh faces with compelling life stories prevailed in Democratic primaries across several southern states Tuesday, beating candidates with deeper political pedigrees and more governing experience in several key races…

Voters in Kentucky nominated Amy McGrath, the first Marine woman to fly an F-18 fighter jet, for a key House seat in Lexington over the candidate favored by party leaders, a two-term mayor who ran on a promise to bring “adult supervision” to Washington.

In Texas, Democrats nominated two lesbian candidate with military or law enforcement backgrounds, one Latina and the other Filipina, for key races. And Georgia voters gave former State House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams a shot to become the first black, female governor in the country…

From beloved (okay, indefatigable) commentor Raven:

And this one is especially sweet, she’s an old friend and wasn’t given much of a chance: It’s almost unheard of to beat a sitting judge, but public defender Lisa Lott ousted newly appointed Superior Court Judge Regina Quick, and it wasn’t even that close, 55–45.


 
Meanwhile, the other party’s Dear Leader on a hot mic…

Reader Interactions

223Comments

  1. 1.

    WereBear

    So your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016… I don’t know if I believe that…. Who the hell wrote that line?

    So he does think all this is just another reality show. Only more bigly.

  2. 2.

    raven

    We kicked ass in Athens

    Kelly Girtz Elected Mayor in a Landslide, and More Election Results

    Girtz called the results a continuation of the progressive wave in 2017 that swept two Democratic state representives into office in GOP districts. But Girtz also said he reached out to every part of the county during his year-long campaign and would continue to do so.

    He will replace the term-limited Nancy Denson in January.

    Progressives also dominated county commission races. Patrick Davenport upset Commissioner Sharyn Dickerson in District 1 with 58 percent of the vote. In District 2, Mariah Parker beat Taylor Pass by just 13 votes. District 3 Commissioner Melissa Link beat challenger Tony Eubanks 71–29. In District 9 (Girtz’s district), Ovita Thornton defeated fellow progressive Tommy Valentine 63–37, giving the commission three black members—Thornton, Parker and Davenport—for the first time.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    Our voters continue to nominate high quality candidates. Now the hard work begins.

  5. 5.

    raven

    @Baud: There was one moderate disappointment where a candidate who is pretty much and unknown beat two progressives. She’s a nurse and African-American so I think the locals will unite behind her to try to oust this moron Jody Hice.

    “Perhaps the most surprising result of a night full of surprises, though, was in the 10th Congressional District. Tabitha Johnson-Green is poised to possibly win the Democratic nomination without a runoff despite being completely unknown in the Democratic stronghold of Athens and not joining the race until March. She had 50.1 percent of the vote with 96 percent of precincts reporting. If she drops below 50 percent, she will face Chalis Montgomery, who finished second with 26 percent. Richard Dien Winfield received 23 percent.”

  11. 11.

    raven

    @Baud: I wasn’t totally convinced by either so it’s cool. It’s going to be really hard to dislodge this asshole in these parts.

  14. 14.

    JPL

    Since the republicans for governor are in a runoff, that could help Abrams. The republicans are running on religious liberty, which allows discrimination. If Abrams can convince the citizens that would hurt economic growth, she might be able to win.
    At least I hope so.

  16. 16.

    Schlemazel

    Well, the results are hopeful but it is a long way from turning the tide on the bastards. Keep fighting.

    My morning laff”
    My Favorite Cons

    Big tits on women and small dicks on stooges
    News hacks who don’t get it’s all subterfuges
    Wives that I cheat on with prostitute blondes
    These are a few of my favorite cons.

    Telling more lies to the base that I tweet at
    Gold-plated toilets and golf that I cheat at
    Bankruptcy courts and defaulting on bonds
    These are a few of my favorite cons.

    Women and brown folks cause white people’s trauma
    Blame it on Hillary or on Obama
    Blame it on all that conspiracy spawns
    These are a few of my favorite cons.

    When the crash comes, when the gold’s bronze
    When I’m sunk in sin
    I’ll tweet out a few of my favorite cons
    And I still believe I’ll win!

  18. 18.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?!

    Sounds like a good night in primaries too. But when total unknowns show up and win that worries me. We were stuck with a LaRouchie that way once in Chicago, if memory serves. Didn’t win in the general, but still a lost opportunity.

  19. 19.

    msdc

    Wait a second – if Weigel is reporting that Texas was “a clean sweep for the candidates national Dems wanted in TX primaries” (i.e. the DCCC got the candidates they wanted), how does that translate to a headline of “Democratic voters reject tradition, choosing outsiders in their quest to regain power”?

    Oh, right. Because every headline is Dems in Disarray.

  20. 20.

    Bostonian

    @Baud: The primary is on September 13.

    Young Cuomo is rotten, corrupt, and a terrible governor. His father Mario was a great man, and Andrew’s been living off his legend his whole life.

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    “So your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016… I don’t know if I believe that…. Who the hell wrote that line?”

    So, if you are not voting for Trump, he really don’t care.

    Love reading about these victories!

  24. 24.

    Amir Khalid

    The Royal Malaysian Cops seized 72 suitcases of stuff from former PM Najib’s private residences in KL the other night, as you all might remember. They’ve counted the cash in 27 of the suitcases: RM109 million, in various currencies. (US$27 million, give or take a few hundred thou — quite a bit of walking-around money.) Once they’ve counted up what’s in the remaining 45 suitcases, it seems quite possible they may need to ask Najib just who stashed all those suitcases in his house while he was residing in public housing in Putrajaya.

    Najib has complained that the cops also raided the fridge and scarfed his chocolates, to absolutely no sympathy from the public.

  26. 26.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Amir Khalid: If you’re headed to Kyiv for the weekend, I can tell you that hotels are charging extortionate rates, but I can put you in contact with some people who can put you up.

  28. 28.

    Brachiator

    @Amir Khalid:

    Najib has complained that the cops also raided the fridge and scarfed his chocolates. to absolutely no sympathy from the public.

    Loved this response…

    “Mr Najib, you made an issue when police ate chocolates from your fridge, but how about you ate all our money,” Sherman Pravin, whose profile says he is a drummer from Kuala Lumpur, wrote on Twitter.

    Thanks for the update on this story. Heard it mentioned on BBC news, but not these tasty tidbits.

  30. 30.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Bostonian:

    His father Mario was a great man

    Yeah, and “Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo” was a great campaign slogan. Mario was a NY pol; while he was more good than bad, the hagiography is off the mark.

  35. 35.

    Schlemazel

    I have been a bit preoccupied recently & not paying the attention I should. Can someone here explain to me why some Dems voted to kill Dodd-Frank? I see no upside to that vote

  36. 36.

    Raven

    Goddamn it, my wife has 3 days left to work and she just left for a 3 day meeting in Macon and it’s fucking pouring!

  37. 37.

    debbie

    @Schlemazel:

    Smaller banks were having real difficulty with the regulations. Since they hadn’t been the real culprits in the financial crisis and since they are where small businesses really get their funding, they’ve been removed from the restrictions.

    (Exceedingly oversimplified.)

  38. 38.

    jonas

    @Schlemazel: They were either in the pocket of large financial insitutions that wanted to see it gone, or in the pocket of smaller local or regional financial institutions that wanted to see it gone.

  40. 40.

    El Caganer

    @Amir Khalid: A frightening insight into our future here. “When fascism comes to America, it will head right for the snacks.” Or something like that.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    This is interesting.

    Seattle’s new so-called head tax is far from the first of its kind. But while the per-employee tax on the city’s largest employers may not be unique, it may be the most blatant effort yet to grab revenue and is already stirring anger in the business community.

    Earlier this month, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a $275-per-employee tax on companies that gross over $20 million a year, such as Amazon and Starbucks. The city estimates it will generate nearly $50 million per year — a roughly 3.5 percent increase to its budget — to address housing affordability and homelessness, which reached emergency levels in recent years. The tax is scheduled to go into effect in 2019 and sunset after five years.

    http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-seattle-head-tax-amazon-starbucks-homeless-employee.html

  42. 42.

    Schlemazel

    @MattF:
    Only 20-some years late to the party there, Dana.

    Thanks for the answers on the votes. It will play well with the GOP “suppress the vote because both parties are the same” crowd.

  47. 47.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    Trump finished up tweeting last night around 10, with two tweets raving about the SPY! in his campaign. He’s up again this morning. So far he’s tweeted four times about the SPY! with a break for one tweet supporting Tomi Lahren, who I can only assume has said something unusually stupid.

  55. 55.

    Peale

    @Amir Khalid: are there any “both sides, here’s a hot take” pundits in Malaysia. The types who’d write something like “yeah, there was $29 million in cash in his house, but Al Gore once raised $40,000 at a fundraiser in a Buddhist temple, so shut up”?

  58. 58.

    Amir Khalid

    @Peale:
    Right now, ain’t nobody on Najib’s side. And the mainstream media are busy looking for new political patrons in Pakatan Harapan, the new ruling coalition.
    ETA: If anyone wants to know who Najib’s friends are, may I remind you that Trump once called him “my favourite Prime Minister.”

  59. 59.

    JMG

    Trump’s comment last night has me wondering. If he did it intentionally, it’s the first actually funny thing he’s said as President and maybe in his whole life. But if he just blurted it out as usual, it’s way, way funnier.

  60. 60.

    germy

    Freedom Caucus’s Cunning Plan Could Hand the House to Democrats

    For years the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus has been a thorn in the side of the GOP leadership. Now, in a twist, GOP moderates have banded together in an effort to force votes on immigration, including a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. The Freedom Caucus will not stand for a vote on so-called “amnesty,” so they’re calling for harsh punishments for moderates who dare to defy party leaders — though that could make it even likelier that Democrats win control of the House in November.

  61. 61.

    Steve in the ATL

    @JPL:

    Abrams is going to have a difficult time explaining her tax problem.

    Our current governor is so corrupt that he had to resign from a Republican led congress. And, within a year of becoming governor, his financial status changed from bankrupt to multi-millionaire.

    A tax problem ain’t nothing. Stacey is going to have explain to a bunch of asshole crackers why she’s black and female.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    I’m thrilled there was a “spy”. At least one person was vetting them. Now if we could just make the leap to “informing the public prior to the election” we’d be getting somewhere.

    Has Andrea Mitchell pulled her national security alarm on the Trump Administration using unsecured devices for communications yet? WTF? Aren’t they embarrassed they misled the public on the importance of that for 2 solid years?

  63. 63.

    Joe Falco

    @raven: I recently moved back to the area, and my vote went to Montgomery. I really hope we can throw Hice out this year. I was hoping it would be Montgomery because the thought of the woman from Bethlehem kicking Pastor Paul Broun 2.0 out of the area would be delightful.

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    @germy:
    From New York Mag:

    Representative Mark Amodei told reporters that Ryan got so worked up that he “used the word ‘crap’ once.”

    “For Paul Ryan, ‘crap’ is pretty blue language,” Amodei said.

    Heavens to Betsy. To Murgatroyd, even.

  67. 67.

    germy

    @Gin & Tonic:

    a great campaign slogan.

    I read somewhere Andrew came up with that. He was helping his dad’s campaign.

    The Prince Of Darkness wants to be president someday. Hope he drops out after munching a few corn dogs at an Iowa state fair.

  68. 68.

    raven

    @Joe Falco: Yea, I went to a couple of her events and I thought she’d have a punchers chance but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    The Trump/media theory on law enforcement is as follows:

    Law enforcement may not investigate anyone connected to the President. They are all granted a kind of blanket immunity – not only can the President not be indicted, his associates cannot even be investigated for related or unrelated crimes or it’s “spying on a political campaign”

    Criminals should RUSH to enter the federal government. They’ll be immunized inside the ever-expanding Zone of the Presidency. There’s probably 2000 people in there, give or take, including Trump’s entire sleazy family.

  70. 70.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I never cared about the server- I thought it was over-hyped bullshit from the getgo, but they sure did.

    Those serious faces on cable as they told viewers over and over and over how an insecure server was disqualifying! And people believed them! Oh, well. So much for credibility.

  72. 72.

    MattF

    @germy: Those State Fairs are a danger zone. You gotta remember to kiss the baby and eat the corndog, rather than v.v.

  75. 75.

    germy

    In the Kentucky House primary in the 6th CD tonight, there were 100,418 Democrats who voted and only 48,373 Republicans. Do folks still think the national generic ballot means anything? It's the individual districts that matter. And in those districts, Democrats are crushing it. https://t.co/oSr5hhA6Ka
    — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 23, 2018

  77. 77.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    The media’s double standard is pretty well established now. The question is, how do we overcome it? I had hoped 2016 would be a lesson to Dem voters, but I’m not so sure enough people have adjusted their habits.

  79. 79.

    Peale

    @Kay: the purpose of law enforcement appears to be to find business opportunities for Trump.

    That is kind of the message of the Russia scandal. Trump was warned that the Russians were trying to infiltrate his campaign in June. By July, his family was meeting with them. By October, he was organizing meetings about investing in Roseneft. i think he thought those agents were there to let him know he was leaving money on the table.

  80. 80.

    Kay

    @MattF:

    It’s really up to the Democrat. Now that there are no “norms” no one has to follow them. That’s a choice. The norms were always voluntary. Now that the Trump Administration has claimed a blanket exception there’s precedent.

    My father does not give very good advice- he’s basically an oddball with a lot of bad ideas- but he did tell us one good thing. When we would make an exception for ourselves from some societal/family rule- littering, taking too much and not leaving any for anyone else, cheating in some way – he would say “what if everyone did that?” Even little kids get that concept- chaos! madness! lawlessness!

    The Trumps were taught something else. They were taught “the suckers will follow the rules which means you can take a special exception and get an advantage”. But everyone will start doing it, so they’ll have to take more exceptions, and on and on and on.

  81. 81.

    Joe Falco

    @raven: Yeah, though I’m a more than a tad concerned that I can’t seem to find any info on the winner and her stance on the issues. I went to her supposed website and it’s a bare bones thing. This better change soon because I don’t know how someone who entered so late in the race could climb over the other two candidates who made their positions well-known.

  82. 82.

    Platonailedit

    Another commies are out to get us paranoia since the twitler took over.

    The US state department has urged its staff in China to alert them to any abnormal hearing or vision issues after one employee reported mystery symptoms.

    The person experienced “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure”, it said.

    The US previously said its diplomats in Cuba had suffered similar symptoms after suspected sonic attacks.

  85. 85.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Still shaken by the leak of a morbid joke made at Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) expense during an internal White House meeting earlier this month, President Donald Trump has reportedly demanded a major shakeup of his communications team, Politico reported Tuesday.

    And the President has asked the aide who made the joke about McCain “dying” to help him identify leakers, according to three people familiar with the situation who spoke to Politico.

    Leakers gotta leak.

  86. 86.

    JMG

    For whatever reason, and the opinion seems to flow back and forth on very little data, there has been this week a distinct rise on twitter in GOP triumphalism regarding the midterms accompanied by speculation among the number crunchers that the Democrats will lose and fretting among those many liberals who live to fret. It is my personal belief that the number crunchers were so burned by their collective failure in 2016 that they will never ever again predict a Democratic victory no matter what the numbers are.
    I don’t get it, because I know this consensus will swing back again for no discernible reason in the next couple weeks.

  88. 88.

    Jeffro

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    Trump finished up tweeting last night around 10, with two tweets raving about the SPY! in his campaign. He’s up again this morning. So far he’s tweeted four times about the SPY! with a break for one tweet supporting Tomi Lahren, who I can only assume has said something unusually stupid.

    I know he’s only talking to his base, but still…let’s see the Dems speak up & out about exactly WHY there was a ‘SPY’…because the Trumpov campaign was embracing illegal assistance from foreign agents (some from countries hostile to America). He thinks it’s a scandal that the FBI and others were trying to protect our country?? From his stupidity and corruption??? I’ll take the FBI, thanks.

  89. 89.

    Baud

    @JMG:

    I wish our side could stop making predictions. We’re terribly bad at it and we make terrible decisions based on them. Just focus on doing the right things.

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    Back on topic – glad to see so many fresh faces winning primaries yesterday! Let’s have that be a rallying point this year (and in 2020) Dems, PLEASE, I beg you. #FreshFaces

  91. 91.

    MattF

    @JMG: My own opinion is that people continue to misunderstand the meaning of ‘random’ variation. Real-life statistical inference means that if a trend is not there, you are not allowed to just make one up, even if that’s what you’re paid to do.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    @JMG: To prove your point exactly, here is Perry Bacon at 538 giving exactly that explanation:

    Don’t get me wrong — I share the view of other analysts that Democrats are favorites to win the House this fall, and that an accompanying Democratic win in the Senate is somewhat less likely. But based on the data we have now, the scenario above is certainly possible — just as possible as, say, Trump being elected president and Republicans winning both houses of Congress on Nov. 8, 2016.

  93. 93.

    Joe Falco

    @germy: Thank you. I’m still hopeful we can remove the Talibangelical tumor but after reading that article, I’m slightly less enthused. The passion and energy that I got from reading about the other candidates seems lacking in Johnson-Green. I want to be proven wrong so I’ll see over the next few months how she’ll work to get votes. If she wants to emulate Stacey Abrams’ strategy of grassroots mobilisation, more power to her.

  94. 94.

    Kay

    @JMG:

    I think it is a little worse for Democrats than it was 2 months ago. We can be optimistic without being delusional :)

    I have been good about not looking at polls, though, which surprises me. I thought I would fall back into it. It isn’t “the polls” I object to- it’s how manipulative it is to use them to jerk around voters and create reactions. I can no longer tell what is real, so I’m just skipping that part.

    Elections were more fun before there was so much polling, honestly, and I don’t want to play this game if it’s all pre-determined :)

  96. 96.

    JMG

    @Immanentize: Bacon’s point is of course correct in the meta sense, in that since the election is five months plus away, any outcome is still quite possible. But why write a “what if?” piece based on it at this point in time. To be able to say “I told you so” if the scenario comes to pass? I find it interesting that the number crunchers, who rightly despise the groupthink of conventional political reporting, have developed their own groupthink habits.

  98. 98.

    Immanentize

    @Joe Falco: You could, one supposes, help her get out the vote, no? Or is wait and see how you guys win elections where you live?

  99. 99.

    Matt McIrvin

    @JMG: To a large extent the national political media are still wincing from not predicting the Reagan landslide in 1980.

  101. 101.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: Yup. Draw the arrow smoothly, breathe out slowly, release cleanly…and the arrow will hit the bullseye.

    Or in this case, pull the bat back slowly…

  102. 102.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Kay:

    Has Andrea Mitchell pulled her national security alarm on the Trump Administration using unsecured devices for communications yet? WTF?

    It’s not email, Kay. I’m pretty sure it OK with Andrea and the New York Times*.

    *Which is still garbage.

  105. 105.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I don’t know how specifcally one would do this, but Democrats should look at making campaigns better for voters. There’s this kind of acceptance that elections have to be horrible and full of cynical operatives who are horrible and I’d just like to re-examine that. I suspect it was done because campaign professionals were focusing on creating favorable impressions for media but since there’s little or no pay-off there for Democrats they should let it go and try something else. They have nothing to lose.

    People really dread campaigns and I don’t think it’s the “more substance!” bullshit that voters regularly lie about. I think it’s sincere in a lot of people. They hate this.

    Campaigns become grim marches to battle and for a lot of “ordinary” voters (less engaged people) there’s just a pulling back from that- which makes sense. If it sucks, and it does, why take part? They’re not a pundit or operative or media person. They’re not getting paid to enter this fucking horrorshow. So they take a pass.

  109. 109.

    Peale

    @Baud: I just get concerned that we needed to get the election held yesterday. I do think there’s so much at stake here, and maybe it won’t be 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2014, 2016 and this time all of those predictions of a permanent majority and strong favorable headwinds from the spring will pan out. That that mid term voting pool isn’t the only one we have. We have a better pool out there.

  110. 110.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I have an idea! Campaigns should not rely on volunteers, but should pay people to work for them! (Or did I hear that somewhere before? ?)

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    @germy:

    gun violence champion

    Even within the limits of Twitter, there’s no better way to phrase that?

  113. 113.

    JMG

    @Immanentize: I read it, but I was not convinced the Republicans could do things with reduced majorities they couldn’t do in this Congress with bigger ones.

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    @Peale: I think the summer is coming. Most people will check out for a while. But gas prices just went up another 6 cents/gallon last week which really hits people living from paycheck to paycheck. People have lost their healthcare insurance. Workers don’t feel richer from the tax cut. Republicans are in serious disarray in the House and the corruption investigations just took another Russian off the board in the Cohen Taxi investigations.

    I think by September, there will be a mood for change. Trump voters won’t vote in droves because they will be pissed and Trump is not on the ballot, just like he said yesterday. That’s my prediction….

  115. 115.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    If you’re going to spend a billion dollars making something why not make something really good that people don’t dread but instead like?

    I have had a lot of dental work, due to neglect in my youth. Twenty years ago dentists were like “fuck you, whiner! of course it sucks! It HAS to suck!” I myself believed it had to suck, due to …science :)

    Then something happened in DentalWorld and it doesn’t suck anymore! I think someone said “we could make this less horrible, you know, they’re not our enemies and we’re not punishing them”

  116. 116.

    germy

    Campaigns should not rely on volunteers, but should pay people to work for them! (Or did I hear that somewhere before? ?)

    Then candidates would need to raise more money, which leads to more monkeybusiness.

  117. 117.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Kay:

    Elections were more fun before there was so much polling, honestly, and I don’t want to play this game if it’s all pre-determined :)

    2016 didn’t seem too pre-determined by the polling :(

    @Baud:

    I wish our side could stop making predictions. We’re terribly bad at it and we make terrible decisions based on them. Just focus on doing the right things.

    Seems like a better approach – our predictions are usually herd-sourced, amateur analysis of non-representative data.

  118. 118.

    Immanentize

    @JMG:. But it would be much the same, I think, as now. Maybe Nunes will lose which by itself would be a godsend. For me the issue boils down to the GD judges confirmed in the Senate and we are not (as) likely to retake the Senate….

  119. 119.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I agree completely! And I also have had a lot of dental work. When I was growing up, I had lots of fillings, but novacaine was not in the family budget.

  121. 121.

    Marcopolo

    Good morning folks. I’m happy with the election results last night. The D fighter pilot & GOP teacher in KY were particularly encouraging (and yes, while I’m not suggesting anyone support a GOP candidate I think it’s better for all of us when their side puts forward less insane candidates).

    I plan to send Abrams some $ today and am working my way through writing 100 GOTV postcards for a June special election in MO. Plan to have them completed by Friday.

    Everyone have an excellent hump day.

  123. 123.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    I don’t know if you’re around little kids but the dentist is no longer a threat. They turned it around. Some of them LIKE to go. Turns out all that fear and pain was…optional. I bet they go more as a result of it not being torture. I have no data but that would be my guess.

    If they can make a root canal less horrible highly-paid professionals can make campaigns less horrible. I think some of it almost romanticizing and glorifying “the struggle”. All those campaign books and docudramas. It’s not a real war. They should maybe stop voluntarily taking casualties.

  126. 126.

    rikyrah

    ICYMI:
    Michael Cohen had a very very bad day yesterday….LOL

    Michael Cohen’s Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate as Part of Plea Deal
    By Danny Hakim, William K. Rashbaum and Vivian Wang
    May 22, 2018

    A significant business partner of Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, has quietly agreed to cooperate with the government as a potential witness, a development that could be used as leverage to pressure Mr. Cohen to work with the special counsel examining Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

    Under the agreement, the partner, Evgeny A. Freidman, a Russian immigrant who is known as the Taxi King, will avoid jail time, and will assist government prosecutors in state or federal investigations, according to a person briefed on the matter.

    Mr. Cohen’s conduct was initially examined by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating the 2016 election that led to Mr. Trump’s victory, and then referred to the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. Last month, federal agents carried out search warrants at Mr. Cohen’s home, his office and a hotel room where he was staying, seeking documents related to his business associates and accountants.

    Mr. Trump’s lawyers have been resigned to the strong possibility that the investigation of Mr. Cohen’s businesses could lead him to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

    That likelihood could become greater with a business partner of Mr. Cohen’s cooperating with law enforcement.

    Put in perspective…..
    He was facing 100 YEARS!
    AND, NOW?
    He’ll serve no time.

    So, let’s guess how many arias he’s been singing…

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA AH HA

  127. 127.

    Elizabelle

    @germy: But maybe you could redirect some money from paid advertising to paid good quality people on the ground.

    A lot of campaign practices seem to be set up to allow the permanent campaign industry to rake in $$$.

    We need something more effective.

  128. 128.

    Kay

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:

    But the polling indicated it was predetermined, which is just the flip side of the same problem. What is polling actually FOR, as far as the public, voters? We don’t control campaigns. What kind of actionable information does it give us?

  132. 132.

    rikyrah

    Stacey Abrams won the nomination, but can we take moment to look at the earliest groups who backed her, because it matters. Check out this article from 2017:
    Groups urge black women across the country to help Georgia’s Stacey Abrams make history https://t.co/FH9WQkLCLw

    — ReclaimingMyTime (@MonieTalks_1) May 23, 2018

  133. 133.

    Baud

    @Kay: Right. It gave too many people for whom defeating Republicans is a secondary priority a reason to act on their impulse to be pure, contrarian, and above-it-all.

  134. 134.

    rikyrah

    Stacey Abrams makes history winning Georgia Democratic primary in bid to become first black female governor
    Nicole Gaudiano, USA TODAY
    Published 8:57 p.m. ET May 22, 201

    WASHINGTON — Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams won the Democratic primary Tuesday, bringing her a step closer to becoming the nation’s first African-American woman governor.

    In one of the night’s closely watched primaries, the former state House minority leader beat former state Rep. Stacey Evans, the Associated Press announced.

    “We are writing the next chapter of Georgia’s future where no one is unseen, no one is unheard and no one is uninspired,” Abrams said during a rousing speech at her post-election party. “We are writing a history of a Georgia where we prosper together.”

  136. 136.

    NotMax

    @rikyrah

    Per MSNBC, she triumphed as well across northern Georgia, which contains significantly less melanin.

    The times, they are a -changing.

  137. 137.

    satby

    @Kay: I think most people hate campaigns running up to elections because the ads are everywhere and become poisonous pretty quickly. I’m watching it happen right now in IN with a pervasive ad buy running on all platforms (TV, radio, online) against Joe Donnelly. It’s relentless, and we’re more than 5 months away from the election. Everyone hates political ads. So how do you campaign without them?

  138. 138.

    Joe Falco

    @rikyrah: I sent my small donation to her campaign this morning. I’m really excited about her and I hope this will be the year we make history.

  139. 139.

    Kay

    Maggie Haberman
    ‏@maggieNYT
    40m40 minutes ago
    More Maggie Haberman Retweeted Tim O’Brien
    Indeed. Months of everything being treated like the same level of four-alarm fire means that what Trump did this week has been decontextualized as just “there he goes again” instead of as a big deal.

    This is wrong and I think it explains why they’re doing a bad job with Trump. They’re not getting the accumulation, the slow degradation.

    It won’t happen like they want it to happen. There isn’t going to be one “turning point”, one “gamechanger”. Trump breaks small rules and then he breaks bigger ones. That’s why it’s getting worse. It is not an accident or arbitrary that this is the worst thing so far- “so far” is the thing. It will get worse because no one is stopping him.

    Do they know what “decontextualized” means? That’s exactly what they’re doing. No one judges work or people by individual actions, in isolation, over and over and over again and never ADDS because that’s insane and it’s a fragmented picture without context. He’s breaking bigger rules (now) naturally and inexorably and he will continue to escalate. He will escalate as long as he succeeds at it.

  140. 140.

    Immanentize

    @Booger: @NotMax:
    I have an original — a 45 sized 33 — of Nixon’s the One campaign recording. It’s so quaint. The YouTube of its time.

  141. 141.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Adam Jentleson @ AJentleson 11h11 hours ago
    Thread. Democrats are conceding the messaging battlefield on Russia to Republicans.

    Republicans are waging a furious messaging campaign against Mueller 24/7 while Dems are virtually MIA.

    The idea that declining to engage will make the issue look nonpartisan is a fantasy.

    This seems to be the fret du jour. I like Jentleson, and I suspect he’s right, as he said in another tweet, that Harry Reid would be throwing haymakers on this. But I don’t buy that elected Dems are MIA. The House Intel Dems are all over it on my TV (granted, MSNBC). Brian Schatz is very active on twitter, which is supposed to mean something. Blumenthal and Murphy seem to be the loudest voices from the D Senate. I don’t know if the problem is the Dems haven’t found that platonic ideal of “messaging” that critics are always so sure is out there, somewhere, or that 1) The Village is wired for Republicans and 2) it’s harder to drive news coverage from the minority.

  142. 142.

    catclub

    @Amir Khalid: Did you ever reply to my question on 1MBD? Thanks. I noted that Broidy was promised $75M for putting a stop to US investigations of it.

  143. 143.

    rikyrah

    @Steve in the ATL:

    A tax problem ain’t nothing. Stacey is going to have explain to a bunch of asshole crackers why she’s black and female.

    true that.

    A dark Black woman with natural hair at that.
    Yeah, she’s got an uphill battle on her hands.
    But, we should still support her, cause she’s a great candidate.

  144. 144.

    Immanentize

    @satby: I read that it is Gingrich who is behind that anti-Donnely ad blitz. To run it so early, they must have limitless cash to spend or are very worried (or both).

  146. 146.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    Has Andrea Mitchell pulled her national security alarm on the Trump Administration using unsecured devices for communications yet? WTF? Aren’t they embarrassed they misled the public on the importance of that for 2 solid years?

    I hate to do it, but I must…..

    Anyone remember when 44 had to fight to keep some devices for himself…..
    Of course, getting secure ones weren’t even the issue, because we all assumed that THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT BE CAUGHT DEAD ON UNSECURE DEVICES.

  147. 147.

    Amir Khalid

    @rikyrah:
    Indeed not. I hope for his sake that he’s not in the habit of (a) ignoring his lawyers’ advice, or (b) stiffing them on fees.

  148. 148.

    JPL

    My representative, Betty Price, had an opponent for the republican primary. I was hoping that her opponent would damage her reputation, but she still was able to garner 63%. There is little chance that she won’t win again.

  149. 149.

    Marcopolo

    For anyone interested, I’ve got MSNBC on low in the background as I do other things—they just announced Stacey Abrams will be on later in the hour.

  150. 150.

    satby

    @Immanentize: it’s the One Nation PAC, I heard that was Rove but Gingrich being involved too wouldn’t surprise me. And I think the ads will be effective with low info voters, which Indiana is rife with.

  151. 151.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @satby: People say they hate political ads, especially negative ones, but those are what works. I imagine the demographics are changing fast, but traditional TV is probably a good place to hunt for the traditional mid-term voters (by which I mean my age and older). I watch very little TV live these days, because I hate all commercials.

    I was wondering about Indiana– Is Donnely pointing out that trump’s Carrier “deal” was a complete fraud?

  152. 152.

    Kay

    Why would the DOJ agree to meet with GOP representatives with no one else present? Do they work for base Republicans or do they work for the whole country?

    How are we supposed to trust them? WHY are we supposed to trust them? From the outside it appears they caved to political demands – again– Comey caved in ’16. We don’t know the inside story and we never will because they’re holding a meeting exclusively with Trump supporters.

    I mean, come on. It’s not fair to ask me to pay for this. I don’t care if they fucking LOATHE Democrats – they’re supposed to treat us like citizens.

  153. 153.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: She ran a good campaign. The biggest difference between Evans and Abrams was Evans believed that your campaign had to reach out to republican women. Abrams disagreed. The few polls that showed the candidates against the GOP front runner showed Evans faring better. Now Abrams energy should excite democrats to vote. Let’s hope that republicans stay home. Their policies were similar though.

    I did vote for Abrams because of her energy and adding excitement to the campaign.

  154. 154.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @ williamjordann
    The national survey finds that the vast majority of Americans have heard about the investigation. But asked simply whether it has uncovered any crimes (reality: 17 indictments, 5 guilty pleas) — 59% of voters say they’re not aware of any.

    This is a failure of the news media. The spirit of the NYT’s “FBI finds no trump connection to Russia” lives on. Apparently Baquet was actually defending it on Colbert the other night?

  156. 156.

    satby

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t know, I don’t watch TV much either. And when I do it’s mostly TCM, so no commercials other than for itself.
    I’m worried that Donnelly might be in trouble, between the wall to wall Republican attacks and the whiny purity ponies of the left who were all butt hurt about Donnelly winning the primary. He’s a blue dog and so, unworthy. I ended up leaving the Indivisible group here because I was so sick of explaining political reality to some of them. Even linked to TBogg’s “your Mumia T-shirt…” post.
    I’ve really hit the wall this year on all of it.

  157. 157.

    Gelfling545

    @Baud: unfortunately yes. And i just can’t go with a neophyte. Governing NY is not the place to learn your craft.

  158. 158.

    rikyrah

    True Colors: Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution, and the Racist Left

    …………………………………………

    Board members and Sanders presidential delegates from 2016 have raised questions about whether the group’s president, Nina Turner, is using her position to prepare for a presidential run of her own, and to settle scores with the Democratic National Committee from 2016.
    Two weeks ago, the group’s board of directors nixed Turner’s attempt to install her personal political consultant and friend as her chief of staff, even though the person had no experience in political organizing and had praised President Donald Drumpf repeatedly and attacked immigrants on Fox News.

    ………………………………..
    A founding board member resigned last month, saying Our Revolution wasn’t paying adequate attention to Latino candidates and issues of importance to Latinos.

    In addition, former Our Revolution staffer and DACA recipient Erika Andiola offered a scathing Facebook post in which she verified a lot of what Politico reported. Andiola described being forced out of her work due to her advocacy on the DREAM Act and described how Turner replaced her with Tezlyn Figaro, a personal friend of Turner’s, who immediately came onboard and began spouting racist and xenophobic language in favor of Donald Trump’s policies. In response to these allegations, Turner published a press release late Tuesday afternoon in what can only be described as a non-denial denial. In her statement, Turner said that Figaro’s comments were “under advisement” by herself and her Board and that she was unable to comment further on Andiola’s charges “given the sensitivity of the matter.” Oddly enough, Turner seemed to take the most umbrage with Politico’s reporting on her potential run for higher office claiming that charge was “categorically false.”

    ……………………………….
    The truth is that Our Revolution is progressive in name only. It exists to serve itself and to ratfuck the Democratic Party. Why else would you support Fox News toadie Dennis Kucinich rather than former Consumer Financial Protect Bureau head Richard Cordray? Why wouldn’t you want to help elect Doug Jones in Alabama? Why wouldn’t you campaign for Connor Lamb in Pennsylvania? Why wouldn’t you advocate for Ralph Northam as governor for Virginia? If you don’t support these Democrats in these must-win races, what exactly do you stand for?

    The answer is that Our Revolution stands for itself only. They are not our friends. Like Bernie Sanders, they are borrowing the Democratic Party in name and using that name to promote themselves and their brand. They are the mirror image of the Trump Administration in that they see government as a way to enrich themselves and their friends. Don’t believe me? Look at who has come to the aid of Our Revolution since the Politico article broke. The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur called it a “hit piece” on Twitter. Both Nomiki Konst and James Zogby immediately came to Cenk’s aid. Walker Bragman immediately retweeted Konst. Common Dreams published an article by Michael Sainato attempting to discredit Politico’s reporting. The damage control by the usual suspects and the lack of any purported factual errors seem to indicate the original article was grounded in sound reporting.

  161. 161.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Kay: 100% agree – and polling helps make it all about the horse race. Most political media in the US is complete and utter garbage.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Peale: somewhat related to that, I think one of the great favors Rs have done for trump is not televising what hearings there have been. My political receivers aren’t like most people’s, but I don’t think Junior and Jared would play well on Tee-Vee

  165. 165.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Does the NYTimes know that the most rabid Trump supporters are all reading the book by the reporter who covered Hillary Clinton?

    They quote excerpts. They’re joining the NYTimes in their victory lap. Maybe they can find someone who isn’t writing a book to cover the next Dem candidate? Who doesn’t see a national election as an opportunity to push a fucking narrative and sell a book?

    They tell me the NYTimes reporter says in the book that Clinton disliked her. Clinton disliked her because she had her fucking number. Clinton had been doing this a long time. She knew.

  166. 166.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @rikyrah: Cole linked to something Figaro posted on twitter yesterday, trying to dig herself out. Her twitter pic (avatar?) and the big banner on her page are of her appearing on FoxNews. Meanwhile, Wilmer apparently spent most of his MTP appearance last week talking about the fayl-yuhs of the Democratic Pawh-ty

  167. 167.

    MomSense

    When I woke up in the recovery room I was dreaming I was arguing on the internet. How about that for jackal street cred.

  168. 168.

    JPL

    @Kay: This is from Haberman
    Jon Favreau

    He thinks he’s having an effect on people seeing it because the new media narrative is that he’s having an effect on people seeing it

    Haberman

    Or because polling is showing the words of the president are having an effect cc

    They just can’t take any responsibility.

  169. 169.

    glory b

    @Immanentize: The other day I saw a reporter on Chris Matthews show who talked about the Repubs quietly gathering a massive amount of money in PACs and the plan is to unleash a major attack on all Dems this election, as soon as the primaries end.

    She said that the DNC, DCCC and other Dem PACS don’t have anywhere near the same amounts to counter this with.

    I wish I could remember her name. It was on his “Tell me something I don’t know” segment.

  172. 172.

    El Caganer

    @Kay: I try not to think about this sort of thing too often, since it makes me paranoid and I begin to suspect that the Mueller investigation is all a giant dog-and-pony show. Nothing that a six of high-ABV ale can’t cure, though.

  173. 173.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @glory b: I wish I could remember her name. It was on his “Tell me something I don’t know”

    If Tweety didn’t know this… The Kochs, Shelly Adelson, Foster Friess have all be quite vocal about their plans, and there are lots more billionaires who don’t seek/get so much attention will still be ahead well of the game if they toss chunks of their tax cuts to Super PACs

  174. 174.

    Jay

    @Brachiator:

    “Is every bit as important as your vote in 2016… I don’t know if I believe that…. Who the hell wrote that line?”

    He’s still giving Putin all the credit for his win.

  175. 175.

    Peale

    @glory b: Yep. It’s going to be a nasty summer. I still haven’t figured out what the national “scare” is they will cook up this summer that will catch us all flat footed. Some ground zero ebola nurse terrorist Iranianian illegal immigrant shooting a school kid. I know it will be illegal immigrants and Trumpist threats winning over Kim Young One. But there’s always a third. Its like the sith prophesy that way.

  177. 177.

    guachi

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: This is what Democrats need to hammer away on. Keep saying “X indictments and Y plea deals. Mueller is uncovering illegal activity and must continue. Republicans are soft on crime.”

  178. 178.

    Stan

    @germy: Campaigns should not rely on volunteers, but should pay people to work for them! (Or did I hear that somewhere before? ?)

    Then candidates would need to raise more money, which leads to more monkeybusiness.

    Campaigns spend most of their money on media, not employees. Free media is slowly gonna change that, but that’s how it is now. You could spend twice as much on staff and it wouldn’t affect fundraising all that much.

  179. 179.

    JPL

    @Peale: Karen Handel used white powder and a disgusting flyer delivered to her house to get out the vote last time. I think that only works once though.

  181. 181.

    rikyrah

    @raven:

    “Perhaps the most surprising result of a night full of surprises, though, was in the 10th Congressional District. Tabitha Johnson-Green is poised to possibly win the Democratic nomination without a runoff despite being completely unknown in the Democratic stronghold of Athens and not joining the race until March. She had 50.1 percent of the vote with 96 percent of precincts reporting

    How did an unknown get to 50.1%?
    She had to be campaigning. Folks don’t get to 50.1% because the sky is blue.

  182. 182.

    Emily68

    I wrote 60 postcards for Lisa Lott! Hurray for her. You can write postcards too. postcardstovoters.org

  184. 184.

    Peale

    @rikyrah: Yeah. Someone knows her. I hope that it doesn’t turn out that she’s a GOP ringer. Or some cult leader we’ve never heard of with a mega church that just voted en mass. Who knows?

  186. 186.

    Stan

    @Gelfling545: Governing NY is not the place to learn your craft.

    New Yorker here. Cuomo has been such an awful governor, I’d gladly take a risk on Nixon despite her name and inexperience. She’s been involved in politics for a long time,so, what she’s missing is executive experience and political maneuvering. Cuomo is a horrible, horrible executive with horrible senior staff so no loss there. If Nixon hires some good senior managers she (or any other neophyte) will be OK. I have to admit Cuomo is pretty damned good at the kind of political maneuvering that keeps him and his buds in power, but it hasn’t done the state any good. We were a corrupt cesspool before and we still are. She’s going to have to learn to deal with that.

  187. 187.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Stop making predictions and do the hard work. Be a karmayogi not a negative Nelly. Balloon Juice is devolving into a seemingly endless lament of WASF.

    ETA: Just making it clear that I don’t think that things under the current R rule are wonderful but coming up with negative scenarios of events that have yet to occur and convincing yourself and others that everything is already lost is no way to win.

  188. 188.

    Doug R

    @Schlemazel:

    I have been a bit preoccupied recently & not paying the attention I should. Can someone here explain to me why some Dems voted to kill Dodd-Frank? I see no upside to that vote

    The logic I hear is that smaller banks were complaining about the one size fits all regulations stifling their growth. So Senators in purple areas facing tough reelection went along thinking that the Republicans would screw with Dodd Frank soon anyway-better to have this mediocre bill with a couple of good things thrown in than some Koch written repeal in a few months.
    https://newrepublic.com/article/147247/democrats-helping-trump-dismantle-dodd-frank

  189. 189.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah:

    I will repeat:

    EVERY Democrat needs the attitude of either..

    Ted Lieu

    or
    Maxine Waters…

    Oh hell yes. Get feisty, take no crap, punch back, point out the lies. Co-signed.

  190. 190.

    Kay

    @JPL:

    We got such a raw deal having them as the lead on Trump. They speak with such certainty and authority on all things Donald that all the other chumps follow them. If they’re such fucking experts on their hometown boy there, why didn’t they cover any of it before he was elected?

  191. 191.

    Peale

    @Stan: Yep. I’m leaning like you towards “Thank God she’s not experienced”. My guess is that she won’t be an effective governor because she won’t get along with the sex-obsessed, real-estate self dealing representatives who seem to make up the two houses. I mean the Democrats cut off Patterson and he was supposedly one of them. But then he sliced the budget and got rid of a lot of “non-profit” grant money going to “charities” that employ relatives of Assemblymen that don’t do a lot of actual charity work, and that was that for him. Yeah, in today’s environment, he would have survived the sexual assault involvement (good! Progress!), but it was shortly after that that the local Media in New York started running these non-scandal stories that they claimed would make him resign. “Will Patterson Resign this Week? Stay tuned for our thinly sourced story of insiders.”

    It is no accident that New York gave you Trump, people. And Guiliani. The quicker we can get the power centers out of here to some other part of the country the better.

    Anyway, I think I’m going with Naive! For a change. It may divide the party, though.

  192. 192.

    Mnemosyne

    @JMG:

    It’s because a new poll from Cook is showing that the Democrats’ advantage on the generic ballot has faded. I don’t think that these results are in line with that polling, however.

  193. 193.

    Kay

    The low quality Trump appointee who has a role in policing US elections believes that Russia targeted “both sides” so expect another massive failure there in 2020.

    I don’t know how individual voters are supposed to be able to tell if Russia is interfering in their election again but we better figure it out and post flyers on telephone poles or something.

  194. 194.

    Barbara

    @Doug R: It really is true that smaller banks were being regulated as if they were at equal risk for the kinds of shenanigans that brought down so many banks in 2008. It’s hard to say that no smaller bank had issues, but, for instance, a bank my family has been associated with for a long time was all but forced to participate in the 2008 bail-out when it didn’t need any help, because the government did not want there to be any kind of marketing around not needing subsidies. I understand that policy goal, but in this case, the bank basically couldn’t give it back fast enough and did so as soon as it could. It’s really hard to craft a rational policy that is fair and yet accounts for significant differences in business focus and practices among different kinds of banking entities.

  195. 195.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah:

    How did an unknown get to 50.1%?
    She had to be campaigning. Folks don’t get to 50.1% because the sky is blue.

    I’m not in the state, but I also wonder what is going on here. I went to a Vote Smart site and saw this.

    Tabitha Johnson-Green has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

    Maybe someone else knows more about her.

  196. 196.

    Elizabelle

    @Mnemosyne: I suspect their likely voter screen does not comport with 2018.

    People are woke, furious, and anxious. Am seriously hoping GOP will not know what hit them.

  197. 197.

    NorthLeft12

    So your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016… I don’t know if I believe that…. Who the hell wrote that line?

    What a maroon! Every effing day he says or does something that makes me shake my head and say “How many idiots voted for this dumbass douchebag?”

  199. 199.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Elizabelle: Exactly, we have 8 people running in the D primary for a state representative for an open seat this fall. I asked the people whether this was normal, they said no, this level of enthusiasm and engagement is unprecedented.

  200. 200.

    Peale

    @Kay: At this point, “believes” is doing a lot of lifting. At some point, even without Mueller, we need to stop treating this as a national state secrecy issue where there aren’t any facts and if there are facts, we can’t talk about them.

  201. 201.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: Good morning. And glad to hear that!

    We have two good candidates here in the Richmond area, to try to pick off Dave Brat, handsome glibertarian econ professor/ Tea Party darling who took down Eric Cantor.

    WaPost from January 2017: Rep. Dave Brat: ‘The women are in my grill no matter where I go.’

    Facing pressure from constituent groups who say he has been avoiding them, Rep. Dave Brat on Tuesday afternoon announced that he would hold a Facebook town hall that same evening.

    The announcement came as Brat (R-Va.) was criticized by residents in his district who say he has refused to hold an in-person town hall meeting to hear their concerns about President Trump’s administration.

    In a video taken Saturday at a meeting in the Richmond suburbs in his safely Republican district, Brat said, “Since Obamacare and these issues have come up, the women are in my grill no matter where I go.”

    He added: “They come up — ‘When is your next town hall?’ And believe me, it’s not to give positive input.”

    Brat’s district includes some solid red rural areas, so we will have to see which set of women triumphs: the wimmens in Brat’s grill, or the white wimmens sitting in evangelical churches and screaming about socialism and terrible values.

    Further, I tire of these highly credentialed know nothings. I am speaking of Brat. What he knows seems to also not comport with the real world.

  202. 202.

    Peale

    @Elizabelle: I think we’re overlooking a few things. I think a lot of never-trumpers are now satisfied with the direction of the country and have come home. Also, he’s getting credit for victories in Korean and Iran that we think are atrocious, but to the republicans, prove that Trumpian Bluster and Gun Waving works in the world. I don’t think it will last, but I also don’t want to have us think that the mid-terms are some slam dunk because “the out party always wins them”. That wasn’t the case and that just denies that the GOP actually did things to win in 2010 and 2014 and didn’t just sit around waiting for “inevitable forces” to favor them.

    That said, I remember feeling when the GOP won in VA and NJ in 2010 and Scott Brown won the special in Massachusetts that Obama’s popularity with the Democrats would win the day. He always was popular with us, but that popularity and a nickel will get you a gum ball. It looked like it was closing in for us all summer long, and the polls were pointing up, but then it was a bloodbath for us. So who knows. GOP voters and Democratic voters are not the same people and don’t respond to the same things. Fear and negativity in the past I think gets a lot of our people to stay home. We’ll see if that changes.

  203. 203.

    dww44

    @Joe Falco</a@Kay: The only real remedy for this, shameless though it is, is the ballot box next November. We have to GOTV and then some.

    After all, if Trump only governs for his base and the billionaire class, why would we expect any fairness and ethical behavior from the GOP’ers. Does Nunes have any viable opposition with a chance of ousting him in November?

  204. 204.

    ruemara

    @raven: Hmm. I have nothing to do with Stein voters. She can stay blessed and over there.

    @Mnemosyne: I think pollsters & pundits can have a stadium of seats. We have work to do & we are doing it.

  205. 205.

    Brachiator

    @Peale:

    Fear and negativity in the past I think gets a lot of our people to stay home. We’ll see if that changes.

    People have a reason to vote. The differences between the parties are stark and real. The Democrats should be able to build on this.

    Democrats and liberals who stay home either agree with the Republicans or want to be fucked over by them.

  207. 207.

    Brachiator

    @NorthLeft12:

    What a maroon! Every effing day he says or does something that makes me shake my head and say “How many idiots voted for this dumbass douchebag?”

    62.98 million.

  209. 209.

    Doug R

    @Kay: Elections aren’t just one way, the other side can sense the tide and most of them will show up again. There’s just more of us showing up this time. Democrats showing up got us a Democrat in Alabama, FFS.

  211. 211.

    Doug R

    @Elizabelle:

    But maybe you could redirect some money from paid advertising to paid good quality people on the ground.

    A lot of campaign practices seem to be set up to allow the permanent campaign industry to rake in $$$.

    We need something more effective.

    Seems to work-From 2008

    According to an analysis published by Bloomberg, Barack Obama spent the most on payroll last year ($20.3 million), followed by John McCain ($15.4 million) and Clinton (just under $15 million). Among active candidates, Ron Paul devoted the smallest portion of his funds to salaries and benefits—8 percent, or $1.5 million.

    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/02/how_much_do_campaign_staffers_make.html

  212. 212.

    JPL

    @Kay: This is another example of the NYTimes in the pocket for Trump. Trump must have some fancy evidence against the company in order to receive such treatment.

    https://twitter.com/reedfrich/status/999299913979752451

    What the hell is this, @nytimes? Headlining a tweet with just a Trump quote sans any context—when the actual news headline points out it has no basis in fact—is akin to manually retweeting the president’s own propaganda.

  213. 213.

    Kay

    @Doug R:

    I don’t know if this is the right approach but I try to tell Democrats here what I think is closest to the truth – obviously I don’t have my finger on the pulse of the nation or anything- but I do try not to blow sunshine up their ass. I don’t want them to panic or get discouraged or anything, but if they ask I tell them. Hopefully they won’t have a nervous breakdown or anything, but come on, they’re not 5 years old. They’re probably not listening to the answer anyway because half the time that question isn’t a question at all – it’s “tell me what I want to hear”. Well, maybe I will and maybe I won’t :)

    People forget this but base Republicans were absolutely convinced Obama would lose in ’12. I cannot tell you how many assholes I had telling me he was “toast”. So people get it wrong a lot and we just have to live with uncertainty.

  214. 214.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid:

    And they had to make sure the chocolates really were chocolates.

    In Colorado you can get really great chocolate truffles with your choice of THC concentrations – taste great too, and well made good looking candy – in a well-made child-proof (nearly adult proof) package. So they had to check for that too, right?

  215. 215.

    Kay

    Six families of victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, as well as an FBI agent who responded to the scene, filed a defamation lawsuit today against radio personality Alex Jones, who has repeatedly called the shooting fake.
    Twenty children and six educators died in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at the Newtown, Connecticut, school.
    Jones is a fierce gun-rights advocate who operates Infowars, a website that routinely propagates conspiracies.

    I don’t know anything about this variety of law but I’m thrilled they filed. That this gross degenerate grifter was able to use the deaths of 1st graders to line his pockets is disgusting.

    Please, please, please, let this one get to a jury. They are going to HATE this guy. It’ll be one of those where they ask judge to dream up additional sanctions to impose. “Can we seize his car, right now, out of the parking lot? What about the clothes he’s wearing- that’s 50 bucks right there for the victims!”

  216. 216.

    Kay

    @JPL:

    They’re bad but we’re stuck with them, because they crowned themselves The Trump Authorities and thus it is law.

    We should thank whoever runs in 2020. What a nightmare scenario this is. They’ll be up against an opponent who is held to no standard at all and they will still be subject to the 2012 standards. In almost every area Trump’s opponent will be expected to be more transparent, more honest, more qualified, than the sitting President. It’ll start immediately. The Dem will release tax returns, there will be extensive review of those returns, and douchebag will still be sitting on his. On the basest most fundamental level it will not be FAIR and that is a tough thing to deal with. People aren’t very good at dealing with it, and they shouldn’t be, because they’re right- it sucks.

  217. 217.

    J R in WV

    @rikyrah:

    I used to get fund-raising emails from Our Revolution, and tried to un-subscribe.

    That didn’t work, so I started replying to email addresses that were usable for such, and telling they what Fascist Russian collaborators they were, and how offended I was that they kept trolling me for donations when I was a real revolutionary Democratic volunteer and would never contribute to their fascist Russian-founded group.

    That must have burned, because after a couple of months of that they quit emailing me. So far. Will burn their dumb asses again if they give me a chance~!!!

  218. 218.

    stinger

    @Elizabelle: There’s a whole bunch of high school seniors and college freshmen who will be eligible to vote for the first time this fall. I’m counting on them! Typically, that cohort doesn’t vote in large numbers, but this year is looking to be different.

  219. 219.

    L85NJGT

    @rikyrah:

    There’s a long history of primary ideological ratfucking – Rauner’s (R – IL Gov) re-election campaign was effectively ended by a terrible primary showing against someone running to his right. When I see “progressive” now days, it’s a regressive, if not reactionary, call to return to the Democratic Party status quo of fifty years ago – where white men were first among equals. Things change, and there is no there anymore. I find it really insulting to the actual Democratic Party constituency (women and people of color) in the here and now.

    NY – Nixon is twenty-plus points behind, and will finish twenty-plus points behind, and Cuomo is a dick.

    GA – Seemingly close enough that it could be done with a registration and turnout push, but the GOP controls the count so… it will take a couple points margin, and that requires a depressed GOP turnout, degenerate candidate, etc.

  220. 220.

    dww44

    In Georgia, I don’t see a depressed GOP turnout from one who’s been on the ground in GOTV efforts since 2008.. My anecdotal observations is that the Trump fever is very strong and I don’t believe there are any degenerate candidates in the offing, albeit that’s certainly a racist one in the upcoming GOP runoff in July.

    In my view, one of the most important races will be the one for Secretary of State. John Barrow, the former Congressman and last white male Dem in the Deep South who was ousted in 2014 won yesterday’s primary. That office is crucial for Dems to regain as it will provide us with some avenue to address voting disenfranchisement and replace the no “paper trail should be gone” Diebold voting machines. While the GOP controlled legislature controls the money spigot, the Secretary of State has a lot of input. As the last of his kind in Congress from Georgia, Barrow had to move at least a couple of times as the GOP legislature kept redrawing his district. He knows what to do to begin restoring fairness and equity for voters in the state.

  223. 223.

    Bonnie

    I am all in for Stacy Abrams in Georgia; and, I don’t even live in Georgia. She is so inspiring! I heard her acceptance speech after winning the Democratic nomination for Georgia Governor. I haven’t been inspired since Robert Kennedy was assassinated. I bought her book, “Minority Leader” immediately after. Will you know how much more she inspires me.

Comments are closed.