Pundits can wank all they want about Brettmentum or rapementum or whatever they want to call it, but the polls in Arizona and Nevada look pretty fucking good now for Democrats. Give to Jacky Rosen (NV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) here. I just upped the goal but it may take a while for that to show up.
Also, let’s make this an open thread for all the ways that people are canvassing, making calls, sending postcards, etc. etc.
ceece
I just started text banking with resistance labs. Sometimes it is for a specific campaign, but right now I am texting for Georgia NAACP to check voter registration before their deadline next week. You can send many texts pretty fast, and only keep texting with the few that respond. Much much easier than phone banking!
jl
Thanks. Just contributed in honor of Flakementum!!
Need a new Judiciary Act gofundme page. Everyone makes an $11 contribution.
B.B.A.
I hate the fuckin’ Eagles, man.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: Should be $15.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@B.B.A.: how do you feel about Jackson Browne ?
rikyrah
Love these posts ??
Gretchen
I’m canvassing in KS-03 for Sharice Davids the next 4 Saturdays.
Starfish
@ceece: I have been putting work in our tiny chapter of the NAACP too. I have been to several of the meetings and events in the past couple of weeks. The women in that group work so hard.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@B.B.A.: Take it easy…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He’s running on empty.
HinTN
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Running blind
Ksmiami
Just gave to both candidates “my name is indigo Montoya you killed my father, prepare to die Republican fascist scum.”
MazeDancer
Good day in PostCard Land.
The only 3 of the 11 BJ Candidates I have not had to restock addresses – many of them twice – are Lamb, Wild, and Delgado. And that is only because I have the voting rolls of each of their entire districts.
Lots of fresh addresses tomorrow: PostCardPatriots.com
J R in WV
I hit both these campaigns first thing this morning! I was so frustrated and angry, and it made me feel a lilttle better to kick in some for Democratic Women running for the Senate. Just what we need, a couple more women on the Senate Judiciary Committee!!
frosty
@ceece: Cool! i hate phone banking.
Barb 2
Get mad, get pissed and then do something.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-28/good-and-mad-rebecca-traister-women-review?srnd=businessweek-v2
Here is a review about acting on your anger a book I am reading right now. Women have a long history of getting very angry about social injustice and then doing something about it. This isn’t all about women but the flavor is certainly feminist.
The males in control of power right now are evil and destructive to our whole world. These evil bastard’s have got to go. Anger can fuel the blue wave. Remember at one time the Democratic party was the evil one (that was decades ago). The Democratic party has changed dramatically in my life time and it still has a ways to go. We now have a focus and targets – examples of true evil. These men hate women with a passion – according to them we aren’t worth more than breeders for more of the same. Yes, these creeps hold power because of the evil women like Senator Collins etc.
So yes we need the really great male Senators on the democratic side. We all need to get angry and then guide our anger out of ourselves. We don’t have the time for depression or withdrawal from the world.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
is this a big deal? Is the Bee conservative?
Mnemosyne
@B.B.A.:
If you don’t like my fuckin’ music, get your own fuckin’ cab!
(I confess, I had to look it up to get the right quote. And it’s slightly out of order.)
Jeffro
@B.B.A.: Just pretend it was a lyric to a b-side from The Clash ;)
oatler.
I’m thinking of Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van”.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Ksmiami:
“So much for the tolerant lef-ahhhhhhh!”
(Gurgling noises)
Jeffro
Can I just say how much I love the actual activism and fundraising going on in this blog? I love bitching more than most folks here but bitching alone ain’t gonna cut it and never did.
Register, volunteer, donate, and VOTE! That’s been my mantra all year and now I guess I have to add phone bank, write postcards, door knock, put out signs, plan on giving rides to the polls, oh and also VOTE!!!
Step on the gas! Let’s show these assholes what the country really thinks of kleptocracy and dismissing sexual assault!
chopper
don’t you mean “Boofmentum”? honestly, that really should be the guy’s nickname. “boof”.
Barb 2
@Jeffro:
I don understand anyone who doesn’t vote.
For me, to not vote would be to dishonor the women who fought so hard for the right to vote.
Jim Parish
It troubles me somewhat that, in the recent past, there was a major-league ball player named Boof Bonser. It began as a childhood nickname, but sometime during his career he made it his legal name.
Kay
I’m just doing Cordray because I prefer to focus on one.
I started the cycle directing local people who contact me and want to volunteer to the Ohio Democratic Party organizer or the various campaigns, so like a contact point. Then the volunteers were impatient and we know how to do this so I’m getting started just running canvasses and phone banks out of the law office. We get the call and walk sheets from the ODP or the Galbraith campaign (US House). I don’t have anything to do with the data they’re using- how they are filtering it- you all know they use a voter file and they can filter it depending on which groups they want to pull out. It seems to me we’re contacting reliable Democrats and also sporadic or “low propensity” Democratic voters and not Independents or Republicans. That makes sense to me for a midterm. They’re using a ballot card, too. That’s the card with the whole slate of candidates on it. People make fun of those because they’re olde timey but I’m telling you people want “easy” – they don’t want to make all these decisions- and ballot cards are easy :)
Middlelee
Sent money to Rosen. A friend said Heller’s ads about Rosen are vicious. Many years ago a friend of mine ran against Heller and his ads then were vicious. Republicans just don’t know how to do anything clean.
Vidya Pradhan
I’ve been writing postcard for the last week, just a way to stay sane. So far, I’ve written for Phil Bredesen in TN and Stacey Abrams and Sarah Riggs Amoco in GA. Also attended a fund raiser for Josh Harder here in CA 10 and donated (he said he had plenty of volunteer to knock on doors, just needed the cash.)
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The Bee is quite conservative. That’s a Joe Big Fucking Biden deal.
The most interesting thing is that what might sink him is the lie about the location of his family farm. That’s the sort of thing that could expose him as fake and out of touch.
Jeffro
@chopper:
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@B.B.A.: From your nym, I guess you’re into the whole brevity thing…
Btw, did anyone see this article about the polls not being favorable for HH?
https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/10/06/politics/poll-of-the-week-heidi-heitkamp-is-in-trouble/index.html
jl
@Vidya Pradhan: Thanks for info. Now I won’t need to feel guilty for not having time to get back to my ancestral stomping grounds (or next door, actually) to GOTV for Harder. I can just make another contribution.
Denham has been running a scam on his district for years. Pretends to be a moderate but his votes are hard core Trumpist. No one around there likes the hypocritical old conman much at all, from what I can tell. But he has managed to survive, until now.. People I know in the district have been really steamed about pushes for Trump league public money development swindles, that so far have been beaten back. Proposed and very unneeded, very superfluous, industrial parks taking up prime farmland that will sit 3/4 empty while somebody sneaks off with some tax payer loot, for example. While vacant land in currently existing ones rot due to lack of upkeep and serious efforts to fill it up. Denham pushes for these development cons big time.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@Jeffro: I do sometimes pray for the black hole sun…
Seriously, that’s some good shot right there!
Kay
We have a big county Dem dinner the week of Halloween – so the last week in October, I guess there is not really a “Halloween Week” except in my head- anyway. That dinner has been a remarkably reliable indicator of Democratic enthusiasm so I will let you know. 200 is a good number and 100 is a bad number. Range. It’ll probably be some pain in the ass murky number like 151.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@EveryDayIHaveTheBlues: I believe Nate Silver and Harry Enten both called that ten point poll an outlier, but she is down by 3-5 points
Uncle Cosmo
@Middlelee: In a previous thread someone linked an Adam Serwer article in The Atlantic which IMO sums up what it is about the Global Oligarchy Putsch that’s so disgusting. It’s not the hatred per se. It’s the cruelty. The bastards don’t just want to win, they want to make the people they hate suffer. And then stand back & cackle & dare anyone to do anything about it.
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That’s before Justice Asterisk. We need to watch the polls the next couple of weeks. Plus WaPo has her internals as much better than polling.
Cheryl Rofer
I’m helping to sponsor a fundraiser Sunday afternoon for Stephanie Garcia Richard, who is running for New Mexico Land Commissioner.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yutsano: also, she has twenty-five dollars, greenbacks, samolians, smackeroos, twenty-five big ones from me she didn’t have a week ago, so….
Seriously, her opponent was as gross as trump about Christine Ford. Just disgusting.
EveryDayIHaveTheBlues
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ah. I didn’t know about Silver’s comment on those polls. The dude against her is a particularly idiotic R, having made some asinine comment about Dr. Ford. She should be able to handle such wanna-be Todd Aikins with ease.
Matt McIrvin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Heitkamp’s campaign is touting the dire polls to raise money on Facebook. Warning of impending doom is a popular Democratic tactic and I guess it is good at raising money, but I wonder how effective it is at actually winning. You don’t want to actually come across as destined to lose.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
somebody said that the North Dakota press was all in on celebrating trump triumphant minor renegotiation of Canadian milk import regulations, and that was boosting HK’s opponent
Yutsano
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: As soon as she came out as a no her fundraising surged. And she’s already been running hard against Cramer against Justice Asterisk. I think if she gets turnout drummed up she’s going to pull this off.
Geoboy
@Cheryl Rofer: You go, Cheryl! We’ve been going door to door for the whole Democratic ticket in Los Alamos since Labor Day.
tobie
I’ve been canvassing every weekend for Jesse Colvin in MD-01. Maryland is the only state to have gerrymandered the congressional districts to maximize Democratic representation, so the first district, as the one Republican district, is about as red as a conservative precinct in Idaho. That said, Colvin’s a good fit for the district as a former army ranger, middle of the road Dem with a Republican wife. I think I may have even convinced a Republican man to vote for Colvin today. I’ve phone banked for the local Dems too but that’s much less fun. I did, however, sign up to make calls for Heitkamp if she needs me. I’ll do the same with Donnelly’s campaign. The two were profiles in courage this week.
Chris Johnson
Remember you have to blow them out to such an extent that moderate cheating and vote faking will not save them.
Remember you have to physically fight them when they will not settle for moderate cheating and go brazen not-give-a-fuck about it.
I am all for sending a message via voting, as we’re supposed to be able to do. In the event that voting is refused, be ready to take it up a notch with no hesitation because they’re going to invalidate, ignore or straight out cancel voting. I’m sure going to try to vote.
Kay
@Yutsano:
I get a kick out of the whole GOP campaigning for and on Kavanaugh because I know Kavanaugh doesn’t want to be perceived as hack now that he got what he believes he’s entitled to, and I think it will embarrass him.
He has to attempt to pivot now to “serious judge” and they’re out there treating him like a GOP candidate. They’re stepping all over his phony “judge” routine. Trump is campaigning for him like he does any other GOP pol and I do mean “any other” including the pedophile they promoted. I expect him to appear on Hannity, in the robe. He even looks like a Fox host.
Another Scott
So I’m out of the country (in Canada) for a week, and look at what happens!?!11
Seriously, they had the votes in the Senate and were going to push him over the line no matter what. It’s what they do.
Donated++
We need to win these things. Only putting better people in office is going to make our government better.
31 days to go!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Hungry Joe
I’ve been walking precincts for Mike Levin (CA-49), who’s running for Issa’s old seat, but Levin is up by 9.4 points and seems to have it locked. The next nearest district to mine (mine is a safe seat for Dem. Susan Davis) is CA-50, where Duncan Asshat Hunter, despite 40-plus indictments, is up by 7.6 points. (East San Diego County is THAT RED.) So I’m thinking of driving to Yuma — it’s only 2 1/2 hours — for a couple of days to canvass for Kyrsten Sinema, who might actually snag a Senate seat. Polls have her up (!) 50.0 – 47.9. The Green candidate is at 2.1. Thanks, Greenies. Thanks SO MUCH.
dnfree
@Matt McIrvin: Exactly. As I commented on the other contribution post below, thanks to the Balloon-Juice ActBlue offerings, I am getting emails from many campaigns. I have gotten really tired of the whiny ones that predict disaster (or even claim it has already happened, like “Danny has lost!”) and imply that it’s my fault if that happens unless I send them more money. It just doesn’t seem like a good approach either to fundraising or to attracting supporters.
trollhattan
Everybody here will be shocked, shocked at this SCOTUS tidbit.
Somebody just got added to Ginny’s speed drunk-dial list.
Sebastian
Dropped a benjamin in the pot. Will keep giving. Keep doing this Doug, thank you.
Fuck those motherfuckers. Fuck em. And TIC TOC MITHERFUCKERS!!!
MomSense
Such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl my lord, in a flat bed ford slowing down to take a look at me.
Yutsano
@Kay: You know what’s funny? I don’t think he even cares right now. He got what he felt he deserves. What he had been groomed for since law school. He’s going to be an embarrassing hack and the Court’s reputation will suffer greatly because of it. And no one can make him care.
geg6
I spent the day helping out Conor Lamb at a community wine fest in my hometown (which is really only two towns over). Knew a lot of people there and had a glass with Congressman Lamb. He’s gonna kick Rothfus’ ass. He a very nice, down to earth guy, too. Comes off as caring, thoughtful and humble. Most humble ex-Marine I ever met. It raised my spirits quite a bit. We had a lot of people come to our booth and talk and commit. People really don’t like Rothfus. They hate that he refuses to face them. The only community events he’s done throughout his entire time in office were by invitation only.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
McClatchy, the Bee’s owner isn’t conservative per se, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to don plaid and overalls to sell papers and advertising space in fucking Fresno.
However, Fresno proper has a Democratic rep and Nunes’ district covers the ‘burbs and rural surroundings so there’s an implicit balancing act. The most important data would be have they endorsed Komrad Nunes in the past?
Sebastian
Question: If New York leg decides to remove the statute of limitations for tax evasion etc, could they go after Trump and family for the $400m or would that be off limits?
trollhattan
@MomSense:
I saw them once–opening act for Jethro Tull. There may have been a banjo.
Matt McIrvin
@dnfree: I use GMail and it seems to be really good at filtering all of those campaign emails into the “promotions” folder where I usually don’t read them. Which is good, because at this point it’s probably 75% of the email I get.
A Ghost To Most
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Much better version. David Lindley FTW.
(((CassandraLeo)))
I’ve been meaning to ask this for awhile: what does C.R.E.A.M. stand for in the context of this blog? I don’t think I’ve seen the meaning spelt out.
I like the idea of text banking and might see if I can do it after my midterm exams. I hate hate hate
hate hate hate
hate hate hate hate hate
hate hate hate hate hate
HATE talking on the phone, especially to strangers, so text banking sounds perfect.
ETA: OMG, the edit function is back. It’s so… beautiful.
Matt McIrvin
@trollhattan: My impression of McClatchy was always that they were quite liberal.
SenyorDave
@Hungry Joe: I didn’t think it was possible but I actually have less respect for someone who votes Green than someone who votes Republican.
trollhattan
@A Ghost To Most:
I saw Lindley and El Rayo X at a local club–they killed.
Kay
@Yutsano:
I know he cares. That whole phony, calculated display was about wanting it both ways- he wants to run a base GOP political campaign when that works for him AND be perceived as a serious and sober jurist when that works for him. The “fire up the base” rant was what he needed THEN. NOW he wants the prestige. Trump is stepping all over Phase Two of his campaign. All of them are. They’re not even pretending he’s unbiased. He may as well be running for a House seat.
He should go on Fox. Do a guest fill in for Hannity. What the hell. Everyone knows he’s the Trump judge anyway. It would be the only honest thing he’s done in the last 3 weeks.
trollhattan
@Matt McIrvin:
The Sac Bee leans that way but having blown up both their editorial and op-ed staffs they’re subbing out a lot these days. Nevertheless their endorsements are 95% Democratic.
IIUC their national bureau is basically the remains of Knight Ridder and they continue to do good work.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Kay: To be Scrupulously Fair, I think he might’ve been telling the truth when he said he likes beer. Probably the only honest thing he said in the entire hearing. Of course, he said it about two dozen times.
Matt McIrvin
@dnfree: These things are focus-tested and A/B-tested up the wazoo. I assume the reason they use those weird and annoying tactics is that they really are the most effective way to raise cash.
Personally, Doug’s Balloon Juice links are 10000% more effective at getting cash from me. But I’m probably not a typical contributor.
dm
Hey, DougJ, how about Phil Bredesen?
FiveThirtyEight gives him a credible shot at the Senate seat in Tennessee, and wouldn’t that be a fine surprise for McConnell?
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republicans-really-could-lose-that-tennessee-senate-seat/
Actblue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/phil-bredesen-3
EmmaAnne
My county delivers a voting guide to all Democrats and selected independents. I am an area coordinator for six precincts. I pick up my six boxes on Wednesday and hand them out to my precinct leaders, who will deliver them over the next week or so, right as the mail-in ballots are dropping (it is all mail-in or drop off in Colorado).
Then in two more weeks we deliver a note to everyone who still hasn’t voted to remind them. We call, too, but I am not sure how effective that is when no one answers their phone.
Matt McIrvin
@dm: Bredesen just got a lot of his funding from national liberal groups pulled because he said he’d have voted yes on Kavanaugh. It’s a hard case because daaamn, it’d be great to take a seat in Tennessee.
Yutsano
@Kay: Does he honestly think he can put that genie back in the bottle? He already came out as a partisan hack. He has to know every single decision he makes is going to be scrutinized heavily for any lean. He’s already exposed. There is no reversing that damage.
debbie
@Matt McIrvin:
Rich Cordray is doing the same thing.
Suzanne
I’m sorry. I have phonebanked for and donated to Sinema in the past, and she is a huge fucken disappointment every time. She will vote how Manchin does. She is the worst kind of weathervane. I will vote for her, but I will not give her any time or money. #reclaimingmytime
Yutsano
@Matt McIrvin: He REALLY needs to walk that back and fast. He already pissed off a bunch of women and minority voters with that statement. Maybe something along the lines of he might have been rash with that because he hasn’t read the FBI report. Something, because that was such an own goal in an election that is too important.
debit
@(((CassandraLeo))): Cash Rules Everything Around Me.
Mary G
@A Ghost To Most: @trollhattan: Love David Lindley
The teen and has girlfriend went pretty much out of control last week and his mom was at her wit’s end and wanted to send him to Palm Springs to live with her alcoholic aunt and her two dogs. I managed to talk her out of that by saying I would help take charge of them. I picked them up at school yesterday and used my Mean Mary G voice on them (he’s only heard it once when he and his friends were climbing up on the roof last Halloween and it scared the shit out of him) and told them they are working for me for free as long as I feel like it. Yesterday afternoon I made them work on homework and today they did four hours of homework.
Tomorrow it’s postcards for voters. I’ve been doing them slowly, but my hands hurt. They kind of wrinkled their noses, but I told them it’s for Vangie Williams in Virginia, who would be the first black woman in Congress from Virginia, and they perked up. I got in a bit of history about Jamestown while I was at it. I think I’ll take them to Mike Levin’s campaign office tomorrow to for a yard sign and sign them up for a shift there too.
r€nato
something deeply satisfying to watch today: the suicide bomber scene in “The Handmaid’s Tale”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ig67726RCw
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Matt McIrvin: I wonder how much of that is choreographed, ostentatiously de-nationalizing the race a couple of days after Mike Bloomberg pledges $20 to Dem Senate candidates. I’m guessing Bredesen is just the sort of Democrat Bloomberg likes.
Mary G
@Hungry Joe: Mimi Waters and Katie Porter and Harley Rouda and Dana Rohrenbacher are tied neck and neck in their Orange County districts, which would be closer than Yuma.
Matt McIrvin
@Yutsano: Is it an own goal? I’m assuming he knows his actual constituency likes that kind of statement.
tobie
@Suzanne: Sinema did say that Kavanaugh shouldn’t be appointed to the SC FWIW. That raises her above Manchin in my book. I hear, though, that she’s awful on gun regulations. We’re all dealing with candidates we didn’t necessarily want but are now stuck with. I continue to think Ben Jealous is the worst candidate for Gov in MD I’ve seen in a long time but have been telling people to vote for him all the same. I met his running mate Susan Turnbull today and found her abrasive and uninspiring but she and Ben are what I’ve got on the Dem ticket. If elected they’ll be in charge of redistricting and that’s important enough to vote for them. I hear ya, though. In the year of the resistance, it would be nice to be enthusiastic about one’s candidates.
r€nato
Talk is cheap when a) you’re not actually in the Senate to vote on it, and b) you’re Kyrsten Sinema.
Mark my words, she will do whatever is politically expedient for her career and two years from now (if not sooner) you will be cursing her as a DINO.
A Ghost To Most
@Mary G:
There is only one pedal steel player I like more than David Lindley, and that’s John Neff.
dm
@Matt McIrvin: crud. I think I heard that, too, but my mind must have suppressed it. But, as Kos of the Orange Satan used to say: “First, more Democrats. Then more, better, Democrats.”
chrisanthemama
@(((CassandraLeo))): Cash Rules Everything Around Me. C.R.E.A.M.
dnfree
@Matt McIrvin: I use gmail also, and you’re right–almost all of it shows up in Promotions, a few in Updates. I’ve unsubscribed from some, but it’s interesting to see the different approaches they take. The ones who take the “disaster!” approach seem to use that same method almost exclusively, not to vary it.
Mary G
@Hungry Joe: Also, too, the latest poll from Berkeley IGS has Hunter up only 2 over Ammar Campa-Najjar.
tobie
@r€nato: You and Suzanne are probably right. But I’d love to see Democrats in charge of the Senate committees and if that means having Sinema and Bredesen there, than so be it.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@debit: @chrisanthemama: Ah, should’ve figured that. Thanks.
I don’t care for Blue Dogs either, but Manchin and Sinema are vastly superior to any Republican that would be elected in their respective states, and Manchin is probably actually above replacement value for an average Democrat from WV. Remember, the “Democratic” governor WV elected a couple years ago turned Republican and had a rally with Trump. Manchin sucks, but as much as it pains me to say it, he’s vastly preferable to any Republican from WV. Sinema wouldn’t be perfect as a Senator, either, but still vastly superior to any AZ Republican. Nelson has been a disappointment quite a few times for me here in FL, but he’s still vastly superior to Rick Scott. And so on.
Really, at this point, I find it difficult to imagine Democratic candidates who wouldn’t be superior to their Republican challengers. I’ve pretty much turned into the proverbial Yellow Dog Democrat.
Yutsano
@tobie: Agreed. For 2018 I’ll take more Democrats. In 2020 though we get better Democrats.
Kay
@Yutsano:
Told ya. We’re about to be subjected to Phase Two of Brett’s campaign for Brett’s career goals- it’s judge time. The pivot point was the WSJ op-ed. A big part of privilege is wanting it both ways. As many ways as Brett wants, Brett gets.
I think they should bring him out at Trump rallies in the robe. He can lead the “lock her up” chant.
gene108
@Middlelee:
What else can Republicans do? Their record, if declared openly, is very unpopular.
Also, a lot of these first time Democratic candidates aren’t taking any corporate or PAC money. I wonder how that will influence DC lobbyists? It is amazing we are matching or beating Republicans, with lots of small donations.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: The LA Times poll that I saw had Katie over Mimi by 8 IIRC, Harley and Comrade Dana were tied.
Matt McIrvin
@r€nato: Expanding Democratic control means electing some not-very-good Democrats. There’s probably no way around it because we’re talking about genuine ideological differences between districts. The same thing happened after 2006-08.
The congressional candidates I contribute to are to a large extent way to my right, and not the candidates I’d personally prefer. That’s because they’re running in swing districts/states that are way to my right. I know they’re going to disappoint me sooner or later. It’d be way more disappointing to have Republicans in those seats.
Steeplejack
@(((CassandraLeo))):
Others have given you the definition. I’ll add the Wu-Tang Clan song from which it came.
Uncle Cosmo
@trollhattan: I seem to recall that Fresno was effectively the second largest Armenian city on the planet (after Yerevan). Or was that a generation ago? Or two? Or…
(Fun fact: At one point not too long ago, probably before 1991, the largest Lithuanian city – i.e., the largest urban assemblage of Lithuanians – in the world was Chicago.)
(((CassandraLeo)))
@(((CassandraLeo))): …of course, as much as Nelson doesn’t excite me, I’m having a difficult time imagining a better Democratic candidate for FL governor than Andrew Gillum. He hasn’t been getting as much press as Beto, but I could see him going onto even grander things than governor. After all, FL is one of the most populous states in the nation. He could easily make someone’s VP shortlist in 2020.
Chetan Murthy
@Matt McIrvin:
I sent him a check. And I’m not sorry. Why? B/c hell, he won’t get a -chance- to vote for fuckin’ Rapey-K. As long as he caucuses with the Dems and votes for a Dem Majority leader …. like I give a FLYING fuck what he does to get elected. Like I give a shit.
OK. So I’m feeling pretty goddamn angry right now. But shit, the -goal- is to take the fucking Senate (and the House, and every damn governorship and state lege, dammit). Not to feel good about our *principles*. fu-fu-fu-fu-fu-fuck.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@Steeplejack: I knew the song; I’ve had 36 Chambers in my possession for decades. I just failed to connect the dots. Always worth listening again, though.
(I guess edit only works on mobile and not desktop yet. Disappointing.)
Chetan Murthy
@Kay:
I disagree with you, but don’t think it matters. “revealed preferences”, say the economists. He’s a rapist and a racist and a fascist, and we know this from his past actions. Blotted his copy-book, he did. Too damn late for him, and (weep) for us.
Kay
My sisters are despondent. We have a 4 way text thing going. I’m communicating exclusively with emojis, which I think they’re getting annoyed about but I can’t handle it when they’;re sad. I think they know this about me so they’ll forgive me for this stupid emoji thing- I just hate when they’re sad.
Chetan Murthy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m hoping that you’re right. B/c ffs I don’t want that Putinfelcher Blackburn to win. Gotta have standards at the end of the day.
H.E.Wolf
All y’all inspire me to keep on. Thank you.
I took the afternoon off (except for recruiting 2 mad-as-hell women for GOTV), and will spend an hour tonight in the WA Dems’ volunteer database, increasing my “volunteers activated” total. Reached 5K on Thursday. I’m pretty sure the full total is significantly higher.
I’ve also found out how to write postcards for Carolyn Long, who’s running in WA-03. Her campaign is treating it as an “in kind” donation, and therefore participants need to save all receipts (for postcards, stamps, and envelopes to mail the completed cards to their campaign office in Vancouver). It’s OK to provide a scan or photocopy of the receipts, but send them the originals as well. They can accept stamped, written cards until Nov. 1 or 2 – they’ll address them and drop them in the mail.
debit
@Steeplejack: And then I give you the Westworld version. Ramin Djawadi is a fucking genius.
Uncle Cosmo
@Matt McIrvin: FFS, they’re e-mailing the gloom&doom to people who’ve already donated to Dems & usually already to their campaign. None of the recipients is gonna throw up hands & not frickin’ vote. And it raises ca$h for their media buys.
gene108
@Suzanne: @r€nato:
Manchin voted to keep the ACA and against the tax scam. But he will disappoint at times.
If we want more liberal politicians, we somehow need a more liberal electorate. The US is a very conservative country, in some ways, compared to other Western nations. So becoming more liberal becomes scary, and is easy to demagogue against because how can you prove the PPACA would not trigger a recession, when it passed in 2010, and would only be implemented in 2014? The first bill voted on to repeal the PPACA, in 2011, was entitled something like “Repeal the job-killing healthcare law act”.
I don’t know how to get people to see the connections between what they want, like affordable daycare, healthcare, etc., can’t happen without embracing the “tax and spend” liberal agenda.
Suzanne
@Matt McIrvin: I agree that Sinema is better than McSally. Which is why she’ll get my vote. Just not any money or free labor.
Yutsano
@Uncle Cosmo: I do have an Armenian friend down there who is partnered with a half German half Mexican man. She’s a hoot and she rules him. It’s great. So I think it’s still got some of that demographic.
EDIT. : Also: there are more Armenians living outside Armenia than in the country, a lot because of the Armenian Genocide.
(((CassandraLeo)))
I should note that one of the only two upsides I can see in this confirmation is that, as an alcoholic, Rapey K will probably die significantly younger than an average SC justice*. That’s a morbid as hell observation to make, but I’m past the point of giving a fuck. (The other upside, of course, is that we’re infuriated and likely to redouble our efforts at winning this year and further on. Neither of these are intended to suggest that his confirmation is a good thing; it’s awful. People will literally die as a direct result of his confirmation, and it’s entirely possible that the number of sexual assaults will increase as well. I’m just following Monty Python’s sage advice at this point, because it’s the only thing keeping me grounded. “Life’s a piece of shit when you look at it…”)
*much like the president* who nominated him, I contend that Rapey K’s position should never actually be mentioned without the asterisk. Same goes for Gorsuch and arguably Roberts and Alito.
Chetan Murthy
@tobie:
With respect, and I could be wrong, which means, with even more respect [also b/c I recognize your nym] none of that matters. What *matters* is with whom they caucus. Who is elected majority leader. That is ALL THAT MATTERS. There’s a “theorem” in political science that, when there are a bunch of special interests in a democracy, and limited resources, the determiner or which special interests get their issues addressed, is who controls the agenda. It’s less important who is Senator from X, than who is the majority leader.
Again: like FUCK I care that Bredesen sez he’d vote for Rapey-K. LIKE FUCK I care. What I care about, is that he’ll caucus with the Dems. B/c then no fucking Rapey-K will EVER come up for consideration.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@debit: Hadn’t heard that, and yes, he is. I guess I didn’t even think that the season 2 soundtrack might be out. The covers on the season 1 soundtrack were goddamn amazing. Between Westworld, Game of Thrones, and the late, lamented Person of Interest, Djawadi is easily one of the best composers working for TV right now; the only composers I’d definitively say are in his league are Michael Giacchino, Murray Gold, and Bear McCreary, though there might be a few I’m not aware of and/or have forgotten. (David Arnold and Michael Price might be close, but I must confess I’m not familiar with any of their work besides Sherlock.)
Cheryl Rofer
@Geoboy: If you’d like to come to our fundraiser, message me through the utility at the top of the page. It’s at a private home, so I don’t want to give those details out generally. It’s from 4 to 6.
gene108
@Hungry Joe:
I believe the Green Party is either backed by Russians or Republicans, though at this point that might be a distinction without a difference.
Chetan Murthy
@Matt McIrvin:
AMEN. AMEN.
tobie
@Chetan Murthy: Sorry if I was unclear. I was talking about the governor’s race in my state. I agree wholeheartedly that at the Senate level what matters more than anything else right now is for Dems to be in the majority so they can run the various committees. I encourage everyone I speak to vote a straight D ticket this year–at the local, state and federal level. One can have no quarter with a party that supports separating families and detaining toddlers, gutting environmental and workplace protections, openly discriminating against gays, Muslims and POC, privatizing every function of govt and selling it to a group of oligarchs etc etc etc.
debit
@(((CassandraLeo))): Did you ever see the piano and cello cover of the Westworld main theme? No matter how many times I watch it I get chills.
Totally agree with everyone you mentioned and would add Brian Reitzell, most notably from Hannibal and American Gods. I would guess he’ll also be doing the music for Fuller’s Vampire Chronicles project too.
To everyone else, I’m not trying to derail. Just focusing on the things that might bring a little happiness.
James E Powell
@Matt McIrvin:
Not destined, but likely to lose if you don’t get help. I think there’s a fine line in there somewhere. In 2016 we saw what can go wrong when everyone thinks you’re going to win.
Chetan Murthy
@tobie: like I said: “with respect”. You’ve been around here a lot long than me, and so I sure wouldn’t want to bitch&moan at you. I get what you’re saying about Jealous: I don’t follow that race, but shit/shit/shit I so fucking HATE that FUCKING HOGAN. “oh, we’re not going to investigate this”. fuck that. fuck that.
gah. OK. Stopping now.
And for sure, I’m not uniformly enthused with all the Dem candidates. But we get the candidates we deserve. The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves. *weep*
debit
And speaking of American Gods. Angry gets shit done.
Middlelee
@dm:
Thanks for mentioning he is running in Tennessee. I just donated on the chance we can make McConnell very unhappy.
tobie
@Chetan Murthy: No worries…no offense taken. My hope in MD is that Dems can gain a supermajority in the state legislature this year. California turned around when that happened. The gridlock isn’t as dire here but a supermajority would make a difference.
Yep…we get the candidates we deserve. If you don’t participate in campaigns during the primaries, you have no right to complain about the candidates. That’s certainly true in my case. I didn’t volunteer before the general, so I should probably stop whining!
(((CassandraLeo)))
@debit: I still need to watch American Gods. Love the book, but I don’t have Starz.
I couldn’t stomach Hannibal. It was amazing, and I couldn’t watch it past, I believe, the fourth episode. In a way, if it hadn’t been so artistically produced, it would’ve been easier to watch; the fact that it felt so true to life made it that much harder to take. I’m absolutely amazed that they got away with that show on network television, yet the exposure of a black woman’s nipple for a fraction of a second caused a nationwide panic and ended her career.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@debit: Also, I don’t believe I’d heard that cover before, and it’s beautiful.
The thing about Djawadi is that he seems to get better each season. The Game of Thrones main theme, of course, is one of the most memorable TV shows of the last 15 years, but there were some cues in the season one soundtrack that were just… pretty good. By the time of season five or six he’s cranking out amazing cues as though it came as naturally to him as breathing. Of course, Westworld has a more consistent score because he was already at that level of skill when he started out.
Mnemosyne
@Chetan Murthy:
I don’t think you and Kay are saying very different things. Kavanaugh wants to be given the respect due a Supreme Cpurt justice while not actially doing anything to deserve it. He wants that respect because we owe it to him because he’s a rich white man who went to all the right schools.
Unfortunately for him, we’re not a dictatorship yet, and he can’t demand respect if people don’t want to give it to him.
Redshift
I was out canvassing for Tim Kaine again this afternoon. I’m trying to decide whether to go next door and work for Jennifer Wextin instead.
Kaine’s not in any real danger, so the campaign is doing the necessary stuff to ensure there are no surprises, and doing some party-building. It’s worthwhile, but I feel the need to be where I can make a difference (and be part of something that’ll be more exciting on Election Night, to be completely selfish.)
I guess I’m going to try to squeeze in both…
Martin
@tobie:
Actually, California has barely ever hit supermajority. The thing that turned the state around was the passage of Prop 25, which reversed a policy which required a ⅔ majority to raise taxes or pass a budget and set it at a simple majority. That happened in 2010, which coincidentally was also when Dems swept every office in the state and got near supermajorities in the legislature. Previously the budget was held hostage by the minority, and that can no longer happen.
tobie
@Martin: Thanks for that explanation! I didn’t realize the change came because of a ballot initiative. I lived in CA for 6 years and remember having to go through the lengthy newsprint booklet a few night before the election to figure out how to vote on various propositions.
Millard Filmore
@tobie:
And then passing the kids along to foster homes and orphanages. AKA … Baby Snatching and Child Trafficking.
frosty
@trollhattan: Yes, Bernie Leadon played banjo when they started. Then they evolved.
So sue me, I like ‘em. And when I was getting ready to bail from CA and Hotel California came out damn near every song spoke to me. Especially:
You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.
Aleta
Race is tight in ME 2nd district. https://www.pressherald.com/2018/10/07/maines-2nd-district-race-among-the-liveliest-in-the-nation/
Big love to this blog and Doug for support for Golden.
(He’s not perfect, but against Polliquin and in the 2nd district his profile on paper and his personality are very very good.)