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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Demonstrations!

Demonstrations!

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Move On called for demonstrations tonight against Trump’s appointing Matthew Whitaker acting Attorney General. Here are tweets from some of them. More than I expected, and this is just the warm-up.

 

https://twitter.com/Fuctupmind/status/1060666781956747266

https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/1060688056829673473

What’s up in your neck of the woods?

 

 

Reader Interactions

211Comments

  4. 4.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Corner Stone: This is what I emailed to someone about Whitaker early today:

    I’m not sure Whitaker is going to be around long. The news media has their teeth into him as a new chew toy. His entire life is going to be put under a microscope. Even Judge Napolitano at Fox said making him Acting AG is unconstitutional on this morning’s A Blonde with Two Boobs on a Sofa show. I’m pretty sure none of the three hosts are smart enough to understand Napolitano’s explanation. Beyond that, and beyond the Miami patent scam he was involved with, I’m sure he’s got lots of skeletons in his closet. And, apparently, Sam Clovis has now come out and stated that he consulted with Whitaker during the 2016 campaign when he had (legal?) questions on things he was doing for the President’s campaign. Whitaker is basically the podunk Federalist Society member who caught the Buick. Even if he lasts out the month, he’s gonna get run over and mangled.

  6. 6.

    Tata

    I posted a picture from the New Brunswick, NJ protest and Indivisible added it to their Twitter thread, which was reported by Maddow on Twitter and then I realized my eyeliner was smudged in my second-ever selfie. But holy cow!

  7. 7.

    Emerald

    Just got back from the one in Carlsbad, CA (which is still going on–I just wanted to at least be there for awhile). Looked like a good 250 people or so. We split up onto four corners at a busy intersection. Got lots of nice honks from passing cars!

    New chants: When Democracy is under attack, what do you do? Stand Up Fight Back! (Fill in other stuff that is under attack–really nice chant!)

    But I just gotta say, Hey hey, ho ho: hey hey ho ho has got to go. Enough! I thought it was worn out in 1968.

  8. 8.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tata:

    which was reported by Maddow on Twitter and then I realized my eyeliner was smudged in my second-ever selfie.

    You’re representing Balloon Juice out there, pull it together!!!!//

    More seriously: WELL DONE!!!

  10. 10.

    Gin & Tonic

    As it passes 2100 local time of my day alone with two toddlers, one of whom seems as yet to have no interest in sleeping, I have come to reflect on Mother Nature’s wisdom in assigning child-bearing and child-rearing to the relatively younger portion of the human population.

    They share (parts of) my DNA, and they are lovely, but what’s the title of that book, “Go The Fuck To Sleep”?

  11. 11.

    Lapassionara

    Marco Polo and I went to the St Louis demonstration. I am not sure how many people were there maybe about 1000. The crowd included a father and son a and a very cute little girl about 5. Some good speeches about the importance of the rule of law. Glad to see good crowds in other places.

  14. 14.

    Marcopolo

    Reporting from STL, Lapassionara & I went downtown and joined a couple hundred folks. We all pledged to call our 2 senators every day starting tomorrow to demand they pass legislation to protect Mueller.

    I’ll go ahead and urge everyone here to do as well.

  17. 17.

    Mary G

    Here’s the administration trying to sneak in an illegal action while everyone is distracted:

    Trumps new acting AG Matthew Whitaker and Kirstjen Nielson have just suspended the right to claim asylum at the southern border.https://t.co/Sn35DjFWu2— JΞSŦΞR ✪ ΔCŦUΔL³³º¹ (@th3j35t3r) November 8, 2018

  20. 20.

    Lapassionara

    @Adam L Silverman: This guy thinks Marbury v. Madison was wrongly decided! If he had his way, the Supreme Court would have very little work to do. He also thinks the cases that permitted the Federal Government to pass the New Deal laws were wrongly decided. If he had his way, both Social Security and Medicare would be ruled illegal. We are passed wing nut territory here and into the right reaches of the universe.

  21. 21.

    Mary G

    @Mary G: The press release:

    Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen today announced an Interim Final Rule declaring that those aliens who contravene a presidential suspension or limitation on entry into the United States through the southern border with Mexico issued under section 212(f) or 215(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) will be rendered ineligible for asylum.

  22. 22.

    David

    No photos but Manchester NH had an enthusiastic 50 people on Elm street making the protect Mueller case clear

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    @Tata:

    I was looking on the indivisible thread for pictures of our local protest and thought your photo was wonderful. Well done, you!

    It was pitch black for our rally but the organizers asked us all to bring flashlights. With all of them held up it reminded me of the scene in Harry Potter where they all lifted their wands in honor of Dumbledore.

  26. 26.

    jl

    Too damn many GOP crimes to protest. Looks like the GOP will try to shut down the count (note: not the recount, but the count) of the vote to keep their flunkies from losing. Scott is just yelling about how his lead has been going down, as if that were an argument of some sort, to justify shutting down the count.

    Scott got jealous of Kemp, so decided he had to do something to be the biggest lawless thug elected official in the US, behind Trump. I guess Kemp will have to do something to top it.

    Edit: forgot to point out the GOP is trying to shut down the count in three states: AZ, FL and GA. Disgusting. Some people need to go to jail over this, IMH IANAL O.

  27. 27.

    FlyingToaster

    I had a prior commitment at school, so I couldn’t make the Bwhastin rally, which seems to have been large enough to shut down Beacon Street.*

    * not a high bar; people walking their dogs can do that.

  30. 30.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I hope it goes without saying that I despise Frank Lutz as much as right-thinking mammal does, but credit where it’s due

    Frank Luntz @ FrankLuntz
    House + Senate endorsement wins: #Midterms2018
    • Trump: 21 (75 endorsements)
    • Obama: 39 (74 endorsements)

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: Sure. But the analysis is the same. Even if he makes it to January, that will be the end of him. Nadler and Schiff will destroy him as soon as the new Congress is sworn in.

    The morons in the White House didn’t bother to vet him. They just installed him at Leonard Leo’s recommendation that he’d be a loyalist and spy for the President at the DOJ.
    https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/politics/white-house-matt-whitaker-criticism/index.html

    It was not widely known among White House staff that he’d commented repeatedly on the special counsel’s investigation in interviews and on television — which is ironic given that this is what drew President Donald Trump to him and raises continued questions over the depth of the administration’s vetting process.

  35. 35.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Went to a smallish one (900 RSVPs) here in the Philly burbs at the county courthouse. Small but fired-up crowd.

    One of the speakers, a local attorney and friend, pointed across the street and said that on this spot in 1971, a group broke into the FBI offices and stole files proving that Nixon was using the FBI for illegal surveillance on his enemies. I didn’t know that little bit of local history.

  36. 36.

    Aleta

    Protest: Bar Harbor ME https://twitter.com/Indivisible_MDI/status/1060656258041217025

    Meanwhile, all the ballots for ME 2nd district were on their way to Augusta today for ranked choice tabulation. It’s not mathematically possible now for either of the top two candidates to reach 50%, so the 2016 law (passed after a referendum) goes into effect.

    Currently the candidates are at 46.2% (R), 45.5% (D), 6% (I) and 2% (I)). The people who voted for either of the 3rd or 4th place candidates (as their 1st choice) will now have their vote applied to their 2nd choice candidate (if they marked one down).

    The R, Poliquin, has announced that “he would have won.” He may challenge the law in court (at the bidding of his dark money lords probably).

    The 2nd district was Democratic for 20 years until 2014. Poliquin was basically an outsider, but won because the incumbent there went up against Le Page.

    It’s been around 100 years since an incumbent lost in the 2nd district, another historic moment for Trump et al. I hope.

  38. 38.

    PsiFighter37

    @Baud: I have thought that this played a big role – Tester is one of those guys who you don’t want to mess around with (and has lost some fingers to prove how manly he is). That said, Donnelly got rung up pretty good despite his gender. Would he have won if he voted for Kavanaugh? Honestly – I think not.

    Seeing now that Shithead Scott is suing Broward County. I hope the geographic-specific suing goes as well for him as it did for Gore.

  42. 42.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @Baud: Or would Claire McCaskill have won if she had three fewer fingers? Tester’s ad with the meat grinder was compelling.

  47. 47.

    jl

    @PsiFighter37: From what I’ve heard in the news so far, the lawless thug Scott hasn’t given any reason, other than a primal scream that his lead is shrinking, so something must be wrong. Reporters asked him if some local officials are under such suspicion, why not suspend them and replace them. Apparently he just stomped off. Not sure from the news report.

  48. 48.

    Kent

    Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen today announced an Interim Final Rule declaring that those aliens who contravene a presidential suspension or limitation on entry into the United States through the southern border with Mexico issued under section 212(f) or 215(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) will be rendered ineligible for asylum.

    In a former life I used to write Federal regulations for a living (Federal fishing regulations in Alaska). You don’t just go straight to an interim final rule without first publishing a proposed rule for notice and public comment. That’s a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. There are exceptions for health and safety but that’s about it. They are just trying to jam this through without public comment and probably have some tortured public safety rationalization that is laughable….like there is disease-ridden caravan of death approaching. Or maybe they don’t even care enough to rationlize it.

  50. 50.

    Miss Bianca

    Well, turns out I was at one of the protests after all, because my editor sent me to cover it! About 50 people in beautiful (COLD!) downtown Salida, CO!

  51. 51.

    Kent

    @Baud: Bredesen got his hat handed to him by a woman in TN. I don’t think these sort on gender lines but rather how wingnut you can be.

  52. 52.

    jl

    @PsiFighter37: ” some fingers to prove how manly he is ”

    I think he lost fingers to some farm implement or food processing machine. If that is a test of manliness, I know a lot of farmers who passed that test for fairly unmanly reasons (not sobered up yet, inattention, instructions are for sissies, and general attitude or ‘Gaw dammit, let’s gitterdonerightnow!! ). Though, I don’t know what happened with Tester, so, unfair to judge.

  54. 54.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: He can’t do anything and if he tries Marc Elias, who is representing Nelson in this, will destroy him. Gillum’s campaign attorney, now handling the governor’s election recount, is similarly a heavy hitter. He was the local Florida, as in from the state of Florida, counsel for the Bush campaign recount in 2000.

  55. 55.

    West of the Rockies

    @Mary G:

    The hospital in Paradise where the fire is has burned down, along with hundreds–maybe 1,000– homes and businesses. People have been trapped and killed.

    Protest can wait in this particular area.

    Sorry to be a downer.

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I can’t find it now, but I swear I saw a tweet yesterday from an Iowa acquaintance of Whitaker’s who said he worked hard to get on CNN because he thought if trump saw him on TeeVee he might get a nice judicial appointment.

  63. 63.

    Brickley Paiste

    @Adam L Silverman:
    The past few posts you’ve made, Adam, have been a real pleasure to read.

    Just a really straightforward appraisal that understands that the hardest thing to do in the world sometimes is just set aside how you feel about it and rationally dissect what is going on just out of sight.

    Pls keep it up.

  67. 67.

    Aleta

    Whitaker’s litmus test for judges. (direct quotes are from the blog Caffeinated Thoughts in 2014):

    During a 2014 Senate debate sponsored by a conservative Christian organization, (Whitaker) said that in helping confirm judges, “I’d like to see things like their worldview, what informs them. Are they people of faith? Do they have a biblical view of justice? — which I think is very important.”

    At that point, the moderator interjected: “Levitical or New Testament?”

    “New Testament,” Whitaker affirmed. “And what I know is as long as they have that worldview, that they’ll be a good judge. And if they have a secular worldview, then I’m going to be very concerned about how they judge.”

  68. 68.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    OT:

    Brian Beutler @ brianbeutler
    Remember when Bill Clinton said hi to Loretta Lynch on a tarmac once when he wasn’t president or under investigation and every single Republican pretended to believe it was an outrage?

    Well, anyhow, Matt Whitaker is the attorney general.

    I’d edit Beutler to add: “and most centrist pundits pretended…”

  69. 69.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I have all eight fingers and two thumbs. They might want to say hi to your throat if we ever meet, if you keep up with these outrageous meso-aggressions.against us all-American farm people.

    You keep this up, I’ll type out the ‘And the farmer feeds them all’ poem and post it here.

  70. 70.

    cain

    @Adam L Silverman:

    @jl: He can’t do anything and if he tries Marc Elias, who is representing Nelson in this, will destroy him. Gillum’s campaign attorney, now handling the governor’s election recount, is similarly a heavy hitter. He was the local Florida, as in from the state of Florida, counsel for the Bush campaign recount in 2000.

    Scott is one entitled asshole. He thinks he has earned that position. There is absolutely no reason to stop counting vote. It’s what you’re supposed to do. Republican perfidy has gone to insane levels. They cannot seem to relinquish power. I fear you are right that they will soon unleash their supporters and encourage them through dog whistles to do violence against “liberals”.

  71. 71.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Platonailedit:

    Fuck Missourians.

    Because I didn’t know what else to do, I called Sen. McCaskill’s office today, to thank her for her service [via a staffer] and to tell them about VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) and how compared to Feinstein, McCaskill is a fucking rock star player, and that we’d go a long damn time before finding her equal in Missouri.

    Ugh. More than any other loss, her’s hit me really hard. I still remember her righteous rant about the ACA that got broadcast on teevee, back in the day. I know it’s not a popular opinion [and perhaps she just doesn’t have the profile for it, but] geez, I wouldn’t have been unhappy with President McCaskill, sigh.

  73. 73.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @Kent:

    You don’t just go straight to an interim final rule without first publishing a proposed rule for notice and public comment. That’s a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

    Don’t know a darned thing about administrative procedure for writing rules and regulations, but this is clearly political theater intended to entertain their boss and his base. They get points up front for being bold and assertive and the news cycle has moved on by the time a court shuts ithem down. This is the reality TV presidency.

  78. 78.

    jl

    @Lapassionara: Trump has been looking at the TV to scout for talent for a while. I think this is the first of his saw-em-on-TV appointments that has such immediate and dangerous consequences.

  80. 80.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Lapassionara: this isn’t new. There’s a Fox regular– I wanna say Hegseth– whom trump really wanted to name as VA secretary. KT MacFarland, who I think is the one who seriously claimed SoS Hillary Clinton had sent “black helicopters” to spy on her, was Deputy National Security Advisor. The Beast wanted Joe DiGenova to be his personal lawyer, cause he was on TeeVee a lot. I’m sure there are other examples I’m forgetting

  81. 81.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh, you want a piece of me huh? You a tough guy, huh?

    The Farmer
    The king may rule o’er land and sea,
    The lord may live right royally,
    The soldier ride in pomp and pride,
    The sailor roam o’er ocean wide;
    But this or that, whate’er befall,
    The farmer he must feed them all.

    The writer thinks, the poet sings,
    The craftsmen fashion wondrous things,
    The doctor heals, the lawyer pleads,
    The miner follows the precious leads;
    But this or that, whate’er befall,
    The farmer he must feed them all.
    ….

    Keep it up and there’s a lot more where that came from.

  84. 84.

    Timurid

    We had about 40 in Lafayette. Pretty impressive, considering that this is the least woke place I’ve ever heard of.

  91. 91.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    Was at a Rockville, MD rally. Rockville is a DC suburb, about a 45 minute Metro ride from downtown DC. Despite the proximity, we had about 170 people. Pro tip -for rallies at night, get some battery powered white Xmas lights and a cowbell.

  92. 92.

    Amir Khalid

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    I have all ten fingers, and I use only my left index and middle fingers when I type. When I play guitar, being lefthanded I use all five fingers on my left hand for fretting, but only two fingers on my right hand for holding the pick.

  93. 93.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Lapassionara: I’m in San Francisco. [Hence my reference to Feinstein, whose VORP is almost entirely bound up with her seniority. Which ain’t nuthin’, and is why I voted for her this time.] So all I can do is offer support remotely. But (heh) in honor of Todd Akin, I’d be *thrilled* if she ran.

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I was wondering how Whitaker made the leap from the Wolf Blitzer Conventional Wisdom Hour to Sessions’ CoS. MSNBC guest just said it was our old pal Leonard Leo

  98. 98.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: Bless his heart!

    More seriously, Broward County has significant issues every election. The Broward County Supervisor of Elections is a less than optimal choice for someone in public service. And Broward County and how they administer elections is, perhaps, the poster child that election procedures – ballot design, voting machine guidelines, rules for administering the election and counting and reporting the vote, recounts, security, etc – need to be set at the Federal level and then the state’s and localities administer the elections based on them. This would be both a good governance improvement and a great example of how federalism is supposed to work.

  99. 99.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Amir Khalid:

    I have all ten fingers, and I use only my left index and middle fingers when I type.

    I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about learning to touch-type, but it really does speed up your typing. And there’s an easy way to do it — no classes, exercises, etc needed. I was already an OK touch-typist, but I looked down far, far too often, and that really slowed me down. Then I got a job in France, and …. they use an “AZERTY” keyboard, instead of “QWERTY”. I had a MacPlus with AZERTY keycaps (the glyphs on the physical keys) but (of course) I set the OS to go QWERTY. So I couldn’t look down — or I’d see the *wrong* letters on the keys themselves. I -had- to learn where the keys were by memory alone.

    Wow, that worked wonders, and even today (25yr later) I type far faster than before that job.

  103. 103.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yep. As I said in an earlier comment.

    Leonard Leo is not going to emerge from his relationship with the current (Vl)adminsration unscathed. People are starting to ask questions about why Leonard Leo gets to be in charge of both the Federal judiciary and the Department of Justice.

  104. 104.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Cheryl from Maryland:

    Rockville is a DC suburb, about a 45 minute Metro ride from downtown DC. Despite the proximity, we had about 170 people.

    I have fond memories of Rockville from when we lived in MD, at the other end of Randolph Road and the other end of the Red Line (which wasn’t built when we first moved in there).

    You think Rockville is close to DC, but DC people treat it like it’s the moon. I’ve heard people in DC pronounce the name with disbelief, as if the very name expresses remote uninhabited wilderness… “It’s in… (struggle to form the word) Rock… Ville”

  105. 105.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: Don’t make me type “fuck” into a comment again. Apparently that freaked everybody out.

  107. 107.

    Southend

    My untrained eye estimates there were around 200 or so people show up in the 35 degree cold in Columbia, MO.

  109. 109.

    tobie

    @jl: Florida Law Enforcement has confirmed that they’re investigating Broward and Palm Beach County Election Board heads:

    Matt Dixon
    ‏@Mdixon55
    39m39 minutes ago
    More
    Matt Dixon Retweeted Matt Dixon
    Florida Department of Law Enforcement has just confirmed they will investigate Broward and Palm Beach election officials, as requested by Rick Scott.

    “Yes. We will investigate,” FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger just told usMatt Dixon added,

    This is getting ugly fast.

    ETA: I hope they don’t try to impound all ballots in these counties pending litigation. I know this sounds paranoid but unfortunately we’ve reached crazy times in this country.

  110. 110.

    satby

    Only about 100 came out in S. Bend, though the website showed 700+ had signed up. But the losses here in election day were kind of demoralizing. Still, an ok crowd for a small city.

  111. 111.

    Yarrow

    @Adam L Silverman: Completely agree with you. There need to be certain requirements set at the federal level. States and local governments can decide what they want to do so long as they meet those requirements. Of course that would mean they couldn’t rig the elections as easily.

  112. 112.

    Manxome Bromide

    Several hundred people at the Mountain View/Los Altos/Palo Alto border. This was not the “main” protest for this area but it was still quite big and they had to start marching down the street because there wasn’t enough space at the initial planned site.

  113. 113.

    bluehill

    @jl: Agree. These are not the actions of someone who’s confident. Scott has access to the data, so he knows a lot more than we do and probably can see what the count of the remaining ballots is likely to show. So of course, the repubs are going to throw fit, claim voter fraud and try to come up some convoluted reason based on intentional misreading of some past event to justify invalidating legitimate ballots. If they are successful, then … well let’s see if they are successful.

  115. 115.

    Hob

    I don’t have any pictures, but I was at the one in San Francisco. The crowd didn’t fill the whole plaza, but was decent-sized and very vocal. Good and focused speakers, including Cleve Jones and Rebecca Solnit (and also Christine Pelosi of the dreaded DNC). The protest songs were not the worst I’ve ever heard.

  116. 116.

    J R in WV

    This is all mighty good news, but for the fire in CA, which is horrible.

    Recounts is also a great thread! More good news. But for the fire.

    Hospital burned, there’s a community shot down right there, without the rest of the losses.

  118. 118.

    Yarrow

    @jl:

    ….and Sean Hannity is also trying to tie the recount to Fusion GPS and the Steele dossier

    LOLOLOLOL. All the scary buzzwords!

  120. 120.

    Scuffletuffle

    Small (@50) but passionate crowd in Springfield MA. My comments made it into the local news reports! Yay, me!

  121. 121.

    Brickley Paiste

    @Yarrow:
    This is why we have to stop the caravan! They are all going to hit Texas and make two right turns and BAM they are in Florida and voting.

    STOP THE VOTE NOW!

  122. 122.

    J R in WV

    I would have to say that profanity is most appropriate during a crisis in government like the one we’re suffering through right now. So don’t hold back now that things are coming to a boil..!!!

    ETA fix typo

  123. 123.

    Avalie

    Pretty great turnout on downtown San Diego. My congresswoman Susan Davis spoke along with several others.

  125. 125.

    Dan B

    @jl: Jon Tester is actually a farmer. He’s also something that appeals to a lot of “populists” despite the racist tone if that label. He’s genuine. In my opinion it’s an underrated and rarely discussed trait. If you look at Beto, Gillum, and Abrams they share that trait. They’re who they say they are and they make people feel like they know them, almost on a personal basis. There’s much verbiage wasted on how progressive or center left candidates are and how that affected their electability. Tester’s been who he is and a lot of Montanans feel they can disagree with him on some policies but know he’s got integrity.
    I heard him speak years ago at a ppwer player lunch in Seattle. John Edwards was the headliner but Tester stole the show. He comes across as the kinda guy who will go to the mat for his principles. Edwards came across as a batch of talking points.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    this may belong in the Recounts thread, but…. I am aware of all internets tradition

    Greg Mitchell @ GregMitch
    41m41 minutes ago
    Surprise! L.A. Times says Dem’s Katie Porter, ruled a loss, now cutting into margin in mail ballots and still has shot with 80,000 to go, another flipped seat if happens and a stunner.

    I’m assuming he means 80K votes left to count (?)

  128. 128.

    frosty

    @Amir Khalid:

    but only two fingers on my right hand for holding the pick.

    I’ve learned to use pick and fingers. Gives you a little more ability to hit different strings but still use the pick for strumming. Tried finger-picking (with a thumb pick) but couldn’t just hammer something out like I could with a pick

    Hope things are going well with The Girl etc.!

    PS I really enjoy reading your comments.

  131. 131.

    trollhattan

    @J R in WV:
    Just learned a friend who lives in Paradise, CA lost his house and car, but got out safely. CalFire has upped the acreage to 20k but after sunrise tomorrow it will be a lot bigger.

  133. 133.

    lamh36

    Come through and snatch his wig Forever FLOTUS Michelle Obama!!!

    You betta call out the Birther In Chief!! Can’t wait to read this book!!

    In her memoir out Tuesday, Michelle Obama says she will never forgive President Trump for putting her family’s safety at risk by promoting/leading the birther movement.

    washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl…

    https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1060742698385104896?s=21

    And if Chump knows what good for him…he’ll keep it moving. Don’t FUQ with Michelle!!

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ana Navarro, former close aide to Jeb Bush, tweets out a link to Bill Nelson’s recount effort

    Ana Navarro @ ananavarro
    This is the link to donate to @ SenBillNelson recount. I don’t have link for other 5 candidates heading to statewide recounts in FL. Go to their website or call their campaign offices or Democratic Party of Florida or RPOF in Tallahassee, if want to help.

  135. 135.

    cain

    @Adam L Silverman:
    That stupid sap. His life is going to be taken apart and people are going to vomit out every misdeed he’s done in the past decade. Plus it looks like he’s part of the dragnet that is Trumps clusterfuck. He’ll be a person of interest. Like everyone else, anybody who associates with Trump is going to get fucked. Good luck, asshole.

  136. 136.

    frosty

    @Dan B:

    He’s genuine. In my opinion it’s an underrated and rarely discussed trait. If you look at Beto, Gillum, and Abrams they share that trait. They’re who they say they are and they make people feel like they know them, almost on a personal basis.

    The two I canvassed for, George Scott (PA10) and Jess King (PA11), especially Jess, were the same. They both lost. Fucking South PA aka Alabama Up The Middle. People can’t lift their eyes from the R on the ballot to see who they’re voting for*.

    * Fun fact. Every yard sign in every race was blue, with no indication of party. No party is a survival instinct for a Democrat here, but I was amused by the Republicans a) going blue and b) not advertising it.

  137. 137.

    seaboogie

    This is OT, except that I have been following the election and the shenanigans all day. There is a big wildfire in Butte County, 200 miles from where I live in Sonoma. The fire is called the “Camp” fire because of a road named Camp where it started. But it smells like a campfire outside here now, and there is lot of wind, and we here are remembering our own devastating wildfire of one year ago. The wind is scary and air quality is poor. Not having a fire right here yet like the last time, but I’m going to pack a go-bag just in case.

    Resident possum is making smacky noises and supping on grapes.

  142. 142.

    Yarrow

    @lamh36: Can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for both of them to have to “welcome” Trump to the WH after he “won” the election. The Obamas are the classiest people ever.

  143. 143.

    seaboogie

    @Aleta: Yeah, there’s a certain type of particulate mask to get. I was lazy tonight because the wind had died down for a while, but I’ll be picking a couple up in the am. Last year they were being passed out – along with bottles of water – for free while we were sheltering or evacuating. In that time, you never saw someone without a mask at the ready, if not on. I guess this is our new reality.

  145. 145.

    Dan B

    @frosty: I believe that , all things being equal (low Bircher / Birther electorate) that being true to your principles gets candidates a long way. It would be great to know if your candidates did better than they otherwise would have. But we rarely have that kind of detailed and time consuming analysis.

    A good friend who’s been in political marketing for decades believes that Hillary got too much conflicting messaging advice. I’d remarked that I didn’t have a clear feeling of what it would be like to spend time with Hillary despite having paid attention to her forever. She kept coming across to me like an uptight suburban white woman. I don’t think that’s what she’s really like but… it felt like we only got glimpses of “Hillary relaxing with friends”.

    Beto’s getting takeout with wife and friends, and Gillum’s “homilies from my grandmothers” were humanizing and brilliant. Abrams dazzling smile that could turn to indignation, when needed, did the same for me.

  146. 146.

    cain

    @Dan B:

    I heard him speak years ago at a ppwer player lunch in Seattle. John Edwards was the headliner but Tester stole the show. He comes across as the kinda guy who will go to the mat for his principles. Edwards came across as a batch of talking points.

    You can just look at Tester and see he is genuine. The easy manner he stands, the clothes he wears.. the man is Montana through and through. These people recognize their own. And yes, he is a farmer, when he’s not doing Senator stuff, he’s working on his farm. Love the guy.

  147. 147.

    Middlelee

    We had 200 in Auburn, California, at a very busy intersection in front of the Placer County Courthouse. It was fun.

  148. 148.

    Dan B

    @seaboogie: We had that horrible smoke in Seattle last summer from fires in state and from fires 900 miles away in BC! It seemed like every time the weather was hot we couldn’t go outside.

    I hope the fire in Paradise is over soon. It’s past time for “discussing” global warming when wildfire season is year round. It’s tough to be afraid and focus on the long road ahead.

  149. 149.

    MisterForkbeard

    @seaboogie: @Hob: Yeah. I’m in Sonoma, and just like last year’s fire I came home from an international work trip to discover that my hometown is covered in smoke.

    At least we’re not threatened yet this time.

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Li’l Marco’s getting bounced around the twitter like beach ball at a graduation

    Marco Rubio @ marcorubio
    When did I ask anyone to stop counting? And how is criticizing repeated election failures by same election official a fight to stop vote counting?

    Gwen Graham
    Gwen Graham Retweeted Marco Rubio
    You literally used the phrase “steal a seat” to describe a valid canvass of the ballots.

    Steel your spine, Senator. Stop auditioning to be Lil’ Trump, and try defending our democracy, instead.

  153. 153.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Aleta:

    Are there are recommendations for how to lessen effects from smokey air?

    Move to the East Coast.

    Steve in Palm Springs, where the skies are clear. As far as I can tell–it’s really dark out here in the desert.

  157. 157.

    L85NJGT

    Missouri is a worst case scenario for this new party re-alignment. Both KC and St Louis metros are low growth, older, whiter, and significant portions of their suburbs sit in other states. The rural population is declining and going full bore Trump on their way out.

  162. 162.

    Mandalay

    @Dan B:

    He’s genuine. In my opinion it’s an underrated and rarely discussed trait.

    I agree. I don’t know precisely what makes someone genuine rather than a bunch of talking points, but I know it when I see it, and I don’t think you can fake it.

    Like Tester, Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama are genuine, whereas Cory Booker and Gavin Newsom both come across as being at the “talking points” end of the spectrum despite their apparent openness and friendly manner. (Or maybe I’m just lousy at judging politicians.)

  163. 163.

    joel hanes

    @West of the Rockies:

    I mourn for Paradise.

    More than a decade ago now, I took my son up to look at Chico as a possible college choice, and because I was intrigued by the name, I made our motel reservations in Paradise, in a nice old-fashioned themed motor court.

    We looked at Paradise from one end to the other, going several times slowly through that residential neighborhood with the astonishing views, right on the edge of the canyon, and drove that little descending switchback road on which generations of high school kids have painted, and on which they have apparently partied hardy.
    The tall Jeffery/Ponderosas were a crowning glory; I suppose they’ve also been the town’s doom.

    Here’s hoping all of yours are safe and well.

  164. 164.

    Mandalay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Li’l Marco’s getting bounced around the twitter

    Rubio has tweeted 16 times about the voting process in Florida since election night.

    But not a word from him about the Thousand Oaks slaughter.

  167. 167.

    West of the Rockies

    @joel hanes:

    Thank you, Joel. That’s where I grew up. Paradise High School has burned down, I hear. I’m in Chico, which is getting some evacuation news now, too.

  168. 168.

    Amir Khalid

    @Aleta:
    We commonly wear filter masks in Asia. They were everywhere here during The Haze of 1997, when smoke from burning forest fires in Indonesia covered Southeast Asia for months. People were even issued them at work. Wet scarves are not practical: they’ll get your other clothing wet, and they will also get uncomfortably cold in autumn weather.

  170. 170.

    PJ

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Come on, he’s a Californian for god’s sake! Do you think he’s going to move way up north? Now that Crimea is back in the hands of the Czar, I bet Vlad’s got a nice place set up for him in Sevastopol.

  171. 171.

    frosty

    @Dan B:

    It would be great to know if your candidates did better than they otherwise would have.

    Jess King lost 59 to 41. Districts don’t match, but she slightly outperformed Obama 2012 (39%) and underperformed Obama 2008 (43%). So probably pretty typical for a Democrat here. At least one with a great GOTV ground attack.

  172. 172.

    joel hanes

    @West of the Rockies:

    I’m in Chico

    Fortunately, Madison Bear Garden is made of brick and has no nearby trees. That’s where I’d take refuge
    (amazing selection of beer and free peanuts and the best Buffalo wings remaining in California).

  173. 173.

    Boussinesque

    I had students this afternoon, so I couldn’t attend, but my parents took my reusable-whiteboard protest signs and took to the streets of Palo Alto/Mountain View and pulled my aunt and uncle along as well (first time protesting for both of them). It’s been kind of amazing watching my entire extended family turning activist these last couple of years, even if it sucks that Trump is what it took for it to happen.

  174. 174.

    TS (the original)

    @Yarrow:

    Can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for both of them to have to “welcome” Trump to the WH

    If I remember correctly, they ended up welcoming Melania after trump left her standing next to the car & took off on his own.

  176. 176.

    Martin

    Mimi Walter’s lead in CA-45 cut in half. Still about 100K ballots to count. Would expect tomorrow or Monday for them to be tied. Nate Sliver moved the race from tossup to lean-D. Katie is going to win this.

    Rohrabacher is toast. He’s 5K votes behind and falling.

    I hoped we would pick up CA-39, 45, 48, 49 and it looks like we’ll probably get all 4. As a bonus we may get CA-10, which is a heavily latino district but has suffered from poor turnout. Looks like that may have changed. CA-50 may not be so clear cut. Hunter’s 13K vote lead is down to 10K and there’s still 460K votes in the county to count – probably 100K in that district. CA-50 will really be a stretch, but there’s a possibility…

    We flipped 25, we may then pick up 10, 39, 45, 48, 49, with an outside shot still at 21 and 50. Best case scenario Dems hold 47 out of CAs 53 house seats. We’ll have the speakership, chair of intelligence and chair of financial services.

    California is here to fix your fucking shit.

  177. 177.

    bluehill

    @Mandalay: What’s he going to say? After this many shootings, I think his thoughts and prayers routine just makes people feel worse. It’s just a reminder that he could do something but won’t.

  178. 178.

    Plato

    @Martin: Where do you get the CA updates? I am so glad the fugly russian stooge is toast. Pity nunes is still there. Hoping for Schiff to start his investigation of this traitor.

  179. 179.

    Platonailedit

    @Martin:

    Where do you get these CA updates? I am so glad the fugly russian stooge is toast. Pity nunes is still there. Hoping for Schiff to start his investigation of this traitor soon.

  180. 180.

    Martin

    @bluehill: With Thousand Oaks we’ve now advanced as a nation to having a community of people that have survived two mass shootings in two different states in two different years.

    Not only are the odds of being a victim of a mass shooting non-negligible, the odds of being a victim of two mass shootings is now non-negligible.

  181. 181.

    Barbara

    @Martin: Just a shout out to Virginia and New Jersey, which flipped seven seats between them out of a total of 20. NJ went from a 7/5 split to 11/1. VA went from 4/7 to 7/4. Thrilled about CA, which was a little bit of a disappointment in the wee hours of Wednesday.

  182. 182.

    janesays

    OT electoral question…

    According to the official U.S. House website, the Democrats presently have 193 seats in the current Congress. The FTFNYT (and most other sites) House results currently list the Democrats with 225 seats called for them (and 5 more leaning their way but not yet officially called), and say that they have gained 30 seats.

    https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-house-elections.html

    The math doesn’t make sense: 193 + 30 = 223. What’s the story with the two unaccounted for seats?

  184. 184.

    Martin

    @Platonailedit: Various state and county websites. Also, perks of working at a state university is that I know some of the experts and they tell me what’s what.

    The situation in CA is completely new to us. In the past, we’d have 90%+ of the vote sorted by now and have some provisionals, mail ballots to work out. Usually not enough to flip a race. Not this year. There’s at least 6 races up in the air, and I think possibly 2 more. I don’t know if this is our new normal or not, but we were warned this was likely to happen.

    Even though OC has 400K ballots still to count, I think our Registrar of Voters is first rate. This is just the pains associated with adapting to a new set of laws.

  185. 185.

    Martin

    @janesays: There are still a few races that are changing hour by hour. I suspect you’re just seeing a bit of latency between the different reports. We’ve got 4 races here in CA that currently have Rs leading but are expected to be won by Ds as the votes keep coming in. Hard to say how those are being reported. Some say R victory, some say toss up, etc.

  187. 187.

    Martin

    Christ. Sounds like the town of Paradise is a complete loss. Evacuations starting in Chico city limits now. The winds just started today. The losses are going to be unbearable.

  199. 199.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Yarrow: That’s the fire on the east side of Thousand Oaks, there’s also a one on the west side as well. They’ve evacuated the eastern 1/3 of the city and the fire on the west side will probably burn down to Pt. Mugu. Cal State Channel Islands(at the site of the old Camarillo State Hospital) has been evacuated and they’re asking the military for help with the radar station on Laguna Peak.

  201. 201.

    Ithink

    @Platonailedit:
    A-fucking-men! Yesterday sounds like my sort of conservative to moderate left kind of Midwest Democrat. With some damn grit and consistency to boot!

  205. 205.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Yarrow: At least 3, 2 here in the southland and one up north. The Santa Ana winds are blowing so they fan the fires. Winds are predicted to be about 45MPH in TO at sunrise. The winds here have diminished and the humidity is up to 30%(it was about 13% a hour ago).

  209. 209.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Adam L Silverman: I seriously wonder if someone should report him to the USPTO Office of Enrollment and Discipline for unauthorized practice of patent law for the patent/invention scams in Miami. The Patent Bar would then of course have to inform his state bar about that…

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