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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2018 / Florida Recount: Ballots Are the New Caravan

Florida Recount: Ballots Are the New Caravan

by Betty Cracker|  November 12, 201810:20 am| 118 Comments

This post is in: Election 2018, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Trump Crime Cartel, Assholes, General Stupidity

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I’ve been too busy scraping, sanding, painting, unpacking, rearranging, etc., to pay much attention to what’s happening with the Florida recounts. To be honest, I don’t expect anything to change after the mandatory recounts; my guess is Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis will be certified as the winners of the senate seat and governor’s office and that Democrat Nikki Fried will maintain her lead for ag commissioner — maddeningly the only statewide win by a Democrat in Florida this cycle.

My wingnut county went for the Republicans overwhelmingly, as expected. Local reports say the recounts here are proceeding without controversy. Even the Democratic official overseeing the county recount says he trusts the Republican supervisor of elections to complete the job with integrity.

Contrast that with the screeching from Rick Scott and the orange fart cloud in the White House. Scott has always been a crook and jumped on the Trump bandwagon early. But one thing he’s done that struck me as smart politically was to cast himself as a hardworking, capable businessman rather than a Fox News ideologue, even if that’s what he was all along.

He dropped that ruse this go-round, absurdly (and ironically, given his own shady business history) crying “rampant fraud” before the damned votes were even counted the first time and going on the Hannity show to gin up hysteria and anger about the recounts. It looks orchestrated from the top since Lil’ Marco has irresponsibly joined in.

The orange fart cloud foolishly declared this morning that the ballots in Florida are “massively infected” (ballots are the new caravan) and that officials must stop state law-triggered recounts and declare election night calls the official tally. Real Banana Republican stuff.

Similarly, Scott ordered the state’s department of law enforcement to investigate fraud and was promptly told there’s no fraud to investigate. Their source of that information is the Republican secretary of state. Now Crooked Pam Bondi has joined in, sending a letter of concern to the department of law enforcement (headed by a Scott appointee!) since they declined to join the hysteria. Possibly this is her US AG audition tape, who knows.

It’s Trumpification at the state level. It echoes the dangerous split between career law enforcement employees at the federal level and their duties to citizens that is caused by Trump trying to press them into service as political props and enforcers. No good will come of any of it. It’s not surprising, but it’s dangerous and disturbing.

There’s a “massive infection” alright, but the disease vector isn’t the ballots in South Florida. The opportunistic infection is Trump in a host weakened by Republican parasites. Only their utter defeat will ensure the survival of the patient.

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Reader Interactions

118Comments

  1. 1.

    J R in WV

    November 12, 2018 at 10:25 am

    Scott seems as pathologically deranged as Trump does. It may be his political bent rather than real pathology, but who can tell?

  2. 2.

    germy

    November 12, 2018 at 10:25 am

    So much for the “good guy with a gun” theory. The good guy with a gun got killed by a cop.

    Officer shoots, kills armed security guard outside south suburban bar

    OBBINS, Ill. — Witnesses say a Midlothian police officer responding to a shooting inside a south suburban bar shot and killed the wrong person early Sunday morning.

    After security asked a group of drunk men to leave Manny’s Blue Room Bar around 4 a.m. Sunday, witnesses say someone came back with a gun and opened fire. Security returned fire, and according to witnesses, 26-year-old armed security guard Jemel Roberson apprehended one of the men involved outside.

    “He had somebody on the ground with his knee in back with his gun in his back like, ‘don’t move,'” witness Adam Harris said.

    Soon after, witnesses say an officer responding to the shooting fired at Roberson after arriving on the scene.

    https://wgntv.com/2018/11/11/multiple-wounded-in-robbins-bar-shooting-police-say/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5be90a0c04d3010e98049d31&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

  3. 3.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:30 am

    I’m reposting what I wrote below on this subject. Republicans may muzzle a fraudulent victory through, but it will always be a fraud in my book.

    Thus far, the polls were right about AZ, ND, MT, and MO, and wrong about NV, TN, and IN. We desperately need a hand count in Florida to see what shenanigans the GOP has been up to for years. Scott’s and Trump’s panic about the hand count is telling. They’re scared, and it’s not just about Scott losing. It’s about the system they’ve built through voter disenfranchisement, perverse signature and name matching requirements, voter roll purges, and outright fraud to engineer GOP victories. No more!

  4. 4.

    germy

    November 12, 2018 at 10:34 am

    Ginni Thomas is online calling the recounts fraud from the democrats.

    Justice Thomas should not be a part of anything vote-count related that goes to the court.

  5. 5.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:34 am

    @J R in WV: Do you have any idea what Ojeda’s big announcement today is going to be? I got an email about this yesterday. In it he referenced the plight of working people coast to coast. I hope he’s not thinking of forming a third party. The Greens have messed things up enough. We don’t need another party to dilute Democratic support.

  6. 6.

    cain

    November 12, 2018 at 10:35 am

    I looked at Scott earlier and realized he looked like a comic villain – Skeletor because of his thin skin stretched over his skull. Lo and behold, I’m not the only one to make that comparison. Just like He Man and the Masters of the Universe, Scott like Skeletor is a putz villain.

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel

    November 12, 2018 at 10:36 am

    @germy:
    WHAT A SURPRISE!

    I know, lets arm teachers & ministers so the cops will have lot of targets to shoot at when they roll up

  8. 8.

    J R in WV

    November 12, 2018 at 10:36 am

    @tobie:

    Scott’s and Trump’s panic about the hand count is telling. They’re scared, and it’s not just about Scott losing.

    So true!! I think FL needs the hand recount in every county, by court order if necessary, just to show people exactly what is going in in this oddest of odd states, vote wise.

    Also in odd election news, failed congressional candidate from WV’s 3rd district, Richard Ojeda, plans to announce his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president today at the Vietnam Memorial wall… I’m pretty sure he would be better than Drumpf, but also suspect he doesn’t really understand the Federal system well enough to hit the ground running. Now I’m wanting a refund of all that money I donated to him…

  9. 9.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 10:38 am

    Reposting from downstairs:

    Meanwhile, not in Florida and not in Arizona…

    "Elections officials in Bexar County have not complied with the Texas Democratic Party’s public records request” in uncalled #TX23 race re: provisional, vote-by-mail, military, and overseas ballots #tx2018 https://t.co/2jbHJGHCxZ
    — Evan Smith (@evanasmith) November 11, 2018

    I saw that CNN is going to do another “election night” thing on Tuesday to update people on the state of the election because so many races are taking so long to be called. Interesting to consider how much vote by mail is changing the be “Election Night!111!!” coverage on TV.

  10. 10.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 10:41 am

    Lawyer for Nelson:

    Perhaps the article should have noted that in two of the three recounts where the outcomes changed in a recount, we were the lawyers for the winners. https://t.co/NuVxfZ6ZFH… https://t.co/eCFbclomPn— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) November 12, 2018

  11. 11.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:44 am

    @J R in WV: OK…that’s what Ojeda’s announcement is about. Shrug. He’d be awful as a Presidential candidate. I really hate populism of both the left and the right-wing varieties. Governing’s tough. It requires a lot more than common sense. You have to be learned and charismatic at the same time. Few people have that combo.

  12. 12.

    Schlemazel

    November 12, 2018 at 10:44 am

    @germy:
    Just read the article, it contained a picture of the security guard. Anyone want to guess what color he was?

  13. 13.

    Betty Cracker

    November 12, 2018 at 10:47 am

    Can’t remember where, but I saw an image of the Broward County ballot (where there were massive under-votes in the senate race), and I think another Democrat may lose in a squeaker in an incredibly consequential election due to another ballot design fuck-up in a Democratic county run by a Democratic supervisor of elections. I’m beginning to think burning the state level party to the fucking ground and starting over might be a good idea. There’s just no excuse for this kind of fuckery.

  14. 14.

    O. Felix Culpa

    November 12, 2018 at 10:49 am

    @Schlemazel:

    Anyone want to guess what color he was?

    No need to guess.

  15. 15.

    schrodingers_cat

    November 12, 2018 at 10:51 am

    @Betty Cracker: Why is it so difficult for them to design ballots? Our ballots here in the Common Wealth are pretty straight forward. I have been downloading the sample ballot at the town clerk’s website and then studying it before going to vote.

  16. 16.

    debbie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:52 am

    @germy:

    Hell, she needs to be disbarred. The bench is not a platform for political partisan expression.

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    November 12, 2018 at 10:53 am

    Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) Tweeted:
    Rohrabacher’s demise is very important for two reasons. One is that he was a Putin loving monster who seemed to have an obsession with repealing the Magnitsky Act. But also because it sends a clear message that being a Putin stooge is an election loser

    https://t.co/Utdb9LzovT https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/1061938501267152897?s=17

  18. 18.

    debbie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:53 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Or at least publicize the difficulty before ballots are distributed so people will know about it.

  19. 19.

    Tony Jay

    November 12, 2018 at 10:54 am

    They really, really, really don’t want all the votes recounted, do they? Almost like Orlok of the Everglades has something to hide.

    One question. They’re doing a hand recount of the Senate race because the vote difference is within 0.25%, but only a machine vote of the Governor’s race because it’s not within the 0.25% difference. Do I have that right? Are the hand counters only looking at the Senate votes and ignoring the rest of the card? The races are all on the same card, aren’t they? Wouldn’t they have to check out the other votes anyway in case of questions about undervotes, etc? Or does that come later? What I’m getting at is would the hand-count of the Senate race act as a de facto hand-count on the Governor’s race as well?

  20. 20.

    rikyrah

    November 12, 2018 at 10:54 am

    @germy:
    Bet not one single word from the NRA??

  21. 21.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 10:55 am

    @Betty Cracker: Nelson’s lawyer, Marc Elias, doesn’t seem to think the ballot design is the only or even main reason for the undervote. I just went looking for that comment but can’t find it on his twitter feed.

  22. 22.

    debbie

    November 12, 2018 at 10:55 am

    @rikyrah:

    His ill-guided obsessions date back to Bill Clinton, who he accused (while appearing on whatever Bill Mahar was calling his show) of dying his hair gray so people would take him more seriously.

  23. 23.

    rikyrah

    November 12, 2018 at 10:56 am

    They are scared of the manual recount. And, there is a reason for that.??

  24. 24.

    The Dangerman

    November 12, 2018 at 10:57 am

    …went for the Republicans overwhelmingly…

    Probably because of their irrational fear of Socialism; I wonder if Medicare covers the cost of whatever treatment they need.

    I watched some POS (Steve Hilton) on FOX last night decry CA for “one party rule” but it’s just fine for Florida.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    November 12, 2018 at 10:57 am

    @schrodingers_cat: I don’t know. The 2018 ballot wasn’t nearly as confusing as the so-called butterfly ballot that caused so many folks in South Florida to accidentally vote for Pat Buchanan and cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000 (that was on Palm Beach, not Broward).

    If I had received the 2018 Broward Co. ballot, I don’t think I would have missed the senate race. But the design is crappy because they inserted the senate choices at the bottom of a column with the instructions. If you were in a hurry and distracted because you had waited in line for hours, I can see how you would overlook that race. In my county, the instructions were at the top, so no one was tempted to skip a column.

  26. 26.

    J R in WV

    November 12, 2018 at 10:57 am

    @Schlemazel:

    Oh, no, that’s pretty sad! Hope the trigger happy cop gets what he deserves!

  27. 27.

    germy

    November 12, 2018 at 10:57 am

    @rikyrah: They’re too busy telling trauma physicians to “stay in their lane”

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    November 12, 2018 at 11:00 am

    A diary at DKos highlights French tweets mocking Combover Caligula’s rain excuse.

    Yes, that’s right, Donald Trump is so bad on military issues, so disrespectful to the military, even the French are justified in mocking him.

    The French!

    That’s gonna leave a mark.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    November 12, 2018 at 11:01 am

    @Yarrow: Maybe he’s right — I hope so. But it really was a poorly designed ballot, though not nearly as egregious a design error as 2000. That kind of thing just shouldn’t happen.

  30. 30.

    Ladyraxterinok

    November 12, 2018 at 11:01 am

    @germy: Thomas should have recused himselt in the 5 to 4 vote in 2000 sElection because his wife was working to find people for W’s admin. And Scalia should have also because 1 son worked for firm arguing for W in FL and another son for firm arguing for W before SCOTUS!! But when did any GOPer care about laws and ‘should’!!!

  31. 31.

    JGabriel

    November 12, 2018 at 11:02 am

    @J R in WV:

    Scott seems as pathologically deranged as Trump does. It may be his political bent rather than real pathology, but who can tell?

    There’s a difference?

    A meaningful difference?

  32. 32.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 11:02 am

    @rikyrah: I bet Rohrabacher is crapping his pants. Out of office he’s not very useful to Putin. Tick tock, motherfucker.

    Speaking of that sort of thing:

    Damon Nelson, the staff director for the House Intelligence Committee, died Saturday following a brief illness.

    Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, Nelson’s boss, shared the news in a statement expressing “deep sorrow” for the death of his employee and friend. The California Republican did not provide further detail about Nelson’s illness. Nelson died at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Maryland.

    “Having known Damon all the way back to our days together at Tulare Union High School, I have lost one of my oldest friends — someone whom my wife, my three daughters, and I regarded as an extended family member,” Nunes said.

    Nunes said Nelson worked for him his entire congressional career, starting as his legislative director in 2003 before becoming his deputy chief of staff. When Nunes became chairman of the Intelligence Committee in 2015, Nelson went to work for him there, becoming staff director a year later.

    Hmmmm…..

    Also:

    The committee’s staff director, Damon Nelson, also contributed to the memo, the source told me, adding that Nelson is extremely close to Nunes. Nelson served as Nunes’s deputy chief of staff for 11 years, between 2003 until 2014. A congressional official told The Guardian last August that Nelson was involved in the decision to send Patel and Presley to London. Another former Nunes staffer who now works for the committee, Andrew House, also worked closely with Nelson on the memo, the source added.

    The trip to London was this:

    Patel previously attracted media attention by traveling to London late last summer—without the knowledge of the U.S. embassy or British government—along with committee staffer Doug Presley in search of Christopher Steele, author of a controversial dossier on Trump.

  33. 33.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 11:04 am

    @Betty Cracker: I’m reserving my fury about ballot design until another day. If the design cost Democrats valuable votes, it’s a horrible irony and, yes, someone needs to pay. But I’m also skeptical about the continuous attempts to paint Snipes as corrupt and incompetent and to put her every move under a microscope. It reminds me too much of the scrutiny of Clinton’s email management. It also reminds me of Trump’s attacks on Maxine Waters as not very smart. According to the Secretary of the Election in Leon County, Broward was hit by an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots this midterm and has had to play catch-up since election day. Should they have expected this? Maybe. Do they have more people on staff than much smaller Leon County? Do they have more tabulating machines? These are the things I wish someone in the press would talk about. I don’t do twitter but if I did I’d be sending these questions to every Florida elections reporter.

  34. 34.

    Jack the Second

    November 12, 2018 at 11:07 am

    @germy: Thomas is the only one of the five principled conservative jurists from Bush v Gore left on the Court.

  35. 35.

    JGabriel

    November 12, 2018 at 11:13 am

    @tobie:

    I’m also skeptical about the continuous attempts to paint Snipes as corrupt and incompetent and to put her every move under a microscope.

    Me too.

  36. 36.

    Platonailedit

    November 12, 2018 at 11:14 am

    @Jack the Second:

    principled conservative jurists.

    A fucking oxymoron, if there was ever one.

  37. 37.

    Jager

    November 12, 2018 at 11:14 am

    @germy:

    My old neighbor was, at one time, the head of an FBI SWAT team. He said whenever they arrive at an active shooter situation, anyone with a gun gets shot. He thought the good guy with a gun theory was bullshit.

  38. 38.

    khead

    November 12, 2018 at 11:15 am

    @tobie:

    Ojeda appears to think he can be POTUS. He is sorely mistaken. Try winning something more than a WV Senate seat first.

  39. 39.

    Ella in New Mexico

    November 12, 2018 at 11:21 am

    @tobie:

    Scott’s and Trump’s panic about the hand count is telling. They’re scared, and it’s not just about Scott losing. It’s about the system they’ve built

    Correction: the system Republicans including Scott have built.

    Trump never honestly built a Goddamned thing in his life. Other people have done it for him, either by dumping millions into his checking account (Daddy) or by exploiting every one of his character weaknesses to get him to break laws and defraud his customers.

    He only humps the success of stuff other people build and takes credit for it.

  40. 40.

    Frankensteinbeck

    November 12, 2018 at 11:24 am

    @Yarrow:

    I bet Rohrabacher is crapping his pants. Out of office he’s not very useful to Putin.

    Evidence suggests you have to actively defy Putin to be murdered. ‘No longer useful’ isn’t enough.

  41. 41.

    DCrefugee

    November 12, 2018 at 11:29 am

    There’s really not that much wrong with Florida, except there are too many Republicans…

  42. 42.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 11:29 am

    I just saw on dKos that Chatham County, Georgia did not report any absentee ballots in this election and now it appears that the county printed the wrong return address on absentee ballots. It’s well past time to talk about the not-very-smart, incompetent SoS in Georgia. Hint to press: Channel some of the condescension you’ve directed at Snipes to Kemp. He more than deserves it.

  43. 43.

    Frankensteinbeck

    November 12, 2018 at 11:32 am

    @DCrefugee:
    The whole US would be pretty great right now if there weren’t so many racists determined that everyone will suffer for the crime of this no longer being a lily white nation.

  44. 44.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 11:33 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: The disappearance of Joseph Mifsud suggests that knowing things might make you a liability that needs to be dealt with.

  45. 45.

    A Ghost To Most

    November 12, 2018 at 11:35 am

    Shit Hitler is a symptom, not the disease.

  46. 46.

    Skepticat

    November 12, 2018 at 11:37 am

    @germy: If you’ll pardon the expression, isn’t an armed security guard at a bar a bit of overkill?

  47. 47.

    RobertB

    November 12, 2018 at 11:38 am

    @khead: Ojeda voted for Trump in the 2016 election. That might not necessarily be a dealbreaker back in West By God, but I think it would be nationally.

  48. 48.

    PST

    November 12, 2018 at 11:38 am

    I love the way Trump and Scott trust the “fake news” to name the winners on election night. They are literally saying that whoever the “enemy of the people” says is ahead that night should prevail — late ballots, mailed ballots, military ballots, provisional ballots be damned. No need to count every ballot, the media’s preliminary count should be final. Turns out they respect CNA more than we ever thought.

  49. 49.

    pamelabrown53

    November 12, 2018 at 11:39 am

    OT. NYMag. Intelligencer just posted that Sherrod Brown is considering a presidential run.

  50. 50.

    SWMBO

    November 12, 2018 at 11:40 am

    @Frankensteinbeck: If he didn’t use active measures to assure a win, that could be construed as defying Putin.

  51. 51.

    Schlemazel

    November 12, 2018 at 11:41 am

    @A Ghost To Most:
    THIS! Too many people think that once we are rid of hair furor things will get better. He is just the buboe of this plague that is killing us

  52. 52.

    Frankensteinbeck

    November 12, 2018 at 11:42 am

    @PST:
    You are using the wrong standard of thought. It really is as simple as ‘Whatever means I win is fair and correct, whatever means I lose is lies and cheating.’ That’s how Republicans think. It’s a core value intertwined inextricably with their other core values, like bigotry and corruption.

  53. 53.

    Schlemazel

    November 12, 2018 at 11:43 am

    @pamelabrown53:
    Thousands of people are going to consider a run simply because the opportunity seems too good to pass up

    But remember how we felt when Dump got the nomination? We need to be prepared

  54. 54.

    Fair Economist

    November 12, 2018 at 11:45 am

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, what’s so hard about “important elections first”? CA always does it that way. The stuff buried at the end of our too-long ballots is always local propositions, minor local races, or judicial elections.

    Also, how did FL have a clear Dem win for its Congressional vote and yet Gillum is just on the wrong side of a tie? Who the heck is ticket-splitting for Democrat congresspeople and DeRacist?

  55. 55.

    khead

    November 12, 2018 at 11:49 am

    @RobertB:

    I know. I think this quote from Splinter sums it up kinda well:

    Ojeda would be a hard sell to a Democratic Party that sees young women of color as its future. His vote for Trump in 2016 is the opposite of what many people believe will energize the Democratic base. Even with an economically populist message, it’s concerning that Ojeda overlooked Trump’s racism and sexism during the campaign. He told The Intercept that it isn’t due to a lack of understanding on his part about the struggles faced by people of color or women.

    You can see the same uneasy vibe in this thread here at BJ. I liked him for WV-3 and would be fine if he wanted to run for any and every office in WV. But he would not play well nationally. He has a bit of a Wilmer problem.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    November 12, 2018 at 11:51 am

    @khead: As much as I don’t like Wilmer, I don’t believe he voted for anyone but Hillary. I wouldn’t put them in the same camp for that reason alone.

  57. 57.

    Fair Economist

    November 12, 2018 at 11:53 am

    @Yarrow:

    Nelson’s lawyer, Marc Elias, doesn’t seem to think the ballot design is the only or even main reason for the undervote. I just went looking for that comment but can’t find it on his twitter feed.

    I also saw that, and also can’t find it. But I think he’s shown his hand by suing on voter signature validation. The suit alleged a lack of standards, but we all know what’s really going on. Outside of the Democratic cities, if the voter’s name sounds African-American, the signature must match to the length of every hyphen and the whorl style on every g. If it sounds white, an “X” will suffice. And there is the 12,000 votes, plus many more, probably enough to put Gillum over with plenty of spare.

  58. 58.

    khead

    November 12, 2018 at 11:54 am

    @Baud:

    Ojeda thinks class issues solve everything while ignoring race. That’s about as Wilmer as you can get.

    Edit: And let me add – because I took it out of my first Ojeda post – it’s pretty easy to ignore race when you are in a county of 90%+ white people. Not saying it’s right, just saying it’s easy to have that blind spot.

  59. 59.

    PST

    November 12, 2018 at 11:54 am

    @Schlemazel: There is a lot to be said for Sherrod Brown. He’s a sound progressive who just proved he can win convincingly in a state-wide Ohio race. I don’t like his trade position—too keen on tariffs—and he’s a little short on charisma. But he would be a safe choice over new faces that could have negatives we might learn about too late. Not a good offensive candidate for a Hail Mary pass against a strong Trump, but a good defensive candidate against a self-destructing Trump. Oh, and by the by, probably a fine president.

  60. 60.

    piratedan

    November 12, 2018 at 11:56 am

    I gotta say, ballot design should be a no-brainer

    federal
    Presidential
    Senate
    Congress

    state
    Governor
    SecOfState/Lt Gov

    State Senate
    State Rep
    Other state positions – treasurer/corp commissioner/ag commissioner/superintendent of schools etc

    local races

    propositions

    judicial

    there, important stuff on top, lesser importance down below… easy cheezy

    why there would be any other format, is pure fuckery, plain and simple

  61. 61.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 11:58 am

    @Fair Economist: Wouldn’t it be a wonderful irony if the Courts agreed that the ballot rules WRITTEN BY REPUBLICANS were so flawed that all signed votes by mail had to accepted? I would scream from the rafters what I know to be true, which is that Republicans can’t organize a piss-up in a brewery. Man, I love that British slur.

  62. 62.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 11:58 am

    @khead: What he should do is revitalize the Dem party in WV. He’s got name recognition there and is a good fit for the state. If he spent his energy there he could actually do some good.

  63. 63.

    Jack the Second

    November 12, 2018 at 11:59 am

    @Jager:

    He said whenever they arrive at an active shooter situation, anyone (nonwhite) with a gun gets shot.

    FTFY

  64. 64.

    Baud

    November 12, 2018 at 11:59 am

    @khead: Oh sure. I just put Trump voters in a class by themselves.

  65. 65.

    schrodingers_cat

    November 12, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    @khead: So, he voted for T, but has Ojeda changed his mind after seeing T handle Presidential duties in the the last 2 years? If the answer is no, then he has no business running for President as a Democrat.

  66. 66.

    Kelly

    November 12, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    Yes! Congressional Dems put voting rights at the top of the agenda!
    https://www.npr.org/2018/11/12/665635832/democrats-say-their-first-bill-will-focus-on-strengthening-democracy-at-home

  67. 67.

    Ladyraxterinok

    November 12, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    @tobie: Saw that yesterday at democraticunderground. Today it was posted there that this claim, which has gone viral, is not true. Don’t recall if there was any proof given of this latest claim.

  68. 68.

    Jay

    November 12, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    “President Trump doesn’t want to give Puerto Rico any more federal money for its recovery from Hurricane Maria, White House officials have told congressional appropriators and leadership. This is because he claims, without evidence, that the island’s government is using federal disaster relief money to pay off debt.

    Trump also told senior officials last month that he would like to claw back some of the federal money Congress has already set aside for Puerto Rico’s disaster recovery, claiming mismanagement.

    The White House didn’t comment on this reporting.

    In late October, Trump grew furious after reading a Wall Street Journal article by Matt Wirz, according to five sources familiar with the president’s reaction. The article said that “Puerto Rico bond prices soared … after the federal oversight board that runs the U.S. territory’s finances released a revised fiscal plan that raises expectations for disaster funding and economic growth.”

    Sources with direct knowledge told me Trump concluded — without evidence — that Puerto Rico’s government was scamming federal disaster funds to pay down its debt.

    On Oct. 23, Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that Puerto Rico’s “inept politicians are trying to use the massive and ridiculously high amounts of hurricane/disaster funding to pay off other obligations.”

    https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/11/trump-takes-revenge-against-states-and.html?m=1

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    November 12, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    Some of us tried to warn him…

    The Willow is too close to the toilet.

    Cake or Death @Johngcole

    my toilet is seemingly irreparably clogged and this is not a metaphor for Monday in American 2018 but I suppose it could be

    9:05 AM – 12 Nov 2018

    >;-p

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (“Who knows that The Willow is on the other side of the house, but still, they’re tenacious devils…”)

  70. 70.

    japa21

    November 12, 2018 at 12:13 pm

    In the midst of all the furor over ballot counting, let us remember that it was Trump who stated that he would not guarantee accepting the results of the election unless they showed that he had won.

  71. 71.

    SFAW

    November 12, 2018 at 12:14 pm

    @Jay:

    This is because he claims, without evidence, that the island’s government is using federal disaster relief money to pay off debt.

    No, it’s because HE LIED about PR’s use of federal money.

    Screw this “without evidence” bullshit.

    Not directed at you — I know you just cut-and-pasted from an article.

  72. 72.

    tobie

    November 12, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    @Ladyraxterinok: Thanks for the update. Good to know this story is not true.

  73. 73.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 12, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    @Fair Economist: Not sure where (or even if) I saw this, but there was some question whether the scanners were properly calibrated – not to say they were deliberately set to ignore votes for the Democrat running for US Senate, but that might have been the result.

    Re signature verification: Has anyone ever seen a credit/debit card reader that would reject anything even vaguely approximating a signature (forget proper spelling or penmanship)? How do Skeletor & his evil minions justify being stricter than a situation where there’s actual cash money changing hands?? Bastards.

  74. 74.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 12, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    Trump won't be leaving the White House today, per press office. No visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day.— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) November 12, 2018

    Something is wrong with this man.

  75. 75.

    rikyrah

    November 12, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    @pamelabrown53:
    He needs to stay in his lane.
    He had absolutely no coattails.

  76. 76.

    J R in WV

    November 12, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    @khead:

    Ojeda spent 24 years away from southern WV in the US Army, where he worked with and for all kinds of people. He may very well be completely blind when it comes to race, not caring a bit what blend of person he’s talking to, I don’t know.

    He can’t get away, or at least has not tried very hard to get away from a Command Master Sargent kind of presence, it shows up in every commercial he ran. Some folks thought he was a bully, I just think he learned how to be a leader in OCS and as an officer in the Airborne. He enlisted right out of high school, so he learned a lot of the Army Way climbing from recruit to major, a hard job in anyone’s book.

    I admire the guy, but I won’t be voting for him again.

  77. 77.

    Nelle

    November 12, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: It never was a lily white nation.

  78. 78.

    rikyrah

    November 12, 2018 at 12:19 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    Disrespect for the veterans??

  79. 79.

    Baud

    November 12, 2018 at 12:19 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: To be fair, AccuWeather says it’s cloudy in DC today.

  80. 80.

    MomSense

    November 12, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    From what I understand, the US House choice was below the Senate choice on the ballot and there was not an undervote on that one which is why Nelson’s team suspects foul play.

  81. 81.

    Betty Cracker

    November 12, 2018 at 12:22 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Even if the answer is yes, he’ll get blown out in the primary. I’d never vote for a primary candidate who helped elect a racist, sexist, xenophobic demagogue — all qualities that were known about Trump in 2016 — and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

    If he won the nomination, I’d hold my nose and vote for him as the lesser of two evils but would expend no other effort on his behalf. Fuck that guy.

  82. 82.

    japa21

    November 12, 2018 at 12:22 pm

    In the midst of all the furor over ballot counting, let us remember that it was Trump who stated that he would not guarantee accepting the results of the election unless they showed that he had won. Now he is battling against those that want to make sure the results are accurate.

  83. 83.

    sukabi

    November 12, 2018 at 12:22 pm

    @PST: as long as the media declared winner is a Republican, then it’s legit…otherwise, FAKE NEWS…

  84. 84.

    schrodingers_cat

    November 12, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Same here. Not someone I can respect or get behind.

  85. 85.

    khead

    November 12, 2018 at 12:28 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Actually, yes. But he still has no chance at anything outside of WV. Look, I’m not the guy’s campaign manager. I just think he’s about as good as Dems will get in WV-3 for a while.

    @Yarrow:

    Yeah, this. He could do a lot more good by just working in southern WV. That doesn’t do much for the ego though. I think he’s pissed that he took an ass whooping from Miller.

  86. 86.

    trnc

    November 12, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    @germy: I don’t see how the cop was in the wrong here. The gun policy I support would make it less likely that drunk assholes shoot up bars just cuz, which would therefore make it less necessary for bar security to be armed. But the security guard probably shouldn’t have had his gun pointed at the guy he had already subdued. I can’t fault the cop for taking out someone who had a gun pointed at someone else in a place where shooting has already been reported.

  87. 87.

    Betty Cracker

    November 12, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    @MomSense: I hadn’t heard that, but if true, that is very fishy.

  88. 88.

    japa21

    November 12, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    @japa21: Sorry for the duplicate post. First didn’t show up.

  89. 89.

    RobertB

    November 12, 2018 at 12:40 pm

    @khead: I think you’re right; Ojeda is about as good a Democratic candidate as you could get for down there. If he couldn’t win there, would he do better with any other demographic?

    His last opponent wasn’t going to ask this question, but his next primary candidate opponent one will. “Why didn’t you vote for Hillary? Do you think she was incapable of doing the job, or did you honestly think billionaire Trump was the better candidate?” Prejudice or stupidity, take your pick.

  90. 90.

    trnc

    November 12, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    @PST:

    I love the way Trump and Scott trust the “fake news” to name the winners on election night.

    Good point, but they would probably say they got the official reports from election offices and that the media are just stirring things up.

  91. 91.

    schrodingers_cat

    November 12, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    @khead: Looks like he didn’t have a chance in WV, either. So long T voter, begone.

  92. 92.

    J R in WV

    November 12, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    @trnc:

    I can’t fault the cop for taking out someone who had a gun pointed at someone else in a place where shooting has already been reported.

    I’m sure the cop thought he was a hero for saving the guy on the ground from the obviously enraged monster with the gun. But not so much, huh?

  93. 93.

    stinger

    November 12, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    their irrational fear of Socialism

    The typical “I did it all myself” Hoverounder gets violent when their Medicare is threatened; anti-government polygamists grab gleefully at SS to support their lesser wives; the most hard-core conservative famers support socialism in the guise of price supports; right-wing politicians gladly welcome taxpayer-provided perks both during and after their term of office. Hypocrisy, selfishness, and greed are the defining characteristics of Republican voters these days.

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    November 12, 2018 at 12:55 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:
    You don’t think that rigging the votes involves money along the way somewhere? They ain’t doing it because they were first in their charm school class. It might not be the only reason, but it’s one of them.

  95. 95.

    WhatsMyNym

    November 12, 2018 at 12:57 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Has anyone ever seen a credit/debit card reader that would reject anything even vaguely approximating a signature

    That’s only checked if there is a question about the charge. I’ve had charges go through when traveling where I forgot to sign. The card issuer knew where I was by my trail of charges.
    In WA they check your mail-in ballot against a signature database and used to tell you to update it with a new signature if needed.

  96. 96.

    Gravenstone

    November 12, 2018 at 12:57 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Cranky baby needs his nap after a looong trip. I’d say it’s for the better since he won’t be publicly beclowning himself, but as long as he has access to Twitter …

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    November 12, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    Something Everything is wrong with this man.
    FIXIT

  98. 98.

    jonas

    November 12, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    Aren’t a large number of mail-in ballots from military voters? I wonder how they feel about Scott and Trump telling them to go f*ck themselves because they couldn’t vote in person?

  99. 99.

    Ruckus

    November 12, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    It’s not disrespect. It’s utter distain for everyone not him or who doesn’t praise him and/or put money in his pocket, even if it’s chump change. He’s for sale and he’s cheap. It’s just that he’s not worth anything to anyone other than a foreign opposition leader. As well, he thinks he owns the federal government. Because he thinks he’s king.

  100. 100.

    Jay

    November 12, 2018 at 1:03 pm

    @SFAW:

    It’s worse than a lie.

    The value of Puerto Rico’s bonds rose, once Federal Aid Programs were announced for the Island. Investor’s were reassured that some of the assets linked to the bonds, that were damaged or destroyed, would be rebuilt.

    In what passes for The Insane Clown POSus( Piece of Shit, united states) mind,

    Fed Aid announced + Bond Values rising = Puerto Rico stealing aid money

    He really is that much of a moron and he has no clue how Securities Markets, ( or anything else) work.

    And once that “idea” took hold in his head, All the Kings Horses and All the Kings Men, couldn’t pry that Idea out , even with a crowbar.

  101. 101.

    khead

    November 12, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    @RobertB:

    His next primary opponent (if he goes that route) probably voted for Trump too. See what I am saying?

    @J R in WV:

    This is a good take. And I understand. I’m hoping the next Dem candidate in WV-3 will be Ed Evans (State WV-26). Former teacher… affable… You won’t find him in boots and camo. I’m guessing folks here at BJ may have a problem with his standing in the Boy Scouts, but that’s not a minus in WV-3.

  102. 102.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 12, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: He has a bone spur.

  103. 103.

    scott (the other one)

    November 12, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    Should Ojeda run for president? The guy who voted for Trump and couldn’t win his race for congress? It doesn’t matter whether he does or doesn’t—he’s going to do about as well as Joe Lieberman did in his run. Which might actually be a nice teaching moment for other clueless white guys. (But won’t be.)

  104. 104.

    Jay

    November 12, 2018 at 1:08 pm

    @trnc:

    In Canada, unless the guy with the gun is actively shooting, the Police ask that the guy with the gun put the gun down safely. They will ask this several times, often for hours, before opening fire.

  105. 105.

    Ruckus

    November 12, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    @scott (the other one):

    Which might actually be a nice teaching moment for other clueless white guys. (But won’t be.)

    Yep. clueless white guys are not known for their rapid learning traits. Or really for anything other than being a clueless white guy.

  106. 106.

    Ruckus

    November 12, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    @Jay:
    They don’t practice US police first rule, shoot first, question the dead body later?

  107. 107.

    RobertB

    November 12, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    @khead: True enough. :)

  108. 108.

    Jay

    November 12, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    @Ruckus:

    They try not to, but America’s “bad habits” are seeping across the border.

  109. 109.

    Matt

    November 12, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    The opportunistic infection is Trump in a host weakened by Republican parasites.

    Not quite – the infection is conservatism. Trump is the latest *symptom*, but American conservatives have prized white supremacy over democracy since the founding of the country. See also the Senate, the Electoral College, the 3/5ths Compromise, etc

  110. 110.

    Shana

    November 12, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    @Yarrow: Well it could be a coincidence I suppose….

  111. 111.

    Fair Economist

    November 12, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    @scott (the other one):

    It doesn’t matter whether he does or doesn’t—he’s going to do about as well as Joe Lieberman did in his run. Which might actually be a nice teaching moment for other clueless white guys. (But won’t be.)

    Indeed. Webb gave a lesson in Blue Doggy types running for the Dem Presidential nomination just the past election. Apparently Ojeda didn’t attend.

  112. 112.

    Yarrow

    November 12, 2018 at 2:34 pm

    @Shana: Could be. Or maybe not. Just caught my eye and haven’t seen it covered much. That Nelson helped write the memo and was part of sending those guys to London seems like he knew more than might first be thought.

  113. 113.

    trnc

    November 12, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    @Jay: At what point would the Canadian officers shoot? The security guard allegedly had another guy on the ground and had his gun pointed at him.

    There should be an investigation. If more details come out that show the officer acted indifferently or was just another racist bagging a prize, I hope he’s charged with murder. But I think there are some cops doing the best job they can, and I don’t want to blithely second guess what they might do in that situation.

  114. 114.

    trnc

    November 12, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    @jonas:

    Aren’t a large number of mail-in ballots from military voters? I wonder how they feel about Scott and Trump telling them to go f*ck themselves because they couldn’t vote in person?

    You would think they’d be pissed, but think of this instead as an extension of “I could stand on 5th Ave and shoot somebody…”

  115. 115.

    jl

    November 12, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    So far it seems like the various state local officials and agencies have not been systematically corrupted by federal and state level political thuggery. Some of that, I hope, is that there are still a lot of good citizens in public service at state and local levels who want to do the right thing.

    OTOH, given the way the Trumpsters and Trumpster GOP operate, these state and local little fish know that they will be the first ones thrown under the bus if that becomes convenient for GOP political big shots. So, I assume the saying I first heard in the Baltics is in the back of their minds: when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.

    Which reminds me that when Trump talked with the Baltic leaders he confused them with the Balkans leaders. Not clear from news story I read whether Trump ever got it straightened out in his head. And it was not an minor ceremonial issue, Trump started chewing them out for making ‘a mess, a big mess’ in the former Yugoslavia.

  116. 116.

    Holaitsmonica

    November 12, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    @germy: being a good guy with a gun while being black

  117. 117.

    artem1s

    November 12, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    Is there any reliable info on the mail in ballots that got held up because of the bomber scare? Is this a real thing? Regardless of which county and how it leaned, I would think all the olds in FL would be pretty pissed if they found out their mailed in vote wasn’t delivered in time and wasn’t going to be counted. Whether you make an exception in case of a national emergency or not, I think every one of those folks deserve to be informed that their vote wasn’t counted and why. This is a great PR opportunity for the Dems to show why their policy on voter rights is better for everyone, not just minorities. IMO the Dems don’t trumpet their year round voter rights efforts and lawsuits and how they effect everyone nearly enough.

  118. 118.

    leeleeFL

    November 12, 2018 at 8:21 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I hate to say it, but after 2000 and the butterfly ballot with chads, I think this thing with the Senator choices so separated from rhe Governor choices borders on criminal. WTF iscwrong with these ppl!..I still work full time, at 67, but I would be willing to involve myself in a rebuilding of the Party, if the decision is made to say farewell to this crew

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