During a campaign stop in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Nov. 2, (Republican Senate candidate) Hyde-Smith said, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” referring to a man next to her who was identified as a local rancher.
[….]“Obviously I’d like to ask the senator about the public hanging comment,” one reporter asked.
“We put out a statement yesterday and we stand by the statement,” Hyde-Smith responded.
This race is getting interesting. You know what to do — give to Democrat Mike Espy. He’s a great candidate.
eemom
That would be so cool if we got THREE senate seats that were given up for dead.
Mary G
Postcard Patriots is also trying to write a card to every Democrat in Mississippi to get out the vote for Espy, as well as for the runoff for Secretary of State in Louisiana.
Doug!
Also, this title is my favorite Dylan song that’s not on Blood On The Tracks.
Ocotillo
Sadly her comments will not change one GOPers mind, feature, not bug and all that. Our best hope is motivated base and low GOP turn out.
Felanius Kootea
It’s Mississippi. I’ll give to Espy of course but Mississippi is majorly fucked up. Still, seeing how close Stacy Abrams got in Georgia and Doug Jones’ win in Alabama, who knows what could happen.
Geoduck
@Mary G: All four of them? But seriously, if the GOPer keeps shooting her mouth off and if any of the people who voted for the other GOP candidate stay away, maybe Espy can scrape out a win.
Mary G
@Geoduck: In the last census, 37% of Mississippians were African-American. I hope the Democratic Party gets a horde of poll watchers in.
West of the Rockies
I saw the exchange on TRMS. The woman in question looks so damn pleased with herself and clearly thinks she’s the sharpest cat in the box. I hope she loses.
Mike in NC
I spent a night in Oklahoma City one time. It only felt like a week.
Keith P.
@Doug!: I got this album in college and wore it out.
eldorado
@Mike in NC: that’s because you spend most of the time driving to the one or two good places available in a city that five times the area that it needs to be.
trollhattan
Could not have predicted Alabama, so…perhaps?
The hell did we whup the confederacy for if they’re still pulling this garbage 1.5 centuries on?
Mike J
Republicans currently hold 21 of 40 seats in the lege. Two dems are now ahead.
Zelma
This is my second contribution to Espy. I got an email from Doug Jones a few weeks ago that told me that he was close and I said, what the hell! Why not1
I am delighted with how much Balloon Juicers contributed over this election. I wonder how many of our candidates won. Clearly there is power in small contributions. This gave me an idea. You know, Congress critters are expected to raise $1800 a day, or something like that. This is a real burden, especially for new critters.
What if once a month, we chose one of our candidates who won and put up a thermometer for $1800? We could probably come up with that on a regular basis and it would give said critter one day off from dialing for dollars. I know that I am continuing my contributions to Kim and McAllister and Van Drew here in New Jersey. It’s not much but it’s got to help.
Just an idea.
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: Good. This is all going to be who has the best turnout operation.
Adam L Silverman
@Ocotillo: And making her toxic to independents and then turning them out for Espy.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in NC: I once spent a week at Ft. Sill. I’m never getting that week back.
Lyrebird
@West of the Rockies: I saw the screenshots above and thought, “waitasec, she looks like a ghost!” Well actually maybe “ghoul” would be more appropriate. And I’m a very pale connoisseur of mayonnaise and adding raisins, I’m not talking race, I’m talking looking ill. Maybe just a bad makeup artist + a bad conscience combined.
I will send some postcards!
Platonailedit
Did the dem win the AZ secstate?
guachi
I don’t believe the race has been called because of how close it is but I believe the outstanding ballots tilt Democratic.
MomSense
@Doug!:
One of my favorite Dylan songs, too.
Mike in NC
@Adam L Silverman: Three weeks in August at Fort Hood in a USJFCOM exercise was “memorable”, but I did get a little time off to see the impressive Nimitz Museum (not the current name) in Fredericksburg. Nice town.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in NC: I was III Corps Cultural Advisor (TACON) in 2012. I was at Hood for three weeks in July of 2012 for the first Warfighter Exercise. I am very, very aware.
ljt
OT, but what happened to the anticipated Mueller indictments?
Mike J
@Adam L Silverman: Cultural advisor in Killeen, Texas? That’s some rough duty.
PhoenixRising
If you want to help out and you’re broke because of reasons, send some texts! Make some calls! Who knows what could happen if every Democrat in MS gets a call, a text & a postcard?
https://events.mobilizeamerica.io/msdems/
catclub
@Mary G: If Obama had gotten 18% or so of the white vote in MS, and the percentage of the black vote he actually got in the elections, he would have won Mississippi. He got more like 12% of the white vote in MS.
So good luck to Mike Espy. I’m voting for him, and told the phone caller I would.
Jay
Mississippi Goddam.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM
Vidya Pradhan
@Zelma: I’m in. I think it’s a great idea.
opiejeanne
@West of the Rockies: That voice! She was like an SNL parody, and she kept repeating that over, and over, and over no matter what they asked.
Platonailedit
Yes.
Mike in DC
Espy winning the runoff would be a bigger earthquake in the “Solid South” than Doug Jones’ win.
rikyrah
Nina Simone told you…
Mississippi Goddamn!??
Platonailedit
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: Trust me, my focus wasn’t on Killeen.
Frankensteinbeck
@trollhattan:
As bad as this is, slavery was much, much, much worse.
E.
Trigger warning: Cillizza.
Another Scott
Donated++
Thanks Doug!
Cheers,
Scott.
Villago Delenda Est
@Adam L Silverman: I spent two months at Ft. Sill. And I wasn’t even a red leg!
Doug G
There is so much wrong with this whole cringe-inducing press conference. 1) Hyde-Smith can’t seem to get her head around the fact that her language was deeply offensive. 2) The f*king governor speaks FOR HER, as if she weren’t there – perhaps SHE could have said she wishes she had chosen better words. 3) The deflection about 20M abortions among black people [citation needed] is abhorrent.
ETA: 4) Chris Cilizza actually makes sense in his CNN piece.
Adam L Silverman
@Villago Delenda Est: My condolences.
Yarrow
The Vicksburg National Military Park and the USS Cairo Gunboat are pretty interesting to visit if you’re in the area.
Jay
@Doug G:
Billie got it,…..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI
Mandalay
Lil’ Marco doubling down this evening:
I know he’s not the brightest, but I really don’t understand why he’s peddling this nonsense. He’s been unhinged for the past week.
feebog
@Platonailedit:
Porter is a real surprise. She was down by over 5k votes on election night. If both Cisneros and Porter win, that will be 7 of 14 Republican seats flipped in California
Frankensteinbeck
@Doug G:
Remember this. Whenever you hear evangelicals talk about abortion, remember that it is tied inextricably in their heads to the belief that most of those abortions are black women because blacks are indiscriminate and irresponsible.
Jay
@Mandalay:
He’s a moron.
Election Laws are not being changed,
They are being upheld.
All ReThugs and their voters are morons.
Yatrablinski had a post up recently noting that other than Cleeks Law, the only remaining ReThug value is “winning”, no matter how.
trollhattan
Gutted. Camp Fire death toll now 48.
TS (the original)
@E.:
I read it – was amazed to see no “both sides” and no “bad things democrats do” and not a mention of a Clinton.
tobie
@Mandalay: Rubio’s been peddling conspiracy theories since the get-go based on willful misrepresentation of Florida election law. Among his first lies was to say that FL law required counties to report the results of all mail ballots within 30 minutes of the polls closing, when the law says that counties have to report “all tabulated” mail ballots by then. We desperately need a hand count to figure out what shenanigans the FL GOP may have been up to these past few years. Scott, Rubio and Trump are absolutely panicked about a hand recount. I can only surmise they’re terrified that a little bit of sunshine will expose their trickery before 2020 rolls around.
JWR
@trollhattan: Most news sites now put the number at 50. But you’re right… gutted.
Timurid
@JWR:
Pictures of the road out of town reminded me of the “Highway of Death” from Desert Storm.
Mike in NC
@tobie: Scott, Rubio, and Trump are joined at the hip. Shitbirds.
FlipYrWhig
@Mandalay: Marco Ruboto has been embarrassingly silent for two years, like Cruz. I take it they’re trying to wait out Trump without making any big sudden movements but, still, it’s so _weak_.
smike
@Adam L Silverman:
I was stationed there for almost a year. Sand storms + sudden showers equal khakis back in the wash. And what I saw of Lawton did not leave a good impression.
trollhattan
@JWR:
They’re perhaps adding the two known fatalities in southern Cal. And that fire is kicking up tonight and still very dangerous. Very fortunate up here that the Sunday-Monday high winds didn’t appear, or it would have grown much more.
Mike in NC
@feebog: My wife’s cousin was US ambassador to Lebanon in the early 2000s, and one time Darrell Issa showed up and demanded to be given VIP treatment. By all accounts he was a very unpleasant asshole, so we can celebrate he is not returning to Congress.
Wapiti
@trollhattan: I did a Google Map recon of Paradise, checking out the town’s foliage levels before the fire. I’d call it lightly wooded throughout the entire town, and heavily wooded as you go out of town towards the east, where the fire originated.
The communities like Paradise in the foothills of the Central Valley are sort of screwed. If they were to remove all of the trees, they’d be safer against fires, but the trees provide shade… I’m not sure the place would be livable if the trees were gone.
trollhattan
@Mike in NC:
Issa and Rohrabacher will no longer (officially) embarrass the state. We apologize for the intervening decades. Sorry we didn’t nuke Nunes but there’s always Mueller.
Looks like Denham might be gone as well. You’re welcome, America.
Adam L Silverman
@Mandalay: Especially as he’s not up for reelection until 2022.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Camp Fire is really a bad name for such a horrific fire, since it sounds just like campfire. Then again, we had the Holy Fire earlier this year down here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JWR: It’s 48 from the Camp Fire and 2 from the Woolsey Fire down here.
Adam L Silverman
@smike: As of 2014 there was still not a decent restaurant in Lawton. Or at least not one that I could find.
JWR
@trollhattan:
Yes, they are. From CBS: “In addition, the “Camp Fire” death toll has now reached 48. Statewide there are a total of 50 deaths.”
Jay
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
And over 200 still missing.
Mandalay
WSJ has some excellent gossip on White House infighting:
I loathe everything Bolton stands for, but I still have a grudging admiration for him. He’s a mega asshole, and he’s been so wrong on everything that he makes Bill Kristol look like Nostradamus, but he never loses his cool and he’s definitely got Kelly’s number.
cain
@Mandalay:
He’s scared shitless. He’ll be up in two years and he’s not wanting a blue/purple Florida. If both Florida and Texas go, the EC calculation is pretty much all Democrats at that point. These fuckers will never get into anything for a long while and they can kiss their entire right wing agenda goodbye.
Mandalay
@Mike in NC:
Not so sure about that. Trump despises Rubio, and Rubio should likewise despise Trump but he doesn’t have the guts. And Rubio wouldn’t even campaign for Scott because Bill Nelson is his only friend in the whole wide world.
H.E.Wolf
@Zelma:
I’ve been keeping a list. Here are the ones I’ve seen as definitive wins:
[1st Balloon Juice group]
Colin Allred TX-32
Cindy Axne IA-03
Sean Casten IL-06
Angie Craig MN-02
Jason Crow CO-06
Sharice Davids KS-03
Antonio Delgado NY-19
Abby Finkenauer IA-01
Josh Harder CA-10
Katie Hill CA-25
Ann Kirkpatrick AZ-02
Conor Lamb PA-17
Mike Levin CA-49
Elaine Luria CA-02
Tom Malinowski NJ-07
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher TX-07
Dean Phillips MN 03
Harley Rouda CA-48
Kin Schrier WA-08
Mikie Sherrill NJ-11
Elissa Slotkin MI-08
Abigail Spanberger VA-07
Haley Stevens MI-11
Xochitl Torres Small NM-02
Jennifer Wexton CA-10
Susan Wild PA-07
[2nd Balloon Juice group]
Jahana Hayes CT-05
Lucy McBath GA-06
Greg Stanton AZ-09
Lauren Underwood IL-14
(Antonio Delgado & Kim Schrier were in both 1st and 2nd group)
[3rd Balloon Juice group]
Joe Cunningham SC-01
Kendra Horn OK-05
* * * * * *
If you see any errors, or know of any other BJ-supported House candidates who’ve won, please chime in. Thanks!
cain
@cain:
Sorry I mean 2022. (jeez.. that seems like so far in the future, shouldn’t we be having spaceships by then?)
JWR
Okay, what’s going on with the blockquote? First it’s the old lines around the quote, and then it’s this kinda groovy bold vertical line just to the left. (And if this has already been discussed, please ignore.)
trollhattan
@Jay:
Admit I’m petrified about that number. After five days it’s not easy to envision they’re all missed connections.
H.E.Wolf
Gah. I found a typo in my own list: it’s
KIM Schrier, WA-08.
mainmata
@Ocotillo: That’s exactly right. MS shouldn’t really be a state. In any rational American universe, AL, MS, LA and AR would become one state with all their small numbers of hate voters cancelling out each other and the normal people having a chance to actually have a real positive impact on national politics. But not in this universe.
Redshift
@H.E.Wolf: Jennifer Wexton would be VA-10, not CA-10. :-)
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Looks like all of Topanga Canyon has been evacuated. It’s 2 lane roads, if they hadn’t evacuated and the fire turned on them, a lot of people wouldn’t get out. Lived there for a year, everyone who’d lived there any time always worried in the summer/fall. My friend has been there for about 25 yrs, he’s had to leave before. I wish I had a way to contact him to see if he’s OK.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Having been though fires and earthquakes down here, there are real problems with infrastructure. It can take weeks to find out if folk are OK.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
In any big fire there are always people who are staying with friends and actually haven’t checked in with anyone. I know of people like that in the Santa Rosa fire, that was what, just a year ago. The Camp fire is now worse than that was and is the worst in CA history.
H.E.Wolf
@Redshift:
Thank you! Much appreciated.
(My typing has been @#&*% tonight. I had to fix a typo in my own email address before posting this.)
Mnemosyne
And some people still don’t believe me when I say that I think Nielsen is Kelly’s mistress.
Jay
@trollhattan:
Me too. It’s not like up here where you can go 100 miles between cell service or settlements.
West of the Rockies
@trollhattan:
I believe one of them was a high school classmate at Paradise High. This is beyond brutal.
West of the Rockies
@Wapiti:
Paradise is atop a ridge. Canyon fires roar up the hillside. Previously, firefighters have been fortunate. This time the fire was staggeringly fast and aggressive.
Amir Khalid
@Mike in NC:
“You ask how I know of Toledo, Ohio? Well, I spent a week there one day.”
Matt McIrvin
@H.E.Wolf:
That’s VA-02. And it’s one of the sweetest wins, since she was not favored in the late polls and looked like a goner.
H.E.Wolf
@Matt McIrvin:
Thank you for spotting the typo! Much appreciated.
Posting a corrected list down below.
H.E.Wolf
Corrected list of Balloon Juice winning candidates thus far. (I fixed 3 typos – thank you to the proofreading squad!)
[1st Balloon Juice group]
Colin Allred TX-32
Cindy Axne IA-03
Sean Casten IL-06
Angie Craig MN-02
Jason Crow CO-06
Sharice Davids KS-03
Antonio Delgado NY-19
Abby Finkenauer IA-01
Josh Harder CA-10
Katie Hill CA-25
Ann Kirkpatrick AZ-02
Conor Lamb PA-17
Mike Levin CA-49
Elaine Luria VA-02
Tom Malinowski NJ-07
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher TX-07
Dean Phillips MN 03
Harley Rouda CA-48
Kim Schrier WA-08
Mikie Sherrill NJ-11
Elissa Slotkin MI-08
Abigail Spanberger VA-07
Haley Stevens MI-11
Xochitl Torres Small NM-02
Jennifer Wexton VA-10
Susan Wild PA-07
[2nd Balloon Juice group]
Jahana Hayes CT-05
Lucy McBath GA-06
Greg Stanton AZ-09
Lauren Underwood IL-14
(Antonio Delgado & Kim Schrier were in both 1st and 2nd group)
[3rd Balloon Juice group]
Joe Cunningham SC-01
Kendra Horn OK-05
* * * * * *
Balloon Juice-supported candidates who might possibly still win, including a couple of very unlikely ones:
[1st group]
Gil Cisneros CA-39
Paul Davis KS-02
Dan McCready NC-09
Katie Porter CA-45
[2nd group]
Carolyn Bourdeaux GA-07
Tedra Cobb NY-21
Dan Feehan MN-01
Joseph Kopser TX-21
Ben McAdams UT-04
Nate McMurray NY-27
Gina Ortiz Jones TX-23
[3rd group]
Kara Eastman NE-02
O. Felix Culpa
@H.E.Wolf: A very gratifying list. Thank you for posting.
Even those candidates who are unlikely to win at this point gave it a good run and are poised for another try in two years, as is the grassroots infrastructure that we (writ large) built this election.
WaterGirl
This is the year to go all in on every single democrat, and these run-off elections are a great opportunity for a surprise pickup. Especially with the deranged man in the white house.
Donated.
Offal
(longtime reader – very infrequent poster)
Love the ActBlue posts Doug. Looking ahead to 2020, is there any organization pushing to get true progressives money for the various Senate primaries? I’m tired of ‘Democrat-Lite’ candidates winning the primaries (often because they are well off and can self-fund their primary campaigns).
thanks for spending the time to get these posts up
mainmata
Love that Dylan song. I’ve already given to Espy. He might have a chance since his opponent is simply awful. Even before the lynching comment.