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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / All the illusions were just a parade

All the illusions were just a parade

by DougJ|  September 24, 20205:52 pm| 49 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Political Fundraising

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I think there’s a nonzero chance — say one-in-five or one-in-ten — that our democracy doesn’t really survive this election, that Trump loses but finds a way to stay in power at least for a while. When people say things like this, well, it makes me laugh.

There is zero chance Rs will just go along with Trump if he loses, bc at that point he will no longer be useful to them. I do think comments Trump continues to make will make it harder for his most passionate supporters to accept defeat, and raises risk of escalating violence. https://t.co/3ZFRWcYWme

— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) September 24, 2020

Trump will say (if it is close in the right way) that he didn’t lose, that there was fraud, or he’ll be ahead on election night and get Bill Barr or Brooks Brother rioters to stop the counting of the mail-in ballots that will sink him or something like that. And Republicans in the Senate will go along. They may express concern, but they’ll decide they believe it too and go along.

I don’t think this will happen, but it could and the idea that GOP daddies will save us if it does is ludicrous.

People can always find a reason for whatever it is they want to do. It’s that simple.

It will be hard to battle this if it happens but it’s possible it can be done, as with Peru in 2000 for example.

One thing that will put us in better stead is winning a bunch of Senate seats. Yes, he can mess with those vote counts too but not many of these races are in states that Trump is likely to contest (I think of those as PA and WI primarily).

So let’s raise some money for some Senate races.

Barbara Bollier, Kansas Senate

Goal Thermometer


Alan Gross, Alaska Senate

Goal Thermometer


And if you really want to hate give against an especially scummy Senator, this is a good one. I don’t think McGrath has a chance but Harrison really is close in the polls.

Jaime Harrison, South Carolina Senate

Goal Thermometer


You can see all of our candidates here.

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Reader Interactions

49Comments

  1. 1.

    Yutsano

    September 24, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    Espy. Espy. More Espy. He’s so much closer than McGrath plus he really needs the funds right now. Mississippi is a cheap market. We can do this.

  2. 2.

    Zzyzx

    September 24, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    Graham specifically said that the election will be over after the Supreme Court weighs in, like that’s a normal and expected part of the process.

  3. 3.

    trnc

    September 24, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    @Zzyzx:  Yup.

    @LindseyGrahamSC
    , on Fox News: “People wonder about the peaceful transfer of power. I can assure you, it will be peaceful.” Graham does not elaborate on his assurances

    Graham could elaborate his ass off from now until judgement day, but we all know it doesn’t mean squat.

  4. 4.

    hitless

    September 24, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    @Zzyzx: Yeah, I think that’s part of the normalization…get everyone to say “of course he’ll take to the court”. And then the court will rule that he’s president. I’m actually 100% sure this will happen.  What happens after is up in the air.

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    I can’t find the link just now, but there was a news report the other day that Senator Collins has expressed concern about Trump’s comments.
    She’s got her lane and she’s sticking to it.

  6. 6.

    BruceFromOhio

    September 24, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    @trnc: re-upped from the Vote Him Out thread downstairs because it makes feel pretty:

    Vote you out, and your scummy enablers.

    This one, for example:

    “My opponent will raise almost $100 million in the state of South Carolina,” said Graham. “The most money ever spent in the state on a Senate race was by me in 2014 when I spent $13 million. He raised $6 million from the time Justice Ginsburg passed away, within 72 hours and God bless Justice Ginsburg. We’re celebrating her life. I appreciate waiting ’til Saturday to announce her replacement. But I am being killed financially. This money is because they hate my guts.”

    You got that right. $50 on the BJ thermometer to Harrison just this minute to make sure you got the message, you fucking fascist.

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    @BruceFromOhio:

    This money is because they hate my guts.

    Truest thing he’s said in a long time.

  8. 8.

    schrodingers_cat

    September 24, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    This loose talk of the Supreme Court and not accepting results is their plan to win. They want to depress the turnout by making us feel that we have no power. Amplifying these doom scenarios only helps one person. Don’t fall into that trap.

    He lies all the time, why should we take his word for this “plan”. Tune him and the Republicans out, do what you can, vote, and encourage others to vote.

    Don’t do his work for him.

  9. 9.

    ThresherK

    September 24, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    People can always find a reason for whatever it is they want to do.

    Or, per Aesop

    Any excuse will serve a tyrant

  10. 10.

    Miss Bianca

    September 24, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Truest thing he’s said in a long time.

    Certainly the most self-aware.

  11. 11.

    guachi

    September 24, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    These are three I hadn’t given to before, despite living in GA on the GA/SC border and seeing a million Harrison ads

    So, $25 to each.

  12. 12.

    BruceFromOhio

    September 24, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    Trump will say (if it is close in the right way) that he didn’t lose, that there was fraud, or he’ll be ahead on election night and get Bill Barr or Brooks Brother rioters to stop the counting of the mail-in ballots that will sink him or something like that. And Republicans in the Senate will go along. They may express concern, but they’ll decide they believe it too and go along.

    Dems need battle plans at the state and county levels, as that’s where the counting happens. Shitwhistle can pine and opine all he wants, its each state auditor and each county board of elections that make the sausage. There are 3,141 counties and county equivalents in the 50 States – a daunting number, but not an impossible number.

    Republican Senators aren’t worth listening to on any of these subjects, much less believing. All this ‘I can assure you’ crap is whistling past the graveyard.

  13. 13.

    Matt McIrvin

    September 24, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    I think he’ll try to litigate himself a win no matter how big his margin of loss is. And this is bullshit. The question is just: exactly how hacky are the courts going to be, including the new Supreme Court? And will the vote margin even matter at all?

    What I figure I may really be voting for is to give Biden enough popular legitimacy to make the coming revolution to overthrow the illegitimate Trump regime that much easier after they forcibly reinstall him.

  14. 14.

    Ruckus

    September 24, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    @dmsilev 

    Lindsey:

    Actually it’s because we hate your slimy ass which has zero scruples as a human being.

  15. 15.

    hitless

    September 24, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Everyone should vote. No one should be surprised if the court installs Trump for a second term. If that installation overthrows the popular vote, then that part of the post about Peru becomes relevant. Planning is not giving up…it’s the opposite.

  16. 16.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    September 24, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Yup.

  17. 17.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    September 24, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    All three of these are on my monthly donations list, but it gives me great pleasure to donate extra when I can, and I can today. These three are special favorites, along with Espy and Bullock. They provide a big bang for the buck, and they have a half decent chance of winning.

  18. 18.

    LuciaMia

    September 24, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    Brooks Brother rioters to stop the counting of the mail-in ballots

    But the counting of ballots is not going to be in just one spot, like Florida in 2000,

  19. 19.

    James E Powell

    September 24, 2020 at 6:27 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Here you go.

    Collins, who broke with Trump and most of her party this week to oppose seating a new Supreme Court justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election, told reporters in Washington that she was concerned about his remarks

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    September 24, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    I don’t care what Trump says or why.

    From now until election day it is time for people to speak with their vote.

  21. 21.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    September 24, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    Trump will say (if it is close in the right way) that he didn’t lose, that there was fraud, or he’ll be ahead on election night and get Bill Barr or Brooks Brother rioters to stop the counting of the mail-in ballots that will sink him or something like that. And Republicans in the Senate will go along. They may express concern, but they’ll decide they believe it too and go along.

    I don’t think this will happen, but it could and the idea that GOP daddies will save us if it does is ludicrous.

    It’ll all come down to poll numbers. That’s how impeachment played out; they decided they could spin and take the hit on impeachment, since the election was far off.

    Hell, it’s how they’re playing Covid-19; if there was a groundswell of fury that Trump wasn’t getting the job done, the Republicans would *get* something done.

    Now, if they get thoroughly trounced in the Senate, and are still behind in the House, they’re more likely to accept a clear Biden win, since there’s less benefit and more cost. But as long as they can keep the Fox Newsies saying “it’s *disgusting* what the Democrats are doing to manufacture votes!” they’ll be glad to Stand By (their) Man.

    Since 2000, the Republicans only guiding principle is “Might Makes Right”, and their perception of might is intrinsically tied to their ability to retain power, at least until relevant statutes of limitations expire.

  22. 22.

    Raoul Paste

    September 24, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    Make no mistake, Trump is desperate.   He’s just announced that he’ll be sending 33 million seniors a $200 gift card, according to Raw Story.

    He wouldn’t be doing that if the election were in the bag by way of the Supreme Court

  23. 23.

    scott (the other one)

    September 24, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    @Yutsano: Please, as wonderful as it would be to remove McConnell from the Senate, it would in some ways be even better if he stayed but without power, in part on account of a Mississippi seat—of all places—being flipped. Which, if it happens, will be in part because of how thoroughly and blatantly McConnell has fucked up the country.

    Especially if the Senate did the unthinkable and actually investigated McConnell for ethics violations. I know, I know, but a boy can dream.

  24. 24.

    Splitting Image

    September 24, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    You’re conflating two things. Klein is saying that the Republicans will drop Trump like a hot potato if he clearly loses the election. You’re saying that if the election comes down to 500 votes in Florida they will do their best to steal it.

    Both of these things can be true at the same time. In fact, there is precedent for both.

  25. 25.

    The Moar You Know

    September 24, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    He’s just announced that he’ll be sending 33 million seniors a $200 gift card, according to Raw Story.

    @Raoul Paste: another fake-ass announcement that will result in exactly no action or money being disbursed. Just like that 1776 educational program. He said he’d signed an executive order. That was bullshit.

    He never has.

    Ain’t gonna be no fucking gift cards either.

  26. 26.

    Eunicecycle

    September 24, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    @Yutsano: My husband and I just gave to Mike Espy! And Greenfield and Hegar!

  27. 27.

    BruceFromOhio

    September 24, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    @Raoul Paste: 

    He’s just announced that he’ll be sending 33 million seniors a $200 gift card, according to Raw Story.

    Dipshit. $200 is helpful to some, but not others. Restore the payroll tax and shore up Social Security if you want that vote.

  28. 28.

    Mousebumples

    September 24, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    I gave to Bollier over the weekend and seem to be unable to unsubscribe from her mailings. I hit the link in the email, hit “unsubscribe” and get sent to a PLEASE DONATE MOAR page. *sigh*

    Help? Suggestions? I can auto filter her emails to the trash bin but stopping then would be preferred. Thanks!

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2020 at 6:49 pm

    @Raoul Paste: Here’s how the Post put it in their headline:

    Trump says seniors will get $200 to pay for prescription drugs ahead of election; details unclear

    which is some headline writer’s way of saying ‘I’m sad they won’t let me use ‘bullshit’ in the heads’.

  30. 30.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: This was apparently his big medical-plan rollout; the probably-imaginary gift cards are from Medicare and are for prescription drug costs. Even if they end up being real, which is a big if, the phrase ‘drop in the bucket’ comes to mind.

  31. 31.

    schrodingers_cat

    September 24, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    @hitless: How is repeating his nonsense, a plan. Your assertion that the court is going to install him is based on what exactly?

  32. 32.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    September 24, 2020 at 6:56 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Magic!

  33. 33.

    Ken

    September 24, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I thought it was an Underpants Gnomes plan myself, because most of Trump’s plans – like his businesses – fit the pattern.

  34. 34.

    johnnybuck

    September 24, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: I guess it assumes that all those down ballot elections won’t matter to the Republicans, or the courts for that matter.

  35. 35.

    Faithful Lurker

    September 24, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    Well. I don’t believe in the $200 fairy either but if it does show up in my bank account, it will go right back out in the form of donations to Dem. candidates.

    edited for spelling

  36. 36.

    Citizen Alan

    September 24, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: 

    The hypocrisy really does anger me more than the mendacity and corruption. There is no one — NO ONE — who celebrates the life of RBG. Her life is the antithesis of everything the Republican Death Cult stands for.

  37. 37.

    Jeffro

    September 24, 2020 at 7:26 pm

    Jesus, even *I* don’t have Ohio and Iowa in Biden’s EC count…yet…lemme go look…

    Ok, I hope y’all are sitting down.  If Biden & Co manage to win in Ohio and Iowa, it almost certainly means that they’ve also won states like Florida, North Carolina, and Texas.

    And that puts Biden over 400 EVs.  Biggest shellacking since (I’m too lazy to look it up)

    Work hard, fight hard, but this could be seriously HUGE!  And trumpov’s loser-stink is only going to get worse over the next 40 days, too!

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    September 24, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Mike Espy, Mississippi Senate

    Goal Thermometer

  39. 39.

    mousebumples

    September 24, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @Mousebumples: I gave to Bollier over the weekend and seem to be unable to unsubscribe from her mailings. I hit the link in the email, hit “unsubscribe” and get sent to a PLEASE DONATE MOAR page. *sigh*

    Help? Suggestions? I can auto filter her emails to the trash bin but stopping then would be preferred. Thanks!

    Update: When I clicked unsubscribe from my laptop it worked. (and the page even looked different – e.g. it gave me the option to get ‘less emails’ or to ‘unsubscribe’)  Hopefully it worked – too soon to tell, technically. XD

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    September 24, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: Can you use a gift card to donate through ActBlue?  :-)

  41. 41.

    Gvg

    September 24, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    @Mousebumples: this is really annoying advice when I get it so I pre apologize. Try a different browser and/or a different device. I hate being told this because why should I have to use something else I may not even own, however I have found there seem to be compatibility issues with different pages, and if you find the one that the page is designed for, suddenly it will work instead of doing something wrong.

  42. 42.

    Percysowner

    September 24, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    @Jeffro: Mondale was 1984 and that was about has shellacked as you can get. He won Minnesota, his home state, and DC. That was it.

  43. 43.

    Marcopolo

    September 24, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    @mousebumples:   Easiest fix for this is to create separate new gmail address to use specifically when making campaign donations.  I currently have 11K unread campaign spam emails in my political gmail’s promotions tab.  Only 850 in the primary tab but that is where the ActBlue donation confirmations go.  Added bonus, if I find myself in a situation where some place wants my email address & I really don’t want to give them my main, I just drop in other gmail address.  Works like a charm.

  44. 44.

    dm

    September 24, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    It seems to me that the Actblue counter was somewhere around $6,460 million the evening when the news of RBG’s death came out.  It’s at $6,688 million now.

  45. 45.

    J R in WV

    September 24, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @BruceFromOhio: 

    I did $150 for MR Espy, which is more than we usually donate. But Senator Graham is such a piece of work, I couldn’t help but give a large donation to Mr Harrison, Lindsey’s opponent. Ms Graham is such a weak and hopeless drone…

  46. 46.

    Mike in NC

    September 24, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    If Fat Bastard sent us $200 gift cards, we’d sign them right over to Joe.

  47. 47.

    206inKY

    September 25, 2020 at 5:00 am

    I have gotten obsessed with reading about Jaime Harrison’s campaign, which appears to be defying impossible odds. It is my therapy for depression about McGrath. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Harrison really actually might win. He’s the Abrams and Beto of the cycle, hands down.

    I also really love what I see from Gideon in Maine and Cunningham in NC. I think Kelly has run a stellar campaign in AZ and might even drag Biden over the finish line with him. We’ll get CO too. I’m worried Collins will weasel her way through, so I think Gideon needs all the help she can get. Bullock has a shot in Montana and that’s my own top donation target. I love Harrison but he’s killing it in fundraising and Bullock needs the help.

    I am deeply worried about the fact that Bidem has opened no field offices. I don’t understand it. Businesses are open, perhaps stupidly, but they are open. Restaurants are serving curbside delivery in sane parts of the country and for in-person dining here in Kentucky. Grocery stores never closed. A field office doesn’t have to mean door knocking and covid exposure, it just means a local hub for organizing a region, and it’s how we won the governor’s race last year. Isn’t saving democracy from fascism a critical business????

  48. 48.

    SuzieC

    September 25, 2020 at 10:40 am

    Just donated to Espy and Harrison.  Balloon Juice is killin it in fundraising.  And Lindsey is right–we hate his guts,

  49. 49.

    NB

    September 25, 2020 at 12:31 pm

    Regardless of whether or not Orange Mussolini has a chance of winning their state, of a Republican Senator or Representative is in choose race, they’ll be right behind him shouting about fraud. Lindsey Graham will be among them.

    Then those, like my Senator and Human Pile of Garbage, Rick Scott, who won a close race 2 years ago after arguing about fraud will back Trump. Rubio, who’s up in 2 years will most likely join in, especially if he sees Florida go Blue.

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