I just have to laugh at the place that Susan Collins is in.
About the same time that news broke that her PAC donated to two QAnon candidates for the Maine state leg, Trump tweeted this:
There is a nasty rumor out there that @SenatorCollins of Maine will not be supporting our great United States Supreme Court Nominee. Well, she didn’t support Healthcare or my opening up 5000 square miles of Ocean to Maine, so why should this be any different. Not worth the work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2020
I will have no trouble with this goodbye.
James E Powell
He’s trying to help her with her “I’m independent” argument.
I’m still amazed that race is close, but I have no idea why anyone would like Susan Collins to begin with. Is Maine just a basically Republican state that votes blue for president?
MAURA HART
how has she stayed in office? i thought maine was smarter than kentucky. apparently not, but collins is a republican whore, plain and simple. she never cared for her constituents. she cares about big business, corporations, being relelected and not paying a lot of taxesl
feebog
Wow, Collins never even saw the bus before it ran over her.
Shalimar
How is it a nasty rumor? Collins has said she would vote no. It’s only a rumor if you think she’s dishonest and unrelia…..oh.
Elizabelle
“Here, Susan. Take this anvil.” — Donald Trump
LOL.
Danielx
Chorus of tiny violins….
jonas
Opening the ocean to Maine? What the hell is he talking about? Had someone built a big retaining wall along the coast that was blocking their view or something?
trollhattan
Trump is opening the ocean. Who knew?
Collins issued a statement something like two weeks ago that she preferred holding hearings after the election. Trump is just now hearing about it?
They deserve one another, I guess.
Danielx
@MAURA HART:
I have heard Maine described as Kentucky with pine trees and different accents.
eric
@jonas: mexico
Wapiti
@James E Powell: But if you were a Trump stalwart, why would you vote for her, given this signal?
I’ll make the crazy assumption that some Maine Republicans are rock-ribbed salt of the earth, but at least 10% must be racist trumpites, and she can’t afford to lose 10%.
feebog
@jonas: It’s something about opening up additional fishing areas for lobsters. Or oil drilling. Or something.
Omnes Omnibus
@James E Powell: I suspect that Maine is a lot like northern WI and the UP of Michigan – but with lobsters. These are largely inexplicable places where resentment of the wealth of “southerners” (by which in WI and the UP they mean anyone from south of a line from Green Bay through Wausau and over to Eau Claire) and gun culture are important. And the racism that comes out is more often directed at nearby NA reservations (and casinos) than at anyone else.
Cervantes
@trollhattan: He’s talking about opening the Marine National Monument to commercial fishing.
Edmund Dantes
I grew up in northern Maine. The rural areas have a lot of confederate flags. I do mean a lot.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@feebog: drilling for lobster
Elizabelle
@Danielx: LOL. Kentucky on the northern Atlantic coast.
Still. But for coronavirus, we would have done a Balloon Juice meetup up there, to canvass against the furrowed Ms. Collins.
Retire her ass.
Elizabelle
@Cervantes: There is no short-sighted extraction industry that Trump is not down with.
None.
Retire his ass.
Jeffro
jesus, he is just unbelievably all-around horrible…he can’t even begin to save himself if it means reining in his idiot mouth for 5 seconds…
West of the Cascades
This is sure to make Susan frown and be very concerned.
Major Major Major Major
18 days until she’s voted out!
Nutmeg again
@Edmund Dantes: I was very involved with someone from Ashland many years ago. Spent a lot of time up in Aroostook in those days. My take, from what I heard then, was a strong bias against French-Canadian people, who were regularly put down on every occasion, had their names misspelled and mispronounced, their characters maligned and the like. I never heard anyone even comment on the NA community over near Calais. Of course there were no casinos back then, and no need for toilet smuggling from Canada. Maybe cigarettes.
The Moar You Know
@James E Powell: Think you nailed it here. He doesn’t have any money to give her, and he’s becoming quite radioactive to all voters, so this is about the only thing he could do to help her.
We all know she’s going to show up with a deep furrow and vote yes for COVID lady, right? This isn’t going to surprise anyone?
cmorenc
I am most deeply concerned for Sen. Collins. My brow is furrowed for her.
James E Powell
@Wapiti:
I think Trump stalwarts will still vote for Collins because they hate Democrats.
Calouste
@Nutmeg again:
Wait. What??!?
dm
I really don’t understand Collins, Murkowski, and the other “wobbly Republicans”. With the Senate balanced on a knife’s edge, they could have had so much power. Keep McConnell aware that if they were unhappy, all they had to do was declare their independence and the intent caucus with the party that ponied up the most largesse for their states (and population-wise, it wouldn’t take that much money to make a big per-capita difference for their constituents, even for Gardner in Colorado).
They wouldn’t have to go that far — they could just keep it in the Republican Caucus for a while. I suspect that Murkowski has done this some, but she needed the others to act with her as a bloc for the move to be effective.
Instead, Murkowski sort-of excepted, they settled for furrowed brows and “haven’t seen the tweet”.
The Moar You Know
@Calouste: Yeah, that’s a thing. It’s the only way that you can get high flow toilets these days.
Gotta be honest, I’m about ready to take a trip down to Tijuana and get a pair for the house myself. They work OK but I’m having to get our pipes to the street snaked every year. Not enough water coming through to flush them out.
sdhays
@James E Powell: No, he wants to take credit for her loss rather than her loss be due to her tying herself too close to him. “If only she had been nicer to Dump, she would still be a Senator.”
H.E.Wolf
There used to be a category called New England Republicans, who were somewhat socially liberal and somewhat fiscally conservative.
As the Republican Party changed (to socially conservative and fiscally irresponsible), the New England Republicans had to change with it, or be left out.
Senator Collins made her choices, and I wish her a quiet retirement.
patrick Il
@Elizabelle:
On the his more general theory of — from the many for the few. We are but krill in an ocean of whales.
JustRuss
I’m very much looking forward to not having the world’s biggest whiney-ass titty-baby as POTUS. Got my ballot yesterday, the excitement I got from finding it in my mailbox was kind of shocking.
debbie
If only she had had the chutzpah to tweet back, “Looking to your company in the ‘thrown out of office’ line after the election.”
MisterForkbeard
Time for Collins to just straight out start screaming about how bad the Amy Coney Barrett nomination is.
I think it might honestly be the only way for her to salvage her campaign. Not this lukewarm “I won’t vote for her” nonsense, but a full-court screaming press on how the whole thing is bad, a terrible idea, she won’t vote it out of committee and Lindsay Graham should be ashamed, etc.
As it is, Trump slamming her may help her with a few independents but if she just shrugs and ‘is concerned’ then all it does is cement her current image as someone who carries Trump’s water and just pretends to be worried. And his attacks on her will depress the vote among his cultists, who take his direction at everything.
debbie
Kent
@feebog: He’s talking about this. It’s actually not off the coast of Maine but more or less directly east of New Jersey. But Maine fishermen go there.
the antibob
@James E Powell: Oh please. Trump isn’t capable of that thought. It would require him recognizing he’s a loser and then doing something to help out someone he’s dragging down (a woman). It’s revenge.
matt
She just wants to be a Republican and get along with everyone while pursuing the party’s agenda of permanent tyranny. Why are people so mean?
James E Powell
@Omnes Omnibus:
Did you see this article about Wisconsin on 538?
I think the same thing has happened in Ohio, though Ohio was never blue. I am not sure what the long term program would convince more of those white, non-urban voters to vote Democratic.
Benw
It’s lovely in Maine near Ocean
matt
@MisterForkbeard: She has to get all the GOP pieces of shit in Maine to vote for her too.
laura
Nobody likes her. Everybody hates her. She should go eat some worms. That is, unless my Senator (the not good one) sees fit to give her a hug today.
Jinchi
You lost me at “He’s trying to help”
randy khan
@debbie:
Sad.
MisterForkbeard
@matt: This actually perfectly describes quite a few of my Republican acquaintances. “Look, why can’t we be reasonable and polite as I strip your rights from you, throw kids in cages, loot the country and give everyone Covid? The real monsters are the people who tell me I’m doing unacceptable things.”
Some of the others have moved onto the “I’m no Republican, but I always have some really weird explanation as to why they’re right and Democrats are just terrible. But really, I’m independent.”
Actually, that second one describes Collins well too.
MisterForkbeard
@laura: Ugh. DiFi has never been as bad as the wailing from the left indicated, at least as of her last election.
But this was stupid, counterproductive on multiple levels and I can’t for the life of me understand why she did it. It sabotaged both our efforts to get the Senate back and made the ridiculous hearings look more reasonable. AND he wouldn’t even get tested for covid, so it’s stupid on a personal level.
I’m super pissed at my Senior Senator. The Junior Senator from California is just fucking great, though.
Gravenstone
It’s remarkable how consistently petty and vengeful that little man is. In this case, I welcome his abandonment of Susie.
trollhattan
@Cervantes:
Oh, well then. Fuck him very much. This is the same Trump who hates, hates, hates offshore wind turbines because eyesore and also cancer?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
This is Trump, there is no “we” in Trumpism. Collins said something Trump didn’t like so Trump is lashing out like toddler.
Jinchi
@debbie: 12.7 million to 10.4 million?
That’d be 55% for Biden 45% for Trump.
Sounds about right.
Omnes Omnibus
@James E Powell: I have long said that WI is not a purple state because it is full of independents and leaners, but rather because it has a mix of deep blue and bright red. If either gets the upper hand, it seems to swing strongly.
briber
@The Moar You Know:
This link is appropriate:
https://youtu.be/IL2YRDzpTL4
Chris T.
Just take longer showers.
trollhattan
@MisterForkbeard:
I suspect DiFi is legit “losing it” insofar as not being especially sharp at 87. (I know my mom certainly was not senatorial material at that age.) She’s not in front of cameras often and the infrequency perhaps has us dismayed at the evident decay. There’s no 25th Amendment for senators.
Ken
@trollhattan: No, he hates hates hates offshore windmills because some were put up near one of his properties.
Does Mar-a-Lago have an ocean view? Perhaps the next administration could open up a small sliver of Florida’s coast for oil drilling.
Kent
Fox news reaches rural Maine just like everywhere else in the “heartland”
Peale
@Edmund Dantes: I do find that somewhat amusing. Exactly what does North Maine think should happen? They should just be allowed to be their own little nation free from Washington and the rest of the state? I mean, at least the actual confederacy did have cotton, which at the time was something of value. And produced a lot of the world’s supply at the time. North Maine has…potatoes and Moose.
Kent
She is a bazillionaire. What does she need this job for at this point? I don’t know why she doesn’t just resign and spend the rest of her days sipping tea while watching the sunsets over her gorgeous Pacific mansion.
I mean who willingly wants to sit next to Lindsey Graham all day long
If she resigned she could probably have a pretty big say in her replacement and legacy.
debbie
@Jinchi:
I wonder if Joe’s town hall being twice as long as Trump’s might have tamped down his viewership, what with short attention spans and all.
Matt McIrvin
Maine splits its electoral votes by district, and Trump won the rural District 2 in 2016. This year it’s running very close; Biden could get it but the polls are all over the place. District 1, which includes Portland, is deep, deep blue.
Roger Moore
@Elizabelle:
One of the few things Trump understands is taking everything that isn’t nailed down; it comes from his criminal background.
Kay
Lovely. He wanted to barge in and start bothering (certain) voters before the place even opened.
Always just fucking with people.
Matt McIrvin
…in state politics, Maine has a strong enough tradition of people voting for independent candidates that they passed ranked-choice voting just to stop the spoiler effect from ruining every election (it seems to have been the reason they had a proto-Trump loon as governor for years). That may actually be significant in the Gideon v. Collins race, because there’s an independent candidate who is explicitly telling her supporters to make Gideon their second choice.
debbie
She should work on changing Andrew’s mind.
Rudy Giuliani’s daughter says to vote for Biden and Harris to end Trump’s ‘reign of terror’
(CNN) Caroline Giuliani, the daughter of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, is urging Americans to “end this nightmare” by voting for Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris.
In a piece for Vanity Fair published Thursday, she called on voters to end Trump’s “reign of terror” and “elect a compassionate and decent president.”
“I may not be able to change my father’s mind, but together, we can vote this toxic administration out of office,” Giuliani, who has publicly supported Democratic candidates in past presidential elections, wrote.
SFAW
@Edmund Dantes:
One of the interesting things (to me, at least) about geography up theah is that some of the municipalities don’t have “names” as such; they’re more like “T3 R9” and similar
@MAURA HART:
My meager understanding is that there are two Maines: (1) Portland and most of southern Maine, and (B) northern Maine, and that their voting patterns are somewhat different
ETA: Or what Matt McIrvin said
Betty Cracker
@MisterForkbeard: I couldn’t believe she did that. She’ll probably be a gigantic obstacle to needed reforms like nuking the filibuster and expanding the courts too. If Biden wins, he should make DiFi an ambassador or stash her in a cabinet position where she couldn’t do too much harm. Then Newsom could appoint someone like Katie Porter to that seat, which would be the best upgrade since Obama replaced GWB.
debbie
@Kay:
That kind of crap is all they’ve got left at this point.
Bill Arnold
Where Idiot POTUS D.J.Trump retweets the Babylon Bee. Vote, and end his Reign of Error!
(The POTUS tweet is still there as of now: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1317044556328730625 )
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Please let that happen.
DiFi: you’ve done good work, but you’re past your sell by date. Move on and let someone else shine as Senator.
And: California would have two new Senators, no? Because Kamala MUST be elevated.
Even the FTF NY Times agrees.
Amir Khalid
@SFAW:
Which part does Stephen King live in?
MisterForkbeard
@Betty Cracker: Yeah. I’m going to hold out hope for this particular item.
I have a lot of faith that Biden could bring DiFi around on most issues, though. They’re old colleagues, and she’ll follow his direction so long as he’s not a dick about it. She’d be terrible in other ways but not as much an impediment as we’d think.
But sure, put her in an ambassadorship. She’d do fine there, even not as a formally trained diplomat.
laura
@MisterForkbeard: Right there with you in every regard. Because I’m an old, I have the power of remembery and because she was indelibly impacted by the murders of George Moscone and Harvey Milk, she will always come down on the side of order and safety as she understands it. I will always remember the ashen shock on her face when she left the intelligence committee meeting during the 2016 election. She knows and understands the real and present danger of this particular president and the party that has willfully refused even the least amount of oversight or accountability. And yet. And yet, her willful insistence on believing that her fellow Senators owe those on the right the courtesy of never embarrassing or inconveniencing them as they loot and destroy our country from within.
I voted for her because I felt that she was the better choice for the times we are in- and I hoped for a better challenger. I cannot see voting for her again, especially in a state with John Chaing, Ted Lieu, Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and the like. That stunt with Graham just makes my gorge rise.
Ruckus
@Jeffro:
Isn’t his idiot mouth what has gotten him where he is?
Could we nickname his mouth “Iceberg trump”?
As in the Titanic iceberg……
James E Powell
@Shalimar:
Did she say she would vote no, or did she just say she didn’t agree with the process?
Cheryl Rofer
@MisterForkbeard:
Hail Mary passes are all the Republicans have left. Ben Sasse trashing Trump on a constituent call. But after they voted against removing Trump in the impeachment “trial,” after they have supported him with furrowed brow, who is going to believe them.
As someone (Betty?) said upthread, they could have had a lot of power. But they obediently lined up for the Kool-Aid with maybe a slight toss of the head.
May they be consigned to electoral oblivion.
Gin & Tonic
@Kay: What’s “partisan tension” about a Republican assaulting a poll worker?
MattF
Maine has a respectable tradition of politically independent and powerful Senators. Collins is the sad exception.
MisterForkbeard
@laura: Come sit 6 feet away with me.
I think we agree on virtually every front on DiFi. Her focus on security and “law and order” has been understandable. And she was much better than her challenger last time. But it’s time for her to go.
If she wants to see her legacy go on, she needs to leave voluntarily so that her next challenger isn’t a Justice Dem type, because at this point I’d probably vote against her. But if she leaves before then, she opens a spot on the ticket that’s similar to her current positions and will have some say in her direct successor.
Gin & Tonic
@debbie: Why in the world does the opinion of some minor public figure’s child matter to anyone?
mrmoshpotato
@Nutmeg again:
Is this some reference to the dirty, orange turd who’s obsessed with toilet and shower water pressure?
Ruckus
@JustRuss:
Just got back from dropping mine off in the dropbox a mile from me. Nice walk in the low 80s at 9:30ish am. Only supposed to get to 97 today. Balmy
My bad, supposed to hit 100 today, mid October…….
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
For the joy of pissing off Rudy, which it no doubt will.
MattF
Pie chart.
laura
@MisterForkbeard: Just dont get me started on her husband though. Swear to god, I will throw a fucking chair through the window. Otherwise, we’re tight?
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: We are supposed to get to 53 today. I am driving north later today. The high there is expected to be 46. I love autumn.
Kent
Which basically makes it exactly like every single other state in the country.
James E Powell
@Peale:
There are many parts of the US that feel exactly this way. I’m not sure what we can do to reduce the cultural Balkanization of the country. It seems to make people happy.
Ruckus
@debbie:
If it was me, I’d at least change my last name. Although she might feel that if she keeps it and is public about her views, that’s an added knife twist. Maybe it’s just me…..
Baud
@MattF:
Maybe Biden should insult Gideon to help her out.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
We are having a cold front come through, tomorrow supposed to be only 90.
p.a.
@Amir Khalid: Bangor I believe. Urban (for Maine?) but prolly a blue-ish dot in a pink-ish area, but that’s a guesstimate from a sometime-visitor, not a native or resident.
James E Powell
@trollhattan:
The Republican Senate account put the video of Di-Fi’s endorsement of Graham on twitter. She is dead to me.
Baud
@Kent:
Right. I wonder if there’s any way we can make inroads into rural areas without sacrificing our core values.
Elizabelle
@Bill Arnold: WRT satire sites: please check this article and its website out.
AMERICA’S LAST LINE OF DEFENSE: Pelosi Wants To Remove Votes From Soldiers Overseas: ‘They Don’t Even Live Here’
I am sad to say that the conservative white boys (OK, idiots and college-educated morons) in the extended family (le sigh) and their FB friends swallowed this one hook, line, and sinker. It really does read like rightwing swamp fodder. Saw it up on my nephew’s Facebook page and commented that it was a parody, it was from a satire site.
To no effect. His FB post is still up; his horrible uncle and others are liking it, making angry FB icons about it, and sharing it. Way after I warned my nephew that it was satire.
For shame. Albeit, I don’t think sites like this are very helpful, since the joke goes right over the head of those who are not critical thinkers or internet-savvy to begin with, and then gets repeated as “fact.”
And passed along without the key information that this site bills itself as “Satire for your confirmation bias” — right under the blogtitle — it’s not hidden! — and is run by “Paid Liberal Trolls of America.”
Reuters wrote about this very post in late August. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pelosi-votes-soldiers/fact-check-nancy-pelosi-does-not-want-to-remove-votes-from-soldiers-overseas-idUSKCN25E1RQ
Come on. Subtlety is not a wingnut strong point. This “humor” could get someone shot. Now is not the time for it.
Kent
God no, not a cabinet position. Those are all actual consequential jobs with tremendous repair and reconstruction to do in the wake of Trump. She’s in her upper 80s. She just needs to retire and enjoy the sunsets. Put her on the board of some museums or symphonies or something so she can still go to the occasional gala.
Let her pick her interim successor (within reason) and let her retire with honor.
Omnes Omnibus
@Kent: Honorary chair of a blue ribbon commission.
Ruckus
@MisterForkbeard:
Well she is, as you say, the SENIOR senator from CA. Currently 87 yrs old. And I say that as an old, not as senior as she is but still, in the same demographic. She is in many ways not as bad as it appears but still her time is past and we need fresh blood. Problem is that with losing 2 senators within the next 4 yrs, I have no idea who might step in and overfill her shoes.
Kent
Even the most ruby red rural areas still have plenty of Dem voters scattered about. No place is universally red or blue. So yes, there are ways. But honestly, expanding the electorate in the cities gives far greater payback than scratching away to flip a few old white rural voters.
MisterForkbeard
@laura: I am happy to say I know absolutely nothing about DiFi’s husband and based on certain chair-throwing indications here will endeavor to learn nothing about him.
Don’t neeeeeed more stress in my life, you know?
ETA: Fixed a typo, left out ‘husband’. :)
Sloane Ranger
Just heard that Biden won the ratings battle, 13.9 million to 13 million. Hurrah!!!
Soprano2
If you regularly take showers, do laundry, and run a dishwasher, then there should be plenty enough water to flush the service pipe. If you live by yourself and have low water usage, then that could be why you have to have the service cleaned every year. I’ve heard stories from plumbers about service lines “exploding” when they were dug up to be repaired because it was one person living by themselves who had low water usage, so the solids built up in the service line and never even reached the sewer main. This is usually discovered when their kids come to stay, and suddenly there are 4 or 5 people using the facilities, which causes the sewer to suddenly start backing up in the house. Plumbers hate Thanksgiving weekend for just this reason. You can get your service line televised if you need to.
Elizabelle
@MisterForkbeard:
Her. Proof of your claim. But you know that. LOL.
Baud
@Kent: I don’t mean to imply that rural areas are 100% red. But it would be nice to grab a few more points if we can. With regard to cities, that is good in some places, but our system is skewed to overvaluing the rural vote, so simply increasing the urban vote won’t necessarily help maximize our wins.
But I really don’t know how we get there.
MisterForkbeard
@Ruckus: We’ve got a deep bench here in CA.
Off the top of my head, Katie Porter and Xavier Becerra would be pretty good. Karen Bass or Barbara Lee. Toni Atkins, who’s a pretty good state senator and former speaker of the California Assembly.
An embarrassment of riches. :)
@Elizabelle: Ha! I left “DiFi’s Husband” out of my original comment. Thanks for catching it for me. :)
Ruckus
@Kent:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
She gets to retire with honor.
We the people get to select her successor.
Understand, she’s not going to retire early, it’s not in her. She is going to serve every last day of her term. But it’s not up to her to “select” her successor.
Mary G
Mandy Patinkin and his “glorious af” wife Kathryn are making some hilarious and profane videos about voting:
Spanky
@jonas:
The Mexicans
ETA: I swear to fsm that I thought this was a brand new post and I was being original. Sigh.
Nora Lenderbee
@Peale: And toothpicks!
Ruckus
@MisterForkbeard:
I know, but look at the record, we elect good people and they stay in office for what’s DiFi been in for, is it now 100 yrs? Or does it just seem like it. I was thinking of running for her office 2 elections ago, I had nothing to do, she was old then, I could have learned a thing or three in that time. Of course I had no political experience, not a dime to my name but I am a lot younger than she is, a solid democrat, isn’t that enough…….. BTW the thought got laughed out of my head in about 5 seconds as being one of the most ridiculous things to ever pop into it, but it shows how much I was looking for something to do with my life.
Skepticat
Spot on. Just in my lifetime, no matter their party, Margaret Chase Smith, Ed Muskie, Bill Cohen, George Mitchell, Olympia Snowe, and Angus King have done us and the country proud. Most of our U.S. reps have been excellent, and Chellie Pingree currently is fabulous. I cannot wait to see the last of Collins.
And yes, southern and northern Maine are different countries.
LuciaMia
I’m there!
...now I try to be amused
Just like Trump to turn a “golden ticket” into fool’s gold.
Nora Lenderbee
To calm myself down, I created a map where Biden wins Florida, and loses PA, NC, and all the tossup states, along with WI and MI. It’s awfully tight, but he still wins.
https://www.270towin.com/maps/0W2WW
VeniceRiley
DiFi should definitely retire. But I’m glad she ran, because otherwise at the time ascendant Sanderistas would have nominated Kevin de Leon for the seat. Gives Newsom time to find someone. And as quick as I would normally suggest Porter, she went and signed some dumb *ss AOC demand that Biden not appoint anyone C-Suite to cabinet. Ugh.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
Well he’s not minor in the twisted world of trump. And yes he may even be a joke to trump, who knows, but he gets news attention, he’s an ass and has been for quite a while, and it seems he may be such an idiot that he’s become a Russian asset. Or it may be that he was trying to do that. He should be a minor nothing, but he keeps getting elevated despite his best efforts to shoot himself in various places.
Ruckus
@…now I try to be amused:
Is it fool’s gold, or is it pre-processed lawn fertilizer?
BroD
@feebog: Did nobody give her a white cane?
PJ
@Ruckus:
@MisterForkbeard: Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu should be on that list of potential Senators. Though I wonder if Biden has a place for Schiff in his cabinet in a National Security role.
rivers
@Matt McIrvin: Southern Maine is deep blue indeed. I was there for the past week and the Biden/Harris signs were everywhere – it felt as if everyone had a yard sign. I’d guess I saw 200 or more Biden/Harris to 10 Trump/Pence. The interesting thing is that all the Biden/Harris signs were accompanied by a Gideon sign, whereas of the 10 Trump/Pence signs, only two also had Susan Collins signs.
Bill Arnold
@Elizabelle:
I have mixed feelings about satire sites.
The one you linked is on the troll end of the scale, with pieces deliberately crafted to appeal to peoples’ conceptual biases (as you say). The satire tags for these pieces definitely need to be more prominent, though they’re present.
https://americaslastlineofdefense.com/about-us/
The positive is that when people realize that they’ve been duped, they can often instantly become more self-aware and at least a little more careful about accepting claims. This cuts both ways (they can reject valid claims by their opposition) but it will be an increasingly necessary skill. The younger US population has grown up with this stuff and spots it in aggregate reasonably/quite well; older people often do not and need training.
The Babylon Bee is playful Christian Right. Its pieces are not labeled satire though it’s usually clear to a non-gullible reader. (POTUS Trump is gullible.)
MisterForkbeard
@VeniceRiley: I don’t have an issue with demanding he not appoint corporate execs – it’s reasonable and Biden should actually try to do that, though I don’t expect him to succeed. Some cabinet positions may not have good candidates if you cut out people who’ve worked in the industry.
The thing that bugs me about it is the implicit accusation that Biden is a corporate tool.
Still, I’d totally take Porter as a Senator. Either replacing Harris OR DiFi.
LuciaMia
New tweet from the President:
“Fellow Americans. Are your refrigerators running? I just got a phone call saying I should check.”
Roger Moore
@Ruckus:
If California can’t find two plausible Senatorial candidates, we’re doing something horribly wrong. I’m personally fond of John Chiang, who was very good as Controller and Treasurer. And, of course, we could always promote one of our excellent Representatives, like Adam Schiff.
p.a.
@rivers: Interesting. Got back from Mt Desert Isl Wed, took Rt1 after Portland inbound, lots of Biden & Gideon signs, smattering of Collins, Collins seldom accompanied by tRumpPence. 95 outbound, so no take on the more inland route.
SFBayAreaGal
@feebog: Not only ran over, Trump threw the bus in reverse and ran over her again.
Kent
@Ruckus: it would only be an interim position until the next scheduled election. Gavin Newsom will do it otherwise not the voters. It would be the carrot I would dangle to get her to walk away. Let her have a say as the senior Dem in the state. She will pick someone decent. And if she doesn’t Gavin can ignore her.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ken:
No, put windmills there.
cain
@MAURA HART:
As I understand it, she does a pretty good job taking care of her constituents even though she has a terrible voting record.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Hot in early to mid October here is not unusual, pretty much the norm.
James E Powell
I came to California just before the turn of the century. At that time, Feinstein was held in high regard for some apparently wonderful things she had done in the past. No one has ever told me what those things were, but I hear a lot of “she used to be good” without any evidence or examples.
The only times she makes the news is when she says something – or allegedly says something – that is unhelpful to Democrats. For this, she is something of cherished source of quotes for reporters who are required by some unwritten rule to publish a “Democrats in disarray” article every week.
JanieM
@dm:
And watch their biggest, rightmost donors say sayonara….
As George Will (of all people) wrote a while back:
(My bold.)
Bluegirlfromwyo
@MisterForkbeard: You and I might have the same acquaintances. Do yours brag about watching both Fox and MSNBC too? (like that’s brag worthy)
Chief Oshkosh
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Don’t pick nits. Have both!
zhena gogolia
Very powerful ad.
Anonymous At Work
Susan Collins Concerned That Amy Coney Barrett Too Indecisive
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/susan-collins-concerned-that-amy-coney-barrett-too-indecisive
BR
@James E Powell:
Seems like the best bet is to get a push/pull strategy — Biden should select her as ambassador to the UK or something that seems prominent but doesn’t matter and someone she trusts like Jerry Brown should encourage her to move on.
J R in WV
@The Moar You Know:
After building a small place in AZ, where I bought a low flow toilet, because desert climate in AZ, I bought a new Toto low flow toilet for our permanent home here in WV.
It has two flush buttons, a small one for a small flush and a larger button for a larger flush. IF YOU HOLD either button down, it flushes as long as you hold the button down. You personally have total control over how much water is released for any given flush.
From very little after a late night urinary event, to a couple of gallons should you hold the big button down for very long.
sherparick
@James E Powell: A decline in the labor movement as paper mills and other industries led to a decline in Democratic Party. Maine’s Republican Party was old line moderate and liberal on social issues. But migration of alienated blue collar workers, RW talk radio, the usual suspects sent it off deep end a/k/a as Paul LePage (ironically the son of French immigrants from Canada). Meanwhile the old Republicans have been running as Independents so splitting the vote with the diminished Democrats in statewide elections. Angus King is one of those who caucuses with he Democrats. Collins was from RW (anti-tax) wing of Old Republicans but kept getting reelected because she avoided offending the increasing RWNJ who dominated her party.
Matt McIrvin
@Kent: Except that in Maine, unlike most states, two of the four electoral votes are split by congressional district, so this can actually make a small difference in presidential elections.
germy
Alexander Vindman’s Wife Accuses Trump of Threatening Their Family
MuckJagger
Speaking as a native Mainiac, the best description of Mainers is “flinty.” That’s why we got politicians like Margaret Chase Smith, Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell, William Cohen and Olympia Snowe.
But it’s also why we get choads like Paul LePage and “Suzie Q” Collins.
We’re still on top good guys to bad guys, but the bad guys are catching up.
Matt McIrvin
@Kent: …Also, northern New England is actually a bit unusual with regard to urban/rural splits: there’s a pattern in NH, VT and MA in which the really rural areas are more Democratic than the far suburbs. But in Maine that’s not the case.
sdhays
Apparently the wildfires in California ARE a disaster. I guess Devin made a call…
Patricia Kayden
germy
@Patricia Kayden:
Yes, we’re the laughing stock of the world.
Goku (Amerikan Baka)
@germy:
To be fair, they exist everywhere, not just in the US. There have been articles about how our anti-vax movement is globalizing
MisterForkbeard
@Bluegirlfromwyo: Yep.
To be fair, I used to say similar stuff. I would read mostly leftist blogs and also ready a few conservative ones for good measure. And then I realized that the Conservatives ones (townhall, red state, etc.) were just universally nuts, operated off of completely different realities, and didn’t tolerate any discussion at all.
dnfree
@James E Powell: it’s my understanding she said she wouldn’t vote yes before the election. A lot of nuance seems to get lost in these statements. After November 3 all bets are off.
Mike in Pasadena
@Ruckus: In California’s so called San Gabriel Valley, the high of 98 was already achieved. It has cooled down to 94 at 3:30 PDT.
Ian
@MisterForkbeard: I’m not a Californian, so I can’t speak to what you all find so great about her, but my understanding is that she is about as middle of the road mushy as its possible to be from a place like California. Is she Manchin? No. She is not terrible. Should we have a Senator from California that doesn’t regularly poke the rest of the country right straight in the eyeball? YMMV.
JanieM
@dnfree: This is correct, she said she’d vote no if it the vote was taken before the election. That leaves open the possibility that she’d vote yes as part of a lame duck Senate, and in (hopefully) a lame duck role herself. It doesn’t matter what she does or says if MM has the votes without her, but it’s still a weasely distinction in my opinion.
jl
@Ian: DiFi has always been center-center with tendencies to go to far in catering to ‘reasonable’ right wing dog whistles. I think back in the 90s she stood up for the confederate battle flag as a legit symbol of Southern heritage and worried about hurting feelings (not sure I remember that correctly).
But, people remember back when she stood out as very good SF mayor during some hard times, perhaps.
This wasn’t so bad back when there was some possibilities for bipartisan compromise and progress. As that declined, so did her performance as senator.
But such an institution in California, she decided to sit on it, and been impossible to dislodge her, while she gradually declined.
What she did in the SCOTUS hearings was disgraceful from every point of view. Graham has been so desperate he started committing campaign finance crimes on national TV. And DiFi does what?
jl
@JanieM: It is a classic Collins weasel. I hope one weasel too far for the upcoming election.
JanieM
@jl: Absolutely. But I think, or at least hope, that with the Kavanaugh vote she was finally unmasked, and this election is just the fulfillment of that event.
With that vote she had to “come out” (ha ha) and alienate either far right voters if she refused to confirm, or a big chunk of the independent and cross-over voters from 2014 (when she won with IIRC 68% of the vote). The game she had been playing for years was over as of that vote; I don’t honestly think there was a way for her to thread that needle. No amount of weaseling could ever erase the effect of that speech, and if she had voted the other way she would have lost a lot of her donors as well as a whole other chunk of votes. It was a no win. Bye bye. I HOPE!
Morzer
@feebog: Trump probably thinks people drill for lobsters.
Morzer
@…now I try to be amused: Trump is a Pyrite King.
WaterGirl
@germy: Could you block quote some of that? I am past my limit of articles.
WaterGirl
@sdhays: Let me guess. The fires in his neck of the woods are a disaster, but the ones in the blue areas are not?
pattonbt
Trump doesn’t do strategic. Trump doesn’t do 11 dimensional chess. Trump does trump. Anyone who thinks this trump tweet is a clever way to give Collins cover implies that trump knows he is toxic and losing his support is a good thing electorally for other republicans. It would a be a tacit admission he is losing and hated, something he would never admit to or accept.
Nutmeg again
@Calouste: Oh, my. A day later.
So, when water restriction (i.e., water saving) toilets were mandated in the US, they were not (yet?) mandated in Canada. So for a few very funny years there really was a trade in contraband toilets across the border–in those days most of the international border with Canada was pretty open, so you could just throw a tarp over your “illegal” throne and drive that truck across the border. Not that I ever participated, personally.
boatboy_srq
@jonas: Yes. It kept the lobstah out at sea, and it kept Nova Scotians from fleeing Deadly Soshulist Canada for Freedumbland. Or something.
boatboy_srq
@James E Powell: There’s a long history of principled Republicans from that state. Eugene and Frederick Hale, Margaret Chase Smith, and Bill Cohen are prime examples of this now-nearly-extinct species. People like Collins and Snowe rode that illusion to their seats in Washington and skated on misapplication of the reputation.
With that said, though, Collins has always been something of a quandary. When she was first elected she was quite conservative. Her “moderation” is perhaps 10% her own waffling and 90% the GOTea’s Rightward sprint. It’s a lot less difficult to describe her as a swing GOTea vote than it was twenty years ago.