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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Let’s Celebrate Today: It Didn’t Have To Be This Way

Let’s Celebrate Today: It Didn’t Have To Be This Way

by WaterGirl|  October 31, 20206:00 pm| 178 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Vote Like Your Country Depends On It, This Fight Is For Everything

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Think about where we were the day after 2016, and what has happened since.

Let's Celebrate Today: It Didn't Have To Be This Way

I listened to Pod Save America last night, and it was inspiring.

Are they worried?  Sure.  But they are also hopeful, and they are experiencing the same hope one minute, anxiety and worry the next minute swings that we are.

They talked about what has them hopeful, and I want to share what they said, because I think it’s important.

Tommy

There could be a big surge of voters for Trump on election day, but a vote banked is a vote banked.  Florida is at 72 or 75% of their total votes for 2016.  Of those votes, a quarter of them are people who didn’t vote in Florida in 2016.  Data nerds have been able to figure out that Biden has a 9 point advantage among those people, so Dems are voting early.  Among new voters there are suggestions that Dems are dong well there.  All of it could change, but it is hopeful.

Dan

We do not know what’s gonna happen.  Donald Trump could still win this election.  But if you think about where we were the day after the election in 2016, and what has happened since… It didn’t have to be this way.  

There was an alternative scenario where people just checked out and said fuck this, if politics is this broken that this guy can be elected with fewer votes, then I’m out.

The exact opposite thing happened.

We have had the incredible privilege to see people become engaged like never before.  It started with the women’s march and the amount of activism, with so many people putting so much on the line and giving so much of themselves to try to take this country back, to try to fix what happened in 2016.  It’s very inspiring and it’s very hopeful in the long run.

And the fact that people kept doing it.  This is not a time when people have extra money or extra energy, and people are struggling in this pandemic, and they are still working their assess off.

Jon Lovett

I was thinking about what we were worried about in the beginning, in the early days of 2017, and we had a lot of conversation about whether our institutions would hold up, and the jury is still out on that.

And we had a lot of conversations about what Trump could do and a lot of fear that we would have a crisis, and the crisis that we feared, happened, and it cost us dearly.

At the same time we had the women’s march and the protest against the muslim ban, there was this fear that this coalition would be exhausted and that the kind of powerlessness and disenfranchisement that comes in facing an improv authoritarian like Trump would exhaust people.

Worried that maybe by the time we got to 2018 or 2020 that people would have given up or run out of steam.  Or the stakes and the fear and the anxiety and just disagreement would create a rift that would drive inside of the democratic coalition.  That happens when you face an authoritarian.  That happens when you face right-wing nationalists.

We head into this election with an incredibly united coalition that runs all the way from the right of our party to AOC and Bernie and the Lincoln Project.  And everyone has behaved.  It’s an extraordinary thing.  We will decide what we think of the Lincoln Project come Wednesday.  It’s a messy coalition, but in the background everyone is aware that Donald Trump is the real threat.

What our party has done is extraordinary. That’s an extraordinary moment in history.  That’s never happened before. We never faced a threat like this before, and we never responded like this before.  So a lot of the uncertainty comes from that.  But I think we should be incredibly hopeful about what we built and what we did together.  Because it didn’t have to go this way.

Listen to the podcast.  They started talking about this stuff around the 53 minute mark.

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Reader Interactions

178Comments

  1. 1.

    Fourten

    October 31, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    Or you could have just listened to me.
    But no, Bernie voters wouldn’t be blackmailed!!!1!!

  2. 2.

    bluehill

    October 31, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    hope and change

  3. 3.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    Thanks, WG.  We should feel proud.  Hopefully, it’ll be enough.

  4. 4.

    Curtis

    October 31, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    3 more days. Let’s do this.

  5. 5.

    Scout211

    October 31, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    Thank you, WG.

    A very soothing post to counter the worry and doubt.

    Hope and unity. ?

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    @Baud: If it’s not enough, it won’t be for lack of trying

    No regrets.

  7. 7.

    prostratedragon

    October 31, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    From the Detroit rally, this was a good follow-on to Stevie live:

    “Moving On Up,” Curtis Mayfield

  8. 8.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    No regrets.

    Actually, I have a few.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    @Baud: ❤️

  10. 10.

    Bruuuuce

    October 31, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    @Baud:  But then again, too few to mention

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Thanks for this.  I think Biden wins, we take the Senate, and we take a few state legislatures as well.  We have all worked for this since the election in 2016.  Once we win, we should take a deep breath and enjoy the moment, and then we need to get to work on fixing all the shit?

    OT:  Where are Adam and Yarrow?  I am spending the day watching Six Nations Rugby and there is no one to talk to.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    October 31, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    @Baud:

    Icy what you did dere.

  13. 13.

    Morzer

    October 31, 2020 at 6:27 pm

    Time to grab the Trumpers by their POTUSSY. We are going to win this thing.

  14. 14.

    James E Powell

    October 31, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    @Baud:

    But then again, too few to mention

    ETA – OY! I’m too slow.

  15. 15.

    Morzer

    October 31, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: You are such a happy worrier!

  16. 16.

    James E Powell

    October 31, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I did not know there were other rugby fans here. I’m a recent convert, got addicted after watching the All or Nothing series on the New Zealand All Blacks.

  17. 17.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    @Morzer: He’s got high hopes.

  18. 18.

    Bruuuuce

    October 31, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Okay. Now I’m putting a guard on my rubber tree plants!

  19. 19.

    The Moar You Know

    October 31, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    I have been waiting since 2016 for my corner taco truck.  By God, I get it in January 2021.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 6:39 pm

    @The Moar You Know: Would promising people a taco truck on every corner – if they vote for Biden – be considered bribery?

  21. 21.

    lol chikinburd

    October 31, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    Apropos only of spoopy, the band clipping. remain woefully underknown especially by folks like yours truly who only just recently heard of them and why god.  Experimental hiphop trio out of L.A., fronted by Daveed Diggs, that Daveed Diggs.  They’ve released two mind-blowing horrorcore albums in as many Octobers, and while I never cared for that genre of film Diggs’s storytelling makes it more than worthwhile.

    NSFW language and content, naturally, but their lyric videos do slap (harder than any official videos, I’d say, because you want to preserve imagination).  Sorry, just needed to fan-gush about something seasonal.

  22. 22.

    Morzer

    October 31, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    Swing low, sweet taco truck,
    Comin’ for to carry me home…

  23. 23.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    @James E Powell: No spoilers on the Six Nations please.  I am watch France v Ireland now. Hoping for a French overall win, but doubting that they can beat Ireland by the needed 31 points.

    But, yeah, Yarrow, Adam, and I are all fans.  I played when I was younger; I am not sure if the other two did.  I played mainly as a wing (back before Lomu reinvented the position for giants) – wanted to be a flanker but wasn’t really big enough.

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    October 31, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    @The Moar You Know: You live in Southern California. Your corners should be lousy with those. :P

    I’m still in cautious optimism mode. But the pundits have always said greater turnout is better for Democrats. I’m not going to pay attention to too much on election night save if they call Florida or Pennsylvania for Biden it’s game over.

    Side note: I get to do something I haven’t done since I started voting. I’m actually going to be voting in person on Election Day. My ballot never showed up in the new PO Box so right after professional torture I get to head to the voting site. I always voted absentee and by the time I actually had my own address Washington went to all vote by mail. So this will be kind of interesting for me.

  25. 25.

    David ?Booooooo!? Koch

    October 31, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    Bernie went on Seth Meyers and attacked the Democrats which is the surest sign we’re going to win, cuz he never attacks republicans when they’re in office.

  26. 26.

    Morzer

    October 31, 2020 at 6:49 pm

    @David ?Booooooo!? Koch: That’s our heart-Bern!

  27. 27.

    MC

    October 31, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    I’ve found myself unable to maintain positive thought over the past week. Does anyone know how I can be mostly insensitive for the next 3-ish days?

  28. 28.

    Soprano2

    October 31, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    You should listen to the volunteers who came on after,  too. I’m listening right now,  and it’s inspiring to hear these ordinary people talk about what they’re doing to help Democrats get elected and what inspired them to do it.

  29. 29.

    James E Powell

    October 31, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’m also watching spoiler free, proudly wearing my Wales jersey, waiting for Buckeyes v Penn State to begin. My coronavirus era life.

  30. 30.

    Yutsano

    October 31, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    @MC: Medically induced coma?

  31. 31.

    Patricia Kayden

    October 31, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    I'll never forgive Hunter Biden's laptops for doing nothing as 230,000 Americans died of COVID-19.— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) October 31, 2020

  32. 32.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    @James E Powell: Tough day for your boys.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 6:56 pm

    @David ?Booooooo!? Koch: a smart politician, a team player, might’ve turned that into a moment to talk about everything Dems have done for working people, about all the things they’ve tried to do but were blocked by Republicans, might’ve talked about the effect a rightwing supreme court will have on workers’ rights and lives.

    Alas, Seth wanted to have Bernie on.

    Meyers is talented, and I enjoy his long pieces– “a closer look”, but when it comes to politics he’s an overgrown upper middle class college bro

  34. 34.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    Andrew Cotter (seeing as though Rugby was mentioned) teaches Olive and Mabel about Halloween.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    October 31, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    @MC: I was without power Thursday morning until yesterday evening.   I slept great.

  36. 36.

    Bruuuuce

    October 31, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    This might be a good place to remind folks (if anyone needs a reminder) that tonight is the Rocky Horror Show livestream to benefit WisDems. Lots of good talent there. And tellingly, while Susan Sarandon appears in the Time Warp trailer they’ve done, her name doesn’t appear anywhere in the promos.

  37. 37.

    West of the Rockies

    October 31, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    I find myself saying aloud (to those I love and trust) that I would be fine with every last damn Trump true believer dying of Covid or–like an idiot–saying that maybe with enough hard knocks they are redeemable.  Are they though?  I’m sure Trumpistas love their kids, don’t kick puppies for pleasure, make good chili, can tell a good ghost story (you know, normal human stuff)…

    But they are racist money pigs who are endangering people and the planet.  The angels of my better nature are flummoxed.

  38. 38.

    MC

    October 31, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @Yutsano: Ideal, but I can’t afford it.

  39. 39.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I am pleased that Scotland beat Wales, but the score should have been much higher.

  40. 40.

    West of the Rockies

    October 31, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    OT DIY question… Can I get away with just one coat of poly on kitchen cabinetry?  It looks okay to me, and I wouldn’t mind not spending another two hours inhaling fumes.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    October 31, 2020 at 7:04 pm

    @West of the Rockies: If you don’t hear from a true expert like Ozark, ask in the morning.

    From my experience as an amateur, I’d sand it lightly and put on another coat.

  42. 42.

    The Moar You Know

    October 31, 2020 at 7:04 pm

    You live in Southern California. Your corners should be lousy with those. :P

    @Yutsano: No trucks.  I might have to walk a half mile.  I have a choice of five taco/awesome Mexican food joints within that range.

    I was promised taco trucks, though.  I want one.  On my corner.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    damn, I wish there were a taco truck on my corner right now

    Nate Cohn @Nate_Cohn·1h
    New CNN/SSRS polls show Biden ahead in four battleground state polls
    MI Biden+12, 53-41
    AZ Biden+4, 50-46
    WI Biden+8, 52-44
    NC Biden+6, 51-45

  44. 44.

    raven

    October 31, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    @JPL:  I think that is correct.

  45. 45.

    The Moar You Know

    October 31, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    OT DIY question… Can I get away with just one coat of poly on kitchen cabinetry?  It looks okay to me, and I wouldn’t mind not spending another two hours inhaling fumes.

    @West of the Rockies: Paint expert here.  Yes.  I hope you are using the wipe-on poly.  If no, you can stop now, just wait a couple of days, and if any of it looks bad just tape off what’s around the cabinets and hit them with a good dose of wipe-on.

    That being said, one will probably be enough.  I did my mantle with just one and it came out fine.

  46. 46.

    raven

    October 31, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    @The Moar You Know: But you don’t have the moisture issues of kitchen cabinetry, no?

  47. 47.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:13 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Is Biden gaining or is Trump killing off his supporters?

  48. 48.

    West of the Rockies

    October 31, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    Thank you to any/all who answer(ed) my polyurethane inquiry.  I’m in NorCal, so humidity definitely isn’t an issue.

    I’m not seeing any bubbles and the Minwax fast-dry oil-based stuff didn’t run or drip much.  I did the coat, touched over any streaky spots after a few minutes for each door and drawer.  Got everything opened up for fresh air because, man, that stuff is fragrant.

    Following up with a Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA.  A nice little buzz (though it could also be the poly fumes).

    I wondered when I first posted if anyone would confuse poly(urethane) for polyamory–that would have been a weird DIY inquiry!

  49. 49.

    Mousebumples

    October 31, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    I’m taking a page out of The Princess Bride tonight and making a chocolate covered “pill” (a la Miracle Max) for getting rid of Prince Trumperdinck.

    Plan is to make brownies, underbake them, cut and roll them into balls, bake them longer, and then dip in melted chocolate chips.

    Should be a fun diversion – plus chocolate will hopefully help with election related anxiety.

  50. 50.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    @James E Powell: We exist.  I messed up on the procession of the rules thinking that if France got a bonus point today over England, they would tie England in match points, then since France beat England earlier, would win the series.  I was wrong.  England won on point differential.  It is a sad day for all Celts.

  51. 51.

    germy

    October 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    It's come to this: A neighbor reports that AG William Barr's house in McLean is being picketed by Trump supporters who believe he's not doing enough to lock up Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/Ko6Mbyfi97— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 31, 2020

  52. 52.

    raven

    October 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    @West of the Rockies: I was thinking about cooking moisture.

  53. 53.

    James E Powell

    October 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Hoping it’s just a post-Gatland transition period. But it was a rather unfocused, low energy performance.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    @Soprano2: It was nice hearing from the volunteers.  I especially liked the first gen immigrant who can’t vote, but works his ass off.

  55. 55.

    MoCA Ace

    October 31, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    @West of the Rockies:  Spray, brush, or wipe on?  and what is under it?  with just stained wood I would go three coats of wipe-on.  For spray or brush-on I would do two.  Kitchen cabinets see a lot of hard use.

  56. 56.

    dmsilev

    October 31, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Very encouraging. I think Nate Cohn said that NYT was doing one last PA poll, releasing tomorrow. Let’s hope that continues the trend.

  57. 57.

    Ruckus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    Used to have a great taco truck come to work for lunch. It was owned by a Russian immigrant and his wife. Quite good food, taco truck or not. One of the best days was when one of his customers from next door told him he wanted to go back to Russia because life was better. This Russian taco truck owner, really, really chewed his ass out in public about what was better, late 70s-early 80s Russia or the US. He chose the US overwhelmingly. Amazingly after that their food tasted even better.

  58. 58.

    dmsilev

    October 31, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    @germy: Sometimes, the leopard eats its own face.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    @West of the Rockies: By comment 50 or 75 of the Garden Chat, talk often turns to a question about a project.   Often, but not always, Raven and OzarkHillbilly.  You’ll get an answer from Ozark for sure.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    @JPL: Even I think that, and I am possibly the least “handy” person on the planet.

  61. 61.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    @planetjanet: ARRRGGGHH!!!!

    ETA:  I asked for no spoilers.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: What other states are they considering battleground states?  I would like to know how it’s going in all the battleground states.

    Wouldn’t Florida be considered a battleground state?  Pennsylvania?

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    @Baud: I’ll admit I’ve been looking for the “coming home” effect we heard so much about in ’16, and I’m not seeing it.

  64. 64.

    germy

    October 31, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning with host Ali Velshi, New York Attorney General Letitia James serves notice to Trump that she’s coming after him and his crime family after the election — whether he wins re-election or not.https://t.co/eLaHx308Kk #velshi

    — Bill Madden (@maddenifico) October 31, 2020

  65. 65.

    LuciaMia

    October 31, 2020 at 7:22 pm

     how I can be mostly insensitive for the next 3-ish days?

    Fentanyl patch.

    (Seriously tho, not really.)

  66. 66.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 31, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    @Mousebumples: That sounds amazing.

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    @Mousebumples: I can’t picture that.  Take some photos and send them to me, and I’ll post them in the comments in an appropriate thread.

  68. 68.

    frosty

    October 31, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    @MC: Does anyone know how I can be mostly insensitive for the next 3-ish days?

    Be a Republican?

  69. 69.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I am so sorry!

  70. 70.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    @frosty:

    He said “days,” not “centuries.”

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    October 31, 2020 at 7:27 pm

    Thread needs some rhythm.

    :)

  72. 72.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Besides winning, my hope is that Trump doesn’t get to 40% of the vote.  Probably too much to ask for, but we’ll see.

  73. 73.

    West of the Rockies

    October 31, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    @MoCA Ace:

    Brush poly over oil-based stain on Lowe’s cabinets.  They took the stain beautifully.

  74. 74.

    prostratedragon

    October 31, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    @Bruuuuce:  And they say the Time Warp isn’t real.

  75. 75.

    raven

    October 31, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    @West of the Rockies: Do you have more stain? It sure won’t hurt to have two coats.

  76. 76.

    James E Powell

    October 31, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @MC:

    I want to go into one of those sensory deprivation tanks like in the movie Altered States and if by some horrible thing Trump wins, don’t bring me out.

  77. 77.

    Cheryl Rofer

    October 31, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    "From ghosties, ghoulies, long-legged beasties & things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us."

    Olde Prayer pic.twitter.com/bMrYB0bPZl

    — Cherie (@sweetrhythms) October 31, 2020

  78. 78.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    @germy:

    Yep. Retribution, bitches.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    Beau of the Fifth Column has predictions worth hearing.

  80. 80.

    JPL

    October 31, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    @WaterGirl: I’ve actually refinished a fair amount of furniture.  The most interesting piece, I actually use in my kitchen.  It’s an old engineering table, that was in the basement of a house we purchased.   Anyhoo   long story short, I wanted to make it presentable for college kid’s apartment.   I stripped it, and then distressed it with whatever.    After all that, I took out a drawer and turned it over and there was a date..and the manufacturer’s name.   1882.   Son’s response was whoops, too late now.

  81. 81.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    @germy:

    Biden’s AG should arrest Barr.  Unite the nation.

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    @debbie: There is Biblical stuff about sowing and reaping that seems to fit here.

  83. 83.

    Dan B

    October 31, 2020 at 7:36 pm

    @lol chikinburd: clipping, Wow!  Hip hop with dissonance and resolution, complex rhythms, and obvious musicianship.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    @WaterGirl: those four, PA and blessed Florida, I think. Mike Murphy, who always strikes me as one of the most reluctant of the Never Trumpers, said Biden is going to take Florida and take it early. He ran on of Jeb’s campaign.

  85. 85.

    MoCA Ace

    October 31, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    I’m with The Moar You Know.  I like the wipe-on poly.  For me the ease of use and lower incidence of drips and runs is great… even though you need more coats.  I would go with a light sanding then another brush-on coat.  Or you can thin the poly a little and wipe it on.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @germy: That was well worth the 7 minutes to watch the whole thing.

  87. 87.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I just want to go to bed early, so I hope so.

  88. 88.

    Ian

    October 31, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    @germy:   In Spanish accent–  GOOOOOOOOOO OAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

    Sorry for the interruption.  Could not contain myself there.

    edited by WG because long lines like that with no spaces break the margins on phones.

  89. 89.

    Kathleen

    October 31, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: Thanks Hunter Biden’s Laptops!

  90. 90.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    @Ian: You broke the margins.

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    @JPL: oops is right!

  92. 92.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Those are amazing number when Biden is over 50%,  undecideds are not enough to change the result (if accurate, natch)

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Crossing fingers.

  94. 94.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Or one of those horror films where at the end, the misbegotten creatures turn on their creator.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    Just got dusty here at my laptop

    Tim Hogan @timjhogan· 23m
    The Biden campaign had Brayden Harrington, the boy who bonded with Joe over stuttering, record a closing campaign ad and now I am crying

    remember all the people watching Lincoln Project ads and saying “Why can’t we make ads like that…”?

  96. 96.

    Kathleen

    October 31, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @germy: Is this an example of what people refer to as “meta”?

  97. 97.

    Dan B

    October 31, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @West of the Rockies:  Having done much polyurethane application 2 coats is a minimum.  One will probably look streaky or patchy in six months even if it looks fine now.  My father worked as a chemist for PPG for many years and we often did three coats.

  98. 98.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    @Baud: Fixed before I saw your comment.  You and Imm have me well-trained, but it helps when you guys point that out.  People just don’t realize.

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I thought I saw something like that a week or two ago.  Did he do another one?  Or is this more time warp?

    edit: Nope, this is a new one. Nice.

  100. 100.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    @MC: Appalachian trail, no phone. I figure you meant incommunicado, not quite insensitive.

  101. 101.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    @David ?Booooooo!? Koch:

    Knew he couldn’t keep up being a team player for very long. ?

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    @planetjanet: As I said above, I knew it was unlikely that France could beat Ireland by 31, so France winning the tournament was unlikely.  I like what I am seeing from the French team.  So for me, a positive overall result.

    Once the US is eliminated from international competition, France is my go-to international side in soccer and rugby.  I also support Racing 92 in European rugby.

  103. 103.

    Kathleen

    October 31, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    @prostratedragon: I. Love. This. Song. Have loved it for years. I should put this on endless loop Tuesday night as I need to devise an Election Night stategy. I refuse to watch TV and listen to the pixel puking Pundinastis.

  104. 104.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 7:48 pm

    @WaterGirl: I don’t remember another ad, though there are so many. The kid did speak at the convention, IIRC

  105. 105.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:48 pm

    @debbie: Like the Bible?

  106. 106.

    JPL

    October 31, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m so done with trump supporters, or folks who say I just like his policies.   fkem

  107. 107.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @Ruckus: I think in Soviet Russia you could be miserably poor but feel like you were sharing that with your social group.  IN the US you could be much better off, but missed the (pun intended) cameraderie of not being isolated.

  108. 108.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    Biden’s buddy Brayden Harrington has made an ad for Joe’s campaign.

    Never underestimate an American

  109. 109.

    lamh36

    October 31, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    Ok…who’s cutting onions in here!

     

    @timjhogan

    The Biden campaign had Brayden Harrington, the boy who bonded with Joe over stuttering, record a closing campaign ad and now I am crying
    https://twitter.com/timjhogan/status/1322679189313593345?s=20

  110. 110.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Who do you favor in gigantic carbon fiber  catamaran racing?

  111. 111.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: My first love is Scotland (after USA, but they are really on different planets).  The first match I ever saw was at Murrayfield against Wales.  I am missing Grieg Laidlaw, but the boys did okay today.  For once I wasn’t worried about the wooden spoon.

  112. 112.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I just posted that below.

  113. 113.

    prostratedragon

    October 31, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @Kathleen:  Curtis Mayfield! Cabrini-Green’s own.

     

    Now off to watch Dr. Strangelove on TCM.

  114. 114.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    @catclub: I don’t really care for boats.

  115. 115.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    This sums up Trump’s campaign in one gif.

  116. 116.

    Ken

    October 31, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: You ever notice how dogs always look deliriously happy in pet costume pictures?

    Cats, on the other hand, are all clearly planning bloody revenge.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 7:58 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, this one is different than the previous one.  It’s a good one.

  118. 118.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 7:58 pm

    @Ken: Cats, on the other hand, are all clearly planning bloody revenge.

     

    and isn’t that what Halloween is all about, after all?

  119. 119.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    More like Doctor Moreau. Trump, Barr, et al. created the MAGAts who are now turning on Barr for not doing even more.

  120. 120.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 8:00 pm

    @planetjanet: As long as we are on the topic of rugby, this interview is the most rugby prop thing ever.

  121. 121.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Link?

  122. 122.

    Dan B

    October 31, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    @prostratedragon:  Cabrini Green, wow!  When I lived in Chicago 1969 – 1971 it was rumored a murder a day.  Bad urban removal project.

  123. 123.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    @debbie:

    Isn’t that from Bible?

  124. 124.

    Kathleen

    October 31, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    @prostratedragon: Thank you! I didn’t realize that was on tonight. Gotta catch it. Interesting pre election day programming choice!

  125. 125.

    Ken

    October 31, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    @James E Powell: I want to go into one of those sensory deprivation tanks like in the movie Altered States and if by some horrible thing Trump wins, don’t bring me out.

    If I recall that movie correctly, we might want to pull you out so you can use your arcane powers to destroy us all.

  126. 126.

    Anoniminous

    October 31, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    Speaking of rhythms …

    One of the things I miss about the Left Coast is the tours of Japanese drummers.  It was a poor year when there wasn’t at least one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZagsLrNzg3I

  127. 127.

    Ken

    October 31, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    @Kathleen: It’s part of their Halloween lineup, between The Haunting and Them!

  128. 128.

    David ?Booooooo!? Koch

    October 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Obama/Biden did really good ads (Mittens “coffin” ad)

    Letting the Hessians do the dirty work this time around is a nice luxury.

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    October 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    Boo, y’all.

  130. 130.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @planetjanet: Fixed.

  131. 131.

    TS (the original)

    October 31, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Best thing about those polls – Biden is at 50% or greater in every one of them. The number of undecided/no answer is 4-6%. This helps reduce my worries. Hillary never got to 50% on any of them.

  132. 132.

    PsiFighter37

    October 31, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    Final Selzer poll in Iowa has Trump up 7 and GOP slated to take 3 of the 4 House seats. Feel like this may be the year they are off…none of the other polling statewide (in Iowa or elsewhere) or nationally reads that way.

  133. 133.

    lamh36

    October 31, 2020 at 8:11 pm

    they did it again…SMH

    @DJJudd

    Replying to
    @DJJudd

    Trump has finished and left, but there’s thousands of supporters who have been let loose into the night with no sign of the shuttles they’ve been told will take them back to parking. People are filling the street, blocking the road for ambulances and police.
    https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1322688676170735616

  134. 134.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    I think this couple have won Halloween.

  135. 135.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    I was over on Twitter reading Daniel Dale and Trump’s really sounding desperate at whatever rally he’s bellowing at.

  136. 136.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    @PsiFighter37:

    Wow. That’s really off. Hope they are wrong.

  137. 137.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Ha!

  138. 138.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @David ?Booooooo!? Koch:

    Letting the Hessians do the dirty work this time around is a nice luxury.

    That’s a perfect analogy.

  139. 139.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    I love that Barack video of him making the basket!

    He is not, however, modeling good mask behavior by pulling down his mask in order to SHOUT “that’s what I do!” right at the guy who is walking behind him.

  140. 140.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Old news.

  141. 141.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 31, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    @lamh36:

    They’re such sheep.

  142. 142.

    David ?Booooooo!? Koch

    October 31, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    @PsiFighter37: Monmouth has us winning 3 of 4, losing the deep red seat Steve King represented

  143. 143.

    NotMax

    October 31, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Elizabelle

    Right back atcha, cartoon style.

    :)

  144. 144.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Baud:

    Not the one I had to read growing up.

  145. 145.

    JPL

    October 31, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @PsiFighter37: Some think it’s questionable, given who they polled.  I hope so.

  146. 146.

    debbie

    October 31, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @lamh36:

    You’d almost think he wants to lose. //

  147. 147.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    @WaterGirl: We shouldn’t be looking for perfection from people.  If everyone observed the level of mask discipline that he shows, we would be a lot better off.

  148. 148.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    October 31, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    I’m torn between hope and fear, I confess. For example, in Florida, there are signs that there was deliberate mail suppression, to reduce ballot deliveries. The AG has ordered certain post offices to provide all ballots to the election office immediately.

    There have been ballot harvesters, who can’t be trusted in today’s day and age, where Republicans are hearing bullshit like “Trump can only lose if the election is rigged” and who therefore might cheat on the assumption that “they are, too!”

    And on election day, I can’t help but fear for violence or intimidation at Democratic strongholds in close states.

    Because in the end, the Republicans have a visceral understanding that it doesn’t matter how horrible, how awful, how obvious, any ploy is, if they can somehow make sure that there are more Republican ballots than Democratic, nothing else matters. Heck, they don’t even need to do *that* – they just need to need enough Republican ballots to *claim* victory, even if they’re behind. I mean, let’s be honest: if a dozen groups, with right wing ties, all caused destruction of ballots, or intimidation, or even violence, they’ll use *that* as “proof” that Republicans were unjustly denied a win, and try to get it reversed in the courts.

    And we know they’ll say “this is *totally* different from Gore and Kerry trying to steal the election!” even if it’s 100% clear that, yes, it’s very different from Gore, and from Kerry’s lack of attempt, because this really *is* an attempt to retroactively change the totals, is is without basis – and the political press will act like such statements are reasonable. After all, during impeachment, the press acted it was anything but a bad faith, baseless assertion to say “oh, come now, abuse of office? Extortion? Obstruction? Just because he misused his official powers, broke the law, engaged in extortion, and covered it up? *THAT* is no reason to remove him from office!”

  149. 149.

    WaterGirl

    October 31, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: You are right.

  150. 150.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 31, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @Baud: What is more likely that one poll is an outlier or that every other poll has been dead wrong?

  151. 151.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    We’ll find out on Tuesday.

  152. 152.

    AnotherBruce

    October 31, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That’s not a bad thing yo.

  153. 153.

    raven

    October 31, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    @LongHairedWeirdo: I missed the hope part?

  154. 154.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 31, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    There was a flood of state polls today, and that Selzer poll was the one and only piece of bad news among them. Probably just a statistical fluctuation, but who knows? (Selzer is a good company but the sample is small, and it covered the same time period as some radically different polls.) Certainly not worth rating it over everything else that dropped as a picture of the nation. I kind of doubt Biden is ahead in Iowa but it’s still really close there.

    I see that Trump’s presidential approval has jumped up as a result of a bunch of R-leaning surveys that haven’t reported in a while suddenly dropping results that look like Rasmussen at the same time. Odd that this is happening without any visible shift in the presidential race.

  155. 155.

    Baud

    October 31, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: 
    I don’t follow polls, but it seems too easy to manipulate the averages.

  156. 156.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @planetjanet: That was fantastic.  I will have to share it with a good friend of mine.

  157. 157.

    Sally

    October 31, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I am also a fan. Husband and sons played, Oxford, Vandy, Cambridge. We are Super Rugby fans, and follow the Bledisloe, more than the Six Nations. Wallabies just got creamed, again.

  158. 158.

    gwangung

    October 31, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: 5% of polls are statistically guaranteed to be outliers.

  159. 159.

    CaseyL

    October 31, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    I have a small bag of candy in case any T&Ters show up.  I might just put them out on the porch in a bowl not sure yet.

    Well!   After searching for anyone who still needs phone-banking, but isn’t using that unholy phone-computer-interactive survey, I was contacted by WA State Dems who assured me they would be able to support me figuring out the damn system.  So I guess I’m phone banking with them tomorrow.  It seems only about 50% of the VBM ballots have been returned, which astonishes and alarms me.

    God.  This election.  I just want to curl up, go into hibernation, and not wake up for two years.

  160. 160.

    planetjanet

    October 31, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    @Sally: Why do they even play the Bledisoe any more?  It is always the All Blacks.  People were hooping and hollering because the Aussies played to a draw in game 1.

  161. 161.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 31, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @gwangung: Indeed. You look at 20 polls, you expect to see one that is outside the 95% confidence interval.

  162. 162.

    TS (the original)

    October 31, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @PsiFighter37:

    That poll makes zero sense when you look at some of the details

    In fact, many of their votes have already been cast. As early and mail-in voting surges because of the pandemic, 51% of likely voters say they have already voted, surpassing previous milestones.

    Among those who have already voted, Biden leads 55% to 32%. And among those who have yet to vote, Trump leads 64% to 28%. 

    Biden’s votes are banked.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @TS (the original): I took statistics as an undergrad, got a 20% on the first of three exams, which grade I got the day before the final drop date. So I know nothing about nothing about polling, but Nate Silver and David Wasserman are both unimpressed with the sample size

    Nate Silver@NateSilver538·36m
    I do think people overthink things some times. In an 800-person poll, the margin of error for the difference between candidates is ~7 points. And 1 in 20 polls will fall outside that margin of error, i.e. be more than 7 points away from the true number.

  164. 164.

    TS (the original)

    October 31, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    @lamh36:

    And I still wonder how many of those supporters follow him around from state to state until they become ill with covid-19.

  165. 165.

    Anya

    October 31, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    @germy: To quote Nelson: Ha Ha! I hope they show him their worst Trumpster ass.

  166. 166.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @debbie: If Biden wins I plan to THEN go listen to an entire Trump speech. Not sure why.

  167. 167.

    catclub

    October 31, 2020 at 9:04 pm

    @gwangung: 5% of polls are statistically guaranteed to be outliers.

     

    isn’t that only assuming gaussian statistics?

  168. 168.

    Sab

    October 31, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Yes!

  169. 169.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 31, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: not to pick nits, but for at least one picture he should have put a small pillow under his shirt and posed kneeling on his shoes like Tim Conway’s Dorf character.

  170. 170.

    Sally

    October 31, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    @planetjanet: Because there is nothing, nothing, NZ’ers love more than beating Australia. And the Aussies are insane. You know, keep doing that same thing but it will be different this time! lol

  171. 171.

    Ken

    October 31, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @catclub: My statistics is rusty, but I think the Central Limit Theorem applies here.  Basically if each poll really is a random sample of the population, then the distribution of the poll results (means) is a Gaussian.  The distribution of the underlying population doesn’t matter.

  172. 172.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 31, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @catclub: It’s from the definition of the standard confidence interval.

  173. 173.

    rikyrah

    October 31, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    @Bruuuuce:

    ?????

  174. 174.

    Prometheus Shrugged

    October 31, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    @The Moar You Know: A taco truck just started parking on my corner on weekends about a month ago. Maybe they looked at the polling and wanted to get a jump on the competition! I have to say, it’s pretty awesome. The tacos are not the greatest I’ve ever had (though if you’re a fan of cabeza and lengua, it’s not too bad) but the convenience is impossible to beat.  So I’m in full support of the proposition.

  175. 175.

    J R in WV

    October 31, 2020 at 10:27 pm

    @JPL:

    We have had our grid power shut off for 2 weeks a couple of times. That’s why we have a whole house generator hooked up to the natural gas line. It won’t run the AC, it will run the heat and everything else.

    Pretty inconvenient… really. In AZ we’re off the grid, solar panels. it was less expensive than the connection to the grid system…

  176. 176.

    LadySuzy

    October 31, 2020 at 10:44 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I I just can’t believe that Bernie discredited the democrats three days before the most important election in our life time.

    He just convinced a few young people to stay home, I’m sure.

    I can’t say what I’m thinking. My post would be deleted.

  177. 177.

    Soprano2

    October 31, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    @WaterGirl: What about the 13-year-old kid?! That was amazing.

  178. 178.

    rikyrah

    November 1, 2020 at 1:35 am

    @Cheryl Rofer: ???

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