"I know watching these vote tallies on TV moves very slow… as slow as it goes, it can be numbing"
Joe Biden urges patience, but says "while we're waiting for the final results, we're not waiting to get the work done"#Election2020 https://t.co/tgXbQ3PQeD pic.twitter.com/zRD1Qw4Wir
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 7, 2020
So much tension as we wait to see which candidate will win the presidency – the one ahead in the popular vote or the one ahead in the electoral college – who are both the same man.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) November 7, 2020
Breathe………… pic.twitter.com/s6l2KQOTY9
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 6, 2020
The placeholder is live.
Many pages are ready to launch, as soon as @JoeBiden is declared the next President of the United States of America.Stay tuned here for transition team lists and plans: https://t.co/cYgeXj0kS6
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 6, 2020
Biden spox responding to news that Trump claims he won’t concede if he loses:
"The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House" https://t.co/wW89REWjoy
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) November 6, 2020
considering how many of them he got infected with COVID and how he treats them, I'm guessing they won't really have a problem with this. https://t.co/dkJdGJ5SfH
— soonergrunt ???? (@soonergrunt) November 6, 2020
‘Biden has a strong mandate to lead,’ Pelosi said as Democrat Joe Biden expanded his narrow lead in the decisive state of Pennsylvania https://t.co/QRKHMmU1CV pic.twitter.com/ji7qQAXBo8
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 7, 2020
trnc
Joe Biden will get more done in one day of transition than DT did for his entire presidency.
Ridnik Chrome
…the Secret Service will have to drag him from the White House kicking and screaming…
I hope they open the door with his head, like they did to that guy in “Casino”.
NotMax
Because a breather, however brief, is all too often in order this week.
No brouhaha, no dawdling, no logjam, no mishegoss over election results in Rabbit Hash.
germy
Here’s an old tweet. I thought it was a face-eating leopard, but it isn’t.
Baud
Are we there yet?
Nicole
It’s very irritating that the media kowtows to Trump to the very end, what with refusing to call the race, but at this point, that’s all it is for me: irritating. We know it’s coming.
Now just gotta buckle down and fight for the Georgia Senate races. I’m so grateful to and in awe of everyone down there who put in so much work to show to the rest of the country that Georgia is not a red state; it’s a voter-suppressed one. Now that we know that; we can fight better.
germy
germy
Another lie. He’ll be twitching and whimpering.
Cermet
So thankful for the AP tally link I was given:
https://alex.github.io/nyt-2020-election-scraper/battleground-state-changes.html#
Following it in real time and seeing (*partly” what’s happening has been a great relief. Thanks again for that link!)
Mary G
I’m imagining the Obama administration hid the pandemic plans and all other documents on how to run the country on microdots stashed in a secret compartment in the Roosevelt desk. Uncle Joe will stride in after the inaugural luncheon, whip off his aviators, push the hidden button, hand the dots to the chief of staff and head upstairs two at a time to put on his tux for the ball.
OzarkHillbilly
No coffee. Blech.
Sab
@Baud: I think you wil have to wait until December. Thank God Founding Fathers put in deadlines.
Cermet
On a more positive note (not), the rump will drag this out because he is incapable of conceding defeat, ever. So, expect a long count and since the media does not call our election (except to call it and then ignore further counts) this might go on until all tipping states reach their mandated stopping points.
Bruce K
It just hit me last night that Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the United States, and will lose that distinction on Inauguration Day, and I bet she’s overjoyed about that.
OzarkHillbilly
Michigan couple with 14 sons finally has a daughter
I have a long time friend I’ve known since HS days who is one of 9 children. All his siblings are of the female persuasion. Thanksgiving dinner was…. different at his parents. Very loud, and woe to the boyfriend who said the wrong thing (and no matter what they said, it was the wrong thing). I was immune to such pile ons for some reason or other.
Betty Cracker
Just watched Biden’s speech from last night and was pleased he claimed a mandate, as did Pelosi in the clip above. Good to see Dems brushing back the bullshit media framing that a “narrow” win means power-sharing with Repubs. Fuck that noise.
After winning the EC by the same margin as Trump in 2016 AND winning the popular vote by several million, Biden should wield presidential power as if he won all 50 states, IMO.
Someone on Twitter pointed out last night that the first time Biden addresses Congress, he’ll open with, “Madam Vice President, Madam Speaker…” Looking forward to that too.
Zzyzx
Holy crap GA! 7248 vote difference now. That’s getting to the point where a recount would be incredibly hard to flip.
OzarkHillbilly
@Bruce K: She will still be the most powerful woman, VPs have no real power after all, but I am sure she will be very happy on Inauguration day.
Sab
@Nicole: I used to work for a little company where the boss was a saint and his only son had narcissist personality disorder. It was a weird place. The people the son surrounded himself were amazingly awful. Dad had to fire son and son took all those awful people with him.
Cheryl Rofer
This is very good. Biden’s campaign has been very secretive about who’s involved, but they’re starting to roll out their plans.
I would not be surprised if we start hearing from Murthy as soon as today.
germy
My theory is they’re genuinely afraid of violence from Trump’s base. They’re afraid of calling too soon. They want official word.
Fox doesn’t share their fear, so they went ahead and called Arizona. They’re not afraid because they think Trump’s base is “their people” (even though that’s not true anymore).
It’s real to them. They’ve seen the angry crowds close up. We only see them on TV, or on social media. But the potential for violence is real.
Where I live, all summer I saw a guy in a big pickup truck driving around with a confederate flag. At first, my reaction was “he’s just an asshole” but then as November approached, we saw him more and more, and it felt ominous. Then, the week before election day we saw two trucks with Trump flags. Just driving around.
And on Nov. 3, while we stood on line, a pickup truck with two Trump flags drove slowly past our polling place.
So we haven’t seen violence here, just weird… warnings.
In the past, I was always the first to criticize the TV networks for being too anxious to call states before all the votes were in. They did it in Bush-Gore. They did it in Bush-Kerry.
But now I think they’re really concerned about angry mobs outside their offices. It affects them. And so they want to wait for before they announce.
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: A classic!
Gvg
He has fired everyone who was able to bring him bad or unwanted news, so naturally their is no one left.
i imagine it will have to be fox or even Murdoch.
if some one tells him liberals have been fantasizing about him being dragged out of the whitehouse since the day he was elected, he may deny us that pleasure. Especially if someone explains we will all be laughing.
Bruuuuce
@Mary G: A dramatic vision, and a lovely one. I’ll settle for him passing off his copy on a flash drive. Or just uploading it to the White House and other appropriate networks, so it can get implemented ASAP.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: You just out, or are you abstaining.
John S.
@Nicole: It is irritating. They don’t want to hurt Donald’s fee-fees (except for Fox who wants his loser stink off them ASAP so they can get down to ratfucking another Democrat), as they lament the divided country (Trump created) and worry about the poor Trump supporters (who told the rest of us to fuck our feelings 4 years ago).
But this is far worse for Trump and his supporters. It’s the same thing that happens when the bully gets his ass kicked and slinks away shattered and broken (on the inside). The jig is up, and all their weaknesses and insecurities are laid bare for all to see.
This is why the media is doing it — not for Trump, but for themselves. They want ratings. They want drama. They want to prolong this thing as long as possible.
germy
@Gvg:
It was Fox. They had Laura Ingraham last night say it’s time to accept defeat. It seems she was talking to an audience of one: Trump. She knows he watches. She tried to talk him down off the ledge.
debbie
@Ridnik Chrome:
I hope it’s televised. Nothing could be better for his brand. //
Baud
@Zzyzx:
GA is done. Put a sock in it.
debbie
@germy:
Not King Lear. Never. Lear was betrayed by those he loved. Trump is Mad George. Because Mad.
David ?Booooooo!? Koch
Fun fact, Kamala was born in the same hospital as our own Tom Levenson
germy
NotMax
@Betty Cracker – @OzarkHillbilly
And then there was the Kyloff clan.
(From that 1811 book of curiosities which have otherwise cited before.)
JPL
@John S.: Trump will continue to hold rallies, because his ego demands it.
debbie
@Nicole:
I don’t have a problem with the media staying out of the fray. It would just give Trump more targets and would let him drag this out more.
Cheryl Rofer
I think Trump’s leaving the White House can easily be arranged. Trump is afraid of dogs. The Bidens have two rather large ones.
Although I saw even a Trump ally yesterday saying he will leave quietly, perhaps even early.
TS (the original)
In the amazement of all time – I agree with MJ today. Must be because it is the weekend.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
That Trump can say the identical situation was a landslide in 2016, but a nothingburger now should be a loud and consistent message from the Democrats.
NotMax
@NotMax
My cross-eyed from staring at numbers on the telly misspelling. Kyrloff, not Kyloff.
Sab
@David ?Booooooo!? Koch: That is a fun fact.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
I like the way you think.
joel hanes
@Betty Cracker:
Four points in the popular vote is not a particularly narrow victory.
Have you noticed that two of the House seats we thought we’d lost now look likely to stay blue? Rita Hart in IA 2 and one other
MazeDancer
Because, apparently, there are no other options, have decided to look on the bright side of the absurd inability of the TV Networks to call the election.
This slow reveal has given Trump’s team time to drink in their defeat. Just a little. And the time for outrage and battle will be over.
The entire nation will have seen Every. Single. Vote. as it was counted. To challenge would be a waste of time. We saw it all happen.
Mr. Biden will be able to hit the ground running, as they say. Otherwise, the media might have spent these past days focused on Trump’s Battle Strategy.
Now, it’s really over. Media will be more interested in transition than Trump.
debbie
@germy:
Betrayal! I’m genuinely surprised Ingraham did that.
John S.
@JPL: With whose money? He can’t afford to pay for them himself, the American taxpayer won’t be paying for it anymore, and I think wingnut welfare is already gearing up to move on to their next attempt at undermining democracy. If Rupert Murdoch is any indication, they want to get rid of Trump’s loser stink.
I agree he won’t go away, I’m just not sure how relevant he will be without Twitter, without a bullhorn, without a platform and without any money.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: How very Catholic.
Sab
@Cheryl Rofer: LOL hysterically. I had a German Shepherd I desperately miss ten years after her demise. She would have cleared the place. His guys will, happily, if asked.
Nicole
Between now and January, I think my bedtime ritual will be to repeat myself, a la Arya Stark, a list of names of people who are getting tossed out with the Trump trash.
evodevo
@Gvg: I think Murdoch already did, but it didn’t “take”…
John S.
@debbie: Rupert sent out his talking points. “We don’t truck with losers.”
debbie
@John S.:
Trump’s acting like he’s never lost when in fact he’s done nothing but lose. Fun times!
germy
This is why the networks aren’t anxious to say “Congratulations to President-Elect Biden!!”
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: Abstaining. My stomach is a whiny little bitch.
David ?Booooooo!? Koch
@joel hanes: a republican hasn’t won by 4 points in 32 years. Hell, they’ve lost the popular vote 7 of the last 8 elections. 7 of 8.
imagine how the Village would be jumping up and down on us if we lost 7 of 8 elections.
Frankensteinbeck
My mother the psychiatrist made some points about narcissists that I think are wise. Right now, Trump does not think he lost. He’s pissed that he’s not getting the adulation of a grand public win, but he takes it for granted that the courts will overturn the election because he thinks he owns them. Only when it gets through his head that isn’t going to happen will he know he’s lost. When that happens, he will either explode in a rage like we’ve never seen before, or he’ll run and hide.
@Cermet:
There is nothing left to drag out. Pennsylvania is well past the point of no return. Even the Trump county provisionals did not stop Biden’s continued gain. People feel like it’s not official until the AP admits that, which may take until Biden passes the recount margin. That’s 6,000 more votes and Philadelphia should put us past that sometime today. Even a recount would change nothing. The election is decided. Biden won and that cannot be changed now.
MazeDancer
@Betty Cracker:
Oooooh! That is such a wonderful thought.
And you know Joe will draw much attention to it, smile hugely, and wait for the thunderous applause.
JPL
@John S.: The defense fundraiser mentions that part of the amount raised will go to retire campaign debt.
Cheryl Rofer
@Sab: One of my friends on Twitter envisioned two large, aggressively friendly dogs. “Go find Donald!”
JPL
@Frankensteinbeck: Earlier I checked the weather in D.C and it’s perfect for a few rounds of golf. Maybe on the golf course, someone can give him a nudge.
John S.
@debbie: Indeed! It wasn’t a red mirage — it was an orange mirage. And now he is laid completely bare for enough people to have seen what a loser he really is.
Oh sure, he’ll still have his supporters and loyal members of the personality cult, but not enough. The rest of them will slowly drift away as their real masters (Fox, church, etc.) tell them to. They are good sheeple.
They are already on the hunt for the next piece of shit to carry on the good work Trump started, but wasn’t able to finish because of reasons.
germy
I’m not sure about that. The networks are afraid of the possibility of violence, no matter what side they think it’ll come from.
Montanareddog
@germy: my wife and I saw the Ros Atkins clip in real time on BBC World and we were flabbergasted. Really unusual to see a BBC anchor editorialising like that.
Cheryl Rofer
@Frankensteinbeck:
Kristine
@Cheryl Rofer: this is makes me so happy. Grownups in the room with actual plans.
Cameron
@JPL: He’ll try. Who’s going to pay for them?
Betty Cracker
@joel hanes: Hence the scare quotes around “narrow” — it’s a bullshit narrative. I did not see the good news about the House races — glad to hear it! I did read that the turncoat Van Drew kept his seat, which sucks.
OzarkHillbilly
They’re baaaack….Tea party-linked activists protest against ‘election fraud’ in US cities
germy
@Montanareddog:
They talk about us now the way we used to talk about troubled countries in Eastern Europe or South America.
Sab
@Frankensteinbeck: Jeez. Pray for run off and hide. He has nobody normal/rational/decent/sensible around him to advise. His evil minions cleared those folks out months ago.
Maybe he should just decide where he wants to emigrate and executively order away the extradition treaty of that country. I am sure a compliant Senate will confirm.
Zzyzx
@Cheryl Rofer:
NO! I want a giant vaudevillian hook dragging him out. Charge for the video of that and you’d pay off the debt!
John S.
@germy: You’re both right.
The networks are selfishly afraid of their legitimacy being dented and violence upon themselves.
But if the shoe were on the other foot, they would also be acting quite differently because they aren’t afraid of leftwing violence (which scarcely exists despite what Trump says).
Luciamia
Gah, even dreaming about this stuff. Had a dream they called Arizona for Trump. Blech!
prufrock
@OzarkHillbilly:
Over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money Paul Campos gets a chill and doesn’t quite know why.
JPL
@Cameron: Donations to his campaign defense fund, also payoff campaign debt. Where there is a will, there’s a way.
Betty Cracker
@Cheryl Rofer: I wonder if someone can get an article with his scent on it, like a discarded Big Mac wrapper, to train the dogs. ?
randy khan
@Bruce K:
She’s the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. government, and will lose that distinction, but unless the Dems pull off the double in the Georgia runoffs (which I know she hopes they do), I think she’ll still actually be the most powerful woman in the country. (And you could argue that even if Harris becomes the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, Pelosi still would be more powerful.)
Mai Naem mobile
@JPL: he isn’t going to hold any rallies because you have to pay upfront to the facilities and he either doesn’t have the money or will refuse to spend it. His fans are not going to pay $25 or whatever it would cost to cover just the costs. Also, once he has the loser label, he becomes less attractive. And don’t forget the NY lawsuits/investigations.
MomSense
@germy:
Amazing how new kidneys can change the fit of a swimsuit.
debbie
@John S.:
FSM help us. I heard Gym Jordan mentioned as a possible successor.
Sab
@Cheryl Rofer: My girl did aggressively friendly things with my husband’s ex-wife. My dog was an innocent, but my husband still laughs evilly and and his ex is still angry.
randy khan
@Cheryl Rofer:
My money always has been on him decamping for Mar a Lago (or somewhere else) before January 20 and not returning. And what little Presidenting he does probably already has stopped entirely, although he’ll probably make time to sign pardons.
OzarkHillbilly
@prufrock: You do know what they call the guy with the lowest passing score on the Bar exam, don’t you?
debbie
@germy:
This was also on their overnight radio broadcast. As close to Edward Murrow as I’ve ever heard.
Frankensteinbeck
@Sab:
On the plus side, when they lose their shit and go into vengeance mode, malignant narcissists punish their minions and allies first. Trump cannot fail, so he must have been failed.
After that, I think he’ll lose interest in governing except to protect himself from prosecution. Yes, he has been governing. All that horrible shit that has made every day a new pain these four years? He won’t care anymore. What’s in it for him?
Alas, I think he’ll still be all in on overturning Obamacare. THAT is personal.
Matt McIrvin
@Cermet: Now I’ve forgotten who originally posted that link here. It’s amazing.
JPL
Now that we all know that Melania doesn’t care for all that f..king Christmas stuff, do you think she’ll downsize the decorations this year? I’m surprised she’s still in the White House.
debbie
@randy khan:
How much longer can he go without playing golf?
germy
Zzyzx
@Luciamia:
NOOOOOOO! I want the complete Rock’n’ Me set from the Steve Miller Band song. We’re so so close!
Immanentize
@germy:
This has been my thought all along — what possibly worse time is there to call this thing than on a weekend when so many people have idle time?
germy
@JPL:
I’m suddenly reminded of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The one Lucy loses her shit over.
debbie
@JPL:
Five buck says the red Christmas trees will make a return appearance.
Sab
@Betty Cracker: Who are those people
Nevermind. Found them. Yikes.
I loved my parents but occassionally had issues. These kids were born to these parents. In the world you have a 50% chance of a normal parent. And these kids lost twice. Very much how I felt about my first step-kids. Two chances of a normal decent adult as a parent and you lost both chances.
Immanentize
@Zzyzx: While Trump is playing “Take the Money and Run” (woo woo woooo)
Kattails
@germy: Er, I somehow doubt that the networks would be afraid of violence from the left. They may play “both sides” to the public but they know which side the mean people are on.
Mai Naem mobile
Jeezus, I don’t give a crap about Donnie’s fee fees and the idiots around him too intimidated to tell him to go. Have one of the secret service guys he got sick with COVID tell him its over. Finito. You outta here. I am sure they will be more than happy to do it
I’ve had the ‘You about to lose your job’ tik tok tune in my head for two days now. I think they’ll call it today once the last big dump of votes comes in from Maricopa County here and Clark in NV.
Matt McIrvin
@Bruce K: Is the Speaker of the House less powerful than the Vice-President? I think it depends heavily on the administration, since the VP has so few constitutional powers and the office’s influence runs mostly through the President. I do get the impression that VPs have been getting more powerful in recent administrations.
MomSense
@Cheryl Rofer:
There was a moving van outside the White House on Wednesday.
germy
You’re right. And look at Pence. He’s supposed to be heading up the coronavirus task force? Nothing is really going on there, other than maybe Pence actually catching the virus himself.
Ken
I lean toward the interpretation that his madness and senility was feigned, to test his daughters. Then two of them failed, and perhaps by Act V he was no longer pretending.
BTW have you read Christopher Moore’s Fool? It’s an interesting re-telling of Lear from the Fool’s point of view. It’s a bit coarse at times (but then, so was Shakespeare).
debbie
@Mai Naem mobile:
Start throwing his stuff out on the lawn like a disowned boyfriend!
Matt McIrvin
@Mai Naem mobile: A big, strong Secret Service guy could come to him with tears in his eyes and say Sir, it’s been such an honor to serve you, sir, but…
raven
@Immanentize:
In that group, as well as several other Stop the Steal groups active on Facebook as of Friday evening, lurid themes have emerged in members’ discussions — including calls for the execution of supposedly treasonous Democrats and a shared fantasy about civil war. There are dozens of groups with memberships of anywhere from a few people to tens of thousands.
“If Biden/Harris win the White House our country will quickly be thrusted into a civil war. It will be [email protected]/gun toting Constitutionalists vs. democratic powers,” a member of one of the larger groups posted. “They better bring an Army. Cause we got the guns, & the Vets who know how to use them,” another commented. “It’s coming,” a third member wrote, including a picture of the logo of the Three Percenters, a far-right militia.
Betty Cracker
Trump is tweet-screaming about election fraud on CAPS LOCK this morning. JFC. It won’t matter if the networks call the election or not. It won’t matter if the Trump Supreme Court personally inspects every ballot. It won’t matter if all 144M voters line up and personally declare their vote while showing state-issued ID.
The only legitimate outcome in Trump’s diseased brain is a Trump win, and he won’t stop bleating about being robbed until the angel of death mercifully silences him forever.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@germy: I would take that Fox Internal Memo at it’s word, the Media isn’t calling it because Trump is harassing them with lawsuits, that’s how Trump has always done things.
Ksmiami
@debbie: never get to thinkin you’re irreplaceable
debbie
@Ken:
Thanks, I’ll have to take a look.
prufrock
@OzarkHillbilly: I thought this was a doctor joke. ;-)
Sab
@debbie: But nobody wants that stuff.
germy
@Kattails: I think the big media people are terrified of BLM, and fear property damage. I’m not saying this would happen, but I think that’s their worry.
They’re afraid of being shot by a MAGAT, but also afraid of having their windows broken by “ANTIFA”.
They send their reporters on cletus safaris because they don’t feel comfortable talking to a nurse in Detroit or St. Louis. They don’t feel comfortable in those neighborhoods. They feel more comfortable in red state diners, because the folks there remind them of grandpa and grandma.
That coverage is changing, fortunately, as their workforce becomes more diverse…
Frankensteinbeck
@raven:
They do that every time they lose an election. Chickenshit bravado is a crucial element of modern conservatism, and one of the reasons they love Trump. Any violence will be very small-scale.
randy khan
I am not upset at the networks for not calling the race. They’re in uncharted territory with so many mail-in votes, as those votes usually don’t matter much in deciding who’s won, and so it’s hard for them to make projections. And the network calls aren’t the actual results anyway, although they’re obviously useful.
A couple of notes on the completeness of the victory:
(1) It’s likely that Biden’s ultimate popular vote margin will be much bigger than 4 million. I was looking at California last night and there are still millions of votes to count there. I would guess that Biden could pick up as many as 2 million votes more of margin just from there, and that’s assuming the same turnout as in 2016.
(2) If things stay as they are, Biden will win 25 states plus DC.
MazeDancer
Highlighted by the – we hope, recuperating – Soonergrunt, this may be one of the most important threads you’ll ever read on Twitter.
A former right wing media type outlines his awakening to how truth, the basis of all good journalism, is not part of conservative media.
While it may have been obvious to everyone else, his thoughts, for the first time, helped me understand right wing accusations of “media bias”.
raven
@Frankensteinbeck: Well allright!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Betty Cracker: Yes, in 2016 Trump when it was pointed out Trump lost the popular vote he was screaming the California vote was “illegal”
This is such a knee jerk reaction from Trump I bet this how he cheats at golf, anytime the other guy wins a game Trump throws a shit fit and scream cheating, threatens lawsuit after lawsuit until the guy says “what ever”.
zhena gogolia
@joel hanes:
I’m so glad to see you. I was looking for you, but somehow had remembered your nym as “Joel S.”
germy
Luciamia
@Mai Naem mobile: Once the new president is sworn in the Secret Service just packs up their ownselves and leave.Want protection now, Donnie? call Goons-Are-Us.
OzarkHillbilly
@prufrock: Repurposed! :-)
CliosFanBoy
Was/is the count in Philly really be live-streamed??
hueyplong
@debbie: There will be no Christmas trees, but there will be delousing, with ice water from the hoses.
Frankensteinbeck
@germy:
I think it’s so slow because the folks in charge of the news are so very protective of their reputation, or at least what they think is their reputation. (The Cult of Savvy can be weirdly delusional.) Throw that in with the turnaround after the Red Mirage, and they’re scared that somehow things will change again and they’ll have called the election wrong. Apparently they’ve decided a 35,000 vote margin in Pennsylvania is enough to feel safe, and it looks like Biden will pass that today.
RSA
Persuasion may work.
“We’re going for a ride, Mr. President! Come on, get in the car… You know you like rides. Come on, you can do it!”
CliosFanBoy
@Luciamia: Um no, former Prez’s still get SS protection.
Sab
@Betty Cracker: Tweet screaming. New phrase to capture new reality.
Immanentize
@raven: But didn’t you once say, what makes these guys think liberals don’t have guns?
debbie
@raven:
Gah! “…quickly be thrusted”! ??♀️
CliosFanBoy
@OzarkHillbilly: “Doctor”?
oh wait, wrong joke…. :P
mad citizen
@Cheryl Rofer: Nothing about our plotline will surprise me: leaving early, resignation, death. Whatever. I’m kinda surprised he has lasted this long, and I don’t see him sticking around for the inauguration. He could claim the need to rekindle his tremendous businesses, how serving us all and not taking a salary, etc., has been a tremendous burden on him, but he was gracious enough to try to help our country, etc.
I doubt his helicopter exit will top Nixon’s. That was classic.
Ian
@Bruce K: Speaker of the House is way more important the VP. Modern VPs are used as high power ambassadors and managers, but the only true power they have is tie breaking votes.
John Nance Garner, VP in the first 2 FDR terms, said the VP “is like a bucket of warm piss”.
Only thing VP has over Speaker is succession to presidency.
SFAW
@Matt McIrvin:
As evidenced by Shadow President Mike Pence being the REAL driver of all the Trumpist policies.
No, not really trying to bust your stones. Cheney almost certainly was the Shadow President, and I think Biden and Gore went beyond the stereotypical “potted plant” role. Pence is a potted plant with a “look on my steely gaze and believe that I know more than 1 + 1 = 3” air about him.
germy
“They told me we were going to a rally and then next thing I know I’m in a veterinarian’s office and they’re snipping off my testicles…”
SFAW
@Ian:
Assuming the VP doesn’t have “an accident.”
Immanentize
@germy: But but but, the news peeples told me those two terrorists were not affiliated with any larger groups. They said it! You mean they were … Wrong?!
Matt McIrvin
So as the really late ballots trickle in from Georgia, Biden’s lead has only increased there. I think I’ve seen enough to say Biden has won Georgia.
And I’d already seen enough to say he’s won Nevada and Pennsylvania. That means he’s got at least 295 electoral votes, and he’s won even if there’s some improbable shocking upset that reverses any one of those states, or both of NV and GA, or if there’s a faithless-elector binge on the scale of 2016 (and I see no reason that would happen).
Stick a fork in it.
Peale
Ugh. Today I’m just waking up to the realization that my county flipped to Red and after years of having one of thos IDC Democrat’s represent me in the state assembly, I now have a looney GOper. My new congressman is a democrat. Replaced an incumbent who used to get 87% of the vote. He got about 30 points less. I’m going to guess that he’ll be gone at mid terms. Bleh.
JPL
@Frankensteinbeck: The danger is that even one person can do a lot of harm. Maybe a Timothy McVeigh wannabe.
Immanentize
@Luciamia: Not true. Former Presidents retain some Secret Service protection, although some have refused it in the past.
OzarkHillbilly
That puts me in mind of the Far Side comic where the dog is yelling at the neighbor dog: “Guess what, Frosty? We’re going to the grocery store than I’m going to the Vet to get tutored!”
Luciamia
@CliosFanBoy: Oh, that’s right. Our tax dollars at work.?
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
GMTA….I’ve been thinking that for quite a while. Donald Trump cannot lose because Donald Trump does not lose – ever, at anything – and therefore any situation in which he appears to be losing can only be the result of nefarious acts on the part of…nefarious actors. Enemies. Opponents. Traitors.
germy
@Immanentize:
Well, the news people (CBS, ABC, NBC) told me the people stranded in the cold after the Trump rally were stranded because of… a traffic jam.
SFAW
@Ken:
The Moore stuff I’ve read — Lamb in particular, but also Fool — is hilarious.
ETA: I especially love the opening part of Lamb, the part with Jesus’s brother and the lizard.
raven
@JPL: Our friend from Alaska wants to come down and work for the Ossoff/Warnock effort and is looking for leads on somewhere to crash. Any ideas?
Spanky
@JPL:
Yeah, on one of the holes that runs along the Potomac.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I’ve probably posted this before
The Family Mules.
Immanentize
@germy: What what??? That’s not true, either?
Lawd, my stars!
Ken
@debbie: I should be clear that Fool is not a serious study of Lear. Christopher Moore mostly writes comic fantasy, though Fool is a little darker than most of his stuff (other than perhaps A Dirty Job).
Also my characterization of it as a little coarse is, um, polite. It is very coarse. I forgot the scene with the walled-up anchoress…
Cermet
@MazeDancer: Good post; interesting to read someone that was in the belly of the beast; at least they escaped.
Immanentize
@SFAW: Speaking of another Moore — any word from “always making shit up” Michael?
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
One of the guys in my office finally started talking openly. He’s a top notch criminal lawyer, but is a D voting normie. What he told me was heartbreaking.
His dad, of mixed African-English ethnicity, had been an academic and UN official that was born in Guyana. Mother was German, and my friend was born there, lived all over the world, but did high school and college in Miami. He’s a former state and Federal prosecutor with deep ties to law enforcement at all levels, and is married to an FBI agent. He described to me that he isn’t real political and that regardless of his policy preferences, didn’t worry about what officials in the executive branch woukd do, because institutional resistance would make bad lurches impossible. He assumed that a Trump Administration would be the same.
Once he realized the derangement, he gathered his naturalization docs and put them in his safe deposit box out of fear of wrongful incarceration and deportation. The tweeting, the erratic behavior, the vindictive stupidity alerted him, but combined with the cowardice in the courts, the senate and the bureaucracy, he felt like he needed to take proactive steps for his own protection.
Bruuuuce
@RSA: “We’re going to McDonalds. You can have LOTS of hamberders!”
danielx
@SFAW:
Try Moore’s A Dirty Job. I mean, sewer harpies…how can you resist?
Sloane Ranger
Trying to be fair, I suspect that the Networks aren’t calling the election because the pandemic has upended many of the usual methods they have used to judge the outcome, especially the massive increase in postal voting which has slowed things down, especially in Pennsylvania.
Plus, Biden has only a 7000 vote lead in Georgia with an unknown number of military ballots, which normally trend Republican, to come in and a slowly slipping lead in Arizona. Nobody wants to be left with egg on their faces if something unexpected happens.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: The Far Side is a treasure. Have you seen the Daily Dose? It’s my 2nd or 3rd stop every morn.
debbie
@Ken:
Then probably more like Serpent of Venice than Sacré Bleu. Bummer.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: No, thanks!
Amir Khalid
@OzarkHillbilly:
It’s waaay too late to be, um, “tutoring” Trump.
snoey
@Immanentize: Probably true and still a Trump fuckup.
The rallies were at out of the way commercial hangers with one frontage road. Took hours to get them in, no way to get them back at once even if you tried.
MazeDancer
Joe – in a suit and tie – and Mika & Willie are anchoring on MSNBC now.
Maybe NBC gonna call it?
different-church-lady
Y’know, I think we gotta get over this misconception that news organizations decide who wins elections.
Sab
Spouse and I already had big fight over sweet potatoes, which I detest, and I thought he had mentionned that he liked. Shocked me, but I am a good wife and do my duty.
I made oven fried potato chips last night. They were excellent.
So I asked husband if I should try the same with sweet potatoes, which I personally hate.
He responded with a rant about how much he hates sweet potatoes ( I do too).
So we are fighting ferociously with each other about a vegetable we both hate, Marriage is so much fun.
Kristine
@Immanentize: given the stories I’ve heard from liberal friends and acquaintances, they don’t believe libruls have any truck with weapons of any kind. Years ago, when I mentioned to a conservative acquaintance that I wanted to learn how to shoot, he assumed that meant I was a conservative Bushie and tried to pull me into that world. Another friend told a story of an SCA friend whose bumper sticker about guns and swords flummoxed an older conservative. He even said ‘I thought you were a liberal.’
Hoodie
@Matt McIrvin: Do you think they call PA sometime this morning after first data dump? Ratings fir endless Kornacki briefings might might fall off with football coming on
John S.
@Sloane Ranger: Military ballots are not breaking hard for Trump. And Trump is not winning by high enough margins in Arizona to overtake Biden.
None if that is relevant once PA calls, and the margin keeps going up for Biden. He’s just about clear of the 0.5% threshold which would trigger a recount, and will likely give everyone the comfort to call the race.
Matt McIrvin
@Sloane Ranger: I was reading some talk about those overseas ballots–apparently the characterization of them as mostly military is out of date; some are military but the majority of them come from civilian government employees with wonkish jobs, not inclined to be right-wing.
And, of course, there are indications that the military rank and file are far less fond of Trump than they would be of a generic Republican, though it’s not enough to really be the basis of a prediction about the vote.
Still, I can understand why they wouldn’t call Georgia (or Arizona, which is the one state I’d call genuinely uncertain). PA and NV are getting to the point where Trump would need something truly bizarre and implausible to happen, like a conspiracy among poll workers to hold back Republican ballots just to hand him a last-minute victory.
Emma from FL
@germy: Lord have mercy. I was about to post the same thing when I saw yours. Great evil minds…
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax:
Mmmmm……brouhaha.
Spanky
@Immanentize:
Ummmmmm …
Immanentize
@MazeDancer: I read that thread earlier — it is basically a full on affirmation of Cleek’s law from an insider. But at the end, he can’t break from his true nature and is just begging — by lecturing — liberals not to seek revenge. “Only love…” Sheeeeet.
mad citizen
@MazeDancer: Weird on a Saturday. Hope Joe S can tell us about the times he was elected and how he got the results, etc
I guess all the network newsies are going to working today. Wonder if they have all conspired on the timing. Probably don’t want to interfere with important college football games. A #1 Clemson #4 Notre Dame matchup at 7:30 tonight.
Matt McIrvin
@Hoodie: I’d heard some were preparing to call when the PA margin gets out of recount range, which is about 35,000 votes.
bemused
@OzarkHillbilly:
Actually no coffee in the house or you haven’t had a fortifying cup yet? I order coffee beans and make sure to order more beans in plenty of time before we run out, as essential as toilet paper.
MattF
@Betty Cracker: Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do, exactly what anyone who has a cerebral cortex would expect him to do. Lie, bluster, bullshit, threaten, call in the lawyers.
Immanentize
@Sloane Ranger: The number of remaining ballots in Georgia is not unknown. The AJC has done actual journalism to pinpoint the number of unreported ballots by scraping local data.
germy
geg6
@Sloane Ranger:
I don’t know what the situation is with Georgia military voters, but it looks like the Pittsburgh area’s military vote went overwhelmingly for Biden. Most Republican presidential candidates don’t spend time disparaging the military. This guy has done that from the start, beginning with how he talked about McCain during the 2016 campaign.
L85NJGT
I figure they tried to get him to concede last night and that went no-where. If he refuses to take the ex-President sinecure off ramp, I believe the end result will be conviction.
It is not what institutional DC wants, but that is his nature.
Frankensteinbeck
@JPL:
Absolutely true, but very different from the civil war they keep promising.
@Sloane Ranger:
Moot. Biden has Pennsylvania, and his margin there will only keep increasing. While Arizona and Georgia would be wonderful bonuses, especially Georgia because of the Senate situation, Biden has already won the presidential election. On the other hand, I solidly agree that they’re twisting themselves into knots afraid of calling it wrong, because this has been a weird election.
Matt McIrvin
@germy: If it were any normal person saying it I’d assume that was snark. Even in a Dilbert cartoon from Scott Adams himself it would be snark. And yet I don’t think it’s snark.
mrmoshpotato
@Betty Cracker:
Unsurprising.
This is the same popular vote loser who claimed a massive voter fraud conspiracy made him a popular vote loser.
Good grief.
MazeDancer
@mad citizen: Was just going to ask when football started. Because networks don’t want to tread on that.
Yes, Joe has already mentioned he ran 4 times.
But he is pressing Why Haven’t They Called hard and heavy.
Kornacki agrees, no path for Trump.
Time has come.
John S.
@germy: One Frankenstein accomplishment that no one credits him for is getting the public to be more engaged in going after the monster he created.
JPL
@raven: I’d contact the campaigns or the Democratic Party of GA. They might have contact lists.
germy
I like seeing Trumpers and Never Trumpers fight:
MattF
@Matt McIrvin: If memory serves, Dilbert used to be funny.
different-church-lady
@germy: One Hitler accomplishment no one credits him for is getting Americans more interested in world affairs.
rikyrah
@Nicole:
Why do people think that they are kowtowing to Dolt45?
I think that it’s pure greed in their part. Doing it for ratings
Spanky
@L85NJGT:
You know how Trump is about ramps.
MattF
@different-church-lady: Also, Hitler killed Hitler. No one else managed to do that.
rikyrah
@Bruce K:
Awe???
Beautiful thought
mrmoshpotato
@Sab:
LOL!
Zzyzx
Frankensteinbeck
@John S.:
One Frankenstein accomplishment that no one credits his monster for is providing the public with nuanced, anti-establishment critique of Paradise Lost.
That was such a weird chapter.
Baud
@Sloane Ranger:
This is just my gut talking, but I don’t believe the remaining military or overseas ballots will make a dent in GA.
Matt McIrvin
@different-church-lady:
It’s certainly weird that we’re waiting for this as if they had some constitutional role. But I can see the reason for it. We’re in a crisis of governmental legitimacy right now. Biden can’t simply declare that he’s won because that’s the act of an autocrat, and that’s true now more than ever, since Trump has gone ahead and actually done it, in a declaration that was broadly denounced as bogus.
So it has to be somebody else. But in order to start rebuilding the government he has to start acting like the President-elect well in advance, and the Constitutional mechanisms for this are too slow. Media organizations have dropped into that role, and part of establishing public legitimacy is to recognize traditions surrounding power even if they don’t 100% make sense.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@MattF:
Beg to differ – Dean Winchester killed Hitler. I saw the episode…
Dorothy A. Winsor
Matt Gaetz has corona virus. So there’s that.
geg6
@germy:
What the hell is that all about? What did Schmidt say about one of his kids?
mrmoshpotato
@different-church-lady: No one gives COVID-19 enough credit for revealing how many of our fellow Americans are selfish, asshole children who refuse to do something as simple as wear a face mask when in public.
Bravo deadly respiratory virus!
(Too far?)
Baud
@Immanentize:
The problem with these entreaties is that they never ask anything of the other side. As a resukt, they’re perpetuating the culture that brought us Trump in the first place.
Immanentize
@MattF: It was funny! But now I know that Scott Adam’s true id was Dogbert.
ETA
Liberal hissy fit
Mai Naem mobile
@Cheryl Rofer: just get a couple of bloodhounds to search for the McDonalds Hamburgler smell in the WH. He will probably be in the bunker in the basement??.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Sab:
I only like sweet potatoes as a sweet accompaniment – preferably with lots of butter, cinnamon and sugar. I can’t abide them as a savory dish.
This has caused some arguments, as I’m married to one of those.
mrmoshpotato
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Wha?
Frankensteinbeck
@Matt McIrvin:
I think in Biden’s case, he specifically wants to make it clear he believes in counting every vote. If that means it takes awhile for him to be declared even when he has obviously won, so be it. Really, my opinion aligns closely with yours here.
For the public, we’re a bit spooked as you said, but it’s tradition. It’s hard to let go of tradition psychologically, and even harder after 4 PTSD-inducing years of trauma. Yeah, we know we won, but for most people we can’t really let go and relax until there’s an Official Declaration. The AP happens to have gotten that job just by… tradition.
Zzyzx
I wonder why Trump keeps feeling compelled to tweet, “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.” It seems like a weird message there ;)
raven
@Sab: We’re in the same boat so I make one of each when I bake them. I also make sweet potato salad and it’s pretty good.
Matt McIrvin
@Frankensteinbeck: Of course, the other thing is that usually, the loser concedes at some point because in the end they want a peaceful power transition and don’t just want to wreck shit. But “wreck shit” was practically Trump’s central campaign promise from the beginning. Wrecking shit and bullying people are the only things he knows how to do. So we actually have to play out the endgame and make sure everyone knows it’s checkmate.
raven
@JPL: OK, I’ve hit a facebook page that has some possibilities !
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
I don’t think so. All the votes won’t be counted for weeks. He’s waiting for the media to make their call like they always do. Hopefully today.
Aleta
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
Absolutely. But calling it himself before they do gives the appearance that he doesn’t respect the voting process. This is about keeping his message consistent. At a time like this, with his opposition screaming disrespect for the process, that message is important.
Aleta
@Dorothy A. Winsor: That’s a that alright.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@mrmoshpotato: It was on my news feed a little while ago. I think Politico was the source.
Re coffee: We went out before coffee to grocery shop, so I was looking forward to it when I got home. The half-caff, French roast pod exploded in the Keurig and dumped grounds everywhere. This brand does that maybe a quarter of the time. I like the coffee but I will not buy it again. I still drank the sludge it made this morning of course.
danielx
@raven:
Or you can try Two Tone Potato Salad and have the best of both worlds. It’s to die for.
Chief Oshkosh
@Immanentize: That was my take on it, too. There is never, ever even a hint of understanding that all of that has caused great and real harm to fellow human beings. Also, it’s another instance of horrible people demanding to be understood. It never occurs to this guy that he should demand better of the horrible people. No, it’s that the good (and sane) people need to be gooder and saner.
Fuck ‘im.
Baud
Fiji ain’t waiting for MSNBC.
raven
@danielx: thx
JPL
@Baud: They are still counting provisional ballots which are going Biden’s way. GA is over and it should have already been called.
bah humbug
Kay
jnfr
I am beyond frustrated that this thing hasn’t been called yet. PA is past the .5 that would trigger a recount and they’re still not calling it.
Even Morning Joe is expressing frustration.
Over at Vox, Ian Millhiser had an analysis that showed that if Dems take both GA Senate seats (seems unlikely to me, but for this analysis), and we end up with a 50-50 Senate, the Dem side will represent 50 million more people than the Republican half. That’s how rigged this country is for the confederate side.
MattF
@jnfr: Important to bear in mind that this whole drama is due to R state officials preventing canvassing of absentee ballots before Election Day. Biden won. Period.
Suzanne
@Sloane Ranger: In PA, they couldn’t even start processing the mail ballots until Tuesday. So it’s slow. And here in Allegheny County, there was a screwup that is slowing everything down: a third-party vendor that printed and/or mailed the ballots sent some ballots out that had the wrong down-ticket races on them. They realized the mistake weeks ago, and sent out new ballots with the corrections made. But now some people actually did vote twice, through no fault or fraud of their own. So they’re having to sort through and make sure they only count the correct ballot.
And something people need to remember in AZ…. counties there are not like counties on the east coast. Counties in AZ are very large — Pinal County alone is larger in area than Connecticut — and don’t track to urban boundaries. So Maricopa County contains Phoenix, as well as the vast majority of its suburbs and exurbs (totaling over 60% of the state’s population), as well as a lot of rural area. Same thing with Pima and Tucson. So that shit averages out. The cities are blue but the counties are not. No one who lives there describes themselves as being from or living within any specific county, because it isn’t meaningfully descriptive in any way. And county governments there are relatively weak and city governments are relatively strong. People there describe themselves as living within a city, a neighborhood/area, or even an intersection. Now that I’m here in PA, I hear people describe themselves as living “in Butler County” or wherever, and that’s meaningful. So manage expectations accordingly for AZ ballots.
Citizen Alan
@Immanentize: Nah. Adams secretly idolizes Catbert, the evil HR director.
Punchy
@Frankensteinbeck: One accomplishment that domestic abusers never get credit for is getting their spouses to become interested in law enforcement….
Frankensteinbeck
@Punchy:
BRAVO. I award you the internet for the day. Use it well and clean it before you return it.
Llelldorin
@jnfr: Has that changed? Last time I saw PA was still juuuuuussst inside the 0.5% threshold (to the point where it looked like the separation was 0.5% if you only used three decimal places).
WaterGirl
@MomSense:
What does that mean?
Honus
@germy:
I’m reminded of the story about the 1960 election when JFKs aides kept asking about Nixon “Why doesn’t he concede… Why doesn’t he concede?” JFKs official answer was “I don’t blame him, if I were in his position I wouldn’t either”
The unofficial response, which fits Trump perfectly, was “No class”
evodevo
@Kristine: Yes. This..Mr. Evodevo has been a gun collector and hunter since he was 13, and is an avowed socialist…does NOT fit in with the MAGAt vision of a librul…I guess none of them have ever heard of the partisans in Eastern Europe during WWII lol
Matt McIrvin
Trumpsters on Twitter are holding out hope that somehow the provisional ballots in Philadelphia will all break overwhelmingly for Trump. They’re waiting for the comet UFO I guess.
Frankensteinbeck
@Llelldorin:
I heard the tipping point where there won’t be a recount is 35,000 and the networks are waiting for that. My impression is that will happen sometime today. It’s another 6,000 votes and Philadelphia has a whole lot left to process.
jnfr
@MattF:
Yeah, I am aware of that. But really we’re past it in terms of counting. The numbers are really clear.
planetjanet
There is still work to do! If you are looking for ways to help the Georgia Senate runoffs, here are the most key official links:
Also, I believe organizers will be working to register voters (especially young ‘uns who will be turning 18 by Jan. 5 when the Senate run-off election happens). The voter registration deadline for the January runoff, is Dec. 7, 2020. And GA residents can register online.
jnfr
@Llelldorin:
I’m just going by what the MSNBC anchors and saying and they said that.
Amir Khalid
@MattF:
And then, because he could fill up the four little boxes that make up a comic strip, Scott Adams concluded that he was a genius.
SiubhanDuinne
@MazeDancer:
Joe has been doing a stupid thing all morning that only he thinks is funny — yelling “We have breaking news!” and then riffing on “The networks are ready to call the 1976 race for Carter!” using races from decades ago. Mika was purely pissed at him.
Punchy
@Matt McIrvin: Wait….what? They expect Philly votes to skew R? Are they actually serious? Bah gawd the stoopid is thick.
Honus
@Immanentize: nah, the weekend is good. They will be watching the SEC or fishing (sorry Raven) or working on the car (sorry me). During the week it’s much more attractive to skip work to load up the AR save our way of life.
geg6
@Frankensteinbeck:
Rich Fitzgerald, long time Allegheny County executive, said Pittsburgh still has a lot also. But they need to stick a fork in Mango Mussolini because he’s done in PA.
germy
@Amir Khalid:
From what I understand, very early on he began outsourcing the “funny ideas” part of his job to his readers. They’d send him all sorts of amusing things they observed in their own workplaces.
John S.
Moaning Joe is on a rampage about calling PA. Says the media is knuckling under to appease Trump, and it’s a lost cause. Says the data is there and it’s time to call the election.
Matt McIrvin
@Punchy: There’s been a theory floating around that the provisional vote will look more like the in-person vote than the mail vote, which would mean that it’d echo the “red mirage” of Tuesday evening. So then they take that sliver of hope and dial it up to 11: the provisional votes will be a big Trump wave!
But the provisional votes that have come in so far don’t really show any trace of being much redder than the vote overall in the given county.
Ramalama
@germy: Have you seen (actor) Michael Rapaport’s complete teardown of Trump and family? My partner who does not like swear words, watched Rapaport’s rant maybe 10 times already. Same for me. Unleashed. It is a sight to behold
He imagines the Donald like so:
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Melania was in the hospital for “kidney issues” and when she re-emerged a month later she had new, bigger boobs. That old swimsuit photo is definitely pre new kidneys.
germy
Paul Campos is losing patience:
kindness
The relief of the thought that Trump won’t be President any more is 4 years of gut wrenching angst lifting. It is soul calming. But I’ll tell you, what I am seeing from Republicans & their minions is still frightening. Too many on the right want a right wing strong man/party that crushes their opponents. To many on the right, there is no such thing as loyal opposition. It says poor things about their egos, maturity as adults that they like the cruelty meeted out by Trump and his minions during these 4 years. The fact that the families that donate most the money to keep the right wing machine going want total control means it isn’t going to end. They want totalitarianism on their terms alone and believe they can buy it. They are more right about that than I am comfortable with.
Omnes Omnibus
Since everyone looooves sports analogies. This is like the last 90 seconds of a football game where the team with the ball has a 10 point lead and the other team has no time outs. The game is effectively over, but the kneel-downs have to happen. We are the fans who are still watching , and a few of us are still thinking, “But what if our QB fumbles on the kneel-down, the other team recovers the ball and scores, then takes the onside kick, and score again? What if that happens? We could still lose.”
Matt McIrvin
@germy: Bear in mind, Paul Campos makes me look like a cockeyed optimist about everything.
PAM Dirac
@jnfr: If you use the current numbers at 538 (a 28833 vote lead for Biden) and just use the Biden and drumpf votes, the lead is just a shade over 0.5%. There are ~87K votes for others and when you use the total vote count, the lead is 0.43%. Biden’s lead needs to grow by about 5K to exceed 0.5% of total votes.
Llelldorin
@MattF: My now-vague memory is that Dilbert basically had three stages:
I. Very, very funny general nerd humor.
II. Very, very funny send-ups of late ’80s and early ’90s engineering work culture. (In that era.)
III. Increasingly tired and out of date send-ups of… late ’80s and early ’90s engineering work culture.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ramalama: He seems to have strong feelings about Trump.
Keith P.
As much as I hate cable news milking ratings with this “drip, drip” of vote numbers, I take comfort in knowing it’s driving DJT to a new level of angry.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I don’t understand why the Secretary of State for each state doesn’t make the announcement. Is it because they belong to a political party and they have a direct stake in the outcome?
Bruuuuce
@SiubhanDuinne: That’s a terrific example of a joke fitting Robert Heinlein’s description of one class of jokes: use it once, you’re a wit. Twice, and you’re a halfwit or worse.
Matt McIrvin
You know, we spent a lot of time Tuesday evening talking about the proven uselessness of polls and sites like 538 or Sam Wang… yet the final electoral map we’re shaping up to get is one that all of the big state-poll aggregators would have regarded as well within their range of plausible outcomes, if on the low side for Biden.
The one state that might really surprise them would be Florida, and, you know, that’s Florida. Really nobody should be expected to get it right unless maybe they’re applying the Adam Silverman rule of just spotting the Republicans several points because forget it, Jake, it’s Florida.
Aleta
WaterGirl
@Baud: Is that how it ends? Heads of state all over the world calling to congratulate Biden? Even gardening magazines and high school newspapers publishing that Biden won?
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Nothing official will be said by the states until the count is certified in December. Calling the election is an unofficial thing that the US has effectively delegated to the AP.
Llelldorin
@WaterGirl: The Secretary of State does make the actual, final call. The problem is that their call is when every last vote has been counted. It’s not up to them to say things like “well, statistically we think Biden winning PA is now more than 95% likely, so screw it, let’s just call him the winner.”
geg6
@Matt McIrvin:
Truth.
japa21
@WaterGirl: They do, when the votes are certified. That is when the results become official. As far as I am concerned, I don’t need the race called by the networks, I already know Biden’s won.
Alison Rose
This gives me joy. Especially because it probably makes Trump mad.
Matt McIrvin
Nate Silver (who, bear in mind, is himself an ABC/Disney castmember) insisting that the claims that the big media are withholding calls out of fear of Trump are nonsense and balderdash.
MattF
@Matt McIrvin: I repeat myself on the magnitude and nature of random variation but— All Possible Patterns In The Data Are Equally Likely. It’s certainly possible that the polls are biased, but demonstrating that requires a model. And, IMO, ‘Florida is weird’ may be true, but it is not a model.
mrmoshpotato
Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
mad citizen
@germy: We all know there is one weird trick to stop all this quadrennial nonsense–dump the EC. I was thinking we need a Grover Norquist/asshole for this issue, working it with the interstate compact and/or an amendment, whatever. Not sure what the leverage is on small state Republicans, other than their position ultimately kills our nation. Reverse leverage is the blue states/cities leaving the union, but of course there aren’t really provisions for that.
Hello D.C. and Puerto Rico!
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Thank you. I try not to look at her, so i didn’t know about the bigger boobs.
germy
@Ramalama: Standup comedians and comedy actors have lots of time on their hands now, with venues and productions closing. They’re venting on social media, and it’s fun to see.
Bruce K
@Matt McIrvin: Can I steal and repost this elsewhere? Because it’s frankly quite illuminating.
mrmoshpotato
@Matt McIrvin: “Horse race! Horse race!”
Oh go fuck yourself, Chuck Todd!
Immanentize
@Honus: re: weekend or weekday.
If they come out on a weekday, I’m going to have a big sign ready to waive at them that says:
GET A JOB!
Real Men Work
They thought that was sooooo funny at BLM protests.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Well then AP needs to pony up and do that job, or they need to announce that they won’t be calling any state until every single fucking vote has counted.
This is-between situation is only making everything worse.
AP: Step up or step back.
WaterGirl
@japa21: Well, people who are smarter than me, like Susan Hennessey, seem to think that this is encouraging the Trump narrative and positioning us for more violence from the other side.
cain
Woke up today – and saw no change in anything. I guess we’re just going to wait until PA and GA and all the others have completely finished their vote count and certified it, huh?
Everyone should fucking turn off their TV feed and go do something else. We might as well make it painful for them if they just lost viewership.
Matt McIrvin
@Bruce K: Sure, go ahead.
Baud
@germy:
I hate this spin. We don’t have that narrative. Only the Trump dead enders have that narrative, and they would have that narrative no matter what. Our side always seems to do this — give the GOP spin more weight than it deserves.
The only real reason to announce consistent with usual protocols (not the current special protocols to assuage Trump’s feefees) is so that Biden can publicly begin the transition process.
Calouste
@WaterGirl: Secretaries of State certify the results after all the votes have been counted, and not before. The outcome might be clear far earlier than that, but that’s not their business. The real problem is that most of the US has terrible drawn out processes for counting votes. A lot of countries can certify results in less than a week. In the UK there’s a race every election between local rivals Newcastle and Sunderland to get their votes counted and certified quickest. Both cities have a population of around 300,000, and the winner takes less than two hours.
Immanentize
@Aleta: Damn! I am both laughing and crying. How everyone comes in a killer! Each one and everyone. That was perfect.
Thank you!
martha
@Omnes Omnibus: Ah, spoken like a true Packers fan…
Cheryl Rofer
@WaterGirl: The votes are not fully counted and certified yet. That will take from several days to weeks. That is the only result that a Secretary of State would make official.
We have this bizarre arrangement in which the media tell us what the “results” are from a combination of chicken entrails, random poll numbers, and the intuition of a bunch of old white guys. Maybe that’s something we need to change too.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
That’s probably true. But I do think they are being overly cautious for other reasons.
Kristine
Good news.
I’ve read–maybe here–that a couple of other House seats that looked like D losses have flipped into the winning/retention columns.
zhena gogolia
@Ramalama:
Oh, thank you, I loved that, I needed that.
Kay
My oldest son is a data person so was somewhat sympathetic to how rattled they are because he thinks some of the results are a little odd- Trump really did increase support in some urban areas. He thinks that wouldn’t fit their models or expectations so it would make them nervous because they might encounter Trump support in traditionally D areas. But he also thinks 2016 was odd- Clinton was the favorite, no one anticipated the huge Trump margins in some places, and they called that very quickly, many times on smaller margins than what Biden has. So his ultimate conclusion is they’re applying a different standard of reliability to Trump and Biden, and that sucks and has nothing to do with numbers.
Matt McIrvin
@cain: AP claims their standard is that they want the vote margin to be outside of the recount threshold AND unlikely to dwindle within that threshold. Georgia is not going to get there–it’s headed for recount, though Biden’s margin is big enough that an actual reversal is unlikely. PA is probably going to be there sometime today, maybe within a few hours.
japa21
@WaterGirl: I agree with some of what you are saying, except the part about Susan Hennesey being smarter than you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Yeah, we are simply awaiting a formality. The race is over. Biden won. The only people who can’t see it are Q people and Trump. Was I just redundant?
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud:
And we need that so that we can hear from people who can control the pandemic. Every day the networks dither, another 1000 (and increasing) Americans die.
Wapiti
For the sweet potato fans: we’ve got a tamale place close by; a good winter dinner is a tamale with a 1/2 sweet potato on the side, both drizzled with verde sauce, Mexican crema, and crumbled cheese.
Splitting Image
@Matt McIrvin:
He does have a point. The big media companies stopped being scared of Trump when they cut away from his big speech the other day. Does anyone believe that Anderson Cooper would have called Trump an “obese turtle lying on its back” if he thought the guy had any chance of being re-elected? Or that his employers would have let him say it if they thought Trump might pull it out?
As far as I’m concerned, they have called the race, if not in so many words. What is motivating this charade is open to question, but it isn’t fear of Trump.
Omnes Omnibus
@martha: I should be clear. I am not one of those worried about the result. But there are a number of them here.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl:
They will, ultimately. That’s the certified final vote count, and in most states that will take the better part of a month to complete.
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
It’s also just not true that they never call if there’s a possibility of a recount, though. They should call Georgia. A recount is really unlikely to change the result.
If they’re terrified of Arizona because they might have fucked it up so therefore can’t call Nevada, how about Georgia? I mean, we’re doing our best here to allow them to cover their asses. Not sure how much more we can help their careers.
WaterGirl
@Cheryl Rofer: That’s my point. It really makes no sense to let the media call the states and call the election.
it’s like they did it for 75% of this election and now they are abdicating that role in the middle of it. it’s making me crazy.
They either need to do the job that is theirs – in the crazy, existing arrangement – or announce that this is somehow different and they won’t be doing it for these remaining states.
Quiltingfool
@OzarkHillbilly: That Far Side cartoon! Oh, this is awful, when I was a teacher, we would quietly comment to each other that certain shitty students should be “tutored” and we didn’t mean extra teaching! However, most of those shitty kids grew up to be not so awful adults, thank goodness!
As a matter of fact, one of my friends who is still teaching told me about an Open House conversation with a parent – the parent was a former student and was a hot mess. The parent apologized to my friend about his awful behavior and asked her to not tell his kid about it. My friend just smiled and said, “I won’t tell him about you if you won’t tell him about me!”
mrmoshpotato
@Wapiti: How’s the sweetness of the potato play with the verde sauce?
WaterGirl
@japa21: That made me laugh, thank you!
SiubhanDuinne
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Again? He was one of the first to be diagnosed last March, IIRC.
[goes to check the Googles to make sure IARC]
Glad I checked. I was wrong. Gaetz was in quarantine for a couple of weeks last spring but apparently didn’t test positive then.
BUT NOW HE HAS!
geg6
@Kay:
Yeah, I’ve about had it with the network excuses. None of them fit the pattern of previous calls in close elections and this one isn’t all that close. It obvious bias, AFAIC.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus: I got a little worried yesterday because I didn’t understand the situation about the remaining PA ballots. But then PA votes started coming in, along with GA and NV, so I’m not worried now. I don’t know if we’ll hold onto AZ, but that’s irrelevant given the others. For me, the odds of a black swan event have again fallen below the point at which I would have a pit in my stomach about the outcome.
germy
@Kay:
Someone made a good point that the TV networks/media are used to the losing candidate conceding. Since that isn’t happening, they’re at a loss.
It might be one of many factors.
WaterGirl
@Kay: I said this yesterday, but they need to move AZ from Biden to “too close to call” and then call the states they are confident in.
I really wonder if all this delay is because of pride – not wanting to admit that they called AZ too soon – so they are paralyzed until AZ is confirmed or until there are enough other states to make up for the AZ electoral votes that they are secretly subtracting from Biden’s total.
Just admit it so the country can move on.
Punchy
@Kay: I understand why the Official State Dudes cant Officially Call It, but goddamn, the media sure can and should. Theres a HUGE pyschological effect of “the end!” when the AP sticks a fork in it. The reluctance to call the race despite it being obviously over allows this conspiracy shit to fester unabated.
The AP would have called this Thursday if the vote totals and sitchy were reversed. The silence from the Majors is stupifying
ETA: maybe the networks know something about impending SCOTUS actions that we dont?
joel hanes
@Immanentize:
mostly an affirmation of Cleek’s Law
Cleek’s Law was formulated perhaps fifteen years ago.
Sheffield has obviously never heard of it.
We live in non-overlapping realities.
debit
Wow. Morning Joe admitting he did Hillary dirty and was wrong in blaming her for losing in 2016.
germy
@SiubhanDuinne:
Should have kept his gas mask on.
Remember when he pulled that gag?
It was right around the time that people in his state started dying from the virus.
cain
I agree – just have the election and then make election known in December and then call it good. We should definitely cut out these middle men who want sensationalize the election. Let’s make elections boring.
Amir Khalid
@Betty Cracker:
These few days, Trump is getting quite a few of his tweets blocked for telling fibs about the electoral process. It hasn’t taught him to stop telling fibs on Twitter, which is not surprising. But then, as far as I know, he doesn’t rail against Twitter for censoring him, which I do find surprising. What gives?
cain
@Kristine:
That is delicious to hear. That means we get to keep what we have – maybe Doug Jones will retain his senate seat?
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I was really confident and happy yesterday until sometime in the afternoon, at which point I was worried.
Now it’s so obvious that I am no longer worried, so I have moved into the really pissed zone.
Do your fucking jobs (calling the states) or get the fuck out of the way.
PAM Dirac
@Quiltingfool: I taught in a private high school for a year. There was an old legend that had been teaching there for something like 50 years, so he had plenty of students whose parents he taught. The teacher was known for his biting wit and there were many legendary stories about his parent-teacher conferences. My favorite was when a parent that he had taught complained that his kid wasn’t doing that well because, although he was a smart kid, he was lazy and didn’t apply himself. The teacher’s response was “guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.
Immanentize
@Matt McIrvin: Someone said that the AP STILL has not called Florida, 2000. ?
Ramalama
@zhena gogolia: Cathartic, right?
debbie
@geg6:
His actions weren’t so great with the military either.
different-church-lady
@Matt McIrvin: State polling was WAY off in more than Florida. Wisconsin was looking like an easy grab.
Almost everything was off in a single direction, so it’s not like we can just look at the margins of error and go, “Yeah, that’s just normal polling inaccuracy.”
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
The problem for them is that if they can’t handle close races there’s no reason for them to exist. We can call elections where one candidate is up 150k over the other ourselves. Their whole reason for being is to call it ahead of counting every provisional. We can all do addition and subtraction.
Hoodie
@Matt McIrvin: doesn’t hold water – AP called AZ days ago and it’s far more likely to flip than AZ, GA or NV. In fact, the early AZ call may be why they’re gun shy about the others, but the other problem is that they’ve got the timing all fucked up because now the announcement will collide with weekend sports programming. If I was more of a tin foil hat guy, I’d think it was deliberate.
cain
well, whatever – looks like we’re just gonna keep marching on for all of saturday – and then maybe sunday then.
On the other hand, hair furor is turning into a bitch right before our eyes – and if it seems like some of our house races are reversing that’s pretty awesome too.
My december we will have a better idea on what the map looks like – but if we get some house seats back and get the senate we are looking good.
We should loudly thank Trump for the win.
Immanentize
@joel hanes: We knew that there were different perceptions. But only one is a real reality.
ETA. It is nice to see you here.
cain
and my brother – who comes to me repeating some conspiracy theory my parents must have misheard from MSNBC about how SCOTUS is going to coming in to look into voter fraud.
Ramalama
@Amir Khalid:
Years spent owning the libs, the media’s finally making him own the fibs.
It sounded better in my head … apologies for hitting ‘post comment’ to get a little dopamine hit.
Immanentize
@germy: Damn! Did the earth just quake?
Another Scott
@Cheryl Rofer: Donnie’s a coward (as most bullies are). He might encourage some altercation at the White House, but he won’t be there.
https://time.com/4141783/time-person-of-the-year-runner-up-donald-trump-eagle-gif/
Cheers,
Scott.
Kay
@WaterGirl:
I agree. I’m convinced a lot of what looks like malice is something much more banal- careerism and ego.
Which actually makes it more infuriating, not less. I would prefer a grand conspiracy. This is just petty and small.
This role they’ve taken for themselves and which they profit off is a kind of public trust. Let’s take it away from them.
Steeplejack
Went down the rabbit hole this morning and spent way too much (enjoyable) time watching Leslie Jones’s Twitter videos. Media commentary, room-rating and #KornackiThirst!
Chris Johnson
So, I often get caught up in hypotheticals that sometimes don’t work out as I thought… like when I was sure Trump was getting on a plane to bolt to Russia. Didn’t happen, that time, and I concluded that Putin didn’t want him, that his work wasn’t done here. But I’m going to outline another intuitive jump and we can see if this time it pans out.
There’s been a bunch of talk about how Putin is going to resign, hotly denied by the Kremlin, but it would make sense what with the push to make ex-presidents immune from criminal prosecution ever. If Putin is ailing, weakening, he’s going to want an off-ramp. He’s not a bozo, not like Trump.
Trump is also failing. There were moving vans outside the White House. I’m given to understand Pence hasn’t been seen. McConnell’s been looking tortured. Shit is going DOWN but it’s on the secretive side. I’m making a wild guess, one that I think explains a lot and is in character for all parties, but is quite shocking except to those of us who’ve been all-in on the Russia interference thing and who’ve been trying to read Kremlin tea-leaves like Le Carre heroes.
I think there’s a nonzero chance they are staging an exit, and only Trump is not in on the plan, because he’s Trump and has to be forced into it. And this exit is designed as a maximum fuck-you and chaos-inspirer and humiliation to the USA. And Trump won’t like it, but it’s Putin’s best shot at being treated as a hero of Russia forever, even after he’s left office due to his health failing. It’s that for Putin or getting ousted by younger, healthier Russians who’ve learned to be ruthless from their master. Putin needs an epic, epic legacy to be feted (and immune from prosecution) ever after, so long as he lives. Here’s what he (I think) could be doing.
Now, let’s see how much of that really happens. I’m calling it <3
Baud
@debit: A front pager needs to post a clip of that. That’s historical (as opposed to hysterical, which how the media usually is with Hillary).
Immanentize
@cain: @Cheryl Rofer: @Kay:
Imagine a world in which States were required to report vote counts of all votes received by election day on the Friday after the election, but no counts could be released at all before that. And at that time they would also have to report uncounted ballots and total number of “other” ballots (military, overseas, and provisional).
States would change their processes to meet these requirements. And Congress certainly has the power to make such a requirement.
Llelldorin
@WaterGirl:
So very much this. The AZ call was clearly wrong. Admit it, back it out, then re-call it if Biden holds his lead when many more votes are counted.
Calling AZ and leaving PA uncalled is just silly.
dmsilev
@Hoodie: I think they screwed up by calling AZ early (it’s the one remaining state where Trump has a plausible path to pulling ahead), and are now stuck. If they call NV as it should (Biden ahead by nearly 2 percentage points), they call the election but only if AZ is correct. So, instead they’re holding off on NV until they can call PA, at which point AZ becomes moot.
StringOnAStick
@Ken: Christopher Moore’s “Fool” is an excellent read; I’m extremely fond of his “The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove” as well as Roberto the fruit bat in his appearances,, especially in the Christmas story book; the title escapes me.
SiubhanDuinne
@Bruuuuce:
Well, apparently Mika put the fear of … Mika … into him, because he hasn’t done it once since she told him to knock it off.
Kay
@WaterGirl:
I’m sure we’ll find in post mortems but I wonder if Biden had more reliable polling than what we saw. His campaign manager was frantically knocking down the poll numbers that were reported and they didn’t SEEM to be following what we were given. They spent A LOT of time in Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin. If so they need to get the House D’s to hire the people they hired.
Ruckus
@trnc:
shitforbrains got a lot done. None of it positive, none of it productive, very likely none of it legal, none of it to help anyone but him but as usual he failed at that as well. But it’s not right to say he did nothing. He is destructive, debasing, defective, ignorant, and always wrong and proved that every day. And people who believe in him as a leader are no better than he is. Which is shit. But then half the people are below median. At least they showed their stripes, their goals, their hate and ignorance. Just as he did and does. shitforbrains is what you get when your crazy, ignorant, racist uncle gets dementia and thinks the world he lives in is normal and can be made better by doing the stupid, racist crap that invades his dementia.
dmsilev
Maricopa County in Arizona just added another batch. Nate Cohn:
So, yeah, calling AZ a few days ago was probably not a great move.
Matt McIrvin
@Llelldorin: Speculation here: what complicates the situation with AZ is that Trump went apeshit over it, and the resistance to him was part of a gathering narrative of (long-overdue) media pushback against Trump’s bullshit.
But the problem is that this was one of those once-in-a-blue-moon moments when, by accident, Trump was actually right. They really shouldn’t have called AZ at that point.
Retracting it undoes their moment of heroism. Not retracting it means they’re sticking with what might have been a bad call. The political optics are a little tricky.
Immanentize
@Kay: I’m not in the “Arizona is wrong” camp. It is a bit weird that Kelly really outperformed Biden in Arizona against Republican incumbent McSally, but she is not really underperforming Trump at all. Ask your data son about that, please.
Immanentize
@Chris Johnson: You really are sleep deprived, aren’t you?
MattF
@Chris Johnson: Don’t forget Bill Barr showing up in Moscow.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Agree. Even if Biden holds on, I think it’ll be more by chance then astute analysis. But the votes will be what they will be, regardless of the media’s call.
SiubhanDuinne
@Aleta:
Damn.
SFBayAreaGal
@Omnes Omnibus: Something like this happened to a 49ers/Dallas playoff game many years ago. 2 minutes left, 49ers had a 13 point lead, Dallas threw a touch down pass, onside kick, and beat the 49ers.
Mary G
@Immanentize: Stares in Californian…
Chris Johnson
@MattF: Oh, right, Barr. But you know a mere appointee isn’t a proper museum piece.
75% chance when Trump, Pence and McConnell die, Putin will have them stuffed and put on display in the Office. Well, Trump and Pence anyway.
AWOL
@Chris Johnson: Chris, everybody knows that when you’re writing jacket copy, you don’t give away the end of the plot. Ruins the sales, y’know.
dmsilev
Via Josh Marshall’s Twitter feed, I guess we’re not far from the “Puppet show and Spinal Tap” phase of the Trump Presidency:
Immanentize
@Matt McIrvin: That is why calling PA solves all of their problems. After that, no one will care what the actual closeness of Arizona is.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
The man can only scream at so many things at time.
Immanentize
@MattF: No, I heard Bill Barr is on a nuclear sub going to Crimea.
Mike in NC
We made a rare visit to a department store yesterday, and they were playing Christmas music. Aaaargh!
Kay
@Immanentize:
I don’t know if it’s wrong or right but they’re not confident in it and that has colored every decision they have made since. They’re not willing to stand by their Arizona call enough to call Nevada and the election but they are ALSO not willing to admit they have no confidence in the call.
WTF? Why am I involved in this workplace drama? I do not give one shit about these peoples “reputations”
Admit the error and back it up and do it right. Take the hit, instead of making the whole country take one.
germy
I thought Maricopa was predominately Democratic and would go for Joe? I thought I read that somewhere.
Immanentize
@Mary G: They could do it too. But it would require way more access to early in person and mail in balloting.
cain
Since it is all fantasy – as a beautiful russian woman. He’ll be back to court the NRA for a second timer.
SiubhanDuinne
@Immanentize:
I was just sitting slack-jawed at it until John Lewis, John McCain, RBG, and Sean Connery showed up, when I started crying.
Immanentize
@Kay: All true.
Kay
@Immanentize:
“Decision Desk”, the analytics company who made the call first, are a start up. They’re only 4 years old. Vox media uses them, and Buzzfeed. If they are proved correct they should get the AP’s slot. They stand behind their work.
Chris Johnson
Glad to give y’all a much needed laugh.
Non-zero chance SOME of what I suggested, comes true ;)
I dare you to say it’s not in character. It’s a PERFECT ending and suits Putin’s needs for a glorious retirement and trophy case. Hell, I’d even be impressed.
I didn’t mention the fact that it’d last for about five minutes before the USA says ‘give that BACK’ and Russia caves. But it’d be so very Putin, and it really would be the epic troll to end all trolls, forever. I have no idea what the MAGAs would make of it, but they have been literally getting groomed to support Russia for years: I’ve seen it. This produces a victory for them in terms they can understand, and raises their trollish morale.
patrick II
@Cheryl Rofer:
If he goes to New York, I’m guessing he leaves in a limo with darkened windows late at night. If Mar-a-lago, air force one gets a last flight down to florida a couple of days early.
But no helicopter on the lawn waving goodbye.
Llelldorin
@Matt McIrvin: Exactly. It’s really hard to admit that you were wrong when you were wrong despite solid evidence and the people who were right were right for entirely wrong reasons.
Nevertheless, there does come a point where you have to follow the sage advice that Philadelphia’s mayor gave Trump: put your big boy pants on and concede.
Immanentize
@SiubhanDuinne: me too. Exactly. Happy to see Bernie, AOC, the Squad…. Then, tears
cain
It is a purple district – you’re talking about the area that re-elected many times a racist sheriff that was running a concentration camp.
Matt McIrvin
@Aleta: It’s nice except that it shouldn’t have succumbed to the temptation to cast Elon Musk as Iron Man. Musk should be on Thanos’s side.
cain
I wasn’t sure why Sean Connery was there – and I could have sworn Elon Musk made an appearance and I thought that was just wrong.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Amir Khalid: I’m not sure he ever looks at this twitter feed after he sends (or dictates) a tweet. If he wants, he gets the numbers from his underlings. They’re not going to tell him the tweet was removed.
Immanentize
@Matt McIrvin: Everyone’s a critic.
cain
Then it will be back to golfing – he’ll have to stay there because he doesn’t have money to go back to New York.
scav
I somehow suspect no drama Obama would be playing pretty much the same tune at this point. Letting every tittle of the official / traditional process play out while clearly polishing his already organized ducks, ready for their parade and with action plans tucked under their little wings.
Mike in NC
Washington Post update: “Biden Inches Closer to Victory as Trump’s Chances Fade”
So they plan on calling it before New Year’s Day?
SiubhanDuinne
@Mike in NC:
Ugh. I have family in Phoenix who put up all their Halloween decorations in early August, and spend all of September and October celebrating. The day after Halloween they put up all their Christmas decorations. (Every year, not just this year.)
I learned yesterday that they are all Trumpers.
These two sets of facts are not unrelated.
Kent
It’s not their job to be data analysts. It’s their job to oversee the election and certify the final results. They have enough on their plates without trying to run some sort of media-style data analysis shop on top of it.
Nicole
CNN is calling it for Joe Biden right now.
Nicole
And they’re calling him “President-Elect.” :)
Kay
Because we’re waiting for the AP and Fox to retract their Arizona call. They’ve decided completely tanking their overall credibility is better than admitting this error and enduring the wrath of the Right.
Now they’re credible with no one, so great job, managers. Good work.
Immanentize
Matt McIrvin @cain:
I think the two of you ought to get together and make a better, more pure one. Please share it with us?
Steeplejack
@Nicole:
Same on MSNBC.
Baud
Yes! Finally!
dmsilev
@Nicole:
Wyatt Salamanca
GODDAMN MORNING JOE FINALLY CALLS IT
BIDEN WINS!!!
Also too FUCK TRUMP!!!!
O. Felix Culpa
PA at nearly 31K now.
Calouste
@dmsilev: The Guardian reports that Four Seasons Total Landscaping is next to an adult book store. Seems like one of the low quality hires just called the first “Four Seasons” in Philadelphia that showed up on their phone. It’s bizarre. I’m expecting it to get canceled, probably at the insistence of the secret service.
TheronWare
Biden has won!!
dmsilev
So, I guess “PA margin > 30,000 votes” was the trip point.
FINALLY!
Frankensteinbeck
@patrick II:
He did mention leaving the country, and stealing a shitload of money, then fleeing, would be entirely in-character if he thinks it will save him from prosecution. I see no reason he couldn’t use Air Force One to do it. He just has to walk away afterwards. The Secret Service might abandon him when it becomes clear he’s fleeing the country, but they won’t forcibly return him.
It’s hard to predict what he’ll do in detail. I’m just sure he’ll lose all interest in presidenting. No payoff anymore, financial or emotional.
geg6
President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris!
Quinerly
Tears. Happy tears!
raven
@Honus: GO DAWGS!
JMG
Pa. just called for Biden by NBC, CNN and AP.
Kent
I read somewhere that a bazillion media sites across the country have front page Biden Wins stories sitting there all ready to go live at the push of a button.
Hopefully we’ll suddenly get a complete tidal wave of coverage across the country now that will wash over and drown out every bullshit GOP nonsense.
dmsilev
Meanwhile… (WaPo election ticker):
Baud
Biden thread up!
Quinerly
Tears. Happy tears!
@Calouste: I figured it was Trump’s new employer. Trump to give tutorials on raking forests.
Punchy
BROOM goes the dynamo! CNN calls it for Joey.
Mount Trumta about to essplode in….5..4…2…..7….8…3….2….
WaterGirl
Deep breath!
germy
I hear peeping.
Chickens hatched?
Kent
So 30,000 in PA must have been the threshold they were waiting for. Because it was a very small ballot dump of about 1500 for Biden that triggered this decision.
Another Scott
@MazeDancer: It was a good thread, but kinda “duh”, in my opinion. :-) Still, it’s good that someone on the other side was saying it.
Grade school education in general suffers from that problem, too. Our great presidents (“cannot tell a lie”, etc.). If one really buys into that stuff, then it becomes really, really difficult to accept that those who outwardly espouse similar things (“MAGA!!”), (“America is a Christian nation!!”) are lying frauds. Once one starts questioning, when does it stop??
People really need to be taught how to think. Uncritically accepting stories and obeying one’s tribal authority is dangerous – especially as the world gets smaller and more complex.
Cheers,
Scott.
Immanentize
@geg6: Yes
!VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS!
cain
At long last – motherfucker they took their sweet time in declaring it.
Thank you PA!!! Thank you black folks and all the poll workers and everyone who worked hard to make this election happen – and all the Dem pocket books too :D
mrmoshpotato
@Wyatt Salamanca:
Oh what the fuck?!
Sacks of shit who sucked Dump’s ass over the phone got to call it?
Fuck that shit.
Sloane Ranger
CNN now officially projecting a Biden overall win. Finally! HURRAH!!
Omnes Omnibus
@SFBayAreaGal: But that doesn’t happen when the team leading has the ball. They just call victory formation and take a knee.
Mary G
@Ken: @SFAW: @danielx: @StringOnAStick:
I also love Christopher Moore. I just finished “Shakespeare for Squirrels” based on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Plus he broke the news just now:
Ridnik Chrome
I hear people cheering in the streets outside my house in Queens right now.
jnfr
Thank goodness they’re calling it now. Van Jones is on CNN sobbing for his kids.
MattF
Also called by NYT.
Immanentize
Motherfucker is fired!!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1325112539869405186
Immanentize
@jnfr: Is that because Van Jones decided Trump just became President today?
West of the Rockies
45 tons of blubbery psychic weight lifted!
West of the Rockies
Santorum needs to shut up for 99 years.
The Moar You Know
@Luciamia: Sadly, not how it works. He will get lifetime Secret Service protection paid by the American taxpayer.
I have never begrudged that expense until now. Still, I reluctantly concede it needs to be done.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
He knew he was lying? And knew he might get caught, but was hoping to get away with it.
It’s difficult to always tell with someone with all of his psychological derangements. Sure he presents the same way repeatedly but the motivation is not always clear as his process is not in any way in any kind of normal range.
trnc
@Ruckus: Yup, but I’m focusing on the positive.