Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I was promised a recession.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Second rate reporter says what?

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Republicans in disarray!

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Republicans don’t trust women.

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Smart Politics

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I just watched her latest COVID briefing. We’re doing OK in New York, but our only real (no test-out exception) mandates are for healthcare workers and SUNY/CUNY students. We’ll see how it goes. Here’s another open thread.

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  1. 1.

    Another Scott

    On the other hand, you hate to see important news organizations get important stories absolutely wrong:

    https://reut.rs/3tnEQiN

    “Failure to increase the limit could lead to a shutdown of some federal government operations, something that has happened three times in the past decade, and likely would plunge financial markets into chaos.”

    So, mostly just the same as not passing a CR, amirite??! Yeah, I don’t think so.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  2. 2.

    Old School

    Took me a little while to realize the “Lt.” was eliminated before “Governor.”

    I wonder if she’s doing the same thing with business cards and stationary.

  3. 3.

    trollhattan

    Cautiously optimistic that recent CA polls have the “No” vote percentage increasing. I think Larry Elder is our “friend.”

    The county full-vaccination rate is a paltry 52% and the covid hospitalization count remains quite high. Do better, people.

  4. 4.

    Scout211

    And in other Governorship news . . . Shut up, Arnold!

    Schwarzenegger says the atmosphere of this year’s California recall looks “exactly the same” as when he won in 2003.

    In 2003, Californians felt the problems in the Golden State in very direct and personal ways. An energy crisis led to rolling blackouts and people losing electricity. A recession meant job loss and widespread financial pain. A state budget crisis addressed by upping the car tax made people furious.
    Now, in 2021, Californians are once again angry. This time it’s about the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses struggling or flat out closing as a result, sky high housing costs and an explosion of homelessness bringing tent cities to urban and suburban areas alike.
    “It is exactly the same. The atmosphere is exactly the same (as) when I ran,” Schwarzenegger said.

    But according to Gray Davis, the recall election this time is very different.

    Davis says he is convinced that Newsom will beat back the recall election. A big difference between then and now is that in 2003, Davis wasn’t just facing challengers on the recall ballot outside of his party, he also had a prominent Democratic opponent: his own lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante.
    “The most important lesson is do not allow another Democrat to get into this race,” Davis told us, clearly still smarting over Bustamante’s candidacy.
    Davis and other Democrats argue that one of the reasons he was recalled in 2003 is because Democratic voters had an alternative candidate in their party to replace him. And while there are other Democrats running in this year’s recall, none of them are well-established candidates.

    Added:

    In 2003, California was already an increasingly blue state, but there was still a relatively robust Republican Party. Back then, 35% of Golden State voters were registered Republicans. Now, it’s just 24%. Democratic registration has remained relatively consistent — 44% in 2003 and nearly 47% this year, but registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in the state nearly 2-to-1.
    And it wasn’t just that Republicans were a bigger slice of the electorate in 2003 — there was also much more of a Republican Party infrastructure in the state than there is now to support its candidates.

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    Presidential housecleaning, it’s hard.

    (CNN)The Biden administration has told 11 officials appointed to military service academy advisory boards by former President Donald Trump to resign or be dismissed, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN’s KFile.

    The officials asked to resign include prominent former Trump officials like former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former senior counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. They were appointed to the advisory boards of the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and West Point respectively.
    Other more prominent names include ​​Heidi Stirrup, the former White House liaison to the Justice Department who was banned from entering the building after she attempted to access sensitive information about possible election fraud in December 2020, and retired Col. Douglas Macgregor, a former ambassador pick and Pentagon official with a history of controversial comments. The duo were appointed to the boards of the Air Force Academy and West Point.
    Other appointees who have been asked to resign are Michael Wynne, who was appointed to the board of the Air Force Academy; retired Gen. John Keane, Meaghan Mobbs, and David Urban appointed to the board of West Point; and John Coale and Russell Vought, Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, appointed to the Naval Academy’s board.

    The dismissal of Trump officials from the military advisory boards comes after the Pentagon has recently restarted its other advisory boards after removing hundreds of appointees from other boards in February. In November, just months ahead of when he was set to leave office, Trump dismissed several longstanding members of the Defense Policy Board ahead of their terms being up.

    The military academy advisory boards, according to the Air Force Academy website, were established to oversee the “morale, discipline, social climate, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods, and other matters” relating to the nation’s military academies. The board for each academy meets several times a year and its members provide independent advice and recommendations to the President.
    The members typically serve out three-year terms. At least one Trump appointee, Vought, has signaled he will not resign.
    “No. It’s a three year term,” Vought tweeted, attaching an image of the letter requesting his resignation.
    When reached for comment by CNN, Spicer said he intends to respond to the resignation demand on his show. Wynne told CNN “it was an honor to be on the board,” and said he was disappointed he wasn’t asked to remain on the board.
    “Very disappointed to see the Biden administration not honor a previous president’s appointment to the board of visitors, which has been the tradition for years,” Keane told CNN.
    In a statement, Mobbs said she would not be resigning.

  6. 6.

    Darkrose

    @trollhattan: At least I feel reasonably okay about going back to work on campus, since UCD is collectively at 87% vaccinated. The student and Davis campus numbers will probably continue to increase; I’m hoping to see 90% by the time classes start. Mandates work.

  7. 7.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @trollhattan: The SF Chronicle and the Governor’s people were saying the same thing; no sign the GOP has been able to increase turnout and the Dems are voting at presidential election levels.  But, it an’t over tell the vote is counted.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    @trollhattan: Larry Elder is just about the best turnout driver Gavin Newsom could hope for. Elder campaigning on ‘no vaccine mandates, no mask mandates’ is a gift.

  9. 9.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Scout211: Both Davis and Arnold are wrong, the things driving Davis’ recall was how little of fight Davis put up against Enron not to mention Davis was part of the deregulation effort. No one has accused Newsom of anything like that, in fact the complaint is Newsom has been to aggressive trying to keep the pandemic under control and some people’s fees fees are hurt.

    Also, face it, Arnold won simply because of his celebrity.

  10. 10.

    Patricia Kayden

    The former guy is the biggest criminal insurrectionist in the country and should be called to testify.If not the ringleader, then who?— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 7, 2021

  11. 11.

    catclub

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: The SF Chronicle and the Governor’s people were saying the same thing; no sign the GOP has been able to increase turnout and the Dems are voting at presidential election levels.

     

    wow. I am amazed if that is true,

  12. 12.

    Chetan Murthy

    @dmsilev:

    Elder campaigning on ‘no vaccine mandates, no mask mandates’ is a gift.

    Jesus I hope so.  If I weren’t already ride or die Democrats, that would convince me to be so.  But then again, how many Californians are actually rational and understand that their literal lives are at risk from this bullshit?  I sure hope it’s a shit-ton.

  13. 13.

    catclub

    @dmsilev: Larry Elder is just about the best turnout driver Gavin Newsom could hope for. Elder campaigning on ‘no vaccine mandates, no mask mandates’ is a gift.

     

    yeah. Elder basically saying ‘California could be like Mississippi in the covid sweepstakes if you elect me’  is not a winning campaign line, even if he thinks it is.

  14. 14.

    Scout211

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Also, face it, Arnold won simply because of his celebrity.

    Agreed.  No one liked Davis and way too many people loved Arnold, confusing him with the characters he played.

    I still think Arnold should shut up.  But apparently he is grabbing a few moments of celebrity right now and CNN is on it!

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @catclub: LA Times had a piece this morning saying that over six million votes have been received so far, and just a bit over half of those were from registered Democrats. Republicans and ‘no party preference’ splitting the remainder. If that is even remotely accurate, Newsom is in very good shape. Yes, the GOP expects a bunch of votes on Election Day, but they’re in a pretty deep hole.

  18. 18.

    la caterina

    In other, non-COVID governorship news, it seems that Adrienne Harris, Hochul’s appointee to run the Department of Financial Services (regulating banking, lending and insurance) is a laissez-faire Fintech capitalist,  Ugh!

  19. 19.

    piratedan

    @dmsilev: that assumes that all of the Dem votes will be for retaining the Governor, and considering the fuckery afoot and the usual spate of disinformation that is floated out there, until the votes are counted and he is retained will I breathe a sigh of relief…  (courtesy of our times)

  21. 21.

    sdhays

    @smith: I read that yesterday or the day before; they were already forced to administer it to him for 13 days and the patient is improving, so of course the wife who launched the suit is convinced that she saved her husband’s life, no thanks to those stupid doctors.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    @dmsilev: Here’s the LA Times piece I mentioned.

    Supporters of the recall face daunting political math: Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 million registered voters, and independents tend to lean liberal in California. To pull off a win, recall backers must hope a significant number of Democrats defect from Newsom and vote in favor of the recall. But no polling demonstrated that; rather the surveys showed that a majority of Democrats do not support the recall but they were less motivated to vote than Republicans.

    Mail ballot returns so far appear to indicate that the $36 million Newsom’s allies spent in August — on ads, social media and other get out the vote efforts — helped overcome any enthusiasm gap. That’s more than three times as much as the pro-recall forces and the GOP candidates combined.

    Democrats account for more than half of the 6.4 million ballots turned in as of Tuesday, while Republicans account for just under a quarter, according to Political Data Inc., a firm that uses state, county and commercial data to analyze the electorate.

    Paul Mitchell, vice president of PDI, said the higher the turnout, the greater Newsom’s chances are given the state’s voter registration. He predicted that Democrats needed a 1.3-million ballot cushion going into election day; they currently have 1.84 million more ballots returned than Republicans. In-person voting, which favors the GOP, also began in parts of the state on Saturday but the numbers are too small so far to draw any conclusions.

  23. 23.

    Gin & Tonic

    Three Vermont  state troopers were fired for forged vaccination cards (Vermont is the most vaccinated state, I believe.) The interesting part of the story is they were turned in by other troopers.

  24. 24.

    smith

    @sdhays: I agree it would have been much better if we’d gotten here quicker, but at least a horrible precedent won’t have been set (I hope). And no matter which way the events played out the horse de-wormer conspiracists wouldn’t have  been convinced.

  25. 25.

    Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix

    @la caterina:

    In other, non-COVID governorship news, it seems that Adrienne Harris, Hochul’s appointee to run the Department of Financial Services (regulating banking, lending and insurance) is a laissez-faire Fintech capitalist,  Ugh!

    Yeah, I saw that.  Well, nobody’s perfect!

  27. 27.

    germy

    @Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix:

    https://www.complianceweek.com/grc-appointments/adrienne-harris-nominated-to-lead-nydfs/30747.article

    Harris, who served roles at the U.S. Treasury and White House under President Barack Obama, would assume the position of superintendent at the key financial regulator if confirmed by the New York state senate

    I don’t see a problem with her.

    From what I understand, some of Cuomo’s allies are planting negative stories about the new administration.  The NY Post in particular is running all sorts of negative stuff, for example.

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    @Gin & Tonic: Gosh, around here the cops (and firefighters) are wailing and whining about an imminent city vaccination mandate; even a “religious exemption” clause isn’t enough for the snowflakes because claiming an exemption means that you’re volunteering for the nose swab twice a week for the foreseeable future.

  36. 36.

    sdhays

    @germy: Isn’t Portland one of the cities that would particularly benefit by a good portion of its police force self-selecting for early retirement

    ETA: Assuming, of course, that one considers less police violence particularly towards non-White people to be a benefit.

  37. 37.

    terry chay

    Re: California recall. When it comes to the polling/vote estimates, CA has a 2-1 registration dem advantage in the state with also the majority of unaffiliated leaning Dem, in 2003 it was more like 1.2-1 (unaffiliated were split evenly) and people didn’t understand the second ballot would be won on a plurality. All estimates comparing to 2020 are around the partisan advantage, not actual total vote tallies.

    The assumption behind how the Republicans could pull off a win was that their voters would be more enthusiastic allowing for a plurality vote on the second ballot to top it to their candidate. So far in mail in voting registrations, that hasn’t materialized. In fact, Republicans are under-voting relative to their makeup (though a lot of that might be attributable to the fact that their party has sown distrust of mail-in ballots for the last several years).

     

    Unlike in 2003, with no good Democrat on the second ballot (believe me I looked, the highest polling Democrat is at like 4% and he’s a bomb throwing youtuber who actually won’t commit to saying that it’s better to have Newsome then a Republican), a Democrat vote is a vote against the recall.

    I wish this were otherwise but our recall law dates back to 1911 and is outdated, especially for the era of partisan politics. It basically allowed one party to have the state throw a $170 million taxpayer funded anti-democratic bomb.

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    @trollhattan:

    Presidential housecleaning, it’s hard.

    Yup.  The Soviet shitpile mobster conman spread shit far and wide.

    ETA – ?Throw all the trash out on their ass?

  41. 41.

    feebog

    I’m receiving daily email updates from Paul Mitchell, VP of Political Data.Inc cited above in the LA Times article.  Turnout is at 29% with a week to go.  Dems have returned 53% of the ballots, Independents 22% and Republicans 25%.  But remember, Almost twice as many Democratic ballots were mailed compared to Republican ballots.  As far as Democrats voting yes on the recall, there was an initial wave of ballots from Democrats who voted as soon as they received their ballots (raises hand).  Those were overwhelmingly NO votes.  Right now the key is to get younger and Latino voters to vote in the last week.

  42. 42.

    Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix

    @germy:  Thanks for the link.  I have no doubt that Cuomo et. al. are undermining her.  She seems fine.  I think the people who were complaining  were disappointed that she wasn’t a more Elizabeth Warren type.

  44. 44.

    Ken

    Regarding the California recall, remember that Newsome has a couple of backups:

    1. If he’s leading from the mail-in ballots when the polls close on election day, he can declare victory and forbid any more ballot counting.
    2. If he doesn’t like the results in any county, he can declare them fraudulent and substitute his own numbers.
    3. If after all that he is somehow behind in the count, the lieutenant governor can simply declare him the winner when the results are to be certified.

    At least, I think the California executive has these powers. The Federal one apparently does…

  45. 45.

    Nora

    @germy: I would not consider the New York Post to be one of Cuomo’s allies.  They have been attacking him since day one, and once the sexual harassment stories came out, they pilloried him.  Of course, they hate Democrats in general, so it doesn’t surprise me they’d be trying to throw dirt at the new administration too.

  46. 46.

    germy

    @Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix:

    Out of curiosity, last week I read some of the tweets in Melissa DeRosa’s account.  She and all the former Cuomo people are all boosting each other.

    One guy who was let go because his name was in Tish James’ report;  the Cuomo people are saying stuff like “He’s a great guy.  I know he’s been talking about retiring for a long time!” (As if it’s his choice he’s leaving)  “I’ve known him since high school… a great guy!”

    Seeing them boost each other reminds me of the time I looked at some of the facebook accounts of jocks I went to high school with.  Same sentimental bullshit.

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    @Ken: California is a big and diverse state. I feel confident that somewhere in the state, there is a landscaping company whose office is across the street from a sex shop and whose parking lot is available for press conferences.

    That’s a vital part of the process.

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    @Ken:

    Heh. :-)

    The actual process is nearly as interesting. Should the seated governor declare a “contested election” then the governor and secretary of state shall convene on the west Capitol lawn, where the state boxing ring has been set up, and decide the election result via fisticuffs. The match must occur within 48 hours of the declaration and gloves shall be warn.

    In the case of September 2021, this would mean Gavin Newsom facing off against [checks notes] Dr. Shirley N. Weber.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

     

    No one has accused Newsom of anything like that, in fact the complaint is Newsom has been to aggressive trying to keep the pandemic under control and some people’s fees fees are hurt.

     

    That’s what’s crazy. The basis of the recall is Newsom trying to successfully fight a global pandemic in the world’s 5th largest econonmy.

  54. 54.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @terry chay: It’s not a done deal tell it’s over.

    Also keep in mind the the Recall was put in place because the California was being run as a Feudal Fiefdom of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It needs updating but the basic idea is sound.

  57. 57.

    dmsilev

    @rikyrah:

    That’s what’s crazy. The basis of the recall is Newsom trying to successfully fight a global pandemic in the world’s 5th largest econonmy.

    No, haven’t you heard, the recall is because he ate dinner at a fancy restaurant that one time.

  60. 60.

    Old Man Shadow

    @Scout211: Schwarzenegger is also a much bigger name than Elder and less of a raving lunatic too.

    And a lot of folks were very upset about getting screwed over by Enron back then.

  61. 61.

    Old Man Shadow

    @rikyrah: Well, also because we’re in a fucking drought that might be a mega drought and farmers in the Central Valley think they should still be able to use as much water as they did during the wetter years.

    They don’t and won’t accept that those years are probably gone and never coming back.

  63. 63.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    in fact the complaint is Newsom has been too aggressive trying to keep the pandemic under control and some people’s fees fees are hurt people are Trump-humping, whiny ass titty baby plague rats who don’t care if their maskless asses cause their own childrens’ deaths because FREEDUMB!. 

    Fee fees or…

    :)

  66. 66.

    gvg

    Speaking from a long way away and with no special Knowledge of California, I think a factor in this recall would be that voters remember the last time. I don’t think they consider the last time to have been a good result, therefore they are more motivated and careful this time.

    I also think that Hillary’s loss taught the nation and the democratic party a lesson that helped for 2020. I noticed how careful all the candidates were in fighting each other to not give the republicans weapons for the General. Look at how fast they supported Biden when his lead was solid and most of the real possibles, campaigned for Biden.

    Recent history matters and voters do notice. The fact that things go much better in California with lots of Democrats in charge should be noted by their citizens. I don’t see how it can be a repeat of Arnold.

  67. 67.

    TheOtherHank

    Here’s the thing I don’t understand about people like Larry Elder, Stephen Miller, etc: Do they not realize that they are next? The republican party is by and for white men. Black, Jewish, etc people in the movement now are camouflage and will be discarded once victory is achieved.

    I remember reading about the rise of Hitler that there were Jewish WWI veterans who totally bought into the whole stabbed into the back thing, thought Adolf was onto something and assumed that the antisemitism was just what he needed to say to sway the masses but that he didn’t really mean it. I’m sure what came after he gained power was quite the surprise.

  68. 68.

    la caterina

    @germy: I did a lot of litigation and policy work around mortgage foreclosures during both Obama terms.  As much as I loved Obama, his Treasury Department was not pro-consumer.  So experience working there would not necessarily indicate one’s suitability to run the NY DFS.  Under Cuomo we were able to keep the payday lenders out of New York, but that may be over now.

  69. 69.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:

    I’m trying to sell a vehicle online and just had a call this morning from someone who did live in the LA area and has moved to another western state. We talked for a bit and were discussing how to go about closing the sale and paying, etc when he mentioned what a mess CA is and he hopes Elder gets the job because he’d be far better than Newsom. My answer was that we shouldn’t discuss politics. I thought that was a far better response than “Are you fucking kidding me?” and losing the sale.

  70. 70.

    Ruckus

    @catclub:

    Make it easier to vote and more people do.

    Make it easier to vote during a pandemic and more people will.

    Make the situation better by not killing as many during a pandemic and more people will, in the end, be thankful to be able to vote.

  72. 72.

    Ruckus

    @Scout211:

    I watched him on a Y tube news broadcast and he actually didn’t sound like a current day rethuglican at all. He sounded like he is smarter than a box of rocks. Which boosts him above all the rethuglicans running in the recall.

  74. 74.

    Origuy

    The No vote started climbing in the polls about the time that Californians received their ballots in the mail. Before that, people were asked “Should the governor be recalled?” without having to decide who should replace him. There was probably a large “Throw the bum out” sentiment, as there is for every election. Once the voters saw that they had a page full of unknowns that they had to choose from, they decided the devil they knew was better.

  75. 75.

    Lyrebird

    @Baud: That’s a good sign!

    @germy: Thanks!

     

    I haven’t yet looked to see who if anyone she wants to bring in for NYSED.  Fingers crossed for someone good and not caught up in the power games so much.

  76. 76.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @gvg: to be fair Arnold is above the other Republicans and he almost certainly had won in 2000 in a general against Davis. Arnold’s biggest problem as governor was his own party in the Assembly and that’s the problem; no single conservative, no matter how public minded they are, is going to be successful when the party they need to support them to get their policy enacted is completely paint chip eating, batshit nuts.

  78. 78.

    Shana

    To clarify, a bit, the CUNY exemption for the vaccine:

    my BIL who’s a prof at Hunter says everyone’s vaccine status and negative test results are loaded on to the NY State app as well as their student/staff IDs. Non-vaccinated people need to get either weekly or bi-weekly tests and the results are updated automatically. If you test positive, or haven’t had a recent enough test, your ID won’t let you into the college’s buildings. Not foolproof of course but a pretty good system that might actually encourage some people to just get vaccinated so they don’t have to keep dealing with all the testing.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    Has anyone shared Debra Messing’s tweet? She’s got a TikTok berating Dems for not fighting back hard enough or quick enough. I think even Omnes would approve.

  80. 80.

    divF

    @catclub: Presidential election levels are not so surprising.

    (1) Unlike most CA election ballots, which has multiple pages long, this has only two questions on which to vote, one of which (who to replace) is viewed by many as optional if you’re voting no on recall.

    (2) All registered voters got a mail-in ballot.

    Because of these two facts, the inertia / procrastination factor is much lower.

    In addition, the state has instituted text messaging / email notifications. I dropped my ballot in the voting box in front of City Hall yesterday morning at 10 AM. At 6 PM I got a text message from the Alameda County registrar of voters that my ballot had been received and counted.

  81. 81.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Origuy: It’s worse than that,  the Mayor of San Diego was being pushed as “Sure he is Republican, but he’s been in government” and this dude,..has every vice people claim Newsom has, just worse. Out Newsoms Newsom.  And this is the serious Republican, the rest are an insult comic, some crazy old guy who forgot to wear his pants and a has been athlete in a mid life crises. Basically the kind of people we all want government to protect us against.

  83. 83.

    Scout211

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Arnold’s biggest problem as governor was his own party in the Assembly and that’s the problem

    Arnold had a lot of problems and maybe he was slightly better in his second (elected) term, but he still was a partisan Republican.
    He vetoed gay marriage more than once after it was passed by both the Senate and the Assembly.

    https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Schwarzenegger-vetoes-same-sex-marriage-bill-again-2497886.php

    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a same-sex marriage bill Friday, the second time in three years that such a measure died on the governor’s desk.

    Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill in 2005.

     

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @dmsilev: since Elder and the GOP/Fox News have already pivoted to “there’s no way Newsom could win unless he cheats”, it’s almost certain that Newsom’s going to win handily.

  85. 85.

    Ruckus

    @gvg:

    I don’t see how it can be a repeat of Arnold.

    It won’t be. Because if Elder wins it will be a lot, and I mean A LOT worse than Arnold ever was.

    Many of you are noticing that the entire recall is because Newsom actually had the termidity to be an actual governor in the face of a world wide pandemic, rather than a political Bozo, while Elder won’t even rise that far are correct.

    And he’s not the worst candidate….

  86. 86.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Scout211:  That’s the thing, he vetoed stuff, but he didn’t do much positive. Also, being better than most Republicans in California isn’t exactly a major accomplishment.

  88. 88.

    Jeffro

    I just want to know which states Gym Jordan considers “Real America”, since according to him, that’s where Covid-19 is over.  I’m packing my bags already!

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Leslie: 

    Yeah, there are a wealth of reasons why the law will be successfully challenged. The problem with almost all of them is that you have to sue someone who will actually try to claim the bounty. The reason the Supreme Court decision is so problematic is that it allows the state to avoid getting the law enjoined all at once by placing enforcement in the hands of private parties.

  92. 92.

    smith

    @Ruckus: the entire recall is because Newsom actually had the termidity to be an actual governor in the face of a world wide pandemic

    And did pretty well at it, too. CA has a cumulative per capita infection rate lower than 34 other states. It beats the next 3 largest states and all but one red state. Meanwhile, down in FL, the Winner of the Pandemic can point to an infection rate 40% higher than that of CA. Obviously, Newsom should be fired.

  94. 94.

    Scout211

    @Ruckus:

    Many of you are noticing that the entire recall is because Newsom actually had the termidity to be an actual governor in the face of a world wide pandemic, rather than a political Bozo, while Elder won’t even rise that far are correct.

    And I mean, he had lunch with lobbyists!  At the French Laundry in Napa! It was expensive!  And they DID. NOT. WEAR. MASKS!  OMG!!!!

    Can you imagine what the MAGA fans all over the US would think if their hero Trump would have had lunch at a restaurant with lobbyists or maybe even dined with lobbyists at his own clubs or golf resorts or hotels WITHOUT WEARING MASKS???!!  Their hero would NEVER do anything like that.  Amirite???  NEVER!!!

    s//////////////////

  95. 95.

    Mary G

    Like David Wasserman, I  have seen enough and can’t wait until next week when I can say “I told you so” to certain people on Twitter:

    Early vote tracker for #NoOnRecall election has SURGED in this morning’s update, adding more than 500K votes! The taper we saw going into the Labor Day weekend is OVER!

    Dems: 3.41M (+289K ?)

    GOP: 1.57M (+128K)

    Indies: 1.44M (+124K)

    6.4M (29%) returned. 6 days. pic.twitter.com/kQOx9hNEEy— California Dem™️ (@moonbeamvotes) September 8, 2021

  96. 96.

    japa21

    @debbie: Usually like her, but that was a waste of time. I hate people that say fight back without ever stating what would work. She says that the DOJ is letting people get away with committing crimes. What crimes specifically? Never mind, I’m just pissed at people like that.

  97. 97.

    Leslie

    @Baud: The article is about a previous SC decision that invalidates the citizen-enforcement aspect of the law, which seems crucial given how it was drafted. But IANAL.

  100. 100.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jeffro:

    I just want to know which states Gym Jordan considers “Real America”, since according to him, that’s where Covid-19 is over. I’m packing my bags already!

    “Real America” to Gym Jordan is probably wherever the most college students are getting molested.

  101. 101.

    FelonyGovt

    @catclub: I think a lot of these anti-mask, anti-vaccine types who love Elder grossly underestimate the number of Californians who disagree, as well as the level of our seething anger at them.

  102. 102.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jeffro:

    since Elder and the GOP/Fox News have already pivoted to “there’s no way Newsom could win unless he cheats”, it’s almost certain that Newsom’s going to win handily. 

    Look out California!  Ghouliani, Sydney Powell and Pillowface are gonna RELEASE THE KRAKEN! on you on September 15th!

  103. 103.

    Old School

    @debbie:

    I don’t know.  That was a “somebody should do something” rant.

    Umm, feel free to suggest something you’d like done.

  105. 105.

    Kelly

    @germy: An active alt health contingent in Portland that spans the left/right divide. There’s long been childhood vaccination resisters and they voted down fluoridation (again) around 10 years ago.

  109. 109.

    Mary G

    @Scout211: Arnold is trolling. So many differences:

    Gray Davis has a personality that fits his first name.

    He was idiotic enough to go along with a biggish increase on car license tag fees, a horrendously heavy burden on low-income voters that Republicans beat like a drum.

    Lt. Governor not nearly well known enough.

    Republicans would never has even proposed ANYTHING like the Texas abortion law that just passed. Women are angry.

  112. 112.

    Roger Moore

    @Scout211: 
    Probably the biggest difference between 2003 and now is the candidates. For all his flaws, Schwarzenegger was from the less crazy wing of the Republican party. He was largely a political outsider, but the political stuff he had been connected to was relatively non-partisan and uncontroversial. People looked at him and imagined he wouldn’t be a crazy ideologue but rather some kind of relatively centrist person who would be willing to set politics aside to get stuff done.
    In point of fact, that’s more or less what we got. Schwarzenegger tried to work with the Republicans in Sacramento, figured out before too terribly long that they were A) too small a minority to make governing possible and B) not a reliable negotiating partner, and wound up cutting deals with the Democrats to keep the state running. Starting in the tail end of his second term, he became a big supporter of various kinds of political reforms intended to moderate partisanship, like redistricting reform and our top two ballot system, and he’s continued to support those kinds of things after he was termed out. He wasn’t a great governor by any means, but he was as good as you could reasonably hope for from the Republican party.
    Elder is almost the opposite. He is also an outsider in the sense that he hasn’t served in office, but he’s been involved in politics as a radio talk show host for a long time. Unlike Schwarzenegger, he is an extremist and a provocateur. His only concrete proposals as governor are crazy, unworkable, unconstitutional, or all of the above.
    I think that’s really hurting him and the recall campaign in general. With Bustamante and Schwarzenegger leading the ballot in 2003, voters could have some kind of assurance that the replacement governor would be remotely sane and maybe even competent. That let a lot of people who were on the fence about the recall see booting Davis as a low-risk proposition. Elder, OTOH, is clearly not a safe choice. He’s great if your goal in supporting the recall is to do as much damage to the state government as possible, but he’s going to push people on the fence to vote no. The clearer it is that he’s the next governor if we vote yes, the stronger the no vote gets.

  117. 117.

    Roger Moore

    @catclub: ​
     

    wow. I am amazed if that is true,

    The nice thing about the recall is it’s just two questions, unlike the 60 or so we get on a regular ballot, and a lot of people are leaving question 2 blank anyway. It makes it a lot easier. I’m sure we’d get better turnout in our other elections if they were limited to just a handful of offices.

  118. 118.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud: Oh, I didn’t read any of that mobster trash’s letter, because she can fuck off into the Sun.

    Both she and the Jewish Nazi were the most disgusting people in Dump’s bastard administration.

  125. 125.

    debbie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    She wants the infrastructure bills passed and stronger pushback against Manchinema and on all the GOP bullshit about Afghanistan, the insurrection, etc.

  126. 126.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie: ​
     

    How do they count a ballot that doesn’t answer the second question?

    They count the yes/no on question 1 and ignore it for question 2. If the recall goes through, the next governor is the person with a plurality of the vote on question 2, so abstaining just doesn’t help any specific candidate.

  127. 127.

    Scout211

    @Roger 

    I’m sure we’d get better turnout in our other elections if they were limited to just a handful of offices.

    And also if every voter was mailed a ballot, like for this election. For both the election in November and the recall election this June, every voter was mailed a ballot, but this done because of the pandemic.

    However, every county in California could mail ballots to all of their voters for all elections.  The Voter’s Choice Act allows all California counties to opt-in to 100% mail-in ballots (plus in-person voting centers) for all elections. My county does that but not all counties have opted-in. I hope more counties will do that now that they and their voters have been introduced to that for the last two elections.

    Prepaid envelopes, official drop boxes and voting centers for in-person voting—it just makes it easier to vote.

  130. 130.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Omnes Omnibus: Problem is, celebrities like Messing thinks getting things done in Washington is as easy as an episode of The West Wing. Her tirade does more harm than good, I think.

  131. 131.

    cain

    @debbie: ​
     
    Dems still has to follow the rules as should any serious party. What Debra should be doing is getting the rest of the electorate sensitized to what the other party is doing but more than that they need to make the voting public demand the infrastructure bill – and letting the political establishment that this is what they want.
    You can’t let politicians drive this – we have to drive it and that means we need to tell each other to get our asses in gear and start focusing on our local elections, school boards, and so on. The solution is to invest in our politics and policy not yell at Democratic politicians who are doing their best with what they have. They still need us.

  132. 132.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @trollhattan: What would be great is if the Biden people wrote and publicized WHY they are shit-canning these assholes that won’t resign. It would be pleasing and edumacational to have it explained to the world, in detail, why these shitty hires are so shitty that they must be fired.

  133. 133.

    cain

    @The Thin Black Duke: ​
     
    It’s funny how a rant is all you need to get people to tell you to run for office. I mean like that is a qualification for good policy. I would definitely not trust Debra Messing with anything like policy.

    I understand the frustration though – cuz it seems in the short term they are getting away with a lot of things that normal folks usually can’t.

  136. 136.

    Geminid

    Kathy Hochul has an interesting resume. She earned a B.A from Syracuse University, than a J.D. from Catholic University. Hochul was a town board member for the town of Hamburg 1994 -2007. She then served in county wide office before being elected to Congress in 2012. She lost her purple Buffalo area district in 2014, then was selected as Mr. Cuomos running mate.

    Kathy Hochul is known as an industrious, enthusiastic retail politician. Some people discount her election chances next year, because of a traditional political dynamic that favors New York City politicians over those from up state. But a lot of traditional norms seem to be in flux these days, and a Hochul victory in next year’s Democratic primary could well happen.

  137. 137.

    jonas

    @trollhattan: ​
      Biden is perfectly justified in assuming every single person Trump appointed to anything for any reason is a corrupt POS. Maybe occasionally they’ll find a reasonably qualified, not-corrupt POS in a position, but it’s an exception that proves the rule. These Trump tools were put there solely for the purpose of making sure the academies’ leadership spent enough time extolling the virtues of Dear Leader and shitting on any kind of diversity/inclusion efforts. Sean Fucking Spicer? Really?

  139. 139.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @dmsilev: And according to the WaPo article on the VT fucking assholes, Covid is the NUMBER ONE cause of officer deaths over the last year.

    If an officer doesn’t want to get vaccinated, just say “thank you for self-identifying; you’re fired” and then move on. Total no-brainer.

  143. 143.

    Scout211

    @surfk9:

    Thank you. I wasn’t aware that it had passed in both houses.

    It is now on Governor Newsom’s desk ready to sign into law. When he does, all Californians  will be mailed a ballot for all elections.

  145. 145.

    eclare

    @Kelly:  Wow.  It makes such a difference, for a few years growing up my family had well water, and I had several cavities.  Once we got back on fluoridated, no cavities.

    I know that is not proof, but it is enough for me.

  146. 146.

    trnc

    @dmsilev: Yeah, but NPR told me this morning that losing the recall battle would still be a win for republicans, because of course it would.

  150. 150.

    Felanius Kootea

    @rikyrah: ​
    We voted against the recall one week after receiving our ballots and got text messages (and emails) indicating that our ballots had been received and counted.

    Arnold had the power of celebrity, same as TFG. Larry Elder does not. I’m not worried about him winning in the slightest, even when I hear the ads his team purchased on KJLH (Stevie Wonder-owned radio station) about Newsom and “the elites.” I smile when I hear them because I already voted and the ads are wasted on me.

  151. 151.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: Any legislation that is “must do” needs to be passed while we have both houses and the presidency.  If even one of those changes in Nov 2022, nothing else gets passed.

  154. 154.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: I would not be at all surprised if Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer have some vague awareness of this.  I wouldn’t even be shocked if they are working it into their plans.

  155. 155.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie: ​
     

    Though someone could win with a relatively low percentage of the vote, I guess?

    Yes. It’s one of the major criticisms of the recall process. There are an unlimited number of candidates and a plurality winner. With the current 46 people on the ballot, it’s theoretically possible to win with less than 3% of the correctly cast ballots. It’s not going to happen that way, but it could easily happen with around 30%. It seems like a perfect case for some kind of ranked choice voting. Actually, it seems like a perfect reason for saying a recalled governor should be replaced by the Lt. Governor rather than having a question 2 at all. It would definitely cut back on this kind of straight partisan recall effort.

  159. 159.

    leeleeFL

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:  I am not certain of that.  It seems to be used, at least in my lifetime, as a vindictive dick move.  If they simply want a new election, that’s what that should set up.  A vote of no confidence and a new election.  The rules for this debacle are bullshit on steroids.

  161. 161.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie: ​
     

    Thanks. Forty-six seems like a ridiculous number of candidates.

    I completely agree, but it’s kind of tough to figure out what the practical alternative is. By its very nature, a recall election implies the need to remove the person from office is time sensitive, or you could just wait until the next regular election*. You don’t want to leave the office vacant, especially not for something like governor, so it seems sensible to vote for the replacement at the same time as the vote on the recall. Unless you can come up with a plausible way of filtering the list of candidates, you’re going to be left with something like the current free-for-all.

    *Of course that’s not how it’s actually being used. The whole advantage from the Republican point of view is that they can hope to win with an irregular process what they could never win in a general election.

  162. 162.

    Fair Economist

    @Roger Moore: Well, the super-obvious result of recalling the Governor is that the Lt. Governor should get the job, as you recommend, which is also what would happen for *any* other reason the Governor loses office.

    The current system is almost guaranteed to produce a pathological result.

    Altering the recall system is a no-brainer. Hoping to see a proposition soon.

  163. 163.

    Fair Economist

    @debbie: Pelosi at least is working on getting reconciliation through quickly. A neat aspect of the deal she made with the wussy “centrist” rebellion is adding a time limit, which puts Manchin’s best allies against further foot dragging.

  166. 166.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Libertarians on the high seas. AKA Bioshock LARP

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/07/disastrous-voyage-satoshi-cryptocurrency-cruise-ship-seassteading?utm_source=pocket-newtab

    After meeting Quirk, Romundt decided he wanted to try again. Quirk introduced him to two other aspiring seasteaders, the passionately libertarian American Elwartowski and the bitcoin-wealthy German engineer Koch. Together, the trio founded a company, Ocean Builders. Using their own money, they funded the first attempt at a single residential seastead, in the form of a floating white octagonal box 12 nautical miles off the coast of Thailand. Elwartowski and his girlfriend, Nadia Summergirl, lived there for two months in early 2018, until the Thai government discovered the seastead’s existence and declared it a threat to the country’s independence, possibly punishable by life imprisonment or death. Elwartowski and Summergirl had to flee the country before the Thai navy dispatched three ships to dismantle the floating box.

  167. 167.

    James E Powell

    @gvg:

    I don’t think they consider the last time to have been a good result, therefore they are more motivated and careful this time.

    I don’t think that most Californians consider the last time a bad outcome. I never heard anyone say they missed Grey Davis and Arnold’s package of right wing ballot issues was defeated. He was, nevertheless, easily re-elected.

    I get the sense that people do not love Newsom, but they do not hate him. And this time there is no popular actor being promoted relentlessly by local news stations all over the state.

    I’m still texting people. Urging them to vote no & get the ballot in.

  168. 168.

    Ken

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Also from that article, the payment options for residents of the repurposed cruise ship seastead:

    multiple cryptocurrencies would be supported for payment, including bitcoin, ethereum, digibyte, bitcoin cash, litecoin, dai, dash, ethereum classic, trueUSD, USD coin, tether, bitcoin SV, electroneum, cloak, doge, eureka coin, xem and monero.

    My, they do keep multiplying, almost as if anyone with a github account can fork the software and create their own currency. I guess you also need someone who can create a cool logo.

  169. 169.

    Hoppie

    @sdhays:

     

    @terry chay:

    The intention of the recall law was to overturn the wealthy interests’ ownership of the legislature.

    Money has, of course, turned that on its head.  We should go back to Eisenhower tax rates.  Spread the word.

     

    @terry chay:

  170. 170.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Ken: yes, and if fits the mentality that article was describing.  Though the best part was them buying the liner and then checking the regulations on liners.

  171. 171.

    J R in WV

    @Baud: ​
     

    by placing enforcement in the hands of private parties.

    I personally think placing “enforcement” in the hands of private parties is the most illegal part of the bill — one of the reasons we have government is to control the lynch mobs!! Yet TX thinks the lynch mob is a fine group to put in charge of enforcing a wildly illegal law?

    But everyone knows I’m jest a crazyd hillbilly. What could I know?

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