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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Morning Election Thread

Morning Election Thread

by $8 blue check mistermix|  August 3, 20227:22 am| 94 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Here’s a thread for the morning crew to discuss:

  • Huge win for abortion rights in Kansas, with massive turnout of unaffiliated voters for a constitutional amendment vote during a primary, which was intended to keep turnout low.
  • A bunch of nutty right-wingers won their primaries in Arizona. The less abusive Eric, Schmitt, won in Missouri, instead of Greitens, after Trump bravely endorsed “Eric” in that race. Here’s the Post story on the primaries with more detail.
  • Pour one out for Rep Peter Meijer, who lost his primary contest to a nutty Trumper.

The DCCC had put $425K into the Meijer primary in an ad that simply pointed out how Trumpy his opponent, Gibbs, was, and saying that’s a bad thing. All the press reports say they “boosted” Gibbs, as if the DCCC bought an ad saying he’s a great guy. You can disagree with the strategy, and I have mixed feelings about it, but let’s be clear about what their “boost” consisted of. Also, while Meijer did the right thing once by voting to impeach Trump for supporting and enabling an insurrection, doing the right thing is what you’re supposed to do as an elected official. You don’t get extra immunity points for simply doing your duty. The DC press is acting as if we were supposed to treat Meijer’s district in Michigan the way that Utah Democrats are treating Mike Lee’s seat, and they’re not the same thing at all. Meijer’s seat is winnable, and we should be contesting it.

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Reader Interactions

94Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:26 am

    Good on KS.  Turnout matters.

    Also, not giving up.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:34 am

    Sorry for Meijer that he’s part of a traitor party, but the worst Democrat is still better than the best Republican.

  3. 3.

    anon

    August 3, 2022 at 7:34 am

    a win for abortion is a loss for democrats. not being snarky here. If abortion was not protected by state constitution, then pro-choice voters would have to weigh democrats protecting their right to choose.

     

    as it stands now, kansas will have abortion, but will stay deep-red

  4. 4.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:37 am

    @anon:

    We’ll see.  If they keep that attitude, the state constitution won’t save them from a federal abortion ban.

    ETA: you are correct though, that we’re in this mess because of a long history of taking Democrats for granted.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:39 am

    Oh wow. Greitens not only lost but lost badly.

  6. 6.

    JWR

    August 3, 2022 at 7:39 am

    The only downside to last night’s Kansas win is that now, no other Republican led state will ever allow such an initiative to come before their voters. At least not if they can help it.

  7. 7.

    sab

    August 3, 2022 at 7:41 am

    Is Meijer’s seat winnable by Democrats? Many years ago I lived in western Michigan and it was blood red back then. This was Gerry Ford’s seat. Center of DeVos and Van Andel world.

    I don’t have mixed feelings about what the DCCC did. I hate it. We should have learned from Trump. The worst possible guy can win, so maybe it isn’t a good idea to help such people win their primary.

  8. 8.

    Barbara

    August 3, 2022 at 7:44 am

    @anon: ​When I read comments like this I start to understand why so many don’t bother to vote. Embracing loss and doom doesn’t help anyone least of all us. To say that we should lose now because “in the long run” Dems might be better off, ignores that in the short run an awful lot of people are more assured of their rights and we are better off now. That’s a victory and spinning it as a loss more or less means that we deserve to lose.

  9. 9.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 3, 2022 at 7:46 am

    @sab:Is Meijer’s seat winnable by Democrats? Many years ago I lived in western Michigan and it was blood red back then. This was Gerry Ford’s seat. Center of DeVos and Van Andel world.

    Cook gives it a PVI of D+1, so it’s winnable.  Far from a guaranteed win, in the crosscurrents of this midterm year, but the Dems absolutely must contest seats like this.

    Due to the way D and R voters are distributed, plus the effects of gerrymandering, the Dems actually need to win a lot of R+2 and R+3 districts (many of which they’re already incumbents in, but still) to hold the House.

  10. 10.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 7:47 am

    @JWR:

    The only downside to last night’s Kansas win is that now, no other Republican led state will ever allow such an initiative to come before their voters. At least not if they can help it.

    The reason that it happened that way in KS was because the legislature had no other choice; it had to be a constitutional amendment. The state Supreme Court had ruled that the right to terminate a pregnancy was protected by the state constitution. The state Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the state constitution; that ruling could not be appealed to SCOTUS.

    So they could not ban abortion via legislation. They had to change the constitution in order to do that. And they pulled out every trick in the book to make sure that amendment passed.

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    August 3, 2022 at 7:49 am

    Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊

  12. 12.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:51 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  13. 13.

    Ken

    August 3, 2022 at 7:52 am

    @Albatrossity: Is there a way for the Kansas legislature to change the constitution without going through the voters? If so that will be the next tactic. Though perhaps after this referendum, some legislators will be less eager to stand up and be counted.

  14. 14.

    New Deal democrat

    August 3, 2022 at 7:53 am

    The win for abortion rights in Kansas is a Big Deal. It shows the overwhelming power of the issue. If Democrats make November a referendum on abortion rights and regulating assault weapons, they will be victorious in keeping the House and picking up seats in the Senate. It really is that simple.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:53 am

    @Ken:

    Probably easier to do what the national GOP did and change the judges.

  16. 16.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 3, 2022 at 7:56 am

    @Barbara: In the run-up to every major election I can think of, there was some genius saying it would be strategically better in the long run to lose this one.

  17. 17.

    sab

    August 3, 2022 at 7:57 am

    @lowtechcyclist: D+1 does indeed seem like a possible win.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 7:57 am

    Everyone everywhere seems to be thanking Jon Stewart for the burn out bills, and it’s deserved.  But since this is BJ, let’s give a shout out to Biden and congressional Dems.

  19. 19.

    Kay

    August 3, 2022 at 8:02 am

    Meijer is really wealthy- his family owns a chain of supermarkets. They’re respected too – frugal Dutch grocers who bootstrapped over generations. I don’t think he benefits at all from becoming an insane fascist. He can buy a city like DeVos bought Grand Rapids. Easy peasy.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 8:03 am

    @Baud:

    Out = pits

  21. 21.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 3, 2022 at 8:04 am

    @anon:

    a win for abortion is a loss for democrats. not being snarky here. If abortion was not protected by state constitution, then pro-choice voters would have to weigh democrats protecting their right to choose.

    A win for abortion rights is a win for Dems, period.  Because Kansan women will continue to be able to get the health care they need (and so can women in nearby states), and that matters a great deal to us.

    as it stands now, kansas will have abortion, but will stay deep-red

    That was going to happen anyway.  It would be the work of a generation to even get Kansas to purple.  There’s the KC area, and there’s Wichita, and the rest of the state is very heavily rural and small town.

    And as far as the downstream effect of the win goes, I say that’s a positive too.  There’s a lot to be said for “we won this, our votes mattered” to get people to vote again.

    @JWR:

    The only downside to last night’s Kansas win is that now, no other Republican led state will ever allow such an initiative to come before their voters. At least not if they can help it.

    I’m still going with: that’s a good thing if it works out that way.  Women’s access to health care is preserved in more places, and less playing defense, more playing offense.

    Besides, I’m just not the sort to go, “we won, what a bummer!”

  22. 22.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 8:05 am

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Besides, I’m just not the sort to go, “we won, what a bummer!”

     
    And you call yourself a liberal. Harrumph.

  23. 23.

    rikyrah

    August 3, 2022 at 8:06 am

    @JWR:

    Truth

  24. 24.

    Kay

    August 3, 2022 at 8:06 am

    Meijer is unionized too- United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
    Honestly I donknow why these heirs can’t just work for the family business. We’d all be better off if they stayed in their lane. Sell some groceries like a normal person.

  25. 25.

    Aunt Kathy

    August 3, 2022 at 8:06 am

    In January on Here & Now on NPR, Meijer said that he would have to support Trump in 2024 if he was the nominee. If it meant voting for either Pelosi (for example) or Trump, Trump would probably get his vote. He used a lot of words to basically say that given someone with whose policies he disagrees, vs one of the world’s prime exhibits of absolute trash, he would choose trash. Even after he voted to impeach. He’s no martyr.

  26. 26.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 8:07 am

    @Ken: No, amendments to the state constitution in KS must be submitted to voters. Even a proposal for a constitutional convention must be submitted to voters.

    The legislature cannot amend the constitution in KS unilaterally. If they could, that’s how they would have handled this issue, I’m certain. They don’t really trust voters, you know…

  27. 27.

    Jinchi

    August 3, 2022 at 8:09 am

    @anon: No this was a win for women first, but also a major loss for Republicans and an inspiration for Democrats nationwide.

    The win in Kansas, by a wide margin, will be a motivating factor in Democratic campaigns going forward. It’s also a sign to anyone despairing of change in deep red states and will hopefully drive turnout up everywhere.

    Celebrate your victories when you get them and Thanks to the good voters of Kansas.

  28. 28.

    Geminid

    August 3, 2022 at 8:11 am

    @sab: Hillary Scholten lost to Peter Meijar by 5(?) points in 2020. Since then the district has been redrawn and Joe Biden would have won it. Ms. Scholten is running again, and it’s a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    August 3, 2022 at 8:11 am

    @New Deal democrat: That’s my view of the Kansas result too; it demonstrates the power of the choice issue, even in a deep red state. As Albatrossity noted, the anti-choice Republicans pulled every trick in the book to try to strike down the right to abortion, and voters upheld it regardless.

    I doubt voters will say “that’s that” and lose motivation to vote for Dems in the future as suggested up-thread. Not that KS is likely to turn blue, but Republicans have reminded voters across this country that they want to take away a right that many — Dems and Reps — consider settled. This will not help Reps.

    Keeping the House is the heaviest of lifts, but I agree making the election a choice referendum is our best shot. I’d add an assault weapons ban too, but the thing is, we’ve got to deliver if voters come through.

    Can we deliver? It looks like we’d need to pick up four senate seats to do a filibuster carve-out for codifying Roe. I don’t know how many we’d need to pass an assault weapons ban. Does anyone have a number on that?

  30. 30.

    JWR

    August 3, 2022 at 8:12 am

    @Albatrossity: Ah, now it makes more sense. I knew it had to do with going up against a pretty strong Supreme Court decision, (from 2019, I think?), so thanks for that.

  31. 31.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    August 3, 2022 at 8:13 am

    @New Deal democrat: I was just thinking this morning that activating voters on abortion also probably means you’re activating voters on gun regulations. Those categories will to some extent overlap.

  32. 32.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 3, 2022 at 8:16 am

    @anon: Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is a Democrat.

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    August 3, 2022 at 8:16 am

    @Jinchi: The Kansas result is a good sign for Governor Laura Kelly and Representative Sharice Davids (KS-3). They both face challenging elections.

  34. 34.

    ChiJD Doug

    August 3, 2022 at 8:18 am

    @Kay: Here in Illinois, I’m glad our hotel heir, JB, decided on public service.

  35. 35.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 3, 2022 at 8:18 am

    @Baud: Hear hear! At the presser after the vote, Tester highlighted that the bill originated with Biden.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    August 3, 2022 at 8:21 am

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    VA Secretary was on MJ this morning talking about things Biden did by executive order to make it easier for Vets to get health care.  These are the little things we need to tout in between complaining about Dem messaging.

  37. 37.

    Jinchi

    August 3, 2022 at 8:23 am

    @Geminid: I knew KS had a Democratic governor, but I didn’t realize she was up for re election. Absolutely this is a good sign for her campaign. Losing this vote would have been extremely demoralizing for her voters.

  38. 38.

    Kay

    August 3, 2022 at 8:25 am

    @ChiJD Doug:

    That’s true. I like him too. I just always think of the Waltons or the DeVos clan. Can’t the DeVs clan just race yachts and enjoy the spoils of their rip off Amway business?

    They’re grosser because the source of the wealth is a sad, manipulative mutli level marketing waste. They don’t even contribute anything useful in the private sector.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    August 3, 2022 at 8:26 am

    Speaking as a Miserian, I’m going to say the Kansas abortion vote was an unalloyed win for us. My granddaughters have 2 choices if ever they need them.

  40. 40.

    Cmorenc

    August 3, 2022 at 8:27 am

    @Albatrossity:

    Since state-level Supreme Court seats are elective, look for the Kansas GOP to push to elect judges who implicitly pledge to overturn abortion rights while refusing to comment during their campaign on matters that may come before the court.

  41. 41.

    Marmot

    August 3, 2022 at 8:32 am

    @Jinchi: Yes! This.

    Somehow in the eleventy dimension chess strategy, everyone forgets the value of pumping up morale. And you do that partly  with WINS. 

  42. 42.

    Geminid

    August 3, 2022 at 8:34 am

    @Betty Cracker: Theoretically, if you can carve out a filibuster exception for women’shealth rights you can carve one out for an assault weapons ban. Practically, the first is easier than the second. Without a carve out, you would need 60 votes to enact an assault weapons ban.

    I think some gun safety proposals have popularity on a par with women’s health rights. Universal background checks polls higher. Assault weapons bans poll in the positive, but not by so much. It might be better to center gun safety measures like universal background checks and a ban on large capicity magazines than to center an assault weapons ban.

    This is not to say Democratic Representatives won’t campaign on the issue, and some candidates challenging Republicans might also. I noticed that the two Republicans who voted for the assault weapons ban were from a suburban Pennsylvania district and a similar one in California. Democrats regained the House in 2018 by knocking out Republicans in suburban districts. This type of district will be the main battleground this year. And gun safety is a winning issue now in many suburban districts.

  43. 43.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 8:38 am

    @Cmorenc:

    Since state-level Supreme Court seats are elective, look for the Kansas GOP to push to elect judges who implicitly pledge to overturn abortion rights while refusing to comment during their campaign on matters that may come before the court.

    Retention of justices is determined via election. But judges are appointed by the governor. Here’s the process. Merit Selection is the name of it, and it also is covered by the state constitution.

    During the Brownback years he wanted to change the process because it involves a slate of candidates recommended by the state bar association, i.e. qualified candidates. But that also would take a constitutional amendment.

     

  44. 44.

    different-church-lady

    August 3, 2022 at 9:09 am

    @anon: Kansas was going to stay deep red anyway.

  45. 45.

    Cmorenc

    August 3, 2022 at 9:11 am

    @Albatrossity: Thanks – good that it will be harder in Kansas to dislodge judges making pro-choicr decisions bc of retention system.  In too many other states NC for example) all state-level judges (including state supreme courts) they are elective every 4 years

  46. 46.

    different-church-lady

    August 3, 2022 at 9:12 am

    Meijer was going to lose no matter what, because the GOP has reduced itself to a cult of personality.

  47. 47.

    clay

    August 3, 2022 at 9:17 am

    @sab:

    I don’t have mixed feelings about what the DCCC did. I hate it. We should have learned from Trump. The worst possible guy can win, so maybe it isn’t a good idea to help such people win their primary.

    The worst possible guy winning a random House seat is a lot different than the worst possible guy winning as president.  It doesn’t really matter which R sits there; they will vote the same way 99.99% of the time.

    So why not try to give the Dems an advantage?

  48. 48.

    Karen

    August 3, 2022 at 9:18 am

    GOP has taken referendums on cannabis and prisoners and ignored them when their results were not to their liking. What makes people think they won’t do the same here?

  49. 49.

    Nicole

    August 3, 2022 at 9:28 am

    It’s been a long time since I read What’s The Matter With Kansas? but as I recall, the anti-abortion movement was a big part of the shift.  Last night was encouraging.  I believe the right-wing movement is rooted in racism (it’s racism that started the whole anti-abortion movement to begin with) but sometimes the things right-wingers do to hurt black folk hurt poor and middle- class white folk enough too that they actually notice it.  I don’t expect Kansas to vote different overall in November, but this is encouraging.

  50. 50.

    Mai Naem mobile

    August 3, 2022 at 9:39 am

    I think the pregnant  10 year old Ohio kid having to go to Indiana for an abortion was a very quick warning about the consequences of the  Dobbins decision.  Similar situations will get a lot of coverage in the next few months and help with GOTV and I am pretty sure they did with Kansas.

    I am waiting to find out if QAnon Qari won the GOP primary here. Last time I checked she was 1000 votes ahead. I can’t decide if its better if she loses or wins because she might just win the general which is downright scary because she comes across dumber than TFG.

  51. 51.

    The Moar You Know

    August 3, 2022 at 9:49 am

    The GOP got pasted in a red state over abortion.  60/40 is a wipeout in American politics.

    A path for Democrats is very clear.

  52. 52.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 3, 2022 at 10:02 am

    @Betty Cracker: Dana Houle has a good and slightly optimistic thread on the complicated nature of Kansas.

  53. 53.

    Ken

    August 3, 2022 at 10:04 am

    @The Moar You Know: A path for Democrats is very clear.

    Whoa, whoa. Can I see your punditry license? Because the approved path for Democrats after a massive win is to compromise by giving the Republicans everything they want since the US is really a center-right nation.

    (The last eighteen words should be run together, but that breaks the blog formatting. Instead imagine it being spoken in a single burst of unstressed monotone.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 3, 2022 at 10:14 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Can we deliver? It looks like we’d need to pick up four senate seats to do a filibuster carve-out for codifying Roe.

    Whether we need four, or just two, depends on bringing Mark Warner (VA) and Angus King (ME) around on a Roe filibuster exception.

    Democrats in their states need to be burning up their phone lines.  I know we’ve got a lot of jackals in Virginia, so you folks get on the phone, okay? His office’s phone number is (202) 224-2023.  He’s also got a Web form here to leave written comments.

    For any Mainers, Angus King’s office phone is (202) 224-5344 and here’s his Web form.

  55. 55.

    Josie

    August 3, 2022 at 10:18 am

    A thought just occurred to me on ideas for campaigning this year. Ron Johnson just brought up the idea of making funds discretionary rather than mandatory for Medicare and Social Security, a first step in getting rid of them. Nobody believed that Republicans would actually get rid of abortion rights. Now that they have shown what they are capable of, could anyone doubt that these programs are next on their agenda? This is an excellent reason for voting Democratic.

  56. 56.

    J R in WV

    August 3, 2022 at 10:25 am

    @Geminid: ​
     

    It might be better to center gun safety measures like universal background checks and a ban on large capicity [sic] magazines than to center an assault weapons ban.

    Is it still an assault rifle if your AR-15 or AK-47 style rifle is limited to a 5 shot magazine? Hmmm?

  57. 57.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 10:28 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: That is a pretty accurate summary of where we are in KS these days. The legislature is still supermajority-whacko, thanks to rural KS voters and gerrymandered districts. It might remain whacko after November, but this victory should energize D and independent voters to remove at least some of their supermajority.

    Jackals tend to be a pessimistic cynical lot, and the comments on this thread reflect that. I therefore am compelled to point out that this win is a BFD, not just for my state but for others in surrounding states, and that activists in other states should double down on their efforts to fight back against christofascism.

    It can happen; it happened here, and it happened because of the timing of the Dobbs decision. Seize the day. Make it happen so that you can go back to feeling that your state is superior to mine.

  58. 58.

    New Deal democrat

    August 3, 2022 at 10:37 am

    @Albatrossity: A couple of years ago I took a look at what States the Democrats might be able to flip with the fewest votes shifting.

    Kansas was one of my top candidates for at least turning it purple. The growing Kansas City suburbs, as well as Wichita and Topeka, ought to be the object of local party-building, with a view that by 2030, Democrats can be competitive – and win – a majority in the Legislature as well as Statewide races.

  59. 59.

    Ksmiami

    August 3, 2022 at 10:42 am

    @Jinchi: also as someone pointed out , Republicans make up lies about what Dems do to sell fear and we don’t have to do that- Republicans really are coming for our rights so selling this is a friggin no brainer.

  60. 60.

    MisterDancer

    August 3, 2022 at 10:45 am

    @Albatrossity: Jackals tend to be a pessimistic cynical lot, and the comments on this thread reflect that. I therefore am compelled to point out that this win is a BFD, not just for my state but for others in surrounding states, and that activists in other states should double down on their efforts to fight back against christofascism.

    Thank you for saying this.

    We act as if we’re powerless, many of us. And it’s not true. It never was true.

    I hope whomever built out the campaign to maintain Abortion Rights in Kansas is getting phone calls and support from the DNC and related orgs. I maintain that there are a LOT more Stacey Abrams out there, who need nurturing and bolstering — just as the Conservative Movement has been doing, in horrifically unethical ways, for decades now.

    People are ready to stand up, y’all. They are ready to vote and march and advocate for these rights, and they just need a direction and energy to point them to the fight.

  61. 61.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 10:49 am

    @New Deal democrat: That would take some serious party-building, but at least this result makes it easier to recruit good candidates statewide. We need to convince people that an (R) on their ballot is not someone that they must automatically vote for, and that will take some time. But this overreach by R legislators certainly did help.

    It is also looking more likely that Kelly will win a second term as governor. Dennis Pyle, an ultra-conservative looney and former state legislator, got enough signatures so that he can run as an independent. He will not cut into Kelly’s voters, but he will steal at least some votes from the GOP candidate, the equally ultra-conservative Derrick Schmidt. Pyle claims that both of his opponents are liberals, so that gives you some idea of where on the spectrum he resides.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    August 3, 2022 at 10:56 am

    Re the DCCC – Horse’s mouth:

    To: Interested Parties
    From: Matt Corridoni
    Date: August 3, 2022
    Subject: The Case Against John Gibbs

    After a nasty and hotly contested Republican primary, voters delivered an upset to Rep. Peter Meijer and ousted him before the end of his first term in office. Instead, Republican voters will be putting up Meijer’s Trump-backed challenger, John Gibbs – and already national Republicans are saying goodbye to any hope they had at keeping this seat.

    John Gibbs is a far-right extremist who was carried over the finish line in his primary only by the most fringe elements of his party. It’s a playbook that won’t serve him well in November and is decidedly out of touch with Michigan’s newly reconfigured 3rd Congressional District. After redistricting, this district moved from a Trump +3 district to a Biden +9 – a twelve-point swing that makes this a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats across the entire House battlefield.

    And as West Michigan trends away from Republicans, John Gibbs is exactly the kind of candidate this changing electorate will reject. Gibbs says he’s “100% pro-life in all cases” and called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “great news for women” – a position far out of step with the vast majority of Michiganders. Gibbs has also repeatedly pushed the Big Lie that the election was stolen and downplayed the deadly violence at the Capitol on January 6th, and he wouldn’t hesitate to silence Michigan voters should he not like the results of the election. The campaign that he is running makes it clear he’s more interested in attacking people he disagrees with than fighting inflation and addressing the kitchen table issues that actually matter to working families.

    Gibbs’ dangerous and extreme views are a stark contrast to Hillary Scholten, who worked for the Department of Justice enforcing our immigration law, helped small businesses in West Michigan recover from the pandemic, and is a devout, lifelong Christian and deacon at her church.

    In Washington, Hillary will bring her brand of common-sense, solutions oriented leadership to get our economy back on track. She supports bringing global supply chains home and rebuilding our manufacturing in Michigan – and she’ll work with anyone to get the job done.

    West Michigan is ready for a champion who understands the everyday issues families are facing – and in Congress, Hillary will fight to make sure the government works for communities across Michigan’s Third Congressional District.

    JOHN GIBBS IS TOO EXTREME FOR WEST MICHIGAN

    In the wake of the Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Gibbs has made his extreme anti-choice record clear. Gibbs says he’s “100% pro-life in all cases” and called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade “great news for women.” He wants to ban abortion even in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is at risk, saying, “There are many great Americans all around the country who were actually conceived from rape.”

    Gibbs is a Big Lie proponent who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen and refuses to say that Biden was fairly elected president. He also downplayed the violent January 6th insurrection, where 140 police officers were injured defending the Capitol, and sided with the insurrectionists. Gibbs has even questioned the results of future elections, making clear he’ll work to overturn the next presidential election if his preferred candidate doesn’t win. If he gets to Congress, Gibbs would be more focused on attacking his political enemies than fighting for West Michigan.

    […]

    (Emphasis added.)

    It’s easy, and conventional, to beat up on the people working for the Democratic party organizations, but in general I think they’re pretty smart and usually know what they’re doing. Hot takes in the political press that scream Democrats are Doing it Rong make me slow down and look more closely.

    YMMV.

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  63. 63.

    Geminid

    August 3, 2022 at 10:58 am

    @J R in WV: It’s still an assault rifle. I mention the ban on large capacity magazines because it may have broader backing. And nothing prevents a legislator from voting for a ban on assault rifles even if they center other gun safety measures. This is a political calculation that candiates and their advisors will make, depending on their district or state

  64. 64.

    Bill Arnold

    August 3, 2022 at 11:00 am

    @anon:

    a win for abortion is a loss for democrats.

    You could have easily written “a win for abortion rights is a major loss for Republicans”, but you chose the opposite. Why?
    Nationally, this unexpectedly-large Christian Supremacist loss will increase fear of electoral loss in the Republican party, and motivate Democrats, and motivate independents to vote for Democrats. It will provide talking points to pound down Christian Supremacist propagandists and candidates. And even in Kansas, I fail to see your reasoning that this will be bad for Democrats.

  65. 65.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 11:08 am

    @Baud: I think the ads that have been running the past few weeks with a woman reading stuff from Greiten’s ex-wife’s court filings hurt him a lot with conservative female voters.

  66. 66.

    Kent

    August 3, 2022 at 11:08 am

    @sab:

    Is Meijer’s seat winnable by Democrats? Many years ago I lived in western Michigan and it was blood red back then. This was Gerry Ford’s seat. Center of DeVos and Van Andel world.

    I don’t have mixed feelings about what the DCCC did. I hate it. We should have learned from Trump. The worst possible guy can win, so maybe it isn’t a good idea to help such people win their primary.

    I don’t like it either.

    No complaining now when the Koch Foundation or Peter Thiel decide to dump a couple million into some Democratic primary in other to manipulate those results and give us the worst Democratic candidates.  Is that what we want?

  67. 67.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 11:10 am

    @Albatrossity: They lied unashamedly about the amendment to try to get people to vote for it, and they still failed badly.

  68. 68.

    Kent

    August 3, 2022 at 11:15 am

    @JWR:The only downside to last night’s Kansas win is that now, no other Republican led state will ever allow such an initiative to come before their voters. At least not if they can help it.

    It depends on the state.  But in some states voters can put constitutional amendments on the ballot through the initiative process.  I think that is the case in Ohio.  As I recall, Republicans got anti-gay marriage initiatives on the ballot in Ohio during Bush’s run in order to drum up the fundie vote.

    Both sides can play that game.

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    August 3, 2022 at 11:18 am

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Kaine isn’t on board with scrapping the filibuster for Roe, yet, either. WARNING – Politico:

    The Virginian introduced legislation this week with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) that aims to protect abortion rights until the point a fetus is viable outside the womb, typically between 22 and 24 weeks, as well as contraception access. Kaine readily admits his bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate — but he argues that it shows voters a bipartisan majority of senators getting behind abortion rights.

    And Kaine sees himself occupying a somewhat unique role on abortion. Six years after serving as his party’s vice presidential nominee, he’s one of only three Senate Democrats left who supports the longstanding ban on federal funds to pay for abortion. But he’s also backed his party’s signature abortion-rights bill and boasts a 95 percent rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

    Kaine’s bipartisan foray with Collins, a frequent target of the left, is alienating some of the same abortion-rights groups he votes with and getting him static from his progressive colleagues. But the 64-year-old sees his attempt to walk a bipartisan line on Roe as in keeping with his faith and his role as a senator.

    BallsAndStrikes (from May 12) has a list of every [Democratic-ish] Senator’s position on ending the filibuster to codify Roe. Many didn’t answer. Many were unclear. Two (S&M) said they did not support ending the filibuster for Roe.

    tl;dr – Politics is slow. Contacting your/our Senators is good. It’s going to be a slog moving forward – it always is.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  70. 70.

    Mike in Pasadena

    August 3, 2022 at 11:21 am

    Do male voters realize the importance of abortion availability? Many men may understand that abortion has or could prevent triggering their own support obligations under paternity laws in most places. It is much easier to establish or prove paternity (fatherhood) than it used to be.  That is, abortion has probably prevented more than one man from bearing financial responsibility for a child that neither the woman nor the man was ready to bear. Self interest makes the law seem a little more real. Men wanting to preserve a possible escape from responsibilty may encourage some of them to support abortion. They may not want to say so in public or to a pollster, but in the voting booth. . .

    I recognize this theory may have absolutely no basis in fact, it is only conjecture.

  71. 71.

    Kent

    August 3, 2022 at 11:24 am

    @Another Scott: If we aren’t going to abandon the filibuster completely then I could at least see a carve-out for civil rights.  Since civil rights should not be subject to majority rule.

    • Voting rights
    • Perhaps some criminal justice reform
    • Gay marriage and other LGBT issues
    • abortion.

    Of those, I suspect abortion is going to be the biggest sticking point for some of the religious dipshits who still want to pretend that institutions like the Catholic church are a moral force for good in the world.

  72. 72.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 11:26 am

    @Soprano2: Yes, they did. I got one of the text messages mentioned in this article, and lots of slick mail items with similar lies. Lying is really one of the only tools that they have left, but they continue to excel at it!

  73. 73.

    Kent

    August 3, 2022 at 11:28 am

    @Mike in Pasadena:

    Do male voters realize the importance of abortion availability? Many men may understand that abortion has or could prevent triggering their own support obligations under paternity laws in most places. It is much easier to establish or prove paternity (fatherhood) than it used to be.  That is, abortion has probably prevented more than one man from bearing financial responsibility for a child that neither the woman nor the man was ready to bear. Self interest makes the law seem a little more real. Men wanting to preserve a possible escape from responsibilty may encourage some of them to support abortion. They may not want to say so in public or to a pollster, but in the voting booth. . .

    I recognize this theory may have absolutely no basis in fact, it is only conjecture.

    Abortion isn’t always about abortion.  More often in southern states it is just an excuse to vote for racist authoritarian assholes.  No one questions your sincerity when you say you vote for x-horrid GOPer because they are “pro-life” but they will if you say it is because they are racist.  The 2nd Amendment works the same way.

    When abortion is a stand-alone issue like in Kansas it may work as you say.  But when it is about candidates not so much.  I knew a shitload of men in Texas when we lived there who would say they can’t vote for x-Democrat because they are pro-life.  When I knew damn well they probably didn’t give an actual flying fuck about abortion personally.  They just wanted a handy excuse for voting for the worst and most right-wing  Republican candidates.  It is easier than saying “I’m voting GOP because the Democrats are the party of N****ers.”

  74. 74.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 11:28 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: There have also been multiple horrific stories about the consequences the Dobbs decision has had for women having miscarriages, or for women who need abortions due to fetal abnormalities. Those stories will keep happening, and eventually a woman is unfortunately going to die what will probably be a horrible death because she couldn’t get care that was routine before Roe was overturned. Those stories have an effect on people’s opinions.

  75. 75.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    August 3, 2022 at 11:43 am

    Pennsylvania may start the process of banning abortion via constitutional amendment route next with a vote in next April’s primary (2023), because we have a Dem Governor now (Wolfe) and Josh Shaprio stands a good chance of beating the wingnut Mastriano who will veto bills.

    PA Constitutional amendments need to be passed by 2 consecutive sessions of both houses of the legislature and advertised in newspapers before a general election which may be before the second legislative vote.  The proposed amendment was just in our newspaper yesterday. I think it will be separate amendments, but I’m not positive they are lumping them together in a “kitchen sink” amendment with all  of the changes some popular and some not or as separate amendments.

    The abortion section is add a section #30 to Article 1 stating “This constitution does not grant the right to taxpayer-funded abortion or any other right relating to abortion”

    Also proposed are changes:

    – to allow the legislature to cancel any state regulation by majority vote;

    – elect the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor together on one slate;

    – require “valid identification” for in person voting  i.e. “an unexpired government-issued identification, unless otherwise provided for by law” *

    -Require the legislature to pass a law setting up audits of every election. (Hello mutant Cyber-ninjas!”

    The legislature has been using this end around the Governor’s veto for a while now and usually putting it  putting on the ballot with a primary when independents don’t usually have any reason to bother going to the polls since we have closed primaries! They almost always pass.

    Gov. Wolfe has filed a suit with the PA Supreme court to stop the amendment over privacy issues and also the law requiring bills to stick to one subject and this mishmash Constitutional bill did all these proposals together.

     

    *Note: this is a requirement now for first time voters in PA. I wonder if Dr. Oz used his NJ driver license or his Turkish passport; though Oz probably voted by absentee ballot which just needs a signature and a date even though he was “living” at his In-Law’s house near Philly.

    Also: Mastriano has said he wants EVERY Registered Voter to have to re-register in order to vote again because we need to “clean up the voting records.”

  76. 76.

    C Stars

    August 3, 2022 at 11:50 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: Yeah, AZ is a really strange place these days. I don’t live there but have family who does. Stupid Brandon flags everywhere but on the other hand AZ Dems, while less flaggy, seem extremely motivated and politically aware/active. Plus all the young, diverse families moving in to work in tech.

  77. 77.

    Benno

    August 3, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    @Kent: central Illinois native chiming in

    They just wanted a handy excuse for voting for the worst and most right-wing  Republican candidates.  It is easier than saying “I’m voting GOP because the Democrats are the party of N****ers.”

    Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!

    I don’t know if the Cook county vs. everything else divide exacerbates this tendency in Illinois, but heaven forfend “those people” up in Chicago benefit from state largesse.

  78. 78.

    brantl

    August 3, 2022 at 12:21 pm

    @J R in WV:Is it still an assault rifle if your AR-15 or AK-47 style rifle is limited to a 5 shot magazine? Hmmm?

    It’s 5 people’s worth of an assault rifle. Do we have 5 people standing around anywhere this asshole might happen to show up, that we can spare?

  79. 79.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    August 3, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    @anon: That’s one way of reading it, I suppose. I choose to believe that pissed off voters registered and voted in much larger numbers in the primary than Republicans anticipated, and those voters will vote in the November election as well.

    I don’t think voters who vote in a primary are inclined to stay home in November.

  80. 80.

    Fair Economist

    August 3, 2022 at 12:50 pm

    @New Deal democrat:With the large numbers being driven from the coastal states by the housing shortages, small cities like the ones in Kansas could draw a lot of people just by urbanizing some – build some walkable neighborhoods, infill the parking lots, and change commercial strip malls to multi-use.

  81. 81.

    Fair Economist

    August 3, 2022 at 12:56 pm

    @Kent: I think the attack ads against Gibbs were brilliant. Since they were the first things many saw, Gibbs is now branded as a crazy extremist and he’s not going to be able to squirm out. In a D-leaning district that’s a huge anvil for him to carry.

    I think people are way too pearl-clutchy about calling fascist traitors fascist traitors.

  82. 82.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 3, 2022 at 1:04 pm

    @Another Scott: BallsAndStrikes (from May 12) has a list of every [Democratic-ish] Senator’s position on ending the filibuster to codify Roe. Many didn’t answer. Many were unclear. Two (S&M) said they did not support ending the filibuster for Roe.

    TPM has a more current list:

    Which Senate Democrats Are Blocking The Path To Abortion Rights? (talkingpointsmemo.com)

    Yeah, Virginians definitely should be calling Kaine as well.  He supports some sort of filibuster reform (e.g. the talking filibuster) and of course supports Roe codification, but hasn’t said he’d specifically support a filibuster cutout for Roe.

    Warner looks like the harder case, though. My WAG is that if Warner can be persuaded to agree to a filibuster exception for Roe, he can bring Kaine along with him.

    ETA:

    tl;dr – Politics is slow. Contacting your/our Senators is good. It’s going to be a slog moving forward – it always is.

    Well, we’ve got exactly five months before the new Congress is seated. Might as well get to work.

  83. 83.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    Reproductive freedom advocates can’t pursue ballot initiatives in every state. Most Deep South states—where abortion is or will soon be outlawed—don’t allow citizen-placed laws and constitutional amendments on the ballot. But every western and many midwestern states do. (Kansas isn’t one; statehouse Republicans, not average citizens, are the geniuses who put abortion on the ballot.) So, expect reproductive freedom advocates to put abortion on the ballot wherever possible.

    From here.

  84. 84.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    @Fair Economist: My city of Springfield, MO is concentrating more on being a desirable place to live than on bringing certain kinds of employers here. I heard a short presentation on it – they are aware that it’s easier for people to choose where to live now because of more remote work, and they want to make this a place people choose to live because of the quality of what’s available here. I think you’ll start seeing this approach on the part of cities more and more as it’s easier for people to be mobile.

  85. 85.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 1:42 pm

    @Albatrossity: Missouri allows it, but the R’s in the legislature are trying to make it impossible for voters to get anything on the ballot (while leaving their ability to put things on the ballot the same as it is now). They started trying to do this after the Medicaid expansion passed in MO, and I expect them to redouble their efforts after seeing what happened in Kansas.

  86. 86.

    Albatrossity

    August 3, 2022 at 1:51 pm

    @Soprano2: Yes, MO legislators are a breed similar to those in KS. When they ignored the will of the voters and refused to fund Medicaid expansion, it was pretty clear that this whole democracy thing was not high on their priority list. As I recall the Medicaid expansion constitutional amendment was on the primary ballot too?

    Sad, Thankfully there is no funding needed to keep abortion legal in KS, so at least our legislative nimrods can’t use that loophole. They will come up with some evil scheme, for sure, but they may not be quite as clever as they think they are.

  87. 87.

    Soprano2

    August 3, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    @Albatrossity: As I recall the Medicaid expansion constitutional amendment was on the primary ballot too?

    Yes, for the same reason the KS legislators put the abortion amendment on the primary ballot.

  88. 88.

    ian

    August 3, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Rusty Bowers, the Arizona speaker of the house who testified to j6 committee that Trump pressured him to overturn election, lost to David Farnsworth, who said the election was stolen by a conspiracy led by the devil.

  89. 89.

    ian

    August 3, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    @Kent:

    No complaining now when the Koch Foundation or Peter Thiel decide to dump a couple million into some Democratic primary in other to manipulate those results and give us the worst Democratic candidates.  Is that what we want?

    Well, they do that anyways.  Remember Erik Prince of Xe, formerly Blackwater?  He ran an operation that sent people into state democratic parties to form discontent.  Also, the strategies involved are going to be different.  The DCCC and others (Such as Pritzker) who engaged in this ran ads saying how extreme these candidates were, which encouraged conservative voters to vote for them.  The Dem coalition may or may not vote for a candidate that has ads saying “the most liberal”, our center/left coalition doesn’t produce that outcome.

  90. 90.

    Gretchen

    August 3, 2022 at 3:28 pm

    @anon: You’re wrong about Kansas being hopelessly deep red.  I have a Democratic governor, democratic house representative, and very progressive young Democratic state senator and rep here in the Kansas City suburbs.  The majority of the state Supreme Court justices who ruled that the constitution guarantees the right to privacy were appointed by dem governors (Kelly and Sibelius).  Saying what’s the use, KS will always be red wouldn’t have gotten us here.

  91. 91.

    RL DeMent

    August 3, 2022 at 3:47 pm

    @sab:

    Yes, after redistricting that district got a big slice of Grand Rapids that was sliced out in the old 3rd. Should be pretty competitive.

  92. 92.

    RL DeMent

    August 3, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    @sab:

    Yes, after redistricting that district got a big slice of Grand Rapids that was sliced out in the old 3rd. Should be pretty competitive.

  93. 93.

    Phoenix_Rising

    August 3, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    @anon: no, in Sedgwick County alone thousands of new Democrats registered to vote in order to vote No. These voters are now the Democratic Party’s to lose. Hopefully they will be smart enough to look at the receipts.

  94. 94.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    August 3, 2022 at 4:41 pm

    @Kay: He’s already bought a share of Grand Rapids – Meijer Gardens – or it’s more accurate to say his dad or maybe it was grandpa.

    Not surprised Meijer lost. GR is a reasonably liberal city surrounded by mostly red suburbs and rural areas. The republicans there fell hard for Trump if my Facebook friends from there are reasonably representative.

    The district got more Democratic leaning with the new gerrymander so a good Dem candidate has more of a chance.

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