• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Comment
  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

This fight is for everything.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Come on, man.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / 2024 Elections / Any Primaries We Should Be Paying Attention to Tonight?

Any Primaries We Should Be Paying Attention to Tonight?

by WaterGirl|  March 19, 20249:30 pm| 70 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Elections, Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

I’ve been super busy and haven’t paid much attention to the primaries this week.

Anything in particular that we should be watching for other than the Republican primary for senator in Ohio?

All I know is

JFC, I Can't Even Anymore

Open thread.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: «spy v. spy flyouts War for Ukraine Day 755: Secretary Austin Is Correct, Putin & the World Are Watching America Fail Another Ally
Next Post: Tuesday Night Open Thread »

Reader Interactions

  • Commenters
  • Filtered
  • Settings

Commenters

No commenters available.

  • Anoniminous
  • Another Scott
  • Belafon
  • Bupalos
  • cain
  • columbusqueen
  • dmsilev
  • FlyingToaster (Tablet)
  • Frankensteinbeck
  • frosty
  • Geminid
  • Gretchen
  • Harrison Wesley
  • Hoppie
  • HumboldtBlue
  • Ironcity
  • Jackie
  • Jay
  • Juice Box
  • Ohio Mom
  • Omnes Omnibus
  • Origuy
  • Paul in KY
  • PaulWartenberg
  • Percysowner
  • Phein64
  • Princess
  • RaflW
  • rekoob
  • RevRick
  • Roberto el oso
  • sanjeevs
  • Splitting Image
  • Uncle Cosmo
  • Urza
  • WaterGirl
  • wjca
  • yellowdog

Filtered Commenters

No filtered commenters available.

    Settings




    Settings are saved immediately; press X to close the box.

    70Comments

    1. 1.

      Princess

      March 19, 2024 at 9:37 pm

      Not a primary but I’m seeing reports James could start seizing Trump’s assets as soon as Monday (Dan Rather, Vanity Fair). If there are mortgages and liens on a seized property, who gets first crack at its value? Asking for a weary country.

      Reply
    2. 2.

      Juice Box

      March 19, 2024 at 9:40 pm

      Arizona is voting today. Gallego should win the Senate nomination for the Ds, but I don’t know about Putin’s party, maybe Kari Lake?

      Reply
    3. 3.

      WaterGirl

      March 19, 2024 at 9:43 pm

      Guessing that we’re rooting for the craziest of the crazies in OH to give Sherrod Brown a better chance in November?

      Reply
    4. 4.

      Percysowner

      March 19, 2024 at 9:47 pm

       

      Trump endorsed Bernie Moreno was going against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and State Senator Matt Dolan. Moreno won. Moreno is MAGA through and through although the revelation that he had been posting looking for “Men for 1-on-1 sex” on a casual sexual encounters website called Adult Friend Finder. There was a chance that would take him out, but it did not. So he will go against Sherrod Brown. The Democrats were rooting for him to win, thinking he will be somewhat easier to beat what with his anti-LGBTQ views and stated desire for a national abortion ban. If Sherrod can’t pull it out we will have yet another nut case representing Ohio. OTOH, Sherrod has managed to pull it out before. It’s time to start donating and writing post cards.

      @WaterGirl:  We got the crazy!

      Reply
    5. 5.

      rekoob

      March 19, 2024 at 9:47 pm

      @Princess: Generally speaking, lenders negotiate their priorities when offering loans. “I’ll lend at this rate, if you’ll grant me senior status to other lenders”, and the like. Since we don’t know how encumbered Trump’s various properties are, it’s hard to say how easily or quickly the State of New York can settle matters.

      My guess is it’s a real mess. The properties are mortgaged to the hilt and there’s little, if any, room for anyone, least of all Trump, to negotiate. It’s all bluster.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Origuy

      March 19, 2024 at 9:48 pm

      @WaterGirl: Trump’s pick Bernie Moreno has already been declared the winner with just under 50% of the vote.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      Phein64

      March 19, 2024 at 9:49 pm

      @WaterGirl: He won!  (According to AP.)

      Locally, I know there was only one contested race for Democrats (Coroner), but neither of them is particularly competent (according to the forensic anthropologist I’m married to and her colleagues), so nothing to get to the polls for.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Jay

      March 19, 2024 at 9:51 pm

      @Princess:

      mortgages and “proven” liens come first as creditors.

      So yeah, there is no money left in the properties.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      Percysowner

      March 19, 2024 at 9:51 pm

       

      @Phein64:

       I went if only to make my “Joe Biden is NOT too old” vote.

      Reply
    10. 10.

      WaterGirl

      March 19, 2024 at 9:51 pm

      @Origuy: Cheer or cry?  Uncertain.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Frankensteinbeck

      March 19, 2024 at 9:54 pm

      @Jay:

      Then a lot of them will have to be sold to pay Trump’s debts.

      EDIT – If Trump is so leveraged that his entire real estate empire has to be seized to partially pay his fines, I can live with that.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Anoniminous

      March 19, 2024 at 9:55 pm

      Can she grab assets outside of New York?  Like Mar-a-Longo?

      And how long is Melanoma going to continue to ‘hang’ if Donny isn’t a sugar daddy?

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Hoppie

      March 19, 2024 at 9:57 pm

      No.

      (Strunk & White: Omit Needless Words)

      Reply
    14. 14.

      dmsilev

      March 19, 2024 at 9:58 pm

      @Anoniminous: One airplane, B-757, somewhat used, needs repair. And repainting.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      RaflW

      March 19, 2024 at 9:58 pm

      @rekoob: God only knows how much some of Trump’s loans have been tranched into credit default swaps and all that mysterious shyte.

      I’m sure most everything has not just first, but second and maybe even more junior debt holders.

      This is why no bond co would bite. They’d be in liquidation litigation well past Donnie’s eventual expiration.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      Jay

      March 19, 2024 at 10:00 pm

      @Frankensteinbeck:

      and it’s a lousy market to try to sell in, once all the ruZZian’s bail and their properties go into forclosure.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      RaflW

      March 19, 2024 at 10:01 pm

      @dmsilev: Very used – 1991 registration. Yes, Delta flies a handful of planes of that vintage, but I’d trust them 100X over what notorious cheapskate Trump has paid for maintenance.

      Reply
    18. 18.

      Ohio Mom

      March 19, 2024 at 10:04 pm

      @rekoob: During the Great Recession, one family in my neighborhood lost their house, or maybe they were renters and got evicted — all their stuff was in heaps on the front lawn. It was painful to see.

      How likely is it that something that dramatic will happen to Trump? As you point out, there will be a lot of behind the scenes accounting, and that is boring to watch.

      But maybe there will be a moment when something like the Trump sign being taken down from the building on Fifth Avenue happens, and that will be dramatic enough to be filmed for the nightly news. And that will get the normie’s atrention.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      rekoob

      March 19, 2024 at 10:09 pm

      @RaflW: Precisely. If I were New York Attorney General James, I’d call a meeting of lenders to the Trump properties and propose what the British call a “ring-fencing” of the loans, separating the wheat from the chaff. Give them a chance to settle the fraud claims while protecting the major assets to benefit the citizens of New York over time.

      Reply
    20. 20.

      Frankensteinbeck

      March 19, 2024 at 10:10 pm

      @Ohio Mom:

      There is reasonable odds he’ll be evicted from Mar-a-lago.  Is that dramatic enough?  We’ll just have to see.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      Anoniminous

      March 19, 2024 at 10:11 pm

      @dmsilev:

      People who know more than I think the plane is worth between US$3.58 million to $11.27 million.  I’d bet on the lower value especially since we’re talking fire sale

      Reply
    22. 22.

      Jackie

      March 19, 2024 at 10:15 pm

      In FL, TIFG won, followed by Nikki Haley over Pudd’n Boots by 10 pts!!😂 🤣 😂 BettyCracker will be celebrating!!!

      Reply
    23. 23.

      Harrison Wesley

      March 19, 2024 at 10:16 pm

      @Ohio Mom: ….or perhaps a lonely gold-painted toilet, resting forlorn against a lamp post…..

      Reply
    24. 24.

      Phein64

      March 19, 2024 at 10:17 pm

      @Percysowner: Same here, same here.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      Omnes Omnibus

      March 19, 2024 at 10:24 pm

      @RaflW: The mortgaged properties won’t be a big deal.  A bankruptcy trustee will sell them and divvy up the proceeds according to the creditors’ status.  The fun will be the properties that have his name on them where he is a minority owner.

      Reply
    26. 26.

      Jackie

      March 19, 2024 at 10:25 pm

      @Frankensteinbeck:

      There is reasonable odds he’ll be evicted from Mar-a-lago.  Is that dramatic enough?  We’ll just have to see.

      I like to visualize Putin buying MAL; TIFG losing the election, and as punishment for being a LOSER, Putin allows TIFG to live in the servants quarters and earn his keep as Putin’s caddy boy – on foot – as Putin doesn’t need a golf cart to get from hole to hole.

      Reply
    27. 27.

      sanjeevs

      March 19, 2024 at 10:26 pm

      Trump is still only getting 75-80% of Republican voters.

      Reply
    28. 28.

      Omnes Omnibus

      March 19, 2024 at 10:26 pm

      @Jackie: Putin might have some visa issues.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      Jay

      March 19, 2024 at 10:28 pm

      @Ohio Mom:

      Eviction.

      Foreclosed properties the Bank sells and disposes anything left behind.

      Evictions, it’s all left on the lawn for the owners to pick up, or until the “Got Junk” guys have to be called.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      Uncle Cosmo

      March 19, 2024 at 10:31 pm

      @dmsilev: Where is Earl Scheib when you need him?

      Reply
    31. 31.

      cain

      March 19, 2024 at 10:36 pm

      @Jackie:

      I would be worried that Putin would just buy them and then gift them back to Trump

      Reply
    32. 32.

      cain

      March 19, 2024 at 10:37 pm

      @sanjeevs:

      Let’s hope it keeps going down and affects all the downtickets.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      frosty

      March 19, 2024 at 10:38 pm

      @Uncle Cosmo: There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. We had one Earl Scheib paint job done, on a Bugeye Sprite. We took off all the chrome, took off the side curtains (bolt-on windows) and took the top off. They managed to get paint on the seats.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Belafon

      March 19, 2024 at 10:42 pm

      There was some report that half of Haley voters said they’d vote for Biden over Trump. That’s 10% of Republican voters, but in this race that would be decisive.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      FlyingToaster (Tablet)

      March 19, 2024 at 10:46 pm

      @cain: Putin and most or all of his remaining oligarchs are sanctioned; they can’t move money into (or through) any US-connected banks.

      If Bone Saw doesn’t come to the rescue, I think Donnie’s done.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      RevRick

      March 19, 2024 at 10:48 pm

      The DSCC (Democratic Senate Campaign Committee) has already come out with an ad against Moreno in Ohio that features Republicans saying you can’t trust Moreno, and ends with the comment, “If Republicans don’t trust Moreno, should you?”

      Reply
    37. 37.

      Anoniminous

      March 19, 2024 at 10:51 pm

      @FlyingToaster (Tablet):

      Bone Saw?

      Reply
    38. 38.

      Bupalos

      March 19, 2024 at 10:53 pm

      @WaterGirl: I took an R ballot and did my part there. And you cannot CANNOT imagine how hard that was. Also cast a vote to save David Joyce, pro-ukraine house member, against Trumpist guttersnipes.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      frosty

      March 19, 2024 at 10:54 pm

      @Anoniminous: Mohammed Bin Saud (I think that’s the name). The one responsible for the WaPo reporter being killed and his body cut into pieces with a bone saw.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      Jay

      March 19, 2024 at 10:54 pm

      @Anoniminous:

      MBS Saw-di Prince.

      Reply
    41. 41.

      HumboldtBlue

      March 19, 2024 at 10:56 pm

      Dark Brandon.

      Reply
    42. 42.

      columbusqueen

      March 19, 2024 at 11:00 pm

      By the time the oppo research is in, I’m convinced Sherrod will cut Moreno up into cutlets & serve him up to his two sweet dogs.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      Another Scott

      March 19, 2024 at 11:00 pm

      Races?

      A guy named Qasim Rashid turns up nearly every day in mastodon.social/#explore He seems to have a decent social-media game and talks up nominally left/progressive policies. I never clicked on his stuff though.

      I see that he was running in the primary for IL-11 against the incumbent Democrat. I see from his Mastodon header that he has a SiriusXM show, so he should know how to do the media stuff.

      Unsurprisingly, the incumbent, Rep Bill Foster, won easily (~ 55 point spread).

      Having a good social media game is good (and maybe important at times). But it does not and cannot beat the grunt work of real bootsonaground politicking.

      Cheers,
      Scott.

      Reply
    44. 44.

      Roberto el oso

      March 19, 2024 at 11:00 pm

      @Anoniminous: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS

      ETA: others got there earlier!

      Reply
    45. 45.

      Anoniminous

      March 19, 2024 at 11:01 pm

      @frosty:

      @Jay:

      @Roberto el oso:

      Thank you

      Reply
    46. 46.

      Jackie

      March 19, 2024 at 11:02 pm

      @Omnes Omnibus: Yah, I thought about that; but my fantasy override’s that slight detail! 😂

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Urza

      March 19, 2024 at 11:03 pm

      @Belafon: I know its going to be an odd year with Gaza, but wouldn’t it be great if Biden got to 100 million or higher in the popular vote.

      Reply
    48. 48.

      Another Scott

      March 19, 2024 at 11:04 pm

      @HumboldtBlue:

      !!!

      Good clip.  Grandpa Joe knows how to run an iPad, his team knows how to make a Tiky-Toky, and how to cut to the chase about TIFG.

      Well done.

      Cheers,
      Scott.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Jackie

      March 19, 2024 at 11:05 pm

      @cain: No way. TIFG loves Putin way more than visa versa. Especially if Biden is still President come Jan ‘25 😊

      Reply
    50. 50.

      Another Scott

      March 19, 2024 at 11:28 pm

      @Omnes Omnibus: It’s not a good time to be selling office buildings in Manhattan. NY1.com (from March 5, 2024):

      Even though more people are returning to the office, the vacancy rate of offices remains high. In fact, Manhattan’s was 22.8%, according to the latest data from the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

      “There’s a great deal of vacant real estate right now,” said Stuart Saft, a real estate lawyer and partner at the Holland & Knight law firm.

      Saft has spent decades representing developers and lenders. And now, he hears consistently from clients about how their office buildings have fewer tenants.

      That means less money coming in. And it comes at a time when the commercial real estate loan interest rates are much higher than they have been in recent years.

      So for the hundreds of billions of dollars in office loans needing to be renewed this year, the building owners have difficult decisions to make.

      “There’s a great deal of debt on these office buildings that’s coming due this year and in 2025 and the concern is, what do we do?” Saft said.

      Trump Tower is condos, offices, and retail:

      That Wikipedia article says “GMAC Commercial Mortgage” owns the building.

      Wells Fargo & Co., the master servicer of the $100 million mortgage loan Trump took out in 2012,[141] placed the tower on a debt watch list in September 2021 because its average occupancy had fallen to 78.9% from 85.9% at the end of 2020. Revenue was $33.7 million in 2020, $7.5 million in the first quarter of 2021.[142] By early 2024, Gucci was the only large retailer in the tower’s retail atrium, which had once contained up to 60 stores.[143] Another analysis, publicized in February of the same year, found that the average per-square-foot cost of a condominium at Trump Tower had nearly halved from 2013 to early 2024.[144][145] The decline in condo prices was attributed to competition from newer towers nearby, the age of the building, and the protests that regularly occurred outside it.[144]

      I see 7 condos in it for sale listed on Zillow, many with big price cuts.

      [ womp, womp ]

      Cheers,
      Scott.

      Reply
    51. 51.

      Anoniminous

      March 19, 2024 at 11:34 pm

      @Another Scott:

      for the hundreds of billions of dollars in office loans needing to be renewed this year, the building owners have difficult decisions to make.

      I have a modest suggestion

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Urza

      March 19, 2024 at 11:38 pm

      @Another Scott: Some of those sellers did not get the memo on price cuts.  $195 million for a condo, exactly how many people on the planet could even be potential buyers for 17k sq ft in New York at that price.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      Another Scott

      March 19, 2024 at 11:41 pm

      @Urza: That’s in a different building.  That’s the penthouse in the Central Park Tower – the giant pencil that was put up a few years ago (and apparently is where the oligarchs park their money).

      TIFG can only dream of owning a property like that…

      Cheers,
      Scott.

      Reply
    54. 54.

      Gretchen

      March 19, 2024 at 11:49 pm

      Primary in Kansas today. An older couple came to the site. Woman asks why there are only Republicans on her (Republican primary) ballot. Husband replied that the Democrats vote at a different site. Reported by a Democrat who was, in fact, voting at the same site. Their votes count as much as ours.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      Gretchen

      March 19, 2024 at 11:56 pm

      Trump got 75.5% of the primary vote in KS. None of the above got 5%. Biden got 83.8%, with 10% for none of the above.

      Reply
    56. 56.

      Another Scott

      March 20, 2024 at 12:02 am

      Meanwhile, …

      Steve Vladeck
      @steve_vladeck

      #BREAKING: #SB4 is blocked again.

      A majority of the Fifth Circuit panel hearing argument on Texas’s stay application *tomorrow morning* just issued an order “dissolving” the “administrative stay” that a different panel imposed on March 2. So the injunction goes back into effect.

      10:58 PM · Mar 19, 2024

      [ insert rant about crazypants state laws trying to usurp federal powers over immigration, supremacy clause, etc., etc. ]

      Kinda crazy that the crazy 5th Circuit had to block something that the SCOTUS just let through.

      Grr…,
      Scott.

      Reply
    57. 57.

      Hoppie

      March 20, 2024 at 12:09 am

      @Another Scott: Not sure if you or anyone else could translate this into English? I don’t speak obfuscation.

      Reply
    58. 58.

      Jackie

      March 20, 2024 at 12:11 am

      TIFG is freaking out that his donors and voters will now know he’s a penniless FRAUD! 😂

      Donald Trump was relying on the Chubb Corporation underwriting the $464 million bond he needs to pay by Monday — and the company’s refusal to do so has left him panicking, according to a report.

      CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said Tuesday that the former president was “counting on the insurance company” to bail him out with the damages he owes after his civil fraud trial, just as it did when it supplied assurances for the $91 million bond after he was found liable for defaming New York columnist E. Jean Carroll.

      Chubb had been “actively negotiating” with Trump and his co-defendants, according to a statement released by Trump Organization’s lawyer Alan Garten and reported by CNBC. Then, “within the past week,” Chubb changed its direction and “notified defendants that it could not accept real property as collateral.”

      “Though disappointing, this decision was not surprising given that Chubb was the only surety willing to even consider accepting real estate as collateral,” Garten added.

      Chubb’s agreement to underwrite Trump’s Carroll defamation bond was followed by criticism aimed at its CEO, Evan Greenberg, who had been appointed by Trump to a trade policy advisory committee and a business group to stymie the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

      On Wednesday last week, Greenberg sent a letter to investors, customers and brokers who had expressed concerns about that bond.

      “As the surety, we don’t take sides, it would be wrong for us to do so and we are in no way supporting the defendant,” Greenberg wrote. “When Chubb issues an appeal bond, it isn’t making judgments about the claims, even when the claims involve alleged reprehensible conduct.”

      He added that Trump’s bond in the defamation case was “fully collateralized.”

      Chubb was one of 30 companies — including billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway — that Trump had asked to put down the fraud trial bond amount, but they reportedly decided against it because they wanted hard cash or liquid assets as collateral.

      *snip*

      Collins learned that Trump is also worried about how it will look to the public if he fails to pay up what he owes.

      “I’m told that Trump himself has become increasingly concerned about the optics that that March 25 deadline could bring given he is someone who has long tied his identity to his wealth, and he could find himself confronting a real financial crisis in just a matter of days,” she said.

      https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-fraud-bond-2667553064/

      Reply
    59. 59.

      Another Scott

      March 20, 2024 at 12:16 am

      @Hoppie: There were and are on-going battles on whether Texas’s SB4 law can take effect or not.  The important bit is that the 5th Circuit says no, it can’t, yet. Apparently more hearings in the morning.

      HoustonChronicle.com has more.

      tl;dr – There’s still a decent chance of a bad outcome, given Texas and the 5th Circuit, but there are a few more processes before this is all fully decided.

      IANAL.

      Cheers,
      Scott.

      Reply
    60. 60.

      Splitting Image

      March 20, 2024 at 12:41 am

      @Princess:

      Not a primary but I’m seeing reports James could start seizing Drumpf’s assets as soon as Monday (Dan Rather, Vanity Fair). If there are mortgages and liens on a seized property, who gets first crack at its value? Asking for a weary country.

      It would be a crying shame if half of the Republican party abandoned Trump because he is now a broke-ass loser and the other half rallied around him and turned their hatred towards the high rollers that Trump is going to blame for not bailing him out.

      Reply
    61. 61.

      yellowdog

      March 20, 2024 at 5:38 am

      @cain: There are gift taxes. He can’t just hand over the cash. And the financial monitor is there to catch such shenanigans.

      Reply
    62. 62.

      Uncle Cosmo

      March 20, 2024 at 8:14 am

      @frosty: :^D As doG is my witless, within the last decade I distinctly recall driving past a drive-in doorway with an Earl Scheib sign on York Rd just south of Bellona. (As a lapsed Baltimoron you might just be able to visualize it.)

      Reply
    63. 63.

      Uncle Cosmo

      March 20, 2024 at 8:45 am

      @Gretchen: ​FTR a classic Thuglican dirty trick is to robocall heavy Democratic neighborhoods reminding voters to show up at the polls to vote on the Wednesday after. The bastards justify it by saying that anyone that stupid shouldn’t be allowed to vote anyway.

      Here in MD in 2014, when Governor O’Malley was locked in a rematch with Thuglican Bob Ehrlich, robocalls flooded AA neighborhoods in Baltimore CIty saying “you don’t need to vote, the Democrats have this locked up” in hopes of depressing turnout enough to sneak some Thugs into office. Astute recipients of this call quickly notified Democratic HQ and Rep. Elijah Cummings (RIP) quickly cut a short message to the effect of “yes you DO need to vote!!” which was then spread by phone to the affected areas. (IIRC the “mastermind” behind this was an AA political operative who worked either side of the aisle so long as he got paid handsomely for the rodent copulation.)

      Reply
    64. 64.

      Ironcity

      March 20, 2024 at 8:56 am

      @dmsilev: That 757 is owned by DJT Enterprises, a Delaware LLC, so I’m not sure how selling that would go.  Painting an airliner is not a 57 Chevy, wouldn’t let Earl Scheib within a mile of it.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      PaulWartenberg

      March 20, 2024 at 8:58 am

      There are still signs that at least 20 percent of the Republican voting base will not support trump in the November general election.

      This all depends on if this disgruntled faction either 1) refuses to show up to vote in the general or 2) take the personal emotional shift of voting Democratic (or at least for Biden). In terms of the math, trump can’t afford to lose 20 percent of his 2020 turnout (it would drop him down to 59 million). It also depends on how the dropoff for Biden – who is seeing 10 percent of “uncommitted” protest votes – could go in November, but even then Biden can see 73 million turnout for him and get better results (even in the Electoral College where swing states will likely be in his favor).

      THIS is why trump and the Republicans are working overtime to rig the game to nullify the Electoral College entirely and force a vote in the US House which they hope the GOP still controls by January 2025.

      Reply
    66. 66.

      Geminid

      March 20, 2024 at 9:08 am

      @PaulWartenberg: My intuitive take is that people who show up for primaries show up in November, so I don’t think many of these voters will stay home. Some might leave the top line blank, others will bite the bullet and vote for Biden.

      Reply
    67. 67.

      wjca

      March 20, 2024 at 10:24 am

      @Splitting Image: It would be a crying shame if half of the Republican party abandoned Trump because he is now a broke-ass loser and the other half rallied around him and turned their hatred towards the high rollers that Trump is going to blame for not bailing him out.

      Maybe said cult fanatics could turn their hatred (or even assassination attempts) against Putin and/or MBS.  Probably not, but a guy can dream,

      Reply
    68. 68.

      wjca

      March 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

      @yellowdog: There are gift taxes. He can’t just hand over the cash. And the financial monitor is there to catch such shenanigans.

      Last time I was involved with gift taxes, they are due from the giver, not from the recipient.  Not sure how that works with non-US givers, but that was the rule.

      Reply
    69. 69.

      Paul in KY

      March 20, 2024 at 10:58 am

      Got one of those stickers on my car :-)

      Reply
    70. 70.

      Paul in KY

      March 20, 2024 at 11:00 am

      @Anoniminous: Aeroflot probably takes better care of their planes than him.

      Reply

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    If you don't see both the Visual and the Text tab on the editor, click here to refresh.

    Clear Comment

    To reply to more than one person, click the X to save & close the box.

    Primary Sidebar

    Recent Comments

    • TBone on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Apr 17, 2024 @ 6:56am)
    • CCL on On The Road – BillinGlendaleCA – The Milky Way Reimagined. (Apr 17, 2024 @ 6:56am)
    • AM in NC on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 6:55am)
    • Baud on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 6:44am)
    • NotMax on COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 17, 2024 (Apr 17, 2024 @ 6:33am)

    🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

    Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
    Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

    Balloon Juice Posts

    View by Topic
    View by Author
    View by Month & Year
    View by Past Author

    Balloon Juice Meetups!

    All Meetups
    Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
    Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

    Fundraising 2023-24

    Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
    Virginia House Races
    Four Directions – Montana
    Worker Power AZ
    Four Directions – Arizona
    Four Directions – Nevada

    Featuring

    Medium Cool
    Artists in Our Midst
    Authors in Our Midst
    Positive Climate News
    War in Ukraine
    Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
    Classified Documents Primer

    Calling All Jackals

    Site Feedback
    Nominate a Rotating Tag
    Submit Photos to On the Road
    Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
    Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
    Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

    Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

    Balloon Juice for Ukraine

    Donate

    Twitter / Spoutible

    Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
    WaterGirl (Spoutible)
    TaMara (Spoutible)
    John Cole
    DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
    Betty Cracker
    Tom Levenson
    David Anderson
    Major Major Major Major
    ActualCitizensUnited

    Political Action 2024

    Postcard Writing Information

    Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

    Donate

    Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

    Donate

    Site Footer

    Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Comment Policy
    • Our Authors
    • Blogroll
    • Our Artists
    • Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

    Insert/edit link

    Enter the destination URL

    Or link to existing content

      No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.
        Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

        Email sent!