Live at 3:15, 2:15, 1:15 and 12:15 – hopefully. I won’t be around if it gets pushed, so fingers crossed.
Also, since we can’t take our foot off the gas, here are some quiet races I’m watching for House and Senate:
In Colorado, we really need to keep Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, and she’s in a tough race, especially since the Libertarian dropped out. That helped swing things her way last election. I’m doing what I can for her district, since mine is safe.
I don’t think throwing money at Boebert’s opponent will matter – that district is going to do one of two things – vote red and elect her or stay home (possibly vote “other”) I doubt they’ll actually vote blue. The Dem only has a chance with low Republican turnout. Which is a possibility considering how disfunctional the COGOP is right now.
And for the Senate, in Nebraska, this surprise (to me, former BJ commenter BGinCHI flagged him) Senate candidate is polling about even with the incumbent. I’m not sure if it’s fundraiser-worthy – but even though he’s an independent*, it could help our Senate chances. Looking at his platform, I’m assuming he’ll vote with the Dems. About Dan Osborn – platform Here’s his intro video. Since CO senate seats are safe, I’ve been throwing some cash his way.
NE has an abortion amendment on the ballot (for pro-choice) and there is large support for that, which is why I think Osborn has a more than good chance to flip that seat. Also, his last name is Osborn and in NE that’s name recognition, even if it’s spelled differently.
It also looks like Tony Vargas in Nebraska could push Bacon from his congressional seat. For reasons I don’t quite understand, Bacon did not get the Republican nod. Not MAGA enough? I’m decades away from paying attention to NE politics, so that’s just a guess.
*Jay C says that Osborn may be an independent because the Dems never qualified a candidate. I also think running as an Independent could work in his favor.
Otherwise, open thread
sdhays
I thought I read that the NE Dems declined to run a Senate candidate in order to clear the way for Osborn, like they did in Utah an election cycle or two back.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Caraveo’s outraised her opponent 4:1.
Interestingly, she was running TV ads during a ton of commercial breaks during NBC golf’s Tour Championship Coverage Labor Day weekend.
But yeah, she’s gonna need all the GOTV, coat tails, etc., on this one. Our glibertarian, techbro governor won with 58% of the vote last time statewide but only 52% in her district. Enough of the district as it moves to the northeast might as well be CO-4 in terms of demographics and voting patterns, hence why it was drawn the way it was. If CO had partisan gerrymandering, they would have carved that off to dump into CO-4 and make CO-8 (her district) very (D).
Actually, I like this district because it’s an example of how competitive congressional districts should be drawn.
Jay C
@sdhays:
I got my info from a Nebraska commenter on another blog: not sure just WHY Dan Osborn is running as I, rather than D, but he is: and if he can pull just enough to flip the seat, it probably won’t make much of a difference. Except in the Senate, of course
Baud
@Jay C: There are a lot of places where voting for a D is taboo.
JoyceH
Breaking: Liz says DICK Cheney is voting for Harris!
zhena gogolia
@JoyceH: Woo-hoo!
ETA: We’ll see if that candy-ass GWB gets with the program. I doubt it.
Baud
@JoyceH: Dick Cheney needs to take Trump quail hunting.
Lyrebird
IIRC Rep. Bacon has spoken out for Ukraine aid and against Clown Car Caucus (Gaetz, MTG) lunacy.
Anonymous At Work
Speaking of investing, IRS has shown an increase in profits from auditing rich deadbeats. Who knew (besides DFHs) that investing in tax collection would result in more taxes collected?
Paul W.
My wife and I are genuinely stunned Dick Cheney has also said he would vote for Harris.
Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Bush did, and then I can finally foresee the GOP party breaking upon the rocks of the Trump era after another electoral loss. So we need to make sure that happens, and spread out that money to more Senate chances because woof Montana is too scary for comfort!
Baud
@Anonymous At Work:
Republicans. It’s why they fight it so hard.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Another conspiracy theory I got from my normie friend: they were sharing a video of IRS agents being trained with firearms.
JoyceH
Liz Cheney also endorsed Colin Alred. Interesting.
Baud
@JoyceH: Less surprising. Everybody hates Ted Cruz.
Baud
@zhena gogolia: That’s not a new conspiracy theory.
SatanicPanic
@Paul W.: I’ve said it before, but back in the 2000s the prevailing wisdom on the left was that we should follow the money wrt the Neocons. They were “only in it for the oil”. That wisdom was wrong. They genuinely believed in democracy (a narrow, market-oriented democracy with white people at the top, but democracy nonetheless). So to me this isn’t that surprising, but I realize this is a contentious issue.
twbrandt
I very much admire President Biden, but his motorcade is completely fucking up traffic here in Ann Arbor.
trollhattan
@Baud:
One can dream. Guessing not even Dick hunts from a golf cart.
Spanky
I’m kinda curious why we don’t hear anything from Dick Cheney hisself.
And whatever happened to BGinChi?
ArchTeryx
@Baud: Yet somehow he keeps getting elected.
Baud
@Spanky:
Are you suggesting they’re one in the same?
Baud
@ArchTeryx:
Texas voters hate us more.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: That about sums it up. They’ll vote for the Devil over the Democrat in Texas.
Baud
@twbrandt:
I appreciate Harris’s pledge to take a scooter to events.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: The IRS has had armed enforcement agents for years. It’s not a lot of people, but they do exist.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus: This was some new massive force of IRS agents that had been created and was getting their Enter the Dragon-style training.
sab
My stepson is getting laid off when his company closes his branch in NE Ohio. They want him to move to subarban Philadelphia, but that is too far from his whole support system, including his fiance who doesn’t want to move.
Thankfully we just gave him our old house as an early inheritance. No rent, just property tax and insurance. I am so glad I could land this in his lap.
And he was a skillset (machining and welding) that is marketable. Not every kid has to go to college to get a marketable skill.
When we want to fix things around here and I am not physically strong enough to do it, I hum and haw a bit and wait for my stepson. He is extremely mechanical, unlike his father.
sab
@zhena gogolia: As a tax preparer, I am thrilled to see them get some teeth. As a preparer I am in the position of saying ” you can’t to that!” and yet for many years they have gotten away with doing that, and when there was any discipline it was against the tax preparer who said ” Okay, I give up. Do whatever.”
New Deal democrat
FWIW, Sam Wang of the Princeton Election Consortium highly recommends donating to the Nebraska race, because each $ goes much further in such a small population State, and their Senated seat gets the exact same vote a seat in any of the biggest states.
Fair Economist
I’m with the people saying that the Cheneys are only on our side because *they* want to be running the Republican show, to eventually put them, or at least their friends, into control of the country under some soft authoritarian system. That said, democracy often wins because different factions of authoritarians despise and fear each other, so I’ll take it and even support them as appropriate.
H.E.Wolf
For those who might be interested, PostcardsToVoters.org is currently writing for Tony Vargas in NE.
prostratedragon
@twbrandt: You have to admit, though, that’s pretty easy to do. Especially day before a big game.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: Yeah, that’s bugfuck craziness.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Audit Team 6!
Mathguy
Being in Omaha makes this election interesting. NE-2 should go to Harris. If Osborn and Vargas win, it would drive the outstate loons crazy. Contributing to both campaigns.
FYI, my district’s state senator is gay, married with a kid, which is all kinds of awesome. I betting there’s a few yahoos from the rural districts that won’t even acknowledge him.
Omnes Omnibus
@Spanky: BG went to prison. We try not to bring it up much.
Seriously though, he is fine. Just on other social media.
Jackie
@JoyceH: AND Liz is endorsing Colin Allred! She must despise Cruz as much as we do! I do recall her blaming him in part for J6…
lamh47
Um…wow
Welp…in an official statement: Are they bout to call Cheney a RINO?
Chief Oshkosh
Gotta disagree with you on “throwing” money at Boebert’s opponent:
https://youtu.be/YLpw4oOOzVs?si=smRWzhmJd4lqmKD0
If a local pol (and former candidate from a while ago) feels that a total of $1.2M will win it, then I’m in for $20 (or $20.24) as he’s suggesting.
Geminid
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: There are two competitive districts further west, in the Portland, Oregon area. Freshman Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is defending the WA03 district on the north side of the Columbia River, and on the south side freshman Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer will defend the Oregon 5th CD from Democrat State Rep. Janelle Bynum.
Both seats changed hands in 2022 when the incumbents lost their primaries, and the districts could be classified as suburban/exurban. I think Rep. Caraveo’s Colorado district could be also
Ed. My district, the Virginia 7th, is also a suburban/exurban district. A lot of purple districts are.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Paul W.:
Lawful Evil is not a fan of Chaotic Evil.
lamh47
I see folks asking about GWB, but As a Katrina survivor, GWB can forever go fuq himself…IMHO it’s better that he doesn’t. Just take it as true based on the Dick & Liz Cheney’s statements.
JPL
@zhena gogolia:My guess is Wednesday, unless all hell breaks and trump collapses on Tuesday.
Geminid
@sab: I hope your stepson will find work close to home. Maybe some of the economic activity generated by the Infrastructure, CHIPS+ and IRA bills will benefit him.
I trust the kids in Richmond are doing ok. I bet they are glad to see the hot weather that’s plagued us since June finally break.
Chief Oshkosh
@lamh47: I hear you, but if Rumsfeld’s dead, gory body was exhumed and someone held its hand to pull the lever for Harris (a la weekend at Bernies 2024), then I’d applaud it.
JPL
@lamh47: Although I feel the same way about his presidency, he does give permission to other republicans to vote for Kamala.
TBone
Did someone mention investing? Uday and Qusay would like a word! 😆
https://digbysblog.net/2024/09/06/uday-and-qusays-latest-debacle/
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus:
@Baud: These are the same people who think their sons are about to be shipped off to defend Ukraine.
zhena gogolia
Could someone help me? I am having a terrible time remembering the name of the beloved commenter in Malaysia whose nym began with an A and who had a cat named Bianca?
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Amir Khalid.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Thank you! It was crosswired in my brain with Aziz, light! Someone mentioned that quotation he loved about the mills of justice. I really miss him.
KrackenJack
@lamh47:
Not to his face.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Me too.
pat
I would not be surprised if cheney has read all of Project 2025 and is capable of knowing what a horrific mess that would make of our entire government/ life, and he does not want to see another repub president have to deal with that….
Just a thought….
My other thought is this is unbearable, to see dump ranting unintelligently and the msm turning that word salad into seemingly coherent “thoughts”. I am so wanting this to be over!
JPL
@zhena gogolia: Decades ago, when I lived in Dallas two suits knocked on my door, and I opened it and said no thanks and then shut it . Doorbell rings again and they explain they were looking for my neighbor. I thought they were people giving away free bibles if you go to their church. They showed there ID at that point. so yes I did shut the door in their face.
JPL
@Baud: And a guitar
Sure Lurkalot
How many Dick/Liz Cheney Republicans are there?
One helped precipitate the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the other “so principled” that she voted for Trump 2x and for his “policies” 93% of the time.
Poke me if/when Taylor Swift endorses the Democratic ticket.
BR
@Sure Lurkalot:
I have an uncle, lifelong GOPer who literally worked for Dick Cheney (well, a couple rungs down from him, but not far) in the oil industry many decades ago. He’s an Ayn Rand aficionado.
He’s voting Dem this year for the first time perhaps in his life. He made his decision before Cheney announced his, but there must be at least a few more like them. How many, I don’t know.
p.a.
Speaking of the missing, I was reading a tRump article and “felonious koutea” (sp?) popped into my head. Does he/she still comment?
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: I really miss Amir Khalid too. Amir struck me as a very gentle man, but he was always ready to take a strong stand against anti-Muslim.prejudice. i appreciated that.
TBone
PSA tonight at 8pm:
https://www.nprillinois.org/community-voices-2024/2024-09-05/front-row-classics-talks-making-change-with-tcms-ben-mankiewicz
First up:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
If Biden/Sullivan/Blinkin don’t allow Ukraine to used long range US weapons to kill “The Archers” instead of sending million dollar weapons at the last moment to try to defend against “The Arrows”, and seriously crank up the supply chain of weapons, aid and ruZZian seized money,
There is a good chance that their sons and daughters will be sent to Europe to fight the ruZzians.
persistentillusion
@Omnes Omnibus: I worked with a woman whose husband was a member of an IRS armed unit. He was 6 ft 7 in and looked terrifying. Actually, he was a good guy, although with very definite opinions.
TS
When any one mentions “All of them, Katie” it brings back the word salad of Sarah Palin. In wondering why the media treated her “interviews” so differently to trumps, I have been so slow to realise – the typical sexism of the republican loving political media takes over. Silly me to think it would be otherwise.
Scout211
Some concerning news out of Florida
Mr. Bemused Senior
Interference? Who’s interferin’? We’re takin’ over.
Jay
I miss Amir too, his thoughtful insights into a broad array of subjects, from Malay issues, Islamic issues, Arabic, culture, food, and of course, cats.
I hate the mystery of what happened to him, as he just disappeared shortly after getting his new cat.
Other MJS
@Mr. Bemused Senior: I would advise youse to keep dialin’.
twbrandt
Re: the Cheneys. I’d rather have them inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.
Jay
Jeff goes on to rip a whole host of other media, and we learn that what the media is doing now has a technical term, “sanewashing”.
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/elderly-golfer-in-serious-cognitive
Geminid
@twbrandt: I’m fine with it too. I doubt if the Cheneys will take up permanent space in the Democratic tent. They and their “#CountryOverParty” allies intend to fight it out with the MAGA radicals once Trump goes down, I think. They’re not ceding their party to the knuckledraggers if they can help.it.
RevRick
@Chief Oshkosh: I think that is just lighting your money on fire. Go to Dailykos and find Charles GABA’s list of Democratic candidates in districts we need to defend and those we can potentially flip. Fund the low-hanging fruit districts first.
twbrandt
@Geminid: oh I am sure you are right. But anything that helps Harris right now is welcome, even if only temporary.
Geminid
@twbrandt: Cheney will help this year. There are already like-minded Republicans like Geoff Duncan who’ve made the jump and Cheney will help reel in some more. Republicans already have a numbers problem and they can’t afford to lose many of their own.
rikyrah
@sab:
Hope that he finds new employment because of the trades
rikyrah
@Jay:
I appreciate this new term, because it’s on point
Geminid
@RevRick: Last I saw, Mr. Gaba was leaving a couple battleground districts out because he doesn’t approve of the Democratic incumbents. That’s Gaba’s right, but I’ll note it anyway because I don’t think he does.
Matt McIrvin
@SatanicPanic: Well, the neocons at least believed in some heroic vision of eliminating Bad Guys from the earth. In that, they shared a lot of toxic ideas about strength and manliness with the Trumpers.
But the Trumpers have an isolationist streak that the neocons don’t–their allies are the paleocons who were “on our side” during the Bush era, like Pat Buchanan. I always thought the paleocons actually scared me more, though.
charon
@Fair Economist:
So you seriously think the Cheneys are delusional, they are too stupid to see their style of politics has no future in today’s GOP?
I don’t see them as that stupid.
WaterGirl
@Spanky: BGinChi has left us for twitter.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I think of Amir often. Such a kind soul, smart, knowledgable, interesting.