Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

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

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

In my day, never was longer.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

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

Alternative history is always a weak argument. Always.

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Numbers and Anti-Polling

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Here are the final tallies on election-eligible turnout.  Wisconsin hit 77% and Minnesota hit 76%, and the state chairs of those two parties are running to head the DNC, so that’s some good news.  Overall, the US had 64% of the eligible population vote.

High Country News has a piece on an alternate post-election poll that shows that Native voters went for Harris at a higher rate than the initial national exit polling.

Other highlights showed that 15% respondents said this was their first time voting, and that support for Harris was higher among Native women, young voters and people who speak an Indigenous language at home.

According to early analyses by voting rights advocates, this election cycle saw a lower turnout among some rural and urban Native communities. This tracks with nationwide findings for some voters compared to the last presidential election in 2020. But the reasons behind the drop in Native voter turnout are likely complicated, as are efforts to draw conclusions concerning voting patterns. The results of the National Exit Poll, distributed in early November by NBC News, CNN and others, were seized upon by conservative outlets and often reposted online devoid of context. Indigenous researchers and community advocates pointed out problems with the data that amounted to misinformation — the sample size was just 229 people, for example, and no polling locations on tribal lands were included. In an email to High Country News, Edison Research, which conducted the poll, agreed that while the poll met Edison’s criteria, it was limited in scope. “This data point from our survey should not be taken as a definitive word on the American Indian vote,” said Randy Brown at Edison Research.

The poll underscores the challenges involved in gathering accurate voting data that is reflective of Indigenous communities, which are not politically homogeneous. “Native people are often omitted from these types of conversations. But then to have the rare cases in which we are included being misrepresentations of our voices is equally as problematic,” said Stephanie Fryberg (Tulalip), professor of psychology at Northwestern University and founding director of the Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity Center. Fryberg wrote a widely circulated op-ed for Native News Onlinedetailing some of the issues with the Edison Research poll.

My first organizing work when I was old enough to vote was registering voters and gathering absentee ballots in SD.  This was the early 80’s, and I had to become a notary public to do it, because the Republicans early voter-suppression legislation required a notary to witness registration or an absentee ballot.  This was mainly aimed at the Native communities in the state.  It’s been going on forever, of course, and getting worse every cycle.  Yet, Natives still vote, and they vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.

(The national numbers are via Paul Campos at LGM.)

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  3. 3.

    Professor Bigfoot

    Good to hear about the Native vote, but… the willingness to quickly assume that Natives, Latinos, and Black men were going to go Trump in any kind of large numbers was just on par.

    But, as usual, it turns out to be that one demographic that refuses to see itself as a demographic.

  5. 5.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Professor Bigfoot:

    Since 2000, I have learned to wait till the Pew research comes out before committing to any demographic or “why they voted” analysis. And I have no idea what to do about the fact that many people really do not know why they voted or just lie about why they voted.

    I mean, do pollsters really expect people to say “I don’t think a woman should be president” or “the white male is the number one victim of oppression in this country” in response to a total stranger’s question?

  7. 7.

    @mistermix.bsky.social

    @Kay:

    Is your mom still active in the D Party mm?

    My mom passed away a couple of years ago – she had lung cancer (never smoked).

    My dad, who was the bigger Democrat of the two, is still alive — he’s no longer active in D politics at 94, unless you consider watching a lot of MSNBC and talking about how terrible Republicans are.  After he retired the last big political activity he did was a lot of door-to-door canvassing when the Obama campaign thought they could win SD (remember that?).

    No worries about not knowing, I don’t talk about my personal life much on this blog.

  11. 11.

    JoyceH

    Why Panama? Hey, does anyone know why Trump went off on Panama yesterday? Was there a piece on Fox or something to set him off?

  13. 13.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @Melancholy Jaques: “First reports are always wrong.”

    What gets me is how many Americans* believed those reports implicitly.

    I am continually reminded of Susan Smith and Charles Stuart and how many Americans* believed them and acted on those beliefs.

  16. 16.

    Suzanne

    I’m glad to hear this. A high school classmate/friend of mine was super-active in trying to boost Diné turnout. She was born in Tuba City.

  18. 18.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Fetterman seems a bit enamored by the legend that is Trump:

    The senator described Trump as a “singular political talent” when answering Karl’s question about why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election.

    “He had the energy and almost a sense of fearlessness to just say all those kinds of things. And people, it’s, it’s undeniable that it has an entertaining aspect for that too, and just if you’re not afraid to say all of those things,” Fetterman said.

    He added, “After you survived an assassination, you literally were shot in your head and had the presence of mind to respond, you know, ‘fight, fight, fight,’” referring to Trump raising his fist after a would-be assassin shot at him.

    “I mean, that’s a political talent, it’s undeniable,” Fetterman said. “And also, I never believed that it was about fascism. And for me, that made it difficult.”

    Fetterman also appears to believe Kash Patel won’t go after Trump’s enemies because Patel told him so, pinkie swear.

    Yeah, John, these guys are fearless in their pursuit of gaslighting America.

    Yikes.

    Read the whole thing, as they say.

    http://archive.today/2024.12.22-173122/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/john-fetterman-kash-patel-trump-enemies-list-1235215270/

  19. 19.

    TONYG

    @JoyceH: Like many elderly people with increasingly severe dementia, Donald Trump is increasingly living in the past.  I remember that when I was a youth in the late-seventies one of the “issues” that the right-wing used to freak out about was the Panama Canal.  Trump thinks that it’s still the seventies; hence his Panama Canal gibberish.

  20. 20.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Sure Lurkalot: Wow. I thought he was a lot sharper than that. Even though I had already left when he ran for the Senate I was impressed with what I read about his campaign. Didn’t see him getting Trump fever.

  22. 22.

    Kay

    @Harrison Wesley:

    I love how he’s kissing Trump’s ass WHILE assuring the ordinary civil servants who are at real risk not to worry. Profiles in courage.

    We know one Democrat Trump’s DOJ isn’t going after – Jon Fetterman.

  24. 24.

    Renie

    @Professor Bigfoot: ​
     

    Saw your post about Irish and Italians. You do know all immigrants to this country are first hated by people living here. As a 5th generation New York Irish American with 3 generations of NYPD, I suggest you read more about why the Irish were a huge part of police departments primarily in the NorthEast and it wasn’t because of ‘anti-blackness’ (but you be you). My relatives who were and are NYPD are primarily trumpers but that’s not cuz they are Irish is cuz they are stupid.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    @Starfish (she/her):

    He’s wearing his slob costume. See, working class people all dress like slobs and are too stupid to dress appropriately for different roles. That’s why he wears this ridiculous get up – because he’s “authentic”.

  27. 27.

    Starfish (she/her)

    @Kay: My identity is not a costume!

    Oh wait, wrong line. I am unimpressed by the cosplay of that particular Harvard graduate.

  30. 30.

    WTFGhost

    @Sure Lurkalot: my only guess re: Fetterman, is, he wants to be *reasonable*. The problem is, Republicans demand lobbyists make themselves look *reasonable*, no matter what dangerous bullshit they are peddling.

    Hopefully, he won’t become a Sinema, so sure that *she* is the *only* one who *gets* it, that he even adopts the curtsy.

    (Had to double check to make sure Sinema wasn’t a random cussword from some novel I was reading. No, not really, just wanted to make sure I didn’t make a mistargeted curtsy joke.)

  31. 31.

    Lobo

    @Sure Lurkalot:
      Fetterman is right on a certain level: Trump had a certain level of evil charisma. But, of course, Trump was not afraid to say things. He is a sociopath. So a right diagnosis, but horribly wrong take away.

  32. 32.

    Eolirin

    @WTFGhost: Well, he won’t be in position to be a spoiler like a Manchin or Sinema probably until 2030 at the earliest, assuming we still have viable elections, and assuming they don’t break the country so badly, without consolidating power enough to be unable to prevent electoral consequences, in the next two years that the midterms flip states that are R+7 or redder.

    We’re not getting the Senate back this decade if it’s anything close to politics as usual.

  33. 33.

    WTFGhost

    @Kay: I believe you’re missing the word “initially” from your final sentence – the DOJ won’t hound him “initially”.

    I hope that’s true. Some of what he’s saying, that Trump is a unique political talent, he’ll say *ANYTHING*, that’s neutral, by itself, but, if you don’t mention the uniquely corrupt campaign waged by the Republican Party, you’re missing the point.

    If I wanted to describe his unique cunning, I’d put it like this: “He had some of our crown jewels, intelligence-wise, the stuff he knew he shouldn’t have the instant he left office, okay? And he  got away with it by insisting he did nothing wrong, over, and over, and over, until people started to perform corrupt actions to protect him, which is amazing – most politicians would have assumed their own party would *destroy* them over this, but not the Republicans! And Trump *knew* that! They’d support him more strongly, because they knew he was guilty, and needed a get-out-of-jail-free card, so any criticism would be trashed as disloyalty (and might get a person killed, though, of course, most death threats turn out to be nothing…).”

    But I’m too wordy.

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    I listened to Josh Marshall’s podcast about AOC getting snubbed, and he and Kate Riga talked about how certain low-wattage voters who want to “shake things up” like both AOC and Trump because they come across as “authentic” and don’t sound poll-tested blah blah blah. There’s definitely some truth to that, and I’d include Fetterman in that category. So disappointing to see him kiss Trump’s ass. The questioner should have asked Fetterman his definition of fascism.

  35. 35.

    WTFGhost

    @Eolirin: A senile man – we’ve all seen his decay – will have the nuclear codes, and our best hope is that *FOOTBALL COACHES* convince him he’d be a total capital L  LOSER if he did that. Because he’d rather listen to them than generals who have a liberal arts education, which, to no one’s surprise, tends to make a person liberal, and all without brainwashing. People who understand how the world works tend to reject the kind of “conservative” (big or small c) framework that’s been presented to us.

    Where was I? I’m *desperately hoping* the political winds are blowing Blue all through 2026, because the alternative, to my mind, is so, so, much worse.

    Don’t ask *how* much worse – I know my brain goes ugly fast, so I won’t answer. But I’m not despairing yet, if that helps.

    (Well, existential despair, *sure*, I got existential despair, but, not despair, specifically, about the future of the US.)

    That said, I share your fear, that the Rs might do something that everyone knows is disastrous, but the bleeding won’t start for ten years, at which point, Democrats have to fix it.

  37. 37.

    trollhattan

    On the one hand:

    Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump, has withdrawn her name from consideration for a seat in the Senate.
    She stepped down this month as co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), fuelling speculation that she might replace outgoing Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, whom Trump has nominated for secretary of state.
    But in a post on X, she said she had removed herself from consideration “after an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many”.
    She said she wished Florida Governor Ron DeSantis luck in hand-picking a replacement to serve out the remainder of Rubio’s six-year term, which ends in 2026.

    After you get your “yays” out of the way, consider the other hand.

    A source told CBS News the House Ethics Committee is expected to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday.

    Meanwhile, Gaetz floated the prospect of running for senator or governor of Florida — or landing a special counsel spot to go after his former colleagues in Congress.

  38. 38.

    Emily68

    During 2024, I wrote several hundred postcards for Northeast Arizona Native Democrats. They were all about increasing registration and getting out the vote. They had paid local organizers and we’d include their names and phone # on each card, telling people to call or text if they needed help or had questions.

    Ruben Gallego won his Senate race, and maybe the NEAZ Native Dems had something to do with that.

  40. 40.

    Renie

    Yes this is from FTNYT (my husband is still reading it after starting 40 years ago) but it is an interesting opinion piece about why Christians are so evil.  Apart from the talk about Jesus, there are distinct parallels to the RWNJ.

    Gift article

  41. 41.

    MomSense

    @WTFGhost:

    I think he will deploy nuclear weapon(s). Mattis and Kelly had a pact that one of them would be watching him 24/7 to prevent him using a nuke. He wanted to his first term. There is no one to stop him now.

  42. 42.

    Harrison Wesley

    Just finished reading some Joe Manchin thoughts on the Guardian website. Words fail me, and I consider myself a pretty right-wing Democrat.

  43. 43.

    hitchhiker

    @dc:  I’m confused. The UofF methodology says that it uses the total (non-felon) population of citizens, meaning that it’s not measuring turnout of registered voters, but turnout of people over 18.

    The fraction shrinks when the denominator grows, so the U of F numbers are all smaller than if they were using the registered-to-vote population instead. Is that what you’re saying?

    The biggest surprise here is NY. Under 60% of the over-18 population bothered?? Wtf.

  45. 45.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @Renie: I stand by my assertion; and the fact that they hate Black people today and are Trumpers has less to do with stupidity (although of course, most racists are stupid) but because they don’t like Black people.

    NYPD and “full immunity.” Heh.

    Naw, lady, you are so fucking wrong.

  46. 46.

    oldgold

    OT: More moronic nonsense:
    “They took his name off Mount McKinley,” Trump said in a speech today in Phoenix. “He was a great president,” Trump, a Republican, said, adding that his administration will “bring back the name of Mount McKinley because I think he deserves it.”

  51. 51.

    Betty

    I am a Fetterman voter. I have expressed my disappointment on his social media accounts. I believe that the stroke affected his judgment in ways that are becoming more obvious. He recently was in a car accident while driving at an excessive speed. I read his staff is afraid to ride in the car with him. Either something is off from the guy who ran for the Senate, or my judgment was bad.

  58. 58.

    Eolirin

    @WTFGhost: Best case scenario for 2026 in the Senate, if things aren’t on fire to the point that the races go well outside of their partisan leans is we pick up one senate seat in NC and hold Georgia. We’d still be down 52-48.

    And it’s just at likely that we lose both those races and they end up with 54 in the senate

    Taking them both is the only way we have a chance of getting to 50/50 in 2028. But we also need to defend Georgia and Pennsylvania that cycle, and win in North Carolina and Wisconsin to get there.

  60. 60.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Eolirin:
    We could also win US Senate seat in Maine in 26,
    in addition to NC,
    so in addition to holding all the tough ones, would need
    2 more seats from among the other possibilities.
    Probably with the usual midterm advantage for the out-party, and a smaller, less Trumpy electorate:

    Dan Osborne just got 47% in Nebraska with a pro Trump electorate, and might do better running against the billionaire son of a billionaire.

    Mary Peltola could win in Alaska with the midterm electorate

    Iowa: Rob Sand is the only statewide elected D would be a good candidate. Could also help flip some Iowa US house seats.

    Dont know if they would run but I think the midterm electorate would be more favorable for

    Sherrod Brown in Ohio
    Jon Tester in MT

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    @Kay: @BlueGuitarist:

    Somehow I missed that!  Thanks for the prompting.

    Thank you Kay.

    Booker is good at this stuff, and we have good people on our team.

    Thanks again.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  66. 66.

    Torrey

    @Harrison Wesley:

    WTF? That’s insane – how many Americans (including Trump) have the faintest idea who McKinley was?

    Probably too late in my answer (as always), but lots, and they’re Trump voters. McKinley is a model president for evangelicals because of this:

    President McKinley explained his decison to take control of the Philippines to a group of ministers at the White House, using the following terms:

    I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight, and I am not ashamed to tell you gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed God Almighty for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way — I don’t know how it was, but it came:

    That we could not give them back to Spain —that would be cowardly and dishonorable;
    that we could not turn them over to France or Germany — our commercial rivals in the Orient —that would be bad business and discreditable;
    that we could not leave them to themselves—they were unfit for self-government — and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain’s was; and
    that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died.

    And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly.

    We heard about this quite a lot in the evangelical Sunday school I suffered through as a kid. “See, children? Even presidents pray, and when they do, God guides them!” Barf.

  67. 67.

    WTFGhost

    @Eolirin: if things aren’t on fire to the point that the races go well outside of their partisan leans

    My response to you would be better if I’d said “I think *best* case, is, things are on fire to that very point,”  and I thought it was clear enough, but, whatevs, communication achieved.

  69. 69.

    WTFGhost

    @Eolirin: Also, too: my point wasn’t “spoiler” my point was “thinks he knows better than EVERYONE” which is what made Sinema obnoxious. Politicians think they’re right; everyone does, but they should never think there’s no more to learn, or more investigation into motives etc., needed, that, by being the smartest person in the room (assuming they *are*) they just discern correctness.

    They’re “The Decider,” in all ways great and small. *That* is what makes her obnoxious to me.

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