Local Races

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Dems Are On A Roll!

by Anne Laurie| June 5, 20246:48 am| 271 Comments

This post is in: LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, Local Races, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

President Biden: Unlike Donald Trump, I will never demonize immigrants. I'll never refer to immigrants as 'poisoning the blood of this country.' I'll never separate children from their families at the border. I'll never ban people from this country because of their religious… pic.twitter.com/gl7FQkKGdn

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 4, 2024

Fox contributor: President Biden put on the table border solutions, Republicans agreed with him and then walked away for political reasons. He should remind people that Republicans walked away to help Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/Dptg4M3Dnu

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 4, 2024

Great news from New Jersey!

BREAKING: Andy Kim wins New Jersey Democratic Senate primary for indicted Bob Menendez’s seat https://t.co/GIu2boJJY6

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 5, 2024

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Thank you to everyone with @1199SEIU_NJ for showing up for NJ workers and for our movement today. Election Day is just the starting line. I look forward to carrying this energy all the way to the US Senate with you all and deliver for working families across the state. pic.twitter.com/vfjPcefHnQ

— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) June 4, 2024

New Jersey Assemblymember Herb Conaway won a crowded Democratic primary in U.S. Rep. Andy Kim's South Jersey district.

He said he would be the first Black physician to serve in Congress and the first Black person to represent South Jersey in Congress.https://t.co/4oLvyFK0HT

— Aliya Schneider (@aliyareports) June 5, 2024

I ❤️ my representatives!

“I don't want to hear from Republicans who say they support contraception but can't make it the law of the land.”

—@SenWarren on the vote to advance the Right to Contraception Act pic.twitter.com/wEa0Rfe1Mn

— Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) June 4, 2024

Your choice to use birth control is none of the government's business.

Today, @HouseDemocrats introduced a discharge petition to force a vote on the Right to Contraception Act.

Will Republicans stand on the side of freedom or triple-down on MAGA extremism? pic.twitter.com/jd8gaRwqo6

— Katherine Clark (@WhipKClark) June 4, 2024

Don't let misinformation sway you—despite JD Vance's assurance, 195 Congress members voted AGAINST the #RTCA in 2022, and tomorrow our Senators will vote on the same bill. Call your senators, urge them to support the Right to Contraception Act. Your voice matters! pic.twitter.com/J63E5k2nNC

— Red Wine and Blue (@RedWineBlueUSA) June 4, 2024

They’re really doing this pic.twitter.com/zvUb9pvF7N

— constans (@constans) June 4, 2024

“The election denier illustrated the beauty of democracy and freedom,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi told NOTUS of a heckler at today’s Tiananmen Square commemoration event. “To be able to do what he did — there’s no way he could do that in Tiananmen Square.”https://t.co/yDRTrPebvq

— Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator) June 4, 2024

(Pelosi came over to apologize to Chinese dissidents wearing “End CCP” t-shirts and watching the event after the interruption)

— Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator) June 4, 2024

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Dems Are On A Roll!Post + Comments (271)

Good News Open Thread: Andy Kim for Senate!

by Anne Laurie| March 25, 20245:04 pm| 51 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Local Races, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

BREAKING: Tammy Murphy just announced she’s dropping out of the race for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, which clears the way for Andy Kim to replace Bob Menendez and be the next U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Such great news & such a great person to replace Bob Menendez. pic.twitter.com/bfJH8MtwLZ

— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) March 24, 2024

Well we needed 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot NJ…and you gave us 6,000! My team was sure to get them all filed in Trenton and I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for helping make this happen. Another step forward for our movement! pic.twitter.com/rXqMKPYw2c

— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) March 23, 2024

Among other things, the political news out of New Jersey today means that the Senate seat is likely to go from a man accused of taking gold bars as part of a bribery scheme to a man best known before running for Senate for doing this in the Capitol after Jan. 6 riots/ pic.twitter.com/mIk9SdV1QK

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 24, 2024

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Meet the Dem who won a Trump district in 2018 & 2020 but now is an insurgent against the entrenched Dem machine in Jersey.

This @AndyKimNJ vs @TammyMurphyNJ matchup is 1st real Dem primary battle since '00.

It's all about the lines. My weekend column.https://t.co/5Z2zSYiNav

— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) March 23, 2024

Per the Washington Post, “In New Jersey, an insurgent upends a Democratic machine”:
[Gift link]:

… Kim, a third-term congressman from the state’s Philadelphia suburbs, had just thumped Tammy Murphy, the wife of the popular governor, Phil Murphy (D), by nearly 20 percentage points in her home county to collect the endorsement for the Senate nomination.

Kim both secured the Monmouth Democrat’s “line” — a top placement on the June 4 primary ballot — and jolted the state’s Democrats into realizing they had their first real battle for a statewide nomination in nearly 25 years…

Kim, 41, has turned the Senate race into something bigger than just a fight over who should replace the state’s senior senator, Bob Menendez (D), who faces a felony corruption trial later this year and is mulling running as an independent.

Now Kim is trying to fight against the system of these county party chiefs, both through running to defeat their handpicked candidate, Murphy, and by battling in court to try to outlaw the “line” system.

“It’s more of a movement to try to restore power back to the citizen, to the voters, to the people. And that appeals to a wide swath,” Kim said.

This is not one of the standard ideological battles of far-left progressives against mainstream liberals that have dominated the last decade of Democratic politics. Kim, a Rhodes scholar, served in the State Department and on the National Security Council under the Bush and Obama administrations. He jumped into politics in 2018, even though he was a long shot in a GOP district.

He eventually received large establishment backing and eked out a win by 1 percentage point. He has positioned himself more along the lines of other national security experts from that massive Democratic class of 2018, smart technocrats who don’t embrace the rage-against-the-machine ethos of the self-proclaimed “Squad” of far-left liberals…

One scorecard, ranking votes from 2021 when Democrats moved an aggressive agenda, gave Kim an 80 percent liberal rating, tying for seventh most liberal out of the state’s 10 Democrats in the House…

Much more, including details of ‘the line’, at the link.

How did Andy Kim beat the machine? https://t.co/8EbxE7v89k via @TPM

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 24, 2024

… What makes this a bigger deal than just another primary in a fairly safe Democratic state is that it managed to bring to the fore an almost comical feature of New Jersey politics — something called “the line,” which allows county party chairs the ability to exercise an absurd power over the design of ballots to assist their chosen candidates. Machines have long half-lives. But it seems questionable whether the line will survive this race, whether it goes down in the current court fight or just can’t withstand the new scrutiny the race has brought to it. If it is done that will deal a pretty debilitating blow to the party machines in New Jersey…

I’m no expert on New Jersey politics. But the real factor here is that Kim was willing to risk everything at just the right moment. My recollection is that he announced his candidacy the day after the original Menendez indictment. (I guess we have to be clear that Menendez was indicted before and beat the rap. I mean, the original indictment this time, before the various superseding indictments.) The key I think is that Kim got in fast before the machine really realized that Menendez was toast. And because they didn’t yet realize that Menendez was done, they hadn’t had a chance yet to get behind and coalesce around a new person. That ended up being Murphy, the wife of the current governor.

This gave Kim a critical window of opportunity that he used almost perfectly.

Kim had enough of a national brand, in part based on the iconic photos of him literally sweeping up the glass and debris of January 6th, that he was able to build momentum and raise money. He also gained mightily from his willingness to say, more or less on day one, fuck this. This crook should not be senator. I’m going to challenge him.

Every other Democrat was still caught off guard and uncertain how to react, not withstanding the fact that Menendez has long been fairly notorious. Rightly or wrongly I think many people at least figured he’d keep his nose clean after he beat his previous high profile federal charges. Oh well.

Too soon to say it’s 100% over. Kim hasn’t been elected senator yet. But it certainly seems like one of those the fates favor the bold kind of moments.

New Jersey Democratic voter:

He's a good guy who has done a good job in Congress and he happened to be running against a person who is a particularly egregious example of machine politics at work & also had some unique flaws that highlighted the sleaziness of how D politics operates in NJ. https://t.co/6AKr0hbwld

— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) March 24, 2024

I support Kim, but had she won the primary, I would have voted for her in Nov. There was ZERO rationale for her candidacy other than who she is married to. She's done NOTHING as First Lady + is a former Republican. Andy Kim is a great Congressman & will be an even better Senator! https://t.co/bZAFhxJksG

— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) March 24, 2024

Watched Tammy' Murphy's "I'm dropping out" video: completely disingenuous (no one asked her to run, she had little/no grass roots support, and she didn't have to "tear down" a fellow Dem in order to win) and then didn't even endorse Andy Kim. Classless, clueless, and tone deaf.

— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) March 24, 2024

Bonus content / readership capture…

My wife wasn’t thrilled when I put this Lego Millennium Falcon on our wedding registry. To not seem completely self-indulgent, I told her I’d wait until we had kids to build it. Today, after 10 patient years, the adventure begins. #MayThe4th #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/LTEWOUa6oi

— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) May 4, 2021

Good News Open Thread: Andy Kim for Senate!Post + Comments (51)

Local Races Open Thread: Does Colin Allred Stand A Chance Against Ted Cruz?

by Anne Laurie| February 3, 20245:47 pm| 208 Comments

This post is in: Local Races, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Allred: Ted Cruz is media personality. He’s not serious about being a senator. We're talking about negotiations in the senate right now. You’ll never see him a part of those negotiations. He won’t be rolling up his sleeves and figuring out a compromise.. pic.twitter.com/8Wmz2iiDW1

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 2, 2024

I know Texas is heavily gerrymandered / wired for Republicans, but Allred seems like a good legislator, which Cruz is… not. Apart from being a notorious sports jinx, looks like Cruz has decided to respond to criticism of his ‘Flight to Cancun’ epic in the most Cruz manner possible:

Or you could just connect Texas to the grid, Ted. https://t.co/oTzPqWtwj6

— zeddy (@Zeddary) February 3, 2024

Scoop: Ted Cruz wants lawmakers to get security escorts through America’s airports https://t.co/ZosShRv49a

— Oriana Pawlyk (@Oriana0214) February 3, 2024

Per Politico:

… The Texas Republican — infamously photographed by a gawker while en route to Cancún in 2021 — is proposing a bill amendment that would offer lawmakers a dedicated security escort at airports, along with expedited screening outside of public view. That could make it much less likely that the politicians’ comings and goings would become fodder for embarrassing news reports and late-night comedy mockery.

The measure would also provide the same special treatment to federal judges and Cabinet members, as well as a limited number of their family and staff. Cruz is trying to attach the amendment to a major aviation policy bill, S. 1939, that is expected to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday.

Asked about the need for his amendment, Cruz told POLITICO that it’s about ensuring that political VIPs aren’t endangered as they pass through public spaces in airports. The draft says the extra security would be available to those who are currently or have previously “been the subject of a threat.”…

Political leaders’ air travels could become harder to decipher under Cruz’s draft language, which was obtained by POLITICO. The amendment would mandate that the TSA help “arrange” a security escort — which the provision says could be local law enforcement — for “the entirety of the time” the VIPs are at an airport. In addition, it would grant lawmakers under protective escort the ability to be screened without delay…

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Local Races Open Thread: Does Colin Allred Stand A Chance Against Ted Cruz?Post + Comments (208)

Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray, Michigan Edition

by Anne Laurie| January 5, 20246:48 pm| 61 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Local Races, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!

Michigan Republicans call for meeting to consider removing chairperson Karamo amid fundraising woes https://t.co/qr4Jvu2BHH

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 3, 2024

A little schadenfreude, to set us up for the weekend. When the Spousal Unit & I fled Michigan thirty years ago, we thought the GOP was going to turn our beleaguered home into a Rust Belt Mississippi. Fortunately, we underestimated the strength and smarts of Michigander Democrats!

Per the Associated Press, “Michigan Republicans call for meeting to consider removing chairperson Karamo amid fundraising woes”:

A group of Michigan Republicans plan to meet Saturday and discuss whether to remove Michigan GOP Chairperson Kristina Karamo following months of infighting among party members ahead of key Senate and presidential contests in the swing state.

It’s unclear whether enough party members will attend for the gathering to be official, and Karamo has made clear that she won’t recognize the vote either way, but the call for the meeting signals a remarkable decline in support for the chairperson among her grassroots supporters.

An election conspiracist who unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state in 2022, Karamo had been overwhelmingly elected in February to lead the state party through the next presidential election.

A lack of fundraising and transparency during Karamo’s tenure has pushed many of her former supporters to seek to oust her. Karamo revealed during an Oct. 19 meeting that the party had nearly $500,000 in debt and opponents have argued that the chairperson has done little to improve the financial situation in recent months.

Eight of the state party’s 13 congressional district chairs called on Karamo to resign last week and her own co-chair, Malinda Pego, signed onto a petition seeking a removal vote…

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

Michigan GOP Chair Kristina Karamo told me this morning the critics working to remove her are members of “the uniparty”and likened them to some of history’s most famous traitors. https://t.co/pOoV2N5TYa

— Simon D. Schuster (@Simon_Schuster) January 5, 2024

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… The party activists moving against her, Karamo told MLive on Friday, are part of an elitist cabal working to undermine the work of patriots like herself.

“Why are they only taking these dishonest, aggressive tactics towards other Republicans?” Karamo said. “Their job as the uniparty, in my opinion, is to prevent the Republican Party from being successful by sowing chaos and dissent and inefficiency … I refuse to believe these are just some good-hearted, confused people because they resort to lying and deception.”…

Oakland County Republican Warren Carpenter, an organizer of the effort to remove Karamo, told MLive this week he is “as confident if not more confident” after news emerged the party’s state committee itself had been fined after Karamo waded into a local party dispute in Hillsdale County and ignored a judge’s order. Karamo’s critics in the state committee said the body hasn’t been consulted on any of the lawsuits the state party has engaged in.

Karamo has also claimed only the chair of the party can set meeting agendas and refused to hold a vote on whether she should remain chair, calling it “unlawful.” That meeting is “illegal” and the committee members that show won’t be conducting the business of the party, she has claimed…

Asked to explain why Carpenter, a major Karamo donor in 2022, became her loudest critic, Karamo called him a “conniver” and a “habitual liar” seeking to sabotage the party.

“Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Judas. The story is a long story throughout history of these individuals who get close, so they can plot and scheme on a person, and when you won’t give in to what they want, they attack, and that’s what we’re witnessing,” she said.

Carpenter said he lost faith in Karamo due to alleged “financial malfeasance” by Karamo and her close circle of allies…

Something tells me that ousting Karamo, even should they manage to do that, will hardly be the end of the Party’s problems. Per the NYTimes (this is an unpaywalled Yahoo link), “Mutiny Erupts in a Michigan GOP Overtaken by Chaos”:

The mutiny took hold on Mackinac Island.

The Michigan Republican Party’s revered two-day policy and politics gathering, the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, was an utter mess.

Attendance had plummeted. Top-tier presidential candidates skipped the September event, and some speakers didn’t show. Guests were baffled by a scoring system that rated their ideology on a scale, from a true conservative to a so-called RINO, or Republican in name only.

And the state party, already deeply in debt, had taken out a $110,000 loan to pay the keynote speaker, Jim Caviezel, an actor who has built an ardent following among the far right after starring in a hit movie this summer about child sex trafficking. The loan came from a trust tied to the wife of the party’s executive director, according to party records.

For some Michigan Republicans, it was the final straw for a chaotic state party leadership that has been plagued by mounting financial problems, lackluster fundraising, secretive meetings and persistent infighting. Blame has centered on the fiery chair, Kristina Karamo, who skyrocketed to the top of the state party through a combative brand of election denialism but has failed to make good on her promises for new fundraising sources and armies of activists…

The pitched battle for control of the state party in a preeminent presidential battleground is the most extreme example of conflicts brewing in state Republican parties across the country. Once dominated largely by moneyed establishment donors and their allies, many state parties have been taken over by grassroots Republican activists energized by former President Donald Trump and his broadsides against the legitimacy of elections.

These activists, now holding positions of state and local power, have elevated others who share their views, prioritizing election denialism over experience and credentials.

The result has been fundraising problems and division.

The Republican Party of Arizona spent much of this year in debt. The Republican Party of Georgia has had similar difficulties, mostly caused by legal fees related to efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a rare GOP leader to buck Trump, had been forced to form his own political apparatus outside the state party for his reelection campaign in 2022. The leaders of the party in both states have aligned themselves with the election-denial movement.

Veterans of Republican politics say that state parties play vital roles in winning elections, acting as a clearinghouse for distributing large donations from national groups unfamiliar with local terrain and offering discounts on expensive campaign costs like mail. They help identify potential candidates and winnable races. They are a font of the kinds of activists and volunteers critical to powering statewide campaigns. And they raise money.

All of that is at risk in places like Michigan…

By November, Karamo was trying to sell the party’s former headquarters, a building blocks from the state Capitol in Lansing that had been paid for by two wealthy donors. Karamo and the state party do not own the building; it is owned by a trust controlled by former state party chairs.

Karamo had vacated the headquarters months earlier, arguing that its maintenance fees were an unnecessary cost. When she left, Karamo allowed the electricity to be shut off, which released the building’s electronic locks and left it open to the public, according to the report from Republicans opposed to the party chair.

LET. US. SAVOUR!

Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray, Michigan EditionPost + Comments (61)

The Fetterman – Oz Debate – STOCKPILE

by Anne Laurie| January 1, 20244:46 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: 2022 Elections, Local Races, Proud to Be A Democrat

Holy shit: Oz says his abortion position: should be between "a woman, her doctor, and local political leaders" #PASenDebate pic.twitter.com/UDiJvDYHYo

— Pat Dennis (@patdennis) October 26, 2022

My God, the blue-check people here mocking John Fetterman during this debate, as if they are immune from the randomness of illness and infirmity. Time catches up with everyone, no exceptions. Few would have his courage to recover so publicly.

— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) October 26, 2022

Fetterman to Oz during the debate: "He keeps talking about Bernie Sanders. You know, three years ago, he was on his show, and he hugged him, and he said, 'I love this guy.' Why don’t you pretend you live in Vermont instead of Pennsylvania and run against Bernie Sanders."

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2022

John Fetterman's opening statement during his debate with Mehmet Oz: "Let's also talk about the elephant in the room. I had a stroke. He never let me forget that." pic.twitter.com/RgHWf5i4qo

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 26, 2022

Fetterman’s aware he has auditory & processing issues as a result of stroke.

He could’ve refused to debate like some candidates have. Instead, he went out there and let voters see his challenges and healing process.

Support him or not, that takes courage, humility and honesty.

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) October 26, 2022

Missed tonight’s debate between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz? Catch up on what you missed during their first and only matchup. ⬇️https://t.co/zbqa65YQHB

— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) October 26, 2022

John Fetterman will recover from his stroke but Mehmet Oz will always be an asshole

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) October 26, 2022

$7.25 an hour is a disgrace. I believe all work has dignity, and every paycheck should too.

I’ve always supported raising the minimum wage to *at least* $15 an hour. #PASenateDebate

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) October 26, 2022

i personally think that fetterman speaking with a disability is less painful and off-putting to watch than oz’s cruel and smirking jabs at fetterman’s stroke https://t.co/yFJhozofWY

— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) October 26, 2022

When Fetterman struggles with his speech, Dr. Oz struggles to control his smirk.

— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 26, 2022

Fetterman Campaign spokesman "for a guy who's just been in the hospital months ago, he took it to Dr. Oz pretty fucking hard tonight."pic.twitter.com/kQAt9lJuRp

— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) October 26, 2022

Fetterman spox @the_vello confirms they asked @NXSTMediaGroup to let reporters see the same screen that the candidates will see tonight in real time either inside the media tent or inside the studio. Oz campaign said no, he says,

— Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) October 25, 2022

Oz has been a hapless candidate, but benefited from relentless boosterism from Fox et al, while other media backgrounded his weak points (zero experience, record of medical charlatanism and dubious ethics). https://t.co/7HnTh7JBVp

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) October 25, 2022

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread: (Another) Good Day to Be A Democrat

by Anne Laurie| November 8, 20238:25 am| 250 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Primaries, Civil Rights, Healthcare, Local Races, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!

Maybe it is as simple as people realize elections are binary choices between the imperfect and the insane. https://t.co/LMhP3rUX2t

— HawaiiDelilah™ ?? #MauiStrong ???????????? (@HawaiiDelilah) November 8, 2023

Today, Democrats won in Virginia and protected reproductive freedom.

But make no mistake: Abortion and so many other fundamental freedoms are going to be on the ballot in 2024. That’s why we need you to join our campaign. pic.twitter.com/XNKJMei39M

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 8, 2023

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It is very good to see Biden's staffers are looking at voters concerns about prices and thinking hard about what can be done, even w/o congressional help.

Meanwhile Trump's staffers are thinking about how to enact payback at the DOJ and suppress peaceful protest.

— Mr. Nick Beaudrot (@nbeaudrot) November 7, 2023

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Republican debate tomorrow night, so tonight will probably be the the Republicans’ second worst night of the week.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 8, 2023

Not really worth its own post, but the Repubs are holding another circular firing squad this evening. The always professional Ed Kilgore, at NYMag, “The Third Republican Debate Could Be Brutal”:

… As the voting phase of the GOP primary approaches, candidates other than Donald Trump are hanging onto viability by their fingernails and really need to do something to help themselves and damage the others. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are in a cage match for second place in the Iowa caucuses (the governor hopes a long-expected endorsement from Iowa governor Kim Reynolds on the evening of November 6 will save his steadily sinking ship). Tim Scott is on the edge of elimination in both the polls and the debates. It’s increasingly unclear why Trump mini-me Vivek Ramaswamy is running for president against his idol, even as he annoys Republican voters more each day. And anti-Trump stalwart Chris Christie is simply proving that somebody with absolutely no chance of winning the nomination can stick around by cornering the small market of GOP Never Trumpers.

So this is a group of candidates with little or nothing to lose, each of them desperately trying to become the one that challenges the front-runner. With Trump absent once again, it’s a recipe for intramural carnage…

… DeSantis and Haley will bash each other, and Scott will bash both of them, while Christie bashes Trump and the audience boos. And I’m sure Ramaswamy will find some way to crash every conversation and insult his rivals. It has all the makings of a spectacle that only the front-runner (and Democrats) can enjoy…

Rooting for injuries.gif: Look for unauthorized leaks concerning the ‘dinner’ TFG may (or may not) have thrown for the horserace media touts last night…

We are not involved in this dinner and are not bound by the off-the-record agreement.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 8, 2023

Will Trump be running the barbecue pit? Will there be a tire swing competition in the ballroom? And who's in charge of bringing the donuts? https://t.co/ZXr4rbRqpS

— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) November 8, 2023

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Chill Bright Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Winning, It’s What’s for Breakfast

by Anne Laurie| November 8, 20234:50 am| 147 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Local Races, Proud to Be A Democrat, Our Failed Media Experiment

President Biden has given Democrats the template for victory, as election night 2023 showed which party is organized and has the message for success.https://t.co/90MYpJYigg

— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) November 8, 2023

Dems feeling feisty tonight after key wins in KY, VA, OH, PA. Source close to Biden camp: “At some point, you’d think the beltway media would start paying more attention to how Americans are voting,” not “‘DC strategists’ and polls that have been proven wrong time and time again”

— Nancy Cordes (@nancycordes) November 8, 2023

A very tough night for many mainstream journalist and pundits. They will have to work all night long to turn this into the story of why it’s bad for Democrats. https://t.co/KTZZCgRPJ5

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) November 8, 2023

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The American people’s feral rage at the foul betrayal of the Republicans they elected doing the thing they said they were going to do and had been openly working towards for decades continues unabated. https://t.co/21hmiRb0BV

— Open Source Stupidity (OSSTU) Starfish (@IRHotTakes) November 8, 2023

Very rough night for the political media who are trying their absolute hardest to play activist and help Trump get re-elected. https://t.co/9Lyo0l3Wgz

— Centrism Fan Acct ?? (@Wilson__Valdez) November 8, 2023

Republicans: *losing elections nationwide over their extreme abortion bans*

Also, Republicans: *making the guy who personally dismantled Roe v. Wade their presidential nominee*

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) November 8, 2023

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Virginia

Democrats have won BOTH houses of the General Assembly

This is another victory for the protection of both our democracy and our most basic freedoms. It’s a function of fairer maps and a resounding rejection of the extremism of Virginia Republicans and their leadership

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) November 8, 2023

Glenn Youngkin busily cancelling all those hotel rooms in New Hampshire.

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) November 8, 2023

pic.twitter.com/EqQv5Z64Ee

— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) November 8, 2023

“Tonight proved that voters see through Glenn Youngkin. He is Trump in a vest. He is a rubber stamp for the MAGA extremist agenda and that’s what voters rejected…

It’s safe to say Youngkin’s [presidential] campaign ended before it began tonight.” pic.twitter.com/5dE0Gh1IPO

— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) November 8, 2023

One way to conceptualize the difference between the GOP and the Dems: for the former, "pussy" is the problem with "grab them in the pussy" and they genuinley don't understand that for Dems, the problem is with "grab." https://t.co/KgGrU3bGCz

— ???????????? Superfan (@notabanderite) November 8, 2023

Governor of Maryland (possibly some snark involved… ):

Tonight, the Commonwealth of Virginia made its voice heard.

They rejected the MAGA agenda in favor of leaders who will fight for their communities, protect abortion rights, fund public education, stand up for voting rights, and more.

Congratulations VA!

— Gov. Wes Moore (@iamwesmoore) November 8, 2023

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Republicans in Kentucky spent $30 million on ads in a proxy campaign against Joe Biden….and lost big. pic.twitter.com/4Jfvd3NpZC

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) November 8, 2023

Cameron was a particularly enormous ghoul in the Breonna Taylor investigation and ran hard on transphobia, so enjoy this one boys, girls, and nb folks.

— the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist) (@merovingians) November 8, 2023

Beshear: Just just look at what we were up against. Five superpacs. My opponent's superpac, Mitch McConnell’s superpac. Rand Paul’s superpac. The club for growth, the Republican governors association… We beat them all at the same time pic.twitter.com/YQEuuhoTwL

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 8, 2023

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Exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam won a seat Tuesday on the New York City Council https://t.co/C4v26XS9dM

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) November 8, 2023

I hope this result gives that orange shitstain a stroke. pic.twitter.com/O8xx9KXPGB

— Anna Maltese ?? ?? ?? (@MalteseAnna) November 8, 2023

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We in the Politico No-Spin Zone™ refuse to editorialize on whether Democrats winning constitutes a “win” for Democrats

— Gas Stove Prayer Warrior (@canderaid) November 8, 2023

You can bet somewhere across the great Republic tonight there is an op-ed page editor green-lighting that pitch.

— Ray Suarez (@RaySuarezNews) November 8, 2023

Chill Bright Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Winning, It’s What’s for BreakfastPost + Comments (147)

NotMax on Walz and Harris Live: Open Thread (Sep 13, 2024 @ 6:37pm)

Tony Jay on Walz and Harris Live: Open Thread (Sep 13, 2024 @ 6:36pm)

KatKapCC on Walz and Harris Live: Open Thread (Sep 13, 2024 @ 6:31pm)

Baud on Walz and Harris Live: Open Thread (Sep 13, 2024 @ 6:30pm)

FDRLincoln on Walz and Harris Live: Open Thread (Sep 13, 2024 @ 6:29pm)

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a fraudulent bond!

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Battle won, war still ongoing.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Dems Are On A Roll!

Good News Open Thread: Andy Kim for Senate!

Local Races Open Thread: Does Colin Allred Stand A Chance Against Ted Cruz?

Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray, Michigan Edition

The Fetterman – Oz Debate – STOCKPILE

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: (Another) Good Day to Be A Democrat

Chill Bright Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Winning, It’s What’s for Breakfast