Election Day Countdown: There’s Got to be An Afternoon After [UPDATE-1]

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The American left — or at least those comfortable voting for and identifying with members of the Democratic Party — is in the throes of their predictable mortification, self-flagellating atop their hair shirts.

Why wasn’t the massive turnout an obvious and immediate repudiation of the deeply racist and misogynist Trump? Why weren’t the numbers evidence of a blue tsunami in spite of the massive push for increased voter participation?

~eye roll~

We do this. It’s a standing joke. I don’t how many variations of this I’ve seen in Twitter today. Here’s a couple examples:

We need to snap the fuck out of it. We didn’t get our heads on straight going into the count last night, and we weren’t ready for Trump’s fascist bullshit lie claiming victory.

We are winning the White House. We are going to take back the entire executive branch, including new cabinet members who aren’t wholly corrupt motherfuckers (Jesus, Wilbur Ross is still serving on the board of a Chinese bank even though he’s been called out in the media about it).

We’re going to have a new attorney general and a civil rights division which will do more than sit on its thumbs and spin.

Investigations which have been corruptly shuttered or squelched before they could launch will begin.

We might stand a chance at making traction against climate change; we might even rejoin the Paris Agreement from which the U.S. formally withdrew yesterday.

We won’t immediately regain the trust of allies and trading partners, let alone the rest of the world, but a new competent and ethical secretary of state will make letters like this one sent out yesterday look less like a fucking joke.

We know we are about to win once the votes have been counted. We’re just waiting for the pretty red bow on top.

Act like it.

~ ~ ~

The Senate doesn’t look good. This I have to admit. It will make the next two years hell especially while trying to stem a pandemic.

But there are some very bright spots, achievements worth celebrating.

Justice Democrats kept all their incumbents including The Squad. They also picked up three more seats for their organization:

Raúl Grijalva AZ-03
Ro Khanna CA-17
Ayanna Pressley MA-07
Rashida Tlaib MI-13
Ilhan Omar MN-05
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY-14
Pramila Jayapal WA-07

Cori Bush MO-01 (replaces Democrat William Lacy Clay Jr.)
Jamaal Bowman NY-16 (replaces Democrat Elliot Engel)
Marie Newman IL-03 (replaces Democrat Dan Lipinski)

Bush is the first woman of color to serve in Congress from her state.

Except for Newman, these Justice Democrats are all persons of color from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds. This is the future of the Democratic Party.

They are literally the future as they phased out more traditional, centrist Democrats.

Celebrate the arrival of more fresh faces, more new blood to the House of Representatives, bringing a more progressive perspective.

Also worth celebrating:

— Six indigenous Americans are now representatives elect;

— New Mexico’s congressional caucus is entirely women of color;

— 115 women of color ran for Congress this election, 82 of which were Democrats;

— Four Indian Americans won seats in Congress.

Change is coming. It’s not as fast as we’d like but some of that’s on us.

We should still celebrate it loudly, joyously. We should make it clear the changes are exactly what our government of, by, and for the people needs — it should represent us, it should look like us.

~ ~ ~

Lastly, drugs. All the drugs. Drugs won big last night.

I’ll admit I’m a bit hesitant to embrace decriminalizing every drug, but I haven’t read Oregon’s ballot initiative which does so. I’m good with the rest; we need to end the carceral state which in a large part is built upon drug-related convictions. We need to end the War on Drugs which has cost us a fortune we could spend on other public services while it both creates conflict in other nations and bolsters militarization of law enforcement.

Once again, change is coming.

~ ~ ~

What other good news do you have? Feel free to share it in comments.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-1 — 8:30 PM ET —

NBC and several other outlets called the Michigan Senate race for incumbent Democrat Gary Peters. The margin of votes flipped back and forth through the day and ended somewhere around 47,000 votes. In no small part was this a win for Black Michiganders who cast votes for Peters and then worked diligently to count the mail-in ballots yielding Peters’ win.

Change is coming.

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282 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    Democratic incumbent Gary Peters pulled ahead of John James here in Michigan by 1020 votes.

    Nail biter, this one. My kid kept their choices to themselves but when it came to James they said, “No way could I vote for him. He’s a moron.” Kid was sweating it all last night, pacing anxiously this morning, worried about this race.

    Let’s hope the lead holds because I’d hate to have to break it to the kid.

      • Rayne says:

        Yeah, I’m seeing a similar big swing. We could still end up in recount territory.

        EDIT: I didn’t count on steadfast, normcore Gary Peters to give me a heart attack a couple times today. Latest:

        Jesus Christ, these swings of 5 and 10 thousand votes at a pop are hard on my vascular system.

        EDIT – 4:06 PM — Holy Toledo, another several thousand votes.

    • Valerie Klyman-Clark says:

      Rayne,

      Your last posts have brought me to tears. I guess I’ve been pretty close anyway, so it’s not hard-but still. Thank you. My husband was feeling despondent, so I read him this post. He says thanks, he feels much better.

      11the District NC resident here. Bmaz, So, so sad about Moe Davis. Sorry Rayne.

      • Rayne says:

        Thanks, Valerie. Give my best to your spouse. Keep the faith — even Ted Kennedy, John Dingel, and John Lewis did in their last days. We continue the fight they had to leave behind.

        And yeah, very sorry about Moe Davis, but I think he should use my rule of thumb: plan to run twice, and make sure your posse is better and bigger for the second run. No sense building that name cred and not using it. Besides, Cawthorn is exactly the kind of racist cretin who needs to feel the heat of his opponent’s breath on his neck or he’ll royally screw up for NC.

        • rosalind says:

          i too hope Moe makes another run. and i predict Madison’s lack of maturity will result in a shorter electoral life than what he and his elders are expecting.

          hope springs…

        • P J Evans says:

          I saw his tweet from last night. High school kids are generally more mature than that. He may get censured before the end of January.

      • Ed Walker says:

        Mo is a good guy, unlike that sleaze that won. One more loss to decency. But that was always going to be a tough district. At least Mo cleaned up in Buncombe County, where all the nice people live.

        • Valerie Klyman-Clark says:

          By God, I love you folks. Really: you’re an oasis of sanity in an arid hellscape.

          I do take a certain amount of perverse pleasure thinking how Master Cawthorn will be viewed by his colleagues . . . say, the Squad. I am ready for that child to be put in his place. His educational background is one semester at Patrick Henry where he had a D average, ffs. Only work experience is what? Chick-Fil-A?!! All of which tracks.

          Here’s hoping we have not seen the last of Moe. My husband posted signs all over Madison county (north of Asheville). He’s the Goods. Cal Cunningham? Not so sure . . . I got a text from his campaign at 7 am this morning-November 4th, telling me to get out there and vote. Oy.

        • rosalind says:

          w00t, another member of Team Moe, and in the actual district! Marcy did a Gitmo panel with Moe at one of the Netroots Nation conferences back in the day and a few of us Wheelies had a very fun lunch with him after.

          the funniest moment was when he talked about his friend Judith Miiller and everyone froze. i, the smartass, said “uh, you should probably not mention you had lunch with us.” Moe was confused, as he wasn’t quite aware of Marcy’s amazing work covering the Scooter Libby trial intersecting with his friend, star witness Judith “I was proved fuckin’ right” Miller. Judith had become an oft discussed subject here during the trial and after.

          anyhoo, now to keep eyes on our man, Madison.

    • Ralph H white says:

      Executive Orders can be a powerful tool for a President….as we’ve seen. Biden, as you said, can rescind all Trump’s EOs almost immediately, put us back in the Iran deal, The Paris Accord, Refund the WHO, stop the brutal border policies. He can clear the cabinet and all departments of Trump scum and restore efficient government. If the House will pass some intelligent legislation on healthcare, gun control, taxes on the wealthy, public works and green energy they might get Romney and enough GOP senators to go along, without the specter, (sphincter) of Trump looming. Those issues are overwhelmingly popular with most Americans. There is another senate race in two years and just possibly that will put enough pressure on to get things done.

      But the best result of all is that Trump is humiliated and knows he considered a loser by the entire planet… a fate worse than death for him. He will probably spend his remaining years in court, bankruptcy and hopefully prison. And his despicable spawn have many problems of their own. We should start a pool as to how long his loyal spouse will stand by him. I am disappointed, but not depressed or deterred.

    • Chris.EL says:

      Thursday, 11/5/20; read this on Twitter, Mark R. Levin wrote:

      “REMINDER TO THE REPUBLICAN STATE LEGISLATURES, YOU HAVE THE FINAL SAY OVER THE CHOOSING OF ELECTORS, NOT ANY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, SECRETARY OF STATE, GOVERNOR, OR EVEN COURT. YOU HAVE THE FINAL SAY — ARTICLE II OF THE FED CONSTITUTION. SO, GET READY TO DO YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY.”

      So, to bmaz (or anyone, etc.) is there anything about this remark that holds water, or, WTAF does it mean??

      Help.

      • P J Evans says:

        he’s telling GOP-T-controlled legislatures to ignore the voters and appoint reliably GOP-T electors. Which is going to tick off everyone.

  2. vvv says:

    Mentioned above but I am very happy about Marie Newman beating Lipinski. And Krishnamoorthi is back (I predict big things for him).

    As for the Senate in general, well, kinda wish I could get me some “psilocybin therapy”.

    • Rayne says:

      I’m thinking I need to look into drug tourism. Imagine resorts where carefully administered and monitored psychedelic trips are offered.

      Then go public, and then set up a fund based on recreational and medical drug stocks. LOL

        • Rayne says:

          Oh, I’ve probably outlined how I’m going to reinvest my retirement fund once I start drawing down this next year. DRUGS!!!

          I’m imagining trying to explain this to my elderly parents, how I’m going to become a high-end drug dealer as a second career. LOL

      • rosalind says:

        you laugh, but that is a brilliant idea! i saw the documentary “Fantastic Fungi” last year and in addition to stunning cinematograpy it is an eye-opening look at the therapeutic uses of magic mushrooms, especially for pain management and end of life. i would so go in on your idea!!

      • Mart says:

        Why the hell don’t national Dems run on legalizing it? I get stoned with plenty of Trumpers, and if they don’t smoke they don’t care if you do.

        • BraveNewWorld says:

          Democratic leadership is all 80+ years old and will die in office before giving up their privileged positions. I expect the Republicans pushed by governors to back this at the national level before Democrats.

      • Savage Librarian says:

        When students were permitted to come back to Kent State after being evacuated in 1970, my 3 housemates and I resumed our fluid lifestyles. We frequently had visitors and lively discussions around the kitchen table. From time to time, we also had guests who were passing through from one state to another.

        One was a young man from CA who stayed overnight for a few days. In the spirit of sharing, he offered us some psilocybin he had obtained in OR. It was mixed with chocolate powder. He suggested experiencing it during a walk or bike ride in the woods. So, we did.

        That is the one and only psychedelic experience I have ever had. It was so profoundly spiritual for me that I stopped being fearful of death for decades. I remember looking at a tree and seeing it as a composition of colorful, vibrating molecules. It seemed like a metaphor for all existence.

        I had a similar natural experience when I was 7 years old. Perhaps it was psychotic. Or, perhaps it was something else. As I was walking home from school, suddenly I felt the presence of someone else. I turned to look, and there on the other corner was a being made of colorful particles of light. And that being looked just like me. In my young brain, I suspected that this was a calming message from God. But I never talked about it because I feared the consequences. It never happened again.

        As I have shared before, on a Mother’s Day, some time after my own mother passed, I had a physical experience involving oak trees, some books I was reading, and a barking dog. A Mother’s Day balloon stuck in one of the trees for a year just happened to drift down and through the yard while I was pet sitting there. That real life experience was the closest I have felt to the experience of psilocybin decades before.

        Terror Management Theory (TMT) offers some ideas relative to our self esteem and fear of death. It’s probably something we should think about more. Research into the practices of early Christianity (and other religions) has also uncovered the use of therapeutic and mind expanding plants.

        So, besides the financial prospects of drug therapies, I firmly believe that there could be significant healing aspects. I would be delighted if FL joined with OR and DC to make psilocybin accessible to people suffering from pain, whether physical or psychological. But I doubt that will happen any time soon.

        • Eureka says:

          Hey SL, I know an originator of TMT quite well. If he were here, he’d ask you (in an excited about ideas way) if you’ve read Ernest Becker on the posit that human culture is mostly an effort to deny our consciousness of death.

          Then there is a completely separate field of work which explores why schizophrenia so regularly appears in human populations cross-culturally (if more unevenly than prior researchers supposed). Some of these strands are dangerous bunk, others ‘just so’ stories — but the connections to magical thinking (an essential human trait which drives things like scientific discovery, besides the dumb stuff that gets singled out for scorn), to social roles like shamanism … those I think you’d find interesting. And I thought you’d told us of a brother who had it, so maybe your family shares some variation that — contexted differently — gives a “special spark” that can afford neat, and manageable, experiences for you but too much for brother.

        • graham firchlis says:

          Took anthro under Ernest Becker at UC Berkeley, in the brief time he was there. Nice guy, patient with the denser among us (including me.)

          His work tended toward reconciling with death, but it more broadly addresses understanding and overcoming what Becker termed our “essential alienation” from others and critically ourselves.

          His early work was framed in the context of educational theory. I have an autographed copy of Beyond Alienation in my library, and heartily advise reading it before tackling his later work.

          I highly recommend both the whole of Becker’s work and the furtherence to be found through his namesake Institute.

          Another good soul gone far too soon. A lot of ghosts here for me.

          https://ernestbecker.org/

    • Ed Walker says:

      We gave some money to Newman and met her at a fund-raiser. She did a zoom fund-raiser with my hero Katie Porter! She seems like the real thing.

      • blueedredcounty says:

        One of the few things I checked on last night was Katie, and her being re-elected made it possible for me to fall asleep for a few hours. She sooo rocks!

  3. Steve13209 says:

    Cautiously optimistic here, but have cut off most connection to the news/internet today. It is what it is, they say.

    What these results say to me is to STOP sending money to candidates directly and to fund groups (progressive, in my case) which will support primary candidates. The GOP is always going to paint the Democrat as a “left wing radical”, so why not at least run them?

    • e.a.f. says:

      Its so funny when they refer to Democrats as “left wing radicals”. Most Democrats would qualify as Conservatives in Canada. Although back in the day, some former Americans explained to me, that they had been McGovern Democrats which seemed to me at the time to mean they were more left than right. In Canada we have lefties, but they’re usually with the New Democratic Party–the godless socialists to some. When they start referring to Democrats as godless socialists perhaps then I’ll start seeing them as lefties. Right now, they seem sort of center.

  4. Bobster33 says:

    Regarding decriminalizing all drugs, refer to the book Chasing the Scream. Decriminalizing drugs occurred in Portugal and it led to a ~50% reduction in consumption of the hard stuff.

    And, let’s be honest, prohibition in the 1920’s was a complete disaster. Criminalization of drugs, especially pot, has been a disaster for civil liberties, security, state budgets wrt jail spending.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Not to mention that the so-called war on drugs was a racist marketing scam, chosen because, after the successes of the civil rights movement, more traditional language could not be used to demonize people of color.

      It didn’t start with Nixon, though I think his administration first used the term for its policy. It goes back decades earlier, to the original staffing of federal law enforcement aimed at fight drug use.

        • MB says:

          Even back then, there was “dark money” behind its prohibition. Wm. Randolph Hearst, CEO of the newspaper chain bearing his name, owned significant financial interests in the paper mill industry and felt threatened that a growing hemp industry would compete with paper mills and ruin his investments. He got Harry Anslinger to ban hemp using (what else) scare tactics with the American public.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          I think Anslinger was also behind adulterating potable grain alcohols with poisons, to discourage illegal consumption of a consumer and industrial product during Prohibition. That it led to death and illness, he welcomed, as a necessary and logical consequence of not following his rules. Sociopathic and almost certain racist.

        • DrFunguy says:

          My understanding: Anslinger funded production of Reefer Madness and lobbied for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 which initiated cannabis prohibition and (unbeknownst to many congresscritters) also banned hemp, a cash crop for many farmers).

        • P J Evans says:

          The synapses were refusing to click on that. (I knew there was a movie, and the name just wasn’t coming through.)

    • e.a.f. says:

      Portugal also has a great out reach system to assist drug addicts and many of them make it into rehab. Portugal also has a decent medical system

      • John Paul Jones says:

        Portugal also decriminalized all drugs in about 2001, and switched to a harm-reduction strategy coupled with public health. So far, it’s been highly successful. Here’s an overview from Transform’s Drug Policy Foundation:
        https://transformdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight/#:~:text=Background,as%20fines%20or%20community%20service.

        A key quotation: “Overall, this suggests that removing criminal penalties for personal drug possession did not cause an increase in levels of drug use. This tallies with a significant body of evidence from around the world that shows the enforcement of criminal drug laws has, at best, a marginal impact in deterring people from using drugs.There is essentially no relationship between the punitiveness of a country’s drug laws and its rates of drug use. Instead, drug use tends to rise and fall in line with broader cultural, social or economic trends.”

  5. Dan_S says:

    Thanks for the much-needed pep talk. And for the reminder that struggles for justice are always long and turbulent.

    • Rayne says:

      In my grandfather’s lifetime, women couldn’t vote. We still had asshats who were reminding other men on Twitter to ensure their women voted in line with them.

      I’m going to be 60 years old and I’m still not guaranteed equal protection under the law on the basis of my sex.

      But that arc isn’t going to bend itself, it won’t bend with fire alone, and we have to sustain ourselves along the way. Celebrate when we can.

        • Rayne says:

          In some other timeline, another parallel universe, I am indeed eternally 39. But in this one I have all the white hair which accompanies six decades.

          Just realized I have to renew my driver’s license this year. Thank goodness I don’t have to have a new photo this time with my wild, white, witchy pandemic hairdo!

        • P J Evans says:

          Ah, license renewal. Did that last month, and got the new license within two weeks. (Last time it was a simple hand-them-the-money thing.This time, new photo and stuff.)

          ETA: mentally 29 or 30, physically 69 going on 70. (Also mentally about 5ft7, and physically 5ft.)

        • e.a.f. says:

          The thing about your kids turning 40 is you can’t say you’re 50 any more. Its even worse when your friend’s 40 something kid starts talking retirement plans and you still think of them as 5 yrs old.

        • P J Evans says:

          My mother said that the best 10 years of your life come between 28 and 29. Later it was between 29 and 30.

  6. Ruthie says:

    So, I’m not a GGreenwald fan, but several years ago he researched/wrote about Portugal’s decriminalization of, I believe, all drugs to instead focus on a public health approach. The results were overwhelmingly positive.

    I had to talk my husband off the ledge about midnight last night about the presidency. Turns out Biden’ll probably win unless the courts stop the count. However, we’ve agreed for months that unless Ds also win the Senate we’re leaving the US, and sadly that seems the most likely scenario.

    • Rayne says:

      Ruthie, the purpose of this thread was to encourage deserved celebration, not to discourage others.

      The info about Portugal is helpful but the defeatist attitude about the Senate isn’t. Save that for a different thread for people unwilling to continue to work on change.

      • Ruthie says:

        Apologies to all.

        The context is that my husband is from Spain, and we already have a son living in the Netherlands. Our decision, should we follow through, will leave us very conflicted. After living here for over 20 years, my husband naturalized in about 2012.

        Wherever we end up, I won’t give up the fight! I have lots of friends and family here that I can’t abandon to their fate – even those who chose it willingly.

        • Rayne says:

          Ah. Very different situation. Will be stepping into a new one, what with the schism between Spain and Catalonia, and the Russian-promoted effort to promote conflict via separatist movement.

        • Ruthie says:

          To make it more complicated, my husband is from the Basque Country. He left in ‘89 because of separatist violence. One of his uncles was targeted.

          He lived under fascist Generalissimo Franco, and understands in a way we can’t what that’s like. One side of his family were communists, one was fascist sympathizers. Sound familiar? It sure does to me (much to my dismay).

          Two guesses as to which side I lean toward 😉

        • I Never Lie and am Always Right says:

          In the Basque section of Spain, there was a movie theatre where a fire started. Unfortunately the theatre had only one exit, and a number of the Basques were injured while trying to leave the theatre. Proving, once again, that you should not put all your Basques in one exit.

        • e.a.f. says:

          You can go to Portugal and then always make the move to the Netherlands or keep a place in both countries as one of our aunts did. Both countries are very civilized.
          Once the dust has settled, Biden and Harris in office, it might be fun to stay in the U.S.A. to watch them toss Trump and Barr in jail. Who knows with them gone what they find out about Moscow Mitch and Lindsay.

  7. subtropolis says:

    Here’s to looking forward to seeing an honest Attorney General once again. (But, please, do not let bygones be bygones. Prosecute those bastards.)

    I just read that Biden’s popular vote numbers will surpass Obama’s. Don’t let the solid red on the maps fool you. It doesn’t account for the millions of Democratic voters in “red states” who are keeping up the good fight.

    • klynn says:

      THIS is a great point! It would be worth digging down into the data in each red state to look at the “really close” to blue counties and get more local party support to these areas. I realize that data mining is being done and that resources are focused toward maintaining current blue counties but Georgia is a pretty big deal, as well as NV and keeping MI is important as well.

  9. Jenny says:

    Thank you Rayne. Evolution is a process. Much reflection after a long night.

    Katie Porter (CA) is reelected AND more Americans came out to vote than ever before. Excellent!
    Thoughts regarding this elections came to me:
    – Limit the length of election campaigns, presently too long.
    – Get rid of the Electoral College – insert popular vote.
    – Term limits for House, Senate and even the Supreme Court.
    – Simplify voting in America. (Absentee voting was easy).

    These Native American words resonated with me during this time:
    I CHOOSE
    I choose to live by choice, not by chance,
    To be motivated, not manipulated,
    To be useful, not used,
    To make changes, not excuses,
    To excel, not compete.

    I choose self-esteem, not self-pity,
    I choose to listen to my inner voice,
    not to the random opinions of others.

    • Rayne says:

      Yes! Katie Porter’s re-election is a boon to the entire country!

      I fear until we address campaign finance we’re not going to be able to limit the length of campaign seasons. For example: Democratic state legislature caucus in my state wants to see $100K-plus raised by December of year prior to election before they will commit to endorsing and supporting a candidate for an open seat or a contested seat. Which means anyone interested in running in 2022 is already thinking about launching their campaign by January 2021.

      ~sigh~

        • e.a.f. says:

          Getting rid of PACs would really help in politics in the U.S.A and place limits on what each candidate can spend on their election. That is what we have in Canada and it works like a hot dam. It also clearly demonstrates whether a candidate can manage money and get the best bang for their buck. Our Supreme Court Judges have to retire at 75 as to members of our Senate, but our Senate is appointed rather than elected, much like in England.

          After one federal election a former cabinet minister, who exceeded his limit was charged, tried, found guilty and left the court house in cuffs, etc. nice touch. sent a message.

          In British Columbia, the current Premier (equivalent to Gov.) passed leg. limiting donations to $1250 per person and no big business or unions being able to exceed that limit. Now we just have to deal with municipal elections. Taking money out of elections works. Of course the American Supreme Court isn’t going to allow that, too bad. If no politician can receive millions from some one, then they don’t owe them anything either. Might save tax payers a lot of money.

      • BobCon says:

        She had what was supposed to be a killer district too.

        She is a model for what Dems should be doing, and I am keeping my hopes up that recruiters and campaign managers pay attention.

    • Molly Pitcher says:

      Trump’s increase in votes is because he has been campaigning since January 21, 2017. I think that his campaign committee was actually registered then.

      I need to look up a list of which GOP Senators up for re-election in ’22….

    • BD Mac says:

      Re: “Thoughts regarding this election came to me:”

      I would have put term limits at the top of the list for sure. Too many skeletons in the closet of so many of the two decade plus senators/representatives. So much bad blood has coagulated within them over the years. To be fair it’s on both sides of the aisle: Grassley, Feinstein, McConnell, Pelosi to name just a few of the Titans. I’ll get booed if I mention an age limit, but I’m an old bastard so I’ll say it anyway; maybe 72 then forced retirement. Probably not a problem if term limits of 12 years for both the house and senate are strictly enforced. That should keep the faces a little fresher.

      Re: “I CHOOSE”

      In the vein of Native American’s making choices, you might like this as well (link below). Chief Seattle had to make a big choice before he passed. Not quite the dramatic choice Geronimo made with Nantan Lupan, but nonetheless a demonstration of free-will amidst an impossible (if not genocidal) set of circumstances.

      http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/seattle.htm

      • Jenny says:

        Thank you BD Mac. Chief Seattle, a wise man. We have much to learn from indigenous people and Mother Nature.

        Only when the last tree has died
        and
        the last river been poisoned
        and
        the last fish been caught
        will we realize we cannot eat money.
        Cree Indian Proverb

  10. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Thank the lord Newman replaced Lipinski in IL. That qualifies as a de facto pickup of a GOP vote. And the Squad is triumphant. Good start.

    McConnell will wreak havoc on all of Biden’s nominees. Court appointments will be dead for two years, so reform and expansion will have to wait. Good opportunity to review and vet the list.

    The biggest contests will be over Biden’s top Cabinet picks. Moscow Mitch will fight tooth and nail over the replacement of Bill Barr as Attorney General, and almost as hard over replacement USAs. Expect the blue slip process to rise from the dead, with Abby Normal’s brain. McConnell will also stonewall Any progressive Biden might want, such as Warren at Treasury, as some have proposed. (Poaching from the Senate without a clear Dem replacement in hand would be a remarkable act of self-harm.)

    McConnell’s stonewalling – he might be the only person inside the Beltway better at it than Bill Barr – is all the more reason to get ready to flip the Senate in 2022. Plus, with all the geriatrics on both sides – not to mention Covid – there are likely to be several congressional seats that require interim appointments before then.

    • Epicurus says:

      Trump got around approval by appointing acting secretaries. So take a page from his book. Find two people of the same ilk and keep alternating them as the person in charge. Use the rules as McConnell and the R’s do. Bypass McConnell. Make him irrelevant.

    • Sarah McKee says:

      Re McConnell’s anticipated stonewalling of Biden nominees, if it comes to that, I like Glenn Kirschner’s idea that when McConnell had the opportunity to advise & consent re Merrick Garland but refused to let the Senate vote to do so, Obama could have regarded that as a waiver of the opportunity to advise & consent. Then could have had Garland take his seat on the Court, and thereby made McConnell sue about it in federal court. Kirschner thought the results fairly predictable. If there’s a downside to this approach, I have not seen it. And we might well need it.

      • BD Mac says:

        Re: “Kirschner thought the results fairly predictable. If there’s a downside to this approach, I have not seen it. And we might well need it.”

        I followed Kirshner’s legal commentary during the entire Mueller Investigation (over 2 years; I know get a life BD). Whether it was his [paid] appearances on MSNBC or elsewhere on the web (not providing links except the one below), none of his “predictions” came true regarding a Trump indictment being made during his 1st term. They were however, very insightful and very hopeful for those who wanted to see the bad orange de-man get his comeuppances; and he was often correct about the fate of the gang that couldn’t shoot straight getting indicted: Cohen, Manafort, Gates, Stone.

        Needless to say, on Trump, his predictions didn’t happen. I’m the furthest thing from a lawyer, but I do record when predictions fail and/or succeed (it’s paramount in fields of finance and science to know when something did or didn’t work). To put it simply, Glenn has been wrong more than right in his commentaries on the majority of his political/legal commentary in this current political era.

        Exhibit A:

        https://www.happyscribe.com/public/justice-matters-with-glenn-kirschner/trump-tweets-liberate-michigan-plot-to-kidnap-gov

        He’s talking RICO charges on Trump for the Michigan’s governors planned terror attack. That’s beyond the pale; he’s jumped the shark with this latest one. Legal theory as in scientific theory is not TRUE until results are obtained that verify said theory whether it be proven in a court of law or in the laboratory respectively. Possible and probable of success; sure, but what are the true odds of it happening in the “real world”. I put Glenn’s skip the senate advise & consent skipping theory next to his RICO comments in the previous link.

        If you want to know how off-the-mark Glenn’s RICO comments are, go here:

        https://www.popehat.com/2016/06/14/lawsplainer-its-not-rico-dammit/

        I’m sorry if this rains on your parade of hope to skip advise & consent, but Unicorn’s are rarely spotted nowadays. I’d still love 2 C 1 if Biden can conjure one.

  11. Nehoa says:

    I would add a positive related to the willingness and execution of voting by mail and early by such a large portion of eligible voters. This lays a foundation for fairer, more inclusive voting practices in the future.

  12. graham firchlis says:

    I’ll speak up for recreational drugs, and the freedom to enjoy this too brief, too often too sad life if only for a few hours.

    Chemist and physiologist, compulsive researcher and boundary trespasser, I’ve taken every psychedelic there is, many times. If it weren’t for weed, my chronic pain would be unbearable or I’d be a pharmaceutical addict. Let me break it down:

    Alcohol and tobacco are addictive.

    Psychedelics are not.

    Tobacco use causes cancer.

    Psychedelics do not.

    Alcohol causes fatal liver damage.

    Psychedelics do not.

    Alcohol dehydrates body cells, causing a hangover.

    Psychedelics do not dehydrate. The after effect, particularly of LSD, psilocybin and the like, is a sense of calm well-being and oneness with other beings and the universe.

    Alcohol lifts certain inhibitions, frequently leading to violence.

    Psychedelics lift certain other inhibitions, frequently leading to great sex.

    Too many people locked up far too long for no good reason. Let my people go.

    For all the sturm und drang, this is an increasingly wonderful time for enlightened personal freedoms. I celebrate these victories.

    • Ruthie says:

      I read the fantastic book about psychedelics by Michael Pollen and learned so much. They seem to have enormous potential to treat various conditions, including alcoholism and end of life depression, to name a few.

      I tried small doses of acid a few times as a teen and young adult. For me, it produced too much anxiety, although per the Pollen book, when administered in controlled ways that becomes less of an issue. Also, it can be dangerous for those with a history of schizophrenia or the like.

      • graham firchlis says:

        Any trip into the unknown will benefit from an experienced guide.

        Those with major mental health issues should take their prescribed meds and nothing else.

    • BD Mac says:

      Re: Chemist and physiologist, compulsive researcher and boundary trespasser,

      Similar. Analytical chemist and supported instrumentation (as engineer) for pulmonary physiology (lung function/respiratory mechanics ventilation) in an inhalation toxicology non-clinical lab, ex-obsessive researcher. Boundary walker (respectfully), not a trespasser (See Terence McKenna about going too far out of bounds; Aldous Huxley’s writings as well). Ridden the Snake enough to know not to chase the Dragon.

      Re: If it weren’t for weed, my chronic pain would be unbearable or I’d be a pharmaceutical addict.

      Stay away from chronic OTC NSAIDs usage for pain as well. You can get caught in migraine rebound loops with them (if you’re prone) in addition to liver toxicity prevalent in chronic usage along with a dozen other complications with them as well; everyone who’s treated them like skittles knows this. Some of those ailments become irreversible and/or will require big pharma therapeutics to counter the damage which have their own side effects and toxicity – see a pattern here? IOW there’s no free lunch with NSAIDs. Just like opioids.

      Re: Alcohol and tobacco are addictive
      You left out coke, meth, PCP (partial psychedelic classification), and heroin. Final outcomes of addictive habitual abuse are permanent psychosis/schizophrenia and heroin use disorder respectively. The latter will have you chasing the Dragon forever. IOW you broke your dopamine pump; meth is by far the quickest and fastest way to shatter it – don’t think this is summer fun recreation without consequences (See Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly ending credits or talk to my younger brother about the fall and the damage incurred).

      Re: Tobacco use causes cancer.

      From watching the non-control rodents’ lungs explode on ventilators using nominal parameters, the macroscopic degree of tar saturation within extracted lungs, and the clinical path findings [lymphomas] observed at the cellular level within 3 to 6 months of tobacco exposed lungs, tobacco smoke causes much more than cancer. You left out COPD, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Developed a lot of methods for the characterization of the organic constituents (volatile and non-volatiles) in tobacco smoke for the big 5 tobacco companies in the early 90s when congress was just getting to regulation. I WILL NEVER SMOKE after those observations. People I worked with still did. That’s proof of the strength of addiction. Heard similar anecdotes about doctors and nurses seeing the ailments of cigarette smokers but still continuing to smoke (for stress relief?). C. Everett Koop was first to make the analog that cigarettes were more addictive than heroin. No evidence to the contrary if you ask my younger sister.

      Re: Alcohol dehydrates body cells, causing a hangover.

      Yes and no. A liter of brandy over 12 hours is tolerable for a big guy or gal. Just drink water at the same time and eat some intermittently followed by a big meal before going to bed. Park a glass of water on the nightstand. Don’t go to bed until half the fuel has burned off (1 oz/hr – do the math). Prepare a 12 oz glass of water with 1 tsp of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as your last shot. Don’t skip any of those steps or it’s headache highway and upset stomach. And yes, alcohol to 10% of the population is highly addictive; ask my older sister, a best friend, three grandparents, one uncle, and two aunts. It’s a gene thing? Twelve steps works.

      Re: Alcohol lifts certain inhibitions, frequently leading to violence.

      Enough said. Amplifies the anger in angry people. Can stir a little of it in peaceful/calm people.

      Re: Too many people locked up far too long for no good reason.
      Let my people go.

      Land of Goshen here we come.

      #KEEP COUNTING

      #POSTING COMMENTS IS WRITING THERAPY UNTIL THE COUNT IS FINISHED

      • graham firchlis says:

        Hey Mac, thanks for expanding. I was striving for concise and punchy. Allow me to revise and extend….

        NSAIDs have thier issues. Moderation is important.

        Tobacco effects. I reached for a comprehensive consequence. Snuff and chew don’t have the pulmonary effects of smoke, but they do cause cancers.

        On addiction, I focused on legal tobacco and alcohol because they are physically damaging while psychedelics are not.

        The other drugs you cite are primarily anesthetics, used to numb interactions with others and reality generally. Psychedelics, as I employ the term, expand consciousness, increase bonding with others and embrace of our greater reality, not escape.

        Amphetamines are very damaging, from crank to Molly. There is no free lunch, and you will pay for forced running up of neurobiological debts.

        Alcohol dehydration can be ameliorated as you suggest, but very few drunks have the presence of mind to do so. Psychedelic afterglow is a positive experience; normal hydration is sufficient.

        Alas, Terrence McKenna. Just my age, near to the day, contemporaneous UC Berkeley student, I knew him but we weren’t close, overlapping circles. I’m not much on the woowoo, as he was even then. A good and gentle person, dead far to soon, a great loss. No one responsible advocates neophytes taking heavy doses of anything, or first time tripping without trusted guidance. Top end dosing comes from personal experience, not anecdote.

        As to posted limits, when I see a boundary sign a voice deep in my hindbrain says “Let’s go!!!” From skiing off piste to running 5/6 rapids on a risky line to sleeping out alone off trail, I’ve had some scares but also glorious unexpected adventures. They rather do go together.

        If I’d listened to conventional wisdom my professional life wouldn’t have been the (minor) revolutionary experience it was. Overthrowing a half century of conventional wisdom and forcing entire industries to change thier ways can’t happen from coloring inside the lines. I have no regrets, though some scars remain.

        So much for brief, eh? Nice chatting with you.

        • BD Mac says:

          All points taken and understood. My bad on chew vs. pyrolized tobacco assumption; completely agree relative to toxicity reduction in the former.

          Re: “Psychedelics, as I employ the term, expand consciousness”

          Yeah. I left them out of the comment expansion – I was a Space Trucker/Cowboy long ago. I may tour S. America for an extended Ayahuasca pre-end of life DMT trip (to get a head start into the bardo or as Terence calls it the carnival with the gnomes), whenever that terminal illness comes. The therapeutic value of entheogens is just being realized now that the Grinches [Nixon, Reagan, HW Bush] and their ilk who kicked it off in earnest are almost out of power here in the states.

          The promising work with MDMA to treat alcoholics is amazing. I remember seeing a doc on it by a group in my birth state of CA maybe a decade ago IIRC. Cannabis for epileptics with grand mals is a life saver (in some cases better than anti-seizure meds like Tegretol) and also for chronic pain or chemo and glaucoma (I’m ironically on glaucoma watch now by the Optometrist).

          Just wanted to put the dangerous non-recreational(s) out there in addition to alcohol since I’ve seen too many people in my previous life and the Children of Orpheus [the Muses], singers/actors in our culture succumb to them all too frequently; obviously stating the obvious, but sometimes it’s good to remember the fallen. Not all dead (before their time), but braindead instead or somatic issues.

          Re: “increase bonding with others and embrace of our greater reality, not escape”

          Yes, ego dissolution/annihilation while on the trip. I could tell right away that you’ve reached the “destination” the Shaman travels to with or without entheogens – there you found it’s the journey that is the destination (queue other mantras ad infinitum expressing the same truth of Unity Consciousness; Cosmic Consciousness; God?). See Ken Wilber, The Atman Project (1980); Transcendental/Transpersonal View of Human Development for the latter method without entheogens. Basic Buddhism and Hinduism will get you there as well; “All R 1; 1 is All”; you can find the same spiritual transcendence obtained with entheogens in heartfelt devotion to most of the main religions if that’s your cup of tea; just missing the visuals for the most part (e.g. Saints suffering it out in caves in celibacy; Native Americans in the sweat lodges under fasting ketosis conditions banging the drums or in magical dance rhythms); all good. They’re all just different methods of human physiological alchemy – altered states. The entheogen route is the short-cut, the soma, which is why a “bad” trip can beset a beginner or novice (i.e. not ready). Been there done that. Teenagers are reckless.

          Re: “Let’s go!!!”

          Yeah, all I’ll say is: “Heaven’s Forbidden!” (in this world?). It’s a relative concept. I heed the allegory of Icarus and don’t fly too close to the sun. Stay away from manic urges. What goes up will come down (in this world).

          Re: “If I’d listened to conventional wisdom my professional life wouldn’t have been the (minor) revolutionary experience it was.”

          Agreed. Think outside the box for the big stuff. Doesn’t everyone want to be Elon Musk? (rhetorical)

          Re: “So much for brief”

          No worries. No detection of “pressured speech” [smile].

  14. d4v1d says:

    A few days ago, I was reading in the Mpls Star that Ilhan Omar was knocking on doors and organizing her district, aiming to scrounge 300,000 new voters she felt would be needed in MN. Did you notice Biden’s margin of victory there? Also, Biden worked hard at the blue wall states that abandoned Hillary – trying to add AZ and GA as insurance. The fact that he knew what was needed and succeeded without wasted effort tells us much about the man. And he got the additional turnout where he needed it. This show of competence is refreshing after four years of being an extra in a third rate ‘reality’ tv show headlined by a clown.

        • d4v1d says:

          From my own Comm. of Mass., Ayana. But to return to my original point, Ilhan was recruiting 300k voters in a state Joe won by 230k. Amazing. (And I know what Ilhan was up against – my wife is from crimson red rural western MN – near both SD and the Steve King district of IA. I have been in their diners, eavesdropping on their tortured logic and traitorous conversations.)

        • Jenny says:

          Ilhan is a member of “The Squad.” All four were reelected. They are refreshing new energy.

          LOL! Great line: “This show of competence is refreshing after four years of being an extra in a third rate ‘reality’ tv show headlined by a clown.”

    • BobCon says:

      Tlaib did a lot of the same thing in Detroit. I truly hope Dems pay attention.

      Redistricting is coming up, which brings up opportunities — Dems can rebound if they are smart.

        • BobCon says:

          Ohio has something on tap too. Since almost every state will be doing some kind of redistricting, Dems need to be on top of it.

          I’m encouraged also by the tremendous job Abrams seems to have done in Georgia. Nevada unions came through strong with the Hispanic vote as well. Grassroots matter enormously when districts are redrawn — I hope Dems see the opportunities.

        • Ginevra diBenci says:

          Whichever way Georgia goes (I have been rooting for David Perdue to slide under 50%, forcing a runoff), Democrats owe the majority of their gains to Stacey Abrams. I can’t figure out why she goes under-credited; it’s becoming an obsession of mine. I love the Squad and Katie Porter, but Abrams has been fighting to get us here far longer, with far more results–not for herself. For us.

        • Ginevra diBenci says:

          Now (a day after I posted above) that it looks like there will, in fact, be two run-off elections for senate in Georgia–and these will determine the balance of the senate, giving VP Harris a potential tie-breaking vote–it is time for all of us who care about democracy to help Abrams get Warnock and Ossoff elected. Give to FairFight! It’s either that or McConnell in charge.

  15. OldTulsaDude says:

    I had to remind myself that it is next to impossible to unseat an incumbent president – yet this outcome looks to be the case. Good.

    Now, I am in favor of holding the inauguration at Camp David while the White House is fumigated.

  16. Peterr says:

    From Buzzfeed: “Ritchie Torres And Mondaire Jones Make History As The First Openly Gay Black Members Of Congress” (NY-15 and NY-17, respectively)

    From the Advocate: “Shevrin Jones & Michele Rayner Make LGBTQ+ Election History in Florida” (as trailblazers winning seats in the Florida House and Senate)

    And in Oklahoma (!), Mauree Turner became the first openly non-binary member of any state legislature.

    I can’t help but think of Harvey Milk:

    Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all of a sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they will be tossed out of the house, their classmates will taunt the child, and the Anita Bryant’s and John Briggs’ are doing their part on TV. And that child has several options: staying in the closet, and suicide. And then one day that child might open the paper that says “Homosexual elected in San Francisco” and there are two new options: the option is to go to California, or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said “Thanks”. And you’ve got to elect gay people; so that thousands upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us’s; without hope the us’s give up. I know that you can’t live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope.

    Hallelujah and amen.

  17. NickinNJ says:

    My disappointment in the blue wave actually being a blue ebb and flow is balanced by my unending satisfaction in cannabis finally being legal in NJ! Also, it sure looks good for the orange slug will be sent packing too. All in all, not a bad day.

    I was a victim of the drug war with an arrest for possession of a plant in my youth. Since that time, I was convinced cannabis would never be legal. But today I am ecstatic! Smoke ’em if ya got ’em! Democracy realized finally.

  18. Raven Eye says:

    Rayne: The Oregon Voter Pamphlet: 159 pages with, in my case, a 40-page county insert, is quite the read.

    Measure 107 — amends constitution: Allows laws limiting political campaign contributions and expenditures, requiring disclosure of political campaign contributions and expenditures, and requiring political campaign advertisements to identify who paid for them. Approved 79.9% – 21.21%

    Measure 109 — allows manufacture, delivery, administration of psilocybin at supervised, licensed facilities; imposes two-year development period. Approved 55.81% to 44.19%.

    Measure 110 — provides statewide addiction/recovery services; marijuana taxes partially finance; reclassifies possession/penalties for specified drugs. Approved 58.80% to 41.20%.

    107 is important because Oregon was pretty wide open. All five pages of Argument in Opposition were furnished by the same guy – a Libertarian running for Secretary of State (2.65% of the vote, who obviously has his finger on the pulse of Oregon)

    Link for Multnomah County’s version (where Portland is): http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/7610651

      • Raven Eye says:

        That’s one of the reasons I found the measure so interesting. The amendment itself may stand up to challenge if just allowing legislation is sufficient defense. I’ll look forward to seeing what the Legislature/governing bodies enact. They could require reporting without imposing limits. What will the reaction be once legislation starts working through the systems?

  19. A Better Mitch says:

    I’ve been an avid and grateful reader for a couple yrs, but 1st time commenter. Thank you to all. I learn so much, and also thank god for doses of confirmation bias. (I gave up other doses many years ago.) It’s a lonely life for a progressive in N Idaho, though my scads of Trumpian neighbors are otherwise wonderful people for the most part. Life can be puzzling. I appreciate the pep talk as we do indeed have a lot to celebrate. I felt so bad when I read that more people voted for T in 2020 than in 2016, esp. knowing my neighborhood contributed to this unconscionable disgusting fact. Still, this thread is helping me with the attempt to turn the huge sigh of relief into genuine joy. I wonder where our brilliant charismatic senate candidate , Paulette Jordan, or any quality Dem goes from here in ID. It’s not a new problem, here’s hoping these women come up with new solutions. On a brighter note, at least we got Medicaid expansion last time around and Gov. Little turned out not to be a complete idiot/ asshole re covid. And ,you’re all right, we’ve apparently been saved from the full blown slide into fascism . There is huge upside potential. Mega dittoes on congrats to AOC and “squad” and esp. to Katie Porter. The sane will rise again!

    • BD Mac says:

      Re: “life for a progressive in N Idaho”

      I ski Schweitzer, Brundage, and Tamarack every few years. I stay at Hope, ID for Schweitzer, McCall for the latter two. I pass through Sandpoint obviously to get to Schweitzer. I’m not sure if that’s still the white supremacists’ stronghold it used to be decades ago (I remember some standoffs against the “deep state” similar to Cliven Bundy’s last stand in NV decades ago). I don’t interact too much with locals at either condo; mainly just spending the time skiing, drinking, and resting. Rough neighborhood in N. Idaho if the racism is still rampant. Couer d’Alene too IIRC, but the area has a beautiful landscape; I guess that’s one offsetting factor. Hopefully it’s better now.

      Re: “knowing my neighborhood contributed to this unconscionable disgusting fact.”

      I’m in a red city/county in a blue state. I know the feeling. My octogenarian parents have FOX news on morning, noon, and night. Imagine what that does to a person’s brain. Bill O’Reilly was the political prophet for my Dad back in the day. I think Mom likes Lou Dobbs best. The idiom/scripture “They have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears but they do not hear” comes to mind.
      Losing comms with Mom and Dad because of the infestation of FOX news into their psyches is a sad state of affairs in this country and I know I’m not the only one; I read several articles by much younger people than myself how “FOX news stole my parents”. I concluded you can’t talk politics with FOX news watchers (but See Art Markman, PhD for methods to at least to try to reach them; he’s really good). Give it a shot with your neighbors after the dust settles before 2022. Wear body armor underneath [boom-tiss].

      [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l–lRj_E0tE&t=1933s%5D. He starts at 25:25

      Luckily my siblings are fairly progressive and my brother doesn’t vote; totally apolitical (one of the ~30% that have checked out or don’t care – totally apathetic).

      GL2U in the panhandle.

      #KEEP COUNTING

  20. vicks says:

    “For the first time in 84 years in Colorado and for only the fourth time in state history, Democrats have won … everything. The governor’s mansion. The secretary of state’s, treasurer’s and attorney general’s offices. Both chambers of the state legislature. The balance of power in the state’s U.S House of Representatives delegation. Both seats in the U.S. Senate. And the state’s electoral votes for president.”
    https://coloradosun.com/2020/11/04/colorado-history-democrats-election-sweep/
    I will add that we are now taxing the hell out of vaping products, the medical pot shops in our county can now sell recreational weed, and we shot down the late term abortion ban that finally made its way to the ballot after nine failed attempts
    We broke all records for voter turnout and with no lines and no dust ups, and were able to post most of the wins within a couple of hours of the polls closing.
    As for the bigger picture I’m hearing more sounds of our team “winning” out of Fox news which is on in the other room.
    Eric T and Rooty are in some sort of faux press conference and not only are they insisting that AZ is still in play and that Trump has won PA. they called Michigan for Biden as if it were more proof of a conspiracy and followed it up with a total shit show of threats and nonsense of not just federal, but NATIONAL law suits that will save democracy (thanks to Mitch’s judges.)
    For one terrible moment last night I imagined every thing we had worked so hard for slipping away….
    Here’s to Nevada running these ass holes out of town and putting all of us out of our misery soon

    • Ruthie says:

      I would add that Colorado approved the National Popular Vote compact! Yeah!

      I’ve been advocating for it here in NH for a few years, but we’re exactly the type of state that benefits from the extra attention, so as you might imagine there’s not a lot of interest.

  22. Krisy Gosney says:

    Kamala Effing G’Damn Harris!! First women VP in history!! First women of color VP in history!! Kamala Harris, a woman, a g’damn effing heartbeat away from the American Presidency!! Celebrate mother effers!!!!

  24. Alan Charbonneau says:

    Michigan has been called. That means Biden is at 264 EC votes. Nevada would bring him to 270

  25. punaise says:

    I won’t call this positive news, but our consecutive streak of donating to Senate candidates who went on to lose (Gideon, Harrison, McGrath, and some last minute crumbs for five others) remains unbroken. So there’s that!

    • P J Evans says:

      I donated to a D running for TX-19. He lost, of course – people there are depressingly willing to be used by the Rs, even though they aren’t stupid. (The cities and towns are bluer than the rural areas, but not enough to change things.)

  27. Molly Pitcher says:

    Here is one of my feel goods for today, Patrick Mahomes put his insane money where his heart is and helped to buy enough voting machines for the Kansas City Chiefs Stadium to be used for a polling place yesterday.

    from the Washington Post:

    Chiefs President Mark Donovan said that the election board initially balked, with one big reason being a lack of money with which to purchase voting machines.

    “We finally had to go to them and say what’s it going to take,” Donovan said. “And that’s really what launched the idea of purchasing new machines. And so we, the Chiefs organization, the Hunt family [which owns the team] and Patrick Mahomes and his 15 and the Mahomies Foundation came together and said, ‘If that’s what it’s going to take, we’re committed to this point. Let’s go.’” So they bought all the voting machines.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/11/04/patrick-mahomes-arrowhead-voting/

  29. harpie says:

    GOOD NEWS
    Via Cheryl Rofer:

    https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1324115650177048577
    5:25 PM · Nov 4, 2020

    Two HUGE resuts in Georgia: Dems have flipped the sheriff’s offices in Cobb & Gwinnett counties (pop: 1.6 million)

    This is big for many reasons.
    1/ The GOP sheriffs here have intense ties with ICE, which the Dems had promised to curtail or end. See: [link]

    2/ Both of the incoming sheriffs are Black, which breaks the pattern of overwhelmingly white sheriffs […]
    It’s also a direct parallel to NC in 2018 […]
    These are the 2nd & 3rd sheriff races in Georgia this year alone to bring tremendous change […]
    Huge huge huge testament to local immigrants’ rights activism here.

  30. e.a.f. says:

    Have been watching the results on C.B.C. (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Its quieter. They tend to interview former ambassador types, Harvard law professors, Jeff Flake, etc. In spite of it all last night was not a good night for many of us in Canada. Its looking better today, but really we don’t have elections like yours here.

    We board up store fronts if they expect hockey riots, election riots and boarding up, not so much.

    Until it is announced Biden has won I’m still going to be nervous. Yes, gains were made but it won’t matter if Trump is re elected.

    C.B.C.’s interview with the Harvard law professor made me feel better because he explained the type of law suites the Republicans were filing. Some are not a big deal and he opined the Supreme Court most likely won’t want to be involved in these petty type squabbles. Still some of us are nervous. We know there are a lot of guns in the U.S.A. and people use them fairly regularly on each other. Its not a comforting thought if things go side ways.

    What this past 4 years ought to have taught a lot of countries, including my own, is don’t rely on the U.S.A. to be a world leader. It could change over night. Other countries such as Japan have to change their Constitution, they and S. Korea need to get their act together militarily. Europe, ditto. Canada sits between Russia and the U.S.A. Another 4 years of crazy Trump, we would need to have a military the size of what we had in WW II with some nukes just to be safe. (hey Israel has them as does France and G.B.)

    Some of the jokes though have been great.

    What this has demonstrated is that a world class country can be on its way to being a “shit hole” country very quickly with the wrong President, a very bad A.G. and people like Moscow Mitch and Lindsay Graham. On the other hand a lot of Americans went out and voted. Lets hope that keeps up. It will be nice once Biden and Harris are sworn in and COVID dealt with.

    • BD Mac says:

      Re: “don’t rely on the U.S.A. to be a world leader”

      I’m glad you said it and not me. I figured the world figured this out after Bush/Cheney, Rumsfeld & Co. started the Afghan/Iraq wars without provocation. Obama provided some redemption, but not full exoneration (queue drone assassinations). Hillary’s Libya escapade didn’t help our world leader representation out either, but that was a real pickle with Gaddafi: “Were leading from behind”.

      Ebbs and flows I guess.

      #KAMALA
      #KEEP COUNTING

    • BobCon says:

      I appreciate the description of the CBC’s coverage, because it highlights the thinness of the contacts of the typical TV producer.

      It’s really hard to see how US media think it makes sense to get doughy, boring Rick Santorum as a regular voice, or why they think George Stephanopolous going through the motions with someone so locked in as Jenna Ellis makes any sense either for ratings or informing the public.

      There are a million people who will go on TV, some of them even smart, independent and articulate. They’re not hard to find.

      • e.a.f. says:

        C.B.C. is one of those “quaint” little institutions we have in Canada which was created when we got T.V. Well we had C.B.C. radio before that, but C.B.C. t.v. gave us Canadian content and Canadian news. when I was a kid and we got our first t.v. back in oh, the late 1950s, C.B.C. did not have commercials. It was funded entirely by the government. In later years some government decided they would have commercials. It has a government appointed B. of D. It has an English Branch and a French Branch and when they started having 24 hr. news C.B.C. developed a 24 hr. news station also.

        When there is something big going on in the U.S.A. I eventually go to C.B.C. because they find really good calm educated Americans to interview and they actually interview them. They let them speak instead of cutting them off, etc.

        C.B.C. created such series as Shitts Creek, back in the day, it was Beach Combers and prior to that, when I was a kid, Cariboo Country.

        What C.B.C. does best though is the news. I’m proud that we have a station funded by the government, but not controlled by the government. when they do panel discussions they have representatives from the various political parties or arms of them. You actually get all points of view.

        The one thing C.B.C. covered extremely well was 911 and the Atlanta O’s bombing.

        Right now they’re doing 24/7 American election news. I’ll be glad when they declare Biden the winner.

        Why they interview Santorium is beyond me. In my opinion, he’s a nut bar. When he comes on, off goes the station. There are so many intelligent Americans who could far better explain things or voice opinions than he and they’re Republicans also. The Republicans or former Republicans who the CBC interviewed were interesting to listen to. I may not agree with them but that is why we have democracies. Giving air time to people like Santorium is just giving more air time to the brainless. CNN used him a lot so I dropped that station and just stuck with MSNBC.

        Good luck in the U.S.A. I trust all will go well with a Biden/Harris Presidency. Cried the night they elected Obama. Never thought I’d see it in my life time, having watched the Civil Rights movement back in the day. Watching Harris being elected to the V.P. position I can die a happy person. Of course there are still other things which need to be changed, but the “squad” and others are doing good work.

  33. Vicks says:

    I liked it better when I didn’t have an clear count of how many Americans were selfish and greedy enough to have lived through four years of Trump’s incompetence, cruelty and corruption and then turn around and vote for him again.
    Now we know, and in a weird way it changes everything.
    There really is no choice except to accept that all it takes for “a world class country to be on its way to being a shit hole country very quickly” is to let in a leader that truly believes the worst in people and knows how to use that info to his/her advantage.

    • BobCon says:

      In the spirit of the positive post above, I think it is important to ask the question what happens to the GOP post Trump.

      I have heard it often that they will just get another, but what if they get three equally egoistical showmen who refuse to share the stage? Do they rip each other apart?

      Or, what if they get a batch of unappealing duds trying to take over the party who lack Trump’s long experience as a huckster? Do people start getting off the train if the ride gets boring?

      None of this is a sure bet. But there is an opportunity for Democrats to peel off casual Trump voters if they start working now before loyalties harden, and there will also be opportunities to ratchet up divisions in the GOP if they are smart.

      • BraveNewWorld says:

        >”In the spirit of the positive post above, I think it is important to ask the question what happens to the GOP post Trump.”

        Biden waves all pending charges against Trump and chronies in order to A: Look forward or B: Protect his ass when he leaves office in 4 years. That opens the way to the Donald Trump talk radio show which leads to President Don Jr in 2024. Mean while the Republicans gerrymander the “potty mouth word” out of redistricting and the all Republican Supreme court gives it their seal of approval. Republicans win all three branches for the next 100 years.

        The key is the first part. Biden can not be allowed to sweep every thing under the carpet because half the country right now fully believes that Trump has been railroaded by a deep state run by Hillary out of a bunker in Russia. For once Justice needs to happen in Washington and it needs to be seen to have happened, not the usual I’ll give you a free pass and then you give me a free pass non-sense because Democrats will lose that game.

    • pdaly says:

      I agree. It makes me wonder exactly what Biden means when he will be president for all Americans if he wins?
      Trump and Co were going to drive us over a cliff.
      Would Biden drive us only partway over the cliff, as a compromise?

      The GOP governed as if it had a landslide mandate after Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. Why is Biden hamstringing from the start the Democratic response to such lopsided actions?

        • pdaly says:

          Yes. I’m just wondering what GOP goals are worth keeping when the government is lead by a Democratic president?

          President Biden should feel free to avoid driving over the cliff and to ignore the wailing of the back seat Republican drivers as we address global warming, pursue science based responses to COVID19, resume a financial bailout of suffering citizens during the COVID pandemic, etc., etc.

          I understand Biden’s sentiment to consider all citizens part of his charge as President, but when half of them were/are willing to follow Trump over the cliff, there will need to be times when Biden will have to listen more to the people who placed him in charge.

  34. skua says:

    Bolton is explaining many voting for Trump as due to their fear of “very extreme proposals made by the Democratic left that Joe Biden never really denied”. Examples he gave of these extreme proposals included calls to defund the police, Medicare for All, and the Green New Deal environmental plan.

    I think the only reason that government-funded education for children is not included in Bolton’s list of unbearable things is that Fox News hasn’t yet decided to demonize it as socialist and anti-American.

  35. Rugger9 says:

    One of the more interesting things I read yesterday was how Rupert refused to retract his call of AZ going to Biden despite direct personal pressure from DJT.

    This fits in with the musings I had earlier about when the money would pull back from DJT’s campaign. Once Collins and Tillis were re-elected (and let’s remember Maine elected “human bowling jacket” [h/t Charlie Pierce] Paul LePage as governor twice) the Senate would be the firewall against any socialism and the courts would be safe from reform. Thus, DJT was no longer needed except to cram through judges in the lame duck session.

    It will be interesting to see how a bankrupt campaign can afford to do the WI recount.

    • BobCon says:

      I think one of the keys to Murdoch’s success as an evil overlord is he doesn’t start micromanaging the systems he sets up. He designs them to maximize evil and then accepts the wrinkles that come with that.

      Another case is when the WSJ reporter John Carreyrou started slicing up Theranos. Elizabeth Holmes made a direct appeal to Murdoch, who had $125 million invested in Theranos, to try to get him to spike the reporting. Murdoch kept away from the story.

      Murdoch doesn’t panic and takes the long view. He’s an obvious contrast to Zuckerberg, who squeals every time a Republican whines.Democrats need to recognize the difference between the two — they will probably have much greater luck pushing Zuckerberg if they move from focusing on individual outrages and push for more improvements in the personnel and structure behind the scenes.

      • bmaz says:

        BobCon’s comment is pretty good I think.

        But, as to AZ, I thought we were done here. Apparently not. I still think AZ ends up in Biden’s category, but it is a hell of a lot closer than even people here thought. Ugh.

        • MB says:

          AP and Fox called Arizona last night. NBC and Nate Silver didn’t. Now this morning NBC has re-classified Arizona as “too close to call”. Re-classified from what I don’t know because they never called it in the first place, but that’s what I heard.

          And the fact that Trump demonstrators are shouting “count the vote” in Arizona and “stop the vote” in Michigan is definitely hilarious.

        • bmaz says:

          Yep. There are literally Trumpalo thugs rioting, with weapons, in front of the Maricopa County elections office.

        • graham firchlis says:

          Live video showed a thin line of MCSO bravely and successfully defending the vote from armed vigilantes.

          Props are due, not mockery.

        • Rugger9 says:

          This time, yes. However I’m sure there are still plenty of Arpaio-lovers there given how long Joe A was there.

          It’s because this time MCSO is headed by a Democrat.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        I think it is time for Michael Bloomberg to buy out Fox News. I can’t think of any other way to throttle it and it’s hold on the right wing.

    • skua says:

      Wondering if DJT will be feeling that Rupert has stiffed him?
      If yes then what, or how much from whom, will motivate loser Trump to keep stacking the judiciary till Feb?

      • Rugger9 says:

        Yes, DJT will hate Rupert but also knows Rupert has the megaphone. As for the court packing by the GOP, it would be worth the trouble to have Pelosi impeach Barr (and Trump) in order to keep McConnell from any other business. Impeachment trials are privileged, and add Justices Kavanaugh and Thomas for lying during their confirmations and conflicts of interest (i.e. who paid Kavanaugh’s debts in the 100s of k$?).

        I noticed “Ambassador” Grenell wouldn’t say his name at the 8:30 AM GOP whine-fest masquerading as a press conference in NV. That was weird, I thought they all love being Trumpies!

        • bmaz says:

          There is no such thing as “court packing”. That is a misnomer. There is such a thing as court reform.

        • Rugger9 says:

          I respectfully disagree, since that is what the GOP has been doing for a long time, with Merrick Garland being the most ridiculous example. However, hundreds of other Obama judge appointees were stopped by McConnell as well, and McConnell admitted in an interview that his purpose was to shift the courts to FedSoc precepts.

          The fix is indeed reform, but the process by the GOP has been packing.

      • Raven Eye says:

        Regardless of what you think of Rupert at a human being, he IS a businessman. I doubt it Trump will ever figure that out.

  36. harpie says:

    Dave Wasserman, 20 minutes ago:

    https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1324360362586755074
    9:38 AM · Nov 5, 2020

    Biden just took the lead by 1.0% in Bucks Co., PA (Clinton +0.8% in 2016) with plenty of ballots left to count there that should push his lead considerably higher.

    A bit earlier he said:
    https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1324357456575778825
    9:26 AM · Nov 5, 2020

    In 2016, Clinton won Montgomery Co., PA by 21.3 points. Biden’s lead there just climbed to 26.0 points w/ additional mail ballots counted.

    PA is the ballgame, but at continued rates like these it wouldn’t be much of one.

    • Eureka says:

      Two things: we’re going to be in recount margin, I don’t see how we won’t be (tho the ballots coming in by Friday, plus mil/overseas, might make differences there, if Trump doesn’t get the former tossed by SCOTUS)

      (1.5 Judge Sullivan ordered another sweep of postal facilities, including many in PA)

      BUT/AND, Biden campaign said, and, separately, a bunch of prominent dems (incl party officials) has a press conference saying, that they believe Biden will win PA (per internal data and the remaining math). I don’t think they’d make jackasses out of themselves for no good reason.

      (2.5 Trump, trying to delay the inevitable, got counting stopped in Phila for a spell when he sued to get his monitors closer to the countign tables. He won, counting resumed, it’s being appealed to PA SC. Meanwhile, Allegheny has a bunch they have to wait on due to a separate snafu. Delaware Co also had a good chunk outstanding last I checked.)

      That said, we might actually find out today…

      OK, X things, fine. And while I’m here, let me hurrumphfpppsst that the freaking Texans filched our beloved Josh McCown off the practice squad. Unbelievable!

      • Eureka says:

        Gap has closed to 97k-something…news just announced that Biden is about to speak, unknown topic.

        Adding:

        President Donald Trump’s lead over Joe Biden in Pennsylvania has fallen below 100,000 votes, as county elections officials across the state continue to count hundreds of thousands of mail ballots.

        A big portion of the ballots that remain to be counted were cast by voters in the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia and Allegheny County. Tens of thousands of ballots also remain uncounted in Bucks County in the Philly suburbs, and Lehigh County.

        And mail ballots across the state have been decisively in Biden’s favor. That means Biden is in a strong, but not definitive, position to win the state’s 20 Electoral College votes — and with them the presidency.

        The campaigns are also locked in close races in Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina. But a win in Pennsylvania would send Biden to the White House.

        https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/live/elections-2020-results-candidates-updates-news-pennsylvania-20201105.html#card-1575308065

        If we could get this announcement, by whatever means, it would take a lot of wind out of Trump’s sails by changing the MSM conversation (and their deference to his nuttery, if for a few moments…).

        • Eureka says:

          Yes! In fact ALL of the symbolism would be just great. I am envisioning a speech in front of Independence Hall (though it’s hard to get the right camera angles there for a speech).

          [Aside, Lewandowski appearance is from Philly Convention Center (that Fox chyron is confusing). He and Pam Bondi were doing PR for Trump’s suit to get closer to Philly vote counters.]

          SoS Boockvar is about to do a press conference, they said at 5p. LIVE NOW 524pm [adding: I will update if she shares info substantive to numeric outcome; so far is emphasizing security of election, how all sorts of ID verification is required for use of mail ballots, factual matters like that.]

          —

          OH! Trump’s GA lead only 9,525 votes they said (several minutes ago)

        • P J Evans says:

          CA checks your sig against the one on file. That’s all they want. No witnesses, no notary – and fraud is as low as anyplace else. (You do have to put your address, but that’s not strange.)

        • bmaz says:

          That is close to here.You have to leave a last name, street number (but not the street name, city or zip). That is for confirmation, to drop off or mail, only date and signature.

        • Eureka says:

          If we vote in person, they only check the sig vs the poll book – nothing else required.

          For our mail ballots we had to fill out (on an application) not only name/address/ward, but PA DL or other state ID or SSN.

          Lucky for us, SoS (and I forget how this was accomplished– via interp. of law or what) issued guidance that mail ballots could not be subject to signature challenges. Happened a few weeks ago — I was very relieved that I didn’t have to worry about some signature variation causing any problems w my ballot. Trump’s causing enough trouble as it is.

          Whenever the day comes that we can let our hair down some, I really have to process how it has felt, for months, to be targeted with voter suppression. It really has made a difference here, I am sad to say.

          People can knock on the dems for ‘not enoughing’ all they want, but the enormous effect of GOP voter suppression tactics have taken their toll. I have never in my life spent so much time figuring out how to vote, making tactical comparisons, wondering if my vote will count…

        • Eureka says:

          re Boockvar presser: she said they hadn’t counted provisionals, didn’t give a number. However, expected to be substantial *due to GOP’s ratfuckery* causing people to abandon their mail ballots and go to the polls. So I wonder if they’d be, with just desserts, the nail in the coffin of any recount-level margin.

  39. harpie says:

    Now this is an idea I could really get behind. It’s very interesting how looking at this map feels different [to me, anyway] than looking at the ones we normally see, which map the electoral college outcomes.

    via Cheryl Rofer
    https://twitter.com/mthaslett/status/1324099254479065089
    4:20 PM · Nov 4, 2020

    That map everyone in the press uses that floods each state with solid RED or solid BLUE should be banished. I’m convinced politics would take a noticeable shift if everyone only used maps like this, that show the vote by population centers. (This map shows Biden’s current lead)

  40. JamesJoyce says:

    “…and we weren’t ready for Trump’s fascist bullshit lie claiming victory.”

    I was fully expecting all his bullshit.

    This is Trump..

    Trump is a corporate fascist assaulting reason and intelligence.

    His attempt to claim victory was “a fascist’s” assault on “constitutional rights” under the color of law as were “Nuremberg Laws,” in Germany.

    Benito Mussolini would be “tickled pink,” being the originalist…

    If Trump loses this election, he must resign during lame duck. Pence will pardon.

    NYS will then can his ass….

    Trump willl leave on a “Jet Plane” to Moscow, avoiding canned meat.

    If Trump wins his donors, Putin and MBS win and “We the People” loose still ill with a King’s Virus, economically crushed and 30Trillion in debt?

    So how did the USSR implode Vlad the Impaler?

    George Washington created a Union.

    Trump and his minions assault this Republic in a lust for power via imposition by minority obstruction just like Jefferson Davis.

  41. Fran of the North says:

    Here’s an upbeat thought for your day: Trump is going to be the ONLY former president who not only was impeached, but also was a single term president. There is a double asterisk for the annals of history.

      • Fran of the North says:

        Thank you for the clarification. Presidential historian I am not, but it will still chafe like a yoke on an ox.

    • JamesJoyce says:

      The day “trump” was elected I took old glory down. 🇺🇸

      America’s embracement of Trump was like drinking a piss warm beer in a German beer hall after Munich Rally.

      Seen it all before…

      🤮

    • rosalind says:

      agree completely. in watching the Trump Truck rally take over my street last weekend, an unending stream for 10 minutes, i wagered many of those people had not voted in years, and were now engaged and determined members of their new facebook driven, conspiracy affirming “tribe”.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        I wonder about that. I think that this was such a cult of personality, who will be Trump’s replacement, Gym Jordan ? Matt Gaetz ? Those are supporting cast, bit players. They are attention hogs with outsized personalities, but they don’t have the ‘Hitlerian’ crowd mesmerizing demeanor of Trump.

        Trump has created pretty high expectations in his minions, they want to be entertained when fed their red meat. I am not seeing anyone with his showmanship in the GOP ranks.

        It is going to be hard for them to find another ‘second coming’ figure.

        • Raven Eye says:

          Assuming Trump leaves office the 20th of January, anyone saying he won’t announce his 2024 candidacy within 48 hours?

        • P J Evans says:

          His kids will also try running, I understand. It’s going to be hard to do from behind bars, though.

        • Rugger9 says:

          They’ll try, but they are less politically savvy than DJT, plus it is very likely there will be no money to spread around once all of the stuff currently hidden is revealed. No one will pay any attention to them if they can’t pay off their friends.

          OT, why are Sekulow and Giuliani involved in the campaign stuff? They’re supposed to be DJT’s personal lawyers.

        • rosalind says:

          i was thinking more along the lines of how the facebook-linked conspiracy cultists have found an energy amongst themselves that can be self-sustaining without Trump. they’ve found how much they can disrupt and can turn those powers in all sorts of directions. and when they hook up with the boogaloos and white supremicists – yikes.

  44. klynn says:

    I’ve been searching around the Georgia.gov site to clarify the registration for the runoff election.

    I think they mean new voter registrations as opposed to registering for an absentee ballot by Dec. 7th?

    If new voters can vote in the runoff without having voted in the Nov election, Dems need to hop on it.

  47. harpie says:

    BWAHAHAHAHA!

    All of Trump’s tweets are being FLAGGED by Twitter
    so the Campaign has to send ALL CAPS EMAILS to the press:

    https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/1324408602266914817
    12:49 PM · Nov 5, 2020

    Not going to repeat it, but interesting that Trump campaign just emailed an all-caps “statement” about voting to reporters rather than (so far) tweeting it, which probably would have gotten it flagged by Twitter. Did he assume he has better odds of distribution this way? […]

    • MB says:

      I guess Mark Kelly has been declared then. If Perdue drops below 50% (and he’s headed in that direction today), then the Senate won’t be decided until Jan. 5 in 2 runoffs. That would make Kamala the tiebreaker (!)

  49. Savage Librarian says:

    Here’s an interesting perspective:

    “Juan González: The Media Has It Wrong. Record Latinx Turnout Helped Biden. White Voters Failed Dems” | Democracy Now!, 11/5/20

    “Democracy Now! co-host Juan González says “a false narrative” is taking root that Latinx voters were primarily to blame for the weak Democratic result. “The main story is that people of color, especially Latinos, flocked to the polls in numbers that far exceeded what the experts had expected, while the total number of votes cast by white Americans barely increased from the last presidential election,” says González. “How come none of the experts are asking why white voters underperformed the Democratic Party?”

    https://www.democracynow.org/2020/11/5/2020_election_ballots_electoral_college

    • BobCon says:

      With any luck we will stop seeing Spanish speaking/heritage voters treated so monolithically, in the same way that it doesn’t make sense to talk about Asian Americans as a bloc. Cuban Americans are different from Puerto Ricans who are different from Mexican Americans who are definitely different from Peruvians. Florida is different from California. Reporters need to be a lot better.

      • Sambucus says:

        I have been married to a Puerto Rican for 40 years. To say they are different than Cubans doesn’t quite capture it. They are really, really different. I once did not take a job offer because she didn’t like that the owner of the company was Cuban.

  50. harpie says:

    GRENELL and SCHLAP in NEVADA

    1] https://twitter.com/josh_wingrove/status/1324416615526637569
    1:21 PM · Nov 5, 2020

    The Clark County registrar is saying that he personally spoke with the woman that the Trump campaign featured at a press conference — who said she tried to vote and was told she already had — and that officials looked at her mail ballot and believe its signature is hers.

    2] https://twitter.com/CordeliaSkyNews/status/1324418393718534145
    1:28 PM · Nov 5, 2020

    Update on the woman featured in Trump press conf in #Nevada. Clark County Registrar says contrary to her claims, the woman had actually already voted and then tried to vote again.

  51. silcominc says:

    Hi Rayne, so Biden takes the White House (assuming the trump does not blow us all up in a temper tantrum next week) and in all likelihood, there will be two senate runoffs in January to decide the control of the US Senate. Al Gross who is running in Alaska says he could win given the breakdown of the remaining ballots in his state. Time will tell. But I think we need to deal with the propaganda machines of Fox, OANN and Sinclair ASAP under a Biden administration. I do not know how but I know we must do something to reign in this right-wing echo chamber.

    • graham firchlis says:

      Most of these radio stations are driven by shockjock talk shows featuring call-in cultists. Phone bank call-in DOS, perhaps?

    • misteranderson says:

      Republicans have identified key financial & structural supports for Democrats & attacked them. I.E. Acorn, labor unions, voter suppression. Democrats should identify & attack the structural & financial backbone of the Republican Party: Koch brothers, Fox, OANN, Alex Jones, the Mercers, Sheldon Adelson. & I have no idea how to do that.

      • silcominc says:

        Excellent point. We need to focus on their backers as it’s that agenda that has moved us from a leader in the 1970s to where we are now. Remember Carter had put solar panels on the White House only to have Reagan remove them.

  52. CD54 says:

    FWIW, early Georgia note:

    From reports Democratic campaigns in Florida and Rio Grande Valley blew it by not canvassing door-to-door.

    Maybe dual canvassing/registration in-person before Dec. 7th?

    (with simultaneous digital program for youngest voters)

    • Eureka says:

      This one made me laugh — I was like wait? what case did they get ther— OH. There *IS* no “case.”

  55. Ern says:

    Forgive me if I’m being ignorant, but what’s the forecast for Nevada? I haven’t heard anything for awhile. Isn’t this a major thing if Joe can carry?

    • Rugger9 says:

      Nevada punted to tomorrow at the earliest, but Biden is up 11,438 votes as of now, and the ones not counted are mostly from Clark County (Las Vegas) where today’s vote count went 2:1 for Biden. Apparently 190 k votes to go, but 60 k are provisional (same day registration went 50-50) but the mail votes are significantly pro-Biden. Jon Ralston has it on his twitter feed, and also made it a point to MSNBC today there is no path he sees for DJT to prevail. Clark is just too big, and even a 3:2 split to Biden puts NV out of reach.

      AZ on the other hand will depend upon Maricopa County, and bmaz might have some insights there. However, I don’t see how Faux or AP would have called it unless they were pretty damn sure and Biden does have a significant lead. Also, PA’s DJT lead is below 80 k votes and many Biden-favored ballots to tally (it’s expected Biden will win by more than 100 k) and GA might flip too if all votes get counted but that one will be close. If PA goes to Biden, AZ and NV no longer matter to determine who wins. NC will probably wait until Monday if what I read is correct.

      https://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/ to get the latest.

  56. Eureka says:

    Once again, networks are live airing fascist takeover attempt # 573,990,457 (having not learned that gradualism gives way to punctuated events, and one day, “suddenly”, this would be all that they could air… can’t *wait* for this season’s reruns)

    —
    Trump is generously updating us on their efforts to “protect the election” which they have “won” ” if you count the “legal votes” but for the “illegal votes” they are trying to “steal the election”.

    GOP is party of women, workers, party of inclusion.

    GOP victim of “suppression polls”

    You get the idea.

    • Eureka says:

      None of us need wonder where Bill Barr is, he is copresent with these words — with the quashing of Mueller (-offshoot) investigations, all manner of emboldening… Every time Trump speaks of late he’s held by a Barr-McConnell-Roberts tripod. (To any extent the Roberts leg is collapsing, Coney Barrett’s got that side now.)

  58. Eureka says:

    In other news:

    NBC News: “Exclusive: Defense Sec. Esper has prepared a letter of resignation, according to three current defense officials.[link]”
    https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1324451633300951042

    ^ because he expects to be pushed out; also:

    Holly Figueroa O’Reilly: “”Notably, Defense Secretary Esper has been traveling in the Middle East this week, but the trip was shrouded in even more secrecy than usual, suggesting a possible security concern.” Top officials were briefed on active threat against Pentagon leaders [different NBC News link]”
    https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/1324457475823685632

  60. graham firchlis says:

    Watched Trump’s performance just now.

    The content is not just untrue.

    It is un-American.

    On Trump’s face was the worst possible tell.

    Flop sweat.

    The Trumptanic is sinking, and those on the Right who hope to survive are racing to the lifeboats. The analysts on Fox took his lies apart and refuted them.

    No one of note is joining the futile election lawsuits, driving all the Trumps insane. Even Mitch McConnell has called Trump’s fraud lies “unfounded.”

    The big money bailed on Trump before the election was over, crippling the campaign’s ad buys. Out of power, Trump will find he has few friends.

    • Chris.EL says:

      Alarming as it is to hear (those you-know-whaters) calling for firing Fauci (why, oh why is it always a cry to punish, hurt, incarcerate, shoot, etc. — these people are CRAZY) so I’m thinking that the next righteously-elected president, one that isn’t a sociopathic narcissist, one that has experience working in government!!!!! — can hire Fauci back to the job he’s been doing since what — the mid 1980’s??!!??!!

      Just sayin’

    • vvv says:

      A late move in the right direction was that all the broadcast networks cut him off within 10 minutes or so.

      I read the cable networks did also except, of course, the Murdoch Endowment Regressive Division Enabling Network.

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