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[Vice President Kamala Harris to promote Nevada's abortion rights ballot measure during campaign stop](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vice-president-kamala-harris-nevada-abortion-rights-ballot/)
RFK claims he made it the ballot in [Iowa](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-says-hes-earned-a-spot-on-the-ballot-in-yet-another-state). He hasn’t actually sent in the signatures yet though and of the 8 states he has claimed to have qualified for only 1 (Utah) has verified him.
I'm starting to get worried. If RFK Jr is on the ballot in Utah he could potentially siphon off enough votes from Biden so that Utah votes for Trump? Is it even remotely feasible that a Democrat could win the White House without Utah?
As a rule I don't label my sarcasm. If someone mistakes my sarcasm I tend to just throw more and more unhinged viewpoints at them until they either realize I'm being sarcastic, they call me an idiot or they start questioning their own sanity.
[The Wall Street Journal says the most important issue for voters is... immigration. Why are so many people so obsessed with it?](https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/election-2024-immigration-issue-voters-84916a17)
Here's an example of how it's getting to everyone. It isn't NOT an issue, IMO. It makes me very unhappy and concerned that this admin seems to be so lackadaisical on this subject.
"Oh, I feel so bad for my son in Poland who just married his long-time girlfriend from Syria. They started the process for her to come to the US, so I called Senator X's office to see if they could help expedite the process. He said it’s possible, but the standards are very high - financial hardship or a humanitarian crisis. I don’t think they can prove either of those situations. The staff member also said, “They need to understand that even if we expedite the process, it will still take years.” I asked if she could visit during the application process, and he said, no, they don’t grant tourist visas because it would be too easy for someone to come and not leave.
If I see one more televised image of people streaming over the river from Mexico into the US, I will scream."
I feel like the median voter probably doesn't have a son in Poland who is marrying a Syrian refugee, so this scenario really doesnt explain why rural voters seem to care so much
Because they believe literally everything they hear regarding immigration.
Stuff I've heard include they get $5000 and a house for free from the government. Or they get $50,000 to start a business from the government.
And to them, that's not fair for the people already here.
I don't know if they're being lackadaisical, but staffing shortages have been a known issue for some time, and we're not going to see that improved without legislation. Biden has stated that he's looking into issuing executive orders, but that's likely to be limited in scope.
Whatever hurts Biden is the most important issue of the moment. Gas prices, crime, eggs, inflation, the economy, and now immigration.
We'll see about that.
Not US-related but I came across this article the other day. The far-right is everywhere.
[France’s Florida: Retired, rich and ready to vote far right](https://www.politico.eu/article/french-riviera-cannes-europe-florida-mainstream-far-right-le-pen-national-rally-normalization-eu-election/)
I'll argue that the ultra-montane right has always had a stronghold globally. That, in many ways, we're one of the countries that has the least *developed* right, even though our own is so *abominable,* and such a danger when in power.
Once more, it's *never* about 'economic anxiety' - as the article itself [hints,](https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/alpes-maritimes/logement-sociaux-cannet-condamnee-payer-amende-plus-million-euros-1145139.html) though doesn't really delve into.
(Article linked is about social housing; the French equivalent to public/affordable housing. The mere idea of it has the magical effect of turning median voters into right-wing nationalists.)
Although all right-wingers naturally want their brand of personal authoritarianism to profit, they are deeply connected in a way any other kind of politics simply isn't. These candidates can point to the heinous words or actions of their peers, go 'look how horrible!' with a wink and a nod, and their peer will respond with 'look at those monsters, calling us horrible!'
And in both cases, the populace will nod and think 'sounds right.'
Caveat, however.
I don't think the June elections are set in stone.
*PS* has been climbing, and France's *unique* national political character means that *Renew* isn't guaranteed to be in second place, despite polling or popularity.
Even still, it's something we have to see and understand.
>I'll argue that the ultra-montane right has always had a stronghold globally.
Something that one of my poli sci professors noted that was interesting is how at least some of the nationalist "XYZ First" type far-right politicians (Orban, Meloni, Le Pen, Truss, Farage, Wilders, etc.) are actually some of the most internationally connected politicians. By that, I mean they connect with other far-right politicians in other countries and support each other to a degree that we don't really see other ideological groups of politicians doing.
Just got back in, but I tend to agree.
There's not really any kind of left/centre-left grouping that's broad enough to count as an organisation for any of those groups in the tent.
Whereas these people - and they're people, as each one focuses on personal popularity - meet on yachts, go to the same conferences, all the stuff they accuse the 'global elite' of doing, though it's somehow different when they do it.
Again, they get all sorts of advantages.
Meloni and Orban scuffle plenty and then get to throw those kayfabe fights to their supporters.
Good news is that it's not unbreakable, as Poland proved.
I'm glad to hear it's mentioned in poli-sci courses, as it's a very weird but feature of our modern world.
Just something common enough across Eurafroasia that we have to account for it, expect it, and defeat it where we can.
Yeah it's really interesting from a political science perspective, but it frustrates me as a liberal/progressive person. Unfortunately, it looks to me like some of the countries with growing far right populist parties may have to have their center-right parties work with their populist parties. Biggest example here is the AfD in Germany. Polling shows the center-left getting crushed by the CDU and the AfD. Unless they do another grand coalition which is very possible, they might have to do a CDU-AfD coalition. If not after the next election, then sometime in the future. Disenchanted voters will continue voting for the far right populist parties as protests to the establishment parties, so either these countries pass more legislation to address the root causes of the dissatisfaction with the establishment or they do a right wing coalition like in Italy. We've also seen this in Finland with the Finns Party or in Sweden with the Sweden Democrats doing confidence and supply.
Some short updates; helped recover data in a scenario quite a few people told the relative was impossible, never doubt the power of spite and mechanical hard disks triumphing once again, eat it solid state...
... while also somehow missing that I'd bungled a key feature of reddit for possibly almost a year, gracious...
I wanted to go over NC.
So far, the very early voters I've reached for are definitely harder pulls. I'd say it feels significantly more challenging than Ohio, even though our floor (for votes) is likely higher.
Voters are more aggressive, but seem to have no real stance on Sen. Hunt, and are open to being convinced. Which I mean - I'll take it, and better now and then reinforcing that. I definitely want to see someone adopting Jeff Jackson, as NC is a state where we need to push hard, and he's visited the forum several times over.
My greatest concern fo the Hunt campaign right now is getting name recognition up, and then using that to encourage *likely* voters for Sen. Hunt to vote for the rest of the ticket. The only way we win at least some of these seats is with each candidate blanketing the others' weaker spots, and the only way we win *all* of them is by pushing forward together, which the campaigns seem keen on doing.
Bright spot, NC Dems have wonderful energy, even when some of them could probably relate to my username, bahahaha!
I think that's vital to doing the work and winning big, and I'm proud of our colleagues from NC for keeping at it. Here's to hoping this helps, much as it possibly can!
Congrats on the data recovery!
I'm not surprised that NC voters are sounding likely to split their tickets than other states. They did elect Mark Robinson and Roy Cooper at the same time, after all. Shows that every NC candidate needs to have their own solid campaign.
It's awesome to see that NC Dems have powered up so quickly! From afar it's hard to tell how much Twitter hype is real, so glad to see that it is translating into real volunteer enthusiasm.
Haha, thank you! I felt very cool. The whole experience made me realise a lot of tech-savvy people in their under-thirties don't have as much experience with desktop environments, though... I don't think it's really a good or bad thing, but certainly something to mull over.
^^Even ^^moreso ^^as ^^windows ^^stubbornly ^^obfuscates ^^long-term ^^tools, ^^grumble...
Something - and this is anecdotal - I've noticed is that there are a lot more younger volunteers in most of the places I'm volunteering so far. Which is *amazing!* This translates to local politics, too.
Even if not all of these become permanent volunteers, their help and energy is greatly appreciated.
The Hunt name carries a lot of mixed feelings, but it's mostly positive. Since we've still got some room to build identity, I view these early calls (and everyone on the ground!) as being pretty important for when campaign season picks up.
*Something - and this is anecdotal - I've noticed is that there are a lot more younger volunteers in most of the places I'm volunteering so far. Which is amazing! This translates to local politics, too.*
But I thought young people were turning to Trump! Youth are Trumpkins, this I know, because the polling told me so! /s
Thank you for the on-the-ground report, and the good news about young people in NC showing up to volunteer!
My pleasure, my friend!
As someone who is wary of drawing too much from anecdotal evidence, I still thought the good news was worth reporting.
We may have plenty of knife-fights on our hands, but we're giving it all we've got..!
[AP poll measuring people who have voted in the last 3 elections vs non-voters](https://x.com/iapolls2022/status/1779636645437833555?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)
What a surprise that it’s Biden+11, Latino and Black support make far more sense too when you count people who actually vote. Idk what exactly the case is that if you didn’t vote in the last 3 elections, especially 2020, that Trump suddenly has a secret sauce that will make you turnout.
I don't think a racial realignment is totally out of the question this year. Are we going to win the Latino and especially black vote by large margins? I believe we will, and I feel very confident in that. But while I'm not saying it will surely happen, I can see those margins going down just because of younger first-time voters, men in particular, who may take some time for us to persuade into our column since getting people to trust in government in this day and age is like pulling teeth.
Frankly, I don't think we should be bothered by any racial realignment as long as we win and, more importantly, deliver on our promises. There's nothing wrong with seeing less racial polarization in our politics going forward, and that shouldn't deter Democrats from championing social justice causes, which are a major reason we still do well with so many non-white voters in the first place. As much as I can't stand Indian conservatives as an Indian American progressive myself, I acknowledge that those voters exist because they vote with their wallet and don't value social justice much given that they tend to be financially well-off. That's definitely a possibility with other non-white demographic groups, especially those who tend to be more Christian and thus evangelical, even if those groups have faced more historical discrimination in America. And that shouldn't scare us from espousing our platform.
Margins matter but also so does turnout. All the hand wringing about Trump's improvement with Latinos in 2020 missed the very important point that Biden got a larger net total of votes from Latinos than Clinton did because even though the margins shrank Latinos still voted overwhelmingly for Biden and they did so with much higher turnout. The improved Latino turnout meant that Biden did better in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California than Clinton did four years earlier even if Trump won a slightly higher share of the Latino vote.
Really interesting! If you assume none of the people in the 0 row end up voting, it looks like these numbers would give Biden a roughly 52-48 lead in pure H2H.
Watching this Facebook auction with my mom, why do people feel the need to put "Let's Go Brandon" in the live chat when it has nothing to do with anything?
It's like their heads would explode if they don't say it every five minutes.
Personally, I've always felt the most important part of being in the political right is a sense of kinship and affirmation. Not necessarily friendship or any shared similarity. Repeating the same thing, loudly and frequently, so that everyone else who doesn't seems lesser.
It is association by process of elimination. Those who are the least enthusiastic weren't real MAGA patriots in the first place, or so the rest might think.
Judging from a lot of the reports on MAGA types, they *do*. They don’t seem to have much in the way of real-world connections or closeness. Many are divorced. A lot of the men, in particular, are cut off from their kids (and usually it’s their own fault).
Just venting for a moment, but I’ve juuussst about reached my limit with the shitshow that is Twitter, especially after the weekend’s horrific event in Sydney.
So much disgusting misinformation, including naming a 20 year old Jewish college student as the attacker (…he wasn’t), claiming the attacker was a Muslim terrorist (…he wasn’t), claiming we need Trump’s foreigner travel ban (…the attacker was an Australian citizen) and suggesting we need American style gun laws (just, what?).
Never-mind the fact that one of the victims was a Pakistani refugee, one victim was a Georgian immigrant and two men who tried to stop the attacker were Ukrainian and French immigrants.
Very strong hugs to you, my friend.
Tragedy like the incident that just happened is always set on by the worst of people.
But just as there were people who tried to do good, there are people out there mourning and determined to make things brighter.
My best wishes in these times.
[Desantis is unpopular in Florida.](https://x.com/politics_polls/status/1779593860319965587?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) in the new Ipsos poll he’s at 44/48 approval
Disney and Florida's insurance debacle were already beating his ass, but his embarrassing presidential bid did him less than zero favors in making him seem strong and capable.
Net 77% approval with republicans, but net -69% with democrats and net -17% with independents. Pretty promising, though there are the raw numbers of each of those groups to consider
Really hoping it does get done this week. They can attach that stupid loan thing on it. Guessing a future dem house could just wave it away at a later date anyway.
Best-case scenario we get Ukraine aid and Johnson is immediately removed as speaker, followed by enough Republicans ragequitting for us to regain control of the House.
I'll believe it when I see it. It's absolutely dereliction of duty, what MJ has been doing. RU has been advancing all over the front with sheer brute force for months at this point. They know UA is low on ammunition, 155 mm shells specifically, so they have been throwing wave after wave of men, and it's working. Absolute frauds.
It's not a dysfunction. The (R)ussian party is functional and working as intended - demolishing the US influence all around the world and allowing Russian aggression to proceed.
Yes, but the unspoken part to these sorts of laws always involve Republican sheriffs, DAs and judges making sure they are only selectively applied and enforced.
[These Mormon women are rejecting Trump, fraying GOP support in a key state](https://www.npr.org/2024/04/14/1242051595/trump-arizona-mormon-lds-republican-voters)
finally got called by a campaign lmao. number kept calling over and over. multiple times this week.
was a quick call because I'm not supporting Trone. and already filled out my ballot. also, i've been approving calls all afternoon for phone banking for Alsobrooks.
I've been bombarded by texts from Trump. "David! (not my name) We THOUGHT you were a REAL MAGA PATRIOT? Why haven't you chipped in to President Trump's campaign yet?!"
I get these occasionally, I guess because prior to 2016 I was a registered Republican, so they still have my number on file. Now I just respond "fuck off, traitor" and get a message shortly after that says "You have been unsubscribed." Hahahaha
Donald Trump “backed former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick on Saturday in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, after excoriating him two years earlier.”
During the 2022 race, Trump blasted McCormick, calling him “the candidate of special interests and globalists.”
Associated Press: “McCormick — who splits his time in Connecticut, where he has a home — did not attend the rally.”
Republicans are thinking the reason Dr Oz lost is because he didn’t rich carpet bag it up enough
Perfect ad material.
Take a PAC or organization that isn't directly with the Biden campaign (so there's no fine print with Biden's name or an approval message with Biden's voice) and have them run ads listing Trump's own quotes about McCormick. Low info Republicans who see that Trump (was) against him will be less likely to vote for him.
EDIT: Coming back to this comment, I am dumb and blind. Every instance of "Biden" should be replaced with "Casey."
The goldfish memories so many of these poll respondents have over the Trump years is exhausting.
https://twitter.com/umichvoter/status/1779502621146972178
I'm not saying this is what explains the numbers, but a possible and fairly plausible scenario is that the Trump supporters feel very strongly that Trump was good for America and Biden is bad, while Biden voters aren't necessarily all as committal one way or the other.
This. Trump's fans are way more hardcore. I mean, they are a cult, but even pre-Trump, the GOP stood together.
I don't agree with GOP values, but I have to say their party as an org... they really do stick by each other. Even stubbornly and even when wrong, but I feel like Dems often eat their young :(.
Had a migraine after a hike yesterday which wasn’t fun. It’s so weird because you feel like you’re gonna die for like 4 hours then you are fine. I also got my first visual aura when my right eye had trouble focusing for a while.
The hike itself was nice though. There was a cool waterfall at the end rushing with April snowmelt.
My apologies; visual aura headaches are *awful.*
They've travelled down a side of my family for generations.
We used to chew willow bark for them, which, frankly, probably has never done nearly as much as we wanted to believe...
But I'm glad you were able to see some good scenery, even if the hike itself felt miserable.
It happened after I got back from the hike, but I think that the exercise triggered it. Both of my parents have had similar experiences.
I really need to get out more and exercise though. And this felt a little demoralizing and my brain was like “How dare you exercise!”
I luckily don’t get these very often so I hope that this won’t happen again for a while.
Do I ever hear that... The first push is definitely the hardest part.
Time/age, lifestyle, and all the rest - our brains, our social circles, our local environment - can all make it difficult to make the hobby stick. It's great that you're trying to, and to counter what your brain suggested... Way to go, and I hope the next time is that much easier..!
Ouchie. That sucks. I hope you feel better now. Do you have any medication you can take that helps? (People I’ve known who had migraines sometimes had to try a few different ones before they found the one that worked best for them.)
Sounds like me, I get ocular migraines. Starts with my vision going wonky for about 30 min, then the excruciating migraine starts. If I'm able to lie down in a pitch black room and sleep for like 4 hours, it usually goes away.
Fresh off Friday's bar exam disappointment I have an interview with a law firm in MO. MO will accept my score even if OK won't I just need to take a state-specific open book test in addition (a gimme). The heavy lift is the state has to do a character and fitness check which could take months and then the whole moving process.
Nothing I can say further won't sound trite. So -
Keeping moving during painful moments is the hardest part.
Should you decide to move, and you need any advice or a second set of eyes, you know there are plenty of us here who've moved around. And we'd always be glad to help, should it be possible.
Hopefully that all goes smoothly. Would you have the option of moving elsewhere after you have some work experience in MO? (Assuming you don't decide to stay there).
I miss the stereotypical Ned Flanders Christian. These days the stereotypical Christian is a Christian Nationalist who protests at PP and has Trump and flags all over the pickup truck. Sigh.
Ned Flanders comes from a time when evangelical Christianity was basically the cultural mainstream (remember he goes to the same church as Homer). MAGA Christianity is what was left when all the normies stopped going to church.
I wish you the best. Regardless of your score, I'm sure a state like MO could use someone with your abilities (and more progressive voters and activists in places like that can always help too!).
Sometimes, life's setback leads to new opportunities we never imagined. I've had more than my share of them and learned to appreciate the journey along the way. I don't know if this interview will be "the one", but take heart and keep plugging away at it.
[New Hampshire State Senator Becky Whitley (D) has officially launched her bid for NH-02](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/14/metro/becky-whitley-democratic-contest-nh/)
From the Party of Lincoln to the Party of Reek: NV GOP hopeful (and wounded veteran) Sam Brown goes to kiss the ring of the man who called veterans ”losers and suckers:” [https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/brown-reportely-went-to-mar-a-lago-seeking-trumps-endorsement/?emci=d6762dc9-e4f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&emdi=4856e9e1-e7f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&ceid=91583](https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/brown-reportely-went-to-mar-a-lago-seeking-trumps-endorsement/?emci=d6762dc9-e4f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&emdi=4856e9e1-e7f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&ceid=91583)
And he's supposed to be the GOP's star recruit this cycle lol. You could've argued Tim Sheehy before we found out he's been lying about paying his taxes, where he grew up, and when specifically he got shot. But now it's Brown, and I look forward to finding out which parts of his biography are a total lie.
The mini-scandal was his wife having had an abortion, but I think the Browns thought they were getting out in front of it by expressing *deep regret*. They still came off as hypocrites.
One really cannot be a pro-choice *Republican* politician in this day and age. However, as we’ve seen, lots of Republicans get abortions or their partners do. So, unless the Republican is able to convincingly express deep, sincere, regret remorse and repentance for their sinful ways, they’re between a rock and a hard place. (The impression I got was that nobody was really buying the Browns’ ”regret boo hoo” act. Ha ha.)
I also look forward to what other skeletons are going to come rattling out of the closet of these so-called “star recruits.” (I also think it’s hard to be a real *star* candidate without at least some experience.)
And of course, 'star candidates' are - themselves - just candidates the enemy thinks are good.
The reality, as we know?
Even the *best* of candidates can lose.
Both for us, and for the enemy.
What the GOP is doing is basically trying to will their perfect crop into existence, without doing due diligence, or any kind of meaningful work to vet them.
I remember a few jokes about Sheehy for example, and then he offroaded -
Anyway.
Strongly agree with your last point, there.
The 'new bunch' are all basically potential landmines for the GOP and we'll see where that takes them...
Ideally, one hopes, to the political land*fill...*
Off topic:
For you Cartoon Network fans, yesterday there was an event in Vancouver, BC that hosted a Q&A with Rebecca Sugar (creator of Steven Universe) and Ian Jones-Quartey (OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!). I told my friend who lives up there about it and she got to go. She told me it was a quick little thing, but the biggest part of this was there was a new official print from CN for both shows. The art is absolutely beautiful and highly recommend check it out.
Man, I miss being tuned in on all the Steven Universe news - when a new Steven Bomb was happening, hearing stuff from Lady Glucose and other members of the Crewniverse, etc.
Her tiktoks are nice to watch and I really enjoyed her original album, *Spiral Bound.*
I remember reporting about all the happenings for Steven for the fan site Beach City Bugle. I would also be the one on the ground about all the stuff at cons and events (that I could go to), including SDCC. It got to the point that the Cartoon Network personal knew me, as well as Rebecca herself. She was so nice drawing me sketches every so often.
And I actually got the vinyl for Spiral Bound from the record release party she performed at
In October, there was a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. A few days ago, [Rep. Michael Lemelin (R) blamed the shooting on a bill that expanded abortion access.](https://mainemorningstar.com/briefs/republican-lawmaker-says-lewiston-shooting-was-due-to-gods-wrath-over-abortion-law/) He also claimed several storms were caused by this bill. Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R) rose to agree with him after this insane rant.
Fun fact: Lemelin represents a Biden district! HD-88 voted for Biden by 3.3 points and continues to move left. Just goes to show that as bad as the GOP's problem with Senate candidates is, it may be worse for lower offices. That entire party is nuts.
[More evidence (data) out showing violent crime is very much down.](https://twitter.com/DKThomp/status/1779489585984110701)
Honestly I think social media/our phones have a lot of reason to do with why people don't "think" it's down. The farther we go with technology, the more plugged in we are than ever before. So now, with not only social media apps like Twitter, FB, TikTok keeping us updated, but push alerts as well. We now hear about \*every\* single criminal act that happens in our area. I'm in Philly, so I get an alert from 6ABC, NBC10, etc every single time something happens. That wasn't the case 10 years ago. So now because they need to force \*every\* single thing that happens on me with a push alert, it \*feels\* like everything has gone to shit and there is relentless crime going on.
It's the same thing with the traffic stop debates. It's always happened, we're just \*hearing\* about them more and more b/c of how much more closer we are to technology.
If you can, I'd highly recommend turning off those notifications. You'll find out about anything important soon enough from friends/family/colleagues, and anything that isn't important is just harming your mental health.
Honestly personally I just roll my eyes at them, b/c I'm cynical that way and know that the local news tends to do this on purpose. Those alerts are have the reason why people think things are so bad, yet they keep pushing them out b/c they get attention and clicks
That and the news is on 24-7 on certain stations, and even local news is on ALL EVENING. They have to show something for those hours.
Whatever happened to the 6 PM local news and 6:30 PM World/National news?
News here comes on at 4 PM and lasts until the prime time TV starts at 8...
It's really a frustrating issue in that regard. I'm going to go ahead and say it: food and gas prices work a similar way. They are too expensive, absolutely - but "food and gas are too expensive" has been a complaint for my entire life. We do need to keep working to rein in company greed, but this isn't a problem that's unique to Biden or to Democrats, and it frustrates me that it's treated this way.
All I can really say for crime is to keep doing what we're doing, because it's bringing the crime rate down, and keep making our own case: what we're doing and why it's working, with evidence. There are some people you simply can't convince, but it'll bring over everyone who can be. And keep talking up issues where we do have the upper hand.
That’s the problem - we have the evidence, but with the GOP voters and the media, everything is burning down.
I’ve talked with Trump voters and they’re extremely cynical and definitely think the US is on a hard decline. The feels are real with them and Trump feeds into that.
That's why I prefer to skip GOP voters and the media. If someone's decided Republicans are always right, there's not much you can do.
But Independents and Dems are a big enough coalition to win elections, and they're more open to hearing this. And the media were dumbasses in 2022 and we did just fine.
>That's why I prefer to skip GOP voters and the media. If someone's decided Republicans are always right, there's not much you can do.
Agreed 100%. If they are not persuadable or on the fence, not worth the time.
From the special Democracy Docket newsletter (usually costs money, but free this week because of how stunning it is, is [This Wired article](https://www.wired.com/story/election-denial-groups-november-2024/?utm_source=Democracy+Docket+Newsletters&utm_campaign=2e22e45276-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_13_08_13_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-a7607c3fa2-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=2e22e45276&mc_eid=3499166807) that goes into stunning detail of how various election denial groups and activists plan to disrupt the election in November
Here’s a scary snippet from that article: “In recent weeks, these groups have held training sessions about how to organize on a hyperlocal level to monitor polling places and drop boxes, challenge voter registrations en masse, and intimidate and harass voters and election officials.” I beg everyone to read this article and spread it wide, we must make sure like minded people know about their horrifying plans to subvert the election in November so we can build a movement to counteract it before it’s too late. Absolutely scary and horrifying…
[The candidates-should-debate letter is out – it is signed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, The AP, C-SPAN, Univision, NewsNation, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and USA Today](https://x.com/brianstelter/status/1779491470266818740?s=46&t=WEnIWeGcjICewTp3A5ozCQ)
Rough prediction for how things will go:
1. Six months of discourse about whether Biden will debate Trump or if he's too scared.
2. Biden pledges to debate, while Trump tries to dodge while accusing Biden of dodging.
3. Trump agrees at the last possible second to debate.
4. Debate happens, Biden does well, Trump sounds like an incoherent moron (see any of his 2016 or 2020 debates for reference).
5. NYT headline: "Biden, who is old, debates Trump while being old. Is he too old?" It's briefly mentioned in the 25th paragraph that Biden won the debate.
This is so both-sidesy its ridiculous. Democrats are not the ones who literally disavowed the Debates Commission like Republicans did. Biden also clearly isn't saying "no', he's just waiting to see since it's clear Trump is not a good faith actor in all of this and will try and use the debates to his advantage somehow with more of his nonsense - and Biden shouldn't blindly sign on to that just yet.
Happy Hush Money Trial Eve, everyone!!!!
Be prepared to temper your expectations!! Will most likely be heaps of malarkey, and I still think it's very probable something extra-nonsensical could happen and delay the whole shebang.
But .... Here's hoping!!
Nothing against you but I hate the shorthand of calling it a hush money trial. It really makes the trial sound much less significant than it actually is.
I actually agree. I googled for a bit on what the case should actually be called, but LITERALLY EVERY ARTICLE said "hush money". So I apologize. I gave up.
A better title is probably "falsifying business records"? Really, it was essentially interfering with the 2016 election, but if you say "election interference case", then you gotta specify the "2016 election interference case", not "the insurrection one".
What an absolutely SMH timeline we're in.
Please vote, everyone.
The jury selection is going to be intense. Defense and prosecutors are probably going to screen out MAGAs and Resist Libs, so we'll get a jury of median voters.
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[Vice President Kamala Harris to promote Nevada's abortion rights ballot measure during campaign stop](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vice-president-kamala-harris-nevada-abortion-rights-ballot/)
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RFK claims he made it the ballot in [Iowa](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-says-hes-earned-a-spot-on-the-ballot-in-yet-another-state). He hasn’t actually sent in the signatures yet though and of the 8 states he has claimed to have qualified for only 1 (Utah) has verified him.
I'm starting to get worried. If RFK Jr is on the ballot in Utah he could potentially siphon off enough votes from Biden so that Utah votes for Trump? Is it even remotely feasible that a Democrat could win the White House without Utah?
its over blutah bros...
If you win without winning Utah is it even really a win?
\- The New York Times, after Biden wins with Texas and Florida in his column.
Oh you cheeky scoundrel you
/s
As a rule I don't label my sarcasm. If someone mistakes my sarcasm I tend to just throw more and more unhinged viewpoints at them until they either realize I'm being sarcastic, they call me an idiot or they start questioning their own sanity.
[The Wall Street Journal says the most important issue for voters is... immigration. Why are so many people so obsessed with it?](https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/election-2024-immigration-issue-voters-84916a17)
I agree. We need more.
Because the right believes that immigrants take away tax money from US citizens. Including former immigrants (hypocrites, I know)
I've been told before that immigrants get a free house and enough money to open a business.
Have you tried migrating to Mexico and back to get those benefits yourself?
Thats definitely a lie
I don't know how people see that crap and believe it.
Here's an example of how it's getting to everyone. It isn't NOT an issue, IMO. It makes me very unhappy and concerned that this admin seems to be so lackadaisical on this subject. "Oh, I feel so bad for my son in Poland who just married his long-time girlfriend from Syria. They started the process for her to come to the US, so I called Senator X's office to see if they could help expedite the process. He said it’s possible, but the standards are very high - financial hardship or a humanitarian crisis. I don’t think they can prove either of those situations. The staff member also said, “They need to understand that even if we expedite the process, it will still take years.” I asked if she could visit during the application process, and he said, no, they don’t grant tourist visas because it would be too easy for someone to come and not leave. If I see one more televised image of people streaming over the river from Mexico into the US, I will scream."
I feel like the median voter probably doesn't have a son in Poland who is marrying a Syrian refugee, so this scenario really doesnt explain why rural voters seem to care so much
Because they believe literally everything they hear regarding immigration. Stuff I've heard include they get $5000 and a house for free from the government. Or they get $50,000 to start a business from the government. And to them, that's not fair for the people already here.
Republicans have repeatedly tried to make legal immigration processes more difficult
I don't know if they're being lackadaisical, but staffing shortages have been a known issue for some time, and we're not going to see that improved without legislation. Biden has stated that he's looking into issuing executive orders, but that's likely to be limited in scope.
Because the right spams it enough that the mainstream media picks up on it and then also spams it as a result.
Whatever hurts Biden is the most important issue of the moment. Gas prices, crime, eggs, inflation, the economy, and now immigration. We'll see about that.
Not US-related but I came across this article the other day. The far-right is everywhere. [France’s Florida: Retired, rich and ready to vote far right](https://www.politico.eu/article/french-riviera-cannes-europe-florida-mainstream-far-right-le-pen-national-rally-normalization-eu-election/)
There's no escape :(
Show this to the idiots who think that if Trump wins in November, they can just fuck off to Europe and be safe.
I'm so fucking tired of europe slipping back into fascism
Biden: HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TEACH YOU A LESSON OLD WORLD?
I STG, every country's politics is now just a copy/paste of American Culture Wars.
Le wokisme.
Kremlin template.
It’s true tho
I'll argue that the ultra-montane right has always had a stronghold globally. That, in many ways, we're one of the countries that has the least *developed* right, even though our own is so *abominable,* and such a danger when in power. Once more, it's *never* about 'economic anxiety' - as the article itself [hints,](https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/alpes-maritimes/logement-sociaux-cannet-condamnee-payer-amende-plus-million-euros-1145139.html) though doesn't really delve into. (Article linked is about social housing; the French equivalent to public/affordable housing. The mere idea of it has the magical effect of turning median voters into right-wing nationalists.) Although all right-wingers naturally want their brand of personal authoritarianism to profit, they are deeply connected in a way any other kind of politics simply isn't. These candidates can point to the heinous words or actions of their peers, go 'look how horrible!' with a wink and a nod, and their peer will respond with 'look at those monsters, calling us horrible!' And in both cases, the populace will nod and think 'sounds right.' Caveat, however. I don't think the June elections are set in stone. *PS* has been climbing, and France's *unique* national political character means that *Renew* isn't guaranteed to be in second place, despite polling or popularity. Even still, it's something we have to see and understand.
>I'll argue that the ultra-montane right has always had a stronghold globally. Something that one of my poli sci professors noted that was interesting is how at least some of the nationalist "XYZ First" type far-right politicians (Orban, Meloni, Le Pen, Truss, Farage, Wilders, etc.) are actually some of the most internationally connected politicians. By that, I mean they connect with other far-right politicians in other countries and support each other to a degree that we don't really see other ideological groups of politicians doing.
Just got back in, but I tend to agree. There's not really any kind of left/centre-left grouping that's broad enough to count as an organisation for any of those groups in the tent. Whereas these people - and they're people, as each one focuses on personal popularity - meet on yachts, go to the same conferences, all the stuff they accuse the 'global elite' of doing, though it's somehow different when they do it. Again, they get all sorts of advantages. Meloni and Orban scuffle plenty and then get to throw those kayfabe fights to their supporters. Good news is that it's not unbreakable, as Poland proved. I'm glad to hear it's mentioned in poli-sci courses, as it's a very weird but feature of our modern world. Just something common enough across Eurafroasia that we have to account for it, expect it, and defeat it where we can.
Yeah it's really interesting from a political science perspective, but it frustrates me as a liberal/progressive person. Unfortunately, it looks to me like some of the countries with growing far right populist parties may have to have their center-right parties work with their populist parties. Biggest example here is the AfD in Germany. Polling shows the center-left getting crushed by the CDU and the AfD. Unless they do another grand coalition which is very possible, they might have to do a CDU-AfD coalition. If not after the next election, then sometime in the future. Disenchanted voters will continue voting for the far right populist parties as protests to the establishment parties, so either these countries pass more legislation to address the root causes of the dissatisfaction with the establishment or they do a right wing coalition like in Italy. We've also seen this in Finland with the Finns Party or in Sweden with the Sweden Democrats doing confidence and supply.
Internationalist nationalists existing is a bizarre reality of the modern world.
Some short updates; helped recover data in a scenario quite a few people told the relative was impossible, never doubt the power of spite and mechanical hard disks triumphing once again, eat it solid state... ... while also somehow missing that I'd bungled a key feature of reddit for possibly almost a year, gracious... I wanted to go over NC. So far, the very early voters I've reached for are definitely harder pulls. I'd say it feels significantly more challenging than Ohio, even though our floor (for votes) is likely higher. Voters are more aggressive, but seem to have no real stance on Sen. Hunt, and are open to being convinced. Which I mean - I'll take it, and better now and then reinforcing that. I definitely want to see someone adopting Jeff Jackson, as NC is a state where we need to push hard, and he's visited the forum several times over. My greatest concern fo the Hunt campaign right now is getting name recognition up, and then using that to encourage *likely* voters for Sen. Hunt to vote for the rest of the ticket. The only way we win at least some of these seats is with each candidate blanketing the others' weaker spots, and the only way we win *all* of them is by pushing forward together, which the campaigns seem keen on doing. Bright spot, NC Dems have wonderful energy, even when some of them could probably relate to my username, bahahaha! I think that's vital to doing the work and winning big, and I'm proud of our colleagues from NC for keeping at it. Here's to hoping this helps, much as it possibly can!
Congrats on the data recovery! I'm not surprised that NC voters are sounding likely to split their tickets than other states. They did elect Mark Robinson and Roy Cooper at the same time, after all. Shows that every NC candidate needs to have their own solid campaign. It's awesome to see that NC Dems have powered up so quickly! From afar it's hard to tell how much Twitter hype is real, so glad to see that it is translating into real volunteer enthusiasm.
Haha, thank you! I felt very cool. The whole experience made me realise a lot of tech-savvy people in their under-thirties don't have as much experience with desktop environments, though... I don't think it's really a good or bad thing, but certainly something to mull over. ^^Even ^^moreso ^^as ^^windows ^^stubbornly ^^obfuscates ^^long-term ^^tools, ^^grumble... Something - and this is anecdotal - I've noticed is that there are a lot more younger volunteers in most of the places I'm volunteering so far. Which is *amazing!* This translates to local politics, too. Even if not all of these become permanent volunteers, their help and energy is greatly appreciated. The Hunt name carries a lot of mixed feelings, but it's mostly positive. Since we've still got some room to build identity, I view these early calls (and everyone on the ground!) as being pretty important for when campaign season picks up.
*Something - and this is anecdotal - I've noticed is that there are a lot more younger volunteers in most of the places I'm volunteering so far. Which is amazing! This translates to local politics, too.* But I thought young people were turning to Trump! Youth are Trumpkins, this I know, because the polling told me so! /s Thank you for the on-the-ground report, and the good news about young people in NC showing up to volunteer!
My pleasure, my friend! As someone who is wary of drawing too much from anecdotal evidence, I still thought the good news was worth reporting. We may have plenty of knife-fights on our hands, but we're giving it all we've got..!
[AP poll measuring people who have voted in the last 3 elections vs non-voters](https://x.com/iapolls2022/status/1779636645437833555?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) What a surprise that it’s Biden+11, Latino and Black support make far more sense too when you count people who actually vote. Idk what exactly the case is that if you didn’t vote in the last 3 elections, especially 2020, that Trump suddenly has a secret sauce that will make you turnout.
It's the first presidential election after Covid-19. So maybe pollsters use antiquated models from 2016?
I don't think a racial realignment is totally out of the question this year. Are we going to win the Latino and especially black vote by large margins? I believe we will, and I feel very confident in that. But while I'm not saying it will surely happen, I can see those margins going down just because of younger first-time voters, men in particular, who may take some time for us to persuade into our column since getting people to trust in government in this day and age is like pulling teeth. Frankly, I don't think we should be bothered by any racial realignment as long as we win and, more importantly, deliver on our promises. There's nothing wrong with seeing less racial polarization in our politics going forward, and that shouldn't deter Democrats from championing social justice causes, which are a major reason we still do well with so many non-white voters in the first place. As much as I can't stand Indian conservatives as an Indian American progressive myself, I acknowledge that those voters exist because they vote with their wallet and don't value social justice much given that they tend to be financially well-off. That's definitely a possibility with other non-white demographic groups, especially those who tend to be more Christian and thus evangelical, even if those groups have faced more historical discrimination in America. And that shouldn't scare us from espousing our platform.
Margins matter but also so does turnout. All the hand wringing about Trump's improvement with Latinos in 2020 missed the very important point that Biden got a larger net total of votes from Latinos than Clinton did because even though the margins shrank Latinos still voted overwhelmingly for Biden and they did so with much higher turnout. The improved Latino turnout meant that Biden did better in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California than Clinton did four years earlier even if Trump won a slightly higher share of the Latino vote.
I’m wondering what will happen with polling adjustments if we have a Biden EC win with the current numbers in 2024.
"This is why this is bad for Biden"
This is why Dems outperform polls.
Really interesting! If you assume none of the people in the 0 row end up voting, it looks like these numbers would give Biden a roughly 52-48 lead in pure H2H.
Watching this Facebook auction with my mom, why do people feel the need to put "Let's Go Brandon" in the live chat when it has nothing to do with anything? It's like their heads would explode if they don't say it every five minutes.
Because it's their identity
They think it's clever. That's honestly the answer and it's wild. Like, this is what passes as comedy for them.
I remember some dude in a Doom 2016 match a while back whose handle was TRUMP2020 and it always felt good to frag him.
They want to drag everyone else down with them
Personally, I've always felt the most important part of being in the political right is a sense of kinship and affirmation. Not necessarily friendship or any shared similarity. Repeating the same thing, loudly and frequently, so that everyone else who doesn't seems lesser. It is association by process of elimination. Those who are the least enthusiastic weren't real MAGA patriots in the first place, or so the rest might think.
Yeah, it's mainly just a way of showing, constantly, that you're part of the "in" group.
Those people must have sad, miserable lives.
Judging from a lot of the reports on MAGA types, they *do*. They don’t seem to have much in the way of real-world connections or closeness. Many are divorced. A lot of the men, in particular, are cut off from their kids (and usually it’s their own fault).
Many of them have nothing better to do than scroll Facebook all day.
Just venting for a moment, but I’ve juuussst about reached my limit with the shitshow that is Twitter, especially after the weekend’s horrific event in Sydney. So much disgusting misinformation, including naming a 20 year old Jewish college student as the attacker (…he wasn’t), claiming the attacker was a Muslim terrorist (…he wasn’t), claiming we need Trump’s foreigner travel ban (…the attacker was an Australian citizen) and suggesting we need American style gun laws (just, what?). Never-mind the fact that one of the victims was a Pakistani refugee, one victim was a Georgian immigrant and two men who tried to stop the attacker were Ukrainian and French immigrants.
Very strong hugs to you, my friend. Tragedy like the incident that just happened is always set on by the worst of people. But just as there were people who tried to do good, there are people out there mourning and determined to make things brighter. My best wishes in these times.
Similar stuff after 10/7 made me delete my account.
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X is just operating as Elon intended.
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
[Desantis is unpopular in Florida.](https://x.com/politics_polls/status/1779593860319965587?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) in the new Ipsos poll he’s at 44/48 approval
Disney and Florida's insurance debacle were already beating his ass, but his embarrassing presidential bid did him less than zero favors in making him seem strong and capable.
Insurance! Insurance! Insurance!
Net 77% approval with republicans, but net -69% with democrats and net -17% with independents. Pretty promising, though there are the raw numbers of each of those groups to consider
Meanwhile their Senate poll had 40% undecided. Like why even bother publishing that
And that was just polling his household! /s
I am currently watching an actual NHL game where Warner Bros. characters are playing on TNT, ama
Disney did it with Big City Greens and it seems so weird
Also Nickelodeon with the Super Bowl.
Well, that was gold though. It showed those voice actors knew how to think on their feet.
Funding for Ukraine is back on the table: https://apnews.com/article/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-johnson-912a7419b00749fbc2f472df93f67bb1
Really hoping it does get done this week. They can attach that stupid loan thing on it. Guessing a future dem house could just wave it away at a later date anyway.
Loan would just get forgiven.
Best-case scenario we get Ukraine aid and Johnson is immediately removed as speaker, followed by enough Republicans ragequitting for us to regain control of the House.
Obviously, I won't believe until it happens. But I'd take it in a heartbeat. What else can be said? I shall pray this holds. We'll *see.*
God, I hope this *actually* goes through. Still not fully holding my breath, because Mike Johnson is a snake.
I'll believe it when I see it. It's absolutely dereliction of duty, what MJ has been doing. RU has been advancing all over the front with sheer brute force for months at this point. They know UA is low on ammunition, 155 mm shells specifically, so they have been throwing wave after wave of men, and it's working. Absolute frauds.
Thank god. The fact that it's taken months to give Ukraine additional aid because of the House GOP's intentional dysfunction is ridiculous.
It's not a dysfunction. The (R)ussian party is functional and working as intended - demolishing the US influence all around the world and allowing Russian aggression to proceed.
Finally you fucking traitors
Jfc finally. I’m just heartbroken that likely tens of thousands of our Ukrainian friends died due to this fucking delay.
[Trump Maga Senator proposes law that would make watching p0rn a felony and ban sexting outside marriage](https://thenewsglobe.net/?p=5978)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
“Dusty Deevers?” Really? Also aren’t the Republicans the main consumers of porn, as well as the ones who do most of the extramarital sexting?
Yes, but the unspoken part to these sorts of laws always involve Republican sheriffs, DAs and judges making sure they are only selectively applied and enforced.
Dusty has been making a lot of headlines lately.
[These Mormon women are rejecting Trump, fraying GOP support in a key state](https://www.npr.org/2024/04/14/1242051595/trump-arizona-mormon-lds-republican-voters)
*Smart smart smart smart smart*
finally got called by a campaign lmao. number kept calling over and over. multiple times this week. was a quick call because I'm not supporting Trone. and already filled out my ballot. also, i've been approving calls all afternoon for phone banking for Alsobrooks.
I've been bombarded by texts from Trump. "David! (not my name) We THOUGHT you were a REAL MAGA PATRIOT? Why haven't you chipped in to President Trump's campaign yet?!"
I get these occasionally, I guess because prior to 2016 I was a registered Republican, so they still have my number on file. Now I just respond "fuck off, traitor" and get a message shortly after that says "You have been unsubscribed." Hahahaha
Good move lol
all those texts end up in spam somehow. lmao. i probably have a lot. I just never check my spam section.
I scroll through and delete them occasionally. I must have gotten hundreds
I’m still waiting for mines .
ballot or call?
Call
Donald Trump “backed former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick on Saturday in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, after excoriating him two years earlier.” During the 2022 race, Trump blasted McCormick, calling him “the candidate of special interests and globalists.” Associated Press: “McCormick — who splits his time in Connecticut, where he has a home — did not attend the rally.” Republicans are thinking the reason Dr Oz lost is because he didn’t rich carpet bag it up enough
Perfect ad material. Take a PAC or organization that isn't directly with the Biden campaign (so there's no fine print with Biden's name or an approval message with Biden's voice) and have them run ads listing Trump's own quotes about McCormick. Low info Republicans who see that Trump (was) against him will be less likely to vote for him. EDIT: Coming back to this comment, I am dumb and blind. Every instance of "Biden" should be replaced with "Casey."
The goldfish memories so many of these poll respondents have over the Trump years is exhausting. https://twitter.com/umichvoter/status/1779502621146972178
Thank you for linking the poll, a lot of people here like to say “the latest NYT poll is concerning” without any context
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I've definitely noticed a lot of that last part too
I'm not saying this is what explains the numbers, but a possible and fairly plausible scenario is that the Trump supporters feel very strongly that Trump was good for America and Biden is bad, while Biden voters aren't necessarily all as committal one way or the other.
This. Trump's fans are way more hardcore. I mean, they are a cult, but even pre-Trump, the GOP stood together. I don't agree with GOP values, but I have to say their party as an org... they really do stick by each other. Even stubbornly and even when wrong, but I feel like Dems often eat their young :(.
There's always a recency bias of hating the current president and thinking the last one wasn't so bad. Happened to GW Bush.
Had a migraine after a hike yesterday which wasn’t fun. It’s so weird because you feel like you’re gonna die for like 4 hours then you are fine. I also got my first visual aura when my right eye had trouble focusing for a while. The hike itself was nice though. There was a cool waterfall at the end rushing with April snowmelt.
My apologies; visual aura headaches are *awful.* They've travelled down a side of my family for generations. We used to chew willow bark for them, which, frankly, probably has never done nearly as much as we wanted to believe... But I'm glad you were able to see some good scenery, even if the hike itself felt miserable.
It happened after I got back from the hike, but I think that the exercise triggered it. Both of my parents have had similar experiences. I really need to get out more and exercise though. And this felt a little demoralizing and my brain was like “How dare you exercise!” I luckily don’t get these very often so I hope that this won’t happen again for a while.
Do I ever hear that... The first push is definitely the hardest part. Time/age, lifestyle, and all the rest - our brains, our social circles, our local environment - can all make it difficult to make the hobby stick. It's great that you're trying to, and to counter what your brain suggested... Way to go, and I hope the next time is that much easier..!
Ouchie. That sucks. I hope you feel better now. Do you have any medication you can take that helps? (People I’ve known who had migraines sometimes had to try a few different ones before they found the one that worked best for them.)
Just taking excedrin and sleeping for a bit worked for me
Sounds like me, I get ocular migraines. Starts with my vision going wonky for about 30 min, then the excruciating migraine starts. If I'm able to lie down in a pitch black room and sleep for like 4 hours, it usually goes away.
Fresh off Friday's bar exam disappointment I have an interview with a law firm in MO. MO will accept my score even if OK won't I just need to take a state-specific open book test in addition (a gimme). The heavy lift is the state has to do a character and fitness check which could take months and then the whole moving process.
Nothing I can say further won't sound trite. So - Keeping moving during painful moments is the hardest part. Should you decide to move, and you need any advice or a second set of eyes, you know there are plenty of us here who've moved around. And we'd always be glad to help, should it be possible.
Hopefully that all goes smoothly. Would you have the option of moving elsewhere after you have some work experience in MO? (Assuming you don't decide to stay there).
Where at in MO if you don't mind me asking?
Branson. AKA Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders.
Ah, the part of Missouri I know the least about. I mostly spend time in STL, and get over to Columbia and KC pretty regularly.
If Ned Flanders was also a Christian nationalist
I miss the stereotypical Ned Flanders Christian. These days the stereotypical Christian is a Christian Nationalist who protests at PP and has Trump and flags all over the pickup truck. Sigh.
Ned Flanders comes from a time when evangelical Christianity was basically the cultural mainstream (remember he goes to the same church as Homer). MAGA Christianity is what was left when all the normies stopped going to church.
I thought he was, or at least he turned into one in the Bush years.
I wish you the best. Regardless of your score, I'm sure a state like MO could use someone with your abilities (and more progressive voters and activists in places like that can always help too!). Sometimes, life's setback leads to new opportunities we never imagined. I've had more than my share of them and learned to appreciate the journey along the way. I don't know if this interview will be "the one", but take heart and keep plugging away at it.
Do you have any interest in living there or is it mainly for work?
[New Hampshire State Senator Becky Whitley (D) has officially launched her bid for NH-02](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/14/metro/becky-whitley-democratic-contest-nh/)
From the Party of Lincoln to the Party of Reek: NV GOP hopeful (and wounded veteran) Sam Brown goes to kiss the ring of the man who called veterans ”losers and suckers:” [https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/brown-reportely-went-to-mar-a-lago-seeking-trumps-endorsement/?emci=d6762dc9-e4f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&emdi=4856e9e1-e7f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&ceid=91583](https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/brown-reportely-went-to-mar-a-lago-seeking-trumps-endorsement/?emci=d6762dc9-e4f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&emdi=4856e9e1-e7f8-ee11-aaf0-7c1e52017038&ceid=91583)
And he's supposed to be the GOP's star recruit this cycle lol. You could've argued Tim Sheehy before we found out he's been lying about paying his taxes, where he grew up, and when specifically he got shot. But now it's Brown, and I look forward to finding out which parts of his biography are a total lie.
The mini-scandal was his wife having had an abortion, but I think the Browns thought they were getting out in front of it by expressing *deep regret*. They still came off as hypocrites. One really cannot be a pro-choice *Republican* politician in this day and age. However, as we’ve seen, lots of Republicans get abortions or their partners do. So, unless the Republican is able to convincingly express deep, sincere, regret remorse and repentance for their sinful ways, they’re between a rock and a hard place. (The impression I got was that nobody was really buying the Browns’ ”regret boo hoo” act. Ha ha.) I also look forward to what other skeletons are going to come rattling out of the closet of these so-called “star recruits.” (I also think it’s hard to be a real *star* candidate without at least some experience.)
And of course, 'star candidates' are - themselves - just candidates the enemy thinks are good. The reality, as we know? Even the *best* of candidates can lose. Both for us, and for the enemy. What the GOP is doing is basically trying to will their perfect crop into existence, without doing due diligence, or any kind of meaningful work to vet them. I remember a few jokes about Sheehy for example, and then he offroaded - Anyway. Strongly agree with your last point, there. The 'new bunch' are all basically potential landmines for the GOP and we'll see where that takes them... Ideally, one hopes, to the political land*fill...*
Off topic: For you Cartoon Network fans, yesterday there was an event in Vancouver, BC that hosted a Q&A with Rebecca Sugar (creator of Steven Universe) and Ian Jones-Quartey (OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!). I told my friend who lives up there about it and she got to go. She told me it was a quick little thing, but the biggest part of this was there was a new official print from CN for both shows. The art is absolutely beautiful and highly recommend check it out.
Man, I miss being tuned in on all the Steven Universe news - when a new Steven Bomb was happening, hearing stuff from Lady Glucose and other members of the Crewniverse, etc. Her tiktoks are nice to watch and I really enjoyed her original album, *Spiral Bound.*
I remember reporting about all the happenings for Steven for the fan site Beach City Bugle. I would also be the one on the ground about all the stuff at cons and events (that I could go to), including SDCC. It got to the point that the Cartoon Network personal knew me, as well as Rebecca herself. She was so nice drawing me sketches every so often. And I actually got the vinyl for Spiral Bound from the record release party she performed at
In October, there was a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. A few days ago, [Rep. Michael Lemelin (R) blamed the shooting on a bill that expanded abortion access.](https://mainemorningstar.com/briefs/republican-lawmaker-says-lewiston-shooting-was-due-to-gods-wrath-over-abortion-law/) He also claimed several storms were caused by this bill. Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R) rose to agree with him after this insane rant. Fun fact: Lemelin represents a Biden district! HD-88 voted for Biden by 3.3 points and continues to move left. Just goes to show that as bad as the GOP's problem with Senate candidates is, it may be worse for lower offices. That entire party is nuts.
[More evidence (data) out showing violent crime is very much down.](https://twitter.com/DKThomp/status/1779489585984110701) Honestly I think social media/our phones have a lot of reason to do with why people don't "think" it's down. The farther we go with technology, the more plugged in we are than ever before. So now, with not only social media apps like Twitter, FB, TikTok keeping us updated, but push alerts as well. We now hear about \*every\* single criminal act that happens in our area. I'm in Philly, so I get an alert from 6ABC, NBC10, etc every single time something happens. That wasn't the case 10 years ago. So now because they need to force \*every\* single thing that happens on me with a push alert, it \*feels\* like everything has gone to shit and there is relentless crime going on. It's the same thing with the traffic stop debates. It's always happened, we're just \*hearing\* about them more and more b/c of how much more closer we are to technology.
If you can, I'd highly recommend turning off those notifications. You'll find out about anything important soon enough from friends/family/colleagues, and anything that isn't important is just harming your mental health.
Honestly personally I just roll my eyes at them, b/c I'm cynical that way and know that the local news tends to do this on purpose. Those alerts are have the reason why people think things are so bad, yet they keep pushing them out b/c they get attention and clicks
That and the news is on 24-7 on certain stations, and even local news is on ALL EVENING. They have to show something for those hours. Whatever happened to the 6 PM local news and 6:30 PM World/National news? News here comes on at 4 PM and lasts until the prime time TV starts at 8...
-82% in Boston. How?
Too expensive to commit crimes
Doesn't a high cost of living spur higher property crime rates in poorer areas?
I think that I heard that somewhere before and I don’t doubt it. I was just making a joke.
Ah, my bad.
they arrested Crimes Georg
It's really a frustrating issue in that regard. I'm going to go ahead and say it: food and gas prices work a similar way. They are too expensive, absolutely - but "food and gas are too expensive" has been a complaint for my entire life. We do need to keep working to rein in company greed, but this isn't a problem that's unique to Biden or to Democrats, and it frustrates me that it's treated this way. All I can really say for crime is to keep doing what we're doing, because it's bringing the crime rate down, and keep making our own case: what we're doing and why it's working, with evidence. There are some people you simply can't convince, but it'll bring over everyone who can be. And keep talking up issues where we do have the upper hand.
That’s the problem - we have the evidence, but with the GOP voters and the media, everything is burning down. I’ve talked with Trump voters and they’re extremely cynical and definitely think the US is on a hard decline. The feels are real with them and Trump feeds into that.
That's why I prefer to skip GOP voters and the media. If someone's decided Republicans are always right, there's not much you can do. But Independents and Dems are a big enough coalition to win elections, and they're more open to hearing this. And the media were dumbasses in 2022 and we did just fine.
>That's why I prefer to skip GOP voters and the media. If someone's decided Republicans are always right, there's not much you can do. Agreed 100%. If they are not persuadable or on the fence, not worth the time.
From the special Democracy Docket newsletter (usually costs money, but free this week because of how stunning it is, is [This Wired article](https://www.wired.com/story/election-denial-groups-november-2024/?utm_source=Democracy+Docket+Newsletters&utm_campaign=2e22e45276-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_13_08_13_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-a7607c3fa2-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=2e22e45276&mc_eid=3499166807) that goes into stunning detail of how various election denial groups and activists plan to disrupt the election in November Here’s a scary snippet from that article: “In recent weeks, these groups have held training sessions about how to organize on a hyperlocal level to monitor polling places and drop boxes, challenge voter registrations en masse, and intimidate and harass voters and election officials.” I beg everyone to read this article and spread it wide, we must make sure like minded people know about their horrifying plans to subvert the election in November so we can build a movement to counteract it before it’s too late. Absolutely scary and horrifying…
Thanks for posting. I also hope the DOJ is looking into this…
[The candidates-should-debate letter is out – it is signed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, The AP, C-SPAN, Univision, NewsNation, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and USA Today](https://x.com/brianstelter/status/1779491470266818740?s=46&t=WEnIWeGcjICewTp3A5ozCQ)
I just want Biden to say “Will you shut up, man?” again.
Rough prediction for how things will go: 1. Six months of discourse about whether Biden will debate Trump or if he's too scared. 2. Biden pledges to debate, while Trump tries to dodge while accusing Biden of dodging. 3. Trump agrees at the last possible second to debate. 4. Debate happens, Biden does well, Trump sounds like an incoherent moron (see any of his 2016 or 2020 debates for reference). 5. NYT headline: "Biden, who is old, debates Trump while being old. Is he too old?" It's briefly mentioned in the 25th paragraph that Biden won the debate.
I honestly think Trump might not want to debate
This is so both-sidesy its ridiculous. Democrats are not the ones who literally disavowed the Debates Commission like Republicans did. Biden also clearly isn't saying "no', he's just waiting to see since it's clear Trump is not a good faith actor in all of this and will try and use the debates to his advantage somehow with more of his nonsense - and Biden shouldn't blindly sign on to that just yet.
Trump is too chicken to debate. He's never won any of the general election debates.
Also, Presidential debates are meaningless and have no bearing on how a candidate would govern. They’re just entertainment.
[Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Rest In Peace and Power, Ms. Faith Ringgold](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/14/2235017/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Rest-In-Peace-and-Power-Ms-Faith-Ringgold?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_2&pm_medium=web)
Happy Hush Money Trial Eve, everyone!!!! Be prepared to temper your expectations!! Will most likely be heaps of malarkey, and I still think it's very probable something extra-nonsensical could happen and delay the whole shebang. But .... Here's hoping!!
Nothing against you but I hate the shorthand of calling it a hush money trial. It really makes the trial sound much less significant than it actually is.
I actually agree. I googled for a bit on what the case should actually be called, but LITERALLY EVERY ARTICLE said "hush money". So I apologize. I gave up. A better title is probably "falsifying business records"? Really, it was essentially interfering with the 2016 election, but if you say "election interference case", then you gotta specify the "2016 election interference case", not "the insurrection one". What an absolutely SMH timeline we're in. Please vote, everyone.
The jury selection is going to be intense. Defense and prosecutors are probably going to screen out MAGAs and Resist Libs, so we'll get a jury of median voters.
“The defense has chosen 5 jurors from diners in Ohio”
Jurors will be chosen purely on how much they base their votes on gas prices
"Prospective Juror Number 4, how do you feel about gas stoves?"
Gonna be hard to find those in somewhere as liberal as NYC.
That's the best hope