US POLITICS election/post-election edition: your country will improve immediately.

np: Sewer Election - Choking In Shit And Decadence

old thread US POLITICS: "I figured clueless was better than argumentative."

Alan Grayson, R.I.P.

He was a delightfully hilarious congressman with his heart in the right place, and one of the creepiest sleaziest campaigners I've ever seen. I will miss him.

i voted! all tea-party ticket.

I voted for Crist.

I love paper ballots, maybe because it's the only time in my adult life where I get to color things in by hand.

yeah, me too, alfred.

I voted but I presently live in the red zone so who gives a fuck (actually I'm presently overseas which is making all this election nonsense feel pleasantly distant).

I think I'll hit .500 today. Yay, democracy.

IL's paper ballots are absolutely enormous. 11x17, maybe? Huge.

it's the only time in my adult life where I get to color things in by hand.

Join the Board of Elections; I understand this is a perk.

He was a delightfully hilarious congressman with his heart in the right place

Is being an abusive egomaniac really having your heart in the right place?

good luck america

if you take everything super-literally then "his heart's in the right place" because a damnation-with-faint-praise sort of deal

Symmetry requires.

Felt pretty good voting against Jan Brewer and for medical marijuana. The usual feeling of throwing ice cubes into the mouth of hell felt less good.

Oh boy. From Slate.

After an excruciating eight years of Bush, the thrill still hasn't worn off for me of once again having an intellectually nimble president, not to mention one who doesn't pride himself on going with his gut when it comes to foreign policy. Whenever I watched Bush speak extemporaneously, I'd feel alternately embarrassed by and for him. I'd be tempted to cover my eyes, as if watching a clumsy figure skater botching double Lutz jumps. And whenever I interacted with someone from another country, I'd feel compelled to mention that I hadn't voted for Bush.

But when I see Obama on television, I'm unfailingly struck by his intelligence and charisma, by his easygoing humor, by the magnificence of his megawatt smile. He just makes me proud, and perhaps this is where I should admit that if there are two categories of Obama critics—conservatives who never liked the guy and have in some cases become unhinged since he was elected, and centrists or Democrats who voted for him but now feel let down—I suspect that, in the visceral nature of my response to our president, I have more in common with the unhinged nut jobs. By this I mean that my Obama admiration is a kind of emotional inverse of the right-wing Obama antipathy: I can pretend it's all about policy, but in truth, it's much more personal. Where his detractors dislike him because of, say, that Muslim vibe he gives off, I like him for similarly nebulous, albeit slightly more factual reasons.
I like that he's married to—and seemingly still quite taken with—a strong, opinionated, gorgeous woman, and that he has two ridiculously cute daughters. I like his mind-bendingly multicultural extended family. I like that in a campaign interview in Glamour magazine, he could fluently and unabashedly talk about Pap smears. I thought that the beer summit of 2009 was delightful. I was even excited when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, not realizing until pundits explained otherwise that I was supposed to be aghast at its prematurity. And I wasn't a bit offended by Obama's alleged 2008 debate gaffe—a line the otherwise irreproachable Frank Rich mentioned yet again in a column as recently as September—in remarking to Hillary Clinton, "You're likable enough, Hillary." Oh, and did I mention that I actually voted for Hillary in Missouri's Democratic primary? I was one of those Democrats who thought it'd be nice to have an entrée of eight years of Hillary, with Obama as a vice-presidential side, followed by eight years of a more seasoned Obama as the main course. I was always an Obama admirer, but maybe the fact that I was initially rooting for Hillary has prevented me from feeling the disappointment in his presidency expressed by certain Obamamaniacs. So swoony and ardent was their Obama love during the campaign that it couldn't be sustained; my more measured affection, by contrast, has grown over time.

At this point, I love Obama so much that I recently thought if it were 1961, I'd probably display a bust of him in my living room.

CURTIS SITTENFELD was wsnking as he wrote this.

"he"?

That comment -- please tell me it's not from someone paid by Slate -- jibes w/ my belief that when Churchill said democracy was the worst form of government except for all the others, he was emphasizing NO, REALLY, IT SUCKS.

would prefer "He"?

xp

http://asset3.venuszine.com/article_image/image/3209/viewer_wide/CurtisSittenfeld_.jpg?1199395367

well EXCUSE ME for assuming someone named "Curtis" was a guy

In NY I will be voting for the Dems for state AG and comptroller -- both races are polling even and I will gamble that they'll be marginally better than the Repug, esp since the GOP AG guy worked for goddamn Goldman Sachs -- and otherwise voting straight Green where they have a candidate, abstaining from the other races.

NO to reducing term limits (again) to two terms from three (ie fuck you, Bloomberg emperor asshole).

I like his mind-bendingly multicultural extended family.

he could fluently and unabashedly talk about Pap smears

Where his detractors dislike him because of, say, that Muslim vibe he gives off,

Aw, Curtis Sittenfeld. She also, for what it's worth, wrote American Wife, a novel that asks us to imagine George W. and Laura Bush getting it on.

Also, if there was stylist for that photo of Curtis, s/he should be 're-educated'.

a novel that asks us to imagine George W. and Laura Bush getting it on.

And just like that I understand the anti-porn crusaders

I voted this morning. Voted Dems in state races and a combo of Greens and Dems in city/county races. Also Forrest Claypool for county assessor, who's ordinarily a Democrat but is running as an independent against Democrat Joe Berrios, a machine party hack.

did you know that Toy Story 3 accurately reflects the mood of the nation going into this midterm?

likely accurate, it seems to me:

Everyone knows Democrats are going to take a beating tomorrow. Estimates vary on how bad a beating -- and, hey, you never know, there could be some surprises. But I do know this: Democrats and their supporters are going to be blown away by the narratives that are seeded on election night and emerge in full bloom by Wednesday morning.

Some you're ready for: The election proves that America is a center-right country. Voters have ratified the Republican agenda. Democrats took a bad economy and made it worse.

But those are the easy ones to predict. If history is a guide, Republicans will parlay this victory into grand proclamations about "what it means" in the same way you might start a negotiation with an over-the-top demand. The higher your initial demand, the studies suggest, the higher the ultimate settlement price. Same thing going on here.

Unfortunately, history also suggests Democrats won't counter with a ridiculously low offer. If you thought Democrats had trouble putting together a coherent message during the campaign, wait until they're a defeated and demoralized party. They won't be up to countering these narratives, which willing friends in the media will help the GOP perpetuate. It's not going to be pretty.

Why am I getting Republican text-message spam?

I seriously thought that Slate column was a parody when I first read it – something written to make fun of Obama's most ardent supporters in '08.

in the same way you might start a negotiation with an over-the-top demand.

Unless you are Obama

Shrub has to be the only President in my life I can think of who didn't lose the House in his first midterm election.

Well, being that it's only changed hands twice in 50 years...

I did a connect-the-dots ballot rather than wait for the touch screen this morning, and when I turned it in the machine told me there was an overvote. Lo and beyond, there it was: Ed Washington. Apparently I voted both for and against his reelection as one of 3423 judges.

"What happens now?" I ask the lady.

"Well, either you fill out a new ballot, or the overvote gets discounted."

"Just that one vote?"

"Yes."

"The rest of the ballot is unaffected?"

"Correct."

"Sorry, Ed Washington, whoever you are!"

My local polling place is the Teamster's Temple and the local House Rep is running unopposed. There hasn't been a Republican on the city council for 90 years. I don't think this is a sign of a particularly healthy democracy.

LOL Ohio:

10:50 a.m. --We have received an update to the earlier story about the voting snafu at R.J. Smith Elementary School in Massillon. The presiding judge of that precinct had her car stolen this morning, as she was warming it up before driving to work.

Inside the car were keys to unlock the voting machines. Without the keys, the polls were unable to the scheduled time of 6:30 a.m. The Stark County B.O.E. sent a troubleshooter to unlock the polling machines around 7:15 a.m.

As a result of not opening at 6:30, eight people were turned away at that time. At least one of those individuals has returned to cast his vote.

fucks sake

ACTUALLY one-party rule vs EFFECTIVELY one-party rule -- what else is there?

xxp

i voted green party candidate for TN gov because a.) the republican's going to win by a huge amount anyway; b.) the democrat's an anti-gay-adoption posturing legacy candidate (daddy was a guvnor back a ways); c.) the republican's sort of an ok guy by current gop standards and also mayor of my city, so on balance i don't really mind him getting elected even tho there's no way i can actually vote for him; and d.) if the green party ever ekes up over 5 percent in any of these elections, it can actually get a dedicated ballot line next time around.

i also voted against a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to hunt and fish, because i'm not sure that really needs to be a constitutional right. and it's not like anyone's going to try to ban it, anyway. but i'm sure it will pass.

Matt Taibbi:

Rahm's gone, midterms are here. How do you foresee the next two years of the Obama administration playing out?

The Republicans are going to win now and retake at least one house. What few reforms have been enacted, there's going to be an effort to role those back. Nothing serious is going to get done now for at least two years. Obama's going to win re-election in 2012. The Tea Party thing is now so big that there's no way that the Republicans can nominate someone who's not friendly to the Tea Party. But whomever they nominate is going to be nuts, so that person is not going to win the swing vote. Democrats will sweep through to victory and do nothing again for four years

10:42 a.m. --Voters in Parma are having some problems finding a place to park at the polling location at Pleasant Valley Elementary.

The school is not in session for the students today, but they do have a teacher work day. With the teachers at the school, the parking lot is crowded and several voters have reported leaving the location because they can't find a place to park.

Follow Ohio election lulz here: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/political/blog-election-day-live-updates

from the other side of the rust belt, can i say, ohio, get your fucking shit together

we've only been doing this for a century or so

have these been linked yet?

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/5-reasons-republicans-could-do-even-better-than-expected/

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/5-reasons-democrats-could-beat-the-polls-and-hold-the-house/

from the other side of the rust belt, can i say, ohio, get your fucking shit together

everything went to hell after mark hanna died.

The Republicans are going to win now and retake at least one house. What few reforms have been enacted, there's going to be an effort to role those back. Nothing serious is going to get done now for at least two years. Obama's going to win re-election in 2012. The Tea Party thing is now so big that there's no way that the Republicans can nominate someone who's not friendly to the Tea Party. But whomever they nominate is going to be nuts, so that person is not going to win the swing vote. Democrats will sweep through to victory and do nothing again for four years

highly likely scenario imho

all comes down to who does the blame game better over the next two years. if nothing gets done and the Republicans have the House they'll have to work that much harder to justify it. Of course, the Dems are pretty useless at PR so they'll probably come out alright, which would then lead to the Tea Party nomination scenario.

yeah, i read that taibbi interview alfred excerpted. taibbi is absolutely OTM.

where's the link?

that slate article is easily the most retarded thing ive read this year

i voted absentee already. i have a great congressman so that was pretty easy. didn't vote for schumer but he'll win by 30 points anyway

While we're waiting for all that tea to get brewed.

1994: I was driving back to Minneapolis from visiting my girlfriend in Missouri. It was (and only) general election I missed voting in. That night, I was listening to the AM news stations from Des Moines and Chicago, from Newt's victory speech to Mario Cuomo going down in flames. Beating the steering wheel and going "NOooooo!"

Now it's going to happen again, and I don't think I'm going to get wound up again. I'm not going to be pleased about it, but surely if this nation could survive the Civil War, it can handle six years of Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) I mean, hell, it's not going to be much different than Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)

And if Obama can successfully turn this into the "See? I Told You So!" 2012 campaign, then go for it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some sort of perverse deathwish to see Rand Paul elected. The weeds always grow first after a good crop burning.

Taibbi otm, making George Carlin's "Fuck voting" monologue ever more defensible.

The weeds always grow first after a good crop burning.

i like this as a "wednesday morning" slogan.

really disappointing that there aren't rent is too damn high candidates downticket on the ny ballot

Via Twitter, former Letters to Cleo singer Kay Hanley:

kayhanley
Regular Studio City polling place moved w/o warning from easily accessible loc at Laurel+Ventura to prohibitive Mulholland Dr. Outrage.

kayhanley
Nothing says "Let them eat cake" quite like moving the election to the top of a mountain accessible only by car. With no parking.

Taibbi q&a:

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/201010/griftopia-matt-taibbi-breaking-america

i had no idea taibbi was behind the exile! makes sense

looking forward to voting later, but totally annoyed by all my friends spamming the shit out of Facebook with "I voted!" and "Did you vote?" posts

6 domestic terrorists inspired by Fox News

just voted and lol at Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) democracy: Four guys with the last name Corrigan and all unopposed

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krljc3Xjjj1qz54k3.jpg

"fuckin a right"

voted an hour again ... though it's an off-year election here in NJ (i.e., other than the House race and a local city counsel seat, nothing else) and given that i am in Hudson County the Democrat is a shoo-in.

http://www.alan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/john_boehner.jpg

REALLY going to be wanting to punch this face for the next few years. Watched him on C-SPAN at a rally the other night saying "Obama called anyone who disagrees with him enemies. My friends, I call you patriots."

Ipso facto, I am NOT a patriot, Boehner's name-calling trumps Obama's, and somehow we will no longer be a "divided country" come Wednesday morning. Hooray.

http://www.alan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/john_boehner.jpg

http://www.guidofistpump.com/guido%20pix/guido_orange.jpg

Boehner's got a face tailor made for black-and-white negative campaign ads.

Thing is, he's not punchable like Cheney, where I actually knew there were some (devious) ideas in his head. Boehner just seems like the emptiest empty suit ever.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUZ_fM-TQKQ/S9CkcY_PXWI/AAAAAAAAQyw/ZyHIWj6HjVY/s1600/428px-John_Boehner_golf.jpg

Finally, America has found a leader who's in touch with the voters.

Holy shit, thank you for that! And this from a party that questioned John Kerry's "guyness."

if this hasn't already been commented upon ... http://twitter.com/rosannecash/status/29421685199

Boehner's only point in his favor: he's an avid smoker.

He probably has a whole temperature controlled room in his D.C. house filled with free cartons from Phillip Morris.

note to self: no political discussions on facebook today

note to self: no political discussions on facebook today ever

I'm having a hard time with the temptation to visit the FB page of the guy I went on a date with who is a really vocal Tea Bagger, Palin fan, and Firorina fan. It's disgusting, especially as he is only 24. I once wrote something critical of Palin on my page and he responded "No H8!" and gave me a little speech on how Dems are very intolerant.

Some are, some aren't. But criticism of Sarah Palin is pretty objective.

My friend chided me for predicting, a couple of years ago, that she would fade away. I assuaged her frustration by reminding her that Palin is a lot closer to Snooki than elected office.

it's a nice clear day today nationwide. that's one very small bright spot

You're urging Dems to stay home and enjoy the weather, aren't you.

i made a mistake, posted some diatribe about how the country has always been full of shit and ideals should be left behind on election day (didnt say who to vote for or even any modern policy) and then got hit with someone talking about how they work for their money and dont want to have to rely on obama and all the standard republican talking points. at the end they asked "where does socialism actually work?" and i was tempted to write about my wonderful recent vacation in sweden (also including fellow socialist hell denmark) but figured i should just pull the plug on the FB all together today...

No, you should have said "Sweden, where PS they also aren't afraid of non-white ppl" and THEN pulled the plug on FB

Ingmar Bergman never made films with black people if I remember correctly.

yeah, but the dude who played Bill Cosby's dad on The Cosby Show is a beloved television personality over there

oh shit I looked it up and I meant Norway, never mind

Let's stave off the gloom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyLObuHfo14

No, you should have said "Sweden, where PS they also aren't afraid of non-white ppl" and THEN pulled the plug on FB

You mean Sweden, where just last year they constitutionally banned minarets? I'll give Europe the benefit of socialism's, well, benefits, but the people are nearly every bit as racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant and prejudiced as we are.

Oh, whoops, that was Switzerland, wasn't it? Same dif.

Sweden: The country Americans always mistake for some other country.

Country That's Not America: The country Americans always mistake for some other country.

I think I went there once.

America?

No, the other place.

where?

About 10 years ago, my wife and I were seated next to a well-dressed guy on a connecting flight to Newark. We had a very nice conversation about several things, including education and politics. Near the end of the flight he asked us if Newark was our final destination. We told him no, we were heading on to Amsterdam. He replied, "Oh. Which state is that in?"

I'm sure there's an Amsterdam, New Mexico.

Crossing back into the United States from Vancouver, my dad pulled the rental car up to the border patrol booth. The guard took one look at our California plate and said, "From California, huh?"

My dad said no, we're from Arkansas. The guard just looked at him blankly and said, "Arkansas, California?"

I once met a dude in Santa Barbara that thought Illinois was a city in Chicago. I bet he's not the voting type, though. Or the reading type.

A guy in my high school in North Carolina asked me if Montana used the same kind of money as they used in NC.

http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/people.aspx#1069

If it weren't for sports I bet many if not most Americans wouldn't have much idea where our major cities are.

Like Anaheim, Auburn Hills, Arlington...

lol there were two ballot initiatives in my county dealing with different ways to make further ballot initiatives easier (lower signature count and longer filing period) and i was like, oh hell no

Kinda want to see the artist's rendering of the tapeworm though.

LOL at 1069

I'd vote for it if the tapeworm was also depicted fixing potholes.

what the hell is 1072 about

Clerks and bouncers can't get fined anymore for not checking ID?

ah i see, you buy liquor underage it's all on you, not the bartender or the liquor store clerk.

vote yes!

ahhhhhhhhh, the classy 2010 midterm elections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjkf9BshhxE&feature=player_embedded

I don't get 1072, either.

We should send designs to the sponsor of 1069.

so if you are 19 you can buy alcohol, but you aren't allowed to actually pick up the booze and carry it out to your car?

I feel like someone didn't think this through

Sweden is currently undergoing an anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim thing like every other country on the planet. Same story as everywhere. Worldwide recession, loss of jobs, nativists blame it on the immigrants. Been happening for centuries.00

The town I was staying in (usually peaceful Malmo, which recently has some nutbag going around shooting immigrants) has a big immigrant population, and you hear "They're taking our jobs! They're taking our welfare money!", the same kind of stuff you hear about Mexicans in America. Fear tactics don't seem to be part of the national debate here, it's mostly economic. Also for the most part the only ppl in saying that are the anti-immigrant party that was founded by actual Nazis. The day after election day, when that party got seats in the parliament for the first time, there were huge demonstrations of ppl chanting "No racists on our streets!" and "We welcome refugees!".

Thing is, if the US hadn't started all these wars, there'd be far less refugees in Sweden and all over Europe, and far few 'immigrant problems' IMO. And if there wasn't a worldwide recession (thank you Wall Street & American banks) there'd be far less anti-immigrant sentiment the world over.

so if you are 19 you can buy alcohol, but you aren't allowed to actually pick up the booze and carry it out to your car?

I feel like someone didn't think this through

― lol tea partiers and their fat fingers (HI DERE), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 2:41 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark

it makes possessing alcohol the illegal act, but not buying it, which lets sellers off the hook. unless they're selling to really young people (under 19). seems designed to make life easier for bar and liquor store owners which is fine by me tbf

most of those didn't make the ballot
for the record 1053, 1082, 1098, 1100, 1105, 1107 made it. no tapeworm this year:(

btw look for marco rubio to be mentioned frequently as a VP possibility in 2012 -- or even a possible GOP nominee.

unless they're selling to really young people (under 19)

does not compute

it makes possessing alcohol the illegal act, but not buying it, which lets sellers off the hook.

right, so... "if you are 19 you can buy alcohol, but you aren't allowed to actually pick up the booze and carry it out to your car"

yup!

it makes possessing alcohol the illegal act, but not buying it, which lets sellers off the hook. unless they're selling to really young people (under 19). seems designed to make life easier for bar and liquor store owners which is fine by me tbf

seems like ridiculous legislation. how hard is it to check ID? i've worked both as a bouncer and a convenience store clerk, and it's generally very easy to tell what's legit and what's not. can see why store and bar owners would want this passed, as it takes the heat off and allows them to sell to underage people, but what does anyone else gain from it?

Some states have it where you can't have a minor with you when you buy alcohol. I worked with a guy who tried to buy a six-pack at the grocery store with his 20-year-old wife, and they wouldn't sell it to him.

P.S. She was eight months pregnant at the time.

can see why store and bar owners would want this passed, as it takes the heat off and allows them to sell to underage people, but what does anyone else gain from it?

a bunch of frustrated 19-year-olds begging older ppl to carry their 12-packs for them?

more to the point you don't have these stupid cop sting operations where they dress up like college kids, get served without showing a license, and then nail the bouncer, server and owner for a bunch of huge fines.

every year in every college town there's a stupid story about some kid drinking himself to death or falling in a river drunk or something, and lawmakers have responded. throw in some genuine concern for girls getting wasted and then attacked, there you go.

i want to start wearing a t-shirt that just says 'decriminalize everything'

Most acts are characterized as crimes because they represent revenue for law enforcement and fed, state, and local governments.

anyway, according to avinha, 1072 didn't get approved (i guess there's steps to these things in OR) so we don't really need to beat this into the ground

Yes underage drinking busts have shut down many nice clubs around Atlanta. I'm in favor of this law. Fine the kid, fine the kid's parents, fine the alcohol companies instead!

(i think it was a "you have to gather _____ signatures" and that one didn't) xp

Is the Roberts Court responsible for Russ Feingold’s troubles?

To a degree, yes, writes Barnes. According to the story, Johnson has invested more than $8 million of his money in the race, and although the two campaigns are competitive with each other financially, outside groups have spent nearly $3 million on Johnson’s behalf.

A WaPo analysis shows 92 percent of the outside spending has supported the Republican. The impact has been obvious: The Wesleyan Media Project said there have been more commercials about the Senate race in Wisconsin than in any state outside Nevada.

“I’ve always been a target in this stuff,” Feingold said during a recent campaign stop. “And this year, I’m getting the full dose: over $2 million in these ads [criticizing him] that used to not be legal.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/11/02/one-man-feeling-the-effects-of-citizens-united-russ-feingold/

Via Twitter, former Letters to Cleo singer Kay Hanley:

kayhanley
Regular Studio City polling place moved w/o warning from easily accessible loc at Laurel+Ventura to prohibitive Mulholland Dr. Outrage.

kayhanley
Nothing says "Let them eat cake" quite like moving the election to the top of a mountain accessible only by car. With no parking.

218 bus up laurel canyon blvd (from laurel/ventura), get off at mulholland. costs $1.50.

my polling place was at the community center in the park, about three blocks away. no problems here.

A few years ago I voted in someone's garage. That was weird.

Yes underage drinking busts have shut down many nice clubs around Atlanta. I'm in favor of this law. Fine the kid, fine the kid's parents, fine the alcohol companies instead!

i dunno. in my experience, it's really, really easy to keep kids out of your club if you honestly don't want them there, don't want their money. but if you DO kind of want their money, then hell yes it should be your responsibility if they get fucked up and hurt themselves, hurt one another. personally, i think it should be legal for 18-year-olds to drink - but so long as it remains illegal, it seems appropriate to insist that club and bar owners refuse service to the underage, and to punish them when they're lax about this.

^ OTM

anyway, according to avinha, 1072 didn't get approved (i guess there's steps to these things in OR) so we don't really need to beat this into the ground

― goole, Tuesday, November 2, 2010 3:05 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol I am trying to think of when asking people on this board not to beat something into the ground didn't encourage 50+ more posts on the subject just to be irritating

It's better than arguing about whether to vote D or 'punish them' again!

18-yo's should not DRIVE

but I'm glad you're all concerned about the last principled senator getting bounced by a flood of newly unleashed corporate cash

all kinds of people have been concerned, on these threads, about the end of feingold's career, for weeks now.

and talking about citizens united too

Sorry I am not rending my garments enough for you, Morbs.

i dunno if 'principled' is enough to describe him. he tried tacking right a month or so ago, even ran ads touting endorsements by some tea party group or another, which i thought was pretty gross. but all to no avail.

I'm trying not to say anything bad about corporate campaign ads because after this election the only job left in America will be working on those ads and I wanna get in while the gettin's good.

Still haven't decided how dangerous Citizens United supposedly is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tA24uF3tLM

In Florida, billionaire Rick Scott has spent almost $100 million of his own money on attack ads yet the race is a dead heat. Look at poor Mittens in 2008. I'm just not convinced that unlimited cash at one's disposal means a political office is for the taking.

In other words, Feingold isn't necessarily the victim of Citizens United -- he would have been in terrible trouble without the ads.

lol I am trying to think of when asking people on this board not to beat something into the ground didn't encourage 50+ more posts on the subject just to be irritating

otm, and yet, I resent the implication lol

IIRC, hasn't Feingold ALWAYS faced tough re-election bids?!?

Still haven't decided how dangerous Citizens United supposedly is.

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 3:54 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah i guess it's possible all the outside money is wasted and the results would have been just as awful anyway. bad money after good, iow

xps

1654: Ashley Wilson, in St Paul, Minnesota, writes: What we really need is people in office who will move forward. There are so many people of the baby boomer generation who are wondering why we are wasting money on public schools, healthcare programs, and taking people's money away. Have Your Say

From the BBC. Unsurprised but speechless with rage.

I have no idea if that comment is agreeing with the idea that spending money on public schools and health care is a waste or not.

Speaking of distractions, anyone pay attention to the video game case before SCOTUS today?

My reading was that it was yet another boomer, having benefited from the above, griping about having to pay for the same for current generations.

either that or its an argument for decimating the over 50s.

this was lol worthy:

But Justice Scalia said there was nothing in the tradition of American free speech that would allow the government to ban depictions of violence. The thought, he said, would have been foreign to the drafters of the First Amendment, drawing a needling comment from Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., the lone dissenter in the Stevens case.

“What Justice Scalia wants to know,” Justice Alito said, “is what James Madision thought about video games.”

“No,” Justice Scalia responded, “I want to know what James Madison thought about violence.”

And:

Justice Elena Kagan, the court’s newest and youngest member, seemed to be the only justice with even a passing familiarity with the genre under review, even if it was second-hand.

“You think Mortal Kombat is prohibited by this statute?” she asked Mr. Morazzini. It is, she added, “an iconic game which I am sure half the clerks who work for us spent considerable time in their adolescence playing.”

xp there was a decent article about the case in (i think) Game Informer a month or two ago. this is basically about whether to federally mandate age restrictions on rated M video games, right?

It's better than arguing about whether to vote D or 'punish them' again!

― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 8:44 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

please excuse me for turning the cynical chatter to an attempt to actually discuss why the D's are about to lose

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/today-is-the-day_b_777560.html

The final ABC/Washington Post poll shows that, among registered voters, people still say they prefer the Democrats over the Republicans by 5 percentage points. It's only when the pollsters ask "likely voters" who they want that the Republicans come out ahead by a few points.

So it's clear the majority of voters want the Dems, but the prediction is the Republicans will win because Dem voters are going to stay home.

i know this is quite sad of me to say but kagan is kind of justifying her seat right there

What article is that from, Alfred?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/03scotus.html?_r=1&hp

but I'm glad you're all concerned about the last principled senator getting bounced by a flood of newly unleashed corporate cash

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 2 November 2010 20:47 (29 minutes ago)

I'm confused by your reverence for Feingold above all others.

Michael Moore?!

So it's clear the majority of voters want the Dems, but the prediction is the Republicans will win because Dem voters are going to stay home.

which raises the question, how much of a "want" is it if you stay home (because your preferred party has chosen to do jackshit for you whenever possible)?

I'm confused by your reverence for Feingold above all others.

Name the senators who voted against the USA PATRIOT Act.

but Morbs that was a long time ago and besides, there was public pressure

only one to vote nay at the time, a few more voted nay on the re-up

Actually, if the Tea Party was as principled as it pretends, it would have acknowledged how independent Feingold's been his whole career.

haha nice quote from Kagan AND nice quote from Scalito

also, all of those senators are still in office

Here's a case where Scalia will vote with the liberals. Actually, this is the kind of case that screws with ideology and depends entirely on one's interpretation of the First Amendment.

Assuming Harry Reid loses (I won't miss him a bit), who will be the new majority/minority leader? Schumer? Levin?

Schumer is angling for it, alas.

Schumer vs Durbin

only one to vote nay at the time, a few more voted nay on the re-up

right but...I mean...it's not like it was a secret that the patriot act was bullshit -- the ones who voted "yea": what do you imagine motivated that bullshit vote?

yeah my money would be on schumer probably. Reid is terrible but Angle will be so much worse (albeit less powerful)

on the plus side she will be first Asian legislator in the Senate

aero did you live in this country in 2001?

all the votes for the patriot act and the iraq invasion are unforgiveable sins imho

I would like to know why Wellstone voted for it.

closet fascist

not making any defense of the act itself, but the idea that it was bullshit on its face would have been a very rare opinion in those days

xp wellstone 'put a suit on' as you'll all recall...

on the forgiveness scale:

Iraq War >>>>>> Patriot Act

i owed my prior job to the Patriot Act ... just sayin'

aero did you live in this country in 2001?

yeah I did. there were millions of people writing their elected representatives to urge opposition to USA Patriot. the notion that nobody could have voted against it and survived politically is total bullshit of the make-excuses-for-asshole-voting-records variety. that shit was a stake through the heart of democracy and "but the political climate!" is the best you can muster? please.

ok, here's another question, can you tell the difference between explaining behavior and excusing it? why the patriot act sailed through congress in october of 2001 seems as obvious a political question as there has ever been

Wellstone also voted for DOMA.

I'd like a citation on the "millions" of letters.

"they had to vote for it...otherwise they risked getting reelected!" well ok yeah with reelection on the table I can see how erasing several centuries of settled constitutional law via congressional fiat would be totally understandable

xp yeah that explains it, all right...what remains inexplicable is how one could support any politician whose values & ethics are so clearly not just flexible but completely on the block depending on how the winds of reelection are blowing

Dammit, all these Brangelina pix coming up in my GIS for "Mr. Smith".

can you tell the difference between explaining behavior and excusing it? why the patriot act sailed through congress in october of 2001 seems as obvious a political question as there has ever been

I was about to say: from the Alien and Sedition Acts to the Espionage Act to Truman's loyalty oaths, American history is replete with assaults on free speech after a good scare. I totally understand why these guys voted for it.

The Iraq war vote certainly makes less sense.

aero i don't think many of those dems were (mostly) afraid of not getting reelected, i think the lion's share of them, or the overwhelming number of their constituents, were really and genuinely afraid of being killed by arabs and wanted Someone to Do Something.

Yes. This was the time when the entire Congress recited the Pledge on the steps of the Capitol, remember?

cryingeagle.gif

radical orgs like the american booksellers association were coordinating letter-writing campaigns

over 200 individual municipalities protested it, and this is well-documented

the idea that the political climate of post-9/11 excuses, explains, or otherwise justifies support for the total undermining of basic liberties assured by the constitution is ridiculous -- if these guys were suffering post-attack shock they might have maybe used their brains and said, jeez, you don't go fucking up 200 years of settled law just because your feeling of immunity from attack took a hit? like, otherwise, we're basically saying "the difference between our elected officials and some random hysterical asshole is...our elected officials ran for office"

honestly 99% of the actions of our elected officials immediately following 9/11 made me embarassed/ashamed for our country

You overrate the intelligence of your average legislator.

lol not any more I don't!

yes i am basically saying that

and again: we know from russ feingold that it didn't take some fuckin' einstein/superman hybrid to oppose this shit. it just took the teeniest tiniest bit of spine.

I'm confused by your reverence for Feingold above all others.

Name the senators who voted against the USA PATRIOT Act.

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:25 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

Bernie Sanders voted against it as a congressman and surely would have as a Senator.

Yes. This was the time when the entire Congress recited the Pledge on the steps of the Capitol, remember?

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:50 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

god, so much crazy shit that is easy to forget.

Apparently also easy to forget just how scaredy-cat your average U.S. citizen was immediately thereafter.

Never Forget.

the GOP dudes who voted nay are a weird group

Ney
Otter
Paul

isn't bob ney in jail?

bob ney also the guy behind "freedom fries", lol i never knew that.

Ugly guy too.

He looks like his blood is made of Hunt's Ketchup.

i still remember the friday following sept 11 in l.a., everywhere i drove people were out on the streets flashing peace signs and/or holding kill osama signs or and generally Rallying for America.

in that climate it was totally easy for people to get swept up onto the "kill everyone!" train

He looks like his blood is made of Hunt's Ketchup.

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 10:02 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

probably related to the freedom fries decision.

His hair's the color of a cheese omelet.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/photos/uncategorized/bob_ney_red_nr.jpg

in that climate it was totally easy for people to get swept up onto the "kill everyone!" train

...right...one thing that theoretically sets an elected representative apart from you or me is the notion that they won't vote away our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms because of some bad shit that went down last week

so have we assigned someone on K-Lo watch tonight?

it's all you dog

aaaaaand it looks like Coats and Paul win.

welcome back to Congress, Dan Burton!

write in aqua buddha everybody

d'oh! I wrote-in Xenu for one of the races on my ballot. I wish I would've remembered Aqua Buddha.

aqua buddha is by FAR my favorite thing that's happened throughout the whole campaign.

At the very least, I am very curious how a Rand Paul - let alone someone like Angle - will fare in the public eye, as opposed to the periphery where they've been hanging. I reckon neither will be able to successfully push, let alone achieve, anything close to their agenda, yet each seems the sort whose constituency would take compromise ... let's just say personally. Wonder if they'll regret all their pro-gun posturing when the angry shouters start showing up at their own functions.

it was kinda funny in a Spicoli sorta way

tbh I'm willing to risk it with Sharron Angle. If she wins over Reid, I'm looking forward to six straight years of hilarious shenanigans, or at least for as long as party leadership will let her go before shutting her down.

one thing that theoretically sets an elected representative apart from you or me is the notion that they won't vote away our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms because of some bad shit that went down last week

okay you are smarter than this

total aside: I voted for a Green Party candidate for state treasurer!

hilarious like michelle bachmann who.. well actually has quite a following. there really seems to be not much limit on how crazy you can be in the GOP these days. as long as you don't go full paladino

Bachmann is in the house. Angle will be in the senate, and the senate don't play.

okay you are smarter than this

lol ppl are always sayin' this kinda thing to me but the fact that I'm articulate, talented, forceful, & incredibly attractive doesn't mean I actually have the smarts to back any of that shit up

ha i dunno, it's like the housing market: no way is this the turn from the 'bottom' for the GOP. '10 midterms are gonna be wild as fuck

― goole, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 1:10 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

yay me

like I'm living proof that being able to neatly & accurately define "nuance" doesn't necessarily mean you're capable of grasping nuance

re: angle the thing is, does she have any serious agenda other than to act crazy. she did nothing in the legislature in nevada iirc. national GOP doesn't seem to have had much luck reigning in the crazy this year.

to briefly reprise the subject of americans not knowing their geography:

only today as i passed through the town of harper's ferry did i realize that john brown did not lead that slave revolt on an actual boat.

haha that's wonderful

in the midst of tea party madness, feels pretty good to be able to vote for a muslim and know he's gonna win

nb re Paladino: i think that he'd be TOTALLY electable in some non-Northeast Corridor (aka "elitist liberal") state.

Angle has us all in suspense. She's been the "I'll only give my positions once elected" candidate.

By contrast., about three in four expressed negative views about the federal government. Less than half said they wanted the government to do more to solve problems.

this is emblematic of where the real failure is - people have this deeply ingrained illusion that the federal government is the source of all their woes, that government cannot (and SHOULD not) even attempt to solve problems. everything will just work itself out! nice corporations will take care of us all! it's just the stupidest, saddest worldview imaginable.

it'll have to be reality-tested i'm afraid

this is a generation since 'government is the problem' became conventional wisdom. it's freaky to consider we're seeing the continued rippling effect of ronnie.

reading Supreme Power right now (thx Alfred!) and struck by the contrast that FDR continually made the argument - which much of the public readily and heartily endorsed - that the federal gov't was all that stood between the "common man" and total oppression/exploitation at the hands of moneyed interests. Like, this was a narrative that was just taken for granted, and the real pushback came from people who feared the fed over-extending its power. This is now completely reversed, no one understands (or even thinks it's possible) that the federal government can solve anything.

like, no one thinks the federal gov't protects the common man at all, and those that think it can and should are afraid that it doesn't even have the capacity to effectively do so.

tbf, very few candidates/elected officials offer any evidence to the contrary. xp

national GOP doesn't seem to have had much luck reigning in the crazy this year.

From a party that has Michael WHAT UP? Steele as its chairman, I'm assuming that they're not even remotely interested in doing so.

Well, FDR's immediate forebears were the last to think gov't can solve everything. I'm more interested in government mediating.

People need to stop thinking there's a difference between the "national GOP" and the Tea Party.

Other than a difference in tone, name one issue on which the "national GOP" and Tea Party have split and has surprised you. The "national GOP" has endorsed insane drivel for years!

Tea Party, the GOP equivalent of a WWF "rebellion"

Tomorrow is going to be awesome.

Here's a piece for some of you. It's like every Obama apologist, and every bit of Democratic complacency/piety/naivete/stupidity that gets ridiculed around here, rolled into one depressing and mind-numblingly squishy fan letter:

I Still Love Obama. Love. Love. Love.

I like it and more or less agree with it.

(Beats a hasty retreat.)

We posted this earlier, and, yes, we would have ripped you a new asshole.

It'd be awesome if a few dudes in Congress actually went all Ultimate Warrior on us. Like, replete with face paint and stuff.

Glad I could help!

speaking of exit polls Andrew Sullivan posts some data that's as bewildering as the stuff I read in 2008.

Tea Party, the GOP equivalent of a WWF "rebellion"

hahah yeah, mostly. but it is the case that had GOP nominated whoever that other nevada candidate was, and castle in delaware, they'd be winning those races going away prob

the new Congress is going to be way better than WWF. And more fake.

chris wallace has a writeboard and says the GOP could pick up 60 in the house

hi, Don!

538 is saying 55-56 at the moment - on the back of bigger House wins in Indiana than expected…

theoretically this should be a heavy drinking night, if i didn't have so much work

I'm on my third glass of wine and will switch to shoe polish if necessary.

and I don't even have cable.

none of this is terribly surprising considering how incompetent virtually the entire democratic party has acted if not been (i was about to say over the past couple of years but i'll just strikethrough myself here...)

the republican party has to be admired for generally being utterly fearless politically (if the opposite of fearless w/r/t "sky is falling" claptrap)

tonight is a vote against whomever's in power. It's going to keep happening every two years as long as the economy is shitty.

hi Al! and Daria! and everyone!

It's going to keep happening every two years as long as the economy is shitty.

I'm not sure about that - odds are that Dem losses now = Obama re-election in '12

but yeah I agree with yr first statement, that's obviously a no-brainer

debating whether i should have a drink or not. but it's like, everyone knows it's going to be bad. i'm sort of eh about the whole thing.

sup Don

I predict my entire city is going to smell like skunk-weed tomorrow morning

people are not bonering up for conservatism today any more than they bonered up for liberalism two years ago. Independents just keep voting against incumbents. And if unemployment is this close to 10% in 2012, Obama will be booted. He's simply not that good of a pol and he never has been.

nights like this make me long for gabbneb

hey don!

tbqf it's not like the last two years have been some magical strawberry fields dream that some nasty villains are going to pop the bubble on so i'm just like w/e

nights like this make me long for gabbneb

wait what?

no matter how bad it gets let's not start longing for nebster

And if unemployment is this close to 10% in 2012, Obama will be booted. He's simply not that good of a pol and he never has been.

I think you are seriously overestimating the Republican candidate field here, sorry

but I also don't think the 10% unemployment will last quite that long.

(I could be wrong about that)

i can't figure out how a candidate who could actually beat obama makes it through the GOP primaries.

i think you may be wrong there, shakey.

still: i hold that 10% unemployment or no, there won't be a President Palin -- or a Palin-esque President.

People, concentrate.

ummm you are right. I forgot who every Rep prez candidate was since Reagan. Fucking dismal.

If we are anywhere near 8% unemployment in two years, it will be nothing short of amazing (go look at the numbers and see how many jobs would have to be added every month to get 2% more employment. It's scary.)

I long for gabbneb just to tease him.

i'd LIKE for this election to be a referendum on gabbnebism -- i.e., a rejection of his strident and smug advocacy of a party devoted to Rockefeller Republicanism -- but i think that don's assessment is the correct one.

Why I Hate Ohio -- current results from one of our judge races:

Michael Astrab (R) 78,778
Bridget McCafferty (D) 57,707

The Democrat, Bridget McCafferty, is currently under Federal indictment on corruption and bribery charges as part of a years-long operation which has also resulted in one of the county commissioners and other public officials being indicted. But she's got 57,000 votes.

she's also one of 30 judges with an Irish surname running in c.county

LOL true. cf Eileen Gallagher and Eileen T. Gallagher. Separate races, separate women!

msnbc has decided the theme of the night is 'gop purges moderates'

I'm on my third glass of wine and will switch to shoe polish if necessary.

you need to apply for positions @ duke & unc & nc state if necessary

my cabinet is always full

I haven't wanted to touch the hard stuff yet.

dave weigel's coverage of this campaign season is my other favorite thing

BREAKING: You lose U.S. Senate race in Delaware.

Rubio wins in Florida -- no surprise. He won't be in the Senate long.

christine o'd to 'dancing with the stars' imo

I haven't wanted to touch the hard stuff yet.

my cabinet has a 16-bottle wine rack in it

just lettin' you know mr. FL

You could always come here again. We offer suntans and a terrific School of Music at FIU.

idk how msnbc fits that many egos in the room

Just hoping that when Durham County comes in, it'll put Price over the edge (it's looking very tight at the moment!)

Rubio wins in Florida -- no surprise. He won't be in the Senate long.

why do you say that?

you think, like i do, that he's going to be on all the GOP shortlists for VP in 2012 -- or even a possible nominee v. obama?

Yes.

You said so yourself earlier today.

Christie/Rubio 2012

yep yep

I'll go out on a limb: it's Rubio vs Obama in 2012. You read it here first.

Christie/Rubio 2012

Krispy Kreme Christie?

if so, Krispy Kreme is 10 lbs of Rudy Giuliani in a 5 lb douchebag. unelectable outside of the Northeast.

2012: Christie Goes Large

I'll go out on a limb: it's Rubio vs Obama in 2012. You read it here first.

i said it earlier today! sort of. anyway, cosign.

he's going to start running for president ASAP

Beat out Palin in a tea party poll on 2012. He had just killed the ARC project, though.

xpost

could be big trouble for obama, tho my impression is that rubio is sort of an empty suit. but he's a well-spoken, young, good-looking empty suit with lots of empty rhetoric.

sounds familiar doesn't it

I'll go out on a limb: it's Rubio vs Obama in 2012.

*biggest shrug ever*

haha, yes it does sound familiar. pres. rubio. ugh.

Still two years out. In 2006, the projected showdown was between Giuliani and Hillary Clinton.

"cambio you can believe in"
About 135 results (0.36 seconds)

(some of you want to be pundits just as much as gabbriddanceneb did)

two empty suits is 2000 all over again. Maybe we'll get an actual coup with tanks! [/excited]

People need to stop thinking there's a difference between the "national GOP" and the Tea Party.

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 7:30 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark

Been saying this for a year now. Reading "The Tea Party and the GOP: Change You Already Believed In". It's pretty good

What effect has the tea party had on this agenda, considering that Republicans have been supporting it anyway? The Tea Party provided pressure and cover for Republicans to support this – and to oppose Obama initiatives, even when the president was very popular. It also laundered (I’m using that word neutrally) the arguments that libertarian and conservative think tanks and media were making for the Republican agenda and against the Democratic agenda. You can see one example of how this works in Kate Zernike’s new book on the tea party movement, “Boiling Mad.” At one point Zernike notes that Tea Partyers refer to cap-and-trade as “cap-and-tax.” That’s true, but they use that term because organizations like Americans for Prosperity and guests on Fox News use it. With the rise of the Tea Party movement, messaging like this took on credibility, because regular Americans were using it and repeating it back to reporters.

http://daveweigel.com/?p=2412

could be big trouble for obama, tho my impression is that rubio is sort of an empty suit. but he's a well-spoken, young, good-looking empty suit with lots of empty rhetoric.

― Daniel, Esq., Wednesday, November 3, 2010 12:26 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

sounds familiar doesn't it

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, November 3, 2010 12:26 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lollll

OH, i see what you did there.

(some of you want to be pundits just as much as gabbriddanceneb did)

two empty suits is 2000 all over again. Maybe we'll get an actual coup with tanks! [/excited]

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius),

If I cut and paste your Giuliani-HRC predictions from '06, are you gonna shut the fuck up?

i believe this is the second time (and on the second network) that's mentioned griping among dems re: evan bayh, not only walking away, but walking away with $10 million in the bank that could've helped a LOT in key races this time around

If I cut and paste your Bam-HRC ticket, Morbs, are you gonna shut the fuck up?

rachel maddow has no clue about west virginia politics, zero

evan bayh, hate that guy.

good lyric

everyone hates evan bayh, is what it seems like. well, joe scarbs probably likes him, that's it though.

boring, Alfred

g'night

gabbriddanceneb!

If I cut and paste your Giuliani-HRC predictions from '06, are you gonna shut the fuck up?

It's a full life, isn't it?

lawrence o'donnell is def the most entertaining guy on tv right now. making big ed look foolish (not that it's difficult)

It's a full life, isn't it?

And a long memory.

morbs and alfred, I think of you guys as on "my" side, so plz don't bicker, save yr ire for, you know, people who deserve it

IOW

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E_Lru7ammuk/Shg-DBMxuXI/AAAAAAAAAbY/ynI8uiAkA7w/s400/sinead_l.jpg

That's really a beautiful computer image file. I like the glow on the top of Sinead's right hang!

sinead definitely deserves it.

He should know better than to accuse me of gabbnebism, especially when he made the same facile, just-thinkin'-aloud predictions as a NYC native about Giuliani and HRC a few years ago.

evan bayh is indianian for Lieberdouche. speaking of whom, maybe that fuckhead will finally jump across the aisle.

hey so what're the predictions on how soon leading congressional & senatorial dems take the results of this election as a clear message that they have to kiss more gop ass, drift further to the right, and make more concessions than they already have?

As soon as Morbs returns to pick on you.

goodriverdanceneb

Dropping by local Republican celebration for journalistic purposes. They got Fox News on the big screens, everybody is stoked. Terrible wedding-type band is doing all Reagan-era: I love rock'n'roll, you shook me all night long, crazy train(!), summer of '69.

It's morning in America

It's mourning in America.

all i'm gonna say is that (a) incumbent parties generally lose midterm elections; (b) the political party in power during economically shitty times is gonna feel the brunt of the electorate's ass; and (c) the GOP got more of theres than the Dems got theres to the polls.

all else is flatulence.

We know. Too bad Obama and his acolytes never explained why they were an alternative.

We don't "do" revolutions in America, so the electorate would rather cede control to McDonnell-Boehner than try something new.

*McConnell

eisbaer is right. idk, a lot of folks seem to have bought into this idea that the gov't is just spending too much money & divided government that stops anything from happening is.. uh, somehow going to fix the economy

ugh rand paul

rand gonna be a treat.

keeps repeating 'respect', take THAT mr aqua buddha

rand paul seems like a total smug know-it-all dickhead, ugh

haha this guy. i can't wait tbh.

team aqua buddha

Rand Paul 2010: UGH

yeah he is a fucking useless prick

i mean we all hate his dad but he's like the braindead neocon version of ron, who to his credit is not completely clueless on at least a few issues

the dubya to his dad's hw

special texas crazy vs special deep south smugness.. i think the second one is worse. ugh, rand paul

yeah that seems fair xp

hey at least he said america wasn't "inherently" great. a slight tip to libertarians...

never trust a libertarian

ohh girl i don't!!

adios alan grayson

yeah, i'll take Papa Paul's bolo-tie-wearing nuttiness over Rand Paul's fratboy-cum-Spicoli douchebaggery anyday.

RIP Feingold. That one hurts.

well, o'malley and senator barb won. go go people's republic of maryland <3

wait, who called feingold? i haven't seen that

Daniel and Alfred, at least it looks like 5 & 6 will have passed by night's end. Small victories.

what a gross WAVE. republicans are so lame.

http://uncajoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/boehner-oompa-loompa.jpg

Daniel and Alfred, at least it looks like 5 & 6 will have passed by night's end

Amendments?

al where are you getting the feingold call from?

My bad -- only a few precincts reporting.

polls seemed pretty clear cut w/r/t feingold

http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/wisconsin

something to keep track of -- there was a campaign to bounce all the iowa supreme court justices who voted for gay marriage

http://www.iowaelectionresults.gov/

at least we don't have to worry about oklahoma being overtaken by sharia law

yeah (rand) is a fucking useless prick

i mean we all hate his dad

*cough*

Dad opposed the Iraq invasion, unlike many of the pricks y'all voted for today.

Amendments?

― sandra lee, gimme your alcohol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:22 PM

Yeah, the senate/house district-drawing amendments. Less gerrymandering = more competitive districts statewide (hopefully).

i figured those would pass. the last amendment was so tea-party loaded it was laughable. i wonder if it will pass.

tho i think there were polls suggesting every amendment would be defeated this time?

considering unemployment figures and fucking citizens united if tonight only equals 94 in the house and the republicans can't even take the senate than color me ridiculously relieved. if the economy's on surer footing and unemployment's down to 5-6-maybe 7% obama wins reelection (where the makeup of the supreme court could seriously come into play), and the dems take back the house. the gop went all in this cycle and wrote off the hispanic vote (which they have been coveting as their 'black vote' for as long as i remember, literally was at least 25% of rove's long term thinking), there is no growth market they have not been losing to dems and the only potential growth to their base in the white female vote. still no idea how exactly citizens united is gonna keep playing out or the next two years, god only know what the next two years look like - govt shutdown pretty much a certainty, impeachment proceedings hinted at (btw a 90s theme bar just opened up in town - not sure if i should hang myself or bill myself dj oj and try to book a night spinning archers of loaf records)(same difference etc) - but i swear every time these fuckers hit a peak they manage to find a way to fuck it up grandly (referring here to republicans) and if it happens again now and that peak is just something resembling what they had in 01 after jeffords flipped but minus the white house than i can live with that, for two years at least. the next two years will be uglier and the gop will do insane stupid shit that will plz their base but turn independants back to the dems, if the economy improves. i would love it if say dems in congress showed as much insane principle, venom, and discipline as the gop has these past two years and would love it if the grass roots left showed as much passion, organization, and drive as the grass roots right has these past two years but i'm not counting on it either. i am counting on the gop thinking that a tilt in their favor today equals a permanent conservative majority in america from now to kingdom come and fucking themselves (and the country for sure) over as a result. worked last time.

from what i've seen of returns, feingold race is surprisingly close given what the polling showed beforehand.

at "7% reporting" - http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/wisconsin

i swear every time these fuckers hit a peak they manage to find a way to fuck it up grandly (referring here to republicans democrats)

*cough*

Dad opposed the Iraq invasion, unlike many of the pricks y'all voted for today.

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:33 PM (4 minutes ago)

yeah man i know i thought i made that clear. i'm with you on this

i don't know what to say except, it's seemed to me that.. obama is the kind of leader he said he'd be, only a lot of people who voted for him weren't listening to what he was really saying?

itt morbs turning on his brothers in arms

Voted for my war-loving Claude Pepper-replacing incumbent who's one of only two members of the GOP gay caucus. Local politics!

daria the numbers i'm seeing aren't so great

oh, i KNOW that the Teabaggers will fuck up their good fortune. i just wish that their upcoming crackup would be private, and not threaten to fuck up the USA (and the world) in these very precarious times.

also daria OTM re Obama -- though i DID kinda hope that he'd rise to the occasion post-Lehman Bros and channel a hitherto-undetected inner FDR/LBJ.

fucking epic balls post, much love from up north

dad and son oppose civil rights act also. unlike any of the pricks i voted for today. in georgia.

i'm too depressed to look -- is the GOP going to retake the house and the senate?

no

Dad opposed the Iraq invasion, unlike many of the pricks y'all voted for today.

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, November 2, 2010 9:33 PM (4 minutes ago)

yeah man i know i thought i made that clear. i'm with you on this

― wakafledia (k3vin k.), Wednesday, November 3, 2010 1:42 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

plenty of fucking morons opposed the war for bad reasons, yall on some pat buchanan shit

there is no way the gop takes the senate, dan

Economies improve -- they usually do -- but to what end? Unemployment dropped to 5%, allowing Reagan to coast to a landslide in '84, but farming and manufacturing jobs were decimated. Plus, the Dems who crushed Reagan's working majority in the House weren't as liberal as this new wave of GOP congressman are conservative. I'm not too optimistic cuz I'm not Chuck Todd.

and contrary to what Morbs thinks, I don't give a damn about "optics."

the Pauls just don't like guvmint at ALL. to oppose the Iraq War when you have that kind of mindset isn't real courage AFAIC.

illuminating, thanks

dad is further to the right than reagan in 64 re: medicare, had david duke write for his newsletter, considers gays a bigger threat to america than terrorists (cuz of aids!). but he opposed the iraq invasion so it all evens out.

that's exactly what morbs said, yeah

hah, shep just asked palin about avoiding other media besides fox news, due to her role as a contributor on fox news. she proceeds to go on about blablablabla other media is corrupt and doesn't report the facts etc.

obama is the kind of leader he said he'd be

even worse.

didn't you say "g'night" like an hour ago

hep just asked palin about avoiding other media besides fox news, due to her role as a contributor on fox news. she proceeds to go on about blablablabla other media is corrupt and doesn't report the facts etc

I wish she really talked like this.

Ron Paul is definitely my favorite white supremacist newsletter editor.

eh.

the empire continues to decline ungracefully. it's what empires tend to do, really. if we can throw in an '08 election every once in a while to keep the rest of the world guessing, we'll be better off than your average decadent state.

her way of speaking is amazing, it's like.. i know she used to work on tv news, did they hand her the job of killing lots of airtime when nothing was really happening?

^^ what she does now really

my fave white supremacist newsletter editor is whatever lunatic leaves these weird xeroxed and stapled screeds in the magazine racks at the local borders cuz i have to say, he may be on to something about the pope.

tony alamo!

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.

she's still the most-est.

splost passes in athens ga

i know she used to work on tv news, did they hand her the job of killing lots of airtime

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BX2aSG8RqEU/SMCmBlM9LpI/AAAAAAAABB8/McDTC7TGMok/s400/LOTS+OF+DOGS.jpg

which reminds me there was one post on my ballot, oconee river commissioner or something who knows, that had zero candidates, only a write in spot. how does this happen? who the hell wins this? i wrote myself in and told my coworkers to do the same (thinking maybe i'll get a free boat or something), but even then how do they know it's me? there's like 5 'james blount's in the athens area alone. i'm used to 90% of the races on my ballot having one (republican) candidate but zero candidates. i was staring at that touchscreen for like five minutes. also while we're talking election results i just wanna say 'once in lifetime' over 'surrender' is some bullshit.

chris matthews just asked michelle bachmann if she was hypnotized, because she gives the same answer no matter what question he asks. meanwhile gene robinson/olbermann/others laugh audibly in the background

bachmann asks matthews if he isn't feeling that tingle up his leg. fellow pundits continue laughing in the background & now matthews is all defensive like WAHT I WAS EXCITED

If I was questioned by Matthews-Olbermann-Robinson, I might sound lobotomized too.

Haven't watched TV yet btw. Internets!

tancredo loses big in colorado

phew! hickenlooper winner. wonder if this bodes well for bennet chances to hold the seat..

bright spot here in NC

does the GOP lose its major party status in CO?

? i'm seeing only 1/10 of the vote in CO-GOV, think you're calling it too early

any tv i watch i stream online and often it's a tampa station (not moving to tampa anytime soon btw) and from watching those ads for weeks now it blows my mind that scott could win that race.

"of tea party supports, 87% went for republicans"

supporters

msnbc called it, i wasn't paying attention closely to CO-gov otherwise

lol oklahoma:

OK » Question » 751 - English Official Language: Yes -- 76.19%; No -- 23.81%

OK » Question » 755 - Ban Intl or Islamic Law: Yes -- 70.25%; No -- 29.75%

OK » Question » 756 - Health Care: Yes -- 65.21%; No -- 34.79%

OK » Question » 746 - Voter ID: Yes -- 73.74%; No -- 26.26%

hope the sooners lose every game.

I really do wonder about the 13%

I should have run over Rob Steele with my car when I had the chance two weeks ago.

also, gov. scott in florida?

MORNING IN AMERICA.

sestak looking good - too bad we couldn't have had arlen specter tho lol

oklahoma -> worst state in the nation?

OK » Question » 756 - Health Care: Yes -- 65.21%; No -- 34.79%

What is the question? "Do you want some health care? Or is a moist towelette ok?"

This measure adds a new section of law to the State Constitution. It adds Section 37 to Article 2. It defines “health care system.” It prohibits making a person participate in a health care system. It prohibits making an employer participate in a health care system. It prohibits making a health care provider provide treatment in a health care system. It allows persons and employees to pay for treatment directly. It allows a health care provider to accept payment for treatment directly. It allows the purchase of health care insurance in private health care systems. It allows the sale of health insurance in private health care systems.

oklahoma was the only place where obama did worse than kerry iirc?

health care question is allows individuals to opt out of obamacare, like nullification but on an individual level.

I really do wonder about the 13%

― iatee, Wednesday, November 3, 2010 2:23 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

Surely a number of independents and write-in candidates scattered about, right?

Feingold wouldn't let the Democratic Senatorial Campaign group run attack ads for him, and he rejected most ads proposed to help him, funded by organizations from outside Wisconsin. His opponent Johnson said outside ads were free speech. So there were alot more tv ads for Johnson than Feingold. Feingold stuck with his principles but that doesn't appear to be enough to get him back in the Senate.

Our likely governor-elect Rick Scott defrauded Medicare and Medicaid of more than a billion dollars in the late nineties. Change you can believe in!

lol Oklahoma

i cant do anything but laugh at the sharia initiative because, i mean, jesus

Surely a number of independents and write-in candidates scattered about, right?

the graphic on the screen had 11% tea party supporters who voted for dems

seriously! all the tampa local tv and ads make it very clear everybody there is 80 fucking years old and then some creepy looking fucker w/ MEDICARE FRAUD on his sheet can win? HOW???? sink had good ads!

here's my favorite oklahoma ballot question:

This measure amends the State Constitution. It changes a section that deals with the courts of this state. It would amend Article 7, Section 1. It makes courts rely on federal and state law when deciding cases. It forbids courts from considering or using international law. It forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law.

International law is also known as the law of nations. It deals with the conduct of international organizations and independent nations, such as countries, states and tribes. It deals with their relationship with each other. It also deals with some of their relationships with persons.

The law of nations is formed by the general assent of civilized nations. Sources of international law also include international agreements, as well as treaties.

Sharia Law is Islamic law. It is based on two principal sources, the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed.

oklahoma has the courage to prevent sharia law from f--g up america. or at least oklahoma.

oklahoma, fuck yeah! comin in to save the..

when you consider what kinds of losers, morons, and assholes end up in the us congress can you imagine what the fuck is in the ok statehouse?

ABC News just announced Feingold a loser.

sad. it's a huge wave.

DAVID VITTER? SINK LOUISIANA

fuck

sad but not unsurprising.

re Feingold that is.

Daniel, are you surprised?

that slut nikki haley wins in sc

Chuck Fucking Todd of all people just said: "Despite all the gains the GOP has made tonight, it's nowhere near what Pelosi and the Democrats could claim after 2008."

no, i'm not surprised.

just sad about it.

It prohibits making a health care provider provide treatment in a health care system.

Ppl who vote for this should just kill themselves for the better of the rest of mankind.

I dunno, I was focused on fears that the Republicans will do much better than this. Now they'll have a small majority in the House, Dems will have a small majority in the Senate, GOP will do everything it can to block job recovery through 2012 and may succeed (but might have succeeded even in the minority.) Basically the story is "places that are full of Republicans and are currently represented by Democrats thanks to unusually horrible Republican governance vote for Republicans."

xp i basically agree with Chuck Fucking Todd said above

WHY IS RICK SANTORUM ON TV EVEN FOX

More good news. A poster on Sully's blog:

Are you paying attention to this? Early doors, but it looks like Iowa is voting to retain its Supreme Court justices and is rejecting calls to form a new constitutional convention. These are campaigns orchestrated by people who want to reverse the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling that made gay marriage legal in the state. We had millions of dollars from outside the state flood in to convince us that our liberties were being taken away. Iowans saw through it.

oh god can i just say. I CAN'T STAND ARIANNA HUFFINGTON. what does she know about anything?

nothing, she is terrible

it's fun to pretend that she's a bond villain

Not sure how long I'll stay up to see if MN puts a +1 on the Dems' side of the Gov. balance of power (whatever that's worth).

huffington is awful! what the hell does she know about uh, basically most of america? now that "the heartland is the real america" thing is BS and i don't believe in it, but i just don't have the impression she interacts with anybody other than fellow pundits and rich people & isn't too interested everyone else. that's her right but not helpful if your vocation is politics.

we had a taser ban here that's getting roundly defeated

though it was close, i can still say that my (ex-)Congressman is a nuclear physicist.

OTOH, NJ's anti-health care reform Blue Dog just lost to an ex-Eagle.

Thinking Giannoulias and Sestak are both going down. Too bad, since they're both making it very close, but these were races that were supposed to be in the bag for the GOP.

we had a taser ban here that's getting roundly defeated

Don't take away our funny handout video of Taser arrests!

i want to see if reid pulls it out. sorta know someone who works for him and ;_; if she'll be out of a job. not to mention the fact that a ton of dems on the hill are about to be out of a job. it sucks. i know there's plenty of griping about career politicians and all, but.. man, it would be nice if angry voters just voted out the people who weren't interested in governing the country effectively. and those weren't the people who got voted out.

yay rush holt

at least tom tancredo lost

"We all either work for rich people, or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone." --Rand Paul

wait, will rick scott maybe lose?

rand. rand. rand. paying taxes =/ punishment.

Local news is basically frozen while covering the Scott/Sink race.

chuck todd is having a terrible night

ugh

it's hilarious how msnbc is discussing losses by some of the old guard dems in the house, now, and most of their audience is prob like "who the hell???" because there's been all that airtime spent on palin/bachmann/o'donnell/etc, much more important.

I did learn from Todd that a Dingell has been in Congress since FDR was in the White House.

and this Dingell since Ike!

Ron Wyden (D) wins Senate race in Oregon w/more than a 2-1 margin.

man... Feingold...

I am sad

chuck todd calling john dingell the most famous name in the democratic caucus was hilariously o_O to me & def supports daria's point

Apparently Marco Rubio's victory party boasts 300 reporters from six continents.

(that Wyden result is a local CBS projection, polls just closed)

paladinooooooo

i feel like the nation should start recording "it gets better" videos for carl paladino's children

^ best lol of the night

wait what did he do

what's the deal with rubio? right-wing catholic? ugh

so embarrassed by carl paladino you guys

who got led out of the paladino concession speech by security?

what's the deal with rubio? right-wing catholic? ugh

Whey-faced Cuban-American with a talent for being tight-lipped.

dear paladino, this was a big time republican wave election year. just think of what might have been if you hadn't behaved like a complete asshole.

who got led out of the paladino concession speech by security?

― max, Tuesday, November 2, 2010 10:23 PM (13 seconds ago) Bookmark

the black guy

barbara boxer & jerry brown projected to win

freakiest part of the rubio speech - "i will always be a child of exiles." like, i know you guys killed jfk already, give it a rest

gonna really miss Russ Feingold.

freakiest part of the rubio speech - "i will always be a child of exiles." like, i know you guys killed jfk already, give it a rest

Tommy Lee Jones gif ftw

Feingold refusing to concede yet fwiw

atta boy