US Politics November 2017

At least the pussy grabber is a hedonistic godless heathen.

Dems' tax bill message is complicated by the presence of the standard deduction doubling in the present bill. A hell of a lot of people in the median income range will read that, figure it will help them, and stop there.

imo, the dems need to drive home endlessly that they aren't against that provision, as the first thing out of their mouths. Then they can detail their opposition to the worst crap, like ending the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax. They need to emphasize how happy they'd be to double the standard deduction, but how the bill would raise the deficit by $1.5 TRILLION and of that new debt, $XXX would go straight into the pockets of the top 1%.

arguing about the nat'l deficit is not the way to go about opposing this bill.

yelling that it's benefits are all tilted toward the rich, in no uncertain terms, will. And specific provisions like repealing the state/local tax deduction will totally split votes off the GOP (at least in the House).

that moore news seems like the kind of news that could suppress republican turnout in AL, even if it doesn't change minds. my understanding is he's starting from a place not a ton more popular than joe arpaio is statewide in AZ, i.e. not very any more. his main virtue is he's a republican in alabama, which is obviously a huge advantage one, but other than that, he's about as beatable a candidate as they could have chosen.

and hopefully it (along with the VA results) will encourage some national help for doug jones, because this from yesterday is not good:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-big-wins-top-democrats-still-shying-away-from-alabama-special-election

agree on all that

stopping this tax plan should be the Dems #1 priority right now. all hell's gonna break loose in the GOP if they can't get that done.

Breitbart: Maybe Roy Moore dated kids but if he did he was romantic and read them poetry pic.twitter.com/yVYDCFc6Gp

— Will Rahn (@willrahn) November 9, 2017

voting a pedophile to seriously own the libs right now

the DNC guys are right that sending in Obama or another nat'l figure wouldn't help Jones and would probably hurt him/rile up the GOP - but what does help is money and operational/logistical support to boost turnout

Biden going was probably best-case-scenario for nat'l figure support

I don't get why you wouldn't spend money on this race: if Jones loses by a couple points, that's a headline too. Making the GOP run scared will embolden small donors into giving more dough.

But what do I know.

Finding a strategy for increasing democratic votes in the rural south is a damned tricky business, because the GOP has occupied two of the biggest and most obvious niches: racists and fundamentalists. Staking claim to economic issues doesn't seem to budge those people away from their basic tribal identities. A good sex scandal might have some legs with the evangelicals, though.

Polling from Alabama seems to be all over the place, from a tied race a month ago to Moore up by double digits to Moore up by single digits. None have shown Jones ahead so far, which of course doesn't bode well, but the goal here is obviously some last minute upset, and this is the kind of bombshell (esp if there's actually more to it) that produces that kind of thing.

What a pussy, Moore refusing to debate Jones.

At the least there should be a significant gotv effort, because if/when Moore wins, not only will that mean a full-on crazy fundamentalist is in the senate, but the GOP will crow "see, so much for the blue wave."

A good sex scandal might have some legs with the evangelicals, though.

remember who they voted for in 2016 tho

USA Today:

Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone sent out an email Thursday asking supporters to help him raise $500,000 to clear his name of any wrongdoing in the investigation of Russian interference in last year’s presidential election.

“Friend, I’m facing a $500K price tag to clear my name of the Deep State’s baseless charges!” the flamboyant Republican consultant wrote in his fundraising appeal, which asked supporters to contribute from $25 to “even $100 or more immediately.”

Stone wrote that the “legal assault” against him has already cost him more than $100,000 in legal fees.

I know it's bad to even wonder, but the fact that Moore is southern and so is the youngster might cut through the tribal lines differently for southern evangelicals than Trump's sexual assaults on northern women.

imo, the dems need to drive home endlessly that they aren't against that provision, as the first thing out of their mouths. Then they can detail their opposition to the worst crap, like ending the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax. They need to emphasize how happy they'd be to double the standard deduction, but how the bill would raise the deficit by $1.5 TRILLION and of that new debt, $XXX would go straight into the pockets of the top 1%.

Wrong. As Οὖτις said, the Democratic message needs to be 11 words long: "Under this plan, you can't deduct your state income taxes anymore."

Also, McConnell is already gently pushing Moore, saying "If the allegations are true, he must step aside."

Wrong.

Well, thank goodness at least you know what's right!

wasn't Stone the dude who openly bragged about getting access to Russian intel

xp
Also that Trump's targets were starlets and models as opposed to "innocent" teenagers.

"If the allegations are true ..." What does even mean, Mitch? The claims of several victims not enough? Considering Moore's default is beyond the pale psychopath, even by GOP standards, what else do you want? A trial?

Apparently from Moore's law school professor:

"In law school, the arguments arose from what Disraeli called "falling into a deep groove of illogic and being helpless to allow reason to pull you out." If Moore's analysis of a case was tantamount to thinking 1 + 1 = 3, and his classmates reasoned otherwise, there was no backing down by Moore. The class was willing to fight to the death against illogic that no legal mind but one in America would espouse. Moore never won one argument, and the debates got ugly and personal. The result: gone was the fulfillment a teacher hopes for in the still peace of logic and learning. I had no choice but to abandon the Socratic method of class participation in favor of the lecture mode because of one student: Roy Moore."

"if the allegations are true" is kind of a useless statement btw since there is unlikely to be physical or eyewitness evidence. do we really think these guys are going to jump ship after what we saw with trump?

no

Also, McConnell is already gently pushing Moore, saying "If the allegations are true, he must step aside."

is this some backdoor way of trying to get Strange on the ballot cuz no way does McConnell want Dougie to win

lots of GOP sens saying he should step down "if true":

JUST IN: Sen @SteveDaines , who endorsed Roy Moore: “These are very serious allegations and if true he should step down”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) November 9, 2017

etc. see thread

the fact that Moore is southern and so is the youngster might cut through the tribal lines differently for southern evangelicals

ty. I've never spent any time in the south and bow to superior knowledge.

Still no word from a number of normally chatty House Republicans who endorsed Roy Moore.

A few of them are usually pretty quick to return texts...

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) November 9, 2017

damn that's some serious "knives out" shit from sitting GOP Senators, they really hate this guy

doubt any GOPers in AL give a fuck what some other Senator thinks tho

well at least Kamala's on her game

Donate now to support Doug Jones — a candidate with integrity running for Senate in Alabama.https://t.co/857LZwCn91

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 9, 2017

So I was right forty minutes ago!

Donated. I've hated this fucking asshole for years.

Jones seems like a good guy, and Moore is literally the worst (worse than Trump, even).

is this some backdoor way of trying to get Strange on the ballot cuz no way does McConnell want Dougie to win

McConnell trying to get some Strange?

In by a backdoor?

Now you've got my attention.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mitch-mcconnell-and-chorus-of-republican-senators-call-on-roy-moore-to-step-aside-in-alabama-senate-race/2017/11/09/4e6da1d2-c57b-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/11/09/why-has-fox-news-abandoned-benghazi/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

can we just get rid of Alabama fuck that place

I am pretty sure I still have relatives I haven't met yet who live there so no

I spent some time in Birmingham once, was nice. One of the best civil rights museums I've ever visited, and elsewhere I toured a haunted abandoned steel factory.

I wish y'all would stop posting WaPo stories that many of us can't read!

no "if"

The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying. He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of.

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) November 9, 2017

it's just mind blowing that if this dude doesn't step down he still has a chance of winning after he has demonstrated to be worse than scum

why can't you read them? xxp

paywall

xpost

A growing chorus of Senate Republicans including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have called on Senate candidate Roy Moore to withdraw from a special election in Alabama in the wake of allegations that the former judge initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl nearly four decades ago.

“If these allegations are true, he must step aside,” McConnell said in a formal statement on behalf of all Republican senators.

Other Republican senators weighing in included Jeff Flake of Arizona, David Perdue of Georgia, John Thune of South Dakota, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Under Alabama state law, the ballot cannot be changed within 76 days of an election, which in this case is scheduled for Dec. 12. But a candidate can still withdraw or a state party can request a state judge or the secretary of state to disqualify a candidate from the race.

In the event of either disqualification or withdrawal, the appropriate state canvassing boards would not certify any votes cast for Moore.

“It’s understandable why you would set your deadline so far in advance,” said Derek Muller, a professor at Pepperdine Law School. “We have so much early voting. We have so much overseas voting.”

Alabama state law does allow write-in votes to be cast in general elections, as long as the names are for living people and written in without using a rubber stamp or stick-on label. Muller said Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who lost in the primary to Moore, would be an eligible write-in candidate.

The Washington Post published an extensive report Thursday describing Moore’s relationships with the then-14-year-old and three other girls he pursued when they were between the ages of 16 and 18.

None of the women sought out The Post. While reporting a story in Alabama about supporters of Moore’s Senate campaign, a Post reporter heard that Moore allegedly had sought relationships with teenage girls.

Over the ensuing three weeks, two Post reporters contacted and interviewed the four women. All were initially reluctant to speak publicly but chose to do so after multiple interviews, saying they thought it was important for people to know about their interactions with Moore. The women say they don’t know one another.

McConnell’s inner circle spent late Thursday morning discussing the repercussions and how Republicans should move forward — and grousing that if Strange, their preferred candidate in the primary, was still the nominee, they would not be answering questions about Moore’s conduct.

“If it’s true, the Republican Party doesn’t have any place for pedophiles and he should step down immediately,” said Josh Holmes, a longtime McConnell confidant and his former chief of staff. “Steve Bannon is responsible,” he added about the McConnell foil and former White House chief strategist, for enabling candidates such Moore who are out of the GOP mainstream.

That view was shared by Scott Reed, a political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who opposed Moore’s nomination. “Here we go — another Steve Bannon special,” Reed said.

just open it in an incognito window

It's a good paper, you should subscribe.