GET OUT: US politics November 2020

My finger is sore

Does getting fired from the trump whitehouse look good on a CV or are you better off without any contact at all

you guys know you don't actually need to wait for CNN or whatever to validate, you can party whenever you want

So weird that it's up to news networks(?) tbh

is there a chance biden declares victory tonight if networks continue to be shook?

tbh "calling the election" is sort of an epistemic quandary, why bother until the secretaries of state all certify the results? or the electors vote?

the larger issue here is that if the narrative is "count all the votes," you actually have to do it before you announce a winner. let it happen.

at what point does the math become inevitable?

Short answer: when the officially designated electors register their votes in early December.

Long answer: the networks are in a tight place compared to previous elections where it was accepted that when the outcome was apparent to experts, it was all but settled. A huge fraction of the population not only distrusts experts more than ever before, but they have been primed by the fucking President of the United States for months to expect massive fraud, which same president has zero intention to acknowledge any outcome where he lost.

To the degree the media try to anticipate a loss for Trump before every avenue is closed to him, they will risk losing credibility with tens of millions of their audience. The outcome will be the same, no matter if they 'call' it or not, so why should they risk anything by doing it one moment prematurely?

please lord, give me a 46th president for my 46th birthday

― sarahell, Friday, November 6, 2020 1:53 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

my wife turned 46 on Tuesday. It sucked!

Trumps setting up for a strong 'stabbed-in-the-back' myth.

― Bidh boladh a' mhairbh de 'n láimh fhalaimh (dowd)

speaking of stabbing ...

― sarahell

Which brings us back to that Politico piece on parallels between Trump and Julius Caesar (apart from hair loss)

BTW happier birthday to yooooo

the larger issue here is that if the narrative is "count all the votes," you actually have to do it before you announce a winner. let it happen.

― Fuck the NRA (ulysses)

OK this is fair, if frustrating

Yeah, the out there is pretty simple -- if a lead reaches a point where stated remaining votes won't catch up, then you can call and say "Yup, done." Provisional ballots can complicate things but even so.

This would not happen if the votes swung the other way, it's pure cowardice.

"he'd steal the election if he got the chance"

― devvvine, Friday, November 6, 2020 11:02 AM (thirteen minutes ago)

hahahah nice! (in re Conversation pic)

okay but Ned ... can you ... just ...

I called it the other day, I've been serene since.

NBC has said that they're not calling it until Biden surpasses the margin in Pennsylvania that would trigger an automatic recount. That margin is 0.5%, or about 35,000 votes. He's currently ahead 13,000, with 120,000 still left to count.

Other organizations may be taking the same approach.

Once Pennsylvania is called, then that's the ballgame. No need to wait on any other state.

I wonder if the Trump legal team have begun requesting payment in advance.

that makes sense. xp

I mean, I'd argue it's kinda fucked up that our media is afraid to report the news because it might piss someone off.

If it weren't for the malignant lump in the White House, networks being more cautious about declaring election victories would be a welcome development in general.

It is a day ending in "y," after all...

Trump described as angry, frustrated and watching TV nonstop with no appearances currently expected, @kaitlancollins reports.

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) November 6, 2020

he is a real american

unfortunate truth bomb

the Trump legal team have begun requesting payment in advance.

Seeing how the NV Attorney General today characterized the brief filed by Trump's team as "garbage" and Trump has a longstanding habit of stiffing his contractors, claiming their work was substandard and didn't deserve compensation, this would be a sensible position for the Trump legal team to take.

Related to that, I've seen people griping that he's probably gonna keep holding rallies once Biden takes over. But honestly, who's gonna be willing to rent him an arena, knowing full well they're gonna get stiffed on the bill?

Also there's no driving anticipation anymore. Election Day happened. The end.

just the saddest traveling circus

The 'rona isn't going away any time soon, plenty more die-hards to infect

This whole thing is becoming a tragedy (in the dramatic sense), and I'm loving it. If Trump was a drinker, I'd give him 18 months.

Secret Honor II: just a lot of pantsless yelling.

there is a bomb threat and an evacuation in downtown philly by the convention center (I've been informed from a contact at WHYY)

_Secret Honor II_: just a lot of pantsless yelling.

https://billypenn.com/2020/11/06/qanon-believer-in-alleged-philly-convention-center-threat-linked-to-far-right-va-senator/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

https://miro.medium.com/max/313/1*On-wWXyJ5trWbP7y03C4Mw.jpeg

Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines
No one is there
But where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns
Quick, send in the clowns

Am gratified that it looks like Carter will outlive Trump's presidency.

Was just thinking about that when someone upthread posted the 'all the living presidents except for Bush 1 who is no longer living and also Trump who is just some turd' photo upthread.

The handful of @PhillyInquirer reporters at our 8th & Market newsroom are evacuating right now bc of a BOMB THREAT impacting the the Fashion District, formerly known as the Gallery. The shopping complex is very close to the Philly convention center where votes are being counted.

— Jessica Calefati (@Calefati) November 6, 2020

yeah pretty amazing how he'll refuse to do any of the shit ex-Presidents tend to do, including campaigning for whoever gets the GOP nod in 2024, especially if it's Don Jr.

Maybe this has been asked already: what is the point of a Georgia recount if Georgia's EVs are redundant? Is it an ego thing?

stake in the heart, also influences the upcoming Senate runoffs

It's a legal requirement

(as I understand it)

ah right, yes that too

A Georgia recount keeps alive the narrative that Trump actually won. This narrative will eventually fail to deliver a victory, but it sets the table for the continuing grievance narrative of "take back our country from the traitors". Plus, it's an ego thing for Trump.

CNN said it's only done when requested in Georgia. But those explanations make sense.

I thought that beyond a certain margin the Georgia recount actually cost either Trump or the GOP cash money so wasn't likely to go ahead if so. Did it fall within the n cost recount margin then.

I saw that Georgia doesn't have automatic recounts, but a recount can be requested if the margin is under 0.5%, which it will be even if Biden wins every last vote. And the Republican secretary of state seems to think there will be one.

A full Georgia recount would also presumably have an effect on the Senate and other downticket races