The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal - US elections 2016: the october surprises

It feels like Ari would have to come back and beat him with some kind of Zionic Force of the Establishment every time, otherwise why bother listening to Alex Jones

I mean if he can just out-wrestle one of the guys who did 9/11 why is he sitting in a fucking studio instead of getting justice with his muscles

My current theory is that Trump of course knows he's going to lose, and he also knows that, generally, everyone stops paying attention to whoever loses the presidency. This is particularly true for those who don't hold another national office--your Dukakises, Gores, and Romneys, the people who concede with something like dignity.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word. He honestly would do whatever it takes to prolong this as long as he can, the bullshit about the election being rigged is just the easiest way to do this.

Haha, shout out to Family Guy.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word.

For real, how long has Donald Trump of all people dominated this message board? He's like the greatest wrestling heel of all time

I have a hard time seeing Trump getting a lot of support from Republican leaders if he refuses to concede. I don't think that's a battle they want to fight on his behalf.

xp maybe this is all a run at an ig nobel? he's earned it!

I have a hard time seeing Trump getting a lot of support from Republican leaders if he refuses to concede. I don't think that's a battle they want to fight on his behalf.

― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Monday, October 17, 2016 12:20 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the gop will stop at nothing to delegitimize hillary clinton imo

the gop will stop at nothing to delegitimize hillary clinton imo

however, the GOP will prefer to distance itself from any of its surrogates who claim HRC is 1) a space alien or 2) a lizard person or 3) a cloven-footed minion of Satan or an actual imp from hell, while remaining careful not to impugn the possible legitimacy of such claims.

http://www.motherjones.com/files/love-nest630.gif

Amid growing uncertainty about Assange's wellbeing, reports revealed that Baywatch star Pamela Anderson had visited him over the weekend at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Anderson, who was spotted outside the Ecuadorian Embassy carrying Pret a Manger paper bags, said that Assange had jokingly claimed that she "tortured him with bringing him vegan food".

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wikileaks-says-state-party-has-cut-out-julian-assanges-internet-link-amid-death-rumours-1586705?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=%2Frss%2Fyahoous%2Fnews&yptr=yahoo

This election cycle is so f-ing strange.

at this point i feel like cutting assange's internet connection might actually improve his mental health

I could believe Hollywood celebrities would visit Assange, but Pam Anderson seems to be one way out of nowhere.

There is a certain ironic value considering part of her celebrity is tied to a leaked 'document'.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/opinion/donald-trump-the-worst-of-america.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Nice:

He has dispensed with all semblances of wanting to appear presidential and embraced what seems to be most natural to him: acting like a pig.

I also think that the past year has been far and away the best year of Donald Trump's life, he's literally been the center of attention for the entire country, and a substantial part of the globe pays attention to his every word. He honestly would do whatever it takes to prolong this as long as he can, the bullshit about the election being rigged is just the easiest way to do this.

I agree with the first sentence, but don't underestimate the psychic impact that actually losing will have on him. It's hard on anybody, to put yourself out there and be rejected at that scale, but for someone whose go-to dividing line in the world is Winners vs. Losers I think no amount of excuses will actually cushion the blow. After maybe a few days of public tantrums I will be surprised if he doesn't essentially disappear for at least a few months. But I've been surprised all year, so who knows.

Well, to invoke a not too distant public persona disaster, it's not unlike Charlie Sheen, who responded to his terrible meltdown by defiantly, even arrogantly declaring he was winning and going on a misbegotten victory tour, and then, oh yeah, admitting he was HIV positive. One man's winning is another man's losing, especially if you are swimming in money and sycophants and have already, by many/some standards, "won." If you're shallow and materialistic and superficial, then surface achievements no doubt suffice. Because who cares about behavior and morals and ethics when you've been a horrible person all along and ended up rich?

He won't disappear. He'll continue with his rallies as if he's still campaigning because, at a certain point in his campaign, it was no longer as much about trying to attain a job that he never actually wanted to do as it was about getting high on hero worship. It remains to be seen, though, how many of his followers still show up to see him when he's no longer running to be their leader and after the big winner has lost the election more decisively than any big two POTUS candidate in decades.

Although he's making a big show at the moment about rigged elections and whatnot, this most recent stretch of petulant tantrums isn't indicative of any real desire to be president but rather a completely predictable reaction to people having the audacity to vet him like they would any run-of-the-mill non-trillionaire candidate. As I've noted before, this has been the expression of a spoiled five-year-old boy's wish to become president, and the idea that he wasn't able to effortlessly glide into the position (at least until he got bored and decided he'd rather be a fireman or an astronaut) is an affront to god and all that is right in the world.

He'll continue with his rallies as if he's still campaigning

I don't know about this. As of Nov. 9th, the RNC won't help foot the bills.

Per Sheen, he should charge people to watch him rant post election, and keep that money train going until he is posing for pictures and signing autographs at the Las Vegas AVN convention.

xpost Smaller venues, perhaps, but I can't see him pulling back on the hate rallies public speaking engagements unless his followers finally turn on him for some reason. They're fickle and debased enough that I can imagine it happening if one of these promised bombshells makes him completely toxic, but OTOH there's always a market for someone who's completely unprincipled and willing to say whatever an angry crowd wants to hear.

Our only hope is that his shadiness is finally catching up with him and he winds up spending most of his post-election time in court or jail.

the idea that he'll still have followers after losing the general is frightening to me. these are people who believe every word Donald Trump says, and therefore are going to believe 100% that the election was stolen.

https://www.ft.com/content/7dc39954-940e-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582

Trump son-in-law makes approach on post-election TV start-up
Jared Kushner has contacted Aryeh Bourkoff, head of boutique firm known for media deals

google the headline if you get paywalled

that said I suspect he's going to disappear after this. Republicans will hate him for destroying their party and tossing an easily winnable election, everyone else will hate him for being an awful person in general; even his fickle supporters will dislike him for being a loser.

Morning!

Of interest:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/obama-holder-redistricting-gerrymandering-229868

I dunno, Trump supporters are engaged in Salem-esque levels of cognitive dissonance atm in defending him and expressing belief that he has any chance at all on Nov. 8. I almost feel like nothing factual about Trump (up to and including whether he even wins the election) actually matters to them. He's basically just an abstract figurehead around whom the hateful can unite.

Ha, I like the lede here, from the Daily Caller:

If you think Trump will win, or can win, or even wants to win, that’s terrific. I respect your religious beliefs. But if he doesn’t win, if he disappoints you, don’t worry. He’ll be okay. He’s got a Plan B.

The RNC won't pay so his adoring masses will just have to pony up $35 each for entry - $350 if you want to shake his hand.

At that point I think the deplorables MIGHT just start recognizing the scam.

Not if the behavior of people in the eighties re: televangelists is any indication.

Ultimately it's a question of shame and embarassment -- can someone admit to themselves and, if they've been VERY public about it, to their friends/neighbors/etc., that they've been rooked? Some can. Not all.

I think all we have re: Trump is anecdotal evidence? And what we have points to him reading and watching clips about himself, or that mention him, as his only means of getting information, since that's the only thing that holds his attention. With maybe a dash of what Bannon or Kushner tells him is worth watching.

― El Tomboto, Sunday, October 16, 2016 9:32 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think the whole "skimming the news, headlines first" thing really struck a chord when Trump said, in a debate, "The fed is doing a political" which I am guessing is half of a headline. I yelled at the television, "You have to remember the whole headline!"

The RNC won't pay so his adoring masses will just have to pony up $35 each for entry - $350 if you want to shake his hand.

$500 if you want to wash your hand right afterwards.

You gotta remember, Trump jacked up the rate of his campaign office in his own tower as soon as donations started rolling in, and yet people STILL kept giving him money. Y'know, despite his repeated claim that he's worth $10 billion. These people are idiots, plain and simple.

This is why, though Peter Thiel deserves no pity, I'm all "Dude, you just blew over a million. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

It may take a long time for the wheels to turn, but I'm taking heart lately in the fact that villainy is often self-defeating. Hope I live to see people like Trump and Thiel reenact the final scene from There Will Be Blood.

With Giuliani as the bowling ball

xxp Peter Thiel deserves no pity because he's a scumbag.

That was implied.

I feel it needs to explicitly stated, sorry.

Also, a vampire.

No one has more money invested in Trump than Robert and Rebekkah Mercer, and with them, their campaign contributions can be considered marketing investments towards a future Breitbart broadcast network (where the Mercers are funders). Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway were added to the Trump campaign at the Mercer's insistence. The Mercers themselves have libertarian views, so they're perhaps pushing more nativist Breitbart/Trump stance purely from the investment standpoint.

At that point I think the deplorables MIGHT just start recognizing the scam.

How long did it take people to realize that Sarah Palin was only interested in extracting money from them? Everyone should have known from the McCain campaign post-mortems that went around and she still skated around for what, a good 5-6 years before people in her base started calling her on her bullshit?

Wishful thinking on my part.

and the likes of Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace still get paid work.

More good news for Florida:

Calling existing rules “obscene” disenfranchisement, a federal judge in Tallahassee declared late Sunday that Florida must provide a method for voters to fix signature problems that might arise when they vote by mail in the presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s ruling was a victory for the Florida Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee, which sued the state Oct. 3 arguing Florida canvassing boards shouldn’t immediately reject a ballot if a voter’s signature doesn’t match the one on file. The state gives voters who forget to sign their mail ballots a chance to fix the problem before Election Day — but doesn’t offer voters with mismatched signatures the same opportunity.

Walker ruled the “bizarre” double-standard was unconstitutional.

“It is illogical, irrational, and patently bizarre for the State of Florida to withhold the opportunity to cure from mismatched-signature voters while providing that same opportunity to no-signature voters,” he wrote. “And in doing so, the State of Florida has categorically disenfranchised thousands of voters arguably for no reason other than they have poor handwriting or their handwriting has changed over time.”

He ordered the defendant, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, to direct election supervisors in Florida’s 67 counties to notify voters with mismatched signatures about the problem and allow them to submit a signed affidavit to their county elections office identifying themselves and attesting that they were the ones who voted. The same mechanism is already in place for voters who don’t sign their ballots.

“In our democracy, those who vote decide everything; those who count the vote decide nothing,” Walker wrote. Then he referred to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on obscenity that quipped, “I know it when I see it.”

It's Rasmussen...but that is reason enough to think in this case, since it's specifically focused on Utah, it might be fairly accurate:

http://heatst.com/politics/exclusive-evan-mcmullin-utah-poll-independent-conservative-ties-trump/?mod=sm_tw_post

750 likely voters were polled by telephone. The presidential preference question was as follows:

If the 2016 Presidential Election were held today, would you vote for Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton, Independent Conservative Evan McMullin, Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein?

Results were:

30% Trump
28% Clinton
29% McMullin
5% Johnson
1% Stein

So, dead heat. Let's see what further polls say.

If I were a Utah Democrat I'd vote for McMullin I think.