Conservatives Tom Nichols, Max Boot, David French and Jay Caruso have been having a big debate. French and Caruso aregue that conservatives must vote Republican despite the foulness of Trump. Here is French’s argument:
This piece seems to have ticked some people off.
I reject Trump. He’s not on the ballot. But a lot of good and decent pro-life Republicans are.
The Democrats? With few exceptions, they’re running away from us, demanding we join them anyway. No: https://t.co/ddRSPrrgaS
Nichols argues that a party must pay a price when it sinks to the level of supporting a Trump, and that only a catastrophic defeat can bring renewal and cleansing to the Republican Party.
This midterm is not about policies. It would be pretty to think so, but it's not. This is about voting down the line against Republicans who have abdicated their constitutional duty. It's about saving our system by voting for divided government.https://t.co/wp3EzB26JN
I could never vote for a Democrat. However, staying home is another way of sending a message to Republicans that there is a price to be paid for nominating and supporting someone so foul, dishonest and ignorant as Trump. It will not take many of us staying home to make a big difference.
I always associated staying at home:
A lack of energy.
A lack of conviction.
A lack of concern.
I said a dozen times before. I didn’t vote FOR Trump. I voted AGAINST Hillary. The only choice I had.
I will vote FOR Trump next time because I like what he’s doing.
I hope we can get a Congress that can keep doing it.
Maggie Haberman is full of righteous indignation this morning and rightly so.
Still can’t get over Hannity denying he would be on stage the whole day, getting brought up by Trump, and then pointing to actual news reporters and calling them fake. https://t.co/DZTVw0FWqY
In an Idiocracy, legitimate journalists, like faithful pastors and honest businessmen generally do not become fabulously wealthy or pop icons. In an Idiocracy, that is reserved for the frauds and con artists like Hannity, Joel Osteen and Donald Trump.
I see from last nights thread that Ricky has expelled me from his imaginary Trump cult. I don’t know what that’s all about but I’m sure I don’t deserve to be so cruelly cast out when I had finally found a place where I fit in so well. I guess Never-Trumpers must take their revenge where they can, and I doubt the outcome of today’s election will give them much to crow about. Oh well, such is life. :–)
@ 9:07 Maybe Hannity didn’t expect to be on stage and hadn’t planned to be. But that would be no reason to say ‘no’ when the President asks you up to speak a few words. It would not be surprising for Trump to do the unexpected on stage, and we all know where Hannity stands regarding presidential politics. He’s not a journalist; he’s a talk show host with opinions that are usually positive towards the President. I don’t often listen to his radio show, but I have listened to 15 or 20 minutes a few times in the last few weeks. He’s not nearly as bad as the opposition media would have you believe.
[Feel free to revoke my revocation from the Trump cult. Good company can be found in many places, and there is good company to be found there. :–) ]
Ricky, I am not greatly tempted by white chocolate, so ‘your’ box will most likely be untouched until the owners sell it to someone who actually won their bet. But I do intend to find some really good fudge—peanut butter and chocolate. I expect to go up sometime next week; I’m using the trip and the election outcome as a justification to splurge—whether I’m celebrating (most likely) or mourning (highly unlikely). I’ll leave you Pythagoreans to figure out the mathematical values for likely and unlikely in your post election postmortem. ;–)
Then we will try to fix/have fixed the headlight out on our car. This is the first one out, since we bought it. Neither dims nor brights working on a very dark night. We had a friend (former policeman) notice it as we were leaving for home. A smidgen over a mile later we were pulled over and received a fix it ticket. Now to figure out how to do it or bring it to the dealership. I heard tell some have to remove a bumper to replace one. What in the world kind of design is that?
Then we are hoping to attend the Gosnell movie, which will not be pleasant. I read the book and want my husband to see this story. Horrible. It is interesting that this movie is NOT listed with the other movies in the newspaper. I had to hunt it down online. No other movie is treated like that. Very telling and sad.
I voted last week and put my ballot in the official box located by the police station…I figured that would be safer than sending it in the mail by a long shot!
I find Trump awkward and inappropriate much of the time. But, like Chas I like the spit and fire in him to do what is right for this country. I voted against Hillary….and I voted for Pence…just so happens Pence was connected to Trump… 😊
AJ – I don’t believe it takes mental gymnastics to realize that Independents vote for either Democrats or Republicans. They may even lean more heavily towards one or the other, but still consider themselves Independent.
I suspect that if she had supported Trump, no one on the right would be questioning whether or not she is an Independent.
And I still say that people in general, but Christians in particular, should be much more careful about accusing others of lying.
I wasn’t gonna respond, but I can’t let the stupid advice from 2 of the 3 Stooges of the Apocalypse (Kristol is missing) in the Never-Trump traitor faction just sit there unchallenged.
A rebuttal. 🙂
“Ignore The Never Trump Losers And Vote Republican”
“The midterms are tomorrow, and the Never Trump conservatives’ latest collective self-own is their insistence that we vote for Democrats because of … get this … conservatism. Well, “ahoy” to that, you cruise-pushing goofs.
Pardon me if I doubt the savvy political insights of the guys who told us, “You know who’d make a great candidate? Jeb!” I just can’t get my mind around anyone who thinks Jeb! is the answer to any question except, “What political superstar has three letters plus an exclamation point, blew a couple hundred million bucks for like one delegate, and will have ‘Low Energy’ carved on his tombstone?”
Here’s what I think happens Tuesday, and I could be totally wrong – though being wrong would entitle me to be an honorary Never Trumper. I think we take three or more seats in the Senate and keep the House. I think we keep power in Washington in the hands of the conservative party. And the Never Trump conservatives think this would be a terrible outcome.
They are the worst.
Shockingly, Never Trumpers are still a thing, at least in DC, New York and the nether regions of the internet, but no one is sure of why. It’s certainly not by popular demand; nobody likes them except weirdos, losers, mutations, and MSNBCNN bookers.
Of necessity, they have abandoned their old grift – “We are totally committed to winning victories for conservatism!” – in the wake of Trump singlehandedly fulfilling all the conservative fantasies that had previously graced the letters section of The Weekly Standard and its cruise-curious ilk: “I never thought it would happen to me, but then my president ditched the climate scam agreement and cut taxes! Hot!”
But Trump made our erotic right-wing dreams come true after decades of Fredocon teasing. And now no one calls the Never Trumpers anymore, and when they try their old pals, they get a text back: “New phone who dis?”
So now they have their new grift. They are the keepers of the conservaflame, the True Conservatives™ who plan to rescue us from the success of the Trump Era. And as part of that plan to get their principled conservatism on, they have stumbled onto a bold and innovative strategy: Help liberals win.
I’m skeptical, but Chet thinks that’s a clever move. Chet is, of course, my unicorn.”
——————-
The funny thing is that Dear Leader respects Maggie, gives her interviews and loves it when she writes something favorable about him. Does Dear Leader respect the intelligence of his cult? I think we know the answer to that one.
“At least Wile E. Coyote learned not to stand under the same Acme anvil twice.
So now the kept-cons on the pages of the New York Times and the tiresome trolls on Twitter are again demanding that tomorrow we vote against conservative candidates and in favor of liberal ones to somehow make conservatives win. Hmmmm. I have several questions, among them, “What the @#$% is wrong with you people?”
But hey – Libs eat up the Benedict Kristol act and the conservaquislings get plenty of TV hits from their pals in the media dumping on actual cons. Isn’t that the important thing?
Not to actual Republican voters, but then we were never really important to these clowns.”
———————
Months go by without me reading or hearing the use of the word “burn” in that way, but today I’ve read it three times. Here’s the first one I read today, from earlier this morning:
“Many things about the Christian faith are a mystery, but not how we’re supposed to treat our enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. . . . If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43–48)
But why would we love people who seemingly work hard to earn our hatred? Hatred can feel like a weapon of righteousness defending people being crushed or a tool that helps the dispossessed hold onto a sense of dignity. It’s not difficult to understand why people in Jesus’ day parsed the word neighbor in Leviticus 19:18 to justify nurturing contempt toward or doing violence to their oppressors (Matt. 5:43).
The unavoidable truth, though, is that the cost of not loving our enemies is far greater. As I’ve observed the effects of mounting tribalism in my life and in the world, I’ve recognized that Jesus was imparting an ancient wisdom—one that applies both to playground disputes and high-stakes conflicts.
Recently, as I helped my eight-year-old daughter process pain and anger over recurring conflict with a friend of hers, she kept proposing snarky comebacks and asking me, “That would be a good burn, wouldn’t it?” The impulse to retaliate is present in us from childhood. I’ve never seen it lead to relational restoration.”
That’s from this article:
“Love Your Political Frenemies
Jesus built his church from a group of enemies. Why did I love to sting mine?”
The joint probabilities are as follows, per our Deluxe model. D Senate + D House: 18% D Senate + R House: <1% R Senate + D House: 68% R Senate + R House: 14%
So still better than a 30% chance that *either* the House or the Senate will result in an upset tonight. Pretty exciting!
Despite my pleas last night, it appears that Silver did not assign an intern the task of calculating how much below 1% are the chances of a Democrat Senate and a Republican House.
Debra’s right about Hannity, he’s not a journalist, he’s a commentator with specific and very partisan opinions that he gets paid to promote on the air. Most of us understand that, why the tweet author doesn’t I’m not sure.
Now it would be an entirely different story if Bret Baier were up on stage promoting/supporting Trump.
But Hannity? Not a surprise or shock — or a departure from what he “does” or who he is as a partisan host of a niche (not the news) cable TV program.
” he’s not a journalist, he’s a commentator with specific and very partisan opinions that he gets paid to promote on the air”
But the funny part is everyone but Hannity realizes this. I think he actually said no in order to not damage his journalistic street cred, such as it is. 🙂
“Republicans are expected to pick up seats in the Senate, but Democrats might win back a majority in the House, though it could be fewer seats than projected.
There are dozens of tight races to keep an eye on Tuesday night.
The Daily Caller News Foundation wrote up a list of the races to watch on Nov. 6.
Polling locations for the 2018 midterm elections are just hours away from opening, and both Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for some extremely tight races across the country.
According to a majority of polls, Republicans are expected to lose control of the House but keep control in the Senate after the Nov. 6 midterm elections. However, there is growing speculation that Republicans could be more successful than polls suggest.
In the Senate, there are six seats that are currently listed as “toss-up” elections, four of which belong to current Democratic senators, according to Real Clear Politics (RCP). Republicans need to maintain 51 seats in the Senate in order to keep their majority.”
“Five of the candidates in those “toss-up” Senate races are incumbents, including Democrats Jon Tester of Montana, Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller. The Senate race in Arizona is also listed as a toss-up, as Republican Rep. Martha McSally is running against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for GOP Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat, who announced in October 2017 that he would not seek re-election.”
——————–
“In the House, there are 32 seats that are listed as “toss-up” elections. Democrats must pick up at least 23 seats in order to get to the 218 seats needed for a majority.
GOP Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock is in a tight race in the commonwealth’s 10th district against her Democratic opponent Jennifer Wexton. Comstock, who is seeking a third term, was down in a recent October 25-28 poll by at least 11 points. The loss would give Democrats another seat in the House.
Another race to watch in Virginia is in the 2nd congressional district. Republican Rep. Scott Taylor is in a tight race against his Democratic opponent Elaine Luria. Trump won the district in November 2016. RCP has the race listed as “leans GOP” as of Monday.
In Ohio’s 12th district, Republican Rep. Troy Balderson is expected to be in a close race against his Democratic opponent Danny O’Connor. Balderson won a special election there this year against O’Connor and will now face a rematch Tuesday. Polling shows the race as tied just one day out.”
When it comes to chocolate be a globalist, buy Belgian.
Don’t vote. Your vote is recorded and sent to an unsecured server located in the basement of a pizza parlour. From there, FEMA will use the votes to sort people into concentration camps.
AJ, exactly what do you think “independent” means? Are you saying that you can’t support a major-party candidate and still be called independent? If I had voted for candidates of both parties over the course of my life, and then worked hard for Trump in 2016 because I thought he was the best candidate, would that make me a liar to call myself independent?
Here’s the thing. Words have meaning. The standard in this case when one says “Independent” in regard to political affiliation typically means you identify as neither D or R. Usually it means you’re more of a Nader, Perot, Sanders, Green Party kinda person.
That however is not who Comey’s wife is. She is a card carrying, @#%#@hat wearing, led by anti-Semite women’s rally attending with her daughters Clintonista, by her and her husbands own admission. She clearly chose a side.
See the difference? That’s not “Independent” as the word is typically used in politics. I’m not sure how I could be more clear.
“In his interview with James Comey on April 15, 2018, George Stephanopoulos stated to Comey: “your wife, Patrice, Hillary Clinton supporter.”
James Comey responded, according to ABC’s transcript of the interview, “Oh yeah. And– and the– the– I didn’t take a poll among all the kids, but I’m pretty sure that at least my four daughters, probably all five of my kids, wanted Hillary Clinton to be the first woman president. I know my amazing spouse did. My)– my wife and girls marched in the women’s march the day after President Trump’s inauguration. There was a lotta passion in this house for Hillary Clinton.”
——————–
“Patrice Comey, the wife of former FBI Director James Comey reveals she was ‘devastated’ by Donald Trump’s victory and still wanted Hillary Clinton to be president, even when her husband reopened the investigation into her emails.
“I wanted a woman President really badly, and supported Hillary Clinton. A lot of my friends worked for her, and I was devastated when she lost,” Comey said.”
And Proposition 9 is just a blank space on my sample ballot, having been removed from the ballot by the state Supreme Court. That was the one that would have chopped California up into 3 states.
AJ – Looks like Kevin and I have a different understanding of Independent than you. Hubby and I considered ourselves Independent and usually voted Republican. But we did not feel we were allied with the Republican party.
Back to that quote from the article I shared earlier. I hope that AJ and Ricky really are merely engaging in a friendly sparring kind of thing, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. 🙂
But I’m sure all of us on Facebook or Twitter have seen the real “burns” that some people delight in giving each other. It is disturbing when I see some believers behaving that way. Makes me cringe.
“Malfunctioning machines, voter confusion and locked polling sites were among the problems on Election Day as millions of Americans prepared to cast ballots Tuesday in a midterm election fueling an outpouring of enthusiasm — and frustratingly long lines.”
—————–
Suck it up people. Yes, our system of elections sometimes requires a little work, sacrifice, and personal inconvenience. But it is worth it.
My left reading material is a little more than suspicious of the delays in Georgia voting. They seem to occurring in African-American neighborhoods. And when the Sec’y of St9ate in charge of elections happens to be the Republican candidate for governor, you can understand the suspicion.
Meanwhile in Beto’s home district, the US Border Patrol is conducting an exercise or practise session in crowd control in a mainly Hispanic neighbourhood. Really bad optics. It can wait a day……the caravan won’t be there for month if ever.
Another complaint I hear is the new requirement that voter registration in North Dakota requires a street address. This effectively disenfranchised Natives as reserves use post office boxes. Apparently the native vote was the margin of victory.for the Democratic senator.
(If you want to know where native reserves are in the western states, look for the blue in county by county elections results map.)
The above could be considered left conspiracy theories. My don’t vote comment was an attempt to mock Trumpian or right wing conspiracies.
Words do indeed have meanings. Most people understand “independent voter” along these lines:
Merriam-Webster (m-w.com): not bound by or committed to a political party
Dictionary.com: free from party commitments in voting
Wikipedia: a voter who does not align themselves with a political party
My friend Eric calls himself a “right-leaning independent”. He is not registered with any party and has voted for both Rs and Ds, and maybe others, over the years. He voted for Hillary in ’16. This does not disqualify him as an independent voter.
Clearly Ms Comey loves Hillary Clinton. That does not make her a loyal Democrat. I don’t know her party affiliation, if any, or how she voted in any election except for Hillary for President in ’16. Do you?
“She clearly chose a side”, you say. Sure, we all choose a side in every election. If choosing a side makes you not independent, then nobody who votes is independent.
Another complaint I hear is the new requirement that voter registration in North Dakota requires a street address. This effectively disenfranchised Natives as reserves use post office boxes.
I’ve seen this stated that way a lot. What a twist-up. I’m convinced even people who say it that way don’t really believe it. They just like how mean it makes Rs sound.
Thanks, Solar. It’s particularly funny to say that about voter registration in North Dakota because they don’t even have voter registration. From their DMV web site:
North Dakota bears the unique distinction that it does not require voters to register prior to Election Day. You may simply bring acceptable proof of ID and residency to the polls in order to vote (see below). Each precinct is responsible for governing its own election process, and the Secretary of State has a “central voter file” in which all county auditors share their precinct’s voter list.
Voter Eligibility in North Dakota
In order to vote in North Dakota, you must be:
At least 18 years old on or before Election Day.
A North Dakota resident.
A resident of your voter precinct for at least 30 days prior to the election.
When you arrive at the polls on Election Day, you’ll need to show proof of birth date and residency. This can include:
A North Dakota driver’s license or ID card. An ID issued by a tribal government.
A form of identification issued by the Secretary of State.
A combination of the options above.
And the Women’s March and $#@#%hat wearing episode were Democrat led, funded, and produced affairs, which she and her daughters attended. There were very few R women in attendance at those, which is not surprising considering it’s left wing roots and pro-abortion positions. .
Makes sense. I thought the US should have something similar to what we call an “Indian card”.
The Georgia vote is still a mess. This may be bureaucratic incompetence or an unexpected number of voters but having the Republican candidate in charge of the election leads to extremely valid suspicions. He should have and can still recuse himself esp if the vote count is close.
Hey, Ricky! After all the times you have mentioned the movie Idiocracy here, I decided to put it on my Netflix DVD queue. Watched it today.
What a crude, stupid movie! And yet I laughed several times (and felt guilty for laughing a few of those times), and did get sucked into the story after a while.
I don’t think we are at the Idiocracy level yet. Hopefully we never will be!
The town one of my relatives lives in only uses PO boxes for mail. However, the houses still have numbers on them, as well. I wonder if the homes on the reservation do?
I wonder why the lines are so long for voting in many places. I realize we live in a rural area, so have far less people in our precinct. Still, is there a reason that more election judges and booths cannot be hired and purchased to speed up the waiting?
Interesting call from FOX. The Guardian only shows 12 seats flipped so far. My leftist sites claim this a plot by FOX to depress the western vote, that is, by claiming the democrats won the house, western democrats won’t bother to vote.
Kizzie. The introductory clip of Idiocracy is the only part worth watching.
Must be HRW @ 10:48. The intro of Idiocracy is the best part of the movie, but the Fox News segments are also prescient.
The nerds at 538 were really good this year. Not only did they call both the House and the Senate right, but they have been predicting between a 38 and 39 seat pick-up in the House for the Ds over the last few weeks. That also appears to be very accurate though we will know more in the morning.
Debra, Tell me where to send the brisket. I think you saw that I already promised to share some of the candy with one of my local Trumpers. The best address for me is PO Box 559 Rhome, Texas, 76078. That is the office, and I will spread it around and make sure that Bernie the Trumper gets his share.
I was visiting with three Republican clients this afternoon, and we agreed that old Beto would make the strongest Democrat Presidential nominee. He had to be a very good candidate to come so close in Texas, but the Dems will probably nominate Biden or Harris or Spartacus.
Wandering Views 
Today’s the day folks.
You know what to do.
Vote early and vote often! 🙂
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Or go to work, then watch basketball and remember better times.
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As for me….
I’ve been making my pitch for several months. Everyone knows where I stand and why. So I’ll not bore you with more of the same.
I’ll be sticking to posting results later and will save my comments for tomorrow, after R hold the House and Senate. 🙂
I hope….
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Right after this one…..
Comparisons…….
Inside.
———————-
Outside.
Vote accordingly.
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Conservatives Tom Nichols, Max Boot, David French and Jay Caruso have been having a big debate. French and Caruso aregue that conservatives must vote Republican despite the foulness of Trump. Here is French’s argument:
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Nichols argues that a party must pay a price when it sinks to the level of supporting a Trump, and that only a catastrophic defeat can bring renewal and cleansing to the Republican Party.
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I could never vote for a Democrat. However, staying home is another way of sending a message to Republicans that there is a price to be paid for nominating and supporting someone so foul, dishonest and ignorant as Trump. It will not take many of us staying home to make a big difference.
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Why does The Cult even bother to tell the lies? Because it is pathological, and because they can always get away with it.
https://twitter.com/aaronblake/status/1059781505948508160?s=21
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I always associated staying at home:
A lack of energy.
A lack of conviction.
A lack of concern.
I said a dozen times before. I didn’t vote FOR Trump. I voted AGAINST Hillary. The only choice I had.
I will vote FOR Trump next time because I like what he’s doing.
I hope we can get a Congress that can keep doing it.
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Maggie Haberman is full of righteous indignation this morning and rightly so.
In an Idiocracy, legitimate journalists, like faithful pastors and honest businessmen generally do not become fabulously wealthy or pop icons. In an Idiocracy, that is reserved for the frauds and con artists like Hannity, Joel Osteen and Donald Trump.
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I see from last nights thread that Ricky has expelled me from his imaginary Trump cult. I don’t know what that’s all about but I’m sure I don’t deserve to be so cruelly cast out when I had finally found a place where I fit in so well. I guess Never-Trumpers must take their revenge where they can, and I doubt the outcome of today’s election will give them much to crow about. Oh well, such is life. :–)
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Debra, Don’t go eating out of my chocolate box. It is impossible to eat just one, or two, or ten. Buy another box for yourself.
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BTW, I think that chocolate is made in Pennsylvania, so you are going to have to keep looking for other evidence that I am a “globalist”.
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@ 9:07 Maybe Hannity didn’t expect to be on stage and hadn’t planned to be. But that would be no reason to say ‘no’ when the President asks you up to speak a few words. It would not be surprising for Trump to do the unexpected on stage, and we all know where Hannity stands regarding presidential politics. He’s not a journalist; he’s a talk show host with opinions that are usually positive towards the President. I don’t often listen to his radio show, but I have listened to 15 or 20 minutes a few times in the last few weeks. He’s not nearly as bad as the opposition media would have you believe.
[Feel free to revoke my revocation from the Trump cult. Good company can be found in many places, and there is good company to be found there. :–) ]
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You listened to Hannity for 15-20 minutes? Can you also walk on hot coals or listen to 40 minutes of modern church music?
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Ricky, I am not greatly tempted by white chocolate, so ‘your’ box will most likely be untouched until the owners sell it to someone who actually won their bet. But I do intend to find some really good fudge—peanut butter and chocolate. I expect to go up sometime next week; I’m using the trip and the election outcome as a justification to splurge—whether I’m celebrating (most likely) or mourning (highly unlikely). I’ll leave you Pythagoreans to figure out the mathematical values for likely and unlikely in your post election postmortem. ;–)
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Now! When Ricky starts talking about church music, I think we are on the same page.
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I will vote.
Then we will try to fix/have fixed the headlight out on our car. This is the first one out, since we bought it. Neither dims nor brights working on a very dark night. We had a friend (former policeman) notice it as we were leaving for home. A smidgen over a mile later we were pulled over and received a fix it ticket. Now to figure out how to do it or bring it to the dealership. I heard tell some have to remove a bumper to replace one. What in the world kind of design is that?
Then we are hoping to attend the Gosnell movie, which will not be pleasant. I read the book and want my husband to see this story. Horrible. It is interesting that this movie is NOT listed with the other movies in the newspaper. I had to hunt it down online. No other movie is treated like that. Very telling and sad.
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I voted last week and put my ballot in the official box located by the police station…I figured that would be safer than sending it in the mail by a long shot!
I find Trump awkward and inappropriate much of the time. But, like Chas I like the spit and fire in him to do what is right for this country. I voted against Hillary….and I voted for Pence…just so happens Pence was connected to Trump… 😊
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Debra – I agree with you about white “chocolate”. It is not even real chocolate. (And I love peanut butter fudge!)
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“Maggie Haberman is full of righteous indignation”
She’s full of something alright……. but judging by the smell, there’s nothing righteous about it.
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AJ – I don’t believe it takes mental gymnastics to realize that Independents vote for either Democrats or Republicans. They may even lean more heavily towards one or the other, but still consider themselves Independent.
I suspect that if she had supported Trump, no one on the right would be questioning whether or not she is an Independent.
And I still say that people in general, but Christians in particular, should be much more careful about accusing others of lying.
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11:30. Maggie is a journalist with a college degree. I would not expect Cultists to appreciate her.
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I wasn’t gonna respond, but I can’t let the stupid advice from 2 of the 3 Stooges of the Apocalypse (Kristol is missing) in the Never-Trump traitor faction just sit there unchallenged.
A rebuttal. 🙂
“Ignore The Never Trump Losers And Vote Republican”
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2018/11/05/ignore-the-never-trump-losers-and-vote-republican-n2534864
“The midterms are tomorrow, and the Never Trump conservatives’ latest collective self-own is their insistence that we vote for Democrats because of … get this … conservatism. Well, “ahoy” to that, you cruise-pushing goofs.
Pardon me if I doubt the savvy political insights of the guys who told us, “You know who’d make a great candidate? Jeb!” I just can’t get my mind around anyone who thinks Jeb! is the answer to any question except, “What political superstar has three letters plus an exclamation point, blew a couple hundred million bucks for like one delegate, and will have ‘Low Energy’ carved on his tombstone?”
Here’s what I think happens Tuesday, and I could be totally wrong – though being wrong would entitle me to be an honorary Never Trumper. I think we take three or more seats in the Senate and keep the House. I think we keep power in Washington in the hands of the conservative party. And the Never Trump conservatives think this would be a terrible outcome.
They are the worst.
Shockingly, Never Trumpers are still a thing, at least in DC, New York and the nether regions of the internet, but no one is sure of why. It’s certainly not by popular demand; nobody likes them except weirdos, losers, mutations, and MSNBCNN bookers.
Of necessity, they have abandoned their old grift – “We are totally committed to winning victories for conservatism!” – in the wake of Trump singlehandedly fulfilling all the conservative fantasies that had previously graced the letters section of The Weekly Standard and its cruise-curious ilk: “I never thought it would happen to me, but then my president ditched the climate scam agreement and cut taxes! Hot!”
But Trump made our erotic right-wing dreams come true after decades of Fredocon teasing. And now no one calls the Never Trumpers anymore, and when they try their old pals, they get a text back: “New phone who dis?”
So now they have their new grift. They are the keepers of the conservaflame, the True Conservatives™ who plan to rescue us from the success of the Trump Era. And as part of that plan to get their principled conservatism on, they have stumbled onto a bold and innovative strategy: Help liberals win.
I’m skeptical, but Chet thinks that’s a clever move. Chet is, of course, my unicorn.”
——————-
Do you need some cream for that burn? 😳
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The funny thing is that Dear Leader respects Maggie, gives her interviews and loves it when she writes something favorable about him. Does Dear Leader respect the intelligence of his cult? I think we know the answer to that one.
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Well Trump is entitled to his opinion, even when it’s wrong. 🙂
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“At least Wile E. Coyote learned not to stand under the same Acme anvil twice.
So now the kept-cons on the pages of the New York Times and the tiresome trolls on Twitter are again demanding that tomorrow we vote against conservative candidates and in favor of liberal ones to somehow make conservatives win. Hmmmm. I have several questions, among them, “What the @#$% is wrong with you people?”
But hey – Libs eat up the Benedict Kristol act and the conservaquislings get plenty of TV hits from their pals in the media dumping on actual cons. Isn’t that the important thing?
Not to actual Republican voters, but then we were never really important to these clowns.”
———————
Nailed it.
You’re gonna need more cream for that burn too.
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Months go by without me reading or hearing the use of the word “burn” in that way, but today I’ve read it three times. Here’s the first one I read today, from earlier this morning:
“Many things about the Christian faith are a mystery, but not how we’re supposed to treat our enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. . . . If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43–48)
But why would we love people who seemingly work hard to earn our hatred? Hatred can feel like a weapon of righteousness defending people being crushed or a tool that helps the dispossessed hold onto a sense of dignity. It’s not difficult to understand why people in Jesus’ day parsed the word neighbor in Leviticus 19:18 to justify nurturing contempt toward or doing violence to their oppressors (Matt. 5:43).
The unavoidable truth, though, is that the cost of not loving our enemies is far greater. As I’ve observed the effects of mounting tribalism in my life and in the world, I’ve recognized that Jesus was imparting an ancient wisdom—one that applies both to playground disputes and high-stakes conflicts.
Recently, as I helped my eight-year-old daughter process pain and anger over recurring conflict with a friend of hers, she kept proposing snarky comebacks and asking me, “That would be a good burn, wouldn’t it?” The impulse to retaliate is present in us from childhood. I’ve never seen it lead to relational restoration.”
That’s from this article:
“Love Your Political Frenemies
Jesus built his church from a group of enemies. Why did I love to sting mine?”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november/love-your-frenemies.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=9474712&utm_content=616275182&utm_campaign=email
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No one here is my enemy, not even Ricky.
He’s just my extremely confused and sometimes (to me) stupider brother. 🙂
But I still love him, and even (gasp) pray for him, as unworthy and unwanted as those prayers and that love may or may not be.
If I didn’t he’d a been disowned about 2 years ago. 🙂
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Pretty powerful stuff, AJ.
OK. I propose a truce until after the results are in.
BTW Whoever said men and women are the same needs to read a couple of months of this thread.
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I think these are 538’s final probabilities.
Despite my pleas last night, it appears that Silver did not assign an intern the task of calculating how much below 1% are the chances of a Democrat Senate and a Republican House.
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Debra’s right about Hannity, he’s not a journalist, he’s a commentator with specific and very partisan opinions that he gets paid to promote on the air. Most of us understand that, why the tweet author doesn’t I’m not sure.
Now it would be an entirely different story if Bret Baier were up on stage promoting/supporting Trump.
But Hannity? Not a surprise or shock — or a departure from what he “does” or who he is as a partisan host of a niche (not the news) cable TV program.
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” he’s not a journalist, he’s a commentator with specific and very partisan opinions that he gets paid to promote on the air”
But the funny part is everyone but Hannity realizes this. I think he actually said no in order to not damage his journalistic street cred, such as it is. 🙂
Too funny.
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The key races…..
https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/05/important-midterm-races-watch/
“Republicans are expected to pick up seats in the Senate, but Democrats might win back a majority in the House, though it could be fewer seats than projected.
There are dozens of tight races to keep an eye on Tuesday night.
The Daily Caller News Foundation wrote up a list of the races to watch on Nov. 6.
Polling locations for the 2018 midterm elections are just hours away from opening, and both Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for some extremely tight races across the country.
According to a majority of polls, Republicans are expected to lose control of the House but keep control in the Senate after the Nov. 6 midterm elections. However, there is growing speculation that Republicans could be more successful than polls suggest.
In the Senate, there are six seats that are currently listed as “toss-up” elections, four of which belong to current Democratic senators, according to Real Clear Politics (RCP). Republicans need to maintain 51 seats in the Senate in order to keep their majority.”
“Five of the candidates in those “toss-up” Senate races are incumbents, including Democrats Jon Tester of Montana, Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller. The Senate race in Arizona is also listed as a toss-up, as Republican Rep. Martha McSally is running against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for GOP Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat, who announced in October 2017 that he would not seek re-election.”
——————–
“In the House, there are 32 seats that are listed as “toss-up” elections. Democrats must pick up at least 23 seats in order to get to the 218 seats needed for a majority.
GOP Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock is in a tight race in the commonwealth’s 10th district against her Democratic opponent Jennifer Wexton. Comstock, who is seeking a third term, was down in a recent October 25-28 poll by at least 11 points. The loss would give Democrats another seat in the House.
Another race to watch in Virginia is in the 2nd congressional district. Republican Rep. Scott Taylor is in a tight race against his Democratic opponent Elaine Luria. Trump won the district in November 2016. RCP has the race listed as “leans GOP” as of Monday.
In Ohio’s 12th district, Republican Rep. Troy Balderson is expected to be in a close race against his Democratic opponent Danny O’Connor. Balderson won a special election there this year against O’Connor and will now face a rematch Tuesday. Polling shows the race as tied just one day out.”
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When it comes to chocolate be a globalist, buy Belgian.
Don’t vote. Your vote is recorded and sent to an unsecured server located in the basement of a pizza parlour. From there, FEMA will use the votes to sort people into concentration camps.
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AJ, exactly what do you think “independent” means? Are you saying that you can’t support a major-party candidate and still be called independent? If I had voted for candidates of both parties over the course of my life, and then worked hard for Trump in 2016 because I thought he was the best candidate, would that make me a liar to call myself independent?
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HRW: Huh?
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You know who’s to blame for this?
Trump. 🙂
——————–
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Kevin, I would explain the joke, but that might be construed as breaking the truce.
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Hmmm.
One of the (LA County) candidates on our ballot lists his middle name as (in quotes) “Lower Taxes”
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Kevin,
Here’s the thing. Words have meaning. The standard in this case when one says “Independent” in regard to political affiliation typically means you identify as neither D or R. Usually it means you’re more of a Nader, Perot, Sanders, Green Party kinda person.
That however is not who Comey’s wife is. She is a card carrying, @#%#@hat wearing, led by anti-Semite women’s rally attending with her daughters Clintonista, by her and her husbands own admission. She clearly chose a side.
See the difference? That’s not “Independent” as the word is typically used in politics. I’m not sure how I could be more clear.
https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/james-comey-family-wife-photos-pictures-facebook-patrice-failor-children-ramsey-rapist-son-brien-tree/
“In his interview with James Comey on April 15, 2018, George Stephanopoulos stated to Comey: “your wife, Patrice, Hillary Clinton supporter.”
James Comey responded, according to ABC’s transcript of the interview, “Oh yeah. And– and the– the– I didn’t take a poll among all the kids, but I’m pretty sure that at least my four daughters, probably all five of my kids, wanted Hillary Clinton to be the first woman president. I know my amazing spouse did. My)– my wife and girls marched in the women’s march the day after President Trump’s inauguration. There was a lotta passion in this house for Hillary Clinton.”
——————–
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/04/17/james-comeys-wife-reveals-she-was-devastated-by-trumps-election-win/23413266/
“Patrice Comey, the wife of former FBI Director James Comey reveals she was ‘devastated’ by Donald Trump’s victory and still wanted Hillary Clinton to be president, even when her husband reopened the investigation into her emails.
“I wanted a woman President really badly, and supported Hillary Clinton. A lot of my friends worked for her, and I was devastated when she lost,” Comey said.”
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Hellooooooooo?….
Bueller?……….
(crickets chirping)…….
https://twitter.com/SharylAttkisson/status/1059479678661115904
Yeah, funny that is……
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And Proposition 9 is just a blank space on my sample ballot, having been removed from the ballot by the state Supreme Court. That was the one that would have chopped California up into 3 states.
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Hey Ricky…..
I figured out how Democrats plan to put Beto over the top and turn Texas blue…….
The youth vote…… 🙂
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As is always the case, here’s your running list of places with voting issues….
https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2018/11/06/chaos-voting-problems-reported-across-the-country/
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AJ – Looks like Kevin and I have a different understanding of Independent than you. Hubby and I considered ourselves Independent and usually voted Republican. But we did not feel we were allied with the Republican party.
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Back to that quote from the article I shared earlier. I hope that AJ and Ricky really are merely engaging in a friendly sparring kind of thing, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. 🙂
But I’m sure all of us on Facebook or Twitter have seen the real “burns” that some people delight in giving each other. It is disturbing when I see some believers behaving that way. Makes me cringe.
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Malfunctioning machines seems to be a thing, although I suspect most of it is operator error. 🙂 How large a problem it is remains to be seen.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/midterms-2018-voters-face-malfunctioning-machines-long-lines-polls-across-n932156
“Malfunctioning machines, voter confusion and locked polling sites were among the problems on Election Day as millions of Americans prepared to cast ballots Tuesday in a midterm election fueling an outpouring of enthusiasm — and frustratingly long lines.”
—————–
Suck it up people. Yes, our system of elections sometimes requires a little work, sacrifice, and personal inconvenience. But it is worth it.
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We’re heading out to vote in a few. 🙂
As long as I’m in line by 8:00PM they’ll count it. See ya’s later.
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Well that was relatively painless. 🙂
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Back home within an hour, and we even stopped to pick up a pizza. 🙂
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My left reading material is a little more than suspicious of the delays in Georgia voting. They seem to occurring in African-American neighborhoods. And when the Sec’y of St9ate in charge of elections happens to be the Republican candidate for governor, you can understand the suspicion.
Meanwhile in Beto’s home district, the US Border Patrol is conducting an exercise or practise session in crowd control in a mainly Hispanic neighbourhood. Really bad optics. It can wait a day……the caravan won’t be there for month if ever.
Another complaint I hear is the new requirement that voter registration in North Dakota requires a street address. This effectively disenfranchised Natives as reserves use post office boxes. Apparently the native vote was the margin of victory.for the Democratic senator.
(If you want to know where native reserves are in the western states, look for the blue in county by county elections results map.)
The above could be considered left conspiracy theories. My don’t vote comment was an attempt to mock Trumpian or right wing conspiracies.
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AJ,
Words do indeed have meanings. Most people understand “independent voter” along these lines:
Merriam-Webster (m-w.com): not bound by or committed to a political party
Dictionary.com: free from party commitments in voting
Wikipedia: a voter who does not align themselves with a political party
My friend Eric calls himself a “right-leaning independent”. He is not registered with any party and has voted for both Rs and Ds, and maybe others, over the years. He voted for Hillary in ’16. This does not disqualify him as an independent voter.
Clearly Ms Comey loves Hillary Clinton. That does not make her a loyal Democrat. I don’t know her party affiliation, if any, or how she voted in any election except for Hillary for President in ’16. Do you?
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“She clearly chose a side”, you say. Sure, we all choose a side in every election. If choosing a side makes you not independent, then nobody who votes is independent.
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Another complaint I hear is the new requirement that voter registration in North Dakota requires a street address. This effectively disenfranchised Natives as reserves use post office boxes.
I’ve seen this stated that way a lot. What a twist-up. I’m convinced even people who say it that way don’t really believe it. They just like how mean it makes Rs sound.
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Hmm. Anonymous was me, even though I see I’m logged in…
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Thanks, Solar. It’s particularly funny to say that about voter registration in North Dakota because they don’t even have voter registration. From their DMV web site:
North Dakota bears the unique distinction that it does not require voters to register prior to Election Day. You may simply bring acceptable proof of ID and residency to the polls in order to vote (see below). Each precinct is responsible for governing its own election process, and the Secretary of State has a “central voter file” in which all county auditors share their precinct’s voter list.
Voter Eligibility in North Dakota
In order to vote in North Dakota, you must be:
At least 18 years old on or before Election Day.
A North Dakota resident.
A resident of your voter precinct for at least 30 days prior to the election.
When you arrive at the polls on Election Day, you’ll need to show proof of birth date and residency. This can include:
A North Dakota driver’s license or ID card.
An ID issued by a tribal government.
A form of identification issued by the Secretary of State.
A combination of the options above.
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Kevin,
And the Women’s March and $#@#%hat wearing episode were Democrat led, funded, and produced affairs, which she and her daughters attended. There were very few R women in attendance at those, which is not surprising considering it’s left wing roots and pro-abortion positions. .
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Sp and Kevin,
Makes sense. I thought the US should have something similar to what we call an “Indian card”.
The Georgia vote is still a mess. This may be bureaucratic incompetence or an unexpected number of voters but having the Republican candidate in charge of the election leads to extremely valid suspicions. He should have and can still recuse himself esp if the vote count is close.
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I think I’m an independent voter. Sometimes I vote for AJ, and sometimes I vote for Ricky.
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Hey, Ricky! After all the times you have mentioned the movie Idiocracy here, I decided to put it on my Netflix DVD queue. Watched it today.
What a crude, stupid movie! And yet I laughed several times (and felt guilty for laughing a few of those times), and did get sucked into the story after a while.
I don’t think we are at the Idiocracy level yet. Hopefully we never will be!
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Why should a Republican recuse himself? In favor of whom?
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The town one of my relatives lives in only uses PO boxes for mail. However, the houses still have numbers on them, as well. I wonder if the homes on the reservation do?
I wonder why the lines are so long for voting in many places. I realize we live in a rural area, so have far less people in our precinct. Still, is there a reason that more election judges and booths cannot be hired and purchased to speed up the waiting?
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Well Fox is calling the House for Dems, the margin yet to be determined, but it looks like there’s no “wave”.
R’s have gained in the Senate thus far.
Both are as expected.
So gridlock and approving judges is what the next 2 years will be about. Yay.
Locally my neighbors continue to demonstrate that they are morons, as I’ve known for years. 🙂
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Interesting call from FOX. The Guardian only shows 12 seats flipped so far. My leftist sites claim this a plot by FOX to depress the western vote, that is, by claiming the democrats won the house, western democrats won’t bother to vote.
Kizzie. The introductory clip of Idiocracy is the only part worth watching.
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Must be HRW @ 10:48. The intro of Idiocracy is the best part of the movie, but the Fox News segments are also prescient.
The nerds at 538 were really good this year. Not only did they call both the House and the Senate right, but they have been predicting between a 38 and 39 seat pick-up in the House for the Ds over the last few weeks. That also appears to be very accurate though we will know more in the morning.
Debra, Tell me where to send the brisket. I think you saw that I already promised to share some of the candy with one of my local Trumpers. The best address for me is PO Box 559 Rhome, Texas, 76078. That is the office, and I will spread it around and make sure that Bernie the Trumper gets his share.
I was visiting with three Republican clients this afternoon, and we agreed that old Beto would make the strongest Democrat Presidential nominee. He had to be a very good candidate to come so close in Texas, but the Dems will probably nominate Biden or Harris or Spartacus.
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