I'm amazed at how the momentum shifted almost instantly...it's thrilling. Joe Biden is and always will be a man of wisdom, courage, and kindness. We can all learn from his example. GO KAMALA! 💙
I was for keeping Biden on the ticket right to the end, but that's mostly because I was afraid of a protracted new "primary" fight until the convention. Let's face it getting democrats to agree on something is like herding cats. But, all those fears are now gone, Kamala did the impossible; she managed to herd ALL the cats. If she can do that, she can win in November.
Hoping for that big tent to be real. All those who were for Biden are just getting insults and told to stop whining. And this after listening to almost a month of whining from those that persecuted Biden for his debate performance.
Regardless of their calculus on Biden's staying in/leaving, everyone wants to beat Trump and put a Democrat in office. We don't even have the left/center debate that often plagues Democrats, since Biden and Harris are quite similar in their outlook. They differ here and there (I for one am glad, for both moral and tactical reasons, that Harris is less inclined to give Israel a blank check), but they are both moderates. (Or, as Trump calls them, RADICAL LEFT MARXISTS!)
Just love how the big crowd at Kamala's Milwaukee rally joyously broke into a "Lock him up!" chant as Harris itemized the Orange Felon's misdeeds. Let's have more of that making the evening news!
I loved how the Love Fest between Joe and Kamala went viral (the one where he said, "I'm watching you kid. I love you!") It had me misty-eyed. That will be more iconic in the long run, I believe, than, the con in chief's so-called Iwo Jima moment (which was a ridiculous proposition that only mainstream media could manage to conjure).
That response to Kamala was so completely opposite to how Trump treated Pence on January 6. Where Meadows said that Trump stated that Pence deserved it (when there were chants to hang him on the Capitol lawn).
tRump's approval numbers have forever languished at round 41-42%, and if we couldn't find a candidate to outperform against that background of his unpopularity, well, we deserved to lose.
Good news! We have that candidate, now let's make something of it and crush the Orange Felon/Hillbilly ticket and send them packing come Election Day.
All votes count. But sadly some votes count more than others. Swing state votes are the key to winning. Maybe someday this appalling and demoralizing reality will shift, but not today and not any day in 2024.
So write postcards, make calls, talk to everyone you know in the Swing States. And if you live in one of those states, double your efforts to talk to people, help like minded people to get registered and have a plan to vote as early as possible.
So far, 100 postcards written! Sending to North Carolina in October! I still remember that sick, sick feeling in 2016 when the AP called North Carolina for dump 😪
Florida! Let's go! That abortion referendum and the chance to take DeSantis down a few pegs, while possibly powering Kamala Harris to victory! My dd and I have written 200 postcards to be mailed to FL voters for Reclaim Our Vote, and are about to get 200 more.
Scary isn’t it-- how aligned people also move to those states and can expect to have less hassle from the status quo state govt there as well as have their votes count more.
I doubt our forefathers thought about how that could happen.
If we want to get college students out to vote, we need to take them under our wings and help them to navigate the complexity of deciding whether to vote from home or school. We should be asking colleges to cancel classes on election day to help with the vote. In my other country we vote on Sundays if we vote in person. Anyone can sign up to mail in their vote too.
In North Carolina, the page of small print rules that comes with your absentee ballot is scary. HOWEVER, in person voting starts October 17. Vote that day or soon after, so the GOTV folks can cross you off. There's curbside voting in Durham: a poll worker comes to your car with a ballot. If you can, help anyone who can't travel or who needs a ride.
Victor Shi had an ALL-YOUTH Zoom call this morning that I heard went well. The Swifties are all fired up after hearing JD Vance's remarks about childless cat ladies and are promising "armageddon". Beyonce's mother has endorsed Kamala and Beyonce gave Kamala permission to use her song "Freedom" in her campaign so I think the BeyHives will come on board also.
This is always the best advice from Jay, Don't get over confident! Lot's of work to do, and not much time to do it in. But a couple of things I did notice; trumps numbers, during the "discussion" over should Biden exit the race, did NOT increase. Biden's certainly did decrease, but this tells me trumps support, while strong, has topped out. He's not gaining any new voters. Tony Fabrizio is not taking into account the upcoming events that will give Harris' poll numbers a boost. Namely the selection of her running mate, and the Democratic convention. Those events could provide a ladder of poll boosts that will be hard to overcome. Lastly, this whole event of Biden withdrawing and Harris' huge outpouring of support; has effectively sucked the wind out of the post convention (and shooting) bounce the trump campaign was getting. And I'm here for all of it! KAMALA 2024!!
Same here! A vet and former astronaut from an important swing state, and a man who knows *first hand* about the horrors of gun violence in America? It doesn’t get any better!
OTOH, we can't afford to lose that Senate seat, and even with Governor Katie Hobbs choosing his replacement, they need to be elected in their own right in 2026. That sounds risky.
Awaiting the requisite "analysis" from the NYT on "Why Kamala Harris' choice of ----- for VP spells bad news for her campaign" something-something. After leading the media charge to dump Biden, their spotlight will turn on and against the Dem ticket in the manner that only the Times can do.
Bret Stephens is doing his part today about why the Dems shouldn't have gone with Harris because "undemocratic"...pundits have united against the overwhelming grass-roots acclaim and embrace of her candidacy.
Pundits were jonesing for the Dem Party to commit mass politicide by having a free-for-all, "Dems in disarray" convention, and are so pissed that Biden, Harris, Pelosi, et al didn't follow their eminent advice. Totally misread the room, and are whining about it...LMFAO!
So far the NYT coverage has been fair to positive. Conservative columnists don't like Harris (shocking!) but there has been a lot of praise for the things she's done since taking over the campaign.
Agreed 💯%! As Trump tries to walk back his support for Dobbs and pivot in outreach to suburban women, Vance’s extreme opinions on abortion and women staying in abusive marriages just pushes the undecideds and independents back away from them again.
Once again, Trump didn’t take the good advice of his strategists, like Wiles and LaCivita, and went with the opinions of his dotard failsons instead.
The Orange Felon got persuaded by his two male spawn plus some billionaire tech-bros to go with Hillbilly, and now reportedly is wondering about that choice...LOL!
They were so overconfident and cocky that they basically did an "end zone spike" by picking Vance, who is just about the best pick possible for the Democrats. I've said for decades that the only good thing about the conservatives is that they ALWAYS over-reach, out of arrogance and hubris.
While reading the comment section on Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, I read the following from Ira:
Most of the Democratic politicians will foolishly spend the contributions everyone on this list sent them on TV commercials, political consultants, and direct mail flyers that 95% of the citizens who received them throw into the trash unopened! What they almost unanimously don’t do is pay ambitious and enthusiastic younger folks to run constant voter registration drives for the senior class at their high schools and all the students at their local Community College based on three currently prevalent issues that matter to most if not all 18 to 29s: protection of abortion rights, banning assault weapons (particularly near or in school) and fighting climate change so that they can have a decent life before they turn 40 years old! Political folks say :”But Ira, young folks don’t vote!” True, only about 35% of younger folks vote!
BUT Statistics prove that 70%+ of younger folks who are registered DO VOTE, particularly when motivated by abortion bans, school shootings and climate change! So www.TurnUp.US needs your tax deductible contributions to register those young voters and the same stats prove that 70% or more of them will vote Democrat from the top of the ballot all the way down!
So that’s why your contribution to nonpartisan TurnUp.US which doesn’t directly support candidates is so important!In order to win this election in those congressional districts that are “truly competitive,” those thousands of new enthusiastic younger voters in each CD will recognize which candidates support abortion protections, gun control and the climate fight! Please help today and tomorrow and pass the word to your family and friends? Www.TurnUP.US and thank you!
It motivated me to immediately download their app and contribute. The youth vote is the future. I hope many of us here will join them.
Jill Stein will get roughly the same number of votes as she did in 2020; these are the people who would vote for her anyway. Contrary to myth, she didn't pull votes from other candidates.
I'm not sure that's the right metric. You are assuming that Green voters would not have voted for Hillary is there was no Green party candidate on the ballot.
It seems that Trump assumed that because of RFKjr's Kennedy name he would be a magnet for Democrats. But because of anti-vax his nonsense, he's actually been a draw for MAGAs. No wonder Trump wants him out of the race.
Well yes the polls show RFKjr pulls from rump but I also believe he would have pulled from Biden as well if he had stayed in the race. I believe he would have gotten more of the Gaza and "he's too old" voters than we would have liked. I don't believe he will pull as much from Harris, but we don't know anything til it's all said and done.
Sharing the world with people who are not exactly like them is what is scary to them. They are willing to sacrifice Democracy to prevent it from happening.
I think many do not understand the concept of democracy. You have all the people who moved here from fascist Eastern European countries who seem to favor Trump. He is representing the values that they left behind and may embrace, even if they wanted the freedom and the wealth of the democratic US. They apparently don't see how the two things connect. China may have wealth, but most of its people do not. Same with Hungary. It is propped up by being part of the EU, but still, it is tenuously there if it keeps up its behavior.
You are very right. I know Polish, Armenian, and others who are super anti Communist and pro Fascist Strong Man. It's impossible to talk to them about separating feudalism, communism, socialism and capitalism as economic organization vs Democratic, Fascist, Monarchy, Dictatorship as a Government organization. And that there are various combinations of the two possible.
Anecdotally, within my circle of family and friends, younger women are calling, texting, and emailing their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, women friends, and female work colleagues to get them to line up behind the Democratic ticket.
At the moment Kamala Harris seems almost certain to get the nomination, and she is a galvanizing influence. But whomsoever the Democrats ultimately choose is almost beside the point. What is at stake for women in this election is female bodily autonomy (abortion and even contraception), legal recourse to divorce from an abusive marriage, and potentially even the right to vote at some future point.
Even a conservative woman married to an MAGA husband might take a step back from voting Trump/Vance when contemplating even the remote possibility of their daughter or granddaughter becoming pregnant in high school because of no contraception, being forced to carry the baby to term because of no abortion, and then having the baby handed over to THEM to raise because young single mothers will not be able to earn enough money to pay for childcare. The GOP might as well have made their party slogan "Barefoot and Pregnant!"
Jay Kuo has pointed out in the past that the results of the 2022 midterm elections and the special elections held in the interim did not remotely match the polling numbers. Women have been driving this. I expect to see that phenomenon play out again this November, potentially in a very spectacular manner.
So trite, I know, but I find it laughable that Mr. Trump calls himself "a fine and brilliant young man" in his (pole) post. I guess he was dreaming when he wrote it. Bless his heart...
As Kamala said, I'm willing to put her record against Trumps any day. I hope VERY much that the R's continue showing that racism and sexism is all they have. Calling her a DEI candidate??? Lmao, keep that up. All it does is point out that under-qualified white men have been taking jobs from more qualified and capable people for our country's entire history and highlights how qualified she is by comparison to the two unqualified white men she's going to defeat in November!
My theory is that we can focus strictly on GOTV efforts and let MAGA self-destruct. Kamala has generated that much excitement. We don't need to attack (we can let Kamala do that, as she effectively did yesterday) and focus on numbers and voters.
The contrast between the two sides is obvious to even casual voters. MAGA will continue to self destruct, while we focus on competing in states we didn't expect to win, along with the usual battlegrounds. Texas is even in play, given all its urban centers. If Kamala pulls in Texas, the election is over at 9 pm. I wouldn't even be surprised if she finds a way to get a chunk of rural voters. She really is that smart.
And her laugh and smile, a problem for Hillary, is not a problem for Kamala. She comes off as genuine and warm. She comes off as hip, even, dare I say.
Fair or not, the contrast wasn't so easy with Biden. Our guy had trouble with basic diction. So yelling about Trump's dementia fell on deaf ears.
Now, Trump's dementia will be self-evident every time he opens his mouth or posts to Truth Sociopath. And Vance? He's just silly, and younger voters, especially, have already taken note.
I agree that GOTV is vital - registering, checking your registration in states that have purged their rolls, drives for first time voters, etc. Gerrymandered states remain, voter intimidation tactics in red states will still happen. Never forget we need the house & senate too!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for describing the important narrative aspect of the past few months. I think far too many people mistook it for fact. What I’m seeing right now is renewed confidence, not over confidence, and a willingness to sign on to door-knocking, postcards, phone banks and GOTV efforts. Let’s hope that doesn’t flag before November. I also think Harris’ support will build up to and through the DNC convention and the polls will reflect that. Then in September will come Trump’s sentencing in NY, and Judge Chutkan’s review of the January 6th evidence to comply with Roberts’ demand that she determine which crimes were official acts. We may also see the Florida case reinstated and movement in Georgia, all reminders that one candidate is a convicted felon and the other a former prosecutor. Future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.
It seems like the biggest effect of Kamala Harris taking over the top spot on Democratic ticket is that this race which had seemed static has now become unstuck, and the result is a rush of enthusiasm for the new face in the race. Kamala seems to be the jolt of electricity this race needed, and people are responding to an optimistic, future-facing and, let's face it, joyful candidate. She has something you can't bottle - or fake. The contrast to the old, dark campaign Trump is running is startling.
We have to strike a balance regarding polling: We can’t let ourselves get confident, but we can make as much as we can out of the fact that they’re clearly driving Trump and the Republicans completely insane.
His entire rationale is “I can’t possibly lose, look at the polls.” It’s what he’s going to base Jan. 6 Part II on, and besides as a rapist and domestic abuser “resistance is futile” is kind of his whole thing. Any losing polls blow it all up, and they require him to actually advance arguments and put in some work, which he’s completely incapable of doing.
A reader noted that another important thing about polls that are close or which have Harris winning is that the idea that she won through massive fraud will hold less currency. If she is leading in the polls going in, sane people will believe, rightly, that she won fair and square.
True, Jay, but “sane people” among the MAGA cult are few and far between. They will cause HUGE issues when he loses, and given the incessant use of violent rhetoric from Trump and his followers, we have much to be concerned with.
Yes, exactly. I was coming here post about how important it it that Harris is leading in the polls. She needs a wider margin to dispel the the myth of a rigged election. I am sure Trump and cronies have other things up their leaves. I am also worried about what the Postmaster General might do. I send message to White House to ask them to replace him before the elections. If you are so inclined please do the same..
The bigger the margin, the better, but let's keep in mind that Trump lost by 7 million votes and still describes it as a landslide VICTORY, while his followers say with a straight face that Biden can't have won because they don't know any Biden voters (I am not making this up). Nothing is going to convince him and his most deluded followers.
That’s exactly right, and as much as I don’t like what happened to Biden, the opening salvo of the white-shoe Jan. 6 (Charlie Pierce’s term) that is absolutely coming this fall and winter was going to be “Look at the poll numbers,” and also “Look at all these statements, petitions and op-eds from Democrats saying Biden can’t win.”
Don't forget that she certifies the results. Which will be a purely pro forma exercise, because she respects democracy and isn't a corrupt dictator wannabe. The US has elected sitting veeps to president before, most recently George H. W. Bush, and it is perfectly legit. But we can expect them to howl and throw things.
Another thing about Trump is that no one dares to tell him any bad news. Remember the stacks of positive articles he carried around every day of his trial? It's clearly someone's job to be his clipping service and never to show him anything negative. So he walks around in a rose-colored fog.
He does have better campaign chiefs this time around. They seem to be running a fairly tight ship. But it's obvious that they can't control what he does or says. And they only have the money that he and Lara dole out to them. I read somewhere (not sure it's true) that they have a very sparse field-office network this time, driven perhaps by two factors: (1) all the money is going to pay off Trump's huge debts and settlements, and (2) their strategy is "Celebrate if we win, refuse to accept the outcome if we lose."
To quote a Bulwark podcast: "Trump's people spent years making age the most dangerous landmine of the campaign narrative. Donald Trump is now standing on that landmine."
I'm amazed at how the momentum shifted almost instantly...it's thrilling. Joe Biden is and always will be a man of wisdom, courage, and kindness. We can all learn from his example. GO KAMALA! 💙
I was for keeping Biden on the ticket right to the end, but that's mostly because I was afraid of a protracted new "primary" fight until the convention. Let's face it getting democrats to agree on something is like herding cats. But, all those fears are now gone, Kamala did the impossible; she managed to herd ALL the cats. If she can do that, she can win in November.
So true about the herding cats analogy. We’re that big tent party that listens to so many we end up unable to hear ourselves think at all.
Hoping for that big tent to be real. All those who were for Biden are just getting insults and told to stop whining. And this after listening to almost a month of whining from those that persecuted Biden for his debate performance.
Regardless of their calculus on Biden's staying in/leaving, everyone wants to beat Trump and put a Democrat in office. We don't even have the left/center debate that often plagues Democrats, since Biden and Harris are quite similar in their outlook. They differ here and there (I for one am glad, for both moral and tactical reasons, that Harris is less inclined to give Israel a blank check), but they are both moderates. (Or, as Trump calls them, RADICAL LEFT MARXISTS!)
Just love how the big crowd at Kamala's Milwaukee rally joyously broke into a "Lock him up!" chant as Harris itemized the Orange Felon's misdeeds. Let's have more of that making the evening news!
I loved how the Love Fest between Joe and Kamala went viral (the one where he said, "I'm watching you kid. I love you!") It had me misty-eyed. That will be more iconic in the long run, I believe, than, the con in chief's so-called Iwo Jima moment (which was a ridiculous proposition that only mainstream media could manage to conjure).
That response to Kamala was so completely opposite to how Trump treated Pence on January 6. Where Meadows said that Trump stated that Pence deserved it (when there were chants to hang him on the Capitol lawn).
Speaks volumes to the character of both men.
It honestly really moved me. I don't expect that in politics.
OMH, I watched that. I got all teary too. I immediately wanted hugs and cookies.
tRump's approval numbers have forever languished at round 41-42%, and if we couldn't find a candidate to outperform against that background of his unpopularity, well, we deserved to lose.
Good news! We have that candidate, now let's make something of it and crush the Orange Felon/Hillbilly ticket and send them packing come Election Day.
I think you mean "Shillbilly."
Love it. Coming from the Appalachian region, that’s exactly what he is.
Very, very good Jerry!
It does feel different and filled with hope + possibility.
Vote for the prosecutor, not the felon!
Absolutely!👏👏👏
Go Harris!
All votes count. But sadly some votes count more than others. Swing state votes are the key to winning. Maybe someday this appalling and demoralizing reality will shift, but not today and not any day in 2024.
So write postcards, make calls, talk to everyone you know in the Swing States. And if you live in one of those states, double your efforts to talk to people, help like minded people to get registered and have a plan to vote as early as possible.
And VISUALIZE President Kamala Harris!
✅ and ACTUALIZE President Kamala Harris!
We need big turnouts at her rallies and torchlight parades. Perhaps some whistlestops too. Bring back some old school campaigning!
So far, 100 postcards written! Sending to North Carolina in October! I still remember that sick, sick feeling in 2016 when the AP called North Carolina for dump 😪
I think as pissed-off mobilized women lead the way to victory, we will emerge with at least a few more swing states!
Your typing fingers to god’s inbox.
Florida! Let's go! That abortion referendum and the chance to take DeSantis down a few pegs, while possibly powering Kamala Harris to victory! My dd and I have written 200 postcards to be mailed to FL voters for Reclaim Our Vote, and are about to get 200 more.
Scary isn’t it-- how aligned people also move to those states and can expect to have less hassle from the status quo state govt there as well as have their votes count more.
I doubt our forefathers thought about how that could happen.
Yep. The Electoral College, an 18th century construction, has out lived its usefulness as we approach the second quarter of the 21st century.
You can practically smell his fear. Smells like delusion and soiled Depends.
The delusion was on full display with "brilliant young man", goes along with 6'3 215lb lie at GA booking, the rot is real.
If we want to get college students out to vote, we need to take them under our wings and help them to navigate the complexity of deciding whether to vote from home or school. We should be asking colleges to cancel classes on election day to help with the vote. In my other country we vote on Sundays if we vote in person. Anyone can sign up to mail in their vote too.
In North Carolina, the page of small print rules that comes with your absentee ballot is scary. HOWEVER, in person voting starts October 17. Vote that day or soon after, so the GOTV folks can cross you off. There's curbside voting in Durham: a poll worker comes to your car with a ballot. If you can, help anyone who can't travel or who needs a ride.
Victor Shi had an ALL-YOUTH Zoom call this morning that I heard went well. The Swifties are all fired up after hearing JD Vance's remarks about childless cat ladies and are promising "armageddon". Beyonce's mother has endorsed Kamala and Beyonce gave Kamala permission to use her song "Freedom" in her campaign so I think the BeyHives will come on board also.
https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/voting-in-college/ has all the info, state by state.
This is always the best advice from Jay, Don't get over confident! Lot's of work to do, and not much time to do it in. But a couple of things I did notice; trumps numbers, during the "discussion" over should Biden exit the race, did NOT increase. Biden's certainly did decrease, but this tells me trumps support, while strong, has topped out. He's not gaining any new voters. Tony Fabrizio is not taking into account the upcoming events that will give Harris' poll numbers a boost. Namely the selection of her running mate, and the Democratic convention. Those events could provide a ladder of poll boosts that will be hard to overcome. Lastly, this whole event of Biden withdrawing and Harris' huge outpouring of support; has effectively sucked the wind out of the post convention (and shooting) bounce the trump campaign was getting. And I'm here for all of it! KAMALA 2024!!
As Jay said, we need to be prepared for the attacks that have already started.
Josh Marshall/TPM offers a guide to coming attacks:
https://popular.info/p/a-guide-to-the-coming-attacks-on?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Erin Reed/Erin In The Morning:
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/conservatives-first-attack-on-kamala?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you Kathy! I already the the first one but not the second, I'll add it to my folder.
And she has a deep bench of qualified people to select her running mate from.
Yes she does, and I'm pulling for Sen. Kelly from Arizona!
Same here! A vet and former astronaut from an important swing state, and a man who knows *first hand* about the horrors of gun violence in America? It doesn’t get any better!
People in Arizona don’t like him much. He’s very underwhelming as a person. He would be very bad on the stump.
Yet he’s been elected TWICE as their Senator. Not sure where you get your “anecdotal” information….
OTOH, we can't afford to lose that Senate seat, and even with Governor Katie Hobbs choosing his replacement, they need to be elected in their own right in 2026. That sounds risky.
Awaiting the requisite "analysis" from the NYT on "Why Kamala Harris' choice of ----- for VP spells bad news for her campaign" something-something. After leading the media charge to dump Biden, their spotlight will turn on and against the Dem ticket in the manner that only the Times can do.
Yes, that's coming. But The Atlantic is out ahead of the NYT's:
https://www.threads.net/@theatlantic/post/C9u6AOcxea0/?xmt=AQGzSm8LUEa-tXof9wveTd8itoUg1hgMTTuMVpViR0neCg&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The really fun part is reading all the comment about how people are cancelling their subscriptions to The Atlantic.
Bret Stephens is doing his part today about why the Dems shouldn't have gone with Harris because "undemocratic"...pundits have united against the overwhelming grass-roots acclaim and embrace of her candidacy.
Oh, do please fuck off, there's a good lad.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/opinion/kamala-harris-democrats.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20240724&instance_id=129600&nl=the-morning®i_id=89483754&segment_id=172994&te=1&user_id=afba25697c02409f5618fd3b57ca3775
Yeah, Bret is just another fascist enabler. Yes the pundits can fuck all the way off.
Pundits were jonesing for the Dem Party to commit mass politicide by having a free-for-all, "Dems in disarray" convention, and are so pissed that Biden, Harris, Pelosi, et al didn't follow their eminent advice. Totally misread the room, and are whining about it...LMFAO!
So far the NYT coverage has been fair to positive. Conservative columnists don't like Harris (shocking!) but there has been a lot of praise for the things she's done since taking over the campaign.
Run like you’re behind. Don’t get cocky. All true but I believe Kamala will do this anyway. Thankfully this isn’t her first election.
Rump's VP pick may also cause him to LOSE votes. Vance seems to too radical for even some on the fence MAGA voters.
Agreed 💯%! As Trump tries to walk back his support for Dobbs and pivot in outreach to suburban women, Vance’s extreme opinions on abortion and women staying in abusive marriages just pushes the undecideds and independents back away from them again.
Once again, Trump didn’t take the good advice of his strategists, like Wiles and LaCivita, and went with the opinions of his dotard failsons instead.
I couldn’t be happier about that!
Agreed! Plus he's a terrible campaigner. The whole thing with the diet Mt. Dew? WTF was that about?
The Orange Felon got persuaded by his two male spawn plus some billionaire tech-bros to go with Hillbilly, and now reportedly is wondering about that choice...LOL!
So he picked a VP on the recommendation from Bevis and Butthead? Perfect!
They were so overconfident and cocky that they basically did an "end zone spike" by picking Vance, who is just about the best pick possible for the Democrats. I've said for decades that the only good thing about the conservatives is that they ALWAYS over-reach, out of arrogance and hubris.
And, his appalling "cat ladies" comment 😳 WTAF?
Borowitz: J.D. Vance Brainstorming Ways to Alienate Owners of Birds, Fish
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/jd-vance-brainstorming-ways-to-alienate
Maybe his $Crowe millions got directed to some research and found it to be the drink of the defiant risk takers--and it’s a bid to show his belonging?
While reading the comment section on Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, I read the following from Ira:
Most of the Democratic politicians will foolishly spend the contributions everyone on this list sent them on TV commercials, political consultants, and direct mail flyers that 95% of the citizens who received them throw into the trash unopened! What they almost unanimously don’t do is pay ambitious and enthusiastic younger folks to run constant voter registration drives for the senior class at their high schools and all the students at their local Community College based on three currently prevalent issues that matter to most if not all 18 to 29s: protection of abortion rights, banning assault weapons (particularly near or in school) and fighting climate change so that they can have a decent life before they turn 40 years old! Political folks say :”But Ira, young folks don’t vote!” True, only about 35% of younger folks vote!
BUT Statistics prove that 70%+ of younger folks who are registered DO VOTE, particularly when motivated by abortion bans, school shootings and climate change! So www.TurnUp.US needs your tax deductible contributions to register those young voters and the same stats prove that 70% or more of them will vote Democrat from the top of the ballot all the way down!
So that’s why your contribution to nonpartisan TurnUp.US which doesn’t directly support candidates is so important!In order to win this election in those congressional districts that are “truly competitive,” those thousands of new enthusiastic younger voters in each CD will recognize which candidates support abortion protections, gun control and the climate fight! Please help today and tomorrow and pass the word to your family and friends? Www.TurnUP.US and thank you!
It motivated me to immediately download their app and contribute. The youth vote is the future. I hope many of us here will join them.
Thank you for pointing me to TurnUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m amazed that people are still willing to vote for Trump or Kennedy. Democracy must be scary to them.
But I kinda love seeing 0% next to Jill Stein.
Jill Stein will get roughly the same number of votes as she did in 2020; these are the people who would vote for her anyway. Contrary to myth, she didn't pull votes from other candidates.
I think it's been documented that she did in 2016 from Hillary.
No, it's been asserted. Her share of the votes actually roughly matched the number of voters registered as Green.
I'm not sure that's the right metric. You are assuming that Green voters would not have voted for Hillary is there was no Green party candidate on the ballot.
That's an absurd hypothetical. Every election has third-party candidates.
She absolutely DID in the swing states pull enough from Hillary to cost us the electoral college
Or was it the abstainers, those who stayed home, in the swing states that cost Hillary the election?
Doesn’t matter—they don’t count if they didn’t vote.
Trump will live to regret boosting RFKjr. One thing the polls show clearly is that he pulls votes from Trump, not the Dems.
I think he’s trying to pull him into the GOP administration now and out of the race
It seems that Trump assumed that because of RFKjr's Kennedy name he would be a magnet for Democrats. But because of anti-vax his nonsense, he's actually been a draw for MAGAs. No wonder Trump wants him out of the race.
Some really nasty stuff is starting to come out about Junior, he is exactly like rump…
Jr has always been nasty, not surprising LOL
True, but not enough are aware of just how bad…hopefully that will change soon!
Do share, what did I miss besides the brainworm, being barefoot and eating a dog, which might be pig?
Found it—got buried it seems, but still gross! https://www.reuters.com/world/us/woman-who-accused-rfk-jr-sexual-assault-says-he-apologized-by-text-2024-07-12/
Saw something in passing about sexual assault…waiting to see if more surfaces though
We can't help calling him Diaper Don.
I prefer rump, I don’t like even using his first name! And I have despised him since the 80’s
I would not be childish enough to use a taunting nickname, of course, but if I were, I'd go with Mafia Don, Don the Con, or the Manchurian Canteloupe.
Well yes the polls show RFKjr pulls from rump but I also believe he would have pulled from Biden as well if he had stayed in the race. I believe he would have gotten more of the Gaza and "he's too old" voters than we would have liked. I don't believe he will pull as much from Harris, but we don't know anything til it's all said and done.
Sharing the world with people who are not exactly like them is what is scary to them. They are willing to sacrifice Democracy to prevent it from happening.
I think many do not understand the concept of democracy. You have all the people who moved here from fascist Eastern European countries who seem to favor Trump. He is representing the values that they left behind and may embrace, even if they wanted the freedom and the wealth of the democratic US. They apparently don't see how the two things connect. China may have wealth, but most of its people do not. Same with Hungary. It is propped up by being part of the EU, but still, it is tenuously there if it keeps up its behavior.
You are very right. I know Polish, Armenian, and others who are super anti Communist and pro Fascist Strong Man. It's impossible to talk to them about separating feudalism, communism, socialism and capitalism as economic organization vs Democratic, Fascist, Monarchy, Dictatorship as a Government organization. And that there are various combinations of the two possible.
People LOVE a “strongman”….ugh!
Anecdotally, within my circle of family and friends, younger women are calling, texting, and emailing their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, women friends, and female work colleagues to get them to line up behind the Democratic ticket.
At the moment Kamala Harris seems almost certain to get the nomination, and she is a galvanizing influence. But whomsoever the Democrats ultimately choose is almost beside the point. What is at stake for women in this election is female bodily autonomy (abortion and even contraception), legal recourse to divorce from an abusive marriage, and potentially even the right to vote at some future point.
Even a conservative woman married to an MAGA husband might take a step back from voting Trump/Vance when contemplating even the remote possibility of their daughter or granddaughter becoming pregnant in high school because of no contraception, being forced to carry the baby to term because of no abortion, and then having the baby handed over to THEM to raise because young single mothers will not be able to earn enough money to pay for childcare. The GOP might as well have made their party slogan "Barefoot and Pregnant!"
Jay Kuo has pointed out in the past that the results of the 2022 midterm elections and the special elections held in the interim did not remotely match the polling numbers. Women have been driving this. I expect to see that phenomenon play out again this November, potentially in a very spectacular manner.
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So trite, I know, but I find it laughable that Mr. Trump calls himself "a fine and brilliant young man" in his (pole) post. I guess he was dreaming when he wrote it. Bless his heart...
Even when he was young, he was neither fine nor brilliant.
He's delusional. Which Kamala will now amplify along with all the other descriptors she used in her speech in Milwaukee
He wrote it while resting his “beautiful blue eyes.”
Don Snoreleone
🙃🤮
Maybe Diaper Don should try pole dancing. Good exercise.
Ew. That's a mental image I'd like to purge.
Two more lies to throw onto the stack!
As Kamala said, I'm willing to put her record against Trumps any day. I hope VERY much that the R's continue showing that racism and sexism is all they have. Calling her a DEI candidate??? Lmao, keep that up. All it does is point out that under-qualified white men have been taking jobs from more qualified and capable people for our country's entire history and highlights how qualified she is by comparison to the two unqualified white men she's going to defeat in November!
Those "pole" numbers kinda pole vaulted past him, eh?
I'm sure trump has spent a lot of time watching poles
Ooooo! Good one!
My theory is that we can focus strictly on GOTV efforts and let MAGA self-destruct. Kamala has generated that much excitement. We don't need to attack (we can let Kamala do that, as she effectively did yesterday) and focus on numbers and voters.
The contrast between the two sides is obvious to even casual voters. MAGA will continue to self destruct, while we focus on competing in states we didn't expect to win, along with the usual battlegrounds. Texas is even in play, given all its urban centers. If Kamala pulls in Texas, the election is over at 9 pm. I wouldn't even be surprised if she finds a way to get a chunk of rural voters. She really is that smart.
And her laugh and smile, a problem for Hillary, is not a problem for Kamala. She comes off as genuine and warm. She comes off as hip, even, dare I say.
Fair or not, the contrast wasn't so easy with Biden. Our guy had trouble with basic diction. So yelling about Trump's dementia fell on deaf ears.
Now, Trump's dementia will be self-evident every time he opens his mouth or posts to Truth Sociopath. And Vance? He's just silly, and younger voters, especially, have already taken note.
Love this, Charles! As the Gen Z artist says: kamala IS brat
Our work hasn't changed, but we now do it with a lilt in our voices and a pep in our step. We Will Win in November with Kamala!
I agree that GOTV is vital - registering, checking your registration in states that have purged their rolls, drives for first time voters, etc. Gerrymandered states remain, voter intimidation tactics in red states will still happen. Never forget we need the house & senate too!
By the way, my comment isn't meant to malign Joe. He is great. But perceptions matter.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for describing the important narrative aspect of the past few months. I think far too many people mistook it for fact. What I’m seeing right now is renewed confidence, not over confidence, and a willingness to sign on to door-knocking, postcards, phone banks and GOTV efforts. Let’s hope that doesn’t flag before November. I also think Harris’ support will build up to and through the DNC convention and the polls will reflect that. Then in September will come Trump’s sentencing in NY, and Judge Chutkan’s review of the January 6th evidence to comply with Roberts’ demand that she determine which crimes were official acts. We may also see the Florida case reinstated and movement in Georgia, all reminders that one candidate is a convicted felon and the other a former prosecutor. Future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.
Make it all so!
So with you! Thank you for your post today.
It seems like the biggest effect of Kamala Harris taking over the top spot on Democratic ticket is that this race which had seemed static has now become unstuck, and the result is a rush of enthusiasm for the new face in the race. Kamala seems to be the jolt of electricity this race needed, and people are responding to an optimistic, future-facing and, let's face it, joyful candidate. She has something you can't bottle - or fake. The contrast to the old, dark campaign Trump is running is startling.
We have to strike a balance regarding polling: We can’t let ourselves get confident, but we can make as much as we can out of the fact that they’re clearly driving Trump and the Republicans completely insane.
His entire rationale is “I can’t possibly lose, look at the polls.” It’s what he’s going to base Jan. 6 Part II on, and besides as a rapist and domestic abuser “resistance is futile” is kind of his whole thing. Any losing polls blow it all up, and they require him to actually advance arguments and put in some work, which he’s completely incapable of doing.
A reader noted that another important thing about polls that are close or which have Harris winning is that the idea that she won through massive fraud will hold less currency. If she is leading in the polls going in, sane people will believe, rightly, that she won fair and square.
True, Jay, but “sane people” among the MAGA cult are few and far between. They will cause HUGE issues when he loses, and given the incessant use of violent rhetoric from Trump and his followers, we have much to be concerned with.
Yes, exactly. I was coming here post about how important it it that Harris is leading in the polls. She needs a wider margin to dispel the the myth of a rigged election. I am sure Trump and cronies have other things up their leaves. I am also worried about what the Postmaster General might do. I send message to White House to ask them to replace him before the elections. If you are so inclined please do the same..
The bigger the margin, the better, but let's keep in mind that Trump lost by 7 million votes and still describes it as a landslide VICTORY, while his followers say with a straight face that Biden can't have won because they don't know any Biden voters (I am not making this up). Nothing is going to convince him and his most deluded followers.
That’s exactly right, and as much as I don’t like what happened to Biden, the opening salvo of the white-shoe Jan. 6 (Charlie Pierce’s term) that is absolutely coming this fall and winter was going to be “Look at the poll numbers,” and also “Look at all these statements, petitions and op-eds from Democrats saying Biden can’t win.”
Don't forget that she certifies the results. Which will be a purely pro forma exercise, because she respects democracy and isn't a corrupt dictator wannabe. The US has elected sitting veeps to president before, most recently George H. W. Bush, and it is perfectly legit. But we can expect them to howl and throw things.
Another thing about Trump is that no one dares to tell him any bad news. Remember the stacks of positive articles he carried around every day of his trial? It's clearly someone's job to be his clipping service and never to show him anything negative. So he walks around in a rose-colored fog.
He does have better campaign chiefs this time around. They seem to be running a fairly tight ship. But it's obvious that they can't control what he does or says. And they only have the money that he and Lara dole out to them. I read somewhere (not sure it's true) that they have a very sparse field-office network this time, driven perhaps by two factors: (1) all the money is going to pay off Trump's huge debts and settlements, and (2) their strategy is "Celebrate if we win, refuse to accept the outcome if we lose."
I so appreciate your insights. The breathless media calling the game shot by shot has been upsetting, discouraging and exhausting.
To quote a Bulwark podcast: "Trump's people spent years making age the most dangerous landmine of the campaign narrative. Donald Trump is now standing on that landmine."