Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[Benggaul]

Do we know if he's even a real cop?

And this is why we need a Secretary of Election Enforcement, or something similar. The FEC proved it can be cast aside without any teeth.

SEE (that works well for an acronym, lol) would have both investigative and enforcement authority. I could see it being completely independent, perhaps as a judicial branch, maybe an arm of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Direct judicial review. Their own force. Etc.

That "cop" sitting there with a Trump mask inside a voting/polling location is the perfect example of everything wrong with this country.

Yes, he's a real cop. The Miami PD have already issued a statement and some other folks have dug up some priors that this jackass has.

[cubby]

Yes, we do. Bill Kristol and Rick Wilson are not going to be singing the praises of M4A anytime soon. Like, I don't know why on earth anyone would think that the Lincoln Project or the Midas group or any of these other conservative anti-Trump groups would ideologically align with liberals/progressives on these issues.

Our shared views are limited in scope, mostly that Trump is fucking dangerous and awful, though for different reasons. Once Trump is gone, the temporary alliance ends. They are not our friends. They are not our allies. They are our fellow Americans, but they do not share our world view. It's important to remember that.

And remember that Republicans writ-large voted against the ACA - Romney's plan, to begin with and spent the better part of over a decade trying to repeal it.

They might not be singing the praises of M4A, but there could be an alliance to be had post-Trump (if that happens), in which some kind of compromise could happen. While the Trumpkins are beyond hope, and are unworthy of our efforts (as you so eloquently pointed out - that was a terrific post btw), there are some Republicans who at least have the wherewithal to think for themselves. And that means that we might have a path forward to governing through compromise.

The reason the ACA was categorically voted against by the GOP was McConnell - and those repeal efforts come from the same thought process. Now, you're going to say that we'll still have McConnell even if we win back the Senate and we have a Biden Presidency. But perhaps some of those Senators and Congresspeople might start to think for themselves, and want to help the country.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2020/1...-relief-430341

Holy shit, Betsy DeVos is pretty much a supervillain. Seriously. Fuck this woman so much, we need to get her out ASAP.

Never thought I'd see a ruling with a judge calling the words (denials) of a Cabinet official "disturbingly Kafkaesque", but 2020 is just that kinda year I guess.

I sincerely hope we can find some laws she broke and bring her up on charges. She is actively being evil, and since she owns a student loan debt collection company, that evil is as you pointed out of super-villain status.

[Rasulis]

How's Tillis doing with COVID? That race is a lot more unpredictable than I hoped with Cunningham's snafu. A 50-50 Senate seems very possible, and while Harris can cast tie breakers, it seems all of the Committees would be split evenly like in '00? That would be disastrous for trying to actually hold this administration accountable.

With 38.9% of the 2016 votes in, Dem voters are way ahead. The voter numbers are from TargetSmart exit polls and the ones in parentheses is from the State of NC reporting. It looks like GOP voters will have to play catch up on 11/03.

NC - 38.9% of 2016, 55.4% Dem, 38.3% Rep (45% Dem, 26.3% Rep)

[cubby]

Yes, he's a real cop. The Miami PD have already issued a statement and some other folks have dug up some priors that this jackass has.

I do love the interwebs and social media for this kind of thing. This is how the SEE might be able to act quickly and effectively.

[xmirrors]

I've been having the same quiet thought in the back of my head. All the polls are showing Biden way ahead, but all of thinkers are terrified of saying anything (I'm at the top of that list, to be clear), because of 2016.

I'm definitely suppressing a lot of my optimism because of 2016, but there is a lot of evidence that supports the idea that this is better for Biden than the general polling alone indicates. Voter turnout is higher (even if it's across the board, I would argue that this benefits the dems more generally). We turned a lot of seats in 2018. Projections are looking good for taking the House. The fact that Trump has to seriously fight to keep states like TX, FL and GA...

I dunno, it definitely feels like a blue wave.

With that all said, though, I prefer we keep the mindset that this could easily be a Trump win so that we fight. We fight our hearts out.

[Edge-]

They might not be singing the praises of M4A, but there could be an alliance to be had post-Trump (if that happens), in which some kind of compromise could happen

That would sure be swell, but I ain't bankin on it. These are the folks that can usually only achieve orgasm if they know we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars bombing brown people so we can get their oil.

[Machismo]

I think they're precisely not doing that. From what i've seen, Dems are running this as if they are 2 points behind, smelling blood on the water, and pushing their ground game to its breaking point. They're not complacent.

I agree, I think the Democrats have learned a lot from 2016 when it comes to focusing on voters.

But, I also think that the reliance on poling data is dangerous at the state level, and the Dems should consider states like Nevada to be a risk.

[Edge-]

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/202...ions-donations

Fear Kanye, he raised almost $3,000 for his campaign last month!

[Benggaul]

Just checked the status of my absentee ballot and it's been accepted, so I can breathe a little personal sigh of relief. Send them in (by whatever method you can safely do) and check them whenever possible, folks.

[kaelleria]

You can't even get Democrats to overwhelmingly support M4A.. lets get it out of our heads that Republicans will have any desire to support it.

[xmirrors]

Fear Kanye, he raised almost $3,000 for his campaign last month!

I was surprised and amused when I saw him as an option on my ballot. Didn't realize he made it in my state.

Not concerned in the least about him though. I never bought into the idea that he would take any voters away from Biden. He's just a very sick man who needs help.

[cubby]

How's Tillis doing with COVID? That race is a lot more unpredictable than I hoped with Cunningham's snafu. A 50-50 Senate seems very possible, and while Harris can cast tie breakers, it seems all of the Committees would be split evenly like in '00? That would be disastrous for trying to actually hold this administration accountable.

I hope we don't end up with a 50-50 Senate, but the Committees wouldn't be split evenly. If the Senate is 50-50, the VP party decides the majority, and they get all the perks, including majority in Committees, etc.

Polls are showing the race closing with Tillis, he's gaining slightly - but it's just one poll, albeit most recent. Cunningham is still ahead though.

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You can't even get Democrats to overwhelmingly support M4A.. lets get it out of our heads that Republicans will have any desire to support it.

I keep referring to M4A, and that's my bad - I'm really referring to a re-bolstered ACA. But in previous posts I said M4A, which I shouldn't have.

I agree, too, that M4A is dead right now. There are so many other things we need to repair/fix that bringing in new sweeping legislation just isn't in the cards right now. If we win out in Nov, and we push forward, and then gain even more seats in 2022, then we can consider bigger plans.

[Nurasu]

I hope we don't end up with a 50-50 Senate, but the Committees wouldn't be split evenly. If the Senate is 50-50, the VP party decides the majority, and they get all the perks, including majority in Committees, etc.

Polls are showing the race closing with Tillis, he's gaining slightly - but it's just one poll, albeit most recent. Cunningham is still ahead though.

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I keep referring to M4A, and that's my bad - I'm really referring to a re-bolstered ACA. But in previous posts I said M4A, which I shouldn't have.

I agree, too, that M4A is dead right now. There are so many other things we need to repair/fix that bringing in new sweeping legislation just isn't in the cards right now. If we win out in Nov, and we push forward, and then gain even more seats in 2022, then we can consider bigger plans.

Ok, I wasn't sure; it seems the '00 Senate was the result of a good faith compromise. I imagine that won't happen this year.

[Rasulis]

I hope we don't end up with a 50-50 Senate, but the Committees wouldn't be split evenly. If the Senate is 50-50, the VP party decides the majority, and they get all the perks, including majority in Committees, etc.

Polls are showing the race closing with Tillis, he's gaining slightly - but it's just one poll, albeit most recent. Cunningham is still ahead though.

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I keep referring to M4A, and that's my bad - I'm really referring to a re-bolstered ACA. But in previous posts I said M4A, which I shouldn't have.

I agree, too, that M4A is dead right now. There are so many other things we need to repair/fix that bringing in new sweeping legislation just isn't in the cards right now. If we win out in Nov, and we push forward, and then gain even more seats in 2022, then we can consider bigger plans.

I would stop looking at the polls and instead actually look at the early voting numbers. NC early voting is already at 38.9% of the 2016. Pretty substantial. Right now the GOP votes based on actual state data are lower than No Party Affiliation (NPA) votes. That's pretty bad.

[Redwyrm]

If we win out in Nov, and we push forward, and then gain even more seats in 2022, then we can consider bigger plans.

Biden will have to spend his first 100 days undoing everything that Trump has crashed and burned during his four years. I can't even list all the things I remember that have to be fixed from Trump's escapades.

[cubby]

Biden will have to spend his first 100 days undoing everything that Trump has crashed and burned during his four years. I can't even list all the things I remember that have to be fixed from Trump's escapades.

Agreed. I understand Biden has a team set up and already working on how to do just that, if he wins.

[TigTone]

Biden will have to spend his first 100 days undoing everything that Trump has crashed and burned during his four years. I can't even list all the things I remember that have to be fixed from Trump's escapades.

I think it’s safe to assume every department under the executive branch needs to be cleansed of the Trump disease.

[PhaelixWW]

I think it’s safe to assume every department under the executive branch needs to be cleansed of the Trump disease.

And yet, Trump may still have fired more of his hires than Biden will.

[Zaydin]

GOP Pollster Frank Luntz gave his opinion of the Trump campaign while speaking at a briefing for the British strategic advising company Global Consel.

It was not a very positive opinion.

Speaking at a briefing for the British strategic advising company Global Counsel, Luntz said Trump’s advisers have “their heads up their asses” if they think Hunter Biden will be a winning issue for them.

“I’ve never seen a campaign more mis-calibrated than the Trump campaign. Frankly, his staff ought to be brought up on charges of political malpractice,” Luntz said.

“Nobody cares about Hunter Biden … why is [Trump] spending all his time on him?” Luntz asked. “Hunter Biden does not help put food on the table. Hunter Biden does not help anyone get a job. Hunter Biden does not provide health care or solve COVID. And Donald Trump spends all of his time focused on that and nobody cares.”

[Redwyrm]

Agreed. I understand Biden has a team set up and already working on how to do just that, if he wins.

Wonder how many of those he can do with EO's