2020 Presidential Election

[bundabergdevil]

A Trump aide and Stephen Miller confidante has been banned from DOJ for trying to get, then funnel case info, particularly regarding election matters, to the WH.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/03/polit...ent/index.html

[dudog84]

Well, if their inherent advantage in the Senate sticks and they continue to gerrymander the heck out of the House then they can play obstructionist for the other 2/3rds and then hammer through their agenda in a big way every time they hit on that 1/3rd chance of having the White House... that was Mitch's plan when he refused to confirm Obama judges (not just the supreme court, at all levels) and then went judge crazy over the past 4 years. It is a pretty solid way of getting your agenda enacted if you think about it.

This is why, if they get the 2 Georgia seats, their second order of business (after COVID) should be making D.C. a state. And possibly Puerto Rico (some friends have told me PR is not a slam dunk for Ds).

Will be interesting to see the first flag re-configuration in 62 years.

[Bluedog]

This is why, if they get the 2 Georgia seats, their second order of business (after COVID) should be making D.C. a state. And possibly Puerto Rico (some friends have told me PR is not a slam dunk for Ds).

Will be interesting to see the first flag re-configuration in 62 years.

Yeah given what we saw with the Florida Latinx vote in the Presidential election, PR not as much of a slam dunk as Dems once thought (and yes I know Cubans/Venezuelans aren't the same as Puerto Ricans). There are still a large number of Puerto Ricans in FL though.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

This is why, if they get the 2 Georgia seats, their second order of business (after COVID) should be making D.C. a state. And possibly Puerto Rico (some friends have told me PR is not a slam dunk for Ds).

Will be interesting to see the first flag re-configuration in 62 years.

PR is definitely iffy - not guaranteed to be Democratic. And there are mixed feelings there about becoming a state as there are a lot of related financial/tax issues that make it less of a slam dunk.

DC is a slam dunk in terms of the desire of its residents to become a state, except it looks like there is a constitutional way for Republicans to put up a fight even if they lose the Senate - apparently one could argue that it would take a constitutional amendment to make this happen, which requires more than a simple majority.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ho...-probably-wont

[OldPhiKap]

Georgia SOS poised today to make it official: Biden won Georgia after three counts.

https://twitter.com/brendankeefe/sta...875897856?s=21

Final margin appears to be 11,779 out of almost 5 million votes. Libertarians got 62,240 votes FWIW.

Trump & Co. shouldn’t blame the Georgia system for his loss — he should blame himself for driving enough Republicans to vote third party and leave him short.

[jv001]

Georgia SOS poised today to make it official: Biden won Georgia after three counts.

https://twitter.com/brendankeefe/sta...875897856?s=21

Final margin appears to be 11,779 out of almost 5 million votes. Libertarians got 62,240 votes FWIW.

Trump & Co. shouldn’t blame the Georgia system for his loss — he should blame himself for driving enough Republicans to vote third party and leave him short.

Great point.

[wilson]

Georgia SOS poised today to make it official: Biden won Georgia after three counts.

https://twitter.com/brendankeefe/sta...875897856?s=21

Final margin appears to be 11,779 out of almost 5 million votes. Libertarians got 62,240 votes FWIW.

Trump & Co. shouldn’t blame the Georgia system for his loss — he should blame himself for driving enough Republicans to vote third party and leave him short.

Interestingly, this is only half (almost exactly) of the number of Georgia Libertarian votes in 2016 (the Johnson/Weld ticket got 125,306 votes in that election).
If one presumes that Georgia's ongoing purple-ification along with Trump's, errr...polarizing style pushed more voters out of the "I can't vote for him but I'm not voting for her" camp (since Hillary Clinton is herself quite polarizing) and into the "not only can I not vote for Trump, but I'm comfortable voting for Biden" camp, this seems to me to be a good case in point for the argument that the moderate, wheat toast candidate Biden was the perfect person to win places like Georgia.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Russia didn't flip the election this time...it was them dastardly North Koreans!

Appearing on far-right radio programme The Alex Jones Show, Mr Stones claimed that there was “incontrovertible evidence” that the votes were brought into the US through Maine. He didn’t present any himself.

"I just learned of absolute incontrovertible evidence of North Korean boats delivering ballots through a harbour in Maine, the state of Maine," he said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/roger-sto...053809333.html

[bundabergdevil]

Russia didn't flip the election this time...it was them dastardly North Koreans!



https://www.yahoo.com/news/roger-sto...053809333.html

Someone needs to flush that turd.

[PackMan97]

Interestingly, this is only half (almost exactly) of the number of Georgia Libertarian votes in 2016 (the Johnson/Weld ticket got 125,306 votes in that election).
If one presumes that Georgia's ongoing purple-ification along with Trump's, errr...polarizing style pushed more voters out of the "I can't vote for him but I'm not voting for her" camp (since Hillary Clinton is herself quite polarizing) and into the "not only can I not vote for Trump, but I'm comfortable voting for Biden" camp, this seems to me to be a good case in point for the argument that the moderate, wheat toast candidate Biden was the perfect person to win places like Georgia.

To be honest, the Johnson/Weld ticket was the strongest ticket fielded by the Libertarians since I can remember. You have two two-term Governors. That's some serious real world experience at being the guy in charge. I mean no offense for Jo Jorgensen (and this wasn't her first rodeo, she was the Libertarian VP pick in 1996). I can easily see folks being comfortable voting for Johnson/Weld over Trump or Hillary. Arguably the Libertarian ticket had the most experience of any ticket in 2016.

It's a shame that Johnson spent more time lighting up and smoking dope than he did getting serious about a run for President between 2012 and 2016. That was a serious missed opportunity for the Libertarian party. I suppose we'll always have Aleppo.

[CameronBornAndBred]

It's a shame that Johnson spent more time lighting up and smoking dope than he did getting serious about a run for President between 2012 and 2016. That was a serious missed opportunity for the Libertarian party. I suppose we'll always have Aleppo.

What's a leppo?

Johnson was the only third party candidate that I can remember since Perot that was given serious air time. I remember watching and listening to a few interviews with him, which they usually don't get and having that exposure sure helped. And conversely, it's why people actually paid attention to his damning question.

[CameronBornAndBred]

A small catch in an article about something else.

Support for Trump's questioning the election result has faded in his inner circle. Vice President Mike Pence is said to be the latest member of the administration keen for Trump to abandon the strategy.

A senior administration official told The Daily Beast this week that it was "an open secret" that Pence "absolutely does not feel the same way about the legal effort as President Trump does."
The official added that Pence "doesn't want to go down with this ship" and that he "believes much of the legal work has been unhelpful."

I hadn't thought much about Pence and the inauguration. Would it be safe to assume that he'll eschew his boss and be in attendance?
He was on the ticket as well, could/would he ever say that unlike Trump, he concedes?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/republica...122735056.html

[budwom]

A small catch in an article about something else.



I hadn't thought much about Pence and the inauguration. Would it be safe to assume that he'll eschew his boss and be in attendance?
He was on the ticket as well, could/would he ever say that unlike Trump, he concedes?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/republica...122735056.html

I've been wondering what Pence does for his next act...he may see himself as a strong contender for 2024, but I'm not sure many others join him in that opinion.

[Mike Corey]

So much depends on what the GOP looks like in two years. Does it continue down its nationalistic track, or does it start reverting back to conservatism?

If the latter, Pence may emerge. If the former, folks like Tom Cotton will be better positioned IMO.

[Bluedog]

A small catch in an article about something else.



I hadn't thought much about Pence and the inauguration. Would it be safe to assume that he'll eschew his boss and be in attendance?
He was on the ticket as well, could/would he ever say that unlike Trump, he concedes?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/republica...122735056.html

Uh...no. He will definitely not be in defiance of Trump in these areas (at least publicly). I don't see him attending the inauguration if Trump doesn't.

Interestingly, this is only half (almost exactly) of the number of Georgia Libertarian votes in 2016 (the Johnson/Weld ticket got 125,306 votes in that election).
If one presumes that Georgia's ongoing purple-ification along with Trump's, errr...polarizing style pushed more voters out of the "I can't vote for him but I'm not voting for her" camp (since Hillary Clinton is herself quite polarizing) and into the "not only can I not vote for Trump, but I'm comfortable voting for Biden" camp, this seems to me to be a good case in point for the argument that the moderate, wheat toast candidate Biden was the perfect person to win places like Georgia.

Autocorrect of "milquetoast"? Unless "wheat toast" is a term I'm just unfamiliar with. But, yes, I agree with you that Biden was the perfect candidate as a "not controversial/bland pick" that moderates in purple states would be okay with selecting. I don't think Bernie Sanders (or Warren...Or Harris...) carries GA to say the least...

[bundabergdevil]

So much depends on what the GOP looks like in two years. Does it continue down its nationalistic track, or does it start reverting back to conservatism?

If the latter, Pence may emerge. If the former, folks like Tom Cotton will be better positioned IMO.

The Republican primaries have featured the Trump brand of Republicanism for some time but the moderates had won out recently...until Trump.

It seems like every so often there’s a pretty significant surge of rightward anger but Trump’s been the most successful at translating into political power in recent history by far.

The 2024 primary will be VERY interesting. One thing is for certain: the Democrats should NEVER hope the Trump-wing candidate wins the primary again the HRC campaign did with Trump in 2016. Talk about taking your medicine.

[wilson]

...Unless "wheat toast" is a term I'm just unfamiliar with. But, yes, I agree with you that Biden was the perfect candidate as a "not controversial/bland pick" that moderates in purple states would be okay with selecting. I don't think Bernie Sanders (or Warren...Or Harris...) carries GA to say the least...

It's more just a turn of phrase I threw out myself, to mean exactly what you articulate in your following comments.
No butter, no jelly, no egg, inoffensive if unexciting.

[dudog84]

Hey OPK, Jason, and other Georgians...what's the take on ganja in the Peach State? The HofR just voted to legalize it, but of course Mitch will never allow a vote in the Senate. Could this be an issue for the Senate races? Honestly, I'm serious. Mostly.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...Jo2?li=BBnb7Kz

[budwom]

Hey OPK, Jason, and other Georgians...what's the take on ganja in the Peach State? The HofR just voted to legalize it, but of course Mitch will never allow a vote in the Senate. Could this be an issue for the Senate races? Honestly, I'm serious. Mostly.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...Jo2?li=BBnb7Kz

https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...ization-437782

In case you missed this, a rather surprising look at the ultra popularity of pot in Oklahoma...it's a great read...The Ganja World is changing at a pretty rapid pace, many old assumptions no longer apply.
I've often thought there has been a major disconnect between red state libertarian views, and onerous, illogical pot laws.

[wilson]

Hey OPK, Jason, and other Georgians...what's the take on ganja in the Peach State? The HofR just voted to legalize it, but of course Mitch will never allow a vote in the Senate. Could this be an issue for the Senate races? Honestly, I'm serious. Mostly.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...Jo2?li=BBnb7Kz

I'd imagine cannabis views in Georgia are in line with the nation in general, with the blue electorate (almost exactly half of hour state, for the purposes of this discussion) being generally in favor of decriminalization, etc., and the red half being generally opposed, but at a steadily shrinking clip.
I found this survey from about 2 years ago showing 55% of Georgians supporting recreational cannabis and 35% opposed, with 10% unsure. I would hypothesize that the 55 has ticked up a few points and the 35 down a few points since then, and I believe that as more states legalize and the world doesn't go to...wait for it...pot, the scales will tip nationwide rather soon (perhaps very soon if Warnock and Ossoff pull it off in January).