Prelude to the Apocalypse

[Ed Oscuro]

And Florida appears to go Red for both Gov and Senate. Good job Dems, but you guys don't turn out for midterms.

On what election map?

less than 1 min ago
White House officials are watching the Florida gubernatorial race closely

From CNN's Pam Brown

White House officials are watching the Florida governor's race closely as early results come rolling in favoring Democrat Andrew Gillum.

It has been neck-and-neck in these races. In particular the early results, with many outstanding votes seeming to reside in heavily Dem areas.

[BryanM]

Good job Dems, but you guys don't turn out for midterms.

Or, perhaps, their candidates are simply horrible.

Campaign on Medicare in the primary, then pivot to "access" in the general. On plain terms, scream at everyone that you're a crooked liar before you even take office.

[Specineff]

Democrat Donna Shalala is poised to win the Florida House seat with 51.6% of the vote as of this message.

[Ed Oscuro]

Two Muslim women are going to Congress, too, in a first. They're from Michigan and Minnesota.

[Specineff]

Democrat Jared Polis wins the governor seat in Colorado.

[Domino]

And it's official, Gillum concede the race to Desantis. Nelson is going to be toast. At least the Dems won the Federal House.

Or, perhaps, their candidates are simply horrible.

Campaign on Medicare in the primary, then pivot to "access" in the general. On plain terms, scream at everyone that you're a crooked liar before you even take office.

Gillum did a great run in Florida standards. However, the state as you know has a big old white population who aren't the biggest fans of voting for minorities. Furthermore, as I stated on a previous post when Gillum won the primary that the FBI investigation could haunt him. I was right on that. People love this state for the low cost of living, here's a perfect example: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/05/ ... ching-job/

Desantis is uber lucky that he won. His message was terrible with no real policy. However, his first real policy is to replace the three liberal Florida Supreme Court justices with conservative ones. Since all the levels of governments are going to be red in two months, no checks/balances at all in State government. I would bet within two years anti-abortion bills and ACLU lawsuits will be flying in that neck of the woods. This is also the first time that Jacksonville/Duval went Democrat in over 20 years (not by a large margin). At least the only thing I like about Repubs in Florida that they are business friendly and low taxes (at the expense of other things, like schools and services).

The major cities went blue this time, but the rural panhandle came thru for Desantis. This will be an interesting four years. It's gets even better, we in Florida passed Amendment 4 (Voter Restoration Amendment), this means that over 1.5 million former felons who done their time will be able to vote again. That means these group of folks will be signing up for the Dem Party. I think they will play a minor role in 2020 and more or a role in 2024. We will see, but I'm really happy that Amendment got passed (since Desantis was against it, and he doesn't have a choice since voters approved!).

[BryanM]

Amendment 4 passing with over 60 percent of the vote makes it really hard to put a lot of weight on their racism. When leftist policies are put on the ballot divorced from partisan identification, they do much better than the Democrats do on average. The minimum wage practically always getting passed when on the ballot is another example.

For some of these people the republican party is just part of their identity, and it's not necessarily viewed as the vehicle it is to funnel more of our cash to the banks in their eyes. Maybe their grandfather was an Eisenhower Republican back when the New Deal still existed and that was a thing, and wishful thinking might have them clinging to that familiar nostalgia.

The race was close enough that Gillum might have won. Maybe all it would have taken was not fundraise with Clinton, or running one populist ad.

Considering the margins of their respective races, I'd consider Florida to be a hell of a lot less racist than freaking Maryland.
___

McCaskill, Donnelly, Heitkamp go down in flames. Thank god. I call this providence of the gods "turd rotation".

Edit: Shit. As you know, McCaskill was practically wearing a MAGA hat out of desperation when her polling was in freefall. And also as you know, I was planning to add a hammer and sickle to my avatar when the grand socialist revolutíon arrives. But... because she wore the hat I can not continue wearing the hat.

These bastards somehow ruin everything.

[Mischief Maker]

Jesus Christ the Wisconsin governor's race is a nail-biter. It keeps swinging between the two by a margin of 500 votes or so every time the numbers update.

Meanwhile the Green party candidate got 10,000+ votes. Brilliant move, guys. Another 4 years of Scott Walker and an environmental-regulation-free Foxconn is gonna be great for the WI groundwater supply.

But I'm also pissed at Our Wisconsin Revolution for splitting their endorsement between four progressive candidates (after a really stupid contest that was nearly impossible to win), whose combined vote total after the primary was greater than Evers, but split up they lost.

But most of all I'm pissed at whoever allowed Evers' bony ass to be photographed in a T-Shirt. He should have been in a blazer with shoulder pads from morning to evening the entire campaign.

I'll be shocked if we don't have a recount tomorrow.

Edit: Holy fuck, at the last minute 30,000 absentee ballots were counted in Milwaukee that took Evers over the top with a greater than 1 point lead (so a recount would not be free for Walker. No guarantee the Kochs wouldn't fund a recount anyway.)

[quash]

California voted against repealing one of its many "temporary" taxes on gas, as well as requiring all further tax increases to be voted on. So we're okay with our taxes being increased without our knowledge or consent, and we're okay with "temporary" taxes on necessities that stick around for a decade or more.

And this isn't even really a partisan issue within the state: I don't know one person that hasn't complained about how much more expensive fuel is here compared to the rest of the country. This state deserves everything that's coming to it.

[Rob]

Two Muslim women are going to Congress, too, in a first. They're from Michigan and Minnesota.

Wow, that's awesome. Because, you know, like, Muslims. It'd be interesting to see what percentage of the votes from Minneapolis's Somali population went to Ilhan Omar. I'd be shocked by any figure lower than 100%. Hopefully this will turn out better than Minneapolis's first Somali cop.

[quash]

Inshallah. I wonder if she'll ever face scrutiny for this.

[Rob]

Sudden craving for ISIS theme song.

[Ed Oscuro]

3 hr 56 min ago
Voters in key states trust Republicans to protect pre-existing conditions

From CNN's Tami Luhby

Health care was front and center in the 2018 midterm elections, with Democrats accusing their GOP rivals of undermining Obamacare's protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Nationally, voters clearly felt the Democrats would better defend those who are or have been sick. Some 58% said Democrats would better protect health care for those with pre-existing conditions, compared to 34% who said Republicans would.

But voters in several key Senate races were more willing to trust Republicans with these popular Affordable Care Act provisions -- even though in some cases, the GOP candidates actively supported dismantling the landmark health care law.

Take Indiana, where Mike Braun defeated incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly. Hoosier State voters had equal confidence in Democrats and Republicans when it came to protecting those with pre-existing conditions.

Same thing happened in Missouri, where Josh Hawley bested incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill. Hawley is among the attorneys general who have filed a lawsuit in Texas District Court seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, including its protections.

When it came to Trump's economic and immigration policies, voters in states sending Republicans to the Senate had more positive views than the national electorate. For instance, they generally felt their financial situations had improved from two years ago. And fewer felt the president's immigration measures were too tough.

lol republicans

[Steamflogger Boss]

My state is now dead to Ann Coulter. Fuck yeah.

[GaijinPunch]

California voted against repealing one of its many "temporary" taxes on gas, as well as requiring all further tax increases to be voted on. So we're okay with our taxes being increased without our knowledge or consent, and we're okay with "temporary" taxes on necessities that stick around for a decade or more.

And this isn't even really a partisan issue within the state: I don't know one person that hasn't complained about how much more expensive fuel is here compared to the rest of the country. This state deserves everything that's coming to it.

Agreed -- Illinois tries to play that "temporary" tax bullshit left and right, and whenever I hear a politician mention it my sphincter puckers. The biggest offender here is we have tollways that have been paid for for some 15 years but they continue to collect tolls on them (despite assuring the public it was only to pay for the fucking roads).

Pritzker, who unsurprisingly won Governor by a landslide, mentioned something about a temporary tax to fix the pension-fueled budget crisis ages ago. Eyes rolled. Here we go. Doesn't take much to be better than Rauner though, who is apparently breaking the mold by being an Illinois governor leaving office as a free man.

[BryanM]

I have complete faith in Speaker Pelosi to continue this brave bipartisanship where the republicans get everything that they want and leftists can continue to eat shit and die.

"Dem don't turn out in the midterms" is a disingenuous myth because it implies someone turns out for them during the presidential years. Subtract California from the total of 2016, and Trump won the popular vote. 2000 and 2004 were also classic 3rd Way performance.

That some of ya'all can complain about the Green party getting 20 votes while the democrats lose or barely squeak by to literal vampire squids shows how well the propaganda works.

[Mischief Maker]

Holding my head high and stepping back to allow literal vampire death squids to feast on children for the sake of some hollow moral victory is not a trade I'm willing to make.

Like I said before, if the idiots at Our Wisconsin Revolution didn't split the progressive vote in the primary, we wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place.

3rd-way dems don't have the monopoly on political incompetence.

[BryanM]

There were certainly more than 10,000 people who chose to stay home, and more than 10,000 registered Democrats who voted for the other guy.

But these fringe minority weirdos who just want their party to become something some day get the knee. Even before the election's over.

2.6 million votes cast, but gotta use that energy to kick those bottom 0.5%ers.

[Mischief Maker]

Did I ever show you this clip of environmental activist and documentarian Josh Fox talking about the stupidly self-defeating lack of strategy on behalf of the (US) Green Party on the eve of the 2016 election?

This to me is the most inspiring image put out by the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez campaign:

Spoiler

The first pair of shoes she destroyed with all the door-to-door canvassing and actual work she put into defeating the #3 corporate democrat in the house.

I bet if Jill Stein put up an image of her campaign shoes they'd look fresh off the store rack. Well maybe they'd have a borscht stain from the dinner when she was being feted by Putin and cluelessly sitting at the same table as Michael Flynn.

Spoiler

Bernie Sanders has done more to shift the Democratic party to the left than every protest vote wasted on every Green Party vanity candidate combined in the history of the United States. (Including my own wasted vote in 2000) Because Bernie has a strategy and he does the work to back that strategy up. Something the (US) Green Party has shown that they lack time and time again.

[GaijinPunch]

Subtract California from the total of 2016, and Trump won the popular vote.

take out the most populous state in the cuntry which makes up 12% of the entire US population, which is notoriously blue and the numbers shift radically. mind... blown...

[BryanM]

The lady who beat the 30 million dollar man Jon Ossoff lost to an invisible generic democrat last night. Classic.

That weasel Crowley got 7%, so too bad for his longshot hail-mary.

Did I ever show you this clip of environmental activist and documentarian Josh Fox talking about the stupidly self-defeating lack of strategy on behalf of the (US) Green Party on the eve of the 2016 election?

You're absolutely right that the green party is a grift machine. DSA groups have done more in a couple years than they will in another lifetime, including getting our boy Lee Carter in there.

That's a different issue from scapegoating inconsequential voters.

Did I ever show you this clip of environmental activist and documentarian Josh Fox talking about the stupidly self-defeating lack of strategy on behalf of the (US) Green Party on the eve of the 2016 election?

The comment section here is pretty emblematic of how vastly far these votes are from being grasped by liberal hands.

take out the most populous state in the cuntry which makes up 12% of the entire US population, which is notoriously blue and the numbers shift radically. mind... blown...

What are your actual policy positions or your choice for 2020? Why do you think the democratic party is doing great and doesn't need to change?

[Ed Oscuro]

The Dem party can always do better, and not focusing on gubernatorial races before the last few weeks was a mistake. But some of the losses are due to dirty tricks - Gillium has some baggage with the old FBI investigation, but you'll note that came out as an issue in part due to the efforts of his old 'friend,' possibly working with the Florida GOP. Stacey Abrams and Beto O'Rourke went neck-and-neck down to the last minute. I'm not sure they could have done anything differently - if they tack left there's no more voters for them to pick up; voters on the right were already spoken for. It is hard to say whether a 'better candidate' for these situations has better policies or just fits the electorate's vision of identity which is clearly driving many Trumpites. It is notable that Stacey is hanging in there for a recount or possible runoff, so maybe the third party candidates have some use after all.

Before it gets lost in the shuffle of Wednesday Morning Massacres Aimed At Mueller, some news[/i] about [url=https://fourcornersfreepress.com/mail-ballots-unfair-navajo-voters-question-spawns-conflicting-suits-san-juan-county/]Native voter suppression antics. I had heard that there was a ballot issue somewhere which required a home address to cast a ballot - not sure if that was referring to these, or if it was something else.

[quash]

What are your actual policy positions or your choice for 2020? Why do you think the democratic party is doing great and doesn't need to change?

I think they need to run more blatantly anti-semitic Muslim candidates. It's a surefire way to get the accelerationist vote.

[Mischief Maker]

I think with Trumpists busy sending pipe bombs to George Soros and shooting up synagogues, this is not exactly the time to concern-troll from the right about Israel criticism.

I can't wait until 2020 when the culture continues to shift and Republicans start claiming to be the protectors of trans people from the foreign hordes.

#walkaway

[Domino]

Amendment 4 passing with over 60 percent of the vote makes it really hard to put a lot of weight on their racism. When leftist policies are put on the ballot divorced from partisan identification, they do much better than the Democrats do on average. The minimum wage practically always getting passed when on the ballot is another example.

You don't live in Florida. You know how many people I met who voted no on 4? Some quotes:

* They won't know how to behave like citizens.
* It's a ploy of the Dems to pick up black votes.
* If they acted like animals, they shouldn't have a right to vote.
* I don't want this state to go blue and be given to the freaks of the Dems.
* People who lose their vote should suffer ten times longer in order to get their voting rights back.

If you go to really rural parts of Florida, racism is more noticeable. They won't admit they are racist to you, but like a lot of things in the south, people do it indirectly. Like back to the No 4 comments above, these comments were all said by middle class white Republican folks I know who lived in a really nice part of North Florida. They don't want this state to go Blue and they want to keep it that way. Voter suppression right there folks. This passed by plenty of Independents, Democrat, and various Republican support (Religious and Pro-Business with the Koch Brothers and ACLU support, I'm serious).

Money issues always go right-wing for this state. Except for the first amendment that didn't pass (lowering property taxes), some of the others did (cap on yearly property taxes, and 60% requirement in Florida House/Senate for any tax increases).

The race was close enough that Gillum might have won. Maybe all it would have taken was not fundraise with Clinton, or running one populist ad.

No, the problem wasn't Clinton or a populist ad. The problem is DEMS DON'T SHOW UP TO VOTE AS HARD AS REPUBLICANS IN FLORIDA. There's currently 4,918,415 Registered Dems and 4,661,230 Republicans, but there's 3,521,905 indies (like me). Republicans always vote much higher numbers and actually care to vote than Dems.

I haven't met a Republican yet who didn't voted, but I met plenty of Dems who don't vote. Shit, my roomie was a Dem for ten years and this election was her first time she voted ever. She told me she forgets to vote all the time due to her life. There's plenty more Dems in South Florida that could change everything in both elections, but they didn't show up. Let me put it this way, Desantis and Gillum almost had 4 million voters split yesterday, yet there's over 13 million voters in the state. That's almost five million who didn't voted.

I also blame the FL Dem party for having poor messaging issues. They don't know where they want to take the direction of the party in this state, still go moderate or go hard left. Due to how different each part of the state is, it's a hard balancing act. [/quote]

[quash]

I think with Trumpists busy sending pipe bombs to George Soros and shooting up synagogues, this is not exactly the time to concern-troll from the right about Israel criticism.

I can't wait for her to receive a mysterious package from the Mossad, personally.

[Ed Oscuro]

Thanks for the details, Domino. The bit about the DNC not pushing the right contests hard enough jives with what I've heard, and your experience on the ground means more to me than all the analysts you can stuff in a suit yet weren't there.

What are your actual policy positions or your choice for 2020? Why do you think the democratic party is doing great and doesn't need to change?

I think they need to run more blatantly anti-semitic Muslim candidates. It's a surefire way to get the accelerationist vote.

I can't wait until those dastardly Musselmen kill 11 more Jews.

Once again with the "it wuzn't us and our toxic culture, it was somebody else!" show. Also protip: many Muslims are/were Semitic people. Not Semitic people: Angry neocons looking to sell nukes to Israel to "accelerate" the literal Apocalypse so they can be spirited away to Godland.

This whole discussion reminds me of one of the more mysterious scribblings from anti-Democrat political cartoonist Dana Summers, who penned a two-panel trying to show a Democrat having hypocritical responses to two of last month's domestic terror attacks, as if one of them was from a Democratic ally. Very strange, but it's becoming par for the course for people to outright lie about these things.

[quash]

I just think it's great how having (D) next to your name is like an anti-criticism forcefield. Seems a little OP if you ask me, though. I'll be submitting a patch request to the developers to get this fixed before next season.

[Ed Oscuro]

This entire page is literally filled with posts of criticism of the Democratic party...does having the (R) next to your name let you live in a universe filled with alternative facts?

[quash]

It only works when players from the (D) guild start doing things that players from the (R) guild can't do without drawing criticism.

We'll conduct a field test right now. What do you think of this?