2022 elections

[billy.pilgrim]

My Congresswoman, Diana Harshbarger, as well as the governor, Bill Lee, are both running for re election. They are so confident of their victory that I have not seen one ad on tv for either of them. And TN Dems are so demoralized that I've not seen one ad by them. But I figure to still go vote against the incumbents next week. sick

Along with ads in competitive races, I've got the opposite problem - incessant ads for sure bet RepuQs, specifically wannabe NC11 Rep Chuck Edwards, US Sen Tim Scott and SC Gov Henry McMaster. They're not positive or unifying in triumph, they're as nasty as any competitive race ads.



Just as bad as MadCaw, not as stupid and rude, will be more effective.


Tim Scott: Union Bosses


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLVWr0QqIE
Peggy seems trans-obsessed, hmmm. Do I detect an Adam's apple?

Words Matter
Maybe the dems will get it some day.
50 years of republican deficit spending and tax give aways to the rich in the early 1900s destroyed the economy.
And here we are 52 years into exactly the same spend and cut taxes on the rich voodoo economics, filled with proof that the economy gets better with dems and deficit spending goes up with republicans.

It's words, not reality that matters. You can spend all day explaining, only to be destroyed in 3 seconds by some idiot saying "Tax and spend democrats", or " I'll restore our economy by standing up to the far left’s inflationary spending"

Words, it's all about words

[neoplacebo]

Yeah, it's always been a mystery to me how cutting taxes, which decreases the amount of money the government takes in, somehow makes the deficit smaller. I think it's some kind of magic bean type stuff.

[O Really]

Repugs cut taxes then bemoan insufficient funding. Been doing it for years. People be as foolish as a cat chasing a laser or Charlie Brown believing Lucy is gonna hold that football.

[billy.pilgrim]

Yeah, it's always been a mystery to me how cutting taxes, which decreases the amount of money the government takes in, somehow makes the deficit smaller. I think it's some kind of magic bean type stuff.

Even more of a wonder how they keep selling it to the people it hurts.

[GoCubsGo]

[billy.pilgrim]

Spoken like a man of the people.

[neoplacebo]

What's even funnier is that a lot of them will do just what Oz asked, ignoring his ignorance about the team schedule. It's a good example of how Republicans will just tell their supporters any damn thing knowing they'll believe it. sick

[Whack9]

I'm not a sports person, but did he mean to say the Phillies game? Did he mix up both the team and the sport?

[GoCubsGo]

I'm not a sports person, but did he mean to say the Phillies game? Did he mix up both the team and the sport?

No, he meant the Pittsburgh Steelers who don't play until next Sunday.

[Vrede too]

I'm not a sports person, but did he mean to say the Phillies game? Did he mix up both the team and the sport?

Very unlikely.
In context I think it's apparent that he was talking about an afternoon game. The baseball games are in the evening.
There was no assurance that the Phillies would even play today, and in fact the World Series ended last night, 4-2 Astros.

I did briefly wonder if he might have meant an Eagles game, but they played Thursday.

He's just a clueless mega-millionaire who thought a football reference would make him more relatable when he's actually too ignorant about football to check for bye weeks.

To be fair, he's from Jersey so wouldn't know

Oz like:

In fairness, they've had a bye all season.

Maybe he follows the better team in the state.

I’m sure he meant the team he plays for, the Election Stealers

He did pick a team in the state, that's got to count for something

I think what John Fetterman is doing is heroic. There are millions of people out there fighting their way back from adversity. John is setting an example, and frankly, after this ordeal, his voice is going to be even more powerful in the Senate.
--Chris Murphy (US Sen, D-CT)

Amen!

Are you happy with the way America is going?

Or, do you think it can get worse with Republicans?

[Whack9]

I'm not a sports person, but did he mean to say the Phillies game? Did he mix up both the team and the sport?

No, he meant the Pittsburgh Steelers who don't play until next Sunday.

Damn guess I can't run for political office now since I'm not salt-of-the-earthy enough being ignorant of all things sports-ball.

A winning strategy would just be to tell "Go TEAM!" At the end of all of your campaign speeches. The fans can fill in the blank as they see fit.

[billy.pilgrim]

It was high 24/7 media when Hillary said something wrong about a game or team. I've forgotten the specifics, but it was something she said about a new york team during her run for senate.

[GoCubsGo]

A winning strategy would just be to tell "Go TEAM!" At the end of all of your campaign speeches. The fans can fill in the blank as they see fit.

That'd only work if you want to lose the election.

[Vrede too]

Damn guess I can't run for political office now since I'm not salt-of-the-earthy enough being ignorant of all things sports-ball.

A winning strategy would just be to tell "Go TEAM!" At the end of all of your campaign speeches. The fans can fill in the blank as they see fit.

I can't speak for Steeler fans, but I think it's okay for you, Oz or other New Jerseyans (New Jerseyites? New Jerseyistas?) to be "ignorant of all things sports-ball." Just don't pander with a sports-ball reference that highlights your ignorance. It's like Useless telling us about the South, it didn't go well.

[Whack9]

Damn guess I can't run for political office now since I'm not salt-of-the-earthy enough being ignorant of all things sports-ball.

A winning strategy would just be to tell "Go TEAM!" At the end of all of your campaign speeches. The fans can fill in the blank as they see fit.

I can't speak for Steeler fans, but I think it's okay for you, Oz or other New Jerseyans (New Jerseyites? New Jerseyistas?) to be "ignorant of all things sports-ball." Just don't pander with a sports-ball reference that highlights your ignorance. It's like Useless telling us about the South, it didn't go well.

This is very true. The pandering is what's annoying. Just like that stupid ad Oz released showing him shooting a gun. It was so awkward.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkez78/ ... =92145_bow

This is insane

Pigeons, United To Interfere Now

"The pigeon release was done as an “aerial protest piece in response to the arrival of the 2020 Democratic debate,” the group said. Six Democratic presidential candidates will debate Wednesday night in Las Vegas."

[neoplacebo]

Nothing worse than a flock of Republican pigeons.

[O Really]

Ran across an article yesterday that listed the best and worst state economies, and gave a good explanation of each. No surprise that most of the bad economy states were red; most of the good economy states were blue, including Repug's favourite whipping boy California at #3 best.

I'll post if I can find it again, but it ought to be required reading for everybody who considers "the economy, stupid" to be their top issue, and particularly for those who might be tempted to think a vote for a Repug will make it better.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... dium=email

Another good article by Thom

prosperity brought about by FDR’s New Deal, which had lifted the American middle class from as few as 10 percent of Americans in 1900 to over half of us by the mid-1960s.

The "'solution” became Reagan’s mandate: impoverish the middle class, end free college, block women’s rights (particularly to abortion and birth control), and destroy racially integrated public education."



In 1976 "US Supreme Court began the process of legalizing the naked purchase of American politicians by the morbidly rich. Five corrupt Republicans on the Court completed the process in 2010 with Citizens United v FEC.

That year American billionaires put a mere $30 million into the election of 2010. Four years later they poured $230 million into the 2014 midterms. In the 2018 midterms they jumped in with over $611 million. This year it’ll be well over a billion dollars."

(I think I read somewhere that a republican is spending over a billion on repug causes. One guy. That what will keep getting worse with our soon to be class of trillionairs.)

"And that doesn’t count most of the untraceable dark money that the Supreme Court legalized when they struck down hundreds of “good government” state and federal laws in those decisions."

"These American billionaires are not running advertisements presenting their own concerns and arguments, however. There are no ads calling for more tax cuts and loopholes, corporate deregulation, or an end to the estate tax."

"Instead to elect Republican politicians who will accomplish their personal economic goals, America’s “conservative” billionaires are financing ads that:

* Darken the complexion of Black Democrats running for office;"

I was surprised after DeSantis won, to find than Gillum wasn't the darkest black person I had ever seen.

"* Falsely accuse Democrats of supporting “abortion on demand up until the moment of birth”;

* Blame Democrats for the inflation and homelessness that emerged from Trump’s disastrous handling of the pandemic (for which Democrats should be blaming him);

* Claim that teachers and Democrats are trying to evangelize our children into “deviant lifestyle choices.”'


"By demonizing Democrats and asserting that their political opponents are actual evil, all to get their tax cuts and increased corporate profits, they are destroying the future possibility of Republicans and Democrats working together.

This was Newt Gingrich‘s great contribution to American politics when he was the billionaires’ lead guy: play it like war.

To convince soldiers to kill people in war, you must first convince them that their enemy is both less than human and fully evil. If you can accomplish this with your political opponents, your people can never compromise with them. Government then ceases to work for the people, and as it collapses so do your taxes and the enforcement of regulations on your business "

It's over.

[O Really]

So it's finally election day and we get to see what version of Hell we'll be in. At least there won't be so many crappy political ads for a few weeks.
I turned in my ballot earlier this week, and have reasonable confidence that everybody I voted for will win. While some states are working hard to suppress voting, it's remarkably easy here. Registration is easy, including same-day and "provisional" if there's some issue. You can turn in your ballot by mail or at any one of a lot of ballot boxes at places like the library, some grocery stores, etc. or if you want to vote in person you can go to one of the "voting centers" that replaced precincts. There are 245 or so voting centers in San Diego County, 15 just in Oceanside and you can vote at any of them. I'm pretty sure that anybody who wants to vote has an easy opportunity to do so. Yet turnout expected around 50-60% in SD County. Not awful, I guess. I suppose some don't appreciate how good they have it.