2016 Elections

[O Really]

Good commentary on the "scandalous" emails... http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-com ... scandalous

[Vrede too]

In a sea of GOP stupidity I am so, so proud that we manage to rise above the rest:

'Shameful': N.C. GOP mistakenly claims Kaine’s military pin is flag of Honduras

During his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to accept the vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night, Tim Kaine was wearing a lapel pin honoring Blue Star Families — like his — which have members serving in the military.

The North Carolina GOP, though, mistakenly thought it was the flag of Honduras, where the Virginia senator volunteered as a Jesuit missionary before entering law school. And the state’s Republican party took to Twitter to criticize the senator.

“[Tim Kaine] wears a Honduras flag pin on his jacket but no American flag,” the state party tweeted as Kaine was speaking. “Shameful.” ...

It isn't even anything like the flag of Honduras.

[Vrede too]

I just watched a black woman preside over the roll call and then classy nomination by an old socialist of a woman to be the first major party candidate for POTUS.

:thumbsup:

Historic, fershure.

Not to mention that I was watching the PBS coverage anchored by a black woman and a white woman.

Didn't watch all of her speech, but Hillary gave some nice props to Bernie.

I only caught snippets after Monday night. Any things from hers or the other speeches y'all especially liked?

[O Really]

I like it when the guy told about his Muslim son being killed in the war and asking rhetorically of Trump, "have you even read the Constitution?"

Overall, I thought they all carried through a positive and capable theme and painted a sharp contract with the Trumpeteers, even down to their much classier (and mostly true) smacks on Trump. Polls in the next couple of weeks should be interesting.

[Vrede too]

Thanks, I saw that, too. Pulling a booklet out of his jacket next to his heart, "I will gladly lend you my copy . . . You have sacrificed nothing." Wow.

Love the idea but I might get tired of the word "Together" by November. I guess "Fuck Trump" didn't go over well with the focus groups.

[Seth Milner]

I'll just be happy when all the fluff speeches and bullshit is over.
I did like what Hillary said about Trump being baited with a tweet.

[neoplacebo]

I just read that the US Appeals Court overturned the 2013 NC voter ID law. Another defeat for the right wing nut jobs.

[Vrede too]

Sweet :!: Thanks for letting us know.

Federal 4th Circuit judges overturn North Carolina's voter ID law

I'd love to see a tally of how much of our money the NC GOP has wasted violating the Constitution.

I just checked my email:

[O Really]

Here's your ass again, Republican idiots.

[Vrede too]

4th U.S. Circuit judges overturn North Carolina’s voter ID law

... “This ruling is a stinging rebuke of the state’s attempt to undermine African-American voter participation, which had surged over the last decade,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “It is a major victory for North Carolina voters and for voting rights.”

N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Rockingham County, and state House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican from Cleveland County, issued a joint statement questioning the motives of the three-judge panel — Judge Diana Motz, a Bill Clinton appointee, Judge James A. Wynn Jr., a Barack Obama appointee, and Judge Henry F. Floyd, an Obama appointee to the 4th circuit bench but a George W. Bush appointee to the U.S. District bench.

“Since today’s decision by three partisan Democrats ignores legal precedent, ignores the fact that other federal courts have used North Carolina’s law as a model, and ignores the fact that a majority of other states have similar protections in place, we can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians like Hillary Clinton and Roy Cooper to steal the election. We will obviously be appealing this politically-motivated decision to the Supreme Court,” Berger and Moore said....

McCrory, in his statement, accused “three Democratic judges” of “undermining the integrity of our elections while also maligning our state.”

North Carolina’s law is the third with an ID provision courts have rejected in the past two weeks.

A federal district judge found Wisconsin’s ID law too restrictive. The full 5th U.S. Circuit appeals court found that Texas’s voter ID law violated the Voting Rights Act by making it more difficult for minorities to vote and opened the door for putting the state under federal supervision again.

“We applaud the appeals court for recognizing the discriminatory intent behind the monster voter suppression law,” Bob Hall, director of Democracy NC, a voting rights organization, said in a statement about the N.C. case. “The ruling makes clear that the North Carolina General Assembly cherry-picked the law to suppress African American and young voters because of the 2008 election. Today’s ruling begins to right that wrong.”

In North Carolina, the state could ask the full bench of the 4th Circuit to review the ruling. But attorneys and others speculate that even if the full court agreed to review the case, the 2013 election-law changes would not be restored before the November elections.

“Because of this ruling, North Carolinians will now be able to register and vote free of the obstacles created by the Legislature in 2013,” said Southern Coalition for Social Justice senior attorney Allison Riggs....

The Rev. William J. Barber II, fresh off of addressing the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, admonished lawmakers for changing North Carolina’s election laws that had made the state a “model for the nation in encouraging people to vote.”

Barber is president of the state NAACP that participated in the legal challenge, and the architect of the Moral Monday movement that has protested the voter ID law and other legislation from the Republican-controlled legislature and governor’s office.

“Today the 4th Circuit’s decision gives North Carolinians back an electoral system that allows the people of North Carolina to vote freely this fall,” Barber said in a statement....

... I'd love to see a tally of how much of our money the NC GOP has wasted violating the Constitution....

Apparently, "More of our money" is the answer.

[O Really]

McCrory is mumbling "appeal" but he's got a problem. Supreme Court is currently out of session, and won't resume until the first of October. They could agree to hear McCrory next session, but even if they did, it's unlikely they would fast track this one to get it done before November. I'm guessing they're not going to accept this one anyway. But if they do, McCrory may be out of office before it was heard and Cooper would drop the appeal. That decision was great news, and, IMNVHO too strong to get overruled. Unanimous. Intentional discrimination. Slam!

Next HB2.

Summary of decision here...

[Vrede too]

One step before SCOTUS:

... In North Carolina, the state could ask the full bench of the 4th Circuit to review the ruling. But attorneys and others speculate that even if the full court agreed to review the case, the 2013 election-law changes would not be restored before the November elections....

Otherwise, your scenario sounds correct, barring the slight (?) possibility of a full 4th Circuit injunction.

[O Really]

Because of a string of relatively minor inconveniences, yesterday wasn't the most fun day I've had recently - until I read the decision on voter ID. Effin made my day! To see one of the big parts of the Republican scheme go down in flames - and big. Not just whimper out, but Bam! Apodaca took great pride in his part in that debacle, so that adds more pleasure to the thought that now much of what he did is null and void and much of the other is wrapped up in court likely to go down also. And the court even quoted some Republican chairman type bragging about the reason for the law is to cut out black people! Now for the November election, Republicans can be tied not just to something that seems bad, or that "libs" dont' like, but a major, major defeat on legal grounds after they spent gazillions on it. I don't think most white people - even Republicans - really support intentional disenfranchising. Maybe some believe there's fraud - now shown to be 31 cases out of billions of votes cast since 2000 and maybe some aren't thinking it through and believe that asking for a specific type of ID while ignoring other valid IDs is the same as asking for an ID to buy alcohol, but most still wouldn't knowingly support a law they knew to be unconstitutional. There was room for discussion and opinion before, but no longer. Big win for the good guys!

[Vrede too]

To: governor.office@nc.gov,Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net
CC: Toma@ncleg.net

Dear Rep. McGrady & Governor McCrory,

Re: Apodaca wants 6 Asheville City Council districts
http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news ... /85870756/

Please oppose Sen. Apodaca's transparent scheme to force a voting change upon Asheville.

Of course, it's not really about "representation". Nothing in Apodaca's mindlessly partisan, gerrymandering, voter suppressing, democracy hating history suggest that he gives a hoot about the principle of representation....

I'm not sure how McGrady voted on the voter ID law, though I suspect he supported it. It's hard to look things up on the Leg website unless one knows the session and the bill title or number.

[Vrede too]

Every (almost every?) Republican and probably some Dems should be held accountable for the assault on democracy, the racism - intentional or not - and the wasting of so much money on this and other failed, illegal, RWNJ agenda items. We'll see if the good Dems take advantage and what the voters do about it.

[Vrede too]

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton
RCP Average - Trump +0.2

Who will win the presidency?
FiveThirtyEight (Nate Silver)
Chance of winning - Hillary Clinton 44.5%, Donald Trump 55.5%
Electoral votes - Hillary Clinton 256.7, Donald Trump 280.9, Gary Johnson 0.4
Chance of winning North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes - Hillary Clinton 35.6%, Donald Trump 64.3%
Plus NV, IA, OH, PA, NH & FL :!:

Ut-oh.

Whoa.

Do we prepare to resettle a flood of refugees, or will you be bringing your states with you?

Donald Trump's convention polling bump has already evaporated

After this past week's self-destructive Trump nuttiness I'm feeling optimistic that he'll lose by a fairly wide electoral margin. It's almost like he's trying to.

[O Really]

I don't know that he actually is trying to throw it, but one can't help asking, "if he were, what would he do different?"

[Vrede too]

One could ask that.

So, a lot of cons are saying that Trump's intent from the start was to hand the WH to Hillary, or at least a Dem, and destroy the GOP. Tin foil hat stuff, I know, but if that was his scheme would he have done anything differently?

Donald Trump insults a fire marshal, calls email stupid, and makes a baby cry in Colorado (and more)

To be fair, I often make babies cry.

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton
RCP Average - Clinton +1.1

Who will win the presidency?
FiveThirtyEight (Nate Silver)
Chance of winning - Hillary Clinton 56.8%, Donald Trump 43.2%
Electoral votes (270 to win) - Hillary Clinton 282.1, Donald Trump 255.6, Gary Johnson 0.3
Chance of winning North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes - Hillary Clinton 43.8%, Donald Trump 56.2%
Only PA has fulled tipped towards Hillary, I guess that's the difference maker.

[billy.pilgrim]

One could ask that.

So, a lot of cons are saying that Trump's intent from the start was to hand the WH to Hillary, or at least a Dem, and destroy the GOP. Tin foil hat stuff, I know, but if that was his scheme would he have done anything differently?

Donald Trump insults a fire marshal, calls email stupid, and makes a baby cry in Colorado (and more)

To be fair, I often make babies cry.

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton
RCP Average - Clinton +1.1

Who will win the presidency?
FiveThirtyEight (Nate Silver)
Chance of winning - Hillary Clinton 56.8%, Donald Trump 43.2%
Electoral votes (270 to win) - Hillary Clinton 282.1, Donald Trump 255.6, Gary Johnson 0.3
Chance of winning North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes - Hillary Clinton 43.8%, Donald Trump 56.2%
Only PA has fulled tipped towards Hillary, I guess that's the difference maker.

Everything I read this morning said that he got stuck on the way to the speech where he trash talked the fire Marshall

Except fox. There the three best friends forever said that it is likely that getting stuck in the elevator was in retaliation for the speech (does thumper have future sight?) and that there may be a Hillary connection.

but then they had a commercial and came back to discuss the bernie supporters racing to become thumper fans

oops

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... led-elevat...


The trump security team had taken control of all the elevators and in trump fashion they screwed up and turned his elevator off, but they could have been under Hillary control

[rstrong]

The trump security team had taken control of all the elevators and in trump fashion they screwed up and turned his elevator off, but they could have been under Hillary control

He still rocks a descending escalator.