US Election Week 2020

[Richard Hakluyt]

Her surname is Heisman iirc 

[DGuller]

You mean his fiance will turn out to be DGuller?

Yes, me, the person skewering AP's call for the last 24 hours, is definitely AR's fiancée. 

Just don't tell him you know he bet 20k on this election

He did what?!?!

[Valmy]

I don't know what the hell Pelosi is talking about. Even if Biden wins with comfy majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral College this was not a great result for the Democrats in Congress. We needed Maine and we needed Iowa and we didn't get them. Now we need a double miracle in Georgia, and to hold on in Arizona, to merely not be totally shut down by Mitch McConnell and company. And even then can only pass things Joe Manchin III approves of and that somewhat unimpressive mandate would be the result of a complete miracle in Georgia. The probability looks like close losses in both runoffs IMO.

And we lost critical House Seats.

And we lost ground in the fight for state legislatures.

I don't think Joe has much of a mandate. Now he has worked well with his Republican colleagues in the past so maybe there is one or two dudes who might support him for something just barely right of center, I don't know.

[katmai]

Clearly Joe needs to get the dirt on Graham from Vlad and he will fall in line.

[DGuller]

Might be a good idea to fly in some of the vote counters from NV to PA as consultants, teach them how to speed things up.

[katmai]

Down to 9,525 vote lead for Trump in Georgia.

[FunkMonk]

They just have to remember to click "Upload."

[Sheilbh]

So this is striking. Jr tweets this:


And within an hour Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton are tweeting about the need to support Trump and how to donate to his legal fund. Neither had been tweeting stuff like that for the last day or so.

[alfred russel]

Nate Silver thinks Nevada is nearing the point it should be called (but that Arizona should not be).

If that is so, a nightmare scenario for Fox and AP. 

Maybe Pennsylvania will put Biden over the top and solve the problem for them.

[alfred russel]

So this is striking. Jr tweets this:

And so the race for 2024 officially begins! 

[FunkMonk]

Yeah I think everyone is just waiting for the inevitable Biden +1 in PA tonight and then we'll see a rush of state calls 

[merithyn]

Yi and Meri, are you reconsidering the idea that it is cool that ballots can still arrive after the polls close? I know that isn't the only (or even main) reason the count is still going, but there is something to be said for getting mail in ballots out with plenty of time, and having it be the voters responsibility to get it to election officials by election day (including in drop boxes) or to vote in person.

Two problems:
1) In a practical sense, the delayed count is destroying any mandate Biden would have had. Historically the votes are counted Tuesday, and one party loses and one wins. The losing party is demoralized, and gives the new president some leeway.

Biden would have won with about 306 electoral college votes, 52% of the vote and a 4 point margin of victory (probably). A resounding win. But instead of feeling defeated, Republicans seem to be energized, and a sizeable group thinking this is being stolen from them. McConnell is openly discussing unprecedented levels of obstructionism.

2) Imagine this becomes a close to tie vote. It comes down to Pennsylvania and the vote margin is 50 votes. You have tens of thousands of absentee ballots floating around that never got submitted. People start trying to send them in, claiming they were submitted before, maybe the post man finds some that slid under the seat in his car, etc. It is a recipe for even more chaos.

I don't remember stating my opinion on this one way or another, but no, I don't have a problem with the delays. I feel like everyone's legal vote should count, and these are all legal votes.

I'm more upset that it's even this close. We're talking about a toddler versus an old man. This really shouldn't be that hard.

[Oexmelin]

I don't think Joe has much of a mandate. Now he has worked well with his Republican colleagues in the past so maybe there is one or two dudes who might support him for something just barely right of center, I don't know.

At this point, I am afraid the trick will be to buy them outright. Have bills that further social aims of the Dems, sponsored by Dems, but that pour money in Republican but winnable counties. The sort of local politics that will not make it to the national propaganda machine of Fox. Place Republican congresspeople in the untenable position to either break with the GOP in exchange for sweet Congressional money, or refuse things that are popular with GOP electorate despite the establishment (hospitals, treatment center for opioids crisis, etc.). McConnell needs to be broken, and bypassed. Historically, this sort of outright political bribery has been the way to circumvent the iron hold of political bosses.

[Tamas]

So this is striking. Jr tweets this:


And within an hour Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton are tweeting about the need to support Trump and how to donate to his legal fund. Neither had been tweeting stuff like that for the last day or so.

OMG this stupid family. You can tell the 2024 primaries are chief on his stupid mind.

[celedhring]

God, the 2024 GOP primaries will be such a circus. I perversely can't wait 

(the presidential election will probably be very stressful, though)