US election 2020 thread

[spring-peeper]

American football is a big thing down there.

Biden campaign plans to run ad during every NFL game until Election Day

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) is reportedly going big with ad spending during every NFL game for the remainder of the election season.NPR reported Sunday that the former vice president’…

thehill.com

NPR reported Sunday that the former vice president's campaign has purchased at least one advertising slot for every game between now and Election Day, with a campaign spokesperson confirming the plan to NPR. The news comes as Biden's campaign has closed in on the Trump campaign's formerly-large cash advantage in recent months.

The Biden campaign did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill. NFL games often represent premium advertising slots for campaigns due to their wide viewership ratings and the campaign's latest volley comes as the Trump campaign has targeted some games with its own ads.

But, Trump's team do not like the league any more - the players kneel for their anthem. How much more unAmerican is that?

President Trump and other Republicans have distanced themselves from the NFL in recent months over players' protests against police brutality and racism, which has taken the form of some players kneeling during performances of the national anthem before games.

"I would say this: If they don’t stand for the national anthem, I hope they don’t open. But, other than that, I’d love to see them open and we're doing everything possible for getting them open,” Trump told sports radio host Clay Travis in August.

 

[Streathamite]

The guy's basically trolling, isn't he?

Or simply testing the air for likely future public reaction

 

[petee]

But, Trump's team do not like the league any more - the players kneel for their anthem. How much more unAmerican is that?

it cost kaepernick his roster spot (he was declining but don't for a second believe the line that it was "a football decision") but the commissioner did an about-face this summer.

Here's how NFL players protested during national anthems on Sunday, Monday of Week 1 | Sporting News

How NFL players protested during Week 1

www.sportingnews.com

good move on the part of the biden camapign.

 

[Streathamite]

To add to that: If there is public uproar, Trump can say, all innocent-like, "Hey! I never suggested that, that was some other guy!"
If there isn't, the buggers would probabl;y plan it.
Incidentally, I find it utterly horrifying that we are even discussing this, here, now, in 2020. That's a sure sign of how bad things have got.

 

[gosub]

Trump Pulls TV Ads Off the Air Entirely in Key States

The president’s campaign has ceded a TV advantage to Biden just as the election hits the home stretch.

nymag.com

 

[petee]

Bloomberg to spend up to $100 million to beat Trump in Florida

The money would, among other things, free up Biden’s resources for other battleground states.

www.politico.com

it may be needed

‘This is f---ing crazy’: Florida Latinos swamped by wild conspiracy theories

A flood of disinformation and deceptive claims is damaging Joe Biden in the nation’s biggest swing state.

www.politico.com

 

[petee]

they'll say anything

Murphy signed an executive order on Aug. 14 directing the state to hold the November election primarily by mail-in ballot, much like the July primary. All active registered voters are to be sent mail-in ballots, and each of New Jersey’s 21 counties will have to have at least 50 percent of their polling sites open on Election Day so voters can cast ballots in person by provisional ballot.

When the Trump campaign initially filed the lawsuit, one of its major arguments was that New Jersey’s Constitution only allows the state Legislature — not the governor — to determine how election are administered. That argument went out the window when the Democrat-controlled Legislature passed and the governor signed a bill, NJ A4475 (20R), that wrote the Murphy’s executive order into law and expanded on it.

Now the Trump campaign is arguing the law itself runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution and federal statute — the same arguments it used against the executive order.

Trump campaign changes strategy in mail-in ballot lawsuit against New Jersey

The campaign late Friday filed an amended complaint against the state.

www.politico.com

 

[Dogsauce]

it may be needed

‘This is f---ing crazy’: Florida Latinos swamped by wild conspiracy theories

A flood of disinformation and deceptive claims is damaging Joe Biden in the nation’s biggest swing state.

www.politico.com

That‘s worrying - the right got Bolsanaro elected via bullshit on WhatsApp, some slippery shit underneath all this, and no clues as to where the money is coming from.

 

[Streathamite]

That‘s worrying - the right got Bolsanaro elected via bullshit on WhatsApp, some slippery shit underneath all this, and no clues as to where the money is coming from.

Fortunately, the Trump campaign is alleged to Have serious fundraising problems

Money concerns are very real for President Trump's campaign — an unusual predicament for a sitting president, and one that worries veteran Republican operatives, with Trump so far behind in swing states as the race climaxes.

Why it matters: The campaign's view is that Trump will get his message out, and he depends less on paid media than normal politicians. But the number of states Trump has to worry about has actually grown, and Joe Biden's massive August fundraising haul has given his campaign a lift as early voting begins.

 

[Streathamite]

On polling, Here's the Guardian's swing state tracker
Biden is a street ahead in Michigan, 1.6% ahead in Florida, 3.3% ahead in his home state of Pennsylvania, 7% ahead in Wisconsin, and 5.5% ahead in arizona.
To put this into context; if he won all the states HRC won in 2016, plus just Michigan and Pennsylvania - he's President

 

[frogwoman]

He's got to win Florida

 

[Streathamite]

He's got to win Florida

He doesn't really have to - for the reasons I just gave - but winning Florida would pretty much guarantee him a win. 538 calculated winning there gives him an 87% chance, losing and it's around 50%
e2a; so Trump certainly has to win there

 

[Streathamite]

I would add to that; if Trump loses Arizona and Florida, that's pretty much it.

 

[petee]

more voter suppression

Ohio judge derides restriction of 1 ballot box per county

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A directive that restricted Ohio counties to one ballot drop box in November was arbitrary and unreasonable, a county judge ruled Tuesday, delivering the Republican secretary of state in the presidential battleground another in a series of blows to his policies.

local12.com

 

[Streathamite]

more voter suppression

Ohio judge derides restriction of 1 ballot box per county

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A directive that restricted Ohio counties to one ballot drop box in November was arbitrary and unreasonable, a county judge ruled Tuesday, delivering the Republican secretary of state in the presidential battleground another in a series of blows to his policies.

local12.com

good on hizzoner.
I take back anything I may or may not have said at certain points in the past, deriding the beak as a bunch of senile, out-of-touch old fossils......

 

[Streathamite]

On a more serious note, Judges in the USA are traditionally wary of intervening decisively, or with game-altering effect, in electoral processes, as Al Gore discovered to his cost.
So, when they do, and indeed as they have done so more than once against Ohio's Sec of State, it means that he has really crossed a long way over the line, and they are certain that - legally and constitutionally - they have no other choice but to do make this ruling

 

[two sheds]

Daily Kos

The Front Page, managed by Daily Kos editorial staff.

www.dailykos.com

Federal and state courts are acting quickly to protect November's election and ensure that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) does its job of delivering election materials on time and without putting its thumb on the scale for Donald Trump. Thursday brought a number of key decisions and a direct confrontation from secretaries of state to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, in which the embattled official apologized for acting without consulting them and sending out election information that was incorrect. A decision in a federal court in Washington State and a Pennsylvania court rounded out a jam-packed Thursday in Postal Service news.

The major development was an injunction handed down by U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Washington State to halt the operational changes he's imposed on the USPS. From the bench, Bastian said that DeJoy and Trump are “involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” and said “this attack on the Postal Service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.” In the 13-page preliminary injunction that followed, Bastian wrote “at the heart of DeJoy’s and the Postal Service’s actions is voter disenfranchisement,” citing Trump's statements about withholding funds and “the actual impact of the changes on primary elections that resulted in uncounted ballots.” He continued that it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to conclude that the changes were “an intentional effort on the part of the current administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state and federal elections.”
Read More

goodoh - interesting to see whether they take any notice though

 

[Streathamite]

Daily Kos

The Front Page, managed by Daily Kos editorial staff.

www.dailykos.com

goodoh - interesting to see whether they take any notice though

Also - whether DeJoy (or, in thuth, Trump - let us not mistake the oily rag for the engineer) now appeals to higher courts, including quite possibly all the way to the SC. Equally, how they might use that process to spin the whole thing out and play for time, whilst at the same time crippling the postal service before the courts finally bring them to heel. The election is just 46 days away. the4 dems need to be in m'learned friend overdrive on this one.

I was particularly taken by one line from, the quote you posted above, namely and to wit:

it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to conclude that the changes were “an intentional effort on the part of the current administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state and federal elections.”

It is in the nature of the lawyerly beast, to tend towards restrained, concise and understated language. so in layman's terms, hizzonner is really saying: " look youu little crook, we know you're trying to screw over rthe electorate by crippling the postal service!"

 

[two sheds]

and another ploy:

DeJoy made the Postal Service trucks leave on time, making every other part of the USPS fall apart

If Louis DeJoy wasn't hired expressly by a Trump-owned U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors in order to destroy the agency, then it's really hard to explain just how disastrous a mistake they made in installing him. A Los Angeles Times deep-dive into...

www.dailykos.com

Of all his changes, the transportation schedule is the one he refuses to change, and it's the one doing the most damage.

The removal of mail sorting machines got a lot of attention, but forcing drivers to leave post offices and distribution centers on a strict schedule, as well as restricting extra trips to pick up the missed mail, is what has upended the system, according to the Los Angeles Times investigation. Its reporters talked to postal employees who laid out what this obsession with the trucks being on time has meant: "Some trucks have traveled empty, and mail left behind has accumulated at massive processing centers, creating backlogs in a system that is not designed to store mail. Loading dock managers have falsified records so it appears that trucks are departing earlier, some mail has been sorted twice, and in at least one case, a large shipment from Amazon was turned away because facilities had no space to process it."

 

[tim]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has just died. So we shall have the unedifying spectacle of Trump desperately trying to get another of his Proud Boys onto the Supreme Court before the election

Justice Ginsburg Has Died, U.S. Supreme Court Says

 

[William of Walworth]

I hate the whole idea of the US 'election results' (come November and after), being determined, or not, by multiple lawsuits

But reading these two articles, and being aware of how much cash the Dem campaign has got ....

I absolutely understand why the Biden campaign is planning to treat 'attorneys' with fees rather than treat the electorate on The Day of Vote with beer ( + )

New York Times :

Biden Creates Legal War Room, Preparing for a Big Fight Over Voting

Guardian :

Biden assembles army of attorneys for post-election legal fight
Protracted battle expected as likely surge in mail-in votes means winner of Trump-Biden contest may not be known on night

 

[William of Walworth]

(And I posted the above ahead of the news of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Ginsberg's death being announced -- announced on here, at least )

 

[Streathamite]

I hate the whole idea of the US 'election results' (come November and after), being determined, or not, by multiple lawsuits

But reading these two articles, and being aware of how much cash the Dem campaign has got ....

I absolutely understand why the Biden campaign is planning to treat 'attorneys' with fees rather than treat the electorate on The Day of Vote with beer ( + )

New York Times :

Biden Creates Legal War Room, Preparing for a Big Fight Over Voting

Guardian :

Biden assembles army of attorneys for post-election legal fight
Protracted battle expected as likely surge in mail-in votes means winner of Trump-Biden contest may not be known on night

It's actually a really sensible precaution by the dems. We can expect the GOP to fight to the death here

 

[agricola]

It's actually a really sensible precaution by the dems. We can expect the GOP to fight to the death here

I remember when that was a metaphor, not what they were actually going to do.

 

[Streathamite]

I remember when that was a metaphor, not what they were actually going to do.

nice one!

 

[petee]

 

[BlanketAddict]

Doesn't mean he's not a troll, too...

Agreed, two things can be true at once.

Stone, like Trump, can say pretty much whatever they want however incendiary or ridiculous it may be. And, sadly, they're right to believe that. Millions of Americans are lapping it up, there is an ideological civil war taking place and people are taking sides rather than engaging in intelligent conversation.
Trump is to blame for all this, he, as President, has created this environment and has empowered Stone et al to wade in. It's awful.

Despite all this, as I've said before, I am in no way convinced of a Biden win. There is cult of Trump occurring, reason and objectivity have been demolished.

American Carnage indeed.

 

[magneze]

Bit smug that.

 

[bimble]

it may be needed

‘This is f---ing crazy’: Florida Latinos swamped by wild conspiracy theories

A flood of disinformation and deceptive claims is damaging Joe Biden in the nation’s biggest swing state.

www.politico.com

That is fascinating.
I had no idea whatsapp plays a role too thought it was just mostly Facebook.
My trump voting aunt in Florida believes a whole host of batshit mad stuff about what would happen if the democrats win this election but it’s stuff that’s specifically targeted to influence jews not latino / catholic voters.

 

[spring-peeper]

Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transition of power after Election Day

President Donald Trump on Wednesday would not commit to providing a peaceful transition of power after Election Day, lending further fuel to concerns he may not relinquish his office should he lose in November.

www.cnn.com

"Well, we're going to have to see what happens," Trump said when asked whether he'd commit to a peaceful transition, one of the cornerstones of American democracy.

Trump has previously refused to say whether he would accept the election results, echoing his sentiments from 2016. And he has joked -- he says -- about staying in office well past the constitutionally bound two terms.

But his refusal to guarantee a violence-free transition went further and is likely to alarm his opponents, already on edge given his deployment of federal law enforcement to quell protests in American cities.