Anyways, let me point out the following:
● Clinton has been claiming that Putin is trying to rig the election to favor Trump.So honestly, go F* yourselves Democrats and media... but I repeat myself. If it's damaging to claim someone is trying to steal the election then it's time you apologized, atoned and STFU for your prior repeated cynical statements in that regard. Traitors.
● In 2000, Al Gore sued claiming voter fraud and every single liberal in the country lost their mind and screamed that the 2000 election was stolen. Do you remember how the Supreme Court and the Florida government were both smeared by liberals during and well after that election? How they called Bush illegitimate?
● Black unity is maintained by selling blacks in the idea that whites are "disenfranchising" their votes.
● From 2000 through 2008, liberals whined and spread conspiracy theories about voting machines rigging elections.
● It is routine for losing liberal Senators/Congress Critters to sue claiming voter fraud.
● Sanders people have been screaming about Sanders being defrauded and cheated throughout the primary.
● Liberals enjoy the theory that JFK stole the election from Nixon through voter fraud.
There are those videos from Veritas floating around about bussing people from polling places, the paid-for demonstrations against Trump, and the situations in the last election when the vote was rigged in Phili and elsewhere. Trump has enough ammo to throw down, but the mainstream media doesn't care - because they are rigging the election in their inimitable way.
ReplyDeleteSo not only does Trump not have much of a ground game (the sort of organizations that work hard to get likely voters to polls) but weeks before the election he is telling supporters that there is no point in voting.
ReplyDeleteI can't be the only one that sees the flaw in that strategy.
Hillary is the uncharismatic, manifestly corrupt successor to an unpopular administration but Trump (as he had done for a long time) is doing all he can to make her victory happen.
There have always been Republican murmurings about Democrat voter fraud, but Trump has successfully put that issue into the limelight. I think it's worthwhile because it true-ifies something that a lot of people suspect, that is, makes it seem less crazy. If a belief seems less crazy, it increases the odds that people will take action based on that belief. As a bonus, no one disputes that there is some degree of voter fraud, it's just a question of magnitude.
ReplyDeleteFar from suppressing the vote (Jonah Goldberg makes this error) allegations of vote rigging are a GOTV strategy. As Andrew noted, Democrats use this strategy to bring out the black vote. The message is: they are trying to rig the vote so we must overwhelm their efforts. It doesn't matter if it's a logical response, it only matters that it drives people to the polls.
Also, misinformation is a form of vote-rigging, so...
For some interesting if unsurprising viewing, LA Times has a lot of demographic breakdown on who is voting for who:
ReplyDeletehttp://graphics.latimes.com/usc-presidential-poll-dashboard/
Hillary's support comes from young poor educated minority women.
Trump's support comes from dumb old rich* white men.
*over $35K/yr
LL, I doubt there is enough fraud to matter, though I don't doubt there is fraud. And with mailing ballots now, it's probably getting worse.
ReplyDeleteEither way though, I think it's more interesting how panicked the Democrats seem by this. I think what really bothers them is the prospect of Hillary being de-legitimized before she even takes off. Not to mention, she's going to be facing "rapist" t-shirts everywhere she goes as President.
Anthony, That's not telling people there's no point, it's a way to heighten the intensity of his supporters.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, I think that's true. Allegations of vote rigging are ways to raise turnout by your own people.
ReplyDeleteAre we arguing vote rigging or voter suppression?
ReplyDeleteVote rigging is stuff like legit ballots being discarded and illegitimate ballots (from say, the dead and non-citizens) being counted.
Voter suppression is increasing the amount of red tape one has to cut through to vote and/or spreading disinformation to keep people from voting, etc.
Telling people 'they' don't want you to vote is a good way to get them to vote. Telling people the ballot machine is going to delete their vote, not so much.
Oh, just in case you aren't aware, a cyber attack hit major websites this morning like Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon and other websites.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, it doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteIt think the bottom line is that we will see voting numbers at the lowest levels ever. People will not be coming out in droves to vote. People aren't even putting out signs, using bumper stickers, or wearing buttons..forget T-shirts. Well, unless you count the "Bill Is A Rapist" ones showing up at Clinton rallies.
ReplyDeleteI predict that Clinton will win in what will appear as a "landslide", and that "landslide" will be marketed as a "mandate". But it will only be less than 30% of the registered voters showing up. And the press will go silent when asked about that.
BTW, Scott had done a film review at the film site... the new Ghostbusters.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, I don't think anyone is being specific enough to turn off their own side. The suggestion has generally been "they are cheating to add to their own votes" or "they want to keep you from voting."
ReplyDeletetryanmax, The more I think about it, the more I see the standard pattern here. Democrats have been using this "voter fraud!" weapon to keep their people excited for a long time. (The GOP has used it at the edges, but not well.)
ReplyDeleteNow Trump is using it. And as with every other unethical weapon the Democrats have used (special prosecutor, destruction of state's rights, etc.), they are fine with it until the GOP starts using it against them. Then they scream bloody murder.
I think that's what we're seeing here. And right now they're hoping to trick the GOP into stopping Trump so the GOP will disarm and they won't need to disarm, i.e. they can keep using it to keep blacks etc. angry.
Bev, Turn out will be low. This will be more of an "activist" election than ever. That's why Clinton isn't appealing to average people, she's going full-retard to get her fringe to turn out.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea whose fringe is bigger or more likely to turn out, so I don't know how things will go at the moment.
As for the cyber attack, that was me. I tripped over the cord on my way to the bathroom.
ReplyDeletere: Cyber attack...I always had a feeling that you were the keeper of the electrical cord that plugs into the outlet that runs "The Internet".
ReplyDeleteYeah, it runs through my house. Ironically it's not even a three-pronged cord.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, that's surprising. I always just assumed it was like the plug-in for a dryer. Very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteFinally a political ad with a sense of humor! From Travis County (Austin, TX) LINK
ReplyDeleteSemi-OT -- The exciting follow-up to yesterday's breakdown of the Dems:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.threedonia.com/archives/3651
Ah, screw it. These candidates suck. I'm going in for a third party candidate. Ladies and gentlemen...
ReplyDeletePittsburgh Dad for President!
And ah guarantee yinz, if 'e haddint reignited the old North Hills versus South Side, er, Saw Side, er, Sow Sahd (God, that's hard to write in Pittsburghese), ee'd be fifty points ahead 'imself. Irregardless 'ah that, Pittsburgh Dad for the White Haus!
A Primanni Bros. sammich in every lunch box, n'at!!!
DeleteEP, it's a good article, there's only one problem: how do you make people consider those topics important? The biggest hurdle Republicans and conservatives face is that, to the general public, they seem like they live in an alternate universe. This is because they are constantly addressing topics that the public thinks of, not as unimportant but, not the most important.
ReplyDeleteThe simple fact is, nobody knows what is most important. They may have some pet issues, and they may share those pet issues with millions of Americans, but if those pet issues don't align with what gets talked about on the nightly news, in sitcoms, in dramas, in magazines, on blogs, you name it, they don't even think of their own pet issues as "very important." (Incidentally, haven't you noticed how virtually the entire media landscape becomes fixated on a single topic all at once, despite there being myriad opportunities for content variety?)
Even if a Republican running for office comes along talking about one of their pet issues, they still seem like they don't "know what's going on." At best it's a case of "I like his stance on X, but he doesn't know much about anything else." It doesn't matter that the same is probably true about the guy who parrots the issues as seen on Glee.
So, if the agenda gets set by the people who are able to do the most talking, the most sensible thing to do is to agree to that agenda and try to do better at it. I realize this makes it harder to get out in front of an issue, but a politician who can't lead from behind isn't worthy of the title.
That isn't to say that the topics in the article are not worth pursuing at all. Quite the contrary. Addressing the "most important" issue of the day is merely the entrance fee. There's no reason why school choice can't be framed as the answer to BLM. Don't worry about logic, no one else is. And if you can make it a 2 birds, 1 stone idea, so much the better. Also, don't be afraid of casting your political opponents as villains. BLM, unions, and teachers are not the enemy (even when they are). It's the guy with the D after his name who wants to trap minority children in failing schools (and probably wishes them dead). No one else.
I don't mean to say you can't win people over with solid reason and sound policy. But you sure as hell can't get anybody's attention with that stuff.
So, in sum:
2. Address the topic everyone is talking about, because that's what everybody thinks is important.
3. Spin your agenda into a solution to the problem, even if it isn't.
4. Vilify your political opponents and nobody else.
5. Make sure you have the stuff to actually back up your policies, because it will get checked somewhere down the line.
And in case you think I forgot #1:
Don't ever say what the hell you're doing. That just ruins it.
Amen, tyranmax! Ain't it exhausting, er, fun being on the right?
DeleteOh oh! According to the unbiased Obama administration, who would of course be totally honest with us...
ReplyDelete...the pesky Ruskies who are trying to rig our election to help Trump might plant evidence of voter fraud after the election to destabilize our electoral system by making people think it can be rigged.
If you can work your head around the hypocrisy and double-speak in that one, then I congratulate you on having a very flexible brain.
Eric, Sadly, I disagree completely with today's post. The problem is this agenda is the type of agenda that comes from living in a bubble. It is the same crap the GOP has been spouting for two decades now as they've bled voters. This is an agenda to make right-wing blogger happy, not the American public:
ReplyDelete1. Pass nationwide school choice. Meaningless. The children in about 90-95% of districts are doing really well. And the places where the kids aren't doing well are not generally populated by people who see choice helping. Moreover, when these places (like DC) go for choice, real shits exploit that and you start getting things like black militant schools.
While I don't think choice is bad, it gets few votes.
2. Trade and charter schools in every state. (1) Already exist, so issue doesn't matter. (2) This issue is based on a conservative bogeyman -- liberal schools makin' reel 'merikans vote against 'merika! Does. Not. Happen.
3. Require a photo ID to vote. Good idea, but does nothing to change anything. Meaningful voter fraud is a right-wing myth. It is the white version of "they want to disenfranchise you!"
4. Secure the border and shut down sanctuary cities. This is a scare tactic meant to energize talk radio conservatives. It fundamentally misunderstands demographics, how illegals get here, and the division of government function. And to stroke these people, you end up alienating everyone else because they spew racism about why they want this.
5. Updated welfare reform. Misunderstands who is on welfare and the public's desire to help those people. The true solution is a graduated off, not slashing who can be on. This proposal makes for horrid photo-op with almost no budgetary gain. It again reinforces the fundamental problem with the hard-right agenda, the belief that conservatives hate poor people.
6. Wage a real War on Poverty. Jobs are great, but jobs don't get to poverty. There are two issues to consider: (1) as a general rule, poor people are poor because of their values, not a lack of opportunities, and (2) "poverty" is a definitional thing, so 15% of the public will always be poor no matter what they own. Until you fix that, you could spend a gazillion dollars and the poverty needle won't move. Until that gets fixed, this is all just a PR game rigged against us.
7. Pass right-to-work laws in every state. There are only two meaningful unions left: (1) teachers and (2) government workers. This change is fine, but it won't sway a single vote. Moreover, the optics are horrible without any benefit to be gained for appearing to favor big business over "the working man."
8. Supreme Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court. The Supreme Court only matters for fringe issues and those don't matter to the public. The court pretty much agrees on non-fringe issues.
9. Use morality, not efficiency, to defend their policies. Wrong. The public doesn't buy morality or efficiency. The public buys "will it make things better or not." That's it. They don't see the government's role as returning us to the 1850s, nor do they like the government's role being to make the world safe for business majors. They see the government's role as keeping average people safe and secure.
This agenda is exactly the kind of thinking conservatives need to end.
Wow! That's pretty impressive. I guess we're in a double-double bind as to knowing who legitimately wins in November. Perhaps we should just surrender to Putin now.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Impressive is an understatement. It's mind-blowing. It's the kind of hypocrisy/paradox that causes robots' heads to explode:
ReplyDeleteSo it is dangerous to suggest that our elections can be manipulated. Oh and be warned that Putin is manipulating our elections and then may plant fake evidence to show that the election was manipulated.
Ow, my head! Pop!
Manipuception™
ReplyDeleteBTW, tryanmax, Have you noticed what is implicit in the administration's claim?
ReplyDeleteThe obvious intent is this: if Hillary wins, don't believe anything Trump says because Putin only made it look like fraud.
But did you get this: if Trump wins, Putin may have cheated to help him, so Hillary will be within her rights to fight the result.
That's right, Obama just said that Trump may try to steal the election with Putin's help.
Manipuception™
ReplyDeleteExcellent!!!
Oh yeah, it wasn't lost on me that it's a Democrat win-win.
ReplyDeleteEarly voting has begun. Win or lose I'm sure Trump's Twitter account will be hilarious.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party but I had to throw this in. Not only did the dems whine and cry about the 2000 election they changed the ballots over it! Up until 2000 you just punched a hole in a card. It was simple common sense. But then came the 2000 fight with dimpled chads and hanging chads and "observers" brought in to look at a ballot and "determine the voter's intent." Was the voter elderly? Did they have the hand strength to express their correct intent,etc ad infinitum. Now we have to color in the ballot and stick it in a scanner to see if we've done it right. Assholes.
ReplyDeleteGypsyTyger
The Cubs are going to the World Series. I believe that's a Biblical sign of the apocalypse. Good luck to us all. ;)
ReplyDeleteGT, do you stick it in the scanner yourself? In Neb. we have the multiple-choice worksheet but it gets scanned somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you want to know why some of us just cannot "let it go" and support Trump, David French, who has been on the front lines of the culture war for 10 years, explains why:
ReplyDeleteLINK
The Cubs are going to the World Series. I believe that's a Biblical sign of the apocalypse. Good luck to us all. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, yes it is. I believe there is a quatrain by Nostadamus and a lost book of the Bible hidden in the Vatican's secret archives that will prove it. Just watch who the Pope roots for and then you will know for sure!
Kit, I lurk the comments on many sites. Neither side has the monopoly on grotesque trolls.
ReplyDelete