1712

One of the tiny bits of joy I anticipate in the next few years is when the mainstream media feels the consequences of their weakness, complacency and facilitation of authoritarianism. At this point, the odds are looking quite bad for them and for the US generally. I will be weeping 99% of the time, but when the bell tolls for the NYT I will snicker.

1713

Yeah I do think we should keep this thread for actual discussion of the midterm vote and results today - policy discussions can go in their appropriate threads.

1714

I’m taking a more optimistic approach. Honestly, there was way more important legislation passed in the past two years than Obama’s 8 years, so I figure, anything else we get is gravy. And if we get no gravy, that’s fine.

The election deniers being elected is definitely very concerning this time, and different than all the previous times. But honestly, a lot of them are going to get in even in the most optimistic scenario of the Democrats keeping the house and Senate. So that’s a problem that will have to be dealt with somehow either way.

1715

I know Democrats in general seem to be more hip to technology and comfortable with things like mail in voting, but shit like this is why you should eschew your usual comfort level with mail in voting and just fucking line the fuck up. You KNOW your vote counted that way.

I get that some people cannot physically make it there for reasons, but man, if you’re a D to begin with you know how fucking important this election is. You should have planned to be there in person at all costs.

1716

I had Laxalt pegged as a loser but Ralson reporting massive GOP turnout and not much for Dems. Maybe more mail-in ballots but Laxalt camp gotta be more opimistic. Ralson picked Cortex Masto to win yesterday but now he not sure.

1717

So from when are we allowed to wallow in this thread?

1718

Great. Now we’ve probably got two years of Congressional investigations of Hunter Biden’s Laptop and the Seekrit Sooper Scandalous Origins of the Mueller Investigation to look forward to. Plus hot-and-cold running debt ceiling brinkmanship (I’m really hoping Biden has the trillion dollar coin made and tells the GOP hostage takers to go pound sand). Finally, absolutely no positive legislation whatsoever on anything, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if Clarence Thomas dies in the next two years McConnell will not give a Biden SCOTUS nominee a hearing. It worked out swimmingly before, so why not?

@Tim_N I’m starting my wallowing early, as you can see.

1719

You guys are lucky you aren’t in Aus right now, the results will start streaming in around late morning / early afternoon here, when the mind is most sober, instead of late at night. I will have to rawdog the whole thing.

1720

Well, here in Oregon we don’t have a choice. I mean, yes, you can drop your ballot off in an official county collection box instead of a mailbox (in the past I’ve done that). This year I put it in the USPS Blue Box and got the confirmation a couple days later that it was received.

1721

They switched to tablets with license scanners here this year, much much quicker. Zero line at all, though that was a 7am.

1722

Oh, that’s a thing I do not feel lucky about at all.

1723

Don’t think confirmations are a thing here in the UK. I certainly don’t recall ever receiving one and I’ve voted by post in the last half dozen elections.

1724

Here in Multnomah County, Oregon, USA it’s a thing you have to actively sign up for, for sure. It’s not automatic.

1725

Honestly if they spend it all digging into Hunter, I’m fine with them wasting their efforts there instead of getting something dangerous done.

1726

True I suppose. I don’t think McConnell and Co. will kill the filibuster till they have a GOP President, and they won’t have veto-proof majorities. But they can still get up to lots of mischief re funding things and debt ceiling shenanigans.

1727

I’m so out of the loop. Why is Hunter Biden a thing? What’s supposed to be on that laptop? Where the Clintons buried the bodies?

1728

You’re asking the wrong questions, dude. You should be asking why the mainstream media doesn’t want you to know what’s on Hunter Biden’s laptop!

1729

Hunter Biden was apparently not a stellar citizen and literally partook of hookers and blow and took pictures of it.

Basically, a GOP senate candidate.

1730

Exit polled people not liking Biden, but they also have even more negative opinions about Trump, so that’s nice.

1731

Can I interest you in civil war?