The Politics Thread

[Vee]

Now this is interesting.

Times/Siena has been very Trump-leaning for weeks. Now this.

[JaneAusten]

I am still a massive polling skeptic, but I'll post this nugget for you @Vee

 

 

 

[Vee]

That's very interesting as well. What struck me the most is simply the possibility that Times/Siena, after trying to overestimate for Trump for weeks (something many pollsters have done since '16 to avoid looking foolish), is potentially coming back down to reality here.

I am not going to even bother with today's laughable "Dems bedwetting" story from Axios which has zero on the record sources, very little factual basis in anxiety or actual critique of Harris beyond typical aides' neuroses about the polls/Nevada EV, and comes from (of course) Alex Thompson.

 

[Marco Dane]

Mel Gibson Maligns Kamala Harris As Having “IQ Of A Fence Post”; ‘Mad Max’ Star Supporting Donald Trump In Tight Election, He Says

 

 

[I Am A Swede]

Considering Mel's history this is not exactly surprising.

[marceline]

The desperation from the media is palpable.

[DramatistDreamer]

Sadly, they will continue to do this as long as folks continue to take the bait. People’s anxieties are fodder for their entertainment and stories.

[Liberty City]

Not surprising one bit he has this skewed point of view.

[Vee]

Like I said:

 

 

[j swift]

Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson criticizing Kamala Harris for calling Donald Trump a ‘fascist,’ has got to be one of the silliest uses of rhetoric in this campaign. 

This illogical call for civility for the GOP candidate who said that Harris was a “Sh*% VP” has got to be the weakest form of support that they can muster.  Especially when the only GOP response to having two assassination attempts on their candidate has been to blame the opposition, but not even think about limiting access to weapons.  I cannot see it gaining any traction.

Except, as appropriately stated by Charlemagne last night, on CNN.  Who would rather find some obscure pick-me dude to come up with an excuse for the GOP candidate, then inform their audience on the actual definition of a fascist and why it fits this case perfectly. 

Edited October 25, 2024 by j swift

[DramatistDreamer]

Even though I don’t live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, this is highly noteworthy.

Please register in order to view this content

 

[Vee]

Wow.

Based on several well-informed accounts, it seems like right wing influencer Scott Presler may have been committing (deep breath) voter fraud with/upon the Amish.

 

[janea4old]

More details on the fraudulent registrations in Lancaster County PA

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5165382/lancaster-county-voter-registration-fraud 
In a news conference Friday with board members, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said numerous applications appeared to have the same handwriting and other details, like addresses, appeared incorrect on some applications. 

https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/lancaster-county-da-commissioners-link-fraudulent-voter-registrations-to-paid-canvassing-update/article_5132ce60-92dd-11ef-9ec2-d32918af4f5b.html

A large number of suspicious voter registration applications were dropped off at the county elections office near Monday's deadline, county officials said. An investigation by the district attorney's office found incorrect addresses, false identification information, false names and names that did not match Social Security information. 

The officials said one or two organizations that conducted registration drives in the county in recent months were responsible for the applications. They did not name the organizations.

The district attorney did not provide information on who was funding the canvassers but asked anyone who had been approached about suspicious registrations to contact her office. 

"It appears to be an organized effort," Adams said, noting that the investigation is ongoing. 

Adams said her investigators found problems with 60% of the registrations they have so far reviewed. She did not say how many of the 2,500 registrations had been investigated. She said applications came from people living in the city, as well as Columbia, Elizabethtown, Akron, Ephrata, Stevens and Strasburg.

She also said the same organization or organizations responsible for submitting the registrations were believed to be active in two other counties. She did not name those counties but said her investigators had reached out to them.

Some of the registration applications submitted by the groups were found to be genuine, Adams said, and those voters will be registered.

Edited October 25, 2024 by janea4old

[DRW50]

With Bezos (who paraded around as an anti-Trump foil in the late '10s to the point where SNL had a putrid puff piece on his behalf) forcing the Washington Post to not endorse, some of the early voting numbers, and even analysts that aren't exactly in Nate Silver-land saying the shift to Trump in polling is real, it's hard to shake what's happening. The CNN poll out today also has the GOP ahead on the generic ballot, which was up to this point one of the bright spots (that Republicans still didn't seem to be doing that well in the House). If polling is undercounting Trump support again this year, then we're going to be in for a rough night. 

If Trump wins, there are any number of reasons I'm not surprised, but it is still stomach-churning to see that Trump has his highest approvals ever at a time he is completely incoherent beyond bigoted, and yes, Mike Johnson and Mitch McConnell, fascist screeds. The more disgusting he gets, the more loved he becomes. God bless America, I guess.

Edited October 26, 2024 by DRW50

[Vee]

Let's be transparent here, though: Jain (from above) also said that Harris is in the best position at the moment according to actual numbers, and that he suspects a lot of pollsters are overestimating Trump support and may look very foolish on Election Night.

I haven't seen anything change in the last 24 hours. If anything I've seen polling (like Times/Siena upthread) that suggest people are starting to come back down to earth re: the somewhat ersatz Trump 'momentum'.