Doug Jones is a Democrat in the reddest of red states...

If he wants even the SLIGHTEST chance of keeping his seat, he is going to have to work with Republicans more than Democrats...

You see, this is EXACTLY ya'all's issue.. You simply CAN'T see past the -D.....

How's that for reality?

I don't see it that way and neither should you..

Put another way.. It would have been a LOT better for the Demcorat Party if Moore had one..

I mean, just by looking at the precedent that Democrats have established..

All it's going to take to remove Democrats from Congress is 6-8 accusations of sexual impropriety...

Think about it.. :D

Ya'all's hysteria over President Trump is in a class all it's own..

It's only fitting that the acronym be special as well. :D

It wouldn't be the first time that a party shunned its titular leader at midterms time. It seems to be a trend, actually, as both Bush and Obama had their turns being 'uninvited' by nervous candidates during midterms season for various reasons.

But it also means that Republicans probably don't need to fear Trump and his evil id, Bannon as much politically as they'd expected. Bannon's threat to primary every moderate Republican in sight is less of a worry after the fiasco in Alabama, and the most often heard phrase about Bannon being heard tonight is "overrated". If that continues, it's going to change the way that Republicans run their campaigns next year, and perhaps even which Republicans run next year.

We've seen this before: only Trump can wear the Trump armor. For some reason, his peculiar combination of ignorance and attitude shield him from things that would end the careers of other men.

But as Neil's Agincourt example demonstrates, even the best armor can be pierced eventually, or even become a hindrance when the shit gets sufficiently deep.

Ooooh, forgot about that one -- it seems to come back around repeatedly, you're right. Good point.

-CW

Warning: could lead to twitter and reddit abuse and possible addiction.

I'm not saying don't use it, please understand, just be consistent with the last two presidents, that's all. It'd be easier on the eyes and easier to decipher.

-CW

Also, with the acronyms, why not revert to the historical norm? It was "BDS" and then "ODS" so now it should be "TDS" right? "President Trump Derangement Syndrome" is too much of a mouthful, and it also is too close to PTSD...

Just a thought..

-CW

With a two-finger salute, I assume... to show your bow-drawing fingers are intact!

Heh. Took me forever to figure out the origins of the British two fingers...

neilm [44] -

Yeah, that editorial could blister paint at 50 feet. And from the normally neutral USA Today, that's quite a read...

neilm [45] -

For me, it's not an Authentic Trump Tweet unless there is Random use of Capitalization as well as (bizarre parenthetical asides) and "improper use" of quotes (scare quotes or not, there's just no rhyme or reason to them).

That's how you spot the genuine article!

Heh.

TheStig [54] -

BWAH hah hah! Now that was funny!

Heh.

TheStig [59] -

"You have to get up pretty early in the morning to be Donald Trump."

That was pretty funny, too. I wonder why we're all in such a good mood?

Heh.

As for that tweet, well, it's got random caps (General Election) and a bizarre parenthetical, but no random quotes. Two out of three ain't bad, I bet it really was Trump.

:-)

Nice use of "mightily" even if completely false, though, you're right.

Michale [various] -

Go ahead and just admit it. Christmas came early for the Democrats. But it's only one seat, so maybe 2018 won't be a Democratic wave.

How's that for reality?

:-)

-CW

Then why can't ya'all shut up until he does??

Then, at least, ya'all will actually have some FACTS...

It is interesting to hear Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace discuss this in relation to their own experiences in the McCain campaign.

Wallace, for instance, says she would have been 'surprised' to see any Russians at all anywhere near the campaign.

Schmidt, who was McCain's campaign manager, says he was never even approached by the Russians, and would have referred any emails like the ones Don Jr. got to the authorities.

Similar things have been said by former staffers in the Bush, Gore, and Romney campaigns.

By comparison, investigators have uncovered at least 31 different contacts and 19 meetings between the Trump campaign and the Russians (most of whom had connections to Russian intelligence).

You'd have to have the intelligence of a basketball not to see the problem with that.

Sorry - too many years on Wall St.

AML - anti-money laundering
DB - Deutsche Bank
NYC (you probably knew) - New York City

Good to find out about how the OMG affects the PDQ, but you need to consider the ASAP and its effect on the WTFLGBT and the XYZ.

You (and others) could give us oldtimers a break on the code lingo, often we don't know what the hell we're talking about.

Mueller is just going to put all the pieces together into a picture - could be just stupidity but nothing illegal (these are not very smart people after all), or it could be something more damaging.

If you want to see how the picture looks at the moment I strongly recommend "Collusion" by Luke Harding.

1. He is in place throughout and 45 can't pardon everybody involved.

2. He is fired and somebody else needs to take it over - possible after the 2018 elections

3. 45 gets away with pardoning everybody, so he hits them with state charges

Given that we are moving into AML territory 45 and the family really need to worry about the NY state charges that can be brought since a lot of the DB activity will be thru NYC locations.

Mueller is in this respect like a quarterback under pressure, moving the ball on the ground, but keeping open the option for a lateral pass, perhaps to the NY Atty General, in case his pocket starts to collapse.

My guess is that we'll see several more indictments before the Mueller Report is presented to the public. That way, firing him, or greeting his report with a Bronx cheer, won't halt the investigation - it'd just move it to another spot downfield.

Yea, you keep saying that..

And yet, there are NO FACTS that prove what you say is "true"...

:D

Well since there is a Republican President, a Republican House, a Republican Senate, a Republican Governor in Alabama, a Republican State House in Alabama, and a Republican State Senate in Alabama they can use the evidence you can't point out to appoint an investigator into the Putin/Alabama links.

Sadly for you, the only evidence is the tweet monitoring of known Russian handles that were tweeting links to Roy Moore's web site.

I know, you lost again. Your infallible President lost again. The real evidence of collusion is coming out. You can't handle the truth. We understand.

The "facts" that support Jones/Putin collusion are as viable and as "factual" as the facts that support Trump/Putin collusion..

That's the point you just refuse to get...

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trumps-slurred-speech-tied-to-low-battery-in-putins-remote

Definition: Michale fact
noun
plural noun: steaming piles of BS

- a thing that has no basis in reality
example use: "the most common Michale fact is that everybody else is partisan and he is the only independent"

Antonym: reality

You know a lot of poor and hard done to people motivated themselves in a state where they had lost 25 years in a row to believe in Doug Jones, and all you can do is grind your ax and claim that all he cares about is rich people and campaign contributions.

Show some decency Don.

No, they don't.. Not for months yet.. And when it's discovered that Jones colluded with Putin, as the facts show, then the seat will revert to Moore...

:D

... and one of the three Senate seats they need to flip it to "D" - one that they never expected and that isn't up util 2020.

Now they got nothing but their dicks in their hands.. :D

I did make a prediction, and I was within 2% points for both candidates :)

There was collusion between Jones and Putin..

This is fact...

But let's face it. You thought Moore was going to win too.. That's why you didn't want to make a prediction. :D

Moore will win Alabama and the Jags will win the Super Bowl.. :D

Well there is still hope for the Jags.

He'd have blamed "Fake News" and probably worked in some "collusion" angle between the "loser media" and the Democrats.

RE Trump ghost writers: a reworked cliche...

"You have to get up pretty early in the morning to be Donald Trump."

Dec 13, 2017 06:22:04 AM The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!

Nice use of "mightily" and "I was right!" - but where is the bile and inflated sense of entitlement? I rate this one dubious....but a rich Saudi Prince just might pay to much for it.

Exactly..

It's the candidate that lost the race.. There is absolutely no meaning in Jones' win beyond the fact that Moore was a crappy candidate...

Much like ya'all claimed when Scott Brown won MASS... "Nothing to see here. Coakley was a crappy candidate.. That's it"

I am glad you and I can agree on this.. :D

Only explanation.

I mean, they ran the perfect candidate.

Hysterical Democrats are cheering the election of an old white guy, while spending the last few years castigating and demonizing old white guys...

Once again.. It's ALL about the -D after the person's name... Nothing else matters...

Even Leo da Vinci didn't do all the work on his famous masterpieces - he used apprentices too!

I'm coining the term "Designated Shitter" to describe a ghost writer filling in @realdonaldtrump. Which, in all honesty, should be rebranded @realdonaldtrumpwithaddedfillers.

Ya'all are deluding yourselves...

This is the epitome of an outlier...

Because the reason Franken (and Conyers) were forced out is so Dumbocrats can at least have SOME semblance of the moral high ground..

With Moore not in the Senate, there was no political reason why Franken and Conyers had to go..

You yourself conceded that politics was the reason for the ouster...

Why? Moore lost. Sounds like a good day for Franken.

That's the only reason Jones won!!!

He colluded with Putin!!!!!!

:D

I bet Franken and Conyers are fit to be tied right now!! :D

Not really necessary. Now that I've caught up on the TV commentary, it appears that we're not alone - everyone who's mentioned it has said that it doesn't read like a real Trump tweet.

I'd guess Dan Scavino.

43- Trump took the high road. That is a surprise!

45- I've had similar thoughts about possible ghost writing. Somebody, somewhere, must be running Trump Tweets through style recognition software to spot probable fakes.

USA Today Editorial Board

Wow!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/12/12/trump-lows-ever-hit-rock-bottom-editorials-debates/945947001/

Last night my brother & I had a conversation about the MeToo movement and an unexpected side issue: the guys who had completely denied any wrongdoing, and called their accusers liars, had actually fared better than those who tried to apologize and move on. At least that was his perception.

Maybe this Moore win will stick a bit of a pin in that. Had Moore won tonight, the conventional wisdom might have been that republicans, and Trump voters specifically, are simply unmoved by these sorts of accusations. Maybe the particular things that Moore were accused of hit a nerve in the electorate, and certainly Moore's conduct before those accusations were ever made also played a role, but it is evident now that those accusations had a significant effect on tonight's election results.

That will encourage some to ratchet up the pressure for Trump to answer to his accusers. And what an irony it would be for that, rather than traitorous collusion with an international adversary, to be the thing that ends up hurting Trump politically the most.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

I should not have expected anything more from this horrible little man.

Word! But Paula also adds a important point:

It's not just grassroots enthusiasm, its SMART grassroots activism.

Exactly, for instance the Indivisible movement.

I'm also a great believer in the "50 State strategy".

And, as in Virginia, it seems the Dem GOTV/ground games are improving. Less money on TV ads, more money on other efforts. Lots of help from out-of-state -- phone banking, postcards and donations. Among the spontaneous uprisings post 2016 were groups offering ways for people in blue states to help fellow-dems in red states. Those efforts seem to be paying off.

Very encouraging. It's not just grassroots enthusiasm, its SMART grassroots activism.

An actual column has now been posted here. You may have to get your browser to refresh or reload to see it.

-CW

Awful for Trump: two endorsements in a row go down in flames in a deep red state. Ouch.

It doesn't get Moore Strange than that, now does it? Who will Trump blame for all this "winning"?

A good example of what inroads a centrist candidate and vigorous GOTV effort could accomplish in even Red States..

..and what a disaster Bannon's "let's run a nut" strategy can result in.

It's abundantly clear that the ONLY "poll" that Trump supporters use is the one at the ballot box..

So, all the polls that ya'all love to quote ONLY reflect the choices of those who don't support President Trump..”

-Michale

Prescient as always ;) Though to be fair, I didn’t think Jones would win. I’m pretty sure most people here didn’t either.

Say it together with me: SENATOR DOUG JONES

Not only did the Democrat win, a PRO CHOICE Democrat won.

Either way, write-in (a.k.a. unhappy Republican) votes will probably exceed the margin of victory.

Yep. Also, about a quarter of Alabama is African American, and there was early exit polling showing that around 30% of them voted in this special election... if accurate polling data, this is much higher than normal demographics.

It's basically over for Moore when you check the remaining outstanding votes in Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, and Montgomery.

That is an excellent point!

Good to see others here...

:-)

-CW

-CW

Up 10K votes, 49.6 to 48.8.

-CW

Moore is actually getting his clock cleaned in Jefferson County, and the 20% outstanding votes are in largely large blue counties. This is going to be a close one.

85% in...

-CW

With 81% in, his lead is now 0.7%.

-CW

-CW

-CW

-CW

-CW

-CW

Moore 52, Jones 47, with over 40% in...

-CW

-CW

-CW

Moore up by 6K votes, 53-46.

-CW

-CW

-CW

-CW

-CW

This is still less than 1%, but it is fun to watch for the time being...

-CW

Jones up 56% to 44%

Woo hoo!

Oh, wait, that's only like 750 votes counted... heh...

:-)

-CW