US Election 2020 : Part 3
November 5, 2020 5:46 PM Subscribe

As the US 2020 national elections head into their third day of counting and updating vote totals in the remaining battleground states, a nation waits anxiously to see if mail-in ballots will be enough to allow former Vice President Biden to clinch the Presidency.

With the second election thread passing 1700 votes, (previous FPP here), this post is to give some relief to MeFi servers and mobile devices everywhere.

posted by darkstar (1596 comments total) 65 users marked this as a favorite

Thank you!
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

my favorite internet post so far is "If Nevada shows up with an iced coffee, I swear to God"
posted by taquito sunrise at 5:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [37 favorites]

Again, I want to say: Good luck. We're all counting on us.
posted by mrgoat at 5:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [54 favorites]

Take care of yourselves!
posted by ghharr at 5:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

THREAD 3 OF THE ELECTION!!!!
posted by wordless reply at 5:49 PM on November 5, 2020

A democracy? What is it?
posted by Marticus at 5:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Let's try not to fill this one up with riffing too fast!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [42 favorites]

The finale, one hopes.
posted by swift at 5:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

If I read the GA numbers right, Biden needs a little over 59% (~59.15) of the remaining vote. He's been getting closer to 64% today. No idea if those numbers will hold though.
posted by aspo at 5:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

Please please let it end soon while I can still make sense of things
posted by kinnakeet at 5:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

surely this
posted by Ahmad Khani at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [18 favorites]

My understanding is a fair chunk of the outstanding GA votes is from overseas military folks. Normally I'd expect that group to be very red, but after Donald's "loser" talk about KIA soldiers, I expect it to be significantly less favorable to Trump. By how much, I couldn't guess, but I'm almost certain that it'll bog Trump down at least a bit.
posted by tclark at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

If you have friends in Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona, or North Carolina, urge them to check BallotTrax North Carolina.

BallotTrax Nevada, where you have until the 12th to cure your ballot.

Pennsylvania

Arizona, where you have until the 10th to cure your ballot.

Georgia

California, where you have until the 20th to cure your ballot.

Here's how to cure your ballot

Mods, please add these tips and links to the top of the election mega-threads so that we can help as many people to ensure that their ballots are counted as possible.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [39 favorites]

We sure are ripping off the band-aid as slowly as possible.
posted by NoneOfTheAbove at 5:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

Does anyone have a good feel on if we will know anything tonight? I think I’m picking up from the statements from the individual states that the answer is no. I’m totally okay with that, I certainly want them to have the reasonable time they need.
posted by double bubble at 5:54 PM on November 5, 2020

Fark's on thread 10 already. Though they do have a lil less...moderation. Really wanted to have PA decide it, got my Mom registered in a Trump county and I know her one vote didn't mean much but man.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

A democracy? What is it?

It's a thing where we elect our leaders via voting. And that's terribly important right now.
posted by mrgoat at 5:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [28 favorites]

If you don't mind my repeating my question from the bottom of the last thread.

Is there an update on when we can expect the next round of numbers from AZ, GA, and PA to be reported?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

I wanted to watch Trump's speech tonight because I figured it would be historic, and it was, in a horrifying way, as a U.S. president completely repudiating the democratic process itself. But afterwards it occurred to me that even though he said the whole time they were going to keep fighting, that was his concession speech. He'll never give another one. So I'm extra glad I watched it, because of that.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 5:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [29 favorites]

Is an update at 9 Eastern still coming from AZ?
posted by esquandolad at 5:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

CNN says yes, “thousands” of AZ ballots at 9 PM Eastern.
posted by reductiondesign at 5:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Pasting from the previous thread:

In Georgia, where Trump’s lead over Biden has shrunk to 3,486, only 18,936 ballots remain uncounted, according to Jordan Fuchs, the deputy secretary of state.

If my arithmetic is correct, that means Biden only needs 59% of the remaining votes to win.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Every comment is a vote for more Metafilter.
posted by swift at 5:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

The NYT broke out the L word for I think the first time ever. It's also currently in the main headline on the homepage ("Biden Urges Patience; Trump Lies About Count")
posted by theodolite at 5:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [40 favorites]

Too fuckin' late, Baquet
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 5:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [46 favorites]

Is this true? Apparently the Alaska Senate race is in play? From the D candidate:

The dynamics of the Alaska Senate race at this hour remain in a state of flux. With approximately 44.6 percent of the ballots not yet counted, we believe we will win once every vote has been counted in the state.
posted by triggerfinger at 5:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [23 favorites]

For anyone needing a quick antidote to the stress, here is a link posted by some wonderful MeFite in our last thread. It’s my new favorite thing right now on the Internet. (Enable sound.)

The doggo’s name is Maple.

“Here comes the sun...”
posted by darkstar at 5:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [26 favorites]

The lead is now 2500 in Georgia?
posted by asra at 6:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Running numbers for PA, based on NYT saying 250,000 votes left and Biden down 53,000. Biden needs 61% and has been getting closer to 70% today. Once again no idea where votes are left/what demographic.
posted by aspo at 6:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Something else I found really fascinating about Trump's speech was how low energy it was. He alleged a massive antidemocratic conspiracy; a huge, corrupt, evil machine totally organized across many states in its single-minded focus on totally subverting the will of people... but he sounded so whiney the whole time.

If I was alleging a massive antidemocratic conspiracy across America, I would be mad. Furious. Fired up. My indignant rage would be vibrating out in every direction. Because that kind of shit, because I believe in democracy, would be the fight of a lifetime.

That wasn't how Trump acted at all. It wasn't genuine at all. It had the pathetic resigned mood of a divorced guy ranting about his horrible ex-wife two decades after the fact.
posted by the turtle's teeth at 6:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [49 favorites]

Sorry, I guess the Alaska candidate is an Independent, but will caucus with the Dems
posted by triggerfinger at 6:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Get your F5 keys ready. Refresh no more than 4x / hourly:

scraped battleground state changes dashboard (GitHub)
posted by gregglind at 6:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

I mean he's done -that- too, and probably will again. I'm hoping he gets at least a few more d's this year - democratic win, divorce, deposition...
posted by FritoKAL at 6:02 PM on November 5, 2020

Spread in Pennsylvania now 50,671. Still Trump winning, but the gap has narrowed from 109K six hours ago. The bulk of the votes left are from the Philly metro area plus also a chunk of Pittsburgh that can't be counted until tomorrow.
posted by which_chick at 6:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Not a blue wave, but a blue tide, slowly rising to cover face. I take some small comfort in knowing that as agonizing as this count is for the rest of us, it must be so, so much worse for Trump.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 6:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [62 favorites]

One of the independent political expenditure groups I was supporting this cycle, Flip the West, was starting to feel very confident about their initial states of interest (especially MT, AZ, CO) so then broadened their efforts to Alaska near the end. I was skeptical, but if Gross can pull it off that would be fantastic.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Two questions-
There was some grumbling & pearl-clutching by the media when, last night, Nevada postponed reports on the count until Thurs morning. Has there ever been a proposal to restrict any release of vote counts until all ballots are tallied state-wide? Would this interfere with any non-media-driven need for early results?

And there were several articles faulting pollsters for missing the narrowness of the vote count. If polls got it so wrong, why now would the media turn to the same pollsters when analyzing voting patterns for any ethnic group or interest group?
posted by TDIpod at 6:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

My guess is that things are going glacially slow because Trump lawyers are probably trying to contest every possible ballot they can in an attempt to both buy time and somehow stop the inevitable.

PA is more or less guaranteed to be Biden's sometime tonight unless they skip out early and even if it takes some time to finish counting I think we can safely be prepared to say goodbye to Trump in January.
posted by vuron at 6:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

If anyone wants realtime updates of the vote counts, here's a page that scrape the NY Times.

Georgia here we come.
posted by zabuni at 6:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

Is Nevada putting out more info tonight? Or not until tomorrow morning?
posted by cashman at 6:11 PM on November 5, 2020

So it's pretty clear Arizona is a toss-up and could easily go to Trump (MSNBC has Biden up barely with big numbers coming in tomorrow morning), and AP's just sitting there having called Arizona Wednesday morning at like 2:30am. They need to either reverse their call, or at least address it. I'm sure I'm not the only one that was holding them up as reputable.

I don't think Trump is getting the margins he needs in these batches. Nate Silver agrees with me: A bit lower than yesterday's margin for Trump and a bit behind the pace he needs. Somewhat good news for Biden.

The next couple of batches of AZ votes will be less friendly to Trump, if Twitter is to be believed.
posted by un petit cadeau at 6:12 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

So it's pretty clear Arizona is a toss-up and could easily go to Trump

Not according to the data here, unless I'm misreading it.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:14 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Pennsylvania: Trump by 48,854, 300K votes remaining

It is going in the Biden direction, gradually, and a few thousand at a time.
posted by which_chick at 6:14 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

(Although Shirley This is really like, the Best. Drag name. Ever.)
posted by sexyrobot at 6:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [23 favorites]

My suspicion is that the vote counting is proceeding at a normal pace but we would simply not notice in any other year.
posted by double bubble at 6:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [29 favorites]

Clayton County is the bluest county in Georgia. It just reported another 1,319 ballots:
1,154 Biden
165 Trump
That's what reduced Trumps lead to 2,497 votes.
We still expect 4,400 votes from Clayton and 4,800 from Gwinnett, though Gwinnett's may be delayed until Friday or Sat.
posted by glaucon at 6:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

PA is slow because it's our first general election with mail in ballots. We were also restricted from counting until the polls closed by the Republican state legislature. Trump can thank them for this slow bleed.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [26 favorites]

>We still expect 4,400 votes from Clayton

4000 vs 400, that'll do nicely
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 6:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

CNN on GA:

Clayton County, where I grew up, just posted another ~1300 votes, of which Biden got 86%.

Trump’s lead in GA is now cut down to 2497 votes.

Clayton County has 5726 votes remaining to be counted. If Biden takes 86% of those votes, the state flips to Biden.

I can’t express how excited I am about the possibility of seeing my old home towns of Forest Park and Jonesboro be the places to get the honor of seeing their votes flip the state count blue!
posted by darkstar at 6:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [34 favorites]

Nevada postponed reports on the count until Thurs morning. Has there ever been a proposal to restrict any release of vote counts until all ballots are tallied state-wide? Would this interfere with any non-media-driven need for early results?

If so, we'd be waiting a while. Nevada accepts mail-in ballots posted on or by election day until November 10th this year.

In California ballots can arrive until the 20th, and we've waited weeks for results sometimes. I guess it's good for everyone's brain that we aren't a crucial state.

BTW you can look here on 538 for When to Expect Election Results in Every State. It's helpful when you want to point out to Trumpy types that delays in PA were always expected.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't understand how "states' rights" is compatible with the conservative ideal of smaller government.

Smaller state governments are far easier for well-paid lobbyists to overwhelm than the larger federal government.
posted by Slothrup at 6:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

If people had been willing to call him on his shit in 2015, and repeat "Trump lies" like an earworm, we would not be sitting here with more than a quarter million dead, about to witness the great failure of the American experiment.

In 2015, Trump wasn't losing.
posted by Slothrup at 6:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

My guess is that things are going glacially slow because Trump lawyers are probably trying to contest every possible ballot they can in an attempt to both buy time and somehow stop the inevitable.

I don't think so - everything I've seen that's any kind of "inside" report, including from people who have been ballot counters previously if not now, is that it's just a slow process to count mail votes, especially at these numbers and for states/counties/precincts that haven't really done it before. There's inherently a lot of deliberate process and double-checking even before you get to any issues of mistakes or damages or challenges.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Forest Park and Jonesboro

Don't forget Riverdale!
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Absolutely, Riverdale! I had many friends there, but never lived there, so I deleted it from my comment listing my home towns, for accuracy.

I spent a lot of time playing on the Flint River next to my house in Jonesboro, about a quarter mile from where Burt Reynolds jumped the washed out bridge in Smokey and the Bandit.
posted by darkstar at 6:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

45K IN PA!
posted by SansPoint at 6:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

What's the deal with military absentee ballots? Have none of them been counted? What sort of totals are we looking at in the tight race states and is there polling on them?
posted by pilibeen at 6:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Clayton will report its remaining 5.7K ballots by midnight eastern…
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Copying my comment from the other thread, which I hope is ok.

I am only a member and not a mod, but I would like to see less

-Liberal versus leftist: which is right?
-Why the Biden administration will suck ass
-Whether we should go high or punch Republicans in the dick
-How to reach out to Trump voters versus let Trump voters eat shit
-Why do people ever vote for Trump is it racism no misogyny no the economy no rural/urban divide no Fox news/Qanon no
-How to pronounce various places

and more

-Election news and discussion
-Dunking on Trump and Republicans because fuck them forever
-Airplane jokes (in moderation)

I have a huge amount of affection for all of you and hope you’re looking after yourselves. Glad I can be here with all of you while we wait.

(and thanks for the new post my phone was chugging!)
posted by supercrayon at 6:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

Sample of the top-notch litigation we've been hearing about (via 538):

Judge Paul Diamond to the Trump campaign lawyer:

Diamond: Are your observers in the counting room?
Trump campaign: "There's a non zero number of people in the room"

Diamond: "I’m asking you as a member of the bar of this court: are people representing the Donald J Trump for president, representing the plaintiffs, in that room?"

Trump campaign lawyer: "Yes."

Diamond: "I'm sorry, then what's your problem?"
posted by swift at 6:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [84 favorites]

My understanding is a fair chunk of the outstanding GA votes is from overseas military folks. Normally I'd expect that group to be very red, but after Donald's "loser" talk about KIA soldiers, I expect it to be significantly less favorable to Trump. By how much, I couldn't guess, but I'm almost certain that it'll bog Trump down at least a bit.

I'm gonna make a big assumption here and guess that most military from GA are PoC, so it may not be that red at all.
posted by linux at 6:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

There are 100,000 votes still uncounted in Kern County, California, I probably said this before, but that is the opponent to Kevin McCarthy, and TJ Cox, see my race is in that area, and it is missing about 3/4 of its votes. If every single person voted there would be 48,420, but as it is there are only about 10,000 votes in. So the area where the votes are not in, is East Kern County.
posted by Oyéah at 6:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

What's the deal with military absentee ballots?

Military absentee ballots are still coming in to battleground states (Military Times, 6 hours ago)
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Isn't it military and overseas (so expats)?
posted by drezdn at 6:36 PM on November 5, 2020

I'm gonna make a big assumption here and guess that most military from GA are PoC, so it may not be that red at all.

Don't also assume that military votes or POC military votes will go the way you expect. There are multiple ages, classes, and genders in the military. At least there were when I was in.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [19 favorites]

(I guess they deleted the first bit: surely this. > Stop calling me Shirley. I thought we were doing Airplane! I'm playing 'Jiggly Jell-o' and I think my scene is coming up.)

I think I have become allergic to the president*
I won't say his name anymore. And I can't even watch on video. Certainly can't listen to him. Sticking mostly with Google/AP results, Google news headlines and this. Oh and covid numbers... they're bad y'all. Ugh. Probably gonna play some switch, maybe check in on chat later. It doesn't look like any fools are following this clown into sedition, at least not tonight. I'm taking it easy tonight, I hope everyone has good destress plans for the evening, tomorrow is probably another long day of temper tantrums from the baby.
(surely this Stop calling me Shirley.)
posted by sexyrobot at 6:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Couldn’t figure out why ballottrax was rejecting me. Went to the main page and it said Allegheny County, PA isn’t in their system yet.

So that’s weird.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:40 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm gonna make a big assumption here and guess that most military from GA are PoC

Not necessarily a safe assumption, the military is the only option to realistically being able to afford college for a lot of white kids in states like Georgia, as well.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

42142 in Pennsylvania, 300K to go.

Mister Moofoo: Allegheny County legally isn't allowed to count until tomorrow morning due to a court ruling about the mails being slowed. (They are basically Pittsburgh. They will swing D. Big swinging D.)
posted by which_chick at 6:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [23 favorites]

CNN on GA:

New vote drop in GA! It cuts Trump’s lead to only 1902 votes.

A virtual tie now at 49.4% for each candidate. Biden is still maintaining the margin needed to overtake Trump.
posted by darkstar at 6:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [15 favorites]

I was just looking at the Arizona maps, The Grand Canyon is for Biden, and the desert. That is good enough for me.
posted by Oyéah at 6:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

You leave me no choice...

MetaFilter: Big swinging D.
posted by cooker girl at 6:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [40 favorites]

Oyéah - do you have a link to that map?
posted by anshuman at 6:46 PM on November 5, 2020

Following up on the military vote question... This is what I found for polling out there from late August:
Military Times: Trump’s popularity slips in latest Military Times poll — and more troops say they’ll vote for Biden
posted by pilibeen at 6:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

In 2015, Trump wasn't losing.

Except in the polls, he was. He was basically Crazy Uncle Ned*, the one who babbles on at family reunions and is good for a laugh, in an "Uncle Ned says the darndest things" way. 2016 was a shocker because he was losing... Until he wasn't.

Would it have made a difference if the fact-checkers called him a liar from Day 1 of the RNC, instead of weaseling around for clicks? Probably not to the overt racists. But to the Downton Abbey crowd who volunteers at pet shelters on weekends and wonders on Instagram why people can't just get along? Absol-tooting-lutely.

I have been swinging between hope and despair faster than Newton's Cradle. I think it's time for bed.

*If your name is Ned, sorry.
posted by basalganglia at 6:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

My county in PA is finally catching up.
posted by pemberkins at 6:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

NYT: Trump lies in the White House briefing room, and the networks pull the plug.

President Trump broke a two-day silence with reporters to deliver a brief statement filled with egregious lies and smears about the election process as workers in a handful of states continue to tabulate vote tallies in the presidential race. [...]

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Mr. Trump said shortly after he took the podium in the White House briefing room, a false statement that cast aspersion on the rest of the election. He offered no evidence.

He then listed a series of conspiracy theories about why ballots arrived late in places. And at the same time that he insisted Democrats were figuring out how many mail-in ballots they need in order to counteract his performance in various states, the president listed off a series of Republican wins on Tuesday. He appeared not to see the cognitive dissonance in saying that other Republicans won while he lost as he outlined a plot about others harming him, and left the room without taking reporters’ questions.

LGM: Egregious lies and smears

It took a painfully long time to get here but the media is finally doing its job.

Part of the issue here is that Trump thinks his affect is “most alpha male who ever alpha maled” when his actual affect is “Shelley Levine trying to sell five units of Clear Meadows to Bruce and Harriet Nyborg.”

posted by tonycpsu at 6:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [36 favorites]

tonycpsu: At least Shelley Levine was sympathetic.
posted by SansPoint at 6:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Zabuni—thanks for posting that tracker page above. Excellent.
posted by Toecutter at 6:51 PM on November 5, 2020

Chris Jansing on MSNBC reporting that Democrats have calculated that Biden will pass Trump between 4 and 5 am ET based on the current trend lines and pace of counting. If this is a conspiracy, news networks aren't part of it.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

So I guess all it took was for Trump to have the stench of loserdom hanging about him before the NYT were prepared to flat-out call him a liar.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [31 favorites]

This helpful graphic from BBC might calm some nerves.
posted by revmitcz at 6:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

MSNBC just reported that the PA Dems have been tracking the county vote return rates and expect Biden to have a reported lead by 5am.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

it's Levene, not Levine
posted by aramaic at 6:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Actually, it's "The Machine".
posted by Rat Spatula at 6:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

Do not assume that all military POC vote Democratic. One of the stories of this election is how big a proportion of Black and Latino men voted for Trump.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

NYT already walked that back to just "lies"
posted by tigrrrlily at 6:55 PM on November 5, 2020

A - Always
B - Be
C - Counting
posted by Crane Shot at 6:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [21 favorites]

Can't wait for the next NYT story about how Trump is increasingly isolated.
posted by medusa at 6:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

Chris Jansing on MSNBC reporting that Democrats have calculated that Biden will pass Trump between 4 and 5 am ET based on the current trend lines and pace of counting. If this is a conspiracy, news networks aren't part of it.

That’s impossible. They’re on instruments!
posted by glaucon at 6:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

I do wonder what effect Trump's words about the military and the Covid response has on the military vote, though
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Hopefully someday we'll look back at demographics the same way we look at phrenology today.
posted by swift at 6:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [26 favorites]

Also "The Military" when it comes to these overseas votes also includes all the civilians working on the bases, which (according to someone who knows vote stuff I follow on Twitter, probably one of the Nates) tend to vote blue.
posted by sideshow at 6:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Anyone have good links for seeing which counties are coming in when? Thanks
posted by anshuman at 6:58 PM on November 5, 2020

538
Nathaniel Rakich,
Anna Wiederkehr
Nov. 5, 9:55 pm

We’re going to run silent for a bit as we await a potential lead change in Georgia. With Biden down 1,902 votes and about 16,000 left to count, Biden needs to win only 56 percent of what remains in order to take the lead statewide. If he does, we’ll let you know right here, so don’t go away.

She's leeeeeeeaaaaaaving on that midnight train to Georgia...
posted by medusa at 6:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

Hopefully someday we'll look back at demographics the same way we look at phrenology today.

We can start here by never running any more of the "Millennials do X, but Zoomers do Y!!!!!" stories that are just 80% comments arguing back forth about how they divided up the age groups wrong.
posted by sideshow at 6:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [24 favorites]

Most of the networks cut away but CNN aired the whole statement and afterwards the whole on air team was visibly shaken. Van Jones looked like he was going to cry. Jake Tappert was gobsmacked. Anderson Cooper looked deeply sad. Rick fucking Santorum was sitting with them and even HE was appalled. John King has since spent the rest of the night at the big board making as many digs and zingers as he can about Trump losing ground. He and Wolfie were trading Trump snarks when my boyfriend and I decided to go to bed. A friend reports that the CNN homepage is on fire, calling Trump's statement "corrosive" and an "attack on democracy" and at the top of the page in like 120pt font it says BIDEN CLOSING IN ON 270. Honest to god it looks like Trump's statement has made the entire CNN org apoplectic. It broke them. John King rapidly turning into Sassy King. Wolfie just disgusted by it all at this point.

I'm here for it.
posted by nayantara at 6:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [66 favorites]

When you lose Rick Santorum, you know you're in deep shit. And lube.
posted by SansPoint at 7:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [118 favorites]

As you all know, first prize is the Presidency of the United States.

Anybody wanna see second prize? Second prize is a pack of Trump Steaks.

Third prize is, you're a third party and nobody gives a fuck about you anyway.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [25 favorites]

A frothy loss in turning away Rick Santorum
posted by glaucon at 7:01 PM on November 5, 2020 [12 favorites]

I saw all that CNN shit go down and it forced me to be like "man i fucking hate Rick Santorum but he's making some good points," and he was, because even he was saying how incredibly nonsensical Trump's argument was from start to finish
posted by the turtle's teeth at 7:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

They were actually surprised by his behavior?
posted by Melismata at 7:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

Hopefully someday we'll look back at demographics the same way we look at phrenology today.

This needed repeating.
posted by elwoodwiles at 7:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

I'd like to take a moment to recognize the role of John Lewis' district in making Georgia happen. Right now he's singing in his grave. RIP.
posted by medusa at 7:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [96 favorites]

I guess now that he's losing they don't have to keep pretending that he's presidential.
posted by muddgirl at 7:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Quick question for anyone who has been watching CNN a lot during this election. I was recently reminded of the bizarre moment in 2008 when Wolf Blitzer interviewed a hologram. I've been thinking that if there ever was a year for that to be appropriate, it's 2020. By any chance, did they bring back the hologram?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

The Grand Canyon is for Biden, and the desert. That is good enough for me.

I think some of what you're seeing there is the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona, the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. If Native American voters tip Arizona into the blue column, I hope Democrats are paying attention.

(I have no idea how relevant this is, but - the Navajo Nation has been absolutely devastated by COVID-19.)
posted by Jeanne at 7:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [38 favorites]

Australian ABC Live blog reports Georgia gap down to 2500 votes, or Red and Blue on 49.4% each if you round the percents.
posted by freethefeet at 7:05 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Meanwhile, Graham and Cruz are doing their level best to support the rapidly-losing asshole, "I trust Arizona I don't trust Philadelphia" BS.

Graham winning re-election is right up there with McConnell winning as being profoundly bad for the country. Anyone that voted for either of them should feel terrible about themselves, and their entire districts should be embarrassed to walk in public.
posted by aramaic at 7:05 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Sean Hannity suggests we may have to have a ‘do-over’ election
posted by robbyrobs at 7:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

So if both PA and GA flip based upon Atlanta and Philly are we required to support both the Falcons and the Eagles? How about the Braves and Phillies?
posted by vuron at 7:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

me too, the turtle's teeth. it's a strange thing, being in a world where Rick Santorum and I agree.

honestly, I am a little impressed by him tonight. he demonstrated he has a spine. will any of his GOP brethren follow his lead and openly say they do not stand behind Trump's statement? not holding my breath but maybe someone will surprise me. my music partner/producer just texted saying he'd love to hear a dignified statement from GWB right about now slapping Trump down for what he said.
posted by nayantara at 7:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Overseas Pennsylvania voter here up way past his bedtime. Do they really save us for last?

We put our ballots in the red pillar box down the road over a month ago, and the county board of elections said they'd received them about two weeks after.

Maybe it makes sense to deal with them separately because of... the inconvenience of having to deal with A4 paper I guess?

We actually have a ream of genuine American letter paper for just this kind of occasion!
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 7:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

robbyrbobs: Sean... That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works.
posted by SansPoint at 7:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Geoffrey Skelley, 538
Nov. 5, 9:12 pm

The contest for Arizona just got closer, but Biden still leads there. That’s the takeaway from Maricopa County’s approximately 75,000-vote report a moment ago. Trump won 56 percent of that batch to Biden’s 42 percent, which cut Biden’s statewide lead to 1.6 points, or about 46,000 votes. With perhaps another 200,000 votes outstanding from Maricopa — and at least a few from other counties in Arizona — Trump is not out of the race for the state’s 11 electoral votes yet.
posted by medusa at 7:08 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Someone needs to figure out a way to break Fox News. Really. It's one of the requirements for having a good path forward into the future.
posted by aramaic at 7:08 PM on November 5, 2020 [36 favorites]

Chef Flamboyardee: The GOP run legislature wouldn't let them count votes like yours until the day of the election. So, this is a manufactured situation.
posted by sideshow at 7:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

What sort of nonsense is Hannity coming up with now? The election is always set for the first Tuesday in November not the first Tuesday in November unless we don't like the outcome and then we need to redo it because MAGA.

Would said election be for all races or just President because why not just come up with some random nonsense to throw against the wall.
posted by vuron at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Okay Sean, says here in the rule book we can have a do-over election in ... (puts on reading glasses) ... four years.
posted by swift at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [45 favorites]

Aramaic, how about the fairness doctrine?
posted by medusa at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Someone needs to figure out a way to break Fox News. Really. It's one of the requirements for having a good path forward into the future.

It’s not going away.
posted by glaucon at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sideshow: I get that, but ours are still at the end of the queue?
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020

I honestly think it was The Game Plan, for Trump to claim victory on Election Night before the lagged votes caught up, and I think they really expected everybody to just... go along with it. They got so high on their own supply that they really thought that's how it was going to go down.
posted by notoriety public at 7:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [47 favorites]

>>If people had been willing to call him on his shit in 2015, and repeat "Trump lies" like an earworm, we would not be sitting here with more than a quarter million dead, about to witness the great failure of the American experiment.

>Of course we would, because that's what happened. Everyone who supports him knows he lies, they just don't care so long as it allows them to get other things they want.

A guaranteed supreme court seat (as they blocked the Merrick Garland appointment completely) was surely enough to vote R. That they got two more through would definitely be reason to vote Trump again. All three of the more tenured R Supremes could retire, and the Court would be completely remade with "originalists" for the next 40 years.

This is not even considering the fact that another left leaning Supreme could pass in the next four years.

Scared does not begin to describe how I feel.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 7:11 PM on November 5, 2020 [12 favorites]

And we all know that if it was the other way around and Trump was in the lead there would be none of the lawsuits and the rest of the malarkey the Republicans are up to. Trump would be on twitter and any other media/social format boasting on his fabulous numbers.
posted by robbyrobs at 7:11 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

all of these far-right Republicans are going to use a newfound morality in their criticism of Trump to reform their own extremism, to try to rehabilitate their image into seeming to be reasonable people

Just remember: with incredibly few exceptions, Republican politicians stood by this man for the last four years.

They were on board with everything.
posted by swift at 7:14 PM on November 5, 2020 [70 favorites]

1797 in Georgia.
posted by which_chick at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

CNN:

New vote drop in GA!

Biden cuts Trump’s lead to 1797 votes!
posted by darkstar at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Did anyone talk about Bannon's pro-decapitation video at the end of Thread Number Two? The one that got him booted from YouTube?

Because screw that guy.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

On expat ballots:

So many friends, before they left the country, have taken residence in South Datkoa. Extremely friendly to the living abroad life. I want to compare 2016-2020 votes to see how blue-er things got. My friends popped over to San Diego for the day and mailed back their ballots first class as soon as they’d gotten them abd filled them out, then tracked them online.

Others voted in some online way this time; they hope the votes counted. Residents of red leaning states, they think it doesn’t matter much anyway, but they tried. In previous years (some have been expat for four Presidentials), they just had a ballot sent, then handed it in at their local US embassy for pouch mail. This year, the embassies weren’t open for that, apparently because of Covid but who knows (a few considered Covid an excuse, but had nothing more than gut to go by.)
posted by tilde at 7:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Apparently that batch from earlier wasn't even from Clayton, which is excellent excellent news if true.
posted by thebots at 7:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Outstanding results from Clayton will be reported at around midnight Eastern time, apparently.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 7:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

41305 in PA
posted by which_chick at 7:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

1797 in Georgia.

New election game: move back in time by describing what happened in the year corresponding to this delta in the vote. Up now: John Adams sworn in as the second President of the United States!
posted by medusa at 7:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

There’s a midnight ish (est) drop of more ballots in one the bluest counties in Georgia. Trump is 1902 votes ahead of Biden at moment.

Looks like I’m going to bed in a red state and waking up in a blue one.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [44 favorites]

wenestvedt it was mentioned but not discussed- I assumed it was satire, you're telling me it's real?
posted by freethefeet at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Someone needs to figure out a way to break Fox News. Really. It's one of the requirements for having a good path forward into the future.

If Bloomberg really wanted to do something useful with his money, maybe he could buy it.
posted by bigschmoove at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [15 favorites]

Brandon, don't you think you could say you're going back to find a simpler place and time?
posted by medusa at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

> New election game: move back in time by describing what happened in the year corresponding to this delta in the vote. Up now: John Adams sworn in as the second President of the United States!

It's going to be really fun when the numbers start going up again and we get to a year during which nobody remembers Donald Trump, like 2021.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

In the year 41305 the people won the Butlerian Jihad in Philadelphia, because that's what we do.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [15 favorites]

The NYTimes finally called Trump a liar.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 7:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Palate Cleanser: The quest for the largest stuffed spider plushie available, which includes a trip to a Flintstones-themed park.

Seriously; stop your doomscrolling and go on road trip for a ludicrous stuffed doll.

The election will be here when you get back. I promise.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 7:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

medusa by your game, BCE = Biden Confirmed Elected
posted by joeyh at 7:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

The hypocrisy of these people - Pompeo's statement today on the Belarus elections.

We remain inspired by the resilience and dignity of the Belarusian people. The United States continues to call on the Belarusian authorities to cease their crackdown and heed the demands of the Belarusian people for free and fair elections under independent observation.
posted by piyushnz at 7:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

tonycpsu you're reading my mind here
posted by medusa at 7:25 PM on November 5, 2020

This isn't doomscrolling. This is joyscrolling!
posted by SansPoint at 7:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

Fulton County, Atlanta - one of the last to be counted, was John Lewis' electorate.

How sweet, how poetic, when Fulton is the place that finally ends Trump. We love you John, we know you're still with us.
posted by adept256 at 7:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [44 favorites]

how about the fairness doctrine?

Reagan eliminated it in 1987, and even before then it didn't apply to cable tv.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

pro-decapitation

See, the Republicans do have a platform after all.
posted by swift at 7:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Reagan eliminated it in 1987, and even before then it didn't apply to cable tv

Did apply to radio; no fairness doctrine is how you get Limbaugh and Hannity et al.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 7:28 PM on November 5, 2020 [12 favorites]

In the year one million and a half
humankind is enslaved by giraffe.
Man must pay for all his misdeeds
when the treetops are stripped of their leaves.
posted by Marticus at 7:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [20 favorites]

Unless there is a significant change in the composition of the remaining Arizona ballots I think Trump might get close but fall short. He's being his required % on some blocks of votes and then falling short on others. If however the composition of the ballots shifts back away from Trump or there are uncounted ballots in Pima his numbers will become more a more problematic for his campaign.

I honestly expect Biden to end up with PA, GA, AZ and NV when this is all done and Trump to get Alaska and NC. Alaska is of course not really in question it just takes apparently forever and is never important so people forget it exists on a national level.
posted by vuron at 7:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

He’s leaving
On a midnight rain [of ballots]
posted by anshuman at 7:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

(Tttcs)
posted by anshuman at 7:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Speaking of GA history, a lot of commenters on tv are noting that the last time GA went for a Dem President was 1992, when it voted for Clinton.

But that was really only possible because of a strong third-party showing by cranky billionaire/capitalist/“reformer” Ross Perot. The vote totals in 1992 were:

Clinton — 43.5%
GHW Bush — 42.9%
Perot — 13.3%

The election before that when GA chose a Dem President, was when a peanut farmer from Plains, GA beat a former actor from California in 1980, with 55.7% of the GA vote, but unfortunately didn’t win the Electoral College overall.
posted by darkstar at 7:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

The count is freaking tied in Georgia and Trump is ahead by only 0.7% in Pennsylvania!
posted by Kevin Street at 7:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Someone needs to figure out a way to break Fox News. Really. It's one of the requirements for having a good path forward into the future.

People might burn out on them, some people, anyway. Right now they're working to figure out what the "plot" of a Biden administration will be, according to Fox, and I can't think there's much of anything for them to hang onto by now. Oh sure, they'll magnify some kind of opposition to every decision made until something (inevitably something) happens that they can get multiple days out of. It's a shit-ladder for them, they just have to wait for events to occur, then talk endless shit.
posted by rhizome at 7:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Reagan eliminated it in 1987, and even before then it didn't apply to cable tv.

Fill in the blank: Laws that have changed in the past can also change in the _____________.
posted by medusa at 7:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

NYT
Stephanie Saul, in New York 4m ago

Of the votes yet to be counted in Georgia, more than 5,000 come from Clayton County, a heavily Democratic area south of Atlanta.
posted by medusa at 7:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Rick Santorum is a perfect example of how all of these far-right Republicans are going to use a newfound morality in their criticism of Trump to reform their own extremism, to try to rehabilitate their image into seeming to be reasonable people. I hate that this sort of thing often works for these scoundrels.

Exactly the same snake-in-the-grass BS I've been leveling at Lincoln Project. When San Fucking Torum can pop up like "miss me yet?" there needs to be some rhetorical knife-twisting. I have to think that the fact that he's the one popping up on CNN, that there's an emerging strategy there. How many Trumpists have to worry about criminal charges besides Donald and probably his kids? They'll play nice until that's not a problem anymore, and from what I've seen Democrats are already planning on letting Republicans off any legal hooks. But that's not set in stone.
posted by rhizome at 7:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

36572 in PA
posted by which_chick at 7:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

Kevin Street, which site are you getting your numbers from? I'd like to be able to watch along.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:35 PM on November 5, 2020

CNN:

Biden cuts Trump’s lead to 1775!

Speaking of GA in 1775, it was the beginning of the Independence movement for the state:

”In July 1775, a Provincial Congress was established to act as a separate government in Georgia in opposition to Royal authority. The Congress also established a sixteen-member Council of Safety.”
posted by darkstar at 7:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Flight 209 now arriving at gate 8. Gate 9. Gate 10 ... Gate 13 ...
posted by swift at 7:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [42 favorites]

I want to tell you a story. It's about this year's election results, and it's about hope.

With only 58% of the vote total reported, the New York Times is already comfortable projecting that Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney will hold his seat in California's 9th Congressional District.

I used to live in that district, in the 1990s. I spent my early teen years in Stockton, an agricultural and shipping city. And that seat was Republican, Gordon Shumway holding it 1978-1992 and then Richard Pombo winning and holding it after that.

In the mid-90s I came across an ad recruiting volunteers in the local alternative newspaper. I was a young teen and I was intrigued by the ad that said even people as young as 13 could volunteer for 2 hours per week, Wednesday afternoons, to do camerawork at a local cable access TV show. That's how I started volunteering with the Peace & Justice Network of San Joaquin County.

I met folks who had gotten in serious trouble for protesting the Vietnam War, for anti-nuke actions at Livermore Lab, and for various other acts of conscience. I ran the camera, then served as tech director, as a philosophy professor-turned-carpenter interviewed activists, journalists, politicians, scientists, poets, teachers, clergy, old folks with interesting stories to tell.

Every Congressional cycle they organized to try to beat Pombo. He seemed glued to that seat.

Then, years after I left, in 2004, someone ran unopposed as a write-in candidate for the Democratic nomination, and got 39% of the vote in the general election.

Then, in the 2006 election -- which I will always associate with this witty, angry, upsetting, didactic political music video set to "Freedom! '90" (content note for images from Abu Ghraib, Hurricane Katrina, and the 9/11 attacks) -- he WON! Jerry McNerney, who literally used to run a wind energy company and has a Ph.D. in math, won against a guy who was one of the worst politicians in America on environmental issues. Didn't hurt that by now Pombo was tied to the Abramoff corruption scandals.

My friends helped. They helped elect McNerney in 2006, and I think they had helped lay the groundwork, with decades of on-the-ground organizing, huge Rolodexes, media and fundraising experience.... All those years, trying and trying again, growing their networks. It's like Marge Piercy said. And now McNerney has been re-elected over and over, as a solid Democrat, and again this year.

There are candidates who lost last year and won this year. Activists, teachers, clergy. There are seats and chambers we came close to flipping this year, laying the groundwork for future efforts. Whatever those efforts need to be, whatever tomorrow brings.
posted by brainwane at 7:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [112 favorites]

I was looking at the front page of the New York Times. And maybe it changed or something because now it says 0.5% in Pennsylvania.
posted by Kevin Street at 7:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

METAFILTER: being in a world where Rick Santorum and I agree.
posted by philip-random at 7:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Speaking of GA history, a lot of commenters on tv are noting that the last time GA went for a Dem President was 1992

Clinton might have won Georgia that year anyway; he won states throughout the South, and Georgia was still Democratic at the state level, then; Zell Miller was governor and Sam Nunn and Wyche Fowler were Georgia's Senators. That was before the realignment that started in 1964 with the South going Republican in the wake of the Civil Rights Act fully played out; and Clinton had just enough of a good ol' boy persona to maybe make people think he was a standard-issue southern Democrat (the healthcare debacle and the clusterfuck around gays in the military made it clear he wasn't another standard issue southern Democrat, though).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 7:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

1775: George Washington’s Battle of LaGuardia?
posted by SillyShepherd at 7:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Gordon Shumway holding it 1978-1992

Pretty good run for an alien.
posted by wordless reply at 7:39 PM on November 5, 2020 [23 favorites]

1775: The American revolution began.
posted by medusa at 7:40 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Gordon Shumway holding it 1978-1992

Your Congressman was A.L.F.?!

On edit: I can’t believe I was beat to that joke. 80s deep cuts FTW.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:40 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

Thanks SillyShepherd. I suck at history.
posted by medusa at 7:41 PM on November 5, 2020

Top comment on /r/conservative right now:

No way in hell that Dems and the participation award generation of voters won this on the level

They literally can't even.
posted by swift at 7:42 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

h/t to someone on Twitter: it's worth noting that De Kalb county, which will help turn Georgia blue (tttcs), is home to the CDC.

Slowly rising numbers, as the red mirage fades into the rearview mirror, show us not a blue wave but a bit tsunami.
posted by Dashy at 7:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

"No way in hell that Dems and the participation award generation of voters won this on the level"

WHO IS SAYING THIS? The Boomers who gave us all participation awards???? Why is this still a thing????
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [39 favorites]

PA lead down to 26,319, courtesy of MSNBC who are having a rollicking time doing math.
posted by cashman at 7:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

That's an amazing story, branewane. Sometimes MetaFilter brings us the best of the web, and sometimes MetaFilter IS the best of the web.
posted by notoriety public at 7:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

New votes found in Philly, probably inside a SEPTA train or something, bring the Trump lead down to 26,319.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

So weird how we rigged the presidential election but spaced and forgot to win the Senate or expand our House lead.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [83 favorites]

Argh - Norman Shumway, but yes I did watch a substantial amount of A.L.F. while growing up.

Thanks, notoriety public.
posted by brainwane at 7:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

the participation award generation of voters

Well indeed. An election is precisely, and only, an award for participation.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 7:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [25 favorites]

26,319 or less than half capacity at either Lincoln Financial or Heinz Fields.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Shush, DirtyOldTown. That was our distraction!
posted by perhapses at 7:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

DOT wait till you see what I did in Alaska.
posted by medusa at 7:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

"ALF has a cameo in the 2016 Funny or Die parody film Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie as Donald Trump's best man."
posted by Marticus at 7:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

No way in hell that Dems and the participation award generation of voters won this on the level
We get democracy AND a sticker when we vote. That's double the participation award, so we are MOTIVATED.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [20 favorites]

No McMullin, q*ben.
posted by nat at 7:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Trump turns angry and despondent as possible defeat looms

he skipped right over the bargaining phase from anger to depression. i believe the last step is 'attorneys'
posted by logicpunk at 7:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Just woke up (it's 3:40 on Friday morning) here in suburban England, from a dream of lardy cake based on some reality. The calendar on the wall indicates a long time, 25 more weeks, till the Walpurgis. The smell of gunpowder hangs heavy in the still night air, the residue of firework celebrations from November 5th. The cat is asleep downstairs. The box of Marks and Spencer assorted chocolates lies nearly empty by my bed.

I turn on the nearest device. There is still no definitive result. I turn to MetaFilter, to see if any Americans are still awake and following this...
posted by Wordshore at 7:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [31 favorites]

With all of this Philly talk tonight I'm imagining the training montage from the first Rocky movie, but with vote counters doing vote counter things, culminating in a triumphant but leisurely ride up the escalator of the Philadelphia Convention Center.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

"No way in hell that Dems and the participation award generation of voters won this on the level"

WHO IS SAYING THIS? The Boomers who gave us all participation awards???? Why is this still a thing????

A-freaking-men, you two.

The ultimate participation trophy is an EC win for a popular vote loser whose main age cohort base wanted their kids to collect and become trophies
posted by armeowda at 7:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

I’ll be pleased if Pennsylvania is what seals the deal, but boy, it will bother me forever if it’s Philly and not Pittsburgh that tips the scale.
posted by punchtothehead at 7:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

punchtothehead: No one likes us. We don't care.
posted by SansPoint at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

he skipped right over the bargaining phase from anger to depression. i believe the last step is 'attorneys'

“Plea” bargaining is yet to come, when they all attempt to sell out each other for a reduced sentence.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

How late am I willing to stay up to see Georgia flip? What do we know about timing of the next batch?
posted by medusa at 7:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

wondering what happened in the Mormon community in the last 4 years

Anecdotally, rabid libertarianism has taken over the Trump-supporting (ex)friend of mine who lives in Utah, and his twitter feed of local friends is 100% certain Biden is coming for their guns.
posted by invincible summer at 7:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

> I’ll be pleased if Pennsylvania is what seals the deal, but boy, it will bother me forever if it’s Philly and not Pittsburgh that tips the scale.

C'mon, we can't win at sports. Give us this.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

Who gives two fucks what r/conservative says?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [19 favorites]

Still can't sleep, so a borrowed story from me.

I've been phone banking for Democrats Abroad for weeks and one evening I'm dialling numbers in Western Europe. A voter in France had already posted her ballot and told me how it went down. She'd gone into the post office and explained to the clerk that she was voting in America and how it was essential that the envelope be postmarked by 3 November.

Silence in the post office. You are voting? the clerk asks. She nods yes.

Contre Trump?

Bien sur! (Of course!)

Whereupon the clerk takes out the postmarking stamp and very loudly and vigorously pounds the envelope about five or six times! Just to be sure. Cheers from the folks queued behind. Fin.
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 7:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [137 favorites]

For the Philadelphia playlist
posted by anshuman at 7:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

With all of this Philly talk tonight I'm imagining the training montage from the first Rocky movie, but with vote counters doing vote counter things, culminating in a triumphant but leisurely ride up the escalator of the Philadelphia Convention Center.

Have you seen the livestream?
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

his twitter feed of local friends is 100% certain Biden is coming for their guns.

How could he do that when Obama already did it?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [24 favorites]

How late am I willing to stay up to see Georgia flip? What do we know about timing of the next batch?

Per CNN on-air interview with Clayton County election official, their next big vote drop is supposed to be by midnight EST. So that’s in just over an hour. I’d expect GA to flip blue then.
posted by darkstar at 7:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Who gives two fucks what r/conservative says?

About 47.7%.
posted by swift at 7:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

CNN said they are expecting GA report around midnight (I assume EST).
posted by double bubble at 7:58 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

The Boomers who gave us all participation awards???? Why is this still a thing????

(Broad generalization of the Middle Class Mainstream Boomers) Because they were raised to be immune to self-reflection.
posted by Saxon Kane at 7:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Yeah, but I don’t need to see it here.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

> and his twitter feed of local friends is 100% certain Biden is coming for their guns.

Haha, it’s like the Rapture for guns instead of people. Besides, this is impossible because Obama already took everyone’s guns away.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hey that's my FPP!

Seriously; stop your doomscrolling and go on road trip for a ludicrous stuffed doll.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

> Have you seen the livestream yt ?

Yep! I couldn't have imagined when I posted about it that we'd be watching them potentially put the stake into Trump's heart, but here we are.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:01 PM on November 5, 2020

Ok an hour is worth it. I'll be slightly sad if they release them all at once and we go straight to BCE years but possibly the sadness could be tempered by Biden becoming our next president.
posted by medusa at 8:01 PM on November 5, 2020

I'm from Clayton County, too! (Riverdale and Jonesboro) How are my Georgia Highway 75 peeps?

Clayton county has been through a lot in the last few years, but I miss the food and the mix of people and the library on Battlecreek that basically raised me as a child. I would be delighted if my home county delivered the final flip.

I'm in Pittsburgh now, and watching both states gradually turn. It's not over until the last votes are counted, but I'm proud of both of my home states.

It's my birthday tomorrow. I know what I want for my birthday.
posted by Alison at 8:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [42 favorites]

Who gives two fucks what r/conservative says?

About 47.7%.

Congrats, you're both wrong!
said with love

voted for Trump does not equal considers themselves conservative does not equal agrees with or participates in r/conservative
posted by Saxon Kane at 8:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Know this is not the most important detail, but it looks like Utah went massively more for trump this election. Wondering what happened in the Mormon community in the last 4 years - my experience with that community leaves me guessing that they were perhaps more susceptible to QAnon BS?

I have a relative who mentioned that she only watches the Christian Broadcasting Network, because she doesn't trust anybody else.

I watched a bit of it to see what they had to say. I learned that Trump is on God's side, and God is on Trump's side. If you're praying for a Godly leader to lead the nation, you're praying for Trump. If you want to fight Satan and the forces of evil, you're fighting the Democrats. If you had a prophetic dream, it's either a dream about Trump winning and God lifting the nation up, or Trump losing and the nation plunging into darkness.
posted by clawsoon at 8:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

I sent MeMail but I might as well say that I too have a connection to Clayton County, having taught at the university there (Morrow, near Jonesboro and Lake City) for 8 years. Sweet to see my ex-students and colleagues and neighbors making history.
posted by Schmucko at 8:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

and his twitter feed of local friends is 100% certain Biden is coming for their guns.

Earlier on Twitter I saw that the NRA's twitter feed posted "Come and take it." ...I simply responded that "Oh, New York's AG would be happy to."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Alison your birthday wish will be granted right on time. Now let's talk cake.
posted by medusa at 8:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: Congrats, you're both wrong!
posted by swift at 8:05 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

Alison: It's my birthday tomorrow. I know what I want for my birthday.

It was mine on election day; time zones meant I went to bed after the initial euphoria had been replaced by sick despair with Florida and Texas gone and Michigan and Wisconsin leaning red. Woke up with those states probably blue and the gap narrowing in Georgia. I'll take a late birthday present just as gladly as one on the day.
posted by Pink Frost at 8:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Depending on how things go we may have wait until Nov. 12th for the vote counting to end, recounts, legal battles, etc...so this is volume three in a new epic, The Endless Wheel of Timeless Politics. So for everyone who is drinking to forget please pace yourselves.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:10 PM on November 5, 2020

"ALF has a cameo in the 2016 Funny or Die parody film Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie as Donald Trump's best man."
Everything about the man's life is so fucking random. It's just a list of things that are weird yet boring.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 8:12 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Depending on how things go we may have wait until Nov. 12th

You mean this will be over by Friday the 13th?

foreboding music swells
posted by adept256 at 8:13 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Asking as a non-American - what happens if these few states flip over to blue with the smallest of margins? Does that make a re-count inevitable?
posted by a very present absence at 8:13 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Ugh- Qanon has definitely infected my (antivaxxer) ex- personal trainer, she just posted: on Facebook

Trump has the STING operation in full swing now apparently 🤔🤞(watermarked, fully traceable ballot papers, military re-counting now, arrests are in process) hmmmm 🤔🤔🤔🤔

How unhinged. (Just clarifying- we are both in Australia.)
posted by freethefeet at 8:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [15 favorites]

There are state by state recount laws. I think most have a "under x percent it just happens, under y the person asking for a recount needs to pay for it."
posted by aspo at 8:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

A recount will almost certainly be happening in Georgia and Arizona, but the details depend on state laws. However, Pennsylvania, should the margins hold, is expected to be a durable enough lead to survive a recount, and that is enough EVs to keep the winner Biden even if AZ and/or GA flip/flop due to recounts.
posted by notoriety public at 8:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

Spread in GA now 1805. Because we are COUNTING and not STEALING. Sometimes the count does not go the Biden direction.
posted by which_chick at 8:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

Looks like a few more votes in Georgia have come in, with a minor net gain for Trump. He is currently up 1805. In 1805, Michigan Territory was created.
posted by biogeo at 8:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Asking as a non-American - what happens if these few states flip over to blue with the smallest of margins? Does that make a re-count inevitable?

It's not (always) automatic -- one side has to request it, and apparently pay for it.
posted by swift at 8:17 PM on November 5, 2020

100% certain Biden is coming for their guns

I suspect that many gun culture extremists of said variety think that Biden (previously Obama, previously Clinton) will literally come to their home in SWAT gear, trying to bust down their door and disarm them.
posted by Saxon Kane at 8:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm also not aware of any recount in my life changing the outcome more than a few hundred votes.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

A very present absence: Each state has its own rules - but given that Trump is threatening litigation based on no evidence, if the margins are slim then yes, there will almost certainly be recounts.
posted by anshuman at 8:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Georgia has no automatic recount, but it can be requested if the margin is less than .5%
posted by leonard horner at 8:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Facebook Has An Internal Metric For “Violence And Incitement Trends.” Right Now It’s Rising.
posted by geoff. at 8:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

It's not automatic -- one side has to request it, and apparently pay for it.

Some states will pay for it, if it's close enough.

But, as cmfletcher says, it never (as far I know) changes anything. In Wisconsin in 2016 Trump got ~100 more votes in their automatic recount.
posted by sideshow at 8:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Well yeah, which_chick - it looks more reaListic that way. Wink wink
posted by anshuman at 8:20 PM on November 5, 2020

1805: Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, first European Americans to cross the west
posted by mmoncur at 8:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

My own observations of friends’ Trump friends is that this is going to be very ugly.
posted by argybarg at 8:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

In those places where you have to pay for a recount, folks should absolutely be encouraging Trumpies to demand a recount -- it's an opportunity to bleed the campaign, and any pseudo-Trumpy who disagrees can be shouted down with the most trivial bits of faux-rhetoric.

...I mean, these people aren't exactly debate-team quality, on the whole.
posted by aramaic at 8:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

1805: Thomas Jefferson is sworn in for his second term, something Trump can't say he'll ever get to do
posted by SansPoint at 8:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

> MetaFilter: just a list of things that are weird yet boring
posted by Monochrome at 8:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

it never (as far I know) changes anything.

Not quite never
posted by StarkRoads at 8:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Since 2000, the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election, the 2006 Vermont Auditor of Accounts election, and the 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota (Al Franken) have had the outcomes change upon recount.
posted by reductiondesign at 8:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Big Nate at 538 is now tweeting visual charades (I can't remember what those things are called) that allude to "I've seen enough"
posted by sideshow at 8:23 PM on November 5, 2020

Trump has the STING operation in full swing now apparently 🤔🤞(watermarked, fully traceable ballot papers, military re-counting now, arrests are in process) hmmmm 🤔🤔🤔🤔

freethefeet, I saw the same thing on the french canadian nutjobs twitter, of all places. Still baffled that somebody here would be so invested in Trump, guess we all have our crazies.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 8:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ah, I stand correct on recounts.
posted by sideshow at 8:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

I don’t know what ugly means anymore. Are they going to attack voting count sites? Like whats their actual plan other than random unstructured violence?
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:24 PM on November 5, 2020

> visual charades

Rebus.
posted by reductiondesign at 8:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

now tweeting visual charades

Rebuses!
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Rebus, Sideshow? Got links?
posted by anshuman at 8:26 PM on November 5, 2020

Like whats their actual plan other than random unstructured violence?

Yelling, remember?
posted by swift at 8:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

I truly hope that everyone counting the votes in the contested states have somewhere safe to go when the election is called. I genuinely fear for them.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

I can only imagine what the next 24 hours are going to be like to a man who puts his entire self worth into what cable news thinks of him. Fox and Friends may turn into a suicide hotline tomorrow morning.

Good. I hope he gets hit with all the feelings the rest of us have been dealing with for the last four years all at once. It's spelled "karma" and pronounced "fuck you".
posted by mrgoat at 8:28 PM on November 5, 2020 [40 favorites]

My own observations of friends’ Trump friends is that this is going to be very ugly.

It will invariably, constantly, regardless of the election results and concomitant ratfuckery, be/remain very ugly.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

If Biden wins (knock on wood) here's the playbook for the next two months:

Narcissistic Rage
posted by mmoncur at 8:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Trump will be bankrupt soon after January 20th and Deustch Bank will seize his properties where they can. He has been making interest only payments for nearly a decade. Additionally SDNY has a case sitting on their desk ready to file for tax fraud on the entire Trump organization and individuals and they will owe back taxes, penalties and interest.
posted by robbyrobs at 8:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [38 favorites]

24,831 in PA!
posted by SansPoint at 8:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Anybody know if SDNY has to move pre-emptively to make they get 1st dibs on Trump's assets? Or if DB can claim it and the public will get no chance of collecting the money owned.

(that is of course assuming such a case exists and they intend to prosecute)
posted by WaterAndPixels at 8:36 PM on November 5, 2020

By the way, that little blip in GA where Trump just widened his lead by about 30 votes to 1805 total was from mail-in ballots from Forsyth County. There was about 1300 votes that came in, which favored Trump by about 30 votes.

Forsyth County’s all-vote total was about 2-to-1 for Trump, but these mail-in-ballots only favored him by a couple of percent. So it isn’t expected to change the trajectory of Biden catching up.
posted by darkstar at 8:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

This guide (posted in the previous thread) might be useful in the coming days, weeks, and months:

2020 Election Litigation Tracker
https://www.scotusblog.com/election-litigation/
posted by cenoxo at 8:37 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

While I know Trump will never go to prison, is there a reasonable chance any of his children and in-laws will?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

The Rebus!

Apparently many of the political twitter accounts are fucking with Dave Wasserman of "I've Seen Enough!" fame. When he says it, it's over and we'll have President-Elect Biden.
posted by sideshow at 8:39 PM on November 5, 2020

Thinking again about how Fox News called Arizona for Biden... 48 hours ago.
posted by reductiondesign at 8:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

My birthday is November 10.

Y'all know what I want!
posted by kiwi-epitome at 8:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Are we at year 0 yet? Someone tell me when we're there because Sweet Jesus, this is stressful.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

For a contrast with Trump, see McCain's 2008 concession speech.
posted by NotLost at 8:43 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

48 hours ago

You misspelled 10 years
posted by medusa at 8:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

sexyrobot no still at 1805, next batch expected in 15 min
posted by medusa at 8:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Someone tell me it's all right to go to sleep soon - I won't wake up in the morning to something awful, right?

It's happened before, is all I'm saying.
posted by invincible summer at 8:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

WaterAndPixels - try this: https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/credit-report/post/2018-10-10/the-federal-priority-act-how-secure-is-a-secured-creditor-if-the-debtor-is-subject-to-a-federal-claim-or-investigation
posted by anshuman at 8:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

"While I know Trump will never go to prison, is there a reasonable chance any of his children and in-laws will?"

I myself am skeptical that Trump will go to prison, but I've been surprised in my conversations with lawyers with prosecution and criminal defense experience, at both the federal and state level, that a fair number of them are absolutely, 100% convinced Trump will go to prison. Not a clear majority, but some very smart criminal lawyers that I respect a great deal, and whose opinions I consider worthwhile, most with experience with politicians committing crimes, think he is definitely going to jail. I'm not, like, getting my hopes up? But I'm crossing my fingers a little bit.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [42 favorites]

Poor David Axlerod has been sitting at that CNN desk for so long now he’s grown a bit of a mullet out the back there...
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

David Partyinthebaxelrod
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

When are Georgia's next batch of votes going to... mmm.... DROP?!
posted by SansPoint at 8:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [19 favorites]

Go ahead and go to sleep. We'll have a nice peach cobbler for you in the morning.
posted by medusa at 8:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

From statements about an hour ago, the next GA vote drop — from Clayton County — should be happening within 5-10 minutes.
posted by darkstar at 8:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sometime near 24,831 BCE, Neanderthals went extinct.
posted by biogeo at 8:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

You sure about that?
posted by swift at 8:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

It’s only 5:55pm here in Auckland and Ima mash the refresh button over and over, come on Georgia come through!
posted by supercrayon at 8:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

PA-23953
posted by anshuman at 8:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

(Just want to express that I have incredibly vivid memories of being here on MeFi on the night of the 2008 election -- when I was just 17! -- and even though there are lots of reasons to feel grim about the prospects of a Biden administration if they're still going to be hamstrung by a Republican senate, reading through these threads has helped me feel a lot of joy. You're all lovely.)
posted by Rumpled at 8:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [29 favorites]

Yeah, the ancestors of Republicans wiped them out.
posted by biogeo at 8:58 PM on November 5, 2020

This feels a little like being back in the park in central Chicago on that night in early November 2008, with an extremely large crowd, and on one of the big screens Wolf is "Stay with us as we have a MAJOR announcement at the top of the hour", and the sharp intake of breath and expectation...
posted by Wordshore at 8:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

This is kind of a horror slog but in a way, I get THREE election nights in a row! We can't stop now.

Slightly busier in the new hybrid indoor/outdoor space tonight, 44 covers, good vibes. More cases here tho, including some at a very popular, non chain supermarket.

Donnie shitstain is losing the suburbs in the swing states. His pitch to all those suburban women did not work. I bet his campaign did polling and knew that he was losing them months ago.

This is going to be a very lame duck. Having to sit in the seat you just lost for two months might make him erratic. I'm going to turn off my dark imagination for a few hours. Smoke break and I'll get more ice.
posted by vrakatar at 9:00 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Come on Georgia! I wanna go to bed!
posted by SansPoint at 9:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

You're killing me ~~Smalls~~ Georgia.
posted by medusa at 9:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are investigating an alleged plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:05 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

Georgia on my mind.
posted by nickggully at 9:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

FactCheck.org about that "Trump Sting" rumour.

I googled "trump sting operation" and man. It's very out there! Lots of stuff about more votes than registered voters in a county, the Sharpie myth, a misunderstanding about the campaign to 'fix ballots' etc.
posted by freethefeet at 9:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ooooh, here's some useful data from CNN:

From CNN’s Jason Morris

As of 10:35 p.m. ET, there are approximately 14,097 ballots still outstanding across Georgia, according to a statement by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Almost all of the outstanding ballots are absentee ballots, Raffensperger’s office told CNN earlier Thursday.

President Trump's lead over former Vice President Joe Biden has shrunk to 1,775 votes, CNN's Wolf Blitzer said.

Here's a breakdown of the ballots by county:

Clayton County: 4,355
Cobb County: 700
Floyd County: 444
Forsyth County: 1,545
Gwinnett County: 4,800
Laurens County: 1,797
Taylor County: 456
posted by medusa at 9:07 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Pa-22576
posted by anshuman at 9:08 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Nick Corasaniti, NYT: "There are roughly 175,000 absentee ballots still to count in Pennsylvania, including more than 58,000 in Philadelphia. Major counties like Philadelphia will keep counting through the night."
posted by reductiondesign at 9:10 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

From the video news link Countess Elena posted, according to poll workers, about 94% of the votes they're counting right now in Philadelphia were cast for Joe Biden. I don't think that's an official number and it could be wrong but dang.
posted by biogeo at 9:12 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

I don't have a twitter account but apparently twitter is no longer allowing comments on Trump's tweets? Is that true?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:13 PM on November 5, 2020

I was just able to comment on one of his tweets, but I think the person to bot ratio on his account has drifted into pure chaos.
posted by cmfletcher at 9:16 PM on November 5, 2020

I don't have a twitter account but apparently twitter is no longer allowing comments on Trump's tweets? Is that true?

Only the ones that have been marked "disputed and might be misleading about an election process".

And a HELL OF A LOT OF THEM have been so marked.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

The tide is high but I'm holding on
posted by medusa at 9:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

I don't have a twitter account but apparently twitter is no longer allowing comments on Trump's tweets? Is that true?

Just on the one's they've marked as lies.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:17 PM on November 5, 2020

If that's really accurate that would be a net gain of 51,000 votes for Biden once Philly reports, which is roughly twice the current gap for Trump.
posted by biogeo at 9:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Georgia, you beat me. I'm going to sleep.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:19 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

I just tested the theory about posting comments to other ones of Trump's comments:

I posted the entire sonnet Ozymandias to him, split among 3 comments.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:20 PM on November 5, 2020 [12 favorites]

What’s the current rate of ballots counted per hour?
posted by lazugod at 9:20 PM on November 5, 2020

The going theory is that the guy who updates the website for Georgia went home. I wish I was joking.
posted by SansPoint at 9:21 PM on November 5, 2020

WFAA.com saying Georgia now 1709
posted by medusa at 9:22 PM on November 5, 2020

Starting to see (unconfirmed / large bag of salt / timing seems suspicious etc) reporting that Vladimir Putin will step down in January 2021 due to Parkinson’s disease. President Biden, plus a Trump and Putin in an “odd-couple in hiding” story. Come on 2021!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

From CNN: Allegheny county (Pittsburgh) isn't starting to release their remaining count until 5PM tomorrow due to an allowance for corrected mail-in ballots. They estimate it will throw about 21,000 votes to Biden and 7,000 to Trump.

I'm hoping that comes as a footnote during the Biden celebration already in progress tomorrow, knock on wood.
posted by mmoncur at 9:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Source?
posted by susiswimmer at 9:22 PM on November 5, 2020

If Biden wins (knock on wood) here's the playbook for the next two months:

Narcissistic Rage

I've been thinking about this. Unfortunately I have some experience with dealing with narcissistic rage. I'm sure that at some point in the distant past I read something saying that there are two paths narcissists could go down: one - fly into a narcissistic rage and attack everything in their path (expected course of action). Or, two: just completely check out and leave. I've been expecting Trump to go with the first path, but now I'm starting to wonder if he might just fuck off to Mar-a-lago or elsewhere and refuse to do anything having to do with the presidency anymore. I wonder if we're still looking at the possibility of a 25th Amendment.
posted by triggerfinger at 9:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

Yeah c'mon everyone, no paraphrasing without a link to the source.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

1709 - The first piano is exhibited in Florence by its inventor Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori (1655-1731), who named it "gravicembalo col piano e forte", a name which was subsequently shortened to "pianoforte" and then "piano".
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

The only relatively mainstream source RE: Putin I’ve seen the report published in is the NY Post. I’d give that one a giant grain of salt for the time being.
posted by esquandolad at 9:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

"We won’t know official statewide numbers in Georgia until the morning. Georgia's Secretary of State will not update again tonight. At last update, the state still had 14,097 votes left to count. Remember Clayton is the only county actively counting right now." [Twitter]
posted by theory at 9:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Sorry- source for the theory that the guy updating for Georgia went home. ETA- thanks theory!
posted by susiswimmer at 9:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

inflatablekiwi, that story started with the New York Post, which has been posting kremlin fud of late. Wait for a better source.
posted by adept256 at 9:26 PM on November 5, 2020

Well dang it. I really wanted to see a state turn blue before I went to bed.
posted by biogeo at 9:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Well, crap. I was sitting on a celebratory comment, all ready to go for GA.

Guess I’ll go to bed.
posted by darkstar at 9:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ok Georgia I wanted you to get there first, but if you're happy to have Pennsylvania overtake you in the night then that's just FINE with me. Just FINE.
posted by medusa at 9:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

Guess I’ll go to bed.

You and the website guy.
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

I love that at this point, we're sure enough about Biden getting the EV that we're now in a horse race between which state does it.

Are there betting odds up for that?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Here come the "very fine people" to attack the vote counters at the Philly convention center.
posted by cmfletcher at 9:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

just completely check out and leave.

I've done this under stress and I'm nowhere near as self centered and fragile as donnie shitstain. also "just completely check out and leave" would make a great joke like those jokes we make after Metafilter:
posted by vrakatar at 9:35 PM on November 5, 2020

🎶 Nessun dorma / nessun dorma ... tramontate stelle, tramontate stelle / all'alba, vincerò! 🎶
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 9:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

Switched to absinthe so I feel pretty good. I'm not, uh, I'm not scared at all. I just feel kind of...feel kind of invincible.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

I am a middle aged male without a college degree and pale skin and I am going to go read this week's New Yorker while I wait for Georgia to wake up and get counting again. Because apparently not everyone in my demographic voted for someone sane and capable of completing a sentence. Knowing that that was going to be the case, it still chaps my hide. Here's to a Georgia sunrise on a blue flip.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 9:39 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Bad boys get spanked
posted by flabdablet at 9:40 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

CNN saying Biden just picked up 99 more votes in GA and gap is now under 1000
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:45 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

They got that wrong it’s 1709
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

This (the apparent plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center) is another part I was waiting for. The despair Trumpists are feeling and are about to feel is potentially very dangerous. Many of them will be grieving the perceived loss of an imaginary future, and will see this as an apocalyptic end (nevermind that they are themselves a literal apocalyptic death cult whose success would be a death sentence for life on Earth). The die-hard believers cannot deal with reality. The next few months are going to be a volatile time in many ways.
posted by Lonnrot at 9:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

Went from 1805 to 1709
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

triggerfinger, I think that's a very astute observation, and might actually represent the most optimistic scenario for the next few months. If Trump realizes there's no way he's going to get what he wants, he could lash out at his own supporters, blaming them for not doing more to get him reelected, before disappearing off to Mar-a-Lago. We've already seen some signs that this is happening, with Trump actually attacking Fox News while in the middle of being interviewed by Fox News. If sufficiently angry his narcissism might cause him to reveal what he really thinks about his supporters, publicly and undeniably. And while even that probably wouldn't deter some of them, I think most of his voters would finally realize what they're dealing with in that case, and a lot of the most dangerous energy among the Trump base would be seriously dampened. I have no idea how likely this scenario actually is but it's the most optimistic thing I've been able to imagine about the next two months since... well, since 2016.
posted by biogeo at 9:48 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Down to 1479 in Georgia.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 9:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Sleep well, friends. Here's to hoping we wake to a blue GA and PA.
posted by bcd at 9:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

voted for someone sane and capable of completing a sentence.

At the trial the lawyers will no doubt cite twitter for the reason why he can't complete a sentence.
posted by adept256 at 9:50 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

1479 - The plague breaks out in Florence.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

That scenario (Trump checks out and leaves) is too optimistic and counter to what I'm seeing for me to believe in it, but I do hope you guys are correct about it. It would be the ideal scenario.
posted by Lonnrot at 9:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

I just hope he finishes his prison sentence. Or at least starts it.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Source for 1479?
posted by mabelstreet at 9:55 PM on November 5, 2020

Source for 1479
posted by diamondsky at 9:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Source for 1479?

Wikipedia

edit: I legit thought you were asking about my plague factoid upthread
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:57 PM on November 5, 2020 [36 favorites]

Republicans are currently looking to pay PA residents to commit voter fraud.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

CNN doubling down that it's fewer than 1000 vote difference in GA
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ok, they finally corrected themselves
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:03 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

I just kinda wanna make sure everyone sees the dancing mailboxes in Philly (Twitter link).
posted by lauranesson at 10:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [17 favorites]

Thx for both of the 1479 links. :)
posted by mabelstreet at 10:04 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Apparently I can't link to a tweet properly, but DecisionDeskHQ on Twitter has regularly updated counts.

I can't remember where I originally found this Twitter stream -- it may have even been on MetaFilter -- but this Twitter list has either been my savior or my downfall the last three days.

The doom scrolling is probably terrible for me, but I've been glued to it. It's a great source for breaking election results & analysis. This and the Metafilter threads have been my primary sources. (CW: Nate Silver is on there.)
posted by diamondsky at 10:06 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

my 89 year old mom can't move much anymore so she's been watching a lot of TV news lately, with CNN and CBC (we're Canadian) her fave channels. Tonight at dinner, she said two things that kind of caught me off guard.

"I think we're really seeing the end of the supremacy of white people in America. That's what all these results are telling me. Trump's their man and he can't get enough votes. And it won't get better in the future."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Trump has exhausted himself and dies before the end of the year."
posted by philip-random at 10:09 PM on November 5, 2020 [29 favorites]

One of my old friends from Buffalo has vowed to support the Steelers over the Bills if Pennsylvania goes for Biden.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:12 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

"I wouldn't be surprised if Trump has exhausted himself and dies before the end of the year."

From your mom's lips...
posted by axiom at 10:14 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

inflatablekiwi, if that's true it's incredible news! If Putin steps down and there's a new President in the US... It really feels like 2021 could completely redraw the geopolitical board. It might be the greatest opportunity for change in almost thirty years.
posted by Kevin Street at 10:14 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

I kind of wonder how many republican officials will secretly celebrate no longer having to talk to Trump.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:15 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

DON'T JINX IT
posted by FritoKAL at 10:16 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

Steve Bannon's twitter account has been permabanned. Somewhat belated. Better late than never I guess. I'll pop the champagne when he gets prison time for his wall scam.
posted by adept256 at 10:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [19 favorites]

Thanks, diamondsky.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

"I wouldn't be surprised if Trump has exhausted himself and dies before the end of the year."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_mortification
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Secret Service plans to ramp up protection of Biden in anticipation of his possible win, Washington Post, Carol D. Leonnig, November 5, 2020:

The Secret Service is sending reinforcements to Wilmington, Del., starting Friday to help protect former vice president Joe Biden as his campaign prepares for the possibility he may soon claim victory in his bid for the White House, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The Secret Service summoned a squad of agents to add to the protective bubble around Biden after his campaign alerted the Secret Service the Democratic nominee would continue utilizing a Wilmington convention center at least another day and could make a major speech as early as Friday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the security protocols.
...
The additional security for Biden that is expected to begin Friday doesn’t give him a full protective detail that accompanies a president-elect, but moves closer in that direction. It remains unclear when the Secret Service would provide that level of security for Biden should he win.

[Alternate link.]
posted by cenoxo at 10:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

I really, really hope the military overseas votes are what puts him down.
posted by corb at 10:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

Isn't he out on bail. Shouldn't making threats on public officials revoke said bail?
posted by cmfletcher at 10:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Putin will never 'step down' until they're done building Robo-Putin.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:19 PM on November 5, 2020

One of my old friends from Buffalo has vowed to support the Steelers over the Bills if Pennsylvania goes for Biden.

The Steelers happen to be undefeated so far, so it's an easy jump onto that bandwagon. More difficult if you ride with the Ravens, though even as a Marylander, I'm rooting hard for Steel City in this moment.
posted by el gran combo at 10:21 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ladies and gentlemen, Ralph Nader:

Trump is speaking now before the media. NPR cut off him off for a fact check. Unacceptable decision. I then scrolled through all the many commercial radio stations. They were not carrying Trump's remarks. Misusing our public airwaves, free.
posted by argybarg at 10:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

How is CNN calling new vote totals after the GA Secretary of State said she wasn’t going to make any more vote updates??

Dammit, I thought I might actually get to sleep tonight! Am I going to have to keep watching CNN?

😰
posted by darkstar at 10:22 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

PA margin down to 18,224 per Decision Desk.
posted by reductiondesign at 10:24 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

If anyone wants to be woken in the middle of the night if the election is called, you can text "FIRED" to 50409, and @resistbot will text back at that moment.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [18 favorites]

darkstar, you can go to bed :)
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:25 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Isn't he out on bail. Shouldn't making threats on public officials revoke said bail?

He's a rich white dude.
posted by adept256 at 10:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Watching the CNN live stream right now.

Trump’s lead in GA is 1709.

No more votes to be reported tonight, per Chair of GA Democratic Party, who is also Congresswoman-Elect to represent Clayton County. (She is also Kamala Harris’ sorority sister!)

Sweet slumber calls! (But I’ve set my alarm early and cleared my morning meetings.)
posted by darkstar at 10:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

It’s now officially my birthday, can y’all guess what I want?
posted by misterpatrick at 10:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

I perhaps speak only for myself when I say Ralph Nader can shut the fuck up.
posted by hototogisu at 10:29 PM on November 5, 2020 [52 favorites]

How is CNN calling new vote totals after the GA Secretary of State said she wasn’t going to make any more vote updates??

Clayton County's website has been doing updates, so I'd imagine they're adding those totals to the last statewide totals.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:32 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Two days in a row now that WI has reported over 6k new cases. And the next couple weeks will only be worse as the effects of all of the rallies start to bear fruit. Fuck Trump for coming to my state and literally killing people.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

It is indisputable that we wouldn't be where we are today had Nader not run for President.
posted by PhineasGage at 10:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [35 favorites]

If any of you are watching MSNBC, I don't think Steve Kornacki is going to clock out until PA flips. It's like a telethon.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Stephen Colbert shared his thoughts on the President's lies earlier today. Worth a listen I think.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 10:35 PM on November 5, 2020 [26 favorites]

PA margin now 18229
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Clayton County's website has been doing updates, so I'd imagine they're adding those totals to the last statewide totals.

Holy cats! So yeah, if they’re doing that, then I’m definitely staying up, y’all. I’ve agonized and stressed and barely held on for four freakin’ years over this. I’m not missing the moment the hammer finally falls.
posted by darkstar at 10:36 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Decision Desk: GA margin down to 1,267.
posted by reductiondesign at 10:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

145,491,077 Votes Counted Nationally Thus Far:
73,481,482 Votes Counted Nationally For Biden Thus Far
69,618,716 Votes Counted Nationally For Trump Thus Far

239,0879 went to Jorgensen, Hawkins, the GE pool, or weird write-off write-ins (glaring at you, Gov. Hogan)?
America, why so infuriating all of the damn time? Take five minutes for a coffee break.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

PA is gradually updating over the night as well, as we've just seen.

I work the night shift so I have to stay up... but I'm hoping that makes me the first to hear some good news.
posted by mmoncur at 10:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

Stephen Colbert was emotional tonight. Wore black, refused to be seated, spoke unscripted.

edit: I see it's already posted. I second that recommendation.
posted by adept256 at 10:39 PM on November 5, 2020 [16 favorites]

1267 vote difference in GA

1267: Inquisition forms in Rome under Pope Clement IV
posted by mmoncur at 10:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

1267 - The "Grand Capital" is constructed in Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing) by Kublai Khan, having moved the capital of the Mongol Empire there three years prior.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 10:41 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Holy shit that Colbert monologue.
posted by Horkus at 10:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

I just dished up a bowl of southern-style black-eye peas and rice to fortify me during the long wait for the Georgia results.
posted by darkstar at 10:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

What does Trump involvement look like in the upcoming runoff races in GA?
posted by cmfletcher at 10:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sweet Colbert, except: the Republicans disavowing Trump now aren’t doing so for any moral reason, just because he’s lost power (or because they see which way the wind is blowing). Better late than never I guess (and better than not), but I don’t give them a whole lot of points.
posted by anshuman at 10:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

I guess I'm happy to see it, but the melodrama of Colbert et al right now just... doesn't do anything for me. Is there really a moral difference between Trump in 2020 and Trump in 2016? Why are we supposed to think that a blatantly antidemocratic outcome is fine and dandy if and only if it accords with a piece of paper designed to entrench slavery?
posted by rishabguha at 10:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

darkstar not crashing. Respect. :)
posted by esquandolad at 10:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Please excuse my previous comment with the typo. Turning in, and wishing everyone a better tomorrow.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:59 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

When the voices of victory begin to drown out the Fascists... A bit melodramatic perhaps, but it seems appropriate. Marchons, marchons... (SLYT)
posted by vac2003 at 11:02 PM on November 5, 2020 [10 favorites]

One day, I'd love to see an analysis of how much Jorgensen spoiled Trump's numbers. Obviously some of those votes never would have gone to a Republican candidate, but some were definitely people who could not vote Trump this time.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 11:05 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

When the voices of victory begin to drown out the Fascists... A bit melodramatic perhaps, but it seems appropriate. Marchons, marchons yt ... (SLYT)

In case anyone didn't know, Casablanca was filmed and released while the war was very much still going on and a lot of the people in that clip were French refugees. Those tears in their eyes are real.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 11:17 PM on November 5, 2020 [21 favorites]

On CNN livestream: Clayton County Elections Director says they have 3500 absentee votes left to count, expects to be done "early morning".
posted by mmoncur at 11:18 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

On CNN:

Shawna Dozier, the Clayton County Elections Director, was on livestream now.

She says they have 3500 absentee ballots remaining to count, and that Clayton County will continue to work on it tonight. Anticipates having those counted by “the morning”, but will be updating periodically.

At 1:27am EST, the last vote drop was 84% for Biden. If 3500 come in following 80% trend for Biden, he would net 2500 votes (2975 vs 425). That would easily put Biden in the lead.

Then it’s down to residual absentee votes in red counties (not many of these left), provisional ballots (traditionally more Democratic), and overseas votes (tend to favor Republicans).

Commentators say it is almost certain this will go to recount.

And I’ve run out of favorites for the third day in a row!
posted by darkstar at 11:23 PM on November 5, 2020 [6 favorites]

I don’t want to speak for anyone else here, but can I say that I think Stacey Abrams should be given a gigantic platform going forward? I’m just another basically mediocre white cis male from a Rust Belt state, and I don’t want to presume anything, but my takeaway from this whole thing is that she needs to be put right out front as the face of the Democratic Party.

Edit to add: if that’s something she’d choose to do.
posted by esquandolad at 11:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [68 favorites]

Just made the mistake of turning on Fox News, to be greeted with a story alleging that Trump supporters have a court order giving them access to the Philadelphia vote counts, but the local law enforcement refused to enforce the order.

Then Fox cut to a story about professional tag players. Confusing.

Any idea what is actually happening?
posted by tumbling at 11:26 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Georgia is incredibly close. Apparently provisionals and military ballots will be arriving in coming days, and of course those probably(?) won't swing as much to Biden as the other early votes we've been counting. I'm really hoping Biden pulls out Nevada and Arizona with at least .5% or more margin so we can feel comfortable in both of those. PA might also be comfortable enough, even with a recount (in the same way WI will have a recount but the margin is expected to be too big to change in a recount). Just hoping we can avoid a scenario of waiting many weeks to feel confident about the election results due to the tipping point state being a .1% win or something.
posted by unid41 at 11:27 PM on November 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't know if anyone is still counting in GA tonight but Philly is going round the clock. Pennsylvania is going to be a few thousand in Biden's favor by the time Trump wakes up and turns on Fox and Friends. Get your breakfast popcorn.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:30 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

I don’t want to speak for anyone else here, but can I say that I think Stacey Abrams should be given a gigantic platform going forward?

I said it in the previous thread, but if she wants the job, I cannot think of a better choice for Attorney General.
posted by deludingmyself at 11:31 PM on November 5, 2020 [14 favorites]

My understanding is that in Philadelphia, campaign observers were asked to stay 20 feet away. The trump campaign complained they couldn't see the ballots in order to potentially challenge them. So they were allowed to stand closer (6 feet) while wearing masks. But their attempts to stop the counting entirely while this was resolved were squashed. They made some hyperbolic claims about not being let in the building at all which were trumped up.
posted by muddgirl at 11:33 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

by the time Trump wakes up

Oh he’s up: It’s 2:30am in DC and the tweet storm from a certain Lame Duck, One Term, Impeached, Outgoing President just started up a few minutes back. Not going to link but it’s looking like a good one to hate scroll and see how off the rails he’s going. Next two months before inauguration are going to be spectacularly something....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:34 PM on November 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sorry here's a source for the Philly story.
posted by muddgirl at 11:35 PM on November 5, 2020

I don’t like the way I phrased that previous post (she should be given a major platform and made the face of the Dems;) I apologize for that. Ms. Abrams is doing wonderful work, and should get to pick whatever that she wants to do do, and has clearly earned, to keep kicking ass for this country.
posted by esquandolad at 11:38 PM on November 5, 2020 [22 favorites]

The gap in GA is now down to 665 votes. It's happening!
posted by un petit cadeau at 11:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [15 favorites]

665 on decisiondesk in Georgia.
posted by Literaryhero at 11:44 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

Daniel Dale:

Fact check: Trump delivers the most dishonest speech of his presidency as Biden closes in on victor

I've watched or read the transcript of every Trump speech since late 2016. I've cataloged thousands and thousands of his false claims.

I have never seen him lie more thoroughly and more egregiously than he did on Thursday evening at the White House.
posted by darkstar at 11:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Inspired by EmpressCallipygos's Ozymandias post, a bit of Auden with a similar mood...

T the Great

Begot like other children, he
Was known among his kin as T,

A name, like those we never hear of,
Which nobody yet walked in fear of.

One morning when the West awoke,
The rising sun was veiled in smoke,

And fugitives, their horse-hooves drumming,
Cried: "—Death is on you! T is coming!"

For a considerable season
The name T was sufficient reason

To raise the question (Who can drop it?):
"If God exists, why can't He stop it?",

A synonym in a whole armful
Of languages for what is harmful.

Those, even, who had borne no loss themselves,
If T was spoken of, would cross themselves,

And after he was dead, his traces
Were visible for years—in faces

That wore expressions of alas on them,
And plains without a blade of grass on them.

(Some regions, travelers avow,
Have not recovered even now.)

As earth was starting to breathe freely,
Out of the North, efficient, steely,

Reminding life that hope is vanity,
Came N to bring her back to sanity,

And T was pushed off to the nursery
Before his hundredth anniversary

To play the bogey-man that comes
To naughty boys who suck their thumbs.

After some military success
N died (to be replaced by S)

And took T's job as Kid Detective,
Leaving him wholly ineffective.

For all the harm, and it was quite a lot, he did,
The public could not care less what he did.

(Some scholar cares, we may presume,
But in a Senior Common Room

It is unpopular to throw about
Matters your colleagues do not know about.)

Though T cannot win Clio's cup again,
From time to time the name crops up again,

E.g., as a crossword anagram:
11 Down—A NUBILE TRAM
posted by aws17576 at 11:46 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

OMG Y’ALL!!

🍑🍑🍑 GO GA! 🍑🍑🍑
posted by darkstar at 11:47 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

Stacey Abrams for AG......I've been trying to tell myself over and over to not get caught up in hopes and dreams anymore after 2016, but that one is such a good one. A wave of relaxation and contentment just washed over me, when I considered how we could have Stacey Abrams looking out for us as our Attorney General (though that may just be the ambien talking).

Stacey Abrams is just such a force of life. I am in awe of her. I hope she becomes president one day.
posted by triggerfinger at 11:49 PM on November 5, 2020 [12 favorites]

Whelp, I guess Trump is really missing those 8,578 older GA residents that could have made a difference for him.
posted by saucysault at 11:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [21 favorites]

665: Kubrat, ruler (khagan) of Great Bulgaria, dies after a 33-year reign.

The last 72 hours have seemed like 33 years, so this one seemed appropriate.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 11:51 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

This stress is STILL worse than my waking up during a c-section.
posted by jadepearl at 11:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [13 favorites]

665 - Hafsa bint Umar, wife of Muhammad dies
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 11:52 PM on November 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'd be happy if DeJoy, McConnell, Graham, and all the other Republicans who conspired through action and inaction to invalidate our votes get thrown into prison. If she can get that done and wants the responsibility, I hope she gets the job and whatever resources she needs to get it done.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:53 PM on November 5, 2020 [7 favorites]

If Biden wins, he should offer presidential amnesty to any federal employees who refuses orders from Trump in his lame duck session (except for purely political appointees).
posted by benzenedream at 11:54 PM on November 5, 2020 [11 favorites]

Georgia to conduct 'risk limiting audit' before certifying election winner:

Georgia election officials said they would begin Friday conducting a risk-limiting audit under a new state law before certifying the presidential election winner.

The risk-limiting audit will take a statistically significant sample of ballots and examine them by hand to observe whether the declared winner indeed won.

However it's not actually a check on the original paper, it's on a printout of what's in their computer:

University of California, Berkeley, statistics professor Philip Stark, who helped pioneer the concept of RLAs, said in an affidavit the state’s procedures are more of a “pilot” than a true RLA. That’s because Georgia is using new electronic ballot marking devices that print out paper records rather than the hand-marked paper ballots necessary for the high quality audit trail, he said.

So, interesting. When I first read that and thought they were checking original ballots, that sounded like a weirdly sensible thing -- after you do something big and fancy, do a small simple ground-truth check on it -- for a Republican to be doing these days. Running on sampled rows out of their database, though, I don't see any actual value and I'm a touch nervous if it's going to be a mechanism to avoid certifying the vote and let the R-controlled legislature do its R thing.

The thing where this could get really weird is if the law was written to require a certain level of statistical significance, like the 95% confidence interval inferred from the sample can't cross 50%. If the count is as close as it looks, that's going to mean counting a shit-ton of votes. Like if the true distribution is that candidate X is up by 5000 votes out of ~5M, if you sample a full 10% of the votes -- five hundred thousand printouts -- the 95% CI [49.96%, 50.24%] still includes Y winning. That requirement might make the whole thing infeasible within the certification time window. They couldn't have been that level of diabolically clever plus lucky, right?
posted by away for regrooving at 11:55 PM on November 5, 2020 [5 favorites]

Stacey Abrams is just such a force of life. I am in awe of her. I hope she becomes president one day.

I linked to her interview with David Tennant an eon ago in the first megathread and it's so worth the listen. She talked about that idea but that right now it was so much more important for her to focus her work on more local levels. She's so awesome and I adore her.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 11:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [9 favorites]

And boy, it's going to be fun when 48% of the non-statistically-fluent hear this and conclude that Georgia's results have a 10% chance of being wrong.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday the state’s review will produce “over 90 percent confidence level” in the results and certification will be reached by Nov. 13.

(For the non-statistically-fluent, and there's no shame in being that -- it means that a certain level of confidence would be obtained from this sample alone. This does not detract from the confidence obtained by the full count. They combine.)
posted by away for regrooving at 11:56 PM on November 5, 2020 [3 favorites]

No change, but the current vote leads in four key battleground states:

Georgia: Trump leads by 665
Nevada: Biden leads by 11,438
Pennsylvania: Trump leads by 18,228
Arizona: Biden leads by 47,052

(CNN)
posted by darkstar at 12:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Sorry about the detraction, but by extending the idea of the year-count correspondence...

Currently Biden leads the popular vote by about 3.9 million. 3.9Mya before present was about the age when the Australopithecus, evolutionary predecessor to modern humans, arose.
posted by runcifex at 12:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

All the evidence indicates that Stacey Abrams is a very capable person, and a lot of people seem to like and trust her.

I'd hope the Biden-Harris administration could identify possible jobs that could both make use of her talents and enhance her future prospects for elective office, and then talk to her about what she'd like to do.

Has she said anything recently about her plans for after this election? I remember reading something a while back about her not going for the Senate this cycle in part because she was interested in another run for governor, but have no idea how true that was, or if it still is.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 12:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Nevada: Biden leads by 11,438

11438 is the part number for Lego shoulderpads.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 12:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

What’s the proper ratio for coffee, ramen noodles, Natty Light, and weed gummies to stay up for a couple more hours? Asking for a friend.
posted by esquandolad at 12:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

How are you guys gonna celebrate if this turns into a Biden win? I have a bottle of champagne in the fridge just hanging out. Traditionally my way of celebrating victory over the GOP is to listen to Wu Tang Clan and drink chocolate milk. I think Janelle Monae might be more appropriate for this election.

I also bought a “keep calm and carry on” sign when Trump was elected in 2016. I’m gonna burn that fucker.
posted by supercrayon at 12:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

I can also do a mean banana pudding, but that’s probably best left until the morning.
posted by esquandolad at 12:27 AM on November 6, 2020

Go for a drive and see whatever's left of the fall colors.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:27 AM on November 6, 2020

It’s late even here in Alaska; I don’t understand how the rest of you maniacs are doing it.

PS- the discussion of the AK Senate seat far above; cute, but I have lived here all my life and I will eat my hat if it happens. We won’t know anything until next Tuesday at the earliest, though, because we just make bad decisions as a state.
posted by charmedimsure at 12:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

esquandolad, it's more about the correct order than the amounts (within reason).

Coffee, then gummies, then noodles. Modulate with Natty light and/or more coffee. Enjoy!
posted by mosk at 12:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

It’s late even here in Alaska; I don’t understand how the rest of you maniacs are doing it.

Being unemployed during a pandemic has meant that my sleep schedule is so disrupted that I'm not even sleepy yet.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

There are only 600 some votes left in the Trump column in Georgia, so at this pace Biden should pass him in two to three weeks
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

The thing where this could get really weird is if the law was written to require a certain level of statistical significance, like the 95% confidence interval inferred from the sample can't cross 50%.

Here's the wikipedia page on risk limiting audits, which, unsurprisingly, is much more informative than the news sites. It's a cool idea: build in as much of a recount as you statistically need to believe the results. If that's a full recount, you probably wanted one anyway, since the outcome is so close... And if it's not close, you build in some smell checks of the results at least.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

John 6:65 He [Jebus] went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you need some positive - but related - distraction...

The first 7 minutes of Stephen Colbert's opening tonight are ... well, it's why I love Colbert. Nothing gets me quite like when goes into serious mode and speaks from his heart, and not from his writer's room.

See also : when he ripped Kavanaugh quoting the bible during his sham of a confirmation hearing.

Two things you do not come at Colbert with, because he has an instantly available encyclopedic knowledge of them :

1. The Bible
2. Lord of the Rings

(bonus : he whipped out a LOTR quote to Jon Stewart a few nights ago, just right there on the spot)
posted by revmitcz at 12:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

It’s late even here in Alaska; I don’t understand how the rest of you maniacs are doing it.

Some of us are reloading from abroad (American in NL here!) although still not getting any sleep. A reminder too that Europe is watching this too and waiting.

Gaurdian front page
NRC (Netherlands paper)
El Pais
Corriere della Sera
posted by vacapinta at 12:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

463!
posted by Literaryhero at 12:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

This is like watching the ball drop on New Years except slower and for fascism
posted by supercrayon at 12:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

Year 463 - The Kibi Clan Rebellion against the Yamato state (Japan) in the Korean Peninsula begins.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

463: visigoths defeated by franks crossing the loire; kibi clan rebellion against yamamoto state begins in korean peninsula
posted by 20 year lurk at 12:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

This is like watching the ball drop on New Years except slower and for fascism

The amount of psychic energy I am putting into waiting for DecisionDesk to click is self-destructive. I need to relax.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:45 AM on November 6, 2020

Reddit is cracking down on disinformation. Here's the post on r/trump:

Any post pertaining to election fraud will be removed.

Reddit admins have messaged us regarding all of the posts being made about cheating being done by election workers across the country. They will not allow anymore of those due to false information and unverified evidence. So please don't blow us up in Modmail asking why your post was deleted. This is why.

The comments are a delight.
posted by adept256 at 12:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

I like to think of this like watching Trump fall into a black hole. From where we sit he gets redder and redder until he finally reaches the event horizon and becomes frozen in time; from his own point of view he experiences spaghettification.
posted by flabdablet at 12:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

463; smack in the middle of the reign of Pope Hilarius. Not sure what that means, but maybe it’s kinda funny?
posted by esquandolad at 12:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

https://xkcd.com/463/
posted by Cardinal Fang at 12:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

8pm Friday in eastern Australia here. This has all hit me a bit harder than I thought, I'm quite anxious and was a bit of a mess today. I can only imagine how much worse it must be for all you Americans. I'm watching along in solidarity.
posted by other barry at 12:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

John McCain was not a perfect human being, by any means, but his concession speech is worth watching as a poignant reminder when every last Republican wasn't entirely a criminal.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Man, watching the CNN livestream would be about 84% less stressful if they weren’t cutting to the same long, repetitive set of promo ads every 3 minutes.
posted by darkstar at 12:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Hilary, Hilarie or Hillary is a given and family name, derived from the Latin hilarius
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Flagged as fantastic!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:50 AM on November 6, 2020

I sat on a rug Biden My time
Drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
"It's time for bed"
posted by night_train at 12:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Now I'm just hanging out for Pennsylvania to hit exactly 8645
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

For the record I went coffee and half a gummy, made some ramen with a fried egg, scallions, and dashi, googled “463 CE”, then cracked a Natty Light.
posted by esquandolad at 12:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

pacing yourself. wise.
posted by 20 year lurk at 12:57 AM on November 6, 2020

It looks like the GA counts have been updated roughly every hour.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:59 AM on November 6, 2020

CNN business says Steve Bannon got perma-banned from twitter for proposing violence against Dr. Fauci and Christopher Wray.
Aw, poor thing.
Mmm. This milkshake is delicious.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

My brain keeps looping this verse from Keke Palmer's Actually Vote.

"We need Florida, Ohio, all of Arizona,
Or we're stuck with the guy who says bleach cures corona,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvahnia,
Come on, cats, we're going to free Melania!"
posted by Paul Slade at 1:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

If nothing else, I really hope this hammers home to people that votes count and that when you show up (or via absentee) that your vote makes a difference. I really hope we see the end of the apathetic voter.. At least for awhile.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 1:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

CNN reporter on site right now in Jonesboro GA says counting activity appears to have stopped in the counting room. Tired workers are leaving, getting into cars and going home. Says it appears Clayton County has stopped counting for the evening.

Does that mean they are done? Or just done for the night? Not clear.
posted by darkstar at 1:07 AM on November 6, 2020

I bet Melania is already packing up all the silverware and towels.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I think I just saw Steve Kornacki's soul leave his body for a few seconds
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

CNN is trying to trick us into going to sleep, just when we've all managed to figure out our optimal strategies for staying awake...
posted by mabelstreet at 1:15 AM on November 6, 2020

Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump

An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number of new cases per capita, the overwhelming majority — 93% of those counties — went for Trump, a rate above other less severely hit areas.

He is a murderer. He's murdering people with bullshit. They listen to his bullshit, then they get sick, then they die. Holy fucking shit the data is in, and his words are killing people.

Too extreme? Yeah, it fucking is!
posted by adept256 at 1:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Waiting for Georgia like.
posted by lkc at 1:19 AM on November 6, 2020

And he knows better, he knew from the start it wasn't like the flu. He wasn't just foolish, he had intent.
posted by adept256 at 1:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

GEORGIA IS BLUE ON DECISION DESK!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 1:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [44 favorites]

Kind of want Biden to win a state by 138, if we're getting into numerology here.
posted by MattWPBS at 1:21 AM on November 6, 2020

Decision desk has Biden LEADING by 917 votes in Georgia
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 1:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Any TV network anchor can have this one for free.

"And for an update, we're now Going To Georgia."
posted by MattWPBS at 1:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

🎇 BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!! 🎇

🗳 DecisionDesk: Biden up by 917 votes!!!🗳

🎉 BIDEN MOVES INTO THE LEAD!! 🎉

🍑 GEORGIA FLIPS BLUE!!! 🍑

For now, anyway. There are still provisional and overseas ballots to be counted, but I’m celebrating!
posted by darkstar at 1:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [31 favorites]

We're gonna need a metatalk thread for pics all these Georgia cakes please.
posted by stillnocturnal at 1:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

https://twitter.com/RKempNewsDaily has been covering the ongoing count in clayton county. there's also some coverage from https://twitter.com/CNNValencia . some of the pictures and footage is pretty incredible. it's slow going.
posted by are-coral-made at 1:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

WE'RE GOING FORWARD IN TIME NOW PEOPLE

917: Battle at Anchialus: Bulgaria army counter attacks Byzantines
posted by mmoncur at 1:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

You, um, gonna eat the rest of that gummie, esquandolad ...? ;)
posted by mosk at 1:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

ACJ reporting Biden's lead (but without the 917 number yet)
posted by mabelstreet at 1:27 AM on November 6, 2020

Oh goody now I can go eat a peach. Dried because of the season, bought this morning for this purpose.

Welcome to blue status from another southern US state (AZ). Hope we stay there.
posted by nat at 1:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I’m so glad I saved that other half of the gummy...
posted by esquandolad at 1:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

(going forward in time is probably wise- 917 BCE - the best I've got is King Rehoboam of Judah had been dead for two years - though BCE is Biden Couldbe Elected)
posted by freethefeet at 1:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

CNN is talking about Georgia now.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 1:30 AM on November 6, 2020

I haven't slept in days. Hopefully this is enough for me to slow down. Phew.
posted by Literaryhero at 1:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

CNN also reporting Biden ahead by 917. This last batch came from Clayton County.

I’m totally going to make the peach cobbler recipe that rash posted in our previous thread.
posted by darkstar at 1:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Just to add to victory cobblers; tarragon is a wonderful addition. The other surprise welcome addition is bay leaf. I know it sounds crazy but it works. Especially with vanilla or (preferably) butter pecan ice cream.
posted by esquandolad at 1:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I can't help it - The Georgia Peach
posted by Myeral at 1:34 AM on November 6, 2020

Biden votes showing up to flip Georgia:

You cannot defeat a bad bitch
posted by supercrayon at 1:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Super tired but I didn't want to miss the Georgia flip and now that we have it I think I can finally sleep in peace. Thanks for the updates and company everyone, cheers, see you in the am.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Mosk Yes. Yes I am. I may have already.
posted by esquandolad at 1:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump (fixed the link for you)
posted by progosk at 1:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

And salt. Salt your desserts. It opens up the sweetness and adds complexity.
posted by esquandolad at 1:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Impeach cobbler, surely.

shirley
posted by adept256 at 1:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

Clayton County is, of course, Rep. John Lewis' district. Good trouble.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Im going to enjoy this for just a minute, but I won’t feel like it’s real until Biden is sworn in. And, you know, the Georgia Senate runoffs are over.

/wet blanket
posted by Ghidorah at 1:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Does anyone have the stomach to report on how Fox News is doing?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 1:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

They’re still holding onto AZ. As a Biden flip. So is AP as far as I can tell.
posted by esquandolad at 1:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

And thanks for fixing that link, progosk. I was pretty mad, just seeing red. It's unbelievable.

A senate inquiry is a fairly modest ambition. If not for laying blame, but for the sake of the next time. We need to learn from this. And the people who were actively counterproductive at least need to be exposed, if not held accountable.

An inquiry, it's a humble request, and perfectly reasonable. I'm cool now (thank you Georgia!) but I stand by my words. Trump's a mass murderer.
posted by adept256 at 1:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Take this moment. Hold this moment. We may need it in coming days.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 1:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

An inquiry, it's a humble request, and perfectly reasonable.

Remember What They Did (Hamilton Nolan, In These Times)
posted by progosk at 2:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

There's a bug in the github scraper thing that means the number in the "Block Trend" column is wrong if the leading candidate has just flipped. It's currently showing "Trump is averaging 65.6%" for Georgia when it's actually Biden that is.

(I've had a look at the source code and it's calculating based on each row's "trailing candidate" rather than the current trailing candidate)
posted by grahamparks at 2:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I can’t believe I’m about to go to sleep in a blue AZ, just having witnessed GA turn blue, as well.

🌵 This is glorious. 🍑

Good night, dear friends.
posted by darkstar at 2:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

Cheeseburger and Star Trek time now. Goodnight everyone. See you tomorrow.
posted by esquandolad at 2:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I fell asleep earlier and woke up a few minutes ago, nervous to see the results. I can't believe I was awake when it happened!

Now, just, hold together, everyone.. ain't out of the woods yet.
posted by Alterscape at 2:14 AM on November 6, 2020

Getting texts from friends and family about Georgia... but... I just don't trust it... but... it looks... good. Right? Right?
posted by From Bklyn at 2:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

It looks good. And it’s something to hold onto NOW, while we wait for Pennsylvania. There will be challenges and recounts in Georgia without question, but it’s there NOW, and I dunno about you, but I need that.
posted by notoriety public at 2:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Getting texts from friends and family about Georgia... but... I just don't trust it... but... it looks... good. Right? Right?

Military and overseas ballots yet to be counted. I am cautiously optimistic but very aware that it could flip back when all the votes are in.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Let's all take a moment to give thanks to the fierce exotic dancers of Atlanta for getting booties to the polls.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

is there any indication of how many military and overseas ballots there will be?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 2:33 AM on November 6, 2020

Pseudonymous Cognomen : My understanding is that (in Georgia) military and overseas ballots have until today to arrive, however those that HAVE arrived are being/have been counted.
posted by aspo at 2:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Military votes potentially adding to the Biden surge.

Surely nobody serving overseas could support a president who calls them 'losers' and 'suckers', or turns a blind eye to Russia putting a bounty on their heads.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like the idea of Stacey Abrams as Attorney General. For now, the best way I've found to thank her, is to buy her books.
posted by peppermind at 2:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Surely nobody serving overseas could support a president who calls them 'losers' and 'suckers', or turns a blind eye to Russia putting a bounty on their heads.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. For a lot of small-town kids from Georgia who want to become cops the military is a ticket to being able to pay for a criminal justice degree. A lot of these people are not going to be Biden voters.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

NotTheRedBaron: "Does anyone have the stomach to report on how Fox News is doing?"

I can help with this one! I've mainly been watching Fox throughout my election-watching, primarily to keep track of how coup-friendly their tone is. (So far, for the record, it has been hearteningly un-coup-friendly.) Their election desk is still reporting the numbers accurately; they recently announced Biden's recent Georgia lead. They also recently wrapped up a panel talking about the markets' reaction to the election. The actual substance of that panel was silly -- someone arguing that the main reason the markets were strong today was because of the likelihood of a Republican senate -- but the overall framing was a treat to see, because it assumed as a basic premise that Biden is probably going to win.

The opinion shows have definitely been dicier (adopting a much more credulous tone towards Trump's claims of voter fraud, Tucker Carlson talking about the election being "in the hands of judges and unelected bureaucrats", Hannity spreading the Sharpie thing), but their election desk has been solid, sedate, and fact-based throughout. Which is a really bullish sign with regard to our odds of avoiding a Trump coup, judicial or otherwise.
posted by Rumpled at 2:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

CNN says we're expecting news from Philadelphia
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:04 AM on November 6, 2020

Philadelphia will have another vote count update in "the next hour or two," city commissioner says (CNN) . That said, we likely will not see all ~53k outstanding votes from Philadelphia counted and reported in one go.

the CNN coverage is fairly entertaining: during a prior segment Trump's behaviour was characterised as "seditious".
posted by are-coral-made at 3:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Georgia lead is 1096
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

1096: Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeats 1st Crusaders
posted by mmoncur at 3:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Along with the tentative good news out of Georgia, chicken tacos, and a sudden realization: if Trump loses, is the offer of taco trucks on every corner still valid? Because that would be AWESOME.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

I don't have much of an idea of how overseas service members may vote. It occurs to me that many may be exposed to different news sources than US-resident Americans are --- besides local media, I'm reminded of the early September minor scandal about shutting down Stars and Stripes, which Trump eventually walked back.

As the Military Times article linked in the other thread said, the "and overseas voters" part of "military and overseas voters" tends to be much larger, perhaps double if I remember that article right. I think these voters tend not to vote Republican, and in the UK at least, the Democratic voter support operation is much bigger. As one of the coordinators pointed out the other night, Democrats Abroad is actually associated with the party, whilst the equivalent Republican organisation is independent.

(Allegedly the Republicans here also send their members to votefromabroad.org to request absentee ballots --- absolutely fine since the basic service is administered in a scrupulously nonpartisan way --- but it's still Dems Abroad what runs it (says so on the front page), it's asking people who have declared D registrations if they want to join DA, a courtesy presumably lacking a counterpart for R voters, and fvap.gov is right there folks if you can't stand up your own website...)

I can't promise anything about the ballots still to be counted---perhaps they're all from Ethically Condemnable Drone Strike HQ on Diego Garcia or whatever. But at least this might be interesting.
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 3:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Reading this elsewhere and I'll state it here for fun but apologies if you've already discussed it and infinitum.

Military ballots were sent out automatically. They are counted as they come in. And since the ballots are sent automatically and not requested, there are likely ballots that were never filled out and returned.
posted by museum of fire ants at 3:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Oh boy, 1096! That’s where I’m a Viking!
posted by oulipian at 3:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

Which means...potentially 9k military ballots but could be a lower number.
posted by museum of fire ants at 3:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

As I was channel surfing last night, I happened across a report on the PBS News Hour, where one of their White House reporters related that Trump's legal team are starting to make noise about getting SCOTUS involved in the count. She said the legal team specifically mentioned that the three Trump justices owe him. Kind of like "the fix is in."

I have to think Roberts is shitting his pants right now, facing the real possibility of his court's legacy going down in history as Donald Trump's bitch.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:57 AM on November 6 [4 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

I don't think the judges believe they owe Trump anything. They are all three self-righteous [insert obscenity of choice here], and like most other Republicans they were using Trump to reach their goals.

I should stop doom scrolling. This won't be over till at earliest next week since Trump won't concede, and I'm already lagging in sleep and work.
But reading above about what happy endings people are imagining for the Trump crime family I suddenly realized that Biden was obviously briefed on whatever it was that McConnell wouldn't let Obama or the Democratic senators say out loud before Trump was elected/(or was it sworn in? everything is hazy after four years of insanity). So he can point the new AG to exactly the relevant angle of investigation.
posted by mumimor at 3:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

1096: the lowest attendance ever recorded for a Football League game played at Gigg Lane, home of Bury FC.

Thank you for not allowing sleazy businessman Donald Trump to do to the US what sleazy businessman Steve Dale did to Bury FC.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 3:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

the military is a ticket to being able to pay for a criminal justice degree

You need a university degree to be a cop in America?

That's certainly not the impression I get from anything other than maybe CSI.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Has there ever been a presidential nominee who refused to concede?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've seen talk of Trump coming back to try again in 2024 - has a one-term president ever done that before? Has anyone ever even attempted it?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Grover Cleveland did
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Grover Cleveland's opponent in both of those races was the only person other than Trump to lose the popular vote for the presidency twice.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

This is just too funny:

Trump supporters across the United States increasingly say they no longer trust Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch-owned TV network that has acted as one of the president’s staunchest allies in past years.

As Fox News announced more state-level victories for Joe Biden on Wednesday, Trump supporters across the country grew more vocal in their frustration with the network [...] In Arizona, pro-Trump demonstrators who massed outside an election facility in Phoenix chanted: “Fox News sucks!” A man in Nevada screamed the same slogan repeatedly in the background of a live news feed there.

In Detroit, as Trump supporters chanted “Stop the count” outside a ballot-counting location, the news that Fox had just called Michigan for Biden had little effect on the demonstration.

“Fox, you can’t even trust them,” said Rob Phail, 51, from South Lyon, Michigan, who had been leading the “stop the count” chants. “They’re the worst chameleons of all. So you’re like, OK, who do you trust?”

Asked whom he would trust to confirm the actual results of the election, he said: “Trump.”
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I've seen talk of Trump coming back to try again in 2024 - has a one-term president ever done that before? Has anyone ever even attempted it?

Running a campaign from jail would certainly be novel.
posted by romakimmy at 3:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Running a campaign from jail would certainly be novel.

Eugene V. Debs did it in 1920 and got over 900,000 votes as a third party (Socialist) candidate.
posted by graymouser at 3:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

I don’t understand why Trump would run again when he and his family could make bank running their own network or buying OANN. He could still have his precious rallies, but now he can charge entrance fees and get a cut of all the merch.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Wait, he's not now making money off the rallies some sneaky way? Naaaw, he has to have figured out an angle, right?
posted by Don Pepino at 3:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm starting to remember what it felt like back in 2016 when I felt optimistic instead of constantly tired. I cannot wait for Trump to be officially certified a loser.
posted by azuresunday at 3:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

This is just too funny:

Trump supporters across the United States increasingly say they no longer trust Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch-owned TV network that has acted as one of the president’s staunchest allies in past years.

Too funny? Yes and no, in my opinion. I mean, where will they go to for news if Fox is too liberal/reality-based for them?
posted by snofoam at 3:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Andrew Yang is on CNN grinning, screaming "Yeah Joe!" and saying "We'd better get used to saying President Elect Joe Biden."

It's nice to see someone feeling like I feel instead of maintaining that neutral newsreader tone.
posted by mmoncur at 3:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

“Fox, you can’t even trust them,” said Rob Phail, 51, from South Lyon, Michigan, who had been leading the “stop the count” chants. “They’re the worst chameleons of all. So you’re like, OK, who do you trust?”

"Oh, whanh, I hold a counter-culture view and am suddenly faced with the fact that without a cultural apparatus to keep me informed, I'm out to sea, and have a dread feeling of anomie and alienation"

Welcome to being a far-lefty in the US, Iraq War Edition. Enjoy the ulcers.
posted by pseudophile at 3:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

I mean, where will they go to for news if Fox is too liberal/reality-based for them?

Why, Steve Bannon on America's Voice, of course! (cw: calls for beheadings)
posted by Thorzdad at 3:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Sitting here in the airport where CNN is blaring. Yang took some people aback. I can’t help but think it was a liiiitle irresponsible, but I profoundly distrust my own pleasure
posted by Countess Elena at 3:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Unfortunately, I'd taken a break from CNN and was watching Trevor Noah on youtube and missed Andrew Yang! Damn it!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:59 AM on November 6, 2020

I don't think the judges believe they owe Trump anything. They are all three self-righteous [insert obscenity of choice here], and like most other Republicans they were using Trump to reach their goals.

1) Wait for a case to come up to the SC
2) Barrett refuses to recuses herself
3) She writes a scathing concurring opinion roasting Donny
4) We have to spend the next few decades hearing how this proves her independence and integrity
5) Meanwhile she gets on with her life's work implementing a combination theocracy / Federalist Society wonderland while pricks in bow-ties smugly use this to "prove" that she's only deciding based on settled law.
posted by atrazine at 4:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [26 favorites]

The talk about Trump 2024 (assuming he loses, tttcs) implies Trump will get the Republican nomination. I don't see how that can happen. The Republicans have already used him up.
posted by runcifex at 4:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I've seen talk of Trump coming back to try again in 2024 - has a one-term president ever done that before? Has anyone ever even attempted it?

The obvious parallel would be Teddy Roosevelt's 1912 run with the Bull Moose Party, but he was a one-and-three-quarter term president. He had only been elected to the Presidency once, though, if that counts.
posted by clawsoon at 4:06 AM on November 6, 2020

y'all are assuming the NYAG doesn't convict him and/or he flees to Russia
posted by kokaku at 4:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I've been refreshing so many tabs, I keep accidentally refreshing the CNN video feed. I don't know how to internet anymore.

Anyway, an update from Philly is expected soon. They're thinking it will be another chunk of a few thousand votes, not the full 50k that's still being counted there.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Trump supporters across the United States increasingly say they no longer trust Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch-owned TV network that has acted as one of the president’s staunchest allies in past years.

I cannot express how delighted I will be if Fox is essentially forced by the "free market" to pivot to a far more fact-based news position because their viewer numbers tank if they've lost their audience of right-wing True Believers that they played a major role in creating. Hoist by their own petard.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

5) Meanwhile she gets on with her life's work implementing a combination theocracy / Federalist Society wonderland while pricks in bow-ties smugly use this to "prove" that she's only deciding based on settled law.

And the return back to an even more hardline fascism can begin in just 4 years after Biden is unable to do much of anything in his first term *and* the crises of climate change continue to escalate.

It seems like win/win for conservatives to accept 2 to 4 years of not having complete power over the country. I mean, it's Biden we're talking about here.
posted by Ouverture at 4:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'd love to see Trump run in 2024 as a third party candidate. He would split the vote and ensure a Democratic victory.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

I’ve never been more happy about a 4am anxiety wake up in my life.
posted by corb at 4:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Trump/Kanye 2024 as a third party would make sense in this dumpster fire of a ~~year~~ decade.
posted by fight or flight at 4:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

> I’ve never been more happy about a 4am anxiety wake up in my life.

I nodded off and missed seeing Georgia flip. :(

> Too funny? Yes and no, in my opinion. I mean, where will they go to for news if Fox is too liberal/reality-based for them?

In r/Trump just now, one commenter was sending people to 4chan's /pol/
posted by sebastienbailard at 4:14 AM on November 6, 2020

My wife's birthday is today. I was sort of expecting the election to be an early b-day present but I'm okay with the gift showing up a little later than expected. Of course she doesn't actually get to see said present in action until January but we've waited 4 years for the end of this nonsense I think we can wait a little longer.

Would be nice to see Trump get permabanned from Twitter though.
posted by vuron at 4:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

According to the Graun, Fox news devotees might be fleeing to the One America News Network and presumably getting the same conspiracy theories peddled to them without the need for a veil of competence.
posted by fight or flight at 4:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fox update: Fox & Friends is still doing everything it can to be Trump's favourite show. Non-stop flattery. Puffing up how well he did with Latinos, how much he's transformed the Republicans into "the working-class party", mocking Democrats for how "the blue wave wasn't actually a wave". They're doing a roundup of all the different voter fraud narratives, and placing extra emphasis on the idea that the polls were purposefully inflated in order to depress Republican turnout. This is obviously a useful narrative for them, because it's a way for them to claim the election was rigged without actually needing to invalidate any ballots. But it's also not really something that could get the election overturned under virtually any scenario, so it might be a relatively 'safe' place for the conspiracy-theory energy to go to?

(One particularly infuriating piece of weasel-wording was when they said, "Both candidates are declaring victory, [sotto voce] or saying that they think they'll win." A small thing in the scheme of all the other bullshit, but it's just insultingly absurd to equate Biden and Trump's reactions to all this.)
posted by Rumpled at 4:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

My parents are in a Trump county in Pennsylvania, and it's my mom's birthday today. Calling the state for Biden would be a much nicer gift than the scarf I gave her.
posted by maurice at 4:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

What i would love to see in my dream scenario for 2024 and beyond. is that Trump ends up peeling his base off the Republican Party forcing the GOP to shift towards the center in order to attract more votes allowing the Dems to shift further left to get the progressive votes as they lose the center-right folks. Move the overton window towards the left!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

One thing I'm really enjoying is that I've been watching CNN for about 4 hours. Trump has been tweeting ridiculous things the entire time and I haven't seen one video of Trump or one screenshot of a Trump tweet this entire time. It's like watching the news used to be...
posted by mmoncur at 4:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

The sun is rising and I'm gonna go to sleep. Hopefully I'll wake up to a blue PA.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Donald Trump’s Faith Advisor Leads Viral Sermon After Election Day (NowThis, Nov 5)

Paula White, Donald Trump’s faith adviser, led a sermon after Election Day accusing demons of rigging the election.

posted by dmh at 4:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I just want Georgia to notice me
posted by Rhaomi at 4:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm definitely looking forward to Chapelle on SNL this week. I assume they'll be revisiting the Election watching skit from 4 years ago. I'll probably miss seeing Alec Baldwin but he did his time and can go back to periodic hosting.

Not looking forward to the lame Carrey impression but 4 years of Maya Rudolph would be more than worth dealing with Carrey.
posted by vuron at 4:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Paula White, Donald Trump’s faith adviser, led a sermon after Election Day accusing demons of rigging the election.

Can they come back for the Georgia Runoffs? I’ll bring snacks.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I mean, where will they go to for news if Fox is too liberal/reality-based for them?

Damn, that was the one bit I [...]'d out of the quote.

"Some say they have shifted their allegiance to media outlets that lean even further right, such as One America News, which employs a prominent conspiracy theorist as one of its correspondents."
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:44 AM on November 6, 2020

Paula White, Donald Trump’s faith adviser

Saw her for the first time in that Colbert clip earlier and thought who the fuck is this bizarrely bad imitation of a mega-church pastor!?! Of course it's his "faith advisor" - same cheap imitation grifter vibes.
posted by p3t3 at 4:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

In just a few minutes it will be 8AM on the East Coast, and surely someone has some crunchy numbers for us all. I can't wait for the updates.
posted by Oyéah at 4:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

USPS processed 150,000 ballots after Election Day, jeopardizing thousands of votes
Sorry if this is a double. I'm tired. But messing with the postal service is one thing we know Trump actively attempted.
posted by mumimor at 4:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

"See, Trump's not racist! He's running with Kenya there." 'oh yeah, that there Kaney is one of the good ones, yep."

This will be greatly helped by Kanye's very vocal recent conversion to born-again Christianity.
posted by clawsoon at 5:01 AM on November 6, 2020

Is there a way to get a real-time alert whenever new results are posted (from PA and GA, and later from AZ and NV too)? Or at least a single page where it's visually unmissable as soon as new results come in? (Not that I don't relish another day of endlessly refreshing my sea of tabs, but...)
posted by daisyace at 5:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Honestly, I can pass on Yang yucking it up on CNN, especially since every time he stops chuckling, he’s throwing shade at the left, saying that this election shows it’s a mistake to run on M4A and defunding the police.

There was a beautiful thread on twitter showing that nearly all of the seats in the house and senate that were lost were lost by big names that had come out against both of those things. I mean, shit, if the people you’re supposed to be voting for are pretty much saying the same things as the people you’re voting against, what the hell? I’d rather look at margins like Tlalib’s or Omar’s where they ran as unrepentant leftists. So, yeah, I’d be fine if Yang wasn’t on CNN, and if he could take Jared’s chum Van (of the “which is worse, the militias or the rioters” concern trolling) with him, I’d be grateful.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Fun fact: in the dark days of the horrible post-2016-election megathreads, some people were suggesting that the Democrats needed a celebrity non-politician candidate in order to beat Trump next time. Top suggestion: Kanye West.

Or maybe that was a weird dream I had.
posted by mmoncur at 5:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

> Trump supporters across the United States increasingly say they no longer trust Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch-owned TV network that has acted as one of the president’s staunchest allies in past years

Millions of Americans - many of them heavily armed - already wallowing in paranoia and misinformation and functionally devoid of any information literacy or critical thinking skills, are going to fall even farther down various ignorant and hateful rabbit holes in the middle of a pandemic and escalating climate change crises.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Looking forward to the January 5, 2021 (Tuesday) run-off election for Georgia US Senate seats:

There's a voter registration opportunity. Per the Georgia Secretary of State, December 7, 2020 (Monday), is the voter registration deadline for the January 5, 2021 (Tuesday) runoff election for the US Senate seats.

November 18, 2020 (Wednesday) is the "Earliest day for a registrar to mail an absentee ballot for the General Election Runoff for Federal Offices."

Georgia Absentee voting information

December 14, 2020 (Monday) is when "Advanced In Person (Early) Voting begins for the General Election Runoff for Federal Offices".

Georgia Secretary of State Election website
posted by jointhedance at 5:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

AOC is ready to throw cold water on the whole argument: she claims that most of the candidates who are blaming progressives had terrible digital strategies.

To be honest this makes more intuitive sense to me than whether a particular position was too left or not left enough, especially since so little of American politics hinges on weighing up policies.
posted by Merus at 5:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

Kevin D. Williamson says plenty of dumb and bad things, but he's on point here:

But the main reason that the Republican Party gets painted as a haven for conspiracy kooks is the fact that the Republican Party is a haven for conspiracy kooks. It would seem less full of conspiracy kooks if it were less full of conspiracy kooks. The GOP needs to read Cicero: Esse quam videri.

The kookery of the GOP goes all the way to the top. Donald Trump is many things, and one of those things is a big-league conspiracy kook. He was bigly into the Obama birth-certificate stuff but also has dabbled in anti-vaccine kookery and 9/11 kookery. He publicizes QAnon kookery when he isn’t helping QAnon kooks get elected to office as Republicans.

Newly elected Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene? QAnon kook. Jo Rae Perkins, who just got beat like a rented mule in the Oregon U.S. Senate race? QAnon kook. Mike Cargile, who got pummeled in that House race in California? Big ol’ QAnon kook.

There are more.

Pretty much the entire talk-radio/Fox News conversation is conspiracy kookery: the “Deep State,” which is the slightly more respectable version of the Luciferian pedophile cult of QAnon kookery.

posted by clawsoon at 5:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Trump won't start a network because it takes money to get off the ground and work to keep it going -- but he's a bad credit risk and lazy. He might phone in and hijack their shows, but don't expect him to sit in a studio hours per day because that's work, and work is for sucks.

(OANN is an anagram of Onan, who the Lord was not fond of. Here's hoping they get smote, too.)
posted by wenestvedt at 5:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

John Legend sees something to sing about this morning on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/1324645845740920833
posted by wenestvedt at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

The final election outcome is meaningless to Trump: he’s truly delusional. Even if he decisively loses all remaining states so Biden clearly wins, and all campaign lawsuits are dismissed, Trump will continue to believe he’s the innocent victim of a massive conspiracy and a fraudulent hoax. After what he ~~said~~ confessed to the world last night, he cannot back down now and will refuse to hand over the presidency.

The real question is whether Republican leadership will accept the election results and/or cooperate to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Hoping to control him somehow, they could reject both options to “stand with the President and the American people” for another four years.
posted by cenoxo at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

clawsoon, keep in mind, they were raised sucking at the teat of Rush Limbaugh. Never underestimate the poisonous effect that ~~man~~ Presidential Medal of Freedom winner has had on this nation.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Asked whom he would trust to confirm the actual results of the election, he said: “Trump.”

posted by UbuRoivas

Eponysterical
posted by PhineasGage at 5:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Here's a nice little visualisation.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

How many Trump supporters does it take to change a lightbulb?

None - he just tells them it’s done and they cheer in the dark.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [59 favorites]

Looks like Georgia added a single vote. How did this happen?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Donald Trump’s faith adviser, led a sermon after Election Day accusing demons of rigging the election

Needs more inexplicable gibberish. Or perhaps more cat.
posted by flabdablet at 5:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Chuck Tingle has an important reminder
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

The Guardian: ‘The risks are now off the table’: Wall Street looks forward to Biden presidency

If, as appears likely, Joe Biden wins, he will become the first president since George HW Bush to enter office without control of both the House and Senate – an outcome that indicates at least two years of legislative gridlock.

It’s a scenario Wall Street appears to love. One that may give Republicans in the Senate little incentive to enact a new, larger coronavirus stimulus package that Democrats have hoped for and the power to block tax increases, big spending programs and tougher regulations.

[...]
“The risks from a blue wave and a green new deal are now off the table.”

[...]
“The Street appears to have gotten the ‘Goldilocks election outcome’ for tech stocks with no ‘blue wave’ expected (Senate staying red) and a likely Biden White House now on the horizon,”

“With the Republicans likely to control the Senate, the chances of major legislative changes to antitrust law now is off the table in the eyes of investors which posed the biggest risks to tech stalwarts with a ripple impact across the sector,”

posted by runcifex at 5:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I like the idea of Stacey Abrams as Attorney General. For now, the best way I've found to thank her, is to buy her books.

When I first read this a couple hours ago, I interpreted it as “buy books for her” and I imagined Stacey Abrams getting bunches of books in the mail from grateful Democrats from across the country. Took me a couple cups of coffee to realize what you actually meant.
posted by coppermoss at 5:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

I was wondering how much the slow-shifting blue shift colored our disappointment in the polls. In other words, to what degree did the polls seem to diverge from the voting on election night but may have been corrected for by late mail-in ballots.

I took the nine states that were considered the closest in the presidential race by 538's secret sauce recipe of averaging polls. I took the current vote count and percent counted from Associated Press: both as of this morning. Starting from the Trump end of things.

Texas. Predicted to go to Trump by 1.5%. Currently it is at 5.8% in favor of Trump. Remarkably, the AP says 85% counted as of this morning. I don't begin to suspect a Biden victory, but if those are mail-in votes, it will get a lot closer to the polling.

Iowa. Predicted to go to Trump by 1.5%. Currently it is at 8.2% in favor of Trump with 99% counted. A big discrepancy from the polling.

Ohio. Predicted to go to Trump by 0.6%. Currently it is at 8.2% in favor of Trump with 96% counted. That might narrow some if there is a blue shift, but generally a big discrepancy from the polling.

Georgia. Predicted to go to Biden by 0.9%. Currently it is virtually dead even (with a small Biden lead which should grow slightly). Can't fault the polls here.

North Carolina. Predicted to go to Biden by 1.7%. Currently 1.4% in favor of Trump with 94% counted. This is being predicted to eventually go to toss-up, maybe Biden squeaking it out. If that happens, the polls were not too far off.

Florida. Predicted to go to Biden by 2.5%. Most recently 3.3% in favor of Trump with 99% counted. That is far off, but not so far off as it looked on election night.

Arizona. Predicted to go to Biden by 2.6%. Currently Biden by 1.6% with 90% of the vote counted. Too early to tell the final results, but the polls weren't too far off.

Pennsylvania. Predicted to go to Biden by 4.7%. Very much in flux, currently Trump by 0.3%, but no one thinks that will hold. The polls will probably have been about 4% off when Biden comes in at a 1% winner. 97% of the vote counted, according to AP.

Nevada. Predicted to go to Biden by 6.1%. Currently in favor of Biden by 0.9% with 84% counted. Biden should win this by 2 to 3% points, making the polls off by 3%-plus.

The truly egregious errors (more than 6%) from the above are Iowa and Ohio with Florida at 5.8%. I think it is fascinating so much more of Texas has yet to be counted.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [27 favorites]

I've seen talk of Breaking Wind coming back to try again in 2024 - has a one-term president ever done that before? Has anyone ever even attempted it?

The obvious parallel would be Teddy Roosevelt's 1912 run with the Bull Moose Party, but he was a one-and-three-quarter term president. He had only been elected to the Presidency once, though, if that counts.

Mmmm, Grover Cleveland would like a word.
posted by basalganglia at 5:38 AM on November 6, 2020

Daniel Dale, just now on Twitter:

Trump team during the campaign: Look at Biden's tiny rallies

Biden team: Rally size doesn't matter at all, he'll win with votes

Trump team after it became clear Biden is winning with votes: This is obviously impossible given Biden's tiny rallies

posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Yeah, dances_with_sneeches, methinks a lot of people here and elsewhere will owe Nate Silver an apology.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

This article by AJC leaves me with many questions. They say 8,899 military and overseas ballots have not yet been returned to the election offices and counted. Are these the automatically generated ballots, and does that mean they might never show up? Or are they sitting out there somewhere waiting for someone to take them to the offices? It also says 17,529 such ballots have been returned and counted. Is there anyway to find out how those particular ballots broke down for the candidates, or were they just mixed in with the rest?

There's also a link to an article about when these ballots are due that leaves me more confused, because I can't figure out what court cases are still ongoing. What's the deadline for these? Seems like it might be today, so is midnight the point at which anything that hasn't arrived can be assumed not to have made it into the mix?
posted by instead of three wishes at 5:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

While we're looking at scary parallels, Grover Cleveland married his daughter, too.
posted by Freon at 5:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

538 Georgia update
Micah Cohen
Nov. 6, 8:02 am

An update on Georgia from our colleagues at ABC News. Biden’s lead still stands at +1,096 votes. But Gabriel Sterling, the statewide voting systems implementation manager, joined “Good Morning America” and said that there were at least 8,197 votes still outstanding. This includes at least 4,800 ballots from Gwinnett County, which has trended blue and is likely to add to Biden’s margin.

But note, that figure does not include provisional ballots, potential absentee ballot cures or military and overseas ballots. The deadline to verify provisional ballots/cure absentee ballots is today, as is the deadline for military/overseas ballots to be returned, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. (Sterling said the maximum number of military/overseas ballots that could come in is 8,899.)

“When we know the outcome of this election, we’re going to have an audit afterwards and we have a very good likelihood that it’s going to be within a half of a percentage,” Sterling said. “Under our laws, whoever comes in second in this election [in Georgia], they can request a recount.”
posted by medusa at 5:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Disco nap achieved, and great to wake up to see GA and AZ still blue!

🇺🇸🗳 Let’s go Keystone State! 🗳🇺🇸
posted by darkstar at 5:44 AM on November 6, 2020

They say 8,899 military and overseas ballots have not yet been returned to the election offices and counted. Are these the automatically generated ballots, and does that mean they might never show up?

Yes. Last night a reporter (I believe) Rachel was talking to on MSNBC said it could be 0 votes, it could be 50, it could be all 8,899. Rachel then followed that up asking which way (democratic or republican) the votes were expected to lean, but I think the reporter interpreted her question to mean what are the chances we'll see all 8900, and answered that it was hard to say.

So definitely something to look out for if Biden's lead remains just a few thousand votes. Hopefully in the end it won't matter, but I do really want him to win Georgia. Might take quite some time before we get final post-audit results from there.
posted by cashman at 5:45 AM on November 6, 2020

It's too bad you can cure a flawed ballot (e.g., by adding the correct signature), but there's no recourse for a "naked ballot" without its special inner envelope.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Aren't recounts just a matter of feeding all of the now-carefully-stacked-and-sorted ballots into the counting machines?

Or do they each get eyeballed again?
posted by wenestvedt at 5:46 AM on November 6, 2020

as is the deadline for military/overseas ballots to be returned

You're saying the deadline for those (up to) 8,899 ballots to be counted is tonight?
posted by cashman at 5:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

You're saying the deadline for those (up to) 8,899 ballots to be counted is tonight?

I think this refers to the deadline for them to be received at the vote counting station, not the deadline by which they must be counted.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

As a Georgian, let me just say it felt good to finally wake up blue this morning.
posted by nzero at 5:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Normally the military is good about voting and using those ballots, but that Military Times poll suggested at least 10% didn’t plan to use theirs. But also: the same poll had them breaking largely for Biden, so I wouldn’t worry.
posted by corb at 5:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

🚨 Results in in from Philly 🚨

Biden: 553,953
Trump: 125,513

Steve "Map Daddy" Kornacki has the news:

🚨 JOE BIDEN LEADS IN PENNSYLVANIA BY ~24k VOTES 🚨
posted by tonycpsu at 5:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [93 favorites]

My questions exactly, instead of three wishes. I saw that article and thought it meant that Biden's GA lead was unlikely to hold. I couldn't understand why the experts seemed to be counting this as a real win for Biden. Then I saw reference (I think just upthread somewhere) to:
- those military ballots having been automatically sent out, some never to be returned, and
- as many of those ballots as available already having been included in the count, with only the ones that arrive between now and tonight's deadline still to be counted.

So I don't have good sources for any of that, but it makes it more understandable that Biden's GA lead is being considered a real thing rather than something that's about to disappear.
posted by daisyace at 5:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Biden took the PA lead!!
posted by daisyace at 5:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Not a whole lot of info about the military vote I can find. Here's a Newsweek article which summarizes most of the data I've seen:

There were some 8,899 absentee ballots from military and overseas voters that had not yet been returned to Georgia election offices as of Thursday morning, according to the secretary of state's office. Another 17,529 overseas ballots had already been returned and counted.
It is not clear yet what proportion of these are from uniformed troops.

and

...an August Military Times poll found support for the president sliding in the armed forces. The annual survey found that 41.3 percent of military respondents said they would vote for Biden if the election was held today, versus 37.4 percent for Trump.

posted by pilibeen at 5:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Biden in the lead in PA! YES!!!

RUN UP THAT SCORE.
posted by darkstar at 5:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

> How many Trump supporters does it take to change a lightbulb?

None - he just tells them it’s done and they cheer in the dark.

More like he'll declare electricity an undemocratic conspiracy and blame Obama for inventing the light bulb.
posted by runcifex at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Good things happen in Philadelphia.
posted by coppermoss at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Fuck yeah Pennsylvania.

I'm want Biden's lead in Georgia to get past 2021 so I can read all your future history fanfic.
posted by medusa at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

I watched that Paula White video, and I thought maybe this isn't something to laugh at, all religions look a bit funny from the outside, who am I to judge? She's probably harmless. But then -

You need to send in 3500. You need to send in 35000. You need to send in that 100000 dollar check. If you do not write that PO box ... you will never see sustainment in your life.

Go to hell. I guess a grifter knows a grifter.
posted by adept256 at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Philadelphia I'm sorry about the time I punched a picture of Jeremy Roenick in the face when he knocked the Leafs out of the playoffs in '04
All is forgiven
posted by saturday_morning at 5:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

There's your fuckin win.
-with love Philly xoxo
posted by cmfletcher at 5:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [38 favorites]

For Philly
posted by flabdablet at 5:55 AM on November 6, 2020

Exit, Trump, pursued by ~~a bear~~ batteries?
posted by wenestvedt at 5:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Nate Silver: Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Biden. !!
posted by daisyace at 5:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Cranking this up now myself.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Nate Silver: Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Biden. !!

YOU GO OUTSIDE AND TURN AROUND THREE TIMES AND CURSE AND SPIT RIGHT NOW
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Kornacki's math was a bit off -- the lead is only 5k. Carry on.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

My girlfriend just started blasting Yub Nub on her phone
posted by theodolite at 5:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

I'm putting "Hit The Road, Jack" on repeat for the rest of the day
posted by Zonker at 6:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCKKKK YYYYYYEEEEAAAAAHHHH PHILLLYYYYYYYY!
posted by SansPoint at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I just wanted to tell us all good luck. We're all counting on us.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

> I'm want Biden's lead in Georgia to get past 2021 so I can read all your future history fanfic.

Just when I thought 5594 BCE in Pennsylvania would have been in the Northgrippian age. Is Ancient Holocene Environmental Fanfic a real genre?
posted by runcifex at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yay!! Surely this!
posted by Literaryhero at 6:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about ballots not being counted correctly may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how counting works?
posted by NoneOfTheAbove at 6:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

runcifex it is now
posted by medusa at 6:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Isn't this the part where Otto takes control of the landed plane and flies off with his inflatable friend?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Congrats, Biden ahead by 20k in PA
posted by ersatz at 6:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

oh hell yeah! Yub Nub!
posted by adept256 at 6:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about x may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how x works?
posted by box at 6:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about ballots not being counted correctly may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how counting works?

If you only released the final counts (as we do in the UK) instead of dribbling out gradual results he wouldn't have this "I was ahead and then they cheated!" excuse.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

So the military and overseas ballots are just ballots that have been requested but not returned by the very last day? My guess would be that most of them are not going to materialize. There are always a fair number of people who request absentee ballots and never return them, and that's probably what's going on here.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If the next election thread isn't titled "Surely this..." I swear I am going to literally for sure complain in a comment.
posted by medusa at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [26 favorites]

With Biden now ahead substantially probably to never look back, the AP has to be nervous AF. What do they do now. They should have rescinded their AZ call. Or at least commented further on it once like, everybody else realized Trump can still win the state.

Nah, I think this actually gets the AP out of a jam. Pennsylvania gives Biden the election even without Arizona. They can call PA if they feel like it and call the presidency, and it won't matter that they called AZ too early.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

So, my roller derby team’s cheer is to sing the Rocky theme as loudly and off-key as possible while stomping in our skates. It sounds truly awful and once we accidentally did it right as our hosts were about to start the national anthem, which meant that the crowd got to its feet for us as we started. That’s sort of how I feel right now, and it’s definitely the song that’s going to be running through my head today.
posted by coppermoss at 6:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Decision Desk HQ calls the race for Biden.
posted by ersatz at 6:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Decision Desk calls the race for Biden at 8:50 AM EST
posted by Comrade_robot at 6:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

the AP has to be nervous AF. What do they do now. They should have rescinded their AZ call. Or at least commented further on it once like, everybody else realized Trump can still win the state.

Yeah this is weird. Why not just issue a statement saying you were wrong, so sorry, shouldn't have done that?

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about ballots not being counted correctly may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how counting works?

Well, sure. Example. He seems to think that the phrase "ballot dump" means that a new batch of rigged ballots suddenly appeared from nowhere and that people begin to count them. But it actually seems to be a term of art in the ballot-counting trade for when a batch of ballots, received lawfully by the deadline, is done being counted, and added to the totals.
posted by thelonius at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Guess I’m drinking Moet at 8 am. Boy am I glad I have today off
posted by theodolite at 6:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Well, I was waiting for Philly so I'm off to bed. Thanks all for the company in this historic moment!

Ted, that was probably the lousiest
landing in the history of this airport.
But there are some of us here...
...particularly me, who'd like to buy you
a drink and shake your hand.

posted by mmoncur at 6:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Decision Desk calls the race for Biden at 8:50 AM EST

I...like...is that it? Is it done? Is that IT?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about ballots not being counted correctly may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how counting works?

That would certainly explain his business career.
posted by Grangousier at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Current mood: Don't know what "Decision Desk" is, waiting for fuddy duddy TV networks.
posted by selfnoise at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

sundaydriver, here you go.

House Dems who lost reelection in 2020:

- Donna Shalala, an opponent of Medicare for All and defunding the police.
- Joe Cunningham, an opponent of Medicare for All and defunding the police.
- Xochitl Torres Small, an opponent of Medicare for All and defunding the police.

(1/2)
posted by Ghidorah at 6:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

Will some news organization call this? This has been like staring at a movie and yelling, "Kiss!" for the last two days. I feel as if news organizations have such an abundance of caution it has become a bit of a joke.
posted by geoff. at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Yup. That’s it! Everyone knew Biden would win PA, but no one wants to call it when he’s not actually winning.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020

~~Ted~~Joe, that was probably the lousiest ~~landing~~election in the history of this ~~airport~~country. But there are some of us here...particularly me, who'd like to buy you a ~~drink~~coffee and pretend to shake your hand in a responsibly social-distanced fashion.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

"Joe Biden has been elected the 46th President of the United States of America." Decision Desk HQ. Jesus it's finally over. It's finally over.
posted by os tuberoes at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I...like...is that it? Is it done? Is that IT?

There will be a hopeless lawsuit or two, but, yeah, that’s the ball game. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is your next President of the United States.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

We're all counting on all of us! Congratulations all!
posted by Quagkapi at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Oh you meant like if you asked him to go to the grocery store and come back with 9 bananas and 4 oranges, he couldn't do that? He'd come back and tell you they had many bananas?
posted by thelonius at 6:13 AM on November 6, 2020

OMG we have a POC woman VP!!!
posted by daisyace at 6:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [83 favorites]

Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is your next President of the United States.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, another old white man in charge. Yawn...

I like this headline better:

KAMALA HARRIS IS YOUR NEXT VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [46 favorites]

“You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do.”

― Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake
posted by notoriety public at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [35 favorites]

I just woke up and started reading this thread. I can’t tell if I’m dreaming?!? PINCH ME!!!
posted by sucre at 6:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

....No, I wanna wait for at least one other source to call it. I've been burned.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Decision Desk calls the race for Biden at 8:50 AM EST

I...like...is that it? Is it done? Is that IT?

We got him.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> grocery store

He doesn't know what those are.
posted by joeyh at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about x may just be that he genuinely doesn't give a flying fuck about how x works?
posted by swr at 6:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

sucre, consider yourself pinched.
posted by piyushnz at 6:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm crying. I feel dizzy. I'm laughing. It's intense how good this feels.
posted by meese at 6:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

So if this is in fact real and Biden does in fact win....what I'm seeing on the Twitter is a lot of "and the liberals/left will go to sleep like with Clinton and Obama and we'll just get Biden-led austerity and shitty "bipartisanship". This is always a risk, but:

1. The conditions are different. Things are a lot worse. Things were pretty good for youngish liberal-to-left people in the nineties and early 2000s, despite national events. The segment of the population that can afford to go back to sleep is a lot smaller.

2. There are actual young left Democrats with a national profile now, whereas before the leftest Democrats were older and were often treated as holdovers. There's something being built, which was not the case under Obama or Clinton.

3. The radical movements of the past few years may decline with liberal sleeping, but they won't vanish - the conditions that produced them won't vanish, and the people doing the work have been doing the work. I remember the nineties and early 2000s quite well, and nothing comparable existed - the infrastructure built by BLM-adjacent movements, for instance, is way bigger and has way more reach than anything in the 90s or 2000s.

Material conditions are what make movements, ultimately. It's a mistake to assume that liberals went along with Clinton-era garbage because they didn't have their heads right - oh, they had their heads right, for the value of "right" that is "let's juice the stock market and reduce labor power by getting rid of welfare" and "I'm doing fine, fuck you Jack".

There's not going to be another big sleep because the right and the climate aren't going to sleep.
posted by Frowner at 6:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [42 favorites]

Guys, no one else is calling it. I'm afraid to trust this until at least one other news outlet calls it a done deal.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

My most-favorited comment on MeFi was back in 2018 when, in the midst of a shocked disbelief at the surreal effrontery of it all, I enumerated the many already-known examples of ethical and legal corruption by Trump and asked the following rather cynical question:

It’s all too much. This feels like what it must have been like to live in Ancient Rome under one of its less savory emperors. I can’t even process it all in my mind anymore. At what point does this lunacy end and we get to go back to just being generally dissatisfied and disillusioned with our government?

I would like to retract that earlier cynicism, and answer my own question that here, now, is when we can finally draw the curtain on the Trump lunacy. The transition is likely to be nuts. But at the very least, after January 2021, we can now be assured that we aren’t going to have Donald J. Trump’s insanity careening the country from one crisis to another.
posted by darkstar at 6:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I got my birthday wish! (Pending no take backs.)

I made a vat of very dark, very sweet tea last night and I'm going to drink it all day and eat a sandwich with french fries on it. Also, I ordered a salted caramel cake that I will pick up at noon.

Clayton County and Philly, I'm proud of you both.

(Absolutely giddy to finally have a woman elected to the executive branch! It just took almost 250 years.)
posted by Alison at 6:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Joe, that was probably the lousiest election in the history of this country. But there are some of us here...
posted by leotrotsky at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Tax-free municipal bonds, Ted. I'm talking double-A rating, the best investment in the book...
posted by Zonker at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm reading what you're all reading but I'm so deeply traumatized I'm not sure I can actually believe it until the inauguration and maybe even then.
posted by phunniemee at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

I'm old fashioned. I won't believe it until I see it on the front page of the NY Times.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

...particularly me, who'd like to buy you a drink and shake your hand.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

...and, Joe, I just want you to know, that when the going got tough up there, when the chips were down...
posted by leotrotsky at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Don’t do it. Don’t give me hope.

Call it, you cowards!
posted by dorkydancer at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

1. Let us all praise Stacey Abrams - we are truly, truly lucky to have her on our side.

Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump's conspiracy theories about ballots not being counted correctly may just be that he genuinely doesn't understand how counting works?

I think everyone has had this argument - it gets really involved and intricate and granular and then you have a flash and realize the person you're talking to hasn't the faintest idea what they're talking about. When the former Pres. said you have to stop counting the votes after election day I realized, yet again (like almost every single other time I've had the misfortune of hearing him speak about almost anything at all) he has no idea what the fuck he's saying.
"We were winning, we were expecting to win and then... we weren't... how can that happen?" "Jesus, you fucking turd, it's called losing. You're losing. You've lost."
posted by From Bklyn at 6:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

Great news from Pennsylvania. I suppose Trump will challenge the results in the Supreme Court, but I feel that by the time they get to speak on it, Trump's position will have become unsustainable regardless of the merits of the case. Trump is done. For now.

"CNN reports that a national defence airspace is being established over Biden's home in Wilmington, first trappings of the presidency" (The Guardian's Julian Borger on Twitter)
posted by dmh at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Thank....God. Still want to wait until NPR announces.
posted by glaucon at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

...Loneliness, that's the bottom line. I was never happy as a child. Christmas, Joe, what does it mean to you? For me, it was a living hell. Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked? In the head? By an iron boot? Of course you don't. No one does. That never happens. Sorry, Joe. Dumb question. Strike that.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I'll believe nothing until we get an official denial from Trump.

It would seriously be so sweet if the last entry on the big list of lies was "we won the election".
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

vox.com is also calling it.

https://www.vox.com/2020/11/6/21534594/joe-biden-wins-2020-presidential-election

The victory comes as a massive relief to Biden’s supporters after an anxiety-ridden few days during which a record amount of mail-in ballots were tallied. It also serves as a promise — though certainly not a guarantee — that the high-octane drama of the Trump years might finally be coming to an end.

https://www.vox.com/21500899/president-donald-trump-loses-reality-tv
posted by tilde at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Back in 2010 Harris just eeked out her win for A.G., largely thanks to the third-party clown voters throwing their votes away.

I see her as an Obama-type centrist so while not my first choice for a politician she's on the range of acceptable, so I was happy to see her pull out the win in 2010, and now am rather happily surprised to see her nicely set up for 2024/2028!
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 6:23 AM on November 6, 2020

...and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes, Joe. Neither thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:23 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Look ya'll, these memes and gifs aren't gonna still forever. Call this thing and let's dance before we really have to get back to work!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:23 AM on November 6, 2020

I'm just waiting for Fox News to call it. Not because they're an official source or anything, but because I want to see the atmosphere in the room when it hits them.
posted by Imperfect at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

The late-arriving PA ballots that they're challanging in the supreme court have not been counted yet, so that avenue seems closed to them. (NYT)
posted by joeyh at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I find it interesting that 538 just posted a prediction the EV will end with 306-232 for Biden--exactly the opposite result of 2016.
posted by Freon at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

No, NO. I am not going to breathe, yet. I remember breathing the morning after in 2000 and the memory near kills me every time. I will be holding my breath until tax day at least.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

How a Biden presidency and McConnell-led Senate might actually get along.
posted by robbyrobs at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

EXT. RUNWAY - NIGHT

ROMANTIC MUSIC.

Striker and Elaine are alone on the runway. Behind them is
flight 209. They embrace and kiss as CAMERA ARCS around.
MUSIC SWELLS. Suddenly the ENGINES REV UP. Astonished, they
look up to the cockpit.

EXT. COCKPIT - NIGHT

Automatic pilot is at controls. He salutes Striker and
Elaine and winks at CAMERA.

EXT. RUNWAY - NIGHT

The plane begins to taxi on its belly, shooting off sparks
and making a tremendous scraping SOUND. Arm in arm, Striker
and Elaine wave good-bye as the plane takes off into the
night sky.

posted by leotrotsky at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

I would like to retract that earlier cynicism, and answer my own question that here, now, is when that lunacy ends. ... we can now be assured that we aren’t going to have Donald J. Trump’s insanity guiding the country

But we will. Trump is a symptom, not the sole cause. The cause showed up in record numbers too. QAnon is still huge. Any attempt to bring covid under control will be fought tooth and nail. BLM protesters will continue to be beaten and gassed while heavily armed MAGAs will be given every courtesy.

A battle may have been won but the war will go on.
posted by Candleman at 6:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [27 favorites]

It's inspiring and humbling to realize that we have just watched history being made. The nation has elected, for the very first time in its history, a president from Delaware.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

I suppose Trump will challenge the results in the Supreme Court, but I feel that by the time they get to speak on it, Trump's position will have become unsustainable regardless of the merits of the case.

Is it wrong that I'm kind of picturing that scene from GAME OF THRONES where Sansa finally calls out Lord Bailish when I think of this?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

We have clearance, Clarence!
posted by swift at 6:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

WE WON. Fuck yes.

(The next hour would be amazeballs to be a fly on the wall at the Whitehouse as each media outlet - starting at the smaller ones - declare a win for Biden - savor that image as each nail gets driven into this presidency inflicting more and more despair on our Impeached, One Term, Lame Duck, Outgoing POTUS)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 6:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Please raise your glass for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Lewis. This is for you.
posted by adept256 at 6:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [80 favorites]

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
posted by PhineasGage at 6:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

QAnon is still huge. Any attempt to bring covid under control will be fought tooth and nail. BLM protesters will continue to be beaten and gassed while heavily armed MAGAs will be given every courtesy.

What's our vector, victor?
posted by flabdablet at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

whom do you all see Trump pardoning?
posted by robbyrobs at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

While you wait for the remaining states to be called, consider spending your morning with David Tennant interviewing Stacey Abrams, via this Previously.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2020

Ding-dong the witch is dead.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I see her as an Obama-type centrist....

Not many centrists voting 93% in agreement with Bernie. Amy Klobuchar, for example, is 77% in agreement.
posted by PenDevil at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

As much as I'd love to celebrate and feel the weight lift, it's important to remember that the end results are not determined by major news networks, they are merely projected. IT, the final answer, comes later, after every last ballot is counted and the states give their final counts, and every last legal option has been explored and exhausted or thrown out or won.

This isn't a walk-off homerun, it's a one run lead heading into the bottom of the 8th (we're the home team in my sports metaphor), there's still work to be done, lines to be held, people to be held accountable. Dances and high-fives on the dugout steps, joy and jubilation, for sure, but the game isn't quite over yet, and it's still a long season. Feel the pride we've earned, and get your game faces back on. Don't let them back into the game.

(this baseball metaphor brought to you by the only way my brain functions anymore)
posted by neonrev at 6:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

I told you Pennsylvania would come through. I told you Philly would come through. And it did.

Remember this next time Philly fans boo your sports team.
posted by SansPoint at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

This election is dedicated to Stacy Abrams and Ernie Chambers, who are goddamn fucking rock stars and deserve statues and high schools in their names.
posted by meese at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

This is NOT called on many major networks. I am not celebrating yet, by far.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

I have three other tabs open to do with the US election and all of them have had Biden on either 264 or 253 and Tr*mp on 214 for two fucking days. Please, please change those numbers soon or I will have a heart attack. I just want to close them but I don't want to miss the actual change of number. I swear to og, I know how serious this is, I'm not just obsessing for the fun of it.
posted by h00py at 6:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm still watching the ABC news map, which has been extremely conservative in calling anything, which I like.
The numbers are good but I am happier to have uncertainty and then strong confidence.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

vox.com is also calling it.

Vox is using Decision Desk.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Seconding the tiny frying pan, let's all slow our roll just a bit
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Yeah, the lead is still so precarious I'm not gonna start celebrating just yet. I suppose the answer is "math" but I'm wondering why they're calling it when his lead in PA and GA are just a few thousand points.
posted by bondcliff at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

We should have known Philly would come through in the end. Just ask Santa how they treat guys in red hats.
posted by Freon at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

*exhales*
posted by kyrademon at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

PENNSYLVANIA
posted by bitteschoen at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

biden takes the lead in georgia?

FIRE UP THAT LOUD
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 6:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Hear me out, because this might be sort of obscure: in 1991, there were two Robin Hood movies, the one we all know with Costner and Rickman, and another, with Patrick Bergen, Uma Thurman, and Jurgen Prochnow, and it was just better in nearly every way. There’s a solid strain of paganism/peasants vs the church/crown, to the point that, in the big fight at the end, where there’s all sorts of costumes mayhem going on, in the background, there’s a guy who, naw, it can’t be, and then, when Robin and Marian get married, and you’re shocked when the sun comes out, and you realize that the sun hadn’t shown the whole film, and they kiss, and the camera cuts to that guy, and holy shit, as the sunlight falls across his face, it is The Green Man, and there he is, taking the most glorious deep breath of pure joy at the return of the sun.

So, yeah, that’s the feeling I’m having, that moment of a deep breath as the sun peeks through the clouds in four years. I’m going to let this feeling in for a minute, and I’m going to take a big damn breath, feeling a weight I’ve been carrying, we’ve all been carrying for too damn long.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

I'm watching Fox News. I want to see what that fucker is seeing. Right now they're talking about the "remarkable personal story of Joseph Biden."
posted by maddieD at 6:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

A friend on Facebook just posted "The fat lady is gargling."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

Let’s remember that a sitting Senator on national TV said that the Republican PA legislature choosing its own electors to overturn the election should be on the table.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

you know a bunch of people already have philadelphia covered so let's give pittsburgh a little love too.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 6:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

What the fuck is going on with Fox News? I'm glad that they seem to be behaving relatively responsibly, but I don't understand what's in it for them. I don't believe that Fox News does anything out of the goodness of their hearts, and chaos and disinformation would be better for their ratings.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:38 AM on November 6, 2020

They probably recognise that, in the end, it's a really bad idea to completely fuck up America.
posted by h00py at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fox News is instructing its talent not to call Joe Biden the "President-elect" when the network calls the race
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Agreed, argybarg. Our country has an immunological weakness and there are certain pathogens that always are a risk of getting out of control. But Trump was a particularly virulent opportunistic infection. We’ve all been suffering through a cytokine storm for four years. I’m just glad that our collective immune system was able to finally rally.
posted by darkstar at 6:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Trump is the culmination of that saying from the early 20th Century:

When fascism comes to America, it will be bearing a Cross and wrapped in the flag

That saying leaves out maintaining White political hegemony as a goal, but I think it pretty much sums up the Trump experience.

And Trumpism will be with us long after Trump is gone.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

FOX News is just bailing on the loser and banking on continuing masses of financial support from the elites who are their actual masters. If they shed a few nutjobs it won’t show up on their bottom line, that’s not where the real money comes from.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Ding dong...
posted by PhineasGage at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm betting that the Fox News on-air folks are counting the seconds until they no longer have to take Trump's calls and listen to him blather on during their shows. Oh to be a fly on the wall the first time he calls in and gets shunted off to some luckless functionary instead of being put on the air.
posted by Zonker at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Fox News is instructing its talent not to call Joe Biden the "President-elect" when the network calls the race

Where would they be without their small-minded pettiness?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Do you think he'll preemptively pardon all the kids, or only his favorites?
posted by nobody at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm gonna add to the cautious chorus here - this is by no means resolved until it's resolved in the courts. There will be recounts in several of these states.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Gritty cabinet
posted by geoff. at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Do you think he'll preemptively pardon all the kids, or only his favorites?

Poor Tiffany.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Gene Wilder has something to say to Mr. Trump.
posted by SansPoint at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Pawnbroker: Burnt my fingers, man.

Трамп: I beg your pardon?

Pawnbroker: Man, that watch is so hot, it's smokin'.

Трамп: Hot? Do you mean to imply stolen?

Pawnbroker: I'll give you 50 bucks for it.

Трамп: Fifty bucks? No, no, no. This is a Vostok Amphibia. The least ethically sourced water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unnoteworthy, hand-crafted in the Kremlin, and water resistant to three atmospheres. This is *the* sports watch of the '80s. Sixty thousand, nine hundred and fifty five rubles retail!

Pawnbroker: You got a receipt?

Трамп: Look, it tells time simultaneously in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Omsk, and Gstaad.

Pawnbroker: In Philadelphia, it's worth 50 bucks.
posted by nicoffeine at 6:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Reddit's r/philadelphia fast on the memes:
On The Dawn Of The Third Day, Look To The East
posted by malphigian at 6:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

NO! TRUMP IS NOT AN INFECTION! Trump is a SYMPTOM. The infection is systemic, in the very fucking marrow of the country.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [55 favorites]

where is Nevada in all this mix?
posted by robbyrobs at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2020

Vice President? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Vice President Joe Biden. That was my name.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Nevada will release more results around noon Eastern; Arizona will do likewise around 11 Eastern.
posted by jedicus at 6:50 AM on November 6, 2020

*unclenches*
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

The big dilemma for the GOP will come when Trump demands that the states give him their electors anyway. If they don’t (and I don’t think they will), there will be some Trump voters who will never forgive the GOP establishment.
posted by argybarg at 6:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I fully understand the wise counsel that Trump is a symptom and not the sole cause. I really do; that’s what all the smart people in the room say. But ... he’s kind of a cause, isn’t he? Sure, there were underlying weaknesses, but he’s also an aggressive infective agent, with a uniquely captivating and horrifying panel of relentless traits. He demands attention the way few people do, and many people can’t defend themsekves psychologically.

The underlying causes that led to Trump's rise will still remain after Trump is gone and as a result of the last 4 years of horror, have only become worse *and* will only lead to worse and worse subsequent tyrants. I am terrified of anyone who thinks that all we have to do is get rid of Trump in order for "the family to heal".
posted by Ouverture at 6:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

I mean, if a nightmarish abusive stepfather enters a family and makes people’s lives hell for a while — yes, there was an underlying susceptibility there somewhere. But mostly that abuser fucked people over, and some people yielded to him. Get him the fuck out and the family can heal.

Even before Bad Orange Daddy, a large portion of this family was already violently abusing other family members for generations. Without B.O.D., nothing indicates that the other abusers in the family are motivated to stop abusing. They have built an identy around it

This family was built on racism and genocide that resonates to this very day. It’s in our cultural DNA. Trump made it worse, yes.

But for all the good we are capable of, America has a dark evil stain in our national soul. Probably indelible.

This is America.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Wouldn't it be completely cool if Biden seized the reins of change and just concentrated on the future and in the process changed the trajectory of the world? WOULDN'T THAT BE AMAZING???!! Please let me close these tabs and stop hallucinating. I've been influenced by novels.
posted by h00py at 6:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Dear America,
Congratulations on getting that mess cleaned up. Please never do that again. Now get back to work and for God's sake try to stay out of trouble.
Your good friend,
THe Rest of the World
posted by night_train at 6:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

there will be some Trump voters who will never forgive the GOP establishment

May their schism be long and desolate.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Interesting that Biden got many more votes in swing states than the other Democratic candidates on the same ballot Very unusual as the vote normally goes straight ticket
posted by robbyrobs at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2020

Vox and Decision Desk do not a victory make. I’ll know it’s over when it’s called by all the majors. Or, since I live in south Philly, when a stranger whips a yuengling in my general direction
posted by lazaruslong at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

I fully understand the wise counsel that Trump is a symptom and not the sole cause. I really do; that’s what all the smart people in the room say. But ... he’s kind of a cause, isn’t he? Sure, there were underlying weaknesses, but he’s also an aggressive infective agent, with a uniquely captivating and horrifying panel of relentless traits. He demands attention the way few people do, and many people can’t defend themsekves psychologically.

I don't want to rain on what should be a cathartic parade but I think we really must avoid thinking this way. The kind of dark desires and human frailty that fueled the Trump presidency have been the default in human history and are ascendant the world over today.

Not only are all of the people who supported Trump still around and not going away but many things which kept some of us safe before are now broken and will not be fixed. We aren't smarter or more virtuous than the people in the rest of history and in the rest of the world and it will take both luck and extraordinary effort to pull out of the tailspin this confluence of factors has put us in.
posted by XMLicious at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Holy fuck, it looks like there was a reporting error in one precinct in Iowa's 2nd Congressional district, and it's flipped to the Democrat, who is going to win by about 150 votes. I think I personally contacted 150 Democrats to cure their messed-up absentee ballots. I am only half-jokingly personally claiming responsibility for this victory if it holds.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [169 favorites]

there will be some Trump voters who will never forgive the GOP establishment

feature, not a bug
posted by chavenet at 6:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fox is trying to keep the loyalty of its viewers. There are going to be some very mad people looking for someone to train their fire on, and they’re likely to begin with the perceived GOP establishment.

Yep. Circular firing squads aren't just for the left. People lash out at whomever they can reach.

...and when you consider that somebody has a lot of money to make by giving Trump and family a microphone.

Think about it. Rush Limbaugh is going to be dead soon. I can imagine his team is eying a new Golden Goose.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

look i didn't get any favorites for the first lil jon track i posted so i am going to keep posting additional lil jon videos until such time as the favorites start rolling in.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 6:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Interesting that Biden got many more votes in swing states than the other Democratic candidates on the same ballot Very unusual as the vote normally goes straight ticket

Those weren't pro-Biden votes, I think, so much as anti-Trump votes.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

The disease/infection analogy breaks down, obviously, but it does raise the bigger question of how we expect to heal/cure what fundamentally ails the country at its core. Can this illness, borne of basic human hatred, fear and selfishness, even be “cured”? Or is it only possible, as seems likely, to put into place systems to prevent the symptoms of the illness from getting too far out of control? A discussion for another thread...
posted by darkstar at 6:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Right now I'm hoping for 306 (NC seems like too much to ask) partially because of the symmetry with 2016. Trying to find a happy medium between giddy elation and residual generalized anxiety from 4 years of hell that still hasn't leeched from my body yet. Probably will just settle into a state of calm at some point.

Very much resisting any urge to gloat outside of safe online communities. I feel like many of us in red states have had to adopt somewhat covert identities just in order to avoid having to deal with constant MAGA in real life. Would be nice if we had some semi-secret symbol that we could wear in public so we could know who to give a little cautious thumbs up and happy dance.

A little part of me would sort of love to have a ginormous pickup that I could attach a Biden flag to but living in Texas that seems like a little bit too much living on the edge. I'm not even going to go to places like r/conservative to watch the meltdown going on.
posted by vuron at 6:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Well, there can be underlying conditions that enabled Trump AND he can be a uniquely awful exponent. Sometimes there are non-linear events — runaway feedback loops. But addressing whatever led us to empower him sure wouldn’t be a bad thing.
posted by argybarg at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Holy hell. Bad scene over on Fox News right now. They are not happy. I thought maybe I’d let ‘em roll in the background for a while just for the pleasure of hearing them call it, but yeesh!
posted by HotToddy at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

*unclenches*

Reclench brother, it aint over til it's over.
posted by cashman at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

There is so much work to be done. Today we should celebrate.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

The US Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into allegations the Trump campaign violated federal law by using the White House on Election Day as a command center, according to Reuters. The investigation is in response to a complaint filed by US Representative Bill Pascrell, who represents New Jersey, on Election night.

Yes, lots of work to be done. Let's get on it!
posted by Dashy at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [76 favorites]

What kind of gets me is the difference between the az Senate race and the presidential results. Kelly was called the winner really quickly, on election night! But, of course, we're still waiting for the presidential winner.

I'm guessing: there are people who voted for Trump but then didn't vote in the Senate election?
posted by meese at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2020

current mood
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

CNN is currently reporting on Fox. It’s supremely meta, and weird.
posted by rp at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Wapo's online headline has just said "President" for the last half hour. No idea what that means. DecisionDesk is just as official as NYT, Imma take it because the longer this drags out the more people start listening to the crazy talk regarding fraud and a bad election.
posted by os tuberoes at 7:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Get law & order fired up: The US Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into allegations the Trump campaign violated federal law by using the White House on Election Day as a command center, according to Reuters. The investigation is in response to a complaint filed by US Representative Bill Pascrell, who represents New Jersey, on Election night.

Man, I bet there's a bunch of Justice department lifers who are freaking psyched right now.

Here's hoping they can nail Barr, too.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

I don't have access to either Fox or CNN on broadcast, can someone give an example of the Fox meltdown?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2020

And that was the only folly the people of Springfield ever embarked upon

…except for the popsicle-stick skyscraper
…and the 50-foot magnifying glass
…and that escalator to nowhere
posted by ckape at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

I’m loving the shit out of the Gritty memes. All hail our new orange king!

long played out riff on Bane/Gritty telling Batman/Trump: “You merely adopted orangeness, I was born in it! Raised in it!
posted by Ghidorah at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Just checked on the FB feed of my one remaining evangelical Christian Trump-supporting friend. I don't follow him on FB so I don't see what he is up to most of the time. I saw the phrase Kanye 2024 and had seen enough.
posted by COD at 7:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Now can we put the rose garden back to a rose garden??
posted by robbyrobs at 7:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

let's not forget to thank everyone just waking up in california for running up the popular vote lead

maybe some day california can get to participate in federal elections? that'd be neat
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Don’t forget Cuomo, who has risen as high as he can in NY and would love to make his national career by prosecuting the Trumps for whatever he can think of. I don’t like the guy personally but I’d sure rather he set his sights on that than on picking petty fights with the mayor of NYC.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

I like the idea of Stacey Abrams as Attorney General. For now, the best way I've found to thank her, is to buy her books.

When I first read this a couple hours ago, I interpreted it as “buy books for her” and I imagined Stacey Abrams getting bunches of books in the mail from grateful Democrats from across the country. Took me a couple cups of coffee to realize what you actually meant.
posted by coppermoss at 5:33 AM on November 6 [6 favorites]

Good thing peppermind didn’t want us to feed her cats.
posted by Epixonti at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [41 favorites]

oh hey thanks to houston for making texas a swing state
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

So, Trump pardons himself for all crimes committed while in office and before. The House of Representatives calls him in for some testimony regarding crimes. He can't take the fifth because he is immune from prosecution. If (when) he lies, he is guilty of perjury.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

West Philly reacts to Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania by dancing in the street, of course
posted by parm at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

where is Nevada in all this mix?

Still lazing about in bed.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

*check list of policy positions* sorry, robbyros, but it appears they never promised you a rose garden
posted by phooky at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Surely there's been enough rain?
posted by h00py at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2020

> where is Nevada in all this mix?

trying to pick. maybe something from britney's las vegas residency?
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Nevada is the one friend show says they're on the way, but is actually still in bed.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

parm: My old neighborhood! Miss it!

I grew up in Tacony, in the Northeast, but fuck Tacony. West Philly is Best Philly
posted by SansPoint at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Good thing peppermind didn’t want us to feed her cats.

I'm allergic to cats but I would so feed Stacey Abrams' cats right now.
posted by Fleebnork at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

this one makes me wish we had the img tag
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Hrmm parm that must be a deepfake or something because conservatives have been very clear that urban areas are the equivalent of bombed out warzones with constant looting, rioting and pillaging. They couldn't possibly be providing a false narrative could they?
posted by vuron at 7:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

So, Trump pardons himself for all crimes committed while in office and before.

State crimes can't be pardoned.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

> "I'm guessing: there are people who voted for Trump but then didn't vote in the Senate election?"

In the current count, Kelly has about 37,000 more votes than Biden. McSally has about 20,000 fewer votes than Trump.

So, there were probably some "Trump / not voting in the Senate" voters, but that wouldn't account for Kelly leading Biden. There must has been at least some "Trump / Kelly" voters, and for that matter some "not voting for Biden or Trump for President / Kelly" voters.
posted by kyrademon at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Okay, for Nevada, and for Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris: Tom Jones, She's a Lady
posted by notoriety public at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Or did you mean peppermind's cats? Anyway, I would do chores for Stacey.
posted by Fleebnork at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

where is Nevada in all this mix?

It's bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. But that's not important right now.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [63 favorites]

Fox News on the possibility of Trump conceding:

“He warned about this for months,” the aide said. “The media didn’t take it seriously, and now, here we are with the scenario.”
The aide said, though, that the president “may ultimately concede.”
“He’s just not there yet,” the aide added

posted by exogenous at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm very optimistic about the election outcome, because I think Trump is just done. The spell is broken.

But he is a very dangerous man and as long as he is in power he remains a threat. Misunderestimate him once, shame on me. Misunderestimate him twice... Can't misunderestimate him again.
posted by dmh at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

West Philly reacts to Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania by dancing in the street, of course

please don't set fires or flip cars please don't set fires or flip cars
posted by leotrotsky at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

britney is the queen of las vegas i stand by this choice for nevada
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

That car driving by sounding the happy horn made my day.
posted by filtergik at 7:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm very optimistic about the election outcome, because I think Trump is just done. The spell is broken.

The label "Loser" is kryptonite
posted by leotrotsky at 7:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I'm hearing that my county in TX (Tarrant) went blue for the first time in forever!

I am unexpectedly emotional; I didn't know I could still care. Sniff.
posted by emjaybee at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

results are in it's a landslide for comrade britney
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Even if Trump leaves willingly, and even if he conceded today (he won’t), now we embark on the two most dangerous months of any presidency.
posted by argybarg at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

(Good grief, it just really struck me again how Joe turns 78 in two weeks.)
posted by darkstar at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

State crimes can't be pardoned.

"Mr President, Cy Vance on line one..."
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon: No, no, the Queen of Las Vegas is Cindy Wilson
posted by SansPoint at 7:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I just saw a cheery note on Twitter -

If Trump does lose, come January he becomes a private citizen - and thus is subject to the same rules and regulations Twitter ostensibly applies to everyone, and can therefore be BANNED from Twitter.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [30 favorites]

Doomscrolling —> schadenscrolling

God that is a good feeling
posted by schadenfrau at 7:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos: That probably scares him more than the Deutsche Bank and Cy Vance combined.
posted by SansPoint at 7:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

> "The media didn’t take it seriously ..."

???

Come on, EVERYBODY knew he was going to pull this.
posted by kyrademon at 7:16 AM on November 6, 2020

There’s more than one way to dispose of an Orange Fool!

(Making this right now just because)
posted by kinnakeet at 7:16 AM on November 6, 2020

For the love of all that's holy, let everyone responsible for this long national nightmare FINALLY receive consequences!

(TTTCS)
posted by Space Kitty at 7:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

"Mr President, Cy Vance on line one..."

Vance he can deal with (and certainly has in the past). It's Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, who's giving him nightmares, and who is surely going over some draft indictments at this very moment.
posted by Zonker at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Donald Trump: The Mess Created By Trump Will Be with Us for Years
posted by robbyrobs at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

okay let's get back to the dirty south because holy shit the democrats took georgia
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

He is the Campbell Newman of American politics.
posted by h00py at 7:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Trump lawyers are almost certainly reaching out behind the scenes with some sort of offer for Trump to concede the election as long as Biden commits to not pursuing any sort of federal prosecutions against Trump or people in his immediate circle.

Of course that doesn't help him in regard to NY but it's better for him than nothing. I also assume that any sort of Presidential pardon from Pence would not protect him from the penalties related to Tax Fraud but if there is a lawyer around I assume they might be able to venture a guess.

However it's entirely possible that Trump is as deranged and clueless as the character he's played on screen the last 6+ years so he might actually believe the Q nonsense the right is pushing right now to undermine any sort of Biden administration.
posted by vuron at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

For the love of all that's holy, let everyone responsible for this long national nightmare FINALLY receive consequences!

What? Why stop the *checks notes* centuries-long streak of the unimaginably powerful evading accountability for their equally unimaginable atrocities now?
posted by Ouverture at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I'm trying to find current results for the Ossoff/Perdue race. 538 has Perdue ahead by 2% points. Do they need to be closer for a recount?
posted by ishmael at 7:19 AM on November 6, 2020

okay let's get back to the dirty south yt because holy shit the democrats took georgia

I'm watching this sequence from Creed to mentally support Philly from afar.
posted by Ouverture at 7:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

As a side note I'd just like to suggest that the most significant long-term outcome of this election will be that it taught Americans how to form an orderly and good-natured queue.
A remarkable development that augurs well for the future.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

where is Nevada in all this mix?

Well, it appears that at this moment in time, what happened in Vegas is staying in Vegas.
posted by invincible summer at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

in honor of las vegas let's have some champagne and doggy chow
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

For those seeking material for their playlists, I see that today is John Philip Sousa’s birthday. Just a suggestion.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

ishmael: Perdue needs to be over 50% to avoid a recount, regardless of how far behind Ossoff is. I think we're guaranteed a runoff at this point.
posted by Jeanne at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Trump lawyers are almost certainly reaching out behind the scenes with some sort of offer for Trump to concede the election as long as Biden commits to not pursuing any sort of federal prosecutions against Trump or people in his immediate circle.

Tell him "sure" and then renege in January. A promise made to an honourless cur is hardly binding.
posted by atrazine at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

I don't know, I think Trump might have uniquely pissed off enough people to actually face consequences once he no longer has any power.
posted by JDHarper at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

As for Nevada, Trump never could get near a casino without losing everything.
posted by adept256 at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Ishmael - Georgia has automatic runoffs in all races other than the Presidency if neither candidate passes 50%. So doesn't really matter if Perdue is ahead if he doesn't get to that threshold. As of this moment Osoff-Perdue and Warnock-Loeffler will happen as special elections.
posted by vuron at 7:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Man, if McConnell loses his gavel, this will be the icing on the cake. Go Georgia. Lewis would be so proud.
posted by effluvia at 7:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

NV has probably finished counting and is just waiting for the others, since if they announced now it would make AP look bad, since they've already called AZ. Once PA and GA announce too, then they can speak up.
posted by Melismata at 7:25 AM on November 6, 2020

thank god we can finally stop staring at electoral college maps and think about the really important maps
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

abc has:
Candidate Party Total Votes Pct.
D. Perdue* Rep. 2,449,502 50%
J. Ossoff Dem. 2,351,092 48%
S. Hazel Oth. 113,768

so Perdue is currently 15,358 votes above 50%, with 2% (100,000?) votes remaining

(Hazel is a conservative running as a Libertarian)
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 7:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

*/me looks up from copy of Nuns Life magazine.*

Did I miss anything?
posted by kaibutsu at 7:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

Ok everybody, once they call this, take the weekend to celebrate and catch your breath, then join Project Fair Fight and start contacting voters in GA for these special elections!
posted by KGMoney at 7:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Biden's lead in Pennsylvania has grown to 6,826 BCE according to the Guardian. We're well past the 8.2kya event and approaching the Upper Pleistocene.
posted by runcifex at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Man, if McConnell loses his gavel, this will be the icing on the cake. Go Georgia. Lewis would be so proud.

Georgia is a tough nut to crack in a run-off. Hopefully there's some Republican in-fighting and spoiling by Trump.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

It would be pretty great if people would just shout at him, "you're fired," whenever they see him in public, forever.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

I think you could say Trump had a unique appeal to Republican base of white voters that started to form with Nixon's moral majority in the 60's. His willingness to the say the quiet part out loud massively increased his popularity with that group. His status as an outsider and media savvy from being a reality TV star also likely was deeply appealing to right leaning people dissatisfied with the Republican party. In a way he was an evil version of Obama in that he was a charismatic figure who could juice turnout amongst the Republican base in the same way Obama increased turnout amongst Democratic leaning voters. I am anxious to see whether or not other Republicans can replicate his draw amongst their base. Certainly this election shows that they (Republicans) can't rely exclusively on the white base to win national elections anymore.

Still, its tough for me to be completely happy because McConnell still is going to basically have veto power over anything the Democrats try to do. Plus, it seems like "centrists" within the Democratic party are eager to blame the "left" for every electoral failing of theirs. Biden ran a centrist campaign the specifically disavowed the left. Chuck Schumer got every centrist Senate candidate he wanted. Yet, its still the left's fault. Was it the left's fault in 2010? In 2014? It's depressing. We desperately need aid and Covid relief from the federal government, but now it looks like we may not get it.
posted by eagles123 at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

It would be greater if people ignored him — his worst punishment.
posted by argybarg at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

>There must has been at least some "Trump / Kelly" voters

I voted Gore/Campbell (instead of Feinstein) in 2000 for some strange reason. Hey, it was my first election
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2020

There are also about ~900 write-in votes in the Senate race that skew the numbers a little; including those, Perdue is at 49.83% right now.
posted by Jeanne at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2020

For a Georgia run-off, I wonder where the enthusiasm will go? I'm guessing that there are Trump-only voters who are unlikely to turn out if he's not on the ballot.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2020

As far as pardon scenarios, I don't think Trump's ego would allow him to actually do this, but over the last four years I've repeatedly contemplated a “pardon nuclear option” in which Trump simply pardons everyone everywhere who has ever committed a pardonable offense, for the purpose of sowing utter chaos supervillain-style.
posted by XMLicious at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

thatwhichfalls: "how to form an orderly and good-natured queue."

queue-Anon
posted by chavenet at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

McConnell and the others are more willing to compromise with Biden, since he is white.
posted by Melismata at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

okay this one goes out to all you libs and centrists who can't handle blasting lil jon before noon.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

It would be greater if people ignored him — his worst punishment.

I think prison and not having Twitter would be the most horrendous punishment his warped mind could experience. War criminals and the hyper-wealthy are the two exceptions I make for prison abolition.
posted by Ouverture at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

McConnell and the others are more willing to compromise with Biden, since he is white.

Tell that to Bill Clinton.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Man, if McConnell loses his gavel, this will be the icing on the cake. Go Georgia. Lewis would be so proud.

Georgia is a tough nut to crack in a run-off. Hopefully there's some Republican in-fighting and spoiling by Trump.

I apologize as I don't know much about Georgia politics, but given that Republicans currently have the plurality though not the majority in both Georgia races (Perdue by +2 points, Loeffler + Collins together by +13.1 points over Warnock in the special election), wouldn't the most likely result in a two-person race be a Republican majority? Unless we are expecting major differences in turnout?
posted by andrewesque at 7:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Nixon's moral majority in the 60's

I believe that would be the "silent majority."

Moral majority was Falwell.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Trump. Won't. Go. To. Prison. That's the craziest thing I hear on Metafilter on the regs.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Georgia is going to be a tough set of elections to win but it might be possible. Also keep in mind that it's likely that the SCOTUS ruling on the ACA might happen before the special elections. I think if there is suddenly a ruling invalidating all of the ACA and thereby removing all protections against insurance companies in regards to pre-existing conditions and the extension of insurance benefits to dependents below a certain age there could be enough of a backlash to make a big difference since there would be a material issue on the table to campaign on.

Plus the negative campaign ads against the likely incidents of insider trading by Perdue and Loeffler might also be a worthwhile issue to exploit.
posted by vuron at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

McConnell and the others are more willing to compromise with Biden, since he is white

No, I assure you, they are not.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

Traditionally, Georgia Republicans have had better turn-out than Democrats in run-offs.

Stacey Abrams may change that.
posted by donpardo at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

One thought about Georgia is that Republican turnout in the general election was largely energized by Trump, who won't be on the ballot in the runoff and who has nothing to gain by getting involved.
posted by Zonker at 7:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Yes, that's the most likely result, but run-offs, like special elections, are weird. Turnout was INSANE for this election, that's unlikely to repeat. Republicans tend to benefit from lower turnout, and Democrats from higher turnout, but that should have pointed to a blue wave election, which we didn't get. Which implies some of those unlikely voters turned out to vote for Trump.

The question is, who can better maintain enthusiasm?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

>Loeffler + Collins together by +13.1 points over Warnock

for that race there were too many candidates on the ballot to count visually, 10+ with over 40,000 votes right now...
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I suspect that when Trump can't harm them we'll be hearing people open up about a lot more egregious crimes soon.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

The issue in GA senate runoff is turnout. Dems sadly don't show up in runoffs like they do in generals.

But if we could briefly elect a Dem in Alabama to the senate, anything is possible.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

wouldn't the most likely result in a two-person race be a Republican majority? Unless we are expecting major differences in turnout?

Yes in general, but there are factors that could go the other way: a month to register voters in Georgia, two months to campaign and get out the vote, plus the possibility that Republican dejection and infighting will outweigh the energizing effect of wanting to prevent a Democratic majority.
posted by jedicus at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Biden campaign statement: "As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House."
posted by SansPoint at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

Trump. Won't. Go. To. Prison. That's the craziest thing I hear on Metafilter on the regs.

Why not?
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Trump. Won't. Go. To. Prison. That's the craziest thing I hear on Metafilter on the regs.

Yeah, I have no realistic hope after Obama declined to prosecute CIA torturers. But it's day 3 of a fever dream and I may as well ~share the intention~.
posted by Ouverture at 7:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

This column in Libération this morning has some good energy:

Voir Trump partir, menottes aux mains

It's paywalled, but you can see the main payoff -- the headline: "See Trump leave, in handcuffs."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Trump, who won't be on the ballot in the runoff and who has nothing to gain by getting involved.

Except vengeance.
posted by donpardo at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

John Philip Sousa Grave Ceremony - 165th Birthday (2019)

"The President's Own" will pay homage to its 17th Director John Philip Sousa at Congressional Cemetery, located at 1801 E Street, SE in Washington, D.C., on the 165th anniversary of his birth. This annual musical tribute will include Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever," and "Semper Fidelis.

posted by mikelieman at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Conventional wisdom is that Democrats benefit from high turnout, because Republicans are reliable voters and Democrats are not. But that's not how it seems to have worked in this election: there were a lot of low-frequency Republican voters, which is part of why the polling was messed up. The likely voter formulas didn't work, because unreliable Republican voters showed up in unexpectedly high numbers. It's not clear what that means for a run-off, but the conventional wisdom that Republicans have an edge in low-turnout elections is probably not right at the moment.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

If you wanted to continue to watch GA's Gabriel Sterling continue to talk.
posted by cashman at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2020

How America's election count looks to the rest of the world
posted by robbyrobs at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

I reckon if a GA runoff result would allow that one state to flip the Senate and thus have Dem control of all three sections of government, it's going to be an incredible turnout on both sides. And if Dem voters are more informed and energized by the possibilities, I think it would be pretty easy to flip. Feeling the power of actually being able to make a major change to the course of a country by taking one small personal action would be like catnip.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Yeah, I have no realistic hope after Obama declined to prosecute CIA torturers. But it's day 3 of a fever dream and I may as well ~share the intention~.

There was some value to Obama maintaining the goodwill of the intelligence community.

Trump's issue is he has no friends or allies. Why would anyone go to bat for him now?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

This was a blue wave election, Dem turnout was gangbusters. But there was ALSO a red wave. It wasn't as big as the blue wave but it was still there. If us Dems hadn't been balls to the wall this election, if we hadn't been "hypermobilized," this wouldn't have happened. GO US. :D
posted by rue72 at 7:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [41 favorites]

There is an unspoken proscription against imprisoning political opponents. It is a hell of a threshold to cross, a dangerous one. Trump certainly deserves it, but I’d rather see NY take it on.
posted by argybarg at 7:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Conventional wisdom is that Democrats benefit from high turnout, because Republicans are reliable voters and Democrats are not. But that's not how it seems to have worked in this election: there were a lot of low-frequency Republican voters, which is part of why the polling was messed up. The likely voter formulas didn't work, because unreliable Republican voters showed up in unexpectedly high numbers. It's not clear what that means for a run-off, but the conventional wisdom that Republicans have an edge in low-turnout elections is probably not right at the moment.

Hopefully the "Trump effect" stops once its clear he's not going to continue in office. Even in 2018 there was high turnout in rural areas that helped the Republicans, even though they lost ground overall. I'm afraid Georgia is going to be tough though.
posted by eagles123 at 7:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I think the big question is how much of the Republican turnout was driven by the cult of personality around Trump and will fail to materialize when Trump isn't on the ballot. Who the fuck knows? But I truly don't think that Democratic turnout was driven by a cult of personality around Biden (hah!), although there may be an equal-and-opposite thing where it was driven by animus against Trump. We'll see. That Georgia run-off is going to be interesting.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I think Trump is going to perform a lot of divisive shit in the next few weeks that may tamp down Georgia (and other) Republicans' enthusiasm.

For example, I think he's going to get the vaccine about January and say "Screw you" to distribution efforts.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

The thing is, the Trumpers are starting to bray about being betrayed by the GOP establishment. Trump himself would have no incentive to help the GOP in Georgia, and a lot of his true believers might stay home in protest. I like our odds in the runoffs.
posted by Zonker at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

The Trump family, starting with Fred, has been a cancer on the state of New York for almost a century. It’s only fitting that they get to be the ones to bury the fuckers.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

So I guess the primary voters of South Carolina were right after all, those many months ago, to give the Democrats the oldest, whitest possible of old white man, knowing that was the only candidate that enough of America was ready to accept.
posted by clawsoon at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

If there is even the slightest chance Trump is liable to see federal jail time post Biden's inauguration he will definitely resign and let Pence pardon him (I think there is enough ambiguity about the ability to pardon oneself that not even Trump's ego would have him risk it).

However without political control over something like the IRS I think we could see some sort of ruling against Trump in regards to his blatant tax evasion (and fraud). This would quite likely ruin him as he'd be even less likely to get the sort of loans that he currently depends on to keep his house of cards afloat. Deutsche Bank is already going to drop him likely because they know if they don't there will probably be some investigation that could reveal money laundering or other sorts of sketchy financial dealings.

If I have to trade no Trump wearing a Orange Jumpsuit for the Trump organization being utterly destroyed and the odious members of his family being financial ruined it would be totally worthwhile.
posted by vuron at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Trump certainly deserves it, but I’d rather see NY take it on.

New York took El Chapo. I assure you we can deal with Trump.
posted by swift at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Plus, it seems like "centrists" within the Democratic party are eager to blame the "left" for every electoral failing of theirs. Biden ran a centrist campaign the specifically disavowed the left. Chuck Schumer got every centrist Senate candidate he wanted. Yet, its still the left's fault. Was it the left's fault in 2010? In 2014? It's depressing. We desperately need aid and Covid relief from the federal government, but now it looks like we may not get it.

I consider that my job now, as a 30something from a left- liberal family, is to make it clear to my older loved ones just why I’m dissatisfied with the party that theoretically represents me. I need them to understand that “back to normal” (by which they mean “back to the Obama years”) is not a message that resonates with a generation defined by the financial crisis. “Back to normal” means my life will never look like theirs. I will never have a home like theirs. My life expectancy will be lower than theirs. I may never be able to afford to give them great-nieces and nephews. And did I mention the planet is burning?

Their “back to normal” is dead and it isn’t coming back. It needs to be replaced.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [73 favorites]

Yeah I think a lot of dust is going to have to settle before we have any idea how the runoffs in Georgia will go. We don't know yet:

- the final margins in GA when all the votes are counted
- how far Trump takes his grievances before (if ever) conceding
- whether the R candidates in GA will support Trump's fraud claims or dismiss them, and whether either tack pisses off enough Republicans to matter
- what kind of civil unrest happens in the aftermath
- how Trump governs in the lame-duck
- whether a stimulus bill gets passed in the lame-duck
- whether SCOTUS strikes down Obamacare in the lame-duck
- whether the Democrats can get some draft legislation (ACA repair, stimulus) off the ground in the lame-duck to become focal points for the runoffs
- the various things that we don't know we don't know yet

A lot can and will happen in the next 8 weeks.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Pence can't pardon him for the crimes in New York. That would fall to Governor Cuomo, who seems as likely to do that as the sun is likely to turn purple and start pulsing to the beat of "I Want a New Drug"
posted by SansPoint at 7:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Can we focus back on now instead of Trump's possible future?
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

tell donald, i want him to know it was me
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

If we're doing playlists, add Dynamite!
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

That stat about "the last time an incumbent" is completely wrong... 1980 Reagan v Carter, 1992 Clinton v Bush Sr.
posted by kokaku at 7:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Their “back to normal” is dead and it isn’t coming back. It needs to be replaced.

I ask anyone who was ever satisfied with "back to normal" to look at the deep blue cities in deep blue states and really deeply think about why there are still so many people suffering from housing and food insecurity along with white supremacist cops. Why does it still suck to be poor in these places, especially as a person of color or as a queer person (and especially as both)?

Neutral or normal in a train that is always moving towards white supremacy, material deprivation, and ecological collapse is still...really, really fucking bad.
posted by Ouverture at 7:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

Anyone heard about the expected schedules of more counts? I think AZ or NV has a release at noon, if I'm not mistaken? Also, are GA and PA going to continue with their trickle approach all day/evening?
posted by unid41 at 7:52 AM on November 6, 2020

From Christopher Nichols, historian @ Oregon State U: [If things end up the way they're looking right now] The last time an incumbent president was trounced this badly was in 1932. Biden's vote share is going to be the highest for a single candidate running against an incumbent since FDR obliterated Hoover in the midst of the Depression.

I think this underscores how insanely unrepresentative the US government and voting system is of the US population. Compare the electoral map of this election to the electoral map in 1932. The Republicans have won the popular vote exactly once since 1988, yet they still basically dictate policy in this country.
posted by eagles123 at 7:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

> you know a bunch of people already have philadelphia covered so let's give pittsburgh a little love too

The first 40 seconds of that video are literally Mr. Rogers starting to do a striptease. I'm not sure how disturbed I should be.

Also: I'm going to say it's called and done, not just because of Vox and Decision Desk, but also because it just makes too much sense. Who can still come up with a reasonable way back for Trump?

So c'mon, are we Democrats or not? Let's start obsessing about random weak-ass court challenges, and how Georgia will immediately proceed to break our hearts again in the runoff elections.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

And for anyone worried about any kind of "faithless electors" scenario, Statement from the PA Senate & House Republican leaders:

"We have said it many times and we will happily say it again: The Pennsylvania General Assembly does not have and will not have a hand in choosing the state’s presidential electors or in deciding the outcome of the presidential election.

To insinuate otherwise is to inappropriately set fear into the Pennsylvania electorate with an imaginary scenario not provided for anywhere in law — or in fact.

Pennsylvania law plainly says that the state’s electors are chosen only by the popular vote of the commonwealth’s voters."
posted by soundguy99 at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [44 favorites]

For those of us focused on changing the Democratic party to being more progressive, of course that was a secondary concern this election rather than getting rid of the orange menace. Expect people like me to put a lot more effort and money into primaries for the 2022 election.
posted by benzenedream at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Arizona reporting 75k ballots in the next 5-10 mins or so, apparently.
posted by cashman at 7:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

45 may not end up in prison. He may well have a(nother) stroke once Biden declares victory and his adoring public and fawning sycophants start abandoning him.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:57 AM on November 6, 2020

Pelosi just called it.
posted by os tuberoes at 7:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

My fantasy, not an actual quote, folks: VP Harris presiding over the Senate to McConnell: "Nevertheless, she persisted".
posted by effluvia at 7:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I can't remember where I read it in regards to SC primary voters but many African-Americans particularly the older generation are completely pragmatic regarding how electable a candidate is and exactly how far to the left they can realistically achieve before white voters abandon a Democratic candidate. Basically it seems like they were making an electability calculation that was predicated on the idea that youth vote will always underperform and that despite apparent discomfort on the part of white voters with Trump that any sort of backlash against him especially from white women might be dramatically overstated.

If the exit polling is correct and I honestly have some doubts about it, there appears to be quite a bit of validity to those assessments. To a large percentage of the country Trump is basically the messiah and even though Trump is getting destroyed in the national popular vote we are very heterogeneous in our demographic composition so you have to nominate someone that can win in PA/MI/WI whether or not that person is progressive enough for your personal preferences.
posted by vuron at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Pelosi just called WHAT?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Now impeach him for election interference and sedition.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

And if Mitch is still going along with his bullshit, impeach/try him too.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Pelosi just referred to President-elect Biden on a live presser. Apologies.
posted by os tuberoes at 7:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

can't we have the img tag just for this one?
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Heywood Mogroot III me too and it was also my first election! I blame the Dead Kennedys for souring me forever on Feinstein.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

That stat about "the last time an incumbent" is completely wrong... 1980 Reagan v Carter, 1992 Clinton v Bush Sr.

The stat was referring to popular vote share. Reagan's landslide electoral college win was from a 50.7% vote share, and Clinton didn't even crack 45%. Biden's currently at 50.5%, and will get to at least 51% once California's done counting.
posted by bassooner at 8:02 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

That stat about "the last time an incumbent" is completely wrong... 1980 Reagan v Carter, 1992 Clinton v Bush Sr.

The historian dude said vote share, so:

1932, FDR gets 57.4% of the votes cast against incumbent Hoover
1936-44 FDR, incumbent, wins
1948 No incumbent, Truman wins
1952 No incumbent, Ike wins
1956 Incumbent Ike wins
1960 No incumbent, JFK wins
1964 Incumbent LBJ wins
1968 No incumbent, Nixon wins
1972 Incumbent Nixon wins
1976 Carter beats incumbent Ford with 50.1%
1980, Reagan gets 50.7% (he might've done better if John Anderson wasn't also running), and he wasn't the incumbent
1984 Incumbent Reagan wins
1988 No incumbent, Poppy Bush wins
1992, Bill Clinton manages to win with 43% of the popular vote (ditto, except with Ross Perot), and he wasn't the incumbent.
1996 Incumbent Clinton wins
2000 No incumbent, Shrub wins*
2004 Incumbent Shrub wins
2008 No incumbent, Obama wins
2012 Incumbent Obama wins
2016 No incumbent, Trump wins

Per Google, Biden's sitting at 50.5% right now, which is more than Carter had in 1976 (which is, unless I missed one, the only time since 1932 that someone beat an incumbent president (unless one chooses to include times that a sitting vice president ran for president the next time around)). I'm going to go with historian dude.
posted by box at 8:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

From 538:
Just got a batch of ballots in Arizona that will be disappointing for Trump. Trump wins by just 6 points in Maricopa County, out of almost 62,000 votes. He needed to win them by more like 20 points. Big news. I think Biden is the clear favorite in Arizona now.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [30 favorites]

Or, to put that another way, let's go back a little further to 1920, when the person who won the presidency was freaking Warren G. Harding. In the past hundred years, there have been five times that an incumbent president lost an election--after the Great Depression, after Watergate, after malaise, after the first Gulf War, and after the Trump presidency.
posted by box at 8:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I was compulsively refreshing AJC's live coverage (Atlanta Journal Constitution). "Joy scrolling" indeed. I also appreciate the clear use of "lies." In chronology....

Thur Nov 5
8:30 p.m. Secretary of state’s office touts election security measures
As President Donald Trump wrapped up an inaccuracy-laden speech this evening that questioned the integrity of the voting system in Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state, issued a press release touting the Georgia’s election security measures.

9:00 p.m. Collins, Trump Jr. echo false claims of election tampering
As President Donald Trump’s reelection chances dimmed, his son and other Republicans held a rally in Buckhead repeating his lies claiming Democrats tried to steal the election.

Fri Nov 6
4:21 a.m. Latest vote count puts Biden on top in presidential race
Former Vice President Joe Biden opened up a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia early Friday morning as absentee ballots continued to be counted.

9:45 a.m. Biden’s lead grows to 1,100
Former Vice President Joe Biden is slowly growing his lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, where he currently has a 1,097 vote-edge.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

box: What about George H. W. Bush? He only had one term.
posted by SansPoint at 8:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

In the past hundred years? I count Hoover, Ford, Carter and Bush 1 and now Trump.
posted by argybarg at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2020

Edited to include HW--I knew I forgot somebody.
posted by box at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2020

Or, to put that another way, let's go back a little further to 1920, when the person who won the presidency was freaking Warren G. Harding. In the past hundred years, there have been three times that an incumbent president lost an election--after the Great Depression, after Watergate, and after the Trump presidency.

How was GHW Bush not the incumbent in 92?
posted by leotrotsky at 8:13 AM on November 6, 2020

CNN reporting that extra Secret Service agents on the way to Wilmington, in expectation of a Biden victory.
posted by swift at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Didn't Clinton beat an incumbent ghw bush in 1992?
posted by kaibutsu at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2020

Wow, I'm really bad at this incumbent-losing-counting thing.
posted by box at 8:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Ford was never elected. Carter counts, though.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2020

Am I looking at this wrong, or is Senate control still in play? I thought Tillis had SC won, but it looks like it could flip and give us a 49-49 tie going into the GA runoffs. Please tell me there's still hope for getting taking away McConnell's stranglehold??
Edit: NC not SC
posted by Dojie at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Biden's accomplishment this election was very significant. I know we wanted FL, TX, NC, etc to turn blue but it's very important to understand exactly how much of a structural advantage incumbency and the structural makeup of the EC are for Trump.

Do I have concerns about where Biden's campaign split their time and money in the endgame? Yes. Do I think there is a serious need to re-evaluate how Democrats engage with Hispanic voters by treating them less like a monolith and more like a convenient grouping of very diverse ethnic groups that are mainly lumped together based upon history and a shared language? Definitely. Am I comfortable with the tendency of Democrats to punch left a lot? Not at all.

There is a lot to be done in the wake of this election to assess what went right and what went wrong. I think that goes double for the Democrat's strategy in the Senate and House. Yes capturing the senate was always going to be an uphill climb and projection of winning it seem to be predicated on polling numbers that seem to have significant issues but there appears to be a lot of missteps in place regarding how Democrats used resources and ran campaigns. One critical thing is that we probably need make sure that we can recruit candidates that can keep it in their pants (thanks Cunningham).
posted by vuron at 8:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

IIRC, Ross Perot was a pretty big spoiler in 1992. I would not be surprised if Clinton's victory there wasn't with a majority of the popular vote.
posted by Zalzidrax at 8:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Big news everyone: CNN have updated their main headline from "Biden on the brink of 270" to "Biden on the verge of 270"!
posted by piyushnz at 8:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

That Sousa grave ceremony was unexpectedly, really moving--thanks for posting that, mikelieman.

Being a band kid got me started as a musician, so I have a real soft spot for anything band or band music anyway, but something about the simple, respectful event, Sousa's own music played graveside by some of the best wind & percussion players in the world (literally, the President's Own is a virtuosic ensemble), to honor a fellow musician who died almost a century ago, is just really really sweet and respectful and somehow the antithesis of everything that Donald Trump has done to our country and its government.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Someone has to do this....

MEFITES, TAKE THE DAY OFF!!!
posted by goalyeehah at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

The thing is, the Trumpers are starting to bray about being betrayed by the GOP establishment.

This is what I am most looking forward to: seeing the full strength of Trump’s combined narcissistic rage and platform unleashed on the GOP, right in time for the GA run offs.

If I were running things, I’d make damn sure the Dems ditched these fucking Marquess of Queensbury or whoever the fuck rules and actually went to war. Targeted negative ads on social media about how Loeffler and Purdue are both crooks who used Trump to make money off of Covid and then stabbed him in the back when the Democrats came for them. Show them you’re loyal to Trump by writing in Trump’s name! Or whatever. And then a bunch more like that, while Stacey Abrams gets to do her good work on the side of the better angels.

And then pack the courts. And add all current territories as states in one bill / fell swoop. And investigate and prosecute everyone who warrants it, including sitting Senators and Justices.

And laugh the whole time as the GOP’s very own rabid shit weasel tears them to shreds from the inside out.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [37 favorites]

CNN have updated their main headline from "Biden on the brink of 270" to "Biden on the verge of 270"!

Not cromulent enough, they should really commit and go with "Biden verges 270!"

Verbing weirds language
posted by LooseFilter at 8:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Am I looking at this wrong, or is Senate control still in play? I thought Tillis had SC won, but it looks like it could flip and give us a 49-49 tie going into the GA runoffs. Please tell me there's still hope for getting taking away McConnell's stranglehold??

SC unlikely to flip. There are enough provisional ballots outstanding to make a difference, but they don't all get returned.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:23 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Dojie is Senate control still in play?

Yes, it's currently tied 48-48. If the runoffs in Georgia both go to democrats, Biden will have a 50 seat majority. North Carolina still hasn't been called but will likely go to republicans.
posted by zixyer at 8:23 AM on November 6, 2020

Can we make sure that the Secret Service agents being sent to protect Biden are not part of the detail that regularly interacts with the Trump White House? I'd really rather not introduce a disease vector imported from the WH petri dish.

I have no idea how any Biden transition team is going to interact with the Trump administration if the Trump White House seems to refuse to follow any sort of reasonable levels of COVID containment out of some crazy levels of toxic masculinity. Can they do most of the work via Zoom/Teams? Obviously that wouldn't be appropriate for more security sensitive transition work though.
posted by vuron at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

He is the Campbell Newman of American politics.
posted by h00py

I was thinking Adam Giles.

------

There is an unspoken proscription against imprisoning political opponents.
posted by argybarg

Especially when they are actually guilty.

It is a hell of a threshold to cross, a dangerous one.

Pearl clutching and deeply furrowed brows, followed by earnest extending of the hand of bipartisanship and reconciliation don't seem to be working out too well either.
posted by Pouteria at 8:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

And laugh the whole time as the GOP’s very own rabid shit weasel tears them to shreds from the inside out.
posted by schadenfrau at 8:20 AM on November 6 [6 favorites −] [!]

Well. That was viscerally eponysterical
posted by From Bklyn at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Arizona keeps yanking Trump's chain. Drops a count where Trump is just below the trend needed, drops another smaller count that's 58-42 towards Biden.

I swear they're getting revenge for dumping on their favorite son.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

There is an unspoken proscription against imprisoning political opponents.
posted by argybarg

You don't get a free pass to commit crimes because you run for office.

See Illinois' illustrious history of governors.

Heck, even Agnew had to take a plea deal to avoid prison.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

For my friends, the law - because they haven’t done crimes. For my enemies, also the law, because they have.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

> I have no idea how any Biden transition team is going to interact with the Trump administration if the Trump White House seems to refuse to follow any sort of reasonable levels of COVID containment out of some crazy levels of toxic masculinity.

the bugs i'm worried about aren't coronaviruses, they're whatever fucky high-tech shit lavrov planted. they're going to have to tear the whole white house apart and then put it back together to have any hope of the building being fit for classified discussions.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

4 million votes and it’s down to the wire. Fuck this dumb system.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

> What am I not understanding?

people would be freaking out about the chance of biden losing arizona if he didn't also have pennsylvania and georgia. but since georgia is pretty solid and pennsylvania is very solid, arizona's just gravy on top.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

> Pearl clutching, deeply furrowed brows, and extending the hand of bipartisanship and reconciliation don't seem to be working out too well either.

The answer is not to normalize banana-republic dictator behavior, and to have the federal government further piss off 65m+ Republicans (many of whom are armed), by attempting to put their guy in jail no matter how guilty his ass actually is. The answer is to let a state government take care of it.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 8:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

How is Georgia solid? The lead is so small. I am confused.
posted by bleary at 8:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

But if we let state governments handle it we don’t get our movie ending!

I want my movie ending!
posted by glaucon at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

There was a beautiful thread on twitter showing that nearly all of the seats in the house and senate that were lost were lost by big names that had come out against both of those things.

Well, yeah - a lot of the people pushing this narrative are the people who lost those races, blaming it on... somebody else.

But no, I’m not sure you get to do that when the guy at the top of the ticket explicitly represents the repudiation of the idea of Democrats being too radical.
posted by atoxyl at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

> How is Georgia solid? The lead is so small. I am confused.

there's not very many ballots left, and among those there's not enough potentially trump-leaning ballots left to have a reasonable chance of counteracting the biden landslide in atlanta.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Really good to look at this list of winning Run For Something candidates - look at the County Recorders, school board members, water district commissioners, and other folks in LOTS of states who will be pushing voter rights, education and environmental policy in a progressive direction!

Are any of you in the PoliticsFilter Slack? How is Chrysostom doing?
posted by brainwane at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

"Finally, a Bonfire Night that ends with a Catholic in charge."
- Chris Cook [Twitter]
posted by Morfil Ffyrnig at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Am I wrong for being super nervous about Maricopa? Biden's 3.2% lead still feels precarious, given the differential for the other dem counties in AZ. Why are people so sure that it'll be maintained with so many still to count - is that projection based on polls, exits or previous vote patterns? What am I not understanding?

Trump needs to start doing better than he currently is. He needs to be winning the remaining votes 58:42 but he's only one the last couple 52:48 and there are believed to be mainly mixed votes in Maricopa County and Democrat-leaning votes from Pima County left. It's tight (and so not declared by most) but pretty likely Biden.

Give the other states, super nervous is probably too much. If you feel very strongly about AZ turning blue, mildly nervous is about right.
posted by plonkee at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

>> What am I not understanding?

> people would be freaking out about the chance of biden losing arizona if he didn't also have pennsylvania and georgia. but since georgia is pretty solid and pennsylvania is very solid, arizona's just gravy on top.

Also, remaining AZ votes would have to break for Trump by almost 20 points, and they don't seem to be (538 blog)
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

McConnell and the others are more willing to compromise with Biden, since he is white.
My dumb brain initially interpreted this as being in comparison to Trump, as in what do they have against orange people?
posted by detachd at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

So I'm "friends" on Facebook with this person I went to high school with that is a complete Q Anon nut job now. She has "pedophile hunter" as her job title and is constantly posting all the conspiracy theory crap. Her posts generally get low engagement, like under 10 likes and maybe 5-7 supportive comments. Her circle of engagement seems limited to a few people.

Today she posted something about a "sting operation" by the Dept of Homeland Security to identify fake ballots that were missing a watermark? Anyway, the first comment seemed to express growing frustration with conspiracies never panning out, saying "this better be facts, [name]" to which she replied that media isn't picking it up! Even Fox can't be trusted now. OAN and Newsmax are still legit!

A separate commentor then wrote:

"If this doesn’t happen I am done with any conspiracy shit. All the talk about the pedophilia, chid sex trafficking, all the people gonna go down. Why are we waiting? I mean they have Weinstein and Maxwell. You honestly don’t think they aren’t singing. "

The next person wrote that if the sting is legitimate, why isn't Trump talking about it.

So that's 3 people on one post starting to question the validity of Q world. That actually gave me even more hope than the Georgia runoff situation.
posted by WeekendJen at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [93 favorites]

Trump could catch up in Arizona but even though he's gaining he's rarely getting blocks of votes where he's exceeding the threshold where he needs to be at in order to catch Biden. Any big block that comes in where Trump fails to get 58% or more of the distribution will put the brass ring further and further out of reach.

If the vote distribution stays roughly the same as it has he'll fall short although it will be close. If there are remaining pockets that are significantly blue his task becomes even harder. Basically he's gotta hope for either of the following a) that there is a significant group of votes remaining that will be 65%+ or so Trump or b) that legal challenges to Biden voters can invalidate some of that existing advantage. I don't think scenario b is likely to materialize and I have doubt about a happening either.

I'm assuming Trump will be in recount territory but it's rare to make up more than a couple of hundred votes on a recount and with PA it doesn't even matter.
posted by vuron at 8:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> How is Georgia solid? The lead is so small. I am confused.

there's not very many ballots left, and among those there's not enough potentially trump-leaning ballots left to have a reasonable chance of counteracting the biden landslide in atlanta.

Also, it looks close enough that there will be a recount in GA but the final tally is most likely 2,500-4,500 in Biden's favour. Recount votes only usually change numbers by a few hundred, and can go either way.
posted by plonkee at 8:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

there's not enough potentially trump-leaning ballots

That's what makes me nervous, none of the leads as they currently stand are strong enough to counter 'potentially' without understanding on what basis 'potential' is predicated? Given the poll errors and back-of-envelope-ry around numbers of mail-ins due it is still unclear to me why there is so much confidence.
posted by freya_lamb at 8:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

**knocks on door**
**enters room**
**closes door**

It’s me again. The rest of the world has sent me with a statement on the result. We wondered if Britain was maybe in good enough shape to deliver it, but …

**shudders**

Canada is still in bed after spending all of election night outside in the cold screaming southwards. If not for global warming, things would’ve gone a lot worse. But if you could get on that anyway, that would be fab. We asked Mexico, but they only unrolled their eyes for long enough to reroll their eyes in the other direction, towards Florida. But we all agreed on a statement, and here it is:

**unfolds a piece of paper, starts reading**

FUCK YEAH!!!

**folds paper back together**

That is all. You can take the Canadian flag patch off your backpack now.

**opens door**
**leaves**
**closes door**
** muffled sounds of celebratory shouting on the other side of the door**
posted by Kattullus at 8:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [63 favorites]

Biden's lead in Nevada just doubled to 22,000 votes.
posted by COD at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Just got off the phone after calling my (left-leaning) father on an unrelated matter. He had the news on in the background the whole time, and asked how I was holding up watching things unfold and told me about a conversation he had with a Trump-loving friend.

Then he suddenly shushed me to listen to a breaking news item, told me that Biden has doubled his lead in Nevada and then said he'd better go so he could pay more attention.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

@roywoodjr: The only pollster you can trust is James Brown. He called these districts back in '85.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'll be confident the day Biden is sworn in and not a moment before, and otherwise encourage everyone to remain or become involved in your local political situation, in whatever form you can, with whatever bandwidth you can muster.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

"If this doesn’t happen I am done with any conspiracy shit. All the talk about the pedophilia, chid sex trafficking, all the people gonna go down. Why are we waiting? I mean they have Weinstein and Maxwell. You honestly don’t think they aren’t singing. "

Yeah, this is getting into the realm of unsourced forwards, but my college roommate shared with me a post from someone in his feed (a former friend from HS whos gone full Qanon). Seems like there are some true believers to be worried about but a substantial proportion of Trumps base seems prepared to abandon him at the first sign of weakness/giving up.

The exact quote "there are two outcomes here. Either trump does what he promised us he would do and by faith in god cleanses our country with the fire of justice, or he doesnt. if he doesnt it was a choice he made. if he made a choice to hold back hes not my guy, hes not our guy. I dont hold back, we dont hold back"

Ironically (or not) it seems like his supporters have internalized his definition of one-way fealty.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:47 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

> That is all. You can take the Canadian flag patch off your backpack now.

we don't do canadian flag patches anymore. now when people ask where we're from we say "california" and everyone gets what that means.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

Today she posted something about a "sting operation" by the Dept of Homeland Security to identify fake ballots that were missing a watermark?

This is the Q line now, yes
posted by thelonius at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

From my amateur calculations, North Carolina's senate seat could still shift to the democrats if there's a 15 point blue shift in the remaining 6% of the votes. It seems unlikely but the same thing did happen in Georgia.
posted by zixyer at 8:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

"Finally, a Bonfire Night that ends with a Catholic in charge."
- Chris Cook [Twitter]

I had completely forgotten Biden was Catholic. Anti-Catholic bias is still very much a thing in some American circles, although it’s not as overt as it used to be. I can remember my Dad saying that while he agreed with most of JFK’s platform, he didn’t think he should have been President because he might “take orders from the Pope.” And there are still a lot of politically active people of his generation and background, especially in red states. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me sooner.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

That's what makes me nervous, none of the leads as they currently stand are strong enough to counter 'potentially' without an understanding on what basis 'potential' is predicated?

You might find this helpful battleground state changes. It shows what is remaining to count and how the latest updates are changing the races in each state.

If people were certain certain they would call the state. Mainly what they're saying is Trump needs something deeply unexpected in the remaining votes.
posted by plonkee at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

My one bright spot this election, beyond the big one, is that the Rs really truly got behind their boy and said “Yes, this is who we are happy to be.” Message received.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Today she posted something about a "sting operation" by the Dept of Homeland Security to identify fake ballots that were missing a watermark?

Is that the op JFK, Jr. is running?
posted by valkane at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

"15 point blue shift" sounds like something out of a Scifi movie where they're trying to see how fast an object is getting closer to Earth.
posted by SansPoint at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Mark Kelly (D) just won his own Senate race, taking (and flipping) the seat once held by John McCain.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [57 favorites]

Still waiting for trump to declassify all of the UFO material so we can see what the government is really made of and win the election. (The previous q line, apparently.)
posted by kaibutsu at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

I'm happy today, but I won't relax until we see the Electoral College vote.
Actually, I won't relax until the Senate is blue.
And I hope I won't relax then, either.
posted by MtDewd at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

But if we let state governments handle it we don’t get our movie ending!

I want my movie ending!

Oh no, just, wait. It's like one of those rom-com travel pictures where everyone jets off to New York for a madcap whirlwind trial.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

That's interesting. It would seem to suggest that their loyalty to the conspiracy theory is greater than their loyalty to Trump. Rather than admit that the idea that Trump is going to do some massive operation uprooting the pedophiles/communists/satanists/reptilians from the US is total nonsense they are going with the idea that Trump might be unwilling to actually follow through on the action because he's somehow complicit.

I didn't necessarily expect no true scotsmen fallacy coming out of the Q camp in regards to Trump but I guess it's a logical extension of the tendency to feel like x can never be wrong, any failures are due to the fallibility of the leader or their unwillingness to maintain ideological purity. The jackals really are willing to eat their own at any sign of weakness among their leaders aren't they?
posted by vuron at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Still waiting for trump to declassify all of the UFO material so we can see what the government is really made of and win the election. (The previous q line, apparently.)

I just want to own I posted that comment from Reddit and I’ve not actually been able to verify it’s the most recent canon of the Q crowd.

So take it as sarcasm until we see actual Q posts. Or when Trump does exactly that.
posted by glaucon at 8:56 AM on November 6, 2020

So that's 3 people on one post starting to question the validity of Q world. That actually gave me even more hope than the Georgia runoff situation.

Given that the whole Q nonsense is based around Trump secretly capturing villains, you'd think his whole getting voted out without any arrests would bring that stuff to a close.

...but then I remember that Jehovah's Witnesses began by predicting the end of the world in 1878 ...and again in 1881, 1914, 1918 and 1925.

They grew after every failed prediction, because the alternative for the followers was to admit they'd been fooled.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

freya_lamb - Imagine if the presidency was decided by popular vote, both Trump and Biden had exactly 70M votes each, and the only votes not yet counted were a million votes from Brooklyn. I mean it'd be *conceivable* that they all lost their collective mind, but there would be some reason to be confident about a Biden win.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

now when people ask where we're from we say "california" and everyone gets what that means.

In the UK, there's a series of books about the cultures of various countries, titled The Xenophobe's Guide To the ___s, each written by several authors, from both within and outside the country. It is telling that they have both a Xenophobe's Guide To The Americans and one to The Californians.
posted by acb at 8:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

we don't do canadian flag patches anymore. now when people ask where we're from we say "california" and everyone gets what that means.

The easiest way to prove you're not American is to ask how they like $CURRENT_LEADER of their country. I have got so many disbelief glances when doing this abroad, then I explained I'm Canadian and there's a palpable relief as their worldview goes back to normal.
posted by benzenedream at 8:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I have no idea how any Biden transition team is going to interact with the Trump administration

There won't be any transition effort from the Trump administration. Just a lot of screaming "fuck you" as they steal the office furniture. Biden's team will be transitioning from Obama's team, and they already have the playbooks.
posted by Horkus at 8:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [59 favorites]

Last night, I got a 12 hour twitter ban for calling Newt Gingrich a fucker. It made me feel great. I wanted you all to know that you can feel as good as me! Maybe not Mark Levin Super Beets gummy chewable good...but...good!
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [38 favorites]

kleinsteradikaleminderheit: Where in Brooklyn are those votes? There's sections of Brooklyn that did go for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020, mostly the ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic neighborhoods like Borough Park
posted by SansPoint at 8:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Last night, I got a 12 hour twitter ban for calling Newt Gingrich a fucker.

Worth it.
posted by supercrayon at 9:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [35 favorites]

It would seem to suggest that their loyalty to the conspiracy theory is greater than their loyalty to Trump.

Wasn't this inevitable? Playing this game was always foolish on Trump's part. It's like he's never read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Surely he's read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, right?
posted by elwoodwiles at 9:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [33 favorites]

elwoodwiles: I doubt he's even read Fun with Dick and Jane
posted by SansPoint at 9:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I had an idle thought last night as I drifted to sleep that, among many other things, I worry about the Resolute Desk.
posted by oflinkey at 9:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

I totally understand that any transition will probably look more like guests overlapping on an AirBnb rather than a coherent and amicable transition of power but still you'll probably want some cleaners to come in and make sure the linens are changed and all the trash is put on the curb. At a minimum you at least want to get the wifi password although it's probably something like MAGA2020!
posted by vuron at 9:03 AM on November 6, 2020

I imagine he picked up "Fun with Dick and Jane" and put it right back down after realizing it wasn't the kind of book he thought it was.
posted by swift at 9:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I doubt he's even read Fun with Dick and Jane

Yeah, you're probably right. When he tried he got to Dick and started gibbering while balling up his fists.
posted by elwoodwiles at 9:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Georgia secretary of state says state will head to a recount
posted by soundguy99 at 9:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

KEXP in Seattle is playing an appropriately jubilant morning show. Now playing
https://kexp.org
posted by missmobtown at 9:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Surely he's read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, right?

If you would have told me 30 years ago that Foucault's Pendulum would be the most important political psychology text I've read I would have laughed in your face.
posted by benzenedream at 9:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

I had an idle thought last night as I drifted to sleep that, among many other things, I worry about the Resolute Desk.

Naw, I got $20 on "leaves actual dump in Lincoln bedroom."... Either that or Melania hires actual moving vans for all the furniture.

There are church bells in Jersey City now, fwiw.
posted by sexyrobot at 9:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I understand Chris Liddell has been planning transition from the Trump side and has been making a decent fist of it, surprisingly. This has got some coverage here in Aotearoa because he is a New Zealander originally. And an old school business type.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

SansPoint: I'd give you that hypothetical if Brooklyn had even close to 2M registered voters
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

In talking with friends, I've compared the past four to being under siege. To me it certainly feels that way.

I fantasize of my being in certain historical moments. This morning, I imagined the past four years being like the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The moment I fantasize about being at is when the U.S.S Nevada made it's run for the ocean in the middle of the attack

She was at advantage by being anchored alone and by the foresight of a junior officer having two boilers lit meaning that she was already halfway to steam/power when the attack begin. She took a torpedo, begin to list, counterflooded and was up to steam 45 minutes after the attack begin.

She began her run. The sailors fighting saw what she and her crew were trying to do and cheered. The Japanese saw what she was doing and doubled down on her attack, realizing that if they sunk her at the mouth of the harbor, the fleet would be bottled up for months. The captain realized what they were trying to do and grounded her, severely damaged after taken many hits.

Within two months she was refloated. Within a year she was combat ready. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific, was the only ship at both Pearl Harbor and D-Day, and survived two atomic bomb tests eventually being sunk off Hawaii in 1948.

For me, the ship (and name) is a lovely metaphor of hope and resilience in the light of the past four years. It's a Taoist teaching that says one can only learn by being an empty cup. If the EV holds, on 1/20 we and the country can start from zero. Chump and Co. can do whatever they want up to that time. And I would be content if the next 4 years were devoted to repair.
posted by goalyeehah at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

CNN: Conceding a lost election is the classy thing to do and it has usually been a part of the country coming together after a divisive campaign.

But it's a custom, not a law.

"The constitution is very clear that a new president will take the oath of office on January 20 at noon. That will happen if Trump loses graciously or if he has to be escorted out of the Oval Office by Secret Service, although it's not exactly clear what the Secret Servce would do in the event Trump wouldn't leave.

The fact that the Secret Service has begun to protect Biden more and more strictly -- more agents around him and clearing airspace over Wilmington -- suggests they understand a transfer of power is in the offing, even if the current leader does not."
posted by soundguy99 at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

we don't do canadian flag patches anymore. now when people ask where we're from we say "california" and everyone gets what that means.

I'M FROM FUCKIN PHILA
posted by WeekendJen at 9:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

If you would have told me 30 years ago that Foucault's Pendulum would be the most important political psychology text I've read I would have laughed in your face.

I brought this up to a friend, how odd it is we're not talking about this book more. It's so on point, particularly with QAnon.
posted by elwoodwiles at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

If you would have told me 30 years ago that Foucault's Pendulum would be the most important political psychology text I've read I would have laughed in your face.

I mean, it WAS one hell of a trumpet solo.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

At a minimum you at least want to get the wifi password although it's probably something like MAGA2020!

Throw out all the WiFi routers, network switches, smart light switches, thermostats, Bluetooth speakers and so on, and strip out and replace all the cabling; in case the technical crews of the RT.com reporters who got audiences with Trump compromised them.
posted by acb at 9:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [41 favorites]

our reaction to biden's win is sort of indicative of all the shit we've been through in this past decade. like in '08 when obama got in we all partied in the streets until dawn. here in '20, there's no big party, just deep exhausted relief mixed with grim resolve for the fights ahead.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 9:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Just want to say how much I appreciate this thread and all of you in it.
posted by dmh at 9:13 AM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@AOC

US House candidate, NY-14
There are folks running around on TV blaming progressivism for Dem underperformance.

I was curious, so I decided to open the hood on struggling campaigns of candidates who are blaming progressives for their problems.

Almost all had awful execution on digital. DURING A PANDEMIC.
4:45 AM · Nov 6, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
21.4K Retweets 6.7K Quote Tweets 150K Likes

...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@AOC

US House candidate, NY-14
Replying to
@AOC
There are swing seat Dem incumbents who cosponsored the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, etc and if I’m not mistaken every single one won re-election.
4:58 AM · Nov 6, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
3.7K Retweets 338 Quote Tweets 36.3K Likes

Threadreader
posted by Ahmad Khani at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

Thank you Joe, for Biden your time...!
posted by Oyéah at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

here in '20, there's no big party, just deep exhausted relief mixed with grim resolve for the fights ahead.

and some really fucking delicious memes
posted by punchtothehead at 9:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Trump’s team plots his departure — even if he won’t
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I worry about the Resolute Desk

its as worthless as any other institution trumps pissed all over (hopefully not literally but theres always bleach).

i dont care if Biden runs his administration from a folding table in a Delaware parking lot.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [31 favorites]

there's no big party, just deep exhausted relief mixed with grim resolve for the fights ahead.

Yes, and: I am still dancing here in my home office, hopped up on caffeine and general endorphin release
posted by missmobtown at 9:16 AM on November 6, 2020

Let me just say, goddamn is AOC fantastic.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [44 favorites]

our reaction to biden's win is sort of indicative of all the shit we've been through in this past decade. like in '08 when obama got in we all partied in the streets until dawn. here in '20, there's no big party, just deep exhausted relief mixed with grim resolve for the fights ahead.

There is in Philly.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

i dont care if Biden runs his administration from a folding table in a Delaware parking lot.

Given how much access Russia has had to the WH, I'd actually feel safer.
posted by emjaybee at 9:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

As a symbolic gesture, the first thing I'd order on January 20th is to have The White House fumigated...
posted by jim in austin at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

It is good the Met never loaned them that VanGogh, since they would be getting a cheesy copy back.
posted by Oyéah at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2020

From that AOC Threadreader:

When it comes to “Defund” & “Socialism” attacks, people need to realize these are racial resentment attacks. You’re not gonna make that go away. You can make it less effective.

How do you make it less effective? Invest in year-round deep canvassing. Data shows that this kind of work helps blunt the force of racial resentment at the polls.

If you’re always running away from convos about race, then the only ppl owning it are GOP. You’ll lose.

posted by box at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [55 favorites]

To put things in perspective.. Two nights ago I was having a pint with friends after curling. That's the god's truth in case you think I'm embellishing.. I was a spare, we lost by a point, saw the best shot of my life by their skip.

I live in rural Canada (getting a pint is a reasonable risk) and still.. Something has happened to my brain, I scan a room and it's Trump, Not-Trump.

Something has happened in the world and Trump put a face to that for many people. The incessant media amplification of this phenomenon, the blaring in our minds every day for 4 years.. I think we are all a lot more akin to QAnon than we'd like to think. I feel infected, and I don't think a Biden victory is some sort of remedy to the situation. I'm willing to concede this might be the glimmer of the beginning of a remedy because I am a hopeful person by nature.
posted by elkevelvet at 9:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

MEFITES, TAKE THE DAY OFF!!!

I believe we have found the least effective appeal to Mefites in Metafilter's history.
posted by clawsoon at 9:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

Re: “I’m from California”:
Some of us recognize that there is a lot of MAGA hats out in the Methlandia parts of Cali, and out in the golf-course parts.
Some of us put a bottom bar under our Bear Flag patch, just so people know which California we’re from.

In the UK, there's a series of books about the cultures of various countries, titled The Xenophobe's Guide To the ___s, each written by several authors, from both within and outside the country. It is telling that they have both a Xenophobe's Guide To The Americans and one to The Californians.

I would legit read that one about “America”.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:23 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Couple deleted; please let's not start gaming out hypothetical armed coups
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Last I saw, the White House doesn't have gold-plated fixtures, so I doubt Trump would take them.
posted by SansPoint at 9:27 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Re: 2024 - Watch out for Ivanka, not Donald. (So, in the meantime: lock them all the fuck up. It's really hard to plan a campaign from inside a cell.)

Re: Symptom-not-disease - The pustulant boils that rise to the surface are indeed a symptom. The important thing to remember is that the underlying fever, headaches, and exhaustion aren't "normal" and still need to be fought, even if there's no single obvious "fix THIS" to focus on.

Celebrate the win and let's keep this momentum so we can get around to actually draining the swamp once it's not spewing lethal toxic gas at anyone who gets too close.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

While it's wise to check the WH for bugs, and I hope the new security people take all necessary precautions, I have a hard time picturing the Trump team having any kind of competence for actual espionage. I wouldn't be surprised if the security people discover other electronic devices that have been listening to Trump the whole time, though.
posted by swift at 9:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Come on guys, this guy is a "Billionaire" do you really think he'd be gathering any sort of valuable parts of the White House Collection and taking them down to some seedy pawnshop because he needs to make some quick cash to avoid defaulting on some loan?

No, but maybe as a trophy. He is so lacking in respect for the public good, in fact he expresses open contempt for it, that he'd delight in the symbolic meaning of stealing from the People's House (I think this is what US-Americans call it? I'm Elsewherian too).
posted by ipsative at 9:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I will remain terrified until the dust settles, but I do appreciate Anand Giridharadas on twitter:
@AnandWrites
Every Indian-American is about to become even more disappointing to their parents.
6:01 AM · Nov 6, 2020·TweetDeck

Also, my playlist today is just Janelle's song for Stacey Abrams on repeat.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [31 favorites]

> Last I saw, the White House doesn't have gold-plated fixtures, so I doubt Trump would take them.

That bastard! He nicked the gold-plating off the fixtures!
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have a hard time picturing the Trump team having any kind of competence for actual espionage.

Was Putin ever in the White House during Trump? I can't remember.
posted by ipsative at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2020

I don’t think it’s the Trump team people are worried about - it’s the bad actors the Trump team welcomed into the People’s House with open fucking arms.
posted by la glaneuse at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I brought this up to a friend, how odd it is we're not talking about this book more. It's so on point, particularly with QAnon.

Not Foucault's Pendulum, but an Italian novel called Q did get a bit of a look earlier on.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

i dont care if Biden runs his administration from a folding table in a Delaware parking lot.

Agreed. I just don't want to see it in some oligarch's tacky study after Clown Shoe sells it to them for a round of golf and meaningless face time with international funders who have no intention of funding.
posted by oflinkey at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don’t think it’s the Trump team people are worried about - it’s the bad actors the Trump team welcomed into the People’s House with open fucking arms.

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. Then yeah, better call Terminix. The bad actors can keep their Mar-a-Lago bugs, though, just for fun.
posted by swift at 9:34 AM on November 6, 2020

From Talking Points Memo: Black Women Led Us Through The Most Consequential Political Contest Of Our Lifetimes. It’s High Time We Thank Them.

posted by soundguy99 at 9:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [42 favorites]

I honestly don't think Trump values any of the priceless antiques in the White House. His taste level just sees things like that as "old." Remember when he first took office and wanted to run the country from Mar A Lago because he thought the White House was a dump?
posted by Mchelly at 9:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Though knowing where they're from, and that others valued them, turns them into trophies.
posted by acb at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2020

I'm sure there's one or two pieces he'll covet. Even if only after someone else told him how expensive they were!
posted by ipsative at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2020

Yeah, I have no realistic hope after Obama declined to prosecute CIA torturers.

There is enough stuff to put almost everyone named "Trump" behinds bars for the rest of their natural life long before we reach anything that would require the involvement of a Biden administration.
posted by sideshow at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Re: “I’m from California”:
Some of us recognize that there is a lot of MAGA hats out in the Methlandia parts of Cali, and out in the golf-course parts.

Yeah, it’s the same here in NY.

Conveniently, if I say “I’m from New York,” most people from outside the. Northeastern U.S. (and probably most of Ontario) will assume I mean New York City unless I choose to add more detail.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I thought we were done with bad actors after Ronald Reagan left.
posted by notoriety public at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I just thanked Stacey Abrams by making a donation to her organization, Fair Fight.

The voter registration deadline for the GA senate runoff elections is December 7. If you can, help them help us.

https://fairfight.com/
posted by telepanda at 9:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are expected to address the nation around 8 p.m. tonight, per sources familiar with planning. Harris will speak first and then Biden.
posted by glaucon at 9:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Re: “I’m from California”:
Some of us recognize that there is a lot of MAGA hats out in the Methlandia parts of Cali, and out in the golf-course parts.

That's why I say "I'm from Los Angeles". Don't want people I met around the world to think I'm from (shudder) the Bay Area.
posted by sideshow at 9:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

From Talking Points Memo: Black Women Led Us Through The Most Consequential Political Contest Of Our Lifetimes. It’s High Time We Thank Them.

I really can't stand articles like this. You know the real way to thank Black women and women of color in even more dire circumstances? Deliver real, material change in terms of wages, healthcare, housing, education, debt forgiveness, and carceral systems.

The hollow gratitude and essentializing worship of Black women/people of color/whatever group is the cotton candy of performative liberalism. Put it right up there with kneeling in kente stoles.
posted by Ouverture at 9:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [66 favorites]

[AOC]: I was curious, so I decided to open the hood on struggling campaigns of candidates who are blaming progressives for their problems.

She's turning out to be not just a bright light, but a solar flare. I wonder if she wants Pellosi, Schumer or Biden's job? Whichever, it will be interesting.
posted by bonehead at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

That's why I say "I'm from Los Angeles". Don't want people I met around the world to think I'm from (shudder) the Bay Area.

Right back at ya.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Where is Methlandia supposed to be? I can't find it anywhere online. I know it's not an official name. Just would appreciate a bit more info.
posted by ipsative at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I’d like to see them do a thorough security audit of the physical plant— which they absolutely must—and then publish it so we can put the stupid email thing to rest.
posted by maniabug at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I hope that I never hear the name Barron Trump again. I know I'll hear about his father, because his father is loud, but I hope that somehow his son will find a way to just disappear, and have a quiet happy life far away from the madness of his family.

Having a narcissist for a parent is bad enough; they think they're the focus of the world, that everyone adores them, that they can do no wrong. And this narcissist had huge crowds of people reinforcing those beliefs. I can't imagine how bad the kid's life has been, and I hope that he finds happiness, and peace, and a really good therapist.
posted by MrVisible at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

As far as pardon scenarios, I don't think Trump's ego would allow him to actually do this, but over the last four years I've repeatedly contemplated a “pardon nuclear option” in which Trump simply pardons everyone everywhere who has ever committed a pardonable offense, for the purpose of sowing utter chaos supervillain-style.

That would no-joke make the United States such a better place that it would make up for the rest of his idiotic presidency.
posted by atrazine at 9:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

I’d say the area around the Salton Sea is pretty methy
posted by glaucon at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2020

It is just now hitting me that Kamala Harris is going to be the next vice president, and (knock on wood) possibly the first female president of the United States. I don't know how I feel: scared, elated, hopeful. I certainly have my criticisms but I don't believe that the perfect woman candidate exists so I'll take Harris.
posted by muddgirl at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Where is Methlandia supposed to be? I can't find it anywhere online. I know it's not an official name. Just would appreciate a bit more info.

The Central Valley. Loosely: Chico, Redding, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield and the farm land around them.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

This is a very interesting visualization of trends in turnout and D/R margin from 2016 to now:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/electorate-changes-2016-election-vs-2020/
posted by Westringia F. at 9:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are expected to address the nation around 8 p.m. tonight, per sources familiar with planning. Harris will speak first and then Biden.

So is it okay to celebrate yet ? I've been waiting for the NYT or Washington Post to call it because I won't really believe it's happened until it's more official. When can someone who believes in jinxes start to cheer?
posted by Mchelly at 9:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Instead of "thanking" Black women, Black voters, and especially, Black organizers...

... give us the investments we need and deserve, redistribute wealth, ends police violence, abolish the carceral state, commit to building Black directed political power... and reparations.

Just a reminder that Trump just improved his 2016 performance with Black women and Black men. A thank-you note every 4-8 years isn't going to cut it forever.
posted by Beardman at 9:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

What is this feeling I have? It's like the opposite of dread. Why are the corner of my lips curling up for the first time in four years?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

FYI, if you want to donate to FairFight -

1) You DO NOT have to enter your cell phone number (although I couldn't find a way around the address, which is apparently a legal requirement.)
2) You DO NOT have to sign up for an ActBlue account. Your donation will post even if you don't do the "one last step" and enter a password to "complete your account".

I get that this dark pattern design is just "keeping up" with the latest in donation persuasion, but I still hate it.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

I don't believe that the perfect woman candidate exists so I'll take Harris.

AOC will (just barely) be of age to be elected President in 2024.

She might not want it, she might figure getting a bit more experience is worthwhile, but she has the political instincts to make a real go at it.
posted by explosion at 9:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Where is Methlandia supposed to be?

I seem to recall something about Eldon, Iowa.
posted by box at 9:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

do you really think he'd be gathering any sort of valuable parts of the White House Collection and taking them down to some seedy pawnshop because he needs to make some quick cash

Oh no, that part was a joke... If they did abscond with the fixtures it would probably be to redecorate their "Getaway House." You know... the one they owe all those taxes on.
I still got 20 on 'dump in the Lincoln bedroom,' tho. The resolute desk will be where the 'arrest clawmarks' are. I think you can probably just buff those out though.
posted by sexyrobot at 9:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Where is Methlandia supposed to be? I can't find it anywhere online. I know it's not an official name. Just would appreciate a bit more info.

I'm thinking the Inland Empire.
posted by acb at 9:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

You know ... i’m happy for more results, i do keep hitting refresh ... but this 7 votes at a time thing is killing me.
posted by anshuman at 9:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Philadelphia Championships

Franchise League Season
Philadelphia Eagles NFL 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017
Philadelphia Phillies MLB 1980, 2008
Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1974, 1975
Philadelphia Patriots USA 2020
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

The NYT is back to using "falsehoods." Fuck Dean Baquet.
posted by PhineasGage at 10:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Falsehood? Come on, he's a genuine hood.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

AOC will (just barely) be of age to be elected President in 2024.

I'm obviously a stan but the problem is some proportion of the left will always come up with a reason to say "Well I'd vote for a woman but not *her*." Harris will be the VP and carry the idea of being incumbent-adjacent. Not a slam dunk (I think only two sitting VPs have won the presidency since 1900, perhaps Biden could have won in 2016 if he had run) but perhaps enough to overcome that gender drag.
posted by muddgirl at 10:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Ballot-curing volunteers are needed in Georgia right now (the deadline is today 5 pm EST, which means 2 pm for folks like me on the west coast): direct link here.
posted by splitpeasoup at 10:04 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

This is sweet! Tuesday night there was a work emergency and then I had to get sleep to travel on Wednesday. I woke up and still had to finish packing. At some point I remembered - oh shit, the election! And I checked in and saw that everyone was mired in despair and we were not taking the Senate and probably Trump got re-elected. It's been quite a ride.
posted by thelonius at 10:05 AM on November 6, 2020

I feel compelled to say that Philly has won several more championships.

Philadelphia Athletics MLB 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930
Philadelphia 76ers NBA 1955, 1967, 1983
Philadelphia Warriors NBA 1947, 1956
posted by graymouser at 10:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I'm obviously a stan but the problem is some proportion of the left will always come up with a reason to say "Well I'd vote for a woman but not *her*." Harris will be the VP and carry the idea of being incumbent-adjacent. Not a slam dunk (I think only two sitting VPs have won the presidency since 1900, perhaps Biden could have won in 2016 if he had run) but perhaps enough to overcome that gender drag.

AOC's electability problems with some hypothetical segment of the left who won't vote for her (really? you know people like this?) because she is a woman pales in comparison to her much bigger electability problems with half the country thinking she is a demonic communist who eats children.

I'd take her in a heartbeat over anyone else in this country (other than Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib), but most people sadly would not.
posted by Ouverture at 10:09 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Drug addiction is a serious medical, psychiatric, and social problem. It is a disease of the mind, that saps people of their ability to exert free autonomy over their lives, and seek flourishing for themselves and their communities. Methamphetamines in particular are a scourge on impoverished communities, that destroy lives and families. The use of drugs as a shibboleth for identifying a less-than "other" has a long and nasty history in the United States, from marijuana in the early 20th century used to paint Mexican-Americans as lazy and/or as wild brutes, to crack cocaine in the 80's and 90's to paint urban Black Americans as violent criminals, to methamphetamines in the 21st century to paint rural White Americans as violent, uneducated "trash" who fail to achieve the standard of Whiteness established by middle-class suburban families.

I'd ask you to consider this when using a term like "Methlandia" and think about what kind of messages you are sending, intentionally or unintentionally.
posted by biogeo at 10:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [89 favorites]

I'm obviously a stan but the problem is some proportion of the left will always come up with a reason to say "Well I'd vote for a woman but not *her*."

There's almost no evidence to support this, at all.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:10 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Graymouser: I was keeping it short and sweet for the punchline.

Full disclosure: I have visited Philly twice in my life.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:11 AM on November 6, 2020

AZ or PA might reach a sufficiently decisive number of votes that the NYT and networks call it later today, but I expect it won't be until later this afternoon or maybe the evening. The level of certainty that the networks want before calling the election is very, very high (and appropriately so).
posted by jedicus at 10:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Half the country thinks every female Democrat is a demonic communist who eats children. Yes right now their focus is on AOC but it used to be Hillary or Pelosi.
posted by muddgirl at 10:11 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

I managed to screenshot the amusing "START YOUR DAY HERE" red banner at the top of CNN earlier this morning. It changed a few seconds later, but here it is for posterity.
posted by nanook at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

OK, how about we focus this back on maybe, just maybe, being happy for a bit? We've all been through a lot.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

The Central Valley. Loosely: Chico, Redding, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield and the farm land around them.

Basically CA-99.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 10:12 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

some hypothetical segment of the left who won't vote for her

You think there weren't Dems who jumped ship in 2016 because they wouldn't vote for Clinton? Or Dems who jumped ship in 2008 because they wouldn't vote for a black man?
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:15 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

AOC, for obvious reasons, will be able mobilize Latino voters in a way that, say, Hillary Clinton could not.

Timing will be everything. AOC is, frankly, a generational talent, and young, so whenever she thinks its a good idea to run, it probably will be.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

From Talking Points Memo: Black Women Led Us Through The Most Consequential Political Contest Of Our Lifetimes. It’s High Time We Thank Them.

I really can't stand articles like this...The hollow gratitude and essentializing worship of Black women/people of color/whatever group is the cotton candy of performative liberalism.

A Black woman, and historian of Black Americans wrote this piece, but sure, your hot take is probably more valid.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [35 favorites]

Is it just me, or is the website of Fox News down?
posted by clawsoon at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2020

Debating who should run and who could win in 2024 feels like it's seriously putting the cart in front of the horse.
posted by No One Ever Does at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

AOC has incredible instincts. She’ll run when she knows she can win, and not a moment sooner.
posted by wabbittwax at 10:19 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I've repeatedly contemplated a “pardon nuclear option” in which Trump simply pardons everyone everywhere

Trump does not actually want to spread chaos. He likes chaos, because it lets him get away with things.
He won't be pardoning anyone if it doesn't win him future favors. He WILL be declaring that three SCOTUS justices (and plenty of other judges) "owe him" for putting them on the bench, and he will be damned petulant when he realizes that lifetime appointments don't come with those kind of strings.

He may be looking into how to pardon himself and his family, but the legal experts that have guided him through now are likely to be less interested in supporting him undermining a system they have to work under without his protection. And of course, federal pardons won't do a damn thing for state crimes.

(I really, really, really want to see him behind bars, even if it's only for a day while he's waiting for a hearing. I would love to see a judge declare he's a flight risk and deny him bail.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Heartily concurring with biogeo here on "methlandia." It's time for us all to rethink our "acceptable targets." We shouldn't do to anybody what 45 did to Hunter Biden in the first debate.

I got dragged in yesterday's thread for using a certain f-word to describe the interior United States (where, for the record, I live). Another mefite quoted an offhand remark from Anderson Cooper that referenced obesity; it touched off a firestorm about body-shaming. You know what? Both of those words deserved the scrutiny (if not the resulting pile-ons).
posted by armeowda at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Okay, I think it's worth tabling the "but could AOC run and win" thing for a while, because the political landscape is shifting rapidly. We've got the pandemic and climate change and healthcare and automation all hitting pretty hard, and all (except, hopefully, the pandemic) unlikely to be in a better place in two and four years. Everything is the same until it's different - my bet is that the political possibilities of 2024 are going to be really, really different than the political possibilities of, eg, 2016.

Since we all seem to be in the same place with "AOC would make a [good to great] president if she were elected", I think it's safe to let circumstances take their course and look at the political landscape in 2024 before ruling anything in or out.
posted by Frowner at 10:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Look to my coming at first light on the third day. At dawn, look to the East.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

>> Where is Methlandia supposed to be? I can't find it anywhere online. I know it's not an official name. Just would appreciate a bit more info.

>The Central Valley. Loosely: Chico, Redding, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield and the farm land around them.

California Explained [hope this link is right, I can't actually access Reddit on this computer]
posted by neuron at 10:22 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I hope that I never hear the name Barron Trump again. I know I'll hear about his father, because his father is loud, but I hope that somehow his son will find a way to just disappear, and have a quiet happy life far away from the madness of his family.

My roommate had a better pipe dream - he envisioned a college-age Barron visiting Trump in prison, and telling him:

"Dad, I just want you to know - I'm changing my name and becoming an immigration lawyer."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:23 AM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

Thanks neuron! Link works! :)
posted by ipsative at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2020

Any odds on a Melania divorce?
posted by bolix at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

A Black woman, and historian of Black Americans wrote this piece, but sure, your hot take is probably more valid.

She's also a tenured professor at Johns Hopkins. Something tells me her idea of "thanks" is very different from the kind of thanks that Black women who aren't tenured Hopkins professors enjoying the material bubble of tenured academia so desperately need (and haven't gotten from Democrats and the Black misleadership class for decades).
posted by Ouverture at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Steve Bannon’s lawyers just quit on him.
posted by gauche at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2020 [48 favorites]

Trump does not actually want to spread chaos. He likes chaos, because it lets him get away with things.

Chaos is a ladder, I hear.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Does everyone remember when The Wahington Post changed their byline to "Democracy Dies in Darkness" right around the time that Trump was elected? Am I alone in wondering if they'll change it again, like perhaps in the near future (TTTCS)?
posted by vers at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

she is a demonic communist who eats children.

In fairness, you really have to try her Instant Pot Toddler before judging
posted by Cogito at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2020 [35 favorites]

maybe they'll change it to "Despite our byline, we still write right-leaning headlines"
posted by kokaku at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

The North Carolina counts have not changed in more than 24 hours, I don't think. I probably missed some sort of announcement as to their next drop?
posted by maxwelton at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2020

tenured Hopkins professors enjoying the material bubble of tenured academia

I got news for you: for a black woman to make tenure at Johns Hopkins (or anywhere in academia), she probably had to work 2x as hard than any of her white male colleagues, and most likely she STILL gets treated as an interloper or a token who got her job b/c of affirmative action.

Chaos is a ladder, I hear.

or a series of tubes
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

> Does everyone remember when The Wahington Post changed their byline to "Democracy Dies in Darkness" right around the time that Trump was elected? Am I alone in wondering if they'll change it again, like perhaps in the near future (TTTCS)?

That message should remain.
posted by runcifex at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I just thanked Stacey Abrams by making a donation to her organization, Fair Fight.

and

Instead of "thanking" Black women, Black voters, and especially, Black organizers ... give us the investments we need and deserve

I'll just put in a plug along these lines for the Movement Voter Project's Georgia Fund, which looks like a great way both to pitch in on the Georgia runoffs and build up grassroots organizers. Unless a better idea comes along, my plan for the next little while is to approach everyone in my network about supporting groups like MVP and Fair Fight.
posted by john hadron collider at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Trump isn't a flight risk. $500 bail. He won't be able to raise it.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

What, no love for the Philadelphia FC, who won ASL (now-defunct soccer league) titles in 1926 and 1927, or the Philadelphia Atoms, who won an NASL (now-defunct soccer league) title in 1973?
posted by box at 10:29 AM on November 6, 2020

Hillary Clinton suffered from a decades-long smear campaign (the "vast right-wing conspiracy") carefully designed to use her as a target for focusing fear and anger from the Right, especially the misogynist Right, to motivate turnout and activism, and also to tar her reputation to the point that despite there never being any actual findings of wrongdoing from any of the numerous "investigations" (actually taxpayer-funded propaganda campaigns) a large fraction of the populace would decide she just wasn't "trustworthy." Clinton was also a once-in-a-generation talent, but the right-wing propaganda machine was fairly successful at neutralizing her.

They're attempting to run the same playbook with AOC. Fortunately, the overt misogyny doesn't work as well now as it used to (though it does still play in some quarters). She also has the advantage of not being stuck in the shadow of a man like Bill Clinton during these early years of her political career. But everyone left-of-center needs to be assertive in pointing out what the right-wingers are doing every time they try.
posted by biogeo at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [47 favorites]

Okay, I think it's worth tabling the "but could AOC run and win" thing for a while, because the political landscape is shifting rapidly.

Not to derail the thread fully, but I think "the political landscape is shifting rapidly" is a good reason to discuss our rising stars.

The Democrats have been shying away from big policy, big statements, big jumps for fear of scaring their theoretical base. However, as AOC and others have pointed out, the progressive candidates, the DSA candidates, they're the ones that did the best this year. Democrats' losses came largely from those in their ranks who are most moderate, least ambitious.

Ambition and goals show voters that a candidate stands for something. We should be full-throated in our vocal support of people like AOC who show vision. We should not hedge our bets with "but they'll call her socialist."

Momentum means continuing to push to the left. To keep the Republicans on their heels. To convince America that the Republicans had their shot, and blew it, so give the Democrats a chance to bring about real change, and not just patch over the damage that Republicans have wrought.
posted by explosion at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

I would love to see AOC replace Chuck Schumer while we’re spitballing.
posted by supercrayon at 10:31 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

supercrayon: I would love to see anyone remotely left-leaning with a spine replace Chuck Schumer.
posted by SansPoint at 10:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Maybe there should be a different "looking ahead/AOC/etc." thread. Just so those of us still holding our breaths about THIS election can have a place to watch every damn vote add to the glorious totals?
posted by PhineasGage at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [33 favorites]

However, as AOC and others have pointed out, the progressive candidates, the DSA candidates, they're the ones that did the best this year.

The fascist jurisdiction of Florida adopted $15 minimum wage for chrisstakes.

(with that said i think its ALSO time to stop pretending like a $15 minimum wage is sufficient - i really wish during the presidential debates when it came up the moderator had asked either man how much that is annualized, just to hear them say out loud that they think THIRTY GRAND A YEAR is a great deal).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

> She's also a tenured professor at Johns Hopkins. Something tells me her idea of "thanks" is very different from the kind of thanks that Black women who aren't tenured Hopkins professors enjoying the material bubble of tenured academia so desperately need (and haven't gotten from Democrats and the Black misleadership class for decades).

What a shameful, dare I say "performative" moving of the goalposts.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

AOC, for obvious reasons, will be able mobilize Latino voters in a way that, say, Hillary Clinton could not.

We've literally spent 3 days discussing how the Latino/a vote is not a monolith and Democrats need to stop treating it as such...

The fact that I can't even bring up the *possibility* of a Harris presidency without people saying "Yeah but what about AOC" really frustrates me. Let's have a surfeit of good choices. Let's drown ourselves in possibilities. This isn't Highlander.
posted by muddgirl at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

the White House doesn't have gold-plated fixtures

but the vermeil!

my money is on a big ol' deuce on the resolute desk (does it have drawers? maybe in a drawer)
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2020

Hi friends, I agree with the suggestion to take the broader "future of the party" stuff elsewhere please, so this thread can stay mainly focused on election results.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

To bring together two strands of this thread, here is AOC commenting on "thanking" POC without offering any actual material upshot...

You can’t just tell the Black, Brown, & youth organizers riding in to save us every election to be quiet or not have their reps champion them when they need us. Or wonder why they don’t show up for midterms when they’re scolded for existing. Esp when they’re delivering victories.
posted by Beardman at 10:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Steve Hofstetter @SteveHofstetter ·20h
Donald Trump has been bullying science for the last seven months. Well he’s about to get his ass handed to him by science‘s older brother: math.

posted by sebastienbailard at 10:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [68 favorites]

Trump does not actually want to spread chaos. He likes chaos, because it lets him get away with things.

I remember a light bulb going off when I was reading, trying to understand what had happened in the Cultural Revolution: Mao thrived in chaos. He created it on purpose because he was very good at increasing his power when there was nothing resembling a solid fact flying around, nothing resembling a solid institution you could count on.

Thankfully Trump doesn't seem to have Mao's level of talent, but he does seem to have the same instinct that chaos benefits him.
posted by clawsoon at 10:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

AOC, for obvious reasons, will be able mobilize Latino voters in a way that, say, Hillary Clinton could not.

Didn't we spend a good chunk of "part-2" of this fpp discussing our how the spanish-speakers-hailing-from-south-the-us vote wasn't a thing by virtue of not sharing a common history/set of circumstances? I'm sure there would be a degree of identification and that would become a factor, but just how big would that be? (surely sizable, but I'm not sure you're getting all the Florida Cubans on board)

One another topic... is anyone getting 'Dune' vibes about this transition? It kinda feels like the 1st part of the novel when the Atreides taken control of Arrakis.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 10:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

AOC, for obvious reasons, will be able mobilize Latino voters in a way that, say, Hillary Clinton could not.

I actually don't think that's at all obvious, fwiw. I think that when the dust settles, one of the outcomes of this election may be the end of the idea of "Latinos" as a unified political constituency who naturally, with the exception of Florida Cubans, gravitate to Democrats. There's no reason that Nth-generation Mexican-Americans in South Texas would identify with AOC because of their shared Latino-ness.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Current listening: John Coltrane, "Blue Train", first song on the album of the same name, on Blue Note Records

Seemed appropriate. I want more things to be blue today. Like the map. Call it already! Come on PA, count faster. I want to see the nail get driven into the coffin on this presidency.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:37 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

This thread is for the ages. So happy to see everyone here express their enthusiasm for Biden's lead growing (and all the fascist tears) as one- or multi-line zingers.
posted by ipsative at 10:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Unsurprisingly thriving on chaos is another narcissistic trait.
posted by muddgirl at 10:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

We might not ever know, but it does bittersweetly cheer me to hope that Pittsburgh turned out a few extra votes as a direct repudiation of the emboldened anti-Semitism that led to the 2018 Tree of Life murders. We had just moved out of Pittsburgh the year before.
posted by nakedmolerats at 10:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

The fact that I can't even bring up the *possibility* of a Harris presidency without people saying "Yeah but what about AOC" really frustrates me. Let's have a surfeit of good choices. Let's drown ourselves in possibilities. This isn't Highlander.

This. I am super, super excited about Harris. We should all be super excited right now. She will be a great VP. We may still need to fight for this election; treating it as second-best to 2024 is a crazy self-own.
posted by Mchelly at 10:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Sigh. We have a primary process in place and that has worked well enough to select capable nominees.
posted by asra at 10:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I remember a light bulb going off when I was reading, trying to understand what had happened in the Cultural Revolution: Mao thrived in chaos. He created it on purpose because he was very good at increasing his power when there was nothing resembling a solid fact flying around, nothing resembling a solid institution you could count on.

Thankfully Trump doesn't seem to have Mao's level of talent, but he does seem to have the same instinct that chaos benefits him.

If you can’t convince them, confuse them
posted by ipsative at 10:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I think some of what you're seeing there is the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona, the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. If Native American voters tip Arizona into the blue column, I hope Democrats are paying attention.

@DiinSilversmith:

With a lot of talk about Native voting in Arizona. I thought I would share 2 maps. The left is a map showcasing all 22 tribes in the state. The right an updated 2020 voting results maps by precinct. This give you an idea of how Indigenous communities voted in the 2020 election.

posted by gwint at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [49 favorites]

ArbitraryAndCapricious: "I actually don't think that's at all obvious, fwiw. I think that when the dust settles, one of the outcomes of this election may be the end of the idea of "Latinos" as a unified political constituency who naturally, with the exception of Florida Cubans, gravitate to Democrats. There's no reason that Nth-generation Mexican-Americans in South Texas would identify with AOC because of their shared Latino-ness."

Agreed, and AOC's twitter comments linked upthread make this explicitly clear. I was impressed at her comments and think we need more people to listen to what she's saying and adjust their midterm and 2024 campaign strategies accordingly.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

> We might not ever know, but it does bittersweetly cheer me to hope that Pittsburgh turned out a few extra votes as a direct repudiation of the emboldened anti-Semitism that led to the 2018 Tree of Life murders. We had just moved out of Pittsburgh the year before.

I still see a lot of "✨✡ Stronger than Hate" signs everywhere in town, and even in my rather Trumpy suburban neighborhood. Sometimes right next door to or across the street from Trumpers with obnoxious "Blue Lives Matter" and "Stop the Bullshit" signs.

Stop the bullshit, indeed.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:42 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Biden's home in Delaware now a no fly zone.
posted by Max Power at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

"AOC, for obvious reasons, will be able mobilize Latino voters in a way that, say, Hillary Clinton could not."

What obvious reasons are these? We just showed up for a white guy, isn't that enough to convince you that we don't only vote for brown people?

I might be misinterpreting things but between this and the parallel conversation about hollow thank you articles I just keep feeling like these gestures of inclusion are more isolating than anything else.

Treat us normal. We're normal. We don't need kudos. We're part of your team.
posted by Tarumba at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2020 [30 favorites]

Biden's home in Delaware now a no fly zone.

Does anyone know if they're taking the same precautions with Harris?
posted by ipsative at 10:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

What obvious reasons are these? We just showed up for a white guy, isn't that enough to convince you that we don't only vote for brown people?

I think it's some form of projection that white people think that people of color will only vote or become significantly more engaged for candidates of color (even though decades of history disprove that).

I'm baffled that people still keep thinking this way.
posted by Ouverture at 10:46 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Rumor has it that some White House officials are starting to back away from Trump, in an effort to save their own careers and distance themselves after his "the vote is rigged" meltdown.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I donated to FairFight way back when. Best investment ever!
posted by shoesietart at 10:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Y’all know Melanie is packing right now.
posted by double bubble at 10:53 AM on November 6, 2020

There is no way Melania packs her own shit.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Maybe it's a bit early, but were I Joe, I'd be asking the secret service to procure a Presidential edition Trans-Am. I understand the lead times can be brutal.
posted by bonehead at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Biden gets larger Secret Service detail
posted by Max Power at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I kind of figure that people of color will vote for candidates who show that they actually give a shit about people of color, but that might just be me. I can certainly see how various demographic groups would not bother showing up for a candidate who never makes any kind of honest effort to engage them. I don't even think a candidate needs to agree with that group, s/he just needs to show that s/he is willing to sit down and listen to them and make an effort to understand what issues are important to them.

Trump is a narcissistic asshole and a vile human being, but he is VERY GOOD at making people think that he is listening to them and that he understands them. Any good con artist must be good at this to make a living. He's no exception.

Imagine the response to a candidate that not only makes you THINK s/he is listening, but who actually DOES listen.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Does anyone know if they're taking the same precautions with Harris?

The Biden change happened hours ago as part of the usual "The President-Elect gets such and such security", so Harris would have getting the same stuff the VP-Elect would get during that same transition.
posted by sideshow at 10:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm eagerly hoping for a musical gift of celebration from Tariq, Questlove, and the rest of the Philly icons in the Roots.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Trump has told people he has no plans to concede even if his path to victory is blocked

My TL;DR is that Trump knows he's not going to win but figures like always he can spend other people's money to appear like a winner.
posted by muddgirl at 10:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Biden has the same Corvette his parents got him in the 60's. He doesn't need The Onion's fictional Trans-Am.
posted by sideshow at 10:58 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

Rumor has it that some White House officials are starting to back away from Trump, in an effort to save their own careers and distance themselves after his "the vote is rigged" meltdown.

From the link: "A separate adviser to the campaign described Trump as increasingly isolated in his claims of a stolen election."

Either CNN fed them that line or the advisor was trolling CNN.
posted by Green With You at 11:00 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Does anyone know if they're taking the same precautions with Harris?

Right now I see two Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in Delaware, one around the Chase Center and another smaller one northwest of there which I would guess is Biden's house.

I'm not sure where Harris is right now. Didn't see any TFRs for her in California but I didn't look super hard (just quick views around the bay area and LA). Could she be in Delaware?

On preview, check out this video of Biden and Leno driving the vintage Corvette.
posted by exogenous at 11:01 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

I kind of figure that people of color will vote for candidates who show that they actually give a shit about people of color, but that might just be me.

Oh, I agree completely. But there is no easy and neat correlation between race and giving a shit about people of color. This central assumption has failed us time and time again.
posted by Ouverture at 11:02 AM on November 6, 2020

in an effort to save their own careers and distance themselves

No, sorry we can't have the same thing that happened with Nixon happen here, with scum like Cheney rising to power again. You're on that ship, now go down with it.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

Robbyrobs-- just FYI, a quick google search gave me this:

https://www.wxyz.com/news/naacp-warns-of-fake-social-post-claiming-potential-violence-in-detroit-over-the-weekend
posted by actionpact at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Trump has told people he has no plans to concede even if his path to victory is blocked

In other news, the tides will turn, and the sun will rise in the morning.
posted by biogeo at 11:05 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

WaterAndPixels, here's one take on the Biden/Leto story from four days ago
posted by tigrrrlily at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

In case anyone else is wondering this, recount laws for this race and current thresholds (for ease of typing, all thresholds are %, so "0.1" = 0.1% = one tenth of one percent; except for Michigan where thresholds are based on absolute votes and not percentages).

The TL;DR is that assuming current margins (which we know are changing), an automatic recount will be triggered in Pennsylvania only; and the Trump campaign will be able to request a recount in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

I welcome any corrections if I've made any errors below!
Current margin source: NYT
Recount law source: Ballotpedia

Arizona
Current margin: +1.4 Biden
Automatic recount if margin <=0.1
Candidates cannot request recounts

Georgia
Current margin: <0.1 Biden
Automatic recount: none
Candidate can request recount for <=0.5

Michigan
Current margin: +147,897 votes Biden
Automatic recount: less than 2,000 votes
Candidate can request recount if candidate alleges "fraud or mistake"

Nevada
Current margin: +1.6 Biden
Automatic recount: none
Any candidate or voter (who covers the cost) can request a recount

Pennsylvania
Current margin: +0.2 Biden
Automatic recount if margin <=0.5
Candidate cannot request, but voters can request county recounts if 3 voters in a county (who cover the cost) request it

Wisconsin
Current margin: +0.6 Biden
Automatic recount: none
Candidates can request recounts <=1
posted by andrewesque at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [38 favorites]

Yeah it's a bad headline, the substance is Trump thinks court cases will drag it out long enough that he doesn't look like a loser even when he is.
posted by muddgirl at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yup, you don't have to concede to lose. It just further illustrates that you're a petulant child.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:06 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

One comment deleted. Please don't link to fake fear-mongering email forwards, do some fact checking/ "is this fake" research on your own before reposting rumors like that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Some things I would like to see analyzed:

* the ripple effects of Beto's previous campaign in Texas
* what happened to Knock Every Door? Did it end up helping this year?
* the spoiler?? effect of the Libertarian Party in several races
* what the hell is Tulsi Gabbard aiming at next? She dropped out of the race for President and didn't try to keep her House seat, and she has converted her campaign fund to a more general one, and she has switched to a military reserve post in Mountain View, California. My gut says she is gonna move there and try to be a right-wing-for-a-Democrat California politician who can raise money from Californian Asian-Americans.
* whether inclusion for transgender students came up a lot in local school board elections, and whether there was a general trend in how things turned out
* whether Black Lives Matter and related issues came up a lot in sheriff/judge/attorney general/district attorney races, and whether there was a general trend in how those turned out
* trends relating to South Asian Americans' votes, South Asian American donors, South Asian American candidates
posted by brainwane at 11:07 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Has there ever been a proposal to restrict any release of vote counts until all ballots are tallied state-wide?

I think the way the current election process is structured in much of the US there would be constant leaking of result (true and false) that would probably lead to more problems that it would solve. Move elections to be non-partisan and maybe
that could work.
posted by Mitheral at 11:08 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Biden's home in Delaware now a no fly zone.

Look Betty, don't start up with your white zone shit again. There's just no stopping in a white zone.
posted by banshee at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2020 [47 favorites]

> no plans to concede even if his path to victory is blocked

Historically that route didn't go very well.
posted by runcifex at 11:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I was just thinking this—I hope this isn't the last election that Jimmy Carter gets to see, but it must be incredible (and perhaps timely) for him to see Georgia finally turn blue.
posted by un petit cadeau at 11:16 AM on November 6, 2020 [73 favorites]

"It's Friday, and we're counting: math is fun." - John King just now on CNN
posted by nicoffeine at 11:17 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Imagine the response to a candidate that not only makes you THINK s/he is listening, but who actually DOES listen.

Almost every personal account I've heard of people interacting with Biden is essentially them extolling their impression that Biden really does listen, and wants to hear what you have to say.
posted by that girl at 11:18 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Regarding the White House I'm certain that Biden will have everything movable that isn't historic thrown out and replaced, not just all the computer and networking stuff but filing cabinets, chairs, desks, etc. And then have the walls and floors torn out and the studs and beams gone over with the best sensors available, and all the historic stuff x-rayed, ultrasound analyzed, and put through an MRI after exposing them to giga Tesla level EMP.

We know for a fact that Trump let people from Putin's entourage have non-monitored access to the Oval Office and other parts of the White House, including "photographers" carrying unknown equipment. It is reasonable to assume that the FSB has bugs in the While House, and his security was lax overall so who knows which other governments also have bugs. Best to assume the entire building is a giant bug and essentially rebuild it from scratch to the maximum extent it's possible given the historic value of the building.

If it wasn't historic I'd say just abandon it and relocate the President's residence and office elsewhere. Just one of many things Trump has wrecked.
posted by sotonohito at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

I've heard the same thing about Biden, even leftists sometimes admit that he seems like a decent enough guy, but then you look at his entire career, and it's clear who he listens to the most.
posted by Beardman at 11:21 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

and the rose garden? return it to a ROSE garden??
posted by robbyrobs at 11:23 AM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

We've had four years of organizing and protesting and fighting, we're ready for this. Biden may not act on the things we say but we can make damn sure he listens to us.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 11:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

This is where we celebrate election victories, right?
Ok, rhe verdict is in. Legal weed tastes "cooler," but less "edgy." I can get on board with that. Gonna have a nice day no matter fucking what. Cheers! :D Keep your sense of humor up! It's super important!

But be super duper aware of their new use of the word Legal. It's a dog whistle for the courts they've made illegitimate. And Mitch and Pence and the whole family are whistling along. Make them stop and hope the military vote goes for Biden. I'd be surprised if it didn't. He's served and isn't every kind of traitor to the military. I haven't heard much from military personnel in the news (forced NDAs?), but what I have heard sounds like that. Mostly from military families. But also maybe huge right-wingnut contingent, it is the military after all, so who knows? :/
But after it's all counted, immediate impeachment right? All it really needs to say is : Article of Impeachment: that whole speech. Like, just scrawled in sharpie, right?
Like, don't be afraid, that's food for them. They're Fascists. Just fuck them up every which way you can. Legally. Call up Greece. See if their golden dawn prosecutors can't at least free up some consulting time.
Shirley This tells me it's time for a video game break and maybe another milkshake. Let me know if there's reason to cheer by cheering a lot everywhere.
posted by sexyrobot at 11:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

If it wasn't historic I'd say just abandon it and relocate the President's residence and office elsewhere. Just one of many things Trump has wrecked.

if it would help, I'm sure Canada would be happy to invade and just burn the whole thing down again.
posted by philip-random at 11:24 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Almost every personal account I've heard of people interacting with Biden is essentially them extolling their impression that Biden really does listen, and wants to hear what you have to say.

This used to be a low bar for a career in politics, although some have been better at faking it. Even Tricky Dick could talk to the proles and make them feel heard.
posted by aspersioncast at 11:27 AM on November 6, 2020

Rose garden, right, check that for bugs too.
posted by maniabug at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

If for any reason the White House does need to get torn down some day, I really do hope we hire a Canadian demolition company to do it.
posted by biogeo at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

where will they go to for news if Fox is too liberal/reality-based for them?
posted by snofoam at 3:53 AM on November 6

I live in rural Canada (getting a pint is a reasonable risk) and still.. Something has happened to my brain, I scan a room and it's Trump, Not-Trump.
posted by elkevelvet at 9:21 AM on November 6

I'm Canadian. My connection with my oldest friend became intermittent after I moved to the US. I didn't realize how much I'd lost her until 3 months ago when she started sending me anti-mask videos. This is a woman who, the first time she came to visit me in the US about 12 years ago, the US border guards pulled her aside for special questioning because she was wearing a Green Party button. So anyway, these anti-mask videos.

Me: "Where...are you getting your info from?"

Her: "Youtube. Bitchute."

Bitchute is where Alex Jones's Infowars went after Youtube banned him for being too extreme.

2 weeks ago, she sent me opinion pieces that referred to Dems/BLM/Antifa as a cult and cited both When Prophecy Fails and The Handmaid's Tale where we're the ones who are blindly obeying nonsensical dictates from evil villains. (Puppetmasters, Communists...) Pure projection. A different Canadian friend keeps sending me anti-covid-shutdown videos supporting the Great Barrington Declaration, freaking out about Big Pharma / Big Tech / Big Government conspiring to maximize control and surveillance of ordinary, free-thinking Canadians via a mandatory Covid vaccine.

Andrea Chalupa in Gaslit Nation mentioned recently, in passing, specifics of Kremlin agents wining and dining big name Canadian influencers. It was in the Stay And Fight! episode. Her point was, to Americans planning to flee the US if Trump won the election, Canada's no refuge from ongoing and oncoming patriarchal white supremacist political fuckery & consequent hatred and violence escalations.

So while I'm cautiously feeling happy today, I thought I should mention that Canadians have coalition-building to keep on doing. I mentioned union organizer tools in the last thread -- I'm practicing the rhetoric tools everywhere, including the above-mentioned two friends. Wish me luck!
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Re: 2024 - Watch out for Ivanka, not Donald. (So, in the meantime: lock them all the fuck up. It's really hard to plan a campaign from inside a cell.)

I actually think that Donald Trump winning then losing the Presidency has indelibly marked Ivanka, Don Jr, Eric, and Jared Kushner. Before Trump ran, the Trump children were treated as high society—American aristocracy—all sorts of circle. Ivanka and Jared were welcomed into every socialite's NYC party. She had a brand that was bought widely, even though she herself had no skillset to speak of. Their success was the same sinecure that all rich sons and daughters are given, wealth recognizing wealth, offering status and privilege to go alone with all that money.

Then D. Trump won, and they sort of lost some of that. Their liberal friends no longer called them back, and they were seen as inherently political when they were used to just walking through any door they wanted. However, they got such huge institutional privilege by being related to D. Trump that there was a trade-off. Kushner got to run the world, Ivanka got to be seen as the positive side of Trump and jet around serving as a better face, Eric and Don got to be loved by the right-wing media.

Now they lost that, too. They can't go back to being loved by high society, and though I'm sure Don Jr and Eric will still be brought on Fox News and OANN from time to time, they're quickly losing their place in the GOP power structure. They still have a (failing) business to run, but do you think Ivanka can run her bag imprint? Do you think Kushner will be invited onto task forces or welcomed to parties? Do you think Don Jr and Eric will get their crazed messages reported on far and wide? They lost, and then they lost in a different way. I think it killed off any chances of the Trump political dynasty.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:29 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Okay with recounts and with any celebration while a recount takes place, because a count has completed and calls based on that deserve a reaction. It differs from an early celebration in the same way a case won differs from an appeal result.
posted by filtergik at 11:29 AM on November 6, 2020

We're about to see a bunch of newborns get named "Tranche"
posted by tzikeh at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

The 2020 Election Has Brought Progressives to the Brink of Catastrophe
posted by robbyrobs at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

That Putin retiring story is making the rounds of the yellow press in Russia, except the timeline is "in a few months" rather than end of 2021.
Generally considered some bs made up for clicks and based on some legislation his people are currently trying to pass that would benefit him and his people for life, even once out of office. Reminder that the government just amended their constitution so it "reset" the amount of terms Putin could serve, effectively making him President for [his] life.
posted by WeekendJen at 11:31 AM on November 6, 2020

I just hope they can never enjoy any public life in NYC for the rest of their lives. You know they love the culture, restaurants, etc. Enjoy being banished to Mar-a-Lago, you fucking nazis.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:32 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Possible derail here...

>> Where is Methlandia supposed to be? I can't find it anywhere online. I know it's not an official name. Just would appreciate a bit more info.

>The Central Valley. Loosely: Chico, Redding, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield and the farm land around them.

I was raised in Lodi just north of Stockton. I call these towns "WPA towns" as populations increased to to migration during the Great Depression and a lot of town and farming infrastructure established through New Deal programs. Religious emphasis of these towns came from predominant migrant cultures that settled there (Lodi has higher than norm amount of Methodist churches due to migration from the Dakotas. Stockton has higher than norm evangelical/Baptist churches due migrantion from Oklahoma/Tennesee)

The towns had strong community bases due this change and increased responsibilities/production during WW2. This community vibe carried through to the mid-late Seventies. (At least where I lived, Democrats consistently won local and state elections.

My theory is that these towns began being gutted with Reagan was elected president in 1980. Over time the bottoms dropped out of a lot of these communities. Box stores moving in. Intelligent kids getting out. More and more evangelical churches becoming dominant. Racism was always there. (Stockton the center of California Nazi Party in the seventies, Posse Comitatus being the "Proud Boys" on behalf of the farmers threatening farm workers/UFW.

I write this only because it sad to see what a lot of these towns have become and glad to have left when I did.
posted by goalyeehah at 11:33 AM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

538 posted Is The Presidential Election Over?
@NateSilver538, I don't know, but it sure seems to me like not calling the race when the outcome is obvious in states like PA and NV gives the president more time to spout misinformation.
GA, AZ, and NV seem likely Biden, or maybe 2 out of 3?
PA seems to be pretty increasingly trending Biden.
I just need to know when I can start feeling kind of okay. Is it safe yet?
posted by theora55 at 11:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

It's amazing how much privilege Biden's Corvette represents. Received an even at the time an expensive car as a wedding present 50+ years ago and has never once been in cash crunch that would force selling it.

Joe Biden: Obama offered money to help support my ailing son's family : "Vice-President Joe Biden said he considered selling his home to help support his dying son’s family, prompting President Barack Obama to offer him financial support."

Biden has gone through some not-great financial times.
posted by kristi at 11:34 AM on November 6, 2020 [58 favorites]

One another topic... is anyone getting 'Dune' vibes about this transition?
Well, Trump did not get to declare himself God-Emperor but he is still in the process of metamorphizing into a giant sandworm.
posted by dannyboybell at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

John Santucci
@Santucci
Vibe in the President’s inner circle this morning is a bit of a stalemate. Many discussions of what to do next & they are splitting into two roads. (1) what legal challenges are possible (2) dusting off the plans for a “Trump TV” like network should this end

Oooh suggestion for TrumpTV segments - how about "How to make the greatest batch of pruno", and "How to make a solid gold shiv"
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:35 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

is this the last we see of Pence? ...l doubt it but...if that mole dose reappear ignore it or wack it
posted by robbyrobs at 11:36 AM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Biden's dad was a used car salesman. Not exactly rolling in it.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

NBC News says they'll call it when Biden leads by 35,000 in PA.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:38 AM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Stray thought I want to add apropos nothing in particular: we all know Biden is going to pull some kind of "look forward, not backward" "bipartisan" nonsense. I really hope that doesn't stick this time. There is enough going on between the plague and the economic collapse and the overt white supremacy that I am not confident it is a trick that can be succeed in 2021. At the same time, Republicans are already nervously inching toward positioning Trump as their fall guy and putting the veneer of respectability back over their white supremacist fascism. We cannot let that happen. What we need are real investigations into Republican attempts to dismantle US democracy - that have teeth and consequences; Trump, McConnell et al need to be imprisoned for life - and hard conversations as a society about the legacy of slavery and racism in the US, the resurgence of fascism, the grimness of climate catastrophe and the US' foreign policy of doing exactly what is happening to it now to other countries.

If we can't do that, the US is over and will try to take everyone else down with it. I know everyone wants to relax and celebrate what victories we can, and I don't want to take that away from anyone. I'm right there with you all. Following these threads - the speed and size of them, the impact this has on the entire world - has felt to me like the climax to Summer Wars. The US has not come together, but beyond the US, I feel in some ways the world has come together to respond to the existential threats rearing their heads. I have a tiny, tiny, tiny seed of hope that we can get off track to the worst case scenarios and on track to something better. The Good Future is gone, but we can still have a future in which the best parts of humanity and some parts of the rest of the biosphere survive.

What I mean through the medication fog is it's felt good to follow this, even though I know many of you were hoping for better, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. It doesn't ever stop. But we aren't doomed to the worst outcomes.
posted by Lonnrot at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

And wasn't the story that he had to trade in both his and his new wife's old cars to get that Corvette from his dad?
posted by clawsoon at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

It’s me again. The rest of the world has sent me with a statement on the result. We wondered if Britain was maybe in good enough shape to deliver it, but …

**shudders**

Four days ago: Not one UK constituency would vote for Trump over Biden, poll finds.
"The Hanbury Strategy study shows 76 per cent of Britons would vote for Joe Biden, while only 24 per cent would back Trump." Unsurprisingly, in anti-brexit areas that dropped to 15 per cent.

So on behalf of (most) of the British people to Trump:
Beat it, ya big orange jobbie.

Thank fucking fuck you've managed to kickout* that lying bellend, I can finally breathe again. I've spent the last 4 years fairly concerned he was going to start a war with China or Iran and drag the rest of the world into a nuclear holocaust. Well done everyone.
Well, except the fascists, obviously.

* TTTCS, of course. Did you know that the West Wing likely nicked that ritual, it's to dispel the evil you would incur if you spoke the name of the Scottish Play inside a theatre.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

cybercoitus interruptus : We sadly may have paved the way for Trump with Rob Ford.

For those not in the know, he was a literal crack smoking mayor who may have managed to get reelected despite the leaked video of him smoking crack (Note, the video was *while* he was recent/semi recent (while mayor?); not a youthful indescretion). For once, cancer game to the rescue.

And as democracy has shown to lead to mini monarchies, Rob's brother, Doug, is the current Premier of Ontario. Currently pushing to maintain open for business despite being well into the second wave. I'll let this recent headline speak for Rob Ford's competence: Epidemiologists call Ontario's new COVID-19 restrictions 'gibberish' and 'scientifically illiterate'.
posted by nobeagle at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

RE: bugs in the Whitehouse. Imagine a electrical wall plate like the SnapPower nightlight but instead of a night light a listening device. You could replace a wall plate in less than a minute and then it is permanently powered. That is probably the least sophisticated sort of device that security has to be worried about.
posted by Mitheral at 11:40 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

W got rehabbed by not making waves after his presidency and Trump appearing in the scene and making W look totally reasonable. Can we really find something that much worse than Trump? I’m sure the republicans can. So probably will totally happen.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 11:41 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

The only thing worse than Trump would be someone better than Trump.
posted by argybarg at 11:43 AM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Lord Chancellor: do you think Ivanka can run her bag imprint?

Yes. White Karens who voted for Trump have no problem advertising their preferences and a stylish, expensive, conspicuous-consumerish Ivanka-logo-ed handbag is just the thing. Look for new styles in January!

Do you think Kushner will be invited onto task forces or welcomed to parties?

Yes. There are plenty of moneyed conservatives who will throw parties at which the Trumpkinder will be more than welcome.

Do you think Don Jr and Eric will get their crazed messages reported on far and wide?

Yes. FOX, OANN, and the soon-to-be-launched Trump News Conglomerate will air them all day every day.

They lost, and then they lost in a different way. I think it killed off any chances of the Trump political dynasty.

47% of the country will back them no matter what. They're not dead; they're not even gone.
posted by tzikeh at 11:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

I wouldn’t completely write off ivanka’s chances at liberal rehabilitation. Witness the embrace of George W. Bush over the last couple years. Anything’s possible if you act civil. So probably not Donald or Jr, but maybe Ivanka.

Fair, which is why we need to do two things:
1) Hound Ivanka and her brand mercilessly. Connect it to children in cages, to thuggery, to the brutal cruelty of her father. It doesn't matter her business of social venture: shoot it down. It might seem overzealous, but consider what happened when America played it easy on the Trumps.
2) Destroy the system of privilege that let Jared Fucking Kushner into Harvard, into positions of power by doing nothing. Demand that the wealthy (and their children) be seen as leaches, not princes. Treat them as little more than vestigial nobility that did nothing to earn their place in society. If they want real jobs, they can get them, but insist that no due deference ever be granted to the children of the wealthy again. Tell them to give away their fortunes and labor productively for society. Tell them to create instead of buy. Laugh them off of Instagram, snub their quackery, jeer at their appearances on the red carpet. Make them feel so damn uncomfortable that no one dare admit they were born to wealth in this country. Only then, can we seriously break the back of systemic inequality and capitalism in this country.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:45 AM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

It's amazing how much privilege Biden's Corvette represents.

Already having it and letting it rot for decades (his kids restored the car during the end of Obama's second term) doesn't cost much.
posted by sideshow at 11:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

> The 2020 Election Has Brought Progressives to the Brink of Catastrophe

Always nice when the "Democrats in disarray" narratives are fired up and ready to go before the results of the election have even been finalized.

The author identifies some real problems in that piece, some of which I cited in the last thread. If we don't pull off the sweep in Georgia, the Senate will absolutely be an obstacle that will prevent the kind of real progressive change that's needed. But there's another side of this that the author vastly undersells, which is that Trump's onslaught of reactionary policy over the past ~4 years has made it such that the combination of executive orders, a Biden veto pen, and a divided Congress could immensely improve everyone's life simply by reversing the damage.

Is that where wanted to be back in 2016? Of course not. But Trump's Barr-led destruction of norms around executive power cuts both ways, and there isn't a damn thing Mitch McConnell can do about that. Just taking the Trump jackboot off the neck of so many people being harmed by his Presidency is progressive change in and of itself. We want more and we'll push for more. But rhetoric like "Brink of Catastrophe" and "[i]f Democrats fail to pull off an improbable triumph in the Peach State, then the Biden presidency will be doomed to failure before it starts" is not something I want to hear right now. Nobody's asking you to clap louder for the centrist compromise candidate, but you could at least fucking let him get inaugurated before writing the epitaph for his Presidency.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:48 AM on November 6, 2020 [47 favorites]

goalyeehah - you were raised in Lodi? I was raised in Stockton right near you! Thanks for the historical context going through the late 1970s -- I posted a comment about the 1978-2020 trend in at least Congressional races.

Did you see what's happening to Michael Tubbs, the mayor of Stockton? The Record is losing revenue and staff, and a local Facebook page has gotten a lot of traction as an alternative news source -- and it is practically single-minded in its dedication to spreading misinformation about Tubbs and his administration, and it may have just tipped the election to his opponent. I read this LA Times piece and was wondering why the word "libel" never shows up in it!
posted by brainwane at 11:49 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

There's a good bet that Ivanka and the rest of the Trumps can build a sort of fuck-you counterbrand, kind of like Chick-Fil-A — the aspirational brand of true-Red America. If that's all that happens, I don't feel like expending any energy to make it not happen. If they pop up out of their foxhole to claim actual political power, though, then go get em.
posted by argybarg at 11:50 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

There is some sort of weird meme floating around related to the Whitehouse Rose garden changes. For the record there are lots of roses in the White House Rose Garden. Even the much noted replacement of the crab apples was with standard (IE tall) roses.

"Vice-President Joe Biden said he considered selling his home to help support his dying son’s family, prompting President Barack Obama to offer him financial support."

Biden has gone through some not-great financial times.

If the President of the United States is offering you money to help out your family you just might have some privilege.
posted by Mitheral at 11:51 AM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Yes. White Karens who

Didn't we recently find out that actual Karens broke solidly for Biden? Something like 60-40?
posted by clawsoon at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yes. FOX, OANN, and the soon-to-be-launched Trump News Conglomerate will air them all day every day.

OANN I get but a Trump News Conglomerate would mean someone with cash is willing to lend it to Trump and someone with access to the finance system is willing to launder it. 90% of his post-President problems are going to involve not enough of those two people I don't know how he would get a media conglomerate off the ground.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Here's a much more fair evaluation of the headwinds Biden will have to deal with without the senseless doom and gloom of that NYMag piece. One important factor it cites is how horrible the 2022 map is for Senate Republicans, which may significantly modulate how much they're willing to walk the plank for McConnell against a President who's almost guaranteed to have a higher starting approval rating than his predecessor.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:52 AM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I want re-up my contention that the way back for Democrats/the Left/the whole gang is to concentrate on materially improving the lives of the maximum number of people. Put renewable energy and high-speed broadband and vocational centers and low-cost clinics everywhere, then say: "See? This is what we do." Focus on that at all levels, do it fairly, and the rest will sort itself out.
posted by argybarg at 11:53 AM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

Apologies if this was linked above, but here's Michael Rappaort with one of the most satisfying and cathartic 1:30 videos I've ever watched. The language is most definitely NSFW.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/jp5i0k/michael_rapaport_spitting_the_truth/
posted by mosk at 11:55 AM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Always nice when the "Democrats in disarray" narratives are fired up and ready to go before the results of the election have even been finalized.

I'm seeing some "progressives were totally repudiated in this election!" takes from conservatives. Not sure how they're getting that from the actual election results, but the actual election results probably don't matter to the narrative they've decided on.
posted by clawsoon at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Joe Biden is a white male, from a middle class white family. If you think it's the Corvette indicating privilege...
posted by theora55 at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

If the President of the United States is offering you money to help out your family you just might have some privilege.

No shit, he was VP at the time. Beau died in 2015. Of *course* he had privilege. Does that genuinely surprise you, that the VP of the US might possibly be a position of privilege?
posted by aramaic at 11:56 AM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Didn't we recently find out that actual Karens broke solidly for Biden? Something like 60-40?

yes.
posted by ckape at 11:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

> we all know Biden is going to pull some kind of "look forward, not backward" "bipartisan" nonsense. I really hope that doesn't stick this time.

It's not up to Biden. I'm very relieved that we (likely) won't have Trump as POTUS any more. But Biden is going to be quite hamstrung; owing to poor downballot results, we are actually in a very bad position for the next decade, as the article that robbyrobs linked above makes clear. An excerpt:

[The likely GOP domination of the Senate for the foreseeable future and GOP-controlled redistricting] may very well mean that the U.S. government will not pass any significant climate legislation, or expansion of public health insurance, or immigration reform, or gun safety law this decade.

So what can we do?

1. In the short-term: put everything you can into the Georgia US Senate runoff races.
2. After that, organize grassroot/community/people-led efforts to enact progressive change directly, because a stalemated federal government isn't going to do jack shit.
3. Remember it's going to be a long fight and take care of your heart.
posted by splitpeasoup at 11:57 AM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Nobody's asking you to clap louder for the centrist compromise candidate, but you could at least fucking let him get inaugurated before writing the epitaph for his Presidency.

Pointing out the problems with Biden now – i.e., what his political instincts will be when faced with a GOP Senate – is exactly what everyone before the election said we should do. "Just wait till he beats Trump, which is imperative, and then resume the pressure on him from the left."

Now that he's won – which, yes, he has, thanks less to Biden than to the left-of-Biden organizers who bothered knocking on doors – let's see how that pressure is received.
posted by Beardman at 11:59 AM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

The likely GOP domination of the Senate for the foreseeable future

National Review is already worrying that the GOP could lose the Senate in 2022 because they have 7 vulnerable seats up for election. "A Biden administration may find itself more empowered in its second half than its first."
posted by clawsoon at 12:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

clawsoon: Didn't we recently find out that actual Karens broke solidly for Biden? Something like 60-40?

ckape: Yes.

Cute, but 55% of white women voted for Trump in this election -- and that's just those who would admit it to the pollsters. We know that's an underrepresentation.
posted by tzikeh at 12:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I feel like I remember hearing quite a bit about how terrible the 2020 election was for Senate Republicans though, too.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 12:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

> Can we really find something that much worse than Trump?

tom cotton. he's the next boss monster and he is scary as fuck.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 12:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

One important factor it cites is how horrible the 2022 map is for Senate Republicans, which may significantly modulate how much they're willing to walk the plank for McConnell against a President who's almost guaranteed to have a higher starting approval rating than his predecessor.

Johnson and Toomey at the very minimum. Blunt, Burr, and possibly Loeffler should be stretch goals.

Democrats need to go into 2022 knowing they are willing to blow up the filibuster to fix a lot of things that are wrong with this country. They also need to sit down with every one of the groups that have been delivering turnout for Democratic party members in these urban areas, get their wish lists, and make hard commitments on the most common issues.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 12:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I think it killed off any chances of the Trump political dynasty.

Eh, I'm not so sure. After so many times of people saying that there was no chance of Trump becoming the candidate and later the president and then so many more times people saying that this was the one event or action that would make everyone stand up and repudiate Trump in a big way, but it hasn't really happened. Even now if Biden wins, Trump has set up the reasons why he is the victim of this loss and not to blame: That it was China who released the virus, the Democratic cities and states that botched the response, and the liberal media that inflated the pain and deaths about it. And even then, he would have won the election against Joe Biden, if not for it being rigged in favor of his opponent.

And on the other side of this is the Republican Party, who I'm certain would probably welcome the Trump clan back if it meant that he could turn out people to vote, which Trump has done this election. Sure, the Democrats got more votes this time, but that's just a matter of slightly "nudging" those numbers back while keeping Trump's numbers up.

But, I guess one possibility is the Republicans having someone pick up the Trump flag without being Trump. But to me, this would just be an empty victory, as a 2024 Trumpist Party fueled by the stinging loss of the "stolen election" of 2020 and without the baggage of Trump itself is probably even more dangerous.
posted by FJT at 12:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

55% of white women voted for Trump in this election

and around 60% of whites overall....although considering the pandemic and the vote by mail numbers I am not certain we can regard exit polling conducted on "election day" and by phone survey as being necessarily representative.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Nobody's asking you to clap louder for the centrist compromise candidate, but you could at least fucking let him get inaugurated before writing the epitaph for his Presidency.

Hard agree. I’m a lefty myself and was 🙄😒 when Biden got the nom. But one thing that drives me bonkers about many of my fellow leftists is the need to rush into any victory no matter how big or small and explain how it’s actually shit and you should feel bad. Comrades we need to take any win and feel some joy. Joy is what keeps us from burning out. It’s ok to feel conflicted, but it’s also ok to just take a win sometimes (even a heavily compromised win) and use that momentum to keep yourself slogging on. Our victories are typically won in the streets and with grassroots organizing and mutual aid anyways.

Let’s whip the fuck out of this centrist but can we wait like, a day?
posted by supercrayon at 12:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [126 favorites]

> Pointing out the problems with Biden now – i.e., what his political instincts will be when faced with a GOP Senate – is exactly what everyone before the election said we should do. "Just wait till he beats Trump, which is imperative, and then resume the pressure on him from the left."

Who's talking about reducing the pressure on him? I'm responding to an article that's declaring his Presidency doomed from the start unless the Georgia miracle happens. You seem to be responding to something else entirely.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

We're about to see a bunch of newborns get named "Tranche"

Are some of the Palins expecting again?
posted by MrBadExample at 12:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

If the President of the United States is offering you money to help out your family you just might have some privilege.

It seems pretty weird and deeply not-useful to demand that the people who lead us have literally zero privilege of any kind. AOC has a college education: privilege. She interned with Ted Kennedy: privilege. So what? Privilege is like sin: everybody has some. (Posting on a website in the middle of the workday? Privilege.)

So, the fact that Joe Biden has a Corvette he's had for decades shows what? That's he no defender of the common man? Maybe he got out of it with help from the literal President of the United States of America, but I'd wager there's a lot of folks here on Metafilter that've never even been in the position of having to contemplate selling their house when they didn't want to, in the first place. Are they all more privileged than Joe? On some axes, maybe. On most axes, almost certainly not. So what?

The concept of "privilege" is useful as a way so people can use it to understand their own blind spots, not so they can use it as a scythe to cut down everyone else. And "________ owns a Corvette" is a really particularly stupid way to try and evaluate privilege in any case, cut absolutely from the same moralizing, judgemental cloth as the people who think anybody with an iPhone absolutely doesn't need welfare.
posted by mstokes650 at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [135 favorites]

A couple deleted; nudge to please focus this thread on election results not on other things, and if you're moved to make an edgy joke please reconsider whether this is the place/time.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

> "I feel like I remember hearing quite a bit about how terrible the 2020 election was for Senate Republicans though, too."

They're going to lose at least one seat. It's possible they'll lose more. They certainly aren't going to gain any. Yeah, we'd all hoped for better, but compare that to blue wave of 2018 where they *gained* two seats.

On another note, I really wish people would stop slinging around demographic blame based on information that is likely to be preliminary, at best.
posted by kyrademon at 12:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

If we want to keep Tom Cotton out, we need to put the screws on Biden and company to prosecute Trump and his enablers, from the top down.

And that process needs to start today, not tomorrow.

Republicans have used Trump over the last four years to speed up undermining public trust in our government. They tried to use the postal system to rig the election in swing states. Republicans used their political positions to withhold PPE and other public health resources, in order to make swing states suffer the worst of the initial waves of Covid, sickening and killing voters. They colluded with foreign governments, including Ukraine and Russia, to interfere with our elections.

It needs to made clear that there will be serious, life-altering consequences for these treasonous actions.

As much as there are many fires to put out, if Biden doesn't get to work on this, the Tom Cottons of the future will have a foot in the door the next time around.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

All the things dems need to do to "consolidate power" are all things that make the country more democratic. I'm convinced that first-passed-the-post voting systems are one of if not the major root cause the problem. At least in terms of things I can call my reps about.

I think that aggressively expanding voting rights in every way shape and form is the way forward from here. Will the GOP claim they're just making power grabs? They sure will and if it wasn't that they'd be claiming some other bad-faith bullshit. And, ya know, is more people voting means you can't win elections, you're certainly free to change your platform to get more votes. It IS a free country after all.

I don't really give a shit about any sense of "fairness" in the political system. Those fuckers work for ME and I don't give a shit what they think is fair. Everyone gets a vote and casting it should be fast, easy, safe, and let me vote strategically by voting for my preferences (IE: Ranked choice).

It's a bit of a doubled-edged sword but how people vote is mostly a state level issue. So if you've got a state government that's deep deep red there probably isn't much you can do. But state reps. tend to be pretty responsive so it's politically feasible in your state enough calls can really make an impact.
posted by VTX at 12:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Biden Campaign Says 'Trespassers' Can Be Escorted From the White House If Trump Refuses to Concede
posted by y2karl at 12:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

Regarding the comments about Indigenous voting in Arizona: the Navajo Nation has seen devastating rates of COVID19, and the Tohono O'odham Nation has seen numerous burial sites and sacred sites destroyed by The Wall re/construction which has also been cutting their traditional territory in two. This may have activated their citizens beyond “normal” rates, especially as many Native Americans boycott settler elections on principle.
posted by Rumple at 12:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Brainwane - Yes, I read your post with great relish. It looked as if you were there after I got out. I planted signs out in the countryside for Shumway. Family was John Birch Pro-life, Catholics. We'd protested the Planned Parenthood events and implied that they were going to burn in hell. Went to St. Mary's too.

Curious to know more about your group and the alternative newspaper. And I hope you got a chance to hang out at The Blackwater Cafe when it was still rocking it.
posted by goalyeehah at 12:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Deleted a crackpot link and couple followups; we don't need to be throwing traffic that way.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

I would love to see the Mexican border just opened, period. Tear down any walls. Repair the environmental damage.
posted by maxwelton at 12:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I absolutely want to see prosecutions for illegal actions during the past 4 years, including EVERYONE who committed them. I plan to be on the phone to my representatives starting next week to make that very clear.

If I get pushback (and I don't expect to, but others might), I may pivot slightly to pushing for thorough investigations into Russian influence on government officials, with a heavy emphasis on Trump and anyone who received Russian NRA money. I mean, some people in power might be reluctant to go after a former President, but how can you object to going after our enemies meddling in our affairs, in ways that are clearly illegal and that people have, in fact, gone to jail for already? All we need to do is re-open and broaden the investigations that this administration stonewalled and shut down.

Russia, Hatch Act, campaign finance violations, and whatever the states have got - that should be enough for a good start.
posted by kristi at 12:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

> Russia, Hatch Act, campaign finance violations, and whatever the states have got - that should be enough for a good start.

If only there were a career prosecutor somewhere in Biden's orbit to help him out with that.

Time to get tough on Supergrifters.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Neither your elected congresspeople nor Joe Biden, personally, are going to be pursuing criminal investigations. Congress can’t, and the President shouldn’t (and doesn’t have to).

All they have to do is stay out of the way of the career prosecutors in the Justice Department (the various US Attorneys) and whatever any of their grand juries find out. Or they could appoint a special prosecutor if they really want to look like they’re above it all and non-interfering.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Given that the demographics may be based on exit polls, and a *lot* of Biden votes were by absentee ballot, I'm not going to have any faith in it. But polling indicates that polling has failed repeatedly. It's pretty good; it's not gospel.
posted by theora55 at 12:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I realize voting is organized by each state in the US but would there be value in proposing a constitutional amendment to the right to vote? It would perhaps make the discussion more explicit around voter suppression, and if it passed, would provide valuable language for oversight of state procedures which the Roberts court seems to have weakened. It’s a long play but a good one, as well as has the virtue of being right.

That's more or less what the 15th Amendment was supposed to do. It was only actually enforced with the Voting Rights Act much later, which was then Robertsed. A "we really mean it" amendment makes sense, but that doesn't do squat with a reactionary SCOTUS.
posted by BungaDunga at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I would like to please ask everyone to pay a little more attention to what links & info have already been posted in this thread (and the next one or five or however damn many we have to do to get through this.) It's starting to feel like the old MegaThread problem where people are posting things that were already posted a half hour or 2 or 3 hours earlier, which often means we just have a new round of people having the same arguments and analyses we had earlier which means the whole thread gets bigger and more unwieldy that much faster.
posted by soundguy99 at 12:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

would there be value in proposing a constitutional amendment to the right to vote?

Not with a red Senate there wouldn't.
posted by tzikeh at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> Neither your elected congresspeople nor Joe Biden, personally, are going to be pursuing criminal investigations. Congress can’t, and the President shouldn’t (and doesn’t have to).

This is a distinction without a difference. As much as we would love to believe there's a firewall between the White House and the Justice Department, the President is the head of the executive branch. If Biden wants Trump Org and the vast network of criminals he surrounded himself to be investigated and charged with crimes, that will happen. That he's not the one physically cuffing them or prosecuting their cases is something everyone reading this already understands.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Damn, I went to bed last night a mere 14 minutes before PA turned blue.

Next best thing: cooking up some delicious bacon and eggs to Pere Ubu: Pennsylvania.

Very much looking forward to the next episode of The Skepticrat. It's gonna be visceral.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

y2karl: "Biden Campaign Says 'Trespassers' Can Be Escorted From the White House If Trump Refuses to Concede"

You know why they won't let Trump back into the White House?

His entry is for Biden.
posted by chavenet at 12:37 PM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Wow. That's definitely my favorite Michael Rapaport performance ever.
posted by Don Pepino at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Based on some quick back-of-the-envelope math, at the current pace of counting GA and PA should be done tallying votes in something like 80 and 94 hours, respectively... what's the holdup I wonder?
posted by caution live frogs at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2020

Could it be the last votes are slowed down by measures associated with the certifying process? In a way that initial counts may not have been, because certification was decided later? Pure speculation here, as I don't really know the facts.
posted by ipsative at 12:41 PM on November 6, 2020

what's the holdup I wonder?

Republican scrutineers challenging every single ballot?
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Vote counts have probably always taken this long to finish, it's just that in the past races were called before the actual final counts were done.
posted by PenDevil at 12:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

@DavidLammy on Twitter:

After years of closing my young children’s ears because Trump was saying something inappropriate my 12 year old comes home with todays joke.. Son: Why can’t Trump go to the White House anymore ? Dad: God knows why can’t Trump go to the White House ? Son: Because it’s FOR BIDEN !
posted by popcassady at 12:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

a Trump News Conglomerate would mean someone with cash is willing to lend it to Trump

No one is that stupid. Trump News would be like many of the other "Trump" properties: they'd just license the name. And he probably prefers it that way: making deals is fun, running a business not so much.
posted by Slothrup at 12:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yeah, California’s only like 77% reported; it’s just that we know the answer already so nobody cares.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Reserves going heavily for Biden is so delicious. Maybe disestablishing reserves because their casino plans would cut into the business of your cronies wasn't actually the best course of action.
posted by Mitheral at 12:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

"... slowed down by measures associated with the certifying process ..."

With this election, I would bet most people charged with counting want to make sure they do it correctly.
posted by filtergik at 12:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Neither your elected congresspeople nor Joe Biden, personally, are going to be pursuing criminal investigations. Congress can’t, and the President shouldn’t (and doesn’t have to).

Okay ... but oversight is definitely one of the responsibilities of Congress, and investigatory hearings are an important part of what they do. In addition, requesting investigations from Inspectors General is definitely a thing members of Congress do.

I think it's valuable for my Congresspeople to know that I really want enforcement of the law and diligent prosecution of crimes, even if they're not the Executive Branch. And I can voice my strong support for adding teeth to government reform laws while I'm at it.
posted by kristi at 12:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I think the name might not have so much value any more, and rather than expansion, we're likely to see a lot more, already multiply successful, lawsuits by tenants to remove the name from buildings altogether. I imagine these lawsuits will be filled against whatever holding company ends up with the deeds after all the foreclosures.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:51 PM on November 6, 2020

As a very liberal/progressive North Carolinian who grew up in a white southern family with fairly poor roots (barefoot chicken farmers a few generations ago), getting the red states (and thus the country) to unite on progressive issues is going to require that we stop with the mindless bucketing. A couple of points:

* There have been several links showing that Trump voters aren't poor because lots are in a $100k-$199k income bracket. In NC a teacher with 5-6 years' experience married to an electrician is going to be in that bracket easily. So two people who grew up in the country without a lot and have diligently worked to make a life in a little ranch house in Johnston county are not going to take kindly to the idea that they are "privileged", white or not white. They probably have a boat too. Maybe even an old Corvette that they lovingly work on on weekends. This is a TOTALLY VALID thing for people to want and get. Let's get that for everyone.
* The misinformation thing is a huge issue that I don't know how to solve. My few Trumpy friends are making kinda-sorta reasonable assumptions from crazypants facts.
* People in small towns tend to value simplicity and constancy. They might or might not be some flavor of racist, but really they are just less comfortable than we city dwellers are with dealing with non-English languages, non-Christian religions, constantly updated rules about how we should refer to different subgroups, etc. For example the "war on Christmas" thing was less about not liking Muslims or Jews (though that exists for sure), and more about JESUS CHRIST THIS TOWN IS 99% CHRISTIAN WHY IS IT NOW THE "WINTER MUSICAL" AT SCHOOL?? I'm an atheist, but this is what people are about.
* Just as with any prejudice, lack of exposure to different people makes it worse. Where did we all mix with many types of folks? Cities. College. Example (culled from real people): 9/11 happened. "Muslims" did it. I hear a lot on the news about terrorist stuff. Why can't those people get along? I watched "24". I don't have a Muslim co-worker that I go hunting with. So why do I care if there are theoretically normal Muslims out there? It's another complexity I don't want to deal with.
* Small-town people generally don't like big government programs. The idea that we'd spend $x trillion on some sweeping program to solve (whatever) is just not comprehensible to them. The line between "I got taxed $x" and "this great thing happened" is not very visible. I think this is a quite solvable problem with some good PR.
* Rural people are often very self-reliant. They have a regular job and on the weekend build a deck, like, themselves. So again, they are weird about welfare or other programs that they feel let the recipient get out of "doing for themselves". Weirdly, many of them are quite involved in church efforts to help people.
* For god's sake, stop labeling things with -isms. People support a lot of progressive policies if you approach them right. Some total fails: "I'm a socialist/leftist/witch/anarchist/satanist/etc. but OH NO you just don't know what real 'whatever-ists' are really like. Here go read this book about it ...". Just approach things one issue at a time. Shit, if you rename the Democratic Socialists the Freedom Party you're halfway to victory.

And so on. This is one reason I think Biden will be a good transitional president as we move to the left. He is not going to demonize people and drive them to QAnon and militias. He might even solve some of their problems in a way that respects them and shows them the way towards more tolerance.

n.b. Yes, there really is a basket of deplorables, and it's a big damn basket, but a good leader can reach a LOT of red/rural Americans and bring them on board. Otherwise it's always going to be eking out a 51-49 win and trying to force stuff down the 49%'s throat; then they'll win 51-49 and undo everything; repeat forever. I say this as someone who is very likely to get pissed off (like on Tuesday night) and say GOD WE LIVE IN A STATE FULL OF DUMMIES. This is why I would not be a good leader.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [82 favorites]

The earliest that California could possibly close the count is November 20. From the California Secretary of State:

Vote-by-mail ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than 17 days after Election Day.

posted by Lexica at 12:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Neither your elected congresspeople nor Joe Biden, personally, are going to be pursuing criminal investigations. Congress can’t,

Congress can refer to Justice for charges, and if you believe James Comey, sometimes the charges can't be pursued without Congress referring them to the FBI.

Beyond that, Trump and members of his administration can absolutely be impeached, both "again" and "after they leave office." Most if not all of these people should be prohibited from serving in public office again, and that's what you can do with impeachment.
posted by rhizome at 12:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Here's a link to a page scraping the data from the NYT's unofficial vote count API. It's more informative than just hitting refresh on the election updates page of whatever media outlet you favor.
posted by reenum at 12:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I really want the last votes in GA called. Right now unless my math is totally off, without GA the best Trump can do is 169 EVs. There's just under 4K votes left to count. Unless 45 gets 2750 of those votes it's not possible for him to win.

I'd love to see PA have enough of a lead for them to call this decisively, but if GA finishes with Biden ahead, and 3 of the remaining 5 states show Biden in the lead, I'd expect the networks to call the race over. 45 can take 2 of the remaining 5 states but the likelihood he could take all 5 is just too small.
posted by caution live frogs at 12:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

🚨 🚛 🚚 LOSER TRUCK! LOSER TRUCK! 🚚 🚛 🚨

(link goes to Claude Taylor's Twitter account showing a video of a truck that says "LOSER" in huge letters with Trump's face on it that has been circling the White House all day. They've made 50 passes and they're going for 50 more.)
posted by tzikeh at 12:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [49 favorites]

I would love to see the Mexican border just opened, period. Tear down any walls. Repair the environmental damage.

Especially since immigration was not a problem until Trump decided it was.
posted by rhizome at 12:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

goalyeehah: I did get to go to Blackwater Cafe, like, once for a poetry reading! :-) We'll talk more in email.

I contacted the mods and they okayed starting a new thread specifically about local/state election results and discussion so I'll be commenting about that stuff there instead of here. Most people in this thread want to talk about the Presidency and the Senate which is fine! I'm just making a space to concentrate on other aspects.
posted by brainwane at 12:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Freedom Party

Uh, I'm neutral on re-branding, but let's not use that name at the very least.
posted by FJT at 1:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Here's an in interesting interview on UK Channel 4 news with Mary Trump.
posted by night_train at 1:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Here's a link to a page scraping the data from the NYT's unofficial vote count API

It seems to be defaulting to only 3 table rows now. There's a button in the top RH corner to expand the tables.

If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment his heart breaks in two.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

from NBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz: "Watch how fast a conspiracy is born during a protest at the Maricopa county election center. Some people are convinced news vans parked in media spots are sneaking in ballots. We tried to explain its just camera equipment. They weren’t having it."
posted by bitteschoen at 1:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Are we still looking for other small victories in downballot races and laws?

Because 59% of my fellow Californians have voted to re-enfranchise felony parolees. (75% of precincts reporting) So there's one bright spot on our slate of propositions this year.
posted by ApathyGirl at 1:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

My one bright spot this election, beyond the big one, is that the Rs really truly got behind their boy and said “Yes, this is who we are happy to be.” Message received.

To rephrase myself: Vote for an obviously corrupt, racist individual because of sexism, racism, and brain rot caused by a vast right wing conspiracy, well, shame on you, but I guess me too for being an optimist. Vote for an obviously corrupt, racist individual after four years of overt corruption, rotting out the government in surprising ways, and stoking a personality cult, uh…
posted by Going To Maine at 1:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

"Watch how fast a conspiracy is born during a protest at the Maricopa county election center. Some people are convinced news vans parked in media spots are sneaking in ballots. We tried to explain its just camera equipment. They weren’t having it."

The news corespondent should have said "They're not ballots.. they're Sharpies!!! Wahahahaaaaahahahaaaaaa"
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Especially since immigration was not a problem until Trump decided it was.

While the Manchurian Comb Over cranked things up to eleven, anti immigration drum beating has been a right wing strategy for decades.
posted by calamari kid at 1:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

voted to re-enfranchise felony parolees

Happened in Florida but then the Republicans conjured up every obstacle imaginable to prevent as many felons as possible who had served their time, from (re)registering to vote.

NPR Planet Money story. It's typically very well produced.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

While the Manchurian Comb Over cranked things up to eleven, anti immigration drum beating has been a right wing strategy for decades.

Well yeah, but it still wasn't an actual problem, to the degree of calling most of them murderers and rapists, putting migrants in concentration camps, stealing children, and treating it like it's necessary. The pure racist "Border Minuteman" dudes are/were just a podunk street gang comparatively.
posted by rhizome at 1:15 PM on November 6, 2020

Sorry if this was asked/answered already -- any rough idea of the rate at which PA votes are being counted? (John King won't pick up my call.)
posted by swift at 1:16 PM on November 6, 2020

Obviously I wasn't thrilled when Biden was palling around with Kasich and I don't really want to see him giving Cabinet positions to Republicans. However this is one exception I think I could get behind:

I love the idea people are throwing around of giving Susan Collins a cabinet position. It's just beautifully cynical and we need Dems to do more shit like that.
posted by mstokes650 at 1:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [31 favorites]

It's amazing how much privilege Biden's Corvette represents. Received an even at the time an expensive car as a wedding present 50+ years ago and has never once been in cash crunch that would force selling it.

Really?

Now is the time to address Biden's privilege by pointing to a Corvette he received and never had to sell? Is it just me or is this one of the more asinine observations for today.
posted by elkevelvet at 1:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

Minister of Concern Collins works, sure

ETA Secretary of Concern, because the week had briefly caused me to forget which country--reality, actually-- I live in.
posted by riverlife at 1:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Yeah, nominating Collins in, say, Agriculture would be beautiful. Her replacement would be D, of course. But better, it would force McConnell to face his own tactics -- how would he rally the senate to vote no? And how would he say, well, she doesn't quite have the relevant experience .... after rubber stamping all of Mad King's appointees?
posted by Dashy at 1:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

I love the idea people are throwing around of giving Susan Collins a cabinet position. It's just beautifully cynical and we need Dems to do more shit like that.

A slightly more feasible powerplay is to offer positions to Burr (NC) and Toomey (PA), both of whom have already announced they aren't running in 2022 and live in states where the Democratic governor would appoint a replacement. So for them the choice is between "2 years wasting time in an obstructionist, do-nothing Senate" and "potentially up to 8 years of power and, technically, a promotion". They might just take it...
posted by jedicus at 1:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [38 favorites]

> * Small-town people generally don't like big government programs. The idea that we'd spend $x trillion on some sweeping program to solve (whatever) is just not comprehensible to them. The line between "I got taxed $x" and "this great thing happened" is not very visible. I think this is a quite solvable problem with some good PR.

I really enjoyed your perspective, and found at least some agreement with most of your points, but this one's just not true absent an exceedingly charitable definition of "generally". Rural Americans love programs from which they or people they know personally benefit, whether those are simple cash transfers (e.g. subsidies to farms) or Rube Goldberg machines like weapons programs or tax incentives for employers who promise (and often fail to deliver) jobs, but are skeptical of programs for which they do not personally benefit.

And it's not just a lack of understanding how the programs benefit them. The famous "keep your government hands off my Medicare" line may have just been a case of a single confused self-hating socialist pensioner in South Carolina, but the attitude of socialism for me and not for thee is too strong to reason most people out of even when the way they personally benefit is explained to them. The ACA exchanges weren't ideal in their design, but absent a strong enough majority to force a truly universal nationwide program, at some point if people in certain states don't want the help, then you have a moral obligation to give the help to those who do want it and wait for everyone else to come around, or not.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Another good joke I saw on twitter:

Trump: "Since I've lost, I'm leaving America."

Everyone: "Bi den."
posted by chavenet at 1:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

I don't know when the moment comes to celebrate, but I think we'll know it when it comes. I'm looking forward to Biden's speech in a couple of hours.

As to Biden's politics and the larger question of Where The Nation Stands, I think it's warranted to view Biden's win as exactly that: a win. And I think it's warranted to take comfort from that, especially given the shitstorm of recent years. I think it's warranted to celebrate Biden's win for the Paris Accord alone.
posted by dmh at 1:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

But better, it would force McConnell to face his own tactics -- how would he rally the senate to vote no? And how would he say, well, she doesn't quite have the relevant experience .... after rubber stamping all of Mad King's appointees?

Did you not see McConnell pushing through a SCOTUS justice in the last months of a president's term after not allowing a justice a vote a full election year away? Dude has no problem doing anything at all if it contradicts things he's said/done before. No compunction in the least. Doesn't give a shit.
posted by tzikeh at 1:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

However this is one exception I think I could get behind

Could I talk you into Secretary of Anything - Pat Toomey?
posted by gladly at 1:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

So it's about to be shabbat so I won't be able to be here to celebrate when this thing is officially called, but assuming it's Biden (TTTCS) (or as we call it, poo poo poo), I'm offering Everybody Rejoice from the top of my victory playlist. WE (will have) DID IT!
posted by Mchelly at 1:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Given previous experience with someone who sees themselves as the strongman victim who only deserves to win and will escalate and escalate, we unfortunately have to trick Trump into becoming a rat nothlit and drop him off on a remote island.

(sorry i haven't slept all week and am losing my mind)
posted by hapaxes.legomenon at 1:31 PM on November 6, 2020

how would he rally the senate to vote no?

The funny part here is that the senator in question would presumably vote for themselves? Or abstain, I guess, making it that much harder to conjure the votes against confirming... (contingent, of course, on the senator accepting the nom.)
posted by kaibutsu at 1:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

immigration was not a problem until Trump decided it was

Prop 13 passed in California in 1994 with strong support from Republicans. Peter Brimelow of white nationalist website VDARE had a best-selling anti-immigrant screed called "Alien Nation" that was published in 1995. Immigration has absolutely been an issue for conservatives for decades (and will only become moreso; Trumpism is partly a white-supremacist reaction to demographic change).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 1:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

one of the more asinine observations for today.

It just struck me that this possession was being used at least in part to show how regular Biden is and that as a long term possession it's something essentially none of my extended family has ever had the possibility of possessing. Vehicles as objects are both pretty fungible and a pain in the ass to have hanging around. Everyone in my extended family has been in the situation where we've had to sell a prized possession, especially cars, to make food budget at least once over the years. My Dad loved a 46 Ford 1 ton so much that twice he tracked it down and bought it back when he could afford to after having to sell it for food (which is pretty momentous because that particular vehicle was a tool that let him make money) and then the last time he sold it he couldn't buy it back because it was sold to Europe or Australia or something.

Sorry to have caused a derail.
posted by Mitheral at 1:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

^ Sorry. I am in no position to judge anyone about derailing anything. Take care.
posted by elkevelvet at 1:38 PM on November 6, 2020

Prop 13 passed in California in 1994

? There's the one everyone thinks of when you say "Prop 13", which was passed in 1978. According to Wikipedia, there have been 10 other Prop 13s, but none in 1994:

1914 California Proposition 13, California Bond Election Qualifications Proposition
1920 California Proposition 13, California Community Property Proposition
1932 California Proposition 13, Government Supervision of Wrestling and Boxing
1946 California Proposition 13, Allocation of Public School Funds
1956 California Proposition 13, Repeal of the Alien Land Law
1966 California Proposition 13, Property Statements for County Assessors[1]
1982 California Proposition 13, Water Resources
2000 California Proposition 13, The Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, Watershed Protection, and Flood Protection Bond Act
2010 California Proposition 13, Seismic Retrofitting
2020 California Proposition 13, Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act

posted by Lexica at 1:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sorry, brain fart; I meant Prop 187 (denial of services to undocumented immigrants).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 1:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh, so THAT'S where that Ford truck came from, that we each get to use for 1.26 seconds every year.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ah, right. Which, sadly, we just signaled we (as a state) have no interest in overturning by rejecting Prop 16.
posted by Lexica at 1:42 PM on November 6, 2020

How Trump’s Florida victory could influence future Republican campaigns.:

outlined in a three-page memo how the campaign’s Florida strategy of reaching out to a broad swath of voters — many of them new to the Republican Party — needed to serve as a model for other battlegrounds if the G.O.P. wanted to form a consistent, winning coalition.

This and general coverage of how/why the Latin/Hispanic community vote the way it did has some echoes with the Asian-American community as well. The obvious one is the Asian-American community is not a monolith either. For example, older Vietnamese-Americans tend to be more anti-Communist and conservative. Or that some folks with connections to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China even support Trump, because of he's seen as anti-China and possibly his pro-business image. Then there are issues that cross multiple Asian groups, like affirmative action (which got voted down in California this cycle) where a lot of Asians and Asian Americans tend to vote more conservatively on. And finally, there's still a lot of Asians/Asian Americans that identify as independent or don't vote regularly, making them even more "gettable".

So, I think it would be a very good idea for Democrats/Progressives/etc. to also start engaging more and better with those communities before another surprise happens.
posted by FJT at 1:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Per Dave Wasserman: "House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy tells me he didn't mean to declare Trump the victor on @FoxNews last night, but rather meant Trump 'gets the credit for helping us win House seats.'"

Seems like an interesting backpedal.
posted by reductiondesign at 1:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> if GA finishes with Biden ahead, and 3 of the remaining 5 states show Biden in the lead, I'd expect the networks to call the race over. 45 can take 2 of the remaining 5 states but the likelihood he could take all 5 is just too small.

That would be reasonable, but by policy, the network decision desks won’t call the overall race until they have called enough states to give one candidate 270 electoral college votes. (Source: this podcast interviewing Dan Merkle, who runs the ABC News decision desk.)
posted by mbrubeck at 1:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Prop 16 was an attempt to overturn 209 (banning affirmative action), not 187, both of which passed in 1996. Sadly, as noted, Prop 16 was defeated.

Unlike 209, 187 has been chipped away at for being unenforceable, and undocumented immigrants can obtain state IDs, receive state college scholarships, and other things.

Sadly, 209 remains standing, so those state college scholarships don't get used much for UC, but CalState has managed to hold on to a diverse demographic.
posted by linux at 1:49 PM on November 6, 2020

It's not a backpedal! It's 4D chess! Or sarcasm! Liberal fake news media (now including Fox) totally owned by that one!

(never understood '4D chess'. Doesn't it inherently need the time dimension or else every game is a stalemate without even making the first move?)
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

network decision desks won’t call the overall race until they have called enough states to give one candidate 270 electoral college votes

If you call GA that's > 270 electoral college votes.

GA is silly close though, so expect PA to be the thing that allows them to declare a winner.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

This almost made sitting through the Marvel movies worth it (wait for the guest cameo).
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

So the guy who won the vote still might not get to be President, huh?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

If you call GA that's > 270 electoral college votes.

For the networks who have not called AZ (i.e., everyone except Fox News and AP), Georgia only gets Biden to 269 votes.
posted by mbrubeck at 1:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh y'all this is taking forever. Next time let's just go ahead and get microwave election.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:55 PM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

C-PTSD makes it feel as if a momentary lapse in vigilance spells doom, and also that any happy thoughts will make us vulnerable. We could barely breathe for so long that taking a breath feels like an unacceptable risk. That's unsustainable, marathon runners have to breathe.

We took a step back from the cliff's edge. Tomorrow we'll take another. And the day after that. Today, in this moment, it's ok to breathe.

*in through the nose*

*out through the mouth*

Tomorrow we face the recounts.
Tomorrow we face the lawsuits.
posted by Horkus at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

When does Hanukkah start? My understanding was that we had enough election for one night, yet here we are....
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Prop 187 is the reason that people (falsely) think California is some Socialist wasteland/utopia. There is direct connection between Republican Governor Pete Wilson courting the racist vote by getting behind 187 for his re-election and our current Dem supermajority and the basic irrelevance of the CA GOP. Turns out that kinda stuff gets people extremely politically motivated.
posted by sideshow at 1:59 PM on November 6, 2020

17m ago
Georgia: Biden up 1,563 votes
PA: Biden up 14,518 votes
Nevada: Biden up 20,137 votes
Arizona: Biden up 39,769 votes
posted by robbyrobs at 1:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

The Georgia Secretary of State's office has announced that it is expecting to do a recount (via WABE, Atlanta's very best news source), so I think we can assume Georgia won't be officially called until after that.

Candidates can request a recount in Georgia if the race is decided by a half-percent or less. Gabe Sterling, with the Secretary of State’s Office, says they’ll seek to move up the schedule Nov. 20 certification date in an effort to get the recount underway.

posted by hydropsyche at 2:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

This almost made sitting through the Marvel movies worth it (wait for the guest cameo).

I often don't like these sorts of things because they play to easy symbolic substitution of "our guys" for "good guys" which you see conservatives do lazily all the time. But I'm sure happy to celebrate Abrams at the moment. And the idea that you win with coalitions is in there too.
posted by weston at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Biden's lead in GA just increased to 4,263 votes as per CNN. Hell yeah!
posted by un petit cadeau at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Newest cover of German magazine Der Spiegel: "The Squatter – Trump's dirty fight for the oval office"
posted by bitteschoen at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

The best part of the stupid (yeah I said it) MCU montage thing is that it's extremely right out of the Trumpist playbook. They just love photoshopping Trump's head onto someon actually masculine as proof he is some sort of badass. Of course, with Joe/Kamala/Obama/etc you can just show them in real life if you want to show them being baddass, but I digress..

This is stabbing them in the heart with their own knife.
posted by sideshow at 2:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Vote count just updated showing Biden in the lead by >4K votes in GA, and a ... negative number of votes left to count??
posted by caution live frogs at 2:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yeah I think they must have got more votes in the last batch than they were anticipating.
posted by alouts at 2:11 PM on November 6, 2020

I swear, I am literally in tears after watching that Marvel clip. I’m not sure why. So much pent-up emotion for so long. Every new ally that came into the scene made my heart swell, until I just couldn’t stop the waterworks.

What a silly little video to be the actual thing that made me finally lose it today.

Same here. No spoilers from me, but there are sweet and inspiring surprise throughout, and I was reminded of the selfless courage demonstrated by anyone and everyone who has said "hell no" to this mind-bogglingly corrupt and inept administration.
posted by vverse23 at 2:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

(never understood '4D chess'. Doesn't it inherently need the time dimension or else every game is a stalemate without even making the first move?)

It's a fourth spacial dimension. It can apparently be played with like 3D Star Trek chess, but you use 9 sets in a plane (or more) (or 27 in 3 planes(3x3x3)for 5D chess) with extra rules for how pieces move between boards, simulating a playing field that is spacially 4 dimensions instead of the regular 2. It's very nerdy, and very complicated, but apparently people actually do it. I'm sure there's an app. It's super smart in the way being able to do a rubik's cube is. The implication being that these shit-for-brains had some super complicated awesome plot going when in fact they were all just utterly inept in every way and feeding off heaping helpings of each other's bullshit. Here's a gameplay video. /chessderail
posted by sexyrobot at 2:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Trump just hard out abusing donors for cash, you love to see it

and even funnier

If you give money to Trump's recount/postelection litigation efforts, half of that money will go towards retiring his campaign debt instead, per the fine print.

posted by supercrayon at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

The NYT reports they just got another 2725 votes from Gwinnett County.

I will report that in Gwinnett there is no majority ethnic group, a whole lot of immigrants, and people don't like Trump very much.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

They sucked his brains out!, that was fucking amazing.
posted by widdershins at 2:18 PM on November 6, 2020

There might be a silver lining to taking so long to call this race. I could see the contingent of folks who'd react violently to a Biden win being defused somewhat by the gradual nature of that win. There's no one, clear moment that's their spark. Like, was their Go Time when Decision Desk called it? Or when the first network does? Or when Fox does, which ideally would be last in this scenario? Maybe by the time some are ready to rumble, others will feel like the moment has passed. Maybe they'll have moved far enough along their grief stages, from denial and anger to depression.
posted by daisyace at 2:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

Thankfully Trump doesn't seem to have Mao's level of talent

And say what you will about the tenets of Chinese Communism, but at least it's an ethos, Dude.
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I laughed and teared up a little. It is stupid for the precise reason sideshow mentions, but I'm glad it made some others feel the same way.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

So, AP Votecast conducted interviews with 110,000 people in the days before, and up until the polls closed. White Women overall went for Trump at 52%, a very consistent number for republicans in presidential elections. But College-Educated White Women went for Biden at 59% (and College Educated White Men for Trump, at 52%). This is interesting to me because of the large difference between college educated men and women- 11 points.

Link to the survey.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

In May and June, when Dem voter registration had bottomed out due to the pandemic and GOPs were outregistering Dems, it was the George Floyd/BLM demonstrations that created a huge Dem voter reg spike.
posted by swift at 2:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

Vote count just updated showing Biden in the lead by >4K votes in GA, and a ... negative number of votes left to count??

There was a press conference with the GA secretary of state earlier. My understanding is that they're now also onto processing provisional ballots, some of which were voters turning up to the wrong precinct, which means they definitely count for the presidential elections but not for the other local races. This includes votes from metro Atlanta which have been trending strongly for Biden. Generally provisional ballots tend to trend Democrat apparently. I think the provisional ballots were not included in earlier counts but tallied separately?
posted by plonkee at 2:24 PM on November 6, 2020

(stupid me, normal chess is X+Y+time, 4D is X+Y+Z+time, so obvious now)
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

That abusive Trump mail is par for the course if you were on his mailing list and didn't pony up earlier. I was somehow getting it on a gmail account for a while, probably because someone typoed their email address. The abuse apparently works.

(Eventually whoever it was signed up for a paypal account using my gmail address, so I deleted the gmail account rather than try to sort out that mess. I also knew the persons's name and phone number by that point due to info the campaign emails included to coax payment.)
posted by joeyh at 2:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Now 8D Mahjong, that's a real game.
posted by Lonnrot at 2:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Exactly, daisyace. And the slow, grinding nature of Biden's win (Can we say it out loud yet?) makes the fraud narratives harder to believe. Not impossible of course, they'll try as hard as they can to convince themselves the election was somehow stolen. But the slow, grinding inevitability of the election will make those beliefs really hard to sustain.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Trump just hard out abusing donors for cash, you love to see it

Very strong "The [Trump campaign] lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping. Why is that, Leon?" vibes from that email.
posted by Pink Frost at 2:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

the slow, grinding inevitability of the election will make those beliefs really hard to sustain.

This is a very optimistic statement. Holding nonsensical beliefs with great fervor is a god-level skill among Trump supporters.
posted by argybarg at 2:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

sideshow: There is direct connection between Republican Governor Pete Wilson courting the racist vote by getting behind 187 for his re-election and our current Dem supermajority and the basic irrelevance of the CA GOP. Turns out that kinda stuff gets people extremely politically motivated.

Indeed. Back in May 2017, I commented on a California Calls post asserting that the late 90s wave of Republican racism in California ultimately led to California's state-wide blue majority and increasingly progressive politics. (YES, there are large regions where racism and anti-progressive politics hold sway today; but California is known as a blue state now - all the 2020 maps have called California for Democrats even with tiny amounts of the vote in. Feinstein can be primaried from the left, but she's not losing to a Republican anytime soon.)

From their post:

California may not be a battleground state in Presidential Races, but we foreshadow what America will be in the future. ...

Twenty years ago voters passed initiatives to ban affirmative action and bilingual education, allow minors as young as 14 to be tried as adults, and enforce three-strikes sentencing, sparking copy-cat campaigns in states throughout the country. ...

Today, as California’s electorate expands to reflect the breadth of who lives here, Californians are undoing the harm of these outdated policies passed decades ago to deliberately underfund and undermine communities of color. [the post then gives examples]

Change takes way too long, and we don't have the luxury of time. And it is so dispiriting to see people vote and act to exclude and hurt others. But California is one reminder that dramatic change CAN happen, and the appalling destruction of the past 4 years can be a motivator for the next dramatic change for the good - as we've just seen in this year's record turnout.

We do have to keep working and working and working for it, though.

Never give up! Never surrender! (Wrong movie?)
posted by kristi at 2:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Apt that the New York Times wouldn't call Trumpkin a liar until he accused the Democrats of being able to pulling off a well organized conspiracy.
posted by nickggully at 2:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

7m ago
Georgia: Biden up 1,563 votes
PA: Biden up 14,518 votes
Nevada: Biden up 20,137 votes
Arizona: Biden up 39,769 votes

Y O U ' R E F I _ _ _ _
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 2:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Folks, I know it's been a long week, but if you find yourself welling up with emotion after watching that godawful Marvel mashup video, it might be a good time to get some sleep.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

I could see the contingent of folks who'd react violently to a Biden win being defused somewhat by the gradual nature of that win.

Yes! I see this and it is good. But what about me? Must I be satisfied with merely gradually feeling lighter and lighter? When is my moment to finally yell and shout and make a joyous racket, I ask you? Which moment?!

(Or hmm, maybe I should just have a good yell of delight once each day for the next four years, to even things out)
posted by marlys at 2:35 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

The nicer thing about the data scrape sheets is that over in the "hurdle" column, it reads "Trump 0.0%" which I am choosing to interpret as, "it's all over now, buddy, there's absolutely nothing you can do" or in more specific terms, it stands for 0 Kelvin, no particles left in motion whatsoever, YOU'RE DEAD NOW.
posted by Dashy at 2:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Re: NYT, even though they waited until it was safe to take their shot, better late than never. Will there be a two-hour documentary where their editors agonize over the decision, though? That's still to be determined.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Let's all take a moment to give thanks to the fierce exotic dancers of Atlanta for getting booties to the polls.

Booties to the Poll has a GoFundMe to keep the campaign going in Georgia and make another ad.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

So, do you think this'll get called today? Or are we extending into the weekend? I'm hopefull, but still waiting for confirmation. I want to see the BIDEN WINS headlines.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Freedom Party

Uh, I'm neutral on re-branding, but let's not use that name at the very least.

Once Biden's win is confirmed, I suggest short-term branding as the "Party Party"
posted by goalyeehah at 2:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

I could see the contingent of folks who'd react violently to a Biden win being defused somewhat by the gradual nature of that win.

Yup yup. Flatten the Curve, Part II: Elect Our Boo, Not You
posted by armeowda at 2:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

In case you've wondered, as I have, why Pennsylvania is called a Commonwealth rather than a State, there's a Wikipedia article for that.

A traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good, it is used symbolically to emphasize that these states have a "government based on the common consent of the people" as opposed to one legitimized through their earlier colonial status that was derived from the British crown.
posted by swift at 2:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Looking ahead, and thinking about the 67 million or so of Americans who voted for trump, and the future, I think it’s a good time to look back to 2016 and all of the people who had excitedly voted for Obama, but decided Clinton just didn’t excite them, and so stayed home.

Can you imagine the sort of crazed people waving hands and praying at the window of the vote counting center in Detroit managing to summon that level of fervor for, say, Marco Rubio? I can’t even see them doing it for Ivanka (too much finishing school seems to have sanded off the caustic edge that daddy’s followers loved) or Don Jr. (I sooner see him as William H Macy at the end of Fargo, being dragged back in the window of a motel by police than standing at a debate podium). Whatever hateful, brutal charisma Trump has, I can’t see another person out there that can match that with his cunning, with his ability to play to a crowd. Without that, without that kind of voice, I honestly have a little hope (damn it, stop doing that) for the mid-terms and 2024. For 2022, what credible GOP voice will be able to drive people to the polls in these numbers?

For a culture war, you need leaders, and Trump did a great job of sabotaging his in-party rivals. Cruz? Jeb? Even Cotton? Not dirty enough, not hateful and spiteful enough to cultivate the frothing madness that trump had.
posted by Ghidorah at 2:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Holding nonsensical beliefs with great fervor is a god-level skill among Trump supporters.

They don't have special powers.

Folks, I know it's been a long week, but if you find yourself welling up with emotion after watching that godawful Marvel mashup video, it might be a good time to get some sleep.

Respectfully, I don't think that added value here. Pretty sure I've welled up at a Cheerios commercial before, let people have emotions. And it's been a long 4 years, not a week.
posted by Horkus at 2:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [51 favorites]

Watching the segment on CNN just now about people being able to 'cure' their ballots, it strikes me that the US voting system is much more robust than the UK.

In England, every year I get a form in the mail from the local council with the details of my registration on the Electoral Roll. If nothing's changed, I don't have to do anything. In previous years I've had to send back the form, signed, in the post or by confirming the details online, but it's never verified and there's no need to provide ID. I think this year, due to the pandemic, they've asked people to let them know if anything's changed but I don't recall being asked to confirm the details.

When it's election time, I get a polling card delivered through the door which tells me where I can vote (local school) and the date, and with a number next to my name.

At the polling station I just walk up to the desk, give my name and address, my name is ticked off on the sheet, they give me a ballot, I go into the little triangular booth, mark my choice by putting a cross next to it with a fucking pencil on a bit of string (pens are not allowed), fold it up and put it in the box.

Nobody checks who I am and I don't have to show any ID. Potentially, if I were so minded (which I am not), I could come back later when there are different volunteers on the desk and give the name of a neighbour I know has not already voted and vote again.

So the requirement in the US election to verify identity and signatures, and the opportunity to 'cure' a ballot where there's some procedural irregularity is very reassuring to me that the incidence of voter fraud is likely to be minuscule.
posted by essexjan at 2:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

We can pet any damn croutons we want, come on.

Also, hearing Chadwick Boseman’s voice again will never not be uplifting.
posted by hototogisu at 2:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Re:Trump abuse e-mail, I am looking forward to the follow-up email to those who still don't contribute.
posted by goalyeehah at 2:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Freedom Party

Uh, I'm neutral on re-branding, but let's not use that name at the very least.

Once Biden's win is confirmed, I suggest short-term branding as the "Party Party"

“Party McPartyface”
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 2:47 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

the slow, grinding inevitability of the election will make those beliefs really hard to sustain.

It does also feel like the whole process of the gradual deflation of the Trump blimp might take at least some of the bite out of the potential raging street fighters.

As the media gradually turn the cameras away from him, other Republicans stand in silence or actively disagree with him, the secret service is quietly redeployed... It’s not the inflammatory election night incitement to riot that must have been his only Plan B in the event he didn’t win.

Or maybe I’m naive. Here’s hoping.

On preview: What everyone else said!
posted by penguin pie at 2:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

So the requirement in the US election to verify identity and signatures, and the opportunity to 'cure' a ballot where there's some procedural irregularity is very reassuring to me that the incidence of voter fraud is likely to be minuscule.

voter fraud is vanishingly rare. ID requirements are a good way to disenfranchise minorities tho!
posted by logicpunk at 2:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

why Pennsylvania is called a Commonwealth

So are Virginia, Kentucky and Massachusetts?
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2020

I think we need to ghost him. It's the 2020 way to get an asshole out of your life.
posted by mosk at 2:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Nobody checks who I am and I don't have to show any ID. Potentially, if I were so minded (which I am not), I could come back later when there are different volunteers on the desk and give the name of a neighbour I know has not already voted and vote again.

This depends wildly on the state. Where I live, you usually don't need to show any form of ID to vote.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Essexjan, the only appreciable difference between the way you vote in the UK and the way I vote in Massachusetts is that there's a pen at the end of the string.
posted by invincible summer at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

The commonwealth thing is purely cosmetic. It was the cool thing to be called in the late 1700s.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Big news everyone: CNN have updated their main headline from "Biden on the brink of 270" to "Biden on the verge of 270"!

I think we've exhausted this category of colloquial metaphors with the NYT front page’s current “Biden Edges Closer To Victory,” and the AP’s “Biden on cusp of presidency,” so the headline writers will have to start getting creative if the race isn’t called soon.
posted by mubba at 2:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Nobody checks who I am and I don't have to show any ID. Potentially, if I were so minded (which I am not), I could come back later when there are different volunteers on the desk and give the name of a neighbour I know has not already voted and vote again.

Republicans in the U.S. frequently cite this hypothetical but if it were in any way rampant, don't you think that just once in a while your neighbor might show up later and go "WTF, somebody else voted using my name!" Yet Republicans have been unable to cite any cases in which this occurs.
posted by JackFlash at 2:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Biden: On the cusp of a verge-like brink.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:55 PM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

Re:Trump abuse e-mail, I am looking forward to the follow-up email to those who still don't contribute.

It's just a close up photo of Eric Trump's weeping face. And they'll keep sending you pictures of Eric until you give them money.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling.? Because it's all i've been doing today, between uplifting posts and links here of videos of philadelphians in the street, to michael rappaport ranting, to r/publicfreakout hilarity and general happiness on my FB feed. i'm digging this.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Electoral edging is a very 2020 kink.
posted by dragstroke at 2:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

If there's reason to celebrate, remember don't go out and gather to celebrate. As much as that sucks, covid numbers are real bad right now and will probably be really bad all through next week due to the baby not letting everyone have mail-in/drop-off/drive-through voting. Out of spite. (May the prosecutions never cease.) Killing a bunch of voters, even his own, just out of spite. I feel really lucky to have had walkable drop off voting and I really hope that everyone here who had to vote in person is going to be ok. Stay safe, everyone.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

So the requirement in the US election to verify identity and signatures, and the opportunity to 'cure' a ballot where there's some procedural irregularity is very reassuring to me that the incidence of voter fraud is likely to be minuscule.

I have different experiences in my city every time depending on if I vote on Election Day in person (asked for my name), early voting in person (asked me for last 4 of my social security number this time, no name), and by mail. Never ID required here. And yes, very different experience between cities and states depending on the local election laws.
posted by Bunglegirl at 2:58 PM on November 6, 2020

What’s the betting line on how soon after Biden is sworn in that Twitter bans Trump’s account?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Republicans in the U.S. frequently cite this hypothetical but if it were in any way rampant, don't you think that just once in a while your neighbor might show up later and go "WTF, somebody else voted using my name!" Yet Republicans have been unable to cite any cases in which this occurs.

Yes, it's because this would be an extremely easy way to get caught committing a felony. On top of that, it's a very inefficient way to try to influence an election. If you really want to influence an election what you need is money.
posted by axiom at 3:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

We were just watching BBC World News and the anchor could barely keep a straight face as she announced the breaking news that Trump just tweeted that Biden shouldn't falsely claim the Presidency. It was glorious to see Trump given the exact amount of respect he deserves.
posted by Ruki at 3:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

responding with sincerity
* ...Trump voters aren't poor ... $100k-$199k ..a teacher ...married to an electrician ...are not going to take kindly to the idea that they are "privileged" They are very comfortably middle class. Yes, Let's get that for everyone.
* The misinformation thing is a huge issue... This is critical. I believe it's a deliberate campaign of disinformation.
* People in small towns tend to ... JESUS CHRIST THIS TOWN IS 99% CHRISTIAN WHY IS IT NOW THE "WINTER MUSICAL" AT SCHOOL?? ... Get over it. You don't get to mix public school and religion. Small town evangelical religion is doing lots of sketchy stuff. In Maine, it's a major Covid-spreader. Very few towns are 99% Christian; the Jews are low-key, the Muslims are probably terrified, and there are a fair few that are atheist or just not religious, maybe their rights matter just as much. Small town kids are sometimes gay and trans, this is often quite unsafe. The majority has a responsibility to see diversity.
* ... why do I care if there are theoretically normal Muslims out there? It's another complexity I don't want to deal with. Somebody dealt with the complexity when your Irish or French-Canadian or other immigrant group moved in. Right now, the major terrorist risk in the US is white men, esp. supremacists, guys like Tim McVeigh.
* Small-town people generally don't like big government programs. ... except massive and sometimes stupid farm subsidies, road subsidies, etc. Mom and Dad are getting Medicare. There is often a whiff of complacent selfishness in this approach. In Maine, rural areas are subsidized by urban taxes, and they resent the fuck out of it.
* Rural people are often very self-reliant. Rural areas are significant consumers of Aid to Families, food stamps, Medicaid. City people are reliant in different ways.
* For god's sake, stop labeling things... It's the GOP that made 'liberal' a dirty word and calls Biden an extremist and Socialist; he is far from that.

And so on. This is one reason I think Biden will be a good transitional president as we move to the left. He is not going to demonize people and drive them to QAnon and militias. He might even solve some of their problems in a way that respects them and shows them the way towards more tolerance. Nobody's driving anybody to QAnon; it started in a notorious cesspool. People have a responsibility to examine facts.
I grew up in a small town, I now live in a small town. It's easy for people to get insular, mistrust ideas. We should be reaching out to people. But people have to take responsibility for their own shit. In my small town, I have talked to people about why responding to the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' with 'All Lives Matter' is dismissive and wrong, and they are capable of learning, until they turn on Fox News again. People in my small town wear a lot of plaid shirts and hunt and volunteer for the Fire Dept. And my town has gotten a lot bluer and nicer because people can choose to learn.

posted by theora55 at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

I've been really impressed by the vote count in Georgia. They've got a really good handle on the numbers of ballots left in each county, they update the count regularly, and they seem super transparent and (it goes without saying) committed to the process of counting and doing it properly. I'm sure they weren't expecting the result to be this close, but they've responded to it really well.
posted by plonkee at 3:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

“My main concern now is that we survive the next 76 days”
— Mary Trump.

Fun/depressing fact: this whole lame-duck session between election day and inauguration is a holdover from when a horse was the fastest form of travel and communication, so it took till January to figure out who won, inform them, and get them to D.C. to be sworn in.

Our gun technology is 21st Century, but when it comes to voting we act like we still have to pour black powder down the muzzle and use a ramrod before dropping the ball in.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [43 favorites]

Yeah, there’s so much election coverage that they’re not doing their usual daily report of covid deaths on the front page. What IS this world coming to.
posted by Melismata at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Hope-scrolling.
posted by velvet winter at 3:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Trump looks like he's surpassed the average needed to potentially overtake Arizona, according to the data scraper folks have been linking: https://alex.github.io/nyt-2020-election-scraper/battleground-state-changes.html#.

Sorry to be a downer. I want DJT to lose as many states as possible, and to render all the legal bullshit moot, so I'm continuing to worry about this one. Also, I want a definitive call so I can shave off this playoff beard I've got going.
posted by pilibeen at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Fun/depressing fact: this whole lame-duck session between election day and inauguration is a holdover from when a horse was the fastest form of travel and communication, so it took till January to figure out who won, inform them, and get them to D.C. to be sworn in.

It actually used to be even later -- the 20th Amendment (1933) moved up the presidential inauguration date from March 4 (!) to January 20, and the congressional inauguration date from March 4 to January 3.
posted by andrewesque at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Our gun technology is 21st Century, but when it comes to voting we act like we still have to pour black powder down the muzzle and use a ramrod before dropping the ball in.

Not to mention using vast quantities of human urine to make the saltpeter for the gunpowder.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey - It's because some people made a religion out of our democracy, and in doing so have made it a quasi-theology, with a sacred text and specially anointed interpreters. They'd like to make it a full-on theocracy, where only they get to tell us what the Ancient Founding White Gods meant in their sacred text. Oh, and they feel they are the only ones entitled to belong to the priestly caste. So, yeah, lucky us.

Reformation, anyone?
posted by mosk at 3:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Does anyone have the power to unilaterally nullify Trump's NDAs? Cuz that would be an amazing thing to witness.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Trump looks like he's surpassed the average needed to potentially overtake Arizona, according to the data scraper folks have been linking: https://alex.github.io/nyt-2020-election-scraper/battleground-state-changes.html#.

Sorry to be a downer. I want DJT to lose as many states as possible, and to render all the legal bullshit moot, so I'm continuing to worry about this one. Also, I want a definitive call so I can shave off this playoff beard I've got going.

That's only for the specific blocks of votes that have come in most recently (which could be from smaller, redder areas), not an overall trend.
posted by mrnutty at 3:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Glee-scrolling
posted by PhineasGage at 3:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

These are people that have been stockpiling ammunition for years, convinced that someday they will need to rise up against tyranny.

I keep hearing this, but these are the same people who get infiltrated by Borat, who keep giving each other COVID, who believe in a world in which political opponents drink human blood, who think people will quake in their boots if they wear AR-15's on the street. They may strike terror in some, but I don't think the vast majority of these cud-chewing coal-rollers have what it takes to fight and die for a cause. There might be some violence, but their whole life philosophy is based on fear. They will run like chickens when faced with any kind of actual, will-shoot-to-kill, trained force. And they want you to be afraid. Fuck them.
posted by swift at 3:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

Trump looks like he's surpassed the average needed to potentially overtake Arizona

NY Times election reporter:

Nate Cohn @Nate_Cohn
The ballots in from AZ tonight aren't looking great for Trump. Biden just led Yuma's update, where Trump led the count so far. It's the first post-election ballot dump where he's outran the tabulated vote count, at least that I remember.
If that holds in the Maricopa wave...
3:11 PM · Nov 6, 2020·Twitter Web App
posted by Ahmad Khani at 3:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

That's only for the specific blocks of votes that have come in most recently (which could be from smaller, redder areas), not an overall trend.

The block trend on that scraper is for the last 30k votes. Trump has been +/- the amount he needs for a while now (you can see it more clearly if you expand the tables). AZ may end up being very close.

Which probably means that Biden won't be the projected winner until he gets a lead of over 35k in PA.
posted by plonkee at 3:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Neither your elected congresspeople nor Joe Biden, personally, are going to be pursuing criminal investigations. Congress can’t, and the President shouldn’t (and doesn’t have to).

They shouldn't be involved in actual prosecution, no, but we should take a cue from the committee that brought the widespread nature of the mafia to light and eventually resulted in its downfall. (And quite immediately ended the political careers of several politicians) An investigative committee willing to gore anyone's oxen and let the chips fall where they may.

We need to have a full accounting of what is being done to us and what we are doing to ourselves.
posted by wierdo at 3:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Glee-scrolling

Love it. But I'm saving that kind of scrolling for after the election is actually called and I see it in the headlines. As of right this minute, I can only allow myself hope-scrolling.
posted by velvet winter at 3:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Radio Diaries did a nice 15 minute episode on the history of Presidential election concession speeches.

They said they have featured in one form or another in every election since 1896, despite no legal or constitutional requirements to make a public concession.

There are 4 common elements:

(1) The statement of defeat
(2) A call for the people to unite
(3) A celebration of democracy
(4) Vowing to continue fighting for the goals of the losing party

The main function according to a scholar of such speeches, is less about the candidate accepting the loss, than it is about them helping their supporters to accept the loss.

It goes without saying that Trump's petulant, lie-riddled, conspiracy-mongering, upended-turtling press conference the other day went against all of this.

Even if it would've been premature to concede at that point, he painted himself into a corner where it's almost impossible to follow up with a standard concession speech.

So, expect more of the same.

There might be a grudging and resentful acceptance of (1). (2) and (3) are already poisoned, and I strongly doubt he gives half a shit about the future of the Republican Party but only about himself.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

"Fun/depressing fact: this whole lame-duck session between election day and inauguration is a holdover from when a horse was the fastest form of travel and communication, so it took till January to figure out who won, inform them, and get them to D.C. to be sworn in."

My best waiting-for-election returns fact is, in 1841, it took 110 days for news that William Henry Harrison had died to reach the territory of California.

In 1860, it took 7 days and 17 hours -- an absolutely unheard-of speed -- for news of Lincoln's election to reach Sacramento, the capital of the new-ish state of California. It went by telegraph to St. Joe, Missouri, and from there by Pony Express to Sacramento. It made international news for the outrageously high speed of the communication.

In 1864, news of Lincoln's victory was transmitted to Sacramento instantaneously, by the new transcontinental telegraph line that the Union had managed to construct during the Civil War (which is an incredibly vivid demonstration of just HOW economically dominant the Union was, that they could undertake an utterly gigantic and quite novel infrastructure project while also fighting the Civil War).
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

These are people that have been stockpiling ammunition for years, convinced that someday they will need to rise up against tyranny.

More to the point, and at least from what I know talking with folks connected to suburban gun paranoia, the vast majority of the folks stockpiling guns aren't doing it for any other reason that protecting their homes from imagined antifa hordes and POC. They're not leaving their neighborhoods, they're not marching on or overthrowing shit. A few here and there might get wrapped up in some conspiratorial shenanigans, but the vast, vast majority are cooped up in their stale middle class suburbs waiting in vain for the vast hordes of "others" to arrive.
posted by Philipschall at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

UbuRoivas: They said they have featured in one form or another in every election since 1896, despite no legal or constitutional requirements to make a public concession.

That's a great summary, thanks. After the first debate, somebody pointed out that all of that "democracy boilerplate" stuff that seems so boring and pointless when every politician repeats it every single time suddenly shows its importance when a politician refuses to say it.
posted by clawsoon at 3:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

While this Guardian article is 3 years old, I'd be surprised if the numbers have changed much:

Just 3% of American adults own a collective 133m firearms – half of America’s total gun stock. These owners have collections that range from eight to 140 guns, the 2015 study found. Their average collection: 17 guns each.

While the sheer number of guns is pantshittingly awful, I wonder how much the idea of the election percentages is conflating with the much, much smaller percentage of gun hoarders and doom preppers talking about holy war.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

At the polling station I just walk up to the desk, give my name and address, my name is ticked off on the sheet, they give me a ballot, I go into the little triangular booth, mark my choice by putting a cross next to it with a fucking pencil on a bit of string (pens are not allowed), fold it up and put it in the box.

I live in the us and this is exactly the procedure we use, I have never been asked to prove I am me.
posted by winna at 3:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

A few here and there might get wrapped up in some conspiratorial shenanigans, but the vast, vast majority are cooped up in their stale middle class suburbs waiting in vain for the vast hordes of "others" to arrive.

The sad and lengthy legacy of mass shootings in this nation should indicate just how much damage those "few here and there" might do, however.

Let's hope that Biden's 8 pm address tonight will speak to this danger.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

the vast, vast majority are cooped up in their stale middle class suburbs waiting in vain for the vast hordes of "others" to arrive.

Chekhov's Personality Cult
posted by tclark at 3:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I live in the us and this is exactly the procedure we use, I have never been asked to prove I am me.

Me neither, in my current state. It varies state to state; and in my former states of residence stricter proof was required.
posted by kitarra at 3:31 PM on November 6, 2020

Does anyone have the power to unilaterally nullify Trump's NDAs? Cuz that would be an amazing thing to witness.

I imagine that his NDAs are only as strong as his ability to enforce them, which costs money, which he doesn’t have. So... herewith, I declare all of Donald Trump’s NDAs null and void, in perpetuity. And furthermore, pbpbpbpbpb!!!!
posted by wabbittwax at 3:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Does anyone have the power to unilaterally nullify Trump's NDAs? Cuz that would be an amazing thing to witness.

What if everyone just ignored them, and Donald Trump didn't have the money to sue?

IIRC, Stephanie Clifford beat the $130,000 NDA and got to tell everyone about Donald Trump's "smaller than average" penis. There's Doe from Doe v. Trump & Epstein who withdrew her case when Trump's fixer, bagman, and lawyer Michael Cohen was writing checks for women's silence, and I'd love to read her book.
posted by mikelieman at 3:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

my registration at the elections board site notes "no id needed," from which i infer that, for some registrations, id may, in fact, be needed.

in practice, at the voting site, i prove i am me by providing the right answers to certain questions about myself, starting with my name and ending with my signature on a receipt. (as far as i can tell, no one compares that signature to any exemplar. but maybe they would if i later came in to find that somebody else had already provided those answers and voted in my name.)
posted by 20 year lurk at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2020

re In May and June, when Dem voter registration had bottomed out due to the pandemic and GOPs were outregistering Dems, it was the George Floyd/BLM demonstrations that created a huge Dem voter reg spike.

Leslie Odom Jr sings the line "if there's a reason I'm alive when so many have died..." in his reprise of "Wait for It" as a video encouraging patience during the vote count, and I almost cried.
posted by beaning at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

"Biden on the brink of 270" to "Biden on the verge of 270"!

"Biden is on the brink of the cusp of closing in on edging toward being on the verge of 270!"
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 3:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

It's just a close up photo of Eric Trump's weeping face. And they'll keep sending you pictures of Eric until you give them money.

I am somehow reminded of the National Lampoon cover with a gun to a dog’s head.

But Eric suffering unless we donate? Goodness me. I’ll definitely give it some thought. On the Facebook there is a friend-of-a-friend who seems to transcend “low-info voter” clear into “zero info.” He’s been holding forth to say this is obviously a Trump landslide and Biden can save himself embarrassment by just conceding, and today warned us that a Biden administration will feature horrors which he helpfully catalogued: no Keystone pipeline. Higher corporate taxes. A return to the Paris Accord. Abortions available.

He might as well threaten us with chocolate cake and playful puppies for all.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

It's currently, "Biden's lead grows"
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2020

Does anyone have the power to unilaterally nullify Trump's NDAs?

That would be whatever court has jurisdiction over the contracts, with the option to keep bumping them up to SCOTUS. However, breach of contract isn't a criminal offense, and most just come with financial penalties based on provable harm done by breaking them.

Which means: Basically not enforceable. Especially if what comes out of breaking them is whistleblowing about crimes.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I feel like the font has also been getting bigger with each headline
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Pretending to be somebody else to steal their in-person vote isn't a very effective way of rigging an election. Even if you immediately went back in after voting again and again, you're not going to be able to vote that many times.

Every time you repeat the process, you increase the chance of being caught, either by the poll staff or by the person you're impersonating, when they discover they can't vote because their vote had already been taken. Being caught carries stiff penalties, possibly imprisonment.

Alternatively, you could try to get many people to each steal one vote. This still has a high chance of being detected, so ultimately fails. Either way, it's difficult to effect any significant change without being caught and suffering the repercussions.
posted by matsho at 3:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

my registration at the elections board site notes "no id needed," from which i infer that, for some registrations, id may, in fact, be needed.

So, we have over 50 different sets of rules, which is bullshit, and we definitely need a "Let's bring voting into the 21st Century instead of the 18th" Amendment, although, you know, obstructionist Republican assholes.

Anyway, In NYS, the default is "No ID needed UNLESS specified", for example to verify registration information.

But we do have an authentication method using signatures. You sign in to vote, and your signature is compared to the one on file from your registration. Works great. Although with the newfangled iPad based poll-books, I've asked a couple of people to do it over and not use the "authorizing credit card at supermarket" squiggle "signature".

Then we tear off a ballot, put it in a manila folder for privacy, and give them an "I Voted" sticker.
posted by mikelieman at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

It's not so much that Eric is suffering, it's that you have to keep looking at him. The next picture is Eric in a sailor suit, then Eric at the zoo by himself, holding a balloon on a string. Then Eric staring sadly at a piece of birthday cake...
posted by Kevin Street at 3:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Wouldn't it be great if enough votes are reported in PA and they call the election for Biden during his scheduled address tonight?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Then we tear off a ballot, put it in a manila folder for privacy, and give them an "I Voted" sticker.

To close the loop. Then the voter goes uses a privacy cubicle to fill in the scantron ballot, which is then scanned, and kept in a locked, sealed compartment in the voting machine, for future hard-count hand audits. Which happen too seldom in my opinion, but resources are limited and you have to choose where to spend them.

Which is bullshit too, and the need to modernize is well established.
posted by mikelieman at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Estonia votes over the internet like they live in the early 21st Century, but they have a mandatory national identity card with a smart chip in it.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Scrollenfreude.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [94 favorites]

Estonia votes over the internet like they live in the early 21st Century, but they have a mandatory national identity card with a smart chip in it.

And let's not forget, this is a country that was under the bootheels of both the Nazis and the Soviets (back and forth a few times, actually) in the 20th century. Having extended family that's Estonian, I can assure you that they value democratic practices more than you can possibly imagine, hence this level of easy access to the democratic process.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

This is what Trump's feeling now: shoutenfraud

It'll pass.
posted by chavenet at 3:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Estonia votes over the internet like they live in the early 21st Century, but they have a mandatory national identity card with a smart chip in it.

The conspiracy theories alone that would come along with a US national key ceremony would be mind bogglingly insane.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 3:55 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

>The conspiracy theories alone that would come along with a US national key ceremony would be mind bogglingly insane.

We can't even be trusted with Sharpies.
posted by mosk at 3:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Sleep
posted by marimeko at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [66 favorites]

In 1864, news of Lincoln's victory was transmitted to Sacramento instantaneously...

I loved Stephen Ambrose's "Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869". Before that railroad was completed, if you wanted to go from the east coast to the west coast your options were: by ship around South America (very expensive and took months), by ship with a land crossing at Panama (expensive, took weeks, and with a 10% chance of dying of yellow fever), or over land (months, mountains, unfriendlies). Then one day the railroad was completed and you could cross in 4 days.
posted by neuron at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Estonia votes over the internet like they live in the early 21st Century, but they have a mandatory national identity card with a smart chip in it.

The conspiracy theories alone that would come along with a US national key ceremony would be mind bogglingly insane.

There are people who don't even want to update to REAL ID
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 3:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

my registration at the elections board site notes "no id needed," from which i infer that, for some registrations, id may, in fact, be needed.

One provision of the Help America Vote Act passed after the 2000 debacle requires that a newly registered voter (as in the first time they register anywhere) is required to show proof of identity (not necessarily photo ID) at registration or the first time they vote.
posted by wierdo at 3:58 PM on November 6, 2020

Not to derail, but if people would like to take a "nascent democracy" break, I can't recommend the documentary Rodeo highly enough.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Then the voter goes uses a privacy cubicle to fill in the scantron ballot, which is then scanned, and kept in a locked, sealed compartment in the voting machine, for future hard-count hand audits.

In the UK our votes are all hand-counted and the counts are completed within a few hours (less than an hour if you're in Sunderland) of voting closing at 10pm including recounts. All postal votes have to arrive by 10pm on the day. This works because the ballots are very uncomplicated in general elections and because each constituency only has 50k-70k so you don't have anywhere having to count hundreds of thousands of votes. We also have actually had postal vote fraud, in Birmingham in 2004 but they've changed the rules since then.

I'd heard about Estonia's online vote before. Sounds really interesting.

Ireland's vote counting for the Dail takes ages and is fantastically difficult for an outsider to predict because of the preferences. But the Irish Times typically has great graphics to help you understand how it's progressing.
posted by plonkee at 3:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Republicans spending a ton of money on an quixotic attempt to undo the inevitable presumably means less money to throw at Georgia special elections. I'm just curious when the money cuts him off since presumably at least some of them are probably smart enough to avoid falling for the sunk cost fallacy.

Besides for a lot of the money guys the optimal outcome just happened. Market stability and a commitment to maintaining a coherent foreign and trade policy and with a likely divided congress and inability to really engage in any sorts of progressive agenda which would impose new taxes or regulations. Yeah they'd probably love to have.a Republican in charge of fucking with the administrative state but in terms of outcomes if you have a huge amount of money it seems like they got a pretty decent outcome.

Trump going on an extended temper tantrum just creates increased market instability and increases the risk of a really unpredictable outcome due to crazy q-anon type supporters. When does one of the big Republican donors just make a phone call and tell him that if he ever wants to get money for another project ever again he needs to shut up and concede with some degree of "grace".
posted by vuron at 4:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

And let's not forget, this is a country that was under the bootheels of both the Nazis and the Soviets (back and forth a few times, actually) in the 20th century. Having extended family that's Estonian, I can assure you that they value democratic practices more than you can possibly imagine, hence this level of easy access to the democratic process.

Whereas in America, there's hysterical paranoia that a national identity card is exactly what would enable Nazism and Communism. "Why not believe people who actually went through it instead of your own paranoid fantasies?" somehow isn't convincing. Estonians are probably busy electing the Antichrist as I type.
posted by clawsoon at 4:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Unless that caller is Putin I can't see it tempering Trump.
posted by Mitheral at 4:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

well the internet quickly gave me: "liberation, respite, escape, pardon, acquittal, approval"
posted by philip-random at 4:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Some cheerful non-vote-counting news from the 538 liveblog:

Biden will name Gary Gensler as an adviser on issues involving Wall Street and regulation of markets, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. It’s not clear exactly what this means in terms of Gensler’s role, namely whether he will be advising Biden on which policies to propose as president, working during the transition to help Biden choose his presidential economic team or being positioned to take a key role on that team himself.

This news is interesting for two reasons. It suggests Biden is moving forward in trying to start planning his administration even though he has not yet been declared the winner of the election by most outlets.

Also, Gensler is allied with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and favors more strident regulation of Wall Street, so this choice is getting plaudits from more liberal Democrats who have worried Biden might pick figures more resistant to regulations of Wall Street firms.

posted by clawsoon at 4:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

Biden leading PA by about 20k
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

The conspiracy theories alone that would come along with a US national key ceremony would be mind bogglingly insane.

Oh, absolutely.

One last comment on this and then I'll drop the Estonia derail: it's a country that literally had to deal with being terrorized by the Gestapo, the NKVD, and eventually the KGB. It's a country with lived experience of state surveillance and terror that boggles the mind. So they have a certain perspective on things, let's just say.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Greta Thunberg mocks Donald Trump with his own words in Twitter revenge: 'Chill, Donald, Chill!'
posted by y2karl at 4:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

mandolin conspiracy: "So they have a certain perspective on things, let's just say."

Indeed. They want their votes counted.
posted by chavenet at 4:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

7m ago
Georgia: Biden up 1,563 votes
PA: Biden up 14,518 votes
Nevada: Biden up 20,137 votes
Arizona: Biden up 39,769 votes

48 hours ago, the president* saying the states should stop counting:

“We were getting ready to win this election — frankly, we did win this election... we have won Georgia. We’re up by 2.5% or 117,000 votes with only 7% left — they’re never going to catch us, they can’t catch us.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Biden will name Gary Gensler as an adviser on issues involving Wall Street and regulation of markets,

Does Moscow Mitch get a say here?
posted by acb at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

There are people that will refuse any potential COVID vaccine because they think Bill Gates will use it to stick some sort of chip in them.

I used to be interested in how there was a big proliferation of conspiracy theory type shows like the X-files during the Clinton administration. Anxiety over big brother, etc. But it seems like it's gotten steadily more present at all levels of out society over each successive administration to the point where comically laughable conspiracy theories like Q are reported on simply because such a large percentage of the population seems to actually believe in this nonsense when it's not even Dan Brown level summer novel schlock. And this got bad during a Republican administration among conservatives. I can't even imagine how nuts this stuff is going to get when Q types don't feel like they've got some champion of theirs in the White House.

Looking forward to Trump declassifying all the Majestic-12 and other UFO nonsense though because the truth is out there.
posted by vuron at 4:13 PM on November 6, 2020

Having extended family that's Estonian, I can assure you that they value democratic practices more than you can possibly imagine

Because the demographics are similar to Latvia's I can talk a bit knowledgeably about this.

Part of it would be trying to preserve national & cultural identity against not insignificant ethnic Russian populations (approx 25% but getting closer to 50% in the capitals), many of who are leftovers from the Soviet era and although citizens, obstinately refuse to learn the local language and keep pushing for initiatives like declaring Russian to be a national language, and for schools to be taught in both languages.

If voting isn't easy and accessible for all, including in rural areas, there's a risk of a motivated bloc of ethnic Russians taking power - and Ukraine is not far away in time & distance as a handy lesson.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Can I just say, I am so very glad that I've gotten into Metafilter just before this election. These threads have saved me a lot of useless ruminating and doomscrolling on that other site, the one with the r/'s.
posted by patternocker at 4:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [37 favorites]

One last comment on this and then I'll drop the Estonia derail

Do we have any FPPs on this already? Sounds like it could be a really interesting one for someone [cough cough] to do.
posted by clawsoon at 4:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Can I just say, I am so very glad that I've gotten into Metafilter just before this election.

Welcome!

How did you ever find us?
posted by clawsoon at 4:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Also, I can't wait any longer for Biden’s address -- it's time for the Victory Dance!!!
posted by y2karl at 4:16 PM on November 6, 2020

Just call AZ and NV...

Can't see those changing.
posted by Windopaene at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

"Biden is on the brink of the cusp of closing in on edging toward being on the verge of 270!"

posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape

Yes, today has been quite the extended session of edging.
posted by PhineasGage at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

When is Biden supposed to speak? I can't find details anywhere online, but I also have kids trying to kung fu themselves into the hospital while searching for the information.
posted by gwydapllew at 4:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I expect he'll wait until the states that put him over 270 are called.
posted by tclark at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2020

Saw he might not, until it is called
posted by Windopaene at 4:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

According to NYT original plan was 'during prime time' but agree that it will likely be delayed until 270 is called.
posted by plonkee at 4:24 PM on November 6, 2020

Supposedly CNN, et al are waiting on Biden +25k before calling it official although they are basically doing everything short of calling it at this point. Not really shocked at this since it's probably giving CNN/MSNBC/etc an amazing ratings boost. Instead of one night of drama they've gotten a full week. They'd probably love for a 2000 for even more ratings but that's asking too much.

In the meantime they are totally dunking on Trump with what are probably 4 years of pent up frustrations. I guess it's kind of glorious if you a cable new junkie.
posted by vuron at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

So are Virginia, Kentucky and Massachusetts?

Of course Kentucky because it started out as Kentucky County, Virginia.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

There’s a Term for Trump’s Strategy of Discrediting the Vote. And it has a long history in the United States: A short essay by historian Rachel Hope Cleves.

When the Democratic primary wound to a close this spring, and it became clear that Biden would win the nomination, pitting Trump against the candidate he most feared because polling suggested he would lose the match-up, Trump turned to attacking the democratic process as his primary strategy for victory.

But as an American historian, I shouldn’t have been surprised. We have a term for this strategy. It’s called Jim Crow.
posted by Rumple at 4:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

no id needed," from which i infer that, for some registrations, id may, in fact, be needed.

In my state, ID is and has been required for the last few years. Our polling places have signs explaining what is and isn't valid ID.

But at my polling place.... It's only about a 25% chance that they actually ask. I've never inquired about it, because you gotta play it cool about that sort of thing, but it feels neighborly.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2020

"Trump is racing to raise money for an “official election defense fund.” But the fine print on the solicitations tells a different story: Half -- or more -- of any contribution will be used to retire debt from his re-election campaign. ⁦@bykowicz"

Its nothing but grifters all the way down.
posted by vuron at 4:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I had to ask my husband for ID when he showed up to vote. We scan the ID now, but back when we still had books, I was carded by a former teacher.
posted by Ruki at 4:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Gensler is allied with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and favors more strident regulation of Wall Street,

Yeah, the word you want there, asshole, is stringent--nice job making that subliminal connection with Warren, who is of course a woman and has had to endure having strident lobbed at her for years for daring to speak.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

(Also, I'm going to always say and write Biden/Harris Administration. Canvassing for 2024 starts now.)

Canvassing for 2022 Midterms starts now.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:47 PM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

This is why Canadian election seasons are so much shorter. The best we can say is, "Canvassing for... some future election... starts... sometime?"
posted by clawsoon at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I had read the networks were waiting for Biden to be +0.5%. A reasonable, if frustrating target given that's the automatic recount threshold.

I wonder if any networks have had the conversation as to what is the lowest value that qualifies as +0.5%, since most sites that use something like javascript's ToFixed() will show it earlier.
posted by justkevin at 4:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yes, the general strategy needs to look like this:

1. Get them elected.
2. Stay engaged and push them to adopt policies and priorities you want.
3. Get them elected again.

Too many people forget about 2 and 3.
posted by biogeo at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

How many ballots outstanding in Georgia? Thousands of provisional ballots, recently-arrived military/overseas & 'cured' ballots that were due by 5pm today & a few absentee ballots. In fact, 20% of all counties are finished and have CERTIFIED their results already (in orange)
posted by robbyrobs at 4:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Listening to CNN: SCOTUS (Alito) ordering PA that ballots received after election day be kept separate from the vote totals. It's still unlikely that they will affect who wins PA as they appear to be a small enough number.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Does anyone have the power to unilaterally nullify Trump's NDAs? Cuz that would be an amazing thing to witness.

"It was her!" "No it was him!" "Bullshit! It was the two of them!" "No way! It was her plan all along!" "Fuck that! It was your idea in the first place!" " You're all lying!"
posted by sexyrobot at 4:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but NDAs don't apply for gov't employees. Campaign employees, on the other hand...

Even if Trump tried to protect everything under classification rules, Biden would have the power to de-classify.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 5:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Suggested edit:

2. Stay engaged and push them to adopt policies and priorities you want.
3. Get them elected again and primary them if they don't .

And a possible addition:

Vote in midterm elections.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Supreme Court of the United States, Case No.20A84 (PDF)
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF PENNSYLVANIA v. KATHY BOOCKVAR, SECRETARY OF PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL.

All county boards of election are hereby ordered, pending further order of the Court, to comply with the following guidance provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth on October 28 and November 1, namely, (1) that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated and kept “in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,” and (2) that all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately. Pa. Dep’t of State, Pennsylvania Guidance for Mail-in and Absentee Ballots Received From the United States Postal Service After 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 (Oct. 28, 2020); Pa. Dep’t of State, Canvassing Segregated Mail-in and Civilian Absentee Ballots Received by Mail After 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and Before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2020 (Nov. 1, 2020). Until today, this Court was not informed that the guidance issued on October 28, which had an important bearing on the question whether to order special treatment of the ballots in question, had been modified. The application received today also informs the Court that neither the applicant nor the Secretary has been able to verify that all boards are complying with the Secretary’s guidance, which, it is alleged, is not legally binding on them.

I am immediately referring this application to the Conference and direct that any response be filed as soon as possible but in any event no later than 2 p.m. tomorrow, November 7, 2020.

Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
Dated this 6th day of November 2020.
posted by reductiondesign at 5:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Wasn't the comeback: uh, yeah, we were doing that already?
posted by linux at 5:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Vote in midterm elections.

And local elections.
posted by drezdn at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm really glad that it seems a lot of people who voted absentee took heed to either use drop boxes or mail as quickly as possible to make sure their votes arrived in time. Even in states that didn't require arrival by Nov 3 so long as it was postmarked by that date.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Schadenscrolling.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

@ZoeTillman: Important to note about tonight's order from Alito – PA GOP said they didn't have any evidence that counties were, in fact, failing to segregate the ballots at issue. They argued that they just hadn't gotten affirmative assurances of compliance
posted by Atom Eyes at 5:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

But its been referred to the Supreme Court now? But also, if I understand correctly, the amount of ballots that would be affected is like 500 or less or something? Or is that like per county, like just a few hundred per county?

Yes, and the ruling is that they have to do the thing they've already been told to do, which is keep them separate. The number of votes is indeed believed to be small and not included in current vote totals.
posted by plonkee at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

All I can find about when Harris and Biden are supposed to speak tonight is "primetime" and it's been so long since I watched normal tv I don't know what that means. I've. Got ABC on and people are just chatting, there's not even a thingy on the screen saying something is coming up.
posted by phunniemee at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2020

What's the opposite of doomscrolling?

Broom-bowling, a.k.a. curling, a thing we do in Canada
posted by Beardman at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

When I first heard people saying that Russian interference had a good deal to do with Clinton's loss, I dismissed it as conspiracy theory. Turns out, I was wrong.

People keep saying how broken the polls are, but isn't another interpretation that the polls are not broken? That the disparity is evidence of something hinky going on? I'm not trying to wade into conspiracy. I don't know much about polling. I do understand that Russian meddling was by and large social engineering, and one would think polling would pick up the direction the wind was blowing, but they didn't. I am NOT saying that vote numbers have been doctored.

Just--maybe social engineering sways opinions in a different way and at a different rate that polls can't keep up with? Or something? And way-off polls could be an indication that opinions have been artificially juiced. Any merit to my very vague notion?
posted by tllaya at 5:13 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

All I can find about when Harris and Biden are supposed to speak tonight is "primetime"

It was originally scheduled for 8pm Eastern but that has come and gone. I think they expected it to have been called by then.
posted by jedicus at 5:14 PM on November 6, 2020

At this rate, Sunday during Sunday Night Football, Football night in America will be the time. Now that's a primetime.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:16 PM on November 6, 2020

Biden: On the cusp of a verge-like brink.

good a time as any for a little Yes

(actually it's quite a lot)
posted by philip-random at 5:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

CNN saying Trump is unhappy with legal team. At this point, what lawyer wants to work for him? It's not like he can pay them...
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Wasn't the comeback: uh, yeah, we were doing that already?

If you are DeJoy at the USPS, the phrase is "we turned down the judge's order."
posted by JackFlash at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Will there be more results announced in PA tonight?
posted by meese at 5:20 PM on November 6, 2020

tllaya, I think the problem is there's a positive feedback loop between the social engineering and the people who legitimately want to believe these things. It's all so messy and interrelated I don't think you could cleanly separate out and account for the influence of the professional trolls. Even the people involved in spreading false rumors probably have trouble separating what they actually believe from what they're being paid to promote these days.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

cashman, last I heard was that the larger counties would have 500 of these “late” votes and possibly around 4,000 total. So, no impact based on Biden’s current lead.
posted by dngrangl at 5:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

meese, yes they’ll be trickling in. Large vote dump from Maricopa at 6pm PST. Nothing more from NV until tomorrow.
posted by dngrangl at 5:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> CNN saying Trump is unhappy with legal team. At this point, what lawyer wants to work for him? It's not like he can pay them...

The lawyers representing Steve Bannon just fired him as a client, so they may be free:
Steve Bannon’s Lawyers Are Running for the Hills After Client’s Insane Call for Dr. Fauci’s Head
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

In case you missed it, Decision Desk called Pennsylvania -- and thus the presidency -- for Biden 11 hours ago.
posted by reductiondesign at 5:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Well, that's their decision I guess.
posted by swift at 5:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

And their desk.
posted by notoriety public at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [25 favorites]

*Biden ahead in exit polls*

ME: Don't get excited, we still have a long night ahead of us

*Biden wins key states*

ME: Don't celebrate yet!

*Biden takes oath of office*

ME: We're not quite there!

*Biden pardons 2021 turkey*

ME: This 👏 could 👏 still 👏 go 👏 either 👏 way
posted by supercrayon at 5:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [116 favorites]

It's a decision they're entitled to table.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2020

I've got Tom Petty's "The Waiting" stuck in my head as an earworm. And I don't even like Tom Petty.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:33 PM on November 6, 2020

doomscrolling
joyscrolling
hopescrolling
scrollenfreude
gleescrolling

Glee-FRESHING
posted by tzikeh at 5:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

Once again, xkcd really gets me.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

From The Guardian (link to live blog, don't seem to be able to anchor it to the post):

A federal judge dismissed another lawsuit from Republicans alleging vote irregularities, this time in Nevada.

Nevada Republicans had sought to block the use of a signature verification machine and wanted more observation access to ballot counting in Clark county, home of Nevada.

The loss is the latest in a string of suits experts consider to be long shots.

What some people call long shots, others would call grasping at straws.

Trump's being unfair on his lawyers if he's angry with them. It seems like his problem is more that the Law itself doesn't just bend and conform to his petulant whims, the way that all his staff throughout his entire 'career' have kowtowed and grovelled for fear of being fired...until of course they resigned in frustration at having to work for a grown up version of that magical kid from The Twilight Zone.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I've got Tom Petty's "The Waiting" stuck in my head as an earworm. And I don't even like Tom Petty.

A couple of evenings ago a friend texted me talking about the anxiety generated by the long delays in counting. I replied, “Every day see one more card.” She knew exactly what I meant.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Some Philadelphians over on Fark have been helpfully collecting Gritty election memes, if you want to see a bunch in one place.

Them: You'll get more conservative as you age
Me:
2008: CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES! VOTE BLUE!
2012: TAKE TO THE STREETS IN PROTEST
2016: CORNER POLITICIANS IN RESTAURANTS, OFFICES, AND ELEVATORS, AND YELL AT THEM
2020: ERECT A GUILLOTINE IN FRONT OF THE CAPITOL BUILDING
posted by clawsoon at 5:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [64 favorites]

Them: You'll get more conservative as you age

Whoa, were they ever wrong about that one.
posted by mollweide at 5:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [27 favorites]

Them: You'll get more conservative as you age

Them: We assume that as you get older, you'll be better off financially and therefore you won't like paying taxes. So you'll vote conservative.

Us: So, we keep getting older and our financial situations aren't improving. Tell us again why we should vote conservative?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [37 favorites]

Trump's being unfair on his lawyers if he's angry with them.

Trump's opinions about his lawyers' skills has always been "if I'm winning, they're good at their jobs. If I'm losing, it's because they're bad at their jobs."

He's angry because his lawyers are pointing out that the law doesn't say "Trump wins because he wants to win."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Give people their own homes and they'll get more small-c conservative. Take away millions of homes and they'll get more communist or more fascist instead.
posted by clawsoon at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Biden edgily verging on cuspy brink.
posted by syzygy at 5:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Verily!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:51 PM on November 6, 2020

"Trump is racing to raise money for an “official election defense fund.” But the fine print on the solicitations tells a different story: Half -- or more -- of any contribution will be used to retire debt from his re-election campaign." ⁦

Don't people know that Trump never pays his debts. Half -- or more -- is going somewhere (you can guess) but it's certainly not going to debts. It's all a grift.
posted by JackFlash at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Give people their own homes and they'll get more small-c conservative. Take away millions of homes and they'll get more communist or more fascist instead.

QFT.
posted by tclark at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

[Is NotTheRedBaron the greatest Tori Amos-inspired username of ever or am I just dreaming? ]
posted by riverlife at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

10 min ago > Biden still likely to speak tonight regardless of whether race has been called, CNN, Arlette Saenz & Sarah Mucha:

Joe Biden is still likely to speak tonight regardless of whether the race has been called, a person familiar with the plans said, but cautions the situation remains fluid.

If the race is not called by the time he speaks, Biden will talk about his growing lead, a source said. The campaign earlier in the day said Biden was planning to speak in prime-time.

posted by cenoxo at 5:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Absolutely, it's a Tori Amos reference :) Thanks for the compliment!
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 5:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

This is all the fault of the International Commission on Delimiting Sharp Changes. If they had got their shit together and finished the specifications for ISO10678, the standard for nomenclature governing gradations within rapid processes, none of this mess would be happening.
We would have universal and unchanging definitions of edge, verge, cusp and so on, probably in terms of laser frequencies of excited rubidium ions.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Requisite "this is just to say" on Twitter...
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Ted Lieu
@tedlieu1h
US House candidate, CA-33
There is zero uncertainty left in Nevada. I understand why Fox News won’t call Nevada because they called Arizona and that would force them to #CallTheElection.
But @MSNBC & @CNN
have not called Arizona. There is thus no excuse for them not to call Nevada right now.
posted by robbyrobs at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

From 538, sounds like we aren't getting any more Philadelphia ballot counts tonight, which probably means Pennsylvania will remain uncalled (aside from Decision Desk) through tomorrow, as it looks like no network wants to call the state with such a small margin.

Another day...
posted by andrewesque at 6:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Them: You'll get more conservative as you age

Whoa, were they ever wrong about that one.

I’m so glad that as middle age comes into its fullest flower, I’ve only gotten fatter but not more conservative.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

This does not seem to be going so well for the president. I bet he's doomscrolling so hard he's reading this comment.
posted by sexyrobot at 6:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

New margins: Biden ahead by 21,705 in PA (NYT); 29,861 in AZ (Decision Desk).
posted by reductiondesign at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

From 538, sounds like we aren't getting any more Philadelphia ballot counts tonight

Are you telling me to go to bed? NO I DON'T WANT TO
posted by clawsoon at 6:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

It’s ridiculous [SLT]
posted by maniabug at 6:12 PM on November 6, 2020

This does not seem to be going so well for the president. I bet he's doomscrolling so hard he's reading this comment.

But what would his sockpuppet name be? sockpuppetinchief? hailtothesockpuppet? JohnBarron?
posted by Ghidorah at 6:13 PM on November 6, 2020

Sockpuppet? I can't imagine him using a username that isn't The President Donald J. Trump
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

But what would his sockpuppet name be?

unplannedchaos
posted by secret about box at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

*cues Philadelphia Freedom*

*waiting*

*waiting*

*FUCKING WAITING*

*cues Georgia on My Mind*

*...goddammit...*
posted by tzikeh at 6:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

NYT: "With Van Drew’s [R] victory in New Jersey, 2021 will be the first year since 1946 without a Kennedy in Congress."
posted by reductiondesign at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

‘My sense is that we lost’: Trump campaign aides grapple with dwindling odds - Politico

"A second adviser to the campaign suggested a court battle is unlikely “to swing things” in Trump’s favor but could form the basis of the president’s eventual concession, which Trump aides universally agree will flout tradition.

“He’s going to say, ‘They stole it from me,’ and then he’s going to go to Florida and continue to be the most influential Republican in the country,” said the second campaign adviser."
posted by valkane at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I probably missed a mention of this upthread, but isn’t it funny how Trump’s knee-jerk lawsuit to have post-election day ballots in PA segregated and thrown out is now completely at odds with his strategic needs?

Since it’s now clear that Biden will win PA even without those ballots, Trump should WANT them to count because his only hope at this point is that they might help HIM in some small way.
posted by theory at 6:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

what would his sockpuppet name be?

John Barron
posted by saturday_morning at 6:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

Give people their own homes and they'll get more small-c conservative. Take away millions of homes and they'll get more communist or more fascist instead.

QFT.

I own my own home, and I'm still not conservative. There are other factors at play.
posted by orange swan at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

* cues Hit the Road Jack
* cues Gone Daddy Gone
*cues Dog Days are Over
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Given the way he talks and tweets, his sockpuppet here would be "banned so fast he'll wish he was in Philly"
posted by mrgoat at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2020

John Barron. Such a weird alias... it evokes ... an empty, infertile, bathroom.
posted by wabbittwax at 6:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Clearly his alias would be "Metafilter's Own Scott Adams".
posted by clawsoon at 6:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

*cues By the Time I Get to Phoenix
*cues Viva Las Vegas
*cues Na Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye....
posted by tzikeh at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

and then he’s going to go to Florida and continue to be the most influential Republican in the country

He's going to have to leave the country and continue to be the most influential Republican in Russia, if he doesn't want to continue to be the most influential Republican in prison.
posted by ctmf at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I hear Moscow is lovely in January.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2020

I own my own home, and I'm still not conservative. There are other factors at play.

Same. We're landlords and in the top 5% of income and we're mostly socialist. If we didn't have to ride the California housing values for when we want to eventually return we wouldn't be landlords but because capitalism is fucking nuts we have to keep property in the market and rent it out.

I'm a socialist because I want more people to be able to live like us and I believe that it's possible in the richest country in the world. The only problem appears to be distribution.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

"But what would his sockpuppet name be? sockpuppetinchief? hailtothesockpuppet? JohnBarron?"
U: MAGA2020!
pw: AllTheBestPeople
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2020

Trump should WANT them to count

Smithers, I'm beginning to think that Donald Trump isn't the very stable genius I thought he was.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

[clears throat]

Surely this.

finally
posted by clawsoon at 6:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

and then he’s going to go to Florida and continue to be the most influential Republican in the country

Well maybe Twitter will finally shut off the tool that allowed his to circumvent most media control. That’s his thing. That’s the big thing. Just like Mussolini was able to use the then new tool radio, Dumb Donnie used Twitter.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

He will flip on counting those ballots if he needs them.

People! What ya doing?
Standing on the verge of getting it on
Yeah we're getting it on!
posted by InfidelZombie at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2020

*cues Viva Las Vegas

*consults cards, swipes chips to the pot*

I'll see your Viva Las Vegas and raise you this recent cover of Ooh Las Vegas.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oops, I should've checked upthread for that joke. Uh... uh...
posted by clawsoon at 6:25 PM on November 6, 2020

Well maybe Twitter will finally shut off the tool that allowed his to circumvent most media control. That’s his thing. That’s the big thing. Just like Mussolini was able to use the then new tool radio, Dumb Donnie used Twitter.

I wonder how many of his base would then leave twitter because CenSOrsHiP

I see no downside.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

We are in upper brackets and would gladly pay more taxes in exchange for the basic security of our fellow Americans. Even if we don't agree with them.
posted by Dashy at 6:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

> I probably missed a mention of this upthread, but isn’t it funny how Trump’s knee-jerk lawsuit to have post-election day ballots in PA segregated and thrown out is now completely at odds with his strategic needs?

businessinsider: Trump aides reportedly had to explain to the president that his demand to 'STOP THE COUNT' would actually guarantee his loss
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [16 favorites]

Yeah, I own my own my house (or duplex, at least). Yet I know how precarious it is for us, and how much more so it is for others, and how it doesn't need to be. And I'm increasingly pissed off by the lack of action on this front.
posted by mollweide at 6:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm 50, married with an adult kid, own a house. I was looking forward to being this age and becoming "conservative" -- i.e. continuing to have exactly the same politics as I had 20 years ago but complaining about the progressives like AOC and Warren who are a bit to the left of me taking over the party.

Instead I'm still fighting for basic human rights here... I'm getting too old for this stuff.

Also, Trump thinks it's the counting (not the voting) that's the problem. Sad echoes of his opinion on COVID-19.
posted by mmoncur at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Business Insider I see also says Biden has 273.
posted by tiny frying pan at 6:31 PM on November 6, 2020

I probably don't need to clarify but by security I mean basic human security like being fed, housed, educated, and medical care, not more weapons.
posted by Dashy at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

The Madness of King Trump
posted by robbyrobs at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Announcing numbers from Pittsburgh
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2020

Why is Jeff Daniels announcing the numbers in Pittsburgh?
posted by geoff. at 6:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

CNN: "The world waits"
posted by dmh at 6:35 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

> Business Insider I see also says Biden has 273.

They're using DecisionDesk, who called it this morning.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2020

President Biden, I presume?
posted by kiwi-epitome at 6:36 PM on November 6, 2020

Decision Desk: PA margin, Biden leads by 27,133. These seem to be from Allegheny County.
posted by reductiondesign at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

More votes from Pittsburgh

7300 for Biden

1875 for Trump
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:37 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Dashy: We are in upper brackets and would gladly pay more taxes in exchange for the basic security of our fellow Americans. Even if we don't agree with them.

You know, we can talk about red states and blue states and single-issue voters and whatever else, but I honestly think that this, more than anything else, is the fundamental difference between liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican. Conservatives do not believe that there could be people who want EVERYBODY to be cared for, protected, safe, who want EVERYBODY to be lifted up. They really and truly don't believe that. They don't understand winning if it isn't accompanied by "the other" losing. Their world is 100% zero-sum game.

They don't get it. They simply can't conceive of it. That's the tragedy.
posted by tzikeh at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [41 favorites]

Is there a link to the announcing numbers from pittsburgh?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2020

I've got Tom Petty's "The Waiting" stuck in my head as an earworm. And I don't even like Tom Petty.

I was thinking of Pink Floyd's "A New Machine (Part 1)"

Feels like more than a lifetime, indeed
posted by Foosnark at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2020

Since it’s now clear that Biden will win PA even without those ballots, Trump should WANT them to count because his only hope at this point is that they might help HIM in some small way.

Trump isn't quite as stupid as his campaign rally speeches and media interviews make him sound. He knows full well that he's lying. The bullshit he spews is one of the methods he uses to deliberate creating chaos and division because that allows him to get away with shit. From what I've read, Trump has acknowledged to his people that the math is not in his favour and that he has lost the election. The lawsuits are part and parcel of his usual modus operandi of kicking up enough fuss and throwing up enough roadblocks that those who oppose him have to back off.

But it's not going to work this time. He's made out like a bandit for his entire life and he even stole one presidential election, but he cannot steal a second election, because the American people have spoken up in great enough numbers, and stopped him.
posted by orange swan at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I own my own home, and I'm still not conservative. There are other factors at play.

We own our home, and are just about as anti-Trump and not (by current US definition) conservative in any way -- not everyone with a home becomes small-c conservative automatically. But if home ownership were more achievable, if incomes kept pace with productivity, if the tax code did more than pay lip service to the decreasing utility of increasing income? If we haven't borne witness to tens of millions of people getting fucked over and prevented from having economic stability in their lives? There'd be a hell of a lot more small-c conservative folks out there. But if you have a shred of empathy, you know the system isn't working. I took that quote to be a descriptive distillation of the general issue with inequality and injustice, not as "but if you own property you're going to be conservative."
posted by tclark at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Is there a link to the announcing numbers from pittsburgh?

It's currently being discussed on cnn. They haven't entered it into the system yet. It'll show up soon.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2020

“He’s going to say, ‘They stole it from me,’ and then he’s going to go to Florida and continue to be the most influential Republican in the country,”

Er, would the GOP be okay with this? I mean, it seems he’s never been big on consent in the first place, but I am not sure I see the advantage for the Republicans to have a disgraced loose cannon ex-president* blathering on in public life with minimal control by the party. Trying to imagine if Nixon had gone on to host a nightly talk show in 1975 where he monologued for 30 minutes each night before bringing out a guest.

As with so many things about 45, much of this was played out a decade earlier by Rob Ford in Toronto. I don’t recall him being big on social media, but he did have a radio show during his time mayor for a little less than two years before it was cancelled. Almost immediately afterwards, he and his brother Doug started to host a TV show, which was cancelled after a single airing, if my memory serves me well.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Gritty/Eagle dancing in Philly.
posted by MattWPBS at 6:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Like the weeds in all the cracks
All my memories come back
Like some Allegheny smack in the face
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2020

27k in PA, call it already!
posted by cmfletcher at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2020

Not 270k?
posted by ipsative at 6:42 PM on November 6, 2020

I haven’t gotten the Resistbot text yet but the Election Night Integrity Project just called 290 EC votes (PA) for Biden.
posted by instamatic at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE CALL THIS FUCKING ELECTION THIS IS KILLING ME
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [30 favorites]

Oh I see what you're saying. That's the margin, not the votes remaining. And the Github election scraper is showing fewer remaining votes (86,790) than NBC (271k-ish)
posted by ipsative at 6:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is just very lengthy foreplay. Don't worry, the climax is gonna be so good.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

CNN: "The world waits"

Ah, but the world waits, while the master baits!
posted by kirkaracha at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Sure.

I call the election for Biden.
posted by biogeo at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Hello? Election? Shirley This calling!
posted by sexyrobot at 6:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

>>>NEW THREAD!

>>>NEW THREAD!

>>>NEW THREAD!
posted by darkstar at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

290 EC votes (PA) for Biden

The magic number of course is 306 (PA + GA + NV)

To beat Trump's 304 in 2016 and prevent him from boasting that he won more bigly.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2020

wait, you gotta put some html in there.

Like this:

NEW THREAD
posted by valkane at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

This is just very lengthy foreplay. Don't worry, the climax is gonna be so good.

Stolen: It's amazing that two seventy-year-old men can maintain an election for so long.
posted by clawsoon at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

NEW THREAD
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

"I see you shiver with anticip...."
posted by kirkaracha at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2020

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE CALL THIS FUCKING ELECTION THIS IS KILLING ME

On behalf of HRM Elizabeth II and the Dominion of Canada I hereby call this ~~election~~ thread.

Carry on.

As you were, America.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

What do you want us to call it?
posted by sexyrobot at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2020

Er, would the GOP be okay with this?...

Do they have a choice at this point? They kinda unleashed the tiger with the Southern Strategy, now they're just hanging on to the tail trying to avoid the bloodiest outcome of the inevitable pointy end.
posted by calamari kid at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Hold on, I'm calling it now. I'm going to ask if it has Prince Albert in a can.
posted by sexyrobot at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Not Shirley.
posted by biogeo at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I hereby call the election, "Shirley."
posted by sexyrobot at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Conservatives do not believe that there could be people who want EVERYBODY to be cared for, protected, safe, who want EVERYBODY to be lifted up.

It's not that Conservatives don't believe such people exist; it's that they view "hard work" as the thing that should lift everyone up. In the conservative American mindset, anybody who does not "work hard" does not deserve to be lifted up and therefore it is ethically wrong and "rewarding bad behavior" to lift those people up. It is important to understand this: conservatives understand exactly what we believe - that everyone should be cared for and lifted up - and they believe it is morally wrong. That it is literally a wrong action to care for a stranger if that stranger isn't "deserving" - especially on a mass scale, where they believe such widespread rewarding of "laziness" inevitably weakens and destroys whole civilizations.

And of course, since the whole thing is basically a tautology, it also works perfectly in reverse: anybody who is not cared for, protected and safe is that way entirely because of their own personal failings. It's just Prosperity Gospel with the bits that were too overtly Christian toned down a bit (they're still *there*, just toned down).

Of course, the conservative definition of "deserving" as actually put into practice has less to do with how much actual hard work someone has done and more about whether or not they are in-tribe or out-of-tribe (this is where the racism and misogyny ~~creeps~~ parades in). But generally, there is a vast, impenetrable wall of cognitive dissonance protecting conservatives from seeing that their belief in the value of hard work does not match the way they actually distribute rewards and punishment. If the cognitive dissonance becomes too much - usually because they can clearly tell that they themselves work hard and are not lifted up - the easiest path to reconciling that cognitive dissonance seems to be to go full-on openly-racist Proud Boy or the like.

*(Alternately, you get your garden variety libertarians, who believe it is wrong to be forced to care for a stranger, and that taxation is theft and government is tyranny and etc., etc. And there are plenty of conservatives who will literally switch between libertarian mode and "regular conservative" mode when you can them out one or the other line of bullshit, which can make arguing with them immensely annoying.)
posted by mstokes650 at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [27 favorites]

mstokes650: It is important to understand this: conservatives understand exactly what we believe - that everyone should be cared for and lifted up - and they believe it is morally wrong.

I understand and take your point, but I believe my point still stands in larger terms, e.g. conservatives trying to "own" liberals with stuff like "Would you want to know what corporations bought *your* congressman and senator? Or just mine. Not so excited about it now, are you?"

Yes. We want to know that. We want to know who is contributing to ALL of our politicians, regardless of party. Conservatives only want to know bad things about "them."
posted by tzikeh at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Why is Jeff Daniels announcing the numbers in Pittsburgh?

I think you’ll find that is Will McAvoy. Walls between the dimensions are getting thinner.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Yes. Yes we are. We want to know who is contributing to ALL of our politicians, regardless of party. Conservatives only want to know bad things about "them."

Oh you're absolutely right about that, I've seen it in action too - that conservatives seem to just assume everyone is equally hypocritical all the time and therefore hypocrisy is irrelevant. Now that you mention it, it strikes me a special flavor of cognitive dissonance to constantly assume the left is a bunch of cynical hypocrites and simultaneously slam the left for its "circular firing squad" tendencies. Yeah, insofar as the circular-firing-squad thing happens, it's because we actually do care when our own people are being shitty.
posted by mstokes650 at 7:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Trump isn't quite as stupid as his campaign rally speeches and media interviews make him sound. He knows full well that he's lying.

I'm not as sure he does. Repeat the same lie enough and it becomes the truth works both ways. Or in conflicts between memory and pride it is not unusual for pride to win. I don't really doubt for example that Trump believes his inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's or that he is speaking the truth when he says like "No one is better at Foo than me" or "No one has done more for black people than me".
posted by Mitheral at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

it is ethically wrong and "rewarding bad behavior" to lift those people up.

Not only is it rewarding bad behavior, but it's punishing them (the conservatives) for their good choices if some 'loser' gets something they don't. Everything is zero-sum.
posted by Dojie at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Aaaand my eyes have gone on strike. Literally cannot sustain focus anymore, after 3 days of very heavy use. Not to mention also getting pretty sore. Have not been this screened out for a long time.

Nature's way of saying enough indulging your inner political junkie, son, and keep on with that move to audio based input.

It has been a hell of a ride. The political outcome is satisfactory, for now. The descent into madness & violence has been paused, some breathing space opened up, and the opportunity to start the repair job regained.

I leave it in your capable hands, fellow MeFites.
posted by Pouteria at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

New Thread! Part 4 of the 2020 US Presidential Thread is now open.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 is here
Part 4
posted by theora55 at 9:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Floor 4, please.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:43 PM on November 6, 2020

They really and truly don't believe that. They don't understand winning if it isn't accompanied by "the other" losing. Their world is 100% zero-sum game.

They don't get it. They simply can't conceive of it.

...with one very specific carve-out when it comes to the operation of the free market. Then they fall over themselves to explain, over and over and over again like whoever they're talking to is idiotic and just hasn't quite got the idea yet, how whenever two people freely choose to trade it enriches both of them.

So it's not that their world is 100% zero-sum game; it's that their world is 100% transactional. The idea that what goes around comes around regardless of whether it's being accounted for case by case by case is what I think doesn't fly with these people.
posted by flabdablet at 11:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Can they just call it so I can try to have a productive life again
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:00 AM on November 7, 2020

🥛🍪🍪
🍾🥂🌮
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

* There have been several links showing that Trump voters aren't poor because lots are in a $100k-$199k income bracket. In NC a teacher with 5-6 years' experience married to an electrician is going to be in that bracket easily. So two people who grew up in the country without a lot and have diligently worked to make a life in a little ranch house in Johnston county are not going to take kindly to the idea that they are "privileged", white or not white. They probably have a boat too. Maybe even an old Corvette that they lovingly work on on weekends. This is a TOTALLY VALID thing for people to want and get. Let's get that for everyone.
* The misinformation thing is a huge issue that I don't know how to solve. My few Trumpy friends are making kinda-sorta reasonable assumptions from crazypants facts.
* People in small towns tend to value simplicity and constancy. They might or might not be some flavor of racist, but really they are just less comfortable than we city dwellers are with dealing with non-English languages, non-Christian religions, constantly updated rules about how we should refer to different subgroups, etc. For example the "war on Christmas" thing was less about not liking Muslims or Jews (though that exists for sure), and more about JESUS CHRIST THIS TOWN IS 99% CHRISTIAN WHY IS IT NOW THE "WINTER MUSICAL" AT SCHOOL?? I'm an atheist, but this is what people are about.
* Just as with any prejudice, lack of exposure to different people makes it worse. Where did we all mix with many types of folks? Cities. College. Example (culled from real people): 9/11 happened. "Muslims" did it. I hear a lot on the news about terrorist stuff. Why can't those people get along? I watched "24". I don't have a Muslim co-worker that I go hunting with. So why do I care if there are theoretically normal Muslims out there? It's another complexity I don't want to deal with.
* Small-town people generally don't like big government programs. The idea that we'd spend $x trillion on some sweeping program to solve (whatever) is just not comprehensible to them. The line between "I got taxed $x" and "this great thing happened" is not very visible. I think this is a quite solvable problem with some good PR.
* Rural people are often very self-reliant. They have a regular job and on the weekend build a deck, like, themselves. So again, they are weird about welfare or other programs that they feel let the recipient get out of "doing for themselves". Weirdly, many of them are quite involved in church efforts to help people.
* For god's sake, stop labeling things with -isms. People support a lot of progressive policies if you approach them right. Some total fails: "I'm a socialist/leftist/witch/anarchist/satanist/etc. but OH NO you just don't know what real 'whatever-ists' are really like. Here go read this book about it ...". Just approach things one issue at a time. Shit, if you rename the Democratic Socialists the Freedom Party you're halfway to victory.

So I don't want to drag this in the new thread, but this is exactly why the electoral college needs to go. Why should isolation give these intolerant small towns sway over the federal governance of the majority? Can you imagine how these "good guy neighbor" christians would feel if it were big rural states populated by muslims having outsize vote impact?

Also the rural states are the most federally dependant for funds. so their moaning about tax dollars being funneled away from them and into the urban areas is a lie perpetuated by their closed media bubbles they use to stay willfully ignorant.

And for the self reliant deck builders thing, this is a huge generalization. Just because urban dwellers don't have as much yardspace for decks doesn't mean they aren't handy with property improvements and repair. This is just some stereotype that makes rural people feel more like they bootstrapped more than urban people.

I'm tired of these calls to "understand" the rural voter. How about they try to understand the majority of the USA instead of having knee-jerk disdain for them in their good old christian hearts.
posted by WeekendJen at 3:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

TRUMP'S FIRED!!!!!!
posted by erattacorrige at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

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