2018 Midterm Election Thread

[frae]

CA 21 down to a 447 vote difference.

[Fresno Bob]

+40, +38, does it really matter? Either way is a tremendous victory for the Trump led GOP, right?

[onejayhawk]

+40, +38, does it really matter? Either way is a tremendous victory for the Trump led GOP, right?

Sarcasm doesn't work when there is a grain of truth.

J

[revo]

What appeared to be an easy pickup for the GOP in Mississippi has become a challenge. Incumbent senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has:
- said that she would attend a "public hanging" and "be in the front row" if invited by a supporter. Hyde-Smith's challenger, Mike Espy, is black.
- been captured on video saying that voter suppression of liberals is a "great idea."
- discovered to have graduated high school from a "segregation academy" (a private, segregated high school)

Now maybe it's all nothing. Or maybe.....

[Teenwolf]

What appeared to be an easy pickup for the GOP in Mississippi has become a challenge. Incumbent senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has:
- said that she would attend a "public hanging" and "be in the front row" if invited by a supporter. Hyde-Smith's challenger, Mike Espy, is black.
- been captured on video saying that voter suppression of liberals is a "great idea."
- discovered to have graduated high school from a "segregation academy" (a private, segregated high school)

Now maybe it's all nothing. Or maybe.....

If only she had said she would "work hard to suppress the black vote, by promising to never monkey things up WHILE in the front row of a public hanging"... then we'd know with absolute certainty that she was a racist. I guess we'll just never know!

[Teenwolf]

Cynthia Hyde-Smith keeps playin' the hits! No more dog whistles, break out the megaphone!

As a state senator in 2007, Hyde-Smith cosponsored a resolution that honored then-92-year-old Effie Lucille Nicholson Pharr, calling her "the last known living 'Real Daughter' of the Confederacy living in Mississippi." Pharr's father had been a Confederate soldier in Robert E. Lee's army in the Civil War.

The resolution refers to the Civil War as "The War Between the States." It says her father "fought to defend his homeland and contributed to the rebuilding of the country." It says that with "great pride," Mississippi lawmakers "join the Sons of Confederate Veterans" to honor Pharr.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/11/24/pol...www.cnn.com%2F

[revo]

In addition, not only did Hyde-Smith go to a segregated HS -- which I think many of us could forgive since it probably wasn't her decision -- but her daughter went to one too!

[DMT]

And MLB donated $5K to Hyde-Smith yesterday...and then asked for it back 12 hours later!

[frae]

CA 21 now under a 500 vote difference, Cox definitely can pull this off.

As for Hyde-Smith, she is a terrible candidate but with no post-election day polling to look at I just don't see how Epsy can win in MS. With Doug Jones we had some numbers to look at. This would be a shocking upset and some of her comments and history are appaling, but even with one of the worst Senate candidates in Roy Moore Jones still only won by 2 points. So far Hyde-Smith hasn't had what I would call a bombshell that will make her base turn on her. All that said this race is a lot more interesting that I expected a month ago.

[baldgriff]

And how is it that we find it acceptable that we cant manage to collect votes from lets say 1million people over the course of the day and put them into 3 or 4 tally columns? We have businesses that run multiple times more than this in transactions daily and can tell you how much the gross amount was, what is taxable, inventory depletion and everything else - yet here we sit weeks after the polls closed and we are still counting votes.

Its absolutely an inane process and implementation - we have to do better than this!

[Teenwolf]

And how is it that we find it acceptable that we cant manage to collect votes from lets say 1million people over the course of the day and put them into 3 or 4 tally columns? We have businesses that run multiple times more than this in transactions daily and can tell you how much the gross amount was, what is taxable, inventory depletion and everything else - yet here we sit weeks after the polls closed and we are still counting votes.

Its absolutely an inane process and implementation - we have to do better than this!

So which party is attempting to fix it, and which party insists on using voting machines made in 2002? Which party killed the voting rights act? Which party is removing minorities from the rolls? Which party launched an investigation into voter fraud alleged by millions... which turned up no voter fraud?

Which party is fighting for automatic voter registration and which party is fighting against it?

This isnt a both sides issue. Republicans want to restrict voting as much as humanly possible using any and all means available. Democrats want to register all Americans automatically to vote.

As an outsider to both parties, you must see this too, no?

[baldgriff]

I have no issues with registering as many legally able individuals to vote in our local, state and federal elections. I would also be in favor of some type of voter identification that is FREE to each person legally able to vote - if they are unable to obtain some other type of State issued identification.

I believe that both parties are complicit it the inability to move this process along in a manner beneficial to the process. Neither side is willing to compromise on any point in their "platform" - until that happens both are just puffing up their chests showing their constituency that they are holding firm.

We have to get past this partisan politics bullshit!!! ! ! ! None of it is actually accomplishing anything - except creating more reasons for the RNC and DNC to raise funds for "their" side. Why are we so interested in the election results? Well because once we have the count we can tell what we should expect as far as which direction policy is going to lean.

I want to see some bi-partisan ideas put forth to deal with this issue and many others.

[DMT]

How exactly have Democrats blocked registering more legal voters? Once again, it seems like you and others reflexively want to blame both parties when it is blatantly obvious to anyone not beholden to their self-identified "independence" that the Republicans are the ones blocking the registrations.

[baldgriff]

How exactly have Democrats blocked registering more legal voters? Once again, it seems like you and others reflexively want to blame both parties when it is blatantly obvious to anyone not beholden to their self-identified "independence" that the Republicans are the ones blocking the registrations.

I dont believe I stated the Dems have blocked registering more legal voters.

I said we should register as many voters as possible and have some type of voter registration process.

I dont think the R's are against the registering of voters - they want voter ID.
The D's want to register as many voters as possible - they dont want voter ID.

Both parties play the gerrymandering game - though the R's appear to be better at it.

Gerrymandering, voter ID, registration of legal voters - all of these are the topics that we the constituency get frustrated with. Yet in the last 15 - 20 years there has been NO movement on any of this. Why is that? Isn't it possible that both sides wont move across their respective side of the aisle and actually do something to make progress. Isnt it possible that the marching orders from the respective party chairs is to actually not reach across the aisle?

Many here seem willing to point the finger at the people on the other side. Im just sitting here in the middle and looking at the number of issues that play into the problem and realize that these are problems that can be fixed - except for the likely and convenient truth that it is easier to raise money from the respective donors by saying to them - "Your interest is our interest - give us more money to fight for you interest". Sorry to say it - but there is no other reason in my cynical mind that these parties have not come together and figured out a method to make these elections more seamless and accurately counted.

Yes, I am cynical - but again that is why I continue my "no confidence" voting - or actually voting for people that I think want to see change made.

[Bernie Brewer]

How exactly have Democrats blocked registering more legal voters? Once again, it seems like you and others reflexively want to blame both parties when it is blatantly obvious to anyone not beholden to their self-identified "independence" that the Republicans are the ones blocking the registrations.

You mean like holding off cycle elections at state and local levels to discourage large amounts of voters from participating? 538 wrote an article on Democratic efforts to surpress voting about three years ago. I’m trying to find the link. The off cycle elections are supported by labor and teachers unions because they know very few non-interested voters will take the time to go for an “unimportant” elections for school boards and sheriffs, etc. If you consider GOP efforts to require IDs voter suppression, then that’s just your partisan viewpoint. If you want to suggest any form of gerrymandering is a problem, I’ll agree. But if you suggest that gerrymandering is exclusive to GOP state controlled governments, well, once again we’ll agree to disagree. At this point the SC only forced PA to redo their districts to my knowledge.