RandySF
RandySF's JournalIt's already starting in San Francisco
The first direct campaign mail pieces arrived this week and early voting doesn't begin until October. There's nothing like the struggle to pull a stack of literature before you even get to your real mail. I'm thinking of collecting it all to see how much accumulate by November 8.
Missouri Could Be A Swing State Again
Whatever the cause, the post-convention polls in Missouri have been closer than those in many states often referred to as battlegrounds. Yet I hear very few people mention Missouri as a state Clinton could win.
What makes the lack of attention being paid to Missouri all the more odd to me is that there’s a pretty close Senate race there as well. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt leads Democrat Jason Kander by 6 percentage points, according to the HuffPost Pollster aggregate. That lead is a equal to the 6-point edge that Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has in Florida and Republican Sen. Rob Portman has in Ohio. Missouri has just as close a Senate race as Florida and Ohio and a tighter presidential race. Think about that for a second.
Now, I get that we’ve seen an increase in straight-ticket voting (voters choosing one party for all races) over the past few decades. If the presidential race were tighter nationally, it would be hard to imagine Kander winning. But because the presidential contest is so close in Missouri, a win by Kander is more conceivable. Also, Missouri voters have shown a willingness to vote for Democrats in recent statewide elections. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill easily won re-election in 2012, in large part because of Todd Akin’s infamous rape comment. That same year, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon cruised to a second term. This year, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Koster is ahead in the polls over his Republican opponent, Eric Greitens.
Missouri deserves some attention this election season. The polls show Republicans are favorites to carry the presidential and Senate race in the state, but it’s no sure thing. And with Missouri’s history as a swing state and unique political geography, watching it all play out should be interesting.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/missouri-could-be-a-swing-state-again/
Trump makes Minnesota ballot at last minute
Washington (CNN)Donald Trump will appear on the ballot in Minnesota, after a last-minute scramble by state Republicans who discovered Wednesday that their nominee was not yet on the ballot.
The party had until Monday to submit the names of 10 electors and 10 alternate electors -- the people who will officially cast Minnesota's votes for president -- to the Secretary of State.
"We just received the last item. We were waiting for a pledge from one of the alternate electors. The filing is complete and the Republican ticket should be listed on our site shortly," Secretary of State spokesman Ryan Furlong said in an email Thursday afternoon.
A sample ballot produced on the Secretary of State's website Thursday morning showed third party candidate Evan McMullin and candidates for many other parties on the ballot, including former Democratic candidate Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente, now with the American Delta Party -- but no Trump.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/politics/donald-trump-minnesota-ballot/index.html
Closeted homophobe McCarthy aide Roy Cohn defended Trump in 1973 civil rights lawsuit
But then something caught my eye. CNN was mentioning how Trump, via his lawyer, hit back hard against the allocations. And I see a name flit across the screen, so I back up the DVR.
This is what I see:
Roy Cohn, the lawyer handling the case.
Yes, that Roy Cohn.
For anyone unaware, Roy Cohn was a hated man. He was Senator Joe McCarthy’s right-hand man during the McCarthy era anti-communist witch hunts that destroyed so many lives. But to add to the fun, Roy Cohn was a closeted gay man, who eventually died complications related to HIV/AIDS. But none of that stopped Cohn from destroying the lives of countless gay government employees who he, and McCarthy, drove out of of their careers.
THAT Roy Cohn.
You see, Trump met Cohn early in his career, and Cohn reportedly became a sort of mentor to the young Trump. And Cohn became Trump’s lawyer as well.
As if you needed to know anything worse about Donald Trump. Now you do.
http://americablog.com/2016/08/roy-cohn-defended-trump-1973-civil-rights-lawsuit.html
McCain's primary opponent: He might die in office
PHOENIX — John McCain's underdog opponent in next week's primary election is going there: Should he win, Kelli Ward told POLITICO flatly on Wednesday, the soon-to-be 80-year-old senator may not live to finish out his six-year term.
“I’m a doctor. The life expectancy of the American male is not 86. It’s less,” Ward said in an interview here.
Age tends to be a delicate issue in campaigns, alluded to by rivals but rarely attacked head on. But Ward is ditching such niceties, drawing a contrast in the final days of her longshot campaign that could hardly be more blatant: She the relatively youthful 47-year-old challenger against, in her telling, the cranky old incumbent who's mentally and physically unfit for the demanding job of a U.S. senator.
Ward, a former state senator, insisted it's not a last-ditch attack to reverse her fortunes; polls show her trailing badly. Arizonans, she said, “have the right to know he’s an 80-year old man who’s been in Washington for more than 40 years” — a slight exaggeration of his 34 years in D.C.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/kelli-ward-john-mccain-age-227433#ixzz4IOyl8UWX
I want to use this post to say something about Bannon's domestic abuse charge
I know we live in the land of "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" but we also have eyes as well as the law. The arresting officer's report mentioned red marks on his ex-wife's wrists consistent with her accusations. And I will never forget my aunt's black eyes ever though her husband was never even charged with anything. I know what happened to her and the police report makes pretty damn clear what Bannon's wife as well. This man is a wife beater.
Senator's Outreach Ad To Black Voters Appears To Use Stock Video From Africa
A new ad highlighting Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) work in helping disadvantaged children in his state appears to feature black children from a school in Africa, not North Carolina.
The ad titled "Kirby" features an interview with African American Pastor Kirby Jones who says that Burr "has done a great deal to help the children and their families get on a path and trajectory that leads to academic success and life success. He is genuinely interested in our community, in our children."
The ad includes two pieces of footage from Getty's iStock catalog that are tagged as "non US" locations.
One is titled "African teacher and school girls," and is tagged with keywords like "non US location," "South African culture," "Africa," African ethnicity," and "African American ethnicity."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/richard-burr-ad-features-kids-from-africa
Just finished watching Hillary's speech. So what did she say that was false?
And how was a factual speech "over the line"?
Trump campaign CEO once charged in domestic violence case
Stephen K. Bannon, the new CEO of the Donald Trump campaign, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996, though the case was ultimately dismissed, according to a police report and court documents.
The Santa Monica, Calif., police report says that Bannon’s then-wife claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police.
While the case ended when Bannon's ex-wife did not appear in court, the incident presents a new problem for the Trump campaign following the hiring of the controversial Bannon. He went on leave from Breitbart News, where he is chairman, to take over the Trump campaign.
Bannon, through a spokeswoman, said he was never interviewed by the police about the incident. Bannon pleaded "not guilty" to the allegations and was represented by a local criminal defense attorney during the proceedings.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/steve-bannon-domestic-violence-case-police-report-227432#ixzz4IOjQCm4w
West Virginia AG (R) Spokesperson Fired For Her Role in White Supremacist Video
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office fired a spokesperson Thursday after it was revealed she had played a prominent role in a white supremacist video that was first posted online in 2012.
According to the Charleston Gazette-Mail who reported the video and subsequent firing first, Carrie Bowe served as a spokeswoman to the attorney general and appeared to be let go immediately after it her participation in the video was revealed by the paper.
“The employee’s conduct and statements, which occurred years before being
employed by the attorney general’s office, were not previously disclosed until today, which is contrary to the transparency requirements for being a member of this office, do not reflect the opinion or the perspective of the attorney general or this office,” Morrisey spokesman Curtis Johnson told the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
In the six-minute video, which features several women dressed in white tank tops, Bowe repeatedly makes the case that a "white genocide" is occurring, citing immigration and forced assimilation of whites.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/west-virginia-ag-spokesman-fired-for-her-role-in-white-supremacist-video
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
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