From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Cheers and Jeers Election Day Flashback
Remember the last time an election was held on November 4th? Yup…it was 2008. As we head to the polls and await the results of the 2014 midterms, here are some thoughts C&J had the day after that somewhat memorable election six years ago, with updates:
CHEERS to...
The new President-elect of the United States. Hey, pundits: whose resume is thin now? Update: As the Bush economy cratered, Republicans seized on a brilliant idea: let's do everything we can to keep the country in the shitter until 2012, when we'll take back the White House on a platform of look at the shitter our country's still in. Gee, can't imagine what they'll run on in 2016.
The force is strong
with Jedi Master Jeff.
Democratic senators-elect Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Udall (D-CO), Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Mark Warner (D-VA---the state now has two Democratic senators for the first time since the appearance of cave drawings). The Gordon Smith/Jeff Merkley race is, I believe, still a toss-up in Oregon, as is Alaska's race between popular Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich and a convicted felon. And Al Franken may yet pull out a win in Minnesota, which would be cool because it would render Bill O'Reilly permanently mute. At any rate, no more excuses, Harry Reid---for six years the Republicans did far more with a far smaller majority than the one you'll enjoy starting in January. Get busy.
Update: Six years later, Shaheen, Hagan, Begich and Mark Udall are in tight races, while Franken (who won but, sadly, did not render O'Reilly mute), Warner, Merkley and Tom Udall are lookin' good. And, boy, do I wish Harry Reid had taken the Republican obstruct-a-thon more seriously. Grr.
"Blue" England. Wow---thanks to the vanquishing of Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut, there will be zero Republican House members from New England when the 111th Congress convenes in January. I can live with that.
Update: I believe that's still the case, although that could change today. But it's been fun!
JEERS to...
Judge Walker to CA voters:
"You chose...poooorly."
Proposition 8. Even in the face of iron-clad proof that gay marriages won’t do diddly to straight marriages, Californians proved last night that they could be persuaded by Utah's Mormon overlords to hit themselves over the head with the dumbstick and make inequality and discrimination constitutional. If there's a silver lining it's this: civil unions will continue to be approved at the state level across the country, and the federal government now has the muscle to pass some gay-friendly bills (like the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell). It's worth reminding ourselves, no matter how bitter we feel this morning: civil rights struggles are always a marathon, not a sprint.
Update: Prop. 8 is gone (thank you, Judge Vaughn Walker). DADT is gone. Most of DOMA is gone. Hate crimes law is passed. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed in the Senate (before getting Boehnered). And same-sex couples have the legal right to get a marriage license in 32 states with more on the way. As marathons go, that's a nice sprint.
The noble opposition. Granted, the front pages of most of the right-wing blogs were magnanimous in defeat, but some of the commenters were their usual selves. A sample:
Oprah is crying. Bet her tears are sulfuric acid. She's the real evil one.
I do not feel anything but dread. The Israelis face Armeggedon and or America the barbarians are in the gates. I fear the baying mob. I fear Fruit of Islam thugs and roving gangs of "youths."
Update: I didn't think they would get much worse than that. So, six years later, let me say here publicly: mea culpa.
We'll have elections like 2008 again. In fact, I think 2016 is shaping up real nice. Good luck to all the Democratic candidates today. Regardless of how things go down, you're a fine bunch and, almost universally, your campaigns represented the party very well. Voters: get off your butts and reward 'em.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Note: Vote!
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3 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til the end of Atlantic hurricane season:
26
Days 'til the 12th annual
Moab Folk Festival in Utah:
3
Chance that a 2014 Senate-focused TV ad sponsored by a candidate is positive:
1 in 2
Chance that a Senate-focused TV ad sponsored by an outside group is positive:
1 in 5
(Source: Center for Public Integrity)
Number of states that have enacted Republican poll tax (aka voter ID) laws since 2000:
17
(Source:
Five Thirty Eight)
Portion of 6-19 year-olds who already have degraded hearing loss from cranking up their earbuds and headphones too loud:
1 in 8
(Source: Vox.com)
Inches of snow Bangor, Maine got from the weekend storm:
12
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
I don't see any sea change in the Republican Party itself that would warrant the far right turning out to vote for liberal Republicans and there is a whole slough of them out there, including the RNC answer to Barney Frank, South Carolina's own Lindsey Graham. I suspect you are going to be disappointed on Tuesday night when the returns come back and things pretty much stay the way they are with a few exceptions like Mitch McConnell being given the boot.
---Commenter Roberty111 at World Net Daily
All together now: 1…2…3…
Fingers crossed!
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Puppy Pic of the Day:
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CHEERS to a pleasant day of lever-pulling (and/or screen-tapping and/or oval-filling-inning). Hey, kids, what time is it? It's ELECTION TIME!!! According to my own internal polling data, Nate Silver and all the other pollster gurus are full of crap, so let me give you the real results that we'll see today:
Your polling place is located here.
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Governors Democrat Mike Michaud will defeat Republican governor Paul LePage by a couple points because he took a little girl's advice three days ago and grew a beard. As with the Wisconsin recall election, Scott Walker will win more decisively than anyone expects. But Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett will get the boot, as will Florida's Rick Scott. But Michigan will continue to be the gulag of the Midwest with the re-election of Rick Snyder, and Texans will usher in a whole new era of nutballism with the election of Greg Abbott as governor and Dan Patrick as his more-powerful and more crazy lieutenant governor.
Senate: We won't keep the majority in the "Wall Streeters' Chamber," but several popular Dems will win re-election and Carl Levin's seat in Michigan will be well-filled by Gary Peters. And if you've ever wondered what having Sarah Palin in the Senate would be like, you'll get your chance with Iowa's Joni Ernst (R), who will soon be known as the first sitting U.S. Senator to have a pistol go off in her purse during a cloture vote.
House: My statistical analysis tells me that my odds of wanting to discuss the odds of Democrats taking the House are less than the margin of error which, since I never make mistakes, is 0 percent.
Ballot Issues: I am 100 percent confident that ballot issues will, in fact, be voted on. Watch for marijuana-related votes in Alaska, Oregon, DC, Florida (medicinal only) and just up the road apiece in Lewiston, Maine. Minimum wage initiatives are on the ballot in Arkansas, Alaska, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. If any of them fail, I'll be gobsmacked.
Be sure to log on to the Great Orange Satan and strap yourself in for results this evening from Jed, David and company---it's gonna be a bumpy night. Oh, and here's your drinking game: anytime you get the feeling someone in the country has cast a ballot, take a swig. I shall see you under the table at approximately 25 minutes ago.
JEERS to unwanted intruders. Their calves bulging with 75 pounds of bullshit, Senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio slipped across the border from Southern Irrelevance to Arrogant Land to demand that President Obama hold off on issuing the immigration-related executive orders that he promised to sign after election day. They say that if Obama sees to it that something gets done, it will interfere with their ability to see that nothing gets done.
CHEERS to #1. Here's a little election day milestone from the archives: it was 90 years ago today, back in 1924, when Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first elected woman governor in U.S. history. She ran in Wyoming in the wake of her husband, Gov. William Ross's death from appendicitis, but was careful to avoid any public display of ambition for the job as that wouldn't be ladylike. Her modest agenda soon mushroomed, oddly enough, into one of great ambition:
[R]equiring cities, counties, and school districts to have budgets; stronger state laws regulating banks; exploration of better ways to sell Wyoming’s heavy crude oil; earmarking some state mineral royalties for school districts; obtaining more funds for the university; improving safety for coal miners; protecting women in industrial jobs; and supporting a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would cut back on child labor.
These ideas all came from solid, Progressive thinking. But Nellie was the first governor to back them in Wyoming.
She lost reelection, but kept plenty busy turning out the women's vote for FDR and spending 20 years as the first woman director of the U.S. Mint. Died at 101, her life spanning presidents Grant through Carter. Currently four out of five sitting female governors are Republican. But Ross was first. And as with so many firsts in politics and civil rights, the letter next to her name was a big ol' D.
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Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man. Eric Boehlert at Media Matters asks: Obama's approval rating remains unchanged this year, so why all the press coverage about "sinking" poll numbers?
Clickbait.
Now back to Cheers and Jeers.
Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
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CHEERS to hoisting the middle finger at al Qaeda. I hope the 72 virgins who are busy whapping Osama bin Laden with pork shoes for eternity will pause long enough to let him see that the World Trade Center is back open for business:
Thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected World Trade Center is again opening for business---marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation. Publishing giant Conde Nast will start moving Monday into One World Trade Center, a 104-story, $3.9 billion skyscraper that dominates the Manhattan skyline.
And this time there's no chance of a successful attack by terrorists wielding box cutters on commercial jets. The whole thing is made out of rubber.
CHEERS to diversity between our ears. Researchers at Virginia Tech say they've discovered that there's a big difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to brains. The biggest difference: Democrats have them.
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Five years ago in C&J: November 4, 2009
JEERS to raining on the fireworks. Former president Clinton and George W. Bush were supposed to have a spirited discussion---dare we call it a dream debate?---in February, but the event has been cancelled. They're blaming it on the promoter. But we all know the real reason: Bush didn’t want to get his ass whupped. There's a word for that kind of logic: wisdom.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to U.S. Mint-y freshness. Pocket change lovers rejoice! The last of the 2014 "America the Beautiful" state quarters was released yesterday, representing the great state of Florida:
"You kids get offa my wetlands!"
The Everglades National Park…is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Everglades National Park protects an unparalleled landscape that provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile and elusive Florida panther. An international treasure as well, it is designated as a world heritage site, international biosphere reserve and wetland of international importance.
The reverse design, inspired by the bird population in the Everglades, features an anhinga with outstretched wings on a willow tree with a roseate spoonbill visible in the mid-ground.
A handful of votes separated the winning design from the alternate version: Governor Rick Scott constricting and swallowing a gator whole.
Have a nice Tuesday. Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise, Democrats will have a lot of victories to celebrate tonight. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Just days after saying that Bill in Portland Maine "sucks," Rand Paul went on three Sunday talk shows to double down on his criticism of Cheers and Jeers.
---The Atlantic
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