2022 Congressional & State Elections

[LFC]

Sept 4, 2022 17:04:41 GMT LFC said:

Oz goes lower showing just how big a piece of shit he is. Just like too many other Republicans, destroying other people's lives for a little political advantage is no problem. These people have no souls.

Oz is quadrupling down on slamming Fetterman, and every other person on the review board, for letting two very likely innocent people who did not actually kill anybody, out of prison after 20+ years. I saw one of his misleading commercials just this morning. What a waste of human organs that could be used by better people.

[LFC]

Here's a big GOTV effort among younger voters.

Vote.org, the nonpartisan voter registration and turnout organization, is investing at least $10 million to engage young voters ahead of the midterm election.

The group is launching its “Vote Ready” campaign to reach more than 4 million voters between the ages of 18 and 30, with a focus on young voters of color, according to plans first shared with POLITICO. It’s the largest investment the group has made for a program focused on youth registration.

The initiative hopes to meet the 1 million voter registration goal Vote.org set earlier in the year with When We All Vote, the campaign to register and organize voters founded by former first lady Michelle Obama. Vote.org has registered over 381,000 new voters since the end of the 2020 election. The group said it is confident the new campaign will bring it to 1 million voters by Nov. 8.

The group is working with partner organizations to provide voter resource tools and to share accurate information about voting through social media. Many major tech companies, like TikTok, YouTube and Twitter, have released policies ahead of the midterms reaffirming a “commitment to election integrity” and outlined plans to avoid the spread of election-related misinformation.

The campaign will focus on key states that Vote.org has identified as pivotal to increasing youth turnout — Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Hailey said these states were chosen because of their high populations of young voters and large communities of color. But many of these are battleground states, hosting a number of competitive races up and down the ballot — including ones that could determine who controls Congress. Recent data from the Tufts University Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found that youth of color can be decisive in key races, including in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia.

In 2020, youth turnout was 11 points higher than the previous presidential election, and 47 percent of Vote.org’s site engagement came from voters aged 18 to 34. Seventeen million young people have turned, or are turning, 18 between the 2020 election and the 2022 midterms, according to the group.

But it’s a midterm year, when voter turnout is historically lower than during a presidential election. And given today’s political landscape, young voters may not feel compelled to come to the polls. A New York Times/Siena College poll from July found that 48 percent of respondents between 18 and 29 said that they felt “voting did not make a difference in how their government operates.”

Hailey said the goal is to not only register new voters, but ensure that those who voted in 2020 come back because once a voter participates in two elections, voting is more likely to become a lifelong practice. “If you don’t have a voting history, then people don’t reach out to you and ask for your vote,” she said. “Our thought is that people want to participate, they just need to be included ... and they just need access to the information.”

[LFC]

I'm always cautious about getting my hopes up but this is interesting.

Apparently Kevin McCarthy has noticed. He's now in a panic to try to wash off, or more like temporarily perfume over, the MAGA stank coming off of his party. I don't see him as the tactical genius to pull that off and the points at the link look pretty generic. Republicans don't really do policy anymore.

Seeing his dreams of being Speaker of the House in sudden peril and having already bought lots of drapes, Kevin McCarthy has leaked to Axios his plan to save his speakership before it ends before it can begin. He’s rolling out what he’s calling his and the House GOP’s “commitment to America,” a list of bromides that is a sort of governmental version of Bill and Ted’s famed “Be excellent to each other” imperative.

[LFC]

Dr. Oz made some inconvenient comments about incest some years ago. He's likely fine on the science but it does come across as a little creepy.

The problem with being a celebrity before you enter politics is that you’ve definitely already said too much. And considering that Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for the Pennsylvania Senate, has already been saying too much as a candidate, you know the things coming out of his mouth must have been pretty bad before.

In an interview with morning radio show The Breakfast Club in February 2014, host Angela Yee asked Oz to weigh in on a question sent in by a listener about someone struggling with an incestuous relationship.

“I’m going to ask you this and you tell me if this is safe for this person, okay?” Yee prompted Oz. “Well, he said, ‘Yee, I can’t stop smashing my cousin.’ That means sleeping with.” (Thank you, Yee.)

She continued to read out the question: “‘We hooked up at a young age and now in our 20s, she still wants it. No matter how much I want to stop, I always give it to her. Help me.’ What advice would you give that person?”

Hm. I might refer them to counseling about how to rebuild proper familial relationships and set boundaries. But Oz took it in a different direction:

Oz: If you’re more than a first cousin away, it’s not a big problem.

Yee: Okay, so second cousin is fine to smash.

Charlamagne: It’s so funny, cause I knew that.

DJ Envy: How did you know that?

Charlamagne: Cause I’m from the country! Third cousins?

Oz: Yeah. It’s fine.

But of course he just had to make it worse.

That’s fine...benign even. But then Oz kept! talking! “You know, that’s why children, girls don’t like their fathers’ smell. Their pheromones will actually repel their daughters because they’re not supposed to be together,” Oz told the hosts. “My daughters hate my smell.”

Yee jabbed, “Maybe you just smell,” to which Oz replied, “My wife says she likes the smell.”

Then, they all just moved on from the incest question and chatted for another 15 minutes, giving zero useful advice or emotional empathy to someone struggling with incest.

There's audio if you care to listen. (I didn't.)

[LFC]

RonJohn continues to run around in circles. He doesn't seem to have any election campaign plan at all other than to be a Republican in a reddish state. Now he's in a panic because he's behind in the polls so what's the play? Bash gay people!

As one of, if not the most vulnerable, senator seeking reelection this midterm cycle, Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) been staking out his policy positions on a number of issues rather publicly in recent weeks — after mid-August polling from Marquette Law School found that the incumbent was trailing behind his Democratic rival. Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has a 7-percentage point lead over Johnson with 51 percent of the vote compared to his 44 percent.

And his latest remarks — clarifying where he stands on a same-sex marriage bill that could soon come before members of the upper chamber — include a few too many references to “religious liberty” to not be read as a scrambling effort to satisfy the religious right after initially appearing to be open to the bill.

During a Common Sense Citizens of Washington County meeting in Wisconsin last week, Johnson did some desperate clean up work, acknowledging that he had heard from countless constituents who were unhappy about his supposed support for codifying same-sex marriage into federal law. Earlier this summer, he released a statement, saying he had “no reason to oppose” a bill that might protect those rights federally. He was of course responding to now-passed House legislation brought by Democrats in response to Supreme Court Justice Thomas’ opinion overturning Roe. Johnson’s remarks helped fuel early speculation that a same-sex marriage bill might have enough Republican votes to overcome the filibuster in the Senate.

But in his comments last week, he admitted that he primarily put out that statement to get reporters “off my back” and that he only meant to clarify that he always supported civil unions. He also was firm about his opposition to the House-passed legislation, telling attendees that he “would not support it in its current state.”

The audio from that meeting, obtained by local media, is honestly rather stunning in tone. Johnson at one point goes after his Wisconsin colleague, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to the Senate, for “opening that wound,” suggesting that Baldwin and other Democrats are just making up the very legitimate threat to marriage equality outlined by Thomas.

“Because Justice Thomas is probably right that it was wrongly decided,” he said, referencing Obergefell v. Hodges. “But that’s a different issue as to whether or not the Supreme Court would overturn it. They never will. I do not see any scenario.”

In remarks to reporters today, Johnson doubled down and added in some religious red meat for the conservative base; voters he is clearly trying to appease as he mops up where he stands on the issue.

“I always support civil unions … never felt this bill is necessary,” Johnson told reporters today, now back in D.C. “This is just Democrats opening up a wound that doesn’t need to be opened up. And now that I’ve talked to people there are some very serious concerns on religious liberty.”

"Religious liberty", i.e. forcing people who don't follow your religion to live under your rules. How ... American.

[Bact PhD]

Newly released poll shows statistical dead heat in the 2 major Flori-DUH races. Natch, Supreme Emperor & Toady poll highest among older white voters; there’s still a chunk of “undecideds.”

www.gainesville.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/08/florida-election-2022-governor-senate-race-close-aarp-desantis-crist-rubio-demings/8006759001/

DeSantis leads U.S. Rep. and former governor Charlie Crist 50%-47% in the gubernatorial race, and Rubio leads Congresswoman Val Demings 49%-47% in the U.S. Senate race, according to the AARP Florida poll released Wednesday. AARP Florida represents millions of older Floridians, a key demographic group that historically turns out in higher percentage numbers than younger voters. 

[snip]

AARP commissioned the Republican firm Fabrizio Ward and Democratic firm Impact Research to do the poll in the last week of August. They interviewed 1,626 likely Florida voters. Five hundred were polled as a representative sample of all likely voters. An oversample of 550 were interviewed who were 50 or older. Also polled: 262 Hispanic voters and 314 Black voters who were also 50 years of age or older. An oversample of both groups was conducted.

[snip]

About 11% of voters in the governor's race said they were undecided. Of those, 3% are leaning toward DeSantis and 5% are leaning toward Crist. The rest did not express a preference and remain undecided. 

In the Senate race, 19% were undecided. About 9% are leaning toward Rubio, while 7% lean toward Demings. The rest remain undecided.

[LFC]

New Hampshire had the last primary of the season. Republicans selected another nutjob. Once again I'm frightened just how many of these whack-a-doodles served at high ranks in the military. It's starting to feel that the military attracts gullible, reality challenged nutjobs like the Catholic Church attracts pedophiles.

Retired Army Brigadier General Don Bolduc has apparently triumphed over both New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse and the establishment Republicans who tried to stifle his ascendancy, fearing that he’s too extreme to win the general election.

Morse conceded early Wednesday morning, though ballots are still being counted.

“It’s been a long night & we’ve come up short,” he tweeted. “I want to thank my supporters for all the blood, sweat & tears they poured into this team effort. I just called and wished all the best to @gendonbolduc. The focus this fall needs to be on defeating Maggie Hassan.”

NBC News, the only network to make the call so far, has projected a Bolduc victory. The Associated Press has also not yet called the race.

Bolduc, who unsuccessfully ran for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) seat in 2020, will now face Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in November.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R), who national Republicans courted to run against Hassan, has been disparaging Bolduc, who once called him a “Chinese communist sympathizer.”

“He’s not a serious candidate, he’s really not, and if he were the GOP nominee I have no doubt we would have a much harder time,” Sununu said of Bolduc on local New Hampshire WGIR radio. “He’s kind of a conspiracy theorist-type candidate.”

Still, Sununu said that he’d support Bolduc in the general if it came to it.

[pnwguy]

Sept 14, 2022 16:17:19 GMT LFC said:

New Hampshire had the last primary of the season. Republicans selected another nutjob. Once again I'm frightened just how many of these whack-a-doodles served at high ranks in the military. It's starting to feel that the military attracts gullible, reality challenged nutjobs like the Catholic Church attracts pedophiles.

Still, Sununu said that he’d support Bolduc in the general if it came to it.

Just like Moscow Mitch has said if Dumpster gets the GOP nomination.  There is no bottom to the ass kissing the rank and file Republican in office will go, to placate MAGA nation.  They all know the monster they created will eat them.

[LFC]

More and more Republican candidates are wearing two faces this election, one for the primary and the other for the general. Is it any wonder they don't have a party platform? You can't be puttin' that shit in writing!

Uhhhh Democracy Is Real Now! I’m Electable, I Swear!

During a debate with fellow GOP New Hampshire Senate hopefuls last month, retired Gen. Don Bolduc, the proud election truther who won the nomination this week, bragged about signing a letter falsely claiming Trump won the 2020 election. Then Bolduc declared that “dammit, I stand by” the letter and “I’m not switching horses, baby!”

• Yesterday, Bolduc chucked the horse into a volcano and announced on Fox that “the election was not stolen,” something he discovered after having “done a lot of research on this.”

[goldenvalley]

Sept 16, 2022 18:59:30 GMT LFC said:

More and more Republican candidates are wearing two faces this election, one for the primary and the other for the general. Is it any wonder they don't have a party platform? You can't be puttin' that shit in writing!

Uhhhh Democracy Is Real Now! I’m Electable, I Swear!

During a debate with fellow GOP New Hampshire Senate hopefuls last month, retired Gen. Don Bolduc, the proud election truther who won the nomination this week, bragged about signing a letter falsely claiming Trump won the 2020 election. Then Bolduc declared that “dammit, I stand by” the letter and “I’m not switching horses, baby!”

• Yesterday, Bolduc chucked the horse into a volcano and announced on Fox that “the election was not stolen,” something he discovered after having “done a lot of research on this.”

Trump cult members will understand that Bolduc is just saying what he needs to to get elected.  But boy the opposition ads just write themselves.  Bolduc...was he lying then or is he lying now?

[LFC]

Herschel Walker is going out of his way to downplay any expectations of even a glimmer of competence in his upcoming debate with Warnock. Bonus points for lying about actually scheduling a date.

Walker/Warnock debate

The highly anticipated debate is less than a month away, but Walker downplayed himself when asked what he is doing to prepare for the showdown against Warnock.

“I am getting out talking to people and talking to you (referring to the media),” said Walker. “I'm a country boy. I'm not that smart. He's a preacher. (Warnock) is smart and wears these nice suits. So, he is going to show up and embarrass me at the debate Oct. 14th, and I'm just waiting to show up and I will do my best.”

But when asked about why he declined to debate Warnock initially, he became aggravated and said he had to hunt down Warnock and told him to “put his big man pants on.”

“He may not even show up for that one,” said Walker. “He has made every excuse not to show up. I begged him until I chased him down and then he decided he was going to show up Oct. 14. I didn’t agree to do his debate because it wasn’t fair. A fair debate is doing it in front of the voters, and I’ve agreed.”

A spokesperson with the Warnock campaign responded by saying the Republican nominee was sent an invite over the summer.

“Shortly after the May 2022 primary, Reverend Warnock was the first to announce that he would participate in three debates and in June, named the three debates he agreed to and invited Walker to do the same…for nearly two months, Walker continued to dodge committing to any debate, a complete reversal from his previous statement that Reverend Warnock could, ‘Call the time, he make the place, I’m ready to go.’ Then, Walker went out of his way to accept a totally different debate than Reverend Warnock.”

Latest polls show Warnock leads Walker 52% to 46%, according to Quinnipiac University.

Walker thinks he can close the gap, saying his talents go far beyond what he did as a star player at the University of Georgia.

“The race is neck and neck,” said Walker. “And what I have to do is continue to get out and meet people, which is what I'm doing here. I'm more than just a football player. What I'm doing now is moving forward by talking to the voters, because that's what really counts and let them know what I stand for. I was a great football player, but I will be a better senator because I represent the people.”

Walker is stupid and or brain damaged. He's staggeringly ignorant on virtually anything he'd be faced with in the Senate as well. On top of that he's been proven to be a pathological liar for years and years. But he's famous. In other words he's the perfect Republican candidate. But yeah, he talks to people even if he can't understand the issues that they face. That's ... awesome.

[LFC]

Trump made it abundantly clear that JD Vance is his bitch. I suppose at this point Vance has given up all of his self esteem and pride so he probably doesn't feel another kick.

Former President Trump drew more than 6,000 fans for a rally Saturday evening in this industrial northeast Ohio city — and mocked venture capitalist J.D. Vance, his pick in the state’s surprisingly tight U.S. Senate race, in the process.

“J.D. is kissing my ass. Of course he wants my support,” Trump told the crowd.

“The entire MAGA movement is for J.D. Vance,” he added.

[Bact PhD]

This piece from the Palm Beach Post (in full due to paywall) summarizes in one piece what I’ve been talking about for some time about Hispanics not being the electoral monolith that the Dem establishment had been hoping for for the last couple of decades (bold mine).

GOP's gains with more Miami-Dade Hispanics a bad sign for Democrats

DORAL — Immigration and business activists angered by Gov. Ron DeSantis' "shameless" brazen shipping of people seeking refuge in America sent veiled and not-so-veiled electoral warnings last week.

"This shameless action, foisted upon our defenseless people, fleeing persecution and violence, is a mere political ploy in his quest for power — and won't go unnoticed,"  said Maria Corina Vegas with the American Business Immigration Coalition.

Another advocate was even more direct.

"The midterms are coming and we will stand with those who stand with us," said Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus.

But whether the governor, or any Republican candidate, will face retribution at the polls in November is far from clear, especially in South Florida's Hispanic enclaves.

Here, the GOP has only strengthened its grip on this critical electorate in the past two years. And political analysts and strategists have long pointed out that ethnic politics in this county are complex, nuanced and defy monolithic generalizations.

The first challenge for Democrats: A

In a sign of more midterm election trouble for Democrats in Florida, Republicans have deepened their hold on Hispanic voters in Miami-Dade, the state’s biggest county.

Currently, Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 74,000 voters registered who identify as Hispanic in Miami-Dade County. They only outnumbered Democrats by 36,000 at this time in 2020. 

The Hispanic community makes up the largest voting bloc in Miami-Dade with 59.5% of the electorate. Within this group, about 325,000 are registered Republicans and about 251,000 are registered Democrats. About 309,000 are registered without party affiliation.

Historically, the voting bloc in Miami-Dade was predominantly Cuban-American, but it has become more diverse in recent decades, though they still represent the largest and most influential Hispanic group.

Miami-Dade County is 69% Hispanic according to 2021 census data, and about half of that population is Cuban and the other half includes primarily Colombians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, said Jorge Duany, director of Florida International University's Cuban Research Institute. 

For years, Democrats counted on huge victories in Miami-Dade to give them a shot at winning statewide. That support collapsed in 2020.

Hillary Clinton had carried Miami-Dade in 2016 by 29 percentage points, but four years later Joe Biden won the county by just 7 points, a 205,000-vote swing toward the GOP. Donald Trump ended up winning Florida by 373,231 votes.

Trump’s strong performance in Miami-Dade helped him win 46% of Florida’s Hispanic vote, compared with 35% in 2016, according to exit polls. Republican congressional candidates also flipped two seats held by Democrats in the [House].

Brian Ballard, a Republican political strategist, said the reason for the growth is straightforward. South Florida tends to vote in line with the conservative Republican candidates that focus on family values and pro-law enforcement policies, he said.

"I don't think we can give credit to an organized outreach, it's just how the Republican Party governs," Ballard said.

Democrats still lead voter totals, followed by ... NPAs

Overall, Democrats still lead the voter count in Miami-Dade with 576,001 registrations to the Republicans' 432,829. But the county has more "no party affiliations" (NPAs) — 483,731 — than GOP voters.

Miami Cuban-Americans have long affiliated with the Republican Party, and this support goes back to the anti-Communism policies and rhetoric, and pro-business positions, of the Ronald Reagan era in the 1980s.

Nationally, the Pew Research Center found that Hispanic support surged toward Barack Obama with 71% during his presidential campaigns and lowered to 66% support for Clinton in 2016.

Although Biden received the same percentage of support from Hispanic communities nationally, he increased his support in places such as California and Arizona while decreasing his support in Florida.

Political analysts have said the GOP's labeling of Democrats as socialists two years ago was especially effective with Florida exile and immigrant populations who escaped socialist

GOP consultant Ballard also attributed the current surge in Miami-Dade Hispanics to Gov. Ron DeSantis' efforts to keep Florida open since the start of the pandemic, given many in the Hispanic community are small business owners.

Mark Schlakman, an immigration law professor at Florida State University, told USA Today last week that DeSantis' action could boomerang against the governor.

"At first blush, (DeSantis' decision to send the migrants) is dehumanizing and deceptive propaganda without much in the way of rational policy formulation or meaningful engagement with the federal government," said Schlakman, an immigration law professor at Florida State University who served as an immigration consultant to President George W. Bush's administration. “This actually has the potential to backfire in a very substantial way.”

But ethnic politics in Florida sometimes defy conventional wisdom. The complexity starts with the obvious — the Hispanic label is a misnomer.

The ethnic enclaves across Florida are made up of people from differing nationalities and, consequently, varying interests.

A major bloc, Puerto Ricans, identify as "Hispanic" but they are U.S. citizens by birthright and may be less concerned with immigration policy than, say, someone who has moved here from Central America.

The largest of the nationalities, Cuban-Americans, defy easy characterizations within their on ranks. Older Cuban-Americans, who arrived in the United States before the new millennium may see reality quite different than those who arrived in America in the first two decades of this century.

And on and on for Colombians, Venezuelans, Argentines and others from the rest of the hemisphere.

Another factor: Religion. There has been a surge in evangelical Hispanic communities, and like their non-Hispanic faithful, these individuals tend to prioritize conservative social policies.

The complexities play out in seemingly puzzling realities.

From Joe Biden to Barack Obama, Democrats campaigning in South Florida in the 2020 election touted Obamacare's access to vital health insurance. Hispanic enrollment in the program is a reason Florida topped 2.1 million people covered by Obamacare plans by 2021, the most of any state.

Yet, the program's popularity didn't translate to electoral success for Biden in Florida, where Trump won by a comfortable margin in 2020 thanks to a surge in votes from Hispanics in Miami-Dade. 

New issues, concerns in 2022 are wildcards for November election

An UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota poll released last month showed that Hispanics in Florida consider inflation, crime and jobs to be their top three priorities for elected officials to address.

FIU's Duany said that the Roe v. Wade overturned decision and the hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol may mobilize more left-leaning Hispanics to register to vote, but the conservative swing in this voting group is so strong that it may not be enough for Democrats to win over Hispanics in Miami-Dade.

"It all depends on who you blame for the problems," said Duany, a professor of anthropology. "The crisis in housing coincided with the Biden administration, and the rising oil prices — all of that may well work against the Democrats rather than for them."

Miami-Dade County's unique voting bloc preferred Trump's tough response to Cuba and increased sanctions. But when it comes to bilingual education, Social Security benefits and Obamacare, Hispanics tend to be less conservative in Miami, Duany said. 

"It's a complex mix of different beliefs and tendencies and not all of them go in the same direction, Duany said. 

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday found that Hispanics are lining up in greater amounts with Democrats nationwide, but they are also overwhelmingly voting based on economic issues and are split between parties on who they agree with more regarding the economy.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz said the party didn’t do enough voter outreach in 2020 because of pandemic restrictions on events. An example, he said, were fewer visits to Florida by Biden than would have been the case if not for the coronavirus outbreak.

”You’re talking about a community that probably in 10 years hasn’t been spoken to and been taken for granted,” Diaz said. “People don’t really know him [Biden], and so we have to make an effort to change that. … And absolutely nothing was done.”

Diaz said Democrats are focused on bringing in NPA and independent voters to their side, and he believes they already brought a lot of them over.

[LFC]

Republicans think this one is another lost cause.

Josh Kraushaar
@joshkraushaar

Confirmed: Republicans pulling out — and all but surrendering — against Dem Rep. Marcy Kaptur, per R source familiar with House strategy. A Trump district.

Majewski’s Jan 6 baggage and lying about military service sunk his political prospects.

[pnwguy]

TLP pulls no punches for my birth state of Pennsylvania

[LFC]

Oz is whining that he's a shitty candidate (not that he sees it that way) and has put his begging into overdrive.

Oz Is Sending Very Sad Emails To Supporters

GOP Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign has been sending emails bemoaning how terribly he’s doing in fundraising and polling, the Daily Beast reports.

• Oz’s campaign has sent 23 emails since Monday, and all of them are reportedly the TV doctor being a sad boi who’s falling behind Democratic rival John Fetterman and really, really needs your help please.

• “Yeah … this is bad,” one of the emails reportedly lamented.

• And Oz isn’t keeping the misery to his own predicament: On Monday, he reportedly sent an email declaring that “[r]ight now, Democrats are FLATTENING Republicans in Senate races across the country.” And according to the Daily Beast, the title of that email was “It would be humiliating.”

[LFC]

Just another mainstream Republican candidate.

Right Wing Watch
@rightwingwatch

MAGA pastor/GOP congressional candidate Leon Benjamin blows the shofar in order to bind the demons, witches, and warlocks who are trying to steal his election: "God's about to send people like me ... into the Congress!"

[indy]

Sept 23, 2022 21:28:23 GMT LFC said:

Just another mainstream Republican candidate.

Right Wing Watch
@rightwingwatch

MAGA pastor/GOP congressional candidate Leon Benjamin blows the shofar in order to bind the demons, witches, and warlocks who are trying to steal his election: "God's about to send people like me ... into the Congress!"

God certainly seems pretty inefficient in his methods. I guess he is no hurry but I do wonder what he does with the rest of his time.

[LFC]

Sept 24, 2022 1:04:36 GMT indy said:

God certainly seems pretty inefficient in his methods. I guess he is no hurry but I do wonder what he does with the rest of his time.

[LFC]

Doug Mastriano held a rally in the state capital of Harrisburg and spoke to a fired up crowd. WOOT! Be sure to click the link and look at the pictures. It's pathetic. Fingers crossed that the voting follows this pattern.

Apparently Mastriano is here and will speak to this crowd of about 40 - 50 people.

Mastriano loves to pal around with grifters and frauds.

Mastriano and Del Rosso have arrived

That’s Jeremy Oliver in the Project Veritas hat behind Mastriano

Some background on Oliver
whyy.org/articles/pa-governor-election-mastriano-campaign-prophets-right-wing-conspiracy-theorists-qanon/

Per usual it's all culture wars, all the time.

Mastriano talking about sex trafficked children in basements, which apparently Democrats don’t wanna talk about

“On day 1, no boys in the girls bathroom!” Mastriano says in speech w a lot of anti-trans rhetoric

Mastriano laughing about Marthas Vineyard stunt, says as governor he’ll use “my state police” to send send immigrants to Joe Biden’s house in Delaware

The few dozen Mastriano supporters waving a big flag on the statehouse steps as Courtesy of the Red White and Blue plays for the second time

[LFC]

More backpedaling from Republicans. First it was abortion, now it's The Big Lie.

“I very much believe it and I think it exists.”

That’s what New Hampshire Senate hopeful Don Bolduc told the New Yorker last October when asked whether he genuinely believed that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump through voter fraud.

But when asked again on Fox News this month, the retired Army brigadier general walked back his belief. “I’ve come to the conclusion and I want to be definitive on this,” he said. “The election was not stolen. Elections have consequences and, unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country.”

He’s not the first to make the abrupt switch: Former triage nurse and Washington’s Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley used to wear her denialism with pride. Statements like, “The 2020 elections raised serious questions about the integrity of our elections” and “I believe that courts have an obligation to give all evidence of voter fraud a fair hearing” sat pretty on her website until early August when, as Axios reported, they disappeared.

There seems to be a growing pattern of Republican congressional candidates smothering their denialism once they hit the general election. Some haven’t even admitted their belief out loud: Colorado Republican congressional candidate Erik Aadland, for example, was exposed as a believer in the Big Lie only when a recording surfaced of a man who seemed to be him expressing his fealty to it.

Some of this is to be expected. “It’s natural for candidates to move more toward an ideological extreme in a primary and then cut back in the general,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst and managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. It’s not uncommon for candidates to try to moderate — or even overhaul — their views after winning their primaries.

In fact, similar switcheroos have been on display throughout the country in recent months on another topic — abortion. Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jenning, for example, reeled in his support for an abortion ban after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, a deeply unpopular decision in his state. His opponent, Democratic incumbent Tim Walz, enjoys an 18-point lead, widely seen to be in part a result of his pro-life stance.

Yet some of the examples of former election deniers who have seemingly renounced their earlier convictions are particularly striking.

“Don Bolduc was sort of a whiplash version of that because he was a major election denier and then immediately repudiated the position once he won the primary,” said Kondik.

The next line is the one that perpetually concerns me. A not insignificant portion of our military leadership is ignorant, gullible, stupid, and or insane.

Bolduc wasn’t just a casual supporter of the Big Lie: In May 2021, he signed an open letter alongside 123 other retired generals and admirals stating that the 2020 election was rigged in Biden’s favor, and that the supposed fraud had put the nation in “deep peril.” He also bragged about signing it at a debate as recently as last month.

[goldenvalley]

Sept 25, 2022 19:05:44 GMT LFC said:

More backpedaling from Republicans. First it was abortion, now it's The Big Lie.

“I very much believe it and I think it exists.”

That’s what New Hampshire Senate hopeful Don Bolduc told the New Yorker last October when asked whether he genuinely believed that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump through voter fraud.

But when asked again on Fox News this month, the retired Army brigadier general walked back his belief. “I’ve come to the conclusion and I want to be definitive on this,” he said. “The election was not stolen. Elections have consequences and, unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country.”

He’s not the first to make the abrupt switch: Former triage nurse and Washington’s Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley used to wear her denialism with pride. Statements like, “The 2020 elections raised serious questions about the integrity of our elections” and “I believe that courts have an obligation to give all evidence of voter fraud a fair hearing” sat pretty on her website until early August when, as Axios reported, they disappeared.

There seems to be a growing pattern of Republican congressional candidates smothering their denialism once they hit the general election. Some haven’t even admitted their belief out loud: Colorado Republican congressional candidate Erik Aadland, for example, was exposed as a believer in the Big Lie only when a recording surfaced of a man who seemed to be him expressing his fealty to it.

Some of this is to be expected. “It’s natural for candidates to move more toward an ideological extreme in a primary and then cut back in the general,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst and managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. It’s not uncommon for candidates to try to moderate — or even overhaul — their views after winning their primaries.

In fact, similar switcheroos have been on display throughout the country in recent months on another topic — abortion. Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jenning, for example, reeled in his support for an abortion ban after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, a deeply unpopular decision in his state. His opponent, Democratic incumbent Tim Walz, enjoys an 18-point lead, widely seen to be in part a result of his pro-life stance.

Yet some of the examples of former election deniers who have seemingly renounced their earlier convictions are particularly striking.

“Don Bolduc was sort of a whiplash version of that because he was a major election denier and then immediately repudiated the position once he won the primary,” said Kondik.

The next line is the one that perpetually concerns me. A not insignificant portion of our military leadership is ignorant, gullible, stupid, and or insane.

Bolduc wasn’t just a casual supporter of the Big Lie: In May 2021, he signed an open letter alongside 123 other retired generals and admirals stating that the 2020 election was rigged in Biden’s favor, and that the supposed fraud had put the nation in “deep peril.” He also bragged about signing it at a debate as recently as last month.

This appears to be an extreme example of run in the edges for the primary, then move to the center for the general election.  However, we know that some election deniers have been moved to violence and to destructive behavior in terms of audits, elections officials, elections equipment.  We know that some anti abortion people have been moved to violence.  So this isn't run of the mill political maneuvering at all.  Are they lying now or were they lying then?  In this case, voters must ask themselves this question.   

[LFC]

Sept 25, 2022 19:20:04 GMT goldenvalley said:

Are they lying now or were they lying then?

[AnBr]

Sept 25, 2022 19:05:44 GMT LFC said:

The next line is the one that perpetually concerns me. A not insignificant portion of our military leadership is ignorant, gullible, stupid, and or insane.

Should be more than ample reason to dismiss them from service.

[LFC]

How the f*** did this guy win the nomination? Even the MAGAts aren't interested in him. Who voted for the guy? As reported earlier, he can't even get people to listen to him at a rally in Harrisburg.

In the same spot where he spoke to thousands of people at a raucous State Capitol rally demanding an end to pandemic restrictions in April 2020, Doug Mastriano appeared on Saturday before a crowd of just a few dozen — about half of whom were volunteers for his ragtag campaign for governor of Pennsylvania.

He's digging his own campaign grave and his opponent isn't letting the opportunities left behind go to waste.

Mr. Mastriano has resisted private entreaties from supporters to engage more with the news media — if only to spread his message to potential small-dollar donors.

“We have sort of a fundamental distrust as conservatives that we don’t get a fair shake,” State Representative Mike Jones, one of the warm-up speakers for Mr. Mastriano on Saturday, said in an interview beforehand. “But when you’re at a financial disadvantage, you’ve got to get out there and take advantage of free media whenever you can.”

There’s not much help coming for Mr. Mastriano from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, which was sufficiently in need of cash that, in a real-life Hail Mary, it sold its Harrisburg state headquarters in June to the Catholic church next door for $750,000.

Mr. Shapiro has sought to fill the void left by Mr. Mastriano’s aversion to the news media and his inability to afford advertising, trying to win over moderate Republicans who might be put off by Mr. Mastriano’s far-right proposals.