2018 Senate (& House)

[Seattle Husker]

Who is ready to see a significant increase in players not standing for the national anthem today after the arsonist in chief's blabbering? I look forward to the day intelligence returns valued charcteristic in the oval office.

 

[nashhorn]

And I suspect more will tune out the NFL if they do. Hard to really say who/which is the more devisive here.

 

[Garmel]

I look forward to the day intelligence returns valued charcteristic in the oval office.

I sure do miss Obama's intellect. PFFT!!!!!

 

[nashhorn]

Ya know Trump only said what a number of us think, but political correctness prevents us. Yeah yeah yeah, he's the Pres, I get it.

 

[mchammer]

Ya know Trump only said what a number of us think, but political correctness prevents us. Yeah yeah yeah, he's the Pres, I get it.

Per usual, Dems started it with Obama personally getting involved in hot button cultural issues.

 

[OUBubba]

Ya know Trump only said what a number of us think, but political correctness prevents us. Yeah yeah yeah, he's the Pres, I get it.

Sons of ******* is where he crossed the line. Wait until your beloved college football players do it.

 

[Brad Austin]

Sons of ******* is where he crossed the line. Wait until your beloved college football players do it.

As if more players doing it on other levels is going to be a bad thing for Trump's stance.

 

[iatrogenic]

The players are intentionally divisive and disruptive. Then they cry about being called out on their behavior by stating Trump is divisive. Goodell stated that the NFL is at its best when it creates a sense of unity in the country and culture. Some players in the NFL prove Goodell right by engaging in the exact opposite of "unifying" actions, and the NFL is reaping what it has sown, which are lower ratings.

Personally, I have no interest in hearing or seeing the political positions of an NFL player. Those that attend NFL games want to watch football, and that is what they have paid to see. Those that attend Hamilton are not there to watch some knucklehead try and preach to V.P. Pence. What if everyone acted like the NFL players while at work? Do we really need to hear the H.E.B. cashier's political view? Do you want to hear OU Bubba's liberal blather coming out of the Jack-in-the Box head before he asks if you want the sandwich or the meal?

 

[Garmel]

Do you want to hear OU Bubba's liberal blather coming out of the Jack-in-the Box head before he asks if you want the sandwich or the meal?

 

[Seattle Husker]

As if more players doing it on other levels is going to be a bad thing for Trump's stance.

This is why Trump struggles to accomplish anything of note. He's POTUS of us all yet still in campaign mode trying to bolster support from his base. Division may be all he knows.

 

[OUBubba]

This is why Trump struggles to accomplish anything of note. He's POTUS of us all yet still in campaign mode trying to bolster support from his base. Division may be all he knows.

It's why he's still in campaign mode. All he knows is a 3rd level reality show.

 

[OUBubba]

The players are intentionally divisive and disruptive. Then they cry about being called out on their behavior by stating Trump is divisive. Goodell stated that the NFL is at its best when it creates a sense of unity in the country and culture. Some players in the NFL prove Goodell right by engaging in the exact opposite of "unifying" actions, and the NFL is reaping what it has sown, which are lower ratings.

Personally, I have no interest in hearing or seeing the political positions of an NFL player. Those that attend NFL games want to watch football, and that is what they have paid to see. Those that attend Hamilton are not there to watch some knucklehead try and preach to V.P. Pence. What if everyone acted like the NFL players while at work? Do we really need to hear the H.E.B. cashier's political view? Do you want to hear OU Bubba's liberal blather coming out of the Jack-in-the Box head before he asks if you want the sandwich or the meal?

A. Pence wasn't offended. You people are such snowflakes now.
B. Three degrees. Jack-in-the-Box? I'm holding out for Five Guys.

 

[iatrogenic]

A. Pence wasn't offended. You people are such snowflakes now.
B. Three degrees. Jack-in-the-Box?
I'm holding out for Five Guys.

Who said he was offended? I said no one wants to hear it because they paid for something else.

Maybe another degree from OU can help land that dream job for you.

 

[Joe Fan]

Alabama race -- there are several things going on here, but among them are DACA/amnesty, which Moore had firmly come out against and which Strange has waffled on like most mainstream Rs do

 

[Joe Fan]

....Luther Strange is the incumbent (named by the Gov to replace Sessions) and is supported by big money and endorsed by McConnell, the NRA, Pence and Trump. ....

This made me laugh -- Roy Moore on the NRAs endorsement of Luther Strange:

"I've certainly got more guns than my opponent"​

 

[4th_floor]

A. Pence wasn't offended. You people are such snowflakes now.
B. Three degrees. Jack-in-the-Box? I'm holding out for Five Guys.

Here's the obligatory joke about OU grads not being able to count to five - hence no Five Guys restaurants in OK.

 

[OUBubba]

Here's the obligatory joke about OU grads not being able to count to five - hence no Five Guys restaurants in OK.

That's pretty weak. Surely, you're better than that.

 

[4th_floor]

That's pretty weak. Surely, you're better than that.

I said it was obligatory. When you get a belt-high fastball over the middle of the plate, you gotta swing. I think that was a pop-up to short right field.

 

[I35]

Do you want to hear OU Bubba's liberal blather coming out of the Jack-in-the Box head before he asks if you want the sandwich or the meal?

 

[Joe Fan]

...It has to be embarrassing for Strange and the establishment Rs that even as an incumbent with a huge money advantage and endorsement of Trump that he is still losing.....

Latest Alabama GOP Senate poll
Roy Moore 57
Luther Strange 41
Looks like an epic *** kicking

 

[Joe Fan]

Sons of ******* is where he crossed the line. Wait until your beloved college football players do it.

Dont we come out of the dressing room after the anthem?

 

[OUBubba]

Dont we come out of the dressing room after the anthem?

I don't know how they do it there. I think that's how it is in Norman now that you mention it.

 

[Joe Fan]

....Rumor that Charlie Dent (R-PA 15th) will just quit in the face of an R challenger. Dent is part of the Swamp and it's a good thing if he exits. Hopefully its the beginning of a new wave of primary challenges

Got another one
Put a forker in Corker
BTW, Corker was instrumental in getting Trump to support Strange in Alabama
So the timing is probably not coincidental

 

[Joe Fan]

 

[Joe Fan]

This is the full Mickey Kaus post she references above^
I think #5, but its all interesting and worth the quick read


5 Reasons Why Moore’s Win Matters

Alabama Mad: Before Tuesday’s Alabama Republican senatorial primary, Chamber of Commerce strategist Scott Reed said his organization had gone “all in” for incumbent Luther Strange in order to “remind [populist ex-Trump aide Stephen] Bannon who’s in charge,”

Mission Accomplished! The Chamber’s candidate lost in a 55-45 rout to Bannon’s candidate, Roy Moore, a former judge once regarded as too much of a religious zealot to make it all the way to the U.S. Senate.

Here are 5 reasons why this outcome is significant, not counting the obvious one (GOP primary voters were PO’d at what Reed boasted was the “governing wing of the party”– i.e. the GOP Establishment).

1. Moore won without Trump: Only a few days ago it was fashionable to declare “there is no such thing as Trumpism”–there was only Trump, and his changing positions. Trump’s voters would simply follow whichever way their leader led — even, most controversially, into a deal with Democrats to give formal amnesty to the illegal immigrants known as “Dreamers,” who had been protected by an Obama executive action (DACA). But, in Alabama, Trump said ‘Follow Big Luther’ and his base said, ‘No thanks. We’ve found a Trumpier candidate.’ Turns out there is such a thing as Trumpism without Trump:

2. Moore won without Drudge: This one’s more surprising. Drudge’s website has been a rock of support for both Trump and Trump’s underlying cause of immigration-skepticism. Given the pro-immigration bias of the mainstream press, he’s seemed indispensable. Populists winning an election without him was like…Moby Grape without Bob Mosley [LeBron-ed] the Cleveland Cavaliers winning without LeBron James! But that’s what happpened. In recent months, Drudge has seemed more in tune with Jared & Ivanka than Bannon. The site didn’t feature many articles on the Alabama race as it headed down the stretch–but a few hours before the polls opened there was a beautiful picture of Ivanka, who was on her way to Detroit. In the long run, Drudge is probably still indispensable. But the idea that the king of alt media could be sidelined and scrappy Breitbart would fill the void must terrify the GOP “governing wing.”

3. Bannon won: They mocked when Bannon left the White House and pledged a vague campaign to somehow support Trump while still attacking him as he strayed from his former populist “America First” ideas on immigration, trade, and war. Here’s A.B. Stoddard of RealClearPolitics:

Bannon’s new self-described role as “wingman” growling from outside instead of inside the White House — where as chief strategist he fought openly against the “globalist” forces he believed included Trump’s family members — isn’t going very well.​

Um … recalculating!
4. Jared Kushner was wrong again: The president’s son-in-law advised him to fire FBI director James Comey. Kushner was also behind the hiring of Anthony Scaramucci, who was supposed to make the White House communications operation more professional and instead quickly drowned himself in a sea of serotonin. They say three examples make a trend — and, sure enough, it seems that Jared was also part of the Establishment effort to inveigle Trump into supporting Luther Strange:
Jeff Roe, Strange’s top consultant, fed regular updates to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
How much awful advice from his son-in-law is the President going to take?

5. Immigration Amnesty lost big: Two weeks before the Alabama election, some polls apparently showed a very tight race. About this time, Trump held his infamous dinner with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi at which he seemed to cut a Dem-friendly deal to give amnesty to the “Dreamers” — in exchange for a grab-bag of feel-good border security measures that did not include his promised Wall. Candidate Moore denounced the deal. Strange wouldn’t commit. Moore soon opened up a lead that doesn’t seem to have been cut even by Trump’s appearance in Huntsville on Strange’s behalf. I’m not saying there weren’t other big factors in the race, like anger at the GOP’s failure to repeal Obamacare. I’m saying the seemingly impending Trump-endorsed Dreamer cave-in was another big factor. The difference between the two factors is that the mainstream press, which instinctively avoids crediting restrictionist concerns, will tell you about the former but not the latter.

And the Alabama revolt will make a difference in the eventual legislative outcome. Remember when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat by an anti-amnesty outsider in 2014 sealed the doom of the massive, heavily hyped “Gang of 8” amnesty? The bill had already passed the Senate, but when Cantor went down House Republicans who valued their job security didn’t want to go anywhere near it.

Luther Strange is Cantor II. Which House Republicans want to try out for the role of Cantor III by backing the Pelosi/Trump amnesty? Not many, I suspect. The pundits may tell them the Alabama race was all about vague anti-Establishment anger, or the failure to repeal Obamacare, or about “local dynamics.” Elected Republican legislators, with their careers on the line, know better.

http://www.kausfiles.com/2017/09/27/5-reasons-why-moores-win-matters/

 

[Mr. Deez]

I'm a bit conflicted in Alabama. I generally align with pragmatic Republicans, which should have made me lean toward Strange. However, Moore is pro-"God's Work," which is a valuable rarity among Republicans.

 

[Joe Fan]

I'm a bit conflicted in Alabama. I generally align with pragmatic Republicans, which should have made me lean toward Strange. However, Moore is pro-"God's Work," which is a valuable rarity among Republicans.

This runoff was not really Moore v. Strange
It was more of a grassroots vs. the establishment election.
The people were heard, once again
It also showed that all of this is bigger than Trump, bigger than any one person

"..... Two weeks before the Alabama election, some polls apparently showed a very tight race. About this time, Trump held his infamous dinner with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi at which he seemed to cut a Dem-friendly deal to give amnesty to the “Dreamers” — in exchange for a grab-bag of feel-good border security measures that did not include his promised Wall. Candidate Moore denounced the deal. Strange wouldn’t commit. Moore soon opened up a lead that doesn’t seem to have been cut even by Trump’s appearance in Huntsville on Strange’s behalf. ...."​

 

[Seattle Husker]

It was more of a grassroots vs. the establishment election.

The grassroots keeps latching onto loony candidates. It seems the only trait they care about is "anti-establishment". The only similarity between Trump and Moore is their immigration stance.

 

[Joe Fan]

 

[Brad Austin]

I'm a bit conflicted in Alabama. I generally align with pragmatic Republicans, which should have made me lean toward Strange. However, Moore is pro-"God's Work," which is a valuable rarity among Republicans.

I was conflicted in this race as well. The base supported Moore to buck the establishment. And there's no doubt Moore will do exactly that in a unwavering sense.

Moore has the markings of another uncompromising hardliner like Rand Paul (on different grounds).

People that stand unwaveringly on values in almost every debate are rarely willing to compromise enough to find a solution. There are countless examples of this and it's counterproductive to our process.

For example, I read Moore opposes DACA in ANY form. He also said he would've voted down any healthcare attempt short of full repeal.

Even if one prefers both of these hardline stances, the reality is neither have a chance of happening. Which means even acceptable compromises will suffer at their hands. Even if a few more Moore types win in 2018 it won't bridge the gap enough for hardliners.

I saw Strange as a guy who would've owed DT a big debt and worked with him to repay it at least through 2018 and during the coming major legislative pushes. He didn't seem as neocon as Breitbart and right media portrayed him in the Bannon led onslaught.

I get Moore likely stands on the best values of the two and seems to be a very principled, good man. Rand Paul often has good moralistic stances as well.

But he's always a major thorn in getting anything accomplished. Nearly every major vote and Paul is a guaranteed no. My prediction is Moore will be just another default "no".