Even our perception of partisan power politics is warped by Republican shenanigans.
Minnesota’s second district, represented by Angie Craig (a DFLEC endorsed candidate) is identified by the media as a swing district.
Is it?
In 2016, Jason Lewis got 47% of the vote and thus beat Angie Craig (first time candidate), but Paula Overby, running as a third party (Independent) candidate took 7.8% of the vote. I am certain that Overby took very few Republican votes. She acted as a spoiler.
The next cycle, with no spoiler in the race, Craig beat Jason Lews 53:47% That is not an overwhelming victory, but a 14% difference is not what we see in a “swing district,” or even a “leans Dem” district. It is what we see in a blue district.
The current cycle, Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Weeks, a Trump supporting conservative, was recruited by Republican operatives to run explicitly as a liberal spoiler. “I can do Liberal” he confessed to a friend when he told him that he had been recruited to do this. He then died of a drug overdose and in so doing, “unofficially withdrew” from the race. I expect Craig to beat her Republican challenger by a greater margin than she won with last time, possibly closer to 15%.
The only reason Minnesota CD 2 is called a “swing district” or even “leans Dem” is because the Republicans were running a con game, and two cycles back, Paula Overby, for unknown reasons (I am not saying she was recruited by Republicans), acted materially to spoil the race and enough voters fell for it that the Republican, one of the most odious of the Republicans (now running against Tina Smith for Senate) won.
It is often said that when people show up, Democrats win. True. But it is also true that when Republicans don’t cheat, Democrats win. Ideally, people show up AND Republicans don’t cheat — really, are stopped from cheating because they always will — then Democrats win.
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Like this is a uniquely Republican thing.
Ten years ago there were candidates in districts with Democrats facing trouble that were running on the banner TEA PARTY.
Claire McCaskill spent money promoting the Republican in the primary she most wanted to run against.
Hillary told her media allies to push Trump hard, because he’d be easy to beat, or if it wasn’t him, the whole party would be painted as being like Trump.
You don’t really understand what cheating is do you?
– Slowing down mail delivery to keep ballots from arriving on time = cheating
– Reducing the number of voting sites to 1 in strong democratic areas while not doing so in republican areas = cheating
– putting out fake ballot collection boxes (as in CA) = cheating
Go be patently dishonest somewhere else.
It is a uniquely Republican thing, MikeN, whether you like it or not.
If the 2016 election results were transferred to 2020, and Trump lost to Biden while getting 3 million more votes than him (2.1%, as Clinton did in 2016) then all hell would break loose. Trump would would refuse to accept defeat, his fascist militia support base would run amok and I fear that there would be incredible violence. Trump and his scum are whiners. They hate democracy. Trump thinks he is king and emperor of the US, and is bestowed the Presidency by some divine right.
The sooner this grabage is gone, the quicker that some semblance of sanity will return.
“his fascist militia support”
These private militias are illegal in every state (government militias weren’t, but they’re now National Guards), so the clowns who play soldiers in them are already criminals. Nothing good can come from them.
You make up actions by Trump and supporters to then criticize those made up actions.
George W Bush in 2000, actually tipped off Drudge that they were planning something like this(targeting electors to switch to the popular vote winner), just to get the liberal media to put out articles defending the electoral college. Brilliant.
wow you predicted it very well
If you have access to Twitter I suggest you read https://twitter.com/JYSexton/status/1321489770095300608
Doug, excellent link. I will buy Sexton’s book for sure. Here is a further link to its introduction:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611439/american-rule-by-jared-yates-sexton/
Defeating Trump is the most important thing to happen in American politics for many decades. If he wins. what is left of democracy is going to be left in tatters.
I don’t make anything up MikeN. The narcissist-in-chief has already stated on numerous occasions that he will not necessarily accept the election results, knowing that he is likely to lose. This is unprecedented. He honestly believes that he has a divine right to be POTUS forever, and his deplorable base encourage him. Al Gore accepted defeat quite graciously in 2000, even though in all likelihood he won, if every Florida count had been properly included. It was a Supreme Court coup that put George W. Bush into the White House. In any country with a proper proportional representational form of democracy, the US would not have had to put up with four years of Trump and his malignant narcissism. Heck, Hillary Clinton won by over 3 million votes and over 2 per cent (48.1 to 46%) and yet the orange stain was foisted into the White House.
I watched the White House cut of the 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl and I was gobsmacked. It was painful to watch and pitiful at the same time. How could this man-child clown of a human being be President of the world’s most powerful nation? How did it ever come to this? Despite one self-imposed humiliation after another, how can Trump still be in the running to win the 2020 election? There is no humility in the man. He cannot ever apologize, or admit a mistake. He lies like he breathes, shifts the goalposts constantly, and deflects as if it is second nature. He is vile and deranged. Yet somehow his brand of vulgar, uncouth arrogance appeals to white males, especially those lacking a formal education.
Next Tuesday the US has the chance to rid itself of this nightmare. I hope that enough people there have the common sense to ensure that the Trump family is expunged forever from political influence.
And others who have had some form of formal education but one clearly lacking in scope. The Betsy Devos school of education, Betsy Devos sister of Erik Prince of Blackwater infamy.
Another book recommend:
‘Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army’ by Jeremy Scahill
“You make up actions by Trump and supporters to then criticize those made up actions.”
Does anyone ever believe your lies mikeN? I’m guessing not really, since the people who would already have their own fake stories that are essentially the same thing.
indeed. Ditto.
Who are those men depicted under 8?
Another book for my to read pile.
Another for consideration:
‘War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race-Expanded Edition’ by Edwin Black,author of IBM and the Holocaust.
From the post linking to this article, my facebook page, putting it here for the record: