Trump's America

[elengil]

I don't think I can watch the results. Maybe I'll... I dunno.. do something constructive!

I think I'll sew, or play Sims, or something.

Anything but watch the news.

[Primula Baggins]

I hope to be able to pop back in later and say it’s OK to peek.

[Impenitent]

More of a blue dribble than a wave.

Sent from a tiny phone keyboard via Tapatalk - typos inevitable.

[Primula Baggins]

Perhaps, but NBC has just projected that the Democrats will take the House of Representatives.

*collapses into a quivering heap of relief*

[Frelga]

So did Fox although some suspicious persons treat it as an attempt to depress the West Coast vote.

I can't take the hopeful reports.

[Primula Baggins]

The West Coast polls close in 18 minutes. Everyone who hasn’t voted yet is already in line, or, in Oregon, is driving to the drop box.

[River]

Scholten is doing surprisingly well in IA-4.

Meanwhile, absolutely nothing surprising has happened in the CO governor's or House races. Don't get me wrong, it's historic that we elected an openly gay governor, especially since the state as a whole wasn't exactly a LGBTQ positive place when I moved here in 2003. But no one actually expected Polis to lose (which probably says a lot about how the place has changed in the past 15 years). It's a bit early to say which way the ballot initiatives are breaking, though it looks like the heavy restrictions on payday loans sailed through.

[Primula Baggins]

Well, it’s a done deal for the House—Democrats have definitely won 24 seats, and needed 23. The total may well go up beyond that.

Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House again in January.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It should be some place between 30 and 35 when all is said and done. But don't be so sure about Nancy Pelosi being Speaker. There are a lot of Democrats that don't support her, and it may be difficult for her to get the requisite votes. But then again, I wouldn't bet against her.

On the other hand, the Senate is looking to be close to the worst case scenario (from the Democrats point of view).

[yovargas]

More of a blue dribble than a wave.

This feels like it should be the headline for the day.

The fact that Republicans actually gained seats in the Senate f***ing kills me.

I tried to keep my expectations as low as I could to avoid disappointment but it doesn't really work. Damnit.

[Dave_LF]

This is from 2014, but it largely works this year too:

temp.png (4.89 KiB) Viewed 5734 times

[yovargas]

Don't forget better health care.


But more importantly than any of those - they don't want foreigners coming to their country.

[Frelga]

Dennis Hof, the brothel owner who died last month, wins election

I guess Nevada voters don't discriminate against differently alive.

[Primula Baggins]

Democrats were never favored to win the Senate this year and were widely considered likely to lose more seats. This is because they had far more Senate seats in jeopardy than did the Republicans, including some in red states that Trump won.

In 2020, the situation will be the opposite; Democrats will have to defend 12 seats, while Republicans will have 22 vulnerable—including the nine seats they won in the wave of 2014, many of which are in states where Republicans can't count on a repeat victory.

[yovargas]

Neat to hear that Colorado elected the first ever openly gay governor. Not enough to counter that my choice for state governor lost, which is my biggest disappointment of the night, but neat to hear....


(Dems may not have been favored to take the Senate but having them actually lose seats during this supposed blue wave stings a hell of a lot. It does not give me any confidence for what 2020 holds.)

[River]

So Dems got complete control of the CO legislature as well as the governorship, secretary of state, treasurer, and AG's offices. I am remarking on this only because, in the years I've been residing here, things tend to be more mixed. One-party rule at the state level isn't a thing here and that's in no small part because voters split their tickets (example: Hickenlooper won re-election the same year Udall lost his seat to Gardener). So for the state get washed in blue like this, people weren't adhering to their more typical CO a la carte voting habits. Also, the results of the statewide ballot initiatives don't exactly represent a massive statewide progressive wave. So it's not so much that the personality of the state has changed as the voters just wanted to send the GOP a message about the state of their brand. From the sound of the state GOP chair on NPR this morning, the message was received (and he expressed relief that the anti-gerrymandering measures both passed).

Something that is also interesting in hindsight is Trump never came here campaigning for either the Republican gubernatorial candidate or the most vulnerable member of the House. Or even the less vulnerable member of the House. Maybe he doesn't do well with altitude?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Neat to hear that Colorado elected the first ever openly gay governor. Not enough to counter that my choice for state governor lost, which is my biggest disappointment of the night, but neat to hear....


(Dems may not have been favored to take the Senate but having them actually lose seats during this supposed blue wave stings a hell of a lot. It does not give me any confidence for what 2020 holds.)

It was always likely that the GOP was going to pick up some seats in the Senate in this cycle, given the extreme nature of the seats that were up for election. It was just a matter of how many, and several close elections seem to be going the GOP's way. But a lot of good things happened (not the least being Kim Davis, the Kentucky County Clerk who refused to grant licenses to same sex couples, losing her position). Here are some of the new faces in Congress:

[RoseMorninStar]

Those are some very fine representative faces!

This is from 2014, but it largely works this year too:

temp.png

Ooop, Dave's attachment didn't come through. The one from Ben Casselman about voters wanting higher minimum wage, pot, abortions, and Republican representatives.

I think gerrymandering has a lot to do with that.
NPR: Voters Approve Major Changes To Redistricting And Other Voter Laws.

[Frelga]

Don't forget that the leadership of House committees goes to the majority party. That means, for example, that the Science Committee will no longer be chaired by a climate change denier.

Meanwhile,

https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1 ... 1636084736

"Day after the election, Pentagon announces no longer calling US military mission on southern border ‘Operation Faithful Patriot’. Now calling it ‘border support.” No reason given for the change."

[RoseMorninStar]

All very good things, Frelga!

And we're getting rid of Scott Walker!