2022 U.S. Congressional (and Other) Elections

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And then there is this:

[N.E. Brigand]

This morning in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, Herschel Walker said this when Hewitt asked about the reporting last night that the woman he paid to have an abortion is the mother of one of his (only recently acknowledged) children:

WALKER: "I know this is untrue. I know it's untrue. And they keep telling me things that are totally, totally untrue. And I'm not sure why that would be so. I know nothing about any woman having an abortion. And they can keep coming at me like that. And they're doing it because they want to distract people. I know that. Because I've already been forgiven. And if I've been forgiven, why in the world would I not be forgiven for something like that?"

HEWITT: "Is there anything you need to be forgiven for vis-a-vis a woman whose name we do not know? Do you know who this woman is, and do you need to be forgiven?"

WALKER: "No. That's what's so funny. I'm saying I've been forgiven because of all the things I did -- the thing with my ex-wife and all that -- and things I did how many years ago that I wrote in my book, I forgot. I wasn't perfect. I had my problems with mental health, and uh, I, I've been, I hate to say I've been born again, but I have a new life. I've been moving forward and everything. And if that had happened, I would have said there's nothing to be ashamed of there. People have done that — but I know nothing about it. And if I knew about it, I would be honest about it and talk about it, but I know nothing about that."

Asked at a press conference later today how that statement (the portion I have bolded) comports with his opposition to abortion rights, Walker denied having sad that to Hewitt.

- - - - - - - - - -
In the same press conference, Walker was asked whether he's reached out to the mothers of his children in light of the reporting that he paid one of them to have an abortion. He said no, and explained that decision as follows:

"Because of the article I had more kids. That's why I haven't reached out to anyone, because I said no. And that's what I mean when I said no, I said it's not correct, that's a lie. And that's what I mean, when that's a lie."

Clear as mud.

- - - - - - - - - - -
Roger Sollenberger, who broke the Walker story a few days ago, says that someone connected to Walker's campaign reached out in August to the woman that Walker has acknowledged as teh mother of one of his children and whom he is now alleged paid to have an abortion.

[N.E. Brigand]

I'm sure it's just a dumb mistake, but:

Hitler's car.

[N.E. Brigand]

Herschel Walker has fired his campaign's political director.

Also, the New York Times reports that in 2011, Walker urged the girlfriend whose abortion he had paid for in 2009 to have a second abortion. She didn't, and the result was a son who is now ten years old. This is one of the children whose existence Walker had kept secret until reporters uncovered their existence a couple months ago.

Edited to add this quote: "In a series of interviews, the woman said Mr. Walker had barely been involved in their now 10-year-old son's life, offering little more than court-ordered child support and occasional gifts."

- - - - - - - - - -
Meanwhile in Nevada, one of the state's most respected reporters, Jon Ralston, notes that Republican candidate for Senate, Adam Laxalt, appeared on Fox today, but "won't do interviews with any major Nevada outlets [and] won't debate his opponent," Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And yet, Nevada is increasingly looking likely to flip red.

[N.E. Brigand]

The Herschel Walker abortion story grows ever more sad:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/herschel- ... e?ref=wrap
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-e ... -rcna51279

"On the evening of Oct. 13 [2021], his son replied [to several texts Herschel Walker had sent him that read "Love you"], "What’s my favorite color? What grade am I in? And how old am I".

Walker responded the next afternoon: "God bless you, love you."

I'm not sure a nine-year-old would ask those questions, and I think it's possible that his mom sent them.

But regardless, it seems pretty clear that Walker didn't know the answers.

[N.E. Brigand]

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who is running to be the state's next U.S. Senator, explains in last night's debate why his opponent, J.D. Vance, is anti-cop:

[N.E. Brigand]

Last night, Ryan also noted that Donald Trump said just a few weeks ago at an Ohio rally that "J.D. [Vance] is kissing my ass: he wants my support so bad," and that following that moment in which "Trump took J.D. Vance's dignity," Vance joined Trump on stage, shook his hand, and said how great it was to have Trump with him.

You can see video here of Trump saying that and of Ryan's retort last night.

[N.E. Brigand]

Meanwhile, in Arizona, it is looking likely that Trump-back election-deniers will win the GOP nominations for all four state-wide races: Senate, Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. The latter is particularly important because the Secretary of State has a lot of power over how elections are conducted, and the GOP candidate, Rep. Mark Finchem, wants to give the legislature power to overturn the vote of the people.

538 is now giving the Democrats a 57% chance of keeping the Senate, the highest percentage thus far. Even in the House, their chances of retaining control has ticked up slightly, to 17%. Which at least is not no chance!

In the Kansas vote, with 99% of the votes counted, an extraordinary 59% have voted to preserve the state's constitutional right to reproductive choice, versus 41% voting to eliminate it. In a vote that was widely expected to be nip and tuck that is an amazing result, and stems from a much higher than expected turnout. Whether that will translate nationwide to a higher turnout among Democrats concerned about the overturning of Roe v. Wade remains to be seen.

Finchem is also a liar. He has said, "I don’t care for mail-in voting. That’s why I go to the polls," but MSNBC reports that Finchem "voted by mail in 28 of the past 30 elections."

[N.E. Brigand]

Business Insider reports that Rep. Cawthorn "failed to properly disclose up to $950,000 in cryptocurrency trades, including 'Let's Go Brandon' coin, bitcoin, and ethereum."

Madison Cawthorn's campaign has yet to file its financial report with the Federal Election Commission for the second quarter of 2022; that filing was due a week ago. A new report in the Daily Beast suggests that the reason is that "Cawthorn’s campaign ended in a financial collapse, covering costs with donor money it wasn’t allowed to touch unless he won the primary . . . he owes donors hundreds of thousands, but he’s broke."

Congressman Madison Cawthorn personally lost more than $500,000 funding his failed reelection campaign and appears to have violated campaign finance law by using money in the primary that was specifically raised for the general election (in which he will not be on the ballot).

Madison Cawthorn, the freshman Republican Congressman from North Carolina who lost a primary race in his bid for reelection, seems to have largely abandoned his job with more than three months left to serve in his term in office: "It is difficult to discern what Cawthorn has been doing for his constituents ... a caller to two of his four district offices hears a recording that the offices are 'no longer regularly staffed' and that voice mail is not 'regularly' monitored." (source)

[N.E. Brigand]

Herschel Walker should probably not tell a story on the campaign trail that includes this passage:

"I've been telling this little story about this bull out in the field with six cows, and three of them are pregnant -- so you know he's got something going on -- but all he cares about is getting his nose against the fence looking at three other cows that don't belong to him."

Video at link. The moral of the full story seems to be that you shouldn't seek for anything better in your life, but even if that's the message he wants to deliver, it would behoove him not to do so with a parable that will remind so many people of his own failings. Unless he thinks his constituents like him joking about sleeping around and paying for his girlfriends' abortions?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Nonetheless, the Democrats' chances of keeping the Senate have gone down to 66%. House remains at 30/70.

[N.E. Brigand]

To judge from responses to the use by Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, of a closed-captioning monitor during an interview with NBC to discuss his campaign for U.S. Senate, some folks appear to believe that deaf people shouldn't be allowed to hold political office.

[Sunsilver]

To judge from responses to the use by Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, of a closed-captioning monitor during an interview with NBC to discuss his campaign for U.S. Senate, some folks appear to believe that deaf people shouldn't be allowed to hold political office.

It's not just Deaf people who need closed captions, either! My sister-in-law has a hearing loss that is much less profound than mine, and SHE relies on closed captions when watching TV!

Ohh boy, way to piss off at least a million Americans with impaired hearing!

[N.E. Brigand]

I have no idea how I ended up on a political list that would send me a text from Ralph Reed, formerly the head of the Christian Coalition of America and at one point the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, but for some reason he thinks I live in Arizona, and he urges me to vote for Senate candidate Blake Masters over Mark Kelly and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over Katie Hobbs, with a list that claims that:

Kelly and Hobbs support these items while Masters and Lake oppose them:
--Abortion on Demand
--Nationalize Elections -- Freedom to Vote Act
--Equality Act - Special Rights for LGBTQ
--Taxpayer Funding for Abortion
--Sanctuary Cities

and Masters and Lake support these items while Kelly and Hobbs oppose them:
--Voter ID Laws
--Taxpayer Protection Pledge
--Southern Border Wall
--Protect Girls' Sports
--School Choice

So that's what Republicans think is a path to voters' hearts in Arizona.

[N.E. Brigand]

In light of today's award by a Connecticut jury finding that Alex Jones owes Sandy Hook parents $965 million for spreading misinformation about them, I'll echo others who are sharing this message from Senate candidate J.D. Vance of Ohio:



For comparison, here's Rachel Maddow making some perfectly reasonable points just last night.

[RoseMorninStar]

I highly recommend listening to Rachel's new Podcast 'ULTRA'.
The parallels between what happened in the 1940's and today is eerily similar. There are 2 episodes out so far.
Episode 1:

The death of U.S. Senator Ernest Lundeen in a mysterious plane crash in 1940 left a series of questions that lead to revealing threats to American democracy.

[N.E. Brigand]

Possibly of use: "Your Cheat Sheet to the 2022 General Elections."

[N.E. Brigand]

To judge from responses to the use by Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, of a closed-captioning monitor during an interview with NBC to discuss his campaign for U.S. Senate, some folks appear to believe that deaf people shouldn't be allowed to hold political office.

It's not just Deaf people who need closed captions, either! My sister-in-law has a hearing loss that is much less profound than mine, and SHE relies on closed captions when watching TV!

Ohh boy, way to piss off at least a million Americans with impaired hearing!

And today, both John Fetterman and his opponent, Mehmet Oz, were invited to speak with Pennsylvania's largest newspaper. Fetterman showed up and answered the editorial board's questions for an hour (video at link). Oz skipped the interview. When asked about his failure to appear, Oz tweeted, "I don't give a shit."

But he will be on Fox this evening.

[Sunsilver]

Wow...is he trying to lose? Or does he think all Republicans only watch Fox News?