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2016 Election Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 03, 2016 20 Comments
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has urged states to take advantage of federal government protection to secure their election systems before November 8:
“These challenges aren’t just in the future -- they are here today,” Johnson said in the statement. “In recent months, malicious cyber-actors have been scanning a large number of state systems, which could be a preamble to attempted intrusions. In a few cases, we have determined that malicious actors gained access to state voting-related systems.”
A few days ago, a DHS official said hackers targeted about 21 states.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on October 03, 2016 21 Comments
This Insurrectionist finds Mark Halperin to be among the most cautious and level-headed of pundits. The With All Due Respect host typically avoids wild speculation and is generally of the on-the-one-hand and on the other school of analysis. So it was striking that on today's Morning Joe, Halperin, with some prodding from Joe Scarborough, suggested that Donald Trump might be planning a big October surprise in the nature of a "revelation" about Hillary Clinton. One sensed that Halperin had some inside knowledge of the situation, though all he mentioned in support of his theory is that Trump is surrounded by people such as David Bossie, who has spent a quarter-century investigating the Clintons' personal lives.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 02, 2016 52 Comments
The Clinton campaign's rollout of the "fat shaming" claim against Donald Trump has been a thing to see. This is part and parcel of what has become media collusion with the Clinton campaign, including the coordinated campaign and media rollout of the “fat-shaming” claim. (As to which Trump has completely taken the bait, as the Clinton campaign in-house psychological profilers likely predicted.) Molly Hemingway at The Federalist notes, Alicia Machado Is 2016’s Sandra Fluke, A Democratic Public Relations Scam:
But when Clinton talks about Machado, and runs conference calls for the media with her, and sets up photo shoots with her, and whatnot, everyone just complies and forgets to mention they’re taking marching orders from the campaign. How else to explain how everyone chose the same angle as the Clinton campaign asked them to? Media outlets could have noted that they themselves were calling Machado a fatty-boombaladdy at the exact same time Trump made his remarks. They could have noted that beauty pageant winners are generally judged by their … how do you say it … BEAUTY. Or they could have chosen entirely different angles.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 01, 2016 2 Comments
I discussed yesterday how GOP Super PACs have poured more money into saving its senate seats even though it appears the party will maintain its majority. Yet the GOP may lose a seat in Missouri as Democrat Jason Kander moves up in the polls and displays fresh confidence against incumbent Roy Blunt:
“The momentum is really clearly with us,” Mr. Kander, a Georgetown Law School graduate who served a term as a state legislator before being elected secretary of state, said at a small but lively campaign event in St. Louis on Saturday. ”It’s a very clear choice between somebody like myself, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is focused on a new generation of leadership, and someone like Sen. Blunt, who has been in Washington for 20 years doing what special interests want to him to do.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 01, 2016 10 Comments
Remember when Mitt Romney stated the obvious at a private fundraiser, that 47% of people want government handouts because of their life circumstances? And there was an unending media feeding frenzy that likely cost Romney the election? The fact that the initial leaked tape was incomplete and left out context made no difference. Well, Hillary Clinton just had such a moment in a private fundraiser, in wording (listen to audio later in post) eerily similar to Romney's, but directed at younger people and Bernie supporters. Politico reports:

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 01, 2016 17 Comments
Hillary Clinton is lagging in the usually must-win state of Ohio and as a result, the New York Times has decided that Ohio just isn't as important as it used to be. Jonathan Martin writes:
Ohio, Long a Bellwether, Is Fading on the Electoral Map After decades as one of America’s most reliable political bellwethers, an inevitable presidential battleground that closely mirrored the mood and makeup of the country, Ohio is suddenly fading in importance this year.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 30, 2016 7 Comments
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson earned another high-end endorsement when the Chicago Tribune editorial board picked him as their choice for president. The board wrote:
This year neither major party presents a good option. So the Chicago Tribune today endorses Libertarian Gary Johnson for president of the United States. Every American who casts a vote for him is standing for principles — and can be proud of that vote. Yes, proud of a candidate in 2016.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 30, 2016 2 Comments
The GOP looks like it can maintain its majority in the Senate, but the main Senate super PAC has decided to spend $21 million more in six races just to be on the safe side. The Senate Leadership Fund has moved its concentration to New Hampshire, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Republicans have become more confident since they have seen voters separate GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump from the Senate candidates. This week, The New York Times Upshot blog said the GOP had a 53% of maintaining the majority. That same blog gave the GOP only a 40% chance in August.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 30, 2016 6 Comments
In recent years, Republicans won a majority of governor elections, growing to 31 states. Even blue states like Massachusetts which don't often vote Republican for president, will sometimes hand the role of governor to the GOP. As far as 2016 goes, Republicans don't have much to worry about. The Washington Post reports:
Republicans still have a shot at a record number of governors’ mansions, but Democrats aren’t going without a fight Republicans have a chance to build on their majorities and win a record number of governors' seats in 2016. Democrats are doing everything they can to stop them.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 30, 2016 21 Comments
Mika Brzezinski prefaced her remarks by saying she wanted to phrase them "carefully," but then, in the most careless way, Brzezinski clearly accused Donald Trump of being mentally ill. On today's Morning Joe, reacting to a depiction of Trump by New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters as being incapable of taking criticism of his performance, leading his advisers to communicate with him via the media, Mika said that was "very sick" and "it sounds like they're dealing with someone who, doesn't—how do I say this carefully—is very troubled, is very disturbed."

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 29, 2016 23 Comments
For months now, "smart" people on the left and the right have claimed that Donald Trump would destroy the Republican Party's chances of holding onto the Senate. It's now looking as though those predictions were premature. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post:
Democratic hopes of winning Senate fade as Trump proves less toxic for Republicans Democrats are now facing a tougher road to capturing the Senate majority as the presidential race tightens and Donald Trump is not proving to be the dramatic drag on down-ballot candidates that Republicans once feared.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 28, 2016 11 Comments
Perhaps John Warner's biggest claim to fame is a distinction he shares with a good-sized chunk of the older male demographic: having once been married to Elizabeth Taylor. But the former Republican senator from Virginia found another way to get himself some attention today: by endorsing Hillary for president. Interviewed by Andrea Mitchell on her MSNBC show this afternoon, Warner managed to make his endorsement mainly about himself. In the course of their brief conversation, Warner let it be known: that he had been on the lawn for the famous handshake between Rabin and Araft; that he had served in both the Navy and the Marines; that he devoted much of his life "I say with a sense of humility" to national security; that he had been a leader on the Armed Services committee for 30 years; that he had been Hillary's "boss" as the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee; and that the voters in Virginia had "supported me so strongly."
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