The US Midterms – discussion thread
the “Women’s March” 2018
The United States of America is going to the polls. Will it be a fair election, or will it be rigged? Who will win? Does it matter? Is Putin controlling the whole thing from his iPhone?
This and more feel free to discuss…
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I think this whole tawdry degrading spectacle cost somewhere well north of $5 billion.
Apparently in Nevada a dead brothel owner was elected.
The election campaign for 2020 will begin in a few weeks time.
America seems to be permanently holding elections and election campaigns.
But no issues of any substance are ever discussed or any sensible policies put forward.
No sooner has it started than it all degenerates into broad farce.
It all boils down to who has the nicest smile or the nicest hair style, or who might have said something racist or sexist 30 years ago.
Nothing ever changes. Everything will go on as before, if you discard the froth and flummery.
AIPAC and the Neocons will retain their stranglehold over foreign policy. America will continue to bomb and invade one country after another, subject 40% of humanity to economic strangulation and sanctions, spend over $1.1 trillion a year on its war machine and station troops in 130+ countries. The Spook Organisations will continue their blanket surveillance and snooping on the whole planet. Wall Street and the big corporations will carry on business as usual. Boeing will continue avoiding paying one cent in tax as it has for the past 10 years. The rich will get even richer and the poor will get even poorer. 50 million will remain without healthcare, and millions more will be ruined by the extortion of the drug and insurance monopolies. 2.3 million will remain in the prison industrial complex, with the prison replacing the plantation for young black men. The opioid epidemic will continue to get worse. The infrastructure will continue to crumble. Debt and deficits will continue to balloon out of control. More Americans will die in mass shootings virtually on a daily basis, to add to the 550,000 killed by firearms since 2000.
The ruling elite and Deep State will continue their Divide and Rule Identity Politics of race, gender and sexual orientation as a harmless distraction from real issues. No Change – Business As Usual.
US voters re-elect lawmakers facing criminal indictments & corruption charges, because why not?
And the circus continues:
Trump’s clash with CNN descends into farcical debate over who touched a female intern
Is there any overall analysis of how many of the national security state candidates were elected?
For starters, Abigail Spanberger (“who served as a CIA officer in the U.S. and abroad for eight years” according to NBC) and Elissa Slotkin (“who was a Middle East analyst for the CIA, did three tours in Iraq, and worked in the State and Defense Departments in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations” also according to NBC) both ousted sitting Republicans in the House of Representatives.
I can’t find an analysis of this phenomenon in the Guardian. Funny that.
Uncle $cam shoots self in foot again.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-is-surprise-beneficiary-of-iranian-oil-ban-1541609785?mod=hp_major_pos2
This article explains well why these elections are meaningless:
The Unreal World of US Elections – Fake As A Pro Wrestling Match
Well, assuming they didn’t make it up (sometimes it’s a little bit difficult to tell), what more do you need to know about “Democracy” in the USA??? I wish him well in his new job, and congratulate all Americans who voted for him.
“Dennis Hof, the brothel owner who died last month, wins election”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/dennis-hof-brothel-owner-who-died-last-month-wins-election-n933366
Tony
Hopefully the young future voters and true social democrats in the US will use this opportunity to grab their local party political organisations control from the DNC neocon/lib masters.
Only a grassroots membership choosing their own locally known candidates to represent them can overcome the top down centrally imposed Hobsons Choice democracy, that leads, to disaffectation, apathy and failure to vote that THEY want.
Wake up! Organise! Two years to the big one.
that can only work in a democracy. america has become a dictatorship. or as i call it, a psychopathocracy.
Remember remember
The sixth of November
The two party treason rot.
I see no reason
The two party treason
Ever should be forgot.
ABC REPORTS BETO TO SOON GIVE CONCESSION SPEECH AT WATCH PARTY…
Ted Cruz* (R) 3,162,564 votes
50.9%
Beto O’Rourke (D) 3,010,149 votes
48.4%
Neal Dikeman (L) 39,600 votes
NBC News says TOO CLOSE TO CALL
CBS SAYS CRUZ WINS
HAVE ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA MEDDLED IN THE TEXAS SENATE ELECTION OR WITH ABC AND CBS NEWS? The question is First Asked Here …
Nate Silver
10:10 PM
ABC News has just called Texas for Ted Cruz, in a race that looks like it will wind up pretty close to the polls.
Is the fix in?
HERE IS WHY NOTHING EVER CHANGES. OR GETS WORSE NO MATTER WHAT. REPORTING FROM NATE SILVER’S 538:
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
9:50 PM
According to CNN, North Carolina is a “yes” on its voter ID measure, which would amend the state’s constitution to require voters to provide photo ID when they vote in person. The legislature passed a similar requirement back in 2013, but it was overturned by the courts, saying it targeted black voters with “almost surgical precision.”
No change to Dallas or Houston vote totals or percentages meaning ballots cast today are *** not *** in the ‘Cruz pulls ahead’ narrative in the big dem counties. But it could also work the other way. Crus can lose easily simply by not being ahead by 500,000 or a million votes in a hard Republican state.
Counts should be getting serious probably around 11 pm CST
9:03PM DALLAS
CRUZ TAKES LEAD 75K difference
Ted Cruz* (R) 2,936,562 votes
50.3%
Beto O’Rourke (D) 2,869,446 votes
49.1%
Neal Dikeman (L) 36,014 votes
8:44PM DALLAS TEXAS
TIGHTENING UP WITH VOTES CAST TODAY BEING COUNTED AND ADDED TO THE EARLY VOTING TOTALS
Beto O’Rourke (D) 2,767,309 votes
49.8%
Ted Cruz* (R) 2,733,237 votes
49.2%
Neal Dikeman (L) 59,024 votes
Texas Rep Gov Abbott at 54%
Dallas Rep Cong Pete Sessions trailing
It certainly would be wry would it not if Beto pulls off a win, for that to be the only marquee win for the Dems.
HOUSE OF REPS: I cannot image many things much worse than Hillary Clinton as President unless it is Nancy Pelosi (again) as Speaker. But oh well.
CALIFORNIA will tell the tale on House control. Some right wing Orange County (S of LA) Congresspersons may well not have their seats by tomorrow morning.
Quick check-in with corpo news media, briefly, couldn’t stand much, cnn, cbs, et al, the same fucking drivel as 2016 and every election before…be damned if they aren’t using the SAME SCRIPTS!
Why don;t we just watch reruns. Well 1948 was a good season, let’s watch that one.
REPOST. BULLETIN.
Harris HOUSTON 57% Beto 479K – Cruz 356K Early voting’
Dallas DALLAS 66% Beto 345K – Cruz 174K Early voting
2,686,793 Beto
2,524,315 Cruz
DO NOT SEE HOW CRUZ CAN CATCH UP. AT ALL.
As far as I can tell *** NO *** VOTES CAST TODAY HAVE BEEN COUNTED OR POSTED.
BULLETIN.
Harris 57% Beto 479K – Cruz 356K Early voting’
Dallas 66% Beto 345K – Cruz 174K
2,686,793 Beto
2,524,315 Cruz
DO NOT SEE HOW CRUZ CAN CATCH UP. AT ALL.
As far as I can tell *** NO *** VOTES CAST TODAY HAVE BEEN COUNTED OR POSTED.
8:13pm CST Dallas, Texas
EARLY VOTING ONLY:
Harris co HOUSTON 57% for Beto
Dallas County, DALLAS, 66% for beto
8:03pm Centrl Standard Time, Dallas
Maybe Texas will not go gently in that good night.
Beto ahead by 40K tight but it is NOT A GOOD NIGHT for Ted Cruz based on early voting.
NO RAW VOTE COUNTS FROM TODAY. Just early voting.
Heavily Republican counties gave tepid wins to Cruz in the low 50s EARLY VOTING ONLY the heavily Repubc counties north of Dallas/Ft Worth, South of Houston ,
Strong Republican counties around Austin went for Beto
Cruz big wins of 80% i thinly populated rural counties of 2-3K votes.
Beto himself said he needed at least 46% out of Ft. Worth adjacent to Dallas to have a statewide change. He got 49%
Libertarian may cost Cruz the election as previously speculated; his total is 20K exactly which would, had they voted for Cryz, made the vote count right this minute dead even
Raw vote totals from ballots cast today should start rolling in within two hours.
Unless Repubs waited en masse to vote today, this is NOT A GOOD NIGHT for Repubs in Texas, US or for Cruz.
>>>>> DEMS HAVE REGULARLY FAILED TO GET MUCH ABOVE 40% IN *** ANY *** STATEWIDE RACE IN TEXAS since the late Ann Richards failed to re-elect in 1994 with only 46%. She was defeated by George W. Bush.<<<<>>>> don’t want to get overexcited here bec it is still close, variable, recounts maybe, bla bal bal bla but for a Dem IN FAVOR OF MEDICARE FOR ALL TO BE IN EVEN IN A SLIGHT LEAD IN EARLY VOTING AT THIS HOUR IS FUCKING AMAZING. <<<<<
But the system is still rotten, I stand by everything I said before about Beto being part of thge wealthy ruling class anyway, and Cruz is a slithering snake, but this is exciting.
Note George W. Bush and the Bush Repubs strongly dislike Cruz so Beto is probably benefiting here despite his advocacy of Medicare for All.
Does it matter? Not to me here in rural Virginia. I really don’t care which one of two competing corrupt crime organizations gets to control things until the next election. Foreign policy won’t change. War threats against half the world won’t stop. Climate change? Nothing. National debt? just getting worse. Education? circling the drain. The economy? who cares the rich have already gotten theirs – lower the lifeboat. Illegal, unconstitutional domestic surveillance of u and all our communications? Can only get worse. Neither side even bothers to pretend that they no longer give a rat’s patoot about anything otherhan the ego gratification of power. And I’m supposed to vote? Yeah, Right!
No matter which wing of the ruling parasites’ party prevails, the Zionazis, the most generous political ‘contributors’, win. Sheldon Adelson, that monument to humanity, in particular if it be the Republicans.
sailor1030
Am with you 100% and don’t live anywhere near the United States. It’s the same here in Europe….
Oligarchy manufactures ‘difference’ and ‘opposition’ to maintain a fiction of left and right, of ‘choice’, ‘participation’ and ‘democracy’. It funds both the racism / ID politics position AND the fake fascist / white suprematist opposition. i.e. Distraction, diversion, theatre.
Meanwhile the true fascist uniparty juggernaut goes from strength to strength. Or thinks it does.
I think this is the second most important election in contemporary US history; the first being 2016. The outcome either way will have profound social and political effects that will affect us all, not just the US.
I’m not saying it will fix the underlying problems in the US political system or be the second coming (or the emergence of the antichrist) or anything like that. But the impact in social and political terms will be profound. Whether for good or ill remains to be seen. Irrespective of which wing of the political duopoly comes out on top we can expect the culture warriors on both sides to go into hyper hysteria & outrage or triumphalism.
And yet, in a certain way, this election is also the most trivial waste of time in US history… As others have commented, everything appalling about domestic and foreign policy will continue whichever party wins, and the decent human beings of the world will lose.
I can’t help mentioning once more Mark Twain’s penetrating observation: “If voting made any difference, it would never be allowed”.
That’s where we are today, folks, and it makes no sense to remain in denial about it.
If the US had a second party then maybe you would be right.
Unfortunately there is no difference between the parties. They are basically just two sides of the same rabid beast.
There are a few notable exceptions: Tulsi Gabbard democratic congresswoman and Rand Paul republican senator. There may be others, I’m not an expert on this.
I have warmed to Trump a little (only a little!) in the past two years. I think in his heart he’s a libertarian, but he trusts evil neocons such as Bolton, Pompeo and Giuliani far too much. What the US is doing to Iran is appalling.
I hope Rand Paul will be able to influence Trump further in the future.
Be in no doubt, the nascent peace in Korea would not have happened on H Clinton or Obama’s watch.
I find some sympathy for a Trump in that he faces the same enemy as that other famous racist Jeremy Corbyn; the media. It’s an illustration of their power that with their relentless remorseless propaganda they might stop one becoming PM and try to ruin Trump whether by impeachment or fake news. The support of the secret services in both countries gives them 100% protection.
To tell how fast Texas and the Exceptional US Empire (EUSE) are swirling around the toilet drain, one can only MARVEL that Beto O’Rourke is not TEN POINTS AHEAD of evil wicked venomous snake scumbbag “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz.
Democrat “Beto” is a polished, entitled, scrubbed, well-educated, house broken, poised, clean, well-mannered articulate Congressman of El Paso and a member in good standing of the filthy rich of Texas. Many of his relatives are actually Republicans anyway.
Beto was in a punk (NOT) band and had a driving while intoxicated issue which the wicked Cruz has taken great pains to publicize — probably mobilizing rockers and drunks all over the state to go vote for Beto in vast unprecedented numbers.
And Beto has taken a surprisingly strong stand in favor of a health care single payer option, having outlined a four-step plan to get to Medicare for All which is “evil socialism” according to Cruz. Every time Cruz sez so, zillions of millennials and un/under employed people for whom capitalism is a catastrophe and socialism a real Hopre and Change tom Believe in — to coin a slogan — streamed to early voting and today to the polls..
Yet.
Yet this worthy son of elite, wealthy, privileged special people with a slight sense of that old Noblesse Oblige is languishing this day about 5% behind in the polls. Real good for a Democrat in Texas.
But that is not the point.
Given margins of error and so on and so forth 5% could be razor thin or maybe Beto is actually slightly ahead.
But that is not the point either.
In Texas and most of the US today the well-educated, house-trained, well-spoken, TV screen friendly son of US privilege isn’t leading in ANY polls including 538; he’s trailing.
That is why even if Beto does the unimaginable and becomes the first elected statewide Democratic office since 1994, it won’t matter because the system is completely rotten — and it was designed to be that way and is in good operating order.
Beto: A guy like that oughtta be looking at a landslide victory
But then what the hell do I know?
As you say, Beto is all appearances. Maybe Texans get that. Maybe voting Cruz has little to do with Cruz and a lot to do with backing Trump…..for resident deplorables, which Texas has a lot of.
In general, I don’t think it makes a big difference. Both Democrats and Republicans are in favor of wars of aggression (with about equally few members opposing them in both parties), both Democrats and Republicans support the extremist ideology of US exceptionalism, both Democrats and Republicans support spending more and more money on the military-industrial complex and empowering the surveillance state, and both Democrats and Republicans support the economic interests of oligarchs and depend on their donations. They are really not that different from each other. They create the impression that they are extremely different and that the political landscape is “polarized” in the US (mainly on the basis of a few relatively minor symbolic questions) in order to distract from the fact that Democrats and Republicans are very similar.
Even though I am left of center, currently I would somewhat prefer a victory of Republicans in the midterms. The main reason for this is that Republicans and Trump have currently an interest in uncovering the abuse of power by the secret services in 2016/2017 when they surveilled the Trump campaign and then created the “Russiagate” conspiracy theory. Of course, Republicans can trusted as little as Democrats in being principled about preventing abuse of power by the secret services. But in the current situation, after the politicized secret services have targeted Trump, Republicans show some interests in uncovering the abuse of power by the secret services, while among Democrats there is a record number of candidates from the CIA and other elements of the security state. Devin Nunes really seems to be interested in uncovering abuses of power by elements of the CIA and the FBI; when Schiff heads the intelligence committee, we can be almost sure that he will support a coverup of the abuse of power by the secret services.
Of course, Trump is hardly a principled opponent of neoconservatives and militarism. But clearly, he was not ideologically reliable enough for the deep state. Of course, the secret services would target a leftist candidate who does not support neoconservatives, militarism and worldwide military bases even more forcefully. Currently, Republicans are the better hope for somewhat restricting the power of secret services. That would also be in the interest of a hypothetical future left-wing president who would try to limit the power of the military-industrial complex and the secret services – that would be difficult in any case, but if the abuses in 2016/2017 are uncovered, it might be somewhat less unrealistic.
When you were convicted of murder in Utah, they used to give you a choice of being shot or being hanged. That’s about the level of choice on offer to the electorate. It’s not much different in the UK or most western countries.
They will not matter. Perhaps arrest the acceleration to oblivion a bit if the Neocrats have a minor blue wave. Nevertheless, the owner’s are in control.
The part of the “stadium seating” in the balcony of the Texas house of reps is referred to as “The Owner’s Box” — not precisely accurate as it is filled with the LOBBYISTS of the owners — as opposed to the US Football stadium real “owner’s boxes” which are filled with, well, OWNERS. But the point is well-made.
The owners — Goldman-Sachs,Citibank, Chase, MorganStanley, the nyse and the other billionaires and multi-millionaire bourgeoise of “The City of New York” (lol NOT lol) and its Silicon Valley Deep State – are running the show.
Even a Demo sweep would NOT result in Medicare for all EVEN AS A FUCKING OPTION.
https://represent.us/action/theproblem-3/
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig&w=486&h=273%5D
“Perhaps arrest the acceleration to oblivion a bit if the Neocrats have a minor blue wave. ”
Really? Killary already had her foot to the WW3 peddle during her campaign. For the rest of the world [ROW] these first 2 years of Trump / Russiagate / factional deep state warfare inside USA has provided a much-needed delay and even some – albeit temporary and reversible – wins (Syria, North Korea, Yemen).
We just trundle along, tolerating the intolerable for decades on end. Voting makes no difference at all. Our government has been owned by arms dealers for a long time, and the profits are too mind-boggling for that to change.
Divine intervention appears to be ruled out for now, so it will be interesting to see what happens instead.
I fear it will just end up like the Roman Empire. It will crumble to nothing, and the mafia will rule.
Perhaps that IS the divine intervention…
Common decency really has no more to say on the matter. All alternatives to the Road to Hell have been closed, and we’re really going to have to stay awake if we hope to survive.
i used to be under the illusion that there was some difference between dems and reps. the bill clinton administration suggested that was not the case. the obama administration shattered all doubr.
If voting made any difference they would have banned it years ago.
The Roman Empire did not ‘..crumble to nothing’. It last in Constantinople until 1453 and its influence in the West, through Roman Catholicism and other traditions continues to today. The US Empire will end in nothingness, real and eternal, however, either through the ecological Holocaust or the thermo-nuclear apocalypse, that so many American religious fanatics so dearly desire.
A much appreciated comment Mulga though you are speaking of subjects entirely unknown to 95% of
Americans due to post-war decisions made by unknown figures directing their boards of education.
To add a small correction, while the Roman Catholic hierarchy succumbed to the secular ‘enlightenment’ (though not their faithful), the eastern Romiot world of Orthodoxy continues in strength today.
More to the point it constitutes a thick geographic wedge or arc stretching from the north pole to the Mediterranean, separating the secular ‘West’ from Asia. This arc represents both the oldest centres of Christian [i.e. greek / Byzantium] AND European civilisation plus its Russian outgrowth. By now it represents a different, resistant civilisation in itself (think Samuel Huntington). This fact is obscured by NATO but is the reason that the ‘West’, which has rejected both Christianity and European civilisation , i.e. the US directed NATO & Israel , have declared war on it. No, I don’t just mean Russia, but the Orthodox and Christian world itself.
Just look at the treatment of Palestinian Christians by the Zionazi regime, or of Christians by the US created and Israeli and Sordid Barbarian supported Daash.
Demonisation of Trump only enthuses the red necks. In truth he’s no worse than Nixon, Reagan or G Bush. Rightwing racism coupled with warmongering across the globe is par for the course in the US surely?
He’s not even worse than Hillary or Obama. Sad to say.
NOBODY could be worse than Hilary, EVER!
But I fear that you all give them far too much creedance for the policies they spout. They are simply useful tools of the Establishment. ACTORS paid to play their partd while the true puppet masters remain hidden?
Are you aware of the significance of the Three City States;
VATICAN CITY given City status by Lateran Treaty in 1929 Their role in the New Order is to Control all Religion
Illuminati and Freemasonry both under Catholic control.
The object of pure (i.e. illuminated) Freemasonry is none other than the propagation of the “enlightenment” whereby the seed of a New World will be so widely scattered that no efforts at extirpation, however violent, will avail to prevent the harvest (“Nachtr.”, pp. 44, 118; “Die neuesten Arb.”, pp. 11, 70).
WASHINGTON CITY Military control
CITY OF LONDON Financial Control Centre
Lord Mayor works for:
Rothschild/Warburg/Oppenheimer/Schiff/
November 2018
Time to bump this subject and digest it, before it’s too late. FULL SPECTRUM DOMINANCE is gathering speed.
Already our young people are being brainwashed and driven by ‘fashion’ into giving up their sexuality and gender. The effect of which will be a nation of sterile eunuchs, slaves for the Elite and their Ai robots..
Bread and Circuses is upon us, and the Predictive Programming in programmes like Simpsons and Family Guy is conditioning us into accepting anything Big Brother throws at us, gladly.
We use the excuse that we are ”Too Busy” to read and research for ourselves and happily swallow and regurgitate everything the MSM presstitutes feed us . Too busy doing what? It is like some people have already given up the right to a fully functioning brain.
”They” are cynically hiding in plain sight – take a look at the popular Big Brother series logo? And watch how the misfit monkeys perform in the hope of getting a few $/£’s. There is no depth they will not plumb, and feel no shame?
Full Spectrum Dominance Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order
by F. William Engdahl
http://thirdworldtraveler.com/American_Empire/PartOne_FSD_Engdahl.html
You must look deep into the rabbit hole if you are going to save your families and make a difference..
If they have no cannon fodder, they are doomed.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.’, ‘Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it ..
He’s actually more unstable ans malignant, and is surrounded by even more Evil psychopaths, than the US norm. The Real Evil Empire is simply evolving into ever more Evil form. For instance, they no longer lie that their vicious sanctions regimes will not kill and cause suffering by depriving their victims of medicines, as they did over the sanctions genocide, of children in particular, in Iraq, but boast of it in regard to Iran.
Bravo Mulga. My father once remarked that Greece under the colonels had got off easily. This as we watched US military vassals n Chile and Argentina , openly and without shame , throw 1000s of civilians out of planes to their deaths. His point was the rapid deterioration in US military pretence-to-ethics in a mere 15 years.
Mass murder and genocide is the real religion of the US elite. Since 1620. Have you read tannard’s ‘American Holocaust’, about the genocide of the Native Americans?
I predict a resounding victory for the 1%
It’s just a clown show. There are no significant differences between the parties on anything that actually matters.
There are so many races in which the choices are truly horrendous that I’m thinking about not even voting. Plus, it’s totally rigged. We have new machines this year. Probably have a Homeland Security backdoor. 🙄 Also, this is the level of people I’m dealing with: https://twitter.com/KARK4News/status/1059829374055313408?s=19
Happened this morning.
Oh, who am I kidding. I’ll wind up at the church, grumbling as I cast my votes. Raising minimum wage is on the ballot. But then, so was medical marijuana in 2016 and I have yet to see a dispensary. Sigh.
It gets worse! This is the last tweet from the Democrat spokesperson who got arrested for bad bad porn on Election Day. I don’t even know what’s going on. I know there’s bribing, but could there be blackmail or planted evidence? 😯 https://twitter.com/HL_MoodyAR/status/1009127667067707392?s=19