"The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top." U.S. Politics Thread, October 2026

These guys and their fucking balls...

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mwr274cutq2l

Real quotes from real men.

The best verse Walter Becker wrote for "Gaucho."

lol

this guy seems typical of independents from conservative states in many ways, but christ the ad is fucking good

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DduPX2OJuBK/?stkn=MTd3ZWZpZWF4a2Rzaw==

Hegseth walks like Nick Tortelli from Cheers. But Nick's a lot smarter.

I know it's fucking Idaho, but still, don't bet against a guy named Achilles.

I don't know about this:

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3mwq7pm2dt226

El pobre!

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/us/politics/supreme-court-roberts-maine.html

"ISOLATED" YOU SAY

Lol @ "kayaktivists"

Yesterday I saw a Talarico internal poll for a Trump +18 district that showed Paxton and Abbott each up by 1 point. If that's at all accurate, it could be an utter disaster for Republicans in Texas.

Texas, choosin'.

#onethread

I don't know about this

Whether or not Talarico's biblical arguments against ICE's cruel and inhuman treatment of immigrants will be strong enough to turn large numbers of evangelicals away from the Republicans in Texas, it is an argument that needs to be made, forthrightly and with conviction, over and over again any way, because it is morally correct, it aligns with those famous "Judeo-Christian values" the RR loves to big up, and it directly undermines the authority of the leaders who preach against the duty to love one's neighbor. None of this should offend those of other faiths or the non-religious, so long as it's framed as a personal conviction, not a blanket imposition of Christianity on society as a whole.

I meant the numbers.

The argument has to come first, before the numbers can follow. I think it would be a cumulative process across many elections in many places, not a 'one off' in Texas in November.

I think there is something to be said about the public finally getting a look at what "who cares, get them all out" actually looks like and surprise surprise they do not like it

I just saw (on Bluesky) a poll that has Marie Gluesenkamp Perez down a point to a Republican challenger, with 5% "undecided". As the person who posted it said, "MGP getting randomly taken out in a year where normal Democrats are simply winning districts with identical or worse partisanship would be so incredibly funny ngl"...

It's hard to say with Glusenkamp-Perez how much of her voting with republicans was a reflection of personal convictions and how much it reflected the 'expert help and advice' she got from the DNC and the multitudes of centrist-Democrat political consultants in DC. In reality, she was a freshman rep with very little experience in any kind of office who was in over her head from the get go

Her district is rated R+2 so some of her votes are surely an attempt to distance herself from the Crazy Libs.

Today Harry Enten is claiming that Ken Paxton's net approval rating is by far the worst among Republican Senate candidates in key states at -16pts.

MGP is running against an apparent moderate in 2026, instead of the MAGA lunatic Joe Kent who she beat both times she won: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Braun

probably a much harder lift in that district

if you're in a spot in your life where you're listening to the charlie kirk show, here's what you would have heard after the Schmitt / Smith self-own the other day:

But Schmitt continued to double down in an appearance on the “Charlie Kirk Show,” the former broadcasting home of the late, far-right activist, immediately after the hearing. Beaming into that program following an ad for “meat delivery,” Schmitt joined host Andrew Kolvet, who praised his work in the hearing. He also amplified Schmitt’s conspiracy theory even though it had already begun to fall apart.

“Jack Smith is a total dirtbag and you caught him out on this NBA game … in Atlanta,” Kolvet said to Smith. “It was a great moment. Good for you on that.”

Schmitt described Smith as “the epitome of what the weaponization of government is all about” and suggested he had proved the special counsel engaged in “coordination” with other prosecutors.

“Dang,” said a giggling Kolvet. “You had text messages from his team confirming that he was going to a Hawks game and he sat there acting dumbfounded and completely clueless.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXeJeGG3n2Y

I love the fact that a New York Times columnist routinely uses the phrase "right-wing chud" on YouTube, and I can only hope that it'll make it into one of his columns one day.

xp I mean lying works pretty well, especially if you get your information from Zombie Charlie Kirk.

Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk will co-lead a government project to study the future of warfare, marking the SpaceX CEO’s first return to government since he ran the chaotic, so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge. Musk will be joined by Palmer Luckey, CEO of the defense tech company Anduril, and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/30/pete-hegseth-elon-musk-taskforce-warfare

I was just coming here to see if anyone noticed Musk back on the scene just before another election too

to study the future of warfare

no beardos, no weirdos

sure why shouldn’t government contractors decide what the future of warfare is, why not

"Turns out it's more contracts for MEEEEEE."

Interesting confluence of stories here today

Funds appropriated for being used for border security and memorials being used for tv commercials
https://wapo.st/4hVX59I

Funds appropriated for European aid being diverted to Latin America
https://wapo.st/4yqSpyn

Here's hoping the "fuck you I do what I want" presidency may prove tougher to operate without congressional majorities.

Yeah I know I know, Democrats suck but let me harbor this one glimmer of hope that in 2027-29 we get at least a little pushback of "oh yeah? With what money?" Like genuinely refusing to fund his priorities if he continues to ignore Congress. Make those fuckers beg.

Eisenhower did take the time to warn us about the system he set up.

should’ve heeded the founding fathers and never had a standing army in the first place

Instead we have an army, plus all these well-regulated militias.

well (hesitation marker) regulated militias

Anybody noticed whether the Dems, candidates or others, have commented yet on the Christa Pike situation/travesty? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-was-mess-tennessee-fails-execute-inmate-2-lethal-injections-rcna600863

US Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Tennessee governor, described the situation as "tragic".

"While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair," Blackburn said.

Democrat Jerri Green, Blackburn's opponent, criticised her for wanting to "bring back one of the most cruel forms of capital punishment".

"As governor, I would put a moratorium on all future executions," Green said on X.

In May, the execution of Tony Carruthers was called off after staff were unable to find a vein to administer a lethal drug. Carruthers was given a year's reprieve.

Jasmine Crockett Offered Lobbying Services on Her Campaign-Funded Website – While in Office

Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett was offering government relations and lobbying services on her campaign-funded website, a move experts say tests the limits of congressional ethics – and possibly the law.

Crockett lost her Senate bid in March. By May this year, a solicitation appeared on the website for her merchandise, “The Clapback Collection,” allowing users to inquire about Crockett’s consulting services and more.

“Political Consultant- Book Now,” a button on the bottom of the webpage read. Upon clicking the button, a selection of offerings appeared: campaign management and strategy; communications and public relations; government relations and lobbying; digital and social media; and political risk management.

The consulting and lobbying offering was removed from the website after Zeteo reached out to Crockett’s office for comment.

sorry, this is so dumb, but for some reason i just regained my ability to "see" the MAGA hat again, like i was seeing it for the first time. remembering how hilariously awful they looked, the red "make america great again" hats. i think it was seeing a photo of jd vance with a crowd of young people wearing those hats behind him. i think we've all seen the hats so often we got desensitized to how bad they are

ok, back to work

it's like when momentarily realizing the word "the" in english is just so fucking weird. but then it goes back to normal

how often do you see people on the street wearing MAGA hats?

It's been a while but I used to -- and by a while I mean 2016 and 2017. Plenty of yard signs, though!

MTG has a whole bit about how she *never* sees them anymore

I've only seen one in public recently, at a grocery store on the head of a some guy in his 60s and told him "I love your pedophile hat!" and he and his wife were very not happy...

i haven't seen a hat in a year or more, though last weekend i did see a car near the Costco in Cherry Hill, NJ, that was perhaps the most unhinged ride i have ever seen.

https://archive.org/download/unctommagacar/unctommagacar.jpg

I never see them here (NE Mississippi) and haven't in years. Some right-coded tshirts, eagles and flags and such, but most proclamatory clothing around here is of the "ask me about my christianity" type. #blessed

used to be plenty of trump signs in northern vt including throughout bidens years but they were all packed up within the first six months of trump 2

idk if i ever saw a hat up here tho maybe a bridge too far

Virginia is for losers

this guy seems typical of independents from conservative states in many ways, but christ the ad is fucking good

I'm gonna watch it again just because it's so much FUN.

saw a family all wearing matching gaudy “one nation UNDER GOD” shirts, so that’s what they’ve graduated to.

can't be safe to have that many stickers on your back window

lol joygoat

I saw a hat earlier this summer on an elderly man on a mobility scooter in a grocery store.

As far as signs, the majority in our neighborhood are down. There's even a street we refer to as Trump Alley, because it used to have so many yard signs. Including a homemade one that read "Joe and the Hoe - What a *poop emoji* show". But they've taken most of that stuff down. There are a couple houses with American 250 type flags - something like this:

https://i.etsystatic.com/37929374/r/il/0a64a0/7837132706/il_794xN.7837132706_29an.jpg

"Fuck your woke flag code" -- the Anderson family

that eagle is cross-eyed

this guy seems typical of independents from conservative states in many ways, but christ the ad is fucking good

I'm gonna watch it again just because it's so much FUN.

― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Friday, October 2, 2026 6:04 PM (forty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it makes me want to give it to todd achilles tbqh

until he takes an arrow to the ankle during a televised debate

how often do you see people on the street wearing MAGA hats?

As I've mentioned a few times, they're all gone in my corner of Montana. Even the "Let's Go Brandon" sign I used to see hanging on a tree has been taken down. There used to be a guy in my town who had two giant flags - an American flag and a Trump flag - flying in the back of his pickup truck, and I hadn't seen him in months, but I saw him drive by today... American flag only.

Trump campaigns for Ken Paxton in Texas: "He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest. Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. I didn't even know if he was here! I don't care."

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mwttvpi33i2f

he also said Paxton wasn't very good looking, but to vote for him anyway

credit where its due the man loves to do a bit

lol he’s an ugly pain in the ass and I don’t care if he is here, vote for him!

somebody mysteriously donated $250K to the Paxton campaign, but nobody can figure out who it was

to be fair there are as many as three different people that could be

ah it's The Pogues! Blimey

Last year, the pro-Paxton super PAC received the six-figure donation from a man calling himself "Paul McLaren," described in campaign finance records as an "entrepreneur" living in Plano, Texas. But no "Paul McLaren" actually lives in Plano, and the address on file traces back to a rented mailbox inside a strip mall.

The real donor is Ben Pogue, a Texas businessman whose father, construction executive Paul Pogue, pleaded guilty in 2010 to filing a false tax return after underreporting his income by nearly $1.7 million — and who received a pardon from President Donald Trump in 2020, Politico reported.

nice

A major Republican political action committee pulled the plug on financial support for its Senate candidate in North Carolina, Michael Whatley, according to multiple reports, as the party begins to triage resources amid increasingly dire midterm polling.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), the campaign arm of the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has withdrawn its ad spending in North Carolina to redirect support to other candidates, Semafor reported on Friday. The New York Times, CNN and other publications have confirmed the report with sources close to the fund.

https://i.postimg.cc/R6mWZ93P/images-(6).jpg

I liked this

https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/polarization-is-not-the-problem/

oops paywalled, sorry

You can download a PDF of that article here:

https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/1001900/pdf

CNN's Inside Politics reported this morning that, after dropping *50 million* on xpost Whatley in NC, they're giving up and dropping lots on Sen.Marshall in "ruby-red" Kansas. He's facing "unexpectedly strong" opposition from the Dem (sorry, Dem, I hadn't thought of this happening in Kansas, haven't been keeping up with you).

yeah pretty wild sitch altogether

xps that's a good article sleeve, thanks. A good summary of the situation. One of my big frustrations with conventional media framing these days is its failure to understand and accurately describe so much of what we're actually contending with as a big wave of ethnonationalist backlash. There will be individual stories about, "Hmm why so many young conservatives sound like Nazis in their group chats" and "Hmm why do so many Trump administration social media posts look like white supremacist propaganda," but somehow that doesn't cohere into "Oh, here's what's going on."

The New Republic also has an article about this, specifically calling out the NYT and its huge influence on American liberals.

However we describe this vision, in practice the Times’ news coverage (meaning outside of the opinion section) avoids consistently describing the Trump-era Republican Party as antidemocratic, Islamophobic, racist, and plutocratic. The paper seems interested in portraying conservatives and liberals as equally problematic, or at least implying that there are major excesses on the left as well as the right. The paper’s coverage of higher education and transgender rights in particular leans into the idea that the left has gone too far, as opposed to centering the right’s authoritarian conduct on those issues (e.g., bans on gender-affirming medical care and the study of ideas like critical race theory). The overall product is a factually accurate portrayal of American politics that misses the big story: The Republican Party is a far-right entity at war with democracy; the Democrats are a normal party in a liberal democracy.

I personally would say that the NYT's portrayal isn't even "factually accurate" because it misses so much. But the bigger point that the paper frames many (especially white, especially older) liberals' conception of U.S. politics is true I think.

Oh, here's a link to that article: https://newrepublic.com/article/216035/liberals-new-york-times-monopoly

Excellent article.

DON: Well, yeah.

https://bsky.app/profile/jfallows.bsky.social/post/3mwy6bh5ryc25

trump just announced that if the republicans keep the house and senate, all adult citizens will get $5000. the polling they’re showing him must be pretty bad

well, I will say based on my older white parents who went from normal 80s-90s liberal to now they’re basically left-wing activists. They still read the New York Times, but they are clear eyed how the mainstream media deliberately fails us in framing of what’s actually going on, so I think based on that anecdote maybe more Normie Dems might be more aware of what’s really going on then the media is.

The Republican Party is a far-right entity at war with democracy; the Democrats are a normal party in a liberal democracy.

The real problem is that many (most?) national elected Democrats don’t understand this, not the base.

the $5K thing, lol

but also, he's ever so close to having a good opinion! if they actually do believe that AI (i mean, SI, meaning superintelligence, the word that was used over a decade ago to refer to the doomsday scenarios where AI turns the universe into paperclips) is so lifechanging that it's worth bending the entire U.S. economy around it, they should be thinking about basic income and paying out some of that exponentially rising profits to people so that they BUY SHIT for eternity because we won't have jobs anymore etc etc. so, instead of a $5000 check, he should raise it to $20,000 and make it annual. it'll all work out because the computers will innovate a new way to do this without crashing the economy

this seems to be real, though. didn't know about either of these:

Donald ⁠Trump has said the US government will send a one-time $90 payment to more than 20 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, the ⁠health insurance program for ⁠elderly people, ​to help offset the cost of their monthly medical insurance premiums.

The president said on social media late on Friday that the ⁠payments would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which he said was given $2bn by Congress to improve the Medicare fee-for-service program.

...The White House released some details of Trump’s plan on ‌its website, saying most eligible seniors will receive the payment in the form of a direct deposit of $90 in early October.

Those without ​direct deposit will receive a check, also sent in early October, to the mailing address they have registered with Medicare, the White House said.

...The Trump ​administration is also separately sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans ​in a move ‌that strategists say could influence ​some election races.

The Trump administration says those payments were a refund for what it describes as excessive fees charged to people who bought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which was enacted in 2010 during the presidency of Barack Obama, a Democrat.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/03/trump-payment-seniors-medicare

I heard about the $500 checks; they're going to people in Montana, but I don't know if I'll get one or not.

hes gotta pay the $5k up front no ones going to sell trump a vote on credit

new law: whenever someone votes for trump, the voting machine plays a RealAudio clip with a heavily distorted trump going "Trust me!! aaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah" and it thunders throughout the voting gymnasium

NYT: President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.

Whoa not new questions about conflicts of interest. 😱

The Daily Wire's production company is filming a movie in Livingston, Montana and the residents are pissed. As of Saturday, their permit was yanked.

How is the Daily Wire even still in business?

Zionist billionaires I assume

out there making unbelievably awful movies no one will ever watch

Obama is going to be campaigning with El-Sayed in Michigan. I guess the party has decided they want him to win after all.

yeah lil while ago they all came out supporting him on the same day, clearly someone laid down the law

the...Sharia Law?

Was Mesopotamia under Sharia law six or eight thousand years ago?

anything that gives him a break from asking me for money on instagram

the...Sharia Law?

― The Deer-Smellers of Haunted Mountain (President Keyes), Monday, October 5, 2026 1:22 PM (thirty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

thats right

omg just had two local Republicans — with college degrees, one of them's a lawyer — try to lecture me on FB about the dangers of sharia. It's insane. There are 40,000 Muslims in our state, about .6 of 1 percent of the population. I just told them they sounded deranged.

Yum

Oh wait thought you said shawarma

lol one of my FB friends made that exact joke

file under least-surprising headline ever: Karoline Leavitt joining Fox News

“The Trump ​administration is also separately sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans ​in a move ‌that strategists say could influence ​some election races.”

Democrats receiving these checks have the chance to do the funniest thing ever

Also do the "dangers of sharia" folks know that U.S. Catholics have whole bodies of thought and practice around canon law, as do different strains of U.S. Jews vis-a-vis Jewish law? Further all their beloved Protestant denominations get to have public conversations about what to believe/not believe and do/not do. Conversations among believers about religious practice and doctrine.

Democrats receiving these checks have the chance to do the funniest thing ever

The problem is that bribes work better to win votes than ad buys do.

Also do the "dangers of sharia" folks know that U.S. Catholics have whole bodies of thought and practice around canon law, as do different strains of U.S. Jews vis-a-vis Jewish law? Further all their beloved Protestant denominations get to have public conversations about what to believe/not believe and do/not do. Conversations among believers about religious practice and doctrine.

― Paprikachu (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, October 5, 2026 2:23 PM (five minutes ago)

Sharia fearmongering is about being super racist, not religion. I mean, I'm sure we all know that, but it is p remarkable how socially acceptable racism toward Muslims is, the flimsiest figleaf and people are on FB doing Klan shit

The problem is that bribes work better to win votes than ad buys do.

I generally don't believe political advertising accomplishes much, but I'd like to see some hard numbers on people who receive checks in the mail vs how they vote. And I don't think that information is publicly available without combining multiple data sets in a creepy way, so I'm inclined to dismiss it for now.

I get checks from work but I'm not going to vote for my boss.

yea pretty easy to see this as a tacit admission that things are not going well and I think even these dipshits know how desperate this looks

I'd like to see some hard numbers on people who receive checks in the mail vs how they vote.

Sure thing. It's a time-tested way of measuring the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns. But, getting that check in the mail does answer one cynical question that hundreds of thousands of potential voters often ask when deciding whether to vote at all: "What have any of these guys ever done for me?"

There are sharia courts but they are almost exactly like rabbinical courts, presiding over marriages and divorces.

one cynical question that hundreds of thousands of potential voters often ask when deciding whether to vote at all: "What have any of these guys ever done for me?"

can't imagine thinking this is a cynical question.

my uninformed theory about trump floating some bribe money is that the covid checks were literally the only broadly popular thing the federal government has done under him in 8 years. he's trying it again but i don't think it's gonna work even though there are a lot of desperate people out there right now. it's one of the few trump tactics that democrats should absolutely be embracing. checks in the fuckin mail.

i also don't think democrats have an accurate idea of how much text message spam hurts them.

it's a cynical question because it predictably disregards the individual benefit (or harm) person asking it gets from actions taken for (or against) the larger community. once you as a voter, understand that government is not your personal tooth fairy, but deals in larger units than just you, this question moves away from "for me" into the realm of "for my community".

"Map, before your scroll away, please PLEASE hear me out..."

I'm lowering my ask to just ONE PENNY

People are definitely bad at thinking along those lines or recognizing stuff like libraries or bridges as govt benefits. But the US left, including the Dems, could do a lot worse than to think about what it would take to get reasonable* people to think "actually yes the govt does benefit me personally."

* not including unsatisfiable partisan ideologues or people who say things like "keep the govt out of medicare"

Trump might be sending the checks but he's not on the ballot... I don't think anyone who receives a check is gonna be like 'Huh, I really want to reward Ken Paxton for this check I received in the mail'

anyway one step along the pathway from brainrotted desperation to slightly less brainrotted desperation is realizing that a one-time payment doesn't really help all that much compared to small but consistent adjustments in one's rate of income accumulation.

moves away from "for me" into the realm of "for my community".

you sure have a lot of assumptions about this fictional person you've just invented.

my uninformed theory about trump floating some bribe money is that the covid checks were literally the only broadly popular thing the federal government has done under him in 8 years. he's trying it again but i don't think it's gonna work even though there are a lot of desperate people out there right now. it's one of the few trump tactics that democrats should absolutely be embracing. checks in the fuckin mail.

― shaking babies (map^2), Monday, October 5, 2026 2:55 PM (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

map otm.

feel theres more ground to gain with Dems sending out checks, everyone knows Trump is the guy in charge and unlike Covid times everything that's happening really is his fault

i also don't think democrats have an accurate idea of how much text message spam hurts them

if the only metric they use to measure the effect of their text message spam is how much $$ it produces in the form of small donations, then they probably think it's a huge help and they ought to do it even more and more and more!!

if they were more reflective they might understand that spam has always been a game where the spammer irritates/annoys/enrages over 99% of the recipients in return for less than 1% positive results and this fact is why using it indiscriminately is the hallmark of grifters, not organizations that want good customer relations.

I recently started getting garishly composed multi-colored emails almost every hour from some URL claiming to be a generic GOTV organization on behalf of Democrats. I'd never heard of them. My immediate suspicion was that it was a 'dirty tricks' operation designed to reduce enthusiasm among Dem voters, maybe paid for by Elon Musk.

yeah the problem with bragging about cutting taxes is it buys you no praise at all, it just reminds people they have to pay taxes and they're mad at you for not doing it sooner or cutting taxes more. cutting people checks is much better perforative governance.

this fictional person you've just invented

c'mon, map. understanding governance is not so rare that anyone who can apply that understanding is a fiction.

Biden should've given us COVID-inspired checks every six months through November 2024. Might've helped Kamala.

c'mon, map. understanding governance is not so rare that anyone who can apply that understanding is a fiction.

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Monday, October 5, 2026 1:24 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

you come on! pretending to understand things is an illness more people should really seek recovery from.

if so, I wish you an incomplete recovery. i'd hate to have you come to the point where you no longer understand why right and left shoes are different.

if they were more reflective they might understand that spam has always been a game where the spammer irritates/annoys/enrages over 99% of the recipients in return for less than 1% positive results and this fact is why using it indiscriminately is the hallmark of grifters, not organizations that want good customer relations.

I really feel like the key political issue of our time is the fact that everything feels like a scam right now. people are getting obscenely wealthy off shit like crypto currency and AI, our government is run by people who lie to our faces every time they speak, technology is constantly finding ways to show us more ads and get us to subscribe to more things, professional sports are basically owned by Polymarket, concert tickets are impossible to get, all our data is getting stolen, everything is spying on us, and it's all being perpetuated on us by pedophiles whose crimes are actively being covered up by people whose salaries are paid by our taxes. so yes getting all these ads for David Crowley saying "the polls have us tied!! we need $5 immediately or we will lose this race!!" leaves a real bad taste in my mouth. oh really??? the polls are tied??? how can this be when we were told over and over that we had to vote for you in the primary because you would beat Tom Tiffany for sure???

yeah and those green bags that say 'compostable' really aren't compostable

my god the texts, absolutely infuriating

I just realized I have been getting texts from Dems / donors begging for money recently? Knock on wood. For years I got texts from orgs that thought I was a black voter in Georgia (whom I will not dox here) - even those have stopped.

*I have not been getting

yeah, i don't get them either. instead i get guy in all my replies telling me that his friend has a big crush on me but she's too shy to tell me so i have to check out her snapchat, but also urging me not to let her know that he told me to do that

lol I just saw that yesterday on insta

this person is reaching out to everyone to get their shy friend a date via snapchat, it's crazy

Surprise! The friend is Amy Klobuchar and she has JUST ONE REQUEST ...

....and what will you do about that, if i vote for you? is my question for all mid-term candidates. i'll take my answer offline, thank you

Mix Negronis!

frogs.........otm????

but yeah, frogbs otm about the general feeling of getting totally scammed and fucked over at all levels of life, from the time of waking up to going to bed

xp

Saw Mark Kelly get asked about the checks going out and he called them a bribe or some crap. The reporter just said, "What are Democrats going to offer beyond opposing the President?" and he had fuck all to say.

Checks, man

maybe tote bags

people are so fucking stupid, you know?

“ I really feel like the key political issue of our time is the fact that everything feels like a scam right now.”

EVERYTHING.

you ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

(flash forward a couple decades and john lydon is a talking head on vhs "remember the whatever" shows)

it just boggles the mind that the Democrats in Maine are handed a gift with Susan Collins being exposed as a corrupt Trump puppet, and somehow they can’t capitalize on that

seems like Jackson has a small advantage, it should be bigger, but is there a reason to believe he's losing?

So this morning on MS-NOW (see I'm getting hipper with my watching), marvels all around at Trump playing smaller venues in the reddest states, and still not to anything like full houses. For inst, when he hit Mobile in 2018, he drew like 32,000 to a high school football stadium, max capac8ty 40 thou--this time, at the University of South Alabama, a hall that could seat 10,000---and he only got 6. In Nebraska, where he won by 20 points, he's now downscaling in the reddest district.
(And speaking again of Kansas, Roger Marshall is at about 50%----where a Dem. senator was last elected in 1932.)

his appeal is getting more selective

xxp no, no, no he says that the venues are actually beyond full with people waiting 72 hours to get in, but it looks like there are sorta empty seats because people want to get closer, and any journalist that denies this fact should be arrested (he said this about Ohio)

when all R’s win, ask queations. about— the democrats.

quick— which percentage of you think i’m serious?

i mean it ain’t a secret, the trackers and algorithms know already. right? the only ones don’t know are polls, and me.

queations are ~the best questions~.

Happened to switch channels and land on MSNBC. El-Sayed is killing it on Chris Hayes' show. He looked at the camera and invited Trump to Michigan.

Trump would be a good campaign surrogate.

Trump: "With the war, it's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay ... let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mx63vpx2ms22

Totally normal fucking shit

He's right that being at war often means much more death and sacrifice than this war has demanded of the USA. He's totally wrong that "it's a small price to pay", because this war was utterly pointless and worthless from the start. Also note the direct cost is certainly well north of $100B and that's the military budget. It doesn't count the price of gas for consumers, the global economic havoc, loss of food production, or the Iranian dead.

idk why paxton isnt doing better https://bsky.app/profile/taniel.bsky.social/post/3mx6coshe6k2y

I don't understand why *I've* been seeing that ad a bunch. Is Elon funnelling so much money into this race that they're showing this ad in Wisconsin??

the other ad I've been seeing is even weirder, it's Paxton's wife (??) saying hey, I'm a Republican, we gotta support Republicans, vote red no matter what. it doesn't even mention Ken Paxton's name, but it's his commercial. seems like the Republicans finally found a guy too odious even for their own base.

hahaha i saw the angela paxton ad about 6 times watching youtube with my son this weekend. its basically "hey i know my ex husband is a piece of shit but we cant let the democrats win could we?" and she's a very obvious cue card reader so you can see her eyes scanning the words.

The Marist Poll says Troy Jackson's ahead of Susan Collins, and Maine's likely to have another D governor next year, too.

Jackson (51%) is +4 points against Collins (47%) among registered voters in the U.S. Senate race in Maine. Independents break for Jackson (52% to 45% for Collins). Among the Maine electorate, 57% think Collins will actually win the Senate contest against Jackson (41%).

On the generic congressional ballot question, the Democrat on the ballot (54%) has a nine-point advantage against the Republican (45%) among registered voters. Among independents, the Democrats are +14 points. A majority of Maine voters (56%) are also more likely to say the Democratic candidate running for Congress will win the election, not the Republican (43%).

...

Pingree (52%) leads Charles (40%) and Bennett (6%) among registered voters in Maine's gubernatorial contest. Among independents, Pingree (51%) outpaces Charles (34%) and Bennett (12%). Maine voters are nearly twice as likely to say Pingree (63%) will be victorious against Charles (34%).

President Trump's job approval rating among Maine registered voters is upside-down (40% approve to 59% disapprove).

A plurality of registered voters statewide (44%) say their personal finances have gotten worse over the last year. 14% report they have gotten better, and 41% say they have stayed about the same. Democrats (56%) are more likely than Republicans (23%) to say their finances have deteriorated.

I thought this part was interesting, in a darkly funny way.

A plurality of Maine voters (44%) report their congressional ballot is mainly a vote against President Donald Trump. 16% say it is mainly a vote for the president, and 39% say President Trump is not much of a factor to their vote for Congress. Among those who say the president is not much of a factor in their vote, more than six in ten approve of his job performance.

In other words, the people described in the last sentence are a bunch of fucking liars.

okay that’s good to hear about Maine. From the coverage of Jackson above it sounded like he was behind.

He was behind in the recent NYT/Siena poll, which is pretty reputable, so that was making people nervous. But he's doing slightly better than Collins overall in recent polls, and I believe Marist is also a high-quality pollster.

I think we're going to get negative stories about the Jackson campaign because the Platner folks feel they've been shut out by DC operatives.

like how do 40% of mainers approve?? like, i’d be a terrible pollster because i’d just be like, “tell me a good reason why, or you’re out of the poll. i don’t believe you.”

that almost goes for many other states too, but— i suspect i do know why for many states.

jk i think i know why for all the states. caint tell yas.

Maine has been hit worse than most by the Canada border shenanigans as well

I watched this ad so you don't have to... it's as bad as it sounds

Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, is receiving heavy criticism from members of his own party over a controversial, sexual innuendo-filled campaign ad that has been described as “creepy”.

The video entitled “Just Try It, California” was released last week and depicts two young women with brightly colored hair, sitting on a bed in front of a pride flag in low lighting. One nervously says “I can’t believe I’m doing this”, while another strokes her hair and coaxes “don’t be nervous, it’s not that bad” before guiding her to fill out a ballot for Hilton and aggressively commanding “lick it”.

woah

Well now I'm going to associate the name Hilton with x-rated stuff

Steve Hilton, fun-loving guy, proves that kiddie pools aren't just for kids.

Are you bi(partisan)-curious?

Follow-up ad: Hey, we saw you from across the bar …

Deep cut xp

I think Tressie McMillan Cottam has a thesis about the pornification of politics. I once thought it was a little overstated, but it's undeniable the right is extremely influenced by porn and seems to think everyone else is too. Wild to think about the decades of GOP politics I've lived through

The GOP has its finger on, uh, how about let's say "the pulse" of their base.

reminds me of all the billboard ads around missouri for personal injury lawyers, 100% of which somehow have a double entendre about the size of the penis of the lawyer

really weird target market, and it's like they're somehow completely unaware that anyone else seeing the billboard outside of that weirdass "size matters!!" target market is really weirded out

You should see what's in that lawyer's briefs!

Your honor, may I approach the bulge?

putting the 'personal' in personal injury law

Erection sustained!

Erection overdrooled!

We have a hung jury

Cease and desist? Seizin' deez nuts!

"Did you see Mr. Crotch touch his Bruce?"
Actual line in cross and transcript thereof, which Lenny of course ran with in his next set.

I worry about the polls, I don't trust them, and I'm still a little skeptical about the chances of Democrats taking over the Senate. I hope it happens 🙏

If the Republicans maintain control I think Alito and Thomas will resign in the next two years and will be replaced by even more evangelical conservatives who will ensure a 6-3 Supreme Court not only for the rest of my life (I'm old) but for the rest of your lives too

Yeah, that is a definite possibility.

I think we are going to get major SCOTUS reform

I see nothing to indicate that

hopium is a hell of a drug

The Senate Rs will protect their precious 6-3 court to the last ditch. Major SCOTUS reform would only succeed in the next Congress if the Dems take the Senate handily and also nuke the filibuster. Even then, it could be another Fetterman disaster.

I think we are going to get major SCOTUS reform

― a (waterface), Tuesday, October 6, 2026 8:19 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

What does this look like in your scenario?

Can senate Democrats get enough votes together to end the filibuster?

democrat senators nuking the filibuster is the longest of long shots imo. it would require massive public pressure to end the three decade stalemate.

hmmm what you got up your sleeve Donnie

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mxaanp6u3d2s

it's undeniable the right is extremely influenced by porn and seems to think everyone else is too.

anyone remember this though?
https://www.denvergazette.com/2024/10/23/democrats-target-young-men-with-ad-warning-about-gop/

What does this look like in your scenario?

I feel like any response I give to this is going to get jumped on and pointed out how I am huffing hopium but term limits and adding seats, ethics reform, restriction on the use of the shadow docket all seem like good starting points

They get robotic exosekeletons

Slightly more seriously:

If there are any retirements or deaths upcoming, I hope we get to spend the next two years telling a Republican president that the Senate NEVER confirms a new Supreme Court justice so close to a presidential election, because (points to what is left of Mitch McConnell)

yeah i think the Democrats have signaled that sort of thing in the past few days, that they will do this, seems like a good idea on the other hand if Trump gets to appoint yet another psycho to SCOTUS that will perhaps lead more people to understand how crucial reform really is. i basically think it's one of the first things you have to do to cleanse the country of Trumpism

What's funny is that the older conservative justices could have retired in the past year and Trump would likely have gotten his way.

Now, even without a flip of the Senate, he will not be able to nominate a lunatic next year and see said lunatic confirmed.

...which means Trump himself, out of toddler-like frustration that he can't get what he wants, may very well try to change the court in some way by executive action. Which he can't do, but it will be funny watching him try.

the rest of his term is going to get funnier and way scarier

was gonna say, am guessing it ultimately won't be funny watching him try

funnier=his syntax and brain functions breaking down, i.e. see that recent Time magazine transcript. but yes super scary

Maybe. But c'mon, you know Trump's wish list for the Supreme Court would have been bonkers shit like himself, several of his children, Stephen Miller, Russell Vought, Kid Rock, and pillow guy.

Now he'll have to nominate adults (comparatively speaking) with a chance in a close Senate. That alone is positive.

I feel like any response I give to this is going to get jumped on and pointed out how I am huffing hopium but term limits and adding seats, ethics reform, restriction on the use of the shadow docket all seem like good starting points

― a (waterface), Wednesday, October 7, 2026 6:51 AM (thirty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Sorry, I meant what is the path to making this happen in the next 2-6 years? You have a Republican president for the next two years and even presuming a Democratic president in 2028, no Democratic supermajority in congress.

you asked a question and i answered dude. shrug. basically you have to convince a majority in congress-dems mostly but surely there will be some repubs that will sign on as Trump's power wanes the next two years--that you either do these reforms or the ball game is over. you've only got a few years to do this. there are many different ways it could happen and your statement makes a lot of assumptions that may or may not play out.

I agree. The Dems may not win the Presidency in 2028.

Cannot be overstated: the ability of Dems to completely whiff what ought to be am easy win, with historically disastrous consequences.

So basically the story of our lives

Yeah, but even if the Dems got enough GOP votes to overcome a filibuster, how are they going to get enough to override Trump’s veto?

Even the smallest SC reforms are going to require a Dem President, Dem majorities in both chambers, killing the filibuster, and overcoming establishment and centrist Dems.

Not to mention that passing SC reforms while Trump is still President is just handing him more power.

overcoming establishment and centrist Dems.

― The Deer-Smellers of Haunted Mountain (President Keyes), Wednesday, October 7, 2026 8:55 AM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is the real sticker imo, dems have to want to do it, which they currently most certainly do not

which is not to say that they wont at some point in the future

If there were a perfect storm, sort of like in 2008, where there's a landslide Dem President elected who campaigned explicitly on Supreme Court reform, and a filibuster proof Senate majority and a Dem House, there would likely be something passed--though it would still be watered down by Lieberman types.

this is the real sticker imo, dems have to want to do it, which they currently most certainly do not

yeah this is it. i think more of them want it than we think but really it's the whole ballgame

yeah some of them do but you need a critical mass and a lot of enthusiasm which i dont think theyre nearly there, which is why we gotta kick these bums out and replace them with better bums

Bum rush the court, is what you're saying

yo

their messaging over the next couple years shouldn't just be about the court though, I think they need to make it loud and clear that all the people in charge are criminals and crooks who need to face accountability for their actions, and while it may be easy to go after unlikeable freaks like Elon and Thiel and Zuck they'd probably need to divorce themselves from megacorps entirely which I don't see happening

i think an anti corporate / corruption / etc movement could catch fire but obvs the current dem party isnt going to go along with it of their own free will

Yeah, an "America For the People" kind of campaign, which could pull into it anti-corporate/corruption/big tech themes and also the old liberal/Norman Rockwell "we're all in this together, we're all Americans" appeal. I think something along those lines is the best messaging against the actually very narrow only-for-white-men MAGA platform. E pluribus unum and all that, sometimes you gotta drag out the classics.

theyre classics for a reason

Of course the entire financial class would spend big against it, which is why corrupt Dems would never go along.

yeah dems have to reject corporate money, its been proven many times over that you can win with small donors but obvs accepting big checks is pretty easy, next step after that is getting the big money out of politics, lot of work to do lol

I agree. The Dems may not win the Presidency in 2028.

c’mon, the only reason Dems may not win is if trump does an autogolpe or he runs for a third term (illegally). Who do they have with equivalent juice to the Trumpster? Vance? Don’t make me laugh.

My advanced doomer fear is Gavin Newsom will be our next president.

e pluribus unum is literally classic because Latin, duh

(fun fact, it's from a recipe - what could be more homey. literal "kitchen table" issues)

yeah I don't see the Dems fumbling in 2028, even by Trump's standards things are going remarkably poorly and as mentioned things are going to get very weird in the next two years and not in a good way. he's remade the party so completely that the only people left who have any status are only significant for their fealty to Trump and somehow I doubt those people will do well on their own. Vance in particular I think will get absolutely crushed if he's the guy. I have faith in the Dem electorate to not nominate someone like Newsom or Harris again, honestly I have no clue who it'll be, most likely someone nobody's really talking about now. personally I hope it's Ossoff.

Of course the Dems could collapse in two years but as frogbs said Trump's gonna get nastier and like with Bush in 2007-2008 the indie voters are gonna get sick of him -- like, "get him out of my sight" sick of him.

my fear is that AOC is gonna be the people's champ and the dem establishment is gonna be so self-destructive trying to prevent her from getting the nom that whoever it ultimately is -- her or a challenger -- is gonna be so bloodied and beaten from primaries that they fuck it all up. that plus sexism and racism if it is her, of course

or really fill in your other young/progressive candidate of choice, same dynamic

the Democratic party is for sure going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing anything the people actually want, also the entire media ecosystem is going to be so fucked that the entire 2028 election is going to be about trans people playing basketball or whatever, that said its hard to deny there's been a pretty massive sea change amongst your most reliable Dem voters, I don't think a guy like Gavin Newsom offering nothing but a return to the days right before we tipped into fascism is gonna do too well no matter how much money they throw at him

My hope is that the centrist candidates (Newsom, Ossoff, Buttigieg) end up hating each other so much that none will agree to drop out and clear the way for one of them against AOC.

do people think Pritzker will still run?

I find Ossoff by far the least offensive of the three but your point stands.

yeah i would take Ossoff over those other two

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1961419311189294

Ossoff is okay for a purple state DEm but wtf is up with the smug answers in this video?

Do you support Medicare for All?
No

Do you support expanding the Supreme Court?
No

Do you support abolishing ICE?
No

def interested to where the dem establishment is at in a couple years, youll have more dsa types in office after this cycle the writing is on the wall weve already seen some smarter less on deaths doorstep establishment types your chris murphys of the world get on board with the new politics at some point theres got to be an acknowledgment that this is the party now, question is how much kicking and screaming the in cognitive decline corporate centrists will do, they may be a little more convincible than they seem because ultimately they dont really believe in anything and are just pure political animals, doubt well have a full luxury communism party by the next cycle but it could move a little in the right direction, and i suspect your gavin newsoms of the world are non starters primarily because of israel but also because of all the other stuff, which isnt to say we couldnt get a new gavin newsom (ossoff? hes not that bad) aligning with the new center

he's really not, he sounds smug because it's a rapid fire questioning even tho his answers are wrong on some of the things

supporting DC and PR statehood is good, opposing Medicare for All and SCOTUS expansion is not and yes with the new group in congress coming in who knows what will change people can be convinced

What's good about Ossoff exactly? That he looks sort of like Tom Cavanaugh?

That counts for a lot.

lol

not supporting medicare for all in this day and age is insane, like even if you dont support it you should say you do, for politics sake

I saw some Dem Senatorial candidate asked about expanding the Court and was genuinely surprised to see them say yes, they favored that - can't remember who it was, but it was in some state where I was expecting milquetoast centrist answers, or a "we're going to have to look at all the options" answer. So that was encouraging.

I think most Dem Senators, even the ones that suck, don't really want to go six years without passing a single law that survives the right-wing SC. Even the corporate shills know how seriously Roe repeal matters to their constituents and other donor bases. But most of that bunch are probably just hoping the problem "solves itself" - Dem Senate majority after 26, Dem president after 28, Alito retires, Thomas dies, and you're back to a slim 5-4 liberal majority, which is enough for politicians who just miss the status quo ante and aren't actively trying to solve the country's massive enduring structural problems.

most of these guys really believe in the system, because they have been incredibly successful in it

is that Ossoff FB video from this year?

Probably not. But neither is the Access Hollywood tape.

two years is an eternity in politics, a lot can happen between now and then. personally i’m betting on a typical republican-induced economic meltdown

a crash is coming and it will be blamed on a Democratic congress

If we're talking about 2028 it's always worth keeping in mind that that election could be against incumbent President Vance. Which I'm not saying would be good for Republicans, it would just be a somewhat different race.

(not least because I think Vance and Hegseth really would do a lot of straight-up authoritarian shit that Trump is trying to do but is not particularly effective at because he doesn't know how to do anything except yell at people and tell them to somehow make things happen)

I feel like Vance and Hegseth would be much less successful in getting the rest of the republican party to go along with their illegal shit because they themselves are not powerful enough to bully and threaten everyone.

Ossoff vs Vance would be the cheugiest Presidential race to date

that Ossoff video is probably from 2020 if they're asking about the Green New Deal

I feel like Vance and Hegseth would be much less successful in getting the rest of the republican party to go along with their illegal shit because they themselves are not powerful enough to bully and threaten everyone.

Yeah everyone hates these dudes, none of the "charisma" of Trump

I agree, I think a Vance administration would go down in flames. I just think there might be actual flames.

ya I don't think anyone who has spent the last decade insisting that Trump is the smartest and most popular president of all time is gonna have a shot in the general, especially given Trump is regularly polling in the low 30s right now and will probably sink even lower. people don't like Trump's policies, they like him because he is a bully and because he's somewhat funny, two things none of the current Republican crop are in the slightest. they won't have the juice or resources to threaten every news organization that publishes the truth nor will they be able to control the news cycle like Trump does. also I think Hegseth is primarily going to be known as the guy in charge of this broadly unpopular and illegal war which is only going to get worse over time. I wouldn't be surprised if one of these two do end up getting the nomination simply because the GOP has driven everyone else out but I think either one would get absolutely trounced regardless of who the Dem nominee is.

Also, unless nature intervenes, Trump will still be the President during the 2028 election season and will demand loyalty from the GOP candidates/nominee.

yeah but what does that look like?

and how much sway is he going to have in two more years? do you really think he will have more sway and pull?

he'll still have enough sway to tank people in his own party at least

isn’t the scuttlebutt that Vance and Hegseth hate each other? (And they definitely hate Rubio and vice versa).

that's the other thing I really do think kissing Trump's ass is the one thing keeping all these guys in line, when he's out of the picture it'll be knives out for a while

Trump may be at 30% approval or lower, but that 30% worships him, and they are the ones voting in the GOP primary for the most part.

and how much sway is he going to have in two more years? do you really think he will have more sway and pull?

I see two possibilities:

1) Trump retains a strong grip on a shrinking cult, and/but the sheer loudness of his insistence that he's still the King, and denial that his cult has in any way shrunk (full Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard mode), drowns Republican attempts to distance themselves from him, plus a lot of them are too cowardly to truly push him aside (because most politicians are always fighting the last war and never see change coming); or

2) The Republican Party tries to memory-hole him and pretend they were secretly Romney-ite reasonable conservatives all along, but it doesn't work because the shrinking-but-still-screaming cult from #1 won't let them and he's fucked things up so badly that the idiot American voter actually remembers that things were bad under Donald Trump, for at least a year, maybe two.

The biggest problem the Democrats have is that while people don't want 90s style right-centrist Ds like Rahm Emanuel governing anything, on some level they do want some version of the Before Times back, and getting them to understand that Trump has damaged the country so badly that the Before Times are never, ever coming back, that we are just a poorer, unhealthier, more economically and environmentally fucked country now, one with a depleted military, zero international trust, and a bunch of former business partners who've decided to just walk away from us and trade with each other and with China instead... well, it's gonna be ugly. "Sit the kids down on the couch and explain divorce and bankruptcy to them" ugly.

trump will have sway assuming he’s not a vegetable

he has sway now. how's that working out for him

Guys, there's a lot you can do in the executive branch. We've seen it already!

We could build a woke ballroom.

The next Dem president, if we get one, won't have time to get anything done because they will be forced to answer "what are you doing to heal our divided nation" 16,256 times a day.

The budget deficit will suddenly become extremely important again.

one quagmire after another

Two weeks ago in Ecuador, about 50 U.S. service members and law enforcement personnel took part in raids carried out by Ecuadorean police against alleged drug traffickers.

isn’t the scuttlebutt that Vance and Hegseth hate each other?

And who could blame them? They're both extremely hateable. Assuming Trump lives through 2028, they might even end up running against each other in the Republican primary. But if Trump happens not to live through 2028, I can imagine the two of them might find a shared interest in some form of haphazard martial law (and then fighting about who gets to run the country afterward). I don't think this would work, fwiw.

Meanwhile our local Young Republican groups here are cavalierly going around using the trendy white nationalist phrase "Heritage American," and anyone who thinks all the young Nazis staffing Republican offices these days are just going to fade away quietly regardless of what happens in 2028 is probably mistaken. I suppose it's possible that if the GOP really tries to "normalize" itself again, some of them would break off and form some kind of America First party. But more likely they'll stay and fight for control of local parties and run candidates in primaries.

We could build a woke ballroom.

xp yeah I was gonna say, a pivot back to normal (evil) republicanism seems unlikely to me, not that I have any of my own theories of what 2028 is going to be like. I might put $5 on "somehow worse" when it comes to the GOP though

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November’s midterm elections.

of course, everybody loves robocall spam

does anyone even answer the phone anymore?

Let the robots call each other, leave us alone

Meanwhile our local Young Republican groups here are cavalierly going around using the trendy white nationalist phrase "Heritage American," and anyone who thinks all the young Nazis staffing Republican offices these days are just going to fade away quietly regardless of what happens in 2028 is probably mistaken. I suppose it's possible that if the GOP really tries to "normalize" itself again, some of them would break off and form some kind of America First party. But more likely they'll stay and fight for control of local parties and run candidates in primaries.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, October 7, 2026 1:59 PM (forty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah itd be hard to have a republican party without anyone under 40

Talarico is home with the flu

isn’t the scuttlebutt that Vance and Hegseth hate each other?

Vance, at least, has been trying to get out a narrative that he was against the Iran war and Hegseth was selling Trump rosy BS.

vance is so funny with his little schemes everyone hates you bro youre a toad

The Dems would have to be completely inept to lose in 2028, but I think they have a shot.

never count them in

yeah one never knows whats going to happen but theyve got to be the fave at this point

I don't think anyone who has spent the last decade insisting that Trump is the smartest and most popular president of all time is gonna have a shot in the general

i think this is a key point and part of why the Rs will hopefully be fucked for awhile. Right now they are all disgusting lapdogs and the only way to stay relevant and have any power is to suck up to him and double down on his narcissism and delusions in the most shameless ways possible. But once he's out of the picture none of that shit is going to be remotely attractive, even to MAGA voters who are under the spell of the man, not his policies, his machine, any of that. Being shameless and pathetic and having no self-respect immediately reverts to being a horrendous look once Trump's not there for it to be in service of

^i think all of that is true IF americans remember in 2028. they may well remember trump, because he'll hopefully be in that late-stage "get this guy the fuck out of here stage". however, all the R's who enabled him for their own personal benefit, who refused to vote to impeach him to the point of gaslighting an entire country - i don't think americans will remember that. they will forget. i'm serious

as others have pointed out, there will be a necessary 'de-nazification' process akin to post-war Germany... the gold will be scraped off, the old names will be reinstated, google will drop the gulf of america from maps, and hopefully: what we have long respected as 'norms' will need to be codified into laws

xp
i do think the democrats have a big advantage in 2028, etc, it's theirs to fuck up. but i don't count on wonderful americans reflexively rejecting vance or whoever it ends up being on the GOP side. democrats are going to have to fight for everything, and it's very likely that 47%+ people will vote for someone who wholeheartedly enabled fascism

people forgot how fucking horrible and unpopular he was at the end of his first term

xxp to zach's first commnet -- cynical but realistic. hopefully they get caught in a purgatory where they have to keep up the act bc the big guy is still alive but he's politically powerless and doesn't have the ear of the nation in the same way. fingers crossed...

me too, for sure. and yes, i'm being probably too cynical, and would like to be wrong - would love for jd vance to get a historic asskicking and for it to lead to supermajority in the senate somehow, all that good stuff. but i think it's way too early to be confident about what people will or won't care about in 2 years. and then, of course it is a GOP tradition to completely fuck the economy before handing it back to the democrat to do the hard stuff

vance has no juice and is massively unpopular. hegseth is even worse. rubio i could maybe see but that dude is dead behind the eyes. none of these clowns have the sense of humor and the ability to command attention like trump either.

JD Vance is a big fucking loser and you can smell it from miles away. there's a reason the completely made up couchfucking thing stuck to him.

the only R candidate who would have a shot is someone who actually stuck to their guns on the "expose the pedophiles" and "no new wars" things, you know the stuff the people who voted for Trump *actually* wanted, unfortunately for them all those people have been purged from the party entirely. but I could see someone like Massie doing okay. if anything I feel people are actually underestimating how utterly toxic Trump and all his cronies are going to be in 2028.

right, kind of like how people on the other side underestimated how hated hilary was

like almost anyone else would have won against trump and she almost won anyway.

Joe Rogan ‘28!

Rubio's gonna fight like hell in the primaries; he's going to position himself as the Normal One like he did in 2016 except he's a living faceplant.

literally some big shoes to fill

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/99e/402/508bdb8ed82fe5d1c215225794dd9f3889-marco-rubio-big-shoes-lede.1x.rsocial.w1200.jpg

Probably a good plan since people feel really good about American foreign policy right now.

one of the tells that dems really dont care about winning is they never demonize the gop even though they deserve it and it would be good for humanity, meanwhile the gop is calling dems communist baby mutilators at every turn

so the idea that trump will stick to republicans for long if the dems arent trying to make it stick is well im not too sure

one thing that's already pretty much forgotten:

doge

Rubio gave a speech today at the Acropolis, the cradle of democracy... he's already running for '28

Both Rubio & Vance were never-Trumpers in the past, it'll be interesting to see how they pivot back to that

xpost

doge: what did they do? who did it? what was the damage? what did they do wrong? why was it wrong?

questions that should have very quick answers and shouldn't be in the memory hole already

my prediction for the midterms is that independents will swing more toward the dems like the polls suggest, but MAGA/GOP turnout won't be as depressed as expected bc so many people are extremely plugged in to politics right now

is that a good thing? Trump is fucking everything up right now and the nonstop trans panic isn't really taking hold like it used to

Trump fucking everything up will surely motivate non-Republican voters, but a lot of Republican voters are being fed a different story, and the ones that are sick of Trump can rationalize voting for a Republican who isn't him

I think the ones that are sick of him just won't vote at all

yep

that's what the consensus is, but i'm skeptical - i hope i'm wrong!!

How difficult would it be for another candidate to convince people they can deliver all the cruelty and racism minus the random fumbles like tariffs and war with Iran, that never had any logic behind them in the first place? All the things that are causing Trump to lose support were unforced errors, but he delivered the much desired hatred, vengefulness, and destruction of a liberal democratic order in spades.

Because before 2016 these people didn't vote or experimented with voting for Obama.

xpost

doge: what did they do? who did it? what was the damage? what did they do wrong? why was it wrong?

questions that should have very quick answers and shouldn't be in the memory hole already

I personally can’t forget, I have friends who were DOGEd

How difficult would it be for another candidate to convince people they can deliver all the cruelty and racism minus the random fumbles

weren't the last two republican primaries filled with those kinds of people? they don't want to vote for those dorks

few people think they are racist themselves, even your average republican, but when it’s a charismatic figure like Trump they overlook it. when it’s a creepy weirdo like De Santis or Vance they get largely turned off.

yeah DeSantis cast himself pretty strongly in that role, Trumpism minus Trump, and he got absolutely trounced

remember his weird lift cowboy boots? he's a real freak

https://i.ibb.co/nN3k19d8/ron.gif

sorry, y'all, I loathe DeSantis more than Trump. This guy's destroyed what's left of Florida after Rick Scott got promoted in 2018.

one thing that's already pretty much forgotten:

doge

― z_tbd, Wednesday, October 7, 2026 3:24 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Government employees past and present will NEVER forget.

I do think the damage caused by DOGE is one place where a Democratic mid-term majority could make a significant impact because they can investigate what actually happened and enforce the appropriations that were illegally ignored or canceled.

Michael Lewis has done the talk show circuit this week discussing his book on DOGE. Shit's serious.

I personally would not mind if they spent the next decade bringing the receipts for all this and throwing a bunch of these assholes in prison, even by conserative estimates Elon Musk is way up there on the mass murderer list through this alone. Every person who enabled him needs to pay for crimes against humanity. They knew what they were doing!!

yeah its really what needs to happen and not just to provide justice for those crimes but also as a start to revoking elite impunity

what i would do if i were running for president is promise to abolish ice and transfer its budget to my new department of sending rich shitheads to prison

SRSTP

Bureau

Not a department

The DOJ already exists

im the president

I’m pretty sure no one is going to prison for slashing foreign aid.

not the most detailed description of what doge got up to

yeah, doge people accessing sensitive information on Social Security and Elon plugging in his gaming computer into the government network surely didn’t lead the bad consequences

all our SS numbers are now on in North Macedonia

Well, not sure those count as Crimes Against Humanity either.

lol there’s a dedicated wikipedia page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_involving_the_Department_of_Government_Efficiency?wprov=sfti1

maybe not crimes against humanity, but crimes against the constitution and actually existing US laws

like this is actual real unconstitutional shit not “Obama wearing a tan suit” unconstitutional shit like the tea partiers whined

My suspicion is Elon was intentionally trying to get as many poor people killed as possible and if you audit their communications I am sure there will be messages where he says this outright

the dude basically gave a word for word rewrite of Enoch Powell‘s rivers of blood speech

I was originally thinking that Dem contenders for President in 2028 should promise that if they are elected, they will ceremonially blow up anything the orange rapist builds (arches, ballrooms, other dumb shit). But then, why should the government have all of the fun? I'd really love to see a Dem candidate promise that anyone who votes in 2028 (doesn't matter for whom, just be on the rolls as "voted"), and also donates $50 to any of the DOGE-slashed orgs that aid marginalized communities, gets handed a sledgehammer and gets 10 swings at these monuments to greed and chuddery. It would simultaneously replenish the coffers of important orgs and boost voter turnout among the most-favorable demographics.

This sledgehammering would be supervised by construction and demolition professionals (unionized, of course)

xpost yeah, amid the AI furor, I've seen/heard interiews with journalists who have been covering (what some in Silicon Valley reportedly call) the Geek Reich for quite a while. And if AI takes jobs from a lotta people, you make sure there are fewer people. There's more furor in the midst of that, which is all the more reason to close the gates, or vote for those who give you the impression that you might be inside the gates.
(Also: Once there were worries in Israel about a coming Palestinian majority, but now...)

That’s ’nerd Reich’ actuellement.

huh wow trump voters are gonna stay home wow

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/elections/trump-voter-enthusiasm-midterms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HFE.LD2S.fKQ-k6n2VOAm&smid=url-share

“President Trump has been saying, ‘Vote as if I was on the ballot,’ and that’s exactly what I’m going to do — not vote,” said Brandon Tremaine, 24, a graduate student in Texas who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020. “You do not campaign on being the ticket of peace and start a war of choice that is directly hurting Americans here at home and gotten Americans killed overseas.”

a 24-year-old grad student who voted for Trump in 2020

lets go brandon

kids these days

studying what, I wonder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bt1946/

govt and publis service lol

damn was about to put money on engineering

sorry public not pubic. pubis. sorry.

Valet Supervisor

SP+ (SP Plus) · Part-time

Oct 2021 - Jul 2024 · 2 yrs 10 mos

he's gay

President Deals baby

Millions of Americans who buy cheap drugs from Canada could soon lose access when a customs rule goes into effect later this month, a change that has sparked opposition from Democrats and some Republicans with the cost of living a top issue for voters ahead of midterm elections.

https://apnews.com/article/drug-prices-trump-customs-canada-healthcare-f3986c8d9214f57c3a5233b6c0a2a2fa

When I was a lad in Western NY, "cheap drugs from Canada" meant something different. But those would get stopped at the border too.

Valet Supervisor

SP+ (SP Plus) · Part-time

Oct 2021 - Jul 2024 · 2 yrs 10 mos

he's gay

that’s valet parking (SP+ is a garage operator), are they known to be gay? they’re all black/brown immigrants here in DC

yeah these are all latino or fillipino immigrants in the bay area

more rot at the top

Days before her confirmation hearing last year, U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle asked one of President Trump’s donors to wire her American Express account $100,000, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

“You could just send it here. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote to Eric Deters on Signal, the Journal reported. “Please.”

Guilfoyle also sent Deters instructions on how to wire money to her American Express account and called the Trump donor twice, according to the outlet.

The then-nominee to lead the U.S. Embassy asked Deters to wire her the money on July 3, 2025, six days before her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It is funny to see these rich mfers complain that they didn't get anything in return for their hundred of thousands in bribes.

Ambassador to Greece

Ambassador to greased palms, more like

Among other things, the former Trump donor explained, he once offered to pay Guilfoyle $1 million in exchange for securing him an interview on Tucker Carlson’s show. While Guilfoyle said she could get Carlson to agree to the interview, she was unable to convince him.

“She never came through on anything,” Deters explained.

In another alleged blowup, sources claim Guilfoyle demoted the agent in charge of her security detail because he didn't answer her 4 a.m. call to deliver her ice cubes. The Mail reports she barked the order while drinking in Mykonos.

"Guilfoyle was drinking at four in the morning, she called her security detail, Vasili, a grandfather, who was sleeping obviously, and did not respond," a source told the Mail. "Next day, she demoted him."

Outbursts have become such an issue that the tabloid writes that the Hellenic Police Department even got involved as staff reported "verbal abuse" by Guilfoyle.

Zorba the Greek Butler

“You could just send it here. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote to Eric Deters on Signal, the Journal reported. “Please.”

american express is basically the dark web

One of the biggest black marks against Gavin Newsom is his former dalliance with her... it shows poor judgement

Meanwhile, also in Greece, Rubio's speech at the Acropolis sure was something.

“The word ‘nationalism’ became a dirty word, so we tore down our monuments,” Rubio said. “We condemned our own history, and in too many places, we taught our children to be ashamed of the country they would inherit.”

I would love some specificity on which of "our monuments" he's talking about.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/07/rubio-greece-trump-america-first-speech

The AP coverage of the speech also notes this:

Rubio also hailed the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés as an heir to the Athenian concept of exploring and pursuing knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

Huh. I must be thinking of some other Cortes.

https://apnews.com/article/greece-rubio-speech-western-values-25c026d0330187a7cc8932665d63c7e4

In the news this month: terrible people associated with Greek life

some specificity on which of "our monuments" he's talking about

currently working on the Kennedy Center

In the messages, Guilfoyle admonished Deters for discussing the payments via text messages, writing "Eric, I really wish you would stop papering all these things. It's really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on signal (sic)."

in a better reality this cartoon caricature of a smoking gun would yield consequences

'Papering'? i.e. leaving a traceable paper trail?... damn she knows her corruption

yeah Rubio's speech in Greece seems like confirmation that he's already in 2028 mode... I wouldn't be surprised if he steps down as Secretary of State, to have more time for the stink to dissipate

trump would say such mean things about him, he prob will regardless

yeah you can't win with Trump... he turns on everybody eventually

he really hates marco too tho maybe not as much as jd

a nice thing for rubio is that he's already had the experience of being the enemy and in trump's crosshairs, and since trump's brain oozed out of his ears long ago, he probably won't come up with any new creative insults. we'll be hearing about "little marco" whenever the rift happens

some day natalie harp's maniacal devotion will fail a test of loyalty and later that same day Trump will call her stupid, weak, and very untrustworthy.

rubio should give his presidential announcement speech from a dismantled throne in havana lit up by candles because he decided to punish the people of cuba in order to increase his own personal power

My wife is on Medicare and we got our $90 bribe today. Going to turn it straight around to Cliff Johnson (running against Trent Kelly in MS-1) and Scott Colom (running against Cindy Hyde-Smith for US Senate), $45 each plus maybe a little extra.

ustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

i hate it here

we're doing public executions now btw

Trump calling for the people of Minnesota to rise up against their Somali invaders

we're doing public executions now btw

will they be done in Tennessee? Because they seem to have a pretty bad track record of successfully executing people on the first try

People hate Trump in MN more than they dislike Somalis. Ilhan, get your gundam!

Look, all I'm saying is if we're setting a precedent for politically motivated public executions, people are gonna start making wish lists.

Speak of the devil:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could barely contain his excitement Thursday when discussing an upcoming execution of a man by firing squad. And he wants you to watch.
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Hegseth told MAGA influencer and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec.

lol just got an RNC robocall. Keep wasting your money!

I legit cannot believe that announcement about the Ft. Hood shooter. so utterly fucking depraved

truly psychotic, cant imagine itll actually happen

"cant imagine itll actually happen"

You sure you want to put that down on the record?

(I absolutely think it'll happen, but who knows if network advertisers will respond)

lmao "the record"

We've already had an American president call for the nuking of two US cities this week. Why would public televised executions be so imaginary?

'the record" will live within some lonesome data center for as long as the electricity stays on. maybe it's not as enduring as cuneiform on a baked clay tablet, but enduring enough.

im printing it out and putting it in a big book

(big book immediately burns up in climate change enhanced fire)

nevertheless

but who knows if network advertisers will respond

ahh, but there's TRUMP TV now!

By next summer Trump TV will be 24 hours of executions

No advertisers needed - entire network can run off of a national lottery to be one of the shooters during an execution

Marafatsos! This may be based on the paywalled WSJ, at least in part, goes w what I heard of on MSNOW this morning:

Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Close Ties to ‘Mystery Man’ Lobbyist Reportedly Baffle Euro Officials

I meant that I just heard end of MSNOW discussion this morning.

hegseth is a psychopath

Apparently this fucking asshole is coming to Kalispell (30 minutes' drive from me) next week to "stump for" himself Aaron Flint, Ryan Zinke's hand-picked replacement for his House seat. The Montana Free Press (no connection to Bari Weiss) sez:

“It’s always been a challenge in midterm elections. No one is thinking about the race,” said Al Olszewski, a former Flathead County Republican chair who has been on the ballot for both state and federal offices. “It’s bow hunting season. It’s still boating season. The fishing is excellent in the fall. There are high school sports. Everyone is still outside trying to get that last bit of summer.”

...

With gas prices pushing Montana’s cost of living upward, and Trump’s popularity dipping, the Western District election has become Montana’s hottest race. In the Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll, conducted in the first week of September, Flint drew a 42% polling share when 375 registered voters were asked who they would vote for if the election were held at that moment. Forstag drew a 41% polling share. Nick Sheedy, the Libertarian candidate, drew 5%.

lol when they cut to the wide shot and he standing right there

Ossoff: "Tonight, a united Georgia will hear the trial of Mike Collins. Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists. And he's sold out Georgia in his pathetic child-like devotion to Donald Trump."

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mxfl36bxl22c

...in the twilight zone

Needs a cigarette

yeah Ossoff should lean into his Serling vibe, everyone loves Rod Serling or at least I do

supercut of ossoff repeatedly calling that old boy a nazi to his face lol thats the stuff im libin out https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mxfply6ofk2u

Yes, but Hasan Piker

incredible retort to charges of racism accusing the other guy of associating with muslims and the linkedin guy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmy0r96xygx6o

thank you to Chris Murphy for really crystallizing where the US is as a country right now. Hegseth announces the govt is going to livestream the execution of a Muslim and Murphy's response is to say wow that sounds like something Muslims would do

He said it was something ISIS would do, which they have.

it is an isis classic tbf

come on you know better than that, public execution isn't culturally islamic. public execution of a person of color as entertainment is a white american tradition

why mention ISIS at all?

its the live streaming

now that the government has set the president I would like to see live streamed executions of Pete Hegseth, and other regime capos

“the precedent”

come on you know better than that, public execution isn't culturally islamic. public execution of a person of color as entertainment is a white american tradition

Uh, sure. (backs away)

its the live streaming

― lag∞n, Friday, October 9, 2026 10:45 AM (two minutes ago)

I don't see how the tech is more salient than it being a public spectacle. anyway my point is that the motive for doing this is very clearly racist, and it's pathetic that a liberal like Murphy can't think his way out of the same racist tropes

i mean you have a point but also the particularities of the situation are pretty isisy, and isis is front of mind because public executions havent happened for a while around here

Hegseth would have been at a lynching, hooting and hollering, guaranteed

its not really like a lynching its an official state sanctioned public execution its more medieval style

the line between lynchings and state-sanctioned executions was super blurry though. the last public execution in the US was basically a lynching by the state of Kentucky: https://www.wkms.org/history/2025-10-15/20-000-people-watched-a-black-man-hang-in-owensboro-90-years-ago-a-new-book-looks-at-why

i mean yeah but still

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xhizxbb5x5qox3oule4rudeo/bafkreid4lc5f5mblaprmrq7lkqma6ftzpiq4zwaxkfhamml6px6jnukiu4

this mailer runs the risk of awakening uncomfortable feelings in the very voters theyre attempting to target

Woke seems like some nice boys

I would watch that Richard Linklater movie

Sorry, it’s only available with a Daily Wire subscription

Hegseth is pure Vanilla Isis/Y’all Qaida anyway.

this mailer runs the risk of awakening uncomfortable feelings in the very voters theyre attempting to target

― lag∞n, Friday, October 9, 2026

That's it -- I'm choosin' Texas.

lol

The public execution is vile enough, but I’m imagining Hegseth will want to have some sort of insane speech beforehand

it's vile and probably counter-productive; it will be an inspiration to would-be martyrs all over the world

yep martyrdom is a big reason not to have them and these idiots should know that

These maniacs think they're in a holy war with Islam, so while I don't agree that vengeance from "would-be martyrs" should be very high on the list of concerns here, they would welcome it anyway.

martyrdom is a big reason not to have them

Depends on what your goals are. The last time a large group of muslims martyred themselves in the USA the Congress handed a Republican president a blank check to torture people, tap phone conversations by the millions, conduct body searches as a condition of flying, drop bombs like confetti, and invade any nation he felt like invading.

FBI Is Angling to Hand the UFC a No-Bid Contract to Train Agents

what can it be

President Trump teased an upcoming announcement Friday from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as well as one pertaining to diesel.

“We have a big announcement coming up on diesel,” Trump said, speaking at a Columbus Day celebration in the White House East Room.

I hope it’s about a Groot movie.

like— if you’re not prepared for cannolis and magnets from himself at the Feast— have you ever really understood the boss? have you understood the Feast at all?

It's buying diesel from Russia, isn't it?

a pipeline across the bering strait

oh my god.. Eazy nailed it:

President Trump on Friday announced Russia will supply the U.S. and global market with diesel amid soaring fuel prices.

“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

fucking insane

the russians are coming, the russians are coming

so we are going to fund the war in Ukraine

yup.. Lindsay Graham would be shitting his pants if he heard this

is this something a president can do unilaterally? Because, you know, sanctions

jfc this week has really ramped up the batshit insanity

nothing really matters at all, does it?

it's kinda crazy that it took this long for an Administration to figure out how to do almost anything they want

seems like their massive unpopularity is driving it, its desperate and reckless

yeah totally but they are still accomplishing a bunch of fucked up shit

y'know, also whatever the fuck this tidbit is hinting at about more from the Project 2025 team:

“Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, who’s fantastic, he’s on a job, we have some big surprises coming up in another few weeks. Right, Russ?” Trump said. “He’s gonna be one of the very important people in the history of our country, in my opinion. He’s got some great things happening.”

it's called Trump Diesel and can only be found at Freedom Fuel stations, and can only be purchased with Trump crypto

we have some big surprises coming up in another few weeks. Right, Russ?

public hangings of democrats, I assume

fwiw russia has been able to sell petroleum products throughout the war, thing is no one really wants the russian oil off the market because that would cause the cost of oil to go up globally so theyve sought to put restrictions on how russia can sell it in a way that makes it less profitable, thereby hurting russias finances but not the rest of the worlds, or at least thats the idea

yeah totally but they are still accomplishing a bunch of fucked up shit

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, October 9, 2026 4:52 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

theyre def causing a lot of damage and weve still got 2+ years left of this shit, as to whether theyre making progress on their long term goals idk hard to say

we should probably just buy Iranian diesel, probably cheap these days

President Vladimir Putin, of Russia

thanks for the clarification

Ask a robot: How long will it take for Russian diesel sales to affect prices?

Energy analysts and reports indicate that new sales of Russian diesel are unlikely to cause significant or immediate drops in global or U.S. diesel prices.Washington Post

Timeline of Scheduled Shipments

• October 2026 (Immediate): Russia is slated to begin releasing over 300,000 tons of diesel following a temporary U.S. sanctions waiver issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury through April 7, 2027. NBC News
• November 2026: An additional 500,000 tons are scheduled for delivery. Yahoo
• Later Phases: Incremental batches of 1 million tons and up to 3 million more tons are proposed, though no fixed calendar has been set for the later volumes. Yahoo

Why Prices May Not Drop Quickly

• Severe Supply Shortages: Russian diesel output has fallen by roughly 30% due to ongoing Ukrainian refinery attacks and domestic constraints, raising doubts about whether Moscow can comfortably export these volumes without tightening its own internal market. NPR
• Logistics and Scale: Energy analysts note that initial volumes are relatively small compared to total global consumption and face substantial transport and logistical hurdles.Washington Post
• Market Skepticism: Analysts characterize the policy shift as largely performative in the short term, meaning immediate relief at the pump for truckers, farmers, and consumers is uncertain or minimal. Washington Times

Raising doubts about whether Moscow can comfortably export these volumes without tightening its own internal market.be

That about upcoming releases vs. global consumption could be major hurdle, and oil prices are always largely determined by global market.

(Livestreamed execution sched for Dec.3, so expect seasonal watch parties, incl w Santa hats and halos in online depictions.)(Enhanced by election results, no matter how those go.)

Content creation - it's all they got

Russia is gonna build the largest drone factory in Iowa, biggest in the world, bringing great high-paying jobs but ONLY if the GOP wins the midterms

I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia,

Oh, you mean THAT Vladimir Putin.

lol JD Vance hates Hegseth: https://apnews.com/article/fort-hood-execution-hegseth-vance-e806a305d9c6460aa20b14e40047680e

yeah I'll bet Usha chimed in on this

its just such a deranged idea

"all firing squad, no more wink & nod.. all televised, not moralized.."

how humiliating. please please let me in the bunker. pls let me in so my great great grandkids will never have to work

Will they livestream one or more of the shooters vomiting afterward?

Pete himself will be the executioner

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwyuQxcVo3CWTi2kLl8Z_ptKKJ6uUvr42EvcfKiA2He5CMBzL1dwpyqJ2zwbQq_H0G6QKyeYXFx34x_Jg4ovOi2BYChTq0O_tlIimzHYzWQk0HotRbeTlZnRG06xQCNcar_sEZB33HP0/s1600/WILD+HARE+%25282%2529.png

They skipped right past the part of dystopian future where we get a “Running Man” style game show & skipping straight to televised execution ffs

(All this is horrifying I just don’t know how else to process this fucking shit anymore)

Don’t forget that this same administration was floating not that long ago a proposal to let immigrants fight each other in Running Man type games for citizenship.

Schumer’s response to recent ICE in NY shooting seems as weak as all his comments on ICE. He should vow that A Dem congress will take back all that extra money given to ICE and narrow and transfer its job duties since its out of control officers keep acting in illegal ways and just grab hard working people. But instead he just says the below:

“new Yorkers deserve the full truth about what happened. DHS must immediately release all body camera footage and ensure a full, independent investigation. When excessive force is used, there must be accountability. No one is above the law.”

what’s the surprise here, Schumer’s a Republican in all but name

the administration’s outright lean into openly hostile villain mode is something I hope gets taught once *fingers crossed* the dust settles and whatever democracy ruins remain.

imo Schumer is Senate Minority Leader largely because he is not a leader at all, but a conciliator who never asserts any power or authority over the Democratic senators in his caucus. He rarely asks the Minority Whip to whip any stray votes into line on controversial bills or amendments if the senator pleads that it may lose support by voting with the rest of the caucus.

This strategy seems based on the idea that it is counterproductive to whip a reluctant vote if the Republicans will filibuster the bill and the vote will fail anyway. He apparently has no sense that a strong unified front behind a clear agenda produces a party identity, but by combining consistent lack of success to pass bills with consistent lack of identity with voters, he has almost destroyed the party.

I don't think this is quite what's happening. I think they look at the margins of a vote, and determine how many votes they can give to pass or tank it and then designate people from their caucus to be the spoiler votes. It's carefully orchestrated vote theater.

If Dems win Senate or House will anyone challenge Schumer or Jeffries for the leadership role ? Or at least advocate for things beyond the narrow confines of what Schumer and Jeffries want?

My guess is no to the first question and probably yes to the second.

In other words, I think Schumer and Jeffries are shoe-ins for their leadership roles, but that doesn't make them the sole voices for setting the agenda.

The day after Trump decides to buy Russian diesel fuel, Ukraine hits Russia export port w/ drones.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/86663

Witnessed an assault of a protester by a local white nationalist at a right-wing event today. I had a clear view of it — unprovoked, the guy smacked the phone out of the protester’s hand and then punched him right in the face. It was during the lead up to the event, so there weren’t that many people around. I immediately called it in to 911, and the cops did come. After taking statements, they eventually said that since they didn’t see it the victim would have to file a complaint and swear out a warrant on Monday. I do realize that’s the law, but I still gave the cops some grief about it. I also texted the mayor and her chief of staff, because I know them well. They assured me “the chief knows about it.” Fortunately, the guy who got assaulted posted a video of it that quickly spread around online, and between all of that the cops eventually decided they had enough to charge the guy. It’s just a misdemeanor so they just wrote him a citation, but it was infuriating to see him inside this event venue hanging out with his other white nationalist bros when I had seen him just clock this guy. At least he has a court date.

This was the video, which gives the setup but you don’t actually see the punch that came after he smacked the phone.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19o91nFB7r/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Was visiting relatives in Columbus, Ohio and watching lots of football on tv and saw so many insane Republican ads against Dem Senator candidate Sherrod Brown . A trans one; a Veterans health one ; a he’s an old liberal one. There were some Brown ads but not as many. Plenty of commercials for governor too, plus ones for other states.

Republicans were making up all kinds of stuff when Talarico was struggling with the flu recently. An Ohio hospital had to issue a denial that he was hospitalized there for mental health issues.

im enjoying how much talarico is breaking the texas gop's brains

Ilhan Omar's home raided by Feds.

jesus christ

The search was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations agents, said the people, who were not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. More details about the investigation and its focus were not immediately clear, though Vice President JD Vance last May signaled that the Trump administration would investigate Omar for immigration fraud allegations, which she has denied.

Mark Jacob
@markjacob.bsky.social
· 27m
Fox, probably being fed info from the regime, says the feds' search of Rep. Ilhan Omar's home "stems from a criminal fraud investigation into the Somali-born congresswoman's immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her late father when she was a child."
In other words, it's fascist bullshit.

looking forward to several weeks of "so what, they raided Mar-a-Lago" while ignoring the fact that they found dozens of boxes of classified material there that he had illegally stolen

Was just thinking this morning, we really gotta win the Senate. At this point the House race is done and it doesn't matter whether we win b one seat, five seats, or 20 seats. The Senate's where the power is and we gotta wait out the clock re Alito and Thomas.

xpost
I mean I certainly don't give DHS any benefit of the doubt but if they are truly going on her immigration paperwork yeah they got nothing

Yeah "filled out by her late father when she was a child," zomg please explain the urgent national security threat of this

https://bsky.app/profile/andycraig.bsky.social/post/3mxoldliskg2v

what exactly were they looking for? her immigration papers from 35 years ago?

apparently, yes

They fell out of her dad's pocket when he was sleeping on the sofa.

when can we expect a strongly worded letter from Jeffries on the matter? can't wait to hear from him about how this is also not an impeachable offense

FUCKING HELL.

Her dad died from Covid during the pandemic. What sick assholes.

also don't you need a warrant to do this? doesn't some judge need to sign off at least?

of all the members of Congress to mess with Omar is one of the worst, she doesn't seem to be easily intimidated and it's guaranteed she's going to make a lot of noise about this

This must be some "fire up the base" bullshit before the election.

I think it's more Trump hates Somalis and hates Omar in particular

backfire is probably too strong a word but this seems sorta dumb on it's face

i’d do a public response of like “things they didn’t find in my place:
1. a scintilla of evidence of immigration fraud, and then

2, 3, 4 etc— *enumated list of all the classified shit and public property they found at marylargo*

good thing, Trump ended the weaponization of the federal government against political enemies

they definitely chose the wrong woman to fight with, persecution of timid centrists might have more of a chilling effect

they're pretty stupid though

they think this makes them look strong

i hate them they suck so bad

the worst

Also this admin's obsession with MN is getting pretty tiresome at this point

Let us get back to being flyover country thx!

Ilhan Omar
@ilhanmn.bsky.social
· 15m
I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.

I will not be silenced.

I am sure there is bound to be a strongly worded statement of support for Omar from the leader of the House Dems right? RIGHT?

I'm sure we'll get something like, "No American deserves to be targeted for political revenge by this Administration. And if Rep. Omar is determined to be an American we will stand with her."

Dems social accounts are posting ‘we stand with Ilhan Omar’ fwiw

But but but you see Democrats weaponized the government first so Republicans had to weaponize back, don't you see

The GOP is running anti-Troy Jackson ads in Portland. Portland, Oregon.

I am sure there is bound to be a strongly worded statement of support for Omar from the leader of the House Dems right? RIGHT?

― chr1sb3singer, Monday, October 12, 2026 9:22 AM

Jefferies' statement says it is "deeply disturbing", wish I was making that shit up but nope

Jeffries otm.

Better Things Are Possible
@internethippo.bsky.social
· 5m
General observation that goes beyond this statement: I think corporate-speak is a blight, and not only politically unappealing but also has a tendency to (sorry) normalize the torrent of shit being hurled at us. There's a way to speak plainly and forcefully that isn't boorish OR sterile

Jeffries' statement actually wasn't so bad, just wish he'd lay out what, exactly "accountability" looks like, given he has already said he does not support impeachment

I did appreciate Tina Smith's statement. idk abt Jefferies, I'm just so sick of his shit at this point, he has a higher bar to clear

Klobuchar's statement is appalling, of course

Pookleblinky
@pookleblinky.bsky.social
· 3h
If dem leaders weren't complicit pieces of shit they would have already made strong statements condemning this and supporting her, hours ago.

a majority of them been pathetic it's no surprise

Was visiting relatives in Columbus, Ohio and watching lots of football on tv and saw so many insane Republican ads against Dem Senator candidate Sherrod Brown . A trans one; a Veterans health one ; a he’s an old liberal one. There were some Brown ads but not as many. Plenty of commercials for governor too, plus ones for other states.

― curmudgeon, Sunday

why is this happening? I don't recall seeing ads for out of state candidates in the past, now I feel like I'm streaming off some pirate site I found on Reddit whenever I watch an NFL game. I dont live in Texas, I can't vote for Ken Paxton!! do they just have more money than they know what to do with?

small government anti-federalist "conservatives" are nationalizing midterm elections like they're abject hypocrites

why is this happening? I don't recall seeing ads for out of state candidates in the past, now I feel like I'm streaming off some pirate site I found on Reddit whenever I watch an NFL game. I dont live in Texas, I can't vote for Ken Paxton!! do they just have more money than they know what to do with?

As I've mentioned before, my wireless internet connection thinks it's in a different state all the time, so when I'm on YouTube (which now runs two ads before the video you've clicked on starts playing, and more in the middle of it), I see ads for candidates in Kansas, Illinois, Arizona, or wherever... in between ads asking me to donate to Talarico's campaign.

Yeah, I'm seeing ads for the first time in my life for and against candidates a couple districts north of me!

at least that’s Florida!

https://www.chron.com/culture/article/ken-paxton-nfl-commercials-texas-22462936.php

The answer as to why Republicans would spend millions of dollars to air ads for people who can't vote in Texas is two-fold. First off, it probably doesn't hurt to get Paxton in front of people who might be sympathetic to his campaign and chip him a few dollars. But as political advertising news account Medium Buying pointed out on X, it's actually cheaper to pay for an ad the whole country will see rather than advertising just to Texans. Two Texas metro areas, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, are in the top 10 largest, and therefore most expensive, media markets in the nation.

"The cost to air a single 30-second spot in the big four Texas markets (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin) during Cowboys-Texans was more than *$2M*," Medium Buying wrote on X.

For reference Medium Buying noted that KFOX in El Paso, which covers three area counties, wanted $200,000 for an ad. And as CBS News White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe wrote on X, many stations in local markets like Dallas are completely booked up. In contrast, nationwide outlets like Fox still had short, 30-second blocks of airtime available to the highest bidder. While it's unclear how much the national ad buy may have cost, Texas PAC has already unloaded an eye-popping amount of money in the Texas Senate race. Since being formed last month, Texas PAC has spent more than $131 million to boost Paxton.

I could do amazing shit with $131 million

The modern Republican Party and its voters, summed up in two sentences from the Detroit Free Press:

Editor's note: In letters sent after the Oct. 8 U.S. Senate debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, most writers either viewed the debate as a wash, or believed El-Sayed was the winner. We strive to present a fair reflection of reader sentiment when publishing letters to the editor, but the two letters from readers who considered Rogers the winner contained racial and ethnic slurs - as well as demonstrably false claims about El-Sayed - and thus did not meet our standards for publication.

lol two letters

Local Nazi update, fun times here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f344IAmqZRM

that Chron article doesn't make sense to me..."First off, it probably doesn't hurt to get Paxton in front of people who might be sympathetic to his campaign and chip him a few dollars"...how much of the ad spend could they possibly be getting back this way? I'd wager anything individual donors are giving more to Talarico than Paxton as a result of these ads. secondly it claims it's actually cheaper to advertise nationally than statewide but only reveals how expensive statewide is ($200,000) and mentions national goes "to the highest bidder"...ok, what's the highest bidder? Super Bowl ads were $8m in 2026. 200k would be 2.5% of what a Super Bowl ad costs...we sure a primetime NFL spot doesn't cost more than that?

I'm sincerely amazed that anyone using youtube or a web browser that isn't running uBlock or another adblocker

I figured more people having cut the cord on cable tv subscriptions, changes the way ads are sold, bought, and seen

There's a way to speak plainly and forcefully that isn't boorish OR sterile

a million times this

I assume when I read the GOP have spent $150 million campaigning in Texas that means they spent about $30 million on actual ads and mailings and an army of grifters pocketed the rest, and honestly would assume the same thing about DNC campaign spending

The campaign consultants get a commission for every ad they place, so that's why you always see the bulk of campaign money dumped into tv and radio ads.

On the other hand if this money is going to exist I do not mind it being flushed away on losing campaigns.

this new Press Sec can barely read

Drats, Guilfoyled again!

I'm sincerely amazed that anyone using youtube or a web browser that isn't running uBlock or another adblocker

youtube periodically flat out stops working if you use an ad blocker, but then ublockorigin updates and it works again (currently, it works, for now, though youtube throws up a message asking if you're 'experiencing interruptions'). but yes, in general, I dont' understand people who don't use adblockers, the internet at large is basically unusable without them

press briefing was amazingly awful also wtf is she wearing, she looks like a playboy cover from 1986

so glad people are getting hired on merit again

Who's the new Greece ambassador? Tyson?

Danny Zuko

I believe colleges have some toxic Greeks handy, if that helps.

More on money, it may not be the case that D spending is as grift-o-riffic as R spending, because candidate donations differ from PAC donations:

We’ve seen the diminishing role of money in politics this cycle, and how outside money can even turn toxic. This Republican spending advantage may be overwhelming, but it hasn’t really shown up in the polls. And since much of that GOP spending is pushed through outside super PACs and outside groups are charged far more per ad, the cash advantage doesn’t necessarily even translate into a major advertising advantage. Democrats have specialized more in direct donations to candidates, with $833 million going through fundraising platform ActBlue in the third quarter of the year, a new record. That money stretches further; to use one example from AdImpact, a 44 percent advantage in raw dollars on TV in the Texas Senate race translates to only an 8 percent advantage in ad airings.

https://prospect.org/2026/10/12/midterms-democrats-election-spending-super-pacs-progressive-will-lawrence/

So yes please by all means, chuds should still funnel their money into the Paxtons of the world.

she knows what the big man likes

re: the alleged “1986 Playboy” look

Xpost re Republican ads -

Elon Musk has quietly funneled more than $276 million into Republican groups and his super PAC since the start of July, building a huge turnout operation to help the party battle headwinds in the midterm elections.

The staggering amount of money makes Mr. Musk, the richest person in the world, by far the largest known donor in the midterms. Representatives for Mr. Musk supplied the previously unreported figures on his political giving to The New York Times before a federal filing deadline on Thursday.

In an effort to save Republicans’ Senate majority, he gave a total of $158 million this summer to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing the party’s candidates for the chamber, according to his team. In sum, that is one of the largest political donations in American history, and more than the group’s Democratic rival raised from all of its donors that quarter.

From NY Times

cuz he knows he's losing

what happened to his third party

the world is different now, not sure Musk's money will work like it used to. Literally the only political ads I see are Talarico or Al-Sayed fundraising ads, usually on youtube or instagram, and maybe some local candidate posters in liquor store windows. If I get a text, I delete it unread

he can spend as much money as he wants amplifying the GOP's message but right now the GOP doesn't really have a message outside of fealty to an 80 year old pedophile and torturing trans people even further. idk if that stuff is really playing as well as it used to now that we're at war.

xpost Yeah, every now and then I get a Josh Shapiro ad, but other than that it's just Talarico fundraising ads.

mildly surprised they asked Guilfoyle to step down, her corruption was pretty run-of-the-mill and it makes them look like they made a mistake by appointing her

She's a woman. Trump has no problem throwing them under the bus and he can pretend he's doing something about corruption without actually doing anything about the real corruption.

also Trump himself wasn't getting a cut, this is Racketeering 101

ah yes, those Chinese diploma mills

President Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia raised eyebrows on Tuesday when she was asked where she passed the bar exam, telling reporters that she did so when she moved to China.

“Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?” a reporter asked Trump, who turned to Zacharia to ask her, “which state?”

“When I moved to China,” Zacharia responded.

will she last longer than Scaramucci?

Speaking of recent appointments ...

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2026-10/13/18/subbuzz/zpZbq44o4.jpg

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/people-are-just-discovering-trumps-new-ambassador

these people look like Ralph Steadman drawings come to life

half-life

Human trafficking is a grave human rights issue that concerns [checks notes] humans

late stage mar-a-lago face

Several sources for this; here's one that also quotes WSJ:

So why did the Texas attorney general spend New Year’s Eve in Dubai with his mistress and two indicted men, one of whom donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his election efforts? His campaign didn’t have a solid answer.

nuke Dubai

it’s like the world playground of corruption

well the 60 day sentence for the child rapist didn't sink him, I doubt this will either

No, and even though he's got the negative charisma of Corey Lewandowski times Matt Gaetz times Ted Cruz times ten, and even though I knew some of this stuff, seeing all of it and more in one entry is bowelboggling:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Paxton

My 2028 pick

This is WILD. I legit thought it was a skit/high school video project.

It is 100% real.

This is Jaime West (Democratic Party) - she’s running for election for Fayette County Council, District 4 in Indiana.

I had to make sure she did not have a neurological disorder that could… pic.twitter.com/MD2MQ44MXx

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) October 13, 2026

i sorta wonder how she filled out the forms to run, or maybe it’s like kaufman level art comedy? i. i dunno.

my guess is a bottle of two-buck chuck out in the parking lot

The human trafficking guru lady looks like something from Inland Empire.

If Trump had said it, his base would be Hell Yeah.

Maybe thats the base shes trying to appeal to.

i’m gonna send that woman five dollars

I have long felt that the Fayette County Council needed a fresh outsider voice. For far too long, the region's feed silage commerce has been dominated by the McSwain brothers. Old man McSwain was too lenient with Jethro after the incident at the pond.

these clips of Andy Harris blowing his top on everyone yesterday are delightful. What a fucking choad

Gotta say that I just watched a clip of the Jackson/Collins debate and he absolutely smokes her several times, she also sounds old af and incredibly out to lunch. Hopefully the people of Maine see it the same way

the career of Andy Harris is instructive, he’s the lone republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation and represents a very Trumpy district. He’s never had to face serious opposition, and mutants like him have no idea how to handle discontent.

Yeah, when you see the chuds like Andy Harris who represent districts with that partisan composition, just think of the even more batshit chud(s) that they had to beat in the caucus or primary - yikes!

apparently he's a shoo-in to win this race too which is unfortunate

Honestly it's amazing a Republican in a safe district even did a public forum. None of ours do that.

On the bright side that performance suggests he will not go further. If he can't handle the heat of pushback on the Eastern Shore, a statewide race in Maryland would chew him to bits.

oh he would have no prayer statewide

these guys live in a different fucking world

Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council (NEC), said Wednesday he sees a “bunch of good news” in the latest inflation report, which measured prices as up 3.7 percent year over year in September.

“My expectation is that the strength of all the things that we’ve been doing in terms of getting food prices down and getting drug prices down, that strength is going to motor through,” Hassett remarked.

said with a silly smirk on his face

i voted today

The answer is always that things are just about to get better, just you wait.

I guess some of them believe it, but more likely they in fact do not give a shit.

Even appearing to register appropriate concern requires a familiarity with empathy — or at least the performance of empathy — that they just lack.

i voted today

I mailed my ballot yesterday.

I mailed my ballot yesterday.

oh boy

fraud!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, reminds me, I've seen a couple of things urging mail-in voters to send 'em ASAP, before the system gets clogged, which it prob will, reportedly.

planning on dropping mine off in the collection box outside city hall

I just dropped mine off at city hall too

for whatever reasons the algorithm has given me a lot of clips of him speaking in recent days, and I must say I don't know that much about him but Abdul El-Sayed is a phenomenally gifted politician

Yeah, just got served a clip of him defending campaigning w Obama despite having criticised Obama and he is very erudite and convincing and warm and human. Like, you'd sort of have to be a racist to not admire or be won over by him.

but socialism!

that’s funny, i found that viral clip nauseating.

He has a real genius way of making his questioner complicit in the response. "Do you love your dad?" "Did you go to a good public school?" Effective way of disarming somebody before they can do the follow-up.

“we can disagree about some things” like my dude, disagreeing with someone about certain policy positions is one thing, but disagreeing with someone because they ordered drone strikes against innocent people is a different level.

if my dad were a murderer, it’s pretty certain that i wouldn’t be like “well we disagree about some things.” that is some utterly weak justification.

now do i understand why he’s doing what he’s doing? from a political perspective it makes sense, but being a good politician is different than having an ounce of integrity

table, I'm not trying to get in a fight but do you envision any theoretical left politician that would be morally acceptable to you that could win a non-local election in the currently existing U.S. electoral system? if the answer is no, fair enough the country is fucked

I suppose we can fault El-Sayed for uttering a truth bomb months ago not knowing he'd need Barack Obama at his side three weeks from election.

what that viral AES clip most reminded me of was Obama's own 2008 speech about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, which is regarded as one of the best and most effective pieces of political rhetoric in recent decades.

Local coverage of the mad king's visit. I was surprised by the inclusion of facts in the piece.

Trump disputed any link between tariffs and inflation.

“We don’t have inflation and tariffs don’t cause inflation,” he said.

Government data released Wednesday showed inflation growing at an annual rate of 3.7%.

On global and national topics, Trump pledged that the war with Iran was near its end, an assertion he has made repeatedly since the war began in late February.

“It’s going to end,” he said. “It’s going to end very, very soon and when that happens oil is going to drop like a rock.”

The average cost for a gallon of gas in Montana was $4.49 as Trump was in Kalispell, roughly $1.40 more than a year ago.

Just FYI, so you all know where I live:

Kalispell may lag behind Missoula and Bozeman in terms of sheer numbers, but the Flathead Valley has long been a stronghold for the GOP. About 65% of the Flathead County vote went to Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Voter turnout tends to lag in non-presidential elections, leaving much more room for error in the 2026 race.

love to throw my friend under the bus for the amusement of political pundits xp

Yeah, reminds me, I've seen a couple of things urging mail-in voters to send 'em ASAP, before the system gets clogged, which it prob will, reportedly.

― dow, Wednesday, October 14, 2026 10:17 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I approve this action. For my part I plan to vote as soon as early voting opens where I am.

File under "Only in Washington, DC": https://wtop.com/dc/2026/10/reports-of-national-guard-troops-near-dc-ballot-drop-boxes-raise-legal-voter-intimidation-questions/

(In 2020 I made a point of putting my ballot in a drop box in the parking lot of a nearby police station.)

ums, if by non-local election you mean congress-senate-presidency, i am a fan of Omar, Tlaib, and a few others.