Election 2024 Part III: Out with the old!

Who do you think will win in November?

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Democrats sue to block Georgia rules they warn could delay certifying election results​

Lawsuit says changes by Republican-dominated board invite post-election chaos​

The state and national Democratic parties sued Monday to block two recent rules adopted by Georgia's State Election Board that could be used by county officials who want to refuse to certify an election, potentially causing delays in finalizing the state's results.

The lawsuit, filed before a state judge in Atlanta, argues the rules violate a state law that makes certification a mandatory duty.

The new rules were enacted after a trio of Republican partisans aligned with former president Donald Trump took control of the five-member regulatory board earlier this year. The Republican Party chair in Georgia praised the takeover of the board and later emailed proposed rule changes to board members, leading Democrats to allege that a body that had a formal nonpartisan role is now a direct tool of Trump.

A Democratic state senator and the former chair of the Fulton County elections board have both sent letters demanding that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp remove the three Trump-aligned members for violating state ethics laws.

The lawsuit, meanwhile, says the rules invite post-election chaos, and that the board is defying state law and more than a century of court precedent in Georgia.

"According to their drafters, these rules rest on the assumption that certification of election results by a county board is discretionary and subject to free-ranging inquiry that may delay certification or foreclose it entirely. But that is not the law in Georgia," states the lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court.

'Reasonable inquiry' debated​

The board has no direct role in determining election results, but hears complaints about alleged violations and writes rules to ensure that elections run smoothly.

But its actions play out in the crucial swing state of Georgia, which has had years of partisan battles over voting procedures.

Trump faces prosecution in a sprawling racketeering case into his efforts to prevent Joe Biden's electoral win in Georgia in 2020, though efforts by his legal team have managed to delay the case from heading to trial before the election. Trump was recorded in a January 2021 phone call asking a top state official to "find" votes that could see him overtake Biden in the totals.

Those racketeering charges also target a handful of people over an incident in which Trump loyalists were able to access election machines in Coffee County, at the invitation of local Republican officials there.

The Democratic lawsuit specifically cites language added by one rule to require county election officials to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" before certifying results. It also takes aim at a second rule that allows county election officials "to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections."

The first rule does not define "reasonable inquiry" and the second "has no basis in the election code or case law," the suit argues. Alleged fraud or misconduct should be handled by the courts, not by county officials as they tally results, the plaintiffs argue.

Pro-Trump Republicans argue the rules just reinforce a county election board's existing duty to thoroughly examine election results, noting each board member must swear an oath to compile "true and perfect" results.

"These common-sense changes will benefit all Georgians, regardless of political affiliation as they are all designed to increase transparency and public confidence regarding our elections," state Republican Party chair Josh McKoon said in a statement Monday.

Trump praises new board members at rally​

In Georgia, state officials had to order rural Coffee County to certify in 2020. In May Republican-appointed Fulton County election board member Julie Adams refused to certify primary election results after she filed a lawsuit backed by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute that argues county election board members have the discretion to reject certification.

Counties that refused to certify in November would undoubtedly face lawsuits asking judges to order county boards to perform their legal duties. And it's unlikely Fulton County or any of the state's five other most populous counties, all reliably Democratic, would reject certification. Instead, refusals to certify would likely come from smaller, more Republican counties.

At the national level, Georgia congress member Lucy McBath on Monday expressed concern about "creating barriers to counting votes and certifying the election so Donald Trump can once again attempt to throw our country into chaos."

Trump praised the three news members by name during an Aug. 3 rally in Atlanta saying the three "are all pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory," but criticized the Democrat on the board and the nonpartisan chair appointed by Kemp, saying they "aren't so good."

In May, the Georgia House announced the most recent change to the board with the appointment of Janelle King, a media personality who co-founded a conservative political action committee.

In January, Kemp appointed Waffle House executive John Fervier to chair the board, and the Georgia Senate approved the nomination of former Republican state Sen. Rick Jeffares. Dr. Janice Johnston holds a spot on the board that's appointed by the Republican party, and Sara Tindall Ghazal is the Democratic Party appointee.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/georgia-election-board-dispute-1.7305822
 
Gori the Grey said:
Ok, but then my main point still holds: Trump can't gain votes by adopting (any more of) an anti-woke policy (than he already has).
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Probably.
Though I have to say, Trump is such a bizarre wild card with his ability to grab a huge part of the electorate despite being beyond a caricature, that I am pretty reluctant to make any sort of prediction about him.
 
Yeah, but not suddenly grab some new portion of the electorate. Everyone knows his schtick by now and either loves it or hates it.

He's not changing his schtick, and people aren't changing how they feel about it.
 
I basically agree Trump is selling identity and expecting further sales in 2 months isn't reasonable.

So what would the last foreseeable shakeups be?

Trump seems compelled by his personality to attack Harris personally. It hasn't stuck yet, but one of his attack lines may. I kinda doubt this, though. Not likely while she's actively and imo skillfully denying him opportunity.

Trump manages to contain himself, and successfully ties her to immigration and inflation consistently. This he may be able to do, provided he sees it resonate sufficiently with his crowds.

Trump or Harris manage to outclass the other at the debate. Possible either way. I dunno how Harris will do... everyone's thought they'll destroy Trump, has never worked out that way.

Trump manages to be so overwhelmingly uncivil it turns people off. I'm kinda numb to his outrages, but to many, particularly older people, his lack of manners is egregiously offensive, escalating to venomous resentment in some... he could probably accelerate that in 2 months. Make some more never Trumpers.

Trump's scandals finally damage his position in some way. Possible, unlikely imo. Woulda already if it were gonna.

Totally unforeseeable? Harris could have a scandal. No clue what it'd be. Seems pretty clean, and probably no shortage of people willing to be hush about it given that she's from California and Trump is leperous amongst her class in that state. Sorta an unspoken advantage of bring from Cali... very few with history and proximity whose sympathies she doesn't entirely command.
 
lol it’s a coin flip
IMG_3696.jpeg
 
Astounding parallel between the fear of standard bearers opening their mouth. Fear of Biden opening his mouth and revealing he has lost it has segued into the fear of Harris opening her mouth and revealing that she never had it.

So, we literally have a presidential nominee following the ancient advice, keeping her mouth shut that she might be thought an idiot rather than opening her mouth and removing all doubt.

It has done a wonderful job of lowering expectations such that if she can speak without drooling, cackling or giggling she should be in like Flynn. However, I don't think she can do it in any depth. So, one interview and one debate and if she survives that no reason to expect to see anything but her shadow until after the votes are cast.
 
Sommerswerd said:
Being anti-woke doesn't resonate because its too political. For the average person that claims to be independent, they specifically don't want to identify with either major party, so for them ultra partisan stuff is a turn off. They don't want to associate with anti-woke. To people who are not ultra partisan, it comes off as fake, trying too hard, mean-spirited and in some cases, punching down for no reason. Something that springs to mind is the "Love" signs and messages that Disneyworld put up in a few places in the park with pride flags or in pride colors. Literally just the word "Love" in rainbow colours. Why be against that? Why waste time criticizing that? You're being extra hateful... doing too much. It's off putting. It invokes the message of that Taylor Swift song "You need to calm down". Taylor Swift resonates. Anti-woke doesn't.

Its the same sort of sentiment as when Hillary Clinton said "basket-of-deplorables"... why talk about people that way? You're doing too much. Its unnecessarily condescending and mean-spirited. Its off putting and rubs people the wrong way.
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The only thing that partisan that independents seem to be fine with identifying with is abortion rights.
 
Sommerswerd said:
When Biden dropped out, both Trump and RFKs polling started to go down simultaneous with the polling on Harris going up. That indicates to me that a significant portion of RFKs support was from people in the "Biden and/or Trump are too old" mindset. Those people aren't going to switch to Trump. If they don't like Harris, they will go with Stein, West, stay home or just write-in.

I also think that the voters who are willing to vote for Trump are already voting for Trump. A person who was voting for RFK, when Trump was already available, is very likely a voter who specifically didn't want to vote for Trump. RFK dropping out isn't necessarily suddenly going to make that voter want to vote for Trump.
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Dems know RFK dropping out is a big problem for them this why both MI and WS are refusing to remove his name. Despite being A O.K. with removing Biden's name.
 
Oerdin said:
Dems know RFK dropping out is a big problem for them this why both MI and WS are refusing to remove his name. Despite being A O.K. with removing Biden's name.
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More than one way to skin a rabbit and this one will be half skint before the votes start coming in.
 
Core Imposter said:
Astounding parallel between the fear of standard bearers opening their mouth. Fear of Biden opening his mouth and revealing he has lost it has segued into the fear of Harris opening her mouth and revealing that she never had it.

So, we literally have a presidential nominee following the ancient advice, keeping her mouth shut that she might be thought an idiot rather than opening her mouth and removing all doubt.

It has done a wonderful job of lowering expectations such that if she can speak without drooling, cackling or giggling she should be in like Flynn. However, I don't think she can do it in any depth. So, one interview and one debate and if she survives that no reason to expect to see anything but her shadow until after the votes are cast.
Click to expand...

Vice-President Harris will do the CNN interview alongside her VP pick Walz.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will sit with CNN for their first joint interview on Thursday as Democrats work to broaden their base’s excitement from last week’s Democratic National Convention.

The interview, conducted by CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash, will air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday. It occurs as the candidates embark on a bus tour through the battleground state of Georgia and marks the first time Harris has sat with a journalist for an in-depth, on-the-record conversation since President Joe Biden dropped his bid for a second term and endorsed her on July 21.

The 37 days since her candidacy began have generated a swell of enthusiasm and momentum for Harris, including at last week’s convention in Chicago. But her lack of a formal news conference or interview has generated criticism from her Republican rivals. Thursday’s interview fulfils a vow she made earlier in August to schedule a sit-down before the end of the month.
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Can't even do an interview by herself?

She is going to be savaged for this. I know what will be said but I can't say it.
 
Oerdin said:
Dems know RFK dropping out is a big problem for them this why both MI and WS are refusing to remove his name. Despite being A O.K. with removing Biden's name.
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Or they are simply following the law.

Wisconsin elections commission is made up of 3 democrats and 3 republicans. They voted 5-1 to keep Kennedy on the ballot and follow the law.

In michigan, kennedy's party already had their convention, so its too late to pick new electors. Biden dropped out before the democrat national convention and why the democrats could change who they nominated.
 
Oerdin said:
Dems know RFK dropping out is a big problem for them this why both MI and WS are refusing to remove his name. Despite being A O.K. with removing Biden's name.
Click to expand...

Yep, very on-brand that you are RFK-pilled btw

thenevadaindependent.com

RFK Jr. won’t appear on Nevada presidential ballot after agreement with state Dems - The Nevada Independent

The agreement outlines that Kennedy and his running mate had filed a petition to gain ballot access, that they will now no longer appear on the ballot and that the Democrats' lawsuit is dismissed.
thenevadaindependent.com thenevadaindependent.com
 
KMRblue1027 said:
Yeah exactly right. People mostly just shrug their shoulders at stuff like that, why should I care is the biggest response, so building an entire platform around it just doesn't work.
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Woke/antiwoke pretty played out by now. I suspect it will trend downward and mostly die out by the end of the decade, we've bigger things to worry about.
 
Core Imposter said:
Astounding parallel between the fear of standard bearers opening their mouth. Fear of Biden opening his mouth and revealing he has lost it has segued into the fear of Harris opening her mouth and revealing that she never had it.

So, we literally have a presidential nominee following the ancient advice, keeping her mouth shut that she might be thought an idiot rather than opening her mouth and removing all doubt.

It has done a wonderful job of lowering expectations such that if she can speak without drooling, cackling or giggling she should be in like Flynn. However, I don't think she can do it in any depth. So, one interview and one debate and if she survives that no reason to expect to see anything but her shadow until after the votes are cast.
Click to expand...
????
 

Scrutiny over claims RFK Jr cut off dead whale's head​

Robert F Kennedy Jr faces calls from environmentalists for an investigation over a historic claim that he once cut the head off a dead beached whale with a chainsaw to take it home on the roof of his vehicle.
A group that supports Kamala Harris for president says Mr Kennedy's alleged removal and transportation of the skull of the whale may have broken the law.
Mr Kennedy, 70, has not commented on the incident, detailed by his daughter in an interview 12 years ago.
The call for an investigation comes days after he suspended his independent presidential campaign, which was marked by strange twists including his confession that he once dumped the body of a dead bear in New York's Central Park.

Mr Kennedy has now endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency, and has been offered a place on the Republican candidate's transition team if he is elected.
The incident with the whale's head, which dates to around 1994, was recounted by Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy in a 2012 interview with Town & Country magazine.
Mr Kennedy, who is said to enjoy studying animal skulls and skeletons, reportedly heard that the dead animal had washed up in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where the family was staying.
He went to the beach to cut off the head with a chainsaw, and then proceeded to tie it to the roof of the family minivan with bungee cords. The family then drove back to their home in New York, Ms Kennedy said.
"Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet," Ms Kennedy told the magazine.
"We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us."
The call for an investigation was made by the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, which has publicly endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for president.
The group wrote a letter to set out their case to marine protection officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). The BBC has approached the Noaa for comment.
The letter, quoted by US media, said Mr Kennedy may have broken multiple federal laws by collecting wildlife body parts and transporting them across state lines.
“Vital research opportunities are lost when individuals scavenge a wildlife carcass and interfere with the work of scientists," the group's political director Brett Hartl wrote.
"This is particularly true of marine mammals, which are some of the most difficult wildlife species in the world to study,” Mr Hartl added.
Noaa is yet to publicly acknowledge receipt of the letter or issue a comment, and nor has Mr Kennedy. The BBC has approached his campaign for comment.

At one point earlier this year, Mr Kennedy averaged about 15% in presidential preference polls as an independent candidate.
His pitch blended anti-establishment and anti-corporate rhetoric with liberal social positions, environmentalism and controversial vaccine scepticism.
But his numbers dwindled, and he announced last week he was suspending his campaign.
Although he initially competed to win the Democratic nomination, he ended up criticising his former party and offering his endorsement to Donald Trump. The move dismayed his relatives, who are the most famous family in Democratic politics.
Mr Kennedy's campaign attracted a range of bizarre and scandalous headlines.
In May, the New York Times ran an article revealing he had told lawyers involved in his 2012 divorce proceedings that he was suffering from a memory issue relating to a dead brain parasite.
In mid-July, Mr Kennedy texted an apology to a former family nanny after Vanity Fair magazine published a story in which she accused him of unwelcome sexual advances. “I have no memory of this incident but I apologise sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable,” he wrote.
In comments to the media, he said the Vanity Fair article contained a lot of “garbage” but conceded that he had a “very, very rambunctious youth” and that he was “not a church boy”.
Earlier this month, Mr Kennedy was filmed talking to actress Roseanne Barr, recounting the 2014 incident with the dead bear cub.
He said a woman had killed the bear with her car when he was driving in a rural area, and he put it in his van with the initial intention of harvesting its meat.
But ultimately he thought it would be "amusing" to leave the carcass in New York's Central Park, to make it appear that an errant cyclist had killed the animal. The bear was found the following day.
Responding to a BBC request for comment, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation said charges could not be brought for incidents more than a year old.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7rj432835o
 
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