[Crabcakes]

Flip side of that was there was no shortage of people ready to step up. And his fan club believed him when he said that [sacked person] was useless, a serial liar, no idea what they thought they were doing...

That’s true - with an ever-declining level of ability until we ended up at four seasons landscaping, but this is going to be very different if e.g. he and Musk go head to head.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I think the Pennsylvania Senate race is not over. Estimated 149,000 votes still out there, lots in places that the Democrats are doing well. The AP call was very premature.

State of play here from NBC, who haven't called it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-e ... te-results

[Abernathy]

Disturbing reporting in The Grauniad that Trump’s election seems to have been a trigger/licence for a widespread outbreak of overt racism and misogyny, manifesting itself in the form of disgusting text messages sent to black people and women, but worrying in that there may well be more concrete manifestations to come.

I recall that the result of the Brexit referendum was also viewed by too many arseholes as a licence to be openly hateful and racist. Assaults increased. Harassment too. It was fucking poisonous. Seems that the return of the Donald is a virtually identical phenomenon.

[davidjay]

I'm less upset than I thought I'd be. Maybe it's because we survived his previous time, maybe a case of you made your piss-soaked bed, you lie in it.

[Oboogie]

I'm less upset than I thought I'd be. Maybe it's because we survived his previous time, maybe a case of you made your piss-soaked bed, you lie in it.

The problem is we didn't make that piss-soaked bed, but we've still got to lie in it.

[Youngian]

I recall that the result of the Brexit referendum was also viewed by too many arseholes as a licence to be openly hateful and racist. Assaults increased. Harassment too. It was fucking poisonous. Seems that the return of the Donald is a virtually identical phenomenon.

Like Brexit, it's hard to see any upside for US citizens. A net loss of manufacturing jobs happened in Trump's first term while he boasted about a few dozen steel industry jobs created.
Geopolitically, he doesn't even have any interest in a Monroe Doctrine type regional policy. Just ad-hoc deal making with only one conclusion, I win and the other schmuck loses.
His Sinophobia may cause Trump to lighten Pacific withdrawal but expect an arms build in Asia and Europe to fill Trump's vacuum. This may do us good in Europe in the long run but can't see any good outcomes for Murica. Pity for them as economic and demographic indicators are far better for the US than the other global powers. The contraception industry might do well from maniac abortion bans, couple that with halting immigration and you have a recipe for depopulation.

[Rosvanian]

I'm less upset than I thought I'd be. Maybe it's because we survived his previous time, maybe a case of you made your piss-soaked bed, you lie in it.

Well there's that but also the small matter of us not actually being American. Every British news outlet obsessing over every aspect American politics seems to have forgotten this. It's one of the reasons why I stopped watching TV news some time back.

[Crabcakes]

Also, re: similarities with Brexit - after we Brexited and things went to shit, support for the EU and centre/left parties rose all across Europe. As and when Trump fucks up, I am fully expecting a similar domino effect elsewhere.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Trump means the tariffs shit, for now anyway. Robert Lighthizer is being lined up.

[Tubby Isaacs]

On Friday, Farage said the UK should “roll out the red carpet” for Trump. He said:

Whether you like Trump or not, this is the important point that in terms of intelligence sharing, in terms of defence, in terms of investment, in terms of trade, America is our most important relationship.”

Apart from the fact he'd probably tell Putin.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Trade expert gives his advice. Trade barriers are bad, but doing a deal to get rid of them with our biggest market would be worse.

[Youngian]

UK is still on the same WTO terms as it was in the EU which governs most trade (with bilateral add ons) with the US. But without the leverage.

[Bones McCoy]

Disturbing reporting in The Grauniad that Trump’s election seems to have been a trigger/licence for a widespread outbreak of overt racism and misogyny, manifesting itself in the form of disgusting text messages sent to black people and women, but worrying in that there may well be more concrete manifestations to come.

I recall that the result of the Brexit referendum was also viewed by too many arseholes as a licence to be openly hateful and racist. Assaults increased. Harassment too. It was fucking poisonous. Seems that the return of the Donald is a virtually identical phenomenon.

Most of us will remember the spate of "bus Karens", venting at people of colour, and caught on phone video.

[Philip Marlow]

I’d be surprised if all that much thought had been given to alternatives. Don’t think there was time. Perhaps at some point someone could address the fact that the process makes Labour’s Benn v Healey contest look clinical. I get that primaries are important in America, but why can’t more states declare at the same time?

One advantage of the US system I suppose. They’re not obliged to find a new king or queen within the next month or so and bet the house on them cutting the mustard against Vance (or whoever) in four years time.

Anyway, the knives are out and there are recriminations to spread around.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 235158805/

A Democratic strategist says they warned key Harris surrogates and top-level officials at the Democratic National Committee that campaigning with Liz Cheney — and making the campaign’s closing argument about how many Republicans were supporting Harris — was highly unlikely to motivate any new swing voters, and risked dissuading already-despondent, infrequent Democratic voters who had supported Biden in 2020. The strategist says they also attempted to have big donors and battleground state party chairs convey the same argument to the Harris campaign

Another Democratic operative close to Harrisworld says they sent memos and data to Harris campaign staffers underscoring how, among other things, Republican voters, believe it or not, vote Republican — and that the data over the past year screamed that Democrats instead needed to reassure and energize the liberal base and Dem-leaning working class in battleground states. “We were told, basically, to get lost, no thank you,” says the operative.

I did wonder about the Cheney business. Liz was actually a more prominent campaign presence than Harris’ veep pic Tim Walz towards the end.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They actually did OK in the battleground states, compared with the general swing. The problems were more general, including in blue state blue cities. I think it's more likely the very visible problems in eg Kensington, Philadelphia were a huge issue, rather than that these missing voters were put off by the lack of Medicare for All. People think at least Republicans would bang up the more blatant street dealers.

I agree about Cheney. I don't think voters who weren't already in the bag knew who she was or cared about her. Never Trump Republicans are a very visible and articulate group on social media, but 2016 should have told them that there aren't that many of them.

[davidjay]

NTRs are similar to pro-Europe Tories. Either there weren't as many as we thought or they put party above principle.

[The Weeping Angel]

Did Cheney do that many rallies though?

[Watchman]

She got a lot of media coverage

[Youngian]

Shut the fucking door on the way out.

JD Vance says US could drop support for NATO if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 14525.html

[Bones McCoy]