Lazy Saturday Reads: Stars Come Out for Hillary; Trump Awakens a Sleeping Giant
Posted: November 5, 2016 Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: Beyonce, Donald Trump, early voting, Hillary Clinton, Jay Z, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Latinos, Marc Anthony 149 Comments
Good Morning!!
This election is looking very good for Hillary Clinton. In just three more days, she will more than likely be President Elect Hillary Clinton. I can’t wait to vote for her on Tuesday! I thought about voting early, but I finally decided to wait and go to my regular polling place on election day. That will be a very special moment. I already shed some tears when I voted for Hillary in the 2008 primary and again in the 2016 primary. But Tuesday will be the big enchilada.
Last night Hillary appeared with Jay Z and Beyonce at the get-out-the-vote concert in Cleveland. NYT:
In an election year when Hillary Clinton is depending on young black voters to turn out, she may have gotten her biggest boost yet here on Friday.
Some of the most famous names in hip-hop came out to rally votes for her at an event that featured Beyoncé, Jay Z and Chance the Rapper, all of whom implored thousands of cheering people to back the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Hello, Cleveland!” Mrs. Clinton said as she stood onstage with Beyoncé and Jay Z.
Mrs. Clinton called Beyoncé “a woman who is an inspiration to so many others” and thanked Jay Z “for addressing in his music some of our biggest challenges in the country: poverty, racism, the urgent need for criminal justice reform.”
“When I see them here, this passion and energy and intensity, I don’t even know where to begin because this is what America is, my friends,” she said.
At the concert, aimed largely at urging black voters and millennials to vote on Tuesday, some of the biggest stars emphasized the historical significance of potentially electing the first woman as president.
Jay Z began the concert with “Made in America.” He performed behind a screen that manipulated his face to look like an American flag. A-list artists, including Beyonce, Big Sean, Chance the Rapper, and J. Cole surprised a pumped up crowd….
Jay Z performed behind a black and white photograph of the White House. He repeated Clinton’s campaign slogan: “Stronger Together.”
Each special performer emerged, one after another, thrilling the crowd of about 10,000. Politics overlaid performance. Words flashed behind the musicians on a large screen:
- “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote”
- “And on that day I did nothing”
- “Shape Tomorrow, Vote Today”
- “Your voice, your vote”
The crowd erupted in screams as Beyonce took the stage. Queen B delivered a heartfelt speech about what seeing a woman in the White House means to her.
“There was a time when a woman’s opinion did not matter if you were black, if you were white, Mexican, Asian, Muslim, educated, poor or rich. If you were a woman, it did not matter. Less than 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote. Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the brink of making history, again, by electing the first woman president. But we have to vote. The world looks to us as a progressive country that leads change,” Beyonce said. “I want my daughter to grow up seeing a woman lead our country.”
She transitioned into an appropriately patriotic song: Freedom. And followed it up with a medley of female empowerment songs: “Independent Women,” and “Run the World (Girls).”
The screen behind her flashed: “I’m with her.”
Hillary at concert with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony in Miami
And who was campaigning for Donald Trump? NYT: Big Names Campaigning for Hillary Clinton Underscore Donald Trump’s Isolation.
Hillary Clinton campaigned Friday in the company of friends and celebrities, first flanked by the billionaire businessman Mark Cuban in Pittsburgh and Detroit, and then at a concert in Cleveland with Jay Z and Beyoncé. High-wattage political leaders fanned out for her around the country: Her husband, Bill, stumped in Colorado, as President Obama rallied voters in North Carolina.
By comparison, Donald J. Trump was a lonely figure.
In the final days of the presidential race, Mr. Trump’s political isolation has made for an unusual spectacle on the campaign trail — and perhaps a limiting factor in his dogged comeback bid.
When it comes to bolstering Mr. Trump, the Republican Party is not sending its best: As party leaders have disavowed him or declined to back his candidacy, Mr. Trump has been left instead with an eclectic group of backup players to aid him in his last dash for votes. Though polls show Mr. Trump drawing closer to Mrs. Clinton, the most prominent Republicans in key swing states still fear that his unpopularity may taint them by association.
Trump told a crowd in Hershey, PA that he doesn’t need anyone but himself.
“By the way, I didn’t have to bring J. Lo or Jay Z — the only way she gets anybody,” he said. “ I am here all by myself. Just me — no guitar, no piano, no nothing.”
Campaigning in New Hampshire earlier on Friday, Mr. Trump did not appear with either Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican seeking re-election, or Chris Sununu, the Republican nominee for governor. Ms. Ayotte withdrew her endorsement of Mr. Trump last month, and Mr. Sununu has kept an awkward distance from Mr. Trump in his closely divided state.
Hillary with Katy Perry in Iowa
Tonight Hillary will be in Philadelphia for a free concert with Katy Perry.
Meanwhile, massive early voting by Latinos in Nevada, Florida, and Arizona is looking very good for Hillary and Democrats.
CNN: Democrats build huge early vote lead in battleground Nevada.
Democrats have built what could be an insurmountable edge in Nevada at the end of early voting in the Western battleground state.
In key regions, the party is matching or outpacing the lead President Barack Obama had at this point in 2012 on his way to a nearly 7-percentage-point win of the state’s six electoral votes.Clark County — home of Las Vegas and more than two-thirds of Nevada’s active registered voters — saw its record for single-day early vote turnout shattered Friday when 57,174 people cast their ballots, according to data from the Nevada secretary of state’s office that’s based on the party registration of those who have voted.Overall, Democrats have built a lead of more than 72,000 votes there — 13.7 points ahead of Republicans, and slightly larger than Obama’s 2012 edge.
Donald Trump will be in Reno on Saturday, but the Republicans almost certainly lost Nevada on Friday.
Trump’s path was nearly impossible, as I have been telling you, before what happened in Clark County on Friday. But now he needs a Miracle in Vegas on Election Day — and a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl championship is more likely — to turn this around. The ripple effect down the ticket probably will cost the Republicans Harry Reid’s Senate seat, two GOP House seats and control of the Legislature.
Early voting crowd at Cardenas in Las Vegas
How devastating was it, epitomized by thousands of mostly Latino voters keeping Cardenas market open open in Vegas until 10 PM? This cataclysmic:
—-The Democrats won Clark County by more than 11,000 votes Friday (final mail count not posted yet), a record margin on a record-setting turnout day of 57,000 voters. The Dems now have a firewall — approaching 73,000 ballots — greater than 2012 when Barack Obama won the state by nearly 7 points. The 71,000 of 2012 was slightly higher in percentage terms, but raw votes matter. The lead is 14 percentage points — right at registration. You know what else matters? Registration advantages (142,000 in Clark). Reminder: When the Clark votes were counted from early/mail voting in 2012, Obama had a 69,000 vote lead in Clark County. Game over.
—-The statewide lead (some rurals not posted) will be above 45,000 — slightly under the 48,000 of 2012, but still robust. That’s 6 percentage points, or right about at registration. The GOP turnout advantage was under a percent, worse than 2012 when it was 1.1 percent.
—-The Dems eked out a 200-vote win in Washoe and lead there by 1,000 votes. It was even in 2012. The rural lead, before the stragglers come in, is 27,500. It probably will get above 28,000.
—-Total turnout without those rurals: 768,000, or 52.5 percent. If overall turnout ends up being 80 percent, that means two thirds of the vote is in — close to 2012. Republicans would have to not only win Election Day by close to double digits to turn around the lead Hillary Clinton almost surely has in early voting, but they would have to astronomically boost turnout. The goal for the Dems during early voting was to bank votes and to boost turnout as high as possible to minimize the number of votes left on Election Day to affect races. Folks, the Reid Machine went out with a bang.
Lines for early voting in Arizona
Arizona has seen the largest increase of early voting by Latinos of any state.
As of Oct. 30, nine days before the Nov. 8 election, 13 percent of the early ballots cast in Arizona came from Latino voters, up from 11 percent at the same point prior to the 2012 presidential election and from 8 percent in 2008.
The increase from 2012 to 2016 is the largest increase in early voting by Latinos in any state, according to statistics compiled by Catalist, a data company that works with progressive candidates and groups….
Data tabulated by Arizona’s Democratic Party showed an even bigger increase in early voting by Latinos in Arizona, from 6.2 percent in 2012 to nearly 12 percent through Nov. 1. The data is based on Hispanic surnames.
As of Nov. 1, the share of early balloting from voters with Hispanic surnames was nearly double the same time in 2012….
“There has been a large push by many Latino groups to vote by early ballot by mail to avoid any hassles at the ballot box in presenting ID and Latinos under extra scrutiny at the polls,” Garcia said.
There also are not a lot of undecided Latino voters, many of whom have been turned off by Donald Trump’s harsh comments about Mexicans and immigrants, Garcia said.
98-year-old early voter in Florida
Early voting by Latinos is also setting records in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
Donald Trump awakened a sleeping giant with his attacks on Mexicans and immigrants.
More news, links only:
Mother Jones: Exclusive: The Democratic National Committee Has Told the FBI It Found Evidence Its HQ Was Bugged
AP via Politico: Melania Trump modeled in U.S. prior to getting work visa.
Wall Street Journal: National Enquirer Shielded Donald Trump From Playboy Model’s Affair Allegation.
Jezebel: The Woman Who Accused Trump of Raping Her at 13 Just Dropped Her Lawsuit.
NBC News: U.S. Govt. Hackers Ready to Hit Back If Russia Tries to Disrupt Election.
Washington Post: Trump is a threat to the West as we know it, even if he loses.
peej
Carissa
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
NW Luna
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Have a great weekend and get ready to break the highest hardest glass ceiling!
Also Happy Birthday to Dakinikat (a day late)!!
bb, my old friend, thank you for this post which has elevated my mood that has been so low this past week. I so look forward to Tuesday when I cast my vote for the next president of the S and the first woman to ever hold the office. God bless this awesome woman!
She has had to endure the bullshit that Bill Mahar has rightfully called a Right Wing coup and my hope is that the majority of voters see this for what it is. Because if not the future looks bleak.
I know my cyber friends share my appreciation of this remarkable woman and my hope is that we can indeed celebrate the ending to this national nightmare. Trump must never get this close to the WH ever!
Feeling a little less anxious today thanks to you and Joy Reid. Voter turnout is the key.
I’m glad. I really don’t think we have anything to worry about. Hillary is going to win. I just hope she brings the Senate along with her.
Thank you for the post, BB. It brightened my day.
We need Evan Bayh to win here! The negative ads against him have been brutal. I even bought a St. Jude candle at Kroger’s yesterday for divine help. It was marked down to 47 cents. They had a whole bunch of them. Maybe I’ll get a couple more.
I sure hope he wins. We have to win control of the Senate for Hillary. It’s so disappointing for my mom and me that Indiana is going to go for Trump.
Hang in there, Pat! Our long national nightmare is almost over.
Thx! I drank wine and watched ZNation! Pretty good evening!
You deserve to celebrate for more than one day anyway!
Happy birthday to one of my favorite “teachers” in cyberspace! Your posts have kept me sane and informed through the years.
!
Happy B’day, Kat!!!
Thx all! Waiting for Tuesday night for my big gift!
Happy belated birthday, Kat! I’m glad you enjoyed a good evening.
Happy Birthday Dak!!!! Your celebration this year gets to stretch out through Hillary’s VICTORY PARTY. Enjoy it, I know I’m going to have a blast toasting you and the FIRST WOMAN POTUS. CHEERS!
Know you had a super good birthday………….must say, I rented the movie, Mr. Church, and it was a pretty good movie, teary eyed, but great.
Thank you BB…….can’t wait for a ton of glass to come crashing down on Tuesday.
Same here Fannie.
I’ve listened to this about 6 times already and just LOVE it!!
“We go high!” Awesome! Thanks, Delphyne.
Here’s her last ad:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PspX3VQghaU
OMG! That’s powerful! My granddaughter will love it! My daughter will love it!
Love it! That’s great.
Thanks Delph, that was great!
Alright! I have to share.
So funny, and so true. Although it has to be said that Hillary’s been running at that speed and leaping obstacles for, like, 18 months.
I was thinking on this. My grandmothers didn’t get to vote until way into middle age. Both of them and my mother could only vote for white men. But, my daughters have voted in three for my oldest and two for my youngest presidential elections. They’ve only voted for an African-American man and a woman. That’s progress I believe.
It definitely is. We will leave the haters behind.
I cannot explain it but I am extremely emotional this weekend. I keep tearing up for little or no reason.
Can’t stand myself!
I feel the same way. This is huge. I don’t care how much the media tries to bring us down. We are going to carry Hillary all the way. And we have the best people on our side–Barack and Michelle, Liz Warren, the VP, even Bernie.
Thank you for saying that about Bernie, BB. He has been a strong surrogate for Hillary, particularly among college students.
I heard he was going to 7 states over the last 5 days.
Bernie is going all out for Hillary, traveling to several states across the country before the election, from New Hampshire to Arizona. He is committed to getting her elected.
From The New Yorker:
“He knows what he wants: for her to win. “This campaign is not a personality contest,” Sanders said near the beginning of a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday night. “We’re not voting for high-school president. We’re voting for the most powerful leader in the entire world.” He had been introduced by Pharrell Williams, the musician, who was now sitting on the stage with Clinton herself, as if it were an actual high-school election. Statements like that serve to remind Sanders’s supporters that they don’t need to be charmed by Hillary Clinton—he is over it, and they ought to be, too. But, if personality doesn’t matter, the person does.”
“I disagree with Donald Trump on virtually all of his policy positions,” Sanders said. “But what upsets me the most—what upsets me, it’s beyond disagreement—is we have struggled for so many years to overcome discrimination, and he is running his campaign, the cornerstone of which is bigotry. Now, as Americans we can disagree on many issues. But we have come too far—too many people have gone to jail, and too many have died in the struggle for equal rights. We are not going back to a bigoted society.”
“As Sanders finished his speech in Raleigh—“We have to do everything that we can to elect Secretary Clinton!”—Clinton and Pharrell were on their feet, cheering.”
http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/bernie-sanderss-hard-fight-for-hillary-clinton
I feel that a padded cell would be a more appropriate location for me, but I’m stuck in Atlanta (well Cummings GA) traffic surrounded by Trump voting assholes and the hate is truly palpable. I’ve witnessed two cases of voter intimidation/rallying from Trump dipshits just outside the Forthsyth county courthouse where early voting is taking place. One was blatantly disgusting. I wish I had taken pictures.
I early voted on Thursday evening and there were no incidences and only 1 Trump sign in sight. Took my mom to vote Fri evening and the line was longer (1.5 hour wait for me Thur) and there were more signs out – mostly local & Trump, no Hillary signs anywhere. Today we had to drive past the polling place and there were Trump supporters out on the main street holding signs “honk if you’re for Trump” – not a Hillary sign in sight. I resisted rolling down my window and singing “Hill-a-ree!” I still suspect the vote for her will surprise people even in my red state. I just remembered I can’t avoid the polls entirely Tues because my school is a polling place. Deep breath – Can’t wait to watch her win with Sky Dancers!
Same here. I get teary at the slightest things and feel sick to my stomach. I have zero appetite. Ginger ale helps.
We’ve got this Pat……………In Hillary We Trust!
I was starting to get worried with the effect the Comey interference seemed to be having on the polls, but now things are really looking up! Some media are still desperately trying to hype Trump’s chances, but he’s toast. I especially felt better after reading John Ralston’s analysis of NV early voting (Hillary’s got it), and after watching AM Joy. She and her guests were positively giddy today!
I made a little video playlist for Clinton and I keep bursting into tears as I listen to it! My mom is Hillary’s age almost exactly. She got a very bad health diagnosis last year, but she’s doing pretty well and will get to vote for the first woman President next Tuesday! I was so afraid that might not happen. (fwiw, my playlist is Roar, Rebel Girl, Our Fight Song from the Democratic Convention, Run the World (Girls), Bitch and Simply the Best).
Decided to turn off the tv and just watch my little playlist this weekend. We’ve all waited for far too long.
Give your mom our best wishes. I’m in her generation and it’s hard to describe how exciting it is to live an entire lifetime believing you’d never live to see this day, this moment and now it’s right there in front us, just waiting to unfold. I hope you’re with your mom when she casts her vote for the NEXT PRESIDENT of the USA, Hillary Clinton.
Yes! Joy Reid and John Ralston picked my spirits up a bunch! I also listened to Our Fight song & Roar today. We got this! And I just bet Hillary has a plan for the creeps that will start hounding her immediately. She can take them on – she is amazing!
I’m Hillary’s age. I’ll turn 69 in December. And I just now teared up realizing I’ll be voting for a woman for POTUS in two days.
Me too, I think it’s because we’re “living on the edge” waiting.
Me too. I think it’s only natural considering what’s been going on!
I hope you are right about the election results. Maybe it is because I’m living in Trump central. But I am scared.
However, to get distracted:
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/body/espn-magazine-body-issue
I keep going back and forth but I hold a slim hope that the voters see through this coup and put an end to it.
Today I feel more upbeat but I do live in Massachusetts which will remain blue. Living in the South one can never tell so I feel your pain.
JJ,
Please go to this link and show me a map with Trump winning. It’s not going to happen.
http://www.270towin.com/
Honey I know…but you got to understand. See it from my point of view. Hang on I will show you a second.
Honey….Banjoville, where you live, and Bumfuckerville, where I live, are both filled with ignorant, insulated batsht crazies. The people we live around are like the ants in my yard that never sees me coming, not even when I step on them, because they’re so small in the scheme of things they’re incapable of seeing the big picture. The Trumpsters around us live in their own echo chamber, but you and I live in the larger World and we see the entire political landscape. Fear Not darling, Hillary Clinton will be the 45th President of the United States. IN HILLARY WE TRUST.
Thanks, Mouse. Your enthusiasm always lifts my spirit.
🙂 Well we’re going to win this and we’re going to do so with the MOST PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM the party has ever had. Hillary and Bernie mending fences and respecting each others views accomplished that. Now we’re going to elect the most qualified person to ever run for POTUS WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A WOMAN. THE FIRST WOMAN POTUS. I’m proud to be a Democrat, even if I am one in a deep Red State where my vote only adds to the popular vote. ONWARD-UPWARD.
This couple right in front of courthouse.
Same couple 30 minutes later after they were, I assume…forced to move about 4 miles away.
Do what I do…….Get you a car window Rainbow Flag and wave it at them every time you see them. I wave my Rainbow Flag every time I symbols of hate, especially the guys who fly the Confederate Flag. They flip me off, I smile and wave my flag.
It’s not just you JJ. There was a long article in one of the highbrow magazines (Atlantic? New Yorker?) that mentioned Trump voters are convinced he’s going to win because most of them live in the middle of other Trump voters.
It’s hard when everything in your immediate actual experience says one thing and all you’ve got to go on is statistics to tell you it’s not true.
But, really, the ratbags are a minority and the majority seems to be getting off its duff and voting. If the early voting numbers hold up, the Dems will have a Senate majority too.
Still, none of us will be resting easy till Nov 9th.
JJ, those of us in red states will have to put our faith in other parts of the country. They will pull us through and get Hillary elected.
I got all excited today when I saw a headline that said Lake County, Indiana was having record early voting. Then when I read the article, it turns out the record early voting is in Republican areas of the county ( like Crown Point ), not heavily Democratic areas ( like Gary ). Sigh.
Even in my very liberal area of the state, Democratic GOTV efforts have been almost non-existent. It’s pathetic.
My mother and sister live in a Dem bastion in Indiana, and sissy tells me that the schools that serve as pollong stations will be closed on Tuesday, for safety reasons. This really pisses me off, that the Trumpeteers have become so violent and ugly that they represent a threat to schoolchildren. Voting took place at my elementary school, and it was a great lesson to us kids about exercising civic responsibility. Trump filth are out to send the message to our youngsters that voting is a dangerous and scary activity. Not “sad,” DISGUSTING.
I grew up in Muncie, IN, and my mom still lives there. It’s a Democratic town now, but when I was a kid it was John Birch Society territory. Times do change.
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One big boost I have discovered and come to appreciate during this campaign has been the presence of Joy Reid who refused to let these liars get away with their baloney and Steve Schmidt, a Republican operative, who spoke the truth regardless.
Steve gave an amazing analysis on Brian Williams show and allowed his tears to flow over the damage Trump is doing to our beloved democracy. Coming from someone who represents the opposition it was heartfelt.
Too bad others do not share his truthfulness.
I would love to see Joy Reid as Hillary’s WH press secretary. Any chance that might happen?
That would be phenomenal.
Really, she has become a savior in my home.
Joy Reid is a SHERO. She should have UpChuck Todd’s job as MODERATOR on MTP and MTP DAILY. She has been the best sifter of GOP bullshit on any channel. She’s put Rachel, Chris Hayes, Chris Matthews to shame. Although Lawrence O’Donnell has come through in the end, Joy Reid has a been my SHERO for over a year. Write MSNBC and tell them How much you love Joy……I do regularly!!!!!
Joy will be on tonight at six o’clock.
Thanks for letting us know! I don’t normally watch MSNBC in the evening on weekends.
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Hillary was on fire in Cleveland! I loved that! And Beyonce slayed in that gorgeous pantsuit. Whatever it takes to get out the vote, right? I proudly voted early, along with my mom, this past Monday. Thanks for your great reporting.
I can’t wait to vote at my local fire station with the same ladies who have been there at the table for the 17 years I’ve lived in the 9th ward 9th precinct. I keep crying like a baby every time I vote for President any more. Two of these ladies entered our local school a class behind Ruby Bridges. The times are a changing but the struggle continues. I just cherish every moment of progress.
Thanks Jackie. I thought it was cool that the backup dancers were wearing blue pantsuits too.
The event last night was indeed an inspiring one. I think it will energize young voters.
Best wishes to you and your mother, Jackie!
Yeah, I really chuckled about Queen B and her backup singers all in pantsuits. What a great touch!
Read his feed … Mexican Americans voted like crazy!
In NH today, Madeline Albright, Liz Warren, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, MA Rep Seth Moulton, and Al Giordano. Every door will be knocked on, according to Al G.
There are bus loads of New Yorkers headed from Brooklyn to Pennsylvania for door knocking. The line was 3 blocks long. My friend Jeff posted pix. It’s incredible.
I heard that too. Very exciting.
A little calming music:
I am feelilng reasonably good, but of course U will worry about it until we actually win. PA worries me just a bit, and also NH and MI. But we could win FL and NC as well, maybe even AZ, though that is not nearly as likely. I will certainly be overjoyed with a Hillary iwn, and will try not to be too upset at what I think is going to be a disappointing night in the Senate races. I watched some of the senatorial debates, and while I certainly rooted for all of our candidates, I didn’t think that McGinty and Hassan were all that impressive; Toomey is a phony, but more polished; and while Ayotte left herself wide open on her alternating support for Trump, and the fact that she is pretending not to be willing to stop Hillary from getting any Supreme Court Justices approved, Hassan didn’t hammer away at it.
Actually, and assuming that our positive voting trends hold up, it may well be that the DSCC didd not effectively contenplate the encouragingly large Hispanic vote in FL and AZ, and make more efforts to win those seats. Meanwhile, in the Rust Belt states, our senate candidates are losing badly, or struggling. I could see it end up 48-52,, or 49-51 and Hillary completely unable to fill the open Supreme Court seat, or fill any of them which may later come open. I think that the bogus FBI letter and fake leaks really stopped our momentum in some of these races. Too many voters seem accustomed to voting for Republicans downticket, as some kind of a safety valve against a Democratic President, but they end up with obstruction and a broken governing mechanism. My hope to avoid a Republican senate would be a win in NV, which I think we’ll get; a likely win in IL; a narrow win in WI; McGinty somehow holding on in PA, and a surprise win by Ross in NC or Kander in MO. Hassan could win, but the way NH has been really getting close on the presidential side, I tend to doubt it.
Bayh may pull out a win in Indiana. The race is close. Restrictions on polling here make election results more difficult to predict than in other states.
I hope so!
Good afternoon everyone!
I stumbled across this blog while searching for a different story, but after reading your words & along with reading all of your followers posts I felt compelled to ask all of you a very serious question.
(Mind you I will be absolutely sitting this election out. I’m a registered Democrat, but after being so disgusted by this cycles Nominees & ultra-negative campaigns I will be forced to change my political affiliation to Independent. It’s unfortunate, but I shall elaborate as to why I feel compelled to do this after almost 25-years of Democratic Party bliss….)
I have done my own extensive research into all candidates running this cycle, and what if learned is tremendously problematic & mortifying!
Donald Trump is a grotesque man with regards to his comments made against women. It’s truly grotesque & infuriating! (However, his children are remarkable people! And it made me contemplate that if Donald Trump has raised such respectful, hardworking, compassionate and charming children he must be doing something right. I arrived at this notion because I was raised & taught that a persons children are a direct reflection of the type of person the parents are. And though my research I’ve found that his children are exemplary human beings, and as much as I still have such animosity towards Trump this is a remarkable finding.)
His immigration stance has changed more times then my wardrobe! However, his latest policy is to enforce the laws of our country which I’m in agreement with. He states that he wants to deport convicted criminals from all countries. (I can live with that.) However, because he has offended me beyond belief I truly could not bring myself to vote for him…. (I know his appalling comments are just words, but it’s too much for me.) So, you maybe asking yourself like I did about all of these sexual harassment allegations being brought to the forefront. (I know that I certainly did!) However, once again after not trusting the media & researching this for myself I found out some very unusual information. First…. Almost every single one of these women who have came out with their person sexual assault/harassment allegations are a part of Hillary’s campaign. If you actually do your own research into several of these allegations you find that most of them have been disproven. (But the most troubling thing that I came across was that in every election cycle since 1988 the democratic campaigns have used sex scandals as a weapon, and as a person who was sexually assaulted as a preteen this sincerely bothers me!)
Then there’s is my passion to really have wished to be able to be apart of voting for Hillary Clinton, however after the in depth research I have done has brought up exponentially more concerns than Trump…. (I’m not proud of anything that I’ve found either!) Hillary has honestly done so many more horrendous things that I honestly believe that she is morally bankrupt.
She state verbatim “What does it really matter!” In regards to the deaths of Americans that she was responsible for in Benghazi. (That’s just appalling!)
Next she has taken nearly 100-million dollars from women oppressing countries. Where women can be legally raped by their husbands, cannot vote, cannot drive, cannot go to school past a certain age, cannot work, cannot leave their homes without a male, where women are executed for being raped, etc… Then there is a video of Hillary telling Saudi Arabian Oil tycoons & political officials that she is appalled by the way American women conduct themselves and that they should strive to be more like Saudi Arabia. (This was shocking!)
Then I found out about Hillary exploiting a 12-year old rape victim in Arkansas as a defense attorney for the criminal animal that raped her. (There’s even a recording of her bragging about how she got her client off.) That was one of the most chillingly powerful thing I’ve ever heard!
And because of all these facts that I’ve discovered I cannot in good conscience vote for either of these two candidates. (But I will say that Trump negatives are just words and speculations, and my parties candidate was actually based off real life occurrences.)
I only ask if you are voting for Hillary just because she’s a woman. Please ask yourself “What is the logic behind this?” (Im not trying to perseuade anyone from voting. That is our constitutional right & it’s one that we are extremely fortunate to have!)
I just wanted to warn everyone of my concerns, and to say I sincerely would love nothing more than to have our countries 1st women president, but I personally don’t think Hillary deserves to be that woman…. (And from reading all of the comments left on this blog. I just would like to let you know that there’s a lot of negativity & Karma is a great equalizer!)
I wish all of you the best, and I hope all of you aspire to keep dreaming big and accomplishing your goals. We can only fix something that is broken with the proper remedies! (There so much to be grateful for in America, however we can only make things even better through proper communication without any hidden agenda.)
Sincerely,
Katia
Nevertheless through think & thin I will always love all of you!!!!
Sorry, but I don’t believe you’re a Democrat. The Clinton campaign had nothing to do with any of the women who accused Donald Trump of abuse. If you have evidence of that, please produce it. Your arguments against Hillary are straight out of the alt-right.
I’m not voting for Hillary because she’s a woman. If that were true, I’d vote for right wing women too. If you had really done any research on Hillary, you’d know that she has the most liberal platform of any presidential candidate in history; and she has talked about important issues throughout the primary and general election campaigns.
You clearly have done no serious research on the Trump children either.
Refusing to vote for either candidate means you’re supporting Donald Trump. I’m guessing that you’ll vote for him.
Bless your heart. Nice try, but no cigar.
Ditto, ditto and ditto. She/He doesn’t know how many RATFUCKERS (which is what this commenter is) we’ve battled through, across and over in the past 8 years or she/he wouldn’t have wasted her/his time commenting here.
Sorry to subject you guys to those tired arguments, but I thought it was kind of funny some troll spent all that time trying to convince us with Breitbart lies. We haven’t had many trolls this year, fortunately.
I’m glad you left that comment up. Nothing like sweaty, desperate, alt-righwingers, following their Bannon Script, to make me LOL!!!!
Katia (nice Russian name)
I had this vision of what you and the rest of the Trumpsters are going to be doing Tuesday night at about 11pm Central Time
After the reporting on RM and Joy, I think we were targeted by a Russian disrupter. Too bad! Not gonna work here!
Really??!!! Bless your little heart! Sorry that you have swallowed the anti-Hillary talking points without really investigating them. I know you said you did, and I don’t want to question your integrity HOWEVER you have not really checked your sources.
I am voting for Hillary because she is clearly the better candidate.
Brghahahahahahaha! Your critique of Hillary read like the GOP/FOX News manifesto of hyperbole, BS and total Not-So-Breit-Bart/WND make believe. I could rip everything you’ve written to shreds, but that would be a waste of my time. But let me tell you. lady (as if I believe you’re a woman), everything you’ve written here is a waste of your time. Now get back on the Titanic and have a good journey. Bon Voyage.
Bingo!!!!!
I was wondering when the termites would crawl out of the ground! 🙂
Talk about Hilterism, and betrayal of liberty and freedom!
Katie/Kellyanne, your “research” is biased and incomplete. No chance that you’ll change anyone’s vote for Hillary here. Did you get paid for that warped, insincere piece of dribble?
If you admire Trump’s children (I don’t because I think that big game hunting is despicable), be sure to thank all three of their mothers.
I assure you that Trump had nothing to do with raising them.
Wow. For a Democrat, you’ve sure bought into the Alt Right list of lies about Clinton. I’m an economist and I’m in Finance. I know some one with really policy plans compared to some one who has no idea what they’re speaking about. Trump’s children retweet racists. They hunt and kill endangered animals. They’re some of the worst money grubbers I’ve ever seen. The string of bankruptcies and unpaid employees and contractors really indicates moral as well as financial bankruptcy. I couldn’t vote for people that destroy that many lives with no remorse or clue. Hope you can sleep at night! I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do everything possible to stop the Trumps.
Who in the hell are you to put a R or D behind rape victims? What a sham you are selling. So tell us ABOUT THE three rapist in the Kathy Shelton’s case? Com’ on, the 40 year old was a republican or democrat, the 20 year old a republican or democrat, and the 15 year old? Are you telling us Hillary Clinton raped her? You are a human sham, don’t come here trying to harass any of us skyliners. We have a ton of love and devotion to Hillary Clinton, we have paved the way, and have a few more miles to go. We’ll be the bright light shinning in the sky on Tuesday night, the brightest America has ever seen.
Ah, Katia! Take your concerns and go back to gazing dreamily at Vlad’s biceps. Spasibo.
I heard from a friend, and she is voting Trump, I just told her she was voting for a pussy grabber, and I no longer had nothing in common with her. Over 45 years……..and this is were it ends. I won’t speak her, I just won’t.
Thank you sky dancers for keeping me sane, and giving me a place to vent, allowing me to lean on you all.
Love Hillary Clinton! And yes, thank you Bernie Sanders.
I am thankful for all of you who over time has walked me off the ledge too many times to count. Those who tolerate my “Debbie Downer Days” when I view the glass as half full.
Boston Boomer, Dak and I go back 8 years on another blog. Mouse and I met up on yet another blog where we “had eacb other’s backs” as we found our liberal base quietly disappearing. Her humor kept me going. She made me laugh out loud. Still does!
The best part is that although few of us have ever spoken outside the blog, have no idea of which race, age or religion claims us, we remain “friends”. For me, I look forward to reading the posts and reading the comments. This blog is amazing.
Again, thanks to JJ and all of you who continue to make my day, hold my unseen hand, and allow me to be a part of this group of awesome people.
I am thankful for you, Pat. We have been on at least 3 blogs together over the last 8 years. I have always appreciated your keen insight and dry wit, as well as your enduring love for “The English Patient”! Please continue to grace us with your comments. We need you around.
Pat, I’ve first met you, BB, & Kat in 2008 on another blog and you all helped me through that which I believed was simply horrid. And here we are again – holding virtual hands to support each other. I hold my breath each day wondering what else they will throw at Hillz. She’s incredible. Thanks for moving us here and keeping us together Kat & BB we’ve grown in size and support.
Isn’t it great that so many of us have hung in here and we are about to get our wish? I bet we’ll see MABlue on election night, and maybe other old-timers will stop by too.
Hope thy will. It’s been a long hard slog, but here we are. I’m still holding my breath, they still really can’t stand the thought of a woman in the White House
An election night reunion!
We’ve been together a long time — it is amazing and wonderful. Guess we have some of that endurance and stick-with-it-ness that we love Hillary so much for!
I was on that other blog in 2008 also.
Skydancers has meant a lot to me over the years. I’m so glad you’re all here.
Well thanks to you Pat and Beata for guiding me to SkyDancing. It’s great to be here with you all….Dak, BB & JJ are wonderful to us all and at least for me it is my blog home.
Peace to all
Yeah. I remember the old TM blog and the way that all turned out! Also remember the Dem Convention Cruise on another blog. I have been following y’all here on Sky dancers since 08. Glad to be apart of this great group! And glad I finally worked up the courage to start commenting. Now let’s finish this thing for Hillary!
Jslat, I was on TM and also the other blog ( I handed out gift swag on that Dem Convention Cruise! ) when we made the exodus from TM. God, what a history we have! I can’t wait for this election to be over so we can all celebrate. It’s been a long time coming.
I’m glad you started commenting, too. This is a good, safe place.
Bless you! I was Obama… talk about gender bending! This old grandma had a ball with it! I wonder who else was cruising??!!
Fannie, how horrible. I know what you mean. No way to feel the same way about a person, knowing that about them.
Yeah, some times you have to let go of those you love, but always you have the memories, when we walked in the sand through the moments of time, of our lives. Seems like Trump leaves fresh wounds where ever he goes.
I am going through a really horrible situation with my fatther, who is in his 80s. He has 2 daughters who he raised to be critical thinkers, strong, compassionate, decent and curious. He made it clear we were never to take any crap from any man. We argued politics from an early age, and were taught to express our opinions as long as we could back them up with facts. Suddenly, he started spouting fox news crappola, and he is voting for Trump. I haven’t been able to speak to him, and it really hurts. This is the individual I have always had the most respect for of anyone I’ve ever known, and that reapect has evaporated. That’s tough after 60+ years. One more reason I despise Trump.
Sorry to hear that. Hope you can all heal after the election. This has been so ugly on so many levels.
That’s a shame, Teele. Fox News has brainwashed quite few older folks. It’s really sad.
I understand, and sometimes I think we will over come these relationships, but it does run deep. Why can’t they see that we are talking about “young people/children” surviving the future, they won’t with Trump. They won’t survive a life time. Trump is setting this country aflame, and the future is horrible. Our precious country, earth will perish. His steaks are going to cost every one us $6700……………he’ll make us buy them, whether we want it or not.
Isn’t anybody going to have a wallet when he is done.
How awful! I hate to suggest this…but paranoid thinking can be a sign of early dementia. Then I have relatives who are just plain short-sighted and are fundie rightists. Allegedly they are Xian but have no problem lying to others if it benefits them. I have no contact with them and feel much healthier because of that.
I do worry that his mind may be wrakening, and that is really frightening.
A respite from politics for Sweet Sue and anyone else who enjoys classic movies and wonderful music, courtesy of Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kerns ( and Fred and Ginger! ):
How lovely. Thank you, Beata.
MSNBC is showing Trump being rushed by secret service on stage, and dragging him off. I don’t know what happened, looks like he is going to live. Last time I checked on him he had good damn life insurance, and a sooperdooper pension that will take care of him. Just yesterday we saw how well Pres. Obama controls his crowds, and just watch the video of Clinton above, and see her setting was cool, and no one got rattled.
I’ve been waiting for 18 months for someone to drag Trump off the stage. He has only himself to blame after all his violent speeches and encouragement of violence. There’s no hope he’ll learn a lesson here, but at least his safety bubble was shaken.
It was another one of his Major Works………..staged.
It’s funny to see the gun nuts in a Trump crowd freak out over a guy who was just pulling out a sign. There was no gun or any other kind of weapon.
The irony of it all is breathtaking.
But never fear, we’re almost at the finish line.Just 2 more days and we’ll all be standing in line at the Taco Trucks to eat our celebration Taco’s. Taco Tuesday is coming.
Make America Love Again. Taco’s for everyone
Yeah, and a anti-trump republican, whose is voting for Hillary.
I am afraid of the lasting effects of trumpism. He’s revved up a lot of angs out there and who knows what will happen next week when he loses.
Hahahaha…………some old balding white guy grabbed him by his oranges. Heard he might have to get an orange transfusion.
A cautionary tale: Last night before going to bed, I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. My boyfriend was in another room, reading. All of a sudden, he heard some noises including the sound of dishes breaking. He hurried into the kitchen and found me passed out on the floor.
I don’t remember exactly what happened. As many of you know, I have an inoperable brain tumor. There is very little that can be done for it but I do take a medication 3 times a day to help control the symptoms. Yesterday, however, I was so worried about politics, spending most of my time being online or watching TV, that I forgot to take the last 2 doses which I think resulted in my fainting episode. After I came to, my boyfriend wanted to take me to the ER but I said no. The last thing I needed was to spent Saturday night ( and Sunday morning ) there!
My boyfriend got me into bed, I took my medication and was eventually able to get a decent night’s sleep although I was feeling pretty bad. The fainting episode could have resulted in a concussion if I had hit my head ( very dangerous for me ) or in another serious injury. I was lucky that it didn’t.
The moral of this story is: Don’t get so involved in this election that you forget to take care of yourself first! I know a lot of us are experiencing anxiety and other emotional and physical problems as a result of what is going on. We want to do all we can to get Hillary and down ballot Democrats elected. We want to keep informed. But try to recognize when you have reached your limit and take a break from politics. Eat well, rest and if you take prescribed medication, don’t forget it!
An alternate moral to this story: Get your significant other to clean up the damn kitchen!
Beata, how scary! Please take care.
Oh no! I’m glad your boyfriend was there. If that happened to me, I’d be on my own. Please be careful, Beata.
You are so right, Beata. I’m glad to hear you are okay but please remember that your health comes first. I stayed away from election news yesterday. I had some things to do and a visitor to distract me during the day and then last night we decided to watch the latest Star Trek movie rather than watch politics. It was a refreshing respite from the stress of this election. Now is a good time to step away because, we got this.
Can’t believe it! I watched the same movie last night for a break from all the election news!
lol! Great minds…
Oh no, Beata……Never, ever, ever miss your meds. NO election is so important that we forget to take care of ourselves.
Oh my God.
Beata, I’m so glad that you’re okay.
O my! Glad this all ended well! Take care of yourself!!!
Oh no Beata…………For sure, glad that he was there, and heard you. I’m afraid I’d be in ambulance, and wheeling into hospital, with plugs everywhere.
Sometimes, I get this feeling that builds up in me, that in a matter of days, Hillary Clinton will win, and I can close the door. But I know that’s not the case, I can never close the door. I might be gritting my teeth, talking in my sleep, or to myself, and know that part of it is taking care of me. Sometimes, I smile, I look at sunrise, or sunset, I smell the air, and see the beautiful colors, and I am happy that I am one of you……..and you are one of us. I am happy to cheer you on, and tell you how we love you. We have many good friendships, and sometimes we need to shine the light on ourselves. Resolve to take good care, and pace myself.
Oh, Beata, do take care of yourself! Hillary wants you to, and so do all of us!
oh, Beata, thank goodness you weren’t alone. Take care.
I’m sorry I missed this upbeat and joyful post and thread yesterday but it was wonderful going through it today. Lately I’ve been pondering the fact that this relatively small group has been cyber friends for a long time and we came together because of our respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton. Stronger together, my friends. Stronger together.
Love posts filled with love, strength and joy! Done with the angst and fear! Can’t wait for election night here with all the sky dancers! Such a long journey made lighter by sharing!
Can you tell I’m pumped up for Tuesday?!!
MSNBC needs to offer Andrea Mitchell a “golden parachute” and direct her to the exit. Give that time slot to Joy Reid and bring some real journalism back into play.
Joy is sharp, respectful, and does not take sh*t from her guests while Andrea stumbles through any interview and puts her biases on display.
And as they show her the door why not make it a “double celebration” by including Chris Matthews as an extra bonus! His constant slobbering over Kellyanne Conway because she is an Irish Catholic is nauseating. He lets her sit there and lie her soul into hell then rounds it up by telling her how much he “respects” her. Astonishing.
Trump and his deplorable surrogates are allowed to lie at will with little pushback but hey, how about those e-mails!
I agree: Andrea Mitchell can barely string three or four words together, now.
She’s incoherent.
I am so excited I can’t stand it! I will be heading up to Grand Valley State University tomorrow to see the next President of the United States! This kind of makes it all worth the agony, she’s coming to my neck of the woods on the last day of the campaign. YIPPEE!!!
That’s awesome! Have fun!
Oh, wow! Happy for you!
New open thread up top.