November 8, 2016

The deed is done. Too late trying to convince me of anything now.

IMG_1319

Meade and I walked over to the First Congregational Church, walked through the dark hallways, and passing us right at this point was a young man in a black T-shirt that said in big letters: TRUMP.

I'm keeping my privacy about how I voted, so don't even ask. I wish the best for my fellow Americans and hope that whatever happens, you'll be able to handle it.

ADDED: I was the 522nd person to vote in my polling place, and there was no one ahead of my in line at the A to L table and no one after me. But we selected a time when we thought voting would be lightest, and the place was set up to process crowds.

153 comments:

jaydub said...

I voted absentee three weeks ago. Threw up a little in my mouth when I did it.

zipity said...



Cheer up! The 2020 presidential race starts bright and early tomorrow...!

Lyssa said...

My state is making a big deal out of restricting election-related messaging on clothing at the polls this year. I can't imagine why they think that this is important, but it apparently is.

I respect your right to keep your vote private, Professor, though I admit that I am quite disappointed that my curiosity on the matter will not be satisfied.

bwebster said...

Let me jump in and say I appreciate your intellectual honesty in calling out parties (especially the media) on all sides in this election. There's a reason why your blog is one of those I check several times a day. Aside from the fact that I'm usually avoiding doing actual work, that is. :-)

traditionalguy said...

But have The Russians voted yet...electronically that is.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Too late trying to convince me of anything now.

The 2020 presidential campaign starts now.

YoungHegelian said...

a young man in a black T-shirt that said in big letters: TRUMP.

In Madison no less! Talk about yer "Profiles in Courage"!

chickelit said...

There was a line at my polling place in Oceanside. First time ever in my 16 years of voting here. Who knew there were so many hidden Hillary supporters?

Static Ping said...

I voted for the lesser of two evils. May God have mercy on my soul.

For what it is worth, I vote in a school gym and the lines were the longest I have experienced ever. Fortunately, my precinct had the short line.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Dang. zipity beat me to it.

Larry J said...

I'll leave work around 2:15 and vote on my way home. My wife went to vote at 9:30 and had a hard time finding a place to park. She stood in line for well over an hour before she was able to vote. The turnout is very heavy.

Regardless of the outcome, this is the perfect metaphor for Election 2016.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I voted fairly early today. Then I went home and took a much-needed shower.

Meade said...

"Profiles in Courage" is right. If that young man runs for president someday, I just might vote for him.

(If there is a someday.)

Ken B said...

Why the secrecy? You ask us to believe in your "cruel neutrality" but then refuse to let us check.

Pianoman said...

Today is "Lesser Of Two Evils Day".

Here in California, the Senatorial primary system is "open primary", so my choices for Barbara Boxer's seat are between a Leftist (Harris) and a Leaning Leftist Positioning Herself As A Moderate (Sanchez). No, really -- Sanchez actually put out a radio ad claiming that she was a centrist. Hilarious.

And of course it doesn't matter who I pick for President -- that choice is already made.

On the lighter side, I *do* get to vote for something really important -- whether or not to force the porn industry to use condoms. Plus, I get to decide whether our tax rate -- highest in the nation -- isn't high enough after all.

Hey California leaders -- you do know that people like me will be exiting the state for retirement, right? I have no desire to let my hard-earned savings be siphoned off to pay for high-speed choo-choo train boondoggles, or whatever idiot schemes Suckramento dreams up. So keep on adding more and more taxes, and eventually you too can resemble Venezuela.

As a programming reminder, riots are scheduled for tomorrow evening, regardless of outcome.

Vote Early And Often!

Tank said...

Doh, she voted for the big V.

campy said...

I'm not even registered to vote.

Ipso Fatso said...

The lines by me (Chicago) were long and filled with Hillary!!! voters, except me. The usual city-union-employee-thug was near the front door passing out D Party propaganda. I took one so I knew who to vote against.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Early voting in NC favors Trump, says Clinton News Network.

"Bellweather" as they say...

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Washington State has mail-only voting and I miss the act of going to a polling place and voting in the flesh. How do you build a sense of civic responsibility when voting is indistinguishable from returning a Publishers Clearing House come-on?

JAORE said...

"I'm not even registered to vote."

So, when are you heading down to cast your ballot?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Pianoman, does that suck or what? The new primary system now gives us TWO progressive democrats to choose from for senator. I really hoped we could increase our senate IQ by seeing Boxer go, but nooooooo...

Meade said...

@JAORE
LOL

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I mean for God's sake Loretta Sanchez?!? The first congresscritter documented to have won a seat via the illegal alien vote now wants to be our senator? Her only achievement in DC is making the cat lady christmas card a "thing" in polite circles. Sheeesh.

tim in vermont said...

Short wait when I voted. I finally pulled the trigger for Trump, but it was surprisingly hard. I filled out the whole ballot and almost didn't vote the President. I did at the end with a "fuck it," my wife, I am pretty certain, voted for Hillary, so we cancelled out.

I felt a little better about the Trump vote when a guy who was working the election, in some very minor fashion, standing outside giving directions, said he was glad there were no Trump voters there causing violence.

buwaya said...

"I mean for God's sake Loretta Sanchez?!?"

For what its worth she's far better than Kamala Harris.
That one really is a Stasi, and corrupt on a far grander scale.

Wince said...

That picture reminds me of that awkward, vulnerable feeling of being outside the classroom walking the halls at my old Catholic elementary school while class was in session.

William said...

I voted for Trump, but it's not one of those things I will ever brag about. Here in the anonymity of the Internet, you can talk about such things.

Luke Lea said...

I'm not the praying kind but I'm praying this time -- for Trump.

Michael K said...

Hey California leaders -- you do know that people like me will be exiting the state for retirement, right?

We are headed for Tucson this weekend to look at houses. After 60 years, I am done with California.

One of my daughters thinks legalized marijuana will solve California's budget problems.

MadisonMan said...

I am done as well. No lines mid-morning except the line behind the old man trying to figure out how to feed the ballot into the counter.

I miss the noise the mechanical machines made when the curtain opened and closed.

Michael K said...

Low turnout in Madison is good news for America.

Meade said...

"I felt a little better about the Trump vote when a guy who was working the election, in some very minor fashion, standing outside giving directions, said he was glad there were no Trump voters there causing violence."

And then you sucker gut punched him, right? (kidding)

shiloh said...

"The deed is done. Too late trying to convince me of anything now."

So, is that a good thing or a bad thing. And were you ever convincible to begin with?

>

I'd like to convince you to retire. Oh, already done. Never mind.

On the bright side, law students will no longer try to convince you they should have received an A instead of a C.

>

This years pres candidates need to be graded using the bell curve! I digress.

Snark said...

Has Althouse said why her vote will be private this time? (or were past votes initially private as well? Can't remember, but I don't think so?) That's what I'm curious about, and what it means in the abstract if it can be extrapolated in any way to the thinking and behaviour of other voters. I could hypothesize that as a blogger she just doesn't want the distraction and inherent uselessness of knee-jerk blowback in the comments for the next four years, either way. Or that she perceives some value to the blog in being formally inscrutable. Or that she is being practical given that her commenters and perhaps her readers too lean right, and she has already sensed a shift in tone at times that suggests prudence. I wonder, too, if she and Meade voted the same way or differently.

Unknown said...

My state is making a big deal out of restricting election-related messaging on clothing at the polls this year. I can't imagine why they think that this is important, but it apparently is.

Some years ago when Edwin Edwards ran against David Duke in LA, my brother and his wife on Election Day went to the polls with clothespins symbolically clipped to their shirt pockets. Apparently that was considered campaign messaging and they were required to remove the clothespins before entering the polling place!

Curious George said...

Done. I overheard a pollster say turnout was heavy in my Waukesha polling place. Waukesha is the gold standard for Wisconsin GOP. I guess that's good.

Matt Sablan said...

I voted this morning, and I still feel icky.

A lot more people there early than last presidential election.

retail lawyer said...

Personally, I can't muster much animosity for someone voting for the Presidential candidate I voted against. If you voted for my Congressperson, Anna Eshoo, that would be different. . . I would like to know how Meade voted, though. I'm off to vote now.

Lyle Smith said...

I walked to my poll just after 8am. The poll is at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church Family Center (a black congregation that carries on amidst years of gentrification). Love voting there. You never have to wait that long.

Rusty said...

I learned long ago that it is pointless to attempt to point a woman in a direction she doesn't want to go. Unless you can convince that the direction was her idea in the first place.
I've been married for nearly 30 years. I've learned a lot.
God only knows what my wife has learned.
If anything.

Paddy O said...

Well, I voted too. Purely out of a sense of civic responsibility. Polling place was mostly empty when I voted, only a couple people voting when I got there and no one behind me. I had to choose between abhorrent choices for President and then move on to pick between the two corrupt Democrats for California Senator.

I did have a positive favorite for School Board, though, a young guy who had been making his rounds around the neighborhood and impressed me. Maybe there's hope yet.

A lot of initiatives to wade through, none of which mean anything unless the powers that be grant us benevolence, since anything that doesn't pass political approval gets wasted by the courts.

It matters that I voted, but my vote doesn't matter. I'm coming to terms with this reality and it's not a bad thing, as I don't think my theology really has a place for seeing transformation come from politics on high. It never really worked out anyhow, even in the best of situations.

Rusty said...

Curious George said...
Done. I overheard a pollster say turnout was heavy in my Waukesha polling place. Waukesha is the gold standard for Wisconsin GOP. I guess that's good.

In my area they used a bigger room and the line was about twenty people deep when I got there @ 6:35. It was longer when I left.

Mark Nielsen said...

My wife and I will go to the county fairgrounds at lunchtime (we're in Pacific time zone, so still a couple hours away) to vote. I expect lines, but we'll see. I'll vote for McMuffin, not that it will matter in my state. (My town and county may go for Clinton, but Idaho is solid for Trump.)

Bad Lieutenant said...

Mark Nielsen, I regret your stance. Evan McMullin? The D smiles.

If you want to strike a blow for freedom, a Trump vote is the only one that Clinton will feel.

I don't see what message McMullin sends except that the GOP doesn't respect its voters.

Trump is just not as black as he's been painted.

mockturtle said...

The lines by me (Chicago) were long and filled with Hillary!!! voters, except me. The usual city-union-employee-thug was near the front door passing out D Party propaganda. I took one so I knew who to vote against.

And yet they made a voter take off his 'Make America Great Again' cap and turn his 'Deplorable' tee shirt inside out and, when he refused, he was arrested.

Texas Man Arrested for Deplorables Shirt

MaxedOutMama said...

Are you relieved to have it over? Or is that a Meadehouse secret as well?

I'm heading outside for some yardwork in the sun after my time in the firehouse voting line.

robother said...

But, Ann, as part of your civic duty in the Age of McLuhan you have to let the exit pollers (in this case, us) know how you voted. Otherwise how are we to project the results and/or rejigger our portfolios? As goes Althouse, so goes....

Meade said...

retail lawyer said...
" I would like to know how Meade voted, though."

Single issue for me: Stop immoral, illegal, undemocratic immigration. The crazy sociopath has been right about one thing all along: lose control of our borders; lose the 250 year project of building the nation known as America.

So I voted against Clinton and, to paraphrase Nathanial Hale: I only regret that I had but one vote to save my country.

And to paraphrase my wife: The deed is done. Too late trying to convince me of anything now unless you want to try to convince me that I'm a semi-decent person even though I voted for Trump.

Shawn Levasseur said...

"I'm keeping my privacy about how I voted, so don't even ask. "

No longer neutral, but the cruelty remains.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Meade:

you want to try to convince me that I'm a semi-decent person even though I voted for Trump.



No, not really, but did you bring friends along, like those 3 NeverTrumpers you mentioned?

If so, I may be able to throw you a kind word or two.

If so, we could win this thing.

Achilles said...

Meade said...

And to paraphrase my wife: The deed is done. Too late trying to convince me of anything now unless you want to try to convince me that I'm a semi-decent person even though I voted for Trump.

I gave up many moral pretensions in Iraq and Afghanistan long ago. We did horrible things. But we tried to make the world better and we did. We could have sat on our hands and done nothing.

We could have looked down at those people who tried and thrown tomatoes from the peanut gallery. But that would make us cowards.

Someone has to stand up and fight.

mockturtle said...

Congratulations, Meade! You are officially not a pussy! :-D

Freeman Hunt said...

"My state is making a big deal out of restricting election-related messaging on clothing at the polls this year."

How dare they try to control what clothes people wear.

Freeman Hunt said...

Went at 10:00 because that's usually not a busy time. Waited for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Sydney said...

It was eerily quiet at my polling place for a presidential election. Usually there are lines at all times of day, but I didn't have to wait at all, I was the only one at the table. First time that has ever happened in a presidential election year. I understand that many voted early this year- more than usual, so maybe that was the reason. Poor fools. Their votes are going to be manipulated. I wonder who votes early most- Democrats or Republicans.

Meade said...

Btw, I expect Trump to lose. Just as I expect my vote for Sen. Ron Johnson to be in the minority here in Wisconsin.

Either way, we are looking at a mountain of manure before us in the next four years. Time to start looking for the pony. Myself, I will begin by heading over to the hospital this afternoon to check on a friend who suffered a brain aneurysm 7 days ago and is in intensive care.

Isn't it good just to be alive and walking around? It really is. Let's all try to be a little kinder to each other for each of our numbered days on earth, shall we? No matter who we may have mistakenly voted for. Kindness isn't exactly my strong suit, I know, but I'll pledge right now to make more of an effort. And may God continue to bless our beloved America.

Mark Nielsen said...

@Bad Lieutenant: I am definitely aware that there is a "less bad" choice. I'm voting for McMuffin because I *can*. My state is safe for Trump. My vote here is my way of protesting the choice we're left with.

Freeman Hunt said...

Could have waited ten minutes if they still had paper ballots. People could have voted several dozen at a time.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Isn't it good just to be alive and walking around? It really is. Let's all try to be a little kinder to each other for each of our numbered days on earth, shall we? No matter who we may have mistakenly voted for. ... And may God continue to bless our beloved America."

Amen.

Bay Area Guy said...

@ Meade,

Too late trying to convince me of anything now unless you want to try to convince me that I'm a semi-decent person even though I voted for Trump.

I buy this. I'm in the same boat, perhaps a smidgen more enthusiastic to vote for Trump.

I'm mostly voting against Hillary -- and proudly so.

Odds that Trump wins? Dunno -- maybe 25 - 30%.

Achilles said...

Meade said...

Isn't it good just to be alive and walking around? It really is. Let's all try to be a little kinder to each other for each of our numbered days on earth, shall we? No matter who we may have mistakenly voted for. Kindness isn't exactly my strong suit, I know, but I'll pledge right now to make more of an effort. And may God continue to bless our beloved America.

I will not be kind to people who are evil and have bad intentions.

That means Hillary supporters and the Hillary "team" of corporate jackals and cronies. They are clearly trying to destroy this country with imported illegal voters.

Someone has to stand up and fight.

mockturtle said...

Isn't it good just to be alive and walking around? It really is. Let's all try to be a little kinder to each other for each of our numbered days on earth, shall we? No matter who we may have mistakenly voted for. Kindness isn't exactly my strong suit, I know, but I'll pledge right now to make more of an effort. And may God continue to bless our beloved America.

Nicely said, Meade! I'll pledge the same.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Meade said...Single issue for me: Stop immoral, illegal, undemocratic immigration. The crazy sociopath has been right about one thing all along: lose control of our borders; lose the 250 year project of building the nation known as America.

I am surprised, but good for you, Meade. Ya canceled out at least one vote, I guess.

Unknown said...

I'm just glad I live in a place where the only Democrat choice on the ballot was for federal and state offices; no local race had any Democrat on it.

Couple of Constitution party names, though.

Still, I hold out little hope for America. Trump probably will win the votes cast; but the votes counted? There's the rub, isn't it?

--Vance

Mark Nielsen said...


My wife drew the unfortunate duty of voicing our family's morning prayer today. She had real trouble articulating a plea for divine help in an outcome. Any Mormons here would be familiar with the phrase "stupor of thought" as it relates to praying about things -- well that's exactly what she experienced.

Achilles said...

Mark Nielsen said...
@Bad Lieutenant: I am definitely aware that there is a "less bad" choice. I'm voting for McMuffin because I *can*. My state is safe for Trump. My vote here is my way of protesting the choice we're left with.

McMuffin is for open borders and an NSA security state. Way to protest.

The popular vote is going to matter post election. You think that November 8th is the end of the fight. God you people are wrong.

Meade said...

"No, not really, but did you bring friends along, like those 3 NeverTrumpers you mentioned? "

One of the 3 is the friend who is in intensive care. Believe me, if carrying him in my arms to his polling place would restore him to full health — even if he were to cancel my vote by casting his for Hillary — I would do it without hesitation.

Freeman Hunt said...

The voting bright spot was a rep election with only a Republican and a Libertarian running.

Unknown said...

Hah, a fellow Mormon. Yeah, my consolation in this election is a verse from Ether, where it talks about a king who did justice to the people while not to himself. That's my hope for Trump, really.

Hillary is just Gadianton. Along with the rest of the establishment on both sides.

Sadly, and to my great sorrow, we have no Helaman or Gidgiddoni to fight back with.

--Vance

Johnathan Birks said...

You only voted once? Amateur...

Mark Nielsen said...


Spot on, Vance! Lots of lessons for today in those stories.

cbuds said...

Shy Trump voter here. Just spent lunch joking with colleagues about what a nut he is and how he has no chance of winning. God help us, they're probably right, but at least I did my part. Not that they'll ever know.

holdfast said...

So my wife and I have lived in this house since 2011, though we were not eligible to vote until this year. Turns out that both we and the previous occupants of our house are registered to vote at our address. The previous occupants now live two timezones west of us.

Anyway, no trouble for us voting - paper "fill in the bubble" ballots, and a friend is running for the local school board, so there was at least one vote I could truly feel good about.

Now I want to know if those previous occupants voted absentee in 2012, 2014 or this year.

Fred Drinkwater said...

California. You haven't voted until you've voted here.
17 statewide initiatives. 2 local. (One initiative, about the porn film industry, is basically a single guy's attempt to create for himself a state-funded sinecure as porn-film-regulation-boss. How it got on the ballot is a mystery to me.)
Harris vs Sanchez to replace Boxer. (This is the only place on my sample ballot I left blank. I literally could not bring myself to mark either one.)

I have a relative, an immigrant from a fairly wealthy family, who has done quite well in Silicon Valley. He is a typical CA liberal, including 1) telling his kids, within my hearing, that only white people can be racist, and 2) getting himself a very nice retirement place just over the border in Nevada.
The only reason I'm still in CA is sheer inertia. I'm a bad vote-with-my-feet'er.

Unknown said...

My wife and I voted for Trump here in Silicon Valley. I am a single issue voter this time - immigration - which made the choice easy. I regard my other issue (immigration from jihadi hotspots) as an important subset of immigration. The cover of the ballot in California has instructions in 15-20 languages. Not good.

Hagar said...

Sanchez vs. Harris? How did that happen? Don't you have primary elections in California?

Hagar said...

What we have coming in over our southern border is not immigration; it is invasion invited by the Obama administration.

PaladinQB said...

I am grateful that I am not the only person who is making a point of not revealing their vote this year. In my case, it's because I'm deeply, deeply ashamed of my choice; I don't know about Althouse but having at least one famous person make the same choice makes this garbage fire easier to deal with.

Hagar said...

Donald Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape was awful, but the crudest thing I have ever seen related to the office of the president is when Jack Kennedy told his White House "secretary" to give Dave Powers a blow job in the White House swimming pool in full view of Senator Smathers (D-FL), and assorted other "dignitaries."

Pianoman said...

@Mike: That's the whole point of the new system, I think -- to make sure that the GOP has to clear extra-high hurdles to get a Senate seat.

The collective State IQ has been declining for years. I was stunned when the voters gave Jerry Brown the governorship ... and then I became revolted when the voters voted in tax increases for themselves.

So far, the Left has stayed away from repealing Prop 13. But I'm sure that's on their radar. Hopefully I won't be a resident of California when that happens.

Sprezzatura said...

Alhouse should have been in frame and pointing to that sign.

That way America's two most important voices would have left us w/ the same image, but no indication of their votes.

Anywho, the glass is half full:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/taylor-swift-gets-political-for-the-first-time-this-election-season_us_5821f950e4b0aac624874398

YoungHegelian said...

@Hagar,

The World According to Democrats:

Donald Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape: "a vile misogynist unworthy to be anywhere near the Oval Office."

Jack Kennedy told his White House "secretary" to give Dave Powers a blow job in the White House swimming pool in full view of Senator Smathers (D-FL), and assorted other "dignitaries": "Oh that JFK was such a scamp!".

It is an essential trait of liberal females that their outrage over sexual misconduct is very selective.

Paddy O said...

Hagar, the top two total vote-getters in the primary are in the main election, no matter political party.

The Republican party is dead here in California, even though there are a lot of Republicans still. It went full into permanent minority party a while back, happy to keep party faithful in power and not rock any boats or positions.

Pianoman said...

@MichaelK said: One of my daughters thinks legalized marijuana will solve California's budget problems.

Nope. California's budget problems are primarily caused by the school system and too many bonds sold for various boondoggles. What legalization WILL do is hopefully free up some prison beds for violent criminals. Who cares if people want to blow up their brains with drugs and booze? Just don't crash your car into other people when you're inebriated.

Same goes for the "condom vote" -- what do I care if porn stars want to kill themselves with drugs, booze, and AIDS? They're adults, let them make adult choices. Seriously, are we planning on putting people in jail for NOT wearing a condom when filming porn? I thought we were trying to REDUCE the prison population, not increase it ...

Mark Caplan said...

"I'm keeping my privacy about how I voted, so don't even ask." All I'll say, noncommittally, is may the best man win.

Achilles said...

YoungHegelian said...
@Hagar,

The World According to Democrats:

Donald Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape: "a vile misogynist unworthy to be anywhere near the Oval Office.


And Bill Clinton is an admitted rapist.

Achilles said...

Pittsburg voting fraud.

The problem is that we do not see what the computer actually reports after it is sent.

This is not the first time this has been reported.

This election involves one side that is evil and operates in bad faith.

Mikio said...

It's obvious who Althouse voted for based on her completely reasonable calculus to not tell her Trump-supporting readership. I barely come here anymore, but had to come here today because I was still curious who she'd say she voted for. Got my answer. Good choice, professor. The only sane choice. Can't say I sympathize, because you deserve the readers you've got. And don't be mad or worried, I didn't blow your cover. They'll all reflexively disagree with me anyway. Ciao!

Bad Lieutenant said...

One of the 3 is the friend who is in intensive care. Believe me, if carrying him in my arms to his polling place would restore him to full health — even if he were to cancel my vote by casting his for Hillary — I would do it without hesitation.


Yeah, Meade, I feel you. If I could have Mike or Jon or Chris back I would, even though they would probably be 3 swing state Dem votes.

That said 2 are ambulatory so get them to the polls! Win one for the Gipper-analogue!

jrapdx said...

Reading the comments I'm impressed with the overall level of pessimism or cynicism. Listen to yourselves, none of the candidates are any good, it doesn't matter anyway, election outcome won't make any difference, we're all DOOMED...

Rarely is anything all good or bad, presidents are decidedly mixed bags, no one is ever completely satisfied with political processes or outcomes. We settle for half, or some fraction of what we want.

Realistically, like it or not, Trump is the likely winner of the prize, early signs point in that direction. Looking at that outcome with steely gaze the weight of evidence points to potential upturn in the fortunes of our country, improvements in civil discourse, and healing of divisiveness.

Cynics will scoff at such talk and declare me a simpleton. That I'm not, though as always it doesn't matter what I think, the "big picture" will be what it is, I won't change it. Neither will any cynic, give it some time, say 6 months, some will still be cynics, but others will appreciate an inkling of changes for the better.

Achilles said...

Video of voting machine "malfunctions."

This will not end well.

Bad Lieutenant said...

jrapdx, very willing to believe, if you have any detail on these "early signs."

shiloh said...

So Trump has already filed a lawsuit in NV re: voter fraud.

Let me translate for Althouse hillbillies. Trump knows he's gonna lose big and has already started the grieving er whining process.

1) Denial

2) Anger

3) Bargaining

4) Depression

5) Acceptance

Unknown said...

The market is cooling now. Don't know what, if anything to make of it.

tim in vermont said...

Sick or Drunk? Vote now!

Of course she's drunk, because we all know she "ain't no-ways tarred!"

Achilles said...

shiloh said...

Let me translate for Althouse hillbillies

Once written, you forgot to change your profile. Or is it ARM.

What a joke. Whomever sits at that computer this is pathetic.

We need to recruit people to this blog who aren't sock puppets.

JAORE said...

Done and done. Of the big 3 elections I voted: R,D, write in....

Darcy said...

Yay, Meade!

tim in vermont said...

Achilles, don't encourage whoever it is. Use killfile, as suggested upthread. It makes the blog a much more pleasant place.

jrapdx said...

Bad Lieutenant said...
... very willing to believe, if you have any detail on these "early signs."


Well, it is early in the day, but "reports on the ground" are interesting. Long, long lines of working class voters are reported in MI. Several reports from "blue" areas show low turnout, less than prior elections. In Ohio "hardcore Democrat" areas are having large turnout of union workers voting for Trump according to on-the-scene reports.

Admittedly these are preliminary indicators, not statistically meaningful predictions. That's why I called them "early signs", but they cumulatively, if tentatively, point to a Trump win. My hunch is these reports will continue to emerge, by mid-afternoon Pacific time, it will become a deluge.

campy said...

"I'm not even registered to vote."

So, when are you heading down to cast your ballot?


The local fraud machine takes care of that for me.

Etienne said...

I didn't see Clinton or Trump on the ballot. Just some proxy electors.

Anyway, I voted everywhere except for the proxies. I don't like proxies; I don't trust them.

shiloh said...

"It makes the blog a much more pleasant place."

Indeed, what Althouse lemming doesn't prefer a 100% con bubble!

Like-minded deplorables unite!

Bad Lieutenant said...

No, thank you! If the data were complete they wouldn't be news. Where are you getting this?

Does anybody disagree that if Trump wins Michigan, or cracks off any of those Rust Belt swing states, he is the next President? (Not so much because of the EV count but because of what it must mean in trends elsewhere)

shiloh? i know you have something cogent.

Mmmuahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha...

tim in vermont said...

It's kind of funny, my daughter is a registered Democrat and we are both Republicans. She got a notice from a "non partisan" organization urging her to vote and listing her voting history, including primary votes. We got no such letter urging us to vote. I guess I will complain to the IRS that this organization is likely abusing their tax exempt status to benefit Democrats. Oh wait...

Bad Lieutenant said...

coupe, you wet-brain, what are you babbling about? you're an Okie right? show me a link to an OK ballot that doesn't have the presidential candidates' names.

You know what, let it be. If you voted Trump I would probably feel bad anyway.

tim in vermont said...

BTW, regarding killfile, If anybody notices shilo making a point with facts and evidence, rather than junior high level taunts, or directly addressing any arguments people hear have made with thoughtful counter arguments, feel free to bring it to my attention.

tim in vermont said...

frikin' homophones.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Well, Tim, I double-dog dared him, but as we all know, Ol' Navy hasn't got the guts. Should he utter a valid syllable, will be piped direct to you.

shiloh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
shiloh said...

"feel free to bring it to my attention."

t in v, you want me at this blog ~ you need me at this blog!

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Etienne said...

Bad Lieutenant said...[snip]

I've told you before to quit humping my leg. What part of that do you not understand?

eric said...

I'm surprised you didn't tell us how you voted.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Humping your what? No, I'm not French, we don't do that here.

Thing is, in your addlepated way, you were probably trying to make a point.

I wonder if that happens to you often. So sad, the wisdom of coupé, lost in the sauce...

tim in vermont said...

BTW, I was genuinely undecided until the very last second. I was still undecided after voting the whole rest of the ballot, including voting against the "pretend medical marijuana." I might have voted FOR recreational marijuana, but the stupid fakery is just to much for me.

Hagar said...

Trump's past behavior may have been more New Yorkish than desirable, but I have seen no suggestion that he has engaged in any behavior as outrageous as that we have routinely accepted from the Kennedys and the Clintons, so let us have some balance here.
Also, he has a surprising number of fairly impressive people backing him, so maybe he can get us through the next four years with our shirts still on, if elected.

OTOH, if Hillary! is elected, it is fitting that the party that we elected with Barack Obama is still in office when the chickens he raised come home to roost. It will be a rough lesson, but a well deserved one.

Michael K said...

"What legalization WILL do is hopefully free up some prison beds for violent criminals. "

That's pretty much a myth, I'm sorry to say. Governor Moonbeam is now releasing violent felons. A lot of the "drug cases" are plea bargained down from serious shit.

I hope Sheriff Joe beats the Soros effort to defeat him as I'm heading for Arizona after the Holidays.

Clyde said...

I did the early voting thing two weeks ago here in Florida. I kept my streak of not voting for any Democrats since 9/11 intact. Voted against Hillary by voting for Trump. I hope that if he's elected he's not too bad. Hillary was a known quantity; I knew just how bad she was and how bad she'd be for America. "Hillary For America" was like "Syphilis For Lovers": Something not just undesirable but to be avoided at all costs. Now we wait for the results, and the drinking, win or lose. I'm planning on waking up with a hangover, like the rest of America.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

tim in vermont said...

BTW, I was genuinely undecided until the very last second.

I was certainly leaning Trump, but the thing that sealed the deal was the media reaction to Comey's latest letter to Congress. CNN/MSNBC/NPR/NYT/WP all reported it as Comey Clears Clinton or Comey Clears Clinton - Again. Fox News was the best, but even they quoted someone, without correcting them, saying it cleared her.

It did not. The latest letter said the new email trove did not change the July decision. The July letter said that she committed all the elements of the crime, but the weren't going to file charges, because shut up. That is not clearing her.

Bob Ellison said...

I do think the blog would benefit from more serious leftish commentary. The comment section is starting to turn into an echo chamber that devolves into an insult match.

With this particular thread, that's not gonna happen. Things might settle down in a few days or weeks or months or years.

Jeff said...

I'm thinking I should write in Satan. Voting for the lesser evil seems like a waste.

mockturtle said...

I hope Sheriff Joe beats the Soros effort to defeat him as I'm heading for Arizona after the Holidays.

Although I've wintered in AZ most of the past twenty years, I've never voted here. But I'm thinking of transferring my domicile from WA, a hopelessly blue state.

buwaya said...

The current meme seems to be referring to Trump as "The God Emperor"
Probably a reference to Frank Herberts "Dune" world.

Its all over Vox Day's and reddit/the chans
Someone spammed Democratic Underground with it a couple of hours ago and shut the site down.

YoungHegelian said...

Well, I went in to the poll in MD & cast my lonely, disgruntled vote against HRC by checking the Trump box.

My wife & I did have a lovely conversation with the Republican poll person afterwards, however. While she is much more sanguine than I am about a possible Trump victory, we were pretty much in agreement about how Trump could have campaigned better, about how much of his personality is "Neu Yawk", & just how horribly corrupt the Clinton machine is.

Sprezzatura said...

"I'm thinking I should write in Satan. Voting for the lesser evil seems like a waste."

Some would argue that your vote decision would be voting for the lesser evil.

Sprezzatura said...

"WA, a hopelessly blue state."

Hey, lets hope global warming is real. I'm into 70 degree Novembers, like today. (As long as it's not too hot during the summer.)

Bad Lieutenant said...

It's all right YH. You did the right thing. It doesn't always pay off. Doesn't mean it wasn't right. You know why And is cagey? She doesn't want to be known to have voted for the loser. She won't tell who she voted for till after the election.

SukieTawdry said...

I understand turnout is way down here in California. Doesn't matter, of course, if turnout is high, moderate or practically non-existent, Hillary will get the state's 55 electoral votes and a Democrat will go to the Senate. Maybe that's why turnout is so low. It doesn't matter.

Mike Sylwester said...

I'm keeping my privacy about how I voted

I assumed that you have tenure.

Pookie Number 2 said...

Too late trying to convince me of anything now unless you want to try to convince me that I'm a semi-decent person even though I voted for Trump.

The only reason you may not be a semi-decent person is if you don't play ice hockey. Most decent people are voting for Trump.

Static Ping said...

buwaya: The current meme seems to be referring to Trump as "The God Emperor"
Probably a reference to Frank Herberts "Dune" world.


More likely Warhammer 40,000. Very popular tabletop sci-fi war game based in year 40,000 and heavily reliant on rule of cool (chainswords and chainaxes are common weapons, nuns fighting in stripper costumers, terminator robots fighting space locust swarms, portals into space hell, etc.) For the record, the story of Warhammer 40K is not as much about what has gone wrong but in how many ways it has gone wrong and how it is going to get even worse tomorrow, plus lots and lots of firepower. The God-Emperor is probably the closest thing to "good" in the universe, and he's got a body count that Hitler would find appalling plus he's currently almost dead and on life support.

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a compliment or not.

SukieTawdry said...

Clyde:

Hillary For America" was like "Syphilis For Lovers": Something not just undesirable but to be avoided at all costs.

Good one! Too bad you weren't working for the Trump campaign.

David said...

Quite a clean and tidy church.

I voted in a community center in a nearly all black neighborhood. The center needs paint, some new basketball equipment, a new fence around the (presently empty) pool and most of all a new surface on the parking lot, which was a hazard to anyone who tried to walk on it. As usual the old black women who administer the voting and check the ID cards (horrors!) were gracious and friendly. My precinct is about 55% white and 45% black. Voting turnout is always high in national elections and very low in local if there is no state or national race. There are no intimidating personages or poll watchers. Nobody ever seems to think that they are disenfranchised or that the other side is stealing votes. Because they aren't, at least not here.

It is very nice to live in a community where nearly everyone is consistently polite and respectful.

I see that Donald Trump and his wife were booed on their way to vote. Quite sad, really.

heyboom said...

Wife and I just voted enthusiastically for Trump here in Bellflower, CA. Two college attending daughters will vote later this evening for Trump as well. The cynic in me would believe that having so many different color coded reporting tables at the polling station is a recipe for mischief, but I saw people of all persuasions at ours.

Heavenly Father bless us all.

David said...

"WA, a hopelessly blue state."

Not entirely hopeless. The voters turned down an income tax.

buwaya said...

Thanks for the correction SP.
That milieu is after my time, but it does seem more likely.
They are expecting the "Ascension of the God Emperor", and Trump is depicted in some golden space-armor, so it makes sense.

Freeman Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SukieTawdry said...

The only reason I'm still in CA is sheer inertia. I'm a bad vote-with-my-feet'er.

I'm still here because I love California. It's a stunningly beautiful state. What are you in the mood for? Whatever it is, you can find it here.

The one thing that might drive me out is if Prop. 13 ever gets overturned and our property taxes go the way of New Jersey.

Euno844 said...

Madison has a polling place in A CHURCH?!? What if somebody is offended by the sight of a Christian symbol?

YoungHegelian said...

@bp,

...nuns fighting in stripper costumers

Those bastards! They ripped that off from my Catholic grade school Christmas pageant!

SukieTawdry said...

There was a line at my polling place in Oceanside. First time ever in my 16 years of voting here. Who knew there were so many hidden Hillary supporters?

Lots of military in Oceanside.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"WA, a hopelessly blue state."

King and Pierce counties are hopelessly blue. Where I live (admittedly widely considered the Yoknapatawpha County of Washington State) life is distinctly red. Other than a few more sketchy homeless people passing through the area, the Obama years were indistinguishable from the Bush years.

Sprezzatura said...

"Not entirely hopeless. The voters turned down an income tax."

Not to mention that even a big dummy like me was, other than voting for Gary, all R, all the way.

Plus, as I noted up thread, 70 degrees, a third of the way into Nov for West WA aint' bad.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

There are few more Mexican restaurants with a Third World ambiance, though, which might be indicative of something. Still, as PB notes, a gorgeous day.

Sprezzatura said...

"Other than a few more sketchy homeless people passing through the area"

I think I saw a bit of that this summer. Even more East, I was passing through Butte Montana where from my third floor hotel window (H Inn Exp) I saw a group of three dirty folks (if anyone's keeping score: all white, two dudes, one chick (and two dogs)) sleeping in an adjoining undeveloped lot. The next morning they were at the on ramp w/ thumbs out.



mockturtle said...

My daughter works in Puyallup and says it is turning into a hub for the homeless.

Paco Wové said...

"I do think the blog would benefit from more serious leftish commentary."

One of the things I like most about Megan McArdle's commenter ecosystem is that there are a number of intelligent left-leaning commenters there, which helps improve the overall quality of comment discourse. Not that there aren't stupid lefties there as well, but overall, the liberal Happy Meals are less likely to be a few fries short over there, if you know what I mean.

McArdle herself, on the other hand, can produce some complete head-shaking whoppers.

Walter said...

So I'm just wondering if they've removed the fallout shelter signs or if they are just not visible in the image you chose to share.

Walter said...

Because that's what comes to mind for me as it appears Trump might win.

Pat Moffitt said...

Why are the voting books broken into A-L and M to Z rather than a break down where the letters represent half the names. In some areas the ethnic breakdowns causes most of the names to be in the A-L book or the M-Z book. The current policy causes, as an example, no-one standing in the A to L line and long lines in the M to z or vice versa.

mikee said...

When in 2012 Obama, much to my surprise, won his second term, I made a $100 bet with my wife that Hillary would be the next president. I did so in the fully cynical assumption that the US was absolutely beyond redemption, in the hands of corrupt government and corrupt business and corrupt culture.

It is with great pleasure that today I have to go to the bank and get a nice crisp $100 bill to pay my wife her winnings.

Maybe, if I am humble enough about it, she will use it to take us both out to eat somewhere nice.