Althouse: At the Late Night Cafe...

August 7, 2018

At the Late Night Cafe...

... you can talk about Ohio or anything.

66 comments:

Birkel said...: CNN just said thisOhio district was the 17th best seat for possible pickups.
And it looks like Dems are going to lose by a narrow margin.
Blue wave seems a bit unlikely.; 8/7/18, 9:14 PM
Big Mike said...: 700 votes isn't much. If the Republicans who voted for Balderson stay home on November 6th then this seat will flip.

Fingernail chewing time between now and then.; 8/7/18, 9:15 PM
Birkel said...: The Dem far outspent the Republican.
All so Democrats could lose by a little?
The MSM is spinning its finest but this does not seem like a big moral victory.; 8/7/18, 9:18 PM
Drago said...: Only about 50% of the general election voters turned out for the special (not bad for a special election though).

What percent of the Reps who voted R in 2016 switched to D his time?

Thats a key metric for Nov.; 8/7/18, 9:18 PM
Birkel said...: Up to 1685 margin.
98.6% reporting; 8/7/18, 9:19 PM
Drago said...: Birkel: "The Dem far outspent the Republican.
All so Democrats could lose by a little?
The MSM is spinning its finest but this does not seem like a big moral victory."

Its Ossof all over again.; 8/7/18, 9:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: Trump had better send in Pence and Melania to keep this seat. And a rally or two more.; 8/7/18, 9:20 PM
Drago said...: Kasich sure did his best to help the dem yesterday by talking down the rep.

Just like LLR Chuck.; 8/7/18, 9:21 PM
Birkel said...: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/08/07/suspicions-confirmed-congress-gets-bruce-ohr-documents-showing-back-door-communication-network/

Bruce Ohr is now in the spotlight.; 8/7/18, 9:21 PM
wildswan said...: I think one precinct in a heavily Dem area is hanging back till they know how many votes are needed.; 8/7/18, 9:24 PM
Drago said...: Birkel, they finally got some more of the info released.

The FBI and DOJ have now, officially, been exposed as working directly with the Hillary/DNC oppo research creeps AND violating multiple internal rules involving their use of sources AND clearly hiding exculpatory evidence from the FISA court.

LLR Chucks and Dick Durbins tears begin flowing...; 8/7/18, 9:24 PM
Drago said...: LLR Chuck's dem/lefty allies now proclaiming the Green Party traitors and an arm of the Republican party.

We must find a way to give these Inga-like rocket scientists more control over our lives!; 8/7/18, 9:33 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I like highlight reels. A highlight reel is like a movie: the great stuff that worked best cut together. Watching sports though is like watching all the raw footage from making a movie instead of watching the movie. You have to sit through so much tedious garbage. By garbage, I don't mean horrible stuff; I mean the stuff you'd obviously throw away if you were cutting something together. This is why I don't watch sports.; 8/7/18, 9:35 PM
Drago said...: The Inga's on the lefty websites now openly calling Jill Stein a tool and ally of Putin.

Because OF COURSE they are.

Next up: small town baker wins race for town dog catcher....because "PUTIN!!!"; 8/7/18, 9:35 PM
WK said...: I voted early on Friday since I am not in Columbus today. Looked like a line to vote on Friday morning but it turned out I was the only voter. Others were at the county office for drivers tests and licenses. So not sure what the early vote numbers were.

My son went to the Trump rally on Saturday. He got there about two hours before Trump spoke (had to work in the afternoon) and the school gym was already filled so he had to watch on the outside monitors. Sizable crowd with a small number of protesters. He did get a new MAGA hat and a Trump flag for his dorm room.

The results looked like O’Conner won heavily in Columbus (Franklin county) and outlying counties went Balderson.; 8/7/18, 9:36 PM
Mark said...: So, the movie China Moon (1994), Madeleine Stowe and Ed Harris, just came on about half-hour ago. From what is starting to happen in the story, it has elements of film noir. Unfortunately, the direction and lighting and mood and the acting totally fail in noir.

Too bad. Would it really have been all that hard? Watch a couple of movies from the 40s-50s.

They were able to pull it off with Body Heat. And to a good extent with Wild Things. But this is a disappointment already.; 8/7/18, 9:38 PM
WK said...: On a side note, I was working the crossword puzzle on the plane this morning. The word was 9 letters and the clue was “Bernie Sanders is one, for example”. I tried “socialist” which didn’t fit and then “communist” which didn’t work either. Had to cheat and look at the solution. Apparently the desired answer was “Vermonter”.....; 8/7/18, 9:40 PM
Henry said...: Hey ho way to go Ohio; 8/7/18, 9:40 PM
Sebastian said...: "Bruce Ohr is now in the spotlight."

In a way, he already was--the personal link between the Deep State and Fusion GPS. Hiding his full role was a good reason for the FBI/DOJ stonewalling. We know much of what they did--running Halper at Trump flunkies, using Downer to pile on, exploiting Steele and his Russian sources, getting a FISA on Page with just the dossier, setting up Mueller to continue the witch hunt, turning the insurance policy into an impeachment fishing expedition. But the precise extent of the coordination between CIA, FBI, and DOJ against Trump is not quite clear yet.

They are still trying to run out the clock until Dems take over. But Trump may trump them yet.; 8/7/18, 9:44 PM
wildswan said...: GOP wins in Ohio but the margin is so narrow. I wonder what their recount law is?; 8/7/18, 9:49 PM
Drago said...: wildswan: "GOP wins in Ohio but the margin is so narrow. I wonder what their recount law is?"

The general Rule of Thumb on recounts is "what does the dem require?"

Sometimes that means car trunks are utilized, sometimes it means excluding lots and lots of military ballots, etc.; 8/7/18, 9:53 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: If a person needed to differentiate a modern children's comedy from a modern adult comedy, the easiest way might be to see if it includes butt jokes or dick jokes. Butt jokes? Children's comedy. Dick jokes? Adult comedy.

Mourn heartily for comedy writing today.; 8/7/18, 9:53 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "GOP wins in Ohio but the margin is so narrow"

Red wave = Kotex and babies not= Alexandria Occasional Kotex = red wave

Math is tricky.

Got it.; 8/7/18, 9:54 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Mourn heartily for comedy writing today."

OK, I get it....you're assuming that you've got yur finger on this pulse.

Cool.; 8/7/18, 9:56 PM
wildswan said...: They have to wait for absentee ballots etc. and then if the margin is less than 1.5 percent it's a mandatory recount. So the election isn't over. This vote shows Big City Blues against the Rest Of The District Reds - as has been the case since 2016.; 8/7/18, 9:56 PM
Big Mike said...: Correction: 1754 votes out of 202,521 cast. Less than 1 percentage point. We Republicans can take comfort from the fact that the Democrat spent a lot of money and lost, because there is no way the RNCC is going to be outspent in November. But if I was a Republican leader in that district I'd be working on GOTV between now and then.; 8/7/18, 9:57 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "This vote shows Big City Blues against the Rest Of The District Reds - as has been the case since 2016."

The best (aside from R district line drawing) republic is the one that is determined by sparseness.

E.g., Senate = good.; 8/7/18, 9:59 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "But if I was a Republican leader in that district I'd be working on GOTV between now and then."

That sorta comment is why these threads are filled w/ the best political thinkin' around.

Genius!; 8/7/18, 10:01 PM
Mark said...: I wonder what their recount law is?

Count again and again until they "find" a box or two of ballots that had been "lost." And sure enough, those ballots tip the election to the Dems.; 8/7/18, 10:02 PM
Sprezzatura said...: BTW,

I'm a long time lurker, never commentor, on these threads.

But. I must speak up to note that the vote recounts will continue until the D creates enough fake votes such that they win.

Carry on.; 8/7/18, 10:03 PM
Mark said...: Got to be quicker there with hitting that "publish your comment" button, adSs.; 8/7/18, 10:05 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Mark,

Yor, at least, one step ahead of me.; 8/7/18, 10:07 PM
wildswan said...: Or another site says the recount margin is .5% in Ohio but they are still waiting for absentee ballots. Do you know that in Wisconsin they don't know how many absentee ballots there are till they count the votes, whereas in regular voting every ballot gets a number so they know how many voted. I wonder if it's like that in Ohio.; 8/7/18, 10:07 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Every candidate endorsed by Ocrazy-Cortez lost.

It looks like her appeal outside of the Bronx is - rather limited.; 8/7/18, 10:08 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "It looks like her appeal outside of the Bronx is - rather limited."

Political appeal? Yup.

Appeal appeal? Not bad. Not great, but not bad.; 8/7/18, 10:10 PM
Sprezzatura said...: DJT would walk-in on her if she was changing clothes and not expecting a creep. Likewise pussy grab re creep.

Of course, it'd be nice to think such creeps would get locked him up.

Not so.

SAD!; 8/7/18, 10:12 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Appeal appeal? Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

8/7/18, 10:10 PM

She's not bad looking. But isn't there a bit of masculine folk wisdom about what not to do with crazy?; 8/7/18, 10:15 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Saagar Enjeti

"NEW: German Car company Daimler has canceled plans in Iran after new U.S. sanctions and mult mtgs with Ambassador @RichardGrenell, ofcl tells me. Grenell is quietly delivering a message to German CEO's: Either do business with Iran or the U.S. but not both."

The Democrats held up the appointment of Grenell for a long time. He's effective and acts in the best interests of America.

The Democrats don't want that.; 8/7/18, 10:30 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "She's not bad looking. But isn't there a bit of masculine folk wisdom about what not to do with crazy?"

I agree, if I was hanging w/ this sorta thinking' gal (happens fairly often) I'd pass cause of red (figuratively red (i.e. not just commie)) flags.

But, most dudes are more desperate.

However, I am impressed by her cognative [FYI, re "behind the curtain," that misspell is intentional (so, what to make that there thing (and the like?)? (??))] abilities and wisdom as a candidate. BTW, I've seen the con-media highlighted clips of her being a supposed dope, e.g. re Israel etc , I've also seen longer stuff w/ her, incl w/ her being fairly rigorously questioned. She's not a dummy. Just not my not-a-dummy type.

Different strokes fer different folks.; 8/7/18, 10:32 PM
Biotrekker said...: Regarding Ohio-12 race, cluncky metaphor of the day from Cincinnati.com: "With such a close race, the "blue wave" wasn't crushed – but it was dampened." Shouldn't a blue wave already be wet?; 8/7/18, 10:35 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "One man reportedly died and more than twenty people were hospitalized over the weekend while attending the Hard Summer festival at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

According to ABC 7, Andrew Cole Click, 19, was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 11:45 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 5), with an autopsy pending to determine his cause of death."

The 50th anniversary of Altamont isn't until next year, but California's warming up for it.; 8/7/18, 10:40 PM
wildswan said...: In the Sixties the kids thought they had discovered sex for the first time and if they just did it enough society would be reformed from within by happiness. Now they think they have discovered justice for the first time and if they simply demand it* of others it will come about. I wonder why no one thought of that before?

*as defined by socialism**

**socialism as defined by Denmark***

***and socialism as defined by the EU****

**** but not socialism as limited, perhaps distorted, by the white devilism****** of Europe

*****but Sarah Jeong's remarks don't apply to Nordic socialism only to Nordics in America******

******but Sarah Jeong's remarks******* don't apply to Nordic Minnesota, the first socialist state in America

*******Sarah Jeong's remarks are a clarion call for justice and not in the least controversial but they are done by a stunt double and the footage is edited. Do not try these tricks at home. ********

******** WTF. Then what is justice when I'm at home?; 8/7/18, 10:49 PM
stephen cooper said...: When I was in fifth grade, my teacher explained to me that, despite what people said, Nixon was almost as handsome as Kennedy to most women.

I have absolutely no idea why I remember that. The poor young woman from the Bronx , or from some nice neighborhood in Westchester, is no prettier than millions of other women and it doesn't matter, she only needs, to be happy in life, to have one good man think she is not unattractive, and to love her. The opinions of everybody else are obviously irrelevant. I mean, a good person is a mystery to his or her beloved, right? Of course that is right.

As for me, that blank look of cold-hearted stupidity in her eyes is a turnoff, but I am sure she talks about things she knows about when she is not talking about politics, as almost all of us do. So there's that.

Famously, Nadezhda Krupskaya was known as having fish eyes. She didn't, really, but the primitive photography and printing press technology of the day were not flattering.; 8/7/18, 11:08 PM
Drago said...: Biotrekker: "Shouldn't a blue wave already be wet?"

What if it identifies as a "dry wave"?; 8/7/18, 11:10 PM
Sprezzatura said...: BTW,

When folks here decide that AOC is a dummy based on the well circulated (among cons) clips of her having big promises but not having coherent plans re promises:

1) Think of DJT saying: “The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20, 2017, safety will be restored.” Likewise: “The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan.” Or: the other thousands (literally) of lies that have been cataloged since his inauguration.

2) Think of Althouse flailing re Bob Wright. She couldn't come up w/ one single example of an HRC lie (FTR, I can come up w/ a bunch). Likewise when Bob was being exactly as he often is w/ folks re disagreeing, Althouse had to whine about how he was a meany to her because she could directly answer questions.

Anywho, the point is that nobody is perfect (except Hey-Zeus). Hence, that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gal ain't a dummy. Just wrong.; 8/7/18, 11:40 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Breaking911
‏
Masturbating bicyclist shot by woman after trying to enter her Houston, Texas home, police say; condition unknown - KPRC"

The guy's quite a multi-tasker, isn't he?; 8/7/18, 11:43 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: " Hence, that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gal ain't a dummy."

She's dumber than a stick of gum.; 8/7/18, 11:44 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Of course, being dumber than a stick of gum doesn't mean she's too dumb to be elected to Congress. Look at Maxine Waters and Gwen Moore.; 8/7/18, 11:45 PM
Jimmy said...: Noted political expert Alyssia Milano actually said that she thought the Russians were to blame for OH. Seriously. Is there nothing Putin can't do. wow.; 8/7/18, 11:54 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: That Old Devil Called Love

It's that old devil called Love again,
Gets behind me, keeps giving me the shove again,
Putting rain in my eyes, tears in my dreams,
And rocks in my head.

It's that sly old son-of-a-gun again,
He keeps telling me, I'm the lucky one again.
But I still have that rain,
Still have those tears,
And those rocks in my head.

Suppose I didn't stay --
Ran away, wouldn't play --
The devil, what a potion, he would brew.
He'd follow me around,
Fill me up, tear me down,
Till I'd be so bewildered,
I wouldn't know what to do.

Might as well give up the fight again.
I know darn well he'll convince me
That he's right again.

When he sings that siren song,
I'm just got to tag along,
With that old devil called Love.

-----

Lyrics by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher

-----

Sung by Billie Holiday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOLDA1iJ4yM; 8/8/18, 12:03 AM
Drago said...: adSs: "When folks here decide that AOC is a dummy based on the well circulated (among cons) clips of her having big promises but not having coherent plans re promises...."

Buzzzzzzzzzer

Full Stop.

Wrong.

AOC is a dummy because....that's what she is.

“unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs.”

LOL

A regular rocket scientist.

But nice try there adSs. Nice try.; 8/8/18, 12:22 AM
Gahrie said...: Who wants to bet that the results in Ohio aren't nearly as close in the end as the media is pretending they are?; 8/8/18, 12:36 AM
Saint Croix said...: So I'm walking around downtown and I pass by three cops. And one of the cops looks normal. But the other two? Well, this is how my brain describes it.

Cops in shorts!; 8/8/18, 1:02 AM
Saint Croix said...: Cops in shorts is not a good idea. Let me explain.

I usually avoid doing anything that might get me arrested. Well, except this morning I didn't buy a ticket for the light rail because the train was coming and I was in a hurry. And my brain says, "It's 8:40 in the morning, it's going to be crowded, they never ask for tickets when it's crowded, because there's too many damn people to ask for tickets. And it's just a very small misdemeanor anyway." My brain thinks fast when the train is coming. But, you know, still illegal. And the problem with illegality is that shit can escalate.

Cops: "Step off the train with us, please."

Me: "You ought to be wearing long pants. Seriously."; 8/8/18, 1:06 AM
Narayanan said...: https://m.theepochtimes.com/chinese-people-hope-powerful-grandpa-trump-ends-the-chinese-communist-party_2613192.html; 8/8/18, 1:11 AM
StephenFearby said...: I'd say the potentially most important story of the day might well be the news that:

"A lawyer for a Russian businessman [Aleksej Gubarev]suing BuzzFeed News over the infamous Steele dossier says he will provide the Senate with a video of a deposition that Christopher Steele, the document’s author, gave as part of the BuzzFeed lawsuit in June.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/07/christopher-steele-congress-interview-chuck-grassley/

'Before the British High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Steele hasn't made the case that his claims about Gubarev are true. Instead, he has argued that he couldn't have libeled Gubarev because he thought the dossier information would be kept secret. He said he had fully expected Fusion GPS—the opposition research company that had hired him—to keep the dossier confidential: "Fusion was aware of the confidentiality of intelligence reports"'

https://www.weeklystandard.com/eric-felten/dossier-author-steele-suddenly-mum-in-the-face-of-lawsuits

Hard to believe Steele actually uttered these words with a straight face.

If Senator Grassley decides to release the video of Steele squirming under a Perry
Mason-like grilling by Gubarev's lawyers, the clips from same would likely have a much greater media impact than words from a transcript.

This, coupled with the prospective grilling of Bruce Ohr by Deven Nunes' House committee will likely be the next big news in Russiagate.; 8/8/18, 1:40 AM
rehajm said...: It’s hard to put a positive spin on a leftie loss in Ohio. Everyone with the Trump Syndrome must have turned out.; 8/8/18, 3:49 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "It’s hard to put a positive spin on a leftie loss in Ohio. Everyone with the Trump Syndrome must have turned out."

Are you kidding? It was easy to see what the positive spin was even hours before the loss was known. It was: This shouldn't have even been close, so getting close was bad news for Republicans. Anything less that the margin by which Trump won that district would be seen as a gain for Democrats. Also it's all just a set up for the real election in November: the fight goes on, the narrow win shows what a struggle the GOP has in a district that should be easy, so that spells Blue Wave for the country in general.

I picked that up glancing sideways at about 2 minutes of cable news last night.; 8/8/18, 5:04 AM
rehajm said...: Yes Ann- thanks. Your two minutes of sideways TV supports my point- EVERYONE with Trump Derangement Syndrome showed up last night!!; 8/8/18, 5:21 AM
Humperdink said...: The most interesting aspect of last weekend's slaughter in Chi-town was not record setting 70+ shot. It was there were zero arrests. That's right, none.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/08/07/chicago-gun-violence-homicide-clearance/925630002/; 8/8/18, 5:38 AM
tim in vermont said...: I am going to make a bet on the Ohio district here. A bet, not a lead pipe cinch, a guess. The guess is that without the entire national Democratic machine focused on this one district, it will be less close in the fall. If this was really considered the Democrats’ 17th best shot at flipping a seat, the R’s will likely hold the House.; 8/8/18, 6:08 AM
tim in vermont said...: The Infowars app is rising in the Apple store’s rankings after a number of other major digital platforms cracked down on its content.

The app has surged in popularity in recent days from the 47th to the 4th most popular Apple store news app in the United States. That position places Inforwars over CNN, Fox News and The New York Times’s apps, according to app analytics site, App Annie.

I have to admit, I am now aware of Alex Jones. I guess I was aware of Infowars the same way I am aware of the National Enquirer, but this was a stupid move by people drunk with power.; 8/8/18, 6:14 AM
Ralph L said...: The Congresscritter who quit sure left a mess. I'm surprised anyone voted for a Rep. for 4 months.; 8/8/18, 6:46 AM
Night Owl said...: @Tim in vermont

I agree the left has a lust for power. But I also see this as a sign of desperation. The left needs to regain control over the narrative, because they're losing the battle in the war of ideas. Increasingly, people think the Dem party and the left are nuts.

Attempting to silence the opposition is the move of people who lack confidence in their message.; 8/8/18, 6:47 AM
Night Owl said...: And yes I do agree this move will backfire on the left. Just like the media's non-stop fake-news attacks on Trump are hurting them. But they can't stop doing these things because they have no counter-message that resonates with the electorate.

The recent video of the attack on Candace Owens shows leftists merely screaming unintelligibly like babies throwing a tantrum because they are incapable of engaging in a meaningful dialogue with her. Reasonable people see that and #walkaway.; 8/8/18, 7:08 AM
daskol said...: still confused by the invective and insults directed at AOC from the Bronx. is it because she calls herself a socialist and is less then fully briefed on the things congressional candidates are supposed to be briefed on? her inability to rattle off Dem Party approved talking points indicates that she's stupid? she broke the NYS Dem machine. she deprived the Dems of a seasoned Congressional leader, weakening the Party in Congress. why are people taking her ideology seriously? she spouted the kind of things you're supposed to say to win over the kind of people who king and queen-make in her district. her victory lays bare, for all to see, the rift in the Dem Party and just how discombobulated that institution is--elderly leadership comprised of hack politicians who are so uninspiring that voters will vote for almost anyone else given the choice. she's immature and not fully briefed, but she is a breath of fresh air to me in that she is both a part of and representative of the dismantling of the state and national apparatus of power called the Democrat Party. AOC's win is a cause for celebration across the political spectrum if you think our leadership class is awful and that things in Washington and in a place like NYS need a serious shaking up. as to her socialism, she wanted to win, and she did. she's clearly very flexible ideologically, and by the time the general election comes around she'll sound a lot less dumb, and probably more conciliatory to her own Party's leadership. but she's beholden to nobody, which in itself is a good thing. a real wildcard.; 8/8/18, 7:26 AM