Open Thread for Tuesday, September 13, 2016

PRESIDENT
NATIONAL–NBC News/Survey Monkey–Clinton 48, Trump 44
CALIFORNIA–KABC/SurveyUSA–Clinton 57, Trump 32
MICHIGAN–FOX 2 Detroit/Mitchell–Clinton 47, Trump 42
NEVADA–PPP–Clinton 45, Trump 42

BuzzFeed: “For months, the prevailing wisdom within GOP political circles has been that Donald Trump stands little chance to win in November — and a large number of the party’s consultants, fundraisers, and operatives privately preferred it that way. Though many of them are reluctant to say so in public, they argue that a Trump presidency would fracture their party, decimate the conservative movement, and wreak havoc on the global economy (not to mention their own industry).”

“But now, with polls tightening and Hillary Clinton’s illness temporarily sidelining her from the campaign trail, those Republicans are expressing alarm at Trump’s sudden electoral viability.”

Said one GOP consultant: “It’s terrifying. He’s not qualified … and it’s a massive problem. I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton, but at least I feel like some of those jobs that are required for president, she could do them.”

Byron York: “Could there be a clunkier phrase than ‘basket of deplorables’? Hillary Clinton’s assertion that half — or maybe something less than half — of Donald Trump’s supporters are ‘racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it’ struck a lot of observers as not just an odd turn of phrase but politically unwise. You attack your opponent, the idea was, but you don’t attack the voters.”

“But now, a few days later, the brilliance of Clinton’s remark is becoming clearer. Yes, she got a few liberal commentators to take her side and defend the substance of it. But the far bigger benefit is that in the wake of her comment, some media figures decided to devise a ‘deplorables’ quiz for Trump supporters. Is Person X deplorable? How about Person Y? The effect was to pressure Trump supporters not only to agree with Clinton’s larger point but with her precise terminology.”

I never thought it was a “gaffe.” Yes, in the beltway media’s mind, it is. Hillary knew that and knew that racists cannot stand being called racists. So she knew Trump would devote this week to attacking her for saying it. And so now we are talking about how evil, bigoted, sexist and racist Trump’s supporters are. All week. It is brilliant.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) says patriots might have to shed blood to “reclaim” America if Hillary Clinton is elected:

Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood that is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something, that we through our apathy and our indifference have given away.

Please proceed, Governor.

Hillary Clinton was right.https://t.co/Fw7rdJsWW8

— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) September 10, 2016

Politico: “Although that executive said Trump asks for specific anchors or moderators less than others, the GOP nominee is clear about which ones he prefers. It’s hard to envision Trump agreeing to last week’s NBC forum were Rachel Maddow or Chuck Todd asking the questions. And there is wide speculation among media executives that NBC’s Lester Holt, who Trump is comfortable with, was chosen to moderate the first debate with Clinton later this month in order to appease the GOP nominee. Similarly, some also believe that Fox News’ Chris Wallace was tapped to moderate the third and final debate to lessen the chance that Trump would skip it.”

And yet he is going around yesterday saying that the moderators chosen to appease him are going to be very unfair to him, and that there should be no moderators and no fact checkers.

Video of the violence at the Trump rally tonighthttps://t.co/hjipcyhNI1

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 12, 2016

“A spokeswoman for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, seeking to rebut criticism of the GOP nominee’s history of charitable giving, said that Trump has given away ‘tens of millions of dollars’ over his life,” the Washington Post reports.

“But spokeswoman Hope Hicks offered no details about that number, beyond saying that it included donations from the Donald Trump Foundation — a charity that, despite its name, has been filled almost entirely with other people’s money in recent years.”

The Trump phenomenon is nostalgia for a man-cave America where white dudes didn’t have to be so politically correct https://t.co/vHeQrt9Umg

— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) September 12, 2016

“Since the North Carolina legislature last March passed House Bill 2, a controversial law restricting transgender bathroom access and limiting the civil rights and bathroom usage of the LGBT community, the state has lost the NBA All-Star Game, Bruce Springsteen and other concerts and conventions and an untold amount of revenue,” the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

“Now North Carolina is losing the NCAA tournament. The NCAA announced on Monday that the seven championships scheduled in the state during this academic year, including NCAA men’s basketball tournament games in Greensboro, would be relocated because of House Bill 2, better known as HB2.”

The media consensus is Clinton had a "bad week".

Here's the scorecard: pic.twitter.com/737VcFtVAh

— Scott Gilmore (@Scott_Gilmore) September 12, 2016

Washington Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold is on a quest to confirm the “tens of millions” Donald Trump allegedly donated to charity. His research has so far revealed a paltry donation of less than $10,000 over the last six years. Fahrenthold’s research also confirms that Trump’s “foundation” is a fraudulent enterprise in which Trump spends other people’s money and takes the credit.

From Fahrenthold’s latest piece:

Last year, the Trump campaign also put out a detailed list of what it said was $102 million in charitable giving from Trump over five years. But a close look by The Post found that not a single one of the gifts listed was actually a donation of Trump’s own money. Most of the entries, in fact, were free rounds of golf given away by Trump’s golf courses, for local charities to auction or raffle off. Trump has also declined to release his tax returns, unlike all other nominees have for several decades. They would likely make clear what he donates to charity from his own pocket.

One of the many reasons he is not disclosing them.

Yes, the climate has always changed. This comic shows why that’s no comfort. https://t.co/Kmu8wMmQR8

— Vox (@voxdotcom) September 12, 2016

Joan Walsh calls out pundits for dropping the ball:

What’s really unfortunate about the media pushback, besides its unfairness to Clinton, is that it shows reporters as well as Republicans—even some Never Trump Republicans—are still uncomfortable facing the huge role race plays in animating the party’s bigoted anti-Obama, anti-Clinton base. And as long as our best reporters and commentators, along with moderate Republicans, ignore that uncomfortable truth, they’re showing us how they both aided in the rise of Trump, and why Trumpism won’t go away, even if he loses. Even after Donald Trump Jr. and Trump adviser Roger Stone shared a “Deplorables” poster that included them, Trump’s father, and the racist “alt-right” Pepe the Frog meme, the media was still flogging Clinton. One of the nation’s two major political parties is morphing into a white-nationalist party, but Clinton is the boor for talking about it.

The American people agree with Clinton: Trump is a bigot. This new poll confirms it. https://t.co/Km2opuQkgY

— Alan Abramowitz (@AlanIAbramowitz) September 12, 2016