Open Thread for Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Filed in National by on October 4, 2016

PRESIDENT
NATIONAL–CBS News/NYTimes–CLINTON 49, Trump 43

Key finding: “Clinton’s boost in the race stems largely from gains on Trump among men (from a 22-point deficit with that group in early September to just a 5-point one now) and sharply increased support from independents, who broke heavily in Trump’s favor in the early September poll but now tilt Clinton, 44% to 37%.”

NATIONAL–CNN/ORC–CLINTON 51, Trump 45
NATIONAL–Economis/YouGov–CLINTON 48, Trump 43
NATIONAL–Rasmussen–CLINTON 43, Trump 40
NATIONAL–NBC News/SurveyMonkey–CLINTON 50, Trump 44
FLORIDA–Quinnipiac–CLINTON 46, Trump 41
OHIO–Quinnipiac–TRUMP 47, Clinton 42
PENNSYLVANIA–Quinnipiac–CLINTON 45, Trump 41
PENNSYLVANIA–Franklin & Marshall–CLINTON 47, Trump 38
NORTH CAROLINA–Quinnipiac–CLINTON 46, Trump 43
NORTH CAROLINA–CNN/ORC–CLINTON 44, Trump 43
COLORADO–Monmouth–CLINTON 49, Trump 38
COLORADO–Keating Research–CLINTON 44, Trump 33
DELAWARE–UD–CLINTON 51, Trump 30
OREGON–Hoffman Research–CLINTON 45, Trump 33

“Hillary Clinton mocked rival Donald Trump’s business acumen Monday and said he was getting a free ride on the backs of tax-paying working people, as she addressed the weekend leak of his tax documents for the first time,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Clinton: “While millions of American families including mine and yours were working hard and paying our fair share, it seems that he was contributing nothing to our nation. Trump was taking from America with both hands and leaving the rest of us with the bill.”

Sam Wang, Julian Zelizer, Rick Perlstein (podcast):

A previously unknown subculture has emerged onto the political scene thanks to the 2016 presidential election. The alternative right, known as the “alt-right,” is a diverse group of people who identify as right-wing and are unified in opposition against mainstream American conservatism.

The movement — which has gained attention through their support of Donald Trump’s campaign — has been associated with white nationalism, white supremacism and right-wing populism and other fringe groups. But who exactly comprises the alt-right? Where did the group first originate? Is this a new phenomenon? And have we seen glimpses of such a movement throughout history?

In episode 13, professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang interview Rick Perlstein, author of The New York Times bestseller “Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America” about the origins and implications of the alt-right and its connections to the Republican Party.

This will be all over New Hampshire. She might have just lost the seat.

Colbert King:

How about we hold off on dancing in the end zone in celebration of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture? And let’s quit wasting time in pursuit of black celebrityhood. What about the danger staring us in the face?

The prospect of a Donald Trump White House presents African Americans with the most consequential presidential election since the 1876 race between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. That 19th-century contest ultimately derailed efforts to extend the full rights and privileges of citizenship to freed African Americans. Unless folks of color get off our duffs, history may well repeat itself. …

Repulsive though he is, nominee Trump’s character defects aren’t what make him a threat. What does sicken and alarm, and what ought to concentrate African American minds, is the thought of Trump with the powers of the presidency in his hands. Therein lies the danger. …

Now imagine a Justice Department under Trump’s control. It will be 1876 all over again.

Rick Klein: “The week after the first debate has been, arguably, Trump’s worst week since the week after the conventions. Trump himself has primary responsibility for that – both in his immediate reactions, and the rich history of relationships and dealings that make him a constant source of fruitful digging.”

“But this past week didn’t happen by accident, and neither did Trump’s post-convention swoon. In both cases, the Clinton campaign set a trap for Trump that he fell into. With the Khan family, as with the former Miss Universe, Trump took the bait and then tried to run away with it – without, of course, trying to hide.”

“His latest – accusing Hillary Clinton of having extramarital affairs, and mocking her by impersonating a frail elderly woman – might be better for the Clinton camp than her aides could have anticipated. They are proving the old adage that campaigns do matter.”

Peter Gelzinis at The Boston Herald:

Donald Trump’s only asset is his malignant ego. The rest is just a sham, propped up by tax lawyers and reality television. He stands naked before us.

For some strange reason I feel a certain sadness (or is it pity?) for the legions of Trump ditto-heads who can no longer cling to the idea that their candidate for president is this “amazing, successful businessman” who will make America great again because “I know how to make great deals.”

The one and only “great deal” The Donald can claim is how he’s managed to lose a ton of money in Atlantic City casinos, along with a number of other stupid, ego-driven ventures, and still work those “rigged tax laws” to keep himself afloat.

Here’s Alexander Burns on tonight’s debate:

Mr. Pence can expect to be challenged on Mr. Trump’s denigrating comments about Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe; on Mr. Trump’s attacks on Mrs. Clinton’s marriage; and on the prospect that Mr. Trump may have gone nearly two decades without paying federal income taxes. And those are just the hits from last week.

Up to this point, Mr. Pence has proved adept at deflecting questions about Mr. Trump’s incendiary comments, redirecting interviews to rote talking points about shaking up Washington. But a debate is an entirely different format; and as Senator Marco Rubio of Florida found, using the same dodge over and over again can have catastrophic consequences.

Margaret Hartmann’s preview:

While social issues have not played a large issue in the campaign, Kaine will likely be asked about one significant difference with his running mate. While Clinton is very pro-choice, Kaine, who is Catholic, is personally against abortion. He opposes creating new restrictions on abortion access, but unlike Clinton, he is in favor of keeping the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal money from funding abortions. […]

The vice presidential debate comes after one of Trump’s worst weeks on the campaign trail, and Pence will likely try to downplay the recent controversies and play up the distrust voters have for Clinton. Trump tends to derail Pence’s efforts to help, so the real test may be whether the candidate can get through even a debate he’s not participating in without generating a new controversy.

BuzzFeed: “People close to Ryan said there is an art to crafting the perfect rhetorical response to one of Trump’s eruptions: They must be strongly worded enough for the speaker of the House’s condemnation to be taken seriously — but not so strongly worded that he’s left with no choice but to withdraw his endorsement. Capitol Hill staffers have expressed pity for Ryan’s well-regarded press secretary, AshLee Strong, who is often tasked with drafting and disseminating these statements.”

Said one GOP communications adviser: “I can’t imagine having to do that. It would just be soul-sucking.”

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  1. Jason330 says:
    October 4, 2016 at 9:53 am

    One would think that it would behoove the “sane” Republicans of America to vote against Trump because he is clearly the the “alt-right” candidate and his election (or even his narrow loss) would officially turn the party over to the Alt Right.

    But I doubt Republicans like Copeland, Burris, Simpler or Mike Castle would ever vote against someone with an “R” after their name. So I seriously doubt that many “sane” or moderate Republicans will vote against Trump. All they really have is a fierce sense of tribe, so the fact that they are voting against their best long-term interests is something of a moot point.

    Every Republican knee will bend. You heard it here first.

  2. puck says:
    October 4, 2016 at 10:22 am

    “One would think that it would behoove the “sane” Republicans of America to vote against Trump because he is clearly the the “alt-right” candidate and his election (or even his narrow loss) would officially turn the party over to the Alt Right.”

    I think the Republican elite are prepared to turn the GOP over to the loons and redouble their efforts to achieve their agenda through the all-too-willing Democrats. The Delaware GOP is in the vanguard of this migration.

  3. mouse says:
    October 4, 2016 at 11:05 am

    This may not be popular, but the Democratic party may want to self reflect a bit on why 10’s of millions of people are willing to blow up the political system with no one to fix it rather than vote for Clinton. Some of it can be dismissed as racists, crack pots, uneducated fools and the like, but the overall question would be well addressed by the Democrats considering how many vote for Sanders.

  4. Jason330 says:
    October 4, 2016 at 11:45 am

    The Democratic Party of my adulthood isn’t much into self-reflection. Maybe that will change with whoever comes after Clinton. But for, now it is all about getting by on winning 50% plus 1% of the vote and calling it a day.

  5. puck says:
    October 4, 2016 at 11:49 am

    Shut up, Bill:

    At a rally on Monday in Flint, Mich., [Bill] Clinton blasted the core principles of ObamaCare as unworkable as he pitched a new system that would allow people to buy into Medicare or Medicaid.

    “You’ve got this crazy system where all the sudden 25 million more people have healthcare and then the people are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half,” Clinton said.

    “It’s the craziest thing in the world,” he said. […]

    Bill Clinton, whose own attempts at broad healthcare reform failed during his presidency in the 1990s, suggested on Monday that he supported an entirely new approach.

    I attended Delaware’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner in 2009 when Bill Clinton was the guest (at a time when Howard Dean was saying “Kill the bill”) and Clinton exhorted wavering Democrats to get behind the bill no matter what. So I take offense at Bill’s remarks today. Not that he’s wrong, but the timing .

  6. Jason330 says:
    October 4, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    When he was the candidate he could pull off that ‘oh shucks’, avuncular, talking off the cuff act…WHEN HE WAS THE CANDIDATE.

  7. cassandra_m says:
    October 4, 2016 at 2:18 pm

    Watching the VP debate tonite? Vox provides VP Debate Bingo Cards.

  8. SussexAnon says:
    October 4, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    Political parties don’t do self reflection. Its a perpetual cycle of find what the plebes want to hear, get elected, ignore the plebes, get rich. Rince. Repeat.

    You know, like Carper does.

  9. anonymous says:
    October 4, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    Did you mean Reince, repeat?

  10. mouse says:
    October 4, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    Yeah, but one more term of more wars, wall street abuses, job outsourcing and endless fossil fuel tyranny, I”l be voting to blow up the system next time too

  11. Liberal Elite says:
    October 4, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    @p “Shut up, Bill:

    …as he pitched a new system that would allow people to buy into Medicare or Medicaid.”

    Sound good to me. Isn’t this the easiest way to get to a single payer system that actually works??

  12. Dana Garrett says:
    October 4, 2016 at 7:29 pm

    Suddenly, Liberal Elite is for a single payer health insurance program when it’s advocated by the status quoist Bill Clinton. But when it was advocated by the anti status quoist Bernie Sanders, it was unrealistic. It’s just not about principle and need. It’s only about which direction the wind is blowing among the party elite.

  13. pandora says:
    October 4, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    That’s not true, Dana. LE was always for single payer.

  14. Liberal Elite says:
    October 4, 2016 at 8:03 pm

    Darn right, Pandora.

    The VP debate is about to start.

    GOP official website say that Pence already won… convincingly.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gop-website-announces-mike-pence-debate-winnerbefore-debate/story?id=42570234

    Whoops!!

  15. Liberal Elite says:
    October 4, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    @p “That’s not true, Dana. LE was always for single payer.”

    I was always for it as an option. I was truly upset when we walked away for it back in 2009, when the insurance industry bought a few Dems.

    I’m not so keen to see it as a mandatory wholesale replacement for Obamacare, but even that would be better than our current system.

    Even as an option, it would do wonders in keeping costs down.

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