All eyes are on Alabama for the special election, and the polls are all over the place — some have Jones up by several points, others have Moore up by double digits. That’s a sign that pollsters don’t know how to calculate the “probable” voters, not unusual for a special election. Those who specialize in this stuff say the deciding factor will be turnout among African Americans, and many are saying up front that Moore will win thanks to voter suppression measures. If I was forced to place a bet, I’d go with Moore by 6, which means he doesn’t cover the spread.
Tweet of the day comes from science fiction author John Scalzi, reacting to the weekend’s unhinged Roy Moore rally:
Between “our lawyer is a Jew!” and heart-warming tales of visiting a brothel filled with exploited children, this Moore rally really is a bit on the nose.
The Associated Press buried the lede on its story about Donald Trump’s resurfacing sexual assault accusers. They have two sources claiming Trump is “furious” that UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said the women should be heard. This is a scoop by any standard, and the fact that it appears in the 17th paragraph of the story shows Trump’s attacks on the press are having an effect. It’s also exactly what I expected, so I suspect Haley already has her next job lined up. If forced to place a bet, I’d say she’s headed for Fox News, probably by the third week in January.
Andrew Bacevich makes an excellent point: Standing up to Harvey Weinstein is one thing. When will Congress’ Kirsten Gillibrands stand up to our military-industrial complex? We’ve been in Afghanistan 17 years and tried every imaginable strategy, and $65 billion later the Taliban controls more of the country than it did when we started.
Liberal Elite posted this yesterday, but in case you missed it, the GOP has kicked off a reverse brain drain. French president Emmanuel Macron crowed about luring 13 U.S. climate scientists to La Belle France with grant money. Expect more of this.
The GOP has lost all capacity to govern, but it still knows how to stamp its tiny feet. The Toddler Party is pitching another tantrum because the American Bar Association pointed out that several Trump appointees to the federal bench are unqualified.
This is the basically the same tantrum Republicans threw when the Office of Tax Policy found their tax plan will add $1 trillion to the deficit. They tried to kill that messenger, too, but were finally forced to release the “analysis” — all one page of it.
If you’re looking ahead, the next looming crisis is a government shutdown over the budget. The GOP doesn’t have the votes to get it done itself, so it’s laying the groundwork for blaming it on Democrats. Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin points out that Democrats can’t shut down squat because they don’t have the votes.
Lots going on today, so add anything you find.