Saturday Open Thread [11.1.14]

Saturday Open Thread [11.1.14]

Good news on the real Ebola outbreak in West Africa from NPR:
If you want the inside scoop about what's happening with the Ebola outbreak, then just hangout at the Mamba Point Hotel in Monrovia. It's packed with scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, international reporters and a bunch of guys and gals in camouflage from the U.S. Army. They all like to hang out at the bar during lunch time. That's where I met Joel Montgomery, a top epidemiologist at the CDC. We head off to a quiet side room, and he starts telling me about all of his trips to Monrovia. "When I was here in August, not to sound like, making this too colorful but, I mean there were ... literally dead people on the streets," Montgomery says. "And the burial teams were picking up 50 to 60 bodies a day." At that point, the country had been on a devastating path. Clinics were stretched way past capacity. And even getting an Ebola test could take days, or weeks if you lived in the jungle. Samples had to be sent by a series of canoes and motorcycles to the only lab in the country. The epidemic was doubling every few weeks. Some computational biologists were predicting more than 20,000 cases by the end of October. But officials are seeing a very different situation on the ground now. The country has had about 6,500 cases. New cases are on a decline, dropping off by about a 100 a week, on average, since early October.
The American response prompted by President Obama is succeeding. It will be a true American success story.
More on the Illegal GOP Mailers

More on the Illegal GOP Mailers

16 Comments
We have multiple violators here. There is the House Republican Campaign Committee. The Delaware House Republicans themselves. The Reform Delaware Now PAC and the Common Sense Delaware PAC. Common Sense is funded by Delaware GOP National Committeewoman Ellen Barrosse. Reform Delaware is largely funded by Dan Anderson, Delaware's version of the Koch Brothers. If you look at the Barosse piece propping up Bryant Richardson below, and the Reform Delaware now, you'll see that the iStock images and graphics are identical. So even though these are two separate PACs, they are clearly coordinating with messaging. That is also illegal. Please view each of the violating and illegal mailers inside. The sections of code they're violating are also inside. Each candidate on whose behalf these mailers were sent should immediately denounce this illegal activity, lest they be complicit in it. I await their press releases and condemnations by close of business today.
Lack of Clean Hands: Complaints filed against GOP Organizations for Campaign Finance Violations

Lack of Clean Hands: Complaints filed against GOP Organizations for Campaign Finance Violations

19 Comments
After the Dana Long incident, I warned Republicans against triumphalism, indicating to them that they better have clean hands when it comes to this election. While this is not necessarily directly analogous, indeed I would say this is worse, the Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the Elections Commissioner over multiple campaign finance violations by state Republican organizations. Come inside for the full release....

Kevin Wade’s Ebola Ad: A New Low for Delaware

11 Comments
Really, this is just... First off, Chris Coons never said or tweeted "Stop freaking out about America's single Ebola death." It was the title of an article he linked to. But deception and lies are to be expected when we are dealing with Republicans. Second, even if he did say it or tweet it, Chris Coons is right, which is why is linked to that article. There is no outbreak of Ebola in the United States, no matter how much fear mongering the media and the Republicans engage in. Indeed, this ad is an hysterical attempt to make you scared of something, and then blame Chris Coons for it. Hence the allegation that being a chairman of a sub-committee on Africa in the Senate gives Senator Coons the power to stop Ebola! That is just rich, coming from a Republican such as Kevin Wade. Let's pretend for a moment that being a chairman of a sub-committee on Africa did empower a Senator with God-like powers to stop a virus in its tracks. Kevin Wade, as a Republican, would not have any interest in using that power to help the people of Africa. He would cut funding for scientific research the first chance he got. Hell, he would not even consider sitting on a sub-committee on Africa. But really, I am spending too much rebutting this fearmonger of an ad, and what we should be doing is condemning Kevin Wade. I call on Charlie Copeland and John Fluharty to condemn their candidate's fearmongering and see to it that Mr. Wade apologizes to the people of Delaware for it.
Halloween Open Thread [10.31.14]

Halloween Open Thread [10.31.14]

1 Comment
"Democratic efforts to turn out the young and nonwhite voters who sat out the 2010 midterm elections appear to be paying off in several Senate battleground states. More than 20 percent of the nearly three million votes already tabulated in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa have come from people who did not vote in the last midterm election," according to an analysis of early-voting data by The Upshot. I have felt all along that this election was not going to play out according to the normal media's Republican Landslide/Obama/Democrats Repudiated narrative. The reason why is 1) the Democrats were going to do a presidential level GOTV operation to make up for the embarrassing loss in 2010, and 2) like in 1998, I felt like there was going to be GOP overreach and a pushback from the public. In 1998, the result of that was the Dems breaking even in the Senate and winning 5 seats in the House. In 2014, it will be the Dems holding onto the Senate. I will be releasing my full predictions of how the Dems will do that on Monday. Come inside for more polls...
Your Predictions

Your Predictions

64 Comments
El Som and I have posted our predictions. And we vary wildly from each other on a few key races. Where do our beloved readers and commenters stand? If you want, please post your predictions below in the comments from the following races. The House and Senate races I selected are the ones that are most competitive. US Senator--Coons v. Wade US Rep--Carney v. Izzo Treasurer--Barney v. Simpler AG--Denn v. Kittila Auditor--Mayrack v. Wagner 6th SD--Snyder-Hall v. Lopez 10th SD--Hall-Long v. Marino 17th SD--Bushweller v. Warfield 18th SD--Emory v. Simpson 21st SD--Venables v. Richardson 4th RD--Brady v. Keesler 9th RD--Hortiz v. Hensley 10th RD--Matthews v. Travis 11th RD--Newlin v. Spiegelman 15th RD--Longhurst v. Lenzini 20th RD--Mayor v. Smyk 22nd RD--Mackenzie v. Miro v. Newton 29th RD--Paradee v. Kramer 30th RD--Gallo v. Outten 31st RD--Lynn v. Chick 37th RD--Rappa v. Briggs King 41st RD--Atkins v. Collins
Sign This Petition — Rep. Smyk Should Apologize

Sign This Petition — Rep. Smyk Should Apologize

29 Comments
Sexual assault is serious and traumatic for its survivors -- and there is no comparison to paying taxes. Insisting on that comparison is certainly callous and certainly stupid. Two things that may, in fact, be habit with Rep. Smyk. He needs to apologize (and stop chasing down people he thinks are responsible for circulating this) and he needs to apologize now. Please sign this petition that calls upon Smyk to apologize for his stupid and offensive use of the word "rape" in trying to defend corporate interests. Then, make sure you go vote for Marie Mayor, who will certainly respect and represent her constituents better than this.
The guy who wants to turn Medicare and Medicaid into a voucher system is thinking about running for President

The guy who wants to turn Medicare and Medicaid into a voucher system is thinking about running for President

2 Comments
FSM does not love me enough to allow Paul Ryan to be the GOP nominee.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated in an interview published Thursday that he is open to a presidential run, saying he does not see himself as a House "lifer." Ryan said he will make his decision next year. "I’m not in a rush," he told The Washington Post. "My way is to do the job at hand, do it well, and not worry about strategizing how I can do better than this guy or that guy in New Hampshire. I’m not in a place where I have to scratch and claw to get my name out there. Why do I need to blow money on that? I’ll line it all up next year and do my long list of pros and cons, this and that."