Eternal Sunshine of the Democratic Mind

[The Other Castro]

This will be coming back soon, hopefully tomorrow. I appreciate the words of support.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This will be coming back soon, hopefully tomorrow. I appreciate the words of support.

Me right now.

[The Other Castro]

John
October 8th, 2020

This was it. They were nearing the homestretch, and this was the last major event John Hickenlooper had to complete before the election. It had been an unusually calm October so far, but perhaps this was just the calm before the storm. The media had already moved on from the supposed Special Counsel that Trump was threatening to appoint, and hopefully most of the public saw the move for the charade that it was. Unless there were some secret email leaks from Kamala Harris that John didn’t know about, he was on his way to becoming the 49th Vice President of the United States. John heard the moderator begin his announcements, and he began to walk toward the curtain.

“Good evening from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and welcome to the first and only vice presidential debate of 2020, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. I'm Jeff Glor of CBS Evening News, and I am honored to moderate this debate between Vice President Mike Pence and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.”

“Vice President Pence, by now most of us have heard about the recent bombshell report from The New York Times that said you had considered dropping off of President Trump’s ticket and running against him in the Republican primaries earlier this year. Your office has denied this article, but has not yet commented on the specific details of the campaign spreadsheets and primary polling compiled by some of your closest aides. Are you still denying the entirety of this reporting?”

"Well, first off, thank you, Jeff for the chance to once again clear up what the mainstream media seems so intent on misleading the American public on, and that is this blatantly false story. I don't know how these tabloid rumors get started, but papers like The New York Times should really know better than this and get their facts straight before publishing something so obviously untrue.

I have never once wavered in my position in both this administration and this campaign, and I am honored to serve as President Trump's Vice President and running mate. More to this point, I am more than happy to respond in detail to whatever smears the campaign of Kamala Harris and John Hickenlooper have cooked up, and really their whole campaign has just been a cascade of insults."

"I must say that I wouldn't blame Mike for having second thoughts about joining Donald Trump as his running mate. After all, everything Trump touches seems to wither out, and Mike might be worried about running for President himself one day after he and President Trump are defeated next month."

"Excuse me, that is uncalled for Governor."

"How do you explain these documents that your office put together for the primaries? How do you-"

"I have never-"

"-how do you explain the fact that-"

"This is ridiculous."

"-that you have polling data with the names of your closest staff members, data you paid for, showing how you would do in a primary challenge against President Trump? You cannot simply shout ‘fake news’ and make all of your problems go away, Mr. Vice President."

“Next question for you Governor Hickenlooper. Shortly after you withdrew from the Democratic primaries last year, you said that, quote, ‘These primaries are going to produce the most liberal nominee the Democratic Party has ever seen.’ Do you believe that your running mate, Senator Harris, is the most liberal candidate that the Democratic Party has nominated?”

“Ha well look at the entirety of my remarks I think it’s very clear to see what I was saying there, and I think you left off some much needed context. The fact of the matter is that Kamala Harris is not just a progressive, she is a progressive that has achieved results and has a record to back up her positions. It is her position, Kamala and mine, that we need to confront the very real problems we’re facing in this country head on.

Now, look at the other side. They do not attempt to solve our problems, they just like to blame others. This ticket, of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, is the most conservative, radical, and extreme that we have seen in the modern political era. They don’t have a record of achievements, they have a record of failures that shows what happens when we do things their way. If you really think you’re doing better with them, then I don’t blame you if you vote for them. But, as we’ve seen over and over again through the great anger and disappointment with this administration, the American public is not doing better under President Trump. People are suffering, people’s wages are going down, people are losing their jobs, and we have a president now that handles this crisis by blaming Democrats. This is not the kind of leader we deserve, and certainly not the leader we need to guide us for the next four years."

"Let me just say one thing that you're never supposed to say in a debate, but my opponent was right. He was right, that the Democrats have nominated the most liberal nominee in perhaps the history of our nation. Kamala Harris is a hardcore liberal, and to be honest, there may not even be much of a difference had they nominated a socialist like Bernie Sanders. That's how far out of the mainstream the Democratic Party has gotten.

There is a reason why the stock market has reached its highest prices ever during this presidency. There is a reason why economists consistently say that a continued Trump administration would help strengthen and reinforce our economy, and protect our workers. They see the Harris-Hickenlooper ticket for what it is: a radical, destabilizing, and dangerous pair that if elected will wreak havoc on our nation."

[MAINEiac4434]

HICK IS DOMINATING

[Sestak]

HICK IS DOMINATING

It's Loop, remember?

[MAINEiac4434]

HICK IS DOMINATING

It's Loop, remember?

THE LOOP IS LOOSE

[America Needs R'hllor]

THE LOOP IS LOOSE

[The Other Castro]

On a side note, I'm glad I started this before it became clear we were going to get much more than 10 candidates. It would have been super annoying to do that many debate and candidate entry posts.

[The Other Castro]

Douglas

October 13th, 2020

Douglas Emhoff took his seat in the VIP section of the auditorium, looking across from Melania Trump. For a moment, their eyes met, and exchanged a mutual understanding. It was hard being the spouse of a presidential candidate. He could only imagine what it would mean to be married to the actual president, but soon that could be his life. The very first, First Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff. FGOTUS didn’t have quite the same acronymic flair to it as FLOTUS, but he would manage. In just three weeks, he might be married to the soon-to-be most powerful person on the planet, and perhaps one of the most powerful women of all time. Kamala was polling well, about +6 nationally, and just needed to make it through the rest of the month without any major complications, starting with the final two debates.

“Good evening, I’m Dana Bash from CNN”

“And I’m David Muir from ABC News. We would like to welcome you to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, for the second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Senator Kamala Harris, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.”

“The debate tonight will be in a town hall format, where voters in the audience will get to ask questions for the candidates, and the candidates can respond to them directly. We ask the audience not to slow things down with applause, except for right now as we welcome our candidates to the stage.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump, and the Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris.”

“Senator Harris, in 2017 you co-sponsored Senator Bernie Sanders’ single-payer Medicare for All bill, saying that it was, quote, ‘The right thing to do.’ Health care was a critical issue during the Democratic primaries, with many candidates, including yourself, suggesting that they would pursue a single-payer plan if they became president. Since securing the nomination, however, you have argued in favor of a general, universal plan to provide health insurance, but not specifically a single-payer plan. Could you elaborate on your position?”

“Starting in 2018, with the repeal of the individual mandate and eliminations of critical components for cost sharing reductions, President Trump has taken consistent action to sabotage the Affordable Care Act and raise the American people’s premiums and deductibles. Millions of Americans have become uninsured because of the actions of this administration, and they know who did that to them.

It is not acceptable to continue this pattern of the president taking out his anger on the public. He couldn’t get a repeal bill passed, so he sabotaged what he could. These are not the actions of a president, they are the actions of a reckless, dangerous, individual that we cannot trust to hold this kind of power. I have always said that I am open to ideas on how to reform the health care system in this country, and a plan worth exploring is single-payer. My ultimate goal, as should be the goal of all leaders, is to provide universal coverage for the American people, because we cannot have a society where anyone is denied health insurance because of how much money they have or the circumstances of their birth. We are stuck in a rut and will never reach that level of coverage if we continue down the same failed path that this president seems intent on following.”

“You see folks, she just lies and lies and can’t stop lying. Democrats, and Lazy Kamala especially, blocked everything that we tried to do. Congress tried and tried to do this, they tried to pass a lot of bills, and we had Lindsey Graham with this great bill that would have helped a lot of people, but they didn’t want it. The Democrats didn’t want it, this woman right here didn’t want it, because it was too good and they wouldn’t have gotten any credit for it. If Americans have lost their insurance, which by the way is also a lie because it’s going up, the rate actually for people that have it, but anyone that did should blame you guys because what you did is really just disgusting. You people knew it would be great for Americans if we repealed Obamacare and passed real health care bills, but you knew I’d look good too, and you didn’t want that.

This is what they do, and then you, by the way, you also didn’t answer on single-payer. See that? She lied on single-payer. That’s Crazy Bernie’s lovechild plan, it would be such a disaster for us, believe me. Everyone says it would fail, it would destroy this country, it’ll tax you sky high and collapse our small businesses and economy. But, you see now she’s not saying this anymore, she’s not saying she supports it anymore. She knows it’s crazy, the Democrats all know it’s crazy, but Bernie took control of the primaries and everyone had to act like him to win. She has no idea what to do on health care, she just continues to act like I hurt it when she and the Democrats are 100% responsible for anything bad that happened on that.” 

“President Trump, earlier this year we had massive hurricanes destroy large areas of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, costing nearly 100 Americans their lives, and billions of dollars in property damage. There have been wildfires spreading through California in the past few months that burned for weeks with little control. Many have argued that these extreme weather events are a result of climate change, which your administration has viewed with some skepticism. Do you believe in climate change, do you think it is man made, and do you see any connection to these recent natural disasters?”

“Well first of all, she said I called it a hoax. Lazy Kamala lied and said I called it a hoax. I never called it a hoax. Never happened. So that’s one thing, and also I’ve talked about this many many times, so I don’t know why you’re saying this about me not talking about it, I talk about it all the time. Now you’re trying to, you and the Democrats want to say I’m supporting hurricanes and fires, so just stop it. Okay? This is all they can do, accuse me of being in favor of wildfires and hurricanes, which by the way we have done a great job on. They love me with hurricanes, they love me with fires, and we do a beautiful job on them. The recovery is always amazing.

Yes there’s part of it that’s happening that I’m working very hard to stop and make it better, but a lot of it is just a tax. The Democrats are using this to tax you, to tax businesses, to put all these big, useless regulations into place, and they’re really hurting our business by the way. Many business leaders I talk to, they all say this, and they’re very smart people, they say that these regulations were killing us, but thankfully I listen to them and I know how to help. She’s just going to put those back in, and that is going to be horrible for our jobs, for our businesses. They don’t want it, and she knows that but she doesn’t care about our businesses and our economy, she’s just going to go ahead and push these things without a lot of fact.”

“You said, I’m quoting word for word, ‘the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese.’ You actually tweeted that, and the tweet is still up as of today. That is a fact. You can lie and mislead all you want on this issue, but the truth is that this is a major issue that needs to be dealt with responsibly. Climate change is devastating our country, and on a consistent basis you have nominated individuals that deny the existence of climate change. You have filled the EPA with climate-deniers that have no intention of protecting the environment, people that have received direct contributions from oil and gas lobbies to roll back environmental regulations.

These disasters hurting our country aren’t going to get better, they are going to get worse. We cannot afford a leader that will stick his head in the sand on this issue. This administration has suppressed reports by its own agencies that say climate change is real, it is man made, and it is responsible for the greater intensity of disasters, like hurricanes and wildfires, that we keep seeing. As a proud Californian, it is devastating to see this president refuse to take action while a state is literally burning. We need to act before it’s too late, and the deadline for action is fast approaching.”

[Sestak]

Awww.

I saw "Douglas" and thought it was Doug Jones.

[The Other Castro]

Awww.

I saw "Douglas" and thought it was Doug Jones.

For the sake of simplicity in this TL, Strange won the special election.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

You capture Trump so well

[LabourJersey]

Is Harris ever going to snap after being called "Lazy Kamala"? so many times?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Is Harris ever going to snap after being called "Lazy Kamala"? so many times?

I don't think she has Hillary's notoriously violent temper. No flying ashtrays with Kamala Harris.

[The Other Castro]

Ken

October 19th, 2020

“Unbelievable, just wow, can you listen to that? She really has no clue what she’s talking about. She can’t do anything on North Korea, she doesn’t know the first thing on North Korea and Kim Jong Un. I know North Korea, I know Kim Jong Un, I know how to handle the situation and we’re doing it beautifully by the way. We’re doing a great job on North Korea, and if she doesn’t want to help me deal with them that’s fine, but if you put her in charge of how we handle them, it’s all going to collapse. It’s going to get very very bad, believe me. She knows she’s not telling you the truth on my plan, and it’s a great plan, but obviously I’m not going to just go around saying my plan. If she’s president, do you really want her announcing to Kim Jong Un how she’s going to take him out? No, that’s crazy and it’s going to get us absolutely nowhere. We need to keep doing what we're doing right now, and we'll take care of all of it, and the worst thing we can do right now is throw all that away.”

[Sestak]

Lmao this one's the best perspective yet.

I wonder, are we going to get a snippet from the perspective of ththe CNN Election Night map guy?

[America Needs R'hllor]

Lmao this one's the best perspective yet.

Also, out of curiosity, do you have in mind the coalition that Lapid has formed to become PM?

[Cold War Liberal]

You capture Trump so well.

Ken Bone sat alone at home watching the beginning of the presidential debate. He shouldn’t have been stuck at home, he should have been at the debate himself asking the questions. Nobody cared about him anymore, not since the appeal of his red sweater and wholesome charm had vanished from public memory. Maybe he would have gotten more attention if he had admitted that he actually voted for Gary Johnson. Maybe it would have made things worse. At the very least, maybe they would still be talking about him. Now all the media cared about was “Narwhal Kid”, an adorable adolescent wearing a t-shirt sporting a narwhal that asked a question during the second debate on oil spills. Ken Bone did not forget, Ken Bone did not forgive, and the day would come when they would all be sorry they forgot about him.

I love everything about this, especially what is bolded.

I'm Audie Cornish of NPR’s All Things Considered

I'm a regular listener of NPR. All Things Considered is my favorite show and Audie Cornish is my favorite host so I love that you have her as a debate moderator in 2020.

[The Other Castro]

Lmao this one's the best perspective yet.

Also, out of curiosity, do you have in mind the coalition that Lapid has formed to become PM?

I was thinking of something along the lines of a very slim majority achieved by Yesh Atid + Zionist Union + Joint List + Meretz.

Lmao this one's the best perspective yet.

I wonder, are we going to get a snippet from the perspective of ththe CNN Election Night map guy?

John King? Maybe not him specifically, but you'll get a glimpse inside the election room.

[RedPrometheus]

I love this timeline and I love this update!

[The Other Castro]

Maggie

October 26th, 2020

The front page of Drudge Report had looked like that all day, referencing the headline of a story published by Breitbart earlier that morning. Since then, the story had been all over Fox News, and conservative news outlets like Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller, and Hot Air. Maggie Haberman and her colleagues at The New York Times, as well some friends she knew at The Washington Post, had been responding to tweets asking why they were not covering the supposed bombshell. Already the conspiracy theories had started, with people accusing her of defending the Democrats as a way of making up for the coverage of Hillary Clinton’s email server in 2016. Maggie knew that these people could not have been more wrong, and that they did not know the first thing about journalistic integrity.

She had covered stories when there were stories to cover, and reported the facts as she understood them. The Clinton email server deserved the coverage it received, but this Palestinian scandal did not deserve one headline on a credible news site. According to the Breitbart write-up, members of the Kamala Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee had contacted top Palestinian officials over the course of several months with the intention of delaying any peace negotiations with Israel. Based on highly questionable sourcing, all of it anonymous, the conservative sites running the story alleged that Kamala Harris, members of her campaign, and high ranking Democrats were guilty of everything from conspiracy and treason to aiding and abetting the enemy.

Bits and pieces of a story like this had been floating around since early September, but there was nowhere near enough confidence in the sources to publish. Maggie was aware of many of the details, vague as they were, suggesting that Democrats did not want Trump to have any chance of a successful Israel-Palestine peace deal right before the election, and that some emails may exist describing an exchange between DNC and Harris campaign workers regarding a specific Palestinian official. However, no reasonable newspaper could possibly release such a story without being sure of the facts, especially with almost a week left before the election. It would, rightfully so, appear as an attempt to swing the election to Trump, who at that moment trailed in the national polls by seven points and was vulnerable in many key swing states.

Kamala Harris/John Hickenlooper - 257 Electoral Votes
Donald Trump/Mike Pence - 188 Electoral Votes
Toss-Up - 93 Electoral Votes

Maggie was certain that they were making the right decision by refusing to give any legitimacy to the story, but she was also aware that this could be looked back on as a major moment of the 2020 presidential election for years to come. She had no idea what the effect would be, if any, on the outcome of the election, but she was content knowing that she would not be responsible.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

NOT AGAIN MAGGIE !!!!

[WestVegeta]

On the bright side, Texas looks like it could flip in 2024

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

What's going on with the potential Special Prosecutor's investigation into Krazy Kamala?

[MycroftCZ]

No, no, no! Not Kamala...