2004 election "could" have been stolen: Ohio SOS

Thank goodness we found out just in time to prevent it from happening again.

Ohio's Secretary of State announced (yesterday) that a $1.9 million official study shows that "critical security failures" are embedded throughout the voting systems in the state that decided the 2004 election. Those failures, she says, "could impact the integrity of elections in the Buckeye State." They have rendered Ohio's vote counts "vulnerable" to manipulation and theft by "fairly simple techniques."

Indeed, she says, "the tools needed to compromise an accurate vote count could be as simple as tampering with the paper audit trail connector or using a magnet and a personal digital assistant."

In other words, Ohio's top election official has finally confirmed that the 2004 election could have been easily stolen.

It's just nice that three years and nearly two million dollars later we finally have confirmation, isn't it?

(Ohio SOS Jennifer) Brunner is calling for widespread changes to the way Ohio casts and counts its ballots. Her announcement follows moves by California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen to disqualify electronic voting machines in the nation's biggest state.

In tandem, these two reports add a critical state-based dimension to the growing mountain of evidence that the US electoral system is rife with insecurities. Reports from the Brennan Center, the Carter-Baker Commission, the Government Accountability Office, the Conyers Committee Task Force Report, Princeton University and others have offered differing perspectives that add up to the same conclusion.

Paging Bill White. Mr. White, please pick up the white discourtesy phone for a clue ...

Now why was this Ohio business such a big deal again?

Brunner is the Democratic successor to Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, who administered the 2004 election as Secretary of State while also serving as state co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign. The report comes as part of her pledge to guarantee a fair and reliable vote count in the upcoming 2008 presidential election.

Under Blackwell, Ohio spent some $100 million installing electronic voting machines as part of the Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in the wake of the scandals surrounding the 2000 election. Former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney, HAVA's principle author, now resides in a federal prison, in part for illegalities surrounding his dealings with voting machine companies.

Blackwell, who was defeated in a 2006 race for the Ohio governorship, outsourced web hosting responsibilities for the 2004 vote count to a programming firm that also programmed the web site for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign. Blackwell's chosen host site for the state's vote count was in the basement of the Old Pioneer Bank Building in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the servers for the Republican National Committee, and the Bush White House, were also located.

Oh yeah. Corrupt Republicans hard at work subverting democracy. Seems like I've heard about that before.

Update: Rhymes with Right has a respectable opinion from that side.

Voter ID : the 21st-century poll tax

Despite innuendo, there actually is no proof of any widespread fraud in Texas, at least not the kind that government ID would take care of. In fact, there are far greater possibilities of fraud or malfunction with Texas’ paperless electronic voting machines.

That's the moneyshot from James Harrington, the director of the Texas Civil Rights Project.

This government ID scheme works against older voters who no longer drive or travel (as we saw with the old nuns denied the ballot in the recent Indiana primary), students in college, voters with disabilities, minority and poor people, new voters who recently became citizens, and homeless individuals. No matter whether people have voted in their precinct, are known to election staff, or have other ID, they still must get a driver’s license or specified government ID.

Texas Republicans lead by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Rep. Leo Berman (Tyler) want to impose the same burden on Texas voters. Surely, although they would deny it, their real agenda is to dilute the electoral strength of individuals, who tend to vote Democratic. There is no other viable explanation.

That's not going to slow them down, though.

Texas originally started out enabling people to vote, rather than impeding them. The delegates to the 1875 convention, which gave us our current constitution, lead by Grangers and progressive Republicans, rejected a variety of electoral impediments: poll taxes, literacy tests, property taxes, and multi-member legislative and judicial districts.

The delegates rejected schemes to limit suffrage because they understood that denying the franchise to African-Americans inevitably would deprive them of the political power they needed to break state government's unholy alliance with big business, railroads, and monopolies.

The 1876 Constitution reflects a populist revolt that gave Texas some of the broadest suffrage rights in the nation. For example, until 1919 non-citizens could vote if they met the residency requirement and declared their intent to become citizens.

Anti-voting laws came into Texas in the early 1900s to disenfranchise African-Americans who voted in significantly higher proportions than did the whites. In fact, African-American voter turn out reached 80 percent in some areas. The poll tax, the white primary, and multi-member districts all became law. Even those tricks didn’t work totally, and the KKK used a violent campaign to suppress black voter turnout. Similar tactics kept down Mexican-American voting. This all lead Texas further down the path of racism and segregation.

The Voting Rights Act and Supreme Court decisions undid much of that history, and minority electoral strength increased dramatically. The Republican Party’s reaction since has been to send “poll watchers” to minority precincts around the state to depress voter turnout through intimidation, even though there was no recent election malfeasance history. Dewhurst and Berman want to add yet another hurdle to people voting.

The Republicans decry voter fraud as a problem akin to illegal immigration; the only difference is that they have failed to figure out how to exploit it for profit as they have the undocumented worker.

Voting is a fundamental right, the cornerstone of our democracy. Our legal system should break down barriers to the polling place, not build them up. Let’s help the Legislature remember this when it meets in 2009.

Yes, let's.

Update: Chris Bell piles on ...

Under the Republican proposal, photo identification would be required. Since there’s no problem, there’s nothing to fix; however, two Hispanic state senators, Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) and Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio), point out there are a lot of elderly voters in their heavily Hispanic districts who don’t have driver’s licenses because they never drove a car.

And that’s just what the Republicans are counting on. Voters like those would have to get some other form of photo identification. That’s obviously going to be a major inconvenience, and since it’s hard enough just to get people to register to vote in the first place, chances are they might not vote at all. ...

(S)some people might be a little concerned what happens with real problems like public school education and health care if Republicans are spending so much time on non-problems.

That argument overlooks the most recent census data which shows the number of Hispanics in the United States rose by 1.4 million in just the last year alone and every study shows that Hispanics now lean Democratic by an overwhelming margin.

So see, if you’re a Republican, this really isn’t a non-problem at all.

Abbott run amok

These two items regarding the Texas Attorney General once again encapsulate his power to shock and awe:

-- Capitol Annex has details on Abbott's ceding the state's authority to the Talibaptists who have taken over the state Board of Education. This is a sop to his fundamentalist base. Since the decision Texas makes about its school texts has national ramifications, it would behoove those of you reading who don't live in Deep-In-The-Hearta to guard against this kind of initiative where you live. Update: South Texas Chisme points out that the Chronic has an entirely different view. Update II: And Vince consequently raises the question: "Did the SBoE gain or lose ground?"

-- The Lone Star Project catches the OAG peeping on little old ladies in the bathroom. Really. The only way to do this justice is to excerpt:

Earlier this summer, the Lone Star Project reported that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is using $1.5 million in federal grant funds to prosecute Texas citizens who help senior citizens apply for ballot applications and cast their vote by mail. Most of the Texans being prosecuted by Abbott are senior citizens, African American or Hispanic, and ALL are Democrats.

More recently, the San Antonio Express-News wrote about Abbott's controversial activity. Abbott has turned up the heat by sending investigating agents to the homes of elderly citizens to interrogate them in person. There is now evidence that Abbott’s agents have moved beyond aggressive questioning and are employing more intimidating tactics.

According to the sworn statement (pdf file) of Ms. Gloria Meeks, a 69 year-old Fort Worth community activist, two of Abbott’s voter fraud agents came on to her property and looked into her bathroom window while she was unclothed and leaving the shower. Incredibly, the agents justified their privacy violation by explaining, that they thought they were peeping in the “kitchen window.”

Greg Abbott can't do anything about our fraudulent voting machines, but he can have his agents looking in your bathroom window. Doesn't sound like something Jesus would do, does it?

Update: The Chronic has more (via Muse):

Yet, of the 13 individuals indicted on charges of voter fraud by Abbott, 10 are accused of simply possessing another's absentee ballot for delivery to election officials or to a mailbox, Democrats say. Such activities had been legal until the 2003 law turned them into crimes.

Both Democratic and Republican political activists have traditionally assisted elderly or home-bound voters who need help in voting, said attorney J. Gerald Hebert, executive director of the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, who plans to file the lawsuit on behalf of Democrats.

"Now, merely possessing the mail-in ballot of another person is a misdemeanor. If you do it for several voters, it becomes a felony. It is my view that this is unconstitutional," said Hebert, who headed the U.S. Justice Department's voting section of the civil rights division until 1994.

And lasty, this:

Abbott's PowerPoint primer on voter fraud, "Investigating Election Code Violations," illustrates the discriminatory nature of his enforcement, Hebert argues, because it cues law enforcement to link voter fraud with black voters.

One slide alerts authorities to look for evidence of fraud on documents, especially specialty stamps. It depicts a sickle cell anemia stamp of a black woman holding a black baby, a stamp often used by blacks.

Another slide shows five black people in line for early voting, noting "all laws apply," while no white or Caucasian people are shown voting in the 71-slide presentation.

Abbot spokesman Tom Kelley said the stamp depicted was among evidence gathered in one investigation, but there was "absolutely no reason whatsoever" that the presentation only portrays blacks voting.

Bullshit, Tom. Who's ready for a real Attorney General?

Texas is still a non-voting state

As a reminder, one could read a blog post here on Trump every single day (and two on Sunday with cartoons), and that's what you'll find on most every blog in the right-hand column.  It's my belief, long-held, that the Democratic Party in which I was once a committed activist has fallen down so hard that they have become all but useless as a tool to stop the worst Republican legislation, nationally and most especially in Texas.  So the focus here will remain on what tools there are that can be used to slow the roll of these GOP cretins, and what Democrats should do in order to gain -- or regain -- both the respect and vote of those who, like me, have simply given up on them.

Below, the reveal from Michael Li, via his Twitter feed.

All blame assigned the two million four hundred thousand-plus Texans who chose to vote in 2016 but not for Trump or Clinton should now cease.  Following the blind binary logic employed to claim a victory where none exists in reality, if it was ever the intention of those who voted 'other' to instead cast a ballot to block, not for but against one of the two worst-in-history choices of the red/blue duopoly, then the pie chart above should disavow that false notion.  Partisans of the bipolar persuasion shouldn't spend any more effort trying to shame us into voting for their shitty candidates.  That effort can and should be more wisely spent convincing some of the six million registered non-voters -- you know, the people who don't pay much attention to politics, don't have much of an opinion either way, etc. -- to vote for your shitty candidate.  Less selling/spinning, simpler arguments, higher success and conversion ratios and all that.

Seems obvious to me but apparently not so much to others.

In Texas, just like California and roughly forty other states, the Electoral College outcome is foreordained.  My vote for Jill Stein did not contribute to electing Trump in 2016, any more than my vote for Stein in 2012 helped or hurt Barack Obama from being re-elected.  Someone voting for a minor party candidate is just not something a committed duopolist should be concerned about.  Getting people who are registered to vote, but didn't, to the polls for your man or woman should be the only thing that matters now.  There were over six million of those folks in the state of Texas in 2016, a number 50% greater than those who voted for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

You have one job in 2018, Democrats.  Focus.

Don't ask why they're not voting, or posit reasons you have divined for a Facebook post.  As odd as it may seem, non-voters actually are voting their self-interest, even if it seems they aren't (conservatives prefer to call them 'values', and are more adept at compromising them for the sake of political expediency, which explains Christians' continuing support of Trump: a Supreme Court that strikes down Roe v. Wade being just one example).  Don't scold them when they don't see things from your POV.  Just get off your couch and go talk to them.  Start with your neighbors in your home precinct.

I'd help, as I have for the past ten years, if you hadn't run me off with your scorn and ridicule for voting my conscience and principles.  You might be calling it my privilege, but that's just one more reason you're on your own now.  Maybe you haven't noticed, but some of the old guard is still doing that.  Shouldn't have to be said, but that's no way for Democrats to win elections.

But if you would rather ... go on and keep whining about the Russians, Russian ads on Facebook, hackable voting machines, voter photo ID, gerrymandering, and the host of other excuses for losing that you really can't do much about.  Until you turn out some votes for your party's candidates, that is.

Twenty-eighteen is going to be a difficult midterm for Democrats; they're likely to lose some Senate seats in Trump states, and Republican Senators once thought to be among the worst are going to be primaried from their hard right and lose, as in Alabama yesterday, or retire and be replaced by someone further right.  John McCain is going to die very soon, and the governor there is likely to appoint someone who thinks like him, thus the GOP votes against Obamacare repeal are dwindling, and that bill will come back sooner than later.

Here in Texas, Beto O'Rourke remains a little mealy-mouthed on Medicare for All.  That's not going to get him over the hump no matter how much Twitter porn Ted Cruz's staff 'likes', as Jon Tilove at the Statesman pointed out.  And there are some Democrats who still can't see any gubernatorial candidates, though there are two: Mr. International Leather and Bernie Sanders in a cowboy hat, as Leif Reigstad at Texas Monthly posted a couple of days ago (disregard the attempts at snark).  It's certainly understandable that these candidates are invisible to the state's ConservaDems; they should concentrate, as I have previously advised, on recruiting Joe Straus to run.  Even Big Jolly's readers want to see it happen, so it would be a bipartisan collaboration.  Clue to the neolibs and the corporate media continuing to ask him: forget about Hamlet Castro.  Please.

And as blogged one month ago (scroll to the very end), the scrum to go up against John Cumbersome has indeed winnowed, by word and by deed.  Alex Triagesyphilis wormed his way right out of contention by reprising the role of Jon Ossoff, raising tons of money while exhorting half-measures on Medicare for All.  (The DNC, and Ben Ray Lujan of the DCCC, approve this message.)  He and corporate lawyer Lizzie Fletcher can go stand next to James Cargas; Laura Moser and Jason Westin are dueling for the Democratic progressive lead.

I like some of the D slate as currently comprised; Kim Olson for ag commish is notable.  Whether or not I can cast a ballot next March in the Blue primary, however, depends on whether the Texas Greens intend to muster some effort to get on the ballot.

So far, that effort is as scarce as a Democrat running against Ken Paxton.

Anniversaries and updates

-- Five years since Katrina hit New Orleans. You can read my previous takes as the event unfolded at the top of the August 2005 archives, and from 9/05, some accounts from the Astrodome as evacuation center, Katrina's evacuees and Houston by the numbers, the days before Katrina we spent at Camp Casey, my own Astrodome volunteering experience (as well as dining at Brennan's a few days later), some of the ridiculous things said during the crisis, and a few posts about Hurricane Rita, which came to Southeast Texas a week later and caused its own bit of havoc.

Among current reading, see this account by the Louisiana Superdome's director in which he is haunted by an evacuee whom he saw for several days and then didn't, ever again. And this one about the farm which now grows in the Ninth Ward. And these three stories of survival and life after the storm.

-- Twenty years since Stevie Ray Vaughn died in a helicopter crash. I'll direct you to Charles Kuffner for the videos.

-- Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman is putting on a happy face about her burned-up election machines ...

"I'm very optimistic in spite of this great challenge," she said. "We've had floods and other issues in the past and we've always come out and provided the service people expect, and I expect we will do the same here. There is no dout in my mind that we will have a timely election and take care of our voters."

...but Burka isn't buying it (nor is anybody else, for that matter):

The continuing investigation into the origin of the fire that destroyed all of Harris County’s voting machines has not arrived at a conclusion. I’m not going to jump the gun. But I will say this: If arson proves to be the cause, the feds are going to be swarming into Harris County. With early voting less than two months away, the election has been seriously disrupted. If the fire was deliberately set, the immediate question is, who benefits from consequences of the fire, which will be long lines, changes in polling places, tens of thousand of people trying to figure out where they go to vote, and, possibly, the use of paper ballots and all the uncertainties that go with them? We could see a replay of Florida 2000.

No doubt the Democrats will feel that they are the losers in the fire. Bill White has been counting on a big turnout in Harris County to propel him to victory. The disruptions will surely depress turnout, but you can argue that two ways: (1) Republicans are more motivated than Democrats in this election cycle, so if turnout is depressed, Perry is damaged more than White. Or, (2) The confusion about polling places is more likely to depress turnout among minorities, who, of course, are likely Democratic voters.

Right now we are just at the beginning of this story. If the cause of the fire turns out to be bad wiring, much of the drama evaporates. But if it is arson, look out. Already Democrats have expressed concern that the courthouse Republicans who control the voting system will compress the number of polling places, making it more difficult for Democratic voters to find where to cast their ballots. This could get really ugly.

John Cobarruvias also compiles the conspiracies.

-- Houston Votes hits back at Leo Vasquez (bold emphasis mine).

Fred Lewis, head of Houston Votes, said, “Those who propagate lies and distortions like those of Mr. Vasquez and his partisan allies are eroding our democracy, and we ask the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department to immediately investigate and monitor his office and his radical allies.”

Mr. Vasquez’s histrionic complaints are false and defamatory. Houston Votes seeks to register as many Houstonians as are eligible, which Mr. Vasquez unfortunately sees as a “burden” and a threat. Rather than celebrate new registrants, Mr. Vasquez apparently intends to reduce his workload by intimidating people from registering. He and his staff are paid with taxpayer dollars to process voter registration cards. They should do their jobs without complaining or engaging in partisan, political activity.

The recklessness and falseness of Mr. Vasquez’s allegations, combined with his unprofessional and partisan actions, raise serious questions about his political motivations. Houston Votes is asking the Justice Department to investigate voting rights violations by Mr. Vasquez and his office through a political campaign to intimidate voter registration. The Registrar’s Office has a long history of voter suppression. We have reason to believe that his office is continuing its systematic practice of illegally not approving registration applications from eligible citizens despite public outcry and costly litigation.

Mr. Vasquez’s press conference, as part of his official non-partisan duties, was a political circus, with dozens of partisan operatives present. Mr. Vasquez appears to have abused the power of his office by collaborating with the King Street Patriots, a partisan organization that took credit for uncovering the “fraud” alleged against Houston Votes This political organization’s website states “that current political initiatives must be focused on mobilizing the conservative electorate”. It appears that Leo Vasquez openly coordinated with King Street Patriots to further personal political goals and retard the efforts of Houston Votes in registering people. He also appears to have shared legally confidential voter registration data with partisan political third parties, which is unlawful. Both activities warrant a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

Neil Aquino made it to the press conferences by HV as well as the Liberty Institute (affiliated with the KSP) and reported on them here.

#Recount2016: The latest *Updates below

A technician prepares voting machines to be used in the presidential election 

in Philadelphia. Courtesy AP/Philly.com

Pennsylvania will have to be sued in order to recount their votes, and the situation is something more than a little complicated.

“Petitioners have grave concerns about the integrity of electronic voting machines used in their districts,” the suit stated.

Though Monday’s petition was filed by 100 Pennsylvania voters, as required by the state’s election law, it is part of Stein’s effort to challenge results in three states that were critical to deciding the presidential election.

Stein’s camp filed a recount petition last week in Wisconsin, and is expected to do so this week Michigan. Clinton lost each of the state by fewer than 100,000 votes. She lost Pennsylvania by about 71,300 votes.

NYT:

(Pennsylvania), where Mr. Trump holds a lead of 70,638 votes, or 1.1 percent, allows any three voters to petition to recount their local precinct. But despite a call on Sunday from Ms. Stein on Facebook for thousands of Pennsylvanians to file the paperwork, in many cases the deadlines have come and gone, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

There are more than 9,000 voting precincts in Pennsylvania. Wanda Murren, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said she was aware of petitions in only a handful of the state’s 67 counties.

The Stein campaign said that as of Monday, voters had filed recount petitions in 120 precincts, including more than 70 in Philadelphia, where the county has not yet certified the vote and petitions can still be accepted, according to Ilann Maazel, a lawyer for the campaign.

The Wolverine State seems a little cleaner ...

In Michigan, a candidate can request a recount by citing fraud or errors, said Fred Woodhams, a spokesman for the Michigan secretary of state. But other candidates, like Mr. Trump, could potentially object to such a request by appealing to the Board of State Canvassers.

At a meeting on Monday, where the canvassers certified the election results, a representative for Ms. Stein said her campaign planned to request a complete hand recount by a deadline on Wednesday. The campaign would need to pay estimated costs of $800,000, and a recount could start as early as Friday.

... and the Badger State proceeds apace.

To begin the recount in Wisconsin, the state must receive payment of $3.5 million by Tuesday afternoon to cover the estimated costs, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said on Monday. The commission approved a schedule, which includes county clerks and canvass members being briefed on procedures on Wednesday morning, with the recount beginning Thursday and being completed by Dec. 12 and certified on Dec. 13. The Electoral College votes on Dec. 19.

Ms. Stein asked that the recount of ballots be done entirely by hand, but the elections commission rejected that request. It instead allowed counties to determine whether the ballots should be counted manually or with tabulating equipment. Ms. Stein said on Monday that she would sue to demand the hand count.

Rather then mention Trump's false and inflammatory Tweet, which as usual got more media attention that it deserved -- though thankfully most called it what it is: a lie -- let me point out that the recount effort has produced its own divisions in the Green Party, starting with this statement by Stein's running mate, Ajamu Baraka.

I believe that Dr. Stein sincerely believed that she had an obligation, grounded in her commitment to the principle of election integrity, to mount a challenge to the results in those three states. And while I don’t share that position for reasons that I am not going to try and elaborate on here on Facebook, the notion that her decision was made for any other reason than that is a position that I cannot support. There are many in and outside of the Green Party who support the campaign’s decision to call for a recount. But there are also many Green Party activists and supporters who are opposed to that decision.

It is unfortunate that after waging a courageous campaign to build an independent, principled political opposition to the two racist, capitalist/imperialist parties, the recount effort has resulted in serious questions regarding the motivations of the recount that threatens to damage the standing and reputation of the Green party, its supporters, and activists.

A statement released by several long-time Greens also objected to the recount.  A portion:

There are significant electoral reforms needed to make elections more democratic and more representative of the people. While we support electoral reforms, including how the vote is counted, we do not support the current recount being undertaken by Jill Stein.

The decision to pursue a recount was not made in a democratic or a strategic way, nor did it respect the established decision making processes and structures of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).  The recount has created confusion about the relationship between the Green and Democratic parties because the states chosen for the recount are only states in which Hillary Clinton lost. There were close races in other states such as New Hampshire and Minnesota where Clinton won, but which were not part of the recount. And this recount does not address the disenfranchisement of voters; it recounts votes that were already counted rather than restoring the suffrage of voters who were prevented from voting.

As a candidate, Dr. Stein has the right to call for a recount. However, we urge the GPUS to distance itself from any appearance of support for either Democrats or Republicans. We are well aware of the undemocratic actions taken during the primaries by the DNC and the Clinton campaign. Greens cannot be perceived to be allied with such a party.

Signatories included Chris Hedges, Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente, and even Stein's field director for her 2016 campaign, Adrian Boutureira Sansberro.

So to be clear, Stein (and David Cobb, her campaign manager and 2004 presidential nominee, along with other GP leaders like Ben Manski) took the initiative -- in defiance of a GPUS steering committee vote that went against them -- to pursue the recount, beginning with its stunningly successful fundraising appeal.  What all this means for Green unity going forward is an open question, particularly if Stein pursues elective office again, and a story likely to be reported almost exclusively in this space.

More from Brad Friedman's podcast yesterday and his interview with Richard Hayes Phillips, an author and election fraud investigator of long-standing repute.  Here's an excerpt:

... (Hayes Phillips' detailed report concerns) the unusually large apparent voter turnout numbers in many rural WI municipalities and the difficulty citizens have in verifying and overseeing those numbers. As Phillips explains, there are horrible public reporting requirements for both results and for same-day voter registration provisions in the state.

"At a minimum, the problem is a lack of transparency ... We have no way of knowing how many registered voters there are [in WI]. If you don't know how many registered voters there are, you don't know if too many ballots were cast." His report finds that, based on the latest state-reported voter registration numbers, there were "193 towns with turnout of 90% or better, 25 towns with turnout of 95% or better, and 7 towns with turnout of 100% or better." Those exceedingly high turnout numbers are likely lower in reality, due to same-day registration in WI, but the lack of reporting requirements for those numbers is "unacceptable".

"This is the period of time during which we must analyze those numbers to decide whether or not to challenge the election, and we don't have reliable numbers to use!" Philips, who personally examined tens of thousands of ballots and poll books and much more in Ohio after the disputed 2004 election there, resulting in his book Witness to a Crime: A Citizens' Audit of an American Election, says WI's turnout numbers remind him of a number of counties where he found fraud in Ohio, where there was some 80% turnout reported.

(Hayes Phillips observes) that there are almost no ballots to actually count in PA. "The five biggest cities in Pennsylvania that have no paper record of anybody's vote, except for absentee ballots, which only amount to 1 or 2% of the ballots," he says. "My God, if Wisconsin and Michigan which are very close were to actually flip and fall to Hillary Clinton's column, we will face a constitutional crisis, because this whole election will come down to Pennsylvania and the vote cannot be verified. I want America to know this."

Also hearkening back to Ohio in 2004, Phillips notes that there are tens of thousands of ballots with no vote at all for President in MI --- even near Detroit --- according to the state's unverified optical-scan tabulators. It's impossible to know how people voted, unless paper ballots are actually counted by human beings, he confirms. "Who knows who these ballots are actually marked for?"

"I'm not a shill for Hillary Clinton. I didn't even vote for her. But I want everyone's vote to count," he argues. "I want the winner to win and the loser to lose."

I'm not a purist, and I have no interest in seeing Hillary Clinton prevail, and I don't think she will.  Simply put, the integrity of our elections must be able to withstand scrutiny, or the United States is just another banana republic.  Or Christian caliphate, if you prefer.

Update (11/30): More from Bradblog.  And Rocky de La Fuente has paid for a small sample recount in Nevada.  If that sampling shows some inaccuracies, then the state will order a full recount.  And here's a more recent interview with Bonifaz detailing the mechanics of the recount.

The Weekly TexLeftBlog Wrangle

Texas lefty bloggers and Tweeters are gearing up for the first Biden-Trump debate after steeling themselves from being triggered by the first half of "The Comey Rule", which aired last night on Showtime.  Brendan Gleeson -- starring as The President -- makes his grand entrance tonight on the last episode of the two-part docu-drama.  To say that there's been some PTSD suffered across the nation is understating the situation.

Tension so thick you can cut it with a knife.

📺 #TheComeyRule
🗓 This Sunday and Monday pic.twitter.com/xlOgrQOYOb

— Showtime (@Showtime) September 23, 2020

Anyway, we have lots of Lone Star Tweets and news to read and talk about (mostly election- and COVID-related today; other topics at the end of the week).  First and again from the courtroom:

"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to promptly appeal to the Fifth Circuit." #TX2020 https://t.co/PIaEjEpcyg via @CourthouseNews

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) September 26, 2020

Kuff stayed on top of the voting litigation news with updates about the wingnut assault on early voting, and the probably short-lived reinstatement of straight-ticket voting.  Corona Connor drew some interesting maps of CD10, one of the three Congressional districts that Beto carried in 2018 but the Republican incumbent won.  In your best-read of the week, Ben Wofford at Wired (republished at Portside so you don't have any paywall issues) details the decades-long give-and take between Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir and Rice University professor Dan Wallach -- and many others -- over secure voting machines.

A Texas County Clerk’s Bold Crusade to Transform How We Vote https://t.co/seikDTrbcz

— media@portside.org (@PortsideOrg) September 28, 2020

One way to make it easier and safer for everyone to vote: dedicated tables at polling places for accepting mail ballots. https://t.co/3Y4yyxL9y9

— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) September 27, 2020

A few SD30 special election updates.

It's a Republican civil war in Texas as Shelley Luther attacks Gov. Greg Abbott in state Senate special election vs. GOP state Rep. Drew Springer, Denton Mayor Chris Watts & three others in North Texas, @MorrisReports writes. #txlege #Election2020 #txvote https://t.co/DuMQVJfSeY

— John Gravois (@Grav1) September 25, 2020

Texas Senate District 30 Special Election Early Vote Tracker - updated through final day.
In-person: 30,050
By-mail: 10,713
Total early vote: 40,763
Early vote as share of RV: 2.6%
Early vote as share of 2018 general election vote: 12.9%https://t.co/Km7fBEQz6l #txlege #tx2020 pic.twitter.com/U8kZZd4cjv

— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) September 28, 2020

Ross Ramsey at the TexTrib via Progrexas says "keep calm and vote on".

Harris County's ambitious election plan calls for 11,000 poll workers; 29,000 people applied https://t.co/YIjfco2nur #hounews

— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 25, 2020

In addition to the candidates whose names appear on the #TX2020 ballot, Texans will have the option of casting a Write In vote for 9 declared WI Candidates for President.
Only @LaRiva2020 is on the ballot in other states.
Also is 1 WI for #TXSen, #TX4, #TX31 & for #txlege #HD132 pic.twitter.com/TCngujJyeI

— Mark P. Jones (@MarkPJonesTX) September 25, 2020

Candidatos Verdes en Español#Texas #PartidoVerde #GreenParty @GreenPartyUS @LatinxsPorHowie @BexarGreensTX @HowieHawkins @AngelaNWalker @Wakely2020 @Viapadron @Dr_RREAL @dbcgreentx @qweekat @brodymulligan @HalRidleyJr pic.twitter.com/XFMnRrCFuC

— Green Party of Texas (@TXGreens) September 25, 2020

The Texas Politics Project has the executive summary of several of the above news items for those of you with limited reading time.

Fear and Loathing at the Ballot Box: Election and Voting-Focused Texas Data Points for the Week In Politics https://t.co/v4p6Mjj295 #txlege #tx2020 pic.twitter.com/mKIcrGSNje

— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) September 27, 2020

And looking past November ...

2022 watch: Joe Jaworski, Democrat and former Galveston mayor who recently announced his bid for attorney general, filed an amicus brief with #SCOTX today arguing against @KenPaxtonTX's attempt to block @HarrisVotes from sending mail ballot applications to all voters. #txlege pic.twitter.com/A9vnQrk7nj

— Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) September 25, 2020

Following up on the growing divide between Texas Republicans, this next story was first referenced in the Friday 9/18 Round-up (scroll down to "Speaking of stupid").

Texas Republicans want to expand gambling on tribal lands. Texas Republicans don’t want to expand gambling on tribal lands.

Confused? That’s an appropriate response. #txlegehttps://t.co/kWpvzdQi6O

— Reform Austin (@ReformAustin) September 25, 2020

As James Barragan Tweeted in last Friday's Round-up, the Lege must deal with the most ominous revenue shortfall (related to COVID and the crashing of oil, of course) in almost a century.  All tax streams must be on the table.  A full legalization of casino gambling and cannabis, with an appropriate taxing mechanism, should be under careful consideration.  The TXGOP cannot continue to allow the Evangelical Caucus to hinder progress for the sick (Medicaid expansion) the young (our public school system) and the old (our seniors' assisted living challenges during these crises).

In one of the more ridiculous election-related developments last week, Texas Monthly has a few questions about that Dan Crenshaw ad.

Exactly how tall is August Pfluger? What is Tony Gonzales hacking into? And what is being blown up??

We have some questions about Dan Crenshaw's new campaign ad. https://t.co/XMFeGoWkvK

— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) September 27, 2020

LOL @texasdemocrats chairman urges #Biden to visit state: 'I thought he had his own plane' https://t.co/cMqf0ObMbx #TX2020

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) September 26, 2020

Hey @houmayor: how about taking a pass on the #G20 summit this year. It's being hosted by Saudi Arabia and I don’t want my mayor shaking hands with MBS. Hey #HTX: will you join me and write @SylvesterTurner too? https://t.co/G1JLjC5oBx #HouNews

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) September 25, 2020

And the TexTrib provides the segue between politics and pandemic.

The coronavirus has split Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his own party, says @rossramsey. https://t.co/Jbp6ZMqZ4M #txlege

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 25, 2020

So many revealing moments in this amazing story. Like this one about Lina Hidalgo in Feb: Her communications team kept including a standard CDC talking point in her speeches - that the risk to the American public remained low. Hidalgo kept taking it out. https://t.co/ZIAdSAvRZa

— Mizanur Rahman (@Mizanur_TX) September 27, 2020

Texas Public Schools #COVID19 Data

3,445 cumulative positive STUDENT cases

2,850 cumulative positive STAFF cases#PublicSchools are required to report positive #coronavirus cases on school campuses. Data updated weekly on Wed:https://t.co/8a6VuCNLq9#TXlege #TXed #Education pic.twitter.com/E01UZ1i5Lb

— Anna Núñez (@nunez_anna) September 25, 2020

Coronavirus expert Dr. Peter Hotez worried Houston is heading toward 'third peak' this fall @LisaGray_HouTX @HoustonChron https://t.co/MNBiWNvpJq

— Steve Riley (@srileychronicle) September 25, 2020

"The drop in emergency license suspensions worries patient safety advocates, because many hospitals still have compromised and vulnerable patients. That makes errors and complications more likely and dangerous." #txlege #covid19 #SafetyFirst https://t.co/Yhs6Qmi3em

— Texas Watch (@TexasWatch) September 25, 2020

How looking down drains instead of up people's noses helped Houston catch a COVID hot spot https://t.co/qwxUF5nONW #hounews

— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 25, 2020

A glitchy computer system that Texas health officials repeatedly warned was aging and at high risk of "critical failure" has stymied efforts to track and manage the coronavirus.

It has also left policymakers with incomplete, and at times inaccurate, data. https://t.co/xArRD2Ltjp

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 24, 2020

Erin Garcia de Jesus at the San Antonio Current worries about the "twindemic" of COVID plus influenza.

Stories of ordinary Texans dealing with extraordinary circumstances:https://t.co/AgwiV2hM9N

— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) September 27, 2020

And we all hope we don't have a new environmental problem to be concerned about, after the weekend brought this tragic news.

6-year-old Texas boy died from brain-eating amoeba in early September, leading to investigation of water supply https://t.co/MmuVzcjPGC #HouNews

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) September 27, 2020

More economic, ecological, and social justice headlines later.  Ending here today on as upbeat a message as possible.

This cyclist thought he might have delay his wild idea – riding the entire perimeter of Texas – until after the pandemic.

But it turned out to be perfect timing. https://t.co/mtxKrhPdju

— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) September 24, 2020

The first batting practice taken at the brand-new Houston Astrodome as shot through the catcher's mask, 1965. That's Rusty Staub with the bat in his hand and catcher John Bateman with the glove. Cool photo. Thanks to the anonymous reader who sent this to me. You're awesome! pic.twitter.com/aPSe0LdqXq

— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) September 25, 2020

The Calm After (Nicholas) and Before (87-3) the Storm Wrangle From Far Left Texas

Past storms first.

In this post we provide an updated forecast for Houston, and some thoughts about how our region, as bad as last night was, narrowly escaped a much worse storm.https://t.co/CNfHwSCJCb

— Eric Berger (@SpaceCityWX) September 14, 2021

“10-20 inches of rainfall came offshore”.  “A track even 40 or 50 miles inland would have set up those heaviest rains directly across the Houston metro area”.  *shudder*

An Ike Dike isn't going to stop the wind, which causes the power outages.  Louisiana is still suffering from those two weeks after Ida.

Imagine it’s 90 degrees outside, your wall-to-wall carpet is fully soaked in flood water and it’s starting to mold. Your power is out so you have no air conditioning, not even a fan, and your phone has been dead for days. Everything in your fridge is rotten, but the grocery store doesn’t have power so they’re cash only, but you don’t have any cash. You don’t have a car, so your options are to keep your family inside the house, breathing in spores, or stay outside in flooded streets and unlivable heat.

This is the basic state of existence for millions of people in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida tore through the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the misery and desperation was not contained. 1,300 miles away, 44 people died from the very same storm as it pummeled New York and New Jersey.

Of the 14 deaths attributable to Ida, nine are estimated to have been caused by electricity outage-related heat exhaustion.  Yeah, we got lucky here in Texas, if you want to call it that.

Galveston saw nearly 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain from Nicholas while Houston reported more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain.https://t.co/0OMUZdxgtQ#txlege #254Strong

— Texas County magazine (@TexasCountymag) September 14, 2021

More than 100K customers remain without power after Nicholas.

That's down from the roughly half a million who were out at the peak of outages after the storm.

CenterPoint Energy says that some customers could be out for days.
https://t.co/7x6dPjgPUC via @MitchellFerman

— Erin Douglas (@erinmdouglas23) September 15, 2021

Though this report seems hyperbolic after reading Centerpoint Energy's account on power restoration from last night.

#Houston: Crews today drove down the outage count to ~40K (from a peak of 460K). As we sign off social media for the day, our crews, supported by mutual assistance crews, continue to work through the night. Read the latest updates on your area: https://t.co/yWR7rjUBMi #hounews pic.twitter.com/wN6K0OHZks

— CenterPoint Energy Alerts (@CNPalerts) September 16, 2021

We can all remember things being worse.

Hurricane Ike made landfall on this day 13 years ago https://t.co/hlbGpKE0RO

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 13, 2021

We'd just rather not relive them for a barely-Cat 1 storm.

Let me catch up on the latest regarding the court battles getting under way on the womens' rights law and the voting rights law.

A federal judge has agreed to consider blocking the enforcement of a new Texas law banning abortions after about six weeks. | via @HoustonPubMedia https://t.co/mtfidBZfjL

— KUT Austin (@KUT) September 15, 2021

Developments in reproductive rights fight in Texas court: State judge sides with Planned Parenthood bid to block lawsuits from TX abortion law, formal ruling coming later this week, @mcohanlon reports. #abortion #txlege #TexasCourts #PlannedParenthood https://t.co/X5pS2QhZlu

— John Gravois (@Grav1) September 13, 2021

Fascinating analysis that hypothesizes that lawmakers knowingly engaged in official oppression. #txlege #quorumreporthttps://t.co/idLBYx860h

— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) September 14, 2021

Who are the wealthy conservative donors behind the Texas abortion ban? https://t.co/TyZ4YjyHAx #txlege #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/G94YsGfEid

— Teddy Wilson (@reportbywilson) September 13, 2021

Democrats are encouraged by the most recent development in Washington; the Freedom to Vote Act revises the For The People Act just enough to get President Manchin on board.

New voting rights bills in the Senate. Key points:
1. New name: the Freedom to Vote Act.
2. New voter ID compromise provisions -- totally reasonable.
3. Manchin is very engaged.
4. Filibuster almost certain, but necessary precursor to filibuster reform.https://t.co/ss13cDhDeg

— Lee Drutman (@leedrutman) September 14, 2021

Freedom to Vote Act includes:

-ban on partisan gerrymandering

-automatic & Election Day registration

-no-excuse mail-in voting & access to drop boxes

-prohibitions on election subversion

-two weeks early voting & Election Day holiday pic.twitter.com/lGgPkgc49M

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) September 14, 2021

The redistricting provisions of the Freedom to Vote Act have a number of differences from the earlier For the People Act. Some of them are BIG. A thread 🧵 #fairmaps 1/

— Michael Li 李之樸 (@mcpli) September 14, 2021

And that's my segue to the redistricting battle gearing up for the start of next week's special session of the Texas Lege.

Texas' population explosion from 2010-2020 occurred primarily in metro areas while the state saw 143 rural counties lose population - something with big implications during redistricting #txlege #publicpolicy #Politics #redistricting #urban #Rural #Texas https://t.co/31Js58SFnI

— PLCTexas (@PLC_Texas) September 13, 2021

@TexasDemography has released two fact sheets using the Census 2020 P.L. 94-171 redistricting data to help users understand and analyze the data:
1. For Texas Counties, 2010-2020 (https://t.co/QoE1OXwDJ3)
2. For Texas Places, 2010-2020 (https://t.co/y0PIGCYgxa)#Census2020 pic.twitter.com/XfcMycMC4S

— Texas Demographic Center (@TexasDemography) September 9, 2021

Texas State Senators, we are told, have privately been shown their own maps ahead of redistricting. Based on various conversations, it sounds like @DanPatrick's goal is to take it from an 18 to 13 Republican advantage to a 20 - 11 GOP majority #TxLege https://t.co/WTxLQ3es2z

— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) September 15, 2021

This piece from Slate provides a good summary of the strategy of the TXGOP regarding voting rights, womens' rights, and redistricting.

“Texas Republicans are acutely aware that as their numbers contract demographically, they can’t continue to rule over minorities, or pass unpopular laws like S.B. 8, unless those minorities are systematically discouraged from voting. “ #txlege https://t.co/vwvVkltb2r

— Anthony Gutierrez (@antgutierrez) September 14, 2021

Here's a bit of the latest in election news.

Democrats see their opening in race against embattled AG Ken Paxton https://t.co/swAFmjlCPw

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 16, 2021

Until the Donks get a gubernatorial candidate that suits the establishment, this is the most important race on the ballot.  And with the latest entry in the GOP primary, the Repubes are publicly acknowledging it; getting rid of Ken Paxton themselves makes all of the reasons for replacing him go away for the Blues.  And they have the usual headwinds, plus a few new ones.  For one example:

The party assumes people of color will turn the state blue. But most Tejanos consider themselves white. And more are voting Republican.https://t.co/7MOIahz09H+

— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) September 13, 2021

Dems still see hopeful signs that they can turn back the red tide.

Highlights: 52% of Texans say that the state is worse off than this time last year and 92% say they are concerned about Texas' future. #txlege https://t.co/99lfhCMiqf

— Hope Osborn (@HopeOsbornTX) September 14, 2021

A local update: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has had a bumpy ride of late.  She was forced to cave on that contract to Felicity Pereyra, the Democratic consultant I used to know well who almost hit the big time before the commissioners made a stink about it.  The Chron's op-ed board piled on.  (Another story I don't recall reading on Off the Kuff.  Maybe I just missed it.)  Now this.

Worth noting here that Hidalgo and the other two Democrats pitched a large tax rate increase in '19 that was blocked by the Republican commissioners. https://t.co/Y4uMfcHzcK

— Zach Despart (@zachdespart) September 14, 2021

Hidalgo has a Green challenger named Joe McElligott, who's run for various offices a few times before.  Flies mostly under the radar.

If @SylvesterTurner isn't going to provide lawyers for houston families facing eviction

Then @linahidalgotx needs to step uphttps://t.co/WzDN0Mh3ni https://t.co/vdqG0m0Abq

— Joe McElligott (@joe_mcelligott) September 10, 2021

I don't really want to register a protest vote against Hidalgo next year, but I'm still bothered by her -- and her team's -- ignoring my repeated questions about the county's new voting machines back in March.  So I'd like to see more and better out of both Hidalgo and McElligott before choosing between them.  Moving on to criminal and social justice headlines ...

Galveston…
Police arrest another white guy without beating him. pic.twitter.com/ktEOdWACX1

— Mass Disturbance (@MassD) September 14, 2021

Texas' 10/27 execution of Ruben Gutierrez has been cancelled.

The DA asked to withdraw the date yesterday, court records show.

Last year, #SCOTUS stopped his death in an ongoing fight over religious advisers' access to executions: https://t.co/DfYfJqrcCI #deathpenalty

— Jolie McCullough (@jsmccullou) September 15, 2021

Texas judges again order Harris County DA Kim Ogg to stop withholding Harding Street raid evidence https://t.co/VnkOLZiCJ2 via @houstonchron #hounews

— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 15, 2021

Court-appointed watchdogs found Texas foster care children were exposed to sexual abuse, given the wrong medication and neglected in unlicensed placements. https://t.co/13R2exeZwX

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 15, 2021

More bullying of local governments, no solutions for homelessness from the governor and the people who work for him #txlege https://t.co/tcTQAJSv8z

— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) September 13, 2021

The Austin Justice Coalition among several other organizations are gathering at the Texas Capitol speaking out against voting, abortion, and other laws recently passed. @cbsaustin pic.twitter.com/4JPRCt3aw1

— Ricardo Lewis (@RicardoLewisTV) September 11, 2021

They were met by armed counter-protesters, a new wrinkle of the state's relaxed gun laws.

It also happened in Austin yesterday. A white man showed up to a peaceful protest, armed, with the intentions of intimidating people of color. This man was wearing a 3%er shirt. @shannonrwatts #TurnTexasBlue #txlege pic.twitter.com/1u4qJcv3sR

— Shell_Seas (@LivingBlueTX) September 12, 2021

It seems like good news that Miami has sniffed out Art Acevedo early.

Former Houston police chief on the hot seat five months into his new job https://t.co/HsWAtSF2YL

— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 15, 2021

The documentary zooms in on one particularly dangerous area: Brooks County, population 7,100, where more than 2,000 migrants are presumed to have died since 2008. https://t.co/Ymh7ZWMP43

— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) September 14, 2021

Last week, a Texas prosecutor dropped dozens of trespassing cases against migrants arrested under @GovAbbott's new "catch and jail" policy.

ICE/CBP didn't want to take the men, so some were dropped at a border town bus stop w/out documentation. https://t.co/SK6yESl7aP #txlege

— Jolie McCullough (@jsmccullou) September 14, 2021

Proud to join scores of ATX environmentalists, social justice advocates, union organizers, & progressive leaders at the @NoWayPropA kick-off.

Prop A would cause deep cuts in our libraries, parks, fire, & EMS. It will make Austin less safe.

📸: @texrising pic.twitter.com/7wKDm7TiFu

— Bob Libal (@blibal) September 9, 2021

And to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, LareDOS reports that Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has a full offering of engaging lectures, presentations, and activities.

The month-long celebration will launch with a traditional El Grito, Thursday, Sept. 16, from 7-9 p.m. in the Student Center Green at an event organized by the student organization Campus Activities Board.

For one Mexican-American studying Texas History in school back in the 1960s and 70s, he learned something that wasn’t in the history books. https://t.co/ajU8guMxkr

— KENS 5 (@KENS5) September 16, 2021

Come see the shows Senderos del Desierto (Salvador Rodriguez) and On the Waterfront (June Ainsworth) Sept 10 – Oct 10 at Rockport Center for the Arts, 401 S. Austin Street. Rockport, TX.
#texasart #texasartist #contemporarylandscapepaintings@RockportTXArt #goseesomeart pic.twitter.com/axw1miqxtH

— Glasstire (@Glasstire) September 13, 2021

Winner: The Democratic Establishment

Dylan Matthews, Vox.

It’s hard to believe it’s only been one week since Super Tuesday, as the landscape of the presidential race has shifted dramatically over the past seven days. Biden’s commanding performance that night, including an unexpected win in Texas, has spurred the party’s major donors like former rival Mike Bloomberg, luminaries like former candidates Sens. Kamala Harris (CA) and Cory Booker (NJ), and congressional leaders like Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) to line up behind Biden.

There were two ways that decision could have played out. It could have dramatically backfired. If Sanders had managed a come-from-behind victory in Michigan, and maybe a closer-than-expected performance in Mississippi where Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba endorsed him, then the narrative of a primary that was winding down would have been challenged. Additional undecided Democratic politicians would have hesitated to jump in. They might have concluded that Harris, Booker, Durbin, etc. miscalculated, and that those figures might find themselves on the wrong side of Sanders should he ultimately become the nominee.

The other possible outcome was what actually happened: Sanders losing to Biden across the board, and Biden’s endorsers looking like they made a difference. Indeed, Biden has already gotten new, powerful backers, like the prominent and deep-pocketed Super PAC Priorities USA, which spent nearly $200 million in the 2016 presidential cycle.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat whose support helped Biden to his remarkable string of victories, took a victory lap over Sanders supporters in the wake of the night’s results:

Rep. Clyburn on NPR just now: "I think when the night is over, Joe Biden will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination... If the night ends the way it has begun" it's time to "shut this primary down," meaning the DNC should "step in" and cancel future debates.

— Miles Parks (@MilesParks) March 11, 2020

This is a bit much, given that Americans still haven’t seen Biden and Sanders face off one-on-one in a televised debate. Given each’s advanced age, and their ability to rely on having limited screen time in previous contests, the next debate might be revealing of their stamina and debating prowess in a one-on-one match with Trump.

But the core of Clyburn’s case is sound. Biden is the prohibitive favorite to win the nomination, and voters show no sign of rebelling for Sanders in defiance of party leaders. The party decided, and the voters are ratifying that decision.

Follow the links.  In particular, that last one.  Next up: the field negro.

Poor Bernie has never been able to capture the black vote, because black folks tend to be a little too pragmatic for his "revolution". We know that the white power structure will not allow the political system that benefits the few and the powerful to stray far from the status quo. And so we vote with our heads and not our hearts. We want to beat trump, and we don't think that Bernie is the man to do it.

Still, I am a little leery of the democratic party that can always count on us, but we can't always count on them. Republicans see our angst, and that's why Donald trump is cranking up his Negro outreach.

Follow the link.

Had African Americans turned out to vote in 2016 like they did in 2012, Hillary Clinton would be the president of the United States. Instead, Democrats overlooked and under-invested in the community, resulting in a cataclysmic drop-off in black voter turnout. The percentage of eligible African Americans who voted dropped to its lowest level in nearly 20 years, allowing Trump to eke out his razor-thin electoral college victory.

I titled the penultimate chapter of my book “Conservatives Can Count”, and Republicans have indeed done the math and are working overtime to reduce the margins by which they lose the black vote. During the Super Bowl, Trump’s re-election campaign spent $11m on a very effective ad featuring an African American woman who’d been released from prison after criminal justice reform legislation. She says in heartfelt fashion to the millions of people watching the ad: “I want to thank President Donald John Trump.”

I'm so old I remember when Black Democrats said they were voting for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004 because "he needs to clean up his own mess".  How'd that work out?

Black Dems don't want the blame for Trump this go-around (sorry to disappoint all the Jill Stein haters and Russia conspiracy theorists out there).  But going back to 'the way it was', BT (Before Trump)?  When Obama was president?  When kids were first put in cages at the border and thousands of civilians were killed by drones?

"It's the economy, stupid PDiddie," you say.  Right; the Obama economy that Trump is running on, BC (Before COVID19).  When Goldman Sachs alums were in charge of the economy that Goldman Sachs alums wrecked during Bush's second term.  That Biden wants to put in charge.

This isn't a rant directed solely at my African American Boomer brothers and sisters.  There are plenty of shithole centrist white people driving the Biden Bus.  And we know that it is predominantly Democrats in elected office suppressing the vote in minority precincts, and also where young voters showed up, but were discouraged by long lines, forced to wait outside in sub-freezing weather, and got the least-reliable voting machines to use.

Polls are officially closed in Michigan, but the East Lansing city clerks office is still packed with students who have been waiting on average 3 hours to vote.

This is what the line currently looks like. Btw most of these people are voting for @BernieSanders. #MichiganPrimary pic.twitter.com/g6YxSUZsMn

— Abshir Omar (@AbshirDSM) March 11, 2020

Mass voter suppression in ND today. Only one polling place each in Fargo and Grand Forks, the two biggest cities, and also home to by far the largest youth and minority votes. Oh and it’s 23 degrees outside. 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/CleYJOIlU8

— Raheem (Typo King)🔥🌹 (@Heme0000) March 10, 2020

At a precinct in #MissouriPrimary that had one of the largest turnouts for @BernieSanders last time, we have reports that the paper ballot collection machine, electronic voting machines, AND the tablets used to check in voters were all malfunctioning. We’re working on resolving. pic.twitter.com/9r4QHeQms2

— Brent Welder (@BrentWelder) March 10, 2020

Exit polls taken yesterday revealed voters think "the system needs a complete overhaul", and support a government-run single-payer healthcare system.

#MichiganPrimary Early Exit Poll

"The US economic system needs..."

A Complete Overhaul: 49%
Minor Changes: 39%
Works Well Enough: 10%

CBS pic.twitter.com/n3Mt2TGvwX

— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) March 10, 2020

#BernieSanders has been campaigning for a complete overhaul of the US economy.

Voters in Missouri were asked if the economic system of works well as it is, needs minor changes, or needs a complete overhaul.

A complete overhaul won.

But Sanders lost.https://t.co/jtTZGlu0bz

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) March 11, 2020

Yet Joe Biden swept to victory by telling his wealthy doors "nothing would fundamentally change", and that he would veto a Medicare for All bill if it reached his desk as president.

I am sensing a disconnect somewhere.

WTF ever happened to hope and change?