The backlash among Puerto Rican celebrities and performers was instantaneous across social media, prompting the Trump campaign to issue a rare defensive statement distancing themselves from offensive comments. In a tight race, any constituency could be decisive and the sizable Puerto Rican community in the battleground state of Pennsylvania was on the minds of Trump allies.

Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement that the Puerto Rico joke "does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign."

The Trump ethos has generally been to never apologize, never admit error and try to ignore controversy. Ms. Alvarez's statement was a rare break from that practice, reflecting a new concern that Mr. Trump risks reminding undecided voters of the dark tenor of his political movement in the closing stage of the 2024 race.

#1 | Posted by Bluewaffles at 2024-10-27 07:08 PM

Seems like the Trump campaign isn't feelin' the same burn as ChokingEggos.

Not a single Republican lawmaker voted for the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Since then, many of them have voted to repeal its clean energy provisions and criticized the law as a waste of taxpayer money.

According to The Post's analysis, congressional districts that favored Trump in the 2020 election received three times as much clean energy and manufacturing investments as those that leaned toward Biden.

Districts where a plurality of voters backed Trump have claimed around $165 billion of the cash so far, compared with just $54 billion in areas where Biden came in first. Of the top 10 districts that have attracted the most clean energy investments, nine are led by Republican lawmakers.

Clean energy spending has skyrocketed since the IRA became law, up 85 percent compared with the preceding two years. Some technologies - like battery manufacturing, sustainable aviation fuels and carbon capture - have surged, going from almost no investment to tens of billions of dollars. Experts say that without the new funding, it's difficult to imagine those sectors taking off.

Developers are drawn to red districts because land is plentiful and cheap, experts say.

"Most of this can just be explained by population density," said Trevor Houser, a partner at Rhodium Group. In rural areas, which are much more likely to vote Republican, ample land - at lower prices - can support giant battery manufacturing plants or large-scale wind farms.

Others point to red states' low taxes and tax incentives for developers. "It's natural that investors and project developers are wanting to go into areas where they've got a predictable business environment," said Jeremy Harrell, the CEO of ClearPath, a conservative clean energy advocacy group. States like Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio, he said, have less regulatory red tape that could slow big energy projects.

Just another example of why Democratic administrations always see more economic growth than Republican ones. Democrats look to the future while GOPers look longingly for a past they neither lived nor understood, but a past controlled and dominated by men, nominally white men like their leadership and donors.

Democrats could have put stipulations on the IRA spending, but they didn't because the goal is to help all Americans by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels while building the industries of tomorrow for a cleaner energy future. Consider it a success regardless of what your favorite Republican might be saying about it. Numbers don't lie, but GOPers do as easy as they breathe air.

#46

He just insists on beclowning himself over and over again with intentional misrepresentations and gaslighting.

Turds has got to be a masochist, that's the only plausible explanation I can figure.

Says the guy who recently posted "accusations are confessions"

Towards a direct example of someone being guilty of what they accuse others of doing: ie. Trump calling Harris a fascist when he's the one calling himself the only person who can solve problems by exercising unfettered power, and Musk decrying undocumenteds working in America as he himself once did, and claiming that Democrats are threats to democracy and the rule of law while promising to quash 34 guilty charges handed down by impartial juries.

You really are stupid, but why do you insist on proving it by trying to match wits with those who aren't as gullible or non-analytical as you?

How stupid are you?

Do you really need to ask?

The 4 key questions for pollsters

1. Do respondents match the electorate demographically in terms of sex, age, education, race, etc.? (This was a problem in 2016.)

2. Do respondents match the electorate politically after the sample is adjusted by demographic factors? (This was the problem in 2020.)

3. Which respondents will vote?

4. Should the pollster trust the data?

To show how the answers to these questions can affect poll results, I use a national survey conducted from October 7 - 14, 2024. The sample included 1,924 self-reported registered voters drawn from an online, high-quality panel commonly used in academic and commercial work.

After dropping the respondents who said they were not sure who they would vote for (3.2%) and those with missing demographics, the unweighted data give Harris a 6 percentage point lead - 51.6 % to 45.5% - among the remaining 1,718 respondents.

*Adjusting for demographic factors
*Adjusting for political factors
*Adjusting for likely voters
*Do I trust this data?

After all of this, there is still a critical limitation. Even if we correctly predict what the 2024 electorate will look like in terms of demographics and partisanship, our adjustments only work if the voters who took the poll have the same views as similar voters who did not take the poll. This is a foundational assumption of polling.

The performance of polls thus depends on the opinions of both voters and pollsters in ways that are often hard to discern. This election year, are the polls virtually tied because voters are tied, because pollsters think the race is tied, or both?

We would all do better to temper our expectations about pre-election polls. It's impossible to ensure that the polls will reliably predict close races given the number of decisions that pollsters have to make. And it's often hard for consumers of polls to know how much the results reflect the opinions of the voters or the pollsters.

And there it is...

It sure is. A hit dog always yelps the loudest.

Thanks for self identifying.

Think about it: No presidential nominees in modern history have faced such a direct challenge to the authenticity of their identity and by extension their qualifications to be the president.

I can tell you with confidence that the various and sundry racist, misogynist and sexist insults hurled at Ms. Harris must sting. They are a reminder of the disgraceful lengths that Republican senators took to shame me when I challenged Clarence Thomas's fitness to be appointed to the Supreme Court. What helped me stay composed was knowing that I was not the first woman to have her sanity, truthfulness and virtue falsely impugned. Even now, when I am attacked, my mother's firm but gentle admonition rings in my ears: "You know who you are and what you can do." Lesson learned: Never let the people who despise you define you.

One key to surviving under such pressure is to forcefully embrace the value of your own capabilities and principles. "Don't be confined to other people's perception about what this looks like, and how you should act in order to be," Ms. Harris said this year.

One facet of Vice President Harris's dignity is her recognition of the right of others to be treated with respect. Take Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders's remark that "my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble." Ms. Sanders's statement was a clumsy attempt to alienate Ms. Harris from women with children. Ms. Harris responded by showing her commitment to valuing all women. She spoke with heart about her love of being a stepmother to two children. And she reminded us that women are routinely made aware of our own shortcomings and limitations - whether or not we have kids.

By staying true to herself - her refusal to be thrown on the defensive by personal attacks - Ms. Harris is showing people how to protect and nurture their own self-worth. I say this because I have witnessed how composure under duress can inspire others.

Perfect reminder for those Retort posters thinking that anyone is influenced by their unhinged personal attacks, masquerading as critique. Unlike them, one thing that Kamala has not done since she ascended to the top of her ticket is to gripe and complain about what others say about her. She's remained focus on one goal - earning the right to serve this nation and all its people as a President respecting of laws and the Constitution, not one who's trying to bend, pervert, or destroy both in service of an anti-freedom/pro fascist/pro criminal agenda.

As part of a years-long crusade to force more Floridians into the private insurance market, Scott raised premiums and rescinded discounts from the Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the government-backed nonprofit insurer, all while giving private companies extra incentives and protections to operate in the state.

Now that warming-fueled storms are routinely causing billions of dollars in damage across Florida, private insurers are fleeing the state, forcing customers back to Citizens. But now the deals the public insurer offers come with higher premiums and worse coverage.

Now Scott's Democratic challenger for Senate, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, is hoping voters can make the connection between Scott's eight years as governor and the financial squeeze caused as insurers increasingly fail to pay to repair properties damaged in hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Once voters draw the link between the devastation and the inability to get affordable coverage, "you're going to see people here in the state push back very, very strongly against these electeds that have been here and done nothing," she said.

"It's borderline criminal," she added. "People are so angry, frustrated and exhausted. Helene brought flooding. Then Milton made everything worse."

And the Republican Florida legislature's answer to these problems is to strike any mention of climate change from government, as though that alone will solve the problems. And there's this too:

Scott slashed environmental regulations and cut funding for Florida's water management agency by $700 million, setting the stage for a toxic algae bloom that decimated fisheries and the coastal tourism business in 2018. Scott's critics skewered him with the nickname "red tide Rick," and the issue hurt the Republican in the polls.

"He was red tide Rick'... People living in Florida for a very long time know him very well," Mucarsel-Powell said.

"The homeowners insurance crisis that we're facing right now started under Rick Scott," she said.

Just after taking office in 2011, Scott signed legislation eliminating Citizens' caps on premium increases, causing the cost of coverage to skyrocket.

Citizens then launched a campaign to re-audit homes that state-sanctioned inspectors had already deemed ready for a major storm as part of a process to qualify for an insurance discount. Of the more than 250,000 homeowners Citizens double-checked, three out of four lost discounts, the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2012.

They did nothing to help, just stood and watched like useless baby killers

There are medical personnel on duty at all campaign events for moments like these. It isn't the job nor responsibility of those on stage unless they're specifically called for by others to respond. And even more importantly, those physicians are responsible for more live births than they are terminated ones.

And the only ones being booed at Harris rallies are Trump fan bois trying to disrupt the proceedings through their vocal interruptions, making it impossible for others to hear and the speakers to continue their thoughts until they can be peaceably removed. Hence they're being booed, not the speakers. Just like it happens at Trump rallies, the difference being Kamala doesn't tell security or her audience to 'knock the hell out of them' like the sociopath Trump does.

Anyone with a functioning brain cell knows that, but considering who foisted this nonsensical assertion, obviously no reasoning brain cells are presently functioning inside this individual's cranium.

Related:

The New York Times editorial board has made its case that Mr. Trump is unfit to lead. But the strongest case against him may come from his own people. For those Americans who are still tempted to return him to the presidency or to not vote in November, it is worth considering the assessment of Mr. Trump by those who have seen him up close.

Typical Trumper. Almost every accusation against others is a confession against themselves.

Not to mention he's acting as a Russian agent taking orders from Putin - buying Twitter, allowing it to be used for Russian election interference, and funding Trump's campaign through super PACs - in order to keep himself and his family alive after letting Ukraine use Starlink to terminate untold thousands of Russian lives during Putin's 3 day exercise now heading towards year 4.

But since he's not brown, he's a-ok with Trump and his white nationalist/supremacist crew.

Some men may be tempted to vote for Trump because of their anger at the slow pace of progress, Obama said, but "your rage does not exist in a vacuum."

"If we don't get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage," Obama said. "So are you as men prepared to look into the eyes of the women and children you love and tell them you supported this assault on our safety?"

"I lay awake at night wondering, What in the world is going on?'" she said.

Her voice vibrating with emotion, Obama talked about the struggle for women to understand and care for their own bodies, whether it's their menstrual cycles or menopause. And she spoke about the dangers of childbirth, when a split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death for a mother and her baby.

"I am asking y'all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously," Obama pleaded.

[Obama's] remarks were searing and passionate in their support of Harris.

"By every measure, she has demonstrated that she's ready," the former first lady said. "The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?"

Obama added, "Do not buy into the lies that we do not know who Kamala is or what she stands for. This is somebody who understands you, all of you."

Regardless of what the men do, this election will be decided by women, the class who has the most to lose should Trump win the presidency again. And Trump is running the most anti-woman campaign perhaps in American history, but certainly since women have had the right to vote. And more women vote than do men so which demographic is most important?

Yeah, he's quite the stable genius after all.

Even Tony acknowledged liberal media exists.

No I didn't. You have to be careful with your words because they DO have distinct meanings.

Of course, particular media sources can be biased but that wasn't what you said.

You claimed there was a liberal media when there isn't. There is a conservative media such as Sinclair, IHeartRadio, and the entire right wing mediasphere - Fox News, Newsmax, OANN, et._al., which controls political content from the top down.

The gender gap among young women has not inspired the same level of analysis and deep focus as has the gender gap with young men. Even a close reader of election coverage may forget for a moment that this is the first presidential election since the Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs more than two years ago. If there were ever an election in which to focus on the political behavior of young women, it's this one.

Roevember is almost here.

#33

Scratch that. It's a photoshop fake by the Russians to discredit Harris supporters.

It is sad that women had to be stripped of their basic right to control their bodies - and to be threatened with the loss of lifesaving medical care - for Kamala to even have a chance to get the votes of enough women to offset losing the votes of so many men.

Trump is running a hypermasculine campaign - with Chief Bro Elon Musk bizarrely bouncing up and down - that is breathtakingly offensive to women. Trump is exploiting the crisis among Gen Z men, a crisis driven by loneliness, Covid isolation, economic insecurity, a lack of purpose and a feeling that the modern world seems more accommodating to young women.

Trump is a renowned predator and groper who has been found liable for sexual abuse. But he has the gall to cast Kamala as "retarded," "lazy as hell" and a "bitch" and ask, "Does she drink? Is she on drugs?"

Barack Obama punctured the MAGA macho myth at a rally with Kamala on Thursday. Putting down people is not "real strength," he said. Real strength is standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. "That's what we should want in our daughters and our sons," Obama said. "And that's what I want to see in the president of the United States of America."

Why are the Democrats losing?

I wonder if we can find examples of this from the early voting returns.

lfthndthrds = moron

So I guess you don't believe there are news sites with a right wing bias either?

Apples, oranges Bill. Look at what you stated.

liberal media versus right wing bias

One is not like the other. Of course particular media sources can be biased but that wasn't what you said. You claimed there was a liberal media when there isn't. There is a conservative media such as Sinclair, IHeartRadio, and the entire right wing mediasphere - Fox News, Newsmax, OANN, et._al., which controls political content from the top down.

Name one media outlet that is 100% liberal outside of progressive radio. Which network is liberal? NBC isn't, they're corporate just like Laura said. MSNBC is certainly liberal leaning, but some of its most popular programs are helmed by a former Contract for America ex-GOP congressman and a former GOP political operative who worked in the W White House and for the McCain presidential campaign.

Every other non-right network is for profit only, not politically biased as a matter of its existence and marketing. Even NPR is only considered left-leaning because its based on intellectualism which is anathema to today's conservatives who proudly demean intellectuals every chance they get. NPR often asks responders to politically self-identify so they can try to be more openly balanced.

U.S. officials said in a statement sent by the FBI that they believe the video was "manufactured and amplified" by Russian actors. The officials said it's part of "Moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans."

The information was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The Bucks County Board of Elections had identified the video as fake on Thursday, saying the envelope and other materials in the video "are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by" the board.

The video showed a person sorting through what looked like mail ballots labeled as coming from Bucks County. The person, who was Black, appeared to be tearing up ballots marked for Trump, and leaving alone ballots marked for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Researchers who closely study Russian foreign influence campaigns had previously connected the video to a Russian disinformation network known as Storm-1516 or CopyCop. The network has previously shared numerous videos with false claims about Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.

So what's going on here? It's not clear. There are a few possibilities. One is that that Republican early voting is itself skewing female and thus keeping that gender spread high. Another possibility is that Democratic women are voting early at even higher rates than in previous cycles and that's off-setting the impact of Republican early voting.

For the moment I don't think we can say this is good or bad for one party or the other. It's more that there's some additional factor which is allowing the rate of Republican early voting to expand without that 10 point gender spread contracting. It's not clear what that is yet. But whatever it is could turn out to be significant for the final results of the election.

There are two other swing states releasing gender breakdown data for the early votes. And the numbers are comparable and actually larger. In Georgia it's 11.2 percentage points and in Michigan it's 13.1 percentage points.