Just Because – Election Day Edition
As They Cast Their Votes – Hillary Cheered, Trump Booed
Democrat Hillary Clinton was cheered as she cast her ballot on Election Day in her hometown of Chappaqua, NY.
The reception was a bit cooler for Republican Donald Trump who, living in true blue New York City, was booed as he left his polling place.
(h/t Boy Culture)
Hillary Wins Guam!
USA Today reports that the tiny U.S. island of Guam has voted (15 hours ahead Eastern Standard Time), and Hillary Clinton has won by a huge margin of 71.63% versus Donald Trump’s 24.16%.
Residents of the island have correctly picked the winner of every White House race since 1984.
While Guam residents are American citizens, they have no actual bearing on the national election since the island has no representation in the Electoral College.
Earlier today, just after midnight, Hillary also won the famously “first in the nation” vote in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The vote in the tiny hamlet was four votes for Hillary, two votes for Trump, one vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson, and one write in vote for Mitt Romney.
Hundreds Place “I Voted” Stickers On The Grave Stone Of Susan B. Anthony
There’s a line not only at the polls today, but at the grave site of women’s suffragist Susan B. Anthony, where folks are placing “I Voted” stickers on her headstone.
As many know, on November 8, 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for illegally casting a ballot in the presidential election.
All to honor the fact that we are voting today for not only the first female presidential candidate of a major party, but most probably our first female president.
#HistoryMade
Women’s suffragist Susan B. Anthony was never able to vote, so people are leaving “I voted” stickers on her grave https://t.co/86s6PAdDIf pic.twitter.com/qHGoiJTqmk— CNN (@CNN) November 8, 2016
People lined up to visit Susan B Anthony’s grave today. Gotta admit, I got a bit of a lump in my throat seeing this. pic.twitter.com/Unw8cOtxl4— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) November 8, 2016
Tonight: The Final (Huge) Clinton Rally With Bon Jovi & Springsteen
If you want to watch the BIG show tonight with Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi along with Hillary & Bill Clinton, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton, click below.
In addition to the performances, I hear Hillary will make her final pitch to the American people, as well as Presidents Clinton and Obama warning voters about a dangerous Donald Trump.
Benchmark Politics Predicts 322 Electoral Votes For Hillary Clinton
Benchmark Politics predicts a win by Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump by a huge electoral vote margin.
BP, giving Clinton an 87% chance of winning, sees the electoral votes coming in at 322 for Clinton, 216 for Trump.
Anderson Cooper Doesn’t Let Trump Campaign Manager Get Away With Hypocrisy
CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway about her candidate’s decision to speculate on the recent “Comey Incident” regarding possible new emails found on an aide’s laptop.
(p.s. nothing new was found, greatly disappointing the Trumpsters)
Here’s the text of the interchange:
Anderson: Is it irresponsible if a man who might be president of the United States to speculate about something about which he has no facts?
Conway: Everybody speculated for nine days.
Anderson: If everybody jumped off a bridge it doesn’t mean you should jump off a bridge too.
Conway: I’ll take note of that.
Anderson: Don’t you think it’s irresponsible? Apparently you don’t.
The conversation moved on to recent comments by the Nevada Republican chair who asserted that rules were broken during early voting (don’t worry – they weren’t) for “certain groups.” Of course, what the GOP Chair was talking about was the huge Hispanic turnout on Friday night at a Latino supermarket.
Cooper asked if Conway had any proof that “special favors” were being given to these “certain groups.” Conway admitted she had no proof.
Anderson replied, “Don’t facts matter? If the chairman of the Nevada Republican Party is making this inaccurate claim, that polling places are kept open so a certain group could vote, it was people in line in time to vote. Why imply that it is this certain group?”
Watch the full exchange below:
Randy Rainbow Parody: “Trump/Pence Is Bad”
Center For Politics Predicts Big Win For Clinton With 322 Votes In Electoral College
Larry Sabato, of University of Virginia’s respected Center for Politics, is predicting Hillary Clinton will become the nation’s 45th president by winning 322 electoral votes, well past the required 270 votes.
“Not even on Clinton’s worst campaign days did we ever have her below 270 electoral votes,” the team at University of Virginia wrote.
The team predicts that Clinton will win Tuesday with 322 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 216 and that the U.S. Senate will be tied 50-50 with Vice President Tim Kaine serving as its tie breaker.
Despite some wobbles along the way, we’ve favored Hillary Clinton as the 45th president of the United States ever since we did our first handicapping of the Clinton vs. Donald Trump matchup back in late March. The edge we had for her back then has eroded a little bit at the end — we had her as high as 352 electoral votes, and in the final tally we have her down to 322, with 216 for Trump. If this is how it turns out, Trump will fare 10 electoral votes better than Mitt Romney, and Clinton will do 10 electoral votes worse than Barack Obama in 2012 — 11 or 12 if rogue Washington electors follow through on their threat to refuse to vote for Clinton (but we can’t assume that at this time).
The two closest states here are North Carolina and Ohio. For a long time, it appeared that Florida was a shakier state for Clinton than the Tar Heel State, but our sources indicate that the Sunshine State looks somewhat brighter for her now, although both should be tight. Meanwhile, Ohio may be a real Toss-up state. Buckeye history and demography point to Trump, but Clinton’s ground operation could come through for her in the end. If Ohio does vote for Trump while he is losing the White House, it will be just the third time in 31 elections that Ohio will have voted for the loser.
Florida may tell us a lot about whether we’re going to have a long night or a short one. About two-thirds of voters will likely have cast their ballots early, so the vote count should not take that long. If Clinton wins the state by two or three points and is declared the victor early on, it’ll be hard to find a plausible path to Trump victory. If Trump captures the state, though, then we’ll have to see if her firewall states, like the aforementioned states of Michigan, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, as well as Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, come through for her.
[snip]
Overall, we’re picking a net gain of four for Democrats in the Senate, which results in a 50-50 tie in Congress’ upper chamber. If we’re right about the presidential contest, that means Vice President Tim Kaine (D) will be breaking ties after Inauguration. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) would appoint Kaine’s replacement in the Senate (long-serving Rep. Bobby Scott, an African American, is the likeliest choice)
Dan Rather On Election 2016: “Nevermind? We Should Mind – And Not Forget”
From a legendary journalist who’s seen more than his fair share of elections, Dan Rather pens this essay as the end of Campaign 2016 looms on the horizon.
A shameful campaign winds up with a shameful final chapter. How fitting. How disappointing. And how rallying it must be for us to strive for a far different national narrative going forward. After bombshell headlines by FBI Director James Comey – it’s, oh nevermind. But we should mind – very much. And we shouldn’t forget.
I suspect we shall hear a lot of, “oh nevermind” after November 8.
From GOP supporters of Donald Trump who backed him for a cynical political calculus – they may want to say nevermind. But we should mind – and not forget.
From far too many of the press who gave Trump an open mic and treated his many serious transgressions with indifference and false equivalence – they may want to say nevermind. But we should mind – and not forget.
From those who whipped up xenophobia and misogyny in the name of rallying the base – they may want to say nevermind. But we should mind – and not forget.
From those who suppressed the vote and were called out on it – they may say nevermind. But we should mind – and not forget.
From those who fanned the flames of lies and persecuted the truth – they may want to say nevermind. But we should mind – and not forget.
I suspect historians will find fault with many and virtue with few when they look back at this election. But let us not descend into cynicism. The future of this country is indeed at stake. But even with the vote on November 8, the chapters of our American story will be written in ink not yet dry. Our destiny will depend on how we act going forward. Will we buy into the “nevermind” crowd, or will we resolve, together, to demand better of our elected officials, our press, and ourselves?