American Politics: U-Pick Apples, Pumpkins, and Senators

[The Tenth Jellian Republic]

He probably is. Not on the numbers, but just because the American electorate has pretty thoroughly proved that it is incapable of holding a thought for more than a few minutes at a time. So the 'generational damage' will likely only last until the price of eggs goes up in the next Democratic Administration and the GOP promises they can fix it by burning trans people at the stake, and millions of mOdEraTe CenTriSt American voters will go, "Hmm, I almost sort of vaguely remember these guys massively fucking up everything last time they were in control... but that was in the ancient and long-forgotten era of two years ago, and they seem to know a lot about eggs!"

I seriously think we could win over the swing voters by doing that hand trick that makes it look like you're removing your thumb if we make a big enough spectacle of it.

He is the chosen one!
Vote for magic man!

[Cannot think of a name]

He probably is. Not on the numbers, but just because the American electorate has pretty thoroughly proved that it is incapable of holding a thought for more than a few minutes at a time. So the 'generational damage' will likely only last until the price of eggs goes up in the next Democratic Administration and the GOP promises they can fix it by burning trans people at the stake, and millions of mOdEraTe CenTriSt American voters will go, "Hmm, I almost sort of vaguely remember these guys massively fucking up everything last time they were in control... but that was in the ancient and long-forgotten era of two years ago, and they seem to know a lot about eggs!"

I seriously think we could win over the swing voters by doing that hand trick that makes it look like you're removing your thumb if we make a big enough spectacle of it.

We've known forever dumb ideas that are simple to digest work better than smart ideas that are hard to understand. We've never managed to make smart ideas simple to digest.

[Elwher]

The Trump admin has been dismantling Title IX protections, particularly for trans people, allegedly in the name of "protecting women's sports." Here's how women's sports are actually being affected.

Soooo the NCAA swagged there are an average of 10 athletes. Olympics thinks there .0002 percent……ah yeah….title 9 needs to go.

FFS this country really wants to be third world.

With so few people affected by it, why does anyone on either side care? If anyone on either side were smart, they would simply say "Fine, you win" and move on to something that actually affects people.

[Valrifell]

Soooo the NCAA swagged there are an average of 10 athletes. Olympics thinks there .0002 percent……ah yeah….title 9 needs to go.

FFS this country really wants to be third world.

With so few people affected by it, why does anyone on either side care? If anyone on either side were smart, they would simply say "Fine, you win" and move on to something that actually affects people.

Because one side actively wants to do harm and the other side's position is to do nothing to change the status quo. Gotta go against the active agents, here.

[Ifreann]

Soooo the NCAA swagged there are an average of 10 athletes. Olympics thinks there .0002 percent……ah yeah….title 9 needs to go.

FFS this country really wants to be third world.

With so few people affected by it, why does anyone on either side care? If anyone on either side were smart, they would simply say "Fine, you win" and move on to something that actually affects people.

There are actually a quite substantial number of people who play school sports in America, and they will all be effected by efforts to ban transgender people from sports.

[Cannot think of a name]

Soooo the NCAA swagged there are an average of 10 athletes. Olympics thinks there .0002 percent……ah yeah….title 9 needs to go.

FFS this country really wants to be third world.

With so few people affected by it, why does anyone on either side care? If anyone on either side were smart, they would simply say "Fine, you win" and move on to something that actually affects people.

The left is notoriously lenient on instances where Democrats throw populations under the bus for convenience.

[Cannot think of a name]

I had a sense this was the case when I saw ads for Prop 42 and trying to look something up after a family member hit me with a conspiracy theory turns out, yep.

California might vote in a billionaire tax and two propositions that will undo the billionaire tax.

Prop. 40 would levy a one-time 5% tax on California residents whose net worth exceeds $1 billion. The tax would apply based on residency as of Jan. 1, 2026 — a date that had passed when the measure qualified for the ballot — meaning billionaires who left the state afterward would still owe it.
...
Prop. 41’s real target is Prop. 40: It would require new tax proposals passed after the start of this year to follow the state’s annual spending limit — a cap passed by voters in 1979 during a period of strong anti-tax sentiment that recent voter-approved special taxes have exempted themselves from. The billionaire tax would automatically violate this provision because it isn’t written to comply with the state spending limit.

Prop 41 would also require the nonpartisan state auditor to review new tax proposals before they reach voters and identify potential spending cuts in the programs they’d fund. If voters approve a tax, some of the revenue generated would pay for the audit; if a proposal fails, the state would be on the hook for the additional cost.

Prop. 42 would bar new taxes on personal property such as businesses, investments, retirement accounts, trusts and art collections — the exact things that Prop. 40 targets. It would also prohibit retroactive taxes, which would block a key part of Prop. 40: taxing wealth accumulated before the measure takes effect. Either provision alone is enough to nullify Prop. 40, if the wealth tax wins fewer votes than 41 or 42.

“Prop. 42 is a more direct anti-wealth tax proposal,” said Megan Jones, a tax attorney with Holland and Knight. The Legislature has tried unsuccessfully in the past to pass multiple wealth taxes, Jones said. If Prop. 42 passes, she said, it could limit lawmakers’ ability to try again in the future.

The way it works:

Recent polling shows slim majorities of likely voters support not just the wealth tax, Proposition 40, but also Propositions 41 and 42, the measures aimed at killing it, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

“I don’t think that people at this point realize they’re direct countermeasures because there hasn’t been much said about 41 and 42,” said Mark Baldassare, polling director for PPIC.

Only one outcome can prevail. If Prop. 40 captures more votes than both 41 and 42, the wealth tax takes effect, voiding the countermeasures. If either 41 or 42 outpolls Prop. 40, the billionaire tax does not take effect.

Advertising is thick for yes on 42 and no on 40.

[New haven america]

Two polls today had the Dems having a 15 point lead on the generic ballot, and most of the models are reaching the point of the Dems having a full 10 point lead on the GOP. Trump might well have caused generational damage to the GOP over the past year.

You better not be wrong

He is, the average American voter has an attention that goldfish would find lacking and the short term memory of a dementia patient. Less than 50% of Americans actually watch the news to begin with let alone keep up with politics or science or economics.

Unless the Progressives can lead a successful internal coup, the Dems will just let bygones be bygones because both parties have the same masters they bow to, and the Reps will come back in 4-8 years when the general public experiences the slightest amount of dissatisfaction. It has happened before, it'll happen again, and it won't stop happening unless someone starts a civil war.

[Nilokeras]

I seriously think we could win over the swing voters by doing that hand trick that makes it look like you're removing your thumb if we make a big enough spectacle of it.

We've known forever dumb ideas that are simple to digest work better than smart ideas that are hard to understand. We've never managed to make smart ideas simple to digest.

'making smart ideas simple to digest' is Zohran Mamdani's whole deal. it's eminently doable and very effective.

that the Democrats never seem to put forward any 'smart ideas' or communicate them effectively is a different problem than it being not possible.

thinking that problem through is also a lot more productive than wailing about the hopelessness of trying to appeal to the American electorate.

[San Lumen]

You better not be wrong

He is, the average American voter has an attention that goldfish would find lacking and the short term memory of a dementia patient. Less than 50% of Americans actually watch the news to begin with let alone keep up with politics or science or economics.

Unless the Progressives can lead a successful internal coup, the Dems will just let bygones be bygones because both parties have the same masters they bow to, and the Reps will come back in 4-8 years when the general public experiences the slightest amount of dissatisfaction. It has happened before, it'll happen again, and it won't stop happening unless someone starts a civil war.

Dont look whose running then get off your butt and run yourself. Everyone sucks is not an argument.

[Pasong Tirad]

Vermont might elect a Democratic governor, potentially preventing Phil Scott from being able to stick around until Bernie retires in 2030 and he tries to run for the open Senate seat.*

* I don't actually know if this is Scott's plan.

Latest poll shows Gov. Phil Scott and Amanda Janoo in tightest race in a decade
Scott and Janoo in “statistical tie” in the state’s gubernatorial race.

A Vermont election poll on the upcoming governor’s race suggests it might be the closest in a decade.

The most recent University of New Hampshire Green Mountain State Poll released this week reported that 49% of Vermonters support Amanda Janoo in the November election, while 43% support incumbent Gov. Phil Scott.

The 6% margin led UNH pollsters to declare the Governor’s race a “statistical tie.” In a July poll released by the same group, Scott led Janoo by 15% meaning the recent numbers account for a 21-point swing.

The poll also reported former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray leading Republican incumbent John Rodgers 54% to 35% in the lieutenant governor race. U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., comfortably leads the state’s one congressional race with a 35% margin against Republican nominee Gerald Malloy.

Scott’s approval rating, according to the poll, has fallen 5% since July, sitting at 47%. In the October 2025 Green Mountain State Poll, the incumbent’s approval rating was 61% with a majority of Vermonters supporting a reelection bid.

In a press release Thursday, Scott’s campaign manager Dustin Degree criticized UNH’s polling methods, specifically its partisan split. Some 60% of those surveyed self-identified as Democrats, 31% as Republicans and 9% as Independent.

Scott has historically held significant bipartisan support, but after a series of vetos on progressive bills, some Vermonters have said they’re looking for change.

Degree cited UNH’s 2024 poll, which predicted a 28% margin of victory for Scott, who went on to win reelection by more than 50%. He called Thursday’s poll “statistical malpractice.”

“The good news is, besides exciting headlines and political posturing, outlier polls don’t matter,” the press release reads. “Election Day does.”

Janoo’s grassroots campaign was successful in the primary election. She defeated Aly Richards by just over 3%. Janoo, an economist and first-time political candidate, described her democratic primary election victory as a “long-shot.”

In a press release, Janoo’s team wrote that the poll’s results reflected what they had heard “on the ground every day.”

“Vermonters are tired of a status quo that’s failing us,” the press release said. “We’re tired of managed decline for our state. We’re looking for hope and leadership that believes in Vermont. Together, we can not only win this election, but build a better future.”

Thursday’s poll teed up November’s general election, based on 882 survey responses collected last week. The data were weighted based on demographic information from the U.S. Census and 2024 election results, according to the survey.

Poll shows Amanda Janoo closing in on Phil Scott in Vermont governor’s race
tl;dr: Vermont Public poll has Phil Scott at 44%, Amanda Janoo at 34%, and undecideds at 16%.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott is locked in the tightest reelection bid of his gubernatorial career, according to the Vermont Public 2026 Poll.

First-time statewide candidate Amanda Janoo, a virtual unknown when she announced her Democratic campaign in March, is within 10 points of a five-term incumbent often hailed as the most popular governor in the country.

If the election was held today, according to the survey of 817 Vermonters, 42% would vote for Scott and 32% would cast their ballot for Janoo. Twenty percent are undecided; the poll has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

Among likely voters, the poll found that 44% would vote for Scott and 34% for Janoo, with 16% undecided.

Julia Barnes, a veteran political strategist who formerly served as executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, noted that Scott has won each of his last three reelection bids by at least 40 percentage points. She said his support among voters has clearly cratered since he won 73% of the vote in 2024.

“That, plus the very clear grassroots movement that Amanda Janoo is building, says to me that there is some momentum against what has been a seemingly insurmountable incumbency advantage,” Barnes told Vermont Public.

Scott’s approval ratings are down 15 percentage points since Vermont Public’s last poll in 2022, when 60% of Vermonters said they approved of the job he was doing as governor. According to the latest poll, fewer than half of residents — 45% — approve of Scott’s performance. His ratings are down most precipitously among a historically reliable segment of his winning coalition: Democrats.

Matt Dickinson, professor of political science at Middlebury College, said one of the poll’s notable findings is that Scott’s approval rating among Democrats has fallen by 31 percentage points over the last four years.

“And so I think some of what we’re seeing here is the partisan polarization nationally is filtering down to Vermont,” Dickinson said. “We’ve got people who are saying, ‘I may not know Janoo, but she’s a Democrat.’”

While Janoo may be outperforming expectations among political observers, Rich Clark, a professor of political science at Vermont State University who conducted the poll, said Scott maintains a statistically significant lead over his Democratic opponent.

Vermont voters haven’t ousted an incumbent governor in more than 60 years. And Scott’s campaign spokesperson, Emma Shouldice, said the governor remains confident that the streak will continue.

“We are going to continue to run our race the way the governor has run his past races,” she said.

That strategy relies heavily on criticizing the Democratic-controlled Legislature for thwarting Scott’s “affordability agenda,” which has included proposals to lower taxes and rein in state spending.

On the campaign trail this year, Scott has spent as much time stumping for down-ballot candidates for House and Senate as he has on his own race.

“We still need more balance, more moderation, more common sense and less ideology in the Legislature,” he said last month. “This makes the decision Vermonters make this fall in the voting booth very, very important.”

But the political coattails that delivered a historic number of legislative pickups for Republicans in 2024 may be shrinking. For instance, the poll found that Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, who rode the red wave to victory during the last cycle, is trailing Democratic rival Molly Gray.

If Scott wins a sixth term, he’ll be the longest-serving governor in state history. Kurt Wright, a former Republican lawmaker from Burlington who served in the Legislature for nearly two decades, said the length of his tenure has perhaps become a liability.

“When you’ve been in office for a long time, I think there’s a sort of political fatigue that can set in,” he said.

Scott’s push for education reform, Wright said, has been particularly controversial. The governor unsuccessfully advocated for mandatory school district mergers over the past two years. And he favors a school-funding overhaul that would see the state usurp control of spending decisions from local school boards.

According to the poll, strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats oppose giving up local control of spending.

“Even though people want their property taxes reduced, I don’t think they were necessarily in love with the proposal,” Wright said. “So I think you see some vulnerabilities there.”

Janoo said she plans to spend the last five weeks of the campaign working to persuade undecided voters. She said education reform has been a salient issue among Vermonters she’s talking to. She said Scott’s veto of a bill that would have restricted construction of data centers in Vermont has also struck a nerve.

“It’s not really a partisan thing,” Janoo said. “I think rural communities in general feel like they are not being heard, they’re not being supported.”

Shouldice, Scott’s campaign spokesperson, said Janoo’s “progressive agenda” — she’s calling for substantial tax increases on second-home owners and high earners, and wants government to pay for all primary health care services in the state — represents the sort of ideology Scott has been fighting against in the Legislature for the past decade.

“It’s what Vermonters got sick of and sent a message during the last cycle,” Shouldice said. “And they sent more mainstream down-the-middle-of-the-road people who helped us make changes in the last cycle.”

Some Vermonters are drawn to Janoo because of her proposed tax policies. Wolcott resident Liz Courtney said the Democrat has offered “specific economic plans of how we can find a way to pay for things.”

“There are wealthy people that have homes here and that live here and can afford to pay more taxes, and it would just make such a big difference for the rest of us,” Courtney said. “Like, there’s an imbalance there, and I think the fact that she seems to be proposing that we correct that imbalance, well, that makes sense to me.”

And not all Democrats are abandoning Scott. South Burlington resident Frank Cioffi is one of the lifelong Democrats that’s supported Scott over the past decade. He said the governor’s calm bearing and fiscally moderate approach are “especially important in such polarizing times.”

“Phil’s personality is exactly what we continue to need in Vermont,” Cioffi said. “He’s kind, he’s respectful. He’s a compassionate human being. And I think he has just incredible common sense.”

The poll identified demographic strengths and weaknesses for both Scott and Janoo. Janoo leads Scott by four percentage points among female residents, three percentage points among Chittenden County residents and six percentage points among people with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Scott has double-digit leads in central and northern Vermont, outperforms Janoo three-to-one among people with a high school degree or less, and has a 26-point advantage among one of the highest-propensity voting groups — people 65 and older.

Natalie Silver, a political strategist who managed U.S. Rep. Becca Balint’s campaign in 2022, said Scott has until recently enjoyed broad support among Democrats who viewed him as a moderate foil to President Donald Trump. She said he endeared himself to the left when he signed gun control legislation, advocated for an abortion-rights amendment to the Vermont Constitution, and calmly shepherded Vermont through the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think people are saying, ‘OK, the pandemic was six years ago. The gun violence prevention bill was in 2018. What have you done for me lately?’” Silver said. “And the answer is not much.”

Scott’s political might in Montpelier derives from the undeniable electoral mandates he’s earned in his past three reelection victories. Even if he wins on Nov. 3, Silver said, his sixth term will be far more tenuous if he can’t replicate those margins of victory this year.

“I would say that if she comes within 10 points,” Silver said, “that is a sign that it is open season.”

[Bombadil]

As the economy tanks and prices skyrocket, I think a good idea would be to surround yourself with billionaires and talk about how America is in the Golden Age.

President Trump is slated to speak on Tuesday in Washington at an event that he has billed as an "extraordinary gathering of America's greatest leaders, builders, innovators, and citizens," according to invitation materials obtained by CBS News.

The event will showcase the "people, ideas and innovations building America's Golden Age," according to the invitation materials, which said that Mr. Trump will deliver "an address to the nation."

The invitation touted special guests that include SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, among others.

Link

[Rusozak]

As the economy tanks and prices skyrocket, I think a good idea would be to surround yourself with billionaires and talk about how America is in the Golden Age.

President Trump is slated to speak on Tuesday in Washington at an event that he has billed as an "extraordinary gathering of America's greatest leaders, builders, innovators, and citizens," according to invitation materials obtained by CBS News.

The event will showcase the "people, ideas and innovations building America's Golden Age," according to the invitation materials, which said that Mr. Trump will deliver "an address to the nation."

The invitation touted special guests that include SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, among others.

Link

Nothing says "winning campaign strategy" like a pedo billionaire calling the affordability crisis (something he ran on 2 years ago) a hoax while having a luxurious party with the richest people on Earth who are also responsible for that crisis.

It's wild seeing local Republicans who touted their loyalty to Trump and an impending golden age now running ads distancing themselves from him and touting the ways they've bucked the party line. But the tree remembers what the axe did, and no one seems to be buying what these bootlickers are selling.

[Myrensis]

As the economy tanks and prices skyrocket, I think a good idea would be to surround yourself with billionaires and talk about how America is in the Golden Age.

President Trump is slated to speak on Tuesday in Washington at an event that he has billed as an "extraordinary gathering of America's greatest leaders, builders, innovators, and citizens," according to invitation materials obtained by CBS News.

The event will showcase the "people, ideas and innovations building America's Golden Age," according to the invitation materials, which said that Mr. Trump will deliver "an address to the nation."

The invitation touted special guests that include SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, among others.

Link

Nothing says "winning campaign strategy" like a pedo billionaire calling the affordability crisis (something he ran on 2 years ago) a hoax while having a luxurious party with the richest people on Earth who are also responsible for that crisis.

It's wild seeing local Republicans who touted their loyalty to Trump and an impending golden age now running ads distancing themselves from him and touting the ways they've bucked the party line. But the tree remembers what the axe did, and no one seems to be buying what these bootlickers are selling.

It's pretty clear that Trump doesn't give a shit about the midterms at this point. We'll almost certainly see a flurry of bullshit lawsuits and shady shit trying to interfere just before and after the elections, but beyond that he's probably just trusting that friendly courts and a Republican minority still anchored to him by the need to appease the MAGA death cult will let him continue raking in cash and doing whatever tf he wants for the next two years regardless of what Democrats try to do with control of Congress.

[S0LA FIDE]

As the economy tanks and prices skyrocket, I think a good idea would be to surround yourself with billionaires and talk about how America is in the Golden Age.

President Trump is slated to speak on Tuesday in Washington at an event that he has billed as an "extraordinary gathering of America's greatest leaders, builders, innovators, and citizens," according to invitation materials obtained by CBS News.

The event will showcase the "people, ideas and innovations building America's Golden Age," according to the invitation materials, which said that Mr. Trump will deliver "an address to the nation."

The invitation touted special guests that include SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown and Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, among others.

Link

Nothing says "winning campaign strategy" like a pedo billionaire calling the affordability crisis (something he ran on 2 years ago) a hoax while having a luxurious party with the richest people on Earth who are also responsible for that crisis.

It's wild seeing local Republicans who touted their loyalty to Trump and an impending golden age now running ads distancing themselves from him and touting the ways they've bucked the party line. But the tree remembers what the axe did, and no one seems to be buying what these bootlickers are selling.

All because America couldn’t vote for a mixed woman. *sigh*

[Bombadil]

Nothing says "winning campaign strategy" like a pedo billionaire calling the affordability crisis (something he ran on 2 years ago) a hoax while having a luxurious party with the richest people on Earth who are also responsible for that crisis.

It's wild seeing local Republicans who touted their loyalty to Trump and an impending golden age now running ads distancing themselves from him and touting the ways they've bucked the party line. But the tree remembers what the axe did, and no one seems to be buying what these bootlickers are selling.

It's pretty clear that Trump doesn't give a shit about the midterms at this point. We'll almost certainly see a flurry of bullshit lawsuits and shady shit trying to interfere just before and after the elections, but beyond that he's probably just trusting that friendly courts and a Republican minority still anchored to him by the need to appease the MAGA death cult will let him continue raking in cash and doing whatever tf he wants for the next two years regardless of what Democrats try to do with control of Congress.

Why would he care when everyone around him is telling him he's the greatest and most popular president in the world, and it's just the fake media who are, for reasons known only to themselves, trying to portray America as anything other than a roaring success under his supreme rule.

If the elections don't go his way, it will be fraud and he will fix that.

[Cannot think of a name]

We've known forever dumb ideas that are simple to digest work better than smart ideas that are hard to understand. We've never managed to make smart ideas simple to digest.

'making smart ideas simple to digest' is Zohran Mamdani's whole deal. it's eminently doable and very effective.

that the Democrats never seem to put forward any 'smart ideas' or communicate them effectively is a different problem than it being not possible.

thinking that problem through is also a lot more productive than wailing about the hopelessness of trying to appeal to the American electorate.

Maybe take notes from Mandani then instead of taking another opportunity to shit on-

ah, who am I kidding.

[Cannot think of a name]

It's pretty clear that Trump doesn't give a shit about the midterms at this point. We'll almost certainly see a flurry of bullshit lawsuits and shady shit trying to interfere just before and after the elections, but beyond that he's probably just trusting that friendly courts and a Republican minority still anchored to him by the need to appease the MAGA death cult will let him continue raking in cash and doing whatever tf he wants for the next two years regardless of what Democrats try to do with control of Congress.

Why would he care when everyone around him is telling him he's the greatest and most popular president in the world, and it's just the fake media who are, for reasons known only to themselves, trying to portray America as anything other than a roaring success under his supreme rule.

I mean, they hired a woman to follow him around and print out good news for him to read. He might honestly not even know he's faceplanting on a regular basis and the country is crashing around him. Or he knows but he just has to keep the lie alive while he and his cronies suck every penny out of the country and his sycophantic followers.

If the elections don't go his way, it will be fraud and he will fix that.

He's been laying the rails to deligitimize the midterm elections in broad daylight. It's a trial run for 2028. We're not waiting for find out if the Dems take back congress, we're waiting to see if we will continue to have elections.

[Jolthig]

I didn't know Trump was the president of the Unites States. I thought he was president of the United States.

[Bombadil]

I didn't know Trump was the president of the Unites States. I thought he was president of the United States.

The extent to which they fuck up even the most basic of tasks is quite incredible really, near everything is just slapdash.

[Jolthig]

I didn't know Trump was the president of the Unites States. I thought he was president of the United States.

The extent to which they fuck up even the most basic of tasks is quite incredible really, near everything is just slapdash.

It's embarassing.

[Ifreann]

Amusing scenes in the Senate yesterday. Senator Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of travelling to Atlanta to collude with Fani Willis against Trump. His evidence? Texts from Smiths staff referring to him attending a Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks game in Atlanta on the dates in question. Schmitt's staff briefly held up a big printout of the texts and then moved on before anyone could read them. Smith denied attending that game, but recalled attending a University of Iowa game in Maryland around that time, specifically mentioning that Caitlin Clark was playing. Senator Amy Klobuchar, apparently the superior sports-knower, pointed out that Iowa's team are the Hawkeyes. You can watch the whole exchange here.

But the fun doesn't stop there. Axios published this story about the buzz around Schmitt as a possible VP pick for JD Vance. It sure looks like Schmitt's people planted this story with Axios expecting to take advantage of a viral moment where he destroyed Smith with facts and logic. And I guess it's hardly surprising that it works like this, buzz around a possible VP pick comes from having contacts in the press who'll say that there's buzz around a possible VP pick, but it's really funny watching them fumble it like this.

[Chess Socialism]

But the fun doesn't stop there. Axios published this story about the buzz around Schmitt as a possible VP pick for JD Vance. It sure looks like Schmitt's people planted this story with Axios expecting to take advantage of a viral moment where he destroyed Smith with facts and logic. And I guess it's hardly surprising that it works like this, buzz around a possible VP pick comes from having contacts in the press who'll say that there's buzz around a possible VP pick, but it's really funny watching them fumble it like this.

Do they always discuss potential veep candidate picks before the midterms?

[Anakona]

Amusing scenes in the Senate yesterday. Senator Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of travelling to Atlanta to collude with Fani Willis against Trump. His evidence? Texts from Smiths staff referring to him attending a Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks game in Atlanta on the dates in question. Schmitt's staff briefly held up a big printout of the texts and then moved on before anyone could read them. Smith denied attending that game, but recalled attending a University of Iowa game in Maryland around that time, specifically mentioning that Caitlin Clark was playing. Senator Amy Klobuchar, apparently the superior sports-knower, pointed out that Iowa's team are the Hawkeyes. You can watch the whole exchange here.

For the record, the full exchange is incredibly funny and I suggested everyone here go watch it. Especially the part where Schmitt smugly suggests Jack Smith perjured himself and then starts complaining angrily when Klobuchar calls out his mistake. I will note down that there were several points of failure for this claim that somehow were never caught (or were only caught last second and were presented anyways in hopes that the entirely invalid claim wouldn't be challenged, which would explain the posterboard being taken away so quickly):

• There was nothing provided in the texts on the board that suggested that the Atlanta Hawks were the team Smith was seeing, nor even the UIowa Hawkeyes.
• The seat discussed in the cutout, section 109 row 1, is not a real seat at State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks.
• There is quite literally visible footage of Jack Smith at the UMaryland–UIowa game in question.

Due to the amount of people this claim went through, it's nearly impossible that this wasn't caught. Hence, it's a very popular theory currently that the claim originated or went through an LLM that made the connection by error.

[Chess Socialism]

it's a very popular theory currently that the claim originated or went through an LLM that made the connection by error.

We live in a kakistocracy trying to make itself a cyberocracy and failing miserably.