The Malignant Loser's Ground Game Disaster, Cont.

Rolling Stone has an article detailing the ongoing problems that the Malignant Loser's get-out-the vote operation is experiencing less than three weeks before the election. As we noted on October 7 and October 14, the Malignant Loser's decision to outsource his get-out-the vote effort to supportive political action committees like Turning Point, may be a fatal error, and the most significant player is none other than illegal immigrant, South African fascist and weirdo Elon Musk's America PAC. From the article:

"In recent weeks, several Republican operatives and other figures in the national party have bluntly and directly informed Trump they fear Musk’s organization is falling down on the job of mobilizing voters to cast their ballots for the Republican nominee. 

According to two sources familiar with the situation and another person briefed on it, these close Trump allies have told him that they are worried that America PAC, an outside group that Musk created to boost turnout for Trump, is failing in critical battleground states that are likely to be won by razor-thin margins, with only weeks left to go before Election Day. Some partly blame, including when they’ve spoken to Trump, the group’s lead strategists, who are linked to the failed 2024 primary run of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis." (our emphasis)

Ah, Ron "Bootsie" DeSantis eventually gets his revenge, if only tangentially. The article continues:

“'We were upfront about our concerns,' says a GOP operative close to the former president and 2024 Republican nominee, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations with Trump. Rolling Stone was shown a screenshot of written communications further corroborating that these sentiments were conveyed to Trump himself. 

This source adds that they relayed to Trump that they have been in touch 'constantly' with conservative activists and other top Republicans based in key swing states, and few of them have had any positive comments lately about the Musk-supported America PAC’s impact in their respective states. Some say they are seeing a relatively small GOTV presence on the ground, despite the Super PAC’s massive spending to boost Trump — $75 million since Joe Biden withdrew from the Democratic ticket in July."  (our emphasis)

The good news is they've run out of time to recover and they've blown through a lot of the money provided by the South African fascist. But it will come to nothing if Dems get-out-the-vote efforts don't get voters to the polls, either through mail voting or in-person voting, and if we don't show up and vote.

(photo illustration: Getty)

 

Trump's Shambolic Campaign

It's hard to believe (but we must) that the election might be close:

Item 1

Donald Trump supporters were left “stranded” for hours in sweltering conditions at the Coachella Valley rally impacted by a suspected assassination attempt on the former president.

The Republican presidential nominee spoke in California on Saturday at an event plagued with issues from the offset.

Along with Trump facing an altercation with a heckler, an armed Las Vegas man who held ID documents under multiple names was arrested outside the rally. Authorities claim Trump may have been the target of a third assassination attempt in as many months.

While thousands of supporters were bussed into Calhoun Ranch, which was situated about five miles away from where they parked their vehicles, people attending claimed the event organizers had neglected transport for the return journey.

And instead of being shuttled away from the venue after Trump exited the stage at about 7pm PT following a near-90-minute address, many attendees were left stranded in 93F heat, according to video footage on social media...

True!

 

Y'all, they the Trump campaign left his followers in the desert stranded again.. pic.twitter.com/iAEAGOC9dr

— Horseshoe Crab🪷🪷🪷 (@eiralaVpr7) October 13, 2024

 

Look at these morons after Trump’s rally at the Coachella manure farm 🤣 pic.twitter.com/jfZJXxmTWe

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) October 14, 2024

 

Sadly, morons are allowed to vote.

Item 2

Donald Trump’s campaign has limited ability to know whether their ground game operation is reaching target voters in battleground states, as the software being used needs fast internet service to properly track canvassers, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

The Trump campaign this cycle is targeting so-called low propensity Trump voters, who are often in rural areas, as part of their bet that hitting those people who don’t typically vote but would cast a ballot for Trump if they did, could make a difference in a close election.

But the Trump campaign and the Elon Musk-backed America Pac, which is now doing an outsized portion of the Trump ground game, use a management app called Campaign Sidekick that struggles in areas with slow internet and means canvassers have to use an offline version.

The Campaign Sidekick app effectively forces canvassers who have less than 40mbps of internet – sufficient to stream 4K video – to use “offline walkbooks” which have no geo-tracking feature and do not always upload after a route is completed, the people said.

As a result, the Trump campaign and America Pac then have little way to know whether canvassers are actually knocking on doors or whether they are cheating – for instance, by “speed-running” routes where they literally throw campaign materials at doors as they drive past...

We're not dealing with a competent, well- oiled, deathstar campaign apparatus here, folks.  An operation with a sociopathic narcissist at the helm, with campaign minions selected for their loyalty rather than their competence;  with fellow narcissist /exploding car and X/Twitter- destroying magnate/ campaign neophyte Elon Musk "doing an outsize portion of the Trump ground game" ... well, you can draw your own conclusions.  

The real danger will be on Election Day and beyond, when the Malignant Loser declares victory despite losing, and his Republican cultists rally around to try to deny Vice President Harris a victory.  A main difference versus 2021 is that the insurrectionists have already shown us what they're prepared to do.  Whether the bold actions needed to forestall their plans take place in a timely manner or not, as well as Harris' margin of victory, will make all the difference.

Trump's Anti-Semitic Closing Ad

It should come as no surprise that the closing ad from the camp of the neo- fascist white nationalist Donald "Rump" Trump has alt-right, anti-Semitic overtones:

The Trump campaign released the ad Saturday, and it is reportedly set to spend $4 million to air it in nine swing states. It features audio of the Republican nominee declaiming against "global special interests" and "those who control the levers of power in Washington" played over footage of Hillary Clinton, George Soros, Janet Yellen and Lloyd Blankfein – all of whom are Jewish, except Clinton.

The audio comes from a speech that the Republican nominee gave in October at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, warning voters about a global "power structure" of establishment figures conspiring to derail his campaign.

The offensive ad is embedded at the link and represents perhaps the lowest low of Rump's gutter sewer campaign to date.

Feel free to compare and contrast it with Hillary Clinton's closing ad here, then ask yourself which vision and candidate do you want leading and representing our country.

The Anti- Defamation League was quick to notice and protest:

This #Trump ad touches on images and rhetoric that anti-Semites have used for ages https://t.co/fKjHU3Bsy5 pic.twitter.com/itMxVUpS2R

— ADL (@ADL_National) November 6, 2016

Shameful and disgusting.

Today's Going Out Of Business Tweet

Bwahahahaha!

Going out of business sale pic.twitter.com/7hrvY8fxCx

— Eric Rauchway (@rauchway) October 24, 2016

(via Balloon Juice)

A campaign that's spent more on hats than on polling.

A campaign that's stopped its high- dollar fundraising, dealing a blow to Republican get- out- the- vote efforts.

This must be what "winning" looks like, huh.

Trump's "Campaign Of Destabilization"

(click on image to enlarge)

(Darrin Bell, via gocomics.com)

As we've noted below and here, the evermore destructive shampaign of neo- fascist demagogue and venomous charlatan Donald "Rump" Trump has recently taken a more sinister turn (if that was possible), in constructing an elaborate "conspiracy" to explain Rump's troubles and the looming disaster at the polls for Republicans.  The Washington Post warns about the ramifications of this in an editorial this morning.  Here are a few highlights (but please read it all at the link):

... Follow the logic here, if you can: The country is under the control of a conspiracy, involving not just his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and the media, but also the entire political “establishment,” Republicans included, in league with unnamed international banks, whose goal is to enrich themselves by controlling “the central base of world political power . . . right here in America” and imposing “radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people.” Mr. Trump, and the “movement” he heads, are all that stand in the way of this evil cabal. This election, therefore, is no ordinary political contest but “a crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether or not we the people reclaim control over our government.” Ergo, the cabal will destroy Mr. Trump by “slander” — unless the people stand up and resist “a small handful of global special interests rigging the system.” 

This language — which he read from a prepared text fed into a teleprompter — is inflammatory beyond any demagoguery Mr. Trump had offered previously. Coupled with his repeated warnings, echoed by his followers, that the Democrats may be cooking up Election Day fraud, the speech seems to prepare the ground for resistance in the increasingly likely event that things don’t go his way Nov. 8. Indeed, anyone who agrees that the alternative to a Trump victory is civilizational disaster, the fruit of a “sinister deal,” as Mr. Trump put it in another Florida speech, would feel obligated to deny the legitimacy of a Clinton victory, should it occur. Trump-for-President is not a campaign to redeem American democracy or even to “take it back,” as Mr. Trump puts it; it has morphed into a campaign of destabilization.  (our emphasis)

The Post then admonishes Republican politicians --

They should at least find the decency, and the patriotism, to declare that everyone must respect the results on Nov. 8 — and pursue any protests or disputes through legal channels, not in the streets. Even if Republicans can’t bring themselves to part ways politically with Mr. Trump, they can refuse to cooperate in the trashing of our public discourse and essential civic traditions. Surely that is not too much to ask.  

It's just over 3 weeks to the election, and we think it's way too much to expect of the craven, amoral, party- over- country Republicans to even commit this one act of good citizenship.  Why?  Because all they'll have left in their  arsenal in the smoking ruins of the election will be more rear guard delegitimatizing of another Democratic president. More obstruction, more outrageous apocalyptic politics. Want proof? Here's sleazy coward Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan yesterday in Wisconsin urging a vote for Rump:

“If we do not act, we will not just lose our quality of life, our standard of living — we will lose the spirit that makes America exceptional in the first place,” Ryan said. “If Hillary Clinton wins and she is given control of Washington, if she is given control of Congress, it will not be long before we come to that precipice.”

That doesn't sound to us like someone willing to accept the results of the election and work constructively with the winner.

Finally, the Boston Globe gives us just one recent example of how this destabilizing message is being internalized by Rump's loyal goons supporters:

At a time when trust in government is at a low point, Trump is actively stoking fears that a core tenet of American democracy is also in peril: that you can trust what happens at the ballot box. 

His supporters here said they plan to go to their local precincts to look for illegal immigrants who may attempt to vote. They are worried that Democrats will load up buses of minorities and take them to vote several times in different areas of the city. 

They’ve heard rumors that boxes of Clinton votes are already waiting somewhere.
And if Trump doesn’t win, some are even openly talking about violent rebellion and assassination, as fantastical and unhinged as that may seem.  (our emphasis)

Reading the frankly treasonous comments that follow are, while no longer surprising to us, still shocking in their brutality and lawlessness.  Please go read and see for yourself (hazmat suit may be required).

The only way we see for an outcome like this to be ameliorated in any way is for this to be an electoral landslide of such historic proportions that questions of legitimacy are swept away for all but the most deluded.  Every vote counts, more than ever.

Trump's Pivot: "I Was Sabotaged!"

It's not exactly the "pivot" Republicans and amoral members of the horserace media were expecting.

Ryan Lizza traces the downward arc of neo- fascist pervert Donald "Rump" Trump's shampaign, and posits that Rump sees the approaching debacle and, narcissist that he is, is pivoting to a way to deal with it to his advantage:

... Trump knows he can’t win and that he has decided that the last stretch of his campaign should be used to set the stage for the aftermath of his loss. In this scenario, what’s crucial for Trump is to be able to convince his hardcore supporters that he—and they—didn’t lose, but that the dreaded Republican establishment sabotaged the Trump campaign in the final weeks. This strategy is in keeping with the way Trump has always spun his greatest defeats, from his failures in Atlantic City to his loss in the Iowa caucuses. He either denies that he failed or he argues that he was cheated. 

Trump is either victorious or victimized, but never a loser. This week marked the end of Trump trying to actually win, and the beginning of him plotting to explain why the election was stolen.

As always, Lizza's entire piece is worth the read.

It makes perfect sense that the neo- fascist narcissist needs a scapegoat to explain his likely loss to himself and to the credulous, white nationalist knuckle- draggers willing to follow him off the cliff. After the election, he knows he'll need an institutionalized bullhorn to maintain the fiction that he was a victim of dark forces -- whether it's the Republican "establishment" or voter fraud in "certain areas." His "plan B" has always been to try to maintain this white nationalist cohort as the base audience for a post- election media empire (there's always money to be made fleecing the rubes -- just ask Oxycontin Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Fox "News," or any televangelist). His hiring of Breitbart's noxious anti-Semite Steve Bannon as shampaign CEO was seen as a strong signal that he was on the way to implementing this "plan B." Continuing to exploit their economic anxiety racial and cultural grievances, as well as the white nationalist "stab in the back" betrayal grift, will be the business model;  the groundwork is already being laid.  Expect the worst.

Today In The Trump Shampaign (UPDATED - Trump's Lewd Remarks)

Trump campaign is canceling hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising in Fla, NC, OH, possibly other states, per two buying sources.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 7, 2016

(Actually, Rump's cutting back his ad buys all over the place.)

The significance in visual form:
via GIPHY

And, finally, in sound.

UPDATE:  Speaking of sound, here's Rump in 2005 making some really crude, predatory remarks about women that define sexual assault. This is an evil thing:


UPDATE II:  Reactions (h/t Daily Kos) --

Wow, Pence’s pool was removed from restaurant he was in when the Trump news broke, via @VaughnHillyard pic.twitter.com/SOFKulH4XZ

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) October 7, 2016

Reminder: Tomorrow Trump appears on same stage as @SpeakerRyan @Reince in WI. Should be a fun time...

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 7, 2016

Hi, Reporters. When Paul Ryan gives you the “I have’t heard it” thing, *play him the effing tape.*

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) October 7, 2016

Starting to think this could be a big tipping point/ final straw for some waverers.  Also, kudos to the oppo research team for dropping bomb after bomb on Rump's orange thatch.

Scary Quote Of The Day - Bow Down To Your Master!

(Attribution:  www.democraticundergound.com)

Mini- moron helps illustrate The Boss' observation (below).

Today's Cartoon Twofer - Deplorable!

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jim Morin, Miami Herald)


(Darrin Bell, via gocomics.com)

The fallout from Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment is drawing attention to ... the "deplorables" supporting neo- fascist deplorable Donald "Rump" Trump.  Far from a Dem version of Willard "Millionaire Mitt" Romney's "47 percent" gaffe, or Rump's somewhat higher "50 percent", this is boomeranging on Republicans.  Don't take our word for it -- here's a conservative's take on the renewed attention being paid to the noxious stew of Rump supporters, thanks to Clinton's comment.

Then, there's this, because Both Sides:

Noticing a lot more Trump coverage that hints if you don't empathize with his racists, you are a smug liberal and thus part of the problem.

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) September 14, 2016

Today's Cartoon Twofer - Two Of A Kind

(click on images to enlarge)


(David Horsey, Los Angeles Times)


(Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Pastor Burns, Trump Surrogate, Gets Burned On False Bio

Perhaps you saw neo- fascist white supremacist Donald "Rump" Trump's favorite house Negro prosperity gospel pastor, Mark Burns, at the Republican National Convention Shitshow ranting in his "benediction" about Democrats being the enemy and calling on "God" to defeat Hillary Clinton?  Or, more recently, Burns was quoted as saying Clinton wanted "genocide" against African Americans?  He's also the godly man who tweeted the cartoon of Clinton in blackface with the caption:  "Black Americans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES and letting me use you again..See you again in 4 years." 

Yes, that douche.

Well, since Rump only has the Best People in his camp, we're shocked! to learn that pastor Burns is a bit of a fraud:

Mark Burns's very bad week just got much worse. 

Days after the top Trump backer and Republican convention speaker was forced to apologize for tweeting a cartoon of Hillary Clinton in blackface, CNN did some digging into his apparently inflated bio claims. 

The televangelist on Friday night admitted to overstating some of his claims on his Facebook page. Then, on Saturday morning, CNN aired this brutal interview with Burns, in which he struggles to explain his readily apparent résumé inflation.

Here's the CNN report, with the painful takedown of Elmer Gantry Burns (please self- administer your extreme schadenfreude medication now):



Hummina hummina. "Character."  Yeah, right.  As a proponent of the "prosperity gospel" scam, one only has to wonder how much Elmer Gantry Burns' prosperity has increased since his association with Rump.

Zinger Of The Week

"A 12-year-old boy is actually running one of Trump’s campaign offices in Colorado. When asked how an inexperienced child could be running things, the boy said, 'Look, he’s the nominee and we’re stuck with him.'”  -  Jimmy Fallon, referring to 12-year-old Weston Imer, who was running the Jefferson County (CO) office of neo- fascist toddler Donald "Rump" Trump with his mommy.

Trump Manager Bannon: Domestic Abuser AND Vote Fraudster?

"Tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are," is the Spanish proverb quoted yesterday by Hillary Clinton in her takedown of neo- fascist useful idiot Donald "Rump" Trump's ties with white supremacist "alt- right" bigots.  Chief among Rump's, um, fellow travelers is Stephen "Bubble Boy" Bannon, former executive at alt - right platform Breitbart.com and current Rump shampaign CEO, whose offenses against society and common decency go beyond his hateful political and racial views:

Stephen K. Bannon, the new CEO of the Donald Trump campaign, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996, though the case was ultimately dismissed, according to a police report and court documents. 

The Santa Monica, Calif., police report says that Bannon’s then-wife claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police.

He seems nice.

But wait, that's not all!

For years, we’ve heard Republicans warn of the gigantic dangers posed by voter fraud, despite the fact that very few such cases have actually been documented. 

However, the Guardian has now discovered a potential case of voter fraud that might really live up to the hype — and it involves Donald Trump’s campaign CEO, Stephen Bannon. 

According to the Guardian, Bannon “has an active voter registration at the house in Miami-Dade County, Florida, which is vacant and due to be demolished to make way for a new development.” The publication notes that this is an apparent breach in Florida election laws, as it’s illegal to register yourself to vote at an address where you don’t actually live. 

“Wilfully submitting false information on a Florida voter registration – or helping someone to do so – is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison,” the Guardian notes.

Wow, so voter fraud isn't a concocted excuse for disenfranchising likely Democratic minority and young voters?!  It's actually being perpetrated by Democrats African Americans Hispanic Americans Republicans!

(Photo:  Bannon, the flower of White Supremacy.)

The "New Trump" Same As The Old Trump

Here's how Seth Meyers deals with neo- fascist toddler Donald "Rump" Trump, his latest "pivot" and "campaign" shakeup, the right- wing media, Rump's unhinged surrogates, and the puerile corporate media hungering for a horserace.  It's a far more incisive take on current American politics -- in 11 minutes -- than anything you'll see on cable or read in your newspaper:



BONUS:  While we're at it, have a look at Stephen Colbert, back from vacation, wrapping up what Rump's been up to while he was gone.

"Tell The Class What You Did On Your Summer Vacation, Weston"

"I helped run Donald Trump's campaign in Jefferson County with my mommy!"  We shit you not:

A mother and her 12-year-old son are running a Trump field operation in a key Colorado county, according to news reports. 

Jefferson County is one of the most densely populated counties in Colorado, a battleground state where GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was recently trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton, by 14 percentage points. The Trump campaign announced a new office there this month. 

Laurel Imer identifies as the West Denver Field Coordinator for Trump on Facebook. She told KDVR News she is delegating responsibility to her 12-year-old son, Weston. He is reportedly coordinating volunteers for Trump and hopes to lead the office until he starts school in September.  (our emphasis)

Well, he couldn't be any worse than Steve "Breitbart, Not Smart" Bannon and Kellyanne "Insults? Says Who?" Conway, and he's likely more mature than the guy whose campaign he's running.

Meanwhile, we have a visual just coming in of the Rump campaign operation in Colorado (hurry, jump, Weston!):

Sunday Photo Op Cartoon

(click on image to enlarge)

Speaking of photo ops ...



(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Trump BFF Stone: Walker And Priebus Rigged 5 Elections In Wisconsin

In an op/ ed filled with a mixture of his trademark conspiracy- mongering and ratf*cking, Republican operative Roger "Zippy" Stone, Donald "Rump" Trump's alter ego and "informal advisor", had this rather startling comment about two of Rump's high profile Republican supporters:

... [B]oth parties have engaged in voting machine manipulation. Nowhere in the country has this been more true than Wisconsin, where there are strong indications that Scott Walker and the Reince Priebus machine rigged as many as five elections including the defeat of a Walker recall election.  (our emphasis)

As we fill up our popcorn bucket, we eagerly await your responses, Republican National Committee Chairstain and Trump chaperone/ baby sitter Reince "Mini Me" Priebus and Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker!

(Photo:  Roger "Zippy" Stone -- so named because he bears such a striking resemblance to him.)

Today's Cartoon - That Baby Needs To Be Changed

(click on image to enlarge)



(Tom Toles, one great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

As the meltdown continues in the "campaign" of neo- fascist Donald "Rump" Trump, panicked cowards in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party are reportedly going to try to stage an "intervention" to get their sociopathic narcissist candidate to ... pivot?  change?  reboot? When is the reality going to set in with these fools that they're stuck with a reckless ignoramus with no impulse control?

This is the reality:

Today's Cartoon Twofer - Pick Your Metaphor

(click on images to enlarge)


(Matt Davies, via gocomics.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Tweets Of The Day - Trump Just Grifting Along

How godawful clueless do you have to be to run a campaign like Donald "Rump" Trump (h/t Balloon Juice)?

Trump campaign expenses in May, per @FEC report:
Hats: $208k
Online advertising: $115k
Data management: $48k
Communications consulting: $38k

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 21, 2016

Need. More. Hats!

And, yes, it's all about him:

Recipients of payments from Trump campaign with “Trump” in name, through May 31. Doesn’t include Mar-a-Lago/planes. pic.twitter.com/JF6skaWYGF

— Derek Willis (@derekwillis) June 21, 2016

Here's a good summary of just what a con job Rump's campaign is (surprise!).  Also, Charles Pierce on the farcical Rump.