It’s a dark and rainy night here in Central Texas as I write this, but the news is looking bright.
We’re approaching the homestretch of the 2018 midterm campaign, and the news still looks good. Of course, that’s only because so many people have been working so hard for so long for a good outcome. But, at least today, all indications are that the Republicans are about to be crushed--and they know it.
And there is plenty of other good news, as you will soon see. There always is.
So as incessant rain continues to fall, I am fortunate to be able to share some encouragement to dispel the October gloom. The lakes and rivers may be rising here, but so are all of us as we prepare to drop the hammer on the GOP.
We’ll start with a little music, and then deliver the good news.
2 ½ WEEKS ‘TIL THE MIDTERMS, AND THINGS ARE LOOKING GOOD
TEXAS DEMOCRATS CONTINUE FUNDRAISING ADVANTAGE
Eight Dem challengers in Texas House races have raised significantly more than Republican incumbents.
In the 31st Congressional District, which includes most of Williamson and Bell counties, Democrat MJ Hegar outraised U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, by $1.3 million and in the 21st Congressional District, which includes parts of Austin and Hays County, Democrat Joseph Kopser raised nearly $300,000 more than Republican Chip Roy.
• 23rd Congressional District: Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones raised $2.4 million to the $1.4 million that U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, raised in a district that spans 800 miles from San Antonio to El Paso. Ortiz Jones, a former intelligence official, has $1.2 million cash on hand, and Hurd has $1 million.
• 32nd Congressional District: Democrat Colin Allred raised $2.3 million to the $1.3 million raised by U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, in the Dallas-area district. Sessions has $2.6 million cash on hand; Allred, a Dallas attorney and former NFL player, has $1.9 million cash on hand.
• 7th Congressional District: Democrat Lizzie Fletcher took in $2.2 million to the $800,000 raised by U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, in the Houston-area district. Fletcher, a Houston lawyer, reported $1.5 million cash on hand to Culberson’s $1 million.
Other races showed unexpected Democratic fundraising strength:
• 22nd Congressional District: Democrat Sri Preston Kulkami raised $678,000 to $319,000 raised by U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land.
• 6th Congressional District: Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez raised $218,000; Republican Ron Wright raised $213,000.
• 36th Congressional District: Democrat Dayna Steele raised $291,000 to the $183,000 for U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville.
“There is a level of unbridled enthusiasm among Texas Democrats and national Democrats watching Texas that has propelled Democrats attempting to flip GOP-held seats to record levels of campaign donations,” said Rice University political science professor Mark Jones.
Also, I’m sure most of you are aware that Beto O’Rourke tripled Ted Cruz cash haul last quarter. The significance of that:
INTERNAL RNC POLL: MIDTERM VOTERS BIGGEST MOTIVATION WILL BE THEIR OPINION OF TRUMP
Trump may be claiming that it won’t be his fault if the GOP loses the House (and maybe the Senate), but a poll conducted for the RNC last month indicates that he will be the deciding factor next month.
President Donald Trump told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he won’t be to blame if the GOP loses big on Nov. 6, but a private Republican Party survey leaked to Bloomberg Businessweek concludes that he will. The internal report, conducted last month for the Republican National Committee by the polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, states explicitly that “research indicates the determining factor in this election is how voters feel about President Trump.” A representative for the RNC declined to comment.
The poll concluded
So how popular is Trump? Oh, dear.
YOUNG VOTERS MAY TURN OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS
That’s the word from 538, anyway.
Looking at the historical trends, there’s no question that youth voter turnout is consistently low in midterms, but exit poll data from competitive statewide elections in 2017 suggests that 2018 could set a record high for young voter participation.
Polling from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics also gives us reason to believe we may see high turnout from young voters. The institute conducts a long-running, large-sample poll of young Americans, and it has specifically surveyed 18- to 29-year-olds since 2009. Previously, 34 percent was the high mark for those who said they “definitely” would be voting in a midterm election, which the institute found in its fall 2013 survey.
And, as you might guess, they won’t be charged up because they love the party of Trump.
...if young people do turn out at an unusually high rate, it will be hard not to give President Trump much of the credit. After all, IOP’s spring 2018 poll found that 72 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds disapproved of the president and 58 percent preferred that the Democrats take control Congress in November. So combining the Democratic lean of younger voters with the perceived enthusiasm advantage of Democrats over Republicans in this year’s midterm, it makes sense that we might see greater participation by young voters in a Democratic-leaning electoral environment.
THE GOP’S BIGGEST HURDLE—THE 19TH AMENDMENT
Unfortunately for Republicans, and fortunately for rational people, women are allowed to vote. And the wave that’s coming in November will be neither blue nor red, but pink.
As painful as this is to admit, recent developments force me to concede that Donald Trump was right. As he told us not long ago via Twitter, this Election Day there “will not be a Blue Wave.” However, the wave won’t be red, as Trump hopes. It’ll be pink. And what Trump really doesn’t get is that this “pink wave” is coming for him and his GOP.
A new CNN poll out Tuesday gives us the best evidence yet that the women of America will be leading a pink wave come Election Day that is poised to crush the GOP. Per this poll, a whopping 63 percent of registered female voters stated they were going to vote Democratic come November 6 to only 33 percent who would vote for Republicans. In contrast, this poll found that men narrowly support the GOP candidates 50 to 45 percent. Can you say a tidal wave-size gender gap?!
If these numbers turn out to be accurate and the GOP only attracts 33 percent of the female vote, that will mark the lowest support by women for Republicans in a midterm election ever.
And, as you might expect, Trump is extremely unpopular among women. As the internal RNC poll mentioned above concluded, Trump is the major factor guiding voters this year, so the GOP has to be terrified of the pink vote.
And Trump’s (and the GOP’s) approval among women has plummeted in the last month. That, my friends, is the real “Kavanaugh bump.”
So, in light of all that, let’s dedicate this musical break to the Republican Party. Cryin’ won’t help ‘em, prayin’ won’t do ‘em no good.
BTW, speaking of women and politics, I’ll just leave this here.
TRUMP WHITE HOUSE UNPREPARED FOR AFTERMATH OF THE BLUE WAVE
As we all know, if the Democrats succeed in taking over the House, they will have vast power to investigate the crimes of the Trump regime, and will not be afraid to use it. And the Trump crime family shows no sign of preparing for the legal shitstorm that will descend on them in January.
Republicans who support President Donald Trump have grown fearful that the White House is unprepared for the onslaught that may await them in January.
If a “blue wave” succeeds in giving the Democrats control at least of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November, Democrats will have the power to subpoena documents and force administration officials to testify about a slew of scandals, including aides using private email for government business, agencies spending taxpayer money at Trump resorts and sexual assault allegations involving his recent Supreme Court appointment, Brett Kavanaugh.
Five Republicans with close ties to the White House said that instead of preparing for what could be a years-long attack by a newly emboldened Democratic-run Congress, Trump aides are wasting time trying to respond to non-stop controversies, Trump tweets and the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The White House should be hiring more staff to handle the congressional inquiries, advising administration officials to retain their own attorneys and researching potential areas of vulnerabilities, ranging from the death of four U.S. soldiers in Africa to the sluggish response to Hurricane Maria, according to people who worked for Presidents Bill Clinton, Bush and Barack Obama, all presidents who faced an opposition-party Congress after their midterm elections.
And the White House should warn individual agencies — which have engaged in lavish spending and contentious policies, such as separating immigrant children from their parents — to do the same.
The White House would not respond to an inquiry about how many staff it had working in the White House counsel’s office, in the press operation or in legislative affairs.
“It’s the beginning of a nightmare,” said a former Trump adviser who remains close to the White House and is familiar with the process. “The harassment, the hearings, the requests.”
One investigation will lead to another — and another, thrusting Trump into a new phase of his presidency. He will no longer be able to govern. He will just have to try to survive, according to the aides to former presidents.
MISCELLANEOUS GOOD NEWS
Some people can only dream of living on a houseboat in Amsterdam, but that's the reality for dozens of feral and abandoned cats in the city. As Mic reports, De Poezenboot, or The Catboat, provides shelter to about 50 cats in need of homes—and guests can visit the floating animal sanctuary for free.
The shelter was founded in 1968, when a cat lover named Henriette van Weelde purchased a Dutch sailing barge to house the growing number of rescue cats she had taken in. The barge was eventually replaced with the Dutch houseboat that's docked in the canal today. The vessel provides heating in the winter and beds, boxes, and scratching posts to keep cats happy and comfortable. They have access to the outside deck any time of year, and there's even a fence to keep them from swiping at duck chicks in the water.
Tourists and locals in Amsterdam are free to see The Catboat and its feline residents in person from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. everyday except Wednesdays and Sundays. Visitors can help the shelter by making a suggested donation, or by taking home one of the pets that are up for adoption.
The judge in Paul Manafort’s Virginia trial denied the former Trump campaign chairman’s request to wear a suit for his next hearing on Oct. 19, and “all subsequent hearings,” arguing that Manafort should be treated no differently than other defendants who are in custody.
“Defendants who are in custody post-conviction are, as a matter of course, not entitled to appear for sentencing or any other hearing in street clothing,” Judge T.S. Ellis wrote in the court order on Tuesday. “This defendant should be treated no differently from other defendants who are in custody post-conviction.”
When I was 16, I had a fake i.d. and decided to go to a gay bar by myself because some friends bailed on me.
While there, an older gentleman bought me a drink. he wasn’t a creeper, and he definitely wasn’t unattractive.
I accepted the drink and began talking to him. No big deal. As the hour progressed, I felt myself feeling strange.
I mentioned that felt like I had a headache, and this guy helped guide me out of the bar. as we were walking down the street, the thought of, ‘oh god, he’s drugged me, i’m going to die’ came to my head.
I tried to get away, but i was so drugged up that I could barely walk, let alone speak. It also didn’t help that i had really large ‘goth’ platform shoes because i was going through a phase.
Anyway, this guy brought me to his SUV and began undressing me. As a final act of defiance, I hit him over the head with my platform shoe.
He then punched me, and I remember thinking, ‘why don’t they ever give workshops to gay guys about being victims of rape too?’ While I was as careful as possible, I never saw the guy slip something in the drink.
I even watched the bar tender make the drink. anyway, I lied there completely paralysed while this pervert was lubing up. I locked eyes with his for a moment, and that’s when it happened.
A very large and angry drag queen opened the door of the vehicle and beat the s*** out of my attempted rapist.
She and her other drag friends helped dress and care for me while the police arrived.
I was saved by a group of guardian drag queens. They were basically the modern day ‘angels from heaven
RANDY RAINBOW TELLS US TO “BE BEST”
That’s all I’m able to bring you today, but I promise to bring you more great news as my battered and broken body heals up. In the meantime, if you don’t see enough good news here, go out and make some of your own.
And don’t worry about me, I’m receiving the best medical care available.