The Morning Dispatch: Meet the People Keeping the Election Shipshape

We spoke to dozens of state election officials to get their sense of how this unprecedented election will go.

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Happy Monday! We hope you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep Saturday night. You’ll need it this week.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • Philip Walton, an American citizen who was abducted last week in Niger, was rescued by members of SEAL Team Six in Nigeria on Saturday. The operation was the result of cooperation between the armed forces of Niger, Nigeria, and the United States.

  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday a four-week national lockdown, set to go into effect Thursday, to “contain this autumn surge” of COVID-19. All restaurants and nonessential shops will be forced to close, but people will be allowed to leave their homes for school, medical appointments, essential goods shopping, and work (if they can’t do so from home). Schools, colleges, and childcare facilities will remain open.

  • Thousands of Belarusian protesters turned out into the streets in Minsk for the 13th straight Sunday in protest against President Alexander Lukashenko, whose recent electoral victory over popular challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is widely seen as illegitimate.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Jenny

    I just want this to be over. I can’t wait to either move on from Trump or start steeling myself for another four years. Make it stop, for the love of God!

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    1. Ragnar

      I have bad news for you...even if Trump loses, he is going to be everywhere. Why? Because 1) He will love being in the opposition even more than being president. 2) The news media knows he sells, so they will cover him and his nonsense relentlessly 3) The left knows he's toxic to most of the country, so they will purposely give him a platform to try to continue to taint the conservative brand...until he is dead. And then they will give it to Don Junior. The left wants to run against Trumpism for a generation.

      The best thing that could happen to consensus conservatives is for Trump to drop dead. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, and our left wing media is going to do all they can to keep him alive - to suit both their political agenda and line their pockets.

      Sad.

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      1. Fatigued Testudine

        Can you please leave out the sentiment "for Trump to drop dead." I am sick of this.

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        1. Ragnar

          The point holds - I don't wish him dead, but the cause of conservatism will be best served by him going away forever, no matter how that happens. The bigger point is that he won't, because he wants to be a spoiler and keep the focus on himself and his family.

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          1. Fatigued Testudine

            If you do not want him dead, then do not say so.

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        Michelle O

        Halloween was Saturday!

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        Michelle O

        Halloween was Saturday!

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      4. R. Wallis

        I hadn't considered this fully until now. Wow that is not reassuring. I am imagining Trump hosting a prime time "The Donald Trump Show" on Trump News Network where he rails against the Biden administration for 1 hour nightly with MSNBC simultaneously broadcasting a fact check of his show and CNN hosting a panel pro/conning his topics.

        And I called Zmult demented for his predictions....

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        1. Ingenero.lux

          I suspect a regular slot on Fox and Friends would be up his alley too. Trump twice a day every day...if that happens I’ll seriously have to ask if I’m wrong about Purgatory and somehow ended up there.

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          cheerio

          He'll take over Rush's radio show.

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        3. Ragnar

          I think his predictions are evil genius, but not likely. I think my scenario is very, very likely. The left will have their boogey man, and unlike Obama and Hillary, he will not recede for the benefit of the party. It's all about him and his him-ness.

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            Mudskipper

            I think you underestimate how much he will be continued to be embraced by the right.

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          Jenny

          I know. However, it's better he makes noise when he doesn't have the same amount of power as he would as president. This won't be 'over,' but we might be surprised. Jason says this is going to turn out great!

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            Jason Gibson

            I'm like EF hutton!

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        Jenny

        I 100% agree with you. He is not the kind of guy to go off to wherever ex-presidents go after he’s done. If I was a Republican, this would freak me out like crazy!

        However, I’d rather he chases the limelight while not being in the White House.

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          Jason Gibson

          I'm sufficiently freaked

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        2. Ragnar

          He will do all he can to use his supporters to become a kingmaker for the future of Trumpism. My guess is he gets behind Ivanka or junior. He is not going to go away...and it's going to be horrible.

          Part of me hopes he loses big as a repudiation of him and all he stands for so the rest of the right can detox...

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            cheerio

            I just do not think that whatever it is that draws people to Donald Trump, that it is not transferable. Anyhow, I cannot see him allowing anyone else to take the spotlight.

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      Jason Gibson

      you and me both but it will be biden. There is no doubt

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        Angie

        From your lips to the Universes ears ( covering all bases here..lol)

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      2. Shaybult

        If he loses, I'm blaming you for jinxing it.

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          Jason Gibson

          I’ll have a Jenny and a shaybult with torches and pitchdorks outside my home

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            Angie

            "pitchdorks?"

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          Jenny

          I looked at a bottle of champagne when I was shopping yesterday and took a hard pass. If Biden wins, I’m going to the store to buy that sucker, and I might even drink it warm.

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            Angie

            I think I am going for a Margarita...straight up on the rocks extra salt....

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            2sequoia

            I have a cold bottle of champagne waiting in the fridge!

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            Kevin Durant?

            There is a thing I do when I have money on a game where I try to jinx myself so hard that it actually unjinxes it

            This is obviously superstition but you may want to try it.
            🍾🍾🍾🥴🥴

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            cheerio

            I have a bottle of wine I'm opening after the polls close tomorrow. I hope to pass out before midnight.

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            jhc

            Bonus points if you drink it warm in the shop!

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          6. Shaybult

            LOL. We always keep a bottle of champagne in the back of the fridge, just in case something good happens. So I'm covered without being a jinx!

            Actually, now that I think about it, maybe we'll drink it before we know the results just in celebration of the election being *over*.

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        Jenny

        I want it to be so badly, but I just can’t let myself get too hopeful. It would hurt too bad to be disappointed again):

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          Jason Gibson

          rest your weary mind

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            Jenny

            Ok, Jason. I’m counting on you! Don’t let me down!

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  2. Kenneth Feneley

    "President Trump tweeted out his support for supporters of his who surrounded a Biden campaign bus on a highway in Texas, writing “in my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong.” " And this guy calls himself the "law and order candidate"? Pathetic!

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    1. Fatigued Testudine

      You are upset about this, but not about the months of rioting, looting, arson and murders in Democrat controlled cities which did NOTHING to stop the destruction. You will note that in all of the video's of the Trump folk following and passing Biden, not ONE firebomb, brick, cement block thrown at the bus and no one was shooting at it. A significant departure from the behavior of Biden supporters in majors cities where they destroyed businesses, buildings, jobs and lives.

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        cheerio

        You are ridiculous. First of all most of the protest demonstrations were peaceful across the nation. There were some opportunists who looted but there were also other actors who took advantage of the protests. Additionally, no one has said it was okay--almost every person here on the left has stated those people who broke the law destroying property should be arrested and prosecuted. Extrajudicial killing by police is a good reason to protest. Often peaceful protesters were assaulted by the police with teargas, pepper spray, flashbangs, rubber bullets as well as getting beaten. I seem to recall an elderly man shoved to the ground and his life was never the same--but yet they don't go arrest the ones actually breaking the law-- why? And there were people on the right who did kill people during the civil unrest. So no one on the highway threw a brick but they cut off the bus, slowed it to 20 mph, the people in the truck were armed-- it is menacing.
        And you are ok with this?

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          Richard Maxton

          "mostly peaceful" Riiighht.
          I work right down the street from the "mostly peaceful" demonstration that turned into the CHAZ here in Seattle. I think it was 2 people that ended up dying in THAT "mostly peaceful" demonstration.
          Funny thing - here in Seattle (one of the most left wing cities) we've been advised to close up early tomorrow AND Wednesday in case of protests due to the election. I'm sure those will be "mostly peaceful" too. . . but that hasn't stopped all the businesses around here from preemptively boarding up their windows.
          But it's all the Right's fault. Riiiigggghhhhttt. GTFO here with your gaslighting.

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          1. Fatigued Testudine

            Bravo. Well stated. But it seems in this string of commentators, pointing out facts is not appreciated.

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        2. Fatigued Testudine

          Forgot your comment about "the people in the truck were armed...." Well, hell yes they were armed. We live in Texas and a lot of folk down here carry firearms. The Second Amendment provides for that. If law abiding citizens are "menacing" you need to toughen up.

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            DougAz

            You seem to possibly represent white male anger a bit..

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          Kevin Durant?

          “I seem to recall an elderly man shoved to the ground and his life was never the same“
          —————————
          Yeah I remember that video too.

          Nationwide riots and that’s what you remember from it, isn’t it. I don’t blame you for remembering it. That was the main takeaway. It was shown thousands of times.

          It’s almost like you can manipulate people.

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        4. Fatigued Testudine

          LOL. You gotta be kidding. I didn't see any Democrat Mayors or governors stopping your "peaceful protesters". You people on the left never helped the people who lost their businesses, yet spent millions to bail out the rioters. I don't know where you got you info on the bus parade. I sure haven't seen that reported here in Texas.

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          1. Midge

            We kind of hate the Democrat mayor of our major metropolitan area, but we gotta admit the mayor did try to stop "peaceful protesters" who were not, in fact, peaceful. The mayor has a city to keep together, after all, even if typically not with the policies we consider best.

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            Angie

            You people? What people are you talking about? No one here did any such thing and even has said they were wrong if they did so

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        Kevin Durant?

        Obviously you’ve never chartered a luxury coach.

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      3. Anonymous

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        1. Fatigued Testudine

          Just announced on the news here in Texas. The only car trying to wreck into someone was a car with Biden people driving. The FBI apparently isn't too upset by the Trump folk, only the Biden folk! I have to laugh about this. It really is funny. Biden Bro's were the one's driving unsafely!

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            Mudskipper

            Odd, then, that the FBI is investigating the incident.

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            Mudskipper

            Link please.

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            2sequoia

            I suspect the driver was unnerved by the caravan of a 100 Trump trucks with passengers shouting obscenities.

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          Kevin Durant?

          It’s just an idea.

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    2. Richard Fulmer

      Would he call Biden supporters who surrounded a Trump campaign bus “patriots”? Different laws for different people is a good definition of the word “tyranny.” Unfortunately, that’s what many on both the Right and the Left claim to want these days.

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      1. Anonymous

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        1. Richard Fulmer

          Wow! So, you’ve missed Affirmative Action, the whole woke thing, conservatives and libertarians excluded from college campuses, the “anti racist” all white people are bad initiative, ...

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      Ray Salemi

      I was thinking that myself. It’s funny how every BLM protest that get out of hand has Democrats wringing their hands about lost votes, but nobody has suggested that this behavior will cost Republicans votes.

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      1. CatoTheElder

        It already has cost votes, and will continue to do so, hence the current polling.

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        Justin Perry-Naw Dawg Doctrine

        had this thought too, but I also had the thought that much of the time BLM etc peacefully protest, there are people assaulted and/or arrested (look at the peaceful protest in Alabama where they were tear gased and arrested for what were, at most, minor violations of paperwork filing. I'm also distinguishing proper protesters from the Antifa rioters, that should be arrested). On the other hand, the hooligans in Texas and NY/NJ outright broke laws, and no one (to the best of my knowledge) has been arrested or tear gased. Double standards galore. I say, you break a law, you get arrested. You follow the rules, you get to exercise your first amendment rights.

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      Anne W (Raw5254)

      I’m disgusted. He doesn’t care about the American People; it’s all about him.

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        Bada Bing

        And he's so obvious about it.

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          Anne W (Raw5254)

          I’ve voted Republican most of the time, and he’s the worst! I’m tired of people (my brother!!) defending him because he’s a “fighter,” and he’s gotten (not even going to try listing) so much done. For anything he’s accomplished (thanks to the few times he actually took some good advice), he’s turned right around and spoiled them because he just has to make it about HIM! Instead of trying to bring the country together, he’s only made us more angry and unwilling to reach out. And, I am angry, but most of it’s aimed at him.

          I wish I felt more confident of Biden, but I’ll sure take him over Trump.

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          1. Kenneth Feneley

            I've voted Republican for 60+ years but I'd take Donald Duck or Goofy (well, the T-man is goofier..) this time. I resent the sight and sound of T any longer. Biden will be a relief in this house.

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            Bada Bing

            I'd take Hunter Biden over Trump.

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  3. John Cheyney

    Biden/Harris win. Here in Texas Cornyn wins the Senate and most Republicans win just barely. The Democrats do a lot better at the State level.

    Trump (maybe or maybe not backed vocally by the Republican Party) goes full Trump. He makes every possible accusation of fraud he can, and files lawsuits all over the place. His supporters also go full MAGA behind him. In the first couple of weeks incidents like we saw here in Texas over the weekend where a ‘Trump train’ tried to attack a Biden/Harris bus are going to be somewhat commonplace. All of this is compounded by local law enforcement, especially in the more rural areas, either being ineffective or just sort of letting it go. The Trump protestors will have them outgunned and outmanned.

    Ultimately my worst fear is that some of the violence gets bad enough that people are killed in it.

    Sorry to be dystopian but I don’t think Trumpism goes quietly. His supporters have too much anger, too many guns, and too much tacit support. They have literally invested so much of themselves and their being in him that can’t just walk away.

    At this point the only thing I can pray for is no one dies. I don’t think we are going to get that lucky.

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      Jason

      What your basically saying is Trump supporters may challenge the Left's monopoly on American political violence.

      The fear of violence is if there's a Trump victory, not a Trump loss. Those businesses in DC aren't boarding themselves up because they fear Trump supporters rioting and burning the city.

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      1. Midge

        According to FBI Director Wray, there is no "Left's monopoly on American political violence". Instead, the kind of politicized violence that would be characterized as "domestic terrorism" if such a designation were official law (though it apparently isn't) comes from a mixture of sources:
        https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/house-homeland-security-hearing-transcript-september-17-fbi-director-testifies

        "What I can tell you is that within the domestic terrorism bucket category, as a whole racially-motivated violent extremism is I think the biggest bucket within that larger group and within the racially-motivated violent extremists bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that."

        Annoyingly for movement conservatives, though there's no principled reason for "white-wing" violence to be right-wing violence, our demographic coalitions mean that Buchananites are on the American right, and Buchananite politics forms a gateway to the nutty "white supremacist-type" elements. We are still living out the consequences of a principled defense of free association just happening to appeal to segregationists, and as annoyed as I get when movement conservatives get tarred with "white wing" misbehavior, it's also true that the crude Buchananism of a guy like Trump makes it more reasonable, not less, to identify America's right wing with America's "white wing".

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          Jason

          This doesnt prove my point wrong in the least. I'm talking about actual exercised political violence and those incidences of violence are owned by one side almost exclusively here this year.

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          1. Anonymous

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          2. Midge

            You said "the Left's monopoly on American political violence", which doesn't exist.

            If you meant only that this year, there's been remarkable increase in violence from agitators on the left, and the left should be ashamed of that and police its own better, I'd agree. I'd also say the right has dropped the ball lately on policing its own. *And* I'd add there are *obviously* people on both the left and right trying to police their own.

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      2. DJ

        The Oath Keepers are right wing and sound pretty hellbent on violence - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/

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        2sequoia

        How do you explain the Trump Train trying to run a Biden/Harris bus off the road?

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          Victor Clairmont

          Easy: the FBI said it wasn’t the trump people’s fault.

          Even if it was, I need some examples of trump supporters burning down cities this past year.

          The violence, sadly, is mostly a left wing phenomenon this time around.

          If violence comes from the other side, it will be the outlier not the norm.

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            2sequoia

            I don’t believe the FBI has made any such determination. If you have facts that support what you are saying please post a link. The most recent information I can find is that the FBI has just started looking into it.

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            Angie

            You can google and find reliable and acceptable sources to you to point out what I just did
            I admit the left is wrong, I don't like the violence of any kind...but, the scary violence is on the side that owns a lot more guns...and also use tear gas and pellets to attack individuals ( because they own a lot of that kind of thing)...the left mostly destroys property, still wrong, but not the same as killing

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            Angie

            The killing definitely swings right...if you want to be truthful, that is the truth
            The FBI and former conservative/Republican HHS people say the violence on the right is far more of a threat...especially as to having guns and killing people...
            Your bias is showing Victor, as much as you try to say it is neither...your angry and mean, and untruthful comments are always about the left
            The right didn't burn any cities...but they have killed more people and plotted to kill more...not many leftists even own guns

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          Jason

          I don't, but I'm told there's danger in equivocation and the scope and scale of leftist violence compared to that incident is hard to square.

          Which far Right groups are currently gathering in the capital, prepared for a day of direct action tomorrow?

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            Emily

            Oath Keepers of Virginia are planning to be there. I read it on their website yesterday. They seem like an interesting group and are drawing in ex-military who miss that feeling of belonging and supporting something greater. They don’t sound as overtly radical as the Hawaiian shirt movement - they actually take an oath to defend the constitution when they join rather than going for civil war. But they still exist outside of recognized and authorized civilian or military chains of command, and that just can’t go well.

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            Kevin Durant?

            I’m glad you are willing to take this seriously. Somebody has to.

            It is important to know that NOBODY is actually confused about what this is. Everyone knows these are radical leftists. Nobody thinks the Trump trucks are tearing up Walmart and Target and assaulting cops.

            You can ask yourself why we immediately got mugshots of the six guys who threatened Whitmer when the threats against Republicans that are stopped by the FBI are 1000 fold, but that’s a separate topic.

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          Kevin Durant?

          Russian license plates too!!

          Thank god someone filmed it. The Biden staffer in the white car, probably an emotionally distressed woman, clearly veered into the lane of the black truck.

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    2. Ragnar

      This is juvenile, leftist hyperventilating. One or two trump-driven incidents, and you are all "OMG ARMAGEDDON", when lefties and their sympathizers ANTIFA and BLM are LITERALLY (and I mean this literally) burning cities, assaulting people, demanding obedience, etc...and your media doesn't even cover it - or actively downplays it. Give me a bloody break!

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      1. DJ

        Hate to break it to you but a lot of that city violence is coming from Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/right-wing-militias-civil-war/616473/

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        1. Ragnar

          You're delusional. Really. There are bad actors on the right, but claiming that the majority of the violence, looting, and mayhem caused in our cities is being perpetrated by the right is an absurdity that does not merit a response.

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          Kevin Durant?

          The Atlantic doesn’t believe that and neither do you.

          The good thing about dealing with radical revolutionaries and their defenders is that you know that they know that they are lying.

          No one believes you. No one is afraid of the Oath Keepers.

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            2sequoia

            I wouldn’t be so quick to say that. I’ve had a little experience with them.

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          2. cheerio

            Maybe Governor Gretchen Whitmer is.

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      2. Jackson

        "Trump-driven" is the key point here. Biden has very specifically not been supportive of the violent elements of the social justice movement, and I doubt you'll find very many enthusiastic Biden supporters among Antifa or BLM, or that many of them committing violence specifically in Biden's name.

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        1. Ragnar

          Then, why no mention of the violence - at all - at the Dem convention? I'll wait.

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          1. Jackson

            Because not everyone agrees with your assessment of what the most important issues that need to be addressed at a convention are. And besides, there are a number of instances of Biden directly condemning violent protests in other settings. I wont post links because they're easy enough to search for. And, again, I would bet approximately 0% of the violence is being committed in Joe Biden's name. I haven't done this analysis myself, but I suspect the proportion of Biden/Harris banners at an Antifa riot is substantially smaller than the number of Trump/Pence banners at the incidents in question. Feel free to share if you disagree with that assessment.

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      3. John Cheyney

        Wow, it took a lot longer than I thought to get a comment blaming it all on the mainstream media. Not sure what that means, but interesting.

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        1. Ragnar

          The mainstream media is definitely responsible for Trump being in the White House. And they have been and are doing all they can to reverse their mistake. They elevated him and gave him free media thinking that holding up the ugliest version of a conservative they could find would destroy the brand for 2016. They were right, but it tool his victory for it to actually happen. Grow up, and open your eyes. You know the media is playing a game - or you would not be here at The Dispatch with a subscription.

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          1. John Cheyney

            Yes, of course, It’s always someone else fault, isn’t it? It’s ‘the liberals’, or ‘the progressives’, or the ‘mainstream media’. Let’s forget for a moment that Fox News and Hannity and Carlson, with their MILLIONS of viewers are the most freaking mainstream media out there.

            I’m sure that’s it. You are right. I’m just too stupid to realize it. I’ll just live my poor little sheeple existence and let those bad mean people lead me to my doom.

            Thanks for the heads up.

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    3. Tim Johnson

      It's a leap from driving around and waving a flag, to pulling a trigger and risking you and your family's life/livelihood.

      There will be some, but only some.

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      1. John Cheyney

        That's where I think you are wrong. As a Texan, I one hundred percent guarantee you that those trucks were loaded with AR's and Glocks. You get all of those people together, amped up on adrenaline, and have one lone car with a Biden/Harris sticker try to intervene and it's all over. These are people who had no problem attacking a bus carrying Democratic candidates in broad daylight. They knew they were going to be on video, and they did it anyway. That's because they aren't afraid of the police or local law enforcement.

        As I said before, it only takes about 5 pounds of index finger pressure for it all go bad really bad really fast.

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          Emily

          It’s that adrenaline and the group feedback loop that has me worried too. Add guns to the cocktail and it gets ugly. Add guns that can kill a lot of people at once, and it gets deadly.

          I know plenty of responsible gun owners, and not a one of them would take more than a safely secured handgun into a volatile situation. I also know a highly armed Bubba (his name, not a pejorative) in Mississippi who loves Trump, hates the libs, is crack addicted (unrelated to trump and the libs), and has an arsenal like you wouldn’t believe. He definitely would go heavily armed into a volatile crowd and love every minute of it. And if no one got killed it would be by the grace of God alone.

          Maybe I’m just profiling, but the Trump train looked a whole lot more like the Bubbas than the sensible gun owner types...

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        2. CW

          "As a historian who has written about the Holocaust, I'll tell you: Trump and Fox News pundits praising the goons who tried to run the Biden/Harris bus off the road is straight-up fascism. It's not 'like' fascism. It's fascism." -- Steve Silberman

          ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer -- one people, one nation, one leader -- is a major Nazi slogan, as was Gott mit uns, God is with us -- and here is a Trump tweet on Oct 31:

          "We are ONE movement, ONE people, ONE family, and ONE GLORIOUS NATION UNDER GOD! Together with the incredible people of Pennsylvania, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

          This was intentional and it's not the first time he has signaled the fascists in his base. He encourages their violence with his own violent rhetoric and they have stated they are willing to kill for him. At a recent rally he opined that if Biden was shot in a few weeks we would have Kamala Harris. It's chilling.

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          1. Midge

            I know where you're coming from, and it does worry me.

            One way or another, though, finding benign outlets for citizens with greater psychological need for oneness and sameness seems necessary to quell civil unrest. Or that's what Stenner's research suggests:

            https://www.amazon.com/Authoritarian-Dynamic-Cambridge-Political-Psychology/dp/052153478X

            The most obvious problem with "ONE movement, ONE people, ONE family, and ONE GLORIOUS NATION UNDER GOD!" is that this movement excludes about half of the population of this "GLORIOUS NATION UNDER GOD".

            Recalling mottoes like "Join or die", or even the liberal efforts to unify Germany in the 1800s, based on the idea that a common(ish) language (in some ways a fictitious commonality) made for a common(ish) Volk, shows that fascistic appeals for unity exploit tropes also used by liberal appeals for unity. Benign symbols of unity that otherwise permit pluralism to flourish are probably pretty important to the practical preservation of pluralism.

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          DougAz

          Guns, God and Glory - the GOP Holy Trinity. Glory of course - Patriotic wars - which are frankly in the last 20 years, Wars to create GOP loyalty.

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            Jaliranchr

            Yeah, they had a "Trump Train" come to this hick town (pop. 2K). It ended up being a dozen trucks, many emblazened with Guns, God, GOP. Posts afterward described it as "exciting" "so patriotic" "exciting". Good googly moogly, it was a dozen pickups and one tractor trailer. That excites you? Expressing my dogs' anal glands is more exciting.

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          2. Shaybult

            Someone out on the main road of my little town in NM has an American flag out that they've defaced by writing God in one corner, Guns in one corner (with a picture of an assault rifle), and Trump in the middle. Apparently glory isn't as important as it used it be, at least to that family.

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    4. Shaybult

      Well that was depressing. It would be a lot less depressing if it didn't ring so true.

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      1. John Cheyney

        I was doing OK until a bunch of MAGA maniacs tried to run a bus with Democratic candidates off the road and apparently local law enforcement can't/won't do anything. The best we could get is 'the FBI is looking into it.'

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        1. teddytruther

          Yeah it's deeply disturbing in a way that spontaneous tempers flaring at rallies or random bursts of anti-social violence are not. It's pre-planned domestic political intimidation by a (presumably armed) group. Or, to use the FBI's language:

          'Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85)'

          America is reaping the harvest that Rupert Murdoch's empire has sown for 20+ years.

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        2. The original Optimum.net

          All of these MAGA trucks have license plates, no? How hard could it be to track down these troglodytes?

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          1. Shaybult

            It's not hard. But when there's a lack of interest in doing something, the ease of doing it doesn't matter.

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        3. Avatar photo
          cheerio

          The lone police officer was all "it's not my jurisdiction" Um, you might want to call someone who does want to do their job in this jurisdiction? Then there were the highways in the NE being blockaded by Trumptrucks. I can see these people joining up with domestic terror/militia groupsbeing encouraged to take over a town or two like almost every dystopian tv series I have ever watched. Like how they showed up from another state during protests in Kenosha and literally shot and killed some of their citizens.

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          1. Tim Johnson

            Some of that, yes. But it'll be fleeting. Starved/persecuted people stage rebellions; that doesn't describe these folks.

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  4. Avatar photo
    Josh Blumenthal

    I usually try to reply to the QOD by actually answering the question. Today I will detour. I thank you all for the excellent coverage up to this point while I'm also delighted that actual pre-election coverage is about to end. I suspect I'm not the only one who has been looking forward to Nov 4. If it were on the ballot, I would surely vote for a shorter election cycle.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Jaliranchr

      Second a shorter campaign cycle!

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  5. Avatar photo
    Jonathan Nebel

    “We hope you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep Saturday night.”

    As a parent of a one-year old, this line made me laugh and cry.

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      Anne W (Raw5254)

      Not to compare you kid to our dog, but kind of the same here! He does not care that we changed times at all!!

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      1. Avatar photo
        Anne W (Raw5254)

        “your” kid

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    2. Avatar photo
      Josh Blumenthal

      Jonathan, just wait. Teenagers can cost you more sleep. However, time is on your side. In another 20 years, or so, you'll sleep better. Th3 real payoff comes later, when you can laugh so heartily) at your now 1-year-old who will make a comment about lost sleep. That, good sir, is the cycle of life with a smile.

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