Good evening!
I only had eight or ten things to write about, when, to my surprise, the governor of an adjacent state conceded defeat in his miserable bid for re-election.
More below.
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I am trying to think how many governors there might be that I’d wish a worse electoral fate than McCrory. Scott Walker is the only one on the exact same level. As bad as McCrory was, given the way the rest of the 2016 elections went, I didn’t expect it to play out like that. I thought the asshole would win, like so many of his fellow assholes. I think it is a testament to just how bad he has been, to how badly he betrayed his state for political show. His repudiation SHOULD have been by 30+ points, but, for now, we’ll take what we can get.
I am writing this diary to thank DocDawg. Though he would tell you (accurately) that thousands of hard-working Democrats played a role in this victory, for me, he is in the highest 1%. I did not know of him before Daily Kos Connects in Asheville in September of last year. He presented a marvelous panel there, and explained an insidious Republican effort at voter suppression that involved closing and relocating voting precincts so that minority voters without transportation would be shut out.
He has been all over the gubernatorial election in North Carolina from the beginning. Here is the diary he wrote on November 9 (you all remember that day), about what was to come: McCrory’s defeat and the victory of a Democratic jurist for a seat on the state Supreme Court, making the illegal tricks and manipulations of the Republican legislature much harder to pull off. If you don’t take anything else away from the reading of that diary, then witness the man’s CONFIDENCE and DETERMINATION. Take strength from it, focus, resolve.
Then on Nov. 29, he wrote a diary detailing the depths to which the governor and his minions would sink to try to steal the election.
The folks at insight-us began live-blogging the developments, so that they couldn’t do a THING without Democrats being aware of it, and shining a BRIGHT light on it.
The final critical moments were chronicled on Saturday, by DocDawg, in this diary, again, with terrific live-blogging from insight-us. Lordy how our champions fought!
Then, with the writing on the wall for the governor, yesterday DocDawg wrote another fine diary about a scenario in which McCrory could still win. Hideous.
Finally there is today’s concession. I’m not going to say much more about that other than goodgoddamnedriddance.
In closing, I want to take you back to the diary DocDawg wrote on Nov. 9, when so many of us, indeed, were ‘on the ledge.’ At the end of that fine diary he said:
Cooper will win the governor’s mansion.
And in North Carolina, the party that holds the governor’s mansion appoints the controlling majority of members to each of 100 county boards of elections, and also to the State Board of Elections. That means that Democrats can — and will — decisively put an end to the rampant voter suppression that Republicans have, for too long, wrought in this state.
Which in turn means that we can win the 2018 mid-term election, fair and square, and thus will re-district this state for 2020. And I swear on my puppy’s grave that we will do all that and more.
Here are some virtual flowers for your dear puppy’s grave, DocDawg.
Bless you and ALL who fought so hard to make this happen. I thanked DocDawg, but you are ALL heroes to me! (To US, I think!) It is indeed a breath of fresh air, at a time when that is sorely needed.
On to tonight’s comments! Formatted by brillig!
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From koosah:
This morning, I thought this comment by franchise2m in teacherken's diary Once again,Charles M. Blow is a 'must read'was extremely important. We all feel helpless and at a loss for which direction to take after the election. Focusing on voting rights as our top priority, as franchise2m suggests, is very smart. We could have the best "message" in all of history and it won't matter if our voters can't vote.
From blue aardvark:
Exlrrp aptly describes Trump's Cabinet selection process in a comment about a Trump supporter firing an assault rifle in a pizzaria.
From BeninSC:
This comment by Old Gardener is as glowing a recommendation for a diary as I’ve ever read. In MafaGrag’s diary about Anti-Trump Fairytales.
Highlighted by jabberwoky:
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