CSotD: Into the Home Stretch
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I remember when the polls told us Hilary Clinton was going to win and she didn’t. Then again, they didn’t predict a blow-out, and the current polls are calling for a truckload of Democratic Party victories by large margins.
This might explain why Dear Leader is not only predicting that, if he loses, it will be because the vote was fixed, but has taken somewhat legal action ahead of time to dispute the count in Alaska. I say “somewhat legal” because I’ve read a number of analyses of the thing and nobody but Donald Trump and Natalie Harp think he has the slightest chance of prevailing.
And the pending dismissal of this Hail Mary lawsuit is only one likely bit of bad news in what looks like an ugly week for Dear Leader and his adventures in juris imprudence.
But let’s pop down to Brazil for a preliminary bout, because we woke up Monday morning to the news that Lula had prevailed over his challenger, Bolsonaro Jr., which Brazilian cartoonist Amorim celebrates with this tranquil little picture of the victor and his collection of trophy heads.
I note that, in that linked story, the Guardian refers to Lula as “leftwing,” which doesn’t seem all that neutral, but, then, I see that they call Bolsonaro “far right,” so they may be following Christiane Amanpour’s advice to journalists, “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.” (And, boy, are we gonna miss her!)
I remember talking to some Brazilian exchange students during Lula’s first presidency (2003-10) and hearing that they didn’t much like him. But they were young people with the family resources to come spend a year in America. I suspect if I’d asked some kids who worked in the fields of Brazil, I might have heard something different.
The view from Cuba is more celebratory than Amorim’s quiet bit of approval, and Cartoon Movement’s collection of international cartoons on the topic show two things: One is that the world seems pleased with the results, and another is that many cartoonists, obviously including Avila, see it as a defeat not just for Bolsonaro but for Trump, who had backed him.
Dear Leader’s dabbling in the Brazilian election demonstrated his interest in conservative government, but also a personal interest, given that Bolsonaro Sr. is serving 27 years for attempting a coup to overturn his defeat in the 2022 elections, which effort involved some advice from the guy who had tried it here in 2021.
Dear Leader is having a tough week, even by proxy.
Another of his international adventures seems also to be failing. His financial boost for Putin was announced as a deal to lower diesel prices, but experts quickly pointed out how little difference the influx of Russian diesel would make, and there was a general agreement that the money would help Putin send more missiles to Ukraine, a suspicion boosted when we saw a throttling of the Starshield system that gave Ukraine warning of incoming missiles and ability to direct its drones.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Musk had ordered it with or without consulting Trump, but it has turned into a game of alternately taking credit and blaming each other.
Anderson’s accusation that the discount in price comes at the cost of Ukrainian lives is essentially accurate, except that the discount is mythical, the lives are real, and nobody is being given a choice anyway. Or at least, not a choice except whatever happens in the voting booths next Tuesday.
Blitt’s New Yorker cover is timed to hit newstands before the elections, and it offers an accusation that Trump is attempting to stifle the vote. Given the Alaska gambit and the monkeyshines he attempted in California, it’s not a particularly outlandish charge.
Juxtaposition of the Day
Konopacki points out the attempts to intimidate voters, which include wavering threats of having ICE at the polls — which could keep brown-skinned voters away for fear of being assaulted and arrested whatever their legal status — as well as more definite announcements of dispatching federal observers to the polls.
Having feds at the polls is overstepping, but observers are legal. Of course, if Trump is truly concerned about having a fair election, one might ask why he did not accept the chance to have international observers present this time around. Observers I’ve seen at polls are local, but the rules for feds would be the same: Stay within your designated area and speak only to the top officials, not to the poll workers themselves.
Side story: At the primaries in our ward, there was a guy in a suit walking around taking notes. As a lowly poll worker, I obeyed our instructions not to talk to observers, but when he started asking us questions, I did say “Who are you?” Turned out he was from the DA’s office and I still don’t think he should have been talking to us, but we went ahead and let him know that we were, indeed, following procedures to the letter.
Anyway, I doubt the feds are going to show up at our little site, but as long as they don’t start harassing voters and beating them up, I don’t much care. And if they do, I’m just gonna be cool like a little Fonzie and keep checking in anyone who survives the gauntlet.
Mostly, I’m keeping an eye on the trend Bramhall notes, which is a steady stream of early voters. There are people who want every citizen 18 or over to show up and cast a ballot, but I’m not that confident in the reasoning powers of “everybody” and it’s okay for the blockheads and ignorami to stay home.
Meanwhile, I’m happy to see Dear Leader doing so much to encourage people who do pay attention to the news to show up and vote. Weyant suggests a congresscritter rather than the president himself, who is easy to caricature, but then it’s the congresscritters who are on the ballot, and some of them also do a great job of incentivizing people to turn out.
We shall see.
If enough people turn out, we shall indeed see. You can’t veto a congressional hearing.
Keep the faith.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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