coronavirus
Nancy Pelosi Sees The GOP's Bullsh*t Coming
It's the Sunday show rundown!
August 03, 2020 04:03 PM
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx appeared on CNN's "State Of The Union" this weekend, where she proved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lack of confidence in her is merited:
BIRX: I want to be very clear. What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread.
Now?! Now it's "widespread"?! Before it was, what, just a hiccup? We are all Meryl Streep right now.
Birx also told CNN:
BIRX: I'm going to do what the CDC guidelines have recommended, and certainly the director. If you have high caseload and active community spread, just like we are asking people not to go to bars, not to have household parties, not to create large spreading events, we are asking people to distance learn at this moment, so we can get this epidemic under control.
On Monday, Nancy Pelosi reiterated why she has so little confidence in Birx:
PELOSI: I don't have confidence in anyone who stands there while the president says [swallowing] Lysol is going to cure your virus. You know, it'll kill you, and you won't have the virus anymore.
And so forth.
As you know by now, Pelosi's statements and Birx's slight disagreement with Trump on school reopenings elicited this response:
So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on… https://t.co/E0d5Oy4CIY— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1596462296.0
<p>Same shit, different day. But back to Pelosi!</p><p>Pelosi spoke about the GOP's refusal to extend the $600 unemployment add-on, on "This Week":</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4c77ac4413ab3946a797f93f3cc181b"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hVANC3br42Y?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">'We have to defeat the virus…[it's] one of the contentious issues': Speaker Pelosi | ABC News</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVANC3br42Y&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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<p><br></p><blockquote>
<strong>PELOSI</strong>: We have been for the $600. They have a $200 proposal, which does not meet the needs of America's working families.
And it's a condescension, quite frankly, because they're saying, really don't need it; they're just staying home because they make more money at $600.
So, the idea that they made a proposal is really not actually factual.
[...] [T]he fact is [...] they're subjecting somebody who gets $600 to scrutiny they won't subject some of the people that are getting millions of dollars in the PPP.
</blockquote><p>
Not only is Speaker Pelosi absolutely correct (again) but it was like she was clairvoyant, Treasury Secretary and <a href="https://youtu.be/gY7EnEuqb7M?t=2459" target="_blank"><em>Batman V Superman</em> producer</a> Steven Mnuchin said this literally minutes later on the same show:</p><blockquote>
<strong>RADDATZ</strong>: [Y]ou do think it is a disincentive to find a job if you have that extra $600?
<br> <br>
<strong>MNUCHIN</strong>: There's no question in certain cases where we're paying people more to work -- stay home than to work. That's created issues in the entire economy.
</blockquote><p>
Yep! During a highly contagious pandemic and worsening recession, Mnuchin is concerned we peasants will be lounging back and snacking on caviar with an extra $600. </p><p>Raddatz cited a Yale study that refuted this theory, which Mnuchin dismissed while seemingly forgetting America is a <em>consumer</em>-driven economy that can't function if Americans are busy starving or unable to spend money. Bernie Sanders pointed out Mnuchin's transparency about what the GOP actually values when he retweeted the interview clip: </p><p>So that happened. But back to Pelosi on "This Week"!</p><p>
Pelosi called out the GOP's attempts to disenfranchise voters by trying to stop mail-in voting, noting how very recently the GOP and the Trump family were all about mail-in voting:</p><blockquote><strong>RADDATZ</strong>: President Trump suggested that November's election could be delayed over concerns over mail-in voting. That drew widespread criticism, of course. But what are your concerns come November?
<br><br>
<strong>PELOSI</strong>: Well, I'm a former chair of the California Democratic Party, and I know that Republicans know how to do mail-in voting. They always would prevail when the mail-in votes came in.
<strong>But I think it's important for you to know, Martha, that in the most recent election we had in California, spring special election, that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., and his daughter in law both did robos and ads saying, Republicans, mail in your ballots.</strong> It's important for you to mail in your ballots.
So they were talking about mail-in voting at this most recent election. I think that the president -- I don't think it benefits one party or another.</blockquote><p>
We'd call the GOP's tactics cartoonish, but they don't even rise to that level.</p><p>
Have a good week, and see you for the next Sunday Show rundown, where we watch the Sunday shows so you never have to.</p><p><strong>Wonkette is fully funded by reader donations. Click below, to donate!</strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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US of America News
Trump Finds New Way To Ratf*ck Census, To Screw Democrats Long After He's Gone!
Sounds legit!
August 03, 2020 02:00 PM
Donald Trump's attempts to ratfuck the census and ensure the GOP gets to gerrymander Congress for another ten years continue apace. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang got the scoop from three sources inside the Census Bureau who say the White House's new plan is to cut off door-knocking by census data collectors a month early, virtually ensuring an undercount of Black and brown Americans.
"It's going to be impossible to complete the count in time," an area manager who oversees local census offices told reporter Hansi Lo Wang. "I'm very fearful we're going to have a massive undercount."
Well, no shit they're going to have an undercount — that's the whole purpose of this exercise. With 40 percent of households still uncounted and immigrants spooked after Trump spent two years trying to get the citizenship question added to the survey, moving the deadline from October 31 to September 1 will result in hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of them in Black and brown areas, going un-surveyed.
<p>The census falls under the aegis of the Commerce Department, and back in April, Secretary Wilbur Ross <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/13/833546675/trump-officials-ask-to-delay-census-data-for-voting-districts-house-seats" target="_blank">asked</a> Congress to extend the deadline for reporting the data from the nationwide headcount from December 31, 2020 to April 31, 2021 because of COVID-19.</p><p>Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-25/" target="_blank">chimed in</a> at his corona-briefing, saying "The Census Bureau has asked Congress for a 120-day extension. I don't know that you even have to ask them. This is called an act of God. This is called a — a situation that has to be — they have to give in. I think 120 days isn't nearly enough." All the best words! </p><p>Then the GOP whispered in Trump's ear that <em>actually</em> they would very much prefer if we <em>didn't</em> count everyone, because acknowledging the reality that most of the population lives in urban areas that vote blue is distinctly unhelpful for Republicans. That's why the only takers on Trump's request to delay the reporting requirement were Democrats. But President Slow Learner has finally grasped the plot and is now working furiously to turn that ship around before he has to hand the captain's chair over to Joe Biden. </p><p>Four months ago when Trump thought he was going to win in November, he demanded more time to accommodate the delay in data collection caused by coronavirus. Now he's waging a mad scramble to cook the numbers before a Democratic Commerce Secretary gets sworn in. No more COVID delays — now it's absolutely necessary to complete the count early.</p><p>Two weeks ago, Trump issued a royal proclamation <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/trump-census-memorandum" target="_blank">ordering</a> that non-citizens can't be counted for the purposes of congressional apportionment, which runs directly counter to all historical and legal precedent. And now he's doing everything possible to stop the headcount. In addition to curtailing door-knocking, Wang notes that the Census Bureau has made one or two changes to its website.</p><p>To wit, all references to October 31 as the deadline for data collection have been replaced with generalized language about "working to complete data collection as soon as possible, as it strives to comply with the law and statutory deadlines." Where it used to say residents could mail in completed surveys by October 31, it now <a href="https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1289062541713448961?s=20" target="_blank">says</a> they have to be completed by "The End of Field Data Collection." And when might that be?</p><p>"We are currently evaluating our operations to enable the Census Bureau to provide this data in the most expeditious manner and when those plans have been finalized we will make an announcement," a spokesperson told NPR.</p><p>So they haven't announced that they're shaving 25 percent off the collection period, and they're waiting for a particularly hectic news cycle or a Friday news dump to make it public. But on the plus side, they managed to stop it leaking out before last Wednesday's <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-committee-held-emergency-hearing-on-trump-administration-s" target="_blank">hearing</a> on the census before the House Oversight Committee, where four former directors of the Census Bureau testified that Trump's reapportionment order is illegal and called for the reporting deadline to be extended. Stephen Dillingham, the Trump lackey currently serving in the job, testified that he had no knowledge of Trump's order — no one in his shop would politicize the headcount, perish the thought! — and refused to explain why the requested delay due to COVID was no longer needed.</p><p>"I'm not aware of all the many reasons except to say that the Census Bureau and others really want us to proceed as rapidly as possible," he said.</p><p>UH HUH. For all intents and purposes, Dillingham IS the Census Bureau, so "or others" is doing a whole lot of work there.</p><p>[<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/896656747/when-does-census-counting-end-bureau-sends-alarming-mixed-signals" target="_blank">NPR</a>]<br></p><p><strong>Follow Liz Dye on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/5DollarFeminist" target="_blank">RIGHT HERE!</a></strong><br></p><p><strong>Please click here to support your Wonkette. And if you're ordering your quarantine goods on Amazon, <a href="https://amzn.to/2wbH77j" target="_blank">this is the link to do it.</a></strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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2020 Congressional Elections
Kris Kobach Has Full Support Of Democrats Who Can’t Wait To See Him Lose Kansas Senate Race
Kansans still prefer Kobach to COVID-19, so that’s something.
August 03, 2020 09:05 AM
Kris Kobach in Kansas is a problem for Republicans. Nobody likes the guy. He's already lost the governor's race in 2018 by five points to a Democrat in Kansas, and now he's running for Senate in a campaign he kicked off by misspelling his own name. The Republican establishment is afraid he'll win the primary and go on to lose the general against state Senator Barbara Bollier.
The GOP's internal polling is dire: Donald Trump is only narrowly leading Joe Biden in a state where he beat Hillary Clinton by 20 points. Worse, 30 percent of primary voters said they would support Bollier over Kobach because even they know Kobach's a racist creep. Kobach is radioactive among moderate Republicans in the Kansas City suburbs — the Lincoln Project-friendly demo who Trump and his stooges have alienated almost completely.
Mitch McConnell, who'd like to remain Senate majority leader, wants to block Kobach. Republican Rep. Roger Marshall is the establishment's favored candidate. He's terrible but he doesn't make a big scene about it like Kobach. Marshall has consistently voted in line with Trump, but the president won't endorse him. He apparently only intervenes in primaries when his pettiness sufficiently motivates him.
<div id="6fda1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5223c8890f1ae62d4a8d016b658f05d3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1286787391785701376" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Running Against RINOs: @KrisKobach1787 says Mitch McConnell is interfering in the Kansas Senate race by giving $4M+… https://t.co/bbssE0fuPZ</div> — Lou Dobbs (@Lou Dobbs)<a href="https://twitter.com/LouDobbs/statuses/1286787391785701376">1595628996.0</a></blockquote></div><p>This weekend, during a trip on Air Force One, Texas Senator Ted Cruz just happened to let drop that Marshall had supported John Kasich in the 2016 primary. (So, he was the one!) Now Trump definitely isn't going to support the superior candidate, because the president's a small, pathetic man. <br></p><p>Plumbing magnate Bob Hamilton is also in the primary race and describes himself in ads as a "crazy, Trump-supporting, American-loving, flag-waving conservative." You'll notice that his support for Trump comes before his love of America, which is how the president likes it.</p><p>Kobach told Lou Dobbs recently that McConnell and the GOP establishment are “interfering" with the race by supporting Marshall with money and endorsements. He doesn't seem to understand how Senate races work. It's also unclear how he thinks he can win statewide on a “RINOs Suck" platform. </p><blockquote><strong>KOBACH:</strong> Mitch McConnell has come in to interfere in the race and lift up the RINO opponent that I have to propel him across the finish line ahead of me. We've seen this so many times where McConnell interferes whenever a conservative is leading in the polls. I think he should let Kansas Republicans decide for themselves and then put that money behind the winner instead of attacking a conservative. He's hurting the Republican cause, not just in Kansas but nationally.</blockquote><p>McConnell isn't a RINO. His primary ideology is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAKBrGVKr0Y" target="_blank">“winning,"</a> so if he's trying to block Kobach, it's because he knows he's a loser. </p><div id="5ec24" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0946a3e2e0d84459911a860d4897224a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289324222481752066" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@KrisKobach1787 on #Kansas Senate race:
The GOP establishment & @SenateMajLdr #McConnell want a 'yes man' on the… https://t.co/SDOIp9RBMd</div> — War Room: Pandemic ☣️ (@War Room: Pandemic ☣️)<a href="https://twitter.com/WarRoomPandemic/statuses/1289324222481752066">1596233823.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Last week, Kobach argued that McConnell just wants a “yes man," which is technically true, but Kobach is running as Trump's “yes man," so his moral foundation is shaky here.</p><blockquote><strong>KOBACH: </strong>This isn't the first time [McConnell and the establishment] have tried to take out a conservative. Remember back in 2014, Chris McDaniel was going up against Thad Cochran in Mississippi. They came in. They dumped a ton of bricks on McDaniel, took him out.</blockquote><p>Horrors! The Senate majority leader wanted to protect a longtime incumbent from a primary challenge. </p><blockquote><strong>KOBACH: </strong>Kelli Ward was about to beat John McCain ... Mitch McConnell comes in. They bring in the bombers and they drop a ton of bombs on Kelli Ward to take her out.</blockquote><p><a href="https://www.wonkette.com/kelli-ward-just-kidding-about-stopping-mark-kelly-dead-in-his-tracks" target="_blank">Kelli Ward</a> is a flake who probably would've lost the general election. Stop making us defend Moscow Mitch. </p><p>Kobach is almost rational, compared to local crackpot Newt Gingrich, who <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/chuck-schumers-attempt-steal-kansas-senate-seat-opinion-1522064" target="_blank">wrote an op-ed</a> for <em>Newsweek</em> where he accused Chuck Schumer of trying to “steal" a Senate seat:</p><blockquote>While Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) is retiring after four terms, this would normally be a safe Republican seat.</blockquote><p>Then the murders began. Or rather Democrats contested the seat as if this is a representative democracy.</p><blockquote>The Democrats are running State Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Republican-turned-Democrat. She would normally be expected to run a good race, get 45 percent or less and stay in Kansas.</blockquote><p>Fair enough, Mr. Speaker, but what if Democrats don't cosplay the Washington Generals this time out?</p><blockquote>However, Schumer and the Washington Democrats have come up with a clever scheme to change history, break the Republicans' biggest winning streak and <strong>steal</strong> the Kansas seat to help take over a majority in the U.S. Senate.<br><br>[ ... ]<br><br>The Democrats have invented Sunflower State PAC, which has already spent $2.5 million propping up Kobach and attacking Congressman Roger Marshall. The PAC will spend another $2.2 million against Marshall before the August 4 primary.</blockquote><p>Schumer isn't “stealing" a Senate seat. This isn't like what the Supreme Court did to Al Gore or what McConnell did to Merrick Garland. He's just trying to win. We're as surprised as everyone else, but he's playing by <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/gop-pac-runs-ad-promoting-progressive-dynamic-black-lady-senate-candidate-thanks" target="_blank">the same rules as Republicans.</a> They should start getting used to that. </p><p>Send some cash to Barbara Bollier <a href="https://bollierforkansas.com" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p>[<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/30/politics/kansas-republican-senate-race-trump-involved/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> / <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/chuck-schumers-attempt-steal-kansas-senate-seat-opinion-1522064" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>]<br></p><p><em>Stephen Robinson on </em><em><a href="https://twitter.com/SER1897" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p><strong>Yr Wonkette is 100 percent ad free and entirely supported entirely by reader donations. That's you! Please click the clickie, if you are able!</strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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2020 Congressional Elections
Sara Gideon Generously Working To Help Susan Collins Retire From Senate
Maine: Desperately Seeking Anyone But Susan
August 02, 2020 02:45 PM
By just about every measure, Susan Collins's campaign to win a fifth term in the US Senate is in trouble. Her polls are just terrible, including the most recent one, released Thursday by Colby College, which has Collins's Democratic opponent, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, ahead by five points (44 percent to 39 percent). Ridiculous amounts of money are going into the race, with far more going to Gideon (and here we make our traditional lonesome cry for public financing, please). All in all, things aren't looking great for Collins, the very last New England Republican in Congress.
That's an endangered political species Democrats don't mind driving into extinction. No Greenpeace sit-ins for Susan Collins, sorry not sorry.
<p>In the Before Times, Collins was one of those Republican "moderates" who generally didn't make big waves, except when she'd occasionally piss off her own party by <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2014/02/04/collins-murkowski-most-likely-republicans-to-back-obama/" target="_blank">voting with Democrats</a> on culture war issues like abortion, guns, and LGBTQ rights. But once Donald Trump took over the Republican Party, Collins's "centrism" became mostly a work of bad performance art: She'd express very deep "concerns" about a Trump policy, then vote for it.</p><p>The one time she actually cast a significant <em>vote </em>against Trump's agenda (and thank Crom she did!) was when Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain<a href="https://www.wonkette.com/bullet-dodged" target="_blank"> blocked the "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act</a> in 2017. Trump mostly blamed McCain for that loss, but it was the last time Collins ever substantially opposed Trump. Maybe she was afraid of a Trump-backed primary challenge, maybe she's just completely spineless, or maybe there's really no such thing as a "moderate" Republican anyway. Why not all three? </p><p>Since the ACA vote, Collins has voted with the Deplorables on all the worst stuff, while emphasizing what an independent-minded thinker she is. Voted for the Big Fat Tax Cuts for Rich Fuckwads, which of course <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/nutcase-appeals-court-judges-just-voided-yr-obamacare-should-you-be-worried" target="_blank">laid the groundwork</a> for the idiot lawsuit that now puts the entire ACA at risk. Voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who's itching to overturn <em>Roe v. Wade</em>. Voted to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial, even though a vote to convict would still have left Trump well short of removal. </p><p>Even worse were the incredibly lame excuses. Collins <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/susan-collins-infowars" target="_blank">tut-tutted </a>that maybe there were "issues" with Christine Blasey Ford's yearbook, giving credit to bullshit from Alex Jones, then tried to have it both ways on Ford's testimony, saying it was very compelling and believable, but that <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/7/17947734/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-reaction-susan-collins-ford" target="_blank">she believed someone other than Kavanaugh</a> must have assaulted Ford. Barf. Despite having pledged to never confirm a justice who would endanger reproductive rights, Collins <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/lisa-murkowski-kavanaugh" target="_blank">said out loud</a> before the confirmation vote, "I do not believe [Kavanaugh's] going to repeal <em>Roe v. Wade,</em>" because after all, he <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/remember-that-time-susan-collins-said-brett-kavanaugh-wouldnt-be-a-threat-to-reproductive-rights" target="_blank">had such great respect</a> for established precedent. After voting to acquit Trump, she said she was <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/is-president-crime-boss-totally-exonerated-yet-your-impeachment-vote-preview" target="_blank">sure he'd learned his lesson</a> and would not try to use the presidency to benefit himself ever again. </p><p>Kavanaugh was the last straw for many who had seen Collins as a "moderate" ally, and has — probably more than anything else — led to the sharp decline in her approval rating. Once on the Court, of course, Kavanaugh quickly <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/remember-that-time-susan-collins-said-brett-kavanaugh-wouldnt-be-a-threat-to-reproductive-rights" target="_blank">got to work</a> voting to overturn <em>Roe</em>, though we have to credit <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/01/opinion/contributors/susan-collins-did-her-job-sara-gideon-didnt/" target="_blank">this recent op-ed</a> by a conservative Maine think-tank leader for offering the weirdest possible spin on Kavanaugh's recent vote to restrict <em>Roe.</em></p><blockquote>Had the court upheld the restrictive Louisiana law on abortion doctors, Collins' critics would have been able to attack her over Kavanaugh with renewed fury. As it turns out, the court rejected the law, helped by three justices Collins voted for, effectively neutering the issue.</blockquote><p>Got that? Collins voted to confirm three of the justices (Kagan, Sotomayor, and Roberts) who rejected the Louisiana abortion law, so please ignore her vote to confirm Kavanaugh. <em>And </em>her votes to confirm two of the others who voted to uphold it, Alito and Gorsuch. What a fine pro-choice record. </p><p>A <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/susan-collins-bribe" target="_blank">crowdfunding campaign started</a> shortly before the Kavanaugh vote, to raise money for whoever became Collins's 2020 Democratic opponent. Incredibly, Collins's office <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/susan-collins-bribe" target="_blank">condemned </a>the effort as an attempt to "bribe" Collins, and fretted it might violate election laws, because mercy, the threat of campaign fundraising shouldn't be used to influence a senator's vote! Collins <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senator-susan-collins-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-confirmation-senator-heidi-heitkamp-explain-their-vote-60-minutes/" target="_blank">griped to 60 Minutes</a> in 2018, <br></p><blockquote>This is a classic quid pro quo as defined in our bribery laws. [...] They are asking me to perform an official act and if I do not do what they want, $2 million plus is going to go to my opponent. I think that if our politics has come to the point where people are trying to buy votes and buy positions, then we are in a very sad place.</blockquote><p>As far as we can tell, though, Collins never actually sued over the matter, and once Gideon became the official nominee, her campaign <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/24/gideon-campaign-collects-4-million-crowdsourced-for-collins-opponent/" target="_blank">collected nearly $4 million</a> from the crowdfunding effort, with Collins's office still whining about it, only now framing Collins's vote as a brave stand against the attempt to "bribe" her. Sorry, while it's maybe another compelling argument for publicly-funded elections, issue-based fundraising is still as legal as any other in our<em> Citizens United</em> hellscape. </p><p>Gideon, we'd note, is in favor of a <a href="https://saragideon.com/issue/reforming-washington/" target="_blank">constitutional amendment to get rid of <em>Citizens United.</em></a> </p><p>That said, there's a fuckton of money in this campaign. Gideon's campaign<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/07/maine-senate-sara-gideon-gets-big-money-boost/" target="_blank"> has raised $24.2 million</a> to Collins's $16.8 million, and that was before Gideon <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/election-roundup-2646412084" target="_blank">won the July 14 primary</a> and received the crowdfunding boost. And hoo boy, the outside spending: by mid-June, the most recent reporting period, outside groups had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/us/politics/susan-collins-maine-sara-gideon.html" target="_blank">spent $11.9 million </a>on TV and radio ads against Collins, but only $6.7 million for media supporting her. The Lincoln Project even targeted Collins recently, calling her a "Trump Stooge":</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="979aaa46df80c42503593f174a196a87"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lSGXknNaYqU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Trump Stooge</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/lSGXknNaYqU" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><p>Collins's own ads have been generally terrible. She's been <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/more-senate-republicans-looking-like-theyll-have-to-find-something-new-in-2021" target="_blank">making a lot of noise</a> about never missing a vote while in the Senate, as if the things she's voted for don't matter. Her campaign has tried to <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCollins207/status/1289263306394472451" target="_blank">portray Gideon as a slacker</a> who's too lazy to even work for the people of Maine, shame on her! Look at this stupid shit from Friday: <br></p><div id="d526d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b799181811b7a20fd4cffb8c28d6d143"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289263306394472451" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It's now been 136 days since Sara Gideon checked out of her job as Speaker to focus on her campaign.
136 of the mo… https://t.co/cj2SxnPTOi</div> — Team Collins (@Team Collins)<a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCollins207/statuses/1289263306394472451">1596219300.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Adjourned the legislature to campaign, huh? Say, what happened 136 days ago? Oh, right, the state lege <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/03/13/news/maine-legislature-to-adjourn-for-2020-on-tuesday-because-of-coronavirus/" target="_blank">adjourned early</a> because of the coronavirus. That's both houses, we'd add, so no, Sara Gideon is not the boss of the state Senate. Another hilarious ad tries to suggest Gideon is somehow untrustworthy or unfocused because over the past two or so years she's used the term "top priority" while talking about more than one thing, haw haw!</p><div id="c8585" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3c4dc26a981c3efbc239d36b68a85985"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1288115274105753603" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">What is Sara Gideon's "Top Priority?"
Hard to pin down, but one thing's for sure -- after 133 days of vacation du… https://t.co/d0dcliGIdL</div> — Team Collins (@Team Collins)<a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCollins207/statuses/1288115274105753603">1595945588.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The ad was a minor Twitter sensation last week, because it didn't so much make Gideon seem flighty; it made her look awesome. Just <a href="https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1288476851942371329" target="_blank">look at those positions</a> Team Collins is telling people about!</p>
<div id="7b0ff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c4349eda6b9fabb2c46eb8836579061"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1288476851942371329" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Susan Collins paid consultants to create an ad that attacks her opponent for [checks notes] saying she’ll fight for… https://t.co/5lzXk3DZGn</div> — Taniel (@Taniel)<a href="https://twitter.com/Taniel/statuses/1288476851942371329">1596031794.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><br></p><p>Quite a few people joked that Collins might have to declare the ad an in-kind donation to Gideon's campaign. And Collins has had a number of her<a href="https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1288457621150867457" target="_blank"> own different "top priorities,"</a> too. It's almost as if that's a phrase politicians use a lot! </p><p>To top it off, Salon <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/01/susan-collins-ads-seem-to-feature-ordinary-people--but-dont-reveal-their-ties-to-maine-gop/" target="_blank">reported</a> this week that virtually all of the ordinary Maine folk showing up in testimonial ads for Collins were state GOP officials, former Republican office-holders, candidates, or aides, and in some cases, interns for Collins. Among the just plain folks were a guy who said measures to prevent the coronavirus pandemic were meant to "rule over" Americans, another who called them "dictatorial," and a former legislator dude who <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bhobart/posts/10215887627916235" target="_blank">wrote </a>on Facebook that Black Lives Matter supporters should "Stay in your own lane. Quit bitching. Mind your own business. Be thankful for what you have. Don't keep looking for the truth because you couldn't handle the truth if you found it." He <a href="https://www.facebook.com/collins4senator/videos/2707172402745153/" target="_blank">really likes </a>Collins's ability to get things done. </p><p>But who is this Sara Gideon? Apart from <em>Not Susan Collins,</em> which almost automatically counts as an improvement (unless, say, former Maine Gov. Paul LePage were to replace Collins). She's been in the Maine House for four terms, serving two terms as Speaker. Like Collins, she <a href="https://saragideon.com/meet-sara/" target="_blank">touts </a>her ability to work with both parties, only "while standing up for Democratic values." That bipartisanship stuff really is a <em>thing</em> with Mainers. </p><p>On the issues, she's <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/15/metro/who-is-sara-gideon-look-democratic-challenger-maines-susan-collins/" target="_blank">unequivocally pro-choice,</a> and more than happy to hang Brett Kavanaugh around Collins's neck every chance she gets, although not literally. She supports a public option where people could buy in to Medicare, and <a href="https://saragideon.com/issue/health-care/" target="_blank">says </a>health care is a human right. She <a href="https://saragideon.com/issue/health-care/" target="_blank">helped pass Maine laws</a> that would protect several central features of the ACA even if Obamacare were repealed, protecting people with pre-exisiting conditions, keeping kids on their parents' insurance until they're 26, and ensuring seniors can't be charged more for insurance. She also would empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices. She's <a href="https://emilyslist.org/news/entry/maine-rep.-sara-gideon-on-why-she-wants-to-replace-susan-collins-in-the-sen" target="_blank">stopped short of endorsing Medicare for All,</a> because it's freaking Maine, but "better than Collins" is a good enough standard for now. (Bet she could be convinced.)</p><p> On <a href="https://saragideon.com/issue/climate-environment/" target="_blank">climate</a>, she guided passage of Maine's "most aggressive goals" for carbon reduction and investment in green energy, and supports an aggressive move to decarbonize the national economy and transportation system. She says cabinet nominees have to support the environment, not the fossil fuel industry. </p><p>In addition to her support for ditching <em>Citizens United</em>, Gideon passed automatic voter registration in Maine, and restrictions on the revolving door from Congress to lobbying. And she's taken a no-PAC pledge, so that's good. And she wants to repeal the 2017 tax cut Collins voted for. </p><p>We honestly won't miss Susan Collins, but we shouldn't assume Gideon has a lock on this election. <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gideon2020?" target="_blank">Send her a few bucks</a> if you can, OK? </p><p>[<a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/maine/" target="_blank">Five Thirty-Eight</a> / <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/01/susan-collins-ads-seem-to-feature-ordinary-people--but-dont-reveal-their-ties-to-maine-gop/" target="_blank">Salon </a>/ <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/01/opinion/contributors/susan-collins-did-her-job-sara-gideon-didnt/" target="_blank">Bangor Daily News</a> / <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/us/politics/susan-collins-maine-sara-gideon.html" target="_blank">NYT </a>/ <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/07/maine-senate-sara-gideon-gets-big-money-boost/" target="_blank">Open Secrets</a> / <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/15/metro/who-is-sara-gideon-look-democratic-challenger-maines-susan-collins/" target="_blank">Boston Globe</a> / <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/24/gideon-campaign-collects-4-million-crowdsourced-for-collins-opponent/" target="_blank">Portland Press-Herald</a> / <a href="https://saragideon.com/" target="_blank">Sara Gideon for Maine</a> / Photos:<a href="https://twitter.com/SaraGideon" target="_blank"> Sara Gideon </a>on Twitter / <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/43838138720" target="_blank">Gage Skidmore,</a> Creative Commons <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">license 2.0</a> (cropped)]<span></span></p><p>Yr Wonkette is supported entirely by reader donations. Please help us keep you up to date on this wacky election, won't you? It's only the entire FATE OF AMERICA, after all. </p><p>Also this is now your open thread. Hooray!</p><p></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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