I was feeling fairly optimistic about today until I came to DU

[LymphocyteLover]

the level of doomsaying is bizarre.

On twitter, I saw the opposite with the people I follow.

Personally, my gut feeling is abortion is a huge voting issue that is not captured in the polls and there are a lot of young voters the polls aren't taking into account. I could be wrong of course and I am bracing for the worst.

But I am hopeful. This GOP is so wretched and they are due for a major comeuppance.

[DestinyIsles]

1. The doomsayers get most of their "evidence" from twitter

[Elessar Zappa]

2. I don't know why people

are so negative right now. At least wait until the polls close to start the tearing of garments and gnashing of teeth.

[Alhena]

3. In my case, it's Dave Wasserman's twitter

haven't posted it here, since I don't want to be a downer, but early voting party stats aren't looking good according to him.

[GreenWave]

6. Didn't he say to have a great Friday?

[Polybius]

21. This is what he said an hour ago

Link to tweet

[GreenWave]

26. TY Polybus.

Va. was healthy Blue in early vote, so there is hope.
FL was healthy red in early vote, very bad news for Crist and Demings.

[TreasonousBastard]

54. Just how would he know the vote count? He's pretty much depending...

on exit polling and/or who's in what party and votibg

Even the actual pollworkers@ have no idea until totals are pulled. I used to pull totals halfway through the day and again when polls sre closed. And that's only for the one to four machines I controlled. We had a few hundred in the county. Poll watchers can see the recaps, bu not touch or photo.

We also had those Apple gadgets that had every voter in the cointy, with registered party. Thing is, making spot checks on those was more trouble than worth any data you csn get from them.

Then there are the absentee and affidavit ballots counted at county HQ.

So, even though I would get the totals on each machine and deliver them to loca HQ within a half hour of closing, they still had to be entered into secure dstabases.

Add the time for nonrecorded ballots to be counted, and any judicial fun and things can be forever. I remember one year when there were recounts and it took weeks to find out Zeldin won

[wnylib]

74. Florida is a lost cause for Democrats, so

nothing new there.

In other locations, a large number of Dems have already voted early, in person or by mail in or drop off ballots. I voted early this year for the first time, mainly because I wanted to avoid any harassment today, when larger numbers of Republicans are expected to vote. I live in a blue state, but my precinct is very red. I wonder how many other Dem voters feel the way I did?

[Elessar Zappa]

7. I saw that tweet.

I still don’t think it’s time to panic yet.

[Alhena]

13. I agree, we tend to overreact to early tea signals

[dweller]

12. It was posted here already earlier

I read it and thought that’s the opposite of what other reports are saying … not sure how he would know party affinity of EV votes if they are not even counted yet.
Reports here in NC show huge increase in EV voting over 2018 & 2020

✌🏻

[MarcA]

25. Some States post Early and Today's votes by Party online. n/t

[dweller]

27. Got a link for that ?

I would like to take a look
Thanks


✌🏻

[MarcA]

31. All I can say is go to the Secretary of State's Website

for any given State and see if they are posting the info. Some media outlets are relaying the info. I really don't know if any two States are doing it the same.

[dweller]

41. Actually, I just googled it

For NC : As of Sunday, 38% of those who voted early across the state were registered Democrats, 31% were registered Republicans and 30% were unaffiliated.

That was from a local newspaper online

Continuing on, at NBC site :

Mail-in and early in-person votes cast
45,718,945Nationally

45% D
35% R
20% Other

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-elections/early-vote

Doesn’t look too bad for us
🤔



✌🏻

[MarcA]

43. Yes, as long as there aren't too many Democratic crossovers

and Independent and Minor Parties voting R. Here's hoping and acting for the Best.

[JoanofArgh]

67. Yeah , I saw the tweet about turnout in VA and FL today. What he fails to mention

is that VA has early voting, which is popular among Dems. He's being criticized heavily for that.

[Wednesdays]

34. And even then, it's going to look bleak for the first few hours

after the polls close, until the early, absentee, and mail-in ballots start to be counted.

[jmbar2]

4. Need to keep our expectations open to either/or

If the Republicans take control over the house, they will be faced with some of the biggest challenges in our nation's history, with some of the most incompetent, ignorant and power-hungry morons ever elected.

I think they will destroy themselves for 2024.

[LymphocyteLover]

46. Yes, agreed

[Polly Hennessey]

5. Same here. I decided to see what DU was saying.

It was depressing. Yet here I am again ever the optimist.

[CrispyQ]

8. A major comeuppance to the GOP is certainly overdue. Same with an indictment of Trump. -nt

[Thunderbeast]

9. Too many dissapointments

I will be 70 years old tomorrow.

I no longer carry optimism that my fellow ctizens will do the right thing.

When I was 20, Nixon was re-elected in a landslide. Eight years later, Reagan did the same. Both ran campaigns based on fear of brown and black people.

We have become an entitled self-centered population who can not think of a sacrifice worth making for their fellow citizens. There is no sense of obligation. No empathy.

As a country, we have conflated freedom with creul neglect.

I really hope I am wrong this time. THAT would be the best birthday present ever!

[wryter2000]

20. I'll be 74 next week

I know what I want for my birthday. Keeping the House and going to 52 in the Senate so we can tell Mansinema to sit down and shut up.

No one cares what you think Kyrsten!

[niyad]

58. May you, and we, get the birthday present we deserve.

[niyad]

56. May you, and we, get the birthday present we deserve.

[Evolve Dammit]

68. Well said. Feel very much the same. Happy 70th!!

[Peacetrain]

10. I hear you!!

[wryter2000]

11. IMHO, the Senate will be fine

I could picture us picking up two seats out of three OH, PA, Wi. If that happens, we could lose NV and be okay. I just don't know about the House.

I think you're right about abortion. There's a young man who's been following the youth vote, I think his name is Victor something. He was on Stephanie Miller this morning. He said that overall, the youth vote is down from previous elections, but that's because young Republicans aren't voting. Young Democrats are up from previous elections. He says their main issue is abortion, followed by climate change and student loans We've all seen the long lines at colleges to vote.

Whatever, there won't be any wave, I don't think. But I'm pretty sure the polls have been mucked up by lots of bogus Republican polls. Done deliberately to confuse things. I don't know if we'll keep the House, but it's not going to be the bloodbath the MSM is still yammering on about.

BTW, Nancy Pelosi says we'll keep the house, and I believe she has evidence behind that. Howard Dean says we'll pick up seats in both houses. No doom and gloom there.

[Polybius]

24. PA should be fine, and WI will be close

OH is a lost cause though, with Vance up by almost 10 in the newest polls.

[LymphocyteLover]

47. Yes. Victor Shi I think is his name. I heard him this morning too. Certainly encouraging

He has some tweets about students waiting in line in Texas
https://twitter.com/Victorshi2020

[andym]

14. Help GOTV if you can and see how things turn out

The good news is that even the most unfavorable polls suggest nothing like 2010 midterms which was a huge red wave. It seems we could have anything from a small red to a small blue wavelet. The close polling shows that the American public has made strides in understanding what's going on in the country. Help get out the vote if you can and let's see what happens-- the rest is not in our individual control at this point.

[List left]

15. Funny..I was feeling the opposite.

Maybe I am just clicking on the posts that are more optimistic.

This morning I spoke to someone at a bank customer service call center. I finished the call reminding her to vote. She said I was the second customer to remind her and that she would be sure to.

GOTV

[wryter2000]

23. I told all the folks in my dentist's office to vote

They assured me they would.

[budkin]

16. I'm trashing negative threads

I'd suggest doing the same.

[Polybius]

19. Will you untrash if they turn out to be right?

[BlackSkimmer]

32. Lol.

I had to leave off posting in 2016 because I dared to express my “concern” that tfg would win. I was called all kinds of names.

[Polybius]

37. I did notice that they never come back and apologize

Last year I was trashed on Election Day when I predicted gubernatorial races. I said the Republican will win in Virginia and that New Jersey would be close. Not a peep that night.

[BlackSkimmer]

39. Kind of like the prognosticators we have here.

Predictions about indictments, diseases, deaths, indictments…somehow none come true. Sigh.

And if you were to ask them about their prediction…nary a peep.

[wryter2000]

63. I have seen people apologize

For claiming that Biden wouldn't amount to much.

[LymphocyteLover]

48. have you ever been wrong in your predictions?

[Polybius]

50. In real life or DU?

Plenty of times in real life, especially sports predictions. On DU? Not sure, I don't make a lot (I can't remember if I did for the Senate in 2020), but I just listed my Senate predictions yesterday morning. I'm sure I'll get some wrong.

[wryter2000]

65. I pretty much agree with you

Except Arizona. And for GA, it's possible no one will win tonight, but I think Warnock will win again in a run-off.

[LymphocyteLover]

69. I hope you're wrong. That's a pretty pessimistic take.

Last edited Wed Nov 9, 2022, 04:34 PM - Edit history (1)

[RobinA]

55. Me Too!

The name caller was subsequently banned, or maybe left because she had egg on her face with countless « concern trolls. ». Never a backtrack after calling anybody out who dared worry that there were a few too many Trump signs in their neighborhood for comfort.

[budkin]

36. By trash I mean I'm hiding them

A feature on the site. I'll have time later to be negative.

[Kaleva]

17. This happens most every election. The night of the 2020 election was bad

I finally went to bed, not knowing if Biden or Trump would be the winner

I particularly remember one member who was going on about how stupid the people in Michigan were because it looked like Trump was going to win the state.

[Tree-Hugger]

33. DU was gloomy for that election

I remember that. I had only been following DU that day and was certain Joe lost that night and a few days later.....until Philly saved us.

[Kaleva]

38. I'd like to look back at old threads maybe to see if it's the same people

[Tree-Hugger]

42. I haven't gone far in the past

I haven't gone to look at 2020 or 2018, but I started taking note of doomsayers in the last 6 months. There are definite patterns.

[wnylib]

77. I've noticed those patterns, too.

Some people seem to prefer a doom and gloom perspective. Maybe they are clinically depressed.

Others might have their own political reasons.

[Mike Nelson]

18. I was feeling...

... optimistic until I turned on the TV. Maybe I need to give MSNBC more time... my Facebook feed was okay. Twitter is still a cesspool, although I think the Musk-raking is funny.

[getagrip_already]

59. I'm not turning on tee vee until after east coast polls close...

and then only rachel. Life is too short.

[Xavier Breath]

66. Yep, I'm not going anywhere near election coverage

until 7 PM EST. There's no point to do so other than to drive yourself crazy with talking-head-speak.

[LakeArenal]

22. It's too late for doom. It's too late for confidence.

It’s time to count the votes. That’s the story.

[Johnny2X2X]

28. I feel good

And I think people are very motivated to vote. I think we hold the Senate and lose the House. And that's not so bad, will be some gridlock and the Reps will do a bunch of things that hurt their chances in 2024.

Really want to hold the Senate for the judge confirmations. But this is Biden we're talking about, he's a negotiator, he'll get judges seated by cutting deals.

I'm in MI, so I'm very confident in the state elections here today, so my state is going to be blue regardless.

And I understand saying Democracy is on the ballot, it is. But what power will Reps have to pass anything for 2 years even if they take both houses? None. All they'll do is make noise, waste time, and look like the fools they are.

[NoMoreRepugs]

29. Women and Minorities are going to have to save our Democracy.

Too many of my moronic fellow white males are too stupid to realize they are shooting themselves as they vote RePutinican.

[wryter2000]

44. And young people

Young Dems are voting.

I hope to God white women vote the right way today. It's been a source of embarrassment for me that they went for Trump both times. I am ashamed of the stupidity and selfishness of the majority of white people.

[Emile]

30. We will have a larger majority in the senate and house

[BlackSkimmer]

35. Noted.

Sure hope you’re right.

[Biophilic]

40. It has been a bit weird.

As I’ve been reading various posts I’ve sometimes felt that the authors must be trolls or closet republicans. I’ve found it a bit surreal.

[panader0]

49. The DU Terms of Service say that we should support Dems. Many give up before any races are called.

[Biophilic]

51. I've been thinking about this and I suspect

That many of us (including myself) are afraid to be let down after the last 6 years, but also we are afraid of what could be coming if we lose. So we are afraid to get our hopes too high.

[wryter2000]

61. I think that's true of a lot of people here

If you don't hope, you can't be disappointed.

I think some people carry it to extremes, though. I just ignore that sort of thinking.

[Scrivener7]

45. I'm Truman-ing this one as much as I can. See you in 6 or 7 hours.

[StarryNite]

52. I think a lot has to do with where you live.

If you're in a blue area things are going to look a whole lot more optimistic than those of us who are surrounded by trump humping nut jobs like Kari Lake and her worshippers.

[LymphocyteLover]

72. I live in a red area in a red state and don't expect much to change here

But am hoping for other parts of the country to show some political sanity.

[Joinfortmill]

53. Agree

[Wibly]

57. DU has its own inherent bias

And a vested interest in attracting attention and, even moreso, encouraging participation.
They are wise to not be overly optimistic and act like this is in the bag. Such a move could well lead to apathy from Dem voters thinking it is in the bag.
Better to put up worry, and thus encourage people to believe their vote is really needed, than to go with that optimism so many of us are feeling, and have people fail to turn out because they sense its all good and their vote won't be missed.
I'd be more concerned about how DU gives front end exposure to individuals who are forever damning the GOP and calling GOP voters down, which makes DU seem just as biased and bullheaded as the GOP at times. Democrats need to learn they can attract more support with sugar than salt. DUs penchant for the salt can be, at times, a major turn off.
What groups like DU seem to miss is, most folks, a huge percentile in fact, are not tied to any one political party, political ideology, or partisanship. In fact, most folks do not pay much attention to politics at all. So when those folks come to places like DU looking for information they can easily be turned off if there is a lot of blatant partisanship evident in the featured posts.
I say this as someone who has, from time to time, been tossed out of forums and off threads here on DU for expressing mild critical review of Dem personalities, platform positions, and partisanship. Those incidents have shown me that, at times, DUers can be so uptight they will exile their own supporters if they don't like the feedback those supporters are providing.
Fortunately, I don't hold on to such actions, and know that deep down, everyone here just wants what is right for Democracy.

[LymphocyteLover]

71. Agree with your first few lines. But DU is for partisans, not for appealing to the other side or

undecideds.

Also seems really hard not to knock Republicans with their downward spiral in the past few years

[Hekate]

60. There's a combo of established posters on overwhelm, plus several newbies and/or returnees ...

… who are concern-trolling and shit-stirring. Avoid the latter like the plague.

I’m judicious about replies to those I know, and try to be kind by recommending they turn off the TV. Last night I pulled Harry Potter from my video library and watched the first two episodes back to back. Today is house-cleaning day. Tonight I’ll return to Hogwarts unless my husband has an absolutely burning desire to watch talking heads natter, but I think I’ll make it to Hogwarts.

Because I myself am burned out. Best of luck to you.

[LymphocyteLover]

70. Thanks. I certainly am not going to watch the results on TV tonight.

That will be crazy-making. Though I will peek in on DU and twitter.

[Woodwizard]

62. All we can do is vote and be involved.

Talking about elections for weeks on end is exhausting polls are so far off half the time they might as well be using a roulette wheel.

My public radio station has a show in the morning I like to listen to, the Round Table, but for the last two moths it has been so much about the midterms and fatalism I stopped listening. I did my part I voted talked with others in my circle who also voted, and now I hope for the best.

[JoanofArgh]

64. DU knows nothing. Ignore them.

[BlueInPhilly]

73. EDDU Only

Election Day DU'er here - I avoid DU the rest of the year. And yes, there is more negativity this time.

[LymphocyteLover]

76. If it wasn't for inflation, Dems would totally have the wind at their backs this election

we'll see.

[Marius25]

75. CNN exit polling, which actually is slightly more R-leaning than D

shows that abortion is almost as big of an issue for voters as inflation.

Now exit polls in the US aren't very reliable, but if that turns out to be true, it's pretty big.