Paul Ryan was RIGHT (can't believe I said that): This is 100% on the voters in Montana.

[Miles Archer]

An enabler of the monster...say, for instance, Dr. Frankenstein as opposed to the monster himself...is every bit as culpable for the actions of the monster.

The "red hats" elected Trump.

The voters of Montana installed Gianforte, which pretty much comes across as a vindication of Trump.

Last night on CNN, one of their reporters was trolling locals in Montana. One said that he "felt good" about the smack-down, because "You're a polite reporter, but you know a lot of you aren't that way." When she pressed him further and asked if he had any reservations about a guy who "allegedly" beat a reporter up serving in Congress, he said "no."

The take-away from this, for me at least, is that 2018 is not a sure thing, "taking back the House and Senate" is going to require one hell of a lot more work than we might have thought. It can be done, of course...but you have to look at the sick fucks who stood behind this asshole and voted on a straight party line ticket.

Those same people will be voting in 2018, too.

[justhanginon]

1. Maybe time to redo their slogan to "Big Stupid Country",

home to a whole lot of stupid republicans whom evidently condone violence against the press.

[Proud liberal 80]

2. They elected a guy who said

"He likes to grab women by the Pussy"

They are deplorable and would vote for the devil if he was a republican.

[Miles Archer]

5. Grabbing women by the p*ssy and punching a reporter is cut from the same cloth

It's dominance, it's "power" (in the mind of the perpetrator), it's a total refusal to see the other person as a human being.

There is literally NO difference between Trump's "shove" yesterday and Gianforte getting elected. NONE.

And yet, Republican after Republican lined up on CNN yesterday to say that there is NO connection between the culture that Trump has created and the incident with Gianforte.

The whole point of my post is that the battle for 2018 CAN be won, but what happened yesterday should stand as proof to ALL of us that the fight is going to be one hell of a lot harder than we might choose to believe.

That could all change as soon as the red hats lose health care and every other thing that Trump is in the process of stripping way. When that happens, WE KNOW that some of them will blame Obama and the Democrats in general. That's just how they are conditioned to think by Fox News and Trump himself.

We have to fight for every other vote. We won't get 100% of the red hats. We don't NEED 100%. But we DO have to get every last voter who stayed home, voted for third party candidates, or decided to "give Trump a chance."

[Honeycombe8]

14. The law doesn't matter. Just if "I can get away with it." nt

[TNNurse]

6. I thought the devil was a Republican.

[oasis]

3. Montana: Dumbfuckistan's heartland.

[Demsrule86]

4. Do you really think that Quist was the best candidate ....the fact we almost won is

telling. We have a shot with appropriate candidates who run in districts not so deeply red. The fact is the Democratic Party is attacked from the left and the right. Nothing is ever good enough...maybe it is time to work together and elect Democrats and not worry about those who refuse to join our party and push us in directions that hamper our efforts...those who primary Joe Manchin and Nancy Pelosi hurt our efforts as well and should not do it.

I read negative comments about the party all the time...most are unfair...many are unrealistic. We need to be careful and unite or we will find ourselves with a Senate that has a 60 vote Republican majority...Part of the problem is the idea that both parties are the same...they are not and never were. You can not demonize our party and constantly harp on what is wrong with it and expect people to join the party and vote for our candidates.

Also, the idea that we move left and some how our message reverberates and people vote for us is not going to work in red state...an effort similar to Howard Dean's might work... recruiting candidates who can win in red states. We won't win on the single payer issue (even though I believe it should happen because some are deeply suspicious of single payer in red states) but we might if we run on saving the ACA and raising the minimum. We are at best a center left country.

[erpowers]

22. I Agree With You

I do not know why there is so much hand wringing over this loss. Democrats kept a race in a Republican district close. In addition, if people could have changed their vote the race would have either been a win for Democrats, or the loss would have been even closer. This all happened after Republicans had to pump millions into a race that they should have easily won. The Republicans are running scared. Now is not the time for Democrats to set their hair on fire. 2018 could go either way, but as of right now things are looking good.

[Demsrule86]

23. Exactly, there are some who criticize the Democratic party no matter what, and they are

simply helping Trump at this moment. No party is perfect, but ours is damn close...and when you consider the alternative, it should be a no 'brainer' whom you support. I never thought Quist would win...wrong candidate for a deep red state. However, the election of a Democratic governor and Senator shows we can win with the right candidates.

[Cosmocat]

7. People don't get just how big of a hole we are in - this $hit didn't start November 8th

It started LONG before the jackass came down the elevator.

That he was able to win their nomination and the presidency was enabled by a LONG, steady degradation of this country's decency and sense of community.


Well over a quarter century of the conservative media complex sucking the soul out of this country, and republicans engaging in a relentless stream of increasingly horrid fuck wittery that has had an equivalent lessening of consequences.

The one constant theme was dehumanizing the evil liberal boogyman.

That now is all they stand for.

We don't have the first hope of saving this country if we don't get down to the business of going directly, and with equal passion, going at the conservative brand.

[Lochloosa]

11. This hole began January 20, 1981.

[Bengus81]

18. 1000% fucking right on that one..........n/t

[Cosmocat]

20. can't disagree with that

he brought a smiling, happy face to hate ...

Normalized it.

[brush]

8. 2/3s of the vote was already in though by mail. There is that.

The thug was probably already ahead before he beat up the reporter.

[Miles Archer]

10. CNN reported that people were calling local election officials to try to change their vote

The person they interviewed said that in other elections in which reporters have not been assaulted, they never get those calls.

[brush]

13. That's good to know. At least some were trying to change their vote.

[hatrack]

15. Too bad they weren't paying attention six months ago . . .

This guy was running for governor, and he was an asshole then, and he was on the ticket with the Orange Asshole.

But there was an R after his name.

Good enough!

[Plucketeer]

21. Yes - again with the stupid letters

(D), (I), (R).... But who has time for real assessment? Check the letter and vote with confidence! How could that not work out perfectly???

[TBA]

9. So is the dude gonna face assault charges?

[Lochloosa]

12. He is charged with misdemeanor assault. The Sheriff is a supporter.

[global1]

16. No, No, No.....

I believe if Ryan and other Repugs would have come out strongly against Gianforte (put country/decency over Party) that Repugs in Montana wouldn't have voted for him. They would have gotten the message from the Party. Ryan saying what he said that if Gianforte is elected it's what Montanan's wanted - was weasel words that in fact sent the message that the Repugs were ok with Gianforte. For 2018 we need to mount a campaign against the Repug Party as a whole. It is this Party that is destroying America. Trump is just their way of deflecting the interest in them while they - in the background - take this country apart piece by piece.

[Bengus81]

17. NOW Rep Bodyslam is all into apologies AFTER his win.....

Two days ago he was trying to put BLAME on the reporter. Typical Republican................

[BumRushDaShow]

19. Just have to remember that

it's easier to get the low-hanging fruit in 2018 - i.e., the gerrymandered districts that are swing (we have 3 or 4 like that here in PA) vs districts like Montana's where there is just a single congressional district for the entire state, and you have a large number of engaged GOP voters (although Montana has been sortof "swing" statewide in general).

And in our case with the swing districts, it has to be turnout turnout turnout.

[GBizzle]

24. I myself would love to see Democrats outperform Hillary by 10 points in 2018, like Quist did.

It means we would win back both houses of Congress.