politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Some succour for Trump: Exactly four years ago today Betfair punters rated Hillary Clinton’s chances a lot higher than they do Joe Biden’s today
The chart atop this thread is from exactly four years ago showing that Betfair punters were effectively saying Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the 2016 election were 72%, as we can see in the chart below Biden’s chances are around 62%.
FPT: My local tourist town in Almeria having gone through the whole of the first wave with only 4 cases now has at least 20 all from a local discotheque which locals have warned for weeks was not enforcing the rules properly. Similar cases are happening all over the costas now. looks like the UK government action was ahead of the curve this time.
I'm afraid the only way to beat Trump is to, in electoral terms, drive a large ballot-shaped spike through his heart. Repudiate him so publicly, so convincingly and in such numbers he will have no option but to "accept" it.
I suspect the Transition period between Trump and Biden will be very fraught - Trump will fall back on Executive Orders and I also suspect we will see a "scorched Earth" policy in terms of destruction of documents and records so Biden's team will enter to a smoking ruin on 20/1/21.
There will of course be any number of memoir written by the Trump team which will further denigrate his administration and drag what's left of his reputation through the gutter.
However, the only way to beat a populist is to show them they aren't popular.
FPT: My local tourist town in Almeria having gone through the whole of the first wave with only 4 cases now has at least 20 all from a local discotheque which locals have warned for weeks was not enforcing the rules properly. Similar cases are happening all over the costas now. looks like the UK government action was ahead of the curve this time.
Stop blaming the discotheques, the increases are down to the masks.
FPT: My local tourist town in Almeria having gone through the whole of the first wave with only 4 cases now has at least 20 all from a local discotheque which locals have warned for weeks was not enforcing the rules properly. Similar cases are happening all over the costas now. looks like the UK government action was ahead of the curve this time.
Stop blaming the discotheques, the increases are down to the masks.
Right, another of my occasional series looking at European polling.
Today, we'll concentrate on Germany, Italy, Spain and Estonia.
In Germany, the CDU/CSU continue to enjoy a massive advantage over the other parties with 38% in the last two polls. The Greens have recovered their clear second place with 18-21% with the SPD on 14-15%, AfD and Linke are both on 8-9% and FDP on 5-6%.
In Italy, the collapse of Lega has been remarkable - from polling in the mid 30s, the latest IXE poll has them on 23%, only just in front of the Social Democrats on 22%, M5S on 17% and FdL on 15% with Forza on 8%. The election isn't until 2023 but it looks as though FdL will make some big gains.
Over to Spain and two very contrasting polls in recent days. The Invymark poll put the governing PSOE on 29% with PP on 21%, VOX on 14%, United Podemos on 12% and Citizens on 8%.
However, the NC Report poll has PSOE on 26% and PP on 25%, VOX on 15%, UP on 11% and Citizens on 6% so much closer.
Finally, to Estonia, whose politics I know we all follow avidly. The opposition Reform Party is on 31% in the latest Norstat poll but that's down three with the governing Centre Party on 24% and the Conservatives up two to 19%. The Social Democrats are on 9% and Estonia 2000 is on 7%.
The current Government is broadly Eurosceptic while the centre-right opposition (as distinct from the governing Conservatives who are in coalition with a centre-left party) is pro-EU.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away to start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly destructive kind of action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
FPT: My local tourist town in Almeria having gone through the whole of the first wave with only 4 cases now has at least 20 all from a local discotheque which locals have warned for weeks was not enforcing the rules properly. Similar cases are happening all over the costas now. looks like the UK government action was ahead of the curve this time.
Stop blaming the discotheques, the increases are down to the masks.
Well according to the anti vaxxers maskers.
There are 71 outbreaks to date across Andalucia - all active with very few under any sort of control. And it os worsening by the day. The whole effort is falling apart and the authorities seem to have no clue as to what to do. Very sad. My advice to anyone from the UK - stay away!
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the constitution would get him into the history books.
I was just going to add, indeed, that this would be more definitive than the others as a historical opportunity. Let's hope he doesn't take it.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away to start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly destructive kind of action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
I wonder about this too. He's a truly horrible individual but how exactly will this manifest post defeat? I'm really not sure. I'm sure he loses but not how he reacts. Once he's done the obvious stuff of calling the election rigged and refusing to co-operate on a transition or attend the inauguration of Biden, what will his priorities be for his life out of office? He will want to continue exploiting the many millions who have and are still bought into him - this is certain - but in what way exactly? My best sense is that once their votes no longer have value to him he will focus on getting his hands on as much as possible of something else - their money.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away to start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly destructive kind of action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
I think the politics of his defeat will be fascinating. Will the GOP "Establishment" seek to regain control from the party or will the pro-Trump element in the House and in local organisations across the country dig in?
Could Trump go as far as to blame the GOP establishment for the defeat and try to set up his own "third" party on the model of a Ross Perot or a George Wallace and try to endorse a "pro-Trump" candidate for 2024? Could such a candidate outpoll the main GOP candidate in places like Oklahoma, Kentucky or Tennessee?
That kind of split in the GOP hands the White House to the Democrats for 8-12 years.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the constitution would get him into the history books.
I was just going to add, indeed, that this would be more definitive than the others as a historical opportunity. Let's hope he doesn't take it.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
I am not sure that is correct. Surely Don Jnr. and his Trump family successors will be called "President".
"Fuhrer, although nodding to Don Jnr.'s German heritage is too reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and "Leader" hints at Gary Glitter!
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away to start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly destructive kind of action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
I think the politics of his defeat will be fascinating. Will the GOP "Establishment" seek to regain control from the party or will the pro-Trump element in the House and in local organisations across the country dig in?
Could Trump go as far as to blame the GOP establishment for the defeat and try to set up his own "third" party on the model of a Ross Perot or a George Wallace and try to endorse a "pro-Trump" candidate for 2024? Could such a candidate outpoll the main GOP candidate in places like Oklahoma, Kentucky or Tennessee?
That kind of split in the GOP hands the White House to the Democrats for 8-12 years.
The US could really do with both parties losing this election as neither have produced any sort of credible candidate. At the current time the World needs a credible alternative leadership to China and Russia. It simply isn't there.
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away to start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly destructive kind of action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
Of course he has.
He negotiates by brinkmanship
It’s quite exhausting, but once you look at his actions through that lens a lot more makes sense, especially in foreign affairs
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Disraeli was of Italian descent if that’s any help.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Disraeli was of Italian descent if that’s any help.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
"Their son works for the GOP" sort of hints that they might not be fully in the Biden camp.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Isn’t the Queen descended from Spanish royalty?
Yes but would be a stretch to call her Hispanic. She’s also descended from Mohammed, but I don’t think the Arabs see her as one of theirs!
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
"Their son works for the GOP" sort of hints that they might not be fully in the Biden camp.
That said, slam dunk it certainly isn't.
Yes, they are conservative (this is OC after all). But the OC was not fans of Trump in 2016.
My point, though, was that sensible, thoughtful, intelligent people support Trump. That’s not the impression you sometimes get from the media.
In plain American, the headline to this post should start, "Some sucker for Trump"
Well I would think he already ascribes to the view that if the president does it, then whatever it is is not illegal, so terrifying and exciting perhaps.
Not a Conservative supporter, but can't really see a problem with that at this point in procedings.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
Aren't MPs without the whip listed as such on the Common's website? I don't see the point in doing it in secret, it's unlikely he's mr popular in the whips office at the moment anyway.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
The story is that she spoke to the Chief Whip, who told her to report it to the police, then to the Leader of the House, who told her to report it to the police, then to the police.
To anyone who didn’t watch the Grand Prix live, it’s definitely going to be worth watching tonight’s highlights package. Quite an astonishing race.
And yet taken as a whole the season looks to be heading to another depressingly predictable result.
Today’s twists and turns probably changed the odds for the driver champion market, but these things will generally swing both ways over the course of a season.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Isn’t the Queen descended from Spanish royalty?
Yes but would be a stretch to call her Hispanic. She’s also descended from Mohammed, but I don’t think the Arabs see her as one of theirs!
She’s also descended from Fergus the Great, but the Irish and Scots don’t see her as one of ours.
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
"Their son works for the GOP" sort of hints that they might not be fully in the Biden camp.
That said, slam dunk it certainly isn't.
Yes, they are conservative (this is OC after all). But the OC was not fans of Trump in 2016.
My point, though, was that sensible, thoughtful, intelligent people support Trump. That’s not the impression you sometimes get from the media.
Republicans suppport Republican candidate is not news.
I suppose being suprised by this is in the camp of not understanding what happened in 2016. There was no mass switching from Dem to GOP. There was no massive wave of White Working Class revolt.
There was mostly just Dem voters staying at home.
The majority of people who voted for Romney voted for Trump.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
That’s not really a precedent. Both sides do that when they think they have to. Did you see “This House” about the Labour whips in the 74-79 parliament? Fiona Onasanya only lost the whip when she was convicted.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Isn’t the Queen descended from Spanish royalty?
Yes but would be a stretch to call her Hispanic. She’s also descended from Mohammed, but I don’t think the Arabs see her as one of theirs!
She’s also descended from Fergus the Great, but the Irish and Scots don’t see her as one of ours.
Her mother was Scottish! She would have qualified to play football for Scotland.
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
"Their son works for the GOP" sort of hints that they might not be fully in the Biden camp.
That said, slam dunk it certainly isn't.
Yes, they are conservative (this is OC after all). But the OC was not fans of Trump in 2016.
My point, though, was that sensible, thoughtful, intelligent people support Trump. That’s not the impression you sometimes get from the media.
They sound to me like people seeking to justify something to others and themselves.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
Exactly. One thing that should be very clear from events of the last few years, is that serious criminal offences need to be dealt with by the proper authorities in the first instance, not by political parties as internal issues.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
Exactly. One thing that should be very clear from events of the last few years, is that serious criminal offences need to be dealt with by the proper authorities in the first instance, not by political parties as internal issues.
One thing you can guarantee is that Scott_xP will be the last person to give an accurate account of this sort of matter.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
Exactly. One thing that should be very clear from events of the last few years, is that serious criminal offences need to be dealt with by the proper authorities in the first instance, not by political parties as internal issues.
Reading the story in The Sunday Times it looks like it has the potential to get awkward for Mark Spencer.
In the latest case, a fellow Conservative MP first raised the woman’s allegation with Mark Spencer, the chief whip, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the House of Commons, after speaking to the alleged victim a month ago.
The woman also spoke to Spencer directly. However, no action was taken. A spokesman for Spencer said: “The chief whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme.”
It is understood that Spencer does not believe a sexual assault was reported to him in his conversation with the complainant, but acknowledges that she reported abusive behaviour and threats.
We all know how the court of public opinion works, even before the #MeToo era.
The problem isn't the here and now in northern Europe - it's summer time, people are outside. The problem will be autumn and winter when social life is forced indoors and the pub garden, the bike ride, the outdoor family gathering all become less than optimal.
That's the danger - when people are forced back into the indoor spaces but still want the same social interaction they had outdoors in the summertime.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
Exactly. One thing that should be very clear from events of the last few years, is that serious criminal offences need to be dealt with by the proper authorities in the first instance, not by political parties as internal issues.
Reading the story in The Sunday Times it looks like it has the potential to get awkward for Mark Spencer.
In the latest case, a fellow Conservative MP first raised the woman’s allegation with Mark Spencer, the chief whip, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the House of Commons, after speaking to the alleged victim a month ago.
The woman also spoke to Spencer directly. However, no action was taken. A spokesman for Spencer said: “The chief whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme.”
It is understood that Spencer does not believe a sexual assault was reported to him in his conversation with the complainant, but acknowledges that she reported abusive behaviour and threats.
We all know how the court of public opinion works, even before the #MeToo era.
There seems to be a large gap between the offences mentioned in that article, and those mentioned by the police yesterday.
Isn’t the correct process that minor things such as workplace harrasment (as opposed to major things like rape), should be investigated by the Parliamentary authorities who employ staff, rather than by the party?
Indeed - we had a club in Mojacar [ Spain] closed yesterday after 5 cases among the staff. People on Facebook said it had all been taken care of as the club was disinfected and could open up later in the evening! A further 20 cases from the same venue have been reported today in a place which had just 4 cases in all the months prior to this!
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Isn’t the Queen descended from Spanish royalty?
Yes but would be a stretch to call her Hispanic. She’s also descended from Mohammed, but I don’t think the Arabs see her as one of theirs!
She’s also descended from Fergus the Great, but the Irish and Scots don’t see her as one of ours.
She’s regarded with more affection that you think, you old grump
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
"Their son works for the GOP" sort of hints that they might not be fully in the Biden camp.
That said, slam dunk it certainly isn't.
Yes, they are conservative (this is OC after all). But the OC was not fans of Trump in 2016.
My point, though, was that sensible, thoughtful, intelligent people support Trump. That’s not the impression you sometimes get from the media.
Republicans suppport Republican candidate is not news.
I suppose being suprised by this is in the camp of not understanding what happened in 2016. There was no mass switching from Dem to GOP. There was no massive wave of White Working Class revolt.
There was mostly just Dem voters staying at home.
The majority of people who voted for Romney voted for Trump.
That’s right - but it challenges many people’s assumptions (although OC behaved a little differently)
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
Some GOP activists' families are voting for Trump. Proves fake news lying media are unfair to OC millionaires.
Last time punters were excessively positive to HRC based on precedents on a tiny sample size of modern presidential elections. Probably this is corrected for in current odds that reflect what-if Trump either improves or the polls are wrong.
It's only a problem if one takes the rather bizarre view that it somehow 'sends the wrong message' to the complainant, as if that is the purpose of the justice system, as if the taking of punitive action in advance of any charge or conviction was laudable.
More will come out in due course, but the story so far appears to be the complainant spoke to the Chief Whip, who took no action. And the Leader of the House, who took no action.
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
As i undestood it she was told to take the allegation to the Police by the party.
Exactly. One thing that should be very clear from events of the last few years, is that serious criminal offences need to be dealt with by the proper authorities in the first instance, not by political parties as internal issues.
One thing you can guarantee is that Scott_xP will be the last person to give an accurate account of this sort of matter.
This is a difficult decision as suspending him will identify him and to be honest the issue must remain with the police for now, but I expect it will become common knowledge soon anyway
Scott xp has been derailed by his hatred of Boris and Cummings and his posts demonstrate that, while others can and do show less prejeudice and contribute to debate much better
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
Some GOP activists' families are voting for Trump. Proves fake news lying media are unfair to OC millionaires.
Dismiss it if you want.
It was simply meant to be a single data point that may or may not be of use to people
It's funny because he's been desperate for churches to be allowed to reopen since about the end of April.
Christianity is massively booming during this pandemic though. As it has always done whenever and wherever restrictions are placed upon it.
Those in the US who try to get prayers into state schools ought to think about the effect compulsory assemblies “of a largely Christian nature” in England (other education systems are available in the UK) have had on church attendance...
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
Some GOP activists' families are voting for Trump. Proves fake news lying media are unfair to OC millionaires.
Dismiss it if you want.
It was simply meant to be a single data point that may or may not be of use to people
Say what you like about Trump, at least he stopped the neocons from starting any more wars. As Trump said of John Bolton, all he wanted to do was bomb people.
If he faces defeat, I wonder if Trump will turn out to be the monstrous, Nero-like figure for the fate of the US that is increasingly imagined, or whether he will simply turn away and start to curate his own myth and legend of the why election was stolen from him. There seems to be a pattern where he thrives on victimhood and self-righteousness more than the responsibility of the most spectacularly kind of destructive action, which he so often promises.
In fact he's seemingly shied away from several such 'peak' actions so far, on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else. So far.
Trump needs a legacy for good or for worse. Crashing the Constitution would get him into the history books.
As they said in 2016, it was an historic election whoever won:
The Brits have already had a female PM, a Jewish PM, a Canadian PM... Latino not so much of a thing over her but I guess Philip of Spain or Catherine of Braganza might count
Re: MP & ex-minister arrested on charge of rape, yours truly as American does not understand why his name has not yet been revealed?
Understand that police are still investigating. BUT aren't they going to keep on investigating even after the alleged offender is named publicly?
Do recognize imperative to be cautious re: comments for sake of OGH & PB. Esp. as I do NOT know the actual legal standards & parameters.
Of course in US name would already be public record - NOT saying that's better or worse than UK standard, just different.
Arrest in the UK is a somewhat bizarre system, to people in other countries - arresting people and releasing them later without charge is not uncommon. The police often claim that this is done to protect people rights - see interview under caution etc.
Actually charging someone with a crime is a different thing, and something that hasn't happened in this matter, yet.
Any PBers think the Democrats have a fighting chance of winning Texas to justify their current odds of 2.75 (aka 7/4)? My thinking is that Trump will probably be badly damaged by the particularly bad Covid-19 experience there.
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
Some GOP activists' families are voting for Trump. Proves fake news lying media are unfair to OC millionaires.
Dismiss it if you want.
It was simply meant to be a single data point that may or may not be of use to people
Just one (or slightly more) data point, but like all data interesting.
Don't think you can fault C on his observation, as he put it in context. Did NOT simply say they were Orange Co teachers, but that they were also Republicans with family member on Trumpsky's staff.
Their votes this Fall will NOT keep California from giving it's EVs to Biden. BUT there are folks like them in all the battleground states, who where Trumpsky is concerned are willing to accentuate the positive (however defined) and eliminate the negative (however massive).
Do NOT think these votes will re-elect The Donald. But they MUST be factored into the equation.
Lots of Americans feel that too many previous administrations followed immigration policies that were better for big business than for them. (Of course, the current administration is the same, in that there remain essentially zero penalties to employers for actually employing illegal immigrants, thus meaning that demand for illegal immigration remains unchanged.)
Similarly, lots of Americans are disillusioned by a political system that seems to emphasise processes over results. And little wonder, the bottom 40% of Americans have seen little economic progress over the last quarter century. Who can blame them for saying that the current system doesn't work (for them) and they want someone who is their man, and who will cast aside convention and work for them.
And Trump can combine this with portraying the Democrats as in hock to "defund the police" and to the culture wars. (Plus, it helps that Biden is not the most... dynamic... of candidates.)
If you want to keep America America, and you want to ensure that the man in the White House cares about you, then you need to vote Trump.
Together these can get Trump re-elected.
The problem Trump has, though, is that his victory margin was narrow in 2016 and his natural instinct is to seek out those who love him. Feeling down? Go stand in a stadium and bask in the adoration of others. That might make him feel better, but I'm not convinced it helps win voters over at the margin. (And I'm not convinced it helps that much with turnout of his base either...)
If the economy turns around, and if CV19 is seen to be under control, then Trump should probably be favourite. But there are just 93 days to go now. It's possible, of course it's possible, but Trump's path is narrowing every day.
Comments
Solely for those who can’t post via the main site and rely on the Vanilla forums.
And Trump has the benefit of incumbency this time round. I suspect he plans on using it to his advantage.
The rest of us know damn well he is.
Headline - 5
7 Days - 5
Yesterday - 2
My local tourist town in Almeria having gone through the whole of the first wave with only 4 cases now has at least 20 all from a local discotheque which locals have warned for weeks was not enforcing the rules properly. Similar cases are happening all over the costas now. looks like the UK government action was ahead of the curve this time.
I'm afraid the only way to beat Trump is to, in electoral terms, drive a large ballot-shaped spike through his heart. Repudiate him so publicly, so convincingly and in such numbers he will have no option but to "accept" it.
I suspect the Transition period between Trump and Biden will be very fraught - Trump will fall back on Executive Orders and I also suspect we will see a "scorched Earth" policy in terms of destruction of documents and records so Biden's team will enter to a smoking ruin on 20/1/21.
There will of course be any number of memoir written by the Trump team which will further denigrate his administration and drag what's left of his reputation through the gutter.
However, the only way to beat a populist is to show them they aren't popular.
Well according to the anti vaxxers maskers.
Today, we'll concentrate on Germany, Italy, Spain and Estonia.
In Germany, the CDU/CSU continue to enjoy a massive advantage over the other parties with 38% in the last two polls. The Greens have recovered their clear second place with 18-21% with the SPD on 14-15%, AfD and Linke are both on 8-9% and FDP on 5-6%.
In Italy, the collapse of Lega has been remarkable - from polling in the mid 30s, the latest IXE poll has them on 23%, only just in front of the Social Democrats on 22%, M5S on 17% and FdL on 15% with Forza on 8%. The election isn't until 2023 but it looks as though FdL will make some big gains.
Over to Spain and two very contrasting polls in recent days. The Invymark poll put the governing PSOE on 29% with PP on 21%, VOX on 14%, United Podemos on 12% and Citizens on 8%.
However, the NC Report poll has PSOE on 26% and PP on 25%, VOX on 15%, UP on 11% and Citizens on 6% so much closer.
Finally, to Estonia, whose politics I know we all follow avidly. The opposition Reform Party is on 31% in the latest Norstat poll but that's down three with the governing Centre Party on 24% and the Conservatives up two to 19%. The Social Democrats are on 9% and Estonia 2000 is on 7%.
The current Government is broadly Eurosceptic while the centre-right opposition (as distinct from the governing Conservatives who are in coalition with a centre-left party) is pro-EU.
Yes, I'm confused too....
In fact he's seemingly shied away so far from several such 'peak' actions , on Iran, Korea, the demonstrations, and much else.
Could Trump go as far as to blame the GOP establishment for the defeat and try to set up his own "third" party on the model of a Ross Perot or a George Wallace and try to endorse a "pro-Trump" candidate for 2024? Could such a candidate outpoll the main GOP candidate in places like Oklahoma, Kentucky or Tennessee?
That kind of split in the GOP hands the White House to the Democrats for 8-12 years.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-rape-allegation-sexual-abuse-jess-phillips-a9650116.html
"Fuhrer, although nodding to Don Jnr.'s German heritage is too reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and "Leader" hints at Gary Glitter!
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1289934217841844230
I had coffee with some OC teachers (also part time lifeguard) yesterday. Seemed entirely normal and polite, intelligent people. Firmly in the Trump camp.
Comment was “we all know he says stupid stuff on Twitter but he’s not like that in person”. Their son works for the GOP and has met him several times.
Small numbers, but I was surprised. This may not be the slam dunk that people over here who rely on the media might think it is 🙀
He negotiates by brinkmanship
It’s quite exhausting, but once you look at his actions through that lens a lot more makes sense, especially in foreign affairs
That said, slam dunk it certainly isn't.
My point, though, was that sensible, thoughtful, intelligent people support Trump. That’s not the impression you sometimes get from the media.
An MP pending investigation...
The story today therefore is she spoke to the police, who took immediate action, while the Tory Party again took no action at all.
I’m not going to get worked up over this one if they can’t name him though. It would be different if and when they can though.
It would seem that removing the whip temporarily would be the expedient thing to do, so the Tories have chosen instead to do the obstinate thing.
The Cummings precedent...
That is to be avoided
It is creditworthy that they are willing to take political flak to prevent that
Whip removed.
Whip restored before crunch vote.
Convicted.
That's the precedent...
I suppose being suprised by this is in the camp of not understanding what happened in 2016. There was no mass switching from Dem to GOP. There was no massive wave of White Working Class revolt.
There was mostly just Dem voters staying at home.
The majority of people who voted for Romney voted for Trump.
I'd also like to think as a broad brush MPs of all parties would be treated identically in a similar situation.
Fiona Onasanya only lost the whip when she was convicted.
https://twitter.com/cricketwyvern/status/1289946270426169344?s=21
In the latest case, a fellow Conservative MP first raised the woman’s allegation with Mark Spencer, the chief whip, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the House of Commons, after speaking to the alleged victim a month ago.
The woman also spoke to Spencer directly. However, no action was taken. A spokesman for Spencer said: “The chief whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme.”
It is understood that Spencer does not believe a sexual assault was reported to him in his conversation with the complainant, but acknowledges that she reported abusive behaviour and threats.
We all know how the court of public opinion works, even before the #MeToo era.
https://twitter.com/foxinsoxuk/status/1289515757160677376?s=19
https://twitter.com/foxinsoxuk/status/1289521460701048833?s=09
Accused - whip suspended
May needed his vote - whip restored
Convicted - whip withdrawn
Unedifying, but just politics
That's the danger - when people are forced back into the indoor spaces but still want the same social interaction they had outdoors in the summertime.
Isn’t the correct process that minor things such as workplace harrasment (as opposed to major things like rape), should be investigated by the Parliamentary authorities who employ staff, rather than by the party?
Scott xp has been derailed by his hatred of Boris and Cummings and his posts demonstrate that, while others can and do show less prejeudice and contribute to debate much better
It was simply meant to be a single data point that may or may not be of use to people
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/prediction
Understand that police are still investigating. BUT aren't they going to keep on investigating even after the alleged offender is named publicly?
Do recognize imperative to be cautious re: comments for sake of OGH & PB. Esp. as I do NOT know the actual legal standards & parameters.
Of course in US name would already be public record - NOT saying that's better or worse than UK standard, just different.
Actually charging someone with a crime is a different thing, and something that hasn't happened in this matter, yet.
Don't think you can fault C on his observation, as he put it in context. Did NOT simply say they were Orange Co teachers, but that they were also Republicans with family member on Trumpsky's staff.
Their votes this Fall will NOT keep California from giving it's EVs to Biden. BUT there are folks like them in all the battleground states, who where Trumpsky is concerned are willing to accentuate the positive (however defined) and eliminate the negative (however massive).
Do NOT think these votes will re-elect The Donald. But they MUST be factored into the equation.
Trump can, of course, still win.
Lots of Americans feel that too many previous administrations followed immigration policies that were better for big business than for them. (Of course, the current administration is the same, in that there remain essentially zero penalties to employers for actually employing illegal immigrants, thus meaning that demand for illegal immigration remains unchanged.)
Similarly, lots of Americans are disillusioned by a political system that seems to emphasise processes over results. And little wonder, the bottom 40% of Americans have seen little economic progress over the last quarter century. Who can blame them for saying that the current system doesn't work (for them) and they want someone who is their man, and who will cast aside convention and work for them.
And Trump can combine this with portraying the Democrats as in hock to "defund the police" and to the culture wars. (Plus, it helps that Biden is not the most... dynamic... of candidates.)
If you want to keep America America, and you want to ensure that the man in the White House cares about you, then you need to vote Trump.
Together these can get Trump re-elected.
The problem Trump has, though, is that his victory margin was narrow in 2016 and his natural instinct is to seek out those who love him. Feeling down? Go stand in a stadium and bask in the adoration of others. That might make him feel better, but I'm not convinced it helps win voters over at the margin. (And I'm not convinced it helps that much with turnout of his base either...)
If the economy turns around, and if CV19 is seen to be under control, then Trump should probably be favourite. But there are just 93 days to go now. It's possible, of course it's possible, but Trump's path is narrowing every day.