Apparently, $75 million doesn't buy what it used to...just ask Elon Musk

From Forbes -

Elon Musk Has Given $75 Million To Pro-Trump Super PAC—So Far

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave about $75 million last quarter to a super PAC that has heavily propped up former President Donald Trump’s election bid, according to a filing released Tuesday, the first concrete indicator of how much the world’s richest person is spending to help elect Trump.

Musk gave $74,950,000 to America PAC between July 1 and September 30, the most recent date for which filings are available, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

His donations made up virtually all of the $74,950,020 the PAC reported taking in last quarter.

The FEC filing is the first confirmation that Musk has poured money into the super PAC, following early reports he was giving as much as $45 million per month—which he later denied—and later suggestions he was contributing most of the group’s total budget.

America PAC has reportedly become primarily responsible for the Trump campaign’s ground game and knocking on voters’ doors, as a recent FEC ruling gave super PACs—which are formally separate from campaigns—more leeway to coordinate directly with campaigns on those efforts, and recently made headlines for offering supporters $47 if they get signatures on a petition from swing state voters.

"America PAC"? 

Remember that name.

From The Guardian (UK) -

Exclusive: Trump ground game in key states flagged as potentially fake

Donald Trump’s campaign may be failing to reach thousands of voters they hope to turn out in Arizona and Nevada, with roughly a quarter of door-knocks done by America Pac flagged by its canvassing app as potentially fraudulent, according to leaked data and people familiar with the matter.

The potentially fake door-knocks – when canvassers falsely claim to have visited a home – could present a serious setback for Trump as he and Kamala Harris remain even in the polls with fewer than 20 days until an election.

The Trump campaign earlier this year outsourced the bulk of its ground game to America Pac, the political action committee founded by Elon Musk, betting that spending millions to turn out Trump supporters, especially those who don’t typically vote, would boost returns.

But leaked America Pac data obtained by the Guardian shows that roughly 24% of the door-knocks in Arizona and 25% of the door-knocks in Nevada this week were flagged under “unusual survey logs” by the Campaign Sidekick canvassing app.

My guess if/when he loses the election, Cheeto will insist that the system is rigged against him; in quieter, more reflective moments (Oh, who am I trying to kid?  He'll shout it from the rooftops) he'll blame Musk.  He'll *never* blame himself.

Musk will blame the folks working for him.

Scam artists who are in circles of/the employ of other scam artists?

Who'da thunk it?

Q3 money totals are in...and some (OK, *my*) suspicions are raised about a return of the Green/GOP scam

- First up, the Cash on Hand (COH) totals as of the end of September.  This is NOT a prediction of who will win a given race, but COH numbers may be an accurate predictor of who will spend money for mailers and TV/radio ads as we approach the election.

The following is for federal races and select Maricopa County-level races.  Ballot candidates only; no write-in candidates.

- Now for the suspicious part.

While doing this, I realized that no Libertarian Party candidate was on the ballot for a federal office in AZ or in Maricopa County.  Where they might siphon votes from the Republican candidate in the race

Green Patty candidates?  On the ballot is most federal races where the Democratic candidate will win or has even a snowball's chance in Phoenix...in July..of winning.  Where the Green candidate may siphon votes away from the Democratic candidate in race.

Call me a cynic, but I don't believe in coincidences.

Especially since three of the Greens were write-in candidates in the primary.

Especially since all four Green have failed to file paperwork with the FEC.

If it *is* a scam foisted off on the voters of Arizona by the GOP, it's not a new one.

At least they aren't homeless kids this time.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/20/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

There *is* something scheduled for the 29th, but that will be covered in next week's post.

Cheeto is ALWAYS about the money, no matter what he says

From an email that I received today (have I mentioned that I'm on some verrryyyy interesting email lists?) -

His professed altruism didn't last long (with him, it never does).

From later (OK - it wasn't much later) in the same email -

Ummm, Cheeto's relationship with the truth is sketchy, on a good day.

"Billions"?

From the FEC summary page for the Harris for President campaign -

Hmmm...$235 million is a lot of money, but it's not "billions".  Not even close.

Whatever could be ticking off Cheeto?

Also from the FEC, this one for the Trump for President 2024 campaign.-

$235 million vs. $134 million?

Cheeto goes full on megalomaniac

I'm still of the opinion that Kamala Harris' best campaign stratagem may be to simply put a mic in front of Cheeto.

The fact that this is still a race doesn't speak well of the character of many Americans.

From CBSNews, emphasis added by me -

Trump's anti-immigrant, domestic "enemy" rhetoric in focus in final stretch to Election Day

With the 2024 campaign now approaching the final stretch, former President Donald Trump is drawing attention for rhetoric about immigrants — and going after his enemies. 

It comes as the candidates are effectively tied nationally and in the battleground states, according to new polling from CBS News. The former president has also reiterated a warning made throughout his campaign of what he called the "enemy from within."

[snip]

Trump also suggested using the military to go after the "enemy from within" on Election Day in an interview with Fox News that aired on Sunday, pointing to Democrats and those who oppose or have investigated him. 

"We have some sick people, radical left lunatics," Trump said Sunday. "And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military."

On Saturday, Trump said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff — who led the first impeachment against Trump and is now running for Senate — is among the "enemies from within" at a rally in Coachella, California, as he painted Schiff and other rivals as threats to the county. On Friday, he called Vice President Kamala Harris a "criminal" for her role in the Biden administration's handling of immigration, a common attack line in recent months.

A pic guaranteed to tick off election deniers

Early ballots are beginning to arrive

And mine has already arrived.

The ballot is long this year -

I was going to skip one race (CD1) if the Democratic nominee ran as R-lite in the general election campaign.

Amish Shah, the Democratic nominee, has done so; however, a Republican, House Speaker Mike Johnson said something on NBC's Meet The Press today that made change my mind on the topic.

Johnson stated the the U.S. had a peaceful transfer of power after the election in 2020.

From the NBCNews transcript of today's MTP episode (emphasis added by me) -

[snip]

SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:

That’s – no, the point is the process works. We have the peaceful transfer of power. We did in 2020. We will in 2024. Everybody can sigh and take a deep breath. Our system is going to work. We have the greatest system in the history of the world because we live in the greatest country in the world. But that last part is in jeopardy right now. This is a decisive election, and everybody knows it, and that's why we're going to be -- have given the chance to run this country again and we're going to turn it around, and I can't wait.

The people who feared for their lives and the families of those killed during the insurrection of January 6, 2021 may disagree on that subject.

Bottom line:  There's no way that a shameless liar like him should be allowed to continue to be speaker and this race may end his speakership, if Shah wins the race.

Another race that was, interestingly, also decided for me by a Republican (many Republicans, in this case) was the race for Maricopa County Recorder.

If Republican incumbent Stephen Richer made it through their primary to face Democratic challenger Tim Stringham in the general election, I would have had a decision to make.  I value competence.

However, R voters my decision an easy one - they nominated Justin Heap, an unqualified ideologue, for the job.

My take on statewide ballot questions is here;

As for the retention of the judges who are on this year's ballot, Civic Engagement Beyond Voting has a scorecard here.

The complete report from the Arizona Judicial Performance Review Commission (JPR) is here.  One caveat:  a commission that is part of the state's judicial branch believes that all of the judges on the ballot meet their standards. [start sarcasm] Quelle surprise! [/end sarcasm]

What JPR doesn't evaluate or even care about are judges who are lousy human beings and worse public servants.

I'll be voting to not retain Clint Bolick and Kathryn King of the AZ Supreme Court and Angela Paton of the AZ Court of Appeals.  Bolick and King voted to uphold Arizona's pre-statehood abortion ban and Paton is unqualified for two reasons: 1. she's a Federalist society stooge and 2. she's married to former legislator and current industry lobbyist Jonathan Paton, who was one of the authors of Proposition 137, the scheme from legislative Republicans to do away with judicial retention elections.

Note: Bolick, King, and Paton were appointed by former governor Doug Ducey.

The one Maricopa County judge I'll be voting to not retain is civil court judge Christopher Coury, who's got temperament issues.

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/13/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

Need your daily dose of hypocrisy? You'll get it when an election denier runs for office.

Early ballots are in the mail, so I did some research/due diligence on the races that I know nothing about.

For brevity's sake, I'll refer to them as "school board" races.

For the At-Large seat in the Phoenix Union HSD, incumbent Aaron Marquez, Francisco Pastor-Rivera, Aden Ramirez, and Debbie Cross are in a four-way race for two seats.

At least in a shallow search, none of them raise any red flags.

Note: Marquez is also a candidate for State Representative in LD5.  If he wins both races, that's not a problem - state legislators can also serve on school boards.

This race will be difficult - after Marquez, I don't know who to vote for.

In the Balsz ESD race, incumbent Vic Grace, incumbent Gail Knight, Lezley Shepherd, and Jacob George are in a four-way race for three seats.

Note: I looked for websites for the first three candidates.  Couldn't find any.

Grace and Knight are already board members and George seems well-qualified.

Shepherd, though, is a problem.

She's been quoted many times, in outlets ranging from the NY Times to the AZ Mirror, all denying the result of the 2020 election.

From an NY Times article about Arizona's "fraudit", one that actually found more votes for Biden and fewer for Cheeto, dated 9/24/2021 (emphasis added by me) -

[snip]

In a statement, Mr. Trump on Friday said the review had “uncovered significant and undeniable evidence of FRAUD! Until we know how and why this happened, our Elections will never be secure.”

Many of his fans appeared persuaded.

“I have no doubt now: That election was rigged,” said Lezley Shepherd, 56, one of hundreds of Arizona voters who flocked to the State Capitol on Friday

At least she's not a one trick pony: she hates gay people, too.  And she's not shy about expressing her opinion.  

From a Phoenix New Times article about the Republican quest to criminalize drag shows, written by Elias Weiss, dated 2/4/2023 (emphasis added by me) -

All of those who spoke in favor of the bill [CM: SB1028 in 2023] referenced the Bible. One of them, Leslie Shepherd, asserted that “the LGBTQ movement is using [drag] as a shield to allow inappropriate behavior toward children.”

Well, one positive thing can be said about her candidacy: she's made the choice easy.  There's no way on Earth she gets my vote.

At this point, my only question is that when the election doesn't go her way, will she refute the results and try to deliberate and vote as a board member?

Bottom line: I consider most campaigns for elected office to be little more than extended group job interviews, and you don't hire the person who says that if the hiring process doesn't go their way, it's because the process is rigged.

The Gallego-Lake debate is on TV right now.

Just a guess here, but Lake probably won't win any new voters with her performance.

She seems mean, petty, and ill-informed (she repeatedly referred to IVF [In Vitro Fertilization] as "UVF", which is the acronym for Ulster Volunteer Force or University of Valley Forge).

Gotta love coincidences

And I believe that this actually *is* a coincidence and not me being snarky.

Both former legislator Adam Driggs and his spouse, Leonore Driggs are on the ballot this year and, for different reasons, neither has competition.

Note: My referring to them by their first names and not their titles is not a sign of disrespect.  Both are known as "Judge Driggs" and that would get confusing.  Quickly :) .

Of course, Adam is a judge with Maricopa County Superior Court and subject to a retention election where voters can only vote to retain or not to retain him as a judge.  No opponent.

Leonore is the incumbent Justice of the Peace in the Arcadia Biltmore justice precinct in Phoenix.  There's no opponent on the ballot, nor is there a write-in candidate in the race.

I'll be voting for both of them - I've never heard anything bad about Leonore Driggs, and the Judicial Performance Review Commission has determined that Adam Driggs meets standards.

Yes, AZ is a very large state (~114K square miles) but in terms of politics here, it's much like a small town.

Cheeto's lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene: does he believe the response was too little or too much?

From CNN -

Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about the Hurricane Helene response

Former President Donald Trump has delivered a barrage of lies and distortions about the federal response to Hurricane Helene.

While various misinformation about the response has spread widely without Trump’s involvement, the Republican presidential nominee has been one of the country’s leading deceivers on the subject. Over a span of six days, in public comments and social media posts, Trump has used his powerful megaphone to endorse or invent false or unsubstantiated claims.

[snip]

Monday: Trump falsely claims Biden hasn’t answered calls from Georgia’s governor

[snip]

Monday: Trump cites baseless ‘reports’ about anti-Republican bias in the North Carolina response

[snip]

Thursday: Trump falsely claims the Biden-Harris response had received ‘universally’ negative reviews

[snip]

Thursday: Trump falsely claims Harris spent ‘all her FEMA money’ on housing illegal migrants

[snip]

Friday: Trump falsely claims $1 billion was ‘stolen’ from FEMA for migrants and has gone ‘missing’

[snip]

Saturday: Trump falsely claims the federal government is only giving $750 to people who lost their homes

[snip]

Saturday: Trump falsely claims there are ‘no helicopters, no rescue’ in North Carolina 

To be fair to Cheeto,, he's got a history of believing that a minimal response to natural disasters is a good response.

From NBCNews, dated 10/8/2017 -

Trump Defends Throwing Paper Towels to Hurricane Survivors in Puerto Rico

President Donald Trump defended throwing paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans at a relief center in the hurricane-ravaged territory earlier this week and lauded federal relief efforts.

“They had these beautiful, soft towels. Very good towels,” Trump told Mike Huckabee during an interview Saturday with Christian network Trinity Broadcasting.

[start sarcasm]

Cheeto would *never* criticize people who are less soulless than him, right?

[/end sarcasm}

R gameplan: When you can't win legitimately, lie, stereotype, and intimidate

There seems to be two basic paths to electoral victory - love and hate.  The path that Republicans have doubled down on isn't "love."

From MSNBC -

An awful lie about Haitian migrants led to this threat against citizens far away

There appears to be a campaign among some conservatives to bully everybody else into political inactivity or silence. appears 

The hateful lie pushed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ pets not only endangered those migrants, it also led to an Ohio sheriff three hours away threatening citizens who show support for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a Sept. 13 Facebook post that he later claimed “may have been a little misinterpreted,” Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski suggested tracking “all the addresses of the people who had [Harris] signs in their yards” so that “when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live...We’ll already have the addresses of their New families...who supported their arrival!”

The hate spewed by Cheeto et. al. has traveled.

From AZ Mirror, written by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy -

In a key legislative race, the GOP candidate joked about feeding dogs to Haitians

A GOP candidate whose state Senate race could determine which party controls the legislature embraced a racist lie demonizing a group of legal immigrants, telling a room of gay Republicans last month that Pima County’s stray dogs would be fed to Haitian people if Democrats win elections.

Vince Leach made the comment at a Log Cabin Republican meeting in Pima County on Sept. 22. The former state senator, who defeated Sen. Justine Wadsack in the July GOP primary, made the comment in the midst of a back-and-forth between Republican legislative candidates and the crowd.

“At the end of the day I want every Republican up and down the ballot,” Rep. Cory McGarr, R-Tucson, told the crowd. That includes even insignificant races, and would apply to the job of “dog-catcher,” a position that isn’t elected in Arizona.

[snip]

That’s when Leach entered the conversation. “They’d feed ‘em to the Haitians,” he said.

[snip]

Leach’s comments stem from a conspiracy theory that was initially spread by neo-Nazis in the town of Springfield, Ohio, in an attempt to demonize Haitian immigrants in the community. Since then, the false claim has been spread across the right-wing media ecosystem, where it was embraced by Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the vice presidential nominee for the Republicans, and later being promoted by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. 

In the weeks following the former President’s boosting of the claim, Arizona Republicans have fully embraced it. While appearing on Real America with Dan Ball, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Kari Lake claimed that “cities wouldn’t want to confirm” the false rumor when responding to Ball claiming that pets were being “barbecued” in Ohio.

[snip]

Arizona Republican state Senate nominee Mark Finchem also shared a meme alluding to cats being eaten by Haitian immigrants, while Flagstaff Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers posted multiple times on social media amplifying the false claim. 

And the Arizona Republican Party trumpeted the invented story, creating a billboard themed after fast-food restaurant Chick-Fil-A’s ads. 

Legislative schedule - week starting 10/6/2024

Nada, as in there is nothing scheduled at this point. 

Flake endorses Harris: Can you say "I'm gobsmacked"?

From NBCNews -

Former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake endorses Harris for president

Former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Sunday, writing in a statement that he wanted to support a presidential candidate who represents “a new generation of leadership based not on grievances of the past, but hope for the future.”

“I’ve served with Kamala in the U.S. Senate. I’ve also served with [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz] in the House of Representatives. I know them. I know first hand of their fine character and love of country,” the former senator from Arizona added in his statement posted on X.

Gobsmacked is a bit of an old school term, so some readers may not understand it.  Let me explain it.

From Merriam-Webster -

gobsmacked adjective

overwhelmed with wonder, surprise, or shock : astounded

No one will ever call Flake a "liberal Democrat" (except maybe Cheeto and those who embrace criminality is a legitimate political position), so this development is a bit of a surprise.  I expected that, at best, he would *not* endorse in the race.

I was wrong.