THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2026
Democratic numbers grow: Preachers and healers and a logger oh my! In the various fields of play, the Democratic Party's numbers seem to be increasing.
As we type, the New York Times says the 435 seats in the House currently break down as shown:
Allocation of House seats
Democratic winners to date: 247
Republican winners to date; 153
Seats still undecided: 35
Did any major entity predict a split this large? With 35 seats still undecided, the Democrats could end up with a three-digit advantage in the House.
(Or not! We have no way of knowing.)
Meanwhile, this:
Candidate Colom's lead in the Mississippi Senate race has ballooned from yesterday's 43 votes up to "a little more than 1,700 votes, while in Alaska, former Representative Mary Peltola was leading Senator Dan S. Sullivan by an even smaller margin."
We'll guess that neither number tells us much, given the number of ballots which will end up getting counter. Regarding Colom, we'll say this again:
He dared to struggle, dared to win!
He went out and chased that seat. In the process, he may end up defeating the Republican incumbent.
Finally, though, we refer you again to Abdul El-Sayed's interview segments on today's Morning Joe. At 8 a.m. sharp, this 17-minute segment started. It was followed by this second, 11-minute segment.
A first thought. It seemed to us that El-Sayed comes across as the obvious Rhodes scholar he actually was. We've been struck by how rarely that academic distinction was mentioned along the way to Tuesday's seven-point win.
Second, we suggest that you might click ahead to the final minute of that second segment. Here's part of what you'll hear and see from the (American born and raised) Senator-elect:
EL-SAYED (11/5/26): Win or lose on Tuesday night, I was just so grateful to be able to do this. My family comes from a place where there is no democracy. So I don't take it lightly that we get to do this, and I'm just really honored that ten [sic] million people in my state gave me the trust to be able to serve.
MIKA: So before you go, Senator-elect, we want to play a video that has resurfaced online of former president Bill Clinton praising your valedictory speech in his 2007 commencement address at the University of Michigan...
You'll see Clinton praising the college senior's address and noting the lesson he drew from it. You'll also see El-Sayed's reaction.
ReplyDelete"A first thought. It seemed to us that El-Sayed comes across as the obvious Rhodes scholar he actually was."
You mean what: thoroughly brainwashed? Or: smooth talker? Okay. Neither the first nor the last one, I'm sure.
"My family comes from a place where there is no democracy. " blah, blah, blah
Standard, perfectly ordinary pol's bullshit (or call "rhetoric", if you prefer). What compels you to quote and even emphasize it? Man, seriously, what?
"or 'rhetoric' if you prefer")
DeleteA kind of verbal jerking-off, huh trumptard?
Somerby means not-stupid, asshole. People with brown skin are assumed to be stupid unless proven otherwise. He has apparently passed Somerby's test.
DeleteHe is pretty obviously over-qualified for the job he has just won. We are lucky he wants to spend his years this way, on our behalf and serving the public.
DeleteSure, "not-stupid, asshole" works too, Hillary. That's similar to what I called "smooth talker". And now take a rest dear.
DeleteSmooth talker, like Trump, who cannot even form words any more, much less coherent thoughts?
DeleteMao was expelled from school for dropping his pencil too many times in Miss Rottencrotch’s class. Naturally, he resents the kids who were subtle enough in their peeking to be able to graduate.
DeleteRegardless of his words or thoughts, he managed to move into your retarded head, and lives there free of charge.
DeleteThe senator-elect is not brown. Maybe tan.
Deleteanon 2:36, 3:13, 3:22 - you've gone even further off the rails. Not pretty.
Delete"You'll see Clinton praising the college senior's address and noting the lesson he drew from it. You'll also see El-Sayed's reaction."
ReplyDeleteWould it hurt Somerby to summarize this for us, instead of making us follow the link and find the right spot? El-Sayed says he was grateful for the president's remarks and repeats his gratitude for the chance to get where he is now.
Clinton was a Rhodes scholar himself, so it is fitting he should honor El Sayed. Does Somerby mean to imply some connection beyond that between them? Clinton commends El-Sayed's ability to reach across religions. That is probably what Somerby is referring to, but what else can someone do if they belong to a minority and want to represent a broader constituency. It is a no-brainer.
El Sayed's parents were immigrants from Egypt. We are not at war with Egypt and never have been, nor has Egypt been embroiled in the conflicts between Palestine and Israel. They are not even part of the ongoing Sunni vs Shiite struggles. There is high income inequality, but Egypt is also the 2nd largest economy in Africa. They may not be a democracy but they are also not a third-world shithole (as Trump would describe any foreign country except South Africa, Norway, and of course Germany, where his family is from, except his mother who was an immigrant from the UK).
Omitting such details is how Islamophobes lump all Muslims and arabs together and portray them all as jihadists. Whether he intends to or not, Somerby joins the right in using this tactic.
American minorities have always had to emphasize their gratitude for the opportunities mainstream America has afforded them. El-Sayed does it to such an extreme that he almost sounds like a self-parody. It is how minorities manage to overcome seeming uppity to the majority. El-Sayed is not an exception but exemplifies the talented and hard-working minorities we are fortunate to attract to our nation via immigration. Trump has damaged that pipeline, from which our whole country has benefitted.
You think Egypt has not been embroiled in the conflict? Read a history book.
DeleteGosh, did El-Sayed come right out and say "I don't hate you because you're Christian?" Because how else is he supposed to be reaching across religions? Does he not praise Allah with every breath? Is he skipping his prayers? Are people surprised that he speaks English, having grown up in the US since early childhood? What does that condescending remark by Clinton mean, and what is Somerby echoing?
ReplyDeleteEl-Sayed behaves like a real American because he is a real American, born and raised in the USA. He is not a Mullah, wears no robes, does not sprinkle arabic phrases into his speech, so that means he is doing something special to bridge the gap? Isn't it more likely that he experiences no gap -- that any gap has been created by the ring wing's stereotyping and lies?
Clinton did not patronize El Sayed.
DeleteInformative as always, Somerby points out that Democrats have won the majority in the House.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Somerby will come back and scold Rachel Maddow some more. On election night she said:
ReplyDelete“Somebody came in, in the break there, and brought me a quote that we got from the president from the White House tonight, in response to the results, and I just threw it away. HA HA HA HA HA! That felt good, too. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. What do you think? Who has to care?”
Tiedrich: "Ah, that glorious moment when you realize that Dear Leader doesn’t matter."
Maybe this is what freedom feels like. I don't know -- sometimes it is hard to remember...
Thanks for the links, Bob. I don't watch that program, but I'm a huge admirer of El-Sayed, have been for some time since reading his essay (and subsequent interview) in Current Affairs magazine.
ReplyDeleteLINK
https://www.currentaffairs.org/
It’s a rare breed, politicians like him, who get into politics not to enter the revolving door and accumulate power whilst enriching themselves, but to devote their energies to public service and improvement of government, and people’s lives. As he said, it’s an arduous task, and I’m grateful people like him exist (not to mention, of course, nearly the entirety the progressive branch of the Dem party).
John Adams is said to have said that a republic cannot function without virtuous leaders. Well, we now have a new one soon to be in the Senate, and I hope he remains prickly. Seems to work. :)
Leroy
Forgot to mention, the videos I watched end with a promo from Rachel Maddow, "our own Rhodes scholar." Fuckin' hilarious.
ReplyDeleteLeroy
One of my kids brought home knowledge of The Daily Howler (and another site, Media Whores Online aka “The Horse”) Thanksgiving break 2000 saying that they were popular as hell in the dorms. I was here pretty much every day for 21 years, even suffered through the test score stuff. I was a big fan and occasional tag team partner of Leroy, deadrat, mm and Greg. Although I mildly tormented (deservedly so) David, I always kind of liked him and hoped the best for him. Then I left for five years (without a single peek) for reasons that I am now remembering. I never missed being away and rarely was tempted to come back. Now back for a couple of months, I remember how addictive the whole thing was, and sadly, how nasty.
ReplyDeleteSchopenhauer is a big advocate of rereading. The idea is that you cannot understand any of the parts without understanding the whole and also cannot understand the whole without knowing each part. He said this is not a paradox, just read something complicated twice. I always thought that this was good advice to Bob when he struggled with books about Relativity or Quantum Physics.
I just reread the last few posts and comment sections and had an epiphany about how to better spend the time I have been hanging out here. You guys all helped get me there (rereading my own sometimes nasty comments especially helped).
I wish Bob and everybody here the best. Godspeed!