Pondering the Pundits

“Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

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Kate Aronoff: Stop right there: assuming a Hillary Clinton victory is downright dangerous

Hillary Clinton has not won the presidential election. Granted, the polls look good. The New York Times gives her a 92% chance at taking the White House as of Thursday morning, and more Republican elites are defecting from their party’s nominee each day. Data hub FiveThirtyEight’s numbers are a little more modest, putting Trump’s odds of victory just north of 15%. Evan McMullin – the once-laughable conservative independent candidate – could even win his home state of Utah, fueled by Republican recoiling. [..]

By all accounts, Trump (to speak generously) has a slim hope of walking away with a win come 8 November. But that there is still any chance he could become commander in chief, America’s ambassador to the world and a central player in literally any decision about the future of the United States should inspire not just concern, but a trip to knock on doors in your nearest swing state.

Mind, this isn’t a call to silence dissent about Clinton, let alone to start phone banking for her campaign. But those savvy enough to hold principled and well-founded critiques of her role in the Honduran coup and ending “welfare as we know it”, for instance, can also recognize the stakes of voting for anyone besides her in a swing state.

Eugene Robinson: Rudy Giuliani is 2016’s Mr. Deplorable

If Donald Trump’s presidential campaign were one of his beauty pageants, instead of a “Miss Congeniality” consolation prize there would have to be a “Mr. or Ms. Deplorable.” According to my score card, the winner is Rudy Giuliani.

Trump is the master of ceremonies, so he’s ineligible. The competition among his enablers — to see who can most thoroughly squander credibility and reputation — has been fierce. There are so many worthy candidates for the Deplorable sash that it’s a shame only one aide or surrogate can win. [..]

He all but sewed up the title at the Republican convention with a speech that was neither spoken nor shouted, but shrieked. The former New York mayor, who showed such inspiring steadiness and resolve after the 9/11 attacks, described a nation cowering in fear of jihadist terrorism and rapidly sinking into utter ruin.

John Nichols: The Billionaire Class Is Terrified That Russ Feingold Will Return to the Senate

Russ Feingold has led most of the polls for most of 2016 in the race for Wisconsin’s US Senate seat. But the billionaire class is determined to prevent the election of the progressive populist foe of bank bailouts, bad trade deals and crony capitalism. So, as Election Day approaches, some of the richest people in America are pouring millions into a last-ditch effort to defeat the Democrat.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who recalls Feingold’s record as a senator who from 1993 to 2011 stood up to Democratic and Republican presidents on economic issues—opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and the permanent normalization of trade relations with China, opposing giveaways to Wall Street speculators, opposing attacks on banking regulations and crony-capitalist giveaways to multinational corporations. And, of course, there’s the small matter of Feingold’s determination to prevent billionaires and millionaires from buying elections.

Amanda Marcotte: Jason Chaffetz and Ted Cruz’s GOP obstructionism may be worse than Donald Trump’s insanity

Republicans like Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah are doing a little distancing-themselves-from-Trump tap dance these days, but don’t be fooled: While the small-fingered orange one is especially vulgar about it, his view that politics is little more than an exercise in settling imaginary scores is hardly unique. On the contrary, Chaffetz and his fellow Republicans have now fully committed themselves to the premise that they should burn the country to the ground rather than accept the legitimacy of a president elected by a coalition of women and people of color. [..]

Speaking of black holes of charm, Sen. Ted Cruz is also chomping at the bit to explain his vengeful inclinations to any waiting reporters. Weigel, who has a talent for making Republican blowhards feel they’re in a safe space, wrote another article this week exploring Cruz’s ruminations on his party’s not-so-secret plan to thwart the will of the voters. [..]

Refusing to acknowledge the president’s right and duty to nominate Supreme Court justices is, if anything, more toxic than Trump being a pouty baby and not giving a concession speech on the night of Nov. 8. Cruz is hinting at undermining our constitutional system of governance in order to punish the public for not voting the way he would prefer. That is a lot more messed up than Trump’s reality-TV-star attention-trolling.