Will you join me in drinking to oblivion as American democracy ends on Tuesday night.

[JimHow]

Well done, Nicola! I can barely walk two miles.

[PghMike]

And here we are, after 8pm eastern time. The witching hour.....
And 2015 Figeac continues to unfold....
Early results in from Allegheny County.
A troubled democracy at stake.

Ah my home county. Writing in Trump for all of the options was the right way to vote no?

[JCNorthway]

Jim, I concur with your view that the House will go to Republicans, but I'm hoping for the Senate to be Democratic - even if it relies on the VP to break ties. That will at least minimize the damage to the country, other than a sh**load of House investigations that will do nothing to deliver constructive governance of the country.

[JCNorthway]

Congrats, Nic! Very impressive for a first run. That is about the time I did in my first 10K some 40+ years ago!

[Gerry M.]

The 2016 Ch Charmail is really impressive for a $19 bottle.

I'm sadly suspecting that the Georgia Senate race is the bell weather for the night. Early voting gave Warnock a lead but now the election day vote is swinging back to the Republican ticket by a 38% margin. Ughh.

[JCNorthway]

And that Georgia Senate race may be the bellweather for what politics has become - a former pro football player with no political experience (or other useful life experience) and with documented mental health issues and alleged domestic abuse issues, as well as a pathological liar, may well be elected to the Senate to responsibly govern the country.

[JimHow]

Watching the local races closely.

[Gerry M.]

Any chance of LePage upsetting Mills?

[JimHow]

Watching those numbers very closely Gerry.
Janet seems to be holding a consistent lead but it all depends where the numbers are coming from.
Right now it looks good but check in with me in an hour.

[Blanquito]

Early results in AZ looking promising so far for Kelly (D).

With 80% reporting, Georgia is tied at 49% each for Walker (R) and Warnock (D). Could be headed to a runoff.

PA is too early to say much yet, but so far Fetterman is running ahead of what Biden got in 2020 (in those precincts finished vote counting).

[JimHow]

Still very early.
NH looks good but PA will be extremely close.
On to AZ and NV.
Not getting hopes up about crazy WI.
Maine looking good so far.

[JimHow]

I'm not sure what to make of the 2015 Figeac.
Just too young, I guess.
I have no idea what Jeff Levy sees here that gushes 99 points.
On the other hand, I'm not seeing anything so offensive that causes the Orlando Bobbies to scream and wail.
To me this is a serious St. Emilion that comes in at about 93 points, was tart at first as one might expect, but rounded out nicely.
It did not demonstrate any exceptional bouquet or personality that jumped out at me.
My lack of enthusiasm notwithstanding, it definitely showed class and quality, just not anything in the 96-99 point upper stratospheres of the Levy/Cellartracker crowd.
Rating: 93+ points.

[JCNorthway]

Pennsylvania is looking encouraging for Senate.

[JimHow]

As we get past 11pm and my bedtime, still a lot of unknowns.
Not optimistic about GA.
Looks like it's gonna come down to PA and NV.
We had a nice night in Maine, although my guy Eddie lost.
We're going to lose but it wasn't a Republican wave election.
But let's see how all the numbers come in tomorrow.
Damn is this country divided.

[JimHow]

Damn it’s going to come down to GA senate runoff.
Ugh. Ok good night. No mas.

[Gerry M.]

At least I can breath a little easier for MA, NH & ME. Too bad about Ohio and JD Vance beating Ryan. It's looking like another potential GA runoff to control the Senate.

[JimHow]

Yep. Crazy.
The Republicans are gonna win, but it wasn’t a crazy wave win. We did well in New England and other key regions. Some things to be optimistic about.

[AlexR]

From what I gather, BWEers are a solidly Democratic bunch.

This is odd in that about every other person who voted in America chose the Republican party...

Are Republican BWEers afraid of being ostracized?
Or, should one assume that lovers of fine wine are mostly more educated and liberal than the population at large?

To those of you who vote Republican, I don't think you will find anything other than polite disagreement on this forum.
You should not be afraid to express your views.

From my vantage point, the Republican party has a retrograde orientation, opposed to environmental protection, women's rights, and social justice.
But I would like to think that there are lines that cannot be crossed, and that the end is *not* nigh.
We'll get over this...

The Founding Father's wisely provided for the separation of powers in the US constitution. This political theory comes to a great extent from a famous Bordelais, Charles de Montesquieu, who was also a winegrower at Château de la Brède (well worth a visit today, I might add). Sadly, with life terms on the Supreme Court and the packing of justices with a clear political bias, the equilibrium between the three branches of government has been seriously jeopardized. But like the Electoral College, which serves no useful purpose, the powers-that-be will not allow institutions to be touched, upgraded, and improved.

Life goes on. America has taken a turn to the right. All we can hope is that the pendulum will swing the other way as soon as this is possible.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[JimHow]

Still absorbing the results Alex but it looks like we dodged a right wing wave and the election denier bullies were punched in the nose.

[Racer Chris]

This morning, things don't look any worse, and possibly a lot better than most expected. Six of seven Trump endorsed election denying gubernatorial candidates lost overnight, with the seventh (Kari Lake) down nearly two percent to her opponent after 2/3 of the vote counted.
Georgia will probably go to a runoff, so we may not know who controls the Senate for another month - again.

[Blanquito]

The most amazing thing to me is the Ds still have an outside chance of holding the House despite everything.

[JimHow]

Boebert losing? Oh please oh please oh please....

[PghMike]

In the end I'm not too surprised with the PA results and I think it's a good sign that extremism is being rejected in quite a few races overall. Perhaps there is hope that we will be able to continue to revert back to the center after some short excursions.

Fetterman is the style of Democrat that can win in PA, Ohio and Wisconsin. He's been viewed as a candidate that anybody could sit down and have a beer with. Comes from an economically depressed part of Pittsburgh. We've seen this in Western PA with Conor Lamb as well, who was viewed as down to earth and is former military.

The Dems would be wise to develop more working class candidates in the rust belt. Oz was the opposite of this and really had no chance if not for the Trump base.

I was surprised how few Oz/Mastroiano signs were in the yards of suburbia around Pittsburgh versus Trump previously.

[JimHow]

Well said PM.
Pittsburgh comes through again!
As I look at these races from Maine to Arizona I'm actually a little heartened and hopeful.
Still a long way to go but dare I say a little bit of decency, just a small taste, returned to American politics last night.

[Jay Winton]

I think the trumpster lost quite a bit of influence last night. Desantis on the rise.

[jal]

To answer Alex, I believe that most Americans (and probably most BWE'ers) identify ideologically more with the core message of the Democratic Party. I know I do:
Pro Choice (in a logical way, abortion readily available to every woman in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, and on an exceptional basis afterwards)
Free (or at least affordable) Healthcare
Gun Control (to a logical extent: ban on assault rifles, automatic weapons, rigorous background checks)
An affordable college education
Fairer taxation
Environmental protection and an energy policy designed to mitigate or at least slow the effects of climate change
A liberal immigration policy

As opposed to the crazy messages of the Trump loyalists. these resonate quite well with most voters.

But Democrats start losing people when they start talking about:
Defunding the police (in the middle of a bad crime wave).
A successful immigration policy (where all facts points to a crisis on the border).
The need to talk about race and discrimination (as though we are still stuck in the 19th century and no progress has been made).
Allowing unrestricted abortion at any point during a pregnancy as a basis for a new abortion law (this had the effect of making even Mitch McConnell look like a liberal)
How well the economy is doing (when we're heading into a recession in an inflationary spiral).
A well intentioned (but incoherent and badly implemented) energy policy.
Homelessness as a life choice (as opposed to a bad problem that needs to be solved).
Critical Race Theory, woke and cancel culture, 70 or so different genders and other ridiculous notions that alienate most voters.

The race would not have been even close if the Democrats were focused on the first issues and kept hammering that as a message.

However, as one commentator said on TV a few weeks ago, the Democratic Party has been taken hostage by its crazy minority while the Republican Party has been taken hostage by its crazy majority (aka the Trump travelling circus).

The Republicans have very little to offer ideologically, and their crazy candidates (Bolduc, Oz) have for the most part been rejected. I was hoping Vance and Hershel Walker would be rejected too, and Walker still may be, but at least some sanity has prevailed. Hopefully this will be the end to Trumpism and its surrounding circus, though I'm not optimistic about that. Let's hope for better candidates in 2024 than Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Whatever happens, I am sure the US will prevail, fascism and the end of Democracy are not here quite yet.
Sorry about the rant.

[DavidG]

Jacques is spot on, on each and every point. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Did not read like a rant to me, but a well-reasoned illustration of the differences between the Rs and Ds.

Not as bad as it could have been? Too early to tell?
Looks like House flips and Senate may come down to a runoff in GA.
Fortunately Biden got a ton of stuff done in 2 years.

How many GOP Trumpsters who lost will actually concede?
Several state election officials races went to election deniers.
Two million Georgians voted for Herschel Walker. Herschel Dumbfuck Walker, for God’s sake.
I’m not a whole lot more optimistic about American democracy than I was last night.

[JimHow]

I agree with Jacques on everything except abortion.
I don't think anyone, especially Mitch McConnell, should be able to tell a woman what she can do with her own body.
Late term abortions are very rare and a red herring in abortion debates.
To the extent that women get abortions later in their pregnancies it is usually because of complicated factors like poverty, finances, abuse, mental illness, etc.
Other than that, I agree with all of his points, that's why I've always said we would be well served by a President Jacques Levy!

Levy '24!

[JimHow]

And I agree with you, David, but I'm hoping that we are seeing the ever slightest baby step in the right direction.
I mean if Boebert alone can lose I'll take it.
Perhaps the fever has broken.
We shall see, but we will need to continue to be vigilant.

[jal]

About abortion, I was modeling my view on the Western European model. I am not for outlawing abortions after 16 weeks (and whether it's 14 like France or 18 like Sweden matters very little), I suggested it would be permitted on an exceptional basis afterwards due to

complicated factors like poverty, finances, abuse, mental illness, etc.

[DavidG]

Jim, agreed on abortion, and while I won’t put words in Jacques’ mouth, I think the problem has more to do with the way it’s presented. Similarly to “defund the police,” one of the stupidest slogans I’ve heard in a long time.

Abortion should be available when the mother’s life, health, or well-being are in danger, regardless of timing. Not unrestricted beyond 16 weeks.

Don’t f-ing defund the police. Increase funding for the police and be sure the funding goes where it will most benefit police functions. That might mean adding mental health specialists and training instead of more armored assault vehicles. But “defund the police” was no more than an angry, stupid, self-defeating slogan.

[jal]

Thank you David, that is what I was trying to say.

[Jay Winton]

Johnson wins in Wisconsin. Bummer.

[AKR]

I'd think the left side of the aisle should be pretty happy today. Most of the close races broke their way, and many of the Trumpist endorsees did poorly.

Personally I want to see the right pivot more to the DeSantis style of governing/campaigning/winning, and it looks like that will be the path for the next couple of years.

[Comte Flaneur]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... GTUK_email

Maybe this is just wishful thinking

[jal]

Yes, that seems to be the conventional wisdom. I doubt it, but it would be liberating to finally get rid of this clown.

[JimHow]

The Nevada senate race is going to end up extremely close. And we have a legitimate shot at Georgia. Not counting any chickens but we have a legitimate shot at picking up a seat in the senate and lessening the impact of Joe Manchin. Maybe the fever has broken. Maybe the wicked witch is dead. Boebert seems to be in legitimate trouble. The Democrats were criticized for talking too much about the potential harm to democracy but I’m not so sure that was the wrong strategy. I think enough people DID come to the realization that democracy has been under attack. I think the Jan 6th committee DID have an impact. Apparently the under 30 vote was high, especially in important states. The Republicans will eke out the House but they will be stupid enough to overreach in their investigations and attacks on Joe, Hunter, Fauci, etc., and they may get hurt again in 2024. Maybe we have lanced the boil. Don’t underestimate Joe. He’s kind of goofy but I think for the most part people realize he’s basically a good man. It has taken time but I think folks are finally seeing through the hate and fraud of the Trump Party. Baby steps. Biden-Harris ‘24, baby.

[jal]

The Republicans strategy of nominating election deniers as their candidates will go down as the biggest election blunder since Dukakis on the tank. Let's face it, the Democrats didn't as much win as the Republicans lost. Obviously, the Democrats strategy of funding the election deniers campaign in order to have them nominated was brilliant. I thought it was a dangerous game and could result in scary Senate full of crazy Trump Republicans, I stand corrected.

This loss is really on Donald Trump, let's see if the Republicans can wean themselves from their Maga addiction. If they don't, any Democrat will beat Trump in 2024.

[JimHow]

We did well here in Maine, with our incumbent governor smoking little mini-Trump former gov Paul LePage and the Democrats retaining both the state house and senate. Similar successes in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and other key states. We did very well in governorships, holding my breath that Lake goes down. It looks like the Democrats caught up with the Republican realization that these lower level elections are extremely important. It's going to be almost impossible for the Republicans to pull off their state legislative coups over electoral college results in 2024, even if SCOTUS ends up allowing it this term. Gretchen Whitmer has become a force in the Democratic Party.

[JCNorthway]

As my wife said to a friend who works at an organization called Galvanize Action (look them up), we are doing a happy dance here in Michigan. Not only did Dem incumbents win all the major state races, but they now control both houses of the legislature - for the first time since the mid-1980s. Credit for that is being given largely to the non-partisan commission responsible for drawing up the legislative districts. It's the first time the commission has done that since being created, the result of a proposal that voters passed in 2018.