Hunter weighs breaking no-campaign pledge in order to fight "bullshit rules" preventing him from wearing sexy nurse costume to White House Halloween party
October 29, 2020
2018 Presidential Election
- Thread starter Marky Bunny
- Start date
Hunter weighs breaking no-campaign pledge in order to fight "bullshit rules" preventing him from wearing sexy nurse costume to White House Halloween party
October 29, 2020
Friday, October 30th, 2020
Seaborn twins make rare public appearance during White House Halloween celebration
President Sam Seaborn and First Lady Lauren Parker-Seaborn were joined by the couple's two children during the White House's Halloween celebration, a rare public appearance for the entire First Family.
The president and First Lady handed out candy at today's White House celebration for military families and families of White House staff members and employees. While the president wore a sweater and black pants, the rest of the First Family got more into the Halloween spirit: Lauren Parker-Seaborn wore an all-black ensemble with black cat ears and face paint while seven month-old Tommy (Thomas) and Lea Seaborn wore pumpkin costumes before being briefly set in actual, hollowed-out pumpkins for White House photographers.
After the twins' birth in March, they have rarely been seen in public. Like previous First Families, the Seaborns have been very focused on keeping their children out of public life and protecting them from press attention.
"The First Lady knows that we had not had children born to a sitting president in this country for many years prior to her children's birth," Dion Copley, the First Lady's chief of staff, told reporters in July when questions of photographs of the Seaborn twins was raised. "So she understands the desire for pictures of adorable presidential babies, and the desire for Americans to know just who is in the family they're putting up in the White House...But as the daughter of a politician herself, she knows that it is not always in a child's best interest to be so closely associated with their parent when he or she is a public official."
When their parents are not caring for them, the twins are typically cared for by nannies. Last month, it was reported that the Seaborns had agreed to an unprecedented Secret Service request to install a security camera in the future bedroom of "Pollux" (Tommy) and "Petunia" (Lea). While the Secret Service does not comment on the security measures it uses to protect its charges, the addition of security cameras in the White House residence is a new development according to several former Secret Service agents and White House staff that NBS has been able to contact.
Tommy (l) and Lea (r) Seaborn
Presidential Election Turnout 1986-2018
Election | Turnout | % Turnout |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 91,792,812 | 51.4 |
| 1990 | 91,582,385 | 49.4 |
| 1994 | 104,504,066 | 54.3 |
| 1998 | 100,364,539 | 49.7 |
| 2002 | 96,758,693 | 45.8 |
| 2006 | 138,500,870 | 65 |
| 2010 | 140,461,106 | 66.4 |
| 2014 | 146,974,470 | 65.4 |
| 2018 | 153,183,943 | 62.4 |
Saturday October 31st 2020
Former SNP Leader Jack McDonald dies
Jack McDonald who was twice the Leader of the SNP has died aged 85, his family has said. He died peacefully in his sleep in Spain having been "unwell for some time", his son said.
He was Leader of the SNP twice, first between 1970 and 1982 and then from 1991 to 2003. He was the MP for Dundee East from 1973 until he retired prior to the 1987 General Election. He supported the creation of the Scottish devolved Parliament by the Labour Government, and he won a seat at the first election in 1997 and was the Leader of the main opposition to the Labour /Liberal Democrat coalition Government in Scotland. He retired for a second time in 2003 and went to live in Spain once again.
McDonald is regarded as the "founding Father of Modern Scottish Nationalism". Current Scottish First Minister Stuart Rossi said McDonald was a "true Scottish Patriot and that the current Devolution couldn't have taken place without his support". Current SNP Leader Karen Kilgore said "Jack's passing is the end of a era for the SNP".
Jack McDonald seen here campaigning in the first Scottish Parliament election in 1997.
(Photo by Sean Connery-2016 Casting-RIP 007)
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I have kind of an odd question. Does the first Borat film exist ITTL and if it does, did the Kazakhstan Crisis in 2006 have any relevance in the film?
Saturday, October 31st, 2020
Brownlee wins second term as New Zealand prime minister
Prime Minister Kylie Brownlee has won a second term as prime minister of New Zealand on the back of her high international profile and personal popularity.
Preliminary results show that Brownlee's center-left Labour party has won 47% of the vote, the highest mark that Labour has achieved in over 30 years. Projected results have Labour on track to win a one-seat majority of 61 seats in the country's parliament, the first time that any party will be able to form a government by itself since the country's electoral system was changed in 1996.
"Tonight, New Zealand has given the Labour Party its largest show of confidence in three decades, and an unprecedented electoral mandate," Brownlee said in a victory speech at Labour Party headquarters. "And with that mandate, I can promise you this: we will be a party that governs for all New Zealanders."
Brownlee's opposition, the center-right National Party, won 38% of the vote and is expected to take 50 seats, the party's lowest showing since 2005. Leader Dan Phipps conceded victory to Brownlee and congratulated her on "a historic victory" in a call on election night.
Preliminary results show a massive swing towards the right, with almost all of the 11% swing going to Labour. Its coalition partner, the Green Party, improved from its 6% share of the vote in 2017 to 7%, picking up one seat for an overall total of 8. Labour's other coalition partner, the populist New Zealand First Party, is projected to fall well short of the five percent threshold to remain in parliament, while the libertarian ACT Party is projected to lose its sole seat despite overall having improved on its 2017 performance. This marks the first election since 1990, before the switch to a more proportional election system, that fewer than four parties will have won seats in New Zealand's parliament.
Brownlee took office in 2017, ending nine years of National government on a wave of popularity ("Kyliemania"). Her three-party government had mixed progress on its promise to fundamentally change New Zealand; despite the government liberalizing abortion laws, increasing welfare benefits and creating programs to spur rural investment, criticism came from people who viewed Brownlee's past framing of her legislative agenda as "transformative" and polling had previously shown a tight race. What is widely held to have been the catalyst for the election turning into a solid Labour victory was Brownlee's response to the eruption of a volcano on the popular tourist island of Whaakari/White Island in December 2019. Of the 47 people on the island at the time of the eruption, nearly half (21) died while most of the survivors were horribly injured. Brownlee's quick and compassionate response (she was photographed hugging first responders who responded to the disaster) saw her party rise above National for the first time under her leadership, a lead they have not yet relinquished.
New Zealand voters also held two referenda concurrent with the general election on the issues of euthanasia and cannabis. While New Zealand voters ratified parliament's decision to allow for legal euthanasia, they rejected a proposal to legalize cannabis for recreational use, bucking the trend towards legalization in many developed nations.
Labour is widely expected to begin negotiations with the Greens to continue their coalition in spite of Labour's majority of seats, as sources familiar with Labour Party report. The sources indicate that worry about having enough suitable or experienced Labour MPs (members of parliament) to staff a one-party ministry and the favorability of having a larger majority to work with are the main explanations already being given to MPs and party staffers.
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OOC: A very spooky (for right-wingers) infobox:
Cast
Melanie Lynskey as Kylie Brownlee
Simon Prast as Dan Phipps (new casting)
Rachel House as Marika Maguire (new character)
Jason Hoyte as Rodney Franks (new character)
Rawira Paratene as Sterling Pollard (new casting)
- The results were obtained using linear regression on the OTL poll results for each party from after the 2017 election until the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in March of this year, extrapolated until the end of October.
- Prast actually ran IRL for mayor of Auckland in 2010 (the photo used in the infobox was taken for his campaign there). He finished in fifth place with 0.8% of the vote.
- A short explanation on the the notes in Maguire's entry: the NZ Greens have two leaders, one male and one female. Maguire is the female leader of the party, but the note by her name indicates that she was also the #1 candidate on the party's list, a position filled in other parties by their leader (i.e.- Brownlee and Phipps would have been the first people from their parties to be given list seats if they had not won their electorate races, Pollard would be the first NZ First person to be given a list seat if the party had won enough votes to qualify, etc.). The note by her "leader since" date indicates that's the day she was elected the female leader of the Greens, not when she was chosen as their top list candidate for the election.
- Paratene's daughter is the OTL female leader of the Green Party. What is it with green parties in the Anglosphere and picking leaders with actors in the family?
Monday November 2nd 2020
Fight to the finish in the mid-terms
It has been a fierce final day of campaigning ahead of the mid-term elections tomorrow. With the whole of the House of Representatives up for election, plus a total of 35 Senate races and 21 gubernatorial races, the stakes are high for both the Republicans and the Democrats.
The Republicans are hopeful of gaining control of the House, whilst in the Senate the Republicans need to make a total of eight net gains to gain a filibuster-proof supermajority of 60 seats. Senator Majority Leader Cody Riley whose own re-election in his own seat is not in any doubt, has been campaigning Sunday and Monday in South Carolina where State Senator Majority Leader Hamilton Crooks is trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Sam McCord, and in Arkansas where Congressman Tucker Johnson is in what looks like a virtual dead heat in the polls with Senator Hubert "Arkansas" Smith. Senator Max Lobell III of George, the number two man in the Senate, has been campaigning hard himself in Louisiana, and Oklahoma to seats which the Republicans are fighting hard to defeat freshman Democrat Senators in normally Republican states.
On the Democrat side, they have been playing defense, trying to flip the Senate seats in Iowa, Oregon and Florida. Senate Minority Leader Jimmy Fitzsimmons was in Iowa on Monday supporting former five term Senator Rod Kasey who is trying to get back into the Senate, after losing the other Iowa Seat in 2016.
On the House side, the Republicans believe that they will gain control of the House and are making a big play in attempting to defeat Congressman Noah Gellman, the House Majority leader in VA-09, with John Wark, the popular Republican candidate. In California, Ray Sullivan, the 2006 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate made a return to the campaign over the weekend when he campaigned for the daughter of Arnold Vinick, the man he served as his running-mate 14 years ago, Jennifer who is trying to unseat freshman Congressman Corrie Hightower in CA-26.
Gubernatorially, the Republicans are hopefull of winning back Oklahoma and West Virginia, whilst the Democrats believe they can win the open race in Pennsylvania and Illinois where Republican incumbent Teddy Hart is in a close race with Congressman Barry Robinson. Florida where James Ritchie is leaving office after a decade, the fight to replace him in Tallahassee between Republican Congressman Tom Riddle and Democrat Jessica Gelsey, the daughter of former Speaker of the House Carol has been a particular bitter fight between the two candidates.
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Public Service Announcement
It's Election Day 2020.
I will be posting coverage as LIVE from 6.00 PM (EST), so 11.PM UK Time. It will be done in pre-written time slots, which have been with the help of @lord caedus who has looked after the House side of things. I have done it this way, so it allows me to watch this "other" election on TV as well.
Can I ask that you keep postings "in-universe" during this time. The coverage tonight will run until at least 11.PM (EST) and maybe even a bit later. I will post what happens after this point tomorrow as "live".
Cheers
Mark
It's Election Day 2020.
I will be posting coverage as LIVE from 6.00 PM (EST), so 11.PM UK Time. It will be done in pre-written time slots, which have been with the help of @lord caedus who has looked after the House side of things. I have done it this way, so it allows me to watch this "other" election on TV as well.
Can I ask that you keep postings "in-universe" during this time. The coverage tonight will run until at least 11.PM (EST) and maybe even a bit later. I will post what happens after this point tomorrow as "live".
Cheers
Mark
6 PM:
Good evening & welcome to our coverage of the 2020 mid-terms. The whole of the House is up for re-election, along with a total of 35 Senate races (including 2 Special Elections) and 21 gubernatorial races.
Some polls have closed in two states, Indiana and Kentucky, although the whole of both states doesn’t close until 7PM. Kentucky has two Senate races, one normal race which is the open seat vacated by the retiring Democrat Calvin Bowles, which is expected to be one of the Republican gains of the night. In the House the Republicans need roughly a net of five pickups to gain control of the House.
Let’s look at the Senate Battleground we have a total of 13 states where the Republicans hope to make gains & 3 where the Dems hope to make gains. If the Republicans can make eight net gains, they will reach the total of 60 seats. This would give them a "filibuster-proof supermajority".
The Democratic defense is:
- Arkansas: Senator Hubert “Arkansas” Smith v Congressman Tucker Johnson
- Colorado: Senator Ben Newell v Congressman Matthew Garner
- Kentucky (open seat): Jack Lucas v Majority Leader State Senate James Lincoln
- Louisiana: Senator Rick Remick v Former Congressman Randy Bauer
- Maine: Senator Stephen Wilson v State Rep Ben Tpearing
- Montana (open seat): Former Governor Kurt Carner v Former Congressman Scott Lynch
- New Hampshire: Senator George Englemann v Businessman Felix Moore
- Oklahoma: Senator Bradley Denning v Congressman Daryl Lukins
- South Carolina: Senator Sam McCord v State Senate Majority Leader Hamilton Crooks
- West Virginia: Senator Rachel Mears v Congressman Mac Walters
- Florida: Senator Tannar McClay v Former State Dep official Max Moreno
- Iowa: Senator Joe Joeckler v Former Senator Rod Kasey
- Oregon: Senator Curtis Ryan v State House Speaker Kate Lindsay
- On the gubernatorial side we have ten battleground states, these overall do narrowly seem to favour the Democrats. This is the Democratic defense:
- Minnesota: Governor Jarrod Daniels v President of the State Senate Kurt Schieffer
- Oklahoma: Governor Rob Kenny v Former Lt Governor Katherine Williams (re-match from 2016)
- Washington: (Appointed) Governor Daniel Edmonds v Former COS to Gov Boone Martin Kenyon
- West Virginia: Governor Chuck Black v State House Speaker Jim McDowell
- The Republican defense is:
- Florida (open seat): Congressman Tom Riddle v State Rep Jessica Gelsey
- Illinois: Governor Teddy Hart v Congressman Barry Robinson
- Maine: (Appointed): Governor James Adamson v State AG Martin Nichol
- Maryland: Governor Owen Wells v Congressman Albert Fife
- North Dakota: Governor Sandra Middleton v Former Senator Harry Conroy
- Pennsylvania (open seat): Congressman Matt Adams v Former State Education Supervisor Malcolm Power
7 PM :
STATE CLOSINGS
Florida (part closure), Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
We can make our first projections of the night with the first Republican gains in the House:
- FL-03: Rick Hunter defeats April Fearon (eight terms)
- SC-07: Phil Wheaton defeats Corey Bamber (four terms)
- GEORGIA: Republican HOLD: Senator Max Lobell defeats Mayor of Macon Simon Andrews
- KENTUCKY: Republican GAIN: Open Seat State Senate Majority Leader James Lincoln defeats the former State Commissioner of Agriculture Jack Lucas
- KENTUCKY: Special Election: Republican HOLD: Appointed Senator Terrance H. Schraeder defeats State Representative Jason Brody
- NEW HAMPSHIRE: TCTC
- SOUTH CAROLINA: Republican GAIN: State Senate Majority Leader Hamilton Crooks defeats Senator Sam McCord
- VIRGINIA: Democrat HOLD: Senator Louise Thornton defeats former Governor Joel McKissock