OT: Twitter Thread on 3 Decades of Russian & Mafia Relationships with Trump

[HarthorneWingo]

Arizona race between McSally and Sinema is winnable for Dems. They said that Sinema is up 4% in the polls right now.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/martha-mcsally-republican-establishment-trump-arizona_us_5b855ba9e4b0cf7b002f43ae

[thebuzzardman]

If the DNC wasn't such a dumpster fire of feckless centrists, I would have faith in the restoration of democracy to this country come November. With the DNC bungling everything they touch, it could go either way.

Tonight in Florida, a progressive african-american shocked the DNC establishment and won the Democrat Primary for Governor by beating a centrist white female candidate by 2 points when she was polling anywhere from 5-12 points ahead yesterday.

Read on Twitter

This is a pretty big frigging deal

And he'll be facing the GOP nominee, the utterly useless Trump sycophant Ron DeSantis. That's the guy who ran TV ads where he reads his kid Trump bedtime stories. A real super douche. So I feel good about taking back Florida now with an actual progressive. Not predicting it, but he's a good candidate facing a truly awful Republican so I think he has a very good chance of becoming our next governor

Read on Twitter

Apparently his opponent is less than impressed and decided to break out a "monkey" comment.

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/GOP-Gov-Nominee-Ron-DeSantis-Voters-Shouldnt-Monkey-This-Up-During-Comments-About-Andrew-Gillums-Campaign-491991621.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_MIBrand

DeSantis, who won Tuesday’s primary by nearly 20 percentage points, made the comment after first describing Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, as an "articulate spokesman for those far left views" and a "charismatic candidate."

"We've got to work hard to make sure that we continue Florida going in a good direction. Let's build off the success we've had on Governor Scott," DeSantis said. “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state.”

Sure, it could be an accident....but I'm past giving any benefit of the doubt.

[Clyde_Style]

The new judge denied Manafort's request to move to the trial to another venue. The only concession given was allowing the trial to start a week later. Everything else was squashed.

Paul Manafort's lawyers claim Trump is making things worse as they seek to move trial

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/29/ex-trump-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-asks-to-move-mueller-case-trial.html

Paul Manafort Is About to Learn If a Third Trial Is in His Future

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/manafort-to-learn-if-feds-will-add-third-trial-to-deepening-woes

QUOTE:

Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan, said it’s likely that Manafort’s lawyers are discussing a deal ahead of the Washington trial to resolve all the cases Manafort faces, which could include forfeiture of cash and even, possibly, a cooperation agreement.

But the longer Manafort waits to cut a deal, the less beneficial it may be for him, said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor now with Greensfelder in Chicago.

“The best deal you had was yesterday’s. Tomorrow’s deal will be worse than today’s. That’s where Manafort is,” Cotter said. “Mueller’s motivation is to save time, money and get the certainty of a conviction in D.C. I think he’d trade a small amount of leniency for a plea. But without cooperation, I don’t see Mueller being willing to do much for Manafort.”

[Clyde_Style]

If the DNC wasn't such a dumpster fire of feckless centrists, I would have faith in the restoration of democracy to this country come November. With the DNC bungling everything they touch, it could go either way.

Tonight in Florida, a progressive african-american shocked the DNC establishment and won the Democrat Primary for Governor by beating a centrist white female candidate by 2 points when she was polling anywhere from 5-12 points ahead yesterday.

Read on Twitter

This is a pretty big frigging deal

And he'll be facing the GOP nominee, the utterly useless Trump sycophant Ron DeSantis. That's the guy who ran TV ads where he reads his kid Trump bedtime stories. A real super douche. So I feel good about taking back Florida now with an actual progressive. Not predicting it, but he's a good candidate facing a truly awful Republican so I think he has a very good chance of becoming our next governor

Read on Twitter

Apparently his opponent is less than impressed and decided to break out a "monkey" comment.

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/GOP-Gov-Nominee-Ron-DeSantis-Voters-Shouldnt-Monkey-This-Up-During-Comments-About-Andrew-Gillums-Campaign-491991621.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_MIBrand

DeSantis, who won Tuesday’s primary by nearly 20 percentage points, made the comment after first describing Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, as an "articulate spokesman for those far left views" and a "charismatic candidate."

"We've got to work hard to make sure that we continue Florida going in a good direction. Let's build off the success we've had on Governor Scott," DeSantis said. “The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state.”

Sure, it could be an accident....but I'm past giving any benefit of the doubt.

DeSantis is a raving idiot and stone cold jerk so it was probably his sub-consciousness manifesting his true feelings in the form of misguided speech. He sides with devout racists so the odds are he is one himself. Seriously, this guy is a complete tool and I think he's going to lose to a superior man.

Did you watch Gillum's campaign video? Gets ya going

[Clyde_Style]

Good preview of post-November election situation in the House

Donald Trump’s Worst Nightmare May Come In The Form Of Rep. Elijah Cummings

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-elijah-cummings-trump_us_5b805b25e4b0cd327dfc9502

QUOTE:

When Republicans took the majority in 2010, Democrats elevated Elijah Cummings to the ranking member position to act as a foil to the hyper-aggressive Issa, who for two years in the minority ran roughshod over the mild-mannered Democratic Chairman Ed Towns of New York. Cummings was patient, strategic and most importantly disciplined. He was everything that we in the new majority were not, and it’s no accident that as time went on, Cummings’ stature grew while Issa’s shrank.

If Democrats retake the majority in November, Cummings will no longer have to rely on Trey Gowdy to call hearings, summon witnesses and subpoena documents. He will have the authority to pursue answers to all of his questions. To call hearings on any topic he sees fit. To depose any administration official he wants to question. There’s no question in my mind that White House chief of staff John Kelly will be the focal point of a hearing about White House security clearance procedures. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will be asked to explain the questionable intersection of his government job and his business enterprises. Veterans Affairs chief Robert Wilkie will be called to testify about the relationship between officials at the department and members of Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club.

The Trump administration will be put on trial and the full scope of its corruption will be exposed. Congressional hearings will be covered wall-to-wall on cable news, dominating news cycle after news cycle. Trump, more than any president in history, evaluates his success based on how the media covers the day. A barrage of hearings and subpoenas will have a deteriorating effect on Trump and completely stall the White House’s agenda.

Cummings is a forceful speaker and a deliberate operator. He cannot be bullied or intimidated. He will not be goaded into making a mistake. He has the tools and the authority to compel cooperation and documents. Unlike special counsel Robert Mueller, he cannot be fired by the president or dismissed by the attorney general. Make no mistake about it: Elijah Cummings could turn out to be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.

[j4remi]

Read on Twitter

This dude has fully lost his mind. My theory? the stress has pushed his dementia to another level and everyone's afraid to speak up.

[Clyde_Style]

Read on Twitter

This dude has fully lost his mind. My theory? the stress has pushed his dementia to another level and everyone's afraid to speak up.

Drumpf been going on about Hillary's emails nonstop lately. Obviously it won't help him at this point, not even with his base. His mental state is precarious at best. By the end of the year, with more convictions, more indictments and a slew of new congressional investigations, he is going to be reduced to a screaming slab of cerebral jello.

He is going to be carried out of the WH in a straitjacket if his deterioration keeps progressing like this. I wish him the worst, but for the sake of the world I really don't want him to slip into hallucinations until after his finger is off the button.

The guy is all alone in the eye of the storm. It would drive anyone mad, but he was already clinically insane so we are already in the crazy zone.

Trump has zero friends left who are not under investigation, indicted or cutting a deal. His family is in a panic about Trump's state.

When Donald Jr. is indicted, Trump is going to be red-faced, biting his lip and unable to stay even slightly composed in public appearances.

Our president is a complete looney toon.

[Clyde_Style]

Trump’s destruction: A neuroscientist explains what happens when a narcissist begins to lose power

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/trumps-destruction-neuroscientist-explains-happens-narcissist-begins-lose-power/

QUOTE:

When a narcissist’s self-esteem or self-worth is badly injured, their whole identity begins to fall apart, and they often respond with what is referred to as “narcissistic rage.” When this happens, the lashing out, bullying, threats, and erratic behaviors rise to new levels. Rather than accepting the blame one deserves for their own actions, narcissists tell themselves that others are responsible, and that they deserve to be punished. They often become obsessed with revenge, which comes in many forms, such as verbal or even physical abuse. Modern technology like social media provides the narcissist with the perfect medium for attacking perceived enemies, and Donald Trump has certainly taken advantage of it. But his threats have gone beyond personal enemies. When the possibility of impeachment became a reality for the president, his instinct was to tell the world on national television that if such a thing were to happen, it would cause the economy to crash. “I think everybody would be poor,” he told Fox News last Wednesday, trying to strike fear into the hearts of all Americans.

Narcissistic rage can also manifest itself as intense anger, outbursts, and extreme aggressiveness. As Donald Trump begins to feel more and more like his downfall is imminent, we should expect his behavior to become progressively chaotic, and a total meltdown is likely. When this happens, in a desperate attempt to regain control, he will likely call on his remaining loyal supporters to wreak havoc on the nation in his name. Let’s just hope by the time that happens the number of loyalists will have dwindled to numbers so small that the damage would essentially be negligible. If Trump continues to attack and humiliate his fellow Republicans, and if more of his trusted allies decide to turn against him, we may see just that.

[Clyde_Style]

I think that article is an accurate prediction of what will happen with Trump, i.e.

He'll incite greater acts of violence from his cult

which will turn an additional tranche of right of center Republicans against him

and

He'll savage the GOP in Congress

thus ensuring there will be enough swing votes in the Senate to impeach him

[Capn'O]

Trump’s destruction: A neuroscientist explains what happens when a narcissist begins to lose power

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/trumps-destruction-neuroscientist-explains-happens-narcissist-begins-lose-power/

QUOTE:

When a narcissist’s self-esteem or self-worth is badly injured, their whole identity begins to fall apart, and they often respond with what is referred to as “narcissistic rage.” When this happens, the lashing out, bullying, threats, and erratic behaviors rise to new levels. Rather than accepting the blame one deserves for their own actions, narcissists tell themselves that others are responsible, and that they deserve to be punished. They often become obsessed with revenge, which comes in many forms, such as verbal or even physical abuse. Modern technology like social media provides the narcissist with the perfect medium for attacking perceived enemies, and Donald Trump has certainly taken advantage of it. But his threats have gone beyond personal enemies. When the possibility of impeachment became a reality for the president, his instinct was to tell the world on national television that if such a thing were to happen, it would cause the economy to crash. “I think everybody would be poor,” he told Fox News last Wednesday, trying to strike fear into the hearts of all Americans.

Narcissistic rage can also manifest itself as intense anger, outbursts, and extreme aggressiveness. As Donald Trump begins to feel more and more like his downfall is imminent, we should expect his behavior to become progressively chaotic, and a total meltdown is likely. When this happens, in a desperate attempt to regain control, he will likely call on his remaining loyal supporters to wreak havoc on the nation in his name. Let’s just hope by the time that happens the number of loyalists will have dwindled to numbers so small that the damage would essentially be negligible. If Trump continues to attack and humiliate his fellow Republicans, and if more of his trusted allies decide to turn against him, we may see just that.

As we've discussed over PM, my concern is less about institutional allies. He'll likely have none. It's the chaos game of his most ardent supporters I'm concerned about.

[Clyde_Style]

Trump’s destruction: A neuroscientist explains what happens when a narcissist begins to lose power

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/trumps-destruction-neuroscientist-explains-happens-narcissist-begins-lose-power/

QUOTE:

When a narcissist’s self-esteem or self-worth is badly injured, their whole identity begins to fall apart, and they often respond with what is referred to as “narcissistic rage.” When this happens, the lashing out, bullying, threats, and erratic behaviors rise to new levels. Rather than accepting the blame one deserves for their own actions, narcissists tell themselves that others are responsible, and that they deserve to be punished. They often become obsessed with revenge, which comes in many forms, such as verbal or even physical abuse. Modern technology like social media provides the narcissist with the perfect medium for attacking perceived enemies, and Donald Trump has certainly taken advantage of it. But his threats have gone beyond personal enemies. When the possibility of impeachment became a reality for the president, his instinct was to tell the world on national television that if such a thing were to happen, it would cause the economy to crash. “I think everybody would be poor,” he told Fox News last Wednesday, trying to strike fear into the hearts of all Americans.

Narcissistic rage can also manifest itself as intense anger, outbursts, and extreme aggressiveness. As Donald Trump begins to feel more and more like his downfall is imminent, we should expect his behavior to become progressively chaotic, and a total meltdown is likely. When this happens, in a desperate attempt to regain control, he will likely call on his remaining loyal supporters to wreak havoc on the nation in his name. Let’s just hope by the time that happens the number of loyalists will have dwindled to numbers so small that the damage would essentially be negligible. If Trump continues to attack and humiliate his fellow Republicans, and if more of his trusted allies decide to turn against him, we may see just that.

As we've discussed over PM, my concern is less about institutional allies. He'll likely have none. It's the chaos game of his most ardent supporters I'm concerned about.

Yes, more mass shootings are inevitable in this scenario

Protesters must be vigilant and should start planning their marches with security in mind (though I have no idea how that would work).

Trump is amoral. He will push the crazies in his base to commit heinous acts in the name of some imaginary insurrection when it will in reality be knuckledgraggers with guns acting out their worst biases in the form of murder. Trump is going to push them to do this.

Trump supporters with any conscience left should prepare for these consequences now, because any sane person knows this is what is coming based on Trump's behavior and the nature of his fringe supporters.

[Capn'O]

Trump’s destruction: A neuroscientist explains what happens when a narcissist begins to lose power

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/trumps-destruction-neuroscientist-explains-happens-narcissist-begins-lose-power/

QUOTE:

When a narcissist’s self-esteem or self-worth is badly injured, their whole identity begins to fall apart, and they often respond with what is referred to as “narcissistic rage.” When this happens, the lashing out, bullying, threats, and erratic behaviors rise to new levels. Rather than accepting the blame one deserves for their own actions, narcissists tell themselves that others are responsible, and that they deserve to be punished. They often become obsessed with revenge, which comes in many forms, such as verbal or even physical abuse. Modern technology like social media provides the narcissist with the perfect medium for attacking perceived enemies, and Donald Trump has certainly taken advantage of it. But his threats have gone beyond personal enemies. When the possibility of impeachment became a reality for the president, his instinct was to tell the world on national television that if such a thing were to happen, it would cause the economy to crash. “I think everybody would be poor,” he told Fox News last Wednesday, trying to strike fear into the hearts of all Americans.

Narcissistic rage can also manifest itself as intense anger, outbursts, and extreme aggressiveness. As Donald Trump begins to feel more and more like his downfall is imminent, we should expect his behavior to become progressively chaotic, and a total meltdown is likely. When this happens, in a desperate attempt to regain control, he will likely call on his remaining loyal supporters to wreak havoc on the nation in his name. Let’s just hope by the time that happens the number of loyalists will have dwindled to numbers so small that the damage would essentially be negligible. If Trump continues to attack and humiliate his fellow Republicans, and if more of his trusted allies decide to turn against him, we may see just that.

As we've discussed over PM, my concern is less about institutional allies. He'll likely have none. It's the chaos game of his most ardent supporters I'm concerned about.

Yes, more mass shootings are inevitable in this scenario

Protesters must be vigilant and should start planning their marches with security in mind (though I have no idea how that would work).

Trump is amoral. He will push the crazies in his base to commit heinous acts in the name of some imaginary insurrection when it will in reality be knuckledgraggers with guns acting out their worst biases in the form of murder. Trump is going to push them to do this.

Trump supporters with any conscience left should prepare for these consequences now, because any sane person knows this is what is coming based on Trump's behavior and the nature of his fringe supporters.

As we type this, The Atlantic puts out an article about exactly how the Kremlin has been actively looking to incite fringe white supremacists to induce chaos. Trump still has some utility left for them, then...

The lessons for the United States and its allies are clear. Russia’s manipulation of fringe far-right groups is part of a deliberate strategy to undermine Western democratic institutions. Russia’s trolls and intelligence services prey on social outcasts in order to radicalize them and recruit them to wage war on their countries’ liberal institutions. To do this, the Kremlin reinforces their belief that liberal democracy is rotten and cultivates their restless anger and propensity toward violence.

[Clyde_Style]

I briefly dated a narcissistic girl in my twenties. She was a pampered daddy's girl who studied poetry with Allen Ginsberg and fancied herself an anarchist while driving the paid for Cadillac her daddy gave her. I called her The Marxist in Furs.

We had gone to see a film called The Sacrifice by Andrei Tarkovski, one of my favorite film directors. Tarkovski was dying when he made this last film and the film was about a man who was dying and having apocalyptic visions during his decline.

After the movie, she said to me If I knew I was going to die I'd want to end the world and take everyone with me. I was stunned. I asked her if this was a joke. She said no, she meant it. I broke up with her right there on the spot in the middle of the street.

Just remembered all of that thinking of Trump's inevitable doomsday wish for the rest of the world as he goes down in flames. She was a nobody. He's the president and that makes him very dangerous to us all.

[Clyde_Style]

As we've discussed over PM, my concern is less about institutional allies. He'll likely have none. It's the chaos game of his most ardent supporters I'm concerned about.

Yes, more mass shootings are inevitable in this scenario

Protesters must be vigilant and should start planning their marches with security in mind (though I have no idea how that would work).

Trump is amoral. He will push the crazies in his base to commit heinous acts in the name of some imaginary insurrection when it will in reality be knuckledgraggers with guns acting out their worst biases in the form of murder. Trump is going to push them to do this.

Trump supporters with any conscience left should prepare for these consequences now, because any sane person knows this is what is coming based on Trump's behavior and the nature of his fringe supporters.

As we type this, The Atlantic puts out an article about exactly how the Kremlin has been actively looking to incite fringe white supremacists to induce chaos. Trump still has some utility left for them, then...

The lessons for the United States and its allies are clear. Russia’s manipulation of fringe far-right groups is part of a deliberate strategy to undermine Western democratic institutions. Russia’s trolls and intelligence services prey on social outcasts in order to radicalize them and recruit them to wage war on their countries’ liberal institutions. To do this, the Kremlin reinforces their belief that liberal democracy is rotten and cultivates their restless anger and propensity toward violence.

I wonder how many Americans even understand that the online rubbish about George Soros running the world comes from these Russian disinfo operations. The Great Awakening, Q, all of that nonsense is Russian disnfo at its finest.

another QUOTE:

Fringe-right groups already consider the Kremlin an ally. At the alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, chants of “Russia is our friend!” were commonplace. Richard Spencer, who led the Charlottesville rally and directs an alt-right organization called the National Policy Institute, has praised Putin as a protector of the white race. His website, altright.com, features such articles as “Why Anti-Racism is Nothing but a Lie” and defends the alt-right’s associations with Putin by arguing that “Russia is one of the few countries left that supports and upholds Pro-European values such as strength, unity, racial awareness, etc.” Similarly, the alt-right figure Alex Jones fawns over Putin and has hosted the Kremlin’s court ideologue Alexander Dugin on his show. Even the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is seen in a positive light by American right-wing groups, which portray him as a savior of Christian minorities, echoing a common Kremlin propaganda line. Matthew Heimbach, an American white nationalist who has extensively praised Putin, sums up the alt-right’s views when he says “I see Russia as kind of the axis for nationalists … and that’s not just nationalists that are white—that’s all nationalists.”

[HarthorneWingo]

Yes, more mass shootings are inevitable in this scenario

Protesters must be vigilant and should start planning their marches with security in mind (though I have no idea how that would work).

Trump is amoral. He will push the crazies in his base to commit heinous acts in the name of some imaginary insurrection when it will in reality be knuckledgraggers with guns acting out their worst biases in the form of murder. Trump is going to push them to do this.

Trump supporters with any conscience left should prepare for these consequences now, because any sane person knows this is what is coming based on Trump's behavior and the nature of his fringe supporters.

As we type this, The Atlantic puts out an article about exactly how the Kremlin has been actively looking to incite fringe white supremacists to induce chaos. Trump still has some utility left for them, then...

The lessons for the United States and its allies are clear. Russia’s manipulation of fringe far-right groups is part of a deliberate strategy to undermine Western democratic institutions. Russia’s trolls and intelligence services prey on social outcasts in order to radicalize them and recruit them to wage war on their countries’ liberal institutions. To do this, the Kremlin reinforces their belief that liberal democracy is rotten and cultivates their restless anger and propensity toward violence.

I wonder how many Americans even understand that the online rubbish about George Soros running the world comes from these Russian disinfo operations. The Great Awakening, Q, all of that nonsense is Russian disnfo at its finest.

another QUOTE:

Fringe-right groups already consider the Kremlin an ally. At the alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, chants of “Russia is our friend!” were commonplace. Richard Spencer, who led the Charlottesville rally and directs an alt-right organization called the National Policy Institute, has praised Putin as a protector of the white race. His website, altright.com, features such articles as “Why Anti-Racism is Nothing but a Lie” and defends the alt-right’s associations with Putin by arguing that “Russia is one of the few countries left that supports and upholds Pro-European values such as strength, unity, racial awareness, etc.” Similarly, the alt-right figure Alex Jones fawns over Putin and has hosted the Kremlin’s court ideologue Alexander Dugin on his show. Even the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is seen in a positive light by American right-wing groups, which portray him as a savior of Christian minorities, echoing a common Kremlin propaganda line. Matthew Heimbach, an American white nationalist who has extensively praised Putin, sums up the alt-right’s views when he says “I see Russia as kind of the axis for nationalists … and that’s not just nationalists that are white—that’s all nationalists.”

[Kampuchea]

I know a person that sells those type of shirts and makes a decent profit as they sell a high volume.

If the people buying knew he was a Muslim from Bangladesh that is profiting, I would love to see their reaction.

[HarthorneWingo]

I know a person that sells those type of shirts and makes a decent profit as they sell a high volume.

If the people buying knew he was a Muslim from Bangladesh that is profiting, I would love to see their reaction.

Great idea! And we get to identify who our traitors are. Win-win.

[j4remi]

So not a major topic of discussion but the NY AG election has potential to be a big player as all of this unfolds with Trump and team indictment. Since Zephyr Teachout caught a handicap match at the debates yesterday, I just wanna point out that I really think she's the best candidate for that. She swore off PAC money which is nice to see in NY political machine, she had a strong showing against Cuomo last time he ran which is likely why he's gone so hard to shut Nixon down imo, she got the New York Times endorsement and she's already come at Trump for emoluments. The fact James' is so tied to Cuomo's sketchy corrupt ass gives me pause but I don't think she's bad either. Teachout is just the better option imo. Anyway, back to the handicap match that went down; this is again, some ish that looks extra sketchy because of the way the NY political machine functions. Maloney is trying to run for Congress and AG simultaneously which makes zero sense; showed up to the debate and attacked Teachout heavy even though James is the front runner; and the two used similar attacks and rhetoric. It's sketchy, the double-campaign could cost a House Seat and just knowing the way that Cuomo plays his games self-service first and people second has me wondering if he pulled any strings on this absolute bizarre situation. Article link below.

https://theintercept.com/2018/08/29/new-york-attorney-general-debate-zephyr-teachout/

WHY IS Sean Patrick Maloney — a sitting House member in a newly competitive New York congressional district that Donald Trump won in 2016 — running to be New York’s next attorney general?

After last night’s debate in New York City, between Democratic primary contenders Maloney, Letitia “Tish” James, Leecia Eve, and Zephyr Teachout, the answer doesn’t seem any clearer — or perhaps it does.

Anybody who presumed that Maloney was in the race as a Teachout spoiler came away from Tuesday’s attorney general debate with that impression only solidified. Teachout challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a primary in 2014 and performed especially well in the Hudson Valley, where Maloney is also an elected official. She also ran for Congress two years later in a neighboring district, NY-19, losing to Republican Jon Faso. Cuomo, meanwhile, is backing James, the New York City public advocate who is popular in the city but largely unknown in the rest of the state.

Maloney invested his time in attacking Teachout and agreeing with James at almost every available opportunity, though by the end of the debate, it was no more clear what potential path to victory he saw for his own candidacy.

Maloney drew on his experience working on congressional investigations since his 2012 election, and made reference to his federal security clearance and up-to-date knowledge of the Mueller investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Like every candidate except Eve, he referenced Trump and his opposition to the current administration in his opening statement. His biggest selling point, though, was that he knows how to beat Republicans and win in competitive races (“I won three times in a district that voted for Donald Trump”), and later said, “I’m sick of losing to Donald Trump.”

Yet as the national party pours resources into the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program — to flip vulnerable House seats — Maloney vacating his post could do precisely the opposite, leaving open a seat that City & State New York had already called one of New York state’s most competitive before Maloney announced his AG run. He’s running his AG and congressional race simultaneously in a move that has drawn legal challenges from his Republican opponents, and the ire of fellow Democrats at the state and national level. While there is one Republican running for the New York AG seat, Keith Wofford, a Democrat is heavily favored to win that race.

The GOP welcomed the announcement of Maloney’s AG candidacy, as it could open up an until-now unlikely path to victory for Maloney’s Republican opponent, Orange County legislator James O’Donnell. One GOP pollster told Politico that “Republicans in Orange County are more likely to turn out in midterm elections, so it should be very competitive.” In any case, running for two offices simultaneously doesn’t make for a strong case that Maloney is excited to serve NY-18. Dutchess County Democratic Chair Elisa Sumner, who supports Teachout, called the dual race “an insult to the people in his congressional district. He’s basically saying to them, ‘If I can’t be AG then I’ll still be your representative, but if I can, I’m leaving.’” In the event that Maloney were to win the nomination, Democratic Party officials would have to scramble to find someone to run a less-than-two-month campaign for the seat.

While speaking occasionally on his own policy priorities, most of Maloney’s purpose on stage seemed to be helping Tish James pile onto and rebut Teachout — the only candidate in the race not taking corporate PAC or LLC donations — in a move that made it seem as if both of them saw her as the frontrunner; she recently racked up endorsements from the New York Times and New York Daily News.

On several accounts James and Maloney used the same language in reference to their opponent, remarking on what a luxury it is for Teachout to be “holier than thou” and swear off donations from corporate PACs or LLCs, with Maloney claiming that such a stance was equally as poisonous to American democracy as corporate money, because, well, he didn’t offer a reason. He laughed as James called their opponent “Professor Teachout” (she’s a professor at Fordham Law) in an attempt to paint her as a head-in-the-clouds academic, a jab notably deployed against Elizabeth Warren in her 2012 Massachusetts Senate race. It’s also what Teachout’s 2016 Republican congressional opponent, Faso, called Teachout when they faced off to represent for NY-19 in 2016. When James referenced that Teachout once referring to herself as a “Rockefeller Republican” during her 2016 campaign, Maloney jumped in a few minutes later with the same line.

Each also kept referring back to a dig Maloney made early in the night that — despite Teachout’s pledge about corporate PAC donations in this election — she accepted $20,000 in in-kind donations during her 2016 congressional run.

James and Maloney even looked friendly on stage, patting one another on the shoulder several times through the course of the night and laughing at one another’s jokes, particularly those at Teachout’s expense.

In a “cross-examination” section, in which candidates could ask one of their opponents a question, James asked Teachout about her past opposition to a gun control bill in 2013. In Maloney’s follow-up, he said, “Yeah, I have a question. Why didn’t you answer Tish James’s question?”

Maloney did take one swipe at James early on, saying it was “unprecedented for a governor to handpick an attorney general.” Maloney has taken other potshots at James before, but if he were really hoping to peel off votes from Teachout, that strategy would basically check out.

James also attacked Teachout during the debate for being disciplined by a North Carolina bar, a charge reiterated by her spokesperson later that evening.

In reality, in 2005, Teachout was fined $50 and issued a letter of reprimand for not informing a court that she had moved, and not providing a forwarding address. She was second chair serving an indigent client, and the reprimand makes clear that no harm was done to the client, and the client did not file a complaint. Cuomo leveled the same charge at Teachout in 2014 that James is using now.

James, meanwhile, tried to stake out her independence from her running-mate Andrew Cuomo and made frequent reference to her record, as a well-liked public advocate — an idiosyncratic New York City seat regarded as a stepping stone to the Mayor’s Office. James has the endorsement not just of Cuomo, but of EMILY’s List, which backs pro-choice women, along with much of the state Democratic establishment. She reiterated a statement she’d made a few weeks prior in stating that, “I don’t want to be known as the sheriff on Wall Street,” in response to a question on the subject, stating that “I want to pave my own way.” (The title is most associated with former New York AG Eliot Spitzer.) James emphasized her willingness to work with legislators in the state capitol, repeating that “not everyone in Albany is corrupt and there are some fine elected officials.”

The Cuomo campaign has been mired in scandal in recent months by a slew of corruption charges brought against state officials with close ties to his administration. As the debate was starting, news broke that Cuomo had ordered the acting New York state attorney general, Barbara Underwood, to suspend an investigation into Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance’s botched investigation into Hollywood producer and serial rapist Harvey Weinstein.

That last bit is just more of why I can't stand Cuomo fam.

[Clyde_Style]

I'm not going to lie. I forgot everything I ever could remember about NY politics having been gone for so long. There is no more byzantine political machine than the networks of deal makers that sprout out of Albany. Can't say I miss any of it.

[Clyde_Style]

I know a person that sells those type of shirts and makes a decent profit as they sell a high volume.

If the people buying knew he was a Muslim from Bangladesh that is profiting, I would love to see their reaction.

Great idea! And we get to identify who our traitors are. Win-win.

They should sell them a T-Shirt that says

"I gave my money to a Muslim American and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt"