independents

When computers mimic the human mind by showing an ability to "learn" and then use that learning to solve problems... that's AI-- Artificial Intelligence. Today it goes beyond human speech recognition, military war-game simulations and autonomously operating cars and tracks to... predicting who's going to win the Iowa caucuses tomorrow. You don't need AI for that you say? You can check the Real Clear Politics polling average (which shows Bernie ahead with 23.8%, compared to Status Quo Joe's 20.2%, Mayo Pete's 15.8% and everyone else below the 15% needed to win any delegates).

Just before midnight on Friday night, the Washington Post published a piece by Ashley Parker about the American president that would have shocked and astounded any time traveler from back at any point in American history. It was about Trump's vicious, ugly mean streak.

Ipsos did a new national poll for Reuters. I just want to focus on respondents who described themselves as independents (12%) rather than Democrats (43%) or Republicans (37%).

No matter what the result of the impeachment battle is, next year, Republicans and Democrats are going to do what Republicans and Democrats do-- Republicans voters are going to vote for Republican candidates and Democrats are going to vote for Democratic candidates. In states with overwhelming numbers of Republican voters or Democratic voters, we already know the results of the elections.

Republicans in states or districts that are so red that they don't need independent voters to win, have no problem continuing to support Trump. At least in theory, the states where Republicans can win without significant independent support are these half dozen red hellholes (with their PVIs):

Mark Amodei (R-NV) desperately wants to change the backdropLately, Eli Stokols has been doing some excellent reporting for the virtually moribund L.A. Times. I hope it's enough to save the paper from oblivion. It looks like nothing will save the GOP from oblivion, though-- at least not in the short term.

Both parties suck and one of the themes of DWT for the past decade has been that the Democrats are simply the lesser of two evils-- sometimes not even that. The 2018 elections were not a "blue wave." Few people were excited about what the Democrats were offering. 2018 was simply an anti-Trump wave or an anti-red wave.

You know what this baby Nazi grew up to be, right?I feel like a tape: Republicans generally vote for Republicans and Democrats generally vote for Republicans. That's why, in so many districts-- including ALL the battleground districts-- independents decide the outcome. And you know who independents do not like? Right-- Trump.

GOP base strategy works with hardcore Republican voters, but not with normal peopleThis morning when Trump tried bragging about his magnificence, the UN General Assembly burst out in sustained, audible laughter. No, Señor T, you're not in Kansas anymore.

Overwhelmingly, voters who identify as Democrats vote for Democratic Party candidates-- even for candidates for the Republican wing of the Party (Blue Dogs and New Dems)-- and the rapidly shrinking number of voters who identify as Republicans vote for Republicans-- whether mainstream conservatives or neo-fascists and, presumably, Trumpists. So...