THE WHEELS ARE COMING OFF

The awful debate, the Machado tweets, the continued bad behavior from their stubborn, bullying, thin-skinned candidate have Kellyanne Conway and all the surrogates spinning away at what cannot be spun. Their arguments have turned desperate, and increasingly news folks are just mocking them. 

Campaigns have ups and downs, as Clinton's has had too, but now five weeks before the election, this feels different. I think it has become clear that Trump is locked into his fact-denying, til-death-do-us-part 42% base, and that's about it. His few forays into teleprompted moderation are in the past, and between the rallies, the debates, and the tweets Trumpy has put his true character back on display. A steady stream of CONSERVATIVE papers have rejected him, and establishment Republicans have gone conspicuously silent.

And he just can't stop . . .

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/trump-suggests-might-not-recognize-clinton-win/

Donald Trump told the New York Times that he was rethinking his statement at the last presidential debate that he would “absolutely” support Hillary Clinton if she won in November, saying: “We’re going to have to see. We’re going to see what happens. We’re going to have to see.” 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-populism-corporatoins-donors-media-228995#ixzz4Lpw0SSJV
As Donald Trump’s campaign works to drive a sharper message down the home stretch, the GOP nominee is increasingly invoking the specter of a conspiracy by big corporations, media companies and donors to elect Hillary Clinton. . . . 

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/bonus-quote-day-24/
“She’s nasty, but I can be nastier than she ever can be.” 
       — Donald Trump, quoted by the New York Times, saying he’s trying to unsettle Hillary Clinton by talking about her husband’s infidelities. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/02/trump-wonders-if-clinton-is-crazy-loyal-to-her-husband-or-healthy/
In a rambling speech on Saturday night, Donald Trump imitated Hillary Clinton stumbling at a memorial service last month, suggested that she might be “crazy” and wondered if she is “loyal” to her husband. “Here's a woman, she’s supposed to fight all of these different things, and she can't make it 15 feet to her car,” Trump said at a rally in this rural Pennsylvania town that started more than an hour and 40 minutes late. “Give me a break. Give me a break.” Trump flailed his arms and jostled side to side. He then walked unsteadily away from the podium as if he were about to fall over . . .

“Now, she’s got bad temperament,” Trump said. “She could be crazy. She could actually be crazy.”  And Trump for the first time publicly suggested that Clinton might not be faithful to her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Trump has coyly threatened to once again attack Bill Clinton for his infidelity, and Trump’s surrogates have repeatedly questioned the couple’s marriage this week. . . .

Here's what's interesting. There are enormous problems with Trump's half-baked policies, his deep ignorance about issues foreign and domestic, his alienation of allies, his dangerous talk about nukes, his footsie game with Putin, his relentless lies, his openly illegal charity shenanigans and shady business dealings, and on and on. But what is bringing him down is his character, his overbearing ego, his propensity for personal attacks, his incorrigible sexism, his . . . temperament

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/10/1/13130396/trump-machado-clinton

The last six days proved Donald Trump is dangerously unfit for the presidency

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/he-warned-her-he-would-hit-her-hard-if.html

[December 24, 2015] Trump warns Clinton about playing "the war on women" card

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is taking aim at Hillary Clinton after the Democratic front-runner referred to the real estate mogul as "sexist.". . . Trump issued a warning on Twitter, telling Clinton to "be careful as you play the war on women or women being degraded card." He later tweeted, "I have great respect for women" and again warned her to "BE CAREFUL!" . . . Clinton and her team don't seem too concerned about Trump's warnings, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/01/1576512/-View-from-the-Left-She-deserves-it-What-Donald-Trump-s-wrath-could-mean-for-the-presidency

"She deserves it" [read this!]

Even Newt can't defend him

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/01/1576793/-Newt-Gingrich-There-s-no-excuse-for-Trump-s-insulting-3-AM-attacks

"For a while there, I thought he had really turned a corner. This last week, I think has been, frankly, a lost week. A week which has hurt him. Which has shaken his own supporters." "You can't tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. Period. There's no excuse. Ever. Not if you're going to be president of the United States," he added.

Bill Maher on Trumpy's very, very bad week

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/01/bill-maher-rips-trump-s-debate-fail-the-coke-wore-off.html

New York Times gets the goods on Trump's taxes ($0)

http://www.vox.com/2016/10/1/13134976/trump-tax-documents

[NYT] Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show. . . .

Nice insight here: the dangerous thing about Trump isn't that he's unpredictable and out of control -- it's that the debate showed that he is entirely predictable and easy to control. He was set up (and set off) by predictable barbs and taunts, and HE COULDN'T HELP HIMSELF. Imagine a head of state so easily manipulated, so transparent, so undisciplined. Imagine what Putin is thinking right now . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/10/donald-trump-predictable-and-controllable-other-hand-hes-also-predictable-and-con 

Trumpy tried to pimp Marla Maples to Playboy, and negotiated the price. She refused

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-pressured-second-wife-to-pose-nude-for-playboy

In a totally unexpected development, we learn today that back in the early 90s Donald Trump pressured his then-girlfriend, future wife and futurer ex-wife to pose nude in Playboy. Trump even negotiated a mega payday for the nude photo shoot. In the end, Maples refused. . . .

Tape revealed of Trump analyzing beauty pageant contestants in 2009

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/02/the-trump-rule-listen-to-creepy-audio-of-trump-ogling-miss-usa-models.html

Why aren't other Miss Universe contestants coming forward? An interesting theory

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-d-oh-no-nda

If and when Trump decides to attack Clinton for dissing the women who had affairs with her husband, expect to hear about this

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/09/30/this-video-might-make-it-harder-for-trump-to-attack-hillary-over-bills-affairs/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.83548a66b82e
“Paula Jones is a loser, but the fact is that she may be responsible for bringing down a president indirectly,” Trump said. . . Trump had this to say about Monica Lewinsky: “It’s sad because he would go down as a great President if he had not had this scandal. People would have been more forgiving if he’d had an affair with a really beautiful woman of sophistication. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were on a different level.”

I know how she feels

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-has-a-challenge-with-white-women-you-just-want-to-smack-him/2016/10/01/df08f9ee-875b-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html
Trump has a challenge with white women: ‘You just want to smack him’ 

The Trump gang's utterly inept response to the series of stories on Trump Foundation illegalities

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/09/latest-trump-foundation-bombshell-cant-be

Tone deaf

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/rudys-been-spending-too-much-time-at.html
The remarks Giuliani made to the Commercial Finance Association Thursday have not been publicly reported. But an attendee told the Observer the crowd was “shocked” by Giuliani’s comments and that some people began complaining about his speech almost immediately after it was over. “Rudy talked about immigration and made a really, really inappropriate comment about the quote-unquote Mexicans in the kitchen at the Waldorf,” the attendee said. “It was bad. You could hear a pin drop. . .” 

Not a single newspaper has endorsed Trump. Not one

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-ed-newspapers-trump-endorsements-20160930-snap-story.html

[NB: My hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, endorsed Gary "Aleppo" Johnson. They'll never live that one down.]

http://www.salon.com/2016/10/01/trump-drives-the-media-nuts-literally-the-chicago-tribunes-delusional-gary-johnson-endorsement-is-a-symptom-of-a-deeper-illness/
Trump drives the media nuts, literally: The Chicago Tribune’s delusional Gary Johnson endorsement is a symptom of a deeper illness  

Outreach!

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/10/donald-trump-polls-0-percent-detroit
Donald Trump Polls At 0 Percent In Detroit  

Yesterday we had a piece about the "nightmare" Trumpy has proved to be for the GOP. Excuse my schadenfreude: The Republicans played footsie with these same alt-right and Tea Party wackos when it suited them; they fostered over many decades a carefully coded discourse of racist appeals that encouraged those groups; they  enabled and flattered Trump as a candidate early on when they should have condemned him; they allowed better and more qualified candidates to get thrown under the bus; and now the national party has made a deal with the devil and is pressuring its members to get in line and back Trump no matter how bad he is. It has been quite apparent for a very long time who and what Trump is. No whining now folks -- he's ALL yours

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/01/1576583/-The-Republican-Party-s-mindset-To-hell-with-America-what-about-meeeeee
The very idea that such a flawed, utterly unfit candidate could possibly become the president of the United States is unthinkable, and thank God Republican leaders and strategists have finally acknowledged this clear and present danger to our country and … oh, wait … never mind ... [read on]

Wow. This is bizarre

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/emergency-xenophobia-infusion
Nigel Farage Makes Emergency Visit to US for Trump Debate Prep

It won't help: https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/debate-prep-wont-help-trump/

The "Trump won the debate" hashtag (#TrumpWon) -- a deep data dive into how Internet myths spread (thanks to BC for the link)

https://medium.com/i-data/trumpwon-trend-vs-reality-16cec3badd60#.3bmki0602

October 4

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/reminder-theres-debate-next-week/
The meeting of Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine, two pensive and little-known nominees, “might be the least anticipated vice-presidential debate in 40 years,” the New York Times reports. . . . 

It's hard to believe how Trump has made George Bush look good

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/10/01/not-ready-to-make-nice 

I'm not a huge Maureen Dowd fan, but she has an edge -- a very sharp edge

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/girl-talk-trump-tower/
Maureen Dowd: “Every minute of every day, Trump debunks that old ‘science’ when he shows that the gossipy, backbiting, scolding, mercurial, overly emotional, shrewish, menopausal one in this race is not the woman.”  “Trump is surrounded by a bitchy sewing circle of overweight men who are overwrought at the prospect of a distaff Clinton presidency.”

Clinton has another huge fundraising month. She'll need every penny of it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/01/clinton-reports-strongest-fundraising-month-taking-in-154-million-in-september/

Clinton's new Spanish-language ads

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/new-hillary-clinton-ads-look-to-expand-lead-with-hispanic-voters.html

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2016/09/hillary-clintons-new-ad-targets-hispanic-republican-and-first-time-voters.html

Clinton posts a 3:20 a.m. tweet

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/01/1576804/-Hillary-Clinton-trolls-Trump-with-late-night-tweets-of-her-own

Clinton's big secret weapon in driving turnout

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/10/clinton-works-to-turn-out-her-base-and-trump-helps-her.html

The latest effort to drive a wedge between Clinton and young progressives: Oh, puh - LEEZE

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/01/did-hillary-insult-sanderistas-as-basement-dwellers-no-just-the-opposite.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/02/despite-donald-trump-many-bernie-sanders-supporters-won-t-forgive-hillary-clinton.html

Republicans love it, of course: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/01/republicans-latch-onto-audio-of-clinton-critiquing-sanderss-revolution-but-senators-team-pushes-back/

In other news . . .

Chris Christie's campaign planned to use 9/11 artifacts to trade for political support

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/christie-planned-trade-911-artifacts-endorsements/

Is the Missouri senate seat now in play?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/missouri-senate-race-suddenly-close/

More state polls

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/state-poll-roundup-saturday-4/

Here's a substantial ethnic group whose votes no one is asking about: Eastern Europeans

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576273/-Trump-s-flirtation-with-Putin-could-cost-him-in-Ohio-and-Pennsylvania

And Asian-Americans

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/trump-asian-american-voters.html

Third party voters?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/third-party-backers-still-change-mind/
A new Associated Press-GfK poll found that nearly 7 in 10 third-party supporters say they could still change their minds. “They are about evenly split between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump if forced to choose between just those two. Nearly one-third refused to pick or said they would just not vote if it came down to that.”

At the state level

https://politicalwire.com/2016/10/01/gop-playing-defense-states/
“The Republican Party, after seizing control of more state legislative chambers than at any time in its history, is largely playing defense in the 2016 election,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Bonus item: SNL does the debate, with Alec Baldwin as Trump

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/10/snl-cold-opens-debate

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SEX TAPES

Is Trump really going to invite a re-examination of his own extramarital affairs?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576235/-Campaign-of-thrice-married-adulterer-is-determined-to-keep-us-talking-about-adultery

Funny, isn’t it, how the Trump campaign really, really wants us to be talking about that thing that Donald Trump ostentatiously didn’t quite say on Monday night. Adultery expert Newt Gingrich thinks Trump “was a gentleman” and “proved that he had the discipline to remain as a decent guy” by not explicitly talking about Bill Clinton’s past behavior. The twice-divorced Trump is not concerned about how the issue might bring up his own history, because “I have a very good history.” They really think they have a winning line here. All this has Republicans who remember how this all played out in the 1990s and/or have tested the issue with actual voters cringing and head-desking:      

"These voters were completely turned off and disgusted by it," Miller said in an e-mail. "We found time and again these attacks turned Hillary into a victim and that it engendered sympathy for her."

Remember the phony Trump spokesman "John Miller," who sounds suspiciously like. . .  Trump himself? Here's what he had to say about Trump's extramarital affairs

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/trump-files-listen-donald-brag-about-his-affairs-while-pretending-be-someone-else
Listen to Donald Brag About His Affairs—While Pretending to Be Someone Else

I hope that Trump continues to make a habit of bursting out tweet storms at 3:00 a.m. slandering a private citizen who has dared to cross him

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/inside-trump-s-machado-rage-spiral
Inside Trump's Machado Rage Spiral

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/09/30/donald-trump-is-in-meltdown-mode/
Donald Trump Is In Meltdown Mode

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/30/13120546/trump-alicia-machado-tweets
Donald Trump’s nasty, false tweetstorm against Alicia Machado proves how easy he is to bait

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/09/chuck-todd-machado-tweets-show-trump-bad
Chuck Todd: Machado Tweets Show Trump Is 'In A Bad Place Right Now'

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/trump-real-twitter-problem/
Trump Has a Real Twitter Problem  [read this]

There is no Machado "sex tape"

http://www.inquisitr.com/3553166/alicia-machado-sex-tape-donald-trump-goes-on-twitter-tirade-about-her-alleged-sex-tape-but-heres-the-truth-about-miss-universes-adult-movies/
Politico noted that “the Daily Beast and other outlets that investigated the claim found no evidence that she has starred in any pornographic films and that the clips posted online actually feature another woman.”

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/30/public-slut-shaming-and-donald-trumps-attack-on-a-former-miss-universitys-alleged-sex-history/

Life has a great sense of irony

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/trump-made-cameo-softcore-porn-video/
Trump Made Cameo In Softcore Porn Video 

Newt Gingrich links Machado to . . . Benghazi??

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/gingrich-calls-machado-new-benghazi-lie/

I am very happy to see Trump and his people pick this fight. And Machado's not taking it

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576296/-Alicia-Machado-fires-back-at-Trump-s-hateful-campaign
Alicia Machado fires back at Trump's 'hateful campaign'

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/alicia-machado-responds-trump-tweets-sex-tape-disgusting
Alicia Machado Fires Back: Misogyny One Of Trump’s ‘More Frightening' Traits

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/30/13124274/alicia-machado-response-trump-attack
“I will continue standing up and sharing my story, my absolute support to Mrs. Clinton in the name of women, my sisters, aunts, grandmothers, cousins, friends and the feminine community,” she wrote in her post.

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576286/-Psst-Donald-You-not-Hillary-Clinton-turned-Alicia-Machado-into-an-anti-Trump-vote

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576333/-The-Alicia-Machado-moment-sets-off-a-surge-in-voter-registration-searches-in-Latinos-areas
The Alicia Machado moment sets off a surge in voter registration searches in Latinos areas

Across different issues, Machado, Bill Clinton's infidelities and how to use them against Hillary, Trumpy's interruptions and misbehavior at the debate, suddenly gender is front and center in this campaign. And that is very bad news for Trump

https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-is-being-outplayed-by-women-and-hes-losing-his-mind/
Donald Trump Is Being Outplayed by Women—and He’s Losing His Mind Over It

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/30/13122230/trump-alicia-machado-hillary-clinton-tweets
After days of relative (though not total) restraint on the topic of Alicia Machado, Donald Trump finally let loose with an angry, false tweetstorm attacking the former Miss Universe in the early hours of Friday morning.  And Hillary Clinton’s campaign is clearly over the moon about it. . . . 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/clinton-response-trump-tweetstorm-alicia-machado
Clinton Campaign Tears Into Trump's 'Unhinged' Late-Night Tweetstorm 

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-30/trump-tweets-about-sex-tape-as-campaign-struggles-to-regroup
“What kind of human being is this?” Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said on Twitter after Trump posted the messages. 

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/30/13122814/trump-alicia-machado-feud

Why Donald Trump can't stop feuding with Alicia Machado

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/30/which-group-of-people-does-trump-hate-the-most.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/clinton-alicia-machado-trump-border-wall

Clinton Burns Trump: Easier For Him To Insult Women Than Make Mexico Pay Up

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576465/-Hillary-on-a-tear-Really-who-gets-up-at-3-00-in-the-morning-to-engage-in-a-Twitter-attack

"I mean, really, who gets up at 3:00 in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack?"

The Trump team says his social media use is brilliant, they say he has a great temperament, he's a winning debater, he's running an unconventional, paradigm-busting campaign, everyone at his rallies loves him. But we should flip all that -- these are all why he's LOSING

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/30/13108314/trump-campaign-strategy

Trump has been losing from the beginning. The core fact about Donald Trump’s general election campaign is that it’s been singularly ineffective. Not only is he down in the polls right now, he’s been consistently down in the polls for virtually the entire breadth of the campaign. That doesn’t mean Trump “can’t win” or that Clinton has nothing to worry about. But it does mean that, as best we can tell, Trump started behind and has never really found a way to get ahead. And he’s been losing even though Clinton has been viewed more unfavorably than favorably since April, a bad dynamic that set in for her before the Democratic Primary wrapped up. People tend to discount the “Trump is losing” factor on the grounds that Trump “should” be doing worse. But this becomes circular — Trump’s weakness as a candidate is the only reason to expect him to lose. He is, in fact, losing because he is, in fact, running a bad campaign. . . .

Trump denies the Cuba story, even as his campaign chair confirms it

Trump: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-denies-cuba-investment

Conway: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conway-view-trump-cuba-embargo

Howard Stern confirms what we have already heard on tape: that Trump did say he supported the invasion of Iraq in 2002. I don't have a link to it, but later on Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes acknowledged that he did say he supported the war, yet it didn't count because Howard Stern is an "entertainment" show and Trump was merely showing support for the troops. Still, this is the first time I've seen the Trump campaign admit what the Stern tape proves

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/howard-stern-donald-trump-iraq-war-debate

New Trump deposition released, and now we'll be talking about "murderers and rapists" again

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/30/13124796/watch-trump-oath 
Two chefs, Geoffrey Zakarian and José Andrés, pulled out of opening restaurants they were planning in Trump’s hotel after the Republican nominee made offensive comments about Mexicans. “More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests,” Andrés said in a statement at the time. “As a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status.” Trump sued in response, alleging a breach of contract. . . .

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/30/in-deposition-trump-unrepentant-about-mexican-remarks.html
In Deposition, Donald Trump Unrepentant About ‘Mexican’ Remarks

OK, I give up. I'm convinced now

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-vows-fulfill-every-dream-you-ever-dreamed
Trump vows to fulfill ‘every dream you ever dreamed’

I agree with Trump: Clinton's ads have been "nasty," ugly, and vicious -- and that's because they're full of direct quotes from him

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-nasty-ads-own-words

The second debate is a "town hall" format, something Trumpy is completely unfamiliar with, and very different from standing at a lectern. If he doesn't practice, it could be another bloodbath

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/09/29/the-first-debate-was-a-defeat-for-trump-heres-why-the-second-could-be-an-outright-massacre/?utm_term=.63956432e0b5
There are a few critical things to understand about this format, which has been used since 1992. . . . [read on]

The Trump campaign bragged that they raised $18 million in the 24 hours after the debate. Very impressive. . . if true. Is it true?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/29/1575926/-Trump-raised-18-million-in-24-hours-after-the-debate-Or-did-he

How did Trumpy handle the "Gary Johnson" question, about his favorite world leader? Not well

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-flubs-favorite-world-leader-test-surprising-way

Bad news for Trump in Florida

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-slumpin
There are several paths for Clinton to win without Florida. But it's probably fair to say that Trump cannot win without Florida. . .

http://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2016/09/report-trump-violated-cuba-embargo-105927
Report on Trump company's Cuba dealings could affect crucial Florida vote

Very bad: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576258/-Trump-s-Florida-spokesperson-resigns-as-campaign-responds-to-allegations-of-Cuba-payoffs
Trump's Florida spokesperson resigns as campaign responds to allegations of Cuba payoffs  

More bad news

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/clinton-leads-5-points-nationally/
A new Fox News poll finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump nationally among likely voters by five points, 49% to 44%.  A week ago, Trump led by one point.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/09/clinton-takes-lead-in-4-new-swing-state-polls.html
Clinton Takes Lead in Post-Debate Polls of 4 Battleground States

Win or lose (LOSE), here is Trump's legacy

http://www.salon.com/2016/09/30/hate-unleashed-for-decades-the-gop-kept-right-wing-bigots-under-control-trump-has-snapped-the-tether/
How Donald Trump unleashed the right-wing bigots that the GOP once kept under control 

More: http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/09/30/racists-have-gotten-permission-to-reject-gops-political-correctness/

"A nightmare for the GOP"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-bad-week-is-a-nightmare-for-the-gop/2016/09/30/e9290ad8-8727-11e6-92c2-14b64f3d453f_story.html

Now there's a national boycott of Trump properties

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/09/boycott-trumps-campaign-hurting-his

Oh, nice. Another cause the Trump Foundation supported was the anti-vaxxers

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/30/donald-trump-charity-gave-to-jenny-mccarthy-s-anti-vaxx-crusade.html

Another one

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/san-diego-union-tribune-endorses-clinton/
The San Diego Union-Tribune has endorsed Republicans for president from 1868 through 2012, but today they backed Hillary Clinton.

Howard Dean blasts the media for normalizing Trump

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/09/howard-dean-directly-blames
Trump is "not normal. . . There is something the matter with him, and I don't know what it is."

So someone actually looked at the FBI files on Clinton's email use

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-emails-2016-server-state-department-fbi-214307#ixzz4LkCjZgPJ
Together, the documents, technically known as Form 302s, depict less a sinister and carefully calculated effort to avoid transparency than a busy and uninterested executive who shows little comfort with even the basics of technology, working with a small, harried inner circle of aides inside a bureaucracy where the IT and classification systems haven’t caught up with how business is conducted in the digital age . . .

Is this the key for getting millennials excited about Clinton?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/09/should-hillary-clinton-endorse-legalized-pot
Should Hillary Clinton Endorse Legalized Pot?

In other news . . .

I think this is a huge problem. Who's doing this? Why isn't there a four-alarm, all-hands-on-deck investigation into who's doing it, and how it can be defended?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/hackers-hit-election-systems-20-states/
Hackers Have Hit Election Systems In 20 States 

Why early voting matters

http://www.salon.com/2016/10/01/which-voters-show-up-when-states-allow-early-voting_partner/

The Repubs passed a bill allowing 9/11 lawsuits against Saudi Arabia, then overrode Obama's veto of it. Now they're already having an "oops" moment

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-leaders-flunk-governing-101-test-911-bill

The Dems have a huge cash haul

https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/30/democrats-rake-big-money/

Death penalty support at its lowest point in 40 years

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/09/30/1576448/-Support-for-death-penalty-is-at-lowest-level-in-forty-years

Bonus item: The Daily Show on stop and frisk

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/30/the-daily-show-bashes-trump-on-stop-and-frisk-that-won-t-heal-the-racial-divide.html

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