Nightmare Scenario: ‘Dead Heat’ and ‘Dirty Tricks’

Share article:

We really should have taken some time off this past summer, cause it looks like we may not get a good break anytime soon. It may be a much busier November, December and even January than we’d like.

Rachel Maddow highlights what we regard as our personal nightmare scenario: “Almost every legitimately contested, legitimately interesting race in the country — is tied, right now, with less than three weeks to go”…

Ugh.

“With this many top of the ticket races tied, turnout will be everything,” Maddow explains. “So now’s the part where we watch for the ways that people will try to stop voters from turning out or from having their votes counted, by hook or by crook. … Right now, big picture, three weeks out: this is a tie game. Close enough to be fascinating, but also close enough to be stolen”…

Of course, with all due respect to Maddow, while “now” is certainly important, it is not the only time where we ought to “watch for the ways that people will try to stop voters from turning out or from having their votes counted.” We ought to be doing that in the rest of the year and the year prior — outside of the dead heat of the election moment — when it’s a lot easier to do something about those who work to stop voters from turning out and to have votes counted (in a way that all voters can know they’ve been counted accurately). That, as you good readers know, is what we do, or at least try to, all year around, here at The BRAD BLOG.

Either way, it should also be noted that, in the video segment above, Maddow is only looking at the “dead heats” in the U.S. Senate and Governors races. There also about a gazillion other elections — U.S. House, state and local — all happening this year as well, and all of which matter as well. Not to mention the fact that voting rights for every single voter — whether or not any particular race is a dead heat or not — matters very much as well.

In any event, once again…ugh.

* * *
Please help support The BRAD BLOG’s fiercely independent, award-winning coverage of your electoral system — now in our ELEVENTH YEAR! — as available from no other media outlet in the nation…

MONTHLY BRAD BLOG SUBSCRIPTION
ONE-TIME DONATION

Choose monthly amount…

(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)

Share article:

Reader Comments on

Nightmare Scenario: ‘Dead Heat’ and ‘Dirty Tricks’

9 Comments

(Comments are now closed.)


9 Responses

  1. 2)
    Hoosey Whatsis said on 10/17/2014 @ 3:08pm PT: [Permalink]

    I don’t want to get all “tinfoil hat” conspiracy-theorist but I can’t help wondering how pollsters might be involved in election-rigging.

    Rasmussen has just released a poll showing Grimes trailing McConnell, 44 to 52 percent.

    And yet, rated for accuracy during the 2012 election Rasmussen was 24th out of 28.

    I’m not clever enough to know what to make of this (if anything), I’d just hate for Karl Rove to suffer ANOTHER shock like he did on election night, 2012 …

  2. 3)
    Adam said on 10/17/2014 @ 3:53pm PT: [Permalink]

    Has there ever been an objective study on the rate of close elections before vs after the advent of electronically tabulated elections? I get the impression that there have been more of them.

  3. 4)
    David Lasagna said on 10/17/2014 @ 8:41pm PT: [Permalink]

    Maybe I wasn’t watching carefully enough but it seemed that the guy she was talking to didn’t get the part about the voter fraud talk being offered as a reason for anything being complete bullshit.

    Isn’t there a single person on her staff who’s hip to the jive and knows about our guy? Or could do a little looking and find out? Crikey.

  4. 5)
    Randy D said on 10/20/2014 @ 9:10am PT: [Permalink]

    Kudos to Maddow for being one of the few to cover voter suppression efforts and voter roll skullduggery. It’s worth noting that even she is not willing to even raise the possibility of ELECTION FRAUD going hand and hand with these other efforts. These close races, with Republican Secretaries of State watching the henhouse, are the perfect storm for election fraud.

    I predict 11/3 will be full of stories about how the “polls were wrong” (and/or how exit poll data is disappeared so it can’t contradict the reported results).

  5. 6)
    Nunyabiz1 said on 10/21/2014 @ 9:23am PT: [Permalink]

    One thing guaranteed is that Tpublicans WILL commit outright Election Fraud in order to STEAL every race they possibly can.

  6. 8)
    CambridgeKnitter said on 10/22/2014 @ 7:27pm PT: [Permalink]

    Re the Think Progress story. Sigh. It repeats the bogus pimp claim. I sent the reporter a message requesting that he fix it. It would be good if he heard from a bunch of people about that.

  7. 9)
    Nunyabiz1 said on 10/23/2014 @ 8:36am PT: [Permalink]

    Why isn’t O’Keefe in prison?

    If a democrat did this they would be locked up and key tossed

(Comments are now closed.)


Please help The BRAD BLOG, BradCast and Green News Report remain independent and 100% reader and listener supported in our 23rd YEAR!!!

ONE TIME
any amount...

MONTHLY
any amount...

OR VIA SNAIL MAIL
Make check out to...
Brad Friedman/
BRAD BLOG
7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594
Los Angeles, CA 90028

RECENT POSTS

But Here’s Another Post That Comes AFTER the Stay-on-Top Test!

But is it really under the sticky post?

Trying Out Stay-on-Top Functionality

How does it work?

You tell me!

‘Dangerous Times’: Climate Scientist Warns Trump ‘Censorship’ Endangering National Security: ‘BradCast’ 3/6/2026

Guest: Dr. Peter Gleick; Also: Admin deported at least 50 legal Venezuelan migrants; Judge says South Sudan deportations violated court order

This is the Sub Sub title line. Have added it so that we can see how the spacing works everywhere with both sub headers...

TEST

Guest: Election expert Marilyn Marks on GA 2018 Lt. Gov. election contest as state moves to unverifiable barcoded ballots; Also: FL 2020 GOP power-grab update; IA Repubs vote to NOT count absentee ballots...

Investigators reportedly examining federal judge's long history of alleged domestic abuse, while Congressional impeachment looms...

The Attempted 2018 Voter Suppression Begins: ‘BradCast’ 8/20/2018

And other news, both good and bad, around the country and world, 78 days out from the midterm elections...

A New Test Post for Linux61

This is one of those famous sub-titles you've heard so much about, that have been so vexing

And this, believe it or not, is a sub-sub-title!...

Sunday ‘Cutting Corners’ Toons

THIS WEEK: Big Barbaric Bill ... Conman's Clowns ... Anti-Semitism ... In Memoriam ...

‘A World of Tyrants, Bribes, and Influence’: ‘BradCast’ 5/22/2025

Guests: Heather Digby Parton of Salon, 'Driftglass' of 'Pro Left Podcast'...

‘Green News Report’ – May 22, 2025

With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

And Then They Came for Members of Congress…: ‘BradCast’ 5/20/2025

Guest: Attorney Keith Barber; Also: Noem doesn't know what Habeas Corpus means; Paramount owner wants CBS News to roll over to Trump...

‘Green News Report’ – May 20, 2025

With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

Appeals Court Blocks Last Route for Voters to Challenge Violations of the Voting Rights Act: ‘BradCast’ 5/19/2025

Guest: Justin Levitt, former Dep. Asst. A.G. at DOJ; Also: Springsteen sounds alarm; Far-right loses in Romania; SCOTUS blocks Trump again...

Sunday ‘Now Hoarding’ Toons

THIS WEEK: From the Middle East ... to Capitol Hill ... and Across the MAGAVerse ...

Mad World: ‘BradCast’ 5/15/2025

Birthright citizenship and nationwide injunctions at SCOTUS; GOP tax and health care cuts in the House; Eliminating FEMA, dismantling NWS before hurricane season; Noem's surreal tattoo testimony; Souter's warning...

‘Green News Report’ – May 15, 2025

With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

About Brad Friedman...

Brad is an independent investigative journalist, blogger and broadcaster.
Full Bio & Testimonials…
Media Appearance Archive…
Articles & Editorials Elsewhere…
Contact…
He has contributed chapters to these books…
…And is featured in these documentary films…

BRAD BLOG ON THE AIR!

THE BRADCAST on KPFK/Pacifica Radio Network (90.7FM Los Angeles, 98.7FM Santa Barbara, 93.7FM N. San Diego and nationally on many other affiliate stations! ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneInApple Podcasts/iTunesiHeartAmazon Music

GREEN NEWS REPORT, nationally syndicated, with new episodes on Tuesday and Thursday. ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneInApple Podcasts/iTunesiHeartAmazon Music

Media Appearance Archives…

AD
CONTENT

ADDITIONAL STUFF

Brad Friedman/
The BRAD BLOG Named...

Buzz Flash's 'Wings of Justice' Honoree
Project Censored 2010 Award Recipient
The 2008 Weblog Awards