Special unknown unknowns edition; what you don’t know you don’t know about this election

Political insights heading into the most important Presidential election of your lifetime, just like the last one and the one before that, but this time it’s true.

On the issues:

“The Wal-Mart revolution is over… [America] is making more of what it consumes, and consuming more of what it makes… It is the first time since World War II that trade with other nations has declined during a period of economic growth,” (shares: 3, 66, 7) from “A Little-Noticed Fact About Trade: It’s No Longer Rising” by Binyamin Appelbaum for the New York Times.

“The minute a refugee has a job, that’s the minute they stop being a refugee,” (31 shares) from “For Helping Immigrants, Chobani’s Founder Draws Threats” by David Gelles for the New York Times.

Excerpts from “Why Is the Foreign Policy Establishment Spoiling for More War? Look at Their Donors.” by Dennis Kucinich for the Nation:
“I’m fed up with the DC policy elite who cash in on war while presenting themselves as experts… The marching band and chowder society of DC think tanks learned nothing from the Iraq and Libya experience… The only winners were arms dealers, oil companies, and jihadists… [As the election concludes,] Washington ideologues are regurgitating the same bipartisan consensus that has kept America at war since 9/11… [because] war is first and foremost a profitable racket,” (shares: 48, 18, 1, 7, 56).

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On the media:

“The whole show-business concept that places paid partisan yakkers on television is corrupt and venal… By dividing their partisan contributors between Republicans and Democrats, TV creates the illusion of impartiality,” (shares: 11, 1) from “CNN Dumped Donna Brazile. It Should Keep Going.” by Jack Shafer for Politico.

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On the candidates:

“Mr Trump avoided reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable income… Whatever loophole existed was not ‘exploited’ here, but stretched beyond any recognition… Among the members of Congress who voted to finally close the loophole: Senator Hillary Clinton of New York,” (shares: 16, 104, 71) from “Donald Trump Used Legally Dubious Method to Avoid Paying Taxes” by David Barstow, Mike McIntire, Patricia Cohen, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner for the New York Times.

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On the voters:

“Trump deserves the award for Hispanic turnout. He did more to get them out than any Democrat has ever done,” (124 shares) from “Hillary Clinton Appears to Gain Late Momentum on Surge of Latino Voters” by Jonathan Martin for the New York Times.

“As many Hispanic voters have already cast ballots in Florida’s early voting period as cast ballots in all of 2012… fully 36 percent of the Hispanics who have voted so far did not vote in 2012,” (shares: 6, 7) from “This Time, There Really Is a Hispanic Voter Surge” by Nate Cohn for the New York Times.

Another fun fact from Florida — more votes were cast early in 2016 as were cast in total in the contested 2000 election.

“Looks like Trump got his wall after all. A wall of beautiful voters… There simply are not enough votes left for Trump to win unless something very, very strange is going on,” (shares: 28, 21) from “How the Harry Reid Machine May Have Killed Trump’s Chances” by Jon Ralston for Politico.

2016’s first instance of voter fraud came from the Trump side.
“I wasn’t planning on doing it twice, it was a spur of the moment,” (11 shares) from “Des Moines Woman Says She Voted Twice For Trump Because “The Polls Are Rigged”” by Sarah Boden for Iowa Public Radio.

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On the aftermath:

“You can’t pretend that Trump didn’t happen… The party of Ronald Reagan is being led by a man with no discernible ideological leanings… What are the core conservative convictions going forward?” (shares: 102, 9, 4) from “‘We Are in for a Pretty Long Civil War’” by Yascha Mounk for Politico.

“We should all be very worried about what Republicans will do after November 8, whether they win or lose,” (16 shares) from “Republicans are now vowing Total War. And the consequences could be immense.” by Paul Waldman for the Washington Post.

Senior Trump advisor: “Think of the bunker right before Hitler killed himself. Donald’s in denial. They’re all in denial,” (26 shares) from “The Final Days of Trump’s Unmanageable, Unrepentant, and Unprecedented Campaign” by Gabriel Sherman for New York Magazine.

Just because Trump isn’t going into the White House doesn’t mean he’s going away.
Trump advisors: “We own the future of the Republican Party… Facebook is what propelled Breitbart to a massive audience. We know its power,” (shares: 110, 15) from “Why the Trump Machine Is Built to Last Beyond the Election” by Joshua Green and Sasha Issenberg for Bloomberg.

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On the FBI investigation:

Excerpts from “Open Letter To Comey From The Teen Who Allegedly Got Sexts From Weiner” by David Mack for Buzzfeed:
“Anthony Weiner is the abuser. Your letter helped that abuse to continue… I thought your job as FBI Director was to protect me… I now add you to the list of people who have victimized me,” (shares: 33, 66, 16).

“He is operating independently of the Justice Department. And he knows it,” (52 shares) from “Justice officials warned FBI that Comey’s decision to update Congress was not consistent with department policy” by Sari Horwitz for the Washington Post.

“You can triage a dataset like this in a much shorter amount of time,” (37 shares) from “Yes, Donald Trump, the FBI Can Vet 650,000 Emails in Eight Days” by Andy Greenberg for Wired.

“The mood at the F.B.I. is dark, and nobody is willing to predict what the coming days will bring,” (293 shares) from “F.B.I.’s Email Disclosure Broke a Pattern Followed Even This Summer” by Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, Adam Goldman and William K. Rashbaum for the New York Times.

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In closing, a reprint of my favorite quote from this election:

“The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally,” (89 shares) from “Taking Trump Seriously, Not Literally” by Salena Zito for the Atlantic.