# 2018 Election Day Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079 "2018-11-06T15:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/542 "2018-11-07T22:04:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Will someone be holding up the Quran when Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are sworn in? The Smithsonian has Jefferson’s copy. Be appropriate. > **[Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-thomas-jefferson-owned-qur-1-180967997/)** > > Islam in America dates to the founding fathers, says Smithsonian’s religion curator Peter Manseau ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/543 "2018-11-07T22:05:44Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > hate to burst your bubble, but the tradition is the spouse or other relative of the rep holds the book for the swearing in. (Not the politician who administers the oath. ) > > also if you are an atheist you can “affirm” rather than swear. I knew the the bit about atheists, but wasn’t sure about whether other religious tomes other than the Bible are allowed and/or been used in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/544 "2018-11-07T22:06:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > The Smithsonian has Jefferson’s copy. Be appropriate. > [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-thomas-jefferson-owned-qur-1-180967997/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-thomas-jefferson-owned-qur-1-180967997/) For Muslims? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/545 "2018-11-07T22:14:37Z")
Jefferson also created his own version of the Bible [Jefferson Bible - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible) ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/546 "2018-11-07T22:24:20Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > For Muslims? When Keith Ellison (coincidentally Ilhan Omar’s predecessor in the MN-5 seat) was sworn in in 2006 he used Jefferson’s Qur’an. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran\_oath\_controversy\_of\_the\_110th\_United\_States\_Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran_oath_controversy_of_the_110th_United_States_Congress) Republicans tried to oppose it and used a bunch of incendiary rhetoric to voice their opinions. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/547 "2018-11-07T22:53:43Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > also if you are an atheist you can “affirm” rather than swear. Or a Quaker, or for that matter any random Christian who interprets Matt. 5:33-37 the way they do. (How else can one read it? Seems to be the plain meaning of the passage.) Not sure why the swear-v.-affirm thing would matter to atheists. Swearing isn’t specifically a religious thing. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/548 "2018-11-07T22:57:10Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Edit: YOU NINJAD ME You and Elendil’s Heir too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/549 "2018-11-08T01:11:08Z")
Anybody mention the dead brothel owner elected in Nevada? Another example of Republican hypocrisy. They complain about Democrats and “dead voters”, but they run dead _candidates._ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/550 "2018-11-08T01:19:50Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > :smack:😕:smack: > Would have thought appalling a more appropriate description. > > Both Right & Left politically engaged on record levels, and spoiling for a ballot box fight to protect their ideological patch on a high octane mix of economic, social & ethical issues, USD5 billion spent feeding the media, and you still can’t get the average eligible voter, much less the average American to vote? Really? “Appalling” to have more voters voting in a midterm than ever before and about as high of a fraction of eligible voters as ever, closing in on as many in some presidential cycles. Huh. Nope I am impressed. Most important to me is that [Millennials and those following finally flexed their muscles.](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/youth-turnout-midterm-2018/575092/). In a midterm in which overall turnout increased by 37% compared to the last midterm, the 18 to 29 group increased their share of the vote by 18% (from 11 to 13% of the total vote). This is very significant. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/551 "2018-11-08T01:27:43Z")
Wisconsin Republicans want to take power away from the Governor before Evers takes office. > [@](#): > > “If there are areas where we could look and say, ‘Geez — have we made mistakes where we granted too much power to the executive,’ I’d be open to taking a look to say what can we do to change that to try to re-balance it,” Vos told reporters. Yeah, it was ok when it was OUR guy in charge but now, well geez, maybe we need to get some of that back. Assholes. > **[GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos threatens to take power away from Tony Evers...](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/07/wisconsin-elections-tony-evers-likely-face-gridlock/1918875002/)** > > Gov.-elect Tony Evers could face a common feature of split government — gridlock. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/552 "2018-11-08T01:41:43Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Really? “Appalling” to have more voters voting in a midterm than ever before and about as high of a fraction of eligible voters as ever, closing in on as many in some presidential cycles. > > Huh. > > Nope I am impressed. Most important to me is that [Millennials and those following finally flexed their muscles.](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/youth-turnout-midterm-2018/575092/). In a midterm in which overall turnout increased by 37% compared to the last midterm, the 18 to 29 group increased their share of the vote by 18% (from 11 to 13% of the total vote). > > This is very significant. Yes it’s possibly significant and hopeful but surely you realize that penultima thule’s point was that the absolute numbers are bad. This was a high octane election and you still didn’t break 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/553 "2018-11-08T01:50:57Z")
In light of today, big props to this: > [@asterion](#): > > Any bets on how many more days Sessions is AG? I personally would have given it a week or two. > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > There needs to be a word for the group of subpoenas heading out. Like a “murder of subpoenas”? A Trump Tower of subpoenas. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/554 "2018-11-08T02:17:07Z")
Dumb question, but what does the Senate do, as opposed to Congress? I’m sure I could google it for an in-depth discussion, but as a dumb Canadian I’m looking for a simple succinct answer. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/555 "2018-11-08T02:17:24Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Anybody mention the dead brothel owner elected in Nevada? Another example of Republican hypocrisy. They complain about Democrats and “dead voters”, but they run dead _candidates._ What were they supposed to do? The laws of Nevada didn’t allow for replacement before the election. Since he’s dead, a replacement will be selected now after the election. All of the people in that district understood what was going on; indeed, local commentary indicated he was more likely to win after dying, because everyone knew that the seat would stay Republican and he wasn’t going to be filling it. Not that it matters in the least; SW rural Nevada has gone Republican like forever. Pahrump’s not exactly a bastion of liberal thinking. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/556 "2018-11-08T02:18:24Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > Wisconsin Republicans want to take power away from the Governor before Evers takes office. > > Yeah, it was ok when it was OUR guy in charge but now, well geez, maybe we need to get some of that back. Assholes. > > [GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos threatens to limit power of Tony Evers](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/07/wisconsin-elections-tony-evers-likely-face-gridlock/1918875002/) See North Carolina two years ago for the playbook on this. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/557 "2018-11-08T02:23:07Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Dumb question, but what does the Senate do, as opposed to Congress? > > I’m sure I could google it for an in-depth discussion, but as a dumb Canadian I’m looking for a simple succinct answer. > > Thank you. The Senate is one of the two Houses of Congress (the House of Representatives, usually shortened to “the House”, is the other). The two houses are co-equal members of the Legislative branch, but there are some extra duties the Senate has. These include approving the President’s cabinet members, the President’s appointees for federal court positions (including the Supreme Court), and the approval of treaties the President makes. The Senate has some rules specific to that branch of the Congress, most specifically the “filibuster”, which allows a member of Congress to continue to “debate” a bill endlessly, unless the rest of the Senate votes for “cloture” of debate. That currently takes 60 out of 100 Senators to accomplish; a successful vote means that the Senate can then vote on the bill being debated a certain number of hours later. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/558 "2018-11-08T02:25:35Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Dumb question, but what does the Senate do, as opposed to Congress? > > I’m sure I could google it for an in-depth discussion, but as a dumb Canadian I’m looking for a simple succinct answer. > > Thank you. The TL;DR version is that Congress is the House (lower) and Senate (upper.) The House drafts legislation but the Senate has power to approve or reject it. If the Senate approves it, then it goes to the president for his approval/rejection. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/559 "2018-11-08T02:33:13Z")
Another important point is that “co-equal” means legislation has to be passed by both houses. Similar to Parliament and the Senate in Canada with the crucial difference that the American Senate is not remotely a rubber stamp thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/560 "2018-11-08T02:38:32Z")
Article I of the U.S. Constitution specifies the election, powers and role of Congress, and is a relatively quick read: [http://constitutionus.com/](http://constitutionus.com/) Some other key differences: revenue bills have to start in the House, as do articles of impeachment (which, if approved, are then tried in the Senate). The House also has no role in providing advice and consent to presidential nominations; that’s the Senate’s bailiwick. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079/561 "2018-11-08T03:00:08Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The TL;DR version is that Congress is the House (lower) and Senate (upper.) The House drafts legislation but the Senate has power to approve or reject it. If the Senate approves it, then it goes to the president for his approval/rejection. Interesting. Thank you. The Senate in Canada servers the same purpose, essentially, but they are appointed, not elected. But I’ll be damned if I ever heard of Senate reject or reverse anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2018-election-day-thread/824079.md?page=29)