Hasn't Sean Parnell Conceded Yet?

From the AP results (Google "Presidential Election Results" and use the pull down menus to get the election results for the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania):

Conor Lamb: 219,858

Sean Parnell: 211,272

Fifteen days after the election and Representative Lamb is still ahead by about 8600 votes. This late in the process, Sean, where are you going to find 8600 votes?

Sean, it's time for you to concede.

Follow-Up On Those Current Numbers From Last Week (Biden, Lamb, Trump, Parnell)

This is to update the numbers I posted last week. 

Covid deaths US: 244,810 (or about 74.59 per 100,000) 

Covid deaths Canada: 10,953 (or about 29.13 per 100,000)

Had the good ole US of A treated the virus as effectively as Canada, we'd be looking at about 95,604 Covid deaths here in The States instead of 244,810. Had we treated the virus as effectively as Canada, about 149,000 US Citizens would still be alive. We have to assume that all those 149,000 (or so) deaths were therefore preventable were it not for the incompetence and corruption of Donald Trump.

"It is what it is." said Trump.

Fuck Donald Trump. When will he be indicted for mass murder? Negligent homicide?

On to the election results. From the AP:

Current votes for Joe Biden: 77,170,769 

Current votes for Donald Trump:72,057,511

The AP is updating its numbers and they look even worse for Donald Trump. This was not a close election. No amount of stalling, denying or frivolous lawsuiting will change that.

Joe Biden is currently 5,637,779 votes ahead of Donald Trump.  (November 12, it was 5,113,258).

Fuck Donald Trump. It's time for him to concede.

Locally, the numbers are on a similar track in PA. From the AP:

Current votes for Joe Biden in PA: 3,423,976 (Nov 12 it was 3,386,380)

Current votes for Donald Trump in PA: 3,354,836 (Nov 12, it was 3,333,161)

Joe Biden is currently 69,140  votes ahead of Donald Trump (Nov 12, it was 53,219).

Fuck Donald Trump. It's time for him to concede.

And, if there is any justice in the world, Trump should be perp-walked out of DC immediately after Biden's inauguration. Perhaps to NYC to face tax-evasion charges. Perhaps to The Hague to be charged with crimes against humanity.

A side note, GOP candidate for PA-17 has yet to concede the Lamb-Parnell race. Here are the AP's numbers:

Conor Lamb: 221,112 (Nov 12, it was 218,185)

Sean Parnell: 211,256 (Nov 12, it was 208,074)

Conor Lamb is currently 13,038 votes ahead of Sean Parnell (Nov 12, it was 10,011).

Sean, it's time for you to concede. Where are you going to find those 13k votes? I'd DM this question to you via twitter but you've blocked me from your twitter feed. Why did you do that, by the way? You blocked me after I tweeted that question when you were "only" about 10,000 votes behind.

LDRSHIP - Amplifying a Pittsburgh Current Opinion Piece

A few bits of full disclosure. 

1. I used to write for the Pittsburgh Current but I don't any more.
2. I'm not military. My dad was in the Army but the closest I can get to military culture is reading the experiences of those who've lived it.

As we all know in SW PA, Congressman Conor Lamb (a Maj on the US Marine Corps Reserve) is up against Sean Parnell (retired Capt in the US Army) to represent Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

Into this mix, there's this piece in the current Pittsburgh Current, written Matt Landis (retired Army).

Landis starts here:

When you join the Army, you are issued boots, a shirt, pants, a blouse, and a cover. (That’s a hat for those who didn’t serve.) These make up the basic uniform for service. There are two additional items required on a soldier’s person at all times: your dog tags and a tag with the Army Values. This list of words is as important to soldiering as the Ten Commandments are to Christians. We were expected to know and live them at all times.

Those values can be labeled with this acronym: LDRSHIP which stands for, "Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage."  

And this is some of what Landis has to say about Sean Parnell:

Sean Parnell has built his political image around his legitimate heroism in combat. Make no mistake, when he was called upon to show courage under fire, he answered the bell. It’s what Army Rangers are known for. We are lucky to have such men and women ready to put their lives on the line on our behalf, and I would never impugn his stellar combat record, but my dedication to the values we are supposed to share compels me to speak out when he violates them.

As I have watched Parnell’s campaign for Congress, it has become painfully clear to me that he no longer lives these values, and that he is just another poser disguised in a hero’s clothing. He is no longer led by senior NCOs and officers who demand he adhere to such values, or hold his soldiers to them. Instead, he is led by a man that abhors them, President Donald Trump.

Go read the piece for his reasons why.

Sean Parnell Kinda Sorta Corrects The Record, Maybe

Hey, remember this?

A few days ago, Donald Trump - a man who avoided military service by lying about his medical history, lied about the voting record of my representative in Congress, Conor Lamb. Trump also called Lamb, a retired Marine Corps Major, "an American Fraud." Trump also spelled Lamb's name (both, actually - first and last) wrong.

This was part of an endorsement of Lamb's presumptive opponent, retired Army Captain Sean Parnell.

After some very bad press for Parnell Chris Potter, the politics/government editor for WESA-FM tweeted this:

The conntroversy (see what I did there?) over Trump's Memorial Day "Connor Lamm" tweet continues for another day, with a statement this A.M. from GOP candidate Sean Parnell, who Trump is trying to help. pic.twitter.com/dDoyupOqMy

— Chris Potter (@CPotterPgh) May 27, 2020

Here's the text of Parnell's statement:

In a Monday tweet, President Trump turned up the heat on Congressman Conor Lamb tweeting, "Sean Parnell is an American Hero. Conor Lamb has proven to be an American fraud, and a puppet for Crazy Nancy Pelosi. He said he would NOT vote for her for Speaker, and did. Will kill 2A. Voted to impeach (on nothing). A TOTAL & COMPLETE Sean Parnell Endorsement!" On Tuesday he deleted and and posted a new tweet with the correct spelling of Lamb's name.

It's easy to see how the President and others might think that Lamb voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. Pelosi gave Lamb a pass on that vote but ever since he has been one of her most reliable supporters voting with her 92% of the time.

Take a careful look at how Parnell "corrects" the record:

• He doesn't explicitly say that Trump misspelled Lamb's name, just that Trump deleted the tweet and retweeted it with the correct one.
• He also doesn't explicitly say that Trump was wrong about Lamb's voting record (even though he was - completely) just that it's "easy to see the President and others" were wrong. Parnell never says that Lamb voted against Pelosi as speaker.

Instead of an active voice speaking in clear terms, we get weasel words and an incomplete correction.

And of course Sean Parnell is completely silent about how the draft-avoiding Trump called the retired Marine "an American fraud."

Completely silent.

This is Sean Parnell.

On Memorial Day Trump Calls Conor Lamb, A Retired Marine, "An American Fraud"

And he did it in this tweet:

Sean Parnell is an American Hero. Connor Lamm has proven to be an American fraud, and a puppet for Crazy Nancy Pelosi. He said he would NOT vote for her for Speaker, and did. Will kill 2A. Voted to impeach (on nothing). A TOTAL & COMPLETE Sean Parnell Endorsement! https://t.co/v1OnY0MI8m

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020

And it came with a "TOTAL & COMPLETE" endorsement of his opponent, Sean Parnell.

Oh, and there's also the lie about Lamb's record. This part:

He said he would NOT vote for her for Speaker, and did.

No, he didn't.

And then there's the disrespect of spelling Conor Lamb's name wrong.

However, instead of defending his fellow serviceman, the Trump-endorsed Sean Parnell defended Trump instead:

The POTUS didn’t attack @ConorLambPA’s military service as a lawyer. @realDonaldTrump went after Lamb for pretending to be a pro Trump moderate in a Trump district to get elected.

Truth is, Lamb votes with @SpeakerPelosi 90+% of the time & voted for both charges of impeachment. https://t.co/0de6pFBQ48

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) May 25, 2020

No fair trying to deflect, Sean. Trump used the phrase "American fraud" without the qualifiers you so dutifully supplied and you also failed to correct Trump on his error about the vote for Pelosi being speaker. Surely you knew that was incorrect, right?

When can I add the part about how Donald Trump avoided serving in Vietnam by lying about his medical history (this according to sworn testimony from his one-time attorney Michael Cohen)?

So a Memorial Day insult of a retired Marine by a guy who avoided military service is even more absurd.

How far has this news reached?

The Trib:

On Memorial Day, President Trump called Marine reserve officer and Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb an “American fraud” on Twitter.

KDKA:

President Trump took to Twitter to call Congressman and veteran Conor Lamb an “American Fraud” on Memorial Day, about a week ahead of the state’s primary.

Talking Points Memo:

President Donald Trump marked Memorial Day by calling Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), a Marine Corps veteran, an “American fraud.”

The Week:

President Trump spent part of Memorial Day taking shots at Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Penn.), calling him an "American fraud," misrepresenting his voting record, and spelling his name wrong, all in one tweet.

This in an endorsement for Republican Sean Parnell and with every defense, he now owns a little piece of it.