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UK prime minister Boris Johnson will try again today to get MPs to support an election, Yui Mok/PA Wire/PA Images

Boris Johnson will try again today to get MPs to back an early December election

Johnson failed in his bid last night to get enough MPs to trigger a poll in December.

BORIS JOHNSON WILL ask MPs to support his bid for a pre-Christmas election in order to break the Brexit deadlock, after he failed last night to get two-thirds of the House of Commons to back his call for a snap poll. 

UK prime minister Johnson has put his deal on hold in an anticipated bid to convince the Commons to vote today for a 12 December election. This will be his fourth attempt to get an election. 

He may again be defeated with the date proving controversial for the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, who have signalled support for an election being held three days earlier.

Johnson failed yesterday evening to get the two-thirds majority needed to secure an election under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, but was planning on a fresh attempt a day later.

The anticipated short bill setting aside the Fixed-Term Parliament Act would instead require the support of a simple majority of MPs and is expected to be hurried through all Commons stages in a single day.

One reason the Lib Dems and the SNP favoured going to the public on 9 December is because they believe it would prevent the Withdrawal Agreement Bill being passed.

But Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg attempted to win them over by confirming that the bill to implement the Johnson’s new deal would not be brought back before MPs.

The government fell 135 votes short of the 434 required to get an election under the Fixed-Term Parliament Act on Monday.

EU leaders had earlier confirmed they would extend the UK’s withdrawal date to 31 January, in line with the request the prime minister was forced to make under the terms of the Benn Act.

With no overall Commons majority, Johnson needs the votes of some opposition MPs to get an early general election even under the new measure.

Jeremy Corbyn said Labour – which abstained on last night’s vote – would want to scrutinise whatever the government put forward.

Fears remain that a no-deal could be forced through and there are concerns a December election could put off voters, particularly students. 

With Labour MPs fiercely opposed to an election, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald indicated they were unlikely to change their position to back the government.

“I think it’s very unwise to be having a general election in the run-up to Christmas,” he told Sky News.

While the Lib Dems did not rule out backing the government, party leader Jo Swinson indicated that they would not accept the proposed 12 December election day.

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said they would need a “cast-iron guarantee” that Johnson would not try to bring back his deal to Parliament.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said opposition MPs would have the ability to table amendments to the bill on Tuesday.

Government sources had suggested the proposed Lib Dem-SNP timetable – which would mean Parliament would have to be dissolved at one minute past midnight on Friday morning – was too tight to deliver.

Rees-Mogg told the Commons that ministers “will not bring back” the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which was put on hold last week after Johnson failed in his attempt to fast-track it through parliament in just three days.

With reporting from Dominic McGrath

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    Mute Maurice O Neill
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:17 AM

    Put your house on President Trump. He is what we would like to refer to in a race as a Banker

    217
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    Mute Mark Brown
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:28 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: And with that attitude, you are what we like to refer to as a wan…

    117
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    Mute Tony Gordon
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:29 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: I know a word that rhymes with it that describes Trump to a tee.

    56
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    Mute Nowa Huta
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:45 AM

    @Mark Brown: just because he has a different opinion than you?? i think it’s pretty clear who the wan (as you so eloquently put it) is in this situation. What a world we live in

    56
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    Mute Michael
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:00 AM

    @Nowa Huta: Thats the best argument that anti Trump’s can come up with. Typical.

    44
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    Mute Pat Kelly
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:16 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: ” yes we can ” ” make America great again ” and now ” make America whole” is it just who can come up with the cheesyist slogan wins !

    14
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    Mute ahhhhh its
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:37 AM

    @Michael: I think the problem is that it doesn’t matter what the argument is, or how many facts are placed in front of them, Trump supporters are incapable of seeing him for what he is.

    31
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    Mute Daniel Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:03 AM

    @ahhhhh its: Most people think that Trumps personality is little to be desired, however his policies and also by-and-large sticking to his election promises have galvanised his base.
    It’s interesting to see that while he has lost some support (especially from never-Hillary voters) he has gained a large following from African Americans and Hispanics. There is a large and growing support base there from the #Blexit and #WalkAway movements.
    Kimberly Klacik is a prime example of this and there are many more like her out there.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:10 AM

    @Pat Kelly: Americans love that stuff

    2
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:40 AM

    @Daniel Dunne: list of the policies and promises kept there for us. Also, on Klacik, you’re basically talking about one person. One person is not a symptom of anything. Especially a person that already lost an election to win that seat earlier this year and will face the same opponent in November. As for #WalkAway I’m not sure Candace Owens and some stock photos convinced many people. There’s also the fact that it’s mostly conservatives that are paying attention to it. As for #Blexit again, Candace Owens stance that racial bias in policing doesn’t exist isn’t really going to unite black people behind her. It’s also patently untrue. She’s deeply unpleasant, even attacked a murder victims family on social media for asking her to stop exploiting their grief.

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    Mute Anthony McGovern
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:52 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: Well he certianly is rotund enough. I doubt his knees are load baring to take the weight of it i mean i live in a 2 story house. are you sure he can take the weight?

    5
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    Mute David Farrell
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    Aug 19th 2020, 11:43 AM

    @ahhhhh its: whats that?

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:28 PM

    @Anthony McGovern: I thought it was a Wizard of Oz reference

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    Mute polly nicoll
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:43 PM

    @Pat Kelly: if Biden gets in it’ll be make America a hole again.

    8
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    Mute Angela McCarthy
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    Aug 19th 2020, 2:16 PM

    @Maurice O Neill: Dont put your house on Trump, we have enough homeless people here already!

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    Mute blue exile
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:43 AM

    One candidate is delusional and the other has dementia .
    Can the u.s not find better people than this ?

    95
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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:13 AM

    Conventional politics is bad enough, but at least it possesses some level of competence, and organisation. Biden has never been an inspiring candidate for President, but he at least understands what the Presidency is and how American politics works. Trump has shown himself to be unable to even talk about the Presidency convincingly. No matter what attacks Trump makes on Biden, Trump has demonstrated only one thing. That Trump is a confidence man who is inept at being a confidence man.

    97
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    Mute Maurice O Neill
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:18 AM

    @David A. Murray: Check the Stock Market there this morning for yourself

    96
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    Mute Brendan Cooney
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:29 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: same as what happened before the last crash? And the one before,

    48
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    Mute DJ François
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:33 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: The stock market is booming thanks to asset purchasing by the Fed. Nothing to do with the real economy.

    52
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    Mute Seriousnojoke
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:34 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: What about it? You invested billions in it or why do you care? Ever read a bit of something called the history in particular how the stock market bubble busted and the Great Depression happened in 1929??

    31
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    Mute DJ François
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:55 AM

    @The Boss: Fox news talking points memo waffle.

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    Mute Lita Campbell
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:23 AM

    @Maurice O Neill: And doesn’t that say it all as ordinary Americans are increasingly forced to use food banks and evictions are spiralling. Trump: I’m here for the rich!

    13
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    Mute BenGold
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:59 PM

    @Maurice O Neill: check the death numbers,check the debt level,check the level of upheaval of the population !!

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    Mute Sean Ryan
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:46 AM

    Four more years of Trump it is so. Plenty of blue voters not happy with Biden.

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    Mute James Walsh
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    Aug 19th 2020, 11:50 AM

    @Sean Ryan: Plenty of moderates and independents despise Trump, no wonder he’s trying to stop them voting.

    14
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    Mute Wayne Walsh
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:12 AM

    Will ‘Sleepy’ Joe Biden now come out of his cave to contest the election? A wanna be one-term President just keeping the seat warm for Michelle Obama four years from now.

    46
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    Mute James Walsh
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    Aug 19th 2020, 11:54 AM

    @Wayne Walsh: Actually it’s Kamala Harris who will be in pole position in four years time.

    11
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:30 PM

    @Wayne Walsh: eh, there’s sort of a pandemic going on. Big crowds are not a good idea. Good thing Trump supporters are taking that advice on board. RIP Herman Cain

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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:52 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: unless of course u r a BLM protestor/rioter apparently the virus bypasses these justice warriors !

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    Mute James Walsh
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    Aug 19th 2020, 4:02 PM

    @Al.Dunne: Or a gun nut who wants to intimidate elected officials as happened in Michigan where hundreds showed up to threaten the governor a couple of months back.

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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 5:25 PM

    @James Walsh: really that’s the best u have! Ignore the 78 days of riots in Portland and come back with 1 day a while ago these guys showed up re gun protest !
    Ignore the fact that locals in NY, Chicago, LA are asking for more police as crime/murder sky rocket
    Ignore the fact that Feds had to be deployed to protect federal building while democratic led city officials did nothing!
    People are leaving these cities in there droves , so less taxes will be paid which leads to cuts/hardship for who, in most cases the most needy in the community

    This is why Trump will win, but u will not doubt have your voter fraud excuses at the ready

    The left is eating itself and becoming more toxic as they do.

    Btw i am not a trump supporter or republican, more of a disappointed libertarian

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:07 PM

    @Al.Dunne: PS it wasn’t a gun protest in Michigan. It was an anti-lockdown protest. The guns were irrelevant to their point, they were a show of force. Also, trust me, nobody is ignoring the fact that random anonymous soldiers showed up and beat the sh!t out of peaceful protesters. Last I checked buildings can’t move, so why were Feds assaulting people that weren’t at the building? So many twists to your nonsense.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:22 PM

    @Al.Dunne: there’s also a difference between a protest and the president asking people to sign a waiver to gather and hear him speak

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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:04 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: it was want random soldier’s, it was clearly marked federal officers ! U r right though building don’t move, thats why he was arrested for questioning outside the court house and let go 90 mins later!

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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:10 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: not sure what ur on about here !

    But I see Portland have finally declared a riot after they burnt Govt admin offices, seems after 83 days of trying to appease Antifa & radical BLM “peaceful protesters” the democrat led city is finally waking up to the fact these wanna burn it all down !

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 20th 2020, 12:45 AM

    @Al.Dunne: they were clearly marked? They had no identifying insignia. They had police patches but no names.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 20th 2020, 12:48 AM

    @Al.Dunne: I have no idea what arrest you’re talking about. I’m talking about the hundreds that were assaulted, not arrested, just beaten but anonymous people in military gear patrolling the streets. If you’re talking about the guy dragged into an unmarked van then I don’t know much about that but it does seem like 1 minute or 90 minutes or 2 days isn’t the point when you’re taken against your will and have done nothing wrong. In saying that I thought that was in NY

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    Mute Jimmy Carroll
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:14 AM

    Yep, Joe will make a hole of it.

    35
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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:34 PM

    @James Walsh: they had record employment b4 covid, does this not fit your narrative ?

    23
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    Mute Moss Cotter
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:49 AM

    Team biden will push the mantra about healing America and bringing people together instead of sowing division, only thing is America was well rotten to the core ever before trump took office thanks largely to wall street owned con men like biden, trump was merely where it was always gonna lead..toxic as trump is he is not the disease but merely a symptom of it.

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    Mute David Farrell
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    Aug 19th 2020, 11:41 AM

    Trump is the man !!!

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    Mute matthew mc manus
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:10 AM
    17
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    Mute Tricia G
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:38 AM

    @matthew mc manus: Anything from after Sept 2018?

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    Mute matthew mc manus
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:13 PM
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    Mute David OShea
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:46 PM

    @matthew mc manus: Sad part is, the hatred for Trump that the leftist media has perpetrated has turned so many, normally moderate people, into Trump deranged sheep. If only they could see how they were being duped by the 90% leftist media. From CNN, MSNBC and NY Times to the BBC, almost all european state run media. If you watch any of those on a regular basis, you are giving away your consent to see the world from an independent angle. They all support the big war machine and big government.

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:47 PM

    @David OShea: All anyone has to do to intensely dislike Trump is to LISTEN to Trump.

    No one needs to watch anything beyond that.

    And honestly, if your only argument against people that intensely dislike him is that they’re duped sheep watching the MSM then that is pretty weak.

    But I understand why you say it. You cannot defend his words or his behaviour. You can’t defend his lack of a federal response to COVID. You can’t defend his petulance. You can’t defend his ramblings, his claims to be the “smartest guy in the room” who has the “best words”. His utter lack of empathy. How he sat beside a woman telling him her entire family had been murdered and the only time he seemed interested was when he found out she’d got the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Let’s face it, I could go on. The man is an appalling human being, he has demonstrated that continuely.

    The only thing you can do is accuse people that see his behaviour as disgusting and appalling is to accuse them of being “sheep”.

    But you’re convincing no one anymore. The gas lighting can only continue to succeed for a limited time and that time is up.

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:53 PM

    @matthew mc manus: You’re aware Executive Orders don’t just “make things happen” right?

    Many of them have to go to Congress (if funding is required) for example. Others will be challenged in court if they’re potentially unconstitutional.

    Trump has control of the Senate, if he really wanted to pass meaningful legislation that HELPED people (not just his cronies) it would pass Congress.

    What about the Voting Rights Act that Mitch McConnell is refusing to allow to be voted on in the Senate and the 100′s of other bills he’s deliberately holding up?

    Trump uses Executive Orders because it’s he gets to parade in front of the cameras. It is all about him.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:18 PM

    @matthew mc manus: White House. Gov should have been your first clue that it’s a biased source and therefore not reliable as education material.

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Aug 19th 2020, 8:30 AM

    My personal highlight of the convention https://youtu.be/c9nTxOMtbEI

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    Mute Edmund Murphy
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:37 AM

    @Modern Irish Dad: That was unexpectidly brilliant.

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:00 AM

    @Edmund Murphy: sometimes it pays to hit the link most times it does not lol

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    Mute Al.Dunne
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:31 AM

    @Modern Irish Dad: absolute cringe, looks like it was put together by first year college production team, almost like they don’t care about election
    As for “endgame” ripoff that was to sad to be funny !

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:49 AM

    @Al.Dunne: Its hard to take it serious because of how it was put together, meanwhile https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/politics/trump-campaign-ads-dnc.html

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    Mute David OShea
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:35 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: Wow, I haven’t cringed so much since Ricky Gervais and The Office.

    5
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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:11 PM

    @David OShea: It appears the whole DNC was very cringe worthy.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:26 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: of course. But wait the Republican fire and brimstone. Warning about how Democrats will ruin the country if they’re given the chance. That doesn’t ring true for many as all they have to do is look around and then think back to 4 years ago and realise who oversaw the damage.

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    Mute Kevin50
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:54 AM

    Election not over … remember Americans are not the most informed people

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    Mute Tricia G
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    Aug 19th 2020, 1:54 PM

    @Kevin50: There has never been a more motivated electorate in a long, long time.

    The 2018 turnout was massive.

    There is a reason Trump is trying everything to suppress voting. He knows there is a groundswell of opposition to him.

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    Mute Angela McCarthy
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    Aug 19th 2020, 2:23 PM

    what I and the whole world outside of the US will want to see, is will the Trumpet show up in front of a camera and concede defeat gracefully if Biden wins?

    Or will it it be a predictable bitter battle cry of ‘Fake Election Result!

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    Mute Raymond Power
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    Aug 20th 2020, 12:17 AM

    make a nation whole? the way the left got behind the present administration for the last 4 years.

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