Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Shut up, hissy kitty!

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

We won’t go back.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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112Comments

  1. 1.

    Cain

    So, anybody read the rolling stone article on Democrats betraying the peace movement?

    It’s here

    Even their own party is sick of Reid and Pelosi’s peformance. I have to say that, I don’t have any inclination to defend either one of these two. They’ve shown to be completely spineless. They need to be kicked out especially Reid. If he bothered to do his little machinations on the Republican party instead of members of his own party (Dodd) things might better. If he’s doing this because his position in NV is precarious vis a vis being in a conservative state then we need to pick someone from someone from a strongly liberal state to fight these battles. So far, Democrats in Congress has done a really poor job of getting anything done.

    While on the subject, what the FUCK has been going on with all those subpoenas? The administration has been thumbing their nose at congress continously. I simply can’t believe this leadership. Perhaps it’s also time to rally and have some bloodletting and get rid of some establish democrats this round. Putting challengers for Reid and Pelosi sounds like a good idea to me.

    cain

  3. 3.

    myiq2xu

    Felt great all week, woke up Friday morning with the creeping crud.

    That’s what you get for watching CPAC. You’re not one of the kool-aid kids anymore, and you don’t have the tolerance for their bullshit that you used to have.

    You overdosed on crap.

  5. 5.

    Dug Jay

    Sounds like the symptoms/results of a weakened immune system. You aren’t by any chance taking any of the recently introduced medications to alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis? The adverse effects of some of these new drugs on an immune system are not fully understood, but are quite real.

  6. 6.

    Dennis - SGMM

    You overdosed on crap.

    After reading McCain’s CPAC speech in a vain attempt to find out what McCain would do about the budget deficit I found myself wishing that I could grind up the thing and spread it on my lawn.

    McCain’s failure to mention deficits led me to wonder what our Dem candidates plan to do about them. I couldn’t remember any speeches or debate responses so I went to their respective websites and found…
    Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

    Same for our 9.2 trillion dollar national debt.

    With the economy coming to the fore you’d think that having a plan to deal with deficits would be an integral part of any candidate’s platform. I’m guessing that the answers are implicit in both parties long-establish behaviors: the Democrats will punish the Republicans’ allies by taxing the wealthy, or the Republicans will punish the Dem’s allies by cutting spending on services to the poor and the middle class. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be…

  7. 7.

    skippy

    the creeping crud has a high recidivism rate. i was sick as a dog last weekend, and am still sniffling and shuffling around. could spend the day in bed except i have tons to do.

    as to the writers strike, it ain’t over until it’s over, ie, until the actual language is written down in an acceptable contract. details at skippy.

  8. 8.

    ThymeZone

    It’s the crockpot.

    j/k, but that was a great joke. I laugh at joke! HAHAHA.

    Okay, and on Reid: My numerous posts over time about vote counts and the futility of trying to legislate against an entrenched minority that has enough votes to hold its position, notwithstanding ……

    I think there is another dynamic here. I think that the Dem party powerful (the Clinton wing if you will, along with others) has told Reid, you don’t do ANYTHING that weakens our chances in November 2008, and WE tell you what that is. Period. And I think they did this, and I think he toed the line.

    And when all the smoke clears, I think that strategy will prove to be useful in November, as much as it pains the activists to think it. On this, I disagree with my number one favorite pundit, Markos Moulitsas. I agree with him on many things, but not this.

  9. 9.

    Dennis - SGMM

    And when all the smoke clears, I think that strategy will prove to be useful in November, as much as it pains the activists to think it.

    Could be. OTOH, that mantra easily becomes “You don’t do ANYTHING that weakens our chances in November 2010, we have to protect/strengthen our majority.” So it could go through 2012, etc.

  10. 10.

    ThymeZone

    Could be. OTOH, that mantra easily becomes “You don’t do ANYTHING that weakens our chances in November 2010, we have to protect/strengthen our majority.” So it could go through 2012, etc.

    Yes, I agree.

    My theory on this is that the president sets the rules for his party in Washington to a large degree. But the party without a president has a leadership problem. So there is a lot of behind the scenes stuff going on that we don’t see, and if I were to guess (which I am doing as we speak) I’d guess that the Clintons are the core of power in that party right now. I look forward to the day when Jim Webb is at the core of that power, or Barack Obama. But we aren’t there yet.

  14. 14.

    rawshark

    Dug Jay Says:

    Sounds like the symptoms/results of a weakened immune system. You aren’t by any chance taking any of the recently introduced medications to alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis? The adverse effects of some of these new drugs on an immune system are not fully understood, but are quite real.

    Such as:
    I’m taking methtrexate and they want to put me on embryl next. I’m weary of taking meds approved during Bush’s term.

  18. 18.

    tom.a

    John, you may just be sick of political coverage, come Saturday you’ve been subjected to 5 long days of constant bullshit from the radio, the tv, the papers and large swaths of the internet. Do good today and abstain from primary coverage and just drink some beers.

    What does the country hate more, the Bush Presidency or the War? If it’s the former, then the Dems are right by dragging this out until there’s a Dem in the Whitehouse, then THEY can end the unpopular War and the Bush Presidency in one fell stroke. If it’s the Bush than the War itself. Reid is no leader, he should be gone. I like Pelosi but she’s too friendly with Bush for my tastes and the tin foil hat in me still thinks Bush got some good wiretapped dirt on the Dems to use as leverage.

  20. 20.

    The Other Steve

    I’ll be attending a Washington State Dem caucus today… I’ll report later on how it turned out.

    Yes, let us know how many turned out.

  21. 21.

    Jake

    We know other nations’ leaders don’t fall over laughing when the US opens its mouth. The only question is Why?

    On Wednesday, Gates warned NATO was in danger of becoming a two-tier alliance, split between countries willing to send troops to “fight and die to protect people’s security and others who are not.”

    Translation: We fucked up the war that made sense to launch a fucked up war that made no fucking sense so you’d better fix our first war now!

  23. 23.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    If the Democrats win the White House, I sincerely hope they make Jim Webb the Sec Def. He has the integrity and toughness to tell the JCS and President what they need to here. He’s not going to be anybody’s bitch. If indeed, the new President is a Democrat, and they stick to the plan of being a draw down of combat troops, Webb would be the kind of person we need at DOD to oversee it.

    @Dennis – SGMM: I’m with you on the deficit. I have read arguments that the deficit as a percentage of the GNP is not harmful to the economy, and I do understand that argument, were it that simple. With the entire war expenditure not included in the currently expressed deficit, I can’t imagine that the actual deficit is not harmful. Cole pointed out earlier in the week that the deficit is now projected to be greater that $400 Billion, and that $200 Billion of supplemental spending (but not in the budget) on the war. Nor did this include the previous supplemental bills for the former Cheerleader’s Iraq Folly.

    In other words, the deficit is actually much worse than is being reported.

    … and it’s 1-2-3-4! What are we fighting for? Next stop is …

    Why do I get that deja vu all over again feeling?

    (I’m having a difficult time with the preview on this post, and editing as well as I can. If it reads like gibberish it must be my BDS kicking in. If it reads the way I believe it does, then I’m a legend in my own fucking mind. But we all knew that, didn’t we?)

  24. 24.

    Dug Jay

    Rawshark – My understanding in this area is somewhat limited, but I don’t believe METHTREXATE is among the most commonly prescribed medications for psoriasis. It is a drug that should NEVER be taken by a pregnant woman or one who may become pregnant as this drug will often induce a miscarriage. I believe its use as a tool against psoriasis is relatively limited and to some extent experimental. ASK YOUR PERSONAL physician for further guidance.

    Embryl has been used as a treatment for psoriasis and my understanding is that the results have been quite good. As I initially noted, however, there is clear and convincing evidence that links its extended use to a diminished immune system when used over extended periods. Again, consuly your personal physician for more guidance tied to your personal situation.

  25. 25.

    rawshark

    Interesting. Insurance wouldn’t let me take embryl until I’ve tried everything else (embryl is $1500 per prescription). It’s also an arthritis med, its effects on psoriasis are incidental. That kind of freaks me out right there. Methotrexate has worked well, but it’s also meant for something else and I feel like pharma is finding new applications so they can sell more product.

  27. 27.

    Rick Taylor

    The movie Taxi to the Dark Side is coming out; it should be worth seeing if it’s in a theater near you. It was bought by the the discovery channel, but they’re not going to show it, because it would be too controversial.

    It starts with an Afgahn taxi driver, Dilawar. who was taken by the Afghan militia and given over to the American military, where we beat him to death. From there it goes on to an examination of America’s policies on interrogation in general. The film includes images from Basra, as well as interviews of guards an interrogators.

  28. 28.

    TheFountainHead

    Question of the day: what will the Paulbots do with their time now, and will they line up behind McCain?

    Hardly. If anything they’re going to get into M.U.P’s campaign…giving it an extra dose of rabid happy.

  29. 29.

    TheFountainHead

    I’m watching Hillary do her stump in Maine right now on CNN…and boy if she doesn’t sound like she’s running against the Presidency of G.W.B instead of running against B.H.O.

  30. 30.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I hear ya John. I caught the creeping crud in late November and it beat me up miserably for over two weeks. Since then I have been having sinus problems like an allergy or something. Sneezing, congested sinuses and bleary feeling eyes (well, that could be the weed sometimes too ;) ). I have been taking small doses of Benadryl to alleviate it but I may go hit the doc up for some Vistaril if I remain miserable much longer.

    It sucks getting older. It seems like cuts and scrapes heal slower, colds get worse than they used to and hang on longer, and the knees just don’t work as good as they used to for things like playing Frisbee with the kids. Having a young feeling spirit in a body that is almost five decades old sucks.

    Get better d00d! Think spring! ;)

  31. 31.

    D-Chance.

    So when the Michigan/Florida challenges and superdelegate wars break out at the Donk convention this year, will there be gunplay, or will hostilities be limited to stink eyes and wet willies?

    Of course it’s the Republicans who are in disarray. The Dems are still riding Obama’s MUP. Or around 49.8% of them are.

  32. 32.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Cain, that Rolling Stone article uses the headline “The Chicken Doves”, which is a perfect counterpoint to “Chicken Hawks”. The phony tough on war guys and the phony lets have peace guys. They are all phonies.

    These Chicken Dove Democrats are like an accordion, and the Republicans use them to merrily play their war music. Obey, Pelosi, Reed and many others just have to go, and yesterday is not soon enough for me. They all have lost touch with the people and are only concerned with what they can get out of their positions that will personally enrich them. They are not making decisions on life and death matters based on what is right or wrong, but rather on what is politically expedient to them (For example, Hillary and others like her and their AUMF and Kyl/Liebermann and FISA votes, among others).

    Once a politician is in that mode, they are less than useless to their constituents and our nation. If anything, they are more prone to doing the wrong thing and causing even more damage to our country.

    I have a feeling that people are starting to get tired of this shit to the point that they are ready to do something about it. If Obama wins, I hope it shakes the system up but good and we can get rid of the dead wood that is just sitting around, rotting and messing the place up. The fact that he is ‘messing up the program’ for Hillary is good news in my book. I am tired of the same old politics as usual, and I want to give the system a swift kick in the ass.

    I really hope that Obama is the ticket. There is no guarantee, but he looks to be the best chance for change. At least to me.

    Oh, I heard Hillary say yesterday in a speech that after she takes office, our troops will be out of Iraq in less than 60 days.

    That is a physical impossibility for our military to do without leaving everything behind and risking the lives of our men and women as they are withdrawn.

    IMO, she is full of shit and will say and do anything to be elected.

  34. 34.

    Conservatively Liberal

    … marijuana forests …

    drool…

    Hmm, sounds kinda like Vietnam and the impenetrable jungle. Boy we sure trashed that place with Agent Orange, but since this is just pot we can burn it all down! I will make them a deal; if they ship it over to me I will be more than glad to burn it all for them. No problem at all. I even have a few friends that would be more than happy to assist me. It would help the economy by boosting sales of bongs and pipes at head shops across the nation! Win-win!

    I am sure that other patriots out there across America would be more than happy to lend a hand their lungs to the war effort.

    It may take a lot of time and lung action to burn it all up, but I would gladly do this to help out. No applause, just throw money.

  36. 36.

    myiq2xu

    It may take a lot of time and lung action to burn it all up, but I would gladly do this to help out. No applause, just throw money rolling papers.

    Fixt

    Need a light?

  37. 37.

    cbear

    I am sick for the second week-end in a row.

    Do you still have gooper friends, neighbors, or family members?
    My advice: Trust no one. Suspect everyone.
    Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

    Get yourself a food-taster pronto….preferably, an unwitting winger.

  38. 38.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Naah, got it covered but thanks light anyway. ;)

    Also, do toss the money so I can buy a large collection of bongs and pipes. Much more efficient and you can recover the resin for round two. Gotta keep emissions down, ya know. ;) Also, if I have a forest to burn then I will need to be properly equipped for duty.

    I would have suggested throwing bongs, but those don’t usually fare well when they hit the ground.

    My luck with bongs is horrible. I don’t break them, everyone else breaks mine! It is to the point that I pull out a aluminum pipe for company and keep the bong for special occasions (where they are usually broken).

  40. 40.

    myiq2xu

    Do you still have gooper friends, neighbors, or family members?

    Perhaps the Clintons found out John was endorsing Obama.

    They are infamous for being ruthless with their enemies.

  41. 41.

    The Other Steve

    Good idea for a bumpersticker.

    No, something clasier. “Less Jobs, More War” would take up the top half of the bumper sticker. It’d be in Yellow Letters on a field of dark blue.

    Then below that would be the McCain logo… the star with the lines to the side, and MCCAIN 2008. Very much like his current signage.

    I’ll try to work on a design later. :-)

  42. 42.

    The Other Steve

    I’ll be attending a Washington State Dem caucus today… I’ll report later on how it turned out.

    I’m watching on CNN, and it looks like a huge crowd in Seattle.

    Over in Kansas, Huckabee is winning big with like 62% of vote. I wonder with Romney out if he doesn’t start becoming more competitive?

  43. 43.

    Krista

    Join Krista’s Army and get high

    Whoo-hoo! Follow me lads! Yes. Smoke, and you may get the munchies. Run and you will not, at least awhile. And kicking back in your La-Z-Boy many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the joints from this day to that, for one chance to come back here as young men, and tell our enemies that they may take our bongs, but they will never take our marijuana forests?

    /brandishes pipe above head while flipping up kilt to moon DEA agents.

  44. 44.

    cd6

    Just got back from my first ever caucus. I’m in downtown Seattle so I just walked over there and back.

    The room was packed, tons of people. Looked like Obama supporters outnumbered the Clinton supporters 4 to 1.

    Everybody was extremely enthusiatic though. And pretty much every speech started out “I think they are both great candidates, and I lean slightly towards [whoever]…”

    Our precinct’s first vote total was something like 66 for Obama with 11 for Clinton. 2 Uncommitteds who eventually went Obama. The delegate alocation was 5-1 for Obama.

    I got voted as an alternate delegate, which I’m sure I won’t need to do, as our main delegates were very excited. They said they wouldn’t miss the next round.

    We left early cause I didn’t want to stick around to vote on resolutions and etc.

    Tons of fun, lots of nice people, looking forward to kicking some Republican ass in November. Eat it, redstate.

  45. 45.

    Jake

    /brandishes pipe above head while flipping up kilt to moon DEA agents.

    Zoiks! Weapons of Mass Distraction!

  46. 46.

    Brian Ridge

    I just got back from my Wa State caucus. Boy.. what a clusterf***.

    Our precint had only 26 members, and only half of those stuck a round for the official tabulating. No one in our group had ever been to a caucus before so we were toally in the dark as to what to do. It turns out there was some precint packet with eveything we needed… but no one bothered to tell us about until we went up tho ask for direction. So we spent most of the time trying to listen to some guy with a mic on the other side of the gym as he gave garbled directions abotu the process. No one in our group was very happy with the lack of directions.

    I was elected precint captain because I was the one holding up the sign for our area. I also ended up being selected as a delegate, though I have very little idea what that entails.

    Our group’s final tally was Obama 21, CLinton 5 (with one woman chanign her vote from Gravel to Clinton later on). It was so one-sided that we didn’t even bother to debate, unlike other groups I saw. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the final count was for our area.

    There was a very strong Hillary presence there, with lots of supporters and plenty of posters pasted up everywhere. There were only a few Obama signs that were brought in by individual supporters, but a small Obama team did arrive at the last minute with stickers and flyers to hand out.

    We stopped by a coffee stand o nthe way home and told the barrista what we had just done. She said her friend was at the Hillary Clinton rally the previous night and said it was a “train wreck.” Apparently, CLinton arrived on stage about 100 minutes late. I also heard on the local radio that one area in Seattle was overwhelmingly favoring Obama.

    Brian

  48. 48.

    bago

    For mine it was 4-1. for the magical unity pony. The next precinct over was 6-3 for Obama. We even had Governor Locke show up. That was fun. The rally yesterday was nuts and there were more people turned away from Key Arena than were at Hillary’s nurse parade in Tacoma.

  49. 49.

    Wilfred

    here’s why I could never vote for Clinton:

    Dear Mr. Capus,

    Thank you for your call yesterday. I wanted to send you this note to convey the depth of my feeling about David Shuster’s comments.

    I know that I am a public figure and that my daughter is playing a public role in my campaign. I am accustomed to criticism, certainly from MSNBC. I know that it goes with the territory.

    However, I became Chelsea’s mother long before I ran for any office and I will always be a mom first and a public official second.

    Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient.

    I would urge you to look at the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language.

    There’s a lot at stake for our country in this election. Surely, you can do your jobs as journalists and commentators and still keep the discourse civil and appropriate.

    Sincerely,

    Hillary Rodham Clinton

    Shuster apologized. Twice. Her daughter can call super delegates and try to get them to vote for Mommy but is somehow ‘above’ politics. Fuck all of them. NBC should show some balls here and really let her have it. This is pure intimidation.

  50. 50.

    YellowJournalism

    rawshark,

    I’ve had three doctors (one derm, two GP’s) tell me they wanted to put me on methotrexate after I finish having children. I just smiled and nodded, thinking that was never going to happen. (Taking methotrexate, not never finishing having children. Yikes.) I’ve been curious and a little wary of the new biologics coming out, seeing as there is very little study done on the long-term side effects, particularly for women.

    I’m having a really hard time right now after the birth of my son (major flare-ups since giving birth), so my doctor is having me try Dovobet, which doesn’t seem to be working. It’s also pretty damn expensive for a steroid/Vitamin D combo cream. I paid 26 bucks after the good ol’ socialized medicine rebate. I compare that to the three bucks I paid for a steroid cream that I used to pay 60 dollars for when I lived in the States. I’m guesssing the Dovobet would have run me a good 100 dollars a tube.

    A good site to go to is Flake HQ for more info on how well Embrel works. The guy who runs the site documented his experiences with the drug, and many people have written in about their experiences with it and other options. I’m too lazy/busy to go back and look up John’s instructions for putting a link in here, so I’ll just say to go to Google and type in the site name. It’s the first one that comes up. The site also has some good advice and humor aspects to it.

  52. 52.

    Jen

    Does the entire world have psoriasis or what?
    YJ, I’ve used Clobex to good effect recently. Unfortunately, I tend to get used to all the steroids over time and then they lose their effectiveness. Ever tried any phototherapy or injections or anything?

  53. 53.

    brendancalling

    yeah, I have the same fuckign thing.
    Started out early this week as excess snot in the AM, and by Friday had morphed into full on disease.
    right now I have a fever, sore throat, and persistent sneezing.

    It sucks.

  54. 54.

    Psycheout

    John, sorry you’re not feeling well.

    For an update on the 2008 race, I have compiled the latest on the remaining candidates. I hope you find it useful and informative.

    Hope you are back at the top of your game soon, Mr. Cole. It’s just not the same without your unhinged rants. They are quite entertaining!

  55. 55.

    zzyzx

    So I ended up serving on the math committee for precinct 46-2275. There were 115 voters there from our 60 square block area, so the tallying took some time, largely because the one member of the tallying group didn’t understand basic math, so they were uberslow.

    The first vote for our 7 delegates gave one to Clinton and 6 to Obama. Our chair then made the mistake of telling people they could leave while we added up the 2 people who changed their vote (from undecided to Obama, affecting no delegates at all), so we had to scramble to come up with 6 Obama representatives.

    The cynic in me notes that she was a Clinton supporter along with her boy, so she was able to fill her vote and pick up an additional one if we couldn’t come up with 6. Odds are high that she was just incompetent.

    Anyway, as a result, I am going to be a delegate for the King County convention. I’m not thrilled by this, but it could be fun. Apparently, you can read a book during the dull parts.

  56. 56.

    myiq2xu

    Shuster apologized. Twice. Her daughter can call super delegates and try to get them to vote for Mommy but is somehow ‘above’ politics. Fuck all of them. NBC should show some balls here and really let her have it. This is pure intimidation.

    So you were going to vote for her before this happened?

  57. 57.

    Wilfred

    Numbers rolling in ; Nebraska: 2 to 1 for Obama; Washington: 2 to 1 for Obama.

    I’d never vote for her. If she wins the Dem nomination fair and square, I won’t vote. If she gets it by means of super-delegates, I’ll vote for McCain. I live in the third world – oligarchies have made it what it is.

  59. 59.

    Wilfred

    From Kos story:

    Update: Not a lot of polling out of Washington except for Strategic Vision (R), but note that in October 2007, Clinton had a 48-22 lead in Washington.

    As the Clinton campaign tries to spin away Obama’s crushing victories today, people shouldn’t forget that not too long ago, these were all solid Clinton states.

    48-22 to 69-31. In four months. She should get out for the good of the party.

  60. 60.

    TheFountainHead

    Shuster apologized. Twice. Her daughter can call super delegates and try to get them to vote for Mommy but is somehow ‘above’ politics. Fuck all of them. NBC should show some balls here and really let her have it. This is pure intimidation.

    I agree completely. But it isn’t intimidation, it’s Rovian politics. Obama is going to beat her badly tonight, and she’s trying to make the story about the bad man on the tv who slandered her and not about how Democrats would rather have Obama be the nominee.

  61. 61.

    empty

    Just came back from our caucus in Nebraska. We had two delegates to allocate. In our precinct we ended up with 33 for Obama and 24 for Clinton which resulted in one delegate for each. It was interesting – most (and I do mean most) of the Obama supporters in our precinct were former republicans. I wonder how long they will stick with Obama if he is nominated and the republican slime machine kicks into high gear.

  62. 62.

    Dennis - SGMM

    The black population in Nebraska and Washington both is right around 4%. How dare those black people vote so many times!

  63. 63.

    TheFountainHead

    The black population in Nebraska and Washington both is right around 4%. How dare those black people vote so many times!

    Seriously!! That’s not fair to Hillary!

  64. 64.

    ThymeZone

    I’d never vote for her. If she wins the Dem nomination fair and square, I won’t vote. If she gets it by means of super-delegates, I’ll vote for McCain.

    Ahem. 100 years of Iraq, so that you can act out some kind of personal agita?

  65. 65.

    Wilfred

    Ahem. 100 years of Iraq, so that you can act out some kind of personal agita?

    My hope is to see the destruction of the socon/theocon sxis; cheap bastards who don’t want to pay their taxes don’t worry me too much. Right now I see two near-certain ways of accomplishing that: a) elect Obama and b) elect McCain – four years of whatever lunacy is left will guarantee an Obama victory in 2012.

    Again, if Clinton wins fair and square, ok. But a super delegate end run will turn new voters and young people off politics for a generation – and who does that favor in the end? besides, can anoyne imagine a Brechtian scenario where a handful of people will knowingly have the fate of the country in their pockets?

    I’m trying to think non-linearly here; maybe I’m wrong, but an underhanded Clinton win is worse than McCain in the long run. So let’s make sure Obama wins.

  66. 66.

    empty

    Dennis – SGMM Says:

    The black population in Nebraska and Washington both is right around 4%. How dare those black people vote so many times!

    WTF???

  67. 67.

    dslak

    Wilfred, you seem to be mistaking your personal feelings with the good of the country. I’m not fan of Clinton, and I have serious reservations about her efficacy in office and her faith in our system of government. I have no doubt in her policy agenda however, and I can hardly see how it would be worse than McCains.

    There’s no point in trying to speculate what the situation will be like vis-a-vis the presidential race in four years. You should vote for the candidate you think is best now. If you don’t think that’s Clinton, fine, but then you obviously have some agenda other than trying to right the many wrongs the Bush administration has wrought.

  69. 69.

    Wilfred

    Wilfred, you seem to be mistaking your personal feelings with the good of the country.

    Mistaking?

  70. 70.

    Dennis - SGMM

    Empty, I voted for Obama in the California primary. dslak is right: it was a joke – or a preview of Clinton spin.

  71. 71.

    ThymeZone

    So let’s make sure Obama wins.

    Well Im with you on that, I voted for him and I’ve given him the grocery money for the last month.

    But, in a 2-party system, and machine politics, we have to support our team, otherwise the GOP gets four more years to ruin the country.

    I urge you to rethink!

  72. 72.

    empty

    dslak Says:

    Empty, Dennis’s comment was a joke. Calm down, and step away from the computer.

    It’s OK. I am breathing into a paper bag.

    I know its a joke. I was trying to connect it to something in this thread.

  74. 74.

    Tayi

    I guarantee, Wilfred, that there is nothing in the universe you could do to wreck the social conservatives and their theologically nutty crew that would be more effective and a bigger slap in the face to them than electing Hillary Clinton. They hate her specifically even more than they hate the idea of any woman at all in power. The neat thing is, at the same time that she makes the theocracy wannabes totally unhinged, she actually is inspiring. Every woman of my acquaintance who I’ve spoken to about Clinton, even those who vehemently disagree with her policies, is so damn inspired at the thought of a woman President. I’m not saying there aren’t any reasons not to vote for her, but seriously, if your goal is to destroy the fundies, Hillary’s your candidate.

  75. 75.

    Wilfred

    I urge you to rethink!

    Oh, of course I will. But I actually am starting to feel that Obama is really going to win this fucking thing and for once in my life I’m going to see a different politics. Mentally at least, I’m burning bridges and trying to visualize only the moment that Obama makes his acceptance speech – and McCain’s head explodes.

    Tonight’s results are just lovely.

  76. 76.

    dslak

    Tonight’s results are just lovely.

    Monday’s should be, as well. Hillary is pinning her hopes on Ohio and Texas. Hopefully Obama can overcome her in those two states with his funding advantage. Assuming, of course, some more talking heads don’t say something stupid that will provide her more free publicity.

  77. 77.

    TheFountainHead

    Tonight’s results are just lovely.

    Agreed. A few more nights like this and 2008 might end up being a good year.

  78. 78.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Well, lets see how Hillary and her Clintonistas spin the results of today. This is exactly what Obama needed, clear wins in states where the demographics did not favor him initially.

    Magical Unity Pony for the win! ;)

  79. 79.

    TheFountainHead

    Does anyone here know how much one had to pay to get a seat at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Virginia tonight?

  80. 80.

    Digital Amish

    I also caucused in Washington today. Experience was similar to Brian Ridge’s with an inexperienced precinct chair, more people than accomodations and typical Democratic chaos. The first woman (late 60’s I estimate)I talked to was a Clinton supporter that said she could never vote for Obama because he was sworn in on the Koran and won’t salute the flag. That’s complete bullshit I told her and asked where she heard it. I read it on the internet, she says. Fucking internet. Fucking morons.

    Anyway our caucus split 4 delegates, 16 Obama 16 Clinton 2 uncommitted. (my wife, a pissed off Edwards woman dislikes both but will mark the ballot appropriatly come Nov., was one of the uncommitted)

    One thing I found interesting was that as I scanned the gathering of maybe 500 to 600 people there was a distinct absense of 18 – 30 year olds. (I live in Sequim, a noted retirement oasis in WA. but still I found it amazing)

    Oh, and the Koran/flag salute lady, at the end I asked her if she still believed that crap and she said she did. Fucking old people.

  81. 81.

    empty

    Looking at the votes from Nebraska Obama got his biggest margin in Lincoln which is pretty much a university town. In our caucus there was also a generational divide – with the younger folk for Obama and old fogeys for Clinton.

  84. 84.

    demimondian

    I wound up as Precinct Chairman for Washington 48-2639. There were 25 of us; we split 18 (Obama), 6 (Clinton), 1 (Gravel) in the initial vote, and 18 (O), 7 (C) in the final vote, meaning we send 3 Obama delegates and 1 Clinton delegate to the county convention in April.

    What was interesting to me was the number of young participants we had; of our small group, 4 were under the age of twenty (and, no, they didn’t all go for Obama.)

  85. 85.

    LiberalTarian

    So I’m pissed about Shuster being the hill that Clinton decides must not fall. All those other pundits, well, they get a pass. Shuster, one of the few willing to go after the GOP machine, must fall.

    Fuck that shit.

    Let’s ride that MUP.

  86. 86.

    Digital Amish

    Also wanted to note that WA has a fucked up primary system. We caucus and also have a primary ballot. The majority of counties are vote by mail. The primary election is Feb. 19 (I’ve proudly caste my ballot for Allan Keyes). We recieved the ballots in the mail about 10 days ago. The election is meaningless for Democrats, all delegates are selected at the caucus. The Republicans chose half by caucus half by ballot election.

    I heard several people today at the caucus who were confused by this. They didn’t understand what we were doing today and were surprised to find out their primary ballots were meaningless.

  88. 88.

    myiq2xu

    Give ’em Hell Harry!

    Harry Truman’s calculated attempt to play the sympathy card!

    by Turkana

    In a stunning display of shameless political calculation, President Harry Truman angrily threatened a Washington Post music critic for panning a performance by Truman’s daughter, Margaret. As reported by the New York Times, Margaret Truman Daniel openly admitted that her father’s fame helped get her concert gigs, and she had already performed before audiences of more than ten thousand, while millions had listened to her on the radio. When she performed at Washington’s Constitution Hall, in December 1950, she thought she had performed well.

    But Paul Hume, the music critic of The Washington Post, while praising her personality, wrote that “she cannot sing very well.”
    “She is flat a good deal of the time,” Mr. Hume added, concluding that she had no “professional finish.”

    Incensed, President Truman dispatched a combative note to Mr. Hume, who released it to the press.

    “I have just read your lousy review,” it said in part, adding: “Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”

    In the ensuing uproar, reporters pressed Mrs. Daniel for her reaction to her father’s letter. “I’m glad to see that chivalry is not dead,” she told them.

    Because it’s well-known that President Truman lacked basic human emotions, his attempt to use his daughter to score political points based on sympathy was much criticized in Democratic blogs.

  89. 89.

    D-Chance.

    “Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”

    So Zell Miller was a Truman man, after all. Give ’em Hell, Zell!

  90. 90.

    ladonne

    Also wanted to note that WA has a fucked up primary system.

    We do a similar thing here in Texas. Since it’s been in the news that Texas will have an impact, I’ve asked the people I work with if they plan to stay/go back to the polls for the caucus (We have early voting, but the caucus is after the polls close on the day of the primary vote.) None of them had ever done it, most didn’t know that it even happened. I’ve been trying to convince them that it’s worth it. (The Jackson campaign in 1988 showed that the caususes (sp?) are important in Texas.)

    Great wins for Obama tonight. As far as the internets rumors about Obama, they seem to come up every time his name is mentioned. I was reading a local blog (liberal, undecided) and a Clinton support kept pushing it. Gossip is an ugly thing and when it’s on this large of a scale, it will take a lot of effort to beat back.

  93. 93.

    D-Chance.

    Quick election night thoughts… why are CNN and other pundits surprised by Huckabee winning Kansas? It IS the Creationist state, so of course they’re backing the most religious of the candidates.

    Sullivan may have it right in regards to Clinton. If she waits for Ohio/Texas… two words for passing up smaller primaries in preparation for the “big states”; Rudy Giuliani. O-mentum is sweeping America. His speech tonight was excellent, he brought out a few more specifics, he’s now including lines about the general election showing his confidence in taking the nomination, yet he’s still striking the right chord of optimism. Just keep Hillary out of the veep role… bad things happen to people who become inconvenient to the Clinton family; and I’d hate to be the one heartbeat between her and the presidency.

  94. 94.

    myiq2xu

    As far as the internets rumors about Obama, they seem to come up every time his name is mentioned. I was reading a local blog (liberal, undecided) and a Clinton support kept pushing it.

    An alleged Clinton supporter.

    Trolls wear disguises. Sliming Obama while posing as a Clinton supporter (or vice-versa) is a great way for GOP rat-fuckers to slime both at once.

    Don’t forget they tried to frame Hillary for that despicible madrassa smear.

  95. 95.

    Pb

    myiq2xu Says:
    […]
    An alleged Clinton supporter.

    The real ones are more than bad enough, thanks, as you’ve consistently demonstrated here in the past.

  96. 96.

    myiq2xu

    The real ones are more than bad enough, thanks, as you’ve consistently demonstrated here in the past.

    Here we go again. I say something that is reasonable and fair to both candidates, my only criticism is for the GOP, and in return I get personally insulted.

    Fuck you asshat.

  97. 97.

    TheFountainHead

    The real ones are more than bad enough, thanks, as you’ve consistently demonstrated here in the past.

    Pwned.

    (Sorry, I’m in a good mood tonight.)

  99. 99.

    ladonne

    TZ — on the local news tonight, the Obama people far outnumbered the Clinton people — and were just regular people. For Clinton, it was the elected politicians. I don’t think it was biased reporting, but the stations here are usually skewed toward republicans, so it’s hard to tell. It’s the third news story I’ve heard about Obama’s campaign here as opposed to zero about Clinton’s. Take it for what it’s worth.

  101. 101.

    ladonne

    Don’t forget they tried to frame Hillary for that despicible madrassa smear.

    I haven’t. IIRC, it was some online mag associated with the Moonie Times that supposedly had the goods on the Clinton people. Never panned out, though. That was when the GOP was thinking it had either Rudy or Fred in the bag (and McCain was running out of money and people).

    And if Clinton is the nominee, then that sort of stuff will be hard to beat back, too. The work is cut out already. Storing up links could be handy.

  102. 102.

    The Other Steve

    I wasn’t surprised to see Obama win in Nebraska and Washington state. However, I was very surprised to see him win Louisiana especially by such a wide margin. I figured Louisiana is a machine political state, that the Clinton’s would strong arm their way.

    Looking at the calendar, I’m not seeing any way Clinton can win if she can’t compete in these smaller states. Texas/Ohio/Pennsylvania won’t give her enough delegates unless she wins by a wide margin, which is unlikely.

  103. 103.

    demimondian

    D-Chance…would you like to present any evidence in support of your slander about people who get in the way of the Clinton’s? Or were you “just joking”?

  104. 104.

    TenguPhule

    McCain’s failure to mention deficits led me to wonder what our Dem candidates plan to do about them. I couldn’t remember any speeches or debate responses so I went to their respective websites and found…
    Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

    Taxes will go up, Services will get fucked.

    And that’s why nobody is talking about it.

  105. 105.

    TheFountainHead

    Taxes will go up, Services will get fucked.

    And that’s why nobody is talking about it.

    Well duh. When you trash a country and impose an economy based on foreign wars conducted by the private sector, someone ends up picking up the tab…and we will.

  106. 106.

    ladonne

    Funny thing I heard on the radio this morning . . . lumber prices have gone down because the reconstruction in Iraq is done. Think about it.

  108. 108.

    ladonne

    I get Newsweek because I gave a little money to the local NRP station. In it, I read this:

    “Peralta’s Medal of Honor had been delayed because pathologists questioned whether he could have scooped up the grenade, given the severity of his gunshot wounds.”

    Medals of honor awarded in this ‘war’? 3

    or 2, maybe.

    While I love Webb in the Senate, someone needs to clean the Pentagon and fast. He could do it.

  109. 109.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Ponies are notoriously nasty creatures.

    Anyone who has spent any time around Shetland ponies knows that this is a fact. Cute? Yes. But mean and nasty tempered at times. I saw one kick a kid into the side of the barn, and another one that liked to show kids what a great little bronco he was. If you work with them for any length of time, you learn how to stand close to them without getting nipped, stepped on or kicked.

    Don’t piss off the Magical Unity Pony, it bites.

  111. 111.

    Krista

    Don’t piss off the Magical Unity Pony, it bites

    Indeed. Miniature horses are just as bad. They’re all cute-looking and whatnot, but let your guard down around them, and suddenly you’ll see a big set of chompers aimed at your ass.

  112. 112.

    Libby Spencer

    Would someone get Libby Spencer a cup of herb tea, please?

    Reality-based community, indeed.

    D-Chance, I suggest you read the linked article in full and check out the InfraGard site closely before you start snarking. Then maybe you should have some coffee so you can wake up and smell the reality that’s brewing right under your nose.

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