• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back

You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back

by John Cole|  February 5, 20092:56 pm| 190 Comments

This post is in: Clown Shoes

FacebookTweetEmail

Instapundit, Malkin, and Joe the Plumber discuss politics for PJTV.

There is so much to love about this, I don’t know where to start, but certainly Joe the Plumber bemoaning the lack of spending cuts and general program cuts in the stimulus bill was a highlight. It is almost as if he doesn’t have the first damned clue what he is talking about. A close runner-up would be Instapundit heralding Bush’s MBA as evidence of his awesome managerial skills. There was just so much to love, it is hard to narrow down the “best” parts.

I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « “Centrists” to fuck National Science Foundation
Next Post: Obama Fiddled While These People Starved »

Reader Interactions

190Comments

  1. 1.

    Common Sense

    February 5, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax to give the rich guy at the next table a tax break, hoping he buys your dinner. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.

    fixed

  2. 2.

    Trinity

    February 5, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane.

    I think Team Obama is also coming to this conclusion.

  3. 3.

    D-Chance.

    February 5, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    And yet, in FOUR DIFFERENT POSTS, you said you AGREE with Republicans that this stimulus bill is bad.

    Methinks you are the one who is insane. You keep harping on the Republicans as if this is all their fault, yet you AGREE with them on the issue. Perhaps YOU are the one who likes tire rims and anthrax?

  4. 4.

    Jon H

    February 5, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    It’s weird how a mere Master’s degree (the MBA) has to some acquired as much or more cachet than a PhD.

  5. 5.

    cleek

    February 5, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    And yet, in FOUR DIFFERENT POSTS, you said you AGREE with Republicans that this stimulus bill is bad.

    did JC say otherwise here?

    i don’t see it.

  6. 6.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    February 5, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane.

    We simply have to fool some of the people, some of the time. The low-information people.

    We could hire some actors to portray Dumb Liberals who go on tv and say that the stimulus package is all about supporting Christian faith in the economy. Even point to some provisions in the bill that seem to do this. The plaque-brains on the right would eat it up and … bingo!

    Win, win.

  7. 7.

    Bubblegum Tate

    February 5, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    It is almost as if he doesn’t have the first damned clue what he is talking about.

    Almost?

  8. 8.

    Ash Can

    February 5, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    Shorter D-Chance: Forget what you really said, you said what I say you said. Also.

    It is almost as if he doesn’t have the first damned clue what he is talking about.

    Adjusted due to excessive civility.

  9. 9.

    JGabriel

    February 5, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    John Cole:

    … you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    Tire rims & anthrax with tomato sauce is the obvious compromise here – which, come to think of it, is not that different than Republicans saying, "Of course it’s a centrist compromise, Joe Lieberman agrees with us."

    .

  10. 10.

    John Cole

    February 5, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    And yet, in FOUR DIFFERENT POSTS, you said you AGREE with Republicans that this stimulus bill is bad.

    I think the thing you are missing is that I have said that I do not know if it is a good bill or not, but that is hardly saying I agree with the Republicans.

    But back to the point- the notion that a bill, designed solely to pump money into the country as the government has become the buyer of last resort, in effect, SHOULD BE JAM PACKED FULL OF PROGRAM CUTS AND SPENDING CUTS is QUITE FUCKING CLEARLY CRAZY TALK.

    I am starting to realize you are a Joe the Plumber kind of guy.

  11. 11.

    Joshua Norton

    February 5, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    I’m thinking the Olive Garden salad bar.

  12. 12.

    El Cid

    February 5, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    Clearly an effective economic stimulus should drastically cut spending and encourage people to save money.

  13. 13.

    Dave

    February 5, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    John, you deserve some kind of medal for putting up with that.
     
    I read somewhere else that they make extensive use of a clown car clip for no apparent reason. Is that true?

  14. 14.

    Nylund

    February 5, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    Bemoaning the lack of spending cuts in a stimulus bill is like saying a tax cut bill doesn’t have enough tax hikes.

  15. 15.

    The Moar You Know

    February 5, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    I don’t know what it’s going to take to get everyone to figure this out; the Republicans are not going to vote for this bill even if the Dems threw out all the spending and wrote in nothing but tax cuts.

    It’s not theirs, they get no credit for it, and they’re not going to vote for it. Period.

  16. 16.

    BFR

    February 5, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    We simply have to fool some of the people, some of the time. The low-information people.

    I’ve come around to the "we’re pretty much fucked" viewpoint over the last few days.

    I mean it’s not exactly hidden to the general public that:

    a) We’ve got a serious economic mess
    b) The Democrats are proposing means to remedy it
    c) GOP policy is being set by a talk radio entertainer and a semi-employed plumber

    And yet the polling shows support for the stimulus is rapidly declining. I don’t know what else to say – it’s shocking.

  17. 17.

    mgordon

    February 5, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    You’re right. When the middle ground is a shit sandwich we are all fucked.

  18. 18.

    Adrienne

    February 5, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    I’m thinking the Olive Garden salad bar.

    Teehehe.

    Joe the Plumber

    Teh stoopid. It burnz.

  19. 19.

    amorphous

    February 5, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    Glenn sounds more like a muppet than Matty Y. Also, at 5:08 Malkin claims that the Bush A.D.D.ministration "learned from" an experience. That doesn’t sound like the Dubya I know.

    @John Cole: You’ve been a little caps lock-heavy the past couple of days. I think you need a drink or twelve.

  20. 20.

    Dave

    February 5, 2009 at 3:23 pm

    Did Malkin wear the cheerleading outfit? I need to know if I should have extra-strong bleach for my eyes before I watch the video.

  21. 21.

    jenniebee

    February 5, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    @D-Chance.:

    And yet, in FOUR DIFFERENT POSTS, you said you AGREE with Republicans that this stimulus bill is bad.

    Yes, and Mao disapproved of Stalin’s Marxism, so he must have been in total agreement with the entire West about Stalin, even though the West disapproved because it disapproved of Marxism in general, and Mao disapproved because Stalin’s Marxism didn’t go far enough.

    For D-Chance, the agreement is key; all else is trivia and nuance.

  22. 22.

    Davebo

    February 5, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    Instapundit Moe, Malkin Larry, and Joe the Plumber Curly discuss politics for PJTV.

    Aubrey Chernick is a genius alright!

  23. 23.

    Adrienne

    February 5, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    Republicans are not going to vote for this bill… It’s not theirs, they get no credit for it, and they’re not going to vote for it. Period.

    Ding, ding, ding. We did this math days ago. I also already stated my preference on how to deal with these ratbastards.

  24. 24.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    February 5, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    Come on, nothing for "plaque-brains?"

    Where is the love around this fucking place?

  25. 25.

    El Cid

    February 5, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    It reminds me of how liberal hawks used to dismiss foes of Reagan’s death squad and terror crusade throughout Central America as ‘too far on one extreme’.

    One side, the Reaganites and liberal hawks, wanted us to hire people to kill civilians in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. (Among other places in the world.)

    Another side, me and those like me, wanted us to NOT do that.

    Presumably the bipartisan consensus would have been to kill half as many people, or maybe just wound them all.

  26. 26.

    El Cid

    February 5, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    @TheHatOnMyCat: We Make Holes-In-Teeth!

  27. 27.

    SpotWeld

    February 5, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane.

    And this is pretty much the same corner that science teachers get backed into when creationists school board members demand they "teach the weaknesses" and allow for "alternate explainations like ID".

    Esentially the whole process is held hostage by a small fanatical group that must be appeased "or else".

    Don’t hear the GOP chanting "up or down vote" much these days, do you?

  28. 28.

    Davebo

    February 5, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    And yet the polling shows support for the stimulus is rapidly declining. I don’t know what else to say – it’s shocking.

    Not so much..

  29. 29.

    JGabriel

    February 5, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    Dave:

    Did Malkin wear the cheerleading outfit?

    No. Joe the Plumber did.

    And Glenn Reynolds wore the leather. And a light sabre.

    .

  30. 30.

    chrome agnomen

    February 5, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    i’ll just keep those 21 minutes, thank you.

    it really is hard to figure the opposition party out. you can’t really consider them insane, by and large. immoral, yes. pig-ignorant, beyond question. it’s more like a bunch of people hurtling down a highway out of control, with no one driving, and sending one blind person after another up to man the helm.

    so frustrating to try and argue with people who start from no substantive position. the fact that they aren’t publicly ridiculed by major portions of the populace is discouraging, to say the least.

  31. 31.

    DonnaInMichigan

    February 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    When the republicans rely on someone like Joe the Plumber as their spokesperson…you know for sure the Republican party is going down the drain….

  32. 32.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    February 5, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    I’m thinking the Olive Garden salad bar.

    Two words: Bread sticks.

  33. 33.

    srv

    February 5, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax

    Take-out in a Ferrari with the appropriate animal skin seats would work here.

  34. 34.

    JGabriel

    February 5, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    chrome agnomen:

    you can’t really consider them insane, by and large. … it’s more like a bunch of people hurtling down a highway out of control, with no one driving, and sending one blind person after another up to man the helm.

    You have a very generous definition of "not insane".

    .

  35. 35.

    BDeevDad

    February 5, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    I’ll let you enjoy the pain/unintentional comedy and mock it so I don’t lose any more brain cells. I have few enough already. I think you need another category now that PJ has gone to video to go along with the ‘I Read These Morons So You Don’t Have To’ Category

  36. 36.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    February 5, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    you know for sure the Republican party is going down the drain….

    Yeah, but they’re controlling the debate ……

  37. 37.

    jenniebee

    February 5, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    @The Moar You Know: right on. Bipartisanship is all about giving the other side political cover. There is absolutely no reason for the Republicans to do so (except, you know, doing what’s best for their country, patriotism, etc., and even there it’s possible that they’re so ideologically deranged that they lack the capacity for judgment, etc.). There is no benefit to the Republicans for helping on this, because the odds that the economy will be good before the 2010 elections are pretty slim, and if they do anything other than stand against the stimulus bill, they’ll have thrown away what they think is their big issue for the midterm elections.

    Personally, I can’t wait to watch Republicans run on the economy. I think it’s pretty clear to most people that when times are bad, Republicans aren’t the ones you want digging you out (it helps that the Republican response to being in a hole is to stock the company store with free market shovels).

  38. 38.

    former capitalist

    February 5, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    @BFR:

    There are times when you just have to admit that some (most?) Americans aren’t very damn smart, and will vote against their own interests time and again (witness two terms of GWB). Instead, they’re willing to listen to jackasses like Joe T. Plumber and Mr. Limbaugh. As liberals, sometimes we just have to realize that and do things that help them, in spite of their blatant stupidity. If the stimulus bill doesn’t pass, the Repubs aren’t going to take the fall for the economy falling off a cliff and WWIII. The fingers will point to the POTUS as fast as their fists can be unclenched.

  39. 39.

    Dreggas

    February 5, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    can we just refer to Joe the plumber as "Joe the Dumber" now? Please? The upshot is because of his whoring himself out the way he has he probably now has reason to worry that his taxes will go up under Obama.

    What a douche nozzle.

  40. 40.

    Tim in SF

    February 5, 2009 at 3:36 pm

    I watched three minutes. It was too boring for me to get my hate on.

  41. 41.

    big woo

    February 5, 2009 at 3:37 pm

    So Glenn Reynolds is really Neil Hamburger?

    That’s good to know.

  42. 42.

    chrome agnomen

    February 5, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    another, hardly original, way to look at the intransigence of the right here, is to reflect that they are merely abandoning all of the people who are not in the top 5%, including their base. those at the top have ‘got theirs’, and have enough to weather all but the most extreme events that can ensue. after the dust settles, they just take up their mantra again, counting on the collective amnesia of a large portion of the populace, and start to play the game again.

    i’ve always told the few members of my own family who support the wingtard way, that the one thing they do not realize is how much the right despises them, they being relatively lower/middle class folks with no power. they only love them on nov 4.

  43. 43.

    jenniebee

    February 5, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    @El Cid:

    Presumably the bipartisan consensus would have been to kill half as many people, or maybe just wound them all.

    Yes, and on gang-raping the nuns, the solution would be to cut the rapist-to-nun ratio from 15/1 down to a more manageable 4/1 – 7/1 range.

  44. 44.

    Rick Taylor

    February 5, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    I read that a proposal to do a stimulus bill based entirely on tax cuts got the votes of all but 4 Republican senators. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

  45. 45.

    Joshua Norton

    February 5, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Republicans are not going to vote for this bill… It’s not theirs, they get no credit for it,

    Pete Sessions says House Republicans promise Taliban insurgent tactics

    Going, going, gonzo! ! !

  46. 46.

    Maus

    February 5, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Has anyone yet pointed out to Malkin that her gimmick is so dumb that JTP is doing it without any whit of education or intelligence?

  47. 47.

    JGabriel

    February 5, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    BDeevDad:

    I think you need another category now that PJ has gone to video to go along with the ‘I Read These Morons So You Don’t Have To’ Category.

    How about we call it:

    Scanners: I Watch These Fools So Your Head Won’t Explode

    .

  48. 48.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 5, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    OT, but I think John would be interested to know The Editors is back to talking trash.

  49. 49.

    The Moar You Know

    February 5, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    @Adrienne: I like your idea with one huge caveat; I am not convinced that the American public is smart enough to realize when action is being attempted in their own best interests.

  50. 50.

    Rick Taylor

    February 5, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    As bad as things are, just imagine how much worse they’d be if McCain were president.

    "No bill is better than this bill, because it increases the deficit by over a trillion dollars. It has so many programs in it that create no jobs whatsoever. And it has no provisions to put us on the path of a balanced budget, once our economy has recovered…. We’ve got to put ourselves on a path to a balanced budget and eliminating the deficit that’s mortgaging our children’s futures"

    "The job of the presidency, in my view, is to give people hope, give people hope. Whether you happen to have liked Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s policies, and there’s a number of them I still think exacerbated the Great Depression, but he gave the fireside chats, and gave people hope and optimism for the future."

  51. 51.

    JGabriel

    February 5, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Joshua Norton:

    Pete Sessions says House Republicans promise Taliban insurgent tactics.

    That’s atypically honest of them.

    .

  52. 52.

    The Moar You Know

    February 5, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    @Joshua Norton: Republicans praising the Taliban. I think U.S. politics has officially jumped the shark.

  53. 53.

    BDeevDad

    February 5, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    @Joshua Norton: Wow! How fast until a Democrat comes out and says I don’t think that is what Sessions meant to say.

  54. 54.

    Cyrus

    February 5, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Joe the Plumber

    No, dammit, his name is Samuel Wurzelbacher or, if he prefers, Sam, or Joe. Under AP style, calling him by his last name after the first reference is preferred. But I am not giving the cueball Bircher the familiarity of a soubriquet. I’ll call him a plumber when I get out the Yellow Pages for help with my malfunctioning dishwasher and can’t find anyone suitable between A and V, or when I see him wearing red overalls, a matching cap, and a handlebar moustache; not until then.

  55. 55.

    Tsulagi

    February 5, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane.

    I think you hit on the central flaw in Obama’s bipartisan/postpartisan/"can’t we all just get along" hope. He needs to change that.

    These are the people who are quite happy and proud killing additional science funding, but if there was money in the stimulus package to train snowflake babies to smile at pro-lifers, they’d be stumbling over each other to add zeros.

    You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back

    For me, 3.5 minutes. That’s all I could take. So this PJTV is the PJM mogul’s vision of the future? I’m thinking Jesus would rather be up on the cross than endure that boring tard pabulum.

  56. 56.

    Libby

    February 5, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    I sincerely hope you have a comp subscription as a member of PJ Media and aren’t encouraging them by actually paying to watch that tripe. And if you are paying for it, on the premise that someone has to keep an eye on them, could you post transcripts or at least a couple of choice quotes so no one else has to subsidize their inanity? It would be the patriotic thing to do.

  57. 57.

    amorphous

    February 5, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    I’m sure the these idiots and other Republicans will be happy to see us plebeians racing to the bottom.

  58. 58.

    gbear

    February 5, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Harry Reid is frustrated:

    Frustrated Senate Democratic leaders dispensed with calls for bipartisanship on the stimulus package Thursday, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that he won’t let anyone "hold the president of the United States hostage."
    President Barack Obama had once hoped to have the package pass with substantial Republican support. But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that’s now a “distant memory."
    "So far," he said, bipartisanship "isn’t working. . . . It takes two to tango, but the Republicans aren’t dancing.”

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that it’s the Democrats – and not the Republicans – who have made a mockery of bipartisanship.
    “Senators are in a panic – this bill is stinking up the place,” Graham said – then accused Obama of being “AWOL” in the stimulus discussions.

  59. 59.

    pseudonymous in nc

    February 5, 2009 at 4:00 pm

    FTW. The WaPo loves it some Susan Collins right now. Village idiocy at its best.

    If you’re in the business of making sausage, cure it to serve cold or stick it on the grill and eat it hot. Lukewarm sausage will just have everyone shitting themselves.

    As for Chauncy Plummer, what the fuck? Seriously.

  60. 60.

    Adrienne

    February 5, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    @The Moar You Know: I agree. That’s why I’m not saying "let’s hope they realize…". I’m sayin, let’s MAKE them realize.

    There is a reason the public was for this thing a few weeks ago, and there is a reason that public support seems to be slipping. There is NO reason, NONE, that we can’t win this argument. Americans are afraid, but more importantly, we are pissed. the. fuck. off. I see NO reason why we can’t tap into that and direct it at the Republicans by painting them as the slimey obstructionists that they are. They are out there actively rooting for economic armageddon. In the middle of the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression these pricks are holding up the very needed stimulus bill by trivializing it and making it about "pork" and "earmarks".

    We elected Democrats for a reason. We elected Obama over McCain for a reason. I see no issues with using the bully pulpit to do what we elected them to do.

  61. 61.

    Davis X. Machina

    February 5, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    Susan Collins is stuck at the age of 14. I guarantee she has an internal monologue in her head going from the time she gets up in the morning, like a kid shooting baskets.

    "Here’s the moderate Senator from Maine, makin’ the hard choices, takin’ the heat from both sides…."

    Snowe, whatever her failings, is at least a senator. Collins is playing at it. That she has any power at all in this process is frightening. Doogie Hauser, without the M.D. degree….

  62. 62.

    DougJ

    February 5, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    @Joshua Norton

    You beat me to it.

  63. 63.

    DougJ

    February 5, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    Normally, these things make me fear for the future of our country. This one makes me wonder about the entire human race.

    It’s time to face the real possibility that some kind of toxin is degrading human DNA.

  64. 64.

    pseudonymous in nc

    February 5, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    I think the Senate GOPpers have overstepped their capabilities now. Those 36 votes for MOAR TAX CUTZ establish the Fucktard Caucus, and that clearly delineates the people who aren’t playing Ski-jump Hand-job with Limbaugh and Plumber.

    Get it into conference, send the bill back to the Senate, and see if the DINOs and RINOs have the cojones to scuttle it.

  65. 65.

    Joshua Norton

    February 5, 2009 at 4:07 pm

    Harry Reid saying that he won’t let anyone "hold the president of the United States hostage."

    Obama pretty much painted a bulls eye on his back when he specifically stated that he wanted 80 votes out of the Senate. Like the Repugs were about to let that happen. Now all the pundicks are shouting "epic fail".

    It’s like he’s never met these people before.

  66. 66.

    Ugh

    February 5, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane.

    Obama: Good Morning.
    Republicans: Good morning, sir. Welcome to the National Republican Stimulus Emporium.
    O: Ah, thank you my good man.
    R: What can I do for you, Mr. President?
    O: Well, I was, uh, sitting in the Oval Office on Pennsylvania Street just now, skimming through the Democratic Stimulus Bill, and I suddenly came over all bipartisanshippy.
    O: Bipartisanshippy, sir?
    O: Open to negotiation.
    R: Eh?
    O: (In a deep, southeran accent): I wanna do sum bidness witchy’all.
    R: Ah, foolish.
    O: In a nutshell. And I thought to myself, ‘a little back-and-forth haggle-haggle will do the trick’. So I curtailed my reading activites, sallied forth, and infiltrated your place of purveyance to negotiate the stimulating of our national economy.
    R: Come again?
    O: I want to pass a bill.
    R: Oh, I thought you were complaining about the banjo player.
    O: Oh, heaven forbid. I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Deliverancey muse.
    R: Sorry?
    O: (In a deep Sourthern accent) Yee-ha!
    R: So he can go on playing, can he?
    O: Most certainly. Now then, some negotation please, my good man.
    R: Certainly, sir. What would you like?
    O: Well, eh, how about a little family planning?
    R: I’m afraid we’re fresh out of family planning, sir.
    O: Oh never mind, how are you on state aid?
    R: I’m afraid we never have that at the end of the week, sir. We get it fresh in 2013.
    O: Tish tish. No matter. Well, stout yeoman, four billion of mass transit, if you please.
    R: Ah. It’s been on order, sir, for two decades. I was expecting it this next century.
    O: It’s not my lucky day, is it? Er, sod for the Mall?
    R: Sorry, sir.
    O: Tax cuts for working families?
    R: Normally, sir, yes. But they vote democrat.
    O: Ah. Extended unemployment insurance?
    R: Sorry.
    O: Caps on executive compensation?
    R: No.
    O: Any job training, per chance?
    R: No.
    O: Pell grants?
    R: No.
    O: National science foundation funding?
    R: No.
    O: NIH funding?
    R: No.
    O: Infrastructure repair?
    R: No.
    O: Prevention & wellness programs?
    R: No.
    O: Highway funds?
    R: No.
    O: Wind farms?
    R: No.
    O: Solar panels?
    R: No.
    O: Funds for planes, trains, boats, automobiles, motorcycles, jet skis?
    R: No.
    O: Refundable tax credits, perhaps?
    R: Ah! We have refundable tax credits, yes sir.
    O: You do! Excellent.
    R: Yes, sir. It’s, ah ….. it’s a bit funny.
    O: Oh, I like it funny.
    R: Well, it’s very funny, actually, sir.
    O: No matter. Fetch hither le fromage de la refundable tax credits! M-mmm!
    R: I think it’s a bit funnier than you’ll like it, sir.
    O: I don’t care how fucking funny it is. Hand it over with all speed.
    R: Oh …..
    O: What now?
    R: Boehner’s eaten it.
    O: Has he?
    R: She, sir.
    (pause)
    O: Bad bank?
    R: No.
    O: Nationalization?
    R: No.
    O: Buy american?
    R: No.
    O: Detroit bailout?
    R: No.
    O: Money market guarantees?
    R: No, sir.
    O: You do have some stimulus, do you?
    R: Of course, sir. It’s a stimulus shop, sir. We’ve got …..
    O: No, no, don’t tell me. I’m keen to guess.
    R: Fair enough.
    O: Insanity Party?
    R: Yes?
    O: Ah, well, I’ll have some of that.
    R: Oh, I thought you were talking to me, sir, that’s my name.
    O: Children’s health insurance?
    R: Ah, not as such.
    O: Er, national health care?
    R: No.
    O: Cram downs?
    R: No.
    O: Loan guarantees?
    R: No.
    O: Protectionism?
    R: No.
    O: Tax and spend?
    R: No.
    O: Borrow and spend?
    R: No.
    O: Spend and spend?
    R: Not this term, sir, no.
    (pause)
    O: Ah, how about printing money?
    R: Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir.
    O: Not much ca- It’s the single most popular stimulus in the world!
    R: Not round here, sir.
    O: And what is the most popular stimulus round here?
    R: Tax cuts for the rich, sir.
    O: Is it.
    R: Oh yes, sir. It’s staggeringly popular in this emporium, squire.
    O: Is it.
    R: It’s our number-one best seller, sir.
    O: I see. Ah, tax cuts for the rich, eh?
    R: Right, sir.
    O: All right. Okay. Will you vote for the bill if I give it to you, he asked expecting the answer no?
    R: I’ll have a look, sir ….. nnnnnnooooooooo.
    O: It’s not much of a stimulus shop, is it?
    R: Finest in the District, sir.
    O: Explain the logic underlying that conclusion, please.
    R: Well, it’s so right wing, sir.
    O: It’s certainly uncontaminated by rational thought.
    R: You haven’t asked me about stock purchases, sir.
    O: Is it worth it?
    R: Could be.
    O: Have you- SHUT THAT BLOODY BANJO UP!
    R: (To dancers) Told you so.
    O: Have you got any stock purchases?
    R: No.
    O: That figures. Predictable really, I suppose. It was an act of purest optimism to have tried to negotiate with you in the first place. Tell me:
    R: Yes, sir?
    O: Have you in fact got any stimulus here at all?
    R: Yes, sir.
    O: Really?
    (pause)
    R: No. Not really, sir.
    O: You haven’t.
    R: No, sir, not a scrap. I was deliberately wrecking the country, sir.
    O: Well, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to shoot you.
    R: Right-O, sir.
    O: (Shoots him) What a senseless waste of human life.

  67. 67.

    Adrienne

    February 5, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    Harry Reid saying that he won’t let anyone "hold the president of the United States hostage."

    He’s awfully late to the party that Pelosi started weeks ago! Why do you think Pelosi did what she did? She’s a smart broad. She knew they weren’t gonna play ball and had NO interest in true bipartisanship so she just said screw ’em and kept it moving.

    The election wasn’t even close and Dems have a mandate. I say, crush the bastards. Like I said yesterday, we already have all the footage we need of Obama doing the bipartisan thing – footage of him in meetings at the WH, footage of him coming to the Hill to meet with Republicans, inviting them over for drinks, and on and on and on ad nauseum. If he decides to run over these idiots monster truck style, who can blame him?

  68. 68.

    Dave

    February 5, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    @Davis X. Machina:
     
    And you wonder why so many of us in Maine were ripshit pissed over Tom Allen’s half-assed campaign? Collins could’ve gone down but Allen played the "I’m not (name here)" game that Kerry did in ’04 and got the same result.

  69. 69.

    Conservatively Liberal

    February 5, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    Ugh, excellent rewrite! LMAO!

  70. 70.

    kay

    February 5, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Bipartisanship is going to work because there are 5 Republican moderates in the Senate.

    And that’s all he needs.

    It IS sort of wild though. Five. In Congress. Not a lot. No wiggle room there. No, sir.

  71. 71.

    Laura W

    February 5, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    "The honeymoon is over. There’s a lot of wife beating going on."
    -Pat Buchanan, 4:17pm

    thud

  72. 72.

    Cyrus

    February 5, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    And the problem with the Republican Party is, they aren’t insane. It seems to me that the party’s best strategy for success in the next several elections are to complain about, object to and water down everything they can but not actually prevent too much from passing into law, and then when programs fail, run against them. What else are they going to do, run against the Democrats from the left? LOL. The base might have nowhere to go, but the Republican Party still needs money and they won’t get it by abandoning big business. Acquiesce? Running as Republicans-lite didn’t work for Democrats in 2002 and running as Democrats-lite wouldn’t work for Republicans going forward. Go nativist? Eventually, but right now it’s impossible to do so without violating Lee Atwater’s advice. What we’re seeing may look disastrous, but corrupt mismanagement of bad policies has left them with no better choice.

    This strategy may be bad for the country and it may be bad for the Republican Party of the year 2030 or 2050, but it’s not like a 60-year-old millionaire now in office has any reason to care about either of those.

  73. 73.

    joeyess

    February 5, 2009 at 4:20 pm

    I would like to explain something to Not Joe:

    You’d better quit with the whole "left side, right side" bit and pick the "right side" or you’re going to find a horse head in your bed courtesy of Michelle and her flying monkey circus.

  74. 74.

    Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill

    February 5, 2009 at 4:22 pm

    "The honeymoon is over. There’s a lot of wife beating going on."

    Ah, Pat. We always know where we stand with you.

    (Far, far out of the range of the lightning bolt.)

  75. 75.

    Tonal Crow

    February 5, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    I love it. Utter clowns and freaks accusing Obama of being a clown and a freak:

    — Brookings as a "left-wing" organization;
    — "I suppose I should refrain that".
    — "Worry about the bill come later"
    — Even the GOP "still wants to spend"…"no one’s talking about cutting programs".
    — A governor is cutting stuff, "It’s a more responsible approach…we’re not seeing that at the federal level".
    — "Fiscal conservatives".
    — McConnell is "mushy" and GOP is "colluding" to "show that Republicans are for something" which is "what got us into this mess in the first place".
    — Senate GOP thinks that "obstructionism is something to be apologized for".

    I got too nauseated when they began trotting out the "polls" and killed it. Then I rebooted from a CD and ran a full malware scan on my system.

  76. 76.

    Stuck

    February 5, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    This wasn’t far from my diet during college, if you throw in copious amounts of cold beer.

  77. 77.

    norbizness

    February 5, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    By all means, keep their business model going and inflict organic brain damage on your readership.

  78. 78.

    Mike S

    February 5, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    This is what Roger Simon is putting his money into? If he wants to waste his money this bad I’d be more than happy to spout a bunch of idiotic talking points for some.

  79. 79.

    Laura W

    February 5, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    "The honeymoon is over. There’s a lot of wife beating going on."
    -Pat Buchanan, 4:17pm

    As I further meditate upon the profundity of it all, I think it’s a shoe-in title for DougJ’s next post.

  80. 80.

    DougJ

    February 5, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    This is what Roger Simon is putting his money into?

    They sure didn’t spend much on hair and make-up for Instapundit.

  81. 81.

    Stuck

    February 5, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    Where have you gone, Joe the Plumber
    A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
    What’s that you say, Mrs. Palinson
    Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away
    (Hey, hey, hey…hey, hey, hey)

    We’d like to know a little bit about
    you for our files.
    Coo coo ca choo.

  82. 82.

    Dave

    February 5, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    @DougJ:
     
    Why bother? It’s like lipstick on a pig…

  83. 83.

    Balconesfault

    February 5, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    @Joshua Norton:

    I’m thinking the Olive Garden salad bar.

    Yep – she can fill her plate with salad forks and extra plates to munch on … after she’s asked the busboy to blow his nose on them.

    You can have the cherry tomatoes.

  84. 84.

    Rome Again

    February 5, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    @DougJ:

    It’s time to face the real possibility that some kind of toxin is degrading human DNA.

    It’s in the cup of Jesus’ blood they give you at church. That’s why it only affects Soc Cons.

  85. 85.

    The Populist

    February 5, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    Michelle Malkin is a useless idiot (or is that USEFUL when talking about the right wing pov?). Why is it that people like that get all this attention.

    When Chris "tweetie" Matthews shut her down years ago I thought that was it for the factually challenged little propagandist. Nope, here she is acting like what she does is some kind of journalism.

    Sorry sweetie, what you do is smear people in the name of selling talking points that I am sure you didn’t even come up with on your own.

  86. 86.

    ksmiami

    February 5, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Finally – John you waking to what we’ve been dealing with for at least 20 years. THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTS AND HAVE NO BUSINESS RUNNING A MCDONALDS LET ALONE THE GOVT

  87. 87.

    Zifnab

    February 5, 2009 at 4:51 pm

    Michelle Malkin is a useless idiot (or is that USEFUL when talking about the right wing pov?). Why is it that people like that get all this attention.

    Republicans prop her up as a "friendly minority" that’s just as batshit crazy as they are. Kinda like running out Michael Steele or Clarence Thomas to race bait for them.

    Democrats have turned her into the poster child for the right wing flaming idiot brigades. And she does a heckava job. She’s like an Asian Ann Coulter, except I think Ann at least knows its all an act.

  88. 88.

    Rome Again

    February 5, 2009 at 4:51 pm

    I’m so sick of hearing these soundbites on tv of Republican senators kvetching over spending money after they rubber stamped so much over the last several years. Someone shoot me, please!

  89. 89.

    Xanthippas

    February 5, 2009 at 4:51 pm

    It is almost as if he doesn’t have the first damned clue what he is talking about.

    You are perilously close to uncovering this highly protected secret.

  90. 90.

    Punchy

    February 5, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    When does Joe the Plumber become a pr0n name? When does his broke-ass become a pr0n actor?

  91. 91.

    The Populist

    February 5, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Can somebody explain to the cable news shows that Joe The Plumber’s 15 minutes are long gone? No wonder their ratings are going down.

  92. 92.

    Zifnab

    February 5, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    @Punchy: After Nail’n Palin, you’d think it would have been a short trip, right?

  93. 93.

    Comrade Kevin

    February 5, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    I think U.S. politics has officially jumped the shark.

    That phrase needs to be thrown under the bus.

  94. 94.

    Jon H

    February 5, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    Here’s 30 seconds of video you won’t regret.

    (via Balko)

  95. 95.

    Xanthippas

    February 5, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    Can somebody explain to the cable news shows that Joe The Plumber’s 15 minutes are long gone? No wonder their ratings are going down.

    It does have me thinking, this is what they ditched their bloggers for?

  96. 96.

    SGEW

    February 5, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    Ugh wins an internets.

  97. 97.

    Indylib

    February 5, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    @DonnaInMichigan:

    you know for sure the Republican party is going down the drain….

    Next thing you know they will have flushed all their integrity.

  98. 98.

    Brian J

    February 5, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    This is almost like a bad joke.

    I have nothing else left to say.

  99. 99.

    Zuzu's Petals

    February 5, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    @Libby:

    It’s a freebie promo. Hard to imagine anyone actually paying to see this stuff.

    Though I hated to drive Simon’s numbers up just by going over to make sure.

  100. 100.

    Rome Again

    February 5, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    Next thing you know they will have flushed all their integrity.

    They’ll be lucky if they have a pot to piss in.

  101. 101.

    ThymeZone

    February 5, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    They’ll be lucky if they have a pot to piss in.

    Interesting to see how well their "let the people keep more of their own money" slogan works when the people have no jobs and no money to keep.

  102. 102.

    Bill H

    February 5, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Here you go John.

  103. 103.

    headpan

    February 5, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    You actually sat through that? All of it? my god . . . my god . . . you are my new superhero of uncommon strength

  104. 104.

    Clambone

    February 5, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    I’ve never heard Glenn Reynolds speak before. Does he always sound like that, or is he sick?

  105. 105.

    The Moar You Know

    February 5, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Interesting to see how well their "let the people keep more of their own money" slogan works when the people have no jobs and no money to keep.

    @ThymeZone: The last election proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that at least 45% of the populace would buy that line of horseshit even if they were naked and starving to death in the middle of the Sahara.

  106. 106.

    Wile E. Quixote

    February 5, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    @Joshua Norton

    Pete Sessions says House Republicans promise Taliban insurgent tactics

    Going, going, gonzo! ! !

    Cool, does this mean we can send in the Air Force and the Special Forces troops and kill the bastards?

  107. 107.

    Rick Taylor

    February 5, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Via Digby, here’s the proposal all but five Republican senators support to amend the stimulus bill:

    o Permanently repeal the alternative minimum tax once and for all;
    o Permanently keep the capital gains and dividends taxes at 15 percent;
    o Permanently kill the Death Tax for estates under $5 million, and cut the tax rate to 15 percent for those above;
    o Permanently extend the $1,000-per-child tax credit;
    o Permanently repeal the marriage tax penalty;
    o Permanently simplify itemized deductions to include only home mortgage interest and charitable contributions.
    o Lower top marginal income rates from 35 percent to 25 percent.
    o Simplify the tax code to include only two other brackets, 15 and 10 percent.
    o Lower corporate tax rate as well, from 35 percent to 25 percent.

    Even I didn’t expect something like this. These people are completely nuts. Can we please drop the talk of bipartisanship and get on with the work of saving the world economy?

  108. 108.

    John S.

    February 5, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    I’ve never heard Glenn Reynolds speak before. Does he always sound like that, or is he sick?

    Oh, he’s sick all right.

    I’m just not sure that it has any bearing on his diction.

  109. 109.

    Cain

    February 5, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    I’m waiting for this Obama move

    cain

  110. 110.

    Joshua Norton

    February 5, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    @Wile E. Quixote:

    Cool, does this mean we can send in the Air Force and the Special Forces troops and kill the bastards?

    I don’t think so, but I’d gladly put all their airline tickets on my American Express card so they could go over there to get a little on-the-job training. One way, of course.

  111. 111.

    Tom Hilton

    February 5, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    As I said in comments here, the next time any Republicans need brain surgery they should call in their all-around expert ‘Joe’ the ‘Plumber’.

    To which another commenter replied: obviously, a lot of them already have.

  112. 112.

    amorphous

    February 5, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    @Rick Taylor: Let’s lower the corporate tax rate, but close the fucking loopholes. Then the effective rate actually goes up. Suck on that Repugnantcans.

    Also: Sarah Palin says everything she knows she learned from sports. Things just got a lot clearer over here.

  113. 113.

    Rick Taylor

    February 5, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    From the same link, house representative Pete Sessions is using the Taliban as an model for an insurgency.

    "Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban — I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

    That agreement, as Sessions described it, involved a promise from Pelosi to preside over an "open, honest, ethical Congress." Obama, Sessions added, has pledged to diminish the political rhetoric in Washington and work in a bipartisan fashion.

    "If they do not give us those options or opportunities then we will then become insurgency of a nature to where we do those things that are necessary to making sure the American public knows what we think the correct answer is," Sessions said during the 60-minute interview. "So we either work together, or we’re going to find a way to get our message out."

    When pressed to clarify, Sessions said he was not comparing the House Republican caucus to the Taliban, the Muslim fundamentalist group.

    "I simply said one can see that there’s a model out there for insurgency," Sessions said before being interrupted by an aide. The staffer said Sessions was trying to convey that the Republicans need to start thinking about how to act strategically from their perch in the minority.

    Completely nuts.

  114. 114.

    tim

    February 5, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    John, you really do have an awesome twist with words at times: "tire rims and anthrax…"

    LOL

  115. 115.

    former capitalist

    February 5, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    @Rick Taylor:

    Digby doesn’t do snark, but I really hope that’s satire.

  116. 116.

    b-psycho

    February 5, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    O: Ah, how about printing money?
    R: Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir.

    Really? Seems to me like printing money is exactly what’s been going on for quite some time now.

  117. 117.

    Tattoosydney

    February 5, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    This is entirely OT, but there’s no open thread…

    Anyone seen Litlebritdifrnt around?

    She would want to see this.

    Yay! Torchwood!

  118. 118.

    forked tongue

    February 5, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    Clap clap, Ugh.

  119. 119.

    Rick Taylor

    February 5, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    @former capitalist:

    I wish. I found the points on Jone DeMint’s website.

  120. 120.

    Tabletop Joe

    February 5, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    @Jon H:

    trying…not…to…laugh….

  121. 121.

    headpan

    February 5, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    "Ugh" that was a trippin masterpiece. thk u

  122. 122.

    AkaDad

    February 5, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    That phrase needs to be thrown under the bus.

    That would be like a slap in the face.

  123. 123.

    Davis X. Machina

    February 5, 2009 at 6:35 pm

    Dave@69

    Allen’s campaign, good, bad, or indifferent, was irrelevant. Collins would have beaten anybody who ran against her. Collins’ whole career is built on Democratic women voters. A Republican with no gender gap can’t be beat.

  124. 124.

    A la lanterne les aristos!

    February 5, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    Rick Taylor @ 108

    I totally read those bullets as O’s and thought that was the new GOP National Anthem.

  125. 125.

    The Populist

    February 5, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    Permanently repeal the alternative minimum tax once and for all;Permanently extend the $1,000-per-child tax credit;Permanently simplify itemized deductions to include only home mortgage interest and charitable contributions.

    Yes on these, no on the others except:

    Lower corporate tax rate as well, from 35 percent to 25 percent.

    Add these to the proposal:

    The only companies that qualify are the ones who’s workforce is 75% American. So if Mattel (for example) has 10,000 workers (of which 7K are in China and Mexico) then you don’t qualify.

    If you outsource, you don’t get a discount. If you are a service company and you outsource IT/Customer Service to India or Pakistan, you lose.

    If you own 30 factories and none are located in the USA, you lose.

    The way I see it, encourage American corporations to come back here. Maybe then companies like Mattel won’t worry if one of their dolls has health related issues.

  126. 126.

    andy

    February 5, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    liberals are idiots. thanks for spending my kids and grandkids money on ‘stimulus’ that is going to do nothing but put us deeper in the hole. typical liberal thought process…’if it’s broken, let’s throw a bunch of money at it’. WRONG. again. lefties.

  127. 127.

    MikeL

    February 5, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    Well, John, you don’t deserve Joe the Plumber anyway.

    You can interpret that any way you want.

  128. 128.

    bernard

    February 5, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    liberals are losing the message. the Taliban concept Sessions cited is how Republicans are operating. to see Obama let the Republicans control the message shows how inept and spineless the Democrats are. the slide into an elitist cohesive theocracy continues.

  129. 129.

    Stuck

    February 5, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    how inept and spineless the Democrats are. the slide into an elitist cohesive theocracy continues.

    Dispatch From the Bong of Wisdom!

  130. 130.

    The Populist

    February 5, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    liberals are idiots. thanks for spending my kids and grandkids money on ‘stimulus’ that is going to do nothing but put us deeper in the hole. typical liberal thought process…’if it’s broken, let’s throw a bunch of money at it’. WRONG. again. lefties.

    Wow Andy, is that the best you can do? What a deep thinker you are!

    I notice you didn’t get all worked up when Bush spent 1 trillion on useless nonsense, death and destruction. You should be more worried about your kid’s future. Without college loans, good jobs and the like is it really all that big of a deal that Obama tried his best to right the ship?

    I see…as long as it’s YOUR guy spending the money it’s perfectly okay. Zing…I win. Go ahead and play the idiot. The GOP appreciate it.

  131. 131.

    Ash Can

    February 5, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    Shorter andy, MikeL, and bernard: "Trick or treat!"

    Aw, aren’t they sweet?

    P.S. Ugh, you rock.

  132. 132.

    R. Porrofatto

    February 5, 2009 at 9:18 pm

    thanks for spending my kids and grandkids money on ‘stimulus’ that is going to do nothing but put us deeper in the hole.

    Sorry, Andy, but the previous administration already spent your kids’ and grandkids’ money on a "war" in Iraq, Star Wars, and trillions for their Wall St. banker pals, as well as your great grandkids’ and their kids’. But don’t worry, if the GOP has its way, and a stimulus bill of nothing but tax cuts passes, it’ll come out of your Social Security check.

  133. 133.

    b-psycho

    February 5, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    If Obama was anywhere near the fire-breathing lefty the wingnuts think he is, his response to the pork accusations would be to say "why yes, I agree we need to deal with this wasteful spending!"…then promptly propose cutting the "defense" budget in half.

  134. 134.

    Tommykey

    February 5, 2009 at 11:46 pm

    Can we stop referring to the guy as Joe "the plumber"? When was the last time the guy actually worked as a plumber?

    We don’t call Donald Rumsfeld "Donald the Defense Secretary" anymore.

  135. 135.

    mclaren

    February 6, 2009 at 1:04 am

    To see the full extent of the devolution, compare the American discourse with Vladimir Putin’s speech on the economic crisis at Davos.

    Wow. Just…wow.

    This example of Americans trying to discuss the economic crisis is, like, the Olympics of stupidity. It’s like the Stockholm Nobel awards for ignorance. It reminds me of that scene early in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the apes are fumbling around with pieces of bone in front of the monolith. Except here, every time the apes touch the black monolith, their intelligence decreases.

  136. 136.

    Craig

    February 6, 2009 at 7:08 am

    And people are supposed to _pay_ for this? I’ll tell you one thing, though, at least the Ole Perfesser stops playing all coy about his views when he’s doing this "show." What a jackass.

  137. 137.

    r€nato

    February 6, 2009 at 7:20 am

    I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo fucking tired of hearing in the allegedly liberal media that it takes 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate (heard it again on NPR this AM).

    It does not take 60 votes. It takes a majority of those voting. There are, at last count, 99 senators. If all vote either yea or nay, 50 votes carries the day.

    It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture to end a filibuster.

    If the Republicans wish to filibuster, let them filibuster.

    On the other hand, if the Democrats allow the Senate’s minority party to hold them hostage by rolling over at the mere threat of a filibuster, then yes it takes 60 votes to pass anything.

    So why are the Democrats allowing themselves to be held hostage by a defeated minority?

  138. 138.

    r€nato

    February 6, 2009 at 7:28 am

    If Obama was anywhere near the fire-breathing lefty the wingnuts think he is, his response to the pork accusations would be to say "why yes, I agree we need to deal with this wasteful spending!"…then promptly propose cutting the "defense" budget in half.

    I’ve been reading a great book which was (and still is, I think) wildly popular in Italy, "La Casta (The Caste)". It’s about the rampant corruption and nepotism in Italian politics.

    There are lots of amazing tales of brass-balledness on the part of Italian pols; here’s one which speaks to your comment.

    In one particular northern province, three Catholic bishops spoke out publically against a rather lavish expenditure by the provincial government on new automobiles. The president of the provincial council, rather than rolling over for them, vociferously denounced them and retaliated by cutting social services directly affecting the poor and elderly, in the name of cutting government spending while reminding the bishops that it was he who enabled such spending on the poor, children and elderly.

    After much protesting by constituents to the bishops about the government cuts which they had inspired, two of the three quickly folded. One stuck to his guns; another claimed he’d been misquoted and the third simply walked back his denunciation of the spending on new autos.

    (Notice how they didn’t blame the politician who made the cuts; they blamed the bishops for getting their robes in a gather about the cars)

    Now THAT is power politics. I wish there were an English translation of "La Casta"; I’d gladly buy Obama a copy.

  139. 139.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    February 6, 2009 at 9:17 am

    A close runner-up would be Instapundit heralding Bush’s MBA as evidence of his awesome managerial skills.

    It’s a good bet that the majority of the lunkheads on Wall Street who are responsible for the whole CDO, and Mortgage-Backed Security mess we’re in right now have MBA’s. Dubya may be the most grossly incompetent person ever to hold the degree but he’s not the only one.

  140. 140.

    Glenn

    February 6, 2009 at 10:26 am

    A close runner-up would be Instapundit heralding Bush’s MBA as evidence of his awesome managerial skills.

    Well, in fairness to InstaJackass, the premise that having a professional degree is, by itself, conclusive evidence of one’s skill in that profession is rather central to his self-identity.

  141. 141.

    owlbear1

    February 6, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be religion requires a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    You left GOD out of the equation.

  142. 142.

    owlbear1

    February 6, 2009 at 11:10 am

    argh!

  143. 143.

    Charles Weaver

    February 6, 2009 at 11:52 am

    Listened to Obama’s talk, mostly extemporaneous, with Democratic lawmakers on Feb-5. He’s learning that it’s not easy to pet a rabid dog.

  144. 144.

    Sammy

    February 6, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    @Ugh:

    I must disagree with SGEW.

    You win ALL teh intarnets.

  145. 145.

    Alan in SF

    February 6, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    Maybe a better analogy would be if your date wanted to go out to dinner at a place that featured tire rims and anthrax, and you wanted to go stick up a nursing home.

  146. 146.

    Jim in Chicago

    February 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    Let’s all be honest here…Nobama has no real need to get bi-partisan support for this bill, except for the CYA factor. If he (and the rest of the crazy Pelosi clan) are SO convinced the stimulus package will work, then get it done! They don’t need the GOP. The only reason he is trying to get them on board is so that when this stimulus package fails miserably, he and the Dems can share the blame with someone and say, "we all agreed (GOP included) that this was the right thing at the time". It’s a bunch of political BS!

    Nobama is just like every other old school politician who ever came to Washington: Promise a bunch of stuff you can’t deliver on, blame the other guy, etc., etc. Let’s see how Mr. Nobama scores so far: 1) he basically let far left wing Pelosi and her clan craft the stimulus package [so much for bringing the 2 sides together or cutting out unnecessary spending for that matter– where did that scalpel go Nobama?!]; 2) he has nominated 2 tax evaders for positions in his administration [I guess it’s OK to cheat if you’re a Dem]; and 3) what happened to “people voted for hope not fear”? Now he is scaring people into thinking that if the stimulus is voted in soon the world will come to an end! So much for change and a new way of doing business in Washington….that strategy has fallen by the wayside after only 2 weeks in office!!!!

  147. 147.

    No Blood for Hubris

    February 6, 2009 at 1:07 pm

    So it is, I hope, thus officially time once and for all to dump the "bipartisan iz da bomb" frame?

  148. 148.

    slag

    February 6, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    I’m just catching up on this dead thread and wanted to make a quick comment because Jim in Chicago is clearly a lunatic, and it’s not fair to this thread for his to be its final comment.

    That is all.

    ummm…No Blood for Hubris now renders my comment obsolete.

    Never mind.

  149. 149.

    get a degree for breakfast!

    February 6, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    MBA’s come free in $100,000 boxes of Crackerjacks!

  150. 150.

    TeriMac

    February 6, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    I agree with everything you have written here John, except for one little thing, I am writing about Sam the Liar, who you and others refer to as Joe the Plumber, when his name is not Joe and he is not a Plumber! No license, no title.
    Oh well, it’s a little point not a big one.

  151. 151.

    donna

    February 6, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    Well, obviously that dinner date would be with Ann Coulter….

  152. 152.

    JB2008

    February 6, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Yes, one of the parties is clearly insane. But that has been the case since before Ronald Reagan displayed his senile dementia to the world for five bewildering minutes in a televised debate with Walter Mondale in 1984. The last three Repub presidents have tallied up an insane $9, 10, 11? Trillion in debt to go alongside the $900 billion of all other U.S. presidents combined, and yet they continue to delude themselves that they are somehow fiscally responsible. They put forth obvious morons like Sarah Palin and Joe/Sam the Not/Plumber and then whine when people point out that their leaders are, well, fucking morons.

    The Democratic Congress needs to be hit hard with an idiot stick by Obama, but the Republicans are hopeless incompetent sociopaths. Best to leave them to stew in their own rot and move on.

  153. 153.

    Jim in Chicago

    February 6, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    LOL….love that response…I’m more than happy to be labeled a lunatic…that is hardly an argument or rebuttal to my points above…debate is always healthy, but I’ll stay off your thread here….it’s obviously a liberal love/bash all republicans fest…you folks keep patting each other on the back and telling yourselves you have all the answers…

  154. 154.

    john johnson

    February 6, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    It is so obvious what the GOPeePee is doing. They get their
    money from those who have alot of $ and want more. All of
    their ideas are taxcuts and disagreement to ideas that help the middle class,
    such as infrastructure spending and jobs.
    They do not want the middle class to succeed, let alone flourish.
    Because the middle class is supported by the democrats which have the concern for all people not just
    those that support the party with contributions. The GOPee
    have only one interest in mind and that is staying in power.
    They have their small racist and ideological, religious base and that’s it. We have wise up as a country and can see that
    they do not care about the people in this country as people
    but only as tools (think JTP and Palin). Thank god for the
    internet that has exposed their lies and ways, otherwise we
    may never have seen the truth. Just look at the politics they
    are playing with the stimulus. No concern for the continuing freefall in the economy, just that they are trying
    to win a fight in congress and show that the un-united party
    is actually united. They are bad for the direction of this country and we need to keep voting them out. The people
    said on Nov 4th, 2008 that "we want someone in power that
    will do what is best for this country and not just for the
    wealthiest of us". Get out you tired, played out liars and fools! I could go on and I would like to, but enough for now.

  155. 155.

    utm

    February 6, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    here’s a new independent political advert on how bipartisanship works from the agitburo of the universal truth machine:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IXCf-y2mWg

  156. 156.

    Jay Ballou

    February 6, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    And yet, in FOUR DIFFERENT POSTS, you said you AGREE with Republicans that this stimulus bill is bad.

    Lying, or stupid?

  157. 157.

    Noni Mausa

    February 7, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    chrome agnomen sed: "…it really is hard to figure the opposition party out. you can’t really consider them insane…"

    The word you want is "delusional."

    Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a psychotic mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). In particular, a person with delusional disorder has never met any other criteria for schizophrenia and does not have any marked hallucinations, although tactile (touch) or olfactory (smell) hallucinations may be present if they are related to the theme of the delusion.

    A person with delusional disorder can be quite functional and does not tend to show any odd or bizarre behavior aside from these delusions. [However] "Despite the encapsulation of the delusional system and the relative sparing of the personality, the patient’s way of life is likely to become more and more overwhelmed by the dominating effect of the abnormal beliefs". (Munro, 1999)

    You’re welcome.

    Noni

  158. 158.

    Father Time

    February 8, 2009 at 6:51 am

    Bi-Partisanship, isn’t that an oxymoron?

  159. 159.

    Magginkat

    February 8, 2009 at 9:22 am

    I copied your last paragraph and sent it to the White House at the contact link below. Great comment and Oh, so true!

    Remember how the Republicans have used the words "death tax" to describe the inheritance tax? Well this is one time we need to turn the tables on them. We need to rename the stimulus bill and call it a Job’s Bill. Now if only we could get Obama to do the same and rub the Republicans nose in it when they vote against jobs for Americans.

    The Dittoheads are making phone calls to push dope addict Limpball’s propaganda. Come on people. We outnumber Limpballs’ little fan club by the millions. Use the toll free number below to make daily calls, lots of them, to Senators & the White House.

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (Tell President Obama to call this a Job’s Bill)

    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    Washington, DC 20500

    800-828-0498 (Contact members of Congress or White House

  160. 160.

    LindaSoG

    February 8, 2009 at 10:09 am

    ohfercryinoutloud.

    neither Glenn nor Michelle could get through a sentence without at least two "uhs" in there, two highly unprofessional professional speakers. The few minutes I gave Joe had about half the number of uhs.

    In between the uhs, just the same old crap covered by blogs all over. Boring.

    So much for my first and last PJTV experience.

  161. 161.

    Wareq

    February 8, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.

  162. 162.

    Professor Smartass

    February 9, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    There is only one semi-defensible reason why Obama and the Democrats pursue bipartisanship.

    However small, insane, and stupid that dinner date is, if you piss her off, she’ll call her pimp and have you killed. Except he isn’t exactly a pimp, he’s more like Tony Soprano with the whole world as his turf.

    Republicans are the servants of the financial elite, so stepping on a GOP pols toes is like kicking the master’s dog–the master might get mad at you.

    Republicans also have things easier than Democrats: their base of voters pretty much ignore economic issues apart from parroting whatever Rush Limbaugh tells them, so they are free to take care of the haves and have mores as they see fit.

    Democrats problem is their base of voters follows economics somewhat, so Democrats try to avoid offending them AND avoid offending the financial elite who they would like to woo away from the GOP.

    The result is that their initiatives and public statements often sound like a judge trying to come up with a verdict that would please both a rapist and his victim.

  163. 163.

    Dave Ullman

    February 9, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    Too many of you are thinking the Republicans are insane. I doubt very much that this is the case.

    Regardless of how they try to spin it, they know that the eight years of the Bush Admin really sucked for most Americans. As a consequence they’ve suffered in the last two elections and are probably looking forward to more losses in the midterms if things don’t turn around for them.

    They’ll do their best to put a happy face on the Bush disaster, but they know that if Obama and the Dems start looking good, they are looking at total disaster. And between serving the public interest, and keeping/gaining political power, well, for the Repubs, that is really no choice at all.

    So if the Republicans are to have any chance at all in future elections, they have got to make the Dems look at least as bad as Bush. And if it plunges the country into the hell of a depression, well, too bad, but if it gives the Repubs a shot at power, they’re willing to do it. Or put somewhat poetically: Better to rule in hell than serve in Heaven. (That line is from John Milton’s Paradise Lost.)

    If my analysis is correct, it is absolutely inconceivable the Republicans could possibly negotiate in good faith. They are there purely as spoilers posing as "loyal opposition."

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. ThinkingMeat · With a nice glass of turpentine to wash it down says:
    February 5, 2009 at 3:00 pm

    […] John Cole pretty much nails it: […]

  2. Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Obama Fiddled While These People Starved says:
    February 5, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    […] see you all were on this already in the comments. What I get for not reading them. Crazy […]

  3. Neo-Hooverism « Voting While Intoxicated says:
    February 5, 2009 at 6:30 pm

    […] Via John Cole, Joe the Amateur Economist joins Pajamas TV stars Instapundit and Michelle Malkin to […]

  4. Jules Crittenden » Important Sense Of Presidential Urgency says:
    February 6, 2009 at 12:55 am

    […] communications instructor also known as Balloon Juice: I don’t understand people who enjoy eating tires, as I once did. People who believe the […]

  5. Hominid Views » Blog Archive » Quote of the Day says:
    February 6, 2009 at 2:05 am

    […] Cole writes: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is […]

  6. [links] Link salad moves in mysterious ways | jlake.com says:
    February 6, 2009 at 8:43 am

    […] John Cole on bipartisanship — The current Republican opposition to the stimulus bill isn’t making much sense, even in their own terms. Let alone in the reality-based community. And after the multiple political and economic disasters of the last eight years, I don’t understand why anyone takes them seriously, outside the narrow procedural requirements of the Senate. The entire GOP political strategy seems to be to force Obama to fail so they can blame the outcomes of the Bush era on him and use that as a lever to restore their fortunes. If that isn’t putting partisanship over patriotism, I don’t know what is. Are you proud of your Republican party? […]

  7. Suburban Guerrilla » Blog Archive » Quote of the Day says:
    February 6, 2009 at 9:21 am

    […] John Cole: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. […]

  8. » Blog Archive » By, By Bipartisans says:
    February 6, 2009 at 9:51 am

    […] A few essential truths?  Obama is the only bipartisan being in DC.  Dems like being in charge.  And Republicans who took no notice of the Dems in minority?  “Republicans want bipartisanship now only because they are in the minority.“  Republicans now are willing to negotiate, just so long as they get everything they want.  If the donkeys don’t give the elephants all they want, then the Democrats are the problem. A good question: “How [is] bipartisanship [] ever going to work when one of the parties is insane“? […]

  9. Masson’s Blog - A Citizen’s Guide to Indiana » John Cole on bipartisanship says:
    February 6, 2009 at 10:21 am

    […] After listening to Instapundit, Malkin, and “Joe” the “Plumber,” John Cole wonders aloud how this bipartisanship thing can possibly work. I really don’t understand how bipartisanship […]

  10. Understanding GOP “bipartisanship” « Greg Prince’s Blog says:
    February 6, 2009 at 10:44 am

    […] by Greg on February 6, 2009 John Cole: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is […]

  11. Brilliance from John Cole - “You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back” « The Brittle Hum of the Republic says:
    February 6, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    […] I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. [italics added] Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.  https://balloon-juice.com/?p=16770 […]

  12. Prog Gold » Blog Archive » A face made for radio… says:
    February 6, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    […] Malkin while showing hi-larious stock footage of clown cars as political commentary, but as Ballon Juice says, that would be 21 minutes of your life you won’t go […]

  13. Matthew Yglesias » Slash and Burn says:
    February 6, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    […] be the three options. To a group of 535 sane people, the choice would be obvious, but, as John Cole notes, one of the parties (200 or so members of Congress) are not sane, so the obvious choice is out of […]

  14. Forward to Yesterday - Bob Westal Classic Film, Movie, & Television Blog says:
    February 6, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    […] John Cole on the word of the moment: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work […]

  15. Irresponsible and inexcusable « Mercury Rising 鳯女 says:
    February 6, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    […] both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years. John Cole, via Brad […]

  16. Living the Liminal » Blog Archive » The Republican Party Hates America says:
    February 6, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    […] I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years. [John Cole: You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back] […]

  17. Reinvigoration says:
    February 6, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    […] I’d have to agree that John Cole hits the nail squarely on its head with that […]

  18. the stupid « thump and turn says:
    February 6, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    […] Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life […]

  19. Compromise Bill « The Left Anchor says:
    February 7, 2009 at 1:04 am

    […] is either totally divorced from reality, or genuinely just does not give a shit about this country. John Cole puts it best: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is […]

  20. Republicans have driven me to drink. « Wandering Semantically says:
    February 7, 2009 at 1:43 am

    […] think John Cole says it best: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of […]

  21. Red Wine with Fish » Blog Archive » Mmmm, Tire Rims and Anthrax says:
    February 7, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    […] John Cole’s Balloon Juice (via Delong): I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the […]

  22. Tire Rims And Anthrax « Moxie’s World says:
    February 7, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    […] February 7, 2009 This one from John Cole had me laughing out loud: […]

  23. Juice The Blog » Blog Archive » Bipartisanship says:
    February 8, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    […] a juice cousin, John Cole: I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is […]

  24. News From Underground: On the impossibility of “bipartisanship” says:
    February 9, 2009 at 6:58 am

    […] https://balloon-juice.com/?p=16770 Related Posts:We need a CRAMDOWN–and we need it NOW!James O’Connell’s email to CLEVELAND SCENEHelp the people of Tennessee!More on Dr. Gupta & Obama’s cabinetIf Obama refuses to investigate BushCo’s crimes… SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title:”, url:”}, {button:true} ); […]

  25. Stimulus Bill Bipartisanship « Left on Lanier says:
    February 11, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    […] Bill Bipartisanship Posted by Gray under Politics | Tags: bipartisanship |   From Balloon Juice: Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian […]

  26. Republican Stupid Disease « Liberty Street says:
    March 9, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    […] have noted this (sometimes more than once), but it astounds me every time I see it — which I did, again, […]

  27. Republican Scorpions & Democratic Frogs — Urantian Sojourn says:
    September 3, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    […] Cole over at Balloon Juice, after running out of brain bleach, comments after watching Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, and, yes, Joe the Fake Plumber debate President […]

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Winter Wren - North of Quebec City (part 2 of 3) - Cap Tourmente and on the way to Tadoussac 2
Image by Winter Wren (5/13/25)

Recent Comments

  • YY_Sima Qian on War for Ukraine Day 1,174: More Drone Swarms in the Small Hours of the Night (May 14, 2025 @ 3:05am)
  • prostratedragon on Tuesday Evening Open Thread (May 14, 2025 @ 2:39am)
  • NaijaGal on News of the Weird Open Thread (May 14, 2025 @ 2:38am)
  • NaijaGal on News of the Weird Open Thread (May 14, 2025 @ 2:37am)
  • wjca on War for Ukraine Day 1,174: More Drone Swarms in the Small Hours of the Night (May 14, 2025 @ 2:14am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!