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You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / David Brooks Giving A Seminar At The Aspen Institute / Galtian Majesties Request

Galtian Majesties Request

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How about a Christie-Bayh “No Labels” candidacy instead?

Christie’s potential candidacy has been an increasingly fevered fantasy of a certain cadre of some media and business elites — mostly based in New York, with a smattering of California technology and entertainment players — since last summer. That’s when he showed up at a Sun Valley conference hosted by the investment banker Allen and Co. and wowed the crowd, including Rupert Murdoch, with what many in attendance described as a nimble mind and a speaking style that was both articulate and blunt-spoken.

How long til our Galtian overlords can snap their fingers and install a new government without all the muss of primaries and debates? It’s not far off, is it?

When it happens, you can be sure that Very Serious People will agree it’s for the best.

Reader Interactions

211Comments

  2. 2.

    virag

    but where does herman cain fit in? he needs to be in the mix to maximize the entertainment value, atmo. i really want a perry/cain ticket. every appearance, every sound bite, every debate would be sooo satisfying.

  3. 3.

    Villago Delenda Est

    When The Revolution comes, the “very serious people” should be first to be put up against the m’effen wall.

  6. 6.

    suzanne

    The saddest thing is that Christie would probably be better than any of those other clowns in the GOP.

  7. 7.

    Linda Featheringill

    The Republicans have a problem and apparently they are seeing it now. Romney is probably not electable, Perry is dumb, and Bachmann is crazy.

    She isn’t as crazy as some of those audiences that show up for events, though. And those are the people the Republicans have to deal with.

    What are they going to do?

  8. 8.

    Amir Khalid

    They’re looking at Chris Christie now? The guy with all the calmness, good judgment and humility of Tony Soprano? Good luck to them with that. One good poke in the ribs, he loses his rag on nationwide TV, and it’s all over.

  10. 10.

    burnspbesq

    Like Giuliani, Christie was a very good U.S. Attorney who is spectacularly ill-suited for any other public office, including the one he’s got. He’s going to be a one-term Governor.

  15. 15.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Michael Bersin:

    Uh,the only ones remaining in the republican party are crazy or delusional.

    Oh, my. The whole party? Well, maybe.

    I am still very disappointed in the way the Republicans have turned out. I always thought it was a good thing to have people with different points of view work on problems together. Can’t do that now, though.

  17. 17.

    Chris

    As I recall, Christie nominated a Muslim to some court in New Jersey, and told the Know-Nothing brigade to go fuck itself when they started raising their usual hell.

    That would get thrown at him in a New York minute in any nationwide primary. Wonder how much the base would care.

  22. 22.

    Chris

    @Linda Featheringill:

    I am still very disappointed in the way the Republicans have turned out. I always thought it was a good thing to have people with different points of view work on problems together. Can’t do that now, though.

    There are points of view and points of view. Welcoming dissenting opinions doesn’t mean paying attention to every single loon who thinks they have something meaningful to say.

    Personally, I’d be good with the entire GOP just disappearing and never coming back. I can’t remember the last time they’ve actually contributed anything useful to our politics – even the mid-20th century Eisenhower moderates were just following the trail that Democrats had blazed twenty years earlier. Besides, if the Democrats were the only party left, they’d splinter within months and you’d have more parties than ever before.

    Alas, it’s not to be… in U.S. politics, nothing ever truly vanishes, it just morphs into something else and goes on. So it will be with the GOP. Sad thought.

  23. 23.

    Corner Stone

    with what many in attendance described as a nimble mind

    I get the impression Christie does indeed have high intelligence.
    It’s just engulfed by his passion for being a thug and a bully.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    @Chris:

    As I recall, Christie nominated a Muslim to some court in New Jersey, and told the Know-Nothing brigade to go fuck itself when they started raising their usual hell.

    I watched the presser on that and his response was pretty good. It didn’t go as far as I would have liked, but Christie is a Republican, after all.

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    How long til our Galtian overlords can snap their fingers and install a new government without all the muss of primaries and debates? It’s not far off, is it?

    From all appearances, they can’t even snap their fingers and get a second tier candidate to run for the office they want him to run for. The reason they’re dreaming about fantasy third party crap is precisely because they aren’t anywhere close to being able to snap their fingers and get the government they want. They aren’t even in control of the party they bought, much less the whole apparatus of the state.

  27. 27.

    Spaghetti Lee

    mostly based in New York, with a smattering of California technology and entertainment players

    Wall Street vampire squids and Silicon Valley Randroids! Look at all the diversity!

  31. 31.

    jibeaux

    Well, it is still over a year from the election but seems to me that donut has done been eaten. But, who knows, might be enough time.

  32. 32.

    ant

    Mike Allen reported this morning, there are several reasons for Christie to stay out.

    “He genuinely believes that he’s not prepared on an issue and substance basis to address all of the things you have to address as a candidate, and he’s leery of learning on the fly,” a person close to Christie told Allen.

    heh.

    Interesting, if Christie actually said, and thinks that.

  33. 33.

    Amir Khalid

    @MikeJ:

    Republican voters would eat that shit up.

    They’re still outnumbered by sane Americans, who don’t want to see their president making decisions from inside a red fog. Well, that’s my hope, anyway; I’m a foreigner and i don’t get to vote.

  36. 36.

    Corner Stone

    Whoever scheduled South Dakota at Wiscy for Wisconsin’s 4th game this year should be ashamed of themselves.

  37. 37.

    eemom

    @Amir Khalid:

    One good poke in the ribs,

    well, THAT’s not gonna happen. You’d need a team of liposuction surgeons and a jackhammer to even FIND his fucking ribs.

    He’s a fat disgusting fuck. And if saying that offends the PC police, tuff titties.

  38. 38.

    Auldblackjack

    How big a jump is it from”government is not the solution, goverment is the problem” to “democracy is not the solution, democracy is the problem” ? After all the concept is nearly the same. “We the people…” and all that. The only thing stoping the neo-feudalists is that 95% of Americans still have a deep emotional bond to the word ( the concept & practice, not so much )…the flag is only thing they’re more emotionally vested in.

  40. 40.

    Marginalized for stating documented facts

    Isn’t this where someone touts the alleged “breakthrough disruptive potential” of a third-party Bloomberg candidacy?

    These wankers are toast. Press the eject button. A man on a white horse will not save us. The economic problems are deeply systematic, worldwide, and mostly due to technology.

  41. 41.

    burnspbesq

    I am hesitant to read too much into it because the opposition (Tulane) doesn’t look like much, but Duke scored 31 points in the first half (and would have had seven more but for a dumb penalty on a punt return) and the defense only allowed one field goal (the Tulane TD was on a pick-six).

    There may be a football team in those blue unis.

  42. 42.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    And if saying that offends the PC police, tuff titties.

    I don’t know if I’m “the PC police”, but that was pretty fucking offensive.

    Hilarious that you hate CornerStone so much, and yet you’re just as mean, and not nearly as funny.

  45. 45.

    Chris

    @Amir Khalid:

    They’re still outnumbered by sane Americans

    Something like half of Americans don’t even vote, so the crazy factor is effectively doubled.

    And even among the non-insane Americans, there are tons and tons of uninformed people – most folks don’t follow politics intensely, and our media is packed with shit from one end to the other. So even among the generally sane people, you’ll still have a ton of people whose bearings are so screwed up they’ll end up voting Republican just because they don’t know better.

    You can do a LOT with a loud, motivated and well-funded minority of voters.

  46. 46.

    Corner Stone

    @suzanne:

    Hilarious that you hate CornerStone so much, and yet you’re just as mean, and not nearly as funny.

    It’s even clearer when you read her first comment in ABL’s Grio post where she uses it to somehow indict or injure me, et al but never once thinks to congratulate ABL on a significant accomplishment.
    Kinda points out her shriveled excuse for withered soul, if you ask me.

  47. 47.

    JPL

    There is only one reason Arnold was elected and that was because there was short campaign season. Christie can’t be held to scrutiny. impo

  48. 48.

    Death Panel Truck

    @MikeJ:

    Republican voters would eat that shit up.

    No one else would. And you can’t win an election with the base and nothing else. Dig up Goldwater and ask him.

  50. 50.

    The Dangerman

    Upon further review, one has to wonder if someone in that party has it in for Perry; recall from the debates, the questions for the other panelists were mostly tepid, of the variety “Do you support tax cuts?” or “There is a cat stuck in a tree; do you rescue it?”. Perry got “the Taliban gets control of nuclear weapons in Pakistan; what do you do?”. Almost feel sorry for him (ALMOST) that he got the hard question (and proceeded to give us a Palinesque word salad).

  52. 52.

    Death Panel Truck

    @suzanne:

    Hilarious that you hate CornerStone so much, and yet you’re just as mean

    Yeah, well, Hitler and Stalin weren’t exactly BFFs, and they set the standard for mean.

  53. 53.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    @suzanne:

    To each his own. I find her Hamsher comments hilarious. Of course, I find any pie to the face of my enemies hilarious. It’s when folks start pulling out the knives that I move on to the next thread.

  62. 62.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Corner Stone: From the look of the stadium not many people want to watch Illinois and Western Michigan right now.

    Big crowd for the Hokies and the Thundering Herd!

  64. 64.

    handsmile

    What makes this Politico article so thoroughly schadenfreu-delicious is that it seems prompted by the Village media declaring yesterday as “Rick Perry as Pinata Day.” Whoddathunk that Governor Goodhair being just a little more incoherent than usual one evening would so spook Republican mouthpieces and their media enablers.

    I myself am very sad that Jennifer Rubin’s column yesterday in Kaplan Test Prep Daily fluffing Rick Santorum for his “debate” performance has not yet sparked a boomlet for Dan Savage’s meal-ticket. And just when does South Carolina’s Nikki Haley get her turn as the Village dream date?

    A sentence way way down near the bottom of the Politico article begins this way: “He is a pro-life Northeastern governor….” In an article pimping a potential Christie candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, to write such a phrase signals a profound disregard for irony on the part of the reporter.

  65. 65.

    ant

    LMAO. Ironically, though, eemom got allllllllll excited a couple of weeks ago when CornerStone got temporarily banned from this blog… for being mean.

    I stopped reading the comments over at Kos cause of all the 3rd grade playground meta crap…..

    Can’t y’all take that shit to facebook or something?

  68. 68.

    Corner Stone

    @ant:

    I stopped reading the comments over at Kos cause of all the 3rd grade playground meta crap…..
    __
    Can’t y’all take that shit to facebook or something?

    ant, allow me to introduce you to the entire front page roster of Balloon Juice.

  73. 73.

    Corner Stone

    Amazing throw and catch by Ark for a TD

    ETA, I thought he was throwing that ball away before getting creamed. Who knew that receiver could go up and get that frozen rope.

  76. 76.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    um, no. Cornered Stone got banned for being RACIST.

    Which, of course, he considers a fine joke.

    Anyway, who the fuck are you, the Queen of Kind? Look how you attack poor toko-loko.

  79. 79.

    dmsilev

    @handsmile:

    What makes this Politico article so thoroughly schadenfreu-delicious is that it seems prompted by the Village media declaring yesterday as “Rick Perry as Pinata Day.” Whoddathunk that Governor Goodhair being just a little more incoherent than usual one evening would so spook Republican mouthpieces and their media enablers.

    Apparently either the debate or the follow-up piñata-whacking seems to have an impact on the GOP activist types down in Florida. The straw poll thingy they were having today was just won by Herman Cain, upsetting (probably in both senses of the word) Governor Goodhair.

  83. 83.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    Goober, a southern word for peanut, made its way as a trademark for a product the Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate & Cocoa Company began manufacturing in 1925. The Blumenthal family had originated in North Carolina, and Goobers was a natural name for the milk chocolate-covered peanuts they began to make.

  88. 88.

    p.a.

    Remember when the joke was the Republicans were running zombie Reagan ’cause their field was so weak? No wonder they’re putting so much effort into vote suppression, even Reagan’s corpse has it over the current crew.

    off topic- my computer (a netbook BJ’s Warehouse demo model-can you say cheap inexpensive?) is hanging on by a thread. In the 10 years I’ve been a computer owner, I’ve ‘contracted’ 1 killer virus. My various antivirus systems, however, have shit the bed 4 or 5 times and caused havoc each and every time.

  90. 90.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    Anyway, who the fuck are you, the Queen of Kind? Look how you attack poor toko-loko.

    So prejudice against people based on their looks (and possibly a health condition) is totally awesome, but racism is a bridge too far for you. Gotcha. Awesome.

  96. 96.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    And calling a republican pig a fat fuck is just the same as being a racist.

    And you can attack a poor kid with Asperger’s, but you’re qualified to pass judgment on me.

    Got-cha.

  99. 99.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    And you can attack a poor kid with Asperger’s

    Um, have you missed the part in which she insults EVERYONE? She’s called me stupid and fat (while I was pregnant, no less) and countless other things. She can take what she dishes out, Asperger’s or no. In fact, she loves being insulted. She eats our hate like love.

    You know what, if you really don’t see why pejoratively calling someone “a fat fuck” is fucking offensive, not to Chris Christie, but to ALL OTHER FAT PEOPLE, then you’ve got more to learn than even FourLoko.

  103. 103.

    The Dangerman

    The results:

    – Herman Cain 37.11 percent

    – Rick Perry 15.43 percent

    – Mitt Romney 14.00 percent

    – Rick Santorum 10.88 percent

    – Ron Paul 10.39 percent

    – Newt Gingrich 8.43 percent

    – Jon Huntsman 2.26 percent

    Seems to me the news isn’t that Cain won but that Perry performed so poorly. Some pundit posted the other night that Perry’s performance was almost disqualifying (Kristol?), so … did that come into play?

  104. 104.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    @Michael Bersin:

    The good news is that the GOP is shrinking in Missouri just like it is everywhere else. The Republicans are not bringing in new blood to make up for the defections. Color me shocked when the Presidential election went down to the wire here in 2008. That was the tell right there.

  105. 105.

    B W Smith

    @suzanne: Christie is morbidly obese and I think that would hurt him in any national election. I don’t think the US has elected an obese person in modern times. The weight that he carries does seem to have an impact on his health as he suffers from asthma as well and apparently can’t walk a 100 feet without becoming winded. While eemom may not have put it as pc as I did, I think the combination of his combative personality and his obesity would spell trouble for him with many. I’m not sure all “fat” are offended by that classification of Christie any more than all “skinny” folks are offended by some calling Ann Coulter a skinny bitch.

  106. 106.

    Elizabelle

    If they’re still dreaming of a Chris Christie run, they really don’t like their candidates, do they?

  108. 108.

    El Cid

    All of you should be more like me. It would be a sort of human analogue to the heat death of the Universe by the uniform distribution of entropy.

  109. 109.

    Mino

    @Shawn in ShowMe: I will be curious to see what happens in the upper midwest in a presidential year. Wisconsin had good results with their recalls, but there simply is a good percentage of voters who vote only when a president is on the ballot. What are those folks thinking, I wonder?

  110. 110.

    WaterGirl

    @Corner Stone: OT, but I guess if we can talk football here we’re already OT…

    I saw your comment about A Gifted Man on a previous thread. I was late to the party, so I couldn’t ask you there, but you said the last half of the show was very moving. When I read the comment, I had only seen the first half, but now that I’ve just watched the second half, I am curious about what struck the emotional chord with you.

  112. 112.

    Percysowner

    Although Herman Cain would be a disaster as President and I don’t think he will win the Republican nomination, I am amused at the potential for exploding heads if we actually get a Presidential race between 2 African Americans.

  113. 113.

    Svensker

    @WaterGirl:

    @Corner Stone:
    I saw your comment about A Gifted Man on a previous thread. I was late to the party, so I couldn’t ask you there, but you said the last half of the show was very moving.I’ve just watched the second half, I am curious about what struck the emotional chord with you.

    They put live puppies into meat grinders?

    Sorry, gratuitous insult alert. You just set up the line so well it was irresistible. Ba dum bum.

    (Edited for clarity.)

  114. 114.

    Amir Khalid

    @suzanne:
    I’m impressed at how m_c can commandeer a thread, even in absentia.
    Me, I try not to get angry at her. I’ve composed an ill-tempered response or two, then thought better of it and deleted the whole thing. I’m aware that she’s not quite in control of herself. (I said to her in the Amazon warehouse thread that a doctor might advise her to learn better online self-control as part of her Asperger’s management; since then she has been silent.)

    As for Chris Christie: yeah he’s a fat fuck, but that’s not why he shouldn’t be President. He’s already out of his depth as governor of New Jersey, he’s an arrogant and entitled so-and-so, and his short fuse would be something to worry about in a President.So in a discussion of Chris Christie the politician we would do well to leave the fat fuck remarks to one side. There are better reasons to criticize him.

  116. 116.

    Roger Moore

    @The Dangerman:

    “There is a cat stuck in a tree; do you rescue it?”

    Hell no! If the cat didn’t plan ahead and get tree rescue insurance, it should have to find its own way down or pay the market rate. Free rescues for cats that don’t have the common sense not to get caught in trees will only encourage them to get stuck again./RonPaul

  117. 117.

    suzanne

    @B W Smith:

    I’m not sure all “fat” are offended by that classification of Christie any more than all “skinny” folks are offended by some calling Ann Coulter a skinny bitch.

    Of course not. Skinny is the dominant, socially approved body type, while fat is marginalized. Think about what happens when members of a dominant group insult the marginalized group. (Hint: It goes over REALLY well.)

    Look, Chris Christie is a fuckwad. And anti-fat prejudice probably impacts his chances of being elected to, well, anything. I don’t know if he has health problems stemming from or due to his weight, and I don’t give a fuck. It’s beside the point. His weight is immaterial to his asshole quotient.

    eemom said something offensive and is doubling down on it. By saying what she said, she perpetuates the idea that having a specific body type is synonymous with being an asshole. That’s fucking ridiculous. So ridiculous, in fact, that “Al Gore is fat!” is thrown around on this blog to mock other people who say the EXACT SAME THING.

  118. 118.

    MikeJ

    “There is a cat stuck in a tree; do you rescue it?”

    You’re walking through the desert when you come across a tortoise….

    It might be a good idea to see if any of the Republican candidates are replicants.

  121. 121.

    suzanne

    @Amir Khalid:

    So in a discussion of Chris Christie the politician we would do well to leave the fat fuck remarks to one side. There are better reasons to criticize him.

    Damn straight there are.

    But can we stop using “fat” as an insult? For God’s sake.

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @Corner Stone: Come on, that was a serious question. There was one point in the second half where I thought, “I wonder if that is what really hit Corner Stone” (but sadly I have already forgotten what that was).

  123. 123.

    Corner Stone

    So it’s the “Nissan” Heisman Watch, but the “Aflac” Heisman Trophy?
    Good God, could the NCAA be any worse if they were working the street corners?

  124. 124.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: We’re watching an Aussie mini series called Rain Shadow about two female vets in the Outback. It’s pretty good, Rachel Ward is the lead.

  125. 125.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    @MikeJ:

    You’re walking through the desert when you come across a tortoise….
    It might be a good idea to see if any of the Republican candidates are replicants.

    Unpossible. Replicants actually want to be human.

  126. 126.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Corner Stone: Every time out at a Georgia game is an advertising opportunity except when they trot out some faculty or students for some phony “recognition”.

  127. 127.

    Alex S.

    @The Dangerman:

    Well, the Florida GOP is still controlled by the Bush Family, especially after Rubio beat Crist. It’s a bit of a conspiracy theory but I’m up for it.

    The straw poll result is really funny. Perry shows a lot of weaknesses but Romney can’t profit. I guess, if you wanted to kill Perry’s candidacy you’d have to do it now, by convincing Sarah Palin to jump in, give a few millions and she’ll do it for a while, Gingrich-style.

  129. 129.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    you’re the one who’s “doubling down,” dipshit.

    There are plenty of other folks here who are or were obese who have explicitly said they have no problem with calling Christie a FAT FUCK.

    And I do not consider it an insult to fat people in general, for the same reason BW explained above. In Christie’s case, his physical form is an apt symbol of his grotesque, gluttinous essence.

  130. 130.

    Corner Stone

    @WaterGirl: Lots of things about the premise. Having someone trust you so much they picked you to spend time with even after they were gone. The exorcism part where she asked him if that’s what he wanted and he freaked out. The ability to help a child who had no other chance. The sadness that she hadn’t trained any of her staff to continue her needed work, and needed his help. Or looking past the cliche, did he need hers?

  131. 131.

    B W Smith

    @suzanne: She does a pretty good job of defending herself and doesn’t need me. But that is not how I took her comment. I took it as descriptive of him personally. He is fat and he is a fuck. It certainly doesn’t mean the two must go together. There are plenty of skinny fucks and plenty of very nice fat people. YMMV. I personally would not support him because of the fuck part and the very dangerous domestic policies he supports.

  134. 134.

    Roger Moore

    @Corner Stone:

    Good God, could the NCAA be any worse if they were working the street corners?

    Yes. They haven’t sold out to the point of putting big ads on their uniforms yet, or renaming their schools or mascots after corporate sponsors. I guess they’re worried that will be a step too far for their alumni donors.

  136. 136.

    eemom

    @Corner Stone:

    “You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out at over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they’re mean bastards at heart. I’m not kidding.”

    Holden Caulfield

  137. 137.

    The Dangerman

    @Alex S.:

    Well, the Florida GOP is still controlled by the Bush Family, especially after Rubio beat Crist. It’s a bit of a conspiracy theory but I’m up for it.

    Makes as much sense as Cain beating Perry 2 to 1 or Perry basically only tieing Romney, even with the latter not participating. Strange, strange result. Your theory was better than mine (everyone got loaded watching the early football and then went to vote).

  138. 138.

    JPL

    @Mino: Hmmm…I’m old enough to remember the Miss Rheingold Beer pageant. Maybe that was a regional thing.
    edit..not sure i ever tasted it because I was pretty young.

  139. 139.

    WaterGirl

    @Corner Stone: I wondered if it was one thing in particular or kind of the whole picture. Sounds like the latter. I would also add his personal struggle, trying to match who he is, his image of himself, with this non-logical thing that is happening to him. Followed by his choice, not based on logic.

    Could be a really good show if it doesn’t get too caught up in the “people see him talking to someone there” side of things.

    Not sure if you watch Justified, but this new role must be a letdown for “Mags”, at least initially. She had the role of a lifetime in Justified, now she has to move on.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): I have a very kind friend who has brought over a Netflix DVD a couple times lately, hoping the distraction will make things easier. Maybe he can get that one. If it’s kind of slow-moving, it might not be a good choice for me right now – I need something that can really catch my attention.

  146. 146.

    Southern Beale

    By the way:

    How long til our Galtian overlords can snap their fingers and install a new government without all the muss of primaries and debates? It’s not far off, is it?

    This will never happen. Far too much money can be grifted from the people and delivered to the various political factions and corporate media outlets. We’ll always have the ruse of elections.

  147. 147.

    The Dangerman

    Who has the keys to the place and can give us an LSU/WV thread? Should be a good game (I can hope; all the other games I watched today blew blue dog balls).

  149. 149.

    Southern Beale

    So, my local NBC affiliate has something weird on now, which it usually does only if something icky is on that they want to pre-empt. Like, last time they ditched the Law & Order episode where Kathy Griffin played a lesbian and instead hawked Time-Life CDs for an hour.

  154. 154.

    Davis X. Machina

    @The Dangerman: He was a no-show….can’t flatter=line than that.

    My other theory — the PTB fixed one of these — not a major or famous one, like Ames, and just one — to show how inclusive they are. Given the grand history of GOP tokenism, it makes sense.

  158. 158.

    Cacti

    @The Dangerman:

    Seems to me the news isn’t that Cain won but that Perry performed so poorly. Some pundit posted the other night that Perry’s performance was almost disqualifying (Kristol?), so … did that come into play?

    I think the bigger story is that even though Florida has a lot of seniors, and even though Mittens beat Perry over the head with his statements that Social Security is an unconstitutional ponzi scheme…

    He still finished ahead of Romney.

  159. 159.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Corner Stone: I thought it was some regular front pager pullin a fast one.

    Also, I didn’t really mean to direct the question at you specifically.

  169. 169.

    Southern Beale

    Meanwhile, back in the Bible belt:

    Bay Minette hopes new program will truly reform criminals
    __
    BAY MINETTE, Alabama —
    Non-violent offenders in Bay Minette now have a choice some would call simple: do time behind bars or work off the sentence in church.
    __
    Operation Restore Our Community or “ROC”…begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemenor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.
    __
    If offenders elect church, they’re allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender’s case will be dismissed.

    Sure, I’ve never heard of any church-goer committing a crime of any kind, have you?

    /eyeroll

  174. 174.

    Southern Beale

    @themanintheguyfawkesmask:

    From the link:

    Rowland says the program is legal and doesn’t violate separation of church and state issues because it allows the offender to choose church or jail…and the church of their choice.

    As long as it’s a church and as long as, you know, it’s a church. I wonder if you choose a mosque or, say, a forest glen to worship a tree if that counts? And of course, if you’re an atheist, fuhgeddaboudit. Not valid for non-beleivers!

  176. 176.

    themanintheguyfawkesmask

    @Southern Beale:

    I wonder if you choose a mosque or, say, a forest glen to worship a tree if that counts? And of course, if you’re an atheist, fuhgeddaboudit. Not valid for non-beleivers!

    Are there no pastafarian houses of worship in Alabama?

  180. 180.

    Mr. Stagger Lee

    Clemson-Virginia Tech next week Sexy! But for now West Virginia-LSU. Hope the ‘neers beat the Tigers, I want some SEC humiliation, like Oklahoma States big good bye and F— You win over A&M!

  182. 182.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    And I do not consider it an insult to fat people in general, for the same reason BW explained above.

    Yes, because you couldn’t possibly be offensive to others if YOU’RE not offended. Moron. See also, “White people are the authorities on racism” and “I have gay friends!” for similar memes.

    In Christie’s case, his physical form is an apt symbol of his grotesque, gluttinous essence.

    So you just, by proxy, called his body “grotesque” and “gluttinous”. Which, aside from being insulting, has FUCK-ALL TO DO WITH HIM BEING AN ASSHOLE.

    But YOU don’t think you’re being offensive to fat people, so you’re not. You’re not just a moron, you’re a hypocrite. Filed away for future reference.

  183. 183.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    “White people are the authorities on racism” and “I have gay friends!”

    Guess you missed this part:

    There are plenty of other folks here who are or were obese who have explicitly said they have no problem with calling Christie a FAT FUCK.

    Also too — what happens to your sanctimonious bullshit if I’m a fat person myself?

    I ain’t a skinny person, that’s fer sure.

  185. 185.

    aisce

    @ amir khalid

    He’s already out of his depth as governor of New Jersey, he’s an arrogant and entitled so-and-so

    how do you know? don’t you claim to be malaysian or some shit? you keep tabs on new jersey state politics? or do you scout all the potential republican candidates because you just love american politics that damn much? your story isn’t adding up here.

    also, too, call me crazy, but i think suzanne is sensitive about her weight. just a shot in the dark.

  186. 186.

    eemom

    So you just, by proxy, called his body “grotesque” and “gluttinous”

    Reading comprehension fail. Again.

    You’re a narrow minded PC idiot, no better than the morons who attack SP&T for her supposed insensitivity to people with Alzheimers.

  187. 187.

    The Dangerman

    LSU looks much faster, both sides of the ball; bummer, I’d like to see them get beat, but extremely early impressions are that ain’t gonna happen.

  188. 188.

    eemom

    @aisce:

    i think suzanne is sensitive about her weight. just a shot in the dark

    yeah. That could be it, too. As I’m sensitive about mine, sorta.

    I wonder: is there a rule about how overweight you have to be to call someone else fat without being compared to a white racist or a straight homophobe?

  195. 195.

    Roger Moore

    @aisce:

    also, too, call me crazy, but i think suzanne is sensitive about her weight.

    Yes, and hearing people equate obesity with moral depravity is unlikely to help her self consciousness. For the love of Bieber, you should listen to yourself. If somebody says it offends them when you insult people for being fat, you should take it as a sign that insulting people about their weight is potentially offensive. You shouldn’t tell them to shut up because other people weren’t offended.

  196. 196.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    I wonder: is there a rule about how overweight you have to be to call someone else fat without being compared to a white racist or a straight homophobe?

    No, fuckwit. You’re not calling him fat. You’re using the term “fat” as a negative intensifier. And you specifically used the term “fat” to serve as a visual metaphor of what you think are his worst qualities. Here’s a handy guide on how to use the term “fat” in a non-offensive way. Hint: YOU DIDN’T DO THAT.

    And, because by commenting on the issue of societal fat prejudice, it’s clearly completely outside the realm of possibility that I not be fat myself, here’s my picture. That was taken two weeks after the baby was born. I could certainly lose some weight, but I’m not losing sleep over it.

  197. 197.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    I’m not interested in what you look like.

    I do find it interesting, however, that the Arch-Defender of Fat Folk has so intense a need to prove that she’s not one of them herself.

    And as for your “guide on how to use the term fat” — well, that kind of rests my case about you being a brain-dead purveyor of Teh Politically Correct, now doesn’t it?

    And from Salon, no less — the veritable world’s capital of trendy navel-gazing psychobabble du jour. Lemme guess — Camille Paglia is a role model of yours.

    Idiot.

  199. 199.

    priscianus jr

    Fat and skinny had a race
    All around the steeplechase.
    Fat fell and broke his face.
    Skinny said “I won the race.”
    Fat said “That’s not fair!”
    Skinny said, “I don’t care!”

  201. 201.

    fuckwit

    @Auldblackjack: Wow. That really summarizes it.

    Frighteningly well.

    Terrifyingly well.

    Why the fuck didn’t people say that in 1980, when Reagan launched that insane meme?

    I was around, and I was paying attention to politics too. I don’t recall anyone making that point.

    What you are saying needs to be shouted from mountaintops.

  202. 202.

    suzanne

    @eemom:

    Teh Politically Correct

    I’m truly sorry for you that it’s so difficult for you to learn to live in polite society while your head is parked so firmly up your own ass.

    Other people who rail against “political correctness” include (but are not limited to): Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck.

    That’s quite the intellectual company you keep.

  203. 203.

    eemom

    @suzanne:

    Other people who rail against “political correctness” include (but are not limited to): Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck.

    And that’s quite the streeeeetch you’re making there. Now you’re even skinnier!

  204. 204.

    xian

    @ant: looks like some republicans paid attention to palin’s not-ready-for-prime-time performance

    on the whole calling-people-fat thing, i also don’t think making fun of Erick Erickson’s name is an effectively rhetorical tactic.

  207. 207.

    Triassic Sands

    @ant:

    Interesting, if Christie actually said, and thinks that.

    I saw a video clip (months ago) and that was exactly what he said. Of all the many “not gonna run” spiels I’ve seen over the years, Christie’s struck me as being probably the hardest to get out of I’ve ever seen. There was nothing coy about his remarks. He made quite a strong objective case against himself as a 2012 candidate. He’d really have to do a dance to reverse himself, but given how low the GOP’s standards are, if, for some reason, all the other candidates flame out, I don’t think Republican voters would have any trouble ignoring Christie’s past statements about his own unreadiness. On the other hand, Christie himself might be the most reluctant of all to accept his own reversal. After all, what he said was he simply lacks the qualifications at this time to be a credible candidate for president, and the few intervening months haven’t been enough for him to claim he’s ready now. He clearly was talking in terms of years — to be ready — not months.

    I despise Christie, but I have to admit his statement was probably the most candid and honest self-appraisal I’ve ever seen a politician offer. It really surprised me. And it had nothing to do with could he win, but rather was all about is he qualified. According to him the answer is “No.”

    As I said, his statement probably wouldn’t cause him any problems within the GOP (assuming the field was cleared out for him to run), but it’s hard to believe Christie wouldn’t face an endless stream of campaign ads starring Governor Chris Christie looking the voters straight in the eye and telling them that he isn’t qualified to be president. Imagine if McCain had been able to run ads in 2008 in which Senator Barack Obama repeatedly stated without reservation that he was too inexperienced to run for or be president. It’s one thing when the critic is your opponent — it’s a little harder to call yourself a fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If McCain had had such an ad, I think it might have beaten Obama. If not, it probably would have tightened the race significantly.

  209. 209.

    Lojasmo

    Epidemic obesity is ENTIRELY caused by inactivity, andpoor lifestyle choices.

    I am moderately overweight/borderline obese, and a medical professional, and I wholely acknowledge that my weight excess is a result of MY lifestyle choices.

    Christie is a lazy, overindulgent, angry bastard. His weight, however, is merely a symptom of his awful personality, and should not be used as a primary descriptor.

    That being said, his obesity would surely be a drawback in the general election, should he somehow end up on the ticket.

  210. 210.

    Jennifer

    @Lojasmo: I would agree, but as you’ve acknowledged, he is both 1)fat and 2)a bastard.

    As such, since “Fat Bastard” is an existing comedic concept and so succinctly applies, I think it should be used. I mean, for chrissakes, just looking at the guy makes you fear that he might try to eat you.

  211. 211.

    No one of importance

    Now what the fuck is going on with comments, and why was my last one deleted? Jeez, I love a ‘no moderation’ site that lets banned users post freely, and other people’s comments to be deleted at a whim.

    eemom, you’re making an offensive fool of yourself and this fat Aussies would like you to knock off the fat hate now.

Comments are closed.