Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Bark louder, little dog.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

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

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The willow is too close to the house.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

This fight is for everything.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

We still have time to mess this up!

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / Open Thread: Back to the Book Tour

Open Thread: Back to the Book Tour

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(Pat Oliphant via GoComics.com)
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Dave Weigel at Slate reports on “the Newt Un-Campaign” in Iowa on New Years Eve:

– Gingrich’s stump speech ranges from 19 to 25 minutes. There is no script. There’s a litany of brain-enhancing policy lectures. As he closes, he either enumerates “two quick things” or “three quick things.” The last “thing,” perennially, is his promise to challenge President Obama to seven three hour debates “in the Lincoln-Douglas tradition, with a timekeeper but no moderator.” This allows him to end with a zinger, when he “concedes” or “allows” Obama to use a teleprompter. I’ve never seen less than full-on, crowd-wide chuckles at that line…
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– He sticks around. There was some “hah, hah, look at the implosion” coverage of Gingrich after his tour’s ambitions were scaled back, to three or four events a day. Gingrich uses most of the time to allow voters to meet him. He specifically reminds them, at the end of appearances, that they can get signatures or pictures with him or Callista.
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– The 80s figure high up in the Gingrich stump. “Callista and I were at the Ronald Reagan Library on Reagan’s 100 birthday,” he says, “and we had lunch with former Secretary of State George Schultz.”…

Sounds like the ever-adaptable Swollen Amphibian has accepted, barring fortuitious accidents (Willard Romney being fatally bitten by a rabid Paul supporter, for instance), that he’s off the Campaign Trail and back on the Chautauqua circuit. If he can’t look forward to lecturing every American and the entire global community for the next four years, at least he can move Gingrich product, bump up the Gingrich speaking fees come 2013, burnish the Gingrich Brand for more shelf space in the Wingnut Welfare Wurlitzer Walmart. Given yesterday’s much-ballyhooed “tearful” storefront speech to Iowa’s Moms, I suspect he dreams of a post-November call from the OWN network, as he spins fantasies of becoming the “historian” verson of Dr. Phil…
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On a less derisive note: How are plans for the upcoming calendar-change celebrations looking — or, in the case of our correspondents on the other side of the globe, proceeding?

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  3. 3.

    moonbat

    Making cheese puffs to scarffle with wine and hoping an interesting movie/football game comes on the tube.

  4. 4.

    dance around in your bones

    I simply cannot believe that Newt Gingrich is even part of the conversation in 2011.

    I feel like I am in an alternate universe. Wake me up, Hal!

  7. 7.

    Yutsano

    Pork chops and taters cooked by Mom. Hips are killing me after too much running around in the short week so probably gonna do a whole lotta nothin’.

  8. 8.

    robertdsc-PowerBook

    Trying to finish Dan Simmons’s The Rise Of Endymion before the ball drops. I want to go into 2012 with a free hand to tackle the rest of my book collection.

  9. 9.

    moonbat

    The anybody but Romneys seem to have shorter and shorter shelf life. Now that people are either gagging on Santorum or re-discovering that Ron Paul is batshit insane, do you think they will start the anybody but Romney circuit all over again before the caucuses start?

  10. 10.

    Ben Cisco

    Looking at the universe tonight from LittleMan’s perspective; the NeoConfederate clown car is unknown and would be merely a bunch of “poopy heads” if they were known, happiness is hanging out eating popcorn and watching silly stuff on TV, with sleep coming too soon.

  12. 12.

    Keith G

    Dave Weigel. Hmmmm

    Until last week, Dave Weigel was second only to Sully in having shivers of Ron Paul love. What a lacking thinker he is.

  13. 13.

    Kane

    Has anyone ever received such a barrage of negative press as Newt has over the last month? I can’t remember a time when the GOP establishment has turned so hostile towards one of their own.

  14. 14.

    Redshift

    We have friends who have a NYE party every year, so we’ll be going over there once Ms. Redshift recovers from work and the impending cold she probably got from visiting plague carriers (i.e., children.) Our friend who has the party loves to cook, so there will be a variety of cookies, homemade eggnog (Ms. Redshift will drive so I can have some.) We may go to our favorite family Chinese restaurant for dinner beforehand, if our visiting out-of-town friends get back to us.

    Tomorrow we’re trying to organize a New Year’s brunch at the great local Irish pub. We’ll probably go in any case, but if we’re lucky, some friends may come along.

  15. 15.

    MikeJ

    A celebration of Marx on TCM right now, switching over to the Burns & Allen and Jack Benny marathon after the proletariat have fully seized control of the means of production.

  17. 17.

    scav

    If I can drag myself out of the house for a one block crawl I will have a bottle of wine to celebrate my struggling crawl over the finish line of poor old 2011. More for the symbolism than anything else. Poor old battered year: I simply have to think it meant well when it started and then it got beat up.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    Wow. Catching up on Up with Chris Hayes on Tivo and they are talking about the run-up to the Iraq war. Joe Sestak recounts weapons of mass destruction not being found and sitting next to Newt Gingrich as he spoke at a university.

    He asked Newt:
    __
    What do you say now to the public now that weapons of mass destruction haven’t been found?

    Newt’s answer was:
    __
    “We’ll give them another reason.”

    Black and white – we went to war because a bunch of neocons wanted to. I think I’m gonna be sick. God help us if any of these idiots get to be president.

  19. 19.

    Wag

    Feeling pretty beat up right now. My wife and parents are at each other’s throats and I’m getting crap from both sides.

    2012 can’t come quick enough. I’ll start drinking soon and welcome midnight at EST even though I live in MST.

  20. 20.

    lamh35

    so I see from CNN that Romney said Obama will be “a footnote in history”. No follow up from reporter, but I would have asked Mitt what that footnote would be, cause in the back of my mind, I a totally irrational, but sinking feeling that the footnote in Mittens mind has nothing to do with Obama’s record…

    Ugh, I am far from a violent person, but I swear if someone walked up to Mittens and smacked him in his smug face I would give them a medal.

  21. 21.

    AA+ Bonds

    The teleprompter thing is so weird, I mean, I get the implication (“black man cannot REALLY do white person things, LOL”), but I simply cannot wrap my mind around the mindset that considers it a clever joke worthy of open laughter, or even a credible talking point, it’s as if Democratic candidates had all, without fail, said “ook ook” and scratched their heads to imitate Bush and liberals rolled down the aisle guffawing

  22. 22.

    Kane

    @WaterGirl: Chris Hayes devoted the entire show on Saturday morning to a broad discussion of the Iraq war and its lasting impact. It was riveting television if you enjoy thoughtful and intelligent discussions without the name-calling, mindless debates and predictable Beltway narratives and talking-points.

    It is remarkable that these couple of hours of discussion of the Iraq war are probably more than I have seen discussed on the subject on television in the entire year combined. Everyone seems to want to tune it out and move on. I understand that some are burned out on all-things Iraq, but if we fail to discuss the lessons of Iraq, it will only make it easier for those seeking to make Iran our next adventure.

  23. 23.

    dance around in your bones

    I love Jake and Elwood.

    I’m not gonna pay attention to politics for a few days.

  25. 25.

    Suezboo

    Happy New Year to all you poor Americans who will have to sit through this mindless drivel until November 2012.
    My Happy! Happy! was a tad quieter. The cats and I went out on the stoep to hear the church bells ring in the new year and also some teenagers somewhere in town cheering and letting off firecrackers.Um – that was it. Came inside, made coffee, back to computer. It’s a wild ride here in SAfrica, I tell you.
    Good Luck to us all in 2012.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @Kane: Agreed. I am at minute 38 of the 2-hour show. I have completely given up on all political shows and the sunday shows, but I like Chris Hayes so I thought I would give his show a shot. It really is intelligent discussion.

    Up with Chris Hayes is now a “season” pass in Tivo.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    @dance around in your bones:

    Now I’ve got “She Caught the Katy” going through my head.

    We’re not doing much tonight — G has to work until at least 7:00 tonight, all day on Monday, and probably at least a half day tomorrow, too. We’ve really gotta find him a non-healthcare job.

  30. 30.

    dance around in your bones

    @Mnemosyne:

    I just had to start it over again due to the aforementioned grandkids wanting to watch “The Annoying Orange” WTF? but just now James Brown is going AT it.

    SO freakin’ good.

    P.S. Also, the dancing by John Belushi…frack. what a sad thing, the way he died….he was SO talented. Life is sad.

  32. 32.

    The Sailor

    Really TCM, really? The Marx Marathon ends at 8 est and all you can of to follow it is Fail Safe? Happy new year to you too mofos.

  33. 33.

    Gravenstone

    Playing copious amounts of Old Republic, with Metal Evolution playing in the background. Doubt I’ll imbibe much, if anything tonight since I likely managed to concuss myself last night. Slipped on my iced over driveway and landed head first on the concrete. Must’ve been a funny flop to view, since I somehow managed to land nearly on the TOP of my fucking head. World went white for a second, and the sound was quite impressive (granted, bone conduction surely enhanced it). Felt fine this morning, other than local sensitivity where I made impact. Still, no point taking undue chances.

  34. 34.

    bob h

    This was a brand-enhancing exercise to sell books and command bigger speaking fees that may end up having the opposite effect.

  35. 35.

    Wilson Heath

    It finally dawned on me: the combo of dubious history lecture and tearful ouburst make the aims clear. Newt is running to replace Glen Beck.

  36. 36.

    Samara Morgan

    Weigel voted for Ron Paul in 2008 and is going to vote for him in 2012.
    Might as well link Sully, AL.

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