Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

In my day, never was longer.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

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

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

The words do not have to be perfect.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Goodbye, Super Tuesday

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109Comments

  3. 3.

    JPL

    Financial Times has a story about Murdoch’s former employees attempting suicide..

    Two senior reporters at The Sun have apparently attempted to commit suicide as the police intensify their scrutiny of alleged illegal journalistic practices at News International……………………………………
    The apparent attempts to take their own lives in recent days follows weeks of intensifying scrutiny of The Sun’s role in the press ethics scandal over phone-hacking and corrupt payments to police.

    link.. I’m sure Rubert is not shedding any tears.

    EDIT.. sorry I didn’t flag as ot

  5. 5.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Why can’t Romney close the deal with Catholic, college-educated single dads?

    That update requires a system reboot.

  8. 8.

    Mark S.

    The key demographic tonight will be the two wetsuit one dildo evangelical vote. That’s what is going to decide most of these contests.

  9. 9.

    Short Bus Bully

    The man sold his soul and all he got was a narrow win over the likes of Rick Santorum? Somewhere Old Scratch is giving out high fives over that deal…

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @Raven: Seriously? With all that the GOP and the conservatives have thrown at him over the last few years and with all the crap that we all know is coming, Tweety is objecting to the idea that the Obama campaign might want to fire back?

  14. 14.

    lamh35

    Darnit, I guess I’m a pol fanatic then, cause I wasn’t gonna watch the returns, but now I’m watching it cause the coverage on MSNBC is not half bad it’s definitely way better than CNN. CNN in an effort to be “fair and balanced” relies too heavily on wishy washy old school partisans on Dem side who just are NOT willing to go for the jugular and are too quick to be “respectful” to the other side. The only 2 people who seems to actually put up a fight is Paul Begala there is only so much Begala can do.

    Donna Brazile I like because she’s a NOLA homegirl, but she is just too concilatory towards scumbags like Ari Fleisher and the like. Also, the anchors on CNN are not tough at all. They like to talk tough, but other than Wolf Blitzer occasionally the whole anchor cast of CNN are patsies.

    So my predictions: Romney wins OH and possibly TN.

    My hope just to cause chaos is that Santorum wins OH and TN, but I still think Mitt’s got this one in the bag tonight that is.

  15. 15.

    stibbert

    thx DJ for using that title for the thread, ‘cos it just wasn’t optional! ‘this stuff writes itself’ &c.

  16. 16.

    Martin

    @Mark S.: Are you suggesting they should toss the whole voter photo ID thing and go for a wetsuit/dildo standard for proving voter eligibility? Because you might be onto something there.

    Let me know the details, so I have time to buy wetsuit stock.

  17. 17.

    Raven

    @dmsilev: He’s such a whiny little motherfucker. This dude that let John O’Neill and the Swiftboat assholes spout their shit night after night and just sat there. Fuck him.

  18. 18.

    Steve

    As bad as Romney sucks, these other guys are just hopeless. Surely he’s going to seal the deal at some point even if all the conservatives hate him.

  19. 19.

    Seanly

    @dmsilev: Coz it’s bad for Democrats to fight fire with fire. We’re the abused mommy who has to take drunken daddy’s punches in the face with a smile or he’ll just hit harder. But eventually drunken dad will stumble in front of a bus so we’ve got that to hope for…

  21. 21.

    JPL

    @Steve: Romney is scary because he will do whatever it takes to win two terms and keep the libertarians happy.

    Bruce Bartlett had a great article about Romney’s problems in a general election though link

  23. 23.

    4jkb4ia

    Jeebus, I was going to riff off of CSNY’s “Ohio” but that would make it too obvious I am not old enough to remember Kent State.

  24. 24.

    Raven

    OMG, The East Cobb Kickers are on. I can’t comment much without sounding like Rush so I won’t but imagine Red White and Blue American Flag spangly outfits. God these women are fucking stupid.

  25. 25.

    bondirotta

    NBC poll showed Obama now leading Romney by 30 points among sluts. I mean single women. Romney’s cowardice regarding Limbaugh looks appalling.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Raven: I hit mute as soon as the first one said something about “kicking those other people out”, is that woman with the short white hair as angry as she looks?

    ETA: oh, god. Harold Ford. Bring back the East Cobb Kicker!

  28. 28.

    muddy

    @Raven: Tweety said this yesterday: “Who’s he? Who’s he? Who’s Romney in the eyes of the American people, besides a guy who commits crazy gaffes and seems like an elitist!”

    He just says whatever pops into his yaller head.

  32. 32.

    geg6

    @muddy:

    But that’s exactly why I can’t quit him. He’s pure id. And that’s some entertaining political teevee.

  35. 35.

    zach

    I assume some Balloon Juice regular is a CPA or equivalent. Said person should check out Mitt Romney’s 2011 tax return and estimate how much money he’d personally make if his tax proposals were enacted (20% across the board cut in current marginal rates, 0% long-term capital gains tax for first $200k, no tax on foreign income).

    If Romney’s going to wrap this up tonight it’s time to come up with the best way to oppose his free-candy-for-everyone plan. For my money, the best framing against Romney’s plan is to say, “Romney will cut health care spending to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.” This is the most accurate synopsis of his economic plan that I can come up with… my back-of-the-envelope calculation is that his plan would lead to a loss of $4000/year in healthcare for the poorest Americans and a tax cut of $150,000/year for the top 1%. It blows my mind that neither Santorum nor Gingrich hit him with this after he announced his insane tax cut.

  36. 36.

    geg6

    @lamh35:

    I’d never want to be the heir to the throne. Poor Will never gets to have any fun. And Harry goes for the fun every time. He’d be fun to have drinks with, I think. Wills, not so much.

  37. 37.

    dmsilev

    Well, Ohio is starting to come in. 1% reporting, and the Mittbot is up by about one percentage point over Frothy. Exit polls show basically a dead heat, so this one won’t be called until the actual votes are counted.

  39. 39.

    Soonergrunt

    @geg6: But when he does slow down and think, Tweety can say some really insightful things.
    I know, I know–few and far between, but that’s still better than most political reporters who can only think in horserace terms.

  41. 41.

    geg6

    @zach:

    Have you looked at their economic plans? Why would they hit him on his when theirs are just as regressive, if not worse?

  42. 42.

    Mark S.

    @muddy:

    “seems like an elitist”? There’s no “seems” about it. Watching Mitt interact with non-millionaires is like watching one of the Real Housewives of Wherever interacting with some members of the Masai tribe. It’s a totally foreign experience.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    @PeakVT:

    From your lips …

    I worry about all that SuperSludge money.

    Obama’s the better candidate (no sh*t), but no taking any votes for granted.

  46. 46.

    Raven

    @geg6: Bah, Rachel show’s him how it’s done.

    eta, And please, this clown wouldn’t know a freak flag if it bit him in the ass.

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    @zach:

    It blows my mind that neither Santorum nor Gingrich hit him with this after he announced his insane tax cut.

    That’s because Frothy Newt (nb: Worst Milkshake Flavor Ever) have proposed tax plans which are either as bad or worse than what the Mittbot put out.

  49. 49.

    bondirotta

    If Mitt ends up winning Ohio, I hope it at least drags until 1 AM, creating a solid 5 hour block of “how much doth Mitt suck?” debate on cable.

  50. 50.

    beltane

    Romney’s showing in Vermont is truly abysmal. Yes, he is projected to win, but with only 39% of the vote. Ron Paul is in 2nd with 26% and Santorum is in 3rd with 24%. Pretty awful numbers considering VT borders Mass.

  51. 51.

    Soonergrunt

    @lamh35: In fairness, Harry gets to do those things because he isn’t the heir to the throne. If William died or were otherwise unable to serve, Harry would be Mr. Reserved Stiff UpperLip overnight.

  53. 53.

    bondirotta

    I am betting the exit polls flatter Romney by 3-5%, because of voters who are too ashamed to admit they voted for Santorum. So Santa could still pull off an Ohio shocker.

  54. 54.

    zach

    @dmsilev: It’s true that Santorum & Gingrich’s plans are more regressive than even Romney’s latest plan, but that shouldn’t stop them from criticizing Romney… logical consistency hasn’t been a hallmark of this campaign.

  56. 56.

    lamh35

    @Soonergrunt: yeah, I understand the difference in their standings, but still I suspect that even if Harry were to somehow become heir apparent, that he’d still not lose that precocious side. I think both boys show the 2 sides of the same of their mother. Harry’s all Diana id, and William is Diana’s conscious.

  57. 57.

    muddy

    @geg6: I know, you know what most of them will say without hearing it. He’s just burbling happily along.

  58. 58.

    Marcellus Shale, Public Dick

    well to be fair to raw money, closing on the single dads of catholic descent isn’t as important to a guy with two cadillacs, maybe he just needs some steak knives?

  59. 59.

    geg6

    @muddy:

    Oh, yeah. I saw an interview with that guy. I have no doubt that Harry is not really a Windsor. Which probably explains his likeability.

  60. 60.

    muddy

    @beltane: I got an email from Orange Satan asking me to vote for Santorum. It’s the only way I can imagine he got as much as he did. I replied and said I just could not stomach it. I want my vote to be real, nevermind if it matters in the end.

  61. 61.

    muddy

    MSNBC is on in the background, at Romney’s party that had to be the saddest rendition of “Walking on Sunshine” I have ever heard im my life.

  62. 62.

    Soonergrunt

    @muddy: Oklahoma has closed primaries, or I would’ve done just that. It doesn’t matter, though, Frothy will win here because there’s a special kind of batshit to Oklahoma conservatives.

    @muddy: It’s on the TV in the other room, and I was like “who’s strangling Katrina?”

  64. 64.

    eemom

    hey, hold yer Wild Horses, y’all. It’s just the no-brainers that are in so far.

    Super Tuesday STILL might change with every new day. Not that I’m gonna miss it.

  66. 66.

    muddy

    @Soonergrunt: Last time I thought we got all the ballots and just filled out one. This time they asked, wrote D in the box and only gave me the one. Maybe I am misremembering the last time. Any other Vermonters help me out with that?

    Mostly I was trying to hurry up and get over to the Girl Scout table.

  67. 67.

    Steve

    @Soonergrunt: Soonergrunt, I was wondering something the other day. Do you happen to know why Oklahoma is traditionally Democratic, while states like Kansas and Nebraska are traditionally Republican? Just curious because Oklahoma seems to have sort of a unique history.

  68. 68.

    dmsilev

    @eemom:

    hey, hold yer Wild Horses, y’all. It’s just the no-brainers that are in so far.

    Yes, but that’s most of the GOP electorate.

    (with all due respect to Adlai Stevenson)

  71. 71.

    muddy

    @Soonergrunt:

    pecial kind of batshit to Oklahoma conservatives.

    I know it, I went to OU. I was only able to take a year of it. I really had no idea what I was in for, it was a long time ago.

    As far as the song goes, it was worse with visual, there were not many people there and their enthusiasm was really forced and paltry.

  72. 72.

    beltane

    @muddy: I couldn’t do it either. Rick Santorum is no Fred Tuttle. From what I’m seeing, the Dem/Prog crossover voting mostly went to Ron Paul who is currently getting 27% of the vote.

  74. 74.

    Cacti

    It’s not that I fear Mitt’s vaunted “electability” (that has netted him a total of 1 political office in 18 years).

    It’s just that I want the GOP nominee to be as beat up, weakened, and unlikeable as possible.

    So come on Frothy and Gnewt!

  75. 75.

    beltane

    @muddy: In the 2010 gubernatorial primary I remember getting both ballots, but I clearly remember requesting the Dem ballot in 2008 (the polling place was a mob scene that election-I’ll never forget it).

  77. 77.

    Anne Laurie

    @geg6:

    I have no doubt that Harry is not really a Windsor. Which probably explains his likeability.

    Most historical anthropologists will tell you that surreptitious genetic outcrossings (or, as the geneticists used to call it ‘the milkman factor’) has been key to the survival of most hereditary monarchies extending past three generations. Look at the fun Egyptologists are having with DNA tests on those poor abused mummies! For that matter, IIRC, CHitchens used to claim that the Queen Mum was a smuggled-in ringer herself…

  78. 78.

    muddy

    @beltane: Fred! Spread Fred! I was in NC after the movie came out and he ran the basically pretend campaign afterwards. I said no one in Vermont was going to let that flatland carpetbagger McMasshole get it. (sorry to any from MA, it’s just for him, not for you) Anyway he thought he could just swan in with his $ and his stupid mustache and beat Jim Leahy. funk dat

  79. 79.

    Davis X. Machina

    @Cacti: IOW, Oklahoma is a Southern state, and it would have been a Confederate state if it weren’t still a territory.

    The Cherokee Confederate general Stand Watie was the last Confederate general officer to surrender, in June 1865. The war lasted longer in OK than anywhere else.

  80. 80.

    geg6

    @Anne Laurie:

    Now that you mention it, I remember Hitch talking about that.

    And Santorum takes TN.

    ETA: And makes Harold Ford look like an asshole. As LarryO has just pointed out. LOL!

  81. 81.

    sharl

    @jharp:

    What is Ohio’s I-4 corridor?

    I’d say I-75

    I was pondering this myself (in lieu of actually being productive). I think you’re right; outside of the cities, Ohio is conservative everywhere, but unlike I-70 or US-23 or the (northern) Turnpike, I-75 goes through those exurban counties north of Cincinnati where there are – or so it’s always seemed to me – some higher densities of particularly wingnutty security Canyonero moms & dads.

  82. 82.

    muddy

    @beltane: Today I walked in just as the kids were getting lunch on trays and bringing it back to their room, the smell of it put me instantly back. I don’t know why, none of the food on their trays looked like what I ever had.

    Kipling said that smells were surer than sights and sounds to make the heartstrings crack.

  83. 83.

    lamh35

    Wait is it against Palin’s contract to appear on CNN? She was at a caucus in Alaska and CNN is actually covering it and Palin actually had an extended interview on CNN.

    BWHAHAHA.

    Even Greta Van Susteren tweeted “Gov Palin on CNN???”

  85. 85.

    BruceFromOhio

    @jharp: I’d say you are right. Having driven both, Ohio is taller than Florida is wider (I-71 in Ohio from Cleveland To Cincy is 250 miles, almost twice I-4’s 132).

    Both pass through rural outposts and busy urban centers, but Ohio tops Florida’s with more people on the longer road – Florida is just spread out more.

    Ohio is bluish-purple north of I-70, and runs a deep bloody red the further you go south. West of I-75 tends red, east tends blue till you hit the West VA hills and the blood runs again. Got no frcking clue about I-4 in FL. Orlando is one big frcking strip-mall, south of Tampa is one big retirement community and a shitload of foreclosed property. Outside the cities, I’m thinking the action is elsewhere – empty houses don’t vote.

    Got no clue what’s happening, but the poll workers I talked to at 7pm ET at my precinct said today was “slow”.

    “GOP 2020: That shit stain was there when we got here.”

    @Midnight Marauder: That is exactly why I went to vote today. That, and the Health and Human Services levy. =)

  86. 86.

    muddy

    Oh, Newt’s a lot happier now he got Callista out of the way. He was biting his lip and twitching like a toddler in church. I guess she demanded the big moment as it will be his only win.

    Vile oathbreakers.

  87. 87.

    Tom Q

    So apparently the exit polls in OK have Santorum winning pretty comfortably; there must be some delay in raw votes coming in, that they still rate it too early to call. (And just as I was about to post, they called it)

    If Santorum can squeak out any kind of OH victory (and exit polls say a 1% Romney lead, which is margin of error), all the talk that Mitt would be the de facto nominee after tonight will disappear. Not that he won’t still be the absolute favorite, but, compared to what his camp (and the press) came into the night expecting…

    It’s basically, every time the GOP voters are told the race is over, they shrink from Romney like cockroaches from light.

  90. 90.

    BruceFromOhio

    @jharp: It would be nice if it did. Stuns and amazes that some 30-45 miles outside city center it’s another world, and not just because of the Amish and the Mennonites.

    Still kills me that two-bit soulless ratfuck criminal got voted in as Governor.

  91. 91.

    BlueDWarrior

    Broken News:

    Man-On-Dog now leads Dog-On-Car by roughly 367 votes (number may change by time I actually post this) in Ohio as of 8:00 CST

  92. 92.

    Suffern ACE

    @bondirotta: On the negative side, requiring employers to offer contraception is popular; making catholic hospitals do so-not so much.

    And to explain what Rush was channeling – support for contraception coverage a winner. Support for coverage including morning after pill – mixed (tied actually). Hence the desire to tie Fluke to a pill that is taken every time one has sex. (Not that that is any more accurate than what he was spewing. But they really fumbled that badly).

  93. 93.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    @Raven: In the words of Neil Young – a Canadian, I know, so I don’t known how valid his assessment was – but “Even Richard Nixon has got soul.”

  95. 95.

    hamletta

    @beltane: Couldn’t, either. My Lutheran ancestors would rise up out of the grave and snatch me bald-headed if I voted for an authoritarian Catholic like Santorum.

    Lucky for me, he won TN, anyway.

  96. 96.

    kay

    If Romney doesn’t win OH by 10 I’m “concerned”.
    I’ve been saying that to anyone who would listen, all day, and it was driving them crazy.
    Tommorow I start idly wondering if he can “win over” the white working class vote.
    Maybe “Reagan Democrats” is more
    annoying, because it has “Reagan” in it.

  97. 97.

    muddy

    @Evolving Deep Southerner:

    In the words of Neil Young – a Canadian, I know, so I don’t known how valid his assessment was – but “Even Richard Nixon has got soul.”

    Gods! I was just saying the other day in the earworm thread about this. For some reason I hear this every time I go up the stairs in my house. It’s bizarre. Thanks for the reminder, I haven’t taken the stairs in hours.

  98. 98.

    nellcote

    @Soonergrunt:

    But when he does slow down and think, Tweety can say some really insightful things.

    I’ll always appreciate when he called teabaggers the “Khmer Rouge” a couple of years ago.

  99. 99.

    Schlemizel

    @Steve:

    I’m going to venture a guess on this. The Republicans always did well with the farmers which fits the Kansas/Nebraska model more than Oklahoma. OK is more cowboy than farmer & I seem to remember the old school Dems there being true to a certain secret society you may know from their fiery get togethers.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    Here’s some of what Booman had to say in What to Look for Tonight:

    A good night for Romney will be if he can win Ohio, Virginian, Massachusetts, and Vermont. A great night will be if he can also win in Tennessee and come in second behind Gingrich in Georgia. A bad night will be if he comes in third in Georgia and loses in Ohio and Tennessee.
    __
    If Romney has a good or great night, we’ll probably see the electorate start to rally around him. But if he has a bad night, the contest will continue in its present form, and move to Alabama and Mississippi and Missouri with Romney looking to take a beating.
    __
    Ohio and, to a lesser degree, Tennessee are the keys tonight. If Romney falls short, the Republicans may simply give up on the idea of winning the presidency.

    I can’t bear to listen to the talking heads, how’s it looking so far?

    All I know so far is that Ohio is too close to call.

  101. 101.

    Karen

    Soooo Romney can’t win in the South. Virginia is the South of course but since there’s only Romney and Paul does that really prove Romney can win in the South?

    Nope.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

  104. 104.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    @sharl: I

    I 71 might be a better fit for corridor in Ohio, it starts from Cinci through Columbus, though I was born in the state, I’ve never been further than Columbus.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh35:

    I actually like Wills better — Harry just seems like an overgrown frat boy, and I am way past the point in my life where I have any patience with that. Plus William seems to have married well (and intelligently) so I’m hoping that relationship survives the spotlight.

    @Anne Laurie:

    Ringer how? When she was born, her father was still the “spare,” not the heir, with no expectation of ever being king. He didn’t become king until his brother abdicated when she was 10 years old. What on earth would be the rationale? I mean, other than Hitchens just being an asshole and saying stupid shit for the hell of it.

    And if he means OG Lizzy, that’s an old Catholic calumny with no real evidence, especially if you look at portraits of her and Henry VII side by side.

  108. 108.

    New Yorker

    So apparently Romney can only win in places (Massachusetts, Vermont, the urban parts of Ohio) where he’s going to get clobbered in November.

    This is hilarious. Romney is going to stagger into the nomination on the backs of voters in the blue states. Santorum will win the base of the party and go home. Maybe this will just encourage the wingnuts to stay home on election day.

  109. 109.

    Enlightened Liberal

    Just looking at a map, I-71 hits the 3 biggest Ohio cities (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati) and healthy helpings of God’s Country in between.

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