Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Their freedom requires your slavery.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

The revolution will be supervised.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

You would normally have to try pretty hard to self-incriminate this badly.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

This really is a full service blog.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Consistently wrong since 2002

A fool as well as an oath-breaker.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / Open Thread: Wile E. Coyote RULZ! (the GOP)

Open Thread: Wile E. Coyote RULZ! (the GOP)

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(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)
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Again, with the whiteboards? Erick “Voice of the GOP Gated Community” Erickson got fragged by his commentaridiocracy for suggesting (with one eye on his CNN gig) that just maybe possibly perhaps the vile lamestream polling organizations were not all engaged in a conspiracy to suppress Romney’s obviously-must-be-winning stats. So, today, Erick-Fractal-Erick has an awesome suggestion for the next Mitt-mobile tour:

… If Mitt Romney wants to win the election, he needs a five week strategy instead of five weeks of tactics. He needs the visual equivalent of Benjamin Netanyahu’s red sharpie marker. He must force the media to move away from poll driven coverage they are comfortable with to Mitt Romney’s idea of coverage.

Instead of us arguing over polls and having the RedState community rioting over my remarks, let me offer up a solution. Just, for the sake of argument, assume I’m right that this is a close race, but that Romney is behind — just for the sake of argument people. If we can accept we do have a problem, i.e. we are behind, we can then offer up a solution to that problem…

The cheering, adoring crowds at the Romney rallies have been awesome and large. But In the rah-rah of the campaign, we’re missing the compelling visual. We’re missing the simple drawing of the bomb that a red line can be drawn on. We’re missing the candidate in front of the factory showing we can do better….

Because inside the GOP gated community, Netanyahu’s Wile E. Coyote visual rated ‘four slam dunks!!’, I guess. To be fair (well, honest), Mr. Erickson probably doesn’t have a whole lot of personal experience in differentiating between the visual markers for “awesome” and “dumbstruck”…

Meanwhile, Doghouse Riley takes his Pig Bladder of Righteousness to some Politico intern tasked with channelling “GOP Sooper Geenyus” Karl Rove’s helpful suggestions:

“I think he’s going to say a lot of things that aren’t accurate,” Romney said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier this month, adding he would have to choose between correcting Obama and delivering his own message.
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“I’d be tempted to go back to that wonderful line by Ronald Reagan, ‘There you go again,’” Romney said.

Oh, please do.

Thought experiment: How many thousands of dollars in donations to OfA do you suppose it would be worth if President Obama were to use that line in the first debate?

Because the Trickster-God knows, he’ll have plenty of opportunities.

Reader Interactions

67Comments

  1. 1.

    Southern Beale

    Looks like Mitt Romney’s secret weapon just backfired

    (CBS News) Ann Romney’s biggest concern if her husband becomes president would be his ability to maintain his “mental well-being,” she said in an interview Thursday with KTVN in Reno, Nev.
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    Asked what her primary worry would be should her husband succeed in defeating President Obama on Nov. 6, Mrs. Romney replied, “You know, I think my biggest concern, obviously, would just be for his mental well-being.”

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    Erick ibn Erick:

    We’re missing the candidate in front of the factory showing we can do better….

    Because, of course, the candidate they have is the guy who engineered the deal that closed the factory and off-shored the production and the jobs.

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    @Southern Beale: “Mitt’s Wife Worries About His Sanity Should He Be Elected”.

    Genius.

    As Vice President Eagleton can tell us, that is *exactly* what the American people want in their leaders.

  4. 4.

    nellcote

    How many thousands of dollars in donations to OfA do you suppose it would be worth if President Obama were to use that line in the first debate?

    I’m thinking it would be a worthy betting line as to who uses it first.

  8. 8.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    That thing about Mitt’s mental well-being … can’t say I disagree. I wonder what Mrs. Romney meant, though? I assume it was some backhanded sneer at how people are going to be so mean to him and it will give him a perpetual sad.

  9. 9.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    I tossed this in at the end of the last open thread, so I’m reposting it here. Worth seeing just for the “I’m gonna slap a bitch” look on Whoopi’s face.

    Ann Coulter on the View

  10. 10.

    jl

    ” We’re missing the simple drawing of the bomb that a red line can be drawn on. ”

    But the Romney campaign already has the political equivalent of a simple drawing of a cartoon bomb, and he shows up at every event.

    So, not sure why another one would do anything.

    But, hey, I am not a pundit, so what do I know about this voter mind changering stuff?

  15. 15.

    Hal

    Still amazed at how much it dislike Mitt Romney. I do not believe that he believes a single word he says. It seeps through every pore.

  19. 19.

    Birthmarker

    Who was it in the last campaign (seems like it was a Republican strategist) who said that McCain had no strategy, only tactics, and he just went from one tactic to another? Romney’s campaign is making the same mistake.

    I said the above on Sept. 10th here, commenting on a DougJ post. I am going to take this as evidence that Eric E is reading the comments here. Because I want to.

  20. 20.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    Poor Erick Erickovich Erickov, hisworld is falling, well at least the South will hold on maybe for another generation.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    “I’d be tempted to go back to that wonderful line by Ronald Reagan, ‘There you go again,’” Romney said.

    Dollars to donuts, Romney goes with “Tear down this wall.” And everyone will stunned silent, so Romney will think he scored a hit.

  23. 23.

    Chyron HR

    I think my biggest concern, obviously, would just be for [Mitt Romney’s] mental well-being.

    It’s twoo! It’s twoo!

  24. 24.

    Southern Beale

    @Mnemosyne:

    Meh. I think she was trying to say something pretty ordinary, but as usual with Mrs. Romney, it came out more than a little scrambled as she tried to translate it into Humanspeak.

    Eggg-zackly. What the fuck is wrong with these people? Why is it everything they do just comes off all wrong? Or, as the guy in this video expressed it, how come every time a Romney tries to tell a folksy story about Mitt he just comes off looking like a colossal dick or sociopath?

  26. 26.

    jl

    @Mnemosyne:

    I agree, but yikes, what a way to say it.

    Reading between the lines…
    @Smiling Mortician: Yep. How many crowds has the guy stood in front of who are yelling “Ryan Romney!”

    Would like to feel sorry for him. But that will have to wait until after election is in the bag. Political campaigns are rough, so sad day.

  27. 27.

    Or something like that.Suffern Ace

    I’m going to guess that Romney does the Brown thing and just ignores the question and starts attacking Obamas family story. Maybe dissing his mothers sex life as a porn model and Scourge of Indonesian morality. Ending with a plea to watch the movie and unlimited cash as they drag him to a quiet room.

  28. 28.

    MikeJ

    @Baud:

    Dollars to donuts, Romney goes with “Tear down this wall.”

    I have money down at Caesar’s sports book for “Jane, you ignorant slut.”

  29. 29.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Just, for the sake of argument, assume I’m right that this is a close race, but that Romney is behind — just for the sake of argument people. If we can accept we do have a problem, i.e. we are behind, we can then offer up a solution to that problem…

    Jesus Christ, does Erick have to play AA counselor for all of Red State now? Almost enough to make me feel sorry for the guy.

  30. 30.

    Joseph Nobles

    The Dallas Morning News just endorsed Mitt Romney. I’d cancel my Sunday/Wednesday subscription, but the coupons more than pay for it.

    I am going to get a bird, though.

  31. 31.

    dmsilev

    @MikeJ: I’ll take “I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I’ve still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you. “

  32. 32.

    Hill Dweller

    The cheering, adoring crowds at the Romney rallies have been awesome and large.

    Facts not in evidence.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    Romney can’t just copy Reagan – he needs to outdo Reagan.

    He needs to promise to reclaim the Panama Canal for the United States.

  37. 37.

    kay

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Do they listen to Romney? He can’t use a white board. He’s telling people at rallies that he will cut taxes 20% “but don’t expect a big tax cut, because we’re going to get rid of loopholes and deductions”

    Then he smiles.

    He’s just mystifying. They’re leaving that rally with more questions thamn they came in with.

  38. 38.

    dmsilev

    @MikeJ: Another possibility: “I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.”

    (It’s not entirely clear whether Romney is better suited to be Ash or the Alien in this particular scenario…)

  39. 39.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Southern Beale:
    Because he’s a colossal dick and sociopath. I am not really joking. There was a lot of commentary early in the campaign that Romney came off as stilted and robotic because he can’t talk about Mormonism, the most important aspect of his life. Now that the 47% video is out, it seems to me he’s stilted and robotic because he’s a colossal dick and sociopath, and any peek behind the mask makes it obvious what a terrible person he is.

    In summary: To know Mitt Romney is to hate Mitt Romney.

  40. 40.

    Anatoliĭ Lъudьvigovich Bzyp (Mumphrey, et al.)

    Since this is an open thread…

    So I often read Jennifer Rubin. Yes, I know, I know… But she’s so sad and pathetic that it’s hard not to watch. I know, it’s like a 55 year old dry drunk teacher fall back into the bottle over a weekend in 604 Telamar, a house she shares with five 25-30 year old teachers at the Episcopal bilingual school in Tela, Honduras, and everybody’s stuck there together because it’s raining so hard all fucking weekend that you can’t even leave the house, and even if you did, there’s nowhere to go because the whole town is shut down because the streets are flooded, and so you sit there with the other teachers, hooror-struck, as you watch what you thought was a reasonably functional, if somewhat tightly wound, middle aged woman dissolve into an incoherent wad of rum-soaked psychosis. You just can’t look away, is what I’m saying here.

    So she asks a question every Friday, and this week’s is, “Which candidate has the better economic argument in the presidential race and why?” So some dimbulb chimes in that it’s Romney, since he’s all for growth rather than economic equality, and Obama just wants to turn us into some soçialist dystopian hellscape, à la “…the Greeks, Spaniards, Cubans, Venezuelans, etc.,” and “we’ll be more equal but we’ll also be much poorer.”

    And I couldn’t believe the unaduturated shit that these pinheads will swallow. Venezuela is more equal than we are? Cuba? How slow do you have to be to buy that shit?

    So I wrote a screed. I was rather taken with it, and, since this is an open thread, I thought, well, what the hell? So here it is:

    This has to be one of the most ignorant things I’ve seen in a long time, and I read Jennifer Rubin. To begin with, we’re already on a footing with Venezuela and Cuba as far as economic equality goes. You know who else in in this crowd? Mozambique, China, Madagascar, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, countries like that, developing countries that are doing their best to drag themselves into the First World. The U.S., is the First World, or so we like to believe, at least. Guess who’s just below us on that scale? Try Moldova, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Honduras, East Timor, Zambia, Mali… Do you know who’s slightly less unequal than we are? Colombia. Nigeria. Mauritania. Cameroon. Nicaragua. Iran. Cambodia. Guyana. Georgia. The Philippines. Fucking Russia has less economic inequality than we do. We would have to make ourselves more economically equal to hold our own with Cameroon. Is this the kind of “American exceptionalism you right wingers are always going on about? That as far as economic equality goes, we’re almost as good as Cambodia, but we’re slightly better than Botswana? “U.S.A.! U.S.A.! Hell yeah, any year now, we’re going to overtake Mauritania, and within ten years, we could be neck and neck with the Ivory Coast! American exceptionalism! Yeah, baby!”

    Ah, but how about the least unequal countries, which ones are they? Canada, Australia, most of western and northern Europe, South Korea, places like that. It’s true Bangladesh and Kazakhstan are a lot more equal because everybody’s poor, but you can’t say that about Sweden. Or Switzerland or Germany. Or Canada. Or Australia. I know which way I want to see us move. What about you?…

  41. 41.

    dmsilev

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    In summary: To know Mitt Romney is to hate Mitt Romney.

    He left the Massachusetts Governorship with an approval rating of thirty-somthing. He earned the hatred of his constituents, fair and square.

  48. 48.

    RaflW

    “If we can accept we do have a problem, i.e. we are behind, we can then offer up a solution to that problem…”

    Republicans neve admit there is a problem. Never. YOU have a problem. DEMs can have problems, heck thy’re nothing but problems. Apostate RINOS can even have problems.

    But rock-rib Republicans? There is no fail, only spin. And whining. And blame-shifting. But no problems. Got it?

  50. 50.

    scav

    Come on, Imagine the GOP dumbo elephant flying into the debate clutching his Magic Red Sharpie — you can do it, you can debate!

  51. 51.

    RaflW

    Wow. Not a newsflash here, but Jeff Greenfield is a total asshat on PBSs “Need to know”
    He just butchered public polling to make a both sides are extreme argument about abortion. What a schmuck.

  52. 52.

    dmsilev

    Trying to get a bit of work done, I’m reading through this paper and found an awesome citation:

    [21] Bob of the machine-shop in Gainesville.

    I mean, who can argue with such an prestigious source as ‘Bob’.

  55. 55.

    MikeN

    While I’ve seen bloggers at lefty/liberal sites admit they were wrong after being corrected by commenters (often with great vehemence), I don’t recall any backing off and apologising for saying something the readership didn’t want to hear.

    The usual practice, when the blogger believes he/she was originally correct, is to gently admonish the commenters for failing to realise that, in terms varying from “I’m afraid you’re still wrong” to “you goddamn morons can go somewhere else if you’re too stupid to see I’m right”.

    EE feels he has to bow apologetically before the outraged wingnuts and acquiesce in their denial of reality, even though he knows he was right in the first place.

  58. 58.

    YellowJournalism

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: When Elizabeth, the conservative, is pointing out the holes in your little theories and giving you looks like you’re a nutcase, you know someone like Coulter has either gone off the deep end or become a parody of hersel while trying too hard to be controversial and sell books.

    The link didn’t work for me but when I went to YouTube, someone had a clip of the most heated part claiming that the women of The View “attached” Ann. Ha! The stupid…you know the rest.

  61. 61.

    The visual equivalent of Benjamin Netanyahu’s red sharpie marker

    My advice is to go back to Kolob. Except they let Those People in a few years back.

  62. 62.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    So I don’t know if anyone else twigged to this, but…

    RoonieRoo and I were talking about the differences in value that the Obama and Romney campaigns were getting out of their money, and it struck me…

    Not only is Romney eating it as a candidate, not only is he (hopefully) depressing downticket races, he’s exploding the myth that outsourcing saves money, or that the private sector is always cheaper or more efficient than the public sector, which, of course, the “CEO candidate” would manage to do.

    Anti-candidate. Anti-CEO. It’s a perfect storm of failure.

    BTW, I’m now convinced Perry had a neurological event last year. Whether it’s from the pain meds or something else, there’s something physically wrong in his brain.

  65. 65.

    Paula

    I watched Bibi’s UN speech and I was horrified. While the acme bomb was funny, the message was clear: Bibi is actively promoting a war, just like Bush. I confess I don’t know the Israel/Palestine/Iran/Arab World issue(s), but I believe that most Americans are NOT ready for another war.

    I think this will be Obama’s ace-in-the-hole: Americans don’t want another war and he will show that Romney/Bibi/Neocon are lobbying for a war.

  66. 66.

    El Cid

    @Paula: Netanyahu’s done Israel, the Palestinians, the U.S., and the world a favor by being such a Tea Party style clown regarding the militarist and aggressive policies he and many others desire.

    If he weren’t so clownish about it, they’d have a better chance of pushing this through. Not that they may not get what they want, they might, but I’d rather have a loudmouth angry buffoon pushing right wing policies than a much cooler, smoother-spoken, controlled and focused leader.

  67. 67.

    John M. Burt

    @El Cid: Robert Anton Wilson once wrote a story in which several hundred of the world’s most powerful people had been taken over by the minds of several hundred reformers of various stripes. They were, of course, frustrated by how little they could actually do (between institutional inertia, resistance from those who were not taken over, and the fear of assassination).
    But if my mind were in the body of Mitt Romney, or Bibi Netanyahu, I might very well decide to do what they are doing right now.

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