Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

This blog will pay for itself.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

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

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / Open Thread: Those Deck Chairs Need Intensive Re-Arranging!

Open Thread: Those Deck Chairs Need Intensive Re-Arranging!

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Via Wonkette, Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire has a scoop — “RNC to Investigate What Went Wrong“:

The RNC “is rolling out a plan to review what worked and what didn’t for the party in the 2012 cycle,” Politico reports.

“The plan is to focus on: campaign mechanics, fundraising, demographics, messaging, outside groups, campaign finance, the national primary process and, last but not least, what the successful Democratic efforts revealed about the way forward, and recommend plans for the way forward.”

However, BuzzFeed reports that two of the people leading the effort — former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer and Republican committeeman Henry Barbour — pushed the narrative that the polls were skewed, and Mitt Romney would ultimately prevail.

Yeah, part of those ‘successful Democratic efforts‘ may have been not relying on people like Ari ‘Grima Wormtongue’ Fleischer and Henry ‘Boss Hogg’s Nephew‘ Barbour. But, hey, as a lifelong Democrat, I can only say: Y’all keep up the good work, boys!

Via Paul Constant, news that Public Policy Polling is just screwing with us now:

A new poll by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found that 44 percent of people in the United States believe that Santa Claus is a Democrat, versus just 28 who say St. Nick would cast his ballot for the GOP. An identical 28 percent say they’re not sure of Santa’s political affiliation.

***********

What other shenannigans are on the agenda for this Monday rump in the political holiday doldrums?

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  2. 2.

    Rafer Janders

    A new poll by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found that 44 percent of people in the United States believe that Santa Claus is a Democrat, versus just 28 who say St. Nick would cast his ballot for the GOP.

    Are you sure that’s not 27%?

    It’s amazing, isn’t it, how much that number comes up….

  3. 3.

    redshirt

    We need to push this “Santa is a Democrat” meme. It would open up a whole new front in the War on Christmas, as proper Conservatives would be forced to not only abandon Santa, but actively condemn him as a “Libtard, share the wealth, Commie Pinko Fascist”.

  4. 4.

    Yutsano

    Besides my boss, I will be the only person in my office tonight. And I still have the damn sinus infection. Woot.

  7. 7.

    hildebrand

    @redshirt: They have already done this – listen to Limbaugh or any of his ilk; they have been deriding Obama as Santa Clause ever since the election.

    If I remember correctly, the conservative radio types have been hammering that particular meme for decades.

  8. 8.

    Mnemosyne

    Am I the only one who thinks that, in retrospect, Michael Steele may have been a much smarter head of the RNC than anyone (including Republicans) gave him credit for? He oversaw a historic wave election in both national and state races, while Reince Preibus lost the presidency and several Senate seats.

  10. 10.

    schrodinger's cat

    Beatings will continue till the morale improves. Black people/Latino/Asian are conservative they just don’t know it yet.

    ETA: This is not my analysis but the analysis of “serious” conservatives who write for NYT and similar publications.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    I’m all weepy because we just finished watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Canadian tv and the part where the Grinch’s heart grows.. dang it, gets me every time.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Reince Preibus backed by unstoppable duo of Ari Fleischer and Haley Barbour’s nephew! How can they fail!

    I can’t remember what cheap grift Barbour was caught up in, serious enough he had to testify before congress, and he blamed it all on his nephew. I wonder if this is the lad’s payoff.

  23. 23.

    gex

    I’m busy over here trying to start thinking of myself as an American, but I don’t think I’ll have that fixed by 2016. Catch you in 2020, maybe, GOP!

    ETA: There is almost zero chance the GOP will be anywhere near getting my vote in 2020.

  24. 24.

    J. Michael Neal

    I’m banging my head against Chapter 3. Whenever Frankensteinbeck talks about writing a novel he makes it sound easy. I hope he chokes on a nacho or something.

  26. 26.

    pattonbt

    Isnt Haley Barbour Boss Hogg, not Henry? I dont know who Henry Barbour is (Haley’s son?). Would that make him Cletus?

  29. 29.

    David in NY

    You know, the result of that Santa Claus question is kind of interesting. The 44% who think Santa’s a Democrat tracks the current portion of the population that considers itself Democratic. But the 28% is a drop from the 32% figure the Republicans have been drawing in the polls. And, well, it’s quickly approaching that magic number — 27%.

    So I definitely think that PPP needs to keep following this one. We’ll have the job approval, right-track-wrong-track figures, and, to top it off, the “Sanity Clause projection.” Looks good to me. I sense a lot of predictive value here.

    ETA: But, hey, Raven beat me to the Sanity Clause.

  31. 31.

    Suffern ACE

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Barbour is likely to find that the biggest flaw was not nominating him.

    Priebus will find that the problems were related to silly attempts at diversity made by his predecessor. And when he says diversity, he’ll be clearly mocking the concept, then swallowing the bad taste in his mouth left by girl cooties.

  33. 33.

    Maude

    John McCain wants to be on the Foreign Relations Committee. Just in case Susan Rice is Nominated.
    He needs a hobby.
    I have a cold or whatever. I wish it would go away.

  35. 35.

    redshirt

    I can’t wait for the counter argument to be made on some serious conservative blog. Santa is really a Conservative – he keeps lists; he employs slave labor; he supports coal. Liberals get no presents.

  44. 44.

    DanF

    Damn red socialist fuck-stick. Satan Claus!!!

    I’d say he’s a Democrat, but he is a bit judgemental with that whole naughty nice list ( there is no appeal process), and I hope the elves have union representation. Still, anyone that generous can’t be all bad.

  45. 45.

    PaulW

    The RNC is gonna investigate what went wrong, and to do that they are gonna hire Karl Rove and Dick Morris to head the investigations. It should take years and millions in fees and incidentals to get to the bottom of all this.

    …is it me or have the con artists figured out politics is the one scam they can run without fear of fraud charges, ever?

  49. 49.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    My favorite PPP thing so far is the Panetta/Burns plan they polled for, where they found 25% had an opinion on it even though it did not exist.

  51. 51.

    David in NY

    More analysis — the population is 32% Republican, but only 28% believes Santa is Republican. Which means Republicans are getting only about an 88% confidence level that Santa is one of them, while Democrats near 100% (45/44). I think confidence like that is gonna carry Obama right along for next four years.

  53. 53.

    Schlemizel

    I wsa afraid right after the election that they might actually have seen the error of their ways &, while not actually trying to DO the right thing, might start trying to speak publicly as if they were not batshit insane & start making corrections to appeal to more people.

    Thank god that does not appear to be the case

  55. 55.

    eric

    @Raven: i love it…..best play caller in the game…if ESPN can hire bobby knight and ignore his transgressions, along with Lou holtz and his, i think WKU is okay.

  58. 58.

    muddy

    Rachel is killing it right now describing the $ racket with the GOP and how the mailing lists/talking points/payday works.

    ETA: She just quoted Bill Kristol approvingly, and promised it was not snark.

  59. 59.

    Raven

    @muddy:

    “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”

    ― Eric Hoffer, The Temper of Our Time

    Mornin Joe led with this today.

  60. 60.

    Patricia Kayden

    “The RNC ‘is rolling out a plan to review what worked and what didn’t for the party in the 2012 cycle,’ Politico reports.”

    I thought the consensus among Repubs was that President Obama gave Blacks, Latinos, women, young people and gays “gifts”.

    Why are they wasting time/resources on a useless review when they already know that it was the dang moochers getting gifts from the Kenyan Socialist that cost them the Election?

    And Acorn!

  65. 65.

    Keith G

    Interestingly enough, the one dude on the GOPper side who seems to have a hint of a plan for the short term is the one and only Turd Blossom.

    As I was whipping around the workplace while scanning poli-podcasts I heard Rove on an interview saying (my paraphrase)that if the establishment monied interests in the GOP want to get the White House back, they are going to have to use money to in effect change the primary process and keep the nuts as far away from the decision making process as possible.

    He is, of course, correct in trying to minimize the influence of the nut case contingent, but his problems are so much deeper than that. Still, if he can find a way to dilute or defang the power of the dead-enders, they may be able to build an image that is less repulsive to moderates.

    It will be entertaining.

  66. 66.

    Smiling Mortician

    @Keith G: Given that he is in large part responsible for creating said dead-enders, perhaps he knows where the power off switch is. I’m not really counting on it, though.

  67. 67.

    pattonbt

    If the Republicans want to win, they have a couple choices:

    1) For God’s sake do not let the mask slip and state your actual positions (see Mourdock, Angle, O’Donnell, Akin, etc.).

    2) Maybe rein in the “real murkin” dog whistle stuff.

    3) Oh, and maybe come up with some credible policies beyond a) Fuck You I Got Mine, b) Kill the non-whitey and c) Whatever Demonrats are for we are against!

    Thats just to start. Still may not help win, but will lessen the losing margin.

    Can I have a Republican PAC now with all the related accoutrements?

  68. 68.

    BethanyAnne

    Hmm, wonder if they have to change anything for 2014? Are the demographic changes enough to overcome them in low turnout elections?

  69. 69.

    BethanyAnne

    Hmm, wonder if they have to change anything for 2014? Are the demographic changes enough to overcome them in low turnout elections?

  72. 72.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @BethanyAnne:

    Depends a lot on how strongly the economy recovers. If 2014 becomes Obama’s Morning Again in America election, that will help our side overcome the traditional incumbent fatigue which hurts whichever party has been in the WH for 6 years.

  73. 73.

    CatHairEverywhere

    Since it’s an open thread, wanted to share this wonderful story about a small rescue org called Marley’s Mutts. I am not affiliated with them, but thought other BJers would appreciate the story as I did.

    Written by Marley’s Mutts: We had a very special day today: 1) We rescued a couple of very needy pups from the Bakersfield shelter and brought them back into the world and 2) we helped a stranger to be reunited with his doggy after getting out of jail. Our new friends name is Matthew,from the Bronx, and his only possessions are a parka, a phone and a trash bag full of miscellaneous clothes. He is an Iraqi War Veteran and former Marine whose house burned down a few weeks ago. He was separated from his dog yesterday when he was arrested for sleeping in public. Matthew was released from Jail this morning and walked several miles to the shelter to pick up his dog. I watched Matthew when he walked in and you could feel his nervous excitement from across the room; he wanted nothing more then to get his buddy and bounce the heck out of there. It would not be that easy. When the clerk told him that he would have to pay near $200 to get her out he was crushed and started sobbing. He cried like a proud man that didn’t have the energy left to fight back tears; they were tears of hopelessness- the kind your soul shoves forward when it can’t come up with any words. I had a conference with the terrific staff at KCAC and they agreed to waive some of the charges if I would cover the impound, “DEAL” I said! We took Matthew into the office where he began to pour out his story to us, always addressing me as “Sir”. We exchanged numbers, took this picture together and parted ways. We drove passed Matthew and his girl (princess jasmine is her name) as we got on the freeway and he shot us a huge smile and a thumbs up as he strolled proudly down the street with his chest out. He had immediately repaid us ten-fold. I have no doubt that our paths will cross again.

  74. 74.

    Anne Laurie

    @Raven:

    I wanted to ask Anne how the show was last night?

    Fantastic, thank you! Mr. Tom Rush has not lost a lick — he did well over two hours of a solid mix of old favorites & new stuff, with extra attention to the local audience. (Not difficult, since he was born in NH — “I still miss the Old Man in the Mountain; I am now officially older than at least one hill.”) Great venue, too, almost sold out at approximately 175 dedicated fans, nice acoustics, sandwiches & desserts for sale in the back and BYOB. Main difference between last night and those long-gone college bar days was no haze of cigarette smoke & those who chose to imbibe did so without feeling the need to spill, scream, or puke on their neighbors, which I found a great improvement!

  75. 75.

    cmorenc

    @Raven:

    Western Kentucky hired Petrino.

    At first quick glance, I misread this as saying “Western Kentucky hired PITINO”, and wondered for a moment why-the-heck Rick Pitino had left Louisville for Western Kentucky, but then read the name correctly and realized it was probably a pointy-ball coaching hire you were talking about.

  77. 77.

    Mnemosyne

    @CatHairEverywhere:

    I always wonder if there’s some org out there that helps homeless people care for their pets. They’re pretty common in Pasadena for sure (especially homeless people with cats on leashes), and I hate to think of people losing their companion animals because they don’t have someplace to live that allows them.

  79. 79.

    arguingwithsignposts

    PJ O’Rourke wrote about the Santa Claus being a Democrat thing at least 20 years ago. Probably out there on the internet somewhere.

  80. 80.

    CatHairEverywhere

    @Mnemosyne: I agree completely. I was at the vet a few years ago, and this homeless man came in with his dog. He had a bike with a trailerish thing parked out front. He was very nervous and agitated, having just bailed her out of the pound. I assured him that the vet was very kind, but he still looked worried. He was bringing her in for her rabies shots. He decided at one point that the floor was too cold for her to sit on, and let me watch her while her went out front and got a pair of jeans he folded for her to lie on. He told me how he Lways gave her the really good food he found in dumpsters. That dog was his best friend, and he loved her dearly. We do need resources for these people to be able to keep their furry friends.

  81. 81.

    Triassic Sands

    If Republicans want to change things, they should start with the people they use to investigate why they failed. And I have to admit, I’m elated they don’t agree.

    As Anne says, “Keep up the good work, boys.” Which raises a question: are there any women on the investigative team? Probably not, since it’s a well known fact in Wonderland that the best way to find out why women don’t like you is to ask a man.

  82. 82.

    1badbaba3

    @Raven: Speaking of grifters. Everybody at WKU keep your eyes on your ATVs and your wimmens, Petrino is comin’ to town. He probably took the job ‘cos he figured it’s time for Saban to get that wanderin’ eye, and he wanted to beat him to the punch. Good luck WKU, and keep that search committee on speed dial.

    The Patty Cakes are trucking the should-be-Oilers like the Niners did da Bears a bit ago. It’s like. Bill Bellicose found the Way Back Machine and brought back a hale and hearty Bruschi, Vrabel, and Harrison. Definitely their most impressive outing of the season.

  84. 84.

    danielx

    RNC To Investigate What Went Wrong

    You mean, aside from a candidate who acted like what he is (a Wall Street asshole), party spokesmen who are complete tools, the whole departure from reality thing, domestic policies that make Ebenezer Scrooge look like a softy, foreign policy that pretty much amounts to bomb everyone all the time and especially when Bibi says, and general meanness and insanity? Aside from all those things? Original Sin, maybe?

    Whoever composed that headline in Political Wire had to be giggling at the time he wrote it…

  85. 85.

    Suffern ACE

    @danielx: I for one hope they don’t point any fingers at the bizarre behavior of surrogate Snununu or Herman Cain’s smoking man. Please, let them be on TV more often.

  86. 86.

    gex

    @Keith G: IOW, he wants to turn the clock back. This is not a thing that can be done.

    The GOP has already gotten maximum gain from inviting the racists/misogynists/homophobes/xenophobes/Christianists into the tent. It has been decades of support from those folks, with precious little movement on their issues. They will no longer take a back seat to the monied interests and you can tell by how Republicans keep getting primaried from crazies farther right than them.

    I guess it’s a “plan” but it is one that is absolutely impossible to achieve.

    It is, however, a plan to get the monied interests to spend even more than they did this time. Which is Turdblossom’s actual goal.

  87. 87.

    hueyplong

    Of course Santa Claus isn’t a Republican. Children would be terrified of Supply Side Santa.

    PPP should have polled about Scrooge’s party affiliation.

  89. 89.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Their problem is that they’re assholes. No amount of “fine tuning” can overcome that primary problem.

    I don’t think that you really need any focus groups to confirm that for you.

    If they were smart (they’re not) they’d throw Fleischer and Barbour to the lions.

  91. 91.

    catclub

    @danielx: “bomb everyone all the time and especially when Bibi says”
    and he was still pretty close. It is terrifying. A complete cat’s paw for israel and the American voters barely notice.

  93. 93.

    srv

    St. Nick was a big fat guy who lived in the great north where only hardy libertarians could prosper and was surrounded by hard working, non-unionized elves. And who only rewarded the good God-fearing children who said their prayers.

    So clearly, a Republican.

  94. 94.

    Suffern ACE

    @hueyplong: pre visitation Scrooge or post visitation Scrooge? If I remember right, the new Scrooge handed out promotions and geese like they were going out of style.

  96. 96.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @hueyplong:

    PPP should have polled about Scrooge’s party affiliation.

    Before Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come: Definitely a Republican.

  98. 98.

    Keith G

    @gex: In my lifetime I have been witness to at least three GOP death watches.

    And ya know what: The s-o-bs didn’t do the right thing and just die. So I figure, either by their guile or our stupidity, they will be back up to speed much sooner than many might think.

  99. 99.

    Villago Delenda Est

    “The plan is to focus on: campaign mechanics, fundraising, demographics, messaging, outside groups, campaign finance, the national primary process and, last but not least, what the successful Democratic efforts revealed about the way forward, and recommend plans for the way forward.”

    Everything BUT what is consigning them to oblivion: their policy positions. Particularly the ones that alienate everyone but white christianist assholes.

  100. 100.

    Keith G

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Particularly the ones that alienate everyone but white christianist assholes.

    Everyone?

    One out of every 3.7 Hispanic voters chose Romney. I don’t know that the GOP will make that population (most of whom are more engaged with Christianity than the average Anglo) competitive by 2016, but they will give it their best shot.

  101. 101.

    Jay in Oregon

    @PaulW:

    is it me or have the con artists figured out politics is the one scam they can run without fear of fraud charges, ever?

    A good con involves having the mark doing something illegal or humiliating enough that they won’t go to the cops for fear of being exposed or arrested.

    If you’re looking for greed, arrogance, and venality, then politics is a target-rich environment…

  102. 102.

    JasonF

    That Santa poll cracks me up. It’s like they’re sitting around at PPP headquarters going “Quick! Somebody think of a way we can remain relevant between now and September 2014 when people will actually care about this shit again!” Give it up guys. The election is over. Enough with the constant barrage of polls!

  103. 103.

    Quaker in a Basement

    “RNC to Investigate What Went Wrong“

    Won’t rest until they find the “real killers.”

  104. 104.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @J. Michael Neal:
    I am flattered by the mention. My editors have told me I have a very unusual system of writing. Apparently ‘start at the beginning, write until you reach the end’ is normal? So I hear. I couldn’t finish a book that way.

    I start out with outlines, organizing the Hell out of the book first. I work out all the major plot points that will get me from Beginning to End. I fill in any extras I want because they’re cool/thematic/whatever. I figure out how they all link together in a rough way. Then I go through those plot points one by one, creating a new outline that tracks how that plot point plays out. Then I sit down and actually write that part.

    It helps keep me on track, because there’s never a time when I go ‘I dunno what’s next’. It also means I never forget my best ideas, and I can pinpoint exactly what unanswered questions are left in my plot.

  106. 106.

    Rathskeller

    @Origuy: No, it was a fake plan PPP invented to see who was answering the questions without a clue. So they’d ask opinions on Simpson-Bowles, then also the imaginary Panetta/Burns. Panetta was deliberately chosen as a once-prominent political name. Burns had a meaning, too, but it was even more obscure.

    That part of the poll scratched an itch I’ve long had which is: how many people answering these polls have no idea at all what’s going on. Turns out it’s really close to the magic 27%.

  109. 109.

    jayjaybear

    Heh…all this talk about non-unionized elves is reminding me of the Bloom County take on the air traffic controllers strike…

  110. 110.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    I don’t know about Santa but the Grinch is a real asshole (i.e. GOP)

  111. 111.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us? (formerly MarkJ)

    @Kyle: Bullseye. It’s all about the optics, image, packaging and not at all about the crappy agenda and policies. I’m not sure if they just don’t realize they’re selling a turd, or they know they are, but think they can get people to buy it as long as the marketing is slick enough.

  113. 113.

    Kathy in St. Louis

    Regarding the 28 percent who “aren’t sure” about this serious question….28 percent of my fellow citizens aren’t sure which is their ass and which is their elbow.

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