Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

You cannot shame the shameless.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / CPAC Snapshots: They Can Always Get Worse

CPAC Snapshots: They Can Always Get Worse

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“… Ukip has now become the most popular party among white, male, working-class pensioners; this is the key to its success…. Women are just one of a number of groups that tend not to vote for Ukip. Others include young people, those with university degrees, and ethnic minorities, who tend not to be concerned over immigration and Europe.”

Reader Interactions

181Comments

  1. 1.

    shelley

    He took on the protestors? Is that why they tried to ban the protestors from the Capital building?

  2. 2.

    shelley

    So sad that Charlie Pierce won’t be attending this year. We’ll be missing some excellent, erudite snark.

  3. 3.

    scav

    @efgoldman: He certainly views — moreover is proud and boasts of viewing — a good number of his constituents and fellow Wisconsin citizens as dangerous resident enemies.

  4. 4.

    Woodrowfan

    The original CPAC meetings in Nuremberg circa 1933-1939 were more dramatic and had better choreography.

  5. 5.

    Mike in NC

    @efgoldman: FOX News and the rest of the wingnut media back then reported that those protestors were smashing windows, burning cars, and assaulting innocent bystanders. All, of course, bullshit that was duly parroted by the right wing noise machine.

  8. 8.

    jl

    Reposted from previous CPAC thread:

    not definitive if this was cause of his suicide, but a glimpse of the dark side of the GOP klown kar

    Jaw Dropping

    ‘ …Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich died today of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Schweich was considered a leading candidate to run for governor.

    Now the editorial page editor of the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Tony Messenger, has come forward to say that in the days leading up to Schweich’s suicide he had confided to Messenger that he was planning to reveal that the head of the state Republican party was leading a whispering campaign suggesting that Schweich was in fact a Jew. ‘

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/jay-dropping

    TPM promises to look closely into this incident. I hope they do.

  10. 10.

    Morzer

    I am amused to see the real essence of UKIP so deftly summed up by the fact that a teabagger wants to link himself to the movement. Considering how desperately the UKIP propagandists have been denying that the party is made up of right wing racists, bigots and assorted fuckwits, it’s intriguing that they couldn’t even fool a South Carolina Republican.

  11. 11.

    shelley

    This was good for a chuckle…The Daily Caller reporting on Sarah Palins speech at CPAC..

    “followed a remarkably focused speech on veterans”

    So I guess it’ big news if she manages to deliver a coherent speech.

  15. 15.

    Mike J

    @jl:

    leading a whispering campaign suggesting that Schweich was in fact a Jew. ‘

    Last night I was watching the old sitcom channel. They show Carol Burnett at 11pm. Their first sketch was showing how they rehearse scenes. Carol enters and says, “Oh, hello Mrs. Greenblum, how’s your husband?” And then the director cuts in and says, “Can we change that name? Too Jewish.” And Carol says, “Better not take any chances, let’s just go with Smith.”

  17. 17.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    They’ve been doing their best to run for election without allowing the media to ask questions or hold debates. I imagine that will only intensify as Walker shambles to the podunkium to declare victory in the primary.

  18. 18.

    Hal

    How is Walker going to do in PA, MI and OH being so virulently anti-union? It’s such an odd position to take, especially when Republicans need those states to win. If the Dem can duplicate Obama’s wins in CO and VA and hell, maybe even NC could be in play, that would leave someone like Walker in a position where he would have to win PA, MI and/orOH/FL to win the election.

  21. 21.

    pseudonymous in nc

    “I like to say I’m American UKIP.”

    Are you a rich workshy commodities trader with a man-of-the-people xenophobic schtick? If not, you’re unfit to touch the gurning Flange.

    I mean, it doesn’t even make sense. But then again, he is from Lesser Carolina.

  22. 22.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @shelley:

    I agree with you. On the other hand, I’m not enjoying Charlie much these days, because I absolutely HATE the revamp of the website. It’s horrible.

  23. 23.

    Morzer

    A bit of good news:

    Ed at Gin and Tacos has retaken control of the radio station and seized the rhetorical means of production for the people. Or, in contemporary demotic Anglo-Saxon, the site is back up.

  24. 24.

    Woodrowfan

    @David Koch: Good God, the comments for that video are scary, oh wait, it’s Youtube. I notice that the person who posted the video cut it before they blew up the swastika.

  25. 25.

    cmorenc

    John Bolton promised that “overthrow of the ayatollahs” would be US policy “If I became president.” #cpac15

    Well then, can we reasonably take that as John Bolton volunteering to go to Iran to personally lead the first wave of assaults against Tehran? I certainly take it that way, since Bolton said that though he supported the Vietnam war, he only enlisted in the Maryland National Guard to avoid being sent there because he didn’t want to die in a rice paddy for a war already lost. And Bolton’s proposed policy indicates he certainly doesn’t think a prospective war with Iran is any “lost cause”.

    Meanwhile, I’ve got an even better idea for chickenhawk John Bolton: why don’t you volunteer to be among the American “boots on the ground” you are so eager to commit to fighting ISIS on Syrian/Iraqui soid? Can’t think of a tougher-talking man to send.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I had to look up cyclothymia. I hope it is something that can be handled with a judicious combination of meds and therapy and whatever other approaches are best for you. Good luck.

  27. 27.

    jl

    Not all of the Klown Kar show is at CPAC. I was watting for this, wonder what took him so long?

    Jim Inhofe Brings A Snowball To The Senate Floor To Prove Climate Change Is A ‘Hoax’

    ‘ Inhofe went on to list the recent cold temperatures across parts of the United States, which included 67 new record lows earlier this week… as evidence that global warming claims are overhyped. “We hear the perpetual headline that 2014 has been the warmest year on record. But now the script has flipped.”

    Despite the record lows in some parts of the country, the nation overall has been experiencing a warmer than average winter.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/jim-inhofe-climate-snow_n_6763868.html

    Terracidal maniac, is what Inhofe is.

  28. 28.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    Everything that I am seeing points to Jeb being denounced by the right wing of the right wing for being insufficiently teahadist – and it’s not as if he was polling at impressive levels to start with. I think Walker will be the nominee, although I don’t see him winning the big game.

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Morzer:

    Yay! I’ve been checking two or three times a day for about a week, as well as seeing what (not much, as it turns out) he had to say about it on FB.

    Thanks, I was about to call it a lost cause and give up.

  30. 30.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @David Koch:

    “Today, Germany; tomorrow, the world.” ~ Adolf Hitler

    “Today, the pits; tomorrow, the wrinkles.” ~ Sunsweet Prunes via Stan Freberg

  31. 31.

    Hal

    @jl: I have some conservative friends on Facebook who post this type of thing all the time. One lives in the south and they’ve had SNOW!!!! there! Take that fat Al Gore. In the middle of sweltering, non-stop, hotter than record summers? Crickets. But when winter hits climate change is a hoax.

    Funny thing is, people still will reference how crazy the weather has become, but then posit one of their owns reasons; axial tilt has shifted, underwater volcanoes. As long as it’s not man made, or anything we can do to fix it that won’t hurt the fossil fuel industry or the Koch brothers.

  32. 32.

    Mandalay

    @jl: The timeline seems bizarre:

    But Schweich called the AP at 9:16 a.m. Thursday inviting an AP reporter to his home for a 2:30 p.m. interview and noting that a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also had been invited. An AP reporter spoke with Schweich by phone again at 9:35 a.m. to confirm the upcoming interview.

    Police say the emergency call to Schweich’s house was received at 9:48 a.m.

    So he kills himself less than 13 minutes after confirming an upcoming interview with AP?

    And if this slimebag has a conscience it will hopefully be weighing really heavy right now…

    Schweich said he had heard that Hancock had been making phone calls last fall in which he mentioned in an off-handed way that Schweich was Jewish. Schweich said he felt the comments were anti-Semitic and wanted Hancock to resign the party chairmanship to which he had been elected last Saturday.

    Hancock told the AP on Thursday that Schweich had talked to him about the alleged comments last November, but not since then. Hancock, who is a political consultant, said he had made phone calls last fall on behalf of a project to register Catholic voters. Hancock said that if he had mentioned that Schweich was Jewish, it would have been in the context that Hanaway was Catholic but that was no indication of how Catholics were likely to vote.

    “I don’t have a specific recollection of having said that, but it’s plausible that I would have told somebody that Tom was Jewish because I thought he was, but I wouldn’t have said it in a derogatory or demeaning fashion,” Hancock said.

    Religious freedom right there, but just be sure you pick the right religion!

  34. 34.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    Insert obligatory reference to Jews using blacks* and Illinois Nazis.

    *Possibly now Muslims using Jews using blacks, what with sharia law spreading everywhere.

  35. 35.

    jl

    @efgoldman: I hope people remember this garbage next time jackasses show up to teabagger/GOP events in Founders costumes…

    If they are good workmen, they may be of Asia, Africa, or Europe. They may be Mohometans, Jews or Christians of any Sect, or they may be Atheists.
    — George Washington, letter to Tench Tilghman asking him to secure a carpenter and a bricklayer for his Mount Vernon estate, March 24, 1784

    The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
    — Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-82

    http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/

    Oh, if only we could get back the country our Founders meant it to be!

  39. 39.

    Jay C

    THIS particular bit of derp really stuck out, for me:

    Tom Cotton advocates for policy of pursuing regime change in Iran, says Obama missed opportunity in 2009

    Did Sen. Cotton ever articulate exactly WHAT that “missed opportunity” might have been? Other than, of course, the default scenario of: “invade Iran with a huge army, and we’ll be greeted with flowers and candy”?

    Or does just the merest mention of “Obama” and “missed opportunity” do it for these CPAC bozos as trenchant foreign-policy analysis? (rhetorical question. sadly.)

  40. 40.

    Morzer

    @Jay C:

    Did Sen. Cotton ever articulate exactly WHAT that “missed opportunity” might have been?

    Well, Obama did fail to resign in favor of Generalissimo Cotton. Which was a missed opportunity from one very particular point of view.

  41. 41.

    jl

    @Jay C: Interesting if somebody can figure out what he is talking about.

    Might be just putting in random particulars to make BS sound more plausible.

  42. 42.

    Pogonip

    @NotMax: Most of us Christians are not enthused with the government, of Idaho or anywhere else, deciding what qualifies as “Christianity.”. I hope they give up this idea.

  43. 43.

    jl

    Lot of good quote at that positive atheism site. Here is one to quote if you need to refute any Xtianist BS

    ‘ It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service [writing the constitution] had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses. ‘

    John Adams, “A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America” (1787-88)

    http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/

    Only problem is that Adams’ prediction was wrong, even if his history was right.

    Edit: and
    When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, ’tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.

    Benjamin Franklin, letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780

  44. 44.

    Morzer

    @jl:

    Cotton has three selling points:

    1) Looks purty
    2) Was in the military
    3) Never knowingly outcrazied in his relationship with the baggers.

    Vague talk about missed opportunities (and hints of betrayal by The Great Kenyan Satan!) let him combine 2) and 3).

  45. 45.

    Tom Q

    @efgoldman: People who keep citing Walker’s wins in WI never note that all three were in low-turnout elections (the ’10 and ’14 midterms, and the recall). A national election is a whole different ball game.

    In fact, I’d argue WI sees one of the nation’s biggest turnout differentials between national and midterm elections. Consider: in 2010, a not-well-known, far-right Randian defeated three-term Senator Feingold. Two years later, a considerably more moderate, long-thought-popular Gov. Thompson lost to a liberal lesbian. Walker (and his boosters) seem to think the first outcome was reality; they’ll find out in 2016 how wrong they are.

  50. 50.

    Hildebrand

    @Morzer: I may be over-thinking this, but I am guessing that Bush may welcome being ostracized by the ultra-right-wing types, as it makes him more palatable to the mythical centrists.

  52. 52.

    sharl

    CNN Tonight @CNNTonight · 38 minutes ago
    #Llama first-responder John Rowlin joins @donlemon tonight to talk llama on a lam, and his amazing capture. 10P

    APPOINTMENT TELEVISION, PEOPLE!!! And, they have the right man on this story.
    Clear your schedule this evening.

  55. 55.

    divF

    @sharl:

    llama on a lam

    A little Ogden Nash:

    A one-l lama, that’s a priest
    A two-l llama, that’s a beast
    And I will bet a silk pyjama
    There isn’t any three-l lllama

  56. 56.

    Morzer

    @Anne Laurie:

    Well, he was from the decadent liberal state of Massachusetts which.. oh, that’s right, set the whole goddamn independence movement in motion.

    *another in the long, long line of awkward facts that conservatives try not to acknowledge*

  57. 57.

    raven

    Rachel saying the Jeb’s troops are planning on packing the shitshow while the riechers plan to walk out!

  61. 61.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @divF:

    Possibly apocryphal, but I believe there was a fire chief who responded to the Nash poem by saying that his men always showed up at a three-L lllama (three alarmer).

    Edit: He was probably from Bahstan.

  62. 62.

    Morzer

    @Hildebrand:

    But both of them were next in line – and had kissed considerable amounts of ass to win the prize. Jeb fails the first test and shows no sign of learning how to do the second with grace or skill.

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    I have no love for Wendy’s, but I hate to see stories like this. Glad nobody was hurt. Will you have your camera with you on tomorrow’s walk? Maybe you can share a few early-morning photos of the remains.

    Edit: I assume there was a lot of ground beef that was, um, grilled in the fire. Pay close attention to Lil Bit and The Bhodi tomorrow. I expect their noses will be vibrating nearly off their faces.

  66. 66.

    Sherparick

    @Morzer: But very Conservative. We liberals, hippies, union members, Blacks, Gays, Hispanics, and feminists are the Enemy as much as the Taliban.

  67. 67.

    Hildebrand

    @Morzer: Maybe I am just being a putz, but Bush is cornering the ‘big dollar’ donor market, and that makes me think the rest is just a glorified show meant to keep the rubes in line. By the time Bush has tired everyone else out, the Tea Party folks will, very reluctantly, fall in line with the ‘electable’ one.

  69. 69.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: Again, funny you mentioned it. Twice this week I could see the colors as we started out and didn’t go back and get my camera. Both were incredible red sunrises and my iPhone just did get it. The girl is playing hooky tomorrow and, if I let her sleep in, we’ll probably drive tomorrow and she’ll walk the pups when it warms up. Whew, that meant yes but I doubt if there will be more to see than what the paper has.

  72. 72.

    David Koch

    Jebbie has pluses and minus.

    Pluses: he’ll run limitless attack ads to drive the negatives of his competitors. he’ll have a large campaign apparatus to leverage Super Tuesday and post super Tuesday. GOP delegates are largelly allocated on winner take all basis, not proportional basis.

    Minuses: voters don’t like him. he polls poorly against Hillary, denying him the crucial “i can beat her” card.

    The electability card is one thing that ultimately saved Mittens. Everyone hated him, but Newt and Santorum were losing by 20 pts to the President, while Mittens was losing by only 4 pts. So the base held their nose and voted for him and his cheezy grits.

    It’s really a toss up right now if Jebbie can win the nomination because while he has resources, what good does it do if voters think you can win.

  73. 73.

    kc

    “UKIP?” It’s gotten so I have to do a Google search of something every time I read a post here . . .

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Hildebrand:

    I still think it’s going to be Walker. I think the Kochs want him and have the big $€¥£ to get him through the primaries. At this point, not sure which candidate would be worse, Jeb(!) or Scotty.

  79. 79.

    muddy

    @Morzer: I know, that squinting cross-eyed thing he has going on is so hot!

    ETA: I meant Walker, but Jeb is kind of squinty too now that I think about it. And neither in cowboy sort of way.

  80. 80.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    I think, as I have thought all along, that Walker will get the nomination. I also believe that Jerbil will fall out of contention much more rapidly than anyone expects.

  81. 81.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Morzer:

    Another reason why I thnk Walker will end up with the nomination. I’m so sure of it, I’m actually beginning to ponder his VP pick. Right now, I’m thinking Nikki Haley.

  82. 82.

    Mike in NC

    @kc: UKIP is a place for elderly, racist, entitled white assholes to congregate. Not at all to be confused with the Republican Party in the USofA.

  83. 83.

    jl

    @efgoldman: I thought Bush II, like John Adams, was declared to be No True Conservative.

    I notice not much pushback from either. Bush II probably doesn’t care, and John Adams would be likely to rise from the grave and haunt them only if they did claim him.

  84. 84.

    Anne Laurie

    @Hildebrand:

    Maybe I am just being a putz, but Bush is cornering the ‘big dollar’ donor market, and that makes me think the rest is just a glorified show meant to keep the rubes in line.

    Jeb is the Establishment, Wall Street, ‘big dollar’ candidate; Scott Walker is the insurgent, Koch-funded, extraction&megaretail ‘big dollar’ candidate.

    Until very recently, I thought it would come down to the eventual winning Big Dollar candidate versus the “traditionalist”, socially conservative, Main-Street-not-Wall-Street candidate (probably Sanctorum). But Walker’s working hard to win over the hardcore Talibangelicals & blue-collar spite voters — he may actually be able to suck up the Iowas caucusers & Southern revanchists before Santorum can remind them It’s His Turn. Points to the Koch brothers marketing team — unfortunately.

  86. 86.

    danielx

    @Morzer:

    Comparing peaceful American citizens exercising their first amendment rights to terrorists sounds almost… anti-American.

    Um…you may not have noticed, but most CPAC attendees and for that matter a great many law enforcement officers generally do regard peaceful American citizens exercising their first amendment rights as anti-American at best and terrorsymps at worst. Unless it’s Cliven Bundy exercising first amendment rights in concert with second amendment rights; they’re totally down with that.

  89. 89.

    Anne Laurie

    @kc: That’s why I gave you the Telegraph (aka ‘Tory-graph’ link), sweetie. Broaden your horizons, this is a full-service blog.

  91. 91.

    Gus

    Who’s doing the best coverage of CPAC this year? In past years, I’ve enjoyed Weigel’s coverage. It’s a target rich environment, but I haven’t yet found the best coverage.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Well, I hope you’re right — I fear he would be more electable in the general than Jeb(!), although it’s still a long way off and anything can (and surly will) happen between now and the 2016 campaign.

    Edit: I meant (and thought I typed) “surely” but it’s such a nice typo I decided to leave it.

  93. 93.

    Mike in NC

    @efgoldman: Got food poisoning at the salad bar/taco bar at the Wendy’s in Newport, RI years ago. I complained and got some free coupons for my trouble.

  94. 94.

    Morzer

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I don’t think Tricky Nikki adds much to the ticket and her record probably won’t withstand much analysis. I wouldn’t be completely surprised to see Brian Sandoval or Susana Martinez as the VP pick, although Martinez’ star has dimmed of late. Sandoval would make things more interesting in the West. What I don’t know is whether Sandoval would want the job.

  96. 96.

    danielx

    @Morzer:

    Jeb’s the better national candidate, but Walker is more likely to get the base drooling.

    True dat. And that right there says a great deal about the mental capacity and state of the Republican base; anybody who can drool over Scott Walker for any reason whatsoever is borderline at best. But they have so many wonderful potential candidates from which to choose! How to make a decision? I mean, John Bolton, AKA The Moustache of Misanthropy? He’s considered totally dreamy in some circles, so I’ve heard.

  97. 97.

    Morzer

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Well, there’s always time for Scott Brown to declare that the entire nation (EXCEPT MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW HAMPSHIRE – THOSE UNGRATEFUL WHORE STATES!) is his latest home and birthplace…..

  99. 99.

    Mike in NC

    @Omnes Omnibus: Last time around it was Rmoney and Koch-selected Paul Ryan. Up next in 2016 I’m comfortable seeing JEB and Koch-selected Scott Walker. Easily appeals to 47% of the voters who’d bother to show up.

  100. 100.

    Morzer

    @efgoldman:

    I’d be astounded to see him pick Baby Doc or Cotton, while Joni Ernst would be an act of blazing lunacy, redeemed only by the fantasy of winning Iowa. Still, we might get lucky and see the obvious derangement dialed up beyond 11.

  101. 101.

    danielx

    @Morzer:

    All the base wants is a Depend-able candidate who will Pamper their um… baser… feelings.

    Ewwww. Considering that those baser feelings are being given full reign in DC at the moment, that gives rise to a lot of images I’d just as soon forget, quickly. Does make me wonder if David Vitter is attending CPAC….

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @efgoldman: I am probably too close and have too many memories of being in the streets and the Capitol to judge him objectively. I’ll just run with emotion on this one.

  104. 104.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mike in NC:

    I always love it when someone has a shitty experience with a product or service and the corporate response is always “Here, have MOAR!!”

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Morzer:

    Martinez is a thought. I think almost certainly the GOP will go with a woman VP candidate if they possibly can, especially (assuming) Hillary is the Dem nominee. Who else is there on the Republicans’ Pink Bench?

  106. 106.

    Gus

    @Mike in NC: Ha! I’m talking about someone who will put on the pith helmet and describe the rituals of the exotic tribe we call wing nuts in a way that translates to a normal human being.

  113. 113.

    Soprano2

    @Mandalay: Bizzare is exactly the reaction I had. I think it could have been an accident, nothing points to suicide.

    I met Tony Messenger once, he was the editorial page editor of the Springfield MO paper before he went to St. Louis. He had some libertarian leanings but was a pretty straight shooter for the most part. If he says Hancock was spreading rumors that Schweicht was Jewish it’s probably true. The primary battle between him and Hannaway would have been one for the ages. Now Hannaway will probably run unopposed.

  114. 114.

    trollhattan

    @efgoldman:
    My fear regarding Walker is his packagability as a Standard-Issue Republican Presidential Candidate. He checks all their boxes, except the “Has Magical Reagan Powers” box. Nobody else does, either.

    So close enough presuming everyone else in the clown car implodes on schedule.

    Combine that with the fact he’s far more sociopathic than Dubya and he’s someone to keep an eye on, at least up to such time he’s no longer in queue to be the last man standing.

  115. 115.

    Tree With Water

    Big, bad Scott Walker my ass.

    My aunt was an incredible person. Among other things, she shipped out of San Francisco as a merchant marine before (and I believe during) WW2. Housing in the city was tight at the time, and during one such voyage she sub-let her North Beach apartment as a favor to a guy she knew. When she got back the guy refused to vacate, informing her it was his apartment from then on. My aunt didn’t panic, however, because she was dear friends with one of Harry Bridges bodyguards. Family lore has it the guy vacated the apartment in under three minutes after being apprised that his ultimatum had been rejected as unacceptable.

    Walker would “break out in assholes and shit himself to death”* if he ever ran into a union member that likewise meant business, instead of this fantasy army of bloodthirsty pinkos he’s conjured out of thin air and is always going on about.

    Off topic, but the wind is blowing from the south tonight in Sonoma county, which is darn unusual.

    *(tip of the hat to Alexander Haig)

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @trollhattan: One of the things that I doubt is that Walker can stand up to the kind of oppo research that Jeb, Hillary, or [generic Dem] could bring to bear.

  117. 117.

    richard mayhew

    @efgoldman: And more importantly, none of his wins were with Presidential turn-out… Republican wave year, off-calendar special election, Republican wave year. Sure, it is, from his point of view, better to win than lose, but they are slightly different beasts.

  121. 121.

    Linnaeus

    I realize that this is not trenchant political analysis, but:

    Fuck Scott Walker. Fuck. Him.

    I can’t think of any American politician I despise more than him right now.

  123. 123.

    Mike J

    @efgoldman:

    The two worst Wendy’s in the world are gone now. One was on Washington Street in Boston near Downtown Crossing,

    I used to work in the combat zone, when it was still called the combat zone, and would often walk over to downtown crossing for lunch. I think I may have been there.

  124. 124.

    joel hanes

    @Linnaeus:

    I have felt the same way ever since reading, in the wake of his first election to Governor, about the strong-arm tactics that Walker’s shock troops used to override the objections and attempted parliamentary moves of the Democratic opposition in the WI legislature: overt, gleeful, brutal, in-your-face suck-it-libtard flouting of the rules of legislative procedure, applicable laws, and established norms of behavior. And the immediate cronyism. And the dishonesty of his Administration’s public statements about those who opposed him. And the bullshit lie about millions of dollars of damage to the Statehouse (there was almost none).

    He seems to draw almost all his political strength from the nihilistic joy that his supporters experience when some liberal accomplishment is destroyed. That is to say, he’s powered almost completely by Cleek’s Law.

    One wonders how Ann Althouse feels about her hero of those days, now that he’s smashing the budget of the formerly-first-rate university that unaccountably employs her — but one doesn’t wonder enough about that to actually go to her blog.

  125. 125.

    GxB

    Walker’s a great sockuppet. Too stupid to improvise, but just smart enough (for lack of a better term) to realize he’s in over his head pretty much all of the time and stay on script. I can see him going far in the clown car. He stuck it to them snooty libs three times now in a “blue” state and that will attract the deranged in the primary. He’s bland enough to not scare off the fence sitters in a national, and obviously he’s got the Kochbucks sewn up. If he’s got a Rovian team to handle the spin and they’re really on top of their game, this may be their pony this time around. Where he’s lacking is he’s definitely got a charisma problem. He doesn’t seem to have that “have a beer with” je ne sais quoi and that’s going to be a huge hurdle

    We’ve already seen intelligence, qualifications, education, past behavior, and policy can be fudged sufficiently to fool roughly half the electorate, the base is around 45%+ pretty consistently, so the way i see it, we mock the opposition at our own peril. Any repuke nom is going to be savaged mercilessly from our vantage point and with good reason. But there are so many dunderheads out there that buy into this “both sides suck equally – lets vote the other way this time” tripe, and probably just as many who suffer from learned helplessness over the whole situation. Finally, Hillary (or whoever) is no BHO on the campaign trail nor as inspirational as a leader, so it’s going to be white knuckle time come Fall ’16.

  127. 127.

    Tree With Water

    “Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday explained that he previously described seeing nuns “get gunned down” in the 1980s in El Salvador because he had seen photographs of such incidents”.

    Well then, shit, I waded across the lagoon at Tarawa with the 2nd Marines because I’ve seen video of that terrible crossing. It must have been pretty traumatic, too, because I’ve blocked all memory of having been there. That must be what O’Reilly is talking about.

  128. 128.

    Morzer

    @Kropadope:

    I just want to shrink the GOP base to the point where I can drag it into the bathtub and drown it in Rush Limbaugh’s final drug-induced vomit.

  130. 130.

    Morzer

    @Tree With Water:

    Bill O’Reilly will now explain that when he claimed to have been Tolstoy’s ghost-writer he meant that he had seen a copy of War and Peace in the original English.

  134. 134.

    GregB

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Martinez, Hailey, Fallin, Fiorina, Ayotte.

    I cannot see Condi Rice wanting to expose herself to the scrutiny of a campaign.

    She is still bucking to head the NFL.

  136. 136.

    ruemara

    I can’t even work up snark. The day went too well. I went to a chiropractor and for the first time in nearly 2 months, I can move my head without pain (or much pain) and so many little spinal and neck issues are gone. Best I’ve felt in a long time. I found an air bed, so I will finally have a more bed-like thing to sleep in and I found workout shoes.The best day ever. YOu never know how much pain you’re in until you stop being in pain. It cost so much but it was worth it. The clowns at CPAC simply can’t harsh my buzz with their existence.

  137. 137.

    Morzer

    @GregB:

    I should have remembered Fallin, but she’s probably the least obtrusive of the corrupt bigots, grifters and stumpdumbs on the list.

    By the way, IIRC, Martinez has been tarnished by association with all sorts of cons and schemes and corruptions run by her partners in crime in the New Mexico GOP.

  140. 140.

    Morzer

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Hmmm The Pink and the Dark Grey. Doesn’t quite work for the novel, does it? Mind you, it might sell as Gay Nazi Dinosaur Porn or whatever it is they read in Brownbackistan these days.

  145. 145.

    NotMax

    @raven

    Occam’s Razor says the filters and the stack of the exhaust hood over the grill and/or the fryer had not been cleaned since forever.

  146. 146.

    Kay

    @joel hanes:

    She’s sneering at the protestors.

    I hope she likes her new career as an instructor in the workforce preparedness section. Governor Walker is coming for university people next.

    Probably wasn’t smart to cheer him on when he was going after 3rd grade teachers, but she didn’t see any possible connection with those sorts of people. Now she can be in the club!

    I can’t wait to find out if he determines she “adds value” to the student-product.

  148. 148.

    Kay

    @joel hanes:

    Here’s a Republican in Wisconsin who figured it out:

    A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor had strong words for Gov. Scott Walker over his comments that the UW System staff should be more productive.

    John Sharpless, a former Republican candidate for Congress and who teaches history at UW, voiced his frustration on Friday over the belief that professors aren’t working hard enough. He said he arrives no later than 9 a.m. and leaves no earlier than 5 p.m. During that time, he said he’s either teaching, preparing lectures, doing research, attending required committee meetings, advising students and managing teaching assistants. Sharpless added that he often spends his evenings reading and grading papers.

    He listened to Walker attack public school teachers for 4 years and never once thought “hey! I think I’m a…. teacher. He might go after me next!”

  150. 150.

    NotMax

    @MorzerOne grandmother once owned an Oldsmobile Holiday (’56 or ’57, IIRC) which sported a two-tone pink and gray paint job.

    Closest pic I could find quickly is different in being a 2-door in pink and white.

  154. 154.

    Morzer

    @David Koch:

    That red screen with the CPAC logo looks like something that would have delighted Mao and Stalin with its tasteful, understated stylings.

  155. 155.

    Anne Laurie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Who else is there on the Republicans’ Pink Bench?

    If the WSJ‘s coverage of CPAC is anything to go by, Carli Fiorina is auditioning hard for Palin, mk. 2. “Let me be your anti-Hillary, ReThugs! I can say all the nasty sexist things you don’t want to get caught repeating! And I look good in Naughty Monkey pumps, too!”

  157. 157.

    cckids

    @Morzer:

    What I don’t know is whether Sandoval would want the job.

    Well, Sandoval has said, repeatedly, that he doesn’t want it. Of course, that could change, but . . . he seems serious about it.

  165. 165.

    another Holocene human

    @efgoldman: rmoney = weak government state

    Mass has had some real doozies–Cellucci? Swift? Romney did try to do that Godzilla thing. Rah rah me OWN executive agencies. Repaint those trash cans! Leadership!

  172. 172.

    Peale

    @Jay C: who lost Iran? I’m sure we’ll hear more about how Hillary blinked on that important question as we approach the election time. I mean real men rush in where fools dare not enter.

  174. 174.

    Sherparick

    @scav: To be crushed. And for being a champion of their resentments and hatreds, and saving them $50.00 a year on their tax bill, he is loved in the suburbs and rural areas of Wisconsin.

  176. 176.

    Sherparick

    In their continuing argument with the Obama of their dreams, not the real President, Joe, Walker, Christie, kind of ignore the fact that whether one agrees with it or not (and many on this blog certainly do not agree with the military campaigns), the President has been bombing/droning the hell out of ISIS, the Taliban, Al Qaeda in Yemen, whatever the loonies are called in Somalia, etc. But apparently the President does not approach the world with appropriate sneer of contempt that all except white Brits (CPAC’s shout out to the UKIP is so appropriate) should receive from an American “leader.”

  177. 177.

    GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)

    @efgoldman:
    Both houses of the WI leg. are republican controlled, and a majority of WI’s congressional delgation are republicans. Wisconsin is a purple state. It is only blue in presidential politics.

  179. 179.

    boatboy_srq

    @Hal: The problem with the South is modern HVAC. If you live an air-conditioned life (A/C home to A/C car to A/C office to A/C restaurant to A/C shopping etc etc) then heat doesn’t register on your consciousness: it’s all hot, but you’re not in it enough to notice, and the times you are you expect something like it. Cold, on the other hand, registers higher: your heat is running more, your windows are closed, and you need heavier clothing when you’re outside. Snow, in addition, is visible and tangible proof of cold weather, so it hits multiple senses. Add to that the cheap utility season is now a lot more expensive; Southern homes may not have the same heating efficiency as Northern ones because they have needed so little of it, and because home insulation is one of those Northern treehugger things nobody thought to install (the house I’m in, for example, was built in the 90s and had single-pane sash windows until last year – and the selling feature of the new windows wasn’t keeping heat in but keeping heat out). Until the South experiences Sahara-grade heat waves, cold will register much higher on the Southern consciousness than heat.

  180. 180.

    Bill

    @Tom Q: This.

    Plus Scooter has problems on the home front. His base – which in no small part elected him on promises to get the state budget in order – is none to happy with the $2 billion budget deficit his tax cuts have left us with. His recent proposals to slash the UW budget by $300, million while simultaneously committing $250 million to a new basketball arena for the Bucks have even Republicans in the legislature upset.

    He will be the right’s darling for a few debates (like Newt, Perry and Cain last time), and then the “sensible” people from Wall Street will make sure Jeb gets the nomination. (Like Mitt)

    Scooter’s 15 minutes are almost up.

  181. 181.

    The Moar You Know

    I think it could have been an accident, nothing points to suicide.

    @Soprano2: He called the cops from his own bathrooom, made them bring his sister to the house, yelled at her through the bathroom door to “take care of the kids” and then shot himself in the head with the gun he always carried on his ankle.

    You can debate the cause all you like but he killed himself.

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