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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: Rick Sanctorum, from Almost-Hero to Zero

Open Thread: Rick Sanctorum, from Almost-Hero to Zero

by Anne Laurie|  May 27, 20159:53 pm| 87 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Open Threads, Religious Nuts 2, Republican Stupidity

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Santorum's"Unleash Our Pride" song shoots to top of… hey, where is the "Funniest Things on the Internet Now" list? https://t.co/gBx61NqAmA

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) May 27, 2015

Okay, I personally think it’s a mistake to misunderestimate Rick ‘Midwestern Torquemada‘ Sanctorum, because I can remember when no sensible person believed that a majority of American voters would chose an aging B-movie star who’d been eking out his SAG residuals on the rubber-chicken circuit for GE. (Never underestimate the power of the Spite Voter in American politics.) But the consensus is strong that Sanctorum, despite being the It’s-His-Turn runner-up in the 2012 Repub primary, is so far past his sell-by date as to be suitable only for mockery.

Robert Costa, at the Washington Post, with the perfect lede for today’s announcement:

CABOT, Pa. — Rick Santorum, the brusque and deeply conservative former senator who won nearly a dozen contests in the 2012 race for the Republican nomination, announced here Wednesday that he would seek to recapture that fleeting magic by entering a crowded primary likely to be far more difficult than the last…

“Americans don’t need another president tied to big government or big money,” Santorum said. “Today is the day we are going to begin to fight back.”

It marks the latest comeback attempt by Santorum, who vaulted from relative obscurity in 2012 to win the Iowa caucuses and 10 other states — only to fade into obscurity again after Mitt Romney clinched the nomination…

Santorum struck a defiant tone here Wednesday on his return to the political stage, shrugging off naysayers in his party who dismiss his candidacy as an underfunded and last-gasp effort for a politician who until his string of victories in 2012 was a little-known ex-legislator and who lost his 2006 Senate race by nearly 18 points…

Foster Friess tells me he spent $26k on private jet to get here. Plans to support Santo again, but 'I will be harder to track'

— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) May 27, 2015

Meredith Shiner, at Yahoo Politics, refers to Santorum as “The original Ted Cruz, but with George W. Bush baggage“:

… As a senator, Santorum didn’t seem to care for Capitol decorum or what his colleagues thought of him, which at the time was rare but now is par for the course. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey was famously overheard asking a colleague whether “Santorum” was “Latin for” the name of a bodily orifice used to describe a person you might not think so highly of. Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., reportedly had equally choice and disdainful words, characterizing Santorum as both young and a “little” something that emanates from that aforementioned bodily orifice…

And yet, Santorum has something that the Santorum 2.0s do not have: 16 years of inside-the-Beltway experience, comprising four years in the House and 12 years in the Senate. The length of his résumé, and voting record, throws a wrench into what has become a significant piece of the conservative political narrative, which is to embrace the state of being a political outsider over all else.

Santorum’s congressional record is largely what would be expected by a voter who knew him only through his brief but relatively successful 2012 presidential campaign: Of the six laws for which he was lead sponsor, two related to abortion rights… But as much as Santorum was a pain in the side of his colleagues and a social conservative, he also was inextricably tied to former President George W. Bush at the time of his Senate defeat in 2006 to Bob Casey, a Democrat who still holds the seat. Santorum had leveraged his conservative bona fides to get a seat at the Senate leadership table, something current conservatives seem less intent on doing — perhaps because they’re all running for president — and was a staunch defender of the Iraq War…


Harry Enten, at FiveThirtyEight Politics, has some interesting charts & numbers to support his thesis that “Rick Santorum, like many other candidates running for president, has very little shot at the nomination. But unlike most of the other also-rans, Santorum’s second White House run will likely be revealing of the 2016 GOP field: He’s a good yardstick…”

However, if Trip Gabriel’s article is any indication, the NYTimes has decided to be kinder to Santorum than to any of the Democratic candidates pushing progressive economic policies…

Rick Santorum, the runner-up in the Republican nomination race four years ago, announced his second presidential bid on Wednesday, pledging to restore a middle class “hollowed out” by government policies.

“Working families don’t need another president tied to big government or big money,” he said, criticizing Hillary Rodham Clinton and “big business” for pro-immigration policies he said had undercut American workers…

At times, his unwillingness to emphasize the issues that worked for him in 2012 — opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage — and his decision to criticize his own party for being obsessed with cutting taxes for the rich have made him seem the boldest candidate in the race…

Addressing 1,000 evangelicals in Iowa last month — at a forum where Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin read from a Christian devotional and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called on believers to fall to their knees in prayer to stop the Supreme Court from legalizing same-sex marriage — Mr. Santorum called for an increase in the minimum wage, and for Republicans to reach out to the majority of Americans without a college degree.

He criticized his party for being stuck “with a 35-year-old message on the economy,” namely cutting taxes for the rich…

Maybe the Times feels it can afford to be generous to a no-hoper like Santorum, as opposed to their derision when the very same topics are broached by Democrats like HRClinton, or Sen. Sanders?

LOLing that my live feed is frozen on this pic of Santorum happy family and supporters. #Santorum2016 pic.twitter.com/0rganWPNdz

— Jennifer Hayden (@Scout_Finch) May 27, 2015

Collective thought bubble: Why are we here? https://t.co/Hai2OzYjOx

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) May 27, 2015

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Previous Post: « Still Creating Their Own Reality
Next Post: Late Night Open Thread: People Who Are Not Getting The GOP Nomination »

Reader Interactions

87Comments

  1. 1.

    muddy

    May 27, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    No C in Santorum!

  2. 2.

    Baud

    May 27, 2015 at 9:57 pm

    Where does he stand on the Duggers?

  3. 3.

    ruemara

    May 27, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    Well, here’s a better candidate. Viking Kitty. Why? It just cracks me the hell up.

  4. 4.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    what number candidate are we at now?

  5. 5.

    ThresherK

    May 27, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    Did not remember his was the second clown-nose over the finish line of the 2012 GOP cavalcade. But every blurb I’ve read reminds me of this with so much, well, approval.

    When’s the last time I heard any uptalking of a Dem who finished second in a primary for anything?

  6. 6.

    Baud

    May 27, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Reagan, at least, was a moderately successful two-term governor of the biggest, most important state.

    And the Democrats really were in disarray.

  7. 7.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    IT’S HIS TURN!!!!!!!!!11!!! ELEVEN!!11!!!!!

  8. 8.

    Brachiator

    May 27, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Unleash our pride? Did Santorum come out of the closet?

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    May 27, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    Read an article about how circa 2000 low rise jeans for women were supposed to make a comeback. Can 1980’s sweater vests be far behind?

  10. 10.

    Felonius Monk

    May 27, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    We still gets our kix from the Man of the Frothy Mix.

  11. 11.

    Anne Laurie

    May 27, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    @muddy:

    No C in Santorum!

    It’s my pun on ‘sanctimonious’

  12. 12.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    Since it’s an open thread:

    What a bizarre day!

    I began with a nice taste of utter schadenfreude at the FIFA indictments, and happy to see all this corruption tackled for once.

    As I am reading the details in the NYT I see my cousin’s name in the list of those under indictment. It took me a good while to process this and then I remembered that he was indeed some sort of sports promoter. Now the whole FIFA soap opera is a family soap opera since his father was raised by my grandmother and my dad and his dad grew up practically like brothers. Bizarre too since we just talked to his parents this weekend. I finally was able to hunt some details in The Miami Herald (the rest of the papers are naturally focusing on the FIFA higherups) and learned that he was arrested and will be moved to nyc for his racketeering trial after making an appearance in Federal Court in Miami. Aside from the shock, I feel bad for his two young daughters, his wife and his parents.

    Also: if I had known he was freaking connected to world soccer I would have asked him for tickets, now it’s too late./snark

  13. 13.

    muddy

    May 27, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    @Anne Laurie: His sanctum sanctorum is full of santorum.

  14. 14.

    Baud

    May 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    I thought it was a play on “scrotum.”

  15. 15.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    Open Thread…great.

    So, ya know I love Patrick Swayze. I like Keanu Reeves. I HAVE NEVER LIKED POINT BREAK! So this remake of the original does NOTHING for me. Though I will admit the “extreme” footage is interesting.

    Point Break – Official Trailer

    Besides as someone said, didn’t they already did a remake of “Point Break”? It’s called Fast and the Furious!

  16. 16.

    the Conster

    May 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @Valdivia:

    Loretta Lynch is being treated like a rock star in the international press.

  17. 17.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @efgoldman: I shan’t sleep.

  18. 18.

    Anne Laurie

    May 27, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Reagan, at least, was a moderately successful two-term governor of the biggest, most important state.

    I don’t think Republican voters, at least, have gotten more discerning over the ensuing thirty years.

    Half the promoters of this year’s candidates seem to be playing a private game of “how horrible does our guy have to be before the generic ‘R’ fails to garner significant attention/funding?”

  19. 19.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    The GOP presidential hopeful field, where all geese are swans, and every candidate is above average, and bold and refreshing, and very interesting to watch.

    Will they take Perry’s excuse that he had some sort of undefined (last I read, it was totally undefined) health issue that made him seem like a total dummy last cycle?

  20. 20.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @lamh36: But it had Lori Petty.

  21. 21.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @the Conster:

    I saw that. On twitter futbol fans were calling her the best player, deserving of the golden boot, and Champion of the Golden Cup. Specially in Lat Am, where everyone knows the soccer federations are corrupt and no one ever gets punished, this is such welcome news.

  22. 22.

    Cacti

    May 27, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    I figure with the crowded field and newer shinier models of religious nut bags like Raphael Cruz, Rih Santorum will have a short stay in 2016.

  23. 23.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @Anne Laurie: Both you and ef are confusing the earthly Reagan with the Zombie Godhead Reagan. There is a big difference. Before anything was, Zombie Godhead Reagan, Father of GOP is.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    May 27, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    @efgoldman:

    unless it was her US attorney’s office that ran it.

    It was, apparently.

  25. 25.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    May 27, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    I didn’t realize that low rise jeans had ever gone out of style. As a woman shaped like an upside-down triangle (big shoulders, no hips), you will drag my low-rise jeans out of my cold, dead hands.

    Of course, since I don’t have hips, I never had the plumber’s crack/exposed thong issue that women with hips were exposing, so I should be able to keep wearing my low-rise jeans into old age.

  26. 26.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    @efgoldman:

    unless it was her US attorney’s office that ran it.

    It was.

  27. 27.

    danielx

    May 27, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    Can’t wait for the Republican primary debates, as these assholes vie (by choice or necessity) to out-crazy each other.

  28. 28.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: still…HATED IT.

    I kinda have hard times sometimes with movies from that era, cause alot of the time I just can’t help think about how “white” that movie really was. I mean South Cali, surfing, Swazye in that bleach blond weave…meh. And I LOVE ME SOME SWAZYE!

    At least with the Fast and Furious, they always had an ethnically diverse cast. Even with Kathryn Bigelow as the director, I just couldn’t get past the lack of diversity.

  29. 29.

    Zinsky

    May 27, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    And what is this turd burglar’s “message”? Turn America into one big Bible study and prayer group? Yeah, that’s a fer sure winner….

  30. 30.

    ruemara

    May 27, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    @lamh36: Did you catch that link I left for you last night of 15 year old The Rock?

  31. 31.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    A little make ya smile story of the day:

    Meet the 97-Year-Old Who Was Surprised by Obama on Her ‘Field Trip’ to the White House

    Vivian Bailey, 97, never had the chance to go on a field trip as a child, but on Tuesday, she took the “field trip” of her dreams to the White House and was even surprised by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

    “It was quite a surprise! I had no idea we were going to meet the president and the vice president, and it was awesome,” Bailey told ABC News. “It was a dream come true.”

    Here is video footage of Ms Bailey fro FoxDC:

    “Best Field Trip Ever

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    May 27, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    @lamh36: The original Point Break was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. I wonder if she would be interested in doing an action film now?

    And oddly enough, the director of this remake was the director of photography for Fast and Furious.

  33. 33.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    @ruemara: I dd not. I’ve had a really busy weekend that continued thru this week. So I haven’t caught up on much of anything. Just random postings

    What thread?

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    @lamh36: I commented on an earlier thread today that as one of the people who the folks who do the website Stuff White People Like were lampooning, I don’t really have a lot of room to judge. The cast of the movie was blaze-ingly white now that I think about it. And, of course, the “now that I think about it ” is the point. I am still trying to learn.

  35. 35.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    @Brachiator: yeah. I was just reading that on IMDB.

    Didn’t know that. Still, as I said above, as much as I love Swayze and Reeves, Point Break just didn’t do anything for me. I always have to suspend belief, but some movies I can’t help finding myself noticing just how non-diverse the cast truly is. Point Break was one of the first movies that I just couldn’t stand to watch cause of lack of diversity

  36. 36.

    cokane

    May 27, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    Santorum will be the nominee imo. Walks the right line between crazy Christian and Mammon loving free market guy. Both has experience and can play the Washington outsider card.

    Is also the only candidate who has ever won a state in a prez nomination race.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    May 27, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    @lamh36:

    Damn, that’s a sweet story.

  38. 38.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ve always been aware of it. But it’s was so rare to even see myself represented in a “big budget” film back in the day, that it’s not until I re-watch 80s movies that I realize just how non-diverse they really were. And in some cases, when they did have a minority character, it was a caricature.

    Example: I remember loving Revenge of the Nerds, but watching now as an adult Black woman, I just DO NOT find it entertaining at all. But I live on my fond memories of it.

  39. 39.

    ruemara

    May 27, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    @lamh36: This one http://www.buzzfeed.com/mrloganrhoades/dwayne-johnson-at-15-totally-looked-like-a-high-school-narc#.bjK9Wkgrre

  40. 40.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    like @Mnemosyne (tablet): said, the low rise jeans never really went away, the styles changed a bit, but they are ubiquitous at stores. While you can now get other higher rise jeans, those are here to stay I am afraid.

  41. 41.

    Mike in NC

    May 27, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    @efgoldman: We moved 7+ hours south from NoVA and I’m still trying to empty our closets of wool and cotton sweaters, flannel shirts, jackets and other stuff that we have exactly no need of.

  42. 42.

    khead

    May 27, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    @lamh36:

    Revenge of the Nerds is a bit…. dated. Loved it in the 80’s, but I was thinking along the same lines as you while having it on in the background this week.

  43. 43.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    @ruemara: Wow. 15 year old Rock was totally my type…lol.

    I was 5’8′ by the time I was in high school and was always one of the tallest girls in my class. I’m still one of the tallest persons in my lab too.

    Then again, the present Rock is still TOTALLY my type ;-)

  44. 44.

    David Koch

    May 27, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    @lamh36: I’ll see you and raise you video of Obama making out with Rosiey the Riveter

    A real life ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who worked on a shipyard during World War II sneaked a kiss on the lips from President Obama during an official visit to the White House.

    The kiss took place when the original six ‘Rosie the Riveters’ made a visit to Washington in the hopes of fulfilling one of their dreams, which was actually getting a hug from Joe Biden.

    But the ladies got a bit more than they bargained for, when in addition to the Vice President, President Obama entered the oval office, before hugging and kissing the ladies in a row.

    But one of the Riveter’s, as shown in the video, decided to set her sights solely on Obama, heading in for a kiss on the lips rather than a straightforward peck on the cheek.

  45. 45.

    Anne Laurie

    May 27, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    @jl:

    Will they take Perry’s excuse that he had some sort of undefined (last I read, it was totally undefined) health issue that made him seem like a total dummy last cycle?

    Even in 2012, I don’t remember it being made a mystery; Perry’s handlers said he was on painkillers after back surgery, and painkillers are a known cause of Brain Fog. (The rude Dem rebuttal was that it had been experimental back surgery, and also, Perry’s Texas fashion loyalty to high-heeled cowboy boots wasn’t gonna help.)

  46. 46.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    @lamh36: That was sort of what I was saying. In the 80s, my world was 95% white – one of my best friends in college was black, but he was not a common sight on our campus and he was the product of a boarding school. My parents loved him and he helped carry my shit up to my room. A night later, he and I rode the elevator in our dorm drinking martinis and listening to Black Flag until we had to be helped to bed. In other words, he was a person and not an in into a part of the US experience that I cannot have any real idea about – no matter how hard I try.

  47. 47.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    @David Koch:

    no video just pics. :(
    but you can definitely see her going straight for the lips. sly thing.

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    @David Koch: Ok, i’m usually up on my non-political Obama coverages…lol.

    I totally missed this one last year…too much.

  49. 49.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 10:56 pm

    @Anne Laurie: Thanks for the info. I did not know that. I didn’t pay enough attention to Rick Perry political gossip at the time. I guess Perry’s people are trotting it out again now because the public impression that he is a dolt really stuck, and the glasses didn’t help that much.

  50. 50.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 10:57 pm

    @Valdivia: For the salacious, there is real action video of the stolen lip smooch at the bottom of the page, with the old Rosie the Riveter poster.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    May 27, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    @lamh36: Well, Keanu is part Hawaiian and Chinese. And a chunk of the surfer universe is still not very diverse. But I know what you mean. The comfortably diverse world of the Fast and Furious films is very different from a lot of standard Hollywood stuff.

  52. 52.

    srv

    May 27, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    I can see a lot of Reagan Democrats voting for this guy if Walker falls out.

    Always good to have a greased backup.

  53. 53.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    @jl:

    oh thank you, off to check :)

    ETA: that was sweet, but that website is a horror.

  54. 54.

    sm*t cl*de

    May 27, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    16 years of inside-the-Beltway experience, comprising four years in the House and 12 years in the Senate.

    “Americans don’t need another president tied to big government or big money,” Santorum said.

    First hit from searching “Santorum outsider”:
    ‘Outsider’ candidate Santorum collected millions in corporate PAC money

  55. 55.

    Ruckus

    May 27, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    @jl:
    I didn’t know that breathing while republican caused a high risk of stupidity. I thought it came the other way round.

  56. 56.

    catclub

    May 27, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    @jl:

    because the public impression that he is a dolt really stuck

    I am not sure how many republican primary voters will sympathize with the hillbilly heroin defense.
    Now General election, probably more.

  57. 57.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 27, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    @efgoldman: Rih Savonarola bombed out as a one-term senator, losing his re-election bid by 20%

    He served two terms as US Senator.

  58. 58.

    Mandalay

    May 27, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    The Moustache Of Understanding comes as close as he ever will to admitting that he has been spewing lies, nonsense and bullshit since 9/11….

    We’ve spent more than a decade of lives and treasure trying to “fight terrorism” to fix a part of the world that can’t be fixed from the outside. It has been a waste. I wish it had worked. The world would be better for it. But it didn’t. And the beginning of wisdom is admitting that and stopping throwing good money after bad.

    The vile, irresponsible dumbfuck is a little late to the party, but he finally made it.

  59. 59.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    @Brachiator: Speaking of Hawaii, when I went last year, I recall someone on the plane asking me was I “going back home to Hawaii” or just visiting…lol. I think they saw my size (I’m not a small girl and I’m tall for a girl..lol) my natural hair (it’s really curly, but can look pretty wavy sometimes) and my complexion and I suspect the other passenger thought I may have be Samoan or something…lol.

    I had a big ole laugh sharing that story with my sisters.

  60. 60.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    @Mandalay: I would want him beaten within an inch of death, if I were the kind of person who wanted someone beaten within an inch of death.

  61. 61.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Here’s Bob Woodward on the Iraq decision making me want to beat him within an inch of his death.

  62. 62.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    @Mandalay:I don’t think so. Where in that column of bad history and ignorance does Friedman show any self-awareness?

    He complains about the failure of intervention and subsequent failure to development effective policy. But surely that was some other goofball’s plan. Not Friedman’s. Friedman wanted to hit the Middle East with a big stick and burst a bubble to show them we wouldn’t take no more shit from them. That failure to find an effective strategy, I don’t see any sign Friedman thinks that’s his problem. Somebody else blew that one, not Tom. To be fair it wasn’t his solution, to the extent he had any informed and coherent thoughts on the issue. Which I don’t think he did.

    Thomas Friedman sums up the Iraq war… (5/29/2003)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwFaSpca_3Q

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 27, 2015 at 11:27 pm

    @Valdivia: No, let’s not anyway. We are better, yes? We may want, but we are better. Even if it requires an effort.

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    May 27, 2015 at 11:27 pm

    @lamh36:

    The Rock is doing one of the main voices in the 2018 Disney animated movie “Moana”:

    http://www.accesshollywood.com/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-talks-singing-in-moana_article_106084

    They’re trying to cast voices who are at least part Polynesian (as you know, he’s half Samoan) since that’s where the movie takes place.

  65. 65.

    BruceFromOhio

    May 27, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    @Felonius Monk: For about one-tenth of one second, I almost feel sorry for him. Then I remember why he was branded thusly, and that feeling is gone.

    Oddly, when I think of Santorum and all of his (its?) frothy, lubricated glory, I also think of George Tierney of Greenville South Carolina.

  66. 66.

    khead

    May 27, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    @BruceFromOhio:

    Your post reminded me of Kirby Delauter.

  67. 67.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes, it takes some effort but in the end we wouldn’t do it. Though hard not to feel the urge when you read that self congratulatory and exculpatory dribble. The truth is that I am not good with violence anyway.

    By the way, forgot to thank you earlier for the Monte Cristo recommendation. It’s at the top of my movie list now. Gracias!

  68. 68.

    sparrow

    May 27, 2015 at 11:44 pm

    Yay, an open thread.

    I have been put on the couch for the night. Not by a disagreement with my SO, but by a wayward bat that found it’s way into the apartment, and is now quarantined in the back bedrooms by the only working door in this circa-1915 apartment!

    Last time Animal Control came and got the bat in under an hour. I’m not so sanguine this time. But knowing bats, he’ll just be chilling on the wall takin’ a nap when they do get here.

    I am sorry they have to kill them to test for rabies. :(

  69. 69.

    jl

    May 27, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    @Valdivia: Well, hell, Woodward read all that nonsense in a big fat book he wrote. Can you blame him for thinking it’s true?

    But I am in good mood and charitable since looks like a certain California team is going to the finals. minute and a half left and Golden State up by 11.

    Woohoo, baseball and basketball champs in same year! And yes, I am counting chicken before they hatch. Cleveland? pfffft….

  70. 70.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    @jl:

    don’t count chickens yet :)
    I am cheering for the Golden State team out of loyalty to my best friend. I finally get to do that in the finals.

    I have developed a deep dislike for Woodward, during the Bush years he contributed a lot to the mythology of the war.

  71. 71.

    lamh36

    May 27, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    Well I’ll be damn!

    I don’t watch the Big Bang Theory as much as I used to, but I just saw the season finale, and I’ll admit, I gasped at the last bit with Sheldon and Amy! I loved when they first kissed, when Sheldon said I love you to Amy, but damn if I didn’t see that ending coming..

    https://youtu.be/LrbggOAbQSE

  72. 72.

    gene108

    May 27, 2015 at 11:56 pm

    One thing I did not realize was happening at Golden State games is Steph’s mom’s in the stand.

    She’s nice-lookin’ and all.

    I remember all the cut-away shots to her in the stands when he and Seth played college ball.

  73. 73.

    Valdivia

    May 27, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    good night you’all.

  74. 74.

    BruceFromOhio

    May 27, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    @khead: He may still be a d!ckhead, but at least he tried to make it right.

    Which reminded me of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

    Which reminded me of Hot L Baltimore, which I’m not linking due to multi-link moderation purgatory policy.

    The internet, it seems, is long and winding road.

  75. 75.

    Full metal Wingnut

    May 27, 2015 at 11:58 pm

    @efgoldman: Two terms, actually. Although I think that makes his losing margin even more embarrassing.

  76. 76.

    Suzanne

    May 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    I am enjoying watching the Rockets lose. Hasta la bye bye.

  77. 77.

    Mike J

    May 28, 2015 at 12:10 am

    Want to throw a sporting event in Qatar?

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    May 28, 2015 at 12:18 am

    @cokane:
    Rest easy–there is no, as in zero, zilch, zip chance Rih gets the nom and his shot at serving as Hillary cannon fodder. He’s too unhinged for the Republican paymasters and has no middle-of-the-road appeal. He’s a sanctimonious prig who can’t contain his massive ego and stupidity long enough for an entire campaign. With the right meds, Walker might but it’s still a stretch.

  79. 79.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    May 28, 2015 at 12:28 am

    @trollhattan:

    We complain about how bad the Republican candidates are but in the last few elections, they’ve at least looked good on paper. W was the popular two-time governor of a large state. McCain was a nationally prominent longtime senator who came close to winning the nomination in 2000. Romney was the former governor of a large blue state.

    What have we got from the Republicans this time around? A lot of youstabees — youstabee governor of Florida, youstabee senator, youstabee pediatric surgeon. Kasich is probably the only halfway plausible person to fit the mold. Wisconsin is too small for anyone to care about Walker, but Ohio may be just big enough.

  80. 80.

    Linnaeus

    May 28, 2015 at 1:06 am

    Rick ‘Midwestern Torquemada‘ Sanctorum

    Born in Virginia, raised in Pennsylvania. Not Midwestern.

  81. 81.

    Mandalay

    May 28, 2015 at 1:16 am

    @Mike J:

    Want to throw a sporting event in Qatar?

    I’m not remotely defending Qatar’s record on how it treats migrant workers, but that is some seriously shit journalism. The chart is comparing death tolls in countries other than Qatar associated with specific sporting events with (all) “Migrant worker deaths since 2010” in Qatar – a huge red flag. The chart is comparing apples with oranges, and of course that will result in a highly negative view of Qatar. Just as showing all migrant worker deaths since 2010 in (say) Russia or China or South Africa instead would surely have presented highly negative views of those countries.

    There are enough real issues relating to migrant workers in Qatar without having to resort to blatant deception.

    ETA: I’ve just read that the Qatari government claims that there have been ZERO deaths associated with the construction for the 2022 World Cup. I don’t know whether that is true or not, and it certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t serious safety issues associated with migrant labor in Qatar, but it does suggest the data used to create that chart is highly suspect.

  82. 82.

    Bubblegum Tate

    May 28, 2015 at 1:52 am

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    What have we got from the Republicans this time around? A lot of youstabees

    Some them are even trying to talk themselves into Carly Fiorina, for fuck’s sake!

  83. 83.

    Mike J

    May 28, 2015 at 1:55 am

    @Mandalay: The population of the UK is ~65M. Between 2010 and 2012, about 450 people were killed on the job in the entire country.

    Qatar has a population of about 2M, and is projected to kill 4,000 migrant workers before the World Cup.

    While it’s not an exact comparison, it’s lopsided enough to make up for it.

  84. 84.

    Mandalay

    May 28, 2015 at 2:30 am

    @Mike J: And you are doing exactly what the folks who created the chart did – picked some numbers that suited your purpose, that don’t directly correspond with the data shown for Qatar. Again, I’m not defending Qatar’s record, but once you starts throwing hard numbers around you need to be comparing apples with apples, and provide links for your sources.

    While it’s not an exact comparison, it’s lopsided enough to make up for it.

    Your point is that Britain obviously has a better safety record, even if the numbers are fudged? Well apparently there was one death in Britain arising from the 2012 Olympics, but the Qatari government insists there have been ZERO deaths arising from the 2022 World Cup (Qatar’s World Cup tournament chief Hassan al-Thawadi claimed that there had been no deaths of migrants working on the construction of World Cup stadiums caused by injuries or industrial accidents.), so that means Qatar has (literally) an infinitely better safety record than Britain when comparing the London Olympics in 2012 with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

    It’s easy to make numbers give you the answer you want, and comparison charts that don’t provide sources for their data, and don’t compare like with like, are worthless.

  85. 85.

    Rugosa

    May 28, 2015 at 7:32 am

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): It’s funny how short memories in fashion (not unlike politics) can be. NYT had an article today about the latest thing in women’s underwear: panties that actually cover your butt. There was a reference to thongs as “traditional.” Funny that outside of Frederick’s of Hollywood, I don’t recall thongs being part of the underwear selection in stores until about 20-25 years ago. (I don’t pay too much attention to these things, so I could have missed this by a few years.) Also, as someone who is built like a fireplug, low-rise jeans are anathema. Not flattering, not comfortable, and the pockets are reduced to mere tokens.

  86. 86.

    Paul in KY

    May 28, 2015 at 9:29 am

    @efgoldman: I’m still waiting for Nehru jackets to return. I’m sure they will, someday…

  87. 87.

    Paul in KY

    May 28, 2015 at 9:33 am

    @cokane: As I’ve said before, I have not lived a good enough life to be rewarded with Ricky Satanum as the 2016 GOP nominee. To me, would be a bigger shock than Bruce Jenner becoming a woman.

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