The tough spot for the other GOP candidates is Trump is wrong about the same stuff they are and right about stuff they'd never admit.
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) July 26, 2015
So, apparently one of Scott Walker’s fundraisers (as opposed to Scott Walker’s funders, David & Charles) called The Donald a hurtful name. Mr. Trump would not let this calumny stand. As reported by Dave Weigel in the Washington Post:
… On Saturday Trump went for the hat trick, gleefully insulting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker because one of Walker’s fundraisers called the billionaire real estate mogul ‘DumbDumb.’
“Finally, I can attack!” Trump said at a packed rally at Oskaloosa High School. “Wisconsin’s doing terribly. It’s in turmoil. The roads are a disaster because they don’t have any money to rebuild them. They’re borrowing money like crazy. They projected a $1 billion surplus, and it turns out to be a deficit of $2.2 billion. The schools are a disaster. The hospitals and education was a disaster. And he was totally in favor of Common Core!”
The mention of the state-driven education standards — from which Walker, like many Republican governors, has walked away — incited a prolonged boo. That was not enough for Trump, who told a story about Walker giving him a “beautiful plaque” out of gratitude for campaign donations and wondered if “Wisconsin paid for it.”
Republicans’ hopes of banishing Trump from their presidential primary may have wilted in the heat of the Iowa summer. On his first visit to the caucus state since the McCain insult, Trump drew a crowd of 1,300 in a city of 11,463. He cleaned up his remarks about veterans, from the stage and in the crowd. He talked with characteristic gusto about “killing in the polls and” securing a spot in the party’s first sanctioned debate, scheduled for Aug. 6.
“I’m going to be there,” Trump told reporters, “much to the chagrin of many people.”…
None of them Democrats! The bit I highlighted would make a great campaign commercial — for the DNC. It is, after all, the truth. (Also, Walker calling anyone else dumb is a page right out of Rove’s playbook, but it would seem the Kochs haven’t been able to hire ratfvckers who can successfully override the perception that Scott Walker always looks and usually sounds like he’s just taken a 2×4 to the back of his head.)
New poll: Trump 28%, Bush 14%, Walker 13%
http://t.co/nkKfQF9oSN
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) July 25, 2015
@jbarro his biggest strength is that he cannot possibly be shamed out of the race
— Dr. Ed (@ICUDrEd) July 25, 2015
And he (probably) can afford it, too — the Washington Post looked at the numbers, such as they are. Doesn’t mean Trump can win, of course (although anyone old enough to remember “No, no — Gary Cooper for President, Ronald Reagan for best friend!” will never say never to the American voters’ potential for inexplicable choices), but the more the “serious” GOP candidates insult him, the more incentive he has to keep running just for spite.
@daveweigel @RobertWargas Trump is a liberal. But if GOP candidates would copy his simple & intelligent strategy they'd be at top of field.
— Paul Hair (@PaulHair1) July 26, 2015
RaflW
Most of what Trump is saying about Wisconsin has the unfortunate characteristic of being true. It’s gotta sting pretty hard for Scotty that all that he has built (er, um destroyed) on his way to positioning for the top is being re-cast by the Donald as what it is: a disaster for working class Republicans, who Trump (the billionaire) connects with better than Walker (the government teat-sucker).
mai naem mobile
I’m excited to see how this ends with Trump. I just want to know the ending, not so much what happens in the middle.
jl
Who is Paul Hair and is he nuts or a satirist or what?
Omnes Omnibus
@jl: Paul Hair is the real name of the thing on Trump’s head.
Cervantes
Or as Schiller and Beethoven put it:
burnspbesq
@jl:
My guess would be that Mr. Hair had a bit too much of the brown acid.
ETA (OT): Jason Isbell’s Newport Folk Festival set can be heard on the NPR Music app, and it is not to be missed.
Ella in New Mexico
Loving Donald Trump more and more.
Not that I’d ever vote for him. But he’s doing some good work for us, that Donald. Good work.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
I believe you meant 1964.
dogwood
@jl:
Trump has been all over the map when it comes to policy. He has spouted off that we need single payer health care, and higher taxes on the wealthy. That tweet isn’t as ridiculous as it might look. The fact that his opponents aren’t bringing it up is testament to how discombobulated they are right now. But then again, these people are afraid angry old white people in Revolutionary War costumes.
SRW1
@Cervantes:
Ode an die Schadenfreude!
dogwood
I want to apologize for all the typos in my posts, but when I try to edit, I’m simply taken back to the front page. I’m using an IPad. Don’t know what the deal is.
Time Travelin'
@Omnes Omnibus: and is styled at Paul’s Boutique.
jl
@efgoldman: During which Reagan built a reputation of having a successful administration and being a responsible moderate conservative. The former involved some smoke and mirrors, and the later probably did too, or maybe Reagan’s view were ‘evolving’, I dunno. But by the time he run a successful campaign for president, Reagan had a reputation as a successful office holder and executive of a large organization that never had to declare bankruptcy, with a state GDP of $112 billion (Note! richer than Trump) and a state budget of around $10 billion.
Omnes Omnibus
@Time Travelin’: Damn right.
Heliopause
Maybe uncomfortable for us on the left to admit, but much of what Trump’s been saying is true. Graham is indeed an idiot. Perry put on glasses to try to look smart. The Walker marionette has no fucking idea what he’s doing. McCain’s a fraud. The country is being run by morons. All that is true.
OK, so he’s also spewed some racist filth. Even Barry Bonds didn’t bat 1.000.
Omnes Omnibus
@Heliopause:
Aside form that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
BobS
@Ella in New Mexico:Michigan Governor John Engler worked hard to deliver Michigan to George the Idiot in the 2000 Republican primary. As a ‘fuck you’ to Engler I voted for the eventual winner John McCain, the only time I’ve ever voted for a Republican. Until I vote for Trump in the Michigan Republican primary next March – a joke of a candidate for a fucking joke of a political party.
GregB
It is beautiful to see Trump rewriting Scott Walker and the Koch Twin’s hagiography of his reign of error and terror in Wisconsin.
Pow, right between those dead, lifeless eyes of Walker.
Cacti
@efgoldman:
Reagan was the ideas of Barry Goldwater with a Hollywood smile and easy charm.
Trump is just Barry Goldwater, the 2016 version.
Kylroy
@jl: Which is why the proper comparison for Trump is not Reagan, but Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi.
Cacti
@Heliopause:
And doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on it.
And insulted prisoners of war as a group.
jl
@Heliopause:
‘ Maybe uncomfortable for us on the left to admit, but much of what Trump’s been saying is true. Graham is indeed an idiot. Perry put on glasses to try to look smart. The Walker marionette has no fucking idea what he’s doing. McCain’s a fraud. ‘
I don’t know why it is uncomfortable to admit that some of the tings Trump says is true. Even Cheney said some true things too, once in a while. Vicious fools, the ignorant, megalomaniacs (Hi, Donald!) and mad people can still have some connection to reality. The problem is they say things that are also complete BS and can’t tell the difference.
Heliopause
@Omnes Omnibus:
“Fucknuts, I was bugfuck to begin with, now my husband’s just been shot in the head in front of me. Whaddaya think? I’m just rolling with the punches right now? ‘Tomorrow is another day!!!’ Happy now?”
Redshift
@Heliopause: Why would it be uncomfortable for those of us on the left to admit that some of Trump’s attacks on his fellow clown car passengers are true? In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve generally been most gleeful when Trump points out things we know are true.
Yes, he’s an awful person who says some horrible things. But that’s a reason not to cite him as an authority when he happens to say something that’s true, not to refrain from cheering on the internecine warfare.
BillinGlendaleCA
I hiked up into the local hills today: Mt. Thom & Tongva Peak.
And proof that LA doesn’t always have smog.
Omnes Omnibus
@Heliopause: Wow. That was quite good. Mean spirited, but good.
Heliopause
@jl:
Name twelve.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: You looked … warm.
ETA: Nice pics.
PurpleGirl
OT (I need some advice):
I live on the 17th floor and have a terrace, roughly 14 ft by 8 ft. At one one time there was a screen but I tore it down because there were some holes and missing sections. Flies haven’t been a problem until very recently. (Tonight I had to kill 4 flies.) I know the flies got in the apartment when I had the upper portions of a window open.) My building management office does not give out names of companies to put up screens, etc. (They want to avoid charges of favoring any one company.)
What kind of home construction company am I looking for?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: It was a tad warm, I had also hiked up about 1000′ and 3 miles.
ETA: I would have gone further, but I was running low on water.
gf120581
Good one. My own personal description of Scotty is, “He had cold, dead eyes that don’t scream ‘I’m a future president,’ but ‘I have a body dump in my basement and the cast of Criminal Minds is raiding it as we speak.'”
Omnes Omnibus
@gf120581:
Yep.
Cervantes
@PurpleGirl:
A tall one.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: I always take twice as much water as I think I need, just to be safe.
jl
@Heliopause: Just pick twelve quotes from Cheney during the Bush I administration about how dumb it would be to invade Iraq and take Baghdad.
And of course, Cheney frequently says true things about all the horrible awful immoral and stupid things he believes and has done. Which is one reason why, if they can catch the guy on a trip outside the US, there will be a lot of self incriminating evidence at his trial in The Hague.
Xenos
Can you pop out the screen frame? Because you could take that to a store and have the put the screening on for you.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I couldn’t find the second bottle before I left(or my hat).
jl
@Redshift: I for one hope that Trump is telling the truth about all the suck-up BS the politicians have done for him as a man with big money. We know that they do it, and it would be nice to have an eye witness account that is reliable. Probably wouldn’t be admissible in court because Trump can be delusional, but we don’t nee that from him.
Mike J
@BillinGlendaleCA: Not today, but Rattlesnake ridge. About the same gain/length.
PurpleGirl
@Xenos: No,the screen frames were attached to parts of the railing and when they restored the concrete of the terrace, they threw away the framing since I didn’t have screening in the frame. It was also looking on the ratty side. This is something I’m responsible for, not the building.
NotMax
@PurpleGirl
You mean window screens or a fully screened-in terrace?
If the former, any halfway decent handyman can do that. Not even all that difficult to learn and do it yourself.
If the latter, that’s a bigger (but not truly major) job. Would suggest getting recommendations of someone skilled at home repairs/improvement from friends or from anyone in the same building who has a screened-in terrace.
PurpleGirl
Should I just call “Home Advisor” or “Angie’s List” to find the right company to help me?
Suzanne
@PurpleGirl: As @Xenos: said, you aren’t looking for a contractor or handyman relly. You should be able to remove the frame of the screen, and buy some new screen material, and restretch it. I think the Home-Lowes-pot stores even do it for you. If you absolutely need someone, a basic handyman should be able to help you out.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: Rattlesnake Ridge, odd name for western WA.
PurpleGirl
@NotMax: Fully screen-in terrace. I’d be tempted to try it myself but I’m on the 17th floor… not too keen on climbing a ladder close to the edge of the terrace.
Omnes Omnibus
@PurpleGirl: I hope it’s not a walk-up.
Suzanne
Amending my earlier comment now that you’ve followed up: if the framing is all gone, you need an entirely new screen, which you can order. Try someplace like this and let me know if you like them, as I am always looking for good vendors.
Amir Khalid
The Donald’s beating up on his opponents because he’s not afraid to throw punches at them and he can land those punches in the right places. He’s the best at making noise and getting attention. He seems to know jack squat about policy and governance; but among this field, and in this race for the nomination, that’s no disadvantage. On the whole, he is objectively the best candidate in the Republican field and deserves to be leading it.
All the above makes me happy.
Diana
@PurpleGirl: most hardware stores sell plastic mesh screen that you can cut with scissors. I have odd-shaped windows, so I just cut to size and tape the screen with black duct tape every summer.
NotMax
@PurpleGirl
Window screens are DIY. Fully screened-in area is more complex.
Again, would suggest scoping out any terraces in the building which are screened-in and knocking on the door or sending a letter to that/those apartment(s) explaining your situation and asking if they might have recommendations.
cckids
@jl:
Not uncomfortable at all. It is merely more proof that Trump is in this for Trump. He could not give a shit about the Republican party or the country.
PurpleGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: We have elevators, lol. (And our own power plant.)
Omnes Omnibus
@PurpleGirl: Well, that’s a relief.
RaflW
@Heliopause: I am not the least bit uncomfortable with any of what you said except the ‘run by morons’ part which is only 3/4ths true: House majority – morons! Senate majority – morons! SCOTUS majority (most of the time) – morons! White House – Obama is not a moron.
PurpleGirl
@Suzanne: Thank you for the link. I’ll explore the site tomorrow.
RaflW
@Amir Khalid:
Tragically, I think you are correct. It is fun to point and laugh, and we should. But it is also absurd & infuriating that our so-called democracy is producing these sociopathic a-holes as ‘leading cadidates.’
I am 99% enjoying the repeated self-inflicted wounds of the modern GOP. But I am 1% worried that Trump will be the president. I live in Minnesota, and Jesse will tell you, freak things do happen when the yahoo vote gets really, really hopped up.
*In hindsight, Ventura was not all bad. And compared to Pawlenty after him, Jesse was damn near good. Yikes.
NotMax
@PurpleGirl
One caveat, which is that the frames for a fully screened-in terrace ought to be very, very securely fastened. There’s likely a local building code ordinance with specifications. Wouldn’t want winds to blow them off at 17 stories up.
PurpleGirl
Everyone thanks for the help.
JustRuss
I love Hair’s (if that is his real name) logic that if the other Republican hopefuls would just mimic Trump, they’d all be leading the pack. Dovetails nicely with the conservative “If janitors would just work harder, they could all be CEOs” meme.
David Koch
He’s in their base killin their dudes.
Tree With Water
I bet in Trump’s mind it’s a done deal, that he already has been elected POTUS. And all the hubbub is simply what a president-elect must endure on the way to being remembered as one of the greats. Who am I kidding? That he must endure on the way to being remembered as THE greatest. Yeah, that’s more like it.
MattF
Trump is deadly on the subject of the R professional political class– Walker is a good example of someone who has never lived in the real world. Ds have an analogous problem, but at least they see the issues and don’t simply deny the problems. The more people who see this, the better for Ds.
Suzanne
So I did not get to the gym today, but I cleaned a large bag of old clothes out of my closet, and baked a cheesecake, took Spawn the Elder back-to-school shopping (idly wondered why graphing calculators cost as much now as they did when I was in high school), and got my house not totally clean but much much more picked up.
Holy balls. How do young children make a mess so damn fast? It seems to violate the laws of space and time.
Mike G
Suck on it Repukes. You’ve spent decades building a propaganda machine to groom aggressive stupidity in the population, and now it’s like an overturned box of mice running in all directions you can’t control.
cokane
you have to wonder what happens if he finishes first in iowa. i still don’t believe he will, but a dreamer can dream
Tree With Water
@RaflW: “But it is also absurd & infuriating that our so-called democracy is producing these sociopathic a-holes as ‘leading candidates”.
I’ll hurt myself tonight, to see if I still feel. But having spent my entire lifetime as witness to the “leading candidate” torch being passed among the likes of republicans Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, GW Bush, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin (et.al)… well, let’s just say your outrage escapes and therefore surprises me.
ascap_scab
When is someone going to figure out he is really TRiUMPh the insult comic dog?
ruemara
The more abusive, arrogant and stupid he is, the more the base loves him. go figure.
J R in WV
@ruemara: Scary, if you ask me.
If he gets the nom, we have to win the regular election no matter what!
redshirt
The Donald might be one of the most liberal Presidents we’ve ever had.
Kathleen
@Omnes Omnibus: I like to call him “Governor Rat Eyes”.
Applejinx
Increase taxes on the rich? I could see him doing that, not because he loves poors but because he means to build Trump High Speed Transport Tubes across the entire country where the Eisenhower Highway System used to be, and because he hates other rich people.
I can actually see Trump going “Here ya go! 95% marginal rates beyond a million. Because fuck you, you’re pussies. I’ll pay them too, and I’ll make it back in eighteen months, will you? No, because you’re losers!”
Not actually savvy economic policy, but it’d be amusing as hell to watch…
Central Planning
@dogwood:
You’re experiencing a variant of FYWP. You should not be surprised. No one else is.
ETA: FYWP while trying to fix the tags