David Axelrod reveals an interesting perk he required before agreeing to come to Washington after helping to orchestrate President Obama’s victory in 2008:
I actually had this interesting conversation with Obama after the election – or, it was probably in the final weeks of the election, when we were thinking about, we knew we were gonna win,” declared Axelrod. “And I said ‘I don’t, you know, I don’t know if I can go.’ And he said ‘Why not?’ And I said, ‘Well, first of all,’ I said, ‘I’ve spent my whole life setting myself up so I could tell anybody I wanted to go fuck themselves. And I’ve walked out of campaigns, and work situations, when I thought it wasn’t right. And, I said, ‘and you can’t say that to the president of the United States.’”
Obama said it would be okay to still drop F bombs on him, just not do so in front of other people.
“And he said ‘Well, you know, that’s probably true. You can’t really say that to the president,’ he said, ‘but…’ And then he made the case why it was important, and so on and so forth,” continued Axelrod. “At the end of it, he said ‘And one other thing.’ ‘What’s that,’ I said. He said: ‘You can tell me to fuck myself. Just don’t do it in front of anybody else.’ So I went.”
Axelrod doesn’t say if he ever exercised that option, at least not in the excerpt published on Buzzfeed.
Open thread!
Humboldtblue
The biggest challenge facing wholesale and universal legalization of marijuana is always going to be the Federal government.
On Monday a federal judge made a ruling that could set the stage for the inevitable clash between the states and the feds — clashes that touch on everything from environmental laws, Federal Parks regulations, banking, transportation and simple possession — but this is yet another small win for legalization efforts, another chink in the massive wall that has been built up around the “war on drugs” in this country.
Keith G
David Axelrod is always a good interview. He is hosting a podcast now. Y’all should look it up. It’s good. He interviewed Sanders among others.
Benw
WTF? GFY or GTFO, FFS!
srv
Principal hates democracy:
If only someone would do that to the democratic candidates.
dmsilev
Hahahahahahahahahaha!:
More Brinks Trucks, STAT!
PurpleGirl
My last boss could be very picky and snarky. I was able to answer her back and others in the office wondered how I could put up with her. The key was I could be snarky back to her, I could answer her back but not publicly. In her office, door open or not, but quietly, I could talk back to her. And she and I could forget about whatever the incident was within minutes and go back to working together.
Karen S.
@dmsilev: And where oh where is Right to Rise? Shouldn’t he/she/it be chiming in now to tell us not to worry because Jeb? still has all that UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH?!!!!
Brachiator
@Humboldtblue:
I think states started to quietly retreat on anti-alcohol activities, and this started to chip away at Prohibition. I guess it will take the same type of action to chip away at anti-marijuana laws.
Amir Khalid
@dmsilev:
Jeb’s money would have been a real help to a competent candidate, but I for one didn’t realise at first how incompetent Jeb was. Are there any Republican candidates left in this cycle who are competent enough to take advantage of UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH, and tractable enough to take it on the donors’ terms? Desperate billionaires want to know.
dmsilev
@Amir Khalid: Rubio is about the only one that comes to mind, and that’s a stretch.
I wonder when the ‘Draft Romney’ movement will start…
Tenar Darell
I think this bit has been around from the beginning of the interwebs. I had it as a .wav file at one point.
NSFW. (Or Presidents)
Brachiator
@dmsilev:
It really would be something to see Jeb! drop out from the race. Even if the Moneymen feel good with Rubio or Cruz as backups, this would really be interesting.
From the latest CNN poll results:
I still don’t know how this relates to strength in the primaries, but a chunk of GOP voters clearly are not happy with the mainstream GOP candidates.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/20/politics/poll-donald-trump-ben-carson-gop/
David Koch
PPP – New Hampshire Oct 2-4 (August poll in parentheses)
Clinton…………….41% (35)
Sanders…………..33% (42)
Biden………………11% (n/a)
Without Biden
Clinton…………….45% (35)
Sanders…………..35% (42)
What a difference a debate makes.
ruemara
The one mistake the powerful always make is to forget to have an honest person to advise them. Including an honest go fuck yourself.
Bracing myself for the last workout of the week. Probably will crawl back home and fall asleep in front of the computer while responding to emails. Remind me not to do this again.
Roger Moore
@Amir Khalid:
The underlying problem is that when politicians get used to having their money people make all the decisions for them, they get out of practice making their own decisions.
Yatsuno
@Humboldtblue:
This is a HUGE problem for both medical and recreational users that needs to get fixed. The IRS requires businesses to file their business taxes via online system. If not they get fined 10% of the total deposit. And you can’t use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System without a bank account.
This doesn’t include the other ways pot businesses get screwed, like business tax writeoffs such as depreciation. The whole drug regime just needs to end.
oldster
Axelrod’s anecdote gives us an interesting window into Obama’s own navigation of his role and authority. I think Obama suspected, accurately, that observers would be very quick to seize on disrespect from a close advisor (e.g. D.A.) as evidence that Obama was not the real power, that he was a figurehead or puppet. That was not an impression that he was willing to permit; it would not have been true, and it would have undermined his authority.
It’s interesting that this is one of the few charges that the wingnuts have *not* thrown at him. Even when they were freaking out over “teleprompters,” they never suggested that he was being scripted by some particular power-behind-the-thrown. Nobody ever suggested that he was like a GWB to Axelrod’s Cheney, or anyone else’s Cheney either.
(I mean, Bill Ayers, sure, but not on a daily basis.)
JPL
@Brachiator: The Brinks trucks got lost.
peach flavored shampoo
@Brachiator: Wow, the day I see Republicans nominate a Black man as the presidential candidate is the day I’ve assumed I’ve finally moved into that alternate universe. Not to mention, a candidate with zero, zilch, nada experience in any politics whatsoever and completely clueless on all the major issues.
It’s as if Republicans starting demanding that their banker perform their root canal and their dentist invest their money. Just bizzaro.
M. Bouffant
“Get this:
Fuck that!
I don’t owe you fuckers anything
And all I’ve got to say is:
FUCK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!”
Nat’l. Lampoon’s Radio Dinner
Elie
@David Koch:
Now just to navigate the Benghazi hearing on Thurs. Lord knows what selective “leaks” will be put out by Gowdy…
In other good news, some speculation on Kos that Boehner doesn’t have the Republican votes to close the gap (along with all the Democrats) to raise the debt ceiling. THAT is bad… what options are there if that is the case?
Peale
@Brachiator: The advantage of Bush’s money was supposed to be that he could buy up the organization so that no one else could have it. Romney did that last time and the grifters could not keep up, or like Newt’s staff, forgot to get on the ballot in Virginia so he could follow up on his win in SC.
I think at some point, they had to hope that Trump would spend enough of his own money that he’d drop out. Bush was supposed to make it expensive for the other candidates to run. Not working. I think Bush is spending serious money, but can’t get anyone to bankrupt themselves. It’s like spending money to build hotels in Monopoly only to have everyone purposefully spend their time in jail.
Brachiator
So, Webb has dropped out. He’ll have plenty of time to line up for Star Wars tickets.
The biggest fans have been taken care of. Now, it’s just a matter of whether the film is any good.
David Koch
PPP – New Hampshire Oct 2-4
Trump………………28%
Rubio………………12%
Carson…………….11%
Kasich……………..10%
¿Jeb?……………….9%◄
Cruz…………………8%
Fiorina………………7%
It’s never been about religion. Those guys don’t care about Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount, they’re Archie Bunker voters who just want to stick to the “others” and cloak their hate with the bible.
Peale
@Elie: Cut social security at the Republicans request and hope that voters remember to vote for candidates who will restore it after the rubble clears?
Simply shut down the government and hope that the voters remember to vote for people who will reopen it?
OzarkHillbilly
@ruemara: Don’t do this again.
David Koch
The Chairwoman/President of the Canadian Liberal Party Anna Gainey is way fucking cute
Face
@Brachiator: If theaters are smart, they’d be showing the movie in at least half of their rooms, and stay open 24 hours doing so, at least for the first 2 weeks. There really is no question that damn near every American over the age of 30 is going to see this movie.
SatanicPanic
@oldster: I’ve heard Jonathan Gruber, Valerie Jarrett and Saul Alinsky
Elie
@Peale:
sigh —
are we really there, for Pete’s sake?
Gin & Tonic
@David Koch: It was the same with their support of Ronaldus Maximus, a divorced guy who, IIRC, never darkened the doors of any house of worship.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Word is tix already being hawked online for a grand.
What’s the rush? It’s not like it is going to close after a week.
Brachiator
@Peale:
Doesn’t matter much if the candidate is weak, as was the case with Romney and now, apparently, Bush.
I don’t Jeb! saw Trump coming or had any plan to deal with him. Also, to date, no one has spent much money, especially on TV campaigns.
Bush is sitting on a pile of cash, and has the backing of the mainstream and the Koch boys, but Jeb!’s name is rapidly becoming poison, neutralizing any money and organizational advantage he previously had.
Roger Moore
@Peale:
The problem is that only works with the campaign’s own money. SuperPACs can buy media exposure, but they can’t pay for campaign staff because that inevitable involves coordination with the campaign.
Yatsuno
@Elie: Trillion dollar platinum coin. I’m not really interested in having my pay cut thank you very much.
@David Koch: Not to be that guy, but the new Prime Minister of Canada is pretty fine too.
lgerard
Looks like JEB! is going to be out of a JOB! before too long.
Betty Cracker
@Amir Khalid: I still think Jeb pulls this off eventually. I could be wrong, of course. But remember 2008, when Giuliani was the early “front-runner,” Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, McCain’s campaign ran out of money and the Republicans were desperately casting about for an alternative before finally settling on McCain?
People are saying this election will be different, that the establishment is dead and connections and CoC cash don’t have the same value. Maybe. But I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
David Koch
@Gin & Tonic: yup. And as Rosalynn Carter famously said, “Reagan makes people feel comfortable about their prejudices.”
That’s all they wanted. They didn’t care about the silly ass Russians or voo doo economics. They wanted George Wallace with a smile.
Gin & Tonic
@Yatsuno: The PM’s wife is easy on the eyes, too, if you swing that way.
NotMax
@Face
Little interest in seeing it. Perhaps after it comes out on disc. Plus cannot attend the theaters here as am violently allergic to something in them, unlike the interiors of the old venues they replaced.
Last time braved any of the theaters here was for Phantom Menace, and (mercifully) fell asleep about halfway through that turkey.
trollhattan
@dmsilev: @Amir Khalid:
I don’t know how anybody outside Florida could have foreseen the pathetic deer-in-headlights edition Bushspawn we’re so enjoying as he falls on his kisser, daily. Patience and timing and money won’t salvage this trainwreck. I have the sticking fork, just holler when you need it.
David Koch
@Betty Cracker: Last night O’Reilly told his cult followers they should consider voting for Mittens to save the party.
We know that Mittens is secretly polling NH.
I have to think BillO is being told by his paymasters to prep the ground for a late Mittens entry.
Brachiator
@ruemara:
Nowadays, everybody wants to be a biga shot.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
Too right. And unlike ye oulde days, you don’t have to shop for a 70mm theater and don’t have to worry about viewing a clean, unscratched print.
Betty Cracker
@David Koch: I would bet a substantial sum that Mittens will not be the 2016 GOP nominee. If I didn’t suspect it’s possible Mittens himself buys into that loony “white horse” prophesy business, I’d bet Mittens wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw his hat into the ring, but maybe he does believe it. Oh well, every circus needs dancing horses, amirite?
Yatsuno
@Gin & Tonic: Agreed. I’m gay not blind. :P
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
Me, me, me! We’ve not had a dream PM’s wife since Sarkozi was shown the door. Bunga-bunga.
Iowa Old Lady
When are the cutoff dates for candidates to enter primaries? Isn’t there some sort of procedure that has to be followed that takes time?
Elie
I am sure the administration is modeling different alternative actions given various actions taken or not taken in the House.
Man, I would hate to be President of the US right now! How unbelievable and stressful! How does he minimize the risk and damage to our country with these fools? Truly, this is just unbelievable.
..And the two columns in the NYT today, the first Brooks is a whinny “Oh how did this happen — we have no spiritual integrity in the world anymore — boo hoo. Then the other Republican apologist, Peter Wehner, complaining about the horror of Carson and how this came about (omitting the party’s role in eschewing facts, science and responsible governance).
burnspbesq
@Humboldtblue:
Well, duh. There is that small matter of the Supremacy Clause and its offspring, federal preemption. Still surprised that the statute in question gets reauthorized by a Republican-controlled Congress on an annual basis (unless McConnell is a closet stoner, which I’m inclined to doubt).
Also note the identity of the district judge. Justice Breyer routinely recuses himself in cases that originate in his brother’s courtroom.
trollhattan
@David Koch:
Were it only so. With a hundred current candidates already in the fightin’ cage, should the actual Republican powers that be have to toss a 4th quarter hail Mary to somebody NOT running, it’s desperation like we’ve never seen. I like the smell of flopsweat when it’s not my own.
Elie
@trollhattan:
Haven’t you noticed, there are no effective Republican “powers that be”. Not clear anyone is listening to anybody in the Reptilican party. We are all Jurassic Park all the time…As long as they just eat each other, I am cool….
SatanicPanic
@Yatsuno: Trillion dollar platinum coin for sure. There’s no reason to continue to bother with precedent anymore, and you could just take the whole dumb argument off the table forever. Obama has to do it.
schrodinger's cat
@Elie: NYT’s op-ed page is ludicrous, its like their competing with WSJ and Washpost to see who is worst.
Bill Arnold
@oldster:
I heard (verbally) precisely that from a wingnut about 2 years ago, that he (B Obama) was Axelrod’s pawn.
David Koch
@Brachiator: Maybe the President can get us tickets to some of the early screenings:
Elie
@SatanicPanic:
You have to be careful walking the path away from precedent when you already have one party out of bounds. The last thing we need is for the whole system on both sides of the ball to go off the grid to making it up as we go. Not sure that is a solution, though I understand the attractiveness of the option. The system is already wobbling badly.. if both sides do it, can we reel it back to “normal”? You know that the reaction to such a move on the other side would not be calm or rational. It would be civil war by other means… Better we find another way to thread the needle while staying in bounds. Yes, I am a cautious person who tends to worry, but I see a lot at stake here… can we pull the table cloth out while leaving all the dishes in place?
Peale
@NotMax: I would like to see it first, then post a detailed spoiling rant here, ruining it for everyone else.
I think that might be worth $500.
Actually, Jeb might be able to ratchet up support for his campaign if he had his unaffiliated superpac buy tickets for the less fortunate. Then give 2 tickets to each Huckabee supporter, who are probably more disappointed that his voters are at the moment.
Bobby Thomson
@Betty Cracker: McCain never polled that badly in 2008.
This looks a lot more like 2012, with Trump in the Romney role. I can’t see a Republican not currently in the top six coming out of nowhere to win it. There’s no event that is suddenly going to electrify the Kasich campaign.
And I can’t see the Republicans nominating someone other than a white guy when a substantial portion of them want to build a wall on the Mexican border. That leaves Trump and Bush, and Bush has turned out to be astonishingly bad at campaigning. The only two counters I see are “Republicans haven’t nominated an outsider since Reagan,” which is weak tea, and “Trump doesn’t have endorsements of elected Republicans,” and he doesn’t need them.
mclaren
Democrats are in denial. Their party is actually in deep trouble, Matthew Yglesias, Vox.com, 19 October, 2015.
rikyrah
@David Koch:
You crack me up with your GOP poll numbers, pointing out Jeb. I LOL everytime.
Matt McIrvin
@Face: I heard that for the premiere of The Force Awakens, they’ve currently booked every IMAX theater in the United States. It is not going to be possible to see an IMAX movie other than that for the opening weekend.
trollhattan
@Elie:
Hard to argue in 2015 but I guess I’m still waiting for the other [bespoke English wingtip] to drop, the way it did in 2000, 2008 and 2012. They didn’t have the cast of critters they have now, but they corralled all the non-doctrinaire folks effectively and ran Their Man the way they preferred.
Suppose 2015’s YUUUGE, classy impediment is one they didn’t recon on and who’s proving shockingly immovable.
ETA When the brothers Koch finally go to Trump does David sit on Charles’ shoulders to kiss his ass, or vice versa?
Matt McIrvin
@mclaren: We already talked about that article here, didn’t we? It’s deeply weird: not that what Yglesias says is false, but he’s treating phenomena that we’ve been worrying about around here for years as if they were things that only he is brave enough to say.
mclaren
@Elie:
Tons of options.
Folks, remember that the debt ceiling resolution is not written into the constitution. It’s a purely procedural matter — meaning, the president is free to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling by executive order if he feels like it, and he has excellent constitutional justification for doing so, since the constitution does require congress to pass a budget annually.
There are so many options for getting around the Freedom Caucus it’s simply a non-issue. Obama can raise the debt ceiling by executive order. Or he can peel off some Republicans when the heat from Wall Street gets so intense it turns the Freedom Caucus into charcoal briquettes. Or he can use the silly platinum coin thing.
There will not be a government shutdown this year. There will not be a recession because the debt ceiling resolution was not passed. Just not gonna happen.
Peale
I wonder who gets to open up against the Force Awakens.
Mandalay
@David Koch:
I think you are right about that, and religion has had little to do with Huckabee swirling around the bowl. His problem with Republican voters is that occasionally he tells the truth and talks like Bernie Sanders:
Huckabee is a nasty piece of work with some vile and sick ideas, but I have to give him credit for that excellent rant.
SatanicPanic
@Elie: But there’s no reason for the debt limit anyway- plenty of countries operate without one. Basically we’d just be taking one of the GOP’s sticks and breaking it. Without it, the GOP becomes less powerful.
Elie
@mclaren:
Hope that you are right….
Remember, this occurs in a highly politicized environment where the President is questioned constantly about doing what has been done by previous Presidents. But if needs be, then so be it. War by other means.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Yatsuno:
It has taken me a while to get here, but I am now in favor of legalizing and regulating pot. I’m not entirely sure all of the legalization fans are fully aware of what they’re in for, though. I’m prepared to hear all kinds of whining about the mean jackbooted thugs who keep enforcing anti-smoking regulations.
Elie
@SatanicPanic:
Again, is not that we need the debt limit, or that it can’t be removed or manipulated. Its the next step to “impeach” anything Obama has to do to go forward and all the chaos that will result from that attempt. What must be must be, I guess.
mclaren
@Peale:
Huckabee has already proposed selling poor people who are in debt into slavery. Jeb could buy the indebted slaves from Huckabee and order them to vote Bush in the primary. That might work.
Mike J
@Face:
There are a half dozen other films I’d rather see before Star Wars. Especially since I know the theaters are going to maximize revenue by running an additional seven and a half hours of ads before the movie.
Bobby Thomson
@mclaren: were you alive in 2013?
SatanicPanic
@Elie: They would have impeached Obama already if they thought it would benefit them. They’re already basically doing nothing and not allowing any bills to pass, what else can they do now? Hold up court appointments- doing that. I guess when Hillary tries to nominate a Supreme Court justice we’ll find out if they’re willing to go that far. Otherwise, I don’t know. At least ending the debt ceiling would take away one threat they can make.
The Pale Scot
This should be mandated by law in every contract
Mandalay
@mclaren:
Alternatively, you can pay your debts by giving blood.
Sick beyond words.
Gin & Tonic
@Mike J: Here’s what someone says on Deadspin:
trollhattan
@SatanicPanic:
I remember fall 2012 some Republican honcho confidently proclaiming that if Obama somehow managed to win he would nevertheless be impeached and out of office soon after taking the oath. I think on accounta Benghazi.
They’re still workiin’ on it.
Redshift
@Brachiator:
Romney had some serious flaws, but he was never as weak as Jeb!. You at least got the sense he was running the show, and successfully using his vulture-capitalist experience to shiv the other contenders. Jeb! just exudes an entitled second generation sensibility. He tries to claim that “Right to Rise” means economic opportunity for everyone, but the obvious meaning is “I have the right to be president, you peons!”
This is why I don’t think much of the “dynasty” knock against Hillary. Dynasty means generations, because many children of powerful people think they’re entitled to everything their parents got, without learning any of the skills that got them there. Our political system is still backward enough that being the wife of a successful politician is one of the main routes to high office for women, and that just gets them a shot; they still need to have the skills to make it from there.
Betty Cracker
@Bobby Thomson: Not in 2008 but in some polls at about this time of year in 2007, McCain was in single digits and the mighty Giuliani and Fred Fucking Thompson were kicking his ass. Plus, it was a smaller field.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): BTW, I was listening to the Cordkiller’s podcast, about cable alternatives, and one program segment is called “What Are You Watching?”
One guest mentioned various recent movies and TV shows and then one guy said, “I’ve been listening to this musical called “Hamilton” nonstop. It’s absolutely brilliant.”
I guess I should take this as a sign from the heavens.
rikyrah
@Face:
I think so too.
Elie
@SatanicPanic:
I see your point. Hopefully, they have boxed themselves in and their inability to organize themselves or anything will not continue to be so attractive to so many… Its just striking to me that no matter what bizarre statements are made by the candidates, or the ongoing lack of resolution of the Speaker issue, they still find support in enough of their constituency to continue their antics…
MobiusKlein
@srv: and WTF do you know about Everett Middle School in SF, and if there is a specific history there the principal is working with or against.
beltane
@Mike J: I was already completely immune to the charms of the Star Wars franchise back in 5th grade when I walked out of The Empire Strikes Back due to boredom overload.
SatanicPanic
@Elie: I think there are large percentages of voters who aren’t going to be persuaded. I honestly don’t know what we can do as a nation except make the best of it.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@mclaren:
I have heard multiple Democrats screaming about that exact same thing since at least 2008. If Yglesias is saying that the Democratic establishment in New York and DC needs to wake up, that’s great, but the grassroots has been screaming about this for years now.
Iowa Old Lady
One of the things I remember liking about the original Star Wars is that is gave us a used universe. Instead of shiny machines, we got the Millennium Falcon.
Elie
@Iowa Old Lady:
So true! But there were plenty of robots and a rich assortment of intergalactic diversity in the beings from around the universe. There was not only acceptance of that diversity, but a sense that it was fun and desirable.
I noticed in The Martian that there weren’t ANY robotics…it minimized the role of any machine assists or artificial intelligence. One of the heroes who helped solve the problem was a rumpled black genius who did his initial calculations on his laptop and had them “confirmed” by a supercomputer but there weren’t too many decision support assists evident. It was decidedly human in focus which was nice but a bit odd given where we are already.
misterpuff
Mr. Axelrod, you have a constitutional right to say FU. You just have to do it correctly.
WH Style Guide: Proper Ettiquette for F Bombing POTUS:
“I said, Fuck You. MISTER PRESIDENT”
F Bomber must rise to stand before performing F Bombing. Be prepared to be wrestled to the ground by drunk and syphilitic Secret Service agents.
Peale
@Gin & Tonic: I kind of agree. The idea of what the star wars films could be is always far ahead of what they were.
I’m still waiting for Yoda to be brought to trial for bringing the storm troopers into the republic and working so hard to suppress all forms of the dark side that he couldn’t see that he was responsible for its reemergence. Just because the emperor turned out to be worse doesn’t mean the Jedi should be off the hook for their gross mismanagement and poor judgement. Hopefully this movie won’t be so much about the reemergence of the dark side (seen it!), but focus more on a group of modern suburbanites who are fed up with the “dark” and “light” labels and are looking for competence and reform.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Brachiator:
If you like that initial “Hamilton Mixtape” video, you’ll probably like the rest of it, because it gives a good sense of the kind of energy the show has. If it leaves you cold, you probably won’t like it.
I’ve been wandering around humming “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” all day, so obviously I’ve made my choice.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I was just looking at the NYT review by Ben Brantley
Sounds like it’s worth a look.
ETA: There’s also a slideshow and video clip that I will take a look at later.
Peale
@Mandalay: I thought that during 2008/9 when inflation was so low that congress passed a fix to raise a COLA that wasn’t warranted by the formula – giving recipients an adjustment. Congress should be falling over itself again to “correct” this “mistake.” (although it isn’t a mistake). If they aren’t perhaps seniors should call their reprepsentatives to ask why instead Republicans are proposing cuts instead.
There. Problem solved.
Honestly, I’m surprised more republicans aren’t making hay about the COLA. The democrats are taking your money and giving it to illegal aliens is what this election is supposed to be about.
Svensker
@peach flavored shampoo:
We know a couple of pretty racists teabaggers and they all loooovvvve them some Ben Carson. Even the Georgia teabaggers. Ben Carson is one of the Good Coloreds. (this is snark, don’t jump down mah throat)
Bobby Thomson
@Betty Cracker: over 40% of Republicans are saying they wouldn’t vote for Bush. That makes it pretty damn hard for him to consolidate. And his ad blitz in NH had negative results. If he can’t at least crack the top three there he’s cooked.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Brachiator:
If you have Spotify, there’s a playlist for the whole soundtrack. Be warned, there’s really heart-wrenching stuff in Act 2. We were listening to it on a car trip and I was full-out sobbing at some of it.
Roger Moore
@trollhattan:
But in case you haven’t noticed, they’ve had more and more trouble corralling the crazy every time. In 2000, the main contenders were both establishment figures, with the closest fringe candidate being Alan Keyes. In 2008, you had more contenders, and it took a bit longer, but the big contenders were still establishment figures and the fringe candidates were never serious challengers. In 2012, there were a whole series of crazy candidates who took the lead temporarily, and Santorum kept pushing Romney for quite a while, but Romney stayed a solid second. Now, the same wacko fringe candidate has been holding the lead for months with several other wacko fringe candidates polling better than the top establishment candidate. Maybe the establishment will manage to take charge again, but it’s going to be a long, bitter fight for them to get there.
Bobby Thomson
@Peale: that’s some quality trolling there. I bet you could get WaPo or the NYT to bite.
BalloonJuiceLurker
@Peale: Alvin and the Chipmunks 4. (I’m not kidding)
gene108
@Mandalay:
It’s not confiscation. We get something in return.
Otherwise, Huckabee’s criticism is making a bureaucratic issue seem like a deliberate attempt to shaft people. Maybe change the way the CPI is calculated, so it favors stuff seniors buy.
He’s riling up people against “big evil government” more than his fellow Republicans.
He’s had what passes for a populist streak among Republicans. This was on display in 2008, when he was the only one talking about ways to help the middle class. Whether or not his solutions would have actually helped is different, but he tried to address it.
For better or worse, the Club for Growth stabbed him in the back for raising taxes as governor of Arkansas.*
* The Huckster had to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling to better fund schools, so he raised taxes. Killed is ’08 Presidential bid.
schrodinger's cat
@Brachiator: I have been hearing the two released songs from Bajirao Mastani over and over again. Love the juxtaposition of Marathi and the Sufi Urdu/Hindi lyrics in Deewani Mastani, and the blending of a 400+ year old aarti that is still in common use and well known and the poem written for the movie, in Gajanana, nothing short of brilliant. Also, the period details of the outfits. They have got everything from jewelry to marks on the foreheads, right. I am impressed.
Hindi movies are usually very north centric (where most of the Hindi speakers live) so a movie that gets specifics of the Maratha history and culture right is novel.
*My family is ancestrally from the state of Maharashtra, since forever.
Roger Moore
@Mandalay:
And what if they aren’t eligible blood donors for some reason? Just as an obvious example, using a syringe to take any drug not prescribed by your doctor, even once, makes you lifetime ineligible to donate. Since some of those people were apparently there for drug crimes, there’s a good bet at least one of them is disqualified by that rule. Is the judge endangering the safety of our blood supply by effectively encouraging people to lie about their eligibility?
sm*t cl*de
@Gin & Tonic:
From the perspective of a telibangelist voter, which candidate is more flattering to your ego? The one who belongs to your purported religion, and has always belonged to it, and tries every day to live according to its principles; or the opportunistic hypocrit who is universally known to have no moral values except ‘expedience’ but who panders to you shamelessly with bullsh1t about a recent conversion?
schrodinger's cat
@Roger Moore: Also you could have a history of blood disorders, traveled outside the country etc, which could make you ineligible to give blood.
Elie
@schrodinger’s cat:
All of the above. Sheesh….
trollhattan
@Roger Moore:
All true, it seems like the tire swing gets pushed progressively harder with each cycle. But their crazies are pretty uninspiring this go. I’d voluntarily listen to Herman Cain just for the entertainment, Crazy eyes for the possibility she’d pull a knife and begin stabbing. None of these mooks is remotely as interesting. Except you know who. Remove The Donald from the equation and I’d guess Walker would still be in and battling Rubio. We’ll never know because he trashed the joint and mom and dad never came home..
gene108
@Peale:
Yoda and the Jedi’s held the galaxy together for 1,000 years. You’d have had a Sith led Empire sooner, if not for the Jedi.
The Jedi’s problem is they were never actual managers. They were the errand boys of the Senate, who were deputed to fight the fires of the Republic, as they sprung up.
They were never allowed or never allowed themselves to put together an actual management plan of what they wanted the galactic Republic to be like.
Also, if I’d criticize the Jedi and Yoda, it is for not buying Shmi Skywalker out of slavery*. They have to have had a petty cash account somewhere, and this would’ve made Anakin a lot happier. Emotional attachments are not so easily purged, once formed and they refused to realize how their training had limits in this regard.
* Also, bitch slap Padme for this. Your a fucking big shot on Naboo, this kid came out of nowhere to save your planet, and the least you could do is put his mom up, who you know is stuck in a shitty situation.
Betty Cracker
@Bobby Thomson: I agree; eventually, he’ll have to start moving up or he’s toast. My point is it’s too early to write him off now, which a lot of folks are doing. There are 10+ debates coming up, and it’s not even 2016. Unlike some of his competitors, Bush has enough cash to stick around for the long haul.
Jayzus, I’m starting to sound like our one-note troll! Maybe I’m just not willing to accept that there won’t be a Bush beat-down administered by Hillary. But I really do think he’s still the candidate with the best chance to get the nomination.
Mandalay
@gene108:
Huckabee is primarily going after his rivals such as the supposedly moderate Kasich, who has made cuts to social security and Medicare part of his platform.
WereBear
@schrodinger’s cat: I love it when a movie gets stuff right.
Elie
@trollhattan:
They are interesting enough for a majority of the Republican party to jump into crazy land as these people being qualified to be President. What is so obvious to me is that a good piece of the conservative MSM like Brooks, and even the Republican leadership may have thought they were having a “wink wink” understanding that crazy was just a cover, a ruse just to gain power and then rationality (of a sort) would recommence. Now the joke is on them and the populace of hooded insurrectionists that they coddled and built over the last 3 decades at least, are lighting their torches and collecting pitchforks for the push into the gates. They aren’t even pretending that they have any idea how to get on top of the situation to re-institute order — they are casting about looking at each other while possum head and the brother from another planet are spraying everyone with crazy glitter. No one — no one has ANY idea how ANY of this ends.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Roger Moore:
In general, I don’t think it’s a bad idea for judges to start saying that they’ll let people do X amount of community service instead of going to jail if they can’t afford a fine. But the blood drive may not be the best place to start.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
After three or four “debates” will anybody keep watching the gazillion others? I envision them losing influence with each subsequent round, i.e. after #4 or 5 nobody can turn their campaign based on their performance.
Brachiator
@schrodinger’s cat:
Are there any examples or versions of this available on YouTube?
BTW, do you have any opinion on the TV show “Quantico,” and it’s star Priyanka Chopra? I didn’t know anything about her, or how she was chosen for this show, because it is unconventional casting, given most of what you see on American TV.
The show is good, serviceable drama, and I think it is doing well in the ratings, but Chopra is hugely charismatic. Some guys at the office are in love with her. The thing I find odd and amazing is that apparently she is flies back to India to film a movie there. That has got to be an insane schedule.
Roger Moore
@schrodinger’s cat:
Come to think of it, one of the questions I’m always asked is if in the past year I’ve spent more than 72 hours in jail, which it seems extremely likely applies to some of those people. Other likely disqualifications:
Tattoo or body piercing- 1 year ineligibility
Living or having sex with somebody who has hepatitis- 1 year ineligibility
Having sex with somebody who has used non-prescribed injected drugs- 1 year ineligibility
Woman having sex with a man who has ever had homosexual sex- 1 year ineligibility
Using non-prescribed injected drugs- permanent ineligibility
Man having gay sex- permanent ineligibility
Having malaria, HIV, or other persistent blood-born diseases- permanent ineligibility
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
My bigger complaint is that uniform fines as a punishment are inherently discriminatory. You have to scale fines to people’s ability to pay, or something that is a minor annoyance to some people will be a crippling one to others. The problem is that they’re instituting fines primarily as a revenue generator rather than as a punishment, and that winds up twisting everything. I honestly think that one of the things we ought to be doing is requiring states to even out local government funding for basic public health and safety functions the same way they’re now required to even out education funding. It gets to the real root of the problem rather than just attacking the symptom of local government using fines to raise revenues.
schrodinger's cat
@Brachiator: Actually, I don’t know much about Priyanka Chopra. I haven’t watched Quantico, so no opinion about that either. She plays Bajirao’s wife Kashibai, in Bajirao Mastani. The one sitting in the balcony in Deewani Mastani.
Link to Gajanana (Gaja = Elephant, Anana : face)
Bajirao dealt a death blow to the Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb’s death (1700s). Bajirao was a Brahmin and Mastani was Muslim, their relationship did not go down well with his orthodox family. In some ways their story is as old as India itself.
Kshatriyas can marry more than once but not Brahmins, so the rest of Bajirao’s family never recognized their relationship, they were on team Kashi. There were many attempts on Mastani’s life. She died shortly after Bajirao’s death.
Bajirao and Mastani’s son died in the third battle of Panipat in 1761.
HumboldtBlue
@Yatsuno: Right now it’s the biggest stumbling black to the burgeoning business owners in Oregon. I haven’t read up on Washington or Colorado but it’s already an issue that’s been addressed by officials in California including Governor Brown and our local electeds. It must change.
@Brachiator: Yup, slow and steady it appears will lead to the walls crumbling.
@burnspbesq: I was caught out by the fact that the order was contained in a Republican spending bill as well and although I don’t have references at hand, the issue is one where political foes have reached across the aisle to cooperate. In Sacramento the three bills Brown signed that regulate Medical Marijuana in a far more detailed fashion passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support even thought the Republican votes weren’t needed.
The Western states in particular have seen great compromise between lawmakers when it comes to environmental issues such as drought and fire prevention/protection. And yes, I noticed the importance of the name, this is an issue that will never see the Supremes but it will affect how medi-marijuana is treated in the fuutre.
Frankensteinbeck
@Betty Cracker:
I don’t know WHAT’S going to happen anymore. I’m sure that A) nobody can take down Trump but Trump, and B) Jeb:( is a terrible, terrible, godawful campaigner. Trump could implode at any moment, or go through and get the nomination. He did build a campaign organization, didn’t he? He’s been knocking out the establishment candidates who should be smacking Jeb:( around, so Jeb:( could pull a ‘last man standing’ if the Trumpularity happens. I could see it. I believe Rubio’s still available, and as bad as he is, he’s a better campaigner than Bush 3: Direct To Video. I’ve never seen anything like this election.
Okay, I am sure of one more thing. C) Carson is not going to win the nomination. The racists he panders to are thrilled to have him as a sidekick validating their beliefs, but if it looks like he might actually become their boss, they will turn on him.
Calouste
@Bobby Thomson: Also, even though Giulliani was leading in nation-wide polls in 2007 for a long stretch, he never was in the lead in either Iowa or New Hampshire, except for an odd poll or two. The only surprise was that his support already started to collapse before he lost badly in the first primaries, instead of afterwards. Trump on the other hand has been leading nation wide and in pretty much every single early primary state that has been polled. He’s polling higher in Florida than Bush and Rubio, the two native sons, combined.
burnspbesq
@HumboldtBlue:
FWIW, I haven’t smoked since college, but I am completely OK with legalization in CA. I want to put the illegal growers up by you out of business; they are doing incalculable damage to a very sensitive, very important ecosystem. See, e.g.,
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-marijuana-environment-20150922-story.html
Exurban Mom
@Peale: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. https://youtu.be/R11L9cI1dFE
David Koch
+