Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Infrastructure week. at last.

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

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

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

The revolution will be supervised.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

T R E 4 5 O N

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

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / Hillary Clinton 2016 / Open Thread: Benghazi!!!, the Musical — Early Reviews Not Good

Open Thread: Benghazi!!!, the Musical — Early Reviews Not Good

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Reader Interactions

330Comments

  1. 1.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I’ll add one more from a well know Hillary apologist

    kathleenparker ‏@ kathleenparker 52m52 minutes ago
    Any claim that this isn’t political is absurd on its face. Congrats, Republicans.

    I’ll be looking (not hard) for conservatives who think, like me, that Gowdy’s biggest mistake was picking his members (I assume he at least has strong input, since they all seem to have bought into the “experienced, serious prosecutor” line)

  3. 3.

    Trentrunner

    …And some say that Hillary is still testifying to this day…

    Wait, she is. Jesus Christ.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    After almost 12 hours of this Trey Gowdy has finally got to what he thinks is his “Gotcha!” moment.
    It’s not all that great, Gowdy. She is twisting him around her finger.

  6. 6.

    ms_canadada

    And they won’t STOP! Jeebus, Americans, someone stop this shit show. Get that Howdy Gowdy to STFU. ENOUGH!
    (Sorry for shouting.)

  7. 7.

    PaulW

    The only thing I’ve learned from 10 HOURS AND COUNTING of this enhanced interrogation of Hillary Clinton is that according to the news ticker at the bottom of the MSNBC screen the lead singer for Three Dog Night died today.

    The twitter feed I’m getting is mostly of people sympathizing with Hillary and calling this committee the farce that it is. Right now a lot of wavering Dems worried about Hillary’s electability are falling for her and willing to vote her in just to give House Republicans a massive F_CK YOU.

  11. 11.

    Corner Stone

    I think that’s Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (CA) who patiently keeps asking the chair to do its job. I think I may become a fan of hers.

  14. 14.

    Steve from Antioch

    I stayed on the elliptical for an extra hour at the gym so I could watch more of it. I would much prefer Bernie Sanders on the WH but Clinton was fantastic. Questioners ranged from petulant to incomprehensible.

    Huge plus for Clinton today.

  18. 18.

    Jerzy Russian

    What movie is that last image taken from?

    I liked the tweet about the serious question from Tammy Duckworth.

  21. 21.

    Corner Stone

    Language Gowdy used at the end there kinda threatens that another call to testify before the cmte may be coming for Hitlery.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    A performance of the full Ring Cycle of Wagner’s operas takes 15 hours. Sounds like we’re about 2/3rds of the way there.

    Of course, opera companies are usually smart enough to spread it out over several days rather than force the audience to watch the entire thing in one go.

  27. 27.

    Rising Above

    POLITICO:Clinton, Gowdy, Spare over Benghazi.

    Ever heard of the old sales technique called FUD? Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.

    That was the purpose of today, and if that’s the Politico headline, our side won and won big.

    Fear, uncertainty, doubt, all planted today.

    The typical low-info Ohio swing voter: “If there’s smoke, there must be fire!”

  28. 28.

    SoupCatcher

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): I’m watching msnbc. Just saw Mike Honda side five Elijah Cummings and say, “Nice job.”

    eta It was nice to see Clinton staying around afterwards – talking, shaking hands, posing for pictures – still owning the space eleven hours later.

  29. 29.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    Attempting to turn this into an open thread rather than a continuation of the last one, I get the copy edits for Becoming Phoebe back tomorrow. I’m really interested to see what they look like, aside from a lot of numbers being turned back into numerals rather than spelled out, since my copy editor disagrees with my main editor on the best way for dates and statistics to be presented. FWIW, I agree with my copy editor and only went along with the switch to spelling out based upon my firm belief that I have no idea what sort of presentation works best for other readers.

  30. 30.

    Corner Stone

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Surely you mean aborted babies?

    Only for when she doesn’t have time for the full sacrifice with candles and goat prayers.
    Hey, not everyone has that kind of time every week, give her a fucking break.

  33. 33.

    Peale

    @redshirt: well, after Gulf War II, and our inability to extract ourselves from Afghanistan after 15 years, Meddling there rates pretty high on the second order list of wondrous moments brought to us by our foreign policy. I think it’s below almost going to war with Russisa over Ten square miles of East Ossentia, refusing Irans overtures after 9/11, carving out a Christian homeland in South Sudan, shutting off all contact with North Korea so they could restart their nuclear program.

  38. 38.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wow. Parker is nothing but a Republican. Thanks Gowdy! Even your political hacks can read the writing on the wall.
    Love that Secretary Clinton is shaking hands after an 11 hour grilling. She’s so cool!

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Andrea Mitchell: “A panel of former prosecutors, skilled lawyers”
    Jim Jordan and the Roby person who wanted to sniff the Clintons’ sheets were prosecutors?

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    @shell:

    Wow, the harder he tries to grill Clinton, the sweatier Gowdy gets.

    Unlike Peak Wingnut, which is a damnable lie, could there exist a Peak Shiny?
    If there is, Gowdy has the high peak for it.

  44. 44.

    Rising Above

    Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. Plant that in the mind of swing voters, and then energize the conservative base.

    That was the goal today. And it was accomplished.

  45. 45.

    Keith G

    The thing is, HRC is not a great campaigner, but she is great at this kind of stuff.

    So this committee gave Hillary hours/days/weeks of narratives playing out on countless platforms demonstrating how good she can be.

    That’s quite a solid.

  46. 46.

    Rising Above

    @Mark B.:

    FUD.

    F…U…D.

    Republicans know how to sell, sell sell sell. And because of that, we know all the psychological tricks.

  50. 50.

    Mark B.

    Are they done interviewing her, or are they inviting her back tomorrow to whip them some more?

  51. 51.

    Rising Above

    @Marc:

    Jeb exudes a happy confidence.

    Hillary exudes FUD after Benghazi and the emails and now the #BlumenthalConnection

    Even if the MSM wants to spin it to make this neutral, Rush and Drudge will take care of that tomorrow. Period.

  58. 58.

    Patricia Kayden

    @PaulW: Yep. I expect a boost for Secretary Clinton for surviving the Benghazi inquisition. How she stayed coherent for 11 hours is beyond me. I’ll be more than proud to vote for such a strong woman.
    Also good for Rep Cummings! Love him.

  61. 61.

    Rising Above

    “It’s Drudge’s World, and we’re living in it”–Mark Halperin

    Rush and Drudge will be game changers tomorrow.

  64. 64.

    Elizabelle

    Hillary’s doing a campaign appearance with Terry McAuliffe in Old Town Alexandria VA tomorrow.

    Not sure I can go, but would totes turn up to applaud her after 11 hours before that inquisition.

    I remember when Bush and Cheney were subjected to 11 hours over 3,000 dead Americans, and a war of choice …

  70. 70.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think Gowdy knows that. She was shaking hands with supporters in the chamber; photographers trained on her.

    Gowdy walks up the aisle, elicits no interest. Exits the room.

  72. 72.

    BobS

    @Steve from Antioch: I agree with most of what you wrote (except about the extra-time on the ellipitical — I chose to drink when I started watching after getting home from work). All today proved was that she’s tough enough to hold her own — and then some — in a hostile environment. Not many people would have the stamina and self-control she displayed today.

  75. 75.

    Gravenstone

    @redshirt: Digging into the tweet in question, you can find the author states his opinion thus:

    libya war strengthened ISIS and boko haram, enabled a coup in mali & jihadis in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, exacerbated the migrant crisis…

    His words, not Anne Laurie’s

  77. 77.

    JPL

    @Rising Above: Four people died and you don’t appear to care. How’d you feel after Katrina. Winning is not everything.

    file under assholes have to be assholes..

  80. 80.

    dmsilev

    @Rising Above:

    Jeb exudes a happy confidence.

    Please. The man only opens his mouth long enough to change which foot is inserted. At the rate his poll numbers are going, not even an entire fleet of Brinks. Trucks. Backing Up. can make him a happy warrior.

  83. 83.

    MazeDancer

    Totally riveting. Started with “watching some”. Couldn’t stop. The combination of psychology and politics was mesmerizing.

    When Prime Time kicked in, and GOP were getting more frothing at the mouth and sweatier, Twitter started paying attention. Because that’s what Twitter is – joining the country in live events. Which can be sports. Or reality shows. But this time is was watching GOP insanity. So lots of tweets saying WTF? And women outraged at so much mansplaining. Eventually people were sending Hillary money.

    11 friggin hours she went. The GOP were all broken and sweating. She never blinked. Might as well have been an 11 hour Hillary infommercial.

    Not sure what was most shocking. But GOP total lack of unified PR talent right up there. So much foot shooting, so much hole digging.

    All the Dems were impressive. May they all have long careers.

  88. 88.

    Keith G

    @redshirt: One of the worst? That’s arguably overstated.

    The governments that removed the horrible dictator Qaddafi did, in their own little way, repeat part of the US v Iraq mistake. Removing bad guys feels good until worse guys take over…or no one takes over and the state fails.

  91. 91.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    @Rising Above:

    Shit. I can’t tell is this sorry loser is for real or if he (she? it?) is only a bad parody of a sorry loser.

    But, dude, if you’re for real, you need to wake up and deal with your shattered dreams tonight. Believe me, the longer you hold on to them, the harder it’ll be when the world inevitably comes crashing through your fantasies.

    I know. It’s hard to let go of your dreams, to give up on your fondest hopes. But you’ll be glad later if you do this now. Weep into your pillow. Sob yourself to sleep. Let it out. Take a day. Or two. Or a week, or maybe a few months, whatever it takes for you to piece together the shattered remains of your hopes and dreams. Those who love you–if there are such creatures–will gladly give you the time you need to get through your dark place.

  93. 93.

    Gravenstone

    @MazeDancer:

    Because that’s what Twitter is – joining the country in live events.

    A thought experiment; what would Twitter have made of the Watergate hearings?

  97. 97.

    AnotherBruce

    I watched the last couple of hours of this…thing. It was just brutal. The Commission transformed Hillary Clinton into a sympathetic and caring woman in the public’s eye. Her endurance under interrogation will become a legend. 11 hours of grilling and she never lost her composure. Elijah Cummings has been a giant through this whole thing.

    The Republican members are looking very small. Pun totally intended.

  98. 98.

    Heliopause

    this committee hasn’t called Patraeus given CIA’s involvement

    The actual story of Benghazi is the CIA getting their ass kicked, with a little bit of involvement from State. I only saw one pundit even hint at this today.

  99. 99.

    Renie

    Is Rising Above RtR ? Did he have to change his name since the BRINKS TRUCKS are backing up now?

  100. 100.

    Elizabelle

    OT: Director Ava Duvernay’s “Middle of Nowhere” screens on TCM tonight at 1:30 a Eastern. Hear it was good.

    “Daughters of the Dust” up at 9:45 p; just a few minutes from now …

  101. 101.

    SoupCatcher

    I hope what Secretary Clinton did today – stand up to everything they could throw at her, under oath, and come out the other side owning the room – gets in the head of Republicans. I wonder how many of them are reflective enough to realize they couldn’t do what she just did.

  104. 104.

    redshirt

    @Heliopause: Isn’t the actual story is shit happens sometimes and we need to be aware of dangers in foreign countries, especially when we’re destabilizing entire regions? I mean, this is obvious, right?

    And oh yeah, Republicans cut funding for embassy security. Wonder if that’s brought up in these hearings.

  105. 105.

    Gravenstone

    @Renie: RtR got ban hammered for racist bullshittery. So it’s plausible to believe RA is just the cretin behind the keyboard’s attempt to circumvent the ban with a nick and IP change.

  106. 106.

    celticdragonchick

    @Rising Above:

    Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.

    That’s what you were screaming last night when I had you tied up over your bed and wearing that cute little boned basque with the stockings and spike heels while I put some quality welts on your scrawny ass with my riding crop.

    What were you simpering between the yelps and the pleadings for “Hit me again, Mistress!!”

    Oh, yes…

    “I want you to punish me! I want you to beat me like Paul Ryan has it done! My naughty thoughts about liberal college girls are bad and I need to be punished…aaagh!”

    So, more tomorrow night? Pay me upfront, you little bitch. You know the rate.

  108. 108.

    dmsilev

    @Rising Above: You’’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see Jeb~, he’’s crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip him over on his back. Jeb* lays on his back, his belly baking in the hot sun, beating his legs trying to turn himself over, but he can’t, not without your help. But you’’re not helping. Why is that?

  109. 109.

    redshirt

    @Gravenstone:

    RtR got ban hammered for racist bullshittery. So it’s plausible to believe RA is just the cretin behind the keyboard’s attempt to circumvent the ban with a nick and IP change.

    Wow! You think so?

  115. 115.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jamison Foser ‏@ jamisonfoser 57m57 minutes ago
    Just for fun, imagine George W. Bush testifying for 10 hours about *anything.*

  116. 116.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    If you are able to go, please give her an extra thanks from me. I thought she comported herself elegantly and unflappably the entire day. If she can do that with Gowdy, Jordan and company, she can easily do it with Putin, Kim Jung-un, and Bashar al-Assad.

  120. 120.

    MazeDancer

    @Gravenstone:

    A thought experiment; what would Twitter have made of the Watergate hearings?

    Well, Watergate hearings took over much of the country all on their own. But with Twitter, it would have been Super Bowl level participation, IMHO.

    All kinds of people who are on Twitter for TV shows, sports, fandoms, music, other interests, have become political just because so many people who are part of their groups also tweet political stuff. Participatory democracy is helped by Twitter. People are better informed and feel motivated to vote.

    Been thinking we should have teams to help tweet encouragement to people waiting in voting lines in 2016 in red states.

  124. 124.

    Kay

    Robert Costa
    ‏Outside GOP cloakroom tonight, many Rs subdued as they discussed #BenghaziCommittee. No celebrating. Priv say Clinton formidable.

    Oh, yay. Now they’re scared of her.

  128. 128.

    Corner Stone

    @Hawes:

    If it’s a musical, there certainly is a lot of sad trombone.

    It’s more accurate to say there’s a lot of rusty trombone.

  129. 129.

    dmsilev

    @Kay: Reminds of the time back in 2009 or 2010 when the GOP invited Obama to a Q&A session at one of their retreats. They assumed that without his teleprompter, he’d flail around and make a fool of himself; instead, he took on basically the entire caucus, made them look like the idiots that by and large they are, and surprise surprise the GOP never again invited Obama to one of their retreats.

    I’m guessing that Gowdy will decide that he doesn’t need Clinton to come back for another day of this.

  130. 130.

    Anoniminous

    Poll:

    found that a whopping 72 percent of Americans think the panel’s primary purpose is political gain. In contrast, 23 percent said the investigation was objective.

    A surprising number of Republicans—49 percent—acknowledged that the panel is intent on scoring political points against Clinton … with 85 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents agreeing

    FUD: Fucked Up, Dumbasses

  132. 132.

    geg6

    That’s it, she totally won my vote and my volunteerism today. With great enthusiasm. That was masterful and such a tour de force of endurance that she has earned my everlasting admiration. Amazing and every woman should be bursting with pride.

  133. 133.

    SoupCatcher

    I’d love for some staffer to do a quick rename on the committee room. Would be nice for Gowdy to see a “Hillary Clinton Room” plaque on the wall as he shows up for work tomorrow.

  135. 135.

    Heliopause

    @redshirt:

    Isn’t the actual story is shit happens sometimes and we need to be aware of dangers in foreign countries, especially when we’re destabilizing entire regions?

    Well, yes, that’s more or less what I was getting at by pointing out CIA’s centrality to this. It’s the reason that Hillary and everybody else in government were dissembling so much in the talking points.

  137. 137.

    beltane

    @dmsilev: Because they are troglodytes, Republicans just assume that women and non-whites are stupid and incompetent. They are stunned every time they are proven wrong.

  138. 138.

    celticdragonchick

    @PaulW:

    Cut to camera shot of street level view of LA, rainy at night…giant dirigible floating overhead with Japanese language advertising, pan to Deckard waiting in rain to get spot at restaurant…

  140. 140.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: he tweeted out something already about Hillary facial expressions disrespecting the dead of Benghazi

    oe Scarborough ‏@ JoeNBC 4h4 hours ago
    A happy Hillary at hearing. I’m not sure I’d be so ebullient at a hearing involving a U.S. Ambassador’s death.
    Joe Scarborough ‏@ JoeNBC 4h4 hours ago
    Joe Scarborough
    The expressions of Secretary Clinton today are fascinating. One would not know the hearings involved 4 U.S. deaths.

    Get that “One would not know“? That phrasing conveys great, somber Seriousness. I bet he had his glasses on when he typed it, to make it all thoughtful and shit. One would not, indeed.
    ETA: I’m half tempted to look and see if Fournier, Halperin and Woodward retweeted approvingly. But only half. I’ve had enough pompous, phony righteousness for the day.

  142. 142.

    patroclus

    I’d rate the Army-McCarthy and Watergate hearings as better, but I watched 4+ hours and it was riveting theater. I like the Tammy Duckworth tweet the best because she was the only one who actually asked a substantive question – the rest were all Get Hillary or Defend Hillary. She was on her game and a good counter-puncher; the only real emotional moment came when she defended Mike Mullen. The Republicans were clearly the villains; all angry and yes-or-no this or that.

    Because Clinton didn’t really have all that much to do with what happened (other than generally being responsible for overthrowing Gaddafi and leaving a violent factional mess there) at Benghazi that day, I don’t think much will matter ultimately. We already got the Pickering review and recommendations and hopefully are implementing some of them. Otherwise, it’s just a political spectacle that seemed like a campaign appearnace for Clinton with built-in Republican jerks.

  146. 146.

    GregB

    Gowdy comes across as a bitter podunk shitheel.

    Secretary Clinton came off as calm, poised and decent.

  148. 148.

    Elie

    @Rising Above:

    Yes, Gowdy and the gang were like Elmer FUD– trying to get that ‘wascally wabit’

    Give it a rest. How much are they paying you to show up and do this? You are so lame, man. Can you bring some better stuff/

  149. 149.

    dedc79

    Sad news for fans of NPR’s Ed Walker and his “The Big Broadcast”:

    So they assembled last week to record one more, the last of the untold thousands of radio programs Walker has done since he broke into radio as a college student 65 years ago, when Harry Truman was president. Holman was there for the final show, as was audio engineer Tobey Schreiner and a couple of Walker’s radio associates, Rob Bamberger and Bob Bybee. The vehicle was “The Big Broadcast,” the weekly radio-nostalgia program that Walker has hosted for the past 25 years on Washington public station WAMU-FM.

    The setting was Room 623 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. Walker, 83 and battling cancer, had been there a week. He did the show in a hospital gown, connected to a bank of hospital monitors. He insisted on getting out of bed to sit upright. An old pro knows you sound better that way.

    “Good evening, everybody, and welcome to another edition of ‘The Big Broadcast,’ ” he began one last time. “My name is Ed Walker.”

  152. 152.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @Elizabelle: Where and when? I will make a point of showing up. I spent a lot of time campaigning for McAuliffe in 2013 (tho I don’t think much of him) & I’d really like to cheer her on.

  153. 153.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Anoniminous: Rep Schiff was on Rachel Maddow hinting that Dems may drop out. We’ll see since Gowdy ended the hearing by saying that he may call Clinton again.

  155. 155.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Gowdy won’t release the Blumenthal transcripts. As always, can you imagine if a Dem chair were refusing to release testimony in a highly publicized investigation? Chris Ciliza and Andrea Mitchell would die of Concern-induced strokes.

  156. 156.

    Kay

    It is insane that they say stuff like this to reporters:

    Luke Russert
    As I reported earlier, the long hearing was done on purpose trying to make her break. Done under auspice of “it’s our 1 chance to Q her.

    God almighty. “Make her break”. Yeah, well, good luck with that, as it turns out.

  157. 157.

    Johnny Coelacanth

    @Elie: Come on, that ‘Hindenburg’ reference right after another comment about Rush Limbaugh? That was a complete set up. This troll’s pulling our legs.

  158. 158.

    Elie

    @Anoniminous:

    I tend to agree with you…Wrangling with the Democrats can spell Hillary or other testifiers from the inquisition as well as allow the surfacing of new angles to counter their BS. I would not want to have her or any other invited testifiers to appear without other Democrats present and ready to object, or anything else necessary. I also am not sure that Americans watching any proceedings would understand why no Democrats were present and misconstrue their absence. Mostly, I just do not believe that it is helpful to have our people fucked with without a possible disruptor or disruptors to define what is happening.

  160. 160.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kay: the long hearing was done on purpose trying to make her break.

    Little Lord Luckysperm finds a nut. Probably doesn’t know what to do with it.

  161. 161.

    celticdragonchick

    @Renie:

    Oh, I didn’t know that. So it is RtR now with a new attitude!!

    And lace pink panties covering that fine collection of blisters I gifted him on his pimply ass with a riding crop. I was paid very well, thank you.

  163. 163.

    Mark B.

    The Republicans are doing their best to delegitimize the institution of congress. Political shitshows like this make them look like even bigger fools than they already were.

  166. 166.

    Anoniminous

    @Patricia Kayden:

    He won’t. GOP leadership is going to want this thing to end. Clinton and Dems won the PR battle and now every time Benghazi is mentioned it is only going to reinforce the fact the GOP went on a witch hunt and got their heads handed to ’em.

    It is very likely Gowdy and the GOP just handed Clinton the nomination and the election.

    And I say that as a Bernie guy.

  167. 167.

    scav

    @Elie: Course he can’t bring any better stuff. He is the best they have on offer. Anonymous non-sequiturs and trite boilerplate delivered mechanically to a non-appreciative audience. Seems to sum the entire effort, no?

  172. 172.

    SinnedBackwards

    @Rising Above:

    What’s the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenberg?

    One’s a flaming Nazi gasbag, the other’s just a dirigible.

    Surprised you didn’t know, considering all your PR competence.

  176. 176.

    redshirt

    @Renie:

    Oh, I didn’t know that. So it is RtR now with a new attitude!! LOL

    Hi Renie, I’m redshirt. Do you know what a troll is? Do you know how to identify one? Do you know how to respond to one?

  177. 177.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay (not the front-pager):

    As far as I know, this is an outdoor plaza. No ticket required. Event runs noon to 2.

    WHAT: Organizing meeting with Hillary Clinton
    WHEN: Friday, October 23rd, 2015
    11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
    WHERE: Alexandria Market Square
    301 King Street
    Alexandria, Virginia 22314

  180. 180.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @Rising Above: Hey Rising Above, what happened to that *yuge* opportunity research !Jeb? was going to drop on Trump the night of the first debate? It was going to shut Trump down. How’d that work out?

  181. 181.

    redshirt

    @Mark B.:

    Military action not initiated under a Republican administration. Like WWII.

    I’m just asking why AM included it in her mile long tweet quote. I guess it’s because even this guy slightly dissed the Repubs by bringing up Blementhal? I guess?

    UPDATE: A CATASTROPHIC fuck up. 911 times worse than Vietnam.

  182. 182.

    SFAW

    @dmsilev:

    Your parable/story reminded me of Pratchett’s tale of the Bushes, Small Clods – except there’s no Brutha to believe in the tortoise-clod (i.e., Jeb!) named Om (short for Omygodwhatamoron) – the only “believer” is Racist Above.

    ETA: So apparently it was a Blade Runner ref? Oh. Never seen it. (Honest!) I think mine can work, though.

  185. 185.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    Exactly why the Republicans were hell bent on giving Clinton 11 hours in a setting that plays more to her strengths than any other eludes me. Picking the right battlefield is half of good generalship, and Trey Gowdy just revealed himself as the Publius Quinctilius Varus of the 114th Congress.

  186. 186.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I haven’t taken the trouble to go back and look, but wasn’t there quite a lot of controversy when it was first formed as to whether Dems should even bother to participate in this committee? My vague recollection is that Nancy Pelosi was opposed on the grounds that including Dem members would lend an aura of approval and respectability to the proceedings, but that she finally came around because “better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in.”

  187. 187.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Blake Hounshell ‏@ blakehounshell 54m54 minutes ago
    Gowdy draws a blank when asked what new information he learned today.

    I saw the clip and it actually looked worse, he tried to say that “Jimmy Jordan” asked some good questions, but then kind of trailed off into kind of confused incoherence. I don’t think sweaty Hal is gonna get a lot of sleep over the next few days.
    ETA: Li’l Lord Luckysperm suggests that “Jimmy Jordan’s” tantrum about email seven and a half hours in was planned to rattle HRC

  188. 188.

    Danack

    @Rising Above: “Rush and Drudge will be game changers tomorrow.”

    No shit they’ll want to change the game tomorrow, and instead start playing “how fast can we forget about this shitshow of a congressional investigation”.

  189. 189.

    Shakezula

    @Elizabelle: Was this the same intern who put Nazi soldiers on the artwork for one of Trump’s Tweets?

    The BeTribbled One has to stop putting people who flunk the audition for Celebrity Apprentice on his campaign staff?

  190. 190.

    Mark B.

    Seriously, that was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen in politics. They spent about 5-6 hours on a weird obsession with Sidney Blumenthal, which nobody really cares about. After the democrats brought up the uncomfortable possibility of releasing the Blumenthal transcripts, they switched to:

    1. Trying to get Hillary to agree to things that she didn’t actually say, but had a lot of the same words as things that she actually said. “Hey I paraphrased you statement into something that means something completely different. Isn’t that what you said?” “No, that’s not what I said.” Over and over again.

    2. Monday morning quarterbacking. “If you had a time machine, could you have gone back and made some different decisions?” “Maybe …”

    3. Pointless arguing about why the Secretary of State didn’t know immediately all about how the attack occurred and its motivations. More griping about how the explanation evolved as the facts became known. Really weak shit.

  191. 191.

    NotMax

    @Elizabelle

    Nah, it’ll all be how she didn’t demonstrate the fortitude to stand up and throw stuff back in their faces with vigor and robustness, the way a “real man” would have.

    And how her choices of friends and advisers raise questions about her decision-making abilities and professionalism.

    Script already written, they just have to wedge it in between commercials.

  193. 193.

    gogol's wife

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Looks like They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Is that Bruce Dern in the background? I didn’t remember he was in that. Bruce Dern on BJ is almost as good as when DougJ front-paged James Mason’s Thunderbird ad.

    ETA: Of course 30 people answered this question already, but I just wanted to talk about Bruce Dern.

  194. 194.

    Mark B.

    @Alex: that was pretty much the high point for the Republicans. As long as Hillary was coughing, she wasn’t destroying them.

  196. 196.

    redshirt

    @Danack:

    No shit they’ll want to change the game tomorrow, and instead start playing “how fast can we forget about this shitshow of a congressional investigation”.

    “Another AMERICAN soldier dies in Obama’s impotent war in Iraq.”

  198. 198.

    Elizabelle

    @benw: The “Freedom Caucus” name bothers me. Positively Orwellian.

    Against all of FDR’s Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion (just try to be Muslim), Freedom from Want (Taxes! No can do! Takers.), Freedom from Fear (Fear is our guiding principle).

  199. 199.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: President Nixon watched the hearings

    Richard M. Nixon ‏@ dick_nixon 7h7 hours ago
    Gowdy has the appearance and manner of the undertaker who won’t close the casket until the bill is paid.
    Richard M. Nixon ‏@ dick_nixon 2h2 hours ago
    [email protected] TGowdySC Never refuse makeup.

    @Gravenstone: I’m biased but he does seem a bit shell-shocked.

  200. 200.

    Elizabelle

    @Gravenstone: I’d like to think Gowdy and his co-inquisitors helped weave a little bit of Hillary’s coattails for November 2016.

    Missed all but 4 minutes of the marathon Benghazipalooza. Did watch a movie about 2 serial killers (Red Dragon) instead. That was edifying.

  201. 201.

    Eric U.

    @AxelFoley: some people are too dense to see that Bush the lesser’s grand adventure in Iraq tore the ME into shreds and it’s going to take decades or longer to settle things there. In comparison, what we did in Libya is not that big of deal, good or bad.

  203. 203.

    SFAW

    Actually, I think “Rush and Drudge changing the MSM narrative” will be interesting, since the MSM has been giving the Rethugs ample cover since this whole “investigation” clusterfuck started. Maybe the MSM will start doing its job again? And start calling bullshit on the various lies dripping from the lips of Jeb! and the other Rethug candidates.

    Well, actually, it should be “the legitimate Rethug candidates plus Jeb!”

  204. 204.

    Peale

    So the conspiracy is what now? That Hillary talked us into invading Libya so Blumenthal could make money?

  208. 208.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Eric U.: The other thing about it is that, as disastrous as the Libyan adventure was, it wasn’t really either Obama’s or Clinton’s disaster; both were lukewarm on it, as you can tell from the way the U.S. restricted its participation. This particular bit of fail lands at the door of our European allies. They were the ones really gung ho on it, and the main calculation in Washington is that, given the recent history, the U.S. wasn’t really in a position not to go along with a military campaign that they were pushing for.

  209. 209.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was more excited about the “special invite” for a “grassroots organizing meeting” before I realized they were holding it in same spot as the farmer’s market. The word “rally” will do fine.

    “Doors open”? Don’t make me laugh.

    At least the weather is perfect. Maybe should go…

  211. 211.

    Mark B.

    The most prominent feature of the hearings was the complete lack of any interest in fact finding. The Republicans didn’t even try to hide their mission, which was to try and trip up Clinton into making a politically damaging statement.

  212. 212.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    What the hell is with UCLA in black uniforms? Gowdy needs to subpoena testimony from whoever thought that diamond pattern was a good idea.

  213. 213.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I’m biased but he does seem a bit shell-shocked.

    He should be. What was the plan? Make her testify long enough in the hopes she would “break”? That isn’t a plan at all. Why was it so disjointed and meandering? How could they accidentally go off a 3 hour Blumenthal tangent?

    I can’t imagine what they were doing at all those planning meetings. Months of planning and it was a mess.

  214. 214.

    Citizen_X

    @Rising Above: So, after getting your ass kicked out of here as Reich to Rise, you’re back as Rising Above? I’m gonna send Henry Rollins around to slap the JEB? jizz out of you.

  216. 216.

    Elizabelle

    @Redshift: You is going?

    Kinda sounded like an opportunity to look at the back of taller people’s heads, and be a warm body in a crowd … am I being too cynical?

  220. 220.

    feebog

    Allowing HRC to defend Mullins was the worse mistake they could have possibly made. By casting aspersions on Mullin’s asparagus they cast themselves as anti-military and unpatriotic. The Republicans on this committee were not impressive. Gowdy came across as a small town dickwad with an agenda.

  223. 223.

    Mike in NC

    @Elizabelle: I found out today that there is a Republican Liberty Caucus, devoted to glibertarian bullshit. Seems the GOP has trademarked everything having to do with Freedom and Liberty.

  224. 224.

    Gravenstone

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Yeah, everyone seems to forget that whole disdainful Republican refrain that Obama was “leading from behind” while the Europeans did the heavy lifting and got all the glory (and more importantly, first crack at all those supposedly lucrative new business opportunities).

  225. 225.

    Ken

    @Baud:

    I hear he’ll be ready by 2020.

    Oh, you can’t believe that. It’s coming from his campaign advisors, and they’re paid to be optimistic about his chances.

  226. 226.

    Citizen_X

    I’m still not sure how the Libya intervention and subsequent chaos is more “catastrophic” than letting Qaddafi slaughter all his opponents. It’s crappy choices either way, and the former is arguably the lesser evil.

  227. 227.

    Peale

    Ok. Back when I was a little one, I remember watching the Iran contra hearings. And there were always lawyers and folks pleading the fifth and not remembering. Was that a different kind of hearing? Did she get through 11 hours without once calling on counsel?

  228. 228.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kay: Between John McCain and Ron Fournier, the term “leadership” has become all but meaningless in our political discourse, but that contemptible little man couldn’t even get his posse of cranks, clowns and buffoons to pretend that this wasn’t an elaborate ad hominem (ad feminam? Davis X, you out there?) attack on Hillary Clinton. Roby looked like an intern drafted at the last minute to fill a seat, Roskam like he was reading the scripts he had written himself for Rush’s next open line (does that bloat still take calls? haven’t heard his bloviating in years), “Jimmy Jordan” sounded like a toddler who had skipped nap time and had too much sugar, Pompeo had no clue about the most basic functions of the State Dept. Howdy should be thoroughly humiliated. He’s probably destined for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat.

    ETA: and the whole Sid Blumenthal thing, like Captain Queeg and the strawberries. I wonder if anyone told him to drop that shit during a break

  229. 229.

    Gravenstone

    @Mike in NC:

    Seems the GOP has trademarked everything having to do with Freedom and Liberty.

    Yet still have absolutely no idea what the words actually mean.

  230. 230.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Citizen_X: If there was going to be indiscriminate slaughter in Libya, we’d have been better off with an evil dictator in charge than ISIS taking advantage of complete chaos.

  231. 231.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @redshirt:
    Assuming that the people who complain about Libya here are typical, by pretending there is no context whatsoever, and that America invaded and toppled the government of a stable country by itself. If you start from that position of blindness, yes, what we did in Libya looks like a catastrophic clusterfuck.

    @dmsilev:
    I don’t expect them to learn from this. The bigot’s belief of a black man is that he is always stupider than a white man, and time and again the GOP has tried to outsmart Obama and been handed their ass. The bigot’s belief is that a woman is weak and vulnerable, and they will attack Hillary openly, over and over, incapable of understanding that she has the strength to smack them down.

  232. 232.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Firstly, it was very good for the GOP to give Hillary a ten-hour long campaign commercial. While deeply unhappy with the party, it’s still better than what the other guys are offering.

    Which brings me to this:

    the libyan war is one of america’s most catastrophic fuck-ups since the cold war & the opposition is talking about sidney blumenthal’s ipad

    It is, and so is Syria, and this administration needs to answer for those catastrophes in the same way that BushCo needs to answer for Iraq. I doubt either will ever happen. And that’s wrong.

  235. 235.

    FlyingToaster

    @Gravenstone: Wow, I missed that.

    @Rising Above: You seem to have missed the demo on Limpballs; the average age of his listeners is what, 67? Average income: <25K? Influence on "swing" voters? negligible, because they don't listen to Rush. Or Right Wing Talk Radio.

    I've been inadvertently seeing ¿Jeb? ads (Boston for the New Hampshire market), and they do not address the primary voters in New Hampshire very well at all. These are politically savvy, fiscally conservative republicans who can add. Some of them are RWNJ, others are just sick of paying taxes that go to those people (namely, poor people in southern states; color is secondary to God's judgement of poverty), and the rest are social conservatives, some religious. Nattering on about a balanced budget in Florida does not impress.

    I'd be thinking Trump will take the NH primary, albeit with 27% of the vote.

  236. 236.

    benw

    @Elizabelle: Freedom Tower, Freedom fries, “they hate our freedoms”; that poor word was already double-speak before the idiotic Freedom caucus used it. They’re just the latest, least-creative wreckers of language in a long undistinguished line.

  237. 237.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Peale: Well, all they have is the template for making Halliburton and Blackwater (or their changed name successors) filthy rich off the taxpayers, so yeah, that’s it right there. It’s a Jew plot to fleece the taxpayers, that’s the ticket!

  239. 239.

    redshirt

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Assuming that the people who complain about Libya here are typical, by pretending there is no context whatsoever, and that America invaded and toppled the government of a stable country by itself. If you start from that position of blindness, yes, what we did in Libya looks like a catastrophic clusterfuck.

    Even then, US involvement in Libya absolutely does not compare to Iraq or Afghanistan or Southeast Asia, etc… Libya is insignificant.

  240. 240.

    cmorenc

    Gowdy approached his cross-examination of HRC in a manner more appropriate to cross-examining Bernie Madoff, had Madoff decided to go to trial on his charges and testify. Or maybe Leona Helmsley. But that sort of approach is only really effective if you can convince the jury that they’re dealing with an amoral monster who deserves that sort of treatment, and the only folks on-board with that were already going to turn out and vote GOP anyway come Nov 2016. With the rest, your approach comes across as abusive and vastly overplaying what case you’ve got.

  243. 243.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @Kay: They thought they could break Obama, too, over health care. It was supposed to be his Waterloo. That worked well…

    They just never learn. It’s a Republican hallmark.

  244. 244.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Kay: The entire point of the Blumenthal crap was to remind their quarter-brained base that a Jew was involved in all this.

  250. 250.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Also, Gowdy threatened to have her back? Emptiest words ever spoken. Him and his committee are done, they will never appear in public again, and a report will be quietly issued in a few months insinuating the worst while actually saying nothing.

  251. 251.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    But, dude, if you’re for real, you need to wake up and deal with your shattered dreams tonight.

    I am prrrrretty sure this was the same guy who was telling us how McCain was going to crush Obama with SHOCK POLL SHOCK POLL in 2008, and how Romney was going to crush Obama with UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH in 2012, and how the first Republican debate was going to clear the field for Jeb. As far as I can tell, he has zero reaction to his dreams being shattered; he just moves directly on to the next blatantly wrong prediction delivered with total confidence.

  252. 252.

    Kay

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I don’t think so. I think it’s that insane insidery, insular stuff where they think everyone in the country has this roster of Clinton-allied people where we all recognize their names and know their entire history. How many people even know who he is?

  253. 253.

    Patricia Kayden

    Jeb! has the nerve to claim that Secretary Clinton did poorly today because she failed to take responsibility for Benghazi. The nerve! Has Shrub taken responsibility for Iraq, 9/11, Katrina, etc.?

  255. 255.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This is both late to the party, and kind of shallow, but I just wanted to say that I though Hillary looked fan-fucking-tastic today. Her hair was gorgeous, and she is one of a small number of women in their late 60s who can get away with wearing black. I thought she looked great. Hate to be so superficial, but I do think knowing you look good has to make a psychological difference, so maybe not so superficial after all.

  256. 256.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    Maybe I’m sensitized by the whole Netanyahu discussion earlier today, but I’m not the only one hearing the anti-Semitic dogwhistle in the obsession with Sidney Blumenthal, right?

  259. 259.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman:

    Better than what? I answered the movie question, way up the top (which a bunch of other people did, also) and provided the imdb link. I live to serve.

    Yes, by answering the question in an already 200 post thread. It was already answered multiple times by folks who also did not read the thread first. :)

    Not that I’m nitpicking on internet grammar.

  260. 260.

    dmsilev

    By the way, those of us who have been adding random punctuation characters to the end of the nickname of a certain former Florida governor really should embrace the modern era and look to emoji. I give you

    Jeb?

  261. 261.

    Peale

    @CONGRATULATIONS!: Add in Yemen. And whatever the heck we thought we’d get out of Ukraine. The one thing that Obama has going for him, I guess, is that the second term problems seem muted when you’ve got a bunch of hawks who look at these places and think that we should be messing up in much more forceful, reckless, destructive and expensive ways.

  263. 263.

    Kay

    @Patricia Kayden:

    What’s amazing is how he can’t even get traction with his own miserable base with attacks on Clinton, which he does every day in the hopes of getting their attention, yet GOP primary voters continue to ignore him. It’s pathetic.

  270. 270.

    Citizen_X

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:

    Also, Gowdy threatened to have her back? Emptiest words ever spoken. Him and his committee are done, they will never appear in public again, and a report will be quietly issued in a few months insinuating the worst while actually saying nothing.

    “His name shall be stricken from the records, and from all public monuments!”

  272. 272.

    Mark B.

    @efgoldman: Honestly, I’m glad someone brought that up. The whole obsession with Blumenthal was kind of puzzling to me. I guess it makes sense as an antisemitic dog whistle, but it makes no sense any other way. The number of people in America who actually remember who Blumenthal is has got to be vanishingly small.

    I do remember the committee members were careful to always use both his first and last name, apparently ‘Sidney Blumenthal’ sounds even more Jewish than ‘Blumenthal.’

  273. 273.

    SFAW

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Has Shrub taken responsibility for Iraq, 9/11, Katrina, etc.?

    He ABSOLUTELY has! Well, if by “taken responsibility,” you mean “tried to deflect attention from his and Cheney’s ignoring of intelligence reports, as well as ignoring the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud on 9/9” and “helped the RWTM noise machine create the impression that it was Clinton’s fault,” that is.

  274. 274.

    Ksmiami

    @Rising Above: dude your party offers nothing is nothing and does nothing for most Americans and this farce today just showed your -ss. I’ve been waiting for ppl to wake up to the fact that the GOP is gossamer bs and I think Trey did it finally.

  275. 275.

    Kay

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    It does sound Jewish but they do the weird “we know this so everyone knows this” thing so often I feel like I recognize the error.

    The classic example to me was the birther billboard- “Do You Have Your Birth Certificate?” People thought it was a PSA. Like, “locate it, in case of emergency!” They don’t live inside a wingnuts head so they missed the secret meaning.

  279. 279.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    anything else goin’ on?

    Brian Beutler ‏@ brianbeutler 1h1 hour ago
    Friendly reminder that future speaker Ryan thinks it’d be totally OK to default for “a day or two or three or four.”

    from, I think, the second-to-last time we did this, Very Serious, a wonky numbers guy and whatnot.

  280. 280.

    jl

    I didn’t watch but read some recaps.

    This really is not fair at all. All the free media for HRC.
    Can we get Sanders called in before a GOP committee witch hunt and get him grilled for 11 hours?
    He IS a (Democratic) socialist after all, and sneaking around doing God knows what kind of subversion right inside the US government! Isn’t that worth investigating?

    Anyway, not fair at all for the Democratic primary.

  281. 281.

    SFAW

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    His name…sounds Jewish. I think it was a dogwhistle to their slackjawed base.

    … who believe that he tried to “un-Jewify” his name, which was originally Blumenthalowitzbergsteinlevycohenschwartz.

  283. 283.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @amk: You’ve been around long enough to know what Cole’s policy on trolls is. You may disagree with it, but it is what it is.

  285. 285.

    Peale

    @Mark B.: Blumenthal is not very well liked, but I am interested in finding out what the “big deal” is that she still got messages from him. He is probably her most loyal loyalist and a terrier when it comes to attacking anyone who pops out of the rat hole he’s been assigned to. So he alienates folks who like to think that Hillary should just triangulate to the right on everything and that big boy republicans really ought to run the show. But he’s not made many friends on the left or center because of that. Hence, he couldn’t be her adviser at state. But they are personally friends, so it really doesn’t surprise me at all that he’d still communicate with her.

    But yeah, but I’m not really certain what the conspiracy is. Someone hinted at it in other threads. That he was either asking for favors or providing advice he shouldn’t have been or the worst was leading Clinton to make decisions to help him financially. Or maybe they want to paint him as an unregistered lobbyist. But if they have that smoking gun e-mail (hey Hillz. I was wondering if you could arrange to drop bombs in Tripoli so that my beachfront property development in Qatar will go better).

    What they have is a bunch of e-mails that are rude to people, which is nothing to you and me. He is rude, which is probably a good reason why he wasn’t brought in to be a diplomat in the first place. But just like I really wouldn’t be bothered by politicians and secretaries of state talking about “PR” matters (duh), I’m not really that bothered that she has a Blumenthal. Someone who she can say “Look, why don’t you present your idea to Sid” if she doesn’t really like you and wants you to have a hard time. Bosses have those types, mainly to piss off other bosses when they need to.

  286. 286.

    Kerry Reid

    @Kay: So they’ve all been in a quarter-century coma and just woke up to realize that it’s not HRC’s first time at the rodeo? I didn’t much like her 2008 campaign, but you’d have to be pretty stump-stupid to not realize she doesn’t really do the “fold up and give in quietly” thing.

  287. 287.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Kurt Eichenwald of Newsweek on the Hayes show just now: Republicans are working hand-in-fist with the terrrorists overseas by giving them far more power than they should have. He means by basically telling them that a small (in the grand scheme of things) terrorist attack can effect a presidential election. Made Hayes a bit nervous.

  290. 290.

    Ken

    @Matt McIrvin:

    he just moves directly on to the next blatantly wrong prediction delivered with total confidence.

    Are you talking about the local troll or Bill Kristol?

  293. 293.

    Peale

    Planned parenthood in Texas is probably in need of some help at the moment. The Defense spending bill goes back to the drawing board. I still don’t think we’ve had a thread about birth certificates in Texas, cause I’m wondering what happens if classes of people don’t ever get them. Silencers and suppressors are the talk of the town. Anything else out there worth having an open thread about?

  296. 296.

    Mike in NC

    @efgoldman: I lived in Portsmouth from 1985-1989, but 95% of the blind dates I had required me to go to Providence. Usually we met at a popular restaurant called Hemenway’s, though sometimes we went to Federal Hill.

  298. 298.

    Stacy

    @corner stone. Sanchez also compared the Repubs to her 6 year old son who asks for ice cream for breakfast every morning five times In a row.

  300. 300.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman: Loretta is not too bright, IMO. That’s why I was cautious to make sure Linda was the real deal.
    And she sure seems to be! Love!

  302. 302.

    RaflW

    @Rising Stench:

    Jeb exudes a happy confidence.

    Bwahahahahaha. Good one.

    In other amusements, Drudge used the HRC asks for a lozenge moment to try and plant a “she’s got health issues” idea. Pathetic.

  303. 303.

    RaflW

    @Patrick ii: Thing is, Trump decided today was the day to insist the next debate be capped at two hours. He looks like the a total wimp after HRC managed 11 hours of sweat-shine bullshit from Gowdy & Co.

  306. 306.

    Beth in VA

    @beltane: Another perfect comment by beltane. “The Gowdy” should used by everyone as synonym for flops sweat. Maybe someday it’ll be in the BJ Lexicon.

  307. 307.

    mclaren

    @redshirt:

    How is Libya one of America’s worst fuck ups since the Cold War?

    It’s a sliding scale.

    Each endless unwinnable foreign war America gets bogged down in post-Desert-Storm is one of America’s worst fuck ups since the Cold War. Somalia in 1993 was a worse fuck-up than Desert Storm, Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994 (points for irony on that one) in Haiti was a worse fuck-up than Somalia, Operation Infinite Reach in 1998 (bombing that aspirin plant in the Sudan) was a worse fuck-up than the Haiti disaster, the war in Afghanistn in 2001 was a worse fuck-up than blowing up the aspiring plant, the Iraq invasion in 2003 was a worse fuck-up than the invasion of Iraq…

    …You get the idea.

    America is Number One! And constantly getting better. Each new war is a worse clusterfuck than the previous one. America has achieved Full Spectrum Impotence: we now have the capacity to lose three simultaneous wars on three different continents at the same time. The rest of the world turns green with envy.

  308. 308.

    mclaren

    @yet another jeff:

    If there’s smoke, there must be fire…or mirrors.

    Actually, what the American people learned is: “If there’s smoke, someone must be blowing it up your ass.”

    HRC 1, Republicans 0.

  310. 310.

    mclaren

    @RaflW:

    Anyone else notice the meme this presidential election cycle of: “Republicans plan diabolical trap and it turns around and destroys them?”

    Dennis McCarthy plots ingenious scheme, winds up with career wrecked. Jeb Bush plans presidential nomination coup, gets his ass handed to him. Fox News plots to destroy Donald Trump with focus group chicanery, gets blown out of the water and winds up apologizing the The Donald. Benghazi committee tries to take a chainsaw to Hillarry, winds up feeding itself into the wood chipper.

    If we carry this forward, we get some interesting results:

    Bush family plots to place third scion in presidency, gets destroyed as a political force in U.S. politics?

    Republican party schemes to use congressional committees to embarrass Democratic nominees, winds up losing control of the House?

    Media plots to inject excitement into the presidential race, ends up totally discredited?

    (Well, I think the third one is already true. But anyway, just saying…)

  312. 312.

    Anne Laurie

    @redshirt:

    I’m just asking why AM included it in her mile long tweet quote. I guess it’s because even this guy slightly dissed the Repubs by bringing up Blementhal? I guess?

    As the saying goes, Retweets do not indicate endorsements.

    I read it as “The Repubs insist this was the worst military decision EVER, and yet all they can find to talk about is Sidney Blumenthal’s iPad.”

  313. 313.

    SFAW

    @redshirt:

    I might form a movement.

    How long did it take you to get to Whitehall Street from Maine?

    (Yes, that’s about two or three levels of obscure. Or abstruse. Or something.)

  319. 319.

    Pie Happens (opiejeanne)

    @efgoldman: I loved Loretta! She was our Rep when we lived in Anaheim, and I’ve still got a couple of her Christmas cards.

  321. 321.

    Robert Sneddon

    @celticdragonchick: Place I did some work for in Glasgow charged a hundred quid an hour per team member (they always worked in pairs for safety) and a hundred quid an hour for facilities. No outcalls or home visits, too dangerous and it took too long to set the scene properly in any case. That basic cost would cover up to four customers at a time in a playroom like the school setup, the nursery or the dungeon. Any longer sessions over two hours could be negotiated, same with anything “special” which would also incur costs for rigging, sourcing props and the like. Regulars could also get a discount.

    Very businesslike, they had a lunchtime half-hour special “menu”, they took credit cards and gave receipts for expenses claims. I got paid on time for the stuff I did for them, no hassle.

  322. 322.

    Applejinx

    @jl: Bernie Sanders has already filibustered the Bush tax cut extensions for 8 1/2 hours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLNKNq9soLE

    So Hillary wins as far as sheer duration, but both our heavy hitters can do this and have.

    I think the whole Benghazi hearings thing is stupid. It turns the BJ commentariat into mirror-world wingnuts blustering and carrying on like this is all pro wrestling. If it IS, then go us: clearly Hillary has the biggest balls.

    In the real world, this only underscores that we have to continue convincing Hillary that the world’s turned sharply left, because merely running to the left for primaries will NOT be enough, and I don’t want to see the Hillary of the hearings winning the nomination and swerving to the right to carry on what used to be the Republican platform before they all got brain syphilis.

    It’s all very exciting and encouraging until Hil goes to war or doubles down on austerity policies using the same brass bollocks and sheer toughness, at which point we’re in big trouble. We need to know she’s using this toughness and power for good (which the wingnuts will consider sheer evil, but fuck ’em)

    What a stupid, stupid hearing. Nobody won, because they managed to turn Hillary into Bizarro Dubya. It became all about how Hillary wins the day through attitude and optics alone. That’s true, but we’ve got our country in bad trouble again and again by running our politics like a reality show, and here we fucking go again with it.

    I’m very disappointed.

    Good job Hillary, though. This is the game you showed up for, and you won it by its own rules. Too bad that tends to reinforce the legitimacy of those very bullshit, stupid rules.

  326. 326.

    sherparick

    @Tom Ames: Please say Democratic. Ever since Bob Dole used it for the first time word Democrat for Democratic in 1976, when he was considered right winger, only trolls & wingnuts use “Democrat.”

  327. 327.

    John

    @Rising Above: Actually, the low-info voters you think were swayed by Tres Dowdy and his troop of sad clowns didn’t watch the actual hearings. They’ll get their info from the pundits who universally seem to think that Hillary Clinton just castrated the Republican members of the committee, including the female ones. So FUD probably hurts the Republican congress more than Clinton. Actually, I’m pretty certain that the last few weeks have been nothing but a FUD fest for moderate independents when it comes to whether they should hand the reins of government back to Republicans. The only thing that keeps you guys in control of anything is the massive amount of unethical, borderline illegal gerrymandering that was done after to 2010 census.

  328. 328.

    JosieJ

    @Rising Above:

    It’s really hard to say if this is bad satire or pathetic delusion. Rush/Drudge aren’t going to sway anybody who would theoretically vote for Clinton, and anybody they sway was never going to vote for Clinton, even theoretically.

  330. 330.

    Tom Ames

    @sherparick: Oh, I know. I just wanted to mirror the commenter’s language.

    (Though to be honest, I don’t really see what’s so derogatory about “Democrat” vs. “Democratic”. And getting upset about that kind of trivial insult just gives power to the trolls.)

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