Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

We’re not going back!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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

Democrats are back in array!

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

No one could have predicted…

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Thursday Evening Open Thread

Thursday Evening Open Thread

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Speaking of people who are almost certainly not going to be elected President this November… Here in the New Hampshire media market, the two most unavoidable tv commercials during the local news tell us that Marco Rubio is a flip-flopping weather vane (who loves illegals more than Real Americans) and John Kasich does not have ‘NH values’ (because he wants to gay-marry Obama & have his government-mandate Obamacare-suckled babies). Both are the product of Ripe to Rot Right to Rise. I understand that media buys are booked month in advance — presumably, at some point RtR thought their boy JEB! was a winner, and we still get at least one tired “I will disrupt the entrenched interests of DC” Bush-bio every half-hour — but right now it seems like the vast Bush machine is trying to kneecap the other “moderate” candidates rather than challenging either Il Trumpenfuhrer or the Texas God-King candidate.

Hope this new Snowpocalypse has not done / will not do worse than inconvenience all you Juicers from the panhandle to the mid-Atlantic region. (Sincerely hope the weathercasters are right that here north of Boston we’ll only get a couple inches from the ragged edge of the storm.)

Apart from scary noises over the airwaves, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

123Comments

  1. 1.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    Lil Marco is pounding Rafael Eduardo Cruz as Canadian and ….. wait for it… as French in a hilarious new commercial playing in heavy circulation in NH

  6. 6.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 13h13 hours ago

    Wacko @glennbeck is a sad answer to the @SarahPalinUSA endorsement that Cruz so desperately wanted. Glenn is a failing, crying, lost soul!

    1,548 retweets 4,039 likes

    So much fun watching them savage each other

  7. 7.

    jl

    Can Jeb swap something in that is more appropriate given the current polling? Hard to imagine what that might be though.

    How about a compilation of Jeb saying “Aw c’mon… I mean.. c’mom” and “Aw gimme a break, huh?” Might get him some sympathy vote. He could cut something like that pretty quick.

  9. 9.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    Rafael Cruz is now shitting on Iowa saying if they vote for Trump they’ll waste their vote again (referring to how only 1 out of 6 gop winners of contested Iowa has won presidency).

    Real winning strategy to attack voters as losers before they cast a vote.

  11. 11.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @efgoldman: Bar’s gonna be doing a commercial for Jeb. It’s like sending Lucca Brazzi after Barzini and Tataglia with the long term goal of putting Fredo in charge.

  12. 12.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    So I was watching Chris Hayes and he made a persuasive case that the establishment is trashing Cruz to eliminate him and clear the field to set up a 2 person race btwn ¿Jeb? and Trump.

    I don’t see how bumbling ¿Jeb? wins under any circumstance.

  13. 13.

    Schlemazel

    @efgoldman:
    Its his only hope. If he can kneecap all the other “moderates” it leaves no place else for the wall street money to go. Not that I think he can win the nomination any longer but what other option does he have. Jeb? has got loser stink on him pretty strong so the smart money probably will avoid him but if Dump and Crudz flame out they may have no choice.

  15. 15.

    BruceFromOhio

    Apart from scary noises over the airwaves, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

    Craftily avoiding eye contact with anything even remotely associated with Snowball Snookie, Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods, and it’s new grifter BFF, Donniebrook.

    I teach my kids how to be math-science and language majors, be good citizens, know right from wrong and how to think for themselves. After reading Adams post about Gray Zone, I want to teach them hand-to-hand unarmed combat, how to stitch up a wound, and automatic weapons handling and safety training.

  17. 17.

    Randy P

    Open to suggestions for “snowstorm media”: stuff you listen to / watch during a big storm when you’re all snug and warm, to get even more enjoyment out of the snow day.

    A perennial favorite in our house is Vaughan-Williams “Sinfonia Antarctica” (originally a film score for an Antarctic film). Sounds wonderfully cold and blustery, and includes a wind machine. It’s really a wonderful piece on its own merits, but especially delicious when there’s an actual howling storm outside.

    Lately I’ve played various versions of the “Blow, wind” speech from King Lear. I don’t know a lot of Shakespeare, but I’m aware of that one. But it’s not quite satisfying somehow. The howling wind and the rant don’t really last that long. Still, there are some good YouTubes out there with some really excellent actors.

    Any other suggestions along these lines?

  19. 19.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    If we already didn’t know how low the Bushs will go – today they planted a story in family friendly WaPo suggesting that Rubio was arrested at age 18 for cruising.

    He was arrested one night in May 1990 for being in a crime-plagued public park after closing time

    ***

    the park had become a notorious locale in the late 1980s and early ’90s, a haven for drug dealers, prostitutes and gang members.

    A local homeowners association’s newsletter documented the complaints of neighbors: “Gang warfare, gunfire, prostitution (straight and gay), drug dealing and muggings.” Police were attuned to the complaints because of a pattern of problems at the park, said Delrish Moss, a Miami police public information officer and a 32-year veteran of the force.

    “It was very dark and had lots of trees,” he said. “People went out there to smoke illegal substances, have sex, drink.”

    A full account of what led to Rubio’s arrest and the dismissal of the charge are not included in available public records. The court file has been destroyed, according to Miami-Dade County court clerk’s records.

    The one part of ¿Jeb?’s campaign that has been functional has been the oppo research department. Which makes me wonder what they will use against Trump when they get to what they believe will be a 2 person race.

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    Perhaps Jeb’s superPAC could back up on of those bulging trucks to the holder of the rights to the Underdog theme tune.

  22. 22.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: He should’ve just walked over to him and punched him smack in the gob or kicked him in the groin. 1) that would have absolutely led to a rise in the polls for Jeb! and 2) standing up to a bully and fighting back is the only way to stop them.

    Also, it would’ve made great TV.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    The National Review (Richie Starbursts and that pudgy boy whose mommy rifled Monica’s underwear drawer) are going to be released an anti-Trump manifesto to restore order to the GOP and bring an end to all these monkeyshines.

    A manifesto.

    Game Changer!

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Randy P: The Thing. You could watch all three versions for about 9 hours of snowbound blood soaked snow and ice. And then Alien VS Predator as that’s also ice and snowbound. And Season 1 of SyFy’s Helix – set in the arctic.

    Musically you’ve got Tull’s Cold Wind to Valhalla and Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow. Styx’s Snow blind. I’m sure there are others.

  30. 30.

    p.a.

    Hillary and Bernie are running radio spots also. I think Hil’s is weak, but I may be influenced by my opinion of her. (DLC tool and triangulator) And I will vote and work for her election so SHUT UP!

    Like klezmer?

  31. 31.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    @Baud:

    Jeb was up to double digits in new Hampshire.

    Well, he does have 10 fingers.

    I kid, I kid.

    but yes, CNN has him tied with Lil Marco at 10% with Cruz at 14 and Trump at 34. But ¿Jeb? had dumped $50,000,000 into ads in the tiny state. So a 10% return for that money on top of his family name ID is beyond sadly pathetic.

  32. 32.

    dmsilev

    @David *Born in the USA* Koch: I’m somewhat surprised that no GOP moneybags donor has yet looked at Trump, screamed “Release the Kraken!”, and funded an Americans for a more American America SuperPAC that exists solely to launch vicious attack ads on Trump. Not saying that it would work, but nobody has even tried.

  33. 33.

    Schlemazel

    So, if Boy Blunders dumber brother makes a comeback will we have to put up with reason 2 retch again? He would really be insufferable.

  34. 34.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: No, I’m sure he has a secret family. That’s the only way to reconcile his poor finances. I personally know people who are making good money, but they’re nevertheless in a hole cuz they’re remarried with kids and paying child support to their previous wife.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    @David *Born in the USA* Koch: If Trump does win Iowa, I don’t see how he doesn’t use that momentum to seal the deal in New Hampshire, where he has led for some time. Isn’t he also up in South Carolina? There may not be a convention to broker unless something drastic happens.

  39. 39.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    @dmsilev: They consensus is don’t attack Trump until after Cruz leaves the field. It’s like the quagmire in Iraq: if you help the shia it helps Iran, if you help the sunnis you help isis. If you take down Trump now, it only helps Cruz.

  40. 40.

    Mike J

    Nina Bargiel ‏@slackmistress 9h9 hours ago
    The best safeword is “Bernie Sanders” because the second you use it 17 people show up to yell at you.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    Heh.

    The Presidential Candidates Ranked By Their Usefulness In A Bar Fight

    Example from the link:

    While we’re fighting dirty, if you want unbridled eye-gouging, shots to the testicles, rabbit punches, and possibly tasing, look no further than Rand Paul. Paul claims to be a libertarian, but he’s not the old-fashioned kind who cares about individual freedoms on principle. He’s one of the new kind of “Libertarians” who care deeply about their own you’re-not-the-boss-of-me manbaby freedoms, but are fine with legislating women’s bodies and letting other people in general lose their voting rights and/or die horribly, right along with schools and sidewalks. Paul also got in hot water a few years ago for saying that he doesn’t think passing the Civil Rights Act was such a hot idea. So he’s what we now call a Libertarian, but we used to call an asshole.

    Rand Paul would be freaking deadly to spend time with in a bar, but he’d do some useful (and horrific) dirty fighting damage in the first 30 to 45 seconds of your bar fight, right up until he decided he might be at some tiny personal risk and abandoned you by skulking out the same exit that Cruz and Trump disappeared through.

    Note: If he is on your side in a bar fight, you might be able to get an extra minute of usefulness out of him by blocking any fire exits. God knows he won’t pass any legislation to stop you.

  42. 42.

    JCJ

    @efgoldman:

    This weekend I will probably watch the Purdue – Iowa basketball game on the Big Ten Network. Every freaking Iowa game has ads for the upcoming caucus. The other night I watched Iowa – Michigan. The commercials were horrifying. I especially like the Jeb? train.

  44. 44.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mike J: Too many syllables. You’ll be dead before you can get it all out. Also, I’m not sure it can be hummed around a ball gag.

    Or so I’ve been told…

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    For my fellow knitters, I finished the shawlette I’m going to wear to a work party on Saturday (Debaser, which is quick, interesting, and only needs about 250 yards of worsted weight), so now I need to wash and back that.

    Next, I’m going to start on a cloche-style hat for our Disneyland trip the following weekend.

  46. 46.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    @Baud: You’re right. It’s over. They’re in the bunker right now. They’re delusional to think a 2 person race can emerge in the south. Trump will sweep the Archie Bunker/Sarah Palin vote in the south that once was solid for Bush the lesser.

  51. 51.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Adam L Silverman: Akron, OH. The weapons training is the tough one, most of the gun handlers in my sphere of influence are batshit fucking lunatics, and I want them no where near my family.

    And your precis on gray zone was an epiphany, is now required reading. Thank you.

    ETA: @Adam L Silverman: Are you from around here? Sure sounds like it. AVP is a popcorn fave. Carpenter’s ‘Thing’ is a classic.

  54. 54.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    2020 is going to be Beyond Thunderdome death fight with Hillary being primaryed by Kanye West and Baud!

  55. 55.

    Tommy

    @NotMax: I read that link. LOL funny. Which I was smart or creative enough to come up with stuff like that. Love this about Trump:

    He’s going to break into a run as soon as they belt-and-ear hurl him out the door, and he’ll be on television recounting his made-up heroics while you’re still getting punched by some biker who’s wearing an enormous signet ring.

    Yeah that seems about right …..

  56. 56.

    Granite

    Don’t look now, folks, but Jeb is tied or third in New Hampshire–he’s risen, and Rubio has fallen..

    If he comes in third, he’s going to have the “establishment lane” all to his lonesome. Kasich, Christie, and Rubio will have their hand forced by the donor class to throw in the towel and back Jeb.

    Looks like the Jeb video players are doing their job in the Granite State.

    Live free, or die…

  58. 58.

    BruceFromOhio

    @NotMax:

    Note: If he is on your side in a bar fight, you might be able to get an extra minute of usefulness out of him by blocking any fire exits. God knows he won’t pass any legislation to stop you.

    OK, this made LOL and scared the natives.

  60. 60.

    Peale

    @David *Born in the USA* Koch: well trump insulted them when Carson took the lead and they got back in line. I think Cruz may be onto something: republican voters in Iowa like to be barked at. I think that’s where van de plaats gets his power as well.

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    @BruceFromOhio: Looks like the closest dojo in the organization I belong to is Medina:
    http://asu.org/dojo-directory/dojo/?dojo=147

    Let me ask a buddy of mine who is a law enforcement tactical trainer if he’s got contacts up there.

    And thanks for the kind words, epiphany is not usually associated with my work. On a more serious note: I don’t think its as bleak as it seems. While there is a distinct subculture that believes that to save the country they have to dismantle everything above the county level and establish non-representative government at that level and they’re aggrieved – both objectively and subjectively, often well armed, and definitely misinformed/misindoctrinated/miseducated about history, politics, religion, and economics, they are, fortunately, only a small subculture.

  62. 62.

    catclub

    @David *Born in the USA* Koch: Cruz is never leaving while there are still lots of more respectable candidates, because as long as they are splitting the respectable vote, he gets the hardline conservative votes. So the result is everybody stays in and Trump wins.

  63. 63.

    Granite

    While Trump and Cruz are stuck in gridlock in the “insurgent lane” of the Republican Interstate, Jeb’s “establishment lane” will be the HOV lane, an empty expressway with a 80 MPH speed limit that goes from Concord to Cleveland.

  64. 64.

    Adam L Silverman

    @BruceFromOhio: My parents met in grad school at Ohio State (Dad was in the Psych PhD program and Mom was doing a MS in Speech Language Pathology). I was born a couple of years after they graduated in Tampa, but have lived in PA so I’m not too unfamiliar with the area.

  65. 65.

    catclub

    @NotMax: There was PBS/ special re doing the key Shackleton exploits.
    The guys doing it 100 years later, with a safety team and modern equipment, were amazed at what they did.

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, too, another suggestion for the snowbound Hulu subscriber — if you enjoy food and British history, you’ll probably like “The Supersizers Go …” where two British TV personalities spend a week living, dressing, and eating from a specific period of British history. I’m re-watching the Elizabethan episode right now.

  68. 68.

    Steve in the ATL

    I love that BJ is a safe place I can come to and not read:
    *try and
    *irregardless
    *in regards to
    *looser

    So thank you all for that

  71. 71.

    BruceFromOhio

    @NotMax:

    I guarantee you: Lindsey Graham can fucking fight. He’s not going to be easy to goad into a bar fight, but once it’s on, Lindsey Graham is going to go full-on balls-out hammer-down mad-monkey terrordome crazy, and he will take on three guys if he has to. Hell, he may take on three guys just for the sheer pleasure of it.

    Full-on balls-out hammer-down mad-monkey terrordome crazy is now officially in the lexicon.

  77. 77.

    Tommy

    @Adam L Silverman: I guess this grad school thing. My parents met there. Dad finishing his PhD with T. Harry Williams. Mom, well just starting off. I thought of going many places with it was just Baton Rouge.

  82. 82.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    What is with this “lane” thing? Kasich’s been all over it. Sounds like the highway to Hell, if you ask me.

  85. 85.

    Sad_Dem

    @NotMax: Good list. Might rank Carson a little higher since he is good with a knife and Bernie a little lower because he seems a bit too peacenik. But yeah, most of the GOP field is the run now, brag later type.

  86. 86.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Adam L Silverman: Understood, and agreed. There are still plenty of barriers to full-on Mad Max dystopia that it’s not all doom and gloom. However, like the ‘growing up with snow, you understand snow’ comments elsewhere, if you know how to identify the precursors and have even a rudimentary knowledge of tools and techniques, it can help sustain safety and preserve life if shit goes sideways. Hope for the sunshine, plan for the storm, as it were.

  89. 89.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @Randy P: You got me beat. I love books about Arctic and Antarctic explorers struggling valiantly before dying of exposure and such. I cannot pick up another one of them until late March–too damn cold to read em now!

    Time for a good fire disaster book.

  90. 90.

    jl

    @debbie: Granite2R is correct, The establishment has prepared a autobahn style fast lane to the nomination. Only problem is that the establishment candidates can’t get out of first gear.

  91. 91.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tommy: That’s okay. Baton Rouge isn’t too bad. At least what I remember. Also, the rabbi in town is a friend of mine from aikido. Most secure sabbath service anywhere!

  93. 93.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    What is with this “lane” thing?

    I’m picturing a graphic in a PowerPoint slide show about how Jeb is going to win this thing.

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    In a stunning move, the board of JPMorgan has endorsed Bernie Sanders.

    Bloomberg BusinessVerified account
    @ ‏business
    JPMorgan boosts Dimon’s pay 35% to $27 million for 2015

  96. 96.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Felonius Monk: I know several people that started there. The rabbi I just mentioned in my comment to Tommy among them. As far as I know Malkin never did aikido there. There used to be a very, very good biography of her someone put online that explained she’d never exhibited any political ideological views at all that anyone could recall till she got serious with the guy she eventually married. He is a Jewish American neo-Con and she, apparently, assimilated his views 100% and then eclipsed him in the world of political operatives and commentators.

  100. 100.

    jl

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m doing Muy Thai (which seems to be just dirty fighting once you include the kneeing and elbowing and and using sneaky ways to knock people down), but it is more aerobics than learning how to fight. Once everyone gets mouth pieces we are going to do more light sparing.

    Now that the MMA cred of the BJ-tariate has come up, will the next BJ meet-up be a sparring beat-down thurnderdome-rama?

  103. 103.

    Felonius Monk

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m sure you realized I was just making a joke because I knew that Malkin went to Oberlin College.

    I grew up not too far from there and many of my high school teachers were educated at Oberlin.

  104. 104.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: Nothing wrong with Muay Thai. Some of the most dangerous in close/close quarters fighting. If it comes to it forget the big kicks, the shin and elbow strikes are where you’re going to make your money.

    As for meet ups: I have no idea. That’s not my lane.

  110. 110.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: @Felonius Monk: There used to be a website named michellemalkinisanidiot.com. I just checked, its dead now. They had this very detailed bio that someone had compiled on her with references, including an entire section on her now husband, his ideological views, and how she adopted them.

  113. 113.

    Felonius Monk

    @Adam L Silverman: A story I read earlier today said that one of morans at the Wildlife Refuge is a convicted killer from California who is forbidden by Cali law to be in possession of a firearm. Apparently he killed his father and served time for 2nd degree murder.

    What a fine bunch of patriots. Wouldn’t George Washington be proud?

  114. 114.

    Ruckus

    @Felonius Monk:
    Did the county sheriff tell him he couldn’t be in possession of a firearm? Cause otherwise it doesn’t mean shit. Of course it may just be that this one has no respect for any law.

  115. 115.

    David *Born in the USA* Koch

    Watching this hilarious Trump presser and it occurs to me I’ve never seen Sanders do a presser.

    Does anyone know why doesn’t hold press conferences?

  116. 116.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Felonius Monk: Yeah, I saw that too. If he makes it back to his home in California, given that they quoted the sheriff where he lived, he’s going to be getting a visit and a hand receipt for any firearms he might have. And then he’s going to get arrested. Even if this wasn’t a Federal felony, California is not particular amused by these things and they will slap him hard. And they should. One of the biggest problem is that the possession laws we currently have our not enforced enough or, when a firearm charge comes into play, it is often used as a bargaining chip to plead the accused out. At the Federal level one of the biggest problems is getting the US Attorneys to take the cases to grand juries and to trial.

  117. 117.

    J R in WV

    We’re on the western edge of the snow storm, probably a quarter to a half inch of ice, followed by 10-18 inches of snow.

    Mrs J and I had dentist appointments this morning, then stopped at a bakery for 2 big loaves of sourdough bread to go with the second-day lamb stew I made last night. Stopped at the grocery, many bottles of water, we have a 300 gallon tank in the basement – I don’t really treat it as potable as it’s been down there for months, but it will do to flush.

    We have a generator, but the well is so far from the house it has its own grid power drop, so the generator for the house doesn’t supply additional water.

    Best of luck to everyone east of us – it looks like the whole east coast and eastern mountains will be buried up in snow. Monday is supposed to be sunny and warm, which could really lead to snow-melt flooding. Be careful, all!

  118. 118.

    Goblue72

    @David *Born in the USA* Koch: I’ve seen him talk to reporters. Usually, he’s calling the media to the mat for being sycophants obsessed with the horse race and completely devoid of substance.

    You know, basically channeling the BJ commentariat’s disdain for the MSM. But without the pet photos.

  119. 119.

    Adam L Silverman

    @J R in WV: You’re J R in WV and you expect us to believe you have appointments to see a dentist? I don’t actually believe you all have dentists. Unless you’re driving into one of the neighboring states.

  122. 122.

    Ruckus

    I got an email from some assholes in WA today about a video that democrats are trying to hide which is supposed to explain how President Obama is trying to I believe it said kill 45 million citizens or some crap like that.

    Of course I sent them a reply nicely asking them to fuck themselves a couple of times but it was blocked by their server because they can sent it out but apparently can not take it.
    This is their email address [email protected]
    Anyone know who this asshole is?

    BTW someone has gotten a hold of an email that I rarely use and is flooding it with spam. I’d like to find a way to fix that but nothing I’ve seen works that way. I can set rules to block them and send them right to the trash but in trying this it seem rather to be hit and miss. But someone has sold this address to the rest of the slimy fuckers that seem somehow to make a living on sending out this crap.

  123. 123.

    PJ

    @ThresherK (GPad): I highly recommend In the Land of White Death, written by one of two survivors from a disastrous Russian fur expedition to the Arctic in the teens; after a season stuck in the ice, the navigator decides to set off on his own to reach civilization, and, much to his dismay, half the crew of rejects elects to join him on his trek: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067978361X?keywords=in%20the%20land%20of%20white%20death&qid=1453446936&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

    (I hope I added the link correctly).

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