Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

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

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Bots Have Taken Over the House GOP

Open Thread: Bots Have Taken Over the House GOP

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… and the results are still less obnoxious than previous GOP efforts to commemorate the civil rights struggle!
***********

Apart from the usual [sad trombone noises], what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

113Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    I’m probably going to sue the Iowa Democratic Party. I knew there was no way I wouldn’t get any delegates in a fair election. Bunch of cheaters.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    And with all due respect to Hayes Brown, I would have gone with:

    Dear House Republicans, may I suggest a good ebonics tutor to help you with your English?

  5. 5.

    satby

    If this is the beginning of the Trump implosion I don’t know if I’m happy or sad. His supporters are some scary mofos, but he was repelling so many other people and helping turn brand R® toxic. Which I enjoyed.

  6. 6.

    The Other Chuck

    A time to celebrate the men and women grow and be a better version of itself.

    This absolutely must become a new rotating tagline.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    Oh, and I wish bots would take over the GOP, since they would make better presidents than any of the GOP candidates currently running.

  8. 8.

    Baud

    @satby:

    helping turn brand R® toxic.

    I’ve determined that this isn’t a thing that happens in the physical universe we inhabit.

  10. 10.

    The Other Chuck

    @dmsilev: Yes, and wouldn’t you argue Romney would be a better GOP candidate than any of the current clowns? His privatized trains would run on time. The current GOP just wants to tear up all the tracks.

  13. 13.

    The Other Chuck

    @Baud: Except Kasich is polling somewhere below ¿Jeb? isn’t he? Romney at least had some political acumen.

  16. 16.

    gratuitous

    Love it. I’ll need to bookmark this next time some message board troll tries that “Democrats have brainwashed black people; the GOP is really their natural party” bullshit.

  18. 18.

    Calouste

    @satby: Don’t worry, Cruz is at least as repellant as Trump. It’s just that Cruz hasn’t been in the public eye as long as Trump.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Baud:

    Hey, Ted Cruz told me you were suspending your campaign. Otherwise for sure I would have caucused for you.

  28. 28.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    I’m in a location where CNN is on but the sound is muted. They’re hard at work pimping tonight’s Dem town hall, and I just noticed an interesting thing they did in a promo with the close-up faces of the two candidates: for Hillary, her face is fully lit and then half of it very quickly darkens (as if in shadow, like the moon). Bernie’s face, by contrast, remains fully lit. All of this takes only a couple of seconds, and it’s very quick and subtle. I’m not saying anything sinister is in it, but perhaps there’s a little subliminal message (“Clinton is shady”) going on?

    /SiubhanDuinne, Conspiracy Theorist

  31. 31.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    If, like me, you scratch your head when GOOPers talk about Obama being divisive, Li’l Marco has a concrete example

    Mike Memoli ‏@ mikememoli 59m59 minutes ago
    . @marcorubio refers to @ POTUS’ visit to mosque, says latest example of his “constant pitting people against each other. I can’t stand that”

    Telling Muslims that their religion doesn’t make them second-class citizens and/or suspects in terrorism, that’s what divisive means to the Smart Young Reformicon Marco Rubio

  33. 33.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Baud:

    I know what condiments Trump used on his sandwich

    Don’t tell me, let me guess: Arugula and Grey Poupon, amirite? AMIRITE??

    Oh, wait. That’s Obama.

  39. 39.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Obama didn’t do it ‘right’. GW Bush did it right, when he visited a mosque.
    Anyway, when W visited, it was calmer times and couldn’t be divisive or stir up strong feelings, it being soon after the 9/11 attacks and all.

  40. 40.

    Redshift

    @JPL:

    I’m still not sure what message they are sending.

    Considering what kind of messages they post for Labor Day, my guess at a translation is that it was intended to be a celebration of blah people who pull themselves up by their bootstraps, without any of that government dependency.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elmo: @Baud: maybe that was the cost of the coveted Rick Santorum endorsement.

    One might say Marco wanted to make sure his ass was covered by Santorum

    too early in the thread?

  43. 43.

    Mary G

    I worked hard on my desk today and boring stuff like filing. The office no longer looks like a hurricane came through it, though I didn’t get it all done.

    My reward to myself is to spend the evening with Lois McMaster Bujold’s new book, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. (Sorry for no link, computer is frozen up and I don’t know how to cut and paste on my tablet.)

  44. 44.

    goblue72

    @Elmo: Fixed it for you –

    “Divisive” = “Is nice to people we want to demonize Presidenting while Black.”

  45. 45.

    PsiFighter37

    If you were ever in relatively close proximity to Dubya, would you try to get face to face, and what would you say?

    Asking for a close friend who was in that situation this evening.

  46. 46.

    Redshift

    @oz29: More particularly, saying people shouldn’t be allowed to exclude others is divisive against bigots, er, heritage-not-hate enthusiasts. You can’t can yourself tolerant if you don’t tolerate intolerance, doncha know.

  47. 47.

    lamh36

    Has anyone told our resident Hamilton-stans?

    @TheGRAMMYs
    Straight from Broadway, the cast of @HamiltonMusical will perform at the 58th #GRAMMYs Feb. 15 on @CBS!

  48. 48.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Mary G:

    I have a number of friends who adore Lois McMaster Bujold, and keep urging me to read her. I’ve always resisted, partly because the last thing I need is yet another addiction, no matter how diverting or literary, partly because it’s not really my genre, and partly because every time I try to make sense of LMB’s canon, I’m daunted by questions of chronology and sequence.

  49. 49.

    JPL

    @Redshift: Thank you. I just listened to an episode of the Watchman and David Fry prayed with someone. I’m having trouble with all the different shorthand the whackos use.

  50. 50.

    Eric S.

    The Chicago Tribune arrive about tRump accusing Fail Gunner of cheating quotes an OSU law professor as saying, “It’s important to recognize that there may be some hyperbole and bluster here.”

    The Donald uses hyperbole and bluster? You don’t say. Tell me more.

  51. 51.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    I have a book signing scheduled for 2pm on Sunday, April 3, at the Barnes & Noble at Har Mar Mall in Roseville, Minnesota. I’m trying to set something up for a bookstore in or near Durham, NH on March 19, when I’m there for the women’s Frozen Four.

  55. 55.

    Shell

    Looks like Cruz has pissed off CNN, claiming it was them who announced Carson leaving the race. Theyve just did a timeline to prove, “Na-uh!”

  56. 56.

    JasonF

    In terms of Trump’s Twitter tantrum, the man is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. Everyone spent the day talking about Trump and Cruz instead of Rubio. Exactly what Trump needs to happen.

  57. 57.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: I really like Bujold’s books about Miles. I have a cheap paperback called YOUNG MILES that has two Miles novels and a novella. You can start with that and see if you like it. Bujold is always interesting on the topics of reproductive technology, gender, sexual identity, etc. Even her space opera is very character driven.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    Is there any likelihood, or even possibility, that you’ll be coming south for a book tour? I — and I feel certain, other Georgia Juicers as well as those in Tennessee and the Carolinas and Florida — would love to meet you and help celebrate your authorial triumph. Please keep us posted on your promotional activities.

  61. 61.

    amk

    @JasonF:

    Nonsense. He was and is stupid enough not to have any ground game in IA and NH. All those whiny tweets won’t get him any more fanboyz crowd, which is already thinning. The msm and the voters are already tired of his carnival barker schtick.

  62. 62.

    p.a.

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Were you in Providence in ’04? I was in Finnegan’s Wake pub one night (was supposed to be working but… long story) with Minnesota fans. Had a blast, karaoke etc. I was drunk, but I believe my memory is accurate in remembering the women were 5’10” and above. Very healthy. ;-)

  63. 63.

    Mary G

    @PsiFighter37: I ran into Richard Nixon in a hospital corridor years after he resigned. We were the only people in that hallway though people in rooms he had passed were peeking out. My first impulse was to turn around and run, but my RA was raging so I couldn’t face any extra hobbling. It felt like the showdown in a Western movie and felt like it lasted a hundred years. I had a bunch of contemptuous remarks planned as he approached like “Yes, you ARE a crook.”

    But when finally got face to face, he looked so tired and worried, I just told him that I hoped Mrs. Nixon was doing better. I’m a wimp, but it felt right.

  64. 64.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @satby:
    It might be, but I’m sure of nothing. He actually didn’t underperform his poll numbers by much. Iowa was the state he snubbed and was running neck-and-neck with Cruz going in, remember. On the other hand, Republicans hate losers, and while Trump can’t ever be too offensive for his racist base, ‘too weak’ is a possibility. We’ll just have to see.

    @Baud:
    I think they could cut out a few percentage points around the edges, like the Latino and Asian voters they’ve got. The GOP is 90% white, and that 90% will cheer any craziness, but if they lose that 10% of minority voters they’re in deep shit. Their choke hold on the government is a mile wide and an inch deep, like their presidential bench.

  66. 66.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Iowa Old Lady: Chronologically, the story begins before Young Miles. The book Cordelia’s Honor collects two novels from before and shortly after Miles’ birth. The chronological order of the books has been badly complicated by the various compendiums that mix and match novels in a confusing way. The original order was:

    Shards of Honor
    Barrayar

    These two are collected in Cordelia’s Honor

    The Warrior’s Apprentice
    Borders of Infinity    , which collects three novellas: “Mountains of Mourning”, “Labyrinth”, and “Borders of Infinity”.
    Brothers in Arms
    The Vor Game
    Mirror Dance
    Cetaganda
    Memory
    Komarr
    A Civil Campaign    , my favorite in the series
    Diplomatic Immunity
    Winterfair Gifts
    Cryoburn

    The various compilations have done the series no favors.

  67. 67.

    Mandalay

    @amk:

    He was and is stupid enough not to have any ground game in IA and NH.

    Maybe that is part of the story, but Digby has me sold on the real reason for his shitty ground game: Trump is too damn cheap to spend his own money on his campaign.

  68. 68.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I know that but I like the Miles books better. Just my personal taste, of course. Anyway it’s easy to go back and read the Cordelia books afterwards. The Miles books don’t really rely on them.

    PS. Civil Campaign is my favorite too.

  69. 69.

    Steeplejack

    @PsiFighter37:

    I wouldn’t try to approach Dubya, because the look on my face would no doubt get me taken down by the Secret Service. But my recurring fantasy is that I am in proximity to him at some social function when he spills a drink on someone or topples a waiter with a tray full of plates and I can yell “Mission accomplished, asshole!” from the crowd. And then everybody laughs at him before they can stop themselves.

  71. 71.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @p.a.: That was before my time following women’s hockey. Unfortunately, I didn’t start paying attention to it until the fall of 2010. I wish I’d made the switch from the men’s game a lot earlier, but I didn’t.

    What was fun is that on the 2012-13 team, 5’9″ Megan Bozek was the shortest defenseman on the team. Of course, she was also the best defenseman on that team and, in my mind, should have won the Patty Kazmeier award that year.

  74. 74.

    Anoniminous

    @satby:

    In any other year Trump would have romped to the win. Santorum and Romney both got a little under 30,000 votes in ’14. Trump got 45,427. He is still 21 points ahead in New Hampshire and 16 points ahead in SC.

    And the “people won’t turn out for him” meme is dead.

  75. 75.

    cmorenc

    @Baud:

    I’m probably going to sue the Iowa Democratic Party. I knew there was no way I wouldn’t get any delegates in a fair election. Bunch of cheaters.

    But you got 40 virtual delegates from Iowa, more than either Hillary or Bernie. The catch is that it’s up to you to figure out how to cash those in for real voting delegates at the convention. There’s a way, somehow to do it, but the DNC-in-the-thank-for-Hillary sure isn’t going to give you any help figuring out how to do it. Maybe we BJers can help you with advice – with the caveat that it may or may not be useful advice, but you get what you pay for.

  77. 77.

    Mary G

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: @Iowa Old Lady: I agree that the Vorkosigan books are the best, but I’d start with Shards of Honor, which deals with the meeting of Miles’ parents. She’s a raging liberal from a highly technological planet where pretty much anything goes and he’s a military man from a very Republican kind of planet that got cut off from the rest of the world and is very technologically backward and patriarchal. It sets up the worlds really well, and is about grownups. Young Miles can be a bit annoying but he grows into a great character.

    Bujold has a recommended reading order on the Amazon pages of all the books in the series, so don’t worry about that.

  81. 81.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Mary G:

    My reward to myself is to spend the evening with Lois McMaster Bujold’s new book, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.

    It’s a delight. I devoured it when the eARC came out.

    My favorite line is still “Blurf…?”

  83. 83.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Anoniminous:
    That meme isn’t dead at all. It should be, but I can’t get much traction on pointing out he got 90% of his supporters out, which if nothing else changes would win him the nomination. That he didn’t win seems to be interpreted as ‘He massively underperformed.’

  85. 85.

    amk

    @Anoniminous:

    “people won’t turn out against him” meme is dead. / fixed

    He got a mere 14% of late deciders in IA.

    PPP is doing a new poll on his NH nos. this week and they are saying there is already a decline.

  87. 87.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: It’s tough to plan a trip to the south. I don’t have any hooks to get me in the door down there. Up here, I’m using being a local author. In New Hampshire, I’m using the fact that women’s hockey is an important part of the book, and there’s a big women’s hockey tournament in town that weekend. It’s hard to see how I could justify the expense of going south. Unless it *really* takes off, there just aren’t enough potential sales to be able to go someplace I wasn’t planning to go anyway.

  89. 89.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel:

    I started reading LMB with “Shards of Honor,” which is the story of Miles’ parents meeting. It’s most frequently packaged now as “Cordelia’s Honor” together with the sequel, “Barrayar.” If you don’t come away from those loving Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, then IMO her books aren’t for you.

    I’m not that fond of the middle Miles Vorkisigan books because I’m not big on war stories, but I’ve really liked her more recent ones that are more about politics and solving mysteries.

    Also, I think the Tor website has almost her entire output available as free ebooks.

  90. 90.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    Oh, and since we have a number of Bujold fans here, y’all really should dash over to her Goodreads page and check out the new interview.

  91. 91.

    Anne Laurie

    @PsiFighter37:

    If you were ever in relatively close proximity to Dubya, would you try to get face to face, and what would you say?

    He’s still got Secret Service protection, so NO.

    Those poor grunts have enough grief, what with spending their days in the company of Dubya and the horrible people who hang with Dubya.

    Might be tempted to shout his name & moon him from across the room, though. I bet the SS guys see plenty of bare butts & middle fingers, whenever Dubya strays off the GOP gated-community trails.

  92. 92.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    My awards show viewing is probably changing this year, though I may watch Chris Rock’s opening at the Oscars and then turn it off. The Tonys will probably have a “Hamilton” number while this year’s nominees are grateful to have dodged the juggernaut it will be next year.

    Oh, and Atlanta will be getting a run, which is cool.

  93. 93.

    Anoniminous

    @amk:

    New Hampshire usually favors the Non-Crazy One in the top three, which should mean Rubio … but he’s nowhere in NH. They usually reject the Iowa winner because the Iowa usually goes for the Crazy over the last 2, now 3, cycles.

    The PPP poll will be food for thought. They know what they are doing.

  95. 95.

    Miss Bianca

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I have heard that “A Civil Campaign” was inspired by Georgette Heyer’s “A Civil Contract”. A lot of the GH fans I know are also Bujold fans…I think I will have to give her books a try!

  96. 96.

    amk

    @Anoniminous:

    da ppp tweet

    Though all the polls leading up to the IA poll eve proved to be a total dud (they all had donald dreck leading by 5 to 7%), I think many of them will now try to readjust their models to reflect the ground reality at least by a lil bit.

  97. 97.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Mnemosyne:

    If you don’t come away from those loving Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, then IMO her books aren’t for you.

    Hmm. I would still recommend that someone who bounces off the Vorkosigan books give The Curse of Chalion a try.

    Also, I think the Tor website has almost her entire output available as free ebooks.

    That would be a surprise, since Tor doesn’t hold the rights. Her Vorkosigan publisher is Baen.

  98. 98.

    gwangung

    @John D.: Though I do think reading in publishing order is quite viable.

    And…Cordelia IS a pro-choice feminist, but I don’t think she’s atheist and I’m not at all certain she’s pro-abortion for herself (though Bujold points out that these terms really don’t mean anything with galactic natal technology).

  99. 99.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Miss Bianca: Bujold is interesting. I once heard her talk about trying to cross SFF with romance to mixed results. The romance readers wanted to know what all this world building was here for.

    Miles Vorkorsigan is just a wonderfully written character–one of those people who get a ball rolling down hill and then winds up chasing it in panic. The first book about him was called “The Warrior’s Apprentice” in deliberate reference to “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” where the brooms multiply and make trouble.

  100. 100.

    Miss Bianca

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    And yet, I have heard sci-fi/fantasy writers (Jo Walton, I believe, is the one I’m thinking of specifically), who refer to Georgette Heyer’s ‘world-building’ as one of the reasons they love her work…and considering that she essentially created the Regency romance as we know it, then I’d have to say I consider that a really intriguing notion…sounds like I’d like Bujold’s stuff. Would “Shards of Honor” be the place to start, then?

  101. 101.

    priscianus jr

    “And better self be are now and such as the Iraq ”

    e e cummings did not die in vain

    what he meant was:

    better self be = improving yourself in every way !

    are now = you’re already doing it !

    such as the Iraq = well, you probably could find a better example

  102. 102.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Miss Bianca: That would work. That’s the story of Miles’ parents. It’s two novels combined, the second one written well after some of the Miles books were published. The first one started as Star Trek fanfic about a Federation officer and a Klingon. Bujold filed the serial numbers off and turned it into great original fic.

    I personally find Cordelia to be a less compelling character than her son, but you can see from other comments here that not everyone thinks that way. I like Cordelia, but to me, Miles is just a startlingly good character. He’s damaged in utero and then born into a masculine world that values soldiers, his very name being a Roman allusion to soldiers. He survives on his wits, which are formidable.

    Try it and see what you like. You can’t go far wrong.

  103. 103.

    gwangung

    @Miss Bianca: If you like seeing a writer develop, I think it’s the best place to start, as the Bujold of later years is a sleeker, more robust beast. Just going from SHARDS (Which started life as Star Trek fan fic) to BARRAYAR might be a bit of a jolt…but the added depth and skill are worth it.

  106. 106.

    Anne Laurie

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel: Warring-space-nations sf is not my wheelhouse either, but the Spousal Unit persuaded me to read A Civil Campaign on the grounds that its heart is a “pastiche” of Georgette Heyer (the military hero who needs to woo a fiery-tempered lady who cares not for his martial glory). It’s pretty much a stand-alone, if you don’t worry about the backstories of the minor characters, which you don’t have to. LMB has a working sense of humor, so it’s a nice easy jaunt of a book.

    Her Chalion trilogy is fantasy instead of “hard” sf, but it’s more accessible to a casual reader because there aren’t as many chronology/byworld issues. And the pantheistic religion supporting the magic is pretty well thought out — which is rarer than I’d like in the genre, even today!

  107. 107.

    J R in WV

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    It was pretty easy for me to get them in the right order – I read every one a few days after it hit the shelves. Of course that assumes that she wrote them in the correct order… perhaps a slightly incorrect assumption?

    I’m lucky in that I forget enough details from most novels to read it again a few months/years later. So I keep all of them, and re-read them eventually.

    The downside is that I eventually need another giant set of shelves. My last big project before shoulder replacement surgery was a giant set of E-shaped shelves, 4×16 feet, 3/4 inch plywood with supporters every 18 inches or so. Not full yet, but lots of books in the attic in boxes.

  108. 108.

    Scotian

    @Mary G:

    Thanks for the reminder the book published in final form. I decided to wait for it instead of getting the e-arc a few weeks ago, if the wait had been a couple of months I wouldn’t have, but I thought it was a good will power check to wait the three weeks.

  109. 109.

    Exurban Mom

    I love love love Bujold’s books, all of them, but the Miles books are my favorites. I remember reading Diplomatic Immunity at the beach a few years back and exclaiming out loud several times when the shit hit the fan. Can’t wait for the new one.

  110. 110.

    Scamp Dog

    @goblue72: In the long run, it’s more like “Presidenting while Democratic.” I know race is behind many of the specifics of the abuse toward Obama, but it seems to me that the GOP is getting worse with every cycle, and I expect them to be at least this nasty to the next Democrat in the office (hopefully in January 2017), or worse.

  111. 111.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Steeplejack: umlaut, diaeresis, wevs – it’s still just a diacritic consisting of two dots that marks disyllabicity. Next thing you know, it will be all over Baud 20!6 tw!tter feed.

    My inner pedant writhes in agony.

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