Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

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

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Books are my comfort food!

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

No one could have predicted…

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: ‘Make Donald DRUMPF Again!’

Reader Interactions

189Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    After I watched this, at first I thought I’d vote in the republican primary tomorrow. After ten seconds, I realized that it’s not my problem. When they let him denigrate the office of the Presidency for years, and said nothing .. fk…em .
    Let me add, my friend who votes repub, said what about your children and their children, if they have any. My ugly side reared up, because she’s a black repub. I still said not my problem.
    fk..em

  3. 3.

    Scout211

    This was brilliant.

    Why can’t reporters report these lies and inconsistencies?

    Uh, never mind . . .

  7. 7.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    Similarly, the GOP establishment doesn’t seem to have a problem with Marco’s dick jokes, so long as they’re directed at Trump.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36: Not much fun to be at MSNBC these days. Of course, the upside is that no one will be there for long. I was bummed to see them cancel the MHP show.

  10. 10.

    LesBonnesFemmes

    No, AL. It is right up there with his best. I still like his first FIFA squall the best. Oh, and interviewing Snowden. And the Church stuff. No, maybe you are right, AL. Still I loved it and shared it, though.

  11. 11.

    FlipYrWhig

    @lamh36: So the network’s current strategy is to _reduce_ the number of intelligent, witty, sassy, sexy women who appear on it regularly? Um, good luck with that, MSNBC.

  13. 13.

    The Golux

    To coin a phrase, I need a cigarette after that.

    If you type #m into the Google search bar, the first match is #makedonalddrumpfagain.

    Quick work.

  14. 14.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    I had NPR on my headphones all day at work. It was a thing of amazement listening to any number of Republicans dancing around Marco’s remarks.

    Even better was their astonishment at Trump’s not instantly repudiating Davide Duke’s endorsement. They were shocked that this could happen to the Party of Lincoln. Not one NPR person had the cojones to point out that some Republicans (ie, Strom Thurmond, among others) was pretty sympathetic to Duke’s philosophy.

  15. 15.

    Cermet

    Ray-gun the brain dead started his successful clown car run in Mississippi giving his racist dog whistle speech over the bodies of the three kids who fought for Black rights and they only now does the media have a problem with someone? What a bunch of sick fucks and the media whore who treat this as somehow different – right.

  17. 17.

    eclare

    Loved it. And all of his shows have a 15-20 minute main subject section, so it wasn’t long for him. Best show on tv right now, IMHO. Along with Samantha Bee’s new show. Jon Stewart should be proud for giving those two a shot.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    @debbie: Steve Scalise is their majority whip.. They haven’t been the party of Lincoln, since Reagan.
    Maybe I’ll just change my name to fk..em

    also.. I didn’t realize until yesterday, that Tony Perkins bought a mailing list from David Duke. So much for family values.

  19. 19.

    Linnaeus

    Oh look, Dick Cheney edited the Rockefeller Commissions report on domestic CIA activities (while he was in the Ford White House) and took out the part about the CIA’s assassination plots.

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    Al G with great advice for both Dem sides tomorrow…

    @AlGiordano 3m3 minutes ago
    Clinton people: Police your overenthusiastic stans out there raising expectations for tomorrow beyond what is possible. Sheesh.

  21. 21.

    MomSense

    @FlipYrWhig:

    We should make our own network. Balloon-Juice News known for vicious, semi anti-social jackals whose clothes are always covered in pet hair. I’m telling you it could be yuuuuuge.

    I can see Cole’s closing “Good night and Fuck You”

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    @Cermet:

    Thank you for posting this. The way his racist fuckery has been completely ignored is something of an obsession for me. I get worked up about it in a way that I admit is not healthy.

  29. 29.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Cermet:

    only now does the media have a problem with someone?

    You miss the nature of their ‘problem.’ They’ve spent a good thirty years pretending dog whistles are responsible government. They’re horrified at how hard Trump is making it to pretend Republicans aren’t the party of racism. How can they feel like Very Serious People telling America that they agree with Trump about Mexicans and Muslims?

    Ditto most Establishment Republicans.

  32. 32.

    beltane

    @Frankensteinbeck: Explicit appeals to white supremacist thinking have always been embraced by the Village as long as they were covered by a translucent veneer of gentility. Sarah Palin’s ties to far-right groups in Alaska were never really explored by the “serious” media because they were of a nature that made it easy for them to ignore. I have to wonder if the media would be making as big an issue over Trump if they felt he was as reliably right-wing on other issues as they are.

  33. 33.

    MomSense

    @eclare:

    Yes! I too can supply the contents of my vacuum cleaner receptacle. If I could figure out how to spin it, I’d knit a sweater.

  36. 36.

    Brachiator

    @Cacti:

    Will tomorrow be remembered as the night that the revolution crashed and Berned?

    For both parties, tomorrow could be the middle game in the furious presidential chess match. We will see who has the strongest material left for the end game. We might not even need the March 15 primaries to see the most probable outcomes.

    I saw some actual young Bernie supporters on Saturday, with Bernie t-shirts and signs and such. We’ll see if they get more opportunities to champion their candidate.

  37. 37.

    Cermet

    @MomSense: Thank you – Tragically, I lived through that monsters rein and have watched in horror as this country continues down his racist path and his lead making the destruction of the middle class to the elite that bought, paid for, and deified that brain dead, second rate actor who was up staged by a real chimp in a movie.

  38. 38.

    Warren Terra

    I enjoyed it, but thought it wouldn’t be effective beyond those already sympathetic. I’m also concerned that it spends far too much time on things of no importance – the size of Trump’s hands in particular – instead of hammering Trump on substance more. This is heightened by the decision to close with “Drumpf” and really to hammer home the substance-free parts of the criticism.

  40. 40.

    Ruckus

    @JPL:
    They haven’t been the party of Lincoln, since Reagan.
    They haven’t been the party of Lincoln since Lincoln. They fought a rear guard action a couple of times but really he broke the mold. And claiming that today they are the same party as Lincoln is total dishonesty and bullshit. And they know it.

  41. 41.

    MomSense

    @Cermet:

    He was worshiped in the town I grew up in. Every day of high school I wore a “Jane Wyman was right” pin and told everyone I could what a horror he was. Sadly, the appeal was overpowering for far too many people.

  44. 44.

    agorabum

    I thought it was great. An attack on all fronts. Drumpf is a short fingered vulgarian after all; the man’s failed at casinos, steaks, airlines, and educational institutions. As a ridiculous figure he should be ridiculed both on matters of substance and matters…ridiculous.

  45. 45.

    Andrey

    @FlipYrWhig:

    @lamh36: So the network’s current strategy is to _reduce_ the number of intelligent, witty, sassy, sexy women who appear on it regularly? Um, good luck with that, MSNBC.

    I agree with the general sentiment, but I really wish the “sexy” qualifier wasn’t so commonly associated with female employees, even as a compliment.

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    @Andrey: I think MHP is incredibly sexy and I am not going to back off that position one bit. Tamron Hall, for damn sure as well.
    I also think Thomas Roberts is a fine looking man.
    Nothing wrong with acknowleding the truth of the matter.

  48. 48.

    Trentrunner

    Here’s what we’re up against:

    On CNN just now, the panel watched a clip of Melanoma being interviewed by Anderson Cooper and noting that she “disagrees” with her husband, and often “tells him.” She gives the example of when Trump called Cruz a “p*ssy” in NH.

    Panel agrees that Melanoma will “soften” Trump, and “for those who disagree with Trump, Melanoma can help because she clearly has her husband’s ear.”

    Expanding torture, bombing women and children, deporting millions, insulting everyone, fomenting hatred and discrimination…

    But, yeah, millions will come home to Trump because his wife will tell him to watch his language. (This is what Gloria Borger said.)

  50. 50.

    prob50

    @Linnaeus: @Linnaeus:

    Dick Cheney edited the Rockefeller Commissions report on domestic CIA activities

    I’ve often wondered what Cheney’s potential GWB VP interviews must have been like. Remember, he couldn’t find a “suitable” candidate and ended up somehow humbly offering his own services. I’m pretty sure he was either vetted by himself, the idiot Boy George or no one at all.

    A fly on the wall of those interviews would probably have suffered a brain hemorrage.

  51. 51.

    geg6

    @Warren Terra:

    To be fair, it’s pretty hard to hammer Trump on substance since he has not really presented us with any. Can’t blame Oliver for that. As for the hand thing, apparently, talk of his vulgar short fingers sends him right around the bend. Just one of the many reasons to miss Spy magazine.

  53. 53.

    ThresherK

    Bob’s Burgers AND Archer both got on Jeopardy! tonight.

    Let us bask in the glow of Jon Benjamin.

  54. 54.

    prob50

    OH, yeah…my initial posting intent was to say that Oliver’s piece was simultaneously incredibly on point and hysterical. I’d never seen or heard of him before this.

  55. 55.

    sigaba

    @The Golux: “If you type #m into the Google search bar, the first match is #makedonalddrumpfagain.”

    I probably shouldn’t say this, but Google “Adolf Schickelgruber”

  56. 56.

    geg6

    @MomSense:

    Hahahahaha! I had that pin. When I’d come home from college and wear it around town, some people would get in my face about it. I’d tell them I welcomed their hatred. I was taking a political rhetoric course and fell in love with that great FDR line.

  57. 57.

    raven

    @geg6: The video of the Secret Service, or whoever he was, that I just saw on MSNBC confirms that the dude needs to be fired at least.

  60. 60.

    PsiFighter37

    Tomorrow may be the GOP’s day of reckoning. If Trump sweeps every state (which, given what could happen in Texas, is quite possible), it will be game over.

    And to top it off, there is supposed to be another debate on Thursday! Can’t wait to see what new insults Marco can come up with before then.

  63. 63.

    Calouste

    @PsiFighter37: I’d like to see Trump come back at Rubio with something like: “We’ve had 14 primaries, I have won 13, you have won zero. I’m ahead of you by 15 points in polls in your home state. What are you still doing here?”

  65. 65.

    Brent

    @Warren Terra:

    He is not hammering Trump on the size of his hands. He personally believes Trump’s hands are just fine and he says so. The whole bit is about highlighting Trump’s small minded obsession with even the most trivial personal commentary. He was criticized for being vulgar but what Trump is obsessed with, YEARS LATER, is the fact that he is being accused of having short fingers. He is, in other words, hammering Trump on being absurdly thin-skinned. This is actually a substantive issue.

    With respect to substance, I think Oliver gave Trump’s substantive arguments, to the degree that they can even be said to exist, all the attention they deserved.

  66. 66.

    Brachiator

    @Joel:

    much dust kicked over a network viewed, charitably, by 500,000 people on a regular basis.

    True, but this Oliver video has 1.9 million hits on YouTube.

  67. 67.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Ruckus:
    Well they were probably up to TDR but he was the peak of Republicans as liberals. Wilson came in with a racist agenda and he was the beginning of the end of that for the Dems. FDR turned the page & is evidenced by Humphrey’s great speech in favor of human rights at the ’48 convention that led to Strom Thurman making the change obvious. ’64 was the final straw for racisim as any part of the official Democratic Party operation, Nixon made his bones by sucking it all in

  68. 68.

    Mary G

    @PsiFighter37: I know! If Trump does as well on Tuesday as the polls say, Thursday’s debate should be a colossal clusterfuck with really high ratings, which should make the network’s demand even moar debates! By the time these clowns are done, we’ll be in Jerry Springer show territory.

  69. 69.

    PurpleGirl

    @MomSense:

    Jane Wyman was right.

    Yes!. After WWII his film career stalled and her’s was taking off. And he couldn’t stand it. He was saved by GE sponsoring him on TV and putting him on the corporate speech circuit. Jack Welsh of GE became his protector and sponsor.

    I keep reading people who mention that he was president of SAG. Yes, he was but he ultimately didn’t do as much for actors as he did for Viacom. Until Reagan it was standard practice that actors had agents, writers had different agents, producers had yet different agents. Reagan signed a waiver to allow Viacom to represent anybody. It changed the industry and Viacom took off like a rocket.

  70. 70.

    rikyrah

    @beltane:

    Explicit appeals to white supremacist thinking have always been embraced by the Village as long as they were covered by a translucent veneer of gentility.

    They all believe what Trump believes.

    They DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WHAT HE BELIEVES!

    They only have a problem WITH HOW HE SAYS IT.

    If he used Frank Luntz-approved dogwhistles..

    THey wouldn’t be saying shyt about him.

    IFFFFF they didn’t agree with Trump…they would have disavowed him. They would have said – I DON’T AGREE WITH HIM AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY DOES NOT STAND FOR WHAT HE SAYS.

    They never say that…do they?

    Hmmmmmmmmmm

  71. 71.

    Calouste

    Rubio Campaign Hires New Candidate In Top-Level Staff Shakeup

    MIAMI—In what political observers characterized as the organization’s highest-level staff shakeup to date, the presidential campaign of Sen. Marco Rubio announced Monday it would be bringing on a new candidate for the remainder of the 2016 election.

    Top members of the Rubio camp, speaking at a morning press conference at their Florida headquarters, assured reporters that the organization’s split with its former candidate was an amicable one, but noted that the team’s senior leadership had concluded a new direction was necessary to ensure the campaign’s future success.

    “Everyone at Rubio ’16 is very grateful for Marco’s hard work these past 10 months, but we think someone with a fresh, new approach will give us the best shot at winning the Republican nomination and taking the White House in November,” said campaign manager Terry Sullivan, adding that while Rubio would no longer be a part of the campaign going forward, the rest of the organization would remain in place, exactly as is. “This campaign is a well-oiled machine with a terrific network of volunteers and staffers across the country, and with a little bit of new energy in a key position, we’re confident our message will appeal to all Americans.”

  74. 74.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Mary G:

    we’ll be in Jerry Springer show territory.

    Eh, what’s with the future tense? I watched the last “debate”, we’re already there.

  76. 76.

    MomSense

    @PurpleGirl:

    I think he got a young starlet pregnant about that time and told her he didn’t want anything to do with her so she had an abortion. So many people who knew him then said that he was mean. James Garner was his #2 at SAG and had really unflattering things to say about his competence and intelligence.

  77. 77.

    Germy

    Dr. Nick died a few days ago.

    Nichopoulos began treating Elvis Presley in 1967 for saddle pain, and took it on as a full-time job in 1970 until Presley’s death in 1977. After he was stripped of his credentials in 1995, Nichopoulos worked for a short time as Jerry Lee Lewis’ road manager. He later took a job evaluating medical insurance claims by FedEx employees. No longer a doctor and in need of money, Nichopoulos sold many of the items he received from Elvis at auctions, and at one point had a travelling exhibit, showing off his doctor’s bag with some of the medications he prescribed for Elvis.

    This is a shame. He could have been Surgeon General in a Trump administration.

  79. 79.

    PurpleGirl

    @Mike J: Thank you for that correction. But I think it is still true that Welch (and GE) began helping Reagan at some point and that support was important for everything Reagan later did.

    ETA: I have a book about Reagan but it’s in storage and I really should get it out. It explains the SAG period much better and the GE stuff.

  80. 80.

    Andrey

    @Corner Stone: The problem isn’t that she’s not sexy. I agree that she’s sexy. The problem is that sexiness gets specifically mentioned for women at a much higher rate than for men. It’s one of those cases where every individual instance of an event – if it were completely independent of the others – would be perfectly fine, but the pattern, across many people and many events, is not fine.

    And that’s why I didn’t say “you did something wrong!” or anything like that. Patterns like that are hard to fight, but one of the ways we can fight it is to cooperatively agree to recognize the patterns and try to avoid supporting the bad patterns.

  81. 81.

    Anya

    I watched it last night and I was tweeting about it. It was a solid segment. It had to be done because our media will not do it.

    Re: Al Giordano, I am huge fan and I love his take but sometimes he overuses the label stan. I predicted Hillary will win all the states on Super Tuesday, except VT, Minnesota & Colorado. Needless to say, he considers me a Stan. Never mind that I’ve never tweeted a single Hillary support. When it comes to HRC, I am agnostic at best but I defend her when the attack is OTT and unreasonable.

  85. 85.

    Mary G

    @BillinGlendaleCA: @MomSense: I was thinking of slapping, bleeped f – bombs, chair throwing, hair – pulling (imagine Ted Cruz unraveling Trump’s mop, and little birds fly out). Reince will have to hire big burly goons to pry them apart.

  89. 89.

    PurpleGirl

    @PurpleGirl:

    When will I learn to check some things before writing…

    The book I’m referring too isn’t about Reagan but Nixon. However it does contain a lot about Reagan.

    Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man
    by Garry Wills

    I’m gonna go watch a kitten cam now…

  91. 91.

    Aleta

    Can someone please make that name conversion app a virus you catch from websites that like Trump?
    (joking, but tempting)

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    @Andrey: I think Daniel Craig is sexy af also. I am just not getting your argument on this. Are we in Mad Men territory where I tell MHP to make me a drink and a sammich? Or are we not allowed to say she’s bringing the whole picnic basket with her?

  93. 93.

    Amir Khalid

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    Dear God, I recognise that man: Das ist der Arzt des Herrn Drumpf.

    I see from Salon that Cornel West is now denouncing black leaders who endorse Hillary. He has every right to disagree with them on that, of course; but accusing them, in particular John Lewis, of deserting their principles is pretty low. He needs to stop and think, before he starts doing some real damage to Bernie’s campaign.

  94. 94.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Amir Khalid:

    Dear God, I recognise that man: Das ist der Arzt des Herrn Drumpf.

    That is correct sir.

    ETA: I still remember a little of my high school German, heh.

  95. 95.

    Steve in the ATL

    @PurpleGirl:

    The book I’m referring too isn’t about Reagan but Nixon. However it does contain a lot about Reagan.

    Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man
    by Garry Wills

    I don’t know you people read this shit or watch garbage like “Morning Joe.” Why do you do that to yourselves? I already know that Nixon was horrible; I don’t need to read a book about it!

  96. 96.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mary G:

    I was thinking of slapping, bleeped f – bombs, chair throwing, hair – pulling (imagine Ted Cruz unraveling Trump’s mop, and little birds fly out). Reince will have to hire big burly goons to pry them apart.

    They’ll get there one of these days. The ratings demand it.

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I assume all these MSNBC decisions are driven by money and ratings, it’s just hard for me to grok that having Andrea Mitchell and Thomas Roberts ask Chris Cillizza, Ruth Marcus and Michael Steele to parrot conventional wisdom is cheaper and generates better ratings than the formats and hosts they scraped.

    And now Rick Tyler joins the regular rotation. Thank god. I was worried that Michael Steele didn’t have time to mind his lobbying shoppe and Lanny Davis was gonna get his hands in the till.

  99. 99.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Steve in the ATL: I just finished “Nixonland” and I read “The Invisible Bridge”(Raygun) and it is good to understand how the conservative movement started an evolved.

  104. 104.

    Tom Q

    @Steve in the ATL: Do you know anything about Garry Wills? I can’t see how you could and be analogizing him to Morning Joe. He’s an excellent writer who’s written a number of terrific political books, Nixon Agonistes among them (Reagan’s America: Innocents at Home is another), plus others off the political scene, including one very interesting one describing how Macbeth might well have been Shakespeare’s metaphorical reaction to the Guy Fawkes plot.

  105. 105.

    smintheus

    Problem with trying to get through to Trump supporters is that most of them seem like people who, while growing up, kept seeing references to S MART and thinking “That’s just one of those small K MARTs, no point in bothering with it.”

  106. 106.

    Applejinx

    @Amir Khalid: Too late.

    However, I just donated another $10 to Bernie, for this ‘deadline before Super Tuesday’ thing he’s doing. See if he can get to 40 million. Specifically to him, none to Act Blue who wanted 50%.

    Money talks. I can resign myself to Bernie not being able to beat Hillary Clinton, as she is a jaw-dropping brass-bound mofo of a candidate and I’m perpetually stunned at how far she and her people will go to win. The Republicans ought to be GRATEFUL it’s Trump walking into that wood-chipper.

    But I intend for Bernie to still be able to talk throughout the rest of the campaign, so he still needs money. Hillary, not so much: she’s all set and doesn’t need people money. But money talks and Bernie will continue to have things to say after Super Tuesday, whatever the outcome, because he’ll be able to afford to talk.

    Sadly, so will Cornel West, but good luck shutting him up, he’s on a real tear about this stuff. It’s a free country, unless you make up #whichhillary hashtags. Using people’s websites isn’t nearly so free, especially when it’s their computers, you pay nothing, and you are the product. That’s just reality.

  107. 107.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Tom Q: My point was that I have no interest in reading about Nixon or Reagan or any of their ilk. Living through it and the ongoing aftermath is painful enough.

  108. 108.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    I never thought Alex Wagner was either a good host or guest.

    For example, they had a really good host in Martin Bashir. Top notch.

    Ratings proved that out. Bashir had good ratings. And when Wagner took over his time slot she lost 2/3 of the audience.

  109. 109.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Truly, we are living in the golden age of the 20 minute angry rant. John Oliver must work out with a trainer for these.

  110. 110.

    Applejinx

    @prob50: And oh, my, are you in for a treat.

    John Oliver’s done way funnier shows than that. The Drumpf show was unusually heavy-handed and leaden, because Oliver just hates the guy SO MUCH that it’s not so funny to him. It makes the result satisfying, but not as hilarious as usual.

    Yes… as a rule John Oliver is EVEN FUNNIER. Enjoy going on a youtube deep dive and getting acquainted with Last Week Tonight. It’s well worth it :)

  111. 111.

    Amir Khalid

    @Applejinx:
    I had this question for you late in the Schadenfreude special thread, which maybe you didn’t see because the thread grew to nearly 400 comments:

    Why would Bernie need “standing” to shitcan Cornel West? It’s his campaign that West is supposed to be helping; he and his advisers should be able to tell if West’s words are indeed helping. If they determine that, by badmouthing a President whom black Americans revere, West isn’t helping, Bernie should have it in him to thank West for his services and cut him loose. If Bernie can’t do that, he’s not a leader.

    Alternatively, if Bernie agrees with West about Obama, he might want to think about why most black Americans disagree. And maybe, who knows, reconsider his opinion.

    ETA:

    Hillary Clinton … is a jaw-dropping brass-bound mofo of a candidate.

    I have no idea where you get this. She doesn’t strike me that way at all.

  112. 112.

    oldster

    incidentally, google translate does not seem to realize that “drumpf” is a german word. They asked me to recommend a translation. I suggested “weakling.”

    If enough of us do that, it becomes the standard translation in google translate.

  113. 113.

    Mike J

    @PurpleGirl: GE got Reagan on the rubber chicken circuit as an anti-labor speaker, but Jack Welch was in the plastics division and not even head of it yet. When Reagan was president, they absolutely palled around, and GE promoted Reagan’s political career after sponsoring his show, but Welch wasn’t in position to do it in the early 50s. Wikipedia says he didn’t even join GE until 1960, when he was a chemical engineer in the plastics division.

    This doesn’t take away from the fact that Welch is a horrible person (he’s endorsed Cruz), but he’s not the one that made Reagan.

  115. 115.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @BillinGlendaleCA: @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I liked both Alex and Martin. Alex was better in her show’s original format.

    I liked her panel format, she had some interesting guests (along with a lot of Villager chaff. Her show was the only time I’ve seen Jim Vande Hei, late or soon to be late of Politico. He couldn’t sit still and kept bellowing about “SPENDING!” If you blurred the lines between fiction and reality, I could be persuaded that he is the father of Jonah from “Veep”.

  116. 116.

    PurpleGirl

    @Steve in the ATL: I have never watched Morning Joe or any of the current talk shows. I haven’t watched a Sunday morning show since the mid-1990s. I want to answer the idiots and would be tempted to throw things at the TV. Hey, I need to protect my blood pressure.

    But it is good to read political and historical books to understand things happening. I very well remember Nixon’s presidential years. And Garry Wills is very good writer and historian.

  117. 117.

    Applejinx

    @Amir Khalid: Oh, I missed that, apologies…

    I don’t think Bernie can tell Cornel West to fuck off, for two reasons:

    He does not have the respect of black people enough to chase West away from the campaign without getting accused of doing it for berniebro, racist reasons. Someone would call it racism, very possibly West himself, and…

    He can’t tell the difference. Very few black Americans in Vermont. He’s out of his depth and has to rely upon and trust the experience of black Americans who will support and advise him. There are others, and it’s even possible some have said, ‘you know, Bernie, the brother West, he don’t be talkin’ sense and you picked a weird one, just saying’. But Bernie doesn’t have the background to put that in context, because he’s from such a lilywhite state, and he’s not really about picking fights and backbiting.

    I don’t think he can tell West isn’t helping, and I don’t think he’s in a position (has standing) to turn against such a ‘friend’. Remember, West might be a wack job, but if Bernie is opposing Obama it’s on principle and it ain’t personal. I remember when he had that meeting with Obama and came out smiling. Just because Bernie wants more doesn’t mean he hates Obama or despises what he’s been able to accomplish. This is Bernie, of course he’s going to clamor for the most idealistic position. People in government have always been able to work with him anyway.

    But I think that gets in the way of him shitcanning Cornel West. It might make him uncomfortable but I’m guessing he agrees with at least some of what West says, and allows West to stake out a more extreme position, figuring why not. And again, he can’t chase away West without walking right into massive accusations of racism, perhaps from West himself, and he doesn’t have the standing to understand if that’s foolish or a real threat. These are alliances Bernie’s had to make in a hurry. He wanted it to be only about the economic thing, and never really wanted to tackle American Racism.

  119. 119.

    Cacti

    @Applejinx:

    Sadly, so will Cornel West, but good luck shutting him up, he’s on a real tear about this stuff.

    Dr. West seems to be smarting badly from finding out how much less weight he carries with the black electorate than John Lewis or James Clyburn.

  121. 121.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Being Fox-lite didn’t work too well for CNN. Will it work any better for MSNBC?

    Not so much Fox-lite as horse race central. It’s all handicapping and point spreads now.

  123. 123.

    Amir Khalid

    @oldster:
    I just checked two online dictionaries and one print dictionary. None lists “Drumpf” or “drumpf” as a word. There is the noun “Trumpf”, which means the same as the English “trump” as a term in card games.

  124. 124.

    dedc79

    Stay classy, ESPN:

    Fox broadcaster Erin Andrews took the stand today in the trial over her civil suit against the Nashville hotel where she was videotaped undressing through her hotel room peephole. In one of the most frightening bits of testimony in a case full of them, Andrews explained how ESPN—her employer at the time—forced her to discuss the issue on national television, against her will, before she was allowed to return to her broadcasting duties.

  125. 125.

    Applejinx

    @Amir Khalid: Do you think Hillary is weak, or threatened? I think not. I’m looking back at all the stuff that’s happened in various ways and JEEBUS I am impressed Bernie and us socialist hippies made it as far as we have. Hillary is not messing around, and if anything her allies are even more intense.

    The increasingly-wingnut right is DONE. She is going to steamroller them like nothing ever seen before.

  126. 126.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    @Amir Khalid:

    There is the noun “Trumpf”, which means the same as the English “trump” as a term in card games.

    The name of my employer, to our considerable embarrassment this election season.

  130. 130.

    Amir Khalid

    @oldster:
    When people do that, Google Translate gets confused and starts giving weird translations. After being misled by who knows how many Les Misérables fans, it now thinks the English for dunkles Schweigen an den Tischen is “empty chairs at empty tables”.

  131. 131.

    Applejinx

    @Amir Khalid: Grudging but authentic respect coupled with distaste at how she’s going about things. but some of that can be kind of ambiguous. If I have to reserve judgement, I need to do that, but nothing I’ve ever said about Hils suggests she’ll be a pushover for Republicans.

  133. 133.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steve in the ATL: Garry Wills is magisterial in the way George Will dreams of being — he doesn’t just flay his targets (Nixon, Reagan, Bush), he dissects them, usually picking the flaws that will hurt most. Nixon’s obsession with outdoing his old man, for instance, or Poppy Bush’s clumsy glad-handing disguising his terror of successful political actors who hadn’t had their success handed to them…

  134. 134.

    Amir Khalid

    @Applejinx:
    I don’t see where she’s done anything objectionable this campaign, like letting her staff impersonate union officials or look at Bernie’s campaign data.

  136. 136.

    smintheus

    @Amir Khalid: Lots of appearances on line of the verb “drumpfen”, but I don’t know what it means and can’t figure it out from the few passages I looked at.

  138. 138.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Ruckus:
    My pooint was that the GOP has not been the party of Lincoln since TDR. The change was not complete til ’64

  139. 139.

    Mike J

    Self examination is scary.

    I think what he’ll do to the Republican Party is really make us question who we are and what we’re about. And that’s something we don’t want to see happen.

  140. 140.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    How long before Christie pisses off an underling who’s more loyal to the party than to him, and who knows something Christie doesn’t want known?

    TPM LIVEWIRE
    Chris Christie Calls For GOP Senate To Hold Hearings On Obama SCOTUS Nom

    Not that I don’t welcome his urine aimed at the bespectacled turkurtle with whom he shares a tent.

  142. 142.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @Mike J:

    President Black Ninja has singlehandedly destroyed the Republican Party by making them be the stone cold racists they’ve always wanted to be. Before that he beat the Clinton and Bush party establishments. That’s quite a legacy.

  143. 143.

    JPL

    So I’m streaming CNN International and they are talking about Trump and the David Duke connection. The problem that I have is that’s the party. Is Steve Scalise still the Majority Whip? At least Trump didn’t speak before Duke’s organization.

  144. 144.

    Andrey

    @Corner Stone: You’re allowed to do whatever you want. It’s not about committing some kind of sin, or breaking a rule. It’s about there being an opportunity to make things a little, tiny, bit better.

    This is difficult to talk about because our society’s general conversations are usually based around the concepts of “here are the rules, don’t break them” rather than “here’s what we could do to make things better.” It’s difficult to find a simple analogy. I can try, but I’m sure there will be weaknesses.

    So… suppose you’re at a Halloween party for kids. There is certainly nothing wrong with giving one of the kids candy, right? But suppose Bobby has gotten thirty candy bars so far, and Jimmy has gotten two. You could decide to give Bobby another candy bar. There’s nothing wrong with the action per se. If you do that, you’re not breaking a rule, you’re not being a bad person. But it would be better to give Jimmy the candy bar – the outcome of “Jimmy has 3 and Bobby has 30” is better than “Jimmy has 2 and Bobby has 31”.

    And maybe you’ve got two candy bars, right? You could give each kid one candy bar. Your own action, taken in isolation, would certainly be “fair” and “balanced”. But the worldstate that results from the action might not be. “3/31” is not as balanced as “4/30”. You are not required to take everyone else’s actions into account when you take your action. But you can. I’m saying maybe it would be better if we did that more often.

  145. 145.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mr. Twister:

    I don’t even see how that’s possible. VSU is a state university, and these kids were apparently all tuition-paying students. How is it even legal to eject them from an event on their own campus?

    I mean, WT everloving F?

    Everyone continues to talk about Trump as the inevitable nominee, and we’re beginning to hear from Republicans who swear they won’t support him under any circumstances but still assume he will get the nom — but there is a piece of me that continues to believe that he really, really doesn’t want to be President and is just trying to do or say something so outrageous that even his devoted followers will turn on him and allow him to save face by quitting in a huff. This seems like another stab at that.

  146. 146.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The Trump rally is not a university sponsored event. Donald J. Trump for President Inc. rented the P.E. Complex for the event, but questions remain whether or not VSU Event Services ignored its own policies when approving the rental.

    “VSU is committed to the practice of citizenship and to graduating a quality, diverse student population prepared for roles as leaders in a global society. This event affords students, regardless of political affiliation, an opportunity to experience the national dialogue that surrounds the election of an American president every four years,” stated the VSU email.

  148. 148.

    Corner Stone

    I’m going back to watching the NFL Combine highlights. That at least makes sense, in some limited ways.

  149. 149.

    magurakurin

    @Applejinx: 10 dollars wasted. But at least the first wave hasn’t gone over the top yet. I suppose there is still hope of a sort. But after tomorrow’s vote, sending money to the Sanders campaign will be as futile as the third wave going over the top at the Somme.

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @magurakurin: Whenever I hear about Sanders fundraising, I wonder what states it comes from and where all that interest and energy and enthusiasm, and money, was in 2014.

  151. 151.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @beltane:

    Explicit appeals to white supremacist thinking have always been embraced by the Village as long as they were covered by a translucent veneer of gentility.

    Country club racism is more or less acceptable in American politics. You’re allowed to be as racist as the Augusta National (because tradition and drawling and pimento cheese and shit).

    Then again, the WaPo Style section piece on Massholes letting their Masshole flag fly proud was… notable. The Masshole who who was personally repulsed by Michelle Obama’s appearance… dear fucking me.

  152. 152.

    magurakurin

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wonder as well. It might be interesting is someone polled the Sanders supporters in one of these national polls and asked them if they were eligible to vote in 2014, did they vote and for who and where. Likewise for the Clinton supporters.

  153. 153.

    Steve in the ATL

    @pseudonymous in nc:

    Country club racism is more or less acceptable in American politics. You’re allowed to be as racist as the Augusta National (because tradition and drawling and pimento cheese and shit).

    You have it totally wrong–Augusta National is fully integrated now. Condaleeza Rice is a member! As is another woman! And a black guy! Uh, none of the black or female members live in Georgia, however, so the odds of a respectable white male being offended by their presence is minimal.

    There’s a funny story about how the uber-snooty Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta got integrated, but I will save that for a Balloon Juice meetup.

    (I originally typed “BJ meetup” but my wife is in the next room and it seemed inappropriate!)

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    questions remain whether or not VSU Event Services ignored its own policies when approving the rental.

    Ya think?

  156. 156.

    Elizabelle

    “This is Craig Windham of NPR.”

    No longer, sadly. Died suddenly yesterday of a pulmonary embolism, aged 66. He did the 5-minute news roundups on the hour, and did them well. Will miss him. Liked his calm, collected voice.

    WaPost story.

  158. 158.

    Applejinx

    @magurakurin: From the fundraising emails, just now:

    Christopher —

    We just got some incredible news from the Sanders campaign: In less than 12 hours, Bernie’s political revolution managed to blow right through an unprecedented $40 million goal for February — with hours to spare before tonight’s FEC deadline.

    I’m absolutely awestruck right now by what our movement accomplished today. The political world has never seen anything like this.

    But with 11 states voting on Tuesday and 12 more voting in the following two weeks, the stakes right now could not be any higher. So we’re joining with Bernie’s team to set an even bigger, bolder goal:

    Will you help us get Bernie up to a mind-blowing $45 million in February? Please pitch in $2.70 or more to Bernie Sanders and DFA now! FEC DEADLINE: 11:59pm TONIGHT (Monday, February 29).

    Shyeah right ;) but we apparently made it. And money talks: it is the only thing that matters in American politics anymore, since I don’t know when. Just let me earn a little more money so I can have my bills covered, and I’m back in there.

    You seem to think this is about a horse race. It’s about funding Bernie’s organization so we don’t have to have just only the DNC, and it’s about money being the only thing that talks anymore. As much as I respect your position, you don’t get to tell me or anybody to stop funding Bernie. Especially if we have to take this more long-term.

  159. 159.

    Gravenstone

    Just had an acquaintance at my (possibly former) gaming group tell me he feels Trump is “by far the most moderate Republican nominee in a long, long, long time”. The mind simply boggles.

  161. 161.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    there is a piece of me that continues to believe that he really, really doesn’t want to be President and is just trying to do or say something so outrageous that even his devoted followers will turn on him and allow him to save face by quitting in a huff.

    Careful now. You’re projecting your own decency onto him and his supporters.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    /sigh/…. I know I shouldn’t but…

    @Applejinx: Especially if we have to take this more long-term.

    What’s “this”? What’s the “long-term”? For that matter, what’s “our movement”

  165. 165.

    Mary G

    @Applejinx: I haven’t joined in on the Bernie vs. Hillary threads, because I don’t really care who wins that battle. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve enjoyed your posts and admire your passion and that you put your money where your mouth is by volunteering for Bernie. He’s really pushed the Overton windows leftward and I think he should stay in as long as he can. Voters have notoriously short memories and I don’t look forward to nine months of Hillary-bashing 24/7.

  166. 166.

    sharl

    Sooo, just finished listening to the rebroadcast of On Point, including guest Matt K. Lewis.

    Folks, Mr. Lewis is confirming what I’ve heard others saying: The Trump Phenomenon is the fault of the tyranny of Obama – y’know, Executive Orders and whatnot – and the connivance of Democrats.

    Thank goodness THAT’S now settled…

    The Mattster wants the GOP to return to its roots: rugged individualism. LOL.

    It was fun listening to Trump fangirl A.J. Delgado calling Lewis a liar on air. At any moment we’re going all WWE and swinging folding chairs here.

  167. 167.

    magurakurin

    @Applejinx: like I said, after tomorrow, anymore will be money wasted better spent on the general. But, it’s a free country. Do what you like.

    I haven’t given a dime to anyone yet. I’ll spend what limited funds I have on the election that actually matters.

  168. 168.

    WarMunchkin

    @Corner Stone: Isn’t she the first and only Hindu member of Congress? And was also deployed to Iraq? IIRC Harold Ford won on his father’s name at a young age. There’s a difference between the two in actual accomplishments, just saying.

  169. 169.

    Plantsmantx

    @JPL:

    They haven’t been the party of Lincoln, since Reagan.

    They’re still the party of Lincoln- George Lincoln Rockwell, that is.

  170. 170.

    Frans

    @Amir Khalid: I checked the website forebears.io and it does not recognize “Drumpf” as a surname. It does recognize “Trumpf” as an uncommon German surname. I think “Trumpf” got mangled to “Drumpf” by an immigration official.

  171. 171.

    frosty fka Bro Shotgun etc etc

    @Steve in the ATL:

    My point was that I have no interest in reading about Nixon or Reagan or any of their ilk. Living through it and the ongoing aftermath is painful enough

    .

    Me too. I had every intention of joining the book discussion of Nixonland on BJ a couple of years ago but couldnt make it through the first chapters. Just too many bad memories being dredged up.

  173. 173.

    frosty fka Bro Shotgun etc etc

    @Applejinx:

    And oh, my, are you in for a treat.

    My favorite Oliver moments happen right after he says: “We were wondering what would happen if xxx?” “And so we tried it.”

    He’s got a hell of a staff.

  174. 174.

    Steve in the ATL

    @WarMunchkin:

    IIRC Harold Ford won on his father’s name at a young age. There’s a difference between the two in actual accomplishments, just saying.

    Harold comes from a Memphis political dynasty. They were so corrupt that I once voted for a radical Muslim whose campaign platform was “kill white people” just to vote against a Ford.

  176. 176.

    prob50

    @Frans:

    I think “Trumpf” got mangled to “Drumpf” by an immigration official.

    Or maybe that immigration official was just able to recognize a “Drumpf” when he saw one.

    They look different and smell funny, you know.

    edit: I don’t know where the extra blockquote came from and am too PC ignorant to know how to get rid of it.

  177. 177.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Scalia’s Death Is Making Biz And Conservative Activists Avoid SCOTUS

    The Supreme Court has only been in session without Justice Antonin Scalia for a week. But already, his death is affecting cases, and particularly decisions not to take certain cases to the Supreme Court without the guarantee of his vote.

    All the wingnut and corporate groups who have incessantly brought nuance suits with no merit like ACA are throwing in the towel now.

  181. 181.

    WarMunchkin

    @Steve in the ATL: I’d rather people not fuck with Gabbard over a primary. Yes, it was an unwise career decision for her to endorse a losing candidate, but the woman has clearly put in the service hours for the country as a battlefield medic and represents a first for Hindus in the United States. She’s young (34!) and follows the trend of most younger people in going for Sanders. After Clinton wins the nom, I’d rather people just welcome her back.

  182. 182.

    Feathers

    @Anne Laurie: It’s the Jesuit training. Brutal.

    The book of his I read most recently was Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which looks at Macbeth in the context of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and King James’ obsession with witches. Apparently there was a craze for witch plays at the time, much like the vampires everywhere a few years back. Who knew? Wills is definitely reliably worth reading, even when the topic seems odd. I love Shakespeare and fantasy/horror/gothic lit, but I only picked this up to read because my mother had it checked out of the library while I was home visiting. Deeply pleasant surprise.

  183. 183.

    gwangung

    You seem to think this is about a horse race. It’s about funding Bernie’s organization so we don’t have to have just only the DNC,

    If you’re talking about taking over the machinery of the Democratic party, I’m actually all for that. It’s definitely long term….for forever, in fact. But I’m all for folks with fresh ideas and a different orientation in charge of the organization.

  184. 184.

    Mike J

    @gwangung: Of course you actually have to be a member of the party to change it. One month, or one year from now, how many people are going to show up at the monthly county Democratic party meetings? How many are going to say, ‘we told them what we wanted once and didn’t get it, so never mind.”

  185. 185.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @gwangung: also, shouldn’t/wouldn’t such a long term movement be turning its attention to down ticket races? Is this happening? I know, I sometimes insist, that the blogosphere is not a reflection of the Democratic party (or any part of the political world) but the other day one of our more… energetic Sanders supporters posited that if the Democrats don’t want (I think that was the phrasing) don’t want to run a Senate candidate in Illinois, maybe the Bernie movement could find one! There are half a dozen or so competitive and important Senate races this cycle. How do “activists” not know about Tammy Duckworth? She’s a fairly prominent figure in the party.

  186. 186.

    42

    @Andrey: I used to be the only (lesbian) woman working in a car dealership. The way I explained it that got the most positive response was, “I can chat with you for 5 or ten minutes about sex every day and it’s no BFD. But EVERY man in here wants to do the same. That’s an hour of my time every day, so no. It’s just too time consuming.”

  187. 187.

    gwangung

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hmmm….reminds me of when I asked for a slate of candidates that represented the movement Sanders was supposedly leading, I got directed to a website…which consisted of a list of 25 people running, half of which were current sitting officials, and of the rest, half were fringe candidates with no hope of winning.

    I think a more targetted, focussed list of seats that they want to flip, from R to D (NOT from D to bluer D) would be a better list.

  189. 189.

    Zinsky

    John Oliver absolutely nailed it with that video! Anyone who votes for Donald Trump, I mean Drumpf, after watching that video is either insane or dumber than a stumpf.

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