Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

The revolution will be supervised.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

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

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

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

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

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

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: Primary Ides of March

Open Thread: Primary Ides of March

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312Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh36

    Every time I see Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace’s faces on my TV, I want to scream…”fuq ya’ll for giving up da grifter from wasila…ya bastards”

  3. 3.

    ? Martin

    Things look pretty bleak for Bernie, but he’s got a fuckton of cash and the ability to raise it like crazy. He’s going to have a surprisingly loud voice here, and I think that’s a pretty good thing.

  5. 5.

    ? Martin

    @lamh36: I think Rachel brings them on because they are now pretty honest about that decision and that should be a good trait in a pundit who has admitted to their past sins.

  6. 6.

    lamh36

    good news out of Illinois…so far…

    @jonswaine
    Anita Alvarez, Chicago prosecutor blamed for coverup of Laquan McDonald video, is trailing Dem primary challenger

  8. 8.

    bluehill

    All the talk about a repub 3rd party candidate is humorous. They would be disavowing the choice of the biggest bloc of their party but it’s not like whoever that 3rd party candidate is would be that different from a policy standpoint. The biggest difference is who the repub elites think they will be able to control.

  9. 9.

    Ready

    Cruz or nothing. Trump’s nationalism is big government, not conservative constitutionalism.

    Preserve the Republic!

    #NeverTrump
    #JoinOrDie
    #CruzToTheFuture
    #CruzinUSA

  10. 10.

    PhoenixRising

    Hillz should totally put 21% of her salary, once elected, into a fund to promote equal pay policies.

    Not sure how it could be spent, but it would be a powerful gesture to reduce her own pay to 79% of what Obama made.

  12. 12.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Uh-oh

    Hillary just strangled a puppy on stage – big mistake – Sanders is gonna pounce on that one.

  13. 13.

    lamh36

    @? Martin: whatever…I’m not being paid to “forgive” them…they can both kick rocks…they probably sleep fairly well, while the rest of the US still get waves set from the Wasila-storm…so fuq em both.

    The least I can say is maybe thx cause I suspect it’s da grifter that helped McCain lose!

  14. 14.

    ? Martin

    @Baud: Agreed. I think Bernie as a gravity well to her left and Trump effectively limiting the threat from the right has really helped her in this race.

    But I think Sanders can really help her with her unfavorability ratings. People really like Sanders.

  19. 19.

    magurakurin

    @? Martin: not if he uses it to keep trashing Clinton personally. I wonder if this result is a lot of people reacting badly to Sanders’ nasty negative turn. I know it pushed me into the “fuck you very much, Senator Sanders,” column.

  21. 21.

    Mike J

    TBogg ‏@tbogg 35m35 minutes ago
    Peggy Noonan watches Rubio’s speech and murmurs, slightly above a whisper.

    “Elian….Elian…”

    A tear begins its silent descent.

  24. 24.

    Splitting Image

    Let me just congratulate Betty Cracker on the removal of her state’s – what was it? – “smarmy little shitweasel” from the race. Good riddance, as she said.

    So we’re down to three Republicans: an unelectable braying asshole; an unelectable oleaginous toad; and the candidate some of the commenters here considered the most dangerous. One of the three no longer has any path to the nomination. I’d say things are looking good.

    Clinton pretty much sealed the deal tonight, although I think Sanders has enough money in the kitty to hang on for a few more weeks as an issues-based candidate, which presumably is what he intended to be in the first place.

    It’s probably a good policy to be skeptical about the Democrats winning back the House this fall, but if they do, then the best case scenario for women is Hillary Clinton in the White House, Nancy Pelosi back in as Speaker, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg leading a working majority on the Supreme Court. I think I can live with that.

  26. 26.

    dmsilev

    @Ready:

    #JoinOrDie

    I think the official Balloon Juice Rusty Chainsaw could be made available to you if you ask nicely.

  28. 28.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Ready:
    #CruzToNowhere

    I am breaking my own rule to never feed a troll but this poor poop-spreader is so sad and pathetic it is hard to resist

  30. 30.

    lamh36

    my conspiracy hat on a mo…I’ve always thought, still do, that Trump doesn’t really want to be Prez…so… lets say someway, somehow, Trump gets rid of Rubio & Cruz, he steps aside for some “reason” and then up come Kasich…da savior?

  32. 32.

    Baud

    She’s obviously thrilled, but that was the best speech I’ve heard Hillary give this campaign.

  35. 35.

    MomSense

    We could very well follow up the first black President with the first woman President. Amazing.

  36. 36.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    She went too far by promising to liquidate the Kulaks to restore order.

    U can’t say that out loud.

  39. 39.

    M31

    @? Martin:

    interesting thought — assuming Sanders loses but campaigns for Hillary, I wonder if his favorables will continue to stay high — Repubs will be training their shit cannon on Hillary, so perhaps he can stay on his message.

  40. 40.

    bluehill

    Still waiting for the repubs to have their “we have met the enemy and he is us” moment. Probably won’t happen until after the election, but at some point you would think they would realize that the media, the Dems, the godless didn’t blow up their party. They will realize that at some point, won’t they???

  41. 41.

    Debbie

    @Baud:

    Yes, I was very pleasantly surprised by her speech. I hope she keeps that kind of tone. It would be quite a contrast to any of the GOP clowns.

  47. 47.

    magurakurin

    @Steve from Antioch: this is the shit I’m talking about. Calling her the most clever and witty vile, evil names you can think of and then punctuating it with “but I’ll vote for her,” is like the political equivalent of The Aristocrats. Not helpful. At all.

  53. 53.

    jl

    @Baud:

    ” No, it’s true. And it’s to his credit. ”

    The influence of Sanders will be good if it helps HRC counter the economic populist appeal of Trump. I am not sure how many Trump supporters go for the economic populism as opposed to the generalized bigoted rage, but if there are many of those, it could save us.

    On the other hand, what will be to Sanders credit is if he keeps his word and actively campaigns for the Democratic ticket and constantly and loudly yells at his supporters to get out a vote to continue his political revolution. As a Sanders maga-donor, I expect him to do that, and only if he does that is real credit due.

    I think Sanders would be damn fool not to do that. But you never know what is up with these politicians until crunch time arrives.

  55. 55.

    Keith G

    I am happy that Buckeye Democrats gave the nod to Hillary. This is a pivotal result. Cheers to my state of birth.

  57. 57.

    Betty Cracker

    Looks like Trump dispatched protesters to crash Rubio’s pity party, and they just disrupted Kasich’s speech too. Ha! Well played, Trump!

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @jl:

    He’ll do it. If for no other reason, he would be throwing away everything he’s accomplished away if he walks away.

  60. 60.

    Anoniminous

    @NotMax:

    The statistics behind the extreme gerrymandering go wonky on them this year and it’s a Presidential year so Democrats will get off their lazy asses and vote. It’s possible the House can be flipped just as it did in 2008. We won’t know how likely that is until much closer to election day.

    Way too soon to say it can’t happen.

  62. 62.

    magurakurin

    @jl: I hope you are right, but I am honestly worried about him taking his marbles and going home. I hope I am wrong.

  64. 64.

    Hill Dweller

    President Obama is reportedly going to announce his Supreme Court nominee tomorrow.

  65. 65.

    ? Martin

    @NotMax:

    Barring a tsunami of Krakatoan proportion, the House ain’t gonna flip this year.

    Agreed its a longshot mainly because it’s been gerrymandered to hell and back, but if there’s a year where it could happen, this might be it.

  66. 66.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Kasich is the one who worried me along with Scott Walker. Kasich still scares me because he could carry Ohio in the general.

  67. 67.

    Amir Khalid

    @Splitting Image:
    I call them the Loose Cannon (Donald), the Jackhole (Ted), and the Last Damp Squib (Kasich, the final survivor of a group I called Damp Squibs of The Establishment). So much catchier.

    As for Bernie, his survival as a candidate has never been in doubt, given his campaign’s fundraising prowess. He can easily stay in through the end of the primary season, even if he never has a prayer of catching up to Hillary. But as he falls further behind, he’ll have less and less ability to pull her to the left. You guys will have to hope she stays leftish of her own accord.

  68. 68.

    different-church-lady

    I can see the scorched-earth activities have started to leak out of the containment vessel…

  71. 71.

    Anoniminous

    @jl:

    His ‘thing’ is getting people off their butts and active in politics. Why the devil wouldn’t he continue on through election day? Plus if he is active he will have some impact on the House and Senate nominating races and then getting those people elected in the general. Why wouldn’t he do that? That’s how things really get changed.

  72. 72.

    Splitting Image

    @NotMax:

    Barring a tsunami of Krakatoan proportion, the House ain’t gonna flip this year.

    I agree with you, but I also think that a Trump campaign could cause a tsunami of exactly that magnitude to happen.

  73. 73.

    Mike J

    @Mai.naem.mobile:

    Kasich is the one who worried me along with Scott Walker

    According to the graphic at the top, Kasich only needs to carry 110% of the remaining delegates to lock it up.

  74. 74.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    Yes looking forward to “Worried World Breathes Sigh of Relief” headlines the morning after the election.

  76. 76.

    different-church-lady

    @jl:

    what will be to Sanders credit is if he keeps his word and actively campaigns for the Democratic ticket and constantly and loudly yells at his supporters to get out a vote to continue his political revolution.

    I fully expect that he will. Because, no matter what his flaws might be, he’s a stand-up guy.

    I also fully expect that many of his supporters will not listen.

  78. 78.

    FlipYrWhig

    @jl: I want Sanders to say “if you want the Democratic Party to stand for people like us, don’t mourn, organize. Because if you want the kind of politics our whole campaign has been working so hard to define, the real work doesn’t end now, or soon, or ever. Get out there and be the change you want to see.”

  79. 79.

    Betty Cracker

    @magurakurin: Consider the source, who called Ruth Bader Ginsberg an asshole the other day. There’s more projection going on with that one than an entire Amway convention.

  80. 80.

    ? Martin

    @jl:

    The influence of Sanders will be good if it helps HRC counter the economic populist appeal of Trump. I am not sure how many Trump supporters go for the economic populism as opposed to the generalized bigoted rage, but if there are many of those, it could save us.

    Trump’s supporter are as strong on the economic populism as Sanders’. The difference is that Trump’s supporter blame their struggles on bigoted rage, while Sanders’ blame their struggles on the absence of federal policy and support.

    Trump is pretty clear indication that conservatives feel fucked over by the GOP’s constant fluffing of the rich and powerful.

  82. 82.

    jl

    @Baud: @magurakurin:

    If Sanders can bring enough delegates to the convention, I think there will be some negotiations, and what Sanders does will depend on the outcome, and likelihood of Senate swinging back to Dems. If things looking good on both those fronts, then Sanders would be an idiot not to do everything he can to max out chances of a big Democrat victory.

    But, I won’t get my hopes up until it happens. Humans are too susceptible to damn foolery to be complacent.

    As commenters said above, two big presidential firsts in a row for Democrats would be cool.
    Though the (now alternative future history, I think) Sanders presidency would be a first too on the religious front.
    While GOPers recycle the same old garbage.

  83. 83.

    TheBuhJaysus

    @Mai.naem.mobile:

    Kasich on CNN talking Augie March and the little guy and the rest of the bullshit.

    Went into politics at 26, came out 20 odd years to Lehman(or whichever) and busted the shit out of the unions when elected governor.

    He’s putting on all sortsa “warm and fuzzy”

    “Lord made us all special” Ugh…

    “Going to Cleveland” to call out the National Guard in July.
    Your hiccup in this race basically assures a train wreck at the convention.

  86. 86.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I love to watch rats fight

    mike murphy ‏@ murphymike 29m29 minutes ago
    You fool. That is so stupid on so many levels; you’re just groveling for coins from your box wine tycoon. mike murphy added,
    –Rick Wilson @ TheRickWilson
    –If you’re looking for the man who really crowned Donald Trump, look no further than Right to Rise

    anybody know who the “box wine tycoon” is?
    (also too, “The” Rick Wilson. hah)

  87. 87.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Amir Khalid:
    She started out to the left. People have been projecting on her what they think her positions must be, rather than paying any attention to what she’s actually proposing. It only even sounds centrist compared to ‘break up the banks,’ ‘universal free college’, and ‘single payer.’ Free community college tuition, regulating the shadow banking industry and taxing high speed stock transactions, foreign policy through diplomacy, increased capitol gains taxes, expanding Obamacare to achieve universal health care… she’s been liberal as Hell, right out of the gate. And unlike Sanders, specifically addressing institutional racism and sexism from the get-go.

  88. 88.

    lamh36

    @Baud: Not really watching, but I noticed his daughter behind him more than wife (though shes on the other side), and I just thought, I think the Obamas greatest decision as parents was to keep the girls from the stage during a majority of the big victory speeches.. Keeping then backstage instead…sure wish more pols did the same…IJS.

  89. 89.

    dmsilev

    @Hill Dweller: I hope he starts by emailing tonight’s GOP primary results to the entire GOP Senate membership, along with a note saying “You can let me choose the next Justice, or I tell the country that you’re willing to let …him choose”.

  93. 93.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Anoniminous: We’ll see if that’s really his thing, or if his thing was “everyone but me is lamentably corrupt,” which is kind of what his thing was for the 50 years prior to 2015.

  94. 94.

    magurakurin

    @Anoniminous: I guess that’s his thing. But he just spent the last week all but saying that Hillary and Rahm share the same bed. Kinda wish he’d go back to his other “thing” now.

  95. 95.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @CNN BREAKING NEWS ALERT

    Obama to name female judge from New York to Supreme Court (photo)

  96. 96.

    Felonius Monk

    @bluehill:

    They will realize that at some point, won’t they???

    Around the time they call for a significant increase in the funding of Planned Parenthood.

  97. 97.

    Steve from Antioch

    @magurakurin: has it occurred to you that I might not give a shit what you think is helpful?

    I take it you didn’t bury many scarred, wasted bodies in the 1980s while Ron and Nancy ignored the AIDS crisis. If you had you might be a tad less concerned with “winning” versus what is right.

    Any moral person is disgusted by Clintons rabid amorality.

    Unlike you, I think Americashould do better.

  99. 99.

    Peale

    @Debbie: lol. Look, I know republicans claim to hate Washington, and it’s, um, not exactly full of their natural constituencies. But really?

  101. 101.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Iowa Old Lady: I think he’s principled but he’s also impatient and intolerant of people who don’t see things his way. I suppose we’re about to find out.

  102. 102.

    magurakurin

    @? Martin:

    while Sanders’ blame their struggles on the absence of federal policy and support.

    No he doesn’t, he blames on the corruption in the system, which according to him is present in both parties and as of late particularly in Hillary Clinton herself.

    Hillary Clinton is the one blaming it on the absence of federal policy and support.

  103. 103.

    Linnaeus

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Sanders’s presence in the race gives Clinton the political space to emphasize those ideas and reduces the incentive to tack rightward. Notice how she’s fine-tuned her message since the first debate.

  104. 104.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @jl: Real question: Has Bernie ever been to the Democratic Convention before? I’m curious to know if he’s up on procedure, which could make a difference on how much influence he will have.

  106. 106.

    Kay

    @Mai.naem.mobile:

    They’ll be a mess though, because he almost has to win at the convention.

    We’ll can take the Kasich vote totals in Ohio and add them to the Trump vote totals and compare that to Bernie plus Hillary and extrapolate to see if Clinton or Kasich would have won Ohio, had it been a general.

    Maybe not :)

    Someone will do that, though. Chuck Todd, probably. He has 17 hours a day to fill with nonsense.

  109. 109.

    Mike J

    Scott Lemieux ‏@LemieuxLGM 1h1 hour ago
    Hard to believe that Marco Rubio’s message that there are no losers in a free enterprise system isn’t resonating with voters in 2016.

  110. 110.

    Eljai

    Kasich said something about taking the elderly neighbor widow to dinner this Sunday. I guess that’s to make sure she has something to eat once he cuts her Social Security.

  113. 113.

    jl

    @? Martin:

    ” Trump is pretty clear indication that conservatives feel fucked over by the GOP’s constant fluffing of the rich and powerful. ”

    I think that is the real reason the establishment GOP hates and loathes Trump. His candidacy will blow a huge hole in the standard GOP long economic con game. They have no clue how to repair the damage or what to replace it with if they cannot repair it.

    Heck, they couldn’t even keep their weak sauce BS outreach program (supposed to attract something other than white bigots) going for more than a week.

  116. 116.

    I Am Not Jon Snow

    @TaMara (BHF): I hope the people at ABC have their flame retardant suits ready when the Trump supporters burn the convention hall to the ground.

  122. 122.

    liberal

    @Betty Cracker: I called her an asshole. She should have resigned not that long after Obama took office. Staying on the court until now entailed lots of risk with little return.

    If you’re too fucking stupid to understand that, I feel sorry for you.

  124. 124.

    lamh36

    Good job Illinois…

    Jeff CoenVerified account
    ‏@JeffCoen
    Two-term Incumbent Cook SA Anita Alvarez has conceded to challenger Kim Foxx, per a top campaign staffer. #ILPrimary

  125. 125.

    Betty Cracker

    @lamh36: When I found out he has twin 16-year-old daughters, all those months he spent schlepping around in Iowa, New Hampshire, etc., with so little result suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Hey look, Joe Scarborough’s a dick! Who knew?

    Erin Matson ‏@ erintothemax 14m14 minutes ago
    Erin Matson Retweeted Joe Scarborough
    Thanks for making sure Hillary can still feel like every woman who has dared to walk on a sidewalk. Erin
    –Joe Scarborough @ JoeNBC
    —Smile. You just had a big night. #PrimaryDay
    150 retweets 180 likes

  127. 127.

    I Am Not Jon Snow

    @Baud: And Trump’s been about 20k ahead in NC for a while now, with 45 percent of the vote now counted. I’m guessing that may be the next state called.

  128. 128.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Betty Cracker: I think the phrase I used was “selfish asshole”. Which she is. Her refusal to step down early in Obama’s second term presents a very real risk that Cruz or Trump will get to appoint her successor.

    Look, I admire RBG, but unlike you, apparently, that doesn’t mean that I have to think everything she does is just oh so perfect.

  130. 130.

    PhoenixRising

    @Betty Cracker:

    Kasich sounds stoned. What’s that covered wagon with a sail bullshit?

    I know, right? His wife was giving him the side-eye like, Dude, you’re high AF right now so let’s spend some donations on maybe a speechwriter?

  131. 131.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @lamh36: Agreed. She’s pretty and seemed to be the apple of the cameraman’s eye. She was distracting from Kasich’s message (whatever it was).

    (I have C-Span on the TV with the volume down.)

    The dumpster of confetti that was dumped on everyone was a bit of a bizarre touch, I thought.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  132. 132.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Okay, but that doesn’t matter for us. Presumably he’d get 100% of the GOP vote were he the nominee. That is or is not enough to win Ohio in a general, depending on how many total votes.

  135. 135.

    jl

    @Amir Khalid:

    ” Uh-oh. Bernie is leading in Missouri by a hair. Is Hillary doomed? ”

    HRC over under performed outside expectations. A shocker!

  137. 137.

    Baud

    @Kay: Right. My point was that he won his home state primary, but I wouldn’t call it dominating. Meaningless, since Kasich is still behind Rubio is total delegates.

  138. 138.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Splitting Image:

    Hillary Clinton in the White House, Nancy Pelosi back in as Speaker, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg leading a working majority on the Supreme Court.

    I’m going to have nice dreams tonight! Thanks for the aspirational image.

  140. 140.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Frankensteinbeck: Are you fucking drunk? She started out as a Goldwater supporter. Do you know who that is?

    Tell. Me some more about her strong leftist positions in favor of gay rights or gay marriage in the 1980s? No, how about the1990s? No? When did this strong leftist of yours decide the gheys were actual people?

  141. 141.

    lamh36

    @mmurraypolitics
    Kasich: “Tomorrow, I’m going to Philadelphia”

    PA holds its primary more than a month from now — on April 26.

  142. 142.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Betty Cracker: Kasich is a thin skinned asshole who’s a sanctimonious religious jerk as well. He may be (or not) sincere about the faith stuff – he helped get some helpful MH regs through and told my NAMI friend “now we need to pray” as he Tebowed.

  146. 146.

    Kay

    We had a county commissioner primary tonight where the favorite has had not one but two suspicious fires at his pizza restaurant/convenience store AND numerous citations for underage beer sales.

    I am shocked by Republicans these days. I mean, he’s a funny person and all, entertaining, this candidate, but he’s basically a criminal.

  148. 148.

    Fair Economist

    @TheBuhJaysus:

    “Going to Cleveland” to call out the National Guard in July.

    The possibility that in a hotly contested nomination struggle one of the contenders will be controlling thousands of riot police outside the convention center could add a certain delicious je ne sai quoi to the situation.

  149. 149.

    Betty Cracker

    @Steve from Antioch:

    Any moral person is disgusted by Clintons rabid amorality.

    Christ, you sound like a public access TV preacher. Kindly find a conflagration in which to perish, you self-righteous, gun-humping twatwaffle.

  154. 154.

    Amir Khalid

    @Steve from Antioch:
    For goodness’ sake, man. Hillary, born into a Republican family, was a Goldwater girl in high school. While at university she became a staunch Democrat. This is all widely known by now. Do keep up.

  156. 156.

    Peale

    @Baud: at 17, she was holding a banner for Barry. At 18, posing nude to pass through freshman orientation.

  159. 159.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Kay: Look, she’s a pioneer and a fantastic justice. She’s also mortal. Given the cancer she had, she has a 4.5′ year life expectancy right now. She is a selfish asshole.

    I don’t understand why some people can’t hold two non identical thoughts in their head at the same time.

  160. 160.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    And when I Was the age at which she was a Gokdwater girl I wore striped eyeshadow and too big jackets with shoulder pads a la Talking Heads. High school is a weird place.

  161. 161.

    ? Martin

    @magurakurin:

    No he doesn’t, he blames on the corruption in the system, which according to him is present in both parties and as of late particularly in Hillary Clinton herself.

    Fair enough. I suppose the lack of policy supporting workers is the effect of that corruption.

  162. 162.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Amir Khalid: This might actually be a shutout night for Hillary. Bernie’s just barely ahead in MO, but KC and St. Louis city and county have hardly reported in yet at all.

  166. 166.

    Anoniminous

    @Baud:

    But Kasich’s win took 66 delegates away from both Trump and Cruz, helping to keep their three way going and the path to 1,237 complicated. So it’s all to the good

  171. 171.

    Ken

    @Mike in NC:

    Pucker up and kiss Drumpf’s fat pasty ass, you imbecile.

    Give it time. Consensus is that Cruz fan “Ready” was Rubio fan “Ready” a couple weeks ago, and Jeb! fan “Right to Rise” a few weeks before that. So in a few more weeks when Trump locks the nomination, we can expect loud Trump-kissing noises from that direction.

  172. 172.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Baud: Oh, so when says that Clinton started out as a liberal, what is the reality based response to that?

  173. 173.

    magurakurin

    @Steve from Antioch: I guess the marching orders are, “say you’re gonna vote for her but…..vile nasty shit.” Except, we all know you’re gonna vote for Jill Stein. So? Don’t give a shit.

  174. 174.

    Kay

    @Steve from Antioch:

    Yeah, he thinks she’s great and it’s not like he’s forbidding her from working. They go on speaking tours, colleges, write, etc. He just thinks she’s taking a huge risk and some of what she’s risking is her own legacy.

  175. 175.

    debbie

    @Amir Khalid:

    My dad had me supporting Nixon in the 1960 election when I could barely scribble “Boo Kennedy” in crayon, but I sure paid him back when Vietnam rolled around.

  177. 177.

    lamh36

    so Trump gets IL, NC, FL and Kasich gets OH, if Trump eeks out win in Missouri from Cruz…what next for Cruz?

  178. 178.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Amir Khalid: No shit.

    If you’ll pull your head out of your ass and read the post I was responding to, you’ll see that I am absolutely correct.

  179. 179.

    ? Martin

    @Steve from Antioch:

    When did this strong leftist of yours decide the gheys were actual people?

    About a decade ahead of the general public.

    20 years from now someone is going to be beating up on one of the Castro brothers for not backing robot civil rights.

  187. 187.

    Betty Cracker

    @liberal: You and the other asshole both called her an asshole. Which makes you a pair of assholes in my book. Thinking she should have retired and even being indignant about her refusal to comport herself as you deem appropriate is fair. Calling RBG an asshole just makes you…an asshole.

  190. 190.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mike J:
    Now writing bad schoolgirl poetry is a sin far worse than supporting Barry Goldwater. I remember Jewel Kilcher (remember Jewel, the Alaskan schoolgirl poet from Alaska?) and her unforgettably mediocre verse, which actually got published.

  191. 191.

    NotMax

    Really, really tired of dimwit Brian Williams orgasming over Trump’s Florida mansion.

  194. 194.

    I Am Not Jon Snow

    @lamh36: Hope that Trump falls short of that magic number, 1237, and then try to take the nomination from him on the convention floor. And then pray that the Trump supporters don’t burn the convention hall to the ground.

  196. 196.

    Anoniminous

    @lamh36:

    NC is proportional so Cruz will get some delegates. Illinois is proportional and right now its a three-way split since Kasich is above 20%. Trump is only ahead by 3% in Missouri with only 23% reporting so who knows what will happen there especially since St. Louis and Kansas City are always late reporting.

  197. 197.

    TheBuhJaysus

    And now Drumpf….

    So incredible. Great. Fantastic. Very nice. Tremendous.

    Wow, Trump’s son, campaign manager and the other guy in the backroad look like such a pleasant group.

  199. 199.

    Mike J

    @Amir Khalid: She wrote perfectly acceptable pop music, but mistakenly thought that was the level of quality required for poetry.

    At uni, we read Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, but that was about it for the pop music world.

  200. 200.

    Ken

    @lamh36:

    what next for Cruz?

    In reality, or in the special extended version of Revelation that his daddy spooned into his head at an early age?

  201. 201.

    different-church-lady

    @Betty Cracker: Why couldn’t she have just fuckin’ DIED? Even Scalia had the decency to do it! Sca-fuckin’-LIA, for crissake! A guy who actually was an asshole?

    /poe’s-law

  202. 202.

    divF

    @Steve from Antioch:
    She may have been a Goldwater girl in high school, but when she was in law school she interned with an old-left law firm (Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein) run by a communist (Doris Walker) and an ex-communist (Bob Treuhaft).

  203. 203.

    NotMax

    Ah, so today (per Trump, just now) Apple is a “great company.” About a week ago he was calling for a boycott of them. Next week, who knows?

  204. 204.

    The Dangerman

    @I Am Not Jon Snow:

    ….when the Trump supporters burn the convention hall to the ground.

    I read someplace that Trump hasn’t been too disciplined about lining up “faithful” delegates; don’t have a clue how delegates are selected and/or how a candidate is responsible for getting delegates chosen….

    ….and a majority of them will certainly be “bound” to Trump in the first vote…

    ….but as I’ve been hearing Trump’s delegates might flip like crazy after the first vote if Trump doesn’t have the number.

    Trump might burn the hall down but he might not have a lot of people behind him…

  205. 205.

    Kay

    @Anoniminous:

    Kasich’s win isn’t all that decisive, either. Trumpster is closing the gap a little. The GOP electorate has spoken. They want Donald Trump. Good, because Kasich would be harder to beat.

  206. 206.

    Cacti

    @Baud:

    MSNBC thinks Bernie will get Illinois because Chicago is mostly in.

    It’s true that Cook County is mostly in, but with 900 precincts yet to report.

  209. 209.

    Eric S.

    @lamh36: I don’t disagree Trump got in with no intention of being president. At this point though his ego won’t let him step aside.

  211. 211.

    jl

    Interesting to compare HRC and Sanders speeches. HRC obviously and probably irrevocably pivoting to the general election. Sanders is, so far, giving a bullet point version of his standard stump speech with most of HRC stuff edited out and keeping the anti-GOP stuff. But let’s see how he wraps it up.

  220. 220.

    shomi

    I doubt it but hopefully this shuts up the Bernie clowns who I find more annoying than the Trump/Cruz clowns. . Trump/Cruz clowns are total idiots in every way. The Bernie fans have no such excuses.

  221. 221.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I’m curious about my county. Kasich won very decisively in this area. They’re Germans. Orderly. Civic-minded. They’re not crazy Republicans. I wonder if they’ll fall in line. I already had a magistrate tell me he will not vote for Trump, and he was a young Reagan delegate to the national convention.

  222. 222.

    Punchy

    Back in grad school, I dated a (older) woman who did work for Trumps properties. I was supposed to meet him in person at his Mara Largo (sp?) Resort, but he bailed on the event at the last minute. To think that I could have talked to him, talked some progressive sense into him, where by now he’d be the leading candy for the Dem nomination…

  225. 225.

    Jeffro

    @jl: The differences she has always been a cold-eyed realist.

    I am sure sometime in the next few weeks it will sink in with Bernie that he has done a great job getting his message out, and that it will behoove him immensely to help unify the party, turn those young voters into repeat Democratic voters, and continue to be the ‘gravity well on the left’ so to speak that was spoken of earlier

  226. 226.

    Cacti

    @Baud:

    I’m curious to see how Missouri turns out. Bern has built up about 4-5 point lead there, but with only 3 of St. Louis or Kansas City precincts reporting so far.

  227. 227.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    That’s classic narcissism for you. They are unable to have empathy for anyone else because their own well of insecurity is so deep that they need the attention of everyone around them to try and fill it. And even that is never enough.

  235. 235.

    Elie

    Listening to Trump’s speech — I still cannot believe the support he has…. we are gonna win, we are gonna make our country rich, we are gonna beat this and that… its almost impaired — this man is very limited. I know folks think he is shrewd and cunning, but I just hear an impaired, very strange person saying the same things over and over mostly about his own greatness. This is sad. He is worse than Hitler, worse than Mugabe… .. Maybe like the North Korean, Kim Yung Il?

    He talks about handling pressure. He truly has no idea yet. No idea….

  236. 236.

    Ridnik Chrome

    I have to say I’ve enjoyed watching the Village’s favorite empty suit, Marco Rubio, fall flat on his face…

  238. 238.

    J R in WV

    @Steve from Antioch:

    How about we start when she was of legal voting age – 21 – when she was becoming of legal age? Seems reasonable to me.

    I’d hate to be nailed to opinions I had when I was 18, after all. Actually, I’ve change my position on things in the last couple of years, in my 60s.

    You seem drunk tonight, have you over done the “drown my grief in brown liquor” thing too?

    I gonna get a little more intoxicated before I go to bed, but I’ve only had one shot and one beer today.

  239. 239.

    Anoniminous

    @Kay:

    Kasich doesn’t have a hope in hell of getting the nomination on a first round ballot. He would have to take 1,108 of the remaining 1,227 delegates. His only chance is a contested convention. And that would almost certainly crack the GOP into three parts.

  240. 240.

    different-church-lady

    @Jeffro: It didn’t occur to me until I read your comment: it probably would have done Sanders and the rest of the country a lot of good if he had joined the party a long time ago.

  243. 243.

    NickM

    Trump’s son looks like he was genetically engineered to be a douche.

    It strikes me that these races excel Florida were tighter for Trump than I would have expected. Is it wishful thinking that this past week hurt him a little bit?

  244. 244.

    jl

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    ” What channel is his speech on? ”

    I was listening to it on The Young Turks election night coverage. They try to cover every speech.
    TYT is now in mourning for the Bernie campaign.

    Anyone who wants to gloat over TYT shock and sorrow and see how they work through their stages of grief, tune in right now.

    Edit: TPM blog says no national coverage of any of Sanders’ speech. But most covered all of Kasich’s folksy ramblings.

  248. 248.

    Amir Khalid

    @different-church-lady:
    I guess Bernie has never felt himself to be of a political ilk with the Democratic party. And he has joined it now for purely tactical reasons related to running for president. I wonder how long he’ll stay a Democrat if he doesn’t win the nomination/election.

  251. 251.

    Anoniminous

    @Baud:

    I want them to chose their nominee on the 297th ballot on August 21 after the gunfire has slowly died off … along with most of the delegates..

  252. 252.

    gex

    @Steve from Antioch: I understood the original statement to be about this campaign, not about Hillary’s every political thought and act since the beginning of time. The topic was whether or not Bernie was pulling Hillary to the left in this nomination race.

    Just because you really wanted to find the post to be a jumping off point for your ragegasm doesn’t mean you read the original poster correctly.

  253. 253.

    magurakurin

    @different-church-lady:

    it probably would have done Sanders and the rest of the country a lot of good if he had joined the party a long time ago.

    This. And the thing is there hasn’t been a bar on the Democratic Party’s side keeping Sanders from joining for a long, long time. Maybe way back in the day when he was running for mayor. But not for a long time. It has always been Sanders himself who has kept himself out of the party.

  254. 254.

    different-church-lady

    @Baud:

    I’m against all time.

    OK, I think we now know why you haven’t won any delegates to this point…

  255. 255.

    Jeffro

    @different-church-lady: Bernie is more easily understood as a force or perhaps a wake up call about how things could be … And therefore I agree with you completely .

    No reason why he in his message he can’t be an influence on Clinton, the party, and the future. I am slightly encouraged that the Democratic Party will have a chance to show the country what a functioning, cohesive, and principled political party looks like since so much of the coverage has been of the carnival barker.

  257. 257.

    lamh36

    @nxthompson
    Trump summons reporters, says they can ask questions. Gives speech, calls them disgusting, then bolts

    And they’ll all be back for more tomorrow…jackasses

  258. 258.

    Elie

    @different-church-lady:

    But he doesn’t like the rough and tumble in a truly competitive situation. He LIKED being the outsider pissing in the tent. He doesn’t want to go toe to toe with others. That is his strength but also his weakness. He wants to tell you x then retreat to a safe distance. If he had been a Democrat, he would have had more aggressive competition locally and in the Senate. As an outsider he could pick and chose. Its always great to be the naysayer on the outside, picking your battles and counting your victories in the battles that YOU choose.

  259. 259.

    pseudonymous in nc

    Trump is like a walking in-flight magazine — from a domestic airline, not a fancy international one.

  261. 261.

    lamh36

    So Cruz only state left to possibly win is Missouri? And those numbers are too close to call…?

  262. 262.

    Anoniminous

    Trump is down to a 1.5%, 6,046 votes, lead in Missouri.

    C’mon CRUZ! You odious son-of-a-bitch.

  263. 263.

    Anne Laurie

    New thread up top, so I could front-page Hillary’s speech, of which I heartily approved.

  269. 269.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve from Antioch:

    She started out as a Goldwater supporter.

    You might be very surprised at the number of very liberal women in 2016 who were Goldwater supporters in 1964, HALF A FUCKING CENTURY ago.

    Me, for one.

  270. 270.

    Peale

    @Amir Khalid: im actually glad it’s Bernie and not Nader doing this. Nader I wouldn’t trust not to bolt when he lost, take Koch money to run third party with his new formerly democrat voters. I can’t see Bernie doing the same. I know there’s supposedly a Koch Bernie PAC, but he’d have to really hate the country and his voters at this point to do that.

  271. 271.

    Elie

    I could never get over his shtick… like — if you are President — what’s with the finger pointing and shouting? Presidents have to represent in foreign policy or in contested, factional situations. As President you frequently have to accept that you cannot have things your way and that the best result is going to look like failure or a cop out. I just did not see that wisdom or perspective in anything he said… Its like he thinks that the world is Vermont…

    I wish that some of his main ideas had been in a much younger man or woman with more sophisticated social/political skills. I’ve had my fill of the aging hippies out here in the NW… those folks know everything and haven’t learned anything in years…. (the bias that really affected how I saw Bernie)

  273. 273.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SiubhanDuinne: When I was 6 years old, I was baffled and angered that people were saying bad things about Richard Nixon. Nixon was the President! That meant he was a good guy!

    As it turned out, this was more or less Richard Nixon’s own reasoning verbatim.

  274. 274.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steve from Antioch: Look, somebody had to keep Little Nino from strutting into the public courtroom wearing only his “Strict Constructionist” thong (& his wingtips, of course).

    Now she’s got the chance to watch John-Boy Roberts swear in the first female President — a Democrat & a Clinton. She’s done so much for her country, I’m willing to let the old lady hang on until next year!

  275. 275.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Elie: He is in addition to his delusions about how he would interact with world leaders (assuming they could get off the floor where they’d fallen laughing at him), also completely unprepared for the physical stamina a campaign will take. Even from your gilded stateroom in your very fancy (yoooge and classy!) jet, complete with personal chef.

    That’s before you even get to the savaging he’ll get from attack ads. This could get interesting, except for the minor but non zero chance he could win. ::runs screaming from the computer at the thought::

    @Anoniminous: Isn’t the old saying “the first hundred ballots are the hardest,” is it gunshot deaths?

  277. 277.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Ack! Carly’s back! She’s at a Cruz “victory” rally in Houston.

    I’m glad the sound is off.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  279. 279.

    Peale

    @? Martin: thank you. Christ. Gay man here. There was a time when gays and lesbians weren’t actually treated well by either political party and this idea that somehow the “left” has always been there carrying their rainbow flag and not thinking that they’d be better off without us is laughable. Out activists tended to be considered part of the left because that’s where people who require radical transformation tend to end up hanging out. But the idea that there is this solidarity of outcast groups…not in my experience. (And it cuts many ways. I’m not going to pretend that there aren’t sexist gay men or that we’ve solved the problem of racism or classism)

    But I am starting to be downright offended by this insistence that Hillary’s comments last week means that we need to throw out all the goodwill the Clintons earned. I lived through Reagan, Bush and Clinton and if you did too and didn’t notice that there was a difference, I’m speechless. While Bill did cave on DOMA, we moved on. dADT was a huge risk that backfired horribly, but if we hadn’t had that awful debate about how us fags would destroy the army then, there’s very little chance that 20 years later, Obama would be able to repeal it without fear that half the democrats in congress would go walking out the door. In the 1990s, we could also start being open in government jobs. There could be pride recognition in government offices. At least in one more corner of the world, we could be seen by people without it being threatening. It’s great that when the straights send their cameras to pride, they enjoy the freak show and dykes on bikes to keep othering us us. Or to cover ACT up stunt protests so that the only time they see us we’re either freaky or angry. But it is also great to feel safe at work, interacting with colleagues who know about you. Clinton certainly helped set that tone federally for eight years and it was a much better tone than what we had before.

    That’s why there’s more goodwill there than Bernistas can fathom when they cluck on about why we’re supposed to hate the Clintons because of DOMA and DADT. And why, while I understand that Bernie is trustworthy on these issues, harping on issues that we won anyway isn’t going to go very far. It’s great that were such a valued constituency now that both candidates are going out of their way to court us. But please. The “But DOMA and DADT” arguments at this point remind me of that spiel Andrew Sullivan put on when he was trying to turn us into republicans.

    It’s really tone deaf to carry on like that.

  281. 281.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @scav:

    She worked with/under Bob Treuhaft? A Mitford connection for me!

    Never thought to find another Mitford fan on Balloon Juice! I’ve read, I think, pretty much every biography and autobiography and memoirs and Nancy’s novels and Decca’s polemics and Debo’s collections of letters and diaries …. the Mitfords never cease to fascinate me!

  282. 282.

    Steve from Antioch

    @Betty Cracker: With your simple minded partisanship, your immediate resort to wishing violence on others and you puerile fascination with genitala, you sound a lot like Donald Trump.

  284. 284.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Jeffro: That’s the bottom line, ain’t? Let’s see if Bernie does the right thing and channel the youthful enthusiasm of his supporters into getting more Democrats elected. That’s what a mensch would do.

  285. 285.

    Miss Bianca

    @Amir Khalid:

    For goodness’ sake, man. Hillary, born into a Republican family, was a Goldwater girl in high school. While at university she became a staunch Democrat. This is all widely known by now. Do keep up.

    You know, when I was a hotline operator for Planned Parenthood, I was taught that we should consider every question, no matter how weird or suggestive, to be a serious one until it became obvious that it wasn’t.

    But, the second or third time the guy wants me to go over exactly *how* to put on a condom? I just put him on hold and ignored him.

    My dear Amir, I think the time has come to put this troll on hold. At this point, he’s just jerking off.

  287. 287.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Matt McIrvin: In 1972, I was eight. My life was pretty good. I thought why should the president be tossed out when life is good for people (read: me). Of course, I was fucking eight. By nine, I was a sadder and a wiser kid. I’ve never voted for a Republican.

  290. 290.

    John Cole

    Steve from Antioch is taking a 24 hour breather until he can pull his hit together. Will unban then.

    Go home, take off the Che t-shirt, and sober up. We’ll be here for you when you get back.

  291. 291.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Matt McIrvin:

    When I was six years old, I thought that whoever lost the Presidency automatically became Vice President.

    That’s how it was in our first-grade elections.

  292. 292.

    Miss Bianca

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    You are so TOTALLY disqualified for running for President now!

    ETA: Did Mitford write the biography of Zelda Fitzgerald? I really, really liked that one. I was in high school when I read it, and just fascinated with All Things Fitzgerald.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yeah, come to think of it, I think ’72 was the last time I was into a Republican myself…and come to think of it, yeah I was eight years old. Of course, everyone where I grew up was a Republican. You were supposed to be. It was all part of being the Right Sort.

  296. 296.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    WHA’?? That trumps me seeing tanks coming down the street in Detroit in ’67…

    (Oh, my mom was *so mad* at my older sister for that! We weren’t supposed to be in that part of town)

    ETA: Were your folks delegates?

  298. 298.

    NotoriousJRT

    @Steve from Antioch:
    It is quite clear that you don’t give a shit about anything but your own fee-fees. If your candidate loses, you throw your vote away. Jaysus, you purity a-holes tire me out. The Court is on the line. But, take your crybaby ball and go home. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

  299. 299.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Miss Bianca: They were going and couldn’t afford a babysitter. So, I went too. I saw an Albert King concert that way too. My childhood was fun.

  300. 300.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    jealous!

    Actually, I shouldn’t be. Everything cool in my childhood came from my (much older) brothers and sisters. I got taken to Motown Christmas concerts, after all (back when Stevie Wonder was still “Little Stevie Wonder”). But my mom and dad were convinced that the 60s were the worst thing that had ever happened to America. This created…tensions…when I was growing up.

  301. 301.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Miss Bianca: In my case, my trust in Richard Nixon was particularly odd because my parents were pretty liberal and didn’t like him at all.

    In the Eighties, whenever “Family Ties” did a flashback to Alex P. Keaton’s toddler years, they’d show him fondly staring at a portrait of Nixon for no fathomable reason. My parents teased me about it whenever that happened.

  302. 302.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Miss Bianca: My parents were minor players on the edges of the Chicago art and civil rights scenes. Nothing to brag about. Nothing to be ashamed of, either.

  303. 303.

    NotoriousJRT

    @Kay:
    I hear family and friends say that politicians = criminals. Lazy tarring w/ crook brush because they are frustrated that casting a vote doesn’t solve all their issues.

  306. 306.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SiubhanDuinne: When I was about 5 I had an argument with my uncle about who was Vice-President. He said it was Spiro Agnew. I for some reason thought the Vice-President was Uncle Sam.

  307. 307.

    SFAW

    @John Cole:

    Steve from Antioch is taking a 24 hour breather

    John, what’s with this relatively-mellow response? “In the old days …” etc. etc.

  308. 308.

    Percysowner

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    Uh-oh

    Hillary just strangled a puppy on stage – big mistake – Sanders is gonna pounce on that one.
    Reply

    Even worse! She didn’t SMILE enough to satisfy Joe Scarborough! God forbid she actually decide how to express her OWN emotions.

  309. 309.

    RandomMonster

    @Peale:

    But I am starting to be downright offended by this insistence that Hillary’s comments last week means that we need to throw out all the goodwill the Clintons earned. I lived through Reagan, Bush and Clinton and if you did too and didn’t notice that there was a difference, I’m speechless. While Bill did cave on DOMA, we moved on. dADT was a huge risk that backfired horribly, but if we hadn’t had that awful debate about how us fags would destroy the army then, there’s very little chance that 20 years later, Obama would be able to repeal it without fear that half the democrats in congress would go walking out the door.

    Thank you, Peale, that needs to be said for people who weren’t around back in the day.

  311. 311.

    Matt McIrvin

    I remember, in 2008, various people saying they were supporting Hillary Clinton in the primary because they thought she’d be better for LGBT rights than Obama.

  312. 312.

    Peale

    @Matt McIrvin: the great thing about this primary is that there’s no question about which candidate would be better for lgbt rights, so it’s not even a debate worth having. Clearly it’s both candidates. I’m not making a selection based on that issue at all because I no longer have to. Thanks Obama.

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