I’m going to rub doggy bellies and watch Lucha Underground. You all have fun!
Archives for March 2016
Open Thread: Judged
Me when @JoeNBC tells women to "smile" pic.twitter.com/VvLu8SDUpC
— Kate Spencer (@katespencer) March 16, 2016
Hillary Clinton wins big, and all these male pundits can talk about is her voice https://t.co/Ozn6OOEjvZ
— Emily Crockett (@emilycrockett) March 16, 2016
After the Male Punditocracy decided last night to remind Hillary Clinton that there is nothing more important for a woman than presenting an appealing facade, I’ll admit this made me LOL:
Jesus, Garland. You're being nominated to the Supreme Court. You're having a big day. Smile.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) March 16, 2016
Speaking of appearances, His Royal Vulgarity decided he didn’t wish to do any more debates, and Fox News meekly acquiesced.
Imagine the universal media outrage if Clinton announced “I think we’ve had enough debates. How many times can the same people ask you the same question?”
Unite Behind a Common Enemy
My husband-the-Berniac and I were just discussing ways Hillary Clinton could unite the party if Bernie doesn’t pull off a miraculous upset, and he (the mister) had a brilliant idea: Unite to face a common enemy, i.e., Daylight Saving Time.
This would transcend parties and factions, as anyone who has blearily added bottled vegetable stock to her coffee this week would attest. Madam Secretary’s speech could start off like this:
“When that three AM phone call comes, your president should have the experience, knowledge and wisdom to face any emergency. But most of all, she should be confident that it is actually three AM, not four AM or two AM. As Americans, I don’t think this is too much to ask!”
Enough with this DST bullshit. Who’s with me?
Open thread!
The Road Ahead, Toddler Wrangling and Open Thread
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. But after last night, it seems very likely that Hillary Clinton will be our nominee. I don’t think Bernie Sanders will or should drop out any time soon. He’s got a passionate base of supporters and plenty of money to make sure his issues continue to get attention. That’s all good as far as I’m concerned; I like Bernie, and I am confident he knows how important it is for a Democrat to win in November, even if that Democrat isn’t him.
I’ve seen some paranoid speculation in comments here and elsewhere online that Team Hillary or the Machiavellian DWS will undertake some sort of Bernie supporter purge. Not gonna happen. And while a tiny subset of the Bernie faction is writing GBCW posts at DU and DKos and promising to sit out the election, I continue to believe their antics won’t amount to a fart in a whirlwind come election time, just like the PUMAs before them. The biggest crybabies are Jill Stein voters anyway because Obama is an Eisenhower Republican, as everyone knows.
Anyhoo, it’s also looking likely that Donald Trump will represent the Republicans, possibly after a damaging convention tussle. But ultimately, I think the Repubs will line up behind The Donald because that’s what they do. Is America dumb and crazy enough to elect Trump? Nothing is impossible. The Shrub got elected (for the first time) in 2004 when everyone already knew he was the dumb-ass who screwed the pooch in Iraq. There’s no telling what issues will crop up between now and November to stir things up.
But I like our chances. I don’t think I’m particularly naïve about the nature of this country, and I live in a wingnut area, so it’s not like I don’t know plenty of folks who will vote for Trump. But I don’t think he will win the general. Thus far, he’s been appealing to the nastiest, dumbest, whiniest subset of Americans — AKA, the Republican Party base — and failing to crack 50%. I have to believe a general election audience will find him too braggy, ignorant, hateful and just plain embarrassing to represent us in the world.
Also, I look forward to the Clinton-Trump debates. As someone who watched in horror as the Beltway press made the empty-headed Dubya the “winner” of the Bush-Gore debates by creating subterranean expectations, I understand what’s coming. But I think valued commenter Eemom nailed it last night when she said, “it’s gonna be the equivalent of a ‘debate’ between a tantrum-throwing two year old and a lifelong preschool teacher.”
Yep, pretty much. Open thread!
The Road Ahead, Toddler Wrangling and Open ThreadPost + Comments (335)
GOP Dropout
This is great – all of his videos are funny as hell.
Merrick Garland SCOTUS Nomination
PBO is announcing it now. YouTube stream here.
ETA: So far, the president is emphasizing Garland’s middle-class roots, public service focus and prosecutorial chops, including his work on the Oklahoma City bombing.
ETA2: Obama (paraphrased): “Presidents don’t stop working in the last year of their term, and neither should senators…I hope senators will act in a bipartisan fashion…I hope they’re fair.”
ETA3: Garland tears up when it’s his turn to speak: “This is the greatest honor of my life, other than when [my wife] agreed to marry me.”
ETA 4: And that’s a wrap. Let the wild rumpus begin!
Presumptive nominees and procreating rats
With last night’s results, I think it is fair to say that the Democratic race is, absent strategic meteor strikes, effectively over. The Democratic Party has a presumptive nominee in Hillary Clinton.
The Republican Party does not have one yet. Fivethirtyeight.com has a good chart based on delegate targets that shows the Republican Party’s most obvious problem. No one is on pace for a clear majority in Cleveland and the two closest to pace are detestable.
My state’s primary is coming up soon and it is quasi-open with enough lead time.
What should people in my situation do? Should we just point and laugh while voting for the Democrats. There is an active House primary that I have a bit of an opinion on who would be a better Congresscritter, and my town’s Mayor and my daughter’s crossing guard may want my vote. OR should I cross over to contribute to the chaos in the GOP primary? If I elect to go that route, should I minimax and vote for a cadidate who would be a horrendous but competent President (Kasich) OR vote for the greater probability of a large Democratic win in November (Trump)?
Presumptive nominees and procreating ratsPost + Comments (158)