Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Second rate reporter says what?

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

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

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The willow is too close to the house.

I was promised a recession.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

The revolution will be supervised.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

You are here: Home / A Whiter Shade of Fail

A Whiter Shade of Fail

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These sweet dears:

The day started early for a group of about 100 people who gathered outside City Hall to rally on behalf of the Equality Coalition, many carrying placards supporting Sanders or slamming the Democratic National Committee.

Cory James, 22, of Flint, Mich., said that while he hadn’t yet given up hope that Sanders could pull a convention “surprise,” he said he could never vote for presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.

“The Democratic Party doesn’t represent me anymore,” James said. “It represents corporate interests, that’s all.”

Joel Bradshaw, 39, bused down from New York on Friday carrying his “Bernie flag,” anxious to lend his voice to the downtown demonstration.

“If Hillary wants to be queen, we’ll bring the guillotine,” he said.

Bradshaw said he was not advocating violence, only a “loud voice.”

Almost as soon as the Equality Coalition left City Hall on its long march down Broad Street, another large group took its place.

A mix of Sanders supporters, opponents of the U.S. drug war and anti-media activists, the crowd joined in a thunderous chant of “Feel the Bern!” At one point their voices drowned out traffic cop whistles and car horns along the busy traffic circle.

It’s like a less organized Phish concert.

Reader Interactions

353Comments

  3. 3.

    Keith G

    It’s not a bad thing. It was so exciting that CNN cut away to cover Boys to Men.

    Let them have their fun. That is what the first days of a Democratic Convention is about. It’s not stupidity. It is the animal spirits of an open democratic process.

    It will all work out

    @Kwame: Wow, I wish I thought of that.

  4. 4.

    Kwame

    Stand up all victims of oppression
    For the tyrants fear your might
    Don’t cling so hard to your possessions
    For you have nothing if you have no rights
    Let racist ignorance be ended
    For respect makes the empires fall
    Freedom is merely privilege extended
    Unless enjoyed by one and all

    So come brothers and sisters
    For the struggle carries on
    The internationale
    Unites the world in song
    So comrades come rally
    For this is the time and place
    The international ideal
    Unites the human race

  10. 10.

    James E Powell

    There is no talking to people like the Bernie or Bust/Never Hillary people. I went head to head with several hundred of these type of people during the 2000 election. They are not interested in politics as a means of making the world better, they do not want electoral or legislative victories or even progress. They want something like validation or an emotional moment of expression. Talking with them about politics is a complete waste of time.

  12. 12.

    lamh36

    Wow, Propane Jane called today’s mess months ago!

    @docrocktex26

    I swear by the time this is all said and done, Bernie’s whole campaign will be reduced to nothing more than apologizing for his supporters.8:40 PM – 11 Feb 2016

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    In case nobody saw, Kwame was quoting Freddie de Boer the other night, so we now know exactly how seriously to take his schtick.

  15. 15.

    PsiFighter37

    Still plenty of dead-enders chanting Bernie’s name after each speaker at the DNC. Classless. What the fuck do these people even stand for? They booed their own messiah this morning.

  18. 18.

    David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch

    Cory James, 22, of Flint, Mich., said that while he hadn’t yet given up hope that Sanders could pull a convention “surprise,”

    MSNBC has already interviewed a couple of Sanders’s supporters saying the same thing: ie the nomination fight isn’t over.

    childish tantrums are is so annoying.

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    somebody explain to me the Peter Pan hats to me again? Why are Sander supporters advertising that they’re like the fictional character who never grew up?

  24. 24.

    agorabum

    The revolution is a party. The establishment is full of squares. With their fucking suits and committee meetings. In conclusion, the only way forward is through a leaderless council of the proletariat.

    I don’t mind the kids being excited for this. But anyone over 35 who was around to vote for Bush v Gore should be ashamed.

  26. 26.

    BR

    Didn’t notice the new thread — dumb question — when do they officially nominate Clinton and Kaine?

  27. 27.

    Cacti

    Cole, I’ve never asked that anyone get booted from BJ.

    But I’m making an exception in the case of our right wing blackface troll.

    Kick that loser to the curb.

  28. 28.

    ThresherK

    I’m handing out bonus points for Bernsters who don’t know what a “convention bounce” is.

  29. 29.

    BR

    @agorabum:

    The revolution is a party. The establishment is full of squares. With their fucking suits and committee meetings. In conclusion, the only way forward is through a leaderless council of the proletariat.

    Eerie that this is where we’re at…from the John Rogers classic:

    No, seriously. Remember Republicans? Sober men in suits, pipes, who’d nod thoughtfully over their latest tract on market-driven fiscal conservatism while grinding out the numbers on rocket science. Remember those serious-looking 1950’s-1960’s science guys in the movies — Republican to a one.

    They were the grown-ups. They were the realists. Sure they were a bummer, maaaaan, but on the way to La Revolution you need somebody to remember where you parked the car.

  31. 31.

    Kwame

    Let no one build walls to divide us
    Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
    Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
    We’ll live together or we’ll die alone
    In our world poisoned by exploitation
    Those who have taken now they must give
    And end the vanity of nations
    We’ve but one earth on which to live

    And so begins the final drama
    In the streets and in the fields
    We stand unbowed before their armor
    We defy their guns and shields
    When we fight provoked by their aggression
    Let us be inspired by like and love
    For though they offer us concessions
    Change will not come from above

    Let no one build walls to divide us
    Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
    Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
    We’ll live together or we’ll die alone
    In our world poisoned by exploitation
    Those who have taken now they must give
    And end the vanity of nations
    We’ve but one earth on which to live

    And so begins the final drama
    In the streets and in the fields
    We stand unbowed before their armor
    We defy their guns and shields
    When we fight provoked by their aggression
    Let us be inspired by like and love
    For though they offer us concessions
    Change will not come from above

    The fit for Bernie isn’t over, there will be a #FloorFight!

  33. 33.

    BR

    @JMG:

    Sigh. Too bad it’s not over with today because I think they’re going to keep this up until the nomination is official.

  35. 35.

    Boudica

    Corey James, 22. “The Democratic Party doesn’t represent me anymore,” James said. “It represents corporate interests, that’s all.”
    So, this is his second presidential election he’s eligible to vote in and is already leaving the party. Somehow, I don’t think he was a yellow dog Dem. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Boudica: Corey James, 22. “The Democratic Party doesn’t represent me anymore,” James said. “It represents corporate interests, that’s all.”

    He’s twenty-two, he’s sort of saying he’s been a Democrat, but Hillary Clinton’s pledge to build on and continue the work of the last eight years means the party has left him?

  42. 42.

    Amir Khalid

    @ThresherK:
    I think those were the original lyrics to On My Own. From before the concept album.

    So, is the petulant Bernista toddlers’ protest fizzling out? Not a moment too soon, if so. This whole affair has served only to highlight Bernie’s many weaknesses as a person, a politician and a leader, which make him so ill-prepared to be president. His fans might not like hearing this, but the Democratic party did in the end choose the much stronger candidate.

  44. 44.

    Roger Moore

    @PsiFighter37:

    What the fuck do these people even stand for?

    They stand for everything that’s just and good about the Democratic party, unlike all the people who actually make up the party and do the dirty work of running the thing.

  50. 50.

    RSR

    Oh, FFS. There’s always lots of marches at these events. Looks to me that the press is going out of the way to find cranky BernieBros.

    But I personally know others marching today–teachers. Philadelphia public school teachers. They’re now over 1000 days without a contract here in Philadelphia. And they’ve been screwed over by members on both sides of the aisle.

    Some of these teachers are former Obama organizers. Some are nurses who left traditional roles for public schools. Some are former Philly Police detectives. Some–like my wife–are careers teachers who had the spine to step up and challenge their ineffective union leadership.

    These marchers, these teachers, are going to be there in November for Hillary and Tim. And they’d have been there for whomever the Dem nominee was–as will I.

    Here are Eileen and Kelly–two of my wife’s colleagues–marching today: https://twitter.com/CaucusofWE/status/757595470260736000

  51. 51.

    Elmo

    Buddy of mine from college is in the thick of this nonsense. He’s an old-school hippie, lives in a commune in Oregon, depended on the kindness of strangers to get him to Philly. He was part of a cross-country march for climate action last year. He’s all in for “Dr Stein” now.

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Roger Moore: , unlike all the people who actually make up the party and do the dirty work of running the thing.

    and getting legislation passed and actually stopping Republicans from implementing policies that would destroy everything the preening frauds pretend to care bout as they put on a show for their own egos

  54. 54.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Boudica: Think about it. This guy was 14 when Obama was elected. He thinks Obama is the norm or maybe the least that can be expected. He has no real memory of the Bush years or the Great Recession or the Iraq invasion. He has no idea how bad a president can be.

  55. 55.

    BR

    @lamh36:

    If they boo Michelle Obama right before he comes on, I think it’d be good for him to apologize to her on their behalf into the mic — maybe that’d get them to realize that they’ve become an embarrassment to him.

  56. 56.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    At what point do the rabble-rousers get their credentials taken away?

    Also, why is the mic feed so fucking noisey? It’s difficult to hear what the speakers are saying, and it is really muddying the message.

  59. 59.

    dmsilev

    @BR: They booed _Sanders_ to his face this morning. At this point, I’m not sure what the dead-enders want. Well, OK, they want Hillary’s head on a pike, and I’m not even sure that’s metaphorical any more, but beyond that?

  60. 60.

    celticdragonchick

    So a bunch of college students and recent grads are on the street carrying honest to God Soviet flags and red revolution banners to their dreadlocked white boy drum circle..

    Fucking amazing. I am supposed to take them seriously…why? These are the people who are going to convince the average American voter that Bernie is a great leader?

  62. 62.

    Keith G

    @Omnes Omnibus: The purple dinosaur. Then the mouse. Now she tours cities with pro basketball arenas and makes good bank. Good singer, great presence.

    She does a hell of a lot for a variety of liberal political causes.

  64. 64.

    BR

    @Elmo:

    Ask him how the Green party (and Sanders) square their belief in (and requirement for, if their budget numbers are to be believed) economic growth with their climate policy. Sanders folks claim that he was the best on climate policy, and I pointed out to them that his healthcare plan and other plans assume that through magic Bernie would create 5% economic growth. And that sort of growth has never done anything other than massively worsen climate change (through increased emissions). They of course had no response.

  65. 65.

    PsiFighter37

    Merkley stomping on the TPP and the crowd loves it. I’m sure PBO really appreciates that…

  66. 66.

    Trentrunner

    Just a reminder to white-knuckle poll-watchers:

    The BEST likely scenario is for the nationwide (i.e., meaningless) polls to be relatively close all the way through November 8.

    This, while the fundamentals of the electoral college map show a clear Hillary victory (like 2008 and 2012), as they have from the beginning and likely will by Labor Day.

    This will keep complacency at bay. We need our people to be afraid enough that Trump will win to actually vote and to help mobilize the vote. (And of course, he might actually win, though it’s unlikely.)

    That is all.

  67. 67.

    lamh36

    Demi Lovato has also been in the public eye due to her being open and honest about her mental health struggles with eating disorders and bipolar disorder I believe.

    Which is why she talked about mental healthcare….and of course she’s one of the few Disney stars with actual singing ability, and not autotuned or Radio Disney enhancement.

  68. 68.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    White people suck, and as a white person i know what I’m talking about.

  69. 69.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Keith G:

    Good singer, great presence.

    She does a hell of a lot for a variety of liberal political causes.

    Good for her.

  70. 70.

    Pogonip

    My question got overlooked, probably because I didn’t word it correctly IAW Balloon Juice norms. Mea culpa. Allow me to rephrase:

    What the fuckity fucking fuck is a fucking Berniebro?

  72. 72.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mike J: ZOMG THEY”RE TIED!

    oh, in Georgia?

    Never mind.

    @PsiFighter37: well, I suspect Merkley at least knows what’s in it, I suspect that’s not the case with many people waving signs.

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    @Keith G:

    She has apparently become quite the spokesperson for mental health since she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a few years ago. She is a young lady who has had some very hard times with her mental health (including an eating disorder and addiction issues along with the bipolar) but she seems to be doing really well now.

    (All of the above courtesy of the American Airlines in-flight magazine that I ended up being stuck reading while sitting on the Tarmac last week.)

  77. 77.

    CaseyL

    @celticdragonchick:

    So a bunch of college students and recent grads are on the street carrying honest to God Soviet flags and red revolution banners to their dreadlocked white boy drum circle..

    OMG. Seriously? That’s… beyond parody. The USSR is no more, FFS. It never really was a Workers’ Paradise; Putin isn’t bringing back the Dictatorship of the Proletariat; he’s an oligarchist through and through.

    it’s one with the Peter Pan get-ups. They have no more sense of history than my cats and less sense of solidarity.

    It’s all cosplay. FFS.

  78. 78.

    Temporarily Max McGee (Soon Enough to Be Andy K Again)

    Giant puppets and drum circles? Is thgat it? Where in the fuck are the mimes and stilt-walkers?!?!

  79. 79.

    Keith G

    A bit of a funk interlude. I hope they tried to book Al Green for some interstitial music on Wednesday

  80. 80.

    JMG

    When I was young in 1968 (not old enough to vote at that time) many people and myself didn’t see much difference between Humphrey and Nixon. We were wrong, but the Vietnam War was a big deal. Friends of mine got killed in it. What do these young folks think is so existential in 2016 that Clinton is evil incarnate. As for the older Sanders folks, they are just the perennial lefty losers who want to lose so they can feel pure at heart.

  82. 82.

    Truegster

    Kwame, do you really truly think that once someone sees your name that they are then going to read the lengthy poetry that follows…or just start scrolling until it ends? Know your audience.

    I’m start to laugh out loud at the concept that Kwame thought up and wrote poetry for us. It’s like a meta-meta-waste of time.

  86. 86.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Kwame:

    have a sad story to tell you
    It may hurt your feelings a bit
    Last night when I walked in my bathroom
    I stepped in a big pile of …
    Shaving cream, be nice and clean
    Shave every day and you’ll always look keen

    I think I’ll break off with my girlfriend
    Her antics are queer, I’ll admit
    Each time I say, “Darling, I love you”
    She tells me that I’m full of …
    Shaving cream, be nice and clean
    Shave every day and you’ll always look keen

    Our baby fell out of the window
    You’d think that her head would be split
    But good luck was with her that morning
    She fell in a barrel of …
    Shaving cream, be nice and clean
    Shave every day and you’ll always look keen

  87. 87.

    Mnemosyne

    @Pogonip:

    What the fuckity fucking fuck is a fucking Berniebro?

    Those people on the convention floor who keep chanting “Bernie! Bernie!” when other people are trying to talk.

  89. 89.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @Mike J:

    I know a few others, for what that’s worth. I’m discovering, at the age of 60, how whiteness works, and has always worked. It’s an infection.

  90. 90.

    gogol's wife

    @RSR:

    I watched 5 minutes of it. There was noise in the background and a little chanting, but nothing too striking. I guess the test will be when Michelle speaks.

  91. 91.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mnemosyne: the people who have taped their own mouths shut because they think that their votes don’t count more than other people’s means they’ve been “silenced”

  92. 92.

    msdc

    Hold on a second:

    This should give some sense of how large this Bernie protest at the #DNCinPHL is (sped up 10x)

    The video is 16 seconds long. So the whole protest passed by in 160 seconds, also known as “2 minutes and 40 seconds.”

    But the people are on their side!

  93. 93.

    chopper

    @Kwame:

    so RtR decided to come back and pretend to be an AA bernie supporter. come on, guys, ban this shit already.

  98. 98.

    MJS

    I’m hoping that if we survive these self-inflicted wounds, one lesson is taken to heart – stop with the f&$!ing emails and texts! I’m hoping that for the entire 8 years of the Clinton administration, putting anything in an email or text that could even remotely embarrass the administration will result in immediate termination, no warnings.

  100. 100.

    Trentrunner

    @Mnemosyne: It’s actually a bit more specific: It’s the white dudes, 20-50 y.o., oblivious to their privilege, insulting women and minorities as they scream about losing their privilege to get what they want. Also, tend to be rapists.

  104. 104.

    Keith G

    The video design and production team of the DNC should get an Emmy nomination. The video clips about Trump are amazing and great TV.

  105. 105.

    Jeffro

    @Trentrunner: yup…she’ll pop up to 51% nationally next week and will likely never give that up, with Trump hovering between 42-44%.

    We still need to “run scared” all the way through November 8, that’s for sure

  106. 106.

    MisterForkbeard

    @dmsilev: I think that’s all they really wanted. About 2/3rds of the hard-core bernie supporters I know never realized how much overlap there was between Hillary and Bernie’s position, and denied it as “fake” when told otherwise. Likewise, they’re convinced that literally everything Hillary does is evil and she’s the worst person ever and totally bought out by corporations, etc. And their posts go in a 5:1 ratio of “Hating Hillary” vs “Supporting Bernie”.

    They can’t prove any of it. They can’t even point to circumstantial evidence for most of it. But they’re always been less interested in Bernie and the revolution than shitting on Hillary Clinton. That’s just who they are.

  107. 107.

    celticdragonchick

    @Pogonip:

    A college student or relatively recent graduate who overwhelmingly tend to be an opinionated and very loud white male who is a fashionably hip socialist without actually understanding what socialism is or means beyond free stuff for me!. Generally lacks empathy for women, African Americans and anybody he is not drinking beer with at that moment.

    Also see: Glibitarian, “bros before ho’s”

  111. 111.

    different-church-lady

    @Kwame: Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
    A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed
    And then one day he was shooting at some food
    And up from the ground came a bubbling crude

    …oil, that is. “Black gold.” “Texas Tea.”

    Now the first thing you know, ol’ Jed’s a millionare
    The kinfolk said, “Jed, move away from there!”
    They said, “California’s the place you ought to be!”
    So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly

    …Hills, that is. Swimming pools. Movie stars.

  114. 114.

    hovercraft

    I watched pretty much all of the RNC last week, but I’m not sure I can watch this hostage video that this convention seems to be. Listening to these douche bags demand that they want runner up trophies, and a pony and a unicorn, to get them to accept the fact that they lost. No matter what they get they want more, enough already. Just bring on the speeches and stop interviewing them, they make me want to hit something.

  115. 115.

    BR

    @Keith G:

    Do you know if there’s someplace we can watch them online? I can’t watch the convention live but would like to watch little clips.

  122. 122.

    Davebo

    @different-church-lady:

    Come and listen to a story about a man named Abdul
    A poor desert man barely kept his camel full
    And then one day he was shooting at some Jews
    And up from the ground came a bubbling crude

    …oil, that is. “Saudi Soda.” “Kuwait Cola.”

  124. 124.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jeffro:

    We still need to “run scared” all the way through November 8, that’s for sure.

    I’m not running scared. I’m running at top speed across the volleyball court so I can spike the ball in Trump’s face at top speed. And I hate playing volleyball.

  125. 125.

    celticdragonchick

    @CaseyL:

    Yeah, I was stunned when I saw that on MSNBC this afternoon. You can see one of the idiots carrying the Soviet flag along with some of the red banner carriers up above on one of the linked tweets Cole put on his comment.

  127. 127.

    lol chikinburd

    There are Red Army Choir discs in two slots of my CD changer and I think these kids are pathetic.

    “Nas k torchestvu kommunizma vedyot!”

  131. 131.

    hovercraft

    @MisterForkbeard:
    This morning some were repeating the lock her up chants, and that she belongs in jail over the server. Remember these are democrats who believe that Obama is a sellout and he conspired to keep her out of jail where she belongs.

  133. 133.

    Keith G

    @BR: Live stream here

    Segments will be posted later and searchable, I bet. eg “Michele Obama DNC 2016”

    edit Oh, and at the same link (C-SPAN) you can watch the whole thing from the beginning whenever you want.

  134. 134.

    Mnemosyne

    @Keith G:

    The video introducing Hillary is going to be Oscar-worthy, especially if they got to hire the White House’s crew. The “intro” videos for Carla Hayden and Merrick Garland were top-notch.

  135. 135.

    lamh36

    @kaderadenurface 12s13 seconds ago
    “No matter what your family tree looks like, a fair immigration system is good for ALL Americans.” — Luis Gutiérrez (IL) #DemsInPhilly

  137. 137.

    hovercraft

    Gotta love the liberal msnbc chyron:
    BREAKING NEWS
    SANDERS TO SPEAK AFTER A CHAOTIC DAY AT THE DNC

  138. 138.

    eclare

    Seriously, those are Peter Pan hats? I couldn’t figure out what those green hats were. That says a lot.

  139. 139.

    Davis X. Machina

    @msdc:

    But the people are on their side!

    (And “people” should be uppercase. )

    The woke ones are. The rest are still suffering from false consciousness, and are unable to recognize their true class interest.
    The People may be misled, temporarily, but cannot be mistaken.

  141. 141.

    hovercraft

    @Betty Cracker:
    And he actually got a positive reception, as BW said, maybe they are getting tired of booing since they’ve been at it all day.

  142. 142.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @hovercraft:

    There should have actually been a participation trophy ceremony, with Bernie handing out plastic pink unicorns to his delegates on stage one by one, with a signed copy of his stump speech.

  144. 144.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: I accidentally clicked over to MSNBC and saw Chuck Todd bloviating; if I watched that for 5 hours, I’d start drinking again.

  147. 147.

    MJS

    @Mnemosyne: If it came across as “don’t ever use email or text”, that wasn’t my intent. But it has to be assumed in 2016 that everything put in writing will at some point be leaked, forwarded, etc. So my recommendation that putting embarrassing information in email or texts should be a firing offense from day one still stands, because you can bet the investigations from the House will be starting on day one.

  148. 148.

    Trentrunner

    Haven’t heard any Hillary boos or idiotic “TPP” chants for a few hours now.

    Have I missed them?

  149. 149.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: yeah, glad to hear somebody mention Planned Parenthood (which others may have, I just didn’t hear it).

    I never knew Jason Collins had a twin brother, he was good, too. Before I knew he was introducing his brother, I thought: This guy’s running for office someday.

  151. 151.

    ThresherK

    @different-church-lady: From “Less Miserable”(the only way I can stand it):

    At the end of the play we’re another year older.
    And we’re often exhausted from playing the poor.
    Randy Graf fell in the band,
    And the turntable’s making us dizzy,
    ‘Til the man yells a command,
    And it’s throwing us all in a tizzy,
    And there’s gonna be hell to pay…
    At the end of the play.

    At the end of the play see the audience smolder
    Sitting flat on their butts for three hours or more
    They can’t wait to get back home
    And to read the libretto in bed
    And decipher what everyone’s on
    And what we said
    Better read the synopsis
    At the end of the play

  154. 154.

    different-church-lady

    @eclare:

    That says a lot.

    I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
    Not me,
    Not I,
    Not me!
    So there!
    Never gonna be a man,
    I won’t!
    Like to see somebody try
    And make me.
    Anyone who wants to try
    And make me turn into a man,
    Catch me if you can.

  155. 155.

    Kay

    ROANOKE, Va. — As Pence speaks here about Hillary Clinton… among chants of “Lock her up!”… someone shouts out, “Kill her!”

    I was sympathetic to the Bernie supporters all thru the primary and I still believe in primaries as a process, but how “liberals” could feed this in good conscience is beyond me. The hate directed toward this woman is fucked up and sick. That’s just true and if you’re joining it you’re part of it.

  156. 156.

    Betty Cracker

    Wow, President Obama cut an endorsement for Patrick Murphy, a congressman who is seeking to unseat smarmy crapweasel Marco Rubio.

  160. 160.

    Mnemosyne

    @MJS:

    Ah, okay. It was unclear.

    Given that there are now reports that some of the DNC emails are altered or fake, though, I think there needs to be some kind of process to make sure the person actually wrote what they’re being punished for. Nobody wants another ACORN fiasco, at least not on the left.

  161. 161.

    SenyorDave

    @BR: Sanders folks claim that he was the best on climate policy, and I pointed out to them that his healthcare plan and other plans assume that through magic Bernie would create 5% economic growth.

    When I saw the 5% long term growth number I realized that Bernie’s plan was garbage. The US hasn’t had a 5-year period of 5% growth since the 1940’s (I looked it up), and hasn’t had a 4% 5-year period in four decades. It will never happen again in our lifetime. The rest of the world has caught up, and too many things have changed. His growth number is as unrealistic as Paul Ryan’s 3% unemployment number (which economists have said is actually impossible long-term and would hurt the economy).

    What pisses me off most about many Sanders supporters is they aren’t the ones who will lose health insurance if ACA is repealed, or have to worry about interactions with the police, or other problems that Bernie seemed to downplay or ignore. I would ask his supporters how come it doesn’t matter to them that Bernie never seemed to connect with people of color?

  163. 163.

    different-church-lady

    @celticdragonchick:

    You can see one of the idiots carrying the Soviet flag along with some of the red banner carriers up above on one of the linked tweets Cole put on his comment.

    I can’t understand what’s delaying those giant puppets…

  165. 165.

    dmsilev

    @Mnemosyne: ACORN is one example. So is what happened to Shirley Sherrod.

    Not one of the Obama administration’s finer moments, sad to say.

  168. 168.

    Schlemazel Khan

    Watching the convention on PBS. Things are going very well as far as I can tell. But the assholes on PBS are interviewing one dick after another who says they will not vote for Clinton.

  169. 169.

    ThresherK

    @different-church-lady: From “Less Miserable”

    At the end of the play we’re another year older.
    And we’re often exhausted from playing the poor.
    Randy Graf fell in the band, And the turntable’s making us dizzy,
    ‘Til the man yells a command, And it’s throwing us all in a tizzy,
    And there’s gonna be hell to pay…
    At the end of the play.

    At the end of the play see the audience smolder
    Sitting flat on their butts for three hours or more
    They can’t wait to get back home And to read the libretto in bed
    And decipher what everyone’s on, And what we said
    Better read the synopsis
    At the end of the play

  170. 170.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think if “manos poquitos” becomes a thing, as the kids say, Trump would have a meltdown, a huge, tremendous meltdown, believe me

    TBogg ‏@ tbogg 1h1 hour ago
    I would have paid money for Sanchez to call Trump “pendejo” or “manos poquitos”

  171. 171.

    Mnemosyne

    @different-church-lady:

    Anyone who wants to try
    And make me turn into a man,
    Catch me if you can.

    That lyric gets even weirder when you remember that Peter Pan is traditionally played by an adult woman on stage.

  172. 172.

    ThresherK

    Hey, can one of the FPers un-moderafy my lyric quote from Forbidden Broadway? Thanx.

    ETA: Okay, it’s there.

  175. 175.

    MisterForkbeard

    @hovercraft: Yeah. That’s not exactly giving them any credibility in my mind. They hate Hillary so much that anyone that thinks she might be a good president is automatically and obviously corrupt.

    It’s unreasoning hatred. I don’t know what you can do about it.

  176. 176.

    Emma

    @Mnemosyne: I’m just amused that Kwame assumed we would be shocked, SHOCKED, by the Internationale. One of my great-uncles was a funding member of the Cuban Communist party, back when it actually meant something, and he used to sing me to sleep with it.

  178. 178.

    lamh36

    Nancy Smash…on MSNBC…smashing up talking GOP pointts! Love her!
    #DemsInPhilly

  179. 179.

    SenyorDave

    I think the worst part of this whole Bernie shitshow is that it has overshadowed what should be one of the biggest stories of the year – Trump’s financial ties to Putin! The man who would be POTUS is apparently indebted to Putin financially. I’m assuming that Hillary will spend whatever it takes to uncover the ties, and assuming they are true, make it one of the centerpieces of her campaign.

  180. 180.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mnemosyne: Are there reports of those emails being faked or doctored somehow? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least, but I haven’t heard anything about that from the media. Or anywhere else.

  182. 182.

    Gravenstone

    @MJS: So, you’re suggesting hand written notes, with wax seals to ensure security en route to the intended recipient? Yeah, like that will help.

  184. 184.

    Mnemosyne

    @Emma:

    I used to work with a guy at Weight Watchers who was an honest-to-God Red Diaper Baby. His family used to spend summers in Castro’s Cuba and his parents would swear him to secrecy because it would be bad for his classmates in the US to know that he was spending his summers in a communist country.

    He, of course, spoke fluent Spanish, though he was a tall blond guy who looked very European, so people didn’t expect it.

  185. 185.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    James Downie ‏@ jamescdownie 9m9 minutes ago
    Wait, people aren’t booing every mention of Clinton. Was the narrative overblown or did I accidentally go to the wrong Wells Fargo Center?
    @ jamescdownie it was a thing for an hour or two, but it seems to have died down. Even John Podesta survived fairly unscathed.

  196. 196.

    Gin & Tonic

    @MisterForkbeard: I’ve posted before about my fear of an October Surprise, where a faked e-mail from HRC’s server is leaked, wherein US intelligence assets in Russia or Ukraine are named, and then somebody ends up very publicly dead in London or Geneva, like Litvinenko. HRC and PBO deny that the e-mail is real, but it doesn’t matter, because people have already made up their minds based on a quarter-century of Fox News conditioning. Hello, President Trump.

  200. 200.

    Emma

    @Mnemosyne: That’s fantastic. I’d forgotten the vacationing communists. Well, I lived one hell of a long way from the places where they went.

  201. 201.

    PsiFighter37

    Going to work out – should be done in time to watch Warren, FLOTUS, and the cranky old fuckwad who hopefully disappears after tonight.

  206. 206.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Simon Maloy ‏@ SimonMaloy 1h1 hour ago
    if I were running this convention, I’d insist that all speakers refer to “millionaire Donald Trump” and see how long it takes him to react

    I’d also suggest, “Alleged billionaire”

  208. 208.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: Now I’ve seen everything, an Economist doing stand-up(OK, he was more of the straight man).

  214. 214.

    Matt McIrvin

    @CaseyL: I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of Soviet nostalgia in Russia that has 0% to do with Communism and 100%, understandably, to do with Russia being the core of a superpower astride the globe like a colossus. I think that’s pretty much what it always was.

  215. 215.

    Tim C.

    @SenyorDave: Yeah, the 5% Underpants Gnome GDP Growth factor was where I switched from being a Bernie voter to a Hillary supporter. I’ll happily raise my taxes to pay for things that are worth having (Free higher ed and all the rest), but saying it’s all going to happen through some kind of magic…… no.

  217. 217.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Gravenstone: I’d suggest something more practical. Companies know that both electronic and paper communication can be subpoenaed, and what sensible ones do is train their engineers to do follow up. That is, if they express a concern about product safety (which you want them to do during development), they should follow up on whether the safety issue existed and what they did about it, and put that in writing too. The DNC should have explicitly rejected the idea that an issue be made of Sanders’ atheism and, I’d say, reprimanded in writing the person who suggested it. If you behave honorably, you try to keep some things confidential, but you still want it all on the record if you need it.

  220. 220.

    lamh36

    Finally a good segment on MSNBC.

    they had the former Russian Ambassador to discuss Putin and the fact that he does indeed favor Trump over Clinton

    He also said, Putin has personal vendetta against HRC since after his election in 2011, she criticized Russian election procedures and they emboldened protesters to go out and protest his re-election…

  222. 222.

    Roger Moore

    @Anya:

    WTF is C*cking?

    It’s short for cuckolding. There is apparently a whole cuckold sub-genre of porn where a (usually white) “husband” directs a (usually black) man having sex with his “wife”. Racist “alt-right” types have turned this idea into a taunt of “cuckservative” aimed at anyone they think is too prone to compromise with Obama.

  224. 224.

    Kay

    So is anyone going to ask Donald Trump how far in hock he is to Russian oligarchs? I ask because we just spent a year discussing the national security risk posed by Hillary Clinton’s server. They might want to find out how much Trump Enterprises owes, and who he owes it to. I realize he put this issue to bed with a “tweetstorm” but that’s never been considered sufficient with any other candidate.

    Also- he is now hinting that he found all kinds of dirt on the Republicans he vetted for VP. It reads like a threat. I don’t know why else he is saying it unless it’s to intimidate any possible political opponents in the GOP.

  225. 225.

    Mike J

    Michael Del Moro ‏@MikeDelMoro 3 hours ago
    One analyst says “it’s beyond a reasonable doubt” the malware was from Russian actors…

    Richard Engel ‏@RichardEngel 25 minutes ago
    Security experts with direct knowledge of situation we spoke to had no hesitation russian intel was behind #DNCleak, two different agencies

  226. 226.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    @James E Powell: Yeah, this is spot on. These people are pissed off that all the rest of us don’t recognize their wisdom, and that we persist in this maddening habit of making our own minds up, rather than just going along with whatever they say we should do. These people really don’t have a whole lot more respect for democracy or majority rule than Republicans do. If everybody does what they want, then elections are great! If not, then, well, we dumbfucks who didn’t get with the program should just get out of the way and let them do what they do, since they know better.

  228. 228.

    lamh36

    ABC News Politics ‏@ABCPolitics 9m9 minutes ago
    NEW: Clinton, Sanders teams combine whip teams on floor of DNC Convention to help present united front. [email protected]

  230. 230.

    Matt McIrvin

    @JMG:

    What do these young folks think is so existential in 2016 that Clinton is evil incarnate.

    It’s not getting drafted to get your head blown off, but: The economy. Just like with Occupy. It’s really worse for them than for just about anyone else. Top-line unemployment may be low but they still can’t find jobs, and a lot of them are saddled with a huge chunk of college debt. Obama hasn’t really helped them with that, and they see Clinton as same-old, same-old.

  234. 234.

    Cat48

    @BR:

    Do you think that they can boo Michelle & live thru it? I’m sure she has more friends on the floor than protesters. They may get their hair snatched out. Lots of folks love her.

  236. 236.

    raven

    Another interview on MSNBC with non-Hillary supporter Claire McCaskill.

    Oh wait. . .

  238. 238.

    dww44

    @Mike J: As a Georgian, that poll pleases me because I didn’t think the race was that close here. I’ve been staying away from the tv and the internet for a couple of days.

    Other demands on my time, i.e. like an onslaught of starving humming birds. Been feeding them for years, but this year I think last year’s visitors came back with their just hatched offspring and possibly even some cousins. As I make my own nectar and also provide flowers for them, I really am busy, but it’s a good busy.

  239. 239.

    eclare

    @Kay: The only journos who might research who Trump owes and how much are Samantha Bee and John Oliver, unfortunately. I would love MSM to pick this up and run with it, but I would be surprised if they did.

  240. 240.

    Mike J

    @lamh36:

    NEW: Clinton, Sanders teams combine whip teams on floor of DNC Convention to help present united front.

    DNC has not yet combined nae nae teams Dems in disarray.

  242. 242.

    lamh36

    Someone on twitter said, this is likely the first time some of these Bernie delegates have ever heard GOOD things about HRC on a repetitive scale…so maybe SOME of it will sink in

  243. 243.

    JMG

    I will repeat my belief that if the Russian spooks keep leaking pro-Trump stuff, real or fake, the US spooks, who loathe Trump, will retaliate. The Washington press corps kneels in awe before out “intelligence community.”

  247. 247.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Uh, that guy has heard of Belfast, right? Y’know, Irish Catholics being beaten and jailed for trying to get civil rights for themselves, which was the origin of The Troubles that have only just started being healed?

    Christ, what an asshole.

  250. 250.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Baud: Good. I know several people who have gone to Philadelphia to spend all of their time talking up this issue with media folks, and are doing exactly that.

  252. 252.

    debit

    @NR: My heart weeps for the cuts and lacerations on your sensitive and delicate feelings. How can you even find the strength to go on?

  256. 256.

    Anya

    I never hear Bernie Bros mention Al Franken as a respected “progressive”? Is he not pure enough!

    Franken is giving a comedy rebuttal to Trump.

  259. 259.

    Mnemosyne

    @NR:

    Hmm. I wonder why that could be. It must have just happened completely out of nowhere. It certainly couldn’t have had anything to do with both the Trump and Sanders campaigns hammering on her, because we know public statements by public figures never, even influence what the public thinks. They always come to these conclusions in a total vacuum.

  260. 260.

    dww44

    @Emma: I was afraid someone would mention that. I’m not good with that stuff, but i will try, because, all things being equal, a goodly number of them will be around for a couple of more months.

  261. 261.

    Gin & Tonic

    @eclare: I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re scared. I believe it was lamh36, earlier today, who linked to a Michael Isikoff article about a woman who was freelancing for the DNC researching some of Manafort’s connections (lots of people in Ukraine know a lot about his business) and had her personal e-mail account likely hacked by what Yahoo! referred to as “state actors.”

    While I hope these stories are pursued aggressively, I wouldn’t blame journos for remembering Anna Politkovskaya.

  262. 262.

    Roger Moore

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    The DNC should have explicitly rejected the idea that an issue be made of Sanders’ atheism and, I’d say, reprimanded in writing the person who suggested it.

    That works when you’re dealing with a court of law, where you get to show the full context of stuff, but it doesn’t necessarily help when your email server has been compromised by an enemy who is leaking its contents. At the very least, the leaks are going to show the very worst stuff (e.g. what they said about Bernie) and leave any mitigation (e.g. the hypothetical reprimand) for diligent researchers to find. But as has already been suggested, there’s no guarantee that the emails haven’t been tampered with, and that tampering could as easily include deleting exculpatory conversations as fabricating incriminating ones. In practice, it’s probably a lot easier to delete exculpatory stuff than to credibly falsify incriminating stuff.

  263. 263.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Franken calling on people to get out and organize and volunteer. That’s fantastic.

  264. 264.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Oh, hey, since you’re the queen of GIFs, do you happen to have one of somebody making the “jerk-off” motion with his or her hand? If you have brothers or work with a lot of guys, you know which one I mean.

  266. 266.

    Kay

    @eclare:

    It’s a real question. It’s probably part of the reason private sector people haven;t run before. They would assume their financial dealings would be examined. How wrong they were, as it turns out.

  267. 267.

    dmsilev

    @debbie: I think his kids managed to get his phone away from him again; the most recent tweet was 3 hours ago.

  268. 268.

    Emma

    @dww44: It’s almost impossible to photograph hummingbirds. If I were to try it, I’d look for something meant for sports photography — fast shutter to stop the action.

  274. 274.

    Anya

    My grandmother: What time will Michelle Obama speak ?

    She asked me three times. Her royal waspyness is not impress with the speeches.

  276. 276.

    SFAW

    Maybe this has been discussed at length elsewhere, but: given the (apparently FSB) attempt to put their fist on the scale for Trump, what’s the likelihood of Anonymous getting Trump’s financials out there into the “public domain” (so to speak)? I think it would be interesting, were that to happen.

    Might find out he’s a millionaire thousandaire after all.

  281. 281.

    slag

    This lady’s killin’ it. “I actually feel sorry for anyone with that much hate in their heart”. Kick ass, lady!

  283. 283.

    Anya

    CNN’s resident racist and Trump apologist, Jeffrey Lord seems deflated tonight. I expected him to harp on “Democrats in disarray” message. What gives?

  286. 286.

    stinger

    I don’t have cable/satellite dish and NPR is killing me. Anybody know where I can watch online? Not a C-SPAN subscriber, either.

  288. 288.

    MJS

    @Gravenstone: Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Exactly what part of “embarrassing” do you not get? No, no, you’re right. Because it is SOP in today’s world, beginning on Jan. 20, 2017, all communications in the Clinton Whitehouse should be done via text AND email. With courtesy copies to Ryan and Assange, to save time.

  292. 292.

    dmsilev

    @Emma: I managed to take a hummingbird photo with just an ordinary iPhone, but it was a special case, because the bird wasn’t flying. It was in fact perched in the palm of someone’s hand (it flew into our building at work, and my coworker fed it some sugar water and made a friend…).

  294. 294.

    lamh36

    “Donald Trump doesn’t see me. He doesn’t hear me. And he definitely doesn’t speak for me,” @AnastasiaSomoza says.

  295. 295.

    raven

    Anastasia Somoza

    “Anastasia was born and raised in New York City, is fluent in both English and Spanish, and has been a disability rights advocate and human rights defender since the age of nine. Currently she works as a consultant with the Shield Institute, an organization that enables people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live full, meaningful lives. To see how it all began, click on the video below of her asking President Bill Clinton to help mainstream her twin sister Alba into the New York City public school system.”

  296. 296.

    Ian

    @Trentrunner:

    Also, tend to be rapists.

    You have been running this meme all day. You shouldn’t. It is offensive, Sexual assault is a real problem in this country that many people are victims of. When you throw that accusation around in a blindly tribalistic way you are demeaning the victims of rape as much as you demean the people you intend to offend.

  297. 297.

    lamh36

    @Anya: I’d like to think even the GOP are a bit taken aback about the idea that Russia back Trump.

    Especially since for years…GOP go to baddy was Russia

  298. 298.

    dmsilev

    @Anya: I think that’s right. The headliner speakers start at 10 Eastern; that’s when the broadcast networks start their live feeds. Tonight, it’s Elizabeth Warren, Michelle Obama, and Bernie Sanders. I know Sanders is closing out the hour, and I think you’re right that Warren is first. So, Michelle should be on at ~10:20.

  300. 300.

    Emma

    @raven: Jeffery is immensely talented (in many areas) and I’m sure he works at it. For casual photographers it can be a very difficult job.

    @dmsilev: That’s the best way to get them. Give them food. If you want one of those “wings beating” photos it gets more complicated.

  301. 301.

    rikyrah

    Smooth Kobra @smoothkobra
    That’s what all the anger is about. That an overwhelmingly white Sanders base couldn’t decide the nominee. That minorities chose.

  302. 302.

    slag

    @raven: Seriously inspiring. I wonder if she might run for office some day. She’d easily be better than any sitting Republican.

  307. 307.

    Roger Moore

    @Emma:

    It’s almost impossible to photograph hummingbirds.

    It’s actually not that hard to photograph hummingbirds, as long as you don’t mind getting some feeder in the photograph. They come to a predictable location and obligingly hover there. All you have to do is set up your camera so it’s aimed and focused at the perfect spot and wait for the bird to get in the frame. Fast shutter speed is important if you want to get the perfect frozen wings, but if you are OK with blurry wings- which do show how fast they move- you can get away with a slower speed.

  308. 308.

    lamh36

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: oh yeah…they love to talk about his manliness.

    BUT alot of these folks are older folks so the idea of a candidate being a pawn of Russia still gives them pause…even if they love shirtless Putin.

  310. 310.

    lamh36

    Ugh…I do NOT like Sarah Silverman…ya’ll have to tell me what she says..bleh.

  311. 311.

    LAC

    @rikyrah: but it is super important that every media village idiot is tripping over themselves to find every bearded white guy with a Sanders t shirt to talk to.

  320. 320.

    Gravenstone

    @MJS: Yeah, I saw your clarification downthread. But clearly your original post was not … clear.

  324. 324.

    Matt McIrvin

    Wait, Sarah Silverman? She was so all in for Bernie, I expected her to be one of the Busters in the street. That’s a good sign.

  325. 325.

    BruceFromOhio

    @different-church-lady:

    Now the first thing you know, ol’ Jed’s a millionare
    The kinfolk said, “Jed, move away from there!”
    They said, “North Sahara’s the place you ought to be!”
    So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Tripoli

    …Libya, that is. Sand dunes. Smugglers.

    THE TRIPOLI HILLBILLIES

  329. 329.

    Keith G

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Wait, Sarah Silverman? She was so all in for Bernie, I expected her to be one of the Busters in the street.

    See what a lack of imagination gets ya?

  333. 333.

    Roger Moore

    @MJS:

    Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting.

    It won’t work for two reasons that should be obvious to anyone:

    1) Anything that’s on a computer at all is still potentially subject to hacking, even if it’s stealing spreadsheets and word processor files. Just try to run a modern organization exclusively with hand- and type-written messages. It would die of inefficiency.

    2) The moment anyone found out about such an eccentric way of doing things, that process alone would turn into a scandal. You know the Republicans would claim the only reason she was refusing to use computers is because she was doing something nefarious and was worried about getting caught.

  334. 334.

    Keith G

    So we have a mortician’s prop trying to sing. Good move DNC. One of these moments he will actually find one of those fucking notes.

  336. 336.

    scottinnj

    I expect to hear the Bernie supporters start yelling ‘garfunkle, garfunkle’ soo

  339. 339.

    Roger Moore

    @slag:

    She’d easily be better than any sitting Republican.

    So would most of the corpses in my local cemetery; at least they wouldn’t be actively making things worse.

  351. 351.

    Marc McKenzie

    @Jeffro:

    Exactly. Strangely enough, I think the person who’s treating the election as a cakewalk…is Trump. Hillary sure as hell isn’t taking this lightly, not one bit.

  352. 352.

    workworkwork

    @MJS: When I was a consultant, they sent new hires to “consulting boot camp”.

    The first lesson we all learned was “Email is discoverable.”

    Later expanded to “Don’t put anything in an email that you wouldn’t want opposing council to read back to you in court.”

  353. 353.

    No One You Know

    The woman calling in to complain about the DNC not uniting people, other than the ones who went to Philadelphia, because “Bernie united the country”—-seems be saying that we can’t trust Hillary because emails, wikileaks, etc.

    I’m dumbfounded. How does she “know”? Does Spokane have a wormhole into NSA, or something?

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