Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The current Supreme Court is a rogue court. Very dangerous.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Second rate reporter says what?

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

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

Consistently wrong since 2002

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

A consequence of cucumbers

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Open Thread: Tick, Tick, Tick…

Open Thread: Tick, Tick, Tick…

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I hope it bloody stings, and I’m looking forward to Trump unearthing his phone while Ivanka & Jared are too busy keeping the Sabbath to distract him. If there isn’t a late-night tweetstorm, it means Trump’s handlers have finally found a combination of drugs that keeps the old man quiescent but not comatose.

Reader Interactions

110Comments

  2. 2.

    raven

    Rachel reporting that the pukes are meeting in DC to explore options if numbnuts doesn’t run.

  3. 3.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Yamiche Alcindor (NYT) coming up on Maddow to talk about reports RNC is meeting to discuss alternatives to Trump…. Still can’t imagine he’ll go willingly, or that they have any real leverage.

  4. 4.

    Davebo

    Current Senators endorsing Trump.

    John Barrasso, WY[31]
    Roy Blunt, MO[32]
    John Boozman, AR[33]
    Richard Burr, NC[34]
    Shelley Moore Capito, WV[35]
    Bill Cassidy, LA[36]
    Dan Coats, IN[37]
    Thad Cochran, MS[38]
    Bob Corker, TN[39]
    John Cornyn, Maj. Whip, TX[40]
    Tom Cotton, AR[41]
    Mike Crapo, ID[42]
    Ted Cruz, TX[43]
    Steve Daines, MT[44]
    Mike Enzi, WY[45]
    Joni Ernst, IA[46]
    Deb Fischer, NE[47]
    Cory Gardner, CO[48]
    Chuck Grassley, IA[49]
    Orrin Hatch, Pres. pro tempore, UT[50]
    John Hoeven, ND[51]
    Jim Inhofe, OK[52]
    Johnny Isakson, GA[51]
    Ron Johnson, WI[53]
    James Lankford, OK[54]
    John McCain, AZ[41]
    Mitch McConnell, Maj. Leader, KY[55]
    Jerry Moran, KS[56]
    Lisa Murkowski, AK[57]
    Rand Paul, KY[58]
    David Perdue, GA[59]
    Rob Portman, OH[60]
    Pat Roberts, KS[61]
    Mike Rounds, SD[62]
    Marco Rubio, FL[63]
    Tim Scott, SC[64]
    Jeff Sessions,[a] AL[65]
    Dan Sullivan, AK[41]
    John Thune, SD[66]
    Thom Tillis, NC[67]
    Pat Toomey, PA[68]
    David Vitter, LA[69]
    Roger Wicker, MS[70]

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Baud: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…. Gasp! Gasp! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…..

  11. 11.

    tobie

    So if the GOP party brokers decide that Trump should step down and Pence should replace him, will the debate go on this Sunday? And will HRC have to debate Pence on Sunday? She’d be at a real disadvantage because Pence has been prepared to critique HRC but HRC hasn’t been prepped to critique Pence.

  12. 12.

    gf120581

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That’s funny, because I saw a Chuck Todd tweet that said they looked into possibly dumping him during the Khan meltdown. Short of it, if he wasn’t gone by September 1, they aren’t going to be able to do it. They’re stuck with him.

    And for that matter, who the fuck would actually want to step in and do it? It would be career suicide. Even Pence wouldn’t do it; he’s already got his sights on 2020.

    No, this is basically 1996 all over again. Cut the nominee loose and focus on salvaging the downballot races.

  13. 13.

    sigaba

    @raven:

    Rachel reporting that the pukes are meeting in DC to explore options if numbnuts doesn’t run.

    You mean in the event he willingly withdrew? Who do they think they’re dealing with?

    ETA. Even if he did, in the event, it would be difficult to avoid the appearance that he was forced out and the Deplorables would take it about like you’d expect: PC thugs knifing their Emperor. You know what his withdrawal speech would sound like…

  14. 14.

    Lizzy L

    @Davebo: It might be interesting to see a list of the GOP Senators NOT supporting Trump. Uh, Lindsay Graham.

    Anyone else?

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Lizzy L: Graham is out? Kirk, Flake and… Ben Sasse? Susan Collins has declared neutrality, but I suspect she’s voting for Clinton, so are McCain and Graham.

    ETA: WP autocorrects Sasse as Sassy, so look for that a lot over the next few years.

  18. 18.

    Keith P.

    So has Paul Ryan totally bailed on Trump or is he just canceling the joint appearance until things cool over?

    Also, I finally came up with a similar case of something horrible said by a celebrity (that’s not Mike Tyson): Jameis Winston. In Winston’s case, he was reiterating (loudly in front of a crowd of men and women) an Internet meme. Trump was straight up being a sexual predator sans creepy mustache.
    Ivanka must be in her bathroom right now scrubbing her hips with Brillo to get the creepiness off her….and maybe doing that toilet plunger thing that Ace Ventura also did.

    @sigaba: I got a chuckle out of CNN asking if this was the October surprise. No, that’s just *this week’s” October surprise. Alicia Machado was *last week’s* October surprise. And there’s already been two women come forward saying they were groped (some pageant contestant and a friend of Erin Burnett’s. Both mentioned the Tic-Tac trick)

  19. 19.

    lamh36

    @tobie: you’re a fool if you think HRC camp hasn’t done some prep on Mike Pence….come on now…let’s not clutch our pearls just yet….It’s Friday night…all HRC has to do if ring Trump around Pence’s neck the ENTIRE time and she’ll win against Pence…

    Even if it comes to pass that Trump drops out or is kicked out…which I doubt!

  21. 21.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sigaba: the appearance that he was forced out and the Deplorables would take it about like you’d expect: PC thugs knifing their Emperor. You know what his withdrawal speech would sound like…

    Yup. Even if Trump went, the Deplorables are not fungible.

  25. 25.

    sigaba

    @Keith P.:

    So has Paul Ryan totally bailed on Trump or is he just canceling the joint appearance until things cool over?

    Bet he’s gonna be thinking about things to say tomorrow at the event. Still a couple hours for things to blossom into the beautiful flower that is an American political sex scandal.

    @raven: Yeah sounds about right. So in other words they’re holding a meeting for the sake of appearances.

  26. 26.

    Mike in NC

    I always avoid these stupid debates but Sunday might be a train wreck I cannot pass up.

  27. 27.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    Maddow reporting that RNC is meeting in case Trump drops out, voluntarily.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    Delusional thinking, the whole way to November 8th.

  29. 29.

    Hal

    All I can think of is that snl skit from last week where Kate McKinnon as Hillary starts crying:

    “Secretary Clinton, why are you crying?”

    “I’m sorry Lester, this is going so well. It’s going exactly how I’d always dreamed.”

  31. 31.

    Anoniminous

    This has moved beyond a disaster and into a catastrophe for the GOP. They’ve lost the presidency, they’ve probably lost the Senate, and I wouldn’t lay a large bet on them keeping the House.

    As analyzed by How a Democratic Wave Could Happen Larry Sabato back in April.

    In many states, Republican-controlled legislatures drew a large number of marginally Republican seats in order to maximize the number of seats the party could control. But a relatively large Democratic wave could inundate even some supposedly safe GOP seats, overcoming a seemingly high flood wall. Whereas a one-point increase over 2012 would result in nine net seats being won by the Democratic presidential nominee, a two-point increase (54% nationally) quickly raises that net advantage to 35 seats. Suddenly Republicans would be defending 50 seats in districts won by the Democratic presidential nominee, and two Democratic-held Romney seats would become slightly more blue than not. This would give Democrats a substantial target list to get to the necessary 30-seat gain they need to take back the lower chamber. And a three-point Democratic increase to 55%, a reasonable upper limit in our eyes, would leave 56 GOP-held seats in blue territory.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: I’ve had a fantasy where Trump turns his Deplorables (stolen from sibaba but too good not to steal) against McCain. I don’t think it would take much to convince them to stay home or write in Arpaio… Dare we dream?

  37. 37.

    gf120581

    @Anoniminous: As I said above, I expect them to go the 1996 route, except the problem is, Bob Dole was a normal, sane candidate running a respectable campaign.

    Trump is a walking catastrophe.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Hal: Poor SNL writers probably figured they had tomorrow’s show in the can. Now they’ll have to be up all night.

  44. 44.

    Ruckus

    @sigaba:

    Who do they think they’re dealing with?

    What other choice do they have besides at least talking about it?
    It’s not like they are the brightest bulbs in the first place although it may be true that they are finally figuring out why so many of us think Trump is an asshole, first class. Because he is. He was their asshole and they have almost to the last one worked to put him where he is. They now own this mess and should have to pay the price for that.

  46. 46.

    sigaba

    What I wanna know is, everybody’s hitting up Republican officeholders for their reaction, has anybody called the Family Research Council or Tony Perkins? They did endorse the guy — then again they supported that Josh Duggar guy too.

  47. 47.

    tobie

    @lamh36: I wasn’t implying that the Clinton camp didn’t have a thick file of info on Pence, his horrible policies as governor, etc. But Pence has had a lot of time to practice his attacks on Clinton and state them crisply. Clinton hasn’t been practicing zingers against him. None of this, though, is likely to happen this fast…I can’t imagine Trump would agree to resign overnight.

  48. 48.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @gf120581: Dole’s endorsement of Trump really surprised me. That’s one nobody was looking for, and somebody who has no future in politics, no family member to be looking out for… he was never sweet, but I guess he turned really bitter

  51. 51.

    scav

    After the absolute banquet of news today, I think I just have room to squeeze in one tiny chocolate more. After all that strutting at the town hall about it not being debate prep, nothing to do with debate prep, debate prep is “just resting” whereas Donald Trump just want to be with people blah blah blah his go-to response now is “I will be spending the day in New York in debate prep with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Christie and Sen. Jeff Sessions”. It’s sweet to think of all them curled up on their little mats after cookies and milk.

  52. 52.

    sigaba

    @Ruckus:

    What other choice do they have besides at least talking about it?

    If they can read the writing on the wall they can as a group unendorse him and ask him, if he truly cares about the Republican Party and the country, to step aside. OF COURSE it wouldn’t work, and they might lose their jobs but they might be able to escape the conflagration with an ounce of their honor.

  54. 54.

    Betty Cracker

    Oh to have been a fly on Hillary Clinton’s wall when she received this news! Or the Obamas’! ?

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    @tobie: says you…I’d bet the HRC camp also has files on Pence and the ARE the same folks who did debate prep with Tim Kaine…

    I suspect HRC was a part of that prep too.

    Whatever you can say about HRC…she does prepare..

  56. 56.

    Lizzy L

    I just went to Doug Applegate’s website (he’s running against Darrell Issa) and left a contribution.

  58. 58.

    Keith P.

    @Gin & Tonic: I did, thank GOD! I showed up dialysis with a BP of 165/128 (not a surprise, unfortunately) but shortly thereafter, I got the Trump news, which helped a lot. I’m still low on funds for the next week, as BofA hit me with almost $200 worth of $35 overdraft fees (an initial one, plus another for it being overdrawn for over a week, then a bunch more for every little autotransaction that came out of the woodwork. A fucking $20 gas bill turned into $50 right there). I was hoping that I could pull cash out of their bank and pay back BofA next week, but as luck would have it, their bank is also BofA. Once this all settles out, I’m probably going to close out my account, as an ethical bank would have just bounced all those charges instead rather than let that many charges accrue.

  62. 62.

    Anoniminous

    @gf120581:

    They can’t run away from Trump. They’ve got too many marginal seats and they need Trump voters to keep them. But if they don’t run away from Trump they’ve got too many marginal seats and they need voters who aren’t part of the base to keep them.

    Sucks to be them, don’t it?

  64. 64.

    Anoniminous

    @p.a.:

    Pence is looking at a future of Fox News punditry and the rubber chicken RW grift circuit. His political career is over.

    @scav:

    Now that’s funny

    @raven:

    I didn’t know you spoke Chinese

    :-)

  66. 66.

    Keith P.

    Question: I keep hearing people call on Trump to drop out. Isn’t it too late? This came up back in July, I think, and everything I had heard was that due to ballot issues, September was the absolute latest he could drop out without dying.
    And I cannot WAIT for Trump’s next rally. No way he can resist trying to defend himself (hopefully with more of that “Well, I heard my opponent’s husband say worse…privately…to me. Way worse, believe me!”

  69. 69.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    I am disgusted – but not surprised – that he brags about sexual assault. The dominance display of insecure men, and entirely unpleasant to experience. Even when their experience gets unpleasant also because the subject objects physically. I mention that for a reason.

    I’m actually more horrified and offended by his comments about the Central Park Five. Which is the reason for the preceding disclosure: I don’t condone even a discussion suggesting tolerance of assault (most especially sexual assault). But I am more indignant that he insists exonerated individuals are guilty because their confessions were coerced.

  70. 70.

    Matt McIrvin

    Ballots are already printed. Voting has already started. Trying to actually replace Trump at this point would be a logistical catastrophe alone. They’d have to tell people to vote for Trump and promise the electors would really pick the other guy.

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    @tobie:
    I don’t get it. Why would people think Trump is going to drop out? He’s been like this the entire campaign, and his entire life, and he’s fine with it. What could possibly make him think this changes anything? He doesn’t think like a normal human being or even a republican. Losing won’t even change him, it hasn’t in decades.

  72. 72.

    Anne Laurie

    @tobie:

    So if the GOP party brokers decide that Trump should step down and Pence should replace him, will the debate go on this Sunday? And will HRC have to debate Pence on Sunday? She’d be at a real disadvantage because Pence has been prepared to critique HRC but HRC hasn’t been prepped to critique Pence.

    In the first place, why would you think the HRC campaign didn’t also have oppo files on Mike ‘Headshaker’ Pence?

    In the second place, what makes you think Clinton needs a better attack angle than “So… Governor ‘Jesus Is My Guide’ Pence… wanna explain why you’re willing to play second banana to a filthy-mouthed cheat, thief & Philistine like Donald Trump?”

    Hell, Trump’s not stepping down, he’d have to be physically wrestled away from the stage, and I’m not sure the Secret Service considers protecting the RNC brand within their remit. No way is Donald gonna back down from some woman calling him out in front of the cameras, especially after three days of watching every talking head purse up their lips & cast up their eyes.

  74. 74.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: I imagine the Obamas’ reacted with dignified disgust. Kellanne Conway, now? I’m sure there’s a well-known scene from a film I should be linking to… Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons after the duel? In the shower in The Big Chill? Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest?

    Doctors Without Borders didn’t make Maddow’s list of orgs helping in Haiti. That’s gotta be an oversight, right?

  75. 75.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Keith P.: You could try going into your local branch and sitting down with a personal banker. Explain your situation and the fact that you are working now. See if they will waive those charges as a customer service gesture. If not, wait until you have a bit of money in the account again, then go in and close the account – explaining again why you will no longer bank with them.

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anne Laurie: also (while I remain in the No Trexit camp), if Pence were suddenly the nominee, not even Chuck Todd could fault HRC for saying she wanted a week or two before debating Pence, while she softened him up with ads about his record as an anti-gay fanatic and Social Security privatizer. He used to be a radio host– a small town Limbaugh in freakin’ Indiana. I can only imagine what kind of audio that would furnish.

  77. 77.

    lamh36

    Welp…hell has frozen over…

    ‏@sahilkapur now4 seconds ago
    Hannity on the Trump audio: “Nobody’s going to defend this… It is wrong, it is inapproptiate, it is outrageous.”

    When you’ve lost Hannity…

  79. 79.

    Jeffro

    @sigaba:

    What I wanna know is, everybody’s hitting up Republican officeholders for their reaction, has anybody called the Family Research Council or Tony Perkins?

    Perkins is sticking with Trump…”it was never about seeing eye to eye with Donald Trump…SCOTUS…etc etc blargle blargle”

  80. 80.

    hovercraft

    @p.a.:
    He’s soiled on his own, he is the most homophobic, anti choice member of the deep bench, plus his attempt to ban the re-settlement of Syrian refugees. He would lose among women and the young as badly as Trump is right now. He hasn’t been the focus so far, but he would if he was top of the ticket.
    But he could totally win the nomination, he is a true believer.

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @Anne Laurie:

    In the second place, what makes you think Clinton needs a better attack angle than “So… Governor ‘Jesus Is My Guide’ Pence… wanna explain why you’re willing to play second banana to a filthy-mouthed cheat, thief & Philistine like Donald Trump?”

    Probably while quoting a few Bible passages at him, too. Just to really pour some salt in it, and maybe wake up a few folks to the fact that HRC has been religious all her life

  83. 83.

    Anoniminous

    @sigaba:

    The attitude of Mormons towards women is beyond Complex but they’ve always treated women as having agency. Since the Mormon vote IS the GOP vote and it’s possible many people will follow therefore — and I can’t believe what I am about to type – Utah could turn Blue.

  89. 89.

    Uncle Cosmo

    The only thing that can save the GOP now is for Trump to drop dead, or suffer a health crisis of such severity he has no choice but to drop out. I was going to add, “in such a manner that the Democrats can be plausibly accused of (attempted) assassination” but the knuckledragging mouthbreathers ain’t gonna need no stinkin’ plausibility to believe that.

  90. 90.

    Anne Laurie

    @Anoniminous:

    Since the Mormon vote IS the GOP vote and it’s possible many people will follow therefore — and I can’t believe what I am about to type – Utah could turn Blue.

    Maybe not, but Evan McMullin may get their electoral votes.

    Hell, this is why the #NeverTrump GOP put McMullin up there in the first place — not to beat Trump, much less Hillary, but to soak up votes from traditional Repub voters who just couldn’t pull a lever for Dirty Don. At least this way, the hope goes, the downballot Repubs get votes that otherwise wouldn’t happen because GOP voters stayed home.

  94. 94.

    Anoniminous

    @Anne Laurie:

    IF it happened — and I as skeptical as everyone else — it would be plurality like sigaba said and by a split in the Mormon vote.

    @Lizzy L:

    Arizona could very well be in play this time around. I’d need some polling evidence before I got all twitterpatted about it tho’. :-)

  96. 96.

    jenn

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I saw video of Dole at the convention – he looks *incredibly* old and feeble. It wouldn’t in the least surprise me if he had dementia and were being used, particularly since some of his former campaign staff were helping with Trump’s.

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    @shomi:

    Don’t like it? Start your own fucking blog, and get only people you like as contributors. All none of them. I’m sure your blog will be AT LEAST as popular as a dose.

    Fucking whiner — you’re worse than Trump in that regard, but without his winning personality.

  98. 98.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    CNN waiting for Trump’s video statement from Trump Tower is just… next level. The revoked endorsements are starting to come in… Don Lemon is acting like the Donald in The presidential apprentice, ready to announce he’s fired. karma’s a fucking bitch, ain’t it Donald. TRAIN WRECK OMG LOL

  106. 106.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @Lizzy L: I’m not seeing Lamar Alexander on the list there. But then, he’s old and pretty much untouchable in Tennessee.

  107. 107.

    Ruckus

    @sigaba:

    ounce of their honor

    How can they retain something they have zero of?
    Took a while to type that, I was laughing too hard.

  108. 108.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @lamh36:

    John McCain: “It’s one thing to call your own wife a c*nt in public—who hasn’t done that?—but what Trump did was totally over the line.”

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    @Keith P.:
    I left Bank Of Assholes over this same issue, $35 overdraft charges. Except that earlier that day I had deposited cash, and more than enough to cover any debt card charges. But they don’t credit cash till midnight of the day of deposit, even though it’s supposed to be good for all debts, public and private. When I left I told the branch manager and the tellers exactly why. BTW the branch manager did reverse the charges, but I left anyway.

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