Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

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

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

The willow is too close to the house.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

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

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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Speaking of money

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There’s another special election coming up in a few months. This one’s in PA-18 where Republican “pro-life” icon Tim Murphy resigned after he got busted asking his mistress to get an abortion.

The Democrats have a good candidate in Conor Lamb. Let’s raise some money for him.

Goal Thermometer

Update. Commenter geg6 says:

He’s not just a good candidate, he’s a great one.

People, this could happen. And that’s a very gerrymandered district that is reliably red. But I think Lamb is one of those superb candidates perfectly matched to the district with the exception that it is red and he is blue. If anyone can appeal to the WWC in that district, this is the guy.

Reader Interactions

132Comments

  1. 1.

    Amir Khalid

    Not a penny from me; alas, I’m not eligible to give. Just commenting to lend moral support to the cause.

  2. 2.

    SFAW

    Don’t be silly. The Dem has absolutely no chance. In fact, he/we should just give up right now.

    Next you’ll be trying to tell me that this “Doug Jones” guy has a chance in Mississippi Alabama. The last Dem to win a Senate race there later switched to be a Republican. So, no, I’m not going to waste my money, the way I did on that Jones guy.

  6. 6.

    SFAW

    @Major Major Major Major:

    russians are going to come and personally eat the ballots marked for Jones in front of the SoS

    I wouldn’t think DOCTOR Jill Stein would consider making the trip to Montgomery.

    Oh, wait — you meant actual Russians? Not their useful idiots? My bad.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    I admit that I was among the crew who happily was proved wrong. May I add that it’s time for someone to tell Moore, it was god’s will.

  11. 11.

    ByRookorByCrook

    Even the Rethug Secretary of State does not think a recount would change the outcome of the election, but it is certainly Moore’s right to flush his donors money on a quixotic recount effort. An Alabama stimulus.

  12. 12.

    The Moar You Know

    Donald Trump is a loser. Weak. Can’t even sell a guy Alabama voters were dumb enough to buy multiple times.

  14. 14.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    I hope someone can answer this question for me: when is a special election held vs a governor appointing a temporary replacement?

  17. 17.

    The Moar You Know

    I hope someone can answer this question for me: when is a special election held vs a governor appointing a temporary replacement?

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: varies by state. In the case of Alabama, the replacement would have served through 2018. The new Alabama governor decided to move that date up: an unforced error on her part.

  20. 20.

    Mike in NC

    We partied too hard last night, so getting a late start today. MSM is saying Roy Moore’s defeat in Alabama is actually good news for Republicans. Naturally!

  21. 21.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et Al.)

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: It depends on the state. Some states schedule it for the next scheduled federal general election, which would be the next November election in an even numbered year. I think this is how Virginia, where I live, does it, though there hasn’t been a special Senate election here since 1966. Some states schedule their special elections for the next general election, whether it’s a federal election or not. That’s how Pennsylvania does it. I grew up there and we had a special election in November of 1991. Some states have them whenever the governor calls them, and as soon as they can.

  24. 24.

    SFAW

    @Butthurt

    Omarosa got fired

    Maybe she quit because she found out that “bow down before Shitgibbon” did not mean what she thought it meant?

    [By the way: the Reply button is part of your link. Meaning: clicking “reply” sends one to the article.]

  25. 25.

    ByRookorByCrook

    I admit to being a an eeyore about this race, especially after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling against keeping ballot records. I thought the fix was in, but even with all the weight of state against them, Alabama Democrats persevered. We have work to do. Every race. Every potential vote. Roll Tide!

  27. 27.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW: It took heroic no-nonsense beribboned daddy John Kelly only seven months (?) to get rid of the reality show hanger-on best known for having a photo shoot in the Rose Garden. It’s like Eisenhower or George Marshall came back

  28. 28.

    geg6

    He’s not just a good candidate, he’s a great one.

    People, this could happen. And that’s a very gerrymandered district that is reliably red. But I think Lamb is one of those superb candidates perfectly matched to the district with the exception that it is red and he is blue. If anyone can appeal to the WWC in that district, this is the guy.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    @ByRookorByCrook:

    They did try to fix the election. That’s why the AL SoS doesn’t want anyone trying to investigate or recount this election. He wants to sweep everything under the rug so it can’t be proved how much he worked to elect Moore.

  36. 36.

    Mike J

    Trey Yingst ‏Verified account @TreyYingst 12 minutes ago
    Spoke with Omarosa this morning and asked if she was fired or resigned.

    She said she’d have to give me a call back and hung up.

  37. 37.

    tobie

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I saw this and heard that NPR already reported on these deliberately leaked emails this morning without mentioning anything about the orchestration of this disclosure. Geez…can’t both-sides-loving reporters insist to the DOJ that they get the tweets of all agents involved in the Wiener investigation in NY? Can’t they ask how this move violates Sessions’ supposed recusal? End of pointless rant.

  40. 40.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    @AlGiordano

    Roy Moore still won’t concede. Who does he think he is? Bernie Sanders?

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    @TomPerez
    24s24 seconds ago
    More
    Let me be clear: We won in Alabama and Virginia because #BlackWomen led us to victory. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and we can’t take that for granted. Period.

  44. 44.

    jonas

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): LOL. I particularly liked this line in the story: “She was reportedly banned from posting any of the photos online by White House officials citing security and ethical concerns.”

    Since when has anyone in Trump’s WH given a shit about security, or (especially) ethical, concerns?

    *Everyone* around Trump is either an idiot, a grifter, or both. I’d put Omarosa in the last category.

  47. 47.

    TriassicSands

    Bigot Moore has once again said that he is not going to concede. Yawn.

    “God is in control.” Hey, Bigot, if God is in control, then why did he let you lose the vote yesterday? Is God really going to commit electoral fraud to put you in office now? If I had a God, it sure wouldn’t be that one. Prediction: Moore’s tantrum will not be short-lived. He’ll be back in 2020 to run again for this Senate seat and it will be interesting to see if all those bigoted GOP voters re-nominate the perv to be their senator.

    I wish this result convinced me that Alabama voters decided that electing a theocrat is a terrible idea. But I don’t believe that. They decided that a pervert isn’t the ideal fit for a Senate seat. By they, I mean a very small (but not tiny) plurality of voters.

    Shocking factoid? I just heard the 98% of Alabama African American women voted for Jones. That sounds great until to stop and realize it means that 2% of African American women might have voted FOR Moore. Some of that remaining 2% might have written in a non-Moore candidate, but how could any African American woman vote for Roy Moore.

    The preliminary reports on the gender gap are that women went for Jones by +16%. Good, but still not what it should have been.

  50. 50.

    LurkerNoLonger

    @Mike in NC: I guess you could make the case it’s good for them that Moore didn’t win because they aren’t painted as the party of a pedophile, but they already have that label now and they have one less vote in the senate too. So I guess you really can’t make that argument and not sound like an idiot.

  58. 58.

    Chyron HR

    @Humboldtblue:

    Will Messiah re-join the Democratic party and pretend to care about “identity politics” for 7 months of the election year so that he can seek the nomination as well?

  59. 59.

    Chyron HR

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    You’re right, Messiah’s chosen people–the White Working Pederasts–are the ONLY voters who matter. We must put #BlackWomen in their place so they stop disrupting elections by voting for Democrats.

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    @ByRookorByCrook:

    Even the Rethug Secretary of State does not think a recount would change the outcome of the election, but it is certainly Moore’s right to flush his donors money on a quixotic recount effort. An Alabama stimulus.

    Alabama Stimulus (n): a thing…a thing that means many different things to many different people…

  70. 70.

    dmsilev

    @Major Major Major Major: My inbox has been quiet this morning, unless you’re extremely interested in the nitty-gritty of building renovations. Do you want to hear about duct relocations for fume-hood exhaust lines?

    (no, me neither, but I don’t have a choice)

  71. 71.

    lamh36

    @TriassicSands: Wait…like 63% of White Women voted FOR Moore in Alabama…and ur big oooh moment is that 2% of African American women voted for Moore…really…really…

    Shouldn’t the better ooh moment be WTF were THOSE White women thinking….

    I’ll just assume you’re snarking…cause the 2% of African American women who did not vote for Jones….CERTAINLY aint the big “take away” from last night..and anyone harping on it is an idiot, IMHO

  72. 72.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I see Steve the Gun Nut has taken off his uber-woke costume to put the “voice of forgotten white people” suit back on. Ugly thing, but it fits that particular troll better.

  75. 75.

    TriassicSands

    @TriassicSands:

    I’m aware of that, but “all women” is still a demographic group, and an important measure of the ability of Democrats to win.

    Turnout in Alabama, though above normal by special election standards (in voting-averse Amurka), was appallingly low given the high profile of this race. Thirty-five percent. Sixty-five percent of eligible voters weren’t interested enough to cast a vote. (That is less those who may have had insurmountable obstacles to voting — something Alabama Republicans hope will apply to all African American voters, both male and female.)

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    something tells me April Ryan is enjoying this story

    AprilDRyan‏Verified account @ AprilDRyan
    Okay the White House still contends Omarosa signed a resignation letter. But Gen Kelly Kicked her out will high drama with the Minister offering vulgarities and curse words as she was escorted out of the building and off campus

  77. 77.

    Jeffro

    Hey folks OT but still…if you haven’t seen The Smithereens (remember them?) you ain’t gonna: singer Pat DiNizio dead at 62

    A really good show live (saw them back in ’92 AND in ’15) and a couple really great albums (GREEN THOUGHTS most especially…for you…)

    Ah well…off to dig up some CDs in memoriam…

  80. 80.

    Edward Moore

    Just kicked in my fifty. Might warm the cackles of your cold heart to know that a group was running an “Abortion, it’s not just for your mistress.” billboards out by the Pittsburgh Airport

  82. 82.

    piratedan

    @Jeffro: always considered Strangers when we meet to be one of their best… loved their straight ahead, lyrically pleasing tunes….

  84. 84.

    Miss Bianca

    @tobie: I’m not entirely without expectation that some rat-fucking will come up around her that will cause national Democratic leaders to shake their heads sorrowfully and say that for the good of the party and the nation that she will have to withdraw from the race.

    Karma. That bitch in the the pantsuit.

  85. 85.

    Raoul

    @chris: Dems in one of the Congressional committees are now asking for that sort of stuff. 2019 is going to be nuts (I hope). Scripts are gonna be flipped in a lot of Dem chaired hearings.

  86. 86.

    rikyrah

    Black Women have saved the country from #RoyMooreChildMolester so while we say #ThankYouAlabama we are really saying thank you Black Women

    — Stephen Sipila (@StephenSipila) December 13, 2017

  87. 87.

    Zelma

    Re the contest in PA 18, yes the Democratic candidate can win. It’s my “home” district, although I moved six years ago. The reason he can win is that it contains a large number of Pittsburgh’s affluent suburbs and a number of them went for Clinton in 2016. My town, Mt. Lebanon, has always been competitive for Democrats but what shocked me was that the next town over, Upper St. Clair went for Clinton. And there are lots of Resistance groups in the South Hills that will work hard for Lamb. Also, the Dems chose a candidate who can win and the Rethugs chose a crazy.

    Murphy had a lot of latent support in the area because he originally was a moderate Republican. Heck, I think I voted for him a time or two before he went over to the dark side. So, even though it’s Christmas and money is tight, I will donate to Lamb.

    BTW, my current district, NJ 2, could also move into the Democratic column thanks to the retirement of our fed-up Republican representative. Interesting times.

  88. 88.

    TriassicSands

    @lamh36:

    No, my big ooh moment is that Jnoes won.

    I’m just amazed that any African Americans (male or female) would vote for someone who pines for the pre-Civil War greatness of America.

    Shouldn’t the better ooh moment be WTF were THOSE White women thinking….

    Not at all. R-A-C-I-S-M. There are plenty of white female racists in Alabama. And then you ought to consider the hyper-religiosity issue. Many Republican voters will never consider voting for anyone they think is pro-abortion. It may be that the 2% of African American females who voted for Moore find his views on race less important than Jones’ views on abortion.

    So, let’s reconsider. Is it more amazing that (any percentage of) white female racists would vote for anti-abortion Moore or that any African America females would support a man who has said he could do without the 13th Amendment? You’re entitled to your own opinion, but I find the latter a bigger ooh moment.

  90. 90.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @piratedan: For me it’s Behind a wall of sleep”
    I didn’t know who Jeannie Shipton was, wasn’t even (quite) born in 1965, but what an opening line

  91. 91.

    Amir Khalid

    @tobie:
    That could end up with some nihilistic, destructive Freedom Cuckoo getting into the Oval Office, which you surely do not want.

  93. 93.

    Raoul

    @Zelma: I lived in Upper St. Clair from 77-80. Interesting to think it went Clinton.

    While white women in AL were terrible, college educated ones were something like 15% less terrible. College white males didn’t split as much. But I’d think the education demo in USC, Mt. Lebo etc plays a big role in the vote there.

  94. 94.

    Cacti

    @Mike in NC:

    We partied too hard last night, so getting a late start today. MSM is saying Roy Moore’s defeat in Alabama is actually good news for Republicans. Naturally!

    Yep. The calls are already going out that Jones should do “the responsible thing” and join the Republican caucus.

  95. 95.

    Amir Khalid

    @TriassicSands:

    ’m just amazed that any African Americans (male or female) would vote for someone who pines for the pre-Civil War greatness of America.

    As has been pointed out many a time, every demographic has its share of the un … wise, shall we say.

  96. 96.

    Ben Cisco

    HELLO BJ!!!

    Been busy elsewhere, and there’s way too many threads to try to catch up on now, so WHAT’S UP?????

    Loving today. LOVING IT.

    Jones won, Omarosa got DJ Jazzy Jeff’d up out the paint, people are discovering (or rediscovering) where the Dem base is, and everybody trying to push those pieces trying to deny/denigrate/dismiss it are getting DRAGGED.

    ROLL TIDE!

  97. 97.

    lamh36

    Has any of the House reps asked Rosenstein about the reports about this:

    @NatashaBertrand
    Follow Follow @NatashaBertrand
    More
    Just confirmed that the Justice Department invited reporters over to DOJ last night to look at the Strzok/Page texts — and report them out — in case they did not leak in time for Rosenstein’s hearing today. Story TK.
    https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/940959111864340480

  99. 99.

    Raoul

    May have been noted elsewhere, but always wrong Bill Kristol broke his streak.

    Perfect end to 2017
    Aug 15: Roy Moore leads in GOP AL Sen primary.
    Sep 26: Moore wins runoff.
    Dec 12: Dems win seat.
    -8/11/17

  103. 103.

    Raoul

    @lamh36: Bullshit. He is just hoping to avoid a libel suit (or prosecution? Dunno if passing forgeries in that manner is illegal or just grossly unethical)

  104. 104.

    Miss Bianca

    @lamh36:I’m not going to click on SS’s tweet, but I hope she’s getting some righteous roasting.

    What this tweet didn’t say: “Thank you, African-American voters, for remembering that voting is an act of communal political will, not a consumer choice. and that the lesser of two evils is still the lesser evil, not the greater. A lesson I and white lefty America could stand to learn, or at least acknowledge that I need to learn.”

  106. 106.

    schrodingers_cat

    Thank You Alabama, for showing that though our enemies are formidable they are not invincible.
    Special shout out to evil vanquishing black goddesses.

    BTW when is Balloon Juice FP going to get a female perspective not of the majority?
    I nominate rikyrah, lamh36 and ruemara.

  107. 107.

    Boatboy_srq

    @TriassicSands: My biggest takeaway was that 48+% of the AL electorate thinks a God-bothering paedo wingnut is just fine to send to the Senate. That’s unnerving all by itself.

    One wonders whether the AL SoS is opposing a recount because even with all the ballot sheninagns implied by the news there STILL wasn’t enough to overcome Jones’lead.

  109. 109.

    debbie

    Won’t the court ruling about not preserving some voting records work against Moore if he decides to contest the results?

  112. 112.

    lamh36

    I don’t care what nobody says, Joe Biden is a truly, a good & decent guy

    @ABC
    In emotional moment on @TheView, Joe Biden consoles Meghan McCain, whose father was diagnosed with same cancer Biden’s late son Beau had. “There is hope. And if anybody can make it, your dad [can].”

    10:36 AM – Dec 13, 2017
    https://twitter.com/ABC/status/940983829241544704

  114. 114.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I don’t know how credible Schindler is, I’ve seen people say he’s the American Louise Mensch, but I think he may be on to something here: Republican may regret asking what motivated DOJ/IC agents to send each other anti-trump messages.

    John Schindler‏Verified account @ 20committee
    OF COURSE CI pros were totally freaked out in 2015-16 when Trump, whom they knew was under Moscow’s thumb, ran for POTUS & got #GOP nom. /7

    The sordid truth about our 45th President is coming out, no matter what. It will rock the USA to its core.
    As it damn well should.
    /End

  116. 116.

    Jeffro

    @Humboldtblue: Intriguing links – thanks!

    1) That editor of CT should have just gone with “Hypocrisy on the Right” and left it at that; nevertheless, at least he realizes you don’t win people over to Jesus by supporting those with decidedly un-Christian values.

    2) Nate’s interesting…but I think that the Northam win in VA is an even bigger harbinger of what’s in store for the GOP than the Jones win yesterday in AL and a better indication of the national environment. Smilin’, Lyin’ “moderate” Ed Gillespie not only couldn’t win on a ticket of Trumpov-lite, he got smacked down hard by a relatively milquetoast Dem who stuck to his values and stuck with the ‘Obama coalition’ approach (minority voters + women voters + younger voters = victory)

    Either way, the GOP is trapped: run away from Trumpov and lose your Neanderthal base, stick with him and continue to get hammered by a majority (provided that the Dem candidate doesn’t do something stupid, like alienate his party and its Obama coalition elements)

    Here’s Jen Rubin’s take, pretty much full-on Balloon Juice as we have come to expect: Trump Is Toxic, And Other Lessons From Alabama

    Let’s not forget, however, that Moore, a disgraced former judge (twice booted from the court) and an accused child molester who is openly racist and homophobic — received 91 percent of the Republican vote. Republicans, at least in Alabama, remain deeply mired in their theology of white grievance and largely indifferent, if not hostile, to reality. Republicans were not persuaded; they were outvoted. Should they persist in their Trumpian cult and refuse to emerge from their right-wing media bubble, they face being outvoted again and again by enraged non-Republicans — and in places far less Republican than Alabama.

    That ‘Republican’ vote has dwindled, though…Trumpov is shrinking his party.

    Other good lessons:

    Republicans seem no closer to recognizing some obvious political truths:

    1) The tighter they cling to Trump, the worse they will do. He won’t help them win even in Alabama.

    2) Women, especially college-educated women, can outvote non-college-educated men. Even in Alabama, white non-college-graduate men made up just 19 percent of the electorate; the combination of white and nonwhite college-educated women totaled 31 percent. Trump has gone to war with women, becoming the poster boy for loutish behavior and harassment.

    3) Republicans are losing voters younger than 45 by a mile (a 20-point margin) and barely winning 45-to-64-year-olds. That’s not sustainable, especially as millennials, the largest generation to date, make their way into the electorate and see the image of a nativist, xenophobic, anti-science party.

    4) Republicans lost moderates by a 25 percent to 74 percent margin. Apparently, Trump and Moore have chased all but hard-core right-wingers from the party.
    Character matters, at some point, if the candidate’s views and alleged behavior are gross enough.

    Put simply, old, white, very conservative and non-college-educated men aren’t enough even in Alabama to win. Doubling and tripling down on Trump’s narrow base may soothe his ego, but it is a disaster for the shrinking GOP, which has become off-putting, if not odious, to those outside of it.

  124. 124.

    Another Scott

    @Jeffro: Hehe. Truth.

    I’m again reminded of the rumors/claims that Bill Clinton encouraged Donnie to run. Maybe Bill was playing a very long game, too.

    “They say – If you come at the king, you better not miss. Well you morons missed, and I’ll be very happy to live to see all of you destroyed after what you did to me and my family…” – WJC in his less forgiving dreams.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  125. 125.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36: Is it wrong of me to wish I used Twitter so I could reply to Susan S. with a hearty fuck you?

    Please tell me I do not have to forgive her because she acknowledged the hugely important contributions of black women to this win. Pretty please.

  128. 128.

    MisterForkbeard

    I don’t think there’s a level of attention on this race that would allow the Dem to win. But I’ll put in some money anyway, because we should. :)

  129. 129.

    J R in WV

    @Humboldtblue:

    I have to tell you, Humboldt, I could not possibly care less about the editor of Christianity Today (or any subscriber) than I already do. There is nothing about the background of the editor of Christianity Today that makes his opinions better than, oh, say, Amaranthine RBG for one example. Who speaks deeply about Pie.

    No hard feelings, just how it is. Hope you and yours are well out on the correct (left) coast!

  130. 130.

    Gvg

    @J R in WV: yeah, I read that and just felt angry that he actually thought his anti roe v wade, anti gay views were the moral values. He also thought Christians are being persecuted.
    He did understand that supporting bad men for the sake of political gain made them less influential. I would give the example of the Catholic Church covering up abuse breaking their influence in places like Ireland.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    @Ben Cisco: Thank you! I despise and disrespect her so very much. I bet she thinks this is her get out of jail free card. Arrogant and clueless.

  132. 132.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Humboldtblue:

    While he stills blames the dirty liberal left for daring to insult Christians, the editor of Christianity Today at least has some self-awareness.

    Not enough, by a long shot. We more liberal Christians have been putting up with the evangelical ‘assholes for Christ’ brigade for four decades now. We’ve had the patience of Job in putting up with these jerks, but it’s run thin, and he wants to bothsides us. Fuck that shit.

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