Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Let’s finish the job.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

I really should read my own blog.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

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

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

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

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

T R E 4 5 O N

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Bark louder, little dog.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Get up, get into it, get involved

Get up, get into it, get involved

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Running for office is probably the single best thing anyone can do to effect change. If any of you runs for office and wants me to run a campaign video and do a fundraiser, let me know.

Balloon Juice reader Gary Trauner just announced that he’s running for Senate in Wyoming. Here’s his campaign video.

Wyoming is a very red state but Trauner almost won the at-large Congressional seat in 2006. Since 2018 looks like 2006 all over again, he’s got a chance in this race, even though Wyoming is a very red state.

And let’s help him raise some money.

Goal Thermometer

Reader Interactions

82Comments

  1. 1.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m in! I just hope the association with Balloon Juice doesn’t come back to haunt Mr. Trauner!

  4. 4.

    ruemara

    Sounds good to me. Let’s elect a real jackal so he can bite the GOP in the butt.

    …

    we probably need to point out he shouldn’t do that for reals, as they are toxic.

  7. 7.

    MisterForkbeard

    I’d like to run for office, but as a mid-30s techie who recently moved back to his liberal hometown I don’t think I’m really needed. Maybe city council. Or hell, school board. >_<

    But we need people like Gary in office. Let's get him there.

  8. 8.

    Amir Khalid

    Wait. I’m not familiar with the name. Is Gary Trauner. I presume that if he comments here it’s not his nym. Where does he declare himself a jackal?

  9. 9.

    Barbara

    Forcing Republicans to fight for every seat is the surest way to win in as many places as we can. Is Trauner’s opponent one of the incumbents or is someone retiring?

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    @ruemara:

    as they are toxic

    Butts, or jackals? [asking for a friend]

    You go, Gary Trauner! We need to rid the joint of the Zinke stench.

  15. 15.

    Starfish

    @MisterForkbeard: I am considering running for school board.

    If you know any people where you are who should consider running for something, tell them that they should and help them with their efforts to get there. That means you find some donors and some people to throw fundraising parties, and some advisors on issues that are relevant to any large organizations that have influence in your area.

  16. 16.

    Fair Economist

    I’m in. Now that we’ve discovered the tax deform is a corruption scheme lightning could strike anywhere. Maybe Barrasso got a kickback too. He’s certainly voting for them.

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    @Doug!:

    Just make sure it’s not TenguPhule. That move of kicking the phone off the desk kind of had a TenguPhule vibe to it.

  20. 20.

    Felanius Kootea

    Donated – keep up the fight everywhere. Alabama and Virginia have shown that it helps to fight; sometimes we do win! Think of all the times Jeff Sessions ran unopposed :(.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    so… this is the top thread with double digit comments, so it’s open, right?

    I’d be curious to know what any lawyers think of this write-up about the memorandum of understanding between the trump transition, a private, non-government entity, as I understand it, and the GSA. I’m persuaded that the trump team had no reasonable expectation of privacy, so no warrant was needed by Meuller, but I am not a lawyer, and I am a very biased observer. The trumps are arguing that there was a later understanding that they would own or control all communication, which strikes me as of a piece with their lawyer’s assertion that Zombie Scalia should still have a vote on the USSC.

  24. 24.

    Citizen_X

    Woo-hoo, a fellow jackal! I like the ad. Hey, get Brad Paisley to campaign for you; he’s jackal-adjacent!

  25. 25.

    marcopolo

    @Hilary: In case there are folks out there like me who don’t necessarily trust funding links that we are seeing for the first time, I just spoke with folks at the MO Democratic party about It Starts Today MO. They were happily aware of its existence, are supportive of what it is doing, and said they had no problem with the link being disseminated far and wide. So thanks for the link. From my conversation with them I gather that this group already has some funding streams set up for Democratic candidates in other states. Anyone here aware of their work in other locales?

    Also too, I am very pleased that in 2018 I will have two (2) quality D candidates to choose from to represent as my state house member from MO-87. Current rep is termed out but I don’t remember the last time there was actually decent competition to fill the seat.

  27. 27.

    marcopolo

    @Another Scott: Thanks for posting this and happy to see it. I suppose we should just make it a regular practice to ask reasonable questions of Trump’s judicial nominees in committee and then use “social media” to identify and broadcast subpar performances to the general public.

    And as FK said TenguPhule has said they are on one of the HI islands.

    Donated to the campaign, remember him campaigning for the House in ’06.

  29. 29.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The trumps are arguing that there was a later understanding that they would own or control all communication

    And the person they supposedly had this agreement with is conveniently too dead to contradict them. I don’t think the courts are going to accept what you claim is a later verbal agreement with somebody who isn’t around to confirm or deny what you’re saying over a clear, written agreement saying the opposite.

  31. 31.

    marcopolo

    @Barbara: The current US House rep from WY is Darth Cheney’s daughter, Liz. The Senator Gary would be running against is Barrasso. Dunno if there is competition for the Dem nomination.

  34. 34.

    Yutsano

    @SiubhanDuinne: There is some room for optimism. Wyoming is blood red but it’s a recent phenomenon. The last gov before this one was a Dem. So Democrats can win here.

  35. 35.

    bystander

    @zhena goglia: The prominence of Trauner’s boots on the desk were Chekhov’s gun on the wall.

    I contributed but I only get that he likes smashing phones and breaking chalk. Any of the finer policy points whizzed by me.

  36. 36.

    HAL

    @marcopolo: Hold up! Liz Cheney was elected to Congress?? I completely missed that story.

    Googles Liz Cheney…

    Barack Obama’s most significant legacy will be all he did to fund and support America’s enemies.

    Never stop being terrible Cheney family.

  37. 37.

    James E. Powell

    @Yutsano:

    I’m not expecting an ADA liberal, but does a Democrat have to be a “Let’s cut social security” Blue Dog Democrat to win there, or can we get someone reasonably Democratic?

  39. 39.

    Yutsano

    @James E. Powell: With Trauner right now you can’t totally tell. I do know that land management issues are big in Wyoming, so to be a little more right on that is to be expected. He might be more of a Heitkamp type.

  40. 40.

    JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo

    @James E. Powell: no Dem has been elected to Congress from Wyoming since 1976, and Hillary got 22% of the vote last year, so I’d take a conservative Dem; that’s probably the best that you could expect.

  45. 45.

    Caravelle

    Also happy to see the math checked out :D (with a one-way implication at least)

    I’m rather impressed actually. I don’t think you often see throwaway math equations that aren’t either 1) impressive-looking but impossible, 2) not very impressive at all, or 3) impressive-looking but trivial if you actually try and solve them.

  46. 46.

    ruemara

    @James E. Powell: The metric of who is a Dem will not be set by the most liberal. I have never seen a WY congressional candidate who was a Dem in 10 years and that’s about when I started paying attention. Let’s get a corporatist before we request a Chomskyite.

  47. 47.

    rikyrah

    Black Georgia Mayor Can’t Get the Keys to His Own Office, Thanks to Racist City Council

    An African-American mayor in Camilla, Ga. is protesting his own city amid claims of government-mandated segregation.

    Last week, Mayor Rufus Davis said city council members voted not to give him keys to his own office at City Hall, topping a list of alleged racist policies aimed at keeping Blacks and whites separated, CBS Atlanta reported. The City of Camilla boasts a nearly 70% African-American population, yet Blacks aren’t allowed to be buried next to whites and white school-aged children are relegated to an all-white private school, according to Davis.

  48. 48.

    Patricia Kayden

    Go Gary!! Nice to see one of our own running for office. Hope he’s swept into office as the backlash to Trump and the GOP continues to grow through 2018.

    @rikyrah: Can he sue?

    “According to the city manager, it’s all a coincidence,” he told Richey. “He looks for Blacks [to serve on the police force] but can’t find any qualified Blacks. In City Hall, … they look for Blacks but can’t find any qualified Blacks.”

    WOWZERS. It’s that old “there are no qualified Blacks” meme. Some people are just not going to change.

  51. 51.

    The Moar You Know

    I’m not expecting an ADA liberal, but does a Democrat have to be a “Let’s cut social security” Blue Dog Democrat to win there, or can we get someone reasonably Democratic?

    @James E. Powell: In Wyoming, I would say you are going to get a dog so damn blue it’ll look black in most light. It would still be a vast improvement over what we have now, which is jack shit. Take the victory you can get. But the guy is a Balloon Juice reader and apparently a commenter, and even our most dipshit non-troll commenters (there’s a few people here I absolutely cannot stand) are people who I think have an instinct for good governance. They’re not evil, even if I think they’re morons. So this guy is better than what I’d expect out of Wyoming. Good news.

    I’d be curious to know what any lawyers think of this write-up about the memorandum of understanding between the trump transition, a private, non-government entity, as I understand it, and the GSA. I’m persuaded that the trump team had no reasonable expectation of privacy, so no warrant was needed by Meuller, but I am not a lawyer, and I am a very biased observer. The trumps are arguing that there was a later understanding that they would own or control all communication, which strikes me as of a piece with their lawyer’s assertion that Zombie Scalia should still have a vote on the USSC.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Not a lawyer, but sometimes an expert witness. One who is just about done with that chapter in his life (the law, as a living, sucks). Here’s the key:

    The trumps are arguing that there was a later understanding that they would own or control all communication

    Is it in writing? No? Done talking.

  53. 53.

    The Moar You Know

    The Senate’s Russia Investigation Is Now Looking Into Jill Stein, A Former Campaign Staffer Says

    @germy: I am so afraid this will not prove to be true. But I hope it is. And haul that son of a bitch Sanders in too. He’s got a lot of explaining to do.

  55. 55.

    Roger Moore

    @The Moar You Know:

    Is it in writing? No? Done talking.

    This. The law isn’t 100% strict about demanding that everything be in writing, but the bar to overturn a written agreement with a later verbal one is pretty high.

  56. 56.

    germy

    The top congressional committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has set its sights on the Green Party and its nominee, Jill Stein, according to a former campaign employee.

    Dennis Trainor Jr., who worked for the Stein campaign from January to August of 2015, says Stein contacted him on Friday saying the Senate Intelligence Committee had requested that the campaign comply with a document search.

    Trainor, who served as the campaign’s communications director and acting manager during that time, told BuzzFeed News that he was informed of the committee’s request because during his time on the campaign, his personal cell phone was “a primary point of contact” for those looking to reach Stein or the campaign. That included producers from RT News, the Russian state-funded media company, who booked Stein for several appearances, Trainor said.

    “Then I was told by Jill just to wait for further instructions,” Trainor said, adding that he was told the campaign would contact him in the next week with instructions, presumably from the Senate Intelligence Committee, for executing the document search, including precise search terms. That has not happened yet, Trainor said.

    Trainor, who has done on-and-off work for Stein since formally leaving the campaign in 2015, said he is inclined to cooperate with the committee’s request but wants to first seek legal counsel. He said he believes Stein plans to comply as well and post the documents on her own website “in an effort to show complete transparency and kind of wage her own war against […] what I imagine she thinks is an overblown investigation into collusion.”

    Stein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  57. 57.

    Shalimar

    @Spanky: Not everyone read the posts where Doug went off on Adam for asking him to be sensitive about potentially suicidal readers.

  59. 59.

    piratedan

    @debbie: Debbie, you can use a broader brush and simply paint the entire GOP with it as they’ve essentially rubber stamped every damn thing from Trump as well as added a few doozies of their own

  60. 60.

    debbie

    @piratedan:

    I like to start at the top. After all, Trump’s pissing me off the most. As someone who lived in NYC from 1978 to 1995, I was subjected to him practically every single day. I don’t know how many thousands of times that makes, but none of them were enjoyable.

  61. 61.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: what is the dog thinking in that Far Side “cat fud” cartoon? “Oh please…oh please…”

    I am that dog. : )

  62. 62.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: Oh, and I love this bit:

    Trainor, who has done on-and-off work for Stein since formally leaving the campaign in 2015, said he is inclined to cooperate with the committee’s request but wants to first seek legal counsel. He said he believes Stein plans to comply as well and post the documents on her own website “in an effort to show complete transparency and kind of wage her own war against […] what I imagine she thinks is an overblown investigation into collusion.”

    LOLOL! Of *course* the smarmy beeyotch thinks any look-see into her love affair with RT is going to be “overblown”!

  64. 64.

    Barbara

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: A government agency doesn’t have the authority to enter into agreements that contravene, supersede or alter statutory requirements. GSA has a system of records, as every agency does pursuant to FOIA, in which it adopts specific policies about specific types of records — what is public, what is non-public, etc. — and it is adopted by notice and comment to the public. The transition team’s goal apparently was to turn the GSA into Iron Mountain for the repository of its records. I don’t see how the GSA could do that. I especially don’t see how the GSA could do that after the fact, that is, after it had already set up the .gov accounts and emails under the usual terms. Theoretically, the transition team could have set up its own private servers and conducted business as a private entity, but that would have deprived it of access to a lot of information that could not be sent to private parties. So the transition team got the benefit of the GSA’s services and then, subsequently, tried to change the terms as if it had been conducting itself under its own auspices.

  65. 65.

    TenguPhule

    @Barbara:

    and then, subsequently, tried to change the terms as if it had been conducting itself under its own auspices.

    So like Cell phone plans, only eviller.

  68. 68.

    Barbara

    @Barbara: I was going to add: Thus, at the time any emails or related documents were drafted, there was no expectation of privacy. Unfairness to individuals might arise where they had an expectation of privacy that was later determined to be unwarranted, and thus, created documents thinking that they were protected from disclosure. Here, it appears that the opposite might have occurred.

  69. 69.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: Heh heh heh. And I love how the guy says he’s “inclined” to cooperate with a federal investigation. I hope the counsel he consults tells him. “Yeah, good thinking, dude!”

  71. 71.

    Chyron HR

    @germy:

    The best part is that the GOP probably thinks they’ve turned the tables on those damn Demon-rats by hauling Doc Stein in for questioning.

  73. 73.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie:
    I think that the judicial nominations are an example of why the wingnuts are not happy to settle for Pence. Trump is so ignorant and dependent on others to make serious decisions that he’s willing to completely outsource his judicial nominations to people who will choose these losers. Pence would be too afraid of embarrassing himself by appointing somebody completely unqualified to test the waters and see just how terrible a nominee he could squeeze through.

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    @Barbara:
    Interestingly, it turns out that people have received copies of the Trump Transition Team’s memorandum of understanding with the GSA through FOIA requests. As members of previous transition teams said, the individual users were required to sign for their laptops and phones, and they were explicitly warned that “Users have no expectation of privacy on GSA IT resources since all activities are subject to monitoring.” This really ought to settle the matter for anyone who has not drunk the Trump Kool-Aid*, but we can expect the wingnut wurlitzer to continue repeating nonsense about how illegal this all was.

    *Actually just relabeled Trump urine.

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: Un-fucking believable. I don’t think the guy should be skipping the city council meetings, though. That just gives them what they want.

    If he can prove he’s the mayor, why isn’t he calling a locksmith to have the lock changed?

  82. 82.

    stinger

    I chipped in a small amount, even though the BJ goal had already been met, and even though this time of year is about the worst for me in terms of having extra money lying around. Because we need good people in Congress.

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