Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

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

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

No one could have predicted…

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

This really is a full service blog.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

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

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2018 / Hatch Acts

Reader Interactions

149Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    Is it too much to hope that Mitt will get clobbered by a drooling MAGAturd in the primaries?

    Could we foment some copulation of rodentia?

  3. 3.

    Yarrow

    Mitt Romney’s going to run for his seat, right? Being Utah, I expect he’ll win in a landslide.

  4. 4.

    Hungry Joe

    Utah will contribute to the Senate yet another rage-twisted, bile-filled lunatic. The only up side to Romney’s taking the seat will be Gail Collins’ mentioning the Romney family dog lashed to the top of the car every time Mitt’s name comes up.

  5. 5.

    cmorenc

    Romney is a huge way short of ideal, but nonetheless for what’s politically possible in Utah, a huge improvement over Hatch, especially considering the most likely alternative if Romney hadn’t stepped forward would be another far-right destructive asshole like Mike Lee (Utah’s other incumbent Senator).

    Not enough hippies, rock-climbers, and skiers in Utah yet to outvote the LDS contingent statewide, even though the former have partly gained the upper hand in SLC proper.

  7. 7.

    Major Major Major Major

    Is it too much to hope that Mitt will get clobbered by a drooling MAGAturd in the primaries? A boy can hope.

    After 2016 I resolved to never again root for the craziest person in the republican primary.

  8. 8.

    Roger Moore

    Is it too much to hope that Mitt will get clobbered by a drooling MAGAturd in the primaries?

    Alternatively, maybe Mitt can piss off all the MAGAturds in the primary so much that they decide to stay home on election day.

  12. 12.

    eric

    Well, if WIllard ran as a democrat, then he would be in the majority after 2018. Just saying.

  14. 14.

    dmbeaster

    Awful glad that old turd Hatch is gone. Such a hypocrite (especially about judges) and responsible for a lot of odious legislation (especially the food supplements law which prevents regulation of snake oil). His parting legacy was to proclaim support for CHIP while not funding it, and saying “the reason CHIP is having trouble is because we don’t have money anymore” after putting a giant hole in the budget to fund the billionaire tax scam bill. And “I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won’t help themselves, won’t lift a finger and expect the federal government to do everything” and then claiming he supports CHIP.

    There is no government program spending billions and trillions on people who won’t help themselves, you liar.

  16. 16.

    Fair Economist

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Heaven knows the US Senate needs some youth.

    To be provided by to-be-71 Mitt Romney. The only youth we’re getting there is baby steps in the right direction.

  17. 17.

    Emerald

    @cmorenc:
    Yeah, I’d way rather have Romney in there than Hatch. Always assuming, of course, that Romney does not catch Trumpitis the way the rest of the party has.

    Oh wait. I recall that dinner photo with the Orangimandius and Romney during the transition.

    I recant.

  18. 18.

    Another Scott

    re: MM’s first sentence…

    TheHill:

    The 83-year-old senator appeared to be signaling in recent weeks that he’d run for an eighth term in 2018, even though he previously said he’d retire when his term is up in January 2019.

    Heh. (roll-eyes)

    It’s long-past time that he left.

    It doesn’t matter who replaces him in Utah – the GOP votes as a block in the Senate. What matters is flipping the Senate so that the Teabaggers are back in the minority.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  19. 19.

    encephalopath

    Hatch may not be stupid, but he is evil.

    Here’s to hoping the Democrats can pick up that seat somehow.

  22. 22.

    James E. Powell

    Can’t believe Romney wants to be a senator other than to set up a run against Trump in the 2020 primary.

    Prestige-wise, senator is a step down from where he is now.

  23. 23.

    Roger Moore

    @dmbeaster:

    And “I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won’t help themselves, won’t lift a finger and expect the federal government to do everything” and then claiming he supports CHIP.

    If those three-year-olds want healthcare, they should stop mooching and get a fucking job already.

  24. 24.

    lgerard

    At least we can look forward to the dotard tweeting about “Milquetoast Mitt” for a few months.

  25. 25.

    Jeffro

    I’m sure Romney will win the GOP nomination and the Senate seat. Nevertheless, I hope whichever Dem runs against him points out that a) Romney’s just as much of a heartless Republican as Hatch is and b) despite his distaste for Trumpov, Mitt still kissed his ring in the hopes of winning the SoS job.

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    The supplements industry just lost their sugar (heh) daddy. Heavens to Betsy, I bet they’re sweating at least a little.

  27. 27.

    donnah

    Hatch must have finally read the whole editorial in the Salt Lake City Tribune.

    Good riddance, you mean old fucker.

  28. 28.

    Spider-Dan

    @Major Major Major Major: True that. After all the handwringing in 2016 about the Mormon conscience, Trump still won Utah by ~20 points. Utah doesn’t have a significant black population that can push a Democrat across the finish line, and I’m sure the Republicans in Utah will find a way to support a Bannonite primary winner Because Abortion just like the Republicans anywhere else.

    Rooting for the crazy is not worth the risk anymore.

  31. 31.

    Fair Economist

    Romney would be better for us than a crazy. There’s already plenty of elected Republican crazies to heighten the contradictions. At this point we need a few less-crazy people to split their party.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    @trollhattan:

    Donnie Osmond for senate, anybody?

    Can we not?

    Also: it would be nice if Salt Lake City was large enough to outvote the Republican hinterlands. Sadly not even Ogden (with a university and a large IRS office) is enough to counterbalance it.

  34. 34.

    Jeffro

    Hey, now THIS is how you resist Devin Nunes: House Dems Prepaing To Issue A Minority Report Detailing Their GOP Counterparts’ Willingness to Cover For Trumpov

    In an interview with [Greg Sargent], Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut — the No. 2 Democrat on the House intel committee — said that Democrats are seriously exploring the possibility of issuing a minority report that details (among other things) the degree to which Republicans tried to impede a full investigation, should that end up happening. In this scenario, the public would at least have a clear sense of just how far Republicans went to protect President Trump and his top officials from accountability.

    “It’s in both the Democrats’ and the Republicans’ interests to … write a report based on a common set of facts,” Himes told me. “It would be a tragedy if the report has a minority section that says, ‘Look, we wanted to talk to these two dozen witnesses and weren’t able to do so.’”

    Hint, hint, GOP.

    Himes confirmed to me that Democrats want to call Trump Jr. and Sessions back in to ask whether Papadoupoulos communicated to top campaign officials the existence of this Russian dirt on Clinton, and whether that is related to the June 2016 meeting to get said dirt from the Russian government. But it looks unlikely that Republicans will agree, and Himes said that if Republicans do end up frustrating a full inquiry more generally — and keep pushing the narrative of a deep-state coup against Trump — Democrats may issue a minority report detailing what Republicans really did here.

    “If the investigation gets wound up too quickly, the minority report would be largely about outstanding questions that were never examined,” Himes told me, though he stressed that he hopes this does not happen.

    To be clear, this really might not happen: It’s possible Republicans will allow the inquiry to unfold, and/or that the full truth is not that damning to Trump and his associates. There might not be any coverup. Indeed, Republicans have protested that the Democratic requests for additional testimony are frivolous. But as Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes point out, we can empirically evaluate whether Republicans are — or aren’t — making a good-faith effort to interview all the witnesses necessary to establish the full truth about Russian interference and possible conspiracy with it. So far, there is reason for concern that they aren’t.

    And if they do not, a minority report might reveal this in full detail. (Meanwhile, the Mueller probe could reveal some of what Republicans did not want revealed.) Republicans may be able to prevent the full truth from coming out, but they cannot prevent the full truth about their own efforts to frustrate an accounting from seeing the light of day. At which point, the Democrats’ recourse will be political — to further the cause of accountability, they will need to win the House in 2018.

    This is superb and sorely needed. Not only will it highlight – publicly – the degree to which Nunes and others are covering for Trumpov, possibly criminally, it should help bring pressure on the few GOP Congressmen who aren’t completely in deep doo-doo. If a few of them join the Dems, then it’s a ‘bipartisan’ effort to conduct a full and fair investigation, and Nunes & Co. will look that much worse.

  35. 35.

    germy

    Scott Lemieux asks the million-dollar question:

    Wait — Mitt Romney? Isn’t this violating the longstanding ironclad rule (est. Nov. 2016) that losing presidential candidates refuse to ever again appear in public?

  36. 36.

    lgerard

    @trollhattan:

    Bogus supplements are Utah’s main industry, followed by multilevel marketing. You would be hard pressed to find any politician in the state to take them on. Mitt certainly wouldn’t.

  38. 38.

    Raoul

    Hatch retiring is not unimportant, and we can hope that Bannon pushes a freak to primary Mitt.

    But I think the bigger news is the other retirement announced today. PA’s Bill Schuster is retiring. House races are more scalable, and PA is probably more in play than UT.

    I’d be curious what local BJ knowledge we have about that seat?

  40. 40.

    germy

    @trollhattan:

    The supplements industry just lost their sugar daddy… I bet they’re sweating at least a little.

    They’ll just find someone else to pay off. Last time they covered both bases: Harkin and Hatch. They’re probably power-pointing their lobbyists as we speak.

  43. 43.

    Dread

    Boy, it sure will be nice to see a reliable voter for Trump’s plutocratic agenda be replaced by another reliable voter for Trump’s plutocratic agenda but who occasionally says mean things about Trump so the press can point and yell “Reasonable Republican!”

  44. 44.

    gvg

    Just below the Hatch news on WaPo I saw a story that Trumps lawyer Dowd is a specialist in getting pardons, including one of only 4 preemptive pardons for some guy named Symington back during the Savings and loans crisis. Also it was after this guy was hired that Trump started talking about pardoning himself and family and that it was impossible for him to commit obstruction of justice since he was President…charming news. I had the impression that lawyer was a bit senile before.
    I also had a recent impression that Hatch too was getting senile and was not a all there as he used to be.
    Romney would be I think a saner improvement except I am getting really put off by how OLD so many of the government big shots are. Several interviews and articles make it seem like Trump is not the only one with dementia. Heck, that was one of my concerns about Hillary (age generally not mental) starting when she ran against Obama and it goes for Biden and Sanders too. McCain seemed out of it recently. I understand the appeal of keeping safe seats may be making too many on both sides hang on too long but it’s a problem and age limits aren’t the solution, just people should use judgement when voting.

  46. 46.

    James E. Powell

    @Jeffro:

    I got slammed on twitter for mocking the “Democrats are seriously exploring the possibility . . . ” That’s some really weak stuff, right there.

    True, it’s a notch above a sternly worded letter, but after all that happened and all that’s not happened, does anyone think Republicans regard “seriously exploring the possibility” as anything to be concerned about? Does anyone think the press/media will do anything but bury it under a pile of “some say” and “both sides” bullshit?

  47. 47.

    Shrillhouse

    Well, the Dens have about as much chance of winning a Senate seat in Utah as they do in Alabama…

    Hey, wait a minute!

  49. 49.

    JR

    Not gonna root against Mitt in the primary.

    I think we’ve seen the result of more extremism in the Republican party and it is not pretty.

  50. 50.

    Chet

    Whenever I hear the man’s name I think about this 1991 profile of Dave Barry in Newsweek:

    Millions read Dave Barry’s syndicated humor column. But how many have heard Dave Barry actually speak? If you called him before Thanksgiving, here’s what his answering machine would have said: “Hello. You have reached the booking agent for Long Dong Silver. Due to his recent rise in popularity, Long Dong is booked up right now. But if you’ll leave your name and number, we’ll get back to you with information about some of our other acts, including Medium Dong Silver, Barely Adequate Dong Silver and Senator Orrin Hatch.”

  51. 51.

    jl

    @JR: I tend to agree. I can’t root for Mitt to get slaughtered in primary, and not sure reason why anyone should.
    But I’m not going to particularly hope for him either. The GOP will do what it will do. I’ll think about what I can do to lick ’em, regardless of what GOP primaries cough up.

  52. 52.

    Jonny Scrum-half

    Well, the Supreme Court is also a place where it’s a big deal when an 80+-year-old person retires.
    And I’m hopeful that Mormons will allow their revulsion of Trump to overcome their general conservatism enough to let a Democrat win in Utah. Unfortunately, that’s probably not realistic.

  53. 53.

    FlipYrWhig

    @jl: Do they have senate primaries in Utah? IIRC Mike Lee ousted Bob Bennett at some sort of party convention.

  54. 54.

    eemom

    @Emerald:

    I recall that dinner photo with the Orangimandius and Romney during the transition.

    Yeah. And how he turned on his own fucking health care plan in 2012. I can’t BELIEVE anybody thinks Romtron would be some kind of “moderate.” He does not have a principled bone in his body.

  56. 56.

    Betty Cracker

    Do we know for sure Romney is running for that seat? If so, I wonder why. He’s in his 70s, has more money than God and has already been a presidential nominee. It only makes sense if he wants to run for president again, which maybe he does. Hmmm.

  57. 57.

    different-church-lady

    I think it’s highly unlikely Romney is a pedophile, so I’m hoping he doesn’t run.

  62. 62.

    JaneSays

    Romney sucks, but if the choice is between him or Hatch, I’ll take the magic underpants guy.

  63. 63.

    Cacti

    @Betty Cracker:

    Do we know for sure Romney is running for that seat? If so, I wonder why. He’s in his 70s, has more money than God and has already been a presidential nominee. It only makes sense if he wants to run for president again, which maybe he does. Hmmm.

    Mitt very likely believes he has a divine destiny to be POTUS.

  64. 64.

    Gravenstone

    So who is next in line for President Pro Tempore after Hatch retires? Because with all the shit swirling around Trumpenstein and Dense, plus Paulie Blue Eyes hinting at retirement (assuming indictments don’t land first) … it might just matter.

  66. 66.

    JaneSays

    @Fair Economist: I’d rather have a 71 year old Romney who will probably serve no more than 2 terms than a 41 year old Romney who will be there for the next 35+ years.

    We’re not going to pick this seat up next year, barring the GOP candidate being exposed as a pedophile (Luther Strange would have beaten Doug Jones handily, as would have Moore if he didn’t have the pedophile stench). But if Romney retires before the 2030 election, it could be a whole new ballgame. Keep an eye on the long game.

  67. 67.

    Gravenstone

    @Betty Cracker: I think most people are working from the previous reports that Hatch was allegedly recruiting Romney as his successor. Granted, those reports are a year or more out of date now.

  68. 68.

    germy

    NYT:

    The president has had Romney on his mind. Over golf earlier this year, Trump asked Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., what he thought of the former Republican nominee. (Graham said he praised Romney and predicted he would be a solid senator.)

  70. 70.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Cacti: Mitt very likely believes he has a divine destiny to be POTUS.
    I’ve always bought into the White Horse theory. At the very least some self-aggrandizing, long term ambition to be “the Mormon Kennedys”. Wouldn’t surprise me if Willard and Ann have been talking about whether the old man or the eldest Mittlet knob should take this run.

  71. 71.

    germy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Wouldn’t surprise me if Willard and Ann have been talking about whether the old man or the eldest Mittlet knob should take this run.

    They’re certainly all photogenic, which should please the villagers. Not a war hero in the bunch, but that’s another story…

  73. 73.

    Mary G

    I think any possibility that Mitt isn’t installed in a coronation with 95% of the vote is in the unicorn and pony level of odds, since the Mormon nice brand won’t fall for a Bannon-backed loony, but I’m still glad to see Orrin go. I think he’s senile and that isn’t good. If Mitt had any brains, he’d huddle with Nancy and Chuck and get some compromises installed in the hope that the fever breaks by 2020 and he can run for presnit again, but I don’t think he’s smart enough or has the cojones, since he came and ate frog legs with Twitler.

    @Yarrow: She sounds great. I think I will invest $5 a month in her even though it feels like throwing the money away. We need to get our 50 state effort on this year.

  74. 74.

    MomSense

    There are 47% who believe they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing.

    Jesus I hate this timeline that has Romney seeming like a relatively reasonable person.

  75. 75.

    Gravenstone

    @Yarrow: No. Once Hatch retires, who will then be the most most senior Senator remaining (i.e. become President Pro Tempore)? I understand who lies further along the formal line of succession beyond PpT.

  78. 78.

    lgerard

    @Mary G:

    I think any possibility that Mitt isn’t installed in a coronation with 95% of the vote is in the unicorn and pony level of odds, since the Mormon nice brand won’t fall for a Bannon-backed loony,

    See: Mike Lee

  80. 80.

    Roger Moore

    @eemom:

    And how he turned on his own fucking health care plan in 2012.

    Again, it wasn’t his plan. It was a plan pushed by MA democrats that he eventually accepted rather than watch his veto be overridden.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MomSense: one underplayed part of that tape, IMHO, was when Willard spat out “I inherited nothing!” The idea that he’s anything less than entirely self-made clearly grates at him just as it does at Friedrich Trump’s spawn. His actual self-made father was a CEO, governor, cabinet secretary and top-tier presidential candidate. Also, the Cranbrook School and Harvard, to say nothing of the little nest egg worth about (IIRC) $300,000 in today’s dollars that got Willard and Ann through their hardscrabble early years…. but he inherited nothing! Technically true, probably, as Willard was a very wealthy man when ol’ George finally went to his reward.

  82. 82.

    jl

    @FlipYrWhig: Wiki article on 2018 Utah Senate race implies there will be a primary election, and says Huntsman is a potential candidate, has not declined to run.

  84. 84.

    Mike in NC

    Maybe Roy Moore will move to Utah and convert to Mormonism. He very badly wants a Senate seat.

  86. 86.

    VOR

    @Raoul: Well, Michele Bachmann has name recognition going for her in the Minnesota Senate race. People were speculating about former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R), who spent 2007-08 dreaming about being the VP pick only to lose out to Sarah Palin. After his failed 2012 campaign for President, where he lost the 2011 Ames Straw Poll to Ms. Bachmann and dropped out before the Iowa Caucus, he became a lobbyist in Washington DC. Ms. Bachmann will have to explain the shenanigans around the Iowa mailing list in her 2012 Presidential campaign as I’m sure any competent opposition research team will bring it up.

  87. 87.

    Jeffro

    @James E. Powell:

    True, it’s a notch above a sternly worded letter, but after all that happened and all that’s not happened, does anyone think Republicans regard “seriously exploring the possibility” as anything to be concerned about? Does anyone think the press/media will do anything but bury it under a pile of “some say” and “both sides” bullshit?

    Repubs can be concerned, or not – the important thing is that Dems are willing to step up and do what they can to highlight the GOP’s efforts to cover for Trumpov. The mainstream media has been pretty good about reporting the facts, so I don’t think there will be a lot of equivocating about ‘both sides’. It’ll be more like, “Dems list X additional witnesses GOP is blocking” or “Dems issue report on X key areas unexplored by/stymied by GOP”. And that’s ok. Just another block out of the ‘Jenga treason tower’, as Betty calls it.

  89. 89.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    OT: the other day discussion of Sunset Blvd gave me a chance to trot out my joke about Bob Woodward being the Norma Desmond of punditry. Someone is ready for his close-up, Mr De Trump

    Byron York‏Verified account @ ByronYork
    ‘The tone is a big issue here,’ added Woodward. ‘In lots of reporting, particularly on television commentary, there’s a kind of self-righteousness and smugness and people kind of ridiculing the president.’

    Maybe the sawdust-brained old courtier heard the news about Halperin’s feed from the trumpies not going into the new book, so he sees an opportunity to get back in his old game of typing up leaks insiders find useful.

  90. 90.

    efgoldman

    @Jeffro:

    Not only will it highlight – publicly – the degree to which Nunes and others are covering for Trumpov, possibly criminally

    I thought Nunes was so compromised he stepped away from the investigation and announced his retirement. Am dismisremembering?

  91. 91.

    SgrAstar

    @Emerald: Romney will never step away from the reep mainstream, which is now fully identified with trump. His capacity for obsequiousness was amply demonstrated during his efforts to ingratiate himself with trump. Mitt will uphold rw orthodoxy 100% of the time, believe me.

  93. 93.

    Yutsano

    @efgoldman: Ha.
    Ha ha.
    Hahahahahaha.
    It’s like the Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III recusal. He’s out only until Dolt45 says jump. Then he’s right back in and messing with things.

  94. 94.

    Cacti

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Also, the Cranbrook School and Harvard, to say nothing of the little nest egg worth about (IIRC) $300,000 in today’s dollars that got Willard and Ann through their hardscrabble early years…. but he inherited nothing!

    Don’t forget his Papa buying him his first house in 1971 for $42,000 (about $256,000 in today’s $$$).

    I mean, who doesn’t own their first home outright at age 25?

  96. 96.

    Olivia

    It will be fun to see if trumputin has dirt on Mittens. Maybe he will do a magic turnaround after a golf game like Lindsey Graham.

  97. 97.

    Tom Q

    Sure, a GOPer getting elected to a Utah Senate seat is a 90% probability here, but:

    1) I don’t assume Romney will automatically get the nod — as was noted above, Mike Lee tossed out a perfectly good conservative Senator because he wasn’t crazy enough; plus, Romney is a particular object of hate for Steve Bannon, who will push hard

    2) even if the crazier-than-Romney candidate wins the Fall election, his voting record will be not a whit worse than Orrin Hatch’s has been over the past two years

    3) there’s always the chance Dems get another Roy Moore landscape. The numbers Dems are racking up right now put the party in a position to win races where their chances are only 10-20%

    Moral: of course don’t expect a Dem victory. But be standing there with a Doug Jones, ready to capitalize if it’s an existential election.

  98. 98.

    SenyorDave

    Off topic, but I personally wanted to thank Donald Trump for protecting myself and my entire family from being trampled by elephants in 2017. I am happy to report that no member of my family was trampled to death by elephants since Trump became president.

    From the Chicago Tribune fact checkers:

    Trump wrongly claims credit for lack of commercial airline crash deaths

  102. 102.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @efgoldman: he recused himself but he’s still fucking with the investigation

    In an important piece, The Post’s Karoun Demirjian reports that Rep. Devin Nunes, a Trump loyalist, may be wielding his influence as chairman of the intel committee to block critical lines of inquiry. Democrats have been alarmed by his tactics, especially the fact that despite his public recusal from the probe, he “never relinquished his sole, unchecked authority” to sign off on — or kill — efforts by Democrats to subpoena top Trump officials for more testimony:
    People familiar with the committee’s work estimated that Nunes’s effective veto cost Democrats dozens of requests for interviews and documents that were never sent out, despite repeated entreaties from the minority side.

    Interviews of trump jr and Sessions, specifically
    Dems are talking about issuing a minority report detailing Nunes’ fuckery

  103. 103.

    SgrAstar

    @eemom:

    Yeah. And how he turned on his own fucking health care plan in 2012. I can’t BELIEVE anybody thinks Romtron would be some kind of “moderate.” He does not have a principled bone in his body.

    YES!

  104. 104.

    JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo

    @Raoul: it’s the most Republican district in the state. parts of it haven’t elected a Democrat since the Civil War. Shuster did only win 52-44 in 2001, when he won a special election to succeed his father; it’s not impossible for a Dem to be competitive there.

  105. 105.

    Cacti

    @Tom Q:

    I don’t assume Romney will automatically get the nod — as was noted above, Mike Lee tossed out a perfectly good conservative Senator because he wasn’t crazy enough; plus, Romney is a particular object of hate for Steve Bannon, who will push hard

    Bannon has no relationship to speak of with Mormons. Romney is Mormon royalty and the seat is in the heart of Mormondom. The only way a MAGA-turd beats him in Utah is if they also have impeccable Mormon bona fides.

  106. 106.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yarrow:

    Early this year, President Trump invited Mark Halperin to dinner in the White House residence. Seated around the table were Trump’s inner circle, including Jared Kushner, Hope Hicks, Reince Priebus, Stephen Miller, Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, and Sean Spicer.
    They spent a rollicking evening reminiscing about the campaign, according to two sources in the room.
    Trump concluded the dinner by telling his team: “You guys all need to talk to him [Halperin]” for his campaign book — the third installment of “Game Change,” the most valuable franchise in political reporting.
    The team cooperated. In the months since, Halperin and his co-author John Heilemann used this extraordinary access to gather a treasure trove of reporting, the most comprehensive insider account of what happened on the campaign.
    Several Trump campaign officials told me they gave their juiciest anecdotes to Halperin.
    But Halperin has since been thrown off the book project — Penguin backed out and HBO cancelled the movie version — after a number of women went public with stories about him sexually harassing them in the workplace. That leaves the treasure trove in the hands of Heilemann, and creates a complicated situation. While Halperin and Heilemann co-conducted nearly all of the Clinton campaign interviews and some Trump campaign interviews, it was Halperin’s access that unlocked the highest level of Trumpworld. I’m also told there’s plenty of juicy reporting — from both men — on the Clinton side.

    re-reading it, I’m not sure if Halperin will be able to use it or not. I assume they’ll buy Halperin off.

  107. 107.

    Calouste

    @Betty Cracker: I’d say that if Romney wants to run for President again, it would be better for him not to run for Senate. The Presidential election season starts months after he would be sworn in as Senator.

  108. 108.

    Mary G

    Speaking of Roy Moore, the Washington Examiner has an article: Roy Moore’s Jewish lawyer voted for Doug Jones, raised money for his campaign

    The Jewish attorney who Roy Moore’s wife touted employing in an attempt to fight off claims of anti-Semitism is actually a longtime friend and supporter of Senator-elect Doug Jones, who defeated Moore last month.

    Richard Jaffe is an Alabama defense attorney hired by the Moores to defend their son, Caleb Moore, against drug charges in 2016.

    Jaffe told the Washington Examiner he has been close personal friends with Doug Jones for more than 30 years and he both contributed to, and raised money for, his campaign.”There could not be a more passionate supporter of Doug than me!” Jaffe said.

    The Birmingham-based lawyer walked alongside Jones as he took center stage to deliver his acceptance speech and plans to be in the Senate gallery on Wednesday as Jones is sworn in.

    Karma is a bitch.

  112. 112.

    Matt McIrvin

    @eemom: Right after Trump was elected, I heard post-partisan-centrist types in Massachusetts saying they’d have greatly preferred Romney instead (no argument there), and that they figured the moderate Romney who was elected Mass. governor in 2002 was the real Mitt and all the stuff he said later was just hokum to get the Republican presidential nomination. Hope springs eternal.

  113. 113.

    trollhattan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Willard is a pale comparison to his old man, who had ethics in politics and ethics in business, serially refusing pay raises when head of AMC Corp because he didn’t believe management should make too much more than line workers. Willard has situational ethics at best. And god help me i never want to hear about or from lady Ann again.

  114. 114.

    mike in dc

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I hope they do, and I hope they release it before November. They should specifically itemize the unanswered questions due to lack of access to witnesses and documents, and lay the blame squarely at Nunes’ feet.

  115. 115.

    SgrAstar

    @Mary G: do any jackals live in Utah? I do, and I have to weigh in on the idea that “mormon nice” Utah voters would reject bannon-supported candidates. No one who has seen our state lege in action, not to mention the re-election of mike lee, would ever claim that “niceness” is characteristic of our politicians. We have one of the wackiest state governments around, full of anti-fed, pro-coal-mining, anti sex-ed, anti national monument loons. Bannon would find fertile ground here. I live in an old, beautiful part of Salt Lake, where some neighbors fly gadsden flags and openly express their hatred of lie-brals. It’s kinda intimidating, actually. SAD!

  116. 116.

    Barbara

    I used to fantasize that Orrin Hatch would end up dying from an overdose of supplements. Anyone looking to save money can start by not buying vitamin supplements of any kind. The entire industry is mostly just a big scam, making ridiculous and untested claims.

  117. 117.

    Betty Cracker

    @Calouste: Good point. Just seems weird that he’d want to enter the US Senate as a career move at age 70+ when he’s already served as governor of a state and been his party’s nominee for president. I’m not sure what he’s up to. Could be just bored.

  118. 118.

    trollhattan

    @SgrAstar:
    After the grade school teacher shot herself with her pistol while going to the can at school, then learning Utah passed legislation making it illegal to reveal whether teachers are packing heat in the classroom, I decided the place had lost its collective mind and should never be trusted to do the right thing. Support for the recent Bears Ears reductions was thumpingly a bad example.

  121. 121.

    lgerard

    I don’t think we should confuse the voters of Utah with the small band of crazies who make up the party caucus and who will make the selection.

    Mitt is a globalist, establishment republican who was governor in communist held territory and worst of all, couldn’t beat the black guy.

    Despite what the dotard is saying today, he loathes Mitt for dissing him in the 2012 campaign and he doesn’t forget stuff like that.

  123. 123.

    eemom

    @Matt McIrvin:

    If they said that AFTER he utterly debased himself by sucking up to trump trying to get the SecState job, I’d say they’re mistaken.

    GOD, that was disgusting. That in itself proves the utter absence of a soul.

  124. 124.

    JaneSays

    @Gravenstone: Thad Cochran if Republicans retain control of the Senate; Patrick Leahy if the Democrats take the majority. Next in line after Cochran for the Republicans is Grassley, McConnell, Shelby, and McCain. For the Democrats after Leahy it would be Feinstein, Murray, Wyden, Durbin.

    It’s whoever is the longest serving member of the current majority party, so it’s pretty much guaranteed to be someone over 80 years old. Leahy is currently the President pro tempore emeritus, since he previously held the role when the Democrats had the majority from 2009-2015.

  125. 125.

    Matt McIrvin

    (True Donny Osmond fact: Donny Osmond is a mirror-image person. His internal organs are all on the opposite side from a regular human. A sufficiently deranged primary opponent could surely get some mileage out of this. Catherine O’Hara is another one.)

  126. 126.

    eemom

    @Barbara:

    With plenty of help from scumbags like Bob McDonnell who the Supreme Court said was not corrupt.

    I will NEVER understand how that decision was unanimous.

  130. 130.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m not sure what he’s up to. Could be just bored.

    He’s probably as narcissistic as most politicians and is getting tired of not seeing his ugly mug on TV.

  131. 131.

    Bobby Thomson

    @James E. Powell: the RNC may have asked him to run to bolster a #notallforTrump campaign. The problem with that strategy is that both the RNC and Romney will fold like origami if Trump attacked them, and Trump is too vain and stupid to cooperate with a kabuki strategy.

  133. 133.

    Roger Moore

    @trollhattan:

    Support for the recent Bears Ears reductions was thumpingly a bad example.

    And Grand Staircase-Escalante, which in many ways is worse. Bears Ears was at least new and not fully integrated into the local economy. Grand Staircase-Escalante has been around for 20 years. Many of the locals have reoriented their lives around the presence of a big National Monument nearby, and the people who were expecting to make money mining coal there have moved on. The whole argument about needing to open it up is a load of bullshit.

  134. 134.

    d58826

    totally OT but Der Fuhrer was beating up on Pakistan today. Certainly a worthwhile target but isn’t Pakistan the primary supply corridor for our troops in Afghanistan?

  135. 135.

    d58826

    @Barbara: True but the Christie would have filled the seat with a Gooper. So count your blessings however distasteful they may be.

  136. 136.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Betty Cracker: Likely Mittens is getting pressured to run again by the same Mormons who see him as the Mormon savior in the White Horse Prophecy. If you go watch that movie Mitt’s friend did during the presidential run you can see the “why the hell am I doing this?” in his eyes.

  137. 137.

    Roger Moore

    @eemom:

    With plenty of help from scumbags like Bob McDonnell who the Supreme Court said was not corrupt.

    That’s not quite correct. They said the standard of proof of corruption was high enough that it’s almost impossible to convict anyone; you basically have to prove the “pro” part of quid pro quo.

  138. 138.

    Raoul

    @VOR: She was only able to win the most conservative house seat in MN, our northern metro suburbs + St Cloud (where Muslim bashing is above average).
    There’s tons of bonkers on tape from her that would matter a lot more in a 2018 race than it did in her old seat. The ads of her and Trump being similarly crazed would seem awfully easy.

  140. 140.

    Another Scott

    @Matt McIrvin: If you want to see something truly disturbing, Google “Donny Osmond mirror”.

    ;-)

    Seriously, I had no idea about the mirror organ stuff. Interesting!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  142. 142.

    JaneSays

    Romney sucks, but if the choice is between him or Hatch, I’ll take the magic underpants [email protected]Yarrow: Good point. I was thinking Romney, because Hatch didn’t seem to wear his religion on his sleeve quite as much.

  143. 143.

    Barbara

    @d58826: Menendez would either have had to resign or be kicked out of the Senate before Christie left office for Christie to name his replacement. Menendez is brazen enough that he would have forced the Senate to act. That would not have happened before Christie left office.

  144. 144.

    ruemara

    @efgoldman: You’re correct in your memory, but Nunes seems to be unclear on what stepping away means and has been undermining and interfering for quite a while.

    I’ve never been a root for the craziest one person, and I think 2015-6 should’ve taught everyone not to do that until the craziest person is Bob Dole-like. Nah, it’s not a game and the consequences are grave. There’s about 1k dead folks in PR that would like Americans to stop treating elections like it’s a game. I’m glad Orrin is retiring and I sincerely hope that the democratic challenger for the seat makes them waste as much money as possible if she doesn’t win.

  145. 145.

    Bitter Scribe

    I just wonder, after Mitt wins, will he try to primary Trump? That would be good for a laugh.

  147. 147.

    DissidentFish

    @Raoul: PA-9 is the hollows, mines, and gravel pits of Pennsyltucky — the most republican district in PA at R-19 according to Cook. There should be 7-10 other R districts to work ahead of that one. And work the Pennsylvania legislature to prevent the current ridiculous gerrymander after the next census. (PA is a 50/50 D/R split in house votes, and 5/13 D/R in representatives. That is some spicy gerrymanders…)

  148. 148.

    brettvk

    Speaking as a boomer, one of the reforms I’d like to see (if/when Dems take the majorities again and start codifying all the norms the goppers are ignoring) is to set a hard retirement age for both legislators and judges. Enough of this rule by one geezer followed by another. I don’t trust old people to not be suffering from diminished capacity if not creeping dementia. I know how my own cognitive skills are fading, and I don’t thing people a decade older than me need to be anywhere near the levers of power. These people are all rich – let them retire and enjoy their loot and maybe spend a little of it to deprive their heirs.

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