Good lord, Trump is a fucking idiot:
Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018
It’s like he thinks a Republican won the Democratic primary. The Democratic Party’s nominee for the Bronx-Queens district is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She’s a Democratic Socialist who wants to abolish ICE, supports Medicare for all and is in favor of a federal jobs guarantee.
I think it’s safe to say she wouldn’t piss on Trump’s head if his urine-colored, cotton candy-like hair were on fire. There’s a good profile of Ocasio-Cortez in Vogue here.
Here’s a compelling campaign video:
It's time for a New York that works for all of us.
On June 26th, we can make it happen – but only if we have the #CourageToChange.
It's time to get to work. Please retweet this video and sign up to knock doors + more at https://t.co/kacKFI9RtI to bring our movement to Congress. pic.twitter.com/aqKMjovEjZ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) May 30, 2018
I’d vote for her in a heartbeat. So will the 10-term congressman she beat in the primary because he gets the stakes:
I want to congratulate @Ocasio2018. I look forward to supporting her and all Democrats this November. The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don't win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love.
— Joe Crowley (@JoeCrowleyNY) June 27, 2018
I don’t think a candidate like Ocasio-Cortez could win a statewide race in Florida today, but there are districts here she could win, and that builds a bench for the future. I don’t happen to live in one of those districts. But, like most Democrats, I’m happy to see folks to the left of the party’s center win primaries if they 1) don’t demonize our party, and 2) are capable of beating Republicans (these concepts are related, IMO).
Scanning the Beltway coverage this morning, I see that Ocasio-Cortez’s win put the “Dems in Disarray” narrative into hyperdrive. Whatever, man. We won’t see Ocasio-Cortez — or Ben Jealous — wagging a finger in our faces and telling Democrats to abandon “identity politics,” especially not with a racist, sexist, xenophobic demagogue in the Oval Office.
Works for me. Now — go win.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
It’s all about him. Always. He cannot think about anything or anyone beyond himself.
PaulWartenberg
WHO was talking up Crowley to replace Pelosi? I never heard that story. trump being a troll against Pelosi, that’s all this is.
and of course trump thinks if the candidates were nicer to him – including Democratic candidates whose voting base HATES trump WITH THE HEAT OF TEN THOUSAND SUNS – they’d win. Ignoring the Republican candidates who can’t win with his endorsements. Then again, trump’s fucking narcissism makes him think it’s ALL ABOUT HIM anyway.
In that regards, it kinda is about him. Because every Democratic voter HATES YOUR FUCKING FAT ASS, trump, AND IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU WHEN WE GO INTO THE VOTING BOOTH TO NUKE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OUT OF OFFICE.
JWL
“Go win”. But remember what the pro’s in the democratic party say: “Be civil”, and don’t ruffle any republican feathers doing it…
patrick II
I hate it when it is said we practice identity politics. One more yoke cleverly hung around our necks. To be clear, Democrats do not practice identity politics, Republicans do. For them, blacks can’t vote, gays can’t have wedding cakes made, Muslims are terrorists, Hispanics all belong to MS 13. We counter that by trying to make sure everyone is equal in their quest for justice, and to do that we must point out who is being aggrieved. The President, his party, and his five house dog justices practice identity politics. We try for all men are created equal politics, it only looks like identity politics in Republican context.
donnah
Ocasio-Cortez knows her district and what they want. She read the landscape and the mood of her constituents and she responded. She didn’t have the dollars her opponent Crowley did and she didn’t need it.
Will she continue as a left of the Left? We’ll see. What I see as important is that she knows her base and appealed to them. Everyone knows what Trump is and we’ve seen what havoc he generates, so when candidates campaign, leave him out of it. Candidates can gain support by figuring out what their own people need and how to get that.
Kay
She’s a talented candidate and she’s a good fit for her district and perhaps most importantly she seems to have a lot of support from Democrats in her district.
This is easy, IMO. It’s a good thing all around.
It doesn’t matter what Donald Trump thinks about her. He’s a base Republican, the head of the Republican Party and unpopular in her district. This race was about what Democrats want. What political media and Donald Trump want doesn’t matter. We’re allowed to have a base and we’re allowed to speak directly to voters.
B.B.A.
As long as the seat stays Democratic, I consider one fewer cis het white dude in Congress an unalloyed good, no matter who the cis het white dude is.
Betty Cracker
@patrick II: Exactly right. Trump campaigned — and now governs — on white identity politics.
rp
Ocasio-Cortez’s win is a little annoying because it’s given Greenwald and the berniebros something to crow about, but I’ll get over that. Otherwise, she seems great.
Also, I think her win has far more to do with Crowley taking the district for granted and not showing up for the debate than any policy differences. I live in Maryland, and a similar scenario played out in the gubernatorial primary. Lots of people are going to tout this as a win for Sanders and progressives, but I think Jealous simply ran a better campaign and was far more energetic than Baker, the “establishment” dem. I don’t remember seeing a single ad or flyer for Baker. 80% of life is showing up.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
The other critical part is that once she’s in Congress, not to say or do stupid things.
CarolDuhart2
Help me with this: on the Twitter machine I read that 10% of Maryland Democratic voters wouldn’t vote for a Black or Female Governor candidate. Really Folks? You like a Republican Governor vetoing all your shit, I don’t care how moderate he is, he’s still a Republican, and unless Governor is his final stop, will at least attempt to placate Trump in some way.
The prosecutor in Baltimore won readily.
Republicans, your saying “Socialist”, “Communist” whatever is mental masturbation for yourself. Folks aren’t scared of it anymore. College for all for free, and guaranteed government jobs, and abolishing ICE don’t scare people who were born after the wall came down. People are more scared of Trump than shadowy Reds now. Ocasio won easily in a dark blue district, and soon some of them will start winning in lighter hued districts as well.
Sherry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElCPW-NObHQ
dr. bloor
@rp:
Take heart, she seems smart enough to work for change through evolution rather than revolution. They’ll be foaming at the mouth and calling her a sell-out in no time.
Kay
Don’t let media and Donald Trump ruin it or muddy it all up. Democrats have a talented (and really positive and uplifting) younger candidate who has voters in her district excited about backing her.
This is good for voters. Focus there. It’s hard for people to stay engaged and hopeful. let’s face it- campaigns are an industry at this point. It’s a shitty industry. Mean spirited and shallow and dishonest- It repels people. Makes them want to give up and disengage. It’s hard for them to keep taking part.
But THESE voters are excited and optimistic. That’s all to the good.
Kylroy
@rp: So, basically how Eric Cantor lost his seat, except Cantor was a *sitting* Majority Leader.
I tend to be pretty centrist, and I consider this a good thing. Yes, we need to tolerate marginal Blue-Dog-style Democrats in a lot of purple and reddish districts, but that’s no reason not to elect solidly leftist candidates in deep blue districts.
Brachiator
RE: Scanning the Beltway coverage this morning, I see that Ocasio-Cortez’s win put the “Dems in Disarray” narrative into hyperdrive. Whatever, man.
Exactly. Great post.
I get tired of, and increasingly reject bullshit punditry about “narratives” and “branding.” This stuff says nothing, means nothing.
And I want Trump to keep up with his inane jibber jabber. He underestimates his opponents, which helps us tremendously.
Brachiator
@rp:
RE: Ocasio-Cortez’s win is a little annoying because it’s given Greenwald and the berniebros something to crow about, but I’ll get over that. Otherwise, she seems great.
If she is her own person and represents her district well, then it’s all good.
M4
My (hopefully soon) future congresswoman ?
@B.B.A.: yes, we should definitely replace those cis het white dudes like Schiff with diverse progressive firebrands like Tulsi Gabbard ?
TS (the original)
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
He is obscene. What president has ever attacked members of congress and ordinary US citizens the way this bigot has done. The media is seriously sick – trump should be called out EVERY time he disparages anyone in this fashion. President Obama was attacked relentlessly by the press and congress members for saying a policeman shouldn’t have stopped someone entering his own house. He was forced to meet with said policeman.
Time trump was forced to apologize to those he has attacked over the past 4 years. Ghastly, revolting excuse for a person.
Kay
They can make this young woman the face of the Democratic Party if they want, if they think that wins them points on the scoreboard as they angle for position and try to spin it into some horrible Trump-centered cynical frame. Fine by me. She’s great. I’d much rather have her as the face of the Party than the nasty, mean-spirited corrupt old man who is President and leader of the GOP. That’s not even a decision, let alone a difficult one.
Shell
One ofthe fewgood newssrories from ysterday. But Betty, piss on Trump’s head if his
tobie
I live in Maryland and take no pleasure in having to vote for Ben Jealous in November. I will do so because Hogan is worse but of all the candidates in the Democratic primary he was my last choice. His platform was big on slogans but short on substance and filled with platitudes about the evils of neoliberalism. The idea that a single, smaller state could create a single-payer health system has already been proven to be wrong in Vermont, California and Colorado. Jealous managed to get a plurality but not a majority of the vote because of out of state support and a crowded Democratic field. I suspect had it been a two-way race between Jealous and Rushern Baker, Baker would have won. So yes, I’ll vote for Jealous but with little enthusiasm.
schrodingers_cat
Does Democratic Socialist mean that she is a Berner?
rikyrah
About the young lady who beat Crowley:. I see some folks ‘ fretting’ about what her victory means. How can we have someone so ‘young’…isn’t this just a Democratic version of Dolt45 (lips pursed)
……………………………………
Ted Kennedy died in 2009. She used to work for him. That means, before she was 20 years old, she was bright enough, and focused enough, to get a job in a Senator’s office from a state that she didn’t live in. She was an active young person.
She didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. She worked for the Establishment of the Establishment.
From her wikipedia page (which didn’t exist until last night, I think)
rikyrah
I really would like someone from Maryland to explain to me how Jealous beat the pol from Prince George’s County.
father pusbucket
Among other things I’ve concluded about Trump:
1) He mostly believes his own lies
2) It’s dangerous to assume he’s stupid.
But I can’t decode this one. Probably someone wrote it for him? I can’t even
tobie
@rikyrah: Having an asteroid named after you is so cool! Thanks for that tid-bit.
rp
@tobie: Generally agree. I’ll vote for Jealous, but I doubt he has much of a chance of beating Hogan. I actually knew Jealous in college and thought he was a self-aggrandizing a-hole (so he fits in perfectly with Bernie). A halfway decent establishment Dem would have beaten Jealous IMO, but Baker’s campaign was awful/nonexistent, and the other candidates were mediocre (or died).
MomSense
I hope one of the lessons we can learn on the left side of things, is to let the local Democrats decide who is the best candidate for their district. As you wisely pointed out, Ocasio – Cortez would not be a winning candidate in some parts of Florida nor CD 2 in Maine. I think we do best when we work locally and donate generously without asserting we know better than the local people doing the organizing on the ground.
MomSense
@tobie:
Don’t forget Maine. We tried to do it first.
MattF
I was pleased to see Bronx-Queens get into the headlines. We Bronx-Queensians get a lot of shit these days because of you-know-who. However, there are a lot of us, and a good number of us are intelligent and rational. And, if asked nicely, we’ll invite Brooklyn to join in.
M4
@schrodingers_cat: Not everybody who supported Sanders (or worked on his campaign) is bad. I would hazard that the vast majority of them are in fact regular, loyal Democrats.
ETA and as rikyrah notes above, she also worked for Ted Kennedy and has deep party establishment roots
tobie
@rikyrah: I said it above–massive out of state support and numerous celebrity endorsements plus Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Sanders etc. The Democratic field was very crowded. The Bernistas were unified behind one candidate (Jealous) from the get-go. The rest of us were choosing between 5 or 6 candidates. Jealous got a plurality, not a majority.
rp
@rikyrah: Like I said, nonexistent campaign. I don’t know if he didn’t care or thought he had it in the bag, but it seemed like he put in zero effort. I ended up reluctantly voting for Jealous because I worried that Baker would do the same in the general election. Maryland has two examples of Dem candidates putting in minimal effort in the last 20 years and losing (Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Anthony Brown), and I didn’t want to see that again.
EDIT: And what tobie said.
schrodingers_cat
@M4: That’s good to know because BS supporters that I know IRL be cray cray (4:1).
greengoblin
I watched one of the debates and Ocasio-Cortez won handily. She is very smart and articulate and a great candidate. That should not be taken away from her.
Crowley recognizes this, where the media doesn’t. Dems are not in disarray: the best candidate won.
Shell
Oh dear God. That last post of mine was incomprehensible. What it should say:
One of the few good news stories from yesterday . But Betty…
That image is gonna stick for awhile.
M4
@schrodingers_cat: Yeah, my Intercept-reading friends are all over this this morning, but that’s not really her fault.
Brickley Paiste
Seeing the reactions to Crowley’s massive ass-whuppin’ Last night, I am reminded of a metaphor from Celeste Ng’s delightful little book “Little Fires Everywhere” describing how wildfires, while destructive, provide nutrients for future growth.
Sometimes, you do have to burn it all down.
Doug R
@Kay:
Whaaaat? A local candidate Representing their constituents? You think this is a representative democracy?
Tony Jay
The Guardian’s coverage of this story is even more Village-whispery than the BBC’s, testament to how crappy British media’s coverage of US politics tends to be.
Really? Expected by who?
Really? Why would she step down? Has she talked about stepping down? Where is this coming from?
Compared by who? The same people who say Crowley was going to replace Pelosi? And Cantor’s defeat drove out John Boehner? Really? Can we get a timeline on that because I don’t think that tracks, except as an extremely forced comparison designed to falsely equate Ocasio-Cortez to Brat, Bernistas to the Teahaddists and Pelosi to Boehner.
Really? That’s considered so unimportant to the hot-take that it’s relegated to halfway through the piece?
I’ve said it before but I remain convinced that the entire job-description for US Correspondents employed by the Guardian and the BBC is “Must spend 10 minutes a day watching CNN before arranging Trip 7341 to Red States to ask burly white folks in half empty truck-stops what ‘America’ really means to them.”
tobie
@rp: I’ve been out of the country for a month now so I don’t know how things looked near the end of the campaign but my sense in April and early May was that the governor’s race was being ignored because of national politics and the only folks in MD really paying attention to the race were the Bernistas, who rallied around Jealous early given his prominence in Bernie’s campaign. Then again, part of campaigning is figuring out what you’re up against and the onus was on Baker to mobilize people. The sad thing is I think Baker as a former State Delegate and County Executive could have made a damn good governor.
M4
I miss the mobile pie filter.
Kay
This is a real heartbreaker, this kid. I’m pleased they moved it quickly- just like any shooting with witnesses should (and would) move quickly:
Doug R
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
.
FIFY
eric
“It is a failing of the democratic party that it does not elect more centrist democrats that are more like me.” Usually White Affluent Media Member.
MattF
@Tony Jay: Looks, though, like it was proofread. And if you don’t want a hot take, why are you reading a newspaper?
Chyron HR
@Brickley Paiste:
So I guess it turns out that Democratic primaries are only “rigged” against socialists when they run laughably incompetent campaigns. Go figure!
Kay
@Doug R:
We’re told over and over again how Trump’s supporters like him, we’re warned they like him., shushed because they like him.
Voters in her district like her. Apparently. That’s allowed. We can have candidates that Democratic or liberal voters like. Maybe Trump supporters and media should go out and try to understand her voters.Really see what makes them tick. Breal out of their conservative bubble and reach across the aisle with some civility and humility.
Or does that only work one way?
MattF
@tobie: And bear in mind that Baker was handed an ugly hot mess as County Executive– and did well with it, as far as I can tell.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Betty Cracker:
When I saw Trump’s tweet last night, literally the first comment was:
.
it’s like Trump saw “election” and “Democrat lost” and that’s all he could process.
As all the “adults” “managing” him get purged, he is acting more flamboyant and unstable. Unrestrained—literally.
gbbalto
@CarolDuhart2: At least up until November (and hopefully thereafter), Dems have a supermajority in both MD houses so can override vetoes if they stick together. Hogan has never pretended to like Trump, quite the opposite, and is very popular – he doesn’t need to placate him. I don’t think Jealous can beat him, although I’ll vote for him.
Amir Khalid
@B.B.A.:
Enlighten me: why is this an issue at all?
Doug R
@Kay: Apparently puzzling old white behavior needs constant puzzled takes to bring us around to their point of view. Puzzling behavior by anyone else needs to be waved off and the civility police brought in to shush them and told to wait their turn-apparently 240 years of waiting is not long enough.
Tony Jay
@MattF:
Oh I don’t know. For professional reporting that gives outsiders a better understanding of the people, issues and context surrounding the main story. That’s not asking for a pony, that’s just asking them to do their job.
And a pony.
It just winds me up. I’m going to go and watch the football.
Kay
@Steeplejack (phone):
I think his (remaining) low quality hires discovered that it’s best for them if they only tell him happy news, too. Trump is a screamer. he yells and berates and humiliates. They’ll never tell him anything negative. It’s learned behavior. Happens in abusive households too, not just workplaces. The abuser is often clueless about the wreckage piling up around him until it falls on his head because people protect themselves by protecting him. From reality.
Frankensteinbeck
@PaulWartenberg:
The press hates Nancy Pelosi. Hates her. It’s not quite as loud as their hatred of Hillary Clinton, but it’s pretty bad. No opportunity to concern-troll her is ever wasted. Even Rachel Maddow is in on it.
Ruckus
@Kay:
Isn’t that conservative politics at it’s core? They know that their policies fuck everyone but the few and the rich. They will even put up with a few wealthy blacks as long as they toe the line. The people paying for all that political bullshit are at their happiest when the common people don’t take part or are so deluded that they are willing to fuck themselves to enrich their “benefactors.” And that’s been conservative politics for my entire old life. It’s made some very wealthy assholes, who take pride in being very wealthy assholes.
rp
@tobie: Yeah. My main concern with Jealous is that I think he’d be a lousy governor. I doubt he knows how to work the bureaucracy, charm legislators, etc. Baker would have been far better.
Kay
@Doug R:
Her district looks sort of working class/middle class. I saw the economic stats last night on Twitter.
Now THAT would be an interesting take, huh? Working and middle class people who are not white? Let’s hear about them. Really delve into their psyches.
Paul W.
@PaulWartenberg: I’ve lived in Joe Crowley’s district for 2 years and watching Democratic politics intensely for the last 10… I had NO IDEA WHO HE WAS!!!
Cortez had sent me multiple mailers, and had people out canvassing on the day of elections. I didn’t see her video but read her website and saw “Abolish ICE”. That’s all I fucking needed. I looked at Crowley’s history of voting, with a C grade on Progressive votes but moved to an A in the era of Trump, and just thought it was time to have a young person in Congress. I’m 33, which I think is near the median age of America, and it’s time someone my age represented me.
Spanky
@rikyrah:
Baltimore >> P.G. County.
Like tobie, I’ll vote for BenJ with little enthusiasm. And yes, Patricia K, many Dems will vote for a white Republican over a black Dem. Let me introduce you to Anthony Brown, 2014 Dem candidate.
Amir Khalid
@Brickley Paiste:
Leave it to you to draw exactly the wrong lesson from reading about the role of wildfires in a forest ecosystem.
MomSense
@patrick II:
Actually, I’m a big fan of identity politics. Listened to an interesting interview Jon Lovett did with a Psy D on voting. Telling people to vote is much less effective than telling them to BE A VOTER. It’s a crooked conversation podcast and worth a listen.
Haroldo
@Tony Jay: I concur. The Guardian’s US political coverage in particular is pretty unsatisfying. I still subscribe, though.
Hill Dweller
In keeping with the Trump is a fucking idiot theme, the Swedish PM had to explain to Trump his country wasn’t a member of NATO during their private meeting.
Kay
I think some of the reluctance to back newer candidates is because they’re an unknown quantity and there’s (legit) concerns that they haven’t been subject to a lot of scrutiny. That was a concern when Obama ran, actually, and I thought it was valid. People were sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Turns out he was literally exactly who he presented himself as, but that was a valid worry, I thought. It’s riskier and people don’t like adding risk when they don’t have to. I was surprised there weren’t MORE personal “scandals” with Obama that came out. People lead complicated lives, they make mistakes or have sketchy incidents or even things that appear to be sketchy and are blown out of proportion. She’s so young there’s less chance of that I suppose.
germy
(Vox)
Mai naem mobile
Please tell me there aren’t any more USSC cases. Labor lost a big one. Fuck the union assholes who voted for this pig. Most of all fuck McConnell. I hope he ends up in prison for a long fucking time if he’s involved at all in the Russian stuff. Also I am sorry to say this bu fuck Obama for always trying to be the decent person. It didn’t help.
Quinerly
Has anyone posted anything about Laura Loomer filing charges against Maxine Waters? I’m seeing it in my feed but all RWNJ sites which I don’t give clicks to.
Frankensteinbeck
@Amir Khalid:
I’m impressed with how it interprets a string of failures of Far Left primaries plus a victory by one of those candidates who is also friendly with the establishment as ‘burn it all down.’
kindness
Our MSM, our pundits (by our I mean those that are supposed to be middle of the road) are failing us. They accept right wingers & statements without a question but tut-tut Democrats over completely stupid memes/talking points.
That part of puditry/MSM is doing us and the nation great harm by essentially justifying right wing rhetoric. These are what ‘Good Little Germans’ were in the 20’s & 30’s.
Leto
@rp:
I saw this mentioned in the overnight thread several times and I wondered about it. So did a bit of Googling and it showed their debates were for 15 and 21 June. Popped over to the House page to see what was up, legislatively, for those days and on the 15th the House recessed around 11:30am. On the 21st the House legislative session didn’t end until 7:30pm that night, with a number of thing being talked about/debated (H.R. 6136 – Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, H.R. 2 – Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, H.R. 4760 – Securing America’s Future Act).
No clue on why he missed the 15th, but on the 21st it seems like he was doing his job as most of the body was present and voting for stuff. Overall it’s not my district, the people have spoken, and I hope she helps us reclaim the House and stop the toxic shit spewing from this admin.
Edit: just reporting continuing site issues, but I’m getting the Click to Edit and Request Deletion buttons for other users posts (when it should only be mine).
Tony Jay
@Haroldo:
It’s just lazy. That’s what pisses me off about the BBC as well. Lazy ‘reporting’ cribbed from whatever they read in FTNYT or saw on CNN. It’s like they’re in the US on an extended holiday or something. That’s not what I’m paying for.
Cheryl from Maryland
@tobie: Yes, same here. I voted for Baker in the primary.
tobie
@germy: Gosh, VOX has become the mouthpiece for ‘conventional wisdom.’ Ocasio-Cortez won because she ran a good campaign, fit her district, and had an opponent who was just dialing it in. Jealous had the biggest war chest by a wide margin in MD, so I’d have to say that money does talk. What Democratic candidate ever said you didn’t need a ground-game? This is a straw man. I’m so tired of pot-shots at the Democratic party. Everyone hates the party–the left, the right, the media–and what’s sad is that all but ensures continued Republican victories.
Quinerly
Supremes deal another blow to labor unions. Kagan reading her dissent right now. 5/4 decision: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme-court-labor-union-ruling
M4
@Amir Khalid: I’m sure you can understand how representation and diversity are good, and contra Patrick @3 some on the left do practice identity politics. However, saying that replacing somebody with somebody else, using only their identity as a metric, is an unalloyed good, is… dumb? Like, replacing every cishet democrat with a transwoman might well mean a better Congress! But replacing them with Caitlyn Jenners and Chelsea Mannings would be… dumb?
ruemara
@Brickley Paiste: Man, fuck you for this comment.
schrodingers_cat
@Mai naem mobile: DACA is before the Supreme Court.
The Other Bob
Its interesting that she calls herself a socialist. I don’t see her positions any further to the left of FDRs.
Bob
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@kindness: These are the people who should be refused service and harassed endlessly.
Mai naem mobile
@Frankensteinbeck: fuck Crowley. People are reading too much into OCasio Cortez. She may just be a really good candidate against a candidate who got way too complacent to win in a low turnout election. Turnout was about half of the turnout from last time. Anyhow, forget Crowley. The person who I think is worthless is Steny Hoyer. I.don’t think Jim Clyburn is all that great either.
different-church-lady
@M4:
How do you even have those?
MattF
@The Other Bob: Well, when I was a lad, ‘socialist’ was a semi-euphemism for ‘Marxist’. But I’m not sure what it means now.
M4
@The Other Bob: self-identified American democratic socialists, in my experience, are not further to the left than the New Deal programs. What makes them different perhaps is being less willing to work with corporations and hire crooks (as FDR famously did) to implement the programs. It’s more of an ideological stance than a response to a massive crisis.
Brickley Paiste
@Amir Khalid: because the key to winning elections is to focus on cities who are not: cis, white, and dudes
White guys have been written off years ago. And white women, particularly the cis ones, proved with their support of Trump that they are not reliable allies
/s
different-church-lady
@Brickley Paiste:
You know, like the Reichstag fire.
chopper
so the glorious revolutionaries finally got the hint and decided to start small, rather than always reaching for the brass ring. good on them, i hope the attitude spreads.
M4
@different-church-lady: I live in San Francisco and have gone to grad school. Gotta be friends with somebody.
Mnemosyne
@rp:
I was saying last night that I would be curious to know what the gender breakdown was between Crowley and Ocasio-Cortez voters. Women voters (and especially women voters of color) are REALLY riled up right now, so I could see Crowley’s lack of respect towards his opponent driving turnout, especially since she was simultaneously running a great campaign.
And it sounds like the people touting Crowley as a potential replacement for Nancy Pelosi were the people who despise Pelosi and were hoping for a straight white dude to come along and put her in her place, no matter how much said white dude denied wanting to do that.
different-church-lady
Scott Lemieux sorts this out for you.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
It’s ARGB under a new nym. He says stupid shit designed to piss people off. It’s what he does. ?
Jack the Second
Wow, Crowley may not have been the better candidate for the office, but major props to him for his immediate congratulations for his opponent and call to action to support her and other Democrats in November. Losing hurts, and it hurts more when you’re the incumbent and no-doubt thought you were doing a good job (even if you weren’t).
It’s hilarious to me that some people want to paint Ocasio-Cortez’s victory as a victory over the Democratic Party. When a good Democrat wins an election, it’s a victory for the Democratic Party, regardless of whether they defeated a Republican, a bad Democrat, or even another good Democrat.
different-church-lady
@M4:
I’m beginning to believe that’s not actually true.
Jeffro
@PaulWartenberg: I see someone else is in an ALL CAPS MODE today, much like myself…good to be in the company of a fellow SHRILL AS FUCK Democrat (or twenty)
Blue wave comin’, baby, blue wave comin’…
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@TS (the original):
That would be Andrew “a day not spent dueling is a day wasted” Jackson. Except unlike low energy beta Trump, Jackson did his attacks quite literally using weapons. Also shooting Andrew Jackson only made him angry.
CliosFanBoy
@Brachiator: let them crow. like LBJ said, better to have them in the tent pissing out that out of the tent pissing in.
Jeffro
Btw I know I’m about the last NYT reader left on this blog – here’s a good reason why
Michelle Goldberg: We Have a Crisis of Democracy, Not Manners
Bring the bat, Michelle!
guachi
Regarding the terrible labor union ruling by the Supreme Court – is it possible for unions to exclude non-members from the benefits the union negotiates?
Leto
@Mai naem mobile: I used to have Jim Clyburn as my rep. After redistricting I then had Mick Mulvaney. While he might not be “all that great”, he’s about 1000x better than Mulvaney. But, if you have a better candidate for SC 6 please let them know.
different-church-lady
@CliosFanBoy: What about burning the whole tent down?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@rikyrah: Thank you for the info, these dark horse wins make one suspicious of rat fornication these days.
Jeffro
@Paul W.:
Amen. Fresh faces, Ds!
Leto
@Mnemosyne: I commented about this at 73, but they had two debate dates (15th/21st of June). 15th he was a no show (don’t know why, not digging that far), but the 21st it appears he was in the House doing his job as they were voting/debating bills. Was it a lack of respect, or was he busy doing his job? I don’t know, but his constituency has spoken (which in the end is all that matters). I hope she helps us take the House and stop the toxic/evil shit spewing out of this administration on an hourly basis.
JPL
@guachi: NO They have to receive the same rewards.
That’s my understanding.
Chyron HR
@Brickley Paiste:
And congratulations on another win at the USSC! Truly, the number of things not burned down is diminishing as we speak.
rikyrah
@rp:
thanks for the Maryland explanation.
JPL
@Chyron HR: This!
CliosFanBoy
@different-church-lady: well, pissing on it to put out the fire might work!!
Villago Delenda Est
RE: “Dems in disarray” narrative.
My nym, again and always.
Wipe them out. All of them.
geg6
@Kay:
This cop had a truthiness problem back when he was employed by the University of Pittsburgh. Which is why the University fired him. Not sure why the East Pittsburgh department thought it was a good idea to hire a fired officer. Especially an officer who repeatedly lied about his interactions with suspects.
CliosFanBoy
“matched the description” i.e. a black guy in a car.
A Ghost To Most
@Jeffro:
She’s new and hasn’t had her nose lift yet?
CliosFanBoy
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Jackson was an awful man and a total prick but you gotta admit that beating your world-be assassin senseless with your cane is kind of a badass move…
Thoroughly Pizzled
@rp: I’ve realized that they always take credit for everything good and disavow everything bad, so the only way to retain my sanity is to learn to ignore them. Ocasio-Cortez will be great.
D58826
@guachi: I really hope all of the Joe sixpacks who will get screwed by not having a strong union to protect them from the greedy management are happy.
M4
@D58826: they’ll just blame democrats for bringing in all those illegals when the factory closes or whatever.
D58826
@M4: (sigh) too true
patrick II
@M4:
I am not saying that black democratic voters never take into account their race when voting for Barack Obama. I’m Irish Catholic and old — and we had a picture of John Kennedy on the wall when I was young. What I am saying is that, when defining national policy we aspire to equal justice for all, and to do that we must counter Republican national policy of unequal justice for all — less justice for blacks, hispanics, lgbt, muslims — and when we acknowledge and account for race in our counterfight we get falsely accused of favoring different groups over the republican default identity — white people. We don’t favor minorities, we just want to give them equal justice, but in the context of white republicanism, we have to make sure that each group gets a fair chance and to many entitled whites it looks like we are favoring people with different identities than their own default. Things exist in context. If there wasn’t racism and sexism then we wouldn’t have to bother with countering sexism and racism by what is mistakenly called (as far as national policy goes) identity politics. We are just trying to even the playing field.
kindness
@Frankensteinbeck: I don’t think the Press hates Nancy Pelosi. I think the press likes to be seen as open to hippie punching.
It doesn’t matter who is at the top of the Democratic hierarchy, the press will torch them because the press likes Republicans as top dogs. Nancy isn’t the problem here. For the record, I love me some Nancy Smash.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
She’s lucky that Waters didn’t beat her azz. I don’t care how old Auntie Maxine is. She’s a Elder Black Woman with NFTG.
Steeplejack
@Kay:
This worries me a lot in the background to the daily outrages, because if we have a real crisis—one not created or stage-managed by Trump himself—not only is Trump not competent or emotionally capable of handling it, it also feels like all of the support structures available to help a leader—advisers, procedures, contingency plans—have been allowed to atrophy or in many cases have been actively dismantled.
Re
@M4: Is the move to NY a done deal?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Dave Weigel watches Ocasio-Cortez on TeeVee
a good sign, she doesn’t lapse into the script about how the Democratic Pawh-ty is a fayl-yuh
M4
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: it’s almost like you can be a lefty and a good democrat at the same time as long as you aren’t a self important asshole!
zhena gogolia
@TS (the original):
Co-sign. It’s so infuriating!!!!!
Spanky
Paul Kane in the WaPo is concerned:
Fuck ’em.
Starfish
@CarolDuhart2: All of Maryland is not Baltimore. Look at Andy Harris’s crazy district. Look at the Eastern Shore.
Spanky
@Spanky: Amber Phillips too:
Fuck ’em.
Starfish
@tobie: Colorado didn’t prove that single-payer didn’t work. They proved that if you put single-payer to the vote of the people and have no plan to pay for doubling the state’s budget to provide it, people are not going to vote for it.
Jeffro
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Well.
Done.
LOL
Davis X. Machina
I’m so old I remember Rep. Ron “an actual Vice-Chair of the DSA” Dellums.
Whose election changed everything. And by serving 26 years in the House kept Bill Clinton from winning. Twice.
eric
@Spanky: one man is a “gaping void”? hillary left active politics and obama left active politics and biden left active politics. you could argue that was a “gaping void,” but not the number 4 guy in the house.
rikyrah
But, there’s no difference, I was told.
Of course, President Hillary Clinton, too, would have nominated the KKKeebler Elf to be Attorney General of the United States.
THEY.WILL.NEVER.BE.FORGIVEN.
Being CIVIL to these muthaphuckas?
PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE.
……………………………………………….
Jeff Sessions Jokes About Family Separations Amid Controversy Over U.S. Border Policy
“We hear views on television today that are on the lunatic fringe, frankly.”
By Nick Visser
Attorney General Jeff Sessions joked about family separations during a speaking event in Los Angeles on Tuesday, just days after the Trump administration retreated from its policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S. border.
Sessions, speaking at an event for the conservative Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, defended the Justice Department’s zero tolerance immigration policy meant to prosecute as many people as possible for illegally crossing the border. Despite widespread criticism of the policy, Sessions lambasted the “radicalized” left and joked that those attacking the policy were hypocrites who would gladly separate families that infiltrated their “gated communities.”
eric
@Spanky: Hey, you know who disagrees…..wait for it……….wait for it…..why, Joe Crowley. odd, that.
different-church-lady
@Spanky: That’s their story and they’re sticking to it.
different-church-lady
OT: I WANT TO STAB AUTO-TUNE WITH A BBQ FORK REPEATEDLY UNTIL IT IS DEAD.
Uncle Cosmo
@CarolDuhart2: Here’s some help:
MD isn’t uniformly deep-blue. Basically it’s a rather short midnight-blue crescent wrench floating in (& bleeding out into) a sea incarnadine. The business end of the wrench is Monkey & Peegee (um , sorry, Montgomery & Prince Georges) Counties, with DC clamped in their jaws. The shaft runs up through Howard County & the city of Columbia to its butt end, Baltimore City. Baltimore County (which grips the City from the north like another wrench) & the other suburban counties (Harford, Anne Arundel, Carroll) teem with refugees from the City, mainly (but not all) white, who decamped to escape violence, failing schools & high taxes (as well, in many cases*, as the rising tide of Those People).
Baltimore City is ill-equipped to improve its situation because it is a separate county-level entity in the State of MD.** Its tax base is property taxes & a percentage “piggybacked” onto the MD income tax, & whatever aid the Governor & General Assembly throws its way. Businesses & citizens with incomes have largely fled to the ‘burbs for lower taxes & better services, leaving behind lower-income older whites & a growing AA population (69% when last I looked). We have half or more of the problems of the State confined in a “county” with 12% of the population & less than that proportion of resources – & the rest of the State is either redneck (western MD), slave-state-remnant (Eastern Shore, southern MD), focused on DC (Monkey, PG, Frederick Cos.), or suburbs whose City refugees would like nothing more than to build a Berlinesque wall along the city line to keep us in & let us die.
The MD electorate is heavily D but often votes R in statewide & national elections. This is largely a result of the closed primary system & the GOP’s struggles to field viable campaigns for local offices. In many places the only realistic chance voters have to choose their representatives is in the Democratic primary – so they register (or remain registered) as Democrats even though they vote R for Governor & President. E.g., I grew up about 10 blocks beyond the Baltimore city line in Dundalk, a blue-collar row-house suburb (that at my birth was the largest unincorporated metropolitan area in the entire USA with >80,000 residents – we had a small black ghetto but otherwise lily-white). They’ve been sending Democrats to the County Council & General Assembly ever since I was born, but voted reliably for RWNJs for higher office as far back as the 1964 Presidential primary (George Corley Wallace, anyone?).
So statewide Democratic nominees who routinely coast to a primary victory & think they can coast on the party’s advantage in the general – particularly if they are female &/or AA – routinely get the shock of their lives (google Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Anthony Brown). As will Jealous this fall.
(Yeah, TMI but at least now you have the whole shmeer laid out for you.)
—-
* Emphatically not all. I bought my City row house >30 years ago from solid white liberal Democrats whose older child was about to start school. They bought a nearly-identical place <1/2 mile outside the city limits so that the kids could attend the much better, better-funded, & safer public schools in the County – it was that or pricey private schools.
** ETA: What other famous American city is in the same boat? St. Louis. Gee, whodathunk?
different-church-lady
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: How the hell is she going to burn it all down if she keeps acting like that?
different-church-lady
@kindness:
Let’s not overthink this.
Jeffro
He’s continuing to beat on Harley Davidson…and it’s like a really bad soap opera…
What d’ya say, Republicans? Everyone’s good with this?
different-church-lady
@Jeffro: Their only remaining goal in politics is to make Democratic heads explode, so yeah, they’re great with it.
randy khan
While this apparently was a shock to a lot of supposedly wired-in national reporters, the possibility that Crowley would lose was a topic of discussion among the people at a fundraiser I attended last night before the New York polls closed.
And I don’t think it was a surprise to him, either – his statements were more than gracious, with a direct focus on the importance of winning the House (which made me think he’d had time to write them) and he even played with the band at his party and dedicated a song to her. (“Born to Run,” presumably for the title, not the lyrics.) I’ve seen video of him playing with the band, and he seemed positively relaxed.
Anyway, the big reason for the Dems-in-disarray narrative is that a bunch of political reporters had decided he was the likely candidate to replace Pelosi in the extremely unlikely (but nevertheless fascinating to them) scenario in which the Democrats win the House but somehow she can’t get the endorsement of the caucus. (I will give them credit for figuring out that Hoyer wouldn’t get the nod.) Considering that maybe 10 people in the current caucus would vote for someone else, the likelihood of that is awfully small.
Captain C
@Brickley Paiste:
May we assume you are offering your house, your stuff, and your job to go first?
Peale
@Jeffro: LOL. Harley is in a bind. “Riding a hogg” says “Old timer” now and its luxury bikes aren’t affordable. They have no market for entry level bikes. If they are going to grow at all it will be the associated brand value transferred overseas. Manufacturing bikes here is just too expensive if they hope to ever get out of their demographic tailspin. They need to offer cheaper bikes. These plans were in place before Trump, so good for them for not panicking and following through on their plans. Trump did jack shit for them. He just managed to put them in the crosshairs of every company in their first round of tariffs.
Brachiator
@rikyrah:
Yeah. Funny story about that.
Democratic Candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Didn’t Even Have a Wikipedia Page on Monday
And even though The Young Turks may have justifiably earned a lack of respect for their excessive Bernie love, they had a great YouTube piece that pointed out Crowley’s failures and disrespect for his constituents, while making a great case for Ocasio-Cortez’s candidacy.
TriassicSands
@TS (the original):
I’ll take a wild guess here: President Putin? Although, maybe Vlad is both powerful enough and secure enough to not have to threaten people in the petty way Trump does. (Vlad doesn’t bother tweeting, he just has them killed. The kind of power Trump wishes he had. Just wait, Donnie, the Supremes have got your back.)
Trump is like some middle school bully hiding behind his mother’s skirt (the Office of the Presidency) taunting and threatening his targets.
JWL
There’s an old Doonesbury cartoon, and it’s punchline is someone saying of a labor leader, “Of course he’s sensitive to the needs of the working class. That’s how he avoids belonging to it”.
The same might be said of too many congressional democrats over too long a time. Say, the past 38 years. Today, ambitious democrats everywhere are all being put on notice that the party rank and file now wants to change gears, and will. Incumbent democrats and retired democrats who command respect are more than welcome to change along with it. Indeed, they are uniquely positioned to play prominent roles in scattering the republican party to the four winds. But only if they’re big enough to seize the opportunity. Barring that, then it’s time they do retire, and make way for other democrats better suited for the job.
VeniceRiley
Every time the national news media asks Ocasio-Cortez to trash the Dem Party she refuses to take the bait. Good for her.
Looks like it’s just a widespread tactic used by Wilmeristas and dead-end losers jealous for power they never had.
Gelfling 545
Well, there is perhaps a wee bit of disarray. The county Dem committee was bitching on Facebook this am about the DCCC not giving support to local candidates who the locals feel will do, an on primary evidence do, well. They’re particularly pissed about their fsilure to give appropriate support to Nate McMurry who is opposing Chris Collins. Says they are out of touch with the feelings of local Democrats.
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
This, a thousand times.
Mnemosyne
@Leto:
I am not an East Coaster, but it’s my impression that it’s pretty easy to get from DC to NYC, so I really don’t know what his excuse was for missing the debate on 6/15. It definitely seems to have given an impression of being dismissive of his opponent, which I’m sure didn’t help in a year when women voters are REALLY pissed off.
I’m very glad that she’s refusing to bash national Dems — it looks like she’s interested in actually representing her district in Congress and doing her job, which is awesome.
Psych1
Bernie-hate seems to be fading a bit around here. There are still some hard core haters but they seem so obviously out of touch with what is happening that, hopefully, they will be marginalized. Perhaps over time BJ may lose its reputation as a loyal Bernie-hate board.
randy khan
@Gelfling 545:
So, like every election, in other words.
The national committees always get criticized (and on the R side, too), for not paying enough attention to what locals think about their races. And, frankly, the national committees do get some races wrong. But their job is to think about the whole country, which always means that some people who think they should be prioritized are not.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@different-church-lady: I have a fork and will join you.
M4
@Psych1: I take it you no longer personally blame Hillary’s supporters for Trump’s victory then? Or is measuredness and civility for other people?
Chyron HR
@JWL:
Stay tuned for 2020 when we’ll hear the alleged left say “Ocasio-Cortez is a neoliberal corporatist shill who needs to retire so a REAL progressive can have her seat!”
germy
The Onion offers tips on how to politely engage with people who cage migrant children
zhena gogolia
@danielx:
Yes, I agree.
Mnemosyne
@Gelfling 545:
Slightly confused — are they mad that those candidates aren’t being supported in the primary, or in the general election? The DCCC has always been very reluctant to fund primary challenges to Democratic incumbents, for obvious reasons.
If it’s a lack of support for the general election then, yeah, the DCCC needs to get its ass in gear.
Another Scott
@tobie: I live in VA and don’t know a lot about Ben. I have heard him speak at some rallies and he seemed Ok. The Wilmer connection is a little worrying, but Wilmer claims all kinds of credit that he doesn’t deserve. Ben will have to work with the legislature if he wants to get anything done.
I’m generally nervous about first-time politicians jumping right into an important seat, no matter how much I agree with their statements. Things are very different when one has to decide whether or not to vote for a flawed bill or to sign one.
One thing in his favor is that he seems to have done a good job revitalizing the NAACP. He seems to know how to run a large organization with lots of history and lots of vested interests. That’s a good thing.
Will he win in November? Dunno. But the purported favorite has to run a strong campaign. The party does its voters no favors when the people who are “supposed to win” can’t get the job done. No candidate is entitled to support from the voters – they have to work for it. Jealous apparently worked harder for it.
Cheers,
Scott.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Chyron HR: Well, she’ll be 30 then and you know “You can’t trust anyone over 30”.
TenguPhule
Supreme Court Cripples labor unions
That’s it then. There is no peaceful resolution. People are gonna get hurt.
Fuck you, Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch. When you made peaceful change impossible, you made your heads on pikes inevitable.
jl
Ocasio-Cortez replied to Crowley’s congratulatory tweet with a gracious and appreciative response, thanking him for his service to the district and accepting his offer to help her win.
No Democrats in disarray in that district.
Maybe these days, need to express oneself in Trumpese to get media’s attention. So: “No Dem Dissaray! No Disarray! Your [sic] DISARRAY. Loser! Sad!”
Leto
@Mnemosyne: Agreed about the impression. Right now, especially, candidates need to be hyper-focused on their constituency and actively listening. Being tone deaf/showing a lack of interest, or the perception of, will potentially be signing their own resignation statement.
Honestly I just want to make sure we retake the House/Senate and stop this shit. Also it’s a very encouraging sign that she’s not bashing the “Democratic Pawh-ty” (h/t Jim). Again, if you want to enable change you have to actually be a part of the process. Pissing out v pissing in… all that.
Stupid nym bug…
Tazj
@Gelfling 545:This seems like a mistake on the part of the DCCC. I don’t know what their excuse might be. I know it’s a majority Republican district but they should try to win everywhere.
Some of Nate McMurray’s rhetoric turns me off. His “break the machine ” and the “Clintons are just like Trump” bs is nothing I want to listen to but I’m not the typical voter in the district. I’m a lifelong Democrat who will vote for him because I agree with him on the issues, and I think the DCCC should help.
TenguPhule
@guachi:
No. They are legally mandated to negotiate for all employees, regardless of membership, by a prior Supreme Court ruling.
Yes, this is bullshit. Yes, there will be horrible unintended and completely intended consequences for this.
People better start learning how to bribe local officials. Because once the folks in government get their pay and benefits cut, guess who they’re gonna expect to make up the difference?
germy
TenguPhule
@Jeffro:
Is anyone else getting a creepy abusive spouse vibe from this?
germy
“I am absolutely proud to be a Democrat. But it also means that the Democratic Party is a big tent and there are so many ways to be a Democrat.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Mnemosyne
@Tazj:
I didn’t realize that McMurry was a Clinton-basher. He may need to tone that down this year, because it’s gonna piss off the Democratic base, which is primarily women.
(Autocorrect changed the above to “Clinton-badger” and I came THISCLOSE to leaving it that way.)
J R in WV
@guachi:
Unfortunately, in the past the Supremes have decided that unions are required to represent even those employees who wish not to join the union in negotiations, to provide employees not members of the unions with representation in disputes with the employer, etc. All the benefits of being a union member must be provided to the “I’m -not-a-member” members of the union.
In the past, the union was allowed to bill the “I’m not a member” members fro the cost or representation, and this new ruling means that public service unions will have to eat the cost of representing the “I’m not a member” members. So hiring a couple of extra lawyers to rep members before hearing boards, eat that cost. Negotiation teams, eat the extra cost.
It’s basically a big ol’ Fuck You to organized labor, to working people of all identities, really. Thanks Mr Justice Gorsuck! You’re a great judge, if one is a Nazi.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
God, I hope not.
gbbalto
Comments #151 on are not loading in laptop/Win10/chrome. Are showing up in Explorer.
jacy
@Psych1:
I dunno, every Democrat I know — even those who eagerly supported him in the primaries — is pretty disgusted with him. It’s been nothing but missteps from him as far as I can tell. The major problem is he’s NOT a Democrat, but just briefly played one on TV, yet thinks he’s owed fealty from all the people who’ve always been Democrats.
TenguPhule
@J R in WV:
The Free Riders will now have to be discouraged the old fashioned way.
Chyron HR
@Psych1:
“WHY YOU HATE MESSIAH????”
Maybe you’d be happier hanging out on a Bernie-love site, where you can swap tips on making those ridiculous giant bird suits (because a bird landed on Bernie’s podium once).
M4
@gbbalto: you’re not missing much ?
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
Creepy and abusive pretty much defines Trump.
We are stuck with a president who acts out his resentments and insecurities every fucking day. And his press officers and surrogates pretend that it is normal.
ETA: I hadn’t seen it before, but I recently saw the clip of Trump hugging the flag to emphasize how much he loved it. The most infantile shit I have ever seen from a “major” political figure.
jl
@jacy: I think time to put the HRC/BS feud behind us.
What is important to me is that so many of the people winning Democratic primaries seem to be much better electoral politicians that either HRC or BS. That is what is important for the future of the country.
gbbalro
@M4: I saw that. Now Chrome has caught up…
ETA – misspelled nym!
Steeplejack
@gbbalto:
Perhaps do a hard page reload to override the cache and refresh background components.
Press Ctrl-F5 or press Ctrl and click the Reload button in Chrome on Windows.
ETA: In Firefox it’s “press Shift and click the Reload button” instead. Ctrl-F5 works the same.
A Ghost To Most
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Fuck Bernie. Fuck BernieBros.
gbbalto
@Steeplejack: Thanks – problem went away on one of my reloads.
lgerard
Matthew Heimbach, former head of the neo-Nazi Traditionalist Workers Party has a moment of self reflection
I don’t know, perhaps the Palin family follies have him beat, but it is a close contest.
Psych1
@M4: @Psych1: I take it you no longer personally blame Hillary’s supporters for Trump’s victory then? Or is measuredness and civility for other people?
Oh no! I haven’t gone that far. Choosing the 2nd most disliked as the candidate was a huge mistake and led directly to the big fail.
jl
@Brachiator: I do get a creepy abuser feel from that tweet, but it is a Trump tweet so nothing new there. What is a bit new is the depth of ignorant foolishness, and arrogance the that Trump reveals. Really a truly ignorant and stupid person, every day reveals new depths.
Trump is spouting a fantasy history about tariff policies and US manufacturing recovery during the Reagan years. Harley-Davidson surely remembers the truth, they brought their proposals for a temporary and limited tariff program to the Reaganauts, I think they understood the risks of going that route even for a temporary program.
Trump is so stupid and arrogant he doesn’t understand that imposing a risky and foolish policy on a company is offensive to their desire to retain strategic flexibility. Then he bashes them for being the messenger of true but bad news, and threatens them with punitive taxation. He does this to a natural political ally.
Trump is much more self-destructive than I imagined. We are forced to hope that the race between Trump’s self-destructiveness and dangerousness (that is a word, right? It should be) comes out to the country’s advantage.
Edit: If Trump had the savvy of a Putin, or Erdogan, we would be in very deep trouble.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Looks like the Supreme Court has dealt a huge blow to labor unions.
Good thing some sanctimonious old fart spent six months convincing excitable children that WALL STREET SPEECHES were the greatest threat to ordinary Americans.
Brachiator
@Psych1:
Fortunately, Bernie is fading. There’s more important fish to fry.
M4
@Psych1: then I’m sure you know where you can shove your plea for me to be nice to you.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator:
Fixed, BC(IIRC) front paged this.
MagdaInBlack
@TenguPhule:
The man is totally an abuser: verbal, emotional and probably physical. The gas-lighting is classic. I lived with one for 5 years, I see it every time Trumps speaks.
This is why you cannot waste your time reasoning with him or his cult.
SiubhanDuinne
Am at the movie theatre to see the TCM Classics screening of West Side Story, which I haven’t seen on the big screen since its release 57 years ago.
My chatty, friendly ticket-seller said he had never heard of it. I said, well, you must know “Tonight,” and sang a few bars. Nope. Well, how about “Maria, I just met a girl named Maria”? Never heard it in his life.
He’s young, but he’s not all that young. I was genuinely shocked.
chopper
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
you sound like one of those nonbelievers who will be first up against the wall when The Revolution(tm) comes.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MagdaInBlack: The man is totally an abuser: verbal, emotional and probably physical
His first wife accused him of rape and then there’s this story
which I believe and I really doubt it was an isolated incident
MagdaInBlack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It never is.
Every one around him spends all their time appeasing him.
It. Doesn’t. Work.
Classic.
Mnemosyne
@Psych1:
So, once again, Bernie and his Bros refuse to accept any responsibility for the outcome that they cheered for. Not surprised at all.
Interesting how Ocasio-Cortez is publicly affirming that she’s part of the Democratic Party rather than running for the party’s nomination and then refusing to accept it after the votes are in like your hero does. So honest! So upright!
TenguPhule
@jl:
And the truly horrifying part?
It doesn’t cost him any support from the people he’s targeting.
its almost more then mind control.
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
“Did Paul McCartney have a band before Wings?”
“Who’s Paul McCartney?”
Mnemosyne
@MagdaInBlack:
Exactly. Giving in only makes them worse. The ONLY thing that works with narcissists is setting up boundaries that you never, ever, even for a second, allow them to cross. They are the classic “given an inch, they’ll take a mile” assholes.
And it only “works” in the sense that they will continue trying to challenge those boundaries over and over and over again but you at least have the peace of mind of knowing the boundary exists.
Fair Economist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Occasio-Cortez is showing she’s on the right side. Her preferred policies are left of the Democratic consensus, but she understands the Democratic consensus is a damn sight better than anything from the Republicans. I’m glad she won, because she is an extremely bright, articulate, sensisible, leftist woman of color and she might be on the scene working capably for good for 50+ years. The right-wing media may be pissed at themselves at giving her a significant platform now.
jl
@TenguPhule: I think HRC was correct when she said about half of Trump’s supporters are vengeful and irredeemable bigots, xenophobes and authoritarians. Now they make up most of his support, after defections of the knuckle-heads, brick-throwers, HRC-haters and low info voters (who were duped by his mouthing populist BS that he never meant) who went for him.
But in the current political system, where money and influence of the powerful are very important in many races, good thing that Trump is acting in a way that alienate many of what in an alternative history that would be his natural allies. At this rate, soon all he’ll have left is Big Coal and Big Private Prison (the beloved industries of the future!), and Big ICE and BP Union.
MagdaInBlack
@Mnemosyne:
The only thing that works with abusive narcissists is to put as much distance between you and them as possible and do not look back. Ever.
(Guess thats a boundary alright !)
Another Scott
@gbbalto: Will Hogan’s decision to kill the Balitmore Red Line and cut back on MD contributions to the Purple Line make any difference? I would like to think so. Public transit is a huge deal in the DC-Baltimore region and is only going to get more important over time.
I’m reluctant to write off Jealous just yet. It should be a good Fall for Democrats, up and down the ticket.
Cheers,
Scott.
Felony Govt (Formerly Old Broad in California)
It’s the “his President” in Trump’s deranged tweet that particularly sticks in my craw. Trump sure doesn’t act like “his President”, or the President of anyone who didn’t vote for him.
Brachiator
@jl:
Yes, new, I guess. Or perhaps it’s that Trump is an ignorant incompetent. He also refuses to learn or to listen to his advisors. So every day of his presidency reveals more of his inadequacy.
I’ve said before that it’s what would happen if you took that ignorant blowhard who sits in the back of the bar and bored you with everything that he would do if he were president, and actually elected that guy president. Such an idea wouldn’t even make a plausible TV show. But here we are, living through that failed TV sitcom.
Trump is on record admitting that he didn’t know jack shit about whether the US had a trade surplus or deficit with Canada, and bragging that it didn’t matter because he just wanted to shake up Justin Trudeau. This is Trump’s negotiating “style.” Bluster and bullshit.
And so, he pops off ignorant stuff about tariffs. And of course, Harley is going to make business decisions based on economic reality. But since Trump is an egotistical fool, with power, he actually expects people to pay attention to his blustering bullshit and to obey him. But no one can afford to do that, not even the dopes who love Trump and want to pretend that he knows anything about the economy.
Trump doesn’t care. Also, he does not have political allies. In his mind, he has loyalists.
Trump keeps pushing away advisors who might try to curb his worst excesses. And the GOP leadership is determined to support Trump and to give him cover. I hope the country endures until we have a chance to vote Trump out of office.
But the degree to which Trump lashes out when anyone fails to be suitably deferential is a bad sign. Trump is unfit. No one in high political office will admit it. And none of the Republicans in power will do anything about it. But this is not good for the country, and would be disastrous if deep shit goes down. Think of the inadequate response to the hurricane hitting Puerto Rico and multiply it by a factor of at least 100,000.
Fair Economist
@J R in WV:
How is it that so many companies have different payscales for union and non-union employees?
TenguPhule
Via the FTFNYT.
Bring me the head of Alito. Just the head.
jacy
@TenguPhule:
Sadism is a contagion. Just look at, well, all of history.
TenguPhule
@Fair Economist:
They shouldn’t. All of the employees in a shop should be receiving the same pay and benefits as a member or non-member unless in a RTW state where the union bargaining has been neutered.
PsiFighter37
Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Hope everyone gets gay-married while they can…
Mnemosyne
@MagdaInBlack:
Ideally, yes, but sometimes people get trapped in situations like being forced to share custody and having an unsympathetic judge, or being under 18 and not having the means to leave. In those cases, firm boundaries and a “gray rock” demeanor are the best defense.
Tazj
@Mnemosyne: Well, he posted a picture of the Clintons and the Trumps with the words “Friends” over the picture on his Twitter feed. When some people objected, he doubled down on his criticisms of the Clintons and how they were in some ways similar to the Trumps. He said the time for icons in politics was over. I think it easier to be done when you’re a younger white man.
To be fair to him however, that’s the only time he has bashed the Clintons and he is running a progressive campaign.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
“Gee, Officer Krupke, krup you!”
TenguPhule
@jl:
Harley employees are still supporting Trump. This is after he threatened their workplace.
jacy
@MagdaInBlack:
Don’t give them any air or attention. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. Treating them as if they don’t matter eventually causes them to self-combust. Or at the very least, move on to another target that interacts with them.
gbbalto
@Another Scott: I hope so, for both! I’ll be voting for Jealous and encouraging others to do so if I can.
rikyrah
SCOTUS conservatives repudiate yet echo Korematsu on Muslim ban
Rachel Maddow looks back at how the infamous Supreme Court decision in the Korematsu case was eventually exposed as a sham when the truth behind the government’s reasoning was exposed, and reads Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in the Trump Muslim ban case which points out that the animus behind Trump’s policy doesn’t have to be exposed because he tweeted it.
A Ghost To Most
Anthony Kennedy retiring, per Raw Story.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
The problem is that his blustering bullshit does actual serious damage and people and companies have to defend against it, which burns resources they need for other things. He’s costing businesses money, time and customers and his targeting is unpredictable. Everyone is now living in Tornado alley.
germy
Yutsano
@Psych1: Here’s a thought: stop litigating the last election and let’s focus on getting Dolt45 some checks and balances eh? If you can’t let that go, then there’s no use for you.
jacy
@A Ghost To Most:
Why do I feel that hastens our descent into actual civil war?
TenguPhule
@A Ghost To Most:
it is darkest just before all the lights go out.
MagdaInBlack
@Mnemosyne:
I am aware of that, and I am also aware of the psychological damage continued contact creates.
Im also aware that the only thing that ultimately works is to get the F away from them.
We, unfortunately, have one in the White House, with all kinds of enablers helping him and normalizing him.
Mnemosyne
@Tazj:
Hopefully he’s figured out that if he wants to be elected as a Democrat, he needs to run as a Democrat and work with Democrats. That “outsider” BS doesn’t work well with Democratic voters since the Democratic base is already made up of outsiders (non-white, non-male, non-straight, etc.)
Kay
@A Ghost To Most:
A fitting end to that career. A long series of lousy decisions followed by a retirement politically timed to lock in far Right Republicans for decades. Once a hack always a hack.
A Ghost To Most
@jacy:
It certainly doesn’t make me feel a fool for making preparations.
Cheryl from Maryland
@Uncle Cosmo: Totally agree with Uncle Cosmo (PS Uncle Cosmo, Jeff McNelly was the speaker at my college graduation. Miss him). As someone in MoCo, I supported Aruna Miller vs. David Trone in Maryland’s 6th, but look at the vote count by county courtesy of the NYFuckingTimes (not the Post or the Sun). Trone was close in Montgomery, and won handily in the other areas of the District. Miller would have been a weak candidate for the 6th.
As for governor, I have multiple liberal friends who HATED O’Malley, especially because being hamstrung during the recession, he added special fees to either feed the state’s coffers or fund the Chesapeake Bay (the so-called rain tax). They voted for Hogan and will do so again.
Finally, never forget that in Maryland, MoCo and PG are bitter rivals as well as siblings with Baltimore. Sometimes it works out for statewide office, sometimes, cf. Anthony Brown, it doesn’t.
Kay
I have to check out for a while. I don’t think I can stand the media fawning over the truly terrible Anthony Kennedy.
His replacement will be worse, of course. Hurtling down to the bottom as fast as we can, now.
Brachiator
@SiubhanDuinne:
Jeebus. 57 years. That’s two generations.
@Steeplejack (phone):
For those of us who do know, I just recently saw the TV bit where Sir Paul returns to Liverpool. Wonderful stuff.
jl
I thought Kennedy was going to wait until after the midterms.
Senate Democrats need to fight like holy hell to stop a confirmation before the midterms, or they are worthless, after the corrupt GOP Senate corrupt appointment of the corrupt Gorsuch.
And they need to make this a huge campaign issue.
It is a catastrophe if Trump gets an appointment, a very high risk opportunity (one forced on us) if Senate Democrats can delay.
If McConnell nukes all Senate protocol to get an appointment, then Democrats need to take that opportunity to be equally ruthless if they take control after November.
This kind of crap is how corrupt authoritarian regimes begin. Trump is an idiot, but scoundrels like Kennedy and McConnell are not.
jacy
@A Ghost To Most:
I guess you can look at it that the way Kennedy voted this last set, it doesn’t matter who is nominated. Kennedy turned out to be a useless motherfucker in the end. I hope Trump nominates that Pirro nut from Fox. Might as well set this whole shitshow on fire.
Tazj
@Mnemosyne: Well, he posted a picture of the Clintons and the Trumps with the word “Friends” on his Twitter feed. When he took some heat for it, he doubled down saying that it was true, they were friends and listing the ways the Clintons and Trumps were similar. He said that the time for icons in politics was over. While the Clintons are far from perfect, that tweet was stupid then and looks crazy now.
To be fair to him however, that’s the only time he has said anything bad about the Clintons that I know of and he is running a progressive campaign.
Kathleen
@Brachiator: He mistook the flag for Ivanka.
nymofmydreams
@father pusbucket: It’s easy. The morning WaPo headline about this win (it’s since changed), said that with a stunning victory, O-C had beaten incumbent and that Trump had extended his string of wins (some turd-burger in SC prevailed in and turd-burger primary). The headline writer conflated the two outcomes. Probably Trump read that headline and that was that.
chris
Justice Kennedy retires. Shit
ETA Never mind, FYWP
Mnemosyne
@Tazj:
There may be a system hiccup — I replied to this same comment at #227. Weird!
Mnemosyne
Well, fuck that asshole Kennedy. He’s another one who needs to have people follow him to restaurants and chant, “Shame!” until he leaves.
No justice, no peace, asshole.
Calouste
@jl: Jeff “Flake by name, flake by nature” might follow up on his tweets and stand up to the shitgibbon on judges. I might also win the Powerball tonight, even though I didn’t buy a ticket.
Brickley Paiste
@Amir Khalid: if you would learn a bit about the subject before opening your very stupid mouth, you would learn that wildfires are integral to the health and functioning of numerous ecosystems. That some plants reproductive life cycles depend on fire.
James E Powell
@Quinerly:
I’d call that a death blow to public sector unions as a force for employee rights or political action. This is one of the many things at stake on November 8 2016. I’m sure the BernieBros can explain how this is actually better than President Hillary Clinton. If any of them do so in my presence, I may need a lawyer.
Villago Delenda Est
@TenguPhule:
Seconded. These idiots do not get this.
AND I AM SICK AND TIRED OF HAVING TO REFILL OUT THE FORM EVERY SINGLE TIME I POST
Dorothy Winsor
I’m going to sign off and get some writing done. I can’t bear to think about where the Supreme Court and the country in general are headed.
TriassicSands
@SiubhanDuinne:
I asked a young man the other day about the music he listens to. Then, I asked him if he knew who Bob Dylan is. Nope. The young get younger every year. No, wait, I’m getting older.
James E Powell
@kindness:
Nancy Pelosi is a hippie now? Seriously? The press/media promotes the Republicans’ characterization of Nancy Pelosi as a leftist. I don’t know a single leftist who agrees.
The deep and visceral hatred of Nancy Pelosi is like the deep and visceral hatred of Hillary Clinton. Can’t imagine what those two have in common, but it’s definitely not being leftist. The Village is just as racist and misogynist as the average construction site.
TriassicSands
@rikyrah:
The five bigots on the Court examine Trump’s bigotry and find it acceptable. As originalists they accept that women are property, slavery is a desirable form of “employment,” and African Americans are 3/5 of a human being. That being so, this case was decided 4-3/5 – 4. Thomas will be confused.
They still have a way to go to get the America they want. But they won’t stop trying.
J R in WV
@Psych1:
Are you crazy? Senator Sanders caused Trump’s stolen victory as much as Putin’s little trolls did. Comey helped a lot too, but my money is on I’m-not-a-Democrat Sanders and his little I’m-not-a-Democrat elves, like you. And as far as your posts go, I’m so near turning you into a pie fairy I can smell the cinnamon…
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
I find that if chose your friends carefully, based on them and you, you stand a better chance of getting good friends. Also fewer.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
Hard to decide what is worse, BS hisself, or the idiots who thought he was the second coming.
AxelFoley
@Mai naem mobile:
No, fuck you for that last line.
cwmoss
@geg6: The cop shop he worked for during the three hours before he murdered an unarmed kid is going to get fucked six ways to Sunday for its negligence in hiring that motherfucker.
(I would say IANAL, but I am one!)
AxelFoley
@Psych1:
No, we’ll always hate that old bastard. He’s just been laying low lately, so he’s a bit off the radar now.
J R in WV
@Fair Economist:
They don’t. Usually different jobs have different (or no) unions. People on Union scale are paid according to their experience and the contract with their Union. People who do that job, and refuse to join their union, get the same wage as the Union workers to, plus they don’t have union dues deducted, but a smaller fee to fund the union benefits non members are required tobe provided by the union.
It is much more complicated than it should be because of the interference by RWNJs.
Cluttered Mind
@Kathleen: Tall, gilded, and manufactured?