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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2018 / Vocal Fried (Open Thread)

Vocal Fried (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  October 30, 20184:05 pm| 135 Comments

This post is in: Election 2018, Gun nuts, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, General Stupidity

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Meghan the Lesser tries a gotcha question on Stacey Abrams, invoking the specter of a black woman coming for Georgians’ shootin’ arns. It doesn’t go so well for her:

.@MeghanMcCain for some reason brings our org into her conversation about guns with future Georgia Governor Stacey Abrams. Gets drown out by audience applause for Abrams’ position. ???pic.twitter.com/0WfdPlxjOP

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 30, 2018

The contrast between McCain’s tiresome MillennialCon shtick and Abrams’ warmth and humor could not be more stark. I loved Abrams’ line about hunting: “I don’t hunt because I mostly eat chicken, and that just seems mean.”

I’m 150 miles or so from Georgia, but I’ll throw a week-long party if Abrams wins. The latest poll has Abrams edging Cheato Kemp — who is outrageously still presiding over an election in which he’s running, like the Banana Republican he is — by a point. Go Stacey, go!

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Reader Interactions

135Comments

  1. 1.

    Jerzy Russian

    October 30, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    I’m 150 miles or so from Georgia, but I’ll throw a week-long party if Abrams wins.

    Hell, I am all the way across the country from Georgia, but if Abrams wins I will drive over there and join you.

    Also too, why is Meghan McCain on the TV machine? Semi-serious question: what does she actually do for a living, if anything?

  2. 2.

    Nicole

    October 30, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    I swear to God, the worst thing to happen to American society was when it was decided that it was socially acceptable for rich kids to go into performing as a career.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    October 30, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    Meghan is a dimwit, isn’t she?

    Twice: “I appreciate your honesty.” What, cuz her guest was going to lie her socks off? And bringing up “rounding them up” re AR15s (which grates in a week that saw an AR 15 used in a synagogue) and the thanks to Abrams for honesty about wanting to ban them.

    Meghan McCain. Not a smart girl. Fortunate Daughter.

  4. 4.

    pinacacci

    October 30, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    She is so unbelievably snide: Twice, “I appreciate your honesty, saying that you want to ban them.” Trying to put her mean girl spin on it. She lost this round. I hope Ms. Abrams wins.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    October 30, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @Jerzy Russian

    FCC regulation that someone named McCain must appear on television no less than three times weekly. //

  6. 6.

    Joe Falco

    October 30, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    Me and the wife are going to work this weekend making food and much needed snack supplies for volunteers in Athens. I was told not to include nuts but also no beans as well which I found odd.

  7. 7.

    cope

    October 30, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    This next week is going to be…interesting, probably in the most depressing way possible. Nest week, I will do my usual election night ritual, eschewing any connection to the internet, television or radio news or incoming updates on my phone, DVDs all night until bed time. My hope is to wake up on Wednesday the 8th to more good news than dire. That is my hope. It certainly didn’t happen for me on 11/9/2016.

  8. 8.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    Slightly remixed Megan, accounting for her tone an innuendo: “I appreciate your honesty, but don’t you just want to round up all the hicks and rightwingers, melt down their guns, and throw them in lefty jail”.

    I had some respect for her dad (pre-Palin, that is). But it’s amazing how tired and weak her stuff sounds. She didn’t inherit his acuity or ability to relate.

  9. 9.

    Nicole

    October 30, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    I do confess, I don’t understand why politicians, when confronted with the inevitable, “SO YOU WANT TO TAKE OUR GUNS, DO YOU?” question doesn’t respond with, “Australia instituted a voluntary buyback program and it worked very well.”

    That said, I thought Abrams did great and was marvelous shutting McCain down.

  10. 10.

    Barbara

    October 30, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    I am so impressed by Abrams. So much warmth and humor. Meghan McCain looks like the pampered and entitled rich kid she clearly is. She does no better than keep her head above water.

  11. 11.

    A Ghost To Most

    October 30, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    @Joe Falco:

    I was told not to include nuts but also no beans as well which I found odd.

    Close quarters?

  12. 12.

    Floridafrog

    October 30, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    Me too Betty
    I am a hard rock throw from Georgia here on Amelia Island. We wrangled a few of our Georgia friends to vote for the very first time. For Stacy ! I hope we have built some lifelong democratic voters. I Stacy wins, my postcard group will through a huge party. We worked hard for her and still have hope.

  13. 13.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    October 30, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    The contrast between McCain’s tiresome MillennialCon shtick and Abrams’ warmth and humor could not be more stark.

    It really couldn’t be. Abrams seemed so genuine and real in that clip and McCain was just trying to get a soundbite out of it. Her snide, “Thank you for your honesty”, and the look on her face when she said it. Could she not hear the studio audience was on Abram’s side? I hope she wins.

    I also greatly despise MillenialCons. It’s almost like “Jews for Hitler” levels of derangement.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    October 30, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    @Raoul

    She didn’t inherit his acuity or ability to relate.

    Deluded questioner: “And that Obama, he- he’s an Arab.”

    Meghan McC: “I appreciate your honesty.”

  15. 15.

    geg6

    October 30, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    Now that Daddy is gone and can’t tell Meghan what to think, I’m guessing her pissy attitude is coming from hubby, Ben Domenech, plagiarist and paid-propagandist-posing-as-journalist.

    Fuck that spoiled bitch. She’s only on tv because of her father, not on her own merits. I hope Joy Reid finally goes over the table after her and knocks her dim lights right out.

  16. 16.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    Also seems pretty obvious that Megan did very limited prep work for this (despite what I’m sure even she would understand were high stakes). I can’t imagine that was the first time Abrams used that “it wouldn’t be fair to chickens” line (which was great!). She disarmed Megan and got her to laugh. Which tells me she had no idea that line was coming.

    I am glad she’s an ill-prepared hack. But what a way to own-goal herself, via laziness.

  17. 17.

    Mnemosyne

    October 30, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    @Joe Falco:

    I was told not to include nuts but also no beans as well which I found odd.

    Would you want to be stuck in a car or van with someone who ate too many beans?

    Just sayin’.

  18. 18.

    Barbara

    October 30, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: People like McCain are bought and paid for and funded by cons of their parents’ generation.

  19. 19.

    Nicole

    October 30, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    @Raoul:

    I am glad she’s an ill-prepared hack. But what a way to own-goal herself, via laziness.

    Not that she’ll ever see any consequences for it. Consequences are for people who aren’t members of the lucky sperm club.

  20. 20.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    @geg6: Oh, I didn’t know that was her husband. Ewww.

  21. 21.

    Jack the Second

    October 30, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    @Joe Falco: Athens? Are you familiar with the teachings of Pythagoras?

    It is more or less agreed that Pythagoras issued a prohibition against the consumption of beans

  22. 22.

    Eric S.

    October 30, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    @NotMax: I assume you are snarking but I’m not convinced you are wrong.

  23. 23.

    West of the Rockies

    October 30, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    MM thinks she is so clever: “I appreciate your honesty that you want to ban the AR15…”

    Apparently, the curve for mediocre (and legacy) white women is also a thing.

  24. 24.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 4:31 pm

    You can see McCain knows she’s been pwnd and is still trying to score points by saying thank you for admitting you want to ban it. Then she pouts and looks down.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 4:31 pm

    Just remember folks, we might have to do this again in December because in GA you need 50 percent plus 1 vote to win outright.

  26. 26.

    Barbara

    October 30, 2018 at 4:31 pm

    @geg6: McCain is married to Ben Domenech? Oh, say no more. Domenech is a complete captive of rightwing publications.

  27. 27.

    West of the Rockies

    October 30, 2018 at 4:31 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    Though not as much as for stupid white dudes.

  28. 28.

    A Ghost To Most

    October 30, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    @Barbara:
    Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.

  29. 29.

    tobie

    October 30, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    Stacey Abrams comes off as so humane, smart, sensible, and warm. Meghan looks like she’s trying to score points with canned lines and innuendo — using the phrase “rounding up guns” to suggest “rounding up gun-owners” — and doesn’t realize how hard-edged and stupid she ends up coming off. Go Stacey! I hadn’t heard of you before this election cycle and now I’m a fan!

  30. 30.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    I think they should be at a target range, so Abrams can show McCain how really to shoot.

  31. 31.

    Joe Falco

    October 30, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @Mnemosyne:
    Indeed. That gets rid of my plan to bring the seven bean salad.

  32. 32.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @geg6: @Barbara: I didn’t know that.. ick

  33. 33.

    Marcopolo

    October 30, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    @cope: Just want make sure you vote on the right date. Election Day is Nov 6. Wed after is the 7th.

  34. 34.

    Mary G

    October 30, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    I am strangely optimistic:

    The antics and abuses of the past few weeks have been awful and depressing, but take a few steps back and they don’t look *at all* like the behavior of confident people. I can’t actually recall seeing mass desperation quite like this.— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) October 30, 2018

    Of course, I’ve wrong before.

  35. 35.

    A Ghost To Most

    October 30, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @West of the Rockies:
    So there’s Megan McArglebargle and Megan McAmmosexual and Megyn Klanner. Who am I missing?

  36. 36.

    Kay

    October 30, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @JPL:

    Just remember folks, we might have to do this again in December because in GA you need 50 percent plus 1 vote to win outright.

    OMG, really? You’re like the grim reaper, for Halloween :)

  37. 37.

    Cheryl Rofer

    October 30, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    This should be unpleasant.

    NOW: Secret Service has secured the street in front of the Tree of Life synagogue, indicating Trump is likely to visit. On site: Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer. pic.twitter.com/95tc1k8QM9

    — Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) October 30, 2018

  38. 38.

    Brachiator

    October 30, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    Meghan McCain kept saying, “I appreciate your honesty,” as though she was expecting lies or wanted to judge her guest instead of having a conversation.

    But then, I note McCain’s dishonesty. She claimed that the AR-15 was the most popular gun in America, with 61 percent of gun owners having one. But gun ownership itself is a minority practice, with a downward trend. From a fast google search:

    The latest household gun ownership rate in the General Social Survey, in 2014, was 32 percent. The October 2015 Gallup survey showed a higher rate of 43 percent, including guns kept on property outside the home. But the downward trend in gun ownership remains consistent across the national polls.

    And McCain was swift to jump to the idea of confiscation.

    But it was sweet to see Stacey Abrams disarm her so deftly.

  39. 39.

    Kraux Pas

    October 30, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Also too, why is Meghan McCain on the TV machine?

    Father in politics. Media nepotism is real.

  40. 40.

    John Revolta

    October 30, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    “I appreciate your honesty”

    Apparently this is the Arizona version of “Bless your heart!”

  41. 41.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    October 30, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    what does she actually do for a living, if anything?

    She’s on the TV machine.

  42. 42.

    Marcopolo

    October 30, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    A little off-topic but just finished up knocking an 80 door list for Cort VanOstran in the StL burbs. I think it must have been a straight GOTV list as everyone I found at home planned to vote a straight D ticket.

    My favorite door was where the older person I was canvassing asked if I had a minute then brought her sample ballot out & had me go over it with her because the print on the sample was tiny & she was having problems reading it. Anyways we did it & now she is voting a straight Marcopolo ticket: all D candidates & my positions on all the ballot initiatives.

  43. 43.

    A Ghost To Most

    October 30, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    The Israelis haven’t exactly covered themselves in dignity over this.

  44. 44.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    @Kay: Just to make you happier, the democrats are going to win big on Tuesday across the nation, and the republicans in GA are going to be demoralized so they won’t bother to vote in the runoff.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: That is just sick. They don’t want him.

  46. 46.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    @JPL: I think I love you

  47. 47.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    October 30, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    @JPL:
    At this point, that does seem pretty likely. Not guaranteed, but fairly likely. Fingers crossed ?: )

  48. 48.

    Cheryl Rofer

    October 30, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    As President Trump arrives in Pittsburgh, hundreds of residents gather in Squirrel Hill for a protest telling him he’s not welcome in their city. pic.twitter.com/iGlOb0c5li

    — Clint Hendler (@clinthendler) October 30, 2018

  49. 49.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Trump’s ego as rampaging, wounded dinosaur.

    Apparently his WH staff tried to lie to each of the major elected officials in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, playing the “s/he’s already said yes” game, but no one bought it. Gaaaah.

  50. 50.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 30, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @JPL:

    how really to shoot.

    Feel like I’m reading The Economist all of a sudden.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    October 30, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @cope:

    This next week is going to be…interesting, probably in the most depressing way possible.

    I early voted, so I don’t have to worry about getting to the polls. This feels positively liberating. So I will relax on the day, probably rent a movie.

    There are so many elections happening, and votes on various issues that it is just nuts to think that the results will be uniformly negative, or uniformly positive. I’m hoping that the net gain will be on our side. And no matter what happens, it will be part of the larger effort to restore sanity and decency.

  52. 52.

    eclare

    October 30, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @JPL: Here is hoping! I lived in ATL when Cleland and every other Democrat lost. That was not a fun day.

  53. 53.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 30, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    @Raoul: My kids used to try that: Dad, Mom said I could have ice cream today. Didn’t work then, either.

  54. 54.

    geg6

    October 30, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    I can’t watch this shit with the Shitgibbon defiling my city. I guess I can’t even watch local news any more. Good thing I have a bunch of House Hunter episodes recorded. At least it’s entertaining hate watching that.

  55. 55.

    donnah

    October 30, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    I’m watching MSNBC and they’re just showed footage of a peaceful protest by people in Pittsburgh against Trump. They’re singing, carrying signs for peace, and I’m moved to tears. This image is so much more touching than the sight of Trump and his family arriving at the synagogue for their false sympathy.

    Inspires hope.

  56. 56.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Elizabelle: It goes beyond that. Right now both the GOP and conservatives are trying to figure how to either justify and back up or distance themselves from the President’s assertion that he can amend the Constitution by executive order. Which has been the conservative and GOP fever nightmare for decades, but only applied to the 1st Amendments religious freedom clauses, specifically the first part of the clause, and the 2nd Amendment.

  57. 57.

    ruemara

    October 30, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    It’s rare that I toss out the old filthy c word, but she earned it after saying that gun owners were the real victims after the Tree of Life Massacre. She’s disgusting and proof that giving children of conservatives a microphone is a terrible idea. Add in who she’s married to, who seems to have warped her supposed moderate positions into repulsive hardline conservativism, and she’s barely good as fertilizer.

  58. 58.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    @Joe Falco: Would you want a bunch of gassy volunteers?

  59. 59.

    TS (the original)

    October 30, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    @Raoul:

    I am glad she’s an ill-prepared hack. But what a way to own-goal herself, via laziness

    None of them prepare – other than to dream up the gotcha questions. From the lowest level GOPer through the VP and the president* they have no idea about the person they are talking to other than assuming they are socialists who want to take away your guns.

  60. 60.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    Is Melania wearing her “I don’t care” coat?

  61. 61.

    Betty Cracker

    October 30, 2018 at 4:55 pm

    @JPL: I had the same thought! I bet McMeghan couldn’t hit the side of a barn from four feet away with a scattergun!

  62. 62.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    @Marcopolo: A friend in Austin TX said she had to help an older voter she’d driven to the polls by lending her reading cheaters.

    Makes me wonder if a strategy in the next week should be Dem GOTVs buying out the stock of cheap readers and having them at the ready to give to any voter who might have a hard time reading a ballot.

    If in knocking you find out a voter can’t see so well, say “Here, have these readers – take ’em to the polls with our thanks, and remember us when you vote!” would be a fantastic leave-behind. I’d have to do more research to be sure they aren’t utter crap, but it looks like in bulk they might be like 90 cents each – something to consider for 2020 if it’s too late for next Tuesday.

    (no that last bit isn’t a pun)

  63. 63.

    zhena gogolia

    October 30, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Blazing Saddles flashback.

  64. 64.

    Cheryl Rofer

    October 30, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    To go back to the topic of an earlier thread, reliable online detectives are tracking down an organization called “Surefire Intelligence,” which seems to be behind the attempts to buy witnesses to nonexistent Mueller harassment. It’s run by Jacob Wohl, a big Trump fan and defrocked securities trader. The mocking is very funny. If Adam doesn’t do it, I’ll try to post a selection of funny tweets later. Got to run now.

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Dermer is from South Florida. He was a Florida GOP operative, which is why he was tapped by Bibi to move to Israel and become the ambassador back to the US. Bibi’s got the same problem that Putin has now: they’ve both made US policy discussions about how the US should interact with both Israel and Russia purely partisan.

  66. 66.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 30, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I, for one, would love that. That dude doesn’t seem to be the sharpest bulb in the cupboard.

  67. 67.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    @eclare: Odd story.. After Sandy Hook, I wrote both Senators and Isakson replied with a typical form letter that he’s a firm believer in the 2nd amendment, Chambliss’ office sent back a long note that the Senator was looking into options to stop the carnage. It was shocking to me, but then he voted with the republicans and then quit.
    Max’s loss was when the state took a stance to support those wanting to rid us of democracy.

  68. 68.

    schrodingers_cat

    October 30, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: That’s sad, their token Jewish person had to be imported.

  69. 69.

    Roger Moore

    October 30, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @geg6:

    She’s only on tv because of her father, not on her own merits.

    Do you think her dad got into the Naval Academy completely on his own merits? Leaning on family connections for career advancement is an old McCain family tradition.

  70. 70.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Mongo love Sheriff Bart!

  71. 71.

    dmsilev

    October 30, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    NOW: Secret Service has secured the street in front of the Tree of Life synagogue, indicating Trump is likely to visit. On site: Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer.

    Haven’t those poor people suffered enough already?

  72. 72.

    eclare

    October 30, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    @JPL: Yep. Stacey is so impressive, hope she makes it over the line!

  73. 73.

    FRANK MCCORMICK

    October 30, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @Raoul: I don’t think her marriage has improved her political outlook.

  74. 74.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    October 30, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @dmsilev: Could be worse, Trump could try to sing ‘Amazing Grace’.

  75. 75.

    dmsilev

    October 30, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I hope that, instead of a live feed of whatever Trump blathers, someone just puts up that recording of Obama.

  76. 76.

    schrodingers_cat

    October 30, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    On a completely shallow note, the bleached blonde hair with racoon eyes is not a good look. And the severe hairdo does her round face no favors.

  77. 77.

    cmorenc

    October 30, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    @dmsilev: Could be worse, Trump could try to sing ‘Amazing Grace’.

    Trump is more likely to look down a woman’s blouse and say “that’s amazing, Grace!”

  78. 78.

    cope

    October 30, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @Marcopolo: Roger that, we already voted. Thanks, since retiring, I find it difficult to keep days/dates straight.

  79. 79.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    October 30, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    they’ve both made US policy discussions about how the US should interact with both Israel and Russia purely partisan.

    So you’re saying they’ve outsmarted themselves, essentially?

  80. 80.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I put an update up on an earlier thread, but WP is screwing with the formatting for the tweets. Alain is out of pocket. So it’s going to stay mucked up for a bit.

  81. 81.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @TS (the original): What if I’m a (regulated) capitalist, but I still want to take away most guns?

    Yeah, I know, regulated capitalism is total smothering Marxism. Waaaah.

  82. 82.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 5:08 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I’m watching the live stream on nbc. He hasn’t said anything we can hear so far. If he does, I have to turn it off.

  83. 83.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:08 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Dermer’s from south Florida.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    October 30, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    @JPL: I was just thinking that they should lock the doors of the synagogue and post armed guards to keep people out — just for whatever day Trump is going to come.

  85. 85.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @eclare: Abrams has so far proved me wrong. I voted for Evans because I found her a tad more progressive and had a really compelling story that could resonate with voters. Obvious the best woman won, and I hope does so again on Tuesday.

  86. 86.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    I don’t always understand the use of the word “alleged” in talking about a crime. I understand that the news people don’t want to convict someone out of hand, but on NBC someone just referred to the “alleged gunman.” The guy was the gunman. No alleged about it. Alleged murderer maybe.

  87. 87.

    schrodingers_cat

    October 30, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: I didn’t know that. Thanks.

  88. 88.

    TS (the original)

    October 30, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    Chuck todd really should be taken off air – “the president is keeping a subdued stature”. The president* looks like a derp & the woman who on odd occasions goes places with him looks just as stupid. Now he is quoting Sarah Sanders – as being so good as to not to attack those who didn’t travel with him.

    Toad is a nice description of this unbelievable trump apologist

  89. 89.

    tobie

    October 30, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    Has the Rabbi at the Tree of Life Synagogue embraced Trump? I saw him on TV yesterday and he said he would be honored to have the President come as he is, to quote the Rabbi, “my President.” I’m very disappointed in this individual.

  90. 90.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    October 30, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I know. Even when someone is caught red-handed with the literal smoking gun in their hand, the news tends to still say “alleged”.

  91. 91.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Jews don’t sing Amazing Grace.

  92. 92.

    TS (the original)

    October 30, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Innocent until proven guilty unless your name is Clinton.

  93. 93.

    Dan B

    October 30, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Aren’t these funerals for two disabled boys. I hope the images of Trump mocking the disabled reporter resurface. The GOP’s opposition to Medicaid puts many disabled people and their families at great risk. The GOP have avoided being branded as hurtful to the disabled so far – at least it isn’t the first thing on people’s minds.

  94. 94.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: In the long run, yes. The next Democratic majority Congress, let alone Democratic president, will be dealing with Israel and Israeli issues as if they’re just another partisan issue between Democrats and Republicans. That the GOP has encouraged this and gone along with it shows just how far gone they are.

  95. 95.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    October 30, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    @tobie:
    People like him are naive fools who think that deep down everybody is good and probably also thinks that the fact that Trump holds the office of the Presidency obligates himself to accept the President’s visit. Like I said, he’s a naive fool. He confuses respect for the office with respect for the person holding that office.

  96. 96.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: And, as I’m sure you’re aware, like everything else south Florida is from India.//

  97. 97.

    hellslittlestangel

    October 30, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    Funny that Meg(h)an the Lesser applies equally to all three of them.

  98. 98.

    Raoul

    October 30, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I just watched “I, Tonya” on a flight a couple weeks ago. Wohl seems to be somewhat less bright than Shawn Eckardt.

  99. 99.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    @Dan B: Developmentally disabled brothers. One was 59 the other 52. When I saw that in the reporting I sent the following recommendation to one the security team leaders at my mom’s synagogue:

    As I read through the bios of the fallen in Pittsburgh, the two youngest victims were developmentally disabled brothers. If I’m recalling correctly from helping out over the past couple of years, you all also have a developmentally disabled congregant that lived in walking distance to the synagogue, unless he’s moved on from the area. I’d like to suggest that someone on the security committee organize people to both pick him up and take him home from services if he’s still attending them. Him, on his own, is a far too easy target given his disability.

  100. 100.

    Mary G

    October 30, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    This possibility floated by NY Mag is probably too good to actually happen, but it sure would be nice:

    And yet, despite this long record of overt white nationalist advocacy, Steve King might actually lose reelection in western Iowa this November.

    A poll released Tuesday by Change Research, a firm aligned with the Democratic Party, found King leading his Democratic challenger, former baseball player J.D. Scholten, by the razor-thin margin of 45 to 44 percent. King has held his seat since 2012, and won his last two reelection bids with more than 60 percent of the vote. Iowa’s fourth district is heavily rural, and backed Trump in 2016 by a landslide margin. As of last month, an Emerson College poll had King up by 10 points.

    By all appearances, this data led King to assume that he could win again this fall — even if he spent much of campaign season palling around with his favorite fascists in Austria, instead of shaking hands in Sioux City. As of mid-October, the congressman had a piddling $176,000 in cash-on-hand. Meanwhile, Scholten has spent $1.4 million, and has been airing anti-King advertisements in the district for two weeks. King has yet to air a single campaign commercial.

    I’ve never had the impression that Iowa is full of racists. Maybe he’ll get tossed.

  101. 101.

    someone

    October 30, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    Have you all picked this up yet:

    Jacob Wohl creates fictitious investigation firm making Mueller accusations, is too dumb to not get immediately caught:

    https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2018/10/30/unintelligent-design-surefire-intelligence/

    https://twitter.com/AricToler/status/1057352982768074753

  102. 102.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: And Trump is going to use the photo op of his placing a stone on the cross the day of their funeral.

  103. 103.

    ewrunning

    October 30, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    Just found a Groucho Marx quote that seems apposite to our Cheetoh faced leader:

    “Despite his obvious deficiencies, I can truly say that his entire organization (to say nothing of me) loves him with the same fervor that is usually reserved for men like Stalin, Hitler and Torquemada.”

    Just part of my reading as I try to stay sane after occasional dips into the news.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    @Mary G: It’s definitely nice that Purina and Land of Lakes won’t be funding his candidacy.

  105. 105.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 30, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    @Mary G: Iowa gets redder as you move from east to west and King’s district is the northwest corner. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if they dump him. But his district got less red after the 2010 redistricting. Iowa lost a representative and the remaining four districts had to be redrawn. In IA , that’s done by an independent commission that has to follow certain rules such as following country lines and including a mix of both rural of urban voters to the extent they can, preferably matching the state distribution of rural/urban residents. All the population growth (such as it is) is in cities. King’s district had to drop down and include Ames, the home of Iowa State. ISU is not particularly liberal. It’s engineering, vet and ag stuff, etc. But it’s more liberal than King’s previous constituency. We’ll see.

  106. 106.

    montanareddog

    October 30, 2018 at 5:31 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Obligatory Goodness Gracious Me link

  107. 107.

    John Revolta

    October 30, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Well, I know a Jewish bagpiper and HE plays Amazing Grace. When forced to.
    (He doesn’t like playing it any more than any other piper does. Gaah!)

  108. 108.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    @someone: It was the 3:55 PM update on my post about that topic.

  109. 109.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 30, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    @John Revolta: That’s different.

  110. 110.

    kindness

    October 30, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    Megan McCain is a greasy little piece of shit. I find myself saying that far to frequently. I mean, she’s only someone because she was John McCain’s devil spawn. She’s done nothing on her own to merit any public presence at all. And her positions are hellish. Why the other women on The View haven’t drawn straws to see who had to off her, I can’t fathom.

  111. 111.

    tobie

    October 30, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: When I heard him on TV, I was immediately reminded of something the historian Yusuf Yerushalmi said, which is that historically Jews tried to align themselves with whomever they thought was in power to protect themselves. This was no doubt necessary in the past when Jews constantly faced pogroms. I didn’t think it was necessary today…but maybe Saturday’s violence proves me wrong. I dunno. If I were in Pittsburgh, I would be out there with the protestors.

    ETA: I need to correct this comment. Evidently Rabbi Myers has rescinded the invitation based on messages from the congregation. I should have been more up to date on this.

  112. 112.

    Origuy

    October 30, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    @tobie: It’s my understanding that three congregations, and therefor three different rabbis, share the synagogue. The other two want nothing to do with Trump.

  113. 113.

    JPL

    October 30, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    @kindness: She’s there to make Abby Huntsman seem moderate. I watched a few minutes the other day, and that’s all I could think of.

  114. 114.

    Roger Moore

    October 30, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    @someone:

    Have you all picked this up yet:

    Yep, I saw that. The post at bellingcat has more detailed pictures of the LinkedIn profiles, and I noticed something glaringly wrong: they all have big gaps in their work histories. Most of them don’t mention any jobs between getting their degree and working at Surefire, even when they’ve supposedly been working for decades. Nobody I know on LinkedIn does that because big, unexplained gaps in your work history looks suspicious as hell to employers. In fact, only one of the “employees” they list has any work experience, and he still has something like a decade missing from his job history. It couldn’t be any more obvious that they tried to fake a real-world presence but didn’t think anyone would dig further than the very surface.

  115. 115.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    October 30, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Kind of my point.

  116. 116.

    Shakti

    October 30, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Also too, why is Meghan McCain on the TV machine? Semi-serious question: what does she actually do for a living, if anything?

    She’s a tv talking head who gets paid big bucks to say political stuff because of her daddy’s name. She’s either not rabid enough/thin enough for Fox which is why she doesn’t have a gig there. Her mother inherited wealth (which is part of the reason John McCain married her;) so she’s looking to inherit a pretty big trust.

    Yes, I’m mean.

  117. 117.

    guachi

    October 30, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    I’d like to note that Georgia is a runoff state. If neither candidate achieved 50%, and I think neither will, then Abrams and Kemp will go to a runoff.

    So the money you give Abrams will likely be useful through longer than next Tuesday.

  118. 118.

    Schlemazel

    October 30, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    @Mary G:
    Odd, Mrs family is from Iowa and the raists there make the ones in MN seem pretty tame

  119. 119.

    Steve in the ATL

    October 30, 2018 at 6:07 pm

    @John Revolta: in the legal profession, we call that “assumption of risk”. When you first contemplate playing the bagpipes, you know that people will expect you to play “amazing grace”. Much like a thirteen years old boy given a guitar is expected to play “iron man” and “stairway to heaven”.

  120. 120.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 30, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    @Roger Moore: The folks at bellingcat have been doing yeoman’s work for several years now.

  121. 121.

    Emma

    October 30, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    @Shakti: But truthful.

  122. 122.

    Gelfling 545

    October 30, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Wouldn’t stop Trump, if he knew the words.

  123. 123.

    Roger Moore

    October 30, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    @Gelfling 545:
    I thought Trump had all the best words.

  124. 124.

    Joe Falco

    October 30, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Would you want a bunch of gassy volunteers?

    Only if we need to fight fire with fire… /s

  125. 125.

    ruemara

    October 30, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    Oh, in Seattle for PodCon. Any Seattle Juicers wish to do meet, eat foods and generally behave uncivilly & without bipartisanship?

  126. 126.

    Gelfling 545

    October 30, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    @JPL: I’m surprised. Purina is Nestlé connected and Nestlé is the spawn of Satan.

  127. 127.

    joel hanes

    October 30, 2018 at 6:30 pm

    @Mary G:

    I’ve never had the impression that Iowa is full of racists

    I’m sorry to disabuse you, then, but rural Iowa is chock full of latent racists who cherish the idea of a whites-only world — especially in NW Iowa, the last corner of the state to be settled and the least urban. The area is dominated by a conservative Dutch Reformed almost-fundamentalist Protestant religious culture, and it’s where King was born and bred.
    Here are links to Kiron, where King lives, and Odebolt, where he goes to church :
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiron,_Iowa
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odebolt,_Iowa

    Odebolt is 98.5 percent white.
    The Hispanics in Kiron are recent arrivals, primarily work in bad meat-packing jobs that whites don’t seem to want, and are very circumspect because they’re overtly resented.

  128. 128.

    Gelfling 545

    October 30, 2018 at 6:30 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yes but none that can be strung together into complete sentences.

  129. 129.

    KSinMA

    October 30, 2018 at 6:32 pm

    @Raoul: What a great idea!

  130. 130.

    Miss Bianca

    October 30, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    @Marcopolo: Yay for the straight Marcopolo ticket! : )

  131. 131.

    karen marie

    October 30, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    I think Meghan McCain’s hair being pulled back so tightly is contributing to her inability to think rationally.

  132. 132.

    H.E.Wolf

    October 30, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    @ruemara:
    YES. :) How long are you in Seattle? Can we connect via Anne Laurie?

  133. 133.

    Procopius

    October 30, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    I was particularly pleased by ex-President Jimmy Carter publicly telling Kemp that he should resign from the office of Secretary of State before the election. I don’t believe he will, but unless he gets a surprise landslide he’s going to be regarded by half the people in the state as illegitimate. Of course it would be even better if Abrams gets a large win. I believe President Carter made some disastrous choices as President, and that those choices started the downhill slide that led us to today (stagnant wages, deregulation), but he is a sincere and honest man, who at least seems to try to live by the Christian values he preaches.

  134. 134.

    Tenar Arha

    October 30, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Probably dead thread but…you might if you used them New Model Haggadah ?

  135. 135.

    Procopius

    October 31, 2018 at 12:43 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: It’s got nothing to do with “not wanting to convict people out of hand.” Unless they figure that would annoy some of their advertisers. It’s entirely to avoid libel/slander suits. They don’t want to spend the money defending them even if they can be pretty sure of winning, and even with the way the courts have slanted the defamation laws in favor of the media it’s usually easier just to toss in “alleged” as a precaution.

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