Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

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

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

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

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

We still have time to mess this up!

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

In my day, never was longer.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / And another one

And another one

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Just a reminder, a Blue Dog Democrat in Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus 60% or more of the time on decisive votes (who cares about votes to accept the minutes of the House etc).  Any generic Republican from Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus <5% of the time on a decisive vote.

We must always think about what the next best alternative when performing an evaluation.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

192Comments

  1. 1.

    Chyron HR

    “SAD! The Lovely Mia Love should have show me some love like my daughter Crooked Ivanka!” – The Ostensible Leader of the Free World

  3. 3.

    LibraryGuy

    This. I’ve written something like your comment many times to people who “aren’t comfortable” voting for Democrats who are “Republican-light” or such crap.

    Gain all the ground you can, then improve your position. It’s not complex.

  4. 4.

    Ben Cisco

    reminder, a Blue Dog Democrat in Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus 60% or more of the time on decisive votes

    I consider the vote for Speaker to be entirely decisive, and his stated opposition to Pelosi blows goats. I hope his Dem constituents let him know what time it is.

  5. 5.

    Elizabelle

    @MazeDancer: Yeah. That’s my concern too. Will be utterly disgusted if the Dems don’t choose Pelosi. What a self-inflicted wound.

    That said, welcome Congresscritter-elect McAdams. Is this, in fact, a done deal?

  8. 8.

    Eric U.

    The main reason I support blue dogs is because of who they vote for (or don’t vote for) as speaker. But it’s possible that we need to protect some of the newbies from this vote. I hope the Pelosi opponents that live in safe dem districts wake up and agree to vote for Pelosi and don’t force vulerable newbies to vote for her.

  9. 9.

    hellslittlestangel

    Bad: he’s anti-Pelosi.

    Good: I’m pretty sure Love wasn’t pro-Pelosi.

    So: victory, but no victory dance.

  10. 10.

    The Moar You Know

    Just a reminder, a Blue Dog Democrat in Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus 60% or more of the time on decisive votes (who cares about votes to accept the minutes of the House etc). Any generic Republican from Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus <5% of the time on a decisive vote.

    We must always think about what the next best alternative when performing an evaluation.

    Republicans don’t compromise. This is good for them when they’re in the ascendant majority. Not so good in a situation like right now.

    So, the million dollar question: can Dems sustain this level of involvement and activism for the next two years or will they go back to sleep as they so frequently do?

    The other million dollar question: can the GOP learn bipartisanship again? I have serious doubts. Too many cultural, media and political forces working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.

  12. 12.

    James E Powell

    Just a reminder, a Blue Dog Democrat in Utah is likely to vote with the majority of the Democratic caucus 60% or more of the time on decisive votes

    I’m pretty sure that nearly everyone here gets this and agrees that D>R, but we reserve the right to bitch about it when the subject BDD weakens the team with stunts like the anti-Pelosi grandstanding.

  13. 13.

    Yarrow

    @The Moar You Know:

    So, the million dollar question: can Dems sustain this level of involvement and activism for the next two years or will they go back to sleep as they so frequently do?

    I’ve been thinking that a possible silver lining to Dems not taking back the Senate is that it may keep Dems more involved. We’ve made gains but not enough.

  14. 14.

    James E Powell

    @The Moar You Know:

    The other million dollar question: can the GOP learn bipartisanship again?

    Republican voters won’t allow it. They dumped Boehner and Cantor because they were too close with the black president.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    @Elizabelle:
    Yep, rejecting Speaker Pelosi would be a spectacular own-goal. “That that, Republicans, we got rid of Nancy so now you can’t. Neener-neener!”

    Say yes to the SMASH.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m far less irritated with blue dog newbies who are anti-Pelosi than I am with reps like Seth Moulton who are in safe blue seats. By the way, I know opinions on Ocasio-Cortez are mixed in these parts, but she laid down an important marker on the Pelosi question over the weekend:

    “Right now, out of the field, I would say that [Pelosi] is the most progressive candidate. All of the rebellion for the Speakership are challenges to her right, and so I think it’s important to communicate that. My standard in this is: I’m going to support the most progressive candidate that’s leading the party, and right now, that is Nancy Pelosi, in terms of the running. I would like to see new, younger leadership, but I don’t want new leadership that’s more conservative.”

    Source.

  18. 18.

    MattF

    @Betty Cracker: I think that right now, Ocasio-Cortez is being subjected to the RW demonization that any liberal, electable she-person will receive. It’s quite possible that she’s just a by-the-book liberal, but it’s hard to detect the signal in the noise. We shall see.

  23. 23.

    Martin

    @MattF: Agreed. AOC is the right’s projection of ‘Democrats in disarray’. Don’t buy it. Don’t give it fuel. The right is terrified of people like her – she could be a thorn in their side for the next 6 decades. She’s down to earth, communicates well with every group of voters that the GOP can’t reach, and has a message that conservatives are terrified the public will embrace.

  24. 24.

    Patricia Kayden

    Trump voice: “Mia didn’t give me any love!”

    I can’t imagine President Obama taunting Democrats for losing elections. Trump has fully debased the White House.

  25. 25.

    Paul W.

    Well shit! I though this one was a goner as a lot of earlier absentee ballots were not as favorable for McAdams were needed. Excellent news, even though he is anti-Pelosi it should serve to make the caucus stronger and still help with the narrative.

  28. 28.

    Ceci7

    @MazeDancer: O/T – just dropped my postcards for Espy in the mail. Ended up doing the list requested from Postcard Patriots and a bunch more to help out a friend who was overwhelmed with his list.

  31. 31.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Major Major Major Major:
    She has that in common with Wilmer: annoying fanbrats. She seems to have a clue, unlike Wilmer. I may have jumped the gun a bit with AOC.

    BTW, how’s the move coming?

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @The Moar You Know:

    So, the million dollar question: can Dems sustain this level of involvement and activism for the next two years or will they go back to sleep as they so frequently do?

    More a hundred dollar question. Don’t know. Too many variables. It will also be interesting to see how radical some of the new incoming Democrats are, what they want, and how they try to get it.

    The other million dollar question: can the GOP learn bipartisanship again? I have serious doubts. Too many cultural, media and political forces working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.

    The GOP ceased trying to be bi-partisan a long time ago, probably during the Clinton presidency. Since then, they have tried to sell themselves as the sole legitimate (and patriotic) political party in America.

    I expect that the Republicans will hunker down and focus on the Senate stuffing conservative judges into the system, and filling executive department vacancies with Trump-approved grifters. One wild card is what Trump will do to maintain his popularity and stroke his own ego.

  33. 33.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Pragmatism and your obsession with results is why Stien and Berni can’t be Democrats David.

  35. 35.

    efgoldman

    @James E Powell:

    They dumped Boehner and Cantor because they were too close with the black president.

    I thought Cantor was dumped (primaried by a crazy) because he effectively told his district to fuck off.

  38. 38.

    NonyNony

    @efgoldman:

    I thought Cantor was dumped (primaried by a crazy) because he effectively told his district to fuck off.

    It was a “both and” situation. He was primaried because he wasn’t viewed as crazy enough, but he lost because he had effectively told his district to fuck off.

  42. 42.

    SFAW

    @MazeDancer:

    May they all be harrassed at every town hall until they wake-up and apologize.

    According to an e-mail from the Boston Glob, the Always Clueless Joan Vennochi has apparently written the latest installment of her ongoing series “Why I Fucking Hate Strong, Accomplished Wimmins And Will Do Everything in My (Meager) Power to Take Them Down a Few Pegs Because I Fucking Hates Them Forever, Preciousss!”

    Today’s installment is titled something like “Thank you, Seth Moulton, for shaking things up.”

    It is my fervent hope that Zombie Dave Nyhan comes back for Vennochi. Of course, he’ll probably go right by her, because he’d only be seeking bra-a-i-i-i-i-i-i-ns

  43. 43.

    Brachiator

    @MattF:

    I think that right now, Ocasio-Cortez is being subjected to the RW demonization that any liberal, electable she-person will receive.

    There were a number of people of color elected to the House. AOC is the Brown Other, Hugo Chavez in a dress, And right wing fools truly believe that because she is a young nonwhite woman, she must be stupid and can easily be put in her place by her betters.

  48. 48.

    SFAW

    @Martin:

    AOC is the right’s projection of ‘Democrats in disarray’.

    I guess I’m not with the program, yet. I thought she was the right’s placeholder for scary Messicans coming to take jobs from white people, and take all their hard-earned taxes, and then take siestas all day while some hard-working white boy is forced into cooking meth. Or something.

  49. 49.

    Yarrow

    @NonyNony: Cantor was also the last elected Jewish Republican at that time. When he left there were no more Jewish Republicans in Congress. I don’t know if that has changed since but I remember it being noted at the time. Given what the Republican party is like, Cantor being Jewish might also have been a factor in why he lost.

  51. 51.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @efgoldman:
    Hope you’re home by then, efg. Glad to see you’re back. It hasn’t been the same without your legendary fuckems

  53. 53.

    different-church-lady

    @MazeDancer: Apparently Seth Moulton’s antics are not wearing well.

    Some of Moulton’s constituents were fine with his calling for new leadership generally, but they have turned against him now that he is threatening to take the fight to the House floor.

    “I didn’t see Seth Moulton’s effort going this big,” said Lori Stewart, the vice chair of the Salem Democrats. “His effort to go after Nancy at this point feels very sexist and ageist.”

    Isa Leshko, who organized an effort to flood Moulton’s Monday town hall with pro-Pelosi protesters, said she was “loving Seth Moulton” until recently.

    “The fact that he is dividing us at a time when we have this resounding blue wave, I just can’t support him,” she said.

  54. 54.

    different-church-lady

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: I am reaching the conclusion that AOC is being used as clickbait for everyone across the spectrum, and that we’re all going to have to make a concerted effort to see past it to get a true picture.

    The jury in my mind is still out on how complicit she in in the click-baitiness.

  55. 55.

    efgoldman

    @different-church-lady: Seth Moulton’s antics are not wearing well.

    Not in his district, but he seemed the perfect candidate in every way before the grandstanding.
    They should primary HIS fat ass. See how he likes it

  56. 56.

    Yarrow

    @different-church-lady: I remain skeptical of her based on my observation of her choices after she won the primary. I am pleased to see her support Nancy Pelosi and I’ll look to see what she actually does once she’s in Congress.

    She certainly gets a lot of attention and when that’s an ongoing issue I have learned to look around and see what else might be happening that someone might not want us to look at.

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    @different-church-lady:

    Apparently Seth Moulton’s antics are not wearing well.

    Josh Marshall posted a comment from an attendee, who characterized Moulton (i.e., how he behaved in the meeting) as “a bit of a douchebag.”

  58. 58.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Pelosi and the Republican are the only candidates. I’m not sure who these anti-Pelosi folks think they’ll vote for. I’m told last time 65 Reps voted against Pelosi in the ‘caucus leader’ part, just so they could publicly show how they don’t support That Woman, then fell in line for the Speaker vote because hey, what can they do?

  59. 59.

    different-church-lady

    @Frankensteinbeck: I am guessing the gambit was to force a new selection in the caucus before it goes to a general vote.

    Now that gambit seems to be failing in a way that damages everyone.

  61. 61.

    Emerald

    Pelosi is THE most effective vote-counter and getter since LBJ. She says she’ll win. I believe she’ll win. Most of this is just Media “Democrats in Disarray” hype anyway.

    But we still need to remember the a$$clowns who tried to take her down. All of ’em, Katie.

  63. 63.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Emerald:

    Pelosi is THE most effective vote-counter and getter since LBJ. She says she’ll win. I believe she’ll win.

    I think the fact that the anti-Pelosis don’t even have an alternative candidate proves they’re just blowing hot air.

  64. 64.

    TenguPhule

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I think the fact that the anti-Pelosis don’t even have an alternative candidate proves they’re just blowing hot air.

    But those assholes don’t seem to understand that if they want to get reelected its not a good idea to piss off your own base.

  68. 68.

    Miss Bianca

    @different-church-lady: I find myself hoping that at least one person pointed out to him how wicked easy it would be these days to raise a shit-ton of money online to primary his ass if he really wants to persist in his anti-Pelosi campagn. And that no, people aren’t going to forget all about it.

  69. 69.

    JPL

    After the negative press about not visiting the troops overseas, I think Trump goes to Afghanistan this weekend.

  70. 70.

    bemused

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Exactly. Doesn’t make a damn bit of sense the anti-Pelosis don’t even have a candidate. It would be like a group saying don’t vote for incumbent Mayor X and not even having a write-in candidate they favor.

  71. 71.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @TenguPhule:
    No argument. I want these misogynist assholes primaried out. You can’t even make a good ‘we have to do this to win’ argument anymore. This election proved that Democratic power is in women and people of color.

  73. 73.

    Another Scott

    The photo caption says the opposite of what happened.

    I hate that.

    So much for copy editors, I guess. :-/

    Congrats to McAdams and to Nancy Smash for another pickup.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  74. 74.

    JPL

    @raven: Moulton has encouraged her to run, but so far she has not committed. It would be typical of the democrats to shoot themselves in the foot by supporting someone who opposed civil rights for gays.

  76. 76.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @different-church-lady: @Yarrow:

    I didn’t like her sticking her nose in primary races that could have nominated a bad candidate as a result of her involvement, but I think she’ll be a solid D vote, especially when it matters. I can’t help but also wonder if the fact that Pelosi is Catholic in addition to being the best progressive choice has influenced her at all, given that AOC is Catholic as well.

  77. 77.

    TenguPhule

    @bemused: Cole has them pegged to a T.

    Cake or Death
    ‏

    @Johngcole

    Seth Moulton and these idiots remind me of nightmare dates.

    “What do you want for dinner?”

    “Not Pelosi.”

    “But what do you want for dinner?”

    “mumble mumble I really don’t like Pelosi.”

    “BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR DINNER PICK SOMETHING FFS”

    “I’d like to try something new.”

    7:52 AM – 20 Nov 2018

  80. 80.

    Kay

    Trump is this unpopular with a booming economy.

    When it slows it will get much worse for him. It’s the single thing he has. He hasn’t converted a single voter and he’s lost a chunk of the low info “independents”. He’s a liar and a bully and mean-spirited. He’s got nothing to fall back on.

    This is completely consistent with his whole life, BTW. He’s a bankrupt. He spends and spends and spends until it’s gone.

    He hasn’t banked anything with the public. He misses one payment and they’ll repossess. Brutally. Without a second thought.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Now that I think about it, the odds of your prediction being correct are pretty high. I say that because the WH explicitly said Trump would not be visiting troops Thanksgiving weekend, and all they do is lie.

  84. 84.

    JPL

    @raven: Fudge has another problem..

    CLEVELAND, Ohio – Dozens of people, including four sitting judges, prominent Cleveland attorneys and a congresswoman now considering a bid to become speaker of the House of Representatives, wrote gushing letters of support for former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason after he brutalized his wife in front of their children so badly that her face required reconstructive surgery.

    cleveland.com via nycsouthpaw.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    @A Ghost To Most: We gave our 10-year old Cody 10 dollar bills as we pulled out of the driveway to go on a very long trip. Told him he had to give back a dollar every time he asked if we were there yet.

    We arrived with $10 still in his pocket. :-)

  87. 87.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    He misses one payment and they’ll repossess. Brutally. Without a second thought.

    And this is the part where he comes up with the wacky scheme to burn everything down and collect the insurance.

  88. 88.

    Kay

    And WHEN the economy slows, what’s he gonna point to? His unpopular tax law that benefited the ultra-rich? His sparkling personality and great sense of humor? Those horrible low quality hires he surrounds himself with?

    He built nothing- no good will, no relationships, no trust, nothing. So he won’t have it when he needs it. And he will need it.

  89. 89.

    Yarrow

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    but I think she’ll be a solid D vote, especially when it matters.

    We’ll see. She has yet to be seated so we really don’t know what she’ll do. Supporting Pelosi is good. All I’m doing at this point is observing what she does.

  91. 91.

    Kay

    @TenguPhule:

    Everyone says he’ll start a war and obviously I could be wrong but I think Republicans have maxed out the war credit card, too.

    A new war won’t work to save this deadbeat debtor. A war will be unpopular. It’s not 2001. It’ll just add to his problems.

    Bush maxxed out the war card and the terror card. That’s why Trump relies on racism. It’s all he’s got. Plus a good economy. But economies slow down and this one will too.

  92. 92.

    janesays

    @Ben Cisco: And the odds that Mia Love was going to vote for Pelosi as Speaker are…?

    On that front, McAdams is not a lost vote. It’s one we never had and were never going to get with any other candidate in that district.

    Manchin sucks, too, and I’ll never forgive him for Kavanaugh and yet… I accept that he’s the only Democrat that could have won a U.S. Senate race in West Virginia at this time, and he’ll be voting with the Democrats about a zillion times more than his opponent would have been.

  93. 93.

    different-church-lady

    @Kay:

    what’s he gonna point to? His unpopular tax law that benefited the ultra-rich? His sparkling personality and great sense of humor?

    His enemies. Duh.

  94. 94.

    Yarrow

    @Kay:

    Everyone says he’ll start a war and obviously I could be wrong but I think Republicans have maxed out the war credit card, too.

    A new war won’t work to save this deadbeat debtor. A war will be unpopular. It’s not 2001. It’ll just add to his problems.

    I agree. I mean, I think he might start a war but I don’t think it’ll work very well for him. They’re also not going to have very credible people to sell it. W had Colin Powell who got sent to the UN. He had some credibility. Who does Trump have that can sell his war to anyone?

  95. 95.

    James E Powell

    AOC bothers me sometimes in the way that nearly everyone who is new to politics bothers me in that they seem to believe that things are much easier to do than they really are. But at times I, and I think others, are being unfair in expectations because she is new to this. She’s not from a political family and she hasn’t spent years working up the ladder. I wonder if she looks at Pelosi and thinks, “She is my opposition” or “I need to know what she knows.” I’m hoping it’s the latter because I want them both to thrive and work together.

    I wish AOC way more than good luck because she is exactly the kind of person the Democratic Party needs more of. And the Republicans and the press/media are just dying to bring her down.

  96. 96.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Yarrow:
    That’s what I’m doing too, basically. I want to see the best in people, sometimes, I guess. Only time will truly tell.

  97. 97.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Kay:
    If the Dow is anything to go by, including the Chinese tariffs set to go into effect next year, the economy is going to slow down.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    @Yarrow:

    I don’t think there’s been any indication that he would start one anyway. He doesn’t even fire people himself.

    It’ll be something dumber and safer. A fake invasion of brown or black people. Like “the caravan”. That’s more up his alley.

  99. 99.

    ruemara

    @different-church-lady: She’s physically attractive, young, not camera-shy, criticises Dems as any good Bernista should and helps – wittingly or unwittingly – portray Dems as in disarray, old, unwilling to be more progressive. Not to mention she’s made a few gaffs, which also plays into the narrative as anyone very left isn’t a Serious Person. She’ll mature and hopefully, achieve a lot. Or, she’ll be a middling presence in the House for a while and fall back on a lovely career of appearing on TV shows.

  100. 100.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    Everyone says he’ll start a war and obviously I could be wrong but I think Republicans have maxed out the war credit card, too.

    I think they’ll still try to run the card even when the cashier returns it and says the transaction was declined.

    Team Trump is trying to get Venezuela added to the “Terrorist Axis of Evil” which puts them as a potential war opponent.

    And frankly, even depleted as our forces are, they could still inflict serious damage against Venezuela in an air campaign.

  101. 101.

    gwangung

    @ruemara:

    She’ll mature and hopefully, achieve a lot. Or, she’ll be a middling presence in the House for a while and fall back on a lovely career of appearing on TV shows.

    Neither of these are a bad thing for Dems, actually…..

  102. 102.

    Yutsano

    @James E Powell:

    I wish AOC way more than good luck because she is exactly the kind of person the Democratic Party needs more of. And the Republicans and the press/media are just dying to bring her down.

    GIVE THE MAN A CIGAR!!!

    You bet the press wants to tear her down. People like AO-C scare the Powers that Be because socialism is actually gaining a foothold in the US. But it’s not the old school socialism of Marx. It’s based on policies proven to work in not only the Scandinavian countries but countries all over the planet. And if the idea of a common good starts coming back into play, it gets harder for the corporate/1% overlords to divide us so they can keep us down. It’s why I’m waiting for a new labour movement to start taking hold. Corporations have taken too many of the goodies. Workers are going to strike back. It’s just a matter of how hard and how fast.

  103. 103.

    Yarrow

    @Kay: Except Bolton really wants to get his war on. They’ve been talking about Venezuela for awhile. I’ve even seen “War with Venezuela is a bad idea” articles. I can see some sort of action there.

  105. 105.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    Plus a good economy. But economies slow down and this one will too.

    it already is. Trump has been ripping out the foundations of the economy all year. Frankly I’ve been surprised why so few people have been screaming bloody murder about it.

    American Soybean sales have fucking cratered. The tariffs and associated knock on effects are reducing sales and driving prices up all across the board on the industrial and manufacturing fronts. Belts are already being tightened and this is just the start of Trade Wars.

    2019 is going to be ugly.

  106. 106.

    Kay

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    The economy always slows down. The only question will be how fast it slows and how far it falls. IMO Obama had built some good will with voters so most of them drew on that when he had failures or times were tough. You can’t just make withdrawals.

    Trump could have used this economy he inherited and built some support. Infrastructure would have been popular and it would have put Democrats in a box, but he went for the tax cuts. He won’t ever have another GOP Congress. They only really get two years.

  107. 107.

    efgoldman

    @Yarrow:

    I think Republicans have maxed out the war credit card, too. What will they use for troops and tanks? You can’t embed press with cruise missiles

  108. 108.

    germy

    @James E Powell: I saw AOC on the new version of “Firing Line” and she admitted she has lots she wants to learn. It was a polite interview, but Margaret Hoover is a conservative and tried to subtly trip her up a few times. I suspect she was hoping for arrogant or clueless replies she could arch an eyebrow at, but AOC was fine in the interview.

    Maybe instead of Republicans drooling over every minute of footage of me in slow-mo, waiting to chop up word slips that I correct in real-tomd, they actually step up enough to make the argument they want to make:

    that they don’t believe people deserve a right to healthcare. https://t.co/fMOijEa7tF

    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 19, 2018

  109. 109.

    cmorenc

    @MattF:

    @Elizabelle: Not quite yet, at least according to the NYT

    The NYT report is based on stale information that’s been superseded by updated vote counts:
    – e.g. as of the NYT article count, it was Love 129,008 vs McAdams 128,587
    – as of the more recent update at CNN, it was McAdams 134,890 vs Love 134,151 – and there are supposedly too few outstanding absentee, military etc. ballots to make it likely Love can make up the 739 vote difference. (Note the larger vote totals for both McAdams and Love vs the at the time of the snapshot referenced by the NYT).

  111. 111.

    Kay

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    Trump will be almost UNIQUELY unsuited to leading during an economic downturn too. He will never admit it’s happening. He’ll be defensive and unhinged and angry. To mitigate the effects he’d have to admit it’s happening and he’d rather fucking die than do that. It will bother him more than anything else has because his whole self-imagine is predicated on being a “winner” financially.

  112. 112.

    TenguPhule

    @efgoldman:

    You can’t embed press with cruise missiles

    Trump’s ideal war coverage involves the Pentagon handing out slick dvds showing Air Force smart bombs hitting targets on the ground.

    he doesn’t want troops. He wants big fucking explosions to prove he has the biggest nuts on the block.

  113. 113.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    He will never admit it’s happening. He’ll be defensive and unhinged and angry. To mitigate the effects he’d have to admit it’s happening and he’d rather fucking die than do that.

    So another day ending in Y?

  114. 114.

    Michael Cain

    @Frankensteinbeck: The House rules allow a member to vote for anyone they want for Speaker, not just one of the two candidates offered by the parties. Granted, such votes are more symbolic than practical. Also, as others have noted, the Republicans could put Pelosi in the Speaker’s office if she has a majority of Democratic votes simply by voting “Present” instead of for McCarthy.

  115. 115.

    goblue72

    @MattF: She’s been quite clear about her association with the Democratic Socialists of America. I get it that the tote baggers of BJ want to squint and turn their heads sideway to see her as some comforting fuzzy blanket of a bog-standard NPR liberal, but she’s to the left of Pelosi and not shy about it. If there’s a closest fellow traveler in the caucus its probably Barbara Lee – but a younger, more telegenic, more social media savvy version.

  117. 117.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Kay:
    It will truly be a sight to behold: an American president denying the economy is cratering and millions out of work. Will all of his supporters still stand with him then?

    Also, I’ve said this before, but not to you: I’m still disappointed in Ohio and plan on moving out at the earliest convenience. This state is going to hell.

  118. 118.

    gwangung

    @goblue72: Heh. Never thought of being to the left of Pelosi (who’s really not that centrist) as a problem. I was thinking more of someone like Jayapal as a peer….and I’m quite happy with her as my Rep.

  119. 119.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @goblue72:
    It’s telling that you identify as one of them and don’t acknowledge that many (read: not all) are a problem.

  120. 120.

    Aleta

    I hope someone is already working on a book about how Stacey Abrams ran her campaign. There’s so much to learn from her decisions. I doubt we know a fraction of what was tried against her and the crises she managed in our sickening political culture. Against those odds she won the fucking actual vote count and after all the muck they generated her integrity is still on solid rock. Incredible. The story needs to be taught far and wide at every level.

  121. 121.

    germy

    I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, “Hey, I think she just winked at me.”.

  122. 122.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Yarrow:

    Except Bolton really wants to get his war on.

    The administration has been yearning to get their war on this whole two years. Iran? North Korea? Hell, even actually doing anything but maintaining status quo in Syria? Trump is a coward. He got stung when that Yemen raid turned into a fiasco. Presumably he thought, hey, if the black guy did it, it must be easy, and especially since Obama made Trump look like a fool with the bin Ladin raid. That humiliating public failure in Yemen proved to him that there are risks in military action, and he is the world’s biggest chickenshit. We ain’t goin’ to war with nobody during Trump’s presidency.

  123. 123.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Kay:

    Trump could have used this economy he inherited and built some support. Infrastructure would have been popular and it would have put Democrats in a box, but he went for the tax cuts. He won’t ever have another GOP Congress. They only really get two years.

    As I’m sure you’re aware, DT was never capable of that. He’s a dimwitted racist with authoritarian tendencies. I can’t wait until the House investigations start. He’s going to be destroyed.

  125. 125.

    Kraux Pas

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    It will truly be a sight to behold: an American president denying the economy is cratering and millions out of work. Will all of his supporters still stand with him then?

    As long as he keeps the “right” enemies, there is a part of the electorate that will not abandon him.

    Indeed, he could stand in the middle of Times Square and shoot someone…

  126. 126.

    germy

    Today, Massachusetts’ retail marijuana shops opened for business, and Northampton, Mass mayor David Narkewicz was first in line. Massachusetts is the first state east of the Mississippi to approve recreational marijuana. From CBS News:

    When asked whether the purchase is simply ceremonial or it will be consumed, Narkewicz said, “I am actually going to probably preserve it and display it…because it is historically significant.”

    “There has been marijuana use going on in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a long, long time. What’s changing is it’s now being regulated. It’s now being tested. It’s now being strictly monitored. That’s really the major change that’s happening,” Narkewizc said.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massachusetts-recreational-marijuana-sales-begin-mayor-ceremonial-first-customer/

  128. 128.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Michael Cain:

    The House rules allow a member to vote for anyone they want for Speaker

    That’s nice. Then they’ll have to vote again until enough of them surrender to the inevitable, or vote for the Republican. The former is way more likely than the latter. Their write-in candidate has not even the slightest chance of winning, if they had a write-in candidate, which they don’t. Maybe some of them will want to push things to that second vote because they’re such great assholes that they HAVE to tell everyone they tried, but last time they shrugged and folded after the caucus leader vote.

  129. 129.

    Chyron HR

    @bemused:

    It would be like a group saying don’t vote for incumbent Mayor X Hillary Clinton and not even having a write-in candidate they favor.

    Hmm, yes. Just imagine.

  132. 132.

    Jay

    @Yarrow:

    All the US has left in credit in the War Account, are a few airstrikes, some missiles, 2 Divisions of light Infantry, and a massive nuclear first strike.

    That’s about 1 Grenada.

  133. 133.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @germy:
    ‘They’ can see it as whatever they like. Trump is too cowardly to order anything. I could see him saying he invaded Venezuela when it didn’t happen. He lied about moving ships to threaten North Korea, so why not? No sane person would consider lying about an invasion, but Trump doesn’t draw those limits. It’s why even the media has had to notice. Regardless, we are not attacking Venezuela, because Trump doesn’t have the balls to risk it going wrong.

  135. 135.

    germy

    Nancy Pelosi to a journalist: “May I say something you’re not going to like? I think the press loves him. All day on TV…and I don’t even watch TV, except sports. But he says somebody had a horse face…all day we hear about that. You just give him all day.”

    She’s 100% right.

    — Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) November 20, 2018

  136. 136.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @germy:
    Better dead than red. Let’s send Maduro to hell with all of his Nazi-Communist buddies //s

  139. 139.

    Yarrow

    @germy: I’m glad to see this crap being called out by senior elected officials. I think in the recent election Dems went around the media and talked to the people. Imagine that! It worked, too. It’s like the media is this annoyance that has to be acknowledged is there but basically they just work around it.

    New technology has given candidates so many different ways to interact with the public that the media isn’t as essential. If all they want to talk about is Trump, work around them, interact with the public and talk about what you want to talk about.

  141. 141.

    JWR

    @Aleta:

    I doubt we know a fraction of what was tried against [Abrams] and the crises she managed in our sickening political culture.

    There was a pretty good interview with her on blech NPR, and she says she was almost blocked from voting at all (And boy, did she ever give it to the interviewer!) I like her more every day.

  142. 142.

    Kraux Pas

    @germy:

    Nancy Pelosi to a journalist: “May I say something you’re not going to like? I think the press loves him. All day on TV…and I don’t even watch TV, except sports. But he says somebody had a horse face…all day we hear about that. You just give him all day.”

    Reporting on feuds and court intrigue is a lot less work and arguably more lucrative than reporting on substantive things like policy.

  143. 143.

    Mart

    I do not get why there is any concern about AOC. She wants to move the party to the left? Thank goodness. I will take all the AOC’s we can get. We still pay twice as much for worse health care outcomes than other well off nations; while being the only place that can bankrupt you for the sin of getting sick. Want to worry about a Dem – look at Seth Moulton. Where does he gets his money? Look at how his big money boys have proposed legislation to assure we never have universal health care.

  144. 144.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m actually very happy that AOC understands that unity is more important than pissing inside the tent right now. I’m sure she’s going to annoy me again in the future, but her unwavering support of Pelosi is going a long way to help mitigate some of her early missteps.

    I’m hoping those early missteps mostly happened because she was pre-defensive that the “establishment” Democrats were going to reject her because she defeated someone who was in the House leadership and then was pleasantly surprised that they welcomed her with open arms instead.

  146. 146.

    WaterGirl

    I just got this email from the med school. I hadn’t realized she was so young. When are we going to start taking away guns from violent young males?

    It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Dr. Tamara O’Neal in the shooting at Mercy Hospital on Monday. Dr. O’Neal graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 2014 and completed the Emergency Medicine training program at UIC in 2017. She will be remembered as a kind and passionate physician, and a dedicated teacher. As an alumna, colleague, and friend, she will be greatly missed.

  147. 147.

    TenguPhule

    Well that didn’t take long.

    Rubin is on the “Be Best, New Republican Party 2.0”

    It’s no secret that I’m skeptical of the GOP’s ability to clean house and regain its footing as a decent and useful national party. However, I very much agree that we need something or someone to get into the problem-solving mode. “America will not stop changing,” Pethokoukis warns. “And if the Democrats continue to edge leftward, and the Republicans get more Trumpy, space may open for a new movement. It would understand the [United States’] new economic realities but look forward for solutions — to dynamic market economics joined with social policy that makes sure workers are not left behind.” He argues, “America does not need a politics that fights over competing retrograde visions. It needs one that transcends them.”

    Perhaps it really is time for a third party or independent candidate. If Democrats don’t get their act together, we’ll desperately need a sane, governing vision.

  149. 149.

    Wapiti

    @Frankensteinbeck: This. Trump is physically too afraid to go overseas to visit service members. So he postures and pouts that the missions are wrong. But he won’t bring the service members home, because something might go wrong, proving that we should have been there. So he’s a moral coward as well, not having the internal strength to follow his convictions.

  150. 150.

    Raven Onthill

    A scathing opinion of Seth Moulton and the anti-Pelosi faction from R J Eskow: Wall Street is leading the attack on Pelosi.

    This ersatz rebellion’s most visible leader is Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a custom-crafted biography in a suit who appears to hold no core beliefs. […] During his short political career, Moulton has received a total of $1,723,870 from the investor class that comprises the so-called “FIRE” sector — financial, insurance and real estate.

    It seems to me that the Democratic Party is still trying to serve both Mammon and the people and this still cannot be done.

  151. 151.

    Kay

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    I was really down, as “down” as I get within the limits of my shallowness and lack of seriousness :)

    I’m pulling for you Goku. Get out. It’s too late for me and I do love my friends and (most) of my clients but I agree- it’s no place for a young person. My grown kids got out. The last holdout is looking for a house in Michigan w/his GF. They’ll be in the Toledo area and their licensing is reciprocal so they can work in both states but they’re making a specific decision to leave.

    I always feel bad for the volunteers when we lose. It’s kind of egotistical in a way because I’m the same as them but I can’t help it- watching those returns all I could think about was all that time and energy they put in, for naught. I don’t think I can do it again. I figure I’ll donate to southern races, just be an observer. Those look lively.

  152. 152.

    Corner Stone

    @TenguPhule:

    It would understand the [United States’] new economic realities but look forward for solutions — to dynamic market economics joined with social policy that makes sure workers are not left behind.” He argues, “America does not need a politics that fights over competing retrograde visions. It needs one that transcends them.”

    I don’t even know what the fuck that means.

  153. 153.

    The Moar You Know

    Perhaps it really is time for a third party or independent candidate. If Democrats don’t get their act together, we’ll desperately need a sane, governing vision.

    @TenguPhule: Perfect fate for the never-Trumper Republicans. Consigned to a third-party hell where nobody gives a shit about them, and they never have to think about what they did to cause this to happen in the first place.

    Can’t get sober until you admit you have a problem, Ms. Rubin.

  155. 155.

    JWR

    @germy:

    Steve Inskeep.

    Ah yes. A friend of mine once lived in the same building as Inskeep, and he told me that he seemed like a very nice sorta guy. But that interview… Blech! It’s this sorta crap’s why I detest NPR.

  156. 156.

    TenguPhule

    This administration is very stressed. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time by maintaining a respectful silence until the briefing has concluded.

    You may ask as many questions as you like provided you are not physically in the White House briefing room where your questions can be heard.

    An example of a good question is “Why doesn’t the media ever talk about all the good things this administration is doing?” or (furious applause, building in a crescendo until the conference is over).

    If you are in the room, you may ask only one question, then must yield the floor. NO, YOU WERE NOT FAST ENOUGH IN YIELDING! BANNED!

    You are free to ask a follow-up question provided you whisper it quietly to your neighbor and do not expect it to be answered.

    It is the official position of the Trump White House that the truth is fundamentally unknowable and may change at any time, and we expect the press to respect that.

    Valid, completely satisfactory answers to questions include: “I have no information on that at this time,” “I will have to get back to you on that,” “The president does not feel that and is in fact insulted you would insinuate such a thing,” and “I am frankly offended you would ask such a question, and you ought to be ashamed, ashamed, sir, ashamed.” Also: pretending not to hear the question, or starting to tear up.

    You are free to ask as many questions as you wish if you work for a reputable and trustworthy publication such as Lifezette.

    If the president says something bad about a member of the media, that needs to be the only thing discussed on cable television for the next 24 hours, no matter what else is happening.
    We are aware that this sometimes happens, but there are times when this doesn’t happen because there is so-called news going on, and we need to nip that in the bud!

    “Hard pass” describes how Sarah Sanders will respond to your question.

    Stupid questions include: any question about White House ethics violations; any question about White House personnel; any question about administration policies; any question about things the president or his administration is saying, thinking or doing; and any question posed by Abby Phillip, Yamiche Alcindor or April Ryan (no reason they’re being singled out in particular, of course).

    Your question must begin with the phrase “Isn’t it great that President Trump has …”

    If you do not like any of these rules, you are welcome to whisper your question into a stand of reeds, pose it to Hillary Clinton or take it to a country with a more welcoming attitude towards the press.

    In these dark times, only a few like Petri still shine a light.

  157. 157.

    germy

    @JWR: “marketplace” makes me want to throw cutlery at our kitchen radio.

    And the freakonomics freaks are on sometimes, calling HRC’s campaign “dishonest”.

  159. 159.

    ruemara

    @gwangung: Not if she’s constantly Bernie in drag. And all of y’all thinking she’s moving things left or that she’s making socialism attractive? Really, dudes? Socialism is wonderfully attractive to Americans. The problem is the majority don’t want to share. She’s not moving anything left. She’s just making face noises on social media. The leftism of Pelosi is not in question. It’s the leftism of the entire House & Senate that you’d need to change. You filled the Congress with people who were as lefty as Pelosi, you’d have a lot more of the steps towards socialist utopia in position.

  162. 162.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: ok, gotta admit I was not an AOC fan at all, at all, but the more I hear what she is saying lately the better I like her. I really like the idea of Nancy P taking AOC under her wing and grooming her to be a powerhouse in the House. If she can deliver for her district *and* become a real player on some national issues? Win for all of us.

  163. 163.

    Spanky

    @Mnemosyne:

    I’m actually very happy that AOC understands that unity is more important than pissing inside the tent right now. I’m sure she’s going to annoy me again in the future, but her unwavering support of Pelosi is going a long way to help mitigate some of her early missteps.

    Precisely my thoughts in your words. I was not hopeful while she was following St. Bernard around. She’s now saying all the right things.

  165. 165.

    Kraux Pas

    @Raven Onthill:

    This ersatz rebellion’s most visible leader is Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a custom-crafted biography in a suit who appears to hold no core beliefs. […] During his short political career, Moulton has received a total of $1,723,870 from the investor class that comprises the so-called “FIRE” sector — financial, insurance and real estate.

    I can’t wait to get him on record re: the new ethics laws Democrats want to push.

  166. 166.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Kay:
    Thanks. I’m thinking of Pittsburgh.

    This sort of shit is what Ohio has to offer:

    Columbiana Co. Republican Party chairman apologizes for ‘insensitive’ Facebook post

    By: Mandy Noell
    Posted: Nov 19, 2018 10:49 PM EST
    Updated: Nov 20, 2018 09:36 AM EST
    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – There’s controversy brewing between the chairmen of the Columbiana County Republican and Mahoning County Democratic parties. It stems from a Facebook post about the deadly California wildfires.

    At least 77 people have died as a result of the fires. Nearly 1,000 people are still unaccounted for.

    On Monday, Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman Dave Johnson posted a meme about the deadly blaze.

    “I saw the picture of the fires and then I wrote, I wrote on there, something to the effect… I don’t have it in front of me. ‘Brought to you by the Liberals in California. Welcome to Hell,'” he said.

    The post was shared to the Columbiana County Democratic Party page.

    It reads, “Welcome to Hell! God’s Punishment to Liberal California” and “Hell on Earth brought to you by the Liberals in California.”

    The sentiment caught the ire of Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Dave Betras.

    “The Facebook post is vile and it’s disgusting and people in the Republican Party should hold their leaders to a standard of decency,” Betras said.

    Johnson says the post is being blown out of proportion and taken differently than he meant it. He says it started with something he read.

    “There was an article that I read about Governor Jerry Brown vetoing a bipartisan wildfire management bill back in 2016,” Johnson said.

    Johnson says many point to the veto and the policies of Liberal California politicians, claiming they are responsible for the fires.

    “Look. It was an inartful expression and for that, look, I regret it sincerely.” Johnson said. “I certainly didn’t intend to offend or hurt the feelings of anybody that’s lives have been affected by this, and if I did that, I am certainly sorry.”

    Betras called for Johnson’s resignation, but Johnson says that’s not going to happen.

    “I shouldn’t have had to call him out. He shouldn’t have posted anything like that. Nobody in a position of power should post anything like that,” Betras said.

    Johnson issued a statement clarifying his position:

    To err is human. I confess to erring in my recent post regarding the tragic wildfires in California. My intent was not to show any disrespect to the innocent lives that have been lost to these wildfires but rather to point to the POLICIES that have largely contributed to the fires. The attached article from the Sacremento Citizen makes the case – in particular it cites the bipartisan Wildfire Management Bill which Governor Jerry Brown vetoed- as being a contributing factor to the rampant and recurring wildfires in California. This article will give some context to the causes of this horrific situation in California. – David W. Johnson

    He’s a vile partisan piece of shit and this bullshit about a wildfire management bill getting vetoed as the context for that meme he posted is fake. The real issue here is that he said that “God” was punishing California with the wildfire.

  167. 167.

    Aleta

    Contempt for the letter writers. Coldly using Pelosi and the party, suffocating the reality of the election workers and voters, to publicize their names as the victors of the moment. Hoping to gain something they’re not even honest about wanting.

    To me it looks like they’re trying to justify an attention-grabbing minority coalition that will hang together to hinder Democratic legislation, maybe like a version of how the old tea party wielded power inside the Republican party. They’re not team players (reminds me of Sanders’ campaign). I hope this is wrong but I worry their ignorant self-interest could narrow the window for legislative work to protect lives.

  168. 168.

    Jim Parish

    @bemused: CA-21, Valadao (inc-R) vs. Cox (D) is a toss-up according te 538; Valadao has a small and narrowing lead. If that seat flips, Dems get to 40. 538 also gives them outside chances in GA-7 and NY-27. Their estimate of average number of pick-ups is 39.6.

  170. 170.

    Yutsano

    @ Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  : You should look to see if the union or Giant Eagle has a store transfer program. You might have to struggle a bit with housing at first but once you’re in the Pitt hopefully some more opportunities open up for you.

    And the Pennsylvania university system is better than Ohio’s. Yes I said it.

  171. 171.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    I have to admit, I am quite boggled at the people who are convinced that Nancy Pelosi is a conservative Democrat. Have they ever bothered to actually look at her voting record or what she publicly supports? She’s been on the free/low cost college and student loan reform bandwagons forever. It makes perfect sense that AOC has more in common with Pelosi than she does with a white dude from Massachusetts, except to people who drank the Sanders flavor-ade and can’t move past their “establishment Democrats” framing.

  172. 172.

    Miss Bianca

    @Corner Stone: Aha, but brown Vagina-Americans *are* the new Democratic Party majority, brother! All hail our new overladies! Get on board or get off the bus! Ah ha ha HA! (That last delivered in my best Cruella DeVille stylee)

  174. 174.

    Mnemosyne

    @Raven Onthill:

    It seems to me that the Democratic Party is still trying to serve both Mammon and the people and this still cannot be done.

    Wait, you look at a group of 14 Democrats out of 233 and declare that the entire Democratic Party is still trying to serve Mammon?

    I suck at math, but even I can see that 14 is a much, much smaller number than 233 and think that maybe these holdouts are a tiny minority of House Democrats, not proof that the entire caucus is trying to “serve Mammon.”

  175. 175.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Yutsano:
    I know you can transfer between corporate locations and retain your position, pay rate, and benefits (I think). Pittsburgh has quite a few of those, but I’m basically broke and I’m already in a program that I’m spending money on. I don’t see a point in moving at this time.

  179. 179.

    Terry chay

    @LibraryGuy:

    One thing that should be understood is that studies show that the partisan voting habits of a candidate is a function of margin of victory, not stated positions (though I think the current Republican Party has been breaking that — consequences have and will follow).

    So, if you want Hillary to give you free tuition and tax the rich, you vote for her, not lodge a protest vote for Bernie in the general (or abstain) and get Trump. Or are we going to believe that Obama actually had a change of heart for gay marriage as opposed to the country changing those views and him coming along for the ride? Even Bernie had only changed his views AFTER his home state voted to legalize it.

    The best way to deal with the blue dogs is to give them a large margin of victory. They will change their to line. The fact that these people have supporters from the far left boggles the kind. But I guess “both sides” have idiots on them, which explains why they far left and the right have so much affinity.

  181. 181.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Bye-Bye Love!
    See ya, Token Girl!
    It’s a broken world
    But the fix wasn’t in far enough,
    So long to Mia Love

    /everly

  182. 182.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jay:

    The fact that Democrats were able to build a budget surplus using PayGo and the Republicans immediately repealed it and plunged us back into a massive deficit as soon as Bush II was installed by the Supreme Court should have been a hint that PayGo is actually an effective way to prevent the Republicans from going hog-wild with the budget.

    How many examples of “progressives” parroting right-wing propaganda do you need to see before you realize that maybe the problem is that “progressives” keep parroting right-wing propaganda and not that the Democrats are terrible and don’t know what they’re doing?

  183. 183.

    Corner Stone

    @Mnemosyne: There is nothing progressive about PayGo. It’s stupid and antithetical to how an operating national government should work and budget. You want to tighten your belt go find someone’s kitchen table to talk up PayGo.

  186. 186.

    James E Powell

    @Raven Onthill:

    Unfortunately, the open anti-Pelosi democrats are only the tip of an iceberg of uncertain size.

    Bullshit. If it were an iceberg of any size they’d at least have a candidate. Some of the anti-Pelosi Ds are candidates who decided they’d be better off adopting and repeating the RW demonization than challenging it. Some of them are just assholes who thrive on playing the mavericky malcontent on cable news.

  187. 187.

    Mnemosyne

    @Raven Onthill:

    Unfortunately, the open anti-Pelosi democrats are only the tip of an iceberg of uncertain size.

    Since the anti-Pelosi Democrats are attacking her from both the right and the left, it’s possible that there is more of a split than is readily apparent since the more conservative Democrats are hoping to take advantage of that split to seize power for themselves.

    Hopefully the “Democratic Socialists” and others who are more to the left are smart enough to see how they’re being manipulated by conservative Democrats and will vote for Pelosi rather than clinging to their irrational hatred of her that’s been fueled by right-wing propaganda.

  188. 188.

    Jay

    @Mnemosyne:

    Pay-Go is a response to ReThug’s “But the Deficit!!!” Posure.

    Crafting fiscal policy on the basis of ReThugs bullshit and Chicago School Fauxenomics is not “progressive”.

    I quite certain that starting Jan 3, 2019 there will be the recycled thot’s pieces from the recycled fauxenomics “experts” on how Deficits Matter!!!!!!!!

    Pay/Go could work as a “progressive” policy, but only if for every $ you added to the ACA, you pulled a $ out of the MIC, or every $ added to Food Stamps = $ pulled from PetroIndustry subsidies, or every $ added to the Federal Minimum Wage resulted in a $ added to the Billionaires taxes,

    But that’s not how the Democratic Party managed the program.

    In addition to all the other problems that need fixing, the Wealth Gap is one of them.

    When the Economy tanks next year, you are going to need stimulus spending to get out of the hole. The ReThug’s will still have the White Supremacy House and the Senate until at least 2020, so that’s over a year in which they will dig the economic hole deeper.

    But the Deficit!!!!!!! isn’t going to be a great Campaign Platform in 2020 when even more American’s are economically suffering.

  189. 189.

    different-church-lady

    @Mart: Lightning rods are great things. Unless you happen to be holding one at the time.

    Agree with you on Moulton.

  190. 190.

    different-church-lady

    @Raven Onthill:

    the open anti-Pelosi democrats are only the tip of an iceberg of uncertain size.

    Or perhaps they’re bluffing and want you to think it.

  191. 191.

    msb

    can Dems sustain this level of involvement and activism for the next two years or will they go back to sleep as they so frequently do?

    Anybody who’s paying attention is good and furious about voter suppression – and i expect the Rs will rain hard enough on D proposals from the House that people will stay motivated, especially the young people working for gun control. And of course trump will remain odious.

    @ JPL
    Fudge should apologize for writing a letter like that.

    Can anybody tell me whether, with Love out, the R’s have any other African American women in the House? I know there aren’t any in the Senate.

Comments are closed.