Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Come on, man.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

No one could have predicted…

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

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

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

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

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

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Open Thread: The White House Showrunners Are Out of Ideas

Open Thread: The White House Showrunners Are Out of Ideas

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Given Mike’s “dead, doll eyes”, dumping him for a publicity bump might actually qualify as Jumping the Shark…

… In recent weeks, with his electoral prospects two years from now much on his mind, Mr. Trump has focused on the person who has most publicly tethered his fortunes to him. In one conversation after another he has asked aides and advisers a pointed question: Is Mike Pence loyal?…

Within the White House, most people he has talked to have assured the president that Mr. Pence has been a committed soldier, engaging in activities that Mr. Trump has eschewed, such as traveling to Hawaii to receive the remains of veterans of the Korean War, or visiting parts of the globe that Mr. Trump has avoided.

But some Trump advisers, primarily outside the White House, have suggested to him that while Mr. Pence remains loyal, he may have used up his utility. These advisers argue that Mr. Trump has forged his own relationship with evangelical voters, and that what he might benefit from more is a running mate who could help him with female voters, who disapprove of him in large numbers…

Mr. Trump has never completely forgotten that during the 2016 campaign Mr. Pence issued a disapproving statement the day after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape was made public, on which the president was heard making comments boasting about grabbing women’s genitals…

On the one hand, Mike Pence is a strong “evangelical”; on the other, his fellow Talibangelicals have been so publicly forgiving of Trump’s every little peccadillo, it seems unlikely they’d abandon him over a minor personnel disagreement.

But demanding that Mike Dense further debase himself to prove his ‘loyalty’ might just give some of the other Oval Office apparatchiks a cue to update their resumes…

*Context for the top pic:

Reader Interactions

146Comments

  2. 2.

    Patricia Kayden

    Pence is loyal as long as White Evangelicals get what they want out of Trump: judges, deregulation and anti-LGBT policies.

  3. 3.

    geg6

    The idea that anyone he could possibly replace Pence with, up to and including Nikki Haley, could get women to vote for him is laughable on its face. This sounds like something his Mar-A-Lago buddies who “fixed” the VA came up with.

  4. 4.

    ThresherK

    What’s going on with Pence in the big pic? Contour of the shirt makes him look like he has moobs.

  5. 5.

    FlipYrWhig

    What’s Dan Quayle doing these days? 30 years ago his primary credential was his supposed appeal to women.

  7. 7.

    FlipYrWhig

    @geg6: Remember when we were being told that Ann Romney was Mitt’s “secret weapon” because of how well women responded to her? They go through this every election and never have the slightest clue WTF they are doing.

  8. 8.

    Adam L Silverman

    @ThresherK: Mother made him promise to wear his punishment suit under his clothes for the entire trip so he couldn’t get himself in trouble.

  9. 9.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I thought the God Bother vote for was for Trump unconditionally as long as it was tax immunity for pastors and the idea Pence replaces Trump when Trump resigns/chokes on a quarter pounder in mid twitter rant/arrested/goes full Hitler and kills himself. Maybe Trump can get Michele Bachmann for a double tap.

  11. 11.

    The Dangerman

    @geg6:

    The idea that anyone he could possibly replace Pence with, up to and including Nikki Haley, anyone who could get women to vote for him is laughable on its face.

    Nothing will get Women to vote for Trump, true; that said, Trump’s a Carnival Barker and Haley would be the new, shiny thing. I expect it to happen if Trump is the nominee.

  14. 14.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Paranoia about “loyalty” seems to be a targetable weakness. We should be more active in ginning up rumors.

  15. 15.

    germy

    Why was it so important to Manafort that Trump pick Pence?

    I never understood that particular piece of the puzzle.

  21. 21.

    JMG

    @germy: Wasn’t the original choice Giuliani or Christie and Manafort thought that wouldn’t work well? Or, now that I think of it, Trump originally wanted Mike Flynn.

  24. 24.

    ruemara

    @ThresherK: Look like? He had moobs.
    @germy: Why are the far right evangelicals finding common cause with white nationalism? I figure Trump is a good puppet, Pence will be a great collaborator to keep the puppetry going.

  25. 25.

    germy

    @ruemara:

    Why are the far right evangelicals finding common cause with white nationalism?

    Didn’t the evangelicals get into politics in the first place to combat school desegregation? There was a time (during segregation) when they advised their followers to stay away from and above politics.

  27. 27.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @ruemara:

    Why are the far right evangelicals finding common cause with white nationalism?

    The Southern Baptist Congregation was specifically founded to justify slavery threw the Bible. In other words the Nazis took their inspiration from our Religious racists.

  29. 29.

    Mnemosyne

    @zhena gogolia:

    Doesn’t matter. If they do get Trump into a courtroom under oath, he’s going to do the same thing he always does when he has to give a deposition: claim that he doesn’t remember anything and that he didn’t understand what his lawyers had him sign, so he’s not responsible for what any document with his signature on it says.

  31. 31.

    Citizen Alan

    @ruemara:

    Why are the far right evangelicals finding common cause with white nationalism?

    Um, because evangelical Christianity is a white nationalist religion maybe? You’re talking for the most part about denominations that only exist because white antebellum plantation owners wanted preachers who would reassure them that God was okay with chattel slavery.

  32. 32.

    Ohio Mom

    If Trump is still a free man, he will be primaried; Kasich for one, can’t wait to get started. I think we can count on some other repeats as well.

    I’m guessing that Trump’s rivals will be more attractive to most Republican women than he is.

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne

    @gwangung:

    Yep. And I guarantee you that there are going to be a whole lot of women and POC heading committees this time around. The only white dude who should feel his job is safe is Adam Schiff. Pelosi is going to make a point about who the backbone of the Democratic Party is, and it ain’t conservative white dudes.

    I approve of this horse trading.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    It’s worked for him so far, so there’s no reason for him to change. ?‍♀️

    If there’s finally a moment when it stops working and he gets the cuffs slapped on, that’s when he starts throwing his family under the bus.

  41. 41.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    I thought the God Bother vote for was for Trump unconditionally as long as it was tax immunity for pastors and the idea Pence replaces Trump when Trump resigns/chokes

    That was their original stated intent. I believe since then they have learned that they truly love Trump, and don’t need a replacement. Trump doesn’t need Pence to dish out all the hatred and oppression of the Other that is the motivation of the evangelical movement.

    @ruemara:

    Why are the far right evangelicals finding common cause with white nationalism?

    As others have said, far right evangelicalism IS white nationalism. The movement was founded on racism, and is deeply racist now. They’ve just learned that other bigotries sell better to the public. I assure you, they hate blacks and most of their positions trace back to it. The anti-abortion movement is tightly linked to their racist belief that black women are animals.

  42. 42.

    Adam L Silverman

    @zhena gogolia: So crazy family story. My crazy aunt (Dad’s sister) was, when she lived in New York and was trying to make it as a ballet dancer, was engaged to Ida Lupino’s son. My grandmother broke off the engagement, which contributed to my aunt’s being nuts.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @eclare:

    Getting to watch all of the conservative white dudes squirm while Maxine Waters and Marcia Fudge and all of the other non-white-dude committee heads question them is going to be the show of the year. ?

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC’s air saying that the media lies and is a willing dupe of the Deep State and what Trump said about not being convinced MBS murdered Kashoggi is correct.
    MSNBC ought to have their license pulled for allowing that shit bullshit motherfucker on to spew his conspiracy theory garbage time bullshit.

  45. 45.

    Patricia Kayden

    @geg6: Don’t the majority of White women voters support Republicans, including the current occupant of the White House? I have no reason to believe that the majority of White women won’t vote for Trump in 2020 as they did in 2016.

  47. 47.

    jl

    @chris: I have been hoping/predicting that this kerfluffle (official Silverman approved BJ word now, WP don’t you trash it) will end up a replay of previous center-fight goofball stunts, that failed and everyone forgot about in a day or two. Only difference this time is some new comers from red districts made some silly promises that might come back to haunt them. Tim Ryan and his posse of non-entities will soak up ‘present’ votes that might be more useful for others. Why do they do it? Trump isn’t the only delusional narcissist out there,maybe.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Oh, that’s sad. I love Ida Lupino. In that movie she sings the best version of “One for My Baby” ever. And yes, I’m familiar with the one by Ronan Farrow’s dad.

  52. 52.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I have no reason to believe that the majority of White women won’t vote for Trump in 2020 as they did in 2016.

    His numbers have slipped a bit, but not hugely. I expect to have happen what happened in this election and all of the special elections. Republican voters will maintain their normal numbers. Previously politically inactive women will be screamingly furious and vote and be activists and candidates like we have never seen before Trump.

  53. 53.

    Chetan Murthy

    Bullies are cowards: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-told-aides-hes-afraid-to-visit-troops-in-combat-zones-report

    President Trump has reportedly privately told aides and White House officials that he is reluctant to visit troops in Iraq or Afghanistan because of the long flights and security risks. “He’s never been interested in going,” one unnamed official told The Washington Post on Monday. “He’s afraid of those situations. He’s afraid people want to kill him.

  55. 55.

    zhena gogolia

    @Haroldo:

    More like when she’s wearing a sweater (see my #26 above, the pictures at the bowling alley and when she’s sitting in an office).

    Pence and Swayze can never be compared . . . .

    (no offense to Ida)

  58. 58.

    jl

    Trump being afraid of Pence shows how deeply delusional insecurity runs in Trump, along with all the other bad stuff.
    I saw a clip a week or so ago, where Pence tried to throw down Oprah and Will Ferrell. Pence had news for them, he’s a big deal too.
    Actually no, Pence was incorrect. One Oprah appearance and one Ferrell skit are far bigger deals than Pence, do more good for the world, and will swallow up anything Pence tries to do if he is silly enough to try to go anyplace in primaries or a national election.

    But Trump is worried. Maybe Trump thinks Pence is one of those evil doers out there who want to kill him?

  59. 59.

    Mnemosyne

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Yes, with a small caveat — white women in red states vote overwhelmingly for Republicans, while white women in blue states generally vote for Democrats. In 2016, a small majority of white women voted for Trump (I think it was 53 percent) and that number was largely because of the overwhelming numbers who voted for him in red states.

    We just saw this in Georgia — something like 3/4ths of white women voted for Kemp. Racist white women in red states vote for Republicans.

  60. 60.

    germy

    @zhena gogolia: A few months ago we were watching antenna TV and saw her in one of her last films, a sci-fi low budget thing about giant animals.

    I was thinking how sad it was she wasn’t directing something instead. But she was great in it.

  61. 61.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @gwangung:
    I have been confident this is sound and fury, signifying nothing. I’m sure there are a few truly, honestly anti-Pelosi assholes, but for the most part Pelosi is willing to let anyone who wants to say they’re anti-Pelosi as long as they come home for the final vote. One of the things I like about her is that she has made it clear in word and practice that her pride is not on the line. She does what it takes to get progressive legislation passed.

  62. 62.

    A Ghost To Most

    I hear that kkklan lady Hyde-Smith may be available for veeping, especially if she keeps talking.

  64. 64.

    jl

    Pence has no judgment. I would have stayed with trying to throw down Oprah and leave Ferrell out of it.
    Oprah is unlikely to work up a Pence act, but it might get Ferrell’s interest.

    So, Pence, not enough judgment to be president.

  65. 65.

    Miss Bianca

    @Haroldo: And here I figured I was the only one saying, “Ida Lupino was in “Road House”? How the hell did I miss *that*?”! /s

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    @Patricia Kayden:

    And just to be clear: as a voting block, white women pretty much suck. At best, they go 50/50 even in blue states like California. I think the only region where a (small) majority of white women consistently vote for Democrats is New England.

  68. 68.

    Mike in NC

    I recall in his book “Everything Trump Touches Dies”, Rick Wilson predicted that the Republican VP nominee in 2020 would be Donny Jr. but Fat Bastard would die of a stroke/heart attack before the inauguration.

  70. 70.

    Marcopolo

    So here is the skill of Pelosi: News broke today that Congresswoman Fudge had written a letter in support of an Ohio AA Judge in keeping his law license in 2017 after he physically (and brutally) assaulted his wife–said judge stabbed his wife to death this weekend. That obviously drops Fudge from consideration for running against Pelosi. Pelosi might have just let that be the end of it, but instead Pelosi turns around and offers Fudge a leadership position running a subcommittee investigating & and determining legislative fixes to one of the top 3 issues important to Democrats nationally–voting & elections. So Pelosi has taken an opponent & made them into an ally, has both talked the talk and walked the walk in regards to showing AA women she understands their importance to the party & is serious about placing AA congresswomen into positions of importance. And, wait for it, if Fudge does do a decent job Fudge gains leadership experience & strengthens her position to run for Speaker a few years down the road. This is a win win win win win except for schmucks like Ryan & Moulton–it’s looking pretty lonely out there on the ledge with them now.

    Also too, I also read a few hours ago that she has dispatched Ted Lieu, who is a veteran & one of Pelosi’s good buddies as well as a “rising star”, to meet with all the incoming Freshmen Congressfolks who are veterans and explain to them why it might be nice if they supported Nancy.

    I cannot wait for her to start making mincemeat of the orange toad in the Whitehouse.

  73. 73.

    jl

    @debbie: I’ve read news gossip that Ivanka is coming for his loot anyway. Have no clue if true or not.

    Edit OTOH, after what Trump did to his dad’s loot, not sure it will be worth Ivanka’s while.

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’m sorry to doubt your family’s story, but IMDb says that Lupino only had one child, and that was a daughter. Maybe it was one of her nephews?

    I’m assuming your grandmother’s objection was that they were gentiles.

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    … In recent weeks, with his electoral prospects two years from now much on his mind, Mr. Trump has focused on the person who has most publicly tethered his fortunes to him. In one conversation after another he has asked aides and advisers a pointed question: Is Mike Pence loyal?…

    And keep in mind that this eruption in craziness reflects Trump getting his self together after being stunned by the midterm House defeats.

  79. 79.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Marcopolo:

    I cannot wait for her to start making mincemeat of the orange toad in the Whitehouse.

    Christ almighty. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this until now.

    Trump hates being beaten by a woman at anything. HATES it. To this day, he dwells constantly on the fact that Hillary beat him even though he got the prize. It eats at him.

    Pelosi is going to be winning battles against him, making his life a living hell, and dictating terms to him over and over and over.

  83. 83.

    geg6

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I didn’t specify white women. That said, white college educated women went Democrat in the midterm, so he can have the fundie women. Fuck ‘em, as a great man once said.

  84. 84.

    chris

    @jl: Indeed. Not to mention that Seth Moulton has had over a million dollars from Wall St. during his time in office. Nancy might tax his friends and we can’t have that.

  85. 85.

    gwangung

    @Miss Bianca: Surgical precision with the slicing and dicing. As I said before, incoming Representatives, take note.

    Kinda amazed, in a 24-hour span, us rabble spun from worrying about the Speakership to furious anger to amazed admiration for the political dexterity shown.

  87. 87.

    debbie

    @gwangung:

    I’ve spun nowhere. I’ve always supported her. I support her now, and I swear if she is removed, I will leave this party and never vote again. Period.

  89. 89.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    Since Trump only managed to squeak out a technical “victory” with fewer than 80,000 votes spread across 3 states, just getting that small slice of white women to stay with the Democrats in blue and purple states in 2020 could be decisive.

  91. 91.

    Marcopolo

    @A Ghost To Most: Hah. Someone needs to repurpose that stupid Trump/GoT “Sanctions are Coming” poster with Pelosi instead and the words “Oversight is Coming.”

    Btw, anyone else here not seeing the lovely comment tools (bold, link, block quote, etc…) when they are commenting cause I didn’t’ just now.

  92. 92.

    A Ghost To Most

    @debbie: Maybe, but we would be amused as hell. All the graspers losing everything. Even better if they are in jail at the time.

  93. 93.

    geg6

    @Mnemosyne:

    Agreed. And I think CheezWhiz Mussolini is going to do a lot of the work to make that happen. He’s a thorough asshole and he won’t be able to help himself.

  94. 94.

    Miss Bianca

    @gwangung: I’m tellin’ ya, if the white male ConservaDems can just leave Nancy alone, and watch while she takes these freshman reps under her wing, we WILL see that “new leadership” they keep clamoring for.

    Now, whether they’ll still be clamoring for it when they see that the new leadership will overwhelmingly be female and/or brown, is anyone’s guess. I know I’ll be happy. >: >

  95. 95.

    Marcopolo

    @chris: It always amazes me (and honestly I’ve seen it enough that it should not but I am a sucker like that) that pols like Moulton are so cluelessly blind to their closet skeletons. Shit, the guy is center right, has the financial services PAC money issue, does not have much of a legislative record, etc… Did he really think he’d be able to coast on his “straight talking vet/war hero image” or the vapid profiles that polltical reporters put out about how he is the future of the D party? If he actually had half a brain & knew how to use it he’d of realized about the time the primary season ended that he is too pale, too male, and too blue dog to be the face of the D party going forward. And all he accomplishes by raising his profile in this caucus fight is to let everyone who actually does the work of getting Ds elected figure it out.

  96. 96.

    chris

    And another one down.

    After Salt Lake County’s canvass, Love shaves off another six votes, but McAdams now up 694. That’s the final report and it is outside the margin for a recount.Ben McAdams has won. #utpol— Robert Tehrke ? (@RobertGehrke) 20 November 2018

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    @gwangung:

    I just looked up Lieu’s current committee assignments where he probably has pretty decent seniority:

    House Committee on the Judiciary
    – Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
    – Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations

    House Committee on Foreign Affairs
    – Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa

    This is gonna be fuuuuunnnnn. ? I wonder which one he would choose to head if he gets offered one or the other.

  99. 99.

    Mary G

    I usually don’t admit it, but I was a fan of “Survivor” through seasons 2-4, and one thing that always seemed to happen is that people would agree to team up and vote for other people not on the team, then always stick the knife in the team member’s back, sometimes way before the contenders were whittled down and of course always at the end. I never saw “The Apprentice,” but I have no doubt that also happened there. So it makes sense that Twitler will have decided to jettison Pence, to juice the ratings and drown out all the bad news.

  100. 100.

    germy

    Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that — this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!

    So presidential!

    https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/20/politics/trump-statement-saudi-khashoggi/index.html

  101. 101.

    Yarrow

    @Miss Bianca:

    All hail Nancy SMASH!

    Yes! I am totally in awe of Nancy SMASH! She is the best. Can’t wait for her to resume her rightful spot as second in line for the Presidency. Tick tock, motherfuckers!

  103. 103.

    gwangung

    @Marcopolo:

    If he actually had half a brain & knew how to use it he’d of realized about the time the primary season ended that he is too pale, too male, and too blue dog to be the face of the D party going forward.

    I think the first those disqualifications generate the rest of them for him; his sensors look to be a bit too….fragile….to have picked up on this….

  105. 105.

    TenguPhule

    @The Dangerman:

    Nothing will get Women to vote for Trump,

    70% of white women and 13% of the other women are fucking stupid/insane/evil enough to do so right now.

  106. 106.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    That was their original stated intent. I believe since then they have learned that they truly love Trump, and don’t need a replacement. Trump doesn’t need Pence to dish out all the hatred and oppression of the Other that is the motivation of the evangelical movement.

    Well Trump has shown proper tokens of the Lord’s Favor; shamed hussys, refundated minorities for their birth choices, and above all rebuked the IRS (because we all know, Jesus NEVER associated himself with tax collectors), but still, they can’t be that far gone to think Trump is one of them, I mean look at that suite.

    I mean, Trump as the Lord’s anointed would be just to delicious, the hours of fun mocking Fundys over that, it can’t be true.

  107. 107.

    Adam L Silverman

    @germy: The Lupinos were Italian American. My grandparents, dad, and aunt are American Jews. This was the late 50s, so…

  111. 111.

    Aleta

    @Marcopolo: It cancels out the line that Seth tried against Pelosi last year: he said his group has shown more support for sex harassment victims than Nancy did when Keith Ellison was accused. Young and tuned in, they’re more hip to women’s issues he implied.

    eta tragic story, must be devastating for Fudge.

  112. 112.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Marcopolo:

    too blue dog

    I agree with everything else you wrote, but …. Moulton is from MA. That’s not a red state, and he fricken’ *spanked* his challenger. I understand that what you mean is, he’s a conservative Dem, but it’s not due to his district. So that’s not an excuse. It’d be like excusing some conservative position of Feinstein’s, b/c she’s a “blue dog” (like Moulton, she’s more conservative than her electorate).

    He’s just an asshole. Narcissistic male asshole.

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    @gwangung:

    Like I said, I suspect that when the group photo of all of the new Democratic committee heads is taken, Adam Schiff is going to stand out as the only white dude in the group. Maybe one or two more. Nancy knows what she’s doing.

  118. 118.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Maybe Trump thinks Pence is one of those evil doers out there who want to kill him?

    To be fair, everyone not completely insane wants to kill him after spending any extended amount of time in his presence.

  120. 120.

    Tehanu

    @Adam L Silverman: NotMax at 117 beat me to it. The Lupinos were (or are) one of the most famous families in theatrical history. They were commedia dell’arte performers who moved from Italy to England in the 17th century and dominated the music halls well into the 20th — look up Lupino Lane, for example. Personally I’m a huge fan of Ida who was a brilliant actress (cf. High Sierra and Junior Bonner) and was also one of the very few studio actresses of the 1940’s & ’50s who managed to get into directing.

  122. 122.

    Haroldo

    @Chetan Murthy:

    I agree with everything else you wrote, but …. Moulton is from MA. That’s not a red state, and he fricken’ *spanked* his challenger. I understand that what you mean is, he’s a conservative Dem, but it’s not due to his district. So that’s not an excuse. It’d be like excusing some conservative position of Feinstein’s, b/c she’s a “blue dog” (like Moulton, she’s more conservative than her electorate).

    This is an interesting point – I am from his district and I believe he is very much like a lot of the white, male assholes from this neck of the woods. Sub- / Ex- Urban Eastern MA is the home of a lot of misogyny. (I don’t know why, but I see it.) Moulton has chosen to ignore those unlike him here in MA 6.

  123. 123.

    Mnemosyne

    @Marcopolo:

    Just looked up Nadler — Wikipedia says he is the designate for the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, so he will be in the photo, too.

    I just want to see Ted Lieu get to question Trump officials about their ties to Saudi Arabia.

  125. 125.

    Mnemosyne

    @Marcopolo:

    Also, I didn’t realize how relatively junior Lieu is — he was only elected to the House in 2014. It looks like he may have a current leadership role as an Assistant Whip?

  126. 126.

    karen marie

    @JMG: I don’t remember any talk about Mike Flynn but I remember this:

    Kasich told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he didn’t receive a call himself. But he said one of his aides confirmed to him a New York Times report last month saying Individual-1* Jr. tried to entice Kasich with a position as the most powerful vice president in history — putting him in charge of all domestic and foreign policy — was accurate.

    And the kicker:

    The adviser asked what Individual-1 would be in charge of, the report said, and Individual-1 Jr. responded: “Making America great again.”

    *I have a Chrome add-on that changes “Trump” to “Individual-1” as well as the add-on that changes photos of Trump to photos of kittens. Both stories refer to Trump by his name and not “Individual-1.”

  127. 127.

    Shalimar

    @gwangung: Smart political maneuvering from Fudge too. She used the threat of a challenge to negotiate herself into a postion which could dramatically increase her stature and reputation for post-Pelosi leadership.

  128. 128.

    Gwangung

    @Shalimar: yup. Going after Pelosi now was a long shot at best. It’ll be a Donnybrook when she does ate down, but rhyrll be lots of decent progressive candidates to choose from.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tehanu:

    Lupino did a lot of TV directing work in the 1960s and then went back to acting, mostly on TV. She was in her early 50s by then, so she was probably ready to relax a little and not have to fight all the damn time.

  131. 131.

    Shalimar

    @jl: Trump has reason to be worried about Pence. Normally I would think Trump is being petty to still hold a grudge about Pence’s reaction to the Access Hollywood tape. In this case, though, Trump’s paranoia is justifed. Pence was quick to turn on him then, and will do so again as soon as it is clearly best for Pence’s own ambition.

  132. 132.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @A Ghost To Most: From what I can tell UT-04 has about 750K residents (of all ages) and a total of 288K votes were cast in the 2018 general election. I can’t put my cursor right away on a tally of registered voters there, but considering the Mormonic predilection for procreation, adults of voting age are unlikely to comprise more than 60% of the population, or 450K, which would put turnout at a minimum at 64%, which for a midterm ain’t half bad.

  134. 134.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Shalimar:
    Counter-argument: Pence is dumber than a brick of shit and thinks God is going to hand him the presidency on a platter. Until then, he will do exactly what his history demonstrates: Do and say whatever he’s told.

  135. 135.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Haroldo: As has been pointed-out elsewhere (LG&M), the speaker MUST come from a solid seat for her party. B/c the speaker has bigger responsibilities than tacking with the winds in her district. If Moulton’s seat *were* a red district, that in itself would disqualify him.

  139. 139.

    H.E.Wolf

    Very late to the thread, but here’s a list of current Democratic ranking members on the House Committees, including 4 women and a number of non-white folks.

    Agriculture: Collin Peterson: MN-07
    Appropriations: Nita Lowey: NY-17
    Armed Services: Adam Smith: WA-09
    Budget: John Yarmuth: KY-03
    Education & the Workforce: Bobby Cortez Scott: VA-03
    Energy & Commerce: Frank Pallone: NJ-06
    Ethics: Ted Deutch: FL-22
    Financial Services: Maxine Waters: CA-43
    Foreign Affairs: Eliot Engel: NY-16
    Homeland Security: Bennie Thompson: MS-02
    House Administration: Robert Brady [retiring in 2018, due to an escandelo]: PA-01
    Judiciary: Jerry Nadler: NY-10
    Natural Resources: Raúl Grijalva: AZ-03
    Oversight & Government Reform: Elijah Cummings: MD-07
    Rules: James McGovern: MA-02
    Science, Space, & Technology: Eddie Bernice Johnson: TX-30
    Small Business: Nydia Velazquez: NY-07
    Transportation & Infrastructure: Peter DeFazio: OR-04
    Veterans’ Affairs: Tim Walz [won MN Gov race in 2018]: MN-01
    Ways & Means : Richard Neal: MA-01
    Permanent Select Committee: Intelligence: Adam Schiff: CA-26

  140. 140.

    sdhays

    @Shalimar: I’m sure that’s how Spankee sees it, but Pence’s “reservations” were all kabuki and ultimately saved Spankee’s campaign. Pence and Ryan shaking their heads in disappointment and then saying, “Moving on, we still have to beat the bitch” signaled to Republican voters that the Party had decided to go all in on the sack of shit and once Republican voters swallowed that, there really wasn’t another line for him to cross.

  143. 143.

    Platonailedit

    Democratic wins in the midterms were driven largely by African American voters — particularly black women — who increasingly associate the GOP with Trump's perceived hostility toward people of color and immigrants, according to an NAACP report. https://t.co/Vu3TI6ybZB— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 21, 2018

    Once again, it’s black women to the rescue of sanity.

  145. 145.

    Amir Khalid

    @Marcopolo:

    Also too, I also read a few hours ago that she has dispatched Ted Lieu …

    I read that far into the sentence and found myself (briefly) thinking, “uh-oh.”

  146. 146.

    aarrgghh

    … demanding that Mike Dense further debase himself to prove his ‘loyalty’ …

    … or prove he’s still good for sh*ts-n-giggles, at least.

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