The flower of white Mississippian womanhood is a fragile, and, apparently, none too bright thing. From Ashton Pittman and Ko Bragg at The Jackson Free Press:
JACKSON—U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith demanded there be no audience or outside press allowed at tonight’s U.S. Senate debate and requested other restrictions, two sources familiar with the debate negotiations told the Jackson Free Press Tuesday morning.
When she faces off against Democratic challenger Mike Espy at 7 p.m., only the debate moderator, panelists and the production team will be allowed in the auditorium—a requirement the Hyde-Smith campaign pushed for and the Espy team argued against.
“We supported having an audience, and we advocated for the media to have access to the studio,” Espy Communications Director Danny Blanton told the Jackson Free Press, although he declined to confirm that it was the Hyde-Smith campaign that opposed a public debate.
Hyde-Smith requested and was granted other accommodations, the source said. A notepad was going to be at the podium for candidates when they stepped onto the stage at the start of the debate, but the Hyde-Smith team wanted the notepad sooner. The candidates will instead be given notepads about an hour before the debate begins. Hyde-Smith’s team originally asked that she be allowed to bring in “a binder” but was denied, the source said.
“They have restricted this debate so much that if she bombs, it will be a miracle,” the source said.
A second source who also asked not to be identified, though, said the debate was “rigged.”
“They have rigged this debate for her to win,” the second source said. “Espy’s campaign wanted full access for the press and a live studio audience—they said no. Espy wanted no notes going in. Instead, she and her team will have time to build a crib sheet with everything she needs to say before hand. Espy wanted the candidates to ask the questions to each other directly—they said it had to be pre-submitted. Presumably that’s because she isn’t comfortable asking whatever gotcha question her handlers have hooked up.”
The rules for tonight’s debate, the second source said, are part of the campaign’s strategy of minimizing risks for Hyde-Smith.
“This is all part of a larger strategy to keep her completely isolated from the press and make sure that anything she says is in a controlled environment where she faces minimal scrutiny,” the second source said.
According to Pittman’s and Bragg’s reporting, Senator Hyde-Smith does not appear to be too bright, bless her heart!
On the campaign trail, Hyde-Smith’s team has often sought to minimize her media exposure. Her campaign declined to have her join the Jackson Free Press for a sit-down interview to discuss the issues as Espy and her vanquished opponent McDaniel did. On multiple occasions, the Jackson Free Press has sought to ask her questions at campaign stops, but she would only answer after conferring with and making sure her communications director, Melissa Scallan, was nearby.
“I just do what she tells me to do,” Hyde-Smith later said with a laugh as she took the question with Scallan standing beside her.
Which explains her inability to say anything but, “we’ve issued a statement” over and over in response to the video of her stating she’d show up for a public hanging.
Of course neo-Confederates are going to neo-Confederate!
It gets worse for Cindy Hyde-Smith, per @JuddLegum: in photos posted from the visit to the Davis house, she is seen posing with Greg Stewart. Stewart is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a member of Free Mississippi, a hate group.
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) November 20, 2018
Wait a sec: Has *nobody* told Cindy Hyde-Smith that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican? https://t.co/7RZL8XbqqC
— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) November 20, 2018
I’m sure Dartmouth’s finest Federal felon, # 383017, will be along shortly to clear the confusion up for her any minute now…
Cause:
When Walmart thinks there’s a moral problem w/ a Senate candidate, you know it’s bad… https://t.co/EueBiKDoxL
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) November 20, 2018
Effect:
Roll Call shifts MS-SEN from solid gop to likely gop https://t.co/0N7zsudalC via @RollCall
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 20, 2018
Obligatory!
Open thread!
TenguPhule
Feels like a Friday.
TenguPhule
only following orders is no longer an accepted defense.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule:
TenguPhule
How the fuck is her campaign getting away with all of that?
Yarrow
I think her communications team is going to wish she hadn’t said that.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: From The Jackson Free Press Reporter that filed the story:
Tim C.
@TenguPhule:
Mississippi’s gonna Mississippi.
TenguPhule
And so ends the challenger to Nancy Pelosi.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: Espy would be crazy to accept those kinds of terms for a debate. Its an insult to kangaroo courts.
Yarrow
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Only if they didn’t tell her to say that.
TenguPhule
/head desk.
Yarrow
Comment in moderation. Please to release.
Jay C
@TenguPhule:
And at least an important question is why Espy and/or his campaign people have agreed to these ridiculous terms?
Is it just that ANY “debate” – even one as blatantly stage-managed as this – is considered better than no debate at all?
Martin
@TenguPhule: You have to take the positives here – Hyde-Smith has agreed to not burn a cross on the stage as she originally requested, so progress…
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: If you read the whole article, it became clear that because Hyde-Smith’s team announced that Espy’s campaign had agreed to the debate even though they’d never been contacted about it and that this would be the only debate, they basically felt it was this or nothing. That Hyde-Smith’s team, by falsely declaring that Espy had agreed to it without actually consulting Espy’s campaign, had boxed Espy in. And since this was the only shot they were going to get, better to take it and do the best political jiu jitsu possible, than take the PR hit of Hyde-Smith’s team hammering him for backing out of the debate because he’s afraid of her.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: Best hope is someone uses a phone to get video of Ms Hyde’s complete reliance on cheat notes because she’s incapable of thinking on her feet.
different-church-lady
Well, I can certainly see why she’d be interested in having a date for the next public hanging.
Martin
@Jay C: Yeah. If you’re behind in the polls, doing nothing doesn’t change things. The debate can’t really make things any harder for Espy, but creates opportunities for Hyde-Smith to further embarrass herself.
When you’re behind by 2 touchdowns late in the game, you have to go for it on 4th down. There’s no downside to taking the risk.
Tim C.
Also, what is the source of the comic in the bottom of the post?
Mary G
@TenguPhule: Espy probably thinks, rightly that even with the cheat sheet and sympathetic moderator, Hyde-Smith will be unable to keep her foot out of her mouth. I’d bet he’s right. Even if he loses, it’s got to have Republicans in a swivet that a Senate election in freaking Mississippi is close enough that they have to shore her up so much. And if he wins, that’ll be two Deep South states going for a Democrat over a bigot.
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: Do not EVER try to shiv a nonna. Pelosi mad sure this got out without her fingerprints on it. She’s way too crafty to just accept challenges like that.
TenguPhule
And across the pond the DUP may be about to bring down May’s conservative government coalition.
If the consequences weren’t so awful, this would be fun.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Espy’s team should be on top of that.
TenguPhule
Receipts are produced.
Adam L Silverman
@Tim C.: It’s from the Preacher comic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preacher_(comics)
TenguPhule
Holely shit.
Adam L Silverman
@Yutsano: Fudge had already announced she wasn’t going to contest Pelosi for the speakership.
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: Damn. I mean…day-um. That’s some bad shit to have to cover your ass over.
FlipYrWhig
@TenguPhule: If I were on Team Espy I’d be sorely tempted to raise a ruckus during the debate about her proving herself to be the puppet of her handlers, with a flourish of how likely it is that it will continue in Washington. “Senator Hyde-Smith needs marching orders on a cheat sheet. I am my own person, I do my own work, and I’ll wake up every day dedicated to fighting for the hardworking people of Mississippi.”
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Just now? Because as of yesterday she was playing the “unable to confirm or deny” game.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: If I were on Espy’s team, I’d be saying, “well, originally Ms. Hyde-Smith wanted to erect a gallows and have the debate at a public hanging, but when we said no to that, she pushed the Farm Bureau gig as the only other alternative.”
ETA: This is probably why I’m not making the big bucks as a PR consultant.
cain
@Mary G:
She’s already made so many mistakes. I suspect that she’ll put her foot in it again. I don’t think she knows how to prep for a debate. Although this isn’t really a debate because it doesnt’ seem like they just answer FAQ questions. It’ll likely be whatever is on the website. But Espy can probably get some good digs in especially referencing that shitty press conference she pulled where she kept repeating the same statement over and over again.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: It was reported at the end of last week that she wasn’t going to contest for the speakership.
Sherparick
@Yutsano: Hey, its a problem when you write a letter for an old friend who turns out to be a wife beater, who then murders his ex-wife the week you are thinking of running to Speaker of the House. And there is also your opposition to LBGT civil rights where a majority of the caucus is ardent in defense of those rights. https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/1064925811055239170
Again, I think after the Democratic caucus meets, the 15 white guys and 2 white girls floating the Marcia Fudge trial balloon will be a thing of hte pass.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
The Jarvanka Tactic
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: Wapo was reporting yesterday that she was “considering her options.”
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’m happy for WaPo.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Well, I guess so. Seems pretty easy to take that statement and make it clear she doesn’t think for herself. That’s not a good look.
TenguPhule
Two words will tell you everything about Thanksgiving novelty snacks: Gravy candy
Because everyone else needs to share my pain.
Yutsano
@Adam L Silverman: Missed that. Been a bit busy at work so I’m just popping up when I can.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
I’m not sure what’s worse: that or mayonnaise flavored ice cream…
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: “Considering her options” in the light of that revelation ought to include, “hiring a PR firm to do some ‘splainin’ about my poor taste in friends.”
JPL
@TenguPhule: Jared Kushner’s company depends on Saudi and Qatar investments.
Honestly Trump would still be selling guns and bombs to Hitler.
Mandalay
Ivanka’s lapdog spinmeisters slink out from behind the baseboard:
The Mooch goes for both sides do it, and won’t play the blame game…:
“There had to be a reason why she [Trump] was doing that. The same thing I would say about Secretary Clinton…We have to figure out why people are doing that…”
Jeffrey Toobin opts for “no biggie”:
“Most people realize that government officials do use their private email occasionally….It is not fundamentally a big deal…It’s technically not within the rules, but everybody in government does it…”.
Oh really? Everybody??? And yes, that would be the same Jeffrey Toobin who savaged Hillary Clinton for months over her emails.
If these maggots had a shred of decency they’d grab a bottle of scotch and a loaded pistol, and discreetly retreat to the library to make the world a better place.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Dems closing in on 40 seats
TenguPhule
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Porque no los dos?
TenguPhule
@JPL:
Pretty sure Qatar pulled out on him after the Saudi blockade.
Yutsano
@ Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) :
You must never speak of this atrocity again…
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
Well, I like normal mayo in small amounts. Same with gravy. They’re fine in their own lanes. Just, in those forms. Yeah, they’re equally gross
Miss Bianca
@Yutsano: I dunno, if someone held a gun to my head and said “mayonnaise ice cream or gravy candy” I *might* pick the mayo ice cream.
Or I might just say, “shoot me now.”
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Yutsano:
…or what? ?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Cindy Hyde-Smith looks familiar. Are we sure she’s not an elaborate spoof a dumb white lady by Amy Sedaris?
Miss Bianca
@Mandalay:
If these maggots had a shred of decency they wouldn’t be these maggots.
MattF
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: We had a contest in grad school for ‘most unlikely ice cream flavor’. The winner was ‘Trout’.
banditqueen
Our *Resident has thought about the Hyde-Smith klan quotes and here’s the fake’s take:
(Daniel Dale)
Of course the rallies are all about the *Resident, it’s just convenient that her views and his align. I hope it rains suddenly after he starts screaming.
TenguPhule
@MattF:
Japan came up with herring. I am not making this up.
TenguPhule
And in case anyone missed the first posting: CDC is warning about all Romaine Lettuce due to E Coli. All of it. If its Romaine, throw it away. Source of the contamination is unknown.
Brachiator
So, are they going to broadcast the debate or hide it under a rock?
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come not to praise Ceaser salad, but to bury it. Thrice upon the salad bar, the Roman’s salad’s bowl it did fill…
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule:
PHRASING!!!!!
Mary G
@TenguPhule: I think the #FiveWhiteMen were pushing Marcia Fudge to run as their black woman figurehead they thought they could boss around, and she seemed to have her head turned by all the lavish praise, etc. But in the end, she knew better. They should throw Steny Hoyer off the island if they must have a younger person.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: It will be broadcast.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Adam L Silverman:
I liked reading that play in HS.
“O, you flatterers!” Lol
ruemara
@Adam L Silverman: When? I swear, these machinations feel like they’re done by grade school children.
On a lighter note, I had 6 test cookies on the cookie sheet, gave my housemate two, had one, said goodbye to him before he left for his show and am down to 1 cookie and there seems to be a mysterious cookie eater who appeared between him coming downstairs into the kitchen and me having my back turned.
FlipYrWhig
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: My wife just yesterday said that Hyde-Smith looked like “that woman who was in those detergent commercials,” and it didn’t take long before I figured out she meant Amy Sedaris, even though I’d never made the connection myself.
Adam L Silverman
@ruemara: Perhaps you’re having blackout snacking episodes? Might want to get checked out before you go on a tri-state snacking spree!
Mike in NC
Debate sounds about as spontaneous as a Trump campaign rally.
banditqueen
@TenguPhule: But what’s a bit of E. coli and kidney failure when you get the taste of Freedom with your salad?
Jay
@Mary G:
1) anti- Pelosi
2) ?????????
3) Fudge?
4) Profits!
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Would that be a “snack-out” episode, then?
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: I’ll allow it.
jeffreyw
@Yutsano:
Maybe with bacon sprinkles?
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
I’m sure it was one of the cats. No other explanation, I’m sure.
And before you tell me that cats don’t like cookies, our cat Charlotte LOVES fresh bread. Loves. It. Will try to steal it out of your hand if you don’t keep a good grip on it.
Mary G
Hoocoodanode: Conservative nonprofit with obscure roots and undisclosed funders paid Matthew Whitaker $1.2 million (WaPo):
Financial disclosure just barely released today, and already smells to high heaven. I cannot wait for Auntie Maxine to dig into these motherfuckers’ business and raise holy hell.
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: The funding stream comes from Leonard Leo’s dark money network.
Ladyraxterinok
I don’t get it. What’s the point of having a debate if there’s no live audience or open press coverage?? Do what GOP wants, bit DO NOT call it a debate!!
See any similarities to how Trump claims he’ll answer Mueller?.
TenguPhule
@Mary G:
In a sane timeline, these fuckers would have been audited and shutdown years ago.
Patricia Kayden
Hoping for a miracle in Mississippi— especially after what happened in equally deep red Alabama. Hyde Smith is beyond a horrible person and Espy shouldn’t have agreed to her ridiculous debate conditions.
Mary G
Usually not a fan of Senator Tribble from Kentucky, but when he’s right, he’s right:
Patricia Kayden
@Ladyraxterinok: I wonder why Espy agreed to go along with this charade. Hopefully he’ll go after her hard and score some points. If he can convince 25% of White Mississippians to vote for him, he’ll win.
TenguPhule
@Mary G: Words are cheap. Rand Paul will fall in line.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: That’s what’s for dessert.
Mnemosyne
@Patricia Kayden:
Apparently it was the one and only debate she would agree to, and her staff announced that Espy had accepted before he was even informed of it. He agreed because otherwise there would be no debate at all.
They’re hoping to box him in, but I hope he’s able to get a few good punches in regardless of the way they’ve hamstrung him.
Ladyraxterinok
@MattF: In 91 I made the mistake of ordering tuna pizza in Germany. Never again!!
rp
Of course he accepted the debate terms — he had no choice. She has all of the leverage because she has absolutely no incentive to debate him. So he has to accept whatever she offers and hope she screws up anyway (entirely possible).
Patricia Kayden
@Mnemosyne: Okay. I figured it was something like that. It’s a shame he didn’t have enough leverage to tell her to pound sand.
divF
@Adam L Silverman:
Very good – few people get to the second line of Marc Antony’s funeral oration.
When I was a freshman in high school, we were required to take a one-per-week speech class. We were assigned 10-15 line excerpts from speeches to memorize, then were selected at random to get up and recite them on the stage in the auditorium. It ruined for me for many years key parts of Julius Caesar and King Lear (“…let not women’s weapons, water drops, stain my man’s cheeks…”).
ruemara
@Mnemosyne: Funny, that’s what he said. The cats had nothing to say at all. Your kitty should have been here sunday. I got the dinner rolls made and the test knots came out nice & tender. So I froze the remainder for Thursday.
Ladyraxterinok
@Mnemosyne: When I was in jr high, my brother and I were talking with one of his friends who was eating a rather large chocolate chip cookie. Our dog was watching and suddenly made a running leap, snatched the cookie out of the friend’s hand, and ran swiftly down the street. The expression on the friend’s face was priceless!
Adam L Silverman
@divF: I had to memorize this oration, as well as that of John of Gaunt’s in high school. Gotta love the Jesuits!
divF
@Adam L Silverman: Jesuits, indeed. I remembered you were also Jesuit-educated, and was wondering if that was the source of your memory …
The priest who taught this class, Fr. Bellwoar, was such a crusty old guy that he had us completely terrorized. I realized later that he was, in fact, a really nice guy who was trying to get a bunch of 14-year-olds over acute stage fright.
Central Planning
Local news is reporting NY-27 will go to Collins. :(
Uncle Cosmo
@Yutsano: Could be worse.
Could be Miracle Whip flavored ice cream =8^O
trnc
@Adam L Silverman: I think the Espy campaign should have agreed to everything except that they would film the entire debate, no concession on that. Let her try to explain why it shouldn’t be recorded or justify why she would drop out. A debate with no audience or recording is worthless to the likely winner.
Gelfling 545
@TenguPhule: What good is a lawyer who can’t fill out forms, for dog’s sake.
Adam L Silverman
@divF: In my case it was one of the secular faculty: Mr. Mann.
Gelfling 545
@Miss Bianca: Being offered either would be a good opportunity to start a fast.
Jay C
@Mary G:
BTW, I read that
Nancy SmashSpeaker-to-be Pelosi has already dealt with Rep. Fudge’s abortive “challenge” by announcing that she (Pelosi) will be naming her to the Chairmanship of a new Elections Committee , so that she (Fudge) can channel her aggressions where they will do more good, i.e. against Republican vote-suppression. Now THAT’S expert politics…..sgrAstar
@jeffreyw:
With tuna and pickle relish mix-ins!
Amir Khalid
@Ladyraxterinok:
No media, no live audience isn’t a debate, it’s a private meeting, And afterwards, one side gets to make shit up about what was said.
Procopius
I wonder if anyone has explained to Hyde-Smith that while that kind of thing was good fifty years ago, or even ten years ago, this years people are remembering that Jefferson Davis and “the Sainted” Robert E. Lee were traitors as defined in Article 3 Section 3 of the United States Constitution. Does she even know that Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Republican Party? I have long wondered if Lincoln made a mistake by not having the top 50 of the leaders of the Confederacy tried. They surely would have been convicted and hanged.
Gemina13
@TenguPhule: Urgh. I once used rum to deglaze a roasting pan after cooking a chicken. That’s as close to gravy candy as I ever want to get.