Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

“But what about the lurkers?”

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Republicans in disarray!

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

After roe, women are no longer free.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

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

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: All the Way to the Finish Line

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: All the Way to the Finish Line

by | 64 Comments

This post is in: , , , ,


Proud to be a Democrat:

… As the primary process kicks into full swing, some Democrats are bypassing the kind of experienced Washington “wiseguys” who operated in the caldron of beltway politics — famous strategists like David Axelrod, James Carville and, more recently, Robby Mook. Instead, campaigns are increasingly filling senior positions with a new generation of activist-driven operatives, whose political formation took place in grass-roots movements.

The shift has resulted in greater staff diversity than in previous cycles, but it has also influenced strategy, according to campaign officials. New voices are joining with election-cycle veterans to bring fresh ideas and political approaches to the presidential stage…

Kelly Dietrich, the longtime Democratic consultant, said the surge in Democratic voter enthusiasm since President Trump’s election has helped issue-driven activists become more interested in traditional electoral politics. It has also forced campaigns to take new ideas more seriously, he said.

“We’re seeing a lot more people across the spectrum, both in terms of diversity and political agenda, step forward and want to make change,” said Mr. Dietrich, who founded a campaign training organization called the National Democratic Training Committee. They are “fed up or scared; they are frustrated and are ready to fight back.”

The Democratic Party needs to bring in these activists, Mr. Dietrich said, “so that five years, 10 years, 15 years down the road, this is the norm.”…

Reader Interactions

64Comments

  2. 2.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Beto Mania hits Cleveland

    It was part of the political savvy O’Rourke showed in his inaugural visit to Ohio less than a week after declaring for president. Hundreds gathered at the hot, dimly lit bar for a chance to see O’Rourke, the unlikely upstart candidate who lost his most recent race challenging Texas Sen. Ted. Cruz in 2018.

    O’Rourke has commanded a fervent following since he came to national prominence. On Monday, the bar was packed by 2:30 p.m., more than an hour-and-a-half before O’Rourke would even arrive. The crowd spilled out onto the chilly patio of the tavern.

    By 4 p.m., with hundreds flanking his planned entrance, O’Rourke arrived, quickly leaping up on a table outside to address the crowd – a favorite campaign schtick for him.


    (photo 1)

    (photo 2)

    (photo 3)

    (photo 4)

    I’m enjoying this if only because it aggravates other self-entitled candidates.

  4. 4.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Bryan Behar
    ‏Verified account @bryanbehar

    Beto raises $6.1 million the first day

    I had a friend on Facebook vociferously arguing today that the $5.9 Bernie raised his first day is actually more.

    I give up.

    137 replies 113 retweets 1,307 likes

  6. 6.

    mad citizen

    Good morning from NOLA (work trip) after a week in Hanoi. Body still not in right time zone.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    Don’t mess with Morrow (the sled dog MVP).

    Love the dog pics. Of course. Good morning, jackals.

  10. 10.

    satby

    So in a thread below there was discussion about letting the DNC know that their party members expect that all candidates for the party’s nomination have released their tax returns. So my reply to Perez’s last email was this:

    The DNC will get no contributions from me unless they enforce a rule about candidates releasing their tax returns. All candidates need to release their tax returns of at least 5 years or they should not be allowed to be part of the Democratic debate.

    Bernie Sanders is not a Democratic Party member, and refusing to release his tax returns normalizes Trump not releasing his. This is completely unacceptable to your party members.

    Not a dime in contributions until the DNC steps up and does the right thing.

  11. 11.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Fortunately I don’t know any “die hard Wilmerites”, I know a few who are sympathetic “to the cause”, but Wilmer himself is not a hill to die on for them.

  13. 13.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @satby: make sure to take some photos and post them. Ask Mayor Pete to do a Q&A for this site. Tell him we’re a big site that raised alot of money in each election cycle (which is true).

  14. 14.

    WereBear

    @rikyrah: Morning!

    This is the more the merrier stage, and getting good ideas out there, past the gatekeeping lapdogs of the Right, is vital work.

    Enthusiasm is important, and I am seeing a lot of that as an antidote to the sick stuff the Republicans do daily.

    What infuriates me is that it is the same stuff they’ve been doing, and we’ve been screaming about, for decades. But oh well. Slow to wake hopefully means slow to go to sleep again.

  15. 15.

    satby

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I have already mentioned this site to his chief of staff in a brief conversation, but good idea!

    This is exciting for me personally because of the symmetry of events. Way back when, I was a community organizer in Chicago. Briefly met a guy who already had buzz as an exceptional talent working on the South Side (truth be told, I was busy with something so only said hi). Later members of that organization worked hard to get that organizer elected as a state senator. You all know what happened to that guy ?
    Now I’m in a new city and may be witness to another extraordinary politician s early start. Mayor Pete reminds me a lot of that other guy.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @rikyrah

    Was decoupled from the computer doing other much more mundane stuff for several hours yesterday and didn’t see your cooking query until much later by which time the thread was kaput. Here’s a link to the response.

  17. 17.

    eclare

    @satby: What a story! Def let us know how the event goes. I chipped in for $10, he should be on the debate stage.

  19. 19.

    satby

    @eclare: the real story is that I’ve kicked myself for over 20 years for blowing off my chance to have a conversation with the future President of the United States ?

  20. 20.

    Aleta

    Did you see this thread? It’s funny.

    JuanPa @jpbrammer

    there’s a… cat and two dogs knocking on my apartment door? like inside the building what do I do omg

  21. 21.

    debbie

    @Aleta:

    Yes, I really enjoyed it. Why he didn’t just give in immediately is beyond me. Animals always win in the end!

  23. 23.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Aleta: In the comments:

    Lee in Iowa #TeamPelosi #SaveButterflies
    ?
    ‏ @Lee_in_Iowa
    Replying to @AsleepAtTheWeil @jpbrammer @ManInTheHoody

    A friend used to feed Canada geese at a pond by her apartment complex. But it got to be too expensive so she quit. Next morning, there was banging on her door, up on the third floor. Several geese were outside, smacking their beaks on the door.

    “We know where you live.” ???

  25. 25.

    But her emails!!!

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    Sounds like he should offer the friend to trade 5.9 dollars for 6.1 dollars as until he’s collected enough to retire. Arbitrage opportunities like that don’t come along ever day.

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Pennsylvania state police acted recklessly when troopers used a bulldozer to pursue a 51-year-old Grateful Dead fan who had been caught growing marijuana on public land, killing him when he wound up under the machine’s treads, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed on Monday.

    Greg Longenecker’s family said police had no business chasing him with a dangerous piece of machinery, especially over a few pot plants he was cultivating for personal use.

    I have to say, there’s more to this story then was printed.

    The chase developed as Longenecker – a short-order cook and avid vegetable gardener – and his friend, David B Light, tended 10 marijuana plants in a small clearing on state game lands near Reading, Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania game commission worker, operating a bulldozer in the area, spotted their car parked in a field where vehicles were not allowed and called police.

    Light surrendered but Longenecker fled, disappearing into the thick vegetation. Police began a lengthy search. A helicopter spotted Longenecker in the underbrush, and the game commission worker, with a trooper aboard, used the bulldozer to blaze a trail in pursuit. The bulldozer was traveling no more than 1mph or 2mph, according to an official account.

    How Longenecker got caught in the machine’s treads is hotly disputed. Authorities concluded he was high on methamphetamine, crawled under the back of the bulldozer in an attempt to elude capture, and was crushed to death when it made a left turn. Longenecker’s friends and family call that explanation ludicrous.

    Ummmmm no. That’s not how he ended up underneath the dozer. They need to sue the operator and the state Game Commission too. As one who has spent more than a little time around machinery I can say unequivocally that If that operator didn’t know how dangerous a thing it was he was doing, he damned well should have. Those machines have HUGE blind spots.

    Longenecker’s family questioned why state police did not simply get a warrant for Longenecker and arrest him later, given they knew his identity and that his crime was relatively minor. An expert in police procedure agreed the state police overreacted.

    Gee, Ya think?

    The Berks county district attorney, John Adams – the prosecutor who determined that state police acted appropriately – said Longenecker put himself in jeopardy by fleeing from the authorities.

    “His behavior was despicable,” Adams said. “They yelled to him, they asked him to surrender. He did not surrender.”

    Longenecker would probably have faced probation over his marijuana plants, Adams said. He said the family would have been just as angry had troopers abandoned the search and it had turned out that Longenecker was injured and in need of medical attention.

    “He’s in a pile of brush that is completely uninhabitable. Something could have happened to him. And if the state police would have picked up and left, then they would be pissed off: ‘Why didn’t the state police try to find him?’ So they were damned if they did or damned if they didn’t,” he said.

    Because chasing people with bulldozers is standard police procedure. I may have my nominee for asshole idiot of the year already.

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: Oh nonsense, he was a Supreme Court Justice and they are absolutely incorruptible.

    ………………………………………….

    Right?

  34. 34.

    satby

    @rikyrah: I hope everyone replies to the fundraiser emails with something similar. It does go back to the DNC, it’s not a “no reply” address they’re sent from.
    Or calls them: DNC phone number is 202.863.8000
    (Hat tip to SiubhanDuinne here)

  38. 38.

    Aleta

    @rikyrah: That’s funny!

    After our previous dog (who was self-employed at a university) died, we learned how many secretaries in the building had leftover dog biscuits in their desks, because she made rounds to check in on them and hang out.

  40. 40.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: Fundraising numbers are submitted at the end of the month, and I read that he wanted to wait until the new quarter started. Because he is polling high, he can afford to wait.
    FYI I don’t know if that scenario is correct or not.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Israel’s far-right justice minister has released a campaign video for forthcoming elections in which she poses in a mock advertisement for a perfume called “Fascism”.

    The move appears to make light of criticism – including accusations of fascism – of Ayelet Shaked’s attempts to restructure the Israeli judiciary, which is seen as a barrier to her hard-right agenda.

    In the black and white video, Shaked saunters around in slow motion, her hair blowing as soft piano music plays in the background. Spritzing herself with a perfume labelled “Fascism”, she whispers her key policies in Hebrew: “Judicial reform … Restraining the supreme court.”

    Then, speaking to camera, she seems to suggest the bottle has been mislabelled: “To me, it smells like democracy.”

    Hmmmm, that’s just what Hitler said on January 30, 1933.

    (just to go all godwin here)

  42. 42.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I’ve been wondering this for a few weeks now (since the Omar kerfuffle). It seems Bibi and the far right in Israel are at least using the same raced language and populism tropes as the white supremacists here and elsewhere. But that can’t be true, can it? There can’t be any actual alignment can there?

  45. 45.

    Raven

    TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The man charged with killing the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family wrote pro-Donald Trump slogans on his hand and flashed them to journalists before a court hearing Monday.

    Anthony Comello, 24, was arrested Saturday in New Jersey in the death of Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali last week in front of his Staten Island home.

    While waiting for a court hearing to begin in Toms River, New Jersey, in which he agreed to be extradited to New York, Comello held up his left hand.

    On it were scrawled pro-Trump slogans including “MAGA Forever,” an abbreviation of Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” It also read “United We Stand MAGA” and “Patriots In Charge.” In the center of his palm he had drawn a large circle. It was not immediately clear why he had done so.

  47. 47.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @rikyrah:

    Why choose Bernie, when you have Warren

    Four reasons:
    1. He hurts the Democratic Party.
    2. He’s a white man who claims he’s defending minorities by constantly dismisses their concerns.
    3. He hurt Hillary Clinton specifically.
    4. He is very good at shouting angrily about how the rich must be torn down, with no nuance whatsoever.

    @Immanentize:

    It seems Bibi and the far right in Israel are at least using the same raced language and populism tropes as the white supremacists here and elsewhere.

    Racists tend to use the same language, and racism is thick in Israel. Actually, Israel and the US are having very similar problems with a mostly secular populace vs a batshit racist, hyper-religious minority that the system is designed to give disproportionate power to.

  51. 51.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Frankensteinbeck: India has the same problem. The non-hyper religious are disorganized while the RWNJs are not. I am seeing a lot of hand wringing in the political press about the opposition parties unable to come up with a united front against the ruling coalition. If votes get split RWNJs can grab the majority again. Congress the other national party is not as formidable and powerful as it once was but still has delusions of grandeur. We will see what happens.

  52. 52.

    Tazj

    @Aleta: I hadn’t seen that, it’s very cute and funny.

    I don’t know if any of the Wilmerites in my family still prefer him, or prefer someone else for the nomination. I’ll never broach the subject. I think my sister already liked Warren a lot before, so hopefully she likes her, or someone else. I plan to avoid all political discussions with all of them, and the conservatives in my family until after the primaries, at least.

  53. 53.

    oldgold

    The inevitable has occurred. Trump has directly responded to George Conway on Twitter. This should be fun!

  58. 58.

    dww44

    Did anyone here watch the Kirsten Gillibrand Town Hall with Chris Hayes last evening? I scrolled by briefly and saw her answer a question about not taking donations from wealthy Democratic donors. How if they have a problem with that, it was their problem. I’m not predisposed to her candidacy, but that response had a bit of arrogance to it. At this stage of the primary process, I’m not gonna watch any of these sorts of town halls which are all over Cable News. I prefer to keep my distance for a bit longer. Maybe til next winter.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    Pop Quiz: Educated guesses as to who said this?

    The greatest nation in the world should not have much to fear from a family, especially children, fleeing violence. More importantly, children fleeing violence ought to have nothing to fear from the greatest country in the world.

    I’ll give you a hint; it’s not the guy who lives in the white house.

  61. 61.

    Barbara

    @Raven: Reading about the guy who killed Cali reminds me of the scene in the movie, To Die For, when the Kidman character is arrested and the film makes it clear that from her perspective this is what it’s like to be a famous movie star being hounded by paparazzi and adoring fans — when she is on the first step to what ends up being a sentence of life in prison without parole. It’s hard to imagine that someone could be so detached from the reality of their actual situation.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    @schrodingers_cat: Did I say this was an open book quiz? :-)

    I thought that was such a succinct, and perfect, description. And yes, very Obama-like.

    No matter who we put forward as the nominee (not counting Wilmer or Tulsi) it will be a relief to have the kind of person in the white house who could espouse those principles, as opposed to the disgusting creature we have now who happily puts children in cages.

  64. 64.

    J R in WV

    Bernard Sanders is a Russian Stooge. Before he was a Russian stooge, he was a Soviet / Marxist stooge. He is not, was never, won’t ever be a Democratic Party member.

    — 30 —

Comments are closed.