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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Debates and Retirements

Debates and Retirements

by @heymistermix.com|  July 31, 201911:31 am| 101 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020

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I didn’t watch the debates last night, just read a couple of recaps. I view the debates as a bit of a necessary evil, for a number of reasons. First, it gives the already horse-race obsessed media another opportunity to descend into the trivialities they so love. Second, it continues the trend of making the Presidency the only office worthy of attention. Finally, it isn’t really good “practice” for taking on Trump because nobody’s calling Warren “Pocahontas”, or telling Corey Booker that he should go back to rat-infested Newark, or whatever other racist/sexist slurs Trump will inevitably use.

The debate I’d like to watch is the front runners taking on a shit-talking Trump impersonator who calls names for 90 minutes. That will give us some good insight on who would be the best nominee.

Also, no, Republicans are not “biting their nails” over a flood of retirements (shame on TPM for using that headline). I looked at the retirements listed in the linked piece, and the least-safe district was R+10. Obviously, an open seat is easier to flip than a incumbent-occupied seat, but these aren’t swing districts by anyone’s definition.

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Previous Post: « Insurers and a one way ratchet lobby
Next Post: Rest in Peace David C. MacDonald: Scotian Has Died »

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  1. 1.

    kindness

    July 31, 2019 at 11:34 am

    I think the DNC should forget about using the MSM for these debates. Put it on the web. Have the moderators be other actual Democrats so that the questions ask for policy issues, not for food fights. The DNC could then offer a feed to which ever media outlet wants it.

    Letting the MSM define us is only helping Trump. Don’t help Trump.

  2. 2.

    Jager

    July 31, 2019 at 11:36 am

    I read something yesterday, maybe it was here, the gist was if there was a working time machine and the Dems ran FDR against trump next year would trump call FDR “Crippled Frank” and make fun of Eleanor Roosevelt’s looks? Hell yes, he would.

    FDR would kick his ass.

  3. 3.

    Cathie Fonz

    July 31, 2019 at 11:40 am

    Sorry to be off-topic, but I hope it is OK to just pass on some bad news for everyone that Scotian has died.

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:42 am

    @Cathie Fonz:

    Hopefully, a FrontPager will post it :(

    RIP :(

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:42 am

    There is not a black person in America who would have survived this same encounter. Not that any would have tried her shit. THIS is white privilege. Period. Guarantee she’s a Trumper. We know she thinks the law doesn’t apply to her. Wonder why.
    https://t.co/SMamMNt3ME

    — Portia McGonagal of Winterfell (@PortiaMcGonagal) July 31, 2019

  6. 6.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2019 at 11:42 am

    @Cathie Fonz: Damn. :(

  7. 7.

    Scotius

    July 31, 2019 at 11:45 am

    I can see why they would be biting their nails. If Republicans in safe districts don’t feel it’s worth running, imagine how Republicans in competitive districts feel. I wonder how Susan Collins is feeling knowing that she will be facing a competitive election against a well funded opponent never knowing when Trump will tweet something that she will have to pretend to be concerned about.

  8. 8.

    JR

    July 31, 2019 at 11:46 am

    I last watched the primary debates in 2008, when it seemed like they mattered.

  9. 9.

    JMG

    July 31, 2019 at 11:47 am

    Losing the districts isn’t the Republican worry, it’s that the retirees are signaling they don’t think they’ll be back in the majority in the near future.

  10. 10.

    H.E.Wolf

    July 31, 2019 at 11:49 am

    Rest in peace, Scotian.

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:49 am

    Yep ?? ??

    One of the most galling things about this story: We throw poor parents in jail for using an incorrect address to get their kid in a good public elementary. But upper-income parents naming new guardians for their kids to soak up college aid dollars? Legal. https://t.co/3OhiaCylCF

    — Annie Lowrey (@AnnieLowrey) July 31, 2019

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:50 am

    Tell it, Malcolm ??

    Seems Senator Mcconnell does not like seeing #MoscowMitch trend. If he won’t protect America the same way he actively assists an ExKGB dictator, Russian spies and oligarchs he should expect to wear the #UnAmerican tag loud and proud. https://t.co/pI19SJ9V7A

    — Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) July 31, 2019

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:50 am

    ?????

    Only white conservative people can be from the Midwest proclaims the NY Times
    https://t.co/HUNHXyrncG

    — Oliver Willis (@owillis) July 31, 2019

  14. 14.

    hedgehog mobile

    July 31, 2019 at 11:51 am

    @Cathie Fonz: Oh damn.

  15. 15.

    Aleta

    July 31, 2019 at 11:52 am

    To you Scotian.

  16. 16.

    phein60

    July 31, 2019 at 11:52 am

    I take the retirements as a sign that Republicans see the Trump administration as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for grifting, and don’t want to let it pass them by.

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:52 am

    GOP senators push Trump admin for a new tax break for the wealthy
    07/31/19 10:40 AM—UPDATED 07/31/19 11:00 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Republican policymakers already approved a massive package of tax breaks a year and a half ago, and by any fair measure, the GOP tax plan hasn’t worked out as planned.

    It’s against this backdrop that several Republican senators are demanding another tax cut to benefit the wealthy – though this one would come from the Trump administration, not from Congress. The L.A. Times’ Michael Hiltzik explained yesterday that 21 GOP senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), sent a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “demanding that Mnuchin deliver a new tax cut via executive fiat.”

    The GOP complains that the capital gains tax isn’t indexed to inflation. As a result, the argument goes, taxpayers including “everyday Americans” are charged taxes on gains that are due purely to inflation, not to the real appreciation of their stocks or bonds.

    “This treatment punishes taxpayers for the mere existence of inflation and is inherently unfair,” the senators write.

    The supposed unfairness could be rectified if Mnuchin were to redefine the concept of “cost basis” – that is, the price at which an asset was purchased – to include inflation.

  18. 18.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 11:55 am

    Raging white man gets knocked out — twice — after attacking black father at community pool
    Published July 31, 2019
    By Travis Gettys

    An Oklahoma City man was knocked out twice and then arrested after harassing and attacking a black father at an apartment complex swimming pool.

    Joshua Valentine was accused by witnesses and police of verbally and physically attacking the black man July 20 at the pool as he played with his children, reported KWTV-TV.

    The 28-year-old Valentine allegedly punched the other man, who fought back and knocked out his assailant.

    Valentine awoke a few minutes later and left the pool area, police said, but returned with a baseball bat.

    Witnesses said he swung the bat at the black man, who fended him off with a chair and then punched him several times — knocking Valentine out a second time.

    Police arrested Valentine, who was charged with malicious harassment based on race, and he spent six days in the the Oklahoma County Jail before he was released on bond.

  19. 19.

    MattF

    July 31, 2019 at 11:55 am

    @rikyrah: I was surprised that Mitch was sensitive about being tagged as Moscow’s guy… He’s made a career out of not caring what Democrats think.

  20. 20.

    chopper

    July 31, 2019 at 11:56 am

    @Cathie Fonz:

    god dammit. fuck.

  21. 21.

    satby

    July 31, 2019 at 11:57 am

    @Cathie Fonz: I had donated before he expanded his explanation of the need, as did most of you. So when I went back just now to re-read the Gofundme, his final paragraph in his story brought tears. He knew we cared.
    Rest in peace David, you’ve more than earned it.

  22. 22.

    Cheryl Rofer

    July 31, 2019 at 11:58 am

    The debate I’d like to watch is the front runners taking on a shit-talking Trump impersonator who calls names for 90 minutes. That will give us some good insight on who would be the best nominee.

    I would watch this debate

  23. 23.

    ET

    July 31, 2019 at 11:58 am

    I agree that they aren’t biting their nails over retirements in safe districts, but I do bet they are using it as a thermometer of the entire caucus state of mind and energy with a view to morale (one or two member are anecdote, 5+ is a trend). It would be expected that a seat that could turn Dem would loose a member to retirement but a noticeable number of safe members retiring is not a positive sign even if the GOP caucus is not loosing a seat.

  24. 24.

    H.E.Wolf

    July 31, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Here is a list of the Republican members of the US House who are currently planning to retire in 2020.

    Bradley Byrne, AL-01 (running for US Senate)
    Martha Roby, AL-02
    Rob Woodall, GA-07
    Susan Brooks, IN-05
    Paul Mitchell, MI-10
    * NC-03
    Greg Gianforte, MT at large (running for MT governor)
    Mike Conaway, TX-11
    Pete Olson, TX-22
    Rob Bishop, UT-01
    * There will be a special election in Sept. 2019 for NC-03 to fill the seat of Walter Jones, who died in Feb. 2019.

    It doesn’t greatly perturb me that their successors might also be Republicans. The new GOP congressmembers will have less seniority than the incumbents who are retiring.

    They will also have less seniority than the Democrats who were first elected in 2018, and who begin their 2nd terms in 2020!

  25. 25.

    ET

    July 31, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    @rikyrah: I was reading that story and what caught my eye – other than the overweening privileged of money – was that when asked follow up questions that were clearly designed to find out how worthy they were many of them backed down. Meaning the knew that what they were doing was wrong.

  26. 26.

    raven

    July 31, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    They are really worried about me retiring!

  27. 27.

    NotoriousJRT

    July 31, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    @Cathie Fonz: I saw that. Knew it was coming; no less heartbreaking.

  28. 28.

    germy

    July 31, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will create a pathway allowing Americans to legally and safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for the first time, reversing years of opposition from federal health authorities amid a public outcry over high prices for life-sustaining medications.

  29. 29.

    HeleninEire

    July 31, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    @Cathie Fonz: RIP, Scotian.

  30. 30.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    @kindness:

    I think the DNC should forget about using the MSM for these debates. Put it on the web. Have the moderators be other actual Democrats so that the questions ask for policy issues, not for food fights.

    Totally agree. I would love it if our nominee would reject the same for the general election. Tell them all to show more of Trump’s empty podium. Those shows – they are not debates – are almost designed to promote an a hole like Trump rather than a serious person to be the nation’s chief executive. They should have been abandoned right after the press/media decide that “There you go again” meant that Reagan would be a better president.

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I can see how that’s a good idea, but it’s just damn depressing that the GOP has become such a POS that practicing defending against insults would be good debate prep.

  32. 32.

    Suzanne

    July 31, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    @Cathie Fonz: Oh no.

    I hope he wasn’t in pain.

    Thanks for letting us know.

  33. 33.

    scuffletuffle

    July 31, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    @Cathie Fonz: My condolences.

  34. 34.

    O. Felix Culpa

    July 31, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    I’ll miss Scotian’s insights and deep humanity. May he RIP along with General Stuck, greennotgreen, Schlemazel, efg, and other beloved commentators who have left us.

  35. 35.

    Fair Economist

    July 31, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    There was one retirement last week in a now-swing TX district.

    I think the concern among Republicans is not so much that *these* seats are a problem but that the retirement of so many Republican Representatives with comfortable seats and (sometimes) considerable political power reflects a general sense of hopelessness among Republicans with ever having power in the House. That will make it more difficult to retain Representatives in actual swing seats, and to get candidates to challenge Democrats in swing seats. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy of defeat.

    In truth, their prospects for 2020 look pretty dim. In 2022 they would expect a midterm swing if Trump is out, but they will lose some seats in a couple of states that will have fairer districting. At the same time the country is moving against them – the Silents are dying, and the highly Democratic-leaning late X-ers and Millennials are moving into peak voting years. These retirements indicate a lot of Republican Representatives think 2022 is going to be too high a lift and that would be a big problem for the Republicans.

  36. 36.

    Aleta

    July 31, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    Williamson needs to drop out today. If she really wants T to end, she’ll GOTV. What she said about “If you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with … the collectivized hatred … I’m afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days.” is fucking preposterous— no one is claiming that wonkiness will dispel racism. (Well, Sanders did try to coast along implying that economics was the answer.)

    She’s getting closer to blaming Democrats for not being able to “fix” things because only her message can. Her support for anti-vaccine groups is anti-social. She’s now trying to walk back her claims about AIDS and illness.

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2019 at 12:19 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Philippe Reines isn’t my favorite person, but he wrote an interesting piece in Politico yesterday about how to prepare for a debate with Trump. (He was the HRC aide who played Trump in her debate prep.) Excerpts:

    Never admit you’re wrong. It is safe to say in a debate against Trump that he or the moderator will press a weakness in your past you’ve likely addressed countless times before. You could spend your allotted time repeating yourself, or you can say, “Are you kidding? You’re asking about some lobbyist I met with a decade ago while this guy has installed a revolving door in the White House? No. Let’s talk about how people are paying him $200,000 to get into his club and then getting their money’s worth out of him. If there’s still time, you can come back to me.”

    That makes sense because you know the moderators will frame hostile questions to the Dem to achieve faux balance on Trump’s endless criminality and corruption. If our nominee said something like that, Tapper or whomever would then obviously try to turn it back to whatever nothingburger he has on the Dem to “control” the debate, but at least the Dem would center Trump’s crime and corruption before answering the question. Here’s Reines on how to deal with the constant lying:

    So our nominee should know that Trump will lie throughout their debate, but can’t count on the moderator to call them all out and can’t expect the audience to know on their own. So our nominee needs to be able to say, “You’re lying.” Easier said than done. Especially if Trump lies every time he opens his mouth.

    One possible tactic is to simply, and calmly, count out loud. First time he lies, the nominee should say, “That was the first of many lies to come because that’s what he does best.” After that, when Trump lies again, the nominee should interject with a simple “Lie number two,” or, “That was a few, so we’re up to six.” The moderator might scold the candidate for interrupting, but he or she should respond, “If you were calling out his lies, I wouldn’t have to. But someone has to. He gets away with it all day every day. But not here, not now.”

    The end of Reines’ piece is about Trump’s “macho routine,” in which Trump struts around like a silverback and tries to intimidate opponents. Reines notes that Trump projects “strength” this way and doesn’t have much useful to say to counter that, other than pointing out that someone tall like de Blasio would throw Trump off his game [insert eyeroll emoji here].

    IMO, the nominee has to find a way to point out that Trump’s macho posturing camouflages vast weakness, and there are plenty of examples that everyone has seen that the nominee could use to make that point. For example, the way that shrimpy-ass Putin dominated fake tough guy Trump in Helsinki. Anyhoo, food for thought.

  38. 38.

    Gin & Tonic

    July 31, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @raven: We’re all concerned, man.

  39. 39.

    joel hanes

    July 31, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    @kindness:

    I think the DNC should forget about using the MSM for these debates.

    Return them to the League of Women Voters, who did a superb job for many years.

    [sings]
    Don’t it always seem to go
    That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone

  40. 40.

    FlipYrWhig

    July 31, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    @Aleta: Not only is what she’s saying stupid, she doesn’t even actually mean “collectivized,” which is a term of art in communism referring to forcing people to join and work in larger groups.

  41. 41.

    satby

    July 31, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: especially the fish.

  42. 42.

    Cheryl Rofer

    July 31, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I agree that Trump’s striding around the stage is a problem, particularly for a woman candidate. The candidate should negotiate ahead of time to prevent that.

    I can see Kamala Harris giving him the side-eye and saying something like “Cool it, Donnie.” Or Elizabeth Warren turning with a schoolteacherly “Just sit down.”

    I am sure they’re thinking about this already.

  43. 43.

    joel hanes

    July 31, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    @rikyrah:

    You’re right about the privilege exhibited.
    Had she been a black male, she’d likely have been shot with the pistol.

    But I think that tasers should be taken away from the cops; sometimes being tased kills people.

  44. 44.

    germy

    July 31, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Why is every topic in this debate introduced with a Republican frame?

    HEALTHCARE: Why do you want to raise taxes on the middle class?

    IMMIGRATION: Why do you want open borders? Why do you want to give illegal immigrants so much free stuff?

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 31, 2019

    Pretty much every question now is directed at a candidate polling at less than 1% and is some variation of: Tell us more about why Bernie and Warren are a left-wing radicals

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 31, 2019

  45. 45.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Wow.

  46. 46.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    In case people need the link to Scotian’s Gofundme

    https://www.gofundme.com/f/scotian-david-c-macdonald-death-fund?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-156458394164-2d35a98a022b4390&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b

  47. 47.

    david

    July 31, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    The “debates” are the equivalent of an NFL preseason game. The score doesn’t matter,
    90% of the participants will disappear before the real season begins, and you just hope
    the superstar on your team doesn’t injure himself in his limited playtime.

    The games are played for the coaches and talent evaluators. The debates are played
    for the press and deep-pocketed liberal donors.

    I’m sure it’s fun if you’re a hardcore fan, or if you’re an inveterate gambler; but, in reality,
    these events are nothing.

  48. 48.

    Aleta

    July 31, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Last night I thought “each of the candidates should be debating Trump right now.” Then imagined a TV production that replaced the CNN questions with video clips of him speaking (a debate or elsewhere), and let candidates take turns answering.

    etc OK, I guess that’s not what a primary is about.

  49. 49.

    joel hanes

    July 31, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    @Fair Economist:

    There was one retirement last week in a now-swing TX district.

    Tom DeLay’s old Sugarland district.
    Susan Bankston, Democratic organizer, blogs from there at Juanita Jean’s.
    She’ll want some contributions in January for her organizing.
    We can flip it if we try.

  50. 50.

    cintibud

    July 31, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I would love to see a woman candidate say to Trump if he moves behind her: “Keep your pussy grabbing hands where I can see them, creep!”

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    @cintibud:

    that person has my vote!

  52. 52.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    @MattF:

    I was surprised that Mitch was sensitive about being tagged as Moscow’s guy… He’s made a career out of not caring what Democrats think.

    To be honest, no one in the Village cares what Democrats think. Unless it’s a Democrat who is going to slam other Democrats.

  53. 53.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I just watched that without sound, and wow. Would’ve made more sense driving away and leading the police on a chase. She wouldn’t have got away, but just mouthing off to a cop and sitting there is the height of stupid.

  54. 54.

    surfk9

    July 31, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    I don’t think Trump will debate.

  55. 55.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    She did drive away. He chased her down and tased her and she still didn’t submit.

  56. 56.

    germy

    July 31, 2019 at 12:44 pm

    Tapper didn’t like when Bernie pointed that out and that Big Pharma would be advertising heavily after the debate. He couldn’t pivot fast enough
    — Debra King (@Kingwoman) July 31, 2019

  57. 57.

    Aleta

    July 31, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    @cintibud:
    Pepper spray him. “Sorry, self defense.”
    To audience: “We will stand our ground against this admitted sex abuser and his threats.”

  58. 58.

    germy

    July 31, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    Last night's debate revealed the real bias in the media which is the assumption that the status quo is "moderate" and anyone that proposes structural changes is "radical"

    In my view, letting people die because they can't afford insulin is more extreme than proposing a new policy

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 31, 2019

  59. 59.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    Will multiple misrepresentations derail Trump’s DNI nominee?
    07/31/19 12:40 PM
    By Steve Benen

    Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the director of National Intelligence, made a specific boast on his website, telling the public he “put terrorists in prison.” That, in and of itself, wouldn’t necessarily qualify the far-right Texan to oversee the entire U.S. intelligence community, but it would certainly be a relevant detail when evaluating his record.

    If it were true, that is. All of the available evidence makes clear that the Republican never “put terrorists in prison.” He worked on a terrorism-funding case a few years ago, but to say Ratcliffe was involved in securing convictions is to wildly exaggerate his role.

    It’s tempting to simply stop here. An inexperienced and unqualified congressman misrepresented his counter-terrorism record, which seems like the sort of thing that should be a deal-breaker for a nominee to serve as the nation’s top intelligence official. Those who lie about prosecuting terrorists obviously shouldn’t serve as DNI.

    But we can keep going. As the New York Times reports today, “there are other examples” in which Ratcliffe appears to have “overstated” elements of his background.

  60. 60.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    @germy:

    Last night’s debate revealed the real bias in the media which is the assumption that the status quo is “moderate” and anyone that proposes structural changes is “radical”

    In my view, letting people die because they can’t afford insulin is more extreme than proposing a new policy

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 31, 2019

    CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I meant peeling out – chase time – get a news chopper on this – driving away. “Busting outta here, copper! Ya see? Nah!” The edit doesn’t let you know how far she drove away.

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    @cintibud: @Aleta:

    I would love to see a woman candidate say to Trump if he moves behind her: “Keep your pussy grabbing hands where I can see them, creep!”

    And then pepper spray him, adding “I’m not your daughter, you disgusting pig!” Empty the whole can.

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2019 at 1:04 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Donald Trump (sobbing): “My eyesss! My eyessssss!”

    Jake Tapper: “splutter, cough, wheeze”

    Kamabeth Harren: “Sorry some of the mace got on you, Jake, but since my opponent has been credibly accused of rape and/or sexual harassment by two dozen women and his lame-ass response to those charges is “she’s not my type,” physical self-defense was part of my debate prep…

  64. 64.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Kamabeth Harren

    LMAO But where the hell is Dump in his stage stalking that Tapper gets hit with some blowback?

  65. 65.

    Mike in NC

    July 31, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    @surfk9: Agreed. Fat Bastard will waddle onstage in his clown suit, hug the nearest flagpole, and hurl insults until the adults leave the room. For bonus points he’ll fart the Star-Spangled Banner and the media will marvel at his command of facts and policy.

  66. 66.

    Fair Economist

    July 31, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Will multiple misrepresentations derail Trump’s DNI nominee?
    07/31/19 12:40 PM
    By Steve Benen

    How hard the MSM works to prop up Republicans! These are *lies*, not “misrepresentations”. Trump appointed a pathological liar to head the Department of *Intelligence*!

  67. 67.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    Fat Bastard will waddle onstage in his clown suit, hug sexually assault the nearest flagpole, and hurl insults until the adults leave the room.

    Fixed.

  68. 68.

    Cameron

    July 31, 2019 at 1:28 pm

    @Aleta: I think that when he got up and started his faux-sinister creep,I’d just turn around and ask, “Do you need a bathroom break,Donald?”

  69. 69.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 31, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @germy:

    The Trump administration said Wednesday it will create a pathway allowing Americans to legally and safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for the first time

    They’ll find a way to fuck this up, and it will turn out to be an asshole move that helps only the rich. Just watch.

  70. 70.

    Peale

    July 31, 2019 at 1:33 pm

    Last week’s business language gone mad example was “talk path” in place of “conversation.” This week, it’s “servitization.” Only 12 more years of this if I can make it.

  71. 71.

    Sab

    July 31, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    @rikyrah: I NEVER thought I would cheer to see someone tazed.

    That officer was so angry his hand were shaking, but he didn’t shoot her.

  72. 72.

    schrodingers_cat

    July 31, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    @rikyrah: Dana Bash’s immigration interrogation could have come from Steven Miller’s notes. On a more shallow note, does she wear a wig? Her hair looked fake.

  73. 73.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    @Peale:

    “talk path”

    Oh for fuck’s sake! My favorite is “speak to that.” What drugs are you on that you’re speaking to an idea?

  74. 74.

    Bill Arnold

    July 31, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I would watch this debate

    I would too. I would also watch DJ Trump watching this debate.

  75. 75.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    @Peale:

    What the hell is a talk path?

  76. 76.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    July 31, 2019 at 1:55 pm

    I looked at the retirements listed in the linked piece, and the least-safe district was R+10.

    That still in intresting, one would think that Republican from these location are true belivers and they saying their feeling are being upset, so what’s going on? Is it not worth the hasle of all the travel as a rep knowing that it’s very unlikely the Republicans will be in the majority in the near future or is Trumpism causing an internal split in the GOP and they don’t want to be stuck in the middle, or it is just Trump sucking up all the good grifting money? I am voting GOP civil war over grift money myself.

  77. 77.

    Kay

    July 31, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    She’s also just wrong. There is a candidate who talks in broad terms about how damaging Trump is to the collective idea or ideals of the country. Joe Biden. That is basically Biden’s campaign message. That’s the core of his message. It’s not wonky at all. It’s “this is harmful and damaging and we’re better than this”.

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    I am voting GOP civil war over grift money myself.

    Will any GrOPer voters literally die in this war?

  79. 79.

    Hitlesswonder

    July 31, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I think the best strategy would be to imply his wandering around the stage is him being lost
    “Don you’re wandering around again – your podium is over there.” Or to the moderator “can you let him know where he should – I’m concerned he’s lost”.

  80. 80.

    guachi

    July 31, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    If Trump started wandering all over the stage in a debate I’d ask him if he needed to use the bathroom.

  81. 81.

    Bill Arnold

    July 31, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    @rikyrah:

    The GOP complains that the capital gains tax isn’t indexed to inflation.

    Couple of things here:
    (1) The GOP recently introduced a new tax on state and local taxes (income and real estate), in the form of at SALT tax cap. A f-ing tax tax (To the tune of several thousand dollars in increased federal income taxes for me personally, upper middle income, blue state.)
    There are other taxes taxed (e.g sales taxes), but introducing a new tax tax (mostly on blue states people) makes advocacy for reduction of the capital gains tax shortly therafter especially grating.
    (2) Any measure of inflation used for capital gains that is different than the measure used for the not-affluent will be a problem. As will linking the two, since shifting from e.g. regular CPI to chained CPI would now involve considerably larger effects to the government’s balance sheet, i.e. less tax revenue. And VV would be a “tax increase”, forbidden by the Grover Norquist Oath of Fealty To The Rich.

  82. 82.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 31, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:
    Isn’t ‘speak to that’ an archaic rather than new phrasing?

  83. 83.

    Bill Arnold

    July 31, 2019 at 2:21 pm

    @Peale:

    “talk path” in place of “conversation.”

    Any online instances of that? New to me. I’d have been like “you mean single-threaded? You don’t converse in parallel when possible?” or something similarly derailing.
    Has anyone here ever made up a business jargon term and gotten it into general usage? (I’m not confessing. :-)

  84. 84.

    A Ghost To Most

    July 31, 2019 at 2:21 pm


    Editorial: Don’t turn Trump rally into an embarrassment, Cincinnati

    Good luck with that.

  85. 85.

    Sab

    July 31, 2019 at 2:22 pm

    @rikyrah:”The GOP complains that the cost basis isn’t indexed to inflation.”

    So they don’t have to pay tax on the increase in value until the gain is realized ( i.e. asset is sold.)

    Maybe we should just go back to having an intangible tax so they have to pay taxes on the market value of their stock and bond portfolios every year. In Ohio that used to fund our sxhools and libraries.We gave them that tax break twenty years ago.

    No matter what tax is cut, they will always want more.

  86. 86.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    This writer found it to be newer, finding no examples pre 1990s.

  87. 87.

    Peale

    July 31, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    @Bill Arnold: I looked after that conference call. I think it might have been idiosyncratic to the sales force of one company whose webinar I was attending. It sounded like something salesmen would have learned at a retreat as a way to conceptualize a sales conversation (we’re talking down the path on the journey together towards that closed sale) that then bled into discussions with customers. But since more than one of them talked about “recapping our talk path so far”, I became concerned about my future.

  88. 88.

    Hoodie

    July 31, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: If he starts hulking around, you could say something like “are you lost?” “are you OK?” , “do you need a break?” or “what’s up with your hair?” Somebody with a lot of energy like Warren could pull that off, kind of like “sorry, Sir, I was so busy outlining my 15-point plan, I failed to notice that you might be having a problem.” Before that, during the opening handshake, move forward and step lightly on one of his clown feet enough for him to feel it. That’s a quiet “don’t fuck with me, Donnie.” Or even whisper that into his ear when greeting him. He’s a fucking coward at base, and that might get him wondering about when and how you might embarrass him. Generally, do something aggressive towards him before he has a chance to do his intimidation schtick.

  89. 89.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 3:08 pm

    Broadway giant Harold Prince, who helped create West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera, has died aged of 91

    Broadway giant Harold ‘Hal’ Prince passed away on Wednesday at the age of 91
    He died after suffering a brief illness in Reykjavik, Iceland
    He was the driving force between epic Broadway musical productions including Cabaret, Company, Sweeney Todd, Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story
    In his prolific career he worked on some 61 stage productions and garnered 21 Tony Awards for his work
    Prince said he fell in love with Broadway after seeing a production of Julius Caesar with his parents when he was eight years old
    By ASSOCIATED PRESS

    PUBLISHED: 11:39 EDT, 31 July 2019 | UPDATED: 13:41 EDT, 31 July 2019

  90. 90.

    Chief Oshkosh

    July 31, 2019 at 3:09 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I can see Kamala Harris giving him the side-eye and saying something like “Cool it, Donnie.” Or Elizabeth Warren turning with a schoolteacherly “Just sit down.”

    Earnestly turn to the moderator and with much concern in your voice, ask if the President is having another attack of lumbago, gas, or gout and that maybe he needs a break. The talk over whatever Trump’s response is with “well, if you don’t have a physical problem, I guess it’s mental. Now please sit down and try to act like an adult.”

  91. 91.

    Chief Oshkosh

    July 31, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Don’t tread on me!

  92. 92.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) Tweeted:
    Folks are missing an important development from the debate.

    In taking on Trump’s racism, the Dems went hard at its *consequences* — rising hate crimes, discriminatory bans on travel, a spike in right wing terrorism, horrible messages to urban children.

    https://t.co/xEH72farxR https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1156591255050227718?s=17

  93. 93.

    pluky

    July 31, 2019 at 3:15 pm

    @rikyrah: “Malicious harassment” my ass. I was on a grand jury once. Coming at someone with a bat is aggravated assault at the least.

  94. 94.

    speedbumped

    July 31, 2019 at 3:30 pm

    In 2016 Trump’s wandering around the stage to position himself on camera behind Clinton was mostly during the times when she was speaking directly to an audience member who’d asked a question.

    I think the best response for a Harris or Warren in that situation would be to work it into the response to the question. “I’m a fighter, and that’s why you see this pig of a man skulking around behind my back while I’m talking to you. He wants to be intimidating and show you what a big man he is, but you’ll notice that he’s too much of a coward to do it when I’m facing him. Well, I think that’s a silly, childish way to behave, don’t you?”

    *Audience member nods enthusiastically while Trump spontaneously combusts in background of the shot*

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    Rupert Murdoch’s son-in-law told Succession star Brian Cox his wife finds the show ‘hard to watch’ because the biting satire about a media dynasty family emulates them so closely

    Keith Tyson approached Brian Cox in London last year to say he liked the show
    Cox, who plays the aging family patriarch Logan Roy, did not recognize him
    Tyson then said that while he liked it, his wife finds it ‘hard to watch’
    Tyson, who is an artist, is Elisabeth Murdoch’s third husband
    Succession mocks the fictional Roy family and is largely inspired by the real-life Murdochs
    Its plot lines mirror some of the Murdochs’ recent family history
    By JENNIFER SMITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

    PUBLISHED: 14:18 EDT, 31 July 2019 | UPDATED: 14:47 EDT, 31 July 2019

  96. 96.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 31, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: Hadn’t heard it until a few years ago. And still – speaking to an idea. What else is this person hallucinating?

  97. 97.

    Toocan-Anj

    July 31, 2019 at 4:10 pm

    @kindness: they need to have trained facilitators do these debates. Good facilitation is an art and a skill set.

  98. 98.

    Amir Khalid

    July 31, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    @rikyrah:
    It’s a lot like the college admissions fraud scandal of a few months back.

  99. 99.

    frosty

    July 31, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    @raven: Good to know, unless you’re ready to shut the door and leave it behind.

    A good friend of mine retired and within a month they asked him to come back. He did, on his terms, for another year.

  100. 100.

    J R in WV

    July 31, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    OK, “speak to that” is definitely odd, “talk path” is beyond odd to stupid and deformed speech

    But what the hell does “servitization” mean in the real world??? Thanks to search engine technology we have a odd strange answer:

    In essence servitization is a transformation journey – it involves firms (often manufacturing firms) developing the capabilities they need to provide services and solutions that supplement their traditional product offerings. Nov 30, 2013

    So a real concept, but a sentence compressed into a word that doesn’t mean what they want it to mean? Stupid sales guys, making up words for stuff they have trouble explaining to customers. We had repeated visits by IBM guys trying to sell us something they couldn’t explain to people who had been in IT for 15 or 20 years…

    Later on we coincidently ran into a guy who was an IBM VP from Singapore, visiting a consulting firm in Rye, NY while we were there, who explained it in simple words, and included the fact that it was an immature technology not really ready for the purposes for which is was being pushed. We couldn’t afford it anyway, but nice to know it wouldn’t have helped if we had bit the bait.

  101. 101.

    Quaker in a Basement

    August 1, 2019 at 3:42 am

    “and the least-safe district was R+10”

    Three words: Ala. F’ing. Bama.

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