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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

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

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

So many bastards, so little time.

He really is that stupid.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Election Open Thread: The 2020 Campaign Seems to Have Kicked Up A Notch…

Election Open Thread: The 2020 Campaign Seems to Have Kicked Up A Notch…

by Anne Laurie|  November 22, 20194:11 am| 64 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, I'm With Her 2016, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Warren for President 2020

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On Thursday, two of the Democratic frontrunners went to South Carolina — not ‘First in the Nation’, but the first primary state where voters aren’t disproportionatly white. The NYTimes chose to highlight the Dems in disarray!!! angle, and to focus on Joe Biden. But IMO what’s important about the separate incidents is how the candidates handled them.

Elizabeth Warren’s event:

Pressley: “When you are born into an inequitable world, you are born immediately into struggle.”
She and Warren campaigned together here for Stacey Abrams last year. pic.twitter.com/XU6Br3KJ2d

— Greg Krieg (@GregJKrieg) November 21, 2019

… Ms. Warren was in the opening minutes of her speech, a major address on racial inequities, when she was disrupted. In an interview, an organizer of the protest, Dianechia Fields, 40, who is from Memphis, criticized Ms. Warren for pledging to cut funding for charter schools. Ms. Warren’s education plan calls for ending federal funding for opening new charter schools and banning for-profit charters.

Ms. Warren eventually received some assistance from Representative Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts, who had introduced her at the event. Ms. Pressley came back onstage and urged the protesters to let Ms. Warren proceed with her speech, which highlighted the story of black washerwomen who went on strike in Atlanta in 1881.

“We are grateful for your activism and your voice and you are welcome here, and we would love to convene after this about the issue that you are here to stoke our consciousness about,” Ms. Pressley said. “But when these women have been ignored this long, this is their moment, and we are going to hear the story.”…

A group funded by some of the richest people in the world, the Waltons, just disrupted an @ewarren speech on the 1881 Atlanta washerwomen strike. Can’t make this stuff up. https://t.co/1x6brZv9tt

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 22, 2019

The organization is 100% funded by the Walton Foundation. Carpenter had claimed to reporters the group started organically a few weeks ago in response to Warren’s charter plan. pic.twitter.com/9jEswc43mj

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 22, 2019

Meanwhile, Warren’s speech synthesizes a lot of the issues she’s discussed with black audiences: "Repeal the 1994 Crime Bill. Legalize marijuana. Undo the legacy of the War on Drugs. End cash bail and every law that criminalizes poverty."

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 22, 2019

"The rich and powerful want us to be afraid of each other. Why? Because they’re afraid of us. Afraid of our numbers. Afraid of seeing us stand together. Afraid that we will take up each other’s fights as our own. Afraid that they will lose their power." (3/3)

— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) November 22, 2019

Warren’s speech is so good that even the former protestors are clapping. That’s important. #AtlantaWithWarren

— blackness everdeen ?? (@traceyecorder) November 22, 2019


That’s what I wanna see out of a candidate. At her @ClarkUniversity speech @ewarren got protested by a group of black charter school supporters who shouted her down. How did she react – she waited, listened, respected their protest & didn’t have anybody thrown out or arrested. pic.twitter.com/iytvyNn4pI

— Rep. Renitta Shannon (@RenittaShannon) November 22, 2019

Warren tells me she met with them after the rally and had a nice conversation

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) November 22, 2019

I’m here to make a commitment: When I am president of the United States, the lessons of Black history will not be lost. Those lessons, they will live in every part of my presidency—and I will ask you to hold me accountable for that promise every single day. pic.twitter.com/kIhG74rLCU

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) November 21, 2019

Same state, different world:

A big welcome for @JoeBiden, who greets this Greenwood crowd wearing a @follow_lander ball cap. pic.twitter.com/8Jsxb2qUv1

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) November 22, 2019

Joe Biden was just asked in Greenwood, S.C., about his immigration plan. He said Dreamers are “American more than most Americans are.” Other undocumented immigrants should have a path to citizenship, he said, if they “learn the language, etc., you go through the same process.” pic.twitter.com/SvPZsbqttN

— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) November 22, 2019

“You should vote for Trump,” Joe Biden tells @CosechaMovement protester Carlos Rojas at tonight’s town hall in Greenwood, S.C.

Rojas and other protesters from the group were criticizing Obama-era deportations and asked Biden to say he’d end all deportations — which he rejected. pic.twitter.com/od188WIlrQ

— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) November 22, 2019

… For more than six minutes in a palpably tense gym here during a town hall-style event at Lander University, Mr. Biden sparred with the activist, Carlos Rojas, an organizer with the immigrants’ rights group Movimiento Cosecha. The organization is urging presidential candidates to back a moratorium on deportations on their first day in office and has protested Mr. Biden before.

“You should vote for Trump,” Mr. Biden admonished Mr. Rojas during one of the most heated moments, after Mr. Rojas rattled off deportation figures under the Obama administration amid scattered cries of “give him the mic!”…

“If you were to be president, will you stop deportations on Day 1 through executive action?” Mr. Rojas asked.

“No,” Mr. Biden responded. “I will not stop all deportations. I will prioritize deportations only of people who have committed a felony or a serious crime, number one.”

He walked over to stand near Mr. Rojas and Silvia.

“Number two,” he continued, “to compare President Obama to this guy is outrageous.”

Mr. Biden went on to defend the Obama administration’s record on immigration, and said he would not discuss any areas of internal disagreement with Mr. Obama. And he repeatedly said he would not back a total moratorium on deportations, even as his remarks were punctuated several times by protesters who shouted, “Not one more deportation.” After Mr. Biden promised that there would not be family separations under his administration, someone shouted, “That’s a lie!”

“No matter what happens, someone commits murder, they shouldn’t be deported,” Mr. Biden said, characterizing the protesters’ position with an edge in his voice. By then, Mr. Rojas had left his seat and was standing next to Mr. Biden in the center of the room. “No, I’m asking you a question,” Mr. Biden added.

The exchange finally ended as the protesters left the room and the rest of the audience applauded Mr. Biden…

The clashes upended what had been an otherwise friendly town hall — but some voters afterward commended Mr. Biden’s stewardship of the incident.

Dan Healy, 70, said that he liked that Mr. Biden “said he wouldn’t stop deportations for criminals.”

“Yeah, he didn’t back down,” Mr. Healy’s wife, Lora Healy, 72, said…

A pretty intense moment as the protestor approached the former vice president. Biden discouraged aides from removing him, and attempted to engage him, but to no avail. Unsatisfied with Biden's response, the chants began again, and he walked away. pic.twitter.com/z6pzGdCxp7

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) November 22, 2019

Difficult night for Biden. After climate protesters were escorted out, a woman asked him to “please don’t take money from corporations.” His response: “You listen to Bernie too much.”

— Cleve R. Wootson Jr. (@CleveWootson) November 22, 2019

Here’s the second outburst, where several people shouted out that @JoeBiden accepts donations from corporations. He said he doesn’t. pic.twitter.com/cPfxSeej5s

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) November 22, 2019

The rules are changing. One of the things that impressed me about candidate Barack Obama, back in 2008, is that he’d learned valuable lessons from his time as a professional community organizer. It’s a much harder job than the scornful pundits’ conventional wisdom would have you believe, and part of the difficulty is that you can’t succeed unless / until you get ‘buy in’, however grudging, from a working majority of your coalition. Which means spending a lot of time dealing with tiresome cranks, one-issue fanatics, dedicated opponents determined to shout you down, and confused individuals who just wanna get the potholes on their particular street repaired. Mostly it’s enduring hours of boredom, but the kind of boredom where you can’t afford to lose focus, because while everybody must have their say, you can’t let the shouters intimidate the meek, or the ‘unwinnable’ derail the conversation.

Biden came up in Old School Original Gangster politics, where a guy made his bones by shouting down hecklers or encouraging his fans to do it for him. Every now and then, the OG would climb down into the pit to perform a primate dominance ritual, massaging a protestor into silence if they couldn’t be persuaded by a firm grip and a show of white teeth. This method… doesn’t work as well, a least for Democrats, in 2019.

Warren — and Pressley — only got into politics as the rules were changing. (And that’s been an advantage for them, because primate dominance never worked well for women.) They know they need to persuade the hecklers that their concerns are being taken seriously… while not letting any individual or subgroup derail the event, and without discouraging or frightening the rest of the audience.

The NYTimes, and the rest of the Media Village Idiots, still prefer the Stand-Up Performance they’ve gotten so expert at reporting, but this is just one more indication that the future is passing the NYTimes by. Big Swinging Dick arena performances still (seem to) work for Trump, and the (shrinking) Republican voter pool, but the Democratic candidates drawing enthusiastic attention right now seem to be those who hustle to ‘make connections’ with potential voters on a much more intimate scale. It’s not manly, it doesn’t make for a good ‘horse race’ lede, but I think our politics will be better for the evolution.

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Reader Interactions

64Comments

  1. 1.

    Chyron HR

    November 22, 2019 at 4:15 am

    “We came from all over the country in professionally-printed T-shirts for our grassroots protest!”

  2. 2.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 4:21 am

    not ‘First in the Nation’

    Correct. South Carolina was first out of the nation.

  3. 3.

    WereBear

    November 22, 2019 at 4:24 am

    Toxic masculinity in all its forms must die. Everyone will be better off for it.

     

    Look at the immature, mindless, spoiled-brat of Kavanaugh. We’re told we get John Wayne. That’s not at all what we get.

  4. 4.

    Patricia Kayden

    November 22, 2019 at 4:28 am

    Tired of Intelligence Committee Republicans? Here are their Democratic opponents for 2020:Devin Nunes –@PhilArballo2020 Jim Jordan – @ShannonFreshour Mike Turner – @TimsDesiree Elise Stefanik – @TedraCobb John Ratcliffe – @RussellFosterTX— Debbie Russell #DemCast (@eyeofthegoddess) November 21, 2019

  5. 5.

    Balconesfault

    November 22, 2019 at 4:33 am

    Instead of ganging up on her over the Constitutionality of the wealth tax, or whether it would cause big dollar donors to sit out the cycle … People should note that it’s gotten a bunch of billionaires to be starting their interviews by saying “I’m all in favor of increasing my income tax rate”.

    Good for Dems to stop negotiating themselves down before ever reaching the table … after all, it did so much good for Obama’s ability to get bipartisan support for his legislative agenda, didn’t it?

  6. 6.

    David ??Booooooo?? Koch

    November 22, 2019 at 4:36 am

    Fucking Bernie voted for Dump’s racist wall.  Why aren’t they protesting him.

     

    Fucking Bernie is in the pocket of the corporate gun manufactures.  Why aren’t they protesting him.

  7. 7.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    November 22, 2019 at 4:37 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Warren’s event was at Clark Atlanta University, not in South Carolina. Also, the first link in your Warren snippet goes to a Biden article. “Ms. Warren was in the opening minutes . . .”

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 4:41 am

    @Steeplejack
    Thanks for clearing that up. Was confused about the intimation of an event to support Abrams’ election for governor of Georgia having been held in SC.

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    November 22, 2019 at 4:51 am

    @NotMax:
    Apropos of nothing, Clark has a great jazz/urban contemporary radio station, WCLK. The late night jazz shows are great, which would be early evening for you.

  10. 10.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 22, 2019 at 4:52 am

    We’re crossing the Atlantic for today and the following three days. I wasn’t sure how warm it would be at sea, but it was already in the 70s at 9am. We’ve met a couple from CA who watch the hearings avidly and want to talk about them. We knew they were safe to approach because the guy wore an anti-Trump T-shirt.

     

    Also, I’m on Mr DAW’s laptop and my info is sticking  tight.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 4:55 am

    @Steeplejack

    Grazie.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    November 22, 2019 at 4:56 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    Roughly what latitude are you crossing at? I mean, Dakar to ?

  13. 13.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 22, 2019 at 5:01 am

    @Steeplejack (phone): We’re slanting a little SW and will eventually dock in Recife, Brazil.

     

    One of the tours yesterday in Dakar went to Goree Island, just  off the coast. That’s the island from which slaves were shipped to the New World. You may have seen pictures of Obama, Bush, and Clinton visiting there. We didn’t go, but just looking out the window at it was appalling. It was like looking at a Nazi concentration camp

  14. 14.

    Ruckus

    November 22, 2019 at 5:10 am

    @WereBear:

    We’re told we get John Wayne. That’s not at all what we get.

    IMHO, I think it might just be.

    That toxic masculinity that he played, the concept that the tough man was in charge, was superior, had to be allowed to do whatever he wanted, that was most of the characters he played. Only in his later films did that concept have the rough edges somewhat sanded down. The whole concept of the western was masculinity was far superior and violence was quite acceptable. For some reason I’m reminded of a jr high coach, a real asshole, I saw him pick up 7th grade boys standing next to me by the throat so he didn’t have to bend over, he could be a dick to them standing up. It’s better today, not much but better. Still needs improvement. A lot of it.

  15. 15.

    David ??Booooooo?? Koch

    November 22, 2019 at 5:12 am

    Alexandra Jaffe @ajjaffe

    Tulsi Gabbard told me after this event she’s taking her campaign to the Dem convention, even if she doesn’t have enough delegates to win

    By my count, at most, she’ll have 4 delegates (from Hawaii caucus)

  16. 16.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    November 22, 2019 at 5:19 am

    Hecklers at a rally? Warren has a plan for that. It’s a major reason she remains my top candidate. She and Harris also seem to be the only ones who fully grasp what an existential threat to the long-term survival of human civilisation the Republican Party and especially this administration* are, which is why there’s such a long gap after Harris (my second choice) in my candidate ranking that I rarely even bother listing my third choice (and honestly, I’m not sure who my third choice would be, and since Warren is likely to remain in the primary until the end, it’s not even really that important.)

     

    The GOP must be burned to the ground, the fields salted, a stake driven through its heart, shot with a silver bullet, and surrounded by garlic and holy water for good measure. My candidate ranking largely depends on candidates recognising this. It’s also why I close every comment I make (barring the ones where I just forget) with the repurposed Cato quote (“Furthermore, I opine that the Republican Party must be destroyed”, for those whose education in Roman history didn’t cover the destruction of Carthage). The survival of humanity (and millions of other species at a minimum) depends upon the Republican Party’s destruction.

     

    Ceterum censeo factionem Republicanam esse delendam.

  17. 17.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 5:20 am

    @David ??Booooooo?? Koch: Stop asking people to objectively look at Vermont Jesus, you corporate hussy!

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 5:24 am

    @(((CassandraLeo))): Can we also kick the GOP in the nards for good measure?

  19. 19.

    Steeplejack

    November 22, 2019 at 5:30 am

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    Hecklers at a rally? Warren has a plan for that.

    Which some Sandernista (mis)characterized thus:

    The paid protestors are charter school parents but Elizabeth Warren went into freeze mode. She could not handle it.

    Rep. Pressley had to walk up onto the stage, take control and show Elizabeth Warren how it's done.https://t.co/JyJtUSRrYC

    — ?BERNforBernie2020? (@BernForBernie20) November 22, 2019

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 22, 2019 at 5:35 am

    I see nothing wrong with the way Biden handled it. He handled it in the way that best suits him. If it had been me I’d have just had them tossed. Not arrested, but tossed They have the right to protest. They do not have the right to hijack my event.

  21. 21.

    Steeplejack

    November 22, 2019 at 5:40 am

    @Steeplejack:

    A different perspective:

    That’s what I wanna see out of a candidate. At her @ClarkUniversity speech @ewarren got protested by a group of black charter school supporters who shouted her down. How did she react—she waited, listened, respected their protest & didn’t have anybody thrown out or arrested. pic.twitter.com/iytvyNn4pI

    — Rep. Renitta Shannon (@RenittaShannon) November 22, 2019

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 5:41 am

    @David Booooooo Koch

    The D party in Hawaii has moved away from caucuses and to a ranked choice primary procedure. Gabbard is guaranteed exactly one of the 33* delegates Hawaii will send to the national convention – that being herself (both Senators and both Representatives are automatically sent as delegates**).

    *Wikipedia incorrectly lists the number as 31.

    **IIRC as so-called superdelegates, who under convention rules now in effect do not vote on the first ballot at the convention unless the nomination is uncontested.

  23. 23.

    David ??Booooooo?? Koch

    November 22, 2019 at 5:52 am

    @Steeplejack: as opposed to Wilmer who freaked out when confronted by BLM

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 6:00 am

    @NotMax

    For clarification, the Congresspersons sent as delegates are nominally sent as unpledged, but it is hardly a leap to see her casting a vote for herself should voting extend beyond a first ballot.

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 6:05 am

    @NotMax: Are you thinking Tusli vs Wilmer shouting match over who the DNC was rigged against?

  26. 26.

    Baud

    November 22, 2019 at 6:07 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

     

    I didn’t see it, but that’s my reaction from this post too.

  27. 27.

    Gvg

    November 22, 2019 at 6:08 am

    I think Biden handled himself just fine here. Giving in on not deporting criminals would have given the Republicans sound bite ads and lost a few potential voters. Giving in and saying he disagreed with things Obama did, would have hurt him with black Americans….and a fair number of other Democrats too.

    i think they both did fine.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    November 22, 2019 at 6:08 am

    @David ??Booooooo?? Koch:

     

    We owe Hillary yet another debt of gratitude for calling her out.

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 22, 2019 at 6:10 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

      Cage fight! Cage fight! Cage fight! Cage fight!

  30. 30.

    Bobby Thomson

    November 22, 2019 at 6:12 am

    @David ??Booooooo?? Koch: Hawaii Democrats hate her most of all.

  31. 31.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    November 22, 2019 at 6:13 am

    Which means spending a lot of time dealing with tiresome cranks, one-issue fanatics, dedicated opponents determined to shout you down, and confused individuals who just wanna get the potholes on their particular street repaired. Mostly it’s enduring hours of boredom, but the kind of boredom where you can’t afford to lose focus, because while everybody must have their say, you can’t let the shouters intimidate the meek, or the ‘unwinnable’ derail the conversation.

    This is what Parks and Rec (the TV show) got so brilliantly right about local government public meetings. I half suspect the writers just sat in the back of city government public forums running a tape recorder and then just transcribed what they got on tape, with minor modifications, for the script.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 6:22 am

    Woo. Buffeting winds, big boomies and rain outside. We need that last. Whole cottage shaking in the gusts.

  33. 33.

    Bobby Thomson

    November 22, 2019 at 6:27 am

    There is karmic justice in Gabbard moving on to going after Mayo Pete.

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    November 22, 2019 at 6:30 am

    @Bobby Thomson

    Mayo Pete

    Two thumbs and both pinkies up.

    ;)

  35. 35.

    oatler.

    November 22, 2019 at 6:33 am

    @Gvg: Biden lost the election when he said weed is a gateway drug.I can’t forgive him for the RAVE Act, A Republican in thought and deed.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    November 22, 2019 at 6:35 am

    Deporting criminals is a no brainer. Take their protests to MoscowMitch or any other Republican, who has been SILENT on the attacks on immigrants. Folks peeped out who sent the protesters to Warren’s event? I want to know who sent the protesters to Biden’s. Because, anyone demanding that Biden stop deporting phucking CRIMINALS,  when the scope of the attack on immigrants by THIS Administration is so VAST, they aren’t serious. They gotta be PAID.???

  37. 37.

    Chyron HR

    November 22, 2019 at 6:40 am

    @oatler.:

    “DEMOCRATS BAD!  RUSSIA HOAX WITCH HUNT BAD!  IMPEACHMENT COUP BAD!  P.S. Biden sounds like a Republican lol.”

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    November 22, 2019 at 6:53 am

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: I was just thinking about the Parks & Rec depiction of local government meetings the other day. I live in the Confederate backwater that recently became a global laughingstock because a few Great Value-brand Trump knockoffs on the county commission overruled the library director’s decision to make a digital subscription to the NYT available to cardholders instead of just the print version that has long been available at local libraries.

     

    Never mind that a digital subscription would have saved money in the long run while greatly increasing access — the ignorant blowhards nixed the plan because “fake news!” The subsequent local government meetings resembled a Parks & Rec parody in every detail.

     

    We had Fox-addled nitwits shambling forth to demand that the library subscribe to Breitbart (it’s free) for “balance.” Some of us who are pro-NYT (the irony!) were denounced as carpetbagging elitists by transplanted Midwestern retirees — despite our families squatting in this benighted swamp for nearly two centuries.

     

    I’ve rarely seen more concentrated stupidity and braying ignorance in one spot, and having lived in Florida all my life, by God, that’s saying something.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 22, 2019 at 7:05 am

    @Betty Cracker:

     

    I’ve rarely seen more concentrated stupidity and braying ignorance in one spot, and having lived in Florida all my life, by God, that’s saying something.

    HA! Starting my day with a laugh, thankyou Betty.

  40. 40.

    Jeffro

    November 22, 2019 at 7:07 am

    @Balconesfault: That’s a good point.  It really is good negotiating.

     

    Billionaires: “Don’t take from my pile o’ loot – but yeah, we can talk about slowing the rate that I am adding to it.”

  41. 41.

    debbie

    November 22, 2019 at 7:09 am

    @David ??Booooooo?? Koch:

     

    I don’t understand what it is she thinks she has to offer the country. And also how, after all these months, has she not figure out no one likes her?

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    November 22, 2019 at 7:11 am

    @(((CassandraLeo))): The GOP must be burned to the ground…

     

     

    And it should.  It represents exactly ZERO majority positions at this point, but (as you noted) it does represent a lot of positions that are getting people killed.

     

    Btw folks Catherine Rampell has a nice big-picture take of the last Dem debate up in today’s Post.  Generally speaking, the Dems are not that far apart on policy and they clearly represent the majority in this country – in some cases, the vast majority (as with universal background checks, action on climate change, etc)

     

    No amount of Walton-printed t-shirts can change that!

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 7:22 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Are you thinking Tusli vs Wilmer shouting match over who the DNC was rigged against?

    I was thinking more of a steel-cage match.

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 7:22 am

    @Betty Cracker: Have they considered Daily Stormer for “balance?”

     

    (Do I have to add sarcasm slashes?)

  45. 45.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 7:24 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    despite our families squatting in this benighted swamp for nearly two centuries.

    Your/their quads must be as big as Earl Campbell’s. Damn!

  46. 46.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 7:25 am

    @SFAW: You and OH.  I’m content with a soundproof room.  Let ’em yell about the meanie DNC to their hearts’ content at each other.

  47. 47.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 7:26 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    (Do I have to add sarcasm slashes?)

    I thought you were serious.  Mainly because I’ve never seen anything remotely sarcastic coming from you.  Never. Ever. Not ever.

     

    ETA: Well, hardly e-VER!

  48. 48.

    Baud

    November 22, 2019 at 7:27 am

    @Betty Cracker:

     

    You should have pushed for the Washington Post as a compromise.

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 7:29 am

    @SFAW: ? Your reading comprehension…

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 7:33 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    If there was an emoji there, it’s showing up as a square box.

  51. 51.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 7:41 am

    @SFAW: Yes – surprised face

  52. 52.

    gene108

    November 22, 2019 at 7:42 am

    @rikyrah:

     

     

    Obama, initially, ran a very strict immigration policy. His goal was to prove to hesitant Republicans that all immigration laws could be complied with, therefore they should be on board with reform.

    Obama had record high deportation numbers, until he realized Republicans were never going to agree to reform.

    Immigration activists protested Obama’s strict immigration policy, but they never got much attention

    Don’t think anyone put those immigration protestors up bringing up Obama’s immigration policy with Biden.

  53. 53.

    HinTN

    November 22, 2019 at 7:46 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Apropos of your comment

    It was like looking at a Nazi concentration camp

    I highly recommend that every movie buff go see JoJo Rabbit. It’s amazing in too many ways to recount. You will not be disappointed.

     

    For Watergirl:

    Nym and email are sticking fine on Android running Chrome.

  54. 54.

    HinTN

    November 22, 2019 at 7:53 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    despite our families squatting in this benighted swamp for nearly two centuries.

    Tell it, girl.

     

    I see @SFAW: got there firstest and bestest. Many laughs this morning thanks to you,  Ms C.

  55. 55.

    Citizen_X

    November 22, 2019 at 8:00 am

    @Betty Cracker: Ooh, I didn’t realize you were right in the middle of that dumbassery. I don’t know if you take requests, but I think that calls for the full Betty Cracker post treatment. If’n you’re not too busy or anything.

  56. 56.

    Betty Cracker

    November 22, 2019 at 8:13 am

    @Baud: The same morons would have the same objections to The Post. My position is that the county employs a professional to make those decisions, so they should let him do his job.

     

    @Citizen_X: Maybe I’ll do a cartoon about it someday. Been meaning to do more cartoons!

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 8:30 am

    This may have been covered elsewhere in this joint, but apparently the senior traitor from SC (i.e., Graham) sent a letter to the Traitor Pompeo, seeking materials related to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s interactions with Ukrainian officials.

     

    As I said over at Josh’s site: I look forward to the day that Graham is convicted of Treason

     

    ETA: Which raises an interesting thought: does Graham doing this amount to giving “aid and comfort to the Enemy,” i.e., Donald J. Trump? Because it could be argued that Trump is an Enemy of the Constitutional order/government of the United States.

  58. 58.

    Searcher

    November 22, 2019 at 8:33 am

    @mrmoshpotato: you know, on the new site, we now have the option of developing a new convention of, say, sarcasm pink.

  59. 59.

    Kay

    November 22, 2019 at 8:37 am

    Kind of an interesting backstory here. Not really “backstory” but there’s a history between Warren and the Walton-funded charter groups.
    The Walton-funded charter groups have a “news” site (The 74) and the allegation was they targeted Warren for attacks. One of the board members of the “news” site is Campbell Brown- she’s the former cable tv news person who is a Right winger.
    Campbell Brown is also the director of Facebook’s “news” division, which, you know, may explain why Facebook is a Right wing media organization.

    This is Brown defending her dual roles at The 74 and Facebook:

    There are accusations The 74 has it in for Elizabeth Warren. But all the negative pieces cited are labeled opinion. In journalism there is a difference between opinion and reported pieces. That’s why opinion is clearly labeled.

    The Waltons would go after Warren no matter the issue, but this is the issue they chose to attack her on.

  60. 60.

    SFAW

    November 22, 2019 at 8:39 am

    @Searcher:

    you know, on the new site, we now have the option of developing a new convention of, say, sarcasm pink.

    But then the RWMFs couldn’t read the comments, because “I don’t see color.”

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 22, 2019 at 8:40 am

    @Searcher: Haha, sarcasm pink.

  62. 62.

    Barbara

    November 22, 2019 at 10:11 am

    @Steeplejack: If I recall correctly, Sanders didn’t handle the BLM protesters all that effectively at his own campaign related events.

  63. 63.

    Searcher

    November 22, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    @SFAW: They weren’t going to catch the sarcasm anyway.

  64. 64.

    The Lodger

    November 22, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    @Ruckus: It’s nice to see another commenter has ol’ Marion’s number. I don’t know how easy it is, though, to distinguish toxic masculinity from sheer phoniness, Being John Wayne, especially younger John Wayne, was always an act.

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