Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

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

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

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

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

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

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / This Joan Walsh Piece

Reader Interactions

107Comments

  1. 1.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Being ornery, I’ll date it to 2009, and the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency. However we count them off, we have to admit: These last 10 (or 11) years saw the rise of a sometimes violent right-wing American extremism, fueled by racism, and an even bigger story—the utter failure of political elites and mainstream media to figure out how to handle it.

    Duh. But a great piece to spread the word.

  3. 3.

    DCrefugee

    From the article:

    These last 10 (or 11) years saw the rise of a sometimes violent right-wing American extremism, fueled by racism, and an even bigger story — the utter failure of political elites and mainstream media to figure out how to handle it.

    I don’t think political elites and mainstream media have failed to figure out how to handle it. I think those of this group who don’t call it out for what it is are happy with the new status quo and hide behind whatever excuses they conjure up to avoid making their true feelings known.

    (Edited to correct typo)

  4. 4.

    Catherine D.

    Excellent piece, and I’m sure it will be entirely ignored

    Has Colbert ever apologized for the mushy middle fest? Stewart never will.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    I’m not thrilled with the Dem-bashing at the end. Biden may be our nominee. Don’t bash him. We’re in a fight with Nazis.

  6. 6.

    SFAW

    Interesting that most of the comments there were from persons attacking Walsh from the left, calling her a “neoliberal,” etc.  I was tempted to ask if they’re hoping to heighten the contradictions even more, in ten months, but decided it would be a lost cause.

  7. 7.

    Kathleen

    @Catherine D.: Jon Stewart’s detached “too kool for skewel” both sides guilty shtick has contributed to cynicism about politics and government. I detest him and am glad he no longer has a platform on TV.

  9. 9.

    call_me_ishmael

    My God, the comments on that article. I really want to like Bernie, but his supporter cult doesn’t make it easy.

  10. 10.

    Citizen Alan

    @SFAW:

    I wish you had. I’m not in the mood to register with the fucking Nation.  Otherwise, I would have commented on my often expressed desire that Bernie Sanders heart explode out of his chest like an alien face huggerin the middle of one of his finger  wagging speeches.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    Would not have seen it, so thank you for posting the article.

    Happy New Year’s Day to all.

  16. 16.

    PST

    Great article. On a different subject, do broken Christmas balls go in recycling? Asking for a friend.

  17. 17.

    cain

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    It isn’t that they couldn’t handle it .. you have to look at it from a marketshare point of view. They don’t want to lose that so they have to show balance.

    It’s changed now because the right wing is easily lead and fear will open their pocketbooks ..that’s the market.

  18. 18.

    laura

    @call_me_ishmael: his supporters and Bernie ain’t your friend. He/they expect You and I to support Bernie. He/they have never and will never support the non-Bernie candidate.

    Also, Driftglass and Bluegal had Jay Rosen on their pod and followed it a week later by calling out Chuck Todd and his “sudden realization” schtick- and unlike Joan Walsh, they stuck the landing. Well worth your time to give a listen.

  19. 19.

    SFAW

    @Citizen Alan:

    I’m not in the mood to register with the fucking Nation.

    Nor was I. Maybe we can find some sucker convince some dedicate Juicer to do it in our stead.

  20. 20.

    James E Powell

    I agree that everyone in the Village should read it, but I am not sanguine about the possibility of a change in how they protect and promote Trump and the Republicans. They are just so used to doing that it is the RW is the press/media’s default position on every point in contention.

    And Walsh writes

    My party, the Democratic Party, was utterly unprepared for the carnival of racist bigotry the Republican Party was becoming, and remains mostly unready to confront it even as it has become unmistakably what it is.

    Walsh must not recall what happened when Hillary Clinton called Trump’s racist supporters deplorable. The entire press/media world went DefCon 1 on her. This is what they have always done to people who point out racism in America: refuse to acknowledge the racism, make excuses and employ euphemisms for the racists, and attack the people who raise the issue

    See also what happened to Mann & Ornstein when they wrote a book explaining what happened to the Republican Party. Banished.

  22. 22.

    James E Powell

    @SFAW:

    Interesting that most of the comments there were from persons attacking Walsh from the left, calling her a “neoliberal,” etc.

    I saw that, too. Those people are beyond our powers to inform or persuade.

  24. 24.

    Mike in NC

    Don’t read The Nation very often, but two thoughts as we start 2020:

    (1) Joe Scarborough recently had a Washington Post op-ed where he basically called out Trump as a fascist. Probably will only be dismissed as more ‘bothsiderism’. I believe the odious Matt Gaetz is sitting in the Florida US House seat once held by Joe.

    (2) Just read that last year saw a record number of mass shootings in this country. We should probably expect a couple more before the end of the month, followed by the usual “but there’s nothing we can do” laments from the media.

  25. 25.

    Citizen Alan

    @laura:  Hell, they wouldn’t even support Bernie if he won the election and became president and then at some point had to make some concession to people who are not also socialists in order get anything accomplished.  Saint Bernie would last 6 months tops before Jacobin magazine started deriding him as a neoliberal sell out.

  26. 26.

    Mandalay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Biden may be our nominee. Don’t bash him.

    Don’t bash the clueless dimwit who said he was prepared to consider a Republican as his running mate? And of all threads on BJ, you chose this particular one to promote your horseshit?

    Oh the ironing.

  30. 30.

    justawriter

    Quite honestly, as I enter my sixth decade, the same article could have been written about each of the last five. Just the names change, and sometimes not even that.

  31. 31.

    Jay

    @James E Powell:

    pretty sure that Walsh remembers what happened.

    She said “ The Party”, not “Hillary Clinton” or “Some Members”.

    It was about the Democtratic Party’s lengthy and continued failure to have a unified message.

  32. 32.

    HeleninEire

    I got to the paragraph where Walsh quoted Joe and Mika and I had to stop reading. I just can’t.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @James E Powell:

    Walsh must not recall what happened when Hillary Clinton called Trump’s racist supporters deplorable. The entire press/media world went DefCon 1 on her.

    I think it would be interesting to see whether Joan Walsh was one of the people who were critical of Hillary for that.  I don’t follow Joan Walsh, or any of them anymore, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Walsh was part of the pack who criticized Hillary.  Good for her if she wasn’t.

  34. 34.

    James E Powell

    @Mandalay:

    Don’t bash the clueless dimwit who said he was prepared to consider a Republican as his running mate?

    Biden wasn’t a clueless dimwit for saying that. He was just being Biden. He isn’t going to have a Republican running mate. It’s one of those ridiculous rules that the press/media only impose on Democrats: they must spout bi-partisan bullshit or they will be attacked.

  35. 35.

    sukabi

    @laura: re: difference between Joan Walsh’ take and blue gal & driftglass’ take — Walsh is part of the Village and is insulated / influenced by that very privileged bubble, driftglass and blue gal are not and probably don’t have the “right temperment**” to get into the Village.

     

    ** Family, other connections, $$$$$, acceptable political leanings

  36. 36.

    Jay

    Litigation in the era of Trump:DOJ says the president had nothing to do with its decision to fire former FBI agent Peter Strzok. His lawyers respond by quoting President Trump's remarks last week taking credit for firing him and others. pic.twitter.com/nDGlmiqttz— Brad Heath (@bradheath) December 30, 2019

  37. 37.

    schrodingers_cat

    Lawyers of Balloon Juice, you will like this protest.

    A bunch of lawyers in Uttar Pradesh take out a mock funeral procession for the state government, led by the saffron clad Ajay Bisht who calls himself Yogi Adityanath.

    What they are saying

    Hai Hai Yogi ( Booing Yogi)

    Mar gaya Yogi (Yogi is dead)

  39. 39.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    I gave it a chance, even after seeing the source. Glass house alert!

    Unsurprisingly, the article has a huge blind spot when it come to how folks on “the professional left” (like The Nation) are constantly employing their own “both sides” inferences, in their unrelenting criticism of the mainstream Democratic Party.

    And sure enough, the both sides criticisms show up about half-way though the article. Did you know that the whole Merrick Garland fiasco was Obama’s fault? Did you know that Joe Biden gives lip service to working across the aisle? Mainstream Dems are failure! Only Bernie can save us (and maybe Warren). Alert! Alert! ? ? ?

    It’s the same old in-group/out-group BS that drove me away from that crew in the first place. Fuck their lack of self awareness. Take a look at yourself for change.

  40. 40.

    Jay

    Trump told the troops in his Christmas videoconference call that they used to have old planes three years ago, but "now you have all brand new."As of late 2018, the average age of an Air Force plane was 28 years — 26 for fighters, 42 for bombers, 54 for tankers.— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 1, 2020

  44. 44.

    Mandalay

    @WaterGirl:  I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Walsh was part of the pack who criticized Hillary

    Not sure why you would say that. Walsh certainly isn’t my cup of tea, but she was a rock solid Clinton supporter throughout her campaign, and stood by her when she lost.

    Actually I couldn’t find Walsh saying anything about the “deplorables” comment which makes me suspect that she didn’t embrace it, but didn’t want to dump on Clinton for it either. (The rest of the media was busy doing that anyway of course.)

  46. 46.

    Richard Guhl

    @Citizen Alan: A big problem with many Bernie supporters is that they subscribe to the Green Lantern theory of the Presidency. They believe he will be able to pass his agenda by sheer dint of his will or by fiat. It’s as if the obstacles and veto points within and without the system simply don’t exist.

    I predict that should Bernie be elected, on January 20, 2021 at 12:01 pm, Joe Manchin will give him the middle finger, and all of Bernie’s proposals will lie in a heap of ashes.

  47. 47.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jay: When one party is required to represent the entire range of sane political opinion, it is a little difficult have a unified message.

  49. 49.

    Another Scott

    @DCrefugee: Yeah.

    I only made it a few paragraphs into the piece before I had to close the tab.  It’s just too painful.

    driftglass has had their number for a very long time:

    I Was Going to Write a New Years End-Of-The-Decade Thing…

    …lamenting how the American political press has helped sabotage American democracy by following an insane dogma of reflexively loathing Liberals for being right while excusing the grotesque failures of Conservatives in order to maintain a wholly false “Sensible Center”.

    And then I remembered that I already wrote one.

    A decade ago.

    From me on January 1, 2010: “…If Christ Is Not Risen Then Our Preaching Is in Vain”

    […]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  50. 50.

    James E Powell

    @Jay:

    I read what she said. I cited Hillary Clinton because it is the latest example of what happens to Democrats who raise racism as an issue.

  51. 51.

    James E Powell

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    When one party is required to represent the entire range of sane political opinion, it is a little difficult have a unified message.

    This has been the Democratic burden since Reagan.

  52. 52.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Jay:

    She said “ The Party”, not “Hillary Clinton” or “Some Members”.

    It was about the Democtratic Party’s lengthy and continued failure to have a unified message.

    I find this expectation that the Democratic Party have a “unified message” to be frustrating, unreasonable, and misguided.

    The USA is a diverse country. The Democratic Party is an even more diverse Party. We have a big tent, with lots of allies – we don’t agree on everything, and why should we? We’re not Fascists, Communists, or Republicans.

    But everyone wants things exactly their way, and when they don’t get what they want, they blame “the Party”, or the DNC, or the “Democratic Establishment”, or some other fantastical boogeymen.

    True allies would see our Party’s diversity as a strength, not a weakness to be overcome through adoption of a “party line”.

  53. 53.

    Jay

    They filmed a hungry man eating at a Whole Foods. Then @nypost assigned 3 reporters to call a person in need of help: “A drooling and pungent homeless man.” “Grungy gourmand.” “Unidentified chowhound wet with drool and framed by a scraggly beard.” “Free loader.” Call them out. pic.twitter.com/lpgafq1LFV— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) January 1, 2020

  54. 54.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Richard Guhl: Yes, it’s the cult of the Presidency, and it thrives due to general lack of in-depth civics education in this country, which has led to widespread ignorance of how shit actually gets done in Washington…

    …as well as the psychological biases that make us predisposed to thinking in terms of independent actors – people with names, instead of groups of people organized into complex and interdependent systems.

  55. 55.

    Spinoza Is My Co-pilot

    Quite good article by Walsh, overall. But the comments by the goddamn leftier-than-thou assholes over there (as others here have noted)! The fucking Nation. Used to be all right, I think, but I unsubscribed over a dozen years ago, and probably should have done that sooner. Yes, fascists (all of them) are the enemy of humanity (and the whole living planet, for that matter) but useful tool leftist motherfuckers are just that — useful motherfucking tools.

  56. 56.

    Mandalay

    @James E Powell:

    See also what happened to Mann & Ornstein when they wrote a book explaining what happened to the Republican Party. Banished.

    They were, and it’s worth noting that the book was written years before Trump ran for president.

    But I suspect the larger reason they became outcasts was that they savaged the media as well as the Republican Party.

  57. 57.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Chuckles the Toddler “naive”?

    No.

    Chuckles the Toddler a willing gullible sack of rancid shit who should be frog marched into a tumbrel?

    Yes.

  62. 62.

    JGabriel

    Joan Walsh @ The Nation, via John Cole @ Top:

    I’ve always resisted the notion that new decades are news events, bestowed on us in pre-measured pallets of history to be analyzed later as self-contained units of meaning. But as we ring in 2020, it’s hard not to feel like we’ve been through an epoch we should pause to acknowledge. Being ornery, I’ll date it to 2009, and the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency.

    I’ll date it back to either Bush’s election in 1999 or 9/11/2001.

    This is the decade that lasted 20 years. It was a shit score of years and I’m glad it’s over.

    And I hope it is over, because I’m not entirely convinced this epoch is done with us yet. We’ve still got 10 months until the election in November – and even if, FSM willing, we get a Democratic president, she/he won’t take office until Jan. 2021.

    That said, I can see what looks like light at the end of the tunnel (or the oncoming train of climate-change-induced armageddon, not sure which) and I guess I can put up with another year or so of this fucking decade, if it finally ends sometime within the next 12.75 months – because I really don’t think we’ll make it through another 10 years of this so far 20-year-long fucking decade.

  63. 63.

    Nicole

    @Kathleen:

    Jon Stewart’s detached “too kool for skewel” both sides guilty shtick has contributed to cynicism about politics and government. I detest him and am glad he no longer has a platform on TV.

    Preach.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @HeleninEire:

    I got to the paragraph where Walsh quoted Joe and Mika and I had to stop reading. I just can’t.

    For me it all goes back to Jamelle Bouie’s observation that for too many white people, especially media white people, racism is just bad manners. So Olbermann’s histrionics  were just like Rush’s “Barack, The Magic Negro”, or god knows what else went on with him back then.

  68. 68.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @James E Powell: he also said that (something like) no living Republican would be right. And whether screechers like Mandalay, who would rather lose righteously then win with a horrible rhetorical taint that offends their adolescent righteousness, it’s the kind of thing that appeals to voters we need to win. That’s the way the Electoral College crumbles, or rather, doesn’t.

    ETA: and this is the second time I’ve seen the Rally About Nothing dragged out of moth-balls for the shitshow it was. Good. I was sympathetic with Stewart in the run up to the 2010 midterms when he said “Fuck you” to Dems who complained he wasn’t being supportive enough, but that was such a fucking orgasm of precious, tote-bagger, above-it-all-ness, more on his part than Colbert’s, but Colbert was part of it.

  72. 72.

    Nicole

    @debbie: That’s great, but when he was upset about funding for 9/11 rescue workers being held up, he went and yelled at the House of Representatives, which was Democratic controlled and was going to pass it anyway, and studiously avoided pointing his finger at McConnell and the Senate, which is where the problem was.

    I got mad all over again reading Walsh’s recollection of Stewart’s “return to sanity” or whatever the hell that dumb “both sides do it” tour he did was…  I’m grateful to the show for launching John Oliver over here, as I think Last Week Tonight is an excellent program, but The Daily Show was part of the problem for the last several years of Stewart’s run on it.  Trevor Noah is a much better host.  As far as I know, he’s never described Hillary Clinton’s expression as “where boners go to die,” like Stewart did.

  73. 73.

    jk

    @James E Powell:

    Biden was a clueless dimwit when he said the Republican party will have an epiphany once Trump leaves office and when he called Dick Cheney and Mike Pence decent guys.

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    @Nicole: +1

    I was at The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.  The forced both-siderism of it was infuriating, and I wasn’t the only one there who felt that way.  I think Colbert tried to salvage it with his performance, but Stewart really did mess it up.  And as you say, it’s not just a one-off with him.

    Grr…

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  75. 75.

    JGabriel

    @HeleninEire: I got to the paragraph where Walsh quoted Joe and Mika and I had to stop reading.

    Why? Walsh wasn’t quoting them with affirmative intent, she was calling them out for being centrist both-sides assholes. At least, that’s the way I read it.

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott: I don’t know how forced it was on Stewart’s part. He’s a smug fucker.

    @jk: not invalid points, but he hasn’t been enough of a clueless dimwit to embrace Berniecare, which is something Normals actually care about.

  78. 78.

    JGabriel

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Nope. To the professional left, “it” (whatever it is) will always be Obama’s fault.

    “It” is the epoch – the last decade, or last score of years, depending on when you define it’s beginning – that Walsh hopes is finally ending now (or soon).

    I don’t think Walsh is blaming the epoch on Obama; I think she’s just dating its beginning to racist backlash against his election.

    Which makes me wonder, am I reading a different Walsh post than everyone else? Because a lot of people seem to have different interpretations of an essay I thought was pretty straightforwardly written.

  79. 79.

    Elizabelle

    @Another Scott:  I was there too.  And Stewart was as ridiculous as others say.

    Has he ever done a mea culpa about that one?  Talk about missing the plot.

  80. 80.

    Nicole

    @Another Scott:

    The forced both-siderism of it was infuriating, and I wasn’t the only one there who felt that way.

    I remember being really bothered by the bits I saw on TV about it, because until then I’d so firmly believed that Stewart was one of the good guys, and it was so very obvious to me that this was not “both sides are the same.”  Interesting to hear from someone who was there.

    And I’m not trying to knock people here who still really enjoy him- I adored, adored The Daily Show in the late nineties, early aughts- it was must-see every night for me (back when I could stay up past 11PM).  But by the end of Stewart’s run I’d realized how overwhelmingly white and male its perspective was.  I didn’t see it in the 1990s because virtually every other show was the same way.  Fish don’t notice the water.

    I’ve said it before here, but it was John Oliver taking over as host for awhile that made me realize how mean Stewart could be, and even then I didn’t realize it while Oliver was hosting; I only saw it after Stewart came back.  And after that I fell off watching.

    But again, it’s not a judgment on those who still enjoy him; in the end, he’s just another entertainer, and we like what we like, and once upon a time, I too was a huge fan.

  81. 81.

    James E Powell

    @jk:

    I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree – in the spirit of Democratic Collegiality that I hope characterizes this year.

    I don’t think Biden really believes the things he says about Republicans. I believe he says them because it’s part of his brand. And if he does, who cares? It’s not going to cost us votes.

  82. 82.

    Mike in NC

    l gave up on Jon Stewart when he continued to bring on wingnuts like Jim Demint and Dick Armey and let them projectile vomit their propaganda without any pushback whatsoever. He can DIAF.

  83. 83.

    HeleninEire

    @JGabriel: Oh I agree. Not complaining about Joan. I agree with what she said. I just could not listen to Joe and Mila be assholes ONCE AGAIN. Those two exhaust me.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @jk: Perhaps I am getting the wrong impression, but it strikes me that if there were a  book of all your comments, nearly every one would be anti-Biden.

    Wondering if I might be wrong about that?

  86. 86.

    JGabriel

    @justawriter:

    Quite honestly, as I enter my sixth decade, the same article could have been written about each of the last five. Just the names change, and sometimes not even that.

    The 90’s weren’t so bad.

    Compared to today, through the misty lens of nostalgia, they sometimes seem like halcyon days when the worst controversy we had to contend with was a bunch of Republican philanderers impeaching and trying to remove a president from office for the apparently unpardonable sin of philandering while Democratic.

  88. 88.

    JGabriel

    @HeleninEire:

    Oh I agree. Not complaining about Joan. I agree with what she said. I just could not listen to Joe and Mila be assholes ONCE AGAIN. Those two exhaust me.

    Ah, okay, got it. Thanks for enlightening me. I was clearly misinterpreting the context of your comment. My bad.

     

  89. 89.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Thanks, but it’s not necessary.  I’ll own my mistake.  :-)

    Seriously, interested people can get to driftglass’s home and see the piece with just a click.

    Thanks again.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  90. 90.

    JGabriel

    via @Jay:

     

    Litigation in the era of Trump:DOJ says the president had nothing to do with its decision to fire former FBI agent Peter Strzok. His lawyers respond by quoting President Trump’s remarks last week taking credit for firing him and others. pic.twitter.com/nDGlmiqttz— Brad Heath (@bradheath) December 30, 2019

    Funny how that whole authoritarian unitary executive theory never seems to apply when Barr has to defend/ignore Trump’s stupidity in court.

  91. 91.

    JGabriel

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Chuckles the Toddler a willing gullible sack of rancid shit who should be frog marched into a tumbrel?

    Yes.

    Maybe. I’ve certainly felt that way about him in the past. But for now, Todd seems to be making an effort at least, so I’m taking a wait and see attitude.

    But that’s mostly because I see optimism as an ethical obligation that I should at least give lip-service to once in a while, as opposed to my generally dismal and dyspeptic opinion of humanity.

  92. 92.

    justawriter

    @JGabriel: That’s more than mist, it must be a downpour. The 90s were stage three of the current GOP pattern (1: elect a criminal to bring more criminals into government, 2: pour millions into Dem neglected small states (Sagebrush Rebellion) and purple states to overcome their lack of popularity) where any D must be prepared to face a new scandal every month – The Arkansas Project, Mena Airport, Troopergate, the list goes on and on. Don’t forget they actually fired special prosecutor Fiske because he was going to close the Whitewater investigation and they stuck history with Ken Starr and his pet pornographer Bret Kavanaugh for two more election cycles. Gore felt forced to put Lieberman on the ticket because he had denounced Clinton and over the course of the election he denounced so many other Democrats he handed the election to Bush the Lesser. Any attempt to push back on Clinton for mouthing GOP nostrums (End Welfare as we know it, for one) were quashed because we needed to support him in the face of GOP insanity.

  94. 94.

    jk

    @WaterGirl:

    If Biden wins, I think Mitch McConnell will eat his lunch every single day, so yeah I’m a little bit concerned about Uncle Joe’s skills and abilities.

    In the era of Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement, I think Biden’s support for the 90’s crime bill and his failure to defend Anita Hill reveal how badly out of step he is in 2020.

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jk: tell me which Democrat will figure out how to work around Majority Leader McConnell, and give me at least a notion of how that will work. So far the most detailed plan I’ve heard is “Look out the window, Mitch”

  98. 98.

    jk

    @Elizabelle:

    We’re only talking about the most powerful office on the planet, so I don’t like the fact that many pundits and voters have given Biden a free pass for his lousy Senate record.

    If you don’t lament the fact that a boring, over the hill, bumbling white guy has so far out polled accomplished inspiring figures like Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamela Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren that’s your problem.

  99. 99.

    jk

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    McConnell will be a tough nut to crack regardless of which Democrat wins, but I’d trust the judgement of Warren, Booker, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg in a heartbeat over Biden.  To me, Uncle Joe has always projected an aura of buffoonery and cluelessness.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jk:

    inspiring figures like Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamela Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren that’s your problem.

    If Gillibrand and Booker couldn’t “inspire” more than 5% (2% in KG’s case, I believe) of the Democratic primary electorate to support them, to say nothing of the fact that they couldn’t even come close to the support “inspired” by the bumbling, boring old white guy, is “inspiring” the right word to describe them?

  101. 101.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jk:

    but I’d trust the judgement of Warren, Booker, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg in a heartbeat over Biden

    Before their judgement matters, they have to beat trump, and their judgement matters a lot more if they have enough coattails to make McConnell move into a smaller office

  103. 103.

    hitchhiker

    My strongest memory of Jon Stewart during the Tea Party debacle was him saying piously that their rage was “clearly coming from a very real place.”

    It was. It was coming from fear of colored people having the nerve to try to be in charge of anything but sportsball positions and blues music. It was coming from delusions of their own importance in the American scheme, as white people.

    trump knows that, which is why he never, ever misses a chance to stoke that rage, which he correctly identifies as the engine that drives his ugly little train.

    So yeah, Stewart is one of the people who let us down when it mattered most — during the first year of Obama’s first term. Either he didn’t see it (hard to imagine, b/c he’s a smart mofo), or he made a choice to let it pass (unforgivable).

  104. 104.

    rp

    I was at that rally; it was beyond infuriating. The worst thing is that by that point Stewart had become exactly the “both sides” media figure he’d spent years ridiculing. During the Bush admin., the daily show trained most of its fire on the MSM for being lazy, too chummy with the in crowd, and failing to speak truth to power. As soon as Obama took office he adopted the same pose.

  105. 105.

    justawriter

    @JGabriel: Human nature. I also remind parents who despair about the behavior of their children what evil motherfXXXers they were at the same age. (I am of the opinion that kids these days are better than me)

  106. 106.

    Booker

    I will happily vote for Biden if he is our nominee because he is far FAR superior to Trump. Hell, I will canvas for him and sing his praises. But the man is not beyond criticism. He is corporate friendly at a time that has laid bare that we need to be far more skeptical of corporate beneficence. He does not emphasize the problem of wealth inequality nearly to the extent I believe is warranted. His stances on Iraq, on bankruptcy law, on pro choice, etc. have been hugely problematic, and I don’t think he represents the best of what the party can offer. We are supposed to be having that conversation right now until we select our nominee. Then we can fall in line.

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