Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

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

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

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

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Second rate reporter says what?

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Election Year Open Thread: Is Harris About to Endorse Biden?

Election Year Open Thread: Is Harris About to Endorse Biden?

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Hardly a shocker, but IMO a choice between Biden/Harris and Warren/Castro would actually be reason for hope.

… An endorsement by Ms. Harris, if she wades into the primary race at all, would be unlikely to happen until after the Senate impeachment trial, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Yet she and Mr. Biden, the former vice president, have remained in contact since she exited the race and had a long conversation in the immediate aftermath of her departure…

Democrats close to Ms. Harris said she wanted to carefully consider the potential impact of her endorsement; was mindful that two of her female colleagues, Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, were still in the race; and was uneasy about the prospect of backing a candidate only to see him or her lose California…

At the outset of the Democratic contest, they were collegial with each other. That was in large part because Ms. Harris served as state attorney general in California at the same time that Mr. Biden’s son Beau was attorney general of Delaware, and the two young, ambitious Democrats had bonded. (Beau Biden died in 2015.)…

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246Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    This would surprise me a bit TBH. The only benefit to Kamala I see is that she thinks Biden will win anyway and wants to be Veep.

  3. 3.

    Peter

    Hardly a shocker, but IMO a choice between Biden/Harris and Warren/Castro would actually be reason for hope.

    Co-sign. Though I’m not feeling so hopeful these days. I really think the fuckers are going to get away with it.

  4. 4.

    JPL

    As someone who thinks Wilmer could be the nominee and bring down the party, I’m all in on a Harris endorsement of Biden.   Before you flog me, I voted for McGovern in the one state he won.

  8. 8.

    zhena gogolia

    Trump acquittal followed by Sanders as the nominee?

    I have to look for a new country to live in.

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    @JPL:

    As someone who thinks Wilmer could be the nominee and bring down the party, I’m all in on a Harris endorsement of Biden.

    It’s too early to think about.  Let’s see how Sanders does in primaries.  He gets strong support on social media, but I don’t know how that translates into actual votes.

  12. 12.

    Cacti

    @Brachiator: It’s too early to think about.  Let’s see how Sanders does in primaries.  He gets strong support on social media, but I don’t know how that translates into actual votes.

     

    Wilmer seems to be very high on his recent endorsement by douche-bro Joe Rogan.

    Horseshoe theory at work again.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    Sweet rompin’ Ronny Reagan on a Roomba, way to kill your audience, ya mooks.

    Fox News host Sean Hannity is set to interview President Trump during the Super Bowl pregame show, Mediaite reports.

  18. 18.

    VOR

    If Biden (or Wilmer) wins he would be the oldest person ever elected as President. Statistically, his VP has a non-zero chance to become President.  And he will be 4 years older in 2024 so the VP would be well positioned to run for President in 2024.

  20. 20.

    Marcopolo

    Reposting this from the dead end of the last thread:

    I don’t know what is going to happen. But I think everyone needs to keep in mind that delegates in the D primaries are doled out on a percentage basis (not winner takes all), that although it is true that Biden is polling better among AA than any other candidate he is not polling like Clinton did vs Sanders among AA (which is what allowed her to really clean up in the southern primaries), if Sanders wins IA & NH there will be a bump for him–both polling & $$. Theoretically the nomination could go to the wire except for all the front loaded contests which means the majority of delegates will be doled out by the end of March. I follow this stuff pretty closely. As far as I can tell it is a toss up atm. I still think there is a non-trivial chance we see a convention where no one has a majority of delegates. The thing to keep an eye on is who flames out next & where their support goes.

    One would think that Amy’s support would go to Biden; that Buttigieg’s support would go either Biden or Bloomberg (who will be in it till the end no matter how many delegates he wins); Wang’s folks probably go to Bernie; Tulsi’s folks go to Trump; Warren’s folks–I dunno, I am a Warren folk and atm I am not sure who my second choice is but she says she is going all the way no matter what. I assume Sanders & Biden are in it till the convention. I think everyone else’s support is pretty negligible.

    But bottom line, I would not count Sanders out at this time.

    As for Kamala (or anyone else who was running now endorsing) endorsing someone does anyone really believe endorsements move all that many voters? Most of us have second choices and move onto them when our first choice is out (except note my comment above re my second choice after Warren). I loathe loathe loathe having to pick between a couple of old white men.

  21. 21.

    trollhattan

    @VOR:

    It’s certainly more likely in this scenario than is typical. And VP-to-president hasn’t worked out very reliably in my lifetime. GWB was the last and the previous three were presidentus interruptus.

  22. 22.

    PsiFighter37

    She dropped out early to avoid losing in CA. Probably best to avoid doing anything ahead of the CA primary there…I am sure the Justice Democrats / left-left-wing of the CA Democratic Party is already gunning for her.

  23. 23.

    Princess

    I was kind of shocked when she dropped out and I wondered whether it was because she had done a deal with Biden that she would endorse him and then be his VP. Because it surprised me that she had less money on hand than Castro or Booker. In any case, a Harris VP would make me much, much happier about a Biden presidency.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    @Mike in DC:

    I dread Bernie’s veep choice. I am hearing that there’s a Nina Turner boomlet…yikes

    If either Biden or Sanders is the nominee, I guess there will be some ghoulish concern that a Veep be able to complete their term should the president die in office. This speculation was one of the many things that hurt McCain after he chose Palin.

    On top of this, should Sanders win the nomination and choose a purity pony rider for his Veep choice, I cannot see things working out well.

  27. 27.

    Cacti

    @Marcopolo: But bottom line, I would not count Sanders out at this time.

     

    In what scenario do you see Bernie Sanders possibly winning a brokered convention? He’s spent 3-decades insulting and alienating the party at every opportunity. Who’s going to have his back in the above scenario, other than the cult faithful?

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @Marcopolo:

    she says she is going all the way no matter what.

    When did Warren say this?  She’s at the top of my list, but why is she committing to sticking around if she’s losing badly?

  31. 31.

    Jay

    so, just so i have this clear, while having dinner with private business associates who happened to be personally tracking the American ambassador to Ukraine, the president ordered them to “take her out.” and people think this just means “have her fired”? word?— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) January 24, 2020

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @Marcopolo:

    if Sanders wins IA & NH there will be a bump for him–both polling & $$.

    I don’t think so.  These states are too small and too white to provide any meaningful indicator of voter preference.

    But we will see what happens.  I still tend to think that Sanders’ support is vehement, but thin.

    I also don’t think that Sanders can vary his stump speeches to widen his appeal. He’s been stuck in the same groove for 25 years.

  33. 33.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Marcopolo:

    if Sanders wins IA & NH there will be a bump for him–both polling & $$.

    Sanders is not going to pick up more AA voters.  He is the only candidate that is actually disliked, rather than not a first choice.

  36. 36.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Baud: there’s a good chance Biden only serves one term which would set her up as the heir to the presidency in 2024.  Though, I fully expect 84 year old Wilmer to run against her or Biden in 2024.

  37. 37.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    no votes have been cast. It is not uncommon for a “Dark Horse” cantidate to become the nominee at the 11th hour. Staying until the end, even while “losing” also gives a cantidate the opportunity to horsetrade for future positions and preferred policy.

  38. 38.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Brachiator: Exactly.  We forget Wilmer won neighboring NH by 24 points and received 49.6% of the vote in Iowa and he STILL lost by 3,708,294 votes.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    @Jay: Well, that’s what Bernie did in 2016, and it didn’t work out well for us.  Although I don’t expect Warren or her fans to be as destructive.

  42. 42.

    Baud

    @Jeffro: Biden is old, but with access to the best health care in the world, there’s no reason to believe it likely that he will be dead by 2024.

  43. 43.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @PsiFighter37:  the Justice Democrats are below impotent.  They primaried the unlikeable Feinstein in 2018 and received an embarrassing 2.2% of the vote (that’s not a misprint).   They wouldn’t do better against a likeable candidate like Kamala.

  44. 44.

    trollhattan

    Ways to prove you’re irrelevant, part #543

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) told The Hill that she is considering throwing her support behind Michael Bloomberg for president. Lightfoot told the Chicago Sun-Times that she wasn’t leaning towards endorsing Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

  47. 47.

    Captain C

    @Cacti: Who’s going to have his back in the above scenario, other than the cult faithful?

    All those millions of people he swore would march on Moscow Mitch’s office whenever he would have needed to get anything done as President had he won in 2016.  Just like he had them do to stop the ACA repeal attempt, the horrible Trump tax bill, and the Kavanaugh appointment.

  48. 48.

    Ruckus

    @lamh36:

    OUCH!

    Unfortunately he would never understand that, as he’s about as clueless as it’s possible to be and still be considered living.

  49. 49.

    kindness

    I really don’t want a Senator to be the potential Vice President as we need every Democratic Senator we can keep.  Having said that Kamela was my first choice (I’m in California so yea I supported her) and Adam Schiff could run and win to replace Kamela so that would be a two fer.  Now Warren is my first choice.  Bernie is a hold my nose and vote for the cranky old man type thing.  I don’t get how Bernie is ahead of Warren other than BernieBros are robots with giant chips on their shoulders.

  50. 50.

    Spanky

    I sure as shit hope she’s not going to endorse Joe. Not before Super Tuesday, anyway. But it just may be that she sees this as a way to burnish her cred with AA voters, which I find highly ironic.

  51. 51.

    Baud

    @kindness:

    I don’t get how Bernie is ahead of Warren other than BernieBros are robots with giant chips on their shoulders.

    Bernie isn’t ahead because of Bros, unfortunately.  There aren’t enough of them.  Real live progressives are making that choice.  It’s not a good look IMHO.

  54. 54.

    jk

    @Jeffro:

    the 2020 VP would already BE president in 2024

    Let’s get even realer.  Should Biden 77 or Sanders 78 win, the 2020 VP could be President in 2022.

    Voters need to wake the fuck up.  Given the rigors and demands of the presidency, it’s simply batshit crazy to cast a vote for any presidential candidate over 75 years old.

  55. 55.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    very few cantidates have any kind of electoral success with the message of “when the going get’s hard, I will quit.”

    The “Sanders Compromise” was to a large part responsible for the Democratic Party adopting the most “progressive” platform in decades.

    Yeah, some crap also came with the “package”, but that was Bernie and his Bro’s being them. It didn’t cost the Democratic Party the election, it was just one more, lesser straw in “The Perfect Storm” of ratfucking that was 2016.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    @Ruckus: No. This is the first I’ve heard her mentioned since she was elected.  I don’t know anything about her.  But it’s surprising to me that she may endorse Bloomberg, but maybe she has her reasons.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    Biden is old, but with access to the best health care in the world, there’s no reason to believe it likely that he will be dead by 2024.

    It’s not just about access to health care.  Family history and all kinds of other factors are involved.

    From actuarial tables the life expectancy of a male, age 77, is 10 years.

    BTW: People worried about John McCain.  His mother, age 107, is still alive.  I think her twin sister lived to be 99.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @Jay:

    very few cantidates have any kind of electoral success with the message of “when the going get’s hard, I will quit.”

    That’s not the equivalent statement to “I will stay in no matter what.”

    The “Sanders Compromise” was to a large part responsible for the Democratic Party adopting the most “progressive” platform in decades.

    No, it would have been that even without his additions.

    It didn’t cost the Democratic Party the election, it was just one more, lesser straw in “The Perfect Storm” of ratfucking that was 2016.

    We’ll have to disagree about that.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    OT So twitter is telling me that Pompeo erupted over a Ukraine question from a NRP reporter.   He ended up calling her into his office and used EFG’s favorite words and then made her point where Ukraine was on a map.  https://www.npr.org/people/2780701/mary-louise-kelly   Wrong person to attack.   Another family values guy down the tubes if only MSM would cover it.

  63. 63.

    PsiFighter37

    @JPL: Pompeo is a pompous ass. His name fits him perfectly. What Kansas voters ever saw in that blowhard – who basically drove his business into the ground before getting into Congress – is beyond me. He’s not even originally from KS (he’s a Californian).

  64. 64.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    unfortunately, in this current timeline, “the message” is what ever the MSM and social media says it is, using selectively editted clips and 10,000 Op Eds.

  65. 65.

    Baud

    @Brachiator:

    From actuarial tables the life expectancy of a male, age 77, is 10 years.

    That supports my theory that his death isn’t likely, although the chances are higher than we would like.

  67. 67.

    Eljai

    @JPL: Wow!  I have not always been a fan of Mary Louise Kelly on NPR, but she deserves a lot of credit for this report.  And, Pompeo!  What a dick!  But you knew that.

  70. 70.

    Brachiator

    @kindness:

    I really don’t want a Senator to be the potential Vice President as we need every Democratic Senator we can keep. Having said that Kamela was my first choice (I’m in California so yea I supported her) and Adam Schiff could run and win to replace Kamela so that would be a two fer.

    It’s almost a sure thing that the next California senator will be a Democrat, so no worries there. And probably a lot of good choices, including Schiff.

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    @JPL:

    Their on-air exchange was incredible. She kept calmly asking him to indicate when he had defended Yovanovitch.

  73. 73.

    tobie

    I always want to like Warren and then I hear her and am reminded that I think there’s something off with her. I don’t agree with several of her policy positions but that’s not really the point. It’s a character thing, as if she isn’t able to look past herself and grasp the stakes of this election (like whether we will continue as a democracy at all). On the night Iran retaliated in Iraq for our strikes, she held a rally in NY and scarcely mentioned what was going on in the Middle East. She was interviewed the second day of the impeachment proceedings by Rachel Maddow and in lieu of talking about this historic moment she talked about her campaign and who was stumping for her in Iowa. Then last night, after Schiff concluded the day’s proceedings with a speech for the ages about how right matters and truth matters and without them we’re lost, Warren’s very first tweet was about putting handcuffs  on the CEO of Wells Fargo. No doubt the guy’s a cheat but the tweet was so tone deaf at that moment. I’ll vote for her if she’s the nominee but I’ve found her narrow in her approach.

  76. 76.

    Marcopolo

    @Baud: Warren just put out a memo talking about her having over 1000 staff on the ground in the vast majority of states–the context was she was in it for the long haul.  Here is the article:

    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/24/elizabeth-warren-campaign-staff-strategy-103499

    Elizabeth Warren’s campaign disclosed Friday that it has over 1,000 full-time staffers in over 31 states plus the District of Columbia in preparation for a protracted primary slog that goes well beyond the upcoming Iowa caucuses and early states.
    “We expect this to be a long nomination fight and have built our campaign to sustain well past Super Tuesday and stay resilient no matter what breathless media narratives come when voting begins,” wrote campaign manager Roger Lau in a memo to supporters Friday. “The four early states contests are just the beginning.”

  77. 77.

    PST

    @Baud:

    This would surprise me a bit TBH. The only benefit to Kamala I see is that she thinks Biden will win anyway and wants to be Veep.

    I doubt it would help her with the veep nomination. I don’t actually know anything about the mental processes of candidates, but it seems almost certain that gratitude plays no role. Presidential candidates want the person with the best shot at taking them over the top whether they like them (Gore), hate them (Johnson), or barely know their names (Truman). If Biden thinks that Harris is the best choice for him, which she might be, he’ll pick her, endorsement or no.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Losing a Senator for President is one thing, but losing a Senator for a Veep is frankly pretty pointless. She should just wait until 2024.

  80. 80.

    trollhattan

    @chris:

    Collect the entire set! Maybe he wants to play Live Mayor Chess on a giant board (ala Star Trek). Mayors of cities <500k are the pawns.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Or perhaps her top priority is to take out Bernie, and she thinks that boosting Biden is the best chance of that.

    Or perhaps a hundred other reasons.

    late edit: or maybe she’s not planning to do it at all.

  84. 84.

    Chyron HR

    @Jay:

    The “Sanders Compromise” was to a large part responsible for the Democratic Party adopting the most “progressive” platform in decades.

    All good things come only through Bernie!  Love him or die!

  86. 86.

    Jay

    As youse guys have only the best nepotism hires, it looks like there is going to be an intellectual property battle between The Federation and your new Space Force.

  88. 88.

    Martin

    This is all testing the water. I think the VP slots are pretty wide open. Yes, Castro would be appealing to Warren. Yes, Harris would be appealing to Biden. But it’s WAY too early to game this out, with exactly zero states having voted. I think Warren/Harris is a real possibility.

    @Brachiator: Yep. Nobody should fear losing Harris from the Senate. Remember, her opponent in the general election was another Democrat. The GOP couldn’t even get a candidate worthy of 2nd in primary votes, and they ran only one candidate so it’s not like they were splitting the field.

    Schiff would probably be a shoo-in given his national exposure, but we’ve got a lot of options to work with here.

  90. 90.

    hilts

    OT

    Pompeo can’t handle a straightforward interview from an NPR host without losing it

    All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly claimed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shouted at her, dropped the F-bomb, and tried to ridicule her geographical knowledge after he abruptly left an NPR interview with her after she questioned him about Ukraine.

     

    “What is happening there is an aide stopped the interview and said, ‘We’re done, thank you,’ and you heard me thank the Secretary. He did not reply. He leaned in, glared at me, and then turned and with his aides left the room,” detailed Kelly. “Moments later, the same staffer who had stopped the interview, reappeared, asked me to come with her — just me, no recorder — though she did not say we were off the record, nor would I have agreed. I was taken to the Secretary’s private living room where he was reading and where he shouted at me for about the same amount of time as the interview itself had lasted.”

     

    “He was not happy to have been questioned about Ukraine. He asked, ‘Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?’ He used the F-word in that sentence, and many others. He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map. I said yes,” she continued. “He called out to his aides to bring him a map of the world with no writing, no countries marked. I pointed to Ukraine, he put the map away. He said, ‘People will hear about this,’ and then he turned and said he had things to do, and I thanked him again for his time and left.”

     

    h/t https://www.mediaite.com/news/npr-host-says-pompeo-erupted-dropped-f-bombs-over-her-ukraine-questions-he-asked-if-i-could-find-it-on-a-map/

  91. 91.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator:

    Life expectancy these days is being affected by the rise in both drug/alcohol abuse and being overweight, as well as overall fitness and healthcare. Someone born in 1942 has a longer life expectancy than someone born in 1950 because of this.

  92. 92.

    Marcopolo

    @Brachiator:

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    My comment about getting a bump out of winning IA & NH is based on me observing what has happened in D presidential primary politics since I could vote, 1980.  Because of how the media covers the contests, the people who do well get the vast majority of positive coverage out of those two states and there is a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy as a result.  Will 2020 be like other years?  Maybe not but the odds say yes it will be.  In which case Sanders (who last I checked) has a polling lead (small in IA, larger in NH) will get a bump if he wins.

    It does not warm my heart to write that but I tells it like I sees it. Anyway, it is about 2 years in todays media time until the voting actually starts so we will see.  But I do see folks here writing off Sanders, and I think that is jumping the gun.

  93. 93.

    Brachiator

    @debbie: 

    Losing a Senator for President is one thing, but losing a Senator for a Veep is frankly pretty pointless. She should just wait until 2024.

    California would have no problem in sending out another Democrat as Senator.

  94. 94.

    PST

    @trollhattan: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) told The Hill that she is considering throwing her support behind Michael Bloomberg for president. Why?!

    I’m a big fan of Mayor Lightfoot, but I’ll be just a little less a fan if she does that.

  97. 97.

    Jay

    @Chyron HR:

    part of the Big Tent politics is adopting “language” in the Platform to appeal to not just “Progressives”, but also “Blue Dogs”, as an appeal to “earn votes”, even if it never gets acted on.

    Pretending that there isn’t “horse trading” going on, isn’t a healthy attitude.

  99. 99.

    trollhattan

    @zhena gogolia: @hilts:

    Was prodded to look up Ms. Kelly’s bio and must say, she has an impressive pedigree.

    Kelly graduated from Harvard University in 1993 with degrees in government, French language, and literature. Two years later, she completed a master’s degree in European studies at Cambridge University in England.

    Authored a couple novels, to boot.

  105. 105.

    debbie

    @Eljai:

    I’m not a fan of her either, but metaphorically, she does have balls. I love when people don’t use her full first name (Marie Louise) and she gets all huffy.

  108. 108.

    debbie

    @hilts:

    Remember that time Trump had had enough of a reporter and just folded his arms and looked past the reporter, not responding to anything? Like a fucking toddler.

  109. 109.

    Dan B

    @tobie:  Warren does seem a little to focused on her positions and nit enough on the newsy, and often critically important events.  Comments on the newsy buts can get more media coverage since reporters are looking for celebrities to weigh in on the stories they are covering.

    Steyer was on Amanpour and his comment about the reason he got in the race was no candidate was talking about “How they were going to..” achieve their policies, they’re just talking fine details of their policy.  Warren, and others, need to talk about the Senate and the courts being blocks to passing any progressive policy.  Specific names would be good like Mitch blocking 400 pieces of legislation and filling the courts with extreme conservatives.

    BTW I don’t know Steyer’s “How to” strategies but he has worked to create grassroots organizations that are making a difference.  Maybe the best of each candidate will rub off on the nominee.

  112. 112.

    trollhattan

    @Martin:

    I played plenty of RISK and know damn well where Ukraine is and what color, to boot. You can keep a LOT of armies on it and will need every one. Hrrmph.

    “Now, why don’t you point out Djibouti  to me, Mr. Secretary.” /Beavis

  114. 114.

    Brachiator

    @Marcopolo:

    It does not warm my heart to write that but I tells it like I sees it. Anyway, it is about 2 years in todays media time until the voting actually starts so we will see. But I do see folks here writing off Sanders, and I think that is jumping the gun.

    Jeez. Everybody wants to play at being a pollster.  I’ve given my opinion about Sanders’ chances here, but have not written him off.  And we will see what happens soon enough.

    I will note your prediction and give you due credit if you are right.

  115. 115.

    Marcopolo

    @tobie: Really glad you have your anti-Warren talking points so quickly at hand.  I’m a supporter of hers and I apparently am not following her as closely as you are.  So I went and looked at her twitter feed.  The tweet about former Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf was a reply to an article in the NYT about him.  Directly above that (within an hour) was a tweet about the impeachment hearings and Trump needing to be impeached.  And apparently she was on CBS This Morning today to talk about impeachment as well.

    Also looked at Biden’s twitter feed (no comment re Schiff’s comments or impeachment at that time yesterday), Buttigieg (same as Biden), Sanders (nothing), and Klobachar–who did highlight Schiff but a couple hours after Warren put her impeachment tweet out.  So I guess you are a Klobachar supporter?

    Btw sorry Beto didn’t work out, iir he was your first choice.  I am glad he has decided to work to help D’s take the Texas state legend.

  117. 117.

    hilts

    @debbie:

    Remember that time Trump had had enough of a reporter and just folded his arms and looked past the reporter, not responding to anything?

    Unfortunately, I can’t get image out of my mind.  In addition to the person always within close proximity to Trump who holds the nuclear launch codes aka “the football” , there’s a second person always within close proximity to Trump who holds a pacifier.

  119. 119.

    Martin

    @trollhattan: Absolutely. The most contested location on the map. If you hold Ukraine you are either denying Asia, or threatening to take Europe. Both are necessary win conditions, even if your path to victory started in South America.

  120. 120.

    Kraux Pas

    @hilts: Unfortunately, I can’t get image out of my mind.  In addition to the person always within close proximity to Trump who holds the nuclear launch codes aka “the football” , there’s a second person always within close proximity to Trump who holds a pacifier.

    The nuclear football is the pacifier.

  121. 121.

    frosty

    @Jay: Not to be too much of a nit-picker, but it’s spelled “candidate” not “cantidate”. It stops me in my tracks whenever I read one of your comments. Which isn’t what a writer wants the reader to do.

  122. 122.

    tobie

    @Marcopolo:

    I gave a detailed statement on why I often find Warren’s statements to be oblivious to the moment. You attack me instead of either ignoring my comment if you don’t like it or considering the substance of what I’m saying. I don’t have “talking points.” I’m not a politician. Nor do I work for any campaign. But I am a news consumer. I research candidates. I read up on their plans, and I follow their statements. Your response is nothing short of rancid.

  124. 124.

    hilts

    @tobie:

    You’re not seeing the Elizabeth Warren that I see- a thoughtful, fully engaged, enthusiastic candidate with a great command of facts.  You should take up fiction writing as a hobby because you clearly have a wonderful imagination.

  126. 126.

    Dan B

    @Marcopolo: Good to have the clarification on Warren, thanks.

    It would be great to hear more about strategy to achieve some progressive legislation and how to break through the impediments to progress, Moscow, Mitch, Cotton, Cruz, Federalist Society, Media disinformation, etc.

  127. 127.

    tobie

    @Dan B: Running for President is exhausting and running for President while sitting through an impeachment trial is beyond exhausting. It’s easy to slide into your stump speech when you’re going through something this grueling. I get it. There is time between now and the general election, and things will change.

    At the moment my bigger fear is that Trump will use of the occasion of an acquittal to instruct Barr to open investigations into all of his political enemies. He’ll start with Biden and Schiff and go from there. Who’s to stop him? This is such a dark moment.

  129. 129.

    Baud

    @tobie: I wouldn’t put anything past Trump, but Hillary still walks free.  We just need to make sure we stand ready to defend our people.

  131. 131.

    tobie

    @hilts: Maybe you should take up fiction writing. Jesus. I used to like this blog but now you go hammer and tongs against anyone who has a differing opinion. So be it. Bye bye.

  134. 134.

    hilts

    @Martin:

    Nobody brings the stupid quite like Trump.  The depth and breath of his ignorance is mind boggling.  I wish I could be around to read what future historians will write about his idiot supporters and his gutless enablers who sold their souls and sold out this nation for a lunatic.

  137. 137.

    JGabriel

    @Baud: When did Warren say this? She’s at the top of my list, but why is she committing to sticking around if she’s losing badly?

    I don’t know if Warren actually said it or not, but I do know that you don’t say anything that could potentially discourage your base before their votes are even cast. So, if someone asks if you’re in it for the long haul, of course you say yes.

  138. 138.

    lamh36

    @debbie:

    I believe the NYT is reporting this:

    ABC reported that Mr. Trump could be heard on the tape saying, “Get rid of her.” According to ABC, the president went on to say: “Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. O.K.? Do it.”

    https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1220854027686158336

    As Chump calling for her to be fired.  Others see the words “get rid of her” in mafia terms…i.e… a hit

  142. 142.

    chris

    Oh, Daniel, I hope you have good security.

    The Trump campaign is running Facebook ads claiming that the "liberal media" and "fake news" will try to stop its Super Bowl ad from being aired.The Super Bowl is airing on…Fox. Also, broadcast networks aren't allowed to reject such ads. From @b_fung:https://t.co/5LtEwQXZh4— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) 24 January 2020

  144. 144.

    debbie

    @lamh36:

    Yeah, they’re arguing that in Acosta’s tweet. Having endured Trump for more than four decades now, I can assure you he wasn’t talking about politely escorting her out of the building.

    He was doing his best Fredo impression. //

  146. 146.

    WaterGirl

    @hilts:

    He called out to his aides to bring him a map of the world with no writing, no countries marked.

    What a dick.  For him to have the unmarked map at the ready, for his aide to scurry in with, he must play this “map” game all the time.  What a dick.  But I repeat myself.

  147. 147.

    lamh36

    An hour long recording!

    @Yamiche

    More

    Confirmed: Lev Parnas attorney, Joseph Bondy, tells me he has turned over to the House Intel Committee an hour long recording of President Trump talking about firing former US Amb to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Bondy said Parnas found the recording in his iCloud account.

    5:56 PM – 24 Jan 2020

  148. 148.

    Aleta

    @lamh36: I saw this story this afternoon about an audio (and video) that ABC has seen:

    A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture Trump telling associates he wanted the then-U.S. ambassador to UkraineMarie Yovanovitch fired while speaking at a small gathering that included Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman….

    … Sources familiar with the recording said the recording was made during an intimate April 30, 2018, dinner at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.Trump has said repeatedly he does not know Parnas…

    “Get rid of her!” is what the voice that appears to be Trump’s is heard saying. “Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it.”

    On the recording, it appears the two Giuliani associates are telling Trump that the U.S. ambassador has been bad-mouthing him, which leads directly to the apparent remarks by the president. The recording was made by Fruman, according to sources familiar with the tape.

    …

    During the conversation, several of the participants can be heard laughing with the president. […]  But the most striking moment comes when Parnas and the president discuss the dismissal of his ambassador to Ukraine.

    Parnas appears to say: “The biggest problem there, I think where we need to start is we gotta get rid of the ambassador. She’s still left over from the Clinton administration,” Parnas can be heard telling Trump. “She’s basically walking around telling everybody ‘Wait, he’s gonna get impeached, just wait.” (Yovanovitch actually had served in the State Department since the Reagan administration.)

    …

    House investigators have been attempting to document – in part with text messages supplied by Parnas — an almost year-long effort on the part of Parnas and Giuliani to get Yovanovitch removed from her post. At times, the messages made public by the House Intelligence Committee show Giuliani referencing his repeated efforts to have Yovanovitch recalled from Kyiv, a push that was initially unsuccessful.

    “Boy I’m so powerful I can intimidate the entire Ukrainian government,” Giuliani messaged Parnas in May 2019. “Please don’t tell anyone I can’t get the crooked Ambassador fired or I did three times and she’s still there.”

    The identities of others participating in the recorded conversation are unclear. During an early portion of the recording where video can be seen, Donald Trump Jr. appears on the recording posing for pictures with others. Sources say they were attending a larger event happening at the hotel that night for a super PAC that supports the president.

    Another clip seen on the recording, according to the sources, is of individuals entering what appears to be a suite at the Trump Hotel for the intimate dinner. The phone that was recording the Trump conversation appears to be placed down on a table with the audio still recording the conversation between the commander-in-chief and other guests, according to the sources. The image of the president does not appear on the video reviewed by ABC News.

    In a recent interview with MSNBC, Parnas publicly recounted his memories of the scene at the dinner and said that Trump turned to John [DeStefano], who was his deputy chief of staff at the time, and said “Fire her,” he claimed.

    …

    A copy of the recording is now in the custody of federal prosecutors in New York’s Southern District, who declined to comment to ABC News.

     

    …

    “I don’t know him,” the president said just last week when asked about Parnas. “I don’t know Parnas other than I guess I had pictures taken, which I do with thousands of people, including people today that I didn’t meet. But I just met him. I don’t know him at all. Don’t know what he’s about, don’t know where he comes from, know nothing about him. I can only tell you this thing is a big hoax.”

  149. 149.

    trollhattan

    @hilts:

    Warren has singlehandedly changed my mind about septuagenarian candidates. The other old dudes have not shoved the needle at all.

    I’d be selfied-out after twenty. “Executive Naptime!” “Yes sir, and your blankie?” “You know me so well.”

  151. 151.

    WaterGirl

    @Brachiator: Yeah, but she is a talented Senator with influence.

    I don’t believe for a second that all senators are equal and interchangeable.  Do you?

  152. 152.

    lamh36

    @aleta

    @lamh36: Right… Yarmiche mentioned the VIDEO recording!! Not sure if it’s a hour long VIDEO or just some video mostly vocal recording

     

    VIDEO recording!!! Yamiche 7m7 minutes ago More NEW: Joseph Bondy, Lev Parnas’ attorney, tells me he turned over an hour long iPhone VIDEO recording to House Intel Committee of Pres Trump saying he wants to get rid of former Amb. Yovanovitch. Bondy says he hopes this will lead to a “tipping point” & Parnas will get to testify.

    https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1220859826793742336

  157. 157.

    zhena gogolia

    It’s really feeling like Untergang. And not a parody, either.

    RIP, Bruno Ganz. We need you.

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL:

    Magic 8 ball says the president can’t.

    Tucker scratched his paw the requisite number of times to indicate that is correct.

  164. 164.

    TS (the original)

    @Baud:

     I trust Harris over the NYT.

    I trust anyone except trump over the NYT and even that is probably a tossup. They treat access as worth more than any truthful news – obviously trump wants Biden to win.

  171. 171.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @frosty: Save your typing. The Knucklehead Of The Frozen North can’t spell or bother to spell-check, can’t think or bother to thought-check, and is unnaturally eager to lecture all us Yanks about what we are doing wrong even though he knows fuck-all about American institutions despite having lived next door for all too many years. Why Cole hasn’t had him banned for sheer stupidity escapes me.

  172. 172.

    WaterGirl

    @tobie: Yikes. I’m not even tracking which of you likes which candidate – because a lot of conversations like this seem like mental masturbation to me – but how does leaving a blog because you don’t care for one of the commenters make sense?

  173. 173.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @hilts: You all realize by The Rights’ and Trump’s own rules NPR, of all things, just pOWNed the Secretary of State. These are the people who think getting someone angry is a victory, well there is a victory in their stupid little game for them stick in the pipe and smoke on it.

  174. 174.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36: I hear “take her out, get rid of her” as:

    Take her out by any means necessary, and I don’t want to know the details.  Just do it.

  176. 176.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Amir Khalid: Good. Fucker ought to get upset at having the IQ of pond scum, but hey, Dunning-Kruger. (Or do they spell that “Dounning-Kroeger” up north of the 49th, Knuck?)

  178. 178.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36:

    An hour long recording!

    Too bad the Dems 3 days is over.  I would have liked to hear some of that in the show trial.

  179. 179.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @tobie: He’ll start with Biden and Schiff and go from there. Who’s to stop him? This is such a dark moment.

    Again; Trump would be coasting to victory in 2020 if it wasn’t for his own fat mouth. When the Senate votes no on Impeaching Trump, Trump won’t waste five minutes into doing something so  incredibly stupid it will completely undo any political momentum he gained.

  182. 182.

    germy

    so, just so i have this clear, while having dinner with private business associates who happened to be personally tracking the American ambassador to Ukraine, the president ordered them to “take her out.” and people think this just means “have her fired”? word?
    — b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) January 24, 2020

  186. 186.

    opiejeanne

    By the summer of 1860, there were six candidates for President: Douglas for the Northern Democrats,  Breckinridge for the Southern Democrats, Lincoln for the Republican Party, Bell for the Constitutional Union Party, Sam Houston for the People’s Party, and Gerrit Smith for the Liberty Party.

  187. 187.

    Martin

    @lamh36: It would help his case if he was talking to even a single person who had any authority to fire her, or who was even a government employee.

    I don’t think Trumps intent was to have her killed. I think Trump is completely unable to navigate a government structure, with rules and shit, and instead goes to outsiders to undermine and dish dirt  so that the problem goes away without him having to actually navigate the institution.

  188. 188.

    TS (the original)

    @JPL:

    they learn this bullying from trump – believe it shows they are strong men – rather than the sycophantic fools  they show to the world.

  190. 190.

    debbie

    Good luck with that, bub.

    TRUMP DEFENSE TEAM SCRAMBLING TO FIND EXAMPLE OF LAW TRUMP DID NOT BREAK

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Desperately trying to change the narrative after a week of damaging presentations, Donald J. Trump’s defense team is scrambling to find an example of one law that Trump did not break, sources confirmed on Friday.

    In concert with two of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent defenders, Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr, Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow has been scouring federal, state, and municipal law books in the hopes of finding one statute that Trump, for whatever reason, did not violate.

    “So far, no luck,” a source close to the defense team said.

    If the attorneys do manage to find a law that Trump did not break, that information will be “locked down” in a secure server to which Trump himself will not have access.

  192. 192.

    germy

    @Martin:

    I don’t think Trumps intent was to have her killed.

    He just wanted her roughed up a little bit.

    Wasn’t he quoted as predicting “some things were going to happen to her”?

  193. 193.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Martin: Trump has never worked in a large organization, his company is relatively small(even though he thinks it’s huge).  He thinks he can run the US Government like he ran(or mis-ran) his business, he can’t.

  194. 194.

    TS (the original)

    @WaterGirl:

    What a dick.  For him to have the unmarked map at the ready, for his aide to scurry in with, he must play this “map” game all the time.  What a dick.  But I repeat myself.

    Wonder if he has ever asked trump where is Ukraine on his map.

     

  197. 197.

    Mnemosyne

    @WaterGirl:

    I will repeat three words that I think will help reconcile you to the possible loss of Harris in the Senate:

    Senator Adam Schiff.

  198. 198.

    Amir Khalid

    @debbie:

    I can’t help but wonder if The Borowitz Report has ever invented some absurdity about Trump that afterwards turned out to be perfectly true.

  199. 199.

    germy

    Wow. I really hope it went like this:

    POMPEO: YOU PROBABLY CAN’T EVEN FIND UKRAINE ON A MAP, IDIOT!

    REPORTER: It’s right here.

    POMPEO: Oh. Well, irregardless—

    REPORTER: That’s not a word.

    POMPEO: Are you inferring I’m stupid?

    REPORTER: Implying.https://t.co/vM8bK88p1f

    — Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) January 24, 2020

  201. 201.

    WaterGirl

    @germy:

    Trump:  She’s going to go through some things.

    The person who was with the ambassador when she first heard that Trump had said that said she turned absolutely white, that you could see the color drain from her face.

    I have thought about that while reading this new information.  If she felt sick about this before, I can only imagine how sick she feels about it now.

  203. 203.

    Brachiator

    @WaterGirl:

    Yeah, but she is a talented Senator with influence.

    I don’t believe for a second that all senators are equal and interchangeable. Do you?

    Isn’t the one of the main reasons for wanting to keep someone in the Senate is so that we keep the numbers, and increase them if possible?

    Otherwise, I am not strong on the idea that any person should keep a Senate or House seat if they can do good service elsewhere.

    Also, as a California resident, I think there are a number of people who could do a good job in Congress.  It is not a matter that anyone is easily interchangeable.

  205. 205.

    WaterGirl

    @Brachiator: I get what you’re saying, but seniority has a lot to do with committee assignments, and has even more to do with leadership positions in committees.

    We can certainly see this week how much is determined by committee leadership.

    So I don’t see it primarily as about the number of D bodies in the senate.

  206. 206.

    dexwood

    @WaterGirl: I was raised and educated Catholic in Baltimore, the result being, I’m usually more comfortable with criticism than praise unless it’s from jerks who only care about making you feel small.

  207. 207.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: Yep.  We have a mobbed up president, and even more unfortunately, it’s the Russian mob.

    I have started to allow myself to have hope that there will be enough pressure on senators that they vote to allow witnesses and documents that they will vote for that, even though they hate it.

    They don’t care that it’s just a show trial, but they don’t want everyone else to know that’s what it is.

    So it’s going to be a kick in the gut if these fuckers stick to their 53/47 votes.

    I think Dems need to start calling the R senators what they are:  either collaborators or cowards.

  209. 209.

    Marcopolo

    @Cacti: Never said I see Sanders winning a brokered convention.  Said if he wins IA & NH he will get a bump & momentum heading into NV & SC (does that move any AA primary voters in SC, I dunno).  Said there is a non-trivial chance of no one having a majority of delegates by convention time.  Two different statements.  If there is a brokered convention I have no effing clue what happens, though I think the current rules say super delegates can vote after the first ballot & one might assume they would most likely support the most establishment D candidate.

  210. 210.

    WaterGirl

    @dexwood: I was also Catholic and went to 8 years of catholic grade school.  My kindergarten report card says “responds well to praise”.  I’m pretty sure that’s true for everyone, but I’m guessing must have been even more true for me since she thought it was notable.

    I’m good with praise and constructive criticism.  Is that like being ambidextrous?  :-)

  211. 211.

    Mnemosyne

    @Marcopolo:

    People are worried about a brokered convention because idiot Michael Moore proposed that Warren throw all of her delegates to Sanders so they can take down the evil, evil Joe Biden if Biden gets more actual votes.

  212. 212.

    germy

    @WaterGirl:

    I think Dems need to start calling the R senators what they are:  either collaborators or cowards.

    Susan Collins would pass another note to Roberts if that happened.

  213. 213.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    You would be shocked at how many professional writers get pissy if you point out a spelling or grammar mistake in their work. Ugh.

    Only poor ones. And those with insecurities.

    Even in the business world there are dopes. We once had a manager who kept inserted bad grammar and bad spelling into a user guide we were working on. He could override our choices. When we sent it out, some customers noted the errors. The manager, of course, denied responsibility. But fortunately took himself out of the edit/review loop.

  214. 214.

    WaterGirl

    @germy: She can write all the fucking notes she wants to.

    I am all for every DEM senator writing a note every time one a republican attorney lies.

    edit: if you don’t like being called a coward, or a liar, or a collaborator, then don’t be one.

    (no, I’m not mad at you; I’m just mad.)

  215. 215.

    TS (the original)

    @WaterGirl:

    I will never understand how the minions can act this way – when they work for a guy that probably has geographic issues related to anywhere outside of NY and Florida. I doubt he could find the White House if dropped a couple of streets away.

    And when I think of the abilities of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as SoS – I feel even worse about trump’s appointments.

  216. 216.

    206inKY

    I’m personally hoping for Stacey Abrams as VP. She would help light a fire under Georgia right when we need it in contention, with two Senate races on the ballot. She would be governor now if it weren’t for voter suppression, and the VP slot would magnify attention to her post election work on voting rights.

  219. 219.

    dexwood

    @WaterGirl: It means you’re well-rounded. I was being a bit of a smart ass. 12 years for me. Mostly, I learned to do things right the first time, or the next time, and people left you alone. If you screwed up, you screwed up. Move on. Though, there were certain people in my life who made me shine with their praise.

  222. 222.

    Marcopolo

    @WaterGirl: I listened to some of that interview a few hours ago.  Kelly was pretty good.  Pompeo would talk about how much progress Trump has made with Iran & Kelly came back with–paraphrasing here:  Iran is now attacking tankers in the gulf, shooting down our drones, and attacking Saudi oil fields, should we call that progress?  When Pompeo said Trump’s strategy was working to better to keep Iran from getting the bomb, Kelly pointed out that since we pulled out of the nuclear treaty Iran has dramatically increased its work to developing a bomb.  Pompeo said that was only because the Obama administration was so lax on them including, wait for it, giving billions of dollars to the Iranians (this is the R talking point about how to view giving Iran back Iran’s own money–which we had impounded–after they signed the agreement).

    After Kelly asked him about defending Yovanovich when she was under attack, Pompeo gave some anodyne response about always defending State employees (something like no one has ever defended our workers like I have) so Kelly asked him if he could direct her to his remarks specifically defending Yovanovich.  Instead of answering Pompeo ended the interview.

    Anyhow, I think in honor of this interview & you calling him a dick I will no longer call him Mike Pompeo, from here forward I will call him Dick Pompeo.

  223. 223.

    WaterGirl

    @Marcopolo: Interesting!  I had no idea of everything that had come before the “defending the ambassador” question.

    Pompeo is a dick.  Now I’m even more sure that he felt the need to “put the little lady in her place” after asking all those impertinent questions.

    I hope all these criminals get what they deserve.  Not a person of honor among them.

  224. 224.

    Brachiator

    @WaterGirl:

    I get what you’re saying, but seniority has a lot to do with committee assignments, and has even more to do with leadership positions in committees.

    Yep. Excellent point.  More factors that should be taken into consideration.

    Of course, I don’t think that Harris would be giving up much in the way of seniority.

    But again, we will see how this all plays out.

  225. 225.

    Marcopolo

    @Mnemosyne: 1. Michael Moore should just sit down and STFU.  At least for a month or two.  Is that too much to ask?  If not that maybe he could just politely ask folks to get out and help elect a candidate they love in 2020 at any level.  2. Opining about whose delegates should go where before any delegates are even selected is about as stupid as stupid gets.

    That being said, I am signed up to write post cards this month, to collect signatures to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot in MO this year, and my favorite state house candidate will be knocking her first doors in Feb when the weather is cooperative.

  227. 227.

    James E Powell

    @dexwood:

    I was raised and educated Catholic in Baltimore, the result being, I’m usually more comfortable with criticism than praise unless it’s from jerks who only care about making you feel small.

    I had that Catholic education. Hearing praise causes anxiety. I embrace ever negative anyone ever said about me

    @chris:

    The guilt! The shame! I walked away from the church 50 years ago but never managed to lose that part of it.

    Same with me. I don’t think the Sister Mary Glorias and Father Mikes of America knew that this is what would happen, but I wonder if they ever felt regret for it.

  228. 228.

    James E Powell

    @WaterGirl:

    I think Dems need to start calling the R senators what they are: either collaborators or cowards.

    I think they need to say the same about Roberts and his right-wing colleagues on the supreme court.

  229. 229.

    Brachiator

    @Marcopolo:

    so Kelly asked him if he could direct her to his remarks specifically defending Yovanovich. Instead of answering Pompeo ended the interview.

    As WaterGirl said, very interesting!

    Trump not only puts crappy people into his administration, he encourages and brings out the worst in them.

    And, I suppose, jerks like Pompeo are used to soft interviews from Fox News and other right wing kiss up organizations.

  231. 231.

    chris

    @James E Powell:

    I don’t think the Sister Mary Glorias and Father Mikes of America knew that this is what would happen, but I wonder if they ever felt regret for it.

    They, and the church, were counting on it!

  233. 233.

    WaterGirl

    @James E Powell: Absolutely!

    Maybe one of the notes should say the “judge” should be replaced because he has lost control of the courtroom and is letting the lawyers get away with constant lies.

  237. 237.

    Martin

    @Mnemosyne: Give Michael Moore credit for one thing – he knows that Michelle Obama is the candidate that would beat Trump in a landslide and is his first choice.

  239. 239.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl:

    Relatedly, GovExec:

    The State Department’s mission is compromised by “staff shortages, frequent turnover, poor leadership, and inexperienced and undertrained staff,” the department’s inspector general warned in a new report.

    “Workforce management issues are pervasive, affecting programs and operations domestically and overseas and across functional areas and geographic regions,” the watchdog reported Wednesday.

    The 16-month hiring freeze imposed by the Trump administration in early 2017 continues to affect operations and morale, the IG found, noting that department officials anticipate it will take until 2021 to fully recover from its impact.

    […]

    In addition to staffing shortages, “under-qualified staff is an issue that frequently intersects with the department’s difficulties managing and overseeing contracts,” the IG said. For example, in Iraq, there was a lack of qualified employees to serve as contracting officer representatives and, in India, officers in charge of human rights and counterterrorism did not have the necessary training.

    […]

    “The department acknowledges that combatting a toxic workplace starts at the top; holding leadership accountable is key to maintaining a productive and mission-focused workplace,” State said in its response.

    Irony is dead.

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  240. 240.

    Chris Johnson

    It’s all dirty tricks, all the way down.

    It was the Post where Kellyanne Conway endorsed Sanders: which I firmly believe is to push Democrats to go ‘fine, I’ll do the opposite and vote Biden’, because they’re more prepared to run against Biden, for all that Trump is most scared of him.

    If the NYT (MUCH more open to direct Russian control, I think) is running fake news saying that Harris is going to angle for a Biden Veep slot, they are probably trying to make Harris repudiate him, to slap back hard enough to damage Biden in the process.

    I’m pretty sure the bad guys want to run against Biden the most as they are the most prepared against him, and are also working fulltime at undermining him (seems contradictory but it’s not that difficult in practice). Failing that they would like to run against Sanders, not because he is a direct Russian agent but because they’ve got tons of crap against him as well and believe he’d be easy prey.

    FWIW, which ain’t much, I too got ‘anti-Warren bot’ vibes about tobie in this thread. It would be pretty surprising if we didn’t have some enemy action. They’re swarming all over Twitter, Reddit, what are we, chopped liver? We’re bound to get a few rooskies on their lunch break from time to time, taking a stray shot at this powerful and influential top-10,000 blog :)

  241. 241.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    The State Department’s mission is compromised by “staff shortages, frequent turnover, poor leadership, and inexperienced and undertrained staff,” the department’s inspector general warned in a new report.

    Obviously, Trump needs to get rid of that inspector general.

    /snark

  243. 243.

    Jay

    “We’re doing very well. I got to watch enough. I thought our team did a very good job. But, honestly, we have all the material; they don’t have the material.”President Trump brags about obstructing Congress, which is the second article of impeachment.pic.twitter.com/EpfK4GlTVv— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 23, 2020

  246. 246.

    J R in WV

    @Marcopolo:

    …I will no longer call him Mike Pompeo, from here forward I will call him Dick Pompeo.

    I think technically it should be Mike “Dick” Pompeo in that case, shouldn’t it?

Comments are closed.