Of course it was a load of manure — that’s the best the beast is capable of producing. More shame on the gutless GOP sacks in suits who, to protect their own sinecures, not only voted the horse as their leader, but insisted it was the finest orator and firmest patriot since Tailgunner Joe McCarthy dined alone (with his DTs).
A lot of punditry has once again switched into 2016 mode, in which every transgressive act, and every freakish moment, is treated as revolutionary political theater, and not the shabby burlesque it truly is. https://t.co/ZRtwjlCdEF
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) February 5, 2020
Commentary, at this point, would be superfluous… El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago delivered his State of the Union address, one of the few constitutional responsibilities of his office that he hasn’t ignored. Which is not to say he hasn’t degraded it, too. On Tuesday night, he turned it into a cheesy spectacle that belonged in, say, a casino sinking into bankruptcy in Atlantic City.
He bestowed the Presidential Medal Of Freedom on Rush Limbaugh, hanging it on that rancid bag of old sins, right there in the House chamber. He arranged a surprise family reunion for a soldier home from deployment, right there in the House chamber. He told an African-American schoolgirl that he, personally, was going to see to it that she can go to a good school. He congratulated another child on not having been aborted, and promised that he, personally, would see to it that nobody was. These Dear-Leader-Grants-a-Wish moments are straight out of a dog-eared playbook used by various members of the Kim family in North Korea. Weaponized sentimentality is a powerful tool in authoritarian hands.
The speech itself was the usual farrago of lies and bigotry…
This is a lying, criminal president*, aided and abetted by a political party that lost its mind long before it lost its way, and that now swallows poisonous pablumlike this:
If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free health care to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left. But if you believe that we should defend American patients and American seniors, then stand with me and pass legislation to prohibit free government health care for illegal aliens.
It’s morning in American carnage.
The State of the Union is hurting because of the occupant of the White House, who consistently demonstrates contempt for the American people, contempt for Congress & contempt for our constitution. I cannot in good conscience attend tonight's sham #SOTU ? https://t.co/DTwG3Y7dK3 pic.twitter.com/Hres8eAFkK
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) February 4, 2020
"Bullying people on Twitter doesn't fix bridges. It burns them. Our energy should be used to solve problems," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says in Democratic response to President Trump's #SOTU speech. https://t.co/bulmjJOCUb pic.twitter.com/vFN3q17evK
— ABC News (@ABC) February 5, 2020
Actually the only Democratic response needed. https://t.co/sNtvNn8Kdn
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) February 5, 2020
A reminder of how this started https://t.co/UvUzCdCgoX
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) February 5, 2020
Don't be distracted.
He did it once. And he will continue to cheat in the elections.
He abused his power once. And he’s planning on doing it again.
For Trump and Republicans in Washington, it’s #StateOfTheCoverup. #SOTU
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) February 5, 2020
And it turns out even a lot of the rubes low-info voters weren’t buying what the Oval Office Occupant was ‘saying’…
Nielsen says Trump's ratings for the State of the Union were down 20% from last year and well below the numbers in 2017 and 2018. https://t.co/8FKPwWetOj
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 6, 2020
Pelosi is estimated to be responsible for roughly 80 million dollars in DCCC fundraising in 2018 alone. Part of the reason she's in charge is because she pays everyone's bills. https://t.co/Y033Vf3AIk
— Iowasca Tripper (@agraybee) February 5, 2020
1) Pelosi does some glib meme-y thing that some people politely applaud on Twitter
2) Republicans absolutely lose their shit
3) Twitter leftists absolutely lose *their* shit
4) Some ham-faced Midwestern white guy runs for the Speakership in 2020, loses badly
5) Rinse, repeat— dn (@dnnation) February 5, 2020
West of the Rockies
Looking at that picture with Pence, I wondered what was going through his head. No doubt, simply the rush of wind, the rattle of the six BB’s that make up his brain.
Obvious Russian Troll
The horse would have done a better job.
feebog
Luckily I was on vacation in Auckland NZ at the time. We had a lovely dinner that night, grilled octopus for the missus and grilled beef tongue for me. And a wonderful local Sav Blanc. I would guess my evening was far better than most who watched the shitshow.
Starfish
I thought someone said that <a href=”https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/trump-used-philly-girls-story-to-attack-failing-schools-but-shes-at-one-of-the-citys-most-desired-charters/“>the girl he promised a better school</a> is already attending a better school on scholarship.
Dan B
Matt Schlapp stated that he “Fears for Romney’s physical safety if he attends CPAC.” This was posted on gay progressive blog Joe My God. It’s been reposted hindreds of times including by Rick Wilson, Joe Walsh, Bill Kristol, and David Frum. Old style con’s reposting a gay blogger?!
Plus Schlapp indirectly threatening a US Senator!*
*Not too surprised at Schlapp, the guy who makes Trump seem jocular.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Brad Pitt!
schrodingers_cat
No open thread for the Oscars?
Mike in NC
Next time Fat Bastard has a tee time at Mar-A-LaGoFuckYourself, one of his sychophants will claim he hit twelve holes in one without breaking a sweat. How will our rancid media react?
Geminid
@feebog: What I like about octopus is that everybody gets a leg.
The Dangerman
So, I’m not much into the movie thing; give me a good ball game (Welcome to LA, Mookie) or a good binge watch (Breaking Bad!)…
…but how in the world is Tom Hanks up for Supporting Actor when the movie is about Fred Rogers, who he plays? What am I missing?
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
? ? ?
SiubhanDuinne
HAIR LOVE!! Yesssssss!
JPL
So glad Hair Love won
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: Such a delightful and moving film.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: It was up against some stiff competition too. Anime has come a long way.
artem1s
https://www.gregpalast.com/kemp-loses-vote-purge-suit-brought-by-reporter-palast/
some good news on the fight against voter suppression… tic toc mf.
SiubhanDuinne
@The Dangerman: Have you seen it? It’s actually *about* a journalist who has major father issues which are impacting his job and his marriage, and is sent to interview Fred Rogers. It’s not a biopic of Mr R.
Elizabelle
Hair Love! Brad Pitt! And me without a television. Missing the Oscars, so keep us informed.
A dedicated thread would be nice. Who wants to talk about Trump? Gah. The shark looks lively, gotta say that.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: It’s the only one I’d seen, so I can’t judge the competition, but I agree about the improvement in animation (although not generally my style). But I watched Hair Love twice this morning after it was recommended on one of the morning threads, and loved it.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Elizabelle: it’s being live streamed on the net
https://abc.com/watch-live
Elizabelle
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: You’re a dear. But no underlying TV service.
I saw you could get some free trials (Hulu, etc.), but that seemed kind of extreme for one show …
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Although Sister by Siqi Song was my least favorite because it pushed an agenda in my opinion, it was quite creative and it’s easy to find online. Kitbull is more like the anime we are use to, but the story behind it maybe not so much.
Elizabelle
JoJo Rabbit gets an Oscar! Taika Waititi wins best adapted screenplay. Original novel was “Caging Skies.”
I loved that movie. Recommend it highly.
sdhays
With all due respect to Nancy Smash, he has never really stopped abusing his power.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Shark is cute. Love the anodyne smiley-face behind Rush and Melania. Love Dense as a robotic green-faced Martian, complete with little antennæ. I do like political cartoons with plenty of meat to them.
mrmoshpotato
@Mike in NC: Upchuck Todd: He was luxurious and tremendous at hitting 18 holes-in-one all at the same time!
satby
Just watched the last two episodes of the Good Place and am totally verklempt. What a great show, ended perfectly. ?
BC in Illinois
Something I think deserves more comment about Speaker Pelosi as the Democratic leader.
She picked Jason Crow as one of the House Managers of the Impeachment Trial.
Jason Crow, in January 2019, voted against Pelosi as Speaker.
“Just win, Baby.”
smintheus
Fucking Buttigieg is at his Republican talking points again: “Pete Buttigieg called on Democrats to get more serious about lowering the national debt, portraying himself as the biggest fiscal hawk in the presidential field and taking a shot at chief New Hampshire rival Bernie Sanders for being too spendthrift. Asked at a town hall here how important the deficit is to him, Buttigieg said it’s “important” and vowed to focus on limiting the debt even though it’s “not fashionable in progressive circles.””
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/pete-buttigieg-calls-deficit-reduction-swiping-bernie-sanders-n1133206
As always, only Democrats have the power to control the deficit.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Eminem just brought the house down with a live performance of “Lose Yourself”
Though the song is 18 years old, every young person in the audience was singing along.
James E Powell
@BC in Illinois:
Something that cannot be said of Pelosi often enough: she is the leader and manager of a coalition of congresspersons, many of them a/holes who think they could do the job better than she does. She also must answer to or at least not alienate the Democratic donor class and many of them think they should rule the world.
She’s got mad skills.
Elizabelle
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Would love to see that! Yea MM.
Kay
I laughed because I think it’s true. Unleash, Amy. Give ’em hell.
NotMax
State of Delusion speech.
mrmoshpotato
@satby: Yes. Rivaling the Six Feet Under series finale.
NotMax
@David Merry Christmas Koch
Inquiring minds demand to know whether Eminem is plain or peanut.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Terrible. You should be exiled to an island.
satby
@smintheus: Cole had a good take on that on twitter.
Edit: the one below at 5 hours ago or so.
Steeplejack (phone)
No Oscars thread? WTF. We can’t snark about just politics all the time.
Gin & Tonic
@smintheus: Dean Baker on Twitter said, essentially, go away and learn some economics, kid.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Oscar grouches?
chris
Live stream
debbie
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
He finally grew into that. The piece that just finished was absolutely awesome!
satby
@Gin & Tonic: if I cast back in my memory, it seems that the last two Democratic presidents reduced the deficits they inherited. Repealing Trump’s tax give away to the 1% would cut the deficit. Seems a fairly anodyne statement for anyone to get worked up about.
Elizabelle
@chris:
Thank you! That stream works.
Martin
@Steeplejack (phone): Oscar speeches are mostly going to be snarking about politics, you realize.
Eolirin
@satby: One of those democratic presidents ran a surplus even…
chris
@Elizabelle: Welcome. It’s a little jumpy for me but it’s probably overloaded. not bad for free.
(“Politics” is MSNBC. “Top Headlines” is CNN.)
Kay
OK, I’m a Warren’s supporter but Klobuchur’s gleeful competitiveness in a female candidate is a breath of fresh air. It’s really different.
Amy won’t hug you but she’ll kick someone’s ass for you :)
Elizabelle
@chris: I do catch MSNBC sometimes via the link. No idea it was carrying the Oscars, so thank you for that. Bummed to miss Eminem and the first part, but guessing that will turn up on Youtube before too long.
opiejeanne
@The Dangerman: Last I heard Mookie might not be moving to the Dodgers. The Angels were really looking forward to Joc Pedersen, but one of the other teams in this convoluted deal is balking
Just checked, and Mookie may still get to LA but the Angels won’t get Pedersen, probably because the owner is a stupid negotiator and insists on sitting at the table when it should be the GM. GRRRR! The Angels owner is a Trumper. We need a better owner.
Jerzy Russian
@Kay:
How much does she charge for this service? I have several names in mind. Does she give bulk discounts?
JanieM
@opiejeanne:
Then again:
From earlier this evening, links to a Globe article at 6:17 p.m. (Behind a paywall.
ETA: the linked boston dot com article isn’t behind a paywall, the Globe article is.
Kay
@Jerzy Russian:
I’m interested in a different approach to running while female. I wonder if the way to break out of the silly expectations on “warmth” or whatever is just to completely ignore them and do your thing. Which is what she’s doing- I haven’t seen this before. To me, she has the same kind of energy female athletes have. We haven’t seen that in a female candidate, I don’t think. She’s not nice :)
Jerzy Russian
@Kay: I hope Trump is gone after the election. However, it would be extra special if he lost to Klobuchur or Warren. This would make him the first person to lose a presidential election to a woman twice (I am aware of the issues with the electoral college). Visitors to his prison cell can taunt him endlessly about that.
Geminid
@smintheus: Yeah, I don’t like the South Bend mayor using this issue against other dems either. But come the general, the deficit will be one helluva club with which to beat Trump. His theme is “Promises Kept,” but ending the deficit is a major promise he broke. The deficit is on track to exceed one trillion dollars this year. “Trillion Dollar Tax Cut for the Rich” was one of the Democrats’ best issues in the 2018 congressional races. A whopper deficit makes the issue even more potent.
Another Scott
ICYMI, LOLGOP at Eclectablog – How to punish Mitch McConnell:
Lots of excellent advice there. Click over to see the original links, etc.
Cheers,
Scott.
Darkrose
@feebog: The State of the Union address happened to be on my 50th birthday. My wife and I went out for a lovely dinner at one of our favorite restaurants including pan-seared scallops and gnocci for me, seafood risotto for her, and a fabulous Meyer lemon brulee for dessert.
The Lodger
@Kay: If you can’t get Megan Rapinoe, I believe Amy will do quite nicely in the kicking department.
Lyrebird
@Kay: I don’t think Geraldine Ferraro was so into nice, either, but that was a very long time ago.
Check out Ms. Tims, though, at the end of this absolutely amazing video on voting… She’s also strong and not sugar coating anything! She says every time you don’t vote, someone is glad you didn’t so they can make decisions about your life for you. Only better than how I just said it.
Lyrebird
@Jerzy Russian:
Thank you for my best laugh of the evening, and I needed one!!!