Will this ever end? Am I paying for sins from a previous life? I’m gonna go to Blackwing Lair and forget about real life problems.
Here’s a picture of Steve smiling while I skritch him at bedtime:
I guess you can discuss the debate here.
This post is in: Election 2020, Open Threads
Comments are closed.
Jeffro
Go Democrats!
POUNCE on ‘heckuva job trumpie!’ with all your might
JPL
@Jeffro: That won’t happen. They’ll bicker among each other in order to give bern a leg up.
Betty
Steve!
West of the Cascades
Who’s a good kitty!??
Sab
My husband’s Maine coon comes running whenever Daddy calls him by either his name or his nickname. I mean drops everything and gallops over. Even when Dad is yelling at him. If Dad calls he comes.
It’s weird. I have never seen another cat do this, but my sister says it’s typical of happily settled Maine coons.
Amir Khalid
Bianca’s bedtime ritual, ever since she was a kitten, is to give my scalp and face a lengthy tongue bath. I learned to look forward to it.
It seems to me that these candidate debates have been devolved by their organisers into a series of rank-out contests: more entertaining than having candidates argue for their position on things, but less useful for the voter who wants to assess them on merit.
WaterGirl
Bless you for giving us Steve. Our very own (virtual) emotional support animal for the debate.
WaterGirl
Oh my god, John, did you actually do this?
First I laughed out loud, then I snorted. (sorry)
chopper
hey now, maybe liz will kill and field dress someone on stage again. that’s worth watching.
The Dangerman
Dear Abby,
Scientists say the oceans are rising, doctors are warning of a worldwide pandemic, and the Stock Market is in free fall…
…but Donald is doing the Kevin Bacon (“All is well. ALL IS WELL!!”) and blaming it all on the unfairness of the Deep State (so unfair to him) and fake news.
Who do I believe?
Jeffro
@JPL: two or three of them will launch into ol’ heckuva right off the bat, you watch
Chyron HR
One of the demands in Bernie’s Unity Ransom Letter to the DNC was debates every night until he wins, so here we are.
E.
@Sab: I’ve got a runty little black cat that’s the same way. When I call he runs. If I yell out “Where are you?” he usually just vocalizes. Never seen anything like it.
hilts
Great thumbnail description by Kurt Eichenwald on the Republican opposition research file on Sanders. He wrote this 4 years ago.
h/t https://www.newsweek.com/myths-cost-democrats-presidential-election-521044
Elizabelle
CBS Streaming for the debate. Free; no sign in.
Lucky us. We get Norah O’Donnell. ;-(
Another Scott
I’m reading here and listening to the CBSNews broadcast in another tab. Let’s do this!
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Bernie gets billionaires in in his first 20 words.
Q is “hey, isn’t this actually a fab economy with such a low unemployment rate?” — that’s the gist.
Baud
Bernie should call himself a republican socialist so he can appeal across party lines.
Another Scott
Q to Bernie – How can you keep unemployment as low as God Emperor Trump has done?
A – Yeah, it’s a great economy for Billionaires™… (track 5, 2016 stump speech)
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Sab
@Amir Khalid: It syas a lot that BJers can’t be bothered to watch. Nobody watches for the media looking for selective soundbites. Disheartening, but then I door to door canvas ( canvass?) and it’s okay. Nice people out there.
Last week I was a kind of naive asshole. They are sending us out alone since shortstaffed. I found my neighborhood and thought “hmm, that’s iffy.” I read the newspaper.
So I called my husband to drive while I canvassed and he said “your not doing that alone” so I went back and said sorry I can’t do these streets.
Then I dragooned another guy who had just turned up to canvas, and it was embarrassing, because the street was a whole bunch of single moms on minimum wage just raising their kids. That’s part of our target group.
ETA They live there with their babies all the time, mostly happily, and I was afraid to walk on their streets?
dnfree
I have a debate question. What is the story about Democrats removing the one and only American flag from the debate stage in Las Vegas? I am seeing right-wingers on social media ranting about this. “Why would anyone vote for Democrats who don’t display the flag???” I haven’t seen anything about this in so-called mainstream media or fact-checkers.
Butter Emails
@hilts:
Bloomberg should be able to buy it and weaponize it before the primary.
Elizabelle
Bloomberg asserts Russia is setting up Bernie to lose.
Love it.
Baud
“I would make a better president than Bernie.”
Baud
Yay Warren!
Elizabelle
EW. Bernie and I agree on a lot of things but I think I would make a better president than Bernie.
This is why I want her as nominee. She is the real deal. She is specific.
Baud
Yay Pete!
Another Scott
Liz – Bernie can’t get it done. I can.
Liz – I got it done, and Bernie’s team trashed me for it.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Says Bernie’s team trashed her for it. Progressives have one shot and we want to do it with a leader who can get it done.
Lively debate. Pete up now.
Imagine Trump vs. Bernie. Exactly.
Baud
I can’t believe this debate has more people than the last one.
schrodingers_cat
@chopper: She should go for the #1 in the polls not #4 if she wants the nomination if she is angling for VP that’s another story.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Has it begun?
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Yes.
Elizabelle
Pete’s right about we don’t want our blood pressure through the roof watching Bernie v Trump.
Who would think we would be collateral damage to 2 over the hill 70 year olds with advanced health problems?
jl
Warren’s answer was good, Steyer’s is good, since make good policy points.
Buttigieg’s was a cheap shot
@Elizabelle: Guess we disagree. Biden’s OK too.
Another Scott
Uncle Joe – Bernie voted against the Brady Bill 5 times.
Uncle Joe – Bernie wanted someone to primary Barack.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Biden: Bernie voted 5 times against the Brady Bill. Brings up Mother Immanuel.
Wanted to primary Barack Obama.
Good. Take him out, candidates.
Progressive is getting things done.
Sab
@E.: My own favorite cat, who claims to adore me, never comes when I call.
Baud
It’s nice so far but I hope it’s not too late.
Elizabelle
@Another Scott: I am your echo!
We have to see if Bernie answers anything without “billionaires” in it.
And his platform was stolen from the Dems. Learn up, Berniebots.
Anya
Ugh! I thought we just had one that give a bounce the winner of the debate.
PsiFighter37
I don’t think I have the energy to hate-watch this, but I hope someone besides Bloomberg mentions Wilmer’s connections to the NRA.
RandomMonster
Biden is not smooth or eloquent.
Baud
@PsiFighter37: Biden did.
Another Scott
ex-Mayor Pete – I have more grass-roots donors than I have Billionaires™.
ex-Mayor Pete – Send me money.
Cheers,
Scott.
jl
I like Buttigieg much much less every time I see him in a new debate.
You don’t need cheap shots to take down Sanders. Easy to do without them.
Adam L Silverman
@RandomMonster: He’s fighting his stutter. You can see it.
Elizabelle
Except for the framing on the first question, I’ve thought the questions are fair.
trnc
@jl: Sorry, I thought Steyer expressed nothing but platitudes.
Eljai
@schrodingers_cat: I kind of think that as long as Bloomberg is in the race, it helps Bernie. So I think she should take Bloomie out and leave the others to do the frontal attacks on Bernie.
Baud
Amy should have dropped out but they are ignoring her, which is wrong.
jl
This going to be another debate wrecked by moderators trying to be wanna-be C-list Tiger Beat gossip columnists? Horse race much?
With coronavirus news, and resulting economic news we need some substantive questions.
Elizabelle
Pete brings up that there are 7 white people on the stage talking about racial justice.
WaterGirl
I want to punch Bloomberg.
RandomMonster
@Adam L Silverman: I forgot about the stutter. I will admit this is the first debate for this season that I’m watching live, so I’m not used to hearing him speak for more than a sound bite.
Amir Khalid
I think that whether a cat comes when called has a lot to do with how it feels about the human calling it. That, and whether it has some more immediate concern at the moment than coming to you.
Adam L Silverman
@dnfree: Someone caught a screen grab of them setting up the debate stage in Vegas. No Democrats are on stage. No moderators are in their seats at the moderator table. An American Flag was set up on the stage where it was standing in between the entry onto the stage and the podiums. There is no sound and no indication any candidate or campaign or the DNC asked for it to be removed. My guess is that it was removed by NBC’s stage producer because he didn’t want the first candidate to come up, run into it, and knock it over.
Another Scott
Amy: Instead of just talking about the past, we need to talk about how we’re going to move forward. But first like Dr. Martin Luther King said 50 years ago…
:-/
She finished strong, but man, talk about losing the plot at the beginning…
Cheers,
Scott.
Mnemosyne
@RandomMonster:
He never has been. ?♀️
Baud
Warren still on fire.
Another Scott
SP Warren brings out the flame thrower: Trump will be here later to support Lindsey Graham. ex-Mayor Mike also supported Lindsey…
Cheers,
Scott.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: That was a good answer by Pete.
jl
@trnc: Steyer’s answer wasn’t that great, but it addressed issues. I thought Buttigieg’s answer was almost Cillizza level theater criticism politics.
I’m a Warren supporter, so don’t mind a bit if they make some effective attacks on Sanders. But I want them to be attacks on issues, not cheap shots.
JWR
There’s been a lot of talk about Bernie’s 60 Minutes interview, but for me, this is the part that really got my spidey senses tingling:
Well excuuuse me!, “Mr. Not Particularly Anxious To Tell“, because the oppo is gonna be lit. Here’s hoping it’s used against him by the Dems, and not Trump.
zhena gogolia
@Mnemosyne:
I think he can be quite eloquent when he’s impassioned.
Elizabelle
Q: to EW: you’ve said Bloomberg is the riskiest candidate, not the safest.
EW says Bbg funded Lindsey Graham. (Graham’s name got a boo from the audience.) Brings up his supporting GOP over women challengers — and one was HER — “that was me. It didn’t work. But he tried hard.”
Says that core of Dem party will never trust BBg. So he is riskiest candidate on this stage.
Bbg brings up smoldering piles of 911. Cites experience, resources, and record.
mrmoshpotato
Hey Mikey! Why you stomping on Rudy’s “9/11 9/11 9/11!”?
Another Scott
@jl: Unpossible!!1
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
EW alleges Bloomberg told a pregnant employee to “kill it.”
MomSense
I miss having a cat.
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
Take a look at the comments just above yours — looks like Liz decided that tonight was the night to take on Bernie. ?
I’ve been skimming the terrible news about the pogroms in India. I hope you’re holding up okay. ?
schrodingers_cat
Why is she is wasting time on attacking Bloomberg?
Roger Moore
@Eljai:
This is more or less how I see it. When you attack a candidate who is far from you ideologically, you can use it to show your own ideological position, while you have to be very careful about attacking somebody who’s close to you. So it makes more sense for Warren to attack Bloomberg and let the more centrist candidates go after Bernie.
RandomMonster
God I love Warren punching Bloomberg about his support of right-wing idiots.
Elizabelle
Now BBg’s jokes come up. NDAs mentioned too.
Baud
This is going on too long.
Adam L Silverman
@RandomMonster: I asked my mom, a retired speech language pathologist, about it. About whether the combination of age and stress could make him start to revert. She said it is certainly a possibility.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: I am fine.
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: She took on Bernie. Said she was the progressive who could get it done.
Elizabelle
Wondering if this gets commercials. I forgot to eat.
Elizabelle
There better be some solid, solid evidence for the Bloomberg “kill it” comment.
Another Scott
@schrodingers_cat: Maybe she’s not wasting time doing so?
Cheers,
Scott.
jl
@zhena gogolia: Biden has been very uneven on effective oratory. I listened to some of his trial speeches before he declared. He was practicing such an over elaborate folksy Uncle Joe schtick, with long long stories, slipping in and out of various characters, that it was almost impossible to figure out what he was saying.
So, he may have had trouble working up a more effective approach. I think he’s been getting better recently.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: If you go to the kitchen when Bernie’s talking, you should still be able to hear him shouting.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Haha.
schrodingers_cat
BullShitter Shouty is yelling and enunciating every word. He gets more annoying every debate.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Warren said it was the woman herself who said Bloomberg said that.
JWR
Oh Amy, don’t make me vote for you!
;)
Mnemosyne
@zhena gogolia:
He can be, but it’s not his usual key. I’m fine with that.
Another Scott
@schrodingers_cat: +1
Cheers,
Scott.
ET
I am from New Orleans but don’t live there, so instead I am watching c-are of the WYES YouTube channel – the meeting of the Courts – Rex and Comus which is the end of Mardi Gras essentially.
The is a whole Twitter “thing” for #tweetingofthecourts and #rexcomus
It is HIL-AIR-E-OUS! Bring booze if you watch.
Aleta
Let’s talk about math! OK. Math! Math!
randy khan
I continue to be convinced that my plan of not watching any debates is the best plan.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Yes. Heard that. Hope she is an irrefutable source.
And yes re the Bernie shouting. That is not going to wear well.
schrodingers_cat
Steyer go pound sand.
Baud
Hey, Steyer, if you’re scared, drop out.
Another Scott
Steyer is good about what’s at stake.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
Yay Pete!!
schrodingers_cat
BS needs to pipe down he might get another heart attack.
Elizabelle
Someone should pivot to Coronavirus.
And stick up more for improving our healthcare system. Amy is weak sauce on “we can’t afford it.” We can’t afford the status quo.
Baud
Yay Biden!
oatler.
It sounds like “The View”.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: I think they should toss out one steel pipe, seal the stage, and see who comes out alive at the end.//
WaterGirl
Biden: “Bernie hasn’t in fact passed much of anything.”
Another Scott
Uncle Joe is saying that one of the billionaires bought a private prison… Steyer?
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Biden: Bernie hasn’t passed much of anything.
Baud
@Another Scott: Yes.
Ohio Mom
Just got here. Pete is ripping Bernie to pieces, now Biden is at it. Swoon…the moments I’ve been dreaming of.
Elizabelle
@Another Scott: Yup.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: He injected some reality in the debate about the Congress and Senate. Go Pete.
Elizabelle
Amy re tearing the party apart will lead to Trump continuing to tear the country apart.
Says Bernie is not best person to lead the ticket.
No shit. Yea Amy!
It matters if we can actually get things done. Not just talk.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/michael-bloomberg-women/
More at the link.
WaterGirl
Dog help us if Amy gets a bump out of this debate.
Avalune
Hellllooooo moderators? Anyone?
Baud
Bloomberg: You want me in that wall(et).
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
IIRC, it can be difficult for someone who has a stammer to speak extemporaneously because they can unexpectedly run into the word pairs that give them trouble. That’s why he’s much more likely to reach eloquence with a prepared speech that he can write to avoid the word pairs that give him issues.
(Note: not a speech pathologist, but I did some basic reading about stuttering after I saw “The King’s Speech.”)
Mary G
All the yelling is turning me off.
jl
I’m turning down the sound, will turn it up if I hear a decent question. Hate this debate so for. Same damn questions that have been asked ten times over. Candidates are spouting slogans.
‘howugonnapayforit’ question is totally bogus. Either M4A or improved ACA have to bring down sky high prices of US medical care. Either can or can’t depending on the details. If they can, they save money, if they don’t, we go bust.
US spends 18 percent of GDP on health care. Other M4A or improved ACA countries spend between 10 and 12 percent. There you go. That’s all the math you need. I think Warren said that once, and she should have stuck with that instead of playing the ‘howugonnapayforit’ GOP talking point game.
Edit: half the game of ACA was to bend the ‘cost curve’. Big sighs of relief after it started doing so. One piece of damage Trump sabotage has done is to allow prices to start rising too fast again.
WaterGirl
Did bloomberg just accidentally say he “bought” all the new members of congress who got elected in 2018?
edit: I see that Scott at #122 heard the same thing.
RandomMonster
@Baud: When Biden gets impassioned he’s very good.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Only a hour and half left.
Another Scott
ex-Mayor Mike – I bought 20-some-odd seats in the House. Bow down to me.
ex-Mayor Mike – Teh Debt will Kill Us All in our Beds!!1
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Avalune: Moderators are not in control of this debate.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: Excellent. Thank you.
guachi
Filled my California ballot out for Warren. I’m keeping my fingers crossed she’s the best one to take out Sanders as I’d be reasonably happy with Biden or Klobuchar (whom I’ve donated to).
Mary G
Elizabelle
Bloomberg: Polls are not the election.
Can anyone imagine moderate GOP going over and voting for Bernie?
Baud
I wish Kamala had made it this far.
Elizabelle
@Mary G: LOL. That’s cruel. But hilarious.
Baud
Pee break.
Immanentize
@Mary G: That is harsh. Perhaps accurate, but harsh.
schrodingers_cat
Did I hear EW right? Did she just say that BS agenda is popular.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Yes he did. I heard the slip.
I suspect we will see clips of that.
Commercials! Sandwich time!
Mary G
I love ya, Liz, but wrap up your answers faster.
JWR
@WaterGirl: Yeah, pretty much. Said that he was who gave us Speaker Pelosi.
Martin
@schrodingers_cat: Warren needs 15% for viability to get any delegates. That’s either gotta come out of Bernie, out of Bloomberg, or out of Amy dropping out. Having 5-6 candidates splitting the 70% that Bernie isn’t winning is turning the race over to Bernie. Someone needs to get knocked out.
Bloombergs whole proposition is to knock out everyone with massive early ad buys. That’s failing badly on stage. Biden only has downward momentum. Warren is soaking up all of the non-Bernie energy right now. Tom needs to drop out. Amy probably does as well, though I don’t blame her for staying in after NH. Just getting it down to 4 splitting that 70% would help a lot.
This is why the GOP race went the way it did. It was Trump and everyone else, and the everyone else divided up what was left to such a degree that Trump walked off with it.
We gotta get this field down to 4 or fewer, like, now. Liz got some money out of the last debate. Without that, I think she’d be on that list to drop out as well, but she’s gotta turn that into votes, and it’s just not in the polling yet.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: LOL
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
She said a progressive agenda is popular.
RandomMonster
Almost every lizard I’ve met is warmer than Bloomberg.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: I heard it too.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Yup. They need to get their acts together. But spending so much time on Bernie for the first question or so invited the others jumping in.
Cheers,
Scott.
trnc
Yeah, I expected at least that she could point to a woman testifying under oath. She shouldn’t have said it without having anything solid since there’s plenty of other stuff to ding him on.
Avalune
Presidential Debate – Now with more shouting!
7x the shouting power
schrodingers_cat
@Mary G: She sounds like she is crying and yelling at the same time. Sad mommy got mad. I so miss Obama than this current field of shouties.
guachi
I want someone to mention that Bernie’s health care plan has a 100% chance of dying in Congress but lets not just talk about his health care plan, let’s talk about his health. A male in his 70s who had a heart attack has a greater than 50% chance of dying in five years.
WaterGirl
Bloomberg fucking bought commercials during the debate. WTF?
different-church-lady
@MomSense: Me too.
Mary G
different-church-lady
@guachi: Bernie has a 50% chance of dying in the debate hall.
Adam L Silverman
@Avalune:
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES!!!!!!
schrodingers_cat
She is not really tackling BS. She is going to lose MA at this rate.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: On the other hand, I’ll be pissed if everyone starts to behave now that there are some male moderators on stage.
Another Scott
“The A-Team” is In The House!! Exciting!
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
jl
Besides the crap question, the moderators keep insisting on using unworkable unenforceable rules, so they could pick and choose what questions to ask which candidates for their gotcha trolling, not to produce an informative or fair debate. When candidates are desperate to save their campaigns, chaos ensues.
JWR
@WaterGirl: I got a Bloomberg ad during the break, too. Sucks to be us.
trnc
Yup, then turned around and sold it rather than reform it. I think it was the most pathetic response tonight.
Adam L Silverman
@WaterGirl: Freudian slip. He caught it too late and then added supported.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yay us!
Another Scott
Uncle Joe “Congress” has not been able to pass gun legislation in 25 years? Why are you and the rest of you a bunch of old losers?
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Avalune
@Adam L Silverman: LoL! I meant on the debate. But hello to you!
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: EW needs to sharpen her answers a lot.
A lot of basic progressive — actually, Democratic! — ideas are popular. Bernie, however, is the last person to implement them. I think people should give more credit to Dems for the platform. It’s not all Bernie. Stop that.
I think she wandered a lot in the response. Bullet point what’s popular that you’re not getting out of GOP and Mitch and Trump. There is a lot.
It was not a great answer at all.
Baud
I don’t agree with the political strategy of focusing on the filibuster.
WaterGirl
@Martin:
Someone reported a national poll today that has Elizabeth Warren polling in 1st place.
Another Scott
Liz – The filibuster gives the gun industry a veto.
Exactly.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mary G
@Elizabelle: A female employee who sued him said he did and a male colleague backed her up in deposition under oath. Bloomie has always denied it, but he did settle with her.
Tom Q
@Martin: Difference is, the GOP has winner-take-all primaries, so the split enabled Trump to win delegate numbers from which none of the others could catch up. Dems are proportional all the way along, so Sanders continuing to win in 30% range won’t bring him near the numbers he needs to clinch it.
It’s still helpful to thin the field, but not crucial in the way it was for GOP 4 years ago.
Baud
BERNIE IS ALWAYS CONSISTENT AND NEVER CHANGES HIS MIND!!!
Elizabelle
Bernie cannot defend himself on guns.
Tries to attack Biden on trade policy. Boos from audience.
Confesses that he has made some bad votes. That is refreshing.
jl
@Baud: You mean in terms of what Warren should be talking about on the stage, or as a governing approach?
TheronWare
Hey did Biden just say that one hundred fifty million people were killed by firearms in the U.S. ?! Someone please tell me I heard that wrong!
Baud
@jl: Talking on stage.
Elizabelle
@Mary G: Thank you. That story needs legs.
Adam L Silverman
@Avalune: I was trying to figure out if you were stuck in moderation. Because that’s how Balloon Juice rolls.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: I think it was 2nd nationally. I saw it in a header at the Warren donation page today as well.
Cheers,
Scott.
guachi
@Tom Q: It will if there continue to be candidates that poll below 15%. In Nevada Sanders received 47% of the final vote and 69% of the delegates, for example.
WaterGirl
I know it’s immature to call names, but I’m gonna do it anyway.
How can Bloomberg by such a whiny baby at the same time as he’s a fucking arrogant prick?
jl
@Baud: OK. I liked it because is wasn’t a slogan I’ve heard 10 times already.
Mary G
Joe’s taking a lot of credit for assault weapons bans that DiFi led on.
Avalune
I also was wondering if Bloomberg had paid for people to cheer him. I mean why not? He’s paying Instagram Influencers to “make him look cool.”
Bloomberg is just…Trump trying to claim Democrat. It’s gross.
JWR
Yeah, Bloomberg must have hired a cheering section. But hey, he’s bought everything else thus far, so why not?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Being that the President has jack shit to do with it, yeah.
WaterGirl
@Adam L Silverman: cheap shot!
Baud
Now Pete is on the filibuster bandwagon.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yep.
PsiFighter37
@Elizabelle: Typical Bernie. Surprised he did admit he has made bad votes, but on gun votes he has made a string of bad votes over decades.
jl
@WaterGirl: “How can Bloomberg by such a whiny baby at the same time as he’s a fucking arrogant prick?”
My guess is that you don’t know many rich people.
Avalune
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I didn’t think about that when I wrote it.
Leto
Did Sanders have his hand up for a question, or is that his natural resting position?
MomSense
@schrodingers_cat:
Yeah she is tippy toeing around him.
trnc
@WaterGirl: I feel like that applies to a lot of republicans, not the least of whom would be the current president.
Baud
Ugh. Term limits.
Another Scott
@PsiFighter37: But the American People understand now.
You see, it’s not Bernie that was wrong!!1
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Adam L Silverman
@WaterGirl: That was not a cheap shot about how the blog functions. It was me complimenting all of us with front page access that when we see someone ask for a moderator, we immediately check to see if someone got stuck in moderation. Believe me, if I want to take a cheap shot about whether I think something is broken or not, it’ll be crystal clear.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Leto: Natural resting position.
WaterGirl
@jl:
You would be correct! When he’s not being whiny or arrogant, he has that condescending tone of voice that people use when they are trying to “handle” a problem customer. Ugh.
PsiFighter37
Why is Tom Steyer even on this stage. The man has even less accomplishments than Bloomberg.
Adam L Silverman
@Avalune: No worries.
Leto
“How do we change the Senate in a material way?”
*Proposes dumb idea.
”Your time is up, as well as your campaign. Please collect a gift bag on your way out.”
Elizabelle
Bernie, the American people have known how awful the mass shootings for a long long time.
Steyer talking about gun manufacturers own DC.
WRT fillibuster: 60 votes for everything is too heavy a lift. Unless we have a Blue Tsunami. A girl can hope.
Adam L Silverman
@Leto: He’s cheating on the line of scrimmage to get a jump on making that pointy stabby finger thing he does.Think of his arm and hand like a striker action hand gun. It is precocked and all he has to do is pull the trigger to deploy the moving finger of emphasisity!
?BillinGlendaleCA
Steyer and his fucking term limits, we have them here in CA, THEY DON’T WORK. He also wants a national referendum, fucking crazy!
JWR
@Leto:
I know, huh? He actually has the look of an Orangutan.
Another Scott
Charter schools. ex-Mayor Mike says they were great in NYC.
Yay! Get the teacher unions madder at him.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Maybe a fresh thread next commercial break.
guachi
Bloomberg doesn’t look so short standing next to Pete and his cheering section is absurd.
Leto
@PsiFighter37: He could be spending the money that he’s using on his vanity campaign to help change the Senate, something he says he wants. Do the right thing, Mr Tartan.
Baud
Warren strong on education.
Ukko
How much is Bloomberg paying people to hoot in the audience?
PsiFighter37
Bernie waving his arm around every time he talks is highly distracting. Dude clearly never took a public speaking course that meant anything.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Agree. Pete’s giving a good answer.
Avalune
Pains me to say that was a good answer from Pete.
And he almost didn’t use his exasperated dad voice.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@PsiFighter37: His face is getting gaining an increasing red tint as the debate goes on.
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: “Being that the President has jack shit to do with it, yeah.”
They are talking about a lot of things that being president has jack shit to with directly.
Like Warren’s answer on schools. I think she’s doing the best in terms of appeal. I don’t think that attacking Sanders is a good strategy for her to get much of his support right now. She has a lot more appeal to moderates than Sanders, better to see if she can get some of them, if she needs a quick boost. IMHO.
guachi
The Bernie Bashing ™ has stopped. Has any candidate brought up Sanders’s love for Cuba and China yet?
Leto
@Adam L Silverman: Hahahaha :)
@JWR: He does. I would say he needs to get his limbs under control but he’s 78 (?) and it’s too late.
And Private Garrett talks over EW. Yes, intentional demotion there.
Another Scott
Question from Twitter!! Exciting!!1
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
@Avalune: Yes. Did not know Chasten is an educator. Cool.
WaterGirl
@Avalune: No love for Pete?
trnc
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Term limits is just so fucking lazy as a policy idea and only exists because the real solution – limit money in politics – is next to impossible.
PsiFighter37
At least from the little bit I have watched, I honestly have zero idea what concrete plans any of these people have, aside from Wilmer’s freebies that are paid for by revolution (I think).
JWR
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
The only thing I ever agreed with Reagan about. “We already have term limits. They’re called elections. -RR”
Elizabelle
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That does not trouble me. LOL. Outta there, Bernie.
mrmoshpotato
@Adam L Silverman: And poke you in the face about INCOME INEQUALITY!
PsiFighter37
@Leto: It’s his natural position, as he complains about his soup being too cold, or about billionaires controlling his precious bodily fluids.
Elizabelle
EW is talking right over the debate to the audience. Great to bring up redlining.
Another Scott
Liz jumping on housing discrimination.
Uncle Joe whines that “is this how we’re going to do this? Everyone just jumps in?”
Cheers,
Scott.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: The President appoints the Sec. of Education, Warren mentioned her choice would be a teacher. Good answer.
She needs to separate herself from Bernie, otherwise to most voters(folk here excepted) just see her as Bernie Lite.
Elizabelle
Major Garrett to Bbg: EW called you a racist.
Well, well, well.
Baud
Stupid forced joke.
WaterGirl
Adding passive aggressive to my list of Bloomberg’s prominent traits.
Another Scott
ex-Mayor Mike says Liz is “misinformed” about his recorded remarks on red-lining.
ex-Mayor Mike – “I won last week”.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Avalune
@WaterGirl: Not really. And only partially because of the disappointed dad voice…
Bloomberg is trying to be strong but he’s still just coming off as a prick.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: His advertising team is much better than he is.
hitchhiker
watching with the sound off
pretending i’ve never heard of any of them
on that basis, Pete is the one who comes across like a calm, rational person, and Amy is the one who comes across as most phony … those big smiles just don’t fit on a tense face.
Bernie looks truly deranged at times, Tom and Mike are cipherish, and Elizabeth just strikes me as alarmed. Joe seems much more relaxed than the other old guys, for what that’s worth.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WISH KAMALA WERE THERE, RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THAT STAGE.
also, my question for the group would be: give us your best trump impression.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat: Probably true of Biden too.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trnc:
@JWR: Yup.
WaterGirl
Bloomberg trying to gaslight by saying he won last week so he’s shocked that anyone would dare to attack him tonight. Fuck you, Bloomberg
mrmoshpotato
Mike: You can work across the aisle. You have to know how to deal with people.
How far up your ass was your head from 2008-2016?
Mary G
Somebody needs to ask Bernie what his cardiac ejection fraction is.
Avalune
@hitchhiker: I miss Kamala too.
Baud
If Steyer weren’t Stayed, I might actually like Steyer.
Leto
@PsiFighter37: “Garçon, garçon! My… lentils are too cold, there’s not enough ham, I see that table over there has more ham, and the only way to get more ham is if you tax the milluhnairs and billuhnairs! No, I’m not going to explain how that will lead to more ham; more ham!”
Baud
The candidates should have shock collars.
WaterGirl
@hitchhiker:
I noticed that last year, too. I typed “year”, but I meant at the debate last week, but I left “year” in there because dammit, it feels kind of like a year.
Avalune
@Baud: But I love his overused tartan tie.
Elizabelle
Can you imagine Trump fielding any of these questions? Or discussing race’s impact on housing and finance and gentrification, etc.
Baud
Moderator and Amy have the same color on.
WaterGirl
Steyer lying about being the only one who supports reparations. I know for a fact that Pete does, possibly others also.
Elizabelle
Good question about access to healthcare in rural areas to Amy.
WaterGirl
@hitchhiker: That’s an interesting take. Thanks.
zhena gogolia
I’m not watching, just getting it via you guys. I wish Kamala, Stacey, and Schiff were up there.
Leto
@mrmoshpotato: It was up the republican senator’s asses he was helping to re-elect to help pave the way for this shitscape.
Avalune
@Elizabelle: I’m a real estate guy, I know more about houses than anyone up here!
Trump. Probably.
dnfree
@Elizabelle: at the risk of someone yelling at me, Warren runs overtime on almost all her answers. She’s passionate but then she expresses the same basic idea three different ways while the moderator is telling her time’s up. Once in a while would be okay, but doing it consistently maker her look shouty too. Is that what you mean by sharpening her answers?
WaterGirl
@Baud: hahaha. i was thinking they could just cut the mic.
Jinchi
I don’t think we could’ve been that bad. Maybe we’re paying in advance for the next one.
Mary G
@hitchhiker: @Avalune: Kamala, Cory and Julian were all more interesting than this bunch.
Baud
@dnfree: I like Warren, but I agree.
WaterGirl
@dnfree: They are all running over on their time.
PsiFighter37
@WaterGirl: No offense, but if people are voting on reparations, they are focused on the wrong things this year in 2020. Perhaps not the most popular opinion, but that’s far back on the list of issues to deal with if we win the presidency this year…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Agreed, Bernie might need it as the debate goes on to help restart his heart.
zhena gogolia
@hitchhiker:
That’s really interesting! And believable.
Leto
@WaterGirl: EW does too.
From Jan of last year: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/11/18246741/reparations-democrats-2020-inequality-warren-harris-castro
Elizabelle
@dnfree: I think she wanders into biography too much and stays there. Some of that — introducing herself to voters/viewers — but then a sharper answer on the policy and why it would be popular.
zhena gogolia
@hitchhiker:
FWIW, my husband has a visceral reaction to people’s faces, and he also thought Amy was phony just based on her face, not on anything she was saying.
mrmoshpotato
@Leto: So true. How’ve you been btw? PT still going well?
guachi
@hitchhiker: I’d add that there are times that Biden becomes intense, but not in a bad way. Otherwise I think your analysis is spot on. Pete’s problem is he comes across as a bit phony in how he speaks but he presents well purely on visuals.
mrmoshpotato
Coronavirus mention!
WaterGirl
@PsiFighter37: Not saying it’s Pete’s #1 thing, but he does support it so Steyer shouldn’t say that no one else does.
JWR
@Leto:
FTFY. Please, people, keep up with Sanders’ wealth.
;)
schrodingers_cat
Bloomberg should stop trying to make pathetic jokes. He is not funny.
dnfree
@Baud: I have seen local LWV debates where they just hold up time cards and the candidate stops talking. It’s much easier to listen to than the overtalking. Shock collars might help.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: I blame Bernie for setting the tone at the beginning.
Pete’s trying to get a word in edge-wise and jumping in a lot.
Uncle Joe is being shut-out almost as much as Steyer.
Cheers,
Scott.
trnc
Expect a DT tweet about a rigged election anytime now.
WaterGirl
We talk about punchable faces. I had no idea until I listened to Bloomberg talk that a person could have a punchable voice.
Elizabelle
@PsiFighter37: Agreed. Reparations can be polarizing. Deal with the underlying problems once in office. Don’t give the GOP a distraction they can run into the ground, and they will.
Elizabelle
@dnfree: Or cutting the mikes.
Ohio Mom
Since Amy is such an effective Senator, can she please go back there, right now? Thanks!
Chyron HR
@guachi:
It’s like they don’t even know Bernie declared himself king of the Democratic party last week.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: The unwritten rule tonight is that if you want time, you have to interrupt and you have to go long.
Moderators: they built it, they own it.
Avalune
I kind of hate that we are talking about Amy’s “phony face.” Like I see what you are saying but at the same time I think that comes from being a woman doesn’t it? Being told to smile more…no wait not too much but don’t frown it makes you look bitchy but no no now it’s insincere…more teeth! You’d be pretty if you smiled more!
Elizabelle
Another Q to Amy? Why?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: That’s no fun.
Tom Q
@PsiFighter37: In fact, it’s a “we’re not seriously trying to win” self-inflicted wound. Trump is an existential threat; why do Dems want to make beating him as difficult as possible by focusing on divisive issues?
Elizabelle
@Chyron HR: Bring back the Bernie bashing. Got to do it. With stilettos. He will torpedo the Dems.
gwangung
I admire the passion of some Warren supporters around here. Their grasp of electoral campaigning…less so.
Attacking and getting rid of the lesser candidates IS an attack on Sanders. A great advantage for him is the size of the field. He gets his rock bottom 30%, and the number of candidates divides the rest of the delegates, often putting them under 15%. That allows Sanders to grab delegates at a higher proportion than he would normally be entitled to.
That goes away when there are fewer candidates (4 or so?). So focussing fire on the weaker candidates is a tactic that fights Sanders.
WaterGirl
I think we need a new thread, especially for people with phones.
I’m betting we get 3 new threads in the next 5 minutes, or none.
Baud
President can’t expunge state records.
Leto
@mrmoshpotato: Not too bad, getting stronger. I’ve been running (I hesitate to use that word, really) for about 5 mins at a time. Walk/run combo for 5 mins. It’s all my knees/waist can tolerate at the moment but it’s improvement. Biking a lot more. Avalune and I did two trips this weekend, about 12 miles each, which was a lot of fun. :)
Marcopolo
Not watching tonight. On twitter there has been some commenting that Bloomberg seems to have a cheering section. This may actually be true. In order to guarantee getting a ticket for tonight’s debate you had to be a debate sponsor…which started at $1750.00.
guachi
@Elizabelle: Absolutely. They piled on about M4A and… that’s it. Not his health. Not his terrible comments about China or Cuba. Not his BernieBro employee who trashed Buttigieg and Warren.
EDIT: They did a little on guns.
Leto
@Elizabelle: They keep throwing questions to Bloomberg; why? I mean, I know “why” but seriously…
Not really enjoying this format. Moderators are dickish.
Elizabelle
Glad Bernie said “War on Drugs.” Short and descriptive. He has a good answer on this.
Does not want any marijuana billionaires.
Commercial break!
WaterGirl
I like Biden, but I am getting tired of “I wrote the bill on that.” About everything.
Baud
@Elizabelle: And it’s good TV.
Elizabelle
@Leto: They are favoring Bloomberg and Amy, it seems. “Let’s go with the Republican lites.”
oatler.
Bloomberg really stepped in it re pot. It’s not 1995.
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: Frankly. It is good if Steyer convinced everyone in the country that only he supports reparations. I know they are fighting for South Carolina at this minute, but let his statement stand to free people up after SC.
Elizabelle
New thread please!! For our jackals on phones.
trnc
@dnfree: Part of the problem with modern debates is that the candidates basically have to use time pointing out the problems with other candidates. That’s the media’s job, but they don’t often do that in any meaningful way for people not named Clinton. If it weren’t for that, we’d be served much better by more town halls where candidates can spend more time on policy ideas.
JWR
I fully support opening PERMANENT businesses that sell pot. (Around here, they pop up, and a month later, poof!
(Yes, I actually use it for pain, and it does work!)
Mary G
Actual good news:
Pete’s right that we have to flip a lot more than the presidency.
WaterGirl
@WaterGirl: I googled, and it was second place.
Still my point stands – Warren is moving in the polls.
Jinchi
Have your right-winger friends Google images of the the 2016 Republican primary debates and count flags. Let me know when they get above zero.
RandomMonster
Has Bernie given that ‘legalize maijuana’ speech before? I found it slightly shocking, though I’m not against legalization.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Ah, you got there first.
As always.
We’re at 300. Is that a TBogg unit? (And no pet suffered to get there.)
Baud
@Mary G: NICE! A ray of hope!
jl
@Marcopolo: I thought the audience seemed to be composed of cliques for the different candidates. And that explains it.
Who decided to do that? Why? For more reality show shit instead of a real debate?
I’ve turned it off. I’ll catch up on any parts that are interesting later.
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: I agree. And how many media orgs carry the count of who talked the most and got the most air time?
All of them, Katie.
Leto
@mrmoshpotato: Oh, meant to add this (Avalune just reminded me): went to the hematologist today and starting next week I should be able to come off the blood thinners. I’ve been on them since Oct ‘18, so coming off of them is Big Biden Deal. :)
mrmoshpotato
(updates list of drugs I need to ask my doctor about in a completely uninformed manner)
Elizabelle
I love that the CBS stream has silence during the breaks.
It is golden.
Leto
Did anyone else just get the Republican Jewish Coalition ad against Bernie, during the break?
Another Scott
@Baud: The way I heard the question was “Would you, on your First Day™, expunge the records of those arrested for drug offenses.”
It was stupid on so very many levels…
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
trnc
@Marcopolo: JFC
Emma from FL
@Avalune: Agreed. It feels mysogynistic, even when not intended as such.
Elizabelle
@Leto: Yea! Great news.
zhena gogolia
@trnc:
I much prefer town halls. I can actually watch those. I even liked the one on Fox with Buttigieg.
Immanentize
@gwangung:
Sun Tsu agrees. As do I.
FelonyGovt
@Mary G: So was Beto.
Another Scott
@Elizabelle: Everyone’s on Twitter. Nobody reads Balloon-Juice any more, it’s too crowded.
Cheers,
Scott.
Avalune
He’s almost off ALL his prescription drugs. Fewer and fewer doctors visits. Beating me up hills. It’s disgusting.
mrmoshpotato
@Leto: Good to hear.
Mary G
@Baud: Amy McGrath emailed me that KY polls now have her tied with Yertle the Turtle, so this’ll be another sign of trouble for him.
Baud
@Immanentize:
Attacking Sanders is attacking the other candidates, because it can attract non-Bernie voters.
Immanentize
@Leto: How did bureaucratic hell and iodized salt go today?
zhena gogolia
@Emma from FL:
So no comments can be made about female candidates’ demeanor?
Elizabelle
EWarren: Not to use our military to solve problems that cannot be solved militarily.
Use all the tools in our toolbox. Need a strong State Dept.
Great answer.
Importance of alliances and be nicer to our friends than dictators.
Great answer.
And straight to Bloomberg. Again??
9 11.
trnc
Liking Warren’s foreign policy answer.
And there goes Mike with 9/11 again.
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: “Deploy the moving finger of emphasisity!”
How does I nominate new rotating tagline? Please!
Leto
@Avalune: I know how to use the gears on my bike… *ducks something inevitably thrown my way
Aleta
Where are the 178(?),000 units of affordable housing that Bloomberg took credit for providing in NYC?
khead
Bloomberg just pimped Trump’s military!
Leto
@Elizabelle: I’m waiting for Joe to coin him Rudy Redux: Noun, Verb, 9/11.
mrmoshpotato
@Leto: Also good. :)
trnc
@Dan B:
Seconded!
Elizabelle
No new thread?
Now to Pete as only veteran. Brings up his Afgh service. His flag represented a country that was known to keep its word.
Restore the credibility of the US.
Applause.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I am a fast typer. :-)
Elizabelle
@Leto: Somebody is going to count in that transcript.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Adam and I just chatted – I think he is about to put one up. But if he doesn’t, I will.
Avalune
@Leto: What are gearzies precious?
Elizabelle
Coronavirus. Drink.
Tom Q
@Aleta: In his head. NY is as unaffordable now as it’s been in my (long) lifetime.
Immanentize
@Leto: How did bureaucratic hell and iodized salt go today?
Ukko
Uncle Joe is whining about the moderators. Not covering himself in glory. Does he think that is a good look?
Elizabelle
I am glad they are emphasizing relations with our allies.
That is a great attack against Trump.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle:
500.
Elizabelle
@Ukko: I thought it was an inside joke, since he’s gone over before.
Emma from FL
@zhena gogolia: I didn’t say you couldn’t do it. It’s a free country. I said it made me uncomfortable and that is all.
Leto
@Aleta:
You saw all those new dumpsters, right?
Baud
New thread.
trnc
I like that Amy pushed the CDC website, but I wish she hadn’t preceded it with the “I’m not going to push my website.” Pretty obvious setup for “I want a cookie.”
Elizabelle
NEW THREAD!
WaterGirl
@Dan B: Look in the sidebar under Calling All Jackals. Or are you on a phone?
Another Scott
Uncle Joe called Ebola a pandemic.
Not helping.
Cheers,
Scott.
guachi
I always wanted to see a candidate who was going to drop out to go kamikaze on one or two other candidates and just attack, attack, attack and then use the closing remarks to drop out and endorse someone else. It would probably make big news.
Adam L Silverman
New debate open thread is up.
Avalune
@zhena gogolia: I’m the one that brought that up – no need to jump on Emma for agreeing it’s a little cringey.
zhena gogolia
@Avalune:
Sigh. I’m not jumping on anyone. Just asking a question.
Leto
@Immanentize: Oh man, why you gotta raise my blood pressure this late at night??? :P
Turns out my retirement paperwork was submitted as a separation. Meaning instead of retiring and collecting pay, I was… just separated. I have no idea how it happened, the person acknowledged the mistake, and then we walked through the entire damned process again. This marks the third time I’m having to do this. Tomorrow I’m writing my boss to get our big wig boss involved in this to 1) make sure this shit doesn’t happen again because it’s a fucking simple process that’s executed across scores of bases every day and 2) get her very very heavy hand involved in this to make sure this time it goes smoothly. Because JFC!!! Avalune described me as verbally strangling the person I met today, which is a fair description. After it was all done, I expressed my sincere gratitude for their help and emphasized I wasn’t mad at them, just the fuck ups that keep happening. They understood and sympathized.
Do you remember the Morton’s Salt motto? :)
frosty
@Dan B: Good one! just nominated it for you.
Avalune
@zhena gogolia: Fair enough. I just said I kind of hate that we were talking about it in that manner. I totally see why people are saying that about her, I just kind of hate that we’re going there because of the whole “you’d be prettier if you smile” kind of way we focus on women’s appearances. I don’t know – complicated topic.
Duane
@Baud: When Sanders was asked about authoritarian governments he should have turned it right to Trumpov. Now he’s getting beat over the head with it.
Adam L Silverman
@Dan B: I think you email WaterGirl, but I’m not sure.
Immanentize
@Leto: When it rains it pours, baby!
Leto
@Immanentize: Don’t it??? :)
Immanentize
@Leto: It does in my world.
Aleta
@Tom Q: Bloomberg lies so easily. Talk about a red flag.
Citizen Alan
@trnc: It’s worse than that. Term limits make the problem of money in politics worse because the newly elected politicians don’t have enough time in office to master the political rules and so become dependent on lobbyists to write their bills for them.
Misterpuff
@Jinchi: They did that because Trump would have molested “Old Glory”.
WaterGirl
@Dan B: Look in the sidebar under Calling All Jackals, and you will see Nominate a Rotating Tag.
Click on that. :-)
If you’re on mobile, you’ll find side bar items at the bottom of the post, after all the comments.
BroD
“Am I paying for sins from a previous life?”
No it was me. 1976. Good times.