Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

People are weird.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Petty moves from a petty man.

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Let there be snark.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Super Tuesday Results Open Thread

Super Tuesday Results Open Thread

by | 328 Comments

This post is in: 

“The people have spoken, the bastards.” – Dick Tuck

Had a little bit of a stomach virus today and am going to be checking out and playing Warcraft tonight with my friends, but I will check in here or there to update myself on the results. Hoping for a big night for Warren, but there is nothing I can do about it so no point worrying myself sick.

Reader Interactions

328Comments

  2. 2.

    wmd

    You can still make calls to do something about it. I get home in an hour, will do yard work, then another 15 voter contacts.

  4. 4.

    mad citizen

    Saw your tweet one day about loving fish sandwiches.  Favorites?  I always do a few walleye dinners during at Culver’s during this season.  I was reading about new fish sandwiches at Portillos (haddock), and of course well-known fishmonger Arby’s.

  8. 8.

    Sab

    OT since it’s early still.

    Re corona prevention. Jackal Bill Arnold over the weekend suggested using smelly stuff on your hands so that you notice when you are touching your face. Doesn’t have to stink, it just needs to be noticeable. I have started using a smelly hand cream, to keep my hands hydrated after all the washing, and to smell.

    So far it works like a charm. Other people in the office are copying me now.

    Thanks Bill.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Bloomberg takes American Samoa. Tulsi Gabbard in second.

    ETA:

    @Sab:

    I have started using a smelly hand cream, to keep my hands hydrated after all the washing, and to smell.

    that’s interesting– do you have a brand? I never realized how much I touch my face till the TeeVee and the internet told me I couldn’t. The answer is: a lot.

  15. 15.

    Mary G

    I want to draw conclusions based on early returns, but definitely looking good for Biden.

  17. 17.

    Martin

    @dmsilev: American Samoa is what we call an inexpensive media market. Guessing some mailers and web ads. Probably a bargain for those 4 delegates.

  18. 18.

    Llelldorin

    If he doesn’t do well anywhere but in American Samoa, Bloomberg will have spent more than $100M per delegate.

    I guess it’s good for the economy, in some minor way?

  21. 21.

    trnc

    @Sab:

    Might have to try that. I didn’t realize how much I touched my face until the corona warnings. I’m considering filing a harassment complaint against myself.

  22. 22.

    mad citizen

    I read a choice CNN column today about the Stop Sanders movement from our favorite Chris Cillizza.  I noticed this sentence/prediction: “And there’s virtually no scenario I can imagine where Sanders doesn’t end Super Tuesday with a clear delegate lead over Biden and everyone else.”

    Right now, early in the evening on the MSN homepage the election map and counter shows Biden winning NC and Virgina.  He’s now at 116 delegates to Wilmer’s 80.

  24. 24.

    PsiFighter37

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Depending on the rules, if anyone winning a delegate is allowed back on stage, we all might have to endure a debate with Tulsi the cultist / Russian asset back on stage. Ugh.

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Trader Joe’s has a smelly and cheap hand lotion.  It’s a rose smell which is overwhelming.  I do the same thing Sab does.

    ETA It’s also inexpensive and doesn’t have a lot of bad ingredients.

  26. 26.

    Martin

    We are hurtling toward single payer.

    On Tuesday, Politico reported that GOP lawmakers are holding up a bipartisan emergency funding bill to provide treatment and research for coronavirus.

    The main reason? They object to a provision that prevents drug manufacturers from overcharging the government for any vaccines or other treatment.

    This is going to be the basis for many a political ad.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    @mad citizen: I still expect Bernie to win the night due to California.  But Biden’s showing looks to be solid. And as MM points out, he’s done it with a lot less money.

  31. 31.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary G:

    Seven fulltimers to win six delegates..

    Claire McCaskill just said on MSNBC that Biden had one field office in VA. That boggles one with disbelief. At least this one.

  32. 32.

    trnc

    @Mary G:

    Seven fulltimers to win six delegates.

    Simultaneously beating Drooliani’s delegate total and spending per delegate in 2008.

  33. 33.

    MisterForkbeard

    Back to Warcraft: Did we ever get a Balloon Juice warcraft guild going? That might be fun. Though then we’d have to socialize, and I’m sure too many of you establishment fuckers would want to play Alliance.

  35. 35.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: His support was based on the quick sand of the “youth vote” and there were many undecided voters over 10% IIRC so I wouldn’t count chickens for BS before they hatch. And all the polls before Biden’s big win in SC and yesterday.

  36. 36.

    cokane

    Biden winning Virginia, and by a big margin, is a pretty good indication that he’s going to have a good night.

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:  I met a lotta happy Biden voters at my central Virginia doors today. Some EWarren voters too, but could tell Biden was having a really good day.

    Glad to see it. Was suggesting Eliz or Joe to my not voted yets.

  39. 39.

    Baud

    @schrodingers_cat: It would be a seismic event if Bernie doesn’t win California with a healthy margin.  But there’s a good chance he won’t be the only one above the 15% threshold, so that’s good.

  40. 40.

    mad citizen

    @Baud: 416 California delegates (plus 79 un-pledged superdelegates).  I think I read here a candidate needs to clear 15% to start receiving delegates.  Are they pro-rated once one clears the bar?  Guess it will depend on the Wilmer/Biden margin in Cali and Texas.

    Really hoping for Biden to end with the lead though.

  44. 44.

    cokane

    @mad citizen: California and probably Texas go to Sanders though, and those are much, much bigger states. We’ll see, Biden has a shot in Texas.

  45. 45.

    Kent

    @Baud:@schrodingers_cat: It would be a seismic event if Bernie doesn’t win California with a healthy margin.  But there’s a good chance he won’t be the only one above the 15% threshold, so that’s good.

    How many days will it take to get final results out of CA?  Took them weeks after the general.  We could have the scenario where the election day voting today gets counted and polled first and shows a Biden-favorable swing and all the previous cast mail-in ballots that were cast before SC and favor Sanders start trickling in days alter after Biden claims the momentum.

    If that happens the screams of CONSPIRACY are going to be epic.

  46. 46.

    PsiFighter37

    @cokane: Does Texas have early voting? I assume CA goes to Wilmer purely because of the mail-in vote, but if TX doesn’t, I think Biden will do better there. I don’t think he wins either state, though.

  50. 50.

    marv

    @Sab:

    And now I’m going to do it, and talk about it. Isn’t life just the damndest thing, that passing along a little tip like that in this way could save somebody’s life? Not that anyone would ever know. Thanks Bill, and Sab

  52. 52.

    JPL

    The only ones knocking on my door were Bloomberg supporters and I was honest about being undecided.   We chatted though and they mentioned that if he was hurting the party, he needed to quit.

  53. 53.

    Lapassionara

    I would like to live in a world in which the most energetic and talented candidate would easily win the election. For this cycle, that person to me would be Warren. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world. IF we must pick between Biden and Sanders, then I’m for Biden.

    on the other hand, Quinerly appears to be having a great time in New Mexico!

  54. 54.

    andy

    a lot of people on my timeline are all, “Bernie or let Trump burn it all down” and it’s a surprise that even now after 3 years of The Leader people are happy to put their vanity before their country. I don’t want to be part of their Children’s Crusade and I hate they are basically signing up people with more skin in the game for it, too.

  61. 61.

    A Ghost To Most

    I love it when a plan comes together. Especially a plan as thin as Biden’s.

  66. 66.

    FelonyGovt

    @Kent: CA results could take as long as a month. They count carefully and deliberately. And LA  lunch just switched over to the new voting system so there’s been some confusion, provisional ballots, etc.

  68. 68.

    MomDoc

    @Josie: Actually closer to 2 weeks. It’s  amazing how easy it is to vote in my neighborhood in a Houston suburb compared to other places I have lived like Georgia.

    In Georgia, we stood out in the rain outside an elementary school. Here were have a community center with 8 or 9 booths ( open for 2 weeks before including on Saturday). On election day, the neighborhood community center is the polling place. I can walk to it.

    Can you tell what type of neighborhood I live in now? This really makes it obvious the discrepancies.

  69. 69.

    Juice Box

    @Lapassionara: There was such an interesting field of really good people and yet it winnowed down to three, old, white men. I try not to think about it because it makes me sad. At least Joe is a decent human being.

  71. 71.

    different-church-lady

    If my hands smelled like sardines, I’d be constantly licking them.

  73. 73.

    rekoob

    An update from Virginia — as of about 8:25p Eastern, with slightly over 90% of precincts reporting, Biden is at about 54%, Sanders at 23%, Warren at 11% (rounding up — drat!), and Bloomberg at 9% (rounding down). All others below 1%.

  74. 74.

    schrodingers_cat

    A lot of BS support on Twitter comes from outside America. He is like their magic grandpa. I see it on Indian political Twitter all the time. They desperately tag him to bring attention to something horrible that is happening around them. Its kinda sad really.

  75. 75.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Everyone knows American Samoa is a Neoliberal, establishment outpost.

  76. 76.

    cokane

    @PsiFighter37: Texas has a big latino population and also skews a bit younger than other states, so those things help Sanders, even though it’s a state in the south, which seems to be Biden’s edge.

  80. 80.

    dr. bloor

    Watching Mike Bloomberg is like watching a a politico from “Thunderbirds” talk on the teevee within the teevee.

  82. 82.

    Sab

    @Martin: In my job, I don’t get much client contact but I get lots of client paperwork where they locked themselves up for a weekend, obsess over their paperwork, and then deliver it to us on Monday.

    One of my co-workers had a bad flu scare last year, so we were already wary this year.

    Handwashing is great, but it is so easy to inadvertantly touch your face while handling client paperwork. Noses itch and all. This handcream idea is really working. I may have to change brands/scents periodically so the novelty doesn’ t where off.

  84. 84.

    cokane

    Warren though, looking unlikely to hit viability in a bunch of states tonight, except Mass.

  86. 86.

    Ohio Mom

    What is tne population of American Samoa anyway? (leaves to google)

    (Comes back)

    55,689! Thats quite the ratio of Bloomberg campaigners to voters.

  89. 89.

    Lapassionara

    @Juice Box: Yes. I think too many people was one problem. I don’t know what we do about that. I grew up in the age of smoke filled rooms, and sometimes I wonder if there wasn’t some utility in that process.

  91. 91.

    Sab

    @zhena gogolia: I usually use Nivea because it has no scent. Now I am using Hempz, from Costco. Nice not horrible smell, but much stronger than I am used to.

    I suppose evntually I ‘ll move up to Tiger Balm, which is really heavy on the ecalyptus.

  92. 92.

    RandomMonster

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I never realized how much I touch my face till the TeeVee and the internet told me I couldn’t. The answer is: a lot.

    I learned good habits by being a supermarket cashier throughout college. You handle cash long enough and it should eventually occur to you how dirty it is…

  96. 96.

    Martin

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Like I said before, I really don’t like Biden runs his campaign. I hope to hell Bloomberg drops out, endorses him, and says ‘why don’t you let my people handle the logistics’.

  98. 98.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Sab:

    Handwashing is great, but it is so easy to inadvertantly touch your face while handling client paperwork. Noses itch and all.

    That’s the worst thing in the world, especially in isolation precautions! Being gowned and gloved up, it’s pure hell when your nose itches

  99. 99.

    Mary G

    Very sad about Warren, but Joe is the best of the rest for me, so happy he’s doing well. Also happy Bloomberg’s lagging.

  100. 100.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @dr. bloor:

    Doesn’t surprise me. He was asked in a TV interview recently if he would drop out after Super Tuesday if he lost and said no

  107. 107.

    joel hanes

    @MomSense:

    The only good fish sandwiches are in Maine.

    Walleye libel (though I prefer my walleye in big fillets, without the sandwich)

    We shall have to disagree.

  108. 108.

    Nicole

    I’m bummed about Warren, too, but so it goes. This country hates women.  I thought no way Biden would take the nomination, seeing as how he ran bad campaigns in ’88 and ’08 and is running a pretty bad campaign now, but hey, I’ll take him over Sanders and Bloomberg.

    As the grade school teachers say about handing out stickers, you get what you get and you don’t get upset.  I’ll deal with it.

  109. 109.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I left the TV on in the next room, sounds like huge same day turn out in TX

  116. 116.

    Immanentize

    @Nicole: I see no evidence that Warren is quitting.  Her speech tonight was in Michigan! which votes next week.  Still about 2/3 of delegates left to go after tonight (not counting supers).  And “death keeps following, tracking us down….”. — B. Dylan.

  119. 119.

    cokane

    @Immanentize: Y’all Sanders haters should want her to stay in anyways. Polling showed that Sanders won a plurality of her supporters as a second choice. This is from back when the field was a little larger of course.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anya: I’m trying not to count chickens but one of their correspondents, I think in El Paso (O’Rourke’s old district, I think?), say that most people she talked to decided late and broke for Biden.

  121. 121.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:   no, my name is Czech, his is Polish.  ?

    But it’s true!  No one is paying attention to the fact that Sanders is doing worse in 2020 than he did in 2016.  But I predict it will be a very Hot Take! in a month or so.

  122. 122.

    Nicole

    @Immanentize: I hope she doesn’t.  Frankly, although the nation continues to poop on women, and that makes me furious, Biden benefits from her staying in, and Bernie benefits from her dropping out, and if I can’t have her (and I’m still planning on voting for her if she’s still in the race next month), I’d rather be stuck with Biden in November.  He, at least, would have coattails.

  124. 124.

    Baud

    @cokane:

    @Nicole:

    Too complicated.  I’m not going to worry about it.

    ETA:  Bloomberg, however, has fulfilled his life’s purpose in preventing Tulsi from wining American Samoa.  He can withdraw now and spend his money attacking Trump.

  125. 125.

    dr. bloor

    Those kids standing on line forever in Texas are all waiting patiently to vote for Bernie Fucking Sanders, and I still want to take them tacos and Rolling Rocks.

  126. 126.

    Immanentize

    @cokane: I want her to stay in school she can either 1 be the nominee or 2 have sufficient leverage at the convention.

     

    She is smart.  She knows how to make things go.

  127. 127.

    chris

    @Immanentize:

    Sanders is doing worse in 2020 than he did in 2016.

    Dave Weigel has been on this for a while. His latest:

    The warning signs were there for Sanders when he won the IA/NH popular vote with under 30%. If you pointed that out you’d get deluged with “BUT THERE ARE MORE CANDIDATES NOW” tweets. But his struggle to hold onto that 2016 coalition, or replace missing parts, was real.— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) March 4, 2020

  128. 128.

    West of the Rockies

    So Warren will probably drop out, I’m guessing.  Maybe Bloomberg, too?  Gabbard should explain precisely why she is still running.  She is a joke.

  129. 129.

    Immanentize

    @Nicole: I voted for her today bringing me much satisfaction.

    She is by far the best current candidate if governing is an issue.

  130. 130.

    Feathers

    @Immanentize: I’m thinking that she will stay in as she has run the percentages on Biden or Bernie imploding. She is in it to be on the platform committee as well. She knows that even losing, she set a great deal of the tone of the event.

  131. 131.

    sdhays

    @joel hanes: The best fried fish sandwiches I’ve ever had (and probably will ever have) were in Victoria, BC. It’s this (really nice) shack on the docks, about a 10-15 minute walk from downtown. Barb’s, if I recall the name. Absolutely delicious, and super cheap for huge pieces of fresh cod or halibut.

  132. 132.

    L85NJGT

    The two biggest Democratic Party primary shibboleths are winning with the “youth vote”, which has been a hopeless endeavor since the 26th passed, and that California is somewhat left of Cuba. The primary results say otherwise. Maybe that conventional “wisdom” goes back to ’68??

  134. 134.

    Immanentize

    @dr. bloor: I don’t really care who a young person votes for.  Voting is a habit that needs it’s hit.  I love them all.  As far as My experience?

    The kids are alright!

    And having lived in San Antonio for 12 years, I am pretty certain not all those young people are going for Sanders.

  135. 135.

    MuckJagger

    I wanted Warren to have at least a decent night, but I don’t see how any reading of a possible third-place finish in Massachusetts can be taken as anything but a “Nope.  Not you.”

    She can press on, but sooner or later you’ve got to win somewhere.  Has she even finished second anywhere yet?

  137. 137.

    cokane

    @Immanentize: Problem is, she’s not really racking up a delegate count that matters. And as the race drags on, voters are more likely to switch to one of the frontrunners. As well her best states vote today, not in the future.

  138. 138.

    sdhays

    @chris: Just last night, I was told by one of the giggling girls on the Snooze Hour that Sanders had “expanded his base” unlike anyone else. I nearly spit all over the windshield of my car I was so mad.

  139. 139.

    Immanentize

    @chris: I beat him to that observation by weeks.  But I included facts.  Now it will be all the pundit rage….  Like bell bottoms or front tuck.

  140. 140.

    Immanentize

    @Feathers: this

    ETA. Warren is not going to give up debate opportunities if she has the $$$ to continue. And what really does that mean? A million a month minimum? Look at Biden and his non-staff success.

  141. 141.

    guachi

    I’m disappointed Warren is doing terrible in so many places. She’s above 15% statewide only in Massachusetts. If there had been more time between Buttigieg and Klobuchar dropping out she’d likely be above 15% everywhere.

    But this showing so far is really bad.

  142. 142.

    Morzer

    It’s interesting to see that the Great White Wail seems to have lost roughly 30% of voters in Vermont compared to 2016.  That doesn’t suggest a growing chorus of support to me.

  143. 143.

    WhatsMyNym

    @MuckJagger

    She can press on, but sooner or later you’ve got to win somewhere.

    No you don’t. As has been explained here multiple times, Warren just needs enough delegates to get bargaining power at the convention.

  146. 146.

    Catherine D.

    I just donated to Warren with a “nevertheless she persisted” note. I don’t get to vote until April 28th and fuck primary votes before April/May. Shrink the timeline!

  147. 147.

    sdhays

    @guachi: She made a serious mistake by allowing Bernie to have his 20-30% without challenging him until the last few days. Her “Bernie doesn’t get shit done” critique was too little, too late. We also saw the Elizabeth who cut Bloomberg off at the knees far too late in the campaign.

  148. 148.

    Morzer

    @Baud: It rather looks as if a big chunk of the Bernie voters in 2016 were motivated by dislike of Clinton, rather than a desire to drink the pure water of revolution.

  151. 151.

    Mai naem mobile

    Our primary is in 2 weeks. I am pretty set on voting for Warren but now I don’t know if it hurts Biden because I don’t want to hurt Biden but I want Warren to have whatever power she can have at the convention .

  152. 152.

    Mike in NC

    There are many good places in the Tampa Bay area that serve outstanding fried grouper sandwiches.

  153. 153.

    Baud

    @Morzer: Apparently so.  Plus, 2016 was really a different time.  People were feeling too parochial after 8 years of Obama, and they took our precarious situation for granted.

    ETA: Apart from his white maleness, does anyone really think Biden is better than Hillary?

  157. 157.

    Feathers

    @chris: The problem that Sanders had, and has, is that he was a protest vote in 2016. People really didn’t want a third Obama term. They wanted someone much more progressive, who would fight for expanding healthcare and fight against rising income inequality and the carceral state. I think Clinton believed in those issues, but wasn’t going to fight for them on her own. When she saw there was a constituency for this, she incorporated those issues into her own platform.

    Once he started winning, Bernie showed his ass. Everybody who knew him knew he was that guy all along, but the youngs seemed to think he was their asshole. (Spoiler alert: He’s just an asshole.) As soon as he started attacking Clinton and the Democratic Party, people stopped seeing him as a protest vote and his mainstream support evaporated. I know several people who voted for him in Mass, openly admitting that they didn’t like him, just his ideas. Less than a month later, they deeply regretted it. And Clinton’s move leftward was, I believe, genuine. She was happy to be able to run as more of a progressive.

    Unfortunately, Bernie thought everybody loved HIM, not his ideas. His refusal to see this and trying to pretend it was corruption and rigging that caused his late season losses just showed everyone who knows about politics how toxic and dangerous this guy really is.

    Sorry for the long rant.

  159. 159.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud:

    does anyone really think Biden is better than Hillary?

    Nope. But: Hillary was being compared to the idea of trump, including fantasies like “he doesn’t mean it” and “Ivanka will moderate him”. Biden is being compared to the fact of The Beast.

    Kornacki going through turn-out numbers that illustrate that.

    Biden takes Tennessee

  160. 160.

    sdhays

    @Immanentize: I love Elizabeth, but Biden entered the race polling higher than 40%. A lot of people are just coming home to Biden after South Carolina demonstrated that, no, he’s not dead by a long shot.

    Elizabeth doesn’t have that, so the comparison doesn’t quite work, in my opinion. Don’t count me as one of the people saying she should get out, though; she should definitely stay in until at least Bloomberg is gone, and I trust her to stay in or get out depending on what’s best for the party, not her own ego.

  161. 161.

    opiejeanne

    @Baud: I don’t think he’s nearly as good as Hillary, but we don’t have Hillary to vote for.

    I like Elizabeth Warren, but I’m not committed to any candidate yet. I might vote for her next Tuesday, when it’s WA’s turn or I may go for Biden. Both have good and not so good qualities.

  162. 162.

    Barb 2

    Now is the time for Bloomberg to bring out the opposition research on Sanders. If he means he wants to stop the Dump.

    Biden is still too fricken old. However, if he can beat the Bernie Bros/bots – whatever it takes to nullify the Russian influence. The Russians are involved any state that has not secured their connection to the Internet will be breached. No paper ballot and election machines patented by Ivanaka Trump is are pathways in for Russia and others.

    The Russians have not gone away. We need to keep that in mind when we see high for counts for Bernie.

    cnbc.com/2018/11/06/ivanka-trump-gets-initial-approval-from-china-for-16-trademarks.html

    Snopes writes that Ivanaka does own patents on voting machines (VM). As far as anyone knows the VM  haven’t been made. However, the Red states were using new voting machines that turn the candidate’s names into had codes. Not readable by humans, bar codes need to be read by machines. (Could an app be made to read the secret code?)

    Mail in ballots work! All states should switch to vote by mail. Also all states must make sure to secure their votes. Elect and hire experts in computes.

    Elizabeth Warren’s son runs an IT business and his sideline is “helping mom”.

    All the pies are making me hungry. Key Lime Pies are back on the menu at Shari’s cafe. FYI westcoasters!

    (Gosh isn’t Trump doing well – with all that competition he has to endure/snark.)

    Damn auto correct – I think I found all the changes. Kindle. :-(

  166. 166.

    lamh36

    1,306,560 votes cast in tonight’s VA democratic primary. 4 years ago… 782, 895 in VA!!!!
    Per Kornacki on MSNBC…
    WHOA!!!!

  169. 169.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud:

    We were stupid for pinning our hopes on Ivanka to be a bridge.

    WEll, I doubt anyone here did, but some people looking for an excuse to vote for tax cuts via a man they wouldn’t invite to dinner seized on that excuse

  171. 171.

    Lapassionara

    @Baud: No, but to be better at governing, you first have to win an election. I think she would have been much better than the alternative, but people mostly do not understand that life is not a controlled experiment, so we don’t get to know the answer to your question.

  172. 172.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @opiejeanne:

    I don’t think he’s nearly as good as Hillary, but we don’t have Hillary to vote for.

    Ditto.  In a way, it’s moot.  There has been a seismic electoral shift.  For that last three years liberals have been voting out of anger and fear, not love.  Usually Republicans have that advantage.  Now our people will crawl over broken glass to vote for a pigeon sculpture made of hyena shit if that’s the alternative to Trump.

  173. 173.

    Immanentize

    @sdhays: When your opponents are 77 and 78 and not totally healthy, a hedge is a good thing.  Warren was not my first choice.  Harris was.  But the Sanders faction savaged her with the Cop thing and besides a brief moment, she never caught fire.

    I like Castro too!  (The Texas one, not Fidel).  But he was rather unpleasant in person in the race….

    So Warren, to me, is the best person left.  I will vote for anyone nominated at the convention.  Anyone!

    But, there is oft a slip between cup and lip.  So I still support the best candidate.

  176. 176.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Sab: Not just the novelty – IIRC your smell receptors get saturated fairly quickly & you stop noticing. (Probably a survival factor – kept a lot of folks from killing themselves to escape an inescapable stench.) Though that shouldn’t happen with the hand cream so long as you mostly keep them away from your nose.

  177. 177.

    Barbara

    @oldgold: We have been galvanized. The turnout in my county last year was above 80%. I waited a long time and worked for many candidates before seeing the state gradually turn.

  178. 178.

    guachi

    VA is the example of what “rapidly trending blue” state looks like. I don’t have the exact numbers but you can see it trend blue starting in 2004, IIRC.

    VA is no longer really a swing state.

  179. 179.

    Nicole

    @Baud: Apart from his white maleness, does anyone really think Biden is better than Hillary?

    For a sizable portion of the population, that’s all he needs to be better than Hillary.

  184. 184.

    Leto

    If Sen Prof EW is still around when PA votes, 28 Apr, I’ll still vote for her. But it’s thoroughly depressing watching another excellent woman being sidelined like this. Watching her finish fourth in a number of place, behind fucking Bloomberg, is just… I need another rice krispy treat. And some port.

  185. 185.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: No he is not but the circumstances are different, we took HRC for granted.

    Also what happened in the Republican primary with the Ornange one winning with a plurality has served  as a cautionary tale to many Ds.

  190. 190.

    Leto

    @lamh36: Voter turn out since 2016 has been up everywhere. I hope that we can turn that not only into presidential victory, but also a working majority in the Senate and keeping/expanding the House. I’d like to think that the Beast is helping motivate people to wake the fuck up and get involved. And stay involved.

  191. 191.

    Immanentize

    @WhatsMyNym: This is something we should all understand — because of the proportional nature of delegate apportionment,

    Biden’s success increases the likelihood of a second ballot at the convention.

    It is hard for anyone to win outright under this system without Party support (read superdelegates). Bernie is likely to be in the mix, but maybe he will no longer get the plurality.  What will his supporters then argue is the proper metric?!

  192. 192.

    Kent

    @Barb 2:Biden is still too fricken old. However, if he can beat the Bernie Bros/bots – whatever it takes to nullify the Russian influence. The Russians are involved any state that has not secured their connection to the Internet will be breached. No paper ballot and election machines patented by Ivanaka Trump is are pathways in for Russia and others.

    Biden is the youngest of the 3 men left in the race.  Just saying.

  193. 193.

    hueyplong

    Berniebots are Berniebots.

    But for nearly all other Democrats, goal #1 is beating Trump, with the corollary of being afraid of taking a chance on any candidate who can be Hillaried by FoxNews and Vichy entities such as FTFNYT who enable FoxNews/Trump.  I bet a whole lot of the reluctance to vote for Warren is a strong conviction that she’d get Hillaried, a conviction that was reinforced when her numbers took a hit right after we started hearing about how adamantly opposed to her Wall Street/Bloomberg/etc are.

    Clyburn gave people coverage to vote for Biden as the non-Bloomberg and non-Bernie because Clyburn basically said it’s ok to forgive any GOP-ish actions in Biden’s past, and you can take that straight from the demographic most harmed by such actions.

    Pelosi and Schiff gave Biden protection against the Ukraine slime campaign by exposing it and creating an atmosphere in which any “revelations” about Biden are now likely to be disbelieved from the get-go.  Even the FTFNYT might hesitate before making a Whitewater out of it in view of what we know now.

    In a just world, any Biden gaffes (and there will be several) would be viewed as harmless in comparison to literally everything Trump tweets or says.

    I wanted Harris and I voted for Warren, but I’m good with Uncle Joe telling Trump to fuck off on national TV in October, and telling him to get the fuck out on Jan 20.

  194. 194.

    Poe Larity

    Sheesh, all the talk of a backup for Biden.

    The only backup is the primary – HRC.

  195. 195.

    zhena gogolia

    @Feathers:

    People really didn’t want a third Obama term. They wanted someone much more progressive, who would fight for expanding healthcare

    Yeah, Obama really never got off his ass to fight for expanding healthcare. //

  196. 196.

    Anya

    Massachusetts, the state of my birth continues to be driven by misogyny.

    Make me want to holler
    And throw up both my hands

  197. 197.

    Immanentize

    @guachi: And don’t forget, VA change in the State government power, from R to D, greatly increased ballot access.

  198. 198.

    Feathers

    I have a lot of Bernie folks in my twitter feed. One thing that I think is killing Warren is “white feminism.” As a cusp Boomer/Gen Xer who grew up in a diverse community, no shit white feminism has serious issues. However, as with too many well intentioned leftist ideas, it has been co-opted into serving a really ugly form of misogyny. Supported Clinton? White feminist. Listen to what Warren has to say. Shut up, white feminist. It also means that Clinton supporters I know who really like Warren and her platform and plans are voting for Biden because they listen to black women.  It has really cut her off from the natural support she should have had.

  200. 200.

    Another Scott

    @Mai naem mobile: Your one vote isn’t going to determine the outcome.  You should vote for who(m)ever you think would be the better president.  If everyone votes for Biden right now but really like someone else better, then the lesson in 2022 and beyond is going to be that only old white guys who have been in DC for 50 years should even try to run.  I think that’s a bad lesson.

    The only place that Warren was above 15% in Virginia was in my congressional district (the 8th).  I’m glad that I helped be part of that, and help her get a delegate or few, but I’m happier that I was able to vote for her because she checks more boxes for me than any other candidate.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (“… broken glass in November…”)

  202. 202.

    Marcopolo

    In VA primary turnout increased from 785K in 2016 to 1.3M In 2020. That is pretty astounding. Compare this to the turnout increase that some folks were touting early in SC 1.2% more from 2008 to 2020 (while the state’s pop increased by 15% over the same time period). I’ll be watching to see what happens in other places (TX looking at you).

  203. 203.

    Quinerly

    He’s such an ass.

    “Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a reporter Tuesday he ‘didn’t realize’ that Sen. Elizabeth (D-Mass.) was still in the primary race.

    His comments came in light of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Peter Buttigieg dropping from the race and consolidating support behind former Vice President Joe Biden.”

  204. 204.

    schrodingers_cat

    @zhena gogolia: Some of the takes in this thread would make Baghdad Bob blush.

    Biden is leading in Massachusetts right now.  I didn’t think that was possible this weekend. This race was extremely fluid and the polls before this weekend in the states yet to come are meaningless

  205. 205.

    Llelldorin

    @Another Scott: I think that’s exactly right. I was planning to vote for Klobuchar today in California until she dropped out. (Second time that happened; I was originally for Harris.) I thought long and hard about what to do next, and finally decided that if I genuinely thought that she was the best choice to lead the country, I should probably respect her judgement in endorsing Biden, despite my concerns about him as a candidate.

  206. 206.

    Immanentize

    @Marcopolo: I hate to bring this up, but there was a very loud and public effort in VA to get Republicans to vote for Bernie.  What would the increase be, and Sanders’ vote % be without that effort?

  207. 207.

    zhena gogolia

    We can’t get by without the wit and wisdom of Kristol:

    Voting for Sanders today:1. Socialist true believers.2. Leftist fellow travelers.3. Kids who don’t know better.4. Hugh Hewitt.Voting for Biden:1. Liberals defending liberal democracy.2. Moderates defending liberal democracy.3. Conservatives defending liberal democracy.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 3, 2020

  208. 208.

    patrick Il

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    It is not just smell.People stop noticing most  things  that become  part of  their everyday environment. Your  subconcious  has  decided  that the new  thing is  not dangerous and moves its  attention elswhere. That’s why,  in the political world,  Trump is so dangerous.  What used to be new and threatening has, to many,  become  routine and normal.

  209. 209.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Baud: he’s not, but nobody is.  We’ll ride the broken ass horse that Wilmer’s shitty primary rules and purity funding rules gave us.

  214. 214.

    Feathers

    @zhena gogolia: No, Obama did a huge amount of work on healthcare. But he didn’t get it to a public option/Medicare for all. So someone who was willing to publicly commit to fighting that fight had a huge natural constituency.

    My twitter feed has a lot of ADHD (and autism) people. Another source of huge passionate and not very wise Bernie online rage is from the disabled community. They see themselves dying if healthcare is dialed back to what it was pre-Obama, so they hammer any support for anyone else as “wanting me dead.” I want to explain things to them, but it isn’t likely to convince them and would probably cause harm, so I don’t.

  215. 215.

    Another Scott

    @guachi: Yes, Virginia is a blue state.  But it’s not an especially liberal one.  One shouldn’t get too far out over one’s skis in thinking about politics in the Old Dominion.  There’s often a googly coming for the unsuspecting…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  216. 216.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Feathers: umm.

    Supporting Clinton was definitely not a “white feminist” move, but supporting Warren over an actual black woman who Warren refused to give any support to is peak white feminism.

  217. 217.

    Jeffro

    @A Ghost To Most: I love it when a plan comes together. Especially a plan as thin as Biden’s.

     

    Knock on wood, he missed being Jeb Bush by this (pinches thumb and pointer within a millimeter of each other) much.

    Well, except he almost wasted a couple mil in donations, as opposed to Jeb’s $110M or something like that.  But still!

  218. 218.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    ETA: Apart from his white maleness, does anyone really think Biden is better than Hillary?

    Hillary is not running, so I am not sure what the point of the comparison might be.

    But, what the heck.  Is Biden better than Hillary? Probably not.

    Is Biden better than Warren? Probably not.

    But neither is he a lump of coal.

    I have not been able to look at the Super Tuesday results, but I get the impression that Warren has not done well. This is unfortunate.

    I thought that Biden might be too old. But I give him this. He may have understood that there was not strong support for any of the other presidential aspirants that were coming up.  In this his political instincts may have been very correct.

    We shall see what happens.

  220. 220.

    mad citizen

    I watched a minute and a half of ABC news coverage 80 minutes ago.  The execreble Christ Christie was on talking about trumpov’s strategy, etc. joined in by George S and the others.  The ridiculous thing was, there was a dais with 5 talking heads east to west; then a SECOND dias of 5 more talking heard north to south.  Damn, it looked like something SCTV would have dreamt up back in the day.

    Switched over to NBC for second–they were going to commercial.  Lester Holt, Samantha from Today, Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd.  Nope.  (At least I didn’t see Brokaw). Switched to CBS, Nora O Donnel was standing alone reading results.  Couldn’t take any more.  The wife is starting Season 1 of The Handmade’s Tale…

  222. 222.

    Captain C

    @Llelldorin: In 2009, Bloomberg spent around $100 million on his mayoral campaign for a 4 point victory over a poorly known opponent who barely campaigned.

  224. 224.

    Feathers

    @clay: Yes, he would have easily won a third term. However, one thing that the polls during his term missed was that when his policies were unpopular, a substantial portion of that unhappiness was that he was not progressive enough. It wasn’t possible for him to have accomplished more, due to Mitch McConnell, but it meant that there was room for someone to come along and promise a leftist path forward.

    Of course, Bernie was never that person, because an actual leftist path forward would begin in the state houses and Congress.

  225. 225.

    Jay Noble

    Touching your face? Strap a Sharpie to each index finger. It smells and you’ll knw where the hot spots are.

  226. 226.

    Immanentize

    @Feathers: that is interesting.  I see it.  It’s also the second versus third wave feminists friction.  I wish I had time to study that more.

  233. 233.

    Leto

    Jim Clyburn is on MSNBC right now, speaking about his support for Biden and what he’s done to help his campaign. My former congressman until redistricting. I contacted his office, not Mulvaney’s, to obtain my retirement flag.

  234. 234.

    lamh36

    @Immanentize: ok..but Biden won VA early.  so exactly how many of those increased actually translated to votes or Bernie?  Not much if it was called so early?

  237. 237.

    Llelldorin

    @Captain C: OK. I have to agree with Martin’s comment much higher in the thread.

    Let it never be said that Bloomberg doesn’t have a plan to reduce wealth inequality. It’s a stupid, wacky, one-man plan, but it appears to be one that he’s been consistently following for years.

  239. 239.

    Kent

    @schrodingers_cat:@oldgold: A lot of the women I know who are active in D politics love Biden not necessary because they agree with him on policy but because he is likeable.

    I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  Big picture policy is going to be about 2% of the job of the next President.  That will mostly be Pelosi and Schumer, or Pelosi and McConnell.  The other 98% of the job is going to be consumed by basically two tasks:

    First, traveling the world to put all of our alliances and international relationships back together from the Paris Climate Accords to NATO to South Korea to China Trade to Central America and Mexico to….everywhere.  That alone is more than a full time job that will require immense diplomatic skill, to get the rest of the world to start trusting us again.

    Second, putting the Federal government back together after 4 years of utter malicious vandalism by Trump.  The Justice Department and FBI, the hollowed out State Department.  The EPA and NOAA, the HHS and Affordable Care Act.  Etc. etc.  Hundreds of Trump regulations and policies need to be ripped out and burned.  Professional staff needs to be rebuilt.  A climate of good governance needs to be rebuilt.

    Warren was my pick to do both of those things.  But if it is a choice between Sanders and Biden then Biden is easily the far superior choice to press the flesh around the world and rebuild the institutional structure of government. It’s not even a close call.  Both in terms of personal qualities, but also in terms of the level of expertise they will deploy in appointments.

  240. 240.

    Immanentize

    @lamh36: it’s unknowable.  And I don’t think it had an effect.  But I am always cautious about claiming increases in a primary will translate to the general.

    I want it to, but I worry….

  242. 242.

    Anya

    @Baud: Bernie doesn’t like Hink. I heard Jane attacked him at their big rally. I’ve assumed that he’s facing a primary vote and if Bernie wins big then some of that might vote for a Bernie bro primary contender.

    I must confess, I know less than zero about Colorado politics.

  244. 244.

    MoCA Ace

    @Baud:Seems like swingier states are going for Biden.  Food for thought.

    Yeah, Joe always gave me that swinger vibe and nobody wants to picture uncle waggy finger…

    I’ll stop right there and go puke now

  245. 245.

    dmsilev

    There’s apparently a report floating around that tomorrow Bloomberg is planning on “reassessing his campaign”. For whatever that’s worth.

  246. 246.

    patrick Il

    @schrodingers_cat:

    me too, that’s why I said  for “many” people.  We have lived  with the  racism, lies, and lawlessness for years now,  and what is normal now (to many people)  was not  just a few years ago.

  248. 248.

    Geminid

    @guachi: Last December’s Wason Center ( Bitecofer’s outfit) poll of registered voters showed party identification at 31% Republican, 34% Democrat, 30% independent. In most districts Democrats need independent votes to win, and campaign accordingly. And they’ve been kicking ass. The Republican party is now dominated by Tea Party cranks and preacher politicians. A small tent approach, and a losing strategy.

  249. 249.

    Kent

    @Feathers: @clay: Yes, he would have easily won a third term. However, one thing that the polls during his term missed was that when his policies were unpopular, a substantial portion of that unhappiness was that he was not progressive enough. It wasn’t possible for him to have accomplished more, due to Mitch McConnell, but it meant that there was room for someone to come along and promise a leftist path forward.

    Of course, Bernie was never that person, because an actual leftist path forward would begin in the state houses and Congress.

    What-ifs are really counter-productive and not particularly informative.  Had Obama won a 3rd term, or had Hillary won in 2016 then I think there is very little chance that the Dems take back the House in 2018 and we likely would have wound up with another 4 years of stalemate and growing disillusionment with progressive politics.   Trump winning in 2016 was a watershed event that utterly changed the course of both parties.

  251. 251.

    Damned_at_Random

    I don’t know why Warren didn’t get more traction. Is the message that the smart girl should just shut up and act like a lady? Because fuck that shit.  Or is it just that primary voters, no less than the general electorate, only pay attention for 2 days before the election and it takes a lot of years to break through their basic indifference and establish a brand name – which would explain voting for a clown whose only talent is leaving his mark on every tree and hydrant in sight.

    I was really excited about the field in the early days of the contest, and disappointed in the outcome. But Biden at least is a decent human being – and not the worst alternative, even though he’s not as sharp as the Joe of 15 years ago

  252. 252.

    sdhays

    @Immanentize: Harris was my first choice too. Like I said, I really like Warren, I just don’t quite see her path forward. I’ve said before that I’m pissed at the 3 ancient B’s (Biden, Bloomberg, and Bernie) for getting in at all. I think the primary would be a lot more unifying and satisfying if they had stayed the fuck out. But Bernie basically fucked that up by getting it in his head that a crotchety curmudgeon without a lot to show for his years in Congress is just what America needs in a President.

  253. 253.

    Marcopolo

    @Immanentize: I hear what you are saying but don’t buy it.  Supposedly the same thing was planned to happen in SC and there were really no signs of it.

    Id rather attribute the surge in voting to the re-enfranchisement of over 100K ex-felons through the heroic efforts of Terry McCauliff (he had to personally hand sign all 100K plus re-enfranchisement orders) and that having a state government totally in the hands of Democrats led to new voting laws that made it easier for folks to vote.

  254. 254.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Kent:

    First, traveling the world to put all of our alliances and international relationships back together from the Paris Climate Accords to NATO to South Korea to China Trade to Central America and Mexico to….everywhere.

    You mentioned this quite a few times, the President won’t be doing most of the traveling; they will appoint a Secretary of State to do that.  Being an executive requires that you delegate tasks to other people.  Also the President jetting around doing the job of Secretary of State minimizes the stature of a Presidential visit to a country.

  256. 256.

    Feathers

    @Feathers: A minute later and I just want to clarify that I understand Biden’s support in the Black community and none of my comment was meant to undercut their reasons for supporting him. Trust is huge and earned. What has me saddened and surprised is the degree to which intersectionality has come to mean disappearing misogyny from the analysis of a problem.

  258. 258.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Anya: If this blog doesn’t talk about a subject you like, then you should talk about it. That’s why we all are here, to provide content for each other.

  260. 260.

    Anya

    @Kathleen: all of my dad’s albums are on vinyl. He takes pride in his vinyl collections. My brother and I are always looking for a record he missed for his birthday or father’s day. The only gift he respects.

  262. 262.

    Jeffro

    @guachi:

    VA is the example of what “rapidly trending blue” state looks like. I don’t have the exact numbers but you can see it trend blue starting in 2004, IIRC.

    VA is no longer really a swing state.

     

    THANK YOU.

    It hasn’t been a swing state for almost a decade now, but GOP gerrymandering helped the trumpublicans keep control of the legislature until this past election.  No. More.

    It’s reliably blue, and it’s not some shade of blue-dog blue, either.  It’s not San Francisco, but between NoVA and the college towns, it’s solid and it’s not going anywhere.  The VA GOP constantly upping the crazy helps, but it would still be Democratic at this point nonetheless.

  263. 263.

    sdhays

    @Damned_at_Random: I think a significant number of Democratic voters were so traumatized by Dump’s election that they’re not willing to risk misogyny giving him a second term. I think that’s why a lot of the women didn’t catch fire. The misogyny of the mainstream media disappearing Harris and then Warren demonstrates that the fear is not without merit, as unfair as it is.

  265. 265.

    guachi

    I’m still stunned at how quickly things turned for Biden. I’ve repeatedly complained that the SC primary was too close to Super Tuesday but this is the most consequential three days I’ve ever seen politically and I’ve been following politics since 1984.

    I suspect the Sanders campaign is stunned.

  268. 268.

    Marcopolo

    @Lapassionara: Dunno, just saw the top line #s.  I’ll see if I can find a breakout.By the way our household early voted today for Warren.  Whatever happens in the next week we did get to vote for her while she’s in the race :).

  269. 269.

    Jeffro

    @Marcopolo: In VA primary turnout increased from 785K in 2016 to 1.3M In 2020. That is pretty astounding.

    It is indeed.  I think many of us figured out that ‘democracy is on the ballot’ this time.  No more taking things for granted.

  271. 271.

    sdhays

    @Kent: You don’t mean to say that Senator “I’m not a people person” might not be very good at repairing and developing relationships with foreign leaders who happen to be “people”, do you??

  272. 272.

    J R in WV

    I have an election day story to tell, and another about shopping today to be prepared in case quarantines are started without much prior notice.

    Many years ago a good friend, since passed on, who shared work with me on our neighboring farms, called me late on election day to ask if I could take him over the mountain to vote. It was a typical dreary November day, and while Tom went in to vote, I saw a guy I knew sitting in a PU truck down the parking lot a few cars.

    Billy was his name, he ran a small garage in the tiny town we were voting in. We chatted for a minute, the polls closed in another 15 minutes, and after a little conversation, Bill pulled a case of pint bottles of bourbon out from under the truck’s passenger side seat. He took out a bottle, and said, “Here, you can have this, the election is over now!”

    I said, “Well, you know I voted this morning already, I just brought a neighbor over who’s voting now.” He handed the bottle to me, I forget the brand, but it wasn’t a top shelf name, and said, “No, no, the election is over, you might as well have it and enjoy it.” I just said thanks and put it in my pocket.

    I had work done on my truck at Billy’s garage, and they did good work for a fair price. But the next day I called the election fraud hotline at the Charleston US Attorney’s office and turned Billy in. I don’t think Billy himself was ever prosecuted, but I bet they squeezed him until he turned in the county boss! Things are a lot cleaner in WV than they were back i the 1970s and 80s!

     

    Then today I went to town to shop, to get extra everything, things I wouldn’t normally buy, to prepare for possible quarantines and outbreaks of the Covid19 plague.

    My first stop was a big sporting good store, where I looked for camping meals, freeze-dried meals in big boxes. Nope!

    All the big boxes with multiple meals were gone but one. I asked a shop worker if they had packs with multiple meals and he said “You see that empty shelf? That’s where they were until just the other day!” There was a rack with single meal pouches, and I bought 2 or 4 of several flavors. I looked closer at the multi-meal shelf, and there was one box with a dozen meals, and I took that too. I wound up with one shopping bag full of a week or so of meals for the two of us.

    Then I went to Aldi’s just down the hill.

    There I was somewhat amazed to find 75% ethanol hand sanitizer in medium bottles, a lot of them! I hadn’t seen any at all for quite a while, and I bought several. I also got several different flavors of Trail Mix, nuts and dried fruit, mostly a tropical mix. I got several packages of meat to freeze, nuts, wine, a case of canned tomatoes, a case of canned potatoes, 4 bottles of dehydrated onions, garlic powder, it wound up being 4 big bags of groceries along with the boxes of canned goods. It seemed like a regular shipping day at both stores, really, although the bleach and similar cleansers were pretty much sold out.

    My last stop was Kroger’s, where I had called in a prescription early in the morning. I was in the cleaning supply aisle, where there was no Clorox wipes on the shelf. There was a guy restocking, and I asked him to check in back to see if there was any Clorox sanitizer wipes, he was happy to check, and came back with several. So I got some of those rare birds.

    I also picked up vitamins our family doctor recommended for us, an OTC med the wife uses, a big bottle of bourbon, strictly for medical purposes! and a big sack of Basmati rice, several regular bags of dried beans and lentils, pasta and sauce, etc.  Also a big bottle of gin, and some tubes of sausage to freeze.

    In the end, we had trouble getting all of that last load into the SUV, which was completely full. I normally do a shopping run once a week, but this should hold us for at least three weeks if I don’t go into town next week. I fell much better with a batch of food that will keep for some time now. I’ve been making shopping lists in my head for several days, and this should put the quietus on that worry for at least a little while.

    And Biden appears to be giving Sanders a real old tyme shellacking in today’s primaries across the nation!

    I feel pretty good now, after a big dinner, some wine, a Gin & Tonic before dinner, and good election results coming in from the news outlets.

  273. 273.

    Marcopolo

    @guachi: It Actually reminds me a lot of 2004 when Kerry came from polling behind to win IA then pretty much just walked away with it (Edwards gave him a bit of a run but not much).

  277. 277.

    Martin

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The damage is going to require structural change to remedy. We can argue that Trump was just a fuck-up in our process, but everyone is going to ask what are we changing to ensure we don’t get a fuckup like that again.

  278. 278.

    Bill Arnold

    @Sab:

    I have started using a smelly hand cream

    Good to hear. Another guide to not face-touching:
    Coronavirus: 5 tips on how to avoid touching your face (Anne Wallace, Mar 3, 2020)
    It doesn’t mention the make-hands-smelly approach, which along with a working nose, is a real-time hand-near-face proximity alarm. Biotech.
    I like the smelly hand lotion approach Sab is trying; it could easily be mainstreamed. Some hand soaps have a strong scent as well. As Uncle Cosmo notes, the nose becomes habituated to smells so it might be good to alternate or otherwise vary the smell. (I”m using “Nexcare Skin Crack Care” atm)
    There are multiple anti-nail-biting-thumb-sucking products available, but the reviews say that they don’t have a scent, relying instead on a strongly bitter taste. (They would warn of a treated finger in mouth, or a finger touching a lip, eventually.)

  280. 280.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Anya: I hate agreeing with him

    I’m looking for numbers in Colorado and not seeing them. i’m wondering if they’re keeping track of when the votes came in?

    Kornacki: “Brutal news for Bernie Sanders…”

    a better person than I would draw less pleasure from that

  284. 284.

    Kathleen

    @Anya: That’s so sweet! I am child of 50’s/60’s/70’s so yeah I have a lot of vinyl.

    I’d love a Motown thread. Did you see documentary Standing In The Shadows of Motown? Showtime also had a documentary. I grew up on it but appreciate so much more today. Barry Gordy was a genius.

  285. 285.

    hitchhiker

    @guachi:

    I suspect the Sanders campaign is stunned.

    For real. Over at 538 they have a tabulation of votes cast early for all the states where that was allowed. The Bernie numbers for those votes is way, way higher than the Bernie number for votes cast post-SC. One week ago, he was on track to run away with it. Now they’re saying that if Biden wins MN (which he’s on track to do), he has a path to get an outright majority of delegates before the convention.

    The Bernie folks didn’t see this coming, and it’s got to hurt after a full year of work and mostly good news.

  289. 289.

    Kent

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:You mentioned this quite a few times, the President won’t be doing most of the traveling; they will appoint a Secretary of State to do that.  Being an executive requires that you delegate tasks to other people.  Also the President jetting around doing the job of Secretary of State minimizes the stature of a Presidential visit to a country.

    Well, of course.  But the level of wreckage left by Trump is going to take a more than usual level of effort to repair.  Obama won over Europe by actually GOING THERE and speaking to crowds of hundreds of thousands.  There’s going to be a lot of summits around the world to get us back to normal.  Sending Susan Rice or someone like that just isn’t going to get it all done

    I truly believe it is going to take the PERSONAL attention of the president to repair our standing in the world.  Not something that can be delegated no matter how good your secretary of state is.

  290. 290.

    Marcopolo

    @guachi: I suspect there will be a bit of whinging tomorrow from certain quarters about rigging and suchlike.

    But the Sanders camp said very early on that their game plan was to win the primaries by garnering a plurality of the vote in a crowded field.

    Pretty sure they, like the rest of us, never saw the winnowing after SC & the well orchestrated endorsement parade for Biden.

  291. 291.

    Feathers

    @Bobby Thomson: And saying that Warren’s run was illegitimate because a black woman was running as well is exactly the bullshit I’m talking about. Saying supporting Warren over Harris is “peak white feminism” is just plain misogyny. I liked Harris just fine. I preferred Warren, largely because I’ve been a fan for a long while, before she was in politics, and seen her up close in local elections. I checked out Harris, but there wasn’t enough to swing my support away. But yeah, “white feminism.”

    ETA: Saying Warren needed to support Harris because she was a black woman when Warren was running herself is peak what I was talking about.

  293. 293.

    mayim

    Looking at the results here in Maine with a vote on whether religious/philosophical exemptions should be allowed for vaccinations, the 27% crazification factor has once again made an appearance.

    Fortunately, the science-based side didn’t get  the 27%, so Maine will only allow medical exemptions.

  295. 295.

    Kathleen

    @eclare: That segued right into Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up. I  need to turn that on every morning when I wake up.

  300. 300.

    mad citizen

    Running some quick numbers.  On the MSN page Biden has 281 delegates to Wilmer’s 168.  So Biden with  63% between the two of them, (assuming he could get 63% of all of them) multiply by 4,051 pledged delegates gives 2,551 delegates.  2,376 are needed to win.  This doesn’t count the 714 (15%) superdelegates.

     

    These are numbers on google’s front page.  I’ve seen a different winning number on NBC–not sure where it comes from, but it is “To win the nomination on the first ballot, a Democratic candidate must receive support from a majority of pledged delegates — at least 1,991 of the total 3,979 pledged delegates.”

  302. 302.

    So Very Tired

    Sanders in REAL trouble now.

    Even if he pulls off (smaller than expected) victories in CA and TX, he has clearly hit his ceiling and can’t corral anyone new to his cause. Meanwhile JOEMENTUM 2020 is rolling on with the Obama Coalition redux PLUS the Republican non-Trump suburbanites.

    Warren was my choice today, so I’m sad about that, but when I see THE ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY coalescing into one giant GOTV machine for Joe I am enthused for the future.

    See ya, “-Or-Busters”, your 15 minutes is over.

  303. 303.

    Immanentize

    @Omnes Omnibus: Doo wop versus R&B?  Both great, but Motown was a Stax evolution.  Like High records was an evolution of both.

     

    ETA And not neglecting Atlantic at all.  They all had great artists.  But Anyway the Wind Blows (High) is still my all time favorite song of the group.

  305. 305.

    mad citizen

    @zhena gogolia: Not watching Sanders (wondering where he is on the red/pink scale), but all this “Stop Sanders” BS is like, what do people think all the other efforts were?  Stop/ignore Harris/Warren/Castro/Booker?  Aren’t Sanders and his supporters trying to “Stop Biden”?  Sorry, but collusion is not illegal in politics.  If fact, it’s encouraged to get shit done.

    The turnout (as others pointed out above) says simply, we are ready to rid ourselves of the virus in the white house.

    There is a Super Tuesday song by the late great Vic Chesnutt: youtube.com/watch?v=Afa8MIyH8OQ

  306. 306.

    hitchhiker

    @zhena gogolia:

    Of course. But not all of them were anticipating they’d win enough delegates on this day to claim they were uncatchable.

    That was the Sanders campaign’s expectation just four days ago.

  307. 307.

    Mnemosyne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yes, but to Ken’s point, who are each of the top 2 candidates going to appoint as Secretary of State? I kind of assume it would be Susan Rice for Biden, but can you imagine who Sanders would appoint? Ugh.

  309. 309.

    Mnemosyne

    @guachi:

    I’m only half-joking when I say that there is an actual insurgent, grass-roots candidate in this race who’s been running close to the ground, and it turned out to be former VP Joe Biden. Plot twist!

  311. 311.

    Brachiator

    @Feathers:

    However, one thing that the polls during his term missed was that when his policies were unpopular, a substantial portion of that unhappiness was that he was not progressive enough.

    I don’t know. Progressivism is a big tent. And what you may think is the heart of a progressive agenda may not mean much to someone else.

    There is a conversation to be had about goals and policies. But it is simply not true that Obama or other politicians have failed some pre-approved agenda.

  312. 312.

    Miss Bianca

    @So Very Tired: Yeah, I voted for Warren in the primary because I liked her the best as a candidate, but I did seriously toy with the idea of voting Biden, and so I am totally on board for JOE-MENTUM!

  313. 313.

    Damned_at_Random

    @sdhays: You make a good point, and I’m sure, after a good night’s sleep, I’ll see the wisdom of taking the misogyny out of the mix. The VP pick may bring back my enthusiasm

  314. 314.

    Feathers

    @Brachiator: But there was a substantial enough bloc of voters who thought that was the case that there was room for a candidate to pick that lane to run in.

    It wasn’t a reality based lane, but that is part of the reason for the mess that we are in.

  317. 317.

    dww44

    @mad citizen: Ha.  He’d be great but that’s not gonna happen.  What about John Kerry?  He was excellent and worked very hard, even if, according to the current SOS, he went to Antarctica to negotiate with penguins and made quick flying trips to Europe to drink wine.

  318. 318.

    J R in WV

    @Barb 2:

    To really “know” Bernie and Jane is to know they aren’t democrats.

    Just ask them — they will tell you they aren’t Democrats!!

    Or look at his web sites — one for “I’m a Democrat right now!” and the other one is for “I’m an Independent for Senate this election!” for 2022 (or 2024, I forget which) !!

  319. 319.

    artem1s

    @Kent: the level of expertise they will deploy in appointments.

    Bingo. There are a lot of issues with Sanders getting the nomination.  But primarily he can’t carry the House and Senate and he will do a poor job of picking a cabinet. Biden might not be my first choice, but he won’t burn bridges with the other candidates out of ego.  He’ll appoint qualified people and expect them to get shit done, not hold a revolution and burn everything to the ground.

  321. 321.

    Gvg

    @Kent: I wonder if Biden has considered Secretary of State Obama? I have been worrying about our foreign relations for awhile and how to fix it.

    taking the Senate would help that a lot too, easier to make real long term repairs.

  322. 322.

    Mnemosyne

    @Feathers:

    Ironically, I think that Warren hurt her own campaign by tying herself too closely to Bernie and having that “nonaggression” pact with him. That meant that she had a hard time differentiating herself as anything other than “Bernie-lite.”

  323. 323.

    Origuy

    Tulsi got one delegate from American Samoa. Has she gotten any others? One’s enough to put her name into nomination at the convention, but I think you need a second.

  324. 324.

    Brachiator

    @Martin:

    The damage is going to require structural change to remedy. We can argue that Trump was just a fuck-up in our process, but everyone is going to ask what are we changing to ensure we don’t get a fuckup like that again.

    Trump demonstrates how fragile democracy can be, because ultimately it depends on the people and elected politicians agreeing to be bound by standards.

    Many of the people who voted for Trump actively threw democracy away.  And all the pomp and circumstance of various officials swearing allegiance to the Constitution? Today, the media blandly reports how Trump is demanding that the people who work for him must be personally loyal to him.

    And the GOP goes along with this.  They have even stopped pretending.

    People like Mike Bloomberg, having caught the whiff of the new scent in the air, openly asks for the people to elect him their billionaire-in-chief.

    I used to think that the idea of the US setting some example for the rest of the world was a lot of American Exceptionalism Hooie. But people in other countries seem distressed that this current version of the US spits on immigrants, and embraces the much of the vile bigotry and nativism that the country fought against decades ago. The US was never perfect, but the best of America represented something that other people didn’t merely acknowledge or respect, but admired and even loved.

    And yet today we have a president who never met an authoritarian that he didn’t like.

    And other democracies, from the UK to India, are trying to unleash their own den of vipers.

    I think that there are some historians who say that we have been here before. But this certainly feels different.

    I don’t know whether we have stepped over some line. But a lot of people know how good it feels to wallow in raw power over others, and to have a president who seems to have no moral compass at all, and who is a simmering bag of resentments, urging the country to be just like him.

  328. 328.

    Feathers

    @Mnemosyne: Not going to disagree. Will note that I’m sure part of no one wanting to really take on Bernie was that he wouldn’t take it well, and his supporters…

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