Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

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

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

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

So many bastards, so little time.

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Disinformation Watch: It Begins

Disinformation Watch: It Begins

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There’s been plenty of disinformation about all the candidates, and our intelligence organizations tell us that Russia is adding its share, but with potentially decisive primaries coming up on Tuesday, one big campaign has swung into action.

I’ve seen people who I thought should have known better sharing it. They are Bernie supporters, or angry that another candidate has dropped out. Joe Biden is the target, and the claim is that he’s losing his mental acuity.

A week or two ago, I saw questions being raised, and I decided to pay more attention to Biden, particularly in news clips where he was speaking extemporaneously. I thought he sounded like he’s always sounded – can be a bit goofy and off-topic, but coherent in making his points. Also an occasional stumble that can easily be attributed to his stutter.

Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have begun attacking Biden for alleged “cognitive decline.” Which is kind of funny coming from a man who told us that he knows more than the scientists at CDC and pathetic from someone who may have to support Biden in November. Washington Monthly summarizes the information on the attacks.

I’ve seen a lot of it in the past week on Facebook and Twitter and have called out some people who should know better. I’m also not sharing anything on Biden’s health or mental state.

And it only gets worse from here.

Reader Interactions

223Comments

  2. 2.

    Mary G

    Twitter has been a cesspool of this. I have never blocked more people before. There’s also a deceptively edited video of Biden that the Trumpkins put out and the Bernie Bros. are retweeting.

  3. 3.

    Cacti

    I’ve never assumed that Bernie was playing on different sides than the Kremlin.

    His goal has always been to harm the Democratic Party.

  5. 5.

    James E Powell

    and pathetic from someone who may have to support Biden in November.

    I am not as sure of this as I wish I was. As Sanders showed in 2016 he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do. I do not know whether he cares that Trump gets another four years and Republicans continue to undo the 20th century. Maybe he figures it will heighten the contradictions and bring on the revolution.

    But if he is serious about ending Trump, he will support Biden in March by endorsing him when he suspends his campaign.

  7. 7.

    Major Major Major Major

    Sanders will support Biden and might not even make the campaign limp on long past the finish line this time. According to Sanders at least

    Sanders supporters, on the other hand… have been posting deceptive videos edited by the Trump campaign to make Joe look demented.

    I don’t get all that mad when like Tucker Carlson does it, but these are ostensible allies. Pissing me off.

  8. 8.

    bbleh

    The Trump people are pushing this hard, and I have no doubt there’s desinformatsiya backing them up.  And Bernie Bros will be Bernie Bros.  Frankly, it’s not like either of them have much else!  But Biden will need a way to deal with it, both in messaging and in person.

    IMHO, trying to Hulk out is not the way.  Trump has manic tendencies and Adderall on his side; Biden shouldn’t even try to go there. And Biden has “normalcy” on his side: a lot of people are sick of the amped-up orange crazy-man.  I’m not saying he should suppress the occasional flash of righteous anger — quite the contrary, because it’s notable then for its contrast with his normal behavior.  But I think steady-as-she-goes is a far better play.

  9. 9.

    TS (the original)

    O/T – Australian markets have been open for c. 40 minutes – down 4.5%

    Been a great season with fires then floods then virus. I don’t think this planet of ours likes us very much at the minute.

  11. 11.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Keep it simple: don’t get into useless arguments that go nowhere, put a brake on the “Yeah, but…” circle jerks dissecting the candidates numerous imperfections and vote–dammit!–for the Last Democrat Standing. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. Ignore the noise.

  13. 13.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Sanders is really an idiot if he things acting like Trump isn’t going to come back and bite him on ass. Just look at the meh Hillary got 2016 for her campaign starting the Birther Nonsense with Obama in 2008 primary, and she made peace with Obama.

    Then again, Socialism is Good, so anything a Socialist does in the name of Socialism is automatically Good and anyone who opposes a Socialist is automatically Evil.

  17. 17.

    West of the Rockies

    As I said in the last thread, I hope somebody is attempting to fuck up Putin’s shit.  CIA, if you’re listening, please upload a video of him enjoying an intimate moment with a goat.  I think you’ll be well-rewarded.

  19. 19.

    Chyron HR

    There’s still debates coming up, right?  What do the conspiracy theorists do when Biden goes on stage and functions normally?

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    @Chyron HR:  Next debate is in about a week. I’m sure the conspiracy folks will find something from it that can either be taken out of context or deceptively edited to ‘prove’ their theories.

  27. 27.

    hells littlest angel

    I have gone from wishing Trump and Sanders would die of coronavirus  for my own mean-spirited delight, to wishing they’d die for the good of the country.

    (Easiest becoming a better person I’ve ever become.)

  28. 28.

    Amir Khalid

    @Chyron HR:

    I expect they’ll keep right on making up shit up about his cognitive decline. Because it works. Bill and Hillary released their taxes every year while in office, and since then their foundation has released its finances in full every year. No evidence in over three decades of even the tiniest shenanigan, and yet millions have been persuaded that they’re corrupt.

  32. 32.

    BBA

    Come on, people, not everything is a nefarious Russian plot. Most of the candidates who have dropped out and endorsed Biden would similarly be questioning whether he’s still fit for the job, were they still in the race. It’s a legitimate concern, and the party should have a backup plan.

    And I’m speaking as someone convinced that Bernie has been taking orders straight from Moscow since he was Mayor of Burlington.

  34. 34.

    Cacti

    @BBA: Bernie was told two months ago that Russia was trying to boost his campaign and said nothing.

    Useful idiot, or willing accomplice?

  35. 35.

    opiejeanne

    @Chyron HR: Double down. Have we all forgotten that they tried something similar with Hillary? It was her supposed failing health (before she got pneumonia and after she recovered), not a claim of dementia.

  36. 36.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @BBA:

     Most of the candidates who have dropped out and endorsed Biden would similarly be questioning whether he’s still fit for the job,

    Really, I’d assume if they had concerns prior to suspending their campaigns and endorsing Biden they might have expressed these concerns publicly.  These are not shy people.

  37. 37.

    surfk9

    Biden should not hit back at Trump or Sanders over this. He should take the high road. Bloomberg should whack Trumps dementia and maybe Bernie’s bots. He has the best social media and campaign team of any campaign in the race.

  39. 39.

    Josie

    @BBA:

    I don’t believe this.  Other candidates would be questioning his policies.  Questioning his mental decline falls into the area of personal destruction.  I seriously doubt if any of the other candidates would sink to that.

  40. 40.

    DB11

    I’m also not sharing anything on Biden’s health or mental state.

    So we’re just going to pretend that Joe is still the same guy that served eight years at Obama’s side?

    I understand the warning and pushback against the ratfuckers, but the most effective propaganda is predicated on some small grain of truth — and people can see with their own eyes that Biden in 2020 is not the same guy physically or mentally that left office in 2012.

    This is a meme that will be sticky: we’re seriously fucking vulnerable on this front with Joe as the nominee.

    I guess we’re to pretend that he hasn’t lost a step, and that people’s brains don’t slow down in old age. He is clearly NOT suffering from dementia (which I consider a pure smear) but noting his (so far, mild) decline is simple observation, not (necessarily) disinformation.

  43. 43.

    hilts

    Team Trump is getting desperate:

     

    In an interview for “Axios on HBO,” Donald Trump Jr. told me he wants to debate Hunter Biden over who has benefited more financially from their father’s government service.

     

    Driving the news: “We can go full transparency, we show everything, and we can talk about all of the places where I am supposedly grifting but Hunter Biden isn’t,” said the president’s eldest son, who still runs the Trump Organization with his brother Eric.

     

    After I pressed Don Jr. on his book deal and paid speeches during Trump’s presidency, he replied, “If you looked at my tax returns, which maybe we could talk about in this debate.”

    So you’ll release your tax returns, I asked.

    “If we do it both, 100%,” Don Jr. said. “Let’s talk about who profited off of whose public service. Happy to do it. Let’s make it happen.”

     

    h/t https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-jr-hunter-biden-profiting-presidency-c914c6fb-703d-437a-8543-d28ef8865999.html

     

     

     

  45. 45.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Thank you, Lady Dorothy. I appreciate the warm welcome. Lately I’ve been working on writing something more ambitious than commenting on a blog, and that’s taking a lot of time and energy. But yeah, I miss this place.

  46. 46.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @DB11: From what I see, Biden is good enough, far better than his competition. There are other issues to discuss that are MUCH more important.

    By focusing on admittedly a small difference from the Biden of 2016 (speaking of lapses!), you are playing the opposition’s game.

  47. 47.

    Baud

    @DB11: You’re moving the goalposts. No one is saying he’s the same person he was when he was younger.

    He’s still a better bet than Sanders and his heart issues.   And  the younger candidates are all gone now.

  49. 49.

    Amir Khalid

    @DB11:

    I think Biden’s physical decline may be grounds for concern, given that the presidency is a very demanding job; but there has been no actual sign of mental decline.

  51. 51.

    BBA

    Let me make myself clear: Bernie Sanders is a Russian agent – not an asset, an AGENT. Nobody reads the second paragraph.

    The point I was trying to make was: if Putin told you not to drink bleach, would you?

  54. 54.

    piratedan

    @BBA: for me, there were pointed discussions about policy and past positions, not personal attacks on mental acuity; for me I guess the point is in a process populated by professional political pickpockets, does it matter the ethnicity of the pickpocket?

    The fact that Sanders still surrounds himself with people more than willing to “go there” continues to either cast some serious shade on his ambition or acceptance of allies.

  55. 55.

    chris

    On topic… baby steps.

    Just in: Twitter applied its new manipulated media label for the first time to a deceptively edited video of Joe Biden. It was shared by White House social media director Dan Scavino, and retweeted by the president. pic.twitter.com/PggcCwMNkx— Cat Zakrzewski (@Cat_Zakrzewski) 8 March 2020

  56. 56.

    Major Major Major Major

    @DB11: Joe Biden is old and has a harder time managing his stutter than he used to. All pretty normal. I don’t think it’s so controversial to notice this.

    I wonder if it would be wise for him to give a bit of a speech on the topic, or ignore it altogether. The longer this is pushed by Sanders types the deeper it will seep into normal people’s brains…

  57. 57.

    Josie

    @DB11:

    I am 76 and it has been my observation that the aging mind works differently, not better or worse, than the younger one.  I found in some graduate courses I took after retirement that I did not think as rapidly as I had when younger but was able to think more deeply.  I slowed down in my ability to memorize but not in my ability to understand dense subject matter.  Of course, this is just one person’s experience, but Joe seems pretty okay to me.  He is probably somewhat physically frail, but I’ll bet he can reason, plan, and delegate just fine.

  58. 58.

    Martin

    @Major Major Major Major: Always a good sign.

    BTW, I think if the US can get its shit together and do an effective mitigation plan, the economic hit will be minor. Yeah, airlines are hosed, restaurants, etc. But other industries will do well. A mitigation plan keeps factories running, offices running. More Amazon less Walmart. A mitigation strategy is also somewhat less likely to bankrupt hospitals and insurers.

    But this requires leadership and we have none, and that’s what markets are also responding to.

  64. 64.

    FelonyGovt

    @Major Major Major Major: It’s just hard for me to think anyone could slam Biden for being inarticulate or slow when we have the biggest example of mental decline, narcissism and outright stupidity in the White House.

  66. 66.

    mrmoshpotato

    @James E Powell:

    But if he is serious about ending Trump, he will support Biden in March by endorsing him when he suspends his campaign. 

    Narrator: He won’t.  Remember Pouty Ass at the 2016 DNC.

  67. 67.

    DB11

    @Cheryl Rofer: Definitely a lapse!

    I’m in my early sixties and I’ve taken my first steps down that long slippery slope.

    It seems clear that Trump is in the (maybe not so) early stages of actual dementia — and in any case is in far worse shape cognitively than Biden.

    The issue is that Trump, in particular, and the Republicans, in general, are not only much better at working the media refs, in many cases they literally own the media refs.

    And that asymmetric coverage will likely make a huge deal about Biden’s just-starting-to-be-noticible-decline-in-contrast-to-2016-Joe … all the while, completely discounting Trump’s alarmingly accelerating dementia as simply Trump being Trump.

    We can’t simply count on the hope that Democrats are somehow going to suddenly start consistently dominating media cycles, like the R’s have since Regan. (maybe this the one area where Bloomberg’s billions might just shift the tide a little in our direction?)

  69. 69.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Baud: More to the point, responding to the falsehood gives it legitimacy. Remember the infamous anecdote about LBJ accusing his opponent of fucking goats? When his horrified aide said that wasn’t true, Johnson replied, “Of course it isn’t true, but make the son of a bitch deny it!” Bottom line, if you’re explaining, you’re losing.

  70. 70.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Major Major Major Major: trying to think of who would be a… strategically chosen interviewer. Mrs Greenspan? a somewhat stammering Establishmentarian himself? Lawrence O’Donnell is Bernie-curious but a total star-fucker. Kindly Doc Maddow is never kindlier than when she’s buttering up an interviewee.

  73. 73.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Major Major Major Major:

    30-year treasury bonds dropped below 1% just now.

    That’s …. that’s …. that’s insane.  Holding plain old cash is better than that, isn’t it?  B/c at least you can do something different next year?  I mean, take the L on inflation for a year, is better than being locked-in for 30yr, isn’t it?  And while sure you can sell ’em to somebody else, the price still reflects that it’s a 30yr bond, I’d think.  I don’t get it.  I don’t get it.  Thank goodness I don’t have to.

  75. 75.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: He’s still a better bet than Sanders and his heart issues.   And  the younger candidates are all gone now.

    among the many things I can’t believe Sanders gets away with: flip-flopping on releasing his medical records. I think like trump he benefits, perversely, from the fact that the media still doesn’t take him entirely seriously. Biden released his in December.

  77. 77.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @DB11: So what is your point?  In my view, saying, “He’s got a stutter.  Don’t be an asshole,” is a far better response than “Well, he is losing his edge, but it’s not dementia.”  YMMV.

  78. 78.

    DB11

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I wonder if it would be wise for him to give a bit of a speech on the topic, or ignore it altogether. The longer this is pushed by Sanders types the deeper it will seep into normal people’s brains…

    It’s a tough call whether bringing attention to it by addressing it straight-up gives the story more life, or kills the potential damage that’s already out there.

    I think he has to address it directly — the earlier story that came out about his lifelong stutter struggle was humanizing, and gave people an alternative narrative for interpretation of their observations. One that wasn’t quite so worrying.

    I think that him being upfront would reinforce that narrative and be accepted similarly by the majority of (at least the Democratic) voting public.

  82. 82.

    A Ghost To Most

    @DB11: We know who we are getting in Biden. We also know what we are not getting in BS.

    Concern trolling?

  84. 84.

    DB11

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    In my view, saying, “He’s got a stutter.  Don’t be an asshole,” is a far better response than “Well, he is losing his edge, but it’s not dementia.”

    I think that latter is actually closer to the truth, but the former is probably more what he would want his supporters out there saying and repeating.

    Acknowledging it in a way that allows the interpretation that his more evident stutter and occasional speech mishap are his only concession to the age of an otherwise still-sharp mind.

  86. 86.

    Anya

    @Major Major Major Major: I’ve listened to his latest stump speech and he was explicit that he’ll support Biden and will commit to defeating Trump. I thought he was preparing his supporters for the eventuality of when he concedes.

  88. 88.

    RobertB

    I got this one from my daughter, who’s a Bernie supporter.  “Biden doesn’t even remember his old boss’s name.  I saw it!”  I got off Facebook because I was sick of beating back my old friend’s stupidity, and now I’ve got to do this again for my daughter?  Shit.

  91. 91.

    Belafon

    We would have this for any Democratic nominee. It’s time we learned to laugh in their faces.

  92. 92.

    Another Scott

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I remember seeing a graph in The Economist about 30 years ago.  Someone went back and plotted the price of bread in England going back 400 some odd years.

    Perhaps surprisingly, inflation in bread prices was basically zero over that whole time except for very short spans of time (wars, famine, etc.).

    I really wonder if we’re returning to “normal” when inflation is around zero (meaning interest rates should be only slightly above zero as well).  It would explain some of what we’ve been seeing the last 35 years or so…

    “There are no good investments now because 95% of the population doesn’t have enough money.  Here!  Take this cash and keep it safe and just promise to give it back to me in 10 years!!”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  95. 95.

    DB11

    @A Ghost To Most: I think the Sanders entering the race is why we’re in this disastrous end-game; and that I think he would be a terrible candidate — with negative coattails for the house and senate races — and at-best, an ineffective president. (not to mention his physical health risks – what is his LVER anyway?)

    Call me a concern troll if you like (because I am concerned, not because I’m a troll) if that makes it easier for you to dismiss my observations.

  99. 99.

    The Dangerman

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Dow futures hit a circuit breaker at -10%, closed for the day.

    Blue Monday.

    How does it feel
    To treat me like you do?
    When you’ve laid your hands upon me…

    (hope they were well washed)

    ETA: Did someone say something more stupid than normal on a Sunday show?

  100. 100.

    mad citizen

    @FelonyGovt: Yes, this.  It’s all compared to the Orange One.  Agree that Biden should do a speech about it.  One thread should be: “Look, regardless of my mental acuity in the next eight months, I will have a vigorous running mate.  We’ve checked the rules.  Even if I am incpacitated or dead by Election Day, our team will be on the ballot, and we will win, because the people have shown they are ready to end this bull-show in the White House.  Case closed.”

  101. 101.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    OT:

    Do you think that here in the US we will have mass quarantines similar to what’s happening in Italy right now? That businesses such as movie theaters will be closed

    And frankly, why aren’t we using WHO test kits in the meantime and testing many people like South Korea and Italy are?

  103. 103.

    Ken

    @mad citizen: Headline: “Biden Stokes Medical Fears: ‘Dead By Election Day’”

    Subhead: “In Health Speech, Compares President to Bull”

  105. 105.

    Mike in NC

    Read a couple of articles that noted that Russian state media (AKA PutinWorld) freaked out over Biden’s primary wins. They’re pushing this same shit on their English-language outlets. The troll farms will be working overtime to boost Trump and Sanders.

  106. 106.

    DB11

    @Josie: I think the main problem is that an older brain tires much easily and loses fou

    One of the reasons I’ve expressed these concerns is from my own experience: a series of data points from an older-generation group of friends that I used to share breakfast with at the local diner several times a week. (anecdata admittedly, but it still gives one pause):

    In their mid-to-late seventies they were all still sharp and fully-engaged. One-by-one obver the next few years they started slowing down; their speech changed; then their gait and their posture; then  clear signs of cognitive decline (all typical signs of aging).

    Not one of them lived beyond their early eighties (82-83) out of a group of 7 or 8.

    Now, on the other hand my best friend’s grandfather is still riding dirt-bikes at 102 in his native Australia and is still sharp as a tack mentally, so yes: specific effects of aging vary widely by individual.

    But in my view, the early indicators are there with Joe.

  108. 108.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Do you think that here in the US we will have mass quarantines similar to what’s happening in Italy right now? That businesses such as movie theaters will be closed

    I think we’ll have social distancing policies, so things like movie theaters may close. But I don’t think we’ll have mass quarantines like Italy. I think we’ll come to find Italy’s plan doesn’t work. I don’t fault them – they’re feeling desperate. But theirs is a containment strategy and they missed their shot. We did too.

    And frankly, why aren’t we using WHO test kits in the meantime and testing many people like South Korea and Italy are?

    I have no idea. I think the FDA got it in their head they could do a better test, they didn’t act with urgency, and when they did get a better test out it was busted. They should have rolled out the WHO test immediately, done other tests in parallel to that effort and then could swap out when everything was scaled up and running.

    Serious administrative fuck-up, IMO.

  109. 109.

    James E Powell

    @satby:

    go ahead, pull the other one.

    I don’t know what this means, but I want to believe it’s hilarious.

  110. 110.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Do you think that here in the US we will have mass quarantines similar to what’s happening in Italy right now? That businesses such as movie theaters will be closed

    The sooner the FSM-damned-better, frankly.  Doing it for a week (starting tomrorow) so we can have some breathing room to get a handle on the situation) would be useful.  Anything to slow the spread down.  Anything.  It’s happening here in SF (probably many other cities) already.  And frankly, I know a bunch of folks who are self-isolating in hopes of not getting the thing.  Just hole up with a bunch of food and wait it out.

  111. 111.

    Larime

    Ted Cruz self-quarantines after CPAC. Don’t make me start believing in a higher power NOW.

  115. 115.

    DB11

    @DB11:

    Ran out of time editing the previous post at 106. Apologies for the typos and sloppily-constructed paragraphs.

  116. 116.

    Morzer

    https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1236632485611667456

    Sen. Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday results: “One of the things I was kind of not surprised by was the power of the establishment to force Amy Klobuchar, who had worked so hard, Pete Buttigieg who had really worked extremely hard as well out of the race.”

    I wish Bernie would just shut up and sit down, rather than behaving like a far left version of Trump. This is grotesquely irresponsible behavior on his part, not to mention patronizing towards Klobuchar and Buttigieg who are perfectly capable of making their own decisions, thank you very much.

  120. 120.

    Morzer

    @Ken: That’s going to be quite a revelation to African American voters especially. They’ve been accused of many things over the years, but not of being part of the establishment.

  121. 121.

    Lapassionara

    If we have an election discussion about dementia, Trump’s obvious issues should be front and center.

  122. 122.

    rjm

    I’ve been mostly lurking for a few years.  I don’t post much because I’m too darn slow, and I don’t generally feel like I have anything very unique to add.

    I had a Bernie canvasser come by today.   First one we’d had, and only the second dem presidential door knocker all year (Warren campaign was the first).  I’m in Ann Arbor MI, solid blue, Bernie carried the whole county in the 2016 primary 55/43.

    Guy (late 30’s early 40’s)  asked if I was planning to support Bernie, and when I said I’m planning on Biden but voting Blue in November he went straight negative with the “23 times Biden opposed Social Security” and “Have you heard what he said about women?”.  I allowed that Warren was my first choice but I thought Biden would choose more capable people to run the government he responded that lots of people wouldn’t vote for Biden.  I asked, “Who? Bernie people?”.  “Yeah. A vote for Biden means four more years of Trump”.

    That’s not a winning message! Anyone can have an inexperienced volunteer but that really got my back up.

  123. 123.

    DB11

    @Baud:

    Hopefully, Michigan and Washington will put us out of our misery on Tuesday.

    Well, the one thing so far that slightly settles my churning stomach is the way in which the party is closing ranks around, and actively supporting, the presumptive nominee.

    But there’s also the relief of simply accepting an inevitable outcome — one that was never wished for — and arriving at a state of equanimity about it. I’m not quite there yet, but I’ll get there :)

    As I said earlier, maybe with Bloomberg’s money we have a chance of flipping the media coverage… so that republicans are on defense responding to our media narratives re: Trump — and not Joe’s ‘dementia’, Burisma or the other major memes they’re trying to get the media fixated on (a la emails)

  124. 124.

    Jackie

    @Baud: Fingers crosses! 2016 WA was a caucus state and Bernie won. This is our first Democratic primary, so I’m hoping… ??

  126. 126.

    japa21

    My 3 cents worth. Biden doesn’t need to address this. Sanders does.  None of this wishy washy I can’t dictate what my followers do, and maybe they aren’t even my followers type of crap.

    He needs to condemn this and say that he has no qualms at all about Joe’s mental capacity.

     

    And to add that he doesn’t want the support of anybody who would bring this up.

     

    And I’ll wake up any day now.

  127. 127.

    Major Major Major Major

    @DB11: the party is closing ranks around, and actively supporting, the presumptive nominee

    ah yes, the nefarious ‘party’, as represented by people who have dropped out of its nominating contest endorsing one of the remaining two candidates

  128. 128.

    mad citizen

    @Ken: Funny, and I’m fine with it.  Shorter comment from me: “Dead Biden beats live Trump”

  129. 129.

    J R in WV

    @DB11:

    people can see with their own eyes that Biden in 2020 is not the same guy physically or mentally that left office in 2012.

    Maybe that’s because he was Vice President until January, 2017????

  132. 132.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @rjm:

    My son had a Bernie canvasser in a Chicago suburb today. The guy asked him what his #1 issue was, and my son said getting rid of Trump. The canvasser agreed. My son declared that Warren had been his choice and now he wasn’t even sure he’d vote in the primary (bad!) since he’d support whoever the D nominee was. Apparently that was more or less the end.

  134. 134.

    DB11

    @Baud:

    I’m not sure which goalposts I’m meant to be moving: I am in no way arguing on behalf of Bernie over Joe.

    He’s still a better bet than Sanders and his heart issues.   And  the younger candidates are all gone now.

    Yup.

  135. 135.

    Jeffro

    @TS (the original):Been a great season with fires then floods then virus. I don’t think this planet of ours likes us very much at the minute.

    There’s a great storyline in The Authority where the Earth decides she’s had enough of humanity-as-virus and starts acting accordingly.

    It’s a hoot.  Also, thank god it’s only in the comics…for now.

  139. 139.

    Jeffro

    @Larime: the jokes on Twitter about PronHub needing additional server backup (since Cruz will be home alone for two weeks) have been awesome.  :)

  140. 140.

    Martin

    @Chetan Murthy: The feds and states are unwilling to take the kind of action necessary. A containment strategy means not letting infected people into a region, which either means wholesale travel restrictions (roadblocks on interstates, etc.) or screening at checkpoints.

    California is actually a good state for trying this. Despite our size, nobody lives near the border except for the southern border which is already equipped for that. You have a half dozen interstates maybe 2 dozen US highways and a bunch of minor roads that you can surveil and move a checkpoint in place if people start to cross it in numbers. It’s almost all desert so you can easily surveil it from the air.

    What’s more, we’ve done this before with the fruit fly quarantine – checking every car coming into the state for fruit grown out of state. So, we know how to do it, and we know we can do it. But  the feds had no intention of doing their part of shutting down airports and the like, rail travel, etc.

    So no, there will be no mass quarantine, there will be no containment. That was wishful thinking at best and just sheer incompetence by the administration.

    We’re going to get this, hopefully in a managed way, with medicine and masks still being produced, hospital beds available, hopefully some better treatment of symptoms. Some quarantines of particularly susceptible populations to minimize casualties.

    My worry is that the WH can’t admit that. The public is expecting containment, but all they’ll see is failure because they were never serious about containing it. Hell, they don’t even have a plan to contain a single cruise ship, which is about as easy as the task gets.

    So we’ll get panic on top of incompetence, which is a great combo.  States are going to guide us through this with varying degrees of success.

  143. 143.

    DB11

    @Major Major Major Major: I’m actually saying that as a positive thing — because I think he is going to need the entire party’s support to drag him across the finish line.

    The fact he seems to be getting it is the one thing that gives me some hope that he’ll actually make it. Because if he doesn’t it will be life-altering for most everyone (and everything) — and not in the good way.

    If that wasn’t clear in my post, it’s solely because of my inadequacies as a writer and not because I was trying to throw some under-handed slight at the nefarious ‘party’.

  144. 144.

    J R in WV

    I haven’t thought that much of Biden since the Anita Hill — Clarence Thomas hearings. But Obama picked him, and Obama won running away from the RWNJs in both elections. And I’m a believer in Obama !!!

    So now, years later on, I’m good with Biden, especially as opposed to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Ru) and Donald J Trump (R-Ru) — i mean look at those choices~!!!~ My god, they’re both corrupt asses.

  145. 145.

    Jeffro

    @Major Major Major Major: The irony of most of CPAC…as well as most GOP congressional staffs, WH staff, Orangemandias himself…coming down with COVID-19, well, it warms my heart more than it should.

    Or maybe the exact right amount ;)

    Kidding aside, it’s March and the election’s eight months away.  Dems should pound, Pound, POUND on the trumpov machine’s sheer inability to a) do anything right and b) do anything but worry about how a crisis might impact the president*s poll numbers.

    they could give a crap about America

  147. 147.

    Another Scott

    @japa21:

    Biden doesn’t need to address this. Sanders does.

    Indeed.

    St. Bernard can’t continue to act as if he’s so consistent and pure and righteous while his campaign people and followers do these horrible things. If he’s not a Russian stooge (and I’m not convinced he is – I think he just doesn’t really care), and if he’s actually running to lead the party (yeah, I know), then he needs to speak up.

    Like you, I’m not holding my breath.

    I remember him being oh so shocked, shocked when he was sitting in the audience in the 2016 convention when his supporters were throwing tantrums and booing at the mention of Hillary’s name. I could hear him rationalizing to himself: “I know I called her and the party Corrupt™ every 5 minutes for almost 18 months, but nobody really took that seriously did they?! It’s just politics for crying out loud!!”

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  148. 148.

    Major Major Major Major

    @DB11: I think he is going to need the entire party’s support to drag him across the finish line

    He won SC in a landslide with about ten cents to his name and a zillion people splitting the centrist vote, it’ll be over if not this Tuesday then next Tuesday, he’s fine.

  151. 151.

    DB11

    @Cameron: Indeed!

    The fact that I fucked up the cycle doesn’t necessarily make the counter-argument stronger: in fact it would probably be less worrying if the observed changes in Biden had been over an 8 year period rather than 4.

    In any case I’ve made mine and I’ll leave it at that. People don’t want to hear it or contemplate its implications, and I understand why: it’s too frightening to think that we might have fucked it all up again… and will be left to face what we all fear for another 4 years.

  152. 152.

    Yutsano

    @Another Scott: Nope. Wilmer reveled in it. He’s totally fine with letting his supporters run wild. How do I know this? He has done less than zero to stop it. Hell half his campaign staff are the worst of them, and there’s zero evidence he’s done anything to curtail them.

  153. 153.

    joel hanes

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    That businesses such as movie theaters will be closed

    In two week’s time, a formal closure order won’t be necessary  in Silicon Valley or in King County WA — no one will be going to movie theaters, and restaurant customers will be very thin on the ground.

  155. 155.

    DB11

    @Major Major Major Major: I’m talking about the general, not the nomination.

    It’s hard to imagine any scenario at this point where he doesn’t clinch the nomination in short order.

    It’s exactly the phenomenon you cite that demonstrates how motivated people are to ensuring party unity in the service of dislodging Trump — and the reason I have a glimmer of hope that we might achieve it.

    Because most people (Democrats) have overlooked Joe’s myriad of faults, gaffes and deficits and decided that those don’t matter with what’s at stake.

  157. 157.

    joel hanes

    @Mary G:

    Jesus.  No way I’d be getting on a plane today, or any time in the last week, nor any time in the next couple months, and double no way would I be flying to Italy.

  160. 160.

    catclub

    @Morzer: This is grotesquely irresponsible behavior on his part, not to mention patronizing towards Klobuchar and Buttigieg who are perfectly capable of making their own decisions, thank you very much.

     

    Also, convincing other politicians to drop out in favor of themselves is what capable politicians do. Why can’t Bernie?  Why can’t bernie convince them to stay in for his benefit?

  161. 161.

    catclub

    oil was $45-46 on friday. Now it is $30.  Wow.

    between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the price is going to zero.

  162. 162.

    Aleta

    @rjm: A one-sided conversation today with the person who inherited the alternative convenience store reminded me of tea party relatives who had a compulsion to turn any topic into irrational talking points.  Extremely pro-Bernie (in 2016 too),   she attacked Obama b/c his health insurance  plan cost so much she “had to alter her pay stubs.”  (She worked for her parents then.)  Her parents have bought a house  in Canada , but she doesn’t want to live up there because “sales tax is 18% .”  As far as I can figure, she’s assuming that  better social programs in the US and universal health care will cost her less than what she contributes now?  Is she counting on the wealth tax to cover everything even though she hasn’t seen numbers for Sanders’ economic plan ?  She doesn’t want to share the burden of health care for all, even though that’s what insurance is.

  163. 163.

    Jeffro

    @joel hanes:In two week’s time, a formal closure order won’t be necessary  in Silicon Valley or in King County WA — no one will be going to movie theaters, and restaurant customers will be very thin on the ground.

    True…and not just in those two places.  School districts and universities everywhere  in the US are already on the brink of closing for a couple weeks’ time.  I think the districts are acting out of parent paranoia (what, this is the first time your kid reported someone sneezing in History class?) and the universities have both students and faculty who travel all over the place for break and for conferences, respectively.

    It’s going to be a helluva mess until we have 330M test kits and use them all at once…

  168. 168.

    Morzer

    @catclub: Umm… something something… purity of the REVOLUTION… incoherent bellowing… REVOLUTION…. something something

  169. 169.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jeffro:

    True…and not just in those two places.

    I’m 55.  I know people in their 70s who are already self-isolated, trying to wait this thing out.  I have a friend a little bit older than me, doing the same.  I’m pretty close to starting myself, and aside from a trip to the grocery, haven’t been out and about at all since Tuesday.  No more gym, no more coffeeshop, no more nuthin’.  Grocery store, home, laptop.

  171. 171.

    sdhays

    My colleague voted for Biden on Super Tuesday but mentioned that he was worried about Biden’s mental decline because of his verbal missteps. I told him that Biden has a stutter, and he’s having trouble managing it as well as before, but that’s not “mental decline”, just “not quite having the energy and quickness of a younger person”. He had no idea Biden had a stutter, and I think I reassured him (finding out he had a stutter actually reassured me – thanks to Cole’s front-paging of that article on it in the Atlantic a few months back).

  173. 173.

    sdhays

    @Another Scott: I have resisted thinking he’s a Russian stooge, but if the rumors that he seriously considered (is considering??) Tulsi as his running mate are true, all bets are off.

  174. 174.

    Another Scott

    @catclub: Putin can’t win a price war with Saudi Arabia.  This isn’t going to end well for him.

    The US oil industry was going to be hurting in the short-term anyway (lack of demand and consequent fall in prices) – I’m not sure how much more worse-er this price war will make it for them.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  176. 176.

    Jeffro

    @Chetan Murthy: I hear you, but until there are reports from your state health department that there’s a reported case or three in your state/area, I would go ahead and get out (taking all reasonable precautions) for as long as possible.

    Starting to lock down now will just make it harder on you and others like you if/when we eventually have to lock down for an extended period of time.

    Come onnnnnnn test kits!

  178. 178.

    joel hanes

    @Chetan Murthy:

    I know people in their 70s who are already self-isolated

    I’m 67, and I’ve been avoiding people for a week — except that we care for my great-grandson in our home weekdays, and on Friday his dumb-ass father needlessly spent several hours in the Kaiser emergency room.    So I’m probably fucked as soon as I see the kid tomorrow morning.  We’ll hand-wash aggressively, but I don’t want to kid myself.

    My Mom’s 87, and lives 2000 miles away.   No idea if I’ll ever see her again, because until I get tested, I can’t visit, and I can’t get tested in the forseeable future

  179. 179.

    J R in WV

    @Morzer:

    Bernie’s staff meeting Monday the day before the next primary day, right??! Great concept literature, Morzer!!!

  180. 180.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Major Major Major Major: i have a 37-year-old friend (good health) who basically started all this 2wk ago.  The rare times we meet (he’ll come out of the house and meet me at a place for coffee outdoors), he goes home and takes a shower right after.  Yeah, I’d do everything feasible to socially distance -now-.  I mean, maybe a week from now, we decide it was overblown.  OK, so a week of PITA and having to catch up on some work meetings and shit the following week.  But for those of us who -can- (jesus I feel for retail and delivery workers …. and that doesn’t even -begin- to approach what I feel for health care workers) I feel like, we should try to minimize our chance of exposure.

    I have some relatives who are isolating, and my plan is to bring ’em fresh food, leave it on their doorstep.  So they don’t have to leave, period.

  182. 182.

    Jeffro

    @sdhays: I’m still naively shocked that anyone at all in this country could look at Biden stuttering occasionally or losing his train of thought occasionally as opposed to someone who wants to

    • nuke hurricanes
    • buy Greenland
    • has lied 15K+ times to the public
    • broke our already broken budget with magical tax breaks
    • ignored Puerto Rico
    • cages kids at the border
    • loves “very fine people”

    and on and on.

    Biden – like any nominee for president of either party – is a figurehead for a coalition of interests.  In his case in particular, I think Dems are rallying to get him across the finish line because trumpov is an existential threat not just to Dems but to our country in general.  EVERYONE seems to kind of ‘get that’.

    For a variety of reasons, we didn’t seem to have an Obama-level blank slate/uniter to be that figurehead this time.  So everyone is going with Joe and if he & his team can just harness the ‘Democratic Justice League’ to be his spokespersons at every possible opportunity, plus use Bloomberg’s $Bs and media team to hammer the snot out of team orange, we might just get there in November.

    It took a lot for ambitious politicians to bury their egos and solve the ‘collective action problem’ faced by the Dems this cycle.  Took a lot of commitment to principle and party over those ambitions.  I think it speaks amazingly well to the strength of our party and hope for our nation.

  184. 184.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jeffro:

    until there are reports from your state health department that there’s a reported case or three in your state/area, I would go ahead and get out (taking all reasonable precautions) for as long as possible.

    (1) there are reported cases in the Bay Area (I’m in SF)

    (2) *regardless*, we know* that there is basically no testing.  None.  So waiting for tests to show active cases, is the same as saying “I’ll walk around with hundreds, maybe thousands of undetected carriers”.  Until community testing gets going, my belief is, try to minimize your chance of being exposed.

    I realize this is awful.  No fun at all.  But it’s not like our government is doing -anything- to find out where the disease is spreading.  Not.  A.  Damn.  Thing.  So given what we know (e.g Italy, Iran) I think it’s only reasonable to -assume- that it’s spreading in the community, until that’s disproven.  And in any case, we’re talking a week or two, right?  [assuming that it’s -not- spreading — if it -is- spreading, then maybe months.]

  185. 185.

    sdhays

    @Major Major Major Major: It’s not great, because it still shows that he’s older than he should be and running for President, just like Bernie’s heart attack and Dump’s clear mental vacancy should have been signals not to run in 2020. But I’ll take “slowing down a bit” over “running his body into the ground” and “nobody’s home except Mr. Racist Trash” any old day of the week.

  186. 186.

    beef

    @chris:

    There are several Dow indices that people watch.  The US one is the DJ industrial average, which is a weirdly weighted blend of blue chip US stocks.  Futures on the value of that index hit -5% this evening, triggering limit rules.  (The more meaningful S&P 500 futures also hit -5%, triggering the same limit rules.)  There’s also a European analogue, the DJ STOXX 50, whose futures are around -10% right now.  Can’t recall whether there are limit rules there.

  187. 187.

    Chetan Murthy

    @DB11: That is a remarkably perceptive observation by Ms. Goff.  I had  -never- thought of this.  And I’m going to start sharing it.  Thank you!

  188. 188.

    DB11

    @sdhays:

    But I’ll take “slowing down a bit” over “running his body into the ground” and “nobody’s home except Mr. Racist Trash” any old day of the week.

    Seconded.

  189. 189.

    sdhays

    @Jeffro: Oh, yeah. For Dump, of all people, to accuse Biden of mental decline…that’s just taking the typical projection to another level.

    ETA: Good lord, I had forgotten about Greenland…

  190. 190.

    DB11

    @Chetan Murthy: No me neither.

    I couldn’t figure out what they saw that I didn’t and how they could support him in light of the crime bill alone (and its disastrous effects on the incarceration rates of black men). But then I read that tweet and boom! Totally makes sense to me now.

    Would make for a good front page post if one of the anointed few wanted to highlight it. I think it’s an incredibly strong argument in Biden’s favor and it one that would never occur to many white voters.

  191. 191.

    burnspbesq

    @DB11:

    in my view, the early indicators are there with Joe.

    you’re entitled to your view. I’m entitled to politely suggest that you get your priorities in order. Getting rid of Trump is worth the risk.

  192. 192.

    Nicole

    Columbia University has just cancelled classes for two days and will teach remotely for the rest of the week, due to someone there (did not say if it was student or faculty) being quarantined after exposure.  Then spring break starts.

  195. 195.

    Kelly

    @Chetan Murthy: I discussed this with my 83 year old Mom today. She lives within walking distance so I can easily run errands for her. She is very independent and I expected this to be the first of several conversations to bring her around. Nope, she’d already been thinking about it. She ready to take cover soon. I’m 63 so I’ll have be careful myself.

  196. 196.

    Jeffro

    @Chetan Murthy: Given your location and your willingness to get started on isolating now, even if it means a longer overall period of ‘quarantine time’ it’s a totally smart call.

    My mom’s close to doing the same thing up in NoVA, and a) they’ve only had 2 cases there, and b) they have a pretty robust local and state government response going.

    High fives* and stay safe!

    *”air fives” but you get the idea… =)

  197. 197.

    DB11

    @burnspbesq:

    Getting rid of Trump is worth the risk.

    Well that’s the risk we’re stuck with, yes. I thought there were better risks for Dems to take, but early primary voters thought differently. And here we are.

    As for my priorities, there’s nothing to straighten: I’ve been pretty clear about concurring with the over-arching need to oust Trump. I just differ in my view of what best gets us there.

    And I appreciate that you suggested politely, since I’ve already been told once tonight to FRO.

  199. 199.

    Jeffro

    @sdhays: The Dems would do well to point out that this IS literally 90% of the plays in the trumpublican playbook:

    • “Joe Biden has dementia”
    • “Hunter Biden was engaged in grifting off his dad’s name”
    • “Democrats want to take away your health care, and bust the budget”
    • “Democrats don’t care about working people”
    • “Only Dems engage in ‘identity politics’ “
    • “No one has been a better friend to the African-American community than trumpov…”
    • “Buttigieg and Klobuchar cut a deal”
    • “The Democratic primaries were rigged” (as opposed to the multitude of canceled GOP ones)

    And on and on and on…it’s all part of their M.O., and it’ll take multiple Dems and coordinated messaging to (hopefully) try to point this out to/inoculate the American people from) this gaslighting.

  200. 200.

    J R in WV

    We’re prepared to stay isolated, Doc tells me I’m good to go for this virus, but wife, after her septic shock episode 9 years ago, has little immune system left, to the point where we keep antibiotics on hand. Of course, that won’t help with this situation at all.

    I have 240 pounds of dog food up in the shop, and will restock on that whenever I go to the grocery for fresh veges and more wine. I’ve been going to town once a week, will keep that schedule until we hear the virus is closer than DC or over in KY.

    We’re pretty rural, most folks don’t travel around, even into Charleston is a long trip from out here, which is why I only go into town once a week, since we retired. I’ll chat with neighbors from a distance.

  201. 201.

    rjm

    @Aleta:

    I came across Peter Sandman’s Outrage Management concepts about 10 years ago and that organized my thinking about how the right wing media works, whipping up grievance and outrage. A pre-trump example focused on utilities

    https://www.psandman.com/articles/amsa.htm

    It’s possible to address outrage and the get to the real issues in communities, but I’m feeling like that may not be as possible when there’s a professional outrage generation machine in opposition.

    edit:Looking for that link I found very recent Sandman articles on Covid-19 messaging, emphasizing haw badly the administration is handling communications

    https://www.psandman.com/index-infec.htm#corona

  202. 202.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Corner Stone used to say that this blog was home to a bunch of elderly shut-ins.  I sure he meant to be demeaning, but it turns out he was merely prescient.

  203. 203.

    Kelly

    One of our local grocery stores started a shopping service where you email a list and a pickup time and they will bring your groceries out to your car. I believe it was aimed at parents of young children but sounds good for me now.

  204. 204.

    anarchoRex

    @lamh36: That’s fucked, but at least the campaign realized that before all this and fired him, thus the “former employee”

  207. 207.

    joel hanes

    @J R in WV:

    If you can arrange it, only talk to people out-of-doors, and only during the day.

    Direct sunlight is pretty hard on aerial droplets, and over time, the UV actually kills some bacteria and some viruses.

  209. 209.

    Jay

    NEW: The Heartland Institute, the right-wing climate denial group behind the so-called "Anti-Greta," laid off "more than half" its staff yesterday amid financial troubles, ex-employees told me. https://t.co/zTbHJuxI4Y— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) March 7, 2020

  211. 211.

    Jay

    Club of Rome founder Frits Böttcher was the Netherlands' leading climate denier. He died in 2008. Investigative journalists combing through his papers, discovered that he was paid €500K by Shell and others to sow doubt about climate change.https://t.co/tbhNHzSUeh1/— Bernie Beats Trump (@doctorow) March 6, 2020

  213. 213.

    Anya

    @Ascap_scab: Let’s hope they quarantine Trump as well or at the very least, he’s living in fear. I’ve read somewhere the president  CPAC shook hands with the CPAC attendee who tested positive for coronavirus and then he shook hands with Trump. No word if he washed his hands between those hand shakes.

  216. 216.

    Bill Arnold

    @opiejeanne:

    It was her supposed failing health (before she got pneumonia and after she recovered), not a claim of dementia.

    They tried an actual dementia hoax, with a forged document.
    The claim was that Hillary was dying of ‘subcortical vascular dementia”. It turned out to be very much not case, 7 years later and counting.. Hillary Clinton Medical Records ‘Leaked’ – Right after the name of Hillary Clinton’s physician appeared in the news, suspect medical records attributed to that doctor were “leaked” online. (Snopes, 10 August 2016)

    According to these alleged “medical records,” Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with “early-onset Subcortical Vascular Dementia” in 2013, and subsequent doctor visits suggested the condition was worsening. Additionally, the records noted that Clinton suffered “intensified Complex Partial Seizures” between 2013 and 2014.

  217. 217.

    Bill Arnold

    @DB11:

    It seems clear that Trump is in the (maybe not so) early stages of actual dementia — and in any case is in far worse shape cognitively than Biden.

    Why the F hasn’t somebody done a video collection of Trump’s very visible cognitive failures? Are Democrats so squeamish? These are true facts. The incidents I’ve collected don’t look much better in context. D.J.Trump should not be running in the 2020 election. (He’s worried about jail for him and his family, sure. He should be worried about his brain.)

  218. 218.

    DB11

    @Bill Arnold: In my earlier comments about Bloomberg’s potential contribution to leveling the media playing field, I had in mind a blitz of  ads that would highlight exactly that.

    He was a surprisingly week candidate in the end, but his media and communications team is top-notch. Given his commitment to tilt the table in Dem’s favor with his continued spending, and his naked contempt for Trump, I suspect his team is already hard at work on the ads you’re looking for.

    Let’s hope so.

  221. 221.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @zhena gogolia: Wait, somebody’s dumber than Gosar?

    Louie “Asparagus Castin'” Gohmert is holding on the Lily-White Discourtesy Phone.

    The Go-Go Boys of the House…

    When I tell anyone who’ll listen that during his days there, Mikey Dense was considered the Stupidest Member Of The House Of Representatives (SMOTHOR), I usually continue, “And I’m pretty sure Louie Gohmert was with him there. And when you’re considered more stupid than Louie Gohmert…” Accompanied with an eyeroll…

  222. 222.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Anya: I hope some WH flunky sneezes on him by accident. Even if it’s completely innocuous, Noli Me Tangerine quite possibly might drop dead of fright right then & there. Then we’d only have to deal with the imbecile animating Warren Harding’s empty suit. (Google a photo of Harding & then one of Pence & you’ll see what I mean.)

  223. 223.

    J R in WV

    @DB11:

    This thread is yesterday dead, but I want to make this point for you guys who have expressed doubt about Joe Biden:

    During the original legislative debate over the “Crime Bill”, the Congressional Black Caucus strongly supported the bill, as violent crime at the time was overwhelmingly committed against black people.

    And so when Joe worked to support the Crime Bill back in the day, he was working with the CBC and powerful black politicians to do so. In contrast to the recent meanderings about how racist that crime bill was, and how that makes Biden a racist. Nope, not true, not at all, it shows Biden working with and for the black community, and other shading of that history are false Republican talking points.

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