Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Books are my comfort food!

So many bastards, so little time.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

All hail the time of the bunny!

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

“woke” is the new caravan.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

When we show up, we win.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Fight them, without becoming them!

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Biden For President / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Same Planet, Different Worlds

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Same Planet, Different Worlds

by | 200 Comments

This post is in: , , ,


.

Close enough, if the national attention doesn’t jinx it:

… “It’s time we elevate this,” Northam said of the June 19 commemoration. “Not just a celebration by and for some Virginians but one acknowledged and celebrated by all of us.”

The Democratic governor is giving every executive branch employee this Friday off as a paid holiday and will work with the legislature later this year to pass a law codifying Juneteenth as a permanent state holiday. The legislation is likely to pass the Democratic-controlled legislature with little trouble…

The announcement came less than two weeks after Northam announced he was ordering the removal of a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee along Richmond’s prominent Monument Avenue. It is one of the country’s most iconic monuments to the Confederacy. Earlier this year, Northam signed legislation scrapping Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday named after two Confederate generals…

Northam was joined Tuesday at his news conference by musician Pharrell Williams, who is from Virginia. Williams said Juneteenth deserves the same level of recognition and celebration as Independence Day.

“Here’s our day, and if you love us, it’ll be your day too,” Williams said.

In a statement, state House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert echoed the same sentiments.

“July 4th is the birthday of our nation, but Juneteenth is the day where it truly began to fulfill its promise of freedom for all,” Gilbert said. “For the first time since enslaved Africans landed at Jamestown in 1619, the chains of bondage were finally cast off.”…

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    A moment of solemnity in memory of the sinking of the transport Lancastria, 80 years ago today.

    Largest loss of lives from a single incident in the British navy. Estimates vary but usually range between 3000 and 4000 dead from this one sinking. Churchill at the time had news of it suppressed.

  3. 3.

    Gravenstone

    Gotta love the presumption that just because Trump steps on every rake in sight when he opens his mouth/tweets, that Biden would do the same. Granted, they’re assuming that their media supplicants will aid them in smearing Biden once he assumes a more public posture, and not without precedent.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    The next Biden ad should feature him walking unassisted down a ramp while drinking water with one hand.

  7. 7.

    Chyron HR

    @Baud:

    “Nooooo you can’t just pass legislation to improve society, you have to say our buzzwords!”- AOC, probably

  8. 8.

    Baud

    While I hope for a whopping Biden win in November, a lot of awful people will claim that Hillary should have won by the same amount, blaming her for their own misogyny and their decision to indulge in their own privilege rather than protect the country.

    It’s unfortunate that Trump didn’t kill a couple of thousand Americans in 2016, or maybe we would be in the mess.

  10. 10.

    Baud

    @Chyron HR:

    I’m told that “defund the police” makes Democrats look reasonable when they propose alternatives to it.  I’m going to go with that theory because it seems to be working.

  11. 11.

    low-tech cyclist

    Another anniversary:

    June 17, 1972. Nine o’clock Saturday morning. Early for the telephone. Woodward fumbled for the receiver and snapped awake.

  13. 13.

    Brachiator

    From the “No shit, Sherlock” file.

    A group of 16 friends all tested positive for coronavirus after a night out at a recently reopened Florida bar. Three members of the group, who spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo Tuesday, said they want to remind the public that the pandemic is not over yet.

    And of course, no masks.

    The group had gathered for a friend’s birthday, they said. The bar was crowded, and no one was wearing masks.

    Government officials, take a bow.

    At the time, the virus was “out of sight, out of mind” since they didn’t know anyone who had contracted it and they heard from their mayor and governor that everything was fine, Erika Crisp said. But within days, they started getting sick.

    Why this will keep happening.

    Everyone in the group tested positive; and though some had flu like symptoms, none got seriously ill.

    It’s going to be a long summer. But like the Orange God Emperor says, “There are no cases if people don’t get tested.”

  14. 14.

    Jinchi

    Forty-three percent of registered voters said they thought Trump would be a better steward of the economy than Biden, while 38% said Biden would be better.

    The last two Republican presidents lead America to fiscal disaster. The last two Democratic presidents lead America to prosperity.

    It’s amazing how deeply ingrained the idea is that any Americans still think Republicans are better than Democrats on the economy.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This WaPo headline made me laugh:

    Brothels in Greece reopen — with new 15 minute rule for customers

    I probably should have put it in the morning Covid-19 thread, huh?

  26. 26.

    mrmoshpotato

    It is extremely funny that the God Emperor of internet dipshits is losing by double digits to a guy live streaming from his den.

    Good times.

  30. 30.

    Butter Emails

    @Jinchi:

    George Bush Senior also ended his only term in recession. Not nearly as bad as the past 2 morons and probably unavoidable due to factors at the time, but his response to it was a bit lacking.

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Chyron HR: Silly Chyron!

    “Defund the police” is crystal clear.  And no, it does not mean to actually defund the police, but to reform police departments and take away their military-grade toys.

    See?  Clarity!

  33. 33.

    NotMax

    @SiubhanDuinne

    Probably true story from the past passed down at one of the alma maters involved a group of students petitioning the Dean of Women to increase to 60 minutes from 30 the amount of time female students were allowed to have male visitors in their rooms.

    They asked, “What could they possibly do in 60 minutes they couldn’t in 30?”

    Her reply, “They could do it twice.”

  34. 34.

    Lapassionara

    @low-tech cyclist: Thanks for the reminder. I happened to be in NYC that morning, and I saw the headline about a burglary at the Democratic HQ in the Watergate complex. It seemed strange to me at the time, and it was only the first of many strange headlines over the next two years.

    good morning, everyone.

  37. 37.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Jinchi: The last two Republican presidents lead America to fiscal disaster. The last two Democratic presidents lead America to prosperity.

    Trump portrayed the economy as horrible during the 2016 election while we were actually in a record-breaking period of job creation.   Then, before he had done a damn thing, he started taking credit for low unemployment and a soaring stock market.

    Do you think the people who bought into this beyond-cynical BS really care that Trump managed to crater the economy in 3 years?  They aren’t seriously answering the question.  They’re declaring loyalty.

  40. 40.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @NotMax: I’m still reading Erik Laron’s THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE about Churchill in WWII. I’m up to early 1940. Roosevelt is trying to pass the Lend-Lease Act while Churchill really wants the US to enter the war. It’s interesting to read about events while knowing how long he has to wait for that to happen.

  41. 41.

    Jinchi

    @Krope, the Formerly Dope: They aren’t seriously answering the question. They’re declaring loyalty.

    Except on the economic question, he’s polling better than the percentage of people who intend to vote for him.

  42. 42.

    RSA

    It is extremely funny that the God Emperor of internet dipshits is losing by double digits to a guy live streaming from his den.

    I’m kind of gobsmacked about the strategy, “Please pay more attention to my opponent!”

  43. 43.

    Butter Emails

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I think it’s bad framing, but it has its uses. As noted above, it gives cover to our politicians to go “wait a minute, defunding the police is a bad idea. We need police. Here’s a list of reforms (which are essentially what 90% of people mean when saying defund) ”

    I would also say that it’s becoming obvious that certain police departments do need to be disbanded and rebuilt.

  44. 44.

    rikyrah

    My 22 year old grandson went to a party with about 30 people last week. No mask and no social distancing. He and 9 others have COVID-19. Tell the young people that think they are immune to this virus that it is real.— James Henderson (@JhendersonJames) June 16, 2020

  45. 45.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rikyrah:

    I love the ad — but why in the world do they call Trump’s unplanned visit to Walter Reed a “midnight run”? It took place in the middle of the afternoon. There’s no need for the good guys to layer in untruths like this just to make things sound even more sinister and clandestine than it already is.

  46. 46.

    Bruce K

    @SiubhanDuinne: Heh – hadn’t seen that in my perusal of Greek news. But on a related note, I discovered something that might give certain “very fine people” pause:

    Apparently now in Greece, if, through your own negligence, you cause the death of someone else by COVID-19, you can be imprisoned for up to ten years.

    If, through your own negligence, you cause the death of multiple people by COVID-19, you can be imprisoned for life.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    @RSA: I’m not gobsmacked by that at all.  Media attention on EMAILS! helped get Trump elected.  The media focusing on Biden can help make the conversation about Biden’s imperfections rather than Trump’s gross incompetence and manifest horribleness.

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Butter Emails:

    I would also say that it’s becoming obvious that certain police departments do need to be disbanded and rebuilt. 

    And rebuilt.

    “Defund the police” doesn’t address this.  It’s a terrible slogan.

  50. 50.

    Brachiator

    @Jinchi:

    It’s amazing how deeply ingrained the idea is that any Americans still think Republicans are better than Democrats on the economy.

    Part of this recently was because Trump’s message was clear, even if it was phony and simplistic. “I’m going to save jobs, I’m going to bring jobs back to America, and I’m going to punish the foreign countries that stole your job. And then I’m going to cut your taxes.”

    I think that the Democrats need to emphasize Trump’s lies and failures. But I am not sure how they can best craft a simple, but honest message about the economy.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’m slowly working my way bit by bit through Second World War Diary – The War Day by Day, which is exactly that, a compendium of events on every single day in sequence, on Prime. Thus far have made it up to sometime in November 1941 so still a long way to go.

    Can be dry and rote but packed with info.

  53. 53.

    Bruce K

    @SiubhanDuinne: Point of order: the Lincoln Project people aren’t “the good guys” as such, and they’ve played fast and loose with the truth in the past in service of their own agenda (what sort of overlap is there between the Swift Boaters and the Lincoln Project, after all?); they’re Republicans, using Republican tactics, only this time it happens to align with the goals of the Good Guys.

    The Good Guys can honestly say that this wasn’t our doing; if the Lincoln Project had asked us, we’d have told them not to do that, but they’re going to war with you guys for their own reasons. 

    As for the GOP complaining that Biden’s not splashing himself all over the airwaves to distract from Trump’s follies: well, didn’t Napoleon once say to never interrupt an enemy when they’re making a mistake?

  55. 55.

    Baud

    @Bruce K:

    didn’t Napoleon once say to never interrupt an enemy when they’re making a mistake?

    Probably when he was in Russia.

  56. 56.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    On the Supreme Court decision re LGBTQ job protection, one of the attorneys was interviewed on Pod Save America Monday. The Obama Bros asked if the attorney was surprised to see Gorsuch’s name on the decision, and he said he was more surprised to see Roberts’ because they’d tailored their argument for Gorsuch. They directed it straight to him.

  57. 57.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Jinchi: Except on the economic question, he’s polling better than the percentage of people who intend to vote for him.

    My guess is that’s the difference between the people who told pollsters they would vote for Trump and those who didn’t, but will vote for Trump in November.  I have a hard time believing 17% of voters will vote for someone other than Trump or Biden.  There are people right now who either cynically or ignorantly bought Trump’s line on the economy, will respond that they think Trump is better on the economy, but won’t yet state an intent to vote for him because he is being such an asshole.

    43% think Trump would be better for economy less 35% who already say they will vote for him, that’s up to 8% of voters.

  58. 58.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Jinchi:

    The last two three Republican presidents lead America to fiscal disaster.

    There was a recession in the second half of H.W. Bush’s term as well.  Remember Clinton ran on “It’s the Economy, Stupid”.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Bruce K:

    @Spanky:

    Good point. I know perfectly well the LP folks are Republicans; I just need to remind myself of that fact more often. (And I still wish they hadn’t sullied an otherwise fine ad with an outright falsehood.)

  62. 62.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    It’s hard because there isn’t as much consensus on our side on what needs to be done on economic policy.

    It’s not like the Democrats are going to have 3 people running for president. And there is no reason to cede any ground to the GOP. Trump ran on Jobs and the economy as much as he ran on immigration. The Democrats need to take this away from Trump.

  65. 65.

    Jinchi

    @mrmoshpotato:  “Defund the police” is crystal clear.

    Exactly this. You’ve got a winning argument when you get your critics to explain it to you. And “Defund” is the perfect response in a moment when police across the country are showing just how abusive they can be.

    So the protesters shout “Defund the Police” and their critics reply, ‘No. Let’s not defund them.  We should demilitarize the police and invest more in community services, instead.’

    The defund messaging is so powerful, they have people making the argument without even realizing it.

    With all respect to politicians worried about framing: what is their shorthand? “Reform” is meaningless enough that Trump can claim he did it, yesterday.

  66. 66.

    db11

    @rikyrah: I have a slightly different take: I think that the conversation around ‘Defund the police’ has resulted in framing the expanded scope of change that’s required.

    It might be a terrible marketing slogan, but it’s been effective as a rhetorical device for expanding and shifting the Overton window on the issue of police violence — and that, because it requires deeper explanation than a simple soundbite.

  68. 68.

    Krope, the Formerly Dope

    @Baud: From the article:

    Republicans, including President Donald Trump, are exploring reforms to policing

    Suuuuure they are…

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud:

    Ooh, I would pay to see that.

    People were posting clips of him running along with some protestors just recently — juxtaposed with The Ramp.

  71. 71.

    TS (the original)

    The US election campaigning this year is beginning to look like the campaigns that happen in the rest of the world. TV/social media ads, limited outdoor events and lots of policies. Few politicians are going to be having trump style indoor events.

    Politicians having time to do their jobs rather than having to campaign & fund raise for much of their time. What an idea.

  72. 72.

    db11

    @Jinchi:

    With all respect to politicians worried about framing: what is their shorthand? “Reform” is meaningless enough that Trump can claim he did it, yesterday.

    Exactly. (Black) BLM activists have warned that calls for reform will allow the powers-that-be to pay lip-service to the issue with a few cosmetic changes (which can be later rolled back when attention has shifted), in order to prevent substantive change.

    The over-pronounced worry about the slogan is yet another sign of the depth of the political PTSD of Democrats.

  73. 73.

    eric

    I can remember recently reading frantic posts here that Biden needs to get out more…….hey………..wait a minute……..is that you Donald?

    Biden is doing the correct strategy.  He will appear live on tv with anyone that asks, so there is no way for the networks to say he is ducking attention.  This time, let Trump “enjoy” his free media.

  74. 74.

    Served

    The caterwauling over “defund the police” continues on here as cities across the country are clawing back money from police budgets for the first time in decades. Sorry if you don’t like the slogan :'(

  75. 75.

    mad citizen

    @Brachiator: Yup, the Reagan playbook of repeating a bald-faced lie as often as possible and some people eventually accept it as fact.  Trump’s “Don’t believe what you see on the news” a corollary.

    Re: the 1990-91 recession, that one screwed me up for sure, but Bush the elder doesn’t shoulder much of the blame, in my opinion, but as stated here, I suppose he could have reacted.  It was a very short recession (https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/93-2_34-48.pdf).  That said, of course I still have no use for Bush the elder or Bush the incurious lesser.

  78. 78.

    mad citizen

    @NotMax: These are great.  I have some individually-wrapped camel balls in my house right now.  I believe I brought them back from Vietnam last year in the before times.

  80. 80.

    Jinchi

    @Krope, the Formerly Dope: I have a hard time believing 17% of voters will vote for someone other than Trump or Biden.

    That’s not what the poll says. Most of the truly undecided will either pick one of the two candidates, or decide not to vote at all. If this poll was completely accurate and 48% voted Biden, 35% Trump and the rest stayed home, the final tally would be Biden 58%, Trump 42%. And we’d all be shaking our heads at how inaccurate polling is.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: One interesting note to the case — R.G. and G.R. — is that when the Chief Justice (Roberts) is in the majority, he assigns who writes the opinion. (Also true when the Chief is in the minority — whoever is the most senior on the other side assigns that opinion).

    That means one of two things: either Roberts originally was on the majority and assigned the case to Gorsuch (a super smart move if true). Or, Bryer assigned Gorsuch and then Roberts decided to later join the majority after reading a draft opinion (smart but not as smart). I’m going with the first explanation — that Roberts was always in the majority.

  83. 83.

    Kay

    @TS (the original):

    TV/social media ads, limited outdoor events and lots of policies. Few politicians are going to be having trump style indoor events.

    Agree that if this causes us to rethink how we do campaigns it’s a good thing. Our political campaigns suck. Voters hate them. That seems important to me- that the people the campaigns are supposedly for hate them.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    @db11:

    The over-pronounced worry about the slogan is yet another sign of the depth of the political PTSD of Democrats.

    Since most Dems (including Biden) aren’t adopting it as their own, few are “worried” about the slogan. There is worry that the slogan becomes a litmus test for a small percentage of voters, the way “Medicare For All” has.

  86. 86.

    eric

    @Immanentize: Most likely: Roberts asked Gorsuch how he would vote, if not clear from the conference.  At which point, Roberts wanted nothing to do with an Alito-like spittle-filled opinion, or Kavanaugh’s “yeah for gays, boo for the Constitution” salvo.  Because this is likely never getting undone, Alito gets this opinion in the chapter following Taney.

  88. 88.

    Kay

    @TS (the original):

    There’s a variety of campaign-haters who are just annoying- “they’re all the same, I am so world-weary and sophisticated” but there’s a larger group who genuinely hate the whole thing. They do this kind of pleading “I vote and I know they have to campaign but this is AWFUL” – I mean, if you’re spending a billion dollars supposedly to “reach” people should they hate it? Is it possible it could be done differently where they wouldn’t hate it so much?

  89. 89.

    MattF

    @SiubhanDuinne: That Lincoln Project ad will run once on FOX. It is aimed at Trump, personally. I wouldn’t put it past them to put a deliberate inaccuracy in the ad to provoke a bonkers response from Trump.

  90. 90.

    Elizabelle

    And:  Aunt Jemima bites the dust.  Pepsi owns the brand now, and they admit the branding is based on a racial stereotype.

    Since1889.

  91. 91.

    germy

    The cop who killed #RayshardBrooks JUST had a 9-hour de-escalation course on April 24, so let's dispense with the idea that police officers just need more training.

    — Julie DiCaro is writing a book (@JulieDiCaro) June 15, 2020

  93. 93.

    Immanentize

    For all the worriers about “Refund the Police” how about Refund Guns.  That’s really what most Defund folks want.  Shrink the armed faction of police forces to a nub so small it can be drowned in a bathtub.

    But no one can really get away with “Defund Guns,” can they? People in overly policed communities know exactly what people are saying when they say, Defund Police.

    “Were you there when they crucified my Lord” is not a question regarding whether you have an alibi in the year zero.

  96. 96.

    Zzyzx

    @db11: that only works if we’re (meaning the Left as a whole) smart enough to not attack the people who are saying “don’t defund the police but…” as sellouts.

  98. 98.

    cmorenc

    @mrmoshpotato: 

    “Defund the police” is crystal clear. And no, it does not mean to actually defund the police, but to reform police departments and take away their military-grade toys.

    “Defund the police” is among all-time most stupidly awful, counter-productive ways to frame an important issue. Far better to have framed it as “public safety “.

  99. 99.

    Jeffro

    Let’s face it: when the focus is on trumpov and his words and actions…Dems win.

    Keep hanging out in that basement, Uncle Joe!  You’re doing great!  =

    Btw that DNC ad is totes awesome…I didn’t think Democrats knew how to hit hard anymore.  My bad!

  101. 101.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL: It’s possible, but I’m inclined to think not. The LP folks almost never introduce new information in their ads — they mostly take memes and tropes and images that we’re all familiar with and reframe them for a fresh message. I think they either genuinely forgot that the visit to WR was in the afternoon, or they deliberately called it a “midnight run” hoping that viewers would forget.

  102. 102.

    Jinchi

    @mrmoshpotato: And so started Watergate-gate.

    It’s a historical fact that there were no scandals in America until Woodward and Bernstein discovered how -gate an otherwise innocuous word.

  103. 103.

    Immanentize

    @eric:.
    Hi Eric!!

    The conference sets the votes for the opinion assignments.  There is (rarely) switching and one can tell from reading the opinions (a dissent suddenly becomes a majority and vice versa). That didn’t happen in this case.

    Also, the Justices don’t talk to each other except maybe social gathering chit chat. No one picks up a phone to say howdy. They communicate pretty much exclusively by memo and opinion. Which is perhaps why there are so few Supreme Court murders and attempted murders.

  104. 104.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    It works for now but Trump still beats Biden on the economy, and I don’t think Biden will accept that without a fight. He seems to take that personally, understandably, he and Obama handed Trump a growing economy. To differentiate on the economy he is going to need “free media”- substantive coverage – and he probably won’t get it because he has gotten virtually no substantive coverage outside Hunter Biden, Tara Reade and now BLM. Maybe it won’t matter but that’s when the lack of coverage (which I don’t think is his fault- they’re choosing not to cover his substantive positions) will hurt him.

  105. 105.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jinchi: It’s amazing how deeply ingrained the idea is that any Americans still think Republicans are better than Democrats on the economy.

    That’s because Americans are taught to equate liberal policy with communism and then are to ignorant to understand the Soviet Union was nothing more than a giant arms factory.  The Soviet Union failed, therefore socialism failed, never mind the Russian Federation is an economic failure too.

  107. 107.

    TS (the original)

    @Kay:

    If Biden wins with minimal “old style” campaigning it could be a very positive result for future campaigns. Could also have the result of campaign funds being directed to much better purposes.

    It is quite unreal that the trump campaign are complaining about how Biden is campaigning which follows their complaint to CNN about publishing polls that do not favor Trump.

    Trump is either asking people to do this or they see it as a way of keeping Trump happy.

  110. 110.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    For example, we’re getting no substantive coverage of health care, which is arguably Democrats strongest area – Biden benefits from that (and so do down ticket Democrats) and they don’t get it.

    It didn’t matter that it wasn’t covered in the 2018 midterms- they won on it anyway- but the lack of coverage of Joe Biden is not all positive for Joe Biden.

  111. 111.

    mrmoshpotato

    @germy:

    She’ll be spitting fire whining today on The View (if she doesn’t have the day off) 

    Fixed.

  112. 112.

    Anya

    Is there someone who whines more than the vulgarian and his campaign? My god, I don’t understand how the public doesn’t see him as the pathetic whiny asshole he is?

    On a slightly different note, I seriously hate that I live in a world where Meghan McCain is a thing.

  115. 115.

    Kay

    @TS (the original):

    Oh, boo hoo. The Donald Trump campaign are pissed that all we get is 24/7 coverage of Donald Trump’s antics? Try being a fucking voter. It’s all we’ve gotten for years.

    They’re mad that their absolute dominance in coverage is now a liability? Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

  116. 116.

    Brachiator

    @TS (the original):

    The US election campaigning this year is beginning to look like the campaigns that happen in the rest of the world. TV/social media ads, limited outdoor events and lots of policies.

    In many countries, campaigns were looking more like US style affairs. In the UK, you had lots of bullshit and funding by the wealthy. Boris Johnson ducked opportunities to talk about policy. India and Brazil at times out-Trumped Trump in simplistic appeals to nationalism and bigotry.

    But it will be interesting to see how campaigns change in a post pandemic world.

  119. 119.

    Elizabelle

    Whoa. Today is the fifth anniversary of the 9 murders at Mother Emmanuel AME.  The Reverend Clementa Pinckney, and his wonderful congregation.

    Backed into that fact in looking at this NY Times, June 2015:  op ed by Riche Richardson:   Can We Please, Finally, Get Rid of ‘Aunt Jemima’?

    Appeared while there was impetus for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse in the aftermath of the murder of 9 African Americans at Mother Emmanuel. Five years ago today.

    This Aunt Jemima logo was an outgrowth of Old South plantation nostalgia and romance grounded in an idea about the “mammy,” a devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her white master and mistress while neglecting her own. Visually, the plantation myth portrayed her as an asexual, plump black woman wearing a headscarf.

    And: the Daughters of the Confederacy tried again:  The US Senate had approved this monument, which somehow was never built:

    Few moments have underscored the continuing influence of the plantation myth, and its impact on Confederate scripts of slavery, more profoundly than the nearly successful effort of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to erect a monument in honor of the “faithful slave mammies of the South” in the nation’s capital in 1923.

    NOTE: the link is to a 2013 Atlantic article: paywall ahead.

  120. 120.

    germy

    @Immanentize:

    Which is perhaps why there are so few Supreme Court murders and attempted murders.

    Might make a good mystery novel in the Agatha Christie style.

    “Nine Little Justices”

    (Of course it turns out Kavanaugh is the murderer.)

  122. 122.

    Jeffro

    @Jinchi:the final tally would be Biden 58%, Trump 42%.

     

    That would be just. epic.  I think that must translate into something like 400+ Electoral Votes.  Wow.

  123. 123.

    db11

    @Zzyzx: The racism is systemic, so must the change (eventually) be.

    If slightly-left-leaning political ‘allies’ aren’t getting in the way of that (with a tired list of watered-down reforms) — and instead are advocating for deep, comprehensive change, but are simply tweaking the messaging — then there is no reason they should be attacked as sell-outs.

    And by the way, ‘Defund the police’ isn’t the radical stance on this issue: ‘Abolish the police’ is.

  125. 125.

    Jeffro

    @germy: exactly.  People get trained out the wazoo and still do these horrible things.  What will get their attention and change their behavior is consequences.

  126. 126.

    Jinchi

    @cmorenc: Far better to have framed it as “public safety “.

    That’s what Trump calls it when he demands national guardsmen clear out the public square. “Public Safety” is another substance-free phrase. You could repaint the stripes in a crosswalk and call it public safety. If you want to change the framing, you’re gonna have to come up with something that actually works and speaks to the specific problem at hand.

  127. 127.

    NotMax

    @mad citizen

    I have some individually-wrapped camel balls in my house right now.

    Now I want to win the Powerball in order to fund a short story contest wherein that must be used as the opening line for each entry.

    :)

    ;)

  131. 131.

    MattF

    @Kay: The media would cover Biden gaffes to ‘balance’ their coverage of Trump gaffes. That’s their narrative. ‘Policy’ never gets coverage.

  132. 132.

    cmorenc

    @Krope, the Formerly Dope:

     There are people right now who either cynically or ignorantly bought Trump’s line on the economy, will respond that they think Trump is better on the economy, but won’t yet state an intent to vote for him because he is being such an asshole.

    43% think Trump would be better for economy less 35% who already say they will vote for him, that’s up to 8% of voters.

    A substantial-enough portion of whom will simply decide to stay at home this time  instead of turning out and voting for Trump as they did in the end last time.  Even with all the mal-factors working to undermine Clinton last time, Trump only won last time by essentially pulling an inside straight on the final card, in terms of his slim margin.  Doesn’t matter that 95% of Trump’s core support among Rs and Independents stubbornly sticks with him no matter what, it’s not large enough to be able to withstand a 5% erosion, unless Trump and the Rs can de-motivate or suppress a far larger portion of voters who would otherwise turn out for Biden.  The latter task is going to be immensely more difficult this time around than it was to make work against Clinton in 2016.

  133. 133.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: I hear you, but I’m not holding my breath.  Biden’s nearly tied with trumpov on the economy question, and given all of trumpov’s other deficits, I’ll be happy if Biden can keep it tied.

    It’s been so long ago, American-voters’-memory-wise, that I bet a significant percentage of Americans (even Dems and “independents”) really do think the economy was just bumping along until trumpov came along.

    The Obama Administration would have done well to do monthly briefings showing things continue to claw back upwards after the Great Recession hit, but oh well.  Biden can try to do that now and it’ll help some, but I bet we only ever get to a tie on this issue.  Sad!

  134. 134.

    Ken

    @mrmoshpotato: Free virus! Get your free virus!

    The horrible part is it’s not a joke. They even required acceptance of the statement in order to register for the rallies.

  135. 135.

    cmorenc

    @Jinchi:

    That’s what Trump calls it when he demands national guardsmen clear out the public square. “Public Safety” is another substance-free phrase. You could repaint the stripes in a crosswalk and call it public safety. If you want to change the framing, you’re gonna have to come up with something that actually works and speaks to the specific problem at hand.

    Whatever the framing is, it can’t be the colossally stupid “defund the police”.   That’s not a framing that sells rather than repels outside the core progressive movement, and not even all that well within it.

  136. 136.

    Immanentize

    @germy: But I so wanted the killer to be RBG.  Also perhaps David Souter from his farm in New Hampshire? I’ve always pegged him as most likely to have folks buried in his basement.

  137. 137.

    Jeffro

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: hmm…I think it’s more the perception that Democrats want to raise taxes (“on YOU, citizen!  Never mind that they say they want to tax the rich!  it’s YOU!”) and spend it on “those people”.

    At this point, something like half the country wouldn’t even know what the ‘Soviet Union’ is or was.  =)

  138. 138.

    Jinchi

    @NotMax: Employing -dome as an appendage never caught on.

    Hmmm. Obama-dome, spy-dome, climate-dome, pizza-dome.

    Not good for scandals. Makes things sound a bit too cool.

  139. 139.

    Brachiator

    @cmorenc:

    A substantial-enough portion of whom will simply decide to stay at home this time instead of turning out and voting for Trump as they did in the end last time.

    How do you know they will stay home? Has this happened before in other elections?

    How do you measure voter “lack of intent?”

  141. 141.

    gene108

    Does anyone have experience with applying for unemployment during a furlough?

    We are going on a one week furlough each month starting in July.

    From what I have seen online, I should be able to get unemployment for the week, but I am wondering if that matched anyone’s actual experience

  142. 142.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: I don’t have actual data on it, but I seem to remember a lot of Dems campaigning on the fact that the GOP was going to eliminate coverage for those with pre-existing conditions (due to ACA repeal).  So much so that many Republican candidates flat-out lied and swore they would always double-pinky-swear protect those with pre-existing conditions.

    But that was 2018.  This time, yes, it would be great to see more coverage of the popular things Biden (and all Dems) stands for.

  143. 143.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    Boy, this from Ginsburg sure didn’t age well:

    Of Kaepernick and others she says, she thinks their actions are “dumb and disrespectful”.
    “I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it’s a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn’t lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act.”
    Kaepernick said Tuesday it was “disappointing to hear a Supreme Court justice call a protest against injustices and oppression ‘stupid, dumb.’ ”
    “I was reading an article and it refers to white critique of black protests and how they try to de-legitimize it by calling it ‘idiotic, dumb, stupid,’ things of that nature, so they can sidestep the real issue,” he told reporters Tuesday, according to the Mercury News. “As I was reading that I saw more and more truth how this has been approached by people in power and white people in power in particular.”

    Just gob-smacking. I cannot think of a better example of respectful political speech than the protests around the anthem and to dismiss it as “dumb”? Wow. Could not disagree more. She sure hasn’t been vindicated on this opinion.

  145. 145.

    Jinchi

    @germy: His niece signed an NDA?

    Gotta admit, if I were related to Trump, I wouldn’t want to disclose it either.

  147. 147.

    slightly_peeved

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I don’t think they care. If midnight run sounds good, and makes for a punchier ad, then they’ll call it a midnight run.

    I think they would argue that they are in the business of making memorable ads that have an emotional effect on their target audience, and that whether those ads are 100% accurate is not really high on their priority list.

  148. 148.

    JML

    Yo Rudy: want to know where Biden is? He’s out winning an election which you haven’t done in over 20 years…

  149. 149.

    Ken

    @germy: Didn’t they all vote against applying the Fairness Doctrine and/or common carrier principles to internet companies? Probably on the grounds that the government shouldn’t be able to tell private companies what they must, or must not, do with their platforms.

  152. 152.

    Ken

    @SiubhanDuinne: They can always argue that they were using “midnight run” metaphorically. It was after all a sudden trip, for reasons that have not been explained.

  154. 154.

    Baud

    Is “midnight run” better or worse than “defund the police”? Discuss among yourselves.

  156. 156.

    Jeffro

    And then there is this, which explains why trumpov desperately wants Uncle Joe out there campaigning…anything…anything, please!

    trumpov campaign in free fall

    A stunning 61 percent of respondents in the Michigan poll report having a negative view of Trump. And the bad news doesn’t end there: A Democratic Public Policy Polling shows him trailing Biden by two points — in Georgia.  A DailyKos poll had him behind Biden by a 49-to-45 margin — in Arizona.  To make matters worse, his campaign has been spending loads of money in many of the states where he is behind. The Associated Press reports, “President Donald Trump’s campaign manager warned in late spring that his juggernaut political operation — the ‘Death Star,’ he called it — was about to start ‘pressing FIRE’ for the first time.” Well, he did fire to the tune of $24 million in six battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Polling continues to show him losing in every one of these, in some cases (e.g., Michigan) by large margins. Was Trump firing blanks, or would the polling have been even worse without the ad spending?

    Again, we’ve got to run through the finish line, and it would be great to see Biden get some coverage of his policy positions – which we already know majorities of Americans agree with.  But his main policy position is to end the trumpov chaos, and clearly a majority of Americans like that position, a LOT.

  157. 157.

    TS (the original)

    @Brachiator:

    I don’t know of any countries – including India & the UK, that campaign 18 months out from an election. In my part of the world campaigns last 6 to 8 weeks, with lack lustre campaigning, despite our current PM is a religious right winger & lover of trump.

    I  do think brexit had much more to do with the campaign changes in the UK than anything else. That seems to have been a campaign that went on forever with a ridiculous outcome, both in the yes vote & the election of Boris as conservative leader.

  158. 158.

    NotMax

    re: some of the above
    Historical tidbit:

    Long before Elliott Roosevelt wrote murder mysteries featuring his mother Eleanor Roosevelt as a super sleuth, and even before first daughter Margaret Truman penned her crime fiction (despite rumblings of ghostwriting), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt came up with his own idea for a mystery novel.… Source

    The story was made into a mostly pedestrian B-movie, not so imaginatively titled The President’s Mystery.

  161. 161.

    Elizabelle

    @germy:  Thank you.  Links back to a NY Times op ed from February 2020, author is Dr. Alison Parker of the U of Delaware.

    When White Women Wanted a Monument to Black ‘Mammies’

    A 1923 fight shows Confederate monuments are about power, not Southern heritage.

    In 1923, a group of white women [members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy] wanted to build what they called a “monument to the faithful colored mammies” in Washington [and lobbied Congress for a bill.]  The Senate passed it, but the bill stalled in the House after fierce opposition from black women, including Mary Church Terrell and Hallie Quinn Brown, members of the National Association of Colored Women.
    The fight over a proposed monument to black “mammies” exposes the lie of those who describe Confederate monuments as innocuous celebrations of Southern heritage. Lost Cause memorials are hurtful public symbols of white supremacy. Consider that most Confederate monuments were not erected by grieving widows or relatives immediately after the Civil War. A majority were put up in the 1890s and early 1900s by Southern whites hoping to justify the spread of Jim Crow while erasing the legacy of Reconstruction, a time when African-Americans had gained citizenship and voting rights.

    Southern white women in organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy, founded in 1894, raised funds to build many of the Confederate memorials and placed “loyal slave” plaques nearby. These celebrations of the “loyalty” of formerly enslaved people implied they had been happier in subordination, were still unequal and so should be segregated and treated as inferiors. In addition to the plaques, many formal monuments to “faithful slaves” were proposed; three were built, including the Faithful Slave Monument in Fort Mill, S.C., in 1895.

    …  African-American clubwomen and reformers did not accept the “mammy” stereotype. Many were the daughters and granddaughters of enslaved women who had been forced to work as caretakers of other women’s children. They quickly mobilized and led their African-American allies in the N.A.A.C.P. and the black press in the fight against the proposed monument through letters to editors. Their defiant resistance made white Americans take notice.

    Dr. Parker wrote a biography of Mary Church Terrell, a civil rights activist and feminist who wrote a powerful essay for The Washington Star that was widely reproduced at the time.

  163. 163.

    db11

    @Kay:

    Boy, this from Ginsburg sure didn’t age well:

    File it under ‘Smart people saying dumb things’…

    alongside Laurence Tribe.

  166. 166.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jeffro: I’ve always thought that all the times when trump campaigned on “something terrific… we’re gonna take care of everybody… it’ll be easy… believe me” would make for some killer ads, but back in the day I also would see commercials or other mentions of his game show and think, “Christ, does anybody actually watch that?”

  167. 167.

    M31

    I thought that the title of Agatha Christie’s book “Ten Little Indians” was problematic, but then I found out what the original title was :-0

  168. 168.

    Kay

    @db11:

    It’s bigger than “dumb” for me. I really profoundly disagree with it and I’m particularly bothered by how glib she is about it. It makes me question her judgment on other things.

  169. 169.

    different-church-lady

    Lemme get this straight: you’re losing to a guy by 13 points and you want him to campaign more?

  170. 170.

    Kay

    @db11:

    Too I think “smart” is the wrong measure, or an incomplete measure. Justice Scalia was plenty “smart”- but he was also mean-spirited and suspicious of anyone who isn’t exactly like him and really deeply ungenerous. The really quick-witted opinions people love from him? I think they’re mean spirited and glib and patronizing.

    “Smart” isn’t enough. It’s insufficient for that job.

  176. 176.

    NotMax

    @M31

    One of the problems facing Peter Jackson’s on-again, off-again remake of The Dam Busters, proposed to be ultra accurate in detail, is how to deal with the historical reality of the mascot dog’s name (the same as the word in Christie’s original title), which was also the code word to communicate success of the bombing mission.

  177. 177.

    Kay

    Steven Dennis
    @StevenTDennis
    ·29m
    Tim Scott says in the past year he was pulled over and given a warning for *not turning on his turn signal early enough* on a turn. Once was pulled over 7 times in a year.

    His explaining this is really, genuinely helpful. I don’t think there’s a person in this country who won’t understand that this is brutally unfair.

  186. 186.

    Geminid

    @Elizabelle:  in the late 1850’s, during debate on a measure that would ban slavery in newly acquired territories in the southwest, a southern senator asked, “would this mean Ithat I could not take my beloved mammie to New Mexico?” Senator Ben Wade of Michigan responded, “the esteemed Senator could still take his “beloved mammie” to New Mexico. He just couldn’t sell her when they got there.”

  189. 189.

    Ken

    @different-church-lady: you’re losing to a guy by 13 points and you want him to campaign more?

    Another one for the “it’s always projection” list.  “Every time Trump opens his mouth his polls drop three points, so the same thing will happen to Biden.”

  190. 190.

    catclub

    @WaterGirl: My take would be that Trump is fine seeing himself with George Wallace, and not MLK (communist).

    How many votes did MLK get, after all?

  191. 191.

    Elizabelle

    @tom:   No prisoners.  Never has to use the word “racism” either.

    Speaks of leaders.  I wish that one would run in red states and red localities.  Remind them what they’re supporting.

  192. 192.

    Elizabelle

    @Ken:  Being Dunning-Kruger personified, Trump thinks that “Sleepy Joe” Biden turns off voters every time he opens his mouth.

    @catclub:  I described Trump as George Wallace with his own jet, months ago.  That is definitely the template.

  194. 194.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Baud: I am completely unsurprised to find that:

    • Biden called this correctly and didn’t get ahead of his skis
    • The left insisting that Biden do this and use their terminology or he’d lose all support appear to have jumped the gun

    Biden continues to show that he’s a surprisingly good candidate this time around.

  196. 196.

    The Pale Scot

    @danielx:

    Wish I could find a clip of the old TV program Wiseguy. The ruthless assassin with a heart of gold, Roger Lacocco (played by William Rus) keeps a bowl of large steel ballbearings next his bed. So he can throw them at anyone who tries to take him unawares. Great show.

  197. 197.

    tokyokie

    @Gin & Tonic: Way back when we had answering machines, I had that exchange (Bond: You expect me to talk. Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!) as my message. But then I also rotated in Strother Martin from Cool Hand Luke saying, “What we have here is a failure to communicate,” and Ralph Meeker’s answering machine message from Kiss Me Deadly. (And yes, Mike Hammer had an answering machine in a 1955 movie.)

  198. 198.

    J R in WV

    @germy:

    @rikyrah:
    Now she’s pissed:

    Really grateful to you Senator and (@SenTomCotton @marcorubio) for introducing legislation to stop Silicon Valley censorship. The fact @Google thinks they can deplatform publications because they don’t agree with their politics is petrifying & dangerous to all Americans. https://t.co/NEOC0z9nCu

    — Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 17, 2020

    So she no longer believes in the Bill of Rights, which starts out like this:

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    What a surprise, that a shameless political right-wing hack like Meghan (“Did you know that Senator McCain is my father”) McCain would drop the Bill of Rights the first time it makes her uncomfortable!! I think appearing on The View is too much for the poor woman, stresses her brain past its limits!!

    What a hypocrite !!!

  199. 199.

    different-church-lady

    It just occurred to me: the Tulsa rally is likely to have plenty of jaw dropping dislpays and defenses of the kind of racism 80 percent of the country suddenly opposes.

Comments are closed.