Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

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

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

So many bastards, so little time.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

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

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

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

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Never mind the Bullock

Reader Interactions

67Comments

  2. 2.

    oldster

    Marvin was a genius.

    But he sure gave his backing band a workout on that rendition. He paid absolutely no attention to the measures. Not too bad for the drummer (or machine?) who could just keep it steady and ignore him, but the guy or gal on the bass or keys just had to listen up and change the chord whenever Marvin moved on to the next phrase. 

    It’s okay — that’s one of the prerogatives of genius.

  4. 4.

    realbtl

    Thanks from NW MT.  Bullock was popular as governor and I think this seat is a definite possibility.

  5. 5.

    JimV

    I pay rent to a political party now–more than my actual rent; and tomorrow there will be 50 more emails asking for more money. That’s just the way it is, in the land of the brave and the home of the free. Seems like there could be a better system though, in a better country in a better world. (Maybe there would be no money in that world.)

  6. 6.

    Joseph

    Cannot count the times I’ve listened to that over the years. It’s the National Anthem for god’s sake, but what a smooth, soulful version it was.

  9. 9.

    Sebastian

    Nice, thanks for the find! In for $25 per month.  Time to stomp out the nazis.

  11. 11.

    cain

    @oldster:

    It’s a crying shame that his father took him away from us. A radiating heat and light was taken way too soon. Fuck that guy for now till eternity.

  16. 16.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    OT

    In a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll, respondents were asked “Earlier you said you thought of yourself as a Republican. How would you feel if President Trump replaced Mike Pence as his running mate with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley – would you say…?”

    The choices given were “Excited, Acceptable, Not acceptable, Angry,” or “Undecided/Refused.”

    Only six percent said they would be “angry,” and another 21 percent said they would find the switcheroo “not acceptable.”

    On the plus side for Pence, only 11 percent said they would be “excited” to see Haley bump the current veep.

     

    h/t https://www.mediaite.com/news/ouch-only-27-percent-of-republicans-say-theyd-mind-if-trump-dumped-mike-pence-for-nikki-haley/

  17. 17.

    Martin

    @Wyatt Salamanca: I don’t know why the GOP would remotely consider replacing Pence. The evangelicals are their only real voting bloc (if you thought it was no-college whites, or racists, they’re basically all the same people).

    If the GOP also lose McConnell they’d have nothing.

  18. 18.

    cain

    @Martin:

    Losing McConnell would be a huge blow as is the senate. If Trump wins and the GOP lost the senate and have a fillerbuster proof majority and the house got stronger. I’m tempted to see what kind of pure hell Democrats would do to him and his people.

    Of course, knowing them they won’t do that, because they are good people – but going after his people and getting rid of them, forcing him to kneel and humble himself – destroying conservatism. Yeah. I like that.

  19. 19.

    senyordave

    I read that Trump Jr.’s girlfriend tested positive for Covid-19.  I am surprised that I’m not seeing that as a news headline.  I guess that is the risk that comes from hanging around Donald Trump Jr.  Maybe the  $15,000 a month that the campaign pays her will give her some comfort.

  21. 21.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    Sen. Tester won re-election in 2018 by around 6000 votes (!)

    Montana Senate campaigns are great investments for Dem donors.

  22. 22.

    germy

    So they let Michael Cohen out of prison because they were afraid he’d catch the virus?

    And now he’s violating the terms of his release by eating out in restaurants?

  23. 23.

    smintheus

    This is an interesting take on the Democratic surge: Harry Enten doing some cui bono with the number of internal Democratic and Republican polls that have been released to the public. This year, even more than in 2018, Democrats are the ones who’ve made public the vast majority of such internal polls. Since April, the Republicans have all but stopped releasing any of their internal polls. Based on comparisons to the 2 parties’ willingness during recent elections to release internal polling, Enten concludes that (to use a British idiom) Democratic “chattiness” this spring/summer ought to predict a massive Democratic wave.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/04/politics/partisan-polls-analysis/

  24. 24.

    Percysowner

    You can thank Jose Feliciano for this, in a backwards way. In 1968 for game 4 of the World Series, Feliciano did his, then, controversial take on the NA. Radio stations refused to play his music, after this desecration, although he managed to bounce back from that.  The kicker, Game 3 was sung by Marvin Gaye. The Detroit Tiger’s Announcer was given this message

    ‘Would you please go to Marvin and ask him not to give too much of a soul rendition?’ ” Harwell says in the 2009 video. “So I did. And he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll sing it straight.’

    Feliciano’s very publicized effort eventually led to some of the best reworkings of the song.  Information from The 1968 National Anthem Performance That Changed José Feliciano’s Life

    From a story in the New York Times

    Bill Freehan of the Tigers said: “I know one thing. He made Marvin Gaye, who sang the anthem Sunday, sound like a square.” Perhaps Gaye took note. His groovy version at the 1983 N.B.A. All-Star Game, now considered one of the best ever, is the antithesis of square.

    I’m old enough that I remember the controversy and yes, the fact that Feliciano was Latinx was a major complaint.

    I’ve given some cash to Bullock.

  26. 26.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    My spouse and I picked two D Senate Candidates to support — one with our brains (Bullock) and one with our hearts (Harrison).  We are donating to both on a monthly basis.

  29. 29.

    Kent

    @cain:

    Losing McConnell would be a huge blow as is the senate. If Trump wins and the GOP lost the senate and have a fillerbuster proof majority and the house got stronger. I’m tempted to see what kind of pure hell Democrats would do to him and his people.

    Of course, knowing them they won’t do that, because they are good people – but going after his people and getting rid of them, forcing him to kneel and humble himself – destroying conservatism. Yeah. I like that.

    Ted Cruz is tanned and rested and ready to be every bit the asshole that McConnell is today.  He’s been training his whole life for that.   Yes, loosing the GOP majority is enormously important.  My point is simply that there are no shortage of McConnells waiting in the wings to pick up the baton.

  33. 33.

    Kent

    @senyordave:I read that Trump Jr.’s girlfriend tested positive for Covid-19.  I am surprised that I’m not seeing that as a news headline.  I guess that is the risk that comes from hanging around Donald Trump Jr.  Maybe the  $15,000 a month that the campaign pays her will give her some comfort.

    It is a news headline, to the extent that being one of 2.8 million Americans to test positive is a headline anymore.   Front page of the NYT yesterday:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/us/politics/kimberly-guilfoyle-trump-campaign-coronavirus.html

  34. 34.

    guachi

    As a former Montanan, I approve. Montana somehow has produced good, competitive Democrats for decades. Since 1911, there has been at least one Democratic Senator from Montana and from 1953-1989 both Senators were Democrats.

    For 20 years, from 1969-1989, the governor was a Democrat and for the last 16 years the governor has been a Democrat. Also, none of the three Republican governors from 1989-2005 were loonies, either.

  35. 35.

    Kent

    Bwah ha ha…..

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/us/politics/republican-convention-jacksonville-charlotte.html
    How the Republican Convention Created Money Woes in Two Cities:  Donors are wondering why they gave to a Charlotte event that has mostly been scrapped. And Jacksonville fund-raisers find money is on hold because of concerns about the surge in virus cases.

    WASHINGTON — The abrupt uprooting of the Republican National Convention from Charlotte to Jacksonville has created a tangled financial predicament for party officials as they effectively try to pay for two big events instead of one.
    Tens of millions of dollars have already been spent in a city that will now host little more than a G.O.P. business meeting, and donors are wary of opening their wallets again to bankroll a Jacksonville gathering thrown into uncertainty by a surge in coronavirus cases.

    Organizers are trying to assuage vexed Republicans who collectively gave millions of dollars for a Charlotte event that has mostly been scrapped. The host committee there has spent virtually all of the $38 million it raised before the convention was moved, leaving almost nothing to return to donors, or to pass on to the new host city.

    In Jacksonville, fund-raisers are describing the process as the most difficult they have ever confronted: Florida has been setting daily records for new virus cases, freezing money as donors wait and worry about the safety risks of the pandemic

    By the time Mr. Trump decided to move the convention, almost all of the money raised by the Charlotte host committee had been spent on things like salaries, insurance, prepayments on contracts, and other expenses

    Read the whole thing.  They have truly fucked themselves.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Interesting!  It says the restaurant is “right around the corner from his house”.  If he’s wearing an ankle bracelet, I wonder if that happens to be in the allowed range of his house.

    I would be so thrilled to be out of prison that I would not be dining publicly or doing ANYTHING that would risk my freedom.

  38. 38.

    Kent

    @WaterGirl:

    @JPL: Interesting!  It says the restaurant is “right around the corner from his house”.  If he’s wearing an ankle bracelet, I wonder if that happens to be in the allowed range of his house.

    I would be so thrilled to be out of prison that I would not be dining publicly or doing ANYTHING that would risk my freedom.

    It is either a violation of the terms of his release or it is not.   These things are not written vaguely and “subject to interpretation” and “optics.”  They are cut and dried.

  39. 39.

    Yutsano

    I’ve been bullish on Bullock since he gained some sense and decided to run. I can work on the dropping of the scratch when I get paid next. Have to be a mite careful since my lease situation went goofy again. It happens every time I renew. Ah well.

    I honestly want to move to Queens now. Or at the very least spend a couple weeks there.

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    @Kent: I completely agree.  But whatever way they program ankle monitors to go off if you go outside of a certain perimeter… if that perimeter included the location where the restaurant is, I can see how that could be considered permissible.  Regardless of the reach if it says “residence only” or something specific, then yeah, it won’t matter whether the ankle monitor would go off or not.

    We’ll know soon enough, I imagine.

  41. 41.

    Ken

    @Kent: If Trump insists on keeping the big party in Jacksonville, and Florida continues its stellar impersonation of the mayor in Jaws, I’ll be fascinated to see how many delegates show up versus how many suddenly realize they’ll be washing their hair that week.

  44. 44.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kent:

    Schadenfreudeicious! These people couldn’t organize a piss-up in a brewery. Maybe they shouldn’t have tried organizing an in-person convention during a pandemic? Just a thought

  46. 46.

    Kent

    @WaterGirl: The bigger question is whether he gets away with violating the terms of his release because no one in the DOJ has the cojones to piss off Trump and all the people who did got purged.

    January 20 can’t fucking come soon enough.

  47. 47.

    Mai naem mobile

    @cain: i think if McConnell wins his race but loses the majority he resigns. I don’t see him hanging around especially if it’s a filibuster proof majority.

    @Kent: Ted Cruz is not liked by his colleagues. I don’t see him being electer the GOP minority(or majority) leader. I think it would more likely be an old fart like Grassley who knows how to play Senate rules in the minority. Also Grassley has no desire to run for POTUS which Cruz does.

  48. 48.

    Kent

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    @Kent:

    Schadenfreudeicious! These people couldn’t organize a piss-up in a brewery. Maybe they shouldn’t have tried organizing an in-person convention during a pandemic? Just a thought

    In any normal year the GOP would have been bad, but not Trump insane bad.  Neither McCain nor Romney would have pull this sort of temper tantrum and moved the convention to “own” a Dem governor who was following CDC health guidelines.  These fuckers all hitched their wagon to Trump with no quick release option and now they are stuck riding the train until the very final epic trainwreck blows everything up.

  49. 49.

    Kent

    @Mai naem mobile:

    @cain: i think if McConnell wins his race but loses the majority he resigns. I don’t see him hanging around especially if it’s a filibuster proof majority.

    @Kent: Ted Cruz is not liked by his colleagues. I don’t see him being electer the GOP minority(or majority) leader. I think it would more likely be an old fart like Grassley who knows how to play Senate rules in the minority. Also Grassley has no desire to run for POTUS which Cruz does.

    I’m not saying Cruz will be the next majority leader.  And McConnell was not well liked by Republicans either until he started producing results for them like blocking Garland and pushing through judges and tax cuts.    My point was that there are plenty of equally bad assholes waiting in the wings.  That’s what the GOP has been reduced to today.   McConnell is no particular legislative genius.  The only major legislation he has ever passed was Trump’s tax cuts and those were a giant clusterfuck.  He just has the balls to be an overt asshole and not give a shit about optics.  But there are plenty of other GOPers who are equally big assholes and care even less about optics.  To the extent that someone like a Ted Cruz needs to even learn anything about arcane Senate rules, all he needs to do is hire McConnell’s chief of staff and he will get all the institutional knowledge he needs.

    Hopefully we are talking about GOP minority leader for a long time in which case it won’t really matter who they pick

    As for McConnell resigning after winning?   Don’t see it.   In Kentucky an open Senate seat is replaced by the pick of the governor and serves until the next general election.  Kentucky has a Dem governor.

  50. 50.

    Redshift

    Just read a great Independence Day article in the Post (published on the 2nd.) I’m pretty knowledgeable about history, but there’s plenty here I didn’t know about how the revolutionary spirit changed things even before the war. The subhead is the real headline, “Colonists drove the revolution from the bottom up, and they challenged power structures of every sort.” (The actual headline, “Trump’s idea of the Fourth of July is totally wrong,” isn’t terrible, but the article is much better than that.)

  51. 51.

    piratedan

    I just wonder if we have the national wherewithal to actually “follow the money” and see where it all leads and just how many GOP Senators and Congressional Representatives will/would actually remain.

    These folks have shown an inclination to disregard the rules or rewrite and interpret them in ways, that benefit themselves to pretty much an nth degree.  I wouldn’t be shocked to see the rot shot thru the entire party and into the media arms of the Murdoch and Sinclair empires (not to mention how many foreign national interests may be competing for their attention).  I really don’t think that they’ve ever truly believed that they would ever be caught, much less prosecuted.

    I would enjoy seeing them disabused of those beliefs.

  52. 52.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @cain: If Trump wins and the GOP lost the senate and [the Democrats] have a filibuster [FTFY] proof majority ….

    i.e., 60 votes for cloture. With the current 45D/2I/53R division of the Senate and 35 seats up this year (12 D, 23 R) the Democrats would need to win 60 – [45 + 2 -12] = 25 seats. Presuming Doug Jones goes down in AL, and the Dems hold all their other seats (including Tom Udall retiring in NM) they’d need to flip 14 of the 23 GOP seats in play. With 10 of those GOP seats in states of R+13 or worse, it’s gonna take one helluva blue wave.

  54. 54.

    Another Scott

    @Uncle Cosmo: If it were easy, it would have been done already.

    But the stars are aligning, the wind is at our backs, and there’s no time like now.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  55. 55.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Kent:

     all he needs to do is hire McConnell’s chief of staff and he will get all the institutional knowledge he needs.

    Is McConnell’s COS from one of the better Ivies?  If not, Ted won’t listen.

  56. 56.

    janesays

    Question: why the fuck is Joe Kennedy primarying Ed Markey? Markey is a solid progressive. There are plenty of Democrats in Congress who deserve primary challenges, but Markey isn’t one of them.

    And unfortunately, it looks like Kennedy will probably win. The Kennedys have been great public servants to this nation, but don’t kid yourselves – if Kennedy beats Markey in the primary, it won’t be raw political talent that puts him over the top, it will be having a famous grandfather and famous great uncles.

  58. 58.

    sdhays

    @Kent: You’re surely not seriously suggesting that Ted Cruz would be the Republican minority leader in the Senate should McConnell be defeated in November, are you? Because that’s not going to happen

    ETA: I see that you were not. I usually read further down the thread before commenting, but not this time!

  60. 60.

    cain

    @Uncle Cosmo: i.e., 60 votes for cloture. With the current 45D/2I/53R division of the Senate and 35 seats up this year (12 D, 23 R) the Democrats would need to win 60 – [45 + 2 -12] = 25 seats. Presuming Doug Jones goes down in AL, and the Dems hold all their other seats (including Tom Udall retiring in NM) they’d need to flip 14 of the 23 GOP seats in play. With 10 of those GOP seats in states of R+13 or worse, it’s gonna take one helluva blue wave.

    It’s still pretty early in the election season and all kinds of shit will be coming out I reckon. Plenty of things to drop to make those folks reluctant.

    The real problem is that – all those R+13 Dems are gonna be blue dogs and it’s going to suck because once they are in, they will want to stay in. I rather they go in a blaze of glory and vote for some basic things like healthcare and vote by mail – lots of things to change. Give em a good post in the federal govt as a reward.

    ETA: OMG OMG! I made the magical 60th post! Do I get a prize?! shit.. I’m bawling right now. Gotta call my parents.

  61. 61.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Another Scott: Brave words, but “aligning stars” & “winds at our back” don’t necessarily translate to votes. Which of our Senate candidates do you think will – or even might – break through? I myself would be pleased with a net gain of 6 seats (51-47 with two independents caucusing with us) & overjoyed with 8.

  63. 63.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: In terms of policy there is not much difference between Markey and Kennedy, although Markey is trying to pin the label “Progressive In Name Only” label on Kennedy. Kennedy’s main appeal besides his family name seems to be youth and energy- he’s 39, Markey is 73. Carole King is campaigning for Markey; Congressman John Lewis  signed a fundraising letter for Kennedy. Kennedy has a lead in most polls. The primary is not until Sept.1.                          I expect the “PINO” label to be thrown around a lot after the election. Probably to little effect.

  64. 64.

    cain

    @sdhays:

    Ted despite the shit he gets is rather smart – I would rather some other goofball get it like John Cornyn or Burr.

  66. 66.

    Another Scott

    @Uncle Cosmo: I don’t know.

    I’m going on the way Reagan’s [1980] landslide ended up getting the GOP +12 seats in the Senate.  A result that was not expected.  Success breeds success.

    And that things are going to get worse for Donnie and the GOP before November.  Rescue funding is running out.  Schools will either be closed or open in highly unusual configurations.  And more and more people are going to be getting sick and dying.

    We should fight for every seat and ignore what the pundits say is an impossible or a safe seat.  This is our best opportunity to change the shape of government that we’ve had in many, many cycles.  And given redistricting, it will determine much of the shape of the next decade.  We need to fight for every seat.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I’m ok with either Markey or Kennedy. It’s a family fight for Massachusetts Democrats. Not an especially divisive contest so far, which is a good thing.

Comments are closed.