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You are here: Home / Open Threads / GOP Election Interference Open Thread: REFUDIATED!

GOP Election Interference Open Thread: REFUDIATED!

by Anne Laurie|  July 31, 20206:30 pm| 149 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!, Trumpery, Vote Like Your Country Depends On It

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pic.twitter.com/u18wzqFrgn

— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) July 30, 2020

As his business competitors could’ve told you any time over the past forty years, Donald Trump has terrible timing. Late July during an election year is absolutely the worst for rolling out a Big New Concept, but hearing all the really important people snub him at Rep. Lewis’ funeral hurt Donny’s ever-sensitive fee-fees. He just *had* to yell out on twitter that Maybe I won’t even let you have your dumb ol’ election, so THERE!!!…

Which not only gave us sane people (Democrats) the chance to point out that (a) we warned you this would happen, and (b) this wasn’t a stunt Trump could pull off with even the faintest shroud of legitimacy… but also required his co-conspirators and other Repubs to disavow their allegiance, as they skittered for cover under the refrigerator from the harsh light of public scrutiny…

It is not the job of the media or anyone else to come up with the most charitable interpretation of what the President is talking about. He’s an aspiring autocrat and if this happened in Africa or South America our media would say so, and there would be bipartisan scorn.

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 30, 2020

This is what I want to see reporters doing today. Not ringing up election experts to ask, "can he really do that?" Tracking down Republican office-holders and getting them on the record. https://t.co/EcPnJIJVmz

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) July 30, 2020


“Senior Republicans, who often refuse to weigh in on President Trump’s controversial tweets, overwhelmingly rejected his idea Thursday that the election be postponed because of the risk of fraud.” https://t.co/QMTKpyHaKz

— Leslie Vinjamuri (@londonvinjamuri) July 30, 2020

Republicans would have impeached any other president who said this and removed him from office by 6:30

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 30, 2020

EXCLUSIVE: A group of House Democrats is responding to President Trump’s suggestion to delay the 2020 elections by trying to force their Republican counterparts to go on the record about Trump’s comments https://t.co/S5Nda1hJZZ

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 30, 2020

LOL OMG. Just doing a laugh, musing about changing the most fundamental aspects of our democracy b/c he's losing. LOL you media people are so triggered. Hilarious, Mr. Trump. https://t.co/RD7EXlJQ2P

— Centrism Fan Acct ?? (@Wilson__Valdez) July 30, 2020

Top Republicans Aren’t Backing Trump’s Idea To Delay The Election https://t.co/yOgrwDo9jk via @kadiagoba

— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) July 30, 2020

Even some of Trump’s most diehard supporters & hardened legal defenders were in no mood to defend this. Reached earlier today, John Dowd, lawyer who once helmed Trump’s personal legal team during the Russia probe, replied, “I got nothing to say about that,” then abruptly hung up.

— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) July 31, 2020

Even the FTFNYTimes had to publicly disavow it:

Trump called Inhofe last night. Inhofe was at Alberto Trattoria and put Trump on speakerphone to hear him better. Other diners could also hear the call >> https://t.co/pOxvd8Zja4

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 30, 2020

tweeting this on October might cause the chaos he seeks. even tweeting it in September might work. Tweeting it in July is so incredibly fucking sad https://t.co/BoLi02CKmG

— Chungus Khan (@MenshevikM) July 30, 2020

Alternatively, they don’t run away and instead give a proper answer. It’s not that hard. https://t.co/Y2tGocPHM3

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 30, 2020

It’s basically saying, “We think there is about a 90.% chance you’re going to lose and, given that you’re an ignorant, cruel, lying, incompetent racist, authoritarian grifter—which admittedly we knew all along—we’re checking out a bit early.” https://t.co/6ujlD0rrTy

— Richard Yeselson (@yeselson) July 30, 2020

Life comes at you fast, @henryolsenEPPC pic.twitter.com/egIuKiNS87

— Morten Øverbye (@morten) July 31, 2020

This tweet did not age well. https://t.co/Y1ylrb9mK8

— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) July 30, 2020

Okay, one more Take: If your general election pitch is that you can pull the country back to normal – booming economy! vaccine! etc! – "things will be so bad in November that we can't have an election" is not helping you do that.

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) July 30, 2020

This– https://t.co/j2fdEf1txQ

— Ruth Marcus (@RuthMarcus) July 30, 2020

everybody says “trump can’t just delay the elections, the president doesn’t have that power.” but they also said that when trump tried to build a 15 foot high wall along the us-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it. admittedly they were right but who knows what could happen

— The Online-Normie Complex (@canderaid) July 30, 2020

Then, we fight. https://t.co/Yt24XiY4g2

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) July 30, 2020

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Reader Interactions

149Comments

  1. 1.

    geg6

    July 31, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    I’m with Slava.  100%.

  2. 2.

    bbleh

    July 31, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    All true, and very nice to see all the Republican Congresscritters finally, oh-so-painfully, forcing out words that approximate some semblance of loyalty to small-d democratic processes and to the Constitution.

    And I would note that today Trump indirectly floated the idea of advancing the date, which shows you how seriously even he takes the whole idea.

    But.

    The whole point of the exercise was distraction.  Distraction from the funeral of John Lewis, and the presence there of the only living former Republican president, along with all the Democratic presidents able to travel, and the remarks there by Barack Obama.  AND distraction from the catastrophic economic news, which is a direct result of his own mismanagement of the COVID epidemic.

    And it worked.

    What led all the coverage? His remarks about delaying the election. Reactions to his remarks about delaying the election. Analyses of his remarks about delaying the election.  After a brief burst, the economic news disappeared almost completely, and Lewis’s funeral was never more than second story.

    Trump has always been the Great Distractor.  And, sad to say, it scored double this time.

  3. 3.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    Yes, I don’t usually agree with Slava, but I like that answer.

    Although I don’t think I’m the most battle-worthy person in the country right now.

  4. 4.

    geg6

    July 31, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    @bbleh:

    This is patently untrue.  I watched two broadcast evening newscasts last night and both led with the Lewis funeral and the remarks there from Bush, Clinton, Pelosi and Obama.  The election story was third on one network and second on the other, both about ten minutes in.  They did good coverage, IMHO.  For them.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    It’s distraction bait.

    And as Charlie Brown does with the football, the MSM falls for it EVERY TIME.

  6. 6.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    I thought earlier today Trump suggested we move the election earlier?

    I guess if postponing it didn’t fly, do it earlier before situation gets worse for GOP and Trumpsters?

    Probably will get worse, since GOP decided to take a few weeks to fix economic aid package, after ruin sets in for mass quantities of voters. And several weeks of death, freezer trailer morgues,  and health care system collapse are baked in and unavoidable from AZ, FL and TX (and maybe MO and AR, let’s hope not, but problems brewing there).

  7. 7.

    West of the Rockies

    July 31, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    I hope no Trumpians are allowed back into “polite society”.  No Hamptons parties, no warm embrace in The Four Seasons, no gigs on CNN, no academic posts…  Nothing.  Cancel their collective useless asses.

  8. 8.

    West of the Rockies

    July 31, 2020 at 6:56 pm

    @NotMax:

    Distraction bait, yes, but I hope that with each new ludicrous Tweet, Trump loses a few more voters:  12 in Buttmunch, Oklahoma; 50 in Lake Woebetide, Minnesota… It adds up.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    July 31, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    Some chit going down at Fox.

    James Murdoch, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has resigned from the board of News Corporation citing “disagreements over editorial content”.

    In a filing to US regulators, he said he also disagreed with some “strategic decisions” made by the company.

    The exact nature of the disagreements was not detailed.

    But Mr Murdoch has previously criticised News Corp outlets, which include the Wall Street Journal, for climate change coverage.

    Rupert Murdoch, News Corp’s executive chairman, and his other son Lachlan, co-chairman, wished James well in a joint statement.

    “We’re grateful to James for his many years of service to the company,” the statement said. “We wish him the very best in his future endeavours.”

    Representatives of Mr Murdoch and his wife Kathryn have acknowledged the couple’s “frustration” with coverage of the subject by some of most influential Murdoch-owned news brands, including Fox News.

    Are they mad because Chris Wallace made Trump look dumb?

  10. 10.

    Chyron HR

    July 31, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    This is my fear: What happens if Trump loses but refuses to accept the results and calls out his heavily armed supporters into the streets?

    Then the legitimate government of the United States publicly executes them.  Your move, Orangina.

  11. 11.

    PsiFighter37

    July 31, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    @trollhattan: Pretty sure I read somewhere that James Murdoch and his wife have made the maximum donation to the DNC this year…pretty sure that he decided to finally cut ties with the dark side, once and for all.

  12. 12.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 31, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @trollhattan: I believe that this is a root for injuries situation.

  13. 13.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @geg6:

    Yeah, I get tired of this whole “distraction” argument. We do have to pay attention to what the President of the United States says, no matter what a sorry-ass dementia-riddled crook he may be.

  14. 14.

    Chyron HR

    July 31, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    @NotMax:

    “No, you fools, he raped Ivanka at that press conference to DISTRACT YOU!  Stop falling for it!”

  15. 15.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 31, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    @bbleh: I feel like for this strategy to succeed, all the bad news has to be stuff that every second of every day isn’t already drenched in.

  16. 16.

    bbleh

    July 31, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    @geg6: Good point.  I should say print / web / social media coverage.  Some TV DID run the funeral first.  Good pictures, lots of pageantry.  I sit corrected.

  17. 17.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    @PsiFighter37:

    Yes, I don’t think it’s new news that James is not on board. Lachlan is the “chip off the old block.”

  18. 18.

    MattF

    July 31, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    Trump’s plan is to stand on his highchair and scream ‘I made poopy.’ And, yeah, it’s distracting. So?

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:04 pm

    Another good LP. This one should be on TV.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhscswJudYM

  20. 20.

    RSA

    July 31, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    Jonathan Turley is doubling down:

    Some are wrongly conflating two equally irresponsible theories by Biden and Trump. It is somehow suggesting that Biden was right all along. He wasn’t. He was suggesting that Trump could unilaterally stop the election or use the Postal Service to steal it.

    How transparently dishonest can Turley be? Biden said, “Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow, and come up with some rationale why it cannot be held.” Biden wasn’t “suggesting that Trump could“, rather that he would try.  Some people are so far beyond shame it makes me mad.

  21. 21.

    bbleh

    July 31, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yeah not clear that it helps him, only that it’s an irresistible shiny object for the media — and in this case the online political commentariat even more so.  And I don’t think he thinks it through, past the almost reflexive understanding that it will steal the spotlight for him.  In fact, in this case, it arguably hurt him.

    But it works.  And — in part because he’s president — people take it seriously, even when it’s just a throwaway mylar balloon.

    Were the media able to think before they ran, they might be able to put things like this in their proper context and position:  a below-the-fold mention of a “spurious claim” by Trump that is patently illegal, something like that.  But they’re not.

  22. 22.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    And another one!

    Impotus Americanus is one of the heaviest leaders in the animal kingdom, and is famously known to be an orange, ruddy color not found in nature. pic.twitter.com/8ccudG6krq— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 31, 2020

  23. 23.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 31, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    @zhena gogolia: It’s making its way around my social media and proving very popular.

  24. 24.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    @RSA:

    I think Villago can tell us what Turley’s tumbrel number is right now, I’ve lost track.

  25. 25.

    A Ghost to Most

    July 31, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    Praising Slava Malumud’s statement is one thing. Being prepared to take him up on it is quite another.

  26. 26.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    @zhena gogolia: They’re using that footage of Trump getting off the chopper after Tulsa again.

  27. 27.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    Sigh

    "If you can talk, you can breathe. Chill out," an Arkansas officer told Lionel Morris as he was pinned down in a grocery store.Minutes later, Morris was "pulseless and unresponsive" when medics arrived. He was pronounced dead on his way to the hospital. https://t.co/h98I8FlNtH— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 31, 2020

  28. 28.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    @RSA:

    How transparently dishonest can Turley be?

    Very.

  29. 29.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:12 pm

    @RSA: Turley is a Trump supporter so of course he can’t tell the truth about what Biden said.  It’s obvious that Trump will try to stop the election.  The fact that he can’t is besides the point.

  30. 30.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    @A Ghost to Most: I have frequently found that those who talk the biggest game have nothing behind it.   And what was the old saying?  That the easiest way to spot the police informer in a group was to see who was the loudest advocate of violence.

    IOW fuck off.

  31. 31.

    planetjanet

    July 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That has me rolling on the floor.  You have to watch it multiple times to get all the subtitles like Oompus Loompitica.  His diet is listed as ‘human souls”, his weight as 235+100 lbs.  The diet of Molestus Epstein is listed as dirt.   Brutal

  32. 32.

    senyordave

    July 31, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    I think that Rupert Murdoch has caused an incalculable amount of damage to the world.  I believe he will rot in hell after he dies, but that is not nearly enough punishment.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    FWIW, there are a lot of things I’m concerned about with respect to people’s ability to vote and have their votes counted, and what happens if the election is close. I’m not the least bit concerned about whether Trump refuses to concede an election Biden has clearly won.

  34. 34.

    cmorenc

    July 31, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    A wild card that is not in trump’s control to deal himself but might speculatively be gifted to him if by mid-september,, if the momentum toward a decisive loss appears irreversible, and most especially if turnover of senate control appears increasingly likely – would be if justice clarence thomas decides to retire in time to let trump nominate and the still-gop majority senate confirm his replacement.  Thomas might decidr he doesnt want to stay on the court another 4 to 8 years or longer for another chance to be followed by an ideologically compatible successor – and he would have tremendous leverage to steer the pick to specific candidates

  35. 35.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    ?

    This comes after James & Kathryn Murdoch donate big $$ to the Biden campaign https://t.co/UFehKbKeoY— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) July 31, 2020

  36. 36.

    Ken

    July 31, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Lachlan is the “chip off the old block.”

    It’s OK to use the word “sociopath”.

  37. 37.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    @Baud: Ditto.  If Trump loses the election (which polls show will be the case), he’ll be out of the White House even if he has to be carried out.  My concern is with voter suppression tactics.

  38. 38.

    West of the Rockies

    July 31, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    @senyordave: 

    I don’t know how you go from Jagger to Murdoch. Then again, I’ve never found Jerri Hall to be appealing in any way.

  39. 39.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    @West of the Rockies: It’s already started with the persecution of Alan Dershowitz.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    @West of the Rockies

    Taking sympathy for the devil too much to heart?

    //

  41. 41.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 31, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    "99% of coronavirus cases are totally harmless" @realDonaldTrump "Recent study of 100 recovered coronavirus patients reveals 78 of them have lasting cardiovascular damage even though vast majority of them had mild cases of COVID-19 in the first place."https://t.co/WyVLV7FINX— PittCaleb (@PittCaleb) July 30, 2020

  42. 42.

    Ken

    July 31, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: I thought Dershowitz was being ostracized because of an Epstein connection. Of course if he’s got a Trump connection he’s also got an Epstein connection.

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    @Baud

    Yuppers.

    All that pearl clutching results in is damp, hot pearls. And nobody likes those.

  44. 44.

    Luciamia

    July 31, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    So we should all jusr chuckle at Trump doing the equivalent of prank phone calls. Great use of your time, Knuckle head.

  45. 45.

    oatler.

    July 31, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    You didn’t like the “Siren” album?

  46. 46.

    Benw

    July 31, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    Trump doesn’t have the military. No military, no coup.

    Now, if the election’s close, a couple of R state secretaries call their EC votes for Trump – say OH, FL, and AZ – even if the media has called the states for Biden or still toss-up, then the lawsuits fly! Trump loooooves to sue. Creeps me out, man

  47. 47.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 31, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    I think Villago can tell us what Turley’s tumbrel number is right now, I’ve lost track.

    he’ll be one of the easiest to catch: Just put a mock CNN camera set up in the cart and he’ll run at it

  48. 48.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 31, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    Rupert and Jeri at home.

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    July 31, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    Karen Bass apparently spoke approvingly of Scientology at some event in 2010. Twitter believes this kills her chances to be VP.

  50. 50.

    germy

    July 31, 2020 at 7:48 pm

    Without a shred of irony, McEnany says the Trump administration condemns Hong Kong's decision to delay its election because it undermines democracy pic.twitter.com/nByQ91zaL2

    — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2020

    “But we’re a republic, not a democracy”

  51. 51.

    germy

    July 31, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Karen Bass in 2010 at a ribbon-cutting for a Scientology church:

    “That is why the words are exciting of your Founder L. Rob Hubbard…The Church of Scientology I know has made a difference, because your creed is a universal creed and one that speaks to all people everywhere” pic.twitter.com/EghkCwqHi6

    — Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) July 31, 2020

    No way she belongs anywhere near Biden. This disqualifies her.

  52. 52.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    It’s already started with the persecution of Alan Dershowitz.

    Which reminds me. According to my twitter feed last night, the Ghislaine Maxwell documents that the court ordered to be unsealed were going to destroy the Clintons, vindicate Trump, and cause libtards to run & hide. Did that happen and I missed it? Or is it just that the lamestream media refuses to cover it?

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 31, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @oatler.: Roxy’s had better album covers.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: If that’s true, I would hope so.  I would have to question the judgment of someone taken in by scientology.

  55. 55.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 31, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    Listening to the O’Bros podcasts and having read a few books by campaign people, I believe this is what you call “really shitty work by your advance team“

  56. 56.

    Spanky

    July 31, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    @WaterGirl:
    I’m second to no one in their mocking of Scientology but it was just a frickin’ ribbon cutting, and in the quote she says “your founder”.

    Nothingburger, imo.

     

    Eta : Bass has no chance at vp anyhow.

  57. 57.

    germy

    July 31, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    See video at comment #51

  58. 58.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    @James E Powell:Which reminds me. According to my twitter feed last night, the Ghislaine Maxwell documents that the court ordered to be unsealed were going to destroy the Clintons, vindicate Trump, and cause libtards to run & hide. Did that happen and I missed it? Or is it just that the lamestream media refuses to cover it?

    Vindicate Trump?   On what charge?

  59. 59.

    germy

    July 31, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    @Spanky:

    Eta : Bass has no chance at vp anyhow.

    That’s a relief.

     

  60. 60.

    germy

    July 31, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    Joe Biden narrows down his VP list, with Karen Bass emerging as one of several key contenders

  61. 61.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    @Benw:

    Trump doesn’t have the military. No military, no coup.

    Now, if the election’s close, a couple of R state secretaries call their EC votes for Trump – say OH, FL, and AZ – even if the media has called the states for Biden or still toss-up, then the lawsuits fly! Trump loooooves to sue. Creeps me out, man

    I lived through various coup attempts in Guatemala when I was in the Peace Corps.  To effectively pull off a coup in a modern country you actually have to have the bureaucracy.  That is why Erdoğan has attacked and jailed so many bureaucrats in Turkey.  In Banana Republics, the military often does run their primitive bureaucracies.  That’s not likely to happen in the US.

    And no, Trump doesn’t have the bureaucracy either.  Who is Bill Barr going to complain to when his email and computer access gets turned off, his government cell phones get bricked, and his key-card in the Justice Department stops working?  Multiply that across the Federal bureaucracy.

  62. 62.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @germy: As I said on the other thread.  Bass strikes me as the sort of finalist you put forward to fill out the slate of finalists when you have already picked your candidate but don’t want to admit that you have.  She’s competent and inoffensive. But doesn’t have any real qualities that elevate her to second spot of a political ticket in the most consequential election in any of our lifetimes.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @James E Powell:

    The NBC nightly news story was all about Bill, but at least it mentioned his denial and lack of evidence of wrongdoing.

  64. 64.

    joel hanes

    July 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I’d guess that a majority of elected officials in LA have at one time or another made an appearance or signed an anodyne statement that implicitly treats Scientology as a legitimate religion.  It’s one of Scientology’s most important PR strategies, promulgated by Hubbard himself, and is quite successful.

  65. 65.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    @Spanky:

    I’m second to no one in their mocking of Scientology …

    Have you met Ruckus?

  66. 66.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:07 pm

    @Kent:

    Vindicate Trump?   On what charge?

    All of them, Katie.

  67. 67.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    @Baud:

    The NBC nightly news story was all about Bill

    I didn’t do it.

  68. 68.

    Elizabelle

    July 31, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    @trollhattan:   I wonder if James wants to get clear of the numerous lawsuits that I hope are coming Fox’s way for sabotaging US coronavirus response.

    It does appear he is not on board with them politically.  But, until today, he was still with “Bag o’ Glass”, making bank off selling bad stuff to [superannuated] children.

  69. 69.

    lofgren

    July 31, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    Republicans on the record opposing a delay! Well thank goodness! They’ve never changed their position based on political convenience before, so this almost certainly wouldn’t be the first time!

  70. 70.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: That’s what the other Bill said.

  71. 71.

    Yutsano

    July 31, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    @WaterGirl: She had a bit of a Marxist streak when she was younger.  She also had some nice words for Fidel when he passed. She’s trying to walk them back now but yeah she’s a no go.

    EDIT: and yes I’m going back to too old. Vetting two California politicians is almost like playing your hand early.

  72. 72.

    Jim Appleton

    July 31, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    @Chyron HR:

     

    The Aristocrats!

  73. 73.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @Baud:

    For me, that shows that they are desperate for an anti-Democrat any Democrat story to “balance” the coverage.

  74. 74.

    cmorenc

    July 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    I don’t know how you go from Jagger to Murdoch. Then again, I’ve never found Jerri Hall to be appealing in any way.

    Men with great wealth to support her in the expensive lifestyle she would like to sustain is her primary aphrodisiac.  For raw animal sex, there’s always the handsomely fit 25 year old pool boy.

  75. 75.

    Gin & Tonic

    July 31, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @RSA:

    How transparently dishonest can Turley be?

    How many grains of sand are on the beach?

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    July 31, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    I think Karen Bass just has some kind of well-placed cheering section.  I truly do not see what she brings to the ticket that other a few candidates do not improve on.

    This is not the time to break in someone with little national name recognition.

    That said, I always thought Biden was a “placeholder” until the actual presumptive nominee appeared.  So, take anything with a grain of salt.

    I’m not even reading about it.  Too much conjecture.

  77. 77.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @planetjanet:

    And his weight as “decreasing” or something like that.

  78. 78.

    dmsilev

    July 31, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I’m not even reading about it.  Too much conjecture.

    Basically, yeah. I’m sure the decision has either been made or is down to the last two or three choices. All of us on the outside, which includes the media, “people close to the Biden campaign”, etc., are just whiling away the time until the choice is actually announced sometime in the next week.

  79. 79.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 31, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    That tweet wasn’t a deliberate distraction.  Geez, people.  Trump did what he has always done, which is what toxic narcissists always do.  He publicly whined that if he’s losing, someone is cheating.  That the rules should be bent in some insane way to ensure he wins because that’s the only fair way to do things.  Trump is a WATB.  No further explanation required.

    What happens if Trump loses but refuses to accept the results and calls out his heavily armed supporters into the streets?

    We point and laugh at him when they don’t show up.  They’re heavily armed BECAUSE they’re chickenshits.

    @James E Powell:

    Did that happen and I missed it?

    They think it happened!  The accuser quoted said that she never personally saw Trump and Epstein together, and that she did personally see Clinton visit Epstein’s private island.  She did not have any knowledge of Clinton having sex with anyone.  Many, many people (Oprah) have visited Epstein’s island who are unlikely to have done it to indulge pedophilia.  Still, Trump didn’t molest her and Bill Clinton was somewhere in the vicinity, so they’re sure it’s game, set, match.

  80. 80.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Bill denies being in the island at all though.  I hope his memory is accurate.

  81. 81.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    @Elizabelle: I think Biden looked like a placeholder, and acted like one at times during the primary, but he has potential to be much more, even if he signals probably only one term.

    For VP, Warren, Harris, Duckworth all fine.

    I wonder why some dinosaur centrists like  Rendell are dumping on Harris, from what I read in the twitterverse of political gossip. My uninformed guess is that even Harris has potential to be too progressive for people like Rendell. I think Harris is more moderate than progressive, but she was only primary candidate with the rep of being moderate who was willing to set specific minimum standards for progress and getting good substantial reforms done, unlike others who mouthed vague slogans and platitudes.

    For health care, I think Harris was only moderate who finally said that private insurance had to play by exact same rules as public option in future legislation to improve PPACA, or they  had to pack up and go. But, she firmed up her proposals on too many things too late for her campaign.

    IMHO, which might not be that informed.

  82. 82.

    bucachon

    July 31, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    Since this is the thread of fears here’s mine:

    Trump becomes the first president to pardon himself on January 19th. He gets to “distract” attention from Biden and his own loss AND he avoids the investigations and prosecution that he so surely is facing otherwise

  83. 83.

    James E Powell

    July 31, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    If the women whose names are in the public discussion have all been considered for VP, that’s a good thing. If Biden & his staff want to give every African American woman who might arguably fill the spot a serious look, then that’s a good thing. No?

    A happy side effect might be that the public profiles of these women might be raised.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @James E Powell:

    The tell for me is whether this is a one day story (assuming no new information) or if they pursue it.

  85. 85.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @Baud: ” Bill denies being in the island at all though. ”

    The plane! The plane!

    (sorry couldn’t resist, but only thing I remember from that show, I think only thing I ever watched)

  86. 86.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    @Baud: I’ve been to Tahiti, Hawaii, and Catalina.

  87. 87.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    @jl: Ricardo Montalban was the man.

    Clinton admits he used the plane for Clinton Foundation trips.  He denies going to the island however.

  88. 88.

    geg6

    July 31, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I would agree.  Scientology is evil.  David Miscavage is evil.

  89. 89.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    You’ve been to Tahiti?  That’s on my bucket list.

  90. 90.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    @James E Powell: Bass seems solid on policy substance. Can she campaign?

    One problem I have with Harris is sometimes she is not very quick on her feet when she gets standard campaign BS questions that she should anticipate. Like ‘you were mean to Biden during a debate, so why would you be his VP pick!!??” Stupid question, but you have to answer it, and know how to do so with appropriate combination of good humor, condescension, and scorn it deserves. IIRC, in a recent interview, Harris just repeated ‘Well, it was a debate’.

    OTOH, no one can do serious, but not debbie downer, I’m gonna kick some political ass bigtime, and I’m coming 1000 percent correct as well as Harris. I think she will mop up Pence in a debate, if Trumpsters have the guts to show up.

    I guess the net is what mix of those two will she have to do during campaign?

    Only one I am really dubious about is Rice.

  91. 91.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @Baud: OK, as long it remained a fantasy island, we’re all good.

  92. 92.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 31, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    @cmorenc:

    For raw animal sex, there’s always the handsomely fit 25 year old pool boy.

    Or, if she lost her glasses, a forty-five year-old chauffeur, or a step-son who’s really pissed at his father.

  93. 93.

    CaseyL

    July 31, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    @Baud:

    “Tahiti is a magical place” – Phil Coulson

  94. 94.

    Yutsano

    July 31, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @geg6: Ah yes. The religion L.Ron Hubbard founded so he would never have to pay taxes again. Don’t ever mention that to a Scientologist though. It tends to make them upset.

  95. 95.

    Kropacetic

    July 31, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    @Elizabelle: Biden should just do the right thing and name Chris Dodd his VP nominee

  96. 96.

    Jeffro

    July 31, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: win ?

  97. 97.

    Elizabelle

    July 31, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @James E Powell:   Agree.  We are learning of talented women politicians, so it is all good.

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Baud

    Well, when it came to singing… maybe not so much.

    ;)

  99. 99.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Kropacetic:

    You think Dodd is trying to pull a Cheney?

  100. 100.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    @Baud: The political white man geezer brigade must lead us forever!

    Look at how much they’ve done for us in Congress over the last 4 years.

  101. 101.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    @jl: That cottage is over at the arboretum.

  102. 102.

    Jeffro

    July 31, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @Kent: yup

    putting Bass up there helps make other picks seem more appealing

  103. 103.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @Baud: That’s  what he’s said for the last few years.  He’s been consistent.

  104. 104.

    jl

    July 31, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I used to go to that arboretum. Really nice. I took some super crummy snapshots there.

  105. 105.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @Baud: I’ve been to Tahiti twice and Moorea thrice.

  106. 106.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    @NotMax: But he did a good job with “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

  107. 107.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Is it as nice as it seems?  It looks idyllic.

  108. 108.

    Kropacetic

    July 31, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @Baud: No, then Dodd would be empowered to name himself nominee.

    Also, after hearing Dodd and Rendell’s opinions on the VP matter, I am very eager to never hear either of their opinions on anything ever again.

  109. 109.

    Yutsano

    July 31, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    @Kropacetic: I’ve been that way with Rendell since 2008. He’s been our Kristol.

  110. 110.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    @Baud: Tahiti’s too crowded, we like Moorea better.  Would have like to have gone to Bora-Bora, but…

  111. 111.

    Yutsano

    July 31, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Can you humans stop sticking Bal’i Hai in my head please? :P

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    Tough not to shine in comparison with a dry Esther Williams.

    ;)

  113. 113.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Ugh. I’m sorry I didn’t go when it wasn’t as cool.

  114. 114.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @zhena gogolia
    Strictly for fun:

    “Don’t say the weenie word!”

    :)

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @germy: I’m not sure whether you think that video will make me feel better about her, or more concerned.  For me it was most definitely the latter.

  116. 116.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Baud: This is where we stayed in Moorea.

  117. 117.

    Baud

    July 31, 2020 at 9:04 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: idyllic!

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @joel hanes:  Be that as it may, I don’t like what I just saw of her in that video.  Not at all.  Surely Joe will make a better choice than this.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yes you did, and I have the photos to prove it!

  120. 120.

    TS (the original)

    July 31, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @RSA:

    How transparently dishonest can Turley be?

    He is a republican – dishonesty is their trademark

  121. 121.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @West of the Rockies: ?$$$$$$$$$$$

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Vetting two California politicians is almost like playing your hand early.

    Can you say more about what you mean by that?

  123. 123.

    rikyrah

    July 31, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Nothing good learned??

  124. 124.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @WaterGirl: One Word…Photoshop!

  125. 125.

    Chyron HR

    July 31, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Bernietology or bust!

  126. 126.

    WaterGirl

    July 31, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    @Jeffro: I first read that as pricks, so I thought you were talking about Chris Dodd and Ed Rendell, who are pissing me off.

  127. 127.

    Jeffro

    July 31, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    @WaterGirl: lol, sorry ’bout that!  Nothing would make those two pricks appealing.  =)

  128. 128.

    zhena gogolia

    July 31, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Moorea is discussed in the great novel by Viktor Shklovsky, Zoo; or, Letters Not About Love.

  129. 129.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    @bucachon:

    Since this is the thread of fears here’s mine:

    Trump becomes the first president to pardon himself on January 19th. He gets to “distract” attention from Biden and his own loss AND he avoids the investigations and prosecution that he so surely is facing otherwise

    That doesn’t get him out of any state crimes, which are legion if they start poking into his state taxes.

  130. 130.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud:

    @Kropacetic:

    You think Dodd is trying to pull a Cheney?

    Chris Dodd is 76 years old and obese.   I think that’s a no.

  131. 131.

    NotMax

    July 31, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    @Kent

    It also removes the shield of the 5th Amendment should he be called as a witness in the trial(s) of others.

  132. 132.

    MazeDancer

    July 31, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    That video may not just lose Bass the VP pick, it could lose her House re-election.

    And Rendell and Dodd better get sidelined soon.

  133. 133.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    @Kent: I think the woman part could be a problem as well.

  134. 134.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 31, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    @Kent:

    And he’ll fuck it up.  Somehow, Trump will completely, totally, ‘how can anyone be this stupid’ fuck up his attempt to use his Presidential power to protect himself from prosecution later.

  135. 135.

    randy khan

    July 31, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @geg6:

    The good news is that Trump is a coward and the vast majority of his belligerent supporters are cosplay warriors.  So it’s close to certain that if he loses he’ll just whine about how unfair the election was and not do anything.  Making that look pathetic and embarrassing is one more reason to work to make the margin as big as possible.

  136. 136.

    Anne Laurie

    July 31, 2020 at 9:40 pm

    @germy: To quote an old political maxim:  Those who know, don’t tell; those who tell, don’t know.

    I trust Biden and his team to make a good choice, and all the choices I’m seeing touted are good-to-excellent.

    (Frankly, I’m just glad nobody seems to be talking about my senior Senator any more — Warren can do much more good right now in the Senate, IMO.)

  137. 137.

    Kent

    July 31, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    @WaterGirl:

    That video may not just lose Bass the VP pick, it could lose her House re-election.

    And Rendell and Dodd better get sidelined soon.

    Bass is in the safest of safe seats.  In 2018 she won her primary with 89% of the vote and was reelected to a fifth term with 88% of the vote.  She’s not going anywhere.

    But yes, WTF are old dinosaurs like Rendell and Dodd doing on the search committee in the first place?

  138. 138.

    Uncle Cholmondeley

    July 31, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    @jl: I thought earlier today Trump suggested we move the election earlier?

    Is next Tuesday available?  Cause that’s okay with me.

  139. 139.

    J R in WV

    July 31, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    It’s already started with the persecution of Alan Dershowitz.

    I don’t see that Mr Dershowitz is being persecuted at all. Not even prosecuted, so far. Though that may change before Alan Dershowitz dies. All it takes is a couple of witnesses with stories that agree about what Dershowitz did/

  140. 140.

    Yutsano

    July 31, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    @J R in WV: I’m thinking she missed the air quotes there. Mr. Dershowitz is in no way being persecuted. But methinks the counselor doth protest too much.

    EDIT: Vowel trouble. Which is like pronoun trouble but much less interesting.

  141. 141.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    @Kent: Folk here also have to remember that Scientology is headquartered here in LA.  I’d bet you could find nice things said about them by my Congressman since their HQ is in his district, The Fighting 28th!

  142. 142.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 31, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    @Yutsano: But, he’s being shunned on the Vineyard!

  143. 143.

    Anne Laurie

    July 31, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    @Kent: WTF are old dinosaurs like Rendell and Dodd doing on the search committee in the first place?

    Same thing all the elderly cardinals are doing every time a new pope is elected:  Confirming the continuity of The Institution.

    Normal people don’t worry about that, but the Media Village Idiots would be deeply concerned if the Dinosaur-American portion of the Democratic party didn’t certify Biden’s pick, whoever she turns out to be, as “correctly vetted.”

  144. 144.

    randy khan

    July 31, 2020 at 10:11 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    And he’ll fuck it up.  Somehow, Trump will completely, totally, ‘how can anyone be this stupid’ fuck up his attempt to use his Presidential power to protect himself from prosecution later.

    He’ll forget to sign it until he’s on the plane to Mar a Lago after the inauguration.

  145. 145.

    ballerat

    July 31, 2020 at 10:34 pm

    @trollhattan: It’s nice to know that the Fox News lies and disinformation and propaganda has created a split their own family. That shit certainly has caused rifts in many other American families.

  146. 146.

    Ken

    July 31, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    @randy khan: Or the people in charge of presidential records accidentally destroy the pardon. You know – those guys  who keep having to tape together official papers after Trump tears them up.

  147. 147.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    July 31, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    @germy:

    Too old. No relevant executive experience.

  148. 148.

    PsiFighter37

    July 31, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    @MazeDancer: Eh – skeptical of losing reelection.

    That said, someone on the Biden team did a piss-poor job of vetting if this was not uncovered earlier. Nobody wants anyone with the taint of fucking Scientology on the ticket.

  149. 149.

    phdesmond

    July 31, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    @Anne Laurie: her persistence in that post also makes possible the continued description of ed markey as “the junior senator from massachusetts.”

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