Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

People are complicated. Love is not.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I was promised a recession.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You cannot shame the shameless.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

T R E 4 5 O N

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Democratic National Convention Open Thread – Day Three, PART TWO

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  6. 6.

    patrick II

    I can certainly see why I voted for Obama twice. A very frank, earnest, and inspirational speech.

  8. 8.

    Steeplejack

    Bumped up from downstairs.

    Someone is getting triggered:

    WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2020

  19. 19.

    Ken

    @Steeplejack: All caps in the original?  Not a good sign.  Next step will be multiple exclamation points.

    And did anyone reply “BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE HAVE STANDARDS AND ONE OF THEM IS THAT FORMER PRESIDENTS DO NOT ENDORSE UNTIL THE VOTERS HAVE THEIR SAY”?

  22. 22.

    cain

    This is such great pageantry in that video – it’s fantastic.

    Any MF who are on the fence.. and still can’t decide – are fucked up.

  29. 29.

    Anya

    @Steeplejack: Just comparing this lunatic’s uppercase ranting to Obama’s dignity, grace and eloquence makes me loss it. America thought this insane clown was fit to replace Obama.

  30. 30.

    cain

    It’s amazing how much Kamala’s story was similar to Barack’s.

    To hear a VP candidate use the word ‘Chithi’ meaning Aunt in India.. fuck me.

  31. 31.

    TS (the original)

    @Alison Rose:

    Boy, his lumbering, dipshit ass has a lot of nerve calling someone else slow.

    Like every other thing,, he doesn’t understand. You don’t endorse “your” favorite, you endorse the nominee chosen by the people.

    President Obama was never going to be in the situation of endorsing someone who was not his No 1 choice.

  32. 32.

    Martin

    @SectionH: Her stepdaughter that spoke was really cute. Maya at least has experience working in politics so the camera speech is at least a bit familiar to her, but I’m always impressed with how well these newcomers do. It’s hard to pull off and they did amazingly well.

  41. 41.

    HumboldtBlue

    @cain:

    It’s amazing how much Kamala’s story was similar to Barack’s.

    Good point.

    There is no vaccine for racism.

  42. 42.

    Anya

    Both Obama and Harris are so good at speaking without a live audience. They are both connecting to the audience as if we were there.

  44. 44.

    Dan B

    Uh oh, onions on our terrace.

    “I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States.”  opened the water works.

  46. 46.

    cain

    You have no idea how much it blows my mind to hear a major candidate use the word ‘Chithi’ – meaning Aunt. To hear that word.. wow.. it is a very south indian word.

  51. 51.

    dmsilev

    @Anya: It’s probably the one thing that people will remember from this Convention.

    So vote, vote like your breaded and fried squid depends on it.

  59. 59.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Our lives are completely different, but we are close in age, and somehow I relate to Kamala more than I have any other woman who ran for office this year. I can’t explain it better than that, but it’s like I know her on some level.

    Can’t wait to call her Madam Vice-President and then with luck in 4 or 8, Madame President.

  62. 62.

    Mike in NC

    @Anya: I lived in RI for three years and really enjoyed it. Don’t recall the calamari specifically, but fondly recall scuba diving for lobsters on Friday nights. Also loved Del’s lemonade and Portuguese sausage and fresh local mussels and stuffed quahogs.

  68. 68.

    Feathers

    @cain: In the cooking video Kamala did with Mindy Kaling, I laughed hard when Mindy was asking her what to call her because her mother wasn’t going to approve of just her first name. Harris’s reply, “Just don’t call me Auntie.” I knew Kamala was really good when Mindy’s father showed up and Kamala immediately called him “Uncle” and rushed over to hug him. You could see him well up.

    The whole video is worth watching, if you are looking for something to bring you down gently from this speech. Link

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Martin: , but I’m always impressed with how well these newcomers do. It’s hard to pull off and they did amazingly well.

    Jacquelyn Asbie endorsed Biden like she’s been doing it at every convention since she turned 18

  77. 77.

    Anya

    I hope the members of the low quality VP selection who dissed this awesome woman are ashamed of themselves. That committee was the only bad step the Biden campaign made.

  80. 80.

    cain

    @Feathers:

    @cain: In the cooking video Kamala did with Mindy Kaling, I laughed hard when Mindy was asking her what to call her because her mother wasn’t going to approve of just her first name. Harris’s reply, “Just don’t call me Auntie.” I knew Kamala was really good when Mindy’s father showed up and Kamala immediately called him “Uncle” and rushed over to hug him. You could see him well up.

    Every Indian understood that whole thing – that was probably the moment everyone understood that she was Indian just like us.

    Interestingly enough, she’s the combination of me and my gf. It’s like we have a common person we can share.

  81. 81.

    SectionH

    @Martin: I agree, but that’s been so true through the whole convention, hasn’t it?  I mean, so many “newcomers” (I like that word choice a lot) have been great speakers.

    Sort of the Republican opposite,  y’know, ” The secret to success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

    I love Kamala.

  84. 84.

    dmsilev

    Some traditions are eternal. Even going virtual and partially pre-recorded, conventions never stay on schedule.

  87. 87.

    PsiFighter37

    @Anya: To be fair, they came to the right outcome…so it couldn’t have been all bad. I personally had no issue with how things turned out.

  88. 88.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Anya: Someone should get him a sandwich though. He’s approaching Michael Chertoff levels of Skeletorization.

  99. 99.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Anya: No, a bunch of white Christians, most of them rural, some suburban, decided that the rest of us deserved to be punished with him for the temerity of electing Obama president twice.

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I want balloons, dammit!

     

    @Adam L Silverman:

    sending out tweets suggesting he’ll make claims about the nominee’s mental state.

    Remember when he took Olivia Nuzzi to I forget which fancy Manhattan hotel bar for bloodies and he stumbled out of the men’s room with his fly open?

  112. 112.

    Suzanne

    Well, as part of new house purchases today, I bought a cheap wall sconce, a bamboo roller shade, and a Biden yard sign, in union blue.

  114. 114.

    guachi

    Don’t forget, if you had a regular donation during the primary to Joe Biden you should start up a new donation for the general election.

  119. 119.

    Alison Rose

    I find it interesting that, as far as I heard, Pence barely got mentioned tonight, at least by name. Which makes me laugh so hard, because like………LOL dude you’re a pointless appendage of the Orange Behemoth you chose to tie yourself to.

  120. 120.

    TS (the original)

    So Bri clues in on President Obama – ignoring Kamala – then Rachel takes him right back there. Talking non stop about Kamala.

    MSNBC needs to get rid of him in this election coverage.

  128. 128.

    Kent

    CNN commentary is all over Obama’s speech. About how searing and on fire it was about the emergency we face. About how he broke norms by going so hard after a sitting president. But they appove.

  131. 131.

    cain

    @Baud:

    I noticed the same thing.

    Jennifer sings like Whitney Houston does – effortlessly.. hitting notes like nothing.

  132. 132.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: And mine the Mominator.

    Listen, and understand. The Mominator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever…

  134. 134.

    Martin

    @SectionH: Yeah, lots of new talent, lots of young talent. Obama and Kamala were very forward looking, very empowering of the next generations.

    I’ve been saying for a while that Democrats need to energize young voters. They are suffering so much right now, and they need to be given the reins wherever they can – at the very least a voice.

    I don’t always agree with AOC but Dems need to keep pushing her forward, because that’s what the Democratic party needs to look like, and she speaks to issues that the Democratic party needs to address. You don’t have to endorse her solutions, but you need to listen to the problems she says need to be focused on.

    It’s too easy to be cynical about young people and their turnout, but you kind of get what you invite. You exclude them from politics and you ignore their issues, then no, they’re not going to come out and vote.

  135. 135.

    Steeplejack

    I think all conventions should be virtual from here on out. No speeches broken up every two sentences for a cheer, no pundits breaking in with pointless “analysis.” And reining in the “great state of [wherever] says blah, blah, blah” bullshit.

  136. 136.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Mike in NC:

    So did Emhoff’s mom

    @Martin:

    I don’t always agree with AOC but Dems need to keep pushing her forward, because that’s what the Democratic party needs to look like, and she speaks to issues that the Democratic party needs to address. You don’t have to endorse her solutions, but you need to listen to the problems she says need to be focused on.

    That’s where I am.

  142. 142.

    zhena gogolia

    @rikyrah:

    The outfit was perfect, hair was perfect, she’s the best speaker all evening except for Obama. And I say that recognizing that Warren was damn good.

  146. 146.

    Anya

    @PsiFighter37: I didn’t appreciate all the leaks and attacking the women they were vetting. I am in the opinion that Joe went with what he wanted when they showed him the list.

  155. 155.

    TS (the original)

    @Leto:

    Yep, she is the nominee, she deserved to be No 1 in the pundit comments. I loved President Obama’s speech – but the night belonged to Kamala & Obama himself acknowledged that in not speaking last.

  160. 160.

    Leto

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I DVR’d that, so once she was done I stopped it. But I def believe it. Just going to say, it’s no fair having two phenomenal speakers in one family. That’s how I know there’s no God: SHARE THE LOVE! :P

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @TS (the original):

    I want MSNBC to create a program for the Terrific Trio. Rachel, Joy, and Nicolle have wonderful chemistry. They could all keep their regular solo daily slots and maybe do a once a week gig together. I don’t want this magic to go away, and I don’t want no damn Brian Williams trying to be all avuncular with the girls.

  164. 164.

    Anya

    @Martin: I agree that AOC is very effective. She already has the platform and I don’t think Dem establishment (for lack of a better word) actually stands in her way.

    I am choosing not to say anything about AOC because I am still super mad at her for not even congratulating Kamala Harris. I’m still team AOC but this made me lose a lot of respect for her.

  165. 165.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Steeplejack: Here Trump goes again with his ridiculous lies.  Obviously Biden is a bigger man that Trump will ever be since he can reconcile with an opponent.

  168. 168.

    Mary G

    I usually multitask and listen while doing projects or reading tweets or comments through these things. I was riveted and did nothing but watch and listen from Liz Warren onward.

  169. 169.

    Another Scott

    @Anya: I’m thinking a reverse 1980, myself.

    By any normal measure, the GOP would be looking at losing all 50 states.

    We need to crush them at the ballot box.  It’s the best way to be sure…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  173. 173.

    Leto

    @SiubhanDuinne: Agreed; those three always have cogent points, I’m interested in what they have to say. Williams needs to be on the 3am shift every sixth Tuesday of the month.

  176. 176.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Tom Nichols@RadioFreeTom 47m
    This speech by Obama is going to keep Trump awake all night

    Who’s gonna have to yawn through his self-pitying rant at 3 am? Lindsey? Robert Kraft? I bet he’s already turned his phone off. and shouldn’t Th Beast be arranging his brother’s funeral or something?

    Joy Reid’s father was a Reaganite. I would not have guessed. and while I’m doing TV commentary, I think I can see Brian Williams’ growing realization of his increasing irrelevance

  177. 177.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Anya: Given the lack of leaks from Biden’s campaign, I have a suspicion that Rendell and Dodd went sent out to draw fire.  They said some minor shit, and everyone reared up on their hind legs to defend Harris.  When she got the gig, everyone said “damn right.”  Any objections to her would have made people look like old geezers.  I think it was a smart play.

  180. 180.

    Kay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Weird and dumb. No one thinks Biden is crazy. They should have stuck with “old”, but I guess there’s nowhere really to go with that after “Joe Biden is old”, which of course everyone knows.

  181. 181.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Steeplejack: Heh. What’s sad is that… no, she didn’t do either of those things. Quite the opposite.

    Donnie yelling lies again. And again. And again.

  185. 185.

    TS (the original)

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I just tuned out as he said his goodbyes to the ladies. I hope they take ratings from these evenings & see the drop when Brian is on alone. He was never anything other than a newsreader – reading items prepared by someone else. No analysis, no empathy, an empty suit.

  187. 187.

    Marcopolo

    Okay, after listening to all the speechifying & then Maddow, Reid, & Wallace I am totally wrung out. I so wish the gd election was tomorrow.

  189. 189.

    Bill Arnold

    @Adam L Silverman:

    suggesting he’ll make claims about the nominee’s mental state.

    Mmm. Man is too far gone to know what others think of him. He needs to make some more stupid, deliciously mockable mistakes.

  191. 191.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Anya: @PsiFighter37: @Anya: My theory is that he let that process with those people take place just to let it take place. Because it was expected because it is how it was always done and because he had to let his oldest friends and colleagues feel like they were still important and contributing. But the reality always was he was going to pick an African American woman and the final blessing of the pick would be Congressman Clyburn’s.

  196. 196.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I could totally see this happening in-universe. Just like product endorsements for superheroes. That happened with Booster Gold in the 90s, didn’t it? I distinctly remember it coming up with Flash in Justice League

  200. 200.

    Yutsano

    @Adam L Silverman: I think he had Kamala picked as soon as he was the presumptive nominee. Everyone was looking around at all the amazing talent but Joe looked at the person who had been a friend and colleague of his elder son. It was right in front of the media but mindless speculation had to win out. But some day they’ll learn right. RIGHT?

  202. 202.

    Anya

    @Adam L Silverman: You said this when I was freaking out when all Politico was saying Biden will not choose Harris, and you were right. Congressman Clyburn saved us multiple times.

  203. 203.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Kay: The President’s campaign is running an ad accusing VP Biden of being neurologically deficient and mentally incapable. They’ve kludged together slowed down and dubiously edited footage, usually of him trying to work around his stutter, and spliced it against Biden delivering speeches five years ago.

  208. 208.

    piratedan

    still toting a small bonfire for Gabby Giffords…. damn what that woman has been thru, also one of her former staffers is on the ballot for the AZ State House here in S. Arizona. I try not to dwell on it too much but I still remember the hue and cry from the GOP about putting her seat up for a special election because she couldn’t serve. due to her “situation”.

  220. 220.

    Leto

    @Yutsano: I said that before about her: she had a huge advantage in that she worked so closely with Beau, so she was a known quantity. She was basically vetted through one of the people he trusted the most.

  221. 221.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): It’s a spoof by Stjepan Sejic. Sejic is both an artist and writer for conventional comic books for DC – he’s done Justice League, as well as the new Harley Quinn series/graphic novel – and he also does a series of independent comics. Among the latter he is, perhaps, best known for his romance series Sunstone, which has a BDSM theme. Given William Molten Marsten’s reported preferences and proclivities, this one panel is a parody of Wonder Woman, Sejic’s own other series of books, and how people relate to the character. Sejic often draws Wonder Woman as much more of a muscular woman because she is supposed to be an Amazon. So less conventionally beautiful and more powerful.

  226. 226.

    Kent

    @Martin:I don’t always agree with AOC but Dems need to keep pushing her forward, because that’s what the Democratic party needs to look like, and she speaks to issues that the Democratic party needs to address. You don’t have to endorse her solutions, but you need to listen to the problems she says need to be focused on.

    I don’t pay that much attention to her frankly.  The only thing I know for certain that I disagree with her on is Wilmer.   The rest is mostly tactics I suspect.

  229. 229.

    Ruckus

    @Anya:

    Really?

    She played the part she was supposed to play. I don’t like all her ideas but she is a great person. She’s learning that she can’t get everything she wants but with realistic effort can get what she needs. And that’s the mark of a great politician. She should have a great future and I for one, old white man, respect her and wish her well with her bright future. We need more like her, someone who recognizes that there are somethings that need to be done and someone needs to do them. Sometimes you take one for the team because the team will make sure that it will take one for you when you need it. That’s politics.

  231. 231.

    Suzanne

    @Adam L Silverman: I bought the house. Moved in this weekend. It is a fucking old house, like Cole’s. I’ve already found solid turned oak banisters and balusters, and a whole leaded glass entry, both concealed under paneling. But now free!

  233. 233.

    SFAW

    @Leto: 

    It makes me think I didn’t apply my mediocrity properly.

    You’re here, ain’t you? Seems like you got it just right.

  239. 239.

    Kay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    They should go watch some of the 47 debates he did in 2019. A stage full of really bright and insanely competitive people and Biden did fine.

    They have consistently underestimated Joe Biden and I for one hope the arrogant douchebags continue to do so. In every election the question is “compared to what?” Compared to Donald Trump’s lightening fast wit and intuitive grasp of complex subjects? He’s a loudmouth dope with a 105 word vocabulary.

    What came through in the debates is Biden knows a lot. He has a ton of experience in government and it shows. He doesn’t have to memorize a cheat sheet like Trump does- the cheat sheets we’ve seen because he’s too fucking lazy to even hide them. Biden actually knows this stuff.

  240. 240.

    TS (the original)

    @Anya:   I agree, the media needs to get past that norms must be obeyed by the democrats but who cares about the GOP.

  243. 243.

    Kattails

    All in all, this has left me feeling more refreshed and upbeat than I’ve felt in months. Although growing up in NJ, it was still suburban whiteness (myself included). Now I live in NH, because of the beauty of the place; and have watched it gradually expand its racial profile.  When I got here you were lucky to find Pepperidge Farm bread, and “Chinese food” was cabbage and celery in soy-flavored glop.  But it has been so inspiring to see the enormous diversity embraced in these videos. I have a new set of faces to fight for.

  246. 246.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:

    Hey! He did better himself didn’t he? Mediocrity is better than he was when he started out. OK not so much that it’s noticeable but still….

  249. 249.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Morzer:

    Ed Rendell has been doing his drunken uncle tribute act for years. I really don’t think anyone has to send him out to do it.

    I regret his relative obscurity only because it spares him the abuse he so richly deserves, and that I am so ready to heap upon him.

  252. 252.

    Bill Arnold

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Best to watch this with the sound off; the rabbit hole sucketh, into a vast and bottomless rabbit warren.
    Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani, EXCLUSIVE Interview | Ep. 56, Part Two – Rudy Giuliani sits down with Roger Stone for an exclusive interview.
    Or not at all. I couldn’t get more than 7 minutes into it. Oh for a transcript. (Roger Stone is a fairly  polished liar. He knows considerably more about Wikileaks, the DNC hacks, the Podesta hack, and the release timings of said hacked material than he admits, IMO.)

  253. 253.

    Marcopolo

    @Kay: Kay, I hate to break this to you but I don’t think DJT memorizes cheat sheets or anything for that matter.  And mostly the only things he listens to are the crazy voices in his head.  Puppet, no puppet, you’re the puppet.  Person. Man. Woman. Camera. TV.

    I rest my case.

  255. 255.

    TS (the original)

    I so enjoy these convention threads. Everyone is upbeat & happy. Reminding me more & more of 2008.

  256. 256.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Bill Arnold: I’m aware of these videos that Rudy is making. They’re intended for the same folks who watch the QAnon and anti-vaxxer and neo-NAZI videos, etc, etc.

  259. 259.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: Remember:

    “Billy, look, you just tell them and they believe it. That’s it: you just tell them and they believe. They just do.”

    They’re not even trying, because they don’t think they have to.  And because they actually don’t know how to do real work.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  260. 260.

    Kay

    I loved Obama’s speech because the harsh, plain speaking Obama was what I valued most. I think that’s who he really is. Obama doesn’t kid himself. He knows this is a bad situation we’re in and he’s not willing to tell us a bedtime story. We’ve been lied to enough, I think. No more of that for President Obama.

  262. 262.

    Ruckus

    @Calouste:

    I was going for sideways but pretty sure you aren’t wrong. He probably has a job because he’s had the job for a long time and has over the years, for some inexplicable reason been able to get a decent contract, that will cost them more to break than it’s worth. Besides they would probably end up with some twit who isn’t any better, who they would have to train. And you see how well their training works…….

  263. 263.

    Martin

    @Kent: I think a lot of politics focuses too much on the policy answers and not on the policy questions.

    AOC is signaling the questions that Democrats should be asking, just as MFOL, BLM, and so on are. If we aren’t searching for answers to those questions, we’re doing it wrong.

    So listen to what AOC is focusing on – it’s different from what almost everyone else in Congress is, but it’s pretty representative of what young people worry about.

  264. 264.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Okay, you kids play nice.  I am going to go finish season 3 of Jessica Jones and go to bed.

  266. 266.

    SectionH

    @Martin: Well, I’ve never been in step with my actual age cohorts. I was doing GOTV when I was 16 and voting age was 21. Got busy in life & all I did was stuff like driving ppl to polls on the day, when we were actually home, but I damn well raised a politically aware kid, and now I’ve gotta 9 yr old granddaughter. She’s getting raised right, too. FFS, the kids deserve a world they can do more than scramble to get along in. (Don’t get me started tonight.)

    I like AOC a lot. The nonsense about her is enormous. I srsly think Nancy basically told her she has a big future, but she needs to learn things too. And that’s what I see happening. AOC is fine.  But dammit, I sure as fuck didn’t need someone to be the “youngest candidate blah blah blah” to vote for them when I was old enough. Policy wonk, not exactly but close. Oops, sorry, Bernie being the old guy lotsa kids supported just popped up in my head. Y’know, I think in fact young ppl actually Want to hear about policy, or at least our young people do. I know I did.

    What a lot of ppl aren’t good at – not just youngs – is that policy doesn’t make things happen. I was so damn lucky to have the whole idea of “sausage-making” instilled when I was in single digit age. Of course now, maybe that’s a handicap…

  269. 269.

    Heywood J.

    @Adam L Silverman: Ah, Ghouliani’s reinventing himself as a detective, with his longtime partner Johnnie Walker. He’ll probably try to pin the robbery of his favorite liquor store on Biden.

    I bet his daughter hasn’t spoken to him in years and never talks to him again.

  270. 270.

    Kay

    @Marcopolo:

    I listened to the Trump betrayer – the guy who worked for him and thinks he’s terrifyingly dumb- and I feel he misunderstands Trump. Donald wasn’t asking how hurricanes work because he’s a third grader.  He was talking, filling in space, because he doesn’t know anything and he thinks never shutting up covers that up. It’s just noise. He’s empty. The words fill up the space where knowing something should be. Could have been hurricanes, could have been anything. Doesn’t matter.

  271. 271.

    PJ

    @Anya: Harris was the obvious pick from the time it became clear Biden was going to be the nominee in mid-March.  (Not that it matters, but I called it here way back when, in the early years of 2020).  Just as Biden was the obvious pick – the one who almost always led in polls going into the primaries – when no one else got any real traction against Sanders.  At this point in this country’s history, at this inflection point, as she put it tonight, you don’t need to reach, you don’t need to pull out a wild card, if you want an electoral victory, you go for the sure thing.

    (NB: I was a Warren supporter up until mid-March.  I am fully on board with Biden/Harris.)

  272. 272.

    Anya

    @Ruckus: Sorry but I don’t agree with this. I like ALL of her ideas. I admire her and I want her to be the leader she is capable of becoming. Her not congratulating the first Black woman to be a major party’s vice presidential nominee is a huge oversight, at best, and at worst a petty move. And I thought she was above all that crap. Not gonna lie, her slight of Kamala hurt. It’s personal.

    I don’t even care about her endorsing Bernie. That’s on Bernie not her. She was just part of the rule. But she spent a whole week complaining about the short time of her speech when she perfectly knew what it was about and why. She even had the audacity to use a civil rights poem to signal her oppression.

    I am objecting to these things, not because I hate AOC, the opposite it true, but I am disappointed in these shenanigans. I expect better from her.

  276. 276.

    Anya

    I know I said goodnight but I am full of energy. I can’t sleep. I am going to do that adopt a state thing the O Bros are doing.

  278. 278.

    Kay

    Last week Pauline Henderson was shocked when she picked up a shipment of what was supposed to be 800 live chicks from her post office in New Sharon.
    Henderson, who owns and operates Pine Tree Poultry, a family farm and chicken meat processing facility that specializes in chicken pot pies, said all 800 chicks sent from a hatchery in Pennsylvania were dead.
    “We’ve never had a problem like this before,” said Henderson, who has been running her farm for five years and regularly receives shipments of live birds.
    “Usually they arrive every three weeks like clockwork,” she said Wednesday. “And out of 100 birds you may have one or two that die in shipping.”

    The baby chick deliveries are kind of a cherished tradition in rural post offices. This has been going on for a hundred years and it always worked prior to Donald Trump and his low quality employees destroying everything they touch.

  279. 279.

    West of the Rockies

    I can only imagine what themes next week’s Republican Convention will include…

    Everybody is picking on us!

    Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!

    Scary brown people gonna get us!

    Homosexuals are ruining society…

    Bibles ‘n’ guns–fuck, yeah!

    Did we mention that everybody is picking on us!

  280. 280.

    Heywood J.

    @Kay: Yes, this exactly. Trump has always — and I mean as far back as the 1980s, but of course he’s much worse now — struck me as someone who is uncomfortable with silence, and probably does not like being alone.

    Because then it’s just him and his thoughts, and he doesn’t have thoughts, he has his dopey Wile E. Coyote schemes and empty vainglory, and the crushing knowledge that his father was right, he’s a worthless sack of shit.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more miserable, insecure, needy person in my entire life.

  285. 285.

    jl

    I think Harris gave a very good speech, and parts of it, particularly delivery, got into Obama territory. Though Obama gave one of the greatest speeches of his life tonight, so many comparisons will be unfair in that respect.

    Harris was one of my top two choices in the primary. I think among the candidates labeled as a moderate, she was the real deal in terms of policy. I think she was the only ‘moderate’ (only moderate by today’s terms, in the past she would have been very liberal) who laid out any clear details of how her a relatively moderate approach could be used to get big policy improvements. But, she bobbled on health care policy for too long, among other things. Taking too long to shore up her policy allowed various BS issues that the media is obsessed with to harm her campaign.

  286. 286.

    jl

    @Kay: Biden got stronger as the campaign and the debates went on, and continues to do so. Not sure what some of his problems were early on. Yips from knowledge this was his last run? Needed time to rethink his campaign message after early weaknesses?

    Whatever… seems to be over now.

  287. 287.

    Kattails

    @Kay: That’s ghastly. For contrast: When I kept chickens many years ago, my very first order, through the mail– the local postmaster called the house and said “You have a package here, it’s peeping”. I can’t comprehend the absolute brutishness of what this is coming down to. In the spring here–the local agricultural store–always large troughs with heat lamps and adorable fluffy chicks and baby ducks.

    Bastards.

  289. 289.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Adam L Silverman:

    If any of his family actually cared about him, they’d get him help.

    That statement applies equally to Trump.

    Hopefully, sometime after November, Trump and Giuliani will end up in either the same psych ward or the same cell block.

  290. 290.

    PJ

    @Kay: I got into a discussion with a postal employee at my local post office sometime in the last year about the proper rate to be charged for some items I was sending (it seemed to me the rate had gone up inordinately), and I was amused to discover, and mention to the employee, the special rate for “day-old poultry”: https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm#ep184002

    (Please note that day-old pheasants are only mailable during April through August.  Also, “scorpions are mailable only when sent for the purposes of medical research use or the manufacture of antivenin,” but mailing baby alligators is a-ok so long as they are under 20 inches long and don’t smell inordinately.)

  294. 294.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jl:

    Biden got stronger as the campaign and the debates went on, and continues to do so. Not sure what some of his problems were early on. Yips from knowledge this was his last run? Needed time to rethink his campaign message after early weaknesses?

    You and I watched a different primary. The internet Left and several big name primary candidates learned the wrong lessons from 2016 and more or less blanked on the lessons of 2018. Joe Biden ran as Obama’s heir, as Obama’s third term, as the Defender of Obama’s Legacy/ObamaCare. I don’t think it was a brilliant strategy, I think it was just who Biden was/is. The demographics of the Iowa and NH Dem contests, and NV being a caucus skewed a lot of expectations (with the caveat/confession that everything seems inevitable once it’s happened. He benefited from racism and misogyny, and the fear of those things among Dem primary voters, but he also benefited from not think twitter accurately represents….. well, anything, except maybe Bernie supporters.

  296. 296.

    PJ

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Biden’s unbrilliant strategy won.  What does that say about the strategies of the other geniuses?  Biden’s campaign was centered around defeating Trump, when the other competitors were arguing about the details of health care plans that would never make it past Mitch McConnell (or Joe Manchin, for that matter.)  I do know that Biden won in large part because of African-American support, which none of his competitors had in any significant degree, and which Biden accrued in part because he was a loyal VP to Biden, but also because he had built up a strong connection to black politicians and voters over nearly 50 years.  How did the racist and misogynist vote put Biden over the top?  Were the racists and misogynists not going to vote for the guy who came in second, the other old white guy?

    ETA: I know that any woman or person of color that runs for office has a disadvantage against any white guy due to the biases of the electorate.  Given that, I still don’t think anyone else could have competed over the long haul without black support, which went overwhelmingly towards Biden (who also got a lot of Hispanic support – Bernie’s comments about Castro did him no favors.)

  300. 300.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @PJ:

    Bidens’ unbrilliant strategy won.  What does that say about the strategies of the other geniuses?

    that was kind of my point

    How did the racist and misogynist vote put Biden over the top?

    That’s not what I said. We’ll never be able to quantify how sexism and racism hurt Warren and Harris, who had money and enthusiasm and (in different ways) charisma, but I think they did. I also think they hurt themselves by not looking at ’18 instead of ’16. “AOC” and the Squad didn’t flip the House, Lauren Underwood and Max Rose and Sharice Davids and Connor Lamb and Zachary Allred and Abigail Spanberger and Lucy McBath and Jason Crow did. Harris and Warren went all in on (among other things) BernieCare. That’s not where the party was, much less the broader electorate. Also, it’s often observed, and an observation I find persuasive even if it’s the kind of thing you can’t really poll, that a lot of Black voters in 2020 felt that they couldn’t trust white people to not be racist, so they supported Biden. I know in meatspace two (white) women who said early after 2016 that we needed a white guy to beat trump. Maybe that’s true, maybe it isn’t, but it’s what we’ve got.

  301. 301.

    NoraLenderbee

    Biden wasn’t my first choice either and  I am 100% behind him and I’ll crawl over broken glass to vote for him now. Kamala may not be the second coming of Wonder Woman and I couldn’t care less and I’ll crawl over glass for her, too.  HRC is our rightful President and SHE is 100% behind the Biden/Harris ticket and everyone else can damn well get behind it too. People need to stop fucking fighting the battles of 2016 and 2008 and 1792 and fucking DO IT RIGHT NOW.

    (ahem) Thank you for your time.

  302. 302.

    Marcopolo

    Heading off to bed but let me leave y’all with this happy news:

    Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa tells Texas Democrats at a breakfast Zoom call that of the 20 Texas House seats Ds have targeted this cycle, internal polling shows they are leading in 18 of them. Texas Democrats need 9 seats in order to retake the majority.— Jeremy Wallace (@JeremySWallace) August 19, 2020

    Flipping the Texas State House on Nov. 3 would be a big effing deal (like 3rd after winning the Presidency & flipping the US Senate). It would keep Rs from gerrymandering the hell out of the 2nd most populous state for the 2020s. Also, flipping the legislature is the precursor to flipping the 2 US Senate seats, assuming MJ Hegar falls short in Nov.–though there is a slim chance for her to win.

  304. 304.

    Jay Noble

    @PJ: Look a little deeper and you’ll find that you could mail babies and toddlers via the post office.

  306. 306.

    Redshift

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    Fox News creep Brit Hume is calling Biden senile. 

    If this is what’s coming down through whatever communication channel gets conservative public figures to all parrot the same talking points, it means they still haven’t figured out anything better against Biden. Which is really good news, if true.

    Launching this the day before Biden’s acceptance speech guarantees it will only resonate with their hardcore base that watches their manipulated videos. It won’t gain them anyone new.

  307. 307.

    RaflW

    GW Bush was a disastrous president. But it’s just eating Orangemandias alive that Obama went out there and gave this speech, and GWB probably won’t even take Trump’s call.

  308. 308.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @TS (the original): I am SO tired of him asking guests about the RNC making Hunter Biden the issue,  It seems like he is really pushing the idea through his “concern”.

  309. 309.

    RaflW

    @juliaioffe
    With the necessary caveat that there’s still a lot that we don’t know, the fact that Alexey Navalny, the only real leader of the Russian opposition, is allegedly poisoned just as Putin deliberates what to do with the protests in #Belarus sure is a funny coincidence.
    12:35am · Aug 20

  310. 310.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: We watched the same primary but reach different conclusions. I think you have to have a balance between supporting the Obama administration’s accomplishments, and looking ahead, and importance of adapting the policies to new problems.

    I think Biden put too much emphasis on the former at the beginning

    One thing that limited Sanders appeal is that he put far too much emphasis on the latter, and in ways that seemed to be implicit criticisms of Obama. I think Biden got the right balance by the end of the competitive primaries when everyone was still campaigning.

  312. 312.

    patrick II

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    The secret headliner will be Q, who will reveal his secret identity and nominate Donald Trump for president. Trump will thank him and tell Q to carry on his fight against sexual perversion and black people in high office.

  313. 313.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    It’s a pretty slim schedule, only about 12 speakers over 3 nights.

    I’d be surprised if any Republican from any ticket of the century shows up. Ditto any swing-staters up for re-election. Lindsey’s a given, and the 2024 wannabes– Cruz, Rubio, Cotton, Haley, Hawyly, are all but a given. He’s got the Covington kid and the boozy pepper-pot gun nuts from St Louis. Give him another week to invite guests, and we’re looking at the Republican National Convention redone as CPAC.

  314. 314.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Nikki Haley is a scheduled speaker.

    Here’s the list:

    • Abby Johnson
    • Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa)
    • Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
    • House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.)
    • Patricia and Mark McCloskey
    • South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
    • Vice President Mike Pence
    • Andrew Pollack
    • Nick Sandmann
    • Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.)
    • President Donald Trump
    • First Lady Melania Trump
  315. 315.

    Martin

    Things in CA starting to look more dire. There’s about 350 fires in the state, almost all are burning out of control. CalFire has admitted they have no resources to fight them. Our army has been inmate firefighters and they all have covid.

    They’re evacuating Travis AFB, and when we start evacuating the military, well, that’s a bad sign. CalFire has asked everyone in the state to be prepared for evacuation. Some of that is just ‘be prepared’ but its coming off a bit worse – as if they don’t know how they’re going to get on top of this.

    SoCal is looking okay – Apple fire nearly fully contained (it started weeks ago) and Lake fire about ⅓ contained which probably means the side threatening the public. But the LNU lightning fire is 124K acres with no containment (north of Napa in the mountains – hard to fight) and the SCU lightning fire is 100K acres and 5% contained (east of San Jose in the mountains – also hard to fight).

  317. 317.

    Origuy

    @Martin: I’m about 2 miles away from the SCU evacuation zone. I don’t expect to have to go, though. The line was drawn far away from where the fires are active, but it’s on the last street before it gets hilly. I was outside earlier and it’s not as smoky as it was this afternoon.

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