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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

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

Let there be snark.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

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

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

No one could have predicted…

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You are here: Home / Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Open Thread: Don’t Let Them Grind You Down

Open Thread: Don’t Let Them Grind You Down

by TaMara|  September 22, 202011:00 pm| 100 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, Election 2020, Open Threads

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In Western Michigan, Marshall Stern was getting frustrated by people constantly vandalizing #BidenHarris2020 signs.

So he raised $4K & put up a billboard.

"OK, you're gonna steal my yard signs? Steal this one. Good luck!" ??? #DemCastMIhttps://t.co/U3JrBQRkGJ

— Nick Knudsen ?? (@DemWrite) September 22, 2020

“I wanted to find a way to turn this into something positive,” he said. “Rather than feeling angry and ripped off, I just kind of thought in my head that every sign that they took, Biden’s gonna get 10,000 votes. And I wasn’t sure how that was gonna happen. But then we were driving down the road and I saw these empty billboards.”

====

Open Thread: Don't Let Them Grind You Down

He called the company and discovered political signs cost more than he could afford. On a whim, he started a GoFundMe to see if others may be on board, posting it to local and regional political Facebook groups.

And they were. In three days, Stern got enough for one billboard. Floored by the response, he aimed for another billboard and soon enough, Stern met his $3,800 mark.

====

“Each sign that was stolen, I said I would have 10,000 votes. I don’t know if we’ll get the votes but (we’ll get) the views. People driving by my my property, maybe it would have been seen a few hundred times,” he said. “But between the two (billboards) until Election Day, that means half a million views.”

Open thread

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Previous Post: « Come on, come on down
Next Post: No I’m Not Buying a God Damned Gun Stop Emailing Me »

Reader Interactions

100Comments

  1. 1.

    Sally

    September 22, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    Wow! People are fired up! Good for you, and thank you, Mr. Stern!

  2. 2.

    Benw

    September 22, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Damn, Marshall Stern is rad

  3. 3.

    Sally

    September 22, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    This is the ultimate “don’t get mad, get even”! I love it.

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    September 22, 2020 at 11:08 pm

    Reminds of what Jaime Harrison said on the Hayes program, about Lindsey Graham: “He can’t drive anywhere in this state without seeing this big round head staring down at him”

  5. 5.

    Ruckus

    September 22, 2020 at 11:09 pm

    Way to go Marshall Stern!

    It’s interesting, I wonder how many trump signs get torn down?

    If their candidate is so good why are they afraid of a few yard signs, such that they have to steal and destroy them? Is it maybe that they actually realize what a shit he is and how badly he’s hopefully going to be beaten?

  6. 6.

    TaMara (HFG)

    September 22, 2020 at 11:09 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I heard that and just LOVED it.

  7. 7.

    The Golux

    September 22, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    If we come out on the right side of this (and I think we will), it’s still going to be a hard slog to set things right.

    Courage, comrades!

  8. 8.

    sanjeevs

    September 22, 2020 at 11:15 pm

    Kennedy told the outlet that the team was also directed to prioritize requests from Trump’s friends and supporters, including “special attention” for Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who demanded masks for a hospital she favored.

    https://www.salon.com/2020/09/22/whistleblower-on-jared-kushners-covid-task-force-says-he-was-told-to-fudge-death-data-model/

  9. 9.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    September 22, 2020 at 11:17 pm

    Cindy McCain is going to actively campaign for/with Biden, also

    Ben Jacobs@Bencjacobs· 26m
    “Ms. McCain, asked whether she would support Ms. McSally, who has consistently trailed in the polls behind Mark Kelly, the Democratic challenger, flatly said no. ‘I have no interest in it,’ she said.

    ETA: Looks like McSally is toast anyway, but that’s another piece of humiliation, which McSally richly deserves

  10. 10.

    Kent

    September 22, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    Brings me back to 2008 when we lived in a red suburb of Waco and were getting our Obama08 signs stolen.  I made some metal ones and set them on metal posts and that solved the problem which was likely just local HS kids.

    A couple of houses down we had a black neighbor who put up about 25 of them along with about 5 motion detector lights around the perimeter.  Every time anyone got close on the sidewalk his yard lit up like a landing zone.

    Our neighborhood was always flooded by trick or treaters every Halloween because it was one of the few with sidewalks and people came from all over.  I remember my neighbor set up a table with treats at the end of his driveway and sat out there all night guarding his signs as the trick or treaters walked by with their parents.  He was badass.  An ex-NFL linebacker and all around great guy that I also taught HS with.  There was no damned way anyone was gonna mess with his signs.

  11. 11.

    Kay

    September 22, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    My daughter took the online training to text people for Biden. She’s doing Pennsylvania. Not all of it of course :)

  12. 12.

    Kent

    September 22, 2020 at 11:19 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Way to go Marshall Stern!

    It’s interesting, I wonder how many trump signs get torn down?

    If their candidate is so good why are they afraid of a few yard signs, such that they have to steal and destroy them? Is it maybe that they actually realize what a shit he is and how badly he’s hopefully going to be beaten?

    The proper way to dispose of a Trump sign is to sink it in the lake along with the $50,000 boat that it is on.  Apparently they are good at that.

  13. 13.

    Formica

    September 22, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    White nationalists, alt right, racists, and police, all participants in what appears to be a Russian intelligence operation. Making America Great Again. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/idaho-family-portland-trump-rally/2020/09/21/246ef878-f2e5-11ea-b796-2dd09962649c_story.html

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    September 22, 2020 at 11:22 pm

    I love this story

  15. 15.

    Mallard Filmore

    September 22, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

     

    “Ms. McCain, asked whether she would support Ms. McSally, who has consistently trailed in the polls behind Mark Kelly, the Democratic challenger, flatly said no. ‘I have no interest in it,’

    So Ms McCain has no problem with snatching babies from refugees and the child abuse. No Republican on Capitol Hill stepped up to try and stop it. She is closing her eyes to the Republicans involved with 200,000+ dead.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    September 22, 2020 at 11:28 pm

    @Kay:

    She’s doing Pennsylvania. Not all of it of course :)

    slacker!  :-)

  17. 17.

    Chetan Murthy

    September 22, 2020 at 11:28 pm

    @Mallard Filmore: Satan, House of Commons, a kind word.  We need her until Nov 4.

  18. 18.

    Chetan Murthy

    September 22, 2020 at 11:32 pm

    @Mallard Filmore: I read her answer as “I have no interest in supporting McSally”.  Don’t know if she was asked whether she supports Kelly.  But sure, I’ll bet she doesn’t wanna visit the many GrOPer policies and ideas that got us to this place.  She just wants The Orange Embarrassment gone.  Sure.  Nov 4.  Nov 4.

  19. 19.

    Mai Naem mobile

    September 22, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/09/19/hundreds-arizona-republicans-biden-signs-stolen-defaced/5821317002/

    I just read this story in the AZ Republic earlier this evening about signs by AZ Republicans for Biden being vandalized or stolen. They’re so damn confident of their Orange DBag winning aren’t they?  I saw the Biden billboard on the main freeway in Phx and didn’t realize it was an AZ Republicans for Biden till this weekend. It’s one of tthose massive hard to miss electronic billboards. I don’t think I have ever seen a Dem Presidential candidate run a billboard sign like that in Phx.

  20. 20.

    Quinerly

    September 22, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    Love him or hate him, Carville laying it out on MSNBC right now.

  21. 21.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    September 22, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    @Ruckus:

    It’s interesting, I wonder how many trump signs get torn down?

    On the Ring app, someone posted an alert that their Trump signs has been stolen here in Glendale(they posted a pic and they also had a Trump flag).  The best comment to their post was, “Maybe you should build a big beautiful wall…”.

  22. 22.

    VeniceRiley

    September 22, 2020 at 11:36 pm

    I like the cut or Mr. Stern’s jib!

  23. 23.

    Mallard Filmore

    September 22, 2020 at 11:38 pm

    @Chetan Murthy:

     

    We need her until Nov 4.

    Quite true, but it has been obvious for some time that the problem is not limited to Trump.

    The thing that enrages me the most about comments here on BJ is the suggestion that Trump will not go to jail. That may be the reality, but some in the GOP need to go up against the wall or our elections will devolve into simply one criminal gang fighting another. Like elections are in some shit-hole countries.

  24. 24.

    dmsilev

    September 22, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I saw a house here in Pasadena with a Trump/Pence sign out front a couple of months ago, and my first thought was ‘those people have just won the local social distancing championship’.

  25. 25.

    piratedan

    September 22, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    @Mallard Filmore: at this point I’m not going to vette people who wish to support us in ridding us of the current administration.

    Would a spine or some outrage be welcome, yes… will I accept them not actively working against us to give the other side a patina of respectability, yeah, I’ll take that too.

    Let win first, and tbh, I think we all have bigger fish to fry than Cindy McCain.  The fact that she’ going public and on all three major non-propaganda outlets is a big deal.

  26. 26.

    Chetan Murthy

    September 22, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    @Mallard Filmore:

    but some in the GOP need to go up against the wall or our elections will devolve into simply one criminal gang fighting another.

    He may not go to jail.  But every single enabler and underling who was a part of this shit, needs to go to jail.  Pour encourager les autres.  And then claw back every dollar of ill-gotten gains from him and all his spawn.  Civil asset forfeiture, let ’em prove it wasn’t ill-gotten.  Fuckers.

    Why the FUCK should we pay our taxes, when these fuckers steal everything not nailed-down (and they’ve got the jackhammers on order) ?

  27. 27.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    September 22, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    @dmsilev: These folk had several signs and a big ass flag on a flagpole.  The video they posted showed two young women removing the signs(it was night and in IR).

  28. 28.

    Mallard Filmore

    September 22, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    @piratedan: I agree with you.  On some things I am a purity pony, like when it comes to torturing children.

    Their damnation can wait a few months.

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    September 22, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ll send thoughts-and-prayers(tm).

  30. 30.

    piratedan

    September 22, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    @Mallard Filmore: same, I would much rather see folks like Miller and the ICE staff do some serious time, not just the policy writers, but those folks that fecklessly implemented it.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    September 22, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    Heartening anecdotes like this tell me that The Force is strong with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

  32. 32.

    Other MJS

    September 22, 2020 at 11:51 pm

    I was one of Marshall’s improv students back in the day. The dude has imagination.

  33. 33.

    Kay

    September 22, 2020 at 11:52 pm

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    They’re so damn confident of their Orange DBag winning aren’t they?

    Well, they are, that’s true but you’ll notice not one of them even predicts he’ll get a majority of votes. It’s always some combination of a freakish 10,000 here and 5000 there so he ekes out an electoral college win. That’s the height of GOP aspirations now – “we know most people will never vote for us but we don’t care. You’ll get our shitty, bottom of the barrel President whether you like it or not”. That’s the absolute best case- they manage to drag him over the finish line. “Trump nation” my ass. They’re frantically blocking votes. People who are confident they’re popular and winning don’t block votes, because they assume they’ll block some of their own voters by doing that. That’s no longer even a consideration in the GOP – the whole plan relies on subtraction.

  34. 34.

    Regine Touchon

    September 22, 2020 at 11:54 pm

    @Kay: I texted today too. Iowa, Florida and Texas. A strange mix of states. Positive vibes for the most part.

  35. 35.

    Ruckus

    September 22, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    @Kent:

    Yes they are. I actually meant opposition signs but your point is good. I know that a lot of people are republicans because they just are, parents might have been but they have been all their lives. I know a 93 yr old woman who probably will vote for trump, probably did 4 yrs ago, because he had that word, republican, behind his name. She has never voted for a democrat, I’d bet money she is not starting now.

  36. 36.

    Jay

    September 22, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    This is a fascinating story about a police officer in Atlanta who says the police and real estate developers were (are?) conspiring to gentrify a neighborhood by getting its Section 8 tenants evicted with bullshit felonies https://t.co/oO61GeACtE— noah kulwin (@nkulw) September 21, 2020

  37. 37.

    Kay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:00 am

    Do the Trump supporters ever wonder about that at the rallies? If he’s so wonderful why is he telling them his new SCOTUS judge will have to put an order in to seat him? Why would it even be that close when according to Donald Trump and his awful family they’re all so wildly popular? To listen to them and the rest of the low quality hires they should be confidently anticipating a landslide and yet all they talk about is litigation. These are not confident people! No other candidate in my lifetime has spent all his time telling the public the only possible way he’ll “win” is if a judge intervenes. It’s bizarre.

  38. 38.

    Ruckus

    September 23, 2020 at 12:02 am

    @dmsilev:

    No kidding. What normal human, or even abnormal human wants to be around someone who supports pure shit walking?

  39. 39.

    Ruckus

    September 23, 2020 at 12:05 am

    @Kay:

    It’s bizarre.

    What has anything to do with shitforbrains isn’t bizarre?

    My calculator says zero not bizarre.

  40. 40.

    Ruckus

    September 23, 2020 at 12:11 am

    @Kay:

    the whole plan relies on subtraction.

    My feeling is that the republican party has relied on subtraction for decades. They, and a lot of the MSM have played the horrible and negative card for a very long time. The have had good reason to do so before now, a dramatic amount of their candidates have been shit for as long as I can remember, and I can remember my favorite shirt from 1953. Not all democrats have been angels for sure but name me two good republican politicians going back my 71 yrs.

  41. 41.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:14 am

    ?NEW: For 2 years, I have been working on a massive, global financial investigation w/my @BuzzFeedNews colleagues based on secret US govt docs we shared w/@ICIJ, internal bank records & intvs w/100s of sources. Here's Day 1 #FinCENFiles https://t.co/YnOOE3bMdG1/— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) September 20, 2020

  42. 42.

    Anya

    September 23, 2020 at 12:15 am

    Someone should tell Trump the Constitution does’t specify any particular professional or educational requirements for serving as a Supreme Court justice. He can then take the Trumpian corruption and self dealing to another level and nominate his repulsive daughter.

  43. 43.

    TS (the original)

    September 23, 2020 at 12:17 am

    @Ruckus:

    My feeling is that the republican party has relied on subtraction for decades.

    I just remember 2008 when folks in Florida queued for 7-8 hours to vote. The TV reporting the results was showing people still in line.

    Given I complained once that I had to queue for 20 minutes, I couldn’t believe what Florida did to limit the ability of people to vote.

  44. 44.

    Mallard Filmore

    September 23, 2020 at 12:18 am

    @Ruckus:

     

    name me two good republican politicians going back my 71 yrs.

    I have one:
    https://npg.si.edu/blog/everett-dirksen-forgotten-civil-rights-champion

    Trying to dredge up another.

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    September 23, 2020 at 12:18 am

    @Kay: It’s tribal.  I keep remembering stories of Donnie’s Glorious Rallies and the audience being bored or looking on dumbfounded or shocked at how ridiculous he sounds.

    But they’ll all vote for him.  Because their tribe will vote for him.

    [ NewYorker cartoon of people sitting around a fire with their sparrows and curtain rods ]

    “Remember back in 20 when we went to that Trump rally?  Yeah, he was crazy.  But there’s no way I could ever vote for a Democrat…”

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  46. 46.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:19 am

    @Kay:

    Let’s consider your age to begin with — how old are you?’

    ‘I’m seven and a half exactly.’

    ‘You needn’t say “exactually,”’ the Queen remarked: ‘I can believe it without that. Now I’ll give you something to believe. I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.’

    ‘I can’t believe that!’ said Alice.

    ‘Can’t you?’ the Queen said in a pitying tone. ‘Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.’

    Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said: ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’

    ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

    Cognitive Dissidence as a Pre-Existing Condition is a basic ReThug requirement.

  47. 47.

    Ruckus

    September 23, 2020 at 12:25 am

    @Mallard Filmore:

    I was thinking D. Eisenhower.

    So we are up to 2 now.

    @TS (the original):

    I waited 4 hrs in line to vote in OH in 2004. Fucking Ken Blackwell had taken out half the machines and combined 2 polling places in the more liberal area of Columbus OH that I lived in. I stood outside in the rain for 3 of those hours. I saw people leave, pissed off because they had to go to work. I did too but said fuck it I’m voting. Hell it might have snowed in the evening.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:26 am

    BTW, the FinCen thing, hundreds of billions in criminal money laundering, including into elections, ignored by the Fed,

    Deuche Bank is #1 with a bullet.

  49. 49.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:28 am

    The Seattle City Council just overrided the Mayor's veto, beginning the defunding of the Seattle police.We're winning.To everyone who says that rioting was counterproductive, you can eat my whole anarchist ass.You can't argue with results.❤️?✊ https://t.co/huHzWHcWEV— AntiFash Gorgon (@AntiFashGordon) September 23, 2020

  50. 50.

    Mallard Filmore

    September 23, 2020 at 12:30 am

    @Ruckus: I was reluctant to count Eisenhower since he did not rise through the ranks of other lowly politicians, wheeling and dealing.  But I have no problem with including him in a list of three.

  51. 51.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:31 am

    The president on violent protesters: "Cans of tuna fish. They go out and buy tuna fish and soup. You know that, right?…Because they throw it. It's the perfect weight, tuna fish, they can really rip it, right? And that hits you. No, it's true. Bumble Bee brand tuna."— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 23, 2020

  52. 52.

    Mai Naem mobile

    September 23, 2020 at 12:35 am

    @Mallard Filmore: I don’t think either of the McCains were mouth breathing teabaggers.  I think Cindy thought John McCain was her ticket to the WH and I think John McCain thought her money would help him get there but the domestic  politics were until the last few years just positions to get him reelected. I think Cindy is  unhappy with McSally because McSally didn’t defend John McCain enough. I don’t like McSally but I don’t think she’s a teabagger either. She just can’t get through a GOP primary without acting like one. Her congressional district was considered a solid purple district.

  53. 53.

    H.E.Wolf

    September 23, 2020 at 12:38 am

    My non carborundum illegitimi efforts today:

    I mailed 12 postcards for GOTV in North Carolina, and picked up 12 addresses for Jon Ossoff’s campaign in Georgia. I do them in installments when I have a free minute, so it takes me the entire 3-day time allowance to complete them, but they add up. http://PostcardsToVoters.org

    I put on my Database Nerd hat, and sorted out a bunch of new volunteer sign-ups for the state Dems. The daily average is in the healthy double digits; mostly folks who haven’t volunteered for this org. before, which is excellent news.

    And I made muffins, and shared them. With a Democrat. :)

  54. 54.

    Ian

    September 23, 2020 at 12:39 am

    @Mallard Filmore:

    I think you may be misreading that.  She said she would not endorse the R candidate.

    Now how much active campaigning she will do against them? Not much, probably.  But she does not seem to be one of the crazies.

  55. 55.

    HumboldtBlue

    September 23, 2020 at 12:42 am

    @Jay:

    Wow

  56. 56.

    mrmoshpotato

    September 23, 2020 at 12:45 am

    @Anya: No.  No one should tell him that, because the Russthuglican trash in the Senate would confirm her.

  57. 57.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:47 am

    6 yrs later and it still feels like déjà vu.Ferguson officials traumatized the community with boarded up windows, security gates and curfews weeks before the DA announced he would not be indicting Darren Wilson. They agitated before inciting with more injustice. #BreonnaTaylor— ashley yates (@brownblaze) September 22, 2020

    And instead of prepping to hold the cops and the judge who issued the warrant responsible, they’d rather declare a state of emergency ahead of the incoming decision. Perhaps if they don’t want to fear protests and/or riots, they should practice accountability instead. https://t.co/BdjuetdHI2— Catherine | ? TLOU2 SPOILERS ? (@Caterfree10) September 22, 2020

  58. 58.

    TS (the original)

    September 23, 2020 at 12:50 am

    @Jay:

    It’s the perfect weight tuna fish

    Does he write this stuff himself – surely no-one else is this stupid.

    Meanwhile I went to the tweet & in the replies learned about Jimmy Carter’s rabbit

  59. 59.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 12:53 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    yup, shit loads of money laundering, the usual suspects, familiar names, UK Elections, US Elections bought,

    shit loads of White Collar Crime, robbing our societies of health, wealth and democracy,

    and the Feds just ignored it and buried the docs.

  60. 60.

    Mai Naem mobile

    September 23, 2020 at 12:53 am

    @Ruckus: Jacob Javits, Margaret Chase Smith, Lowell Weicker(don’t know if he counts), Earl Warren.

  61. 61.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    September 23, 2020 at 1:08 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: Pete McCloskey, though he became a Dem in 2007.

  62. 62.

    Citizen Alan

    September 23, 2020 at 1:10 am

    @Mallard Filmore: George Romney. America would be a better place by every conceivable metric if he’d become president instead of Nixon. Which is why it’s doubly maddening that his son has brought such shame on their family name.

  63. 63.

    cain

    September 23, 2020 at 1:14 am

    @Another Scott: 
    I think we have to really understand this bit because to not vote Trump or support him could possibly mean your safety net, your support system all could go away because you aren’t part of the tribe anymore – that could be a scary thing to consider especially if you live in a small town.

  64. 64.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 1:16 am

    @TS (the original):

    free association. A functioning brain stuck in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, would have gone with Starkist.

    Bumblebee shows that his brain was already fried by then.

  65. 65.

    dogwood

    September 23, 2020 at 1:17 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: Since Cindy McCain never lived in Washington and rarely spent time there, I doubt she was looking for a ticket to the White House but,  John definitely saw her money as a ticket to a political career.  Living in the White House ain’t all that pleasant.  Clinton called it “the crown jewel of the federal prison system.  By 2008, I don’t think the McCains were actually living together all that much.  She was in her favorite of the 7 homes in California.  So once the disappointment of losing an election wore off, I suspect she was happy to go back to her life of luxury and privacy.

  66. 66.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 1:22 am

    @cain:

    it’s a secret vote, so no,….

    one can be “apolitical”, feigning support for policies and positions, with out being a full on raving Trumpist.

    The social support networks can be maintained, unless the support networks demand full on feral mouth spittle,

    So how much “support” does one get when “your issues/problems”, come second to a performative rant supporting Il Douche?

  67. 67.

    JaySinWA

    September 23, 2020 at 1:24 am

    @TS (the original): Float like a butterfly, sting like a (Bumble) bee. Of course bumble bees don’t sting humans but canned Bumblebee is just the ticket.

  68. 68.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 1:29 am

    Police in Georgia killed another person today. For those keeping count at home, that's at LEAST 70 times so far in 2020 that police have shot civilians, requiring GBI to investigate. Have you read or seen stories about all 70? No? That's cause it's business as usual. pic.twitter.com/gKHU9M4UnR— Hannah Riley (@hannahcrileyy) September 21, 2020

  69. 69.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 1:36 am

    This is 14 year old Saraya Rees. On July 8, 2019 she had a mental health episode and the pediatrician called the wellness center for help, they sent the police. She was arrested and charged with attempted murder and has been in juvenile prison serving an 11 year sentence since pic.twitter.com/de3KTXQTBc— Olayemi, Esq. (@msolurin) September 21, 2020

  70. 70.

    HumboldtBlue

    September 23, 2020 at 1:37 am

    Interesting read from Simon Barnicle on how the Democrats could actually change the political dramatically by creating new states.

  71. 71.

    Jay

    September 23, 2020 at 1:46 am

    It's insane to me how protected cops are when they're on admin leave for misconduct. They're essentially in cop witness protection. I can't access them. They won't talk about an open investigation. Prosecutors strike them as witnesses. What a glamorous life of no accountability.— Prya Murad (@defendermurad) September 20, 2020

  72. 72.

    James E Powell

    September 23, 2020 at 1:51 am

    @Ruckus:

    Harry Blackmun is the only one who comes to mind. There may have been a stray senator or member of congress who wasn’t a complete a hole, but I can’t think of any.

  73. 73.

    The Lodger

    September 23, 2020 at 1:59 am

    @James E Powell: I can put in a good word for Mark Hatfield and Tom McCall, but they ain’t making Republicans like that anymore.

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    September 23, 2020 at 2:00 am

    Well we’re up to what 4 or 5 now? In 7 decades, 5.

    Fucking pathetic. Not us, conservatives. Hell, in my lifetime a bunch of democrats were fucking assholes as well.

  75. 75.

    prostratedragon

    September 23, 2020 at 2:00 am

    @Mallard Filmore:  Was thinking about Dirksen, because of his civil rights support. Percy and Javits weren’t bad, and Mark Hatfield. Eisenhower was easily the best GOP President of my lifetime –maybe the only pretty fair one since TR– though growing up I always thought I’d vote for Stevenson. (Stuns me to realize that Truman was still finishing his last term when I was born. I’m old.)

  76. 76.

    smike

    September 23, 2020 at 2:05 am

    @JaySinWA:

    Of course bumble bees don’t sting humans…

    Au contraire, kind sir/madam/other. At a young age I ended up with bumble bees down the back of my shirt. They were not amused.

  77. 77.

    prostratedragon

    September 23, 2020 at 2:07 am

    @Jay:  So now some humble grocery shopper is going to be harassed by some goober for buying a few inexpensive meals.

  78. 78.

    joel hanes

    September 23, 2020 at 2:08 am

    @Ruckus: 

    name me two good republican politicians going back my 71 yrs

    George Romney was a mensch. Read his Wikipedia bio.

    Jim Leach was so straightforwardly honest that the most liberal district in Iowa sent him back to Congress again and again. Unfortunately, he was also more than a bit naive: got rolled on Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and then the Tea Party jihadis primaried him out for being insufficiently scummy.

    I think there might be two more, but my memory isn’t what it once was. Tom Campbell wasn’t a villian, IIRC.

  79. 79.

    joel hanes

    September 23, 2020 at 2:13 am

    @Citizen Alan:

    The shame the Romney family should feel over Mitt only amplified by the shame and horror they should experience when thinking of Ronna.

  80. 80.

    frosty

    September 23, 2020 at 2:19 am

    @Ruckus: Bill Scranton, PA Governor. Mac Mathias. MD Senator. We’re going back a few years, but it’s still inside your timeline. Both of them better than the Ds Ed Rendell (PA) and Parris Glendening (MD).

  81. 81.

    prostratedragon

    September 23, 2020 at 2:27 am

    So there are more than two, but when you look at the actual numbers that group does seem like an accident.

    (Ed Rendell — shudder! growl!)

  82. 82.

    Amir Khalid

    September 23, 2020 at 2:35 am

    It is now 23rd September, and I wish Bruce Springsteen a happy 71st birthday.

  83. 83.

    Sloane Ranger

    September 23, 2020 at 3:06 am

    @Chetan Murthy: I’ve just got up so I had to think about this before the penny dropped. Well played, well played.

  84. 84.

    Kathleen

    September 23, 2020 at 3:47 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: Mark Cohen. Mark Hatfield.

  85. 85.

    Arclite

    September 23, 2020 at 4:22 am

    I’m never going to let them give me up.

    I’m never going to let them grind me down.

    I’m never going to let them run around and desert me.

  86. 86.

    Uncle Cosmo

    September 23, 2020 at 4:29 am

    @Mai Naem mobile: Charles “Mac” Mathias, US Senator from Maryland (1969-87). Only Republican I ever seriously considered voting for.

    (ETA: frosty got there first at #80.)

  87. 87.

    rikyrah

    September 23, 2020 at 5:14 am

    @Quinerly: 
    What did he say?

  88. 88.

    Bruuuuce

    September 23, 2020 at 6:20 am

    In most ways he was a typical GOP dick, but Rep Jack Kemp was strongly opposed to racism, probably a legacy from his time with the NFL. He may have been the very last nonracist Republican in existence, because there are none now.

  89. 89.

    Bruuuuce

    September 23, 2020 at 6:22 am

    @Amir Khalid: I will join you in that wish. He who inspired my nym is a hell of a storyteller and writer. Could have done more in the public sphere outside the arts, but that’s his business, and not something we could demand.

  90. 90.

    Matt McIrvin

    September 23, 2020 at 7:09 am

    @HumboldtBlue: Proposals of this type don’t convince me, and here’s why:

    The next party with the trifecta could blow up the joint permanently by creating, say, 200 temporary new states with a population of three (hand-picked loyal) people each, to be two Senators and a Representative, then using those new states to ram through arbitrary constitutional amendments. It’s a route to 100% legally converting the US to a one-party dictatorship or a monarchy or anything you want.

    Of course, it’d also destroy the US as it would remove all perceived legitimacy from the government. Which is why I can really only conceive of the Republicans doing this, and I’m kind of shocked they haven’t already.

    Now back to more realistic situations: even a gentler such scheme would already have a problem of people not considering it legitimate. From a Republican’s perspective, 3 new states is basically the same as 200.

    In fact, we already have a problem: Republicans do not consider rule by Democrats legitimate under any circumstances. And, increasingly, the reverse is also true because Republicans so clearly don’t give a shit about democracy and like to retain minority power through ridiculous trickery.

    So I’m not sure any trick like this is going to save us. Maybe nothing will.

  91. 91.

    Bex

    September 23, 2020 at 8:44 am

    @Anya: Agreed.  And he’s gotten most of the Senate Republicans to endorse the choice unseen (with hourly reminders from their paymasters) and they’ll have to put up or face some unpleasant music.

  92. 92.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 23, 2020 at 9:19 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Congress can’t just create new states from existing ones willy-nilly.  The states in question would have to agree.  Article 4, Section 3, says so.

  93. 93.

    TaMara (HFG)

    September 23, 2020 at 10:01 am

    @Other MJS: I’m glad I came back to check comments, just for this one. Wonderful.

  94. 94.

    brantl

    September 23, 2020 at 10:05 am

    @Mallard Filmore: Governor Bill Milliken, governor of Michigan. He was a damn nice guy, especially for a Republican.

  95. 95.

    brantl

    September 23, 2020 at 10:08 am

    @Ruckus: Eisenhower held his nose, and gave us DICK (and I do mean DICK) Nixon.

  96. 96.

    SFAW

    September 23, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @Ruckus:

    Fucking Ken Blackwell had taken out half the machines

    More than one area, if I recall, and they — coincidentally, no doubt — were all Dem areas. Thus likely stealing the EV win from Kerry. [Kerry still would have lost the popular vote.]

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    September 23, 2020 at 10:15 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Congress can’t just create new states from existing ones willy-nilly.  The states in question would have to agree.  Article 4, Section 3, says so.

    You lawyers and your quaint ideas  about the Constitution meaning anything these days. The Constitution is what Bill Barr says it is, with the rubber-stamp approval of the new improved SCOTUS.

    NB: No, don’t take my comment seriously, I’m just trolling you.

  98. 98.

    StringOnAStick

    September 23, 2020 at 10:33 am

    Did no one read the link Formica provided early in the thread? The convoy where the Magat ended up being shot and killed was organised by a Ukrainian immigrant who exhibited truly cartoonist tradecraft.  This is a clear Russian op, one hit and then shut it down.

    Thanks to Hollywood we think spy games are all Bond movies. What it really is is sending people here, letting them live a life much nicer than back in the home country but with the understanding that at any moment they may be handed a task perform.  That WaPo story is very clearly exactly that.

  99. 99.

    Formica

    September 23, 2020 at 11:15 am

    @StringOnAStick: Thanks. Hoping Adam picks it up. I appreciate the comment.

  100. 100.

    Bill Arnold

    September 23, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    @Jay:
    If it helps to elect Republicans, the people doing it are fascists or at least big-government authoritarians.

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