Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Consistently wrong since 2002

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

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

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Everybody saw this coming.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

If you’re looking for someone who’s young and athletic, go watch a fucking movie.

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

You are here: Home / Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Yes. They Really Are Assholes.

Yes. They Really Are Assholes.

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Did what amounts to a symbolic bit of electioneering today–a lit drop in Salem, NH. I haven’t been nearly as active-on-the-streets as I usually am, for a variety of reasons; it’s been money and a bit of post-carding for me.

So this was my first real on-the-ground experience outside the Brookline, MA bubble–which really is a bubble. Our politics basically runs from tote-bag liberal to unreconstructed lefty, and that’s fine by me. (Like a lot of town-governed-towns, actual local politics is run by a small, deeply embedded cabal and it’s just as tricky as you might imagine, but that’s for a different post.)

New Hampshire, though it’s been pretty blue for a while now still has plenty of the Hamshirtucky that made it a rock-ribbed/crazy right wing state for a long time. So when we showed up at the local HQ in Salem NH, we were met by a wall of Trump signs and some very loud MAGATs, using a bullhorn to taunt Democrats for all kinds of things.

Yes. They Really Are Assholes. 4

One of the weirder moments in that monologue, by the way, was a sudden diversion into California mandating all-electric cars by 2035, as the highly informed and judicious asshole with the bullhorn complained about the quality of CA’s current grid. He then asserted CA is a shithole of state, and as a scion of the place, I wondered what it was that so upset him: the weather? The food? The quality of higher ed in the state? Etc.  Take it from me folks:  New Hamster has its virtues–but it’s not going to win most competitions with the Golden State.

But I digress.

What struck me was the purity of the demonstration: this was simply an expression of assholery.  This guy, at least, had some stamina, and he was a blessedly silent performer:

Yes. They Really Are Assholes.

He was doing his Trump dance for at least three hours that I could check, so give the man some points for persistence.

But this captures the tone of what was being bullhorn across the street:

Yes. They Really Are Assholes. 1

The good news is that all this involved a fair amount of local resources: ten or dozen people (none masked, of course), lots of signs, lots of energy. The D’s had three or four folks at the HQ–and all the volunteers (and there were a bunch) were out canvassing and dropping literature.  The Trumpanzees went for what really amounts to political masturbation.

So yeah, it was uncomfortable, and it was intended to be so: these scumbags wanted to make some other folks lives miserable, and between the horns (some truckers driving big rigs really enjoyed leaning on theirs) and the blather, they did a pretty good job.

Except for the fact that the Democratic GOTV effort was completely undisturbed.

But besides being forced to come to some conclusions about how these losers were raised, it was a reminder that these are not people with whom one can respectfully disagree. From the top down, they are performative jerks–on their best days.

Oh–and they cheat all the time, large and small.  One more photo (ETA: actually loaded the photo this time):

Yes. They Really Are Assholes. 2

What you’re seeing is a Trump flyer, placed in a mailbox. As everyone here likely knows (at least everyone who has canvassed in the last many decades) that’s a big no-no. Just last night in our volunteer training Zoom, they told us at least three times that it is a federal crime to do that. We saw Trump leaflets in each of the open mailboxes we passed.

Admittedly, when the tally of Trump-era crimes are totted up, this won’t rank high. But to me that’s what’s telling: there is simply no rule, no matter how minor, that they won’t break.

Fuck ’em. Let’s roll their sorry asses through Tuesday. Even my cup of coffee agrees:

Yes. They Really Are Assholes. 3

This thread.

It is open for anything.

Image: Jan Pietersz. Saenredam, The Fool, between 1590 and 1600.

 

Reader Interactions

166Comments

  1. 1.

    Ken

    Seem to be missing the mailbox photo. But the coffee photo is neat, do you have a second career as a barista in an erotic coffeeshop?

  5. 5.

    Mike S

    I am always amused by the people who call my state a shit hole. We have the 5th largest economy in the world, we sell the most agriculture products to the rest of the country, we are the most diverse in the country, we have 831 miles of amazing coastline, the GOP has been decimated here… We have our problems but other than a mansion on a tropical beach I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

  7. 7.

    JAFD

    Happy Halloween, jackals and gentlepeople !
    Mayhaps you’ll be partaking of the famous Australian Halloween dessert
    … boo meringues

  8. 8.

    West of the Cascades

    @zhena gogolia: Needs more Brando: “You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.”

  12. 12.

    MisterForkbeard

    The “we break rules” is sort of the hallmark of the Asshole/Trumper, I think.

    They all do it and like doing it, so they get angry at you when you call them on it. Why are you punishing them for something so minor that everyone does? And they make a huge fucking deal out of being persecuted too, which is also the point: They want you to be pissed and exasperated but not willing to actually make them suffer the consequences of their actions. They yell loudly about how YOU’RE the bully when you call them on it, or they get snide and imply you’re weak for telling then to behave.

    But really, it’s all about being an asshole.

  13. 13.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mike S: They complain most about the homeless problem here. The sad truth is that we have a good climate and don’t completely fuck over the homeless, so they come here. That’s it.

    Same reason real estate is high: people want to live in California. because it’s pretty great! Capitalism drives up prices due to competition. We’re doing great out here.

  14. 14.

    terry chay

    How much you want to bet that Biden OVERPERFORMS polling. I attribute the shift into his column in recent days because more voters who have already voted are now considered likely voters which imply heavily a big polling miss in those models to begin with.

  16. 16.

    Ruckus

    @MisterForkbeard:

    But really, it’s all about being an asshole.

    I think they have all gone asshole deluxe this time around. Of course they had an asshole supreme as their example….

  17. 17.

    hells littlest angel

    The Trump dancer looks like a character from Dr Who whose name escapes me at the moment.

  18. 18.

    ThresherK

    When I delivered newspapers as a tyke I would get talked to by the letter carriers where was no plastic newspaper tube for new customers and I left it in the mailbox. My newspaper was so behind on their shit about this I started identifying myself with the regional delivery manager’s name and number when the postman bothered me,  a tween, over this.

    That Republicans do this surprises me not.

  21. 21.

    VeniceRiley

    Trump left his rally crowd stranded without shuttle bubes back to parking AGAIN in Butler PA, 41 degrees out. Maskless superspreaders won’t get sick in time to keep them from the polls.

  23. 23.

    Tom Levenson

    @Ken: Yup: saw your comment and realized my error while dashing out to grab some take-out. Fix’t now. Thanks.

    And no–that coffee is not my handiwork. Can’t remember where that was served to me, but it did take me aback.

  25. 25.

    Tom Levenson

    @Mike S: I mean–really. (Born and raised in CA, here. Fool to have left, for all that I’ve come to recognize MA’s charms).

  27. 27.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Elsewhere in the world, the wheels of democracy grind on.

    Here in Queensland, we had a state election yesterday. Queensland being the most conservative state in Australia it was a contest between a center right Labor Party and an extreme right neoliberal/theocratic Liberal National Party (LNP). Perhaps in US terms, Biden Democrats vs Ted Cruz style Republicans.

    It had been described as a covid election. The choice being between Labor’s “close borders to infected states” or the LNP’s “open up or the economy is doomed”. So far we’ve seen 1,171 cases and 6 deaths out of a population of just over 5 million.

    Even though Green candidates made serious inroads into several Labor electorates, Labor won convincingly. Which suggests the voters are pretty happy with a policy of taking the virus seriously. Given the good work being done in Victoria, it looks like all state border restrictions will be lifted before Christmas, virus willing.

    This is a third term for Labor. In a conservative state like Queensland, Labor is about as progressive a party as is electable and just about the only way for the left of the party to still have input into policy.

  28. 28.

    nclurker

    i know it’s halloween,but i just went out on my deck to smoke a after dinner cigar,
    (montecristo#4,thank you canada),and left the door open and a bat flew in.
    freaked my s.o.the fuck out.
    all i could say to her was,”looks like bat country”
    so ,a happy halloween to you all.

  29. 29.

    ThresherK

    @VeniceRiley: I’d read that the first time the bus drivers left because they weren’t paid, and Trump has a reputation. His campaign keeps doing this and bus charters are just gonna start picking up Trump supporters and leaving them in random fields everywhere.

    How can I help make that happen?

  32. 32.

    Gravenstone

    @VeniceRiley: Too close to election day for most exposed to covid to develop symptoms, alas. Pneumonia and more mundane maladies may still take a toll though.

  34. 34.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    trump as Michael Meyers is the scariest image I’ve seen this All Hallow’s Eve

  35. 35.

    Gary K

    I worked a phone bank in Ohio starting at noon today. Starting yesterday (no joke) they changed dialer systems, and after running through the training we discovered that the new system wasn’t working. Then we fell back on using the older phone banking system, and it took a while to get that going correctly as well. Ultimately we only got in about an hour of calling, during what was supposed to be a 3-hour shift. The volunteers skewed toward my demographic — I’m trying to say we were old — and so were particularly befuddled as we struggled to adapt, but everybody stayed cheerful, and many indicated they were signing up for additional shifts.

    Last night, as I tried out the new dialer system (which at that point was working) I reached one woman who wished us well but said she was sitting in the ICU expecting that her husband was about to go.

  37. 37.

    FlyingToaster

    @hells littlest angel:  One of the Adipose? Something in a human skinsuit?

    In less weird topics, we’ve had a grand total of 1 trick-or-treater. I’d set up a task table on the landing with a cliplight shining on it, stocked with 6 snack bags of candy. Our skeleton “Bob” sitting a couple steps up in a raincoat. Bob has a motion sensor and makes snarky comments. The top landing has the remaining stock of pre-packs in the traditional cauldron; if we had gotten more customers, one of us would have donned a plague doctor mask and gloves to go refill the table.

    I’ll take it down at 9:30 and the remaining candy goes to the household (that is, WarriorTeen).

  38. 38.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @nclurker: I had a bat in my house in July and I’m still flinching at things I see out of the corner of my eye, checking the ceiling just about every night when I go to bed. A big moth making a shadow makes jump out of my skin

  41. 41.

    Felanius Kootea

    Thank you for the work you’re doing.  I’ve focused mostly on donations this election – I just don’t have the same energy that I did in the past.  I remember waking up early in the morning and carpooling with other CA Dems to canvass for Obama in Nevada. Going door to door, we encountered many people who made it clear that they weren’t going to vote for him but were still respectful.  Only one man threatened to call the cops on my black ass (for “trespassing”).  I can’t even imagine what that would be like in the current environment.

    I’ve been listening to the song behind the Jerusalema dance challenge a lot lately.  There’s something about Nocembo’s voice that gives me goosebumps even though I don’t speak or understand isiZulu.  I feel calmer after listening to it, so I’ll continue.

  44. 44.

    Splitting Image

    @debbie:

    Who is the man on the right who they wanted locked up like Obama?

    It looks like James Smith, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He’s a New Hampshire native and an Obama appointee, but I don’t know why the local wingnuts are singling him out for approbrium.

  49. 49.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Mike S:

    That’s always boggled me as well, O’Reilly was good for that sort of shit, just living in an alternate reality.

  58. 58.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: Let me know if you would like me to quietly fix something like that next time.

    ???!?!?…

    Oh, fix the photo in the post, not an erotic latte.

  59. 59.

    FlyingToaster

    @hells littlest angel: Sounds like either the Sontarans or the Autons.

    No, I can’t possibly have seen every episode of Doctor Who since Jon Pertwee started.  Really, no.  And my daughter isn’t a Whovian either.

  61. 61.

    hells littlest angel

    @Ken: Yes, thanks.

    ETA: specifically, Commander Strax.

     

    ETA: also thanks to @persistentillusion and @FlyingToaster

  62. 62.

    Kristine

    @hells littlest angel: I think those are the Sontarans.

    and so many folks beat me to it. Shoulda knowed.

    The adipose are cute little alien babies that can be made from fat. Partners in Crime. Such a good Donna Noble episode.

  64. 64.

    Nicole

    A friend from childhood but who also lives in NYC signed up to volunteer at the polls in the county where we grew up (red area PA) and told me at training there was some discussion about where to put the NYC volunteers so they’ll be “safe.”  She’ll be outside, because PA GOP has filed yet another lawsuit saying that all poll workers should be residents of the county they’re working at (?) so they’re putting her away from the voting machines as a precaution (I guess outside volunteers they don’t care).  She’s a bit anxious, as the road leading to the polling site is ALL Trump signs.

    We gathered some of my kid’s classmates at one of the outdoor restaurants here, near the Hudson.  It was a nice day, if cold.  We brought bags of candy, so the kids all went home with pockets stuffed full of treats, and there were some pretty great costumes.  My kid’s school doesn’t allow the kids to come to school in costume in non-pandemic, normal in-school times, so we were finding the bright spot in the pandemic making us figure out a way to get them safely together, and the fringe benefit being that, for the first time, they could wear their Halloween costumes for each other.   They move to two days of in-school learning this week, after 2 months of all remote.

    And I’m having fond memories tonight of summer 2019, when we visited the alleged birthplace of Halloween, in Roscommon, Ireland, the “Cave of the Cats.”

  66. 66.

    Ken

    @frosty: Context is everything in this case. Her comment right above that one was about the erotic coffee shop.  And it is a full-service blog.

  67. 67.

    schrodingers_cat

    Husband kitteh’s cousin in Delhi has added me to a family group where people think it is hilarious that the Orange Clown is endangering Americans. It is populated by bhakts of Modi who think  that the WH occupant is good for India because he is chummy with their idol Modi. The level of political dialog is at the kindergarten level.

    For example, this gem, Kamala Harris is a lobbyist for Pakistan.

    They are getting on my already frayed last nerve

  73. 73.

    Patricia Kayden

    Agreed. This is neither acceptable nor normal in a so-called democracy. We can do better.

    I genuinely cannot believe that there are people who can see courts ruling to change the deadlines for when ballots need to be received, armed Trump supporters patrolling polling locations, and declaring that "the system is working." What system? And who is it working for? https://t.co/oboncH66Qa— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 31, 2020

  80. 80.

    Bill Arnold

    @Anya:

    What is he saying? Is he saying the presidency prevents him from raising money? I don’t get it.

    From previous remarks, I’ think he’s saying he could have shaken down a bunch of wealthy CEO-owners, but didn’t because he’s an ethical person who doesn’t do illegal things if there is a large risk of prison time.

  82. 82.

    randal m sexton

    Did similar no-contact literature drop off in Modesto CA today, for Josh Harder CA-10. Pdi-connect canvassing app screens set up for ‘low propensity un voted Likely Dem’ folks. Went pretty well, and am hopeful.

  86. 86.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: That would give new meaning to “This really is a full service blog.”

    Maybe it’s something that can be offered with the platinum membership.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    @Patricia Kayden: Wow.  No limits.  It’s perfectly clear that he wants is trying to incite violence.  Also perfectly clear that he really believes he could shoot someone 5th Avenue with no negative consequences.

  95. 95.

    debbie

    @zhena gogolia:

    He’s not doing Brando. I think he’s saying his team has stopped him from campaigning more vociferously for down-ticket GOPers. He’s implying he could have raised all kinds of money.

  97. 97.

    Tenar Arha

    @Gary K:  That kinda happened to me phone banking for a Lucy McBath in GA. Woman who answered said she had a few family members in the hospital. I immediately switched to wishing her & her family well, but oof.

  104. 104.

    HumboldtBlue

    The Philippines is getting smashed by the strongest storm of the year.

    Officials have evacuated almost a million residents in the southern part of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon as a category 5 storm — the world’s strongest this year — makes landfall on Sunday.
    Typhoon Goni, with 215 kph (133 miles) sustained winds and gusts of up to 265 kph (164 mph), will bring violent winds and strong rains, state weather and disaster officials said.
    It is among the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines since Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people in 2013.
    “We are having a hard time with COVID-19, and then here comes another disaster,” Senator Christopher Go, the top aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, told a virtual news conference.

  106. 106.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: I’ve started counting hours. Roughly 74 hours until polls close on the west coast (remembering to account for Daylight Savings…).

  108. 108.

    Patricia Kayden

    Peaceful protest today in Graham, North Carolina in Alamance. George Floyd & Christian Briggs family present. Children, grandparents, students pepper sprayed. Kids thrown to the ground arrested. Disgusting. Despicable. Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/L421G6NSEQ— lex (@alexcovello) October 31, 2020

  113. 113.

    frosty

    @WaterGirl: Saw something this week.

    Reporter, interviewing voter in line: “How long have you been waiting to vote?”

    Voter” “Four years.”

  123. 123.

    Josie

    @dmsilev:

    Yes, former Florida congressman and war criminal.  Aren’t we lucky that he decided to come to Texas and lead the Republican effort here?  Ugh!

  126. 126.

    raven

    @Josie: And when I commented negatively about him losing the election I was attacked by my half-brother and have not spoken to him since.

  128. 128.

    Villago Delenda Est

    “Trump 2020.  No more bullshit.”

    Oxymoron of a sign, emphasis on the “moron” part.

  131. 131.

    dmsilev

    So apparently Trump left another group of rally-goers to shiver waiting for buses. I believe sending thoughts and prayers are appropriate here.

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Patricia Kayden: apparently, David Frum’s (adult) children are making a documentary about North Carolina, and they were at this event, and have more footage (thread)

    David Frum @davidfrum
    natfrum and beatrice_frum observed local police deliberately targeting children for tear-gassing, including one as young as maybe five. They also observed police snipers aiming at the wholly peaceful crowd. All on video.

    Nat Frum @natfrum
    @SheriffAlamance caused this woman in a wheelchair to have a seizure, then sprayed those who tried to help with tear gas

  136. 136.

    Trollhattan

    We’re in the courtyard for socially distanced Halloween. Perfect warm fall night and costumed critters are plucking candy from the candy tree.

    I want to do it like this from now on.

  140. 140.

    Obdurodon

    @MisterForkbeard: It is kind of funny how the very same people who like to blat about “law and order” will also treat any rule as a challenge to their freedom and go out of their way to break it as a show of independence. I guess self-awareness isn’t high on their list of virtues. Or maybe the only “law and order” they care about is the kind that is about keeping Those Other People in their place. Hard to tell, when you’re dealing with assholes.

  141. 141.

    Patricia Kayden

    No arrests.

    These thugs should be arrested. If they are willing to use their vehicles as a weapon then licenses should be suspended and insurance terminated. If you witnesses harrassment like this, get the license plate information and video and turn into the police. https://t.co/mqncTg7b7E— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) November 1, 2020

  143. 143.

    Aleta

    (NYT)   The Trump campaign is now automatically checking a box to create recurring weekly donations from supporters until mid-December.  (It) recently began automatically checking a box to withdraw additional weekly contributions from online donors through mid-December — nearly six weeks after Election Day. … Trump’s website opts contributors into making the weekly post-election donations “to ensure we have the resources to protect the results and keep fighting even after Election Day.” Users must proactively click to avoid making multiple contributions.  The unusual post-election revenue stream would help T pay off any bills that his campaign accumulates before Tuesday — a campaign spokesman said no such debts had been incurred — and could help fund a lengthy legal fight if the results are contested.

    “This race will be very close, and it is possible that multiple states will require recounts and potential additional spending from our campaign,” said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman …. “The election process this year is under extraordinary circumstances, and we are also anticipating that Silicon Valley will attempt to interfere with our online fund-raising efforts post-election.”

    …
    “They’re inventing new deceptive tactics to essentially steal money from people,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic digital strategist with an expertise in fund-raising. “They’re going completely and totally scorched earth on their own supporters. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

    Mr. Murtaugh said …  “Three days before each recurring charge, donors are emailed a reminder that the charge is about to occur,” he said. “There is a one-click link inside this email for donors to cancel if they wish. Our process is extremely transparent.”

  145. 145.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    Yup. First paragraph of his Wikipedia page:

    Allen Bernard West (born February 7, 1961)[2] is an American politician, retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida’s 22nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and has served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas since 2020.

    I had mercifully forgotten all about him. Hope I can do the same again.

  148. 148.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mike S: I’ve worked with people from authentic shit hole states, move to Cal because it’s the only place they can get work, and then spend all their time shit talking us Californians at work.

  149. 149.

    Aleta

    They’d better start reporting news like the Trump trucks in Texas and the NC sheriff in the crime section of the paper instead of  the politics section.

  157. 157.

    Feathers

    Masshole I may be, but those New Hampshire folks are cray!
    One of the issues I have with people who say “white people, talk to your own about how racist they are,” is that every racist I know is first and foremost an asshole. It’s like asshole is the disease, with bigotry and misogyny as the symptoms.
    Do we somehow get everyone into therapy?

    Yes, structural racism is a different kettle of fish, but it’s basically greedy, power craving assholes.
    Quiet Halloween. Stayed indoors because snow. Much more than I thought there would be. Read several Sherlock Holmes stories. Watched the whole Jeremy Brett series and decided to read. I know I read a lot of them when young, but they are feeling new.

  159. 159.

    Sab

    Well, the superspreader party that fizzled out last night is going great tonight. Eight drunks on my devil’s strip right now, two of them peeing on my tree. The other six are discussing the attributes of various girls they met in bars tonight. My county has 11 o’clock lockdown. Apparently my across the street neighbor’s house is the new after hours joint.

    Get covid and die, folks

    ETA new crew arrived and wandered up the wrong driveway to try and party at the Baptists’ house. I guess the Trump sign confused them.

  162. 162.

    Achrachno

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My son found 2 bats hanging under our eves by the garage door yesterday.  Migrating through I’m sure since they obviously don’t have a proper home to go to.  We have bats all year, though they’re most active in summer here in So. Cal.  I didn’t get to see these but would bet they were hoary bats — those seem to commonly migrate through here and often rest in random places.  I’m always glad to see them.

  165. 165.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Winston: Living here is expensive. Well, in the bay or near LA. Much cheaper elsewhere inland, where you still get most of the good weather.

    I have a couple of cousins that work medium-skilled jobs, don’t make much and own 4 bedroom houses out in Elk Grove and other areas near Sacramento. Doable for most people, I think.

    The bay area is just nuts, though. I have a friend on SSDI who basically only has about $600/month for rent, which gets you a room in an apartment about 70 miles north of San Francisco. I think I’ve seen rents basically double around here in the last 10 years. I also had a house in San Mateo that basically doubled in price over five years, though we sold after the first three.

    But really, it’s because so many people want to live here. A ‘good’ problem to have, I guess. But still a problem. We need a lot more affordable and dense housing.

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