Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Republicans in disarray!

Tick tock motherfuckers!

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

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

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Come on, man.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Squishable Early Morning Open Thread

Squishable Early Morning Open Thread

by | 207 Comments

This post is in: ,

It’s raining hard at Camp Swampy this morning — lightning, thunder, the works. That’s okay with me. If I have to work for 14-1/2 hours straight (aside from shit-posting breaks), I’d rather not be taunted by the specter of a sunny day outside my window.

Did y’all know John Boehner wrote a book?

Quoting the bit about Pelosi because it bears repeating, and I am just longing to type the words:

“Pelosi had gutted him like a halibut she found floating around San Francisco Bay, then calmly sat back and had a cup of coffee afterward. His entrails were left on display for everyone in the House of Representatives to see — and to remember.”

I have three questions:

  1. Are halibut found in San Francisco Bay?
  2. Who was the man Pelosi gutted?
  3. How will we ever replace this absolute LEGEND?

I don’t want to enrich Boehner, so I’m going to have to find a bootleg copy of this book. But read it I must.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

207Comments

  1. 1.

    eclare

    Oh yeah, all of those quotes lead to many more questions!  Hopefully my library will get the book.

  3. 3.

    p.a.

    NOT FRIST!  Writers deserve their paydays, but never have read any of these ‘as told to’ political extrusions.  Will pay a bit of attention to the “it didn’t go down that way” commentary/criticism that might pop up on the intertubes.

     

    and… Good Morning!?

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    You’re up early, Betty.

    A John Boehner WNFLTG might be a very interesting creature, indeed.  Giving some thought to reading this book, if not actually purchasing it.  At least reading about it.

    Boehner writing that his advice to Trump was to “shut up.”  Priceless.  And, actually, good advice.

  5. 5.

    Elizabelle

    I hope we are going to see a lot of extended excerpts from this book, which probably will fascinate the DC press corpse.

    Hope it knocks that ridiculous book about “Lucky Biden in the basement” right off the charts. That one sounds insidious.

  6. 6.

    Betty Cracker

    Remember the White House doctor who lied about Trump’s weight, Ronny Jackson, MD, now a T***p-humping rep from TX? A new inspector general report makes me extra-relieved President Obama never required serious medical care while in office because that quack was whack! CNN has the details, but the tl;dr version is that Jackson was sometimes drunk and/or taking Ambien while on duty, had frequent screaming meltdowns and was abusive toward staff and sexually harassed some of the women under his purview. No wonder he and T***p developed such an affinity.

  7. 7.

    trnc

    What’s the part about feeling like he was sucker punched by Obama? Pretty crappy way to talk about a president who bent over backwards trying to get republicans on board with popular policies.

    I didn’t care much what Boehner had to say when it was free. I’m sure as hell not extracting any amount of pennies to read his thoughts.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Boehner was always entertaining. I would expect the same from his book.

    This from the Amazon blurb made me spit up my coffee:

    Through Speaker Boehner’s honest and self-aware reflections, you’ll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge.

    And no, I didn’t order one. I’ll wait for the used book market to overflow first.

  10. 10.

    Anne Laurie

    Betty, there is no godsdamned way I can top this story, thank you!

    Amazon says the book’s not coming out till April 13th, by which time I suspect (as you say) that all the best nuggets will have been picked out & promoted by the media mudlarks. But it’s gonna be hella entertaining watching the same mudlarks who’ve been clutching pearls over Neera Tanden’s mean tweets slobber over Orange John’s ‘refreshing honesty’ and ‘midwestern sense of humor’…

  13. 13.

    trnc

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
     

    Through Speaker Boehner’s honest and self-aware reflections, you’ll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge.

    He held around 40 votes to repeal the ACA, many of them after going back and forth about whether it could be repealed. Voted for the multi billion dollar wall boondoggle. Voted to make English the official language.

    I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. Fuck that guy.

  14. 14.

    Anne Laurie

    @trnc: What’s the part about feeling like he was sucker punched by Obama?

    Just guessing, but I seem to remember it vastly shocked Speaker Boehner that new President Obama was *not* the dim-witted, glad-handing figurehead he’d been led (by Fox media & his fellow Repubs) to expect.

    And unlike Bill Clinton — who happily pretended to be a corn-pone hillbilly, for the cameras — President Obama made it clear he’d work with the GOP, if they would consent (they wouldn’t), but he’d never play with them.  Imagine, choosing to spend weekends with his wife and daughters, instead of golfing & boozing with the fellas!

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    More of this, please.??

    Today, Philly vaccinated ~1000 ppl in my mom's (huge) apt bldg. Teams went door-to-door to administer shots. Folks sat in halls outside their apts to wait. Most residents are elderly.Aides/support ppl/bldg staff were also vaccinated.Bring vax to the ppl! Make it easy.— Carolyn Cannuscio, ScD (@CarolynCannu) March 3, 2021

  18. 18.

    NeenerNeener

    I belong to 4 eBook libraries and I’ve put a “recommend to buy” on this on 3 of them. I’ve hit my “recommend” limit on the 4th but they’ll probably buy it anyway because they’re Brooklyn Public Library and they buy everything new.

  19. 19.

    Derelict

    Pelosi is easily the most effective caucus leader of my lifetime, and certainly one of the best Speakers of the House. So I’m always mystified by Democrats who hate her. I just don’t get it.

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    “When adults were in charge . . .”

    Really? Under Boehner? I seem to recall that Boehner was routinely being run over by all the halfwits in the Freedom Caucus. He was also being constantly upstaged by Paul Ryan. In fact, Boehner was the classic example of the adult in the room who could not control the children–which was his primary reason for retiring.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    The bill would give a family of four, with the 3k per kid and 1400 checks each, something like $8,000-$9,000. Ask the avg family of 4 if they are cool with their progressive house rep taking almost five figures of govt checks off the table bc of a political purity push https://t.co/zaSuXzOhIm— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) March 3, 2021

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    @Derelict:  I think that the people on the left who express resentment, even hatred towards Speaker Pelosi are not Democrats. I have never met a real Democrat who did not trust and respect the Speaker, and I’m not sure I’ve seen one either.

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Derelict: Pelosi is easily the most effective caucus leader of my lifetime, and certainly one of the best Speakers of the House. So I’m always mystified by Democrats who hate her. I just don’t get it.

    Asked and answered, she’s hated by certain DEMs for the same reason Repubs hate her: She’s effective.

    eta, meant to say that “the adult in the room who could not control the children” is a perfect description of Boehner as speaker,

  26. 26.

    snoey

    @Derelict: 
    Boehner was the rodeo clown distracting them from the dangerous stuff with another meaningless vote against the ACA

  27. 27.

    SFAW

    @Anne Laurie:

    the media mudlarks.

    A now-gone uncle bought me, lo these MANY years ago, Leo Kottke’s “Mudlark.” I had never bothered to look up that term, assuming it was some kind of bird native to wherever Kottke grew up. It was not until its recent usage, in this blog and others, that I came to understand its meaning. Balloon Juice, edumacating old farts, one bit of significa at a time!

    The best part of “Mudlark” (outside of Kottke’s guitar, of course), in my opinion, was his liner note where he compared his singing/voice to “goose farts on a muggy day.”

  30. 30.

    snoey

    @SFAW: ​
     
    I was once semi-reliably informed that this effect was achieved by chain smoking several joints and then singing flat on his back.

  31. 31.

    trnc

    @Anne Laurie: ​
     Thanks. The tone of the quote seems more personal, so I’m guessing that it’s a false claim that Obama promised something and then reneged, but I’d be happy to be wrong about that.

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, your point is taken but I have to reply Mitch McConnell.

    That he’s hated? OK, agreed, but considering his bottomless cynicism, and his longstanding/ongoing attempts at destruction of a functional democracy, he not only earned it, he reveled in it. Speaker Pelosi used and uses her powers for good. The hatred aimed at her was not earned, whereas Traitor Turtle’s was and is.

  33. 33.

    germy

    I wish he’d gone into the “writing hardboiled detective novels” field instead of the “republican politics” field.

    I wouldn’t despise him if he’d chosen the literary career path.

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @SFAW: My mom used to play that album all the time. Unfortunately, you cannot buy Mudlark on Apple Music for some reason. I wonder if it has anything to do with copyrights for 8 Miles High.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: She earned it as well, and I would bet she is proud of being hated by all the right people. I know I would be. And the reason’s for the hatred matters not at all, it’s part and parcel of being on top of the heap.

    FTR: I just checked, from what I can find app 27-31% of people have a favorable opinion of her as speaker. I recall recently reading that MM’s approval is at 17%

  40. 40.

    trnc

    @germy: ​
     

    I wish he’d gone into the “writing hardboiled detective novels” field instead of the “republican politics” field.

    I wouldn’t despise him if he’d chosen the literary career path.

    Yeah, in 1990.

  41. 41.

    raven

    Halibut in the bay??

     

    Halibut can be taken in the bay all year long, but the prime time for targeting them begins in late April and extends through the end of October.
    Trolling and drifting are the two basics approaches to catching Bay Area halibut. Trolling will generally put more fish in the box, but it is tough to match the adrenaline rush you feel when a halibut grabs your anchovy as you drift with light tackle.

  42. 42.

    Nicole

    I can’t wait for my husband to wake up so I can read him the blurb about Nancy Pelosi.

    I have Democratic friends who don’t dislike her, but fall right into the, “too old to be Speaker” chorus every 2 years. Fortunately for the nation, Nancy from Baltimore has never given a flying fuck what people say about her. Just win, baby, indeed.

  43. 43.

    Chris T.

    Are halibut found in San Francisco Bay?

    Pacific Halibut: no, the bay (at about 55˚F) is too warm for them. There is a California Halibut (much smaller) that has a range that would permit them to live in the bay, though. These must be the ones in @raven‘s comment.

  44. 44.

    Ken

    @trnc: I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. Fuck that guy.

    I see your eye was also caught by the blurb about the unnamed member of Congress who “dropped off the couch and was on his knees”.

  50. 50.

    Mike E

    I hear tell Boehner’s new tome is printed on ultra thin stock, you know, in case you’ve run out of rolling papers

  51. 51.

    debbie

    @trnc:

    I take it more like he was able to herd Bush Jr. and was surprised to find Obama unwilling to do the same thing.

  52. 52.

    germy

    Josh Hawley: "Director Wray, let's say, hypothetically, a lawmaker did something to encourage these insurrectionists. And perhaps that lawmaker, we'll call him Tosh Mawley, made calls to people involved. The FBI couldn't get….phone records showing that, right? Hypothetically?"

    — Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) March 2, 2021

  53. 53.

    Baud

    The interesting thing here is that the publisher believes that the best way to market this book is to release quotes that would be more likely to appeal to liberal readers than conservative ones.

  54. 54.

    raven

    @Chris T.: “The halibut caught within the bay average 5 to 12 pounds and range up to and beyond 40. Halibut have a clumsy appearance, but they are capable of putting up a spirited fight and display bursts of lightening speed.”

  55. 55.

    Baud

    @trnc:

    so I’m guessing that it’s a false claim that Obama promised something and then reneged, but I’d be happy to be wrong about that.

    I believe that was the GOP spin on why the “Grand Bargain” failed.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    @germy:

    I had a lot of fun watching videos of Hawley’s questioning Wray about tracking phones. His hands! So nervous and twitchy, like a crackhead waiting for the next delivery. Same with Lee.

  59. 59.

    Ken

    @MagdaInBlack: I ask myself if a strong effective white male would be so hated by those folks.

    When did we last have a strong effective white male Speaker?  It’s been Pelosi alternating with a Republican for over two decades.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    But right wing books are often at the top of the best seller list.  Are you suggesting that people are buying them to manipulate the rankings and not reading them?

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @germy:

    we’ll call him Tosh

    It was probably noted somewhere here already, but Bunny Wailer passed away yesterday.

  65. 65.

    germy

    @debbie:

    Someone on twitter said Hawley acted like a criminal defense attorney trying to get to the bottom of what the prosecutor has on his client.

  66. 66.

    Immanentize

    @satby: Leto might know about it.  He was planning on going to a woodworking school (other craft arts too) here in Boston when Covid landed.

  67. 67.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    But right wing books are often at the top of the best seller list.  Are you suggesting that people are buying them to manipulate the rankings and not reading them?

    Unpossible. I believe there is a broad and deep vein of persons wishing to read “books” “written” by the elder son of a sitting “president,” wherein the son delves deeply into important issues, such as why he hates Lie-berals. Hates them! With the hate-iest hate ever hated by a Deep Political Thinker. Nyah-nyah-na-nyah-nyah!

  68. 68.

    JimV

    You do know there are libraries, places you can borrow a book to read, or 1000 books, for maybe a one-time membership fee of a few dollars? (Or read it in the library without even a membership. They also have computers you can use, these days.) Don’t they have those in Florida? I guess that would explain a lot, if they don’t.

    My home town, population 144 in the 1960 census, had a library. Every town I’ve been in since (Schenectady, NY, Mount Vernon, OH, etc.) has had one. Please support them, they do wonders for poor kids, literally.

  69. 69.

    Baud

    I knew Dolly got the vaccine, but I just learned about her song about it.

    Dolly Parton updates ‘Jolene‘ as she gets Covid-19 vaccine

  70. 70.

    Betty Cracker

    @SFAW: All my stuff is in the cloud, and that usually works out fine, but occasionally, there’s something I want that isn’t available. It’s rare, but it happens, and it always makes me wonder why.

  71. 71.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: I thought the same thing.  But then I thought, compared to the current pack of loons, Boehner was Zinn Alinsky.

    BETTY CRACKER!  At top — Pelosi drank “coffee,” not “copy.” Under deadline are you?

  73. 73.

    Chris T.

    @raven: “The halibut caught within the bay average 5 to 12 pounds and range up to and beyond 40. Halibut have a clumsy appearance, but they are capable of putting up a spirited fight and display bursts of lightening speed.”

    That would be the California Halibut then. The Pacific Halibut are typically several hundred pounds, up to about 440 lbs. (Though I suppose 440 is “beyond” 40. “Up to this much, or more!”)

    Also, I presume they mean “lightning” speed (as in Thunder And), not “lightening” speed (as in, what I should do about my personal weight…).

  74. 74.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Republican warehouses are full of books for giveaway at CPAC. So are the dumpsters behind the CPAC convention center.

    On the slightly more serious side, I have never seen anyone actually carrying one of their books. The local Walmart has them, I have to assume somebody buys them and yet that particular abominable snowman remains elusive and unseen.

  77. 77.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Those 2 are my only Kottke albums, sad to say.

    Same with me, until recently. I recently picked up a third (at the “swap” area of the town dump) but haven’t listened to it. I once read (some time ago) that his abilities have suffered because of “overpicking” (I think that was the term used) in his earlier days, which led to muscular or neural or some other type of physical damage. Not being a guitar player, I’m not really sure what that term means, but I’m sorry for him (and us).

  78. 78.

    germy

    Sen. Hawley (Insurrection Party), is cross-examining Wray the way a defense attorney crosses an agent when he is trying to figure out how much incriminating information the police have about his client (Hawley seems to be proceeding pro se in today’s Senate hearing).

    — Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) March 2, 2021

  80. 80.

    rikyrah

    Make no mistake. Texas and Mississippi opening back up to 100% will disproportionately impact and kill minorities, who comprise much of the essential work force bearing the brunt of this pandemic. This is criminal, a racist death sentence for so many who could have been spared.— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 3, 2021

  81. 81.

    SFAW

    @Betty Cracker:

    All my stuff is in the cloud

    You kids, with your newfangled “high tech” stuff. What’s wrong with cranking up the Victrola? Back in my day etc etc

    And get offa my swamp lawn!

  82. 82.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: I once read (some time ago) that his abilities have suffered because of “overpicking” (I think that was the term used) in his earlier days, which led to muscular or neural or some other type of physical damage.

    It’s the inevitable result of over use. The human body was not designed for repeated abuse. Mine sure as shit wasn’t.

  83. 83.

    rikyrah

    Abbott hoped Covid would kill Black & Brown folk offWhen that didn't work, he hoped having no power would do it.Now that Black & Brown folk still won't just die, he turns back to Covid.He makes that announcement the week after Pres Biden, who likes Black & Brown folk, visits.— The Shower Door (@lynnv378) March 3, 2021

  84. 84.

    Spanky

    Pretty sure that quote about Biden is pr0n. Maybe he reused a line from one of the “Romantic Novels” he ghostwrites**.

    **Notintendedtobeafactualstatement

  86. 86.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: I have always found 99 to be both a great age to achieve and a damn fine Agent.

    Happy impending birthday to your Aunt.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    This is a time when Molly Ivins is sorely missed. She’d certainly have called Abbott what he actually is, a sniveling coward ineptly trying to distract from his failures as a governor.

  90. 90.

    Anya

    “Pelosi had gutted him like a halibut she found floating around San Francisco Bay, then calmly sat back and had a cup of coffee afterward. His entrails were left on display for everyone in the House of Representatives to see — and to remember.”

    I don’t know but it feels to me like this is Trump. She gutted him numerous times so which one to choose.

    According to Twitter,  the “Member of Congress” is referring to Mark Meadows.

  91. 91.

    BlueGuitarist

    @SFAW:
    Kottke tells a story: “I met Bob Dylan when he was in Minneapolis recording Blood on the Tracks and talked to him for an hour and a half in the studio; but I didn’t know it was him….” he continues for a while.

    RIP Bunny Wailer. Was just listening to his “This Train.”

  93. 93.

    debbie

    @Anya:

    I agree. I’m thinking of that meeting with Trump where he’s sitting back and she’s standing up and giving him what for, jabbing in the air with her finger

    ETA: Found it.

  98. 98.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @rikyrah: that is great. Would love to see this vaccination model in more places. Many people don’t have easy transportation or mobility to get to a vaccine clinic.

  100. 100.

    SFAW

    @Amir Khalid:

    It sounds like Hawley is asking Director Wray, “Am I in trouble?” ​

    One can only hope Wray’s response would be “Hell yes. And don’t make any travel plans for your next, oh, say five or 10 years, OK?”

  101. 101.

    Baud

    @SFAW:

    Hawley: Sen. Wray, just out of curiosity, can you identify the countries that the US doesn’t have a nonextradition treaty with?

  102. 102.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Nicole: Pelosi is a good example of how women often have a delayed career path because they take time out to raise children. If you then count their age against them in hiring or promoting, it’s like double jeopardy

  105. 105.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: His wife and children don’t even like him, they put him on a plane out of Cancun less than 24 hours after they got there.

  106. 106.

    rikyrah

    The shitbag left is trying to derail the entire Covid relief bill for a $15 minimum wage that doesn’t have the votes and wouldn’t even kick in for years. That’s what Bernie’s socialists fantasy leadership has gotten us so far…. absolutely nothing but more bullshit talk.— Kurt Nice (@KurtNiceHHL) March 3, 2021

  107. 107.

    Geminid

    I checked out last month’s Wason Center poll of Virginia registered voters. These polls try to gauge voter opinion on General Asembly matters and political races, but I look at the demographic info with interest. Besides party affiliation, the poll asked voters to self identify with six ideological groups.

    The results: Strong Conservative, 14%; Conservative, 17%; Moderate, lean Conservative, 16%; Moderate, lean Liberal, 24%; Liberal, 10%; Strong Liberal, 8%.

  109. 109.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Booger: You remind me. I just finished a 3000 piece puzzle, with Mr DAW occasionally helping. About halfway through, I realized it was hard to describe the shape of a piece I was looking for without sounding like I was talking about sex. This was not helped by my engineer husband calmly referring to male and female connectors.

  111. 111.

    germy

    “Pelosi had gutted him like a halibut she found floating around San Francisco Bay, then calmly sat back and had a cup of coffee afterward. His entrails were left on display for everyone in the House of Representatives to see — and to remember.”

    Interesting choice of words.  He doesn’t say “she found swimming around San Francisco Bay.”  The fish was floating around.

    So he was a dead fish before Pelosi gutted him?

  112. 112.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    His wife and children don’t even like him, they put him on a plane out of Cancun less than 24 hours after they got there.

    That was just his cover story to throw the DEA off the scent. Did you notice him in shorts? Calves the size of cantaloupes.

    [No, just kidding, I would never ask someone to check out Cruz’s body parts in “normal” clothes, let alone shorts.]

  113. 113.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    About halfway through, I realized it was hard to describe the shape of a piece I was looking for without sounding like I was talking about sex.

    You kids, with your sexy-time talk.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    Why are progressives worried more about minimum wage when the John Lewis Voting Act is more important? If the voter suppression/gerrymandering goes through, Republicans retake the government & none of their agenda is possible. Is this what they secretly want?— And The Tweet Goes On (@lacadri34) March 3, 2021

  118. 118.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: With it’s large portion of military and civilian federal employees, and 20% African American citizens, Virginia is not a typical state. There are more immigrants and college educated as well. But Virginia is a purple state turned blue, and the suburban districts flipped by Democrats Wexler and Spanberger in 2018 are not too different from those won by McBath in Georgia, and Fletcher and Allred in Texas.

  121. 121.

    RAM

    My buddy who lives in Columbus told me once that everyone referred to Boehner as “that drunk from Cincinnati.”

  122. 122.

    Anne Laurie

    @OzarkHillbilly: On the slightly more serious side, I have never seen anyone actually carrying one of their books. The local Walmart has them, I have to assume somebody buys them and yet that particular abominable snowman remains elusive and unseen.

    Apart from bulk buys (with kickbacks to every party involved, of course), I’m told the Regnery buyers fall into two categories:

    (1) People who feel the need to display the latest Hot Fox Book-of-the-Month on their coffee tables, for when the bridge club meeting / prayer group is at their house; and

    (2) People looking for a gift for an elderly right-wing family member they don’t know (or probably like) very well.  “Trump Jr’s girlfriend’s latest will be published just in time for your father’s birthday.  Of course, the old man will probably get multiple copies from all his [semi-estranged] kids, but at least he won’t cut us out of the will for forgetting him.”

  123. 123.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: Is this what they secretly want?

    Possibly. It would match/mirror the frequent observation that Republicans were remarkably angry and unhappy in 2017, for a party that had won and controlled every branch of government.  Some people are just happiest when they can blame everything that’s wrong with their lives on someone — anyone — else.

  130. 130.

    rikyrah

    Bernie's wing of the party is clearly trying to help Republicans retake the majority in 2022. This is why they're doing all they can to hold up the COVID relief & trash the Biden administration. A Trump loss thwarted their plans for their bullsh*t revolution. Follow the $$$.— And The Tweet Goes On (@lacadri34) March 3, 2021

  131. 131.

    There go two miscreants

    @raven: ​a halibut grabs your anchovy

     That sounds like it should be a euphemism for something!

  132. 132.

    SFAW

    @germy:

    I think Graham was saying she would be impeached for acts committed before she became VP, as a justification/”rationale” why the Senate couldn’t convict an ex-president. [, or maybe it had something to do with partisan witch hunts.

    Didn’t make a lot of sense, but Graham is more than happy to say whatever he needs to, to keep on licking Trump’s ass.

  134. 134.

    kindness

    For those who are curious about Boehner’s book but don’t want to enrich him (he is an asshole after all), Abbie Hoffman’s advice is still good.  Steal the book.

  137. 137.

    zhena gogolia

    Wow! Finally a politician with real literary talent! (looking at you, Barack Obama)
    Tempting to buy it, but I guess I’ll hope all the best tidbits appear on the tubes.

  139. 139.

    zhena gogolia

    I’m pretty sure there are no halibut in San Francisco Bay, but “halibut” is just the perfect word, isn’t it?

    ETA: Of course I see this has been discussed by BJ experts already.

  140. 140.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: The Wason poll’s ideological numbers were fairly stable from Fall 2019 to Spring 2021, but there were substantial shifts in party identification. Republicans went from 31% to 25%, Democrats went from 34 to 38%, and Independents went from 30 to 34%.

    The poll tried to shake Independents off the fence by asking which party they leaned towards, and found that 49% leaned Democratic, 37% leaned Republican, and 15% said they leaned toward neither party, suggesting that the core swing vote is maybe 5% of the Virginia electorate.

  141. 141.

    germy

    @zhena gogolia:  I’m pretty sure there are no halibut in San Francisco Bay, but “halibut” is just the perfect word, isn’t it?

    Boener says the halibut was just floating in the bay, not swimming, so maybe someone tossed in a frozen filet for Pelosi to catch.

  143. 143.

    jeffreyw

    @Subcommandante Yakbreath:

    The Campbell School and Penland are maybe the most well known craft schools in the country. I think classes at Campbell would be well worthwhile. And fun.

    I wouldn’t mind learning new soup recipes, but I’m too old to be taking classes in cursive.  It’s all keyboard now.

  145. 145.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Reminder:  Boehner was an unprecedented obstructionist almost as bad as McConnell.  His ‘Hastert Rule’ was not the one Hastert made up, and Hastert rarely used that rule anyway.  Boehner made the precedent that the GOP will not cooperate with Democrats, period.  He was an extremist partisan asshole and an incompetent who was pantsed by both the opposition and his own caucus regularly.  The Freedom Caucus had power solely because he let them, because he spitefully decided to be McConnell’s partner in giving Obama the middle finger.

  146. 146.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Nothing seems to finsh off a thread like boring demographic analysis, so I’ll stick a fork in this one with another observation on the Wason Center poll of registered Virginia voters:

    The ideogical self identifications on the conservative side aggregate to 47%, while the total on the liberal side is 42%. Yet Joe Biden carried Virginia by just under 10%, and Democrats have won every state wide race since 2009. This seeming paradox may be accounted for by the way the Democrats have set up a broadminded big tent that attracts less partisan voters, while the Republicans’ small minded, small tent ethos repels those same people.

  147. 147.

    Jeffro

    True fact!  I once almost physically ran into John Boehner at a golf tournament a few years ago.

    He really is as tan/nicotine-stained/wine-soaked as he looks on tv.   =)

  148. 148.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: VA Republicans went from 31% to 25%, Democrats went from 34 to 38%, and Independents went from 30 to 34%.  The poll tried to shake Independents off the fence by asking which party they leaned towards, and found that 49% leaned Democratic, 37% leaned Republican, and 15% said they leaned toward neither party.

    Dems keep winning in VA because a) they deliver and b) they’re pretty moderate, sensible, non-scary.  The Rs keep nominating wackos and even when they get a stealth RWNJ like Smilin’ Ed Gillespie as a candidate, they still manage to go off the rails trying to rally their crazy-ass base voters.

  151. 151.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: with 20% African American citizens, Virginia is not a typical state. There are more immigrants and college educated as well.

    These 3 facts are key to understanding why Virginia is blue and not purple.

  154. 154.

    Emma from FL

    Y’all don’t have a mean bone in your body. Boehner has been waiting for a while to settle accounts with a lot of his erstwhile colleagues, and he has industrial strength scalpels at hand. He will also provide good quotes for astute race media managers on our side. I will happily indulge in every bit of nastiness.

  155. 155.

    Baud

    @Jeffro:

    they’re pretty moderate, sensible, non-scary.

    There’s a whole thread to be had about the question of whether being progressive requires being provocative.  I honestly don’t know the answer.

  158. 158.

    Quiltingfool

    @Frankensteinbeck: Thank you.  Just because Boehner says some funny, nasty things about Republicans doesn’t excuse his contributions to the disfunction of the House.

  159. 159.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Betty Cracker:

    Holy shit, I never knew he was so crazy! No wonder he outright lied about Trump’s weight:

    In May 2020, Jackson argued that President Obama had spied on the Trump campaign, and accused Obama of “[weaponizing] the highest levels of our government to spy on President Trump.” Jackson added: “Every Deep State traitor deserves to be brought to justice for their heinous actions.”

    Jackson opposes face mask mandates to halt the spread of the coronavirus. He said, “I think that wearing a mask is a personal choice, and I don’t particularly want my government telling me that I have to wear a mask.”

    Jackson fell off my radar after like 2018

  160. 160.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @OzarkHillbilly: Through Speaker Boehner’s honest and self-aware reflections, you’ll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge.

    I always think if Boehner had had the guts to put immigration reform up for a vote before he zipitty-doo-dah’d his way off stage, we might be living in a very different country. As I recall, the Chamber of Commerce Republicans in the Senate still wanted a deal back then. Lindsey Graham, now encouraging trump to start talking about caravans before 2022, was big on whatever Gang Of X was pushing it back then.

  161. 161.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Baud: It depends if you’re being ‘provocative’ towards the right people, I guess. Politicians too rigid in their approach have a narrow skill set.

  162. 162.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW:

    I think Graham was saying she would be impeached for acts committed before she became VP, as a justification/”rationale” why the Senate couldn’t convict an ex-president. [, or maybe it had something to do with partisan witch hunts.

    As I recall, she’s going to be impeached by Speaker McCarthy for donating to a bail fund for BLM protesters.

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Gillespie was a typical Chamber of Commerce Republican when he ran against Warner for Senate in 2014, and almost won. In 2017 Gillespie  understood which way the wind was blowing in his party, traded his homburg for a tri-corner tea party hat, and lost the Governor’s race by a good margin.

    This year the Virginia Republicans are trying to engineer the nomination of another hybrid, Kirk Cox, for Governor. In 2018, Majority Leader Cox led nine other Republican Delegates across  the aisle to help put through Medicaid expansion. Now Cox talks like Newt Gingrich. He may be able to straddle the divide in his party, but Cox will lose in November.

  167. 167.

    Another Scott

    ObOpenThread for those worried about a housing bubble like 2006. CalculatedRisk:

    It was 11 years ago that we started discussing the turnaround for apartments. Then, in January 2011, I attended the NMHC Apartment Strategies Conference in Palm Springs, and the atmosphere was very positive.

    The drivers in 2011 were 1) very low new supply for apartments, and 2) strong demand (both favorable demographics, and people moving from owning to renting). The move “from owning to renting” ended several years ago, and demographics for apartments are much less favorable than a decade ago.

    On demographics, a decade ago, a large cohort had been moving into the 20 to 29 year old age group (a key age group for renters).

    As I noted in 2015, in the 2020s, a large cohort would be moving into the 30 to 39 age group (a key for ownership). The drivers now are 1) very low supply of homes, and 2) strong demand (favorable demographics).

    NOTE: This graph uses the Vintage 2019 estimates. There are questions about these estimates, and we will have much better data when the 2020 Decennial Census data is released.

    […]

    An interesting graph, and an interesting read. Well worth a click.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  168. 168.

    jnfr

    After my Moderna shot yesterday I was very tired in the evening and went to sleep early. Slept great.

    Today my arm is a bit sore. That’s it. I’m feeling very upbeat about seeing the end of this pandemic, and so happy they are speeding up the amount of available vaccine.

  169. 169.

    Kathleen

    • @Frankensteinbeck:  For 2 glorious years I had a Dem congress person in OH1 (elected in 2008). The guy is super smart and experienced. I asked him how he could stand Boehner. He said Boehner was great to work with but this was before the Tea Party. Steve was one of the freshmen who voted for ACA knowing he would probably be voted out. The Right To Life lied about his ACA vote (he was one of the reps haggling about abortion but worked on compromise and voted for). But for a brief moment he was working with Dems according to my source.
  170. 170.

    Geminid

    @Another Scott: Republicans like to attribute Texas’ higher rate of economic to conservative governance. But aside from NAFTA and the shale oil boom, the greatest factor may be the abundance of flat, buildable land. That also may be why Atlanta boomed in recent decades, although the land there is not quite so flat.

  172. 172.

    Cameron

    How quickly the nation falls.  It only took a few years to look back on Boehner as a “statesman.”

  173. 173.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid:Cox talks like Newt Gingrich. He may be able to straddle the divide in his party, but Cox will lose in November.

    Oh yes he will.

    As long as VA Dems continue to deliver on the things that majorities of VA voters want, the Rs are going to keep squawking and losing.  The Ds really are covering the middle ground quite well.

  174. 174.

    narya

    @satby: IIRC you’re in Indiana? The Old Town School in Chicago might be closer . . . unless you’re looking for arts/crafts other than music, in which case I recommend Lill Street.

  175. 175.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I think Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is a good example of a progressive politician who is not scary. And in 2018 Brown won reelection in red Ohio by 300,000 votes. That gives me hope regarding next year’s race to replace Ohio’s retiring Republican Portman.

  176. 176.

    Jay

    @raven:

    once upon a time, off Saltspring Island, in a canoe, fishing for salmon and rock cod, hooked a halibut.

    thought I had hooked bottom,

    Then, it started to move.

    10 foot Loomis Graphite Rod,

    Shimano Power Level wind reel,

    Spiderwire line.

    Never landed it, ( never got it off the bottom),

    Had to paddle back from Sannich, after cutting the line.

    Did not want to visit Japan.

  177. 177.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @germy:

    Someone on twitter said Hawley acted like a criminal defense attorney trying to get to the bottom of what the prosecutor has on his client.

    Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was just sentenced to jail for doing something similar.

  178. 178.

    PST

    @Geminid:

    The ideogical self identifications on the conservative side aggregate to 47%, while the total on the liberal side is 42%. Yet Joe Biden carried Virginia by just under 10%, and Democrats have won every state wide race since 2009. This seeming paradox may be accounted for by the way the Democrats have set up a broadminded big tent that attracts less partisan voters, while the Republicans’ small minded, small tent ethos repels those same people.

    I think it would be interesting to see a racial and ethnic breakdown. There are plenty of African-Americans who identify with many old-school small-c conservative social and economic positions (NOT Trumpism). As a grumpy old man myself, I’m thinking especially of some grumpy old Black men. But voting Republican is unthinkable because because it is a racist party out to disenfranchise as many non-white voters as necessary. That might go a good way to explaining why Democrats do better in Virginia than polling of ideology suggests they should.

  179. 179.

    cain

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
     

    Boehner was always entertaining. I would expect the same from his book.

    I’ve always had a soft spot for that guy – even during the Bush and Obama years. You just knew that he knew he was surrounded by the crazies. That joint video with him and Obama is probably his legacy. hah.

  180. 180.

    japa21

    @jnfr:  Yesterday, I reported that both Mrs. Japa and I had gotten our second Moderna on Monday and that I had a little soreness at the site and she had a weird side effect but nothing major. My condition stayed the same and is now gone. However, at about the 20 hour mark post injection she started going downhill. First was body aches, then chills, then a fever and finally nausea. By last night she was telling me I might as well call the funeral home and start making preparations. I made a run to pick up a prescription for an anti nausea med. Today she is almost back to normal, just very tired.

  181. 181.

    Geminid

    @PST: Self-described ideology and it’s correlation to electoral choice is not always clear cut. In 2008, back when exit polling had more value than today, exit polls showed that 7% of President Obama’s voters described themselves as “conservative.” Same for 2012. My Atlanta friend expressed surprise and skepticism at these numbers. But he is a rational and orderly person, and expects the same in politics.

  182. 182.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @PST: I wish this interview were edited down into an article, but it starts to get into the demographic breakdown of the 2020 vote. Apparently the quants are still reviewing the numbers, but I’d be curious to see religious self-identification as much as the racial and ethnic. I believe evangelicalism is growing among Latinos with Mexican ancestry, especially in TX, and it’s closer to the white version than African-American tradition.

  184. 184.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
     

    As I recall, the Chamber of Commerce Republicans in the Senate still wanted a deal back then.

    From what I can see, the Chamber of Commerce Republicans are pretty damn upset with the screaming, monkey-flinging bullshit policy, possible violence, and hard white supremacy driving the Republican Party right now. They’re trapped in their coalition with Nazis because my god, the Democrats want to force them to treat their employees as humans, even promote women and n- into positions that are more than publicity tokens! They could actually be legally punished for talking about their female employees’ sex lives! They might have to pay slightly more taxes! They wouldn’t get to pat themselves on the back for their contrarian genius nearly as much!

  185. 185.

    trollhattan

    @SFAW: 
    Based on Kotke’s hilarious liner notes he was approached by a publisher to write a book, but declined. Story I heard back in the day, so it’s obviously true.

    Pity there’s basically no way for the Kotkes and Prines to get traction as artists, unless they through some magic become Youtube stars. You could once upon a time hear John Prine and Humble Pie in a single set on commercial radio.

    Yes, old and grumpy I am today.

  186. 186.

    Geminid

    @PST: The Wason Center usually puts out later supplements to their polls, in which “crosstab” information is published. That may give a better breakdown as to how different groups identify, and what they supported.

  187. 187.

    trollhattan

    @cain:

    Boehner was the Moe the bartender of the House. Sometimes, he’d do a solid and most of the time he was pretty entertaining.

    I always thought his post-retirement riding mower portraits were a “fuck you” wave to the neocon true believers who made running government impossible.

    By comparison, I do not have one minuscule warm thought for Eric Cantor or especially, Little Paulie Ryan, a fraud among frauds.

  188. 188.

    Damned_at_Random

    @Derelict:  Late to the party (west coaster), but a big part of the problem some people have with Pelosi, Neera Tanden, AOC, Hilary, et. al. is plain, old fashioned misogyny. Doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.

    Sorry if somebody else made the same point. I’ve just started on the comments

  189. 189.

    trollhattan

    @zhena gogolia:

    Just today I learn there are both Pacific and California halibut. California halibut season is open year-round and Pacific halibut season is currently closed. The bag limit north of Point Sur is three and minimum length is 22 inches.

    The monsters (up to and >100 lbs) they catch off Alaska and B.C. I don’t think are found off California, but I’m not much of an ocean fisher and am saying that for the halibut.

  191. 191.

    PST

    @Geminid: Good. And I certainly agree with your earlier comment that ideological self-identification is not a reliable guide to party preference. As someone who has been voting for half a century, I can easily recall the eras in which party identification had as much or more to do with geography, history, ethnicity, and class than with ideology.

  192. 192.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I probably should have said, “perceived by most voters as being non-scary”, or something like that.

  193. 193.

    Formica

    @germy: Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Darren Soto will introduce legislation to start the motions for Puerto Rico statehood.https://t.co/yR3YbecJEV— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 3, 2021

    While many mainland Democrats and progressives seem to think that Puerto Rican statehood is a good idea, Puerto Ricans themselves have varied and diverse opinions on the topic. Some of the plebiscites held on the topic over the decades have been boycotted by different factions, resulting in lopsided and erroneous results over the decades (most recently in 2017). The pro-statehood faction on the island is supported by the local Republican Party, which has a strong presence. So a State of Puerto Rico might not necessarily mean two more Democratic Senators, despite mainland Republican rhetoric (not that I think that’s a reason to oppose statehood).

    Some folks would say that rather than a binary choice (statehood or status quo), there are four potential outcomes (again, as outlined in the 2017 vote) that more fairly represent Puerto Rico’s colonial history: status quo, free association (a la Micronesia and the Marianas, et al [which have their own issues as Republican slave islands]), statehood, or true independence.

    Puerto Rico is an American colonial possession, taken as a prize in the Spanish-American War when it was a Spanish colonial possession. They’ve never really been given the choice of self determination. We (mainland American citizens) may think statehood is the cat’s pajamas, but there are a non-trivial number of Puerto Ricans who would rather leave the United States behind.

    Congressman Soto has done an incredible job advocating for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, especially in the wake of Maria and the orange shitgibbon’s murderous, racist neglect. I’m not slagging his efforts. I just want to bring context to a topic that I feel has not been adequately explored around these parts.

  194. 194.

    J R in WV

    So, on twitter I saw this post:

    Michael Beschloss
    @BeschlossDC 23h
    Wouldn’t it be terrible to discover that sitting members of Senate and House had involvement of any kind in the January 6 attack on U.S. Congress and U.S. Capitol?

    And my first thought was that “NO, it would be great to discover this, because the next day those treasonous un-American bastards would be in custody, and indicted for the conspiracy they took part in! Their political careers would be on hold while they were tried, convicted, and jailed — where they could do no further harm to American democracy.”

    And that’s what I think about finding proff that these Republican traitors were actually involved in planning or assisting the Jan 6th insurrection!! A great thing, put their asses away for a long time for conspiracy to commit terrorism ~!!~

  195. 195.

    Captain C

    When service becomes available (or if it’s available and safe enough now), you can avoid a purchase by checking it out from your local library. This will give them a circ and you don’t have to give Boehner any of your hard-earned.

  197. 197.

    artem1s

     His entrails were left on display for everyone in the House of Representatives to see — and to remember.”

    the book jacket has a glaring omission from Boehner’s time in Congress.  There is no reference to Paul Ryan, boy genius.  I’m betting the quote is about him.  I imagine Boehner hated that guy’s guts.

  198. 198.

    KrackenJack

    @raven:

    …it is tough to match the adrenaline rush you feel when a halibut grabs your anchovy.

    That’s why I always wear a wetsuit when swimming in the Bay

  199. 199.

    JaneE

    When I was a kid my dad caught a halibut somewhere off the coast in SoCal on a day boat.  So it is possible that halibut were found in or near SanFran at one time. It was mighty good eating, even for breakfast.  I wish I knew who he was talking about.

  200. 200.

    KrackenJack

    @Geminid:

    It’s a big country and you can find nearly any permutation of beliefs, background and behavior.

    I’d be willing to bet that some bone-deep racists voted for Obama because they thought it would expose his racial inferiority and / or start a race war.

  201. 201.

    satby

    @narya: I appreciate your answer, but I’m not at all looking for music (and I’m an old concert attending friend of the OT Folk school). Been to  Lill street, but not for a while. For a class I could just go to the local Fire Arts here, but I wanted to combine a vacation to a place I’ve not been with a class.

  202. 202.

    PaulWartenberg

    @Betty Cracker:

    As a librarian I cannot encourage theft. But it’s coming out in April, there’s a good chance your library will order it as a leased title for a temporary 6-month period after which it gets returned to the distributor and recycled as osprey nest material.

  204. 204.

    Josie (also)

    @satby: The Campbell school has an excellent reputation.  I had a friend who would go every summer.  She really enjoyed it.

  205. 205.

    J R in WV

    @germy: ​

     

    @rikyrah:

    I think it was Lindsey Graham who said Harris would be impeached if Republicans took back the House.

    That would be a good look, impeaching an elected official for being Female, African, Asian and successful past Lindsey’s most fervent dreams.

    From South Carolina, racist AND hates women, what a man!

  206. 206.

    J R in WV

    @Jeffro:

    And Boehner doesn’t care, either – that’s the best part

    Is Boehner the ConservaFascist now part owner of and lobbyist for a major Cannabis corp?!?

    The mere thought make me want (a little bit) to abandon the Green Goddess…

  207. 207.

    Achrachno

    @trollhattan: Pacific halibut, the largest species of flatfish in the world, occurs south to the vicinity of Santa Barbara according to NOAA.

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