Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

White supremacy is terrorism.

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

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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

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

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

T R E 4 5 O N

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The willow is too close to the house.

The words do not have to be perfect.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

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

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread: Rock Bottom

Late Night Open Thread: Rock Bottom

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TFG’s notoriously teetotal, but maybe Steve can wean him…

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74Comments

  1. 1.

    craigie

    Florida should have a road named after that guy, so they can always be reminded why half of them are dead.

  3. 3.

    CaseyL

    “America’s Urethra,” running through America’s dick, named for the dickiest dick who ever dicked?

    Sure.

  4. 4.

    Another Scott

    Maybe it will be called the Interflorida DJT Highway, or the Idjit Highway for short..

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  6. 6.

    burnspbesq

    27 is a perfect choice: it goes from nowhere to nowhere, connecting all the little shithole towns and tacky strip centers up the middle of the state.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    If I heard right, Steve Bannon just accused @PerkinsCoieLLP of committing election fraud. These guys are a fine-tuned engine just cranking out defamation as fast as humanly possible.

    I look forward to Bannon getting punched in his fucking fascist face with a lawsuit before the week is over.

    These slapdick shitstains…

  10. 10.

    frosty

    @craigie: ​  Wow, you nailed that one! No need to read any more comments.​
    ETA: I should read all the comments before handing out medals. CaseyL just beat you. Sorry ’bout that, Chief!​

  11. 11.

    frosty

    FYWP, wouldn’t it be nice to have the visual editor working reliably? And why a 404 on comment edits? Anyway …

    You all win! Late night Balloon Juice snark is the best snark!

  14. 14.

    DMcK

    Honest question: what is this “RSBN” network? And what’s with the chyron being nothing but an alphabetical list of women’s names? Kinda creepy…

  18. 18.

    Chetan Murthy

    @DMcK: That chyron *is* a bit creepy.  I hadn’t noticed it.  Only explanation I can think of, is that they’re still starting-up (as a channel) and they haven’t got all the content kinks worked-out.  But who knows.

  21. 21.

    smike

    Hey, Sabatini! Don’t go small. Go Bigly!!1! File a bill to name Florida’s whole state TRUMPLANDIA! I’m sure you can do it if you really want to. You’d really be in the news then.

  22. 22.

    BeautifulPlumage

    I like idjit hwy, props to Another Scott.

    I’m going to guess RSBN is Red State Broadcast  Network. Or Right-wing Spreadneck Bullshit Newsarium.

    Not gonna look it up

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Amir Khalid:

    Why exactly is the world crying out for hard Mountain Dew? 

    Because a lot of people are too lazy to add booze to soda themselves?

  26. 26.

    Chetan Murthy

    @mrmoshpotato: I read that the hard seltzer trend, and previous iterations (“hard lemonade”, etc) were all aimed at marketing to kids.  For which, hard MD makes plenty of sense.

  28. 28.

    lgerard

    I was watching some of the RSBC stream on You tube today.  Some of the commenters in the chat were really funny.  RSBC is the network of choice for those who think OAN is too professorial and not trumpy enough.  I assume the names in the chyron were contributors as they spend quite a bit of time begging for cash.  A lot of Christian programming does that. I guess people get off seeing their five dollar contribution memorialized.

    Lindell was insane today.  The guy never stops talking, even for a second.  It was just a nonstop string of grievances recycled over and over again for hours.  It was exhausting.

    No Troy McClure is he.

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Just guessing here, but I think it may be a list* of people who sent in pledges or supportive comments or something.

    *Alphabetical by first name, why?

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Chetan Murthy: I guess.  But you’d think the college kids would know of an app that has drink recipes.

    Hell, Webtender has been in existence for years.

    ETA – Get off my non-existent lawn!

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    @SiubhanDuinne

    You still awake? If so, got a G&S link which you might be interested in checking out. If not, shall keep it at the ready and aim to catch up with you mañana or in the near future.

  37. 37.

    RandomMonster

    Hwy 27 looks like it will make a vas deferens in releasing a lot of jerkoffs into the sea.

  39. 39.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I can’t be the only one to note the inherent contradiction in “President Donald J. Trump” and “one of America’s greatest Presidents.”

    TFG doesn’t even make the top fifty as far as I’m concerned, and the only way he avoids rock bottom is if you include Jefferson Davis.

  44. 44.

    JoyceH

    @lgerard: ​
     

    RSBC is the network of choice for those who think OAN is too professorial and not trumpy enough.

    Hee. OAN is one of the companies that Dominion has sued for defamation. The detail I liked in their filing is that the person OAN featured as an ‘expert mathematician’ is actually a non-college-grad ex-con currently employed as a swing set installer.

  47. 47.

    Mary G

    Two big bills in one day!

    (WaPo) Hours after the Senate advanced a bipartisan bill to improve the nation’s infrastructure, Democrats forged ahead independently on a second front — adopting a $3.5 trillion budget that could enable sweeping changes to the nation’s health care, education and tax laws.

    The 50-49 vote came early Wednesday morning, after lawmakers sparred in a marathon debate over the proposed sizable increase in spending and its potential implications for the federal deficit. Its passage marked another critical milestone in Democrats’ complex economic agenda, which includes new public-works investments that Republicans support — and a slew of additional policy proposals that the GOP does not.

    “The Democratic budget will bring a generational transformation for how our economy works for average Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after the vote.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    @Mary G: More kudos again to the good voters of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, and everyone else who helped elect Raphael Warnock and Joel Ossoff Senators on January 5. And to Chuck Schumer, who was transformed by that election from hapless Charlie Brown to shrewd legislative tactician Charles the Bold.

  53. 53.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid: 

    Once again, the Wicked Witch of the West (D-AZ) does not block a key Democratic initiative.

    My take on her is that she doesn’t have the guts to kill a Dem initiative by herself. If the other 49 Dem are voting for it, then so will she. But if Manchin is against something, she’ll throw in with him.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    More kudos again to the good voters of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, and everyone else who helped elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff Senators on January 5.

    Seconded!  If they hadn’t elected both Warnock and Ossoff, we wouldn’t even be talking about Manchin and Sinema; they wouldn’t matter.  It would be Mitch McConnell’s Senate, and there wouldn’t be a damned thing we could do about it.

    So thank you, every last one of you Georgia voters who cast your votes for Warnock and Ossoff in the January 5 runoff.  You saved our collective asses.

  55. 55.

    Chetan Murthy

    @lowtechcyclist: And the best way to thank the voters of Georgia, is to help them re-elect Sen. Warnock, and (hopefully) Governor-to-be Abrams.  I know I’ll be sending money to Georgia soon enough.

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: One interesting aspect of the Georgia runoff: while Jon Ossoff’s vote total dropped ~100,000 from November, Sonny Perdue’s dropped 200,000. Warnocks vote tracked Ossoff’s, but 20,000 ahead. Before the runoff, people were eeyoring that Warnock and Ossoff had no chance, that historically Democrats did not come out for runoffs.

    The Georgia result was similar to what has happened in Virginia, which used to see a big dropoff in Democratic votes from Presidential races. The 2017 and 2019 General Assembly elections, and the 2018 midterms where Luria, Wexler, and Spanberger flipped long held Republican congressional seats, blew the old dynamic out of the water.

  59. 59.

    Chetan Murthy

    @yellowdog: I do.  And I know that that makes it harder to win.  But these people did their duty, saved the day for all of us.  Just because it’s harder now, isn’t a reason to not try to stand with them.

    I compare their situation to Texas: I’ve given a lot of money (many times what I’ve given to Georgia candidates & orgs) over the years to Texas candidates, and for what?  I really don’t see it.  At the very least, i should try to give equal amounts to TX and GA.

  60. 60.

    prostratedragon

    Pat Hitchcock also appeared in several Hitchcock tv episodes, both leading and minor parts.

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    @yellowdog:

    Depends on whether Manchin can be persuaded to support (including supporting some filibuster workaround) legislation that would prevent them from doing so.

    The Constitution (Article IV, section 4) says “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” 

    I’d hardly think what they’ve got in Georgia right now qualifies as a “Republican Form of Government.”  Wonder if Manchin can be persuaded that Congress needs to make good on that guarantee, and doing so is more important than the filibuster.

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    I seeing a lot of arguments being made that “those foolish Democrats waste energy on organizing voters when Republican election subversion will render these effort fruitless.” I have two problems with this framing. For one thing, it sets up a strawman; Democrats know they have to fight election subversion as well as organize voters. Second, I see this argument put out by people who do not want the Democratic Party to succeed, and in fact want it to fail so long as it is lead by the likes of Schumer, Pelosi and Clyburn. It would be one thing if the critics just stayed neutral and awaited the result in 2022 and 2024. But it’s another when they actively undermine Democratic efforts by sowing doubt and division.

  63. 63.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Geminid: Third: if that’s what someone really believes, then they need to pack their bags and prepare for exile.

    I’m not ready for that yet.  Instead, I’m just revisiting where I sent my campaign contributions [b/c sure AF I’m not setting foot in those UGTR states] to increase their effectiveness.  And Ms. Abrams and her colleagues, it seems to me, have demonstrated their mettle, where Rep. O’Rourke …. has some homework to revise.

  64. 64.

    Geminid

    @Chetan Murthy: I was not directing that comment at anyone here. But I’ve watched leftie twitter and internet publications enough to see that they want the Democratic Party, as presently constituted, to fail. These peoply use any and all opportunities and issues to undermine confidence in the Party. This “foolish Democrats believe organizing is enough” trope is just the flavor of the day.

  65. 65.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Geminid: 1. For sure I didn’t think you were upbraiding people who comment here: quite to the contrary, this place is a hotbed of activism.  So no worries.

    2. I *do* worry that *some* national Dems (Cinemansion, maybe Coons, a few others) will misapprehend the situation, and think they don’t need to fucking act.  But honestly, what can we do about that?  Play some double game of chicken?  It’s all maddening.  But at the end of the day, they’re going to do what they’re going to do, and we still have to make sure our Republic is intact.

    Nobody’s coming to save us, I fear.

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @Chetan Murthy: Beto O’Rourke  and Texas Democrats will have a final exam next November. If O’Rourke runs for Governor (and I suspect he will) we will see if their homework over the past four years bears fruit.

    The Republican candidate beat Joe Biden last year 5,890,000 votes to 5,259,000. Looking at this one way, 690,000 is a lot of votes. Looking at it another way, 26 Texans voted Democratic for every 29 who voted Republican. Texas Democrats have to gain their 4 new votes out of every 55 through the addition of new voters and Republican defections. And from what I’ve seen of voters elsewhere, and of the destructive course Texas Republicans have taken, I believe there will be substantial Republican defections in next year’s Texas elections.

  68. 68.

    SFAW

    @Geminid:

    I believe there will be substantial Republican defections in next year’s Texas elections.

    And I believe the Jets will win an upcoming Super Bowl. Let’s see which happens first.

    ETA: And in case you’re inclined to put me in that group: I am not one of those who “want the Democratic Party, as presently constituted, to fail.” But I do get a little tired of hearing how Jaime Harrison is going to make it close in SC, Traitor Turtle is going to lose to This Year’s Hope, etc. [Not saying you’re one of those persons.]

  69. 69.

    JML

    @SFAW: The McConnell plays in the last two elections have always been sucker bets fueled by hatred of Moscow Mitch rather than reality. SC had some of the same aspects; people thought that Lenningrad Lindsey had somehow fatally injured himself with all his flip-flopping on Trump. Sometimes these Hail Mary plays come out and you get a huge shocker upset…but they’re usually losers.

    It’s always a better bet when it’s an open seat. But a lot of people thought that Perdue was a sucker bet to run against in GA too. A lot depends on what you’re building on: GA had Adams strong state-wide run to set the base. SC had basically nothing. KY had the gubernatorial, but also had a big money fail against McConnell.

    Georgia is a good flip opportunity for the governor’s office. Texas…tougher play, but there’s a lot of shifting sands there that make it worth trying to keep building an organization and base to try and get the flip. Because if Texas flips, the GOP are a minority party for a generation.

  70. 70.

    Bobby Thomson

    TFG’s notoriously teetotal,

     

    I love being the one to tell you this, and he’s a god damn liar who can’t be believed about anything and a known adderall snorter.

  71. 71.

    Downpuppy

    @Amir Khalid: Both in Appalachia & Ireland, Mountain Dew was moonshine long before it was soda.

    Consider the Stanley Bros:
    Down the road here from me there’s an old holler tree
    Where you lay down a dollar or two
    Go on round the bend come back again
    There’s a jug full of that good ole mountain dew
    Oh they call it that good ole mountain dew
    And them that refuse it are few
    I’ll hush up my mug if you’ll fill up my jug
    With that good ole mountain dew
    Now Mr. Roosevelt told ’em just how he felt
    When he heard that the dry law ‘d gone through
    If your liquors too red it’ll swell up your head
    You better stick to that good ole mountain dew

    And the Clancy:
    Beside a hill there is a still,
    Where the smoke runs up to the sky;
    You can always tell by the whiff and the smell
    That the liquor boys are nigh.

  72. 72.

    Kosh III

    @mrmoshpotato:
    I tried the Pabst Blue ribbon hard coffee,  it was nice(for PBR) but I can just splash some tequila in my coffee and get the same result.

  73. 73.

    Miss Bianca

    @mrmoshpotato: I’m reminded of one of my favorite lines from Mad Men – thank you, Peggy Olson!

    “Mountain Dew and vodka isn’t a cocktail – it’s an emergency.” 

  74. 74.

    Woodrow/asim

    @yellowdog: You know, my Father fought for decades, to have his Jim Crow-corralled vote actually count. To actually have a vote that wasn’t rigged in ways I could never imagine, even with today’s horrors.

    He’s not giving up. John Lewis, with his last breath, would not give up. Those of their era, still around, and those who learned from them, like the aforementioned Abrams?

    Not. Giving. Up.

    We can learn from their examples, the people who beat back homegrown American Authoritarianism. Or we can run scared, and give in, hiding behind how “impossible” beating the Red State legislators, and their cronies installed into the Court system, seems to be.

    I know which one I’ll pick.

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