Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

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

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

He really is that stupid.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

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

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

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

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

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

“Squeaker” McCarthy

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Monday Evening Open Thread: Elsewhere in the Biden Administration

Monday Evening Open Thread: Elsewhere in the Biden Administration

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Before I lose the links, here’s a couple nice Washington Post interviews with Pete Buttigieg and his husband…

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    sab

    I was a Warren campaign volunteer, but I do have a Buttigieg Explorers t-shirt. And I have a massive straight-old-lady’s crush on Chasten. I am glad those two found each other.

  2. 2.

    Chacal Charles Caltrop

    I was always thinking the Democrats could be the party of what I like to call the “Alexander the Great” candidate: the guy who’d be the ultimate right wing hero if he just weren’t ….gay.

  4. 4.

    sab

    For those hating NPR (I do too) the local stations often have good local coverage. That’s why I contribute to the local station. WCPN in Cleveland has a morning show after the commute with the dreadful Morning Edition. A lot of it is call-in. And one morning, early in his presidential run they had Buttigieg, and he was amazing.

  5. 5.

    HypersphericalCow

    Will (formerly Mayor) Pete have any control over the funds from the infrastructure bill? If so, he is now very powerful.

  7. 7.

    Chacal Charles Caltrop

    @sab: no I don’t mean right wing in the sense of today’s reactionary Republicans but the kind of guy the Bernie Sanders followers hate

  8. 8.

    sab

    OT My husband used to correspond with Cardinal Burke via e-mail. Cardinal Burke told my husband that he would excommunicate said husband if he was in his diocese. Husband wrote back that he would leave the Church if Burke was his bishop. I told husband that ” the Episcopal Church always welcomes you” ( sort of their motto.) Husband listened to none of us.

  9. 9.

    oldster

    @sab:

    Agreed! I too want to adopt him so that he has a friend (and I’m so old that my sexual orientation is of merely historical interest).

    Poor Chasten! Seems like such a nice kid.

  10. 10.

    sab

    @oldster: Read his book. I think he is seriously nice and also tough as nails under that sweet exterior. His life has been challenging.

  11. 11.

    JPL

    I really enjoyed the article about Chasten, because it just seemed so innocent and sweet.   He’s just doing his best to navigate the ways of DC.   He’s a person that I would love to meet, sit and have a cup of coffee with.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    Pointed out to my kid (via text, I did say “kid”) that today, for the first time in her life she lives in a country not engaged in a war. Born December 2001.

    She did not understand what I was talking about so I needed to explain, and I’ll bet a LOT of other kids are in the same boat. Phenomenal.

    Reminds me a little of how shocking it was to her, to go from Obama to Trump in the White House. Around the time she became aware of politics, Obama was elected. So she went from president cool guy with kids her age to corpulent, braying, proud serial rapist and liar. “Shook” does not begin to describe but I was proud that in the January 2009 Women’s March, she was there for the first and not the last time.

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    @sab:

    Cardinal Burke told my husband that he would excommunicate said husband if he was in his diocese.

    He seems nice.

    Catholics, man.

  14. 14.

    gwangung

    I’m not a huge fan of Buttigieg. Nice guy, above average communication. skills, but his policies seem stuck centering white communities and not doing that well for Black and other minorities. Good to have on our side, but not someone I want to see at the top of a ticket.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    @oldster:

    I feel the same way about Mavis Staples. I want to take her by the hand and have her move in and be my grandma, our grandma.

    Go to her concert and you’ll see.

  16. 16.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to open a Telsa dealership in Kandahar

  20. 20.

    Dan B

    @gwangung: I read this talking point that “Pete is White!” repeatedly.  It’s been a trope that white gay men are racist and the converse, that black people are homophobic.  What does it do to pit minorities against each other?  Please consider who benefits when you repeat this.

     

    Some white guys are racist.  Some black people are homophobes.  Some Americans are authoritarians.  Does this mean we should discount the majority of Americans?  No.

     

    Many falsehoods have been applied to gay people.  Gay men have been accused of hating women.  Many of them hung out with women in school because it was safer than hanging with the jocks.  Does this mean they hate jocks?  Pete got tarred as racist because he embraced policies that the majority of white progressive politicians and activists promoted: urban redevelopment, and more.  Who pushed this narrative and how accurate is it?

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    @gwangung: Curious about whether you read the article or whether you are judging him on something you heard about him as mayor?

    I read something recently that talked about quite a number of the infrastructure projects Buttigieg is promoting that will help a ton of people of color.

    edit: I see that I’m not the first person to get here.  Not meaning to pile on… I very much appreciate your voice here.  I am sincerely wondering what you are basing your opinion on.  There is so much disinformation about Buttigieg out there… On the other hand, I imagine that you did your homework.  So sincerely asking.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    @Dan B: Who pushed this narrative and how accurate is it?

    I blame Andy Sullivan? (He’s flogging another worthless book and making the news-chat rounds. If anything, he’s worse than ever.)

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    @gwangung:

    I agree with you on some of his policies while he was mayor, but to his credit, I think he heard the criticism, internalized it, and has really grown in his understanding and advocacy.

  26. 26.

    Dan B

    @satby: I drew several possible routes for a freeway in Minneapolis while interning for a large planning firm in Evanston.  The option that went through dozens of small warehouses and a poor neighborhood was chosen.  It soured me on Urban Planning.

  27. 27.

    VeniceRiley

    I still laugh when I think of “shake the money tree in the wine cave.” tag by Yang in the debates. Pete did back then come off rather like “French Laundry” Newsom. The kind of acceptable gay who all the important straight white guys could hang with.

    I do truly appreciate his comms skills and I wanted him in Psaki’s job

    He truly does have an intellect that can absorb information and change though. I feel it’s not his natural leanings but he’s got the ability and isn’t afraid to use it.

  30. 30.

    Dan B

    @MomSense: Ditto.  His policies were heavily tinged with well meaning white progressive lenses.  I learned a lot from working with social justice organizations.  It was not often a nice and polite education but it was effective.  It’s weird to me that the black guys I dated and black friends did not.  I believe it’s because they didn’t want to educate me and wanted to relax and enjoy socializing.

     

    People are on a journey and none of us have reached a state of perfection.  I’ve been on quite a few.

  33. 33.

    gwangung

    @WaterGirl: His rhetoric and actions are very common among white liberals and progressives. He talks a big game and he means well, but I don’t find his world view to be completely inclusive and he has to play catch up a lot. Combatting racism and your own racist tendencies is not a done-in-one, and is an ongoing process, which too many white folks don’t acknowledge.

    (Though if you want to say that he’s no worse than the vast majority of white liberals and progressives in this country, you might have an argument—he has plenty of company.)

     

    Because of that, he needs to work harder to overcome the skepticism of his past actions;;black folks in particular have heard the words before, and white folks really have to work harder than they have been at working it out.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

     

    In a way, it could not have worked out better for 46.
    This isn’t an example of a fighting force that we abandoned, like The Kurds.
    These muthaphuckas didn’t put up one skirmish for their country.

    Not??a??one??
    And, we are supposed to sacrifice ANY American troops for that?
    I don’t think so.

    And, good luck on the GQP running in 2022, on sending troops BACK to Afghanistan?

  36. 36.

    DB11

    @MomSense: This was my take on Pete as well.

    I wasn’t keen on him as the nominee, but he has obvious political gifts, intelligence and communication skills — and seems to have learned and grown from his experience.

    I’ve warmed to him considerably due to the highly-competent way he has executed his current responsibilities, and the fact that he’s been a dependable ally of the president on a host of issues.

  37. 37.

    Dan B

    @VeniceRiley: It makes me think of what LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan are experiencing now.  There are Go Fund Me campaigns to try to get them out and the US, thanks to the bigotry of TFG, cannot accept these vulnerable people, at least not many.

  38. 38.

    PsiFighter37

    OT, but friendly reminder: going to do a meet up on Wednesday 8/18 at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot at 6pm local time in Denver. No reservations, but they say they have plenty of patio space, both upstairs and downstairs. See y’all there!

  39. 39.

    Suzanne

    @DB11:

    I wasn’t keen on him as the nominee, but he has obvious political gifts, intelligence and communication skills — and seems to have learned and grown from his experience. 

    For sure. I was very impressed by him at the DNC Future Forum, which was the first time he crossed my radar. I hope he has a long career in government. I think he’s incredibly smart.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @oldster: @debbie:

    Oh, the stories. “I need to get some sleep now.” “Just one more, pleeeeeease!”

    One she tells is Bob Dylan went to Pops to ask if he could marry Mavis and Pops said, “Don’t you think you should be asking her?”

    Years later she ran into Bob and asked if he still wanted to get married, and he said he’d love to, only he had married somebody else in the meantime.

  43. 43.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @dr. bloor: ​This tells you all you need to know about Elizabeth Holmes’s bona fides in health care.

    Oh, bullshit. It tells you NOTHING except what HER LAWYERS think would be a helpful action in securing her acquittal. It doesn’t even say she’s considering appearing unmasked, let alone decided to do it. (NB Holmes was masked at the court appearance in question.)

    Next time read the article for comprehension before you shoot from the lip.

    (Allegedly intelligent people that post stupid things on this blog routinely piss me off.)

  44. 44.

    DB11

    @Barbara: Yup. He’s especially impressive in that context, and probably the best communicator in the administration (aside from Jen).

    He is expert at rhetorical jiujitsu, and especially so because he delivers clarity and concision in a uniquely charming and inoffensive manner — without appeasing or appearing weak. And all this, without breaking a sweat!

  45. 45.

    DB11

    @Suzanne: So do I.

    I thought he was too green in his first run — plus he did have a blind spot at the intersection of racial issues and policy choices (like most privileged whites) — but he seems to have taken the feedback from Black leaders to heart and has learned from it.

    We’ll see to what degree as his career progresses, but I think he’s a star rookie on the Dem team and we’re fortunate to have him.

  46. 46.

    DB11

    @Suzanne:

    I hope he has a long career in government. I think he’s incredibly smart.

    So do I.

    I thought he was too green in his first run — plus he did have a blind spot at the intersection of racial issues and policy choices (like most privileged whites) — but he seems to have taken the feedback from Black leaders to heart and has learned from it.

    We’ll see to what degree as his career progresses, but I think he’s a star rookie on the Dem team and we’re fortunate to have him.

    ETA: Sorry for the double post — I thought I was editing the earlier comment to add the quote, but messed it up somehow.

  47. 47.

    Dan B

    @gwangung: You are correct but with Pete the knee jerk response is that he’s racist.  If the same can be said about the majority of white liberals why is that rarely the first critique of them?  There’s a pattern of pitting minorities against each other that is designed to discredit all liberals and social justice advocates.  It demeans our common ground and our morality.

  50. 50.

    MomSense

    @trollhattan:

    My oldest took my youngest to see Mavis Staples and Bob Dylan and that was it.  He came home and devoted himself to music.
    If you haven’t seen the documentary on Mavis (we watched it on HULU) watch it!

  51. 51.

    Kent

    @trollhattan:

    Pointed out to my kid (via text, I did say “kid”) that today, for the first time in her life she lives in a country not engaged in a war. Born December 2001.

    She did not understand what I was talking about so I needed to explain, and I’ll bet a LOT of other kids are in the same boat. Phenomenal.

    Reminds me a little of how shocking it was to her, to go from Obama to Trump in the White House. Around the time she became aware of politics, Obama was elected. So she went from president cool guy with kids her age to corpulent, braying, proud serial rapist and liar. “Shook” does not begin to describe but I was proud that in the January 2009 Women’s March, she was there for the first and not the last time.

    My middle daughter was born on March 20, 2003, the day that Bush’s invasion of Iraq started.   I remember watching CNN as the tanks rolled across the border while we were in my wife’s hospital room waiting for the scheduled C-section.

    She is now 18 and leaving for college next month.

  53. 53.

    trollhattan

    @Kent: Blessings to her, I hope she succeeds beyond her dreams.

    I know from your chronicles it’s been a long, fun-but-arduous journey. Covid adds an enormous, unwanted layer of complexity.

  55. 55.

    Argiope

    @Kent: My daughter was in utero, 8 months or so, when we were out marching against the Iraq war in late December 2002.  By the time that war started anyway, she was taking up a lot of my attention but I still remember shaking my head and wishing we’d forestalled it somehow.  Mine is heading off to school as well this fall. Best wishes to yours for great adventure and learning!

  56. 56.

    Quinerly

    @oldster: Mavis is the best. Seen her multiple times in NOLA and years ago at a small town, Southern Illinois Blues Fest. A real treat. (Koko Taylor closed the fest! ) I guess we all know Dylan wanted to marry her in the early 1960’s and pursued her off and on for years. Love that story.

  58. 58.

    Ohio Mom

    I remember when it was announced Pete would be Transportation Secretary. I did a double-take, what kind of job was that? Might be the most forgettable Cabinet position, seemed almost an insult.

    Ah, but Biden and Pete looked ahead to the passing of an infrastructure bill. It turns out it’s a great spot.

    I will file this under All the Things I was Wrong About.

  59. 59.

    JML

    @DB11: I agree. Wasn’t down with Mayor Pete running for President; too green, too inexperienced working at the scale necessary for the job. (Was like seeing Don Ness, the former Mayor of Duluth, MN run for president. Don’s a great guy and was an excellent Mayor, but no one was clamoring for him to run for president and he got more votes than Mayor Pete in their respective last elections) The cabinet position is a good fit for him as an ex-Mayor and gets him a broader array of experience. But there’s still a part of me that gets twitchy about ex-McKinsey people. (that kind of consultant class firm…man, they know how to run up big bills for zero results while telling everyone what they’re doing wrong without really putting together actionable plans that they can put into practice. Let’s just say I’ve seen some people/companies get taken for a ride and I’m leery of the culture)

    So far he seems to be doing well at DoT (Biden has done pretty well overall on his cabinet picks, IMHO) and I wish him all success.

  61. 61.

    karen marie

    @satby:  One person says they’re not a fan and you’re out?

    Get a grip.

    @WaterGirl: Read the article?  It was about Chasten, not Pete.

    Good lord but you Buttigieg fans are sensitive.

  63. 63.

    Yutsano

    @Kent: You just reminded me that there were stories of servicemen rotating back into Afghanistan…with their 18 year old children. I’m too lazy (and slightly busy right now) to look up if there was any fact to that, but even if nothing but apocryphal it does demonstrate just how long we were there.

  67. 67.

    karen marie

    @debbie:  The first in this thread.

    And so what if someone has a different opinion?  What’s with the flouncing out?  That’s ridiculous.

  71. 71.

    DB11

    @JML: 

    But there’s still a part of me that gets twitchy about ex-McKinsey people.

    Agree with everything you say about corporate consultant types, which was another reason I was somewhat leery of Mayor Pete.

    But I’ve also known a couple people who’ve successfully recovered from their early stints at McKinsey / Bain et al, and went on to become constructive actors with useful inside knowledge of the realities of corporate (and government) decision-making.

    Banking on Pete being one of them.

  72. 72.

    Patricia Kayden

    Yep.

    The media will never admit it, but they've been waiting for an opportunity to harshly go after Biden to prove anew how "balanced" they are. "See, it's not just Trump!" #Afghanistan— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 16, 2021

  73. 73.

    Another Scott

    I’m glad Mayor Pete is doing well.

    ObOpenThread –

    Nassau County Executive Vetoes Bill That Would Punish People For Making Cops Feel Bad https://t.co/mEgHLwp9fL

    — techdirt (@techdirt) August 16, 2021

    Good, good.

    We’re not doomed.

    Forward!!

    (via Popehat)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    DMV Friends: 2,500 Afghans are expected to arrive and be resettled in the next few weeks. Lutheran Social Services (National Capital Area) has put out a call for those willing to assist in resettlement with their time, donations, and efforts.

    More here: https://t.co/SCHB2VxzP1 pic.twitter.com/U2GQ73ayc4

    — Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) August 15, 2021

    (via RepDonBeyer)

    [eta] The donate page is a FB page.  (sigh)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    J R in WV

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: ​

    @Dan B:none of us have reached a state of perfection.
    Except Baud.

    I spent quite a while taking out the trash; it’s 85 and 100% humidity here this afternoon; there was mucho sweat!! Then I took a long shower, made Jamacian shrimp with fresh tomatoes, spring garlic, curry powder, etc, etc.
    I feel mostly perfect right now….​

  77. 77.

    CaseyL

    @Another Scott: Thanks for the info!  I donated to International Rescue, as it has a local presence where I live, and has established a fund specifically for Afghan refugees.

    It seems that every city taking in Afghans has an NGO working in that location.  I say this because there are so many organizations taking this on, and trying to stay local might help someone decide where to donate.

  79. 79.

    Leto

    @Yutsano: There are tons of these stories:

    Father and son reunite while deployed to Afghanistan

    Father, son deploy to Afghanistan together

    Like father, like son: family serendipitously deployed together

    Face of Defense: Father, Daughter Share Afghanistan Deployment

    I can just keep on posting these, but yeah

    Edit: there was always the slimmest of chances that my son and I could’ve deployed over there at the same time, same base. But luckily he never did and my accident stopped my career dead in it’s tracks.

  82. 82.

    Leto

    @raven: early in the wars, they were 3 months? Then 6. Mine was 12, after the Army/Marines basically stabbed us in the back during Congressional hearings. Later reduced back down to 6. Some career fields like security forces, or some of our special forces, just did back-to-back-to-back rotations, until big blue finally got a grip on rotations/manning, but we literally drove people out of the force with that. Standard rotation is now 6 months. I did 12 in Iraq and 8 in Afghanistan, but for my career field I’m an outlier.

    Edit: and I know that during the height of Iraq, the standard Army tour was 18 months. There were soldiers in the plane, touching down on US soil, who found out that their 12 month tour had been extended to 18 (the new standard) and they were simply gassing up, turning around, and heading back for another 6. It sucked all the way around.

  87. 87.

    Dan B

    @karen marie: For the record I’m not a “huge” fan of Pete. He’s got a way with words but so does Jen Psaki and Biden in his own way. Warnock, Stacey, Kamala, and many others are higher on my list. Kamala and Warren were my top two candidates in the election but I’m firmly in the Biden camp because he seems to be the one who will scare the low information electorate the least.

    Having said that the dislike for Pete seems to go way over the line and the criticisms seem to have some connections to the way gay men have been slandered in the past. There are talking points used with zero modification from the original. Have you noticed that Biden, whose support of crime legislation did enormous damage to black men, doesn’t get called racist. He earned his way out with support for Obama and then Harris.

    Pete is unlikely to have a broad base because of his IQ, his privilege, and his youth, among other things. He does have skills that Democrats would benefit from if the prejudice doesn’t hamstring him. My feeling is that GOP operatives are afraid of him because he knows how to reach moderates and a chunk of the right wing. Why progressives and democrats feel the need to pile on seems like a huge blunder.

    He ain’t perfect but he’s ours.

  88. 88.

    Dan B

    @J R in WV: I got Chicken (must be capitalized) raised at a small local farm and roosting in teepee at night and plan to BBQ it with Basqye seasoning.  I may feel as good as you.  I bought a gift certificate from our local butcher shop for our tall, handsome, charismatic black neighbor Darren who charmed our shy kitties while we were away camping.  So now I feel closer to perfection.

  89. 89.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    meanwhile…

    Travis Akers @travisakers · 5h
    JUST IN: Hillsborough County Public School Board will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday after 5,599 students and 316 staff have entered quarantine for COVID. The Tampa-area district, seventh largest in the U.S., has only been in school four days.

  90. 90.

    James E Powell

    @dr. bloor:

    Anyone who does not understand that she timed her pregnancy to disrupt the trial schedule and appear at trial as a new mother hasn’t paid any attention to how she does business. That is one cold-hearted character.

  92. 92.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    This is amazing though:

    Michigan was awarded about $6.1 billion over three years. Administrators across the state who spoke with Bridge and Chalkbeat suggested it may take all of those 36 months to decide how to spend it. School boards and superintendents have wide discretion. The money can be used to support safe, in-person instruction, to recover learning loss during the pandemic, or to support the academic, social, and emotional needs of students.

    Just to put that in perspective, Race To the Top was 4.3 billion for the whole country. This is 200 billion.

  96. 96.

    Kay

    Cathleen Decker
    @cathleendecker
    ·2h
    Faced with criticism of the chaotic withdrawal, Biden instead defended his decision to leave Afghanistan: “How many more lives — American lives — is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?” Biden asked.

    They’re just rewriting this in real time. He wasn’t “faced with criticism over the chaotic withdrawal”. They are screaming at him that if he had left the status quo in place the Taliban wouldn’t have taken over. hey lied to us about this entire war and now they’re lying about what they said 2 hours ago.

  98. 98.

    Richard

    @Dan B:

    He is far from perfect but i think his point of view is useful.

    Unfortunately the people are arguing about genitals and which latrine we should use. They are also concerned about this disease that doesn’t exist. Some people are frightened that it won’t be America anymore and they will have to explain themselves.

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    @Dan B:

    Why progressives and democrats feel the need to pile on seems like a huge blunder.

    With respect to Pete, I will throw in that some progressives and democrats seem insistent on fighting battles in a war that  they lost a long time ago.

  100. 100.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: Many of the hard core Sanders fans have a bitter grudge against Buttigieg because he robbed Sanders of his rightful triumph in the Iowa caucuses- by winning more votes! Then, the Sanders people gripe, Buttegieg joined Klobuchar and endorsed Biden before Super Tuesday. This ruined Sanders’ plurality strategy, and proved that “the fix was in.” So Buttegieg is a special target of animus for leftie sore losers.

    These people really hold their grudges. I saw this after Biden chose Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, when Elizabeth Warren had wanted the job. I happened to run across a string of tweets from Sanders fans. It was an endless stream of gloating and snake emojis. These are some of the most vindictive people in politics.

  101. 101.

    Brachiator

    @Geminid: 

    Many of the hard core Sanders fans have a bitter grudge against Buttigieg because he robbed Sanders of his rightful triumph in the Iowa caucuses- by winning more votes!

    The primary campaign is history. Sanders himself is a Biden loyalist and recognizes that the GOP must be defeated at every opportunity. The rest of these clowns need to get a clue.

    Also, I recently listened to an old podcast where the host predicted that Sanders would win the South Carolina primary and run the tables on Super Tuesday. Not surprisingly, this pundit dismissed black voters who did not prefer Sanders.

    They have been wrong from the start. Their pointless bitterness reminds me of Trump supporters.

    These people really hold their grudges. I saw this after Biden chose Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, when Elizabeth Warren had wanted the job.

    Yellen is more qualified. And Warren is needed in the Senate.

  103. 103.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I just got why the Republicans can happily flip flop on Withdraw without their brains exploding from the contradiction; the whole point of The Withdraw under Trump was to distract from Trump’s other fuck ups. The Withdraw isn’t a policy issue in their minds, just mere tactic to change the conversation. So they are being constant in their own screwy logic.

  104. 104.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: I think most Sanders voters are more or less supportive of the Biden administration, although they want it to be more progressive if possible. The hard core of Sanders diehards are cynical. They would rather a liberal/moderate Democratic coalition fail than succeed.

    These folks don’t really respect Sanders. He turned out to be a squish, unwilling to challenge the establishment by making a third party run. They still try to weaponize disappointment over Sanders’ loss, but that is because Sanders is still popular in a way they could never be.

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