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

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

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

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Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

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Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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Shitstorm (Open Thread)

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The latest Democrat stepping up in Colorado to oppose kooky Trumper Lauren Boebert launches an absolute shitstorm of an ad, which is not recommended for lunchtime viewing:

Gross? Yeah. But you gotta break through somehow, and depicting Boebert as the source of a rain of wet turds might be just the way Walker can set himself apart from the pack.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

161Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Ugh. I can’t imagine that’s going to work. Hope I’m wrong, but only for the possible outcome, not as any kind of endorsement of this advertising approach. Because yuck.

  3. 3.

    Professor Bigfoot

    Oh, crap, and I’d just called a moratorium on donations to candidates outside of Ahia, but this ad deserves a couple of shekels.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    I am laughing against my will.

    ETA: Even as I just quit watching “Death at a Funeral” over my lunch for similar reasons.

  6. 6.

    FelonyGovt

    I can see this ad appealing to da yoots. Makes me rather nauseous, but whatever it takes I guess.

  8. 8.

    zhena gogolia

    @FelonyGovt: Today’s generations seem to enjoy watching people vomit. The Crown had so many vomit / spitting up blood scenes. I don’t really see why we need to have it illustrated for us. I have an imagination.

  9. 9.

    Gonzo Mescalito

    The Q dude pooing all over the picnic lunch was kinda funny. But it all seems a little…excessive.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    This ad would might only work against a few politicians, but Boebert is one of them. She is manifestly an idiot. She has stayed in Colorado state news ever since she entered Congress, and not  in a good way. A strong Democrat can give Boebert a run for her money. Between ethics lapses and obnoxious rhetoric, Boebert has given Democrats plenty of ammo and they might as well use it all.

  12. 12.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, boy. As a CD-3 resident who just had lunch, I’m not sure I really want to engage with this right now.

  13. 13.

    The Dangerman

    He will be remembered. Not for winning, however. Boebert could drop a deuce on live TV, wipe with the American Flag, and burn a Bible and she’s still winning.

    ETA: DJT was an obvious POS and the Evangelicals flocked to him.

  15. 15.

    Soprano2

    I’ve gotta complain about the weather here. It was in the 70’s on Monday; today it’s 15 degrees with massive amounts of sleet coming out of the sky!! I’m officially ready for spring to come and get all this shitty weather out of here!

  16. 16.

    Almost Retired

    That was ghastly, but I’m not a political consultant and I don’t know that District.  Obviously, some campaign professional concluded a shit-stained teddy bear was the ticket to Congress.

  21. 21.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    @Betty Cracker: Was just looking that up. Apparently an earlier version put her in with Boulder, but the final version kept her district solidly red.

    Not as deeply red as Greene’s district, though.

  24. 24.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    Boebert could drop a deuce on live TV, wipe with the American Flag, and burn a Bible and she’s still winning

    Why so certain? This is a purple district, even more so after redistricting.

    ETA – I guess I missed the final outcome…

  25. 25.

    Craig

    That’s awesome. I must be a coincidence that I just watched a new documentary about GWAR the other night.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @zhena gogolia:
    One of my friends, who is otherwise a nice enough guy, is fascinated by scatological language, process, and images. I don’t think I’m a prude, but his comments often make me uncomfortable. I know it’s normal, I know everybody poops, but I don’t particularly like having to consider the end product of the digestive system unless I go in search of it. Which I don’t.

  31. 31.

    Miss Bianca

    @The Dangerman: It’s not a purple district. Yes, it includes Pueblo, still, which is pretty solidly blue, but that’s not enough to outweigh all the RWNJs on the Western Slope.

  33. 33.

    hueyplong

    @JPL: Shouldn’t it have said “Marianne J Balloon’s uninterestingly normal size viewed as emblematic of Democratic ennui entering midterms” ?

  34. 34.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Geminid: Ethics lapses?  She was using her campaign funds to pay off the payroll taxes she owed for her employees at her shitty ass restaurant!

  35. 35.

    CaseyL

    I know nothing about that district, other than it elected Boebert in the first place, with her considerable baggage a known quantity, from which I can infer a lot. Scatological excess might be the best/only way to get their attention.  And if Walker can show the district’s voters that they’re the ones Boebert is shitting on (with her corruption and lack of constituent service), he might even get some traction.

    Districts that elect corrupt ignorant clowns to office aren’t reachable by reasoned upbeat ads.  They may not be reachable at all, but shit-spewing is right on their level of cognition and entertainment.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @The Dangerman: a Colorado paper, I forget the name but not teh Denver Post, ran a story on Boebert’s constituents a few months back and three or four people, in my memory all men but I could be wrong on that point, said essentially, Oh yeah, she’s crazy as a shithouse rat, and it’s embarrassing, but she’s strong on the Second Amendment

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    Aww, that’s nice news. And one of my former Consuls General became a great-grandfather for the first time, early this morning. Beefy kid, weighed in at 9 lb 9 oz!

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    LOL!  And then it gets worse (because Boebert is shit) after the raining turds.

    Well done, Mr. Walker.

  45. 45.

    Sure Lurkalot

    OT. Just got a message from the NYT that 2 prosecutors have resigned in the Manhattan DA case v. Trump. Per the article, the new Manhattan DA (Cyrus Vance’s replacement) indicated to them that he had doubts about moving forward with the case. Apparently there’s a higher bar to meet in this criminal case than in the A.G.’s (Letitia James) civil case.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @JPL: My guess is it’s an online only ad that’s supposed to generate attention and get passed around. Mission accomplished!

  47. 47.

    Yarrow

    I loved the image of the Q guy vomiting all over the picnic. So true! They ruin everything. Then Boebert hosing everything down with shit. Excellent.

  51. 51.

    hueyplong

    The comments make me think this was always to be an internet-only ad and that in that limited context it probably works well with people who, sadly, live outside the district.

  52. 52.

    prostratedragon

    @Geoduck:  The ineffable Mr. Creosote scene. I’ll likely never see it again,  but once does give one a metaphor that can be used with absolute confidence of its aptness.

  55. 55.

    Yarrow

    @Betty Cracker:  Yeah, for sure. No regular TV station would air this ad. It’s designed to get attention and it’s working. Reminds me of Carly Fiorina’s demon sheep ad. She didn’t win but I still remember the ad.

  56. 56.

    Yarrow

    @Gin & Tonic:  And their propagandists:

    Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Does he eat dogs? pic.twitter.com/xYEvapjbNT
    — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 23, 2022

  57. 57.

    Roger Moore

    @Yarrow:

    Reminds me of Carly Fiorina’s demon sheep ad. She didn’t win but I still remember the ad.

    Lots of people remember the ad, but only in a point and laugh sense.  I don’t think anyone was convinced by it.

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    looking at these horrifying anti-trans children bills that are going around in Florida and Texas.

    You are a parent who is doing their best to support and affirm your child, and the state can come in and TAKE YOUR CHILD?

    So, if Dwayne Wade lived in Texas, the State could come in and remove his daughter from his house?

  59. 59.

    Chief Oshkosh

    Needs much better editing and REALLY needs a professional shit wrangler. The turds are way too hard and most didn’t splat upon contact. And that’s just the actors. The fake feces is worse.

    Seriously, I have to do EVERYTHING around here?!

  61. 61.

    Yarrow

    @rikyrah:  I linked a tweet yesterday saying that corporations are pretty much shrugging about these bills. Doing nothing. Not sure it’s really breaking through yet.

  66. 66.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @zhena gogolia: What about the little possessed girl in The Exorcist? I just googled it and the movie was released in 1973.  I never saw it myself, but heard about Linda Blair spewing green pea soup vomit

    ETA: Clay at #22 got there wayyy before I did.

  67. 67.

    Scout211

    I’m an old so this ad was icky to me. But in the age of social media, this will get lots of attention and maybe that’s what will count.

    Locally, in my newly formed congressional district (CA-05), the odious, stone faced, do nothing Tom McClintock (my current CA-04 Representative for the past 10 years) finally has a challenger in the Republican primary. A county supervisor for Fresno County and former Mayor of Clovis is challenging him the Republican primary. This should shake things up and force McClintock to spend some money and conduct an actual campaign for once. He typically just phones it in (like he does in Congress). It could get interesting.

  69. 69.

    laura

    @Scout211: While I’m fortunate to have Doris Matsui as my Congresswomen, my utter distain for the loathsome, gormless, rat-faced carpetbag-O-shite that is tom mc C knows no bounds nor limits. Christ, what an asshole.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    I wonder if this ad was inspired by the words of Pueblo resident Patty Consentino. Last year she was one of several dozen people attending a Columbus Day celebration at Pueblo’s Columbus monument.

    The celebrations are a big deal for Ms. Consentino, who remembers as a child seeing her father being honored for his military service at one. Her grandfather helped build the monument.

    This celebration was somewhat fraught, with counterdemonstrators calling for the statue’s removal, and a wary police presence. The event went pretty well, though, with most speakers emphasizing the positive contributions of Italians to this country, while generally acknowledging the need to reckon with the history of Native Americans.

    Then, Ms. Consentino’s Congresswoman got up and spoke. After a few perfunctory words about Italians and Native Americans, Lauren Boebert launched into the stump speech that wows people at CPAC meetings and such. And she is a real motormouth!

    Later, Patty Consentino told a reporter that she was not happy to hear the babbling bonehead.:

           “It’s really disheartening because it’s not supposed to be about Republican and Democrat, it’s supposed to be about our ancestors and they would not be happy right now.

    I came here to celebrate my heritage, my culture. I didn’t come here for this shit.”

    Pueblo Chieftan, Oct. 11 2021.

  72. 72.

    burnspbesq

    @The Dangerman:

    Boebert could drop a deuce on live TV, wipe with the American Flag, and burn a Bible and she’s still winning.

    Depends on the result of redistricting. The preliminary map I saw a few months ago had her in a district that included Boulder and Ft. Collins. If that holds, she’s in a spot of bother (as Tony Jay would say).

  73. 73.

    Ivan X

    @zhena gogolia: John Waters made a point to feature a vomit scene in every movie since the late 60’s.

    And let us not forget the all time definitive vomit scene in The Meaning Of Life in 1983 (?).

    Something is wrong with me that I think vomiting in movies is hilarious. There’s a whole subreddit dedicated to it!

  74. 74.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Ivan X:

    And let us not forget the all time definitive vomit scene in The Meaning Of Life in 1983

    I’d like to forget that scene.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    So I watched it. Gross, but I’m not the target audience as I often tell my husband. I like the theme of it, though – cleaning up the shit.

  76. 76.

    trollhattan

    @Scout211: ​Is McClintock considering, you know, living in the district he represents? Because he’s treated that as optional in the past.

    Wait’ll you get a load of wannabe District 3 congressman Scott Jones. Worse politics than McClintock and vastly more ambitious.

  77. 77.

    sdhays

    @Yarrow: Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia?

    If he had done this, he wouldn’t need to launch wars to distract his populace from his awful rule.

  79. 79.

    Josie

    One of the most difficult moments of my life was handing the Cologuard box to the FedEx person, knowing full well they knew what was in the box.  Even I, however, wound up laughing at this awful ad.

    ETA: I hope it works.

  80. 80.

    Mo MacArbie

    @Chief Oshkosh: I think that may be an aesthetic choice. A certain amount of obvious fakeness can help make distressing visuals less so. I am reminded of the clearly fake horse being run to death in the True Grit remake.

    But mostly I just wanted to throw “aesthetic” around while discussing cinematic feces.

  81. 81.

    senyordave

    Well this sucks:
    The 2 prosecutors leading the Manhattan DA’s investigation into Trump abruptly resigned: report
    The resignations from the two prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, reportedly came after the new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, expressed doubts about moving forward with a case against former President Donald Trump.
    I’m sure he’ll have no problems prosecuting turnstile jumpers. But white people accused of financial crimes?

  82. 82.

    Scout211

    @trollhattan:

    I have been reading about Jones.  Yikes.

    McClintock has been living in Elk Grove and could actually reside in the current CA-04 because it does encompass the eastern portion of Sac County.  But Elk Grove will not be even close to the new CA-05.  It encompasses the far eastern edge of the Valley and most of the foothill counties.

  83. 83.

    mrmoshpotato

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    And Ivanka is apparently meeting with the J6 committee. Daddy won’t be happy about that. 

    What’s the over/under on how long it takes her to plead the 5th or just tell a flat out Trump trash lie?

  85. 85.

    Tarragon

    @mrmoshpotato: At one point I was in a little import shop n NYC and found a, complete legitimate I’m sure, copy of Bad Taste with a big “From the Academy Award nominated director of LoTR” sticker on it.

    I didn’t buy it at the time, but I tell the story about it often enough that I should have just to have it as a prop.

  86. 86.

    Leto

    @Ivan X: I think the pie eating contest in the 1986 classic, Stand by Me, more than gives it a run for it’s money.

    “And then what happens, Gordo?”

  88. 88.

    Geminid

    @The Dangerman: Boebert won her election in 2020 by 6 points, very close to the margin by which her party’s presidential candidate won the 3rd district.

    Boebert had surprised veteran  incumbent Scott Tipton(sp?) in the primary. She rode the Covid wave in a sense, capitalizing on the notoriety she gained while defying mandates to close down her restaurant with its gun packing waitresses. Tipton might have taken her lightly, and may have thought he could get by without beating  Boebert up with her shabby history of misdemeanor arrests and food poisonings.

  90. 90.

    Lyrebird

    @rikyrah: Yes horrifying is right.

    I want to get restraining orders blocking every single one of those state legislators who put those laws forward from being near children.  They are messed up other truckers.  Way more disgusting that this ad, even though I am going to skip the ad!

    And thanks for the further education, I already had a lot of respect for Mr. Wade, and now it’s just gone up.

  92. 92.

    Geminid

    @Litlebritdifrnt: “Lapse” is a broad term but you got the picture. There’s plenty of other stuff too. Mileage reimbursements, and the provident hire of Boebert’s husband by an energy company between her election and her swearing in, for big bucks. Since she is such a dope I expect there are other things that just haven’t come out yet.

  93. 93.

    Betty

    May just be me, but I don’t think it helps Democrats to be that crude. Leave that to Republicans.

  96. 96.

    Betty

    @JPL: There have been rumors that Trump is a longtime FBI informant that gives him protection. It would explain the help the NYC FBI office gave Trump against Hillary in 2016.  Anyone remember when that was supposedly being investigated?

  98. 98.

    lowtechcyclist

    @rikyrah: ​

    looking at these horrifying anti-trans children bills that are going around in Florida and Texas.

    You are a parent who is doing their best to support and affirm your child, and the state can come in and TAKE YOUR CHILD?

    And now Texans don’t even have to wait for a bill to pass. Apparently Texas’ AG has defined underage transitioning as child abuse, so Greg Abbott has directed Child Protective Services to investigate trans kids so their parents can be prosecuted.

    And people with a duty to report child abuse are required to report trans kids.

    This is fucking evil.

  99. 99.

    zhena gogolia

    @clay: That’s the exception that proves the rule. It was a famously shocking and disgusting scene that everyone talked about. Now it seems as if every show has to have a graphic vomiting scene just as a matter of course.

  100. 100.

    Yarrow

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:  One would think.

    @Old School: Yeah, that line didn’t work well. I mean, it’s a good enough line but it didn’t come across well. The guy is just a normal looking guy – he’s not super chiseled or built like a bull. He’s handing out towels while he’s saying it, which makes him look like a parent at a pool or a housekeeper, neither of which are associated with bulls. There aren’t any bulls in the background or other bull imagery to reinforce the message. How is he a bull? He looks like a nice dad handing towels to kids.

  101. 101.

    Major Major Major Major

    @senyordave:

    the new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, expressed doubts about moving forward with a case against former President Donald Trump.
    I’m sure he’ll have no problems prosecuting turnstile jumpers. But white people accused of financial crimes?

    Bragg is part of the new ‘reformist’ DA movement so your characterization is probably pretty off.

  103. 103.

    Geminid

    @Betty: The ad was offputting, and the candidate would do better to come up with something different for the general election. It may serve him well for the purposes of raising money and his profile for the primary, though. There is a lot of money out there for Democrats running against obnoxious Republicans like Boebert. Margery Taylor Greene’s Georgia district is redder than Boebert’s, but one challenger has raised well over $2 million dollars, and another has raised over $500,000.

  104. 104.

    narya

    @Betty: I don’t know about “investigated,” but some folks basically made the case that it explained a lot (Lincoln’s Bible, maybe?), and connected a bunch of well-known dots, and it wasn’t out-of-the-box crazy.

  108. 108.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty: Informant about *whom*? For *what*? I mean, what criminal activity is he “helping” the FBI with that he isn’t intimately involved with committing?!

  109. 109.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid:

    Margery Taylor Greene’s Georgia district is redder than Boebert’s, but one challenger has raised well over $2 million dollars, and another has raised over $500,000.

    Oy. Shades of Amy McGrath

  110. 110.

    JML

    As an ex-political consultant, I’ll say that this is the sort of ad that candidates run who are looking for a breakthrough moment. It’s a Hail Mary. If it catches in the zeitgeist, then maybe he becomes a grassroots hero and starts raising the kind of money you need to actually have a chance in a district like that. Maybe it depresses some of the more sane GOPers who vote for her out of habit in pulling the lever for whomever has the “R” next to their name.

    But it’s not a winner.

    You can take out candidates like this when you run a really smart campaign that’s well-financed and very prepared against an opponent who consistently sticks their foot down their throat. But it’s really hard. How many times did people convince themselves that this was going to be the year that Michele Bachman would finally get beaten? one time the money came in late and the candidate’s campaign didn’t have the ability to spend it. Another time, the candidate had already invested significant personal money into the race and didn’t want to drop in any more at the end. (then she stopped running and a less overtly embarrassing candidate took over the district) It’s really hard to run against the tide of the district, and you have to be really good at it.

  111. 111.

    Miss Bianca

    @Geminid: I haven’t watched the ad, but last I was aware, Sol Sandoval from Pueblo looked like the Dem candidate to watch. I got a chance to meet her at a CD-3 candidate event we had in my county before we knew that we were moving to CD-7. Seemed like a nice young woman with a passion for public service and particularly for education issues.

    And she’s from Pueblo, which is probably the most heavily-blue area of CD-3 outside the very Hispanic San Luis Valley, which is where the last Dem to hold CD-3, John Salazar (Ken’s brother), was from. I think she’ll be more competitive than this guy, whoever he is. Just sayin’.

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    @Roger Moore: What if there Russians aren’t giving Carlson money, but are offering something as good or better: power? They have financed a political organism that has taken over the nativist/isolationist wing of the Republican party. Carlson has become a powerful exponent for this movement, with the influence, ratings and compensation to match.

  115. 115.

    Scout211

    @Miss Bianca:

    what criminal activity is he “helping” the FBI with that he isn’t intimately involved with committing?!

    I was curious about that as well.  So I did a quick search and read this article from 2019 in Business Insider.  It turns out he was cooperating with the FBI when activity at his casino in the 1980s was being investigated.  At least that is one case where he offered to cooperate.

    Yet, on at least two occasions in the 1980s, Trump reportedly testified to avoid persecution, and actively offered to cooperate with law enforcement to quash criminal activity.

    As BuzzFeed News reported in January 2017, Trump offered to “fully cooperate” with the FBI to monitor potential organized activity in his Atlantic City casinos as far back as 1981.

    An FBI memo from that year details Trump and his brother Robert raising concerns with the Bureau about building a casino in the New Jersey gambling hotspot given reports of widespread mob activity, and discussing plans to place undercover agents in the casino.

    “Trump advised Agents that he had read in the press media and had heard from various acquaintances that Organized Crime elements were known to operate in Atlantic City,” a memo from the fall of 1981 said.

    “Trump stated in order to show that he was willing to fully cooperate with the FBI, he suggested that they use undercover agents within the casino,” the memo read. “At this point, [an agent] initiated steps with the Newark office … to begin planning an undercover proposal concerning the proposed Trump casino.”

     

  116. 116.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Tarragon: LOL!  Brilliant, misleading marketing.  I really hope someone bought it having no knowledge of Peter Jackson’s earlier movies.

    Btw, have you seen Braindead aka Dead Alive?

  117. 117.

    Miss Bianca

    @Scout211: Huh. Interesting, thanks for checking that out.

    However, that was then, this is now. 1981 is a long time ago. I can’t imagine that if there’s evidence he’s committed crimes since then, that the agency can just ignore that or say, “but he was our guy back in the 80’s!”

    Oh, wait. This is the New York branch of the FBI we’re talking about. Never mind.

  119. 119.

    Geminid

    @Miss Bianca: I hope Ms. Sandoval is. It might be good to run a woman against Boebert, and I think that women are generally more capable than men anyway. Also, she sounds Hispanic and they have been a significant minority in southern Colorado for over two centuries, I believe.

  121. 121.

    prostratedragon

    @Leto:  I realize that we’re unlikely ever to know what the full discussion is,  and that there could be good reasons for that, but “less interested” is not cutting it right now

  122. 122.

    Scout211

    @Scout211:

    Trump reportedly testified to avoid persecution,

    Ha!  I cut and pasted that excerpt from the Insider article and just reread that sentence.

    Should be:

    Trump reportedly testified to avoid persecution (sic)

    Although Trump may favor the original sentence. LOL

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @senyordave:

    The resignations from the two prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, reportedly came after the new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, expressed doubts about moving forward with a case against former President Donald Trump.

    the Pomerantz resignation is especially troubling to this non-lawyer and trump-hater

    And around the time that the prosecutors received Mr. Trump’s tax documents, Mr. Vance recruited Mr. Pomerantz, a prominent former prosecutor and defense lawyer, to help lead the investigation

    ETA: Daniel  Goldman on MSNBC speculates that the two lawyers who resigned probably felt they could meet the high bar for conviction in criminal court– they have to prove trump knew he was breaking the law– and Bragg didn’t.

  124. 124.

    prostratedragon

    @David Koch:  Former SO described getting wounded in a rice paddy Vietnam doing something that by his own admission he knew better than. He said his last thought just before going down was, “I am falling into shit.”

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @Leto: New York’s federal prosecutors may have something going too. But I bear in mind that while Trump is obviously a crook, he is also a careful, practiced career criminal who knows how to make it hard for prosecutors to nail him.

  127. 127.

    TonyG

    @CaseyL: One of my nieces (a recently graduated psychologist who was originally from NYC) lives in that district.  Plenty of her patients are unvaccinated and unmasked (and the spineless administrators of her employer don’t do the logical thing and force these idiots get their therapy remotely).  She recently caught covid from one of her patients, of course.  She’s young and healthy and I hope that she’ll be OK.  The point being — lowlifes like Boebert do not arrive by flying saucer.  They are CHOSEN by their constituents.  For their constituents, their worst attributes are selling points.

  129. 129.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman. 1h
    This has always been a much tougher case to indict than meets the eye, and we simply don’t know the details about the admissible evidence. But this is much is clear: Dunne and Pomerantz think there is a criminal case and Bragg does not.

    I guess I understated the difficultly of the case: Not just a high bar for conviction, apparently, but for indictment. People endlessly calling for criminal prosecutions always seem to blow past those technicalities like “judges”, “defense lawyers”, “juries” and “appeals”.

    @Geminid: I always assumed it was Fred who taught him to leave no fingerprints, to speak in circles, to write nothing down, but apparently it was Roy Cohn. And Weisselberg by all accounts is a true devotee of the trump cult, as hard as that is to understand, and from long before trump ran for President.

  131. 131.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    But Jennifer Weisselberg, who was once married to Allen Weisselberg’s son Barry, expressed uncertainty that her former father-in-law would flip:

    Jennifer described her former father-in-law as being in Trump’s thrall: “His whole worth is ‘Does Donald like me today?’ It’s his whole life, his core being. He’s obsessed. He has more feelings and adoration for Donald than for his wife.” Asked if Allen Weisselberg would flip under pressure, she said, “I don’t know. For Donald, it’s a business. But for Allen it’s a love affair.”

    trump showed up at the Shiva ceremony (if that’s the term?) for Weisselberg’s mother, behaved like the buffoon he is, hit on Weisselberg’s DiL, and Weisselberg was flattered the boss came.

  132. 132.

    The Moar You Know

    Daniel  Goldman on MSNBC speculates that the two lawyers who resigned probably felt they could meet the high bar for conviction in criminal court– they have to prove trump knew he was breaking the law– and Bragg didn’t.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: personal career considerations aside, consider the cost – to the country – if you failed at this.  He’d be forever untouchable.  Failing at the civil suit would be bad enough, but not at the same level as the criminal case.

    If you come at the king, blah blah blah.  But it’s true.  No room for error on this one.

  134. 134.

    Geminid

    @TonyG: In this case, 53% of Boebert’s constituents chose her, while 47% voted against, pretty much the same split as in the Presidential race. It will be interesting to see how things go this year with more attention paid to the Congressional candidates. I know people have said “everyone” knew about Boebert’s baggage, but I thought she made her big splash after her election. And while district residents may have heard that Boebert was a dope, many people have to see stuff to believe it.

  135. 135.

    Leto

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Goldman was just on Deadline: White House, and he was stating their resignations were very unusual. Stated the same thing from the tweets, but also kept reiterating how unusual it was from these two. Says up front, doesn’t know any details, just speculating, but apparently he knows them (previously worked with them I think) and it’s out of character. Hopefully we get some details.

  138. 138.

    Geminid

    @Starboard Tack: Yeah, I know this from visiting Alamosa. The San Luis Valley was one of the northernmost outposts of Spain’s North American empire.

    Now I want to go back. Alamosa is a great town to visit, I think.

  139. 139.

    Tarragon

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Yup, under both titles actually. “I kick ass for the Lord!” is still part of my cliche lexicon.

    I’d actually seen Bad Taste, Meet The Feebles, Braindead, and Heavenly Creatures when he was announced as adapting LoTR.  It was clearly going to be to be quite a shift but I thought Heavenly Creatures proved he could do it.

  141. 141.

    cmorenc

    Alas, in Colorado congressional district 3, the idiots have a formidable coalition supporting Bobert, whose motto is “fuck you and the federal government too”.

  142. 142.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    trump showed up at the Shiva ceremony (if that’s the term?) for Weisselberg’s mother, behaved like the buffoon he is, hit on Weisselberg’s DiL, and Weisselberg was flattered the boss came.

    That sounds like my favorite musician joke, about the viola player and the conductor.

  145. 145.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @JML: It might work these crazy times. That image of Boubert as a literal shit demons is hard one to forget and it does lend itself to a natrive.

    Even if she wins that add is going to leave a stain.

  147. 147.

    egorelick

    @JPL:

    I wonder how much of this ad is to breakthrough and get money.  I know nothing of Walker. He may be sincere; he may be imminently qualified; he may know exactly what he’s doing. But if I was just trying to grift some sweet campaign cash, this is the kind of ad I would put out there.

  148. 148.

    Ohio Mom

    I just got here. Watched that commercial, googled Alex Walker and found out he’s number 11 of of 11 vying for the Democratic nomination. No wonder he felt the need to make um, a splash.

    Showed the commercial to Ohio Dad and we had a wistful moment, thinking about his Dad, gone now almost twenty years, who absolutely loved poop jokes. How Albert would have enjoyed Walker’s ad!

  149. 149.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Come to think of it, the add might be a really smart move; Boebert is just a troll so by her logic she has to attack Walker back even more viciously. At that point Walker just needs to keep it cool while Boebert rants like  a lunatic.  Boebert tries to blow it off, she is going to look weak to her own base.

  150. 150.

    Ohio Mom

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Do I have to google Alvin Bragg now? Who is he, where did he come from, why is he causing so much upheaval in his new job that his underlings are quitting? Why does he appear uneager to go after Trump?

  151. 151.

    Ruckus

    @rikyrah:

    I think that the TX and FL govs are looking towards the conservative geezer side of their constituency along with the hard core dipshits of their populations as their key voters. You know the people that don’t give a damn about anyone else but themselves.

  152. 152.

    Brachiator

    @Ohio Mom:

    I just got here. Watched that commercial, googled Alex Walker and found out he’s number 11 of of 11 vying for the Democratic nomination. No wonder he felt the need to make um, a splash.

    Splash. Very good.

    @egorelick:

    I wonder how much of this ad is to breakthrough and get money. I know nothing of Walker. He may be sincere; he may be imminently qualified; he may know exactly what he’s doing. But if I was just trying to grift some sweet campaign cash, this is the kind of ad I would put out there.

    I guess he hopes the ad gets talked about. That may be where the main effectiveness is.

    I think that some people might be repulsed by the imagery and soon click away from the ad. Not good.

    Also, I think the ad is too long, and oddly enough too abstract. You have to watch it for a while to get whatever point it’s trying to make. You might even think it’s a parody ad until the political message becomes clear.

    And in the end you don’t know much about the candidate. If you knew about him before, maybe the ad has more impact.

    But I do like his closing line.

    I don’t know nothing about political ads and political strategy. But maybe I would have started with some of the falling turd imagery and then quickly shown his opponent talking shit.

    Then, short scene of something the guy is strongly for.

    Then maybe something along the lines of “We’re not here for your bullshit.”

    And then the closer “I approve the shit out of this message.”

  153. 153.

    Starboard Tack

    @Geminid: If you’re ever in South Park on Friday night, stop by the Highline in Hartsel and have a beer with the vaqueros. It’s interesting.

  158. 158.

    Geminid

    @Starboard Tack: If I get out to that area again I’ll try to stop by there. At least in the afternoon, and maybe get take out. I’d like to think I might make it out early November, or this time next year when the days are getting longer. It’s about a 1700 hundred mile drive, but I hope I’m still a roadrunner. If I am I’ll try to swing by Bitter Lakes Wildlife Refuge, next to Roswell, New Mexico. I’ll buy one of their cool roadrunner hats.

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