I was listening to Matthew Dowd on Deadline White House and he was talking about how to keep the House and Senate, that it should be about choice and rights, not Biden’s record. See below:
"Democrats can keep the House and keep or expand the Senate if they… allow voters to dislike Biden but give them an argument about why it's so dangerous if Republicans take over power" – @matthewjdowd w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/YWFLnoMXSz
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) July 7, 2022
I don’t think that’s a bad strategy, but it also won’t hurt to counter the MSM’s narrative of Biden in crisis. Fuck ’em. Time to tout his successes. We can chew gum and walk at the same time.
This is an open thread. I’m out to walk the dogs before the triple-digit heat hits. If you need me later I’ll be sipping seltzer and watching old movies in front of a big fan.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Who Let the Serfs Have *Opinions*?
Betty Cracker
I’m doing something I almost never do: having breakfast in town by myself! I dropped the dogs off at the groomer, also a first, and am going to hang out here until they are ready for pick up. It absolutely broke my heart to leave them with a stranger! But I can’t stand trimming their nails anymore.
The Oracle of Solace
Maybe you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but I have to plan my gum-chewing well in advance and clear my schedule. That’s probably why I don’t get enough walking in.
Baud
@The Oracle of Solace:
The gum always ends up on the bottom of my shoe.
Barbara
It’s almost like protecting civil rights is good for the economy. Take credit. Don’t apologize.
Ben Cisco
Agreed. We know who we are up against:
GQP, Russia, MSM, hard right, hard left.
Let’s get to it.
OzarkHillbilly
Explaining Irish Wedding Drinking To An American Doctor. – (Uncensored) – Jarlath Regan – Standup
Baud
Yeah, my guess is “vote for Dems because of the economy” isn’t a good massage right now, but that doesn’t mean we should concede our economic successes and alleviate concerns.
Fair Economist
Biden has done an absolutely amazing job; even more amazing considering the insanely difficult Congressional situation. In addition to the great economic results, he’s had the most consequential legislation of any President since Johnson, saved over 100,000 Amercan lives by accelerating the vaccine program, and he was essential to saving Ukraine.
A great record which deserves to be shouted to the rooftops.
Immanentize
@Baud: we don’t need that message right now, September will be soon enough, but the groundwork needs to be done.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
You’ll all be much happier.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: I left you a little present in the last thread.
sab
@Betty Cracker: My pitbull growls at me when I try to trim her nails! But they are so long it must be uncomfortable. I tried trimming one a day during naps, but then she started sucking on her blanket to fall asleep ( stressed.)
My dad ( doctor, but pathologist) used to give us vaccinations while we were sleeping, so I don’t want to make her feel like we did.
debbie
@Baud:
Nope. Say it anyway. Fight back against the “see what I tell you to see, not what is there.” There’s much preprogramming we have to overcome.
debbie
@sab:
My doctor used to spank us (with the needle in his hand) to give us shots. Not sure about the benefits of that policy.
mrmoshpotato
How about he fucks off back to 2016, sucks a bag of unseasoned dicks and actually votes for one of the two candidates? (Yup, the bitch ranted about the “Corrupt Duopoly” then.)
And then he can dig any COVID victims’ graves that are still needed.
tom
Since this is an open thread, and since we talking about Michigan yesterday, Pete Buttigieg and husband have moved to Michigan, specifically the Traverse City area, officially to be close to Chasten’s family now that the Buttitiegs have twins.
Others have pointed out that Michigan is pretty Dem-friendly – we have two Dem senators, a Dem governor, a Dem attorney general, and a majority Dem state supreme court. It’s the legislature that’s been gerrymandered all to hell for the GOP. If Pete has electoral ambitions once his current gig ends, Michigan is not a bad place to realize them.
sdhays
@Baud: This. You can’t just concede that Biden is doing a poor job. He isn’t. There are a lot of challenges right now, a lot of which are due to poor handling of various crises over the last 20 years (at least). He’s dealing with them competently, with the biggest impediment to doing better being Congress – specifically the filibuster and our razor-thin majority in the Senate.
Running on Biden’s record may not be the winning message, but you can’t concede his record is bad. That’s a lie.
TaMara
@Betty Cracker: I started using a dremel, because Bixby’s nails were super long and BLACK and the groomer, great as she was, never cut them short enough. Once I got the hang of it, the dremel works great and the dogs don’t mind it. And it had the added benefit of pushing back the quick, so I could eventually make his nails even shorter.
god, I miss that dog….
narya
@sab: Not only do I remember Ken Brown, somewhere I have a book of his cartoons. There was this weird little store on South Street in Philadelphia when I lived there–the owner’s motto was “don’t postpone joy”–and it had all kinds of postcards, images, toys, etc. A quick google search tells me that there was one in Chicago, too: The Last Wound-Up.
sab
@narya: My first husband and I briefly had a clothing store in California and his t-shirts just blew out of there. The Serfs Up one didn’t sell as well which is why I still have one. It was one of my favorites. My sister is an art historian and she couldn’t quote place it, but her husband, also an art historian recognized those serfs immediately
ETA Thank you! I had no idea how much more there was to his work.
Cacti
But the librul media has been trying so damn hard to drum up a recession.
Betty Cracker
My dogs are such drama llamas about having their claws trimmed. Bathing them is no picnic either. It’s totally worth it to pay someone else, but it was awful to have to leave them in the shop. Hoping next time will be easier because they’ll know what to expect.
BC in Illinois
A Saturday morning example of total moral obtuseness.
Kathleen Parker on the Crimo family and “How Could So Many Have Missed What Is Now So Obvious?”
And Illinois’s red-flag laws are a failure.
So, no gun control, no red flag laws, no background check. None of it works.
Just look at Japan.
Not a word about the victims, the children. THOSE families.
The real victim now is the Crimo family.
Immanentize
@Cacti: Im sure that even if we escape a recession, there will be endless “but it feels like a recession” stories.
narya
@sab: and thank YOU! He is so delightfully weird–it was great to be reminded of him on this lovely Saturday morning and to know I’m not alone. I suspect it’s why Dan Perkins/Tom Tomorrow also appeals to me.
Cacti
@BC in Illinois: After the Uvalde massacre, Didn’t Papa Crimo make a social media post expressing his sympathy for guns?
Betty Cracker
@BC in Illinois: Moral obtuseness is exactly right.
Immanentize
@sab: Hmmm. You seem to have had a rather interesting life so far.
ETA here’s the image y’all have been discussing: Serfs Up!
Suzanne
This morning, I am doing what I do best, which is drive Mr. Suzanne crazy with paint colors.
He doesn’t get that selecting a paint color requires RESEARCH.
James E Powell
It’s a terrible strategy. There is no rational reason to dislike Biden. We need an aggressive defense of Biden & Democrats who have accomplished great things in less that two years with the #$@%! Republicans working against them the whole time. The message has to be we’ve done great things, we are trying to do more, but these Republicans don’t want your life to get better. They don’t want your wages to go up, they don’t want you to have access to health care, they don’t want you to be able to vote, etc.
Democrats who concede the field drive me insane.
sab
@Immanentize: Thank God all that stopped when I moved back to Ohio. Living an interesting life is a lot like living in interesting times in the Chinese proverb. Now its just the usual routine with a good husband and his kids who only rarely do stupid stuff.
Barbara
@BC in Illinois: I hate Kathleen Parker, to the point I can’t read her much at all. She is so determined to protect her friend class that it just grates too much. Olsen and Thiessen are dumb as rocks but Parker is willfully deluded.
Geo Wilcox
@BC in Illinois: I do blame the father. The hell spawn’s father signed off on his getting guns. He knew the kid was unstable. No normal person says they want to kill their family.
kindness
I won’t call the MSM Democrat’s enemy but will say they go out of their way to spout Republican memes 24/7, so they certainly aren’t Democrat’s friends. We gotta holler out the data (’cause the MSM won’t) at the same time we keep everyone aware of the Republican Theocratic autocracy we all face.
Scare ’em and enlighten them. We can do both.
sab
@Barbara: Yes I agree with you on Kathleen Parker:Honey, gun nuts are gun nuts. That is what makes them tick. Of course dad wouldn’t notice the kid was nuts since the kid shared his gun enthusiasm. Take those knives and swords away and give him proper guns.
There are normal gun users in America, but most of them are afraid to go anywhere where normal people used to go with guns because of the gun nuts. Most of the hunters I know have quit because it is now too scary out there.
zhena gogolia
@James E Powell: I don’t believe that person is a Democrat.
kalakal
@Immanentize: I’d never seen his stuff or heard of him before. I like it!
Not sure why but his style reminds me a little of the cartoonist Glen Baxter
https://images.app.goo.gl/vmMqkBs7DEVE2vFs6
Mike E
@kindness: paging Villago delenda est….
tom
@Immanentize: Thanks for the link. Those are wonderful! Ike and Tina cracked me up.
New Deal democrat
Democrats absolutely ought to run on codifying a right to bodily autonomy, and on regulating the sale of assault weapons (the latter because, not only is it extremely popular, but unfortunately mass shootings are going to continue to happen between now and November). They are both winning issues, and the right thing to do.
And certainly Biden and the Democrats ought to tout the fact that *all* of the private job losses caused by the pandemic have been recovered, and that wages, even after inflation, are higher than they were before the pandemic hit (although real wages have declined by 2% in the past 9 months).
That being said, the pace of job growth has slowed down, and is very likely going to slow down much more between now and November. I would not discount the probability of a month of actual job losses between now and then. True fact: in the household survey (the one that gives us the unemployment rate), about 350,000 jobs have been *lost* in the past 3 months, with 2 of the three months showing losses.
Additionally, anything that might be done to bring down the price of gas (the biggest price consumers notice) between now and November ought to be done. Anything that can be done to ameliorate the chip shortage in vehicles (including invoking the Defense Production Act, if it would work) should be done. Anything that can be accomplished with Canada to bring down lumber prices between now and November (to help with new home prices) ought to be done.
kalakal
It’s a great record. Of course Dems should use it. If it so bad why do some many GOP claim the credit for chunks of it despite voting against it. And that I would also use
TaMara
@James E Powell: These folks don’t need a rational reason. But if we can get them to vote BLUE in the mid-terms by appealing to how bad every fascist republican candidate is, how their voting rights, their right to choose, and Democracy itself are at risk, and if they need to justify their vote by saying to themselves that Biden is awful, I’ll take it. Which is all Dowd was saying.
We can work from Nov to 2024 to change their minds on Biden himself.
kindness
@Barbara: I love my WaPo subscription but their right wing opinion folk are awful. I hope the newly installed Editorial Page editor cleans out the stables some but really…there aren’t any intelligent right wingers any more. In right wing media world, having a coherent argument isn’t important so much as chest puffing/beating and frightening the viewers. Who would they replace them with? There are no Bill Buckleys (racist pig that he was) any more.
Steeplejack
Pretty nice here in NoVA. Just 71° now, going up only another degree or two. Gray and humid (94%), rain predicted today and tonight. But it’s an okay trade-off. Only one 90°-plus day predicted in the next 10 days. For summer in the DMV that’s gold.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for US?
I mean, we’ve actually run budget surpluses (including the largest monthly surplus EVER) in a couple of the last few months. You’d think a media establishment that hyperventilated over deficits for the 8 years of Obama while the situation gradually improved only to see it be blown to smithereens by Trump with minimal coverage, would be trumpeting that as a success but nobody seems to notice. Because only bad news gets covered when Democrats are in the White House.
sab
OT But my bedspread would be in much better shape if my pitbull would just chew rawhides Instead of sucking the bedding.
I was a childhood thumbsucker so I can relate.
TaMara
@sab: Awwww, that’s so sweet…I’m glad he has a way to reduce his stress without, you know, chewing the legs off of things.
Poor baby.
sab
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for US?: Is it just me? Real estate prices are insane, so I think it is absolutely necessary for the Fed to get mortgage rates up to normal.
People who bought in this era won’t be able to sell because others won’t be able to buy.
If you cashed out now, great, but where did you move to? Your downsized condo cost more than the house you just sold.
Sure Lurkalot
@BC in Illinois:
The “if we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns” trope lives again to claim more victims.
sab
@TaMara: People think you can just shuffle dogs from house to house, but dogs have attachments and loyalties. Our pit loves us, but she wonders where the others are and why they don’t want her. And she worries we will dump her. Like foster kids.
Betty Cracker
The dogs are home, and they smell great and their claws are trimmed! Woohoo!
@TaMara: Amen!
Suzanne
@Betty Cracker: SuzMom has Chica the Chihuahua, who…. sucks. Sorry. Anyway, Chica needs her nails trimmed and i’m the only one who can do it. I have learned that I need PPE for this task. Maybe a cocktail afterward.
trnc
@James E Powell:
100% agree. This idea came out before the jobs numbers, etc, so OK, but it’s preposterous now. It’s time to hammer on the good news.
TaMara
@sab: Amen. I had that issue with Sully (my house panther) when Trixie came, he became withdrawn – not because Trixie bothered him, but I had a real sense he was afraid I was going to get rid of him.
It made me suspect he was surrendered because of a new baby. Had that vibe.
He’ll be here a year this month (RIP, Gabe) and I can see him finally settling in. It took Gabe a full 2 years to realize he was wanted.
I know there are many reasons people have to relinquish animals, but it is foolish to pretend they can just shuffle from loving family to loving family without some issues.
I have had my eyes on a 7 year old Great Dane that’s been in foster since last summer. I’m just trying to decide if we have the room and if here will be a good fit. The house is pretty mellow, but there would be a lot of animals to adjust to…
I’ve wanted him since last summer, but they wanted him in foster for a while, so they could see what would be the best setting for him, then Trixie came and I knew a puppy wouldn’t be a good fit for him. Kills me he’s still in foster care.
sab
@TaMara: We are more sensitive because we have an actual foster kid whose mother had MS and loved her daughter and did not want to give her up. The kid or dog on the other end never quite believes how dire it was and that it was about kid/ dog survival.
ETA Was foster kid. Adopted by my husband so in all ways our legal and emotional kid now.
Immanentize
@tom: i think my fave was Scrooge and Marley.
Bill Arnold
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for US?:
Yeah, under-reported. This page has chart (select 5 year etc for a line graph) that is usefully simple and it looks like a solid trend of budget surplus at the moment.
United States Government Budget (surplus/deficit chart – 5 year is useful)
Dopey-o
They have successfully predicted 9 of the last 3 recessions.
Geminid
@Bill Arnold: Democrats may not be as quick to brag on deficit reductions because many associate deficit cutting with austerity. But these deficit reductions come not from austerity but rather from liberal yet judicious spending.
Republicans liked to falsely claim that their “trickle down” tax cutting economics would be self financing, but the Biden administration is showing that a “trickle up” program can actually cut deficits. I think this can be a positive issue for Democrats this fall, as well as justification for more judicious investments in our human capital like Universal Pre-K.
YY_Sima Qian
I think both the GDP growth & the wage growth numbers are nominal figures. Accounting for inflation, US GDP growth was negative in Q1 & is estimated to be < 2% for Q2, & just over 2% for the year. Furthermore, there are more economic uncertainties going forward, as global inflationary pressure does not appear to be transitory (something both the Fed & the Biden Administration have realized a couple of months ago), & economies of both developing & developed countries are already in rough shape (which is negatively affecting the US, & will continue to). There may or may not be a recession at the end of this year or early next, but real GDP growth looks to be anemic.
I am all for touting the D’s accomplishment, & there are plenty tout (unfortunately Sinemanchin really capped them), but we also need to live in the reality. No happy talk about nominal GDP or wage growth (especially the former) will convince people whose spending power are being eaten away by inflation (despite the nominal wage growth). Should the US & world economies encounter further difficulties in Q3/Q4, premature celebration now will leave eggs on faces, & give the Rs an easy line of attack.
Now, the unemployment rate, that should be touted. (Yes, administration policies rarely have short term impact on macroeconomics, & labor participation rate is still below per-pandemic levels, but taking credit for macro growth is a time honored political tradition & fair game for electioneering.)
Another Scott
@Sure Lurkalot: +1
Exactly my reaction.
Of course, that’s why laws and rules are stupid and counter-productive – only suckers follow them!!1
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Cheers,
Scott.