Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

We’re not going back!

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Everybody saw this coming.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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

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Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

This fight is for everything.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

You are here: Home / Elections / 2022 Elections / Local Races Open Thread: Murphy the Trickster God Bless John Fetterman

Local Races Open Thread: Murphy the Trickster God Bless John Fetterman

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  3. 3.

    JaySinWA

    From my comment in Bullshit Tornado below:

    A Fox (not Fox news) affiliate finds the report the Indiana doctor filed with FOIA request. The one the Indiana AG couldn’t find:
    link to twitter.com

    Indiana AG Todd Rokita claimed he couldn’t obtain any records proving that Dr. Caitlin Bernard fulfilled her legal reporting duties. But FOX59 just got them through a public records request

    Fox59 report here link to fox59.co
    ETA Apparently elected in 2020 to a 4 year term, so not up for re-election this time around.

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    The force is strong with this one.

    Oz seems like a cartoon opponent. Where has that ever happened?

  7. 7.

    Roger Moore

    Shitposting seems like a perfectly reasonable way to deal with a candidate whose whole basis for being in the election is personal fame. Dr. Oz is not a serious candidate, and reminding everyone as often as possible that he’s nothing but a celebrity carpetbagger is a reasonable way of addressing this.

  8. 8.

    Ohio Mom

    @JaySinWA: Why am I not surprised that a doctor who chooses to perform abortions is careful to cross every T and dot every I?

    I can’t complain about Indiana, our elected officials here in Ohio are just as bad.

  9. 9.

    JaySinWA

    @trollhattan:

    From https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2022/07/14/indiana-attorney-general-todd-rokita-says-he-is-looking-into-ob-gyn-caitlin-bernard/65373487007/

    UPDATE: Late Thursday afternoon, IndyStar received a copy of the 10-year-old’s terminated pregnancy report from the Indiana Department of Health. It shows that Bernard reported the abortion before the state’s reporting deadline, and that Bernard indicated the 10-year-old had suffered abuse.
    Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita went on Fox News Wednesday night to say he is looking into the Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who provided a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio with an abortion.
    “We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure,” Rokita said. “If she failed to report it in Indiana, it’s a crime for — to not report, to intentionally not report.”

  10. 10.

    JPL

    Warnock should be leading by double digits, but instead is within the margin of error. He needs some Fetterman to send Herschel back to Texas.

  12. 12.

    Roger Moore

    @JaySinWA: 

    Indiana AG Todd Rokita claimed he couldn’t obtain any records proving that Dr. Caitlin Bernard fulfilled her legal reporting duties.

    This may even be technically true. He just failed to mention that he hadn’t bothered looking in his rush to find the nearest microphone.

  15. 15.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: one politician’s schtick against a singularly bad opponent does not necessarily translate to another state. I think the guy who beat a deep-pocketed incumbent to become the first African-American Senator from Georgia, and the first Democrat since the Bush-endrorsing Zell Freakin Miller, might know what he’s doing.

  16. 16.

    MisterForkbeard

    @JaySinWA:

    We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end,

    What I’ve never understood is... fight what to the end? Like, what is there to fight about? This happened. They’re responsible for it. Whining about the doctor is ridiculous, as is talking about how the state has a compelling interest in monitoring which women have (or are apparently considering) abortion.

    They just NEED to imply that something nefarious is going on and it’s Democrats’ fault. No ability at all to take responsibility.

  18. 18.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh, that’s true. But I think a key part of fighting Republicans is pointing out how awful and ridiculous they are, and part of Warnock’s deal is that he’s a measured, composed dude who is empathetic and understanding. He can’t do this to Walker.

    But somebody should, definitely.

  22. 22.

    Roger Moore

    @MisterForkbeard:

    But I think a key part of fighting Republicans is pointing out how awful and ridiculous they are, and part of Warnock’s deal is that he’s a measured, composed dude who is empathetic and understanding. He can’t do this to Walker.

    It’s not that he can’t do it to Walker, but that he has to do it in his own way.  He can do it, but it can’t compromise who he is as a candidate.

  24. 24.

    Mike in NC

    So Oz the Quack lives in New Jersey but runs for Senate in Pennsylvania, and hit-in-the-head Walker lives in Texas but runs for Senate in Georgia. Interesting playbook if you’re a Republican.

  26. 26.

    JoyceH

    Watching CNN and they’re reporting that a DC policeman who was part of the motorcade has corroborated the altercation in the SUV.

    Also that the entire J6 committee is meeting with Pelosi right now. Getting a green light for Season 2, I hope.

  27. 27.

    JaySinWA

    @MisterForkbeard: Maybe this isn’t about reelection to AG but on to bigger and more terrifying things in this election cycle. From the Indy Star link I posted above:

    “This sounds like a part of Mr. Rokita’s next campaign for whatever higher office he has in mind,” Hershey said. “It is a series of talking points from the far-right wing of the Republican party in the guise of comments on a very sad situation.”

  28. 28.

    JaySinWA

    @JaySinWA: More from the Indy Star

    Chad Kinsella, a Ball State University political science professor, shared similar sentiments to Hershey in that Rokita used his Fox News appearance to “stand out” in a potentially crowded Republican primary.
    “Indiana has become a fairly red state,” Kinsella said. “It could be argued that winning the Republican primary is now the key hurdle to winning a senate or gubernatorial seat. … This is a way to be seen by the social conservatives and pro-life conservatives as a champion.”

  29. 29.

    Kent

    I love me some Fetterman.

    All I want from a Junior Democratic Senator from any state is:

    1.  Ability to whip the inevitable horrible GOP candidate backed with billions in dark money
    2. Will loyally show up and vote with the party on all important issues and not pull a Manchin/Sinema.
    3. Ability to articulate the Democratic agenda to the mainstream public.

    I think Fetterman passes all three tests with flying colors.  I don’t give a flying fuck if he never introduces a single piece of legislation ever.  The number of important Democratic legislative initiatives that actually pass is about one per year.  We are in more need of people to vote for them than we are in need of genius legislators who can write beautiful legislation.  It is mostly the staff and administration folks who do that anyway and I say this as a one-time staffer.

  30. 30.

    Scout211

    NBC  story with the Republicans in Washington who are now “struggling” to respond to the 10 year old victim of rape who was pregnant and needed an abortion.  I have no sympathy for these Republicans who can’t seem to find their anti-abortion talking points right now.  But at least their messaging team told them to say something more sympathetic toward the child.

     

    Confronted with the reality of the case, GOP lawmakers interviewed Thursday appeared to be grappling with how to respond — ranging from confusion to blaming the media.
    Many expressed shock that it was even biologically possible for the 10-year-old child to become pregnant. Some said they were torn “morally” about whether abortions should be allowed in cases of incest or rape, like in the Ohio case. And others tried to turn the conversation to the undocumented immigrant who prosecutors allege raped the girl.
    I’m amazed a 10-year-old got pregnant … You really wrestle with that. That’s a tough one,” Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, told NBC News on Thursday.
    “I can’t imagine being 10 years old” and pregnant, said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. “I don’t think I was even able to have children when I was 10 years old. … It’s just awful. It’s awful all the way around.”
    “I’m pro-life guy, OK? And God’s in charge on this. … We’re all God’s children,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas. “This is a tough call, and I don’t know if I know that answer right now, because now you’ve got another baby involved: she’s pregnant … she’s a baby.”
    Just days earlier several high-profile Republicans said the story was fake, using it to accuse Democrats of overreach in their response to the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

  33. 33.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Baud:

    There’s no “should be” with this electorate.

    There should be. (Someone had to make this lame retort, I happily volunteered).

     

  34. 34.

    Baud

    @Kent:

    That makes sense.  I wish people wouldn’t expect every candidate to be a superstar.  Most won’t be. Even on the other side.

  35. 35.

    HumboldtBlue

    @JoyceH:

    I saw a couple folks mention the J6 committee will hold more hearings in August. As has been said here many times, I hope they hold one every week up until the election.

  38. 38.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JoyceH:

    Watching CNN and they’re reporting that a DC policeman who was part of the motorcade has corroborated the altercation in the SUV.

    Also that the entire J6 committee is meeting with Pelosi right now. Getting a green light for Season 2, I hope.

    Very interesting on both counts….

  40. 40.

    Kent

    @Baud: Exactly.  The only Senators who really matter individually are (1) the leadership like Schumer and McConnell who control the agenda, and (2) the committee chairs who have been around the block and who have developed specific expertise in a specific area.  Like Warren with banking, for example.  The rest are just there to produce a majority.

  42. 42.

    UncleEbeneezer

    CNN reported on Thursday that a police officer in Donald Trump’s Jan.6 motorcade confirmed testimony by Cassidy Hutchinson before the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    “Breaking news, a source telling CNN a Washington police officer who was in Trump’s motorcade on Jan. 6 has collaborated details of the heated exchange a Trump had with his Secret Service detail when he was told he could not go to the U.S. Capitol and he wanted to go,” CNN’s Erin Burnett reported.

  44. 44.

    JaySinWA

    @Scout211: This clusterfuck of legislation about choice is making me rethink my opinion on legislation banning any medical or “medical” treatment since these goofs prove they are not knowledgeable enough to make good laws.

    The conversion therapy quacks needed to be exposed and driven out of business, but I have a lot less confidence that legislators can distinguish valid treatment from scams and snake oil in general practice.

    Delegating to experts seems a reasonable alternative, but it is under assault by plutocrats and theocrats.

  45. 45.

    Geminid

    @Roger Moore: Oz had trump’s endorsement and still barely beat McCormick with 31% of the vote. Fetterman’s a formidable candidate, but I thought McCormick would have had an outside chance against him. Oz, on the other hand, is certain to be Yellow Brick Roadkill.

    I think that trump also stuck Republicans with weak Senate candidates in Ohio and Georgia.

  46. 46.

    phdesmond

    @zhena gogolia:

    this is something i picked up at  languagehat.com  — i thought you might like it.  it’s a map.

    [the closest places to Moscow that were characterized by Russian writers as the hinterlands, the back of beyond], each dot labeled with the name(s) of the writers who so designated it; it’s funny and enlightening, and can be seen as Figure 20 on p. 39 of this pdf.

  47. 47.

    geg6

    @zhena gogolia:

    If for nothing else, you have to admire his taste in a wife.  Giselle Fetterman is simply exquisite.  Beautiful, smart, funny and kind.  If she loves him, you kinda have to, too.

  48. 48.

    piratedan

    @HumboldtBlue: so much more to learn and understand, but also sincerely rooting for some repercussions to follow, arrests, expulsions, indictments  for those that participated and for those that knew but did nothing.

  51. 51.

    debbie

    @Scout211:

    He’ll bitch about the price of gas and then never respond to any of the replies even if they ask a direct question. Even Dick—Nixon sticks around a bit, and he’s been dead for years!

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    In other races, I see that VoteVets is running an ad for Abigail Spanberger. VoteVets typically supports military veterans, but Spanberger’s ex-CIA and I guess that’s close enough for them.

    Spanberger is running for reelection in the redrawn Virginia 7th CD. When she flipped it in 2018 Spanberger became the first Democrat to win the 7th since Virginia’s party realignment in the 1970s. Her opponent this year won a low turnout primary with endorsements by various Republican clowns including Ted Cruz and Ginni Thomas. I thought this was another instance of Republicans picking a weaker candidate.

    I’ll be voting for Spanberger now that redistricting has transferred Greene County from the 5th to the 7th CD.

  54. 54.

    Kent

    You gotta know that the staffers who are actually running these social media feeds are having the fucking times of their lives.

  55. 55.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Sorry but of course it’s relevant that Ivana Trump accused Donald Trump of raping her. He also sexually assaulted and harassed dozens of other women. Media won’t mention it as they give endless coverage to the Trump’s comments about her passing.

  57. 57.

    James E Powell

    There are three congressional districts – redrawn a bit – that Rs won in 2020 by very small margins. We ought to be able to take them back.

    27 (D+4) – Christy Smith (D) v Mike Garcia (R) – Rematch of 2020 – Smith lost by 333 votes

    40 (R+2) – Asif Mahmood (D) v Young Kim (R) – Susan B Anthony Tea Party Winger

    45 (D+3) – Jay Chen (D) v Michelle Steel (R) – Another SBA. Got 51.1% of the vote against a dullard who ran as a “I’m a Democrat who loves Republicans” campaign.

  58. 58.

    karen marie

    I am currently stuck at a mall while my lovely car-less Rajasthani neighbors enjoy this American experience. Thank dog for the internet because I forgot to bring a book.

    I’ve posted to Twitter direct links to cspan’s YouTube video of all seven Jan 6 hearings. I am finding it enlightening to rewatch them and encourage others do the same. The experience is different than the initial live watch. I’m wondering how smart Rusty Bowers – a long time member of the Leopards Eating Your Face party – can be given his surprise that leopards are eating his face.

  59. 59.

    Gin & Tonic

    Here are some of your “good russians” commenting on a photo of a child killed in the missile attack on Vinnytsia this morning.

    ⚡️ Comments of Russian citizens under a post with a dead child in Vinnytsia. pic.twitter.com/RcWsb9LVFv— Flash (@Flash43191300) July 14, 2022

  64. 64.

    sab

    @Cacti: My Constititional Law professor in 1977 won a landmark case about moving into a state and not being allowed to vote for a a year until he establisjed residence. Then he flunked half our class in Con Law.  I passed .

    The future ambulance chasers flunked and went on to get extremely rich. I passed and went on to do taxes. I do own my house and my car mortgage free.

  66. 66.

    Lyrebird

    @Geminid: I think that trump also stuck Republicans with weak Senate candidates in Ohio and Georgia.

    Very much hope this is the right read.

    And I heard somewhere that the orange menace is backing Greitens in MO, the most distasteful member of a loathsome group.

  67. 67.

    Almost Retired

    @James E Powell:  Yup, those are on my local donation/volunteer radars.  Young Kim does not know how to do “stealth crazy.”  She was running cable TV ads embracing Trump during the primary.  Not only is that not the route to victory in Orange County in the general, she was evidently wasting her money, because I saw the ads here in Ted Lieu’s district.

  68. 68.

    Immanentize

    @sab: Your Con Law Prof was certainly a class A asshole.

    That is all.

    ETA OK not all. The son of the woman in Bodie v. Connecticut, (the case about welfare benefits cannot be denied by States for a year) was in my law school class and therefore I know how to actually pronounce the name of the Plaintiff.

  69. 69.

    sab

    @Immanentize: Yes he was, He did have a lovely wife who was very smart

    ETA I think she was a bit horrified about the prospect pf spending the rest of her life in Tennessee when she was very much a New Yorker. She probably got used to it and thrived because she was that kind of person.

  72. 72.

    sab

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yes. I had John Wade (edited the Restatemen on Torts) for Torts and I used to daydream in class because he was an old Mississippi gentleman and he spoke very very very slowly. I knew he never called on women students because he didn’t think we should have been there at all. Then sometime in February he called on me, the first woman called on that year. And I hadn’t been paying attention. Oops.

  73. 73.

    David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch

    @Omnes Omnibus:  I didn’t like the Kingsfield role, but Houseman put in towering performances as heavys in “Seven Days in May” and “Three Days of the Condor”

  74. 74.

    Jager

    Late to the Ivana stuff…never the less

    When we lived in Florida, I was in Palm Beach, buying some illegal Cuban cigars under the counter at a cigar store on Via Mizner. When I came out into the bright sunlight on Worth Avenue, a Lincoln Town car stopped at the curb, the back door opened and Ivana Trump was struggling to get out of the back seat. The skirt of Ivana’s pink suit rode up, and she was on full display in pantyhose sans undies. The first and only time I ever saw the woman.

  75. 75.

    sab

    @Omnes Omnibus: Our really Kingsfield guy taught Contracts. He was educated Jesuit and he only called on the Jesuit kids, so a fun time was had by him, them and the rest of us.

  78. 78.

    Immanentize

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I show the clip of dear Kingsfield every year:

    “You come here with minds of mush; but you leave thinking like Laawwyuhs.”

    Then I tell them that I liked my mind of mush, and they should keep theirs, and the worst of law school tries to make your mind sharper by narrowing it.

  79. 79.

    Barbara

    @sab: I had a classmate who was “unexpectedly” called on to summarize one of those awful British rape cases, and began, “Well, Mr. Rex . . .” and got no further.

  81. 81.

    Immanentize

    @Barbara: one of my guilty pleasures in first semester Crim Law in an early mens rea case (Prince v. Regina) is to ask my class of nearly 100, who is Regina?

    Ruh Guy Na!! Rhymes with….

  82. 82.

    Lyrebird

    @Geminid: ​I’ll be voting for Spanberger now that redistricting has transferred Greene County from the 5th to the 7th CD.

     

    Thank you and may all the deities bless her.

    I am not glad the former guy dissed the intelligence agencies, but I think that it certainly helped lose him some suport all around VA!

  83. 83.

    phdesmond

    Here’s a clip of Chris Hayes last night, going after the Republicans’ treatment of the ten-year-old’s story.  he gets good and indignant.

  84. 84.

    sab

    @Immanentize: I used to laugh about law school with my  never got near law husband. ” You just got Lindsey Wagner into bed for the first time and all you can talk about is your Contracts professor that you hate. Who unbeknownst to you is her father.”

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    JL Cauvin doesn’t disappoint in his reaction to the news about Ivana, but this comment on his video is really great:

    Condolences, Sir. Just remember that all things must pass. Remember how just yesterday Liz Cheney said even you, Sir, had passed from being a child to being a 76 year old man. Hope that realization brings you peace in your time of sorrow, Sir.

  89. 89.

    zhena gogolia

    @phdesmond: I can no longer find your comment that was addressed to me — I couldn’t check out what you had linked because I was multitasking. Do you remember where it was?

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    @Lyrebird: An astute Ohio jackal said she thought that businessman Mike Gibbons would be Tim Ryan’s toughest opponent. She remarked on how few of Ohio’s Republicans like J.D. Vance. As it turned out, trump’s endorsement enabled Vance to win his primary, but with a plurality under 33%.

    Georgia Republicans (and Mitch McConnell too) initially resisted Herschel Walker’s candidacy. Once trump made it clear that he was insisting on Walker, they fell into line. They were spooked by the way trump and his hard-core supporters sandbagged Perdue and Loeffler in the Senate runoffs the year before.

    I saw a poll of 1300 people, done in May for an Atlanta TV station, where Walker ran 6 points behind Raphael Warnock while Brian Kemp ran 5 points ahead of Stacey Abrams. That’s only one poll, but it was the same set of respondents and I thought that this said something about Walker’s weakness.

    The two Republicans who stayed in the primary aginst Walker had spent significant money pounding Walker with negative ads about his personal and business problems. Meanwhile, Warnock was banking money as Walker’s opponents did his work for him.

    In Missouri, disgraced ex-Governor Greitens is leading a crowded field. Trump’s chicken, and endorsing Greitens would be the safest bet for the primary. I’ve heard a number of Republicans say that Greitens is their only candidate who could lose in November, though, and they’re probably right. Democrats will field a decent candidate, either Mr. Kunce or Ms. Busch Valentine

  91. 91.

    sab

    @Barbara: @Immanentize:

    Just asked my husband about those, since he does crossword puzzles. ” Huh.”

    “But you went to Catholic schools. I had Latin in public schools.”

    “God no. I wasn’t going on to seminary.”

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    I almost hate to do this because I know there is some strong knee jerk reaction to AOC, but she is actually working hard in Congress, despite her attacks without protection at the Capitol. (BTW who did disable the panic buttons in certain offices and change the lock on Pence’s office?)

    8 items my office passed + supported today in the House NDAA:1. Authorizing MDMA & psilocybin as substances for study in therapeutic applications (FINALLY! Took 3 yrs!)2. New limits on arms sales to Saudi Arabia + requiring actions related to the death of Jamal Khashoggi — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 15, 2022

  94. 94.

    Alison Rose

    @phdesmond: Damn. I know Hayes isn’t a fan favorite around here, but that was good. The seething contempt and disgust on full display. I thought he was gonna throw out an f word by the end.

  96. 96.

    sab

    @Geminid: Weirdly, number two was Dolens, sibling to the owners of the Cleveland Guardians/Indians, who was the only never Trumper in the field.

    By the way, I absolutely love everything about their name change: the name, the tie-in to the iconic bridge and its statues, the logo close to but different from the old one.

  97. 97.

    Lyrebird

    @Geminid: ​
     
    Thanks!

    I’ve heard a number of Republicans say that Greitens is their only candidate who could lose in November, though, and they’re probably right.

    From their lips to the Spaghetti Monster’s ears!

  98. 98.

    phdesmond

    @zhena gogolia:

    reposting.

    [the closest places to Moscow that were characterized by Russian writers as the hinterlands, the back of beyond], each dot labeled with the name(s) of the writers who so designated it; it’s funny and enlightening, and can be seen as Figure 20 on p. 39 of this pdf.

  99. 99.

    Suzanne

    I mean we sure are trying

    This is 100% what I need. The low-level contempt is exactly my jam.

  107. 107.

    Alison Rose

    @phdesmond: I’m sure he’d be just as enraged if this weren’t the case, but I believe his eldest daughter is the same age as this girl, so I’d imagine that contributes a bit to his reaction.

  109. 109.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sab: You just got Lindsey Wagner into bed for the first time and all you can talk about is your Contracts professor that you hate. Who unbeknownst to you is her father.”

    scrolling up from the end of the thread and seeing this out of context I thought perhaps Imm had an…. intersting history with The Bionic Woman.

    I love The Paper Chase, I love John Houseman. “Mr Haaaahrrrt. Here is a dime….”

  115. 115.

    gene108

    Lots of SE PA folks got folks in South Jersey. Smart to single out North Jersey.

    Plus, Central Jersey is a myth.

    There’s really only North or South Jersey divided by when sports fans start pulling mostly for NYC teams versus Philly teams, or other local quirks.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

    @AliceBlue: Black sounds like an honest man. Walker is unqualified and Republican politicians know this. Very few are willing to say it, though.

  117. 117.

    BeautifulPlumage

    @Leto: too bad it’s parody & not the real social media account. Makes a great point about her outfits

  118. 118.

    BeautifulPlumage

    I kinda wish I could vote for Fetterman. He & Giselle are the real thing. Their 3 kids are encouraged & appreciated for who they are. I want them as my neighbors.

  120. 120.

    Geminid

    @Lyrebird: Missouri’s Democratic Senate primary is interesting because the two leading candidates are very different. Lucas Kunce is a former Marine attorney from a middle class family. Trudy Busch Valentine is a former nurse from the Busch brewing dynasty. Kunce has been running for a year now while Valentine got into the race only three months ago. There don’t seem to be any big policy differences between the two, and many Democrats will base their choices on perceived electability. Valentine is picking up union endorsements, and they may see her as the stronger candidate.

    If she’s elected, I think Valentine will be the only Senator with her own herd of bison.

  121. 121.

    divF

    @Immanentize: When Madame divF was first-year resident, the chief of the Emergency Department would give a little talk to the first years, that included the statement that, prior to some serious training, they were nothing but a bunch of “lame, spastic, blobs”.

    OTOH, she and some other first-years were left in charge of the routine stuff coming into the ED while the rest of the department was rushing out to the Cypress Freeway after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

  122. 122.

    Joe Falco

    @gene108: C’mon, there has to be more differences than that like choice of toppings on hot dogs or which side to butter toast.

  123. 123.

    dww44

    ‘@AliceBlue: I bet he voted for Trump though. Black was the former Commissioner of Agriculture. An influential and elected state wide office.
    PS he supported Trump in 2016 and 2020

    @Alison Rose warewasnt among  that hex :  I really like Chris Hayes and wasn’t aware that wasn’t the case here at BJ

  125. 125.

    Lyrebird

    @Geminid: ​Missouri’s Democratic Senate primary is interesting because the two leading candidates are very different.

     

    That’s for sure!

    I know much less about Valentine and am not going to second guess voters there. I will say I think Kunce is awesome and also a bit like Sen. Warren. I think Sen. Warren is awesome as well and I still respect her and am thrilled she is in the Senate. I think she can be a bit too wonky for people, like don’t know why she would think that “big structural change” would be a good slogan for chanting. Kunce has that vibe.

    I see Valentine showed up for gun safety legislation last month.

  126. 126.

    James E Powell

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Every law school has one professor who wants to be Professor Kingsfield.

    Only one?

    When I was in my first year, I was the only one who hadn’t seen that movie and didn’t know what they were talking about when they were quoting lines from hit.

  128. 128.

    Citizen Alan

    @James E Powell: 

    I always felt cheated that the professor who seemed closest to kingsfield when I started at ole miss fell off a ladder in his garage 3 weeks into my 1st semester, get a brain injury from striking his head on the concrete floor, and was forced Into early retirement in the middle of the semester. He was the only kingsfield type we had. All the other professors aspired to be ben matlock.

    On the other hand, my con law professor was literally the basis for the professor character in the Pelican brief who was blown up by mobsters. He was a raging liberal and an absolute terror to unprepared 1Ls, and John Griffin apparently absolutely hated him when he was in law school.

  129. 129.

    Geminid

    @Citizen Alan: I bet you are talking about John Grisham, the novelist. Grisham ended up settling in the Charlottesvile area, and some customers of mine know him socially. One of them went with Grisham on a church mission to the remote part of Brazil that was the setting of much of Grisham’s novel, The Testament.

  130. 130.

    wenchacha

    @Scout211: Those GOP forced-birthers can choke on it. How ignorant of science and human biology can they be, to pretend they didn’t know children can get pregnant?

    The whole lot of them can fuck right off.

  131. 131.

    Paul in KY

    @JPL: Walker, for all his baggage, is a stronger candidate (in GA only) than Oz.

    He was a huge star when at UGA.

  132. 132.

    Paul in KY

    @Scout211: You have no soul as a party if you are ‘struggling’ to react to a 10 year old child who was made pregnant by a rapist.

  134. 134.

    J R in WV

    @dww44: ​
     

    …I really like Chris Hayes and wasn’t aware that wasn’t the case here at BJ

    MSNBC is our go to evening news site while I prepare dinner and while we eat — and drink. We miss Rachael, and enjoy her rare visits when the Jan6 Committee draws her attention. And at night we won’t see Andrea Greenspan, she falls asleep long before I start dinner.

  135. 135.

    J R in WV

    @wenchacha:

    Those GOP forced-birthers can choke on it. How ignorant of science and human biology can they be, to pretend they didn’t know children can get pregnant?

    The whole lot of them can fuck right off.

    With no respect for the Theo-Fascists of the Russo-Repug party I will add that the onset of puberty has been starting earlier and earlier for decades now. But still, yes, very young girls can indeed become pregnant when raped.  And younger all the time, which is not a good thing. Sad.

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