Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

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

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

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

The words do not have to be perfect.

We still have time to mess this up!

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

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

Let there be snark.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Saturday Morning Open Thread: Shut Up Already, Manic Pixie Dream Sinema

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Shut Up Already, Manic Pixie Dream Sinema

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Alexandra Petri, in the Washington Post, remains a national treasure: “Bad news! Nothing about Kyrsten Sinema will change”:

… Anyone concerned that this new swerve toward independence would make her any less the human version of an eviction notice written in glitter gel pen can relax. Sinema will continue to serve up exactly the same quirks that we have come to know and … know, from her time as a Democratic senator.

From voting against raising the minimum wage with a cutesy thumbs-down, to impeding legislation to close corporate tax loopholes for unclear reasons, to generally waltzing through the Senate with her signature brand of cheese-grater-to-the-eardrum whimsy, we can expect more of the same! No longer being a Democrat will, in fact, alter nothing about her (this should come as a surprise, but less of a surprise than you wish it would)…

Sinema will continue to be the self-crowned protagonist of the Senate, an AIM away status with really deep song lyrics in it that you probably wouldn’t really get. She is still a party of one, just as rAnDom as ever, and now everyone gets to celebrate that fact! Get excited to pay attention to her and her constantly surprising wants — or rather, to continue paying attention to them in exactly the same way! You have a broadly popular policy idea that will benefit her constituents? She’ll support it … maybe!…

“Why, if nothing about your values or behavior is going to be different, would someone choose to do this unnecessary, attention-grabbing thing that will make lots of Senate business more annoying for the Democrats?” you might ask. But then you would see you had answered your own question: Kyrsten Sinema is behaving exactly as she always has.


Not so much ‘jealous’, IMO, as worried about losing her self-imagined C*E*L*E*B*R*I*T*Y status…


Smart man, that Mr. Pierce:

… Oh, for the love of god, get a grip. You did not make a profound statement of principle here, you made your customary grab for the main chance. You saw your path to re-election getting narrower because Rep. Ruben Gallego would likely beat you in a primary, and with a 51-49 Democratic majority in the Senate, your ability to make the kind of grandstanding mischief that could help you in that primary will be severely limited. As the Post points out (albeit in a roundabout, Beltway kind of way), this has been Sinema’s only true contribution to the issues facing the country.

During her Senate tenure, her willingness to break with her party on key issues has drawn praise from the other side of the aisle. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) invited Sinema to speak at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville in September, calling her the “most effective first-term senator” he has seen in his nearly 40-year Senate career.

“She is, today, what we have too few of in the Democratic Party: a genuine moderate and a dealmaker,” he said.

Well, if the guy who stole a Supreme Court seat from Barack Obama says you’re a “dealmaker,” what more does anyone need to know, right?…

This situation will hold until Sinema sees another chance to get on camera and pose, whereupon Schumer and the Democrats will have to come and treat with her. Then we can watch her calculate which option makes it easier for her to construct her ‘independent thinker’ persona, instead of revealing her as the utterly predictable opportunist she clearly is. She can paint herself white and stick a golden horn on her forehead. Won’t make her a unicorn. Never will.

Is it too late for President Biden to offer her an ambassadorship to somewhere with nice weather and a robust wine industry? (Yeah, she doesn’t deserve it, but maybe there’s a ‘friendly’ nation that does, like Giorgia Meloni’s Italy?)

Reader Interactions

303Comments

  1. 1.

    Hildebrand

    I wonder if she actually thought people would applaud her for this ‘daring independence’.  I mean, is anybody (in Arizona) cheering this latest knavery?  Seems to me that everyone is just rolling their eyes.

  5. 5.

    Gin & Tonic

    Between Elmo and her this place is getting tiresome. Why do I want to spend my time reading about annoying, mercenary narcissists?

  6. 6.

    Spanky

    So, since Sinema opened her piehole yesterday, various incarnations of “Gallego for Senate” have hit me up for $$$ at least 4 times. Imagine that.

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    I may have as much contempt for her as anyone, given that I not only held my nose and voted for her — many times in the last 20 years — but I also gave her a fair amount of time (though never money, thank fuck). I’m sick of giving this attention monster what she wants.

    I voted for her knowing that she is terrible and that she is good for only one thing: keeping Mitch McConnell from the Majority Leader position.

    But I’m excited about her replacement! If the AZ GOP stays in the firm clutch of MAGA, I think this is a winnable race. No matter what happens, she is gone next time.

  13. 13.

    artem1s

    Shame on Charlie Pierce for giving her the attention she craves. He could be focusing on the great new Senators we have in Congress. Or the thousands of great things that Pelosi did during her tenure as a public servant. Oh well, another day another MSM attention span failure.

  14. 14.

    Nukular Biskits

    Having ran for public office myself twice and being mostly a spectator of the sport of politics, I’m of the considered opinion that two types of people seek public office:

    • Those who have a genuine desire to serve or to make for a better society;
    • Those who crave the attention/power/prestige

    The former is why I don’t have much patience for the lazy rhetoric of “all politicians are crooked” – there are genuinely good people in public office, even if may disagree with them on certain issues.

    The latter, however, is the small kernel of truth at the center of the “all politicians” tripe. Unfortunately, in a large portion of this country and particularly here in MS, all ya gotta do to win public office is wave a Bible in one hand, a gun in the other and attack liberals / progressives / LGBTQ / Pelosi / Soros / drag queens /” illegals” /________ (fill in the blank with whatever “conservative” bogeyman is currently trending).

  15. 15.

    Nicole

    I found a series of tweets yesterday from someone who ran against her in a campaign years ago (they were friends at the time), recounting how they pledged not to go negative against each other and then she did, and with things that were blatantly not true. I’m very annoyed I can’t find the tweets this morning because it was an interesting read.

  17. 17.

    Suzanne

    @Nicole: That thread was from David Schapira.

    Mr. Suzanne and I did a lot of volunteering for that campaign. Knocked on many doors and made many phone calls. He would have been great.

  18. 18.

    Brit in Chicago

    “Is it too late for President Biden to offer her an ambassadorship to somewhere with nice weather and a robust wine industry? (Yeah, she doesn’t deserve it, but maybe there’s a ‘friendly’ nation that does, like Giorgia Meloni’s Italy?)”

    Italy is a good idea, but I believe New Zealand is traditional in such cases.

  19. 19.

    Another Scott

    @Nicole:

    Ok, I’ve had it. I remained silent about Kyrsten Sinema for 10 years, but it’s time to break the silence.

    I always had a distaste for candidates who criticize their opponents after they lose an election. It comes off as sour grapes even if it’s well-founded. But…(1/10)

    — David Schapira (@dschapira) December 9, 2022

    HTH.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  20. 20.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Between Elmo and her this place is getting tiresome. Why do I want to spend my time reading about annoying, mercenary narcissists? 

    I’m to the point of wanting to pie certain topics.

  21. 21.

    Brit in Chicago

    @Spanky: Gallego’s chances in the primary may have gone up but they were already high, and surely his chances in the general election have gone down significantly. I doubt he’s happy about this.

  23. 23.

    Amir Khalid

    The Manic Pixie Dream Senator is actually more of an ilk with Joe Lieberman than with any other Senator I can think of. They’re both attention, um, seekers who flaunt their principles as a justification for screwing over their own side.

    In rather better news, the Prosperity Burger is back in season at Mickey D’s: rectangular patty, raw onion, plenty of black pepper sauce, and that’s it. I like its simplicity. I had a double beef for lunch. I look forward to its return next December.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, there’s still not a budget for FY23 and the deadline for one or a new CR is midnight Friday.

    RollCall

    Pelosi said the “strong preference” of Democrats is a bipartisan omnibus bill, and she said she still saw a pathway to achieving that. However, without a deal, Democrats would put forward a full-year CR.

    “I don’t like that, but it’s much better than poison that might befall us in a different kind of bill,” she said.

    Deadlines focus the mind, but the work still has to be done. A full year CR would be horrible, but cuts to placate the monsters is worse. This is a potential preview of the next 2 years – I hope that Democrats know that…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    p.a.

    She’s a topic because we held the Senate and the Red Wave was a trickle.  The stone in your shoe is what passes for a major annoyance when your leg’s not broken.  If you’re going to hold your position as a top 10,000 liberal blog there will be politics.

  27. 27.

    gene108

    I wish local diners delivered. I wouldn’t mind an omelette and hash browns, but I don’t feel like going out. It’s still chilly.

  28. 28.

    Kay

    WASHINGTON — Newly elected Republican George Santos, who next month takes office as a congressman representing parts of Nassau County and Queens, is listed as a special guest at a GOP event in Manhattan Saturday featuring many far-right American and European figures, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
    The New York Young Republican Club’s black-tie annual gala also features Donald Trump Jr. and Jack Posobiec, a Human Events editor known for disinformation campaigns and who promoted Pizzagate, which falsely accused Democrats of running a pedophile ring at a Washington pizza parlor.
    The guest list includes members of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party founded by a former Nazi SS officer, and the Freedom Youth of Austria party that seeks to protect Western culture from globalism and “subjugation of our culture” and to end illegal immigration that “eradicates” the “traditional people of a land.”

    Yikes. New York certainly took a hard turn far Right. Lord. The “Freedom Youth of Austria party”? This is worse than Ohio. It’s much worse than Georgia.

  30. 30.

    Suzanne

    @Brit in Chicago: Don’t assume Sinema will run in 2024.

    Mr. Suzanne described her as “flailing for relevance”. I would also contend that she is flailing for a new job where she makes more money.

  31. 31.

    kalakal

    Seeing that interview clip made me realise I’ve never actually watched her before.

    It’s like watching a fairly bright 15 year old, convinced they know everything and that all those stupid adults just don’t get it, it’s just so obvious what needs to be done to cure all the world’s ills. In a 15 year old that’s fine, sometimes irritating, but fine.

    In someone in the 40s it reveals a horribly self centered personality with a very skewed intelligence.

    I despise her even more now than I did 10 minutes ago

  34. 34.

    Kay

    “We reject the framing and the accusations of the SPLC,” Wax told NY1. “These are all sort of baseless accusations that are thrown ad nauseam at anyone who even dares to veer just slightly right of center.”

    An actual Nazi party in Austria. “Just slightly Right of center”. Okey doke. Next they’ll scream “cancel culture”, guaranteed.

  35. 35.

    JMG

    @Suzanne: If so, she’s flailing in the wrong direction. A lobbyist disliked and distrusted by both parties is of limited utility to any firm on K Street.

  36. 36.

    Layer8Problem

    @Gin & Tonic:  The thought of her wondering why people are saying mean things about her and why her numbers are abysmal actually puts a slight extra spring in my step, so I’m down with trashing her and Musk too on the regular.  But I’m hardly an exemplar for the youth of this great land.

  37. 37.

    New Deal democrat

    I’ve been war gaming this out, and I keep coming back to the idea that Sinema may have made her position worse.

    The Democrats’ best strategy is for Senate D’s to continue to treat her as a member of the club, in particular through the leadership elections at the beginning of the next term; while beginning shortly afterward, the rest of the party backs an opponent who announces early in 2023.

    As 2023 progresses and donations pour in to her opponent, it will become increasingly apparent to Sinema that her bluff has been called.

    Polls will be undertaken, both internal and public. If those show her coming in third place, she will need to find an exit strategy. The answer should be that, provided she tows the party line in the Senate -without exception! – there will be a nice ambassadorship (or similar) waiting for her when her term is done.

    Result: her Senate career is over, and she has inadvertently given the party leverage to make sure she doesn’t continue sabotaging the party’s agenda.

    The key is to call her bluff early and firmly, without being confrontational.

  38. 38.

    Suzanne

    @JMG: I don’t think she wants to do boring politics. I think she wants to be a celebrity. From the people I know who know her….that’s her brand.

  39. 39.

    kalakal

    @JMG: Yep, the whole point about lobbyists is that they work with the system, they’re the ultimate insiders. Out of office she”ll just be a petulant brat with no power.

  40. 40.

    mali muso

    Good morning jackals!  Open thread?  I’m protecting my peace of mind and trying not to dwell overly much on Elmo/Sinamen.  Yesterday, I test drove a recipe for Chocolate Babka with the intention of making a lot of them to give as gifts to friends this holiday season. Goodness knows, none of us need more plastic crap or random “things” to clutter up the house – maybe I’m cheap, but I’m all about giving things you can eat or use up.  As for the babkas, they look amazing and the house smells great. Any other tips for good gifting projects?

  41. 41.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: I’m inclined to think that this is likely.  If the rumors of her never being home and poor constituent service are true (I haven’t spent the time to look), that’s toxic for re-election.  When Jim Webb decided not to run for re-election, the first public sign was lack of fundraising.  Dunno how much of their war chests they can keep, so that might not be determinative these days…

    “I’ve decided to continue my service and fight against partisan politics by starting a new phase of my life as host of Apple+’s new program “Vineyards and Plutocrats”…

    Follow the money.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  43. 43.

    p.a.

    @Suzanne: I’m speaking big-picture variety & care (channel Michael Douglas pointing at the sign yowling “I want one that looks like that!”)

    I like sausage biscuit &egg, although I imagine southerners now: those Aren’t REAL BISCUITS!

  44. 44.

    Cameron

    Ambassador to Italy?  Don’t think so; Hungary would be a better bet.  Kyrstie and Vick – what will those loveable scamps get up to next?  It’ll be a laff riot!

  45. 45.

    randy khan

    I am increasingly convinced that the Dems in Arizona should call her bluff and run someone good in 2024.

    I also am of the view that she has less leverage in the next two years than she thinks she does.

  46. 46.

    Suzanne

    @New Deal democrat: Agreed. When I read this news yesterday, I was at first annoyed, but then I thought, “Eh, possibly not bad”.

    We need to just keep our powder dry, not attack her directly, ignore her pleas for attention. Honestly, I would pretend/assume that she isn’t running next cycle. Give Gallego (and possibly others) some time to raise his profile without it being all horse race-y.

  49. 49.

    Nicole

    @Kay:

    Yikes. New York certainly took a hard turn far Right.

    I always get irritated when political writers, who should know better, refer to New York as a deep blue state- it’s not.  It’s a red-to-purplish state that happens to have a very, very, very, very deep blue large metropolis that can pretty much singlehandedly swing statewide elections.  But local elections are different.  Go north in New York State and it’s fire engine red in a lot of places.  This doesn’t surprise me, especially with Nassau mixed in.  Disgusts me, but doesn’t surprise me.

  50. 50.

    Cameron

    @Kay: Maybe I’m misjudging them, but the names I saw don’t look like they reflect the “traditional people of a land,” if the land is the Western Hemisphere.

  51. 51.

    Suzanne

    @mali muso:

    Goodness knows, none of us need more plastic crap or random “things” to clutter up the house – maybe I’m cheap, but I’m all about giving things you can eat or use up.  As for the babkas, they look amazing and the house smells great. Any other tips for good gifting projects? 

    I am so with you on this. My rules for gift-giving (to adults) are: handmade, consumable, or book.

    Handmade: by oneself or an artist
    Consumable: food, wine, treats, soap/lotion, candles

    Something that could be good that fits in both categories would be homemade body butter or body scrub. Make it in a holiday fragrance.

  54. 54.

    Geminid

    There were a few articles about Sinema in Politico yesterday, one titled “Sinema’s party swing jumpstarts 2024 Senate race.” The reporter discussed the Republican side of the race, saying former Governor Doug Ducey would be the early favorite if he jumps in.

    I understand that Ducey is on the outs with his party’s radical wing led by “Crazy Kelly” Ward, the party Chairwoman, so he would have a real fight on his hands. Reps. Andy Biggs and Dave Schweikert are also potential contenders.

    On the Democratic side Rep. Greg Stanton, who succeeded Sinema in her Phoenix area seat, was said to have his name floated (I think this name-floating will be all we see of Stanton’s candidacy). Marine Corps veteran Rep. Ruben Gallego got the most attention.

    Rep. Raul Grijalva, the powerful Natural Resources Commitee Chairman said that he had assured Gallego of his support, and also warned him to take Sinema seriously. “Anyone who underestimates her is foolish,” Grijalva said. He did not mention the Balloon Juice community by name here.

    Grijalva also had an interesting anecdote about how his wife saw this coming:

        In fact, Grijalva said his wife floated this exact scenario just hours after Democrats secured their 51st Senate seat in Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff.

    “Mona said ‘What about Sinema? I bet she goes Independent.’ ” Grijalva said.

  55. 55.

    Suzanne

    @Spanky: I have said before that I can imagine her on “The View”.

    Politics and entertainment are so much more intertwined than they used to be. I can see her having a show on CNN or Fox or whatever and being paid handsomely for it.

  56. 56.

    Starfish

    Alex Pareene had a substack post about Kyrsten Sinema from October 2021, and it is evergreen.

    I am not really a bettor, but I’m pretty sure, right now, that Kyrsten Sinema is going to formally leave the Democratic Party in the near future, probably after the 2022 midterms. I also think that if Republicans win control of the Senate in those midterms, she will choose to caucus with them. I suspect Sinema decided to leave the party years ago and has simply been waiting for the most dramatic moment to do so. With Democrats currently occupying the White House and having a very slim majority in the Senate, it makes sense to continue caucusing with them to maximize her power; if Republicans retake the chamber in 2023, it will suddenly be the case that The American People Have Spoken and The Democratic Party Has Strayed Too Far From Responsible Moderation, and The Best Way to Deliver for Arizona Is to Be Part of the Senate Majority.

  57. 57.

    Betty Cracker

    This from Petri is pure gold: “an eviction notice written in glitter gel pen.”

    For those complaining about the topic, a reminder that the people who post here, including Anne Laurie, are unpaid volunteers and also a reminder that it’s a goddamn open thread, so if you don’t want to discuss Senator Bling-Dong, start your own fucking topic in comments (or your own blog).

    Anne Laurie works harder than anyone else to keep this blog going. She combs the internet to find tidbits that might be interesting to people who are watching the World Cup, which is not most of us, and schedules posts for your convenience. For coming up on three years, she has scoured the web to unearth useful information about the pandemic. If it weren’t for her nocturnal habits, this place would be a tumbleweed-choked ghost town after 10 PM most nights.

    She has earned the right to post about whatever the fuck interests her, including Senator Self-Actualization, and if it doesn’t interest you, is it so fucking hard to keep scrolling or comment about something that does?

    Jesus Christ. Anne Laurie is too nice to say so, but some of y’all are behaving like griping numpties who desperately need to help yourselves to a nice steaming mug of shut the fuck up.

  58. 58.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Brit in Chicago:

    and surely his chances in the general election have gone down significantly. I doubt he’s happy about this.

    too soon to know, I think. As Suzanne says above, if the AZ GOP goes for a Kari Lake type, Gallego may decide he has as good a chance as Sinema in a three-way race. If McGrath and AnybodyButCollins are anything to go by, he’ll have buckets of money to do the polling before too long. I got two fund-raising texts from him yesterday.

    I was looking at the AZ House delegation yesterday, trying to get a sense of their bench. How far right is Debbie Lasko? I seem to remember some crazy from her, but she’s eclipsed by Gosar et al.

  59. 59.

    Layer8Problem

    @Nicole:  New York State needs better Democrats running the state party, and not people like Jay Jacobs thinking “gee whiz, I wonder how that happened?”

  60. 60.

    mali muso

    @Suzanne:

    Something that could be good that fits in both categories would be homemade body butter or body scrub. Make it in a holiday fragrance.

    Oh, great idea on the body scrub!  I am going to go hunt down some recipes.  One year I made a variety of simple syrups in flavors like blood orange five spice – perfect for making holiday cocktails or mocktails.

    @randy khan: Hopefully my friends will feel the same way as you!  I had to ward off the 6 year old this morning from cracking into the babka before I packaged them up.

  61. 61.

    Suzanne

    @Geminid: Crazy Kelli Ward is full MAGA psycho. If she stays in control, of one of her fellow nuts do, then the GOP candidate will be highly beatable.

    Ducey would be a formidable opponent. He’s just a normal GOP tax-cutting Douchebag. (Schweikert is similar but Ducey is more popular.) #neutralevil

    Andy Biggs or Paul Gosar would be an absolute disaster. #fullpsycho

  65. 65.

    Geminid

    @kalakal: Sinema may be a petulant brat after she leaves the Senate, but I believe that by Senate custom she will still have floor privileges. That would give her a edge if she were to go the lobbyist route.

    But I gotta say, I really don’t care what that creepy clothes horse does after 2024. Sinema will land on her feet somewhere, but I think she’ll be a neglible factor in politics .

  66. 66.

    Kay

    @Nicole:

    Right, but Republicans in NY made big inroads in urban/suburban areas and this is how they’re planning on governing? Aligned with a Nazi party of Austria, MGT, and the Pizzagate man?

    Wow. Far Right.

  67. 67.

    Starfish

    @Betty Cracker: Omg. Betty, you crack me up. Senator “Bling Dong.”

    My sister sent me this cursed video creating a false history about how the “Frosty the Snowman” song was made.

    It is almost as terrible as Senator Bling Dong, but can anything be as terrible as Senator Bling Dong? I don’t think so.

  68. 68.

    OzarkHillbilly

    If one doesn’t want to talk about Sinema or the Muskrat, there is an easy solution: don’t. And I don’t mean go away. I mean talk about the stuff you want to and ignore the stuff you don’t want to. It may be a bit of a one sided conversation, but welcome to my world.

  70. 70.

    Betty Cracker

    Interesting article here on the world’s oldest known wild bird, an albatross named Wisdom:

    In 1956, a young albatross received a red ankle band with the number Z333, as part of a long-term research project that has identified more than 260,000 individual albatross since the late 1930s. By now, that albatross has become famous as the world’s oldest known wild bird. She is named Wisdom, and in early March this year, many of the world’s newspapers enthusiastically reported that she had hatched another chick at Midway Atoll in the Hawaiian archipelago.

    She’s in her 70s and still raising chicks! I guess empty nests aren’t a thing for albatrosses.

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    For those not completely sick of Elmo, I recommend Brian Beutler’s interview with Kara Swisher, in which  Swisher, the personification of phlegmatic, attempts to talk the Stancilite Beutler (he used to be a good, insightful commenter) down from his conspiracy-fueled terror of all the dark possibilities of Elmo Twitter.

    Among her key observations, twitter is really, really small. Still dwarfed by Facebook and even TikTok. A relatively small group of hyper-engaged people yelling at each other. This resonated as I read about Taibbi and Bari Weiss (derisive snort) trying to build Jack Dorsey content moderators into a shadow government run by Joe Biden in the last year of the trump presidency. Meghan McArdle and a few other people have themselves worked up into a lather about something called “shadowbanning”. I’m pretty on-line, enough that I usually know what the fuck the extremely on-line are talking about. I have know idea what shadow-banning is (and I really don’t care, but thanks anyway to anyone who wants to tell me)

  72. 72.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @mali muso: That is reminiscent of the poteca I make every Xmas. My niece has decided she wants to learn how to make it and is coming over for her first tutorial.

  74. 74.

    kalakal

    @Geminid:

    by Senate custom she will still have floor privileges. That would give her a edge if she were to go the lobbyist route

    I didn’t know that, interesting. In her case I don’t think it would be enough to make up for the fact that no-one can trust her, either in DC or in her home state political apparatus.

    I think the “even the liberal” Fox route beckons

  77. 77.

    Reboot

    @Brit in Chicago: Re: the Anne Laurie quote, do we really want Sinema making a bunch of new, fascist connections in Giorgia Meloni’s Italy? Besides, hasn’t Italy suffered enough? Re: New Zealand, I had no idea.

  78. 78.

    Anyway

    Feel the need to speak up for the front-pagers. Enough with all the nit-picking in the comments! C’mon, it’s a December weekend, two weeks before Christmas — the year is winding down, not much going on. Synema switching affiliation is very much on topic.

  79. 79.

    Layer8Problem

    @Betty Cracker:  If this blog had an upvote feature I’d be giving you one.  Anne Laurie works too hard collecting stuff for us in the middle of the night and has put up enough high-fiber Nancy Smash! and Proud to Be a Democrat posts up to keep us positive; calling out the self-satisfied and stupid keeps our razor-keen edge.  I mean we’re supposed to be jackals, dammit.  Anne Laurie, thank you and keep on doing what you do the way you do it.

  80. 80.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
    Shadowbanning is when someone is allowed to post messages but no one actually sees them. It’s an alternative to playing whack-a-mole where you ban a troll and he makes a new account and comes back.

    Musk has accused his cell phone service of shadowbanning him because Grimes isn’t answering his texts. Since he gets no answer he assumes they’re not actually getting delivered.

  83. 83.

    Kay

    @Starfish:

    Buetler’s rebuttal, however, is that while Twitter is really small it “punches above its weight” in political discourse and narratives because its loaded with media people. I agree with him. I also don’t think Swisher is a good source on Musk. She seems to have blindly promoted him like the rest of media and insisted at the beginning of this that he was smart and fair- made a pleading and sort of pathetic direct appeal to him. She’s invested in him not being a Right wing billionaire who bought a social media comapny- I think thats what he is and that’s ALL he is. He’s a right wing activist who has piles of money. That is never going to be good, and it is the reality.

    This reminds me of how people used to tell me Fox had far fewer viewers than network tv so was therefore unimportant. It wasn’t the viewers. It was the rest of media following Fox.

  86. 86.

    terry chay

    I don’t think Sinema is doing this for the general. She may be very stupid at politics (reading the general wind of the electorate and such), but she seems very good at electioneering (like a Republican good). There is a difference: In 2006, after Bush won the general, I said as much, and my brother disagreed. My argument though was what was the point in engaging in 50+1 to win an election when you couldn’t get more of your agenda passed? As time has gone by that has only become more evident (good at winning the elections game with an increasingly worse position and able to pass less and less of their platform).

    I mention this because from a game theory view of her position, going independent after Warnock won was her only option to have any political relevance the next two years. (If he lost, she could have weighed taking McConnell’s hint to flip parties, but that got foreclosed).

    Heck her faux “independent” votes even make perfect sense from a re-election standpoint. With Kelly a liable liberal who would have normally lost this year, the party would have been forced to hold their nose and vote for her. Why not take a few kickbacks from large businesses/build a large war chest to sabotage a few votes she doesn’t personally care about? It should have set her up for the general. But Kelly won with bigger margins, they took the AZ GOV also, and her withholding support to try to engineer  the outcome she was hoping for, opened statewide recognition for a primary challenge that would win in a cakewalk. (Look it up, she’s more unfavorable among Dems than Republicans in her state.)

    But here the Lieberman thing breaks down. If the party won’t clear the field for you like they do every 6 years in Maine and New Hampshire and didn’t pulling the rug under their own candidate for Lieberman, then what is your political future? Heck what is your future to become a lobbyist or whatever your exit strategy is when you pull in max 8% in the general. We forget that if Ds ran a candidate against King, Sanders, or Lieberman (back in the day) it’d be THEM, not the IND running as a single digit spoiler.

    We think Republicans like Cheney, pushed out from the party in a primary, don’t run independent out of loyalty, but that’s not the case. It’s because running and losing big spends the capital (like future lobbyist or think tank or professorship sinecure) you have. Heck, a lot of them now out before the primary so they don’t make obvious the inevitable!

    This woman is dumb about people and political trends because she’s a narcissistic sociopath, but you don’t have to be empathic to make the greedy choice of switching to an IND and wrecking as much havoc/doing as much signaling for your corporate masters at your future joint — and CNN isn’t among them like it would have been for McCainif he ever lost AZ SEN.

  88. 88.

    narya

    @OzarkHillbilly: I don’t have any kids, and only two nephews, so one of the great joys of my life is that Nephew the Younger has taken to baking with a vengeance (he’s 22). I used to drag him into the kitchen with me whenever I visited, and now we try to schedule some time in the kitchen when we’re both in town.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    @Starfish:

    Almost no one reads the NYTimes in this huge country, as a percentage of the population. Yet somehow the NYTimes managed to convince half the country that Hillary Clinton’s email management was the only issue any voter had to care about in 2016. They lied us into a war.

    It’s not the size or “the public”. It’s the influence on the rest of the media. They herd. They’re all on Twitter so Twitter punches above its weight, which is why Musk is using it to promote far Right politicians and influencers.

  91. 91.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    OT (assuming there is such a thing): I’m reading Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. It’s set in a senior residence, and I feel like someone has been watching my life, though my life has no murders that I know of. It’s fun. I’ve laughed out loud several times

  92. 92.

    NorthLeft

    As many have already said, this was completely predictable. Not sure when the Dems nominate a candidate, but it should be very soon so that person can raise their profile and make it abundantly clear to Sinema that she will finish a distant third behind the D and R.

    I would doubt she will want to run in that scenario.

    Also, a big belly laugh for her newfound concern for Arizonans.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kay: Counterpoint: Joe “What the hell is tweeter?” Biden rolled up the Democratic nomination by rolling over the candidates who had spent two years using twitter as their top campaign advisor.

  94. 94.

    Starfish

    @Kay: In addition to inviting Taibbi and Swisher over for nonsense, Elon has also invited Bari Weiss.

    Someone had an explainer on why Elon gets nothing but good press from the perspective of a journalist involved. Elon cuts access for journalists who do not paint flattering pictures of him.

    Basically, the journalist was invited to come tour one of the exciting tech things and write an article! It was great. He wrote numerous articles this way. Then, one day, he wrote something mildly critical, and all access was cut.

    It is not like having a proper PR department that puts out press releases all the time. Only special journalists get access so they are deeply flattered, and then they feel scammed.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    No one, but no one, loves Elon Musk, Bari Weiss’ and Glenn Greenwald”s dumb “cancel culture” grift like members of the media. They fell for it at levels reaching 100%, partly, I think because “cancel culture” ow encompasses holding powerful men accountable for sexual harrassment in the workplace and those men seem to be over represented in media. Like the gross pig Matt Tiabbi, who thinks economically vulnerable 15 year old girls are fair game for rich douchebag Americans to prey on. Musk himself bothers women he employs for sex. That’s why he has to settle with them.

    Twitter is where media people sell their work- their stories, their books, their substacks. They are much more invested in Twitter than anyone else. The whole antiwoke substack industry would collapse without free advertising on Twitter.

  101. 101.

    Spanky

    @Anyway: I really don’t have much to stress about, to be fair. The lights have been up for a week, the tree’s in and lit. Mrs. Spanky has started the cookies (something I was doing solo while we were working) and we’ll do the tree this week.

    Not many folks to get presents for, and they (and I) are more in de-accession mode and don’t want much, if anything.

    Still, this season is rushing by, and I feel mostly detached from it.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    @Starfish:

    Just the fact that it took SEVEN YEARS for anyone to report that The Boring Company is an absolute scam is all the proof anyone needs that Musk captured media. Jesus fucking Christ. They had to WORK to ignore that – he sold this bullshit in California, in Chicago, in Maryland. Hogan in Maryland changed the permitting process to accomodate Musk and Musk never showed up to do the work. 

    Seven years he ran that scam and not a peep out of all the gushing media who are suppsodely experts on him. And don’t even get me started on the overhyped cars.

  103. 103.

    randy khan

    @mali muso:

    Hopefully my friends will feel the same way as you!  I had to ward off the 6 year old this morning from cracking into the babka before I packaged them up.

     

    If you have extras, let me know and I’ll take them off your hands. 😉

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    Four things I like about Ruben Gallego as a Senate candidate:

    1) he is relatively young, I believe 38 years old. Younger voters are now a key group for Democrats. I think one of Geargia Senator Jon Ossoff’s strengths is that he can appeal to his young peers and demonstrates representation for this demographic cohort. Gallego shares this quality.

    2) Ruben Gallego is a Marine Corps combat veteran. This will be an asset among voters generally, maybe especially for a Democrat.

    3) Gallego is a blunt, outspoken man, and he says smart things in a candid way. This is a refreshing change from more “buttoned up” politicians. I think this quality will appeal to many Independents while helping to motivate the Democratic base.

    4) perhaps most importantly, Gallego is a Latino. Democrats have made strides in registering and mobilizing Arizona’s Latino community, but Latinos still lag behind their Anglo counterparts in voting levels. A Gallego Senate candidacy will help erase that gap. Like newly elected Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (another military veteran). Gallego will provide visible representation for this crucial bloc of voters, and help the other Democratic candidates in Arizona, I think.

  106. 106.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @narya: ​Both my sons are dedicated foodies. I’m not sure where they got it from, I’m a pretty good camp cook (KeeepItSimpleStupid) and can handle myself around a grill or a smoker. I do love baking, and am pretty fair at it but other than that, they are both way beyond me in the kitchen.

    I am happy anytime someone says “I want to learn how to make poteca.” and want to teach as many as I can. Sadly tho, once they see how much work it is, they are usually satisfied with having “learned” how to make it but have no desire to do it on their own. Fingers crossed my niece takes it to heart, I’d hate to see the tradition die with me.

  110. 110.

    ian

    We could have the conversation the 2022 midterms demanded…

    Is it better to be a werewolf or a vampire?

  111. 111.

    Ken

    @Betty Cracker: The scientists will be simultaneously annoyed and ecstatic when they find the original albatross died in 1969, but her family has been passing the band on from mother to daughter.

  112. 112.

    Josie

    @Geminid: ​
     I agree with all the points you make here. I have been watching him for some time now and find him appealing. I come from a majority minority area in Texas, so maybe that is why. I think he could be a good candidate.

  113. 113.

    PJ

    @Kay: In the pre-Elon days, when I complained about journalists using Twitter as a way to promote themselves (“establishing their brand”), network, and improve or protect their social status, a friend who worked for a major media organization said he recognized the problem, but that he thought Twitter was a great resource for journalists for getting the thoughts of people who are experts in their fields.  His solution would be to ban journalists from tweeting anything ever, other than links to actual articles they had written (which obviously was never going to happen.)

    The problem with journalists thinking they are the story, and that their opinions and personal pathologies are as important, or more important, than actually informing the public about newsworthy events existed before Twitter, but Twitter shot it into the stratosphere, because now, by steadily figuring out what appealed to other journalists and tweeting it out, any journalist could assiduously work their way up into being an internet celebrity.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

    @Mimi haha: They’re just now getting over former Senator Scott Brown, whom Trump appointed as New Zealand Ambassador. Brown is now back in Rye, New Hampshire. He’s coaching women’s basketball at Amesbury High School, not far across the Massachusetts line.

    Brown, a former high school and college player, tells reporters that being a head coach was always on his bucket list. Brown also often talks to Massachetts reporters about the Bay State’s political situation, but he has not indicated that winning back his old Senate seat is also on his bucket list. At least, not yet.

  117. 117.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: Concur about Twitter’s role in keeping the “woke” panic top of mind. Tens of millions people who have never seen a single tweet are now subject to laws based on a stupid panic that was incubated on Twitter. Twitter isn’t real life, but it has real life consequences for sure.

  118. 118.

    karen marie

    @Suzanne: I listened only very briefly to Sinema’s announcement but my first impression was she hired a voice/speech coach. She’s going on the paid-speech circuit when her term is up. Why work if you can get paid to tell the wealthy soothing stories in a soothing voice?

  119. 119.

    Ken

    @ian: Is it better to be a werewolf or a vampire?

    Depends on which of the roughly one thousand different versions of the myths you’re using. I’d be totally fine with being one of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s vampires, for example.

  120. 120.

    Geminid

    @kalakal: People here and politically-engaged Democrats nationwide despise Sinema for many reasons. But her Senate colleagues look at her through different eyes, I think.

  121. 121.

    OzarkHillbilly

    ‘Huge flip of circumstances’: end of US child tax credit pushing kids into poverty

    Last year, Joe Biden and Congress’s Democratic leaders agreed to allow even the poorest American parents to receive a tax credit of a few thousand dollars a year. What followed was a dramatic fall in the child poverty rate, which dropped by nearly half to its lowest level ever, according to the Census Bureau.

    Just months after it was enacted, the expanded child tax credit expired amid the objections of Republicans and an influential Democratic senator. By the start of this year, millions of American children had slipped back into poverty.

    “Once January 2022 hit and the monthly deposit did not hit families’ bank accounts, we saw an immediate sort of reversal, and there were 3.7 million more children in poverty in January 2022 compared to December 2021,” said Megan A Curran, director of policy at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. “And so that’s a huge flip of what the circumstances were for kids.”

    But don’t you worry, the wealthy get to keep their tax cuts.

  123. 123.

    Layer8Problem

    @NorthLeft:

    Sinema may be as nefarious as former opponents portray, but she sure doesn’t seem to be much of a strategic thinker. Helpful votes tanking initiatives the hyper-well-to-do find unpleasant does not make her friends among the voting public. The Democrats hate her and I don’t see her climbing out of that. Republicans would never vote for her unless she, like immediately, joined the party and pledged allegiance and eternal fealty and accepted the Qanon gospel, which would allow the Republicans to say “see, we have one of those LGBTQ+ you kids like too!” Independents would have to lever themselves up to vote for someone whom nobody can figure out what she stands for; maybe she’d get ones with no politics to speak of but who think “I like her quirky sense of fun and upbeat fashion sense, so that’s why I’m voting for the first time ever!”  How many people is she going to attract?  The Democrats will be energized, the Republicans will be going full crazy because they believe their problem is they haven’t been crazy enough obviously.

    If her game’s “So help me I’ll split the Democratic vote, just see if I don’t!”, I say knock yourself out lady.

  124. 124.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Nicole: ​
      There are few states outside of the physically tiny New England one that are not blue in the cities with large swathes of red in the rural areas. Hell, if one wants to know the difference between MN and WI, it’s the size of Minneapolis-St. Paul vs Milwaukee (and even throw in Madison).

  127. 127.

    Kay

    @PJ:

    There is a difference between ordinary people on Twitter and media people on Twitter. I just think US media want it both ways. They want their work recognized as important and part of the constitutional order in the US but they also want NO responsibility at all for the effect it has when they do BAD work. “Who, US? Why, that was THE PUBLIC that did that!” But only when the work sucks. When the work is good they are more than happy to take credit for moving public opinion.

    They can’t have it both ways. They can’t be both vitally important and influential when they do good work and have no effect at all when they do bad work. They are either important and influential or they are not.

    The NYTimes did bad work on the run to Iraq and the Clinton email insanity. It mattered. It moved public perception. It mattered just as it does when the NYTimes does GOOD work that informs the public, exposes corruption, etc.

    Twitter punches above its weight because it’s the preferred social media of media. A Right wing activist billionaire now owns Twitter and uses it to promote Right wing views, Right wing personalities like Greenwald, Weiss and Taibii and Right wing politicians like Republicans in the House and DeSantis. That’s what happened. Swisher is supposedly a reporter. Why is she in the business of denying this happened?

  130. 130.

    Miss Bianca

    @Suzanne: Yes, I have to admit…I love Egg McMuffins. If I am driving somewhere on the highway at the ass crack of dawn (which goes to high noon, in some cases), I am comforted by the knowledge that somewhere soon, even in the loneliest of wildernesses, I will be able to find a McDonalds and get an Egg McMuffin and some not-TOO-terrible coffee. (Just wait for a good 15 minutes or so for it to cool down enough to drink!)

  132. 132.

    geg6

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    PA is a perfect example of this.  Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and, increasingly, Erie are what give us our Dem wins.  And the suburbs of both the Burgh and Philly are turning more blue.  But vast swathes in between are deep, deep, deep red.

  133. 133.

    Layer8Problem

    @Ken:  Vampires are generally hotter-looking and have looser morals, so more fun on a Friday or Saturday night.  Furries may feel otherwise.

  135. 135.

    Ken

    @NotMax: Not for Quinn Yarbro vampires! They can walk in sunlight.

    Also around here, the sun sets hours before the polls close during the general elections in November.

  138. 138.

    JML

    Underdog Morocco still not afraid!

    Also: I am absolutely crushed by Grant Wahl’s death. Brilliant journalist.

  141. 141.

    Miss Bianca

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Sounds like fun, I just put it on my library hold list!

    I swear, the only thing holding my reading attention these days (besides what I glean from Balloon Juice) appear to be murder mysteries and Star Trek novels, oh my word. What is happening to me??

  143. 143.

    geg6

    @Kay:

    Swisher is terrible and has always been on the subject of Musk.  She has continuously flattered him and excused his behavior for years.  She has a very cozy relationship with him.  Or at least she used to.  A week or two ago, I read an interview with her where she was complaining that he won’t take her calls anymore because of some mild criticism she had about his Twitter takeover.  She was all hurt feefees but still made excuses for that asshole.

  145. 145.

    sab

    @Suzanne: And having to negotiate with her over the last few years apparently drove Rob Portman to retirement. I thought he would be doing his “moderate” act for the next twenty years.

  147. 147.

    JML

    @cope: yeah, I don’t know. Wahl had been in hospital earlier in the week, and with health stuff you just never know. It’s tragic regardless. He was a great writer and put himself on the line for justice.

  148. 148.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sab: ??
    I thought Portman was just afraid of/too old, too rich and too tired for a trumpist primary, or having to stave one off

  150. 150.

    Kent

    @Amir Khalid:The Manic Pixie Dream Senator is actually more of an ilk with Joe Lieberman than with any other Senator I can think of. They’re both attention, um, seekers who flaunt their principles as a justification for screwing over their own side.

    So you are saying that the last remaining stage in the progression is for Sinema to give an unhinged speech at the 2024 GOP Convention that is all about how the Democrats BETRAYED HER!

  151. 151.

    Ken

    By the way, “Manic Pixie Dream Sinema” would be a great band name, except it’s probably already trademarked by Mattel for some Barbie playset.

  152. 152.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Mai Naem mobile: I think that’s a disservice to Tracy. For some reason, people keep on thinking of Tracy Flick as the villain of Election and she’s not. The bad guys in the film are the hypocritical adults who resent Flick because she’s intelligent, hardworking and competent.

  153. 153.

    Geminid

    @karen marie: Trade associations and industry groups pay well for conference and convention speakers, and they’ll find Sinema’s politics as appealing as we find them despicable. She would do well on that speaking circuit.

  155. 155.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Spanky: I love Christmas, as much as a culturally-Christian atheist can, but I hate the run-up to Christmas; it’s nothing but stress. Sam’s family goes bigger than mine ever did and I always feel like I’m behind, not pulling my weight.

    I sometimes remember an exchange from “Shakespeare in Love”; the guy running the theatrical troupe says the theater business is “insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster”, but that “strangely enough, it all turns out well” and he doesn’t know why or how.

    Only in the case of Christmas, I guess we do know why–Dr. Seuss explained it in “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!”, the best holiday TV special ever made. Even if every material aspect of the holiday is a disaster, (most) people basically want to enjoy it; it’s not about all that. The holiday-special “we have to save Christmas!” plots are fundamentally nonsense because it doesn’t need saving.

  156. 156.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @Gin & Tonic: ​

    Between Elmo and her this place is getting tiresome. Why do I want to spend my time reading about annoying, mercenary narcissists?

    Because it’s a necessary stage in plot development before one can fully enjoy the schadenfreude of their inevitable karmic comeuppance?

  157. 157.

    Miss Bianca

    @Kent: I have no doubts about this scenario unfolding.

    @The Thin Black Duke: Strangely, Election is one of the only movies I’ve ever found unsettling enough to stop watching. I don’t know whether it’s because of the way Tracy Flick is portrayed, or because I found Matthew Broderick’s character so repulsive, or what. I should maybe try to read the book sometime – I’ve read other books by the same author that I enjoyed.

  158. 158.

    sab

    @mali muso: What a great idea! I don’t much like chocolate (it gives me headaches) but the rest of my family is  crazy for it. This recipe is so different from our usual seasonal baking.

  159. 159.

    PJ

    @Kay: Re the media denying the media’s influence, the NYT ran a piece after the elections in November about how the NY electorate believed crime was out of control, when it wasn’t at all. It didn’t mention the many articles and opinion pieces the NYT published shrieking that crime was out of control.

    As for Swisher, as far as I can tell, she sees her role as being a fluffer for the tech industry.  She may disagree with Musk’s politics, but that’s not going to stop her from fluffing him and his businesses.

    I don’t know that she’s different from many tech “journalists” in this.  For the past 30 years, until very recently (the last 5 years, at most) they’ve unskeptically amplified and sold every destructive product and service Silicon Valley has served up, from “file sharing” (i.e. piracy) to social media to “the sharing economy” to cryptocurrency and NFTs.

  162. 162.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Miss Bianca: If you’re comfortable giving Election a second chance, I’d recommend it. It’s a remarkably clear-eyed examination of toxic misogyny which is why to this day male critics persist in getting it wrong. Think of Tracey Flick as Hillary Clinton in High School.

  163. 163.

    sab

    @Cameron: She’d be less than useless as an ambassador anywhere.

    Amateur ambassadors need to be rich. The State Department has limited funds, so we use rich people to foot the entertainment bill in the capital cities of important friendly countries.

    In unfriendly countries we need a professional, not an attention seeking twerp who won’t listen to her staff.

  165. 165.

    Kent

    @sab:

    @Cameron: She’d be less than useless as an ambassador anywhere.

    Amateur ambassadors need to be rich. The State Department has limited funds, so we use rich people to foot the entertainment bill in the capital cities of important friendly countries.

    In unfriendly countries we need a professional, not an attention seeking twerp who won’t listen to her staff.

    Send her to some equally annoying country like Austria or Switzerland.

  166. 166.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @Brit in Chicago:

    Italy is a good idea, but I believe New Zealand is traditional in such cases.

    Maybe, but NZ is also the country most likely to survive a global nuclear war, and if the human race goes through a post-nuclear holocaust population bottleneck, do we really want Sinema to be part of the contributors in the surviving gene pool?

  168. 168.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sab: also, the assumption that all Senators are looking for cushy gigs as lobbyists or ambassadors is just wrong. It’s a pretty cushy and genuinely important and powerful job. Layer on top of that the Cult of the Senate– The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body, Starring Tommy Tuberville and Marsha Blackburn!– and you have bunch of people who are almost (sort of) as important as they think they are.  A clutch of mostly mediocrities who see themselves draped in togas and immortalized in classical sculpture. Or at least, as Lindsey Graham put it with unconscious poignancy, they’re “relevant”.

    Al Gore Sr may have made his peace with being turned out to a pasture full of tall grass, but it wasn’t his first choice.

  169. 169.

    zhena gogolia

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m trying to watch Season 2 of The White Lotus while doing P/T (I couldn’t get through the first episode of Season 1, but this one looked more intriguing, has some actors I like, etc.). It’s absorbing, but I hate all the characters. I don’t know why people enjoy that.

  170. 170.

    Miss Bianca

    @The Thin Black Duke: I’ve often thought about just that point, especially since watching the brutal sand-bagging that HRC got during her Presidential campaign.

    Something there is in this society that does not like competent, intelligent women – especially when they make it clear that they know how intelligent and competent they are. Intelligent, competent women are supposed to hide the fact that they know how good they are, and adopt a kind of “aw, shucks, it was all just luck that little ol’ me got this far!” attitude…that is, if they care about being liked. Some of us do, some of us don’t.

  171. 171.

    Geminid

    @PJ: I never followed “tech culture journalist” Xeni Jardin while she was writing for Wired and BoingBoing, I read of a lot of her Twitter content in the last couple years and she was very critical of the tech titans as social and political malefactors.

    Jardin skedaddled from Twitter  however, when Musk’s acquisition of the company was imminent. I’m not sure if she has a presence on other platforms but she has her own health challenges and may be taking a break from social media. I think Jardin had over a quarter million followers on Twitter so I guess she’ll make a splash if and when she returns to another platform.

  173. 173.

    Kay

    @PJ:

    My son works in the industry and says the same thing- tech media is packed with fluffers. He lives in Denmark and he recently returned to the US for a conference in Silicon Valley on his specialty area. He was kind of horrified how far Right they’ve gone and he’s like a normie, centrist Democrat, perhaps even a Right leaning centrist D. He loves Al Gore and he thought Hillary would have been a great manager. That kind of Democrat. He doesn’t like excess of any kind.

  174. 174.

    Steeplejack

    @Layer8Problem:

    Plus almost every thread is an open thread, so people can digress or start a new topic at will. Or head over to LGM, which is sort of like Balloon Juice’s obnoxious cousin.

  175. 175.

    eclare

    @zhena gogolia:   I got through two or three episodes of season one before I gave up because it was so uninteresting/unlikeable.  And that is a shame because the actors are so talented.  But it makes sense given the creative force behind it.

  176. 176.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: I appreciate Anne Laurie and all the front-pagers enormously, as I’m sure G&T does. Is it not okay to express a little fatigue at the endless fascination with these two nonentities (Musk and Sinema)?

  177. 177.

    zhena gogolia

    @eclare: I don’t know much about him. Didn’t he do School of Rock? (I never saw the movie, but I love the music for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.)

  178. 178.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Miss Bianca: And the flip side of it is that every mediocre white guy who comes into good fortune has to claim it’s about his hard work and inborn savvy, and dispense wisdom from on high.

  180. 180.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Miss Bianca: I’m having the same issue. I have a stack of books here I’d love to feel like reading, but I can’t get into. I keep adding to the stack, because I know the dam will break eventually. But it sure is weird.

  183. 183.

    eclare

    @zhena gogolia:   I don’t know about that, but he did Chuck and Buck, which was one of the creepiest movies I have ever seen.  After that I decided I would never watch his stuff again, but White Lotus won so many awards that I gave it a shot.

    A good friend of mine was also not impressed with White Lotus

  184. 184.

    kindness

    Why is the assumption that when Sinema runs as an independent, that she’ll pull votes from Democrats more than Republicans in AZ?   I get that that is the traditional way to look at these plays but this is a different outing than a Joe Lieberman type thing.  Look at it this way, does Sinema have a power base within the Democratic party in AZ?  Are there any democrats saying they’ll follow her?  No.  No there aren’t.  Sinema thinks she can John McCain AZ but John McCain almost always voted for Republican wishes.  Sinema has backstabbed Democrats her entire tenure in the Senate.  I’m no Krisken but I suspect a Sinema 3rd party run will siphon off more moderate Republican votes than Democratic votes.  And Gellago will win, just like Senator Kelly did.  This is assuming the AZ GOP nominates another nutcase, because of course they will.

  185. 185.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    Yup. Media panics have real world consequences even if 90% of the public doesn’t read the crap they churn out.

    The Woke panic will have negative consequences for 50 million public school children- not that exalted contrarians like Bari Weiss and Taibi care about that. Public schools are only useful to them to be used as political fodder for their nutty, vindictive war on 22 year old kindergarten teachers and social workers. They fucking melted down over BLM and covid (because they are giant coddled babies) and 50 million public school students will now deal with the panic they ginned up.

    This is the new far Right director of public education for the state of South Carolina. This rant is indistinguishable from the antiwoke screeds these supposed “liberals” sell on Substack.

    Since the onset of COVID-19, movements of parents have sprung up overnight in America. Some have adopted names and launched Facebook pages. Some have incorporated themselves as permanent organizations. Others are (for now) just email trees and group texts.
    Whatever their size or level of organization, these “little platoons” (as Edmund Burke admiringly called them) have quickly formed because parents are finally weaving the strands of evidence together.
    Moms and dads are finally understanding that for years—-even decades—their children, their teachers, and their schools have been in the crosshairs of a host of national organizations dedicated to imposing their progressive agenda onto every community school in America.
     

  186. 186.

    James E Powell

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    If one doesn’t want to talk about Sinema or the Muskrat, there is an easy solution: don’t. And I don’t mean go away. I mean talk about the stuff you want to and ignore the stuff you don’t want to. It may be a bit of a one sided conversation, but welcome to my world.

    Okay, I would like to talk about the recent elections, get some feedback from jackals on the ground in the various places where we won & lost narrowly, and discuss plans for the future.

    Some questions:

    1. If we can win in Georgia, why not Ohio? Is it about organizing? Because that doesn’t require miracles, only dedication & work.
    2. If Republicans can brazenly suppress Democrats in Texas & Florida, why can’t we do that in New York?
    3. The next confederate state to fall to us should be North Carolina. What do we need to do to make that happen?
  187. 187.

    Starfish

    @Matt McIrvin: Let me sit next to you.

    My husband’s mom loves Christmas and Santa, and he feels so much pressure.

    She was horrified that we were not telling our child that Santa was real, but we thought it’s best to be trustworthy adults who do not lie to children. We have a single photo of our child with Santa. He was screaming because children are afraid of strange men with beards if they are not accustomed to them. They also get scared if their fathers, who do have beards, shave them.

    My husband came with numerous Christmas ornaments from his mom. They are mostly Santa.

    Me? I like crafts, so I made some ornaments when my child was young. I made a worm out of polymer clay for the tree? I have no clue why we have a Christmas worm for the tree, but it works for me.

  188. 188.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MagdaInBlack: I just started the latest Inspector Rebus and the last couple nights I had to make myself put it down to get some sleep. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get into a book like that. Rankin can’t seem to let go of Rebus, and I’m very glad

    Then again, this morning I’m sitting here with my laptop, clicking around and looking at the clock and saying to myself: You swore all week you were going to scrub the bathroom first thing on Saturday….

  189. 189.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    Kara Swisher definitely has a weird blind spot about Musk. Her brand is snarky, hard-hitting tech pundit, but she tends to go easy on him at odd moments. Hell, her Twitter banner is an all-smiles photo of her and Musk!

  190. 190.

    James E Powell

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Twitter is small, but like the also very small audiences of the Sunday shows, its community includes nearly the entire world of political press/media. What they do & say is often germinated there.

  191. 191.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid:  Can I take this as you volunteering :-) to put information together about Ruben Galego that we can use as part of the upcoming BJ version of Colbert’s Better Know a District?

    The working name for the series is “Holy shit, we have a lot of great Dems!”

    Ruben Galego could be next after the Ohio House peeps we supported in the election.

  193. 193.

    Shalimar

    @Betty Cracker: I love your work and eagerly await everything you post. All of our other front-pagers are good too.  There is no one who is a bad read.  Special thanks to Watergirl for holding it all together.

    But as you say, Anne Laurie is the backbone of this site.  She provides most of the regular posts, and it would be a totally different and diminished community without her.  She is amazing.

  196. 196.

    stinger

    @Betty Cracker: Agree completely. We rely on front pagers for posts but not for comments.

    I’d love to see news/links/clips in the comments about positive events and liberal politicians at more local levels. I’d provide some but sadly my state went redder this year.

  197. 197.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Layer8Problem:

    Vampires are generally hotter-looking and have looser morals

    Having known no few werewolf/vampire fans, the question of which is hotter is just how predatory your being preyed on fantasies are.  As a former girlfriend put it, the fangs are penetration.

  198. 198.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Suzanne: I worked at McDonalds for a year as a teen, and I think all of it is gross…..except for Egg McMuffins, which are absolutely perfect.​

    I worked at a Mickey D’s for a few weeks after HS graduation long before Egg McMuffins or even Big Macs (IP poached from the Gino’s Giant). “We” made the best French fries in all of fast food at the time, from scratch – starting with going down to the Golden Arches basement, kicking the rats & roaches out of the way as we hauled up 50-lb sacks of spuds. There was a special machine for peeling them (“not too much,” the directions cautioned), followed by triple rinsing, julienning, racking, and deepfrying… Of course that was long ago (try >55 years)…

  200. 200.

    Geminid

    @kindness: I would guess that Sinema might pull three voters away from the Democrat for every two she pulls from the Republican. Even if she only got 15% this could make the difference in a close election.

    But I still think that a reelection run by Sinema is a 50-50 proposition, maybe less.

  201. 201.

    Layer8Problem

    @Miss Bianca:

    Something there is in this society that does not like competent, intelligent women – especially when they make it clear that they know how intelligent and competent they are.

    “She just reminds me of my first two wives too much!”

  202. 202.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @James E Powell: no doubt, but I think the influence of the Sunday Shows has shrunk enormously in the last few years, in no small part because of… twitter.  And I don’t think Elmo, Taibbi and Weiss are going to succeed in making shadow-banning the Butter Emails of this political moment. Butter Emails gave people who hated HRC for decades, for reasons most of them couldn’t articulate, a response when asked why they hated HRC.

    The interesting thing about Bari Weiss attaching herself to Taibbi is I suspect a lot of people who remember her flash-in-the-pan celebrity of a few years back are thinking, “Oh yeah, her? Really?” She was used in a punchline (not quite as the punchline) on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and I doubt I was the only person who thought it just underscored how hard it is to do topical humor on a TV show

    ETA: and Taibbi has just reminded people that, like trump, he confessed to, really bragged about, being a sexual predator

  205. 205.

    Layer8Problem

    @zhena gogolia:  “Is it not okay to express a little fatigue at the endless fascination with these two nonentities . . .?”

    Of course it is, and one hopes that the front pagers are made of sterner stuff than us and don’t say “FINE then” and march off to take up macrame.

  207. 207.

    Miss Bianca

    @Frankensteinbeck: I’ve always been Team Werewolf, myself. But I’ve always wondered why they are portrayed as such evil, vicious psychos. I finally figured out that it’s because Western society has a long and inglorious history of hatred and fear of actual wolves.

    So the werewolves in my scribblings have always been more about taking care of your own and trying to survive in secret in a world that will kill you. Whereas vampires were always icky, creepy, mindless blood-sucking revenants, not witty sophisticates that will deliver a bon mot or hot boning before they bite you.

    The mileage of others, of course, may vary. ; )

  208. 208.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @mali muso: I like homemade and/or quickly useable/consumable gifts too! But I also like giving and getting socks. It’s not hard to get the right size and most everyone wears them…from athletic to arty, there’s a pair to suit most anyone.

  209. 209.

    Geminid

    @James E Powell: Georgia has more Black people than Ohio. And Georgia has a growing economy while Ohio’s is more static. That enables Georgia to add more college educated and 1st and 2nd generation immigrants to its voting rolls, which favors Democrats. It may also have a younger electorate

    North Carolina is similar in these respects to Georgia to its south and Virginia to its north.

  210. 210.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @Geminid: Tracey reminded me a little of Hermione. “Don t be so pushy don’t be a know it all Don’t push yourself to the front too much” is what they hear all the time. Her teacher also thinks his friend who starts a relationship with Tracy is innocent and Tracy is the one at fault. Which attitude does not surprise me. Somehow the 15 yr old is the one to blame. Not the married 40yr old with a baby at home.

  212. 212.

    Kent

    @Geminid:@James E Powell: Georgia has more Black people than Ohio. And Georgia has a growing economy while Ohio’s is more static. That enables Georgia to add more college educated and 1st and 2nd generation immigrants to its voting rolls, which favors Democrats. It may also have a younger electorate.

    Georgia is also now more than 10% Hispanic.

    But most importantly, here are the percentages of white population:

    Georgia:  58.2% white
    Ohio:  82.5% white

    The whitest state in the country is West Virginia at 96.2%

  213. 213.

    Kay

    @Steeplejack:

    They have to stop worshipping billionaires, well, worshipping rich people. Or people who tell them they are rich but are not actually rich – those people too.

    Rich people are not better people than people who are not rich. This isn’t ideological- it isn’t Marxism- it’s just a fact. Her belief that Elon Musk should be trusted blindly because Elon Musk is rich so is therefore a good person is wrong. She has to straighten that out and stop making bad connections between concepts.

    They still can’t get it with Trump. They still stumble over “is he STUPID?” – no, he’s not stupid. He’s bad. He lacks character and he’s a bigot and a liar. Musk is also a liar. Money and expensive schools doesn’t fix poor character. He’s untrustworthy because he’s a liar.

  215. 215.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I don’t think Elmo, Taibbi and Weiss are going to succeed in making shadow-banning the Butter Emails of this political moment.

    If Musk himself weren’t the current clown show, no one would even notice these stunts.  They have no political power.  Just another of the constant right wing fantasies running around Twitter, getting the same reactions they always do.  This phenomenon is nonstop, and Twitter moderation is too inside baseball to become the conservative outrage without someone a Hell of a lot more influential to Republicans (like a Republican president) being the source.  Musk just isn’t the star of the world that he thinks he is.

  217. 217.

    Ksmiami

    @Josie: and no Democrat in Arizona will devote for Sinema as she’s not trustworthy. I also think she’s burnt so many bridges that there’s no way K street will touch her

  218. 218.

    karen marie

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Lesko is just a common thief, likes to keep it on the low-down. She’s making more money than her prior freelance scams. A House seat means she doesn’t have to split the take with a partner or relocate frequently.

  219. 219.

    kindness

    @Geminid:  I would guess that Sinema might pull three voters away from the Democrat for every two she pulls from the Republican.

    Really?  You think Democrats in AZ will prefer and vote for Sinema rather than an actual moderate Democrat like Gellego?  I don’t think that’s true at all.  We’ll see I guess.  My point is, chill.  No need to stress because we’ve got 2 more years to watch Sinema offend everyone thinking that will make her win again.  Even Independents will refuse to vote for her by ’24.  She only has one trick and that is to backstab.

  220. 220.

    Kay

    Tom Bonier
    @tbonier
    ·1h
    What’s more, the fact that Arizonans choose Democrats in the US Senate, governor, Secretary of State, and attorney general races would suggest a certain level of comfort with the party.

    What I love about this is how Sinema just pretends this didn’t happen- her career has absolutely nothing to do with voters or political events in her state. The people she listens to in DC told her “everyone hates Democrats!” and she just ran with it. She probably tells herself every day how “out of touch” Democrats are.

  222. 222.

    Matt McIrvin

    @kindness:

    Really?  You think Democrats in AZ will prefer and vote for Sinema rather than an actual moderate Democrat like Gellego?  I don’t think that’s true at all.

    Not very many of them have to do it–just a few percent to tank the election, because AZ statewide elections are generally close.

  223. 223.

    Geminid

    @Kent: Atlanta has been a magnet for immigrants of all kinds, and Democrats are making efforts to mobilize these voters. The week before the Senate runoff, Washington Rep Pramila Jayapal spoke at a suburban Atlanta event pitched at the Asian and Pacific Island community. A fairly well known South Korean-American actor also appeared.

  225. 225.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Hildebrand: I mean, is anybody (in Arizona) cheering this latest knavery?

    I suspect Arizona hardly exists for her. She’s getting all the attention she wants from middle age male reporters who are totally NOT in mid life crises.

  227. 227.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I tend to lean toward the pessimistic, and I’m deeply cynical about my fellow Americans, but even I don’t think that Hunter Biden– his laptop and his dickpix– is a winning strategy for McCarthy and his crew, even with the help of Elmo

    Aaron Rupar @atrupar
    Rep. James Comer on Fox News suggests the Brittney Griner prisoner swap had something to do with Hunter Biden

    Not counting any chickens two years out, but I think this is a real possibility

    Aaron Ruparb@atruparb15h
    look, if Elon Musk, Fox News, and Republicans want to whine about arcane Twitter beefs from 2020 and Hunter Biden for the next two years, great. Go for it. They’ll seem like a bunch of weirdos and get their butts kicked for the 4th straight election cycle in 2024.

    gonna make Newton LeRoy Gingrich in ’98 look like a visionary and (possibly?) leader of the Free World

  228. 228.

    Geminid

    @kindness: I am not talking about Democrats here, I am talking about Independents. They are slightly more than a third of Arizona’s electorate by registration. A Democratic candidate needs to attract at least 50% of the Independents to win statewide, because registered Republicans are more numerous than either Democrats or Independents

    But don’t worry; I’m “chill” when it comes to politics generally, and this situation is no different.

  230. 230.

    James E Powell

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Butter Emails gave people who hated HRC for decades, for reasons most of them couldn’t articulate, a response when asked why they hated HRC.

    Truth. Same way that screaming about Obamacare was really just racist rage that a black man was in the White House.

  232. 232.

    sab

    @Kay: What are your thoughts on DeWine and the Ohio legislature in a lame duck session trying to completely reorganize the state board of education?

  233. 233.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Sure, but “this place is getting tiresome” is a rather broad brush. I don’t think anyone here is “endlessly fascinated” with Musk or Sinema, but, c’mon, they’re in the big news stories of the day, so people are going to discuss them.

  234. 234.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kay: This is worse than Ohio. It’s much worse than Georgia.

    Rural politics is  blue state is always the utter dregs because that’s were the luzers who can’t hold down a job without constantly fighting with their coworkers end up.

  235. 235.

    Ksmiami

    @Matt McIrvin: she’s completely toxic, ignores the rule of “you dance with the one who bring ya” and Gallegos will electrify the Dems. Not worried about trash Barbie girl – she doesn’t even respond to her constituents.

  238. 238.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Brit in Chicago: ​

    Italy is a good idea, but I believe New Zealand is traditional in such cases.

    Andorra befits her stature.

    @Amir Khalid: ​
     

    In rather better news, the Prosperity Burger is back in season at Mickey D’s: rectangular patty, raw onion, plenty of black pepper sauce, and that’s it. I like its simplicity. I had a double beef for lunch. I look forward to its return next December.

    Looks like it originated in Malaysia where you are, but though it’s spread to other western Pacific/East Asian nations, I’m disappointed that it hasn’t made it to the U.S. It isn’t too often that MickeyD’s has a menu item that sounds genuinely appealing to me, but I’d definitely go for one of those.

  240. 240.

    Barry

    @JMG: “If so, she’s flailing in the wrong direction. A lobbyist disliked and distrusted by both parties is of limited utility to any firm on K Street.” ​
    I’ve been assuming that she’s making her money right now, as somebody who can block many things opposed by Big Money.​

  241. 241.

    Shalimar

    @zhena gogolia: Of course it’s okay.  But it is also an open thread.  After you express fatigue, point us to whatever story has caught your eye instead.  You know how how often open threads get sidetracked from the initial topic.

  242. 242.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Betty Cracker: The complaint about to much Sinema and Phony Stark really should be directed to the Main Stream Media which since Trump seems to have decided they are Tiger Beat for Adults and actual reporting is for squares.

    (My god, I just realized Simena’s name is one letter from Cinema, no wonder she thinks this way)

  243. 243.

    James E Powell

    @Geminid:

    @Kent:

    I said “why not Ohio?” but I should have asked “How do we do it in Ohio?” I lived in Ohio & was politically active for most of my life, so I am familiar with Ohio’s demographics & economic issues & history & other peculiarities. I lament its descent into Trumpism on these pages with some frequency. But I refuse to believe it is beyond all hope & not winnable. (Even if I’ve said exactly that in moments of frustration.)

    We have to shift from “Can we do this?” to “How do we do this?”

  245. 245.

    Another Scott

    @Frankensteinbeck: Emlo is hanging on by a thread at the ‘Realtime’ Forbes Richest List.

    I’m losing to a handbag merchant??!11!

    Take a memo!

    “If I fall off the top of the list, everyone at Twitter agrees to work hardcore 120 hours a week, at no extra pay, until I’m back on top for 3 continuous months. Sign and return by 8AM PT Sunday 11 December, or submit your resignation by the same deadline. Yours in Q, Chief Twit.

    ( grocho-roll-eyes.gif )

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  247. 247.

    sab

    @Geminid: Ohio has term limits, so Republicans can make a career as sell-outs to lobbies (John Kasich) and Democrats are out on the street after a couple of terms with damage to their other career prospects.

    Emilia Sykes got to be so experienced because she was rotating jobs with her experienced and talented father. So they both could stay in the legislature and establish contacts, connections and name recognition. Sort of a unique situation.

  248. 248.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne: ​
     

    I don’t think she wants to do boring politics. I think she wants to be a celebrity. From the people I know who know her….that’s her brand.

    I’m sure you’re right, but I really think that once she leaves office, she’ll become yesterday’s news even faster than Sarah Palin did.

    I think she could have turned her Senate gig into more lasting fame (or infamy), but she’s managed to lose pretty much any potential fan base at this point AFAICT.

  251. 251.

    Geminid

    @Ksmiami: Yeah, I don’t think Sinema has much of a following left, and I don’t think she had much of a personal following to begin with.

    This is one reason why I am sceptical that she’ll run for reelection. Private polling will show that she has no path to victory and would be hard pressed to break 20%.

    I’m not sure a role as spoiler candidate would appeal to Sinema, despite her being a diabolical, perfidious, malicious and two-faced mean girl.

  252. 252.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, Gov Fascist FuzzyVest has a sad. BlueVirginia.US (from 12/9):

    Today is Glenn Youngkin’s birthday (he’s 56), and the VA GOP celebrated this morning by claiming that Youngkin is “America’s favorite governor.” In fact, according to Morning Consult, Youngkin isn’t even in the top-15 most-popular governors (and this week’s Roanoke College poll had his disapproval rating at 41%, so he’s probably even lower than that now), let alone “America’s favorite governor.”

    So how’s Youngkin doing relative to other *Virginia* governors? See below for a graph or approval, disapproval and NET approval ratings for Governors George Allen (WaPo poll from October 1997), Jim Gilmore (WaPo poll from August 2000), Mark Warner (WaPo poll from October 2005), Bob McDonnell (Roanoke College poll from December 2010), Terry McAuliffe (Roanoke College poll from October 2014), Ralph Northam (Roanoke College poll from August 2018) and Glenn Youngkin (Roanoke College poll from this week). Note that I tried to grab polls, where possible, at about the same point in the governors’ terms of office, but in the cases of the pre-McDonnell governors, I couldn’t find anything exactly comparable, so I used the WaPo polls from whenever they were available.

    Anyway…as you can see, Glenn Youngkin actually has the LOWEST net approval rating (+11%) at this point in their terms of any Virginia governor, at least since 1997. In stark contrast, Ralph Northam was at +36% at a similar point in his governorship, Bob McDonnell was at +32%, and Terry McAuliffe was at +15%. Earlier governors were much higher, albeit at later points in their terms, with Mark Warner at an incredible +63% approval, Tim Kaine at +58% approval, Jim Gilmore at +50% approval and George Allen at +39% approval. So, clearly, it’s getting tougher to have a high net approval rating, but still, Ralph Northam managed a +36% net approval rating in August 2018, which isn’t that long ago. Also note that Youngkin has the highest disapproval rating, at 41%, by far, of the previous three governors (Northam, McAuliffe, McDonnell) at this point in their governorships. Clearly, Youngkin’s right-wing policies and campaigning for extremists like Kari Lake and Paul LePage have not helped in that regard, but still, it’s striking to see Youngkin’s disapproval rating (41%) a whopping 15 points higher at this point in their respective terms than McDonnell (26%), McAuliffe (26%) and Northam (18%).

    […]

    Lying liars lie.

    To know him is to loathe him.

    Etc.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  253. 253.

    J R in WV

    @ian:

    We could have the conversation the 2022 midterms demanded…

    Is it better to be a werewolf or a vampire?

    I’m all in on vampire, myself. Imagine being able to be a wisp of fog, able to enter through a tiny crack and listen to people conspiring together… What things you could learn, to pass on to journalists you could know ahead of time were honest and unbiased.

  254. 254.

    CaseyL

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks!  I’m always happy to hear about a new-to-me mystery writer worth checking out.

    Or, heck, a writer in any genre.  I’ve reached the age where many of the writers I’ve loved enough to read everything of theirs I could find have died (very inconsiderate of them) which is also the age at which it’s hard to find new ones, because I am very picky.

  256. 256.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid:

    I’m not sure a role as spoiler candidate would appeal to Sinema, despite her being a diabolical, perfidious, malicious and two-faced mean girl.

    all depends on her grip on reality. She was smart and canny enough to survive in AZ politics and to go from Green to Senator from a reddish-purple state, but Michelle Goldberg’s column underscores that Sinema is what one of my favorite uncles would call, with elegant regular-guy understatement, goofy.

    In Sinema’s 2009 book “Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions That Win — and Last,” she described giving up shrill partisanship, which was making her unhappy, for a vaguely New Age ethos that prized inner tranquillity. One chapter was called “Letting Go of the Bear and Picking Up the Buddha,” with the bear representing fear and anger. “Picking up the Buddha (becoming a super centered political actor) makes you a stronger, more effective you,” she wrote. “To be your most fabulous political self, you’ll need to learn to recognize the bear and learn to let go of it in your work.”
    Transcending fear and anger is an excellent spiritual goal. But becoming a more centered and fabulous person is a political project only when it’s directed toward aims beyond oneself. With Sinema, it’s not remotely clear what those aims might be, or if they exist. (Another chapter in her book is “Letting Go of Outcomes.”)

  257. 257.

    Spanky

    @J R in WV:

    What things you could learn, to pass on to journalists you could know ahead of time were honest and unbiased

    Vampires I’m OK with, but this is just fiction!

  259. 259.

    J R in WV

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    It’s called misogyny, and competent women run head on into it all the time — Wife aced the exam to be hired into her dream job,

    Boss didn’t believe a woman could do that, thought she cheated, made her take it again while he watched — aced it again for the hateful bastard.

  262. 262.

    James E Powell

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    The bad guys in the film are the hypocritical adults who resent Flick because she’s intelligent, hardworking and competent.

    I haven’t seen that film in a long time, but if I recall correctly the lesbian sister actually got the most votes.

  264. 264.

    prostratedragon

    @The Thin Black Duke:  That’s how I saw it even though I suspect Tracy is a Republican.  She <em>was</em> hardworking, and had fewer advantages than most of the kids. Those adults were bullies punching down for their own shortcomings.

  265. 265.

    Geminid

    @James E Powell: I think Ohio Democrats have to play the long game (although the immediate imperative is to reelect Sherrod Brown). They need to attract younger voters even as the older voters die off. I’m not rooting for the latter, it’s just a fact that they will.

    Ohio Democrats have now elected two younger, dynamic Representatives in Shontel Brown and Emilia Sykes. The new Congressman from the southwestern 1st CD liooks like a keeper also. They and veterans like Marcy Kaptur and Joyce Bearmtty can help build Democratic strength in their districts and maybe statewide also. And I think Democratic success on the national level can help.

    If I just drew a straight line through election results over the last ten years and extended it I would conclude that Ohio is a hopeless case. I don’t think that way, though. Politics are dynamic and not linear, It seems to me. So I can imagine Ohio becoming a purple or even a blue state some day. But probably not until the end of this decade at the earliest.

  267. 267.

    Gvg

    What makes you think Simena can even run as an independent? In most states independent does not mean a party and does not mean ballot access. It means people who are not affiliated with a party that gets automatic ballot access. How does it work in Arizona? If that is an actual party, she has to win their primary, but I doubt it because I have never heard of anyone from the state except her listed as independent. So Arizona will have rules for qualifying for the ballot. In Florida, it’s a fee plus a certain number of eligible voter signatures verified and you have to have lots of staff to get enough. It’s something like 10% of the registered voters in each county. Otherwise you have to be of a party that has won elections there within a certain number of years such as Republican or Democrat. Can this disliked person actually qualify to get on the ballot? If she can, she will be running against whomever wins the other 2 primaries and may split the independent voters but she will find the process to be a lot more work and harder to fundraise than when she was a democrat. Does she seem hard working to you? What about her staff? Does she have a lot of supporters who will do that much work? Or maybe she plans to use the Greens again….how do they view her now? I also don’t think she is going to look as good to her supporters after this becomes clear to them. Most people know the 2 main parties are the ones that win.

  268. 268.

    WaterGirl

    @Gvg: Seems like that’s something the media would want to look into, at least the AZ media anyway!

    hahaha

    why would the media do actual research when they can just speculate like the rest of us???

  271. 271.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, …

    Fascinating stuff here on a kind of German Operation Warp Speed, building an LNG import terminal that’d normally take 5 years, in under 9 months https://t.co/pC4EomdeRs

    — Tom Gara (@tomgara) December 10, 2022

    Humans find ways to get things done when there’s a crisis. We should keep that in mind when there isn’t a crisis…

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  272. 272.

    Miss Bianca

    @Gvg: I believe I heard from some of the jackaltariat more learned than I in such matters that Sinema would have to collect 40k signatures on a petition to be placed on the AZ ballot. Seems like that would be a pretty easy reach even for her.

  273. 273.

    ian

    @James E Powell:

    Others in the thread have beaten me to it, but

    1. Demographics/composition of electorate.
    2. that would be wrong.
    3. money and candidates.  Investment in the state level party, rather than dropping millions into a senate seat race in nearby S.C. that was never realistically winnable.
  274. 274.

    Ken

    @Spanky: Ah, but the advantage of being a vampire is you have mind control powers, and can ensure any reporters are honest and unbiased. Or at least agree completely with you, which is close enough.

  275. 275.

    Geminid

    @Gvg: I read here that a candidate needs 40,000 signatures on nomination petitions to get on Arizona’s statewide ballot. If Sinema were to run- a big if in my opinion- she can pull that off. She’ll have the money to pay petition gatherers that will get enough signatures to survive challenges.

    Sinema won office for tbe last 18 years as a Democrat, the last ten as a Blue Dog (that would be literally as a Representative and figuratively as a Senator). She probably has left behind any following she had among Green Party members. They are a negligible factor now anyway.

  276. 276.

    Ken

    @Another Scott: Hah!  At our place of business, we’re (slowly) renaming software entities to avoid racist-sounding terminology. No more master and slave Jenkins servers, no more whitelists and blacklists for access control, and so on. There’s undoubtedly a joke in there involving Musk’s rules (“More slaves! Slaves are hardcore!”), except like the poor Onion, reality would exceed it.

  278. 278.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Amir Khalid: now look for the flaming hot limon cheetos. We were driving through Bakersfield a few years ago and found flaming hot limon cheetos at a gas station.  Apparently at that time Bakersfield was a testing site for new Lay’s flavors.

  282. 282.

    kalakal

    @Ken: That’s happened with DAWS (Digital Audio Workstations). No longer do you have eg Cubase & Reaper as master/slave. Embarrassing it took so long.

  286. 286.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Kay:

    Media panics have real world consequences even if 90% of the public doesn’t read the crap they churn out.

    The mainstreaming of transphobic extremists in the States, and especially the UK, is a perfect example of this. More than 300 anti-trans bills were introduced into state legislatures this year alone.

  287. 287.

    Ramona Rosario

    @Betty Cracker: Hear, hear!

    I for one love, love, love this Balloon Juice commentary on Sinema.

    Until I started typing this, I had put my eagerness to read criticism of Musk and Sinema as a manifestation of my not all that good side. But as I write this, I realize that it is necessary to reinforce the outrage we feel at such harmful shredding of the public welfare we all depend on as social creatures. If we did not share with each other in discussion all the aspects of wrongdoing by powerful individuals, then given the vagaries of memory, we are not apt to take decisive and effective action come 2024.

  288. 288.

    evodevo

    @NotMax: ​
      PLUS the potatoes were fresh, not frozen…I still drool when I think of those fries…going out to the MickieD’s on New Circle Road in 1966 Lexington in the roommate’s car and splurging on a cheeseburger and fries – mmmmmm

  290. 290.

    James E Powell

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    I guess I’ve never known any adults who were angry at Tracy Flick. They roll their eyes or laugh at a familiar stereotype of someone who takes high school student government too seriously

  291. 291.

    eachother

    You can’t talk to a werewolf. Just a bunch of snarling and teeth gnashing.  Hard to hide in a dinner jacket and finger nails out to here. Where do you hide the haunches?  And only emotionally available once a month.

  292. 292.

    Ramona Rosario

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: He has written two more Thursday Murder Club books incredibly even better than the first! You are in for a treat!

    The audio books have lovely interviews with him after the closing chapter.

  295. 295.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    Been away from the blog most of the day so I’m just seeing this and I have to agree.

    We – the commenters often forget that this a blog, and yes a few people have front page access but it’s still a free blog. And yet posts have to be sourced, written, followed. Many places have instituted membership/charge for access and that takes the openness out of the entire process. But not BJ. The front pagers do a lot and that takes time and effort. And I’ve never seen any concept in all the time I’ve been here that every post has to hit MY (or anyone else’s) high points. It’s a lot of effort and work to post regular and not one of us has to read every post or comment on it. Some of us have limited time – not me – I’m retired. Just over a year now.

    So anyway I want to thank all the front pagers for doing this work for free for all of us.

  296. 296.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @evodevo: That, mon ami, was the point: We made them from scratch. As soon as the corp switched to bags of prefrozen, the fries devolved to a semblance of everyone else’s, beef tallow be danged.

  297. 297.

    ObedMarsh

    @Suzanne: Yeah, I was at David’s election night party that night in Downtown Tempe.  (I don’t think that Sinema even held hers in the district.) Even then we in attendance were not disparaging her in her win – we still had our work to do to get a Democrat elected to that seat.

    And now she’s suddenly an Independent.

  298. 298.

    Elizabelle

    @Betty Cracker:

    the human version of an eviction notice written in glitter gel pen

    OMG, I think that is one of the best slams I have ever seen in my life. Short, and memorable, too.

    Alexandra Petri deserves a Pulitzer, for so much of her work. She is a truthteller, cloaked in snark.

  299. 299.

    Chris T.

    @Kay: (quoting something else)

    the Freedom Youth of Austria party that seeks to protect Western culture from globalism and “subjugation of our culture” and to end illegal immigration that “eradicates” the “traditional people of a land.”

    So they … want to give Austria back to the Neanderthals?

  300. 300.

    No One of Consequence

    Way late to the party, but most of the time I just sits and lurks.

    That said, I did want to chime in that I appreciate very much Anne Laurie’s work over the many years, and your’s too Betty. This place has helped keep me sane since W., and I recall the day the mustard was lost. Lest either of you feel your efforts go unnoticed — they have not and they do not. Please carry on for those less inclined to publicity or commentary. Many are here because of a shared notion of simultaneously both community and bewilderment (either at Baud’s perennial runs for higher office, John’s travails with modern living, or the latest from Ukraine, or any number of the inestimable posts you have made over the years that took most of us by pleasant, yet reliable, surprise).

    Thank you most kindly,

    -NOoC

  301. 301.

    Paul in KY

    @Brit in Chicago: Problem is that she WANTS attention and as an ambassador, the only ‘attention’ ones are England and France and China, etc. No way you want her as an ambassador there.

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