Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A consequence of cucumbers

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

No one could have predicted…

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

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

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

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Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

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Rest in peace, Sinéad O’Connor. In 1990, she refused to appear on Saturday Night Live because the program was hosted by misogynist creep Andrew Dice Clay, who was inexplicably popular at the time. In 1992, O’Connor did appear on SNL, and this happened:

Damn if she wasn’t right again. She was a troubled soul and also a brave truthteller. There may be a connection between those two things.

***

In other news, Mitch McConnell appeared to stroke out mid-lie during a press briefing. I know that’s a mean thing to say — we are all fragile creatures — but also, fuck Mitch McConnell.

***

Lastly, remember when the Ron DeSantis campaign amplified a weird incel-themed video that caused enormous controversy and then the campaign got busted for passing it off as the work of fan boys when it was actually produced in-house? They did it again, only this time the video was Nazi-themed and a DeSantis speechwriter, Nate Hochman, was fired (or laid off due to the cash crunch — unclear).

Josh Marshall points out that such weirdos aren’t a DeSantis campaign aberration. Similar dudes staff sitting US House reps and are all over mainstream wingnut outlets:

This spring, TPM’s Hunter Walker brought us the story of George Santos consigliere Vish Burra. Then there were the staffer and intern from the office of Rep. Paul Gosar. There are numerous other examples we’ve seen over the last couple years. There’s some variety in the general profile. But some basic commonalities show through. The first is that most are quite young — like mid-20s or younger. At 32, Burra is a relative elder statesman. Their digital histories also run the gamut from willfully offensive to explicitly neo-Nazi. The common thread, however, is a political awakening in the toxic world of far-right message boards and social media “edgelords.” That’s the language and visual idiom of these DeSantis videos. If you’re not familiar with it it can just seem bizarre. If you are familiar with it it still seems bizarre but the meaning is more clear and because of that understanding usually a lot more disturbing.

They’re also getting jobs and sinecures in what now counts as the GOP mainstream. (DeSantis-aligned influencer Pedro) Gonzalez’s LinkedIn biography lists bylines and jobs at various right wing publications, including Chronicles and its parent organization, The Charlemagne Institute, internships at the Claremont Institute and membership at the increasingly right wing New York Young Republican Club, where Burra was executive secretary before getting his gig with George Santos. Hochman was a staff writer at The National Review before taking his job with the DeSantis campaign. In the summer of 2021 he was an intern at Claremont’s house publication, The American Mind. He even got a lengthy think piece about the future of conservatism published in The New York Times.

Great job, everybody.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

191Comments

  2. 2.

    Suzanne

    I read this, from a FTFNYT interview with her in recent years:

    O’Connor is happy being on her own, with her garden and her Mayfair cigarettes and her iPads and her “imaginary boyfriend,” Taye Diggs, to keep her company via episodes of “Murder in the First.” “I haven’t been terribly successful at being a girlfriend or wife,” she said. “I’m a bit of a handful, let’s face it.”

    She will be missed, very much.

  3. 3.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    In other news, Mitch McConnell appeared to stroke out mid-lie during a press briefing. I know that’s a mean thing to say — we are all fragile creatures — but also, fuck Mitch McConnell.

    Fuck him indeed and I hope next time he doesn’t come back. You don’t have trump and trumpism without Mitch McConnell. McCarthy sucks up to trump out of fear and desperate ambition. McConnell has protected trump out of pure calculation.

  4. 4.

    pacem appellant

    The Catholic Church is really bad, in 1992, before, and now. O’Connor tried to warn us, but we collectively lost our brains and wouldn’t listen. I include myself among that number, but I was at a Catholic High School at the time and it would be years before I exited the cult. Responsible adults should have protected children, but instead, they protected a predator and excoriated a brave seer. Shame on them. Shame on me.

  5. 5.

    Paul in KY

    She was a wonderful singer and a courageous young woman. I know her son’s death gutted her.

    RIP, Pride of Ireland.

  7. 7.

    lee

    When that happened in ’92 my Catholic wife just said ‘She’s Irish and what the church did to the Irish is unconscionable’

  8. 8.

    Paul in KY

    Those rightwing lickspittles also get their start in College republican politics/ratfucking and also frat stuff (if they are not too weird for a frat).

  9. 9.

    Chetan Murthy

    @pacem appellant: just to add to what you said: they protected thousands of predators worldwide and used a worldwide conspiracy to do so, managed by a worldwide hierarchy that demanded absolute obedience.  And yes, when a single seer pointed it all out They pilloried her and drove her from the public eye.

  10. 10.

    oatler

    RIP. The late great Jan Hooks did a great Sinead in “The Sinatra Group” sketch from SNL.

  13. 13.

    oldgold

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    My fear is in October of 2024 something like this happens to Biden.

    I know very few here agree with me, but I do not think octogenarians should be holding high positions in our government.

  17. 17.

    MattF

    It’s not just happenstance— it’s a fact that DeSantis keeps hooking up with crazy people. There are, apparently, a couple of adults in the DeSantis organization, but Fearless Leader himself isn’t one of them.

  18. 18.

    oldster

    The Mitch Glitch seems like a real problem. That was not just a senior moment — that looked like a TIA or worse.

    Why should his party force him to stay on? If he retires, Kentucky will send us another Republican, possibly a worse one. They should just let him retire.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    My sympathy for the Turtle can be found in the dictionary, and you all are familiar with where exactly to find it.

  21. 21.

    trollhattan

    @pacem appellant: And what’s America’s Mayor up to, today?

    Rudy Giuliani conceded in a court filing that he made false statements when he said two Georgia election workers mishandled ballots during the 2020 election.

    [Do go on.]

    In 2021, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who are mother and daughter, filed a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani for these accusations in the federal court in Washington, D.C.

    And in his latest court filings for this case, the former New York City mayor backed off his previous statements.

    “While Giuliani does not admit to Plaintiffs’ allegations, he — for purposes of this litigation only — does not contest the factual allegations,” court documents filed Tuesday read.

    In a declaration signed by Giuliani, he acknowledges that he made statements that “carry meaning that is defamatory per se” and that those comments were “actionable” and “false.”

    This declaration also stipulates that Giuliani “believes that he has legal defenses” to the lawsuit and wants to “avoid unnecessary expenses in litigating what he believes to be unnecessary disputes.” He also said he believes his statements were constitutionally protected.

    An attorney for Giuliani didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to The Guardian, Giuliani adviser Ted Goodman said these recent filings were done just to move the case past the case’s discovery phase and onto legal arguments.

    Michael J. Gottlieb, the attorney for Moss and Freeman, saw Giuliani’s declaration as more significant.

    “Giuliani’s stipulation concedes what we have always known to be true — Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss honorably performed their civic duties in the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law; and the allegations of election fraud he and former-President Trump made against them have been false since day one,” Gottlieb said in a statement. “While certain issues, including damages, remain to be decided by the court, our clients are pleased with this major milestone in their fight for justice, and look forward to presenting what remains of this case at trial.”

  24. 24.

    Gravenstone

    @oldster: His replacement would have neither the seniority nor deep institutional ratfucking knowledge McConnell possesses. That’s why they’ll keep him upright and ambulatory as long as possible.

  25. 25.

    MattF

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I imagine that the internal R politics in the Senate would end up looking a lot more like internal R politics in the House— more factional and more radical.

  27. 27.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @oldster: like Pelosi, most of what McConnell does best is done behind the scenes, it’s not a given that John Thune or whoever could fill those shoes so easily. The money people McConnell has built relationships with might have trouble deciding if they should or want to talk to Thune, or Scott, or Cruz, or Hawley, or….

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    @oldster: They have a Dem governor but if I recall correctly, they’ve rigged it so he can’t send a sane replacement?

  32. 32.

    gvg

    Claremont Institute-ins’t that the one that produced the stalker Charles Johnson that got arrested for various things like breaking into a Congresswoman’s office to bug it (probation), filming misleading videos and some other things, getting crazier as time went on? Little Green Footballs kept researching him because of the name coincidence. I would say Claremont is a red flag now.

    We need better mental healthcare at an earlier stage.

  35. 35.

    Yarrow

    @oldster:

    Why should his party force him to stay on? If he retires, Kentucky will send us another Republican, possibly a worse one. They should just let him retire.

    Why would you think anyone is forcing him to stay? Mitch is all about power. The Senate is his lifeblood. He’ll give it up when he’s dead.

  37. 37.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I read that after a pause, he came back to the presser.  And I thought to myself: how inhumane, how heartless, do these GrOPer Sens (and sure, Yertle too) have to be, that when an 81-year-old man has a “moment”, instead of rushing him off to medical evaluation, they wait until they think he’s past it, and then just continue on with him?

    They’re all ghouls.  I mean, I want Yertle to shuffle off — he’s a fucking enemy — but they’re his *friends and colleagues* FFS.

  38. 38.

    Adrian Lesher

    Unfortunately, Clay is still given acting roles by Martin Scorcese, Bradley Cooper and Woody Allen.

  39. 39.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    Those staffers are a good example of what I worry about for the future. Demographics aren’t going to save us. While we’ve been ignoring young, troubled white men, because we felt they were doing just fine, they’ve been radicalizing them.

  41. 41.

    gene108

    @oldgold:

    I know very few here agree with me, but I do not think octogenarians should be holding high positions in our government.

    Biden’s age is an issue with a lot of voters, though not so much on this blog.

  42. 42.

    Alison Rose

    Sinead was a brave and beautiful soul who was done horribly wrong by too many people. I remember when “No Man’s Woman” came out in 2000 and it felt so powerful, to hear her take joy in the love she got from her higher power after being abused and diminished by shitty human men.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @gene108: I agree, but there’s nothing to be done about it that wouldn’t worsen our position, so I hope for the best.

  47. 47.

    Yarrow

    @Chetan Murthy:  I’m baffled that people think Mitch isn’t the one saying he wants to go back out there. Why do you think it’s the fault of his “friends and colleagues?” Doesn’t Mitch have agency?

  48. 48.

    ian

    In other news, Mitch McConnell appeared to stroke out mid-lie during a press briefing. I know that’s a mean thing to say — we are all fragile creatures — but also, fuck Mitch McConnell.

    Prayers do get answered, they just sometimes take a couple years longer than anyone expects to be fulfilled.

  49. 49.

    AxelFoley

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Fuck him indeed and I hope next time he doesn’t come back. You don’t have trump and trumpism without Mitch McConnell. McCarthy sucks up to trump out of fear and desperate ambition. McConnell has protected trump out of pure calculation.

    This. All the way this. 👆🏾

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I think Kentucky law would require Governor Beshear to select a new Senator from the same party as the old one.

    Beshear could try to find a Republican office holder who wasn’t a knuckle dragger, but I expect he’d have slim pickings.

  55. 55.

    citizen dave

    Sinead’s SNL action is one of–maybe the most–ballsiest thing a popular performer has done.  On purpose; fuck the consequences.   Way ahead of time and place.

    A few months ago watched an old video (youtube–on phone or I would link) of her doing Danny Boy.  Simply awesome.

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    @Geminid:

    @Betty Cracker: I think Kentucky law would require Governor Beshear to select a new Senator from the same party as the old one.

     

    They deliberately changed the law to force the Governor to pick the replacement from the same party as the Senator they would be replacing.

     

    Beshear could try to find a Republican office holder who wasn’t a knuckle dragger, but he’d have slim picking

     

    The GOP  would insist that he pick that Coon of an Attorney General that they have.

  60. 60.

    rikyrah

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Fuck him indeed and I hope next time he doesn’t come back. You don’t have trump and trumpism without Mitch McConnell. McCarthy sucks up to trump out of fear and desperate ambition. McConnell has protected trump out of pure calculation.

     

    So much truth on this blog.

    so.much.truth.

  61. 61.

    JCJ

    @Omnes Omnibus:  Amazing song.  Amazing person.  In the past I always wondered why people would react so much to the death of a singer, actor, etc.  Then when Chester Bennington died I got hit so hard.  Shortly after his death my daughter and I drove to Chicago and listened to Linkin Park the whole trip and I understood that his torment was the source of his talent.  Now I find myself getting teary-eyed thinking of Sinead O’Connor and what torment she had inflicted upon her and how the world reacted in 1992 when she pulled back the curtain for people to look at what was being done in the name of the Catholic church.

  62. 62.

    JoyceCB

    Just watched the video of McConnell freezing up – something very similar happened to my mother one day as she was talking to me.  Right afterwards she was “it’s fine, leave me alone, I’m FINE!”  She absolutely refused to see our doctor.  About four months later she had a massive stroke, which did not kill her but messed up the rest of her life.

  63. 63.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I don’t think Kentucky Republicans can insist on anybody in particular. The new Senator just has to be a Republican.

    Beshear would almost certainly choose someone to fill the seat. He’s running for reelection this year, and leaving Kentucky with only one Senator for a year or more would be held against him. It would knock the props out from under his “Team Kentucky” brand.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    He even got a lengthy think piece about the future of conservatism published in The New York Times.

    Notable for being only the third time the New York times published the phrase “a boot stamping on a human face, forever”.

  65. 65.

    Jay

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:

    They were already radicalized online and through family, long before they left High School.

    30 years ago, none of them would have gotten even an unpaid internship as a coffee boy in 99% of the ReThug Grift Machine, for being too radical and willfully ignorant.

    Now, ReThug’s actively recruit them.

    From about Grade 8, the only person who could salvage them from their extremist path, was themselves.

  66. 66.

    Parfigliano

    So A loyal Kentucky DEM registers as a Kentucky GOP and then the Gov appoints said person.  A GOPer has been appointed as Kentucky law requires.

    Fuck em.  Let em howl.

  68. 68.

    rikyrah

    @JoyceCB:

    I’ll be honest. I think Turtle has already had a stroke. Remember that story from the restaurant where he fell to the ground?

    And then they hid him away for a couple of months?

  70. 70.

    Ken

    @MattF: I was thinking along the lines of a Democrat who switched parties about ten minutes before the appointment. That would depend on how carefully the legislature defined party membership in the law, of course, but given that they’re Republicans….

  71. 71.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Yarrow: Also — I don’t remember which past senator it was attributed to — the funeral for a sitting senator is far grander and receives far more attention than a funeral for a retired senator.

  73. 73.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty Cracker:

    They have a Dem governor but if I recall correctly, they’ve rigged it so he can’t send a sane replacement?

    Most states have some kind of rule requiring the governor to appoint someone from the same party as the old senator.  I think in some cases the party is even allowed to nominate a replacement.  I guess it makes some kind of sense.  I wouldn’t want a Republican governor to be free to appoint a Republican replacement for a Democratic senator who couldn’t finish their term.

  74. 74.

    Philbert

    @Geminid: KY GOP pushed that in fairly recently as Mitch began to decline.

    Also, for all the bad, Mitch did stick up strongly for Ukraine.

  75. 75.

    JMG

    @Parfigliano: Alas, the law says that the Republicans in the legislature put forward three names, and Beshear has to pick one of them.

    On the plus side, this is an opportunity for much Republican infighting and backbiting Beshear can make worse.

  76. 76.

    Roger Moore

    @Chetan Murthy:

    FWIW, the article I saw mentioned that the Senator who escorted him away was a physician, so he had some kind of medical attention.  It’s not as good as seeing a dedicated specialist, but it’s a far sight better than just being abandoned.  I also wouldn’t be the tiniest bit surprised if A) McConnell was the one who insisted on coming back, quite possibly against advice, and B) he got some kind of check-up after the presser was over.

  81. 81.

    Geminid

    @Ken: Andy Beshear is a popular Governor, but that’s a trick that could cost him reelection this fall. And if he wins, he’ll have a good shot at beating Rand Paul in 2028.

    So I think the short term benefit of having one more Democratic Senator, for the remainder of a Congress with a Republican House majority, would be outweighed by the costs. Kentuckians really need a second Beshear term.

  82. 82.

    Miss Bianca

    @oldgold: Yes, we know you’re just *concerned*, not an ageist or anything . Although maybe you ought to consider changing your nym to “younggold”. You know, so we don’t mistake *you* for one of the Olds who need to be shipped off to the nearest convenient ice floe.

  83. 83.

    Roger Moore

    @JCJ:

    Then when Chester Bennington died I got hit so hard.

    For me, it was Tom Petty.  I don’t know why.  I liked his music, but he was never someone I would have listed as one of my favorites.  Somehow his death really hit me hard anyway.

  85. 85.

    trollhattan

    Goddamn Powell one-trick pony asshole.

    Pack up the umbrella and the beach towel and head back to the car: The Fed’s Hot Pause Summer is officially over.

    The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday it would raise interest rates a quarter percentage point (or 25 basis points), to a 22-year high. It marks a return to the long, steady climb interest rates have been on for the last year, as the Fed attempts to beat back inflation.

    “The Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks,” the Fed said in a press release.

    Last month, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell hit the pause button on those rate hikes, which was like an economic beach holiday for consumers and Wall Street. It meant credit card interest rates wouldn’t keep rising and that loans people and businesses wanted to take out for things like houses weren’t getting more expensive by the day.

    And, even with the interest rate steady, inflation continued to fall, to roughly 3% (very near the Fed’s goal rate of 2%) and the unemployment rate remained near historic lows.

  86. 86.

    Geminid

    @Philbert: Yes, the $44 billion for military aid passed in last December’s Omnibus spending bill has been crucial to Ukraine’s defence, and McConnell deserves credit for that.

    But not one cookie shall I give him!

  87. 87.

    Jeffro

    if anyone is interested, almost like a stopped clock (except it’s only this once), Henry Olsen is actually right about something today and not just subtly flacking for our billionaire overlords:

    The Fed needs to knock it off with the interest rate hikes after today

    In other words, continuing to raise rates after this week’s meeting risks a significant overcorrection. The Fed’s next meeting is in mid-September. If it focuses on the inflation rate, which will likely remain above the Fed’s 2-percent target, it could be tempted to raise rates by another 0.25 points. But that hike would send short-term interest rates to 5.75 percent. This would push short-term interest rates to their highest since 1999.

    Pausing further rate hikes until later this year, if necessary, is the safer course. That would give the Fed three to four months of additional data with which to assess where the economy will move after excess savings are depleted. It would also allow the Fed to determine whether households are depleting their savings at a slower pace, thereby continuing to fuel inflation. Together, those data would help the central bank assess how to lower inflation without triggering a sharp recession.

    It’s hard enough to manage the economy in normal times. In these unprecedented times, an error by the Fed could be potentially catastrophic. Taking a breather and watching what happens is the wisest option available.

    Yeah – you tell ’em, Henry!

  88. 88.

    rikyrah

    @Jay:

     that Coon???

     

    Yes…one of those that Harriet would have shot back in the day.

    Does nothing but shuck and jive and tapdance for Mr. Charlie.

  89. 89.

    HinTN

    @trollhattan:

    just to move the case past the case’s discovery phase

    Begging the question of what exactly they are afraid might be unearthed in discovery.

  90. 90.

    Jay

    @Miss Bianca:

    “convenient ice flow?”

    Up here, we don’t have those any more, even in winter,

    we have taken to using floating rafts of plastic trash,

  91. 91.

    rikyrah

    @Jeffro:

     

    I agree. The USA has the lowest inflation rate amongst the 1st World Nations. The least they could have done is keep the interest rates steady.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore: Spouse caught Petty playing here and really liked the show, so I started to think “Hey, I’ve never seen him, I should do something about that” and two weeks later, he was dead.

  93. 93.

    Mike in NC

    Scratch a crackpot and you’ll generally trace where they came from. RWNJ Chip Roy was formerly Chief of Staff to none other than Ted ‘Cancun’ Cruz before he was a Texas Congressman.

  95. 95.

    Jeffro

    @trollhattan: ah, ya beat me by a minute!

    I hear you about “one-trick”, though.  The interest rate hikes had very little to do with cooling inflation imho.

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    @Jeffro: 1999, that would roughly be when Clinton et al had the U.S. at a balanced budget with the debt plunging. Then, somebody had a bright idea with “It’s your money, you should get it back” as an election slogan only not including “and by ‘you’ I only mean richer than rich people” and managed to have SCOTUS steal the presidency for him.

    Good times.

  97. 97.

    raven

    @Roger Moore: My SIL saw his last show. I saw him soon after I got sober and all I could think was “this is what I’ve been missing all this years of getting fucked up to go to music’ shows!

  98. 98.

    Roberto el oso

    I was fortunate enough to see Sinead twice. Although they are complete opposites in terms of onstage dynamism, I had the same awestruck reaction to O’Connor as when I saw Kate Bush. Perhaps their mesmerizing quality had something to do with how tiny they looked. They ruled the place and made one feel as if one was in a cathedral that was somehow as intimate as a pub.

    On the matter of up-and-coming Nazi Jugend-types, I enjoyed the restraint of “At 32, Burra is a relative elder statesman” …. given the dung-splattered abattoir that he represents this rang as odd as the possibility of a tender ballad by GWAR.

  99. 99.

    Alison Rose

    @trollhattan: I’m sorry you never got to see him live. Their shows were always a ton of fun. I saw them maybe half a dozen times, including twice when they did two long runs at The Fillmore in SF, one in 1997 and one in 99. Amazing to see a band like that, that you usually see in a huge arena, in this small intimate space.

  100. 100.

    Shalimar

    Andrew “Dice” Clay’s act was an over-the-top parody of misogynistic assholes.  Kind of like the Colbert Report was a few decades later.  That said, most of Colbert’s fans realized it was a character, whereas the vast majority of Clay’s fans were horrible people who wished they could get away with saying what he said.

  102. 102.

    catclub

    Their digital histories also run the GAMUT from willfully offensive to explicitly neo-Nazi.

    From g to HH. adjusted for ya.

  103. 103.

    dww44

    @oldgold: I’m with you.  Biden has been great but the odds are stacked against the same being true for another 5 years.  Yet the path for a younger capable and charismatic candidate seems to not exist as long as he sits atop.  And, with regard to women candidates, I just don’t know if that is viable or likely to be successful in 2024.  My not so political spouse and his brother want someone different.  Interestingly, Gavin Newsome appeals to both of them. Politically active granddaughter (and she really is) says that her Gen Z cohorts want someone different.​

  104. 104.

    catclub

    @trollhattan: ​
      agreed.

    It marks a return to the long, steady climb interest rates have been on for the last year,

    record breakingly rapid climb
    FTFY

    move fast and break things… they are still trying

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @rikyrah: That would be Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is Governor Beshear’s opponent this year.

    Generally, polling shows Beshear with about a 10 point lead; a recent Republican-commissioned poll showed Beshear’s lead at 4 points.

  106. 106.

    Alison Rose

    @dww44: Being that Newsom (no e on the end :P) is on Biden’s reelection team, he isn’t going to run against him in 2024. I’m fairly convinced that everything he’s doing now is to prepare for a run in 2028, though. He’ll only be 61, which in national politics is practically a Spring chicken.

  107. 107.

    Betty Cracker

    @Shalimar: That’s Clay’s go-to excuse, and maybe it was an act, but I don’t buy it as a defense of the toxic sludge he pumped into popular culture. He made an environment that already sucked for women even worse. It insults Colbert to mention him in the same breath, IMO.

  109. 109.

    db11

    @oldgold: I’m not worried about Biden’s cognitive competence — relative to his age — but rather, the not-insignificant risk that a physical health issue appears sometime between now and the election.

    I had a group of half a dozen older friends that were all vital and active through their late 70’s: all of them developed health issues starting around Biden’s current age. Not one of them lived past 84.

    I’m not saying this will happen to Biden, but wishing away that risk doesn’t eliminate it — and it would be very consequential if it were realized.

    That said, I still think we have no choice but to white-knuckle it through with Biden until post-election. Any other scenario worsens the Dem’s electoral odds.

    I would be more than happy to see Biden re-elected and either serve out his full term — or hand off to Kamala. I just hope to hell he makes it there intact.

  110. 110.

    Jay

    @catclub:  the Fed are trying to bring back the Reagan Recession 21.5% interest rates and Unemployment rates of 10.8% to “cool” the economy and sabotage workers, the middle class and Bidenomics.

  111. 111.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Shalimar: I have to say, I don’t remember it that way.  I remember Clay as being a straight-up misogynist.  Whereas, Colbert …. it was *clear* that he was playing a part — very, very clear.

  113. 113.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @dww44:

    Yet the path for a younger capable and charismatic candidate seems to not exist as long as he sits atop.

    That path doesn’t appear very clear to me if, by choice or otherwise, Biden were no longer at the top of the ticket. I can’t imagine a primary that would produce a stronger candidate at this point.

  115. 115.

    Cameron

    Videos of oiled-up musclemen and Nazis?  A lead character pining after their dream, showing off for the world in their sexy white boots?  I’ve seen this before – so have a lot of you…..

    https://youtu.be/yMpSQV1-bsA

  116. 116.

    zhena gogolia

    @db11:

    That said, I still think we have no choice but to white-knuckle it through with Biden until post-election. Any other scenario worsens the Dem’s electoral odds.

    Yes, that’s right, and let’s stop badmouthing our own candidate. R’s would never do that.

    ETA: I can’t believe I’m living through “but her e-mails” once again. Fascism, people, focus!!!

  118. 118.

    Cameron

    @Jeffro: There is absolutely no reason I can think of why the Fed should be raising interest rates.  What positive effect on the economy could be attained?

  119. 119.

    Jackie

    @Baud: It depends on timing: KY governor election is THIS Nov. If McTurtle needs to be replaced, it’ll be after. Beshear is well-liked in KY, but he’s not going to do something stupid to risk not getting re-elected.

  120. 120.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Whereas I can easily imagine a bitterly contested primary that leaves lingering hard feelings that dim our chances in a general election. I don’t think the folks who are concerned about Biden’s age are wrong or ageist or whatever, but sticking with Biden seems like the obvious best choice to me, absent a change in his health.

  121. 121.

    trollhattan

    @laura: Yee-haw! How about it, Mitch, for the kids!

    Do we know the most common bolt size used in its assembly? Asking for a friend.

  122. 122.

    Chetan Murthy

    @zhena gogolia: Indeed.  Sure, Biden’s a bit (maybe even a good bit) too old.  But he’s been better than any of us could have reasonably hoped-for.  Way, way better.  He’s probably one of the greatest Presidents in our history.  We oughta stop doomster-ing, and start celebrating how great he is.  How great he can be.

    And he’s assembled a team of pretty excellent people (starting with MVP), hasn’t he?  In addition to our governors!  Big Gretch, Newsom, Kate Brown, Gov. Lujan-Grisham, probably others I’ve forgotten.  We have a deep bench for when the time comes.

  123. 123.

    Baud

    Maybe we can compromise and persuade Bernie Sanders not to run for reelection next year.

  127. 127.

    catclub

    @MattF: There must be never-Trumpers, even in Kentucky… you think?

    Yes, of course.  The senator appointed has to be a republican, but not necessarily an office holder and not selected by the Kentucky GOP. How mad does Beshear want to make them? Back in the day there were people like Shirley Chisholm who were republicans.  Find one of those. If you know what I mean.

  128. 128.

    trollhattan

    @Alison Rose: Newsom has me convinced he’s an unironically loyal national Democrat and whatever his long-term plans, will do his part to help Biden achieve a smooth reelection, whether that means stumping for him or staying away from the limelight.

    His trips to Florida are more to poke DeSantis than to raise his own profile.

    He won’t term out until 2026.

  129. 129.

    Jay

    @Cameron:

    If too many people are employed, that creates upwards pressure on Employers to provide living wages and benefits, as people quit shit jobs for better jobs,

    and that makes the Job Creator’s (snark) class has a sadz, because we are supposed to just be serfs and nobodies.

    So jacking up interest rates when inflation is falling, is about killing jobs, not inflation created by Covid shortages, Corporate profiteering and strong Employment.

  130. 130.

    patrick II

    @gene108:

    I am for Biden because, in addition to his being a fine president, I think he has the best chance of beating Trump.  But I agree that his age is a problem. Not just his age, he is clearly more frail than he was even a few years ago.

    But, having said that, which more age-appropriate Democrat would have a better chance at winning the nomination and then beating Trump?

  131. 131.

    Sister Golden Bear

    House Republicans convene hearing to attack transgender people’s existence

    Because of course they are.

    House Republicans are convening a hearing on “The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children” that will involve only anti-transgender activists and no doctors who work with transgender patients or medical experts who have relevant research backgrounds.

    The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government – formerly known as the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties until Republicans renamed it when taking the House this year – has invited anti-transgender activists to the hearing, which will take place on Thursday at 10 a.m.

    Meanwhile, a new paper in the Lancet confirms gender-affirming care is preventative care. Yet another in the long line of actual scientific studies showing trans healthcare is beneficial.

    Patients are suing Vanderbilt University Medical Center for turning over the private medical records of over 100 transgender patients to the TN AG for an investigation that they’re claiming was politically motivated.

    Plus an absolutely damning story about internal discussions at Genspect, a pseudo-scientific groups who’s been the go-to for fake “evidence” used by anti-trans haters. ”

    Leaked chat logs from a community Discord server operated by the gender-critical organization Genspect show that the group leverages fears about transgender youth to organize opposition to transitioning for all adults.

    The chats reveal people around the organization using radical language, as well as coordinating with right-wing legislative and political efforts in the U.S., U.K., and across the world that have attempted to stir panic and outrage over transitioning…..

    Members of the Genspect chat openly speak about “groomers” and “pedophiles” affiliated with what they call the “trans cult,” a line of rhetoric plucked from the larger anti-trans movement.”

    This is my absolutely unshocked face.

  132. 132.

    Jackie

    @Jackie: Ehh missed the edit window: I stand corrected, KY election for gov is 2024. I don’t know why I thought it was this year 🤷🏼‍♀️

  133. 133.

    Miss Bianca

    @oldgold: Well, guess what, pal…you go to war with the legislators you have, not the legislators you wish you had. And youth qua youth is vastly overrated as a leadership quality. Unless you got something else going for you, just being young is no guarantee of effectiveness. Quite the opposite, in my experience.

  134. 134.

    catclub

    @db11: ​
     

    I’m not worried about Biden’s cognitive competence

    Biden was the sharpest guy at his press conferences… by far.
    I would love for them to use those as ads.

  135. 135.

    rikyrah

    @db11:

    I will be honest with everyone about Biden’s age….

    I’m just asking him to hang on until January 20, 2025, Noon.

     

    Past that, we have a process in place that handles what happens.

     

    So, keep all positive thoughts and whatever you do  (pray, chant, meditate) for our President.

  136. 136.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia:

    Fascism, people, focus!!!

    IKR? Why the fuck that salient factor appears to be so hard for everyone to grasp eludes me. And for fuck’s sake – it’s not like Biden doesn’t have a younger, more diverse, and incredibly competent and intelligent cabinet and team to work with, from his VP on down. Jesus Christ. This obsessive focus on Biden’s age is just making me crazy. WE’RE NOT GOING TO GET BETTER THAN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE.

  137. 137.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @catclub:

    Bad news – the lunatics running the Kentucky GOP create the list of three names that he can choose from, and there are plenty of genuine psychopaths that they can put on that list.

  138. 138.

    Geminid

    Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu posted a picture of President Erdogan with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya standing on either side of him. They’re smiling, while Erdogan has his usual dyspeptic look.

    This meeting has been scheduled for some time. Israeli PM Netanyayu was supposed to meet Erdogan tomorrow but his trip was postponed because of his recent pacemaker installation.

    Soylu posted some other interesting video this morning, of a new woman Provincial Governor being saluted by policemen. Woman governors are nothing new for Turkiye, but this one was newsworthy because she was the first Turkish Provincial Governor ever to wear a headscarve. Twenty years ago those cops could have arrested her, because the hijab was forbidden for public officials and employees.

    And university students as well; in 2002 a woman decided to wear a headscarve to her final exam and caught a six month jail sentence for “disruption.”

    So the commenters on Soylu’s Twitter post debated whether this was a step forward or backward. It was a sharp looking scarve though, a pretty turquoise that matched her calve-length dress

  139. 139.

    Tom Q

    @Betty Cracker: All US political history in the 2-party era shows that 1) incumbent presidents are more likely to be win election than replacement candidates from the same party and 2) this situation only gets worse when there’s a serious incumbent intra-party battle (see: 1952. 1968, 1976, even 2016 to some extent).  The idea that Dems could smoothly/rancor-free pick a younger replacement for Biden is laughable to anyone who knows the party.
    I honestly think some of this talk is people (including pols) who think re-electing Biden could mean Harris would become president before 2028.  Some are aghast at this idea because they don’t like her/think she’s a risky candidate…but others don’t like the idea because it positions her to be a strong candidate for the election following, which would stifle the plans of a lot of ambitious folk.​

  140. 140.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @catclub:

    They could, for example, choose elevate the status of a GOPer in a safe House seat (Massie or Comer).  They could also get rid of a legislative gadfly that they could pick off in a coming primary, too (Savannah Maddox, Joe Fisher, Felicia Raybourn, Adrienne Southworth, Whitney Westerfield).

    Or, they could simply crown an asshole like KY Senate President Robert Stivers, my law school classmate and former friend from the corrupt, impoverished shithole of Clay County – a place that has been run into the ground by generations of Stivers running local governement.

  142. 142.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @Tom Q:

    I love the energy and age of our national Dem bench.

    We just need to make our way out of this peculiar morass.

  143. 143.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MattF:

    It’s not just happenstance— it’s a fact that DeSantis keeps hooking up with crazy people.

    “Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time it’s enemy action.” – Auric Goldfinger

  144. 144.

    Tom Q

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: ​
     No argument there. I love a lot of younger Democrats, and will enjoy watching them ascend. But, for this moment in time, Biden running as unchallenged incumbent with a recovering economy is the party’s best chance of winning an election on which the entire future of the nation depends.

  145. 145.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Phylllis:

    I think freezing like that is also a Parkinson’s syndrome.

    My dad had Parkinson’s in his 80s.  I was going to say the same thing.

  146. 146.

    Geminid

    @Tom Q: Vice President Harris would likely have the inside track in 2028, but it will be an open field and she’ll have to earn the win.

    I think highly of her and the other prospective candidates as well, but I can wait until then. I was somewhat appalled the other day when I saw someone wishing for a primary next year. It would be so cool, they said, to see “Gretchen, Pete and Kamala” debate each other. I though this showed a very unserious attitude towards politics.

  147. 147.

    Yarrow

    GAH! Concern trolling about Biden’s age does not help elect a Democratic president with strong coattails so we can win the Senate and House. Whatever concerns you have about his age, Biden is the candidate. Blathering on about your concerns about his age doesn’t help him get elected.

    Why is it that the only-three-years-younger guy who’s going to win the Republican nomination seems to get a pass on age while everyone “has concerns” about Biden’s age and the press keeps talking about it? Because it’s a Republican strategy to get everyone talking about Biden’s age and health. It’s all they’ve got. And it’s working. Look at everyone here expressing concerns. Every time you talk about it with people you’re amplifying Republican talking points. Good for you. Doing their work for them.

    Sure, it would be great if he was a decade younger. But he’s not. So it doesn’t matter if we wish he was. Figure out how to counter any “concerns about his age” when talking with anyone who might be willing to vote for him. Talk about his accomplishments. Compare him to TFG, since those are the two choices. Those are the people we need on our side and they’ll hearing these “concerns” and parroting them back just like we’re seeing here.

  152. 152.

    Steeplejack

    @oldster:

    After seeing the video, it is clear that McConnell’s vacant-eyed freeze lasted for 20 seconds before anyone stepped in to help him. That does not square with his aides later whitewashing it as “he felt lightheaded.”

  153. 153.

    eversor

    Biden will be the nominee and will win.  He’s healthy for his age and while not a grand orator like Clinton or Obama is a fantastic retail politician.  We all signed on to his run in 2024 when we voted for him in 2020.

    He’s a transistional president and he seems to know it as well.  The next group are not going to be the Clinton and Obama era types and that’s fine.  Change happens.

    Young people are mostly mad that their party is a gerontocracy and still pretends the upper middle class isn’t pulling ahead as well and also doesn’t need to be taxed into oblivion.  Along with the non stop defense of Republicans/Conservatives/Christians actually being good, but just doing it wrong.  All of those things are not defendable on any level.

    The Democrats are also MUCH better at retail politics, mostly the younger ones, than they were before.  AOC and Illhan Omar jump into gaming matches with people and talk to them.  This may not seem like a lot, but it is.  These things get live streamed and the videos rack up millions of views.  It’s not fake either.  They built their own computers and the specs are VERY respectable.  They are also good enough at the games, and know enough about computers, it’s obvious it’s not fake at all.  They talk about politics, social issues and more, but are often just there to have a fun time.  They also talk about how the only way to get what you want is to start voting, specifically primarying the fuck out of people.

    Even conservative right wingers find it cool.  Cause “yo, AOC just jumped into my stream” is kinda fun.  If you want to reach the youngs that’s the way to do it.  All this stuff flies under the radar of the older generations, but it is going on.

  155. 155.

    zhena gogolia

    @eversor:

    Biden will be the nominee and will win. He’s healthy for his age and while not a grand orator like Clinton or Obama is a fantastic retail politician. We all signed on to his run in 2024 when we voted for him in 2020.

    I approve this message!

  156. 156.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @E.: Or another way of looking at it: the version of Stephen Colbert that hosted the Colbert Report didn’t need a disclaimer for people to know that it was a parody. With Andrew Dice Clay, a reasonable person might easily think that his act was the genuine article.

  158. 158.

    FelonyGovt

    @Steeplejack: Also, he did not stumble or look like he was going to fall. He was bolt upright for the 20 seconds, but his mind had left the building. Wish I could find it in my heart to be sympathetic, but I can’t.

  160. 160.

    brendancalling

    Mitch had a stroke? Gee, that’s sad—for him, anyway.

    So guess what? I’ve been trying to have a more balanced diet (fewer carbs, more vegetables, leaner meat) and have found that making bibimbap is super easy (lots of steps, but super easy). It’s basically a balanced meal in a bowl. I’m using this recipe.

  161. 161.

    Shalimar

    @Betty Cracker: I haven’t seen one of his specials in over 30 years and have no interest in going back and seeing if my impression at the time was right.  I also don’t keep in touch with any of the college friends who were fans because I thought they were assholes then.  But I did get the impression from many of his jokes that he knew his clown was all bluster and that he was nothing like that in real life.

    I also saw him as a helpful warning sign for who to avoid rather than having any real impact in making horrible people any worse.   In the end though he isn’t important enough to argue about.

  163. 163.

    Kay

    Singer Sinead O’Connor has revealed how her time in a notorious Magdalene laundry affected her life.

    was sent to the Sisters of Our Lady Charity laundry in Dublin when she was just 14 years of age because she was labelled a “problem child”. She told the Irish Sun: “We were girls in there, not women, just children really. And the girls in there cried every day. “It was a prison. We didn’t see our families, we were locked in, cut off from life, deprived of a normal childhood. “We were told we were there because we were bad people. Some of the girls had been raped at home and not believed. “One girl was in because she had a bad hip and her family didn’t know what to do with her.

    She was 14 and served 18 months in this terrifying religious prison for shoplifting – worse, her father turned her over to them.
    She can rip up whatever she wants.

  164. 164.

    montanareddog

    @Omnes Omnibus: I get you. I was not a great fan, musically.’She had her emotional difficulties, But she had a clear moral courage. And I have not been as moved about a musicians death since Ian Dury died, I think, who I loved, musically (And I sure loved Tom Petty, Bowie and Price more). I don’t know – maybe, it is because they were both shining stars who overtly had an inner sadness; or maybe I am overthinking. I just dont know

  165. 165.

    Betty Cracker

    @Shalimar:

    “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

    — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., “Mother Night”

  167. 167.

    Roger Moore

    @Tom Q:

    Some are aghast at this idea because they don’t like her/think she’s a risky candidate…but others don’t like the idea because it positions her to be a strong candidate for the election following, which would stifle the plans of a lot of ambitious folk.​

    I think a lot of them just don’t like the idea of a minority woman becoming president.  They cover for this with all kinds of other excuses- she isn’t ready, she’s too polarizing, she would be a bad candidate- but their biggest real objection is they’re bigots.

    Even liberals- even liberals who devote their whole lives to helping out the less fortunate- can be bigots.  It mostly shows up as paternalism.  People like this are fine giving a helping hand to those in need, but at some level the still want White dudes to remain in charge.

  171. 171.

    eversor

    @Roger Moore:

    The Bible, including the New Testament, and Christ himself, is VERY clear on the role of women vs men in society.  We still are largely, a society that tolerates the sick Christian ideology.

    If this site cannot bring itself to voice a full throated and loud take down of that religion than it’s futile to even attempt to fight partriarchy politically.  Are crosses yet as bad as swastiaks and the bible as bad as mein kampf?  If no, then there is not point in debating patriarchy.  If yes, the time has come.

    That time will come.  It’s locked in!  And when it does, there is no going to be “but I was a good German” stunts to get out of it.

  172. 172.

    Geminid

    @eversor: As a matter of practical politics, what exactly is it that you propose? For instance, Virginia Democrats plan to center three issues in this fall’s legislative elections: abortion rights, gun rights and improving public education. Do you think it’s neccesary (or wise) to add a fourth: the destruction of Christianity?

    And what would you propose as a plank on this subject for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign?

    Please don’t infer personal animus from these questions. I generally value your commentary on many subjects. But speaking as an essentially secularized person, I think this obsession is not rational.

    And I would point out that you have several times remarked on the decline in Christianity among younger people, which I think undercuts the urgency of your argument.

  173. 173.

    Citizen Alan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    For that matter, Are there enough Freak show caucus types [n the senate to make an absolute miss out of the race for replacement, just as the freak shows in the house did to Kraven Mccarthy? I’m sure Tommy tubberville, rand Paul, and Marcia Blackburn all think they would make a better senate minority leader than John thune.

  176. 176.

    Geminid

    @Citizen Alan: I think most Republican Senators are too lazy to want the job. They have one of the cushiest jobs in politics as long as they don’t take on leadership responsibilities.

    But it would be great to see a leadership contest, and I suspect we’ll get one before the year is out. Although next Spring, when they need to be putting all their energy into Senate races, would be even better timing.

  183. 183.

    sab

    @Sister Golden Bear: Jeezus fuck. You don’t have a shocked face but I do. I went to Vandy for grad school. Not med school, but I thought their med school people had exemplary ethics. Apparently I was wrong.

  186. 186.

    Paul in KY

    @Gravenstone: It’s supposed to be that Cameron dude who’s running for governor right now. God willing he will lose this year & then the Senitortise will allow his evil minion to assume his post. Either than or he’s Feinsteining to the end.

  190. 190.

    Paul in KY

    @Shalimar: He was ‘supposed’ to be a certain kind of NYC yob. I always thought he really, really enjoyed playing that role.

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