Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

The revolution will be supervised.

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

Giving up is unforgivable.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Democrats Are Getting It Done

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Democrats Are Getting It Done

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178Comments

  1. 1.

    WereBear

    I think you have to go back to 2008 for me to be this proud of America.

    Also, I’m on TikTok. I like it! And I understand it’s good for book marketing.

    CoolAuntPammy

    The link should play in any browser. You don’t have to sign up. And there are lots more cute cats here than Twitter these days.

  2. 2.

    BlueGuitarist

    Democrats getting it done, but not getting credit, reposting this from last night from

    David Roberts @drvolts, who says:

    If you’re on the right, shitting on Dems is how you demonstrate the shared hatreds that make you part of the tribe.
    If you’re on the center-left, shitting on Dems is how you demonstrate the above-it-all independence that earns the admiration of peers.
    If you’re on the left …
    shitting on Dems is how you demonstrate the moral & ideological purity that are the price of membership.
    If you’re in the media, shitting on Dems is how you fight off accusations of bias & establish your “objectivity.”
    There is no faction in US politics — barely even elected Dems! — for whom praising Dems is socially advantageous. There’s no approbation waiting, no repetitional boost, for anyone. It is, from almost every vantage point, uncool.  (Just try it on Twitter to see for yourself.)
    Thus we get today’s information environment, which responds to a transition from four years of violent irrational madness & mass death to three years of relative scandal-free sanity & economic recovery with … unrelenting, top-to-bottom negativity.
    https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1724544162836759022

  3. 3.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Greetings from balmy Ames, Iowa.  It’s in the 60s here.  Ames is typically one of the coldest spots in the state.

    I’m here for work and watching the morning local-yokel news it’s nothing but DuhSantis ads.  I had no idea he oversaw the largest economy in the USofA, took care of “rogue prosecutors” so “our schools could be safe” and “sent troops to the border” to, I think, save us from brown-skinned hordes.

    He clearly has a shitton of money to burn on literally non-stop ads.

    This should be my last work trip ever to Ames after doing so for decades.

  4. 4.

    Another Scott

    Good summary by Rachel. Thanks for the pointer.

    We have to fight them every single day. And when we stand up and turn out, we win.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    Couple of items which recently caught the eye.

    1) Try to sell it in less than a year and it becomes a very expensive, very ugly brick.

    2) Frankly, would have surmised a larger shortfall. Nice to read that ads bring in a relative pittance.

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social lost $31.6 million from its launch in early 2022 to mid-2023, a securities filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O), the SPAC that plans to merge with the company, showed on Monday. Source

  10. 10.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: I am proud to be American and was even when I had not officially become an American. That we are bringing the perps of Jan6 including the Orange one to justice brings me joy. This country has taught me a lot.

  13. 13.

    artem1s

    @Baud: 

    I was pretty proud when we beat Romney

    I was over the moon when Dems took back the Senate in 2006. Hopefully not a blip – I’ve got a funny feeling this election cycle is going to have a lot of blue surprises. the earlier posting about the GOP money trouble in swing states is encouraging. Too many grifters with their hands in the pot will do that.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BlueGuitarist:

    It is, from almost every vantage point, uncool.

    Well, that might explain why I am so unpopular. And all this time I thought it was because I’m an asshole.

  16. 16.

    NorthLeft

    Fake News!  I have it on good authority that;

    A/ President Biden NEVER speaks to the press.

    B/ The US economy is in shambles.

    C/ Inflation is rampant and no one making less than $500K per year can afford to live.

    The US media has faithfully amplified these right wing talking points that have been verified by almost every diner patron in Ohio and Indiana.

  17. 17.

    jlowe

    People (such as Nate Silver) who whine that Biden is old forget that personnel is policy. Joe Biden is old. His team isn’t.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I think it’s an accurate description of political discourse.  To many, not just the MAGA, Dems are the servant class and should be looked down upon and derided.  I think libs looking for validation should recognize they’re not going to find it.

  20. 20.

    RaflW

    Since this is an open thread, I have news from the UK that might not make much of a ripple here, but is a big Biden deal in terms of global refugee issues. (h/t Ian Dunt for his coverage).

    Apparently the UK Supreme Court rejected, on a 5-0 decision, the Tory (and Cruella Braverman) plan to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing. The UK courts have made it abundantly clear that sending asylees, who have enumerated rights under multiple treaties and international agreements, to a poorly run country with an arbitrary and unappealable immigration processing system is equivalent to the already-illegal “pushback” of asylum seekers to the country they fled (my interpretation, could be a bit rough-n-ready).

    I learned a lot about pushbacks when I traveled to Serbia, Hungary & Croatia during the Syrian refugee crisis in the 20-teens. It’s pretty much what most right-wing countries want to do.

    Frankly, our own “remain in Mexico” bullshit is all too similar. We need to behave as if asylum seekers are actually who they say they are. Yes, of course some claimants aren’t legit. But that is what immigration courts should be adjudicating. Our bullshit GOP won’t actually fund immigration courts, they just want fatal barbed wire in the Rio Grande, and more black-clad ICE thugs everywhere.

  21. 21.

    H.E.Wolf

    Balloon Juice jackals are also getting it done – WaterGirl has announced a (possibly double-matched) fundraiser for this coming week!

    Four Directions, an impressive Native American GOTV organization which has partnered with Balloon Juice before, intends to get out the Native American vote in Montana to help re-elect Democratic US Senator Jon Tester in 2024.

    Details here, including a Zoom chat with Four Directions this Thursday at 7 PM blog (Eastern) time.

    https://balloon-juice.com/2023/11/14/zoom-with-four-directions-set-for-thursday-at-7-pm-et/

    Four Directions website: http://www.fourdirectionsvote.com/

  23. 23.

    RaflW

    @H.E.Wolf: I’m so thankful for this. I have been kind of reluctant to donate directly to Tester. But I’m happy to support Four Directions and trust them to know what to do in MT.

  25. 25.

    Chief Oshkosh

    And the Prez that pulled this off WHILE resurrecting the manufacturing base, passing infrastructure, reducing poverty, AND wrecking the Russian Army without a US shot fired…has a chattering class demanding he resign cuz he has a childhood stutter idiots confuse for senility.

    And he’s holding the line on climate change, WHILE resurrecting domestic manufacturing. Far from perfect, but to me, it’s impressive that production has come roaring back without significantly increased pollution (some data indicate that we’ve actually continued to decrease our greenhouse emissions).

  26. 26.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @BlueGuitarist:

    Lived in Ames from 68 to 89 it was much smaller then. And Iowa was a reasonable state then, with dem gov and then 1st Rep then Sen  Tom Harkin

    My son and my ex still live tbere

  27. 27.

    Citizen Alan

    @jlowe: Your comment made me realize something that I find astonishing (here at 6:45 a.m.– damned insomnia!). I don’t think I know the names of more than 3 or 3 members of joe biden’s cabinet. Anthony blinken is in the news right now, and I know Deb Haaland because her appointment was so historic. But all the rest seem to just be quietly and competently doing their jobs instead of being in the news constantly and letting me know what evil, horrible and/or grossly incompetent things they are doing in their departments. After all these years, I still remember names like James Watt, Jim Baker, Donald Rumsfeld, Arne Duncan, and Tim Geithner, and Shitgibbon’s entire cabinet was the fucking Legion of Doom. But I don’t know of anyone serving in Biden’s cabinet who has done anything that keeps me up at night due to their incredible awfulness.

  31. 31.

    Jeffro

    I did not realize that we were about to shift from the worst timeline to the dumbest, but this kind of nonsense is what happens when we don’t up the requirements for president (or any federal office):

    Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson 2024!  He’ll save us!

    Eff off with this nonsense, David von Drehle

    For four years, I have been saying to anyone who will listen — not many people, I must admit — that America has a sure and happy pathway out of the doom loop of Biden vs. Trump, Trump vs. Biden, seemingly for the rest of eternity. This political hellscape worthy of Sartre’s “No Exit,” this zombie apocalypse, this death of imagination and hope. Johnson is that pathway. A man bigger than the Super Bowl is exactly what we need to break the cycle of despair.

    Johnson for President! Many people I’ve tried this on think I am joking, because Dwayne Johnson is a movie star, among other things — and movie stars can’t be elected. Except by the largest electoral college margin since George Washington. (Looking at you, Ronald Reagan, who in 1984 won all the states but one.)

    So Johnson’s admission that “the parties” have approached him about jumping into the presidential race was music to my ears, and should delight the American public. Many Republicans detest their party front-runner, Donald Trump, and many Democrats disdain their incumbent, Joe Biden. The solution is a unity campaign starring the gentle giant.

    no no no no no No NO!

    Our president – the most powerful person in the world – ought not to be in office just because of (FSM bless me) name recognition, or because he’s a “gentle giant”.  Fuuuuuuuuuuck that.

    Our president ought to, among many other things, have had to served a term or two as a Rep, or Senator, or State Governor.  If Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wants the CEO job, he doesn’t have to start in the mail room, but he ought to show people he can manage an average client’s account or two first.

    It gets worse:

    His national security inexperience would be counterbalanced by his unsurpassed personal popularity around the world. Imagine the impact on U.S.-China relations if the new president was a man whose films have grossed more than $1.3 billion in Chinese theaters.

    Yes…because President Xi surely wouldn’t roll Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson due to his popularity!  I can see Xi now: “Well, I guess we’d better call of that invasion of Taiwan, after all, he talked big action-hero tough to me and some of my citizens have seen his movies!”  woo woo

    I don’t care what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s politics are, either.  He could be a lefty-McLeftFace extraordinaire and it’d still be stupid and wrong.  (See also: President Taylor Swift, President Pink, etc).  If he wants a job in government, he should have to run for the House and show us he has even the slightest hint of the skills it takes to run the most powerful country in the world.

  32. 32.

    Scout211

    I just read this this morning. New Jersey jackals: what do you think about this? It appears that the primary may be a bit crowded?

    Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey, announced Wednesday she will challenge indicted Sen. Bob Menendez in the state’s Democratic primary next June.

    . . .

    Murphy, who is married to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), joins a Democratic primary field that already includes Rep. Andy Kim and real estate lender Kyle Jasey. Rep. Donald Norcross, whose brother George is both a South Jersey powerbroker and a foe of the Murphy family, is also considering a run.

    Tammy Murphy, a former finance professional, met her husband at the storied Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, where they both worked in the late 1980s. Phil Murphy, who rose to an executive position there, would go on to spend nearly $16.4 million of his own funds on his first gubernatorial primary campaign in 2017.

  34. 34.

    eclare

    @RaflW:

    I always wondered how the UK decided that Rwanda was the country to send asylum seekers to.  It makes no sense, that I can tell.  Maybe that’s the point.

  35. 35.

    PAM Dirac

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, that might explain why I am so unpopular. And all this time I thought it was because I’m an asshole.

    Well for “The People That Matter” pointing out how wrong they are is about the most unforgivable, assholish thing you can do.

  36. 36.

    RaflW

    @BlueGuitarist: This tracks, definitely.

    @Baud: I think libs looking for validation should be the ones offering it. Certainly we here at BJ have taken a few moments to celebrate some of Joe’s wins. But writ large, as a party, we don’t really do any of that “booyah, we’re winning” stuff very well.

    Some of that relates to why we’re Democrats in the first place. There’s a belief in incremental wins, but an unease that they don’t flow fast enough. There’s a longstanding sense that tooting our own horns is just a bit unseemly. There’s still, I think, nervousness that if we proclaim our wins, the Nelson’s of this world will just yell “Ha-ha” and try to pants us.

    But Joe & Kamala are killing it. Biden has been a very, very competent CEO and has built a fantastic team. It sucks that he can’t get credit for that from the press. But fuck the press. They have an assortment of warped incentives and jaded views. We have to get off that part that says we’re uncool to be proud Dems and just tell it. Tell it.

  37. 37.

    RaflW

    @eclare: Just spitballing, but I’d imagine the Tories sitting around saying, “Rwanda! Ship ’em there to rot, that’ll deter the boat people!” and laughing like cartoon hyenas.

  38. 38.

    lowtechcyclist

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    I’m here for work and watching the morning local-yokel news it’s nothing but DuhSantis ads.  I had no idea he oversaw the largest economy in the USofA, took care of “rogue prosecutors” so “our schools could be safe” and “sent troops to the border” to, I think, save us from brown-skinned hordes.

    I’d love to know: what border?  The border with Georgia? With Alabama? The water border with the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico?

    Bet that last one needs a shit-ton of troops to guard it from the brown hordes.

  40. 40.

    Redshift

    @eclare:

    I always wondered how the UK decided that Rwanda was the country to send asylum seekers to. It makes no sense, that I can tell. Maybe that’s the point.

    It makes sense from the conservative starting point of “asylum seekers are just more brown illegals trying to scam their way into the country, not people with a legitimate claim.” Sending then to Rwanda is another flavor of “let’s make their lives miserable so they work try to come here.”

  41. 41.

    dmsilev

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    I’m here for work and watching the morning local-yokel news it’s nothing but DuhSantis ads.  I had no idea he oversaw the largest economy in the USofA, took care of “rogue prosecutors” so “our schools could be safe” and “sent troops to the border” to, I think, save us from brown-skinned hordes.

    I guess in his world, California is un-American?

  43. 43.

    PAM Dirac

    @dmsilev:

    I guess in his world, California is un-American?

    I think using drumpf world valuation, Florida comes out ahead of California. Of course Mississippi also comes out ahead.

     

    ETA: Or maybe it’s just that valuing Mar a Lago at eleventy gazillion dollars puts Florida up to the top.

  46. 46.

    lowtechcyclist

    @BlueGuitarist:

    David Roberts: There is no faction in US politics — barely even elected Dems! — for whom praising Dems is socially advantageous. There’s no approbation waiting, no repetitional boost, for anyone. It is, from almost every vantage point, uncool.  (Just try it on Twitter to see for yourself.)

    I know, and that’s one of the reasons I say at every opportunity that I’m absofuckinglutely proud to be a Democrat, and that the Democrat in the White House right now is the best freakin’ President of my lifetime, and the Dems in Congress are by God getting it done.

    While all the Rethugs can do is manage soundbites of outrage for Faux News. Can’t govern, can’t even tell fact from fantasy.  And are all-in in their support of an openly fascist leader and likely Presidential nominee.

    The contrast couldn’t be more clear.

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: DeSantis is probably talking about sending Florida National Guard units to the Texas-Mexico border.

    Foungkin’ Youngkin did the same foungkin’ thing. I thought that was an especially dirty deal for the ~250 Virginia Guard soldiers; they had to spend July and August in the Rio Grande Valley just so Youngkin could embellish his tough-on-immigration credentials.

  48. 48.

    MisterForkbeard

    @BlueGuitarist: I’m trying to figure out how repost this in a lot of my online feeds without looking like I’m lecturing everybody. Because it’s very true and people should understand it, but it’s also… lecturing >_<

  49. 49.

    lowtechcyclist

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I am a Democrat because it is the right thing to do. Is it socially advantageous? I have no idea nor do I care. Me thinks he whines too much.

    I doubt he’s thinking about himself, but rather about how it shapes normies’ attitudes towards the Democratic Party, and how that in turn affects our ability to win elections.

  50. 50.

    eclare

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I’m the same.  I am proud to be a Democrat.  People who think that they are above belonging to a party can fuck off.  Especially now, when the difference could not be more clear.

  52. 52.

    Roberto el oso

    @Jeffro: Agreed. I really get irritated by folks (including some who make their living covering it) who want politics to be more exciting or entertaining. Efficient government ought to be pretty boring, as a day-to-day thing. Doesn’t mean it can’t be inspiring or carried out with passion, etc., but the endless cliffhanger/rollercoaster twists and turns are usually a sign that something’s not running very well.

  53. 53.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: Foungkin’ Youngkin did the same foungkin’ thing. I thought that was an especially dirty deal for the ~250 Virginia Guard soldiers; they had to spend July and August in the Rio Grande Valley just so Youngkin could embellish his tough-on-immigration credentials.

    True, but maybe it helped the odd swing voter or occasional Democrat see Smilin’ Glenn for what he really is.  It was a clarifying moment, a mask dropped.  Every one of those moments helps (especially in his case)

    So, sorry Guard guys!  But we do thank you…doubly…for your service to Virginia.  =)

  56. 56.

    montanareddog

    @eclare: I think the initiative came from Rwanda, who offered to take a (quite small) number per year of asylum seekers. For a hefty fee, of course

  58. 58.

    Scamp Dog

    @Jeffro: To be fair, the comments from Rock himself show him to be grateful for the idea that some people think he’d be a good candidate, but not enthusiastic about actually running. I’m putting this in the same category as most of the other articles about potential celebrity candidates: not gonna happen, and no need to worry about it.

  59. 59.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro:

    I did not realize that we were about to shift from the worst timeline to the dumbest, but this kind of nonsense is what happens when we don’t up the requirements for president (or any federal office):

    Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson 2024!  He’ll save us!

    Eff off with this nonsense, David von Drehle

    Don’t worry, our timeline can be both at once!

    I don’t know if this is the dumbest timeline, but we sure have the dumbest pundits.

    Speaking of dumbest pundits, I saw the other day that Nate Silver is also ready to jump on the “Rock” bandwagon.

  60. 60.

    Josie

    @RaflW: ​
     I agree. The people on the ground know how to spend the money wisely. For this election, I have decided to give small monthly amounts to Colin Allred, since I think he has a slight chance to beat Ted Cruz and to Beto’s voter registration group, since they are doing good work here in Texas. Other than those two, I will rely on WaterGirl’s guidance here at BJ.

  61. 61.

    JMG

    @Scamp Dog: This is not a new phenomenon. Back in the ’60s, Pennsylvania Republicans would arise every four years to ask Arnold Palmer to run for Governor on their ticket (pro golfers were and are 99.9 percent GOP). As politely as he could, Palmer would decline, with his real grounds being Governor of Pennsylvania was a big step down from his current job of being beloved Palmer. Same with the Rock. Even being President, a celeb like the Rock would go from having almost universal favorability to having at least 45 percent of the public hating his guts.

  63. 63.

    Daoud bin Daoud

    Permanent frontpage headline from the FNYT:

    Employment Up, Inflation Down: Bad News For Elderly Biden

  65. 65.

    Mike in NC

    Opened the local rag this morning to read that the deranged “shaman” who was in the thick of the riot at the Capitol on January 6 is running for Congress in Arizona. Why am I not surprised? Why not become Fat Bastard’s new running mate???

  66. 66.

    JoyceH

    Someone talk me down. I’ve seen several mentions in the news lately about “rumblings” of a settlement in the NY fraud case. Tell me that can’t happen! Any settlement that leaves Trump in business in New York is a huge win for him and a huge loss for the rest of us – and a loss for decency and the rule of law.

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @Scout211: Tammy Murphy’s Senate run has been talked about for a while. From what I read, Murphy will be the candidate of New Jersey’s Democratic “Organization.” Evidently, Democratic county bosses have a lot of influence because they can put a slate of their preferred primary candidates at the top of the ballot. It’s a feudal system, and Ms. Murphy’s husband is the Liegelord.

    I don’t know about the other candidates, but Rep. Kim has a national following and this race could get a lot of attention. Journalists will love it; Andy Kim will be the plucky underdog fighting the entrenched bosses.

  68. 68.

    stinger

    Public Notice contributor Thor Benson interviewed Norm Ornstein. In talking about the next election, Ornstein said this:

    Obviously, when we’re looking at it now, we see levels of apathy among younger voters, among African American voters, and no solid evidence at this point that the Hispanic-American voters have turned in more substantial numbers against Republicans. It’s still not clear yet how this really extreme radicalism will alter votes.

    Nary a word in the entire interview about Dobbs and its impact. You can always tell when it’s a man talking to another man — bodily autonomy for women isn’t top of mind or even back of mind. Just doesn’t register. No influence worth noting on elections.

  69. 69.

    hueyplong

    @JoyceH: Have you heard a single word from the AG that makes you think she’s inclined to let Trump off?

    The internet has spawned more than a couple of wrong predictions.

  70. 70.

    Redshift

    @Jeffro:

    the doom loop of Biden vs. Trump, Trump vs. Biden, seemingly for the rest of eternity

    If less than a year seems like “the rest of eternity” to him, that should be a sign to retire or find a different beat.

    And I wish we could banish to an uninhabited island with no internet anyone who writes a column of “Voters say they would prefer someone else. This is someone else, so I’m sure they would prefer him/her!”

  74. 74.

    hueyplong

    @stinger: I don’t put much stock in the bloviations of people from the American Enterprise Institute. He’s not exactly motivated to pump up Biden’s chances.

  75. 75.

    Redshift

    @JoyceH:

    Someone talk me down. I’ve seen several mentions in the news lately about “rumblings” of a settlement in the NY fraud case.

    The company has already been found guilty, this is just the penalty phase. There’s no possibility of a settlement that results in then not being found guilty.

  76. 76.

    RaflW

    @eclare: Part of what I really like about the Great British Bakeoff is that it really seems to be a show where people are pushing themselves to be the best baker they’re capable of, and not a competition in the climb-over-you-to-win mold.

    I catch things like one baker in an early round technical saying “I’ve never made a ___” and, while I think there’s a general code that people don’t help each other in the technical, you’ll then hear another baker saying “Oh, I’ve made this before! I just whip the egg whites and then fold in the flour and sugar” as if talking to themselves. (wink)

  77. 77.

    geg6

    @Jeffro: ​
     
    What makes anyone think The Rock is universally popular? I can’t stand the guy or anyone who has ever had even a tangential tie to professional wrestling. He’s a lousy actor, to top it all off. The guy’s an idiot. The new TIFG with a nicer, more empathetic demeanor, but ultimately someone who would only make all of us dumber and less safe because of his own dumbness. Fuck that shit.

    Jesus fucking Christ, I want all pundits to be sucked into a black hole. Yesterday.

  78. 78.

    hueyplong

    @OzarkHillbilly: Right. If the judge were to start sending signals, it would be different.

    We’ve seen an evidentiary ruling or two that look like efforts to make his upcoming judgment appeal-proof. For non-lawyers, he’s limiting the number of technical things for Trump to complain about.

  79. 79.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Jeffro: Biden vs. Trump, Trump vs. Biden, seemingly for the rest of eternity.

    One more election. And it’s only a rerun because Trump couldn’t lose gracefully and go off to live his best life. Just another one to add to the, actually seemingly interminable, list of reasons Hillary was better than Trump.

    ETA: That the Republicans won’t drop Trump is another matter. Shit-headed behavior will continue and increase until right thinking people stop calling Republicans shit-heads.

  80. 80.

    AM in NC

    @BlueGuitarist:  Yep.  This is why I have started to comment regularly on newspaper stories and on FOX website stories with “Democrats doing good things for America, here are a few.  . .” comments.  So many Americans never even know about positive Democratic policies they benefit from, and if we all started talking them up, it could change the background environment (Not at FOX, I realize, but I do think those folks should be told they are being lied to whenever possible, in mostly gentle terms).

    I talk Dems up with my friends and family as well.  So many “progressives” still look at politics as a form of personal expression and identity-signaling, rather than the expression of power that it actually results in/is.

    We currently have two, and only two, viable political parties, and we always will have two potentially viable political parties as long as our first-past-the post, 50%+1 system is in place.   So that means, ONE OF THOSE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES WILL BE MAKING LAWS FOR YOU.

    Which do you prefer:

    Democrats, or ZERO action on climate change?

    Democrats, or Religious Fundamentalists making your health care and family planning decisions?

    Democrats, or cutting funding for the IRS, so corporate and wealthy tax thieves get away with robbing our treasury?

    Democrats, or doing NOTHING about the number one killer of American kids – guns?

    Democrats, or once again just talking about “infrastructure week” while doing nothing, passing no infrastructure bills, to invest in our country?

    Democrats or letting mega-corps continue to monopolize more and more industries rather than enforcing anti-trust laws?

    Democrats or openly racist politicians?

    Democrats or gay marriage being made illegal again?

    Democrats or public tax dollars going to fund private religious schools?

    Democrats or absolute big-donor cash sloshing throughout every step of our political process forever and ever, Amen.

    No, the Democrats aren’t perfect, but the choice is not between a Democrat and perfection!

    Biden, and the Democrats historically, have delivered A LOT for our country and her people. It’s ok to remind people of that.

  81. 81.

    Chris

    @BlueGuitarist:

    It doesn’t even need to be that factionalized.  I can’t count the number of completely ordinary Democratic voters I’ve met, the kind who are neither Bernie Sanders type leftists or Joe Manchin type centrists, who have been trained by the entire political discourse to think they have to somehow reassure you that they’re a Democrat but not that kind of Democrat (there’s no fixed definition of what makes you that kind of Democrat; it’s simply understood that being a Democrat is something to be embarrassed by or, at least, require clarification).

  83. 83.

    geg6

    @satby: ​
     
    Incredibly sad. A similar thing happened to a co-worker of mine over the weekend. Saw her on Friday and she was really happy because she runs the tutoring center and disabilities services on campus and always seems to get the short end of the funding stick. But she got the news on Friday that all new furniture for the tutoring center was approved and she was just ecstatic. She wasn’t in on Monday when a committee we are both on met, but we just figured she’d called off. Found out yesterday that she’d passed either Saturday or Sunday. She lived alone (with her cats), so it was only because her lifelong friend who she always called on Sundays hadn’t heard from her. The friend called all evening Sunday and then again on Monday. She even called the chancellor’s office here on campus to see if she’d been in to work. Finally, they decided to call the police for a wellness check and the police found her. So, so sad. Jill was only 60.

  84. 84.

    mrmoshpotato

    @jlowe:

    People (such as Nate Silver) who whine that Biden is old forget that personnel is policy. Joe Biden is old. His team isn’t.

    Joe Biden has more experience in the federal government than Nate Silver’s age.  And look at the (current) results for the American people, Nate!  Also, STFU, Nate!

    Also, too, your point about his Cabinet’s ages and others in his administration.

  85. 85.

    RaflW

    @montanareddog: & @eclare:

    More from the inimitable @IanDunt:

    “The real culprit here, of course, is Boris Johnson. His poison is all over it. They settled on Rwanda because it worked as a wedge cultural division issue – upsetting liberals and delighting authoritarians.”

  86. 86.

    Chris

    @NorthLeft:

    C/ Inflation is rampant and no one making less than $500K per year can afford to live.

    But also, homeless people are bad and the entire problem of homelessness could be solved if we’d simply sic the cops on them and beat them until they’ve built enough character to turn their life around.

  87. 87.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @eclare: I’m the same. I am proud to be a Democrat. People who think that they are above belonging to a party can fuck off. Especially now, when the difference could not be more clear.

    I’m registered as “unenrolled,” Massachusetts’s equivalent of independent. I do this mainly because it allows me to vote in any partisan primary I choose (still only one per cycle).

    Still, the Democrats aren’t really offering the changes I would like to see in government. It’s fine for me to acknowledge this, even as I have been voting a straight D ticket since 06. I vote for Democrats because they operate within the observable bounds of reality and most seem to have good intentions at most times.

    I don’t have to be a Democrat. I just need to votw for them.

  88. 88.

    geg6

    @JoyceH: ​
     
    Any “rumblings” of a settlement have to be coming from TIFG’s team of galaxy brained lawyers. FWIW, I have heard no such thing but I really doubt this.

  90. 90.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @WereBear: Shaman has the visibility thing nailed, gotta admit.

    They’re gonna have to change the Congressional dress code again…

  91. 91.

    RaflW

    @satby: Very sad to read that final post from his dad.

    This, though. All the way: “the BEST thing you can do to honor [Zandar] Jon’s memory is to VOTE like your life and your Democracy depend on it, because they do. “

  92. 92.

    Chris

    @Jeffro:

    I suspect Dwayne Johnson knows better than to listen to people like this.  Although any celebrity famous enough will inevitably attract some people begging him to run for office.

    (It’s very rare for me to say anything nice about John Wayne, but at least he had enough sense to realize that being an actor didn’t qualify him for any political role higher than narrating Barry Goldwater commercials.  If only his cowboy-actor peers Ronald Reagan and Clint Eastwood could have said the same).

  94. 94.

    Chris

    @lowtechcyclist:

    It’s exceptionally rich for Florida Republicans to be whining about security at the border, given that the only time in the last hundred years that the U.S. immigration has ever worked the way Republicans claim it does is when it comes to admitting Cubans under the Dry Foot policy.  Which Republicans enthusiastically supported.

  95. 95.

    DrDaveChemist

    @AM in NC:

    No, the Democrats aren’t perfect, but the choice is not between a Democrat and perfection!

    It’s not even a choice between a Democrat and something better. The choice is binary and it’s between a Democrat and something significantly worse in every way. Withholding your vote because you don’t like what the Democrats are doing about issue X is a vote in favor of something worse on issue X. Why anyone who is engaged in politics doesn’t get this is a mystery.

  96. 96.

    JWR

    Did anyone else see the Joe Manchin interview on CBS this morning? I caught the last half of it, and aside from helping Biden stock the courts with reasonable, basically decent people, jeebus, what an a$$hole! He couldn’t even answer the “between Biden and T***p, who would you vote for” question w/out going into the “now you’re talking about hypotheticals” mode, while never answering the question. Oh, and Biden, instead of moving to the “center”, is just pandering to the far left. Boy, I’d hate to live in Joe Manchin’s f***ed up center, or in his f***ed up head, for that matter.

  97. 97.

    piratedan

    with the expected passage of the CR to take us into the new year, do we know what the Dems sacrificed to keep the doors open?

    I don’t think there was any foreign aid in it, but beyond that… I’m not sure if there were other items affected…..

  98. 98.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Dwayne Johnson and Liz Cheney are now neighbors, at least when he is staying at his Orange County estate and she’s in Albemarle. They could really get tongues wagging if they dined together in some Charlottesvile restaurant. Headline writers could play off Johnson’s rasslin’ career:

    “What are Liz and The Rock cooking?”

  101. 101.

    UncleEbeneezer

    One of my favorite podcasters often notes: The Dem Party is undeniably the party of Black People.  Which sure explains an awful lot when it comes to the way the party is viewed/treated by a country built on White Supremacy (and Patriarchy), the media and so many voters.

  102. 102.

    Betty Cracker

    @RaflW: I like the cooperation and lack of cut-throat theatrics in Great British Bake-Off too. Roku Channel released a spin-off series, Great American Baking Show, this year (free, with ads). Paul Hollywood and Pru Leith are the judges.

    Despite the participation of Americans, it still has a good sport vibe. The tent looks the same as on GBBO, but I assumed it was filmed in the states until I saw a shot featuring a robin perched on a branch. British robins are a whole nother bird!

  103. 103.

    Chris

    @geg6:

    He’s carved out a niche for himself as the next generation’s Schwarzenegger, but specifically nineties Schwarzenegger who was more likely to do comedies and family-friendly stuff and willing to play his image for laughs, rather than the more serious/badass eighties Schwarzenegger.  He’s not especially great but he’s fairly inoffensive, lots of people like his stuff as lighthearted popcorn entertainment that’s a fun way to kill a couple of hours.  More importantly, very few people dislike him; he doesn’t have much of a reputation either for activist politics or for bad personal behavior that would weigh him down if he were to start running for office.  So I can kind of see why people think he’d do well if he tried.

    As I said, though, he doesn’t seem to have shown any interest in it.  This is just other people wishcasting.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @geg6: Imani Gandy seems to be a Duane Johnson fan. When he retweeted her asking, “What the cinnamon toast fuck is this?” Ms. Gandy was over the moon.

  106. 106.

    eclare

    @RaflW:

    That is a great show, and you’re right the bakers don’t sabotage each other like on other shows.  It also usually has a pretty diverse cast, from young to old, ethnic background, etc.

  107. 107.

    geg6

    @piratedan: ​
     
    It was a clean bill. Pretty much exactly what Qevin had passed that got him dumped from wielding the big gavel.

    I don’t understand GOPers. I pray I never do.

  108. 108.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @geg6: It was a clean bill. Pretty much exactly what Qevin had passed that got him dumped from wielding the big gavel.

    Yeah, but John Smith, or whatever the new speaker’s name is, didn’t look at the Freedom Caucus funny when he decided to bring this to the floor.

  109. 109.

    eclare

    @AM in NC:

    I used to tell my Republican mom that as a person on Medicare and SS, Democrats were her best friend.  She finally saw the light in the 2004 presidential election and never went back.

  111. 111.

    geg6

    @Geminid:

    He’s a former wrestler.  Ipso facto, he’s an idiot and I want nothing to with him.  Don’t care who ABL lusts over.  I find these overinflated steroid monsters gross and disgusting, the more so that they have any sort of tie to Vince McMahan.  You run with garbage, you start to smell like it.

  112. 112.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @eclare: Great Pottery Throwdown, Portrait/Landscape Artist of the Year and Naked Attraction are two other Brittish reality/game shows that generally have a positive environment between contestants.

  116. 116.

    Chris

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    I don’t have to be a Democrat. I just need to votw for them.

    “Is the Democratic platform what you really want?”
    “Of course not.  What I really want is the United Federation of Planets.”
    “I see, I see.  So who are you voting for next election?”
    “The Democrats.”
    “What?  Why?”
    “Because I’m not going to be living under the United Federation of Planets either way, and at least this way I won’t be living under the Pakleds.”

  117. 117.

    FastEdD

    At the Canyon Dems meeting last night, we introduced ourselves as vermin. As in, “I’m a rat, good to meet you. Hi! I’m a cockroach.”

  120. 120.

    eclare

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I watched one episode of Naked Attraction, and it made me really uncomfortable.  Don’t know what that says about me.  But it was a very lighthearted show, no hurt feelings, crying, etc.

  121. 121.

    JaySinWA

    @FastEdD: So we’re headed to Vermin versus Deplorable T-shirts?

    ETA perhaps a Deplorable Vermin shirt for bothsiders

    ETA 2 it’s all fun and games until somebody brings out the rat poison and Raid.

  123. 123.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @eclare: We love the overall diversity of body types and the varied tastes of the contestants.  Just watched a S2 episode last night where one panel featured a Trans Man and a Trans Woman.  The contestant doing the picking was Pansexual and open to all.  Pretty bold for mainstream tv.

  125. 125.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @JaySinWA: So we’re headed to Vermin versus Deplorable T-shirts?

    It is noteworthy that the media oppobrium for “vermin” is relatively muted compared to what was there for “deplorable.”

    This despite the fact that Trump, unlike Clinton, did not work to circumscribe the description to include only a small group of opposing voters. It’s all of us and the media that yearns unrequitedly to lick his boots despite Trump’s obvious ill intention.

  128. 128.

    Geminid

    @piratedan: There is an assumption that Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar gave up something when they delivered 209 votes for the Contnuing Resolution. In Rachel Maddow’s comments about the vote that are linked in the post, there was an implication that Democrats still don’t understand the need to vigorously fight Republicans. This is like the Debt Ceiling fight. Even when Democrats won, some people talked about how they had lost because they did not crush Republican power.

    These are examples of a difference between Democratic politicians and partisan Democratic observers. Partisan Democrats want to fight Republicans all the time and in every matter, while Jeffries and his colleagues choose to pick their fights. On this question, I think the politicians have it right.

  130. 130.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Chris: I dig it. I need to get around to DS9. My favorite Trek Youtuber loves the show. I did Voyager first, despite his warnings, and found myself rather fond of the show. I liked the setup and I had an unresolved wish for the Space Cases of my youth to get home.

    Lately it has been Brave New Worlds and Lower Decks for me. Might as well finish my CV and confirm, yes, I was raised on TNG. The most noteworthy absence? I have tried to this day, just can’t get into it..

  131. 131.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @eclare: We are very body/sex+ but neither of us are big on nudity for ourselves.  But even we get that weird feeling of discomfort at times watching it.  All of which is to say: it’s wild how strong the feelings of “I shouldn’t be seeing them/this” based on conservative social norms are, even for us.

  132. 132.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @Citizen Alan: I think people often get distracted by the Bully Pulpit—Leader of the Free World—inspirational hoorah we load up the presidency with.
    It’s a managerial position. A complicated one, with a lot of weird things tied to it—like the access to nuclear weapons, the need to treat the courts & legislature as separate but equal powers, and do on. But it’s called the Executive Branch for a reason. One of the most important things a manager can do is select good people as their subordinates. If you want the measure of a President, look at their cabinet secretaries and other senior appointees.

    That’s one reason I wasn’t impressed by Bernie Sanders—the staff picks in his campaign team weren’t great. Too much fighting, too much grandstanding, too much inflammatory rhetoric. It was as if they were all candidates themselves. Their subsequent behavior and what we now know about their connections has only reinforced my feelings there.

    When I look at a candidate that’s one of the things I check now. Poor staff choices = probably not a great manager.

  134. 134.

    Geminid

    @geg6: I was speaking to Dwayne Johnson’s wider popularity. And you are the one saying Imani Gandi lusted over Johnson.I thought she was starstruck, which is something different.

    But since you dismissed Ms. Gandy’s sentiments so scornfully, I will point out that Dwayne Johnson left Vince McMahon and the WWF behind a couple decades ago. If you want to apply crude, elitist stereotypes in order to look down on Johnson and his fans, that is your right. I think you mislead yourself though when you say that Johnson’s an idiot, because he’s not.

  135. 135.

    Ruckus

    @Roberto el oso:

    Doesn’t mean it can’t be inspiring or carried out with passion, etc., but the endless cliffhanger/rollercoaster twists and turns are usually a sign that something’s not running very well.

    Or that someone or someone’s are throwing everything they can at it to screw it up because something, something, bullshit. Which describes what is going on now. The world is changing, always has, always will. It is changing faster now than it did when I was born, nearly 3/4 of a century ago. People that used to be shunned for their skin color or their language, or some other bullshit are finally able to be an equal part of a society that was supposed to allow them over 200 yrs ago. Want proof? Los Angeles had a huge fire, a block away from where my father’s and then my business used to be. I used to come down the off ramp and drive down the street, where that huge fire was on Saturday. Almost all the people in charge were black, latino or asian. And it’s about time.

  137. 137.

    Chris

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    My introduction was not only TOS, but the TOS movies from the eighties.  It always baffles people that I saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture first, and yet kept watching.  When I discovered the actual TV show on reruns, I was already attached enough to the characters to stick with it.

    For late twentieth century Trek, DS9 was the one I got hooked on the most, though I’ve seen a fair amount of TNG too at this point.

    For the modern stuff, watched all of SNW and currently halfway through Lower Decks; watched some of Discovery and will probably do that next when I’m through.

  139. 139.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @lowtechcyclist: When I first saw the damn thing, I applied my rule of thumb for pickups: Can I imagine this vehicle selling firewood or produce on the side of the road 20 years from now?

    The effort gave me a headache, sort of like the one you’d get from looking at one of the damn things in strong sunlight.

  141. 141.

    Jackie

    Late to this thread, but didn’t want to sully WaterGirl’s fundraising post:

    “Eugene Vindman, retired U.S. Army colonel and twin bother to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was at the center of former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, is expected to announce a Democratic run for Congress in Virginia’s 7th congressional district,” Semafor reports.

    “Vindman will run to replace Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) who announced Monday she’ll run for governor.”

    I hope Vindman does run!

  143. 143.

    wjca

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: Greetings from balmy Ames, Iowa.  It’s in the 60s here.  Ames is typically one of the coldest spots in the state.

    I read that second sentence and instantly assumed you meant 1960s.  Oops!  My vision of Iowa coming thru, I guess.

  144. 144.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Chris: You’re right. Original series original cast movies are very good. In my head, there’s something about the pacing of a movie that makes Trek seem to work without fail. I haven’t seen one I dislike. Granted, Inhaven’t seen them all

    ETA: My friend who liked TOS would show me the movies but always restricted it to the even-numbered movies.

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: And Strange New Worlds, my dumb ass.

  147. 147.

    Geminid

    @Chris:  I think that along with border funding and disaster relief, Ukraine aid and Israel aid will be fought out after the Thanksgiving break.

  152. 152.

    narya

    @UncleEbeneezer: Another show that has had trans folks is, of all things, “Worst Cooks in America.” One season, the two finalists were drag queens (don’t know what pronouns they used); this season, there was a drag king, though they presented as female on the show. And, the best part: there’s no discussion of that, other than the background what-do-you-do-for-a-living stuff. I think it helps normalize a lot of variety.

    @RaflW: Even the professional version isn’t cutthroat! Given my training, I liked it more than others did, I think, but it definitely made me anxious with the chocolate and/or sugar sculptures. I also appreciate that Top Chef, my all-time fave, has dialed back on the drama and focused much more on cooking great food. I think it makes it a stronger show (and can’t wait for this year’s WI-based show).

  154. 154.

    mary s

    Was Maddow saying that House Democrats shouldn’t have voted for a continuing government? Or was she just doing that “both sides” thing? I was with her on what she said about the Republican Party, of course. I just don’t understand why she’s criticizing “The Democrats” rather than her media colleagues, who have, by and large, been normalizing Trump for years and years.

  155. 155.

    wjca

    @Jeffro:  If he [the Rock] wants a job in government, he should have to run for the House and show us he has even the slightest hint of the skills it takes to run the most powerful country in the world.

    There are far better options.  For example, run for the Senate from Alabama or Tennessee.  He can hardly be worse than Taterville, after all.  And might be seriously better.

  157. 157.

    wjca

    @lowtechcyclist: I’d love to know: what border?  The border with Georgia? With Alabama? The water border with the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico?

    When you’re running out of money, you cut expenses.  Including going to cut-rate ad agencies.  If they just recycle an Abbott ad, rather than creating a news one, well them’s the breaks

  159. 159.

    Jeffro

    @lowtechcyclist: I don’t know if this is the dumbest timeline, but we sure have the dumbest pundits.

    It’s ridiculous in the extreme.  “Hmm…it’s too much work educating people on an important topic, or coming up with a novel take on issue X or Y…how about if I propose that some celebrity run for president?  Yeah, that’ll work!”

    @Redshift: If less than a year seems like “the rest of eternity” to him, that should be a sign to retire or find a different beat.

    also this

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: One more election. And it’s only a rerun because Trump couldn’t lose gracefully and go off to live his best life.

    I know, right?  A whopping one more election.  A rematch forced on us by…trump and his psychoses!  (well, that and the need to stay out of prison)

     

    von Drehle could have tried that kind of novel take on the race: “We’re only enduring this rematch because trump couldn’t go away and enjoy his supposed billions.  It’s normal for incumbent presidents to run for re-relection.  What’s not normal is for someone who by all appearances hated the constraints of the job (and half or more of his own countrymen and women) but someone who lost, badly…someone who’s widely unpopular…dragging his party back into supporting him for yet another go-round.  What would we call it if Carter had run in 1984?  Or Bush Sr. had run in 1996?  While facing 91+ felony counts?  Food for thought, dear readers…”

  160. 160.

    Jeffro

    @wjca: serving in the House was one of the options I mentioned earlier (as a prerequisite to running for President); serving in the Senate or as a state Governor were the others.

  161. 161.

    wjca

    @Geminid: I thought that was an especially dirty deal for the ~250 Virginia Guard soldiers; they had to spend July and August in the Rio Grande Valley

    Well, there are a couple of hundred military who probably got a lot more anti-GOP.

  163. 163.

    Chris

    @Jeffro:

    It’s ridiculous in the extreme.  “Hmm…it’s too much work educating people on an important topic, or coming up with a novel take on issue X or Y…how about if I propose that some celebrity run for president?  Yeah, that’ll work!”

    One of the many ways this reminds me of the pre-Civil-War era is the number of lunatics responding to the growing polarization of the country by fantasizing increasingly unlikely “unity” scenarios that’ll make everyone happy, instead of simply accepting that there really are serious and irreconcilable differences between the two parts of the country and they’re not really going to be resolved except by one or the other side winning.

    (In the mid-nineteenth-century, the gold medal probably goes to Seward’s harebrained idea that we have a war with a European empire.  Didn’t even matter which empire.  We just needed a war to unify Northerners and Southerners in a common goal and patriotic feelings.  “Seward’s Folly” would have meant something very different if we’d listened to him).

  164. 164.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: Mr. Vindman will be an interesting addition to the 7th CD race. He has a national profile, and that will help his fundraising.

    But if I had to bet money, I’d probably put it on State Senator Jennifer Carrol Foy, (assuming she annouces for the seat). Foy was a Delegate before she ran for Governor in 2021 and lost to Terry McAuliffe. The 7th District stretches to the Blue Ridge, but 2/3rds of its residents live in the I-95 corridor to the east and Ms. Foy’s Prince William County district will be a good base. Virginia Senate districts hold over 200,000 residents, so Foy may represent over a quarter of 7th CD voters already.

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: I just heard that Bob No-Good has a primary challenger. Delegate John McGuire has announced. The former Navy SEAL blames the chaos that cost Republicans the 2023 Virginia election on Good”s vote to unseat McCarthy, a take that had not occurred to me.  McGuire also says that Good has betrayed Donald Trump and his loyal followers by endorsing Ron DeSantis.

    This will be a real fight, I think. A Cardinal News reporter said that state law now requires a primary, so Good can’t pack caucuses and the District Convention with bible thumpers like he did when he beat Denver Riggleman in 2020.

  166. 166.

    JoyceH

    @Geminid:

    Mr. Vindman will be an interesting addition to the 7th CD race. He has a national profile, and that will help his fundraising.

    Actually, he doesn’t have a national profile. His twin brother does. He was just fired by the Trumpists because of his brother. Of course, most of the electorate will think he’s his brother anyway.

    I’m actually in the 7th. I’m down in the ruby red area where they vote 66% Republican, but it’s nice to have a Democratic rep and hope we can keep it.

    As for Dwayne Johnson, I’m mildly a fan – liked him as the geek in Jumanji. But vote for an entertainer with no government experience for president? Uh, no. You might luck out and get a Zelenskyy – but you’re more likely to get a Trump.

    But let’s not assume he’s an idiot because he was a wrestler. I learned not to judge people’s intellect based on their career decades ago watching Kareem Abdul Jabbar clean up on Celebrity Jeopardy.

    But I wish we’d all make a pact to not vote for anyone lacking government experience for anything above Congress. I think the reason the GOP is disintegrating, not just in DC but in all the states, is because the base is picking people based on entertainment value and you wind up with a pack of nincompoops with no idea on earth how to do their jobs.

  167. 167.

    dark patriot

    i don’t know if this was already said but the Rock last appeared on TV for the WWE two months ago. not that much distance from a company with Trump in their HoF and a sexual predator as the biggest face in the owners box.

  168. 168.

    Geminid

    @JoyceH: I am also in a Republican corner of the 7th, Greene County, I am confident we’ll come up with a good candidate. I trust that Duane Johnson will not also jump into the 7th District race from his part time home in Orange County; he has a good life already as an actor and businessman and has shown no interest in a political career.

    The 10th District race to succeed Rep. Wexton is getting crowded already. Among the announced candidates, former House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn has already been endorsed by Mark Herring and Ralph Northam. On the other hand, State Senator Jennifer Bosko is good friends with a Jackal.

  170. 170.

    Scout211

    @Geminid:  I was out all morning, so I just read your comment. Thank you!

    Being from California, I don’t know much about East Coast politics so I was hoping someone could post their take on the First Lady entering the primary. I’ve never heard of her. And I certainly have heard of Andy Kim, so you are correct that he has a nationally known name. But I have no idea if he would be better or worse than Murphy for the people of New Jersey.

  171. 171.

    Geminid

    @Scout211: I was figuring on Rep. Mikie Sherrill entering the race. Like Andy Kim, Sherrill flipped a Republican seat in 2018. But I had never heard of Tammy Murphy as a possibility, and I think she bigfooted Sherill.

    For all I know, Ms. Murphy could be a more talented politician than her Governor husband. A friend who went to see Jon Ossoff when he ran in the 2019 special Congressional race saw Ossoff’s wife introduce him. My friend thought that she was much more impressive and should have been running instead of Jon.

    But whatever Tammy Murphy’s qualities, her race against Kim will be portrayed  as “Corporate Dem” versus “Progressive” by liberal media sites lIke Salon and The American Prospect. The jerks over at Jerkobin Magazine will probably get their licks in too. That won’t be either candidates fault, I think.

  172. 172.

    Miss Bianca

    @satby: oh, I am so sad to be finally catching up on posts and finding this news. Way too young, and way too much of a good’un to lose so young. RIP, Zandar.

  175. 175.

    Kathleen

    @Jeffro: The pushback in the comments was lit. Happy to say I piled on by saying we are in danger of losing democracy to fascists and his focus on “One Weird Trick” to get rid of Biden was obscene.

  176. 176.

    Kathleen

    @satby: He lived across the river in Northern Kentucky. I had no idea we were both born in Omaha. You don’t hear of many people from Omaha.

  178. 178.

    Kathleen

    @mary s: That’s why I can’t stand her. I will give her props on her ultra podcast series about 5 columnists before and during WWIII.

Comments are closed.