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You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / 2024 Primaries / Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Iowa Caucus Vivek Heel-Turn!!!

Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Iowa Caucus Vivek Heel-Turn!!!

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There’s always been a strong WWE flavor to Vivek Ramaswamy’s candidacy — copied, along with much else, from his ‘idol’ TFG — so a last-minute heel turn was an obvious last-minute arc.

Reasoning has always been that Vivek was running (a) for a chance, however slim, to become Trump’s new VP candidate; and (b) to increase his right-wing media visibility and boost his payouts for future speeches, promos, and outright scams. Neither Trump nor Ramaswamy can be trusted to be truthful — quite possibly neither of them can tell what’s true from what they choose to believe right at this very moment — so Vivek’s last-minute “Save our ancient, failing god-emperor from an ignominious electoral death, vote ME!!!” stratagem will just have to go into the history books as a farcical footnote to the various GOP October Surprise sagas…

Per Bloomberg, “Trump Turns on Ramaswamy, Telling Iowans ‘Don’t Get Duped’”:

Former President Donald Trump trained his sights on rival Vivek Ramaswamy, casting him as a threat to his Make America Great Again movement in what appeared to be a shift in strategy two days before the Iowa caucuses.

“Vote for ‘TRUMP,’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA,” Trump said as he arrived in Iowa on Saturday night. The comments, which appeared in a social media post, ended what had been an informal marriage of convenience with the 38-year-old Ohio entrepreneur and first-time political candidate…

An Iowa State University/Civiqs poll this week found that Ramaswamy was getting only 8% support but was the second choice of 30% of Iowa Republicans. Ramaswamy has campaigned aggressively in the state, visiting all 99 counties at least twice in a feat he called the “Double Grassley” after Iowa’s senior senator.

With Trump boycotting primary debates, Ramaswamy had served as a stand-in for Trump’s policies during bouts on stage with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Trump allies praised Ramaswamy after his performances — as they trained attacks on DeSantis and Haley — fueling speculation that he could be Trump’s running mate.

But no more.

“Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter,” Trump told followers on his platform Truth Social. “Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks. Very sly, but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this.”…

Tension had been building between Trump and Ramaswamy for weeks, according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking. Ramaswamy told NBC News earlier this month that Trump was “wounded” and it was time for the party to look for new leadership, raising the president’s ire.

But the final straw came a little more than an hour before Trump’s broadside, when Ramaswamy posted a photo on X, showing him with supporters in T-shirts saying, “Save Trump. Vote Vivek.”

Are any of these dudes even old enough to vote?



Heretic! Monster! Burn the turncoat!

The ultimate ‘Not of The Body’ accusation:

And yet (speaking of WWE heels), there is one defender!

Reader Interactions

124Comments

  3. 3.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    “Ramaswamy, when we were both freshmen, was famous on campus for his alter ego 20 years ago,” the ESPN host recalled. “His alter ego was a libertarian rapper that he called ‘Da Vek.’”

    Drawing cringe: According to Torre, Ramaswamy fits the “That Guy” description perfectly as he was allegedly undeterred by how his actions leave others cringing. Torre said Ramaswamy would often raise his hand conspicuously in the shape of a ‘V’ during lectures, resembling a “bat signal for terrible libertarian takes.”

    ~ Pablo Torre

  5. 5.

    eclare

    Wow that video splicing together Obama’s words with Vivek’s is stunning.  Vivek even used the “I’m a skinny kid with a funny name” line!

    That is a well done ad by Ron’s PAC.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    Trying out Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple+ TV. 20 minutes in of the 3 hours total and I’m nodding off.

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Too soon to give a proper review but his films have incrementally, inexorably relied on style over substance and so far this continues the pattern.

  13. 13.

    Betty Cracker

    @NotMax: We watched KotFM this weekend, and I slept through the middle third of it and didn’t feel like I’d missed anything important when I woke up in time for the final stretch. In the movie’s defense, I’ve been unwell and therefore likely to nod off, regardless of film quality. Also, my husband liked the movie, and we agreed the acting was good. But the film sure could have used an editor with a heavier hand, IMO.

  14. 14.

    satby

    @NotMax: “relied on style over substance”

    Well, in that Scorsese is just following along with the current American zeitgeist. He’s in it for the simoleons.

  15. 15.

    satby

    Anyone from Chiberia up yet? It’s -9 here, though Accuweather informs me the “real feel” is only -8 (huh, ok). Wondered how it is across our local pond.

  16. 16.

    ant

    “Vote for ‘TRUMP,’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA,”

    TFG isn’t wrong about this.

    I notice that a lot of Dems don’t know what MAGA means – they just think it’s just some vapid meaningless slogan. But it actually has a very specific meaning.

    It’s the same thing every Republican means when they say or do anything: DRFDCOP different rules for different classes of people.

    You just then need to identify the different class (s),  and the different rules.

    In the case of MAGA, it means that only white privileged males get to be in important positions that make important decisions – the presidency, specifically when in the context of TFG, but also, many other examples follow if he gets elected.

    Of course TFG likes to toll some with appointing people like Amy Coney Barrett. But the difference is that she is trusted to do what the white privileged males in here life want anyway, and so therefore, the power structure isn’t compromised.

  18. 18.

    MagdaInBlack

    @satby: -11 last I looked. So looking forward to starting the car and heading off into the frozen wasteland of the NW suburbs

    Eta: real feel – 10. That’s comforting 😐

  19. 19.

    Geminid

    This morning’s Politico Playbook has a lot of material on the Iowa Caucus. What stood out most was pollster Anne Selzer flagging an enthusiasm gap between prospective Haley and Trump voters. Selzer says that 49% of Haley supporters were “extremely enthusiastic” or “very enthusiastic.” The total for Trump was 89%.

    Selzer noted another finding: 39% of Haley’s supporters were Independents, and 11% said they were Democrats. Both numbers were well above the average for prospective caucus participants.

    Also, Ron DeSantis yesterday on ABC’s This Week: “I’ve learned that it’s good to be an underdog.”

  20. 20.

    Narya

    Wtf does Melon know about a work ethic? Running around making threats isn’t the same as actual work.

  22. 22.

    matt

    I think this shows that Vivek is the smartest of the GOP candidates except for Christie – he did finally figure out he has to go after Trump somehow to win. Gold star!

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: The whole point of a cult is to give adherents a framework to govern their lives, so yeah, Trump’s people will show up.

  25. 25.

    Princess

    I must say, it brings me joy to think of all those awful politicians and terrible media types stuck together in frozen Iowa today

    To Betty’s point, above: yeah, are those moderately keen indies and Dems really going to brave the cold tonight to confront eager MAGA?

  27. 27.

    Jeffg166

    Seeing photos of TFG he looks bad. Between the stress of being called out in court for the fraud he is and campaign trips he is burning the candle at both ends. He is too old to be doing this having never paid attention to taking care of his body. If we are lucky it will do him in.

  28. 28.

    BretH

    @MagdaInBlack: Never have heard a car make noises when starting as I did when I lived in Chicago and I had to get from Roger’s Park to my photo assistant job out near O’Hare.

  29. 29.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MagdaInBlack:

    It said -11 when i first checked, now its -13. So much for temps will rise 😉

    First the sun has to be above the horizon for long enough to make a difference.

    According to Weather Underground, sunrise was 10 minutes ago here on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.  (Not that I can see it through the overcast.)  Chicago, Iowa, etc. won’t see it for awhile, and even then it’ll take awhile to start warming things up.

  30. 30.

    Suzanne

    I have always wondered who the market is for Vivek. (I guess we know our answer: a sliver of a sliver of that pie.)

    Theres a house I drive by on occasion that has had Vivek signs in their front yard for a couple of months now (and I chuckle every time I drive by). It’s helpful when assholes identify themselves.

  31. 31.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Then it will be on to New Hampshire, and we get to see if Gov. Sununu can do for Nikki Haley what Gov. Reynolds apparently couldn’t do for Ron DeSantis.

    Trump’s people will go all-out in the Granite State, hoping to put away his opponents early on. They need to; their candidate looks like crap these days.

  32. 32.

    satby

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: whoa! But I bet the “real feel” is only about -14 so you should be good.

    Wonder how the Texans are doing. So far their grid seems to have survived. Too bad they can’t get rid of Abbott by having him arrested for murder.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    The Orlando Sentinel reports that Marco Rubio belatedly bent the knee last night:

    “I support Trump because [his] kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” Rubio posted on X on Sunday. “It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!”

    Rubio is a windsock who isn’t fit to lead a troop of Girl Scouts on a Sesame Street sales expedition. Like Ron DeSantis, he will never be president, thank dog.

  34. 34.

    Suzanne

    Also: it’s a balmy 11 degrees here. Tried to put the puppy out, and she would have none of it. Maybe she’s remembering our aborted walk yesterday. Well, “aborted” for her. I walked the whole distance!

    I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies, but I watched the first episode of the new True Detective last night. I have always thought that Jodie Foster is one of the most exquisitely beautiful and talented people alive, and I continue to hold that opinion. Still early in the series, but definitely maintains the creepy vibe of that show and with some themes that are interesting. I’ll watch next week.

  35. 35.

    satby

    @lowtechcyclist: It’s going to rocket all the way up to +5 here, and +4 in Chicago proper today, even with full sun. Dorothy and Magda are much farther inland north, as I recall, so probably will barely crack 0.

  38. 38.

    BretH

    Not sure how much I care about the rantings of pro-Trump or pro-Desantis followers, even as they trash Vivek. On the other hand, if you want a perfect example of cognitive dissonance look no farther than the profile of JCash MAGA Queen who claims she’s “always searching for truth” under an image of Trumps mug shot.

  39. 39.

    Betty Cracker

    @Suzanne: I’m looking forward to watching the latest iteration of “True Detective” too. There’s an interview with Foster in Vanity Fair where she talks about her background, career and what appealed to her about this latest role. She seems to have a pretty healthy attitude toward aging — it’s certainly rare in Hollywood!

  40. 40.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    @Betty Cracker: Let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Lil’ Marco doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

  41. 41.

    Trivia Man

    @satby: Badger here. Now -9 and feels like -23. Ill take their word for it. At least I was able to get the walks cleared yesterday.

  45. 45.

    TriassicSands

    @NotMax:

    I watched a few minutes of it and decided I wasn’t really interested in watching three plus hours of white people screwing over and murdering Native Americans. DiCaprio didn’t seem well-cast either.

  46. 46.

    catclub

    @Baud: When I consider Trump’s success in the GOP, I think about his work ethic.

    Yeah.  The whole point of Trump’s ‘campaign’ in New Hampshire was to not go to ANY diners.  And not get touched by any of the proles.

  47. 47.

    narya

    @Betty Cracker: Oooooh, thanks for that link! I really like her a lot; according to my brother, I can get it on Hulu (to which I do not subscribe, but to which I am planning to subscribe)

    ETA: It’ll get all the way to 29 here in PA today; I’m holding off a little longer before going for a run/walk.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    Tension had been building between Trump and Ramaswamy for weeks, according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking. Ramaswamy told NBC News earlier this month that Trump was “wounded” and it was time for the party to look for new leadership, raising the president’s ire.

    Trump is a strange man. Totally infantile, but he knows how to bring down his lesser enemies. He will not tolerate any criticism from other Republicans.

    Also, Rubio bending the knee is another sign that the GOP is totally falling in behind Trump. He could go to jail and still be their man.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    Anti vaxxers cause measles outbreak in Philadelphia. Children hospitalized.

    About 90% of people who have close contact with an infected person will get measles if they are not immune.

    Wow. That is contagious.

    I noticed prestige media now refer to the anti vaxx cult as “vaccine hesitancy” – they are such absolute cowards. An anti vaxxer Right winger must have yelled at them on Twitter or sent them a nasty email or something.

  52. 52.

    catclub

    @Geminid: their candidate looks like crap these days.

     

    You and I are not good judges of what Trump looks like. He always looks like crap to us.

  57. 57.

    satby

    @Trivia Man: Well, it certainly could be. OTOH, a lot of jobs not directly providing goods or services to people can be WFH now, so it’s a mixed bag. But lower paid, service jobs like retail or higher paid essential services jobs (health care, energy, first responder) have to be in person. I think the dominance of minority workers in the lower paid service jobs is where white privilege really stands out.

  58. 58.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: So at least one of those measles-infected people was in the building my office is in (but a different floor) two weeks ago. I was in the office last week, and it very much freaked me out.

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    I’ve been tooling around the political sites today (mostly looking for DeSantis disaster content, which I’m greedily devouring like a 2nd grader loosed unsupervised in a candy store), and y’all are right: Trump looks like hammered shit in all the recent photos. Beyond his baseline hideousness even! He looks sick and exhausted. The sumbitch better not drop dead before he eviscerates all his rivals, damn it! (“You had ONE job…”)

  61. 61.

    Eyeroller

    @Kay: ​Measles is not only wildly contagious, it also causes “immune amnesia,” i.e. it wipes out some “memories” of the immune system, making patients susceptible to diseases they already had.

    As to “vaccine hesitancy,” I don’t think the media made that up. It’s medical terminology. The problem, I think, is that they are using a term with a well-defined meaning in a specific context outside of that context. That happens with a lot of scientific terms that have a more precise meaning than they do in ordinary language.

  62. 62.

    satby

    @Suzanne: An adult with measles is pretty rare, unless they’re some religious sect that didn’t do vaccines. The vaccine (both doses in the MMR) is 97% effective.

    edited to add: Adults born before 1957 are nearly always immune, having been exposed to measles during childhood. Those born 1957 or later should make sure they have had at least 1 dose of MMR vaccine given at age 1 year or older.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    and it very much freaked me out.

    Why? They’re just “vaccine hesitant”. They need time to do more research. It’s probably your fault- you should have been more persuasive and/or respectful when trying to convince them not to kill 5 year olds with their stupid theories.

  65. 65.

    Suzanne

    @satby: Understood. My office is on the 14th floor of a building that has medical offices on some of the other floors. We share elevators, stairs, bathrooms, lobby and security, etc. We’re the only tenant on our floor, tho, the rest of the floor is currently shelled out. So I am hoping that the risk of cross-contamination is minimal.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @Eyeroller:

    it also causes “immune amnesia,” i.e. it wipes out some “memories” of the immune system, making patients susceptible to diseases they already had.

    I had no idea. Thank you.

  69. 69.

    NotMax

    @satby

    Went through a bout of it as a (pre-vaccine) young’un. No fun.

    Couldn’t even read a book while in bed as the curtains were drawn and any room lighting kept dim. Standard practice.

  70. 70.

    satby

    @Suzanne: Unless you’ve never been vaccinated (I know you’re younger than “born in 1957”) your risk is vanishingly small., edit: even if exposed. It’s an airborne disease: (same source as before):

    For example, you can be exposed to the measles virus by being in the same room, home, office, or waiting room with someone who has measles or by being there up to one hour after the person with measles has left.

  71. 71.

    Eyeroller

    @MomSense: Brown people trying to come to the US.  Inflaaation.  But mostly the brown people.

    I normally never watch TV news but I was visiting a relative over Christmas who watches a lot of it, and every single broadcast of the national news had a segment shrieking about Border Crisis!  MIGRANTS MIGRANTS MIGRANTS.  Every. Single. Broadcast, so at least twice a day.

  72. 72.

    Suzanne

    @satby: Yes, I’ve been vaccinated, as have my kids. I was more concerned for my colleagues/friends, who were there that day of the exposure.

    And it reminds me that shared open spaces are always going to be a problem.

  73. 73.

    satby

    @NotMax: And Ruckus has mentioned he had the measles induced encephalitis when he had it.

    It just fucking astounds me that people who want to “ok, Boomer” me have, in basically one generation, tossed aside so much hard won improvement in human life.

  74. 74.

    Kay

    @Eyeroller:

    It’s true. I have an aquaintance who is sort of a loosely attached, Right leaning Democrat. She’s not very bright. She mentioned the other day she doesn’t know what Biden will do “about the border” and she “needs answers”, or whatever. Twenty five years of talking to this person at social events, often about politics, and she has never indicated the slightest interest in “the border” but she probably feels she has to be “concerned” about it because the ninnies are all shrieking about it. It shows in polling too. Now that they’re no longer shrieking about inflation that has dropped down, replaced by “the border”. It really is like GOP campaign operatives are the assignment managers for media.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    It’s “only” -2º here in the frigid Ozarks. It’s supposed to get up to 11º today. Right now it’s partly overcast,  with a chance of flurries. We got about an inch of snow, but for some reason the roads are still bad so all the morning Jazzercize classes are canceled (probably not that bad honestly). I have a meeting at the lawyer’s office to sign some papers for the distributions from my mother’s estate at 11. I’m going back to bed for a little while. I’m still so happy I invested in a gas furnace

    ETA just got an automated call from the utility company telling us to limit the use of electricity thru Tuesday. This is straining their system.

  77. 77.

    Kristine

    @satby: a little late, but -11F here in NE Illinois by the Lake.
    I want to go out today to grocery shop, pick up more bird food, and warm up the car, but damn I’m not looking forward to it.

  79. 79.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: 60 Minutes did a segment on the problem of unoccupied office space last night. They didn’t talk much about the problems in using it for housing, and they concentrated on downtown New York, so not perfect. It’s good that they’re talking about it, and that people are trying to reimagine how to use those spaces. One man talked about pickleball and basketball courts.

  80. 80.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I don’t know how anyone can make any lasting progress with this nutty swinging back and forth. Kasich had an Office of New Americans (maybe not the exact name) – anyway, it was a small government agency to encourage and support immigrants moving to the state. Now I guess we’re all anti immigrant because the ninnies in media say we are. We really shouldn’t be taking direction from these multi millionaire celebrities.

    Mexicans and central Americans aren’t even the largest immigrant group in Ohio – Indians are. Ohio doesn’t actually have a border problem.

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: They tend to talk about whatever the Right wants to talk about, because the Right has a whole apparatus to get topics into the mainstream news. It’s why NPR did a story about inflation every day for two years! They’re still at it, I heard a story about the “Gumbo Index” last week. They measured the rise in price of the ingredients in gumbo. They think whatever the Right is talking about must be important, because so many people are talking about it. I think that’s one reason it’s hard for Biden’s achievements to break through, because there isn’t anything similar pushing them from the Left. It’s a problem.

  83. 83.

    MomSense

    @Eyeroller:

    The daily fucking mail did a story about an apartment complex in my town that is going to house asylum seekers with rent paid in the beginning because they cannot work for six months by law.  Why on earth would a UK tabloid give a shit about a small Maine town?

    But of course the asshole right wingers run with Democrat run state gives welfare mooching illegals luxury apartments over veterans, blah blah blah.  No, we spend a ton on Veterans in this state.  I tried to respond to a few Xeets, but it’s just so fucking stupid.  No, seeking asylum is not illegal.  Our economy is booming, unemployment in our state is below 3% and we desperately need workers.  Also too – we have decades of experience with asylum seekers from Africa who work hard, enhance our communities, start businesses and are model citizens.

    FUCK THESE RACIST FUCKERS.  I’m so sick of this bullshit.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    We can’t make progress. But I think that’s the (subconscious) goal. A lot of people hate progress, including many who claim to want it.

    The reality of change often looks different than what people picture in their heads.

  86. 86.

    Manyakitty

    @schrodingers_cat: that’s a fact. The questions he and his wife kept getting about religion and ethnicity say it all. Don’t think I’ve heard the same stuff about Haley, though, or did I just miss it?

  87. 87.

    MomSense

    @satby:

    We had a referendum question on the ballot about mandating vaccinations for entry into public schools and one of the campaigners, a mom, tried to talk to me about it outside the post office.  She was so woe is me about the state forcing poison on her oh so pure progeny.

    I told her she should go look at the old part of the cemetery to see all the children who died from these illnesses before vaccines.  I told her how selfish and irresponsible it is not to vaccinate her children.  I tried to explain that there are babies and seniors and people with cancer who rely on others to do the right thing and vaccinate.  She was completely unpersuaded and went from woe is me to hostile bitch about her choice.

    I told her I think her stance on the issue is despicable but nonetheless hope none of her kids kill someone else or end up blind, sterile or dead from lack of vaccination.

  92. 92.

    Tenar Arha

    @Suzanne:  Probably want to check your titers anyway after this if you’re initial shot was in the late 60’s early 70’s. I had low rubella immunity, when I checked mine, and there’s really no separate rubella vaccine now, so I got the MMR series at my doctor’s office at the hospital. (That was the only way I could get it for free with my insurance, even though they do offer them at CVS).

  93. 93.

    waspuppet

    I hope Ramaswamy stays in the race long enough for Trump to give his last name the full “Barack Hussein Obama” treatment.

  95. 95.

    Ken

    @lowtechcyclist: sunrise was 10 minutes ago here on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.   Chicago, Iowa, etc. won’t see it for awhile

    I see you’ve bought the lies of the “Round Earth” conspiracy. I’ve done my own research, and according to this twitter feed I found…

  96. 96.

    frosty

    …according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking.

    As the lawyers say (in unison, now) Assumes facts not in evidence.

    Now I’ll go read the comments and see how many of you jackals thought the same thing!

  97. 97.

    kindness

    These polls that list all these Democrats who are now supporting Haley… Of course any media will push that story, ‘Biden Losing Democrats!’,  but I suspect were they to scratch just a pinch below the surface they would find these ‘Democrats’ voted for Trump the last two elections.  In real life these people aren’t Democrats at all and we should ignore them.

  98. 98.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @satby: rare but unfortunately at least here in the North East it’s still too common. There have been small measles and polio outbreaks because of unvaccinated adults going on visits or missions to places where those diseases are endemic.  There are also too many parents who bought into the “vaccines will give my baby autism, toxins etc” bullshit. I work in a fucking lab and I work with a few of these. Makes me want to scream.  I am old enough to remember kids in leg braces and kids with complications from measles, mumps and chicken pox. My nephew got shingles at 23..

  99. 99.

    Soprano2

    @Tenar Arha: I got an MMR update a few years ago for the same reason. Evidently some kids who were vaccinated in the late ’60’s/early 70’s got a vaccine that wore off.

  104. 104.

    Queen of Lurkers

    @Manyakit

    Nikki Haley has done a number of things to whiten herself. She shed her given first name (Nimrata) and then took on (as most women do) her husband’s last name. She converted to Christianity. Also, and here I am speculating, her phenotype as a “fair”/light-skinned Punjabi-Indian makes it easier for her to seem almost-white. Vivek Ramaswamy, the epitome of smarmy shallowness,  has the dark skin many Indians have, especially South Indians. For befuddled rural Iowans, his “foreigner” status is impossible to ignore.

  105. 105.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Kay: Mexicans and central Americans aren’t even the largest immigrant group in Ohio – Indians are. Ohio doesn’t actually have a border problem.

    That’s what you think now, but wait ’til that secret race of mermen living in the depths of Lake Erie invade. Then you’ll be singing a different tune! ;-)

  107. 107.

    Princess

    Maybe Trump is sick (lord knows, everyone else in the northern hemisphere is) and that’s why he looks so terrible. Maybe he has pneumonia. Maybe he’s dying. It would be irresponsible NOT to speculate. At least that’s what we were told when Hillary was under the weather.

  108. 108.

    artem1s

    In the end I’m betting the MSM is going to be relieved when Iowa loses first primary status. I can’t believe they put up with having to schlepp a bunch of staff out there for 6 months to cover butter cows and corndogs and blizzards for this long. They’ve been trying to keep it relevant since Carter, but it really hasn’t mattered since that one surprise. NH probably will always be somewhat relevant for early campaigning because it’s a day trip from NY and DC. But maybe now IA can finally develop an actual economy that doesn’t revolve around a half a year of campaign tourist industry and keeping ethanol subsidies going.​

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator:

    SFB is the school yard bully’s hanger on. He talks tough because he’s convinced that his money protects him, has bought him position. And for some it has. They like him because he is them but with far more money.

  113. 113.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    SFB looks like hammered shit because he is. He’s 77 yrs old and in such wonderful condition. He got the one thing he’s wanted his entire life, attention. Unfortunately for him when that attention is on him, every single crap cell in his body (actually all of his cells) reacts in a negative fashion. He’s the chump in high school that finally gets the spotlight on him and it shows off every defective cell he has. (Which once again is all of them…) He’s the high school side liner who got family money and hoped that would make him popular. But all the spotlight did was show off all his defects. Of which he has far more than his share. I’m sure he stole them because he doesn’t know any better.

  114. 114.

    StringOnAStick

    @NotMax: I had measles and mumps at the same time at age 5.  I missed a lot of my kindergarten year and remember very little of the experience because I was so damned sick.  It was 1963 too, so no excuse for having not been vaccinated other than parental error.

  115. 115.

    RaflW

    About that Amanda Terkel xit. Couple years ago we bought a used dining set from a very nice couple from India. They lived in Brookfield, WI, which has been ‘red’ but trending less so.

    Their old and very unpleasant white neighbor put up “no trespassing” signs on the property line, only facing the home of the Indian family.

    Surely a household of MAGA assholes. No chance Vivek could break through. Not sure those folks would even turn out if, by some chance, Ms. Haley is the nominee. I expect Trump to savage her for her origin story if she turns out to be a real threat coming out of IA & NH.

    And awful people like the ‘no trespassing’ neighbor will remember come Nov. that Haley is a little too “off white”, y’know.

  116. 116.

    Ruckus

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    I’m old enough to have had every common disease measles, mumps, chickenpox, when I was a kid. As did every other kid I grew up with. And knew 3 people that lived within a couple miles of me that had polio. Have a friend my age that had polio, so that’s 4 I actually know. Seems funny today to say that these were actually very common.

  117. 117.

    wjca

    @Kathleen: I’ve also heard measles can kill adults.

    All of what we called “childhood diseases”** when I was growing up are vastly worse for adults.  Which is why, when we were in grammar school, our parents would routinely take us over to play with kids who had one of them: it was important for our long term health to get them over with.  No matter what the occasional side effects.

    Vaccines are far better, of course.  But the adult children of anti-vaxxers are in for some nasty surprises as these resurgences spill over to them.

    ** Measles, mumps, chicken pox (aka rubella)

  118. 118.

    Citizen Alan

    @MomSense: I suspect in part because she doesn’t go by that name anymore. A minority can be accepted in the GOP if they work hard enough to reject every signifier of their minority status. Which is why no one in the GOP hates black people as much as Clarence. Thomas.

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