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You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / 2024 Primaries / Late Night Open Thread: Dean Phillips Is Making No New Friends

Late Night Open Thread: Dean Phillips Is Making No New Friends

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I’m beginning to wonder if Phillips has any friends, as opposed to people he pays to tell him how good his ideas are. Dude is beginning to look more and more like a shaved bear at the mercy of a bunch of (GOP) carnies. From the hipsters at Slate, “Nevertheless, Dean Persisted”:

… With the dust nearly settled in New Hampshire, Dean Phillips looks to have pulled in just below 20 percent of the vote in the state’s unofficial Democratic primary. For a candidate who staked his entire campaign on his success in that state and who outspent the rest of the field there—and who may not even be on the ballot in some other states—that number doesn’t seem so heartening.

But for Phillips, the backbench Minnesota congressman, losing by 35-plus to someone who wasn’t even on the ballot, in a race that can’t award any delegates to the Democratic National Convention, is actually akin to winning, if you really think about it. “I’ve built business and brands and studied the best successes in marketing history,” Phillips posted on X the morning after the primary. “Never known one that generated 20% market share in just ten weeks, as we did last evening in New Hampshire.”…

It’s possible that Phillips was trying to appeal directly to his benefactors in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street by using their favored parlance. Because it’s very clear that the baby that needs to be kept “going,” the market share that needs to keep being “generated,” is the torrent of big-money donations that will be sunk into his doomed campaign. (Phillips’ pals in the Valley, in particular, should have no real aversion to lighting resources on fire in a quixotic, money-losing venture; they do that often.)

But the message may just as well have been a pep talk directed from Phillips’ consultants, vendors, and staffers to Phillips himself. The gelato and liquor tycoon has an estimated net worth of $124 million, more than enough to keep this gravy train rolling well into July, when he has pledged a contested convention. It is unclear whether he will have any delegates by that point. He has committed to self-fund at least part of this enterprise, and the people on his payroll are no doubt gleeful that he has decided to soldier on…


… On Tuesday, Brother Phillips got a little bit miffed at all the questions he’s been getting about why he mucking about in the election. From Mediaite:

“I’ve said this 18,000 times; I’m only doing this to defeat Donald Trump,” an agitated Phillips told CBS News. Nobody seems to want to do that in the Democratic Party right now, other than me, because Joe Biden can’t, is my proposition, because the data says he can’t. No one in the country cares. In fact, most of the people in the country are going to the Trump rally right now because he’s listening to them. No one’s asking about this stuff. I’m just frustrated. I hope you understand why I’m getting tired of it. You’re doing your jobs, but you’re not asking the questions that Americans give a shit about!”

What in the name of Morry Taylor is this guy talking about? Joe Biden can’t run to defeat Donald Trump because of “the data”? “Most of the country” is going to Trump rallies? Because he “listens to them”? He doesn’t listen to anyone, and his rallies are turning into freak shows that people leave halfway through. Is this guy even aware of what’s going on around him? Please, for the love of god, someone get the hook.

… “There was probably a lane for someone to do reasonably well against Biden,” tweeted Osita Nwanevu, a columnist for The Guardian and contributing editor for The New Republic, “but being maximally annoying to every constituency in the Democratic Party at once wasn’t it, obviously.”

Reader Interactions

77Comments

  2. 2.

    JPL

    The other guy with a swollen head, Joe Manchin will be doing an interview today with the Atlanta paper.   He says he doesn’t want to be a spoiler but only appears to campaign in states that Biden needs.  Is big pharma supporting him too

  4. 4.

    SpaceUnit

    Also, Dean Phillips seems to think he can win by having even stupider hair than trump.

    I’m going to bed. Clearly I’m the only one up at this hour.

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack

    Dunno what happened—I dozed off at 9:30 and woke up a few hours ago to find myself a whole year older. Rip Van Steeple! Happy birthday to me.

  9. 9.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I believe the proper term for what happened to Dean Phillips in New Hampshire is “landslide”. Well, according to Wikipedia, the actual term is “electoral wipeout”, but there’s something to be said for describing the New Hampshire results as “Joe Biden won in a landslide despite not even being on the ballot”.

  13. 13.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Joe Biden can’t run to defeat Donald Trump because of “the data”?

    Remember that couple of polls that had Trump ahead, people here were going “This is very bad!”, the media would not fucking shut up about, and some of us said were meaningless garbage?  I know they’re hard to remember now that we’re actually in the election year and the polls say Biden is crushing Trump.  He means those.

  15. 15.

    daveNYC

    @JPL:  Might be pharma, but more likely it’s oil/coal/gas backing him.

     

    Thing about the Democratic primary and replacing Biden is that there’s probably a fair chunk of people who would prefer someone other than Biden at the top of the ticket (after all, a lot of people voted for someone else in the 2020 primary) but pretty much all of them would much rather win the 2024 election, and Biden gives us the best chance of doing that.

    To be honest, I’d be happier if we had a candidate who was statistically less likely to just not wake up one morning, that’s my nightmare scenario for this election because lord knows that Trump is freaking immortal with is Big Mac diet, but that doesn’t mean that primarying a sitting president suddenly is a good idea.

  17. 17.

    Steeplejack

    Thanks, all! 👋 Having lunch with a friend at an Asian buffet and then going to see Poor Things. The theater is near my favorite Total Wine, so I might grab a bottle of bubbly on the way home. Livin’ large!

  19. 19.

    Baud

    @daveNYC:

    Yes. People on our side have a bad habit of thinking there’s always some better option that the powers that be are keeping from them. There are always trade-offs.

  21. 21.

    sab

    @daveNYC: Biden’s mother lived to a very ripe old age. His father didn’t, but was a heavy drinker. ( Edit: Biden doesn’t drink.) I think Biden will be fine through a second term.

  24. 24.

    lurker

     

    (edited)

    @NotMax:

    about:blank

    (you will need to copy this and paste in your address bar, link not working correctly)

    works in most browsers, most informative site on the internet

  28. 28.

    raven

    I’m still coming to grips with having to cancel our fishing trip to Costa Rica. One of  the group developed some medical problems and juts couldn’t hack it. I was worried since he had bypass surgery  6 months ago.

  33. 33.

    Bugboy

    …one that generated 20% market share in just ten weeks

    And THAT, my friends, reveals just how economically illiterate the guy is.  I’m just a bug squeezer, and even “I” know you don’t generate “market share” for a discreet event like an election, “informal”, “write-in” or otherwise.   I didn’t think we had any mole people on our side, but there you go!

  34. 34.

    raven

    @Steeplejack: Yea, we hope so too. We had a $500 deposit for the whole trip but the guy said he was going to have to check with the property manager to see what that fee will be. We didn’t sign any kind of contract so I don’t know what that is going to involve.

  36. 36.

    sab

    @Bugboy: Is he on our side? I have doubts. Not-a-MAGA isn’t necessarily a Democrat, although currently that is the only political home for them.

  38. 38.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steeplejack: ​
     

    Dunno what happened—I dozed off at 9:30 and woke up a few hours ago to find myself a whole year older. Rip Van Steeple! Happy birthday to me.

    Happy birthday, and many more!

    Today is a special day in our family. That teenager I had the devil of a time getting awake about 45 minutes ago? Today is the 15th anniversary of the day we met him for the first time, when he was a year and a half old. And our lives have been much happier ever since.

  40. 40.

    Shalimar

    @daveNYC: My 2nd choice in 2020 was Kamala Harris (after Warren), so I figure I have the best of both worlds with this ticket.  Biden has done a much better job than I expected, and I am happy to give him 4 more years.  But if he does happen to drop dead, I really like our backup plan too.

  42. 42.

    JR

    I don’t mind Dean Phillips or his idiotic campaign. It’s been useful as an illustration of Biden’s resilient popularity among Democrats.

  46. 46.

    lowtechcyclist

    @satby: ​
    @eclare: ​

    Thanks, y’all! The world’s getting kinda blurry here as I remember that day. Baby house #1, Samara, Russia. It would be another seven weeks, a metric ton of paperwork, and two more trips to Russia before we took him out of the baby house and into our lives forever, but it’s a day I’ll always remember.

    @Steeplejack: ​

    Plus it’s the birthday of that great legislator Kevin McCarthy!

    Well, forget all that other stuff, now that’s the real reason for celebrating today! ;-)

  49. 49.

    daveNYC

    @Shalimar: Problem is that for a good chunk of the voters in the GE, the VP is still just the VP, and while Harris is relatively high profile as far as that goes, she’s still not got Biden’s… anything… it’s not like she was tearing it up in the 2020 primary.  Probably won’t make much difference to the committed Democratic voters, but those aren’t the ones that will make or break this election.

    And while Biden has a good family history and the best healthcare money can buy, 81 is still 81, and he’s at the age where ‘there’s no guarantees’ really starts to mean something.  Plus it doesn’t help that he’s clearly not as sharp as he used to be, not nearly in his doddage as certain media elements keep trying to say, but again, he’s 81 an age where everything is going to just get worse.

    It is hilarious that the main contenders back in 2020 were a guy a year older than Biden and Warren coming in at an incredibly youthful 70.  Freaking gerontocracy.  Maybe in 2028 we can try for someone who isn’t eligible for Social Security.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    As usual, Friday’s Politico Playbook lists the guests on the upcoming Sunday political shows. CBS’s Face the Nation will feature Senators Tim Kaine and Jim Lankford, as well as UAW President Sean Fain.

    Fox News Sunday looks to be about Ukraine aid. House Foreign Relations Chair and Ukraine hawk Michael McCaul will be a guest along with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

    CNN’s State of the Nation guests are Rep. Nancy Pelosi and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Theme: “From the Sublime to the Ridiculous.”

    “AOC” fans can catch the Bronx Congresswoman on NBC’s Meet the Press.

    ABC’s This Week could be interesting. I’m not sure viewers will hear much news from Senator Tim Scott and Governor Gavin Newsom, but Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair C.Q. Brown will also appear.

    Reports are that the Pentagon is beginning the process that will lead to withdrawing our military missions in western Iraq and northeastern Syria. They number (maybe) 1500 in Iraq and 500-800 in Syria, and have been targeted in ~120 missile or drone attacks since October. This is a sensitive matter both militarily and politically, which may be why the JCS Chair is appearing on this show.

  51. 51.

    Matt McIrvin

    I feel like the whole “I’m the Democrat who’s listening to the Trump voters” shtick was doomed to run aground on specifics: “OK, about what, exactly?” Because the problem is that the potential specifics of that are all ugly. The most likely answer is “about the need to deport all the brown people.”

  52. 52.

    Attempted Chemistry

    @lowtechcyclist: That’s a good day.

    In our house, we don’t celebrate that day separately, because the paperwork went through on my wife’s birthday. We double up on events around here, my son’s birthday is the same as my mother’s, and my brother died on my birthday.

  55. 55.

    Donatellonerd

    @Attempted Chemistry:

    @lowtechcyclist:

    we celebrate the anniversary of the day we met her (at 5 1/2 months old) and the day she came to live with us (quite awhile before the adoption was final).  i like celebrations.

    so congrats to both of your families too, and any other adoptive jackal families

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: If and when the US pulls its mission out of Syria, one big question will be: what happens to the Kurds? The Kurdish YPG militia has been a cornerstone of US efforts to combat ISIS for the last 10 years  but their position could become tenuous when the US withdraws its support. This will alarm the Kurds and their Western advocates.

    On the other hand, a US withdrawal from Syria could remove a major irritant in US/Turkiye relations. Turkiye regards the YPG as a branch of the PKK that it has been fighting for over 40 years, and Turks deeply resent the US/YPG partnership.

  59. 59.

    Manyakitty

    @raven: good luck. Maybe at worst, they’ll apply it to another visit?

    So sorry about this. I know how careful you’ve been to stay safe for the trip.

  62. 62.

    trnc

    @Frankensteinbeck: I know they’re hard to remember now that we’re actually in the election year and the polls say Biden is crushing Trump.

    Any source for that? National polls are not looking good at this point, but I expect that to improve when Biden actually cinches the nomination.

  63. 63.

    trnc

    @Steeplejack: Happy Birthday! I hope you get the gift of a very high award for E Jean Carroll minutes after jury deliberations begin.​
     

    ETA: Yes, I’m fond of gifts that I can use, too.

  64. 64.

    H.E.Wolf

    Re: VP Kamala Harris: @daveNYC: ​Probably won’t make much difference to the committed Democratic voters […]
     Black women voters are, statistically, the most loyal bloc of Democratic voters (somewhat higher than 90%, as I recall).

    Biden’s choice of Harris as his VP, and their collegial working partnership, make a significant statement about this Administration’s perspective and values. I’m all for it.

  65. 65.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Attempted Chemistry: ​
    @Donatellonerd: ​

    Hi y’all, it’s good to know other jackals who’ve gone the adoption route!

    Our main celebration of bringing him into our family is the day we took him out of the baby house in Samara. The court date that made our adoption official had been eleven days earlier, but the deal there was that there was a 10-day period afterwards when relatives of the child could step forward and say they wanted to raise him. So when we took him from the baby house, it was a done deal.

    But we deeply remember that first time we visited him. We won’t have a big celebration today, but we’ll do something to mark the occasion. I’ll probably bring home one of those dinner plate-sized chocolate chip cookies, or something like that, so that it’s waiting for him when he gets off the bus this afternoon.

    @Manyakitty: ​
     

    Thanks for the good wishes!

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    Thanks again, everybody! Circled back here to see the rest of the comments after getting a few hours’ beauty sleep before my big day. 🌞

  67. 67.

    Miss Bianca

    @Bugboy: OK, I know this is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand, but what do you mean by “bug squeezer”? Do you milk aphids for a living? :)

    INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!

    (I mean, I know that Pal D and I call our mead “Bee Squeezin’s”, but you don’t actually squeeze bees, do you?)

  71. 71.

    Bugboy

    @Miss Bianca: Well, considering that “bee squeezings” is much more palatable than “fermented bee vomit which was originally encased in individual (bee) serving bee poop packages” I’m gonna have to say that’s a great alternative.

    But to your question, back when I was a larval entomologist I spent many a year sorting mosquitoes, using high quality forceps, which you “squeezed” to grab onto each bug to inspect it under a lens.  I need to stop now, because I’m going to have PTSD from recalling the years I’ve spent doing that…

  75. 75.

    wenchacha

    @sab:  I am with you, that Biden is likely to be above ground well into his 90s. It is my fervent hope, anyway, and POTUS also has great health care to keep him in shape. Not to mention, he has a real sense of purpose. All good things.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    Thanks again, everybody. Had a great day—excellent lunch, meh movie. Got a bottle of cava on the way home, which I will be sipping this evening.

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