Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

I was promised a recession.

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

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

We still have time to mess this up!

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Open Thread: Update – Trump Now Says He Will *Not* Debate Harris

Open Thread: Update – Trump Now Says He Will *Not* Debate Harris

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As I said yesterday, Trump’s handlers have no intention of letting him debate Kamala Harris. Guess they finally got him to sit down and watch some of the WTF?!? reactions to His Lardship’s bigly RNC acceptance speech. And maybe pointed out that if he tries ‘looming over’ Harris the way he did Hillary Clinton, the nasty Black woman would most likely kick him in the groin with her very pointy shoes. And then laugh. Cackle!

Reader Interactions

292Comments

  6. 6.

    waspuppet

    OK, every “journalist” who breathlessly went with “Trump says he’ll debate Harris” — are you listening? Are you looking at yourself? Are you trying to figure out how to get better in response to having looked like such a dope?

    (LOL no of course they’re not. They’re just going with “Here’s what Trump said today,” like they have since 2015.)

  7. 7.

    FDRLincoln

    @BR:  Speaking as an old white dude, I want in on this call.

    The energy is entirely different this week and Trump is looking like the pathetic, weak, low-energy orange LOSER that he always was.

    EDIT: I have signed up.

  9. 9.

    laura

    He should come and get his ass kicked and take it like a man. I mean, if he was a man and not the juvenile school yard bully we all know him to be. I mean, the PAB*  we all know him to be.

    *Pussy Ass Bitch. Hat tip to Crissy Teigan for coining that phrase.

  11. 11.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    I seem to remember someone in a chicken suit showing up to a GOP candidate’s events … maybe GHW Bush … because he was afraid to debate the Democrat. It made the evening news again and again.

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    Trump HATES women. It’s always covered up by the press, but we don’t get glimpses of that, I see it on an outdoor drive-in sized screen, but this whole party does, as in how they treated the women at the RNC.

    Kamala is saying she is fighting for women, and maybe that will sink in. She scares Trump and I love that.

  13. 13.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Well, that announcement wins this week’s Claude Rains Memorial Gambling Awareness Award with the coveted 4-Claude rating.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    “Trump is a coward.” Those words alone on a TV screen for 15 seconds 2 or 3 times a day.

  18. 18.

    Ken

    @waspuppet: They’re just going with “Here’s what Trump said today,” like they have since 2015.

    As they will in a few days, after the wave of chicken-clucks makes him change his mind again.

    There’s an XKCD that’s slightly related, but more recently someone else said the news media doesn’t seem to grasp object permanence.

  20. 20.

    Skippy-san

    I’d be concerned that this is a scheme to get the venue he wants and the conservative moderators he wants.

    To which Harris should say no.

  21. 21.

    Steve LaBonne

    Is Trump going to start using yellow pancake makeup? Wait, that would be a terrible insult to Big Bird.

  24. 24.

    WereBear

    @OzarkHillbilly: Vance’s superpower must be considerable to overcome a human being’s apparently natural repulsion response.

    Perhaps a techbro crafted aftershave, which creates a numbing effect on the brain. That’s got to be something the VC crowd is working on, making their jobs that much easier.

  25. 25.

    mrstealyourcostcosample

    “we can’t debate b/c BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA and others aren’t behind Kamala”

    /Obama announcement immmediately drops

    LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO absolute sucker shit.  I hate that Steven Cheung.  ugly as sin, inside and out

  26. 26.

    catclub

    @waspuppet:

    this.  They’re just going with “Here’s what Trump said today,” like they have since 2015.

    they have the historical memory of a meth addled squirrel.

  27. 27.

    WereBear

    My Hannibal Lecter sequel will be how he is found caring for all those cats on the Japanese island. He’s now a very unusual assassin, ideologically motivated.

    We have mysterious figure hiring him to “kill the candidate.” And we won’t know which one until the end of the picture.

    Sir Anthony can sit back on the island so his part can be played by a Terminator created by cat scientists.

    Now, let’s talk casting. My own Bud Abbot would be perfect as the cat scientist whose father is MAGA. He’s got that James Dean thing.

  28. 28.

    FDRLincoln

    @matt:  She has the potential to be better than Obama. She’s just as smart, nearly as charismatic, but seems more willing to call the GOP out on their bullshit, probably because she doesn’t have to worry about being a “scary black man.”   I can’t see her falling for “grand bargain” type crap.

    Harris had some rough edges as a primary candidate in 2020 but she has grown and fully come into her own. Also, I think she’s a better positioned as a *general election* candidate than she was as a primary one, since she can direct her attacks on the GOP rather than fellow Dems.

  29. 29.

    kindness

    What talk show do you think Kamela will grace first?  I bet it’ll be Colbert’s.

  32. 32.

    Frankensteinbeck

    There is another side to this that most people and I’m sure the entire press will miss.  The press and liberals were distracted throwing conniptions about Biden’s performance in the debate.  Independents and especially minorities loathed Trump’s performance.  Biden’s numbers didn’t drag until the freakout was well commenced.

    Trump knows.  Trump’s response to the debate was a screed about how his answers were perfect and it’s not fair that he’s being criticized.  Without the press and the liberal base prepared to scream about Biden being old, there will be no distraction from how much his Hitler performance is loathed by undecideds.

  33. 33.

    BR

    @FDRLincoln: ​

    Yeah, strangely enough she’s helped by being tied to Biden’s policies, because Biden’s policies are broadly popular and she doesn’t have to waste time staking out positions and finding a lane in a primary.

  34. 34.

    Steve LaBonne

    @catclub: He already has Letitia James and Fanni Willis living rent-free in his head and now here comes another tough Black woman prosecutor to finish him off. Absolutely his worst nightmare.

  35. 35.

    JaneE

    Any time, any place so long as the place is friendly to me not her and the time is left indefinitely in the future.

    If you think that Kamala has to renegotiate debates, maybe she should put out a 3 or 4 debate schedule starting as soon as she has a VP nominated, maybe one before the physical convention.  And pick a subject that she doesn’t need a lot of prep for.

    Suggested question for Trump “Did you go with increasing sanctions on Venezuela knowing there would be an increase in migration of refugees because you assumed (correctly) that those people would not reach this country until your term was over?  Either the next guys problem or one you could deal with as harshly as you wished because you did not need to fear any political consequences during a reelection campaign?”

  36. 36.

    No One of Consequence

    Good grief. Why can’t you people see these are all just machinations? Doesn’t anyone else see the shadowy web-weaving and smell the Silk of Baud? Curiously absent, our local UnderLord, isn’t it?

    Can we not all easily imagine, Baud, behind the scenes, pulling strings only HE has access to, absolutely CORNERING THE MARKET on flop sweat futures?

    The Mercantile Exchanges will be toppled, and the 2024 Baud/WhoCares ticket rides a write-in wave of historic proportions into victory and the White House.

    Preach the Conspiracy.

    -NOoC

  38. 38.

    Steve LaBonne

    @BR: She kind of fell between the progressive and moderate lanes in 2020 and couldn’t really establish an identity of her own. She’s much stronger as a general election candidate than as a primary candidate; add in 3 1/2 years of a very intensive education as VP and you get the truly dynamic candidate we’re seeing.

  39. 39.

    SFAW

    And maybe pointed out that if he tries ‘looming over’ Harris the way he did Hillary Clinton, the nasty Black woman would most likely kick him in the groin with her very pointy shoes.

    I’ve been saying, since the time of that debate (more or less) that when TCFFG was pulling that shit, Hillary should have turned around and told him to back-the-fuck OFF, or she’ll make sure his next job will be Court Eunuch. [OK, technically, that last part was not a verbatim comment.] Yeah, maybe she would have had a one-week decline in approval/polling, but eventually she would have gained supporters.

  42. 42.

    danielx

    Desperation indeed. Why should Harris negotiate anything whatsoever, especially when negotiating with Trump or his minions is a fool’s errand? At this anybody contemplating negotiation anything with TFG has to know he only negotiates in bad faith.

  44. 44.

    SFAW

    @No One of Consequence:

    Curiously absent, our local UnderLord, isn’t it?

    Somebody suggested Baud was getting a custom pantsuit made. Of course, given Baud’s preferences, one might ask “can it be a pantsuit if the wearer refuses to wear pants?”

  46. 46.

    Sallycat

    I participated in the “Answer the Call” for white women yesterday.  There is another Answer the Call scheduled for Sunday.  I don’t have a link for it yet, but will look for one.  The call last night had over 150,000 women participating and scads of money was raised.  The speakers were actually interesting and brief.  The Sunday call is for everyone.  It was inspiring.

  47. 47.

    different-church-lady

    Among the countless weird things about Trump is the way his campaign statements are always topped by a neutral, factual headline (“Trump Campaign Statement on Vice Presidential Furniture Preferences” for example) which is then followed by body copy that is utterly unhinged.​

  48. 48.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @BR: I’d like to attend but from what I’ve heard about these Zoom calls, they aren’t really telling us anything I don’t already know, support or have access to.  But I’m glad to see them happening.

  49. 49.

    catclub

    @JaneE: Suggested question for Trump “Did you go with increasing sanctions on Venezuela knowing there would be an increase in migration of refugees because you assumed (correctly) that those people would not reach this country until your term was over? Either the next guys problem or one you could deal with as harshly as you wished because you did not need to fear any political consequences during a reelection campaign?”

     

    WAY, way, way too complicated.  “Last debate you dodged this question. How do you plan to deport 11 Million people?  How much will it cost?”

  50. 50.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Belafon: Well pre-2020 Biden anyway. ln 2020 Biden turned out to be a much stronger primary candidate than anyone imagined.

  55. 55.

    FDRLincoln

    Another thing about Harris, she has the “happy warrior” vibe going really well. She’s tough, she’s firm, but she’s also happy and joyful.

    I mean, the GOP is going after her for her laugh. That’s such a pathetic, weak attack. Her laugh? Her laugh is genuine, true. She’s comfortable with herself. She’s fun.

    Trump and Vance are mean, weak, small, frightened, and WEIRD.

  56. 56.

    Flanders Other Neighbor

    Everything with the gop has become so junior-high.  Even “comms” from a presidential campaign are childish.

  58. 58.

    rk

    Trump is now mad that people are questioning that he was shot in the ear. I personally think Hannibal Lecter bit his ear or maybe a shark.

  60. 60.

    ssdd

    @Frankensteinbeck: not only that, but since modern media is a content monster that must be fed constantly, they’re now going back and exhuming old crazy stuff Trump has said. WaPo has a long piece today on the whole sharks/electric boats thing and how it’s complete bs but Trump keeps repeating the story anyhow.

  62. 62.

    Xentik

    Chicken?

    It’s such a nice change of pace having people cheerful and positive. I’d almost forgotten what that was like in politics.

    Kay, I’m relieved and happy that you were right about Harris. The Democrats fell in behind Harris so powerfully, and the delegates re-pledged themselves that there doesn’t seem to be any danger going into the convention. It’s hard not to be jaded and cynical after all that’s happened since 2016.

    Hopefully now we can use all this momentum not only to win, but to run up the score to the point we can begin to fix the damage done to our country by Trump and the USSC.

  63. 63.

    oldgold

    Technically, they are right, the agreement to debate was with a candidate and campaign that no longer exists. That expressed, the stench of fear permeates this announcement. This stench is  particularly hurtful to a campaign ludicrously premised on a macho-man vibe.

  64. 64.

    different-church-lady

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Biden’s numbers didn’t drag until the freakout was well commenced.

    The net effect of the freakout was that we practically (in the literal sense) told the world to ignore Trump screwing up with independents.

    Not only did we embrace the narrative against Biden, we dropped our chance at offense. It was like two own-goals on one play.

  66. 66.

    Llelldorin

    @different-church-lady:

    I was seriously wondering about that! The text is so utterly juvenile that it reads like someone was teaching kindergarteners how to write business memos.

    TO: SUZANNE REBECCA DERKINS
    FROM: CALVIN ARNOLD PETERSON, ESQ.

    Your face is stupid and you smell bad. Hobbes thinks so too.

  68. 68.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Xentik: I am very optimistic that we can start fixing things, though it will take years. Trump is going to be beaten badly by a Black woman and I don’t think he’ll be in any shape to run in 2028 if he’s even still alive. The MAGA movement will be left leaderless and demoralized. Many of them will go back to not bothering to vote.

  69. 69.

    M31

    Biden’s strength in 2020 was that he didn’t allow his campaign to get influenced by Twitter, which was extremely wise (examples such as Warren thinking Medicare for All was a winning proposal, etc.)

    Harris’s strength is to realize that social media is much more than the NYT/journalist losers/horseshoe left (who were much louder than their actual numbers and are exposed more and more for the sad sack graspers they are, (seriously? Yglesias and “Manchin is a smart choice”?wtf)), and to lean in to some large real power bases such as Black Twitter, cat lady bluesky, childless adults, and all the people fucking fed up with creepy weirdo freaks

  72. 72.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @kindness: Speaking of Colbert, he made a whiplash joke a couple days ago about how she went from laughing and joking to suddenly sticking in the knife. I forget exactly what her serious statement was that she pivoted to.

    I suspect this may have been her prosecutorial style. I could see her destroying a witness that way in cross-examination. I can dream of her slicing and dicing TFG that way, even though it will never happen because he’s too chicken.

  73. 73.

    M31

    @rikyrah: hahahaha the margin of error on that poll is 4%, so potentially Trump is at minus 4 percent of the Black vote

    sounds about right

  78. 78.

    lamh47

    PBO and Michelle O endorsed Kamala Harris today.

    Why is this perfect timing? Because endorsement comes right after Chump sent that alert about backpeddling from that debate and actually tried to blame it on PBO who also “uncertain”… PBO was like…AHT…AHT…AHT..

  79. 79.

    Eyeroller

    @Steve LaBonne: I’m feeling pretty confident but I do not think he’ll be beaten “badly.”  The popular vote is likely to be a blowout but once again it’s going to come down to a relative handful of votes in three or four states.  I hate the EC.

    Assuming he loses again, I don’t think he’ll run in 2028 (or he won’t run due to being dead).  I cannot wait to get that malevolent embodiment of White America’s id out of my thoughts.

  82. 82.

    MCA1

    @Steve LaBonne: Should there be an actual debate here, I think Harris could win the election that night by just casually glancing over at Trump after the first question asked of her and saying “I’ll get to that response in just a sec, but first I just have to ask, dude, what is up with your hair and makeup?”  Laughing while she says it.

  85. 85.

    3Sice

    He referred to her as Nikki Haley on Wednesday.

    Mush Brain is having difficulty in retaining and recalling names and narratives. That’s when he starts in with the electric shark riffs. They can’t have him up there calling the VP Mavis Beacon; at that point the village is going to be forced to admit to their love of couch-fucking.

    They’re kicking the can down the road and hoping things don’t drift out of the MoE.

  86. 86.

    Villago Delenda Est

    I revel in TCFFG/PAB’s pain at the prospect of a full scale asskicking by a Black woman. Suffer, fascist asshole. Suffer. He’s such a vile sack of cowardly shit.

  87. 87.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: New Michigan poll shows Trump’s Black support in Michigan is zero percent.

    Supreme Court scheduling an emergency shadow-docket session for the Heritage Foundation’s claim that the Reconstruction Amendments were not properly adopted. Observers anticipate the decision will also invalidate the 19th and 26th, based on recent polling of women and young people.

  88. 88.

    Anyway

    @Steve LaBonne:

    She kind of fell between the progressive and moderate lanes in 2020 and couldn’t really establish an identity of her own. She’s much stronger as a general election candidate than as a primary candidate; add in 3 1/2 years of a very intensive education as VP and you get the truly dynamic candidate we’re seeing.

    The timing worked out for her as she didn’t have to go thro the D primary which had the potential to get ugly. Plus there’s a bias that California Ds have to overcome on the national stage and she would have faced that in the primary. But now it’s pretty great how almost* all factions in the party are enthusiastic about her candidacy.

    *Those 5-6 D reps that agreed that Biden’s border policy was bad (paraphrase)

    HarrisTBD2024!  LFG

  89. 89.

    OId Man Shadow

    Brave Sir Donald ran away. Bravely ran away away. When danger reared it’s ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Sir Donald turned about And gallantly he chickened out. Swiftly taking to his feet, He beat a very brave retreat. Bravest of the brave, Sir Donald!

  90. 90.

    M31

    @MCA1: lol “and what’s up with that too-long tie and your badly fitting suits? I know Roy Cohn is dead but you should get yourself some gay friends”

  91. 91.

    p.a.

    “There is already an agreement for a debate that Mr. Trump has agreed to.  The Vice President of the United States does not renegotiate agreements with a convicted felon and rapist just because the criminal wants to.”

  92. 92.

    Leto

    Just another connection in the Christofascism we’re facing in Project 2025:

    Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei

    Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Foundation president and the architect of Project 2025, the conservative thinktank’s road map for a second Trump presidency, has close ties and receives regular spiritual guidance from an Opus Dei-led center in Washington DC, a hub of activity for the radical and secretive Catholic group.

    Roberts acknowledged in a speech last September that – for years – he has visited the Catholic Information Center, a K Street institution headed by an Opus Dei priest and incorporated by the archdiocese of Washington, on a weekly basis for mass and “formation”, or religious guidance. Opus Dei also organizes monthly retreats at the CIC.

    In the speech – which he delivered at the CIC and was recorded and is available online – Roberts spoke candidly about his strategy for achieving extreme policy goals that he supports but are out of step with the views of a majority of Americans.

    Outlawing birth control is the “hardest” political battle facing conservatives in the future, the 50-year-old political strategist said, but he urged conservatives to pursue even small legislative victories – what he called “radical incrementalism” – to advance their most rightwing policy objectives.

    Roberts gained notoriety this year as the leading force behind Project 2025, a foundation plan backed by more than 100 conservative groups that seeks to radically upend a broad range of policies if Trump gets elected again, from limiting abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights and dismantling the Department of Education, to ending diversity programs and increasing government support for “fertility awareness” programs, like ovulation tracking and practicing periodic abstinence, instead of more reliable contraception.

    But Roberts’ personal ties to Opus Dei and the significance of his affiliation, has received far less attention.

    Gareth Gore, the author of a forthcoming book on Opus Dei, called the Catholic organization “a political project shrouded in a veil of spirituality”. The group’s founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, saw his followers as part of a “rising militia”, Gore said, who were seeking to “enter battle against the enemies of Christ”.
    “Like Project 2025, Opus Dei at its core is a reactionary stand against the progressive drift of society,” Gore said. “For decades now, the organization has thrown its resources at penetrating Washington’s political and legal elite – and finally seems to have succeeded through its close association with men like Kevin Roberts and Leonard Leo.”

    There’s a lot more to the article; it’s a really good piece.

  94. 94.

    different-church-lady

    @Steve LaBonne: 

    and couldn’t really establish an identity of her own.

    Wha’d we have, like 38 candidates in that primary? What new face could cut through all the noise? Every one of them got defined in media caricatures. Even Biden, until he punched through.

  96. 96.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Flanders Other Neighbor: I have long contended that middle school starting J students could do a better job asking questions at a WH press conference than the WH Press Corpse.

    I view your post, therefore, as libel of middle schoolers.

  97. 97.

    Eyeroller

    For those worried that the FTFNYT might change, they have an editorial with the headline “A Harris Presidency Would be a Disaster for Women and Girls.” Already cancelled and not gonna click, but it’s out there.

    And their Editorial Board has declared “America Needs a Better Campaign from Both Candidates.”

  98. 98.

    TS

    From WaPo

    “Given the continued political chaos surrounding Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Thursday night.

    NEVER a push back on trump and supporters using these false derogatory terms to describe President Biden to the media. The stenographers just write it down and push publish.

  99. 99.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @p.a.: You’re going to have to get a visa for that ball you just knocked out of the park, because it’s going to land in South America.

  100. 100.

    Anonymous At Work

    I think TFG’s handlers actually sat him down with a series of clips from Senate Hearings and the CEOs and big shots getting questions that made them stammer and look weak.  These are people TFG knows, kisses their asses, etc. and she made them look bad.  TFG regards everything he does as “perfect in every way” because he’s a narcissist, so showing his convention speech would have been part of a ‘highlight reel’ for TFG.  However, seeing other people humiliated is the type of dominance play that would make TFG realize that she’s playing his game at his level.

  105. 105.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @WereBear: That’s why in a thread yesterday I brought up the grab em by the genitals remark – only someone who hates and fears the power of women would show such contempt for women.

    He holds everyone who isn’t himself in contempt, but especially women because he also fears women.

  107. 107.

    PaulWartenberg

    And maybe pointed out that if he tries ‘looming over’ Harris the way he did Hillary Clinton, the nasty Black woman would most likely kick him in the groin with her very pointy shoes.

    To be honest, the biggest reason I supported Kamala back in 2020 was that she was the most likely candidate to throat-punch trump first chance she got…

  109. 109.

    WereBear

    If they try anything on Kamala, no one has yet touched the fake charity Vance did about the opiod crisis.

    And gee, Trump had a fake charity too.

    We need a prosecutor to handle that for the MSM.

  111. 111.

    AM in NC

    Anyone else think it’s strange that neither WAPO nor the NYT has a story about the Answer the Call Zoom last night with white women for Harris?  It was the largest Zoom call ever, and they raised $1.8 million on the call alone.

    They covered the black women and black men Zooms, but not this one.  And it was larger than those! Guess it’s ok to publicize that black folks are supporting Harris, but the notion that white folks are surging behind her enthusiastically? Apparently that’s just a bridge too far to even report on.

    I mean – largest Zoom in history, and for a political meeting IS NEWS.  And they just look away.

  112. 112.

    itstrue

    The thing about Trump is he actually sucks as a politician. He’d never have won in the first place were it not for a bunch of “if it wasn’t fors” coming together in October 2016. It took Russian psyops, James Comey, and a pretty hollow, arrogant and uninspired opposing campaign that wasn’t ready for anything more contemporary than GHW Bush v Bill Clinton circa 1992. Since 2016, he lost the House and Senate and lost the presidency while getting impeached twice, indicted 5 times, and found liable for who knows what. The only positive he’s had recently is getting shot. The only thing he did as president was assent to reactionary supreme court nominations and sign off on a massive tax cut that mostly expires next year. His genius is in fooling some of the people all of the time, but that’s where it ends.

    Then comes 2024 where it felt like we were setting up a new set of self-own “if it wasn’t fors.” The biggest was, “If it wasn’t for Biden we’d be kicking Trump’s ass.” This was a theory until last week, and now it’s looking more and more like the truth. I can’t speak for any future “if it wasn’t fors” but I can say that Trump will do little on his own to help his case. He never has. And the biggest, most obvious “if it wasn’t for” has graciously, selflessly stepped aside. I was on the fence about that whole saga, but it’s sure looking good now.

    These guys are weak. They are weird (say it again… and again). They are Wile E. Coyote run off the cliff and they just looked down. Meep meep, motherfuckers.

  114. 114.

    No One of Consequence

    @WereBear: I’m saying Baud isn’t his usual prolific self as of late, and I have noted that perceived absence. In light of recent events, it would be irresponsible NOT to speculate, as (if memory serves) the saying goes. Baud may very well be off the looking glass and through the map at this point.

  115. 115.

    Scout211

    @MCA1: @M31:

    I’ll get to that response in just a sec, but first I just have to ask, dude, what is up with your hair and makeup?”  Laughing while she says it.

    and what’s up with that too-long tie and your badly fitting suits?

    Both of these could be powerful statements that Kamala will probably not actually say out loud.  But both could be criticisms that all of her surrogates can use against him, along with the effective use of the word “weird.”

    Everyone knows that Trump is extremely focused on his appearance and spends countless hours on his hair, his skin and his wardrobe.  A common smear of female candidates is how much time and money is spent on their hair, makeup and wardrobe.  Trump surrogates will not be able to smear Kamala Harris this way because Trump is vulnerable in this area and Harris’ surrogates can jump on that right away and compare his eccentricities about his appearance with her normal routine on her appearance.  Plus, she is young and beautiful so the contrast is brutal if his routine is compared to hers.

    I think there are a lot of issues that can be Trump’s kryptonite and my guess so this could be one.

  116. 116.

    cain

    @AM in NC: They are busy looking for past journalists and Dems who will bad mouth Harris.

    Any Dem politician that bad mouths Harris is going to have limited options in their political career.

    They’ll have to settle for Tulsi Gabbards or some other. Even Manchin is not going to say shit. Perhaps, Sinema is available.

  120. 120.

    cain

    @No One of Consequence:

    Baud saw the shit show here and decided to check out for awhile. Hopefully he comes back. But it’s been a toxic pool of shit since the debate.

    I tried not to attack anyone personally and nobody really attacked me. Then again, I don’t normally get challenged.

  121. 121.

    No One of Consequence

    @Lapassionara: There’s something to that to be sure. However, I have noted video evidence of the President wearing pants, the ones where he’s not behind a desk. Now Baud may very well be getting around the restriction by wearing a Biden-Suit, that is really more of a one-piece jumpsuit kind of affair, and thus would sidestep the PantaloonsPresupposition by way of Technicality.

  122. 122.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @M31: Also, Harris just has a coolness factor like Obama and Bill Clinton.  People see it and respond to it.  And it’s the kind of thing Republicans can’t do a damn thing about.  Social Media will work in Kamala’s favor because the coolness and memes can drown out the bashing to a great extent.

  124. 124.

    Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @MomSense: Those accordian hands of TCFG’s are another thing Kamala should point out as in “What’s with the accordian hands Donald?” as she mimes them. Making him self conscious about those subconscious movements will throw him off his track even electric sharks will sound normal. If he does do it she can just shake her head and mime them again. It won’t matter if her mic is off.

  125. 125.

    Suzanne

    LMAO. What a cowardly, vain piece of shit.

    I am coming around to thinking that I favor Mark Kelly for VP.

  127. 127.

    No One of Consequence

    @cain: I love Baud, and his irreverence usually brightens my day. I hope he is well, as I hope he returns. I regret to inform him however, that in light of recent events, I will NOT in fact be NOT voting for Baud in favor of Biden, HOWEVER, now I will NOT be voting for Baud in favor of Harris. I hope he doesn’t take too much offense.

    -NOoC

  131. 131.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: I’m not sure this a faction so much as 5-6 Reps in purple districts making individual tactical decisions. These Democrats have all supported every piece of major legislation in the Biden era with the exception of Jared Golden. He provided the lone Dem vote against the Build Back Better bill; again, for tactical reasons I think.

    Another one, Henry Cuellar, was the lone Democratic vote against the bill to codify Roe. I don’t think Nancy Pelosi kicked about it because Cuellar had been a loyal soldier otherwise. Cuellar will likely be reelected this November, but that will be for the last time I think.

  132. 132.

    HumboldtBlue

    Slava Malamud:

    Some men think about the Roman Empire at least once a day. Some men think about the Ottoman.

  134. 134.

    Lapassionara

    @Leto: Roberts has recently said something to the effect of “we have some plans that no one knows about yet.” So, our job is to find out what those plans are. I suspect an October surprise of some kind is in the works. Maybe someone will blow the whistle on them.

  135. 135.

    Splitting Image

    @BR:

    The NYT is busy scolding “both campaigns” to be better.

    You can always tell when the Democrats are doing things really well. The New York Times automatically goes for the “both sides” framing every time.
    When both sides are actually doing equally badly, they print an avalanche of editorials bashing the Democrats while burying the information about the Republicans.
    As we have seen.

  136. 136.

    bbleh

    CNN now sez they’re backpedaling on the backpedaling.  The Felon “won’t agree to debate Harris until she’s the nominee” cuz Dems might change their minds something something.

    Honestly, they haven’t just been caught flat-footed — they had left the starting line completely.

  138. 138.

    lamh47

    Symone Sanders once again ON FIYAH once again calling out backstabbers like James Carville on Morning Joe this morning!

    I saw Carville on Ari Melber yesterday talking bout Dems should tamp down on their elation!

    Symone on Morning Joe:

    “Isn’t this what you wanted PJB to leave b/c voters are were not excited by PJB…Don’t be mad now cause the one YOU wanted isn’t the one chosen”!

  142. 142.

    JML

    @lamh47: good. Carville hasn’t won anything in literally decades and increasingly looks like the crypt-keeper. the last thing we need is to listen to his advice right now.

  143. 143.

    Matt McIrvin

    @matt: The difference between them is that Harris doesn’t have that emotional coolness that Obama did–she’s willing and politically permitted to get mad. I think that’s important.

  144. 144.

    Bupalos

    @Steve LaBonne: She made a terrible strategic mistake of trying to reinvent herself to fit in a lane. She then seemed practically unfamiliar with the positions she espoused and lost her superpower of personal magnetism because she was shuffling position notecards.

    Harris needs to be herself. I hope to god she doesn’t have the same advisors that screwed up 2020. Little worried about that. I saw some report that her advisor circle has “family members and old friends…”

    She needs someone that sees her from outside.

  146. 146.

    rikyrah

    People talking about the White Women for Kamala call. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be looked at with skepticism until the votes are counted…they should..
    But, this is a post Roe world. Not only a post Roe world..but, these muthaphuckas have either said it from their own mouths, or put it in black and white ..
    about IVF
    About birth control
    About the childless cat ladies having no value
    About staying in abusive relationships
    About wanting to take away no-fault divorce…
    About questioning the 19th Amendment

    There’s a tradwife account on TikTok that’s very popular. Woman has 8 kids. Her husband is rich. Not speculation – his family owns one of the airlines.
    Her birthday was coming up, and she was like..
    ” I just want a vacation to Greece.”
    Showed her opening up her present from him..
    It was MUTHAPHUCKIN’ APRON.
    APRON!!

    This woman was a dance student AT Juilliard!
    She was talented enough to get in Juilliard !

    The number of videos on TikTok from women who were like…
    Nah…I’m good.
    Imma sit here with my cat…
    Imma sit here with my dogs….

    That’s not the life I want…..

    there’s a real awakening with women who are like..
    Nope…Imma be here by myself, rather than be some man’s babymaker who, even when rich as phuck, doesn’t respect me enough to pay for me for a damn vacation so that I can get a break.

    Once again…folks keep on pointing out..
    There’s a reason why there aren’t 40 something trad wives making videos on TikTok and Instagrarm
    The right-wing wants to sell this shyt…..but, more and more women are like…take it somewhere else.

  148. 148.

    different-church-lady

    About polls…

    1) People just say shit.
    2) People who just say shit are more likely to just say shit when they think the shit they just say will be well received.
    3) What will be well received changes day to day

  150. 150.

    Suzanne

    @rikyrah: Agree. I think a lot of women, especially white women, thought prior to 2016 that men respected them. And then we have seen MeToo and Dobbs and this vitriolic manosphere and all this anti-college rhetoric (which is largely how women have achieved financial independence from men)….. and I think a lot of women have a changed perspective.

  152. 152.

    trollhattan

    Predictable man is predictable.

    Hang his chicken attitude around his fleshy neck. It’s the polite thing to do.

  156. 156.

    Ruckus

    @laura:

    He’d have to move up at least 5 places to be PAB

    @matt:

    No. She is her own person. Now she may belong in a similar bunch of humans but she really is her own person and is not following in anyone else’s footsteps. She is leading.

    @FDRLincoln:

    Trump and Vance are mean, weak, small, frightened, and WEIRD.

    They are trying to live about 150 yrs before current day, when men were men and woman always shut the hell up. They are trying to conserve a time they think existed, when men were men and women served their masters. Their main problem is they do not recognize bull and shit, even when it is all that slithers out of their own mouths.

  158. 158.

    Eyeroller

    @rikyrah: It’s been repeatedly demonstrated, however, that white women will vote overwhelmingly for reproductive choice amendments (policy) while also voting for Republicans (tribe).

  160. 160.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Suzanne: A large fraction of men, perhaps even a majority, hate women as human beings and would prefer them eliminated if they didn’t see them as prizes and sex objects. You see it every day in things like take-my-wife-please humor. It’s a lot like Southern-style racism in that what they really want is for women to be a slave race. They like Trump because he openly embodies the attitude.

    If we lose this it’s going to be largely because of that. If we win it’s because women are pissed off about that.

  161. 161.

    BR

    @Bupalos: ​
    Yeah, I remember reports that her sister was responsible for a lot of the strategic decisions in that primary campaign, and they were poor decisions. Hopefully the combination of Biden campaign officials and some ringers from the Obama and Clinton teams will help.

  162. 162.

    brendancalling

    @Steve LaBonne: as a friend of mine postulated last night over beers, if Trump loses again, where does the GOP go? They sold their soul (to the extent the GOP has one of those) to a cult of personality, led by a clown. They’ve abandoned everything they’ve ever claimed to stand for.

    it feels like they’re heading for worse than a crack up. They might, in our lifetime, go the way of the Whigs.

  163. 163.

    Leto

    @bbleh:

    And then one day you find ten years have got behind you

    No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

  164. 164.

    SatanicPanic

    @catclub:    “Lyin’ Kamala Harris,” the 78-year-old Republican nominee posted about his 59-year-old opponent a few minutes before midnight on Monday, “has absolutely terrible pole numbers against a fine and brilliant young man named DONALD J. TRUMP!”

    good grief he just called himself a young man

  170. 170.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Bupalos:

    As a presidential primary candidate in 2020, yeah, she had rough edges and was decidedly “meh” in approach.

    It reminded me of…Joe Biden circa 1988.  Not so much in 2008 but then Biden was up against a once-in-a-generation candidate (again, my critiques of Obama are about his tepid politics, not his gifts as a politician) with a crackerjack approach to campaigning.  It’s clear that experience and that in 2012 served him well in 2020.

    And that experience is also Harris.  And at least in the immediate aftermath of things, she’s showing that like Biden, you learn from previous efforts, take on all the good stuff and move forward.

  171. 171.

    Bupalos

    @different-church-lady: Well, Biden wanted to stay. I don’t know what the party was supposed to do differently given the reality that he really thought he should stay and the party really thought he should go.

    I think it should be clear by now that we are in a much much better place right now than we were prior to the debate and prior to Biden freaking out pols and donors doing stuff like skipping the Super Bowl, having few appearances and only in friendly confines, and even at that having weird lapses at the fundraiser, Juneteenth, and interactions with euro leaders. It wasn’t OK and wasn’t going to somehow become OK. We’re in that better place because the party and ultimately Biden managed to do a really difficult thing that needed doing

    I think we should feel really good about that.

  172. 172.

    Ruckus

    @Steve LaBonne:

    shitforbrains is not in any shape to run now. It’s difficult to say he’s loosing it because he really never had it in the first place. His only path to fame was the money he inherited from his father, because he has zero skills for anything positive.

    He is proof positive that the conservative party really has had nothing positive for the last century, let alone this one.

  174. 174.

    BR

    @Suzanne: ​
    Is Kelly capable of speaking clearly? I watched him stumble over answering a very easy question about reproductive rights. He got to the right answer in the end, but he’s clearly not like Walz or Pete or Shapiro in being able to speak fluidly.

    That said, his “command presence” was off the charts for those who care about that kind of thing — he looked tough and confident even if his words weren’t.

  178. 178.

    Ruckus

    @SFAW:

    Just because he refuses to wear them doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a collection of them to look longingly at…..

  179. 179.

    Eolirin

    @brendancalling: They’ll turn into the CA GOP, if we can survive their flailing long enough. But it’s going to take a very long time to shove them out of their strongholds like Mississippi and Alabama.

  181. 181.

    JML

    @brendancalling: the GOP is due for a major split or dissolution. It’s why they sold themselves to Trump in the first place: a desperate attempt to cling to power for a party with little in the way of policy ideas, no appeal for younger generations and/or non-whites, and a major split between the social and financial/tax policy wings of the party.

    I mean, the GOP was strongly internationalist for decades and the isolationist wing was shunted into the corner and ignored. That’s basically flipped in less than a decade. Most parties dissolve or split when stuff like this happens unless something else happens to invert things.

  182. 182.

    Leto

    @catclub: the French government earlier disrupted a Russian attempt at disruption of the games, so I’m going with the Russians. I read an article where a representative of the train company said that these disruptions were done, in the past, by far-left French groups, but currently this isn’t the case. So, again for me, I’m going with the Russians trying to continue their disruption of normal life in western countries. Hopefully we learn more here soon.

  185. 185.

    pika

    @brendancalling: I remember after the 2008 election, folks were saying “ha ha ha GOP will have years in the wilderness” and then 35 seconds later it was teabags everywhere and sh** ground to a halt

  187. 187.

    Ruckus

    @Flanders Other Neighbor:

    That’s what happens when your leader has the personality of a 8 yr old bully, who gets his butt beaten on a regular basis by the Jr HS cheerleading squad just standing there and pointing at him.

  190. 190.

    JML

    I’m amazed that any commentator, let alone someone like Yglesias, could propose Manchin as a VP candidate for Harris. The one thing you absolutely need from your VP is loyalty and Manchin has shown time and again that he can’t be trusted. Dems learned that lesson on VP picks the hard way with St. Joe of Lieberman and they’ll never get burned like that again.

  191. 191.

    Eolirin

    @rikyrah: Which is why there’s a strong generational gap in voting patterns. Unfortunately there are still a lot of older white women in the electorate. Eventually that bubble will move out and then the GOP will have completely lost any ability to win elections, but it’ll take another 20 or so years to get there, so we need to not lose the white house in the mean time.

  193. 193.

    TBone

    New Meme of the Day:

    Kamala and Dotard walking past a wall.  Kamala’s shadow is little Ruby Bridges walking into school.   Dotard’s shadow is a crawling baby in a diaper.

  196. 196.

    cmorenc

    @catclub: Trump will be happy to explain, in simplistic, direct terms how he will deport 11 million illegal immigrants – round ‘em up like cattle or stray feral dogs and ship ‘em by bus, truck, or airplane.  The folks to whom kicking ‘em out ASAP appeal won’t care about the logistical or humanitarian details, and think the cost is worth it – and will buy the argument that the money we’d otherwise spend on ukraine will probably cover it.

    Better to ask who’s going to do the essential dirty low-wage jobs like crop-picking that citizens don’t seem willing to take.

  197. 197.

    rikyrah

    @Eyeroller:

    @rikyrah: It’s been repeatedly demonstrated, however, that white women will vote overwhelmingly for reproductive choice amendments (policy) while also voting for Republicans (tribe).

    I know…but, I’m hopeful that with ALLL that they are saying OUT LOUD and putting into writing that equates to the obvious hatred of women..

    that we can carve away a few at the edges for when the lightbulb comes on.

  198. 198.

    Bupalos

    @JML: You really don’t need loyalty from your VP. You need to shore up electoral weaknesses and expand coalitions. Reagan and Bush I were basically bitter enemies. Bush brought deep-state institutional cred to what was at that time a bit of an insurgency candidacy.

  199. 199.

    Jackie

    @matt:

    Is Harris turning into Barack Obama before our very eyes?

    I prefer to think more Michelle-ish. Michelle and Kamala share the same enthusiasm for life; with laughter, and some spontaneity, dancing impromptu and…

    They’re both beautiful! Inside and out.

    TCFG won’t want to be seen standing next to her 😁

  200. 200.

    trollhattan

    @catclub: The why seems clear: embarrass France on the eve of the Olympics. Who is a lot more complicated, but I’ll go with a very vengeful Marine Le Pen.

  201. 201.

    Leto

    @Ruckus: he’s every incarnation of the used car salesman stereotype you could think of, in one human. If he hadn’t had daddies money, he might have been mildly successful as one until the state AG busted him for absolutely illegal practices. Instead, we’ve had to endure 60 years of his bullshit and continual public failings.

  202. 202.

    KatKapCC

    @Eyeroller:

    “A Harris Presidency Would be a Disaster for Women and Girls.”

    Part of me desperately wants to know what kinda BS is behind that, but most of me really really does NOT.

  203. 203.

    Geminid

    @Eolirin:  I’m a big Peltola fan. One of her top legislative priorities is a revision of the Stevens-Magnussen Act regulationg Nor Pacific fisheries. I think she’ll get this passed in the next Congress. She’s a good networker.

    Peltola and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski campaigned together in the weeks before the 2022 election. Peltola anticipated the current Democratic emphasis on freedom with her campaign slogan;

           Fish  Family  Freedom

    When I told a friend who lived in Alaska for most of th 1990s, her resoons was: “Perfect.”

  204. 204.

    Kent

    @SFAW:I’ve been saying, since the time of that debate (more or less) that when TCFFG was pulling that shit, Hillary should have turned around and told him to back-the-fuck OFF, or she’ll make sure his next job will be Court Eunuch. [OK, technically, that last part was not a verbatim comment.] Yeah, maybe she would have had a one-week decline in approval/polling, but eventually she would have gained supporters.

    What Hillary actually should have said was:

    “Are you OK Donald?  Are you lost?”

    turns to the moderators….

    “Can we get someone up here to help Donald find his place?  He seems to be disoriented”

  205. 205.

    rikyrah

    @Eolirin:

    @Suzanne: I’m terrified that if Kelly gets picked we won’t be able to win his seat in 2026.

     

    Come sit by me.

    If we pull Ruben over the finish line..

    And leave Kelly where he is..

    we will have a FOUR YEAR BREAK about worrying about Arizona without an election contest.

    That gives us a lot of time to build in Arizona.

  209. 209.

    Eyeroller

    @Eolirin: GenX and up are right-wing.  Millenials are mixed.  GenZ hasn’t really started engaging yet.  It tends liberal but not as much as some of us seem to believe (and apparently the liberalism is mostly due to young women).

    The NYT is garbage and I don’t think this analysis is going to be right in the end, but in their latest poll article (the one that previously featured a quote from the con artist) they said that Harris could win the popular vote by more than Biden would have but still lose the EC where he may have won it, because the swing states are whiter and older than blue states.  But one reason those states “swing” and others with a lot of old white people are deep red, is that they have major metropolitan areas (Milwaukee, Philly and Pittsburgh, Detroit) that are diverse, so high turnout there can overwhelm the rural olds at the state level.

  210. 210.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @JML:

    The fact that The Turd suggested that is simply another manifestation of his fauxgressiveness.  Just like I do with the Horseshoe Left in terms of always do the opposite of what they say, it applies to this mediocre trust fund brat.

    It’s on-brand for him: steadfastly refuse to learn anything that takes him past his privileged upbringing and channel the views/prejudices of people with that exact same upbringing back at them and get praise for it.

  211. 211.

    Jackie

    @Skippy-san:

    I’d be concerned that this is a scheme to get the venue he wants and the conservative moderators he wants.

    He’s already requested to move the debate to FAUX, and FAUX has formally asked Kamala. As far as I’m aware, she hasn’t responded.

    The moderators would be Hannity, and maybe a FAUX chick TCFG is hot for.

  212. 212.

    JML

    @Bupalos: Bush and Reagan may have been enemies, but Bush was also loyal to the ticket. he may have been shunted entirely to the side, but he never took any pokes or spoke out of turn (it was also nearly 45 years ago when the VP job was treated very differently; Carter was basically the first to treat his VP as an important and useful part of his administration).

    You simply can’t afford to have a VP who might speak out of turn or stake out a different position from the campaign now, and Manchin is exactly the sort of dude who could try and go his own way and has zero track record of being a team player. Say what you want about Bush I (and I can say plenty), but he was always a team player for the party.

  213. 213.

    Kent

    @cain:

    They are busy looking for past journalists and Dems who will bad mouth Harris.

    Any Dem politician that bad mouths Harris is going to have limited options in their political career.

    They’ll have to settle for Tulsi Gabbards or some other. Even Manchin is not going to say shit. Perhaps, Sinema is available.

    Except that Gabbards, Manchin, and Sinema are not Democrats.

  214. 214.

    KatKapCC

    @Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!): I don’t know about being that direct with it, because that could come across as petty. But she could, while answering a question, say something like, “Now, I know Donald said [quote him while doing accordion hands]”. That would make me chuckle and would be a tiny bit more subtle.

  215. 215.

    Leto

    @rikyrah: personally that’s why I’m a Sec Pete fan myself. I know that’s probably a safe play, but it also doesn’t take any vital Dems out of most hold seats. Just my thought.

  216. 216.

    Ruckus

    @SatanicPanic:

    Of course they are.

    They know that any actual discussion involving SFB and VP Harris will go badly for SFB. Because he’s got all the warmth and intelligence of an open can of dog food, left out in the sun for 30 yrs.

  217. 217.

    hueyplong

    @BR: I wouldn’t object to seeing Pete on tv telling the NYT to be better, with receipts in hand.

  219. 219.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Eyeroller: If polling’s good in New Hampshire, that’s a good sign–that’s exactly the kind of purplish state I’d expect to be more repelled by Harris than Biden, but it’s apparently not.

  220. 220.

    Kent

    @Suzanne:

    LMAO. What a cowardly, vain piece of shit.

    I am coming around to thinking that I favor Mark Kelly for VP.

    Kelly strikes me as more resume than charismatic.  The few times I’ve seen him speak he seemed kind of plodding.   I would rather see someone who can bring the fire and heat and who can be Harris’ attack dog.

    Pete can do that as can Shapiro.  And based on his recent appearances, so can Waltz.

  221. 221.

    Bupalos

    @Eyeroller: Playing with the old map they could be right about that. However as Kay has talked about, Harris could have us playing on a different map…maybe trading Wisconsin for Georgia, or something like that.

    As bullish as I am on the switch to Harris, we’re still going to be in an uphill battle and don’t have fantastic odds. Just one that I think we can fight more effectively and with a better overall chance of winning.

  223. 223.

    KatKapCC

    @SatanicPanic: I wonder if he was trying to make a joke about it like Biden did about his own age. The problem is, Trump does not know what humor is nor how jokes work.

  224. 224.

    cain

    @Eyeroller: @Eolirin: GenX and up are right-wing.  Millenials are mixed.  GenZ hasn’t really started engaging yet.  It tends liberal but not as much as some of us seem to believe (and apparently the liberalism is mostly due to young women).

    Because men continue to be shit. We need to make sure that we can teach men that they don’t need to be toxic assholes. Sex education should include an idea on how women’s bodies work and what we expect men should do to be an ally.

  225. 225.

    wjca

    @No One of Consequence: Doesn’t anyone else see the shadowy web-weaving and smell the Silk of Baud?

    Where do you think the whole (silk) couch thing came from?  First, he replaces Vance on the ticket.  Then, as soon as the ballots are locked in everywhere, TCFG mysteriously becomes unavailable (comatose, dead, claiming asylum in Russia, whatever).  The path to victory is clear!

  226. 226.

    Ruckus

    @AM in NC:

    Did you actually expect different?

    The FTFNYT is all about power and money, and for them that means rich MEN. Everything is about money and the men that have it. Anything else for them is always only about selling their words as gospel.

  227. 227.

    Bupalos

    @Kent: I’m gradually moving more to a position of shoring up demographic backlash and addressing experience questions. I’m increasingly thinking she’s going to bring the fire herself.

    Honestly what she may need is 2008 Biden. Not sure we have that character available though.

  228. 228.

    Kent

    @Bupalos:

    @Eyeroller: Playing with the old map they could be right about that. However as Kay has talked about, Harris could have us playing on a different map…maybe trading Wisconsin for Georgia, or something like that.

    As bullish as I am on the switch to Harris, we’re still going to be in an uphill battle and don’t have fantastic odds. Just one that I think we can fight more effectively and with a better overall chance of winning.

    Every election in this day an age is always going to be an absolute dogfight.  The chances of a seminal political talent like Obama coming along exactly during a GOP-created financial crisis when the country was at peak war-fatigue are pretty slim.  The more normal election is always going to be like 2000  or 2016.

    People who think it is ever going to be easy are naive in the extreme.  It is always going to be a bitter dog fight to the very end.  That is the country we live in.  And not just because of the institutional advantages that the GOP has.  Clinton was right about the “deplorables”  She just underestimated their numbers.

  229. 229.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Geminid: It’s about damn time the Dems retook “freedom” from white supremacist fascist scum.  Well done, Congresswoman Pelota!

  230. 230.

    Kent

    @Bupalos: I haven’t seen all the leading candidates lined up in a speaking comparison.  But I was impressed with Waltz.  He does the folksy small town rural Midwesterner thing because it is who is actually is.  But he also knows how to bring the wood.  And MN is an example of a state that is getting shit done in a big way.

  231. 231.

    Wapiti

    @Ken: Follow-up: are you saying Fred lied, that he’s a liar? (Give Fred cause for a defamation suit. Provide Fred some lawyers.)

  233. 233.

    Ruckus

    @Scout211:

    For a segment of the human population appearance is everything. For someone like SFB he really has nothing else going on for him. In his circles (very tiny, hard to see and almost empty of any substance whatsoever circles) appearance is all they’ve got. And SFB is rather ugly, in every possible way.

  234. 234.

    Eyeroller

    @Kent: I have learned that Shapiro is pro-voucher which is something of a dealbreaker for me.  But we’ll see.  It wouldn’t stop me from voting for the ticket, of course.

  236. 236.

    Jackie

    @BR: Pat Ryan (D) wrested his seat away from a sitting GQPer in ‘22, when we were freshly pissed about Dobbs.

    Ryan ran HARD on women’s health care while the incumbent was all about The Border.

    I actually contributed to Ryan, while knowing it was an uphill battle!

  238. 238.

    Richard Fox

    I would very much like it if Vice President Harris told everyone she’s still showing up for the debate and would be answering all questions from the moderators. Let the empty chair next to her denote brave “sir trump running away.” Better optics than Clint Eastwood and his moronic chair stunt from years ago.

  239. 239.

    Eyeroller

    @cain: I have seen completely insane claims about women’s bodily functions.  The latest was some complete insanity about the mons pubis (which BTW men have too).

    I am hoping that this issue will at minimum keep Larry Hogan out of the Senate.

  243. 243.

    rikyrah

    @Suzanne:

    LMAO. What a cowardly, vain piece of shit.

    I am coming around to thinking that I favor Mark Kelly for VP.

     

    WHO WHO?

    WHO are you referring to?

    I don’t see the point of reference for this reply.

  248. 248.

    Geminid

     

     

    @JML: Harris would never choose Manchin in a million years and Yglesias knows it. This is just intellectual posturing.

  249. 249.

    la caterina

    @rikyrah: This.

    I was on the call and I was encouraged that the speakers emphasized that it was white women who elected Trump and that we (white women) now must use our privilege to get Kamala elected.  And we have to get past white fragility to keep going even when our fee fees are hurt.

  250. 250.

    KatKapCC

    @rikyrah: I mean…I assume Trump? She’s commenting on a post about Trump backing out of the debate, after all. I think the two sentences in the comment were separate thoughts.

  251. 251.

    Geminid

    @catclub: Russia is excluded from these Olympics so they are a strong possibility. Russis has been sabotaging other European facilities already. They may have found local proxies among various left- or right-wing factions.

  253. 253.

    Suzanne

    @Matt McIrvin:

    A large fraction of men, perhaps even a majority, hate women as human beings and would prefer them eliminated if they didn’t see them as prizes and sex objects. 

    Agree.
    This cohort of men sees women as a combination of sex object, household labor, arm candy, and baby-producer. And they are almost driven crazy by the internal conflict of hating women yet wanting one so much. Simone de Beauvoir absolutely nailed this a few decades ago. Some things have not changed.

  254. 254.

    sab

    @schrodingers_cat: I am not even a childless cat lady. I am married to a cat guy. He has the cats and the children. I have the dog(s).

    But my husband is offended, because of his cats, and because of me as a step-parent.

  258. 258.

    Ruckus

    @brendancalling:

    The hard core of the republican party is only at least 75 years behind the times and has no concept of what the actual year is. They think that nothing should ever change and that the best time in American life is 100 to 150 yrs ago. And that everything that has happened to humanity since is wrong. They must never have seen or understand humanity, because they think everything has changed for the worse, because it never should have changed. Think about it from their point of view, they would have all the power if nothing was different. That it is different takes away all their bullshit and reveals it for exactly that. The world and humanity moves on, gets better, bit by bit. As they sit there and wonder what happened.

  259. 259.

    Chris Johnson

    @AM in NC: Heh. Shocked I am, that the NYT would already be trying to push a narrative that it’s Those People who’re voting for Kamala Harris. Don’t hold your breath waiting for NYT reporting on recordbreaking support from white people for Harris. That truth is going remain mysteriously not fit for print.

    Did you think they gave up.

  260. 260.

    Eyeroller

    @Belafon: Thank you for subjecting yourself to that atrocity so the rest of us don’t have to.

    I did see an excerpt from an apparently original FTFNYT piece advising Harris to be harder on trans rights because “doctors in Europe don’t think treating children is a good idea” or some such crap.   That may have been a Pamela Paul piece, I can’t say for sure and I am not going to search for it.

  261. 261.

    Ruckus

    @SatanicPanic:

    good grief he just called himself a young man

    An old addled brain will always have random thoughts with zero accuracy to them because that brain is addled. And the worse said brain gets, the less it will see and the more it will imagine and think backwards, even as little actual thought in said brain is anywhere near real. A brain that cannot process events any longer is addled. I give you djt.

  263. 263.

    NeenerNeener

    @Eolirin: Yeah, somewhere (possibly Book of Faces) I saw a post about a Cordon Bleu chef that was actually FSB who got knee walking drunk and bragged that he was on a mission to sabotage the Olympics. Who knows if he was part of this or just trying for his 15 minutes of infamy.

  267. 267.

    catclub

    @Chris Johnson: ​
     

    NYT reporting on recordbreaking support from white people for Harris.

    Somebody else mentioned how long it will take the GOP to fail in places like Mississippi.

    … and I always note that if 16% of white voters had voted in 2008 for Obama, he would have won Mississippi. He got 11%.

  268. 268.

    Ruckus

    @JML:

    I’ve been watching/working in politics as just a citizen for decades and have seen the rethuglican party fall farther and farther behind the times, always wishing for a time past, that never really existed, other than in twisted, closed minds.

    It seems to be who they are, and what they want.

    Which is No Change – from a life that never actually existed. They want control because they think that if life only looked exactly one way it would be easier and work. And their concept gets worse and worse as the population grows and we can see it live on TV every day. Life moves on, otherwise we’d be living in caves and communication would be in grunts. Day to day life has significantly changed in many ways in my lifetime. And it will continue to do so because humans are not all the same, blind followers of stupid.

  270. 270.

    WereBear

    @catclub: Trump scares white people, too. Though lot of people make decisions on their feelings instead of their frontal lobes.

    But it was the “professionals” who insisted that Trump have a platform this time, so he outsourced it to the Usual Whackos.

    It’s like Mormons seeking out those early Ex-Mo forums late at night, a website with facts that link to more facts, even if they get the one President Biden put up and it’s got liberal stink all over it…

    it’s more than they EVER knew about what the future brings with Trump and guess what!

    It’s not what they thought it would be. There’s something in there that strikes real fear in their tiny, stunted, Grinchy hearts.

    This is how a cult member cracks. Something they know can’t be true, like Trump’s story about the bullet hitting his ear.

    For some reason, cultists want it to be a bullet. And Trump is going to bury himself insisting that it was.

    When people who know guns know that can’t be true.

  271. 271.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:

    He’s the winning candidate for the concept of shit for brains. Which is why I call him that.

    He left his learning curve in his diapers many, many decades ago. And without daddies money he would have actually become a used car salesman, on the lot that only buys cars with over 200,000 miles on them, runs the odometer backwards 150,000 miles, and lies, lies, lies about them. He has all the humanity of a pond full of scum and mold.

  272. 272.

    Ruckus

    @KatKapCC:

    It is the kind of BS that is ALL BS.

    Many are likely afraid of her, because she would and likely will be the first woman president. A woman of color as president. Heart attacks will affect many who cannot comprehend that half of humanity is exactly that. Half of humanity. The half that has been closed out of so much of life. And as a member of the other half may I say that it’s about damn time.

  273. 273.

    jefft452

    There is a word im trying to think of

    Its the word for a cat, or maybe a willow

    Something Trump wants to grab

    It will come to me

  275. 275.

    Betty

    @FDRLincoln: Who know who else has the happy warrior vibe? Tim Walz. Someone a little younger as VP would be good, but this guy is really likeable.

  276. 276.

    sab

    @jefft452: I still remember when Russian protest group Pussy Riot was arrested, and Judy Woodruff on PBS Newshour covered it using their name because she thought “kittens” and all the younger announcer reporters had their mouths hanging open in shock because they knew the Urban Dictionary meaning

    ETA I know no slavic languages so maybe I laughed too soon.

  278. 278.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Eyeroller: Oh, that’s terrible. Seriously?

    Kamala’s been the nominee for like… 5 days. And the NYT is already screeching that they want her to do better. They’ve got the knives out.

  279. 279.

    Jay

    @Geminid:

    ruZZia and belaruZZia are not excluded from these Olympics, their “athletes” just arn’t allowed to have the uniforms, the flag, the anthem or “Z” symbols.

    The IOC is allowing them to compete, despite them either being members of the ruZZian military, or residing and training at ruZZian military bases.

    Meanwhile, Ukraine is sending it’s smallest Olympic contingent since Independence, because ruZZia has murdered 427 of their best athletes.

  280. 280.

    Geminid

    @Jay: Thank you for the correction. I guess their participation on this basis would not inhibit Russian agents from planning this sabotage.

  284. 284.

    A Good Woman

    I was on the Answer the Call Zoom.  As of this morning, participant numbers reached as high as 164K and donations have reached $8.5M.

    Article

  289. 289.

    SomeRandomGuy

    Hey, Dougj, I know I’ll never be a master craftsman, but isn’t there some pitch to the effect of “Trump given debate choice – Kamala or Couch. Here are ten Trump supporters explaining why the decision is so personally humiliating for him.”

  290. 290.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @WereBear: Please tell me Baud (or Baud!) isn’t one where, in water, the water gets Bauded, because the last time such a person shared a pool with Chuck Norris, all of reality went twisty-turvy, and most of you NTs acted crazy for a bit. Acted *more* crazy, I mean, for a bit.

  291. 291.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @jefft452: Show of hands who wants to see him try to grab Evil Vampire Willow from Buffy?

    I think she’d turn him just so she could torment him for all eternity. He’d be a torso with his still-yapping jawbone declaring he was the greatest vampire EVER, EVERYONE said that…

    No one else had that thought? Typical.

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