Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

The willow is too close to the house.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

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

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Giving up is unforgivable.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / I’m Not Joe Biden, But I Approve This Message

Reader Interactions

206Comments

  5. 5.

    Maxim

    I knew that had to be a LP spot

    (I didn’t immediately notice the logo in the lower left corner.)

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    We win! Another competition nobody ever heard of, but hey.

    A cannabis-themed hotel in Northern California is among the best places in the world for a weekend trip, according to Time magazine.

    The publication recently released its list of the World’s Greatest Places to Stay in 2024, singling out 50 spots across the globe. Mine + Farm Inn in Guerneville is “a modern take on old-fashioned B&Bs” that cultivates cannabis on site and offers special marijuana-themed retreats, Time said. It was the only California destination to make the list.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article290607274.html#storylink=cpy

    Heh, “weekend trip” heh.

  10. 10.

    Jackie

    Another Never Trumper:

    Charlie Sykes: “Surely, Donald Trump has had worse days than yesterday. But off-hand, I can’t think of many performances ghastlier than Wednesday’s episode of Fat Elvis Does Birtherism.”

    “For the moment, let’s leave aside the horse-race analysis, and the rank punditry about Trump’s three-dimensional chess strategy. What we saw yesterday was a pathetic old racist trying to replay his greatest hits.”

    “Trump launched his presidential bid by pushing the Obama Birtherism hoax; and he thinks that playing the race cards will work again. Even his post-debacle campaign statement made it clear that he wants to relitigate some of most incendiary comments from 2015. But back then, his comments were shocking; now they just feel…. weird. Even his most reliable turd-polishers recognized that he had crapped the bed.”

    I remember watching a then unknown Charlie Sykes doing a radio interview with TCFG in 2016. TCFG assumed since Sykes was a Republican, he supported his candidacy, and was running off the mouth about whatever -until Sykes interrupted him: “I’m a Never Trumper, just so you know.”

    TCFG sputtered into babbling. 😂

    “A Never Trumper” had just been coined, so was rarely heard at that point in time.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    I love the tiny little catch in the voice — not a sob, but could become one — when he says (about Joe’s age) “Some days, it really showed.” Terrific voice acting.

  16. 16.

    sixthdoctor

    Just ordered postcards from Postcards to Swing States. Thanks to the community for the inspiration!

  17. 17.

    jonas

    Anyone know how/where LP places these ads — other than just on their own YouTube channel? They’re really good and deserve some major network airplay, but I never see them anywhere but here really when an FPer puts them up. I’m not on Xitter or anything, either, so maybe I’m just not hanging out where they are.

  19. 19.

    JWR

    I saw a good interview with Heather Cox Richardson last night on Live from the L.B.J. Library on PBS, (length 26:46.) I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but damn, she’s good! Actually, I’ve thought that same thing every time I’ve watched or heard her interviewed.

    She was asked, as an historian, to talk about her most painful American day, and she said it was watching that Jan6 nimrod dragging a confederate battle or naval or whatever flag through the rotunda, which was damn hurtful to me, too. My finger almost wore a hole in my TV

    ETA PS. Good ad!

  20. 20.

    japa21

    @Jackie:  Interesting thing about Sykes.  I used to listen to his radio show out of Milwaukee.  Up until the late 90’s it was a generic conservative talk show, nothing dramatic or out of sorts.  Definitely not a Rush type of show.  After 9/11, it became much shriller. Very pro Iraq War, deficits no longer mattered, Dems were traitors.  No racial slurs or anything, however.

    Trump changed everything for him.  He’s is still a conservative, using the older meaning.  Yes, he is now a never-Trumper, but he also attacks Republicans who continue to follow Trump.

    But maybe the most significant thing about him and a few others, like Joe Walsh, the former Congressman from my old district in Illinois, is that he has acknowledged his own responsibilities in helping create the environment in which Trump was able to ascend.  Most other Never-Trumpers have never done that.

  21. 21.

    jonas

    @SiubhanDuinne: ​
      I like the way they pivoted from “Biden is not the man he was 20 years ago” to “but Donald Trump is…” and …Boom! That’s some good shiving.

  22. 22.

    Matt McIrvin

    Was wondering if the Harris campaign would really go quite this direction, but, ah, it’s Lincoln Project. Well, they can swing for the fences like that.

  24. 24.

    BC in Illinois

    There is a thread on Threads.
    Take any question.
    Respond with: “First of all, I’ve never been asked a question in such a horrible manner.”

    • “License and registration, please.”  “First of all . . . “
    • “Is this shirt available in blue?”      (etc.)
    • “What would you like for dinner?”
    • “Do you have the time?”
    • “How does the defendant plead?”
    • “What is the cosine of 60 degrees?”
    • “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
    • etc
    • etc
  26. 26.

    Jackie

    @jonas:

    Anyone know how/where LP places these ads — other than just on their own YouTube channel?

    Battleground states and south Florida 😁

    MSNBC and CNN play them predominantly on their shows as “news,” also.🤭

  27. 27.

    HumboldtBlue

    On another note, details from the killing of a top Hamas leader are trickling out.

    Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official.
    The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.
    Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran’s capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard.

  28. 28.

    Martin

    @Baud: Yeah, I see people give the never Trumpers a lot of shit, but I’ve not seen them raise a single objection to any Dem policy idea on ideological grounds. I think in certain ways they are just better at this than their Dem counterparts. They don’t have to believe what’s in this ad, but they know this is what the ad should look like and they actually put it out there instead of the Democrats (where are the Democrats on this?).

    I don’t like their policies and I think a lot of them are doing their own grift here, but I can’t argue with the results. They’re pretty good at this.

  29. 29.

    jonas

    @japa21: ​
     

    he has acknowledged his own responsibilities in helping create the environment in which Trump was able to ascend.

    I would add former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens to that list, who has come around in a remarkably candid way to talk about how what he was doing in the 80s and 90s for the GOP was, in his words, “all a lie.”

  30. 30.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Josie: when the French metal band Gojira showed up at the Olympics opening ceremony, my first thought was “if they’re fans of Big G they’re down with me.”

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @Martin:

    Well, I can’t say how effective their ads are in actually motivating people to vote blue. I’m not in the class of people that need persuading.  I find many Dem ads to be well done too, even if the style is different.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    Watching US-Gyna women’s beach volleyball and it’s raining rain in Paris, baby.

  39. 39.

    jonas

    @HumboldtBlue: ​

    The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse.

    This was probably the most metal covert operation I’ve ever heard of next to the Bin Laden raid. How the *hell* did Mossad pull that off?

  42. 42.

    rodwell

    This is a very good ad.  Maybe it can shame/convinced Republican voters who are not MAGA.  Although I do not trust most of the individuals involved in the Lincoln Project, they are willing to be allies right now.  If they can get some Republicans independents to either vote for Kamala or at not vote for TFCG and the weird one, I will accept their contributions.

  43. 43.

    Old School

    WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan bill Thursday on to expand the child tax credit and provide some tax breaks for businesses, all but sinking it for the rest of the year.

    The vote was 48-44, with the vast majority of GOP senators voting against it. Democrats voted in favor, with the exception of two independents who caucus with Democrats: Sens. Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin. And just three Republicans voted for it: Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.

    It would have taken 60 votes in favor to pass.

  45. 45.

    Martin

    @jonas: They don’t have a lot of money to do so. So a lot of these are them saying ‘hey, Democrats, we know what works with Republican voters and leaners, and this works’ and then relying on viral distribution or hoping that the DNC or the candidate will reach out.

    There’s a group I think called ‘Republicans Against Trump’ that is putting up the billboard/video testimonials of Republicans who once voted for Trump and are saying why they are voting for Harris. They’re really narrowly targeted to specific swing markets – so good chance you’ll never see them in the wild.

  48. 48.

    Martin

    @Old School: Doesn’t matter. Harris can used this to pound away at Vance’s ‘Democrats don’t care about families’ attack by noting that Republicans blocked the thing that lifted 40% of children out of poverty. Schumer just needed to force the vote.

    If that border ad that just came out is any indication, we can expect a similar ad around this before long.

  49. 49.

    rodwell

    @jonas:

     

    @japa21: Yes, Joe Walsh was one of the most obnoxious Tea partiers when he was in Congress.  After he was defeated, he somehow recognizes the evil of Donald Trump and has become a pretty strong ally.

  52. 52.

    lamh47

    @Martin: I sincerely believe that once/if they can expunge Chump/MAGA components from the GOP, they will be back to their usual anti-Dem party plans.

    For now though, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?

  53. 53.

    jonas

    @Martin: ​ Makes sense. I don’t live in a swing state, either, so that probably explains why I rarely come across them. Hope they have an impact, though!

  54. 54.

    HumboldtBlue

    @jonas: ​ 

    No clue, that was at the heart of their security, that’s gonna leave a mark, no wonder Iran is screaming revenge.

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    Lightning delay.

    But, they’ve got that giant lightning rod next door! (Eiffel Tower)

  58. 58.

    jonas

    @lamh47: ​

    once/if they can expunge Chump/MAGA components from the GOP

    I agree, but I also don’t see that happening our lifetimes right now. GOP will = MAGA as long as big money donors and rich choads like Musk keep backing it.

  59. 59.

    lamh47

    @PalmerReport

    One of the reasons Kamala Harris managed to get such support out of the gate: she stood strongly by Biden until the very end of his candidacy. She had the most to gain from him dropping out, yet she worked the hardest to try to keep him in the race. People saw that. Other Democrats saw it. Activists saw it. It sent a clear signal that Kamala Harris the kind of person who can be trusted to do the right thing, not just the personally beneficial thing. And it’s part of why everyone felt comfortable getting behind her the minute Biden stepped aside.
    https://x.com/PalmerReport/status/1819109680352055503

  60. 60.

    catclub

    @lamh47: I sincerely believe that once/if they can expunge Chump/MAGA components from the GOP, they will be back to their usual anti-Dem party plans.

     

    If they really got rid of them, and they are anywhere from 35 to 65% of the GOP, how  many elections would they win?

  61. 61.

    MattF

    @Baud: Agree that BJ is not a good test bed for determining whether any particular ad will change minds. If some Ds are persuaded by the ad to contribute money or time to the Harris campaign, that’s a good thing, and I’m for it.

    But the ad assumes that everyone knows what TFG says, knows that he’s an awful person, recognizes Epstein. Given the closeness of the race, I think something more informative would be better— maybe aim for that slice of the electorate that is simply ignorant.

  64. 64.

    KrackenJack

    @jonas: This. The rich Christian fascists will be around long after TCFG is worm food. A simple search and replace keeps Project 2025 up to date.

  65. 65.

    Ohio Mom

    @jonas: Ohio Dad has wondered the same thing. Now I can tell him it’s because we don’t live (anymore) in a swing state.

  66. 66.

    Leto

    @jonas: This; the Christofascists, MAGAts, and oligarchs are going to continue to drag that bloated corpse along, in the hopes of getting it across the line. Never Trumpers are always welcome in the Dem coalition, but we’re absolutely not going to give you any type of leadership position. Which they will want. We’ll listen to you, welcome your help, but understand that you’re starting from ground zero here and need to put in the decades of time/work that all the rest of us have. You also need to square your “deeply held beliefs” with the rest of our coalition, and either understand you’ll permanently be in the minority, or learn why they’re problematic and look to change.

    This is simply a long winded way of saying, we’re providing them with an off-ramp if they want to take it. It’s up to them to make that choice.

  67. 67.

    catclub

    @MattF: I agree. I think this is aimed much more at highly engaged Democrats ( possibly to get money) than disengaged Republicans.

  68. 68.

    Maxim

    @lamh47: It’ll take a long time to actually clear the GOP of those elements — they are predominant now. I expect LP to go back to their usual ways as soon as Trump is no longer a possibility.

  70. 70.

    Leto

    Apparently Laura Loomer is saying that MVP, if elected, is going to bring Ebonics to the White House. Hey Laura, 1991 called, they want their racist insult back.

  71. 71.

    Martin

    I love that Trump is posting evidence to try and prove that Harris ‘wasn’t black’. He’s not able to take the L on this one.

  72. 72.

    dmsilev

    @lamh47: Honestly, I could live with that. The Republican Party of the George W Bush era was pretty awful, but there was at least a vague semblance of a feeling that they weren’t 100% sociopathic nihilists. Unlike MAGA.

  73. 73.

    ArchTeryx

    @lamh47: Not really a friend, but an ally of convenience. In war, however, you go in with the allies you have, not the allies you want to have. We’re fighting for the survival of American democracy against a would-be fascist tyrant. Once THAT threat has been eliminated, we can go back to the usual squabbling.

  74. 74.

    dmsilev

    @Martin: Maybe someone should tell him about phrenology. If we have to live through this storm of racism, we should at least try to salvage some amusement out of it. Listening to him babble about head shapes and personality traits would do the trick.

  77. 77.

    Leto

    @Maxim: they might, but what they also need to acknowledge is the hand they played in helping to bring the GOP to this point. Or the fact that the GOP was so willing to accept this type of discourse/ideas in the first place. They won’t be able to do that, as a lot of this planted back in the late 40s, early 50s, and then grew from there. Again, that’s a reckoning with the past that’s needed.

  79. 79.

    Jeffro

    any ad that talks about putting the past decade (decade and a half if you count his airhorn bleating about Obama’s birth certificate, etc) of trump’s incessant tantrums and seizes on the upcoming election as a chance to end them once and for all is going to win

    WIN BIGLY, you might say!    ;)

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @Martin: when has he EVER taken an ‘L’?

    He lost to E. Jean Carroll and went right out and defamed her AGAIN, to the tune of $83M

    Anyone who thinks this guy can change course, grow, evolve, or even put a temporary hold on his impulses needs to go take a Psych 101 course.

  85. 85.

    MattF

    @Jeffro: An important point. When MAGAs started saying that the attempted assassination ‘changed’ TFG in some way, I could only sigh.

  86. 86.

    hueyplong

    @Leto: When they get there and he drops the N-bomb, the NYT will be there to explain why that presents a thorny problem for Harris.

  87. 87.

    ArchTeryx

    @Captain C: The betting pool is still open for the first time that Trump drops an N-bomb on live TV. Figure that if he gets out of his handlers’ control long enough or gets demented enough, it’s gonna happen.

    And 40% of the country will cheer.

  89. 89.

    hobbitdreams

    @lamh47:

    It sent a clear signal that Kamala Harris the kind of person who can be trusted to do the right thing, not just the personally beneficial thing.

    Another reason to support KH, and to thank Joe for helping to make it happen.

  91. 91.

    Kent

    @dmsilev:@lamh47: Honestly, I could live with that. The Republican Party of the George W Bush era was pretty awful, but there was at least a vague semblance of a feeling that they weren’t 100% sociopathic nihilists. Unlike MAGA.

    I worked for the Federal government during the Clinton and Bush presidencies.  For the National Marine Fisheries Service which is part of NOAA.   Setting aside the atrocity that was the Gulf War, the Bush people were actually pretty competent at running the government and in some ways they actually did a better job with NOAA than Clinton did.   The Clintons seemed to have no interest in maritime affairs. By contrast, Bush established the biggest marine reserve in history on his way out of office.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/environment-jan-june09-marine_01-06

    Trump on the other hand was a complete atrocity when it came to managing the executive branch

    We lived in Waco Texas during the final years of the Bush presidency.  I actually found it quite amusing that Bush would drag world leaders way the hell out to his ranch in Crawford Texas (right outside of Waco) to cut brush in the middle of fucking August.  I used to cut through his ranch (or alongside it) on one of my regular fitness rides on my road bike.  It was actually pretty country.

  92. 92.

    Citizen Alan

    @Old School:  Get Kamala in the White House, take the House, hold the Senate (50-50, if necessary), and pass it during Reconciliation. And then watch them howl.

  94. 94.

    Jackie

    @lamh47:

    they will be back to their usual anti-Dem party plans.

    Some, yes. But, not all will. Women’s reproductive health and wanting common sense gun laws aren’t going to go away – and many are in favor  of these issues.

  97. 97.

    Hungry Joe

    OF COURSE Never Trumpers will go back to the GOP and back to pushing conservative policy. And why shouldn’t they? They’re not apostates, they haven’t seen the Progressive light. They simply have enough sense to recognize that Trump is a threat to *everything*, so they’ve put policy on Hold and allied with the Dems to save the country. More power to them …

    … until we 86 Trump. Then, *less* power to them.

  98. 98.

    rikyrah

    @Maxim:

    @lamh47: It’ll take a long time to actually clear the GOP of those elements — they are predominant now. I expect LP to go back to their usual ways as soon as Trump is no longer a possibility.

     

    I’m looking forward to the GOP Hunger Games, post Orange Menace.

    Not my problem, but, will have my snacks ready to watch

  101. 101.

    Renie

    @Martin: OT but from the prior thread.  Wanted to give a shout out to another Lewis Hamilton fan; my family loves him.  My daughter is a Lewis fanatic!

  102. 102.

    sdhays

    Via Atrios – JD Vance: Get ready for even more of Trump’s running mate after shaky rollout

    There are plans for him to sit for a series of interviews with conservative and mainstream media outlets, according to people with knowledge of his upcoming schedule. The Trump campaign also hopes to capitalize on the generational contrast Vance brings to the race – he turns 40 on Friday – by having him appear on longer-form podcasts and digital shows that target younger audiences.

    I love how “he’s not wrinkly” is the main plan for how to attract the votes of a younger cohort. His entire persona seems to be snarling about people who don’t have kids should “get off his lawn”. That’s…not a popular position for anyone, but it’s an increasingly offensive position the younger your target is.

    Also, they really need to be careful having him “sit” on any couches, because each time, there are going to be concerns that the couch didn’t consent.

  104. 104.

    Martin

    @lamh47: I have no doubt they will. Who gives a shit?

    I don’t understand why Democrats are so determined to not take a fucking win when it is offered to them. They are trying earnestly to help us win. Let them. Listen to their advice. A lot of it is very good, and Democrats benefit by listening to it. They know a LOT better than Democrats do what Republicans are vulnerable to.

    We’re not trying to marry them. We can throw them in the garbage on Nov 6 if we want. I would caution doing that in the event we win and they try and run Trump again in 2028, because I wouldn’t rule that shit out. But some of these people have been all-in on the Democratic candidate for nearly 8 years now and have built entire careers around it. One thing they admire about Democrats is that you can be staff on a losing campaign and still find work – that doesn’t become a permanent badge of shame. Republicans will not work with you ever again which is why so many need to head off to Fox News or lobbying. They know their future career options with a Republican campaign require not just losing Trump but also not returning to the dynamic the Republican Party had prior to that. I don’t think they have any expectation of being able to work against us ever again even if they wanted to, but maybe they can do the Michael Steele thing.

  109. 109.

    jonas

    @Martin: ​

    Harris can used this to pound away at Vance’s ‘Democrats don’t care about families’ attack by noting that Republicans blocked the thing that lifted 40% of children out of poverty.

    The media need to pound on this over and over (but of course they won’t because, you know, they suck), but Republicans, and MAGA in particular, want to do fuck-all to help families with children other than ban books about queer people and shit on trans kids. No help with childcare. No help with parental leave. No school lunches. No affordable college. Be rich or go to hell.
    But it’s childless couples who are crazy for not wanting to have kids in these circumstances. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Jackasses.​

  111. 111.

    lamh47

    I’ve had a really busy morning.  Just now ending some work related stuff.

    I’m catching up on recorded news I missed today. MSNBC really need to let Andrea Mitchell go…smh.

    Shiid…if folks thought Biden was a problem…welp…woof.

  112. 112.

    Leto

    @Renie: The UK base I was stationed at for my last active duty stint was 5 mins away from the Brackley HQ. Got to meet the guy who machined the wings for both Lewis and Nico’s car, as well as a number of the engineers. Never got to meet Lewis, but did run into Christian Horner at the Waitrose grocery store just up the corner during Christmas time.

    The gambit George took with the 1 stop start for Spa was brilliant, just the after car check in was… that was brutal. Toto has already apologized for it, but honestly Mercedes is making good progress on the car and both of them should be in better positions to challenge for wins on the back half of the season. Also I’m wondering what Lewis is thinking regarding his upcoming move to Ferrari in light of Mercedes having a stronger showing? I know 2026 brings all new cars, but still, it’s an interesting thought.

  116. 116.

    MattF

    @Martin: Yes, but. You don’t want to ignore their many years of working for R candidates, their admiration for Reagan or Giuliani—one can reasonably wonder how it all fits together for them. And if there’s a red flag there. Or, y’know, many red flags.

  121. 121.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @lamh47: And that’s probably why the Republicans got caught flat-footed by the handover. Harris wasn’t preparing to stab Biden in the back, but she was prepared to step up. They were probably hoping for a power struggle on par with The Death of Stalin, because it’s what they would have done.

  123. 123.

    Leto

    @Martin: regarding your response to me about Spa: I agree, no point, should’ve given refunds. I think that was year 2 of the new American ownership and yeah, wasn’t a great look. It definitely rubbed people raw.

    Regarding Max: agreed. Haven’t liked him since he came into the sport, still can’t stand the twerp. He caused a major collision with Lewis at the previous race, and the race before that had a major collision with Lando Norris, which denied Lando his first win. He’s been super petulant and bratty for the past few races, mainly due to RB not being able to match McLaren’s performance. I’d say come back and give it another show, as there’s strong mid-field competition and the there’s more front of the pack racing than there has been in a while.

  125. 125.

    Martin

    @Renie: Yeah! I was an Alonzo fan until Hamilton hit F1, and I went back and saw his 2006 F2 sprint race in Turkey and decided, nah, this is my guy.

    For context, Hamilton starts P7 and he needs this win because Piquet Jr is ahead on points. He tells the mechanics to take all the downforce off the car to give him maximum speed on the straights, he’ll keep it on the road. Just amazing drive. You’d see shades of it again in Silverstone in 2008 in the rain when he nearly lapped the field.

  130. 130.

    KatKapCC

    @lamh47: Mitchell is one of those people who, even if they’re not being annoying in that particular moment, I’m still annoyed by them because I dislike them so much.

  135. 135.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Leto: Nothing wrong with a little creative use of slang. But the point is to be understood by your audience and MVP excels at balancing these traits.

  137. 137.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @dmsilev: The Republican Party of the George W Bush era was pretty awful, but there was at least a vague semblance of a feeling that they weren’t 100% sociopathic nihilists.

    Bush even came up with one whole useful policy idea, his proposed immigration reform.

    May not sound like much but this is a hugely consequential issue and Republicans haven’t tried being useful since.

  138. 138.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Thing I will NOT under any circumstances be viewing

    Coming August 3rd: Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats — Netflix Comedy Special.

  139. 139.

    Anoniminous

    @lamh47:

    ” the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”

    No.  If the KKK and American Nazis get into a fight both sides are still our enemies.  Thing to do is stand aside and root for a mass casualty event.

  144. 144.

    NotMax

    @WereBear

    Although…

    If somehow we could organize several thousand people to click on it and let it run with the sound off, then mash the “Did Not Like” button….

  145. 145.

    Martin

    @jonas: This was my point from two threads ago. It’s not the media’s job to do politics. It’s Democrats job. I get that a lot of people don’t like politics, but one thing the never trumpers immediately pointed out is that Democrats are like a football team who dislikes tackling and then complain that the ref doesn’t whistle down the play when it’s obvious that the Democrat could tackle the Republican but refuses to do so. Whether you like it or not, politics is not about hitting the other guy, but whether YOU are willing and effective at hitting the other guy – it is a measure of you, not the other guy. You don’t get to contract it out. You gotta be the one to do it and be good at it because that’s what it means to be a good politician. Forming good policy comes from a host of technocratic nerds, not politicians. Recognizing which policy will help get you in office, and then wielding it like a light saber is what good politicians need to do.

    It’s not the medias job to attack Republicans. It’s the media’s job to cover Democrats attacking Republicans. But that means Democrats need to make effective attacks against Republicans and not just tee up a situation where that could happen and then wonder why the NYT isn’t doing it for us. Why did people love Biden’s SOTU? Because he stood up there and said ‘fuck it, I guess we’re going have this out in the room live’. And like, yeah, that’s how you’re supposed to do it. And the media rewarded him for doing it.

  146. 146.

    JaySinWA

    @japa21: But maybe the most significant thing about him and a few others, like Joe Walsh, the former Congressman from my old district in Illinois, is that he has acknowledged his own responsibilities in helping create the environment in which Trump was able to ascend.  Most other Never-Trumpers have never done that.

    Joe Walsh was in a 2022 documentary “The Game is up” about a few Trumpers that changed their minds. It’s free on Tubi, now along with a couple or 2024 documentaries about Christian Nationalism (“Bad Faith” and “God & Country”).

    ETA On the one hand they are redemption projects, but on the other they expose a lot of the propaganda and cult techniques.

  149. 149.

    Leto

    @Martin: Alsonso, at 41, is still a top 3 best driver in the field today. If Alpine could continue to deliver performance upgrades at a reasonable pace, he would definitely be a top 5 driver. He definitely does better than failson teammate, Lance Stroll.

  152. 152.

    Martin

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: I don’t think so. I think Republicans, having advertised this strategy to attack Biden for 2 whole years now (how much Hunter Biden shit did the House get bogged down with?) and Democrats offering next to no response to it, had concluded that Democrats were too passive to do the thing which to Republicans was obvious – to not run Biden. That we would put loyalty above victory.

    And the closer to Election Day we got the more confident they got, because the riskier it became for Democrats to do it. That we did it didn’t just catch the GOP flat footed, it caught most of the people here flat footed.

    Sure there were elements of belief Biden wouldn’t go along with it because they can’t imagine someone voluntarily giving up power, and all that, but we had given a LOT of evidence we were ride or die.  I would note, had Harris given any indiction she was in favor of Biden stepping down, it would have changed everything. So, if you are gaming out ways in which this could happen, having Harris not angling for Biden to drop out is the more likely path to it happening. And that’s true if this was the GOP as well. That’s pretty universal. They shouldn’t have gotten that part of it wrong.

  153. 153.

    wjca

    @schrodingers_cat: So which Indian American Republican will be deployed to attack KH’s Indian identity?
    Usha Vance

    Vivek Ramaswamy

    Nikki Haley.

    My money is on Vivek.

    I’m guessing it will depend, at least in part, on what caste her mother’s family are, and what caste each of their families is.

  154. 154.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @HumboldtBlue: Stupidity is beside the point and likely not the main culprit.

    Once your brain is pickled in conspiracies, logical cohesion doesn’t matter any more. Conspiracies are just an applied form of bullshit.

  155. 155.

    narya

    @Renie: @Leto: Another Lewis fan checking in . . . I especially appreciate how he is using his fame and fortune to lift others (e.g., buying a whole table at the Met Gala (I think? or something similar). Also: I will never tire of seeing Max lose.

  156. 156.

    FDRLincoln

    I don’t trust Rick Wilson and other LP people. But like others have said, this is an ally-with-Stalin to beat Hitler thing. For now, we take the help and at least listen to the advice.

    I do think some of the Never Trump people are more trustworthy than others. Rubin seems likely to stick with us. Tom Nichols will never agree with us on things like tax policy but he genuinely believes in the Constitution. Sarah Longwell is very smart and politically astute.

  157. 157.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @MattF:

    Yes, but. You don’t want to ignore their many years of working for R candidates, their admiration for Reagan or Giuliani—one can reasonably wonder how it all fits together for them. And if there’s a red flag there. Or, y’know, many red flags.

    The tell for me is that most of them thought (and still think) all was fine in Republicanland until Trump, even if they do take some responsibility for his rise. I think they’re ok with many of his “policies”. These same ad makers crafted fire hoses of anti-democratic party messages for decades and many of them will return to the fold when Trump moves on if/as Trumpism fades away.

    So no, I don’t need to fawn over ratfucker Rick Wilson’s vids. He may be anti fascist but he’s not particularly pro democracy.

  158. 158.

    Martin

    @Leto: Lewis is getting $500M and an opportunity to reach an American audience which aligns pretty well with his post-retirement goals. And Ferrari are by no means out of this – it won’t take much for the 2025 car to be back in it, so bit of a coin flip there.

  159. 159.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @lamh47: The enemy of my enemy is in general not my friend but my ally for the time being. And oftentimes that’s more than enough. Everyone knew that the USSR was gonna be a consistent pain in the Western Allies’ collective arse in the postwar, but it was more than worth it (most notably in US casualty figures) to have the Red Army ripping the living shit out of three-fourths of the Wehrmacht on their way to Berlin.

  163. 163.

    Martin

    @Leto: Alonsos problem is that he cannot abide by a strong teammate and flees a good team whenever they develop a good 1-2 lineup. By demanding that his teammate suck, he relegates himself to teams that suck.

  167. 167.

    Scout211

    Back to The Veepstakes 2024: The Vetting

    NBC says it is down to six, not the three that have been talked about for days.  Huh.

    (NBC)

    WASHINGTON — The vetting team for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has met with six potential running mate contenders as her selection process nears its end, two sources familiar with the campaign said.

    The six contenders are Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

  168. 168.

    Martin

    @wjca: 99% of Americans have no fucking idea about that. It’s going to be ‘Indian man says Indian lady is a bad American and we should dump them from the ticket’ and that’ll be as deep as they ever get. They actually stand a decent chance of it spinning out of control into a ‘see, this is why we shouldn’t invite any brown people into the party at all’ situation and kick Vivek and Haley out in the process.

  171. 171.

    Leto

    @narya: he’s used his game for greater BIPOC representation, as well as doing more for LGBTQ issues. Very vocal in calling out some of the shittier venues they race, and just overall trying to do better. Beyond class act.

    @Martin: true, I think he has a ranch in Colorado or Wyoming? That’s where he plans to retire. Idk about Ferrari though. Combination of not being able to deliver a car, as well as strategy issues. I hope 2026 with the new regulations can turn it around, but man, lot of work there.

    @Martin: well then he’s in a perfect spot with Alpine as failson Stroll is an utter shitter. Alonso was doing well during the first half of last year because they, Alpine, were delivering a good car. But the cars performance hasn’t continued to improve relative everyone else. He’s still pulling the most he can out of it, but it’s def a team issue at this point.

  174. 174.

    VFX Lurker

    @sixthdoctor: Just ordered postcards from Postcards to Swing States. Thanks to the community for the inspiration!

    You rock. Thank you for doing this.

    You reminded me to check my email. I saw the Postcards to Swing States “we’re accepting volunteers again!” notice, and I signed up to write 200 postcards for my nearest swing district (CA-27). The minimum number I can write is 200. I’ll be receiving the blank postcards in 2 to 4 weeks, and I am to mail them out October 24. They’ll send me the postcards and the messaging, but I need to provide the handwriting and the stamps.

    Earlier today, I ordered postcards and stamps online to prepare for the Postcards to Voters flood this fall. I should have ordered more stamps!!!

  175. 175.

    cain

    @Martin: Literally posting Indian family pics and Kamala’s family looks like my family. He’s literally drawing the Indian diaspora to her. Do they care that she identifies as black? Nope.

  176. 176.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Bush even came up with one whole useful policy idea, his proposed immigration reform.

    May not sound like much but this is a hugely consequential issue and Republicans haven’t tried being useful since. ​
     

    And it was a brilliant idea – Latinos tend toward cultural conservatism (note that the Catholic Church in Latin America is losing fewer adherents to mainstream Protestant denominations than to the fundamentalist sects) and had the GOP been able to peel away 10-15% of them without pissing off the racists, we might’ve been in big trouble. Lucky for the cause of democracy, the white Thuglican base is almost as hostile to Hispanics as to the you-know-whos…

  178. 178.

    cain

    @schrodingers_cat: Definitely vivek.

    But I’m thinking that Usha is having second thoughts about her marriage to JD Vance. Especially if racism against the Indian side starts ramping up.

    Right now Trump is embarrassing all the “Blacks for Trump” – I’m sure they are having a great time watching white women on Fox gatekeeping who is and who isn’t black.

    I have no idea how these  black fox commentators can sit around like that. The money must be good.

  180. 180.

    suzanne

    If anybody follows the menswear guy on Xhitter –and you should, he’s hilarious –he recently dunked on Ramaswamy for wearing shoes so oversized that they look like clown shoes. Petty, but i like it.

  182. 182.

    KatKapCC

    @Scout211: Hoping for Walz, but honestly, she could choose a prairie dog and I’d still be like WOOHOO HARRIS/FREDDY KRUEGER RODENT ’24!!!!

  184. 184.

    Martin

    @Scout211: So, the never trumpers had been Pete as their preferred candidate for a while. His ability to deflect Republican attacks back at Republicans is something they really admire and respect. Since they’ve done more focus testing and gotten that feedback, swing state persuadable voters seem to have a clear preference for Shapiro, with Pete next, and they now think Shapiro should be it.

    One issue they raised is that there’s some federal campaign finance rules affecting giving to a federal campaign with a state employee as a beneficiary that presents a problem (I think to prevent steering around state campaign finance laws) and that creates at least a small procedural problem for the governors. I don’t fully understand it or can weigh the size of the issue. Trying to remember the last time we had an active governor on a ticket and it’s been a spell – 2000 I think.

    Anyway, none of them believe in electoral juice for VP. They watched Paul Ryan as VP lose his own congressional district which put the final nail in that coffin.

  186. 186.

    Martin

    @Leto: He seems to believe that the US is the kind of market where he can do fashion/music/whatever in his post career. He likes it here and has been frustrated that Mercedes won’t use him to sell cars in the states to boost his profile.

    I agree that Alonso is still an incredibly talented driver, and being paired up with ‘daddy bought me an F1 team’ does help him shine in terms of results. But I think we saw first hand how well Alonso copes with a strong teammate in qualifying in Hungary 2007.

  188. 188.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @KatKapCC: I wouldn’t go that far.

    I don’t trust the Never Trumpers beyond Election Day, but they are good about making campaign messages that hit hard in ways Dems have traditionally sucked at. So make use of them — a la allying with Stalin to defeat Hitler — and learn from them.

    Post-election if some of them show themselves as being worthy being long-term allies, that’s great. If not, we can fight it out with it out them then. But for now, as Pelosi said, just win baby.

  189. 189.

    dkinPa

    @Leto: A friend of mine spotted it yesterday on Rt. 28 near Pittsburgh, going towards Mill Creek.  Western PA is mostly Trump Country, I’m pretty happy to know a sign like this is up!

    If this is a dead thread, I’ll try to post it later on a more current thread.

  191. 191.

    narya

    @Leto: I’ve never disliked a driver this much before. Vettel used to be kind of an asshole, but he really changed. But Max—feh. As you say, seeing him lose over and over would be fabulous.

  192. 192.

    catclub

    @lamh47:

    Had a busy day, so just now seeing MVP’s eulogy for Sheila Jackson Lee.

    It was really well done.

     

    Did Trump do ANY eulogies?

  193. 193.

    wjca

    @Sister Golden Bear: They don’t have to be friends, they just to have useful allies.

    “In the matter of allies only two things are important. First, can he shoot? Second, will he aim at your enemy?”

  194. 194.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @Kent: My husband had the opposite experience at the FDA.  The 90s were great; then under Bush II, many efforts, such as stepping up to ban chlorofluorocarbons from medical devices, which the US promised to do under a treaty signed by Clinton and promoted by Gore (chlorofluorocarbons deplete the ozone layer, were slow- walked almost to oblivion. (that pesky environmental stuff was bad for business).  Yes, working as part of a group to get approval for an antibiotic to counter inhaled anthrax was exciting right after 9/11,  but, as he said, it was not related to the long-term health of Americans.   He was able to retire in time to avoid Trump.

  197. 197.

    MomSense

    @NotMax:

    Another convicted felon.

    I have some really damning intel on him but I can’t share it because it would harm someone who didn’t deserve the treatment she got from him.

    All I can say is he has some fucking nerve being anti-abortion.

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    As an old fart male not all that much younger than President Biden I can honestly say that as one ages, some things do lose importance and priority. I am also very glad that Joe Biden has made the decision he has. I would have voted for him because he has an extremely good VP in Kamala Harris backing him up, and who I will be proud to vote for not all that far into the future. I have been following politics for about 60 yrs and have seen people who shouldn’t be allowed to decide which brand of, well almost any product bought in a supermarket or drug store running for office. It takes all kinds to do the work of being human and not all of those born into this thing we call living ever really figure out how to do it reasonably well, some not even half ass. But most do and some do so very, very well. Kamala Harris is one of those in that last category. She has earned our respect.

    And as far as shitforbrains goes, bon voyage asshole, on to a world of your own making, may you have the ending you so richly deserve. Born into far more money than most of us can comprehend other than as a math problem, he of course decided to be pompous and arrogant about living and demanding respect and of course has earned none of it.

  201. 201.

    Ruckus

    @Gary K:

    shitforbrains would have to move up a few rungs to be Pendejo.

    The word, as I recall, can be used at 2 or 3 different levels but used properly is not meant as anything but a put down.

  203. 203.

    Geminid

    @Martin: I don’t think Paul Ryan lost his congressional seat after 2012. He won it the next two cycles before he retired in 2018.

    You may be thinking of Eric Cantor here. Cantor was the 2nd or 3rd ranking member of Ryan’s leadership team when he lost his 2014 primary to Dave Brat. Then Abigail Spanberger knocked Brat out in 2018. This was in the  Virginia 7th CD based in the Richmond suburbs.

  204. 204.

    Martin

    @Geminid: Ryan didn’t lose his seat, but Romney/Ryan didn’t win that district. Different thing.

    The conventional wisdom is that a candidate will help with the geographical area that they have won election in, and that doesn’t work any longer. Voters can say ‘I prefer Ryan as a congressman, but prefer Obama as a President’. And they did.

    PA voters can say they like Shapiro as governor and Trump as President. There is no statistical evidence the VP carries any electoral benefit. Maybe decades ago before 24 hour news, but not now.

  205. 205.

    Barry

    @jonas: “This was probably the most metal covert operation I’ve ever heard of next to the Bin Laden raid. How the *hell* did Mossad pull that off?”

     

    I imagine that Mossad spends a lot of time on long-term set up in Iran.

  206. 206.

    Origuy

    @trollhattan: Every year I go to a travel show in Santa Clara. There’s always a row of booths from California county visitors bureaus, including the North Coast counties. This year they were pushing tours of cannabis growers, like winery tours.

Comments are closed.