Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Bogus polls are all they’ve got left. Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls a year from now.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Books are my comfort food!

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

Republicans in disarray!

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

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

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: *Never* Stop Believing

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: *Never* Stop Believing

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Moved up to the top of page again, because I thought y’all would want to know: Megan McArglebargle is very disappointed in Kamala Harris!
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Never Stop Believing

We’re (okay, I’m) still allowed a favorite for a few more hours, though…

ETA: Psych!


Sometimes not so hidden:

Awww, blog favorite chew toy is disgruntled…

Reader Interactions

309Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    It’s difficult to overstate how exhausting the game theory on the VP choice has been. Just so tiring.

    If the VeepStakes was tiring, we’re not built to address the county’s problems.

  6. 6.

    Soprano2

    Gonna just drop this link here and run. This Amanda Marcotte interview with a woman who escaped the fundie life might merit a discussion. This is what they want to do to all of us.

    Fleeing Christian patriarchy: “They raise women who don’t even know the sound of their voices”

    Former fundamentalist Tia Levings speaks out her new memoir and why evangelical women speak in “fundie baby voice”

    By Amanda Marcotte
    Senior Writer

  11. 11.

    BritinChicago

    If it’s Walz, I’m big Walz fan and always have been! (If it’s Shapiro, I’m a big Shapiro fan, and so on.)

  12. 12.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Walz is right. Still haven’t put my finger on why “weird” fits so well. I’ve known my whole life that I’m a quirky guy and was a weird kid. I’m comfortable with that, but I’m also comfortable with pointing and laughing and calling them “weird” and understanding it’s not the same word. I just don’t have another word for it.

    Maybe English needs to add tonal meanings, like (Mandarin I think?) Chinese.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I think I’ll wait for Kamala to say who it is. It’s just a few hours away. I know I know… That is just soooo un-American.

    s// on that last bit

  16. 16.

    Steve LaBonne

    It seems to be impossible to find anybody who dislikes Walz, which is the most important thing. And he seems very comfortable being second banana and won’t have his eye constantly on 2032, also very important qualities. Let’s roll!

  17. 17.

    japa21

    Still haven’t received my email or text. Harris promised me I I would be the first to know.  If she can’t keep that simple promise,  I can’t vote for her.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    So happy it’s Walz.  He and Kamala are authentic.

    Win, and take Congress too.  It’s attainable.  

  20. 20.

    dmsilev

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: “Weird-but-not-in-a-good-way” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, sadly. Maybe there’s some long German compound word for the idea.  JD Vance gives off this aura where you wouldn’t be _all_ that surprised to see a police raid on his house with cadaver dogs looking for the bodies of the dead drifters that he stashed in a secret room off his basement.

  22. 22.

    Mousebumples

    I’m glad it’s Walz. So many puns! (Balz to the Walz, Blue Walz States etc.)

    Also the oppo I’ve seen leaked so far is –

    1. DUI arrest few 20-30 years ago. (not great) He quit drinking after that.
    2. A photo of him holding a baby pig at the Minnesota State Fair (??? Not sure why that’s bad/oppo…)

    And I’m excited for Minnesota to get a native, female governor! Though I would defer to Minnesotans, if you feel differently.

  23. 23.

    Quinerly

    @Geoduck:

    Shapiro had really started to turn me off. I was all in for Mark Kelly in the beginning. Then heard him speak. Then the Shaklee stuff. I have a friend out here who is a Shaklee nut and she was posted on FB every day about his connection to Shaklee, as a plus. I then “flirted” with Beshear briefly over the weekend but came back to Gov Santa Claus Saturday.

    We have a WINNING TICKET. Happy Dance.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    And:  incoming Minnesota Governor Peggy Flanagan is more than ready for her closeup.  Current Lt. Governor. Check her out.  Remarkable woman, also authentic and a good speaker.  Hope she gets a lot of national exposure.  She is ready.

    Does Walz resign to be VP candidate?  Being Governor is way more time-consuming than being a Senator.

  26. 26.

    suzanne

    @dmsilev: My friends and I always differentiated between “funny ha ha” and “funny uh oh”. i feel like we could make “weird LOL” and “weird OMG” a thing.

    Very happy with Walz. It feels like she chose the person who she genuinely gets along with.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    I really wasn’t that invested, except that a lot of the Village media wanted Shapiro, and that was a big ding for me.

    The online angst about Shapiro didn’t move me at all.

     

  31. 31.

    Shalimar

    So Megan didn’t specify which candidate makes progressives happiest.  She gets to say “that is who I meant” no matter who it is.

  32. 32.

    CaseyL

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: ​
    @dmsilev: ​

    A description I read years ago seems to work just fine: “Glorious crazy” v. “worms-in-the-head crazy.”

    Worms-in-the-head crazy. I like that.

    (And, mind you, this was 30+ years before RFKJr announced he had an actual worm in his actual brain.)

  33. 33.

    Citizen Dave

    @dmsilev: John Wayne J D Vance.

    The above is a usage of the first two names of John Wayne Gacy.  Over the weekend though I learned that the actor John Wayne has been cancelled somewhat due to documented racist events, and the OC airport has moved toward being Orange County/Santa Ana, and not so much the “John Wayne Airport” any longer.  Meanwhile, my favorite airport honoree, the legend Louis Armstrong, just released a new album 50 years into his posthumous career.

  35. 35.

    pluky

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: You can do it in English. “It’s not what you said, but how you said it” as is oft put in arguments. Of course, this only works orally. Many an email, blog comment, text has been misconstrued, snark tag or not!

  36. 36.

    waspuppet

    “The hidden Harris voter” is absolutely right. The thing about Trump is, he’s an entertainer. (I didn’t say a good one.) His appeal is based on kind of nothing. There is going to be a point where a certain percentage of people, even his fans and people who are Trump-curious, are just going to get tired of him.

  39. 39.

    sab

    @Baud: They probably just wanted him because he is from a nearby east coast big city and not from the boondocks somewhere. They could relate to him, plus easier to rummage around in his background.

  40. 40.

    WereBear

    I am thrilled. We’re covering all the demographics. Three continents, coastal/heartland, two of the genders, kids/not, and people who like pets.

  41. 41.

    CaseyL

    I’m delighted it’s Walz. Not only is he just plain terrific, there won’t be a constant uphill slog arguing with Anti-Semites and the willfully ignorant.​
     

    ETA: I wonder if any of the other candidates would make good Cabinet Secretaries.

  44. 44.

    sab

    In Ohio the Republicans have sttled into a tactic of no public contacts at all. They don’t respond to questionnairs from newspapers or League of Women Voters. They leave the answering machine on in their offices. They don’t debate their opponents.

    And so far it has worked. We’ll see if that works on a national stage.

  45. 45.

    Soprano2

    I’m like John, I like Walz because he’s so normal. Our ticket really emphasizes what a freak show the Republicans are now. I think most people like normal, and they’re tired of TCFG and his freakiness.

  46. 46.

    TS

    The faces on the children with Huckabee Sanders sure tell a story – Oliver Twist comes to mind.

  48. 48.

    Chris

    If 2016 was the year of the so-called “hidden Trump voter,” 2024 is going to be the year of the hidden Harris voter.

    Quite frankly, 2016 was in a lot of ways the year of the “hidden Clinton voter,” at least as far as the official discourse was concerned.

    You’d never have known from the way the media talked about it that Hillary Clinton got a bigger chunk of the primary vote than Sanders, or Trump, or any of the never-Trumps, both in terms of percentages, and in terms of actual numbers.  In addition to, of course, going on to win the popular vote.  The most common 2016 voter was a Democrat who voted for Clinton in the primary and voted for Clinton again in the general.  From the media coverage, you’d assume that the most common 2016 voter was someone who was hesitating between Trump and Sanders who really wished he had another Republican to vote for.

    It was, if anything, worse with Biden voters, as we saw a few months back when that article was posted about the “elusive” Biden voters.

  49. 49.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    McArglebargle is a dumb ass but that comment shows she’s a willful dumbass.

    Good news on Walz, definitely not a “own goal” pick like Shapiro would have been.

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    It was Walz, but since the news jumped the gun, Kamala’s going with someone else.

    The news screwed up. The campaign said they were going with “the Governor of Minnesota.” The MSM didn’t realize the campaign actually meant Harold Stassen.

  52. 52.

    Chris

    @Baud:

    You mean the Village wanted Shapiro because they thought he’d make progressives cry, or they wanted Shapiro because he had multiple lines of attack against him all teed up and ready to go?

  53. 53.

    jonas

    Good grief, where did Sarah Huckabee-Sanders find that group of Children of the Corn for that photo-op? Fucking weirdos.

  59. 59.

    Matt McIrvin

    Harris’s rally stump speech is actually incredible–I don’t see how anyone could see that and continue to insist that she’s bad at this.

  60. 60.

    Elizabelle

    To be a fly on the wall, avoiding the ketchup stains:  I think Trump might be realizing his odds of serving a prison sentence just increased.  Gonna be wall to wall trials for him, and — please, please — no RNC or donor pool to bail him out.

    Win, win Harris/Walz.  America needs a reset.

  63. 63.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Chris: They’ve still got the “Sista Souljah” instinct that to win, a Democratic candidate has to do something that loudly and publicly shivs part of the base, like a human sacrifice to the gods of centrism.

  64. 64.

    catclub

    @Soprano2: I’m like John, I like Walz because he’s so normal.

     

    This was Biden’s superpower in contrast to Hillary. Nobody hated him. And no, there is no fairness to it.

  65. 65.

    narya

    WOOO!!!! I was hoping for Walz. I just talked my mom (who lives in PA and therefore was all-in for Shapiro) off the ledge (“he looks old” says the 89.5-year-old woman . . . ). The nice thing about my mom is that “fed all the school kids” and “ran the gay-straight alliance” are GOOD things to her. Also, Nephew the Younger is spending the day on loan to Oak Ridge NL; he’s very excited.

  66. 66.

    Belafon

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: How many ways can you interpret “I am high”?

    Weird works for two reasons. The first is that the bullies had a very specific meaning for it – you are not part of our group – and that’s what they know it means when it is used on them. The second is that it’s not offensive enough that people discard it – like creepy would be – but it makes them take a second look.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    The Front Pager War has commenced!

    Years from now:

    “Grampy SFAW, did you serve in the Great Front Pager War of ’24? What was it like?”

    “No, honey, your grampy was too old to serve on the front lines. But I recall General Baud and a number of the Balloon Juice regulars fighting against the bigfooting.”

  70. 70.

    Jeffro

    The whole Fro family is PSYCHED!  (and me & Froette called it, too – we had an internal family ‘pool’ going =)

  72. 72.

    Belafon

    Harris/Walz sounds fine to me. Now let’s go get the win.

    @ssdd: Replace the W with a B and I suspect we’ll hear the obvious slur in a few days.

  74. 74.

    Elizabelle

    Commenter Jackie reports on one of the other four threads that Walz once carved a butter school bus.

  75. 75.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Also too, just what exactly should a Democrat do to give a reichwing water carrier like McArglebargle “more confidence?”

    Oh, I know, be an outright Republican whose last name isn’t Trump.

    Never stop being you dear, your talentless hack.

  76. 76.

    TBone

    @waspuppet: can confirm.  I met many such voters IRL at my Pennsyltucky Walmart yesterday while wearing my pink Childless Cat Lady Voting for Kamala T-shirt.

    Never had so many be so kind and helpful in that Walmart, smiling eyes and smiling faces 😊

  78. 78.

    andy

    Walz!

    i knew it. he’s Humphrey without the baggage. do you think the media will touch on the Human Decency Gap when they’re doing the horserace thing?

    i’m one proud Minnesotan here, i even teared up a little.

  79. 79.

    Matt McIrvin

    @narya: “Looking old” might become an issue if this makes him the heir apparent in 2032 after eight years of a Harris-Walz administration. I’ll take that as an acceptable risk. Aesthetically they went with something like the Obama-Biden combo even though, really, Walz is about the same age as Kamala Harris.

  80. 80.

    jimmiraybob

    “The three most important factors …”

    Maybe it’s just that I’m only on coffee #1, but I read that as, “farters.”

    Which wasn’t helped by what immediately followed, “…all unseen by everyone…”

    Maybe it’s my inner 12-year old.

    Anyhows, off for coffee #2. Also too, GO WALZ!!!!!

  83. 83.

    Chris

    @SFAW:

    “You fought in the front pager wars?”
    “Yes, I was once a Balloon Juice commenter same as your father.”
    “I wish I’d known him.”
    “He was the best meme generator on the Internet.  And a cunning troll.  I understand you’ve become quite a good troll yourself…”

  85. 85.

    EarthWindFire

    @Soprano2: Highly recommend following Tia Levings on your social media of choice. She’s amazing! Her book, A Well-Trained Wife, about her life in and escape from, an abusive marriage to an evangelical, is coming out soon. Glad to hear it’s getting attention.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @TBone:

    I have two CCLFK t-shirts (wearing one of them now, in fact!) and I’ve had them both out in public over the last few days. Several big grins, “love your shirt” comments, and similar. No extended conversation, no insults of hostility.

  88. 88.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Sharing this from early dawn/dead thread because it’s what I truly believe for moving forward and winning:

    The things we say and write don’t exist in a vacuum.  They move others and have collective force.  We’ve seen what it looks like when we are all on the same positive page.  We’ve seen what it looks like when we aren’t.  Energy is infectious.  It can be used for good (recent days) or for ill (the last month).

    Coalitions win because a lot of good people are willing to put their gripes on hold when it’s time to get to work.  That’s not silencing, censorship or groupthink, it’s fucking teamwork and unity.  Being part of a team means putting your ego to the side and realizing you are just one minuscule piece of something much greater than you.

    A coalition that isn’t arguing is much harder to stop than one that is.  That’s why the GOP and Trump are panicking right now.  They know that when we are united, we win.  We need to keep this energy until the election and try to replicate in the future.  It’s not easy to do, but positivity (like now and when Obama came up) works much better than the alternative.  And that is on all of us.  Act accordingly.

    We have our ticket, now let’s show some love and positivity and win this thing.

  89. 89.

    Lyrebird

    Thank you Anne Laurie!  Love the dinosaur expert!

    I’m super happy with the Walz pick and super happy to know what amazing Governors and Senators we have pushing forward around the country.

    I am 100% behind CollieYimby and VanillaOpinions, ready to rumble, saving my fire for directing OUTWARDS – no time to waste on circular cluster whatevers.  Already we have slime dispensed by Linker, “dime a dozen” – highest ranking enlisted soldier EVER in congress, Gov who captained his state thru Covid, former teacher, out flipping standing!

    And keeping on with humor as a way to wage this battle:

    @suzanne:My friends and I always differentiated between “funny ha ha” and “funny uh oh”. i feel like we could make “weird LOL” and “weird OMG” a thing.

    Sounds good to me, not that I’m much of a judge.  Did you see this Clay Bennett cartoon?  (Preview: DKos link to cartoon of the two candidates, the creepy one holding a sign that says “DEI  candidate” pointing to Harris, who’s holding a sign that says “OMG candidate” pointing back at him.)

    ETA: from a commenter (me) who has proudly embraced “weird” for life, doesn’t bother me if the campaign has to dirty it up to get a point through this biased media environment

  90. 90.

    Kay

    I love how political media are pretending they have “fears” about Harris. Please. They were embarrassingly in the bag for Donald Trump and Harris upended their campaign to elect Donald Trump. They are counting on her to collapse.

    Sour grapes. Next time don’t call the election in January, you dopes. Use some self control and professionalism. Do your jobs.

  91. 91.

    jowriter

    @rikyrah: Totally. I’ve called him that ever since I saw you make that analogy.  Walz doesn’t just look and sound like a great guy; he is one.  One of my daughter’s Peace Corps friends is from Minneapolis and one of her friends had him as a teacher in hs.  The PC friend has a reputation for not liking anyone, but says Walz is fantastic and the polar opposite of people like DeSantis and Vance.  He’s real.

  93. 93.

    gene108

    I find the difference in the children’s faces between the Gov. Walz photo versus the Gov. Sanders photo summarizes the joy people in party feel about achieving their agenda.

  94. 94.

    Jeffg166

    Trump fatigue syndrome is here. Out with the old glum wannabe dictator in with the new Happy people.

  95. 95.

    BC in Illinois

    [From an earlier thread on Walz, back in July.]

    Walz is an ELCA Lutheran. Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.

    In 2020, the Catholics and the Missouri Synod Lutherans [Minnesota South District — VERY conservative] objected to Governor Walz’s Covid restrictions on in-person worship. You know: “continuing to keep churches closed violates the First Amendment.”

    From a “Word and Way” website:

    Five Faith Facts About Harris Pick Tim Walz, a ‘Minnesota Lutheran’ Dad

    Walz, like many Minnesotans, is Lutheran
    If elected, he would be the second (and maybe first) Lutheran Vice President *
    He faced blowback from religious communities — including conservative Lutherans — during the pandemic
    He rallied with faith leaders following the death of George Floyd
    He has advocated for the Minnesota Muslim population

    *There is question about how to count Humphrey — raised Lutheran, Methodist as an adult. Count him Methodist. The more important question is whether you count John Hanson of Maryland, President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation as the first US President. (Answer: Yes)

    [Full Disclosure: BC of Illinois is a retired LCMS Pastor, grew up in Maryland.]

  96. 96.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Matt McIrvin: That is if looking old doesn’t become an issue in 2028. I hope not. But after the agiest attack on Biden I am not so sure. We have set a precedent that gives NYT and elected Ds the power to overturn primary results based on their vibes.

  98. 98.

    Steve LaBonne

    Great to have McMegan’s seal of disapproval. She might be the most consistently wrong person on the planet.

  99. 99.

    Kay

    Have media checked in on their candidate’s speaking prowess lately? He sounds like a lunatic. He slurs. He loses his train of thought. He rambles and free associates for 90 minutes once a week, holding people fucking hostage in those halls to his boring “stories” and calls it a “rally” An elderly lunatic with a 500 word vocabulary. That’s who they’re backing.

  100. 100.

    danielx

    I am sure – nay, absolutely certain! – that the Harris campaign is utterly crushed by McMegan’s doubts.

  103. 103.

    Matt McIrvin

    Anyway, the inside-the-tent fight I was gearing up to have for the next few months just evaporated.

  104. 104.

    sdhays

    @Baud: If it had been Shapiro, I would have been disappointed for 5 seconds because it would have made Nate Silver and James Carville happy. And then I would have been as happy as I am now.

  105. 105.

    Kay

    I like Harris’ 30 minutes speeches and hopes she holds to it. No one wants to listen to any of these people longer than half an hour. It’s a great idea and long overdue. I have been to more political rallies than I care to count and I never once thought “oh – I wish it had been longer!”

  106. 106.

    Mousebumples

    https://bsky.app/profile/kevinbuist.com/post/3kz2jbvs2o22s

    This is Minnesota’s Lt. Governor, soon to be Governor, Peggy Flanagan. LFG. The upper midwest rules. Don’t fuck with us.

    {photo of Lt Gov Flanagan; no alt text, but she’s wearing a shirt that says Protect Trans Kids}

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/jbouie.bsky.social/post/3kz2jirwarc2a

    with a wine mom and a public school dad on the ticket you can really think of this year’s democratic ballot as the ultimate triumph of resistance libs

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/artinshadow.bsky.social/post/3kz2lhpbtds2v

    This feels like a signal to everyone that the “republicans for Harris” thing is just a temporary alliance of convenience since while the VP doesn’t do a ton publicly it does seem to say the left flank IS being prioritized here.

    I don’t KNOW what’s going on with this pick exactly because I heard some rumbles that Walz’s success is more from activist women in his legislature (and he seems to agree) but that just tells me he knows how to give WOC their flowers and play accomplice.

    We were ALWAYS gonna need a congress to push the exec hard the way we want. That ain’t changed.

  108. 108.

    jowriter

    @Kay: You are so right. I’ve been a Dem all my life and it was one of my few criticisms of Bill Clinton; when at the podium, the man did go on…and on. He gave some good speeches but most were memorable for their excessive duration.

  109. 109.

    Hildebrand

    @Elizabelle: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – the most liberal of all the Lutheran bodies in the US.  Ordains women and LGBTQ+, very ecumenical, dialog partners with non-Christian religions, Presiding Bishop is a woman.

    My wife and I are both ordained ELCA pastors.

  110. 110.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Steve LaBonne: We traded it for dark witterings from old media about how our ticket is too extreme and they need to appoint a lot of Republicans for that bipartisan frisson.

  111. 111.

    Matt

    The vibe from McMegan / Linker / et al is one of total disappointment: they were seriously looking forward to 3 months of “if you notice facts about Shapiro you want Trump to win” hippie-punching

  113. 113.

    Kay

    When Shapiro runs next all the dirt the other candidates and their supporters threw at him will be old news/he’ll have a better response to it. They get better at this but only if it’s competitive and this was. He’ll be a better candidate for it next time.

  114. 114.

    JML

    It’s sort of hilarious how you have GOPers and trash media flipping over tables to call Walz an uber-liberal; he was considered a centrist dem in Congress and was viewed as one of the least liberal candidates when he first ran for governor. The reality is, Walz has always been pretty much in the middle of the Democratic Party on his politics. But he’s frequently moved things further “left” with his policies as governor. but that’s with things like making sure kids don’t go to school hungry.

    He’s a good guy, and a team player. he gets things done, and he’ll do well supporting a Harris administration.

    Fine choice amongst many other fine choices.

  115. 115.

    TBone

    @SiubhanDuinne: 👍

    Do you live in a red place?  Our Walmart is very red hat – one lady was so happy to see me that she was almost crying!  When hubby chimed in about how great it’ll be to have a woman President she was all ” 😍 I’m SO glad to hear a man say that!”

    I posted a comment yesterday with details – had to call out a weirdo in the checkout lane.  The only person who reacted badly, and we politely made her STFU.  Well, I was polite, hubby not so much 😂

  117. 117.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    I’m glad to see Walz, his state fair catapult ride with his daughter won me over.

  122. 122.

    RandomMonster

    @Baud: If we want the ticket to win, should we be analogizing Walz to Cole?

    What is Walz’s attire while mopping?

  123. 123.

    Chris

    @Kay:

    The worst fucking thing about the mainstream media is how they phrase absolutely everything as if they were themselves just concerned liberal voters.

  124. 124.

    Papa Boyle

    Megan McArdle says Kamala isn’t good at public speaking. Perhaps McArdle meant to say “inarticulate”?

  129. 129.

    Kay

    @jowriter:

    It isn’t fair to hold people hostage. Get them in and out. 30 minutes is more than enough time, especially if she is ON TIME, which is one of my complaints about pols. Be punctual. It’s rude and inconsiderate to keep people waiting. We were always told Clinton couldn’t stay away from a rope line and that’s why he was always late. Biden too. Then allow for that in the schedule! Don’t tell people to show up at a time when you know the candidate will arrive an hour later. It’s obnoxious and privileged behavior, honestly.

  130. 130.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Chris: I think of that as the Conor Friedersdorf move: phrase your libertarian-right attack on the core of liberalism as if it were thoughtful strategic advice to liberals from inside the house about how they are doing liberalism wrong. There are liberals who it actually works on REPEATEDLY.

  131. 131.

    Mousebumples

    https://bsky.app/profile/paleofuture.bsky.social/post/3kz2jijsag22e

    The country is probably going to need an explainer on speaking Minnesotan now. If Walz ever describes your food as “interesting” it means he wanted to spit it out and believes you should kill yourself.

    I think part of the fun with Walz is the collision of “Minnesota Nice” with the attack dog role of VP.

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/eotech.bsky.social/post/3kz2jsiju4c2a

    We will indeed find out what the Minnesota equivalent of “Bless your heart” is during the VP debate.

  133. 133.

    M31

    can’t wait for the video of Walz and Joe Biden gapping the spark plugs in Joe’s Corvette

  134. 134.

    Marmot

    @Matt McIrvin:

    They’ve still got the “Sista Souljah” instinct that to win, a Democratic candidate has to do something that loudly and publicly shivs part of the base, like a human sacrifice to the gods of centrism.

    I was thinking McArdle’s attitude used to be a lot more common, and a lot of what drove me nuts in the 90s—defining a person or issue as icky-progressive if it appeals to progressives, not using any external gauge.

    … Harris would hurt herself by choosing the candidate who makes progressives happiest.

    This is some version of Cleek’s Law, right? The right just hates things because liberals like them. McArdle has the reactionary tendency, and she wants it to be rational.

  135. 135.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Kay: A former prosecutor like Harris should be very good at that. The goal is the same one she would have had in court: present a narrative with the necessary supporting facts, but concisely enough to finish before the jury nods off.

  136. 136.

    Tenar Arha

    @Soprano2: ~shudders~ That drive to take everything over is because they really don’t want women being able to escape from them. They definitely don’t want their women or children to know that any other ways of being might exist & rescue themselves.

  140. 140.

    Kay

    @Chris:

    I knew they were gearing up for the usual lemming-like pile on with the focus being Harris is too far Left. This is going to be the GOP/media strategy. I’m sure the Harris people were and are aware of it. I was trying to avoid it with a Shapiro pick but maybe they want to take it head on, which is fine with me. Let’s go. I love a good fight :)

  141. 141.

    jowriter

    @Kay: Ha!  My children call me the punctuality police. On time is good.  I hate staring at an empty podium for a half-hour.  It is disrespectful and I believe our time is the most precious thing we give to any endeavor.  Respect it!

  142. 142.

    Dangerman

    I’m looking forward to learning how to call someone a dishonest motherfucker/couchfucker in Minnesota nice.

  146. 146.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: Have media checked in on their candidate’s speaking prowess lately? He sounds like a lunatic. He slurs. He loses his train of thought. He rambles and free associates for 90 minutes once a week, holding people fucking hostage in those halls to his boring “stories” and calls it a “rally” An elderly lunatic with a 500 word vocabulary. That’s who they’re backing.

    (shhhhh…let them parade His Orangeness around some more and give America’s voters a gooood look! ;)

  149. 149.

    cain

    @Kay:

    They use the super liberal for everyone in the Dem side. You can’t really avoid that attack as it is the only attack they have.

  150. 150.

    Steve Crickmore

    I thought and hoped it would be Walz. He is natural,  importantly for his position avuncular and an educator, someone you could ask for and give advice, of good humour who will try to encourage the best out of Harris, and can help her win  two of the most important three swing states: MIchigan and Wisconsin, more than Shapiro could. Shapiro is an excellent hard-driving CEO by himself, maybe even better than Walz, but you can tell from his occasional public profanities, not improbably has sharp elbows, is ambitious and an ex -attorney -general just as Harris is. I don’t think he would have complimented her on the ticket or in office to the same degree as Walz.

  151. 151.

    Scout211

    In other good news today:

    (APNews)The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power.

    The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current.

    Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is important because extreme weather events fueled by climate change are increasing, damaging towers and bringing down wires, causing power outages.

    Thank you, President Biden and Secretary Granholm!

  154. 154.

    Jeffro

    @Mousebumples:

    The country is probably going to need an explainer on speaking Minnesotan now. If Walz ever describes your food as “interesting” it means he wanted to spit it out and believes you should kill yourself.

    LOL

    could also mean he just wishes it had a layer of tater tots baked on top, though?

    We will indeed find out what the Minnesota equivalent of “Bless your heart” is during the VP debate.

    ha – YES!

  155. 155.

    catclub

    @andy: he’s Humphrey without the baggage.

    Is the baggage being VP for Johnson?  Cause Humphrey was a leader on civil rights early. Also the Happy Warrior.

     

    ETA: Curses, beaten by two others with faster fingers.

  156. 156.

    SFAW

    @Dangerman: ​
     
    There’s probably something to be made from the difference between “real meat” (Harris/Walz) and “turkeys” (Shitgibbon/Couchfucker).
    [Riffing on the anecdote about Walz and his vegetarian daughter, of course.]

  159. 159.

    Kay

    @Chris:

    I also think normies are less ideological than political media or political junkies, so the pro Walz argument, that his demeanor and biography will seem “moderate” to midwesterners (Blue Wall), is a good argument. A lot of “moderate” to voters is not policy. It’s literally whether the person seems “normal” (which is why weird is such a good attack). Right wingers in my town think I’m a moderate because I’m conventional.

  160. 160.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: I see Denver Riggleman has joined the ranks of current and former Republican electeds endorsing Harris for President.

  161. 161.

    Jeffro

    @Steve Crickmore: [Walz] can help her win  two of the most important swing states: MIchigan and Wisconsin, more than Shapiro could.

    Yup.

    also…imagined VP-to-Shapiro conversation: “Josh, deliver PA for the ticket and you can just about name your post in my cabinet”

  163. 163.

    MomSense

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    I learned recently (Cliff Schecter I think) that Harris was the first to call trump weird.  She was asked what she would have done in that debate where he stalked Hillary around the stage.  She said she would have stopped and asked him why he was being so weird.

  164. 164.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Amy Klobs has been almost bouncing through the TV screen, she is so damned excited. It’s such a joyful thing to see!

  165. 165.

    tam1MI

    @CaseyL:  I wonder if any of the other candidates would make good Cabinet Secretaries.

    Not a Cabinet Secretary, but Shapiro seems very qualified to be Attorney General.

  167. 167.

    Kay

    @WereBear:

    One of the reasons Trump won in 2016 is people thought he was NOT ideological. Partly that was media promoting him -remember how the NYTimes kept telling us he was basically a Democrat?

    But that’s changed. People now think he’s a Republican and on the Right. I was glad to see they “got” it.

  174. 174.

    me

    @eclare: ​
     It’s entirely true too. When driving to New York my dad would time departure so we’d go through Chicago in the early morning.

  175. 175.

    SFAW

    @MomSense: ​
     

    She said she would have stopped and asked him why he was being so weird.

    Without kicking him in the balls? Well, that tears it, I’m voting for RFKJR

  176. 176.

    topclimber

    This choice reflects personal chemistry that should have been obvious to all: Walz makes Kamala laugh. Apparently it is something she enjoys. That was the tie-breaker.

    Cue Concerned Villagers: “Will Her VP Pick Spotlight Kamala’s Laughter Issue?”

  178. 178.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @TBone: Didn’t the orange guy hold a “rally” at Liacouras a few weeks ago? When they do the same venues, it’s a nice opportunity for split-screen comparisons of crowds. Saw one of those on the stadium in Atlanta where Kamala just had her big rally.

  179. 179.

    Ukai

    McArdle can mcgargle my mcnuts. Her displeasure is a portent of good outcomes for Democrats.

  180. 180.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: it’s getting to be time for GOP pols, past and present, to choose a side.  past time, actually.  this nonsense has been dragging their party down for over 8 years now.

    Looks like some Rs have finally figured out the benefits of…acting collectively!  LOL

    No one cares what Riggleman himself thinks, but every name on ‘Republicans for Trump’ helps the next name get added.

  184. 184.

    Geminid

    @Scout211: The funding for these grid upgrades comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, an underestimated legislative accomplishment in my opinion.

  185. 185.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Kay:  A lot of “moderate” to voters is not policy. It’s literally whether the person seems “normal” (which is why weird is such a good attack).

    Remember once upon a time when the Republicans droned on about the importance of character? Policies matter, sure, but the truth is we’re entrusting specific individuals with power. So I think it’s reasonable to ask, “can I trust this person?”

    [Need I add, my answer on Kamala Harris is an emphatic YES!]

  186. 186.

    louc

    One of the first influencers to push for Walz was David Hogg. He’s become quite a political powerhouse — recruiting young people to run and win office. If a young activist is in Walz’s corner, that’s a really good sign.

  191. 191.

    ArchTeryx

    Somewhere out there, Madame Hyena (and to a furry like me, that’s a complement) must be cackling gleefully at just how flummoxed the corporate press is at all this. They were caught as flat-footed as the Republicans were. When Joe Biden dropped out of the race, I was in a blind panic.

    I’m not now. Now it’s the corporate media desperately fumbling around for an anti-Democratic narrative. We got a hell of a challenger out of the deal, and I’m gonna be proud to vote for her this coming fall.

  192. 192.

    lee

    I grew up in Midland Texas and I can certainly believe her tweet about voting for Harris but for a different reason. The Texas GOP is pushing hard for school vouchers. Rural Republicans (Midland is not rural) stopped Abbott cold 3 times in special sessions. Those Republicans were primaried and all lost. My guess is they are finally having a ‘Leopards Eating Face’ moment and realize if they continue to support the GOP they are going to lose their Friday Night Lights.

    Midland is the town that famously televised a High School football game instead of a World Series game.

  193. 193.

    TBone

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: yes, noted in the article.

    Also, JD Pantzed will be in Philly today at a different location.  Not a furniture outlet though.  Maybe Four Seasons Total Landscaping has arranged the venue.

    Governor Shapiro will be stumping for the ticket at 5pm.

  196. 196.

    Kay

    @louc:

    Momsense said Kelly was good on guns and gun regs people are really passionate and involved Democrats, which is true and I had forgotten. I went to a gun safety rally in Cleveland once and the number of young parents with strollers was really something – all races. Many, many Black parents also want gun regulations. Parents are going to be key to gun safety wins and they are 100% ours. Republicans have told them to fuck off.

  197. 197.

    Old School

    @Mousebumples:

    With a Minnesotan on the ticket, I think we need a Prince theme song… Any votes?

    …

    Feeling Minnesota

    Kamala hopes that gopher state golden boy Walz will be more Prince than Pence. But can this sexy motherfucker make Donald the dove cry?

    by Maureen Dowd— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) August 6, 2024

  199. 199.

    Mousebumples

    I think @RaflW posted this over the weekend, but I’m reupping it –

    https://www.startribune.com/as-a-black-woman-i-can-vouch-for-a-white-male-vp-prospect-from-minnesota-tim-walz/600683165

    In the short time since President Joe Biden announced he will not seek reelection, Harris has been subjected to vicious slurs and racist insults, meant not just to demean her but to destroy her.

    As she marches toward Election Day, she’s going to need someone who knows how to support her and respect her.

    Without a shadow of a doubt or a hint of reservation, I am 100% certain that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is the best option to be her vice president. He knows how to give unwavering support to Black women. He is not just an ally; he is our accomplice.

    How can I speak with such certainty? Because Walz has shown such support to me.

  200. 200.

    Kay

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    Well, this pick might keep us the clever Tik Tokkers with their original content so that’s worth something, media wise. And it’s free. Priceless, in a way, because you can’t buy it.

  203. 203.

    Mousebumples

    @Kay: I read that Walz used to have an A+ rating from the NRA in Congress. After one of the school shootings (Parkland? Newtown?), one of his kids asked him to change his voting pattern.

    By the time he left Congress, he had an F rating.

    Now to try to find that article again…

  204. 204.

    Fair Economist

    Late to the party, but it’s hard to find a story better than a dinosaur scientist winning a gold medal in trampolining. And I find it both fascinating and mind-blowing that we have some idea of what dinosaurs sounded like, especially Hadrosaurs with their enormous sounding chambers.

  205. 205.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @ArchTeryx: ​

    When Joe Biden dropped out of the race, I was in a blind panic.

    I’m not now.

    That was my emotional journey exactly, and an indicator of how well the announcement was managed, and the followup endorsements choreographed, to bring us panickers all along and up to speed emotionally so quickly. That was deliberate and it was masterful. We have the A team working in our party, including and still led by Joe Biden.

    We got a hell of a challenger out of the deal, and I’m gonna be proud to vote for her this coming fall.

    My dog walk takes me past the local ballot dropbox several times a day. I would definitely have been red-flagged as a mule by D’Souza. And every time I pass it, a little childish voice in my brain whines from the backseat, “can I vote yet? can I vote yet? can I vote yet?”

  206. 206.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @M31: I have issues with cooking the brats in a mix of beer and water.  It should be beer only.  No water, fish fuck in it.

  207. 207.

    WereBear

    Here’s who I’m looking forward to voting for, also:

    Democrat running against Stefanik survives election challenge

    Though the fact that raging MAGA Stefanik is a five time winner and this is a big district and lightly populated usually dooms us to disappointment. But if she shows up anywhere we will get an email and meet her and donate. Just as we did the other four contenders.

    Because how else can we get someone to vote for? One day it will pay off. Besides, we’re in NY. She embarasses us. But that’s about as bad as she can do in a royal blue state.

  208. 208.

    Suzanne

    Kamala Harris campaign announces Republican advisory group to target GOP voters in Arizona

    So I have to admit that John Giles (mayor of Mesa, AZ) surprised me here. As I have shared here before, I basically grew up in Mesa and also spent some time there as an adult. It has historically been known as the most conservative large city in the country. It’s the largest suburban municipality in the country, founded by LDS settlers, and it’s where Jeff Flake lives. It also has a large Mexican and Mexican-American population, many undocumented people, a lot of poverty, and an ugly streak of white supremacy. It is a tough place for liberals. Good on Giles for this.

  209. 209.

    M31

    didn’t know this about Walz but he and his wife conceived with IVF, another great contrast with the weirdo party, hope they try to attack him for it

  215. 215.

    zhena gogolia

    @BC in Illinois: I’m a former Lutheran!* Love ELCA Lutherans! He looks a little bit like my dear departed pastor.

    *Only left them because they’re not a big thing in the NE, so went back to UCC.

  219. 219.

    TBone

    I invented my own signature hot dish. TBone’s Loaded Smashed Potato Surprise!

    Preheat oven to 350. Butter a deep casserole dish.

    In a bowl, use your old school potato squasher to make lumps of perfectly boiled Yukon Golds.  Add in a full container of sour cream, and a boatload of freshly chopped bacon bits and scallions.  Spread out your lumpy mash in the casserole.

    Make a bechamel and add a ton of your favorite hand shredded cheeses (cheddar, Swiss, and American go in mine).  Pour your cheese sauce over the potatoes and bake for 30 or 40 minutes till the top is browned.  Buttered panko on top is optional overkill.

  220. 220.

    KatKapCC

    she is incredibly bad at public speaking

    Objection: Assumes facts not in evidence.

    How anyone can watch her recent rallies and say this is beyond me. Megan, go eff yourself.

  223. 223.

    Kay

    @Mousebumples:

    Good. I think the response to “Democrats hate parents” is to roll out our gun regs parents. That’s a real thing and Republicans have completely rejected them. They should be 100% ours, like health care is 100% ours.

  224. 224.

    Mousebumples

    @Belafon: thanks. I think he also donated the money he got from the NRA to charity during his race for governor, too. But Google and their AI search fail are not helping me find what I saw before.

    So I appreciate the confirmation that l’m not inventing things!

  230. 230.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Mousebumples: ​ On the Seniors for Harris call, they mentioned that school shootings and gun regulation shows up high up in the list of concerns among seniors. We don’t like worrying about our grandchildren being shot for the crime of going to school and sitting in their classroom.

  231. 231.

    p.a.

    @Suzanne: If this Arizona thing is a one-off of a few disgruntled R’s, it’s still a good thing.  If it becomes a trend, 👍🏻.

    And not at all saying I would agree with any of their policies, but they have descended to such depths that just agreeing on democratic norms is a big win.

  238. 238.

    Fair Economist

    @Chris:

    Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Despite the “Evangelical” moniker, actually the most liberal of the Lutheran groups.

    “Evangelical” has been hijacked by RW nuts, but it’s *supposed* to just refer to a group that seeks to proselytize. It didn’t originally require digging up weird stuff from the Old Testament, lying about what the Bible says about abortion, or defying the Sermon on the Mount.

  240. 240.

    p.a.

    It should not be a “thing”, but let’s face it: having a grampy-type white guy on the ticket with a multiracial woman can’t hurt in some demographics.

  241. 241.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Mousebumples: there’s a book called How to Talk Minnesotan that I bought for Mr. Rudbek when we first started dating. That was 30-something years ago so I need to get the updated version with the internet additions. Mr. Rudbek being a New Orleans/Northern Virginian needed the translator (although my Minnesota side is Italian/Irish, we’re the living example of Ray Bradbury’s The Machineries of Joy short story).

  242. 242.

    Matt McIrvin

    @JML: I don’t think the “Walz is a crazy leftist” attack is going to work, because normie folk think of these things in terms of aesthetics and personalities, and they actually *like* liberal pocketbook policies.

  243. 243.

    Suzanne

    @p.a.: The LDS cohort is conservative but they have not been aligned with Trump anywhere near as closely as evangelicals have. And there has been a growing contingent of LDS Democrats. There was a LDS for Harris zoom call.

    Mesa and the Phoenix East Valley is the 2nd largest LDS community in the world, after Salt Lake. It could matter to winning Arizona, absolutely.

  245. 245.

    DougL

    @Kay:

    your comment at # 159 makes such a good point. Moderate to most voters (who couldn’t spell ideology much less have one) is about how you talk and how you look. In that respect Walz was by far the best pick.

  254. 254.

    JML

    @Matt McIrvin: I tend to agree, I just think it’s funny how the world spins like this. I wonder how many of the DC media types that loved Rep. Tim will turn on VP candidate Tim either because they can’t help themselves from going after national dems, or because they will do what their corporate masters order…

    The McArgleBargles of the world are pretty hilarious, because they would have run the same tweet/story regardless of who Harris picked and everyone knows it. Intellectually bankrupt, the lot of them.

  256. 256.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: They still are, they are desperate to have him and his chaos and his leaky White House back, regardless of how bad it is for anyone else.

  259. 259.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: Now no matter what he says or says he’s going to do they shrug and say “That’s TCFG, what are you going to do?” They’ve totally normalized all of his insanity. It’s our job to un-normalize it, if there is such a thing.

  262. 262.

    Dave

    @Matt McIrvin: Exactly moderate or extreme is rarely about actual policy positions but perception.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the perception of Walz amongst your median voter is a fairly centrist dude and it would take a lot of effort to change that perception.

  264. 264.

    K-Mo

    My fears since the announcement of Walz as the running mate are that there are little green men living under my bed and there might be a mole on my @ss that I haven’t noticed yet.  So far he has done nothing to allay these fears.

  265. 265.

    M31

    @TBone: lol most traditional hot dishes are best after you shoveled off the pond all morning and played hockey all afternoon

  267. 267.

    OlFroth

    Last weekend I drove US-22 from Pittsburgh to Altoona to take in a minor league baseball game and do some railfanning.  Once you get east of Murraysville, you’re in Trump Country, and I saw very, very few Trump signs compared to four years ago.  There was a Trump Grift Bus outside Blairsville selling Trump branded crap, and every single person there was old, white, and using canes.

  272. 272.

    Maxim

    @Suzanne: That’s good to hear. Fingers crossed that there are a whole lot of silent and not-so-silent Harris voters out there. And we need to do the work, of course, but it’s encouraging to see so many groups self-organizing in support.

  273. 273.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I see it as “normal” vs “weird”. We have a perfectly normal woman as our presidential candidate and a perfectly normal man as our VP candidate; they want to help people and make their lives better. Republicans have a seriously unhinged man as their presidential candidate who talks about a fictional person as if he’s real, has an obsession with sharks and boat batteries, and rambles and slurs his words for 90 minutes, and a VP candidate who gives off weird vibes and definitely doesn’t like women, especially the ones who are unmarried with no children. I like our odds.

  277. 277.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I agree with this. People who aren’t ideological base a lot on how things look and sound; that’s unfair, but it’s the truth. Our ticket looks and sounds much more “normal” than theirs does. That gives us an advantage.

  278. 278.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:I think the response to “Democrats hate parents” is to roll out our gun regs parents. That’s a real thing and Republicans have completely rejected them. They should be 100% ours, like health care is 100% ours.

    Same thing with pro-vax parents.

  285. 285.

    emmyelle

    My Theory of McMegan, and other not-quite-never-Trumpers, is that they have already decided that they will vote for Trump, even though they don’t really want to because he is so horrible and violates some surface-level policy commitment of theirs, and they need to spend every day between now and Election Day coming up with rationalizations for their decision.

  286. 286.

    NotMax

    @Kayla Rudbek

    Entertainer Biff Rose mused that the Minnesota accent developed due to the winters. “They have to click their teeth together to create heat in their head.”
    ;)

  287. 287.

    Princess

    @Kay: And the fact that Shapiro will be perceived to be not the choice of progressives will help him with independents in PA.

  289. 289.

    tam1MI

    @Mousebumples: With a Minnesotan on the ticket, I think we need a Prince theme song… Any votes?

    All props to Prince, His Purple Majesty and the GOAT, but for a campaign theme song I would go with Minnesota’s very own The Suburbs great tune LOVE IS THE LAW!

  290. 290.

    Served

    @Kay: It’s already starting. They’re calling him the Midwestern Princess, a reference to Chappell Roan, a new, huge artist who has exploded in popularity among Gen Z/Alpha this summer.

    Brat and the Midwest Princess is all they need to fuel the trend.

  291. 291.

    hueyplong

    @tam1MI: I like Prince for the theme song a lot better than another guy with Minnesota ties, but these lyrics wouldn’t have to be changed too much to throw them at Trump:
    Once upon a time you dressed so fine
    Threw the bums a dime in your prime
    Didn’t you?
    People call, say, “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”
    You thought they were all
    Kidding’ you?
    You used to laugh about
    Everybody that was hangin’ out
    Now you don’t talk so loud
    Now you don’t seem so proud
    About having to be scrounging
    Your next meal
    How does it feel?
    How does it feel?
    To be without a home?
    Like a complete unknown?
    Like a rolling stone?

  292. 292.

    oldgold

    I think people often overthink election politics. This is particularly so in elections like this that will be decided by normies.

    I see this pick like a game of Rock Paper Scissors.

    Walz in a word is solid. Solid beats weird.

  293. 293.

    hells littlest angel

    My fears about Harris are that she is incredibly bad at public speaking, and that she reliably makes bad political decisions. So far, she has done nothing to allay either fear. I’m not saying she can’t win, but I wish she gave me more confidence.

     

    Considering her overweening self-confidence, I wouldn’t put too much value on McArdle’s confidence.

  295. 295.

    Splitting Image

    McArdle’s sincere disappointment seems to be good evidence that Harris made the right choice.

    Harris/Walz ’24!

    I like it.

  296. 296.

    jonas

    @danielx: Even Kristol eventually learned to sort of laugh at himself about his unbroken track record of epic wrongness. No similar sense of self-awareness from McMegan, apparently.

  298. 298.

    jonas

    @WereBear: Yeah, Stefanik’s district is deep-red upstate MAGA country, so I wish Collins all the best. Unless Trump completely impolodes and takes shameless remoras like Stefanik down with him, there’s not much hope. But not much is still some!

  299. 299.

    Barbara

    @Splitting Image: McArdle is the one who confidently asserted that Dobbs would make no difference in the 2022 congressional elections.  She is best ignored or viewed as a wrong way sign.

  301. 301.

    jonas

    @emmyelle: Or, conversely, that they will vote for Harris because Trump is so transparently horrible, but will never, ever forgive Democrats for making them do this and so will concern-troll the shit out of everything until the end of time to placate their injured glibertarian fee-fees.

  302. 302.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Soprano2: i seriously don’t get the whole “electrocution/boat/shark” thing. like, pretty much for a hundred years, boats and ships have had electric starters and electrical components throughout their hulls.

    there’s a fucking world-famous company right across the way in CT called the fucking electric boat company! as a former POTUS, the big lie-bowski should fucking KNOW that because they make SSBN’s that are a vital part of the nuclear triad!

    yeesh. his stoopid makes my brain hurt.

  303. 303.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Mousebumples:
     

    With a Minnesotan on the ticket, I think we need a Prince theme song… Any votes?

    Haven’t had a chance to read through the thread, but I assume that Omnes has already recommended the Replacements. Perhaps “Left of the Dial”?

  307. 307.

    Geminid

    @strange visitor (from another planet): I remember Trump getting into this whole magnet thing when he came down to Newport News to survey an aircraft carrier under construction. I think it was the Gerald. Ford.  That was the first carrier with electromagnetic catapults instead of steam-powered, and Trump made some typically stupid remark about how he liked steam propulsion better. Trump caught a lot of criticism for this and it got under his thin skin, so he’s carried a grudge against magnets ever since. Wierd!

  308. 308.

    SomeRandomGuy

    Please note this is a response to an embedded zit, excuse me, Xit.

    The next non-farcical explanation for how it could have been illegal to replace Biden when not a single delegate had voted first him will be the first

    No one said it could have been illegal, you nincompoop. They pointed out both the practical and pragmatic difficulties of ballot access, where assholes would try to deny ballot access, unless it was guaranteed.

    The typical guarantee is “nominees of political parties” that must occur by a set date. The Democratic National Convention wouldn’t even have guaranteed access to a nominee, because it occurred after the set date in Ohio (no idea if there were other dicey states). Ohio explicitly set a trap in its law for ballot access – rather than just guaranteeing the nominee’s ballot access, if nominated any time in august, they said the law didn’t take effect until September 1, which was stupid and pointless – unless it was intended to open up court challenges.

    This is the worst kind of argument, a strawman that doesn’t even make any sense, if anyone spends ten seconds thinking about it. Yes, there’d have been major lawsuits, if Harris replaced Biden too many days into August, not even that would have made anything *illegal*, it just would have made it subject to challenge, subject to “Biden-Harris” ballots that can’t be reprinted, subject to lawsuits saying Harris can’t use Biden-Harris electoral votes for President – *IF* she’d been listed as the VP nominee – etc.. Since she was nominated early enough, those problems go away –  precisely as expected by anyone who followed the news.

    For some reason, some bozo thinks that he gets to crow WIKTORYYYYYYYYY! for being stupidly wrong on the facts, but trying to make *other* people look stupidly wrong on the facts, for the crime of having been correct. This Scott could be called “Donald” except, that’s really NK and Russia slang for a room-clearing fart.  (HEY! Would I kid about something so earthshakingly important?)

    Smacking down a strawman just proves you’ve got a really weird kink. I, too, have a bit of a kink, for shredding the straw and explaining the the anatomical differences. “See, no brain, just straw. No heart, just straw; no balls, just straw. No arms or legs, hands or feet… whoooo BRAVE warrior it takes to fight this man of straw.”

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