Exclusive/CNN–Judge Michael Luttig, widely respected conservative jurist, endorses Kamala Harris–his FIRST Democratic vote. Issues a remarkable statement to explain why. https://t.co/o7Z5PWa7dR
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 19, 2024
“In voting for Vice President Harris, I assume that her public policy views are vastly different from my own,” Luttig writes, “but I am indifferent in this election as to her policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be.”
(CNN)
Retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush, is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump, whose candidacy he describes as an existential threat to American democracy.
It will be the first time Luttig, a veteran of two Republican administrations, has voted for a Democrat.
“In the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,” Luttig wrote in a statement obtained exclusively by CNN. “As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”
Luttig played a now famous role in persuading then-Vice President Mike Pence to defy Trump and certify the 2020 presidential election. In a series of tweets drafted at the request of Pence’s attorney, Luttig spelled out in stark terms the legal rationale for Pence to reject the former president’s attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s victory.
Since then, Luttig has emerged as a preeminent constitutional critic of Trump. In endorsing Harris, Luttig argues that partisan distinctions must, in this election, be set aside in order to prevent the “singularly unfit” Trump from returning to the White House.
“In voting for Vice President Harris, I assume that her public policy views are vastly different from my own,” Luttig writes, “but I am indifferent in this election as to her policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be.”
In this fight, will take all the statesmen we can get, regardless of party. I had never heard of him before J. Michael Luttig testified at the Jan 6 hearings. To paraphrase Luttig in the linked article:
I assume that her LUTTIG’s policy views are vastly different from my own, but I am indifferent in this election as to HIS policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be.” ~WG
It would really be encouraging if James Mattis, John Kelly, H.R. McMaster, Rex Tillerson, Mark Milley, Mark Esper, and John Bolton were to put the country first and do the same.
— John Dori (@JohnTDori) August 19, 2024
Ha! Not one of the people listed above is a statesman. Okay, maybe Mark Milley is the exception. The rest are spineless hypocrytes who chose not to defend the rule of law when they had power during the Trump Administration.
Open thread.
p.a.
Where was he in 2016, 2020? Wooooooo brilliant jurist? I’m a dickhead and I knew tRump was trash. Since he was the butt of jokes in Spy magazine.
TBone
Cue big sad trombone audio!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/19/house-republicans-biden-impeachment-report
😆
kmeyerthelurker
Yet another principled rejection of trump that will persuade precisely nobody.
WaterGirl
@kmeyerthelurker: You really think that? Luttig is highly respected in conservative circles. That he would publicly declare his intention to vote for Harris, and publicly endorse Harris, will give a lot of people who have always voted Republican permission to either stay home or vote for Harris.
BR
@kmeyerthelurker:
I agree, sadly, except for a very small number of Federalist legal types who probably number in the hundreds total nationwide. The one thing it *might* do is because he’s respected by the mainstream media, if he were willing to go on air not as a campaign surrogate but as a respected legal voice, he could be valuable right before and right after the election to knock down any attempt at stealing the election.
tom
@p.a.: Where Luttig was In 2020 is spelled out in the post. He played a key role in persuading Mike Pence to defy Trump and certify the election in the house. Prior to that, he was a fierce critic of Trump.
kmeyerthelurker
@WaterGirl: I think you vastly overestimate how many Trump voters care about such stuff. To them it’s just more elitism.
NotMax
Two things looking forward to this week.
Thing the first. Thing the second.
Belafon
@kmeyerthelurker: Once again, a comment totally dumping on a really principled stand that we should be cheering.
cain
@TBone: The SCOTUS gave him a “get out of jail free” card. He can do whatever the fuck he wants since it is all “official acts” – of course, the SCOTUS is now the ‘gatekeeper’ on what is and what isn’t an official act.
Baud
Who’s Virginia?
VFX Lurker
Open thread: I’m on Day 9 of COVID-19. After two faint lines in a row on Friday and Saturday, my Sunday rapid test showed a bright red line. Rebound!
COVID rebound can happen with and without Paxlovid, so I’m glad I took the Paxlovid last week.
My symptoms keep changing. This weekend I had fatigue and dry sinuses. Today I have a sinus running like a faucet. This is one weird virus. I’m also 99% sure I caught one of the famous FLiRT variants, because the CDC reports that the KP variants represent most of what’s flying around California right now.
If you haven’t had COVID this summer, hang in there until September and get the KP.2 FLiRT shot! Better to get knocked out for one day than to get whatever the HECK this complete and utter nonsense is.
cain
@NotMax: Certainly better than JD Vance’s child kit featuring his sperm.
ssdd
@kmeyerthelurker: yeah they (and Trump) will just use this as more “proof” that the “deep state” is out to get them/him.
kmeyerthelurker
@Belafon: Hey, I called it principled. I just think its silly to wishcast this into curing anyone of Fox News Brain.
danielx
Of Trump fans, maybe one percent could tell you who J. Michael Luttig is, and the percentage who care what he says or does is considerably less.
trnc
If only there were some set of non-maga republican voters who might make a difference in the vote margin.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@kmeyerthelurker:
You’re still dumping on it
Old School
@Baud:
Rep. Virginia Foxx. We’re waiting for her to weigh in.
Brent
@kmeyerthelurker:
I honestly don’t know how many voters will be swayed by Luttig’s statement. And for sure, the average Trump diehard doesn’t even know who Luttig is, let alone care what he thinks.
But by the same token I don’t think we should underestimate how many Trump voters are just reflexive conservative voters who may just need some type of permission to rethink their vote. This sort of thing probably won’t be a game changer on its own. But whether or not it works, I do think it is the kind of thing that if it happens repeatedly, can drive down a candidate’s support on the margins. And really, a 1 or 2% change at the margins and some good ground gaming could easily push this whole election into blowout territory for Harris.
NotMax
Dolt 45 will smear Luttig as stupid, senile and a communist in 3…2…1….
Scout211
I think most people here would agree with that statement. It’s not going to convince the MAGA voters.
But that group of voters is not who these more old guard conservatives Republicans are talking to. They are speaking to the type of Republicans that are more like they are, moderate conservatives or old guard Republicans from the past. Speaking out like this gives other Republicans more permission to vote for the Democrat. It’s a good thing, IMHO.
BR
@Brent:
I think the value of Luttig is if he can get booked on Fox News right after the election to talk about constitutional processes and the fairness of the election.
Another Scott
@VFX Lurker: :-(
Thanks for the report. Feel better, and get all of those nasties out of your system, ASAP!
Cheers,
Scott.
eclare
@VFX Lurker:
I hope you feel better soon! I always get the vaccines as soon as they are released.
Belafon
@trnc: I know of one Republican, that my dad knows, here in Texas that will be voting for Harris for the same reason that Luttig is stating.
Omnes Omnibus
Well, we could just write off everyone who ever voted for a Republican or identified as one. That would take care of Cole and half of the commenters. Or we could take the votes and the endorsements of anyone with a vestigial sense of decency. We don’t have to give them any voice in setting policy though.
cmorenc
When George W Bush was selecting the replacement for retiring Justice Sandra O’Connor, the finalists were Luttig and Alito. He chose Alito, likely because his advisors (correctly) considered that Alito was the the more likely to long-term remain a reliably RW ideologue in his decisions, and the less likely to turn out like Souter or Stevens. Which parallels the reasons his dad went with such an ill-qualified partisan RW hack like Thomas to replace Marshall.
kmeyerthelurker
@Brent: Sure, It deifinitely won’t do any harm and can only help if anything, I get that. Sometimes my despair at the level of cultism the “movement conservatives” have sunk to overwhelms.
MattF
Santos pleads guilty, will pay $373,749.97 in restitution and will likely go to prison for at least two years when sentenced in February.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Damn it, would stop being a voice of reason. This is BJ, the birthplace on unreasonable, over-the-top conclusion spouting.
Hoodie
@Belafon: It’s principled, but I doubt it does much of anything. Most people outside of conservative legal circles don’t know who Luttig is and those who do either don’t need him to tell them Trump is a danger or don’t give a shit if he is. He’s not a great public advocate because it takes him forever to get to the point. He writes better than that but very few people read what he has to say. You’d get more mileage out of some prominent Republican pol coming out against Trump, but it would have to be someone who was recently a supporter (e.g., someone like Haley).
David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch
Marine One just landed in sweet home Chicago
Baud
@cmorenc:
He picked a fine time to be right.
Geminid
George Santos pleaded guilty today to wirefraud and aggravated identity theft, at a federal court in Central Islip, Long Island. Sentencing was set for February 7 of next year. The sentencing range is said to be 6 to 8 years imprisonment. CBS and others have reports.
cmorenc
@Omnes Omnibus: Disqualifying everyone who voted for Republican would disqualify me. I voted for Nixon in 1972, first election I was eligible to vote in, before I found the oath to enlightenment and voted D every election since.
KatKapCC
@WaterGirl: Yeah. I think when prominent conservatives are willing to do this, it’s about giving tacit and unspoken permission to others to do the same, even if those others don’t also make public statements.
It’s kind of like at a school dance where no one wants to be the first ones on the dance floor, but as soon as someone finally works up the nerve, then everyone else follows.
Especially the way Luttig worded his statement, I think some other anti-Trump conservatives could see it and think, “Yeah…I don’t have to agree with her on everything to vote for her in this situation.”
JML
I don’t expect Luttig’s statement to have substantial impact on voter behavior, but every positive impact is good…and I’m happy to have the DC media be forced to talk about this for any amount of time, rather than give TFG his usual pass, or hear them whine about not getting a gift-wrapped opportunity to play “gotcha” with MVP.
Luttig isn’t a long-term ally, but for now the enemy of my enemy is my friend and I will take it.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
We don’t need to give them a voice in policy because we still have far too much neoliberal, Reaganomic crap immersed in the Party and in a lot of surprising, and disappointing, voices.
Luttig’s statement is aimed more at the Beltway political insider class than anybody else. Oh well, anything that helps the narrative and the election campaign…
Ken
We read that and see reason to chuckle; others think “That means I can demand at least $350,000 for a pardon in January.”
KatKapCC
@kmeyerthelurker: I don’t think that’s what Water Girl is doing here. This seems to be an unfair interpretation of her post.
eclare
@cmorenc:
Same here, my first election I voted for HW over Dukakis. Then I saw the light, only Dems ever since, every two years.
Baud
@eclare:
It was the tank, wasn’t it?
gvg
@Hoodie: Maybe he will be more important to people like other judges or lawyers or elected republicans who have to do with certifying the results of an election. There are many moving parts within a democracy and arriving safely past Trump.
Maybe he thought he couldn’t NOT speak up and try to help. It will help it there are a lot of public republicans speaking up about not voting for Trump. A lot of their voters are sort of followers or have felt intimidated by peer pressure.
zhena gogolia
Thank you, Judge Luttig, and thank you for testifying at the Jan. 6 hearings.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: No, he wanted Dukakis to tear apart his wife’s hypothetical rapist with his bare hands.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
The media has always been awful.
Geminid
@Scout211: I know a handful of Trump voters and none of them liked or respected Trump. They voted Republican because they thought Democrats were worse; the “negative partisanship” dynamic.
These are upper middle class professionals who get many of their political views from the Wall Street Journal. They’re of a type that could be swayed by Luttig’s op-ed. They’re tired of Trump and want to move on
Ed. I think the particular people I know are more likely to leave the top line blank than to vote for Harris. But I’ll take what I can get from people like them.
eclare
@Baud:
Hahaha…I grew up with old school Republican parents. My mom finally saw the light starting with Kerry. I don’t know if Dad ever voted D, but he probably left that election blank or wrote someone in in his later years.
It took going away to college for me to expand my views.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Probably was awful to FDR too.
zhena gogolia
OT, Homicide: Life on the Street will now be streaming on Peacock, which I don’t have.
fancycwabs
In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS has overturned Luttig’s statement, with Clarence Thomas writing for the majority “Trump is infallible and not a threat to democracy at all.” In a concurrence, Samuel Alito said “our system of laws, based on the legal standards of English law, say we must be subservient to our king and god Donald Trump, and therefore Luttig’s opinion is overturned.”
eclare
@zhena gogolia:
I’ll have to check that out. I was an idiot and didn’t watch the original run, and I love The Wire.
HumboldtBlue
@NotMax:
Stealing those.
BR
Against my better judgement I’ve been looking at bluesky today and the silence about the protests at the DNC has been deafening. It seems folks aren’t willing to be honest about the fact that they haven’t gotten the turnout they wanted. The only things I’ve seen are some horseshoe lefty types posting op-eds saying they will never vote for Harris and that “progressives” (they mean greyzone Greenwald acolytes) can never support her, but those folks aren’t discussing the protests either, and those folks can’t be reasoned with or satisfied about anything.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@zhena gogolia:
Break down and purchase the DVD set, that’s what we did years ago.
Last year finished watching it from start to finish after watching it during it’s run back in the day. God, what a great series. The little scenes of banal dialogue alone was worth it.
I’m almost thru with the book it’s based on. This is a rare occurrence when the movie/tv show is better than the book.
Ridnik Chrome
I think Luttig’s statement is important mostly as a sign of just how much old school Republicans despise Trump. These are folks who really do treat Ronald Reagan’s famous dictum “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican” as the Eleventh Commandment. For them to make these kinds of statements goes against everything they were ever taught in their political lives. And for every one of them that’s saying things like this in public there are probably tens of thousands more who are saying it in private.
Eunicecycle
@Ken: can some of our legal eagles explain why it takes so long to sentence someone? And then it’s usually months until they are actually in prison. I mean it will be 6 months before he is sentenced!
Chris
@Scout211:
In addition to all of this, feels worth remembering that until only about, what, twenty, thirty years ago? – ground zero for the Republican Party was suburban college-educated middle-class-to-upper-middle-class voters. The kind of people who’ve never been exactly comfortable with John Birchers, but also spent the entire late twentieth century terrified of hippies, crime, and taxes. Everything they thought they could trust went belly-up in the Dubya years, and Sarah Palin finally convinced them that the GOP wasn’t their party, but that doesn’t mean they don’t miss (what they think) it (was), or that they’re totally comfortable with the Democrats.
Every statement like this one from a solid establishment Republican helps convince a few recent Democrats not to backslide, helps convince a few apathetics to get off their asses and go from “ex-Republican” to “actually voting Democrat,” maybe even convinces a few lingering Republicans to go apathetic. Not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit helps.
(And yes, younger educated suburbanites are nothing like this and have grown up their whole lives thinking of Democrats, not Republicans, as the normal party. But there’s plenty of the old guard still alive, even if they are steadily dying off, and they vote too).
allium
@NotMax: I actually have a can of schadenfreude from them that I’m saving for a special oh-kay-she-on.
zhena gogolia
@eclare: It’s really good.
Jackie
Harris proposes hiking corporate tax rate to 28%:
Sock it to ‘em, Kamala! (Bringing back those ‘68 vibes 😁)
tam1MI
When was the big parade people were being bussed in for supposed to be? Wasn’t that today?
BR
@Jackie:
More than anything, this will get the plutocrats and Trump complaining, and sets up a nice contrast.
BR
@tam1MI:
I think so? I thought in another thread folks here were saying that the turnout was far lower than expected. But I wasn’t sure if the march was supposed to have already happened or if it’s happening later.
Cheryl from Maryland
I answered the phone on a whim — I was polled for the MD US Senate Race. I believe by Hogan’s people as poll focused on “malfeasance,” by Alsobrooks. I pointed out that Hogan is just another GOP vote, he was not an independent voice in MD, he will not be an independent in the Senate, and I consider him personally corrupt as the Development Company he founded before he entered politics and which was run by his brother while he was Governor managed to buy property near intersections which Hogan and the DOT in his administration selected for improvements. I enjoyed myself.
Wyatt Salamanca
Luttig belongs to an endangered species, a Republican with principles.
MazeDancer
6:15 ET is official DNC start time according to Nicolle Wallace.
C-Span will begin streaming then, too.
Yutsano
Look, we don’t exactly have to be friends with Luttig, and y’all know he’ll just go back to sucking the Republican teat after the election. We need whatever reach his voice has now. And right now I’ll take that for what it’s worth
EDIT: ayyyy nice comment number!
Belafon
@Jackie: I would like to see Democrats go really old school on that and raise taxes but add deductions for training and other investments in employees.
RedDirtGirl
@zhena gogolia: Wow. I’ve been waiting for that to stream for ever. But not sure I want to purchase another service. Decisions, decisions : )
rikyrah
We are voting to save democracy in America. It’s that simple.
Yutsano
@Cheryl from Maryland: I just want Alsobrooks to cream his butt.
RedDirtGirl
@zhena gogolia: Ho Ho Ho Homocide!
rikyrah
@Cheryl from Maryland:
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HAH A
Sounds like you did…
HumboldtBlue
rikyrah
@zhena gogolia:
YESSSSSSSSSSS
gene108
Luttig’s been a critic of Trump for years. He’s gotten more critical of Republicans in general and the SCOTUS more recently.
MSM refers to him for legal opinions on major pending cases before the SCOTUS.
He gets to write opinion pieces in major publications, like the NYT or WaPo or maybe both.
His endorsement of VP Harris and Trump being a threat to democracy will do more to open the MSM to the possibility of covering Trump as a threat to democracy than anything else.
It’ll give some content for CNN and MSNBC to talk about during the news day. Some of it may filter through to social media, depending on if any influencers want to broadcast his statements.
Sure Lurkalot
@Geminid:
What a joke. After Romney lost, the so-called principled, sane Republicans came out with their autopsy report calling for more outreach to women, young people, minorities (esp Latinos), more support for voting rights, immigration reform, gay marriage. Many Repub bigwigs embraced it but bottom dwellers like Rush decried it, preferring the downward, circling the drain spiral the party had been riding since who knows when, the Birchers? Nixon? Reagan?
This “after Trump” party that the Luttigs of this cycle are expecting doesn’t fucking exist.
KatKapCC
@HumboldtBlue: “Approximately, like, quickly.”
Shakespeare just sat up in his grave and was like “Damn, I’m no longer the greatest wordsmith in the English language”.
rikyrah
Is it crazy that the political nerd in me is completely excited about the DNC Convention?
trnc
@Belafon:
Good!
WaterGirl
@Belafon: Well said.
Citizen Alan
@Chris:
I have described it thusly: There are two types of Republicans.
HumboldtBlue
The Wieners Circle welcomes Trump to Chicago.
MattF
@KatKapCC: It should be noted that TFG’s plan to clean up DC involves using troops and shooting ‘suspects’.
Virginia
@Baud: waves! I am! 😁
NotMax
@zhena gogolis
Meant to mention this and totally spaced it out.
If you’re into Nordic noir, season one of Wisting is available on Prime for the month of August. About as Nordic as things get. 10 episodes,
To be honest, found the early episodes a bit confusing, mostly because for outdoor scenes the embedded English subtitles in white text on snowy landscapes can be frustrating to suss out.
XeckyGilchrist
Yeah thanks buckaroo where you been for the last 30 years
TBone
@cain: I’m still.laughing about all the wasted effort and the high hopes they had to wrench some news coverage out of their “report.” They wanted to impinge upon the Convention but all they got was bupkiss!
Yutsano
@Belafon: That’s fine as long as he votes for Allred too. And every other Democrat he can on the ballot. The more we edge Texas to the blue* column the better.
*Mein Gott the Brits must be so confused as to how our colours work!
trnc
Perhaps Haley would have had a bit of credibility if she hadn’t endorsed DT after the primary and spoken at the RNC. If she yanked her endorsement (for the third time), I would just start counting the days until she endorses him again.
VeniceRiley
This is the ultimate leopard ate my face guy.
rikyrah
Deadline Hollywood
@DEADLINE
EXCLUSIVE: Reginald Hudlin Directed Kamala Harris Biopic To Precede VP Speech At DNC On Thursday
https://x.com/DEADLINE/status/1825619919821578275
zhena gogolia
@rikyrah: No!
HumboldtBlue
Speaking of Repubs working against Trump, latest Lincoln Project ad.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Citizen Alan:
#2: IGMFY
The modern GOP’s Holy Trinity:
Authoritarians, Fundamentalists and Freemarketeers
BR
@HumboldtBlue:
I can’t get enthused by the Lincoln Project these days given all of their internal grossness and the fact that they spend a huge amount of their money on lining their own pockets according to their financial reports.
zhena gogolia
@NotMax: For some reason, I don’t do subtitles. :)
ETA: Has to be in English, preferably with a UK accent of some sort.
Ishiyama
People tend to forget that, at the start of the Rebellion in 1860, Abe Lincoln was supported, across the board, by the opposition political forces that still considered the Radical Republican platform anathema to themselves. They joined in the Holy Crusade for the Union, not in the Cause of Freedom, as other Volunteers did, but to protect what was more important to them than their ordinary interests. And without these conservative forces, one can doubt that either the Cause of Union, or the Cause of Freedom, would have won.
My point is obvious.
WaterGirl
@gene108: I am kind of shocked to see all the pessimism in this thread. There’s plenty of stuff to worry about or be pissed about or be pessimistic about, but I sure don’t see how this is one of them.
If you never celebrate the wins, you wear yourself out with despair.
HumboldtBlue
@BR:
As long as it pisses off Trump. We won’t pay attention once Kamala wins, they’ll be superfluous.
Belafon
@XeckyGilchrist: Check here @gene108
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Totally normal! So am I. Check out my header, its the photo I took, when I was in your fair city, two summers ago.
WaterGirl
@VeniceRiley: Really? How so?
zhena gogolia
@Ishiyama: Good point.
SatanicPanic
@Omnes Omnibus: the one thing I think Republicans consistently get right ( and we don’t) is welcoming people who have changed their mind. The vote of someone who has voted for every Democrat since JFK and someone who has never voted for a Democrat count the same.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Not even for Shahrukh Khan?
WaterGirl
@HumboldtBlue: I appreciate the information about what’s at the link!
Jackie
Just an observation…
Joe and Jill disembarked from AF One with a few grandkiddos.
What a normal looking family, complete with granddaughter in obviously old cutoffs and tennies, while the grandsons were casual in baggy jeans and hoodies.
TCFG would insist on suits and ties and a fancy dress just for traveling.
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat: Oh, that’s different! I mean murder mysteries. I’ll take Shahrukh Khan any way I get him. 😄
trnc
@Citizen Alan:
Even though their taxes will not be kept low, and in fact will sunset quickly in order to extend tax cuts for the wealthy.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Why do you think I get so frustrated with people here?
TBone
@gene108: Judge Luttig also files amicus briefs with the Supreme Court. Not that they’re carefully considered by those absolute monsters, but he’s doing friend of the court for sanity’s sake, at least.
Putting in the work!
Jackie
@kmeyerthelurker:
Your valued opinion is duly noted.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
The first half of the season has a lot of English dialogue because the pair of FBI agents who show up don’t speak a word of Norwegian.
I have the subtitles for streaming set to yellow on a semi-transparent black background, in a font style and font size easy for me to read. But for programs where the subtitles are embedded that doesn’t apply.
;)
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
She doesn’t watch Shahrukh Khan movies for the script.
Ishiyama
@SatanicPanic:
Well, my Mom voted for Henry Wallace in ’48, but she voted Democratic in every election since, and G-d Willing, she will get to vote this November, and live to see the first Woman President elected and inaugurated.
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: Good one. Never let voters forget who and what TCFG is and will do, given another chance.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus:
I get it.
I though I would suggest one small edit:
There are a lot of folks who share our view.
gene108
@Sure Lurkalot:
After every loss in a presidential election Republicans become more reactionary and regressive.
I don’t know how much crack Luttig’s been smoking to not understand this. Republicans have no need to change.
Their current course gives them a strong, seemingly unshakable, base of support in most Gulf Coast states, Central Plains states, and Mountain West states, along with being extremely competitive to dominant in Rust Belt states and the desert Southwest states.
I mean The Onion correctly predicted “After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016”.
lamh47
I see GOP talking points is really trying to sell this Joe Biden “must be bitter and hurt”…trying to play up some misguided idea that Dems are in disarray even though clear as day that the Dem have rallied behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
lamh47
I’m trying to both watch the pre-show DNC stuff and also finish up some work stuff AND I still have to pack for both my work retreat and my extended stay with my sister…chile!
japa21
@WaterGirl:
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t see pessimism so much as saying they don’t think Luttig’s statement matters much, which may be true.
At least on this issue. OTOH, yes, this is a place which unleashes the pessimist in a lot of people.
However, of the 113 comments up as of my writing this, probably only 10% qualify for what WG would call pessimistic.
Actually, if I went back and looked at all of them, there are probably more commenters applauding the statement than diminishing its value.
rikyrah
Brian Frosh, Former Attorney General of Maryland (@BrianFrosh) posted at 3:24 PM on Mon, Aug 19, 2024:
Larry Hogan keeps yapping about “bipartisan solutions.” He should have tried bipartisanship when he was governor. He refused to sign more legislation than any governor in MD’s history. He vetoed bills on choice, gun safety, minimum wage, healthcare and more.
@AlsobrooksForMD
Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) posted at 4:25 PM on Mon, Aug 19, 2024:
A vote for Hogan is a vote for Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, Cornpone Kennedy, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and….Tommy Tuberville. It is a vote for detention camps, a national abortion ban, more justices like Alito and Thomas.
(https://x.com/NormOrnstein/status/1825645351833059829?t=7mB5th1BL776sLb0QcalxA&s=03)
Baud
@lamh47:
Yeah, trying to find Bros where none exist.
The other thing is maybe they’re trying to get their white male base upset at how a white male president was treated. But I don’t think that’ll work since they’ve spent so much time demonizing “Brandon.”
rikyrah
Philadelphia Inquirer Politics (@PoliticsINQ) posted at 3:33 PM on Mon, Aug 19, 2024:
JD Vance gets a cheesesteak at Pat’s: ‘He asked about why we don’t have Swiss cheese’ https://t.co/A91WykADli
(https://x.com/PoliticsINQ/status/1825632306968560036?t=sA8Ev23l-9nJ_TKs7WLxEA&s=03)
rikyrah
Serious “OG KHive” Black![]()
(@NicsuPR) posted at 4:19 PM on Mon, Aug 19, 2024:
One thing I’m looking forward to most about #DemConvention #Demconvention2024 is the sea of Delegates and guests who are effortlessly diverse.
The Democratic Party looks like America.
#VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024 https://t.co/n0p0byvsqf
(https://x.com/NicsuPR/status/1825643774455984364?t=DuzXBrTte3ZwC7pH_vVc5g&s=03)
gene108
@Omnes Omnibus:
I think given the fact liberals have been shitted on since the 1970’s, a good portion of them want some sort of public penance from converts or even temporary allies before accepting them.
rikyrah
Magdi Jacobs (@magi_jay) posted at 1:41 PM on Mon, Aug 19, 2024:
Folks who stood by Biden for the month of July: Do not take the bait. No one could have predicted what is happening now; that’s part of what makes it so electrifying. People who are still snarking about it are more concerned with claiming to have been right about a position they never took in a reality that never existed than they are with winning this election. Or they’re trolls who are trying to usher in Democratic Discord on a day of Democratic Joy. Mute them, block them, & be comfortable in your vulnerability, rather than letting them weaponize your vulnerability–your humanity–against you. Finally: Get ready for the party. It’s gonna be a great one.
(https://x.com/magi_jay/status/1825604016488718650?t=AYmnCxO1cYPlZpU4m_yCtg&s=03)
Anoniminous
@rikyrah:
As the news spreads across the globe the internets are speculating Vance is actively working to ensure Pennsylvania goes D.
Baud
@rikyrah:
At least he didn’t mention arugula.
rikyrah
The Intellectualist
@highbrow_nobrow
“We’re gonna deport a lot of people, 10 million people and growing – anchor babies, their parents, their grandparents. We’re gonna put kids in cages. It’s gonna be glorious.”
@JasonSCampbell
– Mike Davis, The Article III Project. Ex-Gorsuch clerk.
https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1825607724379582555
wjca
You’d need to write some really tight restrictions on what kind of training counts. There’s already an abundance of useless training programs out there. All too often a mandatory waste of time for all employees.
I think it would be better to give the deductions for training to the employees. Admittedly, doing training on their own time is a potential problem. But they are more likely to pick training which will do some good.
Baud
@Jackie:
Shills.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: That’s why I have zero patience with the fucks who threaten to withold their votes.
BR
@rikyrah:
Just to provide a California take that I know doesn’t match the country — growing up here and living here, I never fully appreciated how diverse it is here, and how for the most part it really is “effortless” in the words of that post. Glad to see that the DNC is that way now.
The first time I experienced first-person racism was when I visited Boston as a teenager and a woman walked up to us out of nowhere and told us to go back to where we came from. (And my parents experienced it before I was born living in the South.)
That said, Trump uncorked racism here in California — it was bottled up or at least not spoken out loud since the 1994 realignment — and now it’s back. Not too bad, but it’s there.
NotMax
@rikyrah
‘Y’know what? Just give me a warm bun. I’ll handle it from there.”
//
jonas
Luttig at least has the cojones not to only point out the obvious — namely that Trump is unfit for office and a danger to democracy — but also say he’s serious enough in that opinion to vote for Harris. Kelly, McMaster, Barr, Christie (and probably some others I can’t think of now) have all said they think Trump is dangerous and unqualified but have never actually come out and said they won’t vote for the motherf-er anyway.
Loathsome, spineless cowards.
Baud
Via reddit, Taylor Swift will need to wait in line.
TBone
@rikyrah: what. the. fuck.
🤡
Omnes Omnibus
@gene108: Do you want the votes or the vindication? Look, I get it. I grew up in a pro-union Democratic family. I was at the 1968 convention when I had just turned four. I have never voted for a Republican. I’ll take anyone’s votes this fall. If they want a voice in the party down the road, I will want to see some introspection and a few mea culpas. But, first, let’s win.
NotMax
@Baud
What Weirdo McBeardo said when Memaw called him to supper?
//
Chief Oshkosh
@kmeyerthelurker:
@BR:
@kmeyerthelurker:
@ssdd:
@kmeyerthelurker:
@Hoodie:
@Sure Lurkalot:
@XeckyGilchrist:
@VeniceRiley:
https://youtu.be/lHnHueEQYPc?si=2h5ghQ9l_GqE0lX5
KatKapCC
@BR:
Well. Not sure what parts of the state you’ve lived in, but there are areas where it has always been pretty out-loud. Such as the bulk of the eastern half of the state…
KatKapCC
@Baud: Celine Dion’s people were also getting set to go after them.
Jay
I’ve figured out why Governor Tim Waltz freaks out the wingnuts so bad.
He shows how easy it is for a straight white man to be a warm, decent person.
Baud
@Jay:
Yes, too bad Biden didn’t show them that. :-/
Another Scott
@Eunicecycle: IANAL, but I ass-u-me it’s because the system is overloaded and has been for decades.
Every step has motions and counter-motions. Those take time.
Every court has many cases going on simultaneously, so there are scheduling issues as they are interleved.
Too few judges. Judges don’t have enough staff. There aren’t enough public defenders.
Etc.
Stateline.org has more on the post-COVID issues as well.
HTH a little.
Corrections welcome.
Cheers,
Scott.
wjca
Of the “Mountain West” states, they are secure in Idaho and Wyoming. They’re good in Montana for the moment, but it’s a place where “Mind your own damn business” will really resonate. And Utah will be safe, until the distain of the evangelicals for the Mormon heresy becomes a bit more blatant. Another very slow movement, and then abrupt shift.
But the rest of the Mountain West? Colorado and New Mexico are solid blue, Arizona to already purple and gradually turning blue. Nevada’s outcomes depend on whether the unions, specifically in Las Vegas, turn out their members.
In short, not universal, and not unshakable. At least in that geographic set.
hilts
@Baud:
Can you name a musician or musician’s estate who has not yet announced plans to sue Trump?
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
Meet Virginia
twbrandt
@Omnes Omnibus: some people just won’t take “yes” for an answer.
NotMax
@hilts
Ted Nugent? Kid Rock? Lee Greenwood?
Lyrebird
This this this. Omnes, did you see the earlier update re: “Barbara Freaking Comstock” – excellent wording! Can’t stop to find it, it may have been Scout211 or TBone.
Kinziger (sp?), Luttig, Comstock… that’s three more that will encourage more than three more, and we need every single one of those votes.
CaseyL
@TBone: It’s a real talent, to be that charmless, that automatically obtuse, to have as your default setting “as repellent as possible.”
A real talent.
TBone
Good news! Via CNN
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/08/fda-may-approve-new-covid-vaccines-soon
NotMax
@lowtechcyclist
West Virginia WTF.
:)
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: His earlier movies and TV shows have good scripts too. The ones before he became a megastar. He got his break on TV.
TBone
@CaseyL: repellent is a great word. I have others in addition. It’s not yet after dark, though …
Gin & Tonic
@TBone: Geno’s are the fascists, right? Been a long time since I’ve been there.
Jay
@TBone:
It is after dark, somewhere,………. : ),
Tell us what you really think,……
lamh47
Aren’t they like not even close to the convention center..
eclare
@Lyrebird:
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Subject to change after 2024.
lamh47
@Baud: I guess.
I’ve seen Chris Wallace try to push the “he’s bitter” thing on CNN and another woman who was the “objective” journo tried the same. Saw one person on MSNBC as well…smh
Scout211
Yep.
TBone
@NotMax: 😆 if he says “bun” at a cheesesteak joint in Philly, he’ll get what he deserves and it ain’t swiss cheese! I would like to see that, actually.
Hawk tuah!
Baud
@lamh47:
Stupid fake drama. I wouldn’t mind see Biden and Harris do a skit to make fun of it.
TBone
@lamh47: I shouted out to that MSNBC el lamo “You’re fired!” much to hubby’s delight at not being the only person yelling at the TV for a change.
lamh47
Ken
“And could I get some ketchup, and a knife and fork to eat this?”
SatanicPanic
@NotMax: MAGA Rappers Forgiato Blow and Jimmy Levy would LOVE to have him use their songs. Lil Pump is probably just happen for any attention.
The group of rappers who are supporting him because he pardoned them (Lil Wayne, Kodak Black) probably are fine if he pays them, but since he won’t, who knows.
TBone
@lamh47: that’s a keeper! 💙
lamh47
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@rikyrah:
Admittedly, I also asked for swiss on my steak early in my residency in the Philly area. Fortunately I was forgiven and not banned from the premises, which is good as it was the cafeteria at my work and there weren’t very many alternate dining possibilities.
I also once asked for “provolone” with a reasonable approximation of the Italian pronunciation, where the last E is pronounced, greatly puzzling the guy behind the counter. Again I was corrected.
The Philly Italian accent is, as far as I’ve been able to figure out, Neopolitan and you’re supposed to say “provolon”. Also “capicola” = “gabigol”.
Baud
@lamh47:
So bitter.
Citizen Alan
@rikyrah: Can someone please ask the media darlings who mocked John Kerry for asking for provolone instead of Cheez Whiz about their thoughts on this? Is it still a horrible faux pas that shows how out of touch the candidate is? Or is it OKIYAR?
Provolone is at least a reasonable option for a Philly cheesesteak, but Swiss!?! What a weirdo!
Geminid
@Eunicecycle: When I saw that February sentencing date, I thought of Santos’s potential ability to incriminate other New York Republicans. Santos’s attorneys may have told prosecutors what Santos has to give up and made a provisional deal, and now prosecutors will run Santos through some grand jury sessions aimed at developing indictments for other New York Republicans.
This is all speculation of course, but it’s always seemed like Santos was part of a wider operation involving more powerful Long Island Republicans, some kind of money laundering scheme. Santos had a mid-level role but he turned out to be the star of the show, or at least its first act.
MazeDancer
Nicolle steered me wrong. DNC at least 30 minutes from starting. If not more.
Jackie
@jonas: Barr has already said he’ll vote for DonOLD. Christie, as far as I know, has kept his vote private. As for the others?🤷🏼♀️ Maybe write ins? I don’t see Kelly voting for TCFG who thinks his son is a sucker and a loser.
TBone
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: that is correct. And it’s gravy. Not “sauce” on spaghetti.
gene108
@Omnes Omnibus:
Just my opinion on a “vibe” among some liberals regarding accepting allies, wherever they come from.
I’ll take every vote Democrats can get.
Fair Economist
@BR: I looked for TV coverage and NBC was breathlessly saying “in just a minute we’ll take you to coverage of the protests”.
I changed the channel.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m sure people have made their viewing plans already and figured out when they want to tune in. But just in case, I managed to find on the convention website where they keep the complete list of speakers.
Here’s today’s minute by minute lineup. The big names are of course in the last block, 8-10 pm Chicago time.
Main convention page has good navigation menus, including a “Watch” page for where to watch it.
Baud
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Lt gov of Texas is a Dem?
ETA: He’s LG of PA.
Ironcity
@rikyrah: Might as well go to the deli in NY and and ask for the corned beef sandwich on white with mayo.
Origuy
CSpan has started streaming, but the convention is running late, I think. They are just scanning the crowd. I think they caught Jamie Harrison in mid-sandwich. No information on type of cheese.
lamh47
VFX Lurker
Thank you for posting this. I’m watching the Kamala Harris livestream now. Looks like President Biden speaks at 9PM Central / 7PM Pacific time.
BR
@Fair Economist:
Ugh, ok so I wasn’t wrong to ignore the news this week.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@TBone:
Yep, so I’ve heard. I can’t bring myself to say “gravy” but at least I know what the locals are talking about.
Also, I really don’t get tomato pie.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: #NotAllJackals
Better?
lamh47
lamh47
Kenneth Fair
@Brent: Agreed. If Michael Luttig and Lynn Cheney, and a few others like them, speaking against Trump allows even a small fraction of Republicans to vote for someone other than Trump, that may be enough in a few states to swing the balance.
Mr. Bemused Senior
If by that you mean “cautious optimism” count me in.
Jackie
Heh RawStory headline:
I didn’t read; the title says it all LOL
marklar
@HumboldtBlue: Does he realize that York to DC is only 90 miles?
jonas
Oh I can totally see him voting for TCFG despite him shitting on vets. Remember Kelly attacked the widow of a Green Beret whom Trump had “consoled” by telling her “well, your husband knew what he was signing up for”. It was apparently *her* fault for thinking that Trump’s consolation phone call was a bit self-serving and insincere and she should have just stfu.
cain
@Fair Economist:
They should just cover the protests full time. No need to waste time on the actual DNC. We got alternative media for that
VFX Lurker
@Another Scott:
@eclare:
Thank you both for the kind wishes. ❤️
lamh47
mrmoshpotato
@MazeDancer: Watching Night One of the 2024 DNC via Kamala Harris’ YouTube channel.
schrodingers_cat
deleted wrong thread.
Sure Lurkalot
@rikyrah:
So, where’s the media, demanding detail to the nth degree how this policy will be implemented, by what day will it be completed, how much will it cost to the nearest $100, who will be the czar in charge…
mrmoshpotato
@Sure Lurkalot: Exactly. Dump is the GOP; the GOP is Dump.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: hahaha
UncleEbeneezer
@rikyrah: A-freakin’-men!
Anonymous At Work
It should be noted, contra Aaron Sorkin, that all of them are “former” and none of them bring in sitting Congressmen or Senators for a bipartisan vote. Luttig only plays to the media, and like 3 former clerks.
zhena gogolia
@Jay: Bingo
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Well, true!
brantl
@WaterGirl: not a lot, and those already weren’t going to vote for Stumpy if they held Luttig in esteem.
brantl
@Belafon: Damn, two whole voters! Give it another month and you’ll have 2.5!
Kayla Rudbek
@JML: “can he shoot, and will he shoot at your enemy?” That’s from one of the Liaden books if I recall correctly.
Kayla Rudbek
@zhena gogolia: we have Peacock so we can watch the Tour de France, and now we’re watching the Vuelta a Espana. Right now it’s giving us ideas of where we want to ride in Portugal. Of course I have to remind myself that the roads won’t be closed off like they are for the race. Tomorrow the Vuelta goes into Spain and then it will be ideas of where we want to ride in Spain (some of the route will cross the solar eclipse path for 2025 and/or 2026 so we will have a good preview). I should see if Peacock has recordings of the Giro d’Italia race from this year, to get more ideas on riding in Italy (some of the Tour de France was in Italy this year so we already have some ideas…)
Kayla Rudbek
@Citizen Alan: I always thought of it as the business Republicans and the religious Republicans, although the racism and white supremacy isn’t as overt in the North.
SomeRandomGuy
So, during the pandemic, when Trump and the rest of the Republican Party were literally killing people, because they didn’t want to take reasonable public health measures, when the Republican Party turned the State of the Union into a Trump rally over his “exoneration” aka “Rs didn’t even hold a trial,” when the Mueller report had already shown Trump was a criminal who couldn’t be trusted with the Presidency, none of that mattered.
Good boy Luttig! Good boy! Here’s a treat. Yes, it’s a Milkbone, you’re mugging for treats, you got one. Good boy!
JustRuss
I saw Gen. Milley speak a few years ago. He talked about character a lot, and if you read between the lines it was pretty clear he didn’t think his former boss had any. But he’s a good soldier, he’s probably not going to turn on his commander, much as he’d like to. I’d like to be wrong.
Geminid
@JustRuss: I think Milley will tell his story before too long, and I think his assessment of Trump will be very critical. Trump and his henchmen dumped a lot of shit on Milley and he’s not the kind to take that lying down.
As for this election, I’ll wait and see but I doubt very much that Milley will endorse Trump. But regardless, I look forward to Milley’s story, especially his account of the events of January 6.
brantl
@eclare: Why would you vote for someone who ran the CIA?