Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

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

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

We still have time to mess this up!

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

I really should read my own blog.

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

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Sad Klown Klaxon Open Thread: Sideshow Bobby Announces Farewell Tour

Sad Klown Klaxon Open Thread: Sideshow Bobby Announces Farewell Tour

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Per ABC News, “RFK Jr. expected to drop out of race by end of week, plans to endorse Trump: Sources”:

… Sources tell ABC News that Kennedy plans to endorse Donald Trump — but when asked directly by ABC News if he will be endorsing the former president, Kennedy said, “I will not confirm or deny that.”

“We are not talking about any of that,” he said.

Sources cautioned the decision is not yet finalized and could still change, with one source adding that Kennedy’s hope is, in part, to finalize things quickly in order to try to blunt momentum from the Democratic National Convention.

One possible scenario being discussed is for Kennedy to appear on stage with Trump at an event in Phoenix on Friday, though the sources cautioned that Kennedy’s thinking could always change and sources close to Trump say no plan for Friday is finalized…

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan — who in a podcast interview published Tuesday said Kennedy was considering a move to “join forces” with Trump — told ABC News Wednesday that the choice is “Bobby’s decision” and that he has her “full support.”

Of the campaign’s discussions with Trump’s team, she said, “All we can do is gauge sincerity, and we’re gauging sincerity from Donald Trump.”…

For weeks, Kennedy, buried under an avalanche of lawsuits brought by Democratic groups challenging his place on state ballots, has accused Democrats of acting undemocratically by trying to strip his supporters of the opportunity to vote for him.

Shanahan on Wednesday said, “We’re getting prosecuted politically right now. This is not normal for democracy.”

Nicole Shanahan admits the sunk costs are not in her favor:


Good jest, but while Trump will probably taunt Vance with replacing him, I can’t imagine him sharing a stage with another narcissistic egomaniac…

… Harris has a three-point edge over Trump among registered voters when Kennedy is included — and a four-point edge when it’s just her against Trump. Our poll included a small number of Kennedy supporters (again, because he doesn’t have that much support) but they were more likely to view Harris favorably (29 percent) than Trump (15 percent). They were also more likely to view Trump strongly unfavorably; 41 percent did.

What many of them might do, then, is simply stay home. If you are supporting Kennedy in part because you don’t like Harris or Trump, perhaps you will be compelled by Trump’s promise to include Kennedy in his Cabinet or give him some government position where he can do whatever it is he thinks needs to be done. Or maybe you’ll just make a sound of frustration and write the whole thing off. That’s one of the challenges of being the outsider candidate: Moving to the inside isn’t necessarily what your supporters want to see.

Perhaps the most important point of consideration here, again, is that there simply aren’t that many Kennedy supporters. If Trump picks up fully half of them, it adds a few points to his national support and, according to 538’s average, still has him trailing Harris. Making the announcement Friday might be an effort to step on any improvement Harris sees from the convention but, it’s not as though Kennedy has a big base or is viewed with broad favorability by Americans. (Among those with an opinion, he’s viewed more negatively than positively by a six-point margin in 538’s average.)

At the end of the day, it would still be a good move for Kennedy. How good a move it might be for Trump remains to be seen.

Hard cheese for the minor parties who made the mistake of throwing their bets on RatF*cKer Jr, though…

Yup, that’s former Trump official & current QAnon spokesperson Mike Flynn on the left, and self-proclaimed GOP ratf*cker Roger Stone on the right…

Reader Interactions

95Comments

  1. 1.

    David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch

    Article
    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ‘address the nation‘ about dropping out of the 2024 election

    Which nation?

  2. 2.

    Fair Economist

    Anybody asked RFK or Shanahan the obvious question: Why didn’t you say you were running to help Trump win?

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Donald Trump Jr. just endorsed the idea of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joining the Trump administration as potential CIA director.

    I can’t wait for rump to voice this.

  6. 6.

    David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch

    Scamalot! Scamalot!
    I know it gives a person pause,
    But in Scamalot, Scamalot
    Those are the “legal” laws.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Off topic, but sometimes words fail me:

    Jessie Peterson’s family spent a year searching for her after they were told that she had checked herself out of a California hospital against medical advice – before they learned that she had been dead all along.
    The 31-year-old died in the care of Mercy San Juan medical center in Sacramento in April 2023. The hospital shipped her body to a storage facility and did not inform her mother and sisters. The family only learned her fate the following April after months of trying to find her, according to a civil lawsuit against the hospital.

    Ummmmm… Yeah. That’s what I said.

  11. 11.

    Splitting Image

    It’s probably too important for the Democrats to deliver an absolute curbstomping if they possibly can, but otherwise I’d be pleased as punch to have the election come down to a handful of votes in one single state that Kennedy got himself on the ballot for, and have him pull just enough votes from Trump to give the election to Harris.

    It would be beautiful.

  13. 13.

    JoyceH

    The RFK JR endorsement would be a great demonstration of the Republican Big Tent. They’ve got everyone from the Nazi crackpots to the antivax crackpots to the loony conspiracy crackpots. So inclusive!

  17. 17.

    Suzanne

    LOLOLOL brainworms is such a grifting piece of shit. Just go be old and weird at home, man. The rest of us don’t need to give you an audience.

    Trying to understand Nicole Shanahan’s game, though. What’s in it for her? How is she profiting from this grift?

    BWAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAHAAAAA get bent motherfuckers

  18. 18.

    satby

    Had to laugh that anyone thought the Kennedy name would magically take voters away from the Democratic ticket just by running third party. JFK died 61 years ago, his brother RFK 56 years ago. And even Ted, who was a power mainly in his home state, has been gone 15 years. The ratfuckers who thought running a Kennedy would hurt the party are stuck so far in the past most voters weren’t even born then.

  19. 19.

    Rusty

    @Suzanne: I saw on another thread that she wants to run for governor of California and this helped raise her name recognition and profile.  I guess she will be more recognized,  but for all the wrong reasons!  If the tech bros can’t have the presidency, they want to at least control California.

  23. 23.

    satby

    Also loved this piece by Thomas Zimmer: “What is “weird” and what is “normal” in America? 

    Democrats – and by extension: (almost) all the people who, for better or worse, rely on America’s sole (small-d) democratic party to fight back against the authoritarian assault – are feeling relieved. They are on the offensive. They are, dare we say it, having fun. The reactions from the Right have been immensely helpful too, as rightwingers have reliably lost it and freaked out in ways that are really not doing much to dispute the impression that they are weirdos

  29. 29.

    Barney

    Among the replies to Trump Jr’s cocaine vision of “RFK for CIA Director” was “Michael Flynn for Secretary of Accountability”. Now we’re getting into the real Orwellian stuff.

    You know Flynn would be, in that position, accountable to no one – he has far more rat-like cunning than Trump, and would run rings around him, even if Trump felt he was getting too well-known. And you know that “accountability” would consist of arbitrary acts against anyone who Flynn and Putin doesn’t like – might be arrests, but could also be financial, or tying them up in court and “hearings”. Think of a Beria for the 21st century, just slightly more subtle.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    Bill Clinton’s speech is pretty good. Watching it now.

    Different from the barn burner speeches, but effective.

  36. 36.

    MagdaInBlack

    After seeing others comment,  I just watched Gus Walz cheering “That’s my dad!” and even my freon pump of a heart got a little weepy.

  37. 37.

    Tony Jay

    @satby:

    In any of the myriad alternate universes where a coalition of Democratic billionaires and their authoritarian German allies recruited a Reagan to ratfuck the Republican ticket, I’m pretty sure there’s not a single Ronny Reagan III (celebrity campaigner for such fringe interests as racial equality and sensible gun laws) who’d have f####d the chicken of credibility with quite the gusto and invention of Rat Fucking Kook III.

    Love to see it.

  38. 38.

    K-Mo

    If you were running either campaign and this guy tried to barter his support for a plum job, what would you say?  I think my counter offer would be: how bout you promise to go away and not come back and we’ll put in a good word for you at the Dunkin’ on the Pike in Springfield?

  40. 40.

    lowtechcyclist

    @JoyceH:

    The RFK JR endorsement would be a great demonstration of the Republican Big Tent. They’ve got everyone from the Nazi crackpots to the antivax crackpots to the loony conspiracy crackpots. So inclusive!

    Just had to see this one more time.  The perfect encapsulation of today’s GQP!

  44. 44.

    K-Mo

    @TBone: Lol you’re right – there must be a lot of Pikes in a lot of Springfields with a lot of Dunkin’s.  I was trying to send him back to Massachusetts but I guess he’s actually an LA guy.

    I’m not from DelCo but that address is very on point (go Os!).

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jay:

    Don’t forget the QAnon crackpots,…..

    I’m pretty sure QAnon qualifies as a loony conspiracy.

  48. 48.

    TBone

    ’tis a wonderful morning!  One of the semi feral cats who moved out of my neighbor’s house when they got a big, cat-eating doberman has finally reappeared!  We thought he was a goner.  Hubby has been placing cat food out in our shed regardless, every day.  Today, Tux finally showed his face and he looks healthy!  We haven’t seen him since January.  WELCOME BACK, TUX!

  50. 50.

    3Sice

    No Yeezy this time ’round?

    I guess they’ve got Brother West, but that’s a different slice of the margins…

    This is the fundamental problem with turning the party over to the dirty tricksters. Ratfucking is a campaign tactic, not a campaign strategy.

  52. 52.

    MomSense

    My Aunt is coming to visit today.  Got half of the crap trees and such out of the yard yesterday so she can see what I’m dealing with.  Going to make some yummy vegan food and get her thoughts on what to do.  She is coming a day early because my stepmom needs help on saturday and I’m bummed about that.  The kids are all coming on Saturday and she will miss them.
    The yard has a lot of potential but it will be a loooong term project.  I have too much going on inside and being a no pay CNA, cook and cleaning person for my mom when I’m not at work.  Early mornings and late nights. Definitely burning the candle at both ends.

    Last night was great.  Loved seeing the coach, his family and his former players.  It’s good to feel good about our politics.

  59. 59.

    3Sice

    There is a puritanical chunk of the progressive-sphere that will go to their graves hating on Slick Willie, but he was very well received by the room.

    Heed his warning about it being a rough business, and stop internalizing every hatchet piece that hits the hallowed hollowed FTFNYT.

  61. 61.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @3Sice: There is a puritanical chunk of the progressive-sphere that will go to their graves hating on Slick Willie, but he was very well received by the room.

    Not gonna lie, if I look at Clinton’s Presidency strictly in terms of policy decisions, there isn’t a lot for me to love there.

    However, recognizing that he showed up on the heels of Reagan/Bush and the politics at the time, I can certainly appreciate the Clintons. They helped further the inclusive attitudes of our modern party. And after Reagan dragged the country into La La Land, I can think of Bill Clinton’s Presidency as the scaffolding for the bridge that might finally, now, be bringing us back to reality.

    ETA: Important to add, I have never seen the man give a bad speech; packed full of facts and arguments, but never boring. It was also obvious watching him in ’16; despite whatever troubles, he loves Hillary Rodham Clinton.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Most progressive tax hikes. HIPAA.

    Those two things come to mind. Maybe there are others, but he only had two years before having to deal with the Gingrich Congress.

    ETA: The crime bill is now derided, but it included the Violence Against Women Act.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    @3Sice: Don’t forget the lucky happenstance that Clinton turned 78 just a few days ago. There was a lot to like about his speech, but the age zinger will probably be among the most-reposted clips.

    (We could start a pool about which pundit will tut-tut about discussing the candidates’ age, but the tutting began about six hours after Biden dropped out.)

  65. 65.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Baud: @TBone: You’re both right and it’s easy for me to take these things for granted because, in my adult life, I know I can trust Democrats on these types of issues. The Clintons helped build the stalwartly socially progressive Democratic Party we have today.

  66. 66.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    Huh. I thought The Duke was talking about me.

    Oh, wait, I forgot: I’m the one who used to vie with JR in WV (may he RIP) to kill threads, not derail them.

    Carry on.

  67. 67.

    RevRick

    @TBone: My great aunt and uncle lived in Aldan their whole married lives.
    Also, Wawa would like to have a word with you.

  68. 68.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Suzanne: Trying to understand Nicole Shanahan’s game, though. What’s in it for her? How is she profiting from this grift?

    She bought a lucky ticket in the Silicon Valley lottery and now thinks she is smartest person in the room.

  69. 69.

    3Sice

    The GOP-media complex were straight up crib murdering any liberal candidates that showed out. Hart in ’84, Joe in ’88. Bill and Hillary swam through a cesspool of personal attacks to get over. That’s not nothing.

  70. 70.

    SFAW

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    She bought a lucky ticket in the Silicon Valley lottery and now thinks she is smartest person in the room.

    Well, in fairness, if you put her and RatFucKer Jr in the same room, by themselves, she might be right.

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    Yet another example of the iron-clad rule in political reporting – the past does not exist.

    Time.com (from January 2017):

    The through-the-looking-glass news broke today in the lobby of Trump Tower, when Kennedy descended from the presidential aerie and told the gaggle of reporters camped around the elevators that Trump had called and offered him the job and he had accepted. His new responsibilities, Kennedy said, included making sure “we have scientific integrity in the vaccine process for efficacy and safety effects.” He also stressed that “everybody ought to be able to be assured that the vaccines we have [are] as safe as they can possibly be.” Finally, he added that Trump “is very pro-vaccine, as am I.”

    Later in the afternoon, a Trump spokesperson said in a statement that the president-elect “is exploring the possibility of forming a committee on Autism, which affects so many families; however no decisions have been made at this time. The president-elect looks forward to continuing the discussion about all aspects of Autism with many groups and individuals.”

    Trump first weighed in on the topic of vaccines in 2014, repeating the universally debunked claim that vaccines are somehow linked to autism. He published this finding in a non-peer-reviewed Tweet, saying:

    […]

    TheGuardian.com from 2/2018:

    Donald Trump appears to have abandoned plans to investigate the spurious link between childhood immunisations and autism, a move welcomed by experts but condemned by Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic.

    The son of former US attorney general Bobby Kennedy met Trump in New York during the presidential transition in January last year and announced that he had been asked to chair a commission to review vaccine safety.

    Scientists warned that it would give credence to debunked theories, while a Trump spokeswoman denied any decision had been made.

    Then, a year ago this week, Kennedy told reporters he had met “many times” with members of Trump’s transition team, “trading documents about what the commission would look like”. But little has been heard of the plan since then.

    “I would say there’s zero progress,” Kennedy told the Guardian last week. “We were told President Trump wanted to meet directly with us. Not only did nothing happen, they’ve cut off all communication with people who care about this issue. The administration has decided to go in another direction.”

    [ womp, womp ]

    TCFFG will string JFK jr along, and his supporters, but will do absolutely nothing for him as a reward for his groveling. JFK jr won’t be his VP candidate (he’s not as loyal as JV, and TCFFG never makes mistakes), JFK jr won’t be in his cabinet if he (somehow) wins, JFK jr won’t head some sort of blue ribbon commission. It won’t happen. It’s all dominance displays and: “Do what I want and expect nothing in return, because you’ll get nothing in return. I don’t owe anyone anything. I don’t care about you…”

    Something something ETTD, dignity wraith, etc.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  73. 73.

    TBone

    @RevRick: hello honorary DelConian!  Wawa is even making inroads here in central PA on Rte. 15 North.  According to a news report, they bought a property (former fireworks outlet taken out by a tornado) on our North end road toward Williamsport and are rebuilding it as we speak!  However, a true DelConian knows that Wawa hoagies suck.  And my DelCo friends recently told me they tried Wawa pizza 😆 which is truly unworthy. Coffee is their best product!

    Suck it, Sheetz!

  75. 75.

    SFAW

    @Another Scott: ​
     
    I thought the blockquoted part from Time was a Tony-Jay-adjacent opus. So I was of course surprised/amazed to see that it wasn’t.
    I haven’t read the whole article yet, but I wanted to thank you for the link, because of the Wakefield-debunking therein. [I had seen bits and pieces of debunking before, but this had a lot of them in one place.]

  76. 76.

    Matt McIrvin

    @satby: I think a substantial number of RFK Jr.’s supporters were literally people who thought he was his dead father, or his dead uncle, or possibly his dead cousin (whose miraculous resurrection was a QAnon rumor).

  77. 77.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SFAW: Probably the biggest splash RFK Jr. ever made was when an article of his supporting the Wakefield bullshit and alleging an FDA vaccine conspiracy got printed in Rolling Stone (and, I think, some other place simultaneously, I forget what it was). I remember a lot of my friends taking it seriously and having to do some digging to figure out whether Kennedy actually had anything new there (he didn’t). It’s amazing how mainstream it was. His degree of brain-wormage was not widely known at the time.

    In 2008, Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain all felt the need to say things that were not dismissive of antivaxxers, because of this bullshit. It wasn’t a good look for anyone.

  79. 79.

    RevRick

    @SFAW: My first job was at a Dunkin Donuts three blocks from my home. I cleaned the bathrooms, washed the floors, and swept the parking lot. This was in the day when they had sit-down counter service, using ceramic coffee cups. And a much bigger selection of doughnuts.

  80. 80.

    RevRick

    @TBone: I get my gas, cash and an occasional Ben and Jerry’s from the Wawa a mile down the road. Since there’s a Dunkin a block and a half away, it’s where I get my coffee (usually at the end of my 6000 steps around the neighborhood).
    My daughter and her family live in lower Montco, and on her recommendation watched Mare of Easttown.

  81. 81.

    RevRick

    @Matt McIrvin: Growing up in New England I appreciated RFK Jr. for his work providing low cost heating oil to poor New England families in concert with Citgo (the Venezuelan oil company). And then he went off the rails.

  82. 82.

    satby

    @Baud: Also forgotten that at the time black communities were specifically requesting more focus on crime in their areas comparable with the attention paid to preventing crime in white areas. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

  83. 83.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @RevRick: I appreciated RFK Jr. for his work providing low cost heating oil to poor New England families in concert with Citgo

    Late to this but that was not RFK. That was and is Joe Kennedy II. Father of former Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

  84. 84.

    Captain C

    Donald Trump Jr. just endorsed the idea of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joining the Trump administration as potential CIA director.

    Junior really needs a better coke dealer.

  85. 85.

    TBone

    @RevRick: I have a recent DelCo Wawa story.  As a rule, DelConians generally don’t speak to each other much in the Wawa parking lot.  We’re all about TCOB and go.  Hubby knows this well but was recently getting gas at one, and a male patron accosted him with conversation, even asking him to roll down his truck window when hubby tried to exit so they could continue to speak.  Chatted him up for quite a bit before my handsome hubby realized he was on the receiving end of an attempted pickup.  He came home with the guy’s contracting business card, which shows a huge duck billed hasp lock on an old school toolbox.

    I can’t believe my hubby was so clueless!

  86. 86.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @RevRick: Man, I miss Wawa.  When I lived in PA I used to get their coffee, bagels, sandwiches all the time.  And their soft-pretzels were my absolute fave!

  87. 87.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @TBone: Wawa hoagies are good.  Not as good as your local hoagie/sub shop obviously, but a perfectly fine alternative when you are in a pinch or want to grab a sandwich while you are getting gas.  That’s really the big selling point of Wawa, imo.  It offers the best quality sandwich you can get at a convenience store.  Most convenience stores don’t even offer fresh sandwiches (only disgusting, packaged ones), let alone ones that are pretty solid.

  88. 88.

    kindness

    Kennedy is an idiot on two counts.  1) that he could ever expect Trump to keep his word and award him any position in a new Trump Administration and 2) that his dropping out would have any impact at all on the national race for the presidency.  His ego is bruised that they are a non-entity.  Sucks to be a fail-son Kennedy, eh?

  89. 89.

    Another Scott

    @UncleEbeneezer: There was a story on the radio a few days ago about the evolution of gas stations and fast food.  Let’s see…

    Marketplace.org (from 8/19):

    The convenience store business model of a few decades ago could be summed up in just a couple of words, said Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy at Informa Connect: “Smokes and cokes.”

    “You know, people would go, they’d get their fuel, they’d get their beverage, they would get their cigarettes, and that would be it,” she said.

    But not nearly as many people are smoking these days and gasoline demand can be volatile. So, convenience stores have really upped their food offerings, which used to be a joke, said Jeff Lenard at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

    “Forty years ago, the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation, there was a funny line where Clark Griswold said, I’m so hungry I could eat that sandwich from the gas station,” he said.

    Worth a click. It’s a good piece.

    I remember when gas stations gave away books on the space race, and dishes, and glasses, and … Making people have a reason to go to a particular store rather than another makes sense.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  91. 91.

    Lumpy

    Seeing that pic of Kennedy Jr. with Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, I can’t help but think that Stone (a well-known “swinger” as the Olds like to say) has compromising dirt on Kennedy (who apparently was a real party monster for many years).

  93. 93.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @mrmushpottymouth: ​I hope his dad beats the shit out of him.

    I hope his dad tries to backhand him in the puss but only fractures his wrist in the process, and appears at his next hatefest in a goldspray`painted sling. Serve both the mutterflockers (far) right.

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