Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

T R E 4 5 O N

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Books are my comfort food!

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

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

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

In my day, never was longer.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

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

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Late Night Open Thread: Trump’s Tequila Tax

Late Night Open Thread: Trump’s Tequila Tax

by | 104 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

It’s so real. Per Rolling Stone:

… On Thursday, the Harris campaign launched “Trump’s Tequila Tax,” a social media campaign aimed at tying Trump’s proposed 10-to-20-percent universal tariff plan — depending on the day you ask him — on all imported goods.

One TikTok produced by the campaign features a young man warning that “the Trump tequila tax is insane,” and that a 20 percent tax on all imported goods means “he wants to tax your tequila, and your Coronas, your Modelos, your Hennessy all of it.”

The man then notes that Harris “wants to support small businesses like mom-and-pop liquor stores and locally owned bars,” by enacting a $50,000 tax deduction for small businesses. “If you want to stop the Trump tequila tax vote for Harris-Walz,” he concludes…

Economists warn that broad-based tariffs on imported goods would do the opposite of lowering prices for consumers. Economists warn that a 10 percent tariff would amount to the average American spending an additional $1,700 a year in increased costs. The Harris campaign holds that the 20 percent proposal floated by Trump is essentially a “Trump sales tax,” that would “raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.” …

The United States is the world’s largest importer of beer and tequila, and over the last three decades Mexican brands have gobbled up market shares once dominated by domestic groups Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Grabbing a drink with friends is already more expensive than it used to be, and as young Americans struggle in an economy that doesn’t offer them the same prosperity it did to their parents and grandparents, the Harris campaign wants to ensure that they know Trump could be making their weekend bar tab a lot more expensive.

 
Bonus: Y’all saw that Trump wants to bring Johnny Carson back to the Tonight Show?

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    TCFFG/PAB’s tariff proposals are basically a nationwide sales tax on all imported goods.  Consumers will pay them, not the exporters.

  2. 2.

    piratedan

    Harris gave a speech earlier on Friday in Douglas, AZ.  For those that do not know, Douglas is a border town that has been in decline with the fading of the mining industry in SE AZ.  It now is a border town that deals with a lot of local commerce, some legal and some illegal.  Douglas boasts a sizable Hispanic population and is emblematic of the border issues that the GOP exploits.  It’s in significantly RED leaning Cochise County, home of the AZ County that refused initially to certify their election results.

    Harris spoke to the enthusiastic audience about Border security and Immigration and she spoke some plain truths.  She spoke to the work that went into the Border Bill that DJT dumped after all of the bipartisan effort that went into the bill.  Was it a great bill, no it was not.  Did it give Dems some wins…. yes, not as many as we would like, but in addition to the GOP heavy wants, it also addressed the issue with the delays in processing asylum seekers by adding more judges, more staff to reduce the wait time.  Harris emphasized better tech to address drugs and guns and human trafficking, more agents for more checks.  She indicated her experience as an AG and fighting the drug cartels and indicated that to her, this matters as much as helping to solve the problem instead of ignoring it.

    In regards to immigration, she mentioned her plans to get Dreamers cleared, to initiate pathways to get immigrants options to get citizenship.  I fully expect that the GOP will absolutely lose their shit over this as they will immediately equate it with amnesty (even tho she pointedly did not use that word).  She hopes to dramatically reduce non point of entry crossings and has indicated that she wants to work with Mexico and other international partners to resolve the humanitarian crisis behind this.

    powerful speech, realistic and pragmatic approach.  I suspect everyone in the 4th estate will fucking hate it, but then again, how many of the Press Corp traveled with her to Douglas remains to be seen.

  4. 4.

    karen marie

    Have news programs been explaining Trump’s tariffs at all? I don’t have TV, so I am out of the loop.

    The Carson stuff is great! Thanks for a laugh, made more enjoyable knowing Cheeto Benito is going to be grr mad.

  7. 7.

    Jay

    Trying to sell your Campaign to “Merkins” on economic points is a looser, “Merkin’s” don’t do math.

  9. 9.

    piratedan

    @Ishiyama: and it was done in a purposefully small town, ground zero for Border Issues in a state where it’s been ginned up as THE ISSUE and she stuck it purposefully up the ass of the GOP and called them out on it.

    It was brave, pragmatic and she put down a marker for trying to SOLVE the issue versus just using those with concerns as pawns.  I hope that she can actually drive thru helping those here “illegally” with a path to citizenship.

  11. 11.

    Tony Jay

      NYT – Harris ‘Border Crisis’ speech reportedly an attempt to chip away at President Trump’s  persistent advantage on alien crime and immigration issues. We came to this diner outside Douglas, AZ to ask a focus group of angry non-attendees to gauge its success or failure. Their verdict may surprise you.

  12. 12.

    Jay

    @Tony Jay:

    to ask a focus group of angry non-attendees local ReThuglican Chairpersons and Candidates to gauge its success or failure. Their verdict may surprise you.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    anti-snark does not cancel snark, theoretical physicists have not even proven the existence of anti-snark, it could be because anti-snark is purely theoretical, or the theoretical physicists are theoretical.

  20. 20.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    BTW, if anti-snark existed, it would be represented in theoretical papers as /\/\

    but no one knows if the papers actually exist.

  22. 22.

    Jay

    @Other MJS:

    In use here it can be “/s”, just “/”, it’s the “/” that denotes the snark, depends on the user,

    wow, this seems to be a new, untouched layer for pedants here,

    Brave New Horizons.

  26. 26.

    sab

    @Other MJS: Luddite here. It’s uncool to use “.” in a text? I had no idea. I thought I was being considerate by taking the extra effort to find that little symbol. Believe me it is not easy on a flip phone.

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    @Jay

    AFAIK // as shorthand for snark has been the choice of jackals for years.

    Have always read /s as shorthand for “no shit.”

  32. 32.

    Ken

    For a very short time, some of us used the code markup for snark. In a way it’s perfect because it can be hard to tell if you’re using it. I assume it died because it’s hard to do on phones.

  40. 40.

    Kathleen

    @piratedan: Harris deals in root cause analysis/solutions. Our Republican besotted courtesan media possess neither the intelligence nor humanity to grasp that.

  41. 41.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @karen marie: I heard a fairly long and accurate segment about Trump’s tariff plans on NPR Morning Edition of all place. It was around the time Biden dropped out so more than a month ago.

    Why is Jethro Tull’s ” Living in the Past” suddenly running through my brain?

  44. 44.

    kindness

    If only Joe Biden could throw down an October surprise legalizing cannabis.  It won’t happen of course.  Too many folk in his administration grew up thinking Reefer Madness was real.  Especially their DEA head who would have to do the major work of rescheduling weed.  Note to future Democrats who win higher office:  Stop picking Republicans for the FBI, DEA, DOJ & CIA.  Really!

  46. 46.

    Baud

    @kindness:

    There is a proposed rule on rescheduling. If that’s not enough to get people motivated, I doubt a final rule would make any difference

    ETA: That was a notice of a public hearing. The rule was proposed in May.

  52. 52.

    Ken

    @Baud: @K-Mo: There are “dementia villages” — care facilities that are set up like small towns, with everything as it was around 1960, 1970, or 1980 depending on the patients. The idea is that since that’s the only thing the patients remember, it will feel like a normal environment. I suppose they also only show television shows from the era.

    They’re quite expensive, but I’m sure Melania and Ivanka could afford it — or the care might be covered under the presidential pension.

  58. 58.

    Ken

    @NotMax: I wonder how much Sinatra was paid for that cameo.

    Also, I suspect the singing was pre-recorded — didn’t they only have overhead mikes then? Which would have been visible in some of the shots. Nonetheless, impressive work, especially considering the unwieldy cameras they had.

  60. 60.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax: No, it doesn’t sound like Sinatra, and I don’t think he would spoof his own image that way. I really think it’s Gorshin!

  62. 62.

    BellyCat

    According to the OED, a Snark Tag expressed as “/s”, instead of the innovative and more streamlined “/“, is known as an Oxford Snark Tag.

    Use of the truncated “/“ is not simply objectionable to The Oldz, many consider it perilous due to some kind of court ruling — which they vaguely remember from some business management seminar decades ago — wherein all the snark from the will of deceased parents was not applied equally to their three children, as some contend was the intent. Failure to use the Oxford Snark Tag resulted in a judicial ruling in which all of the parent’s snark was divided equally among only two of the children. The third child received no snark, whatsoever.

  63. 63.

    Trivia Man

    @NotMax: I’m trying to normalize “JIC” for “just idly curious”. I am idly curious about a lit of stuff but people always try to read in ulterior motives for asking.

  64. 64.

    RandomMonster

    Let’s say you’re on a boat with a battery and it’s sinking, but there’s a snark 10 feet away. I’m sticking with the boat.

  66. 66.

    VOR

    @kindness:Note to future Democrats who win higher office:  Stop picking Republicans for the FBI, DEA, DOJ & CIA.

    Fun fact: Every permanent Director of the FBI has been a Republican. This counts J. Edgar Hoover as a Republican. There was an Acting Director (for 71 days) who was a Democrat. Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama all appointed Republicans.

  67. 67.

    Ken

    @RandomMonster: What if there’s also a windmill 10 feet away, in the opposite direction from the snark? Do you go to it for safety, or does your perfectly normal fear of windmills keep you in the sinking boat?

  68. 68.

    bbleh

    Has it been satisfactorily demonstrated that snark is a particle?  I thought it was more like a field.

  72. 72.

    BellyCat

    @Trivia Man: Do not,  I repeat, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HONORED OR HOLY, DO NOT post anything here which contains the (quite possibly) bannable phrase “just asking a question”. / & /s

    (For snark pedants of both persuasions)

  73. 73.

    Matt McIrvin

    @piratedan: It feels like a big bet–that some fraction of people with concerns about immigration actually care about fixing problems and are not just saying “there are too many brown people speaking languages I don’t understand; get rid of them!”

  74. 74.

    hueyplong

    Because relentlessly environment-unfriendly Florida probably still does individual tours in those boats with big fans on the back, it seems like you could really freak out Trump by taking him on one of those tours, telling him the fan is a windmill, and telling him the dolphins you see near the boat are sharks.  His nightmares would merge, and as he collapses in the throes of a diaper-loading heart attack/stroke, a black woman on board could lean over him and ask him, “How do you plead, Guilty or Not Guilty?”

  76. 76.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Trivia Man: Any marker that means “I don’t have ulterior motives” can be used with ulterior motives, so any effort of this sort is probably going to be an endless race.

  78. 78.

    RandomMonster

    @Ken: What if there’s also a windmill 10 feet away, in the opposite direction from the snark? Do you go to it for safety, or does your perfectly normal fear of windmills keep you in the sinking boat?

    That’s a tricky one, because of the long-term effects of exposure to windmills.

  79. 79.

    Matt McIrvin

    …On the other hand, I think the “tequila tax” line is a winner: it’s the kind of thing I’d automatically dismiss as an appeal to dopes except that it’s correct.

  80. 80.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jay:

    but no one knows if the papers actually exist.

    They simultaneously exist and don’t exist, they were published in Schrödinger’s Journal of Advanced Physics.

  84. 84.

    TBone

    I woke up smiling today, thinking about how happy and proud my mom would be about VP Harris.  Hubby showed me his new favorite meme the other day:

    If you can’t pronounce Kamala, just go with Madam President!

  91. 91.

    narya

    Gonna throw this in here, rather than disrupt the morning thread that will appear soon, because I just need to vent a bit. My brother has a lifelong friend (60+ years)–they grew up together, he was my brother’s best man (I think; certainly he was in the wedding), still work out together at least 2-3 times/week, etc. He got sober 20+ years ago, and he’s an all-around great guy. Friend’s mother just had brain surgery to remove some of her tumors, father is in permanent memory care, siblings are no help at all, so friend is dealing with all of that crap. This week, he also found out that he has inoperable Stage IV liver cancer; they’ll try some chemo, but . . . fuck cancer.

  94. 94.

    Princess

    @Matt McIrvin: Unfortunately, all the people who haven’t yet decided or who are on the fence still about voting or not are by definition dopes and dopey is probably the only way to reach them.

  97. 97.

    piratedan

    @Steve LaBonne: the absolutely scary part is that she did!

    talked about better tech to scan vehicles for fetanyl, more money to hire border inspection staff to make it all go faster and more efficiently.  Stating that this was specifically in the bill that DJT tanked and her support of that bill (as crappy as it was, it did have a few items that Dems pushed for).

    Now I agree that for a great many people, they will miss the point, but it was a refreshing step forward to try and appease those effected most by border issues and also as a springboard to create legal pathways to citizenship that were framed in pragmatic and compassionate ways.

  100. 100.

    Matt McIrvin

    @RandomMonster: My great uncle lost a finger to a windmill!

    (One of those old-fashioned farm ones. When he was a dumb kid, he climbed up it and put his finger in the spinning blades to see what would happen. The obvious happened.)

  102. 102.

    StringOnAStick

    @Other MJS: I’ve been told that the young consider any punctuation and use of full sentences in texts to be passive aggressive.  Since they don’t talk on phones and now sentences are right out, how do they communicate?  Oh look, a new wrinkle upon my wizened visage!

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    The consumer always pays all the taxes, no matter what you consume. It’s in the price or added on the end.

    OTOH it is the consumer’s country, we vote, pay the salaries of the people that do the day to day work for the country and for our own lives, in accordance with the income level we have. We pay taxes while we work to have Social Security for our retirement. We could put that money in the bank and take it back out after we retire – if we all made enough, saved enough, if we were actually responsible consumers/citizens. And many of us are, but many are also not. It all only works when we all (or at least most) do our part. Now we are set up to allow us to do this rather easily, however many don’t, can’t – or don’t want to fit in, for a variety of reasons.

  104. 104.

    SectionH

    @piratedan: That’s Kamala – spot fucking on for people’s problems. Cities, borders…  I mean, most of our border problem here in San Diego involve how much damn time it takes to clear, either way. Mmmm, well also,  the pollution from TJ river on the Mexico side – so there are issues, but I’m damn sure that it’s more likely to be worked out if we have Kamala and the rest of Democrats to help

    (sorry late comment on your early one)

Comments are closed.