I’m going to live blog the convention tonight. I’m watching on MSBNC. I’m excited about my man Julian Castro.
8:31 pm. Chuck Todd is a fucking moron. He says that since Obama won women by 13 points in 2008 and is only up by 10 now, he’s not doing well enough. Obama won by 7 points overall last time and now it’s tied in polls. So he’s down 7 among all voters but only 3 among women. If he wins women by 10 points, he wins the election in all likelihood.
8:33 pm. Let’s try to push to 45 tonight. Do it for metrosexual black Abe Lincolns everywhere.
9:06 pm. I think they’re doing a good job in the war on women so far. I can’t take anymore MSNBC though.
9:37 pm. Where should I be watching it? I tried MSNBC and PBS so far and I hate both. CPSAN?
9:50 Lilly Ledbetter is my favorite so far.
10:08 I’ve had enough of that Black Eyed Peas song.
10:29 I find this convention fairly dull, but they’re all singing from the same sheet of music. A bit as if the parties had changed places — now we are the organized ones.
arguingwithsignposts
Well that about covers that. You’re watching MSNBC, you’re not watching the convention. Check out CSPAN.
Elizabelle
Dude. You should be watching C-Span.
Why put yourself through Chuck Todd analysis?
Watch the actual speakers and delegates. Not just buckraking gasbags.
jimmiraybob
Tonight we are all metrosexual black Abe Lincoln. Some with the pants, some not.
Elizabelle
Tammy Duckworth on.
JPL
David Brooks is trying to salvage his reputation by saying that the dems are the party of government and mark laughed at him. It’s easy to laugh at David…
BGinCHI
Doug, you should live-blog the pundits too. Maybe a few minutes over at Fox and then CNN. Bring the razor to those fuckers.
If you watch C-Span you’ll be hammered by 9:00.
BGinCHI
@JPL: Should have asked Bobo: “why would someone run for office who doesn’t believe in government or governing?”
arguingwithsignposts
@BGinCHI:
Why?
TaMara (BHF)
Hmm, knew nothing about him until tonite on ABC News. And he’s a twin. His brother is going to introduce him. Betcha that confuses the FAUX News watchers.
Dennis SGMM
Tammy Duckworth on CSPAN. I doff my hat and bend my knee.
Elizabelle
MSNBC, CNN and Fox all covering Duckworth. Very good.
arguingwithsignposts
@TaMara (BHF):
Their takin ar jerbs!
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: Lack of running commentary like in sports. America, love it or leave it.
/If you need my tongue it’s in my cheek.
Davis X. Machina
@BGinCHI: Because that’s where the money is. Willie Sutton, poor bastard, thought it was banks.
Violet
I don’t know anything about Tammy Duckworth. Where is she from? Her accent sounds like she maybe learned a couple of languages as a kid or something.
BGinCHI
@Elizabelle: She is running against one of the top ten assholes in the world. Maybe top five.
@arguingwithsignposts: I still think that episode is political gold. Who knew we’d need those stoners for realism?
Violet
@TaMara (BHF): Cannot wait to see Julian Castro. He’s awesome.
abo gato
Julian and his brother Joaquin are the shiznit. I am just saying as a resident of SA.
abo gato
Julian and his brother Joaquin are the shiznit. I am just saying as a resident of SA.
JPL
I’m in love with Tammy.
Elizabelle
Joe Biden is in the house.
Xenos
Wait for the most amazing destruction of the Castro brothers by the wingnuts: They Are Named Castro! Get it? Heh! Huh.
Drudge will have some sort of headline about Democrats being on Fidel and Raoul Castro’s side all along.
arguingwithsignposts
@BGinCHI: okay, I LOL’d.
Seriously, I would damage my laptop if I had to listen to those shits on the networks all the way through this stuff, and I can’t afford that.
Violet
@abo gato: They love Julian as Mayor in San Antonio, according to polls. Wasn’t he re-elected with 80% of the vote or something?
MikeBoyScout
Anybody else having lag issues with the live feed?
I’m wired to beat the band, so it ain’t my bandwidth.
SuzieC
Tammy Duckworth was fucking awesome. Why isn’t she killing Walsh in their race?
Elizabelle
Lincoln Chafee has more class than Olympia Snowe ever will. Very decent guy.
Look forward to Charlie Crist later this week.
arguingwithsignposts
I saw a photo of the Castro bros. on NPR.org earlier. Are they fraternal twins, or identical?
ETA: Chafee looks like a 50s/60s TV actor, but I can’t place which one.
JPL
Many, many, many years ago, I campaigned for this guy’s dad. Admittedly it was at a time when the Republican party was considered sane and not crazy. Some day we tell our children about that party and they will laugh.
mamayaga
Listening to Tammy Duckworth’s bio, I’m remembering when I worked at the VA and how great it was when Obama was elected. My job involved traveling around to various VA hospitals, Most VA hospitals have big photos of the Pres and VP near the main entrance, and it was such a relief to walk into the lobby to see a the warm grins of Barack and Uncle Joe after 8 years of the Smirk and the Sneer.
Ben Franklin
‘The Rubes say ‘meh’ to Duckworth. They only like the Military when active. Vets can DIAF.
BGinCHI
@arguingwithsignposts: I agree, but it was necessary for the GOP Con, since listening to the actual speakers would cause brain damage. I actually fast forwarded through the speeches and just listened to the comments.
If the White Sox win the Series, Obama walks to victory, or does he just get to win without a vote? It’s his favorite team, after all.
RoonieRoo
I an really enjoying the ownership of the liberal label this year.
Violet
@arguingwithsignposts: Identical twins.
BGinCHI
@SuzieC: Because suburban Chicago dicks are dicks.
Chris
@BGinCHI:
That’s what I tell people when asked why I’m not a Republican and looking for a shorter. “Because putting people in charge of the government who believe it should be drowned in the bathtub makes no more sense than putting a pacifist in charge of the army, putting a Communist in charge of a business, or building a Yankees team out of Red Sox fans.” Full stop. Because it really is that simple.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Elizabelle: he’s not built for TV, but I’ve heard a couple of long interviews with him, and he’s smart and impressive. Olly Snowe is a nonentity wrapped inside a mediocrity wrapped inside the enigma of why the media treated her like the Sage of Portland (or wherever the hell she’s from) for twenty years.
sharl
In case you’re not following Imani/ABL on her twitter feed thing, she gave a sweet shout-out to a lot of you folks – and you know who you are (I hope) – about an hour ago:
Elizabelle
@JPL:
We lived in Rhode Island when John Chaffee was governor. He was a good guy, and so is his son.
They are not welcome in the Radical Republican party.
Publius39
The headlines write themselves: “Obama, National Democrats pal around with Fidel Castro descendents!!!”
Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937
watching pbs. david brooks has a giant bug on his face. it must be filled with alcohol because he sounds drunk.
mamayaga
@MikeBoyScout: I had problems with that one too — try C-Span instead.
slag
PBS Newshour feed kicking the DNC feed’s ass.
Schlemizel
I don’t know, he pronounces his name HOO-lee-ann, that sounds fur-in to me. I don’t think we Americans want politicians who are not reeel ‘Mericans . . . if you know what I mean and I think you do
Elizabelle
Just beautiful.
Taking the lie to Romney about the day people voted for Obama being the high water mark.
Lovely family on; their little daughter would not be as healthy without ACA’s removal of lifetime caps. And she’s not even in kindergarten yet.
MikeJ
Love the repeated use of “ObamaCare”. It was Republicans that started calling it that, and now Dems are happy to own it.
JPL
I did not watch the repub convention but did they have these wonderful stories? I’m trying to be fair but it is tough.
gogol's wife
@MikeJ:
Yeah, that’s great. I never understood why something that sounds like “Obama cares” was considered a slur.
Elizabelle
Kevin Drum column today: ACA coverage personally important to him. In his 50s, with some moderate health issues.
Sherrod Brown is in the house! And looking happy.
SBJules
@Dennis SGMM: Tamy Duckworth was wonderful! And Mitt didn’t even mention the troops.
Baud
@JPL:
There was the gripping tale of the old man and the chair.
trollhattan
@Dennis SGMM:
She’s seven kinds of awesome.
PsiFighter37
I’ll match my fellow Juicers up to $250 (even though I already did my monthly donation) if you respond to this.
Make it happen, friends.
slag
@Baud: Technically, I believe that tale’s called The Old Man and the Seat.
Mnemosyne
@SuzieC:
Because northeastern Lake County (IL) is filled with smug Republican tribalist assholes. I was raised there and my parents still live there in the summer.
@JPL:
Lincoln Chafee had a great moment this past holiday season where the wingnuts got pissed off at him because the state dedicated a “holiday tree” that they thought should have been a “Christmas tree.” Chafee basically told them to go piss up a rope and that Roger Williams would be ashamed of them.
abo gato
Violet, I am not sure of the percentage, but he did win re-election with a good majority. We have been lucky to have two strong democrats as mayor in a row, and they have done great things for the city. Julian and his brother are the real deal. Raised by their activist mom, Rosie.
abo gato
Violet, I am not sure of the percentage, but he did win re-election with a good majority. We have been lucky to have two strong democrats as mayor in a row, and they have done great things for the city. Julian and his brother are the real deal. Raised by their activist mom, Rosie.
MikeJ
Barnburner from Strickland.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
They were trying to repeat the sneer of “HillaryCare” from 1992-93 and didn’t realize that it takes on a whole new connotation if the legislation actually passes and becomes law.
Comrade Mary
Strickland is on fucking fire.
abo gato
Yikes! sorry for two double posts! FYWP!!!
trollhattan
@MikeJ:
He’s a throwback Dem from my yout. I could see him installing engines on the assembly line.
Spectre
What’s with the hype for Castro? He doesn’t seem to have any set positions to back him for, and according to the times, he’s basically a Cory Booker type.
JPL
@MikeJ: I’m watching pbs and I can’t wait to see David’s jowls sinking lower after this speech…
SiubhanDuinne
@Dennis SGMM:
She was terrific.
And so was the young mother whose infant daughter has a congenital heart condition that was just on.
PsiFighter37
I didn’t watch the GOP shindig in Tampa, but this seems to be a lot more effective than what I read was going on down in Florida.
El Cid
Eeeeek! The “L” word — lying! How uncouth! I will quickly resort to thinking of those deep, deep blue eyes of the P90X number cruncher.
trollhattan
Strickland just called Willard a liar. Said what everybody is thinking.
Patricia Kayden
“9:06 pm. I think they’re doing a good job in the war on women so far. I can’t take anymore MSNBC though.”
C-Span, my friend. Non-stop, no commercials, no annoying journalists/reporters. Great coverage.
SiubhanDuinne
@BGinCHI:
Uh…?
tofubo
didn’t watch the rn conv, won’t watch the dn conv
hello world
http://opcion.tumblr.com/post/28439432796/hello-world
Dennis SGMM
Kipped in another hundred. Care to join me?
Throwin Stones
Goddamn I love my former governor right now.
MikeBoyScout
Gotta say, am a bit happily surprised that the tone is to be so GD proud of the record. It is a record to crow about. Don’t know why it has taken so long to do so. Glad it is happening.
Elizabelle
Kathleen Sebelius:
“Insurance as good as Congressman Paul Ryan’s. That’s what change looks like.”
trollhattan
Sebelius is a very good speaker. Sharp, to the point, brings home the tagline: “That’s what change looks like.”
gf120581
I want to know what Strickland had for breakfast today, because he was on fire. And I love this line.
“If Mitt Romney was Santa Claus, he’d fire the reindeer and outsourch the elves.”
Don’t think he likes Mitt too much. Mitt seems to have that talent of making everyone absolutely hate him. Republicans too.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle: Jinx!
eric
@PsiFighter37: just hit it for $250. :)
trollhattan
Raaaaahm! “Hello, and fuck you!”
MikeJ
Rahm!
Spectre
Enter the Rahmbo
Sly
RAAAAAAAAAAAHM
artem1s
rahm!!!!!!!!
Comrade Mary
RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHMMMM! /shakes fist missing half a finger
sharl
Heh, on twitter Imani is sassing Ewick Ewickson, and Cole is chewing out Sully in typical Cole fashion:
raven
I dropped my weak 25
artem1s
loved Strickland, he was on fire.
Steve
Slow down with the live blogging there DougJ. You’re liable to burn out the keyboard.
trollhattan
Odds Rahm calls Willard a goat-fucker? 1:7?
Comrade Mary
Yo, Doug! I can make you some tea. Want some tea?
Turgidson
@Mnemosyne:
A big chunk of it is richer than sin, too. A handful of people living in Lake Co. are Romney-level rich, I’m pretty sure – the deadbeat dipshit will protect their tax cuts and that’s their single issue. I lived in the Chicago suburbs too, but my town was still in Cook County.
Spectre
Matt Yglesias @mattyglesias
Rahm can fire up liberal base by promising to stay far away from the White House in the second term.
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artem1s
Clint’s next film…
Letters to Obama
redshirt
I just gave 100$. I’ve given a ton of money to Obama and Dems over the last 8 years, and I’m proud of it. I’m not a Democrat myself but FSM knows they’re the only thing standing in the way of utter madness.
Nina-the-first
@PsiFighter37: Thank you! I will do another $30.00. And Tammy Duckworth made Mr Charles Norris look like the bwaker he is. Go dems!
PurpleGirl
@BGinCHI: This. A gazillion times this.
Comrade Mary
Actually, Rahm is a rather weedy speaker. I am disappoint. Sebelius clanked more than him.
raven
@Turgidson: DuPage County here, been gone for 45 years but still!
JPL
Pretty good speech.
slag
Dear Men of America (that includes you, Rahm),
If you can’t manage to raise your eyebrows, you’re doing it wrong!
mamayaga
@Spectre:
Yeah. but that means we in Chicago have to keep him. #@*&& Corporatist slime.
Spectre
meh/10
Comrade Mary
Kal Penn!
trollhattan
“Thank you invisible man in the chair, for that.”
Heh-indoozle.
Spectre
Rahm’s speech sucked. Also lulz at Kumar rebutting Clint Eastwood.
Randy P
I’m planning on watching via C-SPAN. Staying up for Michelle O, even though I have to get up at 4:30 am. So leave me some bandwidth on C-SPAN, OK folks?
I haven’t had a chance to catch her live at anything and not sure I will. Have a new job so can’t really take days off. But I did hear her live on a campaign conference call, and I have to say I did feel the starbursts thing.
Brian R.
Kal Penn > Clint Eastwood
slag
Goodbye, David Brooks. Hello, Kal Penn.
PsiFighter37
@eric: And done! $250 + 10% tip to the good folks at ActBlue. Thanks as well to Nina-at-first.
Keep it rolling in people…
Elizabelle
What’s this about
You don’t even have to put pants on.
Are there more pantsless in Charlotte?
raven
@slag: No Shit,everybody bitchin about MSNBC so I went to PBS and missed most of Kal. Dickeheads.
Comrade Mary
BTW, the web stream is working perfectly well for me now. Thank you, DNC geeks.
PurpleGirl
I’m loving this Kal Penn, whoever he is. (Yes, I have to look him up.) He’s great.
ETA: Okay, he made a joke about men not wearing pants… has he been reading Balloon Juice. Was this a reference to our very own JGC?
raven
@slag: No Shit,everybody bitchin about MSNBC so I went to PBS and missed most of Kal. Dickheads.
Thymezone
Fucking morons everywhere will be outraged at this assertion.
slag
@PsiFighter37: Bravo!
Elizabelle
Maya Soetora Ng has a beautiful alto speaking voice and calm persona.
She and Craig Robinson have a lot of presence.
raven
@PurpleGirl: He was very good in The Namesake
slag
@raven: I know! Pissed me off. But luckily, I realized that the PBS website also offers the DNC feed. Coming faster and steadier than it came from the DNC website.
Spectre
Sullivan has a sad: “9.33 pm. Strickland’s ugly, xenophobic allegation of Romney’s lack of patriotism is rightly being slammed across the board. Ponnuru:”
ChrisNYC
I’m loving this whole thing. I love the deles with their crazy hats, looking always to start a chant. I love how the speakers are pumped by the crowd. I love that Dems have this long history of all this — FDR, Kennedys, LBJ, Clinton, SS, labor rights, civil rights, healthcare — that they reach back and connect to and say forward on all that, all yelly and happy like Strickland.
JenJen
Stay classy, Erick Erickson:
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/statuses/243144183529996288
As Charles Johnson just reminded everyone on Twitter, that was tweeted by a paid CNN contributor.
@raven: I loved The Namesake! Really good film.
Angela
I’m switching between MSNBC and C-Span. It works for me.
PsiFighter37
@Spectre: “Both sides do it!”
Andrew Sullivan’s a freakin’ tool. Just because a clock is twice right a day don’t mean much.
MikeBoyScout
I’m so damn proud to be a Democrat.
Old Dan and Little Ann
“You don’t have my word on it. You’ve got my signature on it.”
-President Obama about the Lilly Ledbetter Act. First I have head that one.
And now she’s killing Swiss bank accounts. Blasting his Mittens’ IRA. Awesome.
kay
Lilly Ledbetter competes in ballroom dancing contests.
Can’t you just see her doing that?
RoonieRoo
Definitely watch on cspan.
Turgidson
@Spectre:
I’m glad the innumerate clown is more or less on our side right now, but he’s still an elitist Tory douchebag.
Oh good heavens! A populist speech that makes jabs at the soulless, lying plutocrat who wants the presidency so he and his pals can loot the treasury and funnel it to the Caymans. The horror.
Except. That’s pretty much what he wants to do. And for FSM’s sake, the Democrats have been listening to verbal diahrrea about how their candidates aren’t sufficiently patriotic for decades now. Strickland turning that bullshit around onto the GOP is fine by me.
Steve
What did Strickland say that caused so much pearl-clutching?
DemJayhawks
You Massholes wanna trade Brownback for Patrick? We’ll throw in Kobach too!
Mnemosyne
@Turgidson:
IIRC, the highest income town in Illinois is near Evanston. The 8th District that Walsh was originally elected from was towards the border, where the wanna-be’s live (2010’s 8th Congressional District).
I mean, there are some high income earners in Libertyville, but we ain’t no Lake Forest.
Though, according to Govtrack.us, the 8th District has moved further south and now covers places like Schaumburg and Elgin. Make of that what you will.
Soonergrunt
@Steve: Damned if I know. I heard him on Sirius and he sounded great.
blahblah
@Turgidson: Well I’m reading the Tory clown’s liveblog because this one sucks.
Sometimes interesting people don’t always need to be on your side.
Ms. D. Ranged in AZ (IrishGirl)
How the Effff did I miss Lilly Ledbetter…dammit!!
kay
@Steve:
He said it’s unpatriotic for Romney to put money overseas.
Strickland is a minister, and he said “where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is” so I suppose that’s what’s upsetting the very pious conservatives.
Soonergrunt
@kay: fuck them.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
Deval Patrick’s speech, a barnburner.
Local media all ‘tsk tsk, so angry’ on the twitters. Sign of a direct hit.
Mike E
Watchin the raw feed off my digital broadcast receiver, the local CBS affiliate’s “5.2” station. No commentary. Nice.
Steve
@kay: Oh they hate when we bring out the Bible! Especially since today’s right-wing talking point of the day is that the Democrats stripped God out of the party platform.
Turgidson
@Mnemosyne: Oh, I’m not up to date on the IL congressional map then. I thought Walsh’s district included lake forest, HP, etc where some houses have faucets where hundred dollar bills come out.
Highest income town is probably Kenilworth if I had to guess. It’s small and doesn’t really have the more modest housing subdivisions Wilmette and even Winnetka or Lake Forest have that bring their average down.
redshirt
I’m loving it! Time to fight back for what is right and true!
artem1s
Oh man, I am in love with Julian Castro
mainmati
Pushed the thermometer up a bit tonight. I like online contributions; I totally hate phone calls that always seem to come when I am making dinner or taking care of post-soccer daughter (I’m a guy BTW).
SIA
What a sweet picture of Michelle and Craig shown in the video.
Bob In Portland
Chuck Todd is a worthless toad. Always has been.
Bob In Portland
Chuck Todd is a worthless toad. Always has been.
Mnemosyne
@Turgidson:
HP does have a Republican rep, but it’s some guy named Bob Dold that I’ve never heard of. No idea who his opponent is.
GARY CAMPBELL
I’d say Chuch Todd would probably be sharing a meat popsicle with his bud from CNN what’s his fucking name…..Anderson
The prophet Nostradumbass
@GARY CAMPBELL: Uh, what?
Birthmarker
@slag: @raven: I read The Namesake last summer. No idea it was a movie!
Thatgaljill
I watched tonight on Current, but I don’t think I’ll do that again because it’s a lot of twitter on the screen rather than speaker… and I actually wanted to hear the introductions and see the video… maybe I’ll try the live stream tomorrow