Kamala Harris Campaign Event in WisconsinPost + Comments (235)
Think of it Not as Wanking, but Something I Do With My Hand
Harris has basically locked up the nomination. Not only have enough delegates pledged to vote for her, she’s got the endorsement of pretty much every Democratic office holder of note (both Schumer and Jeffries endorsed today).
I sure didn’t expect this to go as smoothly as it has, and it’s a tribute to Joe Biden’s selfless act, and his orchestration behind the scenes, as well as the work of countless others, that we’ve avoided the god awful contested convention mess that pundits and a few dumb Democrats wanted to saddle us with. (And Harris of course!)
If you want to feast on the bitter tears of donors who didn’t get their way, head over to LGM, where Cheryl has the details on some asshole donor who doesn’t want Harris, but instead wants some combination of candidates that includes Manchin.
Over at Steve M’s place, he has the details on the ridiculous proposal cooked up by Ezra Klein, who can’t quit this shit:
I think there’s a middle path here that Democrats should consider. None of the top-tier candidates are going to challenge Harris for the nomination. But what about some second- or third-tier candidates? Let a few up-and-comers make their case against Donald Trump. Let’s see some CNN town halls, some multicandidate forums. Nobody is going to go negative on each other here. Give the country a reason to watch a lineup of young Democrats, most of all Harris, make their cases against Trump day after day for the next few weeks.
Think of it not as a contest. Think of it as an exhibition. Maybe the people who’ve endorsed Harris can participate, too. She’s going to need a vice president. So maybe Gretchen Whitmer and Shapiro and Kelly and Beshear should be up there, too…. Maybe a little strategic ambiguity about what these candidate forums and voter town halls are would be good.
The last. fucking. thing. that is needed at this moment is ambiguity, strategic or otherwise.
Finally, here’s an explainer [gift link] on the whole coconut/Brat meme that’s gone viral about Harris.
Think of it Not as Wanking, but Something I Do With My HandPost + Comments (354)
Yes I’ll Turn My Back on This World
A couple of resignations of note broke today. First, this seemed like a foregone conclusion:
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, telling staff that she took “full responsibility,” according to a copy of a letter sent to agency staff and obtained by The Washington Post.
Here’s my question: in all the noise over this, has anyone suggested that we need to increase the Secret Service’s budget, while noting that it’s another expense related to our out-of-control gun culture? I assume Republicans just want those agents to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
As an aside, boy, Trump’s assassination attempt sure changed everything. (That’s sarcasm!)
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) plans to resign effective Aug. 20, according to two people briefed on the decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The longtime Democratic lawmaker was convicted on July 16 of taking bribes from three businessmen who showered him and his wife with cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz, an extravagant bounty for his help securing deals with foreign officials and trying to derail several criminal investigations in New Jersey.
Looking forward to Andy Kim taking that seat. He’s a major upgrade.
Bonus points to those who get the song reference in the post title. In the meantime, I’ll keep myself amused with the evening news.
Every Time the Sun Comes Up He’s in Trouble
Trump is having buyer’s remorse on the Vance pick:
Trump campaign officials acknowledged that Trump selected the inexperienced Vance, charged with all his techno-authoritarian ideas, to boost support among their own base, not extend a hand to swing voters, according to The Atlantic. Vance was a symbol of the Trump team’s assuredness that they would win in 2024. Come Sunday, that assuredness appears to be shrinking.
“Most striking thing I heard from Trump allies yesterday was the second-guessing of JD Vance—a selection, they acknowledged, that was [born] of cockiness, meant to run up margins with the base in a blowout rather than persuade swing voters in a nail-biter,” Atlantic staff writer Tim Alberta, who had written the piece about the panicking Trump campaign, posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Unlike a Trump golf course, there are no mulligans on your VP pick. Vance was a shitty pick by an cocky and overconfident campaign, and he’s going to be total poison with women. This is also worth at least a chuckle:
“And originally JD was probably not for me, but he didn’t know me. And then when we got to know each other, he liked me maybe more than anybody liked me,” Trump said during the pretaped interview, which aired Monday night on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
“And he would stick up for me. And he’d fight for the worker as much as I fight for the worker,” [ed. note: not at all] the president added. “We just had an automatic chemistry.”
JD Vance has the charmless bootlicking personality of the junior manager chosen to tell everyone at the factory that they’re laid off because the company is outsourcing to Bangladesh. He has the demeanor and bearing of the county attorney prosecuting women for having abortions, the sheriff pulling over every brown person in the county to check ids, and the store manager hassling clerks who need to leave early to pick up their kids from daycare. He’s where charm goes to die, buried under a manure pile of pseudo-intellectual, tedious, lousy cultural commentary.
I know VPs aren’t supposed to matter that much, but I think he matters.
Every Time the Sun Comes Up He’s in TroublePost + Comments (222)
Excellent Link: Such A *GLORIOUS* Downfall!
I was just hoping somebody would produce a version of the Downfall meme for TFG’s response to President Biden’s selfless announcement, and by Murphy the Trickster God it is gonna be very hard to top this one!
Downfall: Unburdened Edition pic.twitter.com/rSdfAXfq9G
— FriendlyKozak 🇺🇦 (@KvotheTheArcane) July 22, 2024
YouTube version:
Excellent Link: Such A *GLORIOUS* <em>Downfall</em>!Post + Comments (74)
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: LFG!
(Clay Bennett via GoComics.com)
I respect President Biden’s wishes; he’s announced that Vice-President Harris is his chosen successor. So even while we pay tribute to possibly the best American president of my lifetime, we need to work to make his wish come true.
Democrats plan to push ahead with virtual roll call ahead of their convention, with Harris favored https://t.co/0o192s7Wta
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 23, 2024
The Democratic Party plans to push forward with a virtual roll call in which delegates to its convention can choose a presidential nominee before they gather next month in Chicago — despite Vice President Kamala Harris being overwhelmingly favored to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.
The convention rules committee will meet Wednesday to approve how the virtual roll call will work, but a draft of the plan was obtained by The Associated Press on Monday night. It does not list a date for when virtual voting would begin, but Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the process will be completed by Aug. 7 — or 12 days before the party’s convention begins.
“We are living through an unprecedented moment in history and, as a party, we are tackling it with the seriousness that it deserves,” Harrison said on a conference call with reporters. “We are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a nominee who represents our values.”
He also said Democrats “can, and will, be both fast and fair as we execute this nomination.” …
With immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.
-NP pic.twitter.com/vBwv602GuR— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 22, 2024
Vice President Harris to campaign staff: The baton is in our hands. We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote. We who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence. We will fight for reproductive freedom pic.twitter.com/MVMuJTlhQX
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 22, 2024
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: <em>LFG!</em>Post + Comments (487)
Light Show (Open Thread)
A lightning storm parked itself slightly east of us last night, and we were treated to an impressive light show for well over an hour. Here’s 30 seconds of it:
Because of the distance, it was the best of both worlds to watch the storm from the porch. It was far enough away that it didn’t feel menacing but close enough so we could be awed by its power.
If you listen to the audio, you’ll hear the tree frogs singing. Toward the end, you may hear a motor because yes, an idiot was out in a boat, heading upriver towards the storm. I hope they got home safely.
Open thread!