Welp, it’s official. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have decided to run on a campaign of “We’re totally going to fix shit, but we’re not going to tell you how because if we do, we might lose and we don’t wanna lose because if we lose how will we take your money and give it to rich people?” (It’d be funny if about half the country weren’t going to vote for them, while the other half struggles to figure out in the next 82 days whether Republicans will even allow them to vote.)
The Obama campaign, on the one hand, has got all these different tools that you can use to figure out how Obama’s policies will affect you: as a woman, for example, (The Life of Julia) or as a taxpayer (you can calculate your tax rate with his nifty tax calculator).
Romney and Ryan, on the other hand, have no nifty tools — Whiteboard of Fail, notwithstanding — and are willing to tell voters exactly two things: Jack and Shit.
In an interview today, Romney advisers explained that the Romney-Ryan Fail Parade Shit Show would not be providing any policy details because in this day and age, campaigns that provide too many details are campaigns that lose.
Seriously.
Better to be vague and accuse President Obama of being black than to tell voters what you stand for, (or, as the case seems to be, than to tell voters just how much you’re going to screw them when you get elected.)
[read full post at ABLC]
[read Greg Sargent’s piece here.]
Valdivia
Amen!
So to recap: Bold bold serious campaign refuses to talk about specifics on their policies and they do that because telling the truth would make them lose the election. How is that bold and serious?
The Village is just a conglomerate of utter fail.
/kudos to Sargent and Benen for telling it like it is.
driftglass
I would have an easier time trusting Paul Ryan if he hadn’t shown himself to be a repeated and pathological liar:
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2012/08/who-is-john-galt.html
Violet
@Valdivia: Bold and serious Romney chose bold and serious Ryan because of his bold, serious and specific budget plan. Tea Partiers only want Ryan if he’s keeping his plan. Romney can’t run on or away from the Ryan plan. Excellent stuff.
dmsilev
Yeah, the problem with ‘just trust me’ is that you kind of need a reservoir of good will and trust to draw on before it will work.
And dodging around like a ferret on speed every time someone asks about tax returns is probably not helping the situation.
Ben Franklin
Love the LOGO….
Omne Datum Optimum
Every perfect Grift….
fuxed
arguingwithsignposts
@Violet:
For all instances of “specific” which include “not at all specific,” yes.
Ben Franklin
Romnyan is the new Romulan.
Valdivia
@Violet:
I have been hitting my head against the wall all week. If their plan is so bold and serious and important to the country why the hell are they lying about it all the time?
/needs a really strong drink
kc
Shorter Romneyan campaign: “We’d tell you what we’re gonna do, but then we’d have to kill you.”
eric
Obama ad: “Even god gave us a written plan, why can’t Romney/Ryan?”
Hill Dweller
Some of the state polls are getting closer, I suppose due to Ryan being added. Wisconsin is inexplicably close.
Aside from the super wealthy, I can’t fathom anyone voting for a Republican. It is an intellectually and morally bankrupt parties, whose policies have repeatedly failed.
Granted, the Democratic party is perfect by any stretch, but when compared to the wingnut brigade, they look like saints.
Mark S.
If I were a red-blooded Joe Six-Pack who only halfway paid attention to the news, I think I would conclude that Romney and Ryan are both whiners and cowards. The evidence?
“Stop talking about the company I founded and ran for 20 years!”
“I can’t release my tax returns because even though they are totally unobjectionable, my enemies will tear me apart!”
“Bringing up anything I don’t want to talk about is just distracting to the issue of how I will fix the economy! How will I fix the economy? Bringing up anything I don’t want to talk about is just distracting to the issue of how I will fix the economy!”
Soonergrunt
@kc: Well, they might as well tell us then because unless you’re a rich, white, republican, male they ARE going to try to kill you anyway. And the RWRMs need to know how the Gekko/Galt ticket will help them.
Hill Dweller
The idiot running the SuperPAC that is trying to swiftboat Obama has just proudly declared himself a birther.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Wasn’t Obama about as specific as he could be about stuff when he ran in 2008. A specific example: “I will go into Pakistan if I have evidence.” Now, circumstances and actually being president have made the implementation different, but I seem to remember him offering some detail.
mapaghimagsik
It’s an interesting strategy. After all, your opponent cannot attack your non-existent plan and you can attack the details in your opponent’s plan – and as long as most news organizations are not willing challenge that strategy, you can probably rely on your super pacs
to what up enough noise to obscure the truth
Ed Drone
@kc:
As opposed to, “We won’t tell you anything; then we kill you.”
This campaign is becoming an example of Peak Chutzpah(c), for sure. No tax returns, wondrous plans for fixing Medicare, the economy,
taxes(not going there!), etc., none of which is you people’s business!Add to that the attack ads* using selectively-edited film clips and faux outrage at any and everything, and I am sure that Peak Chutzpah(c) is being reached.
Ed
Note: * I understand the Rmoney campaign has purchased the Burger King slogan (“Home of the Whopper”) for the duration of the campaign, with options for his first term (should he have one).
gogol's wife
@Hill Dweller:
I am so depressed that they might win. This is going to be a disaster. They have the media and all the money on their side, not to mention voter suppression and the courts. All we have is the far, far better candidate. That’s not enough these days, thanks, Supreme Court.
Brachiator
Heard this on political talk radio this morning.
Citing some stories supposedly comimg from the Obama camp, the host declared that Obama liked McCain, hated Hillary and absolutely detests Romney (even though he has never met him). Just detests the man; and so Obama has decided to drag the campaign into the gutter. Presumably a Chicago gutter.
Mitt on the other hand, really really LIKES Obama, and would just love to talk about the issues. But he can’t. Because that bad man Obama hates him. And so, Mittens has to go negative. Not that he wants to. He is forced to go negative and avoid talking about the issues because Obama won’t let him be honest to the American people.
Similarly, Mittens cannot release his tax returns, he just can’t do it, because he is in a no win situation because Obama hates rich people, too.
All Romney did is what any other rich man would do, take the legal deductions allowed by law, fire Americans and put his money offshore in legally recognized tax shelters.
But that bad man Obama would attack Mittens for doing what any Real American Rich Person is supposed to do, use the tax code to maximize his wealth.
So Obama really hates America for showing how Romney has fucked America over to enrich himself, and for preventing Mittens for explaining how more America fucking will lead to prosperity for everyone who is rich.
I love morning drive time radio.
Both Sides Do It
I did not think there was a chance in hell that “we will not provide policy details because they would be too damaging” was a full and accurate paraphrase of that Romney campaign interview, but . . . it is.
Whole-lee shit.
Imma go hunt a Snark on this frabjous day, because we are clearly through the looking glass here, and no amount of centrist pundits’ vorpal blades going snicker-snack will be able to hide the mendacity of this approach for the next three months.
Mark S.
So much that he made her Secretary of State?
Frankensteinbeck
@Mark S.:
This is important. Kentucky didn’t punish Paul 2 of 3 for Aqua Buddha, but his numbers dived and he nearly lost a gimme election when he backed out of a debate. The Tea Jerks HATE weakness.
@Hill Dweller:
My plan proceeds apace. Unaccountable men chosen for their hatred of Obama with huge amounts of money to spend will do their DAMNEDEST to make Romney look like a crazy conspiracy theorist racist.
evinfuilt
@Valdivia:
We should trust him, we totally should. Look at all he’s willing to share with us
* Olympics: discussion off-limit
* Governor: discussion off-limit
* Business Acumen: discussion off-limit
* Family Man: discussion off-limit
* Healthcare Plan: discussion off-limit
* Religion: discussion off-limit
* Personal Success Story: discussion off-limit
I mean, that means everything he’s willing to talk about (his name… and …) is proof that we can trust him. When he says “I’m Mitt Romney and you can trust me”, then you have no choice, he didn’t lie. He really is Mitt Romney.
Yutsano
@Hill Dweller: Sweet. His credibility just went to shit. I loves me some juicy birfer goodness!!
Yutsano
@Hill Dweller: Sweet. His credibility just went to shit. I loves me some juicy birfer goodness!!
feebog
Yes, Mr. rMoney, trust you. Just like you asked the people to trust that you were paying taxes as a resident of MA when you wanted to run for Governer. Turns out you were lying through your teeth. Trust you? Based on your long standing record of transparancy and truthfullness? BHAHAHA.
scav
the RW apotheosis of Hilary Clinton, even if strategic and superficial, is one of the weirdest, least expected part of the entire episode.
Bulworth
I guess we’re back to the Anti-Obama Campaign. Not that it ever left.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Hoo, anybody watching MSNBC? Nice guy Tommy Thompson channels his inner Chris Christie when challenged on releasing his tax returns. Tommy don’t wanna talk about his extremely lucrative career as a corporate lobbyist during the Bush years.
MikeBoyScout
There’s a bleg downstairs that John put up with a goal of $30k tonight.
You know what? Given the BS dog whistles Gekko/Galt are throwing out it ain’t going to be enough to win in November. We’ve got to kick their sorry asses to the curb, HARD.
OFA is doing a good job. Help them out if you can. If the $ ain’t in your pocket, put your shoes on and knock some doors.
And thank-you ABL. The “Angry Black Man” can have no better ally.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@scav: I keep waiting, when Republicans start their mewling about how much they liked that nice Bill Clinton, for some reporter to point out that Obama’s proposed tax increases still leave tax rates lower than they were in the Clinton years, but surprise surprise they’re all obsessed with impeachment, because of Clenis
mechwarrior online
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I wouldn’t put it past Republicans to all refuse to release their tax returns from now on and turn it into the new, normal state of affairs, as part of a long term strategy. The GOP always plays the long term.
Valdivia
@evinfuilt:
also, too: who his bundlers are. off limit.
El Cid
He has a secret plan to end the deficit.
IowaOldLady
@Hill Dweller: I ran into my first birther in real life yesterday. He was an old guy sitting at the next table at the Lone Star Steak House, explaining to a waitress he evidently knew that he just didn’t trust Obama and thought the birth certificate was fake. My husband and I looked at one another, decided you can’t fix stupid, and went back to doing the sudoku we’d cut from the paper.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Okay, so if we dodge a bullet and Romney goes down in defeat, will the Repubs lurch still further to the right, double-down on their rage and hostility and willful ignorance, and if so, will they become a Rump party? Or might they possibly get a clue and become a shade more moderate? (This second scenario seems less likely, but I wonder.) Any thoughts, anyone?
Brian R.
Seriously that Greg Sargent piece is awesome.
Ruckus
You’d have to want to be fucked over to vote rethug these days. Or just completely delusional. Or morally bankrupt. Or a major fucking idiot.
Can’t decide, can’t decide…
It really shouldn’t be this hard, the R/R campaign has given us all the facts necessary for this decision, it’s E. All of the above.
Ruckus
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
Is there evidence they will change direction and become more moderate and thoughtful? Absolutely none in the last 60 yrs so a betting person would likely say no.
evinfuilt
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
They have two strategies. When they fail, double down, when they are out of ideas, piss off liberals.
GregB
@Hill Dweller:
Obviously this Navy Seal is on disability for shooting himself in the foot.
A self-fragging on day two of the Bin-laden boating campaign.
Hell, even Erick Ericksonn was saying that Obama deserved credit for ordering the hit on Bin-laden.
All aboard the fail-boat.
Frankensteinbeck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The media does not like Romney, but we will still face universal pushback on his tax returns. Everyone who decides and reports what goes on the air in national news and political commentary is rich. ALL of them know their own tax rates are under attack, and Romney is doing a piss poor job of defending them. Our greatest blessing is, they’re not smart enough to realize ‘not talking about taxes’ is the only way to win this argument.
? Martin
@Hill Dweller: VP bounce. It always happens. Give it a week or two to settle out.
Hill Dweller
In other news, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello told Paul Ryan, who purportedly likes their music, to go f*** himself.
Also too, the Silversun Pickups sent Willard a cease and desist letter, demanding the campaign stop using their music.
Ash Can
The debates ought to be a real hoot, with both GOP candidates going all Sarah Palin “I’m not going to answer your questions” on everyone.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ben Franklin:
Counsel for the Romulan Star Empire on line 2, Ben. Something about “We’re going to decloak on your ass and blast you clear to the Dominion” if you don’t take that back.
ABL
@MikeBoyScout: Admittedly, I’m two beers deep and I just saw a black man riding a Segway, but this made me aw.
Thank you.
Ash Can
@? Martin: Hey Martin, what’s the deal with the smooshed fly next to your name?
ABL
@Hill Dweller: Oh thank god. Lazy Eye is one of my favorite songs.
22over7
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
It’s a good question, West. I think that the Tea Partiers are being used by the money guys as a front, to keep everybody, including us, screaming and hollering about social issues while they take the money out the back door.
Ignorant American fascists will, like the poor, always be with us, and we’ll keep fighting them; the real question is, where do the money guys go from here? Is a worldwide depression a bug or a feature? Do they think they can reboot when necessary, or are they thinking neofeudalism?
Ben Franklin
@Villago Delenda Est:
if you don’t take that back.
I did get a strange text reminding me of my Oath of the Prime Directive.
Ben Franklin
@Villago Delenda Est:
if you don’t take that back.
I did get a strange text reminding me of my Oath of the Prime Directive.
Brachiator
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
There is not a chance in hell that the GOP will become more moderate. The Tea Party will continue to push them to the right. They will continue to obstruct the Democrats at the federal level.
And nullification and open defiance of the law will escalate at the state level in states controlled by Republicans.
We are almost in a second Civil War. It is less bloody than the first one, and it is targetted more against illegal immigrants and women than against other groups. And the GOP is not so much seceding as it is trying to bring the entire country down if it cannot have its way.
Yutsano
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): About the ONLY hope I have for the Republican party to moderate is the fact that younger Republicans are nowhere near as conservative as the older folks are. But that’s about the extent of my hope.
Roger Moore
@Hill Dweller:
Yeah, Ryan likes their music; he just never bothered to listen to their lyrics or think about what their name means. Given the (R) after his name, we shouldn’t be surprised.
maryQ
I always thought it was “shit show fail parade” not “fail parade shit show”. Anyone?
? Martin
@Ash Can: You see smooshed fly? It’s a nice yellow star on mine. Most people see nothing. Just trying to break FYWP.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
The Bearded Blogger
@Roger Moore: Ryan doesn’t like RATM, some consultant thought it would be good for his image.
You need a soul to like music (L. Atwater is the exception that proves the rule)
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
I teach junior college English at a couple different campuses in northern CA (pretty rural, except for pockets of university blue). A fair chunk of my young students are parroting, I think, what they hear from Dad and Grandpa and Rush. I think they’re in the minority, Yutsano (see post #54), but you may be right.
The more I read the responses my query received (Brachiator, Ruckus, et al), the more I am inclined to agree that the party will cling still more stubbornly to its so-called values. There’s definitely a certain bravado about saying, “You’ll pry my guns (values) from my cold, dead hands.”
I recall NPR pundits asking if the Repubs would moderate or move right after 2008, and I am surprised at how far to the right they’ve moved so swiftly! We definitely live in interesting times (see the Chinese curse).
The Bearded Blogger
@Brachiator: Well, the rich people who own the party might be ever so slightly more rational than the rubes who are hypnotized by it. A bloombergian (fiscally conservative, socially liberal) metamorphosis of the party is not entirely out of the quetion, but not for the next ten years or so
Brachiator
@Yutsano:
People keep saying it, but I am not sure that I entirely buy it. Many Tea Party leaders are pretty young, and people like Ron Paul attract a strong youth following.
When my sister’s family came to visit, my nephew mentioned that one of his friends is a big time listener to Bill O’Reilly, and strongly backs his views. This kid seems to be in a minority, but it is a strongly committed minority. And if the ecnonomy continues to struggle, or there is another major US involved conflict in the Middle East or elsewhere, the impact on political attitudes could be sobering.
Mike in NC
@22over7:
Feature! They don’t need no stinkin’ whiny minimum wage American serfs when they can get the same output from 25-cents-an-hour serfs who live in places like Cambodia and Bangladesh.
Hill Dweller
(H/T Ed Kilgore) The top story on the right wing sites today was a pic of a shirtless Paul Ryan.
I’m convinced the Republican party is comprised largely of repressed, self-loathing, white homosexual men.
The Bearded Blogger
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): 2016 will be very much like now: the GOP will obstruct the hell out of BHOs next four years, and will continue it’s steady drift towards Birchtown and beyond… Chris Christie or whoever will try to look sane and moderate while pandering to the nuts, a la Romney, but it will seem somewhat more of a farce. If dems win in 2016, some soulsearching on the part of repubs will occur (not with Obama because they think he is some weird fluke), and possibly some superficial moderation
The Bearded Blogger
@Hill Dweller: I’d say that’s probably half of the GOP. The other half are just dicks. So half want a dick, half are dicks
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@? Martin: I thought Cole had established a “starred commenter” program. I was gonna email him to complain about it.
Roger Moore
@The Bearded Blogger:
The problem for those rich people is that a party isn’t a piece of property you own lock, stock, and barrel. The rubes have a considerable say in things, especially now that they’ve teamed up with a few rich crazy people to form the Tea Party. The sensible rich people are no longer in control.
Ash Can
@? Martin: If I put my readers on, it would probably look more like a star. ;) And, ooh, I like the little cars and trucks! Dingbat envy. I haz it.
Hill Dweller
@The Bearded Blogger: Speaking of Chris Christie, I see the unemployment rate in NJ just hit a 35 year high.
Another Village crush looks pathetic in the light of day.
Ben Cisco
@Ben Franklin: Only not nearly as smart. Ruthless, yes.
shortstop
Help me, Juicers. I am this close to flying down to Tampa, grabbing my The Villages-residing stepmother-in-law by the throat, and shaking her until her five-shades-too-dark lipliner smears across her giant dentures, which would then bang up against her false eyelashes.
Her grandson has Lyme disease and has been through real hell. Her daughter and son-in-law owe close to $100,000 in uncovered copays for years of expensive interventions. Do they get down on their knees and thank President Obama for ensuring that their son, whom the insurance companies would love to drop like an anvil, remains insurable? No, they rail against “government-run healthcare” forced on them by a non-Jesus-loving president being the cause of their son’s continuing sickness. Mom-in-law, who assures her aggrieved kids that “They can’t do anything to you if you pay a little bit every month–just let the hospital eat the difference,” joins the Obama-bashing in all caps, all misspellings, all malapropisms, all fucking annoying beyond belief. She truly is a dense woman–my husband swears she has an IQ of about 77–and I am trying to cut her some slack because of that, but I am so fucking sick of these people doing themselves down and trying to take the rest of us with them. Get your Galt’s Gulch together already and move the fuck there, leaving us normal people in peace.
shortstop
@shortstop: I sound a little crazy, don’t I? Um, don’t I?
22over7
@Roger Moore:
Sorry, Roger, I disagree that the money guys aren’t in control. They’re ALWAYS in control. Sure, Teddy R. gave them a rough time early last century, and his cousin Frank gave them a little rougher time in the mid-20th, but I don’t see how the current democratic government hurts them any more than a republican one would.
The social issues, pick any one, mean nothing to the .001s. They never have to worry about discrimination, clean water, health care, or being caught in the middle of a shooting war. The parties, and increasingly the country itself, mean little to them. They go and do as they please, and laws do not apply to them (see Corzine, Dimon et al).
And to make the distinction between “sensible” and “not” is also not applicable. Our definition of sensible has a moral construct, and theirs does not. They’re sensible in that that they’ve got their money locked up nice and tight, with more to come, their private security is paid in full, their lobbying subcontractors are doing their jobs very well, the private jets are gassed up and ready to go, and their real estate holdings are secure. What could be more sensible?
Joel
@Brachiator: The real difference is the demographic ticking bomb that DougJ always talks about. Kids these days, well they ain’t the same that they used to be. Namely, less white, and thank god for that.
Joel
@Brachiator: The real difference is the demographic ticking bomb that DougJ always talks about. Kids these days, well they ain’t the same that they used to be. Namely, less white, and thank god for that.
Joel
@Brachiator: The real difference is the demographic ticking bomb that DougJ always talks about. Kids these days, well they ain’t the same that they used to be. Namely, less white.
Roger Moore
@shortstop:
You sound more angry than crazy. I guess that makes you fit in will with ABL.
Brachiator
@The Bearded Blogger:
Sane moderates, without regard to their income, have been kicked out of the party. The Koch brothers, Murdoch, Adelson and others have increased their investment in the Republicans, and other out and out fascist oligarchs are jockeying to get a piece of the pie.
It is pointless to talk about where the party might be in 5 or 10 years. Today, right now, the party is lurching further to the extreme right and does not show any sign at all of dialing down the stupidity.
BTW, you are seeing this in other countries as well, a Right Wing Spring attempting to repeal and revoke everything from liberalism to the Enlightenment itself.
shortstop
@Roger Moore: Hell, lotta angry people here at any given moment. It’s one of the reasons I like the place.
I hope stepmom-in-law falls on her ass on her way to the Ryan Villages shindig tomorrow. Maybe he can give her a voucher for that.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Hey, Hill Dweller (@ #69), I’m pretty sure that NJ’s unemployment rate is pretty much the result of Obama’s failed policies…. He won’t rest until he’s destroyed small business and given all available treasure to the lazy, shiftless, unemployed….
FSM, I hope my sarcasm is showing.
Joel
fuck you, wordpress. with a rusty pitchfork.
Joel
fuck you, wordpress. with a rusty pitchfork.
shortstop
@Joel: and @Joel: Now, you knew that was gonna happen, right?
scav
@shortstop: Not without cause.
But she’s not going to learn or change if she already has that amount of evidence in front of her. Would it help if you stopped trying to cut her any slack but just wrote her off internally as that thing to be ignored studiously at all necessary family functions? I can manage that but I’ve got some handy Mennonite genes so shunning (even by stealth) seems to come naturally.
Patricia Kayden
“In an interview today, Romney advisers explained that the Romney-Ryan Fail Parade Shit Show would not be providing any policy details because in this day and age, campaigns that provide too many details are campaigns that lose.”
Yet half the country may vote for The Bot and The Munchkin. Unbelievable.
chuck butcher
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
something to consider – where voter suppression has succeeded there becomes a loop effect. That won’t go away for some time without a concerted dissaffection with the GOPers in those places amongst the ones they’re letting vote.
Keep in mind that the RW mantra is, “Conservatism can’t fail, it can only be failed,” and that is the sentiment of a really large portion of the GOP – maybe not the electorate but definitely the ones who vote in Primaries.
I’d say the RW swing has only begun and that should scare the spit out of you. It should particularly scare you given the Democratic tendency to follow the fuck along in legislative outcomes.
? Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m special. Have a cookie: ?
And some hearts: ?
And a space invader: ?
And a hamster: ?
les
@? Martin:
That’s not a squished fly nor a star; it’s a teeny box, containing:
()1F
31F
Only more, like, square.
? Martin
@les: Huh. What browser/OS are you using? I suspect IE here…
shortstop
@scav: Yeah, I put her on internal ignore ages ago. She has discovered Facebook and is now stalking me on it with Jesus and Mitt by her side (occasionally carrying her when you see only two sets of footprints).
I guess I could block her. It’s not like she’ll be able to figure out what I did, given that she consistently posts everything three times, including private messages she doesn’t realize she’s sharing, instructions she looks up at the Help Center (thanks for telling me how to update my birthdate, Judy!), and names of old boyfriends she thinks she’s putting into the search field rather than the status update field. But then I’ll have to deal with the phone calls: “Why did you leave Facebook?”
The Thin Black Duke
@Patricia Kayden: But thankfully what I think is going to save us is the cold hard fact that Romney and Ryan are repellant creatures who give people the creeps. It’d be a different story if either one of them possessed even a molecule of charisma.
PPOG Penguin
@? Martin: Nope. IE shows an empty square. The 01F31F squiggle is Firefox.
Frankensteinbeck
@The Bearded Blogger:
The rich people who run the party are just as crazy as the rubes. Why shouldn’t they be? They have less to lose by being nutcases. Most of them would have to work hard to stop being rich. And like most arrogant, selfish people drunk on their own wealth and power, they don’t agree about much of anything except ‘I hate Obama!’
@The Bearded Blogger:
I actually think things will calm down quickly in 2013 after Obama wins reelection. The driving need of the racist element of the GOP is to prevent Obama from being reelected. That is the only way they can punish him for stepping out of place and give a warning to all others who might try it. When he beats them, helplessness will set it. It’s happened in most other situations where an African-American breaks into a prestigious field.
Valdivia
@? Martin:
I totally dig your emoticons. which come out very nice in my phone and iPad
shortstop
@Frankensteinbeck: Mmm, I don’t know. I think there will be at least some elements who’re convinced he’s going to lose because they’re reverse Pauline Kaels, and who are really, really going to lose it when he’s reelected. I would not want to have the Secret Service’s job this fall and winter, or the SPLC’s anytime soon.
22over7
@shortstop:
Poor thing. I dealt with a little of that, with my dad’s girlfriend. She swore up and down that she was a democrat, but sent me reams of vile, ignorant forwarded emails from her fascist friends. I told her that they were really offensive and then blocked her. She never spoke of it, and I assume she doesn’t realize I blocked them.
Just tell your smil that you got an internet stalker and had to shut down just about everything. She’ll never put it together.
Jay in Oregon
@Hill Dweller:
Holy cow, Tom Morello knocks it out of the park.
Frankensteinbeck
@shortstop:
I think for around three months after it becomes undeniable even to the crazies that Obama’s going to win, the assassination risk will go through the roof. It’s part of the same phenomenon. They’re crazed with a need to slap him down. Once they see it’s not going to happen, despair will rob them of the will to fight.
Cacti
@Hill Dweller:
“Paul Ryan is the embodiment of the Machine our music rages against.”
-Tom Morello
I’ve heard that widow’s peak is also a fan of the Grateful Dead.
Are there two bands who could be less about what Paul Ryan stands for than RATM and the Dead?
les
@? Martin:
ye gods no, Firefox. Your other pretties were also little boxes, with different innards. I try, although without success being in a PC world, to avoid micro$oft products. Bill Gates being, of course, the antichrist.
Cacti
@Jay in Oregon:
Harvard educated, and a guitar god. What’s not to love?
scav
@shortstop: FP hasn’t discovered the joys of a pie filter?! No wonder their stock is troubled. (I am not a member of that confraternity, probably because I do like keeping my social filters firmly under my own control.)
JWL
Don’t scoff. Nixon said as much about Vietnam in ’68.
You know. The year he won the presidency.
After having dispatched/waved bye-bye to G. Romney months earlier, chuckling all the way after GM’s “brainwashed” remark.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Frankensteinbeck:
In his book that I’m actually going to read (I’ve been in summer reading doldrums lately, just feeling lazy) Michael Grunwald says there was actually a strong debate in the GOP congressional caucuses about whether to work with Obama or fight him– McConnell et al won. Obviously. I always think the great untold story of those first days (edited) is Judd Gregg accepting then backing out of being Obama’s commerce secretary. I doubt if there are even enough non-crazy Republicans to take things back, at least Broder’s not around to tell Obama he has to prove he’s Serious about a second term by adopting Romney’s platform.
Brachiator
@Joel:
DougJ’s musings in this area are speculation and projection. No one can predict the future or even reliably assert that all nonwhite people will be consistently or reliably liberal or progressive. The Republicans are betting that some of these groups will be as hard core conservative as a Tea Party Person.
Besides, the GOP is not placidly sitting back, waiting to be overrun by a liberal nonwhite horde. Clearly, for now, they are trying to neutralize numbers by money and power and laws to restrict voting rights, citizenship, etc.
The demographic revolution is a reasonable guess, but it is not a slam dunk guarantee. And it’s as true of the real world as it is of fantasy films, the Empire Strikes Back.
Quicksand
Over 100 comments, and no one has complained about the link back to ABL’s blog?
C’MON PEOPLE, YOU’RE SLIPPING!
Frankensteinbeck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think the crazy will dial back, too. They won’t stop being extremist assholes. They won’t stop treating Democrats as illegitimate. The frothing, self-destructive insanity will wane, that core of rage that has turned the GOP into a bad joke since Obama took charge. They still think they have a tiny chance to put him back in his place, and that’s when humans go the most crazy with hate. When they know it’s too late, they’ll calm down.
Incidentally, McConnell is an old white man from Kentucky who grew up before the Civil Rights Act. He is a proven asshole on a stellar scale. I’m pretty sure racism is a big part of HIS opposition, he’s just smart enough to not drool as he plots.
chuck butcher
@shortstop:
sorry for your loss…
;-)
shortstop
@scav: They keep changing the settings. Right now I can decline to see her political and social stylings by taking her out of my newsfeed, but I can’t stop her alone from posting on my wall. (You used to be able to single out people for that honor, but now it’s all or nothing with your friend list.)
I like 22over7‘s idea (thanks!). She’ll never know the difference until my father-in-law tells her. And at this point…that’s fine.
In-laws can be tricky things. Stuff I wouldn’t put up with from my blood relatives gets by when ILs do it because I’m not quite as comfortable telling them to fuck right off. My husband is largely unconfrontational, and I feel like I have to follow his lead with his family. Anyway, thanks for letting me rant, y’all.
@Frankensteinbeck: Hope you’re right. They’re not going to work with him, in any case.
Roger Moore
@22over7:
I think a more accurate way of making my point is that “they money guys” aren’t a unified force in the party. You have the traditional Republican rich guys like Mitt and the Wall Street types, and you also have nut-job billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson. There aren’t as many wingnut billionaires, but they’ve allied themselves with the racists and religious crazies in a bid to take over the party. That’s the essence of the mainstream Republican vs. Teabagger primaries; it’s a fight between two different visions of the party. They may be willing to ignore some of there differences when faced with the Kenyan in Chief, but those differences are lurking beneath the surface in everything that happens with the party.
Frankensteinbeck
@shortstop:
McConnell’s reaction when Obama wins reelection should be fascinating. He will have staked everything and been personally beaten by a black man. What will he do? I don’t know.
The Thin Black Duke
@Brachiator: Not for nothing, but this African-American here doesn’t believe in committing suicide in the voting booth and I’m not alone in making this choice. Sure, there are shameful anomalies such as Hermain Cain, Thomas Sowell, Michael Steele and others of their ilk, but thankfully they’re happily outnumbered. There’s a reason why the GOP is working so damned hard to suppress the vote, after all. And as the brilliant comedian Paul Mooney observed, Hispanics just got their “Wake up, Nigger” call as well. Well done, Republicans, well done.
shortstop
@Frankensteinbeck: Well, he will continue to obstruct every piece of Democrat-backed legislation in the Senate, Frank. Won’t he?
Emma
@Hill Dweller: Holy God. Barack Obama is blessed in his enemies.
shortstop
@The Thin Black Duke: And should the GOP suddenly decide to try a non-assholish-behavior-toward-racial-minorities approach, any significant shift in partisan loyalty will take no small amount of time. I’m not saying Dems should be complacent about holding on to minority support. I’m saying we’re not going to lose it overnight or anything near it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@The Thin Black Duke: You saw principled ex-Democrat Artur Davis, who is going to be speaking in Tampa about his Disappointment in Barack Obama made a last ditch effort to get a job as a Dem before getting all principled and deciding that he hadn’t left the party, the party left him?
Shawn in ShowMe
@Emma:
Barack Obama is Batman — the 1960s version whose kooky rogues gallery tried to eliminate by baking him into cakes.
22over7
@shortstop:
You’re welcome!
I know what you mean about IL’s; I’ve had a couple sets now, and holy mother of pearl, what a challenge. But I’ve lost nearly all of them. While my current MIL is still alive, she’s so deep into dementia that she hardly remembers her sons, much less peripheral family, and thank dog my former MIL lives elsewhere and is not computer-savvy. She’s much like your SMIL.
The older I get, the less patience I have. I used to be able to be at least civil, to put on my customer service smile. Not so much any more. So keep the husband happy and keep yourself sane.
Origuy
@les: I’m guessing it’s a fonts issue. The people who can see it have a font with a character for 01F31F, which according to unicode.org, is a five-pointed star with little lines radiating out. It’s shown in this code chart. fileformat.info lists Symbola as a font that supports this.
Hey, it’s Friday afternoon. I’m avoiding working.
Cool, I just installed Symbola and refreshed the page. Now I see the star.
Maude
@Frankensteinbeck:
Obama said that he thought that after the election, things would quiet down. that doesn’t mean they’ll change. they’ll just be quieter about their insanity.
@? Martin:
You break the blog, you buy it.
22over7
@Roger Moore:
Fair enough.
WereBear
Well, being as it is based on facts so much in evidence, I gotta agree with you.
Lojasmo
@Hill Dweller:
Ras is the only pollster that has RMoney within the MOE..
Need better concern trolls.
Hill Dweller
@Maude:
Obama had to say that for fear of the electorate thinking he can’t anything done if they elect him. Privately, I think he knows they’re f’n crazy, and want to destroy him.
Hill Dweller
@Maude:
Obama had to say that for fear of the electorate thinking he can’t get anything done if they elect him. Privately, I think he knows they’re f’n crazy, and want to destroy him.
Hill Dweller
@Lojasmo: I said state polls.
Lavocat
Shorter Rmoney/Ryan campaign mantra:
“BECAUSE I FUCKING SAID SO, THAT’S WHY!”
Maude
@Hill Dweller:
Eisenhower had trouble with the same type of Republicans. He called the the Old Guard.
I think Obama meant what he said. The public knows that Congress is worthless. They have a 10% rating.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Maude: Tommy Thompson is tied with Tammy Baldwin, a month or so ago, she was almost ten points behind I think. I don’t like Claire McCaskill but she’s running a hard campaign against a nut job. The Montana GOPer is running away from Paul Ryan. Elizabeth Warren is pulling ahead of Scottie Brown. I think the chances of the Dems keeping the Senate are pretty good. I’m not making any bets on the House, but I think Boehner at best is looking at a smaller majority. I’m looking forward to commcercials about House GOPers disowning Ryan. I’m congenitally incapable of more than guarded enthusiasm, but Ryan could be a big down-ticket drag.
Lojasmo
@Ash Can:
I assumed it was a Santorum thing.
bemused
@Brachiator:
And when the kid is 65, he is going to be the typical “get off my lawn” asshole oldster who spends every morning down at the local coffee shop with his wingnut buddies bitching about liberals destroying America.
quannlace
Why do campaigns always do this? Simply co-opting a song without ever asking the writer for permission, forget offering to pay anything for it’s use. Do they just assume the composer should just be oh-so flattered that they chose their tune?
Roger Moore
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
This, more than anything else, is why Ryan has the potential to be a big win for the Democrats. We absolutely want the Ryan budget to be the center of the election because it’s so damn unpopular when people understand what’s in it. By making it a clear national issue, every Democrat trying to unseat a Republican incumbent gets to bring it up and have people know what they’re talking about. No other VP choice could have done so much to hurt the Republicans’ chances in Congress.
Maude
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I don’t even think about it. The thought of more Republicans in Congress is scary. People are having trouble making ends meet now.
Obama started in on what the Republicans do early enough to let it sink in.
The tax issue is important it’s the 1% against the 99%.
Gas prices are up and oil is up from speculation. Food prices are up and they keep rising.
Peter
@quannlace: Sometimes it’s genuine confusion about rights (I can think of one example where the problem was that they’d paid for lyrics rights instead of performance rights or something like that)
More often though, it’s just arrogance.
Roger Moore
@quannlace:
I think the “logic” goes something like this: I like this song, which must mean it supports my political position, so the the writer must agree with me and won’t mind my using it. It’s like their attempts to take any movie they like and show how it’s a demonstration of conservative values.
Peter
@Roger Moore: This this this this this. In terms of winning the white house, Ryan isn’t really any worse or better than any of Romney’s other options. Maybe a little worse, but not significantly.
But his effect on downticket races is absolutely toxic. It gives every dem challenger facing a GOP incumbent a big stick to whack them with.
kay
So I feel good about the ground operation.
I took the day out because we’re having a county rally (that’s what I named it, The Rally, I have no creativity) tommorow and met with a person they sent out from Chicago to check on the local organization(s), I suppose.
Anyway, she was a very bright and determined person, comes from the tech industry, not the campaign industrial complex, her first political campaign although she has managed complicated for-profit projects.
So, if they’re putting that much time and care into this sorry- ass GOP county I think they are going to work for every vote, and take nothing for ganted.
It’s just fun to realize that beneath all this national mania they’re just serenely executing this plan.
rikyrah
that graphic at the top just freaked me the hell out.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Well, not to piss on anyone’s Wheaties, but aren’t polls suggesting a bit of an enthusiasm-gap in favor of Republicans? It’s all well and good to talk here, but will we come out and vote? Will the “youth vote” come out again? Will Latinos and blacks come out in sufficient numbers (assuming they are not somehow turned away via the Jim Crow laws being enacted here and there)?
Mr Stagger Lee
@Jay in Oregon: I wish Paul Ryan was a juggalo. He is one of the Insane Clown Posse running the Tea Party.
Lynn Dee
That’s interesting: Melded together, Romney and Ryan look kinda like Steve Carrell.