(Jeff Danziger’s website)
David Frum, professional Republican for hire, tweets his disappointment with the current nominee’s performance (via):
… (6) The problem isn’t the campaign leadership; it’s the party’s followership
(7) Over course of campaign, Romney has changed from a pragmatic, capable manager into a dog-whistling culture warrior.
(8) Candidate cd have and shd have resisted that pressure – but it’s rich for ppl who demanded the change to complain about consequences….
Professor Krugman, on the other hand, blames the leaders, not the followers:
… The “lucky ducky” trope is clearly, obviously nonsense; equally obviously, it was originally created in an effort to dupe people who didn’t know better. It was and is what Orwell called “prolefeed”, junk aimed at the ignorant masses (ignorant by design), the people who are ready to believe at a moment’s notice that we’ve always been at war with Eastasia.
In Orwell’s vision, however, the Party – and especially the Inner Party – wasn’t supposed to consume this same tripe. It was supposed to understand the true Party agenda and vision (a boot stomping on a human face forever).
So it actually is a revelation to see Romney and friends obviously swallowing the prolefeed whole. The news here isn’t really about their lack of empathy; it’s about their raw ignorance.
Historians will make sharper parallels, but the current crash’n’burn of both the Romney campaign and the GOP in general seems to confirm the old programmers’ truism: Garbage in, garbage out. Anyone so energetically churning out lies and swill to force-feed “the rubes” is going to end up losing their ability to differentiate between their febrile inventions and reality. Eventually, they’ll end up preferring poisonous fantasies to reality, even while congratulating themselves for being smarter than their marketing.
Political Observer
Sorry but I gotta laugh. David Frum said the Republicans were pursuing a losing strategy in 2010, too. He’s what I call an MSNBC Republican. Besides he and his big-government, big-spending “compassionate conservatism” nearly destroyed our party. He can take a long walk of a short pier, or better yet get the fuck back to Canada where he belongs.
Sly
@Political Observer:
“Romney/Ryan 2012: If you disagree, you’re a loser TROLOLOLOLOL!”
Comrade Mary
No takebacks on Frum.
Hey PO, I hear that your UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH is buying air time for your LETHAL anti-Obama movie and that it’s going to be broadcast NON-STOP until election day.
So scared! SO scared!
SO — wut? BWAH-HA-HA-HA!!! Jesus Christ, that’s hopeless.
PsiFighter37
@Political Observer: Ah yes, where were you Teabaggers when Bush was in office?
Oh wait. That’s right. You didn’t take to the streets to express your anger at Bush and his spending habits until there was a black man in the White House. Fuck you and the rest of your ilk. Go back into whatever cave you came out of and keep your 18th century dress-up games out of my sight and my conscience.
Southern Beale
Haven’t we heard GOPers say the country needs better “follwership” before? Jesus.
Comrade Jake
“At this point I’m amazed that the Salt Lake City Olympics went off without constant fires and explosions.” – Dave Weigel
Roger Moore
The problem is that there’s a GIGO feedback loop. Party leaders tell the followers pleasing lies to win their votes. The followers believe the lies and think that’s how the world works. Then the followers will only vote for leaders who repeat the lies, because they believe the ones who dispute the lies are out of touch with reality. It’s a vicious spiral into epistemic closure.
amk
wow. wingnut trolls are panicky today. wonder what happened.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
__
__
The GOP’s has both a leadership problem and a followership problem. That’s what happens when you have your head so far up your ass that you can no longer distinguish where the leading ends and the following begins. GOP = The Ouroboros of Fail
amk
@Roger Moore: In short, pox news crowd.
Southern Beale
You can always tell when Republicans are about to lose an election by the amount of troll stink that shows up on these comment threads.
nitpicker
One pretty troubling aspect about this no one’s commented on is that is this is the second time Romney’s been overheard being “honest” to donors at a fundraiser, but, in public, he says he give any specifics because it would only provide ammunition to Democrats who oppose him. In his mind, it seems, only Americans who have proven their loyalty with their pocketbooks have earned the right to hear the truth.
Comrade Jake
Enjoy the silence:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/a-mood-of-gloom-afflicts-the-romney-campaign/?smid=tw-thecaucus&seid=auto
“Grim-faced aides acknowledged that it was an unusually dark moment, made worse by the self-inflicted, seemingly avoidable nature of the wound. In low-volume, out-of-the-way conversations, they are now wondering whether victory is still possible and whether they are entering McCain-Palin ticket territory.”
Political Observer
@Comrade Mary:
The grapevine says that the three major networks are coming. I have it on good authority. It will be everywhere between now and election day!
geg6
@Comrade Mary:
OMG, that’s hilarious. What are the ratings for those channels? And what is the chance that the coveted independents Rmoney thinks he can convince are watching them?
Fuck, I’m still laughing.
gnomedad
Perhaps this moniker will take hold:
Mitt Romney is Money Boo Boo: An Angry Child Full of Self Pity and Contempt
Comrade Mary
@Political Observer: You know, when I first read your comment, I really thought it was a regular doing a Baghdad Bob impersonation. But it was just you being, well — YOU.
(This is where I usually give an adorable child a pinch on the cheek. We’ll skip that, OK?)
Mr Stagger Lee
@Comrade Mary: Boy that will get me jonsed about that film, brought to by CITIZENS UNITED Prodctions I guess David Bossie needs to learn about branding.
Political Observer
Remember, if this “secret” video doesn’t move the needle, the bullshit media narrative about a “campaign in crisis” falls apart.
And it won’t. The polls will remain steady and even move in Romney’s direction as Obama’s convention bounce fades. It’s already totally gone in Rasmussen and Gallup.
debit
@Southern Beale: VICTORY!!
Yutsano
Just out of curiosity, does anyone take Frum seriously?
Xecky Gilchrist
The fun part is how the Rmoney campaign strategists finally acknowledge something bad happens and then say “but if he runs a perfect campaign from HERE and Obama screws up and we’re really lucky and World War 3 starts, we’re golden!”
This is, what, the sixth time they’ve done that? How many self-inflicted bullet holes are in Mitt’s foot?
geg6
@Political Observer:
It’s just a flesh wound!
ding dong
This is hilarious. Ten times worse than watching the Dems after 2000 till about 2002. Circular firing squad with no decent candidates.
? Martin
@Comrade Mary:
Hopeless? You watch, Mitt is going to snatch victory from Obambi there in Tulsa, OK due to this documentary!
maven
So now instead of the Belly Fat ads I’m getting Filipino Lovely Ladies ads. The intertubes must think I am a fat old republican.
Central Planning
Isn’t everyone 100% dependent on the government? Sure, 47% might be getting unemployment insurance, social security, pay no income taxes because they hardly make any money…
But the 1% is dependent on the government – who runs the airports, or the legal system, or the police, or who built all the roads that they use to get back and forth to work?
OH that’s right, it doesn’t fit their narrative :/
JustRuss
I almost want a sex change so I can have Krugman’s baby. I know too many intelligent people who just lap this stuff up. It’s all about the tribalism, and they can’t let it go, no matter how over the top their tribe goes. We need more people calling them out.
amk
@Comrade Jake:sweet schadenfreude.
Comrade Mary
@Political Observer: Meet Professor Wang, who will tell you that you are well and thoroughly fucked.
Post-DNC bounce
Post-Moocher bounce
? Martin
@gnomedad: Money Boo Boo is win.
Roger Moore
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Remember that court cases are named after litigants. Citizens United is the group that brought the lawsuit that resulted in the ridiculous decision. They aren’t naming themselves after the Supreme Court decision; it’s named after them.
Comrade Jake
Over at Foreign Policy:
I think he’s just not all that fucking bright, personally.
Karen in GA
@Comrade Mary: RFD-TV? Don’t laugh — if the Obama movie’s lead-in is the ratings juggernaut that is The Big Joe Polka Show, we’re fucked. Fucked, I tell you!
geg6
@? Martin:
Yup, I’m totally stealing it.
Dr. Squid
@? Martin: Oh yes. Yes it is.
I was going to make a Money Boo Boo crack, complete with an “I stole that,” but since it’s been done better already. I’ll just marvel at the win.
Maude
@Yutsano:
Why, no, I don’t believe anyone does.
Helen
@gnomedad: DING DING DING
The bizarre thing about Romney’s comment was that he thinks that the 47% that is with Obama is exactly the 47% who don’t pay federal income taxes. That can’t be a coincidence. We’ve all been talking about the fact that among the 47% is a large number of people who do not know they are in the 47%. I buy that. I know many of them. But what about the other side of the same coin? I am in the 47% who absolutely, positvely will vote for Obama. And I pay close to $50,000 a year in taxes. Which is 5 times what I get back in good and services from the government and close to 13 times what the average American FAMILY pays. And I am perfectly fine with that. Does he not know people like me exist?
JPL
@Comrade Jake: Just because he is lacking in some areas doesn’t mean …oh never mind…
BTW.. This is from The Caucus.. Still, a flustered adviser, describing the mood, said that the campaign was turning into a vulgar, unprintable phrase. Mitt’s campaign is in disarray. Tomorrow they will bring out Ann and the sons.
nitpicker
@Political Observer: Um…I think the fact the needle’s moving along quite nicely supports the “campaign in crisis” meme.
Hill Dweller
The wingnuts are trying to convince themselves that the 47% comment won’t hurt Willard, but he said a lot more damaging stuff that will get plenty of play before November.
Political Observer
@nitpicker:
Romney is ahead +2 in the Rasmussen tracking poll and behind only one in Gallup (after being behind by as much as 7 last week in Gallup, and as much as 4 in Rasmussen).
The needle is moving alright, but in Romney’s direction!
danah gaz
LOL, I just saw this over at Raw Story – a follow up interview with Clint Eastwood.
When asked about his RNC speech, he said:
“I figure if somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re gonna have to take what they get.”
Nice response.
Political Observer
Romney is getting crushed in the elite media but the polls tell a different story.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Roger Moore: I know that,sunshine! But thank you for your input! (wah wah)
Hill Dweller
@Comrade Jake: Maddow is covering this in her first segment.
danah gaz
@Political Observer: If you think that there is any significant polling published on the latest “47% disaster” yet then you are an absolute moron and I seriously don’t know what to tell you.
Wait a week.
Soonergrunt
@Helen: You cannot exist for Mitt Romney. If you pay that much in income taxes, it’s because you are a producer and you must be making huge amounts of money, in the $500K+ range because real Americans don’t pay more than 12%-13% taxes, and those real Americans vote for Republicans like Mitt.
Comrade Jake
That would be clusterfuck.
Chris
And that’s why I never completely bought Orwell’s vision. Too efficient. The real life versions of the Party are always way more petty, incompetent and deluded. Even the Inner Party.
Maude
Romney is stupid.
He is using Reagan’s playbook on steroids and how’s that working out for him?
He desperately tried to have a re do of the Iranian US hostage crisis in relation to the tragedy in Libya and ended up with egg on his face.
Now he’s really stepped in it with the 47%. British online news sites are calculating who is the in the 47%.
The online news sites have taken this seriously.
Comrade Jake
@Political Observer:
Dude, if you’re gonna troll, at least bring some stronger kung-fu than a Jennifer Rubin post. That is some weak fucking sauce right there.
amk
@POs is having vapors. :
Soonergrunt
@Political Observer: Stupid right wing dumbass quotes a stupid right wing dumbass.
Well that’s showed us, that has.
IowaOldLady
It’s kind of a double insult. It offends both the people who don’t pay federal income tax by calling them unwilling to accept personal responsibility. And it offends Obama voters who do pay it by ignoring what they kick in.
That’s hard to do when you think of it.
danah gaz
@Comrade Mary: “No takebacks on Frum.”
Now you know why I hate Canadians. Curse you Comrade Mary!
Helen
@Soonergrunt: BWA HA HA. Yeah I wish I was making that much! As a NYC resident I paid damn close to 35%. And I am Happy to do it.
Political Observer
Ohhh British magazines and liberal sites are carrying the 47% story! OH NOEZ! We lost Boston AND San Francisco leftists, and maybe some British subjects as well! How will Romney EVER recover?
ROFL
nitpicker
@Political Observer: You’re cute, clinging to the Rasmussen pro-Republican house effect like it’s a security blanket.
Political Observer
@nitpicker:
Nobody has said anything about Gallup, though. Romney down BY ONE.
Brian R.
@Political Observer:
Aw, relying on Rasmussen, the one poll that consistently exaggerates Republican support, the one poll that consistently stands as an outlier.
That. Is. ADORABLE.
Please keep posting here. Your pathetic flopsweat makes me happier than anything else I’ve read in this thread.
Lurking Canadian
@Helen: I suspect it isn’t “doesn’t know” quite so much as “would refuse to believe even if you went up and smacked him upside the head with your 1040-EZ form”.
He seems to have drunk the Ayn Rand Kool Aid. There’s no reasoning with such people. He’s basically a USENET troll with better funding at this point.
Comrade Jake
Now news that the Romney campaign is $11M in debt.
I’m sure Romney’s not worried about that. He’ll just sell some more stock.
Chris
@gnomedad:
It’s like Nixon’s pathological hatred of the Kennedys and Rockefellers and other silver spoon political dynasties who had everything handed to them while he had to work his way to the top… except this time, it’s the rich heir who’s a seething ball of resentment against the guy who worked his way to the top.
Chyron HR
@Political Observer:
“The grapevine” says that it will be front page news soon. I have it on “good authority”.
Brian R.
@Comrade Jake:
Seriously. Talk about the blind leading the blind.
tam
UGH – why does Rachel have Dan Rather on again?
Political Observer
@Comrade Jake:
Doesn’t matter, because all the outside Super PACs have TONS of cash just sitting there on the sidelines, unlimited amounts they’re going to spend in October.
LD50
@Political Observer: You must not mean these polls:
http://electoral-vote.com/
You have heard of the Electoral College, right?
amk
@Political Observer: Hey POS, Get back to your corner.
Maude
A French publication will be publishing Mohamed cartoons.
I bet this has all the French Foreign Service working in North Africa ans the Mid East jumping for joy.
I want to see if the French Government steps in. They don’t have freedom of the press there.
JPL
@Political Observer: wow.. you don’t live in the south do you? The local media down here has covered the victim part and the fact that you take away the deduction for children and they would pay taxes.’
btw ..are you in a dc ivory tower..
Political Observer
@LD50:
Yes I have, and according to the latest Florida poll, Romney is ahead by one. Colorado? he’s up two. Ohio? Down by JUST ONE POINT.
Too close to call.
catclub
@Helen: Now that Romney has recalibrated who he thinks is NOT in the 47%, or at least not moochers to be hated, like the elderly on SS and medicare, and veterans, It would be interesting to ask him how big is that group now, and why is the group that still supports Obama over half the country?
Brian R.
@Political Observer:
You mean the polling outfit that says Obama’s job approval rating just moved up to 50%? Yeah, that’s got to be great news for your man.
danah gaz
@Political Observer: And CNN and The Atlantic and Radio Boston, and the Associated Press, and Business Week, and Politico, and CBS, and ABC, and USA Today, and The Hill, and…
But who cares about the little details…
debit
@Political Observer: Whenever you comment, this is what I hear: Remain calm! All is well!
Keep telling yourself that, buddy. And remember, VICTORY!!
Political Observer
@JPL:
I bet 80% of the country thinks only other people are in the 47% (a lot of idiot, low info voters think they pay income tax even when they really don’t, and only those on welfare don’t pay income tax).
Comrade Jake
@Political Observer:
Well you’d better hope they start spending it on candidates other than Romney, because right now it looks like their odds of taking the Senate are going down the fucking toilet.
danielx
@JPL:
Lots of possibilities, but I’d give odds on clusterfuck as the descriptive phrase. Tomorrow they will bring out Ann and the sons? Tomorrow they could bring out Jesus accompanied by Nephi and Moroni and they couldn’t plug the holes in the colander known as the Romney campaign.
Item: David Brooks column titled Thurston Howell Romney. If you’ve lost David Brooks, with his well-known propensity for plummeting to his knees in awe for any Republican presidential candidate who can emit a coherent sentence, well…don’t have your wife start picking out new curtains for the White House residence.
danah gaz
@Comrade Jake: BWAHAHAHAHA
amen. =)
nitpicker
@Political Observer: Daily tracking polls are notoriously bad, actually, and Gallup actually has an even higher pro-Republican house effect than Rasmussen. Real Clear Politics–no lefties, they–has Obama up three nationally, including Rasmussen and Gallup (and he’s f**king killing Romney in the swing states. But you hold on to that hope,
Mr. MaddenPollyannaguy. It’s make your post elections tears all the more delicious.gbear
@Helen:
Helen, could you please adopt me?
SFAW
@Political Observer:
Sure, because Jennifer Rubin is perhaps the most intelligent and insightful Rmoney-fellatrix on the planet.
And Rasmussen’s sampling mix has always been spot-on.
Gotta work on your credenza as a political “thinker.”
Political Observer
@nitpicker:
Three points is within the margin of error. Still a close race!
Chyron HR
@Political Observer:
Mmm, boy, smells like VICTORY! in here!
LD50
@Political Observer: @Political Observer:
Actually, no: according to Marist, Obama is ahead by 5, and according to Rasmussen, Obama is ahead by 3. Nice try, tho.
332 versus 206 is “too close to call”. Mmhm. Gotcha.
amk
The proverbial October surprise – r-money has no money.
danah gaz
@nitpicker: cosigned.
Sweet delicious wingnut tears. =)
Brian R.
@danielx: @danielx:
Hell, Romney lost Bill Kristol!
Bill Kristol, who worked for Dan Quayle and discovered and promoted Sarah Palin. Even *he* thinks Mitt Romney is a fuckup.
JPL
@Political Observer: True so Mitt is now trying to win by talking about the others. It has been a policy long used in the south.
edit..happy now…
Randy P
@Maude:
I joked a few weeks back that I’d love to hear him try that faux-folksy “There ya go again” Reagan line in his inimitable smarmy style.
Then I read here a few days ago that he was actually considering it. I truly want to see him trot that one out. Those of us who remember the Reagan-Carter debates might remember that this line was used to wave off pesky facts.
Satire truly can not keep up with these folks.
catclub
@gbear: If the 15 y.o girl you meet on the internet is actually a 42 y.o. man, then who does that make the middle(?) aged wealthy woman you meet on the internet? I fear to guess.
LD50
@Political Observer: Within the margin of error? Perhaps, but funny thing, it’s always been Obama ahead in those polls. Seems to me if it was tied, Romney would be ahead half the time, but oddly that doesn’t happen.
? Martin
@danielx:
RELEASE THE MORMONS!
Really, what do they think this is going to accomplish? I can only assume they could find nobody other than the wife and kids who were willing to go out and defend this douchebagginess.
Worse than that:
That’s Rod Dreher at The American Conservative saying Obama might be the safer pick.
1badbaba3
Waitasec, Dick Vader’s company “loses” nuclear material right around the time a tape comes out with Money Boo Boo going on about dirty bombs?
Were I a conspiracy type person…
ET
What is going on with the GOP is the results of a bargain on both sides. The party used the rubes and for a while that worked. Now the rubes run the party not just verbally but administratively.
catclub
@Brian R.: Agreeing with Always Wrong Kristol, on anything, even the date, makes me nervous.
SFAW
@Comrade Jake:
So that means his IRA will only be down to like $90 Mil or somethin’.
Comrade Jake
Really all of this is fairly predictable when you consider the fact that Romney is a gigantic douchebag.
Steeplejack
@? Martin:
Somebody coined that here, or at least was throwing it around a week ago.
. . . Here’s the thread. Apparently it came from somewhere else.
nitpicker
@Political Observer: Pay attention. I’ll type slowly. A) Even including shitty polls, Obama’s up three. B) Obama leads in Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania. This is only a close race if you’re relying on “the math.”
rikyrah
Pnthrgrlgail @Mama4Obama1 Oh my RT .@robertcostaNRO
Breaking: Romney campaign borrowed $20m in August, now $11m in debt
Helen
@gbear: Um, well I am childless. Are you a child? Or at least cute?
danah gaz
@nitpicker: linky no worky
nitpicker
@LD50: And he doesn’t understand polling, since margin of error is based on the individual poll, not an average.
Comrade Jake
Noonan is calling for an intervention. You cannot make this shit up.
Randy P
@Political Observer: There are only 3 states in the US in Bizarro Universe? We have 50. If Romney wins only those 3, he won’t actually win.
Dr. Squid
@Political Observer: Are those Bing or Rainier in your hand?
Helen
@catclub: LOL.
danielx
@Brian R.:
And if there’s anyone who knows whereof he speaks when it comes to fuckups, it’s Bloody Bill Kristol.
On the other hand, it does make me uneasy. I’ve found that on any given topic, the opposite of whatever position Bill Kristol holds is invariably correct. If he says Mittens is a fuckup, could it be that maybe Mittens is secretly a genius who’s even better at eleven dimensional chess than Obama?
Naaah….
Baud
@rikyrah:
Shit. Now Romney is in his element. He’s going to buy out the Obama campaign and outsource all its volunteers to Kenya.
danah gaz
@Comrade Jake: LOL. Seriously, how did Nooners’ editor not catch that? An unfortunate phrase, considering the source.
LD50
I’ve been watching Electoral-vote.com for over month. In that entire time, Obama’s EV estimate has never been below 300. It’s been 332 for about 1 1/2 -2 weeks. The overall numbers are the same even if you switch to “Rasmussen Free Maps”. If you delete Rasmussen, all that happens is that Florida and Virginia tilt even harder for Obama.
Also, Pennsylvania and Michigan aren’t swing states anymore.
SFAW
@Baud:
I thought they were all Kenyans already?!?!
catclub
@SFAW: “Gotta work on your credenza”
I was there (but just watching) at the birth of that one! The helicopters are not laughing now about the 47%.
Political Observer
@LD50:
No, Romney is ahead by two according to Rasmussen.
? Martin
@rikyrah: Eh. That’s kind of a silly thing to poke at. You can only spend your primary dollars before the convention and your general dollars after. People max out in each category and can’t give in the other, so a bridge loan to launder one kind of money into the other isn’t a big deal – and it’s perfectly legal.
There’s no question they’ve got more money than they know what to do with.
Political Observer
And even if it was three, it’s still within the margin of error! Add it the election integrity laws (and activist voter integrity groups like True the Vote, and Romney has a good chance of victory.
True the Vote could make the difference in this election actually.
Anoniminous
@Dr. Squid:
Damn is THAT obscure!
Comrade Jake
@danah gaz: Larison is ripping the article to shreds on Twitter. It’s highly entertaining.
Comrade Jake
Linky to Larison.
? Martin
@catclub: That was the most awesome thread here ever.
gwangung
@Political Observer:
You don’t know statistics, do you? You know what happens to margin of error with multiple samplings, don’t you?
Chyron HR
@Political Observer:
Wow, it’s like I’m really back in 1950.
Ruckus
@Comrade Jake:
I think he’s just not all that fucking bright, personally.
I have said this before. mittshit really is stupid. Just because he can steal jobs and money and turn a lot of money into more of the same does not make him smart.
And I’m going to agree with on of my college profs. If common sense really was that more people would have some. mittshit is the perfect example of that saying.
SFAW
@catclub:
Sure you were. Just as I was at Woodstock, and the last game of the 1969 World Series, and Jimi Hendrix’s last concert.
gbear
@catclub: Given that I’m gay and in my late 50’s, I’d be thrilled to find out that Helen was a 42 year old man.
Randy P
@Political Observer:
That’s pretty weak. Your assignment is to look up the “Central Limit Theorem” and try to understand the difference between one poll and, say, 10.
@gwangung: Oops. I see you beat me to it.
Helen
@LD50: Another DING DING DING. Go read Nate. This is not even close. YAY AMERICA. As long as we keep winning, I can put off moving to that liberal, tree hugging, socialist, Ireland. The land of my forebearers and my last resort safe place. I truly LOVE America. But I’m outta here if we move any more right.
SFAW
@Political Observer:
No doubt they’ll be led into battle by James “Inveterate Liar and All-Around Scumbag” O’Keefe, and he’ll be videotaping all three minutes of Election Day.
ETA: and zombie Andrew Breibart croaking (or whatever gerund is appropriate to zombies) “Behave yourselves!”
? Martin
@Randy P:
I know! The 10 are liberal and don’t understand this is a center-right nation!
mainmati
@Comrade Mary: With the exception of Honolulu, the placements are in cities already going to vote for Rmoney or states hopelessly rightwing (LA) so this is really not impressive. Also too, the massive Gooper TV ads have mainly either irritated potential voters (click-mute) or just reinforced the mouthbreathers.
Mnemosyne
@Political Observer:
Because, really, there’s nothing more likely to make Romney look like he’s in control of his own campaign than a bunch of disconnected PACs running independent ads, each one riding its own personal hobbyhorse.
LD50
@Comrade Mary: I’ve heard of Dr. Wang’s site before but never looked at it. Interesting that his numbers are so close to Electoral-Vote.com: 322 to 216.
Too close to call!
Xecky Gilchrist
@SFAW: and zombie Andrew Breibart croaking (or whatever gerund is appropriate to zombies)
He can’t croak, he already has.
hee hee
couldn’t resist
Helen
@gbear: So sorry. I am a 50 (just turned 50 and LOVING that fact) year old woman. But hey, thanks for playing!
LD50
@Comrade Mary:
So they’re showing it in Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Hawaii, none of which are swing states. Only Colorado. That’s a brilliant use of resources. Why don’t they show it in Texas and Vermont, just to round out the futility?
weaselone
@Mnemosyne:
Provided that the people running these superpacs haven’t pocketed all of the “unlimited corporate cash” as salaries and management fees. If I were PO, I would be worried about the next paycheck bouncing.
Comrade Mary
@LD50: Not Colorado as a whole, either: just COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, which is solidly right wing. So the teeny-tiny cable networks are available in various places across the country, with teeny-tiny audiences to match, and the “selected” local stations are all in markets that have already made up their minds.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@geg6: I watch RFD. I like Eleanor Burns’ show and occasionally get homesick for the Hee Haw reruns.
danah gaz
@gbear: FTW!
danielx
@Comrade Jake:
I fucking love it. Our Lady of Stolichnaya knows about intervention, you betcha, but….sez La Noonan:
Peggy, dahling – I don’t know how this escaped you, but the party elders are responsible for the corner into which the Republican Party has painted itself; it’s a wonder they don’t have paint stains from head to foot. The party elders have tweaked the party’s philosophy and political tactics for thirty years, and lo and behold, the Republican Party’s moral and political bankruptcy is now indecently overexposed. The Republican primaries were, to paraphrase one of my favorite Oscar Wilde-isms, a case of the insufferable (Mittens) being chased by the unelectable (everybody else). When the party faithful have only a choice between an insufferable, phony, asshole plutocrat and a bunch of nutcase has-beens and never-weres, the party is circling the drain. Particularly when the asshole plutocrat in question has made it abundantly clear that he holds in contempt everybody with a net worth of less than eight figures, and most especially when the party platform consists of showing how mean Republicans can be towards everybody who is not in the one percent.
When your candidate thinks that “middle income” means $200k-$250k a year, your party’s selection process sucks, and so does your party. Your beloved Republican Party, Peggy, has reached to the point where the only presidential candidate the party faithful (an ever shrinking group) will accept is unelectable in a general election. The party has become a rotting corpse kept upright by money alone, and that’s not enough when people generally want to know what a political party is going to do for them, rather than to them. Even those who say they want nothing from government except to be left alone can’t buy into the party program when the party says we’ll leave you alone except for those matters we think the government should control…like your uterus, if you happen to be female.
The only intervention which could have a positive impact on your party, Peggy, would be to give it a decent burial.
Ripley
Reliably Offensive, Forever Losing?
gogol's wife
@Comrade Jake:
That was also my guess. I work on Russian literature, and the letters of all great Russian writers are always censored by Soviet editors, so I automatically try to guess what any censored word is. (The NYTimes works like Soviet editors in this respect.)
GxB
@amk: Normally I hate the reek of troll stank, but as of late I relish in it.
It smells like…
V I C T O R Y !
mainmati
@Chris: Yeah, that’s an interesting way of looking at it. It would certainly Rmoney’s contemptuous and dismissive attitude towards Obama despite the latter actually being a much more tested politician than on-term Guv of MA and with a much richer life history.
Sherlock Hound
@Chyron HR:
Or 1933. I stopped worrying about Godwin’s Law years ago.
SFAW
@Xecky Gilchrist:
Ten Ave marias and ten Pater nosters for you!
SiubhanDuinne
@Comrade Jake:
Entering? That territory is rapidly disappearing in the rear-view mirror.
Soonergrunt
@Helen: Yeah, but Rmoney will NEVER believe that. You MUST pay only what he pays. Otherwise, you’re not a patriotic American.
karen marie
Orwell would never have used this name as being way too ham-handedly obvious.
karen marie
OMG! You don’t think Romney would really bring this up at the debate on domestic issues, do you?
Could Obama really be that lucky?
shep
You may differentiate. For a long time there have been shameless, lying propagandists (e.g., Dick Nixon and Rush Limbaugh) and those too stupid and/or sick to recognize their own rationalizations (Ronald Reagan and Sean Hannity). Sometimes life blesses you with the freedom to not have to make a choice.