Just as libtards are the real racists, Galtians are the real victims. The Big Dog:
You could take Lloyd Blankfein into a dark alley and slit his throat, and it would satisfy them for about two days. Then the blood lust would rise again.
Part of me dreads having the Clintons back in the White House, but it sure beats the alternatives.
jayjaybear
Which, all by itself, should horrify all of us. But all of us frogs have been sitting in the pot too long…
Fred Fnord
I’m failing to see a downside here.
Cassidy
Unfortunately, I do t think we’ll get much of a choice. At least this time she won’t be have to make any embarrassing dog whistles.
Cacti
Hillary is also headlining a fundraiser hosted by Lynn Forester de Rothschild for Marjorie Margolies.
If the biggest question is “What did Hillary learn from her 2008 loss?” the early answer looks like “not much”.
Tom Levenson
@Fred Fnord: You have completed the thread. Congratulations.
Jewish Steel
Gettin the band back together, man.
Who else is running? O’ Malley? Patrick? Biden? I’d like to take another look around the showroom floor, thank you.
Bob
If Lloyd Blankfine were dead in an alley and Tim Geithner were in jail for his murder my blood lust would be satisfied for, yeah, about two days.
Violet
Yep. I can only hope that if Hillary is in charge things might be better. Unless she’s learned a lot from her 2008 loss I don’t think so, though. There’s going to be plenty of drama to deal with.
Alex S.
I’ve been thinking about that statement for a while. Clinton is probably right, and I don’t know why I should be outraged. It’s the ‘clinging to guns and religion’ of the left
JoyfulA
@Cacti: Marjorie is Chelsea’s mother-in-law, which explains fund-raising for the worst candidate, but nothing can satisfactorily explain the fund-raiser hostess.
kathleen
Hillary needs to make her run official…or get off the pot. Right now she’s just squatting there like a big toad, keeping other candidates from getting serious consideration. She and Bill have always been bad for the party…I agree with you that I absolutely dread them bringing the circus back to town…and this extended flirt is no exception. In essence, she’s winning a primary without spending any money thanks to our dreadful press corpse.
DougJ
@Alex S.:
I don’t think most on the left know who Lloyd Blankfein is FWIW.
Violet
@Cacti: Isn’t the fundraiser for her daughter’s mother-in-law? I see a few issues with Hillary not participating. Might as well do it now and get it over with.
jl
Sometimes Big Dawg just says stupid shit because he can make it sound good. Especially on economics.
The Dangerman
@kathleen:
I’m beginning to think she might sit it out and enjoy retirement; if not, she’s one gaffe away from being unviable (“dodging bullets in Kosovo” or “what difference does it make” are 2 entirely unforced errors that come to mind).
Hunter Gathers
I’m not quite ready for two straight years of ‘She’s old, she’s ugly, and did I mention Benghazi!?’. In fact, I’ll never be ready.
Botsplainer
He’s a liar. That would satisfy me for a solid month.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@jl:
Bill’s deep understanding of economics was borne out when he signed the CFMA.
EthylEster
Another front pager who can’t keep up with what others post…was this yesterday or the day before?
Bill Clinton Joins Boo-Hoo Billionaire’s Club
Belafon
@kathleen: You don’t announce before the midterms.
HR Progressive
You know how you satisfy that proverbial “blood lust”, President Clinton?
You put every single bank executive who had a hand in the economic collapse of 2007/2008, and you hand them down real, tangible, prison terms.
You put them in prison, and you warn every other bank that if they try that shit again, the cuffs will come down faster than you can say “Hedge fund”.
Killing any of the bankers wouldn’t really solve anything, but damn. How about putting them in jail for all the fraud they committed? How about stopping the mortgage scams that have allowed banks to throw people out of homes illegally with wonton abandon?
Honestly, would any of that be that hard?
Campaign contributions you say?
How about fuck that shit? Hm? Hm.
DougJ
@EthylEster:
Sorry. I missed it. I’m traveling
Amir Khalid
@Cacti:
It’s been pointed out that Marjorie Margolies (a) is Hillary’s besan and (b) was a key supporter of Bill when she was last a Representative. That’s not someone Hillary could refuse to support without a very very good reason. Lynn Forester de Rothschild was a key Hillary supporter in 2008, and her notorious PUMA hostility towards Obama then will be a non-issue in 2016. So If I were Hillary — hell, if I were Obama — I wouldn’t have a problem with that event now.
Belafon
I think Bill’s got people pegged pretty well. Not the people we’d like to be/have around us, but what the American people are.
Alex S.
@DougJ:
Well, replace Lloyd Blankfein with “boss of Goldman Sachs” and everyone has an opinion.
chopper
@Fred Fnord:
I was gonna say, I would think “good start” would be the popular response.
Higgs Boson's Mate
Show some damn’ respect people! Lloyd Blankfein has more “speech” than all of us put together.
Scamp Dog
Look, Hillary is the inevitable winner of the 2016 primary. I know this, because everyone agreed that she was the inevitable winner of the 2008 primary, which is why she’s President now.
What do you mean, who’s this Barak Obama guy everyone keeps talking about?
Visceral
There’s more story behind that quote. I don’t remember where the article was, but as I recall Bill was being asked by Tim Geithner about how to appeal to populist sentiments, presumably within the context of either dealing with the fallout of the 2008 crash or selling the administration’s plan.
It’s weirdly poignant: “Don’t ask me about populism” Bill is saying, “You’d never be willing to go as far as you’d have to make a difference … and even then it would never be enough.”
Belafon
@Scamp Dog: Shhh. If you talk like that, then people won’t have anything to get outraged over. Then someone might have to slit the throat of a banker to keep us satisfied.
srv
If you people really want wingnuts to go ape and die miserable, then the only objective candidate is Hillary.
Vote Hillary – Cleek’s Revenge
KG
@HR Progressive: hell, prison wouldn’t even be necessary, a fine of a few billion dollars for restitution would be nice. having teeth in the HARP/HAMP programs would have been nice, something like making them write down the principal balance of the loans, would have been nice. but bailing them out with no real consequences? yeah, can’t figure out why a lot of people would be pissed at the banks.
Marc
Yea, who needs the rule of law anyhow?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@srv:
I don’t care about the wingnuts’ state of mind. I’d rather have an effective, non-corporatist nominee with some coattails who isn’t to the right of Obama.
Belafon
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: When are you going to run?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Belafon:
No coattails and I’m only a year younger than Hillary.
different-church-lady
@HR Progressive: Pretty picture. Now you go put together the actual cases. Let us know how you do.
kindness
Having a Clinton in the White House will be refreshing. Republicans will be able to start impeachment proceedings the first year of Hillary’s term rather than wait like they did with Bubba & Obama.
different-church-lady
@kindness:
This is not a sane group of people, so I wouldn’t put it past them.
Cassidy
@different-church-lady: Can’t we just shoot them outside their homes?
Alex V
Said it before, will say it again: every, every last effort should be expended by liberals and those who care about the Democratic Party from allowing Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 nomination.
different-church-lady
@Cassidy: Why, when we have all these dirty floors to be scrubbed all across America?
Yes, if I were in charge, Mr. Blankfein’s days would be very very different from what he’s accustomed to.
debbie
Sorry if people are upset at having lost all their stuff in the name of “God’s work.”
Anoniminous
@Alex S.:
1. Who the heck is Lloyd Blankfein?
2. Why should I care?
(Or what DougJ said.)
ETA: @Alex S.:
OK, that helps
Iowa Old Lady
I’ve reached the point where I will ALWAYS vote for the Democrat because the alternative is too horrifying, maybe not on the level of the individual candidate, but for sure on the level of party and policy. Hillary? Sure. Someone else? OK.
PsiFighter37
The funny thing is that Lloyd Blankfein is a Democrat. So is Jamie Dimon (JPM), Tony James (Blackstone), and several others…
Also, the main thing that worries me about the Clintons is that they seem to associate themselves with very poor company (character-wise, not financially). Obama has run such a clean, tight ship while he’s been in charge – any of the actual ‘crap’ that’s gone wrong (such as Fast and Furious, not fake stuff like the IRS and Benghazi) is more due to circumstances or poor judgment of people far down the chain.
John Carter
What if?
Like the old lawyer joke,”It’s a start!” (Thanx Alex S!)
Takes big balls (or none) to make a statement like Clinton’s.
Attack Lloyd? And we should forget the guy who signed his name to repeal Glass-Steagall instead of letting congress over ride the bill and take the blame? There might never have been a problem with Blankfein…or others.
Just a thought.
Shortstop
@different-church-lady: you have made me spit seltzer happily several times in the last couple of days.
TG Chicago
@Alex S.: The point Clinton is trying to make is entirely wrong. He’s saying there’s no point in pursuing accountability for those who blew up the economy. That’s ridiculous and evil.
Bill in Section 147
@DougJ: Yeah. I don’t think he’s even a fourth round tumbrel pick. Although sometimes one of the mobs will tumbrel because of a need at a certain position as opposed to BPA.
Shortstop
@TG Chicago: More than that, he’s saying it’s irrational, knee-jerk and savage of us to WANT accountability.
satby
This quote is supplied by Geithner, and I think he’s an untrustworthy little shit. YMMV
Schlemizel
@Botsplainer:
Not me!
You know what I would call Geitner and Blankfein at the bottom of Lake Superior?
.
.
.
A small start.
Violet
OT, but relates to the idea of accountability:
Also, he made the code available in case anyone else wants to do it.
wasabi gasp
Alternatives? Alternatives!? What alternatives? We’re sorta scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
Schlemizel
@srv:
I don’t want to be the mirror of the wingnuts. I don’t want a position simply because I know it drives the other side crazy. That seems like the road to gooperville
Keith G
@Alex S.: You are quite right. Besides, when read with the context of the original article, I am not sure how meaningful this line from Bill is. It seems more like a jocular, throw-away over statement. Certainly, if folks are trying to use it as a potion for greater insight into the Clintons, it would be dumb.
There are better ways.
different-church-lady
@Bill in Section 147:
I would trade up to get Jamie Dimon in the first round.
Alex S.
@TG Chicago:
He wasn’t saying this to ‘us’ though. He said it to Tim Geithner when he was asked for advice on how to be more in sync with the populist mood immediately after the Financial Crisis. Clinton basically told Geithner that it’s impossible to give the people ‘what they want’. In a way, Clinton is admitting that the problem is systemic, not just related to a couple of ‘bad apples’.
lurker dean
@Violet: that’s pretty awesome.
COB
The ultimate sucky choice will be between Hillary and Jeb.
And guillotines are more effective than dark-alley throat-slitting.
bobbo
As I asked the last time this was on the front page at B-J (yesterday), why the f–k are we taking Tim Geithner at his word?
wasabi gasp
This post is just a little too depressing for a Friday. Needs me a pick-me-up.
Baud
Meh. This doesn’t spike my outrage meter.
Bill in Section 147
I am have the feeling an organized PR blitz is afoot to get everyone focused on Bill Clinton’s failings. Yes. I do not like everything he did. No. He is not running for President.
I am going to have to hear a bit more about how he allowed 9/11 to happen, lied us in to war and thought torture was hijinks before I start to care about how much he is not actually “on my side.”
On one side you have the party that has run Romney, McCain, Bush, Dole, Bush, Reagan, Ford, and Nixon and on the other you have Obama, Kerry, Gore, Clinton, Dukakis, Mondale, Carter, McGovern, Humphrey. For any and or even all of their failings the worst Democratic candidate is a huge policy and administration improvement over any of the Republicans.
Cassidy
@different-church-lady: True. I’m an immediate satisfaction kind of dude.
Bill in Section 147
@different-church-lady: Bold moves like that are why your team is always in contention.
Baud
@Violet:
On Reddit yesterday, they had a post noting that some news outfit, Al jazeera I think, called net neutrality advocates internet libertarians. Clueless.
cminus
I think it’s probably true that Blankfein getting his throat slit in a dark alley would probably only be good for a day or two.
A televised ride in a tumbrel to a guillotine in Zuccotti Park, now —that would restore a lot of confidence in the political system.
askew
@Jewish Steel:
O’Malley is clearly running with his multiple visits to Iowa and NH. It sure seems like the entire Democratic Party establishment is intent on making this a coronation, but I hope we get a competitive primary.
hoodie
That doesn’t come across as the Big Dog necessarily having a moral problem with slitting Blankfein’s throat.
Amir Khalid
@wasabi gasp:
Funny you should pick that song …
askew
@Amir Khalid:
I do. Rothschild is a racist and Hillary is embracing her all over again. I don’t want to go through another election cycle with the Clintons dog-whistling all over the place. Nor having to listen to their unhinged, racist supporters.
JustRuss
My blood lust would have been satisfied if they’d just made the Too Big To Fail banks Small Enough to Fail, and reinstated Glass-Steagall, Apparently that make me an objectively despicable DFH.
TG Chicago
@Alex S.:
That’s an extremely charitable interpretation, and it still means Clinton was basically saying “Don’t bother with justice for those who did this”. There’s no possible way to read this in a way that suggests Clinton was more interested in the interests of the Average Joe than he was in the interests of the banksters.
It also indicates that Clinton thought the only reason to pursue sanctions or prosecutions was to satisfy “blood lust”. In fact, such actions would not only further the intangible cause of justice, but more concretely, would serve as a warning to banksters in the future. Instead, they know that they can do whatever they want and they’ll get bailed out without consequence. How is that a good thing?
Keith G
@TG Chicago:
Then it’s a damn good thing the Big Dog wasn’t President at that time.
It’s a good thing that the guy who was President…Oh…right.
In the bigger picture, this is quite meaningless.
Alex S.
@TG Chicago:
Clinton doesn’t even explicitly say that he is against punishing certain people, he just says that this would only be a short-term solution. I think it gets clearer in the context of the whole article.
different-church-lady
@Alex S.:
You really don’t get how the Two Minutes Hate works, do you?
bemused
A friend called to tell me MN local channels are running ads supporting XL pipeline, one asking why Al Franken won’t and the other Amy Klobuchar. My friend said the ads say Bill Clinton supports XL and was wondering if that was true. Looking it up it appears he said something about embracing XL in 2012 but I didn’t find Bill commenting on it since then.
Keith G
@bemused: I have a hard time getting energized about XL. In a perfect world, there would be no oil consumption, but we are not there yet. If the local communities can be appeased and want to permit the pipeline, then I thing the Obama should let this one go….unless there is evidence out there that I have yet to see.
Ken Adler
Everytime you get a bit of Clinton nausea, just say “Breyer, Ginsberg, Sotomayor, Kagan” and repeat until feeling goes away
LT
You’re fortunate. All of me dreads The Return of a Clinton. It boils down to her judgement in matters of war/peace. Remember, she takes genuine pride in her support of the Bush/Cheney big lie war. Pappy Bush loves Bill like a son. Ever wonder why?
yoohoocthulhu
I’m going to set myself up for abuse…but what about Clinton’s statement is untrue?
The truth is, you’d have to bring all the bank CEOs up on charges to satisfy anyone.