Which GOP candidate has establishment media been most in the tank for? Atrios writes of Rubio:
The blatant cheerleading for Rubio by our supposedly “objective” press has been one of the funniest things about this primary season. I don’t really get it, as he just seems to be horrible. Not horrible because he’s conservative and I don’t like conservatives, but horrible because he’s just a horribly inept candidate.
But I think it’s tough to top Matt Bai’s fluffing of Christie:
Why Democrats should rather run against a Cruz than a Christie in the general. https://t.co/JuROUS6Clx
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) January 18, 2016
More polls today have Christie rising in New Hampshire. ICYMI: https://t.co/fdGHr8fXk1 via @YahooPolitics
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) December 11, 2015
Christie, in NH, with one my favorite lines in a while, on entitlements. "I said to Huckabee, 'Where's the money coming from, dude?'"
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) December 1, 2015
Christie fever building in Loudon, NH! (Also, free Dunkin Donuts coffee.) pic.twitter.com/ziT7wthVwp
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) November 30, 2015
Find it funny, given Trump's numbers in IA and NH, how people said Christie was just too much of a blunt Jersey guy to ever play there.
— Matt Bai (@mattbai) August 31, 2015
MattF
I’d have thought that once George ‘Uranus’ Will fell in love with Christie, that even the usual gang of idiots would see the problem.
Tripod
Re: W in South Carolina optics.
The man looks like he rolled out of bed after a 4 day bender, and couldn’t be bothered to shower.
How is this helping Jeb?
MattF
@efgoldman: Ugh. Just awful in so many ways.
cokane
fwiw i don’t think Bai is “supposedly objective”, he calls himself a columnist. there’s a BIG difference between being an admitted op-ed dude but self styled centrist and being self-styled objective.
this goes the same for what atrios is whining about frankly
Doug!
@efgoldman:
Terrible
msdc
@efgoldman: Jesus, that’s horrible. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Brachiator
@efgoldman: Very, very sorry.
Iowa Old Lady
@efgoldman: I am so sorry.
Emma
@efgoldman: Jesus Christ. I can’t even imagine what your family is going through. I am so very sorry.
RSA
Speaking of which, in case no one else has mentioned it: Vancouver skyline featured in Marco Rubio’s ‘Morning again in America’ campaign ad.
MichaelG
Christie Fever is also known as The Meat Sweats.
Amir Khalid
@efgoldman:
I can’t think of any words to offer. I do know you and your family need to be together in this sad moment, and it’s right that that’s where you are. {{Hugs}}
RSA
@efgoldman: Best wishes to you and your family.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: I’m so sorry for your and mrs efgoldman’s loss.
dr. bloor
@efgoldman: Horrible, horrible. Heart goes out to all.
divF
@efgoldman: Unspeakable, and heartbreaking. Take care.
schrodinger's cat
OT: Music interlude
A. R. Rehman sings MTV unplugged version of Yeh Jo Des Tera from Swades (motherland).
Movie version:
In Swades, Shahrukh’s character is loosely based on a AID India activist who went back to India to work on rural electrification projects, giving up a lucrative career in the DC area. I didn’t know them (it was a husband wife team, the movie has changed that for story telling purposes) personally but was good friends with a friend of theirs when I lived in the DC area. My friend returned to India too and now is a professor at one of the newer IITs.
Wag
Id like to see his tweets following Christie pulling out a f the race.
Gene108
Condolences Mr. Goldman.
I cannot imagine what you are going through right now.
chopper
@efgoldman:
jesus man, i’m sorry. that’s just awful.
Matt McIrvin
Rubio is the one Republican who is actually beating Clinton in most of the head-to-head polls.
Amir Khalid
Hang on. I thought Gov Chris Harkonnen .had already gone back to Jersey to
give upsuspend his campaign. If he does better than expected in this next primary, will he stay in the race after all?MattF
@Matt McIrvin: Yes, but he’s also the R candidate who is the least well-defined. People will choose him because they are averse to choosing Hillary– which is unfortunate– but I’ll bet that when people get to know Rubio better, he’ll lose his luster.
Amir Khalid
@Matt McIrvin:
Which will no doubt make Rubio eat his heart out when the party nominates Donald Trump instead.
Steve in the ATL
@Matt McIrvin: One my college classmates is congressman from South Carolina. He always took great pride in being from the “deep” south, and would not sit at the same lunch table as a black person. I forgot to mention this, but he is a Republican.
Anyway, he came out for Marco Rubio today. Part of a concerted effort by the GOP establishment? Or just another dumbass for Rubio? No idea, but it may become clear soon if we see a bunch more of this.
liberal
Hah hah…
One time Matt Taibbi was on some kind of discussion, and David Gergen or someone like that started getting very confused. Taibbi figured out that DG confused him with Matt Bai, and things didn’t compute for him.
Ohio Mom
@efgoldman: I left condolences in the thread below, just want to add that I absolutely, totally get your rightious anger on guns, and for all who take the easy way out on gun issues (and yes, that includes Sen. Sanders).
Becoming involved in anti-firearms activism on whatever level will be a fitting tribute to your DSIL.
Mnemosyne
@efgoldman:
I am so sorry. We had a gun murder in our family, but it was a robbery (he was a taxi driver). That’s so senseless that I don’t even know what to say.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@efgoldman: Oh no. I am so sorry. Please accept my deepest condolences.
Just One More Canuck
@efgoldman: My condolences
Woodrowfan
I am so sorry EF> I lost a cousin I cared for to a stupid gun crime. ( a robbery attempt) Makes you furious when you see the NRA and their fluffers.
Ohio Mom
@Steve in the ATL: Every now and then I am able to take a step back from being gobsmacked about the completely unfit for public office bunch Republicans are offering us this primary season to remember that they actually have not one but two Latinos running, and an African American too, and a woman (well, had a woman). It says something about overall progress, I think.
catclub
@Amir Khalid: No he is done. I am sure he has said he is only suspending his campaign. But he is done. He was not on the stage last saturday night.
Luthe
Hey, everybody in NJ was thrilled to have Bai fluffing Christie. The more time Big Asshole spent out of state, the better.
jacy
@efgoldman:
So very sorry for your family’s loss. My thoughts are with you.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I am so sorry. Love, condolences, hugs, and best wishes to your bride, your daughter, and you.
Roger Moore
@Ohio Mom:
This. I have my differences with Dianne Feinstein (my senior senator) but I know I can trust her absolutely on this issue because it’s a personal matter for her. I just wish we didn’t need for every politician to have it a personal issue to get any action.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
I think “suspend” is the term they use so that they can still accept contributions or some such, in case they’re not self-financed. If they said “end,” they’d have to answer to the FEC. The thought of which makes women faint and grown men quail.
Kathleen
@efgoldman: My deepest condolences to you and your wife and family.
boatboy_srq
@efgoldman: [[HUG]]
Tom Levenson
@efgoldman: So sorry to hear this. My deepest sympathy to you and your family.
Frankensteinbeck
And yet, still better at it than Jeb:(.
EDIT – @efgoldman:
UGH.
Matt McIrvin
@MattF: Rubio may be the closest thing available to “generic Republican” right now. That was Mitt Romney’s great advantage: he basically was “generic Republican” personified.
sparrow
@efgoldman: I’m extremely sorry that this happened. So, so unnecessary. I hate this insanity with guns in this country.
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
He’s so generic, he even talks exclusively in talking points.
SuperHrefna
@efgoldman: Big hugs to you and Mrs ef, what an awful thing to happen. And yeah, I am with you on total gun control. This isn’t the 19th century, it isn’t even the 20th century, and there is no good reason for private individuals to own guns.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@efgoldman: Christ, that’s just sickening. There aren’t any words for this. I’m so very, very sorry.
trollhattan
@efgoldman:
Lord, I’m so sorry. And let me note “domestic dispute” as reported in the article seems to have comprised “I wanted her dead and now she is.” What dispute?
Thinking of reasons your guns stand is unreasonable. Nope. Not finding one.
CaseyL
@efgoldman: Horrible, horrible thing to happen. My heart goes out to you and yours.
I completely endorse your decision about the ballot. Single-issue voting is what made the NRA so powerful; single issue voting may be the only thing that breaks the NRA.
Snarki, child of Loki
@MichaelG: “Christie fever building in Loudon, NH! (Also, free Dunkin Donuts coffee.)”
And ONLY Dunkin Donuts coffee, because someone scarfed all the donuts.
Roger Moore
@trollhattan:
From what efgoldman was saying, it sounds as if the dispute was of the “I’m leaving” “Over your dead body” variety.
Iowa Old Lady
@Roger Moore: Yeah, seeing your colleagues blown apart in City Hall would bring that all home.
I take this opportunity to recommend the film “Milk” to those who haven’t seen it already. I watched it with a friend who was too young to remember what happened. She was shocked.
geg6
@efgoldman:
This is horrible. My deepest sympathies. What a terrible situation. Damn.
AliceBlue
@efgoldman:
My deepest sympathy to you and yours. May peace and healing find you.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@MichaelG:
EWWWWWWW.
gvg
Could a front pager save the condolences people post now so that he could see them when he comes back? I think he has already left to be with his family and these posts will have scrolled off the front page before he comes back. I know there is a workaround but it would be nice to save them?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@efgoldman: I am so very sorry. My condolences to Mrsefg and your daughter as well as to you and the rest of the family.
@gvg: Seconding your request.
coin operated
@efgoldman: My condolences sir.
Starfish
I am so sorry that your family experienced this @efgoldman
@Roger Moore: Phrasing it as a “domestic dispute” makes the situation appear much more “both sides!” and acquits the man of some responsibility. McSweeney’s did a nice job of explaining this.
Elie
@efgoldman:
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Is the US population ever going to get sensible about private gun ownership? I could start a whole rant about how the only person who is going to come in your house and shoot you already lives there, but I’ll spare us all that. So “protect” yourself with a gun in your house at your own peril.
Elie
@efgoldman:
My deepest condolences to you…. the horror and pain you must be feeling are monstrous. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Jewish Steel
@efgoldman: Just awful, ef. Our best to you.
Skerry
@efgoldman: I am so sorry.
Kalimama
@efgoldman: so very sorry.
Roger Moore
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
The US population is already considerably more reasonable about it than our political representatives. Large to overwhelming majorities are in favor of stronger restrictions, especially tougher background checks. The problem is that the small, absolutist ammosexual minority is so strident and single-issue on the topic that they have an outsized voice. It’s a classic case of a committed minority winning over a less committed majority.
Cluttered Mind
@efgoldman: I am so sorry to hear about what happened. I definitely understand and support your view on guns. My first personal brush with gun violence was when I was in 8th grade and a friend/classmate of mine was killed along with her entire family by her father in a family annihilator type murder/suicide. The suicide part happened 3 days later and was suicide by cop.
Here’s the asshole, may he rot in whatever form of hell he believed in: Laxma Reddy
That happened about five blocks away from my house. I’ve hated private ownership of guns ever since. 20 years later I still think about my friend from time to time. I can’t even imagine how much this has to burn. The kindest words I can think to say here are that I hope that all of us live to see a big change in how this country deals with private ownership of guns.
GregB
@Tripod:
Homeless Man Campaigns for Denny’s Manager.
Frankensteinbeck
@Roger Moore:
I would throw in that a much larger minority supports gun control in the abstract, but will zealously vote against it because it’s lumped in with other things they hate (IE, Cleek’s Law).
Renie
@efgoldman: My sincere condolences to you and your family. What a terrible tragedy.
Applejinx
I am all for an outright ban. I would vote for an outright ban on gun ownership, just like Australia, and I hope I live to see the day that it happens (not ‘can happen’ but ‘happens’).
It’s not going to stop me working for Bernie Sanders, and I think this is the one issue that could give us a President Cruz, or President Trump, and then a whole lot more gun deaths on purpose from the shiny new brownshirts expressing their loyalty. We are an occupied country. Getting away from that status is complicated and challenging. So I can’t join anyone’s vows to repudiate Sanders when we MUST get crossover votes from enemy territory in order to consolidate more years of Democratic rule.
But I will always vote in favor of an outright gun ban and no private ownership.
Deer hunters can just learn to be bowhunters, that is a thing. There is no reason for private citizens to wield guns as if they were just some crescent wrench or carving knife. Treat it as if there was a ‘hobbyist nuclear weapon building movement’ and people finally said whoa, nope, are you fucking kidding me?
No private gun ownership. Let it be grounds for deadly force by cops just HAVING a gun and wielding it. God knows they act that way already, let it be for a reason. Stop the guns.
Cermet
@efgoldman: I am so deeply sorry for your terrible loss. Tragic and so horrible. Another reason for better control of weapons.
Gin & Tonic
@Applejinx:
You are mistaken about their gun laws.
Yutsano
@efgoldman: My God. How horrific. I hope they lock him away forever for this.
ThresherK
@efgoldman: Our condolences. That is so wretched. Take the time you need for your family.
Rob in CT
@efgoldman:
Shit, man, that’s awful. Sorry to hear it.
The “responsible gun owner” strikes again.
hitchhiker
Let’s not forget who it was that authored the SCOTUS decision in 2008 that said private citizens have the right to own weapons.
Yep. Heart attack man! I’ve been listening to privileged people talking about what a charming person/great writer/hilarious curmudgeon/brilliant thinker/original genius/opera lover he was.
He also claimed that the constitution required us to live with 300 million guns scattered around in private homes, which is fucking insane. It’s one of the things he was being praised for, though.
All of which is to say, I’m so sorry efgoldman. I’m just so sorry.
aimai
@efgoldman: I am so horribly sorry, ef, about this. Just a terrible, terrible thing for your sister-in-law, your family, and the whole community. I hear you on this, absolutely. My thoughts are with you all.
Calouste
@Gin & Tonic: And a link right next to that article: Children exposed to higher lead levels more likely to commit violent crimes later in life, study says
Is there any research into how much lead people are exposed to while shooting, handling, and cleaning guns?
Dee Loralei
@efgoldman: I am so sorry for your loss. It’s terribly traumatic to lose a loved one through violence. My heart goes out to your family. If I were closer I’d bring lots of comfort foods for you all, but as I don’t, all I can offer are my warm thoughts and condolences to all of you.
J R in WV
Dear EFGoldman:
I am so sorry for your loss, and understand your reaction. Hug your family well, and stay together as long as you can.
J R
lurker dean
@efgoldman: condolences to you and your family EF.
Matt McIrvin
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Worst of all: one of the main arguments I hear from gun advocates about self-defense is that women should be pro-gun, because guns equalize the physical differences between men and women in a fight, so they’re the ideal defense against rape, or against general assaults by men against women.
Which ignores, not only the situations under which rapes mostly happen, but also situations exactly like this one. A gun in a household where an abusive relationship is going on mostly increases the chance that the abuser will escalate to murder.
JCT
@efgoldman: Simply horrible. Strong thoughts to all including your poor daughter, no idea how to explain something like this.
This country should not be manipulated by the NRA’s endless pursuit of profit for their friends the gun manufacturers.
And just today Jeb! the idiot Bush brother tweeted a pic of “his” gun as a representation of “America”. Besides the fact that I’ll bet he doesn’t know one end of it from the other – the safety is off. So much stupid pandering, so little time.
Jeb Bush’s America
Nate Dawg
One of the more amazing things about this primary is the complete tonedeafness of the media re: the GOP race.
We will see on Saturday once again the media aghast that Trump is so popular, even after feasting on the sacred cow of Dubya “keeping us safe”.
We have poll after poll showing the nature of the race, and yet the pundit class ignores it in favor of some mythical Republican primary electorate that only exists in their minds.
Phylllis
@Steve in the ATL: Mulvaney?
KS in MA
@efgoldman: I’m so sorry.
Nate Dawg
So sorry to hear this story. It’s a common story. I’d never realized how the gun fetishists feed off of and support the anti-government crowd until moving back to Texas recently and seeing first hand how it works.
When government lacks resources, people feel they are on their own, and the urge to have guns to protect themselves increases. The guns, of course, cause more harm than good, but this just feeds the need for protection rather than increasing the desire to be rid of them altogether and replace them with a better trained and more well equipped police force.
greennotGreen
First, my condolences to efgoldman and family. Secondly, efg, I totally get where you’re coming from about a total ban on gun ownership. Some people who are very dear to me lost their six year old daughter at Sandy Hook, so it’s sometimes hard for me to have a rational discussion about gun “rights.”
Third, I read the linked article Gin & Tonic mentioned up thread, and I was struck by the comment that many people “enjoy shooting.” As Jim Jefferies says he takes drugs like a champ, but everyone can’t without causing trouble. More relevant to me, I think I’m pretty good at determining what a safe speed to drive is, given traffic and road conditions, so should we just get rid of speed limits?
My God, people are getting killed because you want to preserve your hobby! Little children are getting killed! Think about someone else for a change. Be willing to give up your pathetic amulets of safety to actually preserve life!
No more guns!
satby
@efgoldman: reposting from below:
My deepest condolences to you, your wife, and all your family, efg. This is a tragedy that didn’t have to happen.
I’m the daughter of a homicide cop who died at 54 from the stress of going to too many scenes like that. He believed as you do that there was no reason for a gun in the house for most people. Decades of picking up dead children and adults after a gun went off does that to people.
Gin & Tonic
@greennotGreen: Just for the record, I posted a link to that article just to correct Applejinx’s misapprehension about Australian gun restrictions, not to take any position on gun ownership.
cckids
@efgoldman: I’m so, so sorry. My little sister just got away/divorced from her RWNJ gun-nut husband, and we all live in fear that his stalking, creepy ways will get violent. I want her to move far, far away. That would suck because she loves her job, but . . . I don’t want to be writing a re-do of your post sometime.
And you are 1000x right about the gun “rights” crap. How does a shit-stain with 2 restraining orders against him, who’s admitted breaking into her house to bug it, still legally own guns? F*ck the 2nd amendment.
sherparick
@efgoldman: Sorry for your loss. We really are a very strange country.
sherparick
@Matt McIrvin: Somehow the our theater critics and their media masters conceived the Mariobot as the perfect candidate to beat Hilary. As Atrios says “The blatant cheerleading for Rubio by our supposedly “objective” press has been one of the funniest things about this primary season.” Somehow if he finishes 3rd in South Carolina, he will be deemed the “comeback kid.”
SoupCatcher
@efgoldman: Well, that sucks.
Holding you and yours in the light.