Low bar, but Johnson-Weld is probably the most credible presidential ticket the Libertarians have ever fielded. https://t.co/lxuN5K4vmg
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) May 18, 2016
From his hometown paper, the Boston Globe:
Former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld will announce Thursday that he is running for vice president, rejecting the Republican Party of which he has long been a member in favor of the Libertarian Party ticket of another former GOP governor, Gary Johnson of New Mexico, campaign aides to Johnson said Wednesday.
The two former chief executives are expected to announce their partnership Thursday in New York City, the Johnson aides said, the latest sign of the national Republican Party’s struggle to come to grips with the party’s takeover by presumptive nominee Donald J. Trump.
The decision, first reported Wednesday by the Associated Press, took Weld’s business partners and the current Republican governor, his protégé Charlie Baker, by surprise.
Weld’s strategy, according to people with whom he has spoken, is to take advantage of the anticipated media attention paid to two former governors from different parts of the country joining forces, hoping to win sufficient support to land in the televised debates….
I have a not-as-hard-as-for-most-Repubs spot in my heart for Bill Weld, among the last of the old-time Moderate Northeastern Repubs (and the guy who signed the very nice form letter required before our Wiccan friend could legally perform our marriage ceremony in this state). He has every reason to despise the Frothing Rightwing Nutball wing of his former(ish) party, per the NYTimes:
… Mr. Weld’s best-known previous turn on the national stage was in 1997, when he resigned as governor to focus on his appointment by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to Mexico.
That did not go well: He was blocked by Senator Jesse Helms and withdrew his nomination after a heated battle in which Mr. Weld, a pillar of what was left of the moderate northeastern Republican establishment, loudly assailed Mr. Helms and the archconservatives who stood behind him.
A former prosecutor, Mr. Weld could appeal to some disaffected Republicans on a ticket alongside Mr. Johnson, at a time when other efforts by Republicans to recruit a third-party candidate — in part in the hopes of keeping anti-Trump Republican voters from staying home and costing the party’s lower-tier candidates — are close to fizzling…
I know next to nothing about Gary “420” Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, although I’m sure some of you can clue me in. (One reason Weld is a good choice: He gets attention from the ‘one of us’ Northeastern media claque.) The Libertarian National Convention will take place in Orlando over the Memorial Day Weekend, after which (assuming they beat their challengers; I’m assuming there will be challengers?) Johnson/Weld 2016 can start campaigning for the 15% polling level that will ensure them a spot at the national presidential debate…
(That said, I'm not sure how many anti-Trump Republicans in Utah are going to get excited about two pro-choice libertarians…)
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) May 19, 2016
His 2012 campaign was also based in SLC because that's where his campaign manager lives https://t.co/DRqaEt7PUw
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) May 19, 2016
It may be a portent that the news has already managed to get the Daily Caller overexcited…
Follow-up: David Koch spokesperson strongly denying @DailyCaller report that the billionaire has pledged $$$ to support @GovGaryJohnson.
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) May 19, 2016
redshirt
The news told me Mass. loves Charlie Baker. Is this not true? If it is true, he seems cut out of the Bill Weld mold.
Trollhattan
Aw shit, I was hoping for Tuesday Weld. Suck it, Libertarians, I’m so not joining your little camp now.
Baud
This gives me ideas.
The Sheriff's A Ni-
@Trollhattan: What if it was The Real Tuesday Weld?
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
“libertarian” Gary Johnson ran in 2012 opposing women’s reproductive rights.
cuz nothing says “libertarian” like Big Gubmit putting a padlock on a woman’s private parts.
germy shoemangler
Someone for H.A. Goodman to vote for!
singfoom
You go lolbertarians, you go. Be you, be free. Pull votes from Drumpf.
debbie
Johnson was interviewed on NPR’s Here and Now today. It was a 10-minute plus interview, which is kind of long for that show. This link has both audio and a bunch of quotes of his positions.
Regnad Kcin
@redshirt: I’d say a little more technocrat than Weld was. Made his bones in the Admin/Finance realm.
Miss Bianca
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: According to my Libertarian buddy, this is actually a big fault line within Libertarian politics, with many falling on the relatively left-wing “my body my right” side of the line and many falling on the right-wing “your liberty ends where my patriarchal authoritarian anxieties begin” line. (He’s in the former camp, fwiw). I told him any “Libertarian” who could deny a woman’s right to choose couldn’t be called “libertarian” in any meaningful sense of the word. That’s where we’ve left it.
A Ghost To Most
Libertarians are Republicans who won’t admit they are Republicans. Often the same greedy, sociopathic assholes with Randian “principles” instead of “religious principles”. Don’t let them hold your lunch.
What was Weld thinking?
Major Major Major Major
Libertarians are jackasses.
Troublesome Carp fka Geeno
I think Weld was thinking he’d have some yucks at the expense of the “conservative” wing who hosed him.
Mike in NC
@singfoom:
Yup. Does anybody doubt that Drumpf’s VP choice will be incredibly awful to sane people?
Frankensteinbeck
I doubt this will mean anything. It will take either a gigantic amount of money or intense and prolonged media interest to get disaffected Republicans even aware they have another voting option.
If they got it, I anticipate it would work against the intended ‘give a reason to vote down ticket.’ You’re forcing a lot of Republicans to ask themselves ‘can I vote for my party’s candidate?’ In the first place. The depressing nature of having to face that issue instead of ignoring it will depress turnout.
piratedan
@A Ghost To Most: maybe short of assassination, this was the loudest statement he could make without saying that he’s voting for Hillary Clinton. Some tribal boundaries simply can’t be crossed.
singfoom
@Miss Bianca: That’s some high quality cognitive dissonance right there. Any idea what size the split is? The idea of pro-life libertarians is puzzling to me.
Cermet
The Kock sucker brothers a throwing a few million (ten or so) – utter pocket change – to these jokers; with that, if they, in turn, throw all their resources into a single, small state …like say Kansas, could then threaten to unbalance the election in that sole state. BFD.
Hal
Speaking of abortion:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0YA2EL
NCSteve
I don’t care who they run or how much weed they smoke: from a policy standpoint, Libertarians are even worse than Republicans. The thought of them being the vile Nazgul beast that rises from the ashes after the coming final self immolation of the Republican Party fills me with horror.
Feathers
Weld was not an awful governor. My main recollection was the whole brouhaha over his smoking weed on the Esplanade during a free Green Day concert.
He should fit right in among the libertarians.
debbie
@Hal:
I love that they passed it without discussion or debate. Also this:
cmorenc
@A Ghost To Most:
I thought libertarians were Republicans who smoked pot and also wanted to become wealthy enough to buy the really good shit and comfortably smoke it in their McMansion, although for some of them the more immediate goal is to be able to afford to move out of their parents’ basement.
piratedan
@Mike in NC: supposedly hearing that my current House Rep Martha McSally is under consideration. Former USAF pilot, 1st term Representative, won in a squeaker (167 votes) over Ron Barber, Gabrielle Giffords former chief of staff, who was the incumbent (also wounded during Loughner’s killing spree) with a LOT of money tossed in behind her. She’s very involved in veterans affairs so she would actually be a wise choice, which is why I discount it altogether).
Mike J
Puerto Rico poll out
Hillary 65.87, Bernie 34.13
Take it with a mountain of salt. No methodology, no sample size, no nothin’. It does line up with results from mainland places with large Puerto Rican population.
WarMunchkin
Sanders rally outside the convention confirmed. This is like Rohan declaring war on Gondor during the attack on Minas Tirith.
ThresherK
@A Ghost To Most: You forgot “…who want to use pot” and/or “…who want to get laid” on your list of “Libertarians are Republicans who…”.
But otherwise, spot on.
@singfoom: Being a “pro-life Libertarian” is very easy: Whichever layer of government is the most restrictive of a woman’s body is the proper layer of government to pass legal judgment on womens’ healthcare.
Mnemosyne
@Hal:
IANAL, but I assume they’re hoping that a lower court will uphold it, the SC will still be split 4-4, and they’ll sneak it in that way.
Or they’re just being childish dicks. Actually, that’s the more likely answer.
singfoom
@ThresherK: I mean, I get it but I don’t get it. If it’s all about personal freedom and the minimal amount of government to maximize said freedom, telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies seems on its very face to be liberty-limiting.
But it’s probably a case of liberty for me but not for thee.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@debbie: But Democrats are just Republicans by another name, so they’re all the same. Might as well vote Trump because he’s not a politician.
Amirite?
:-/
Here’s another example from today – TheHill:
Seriously, the Teabaggers will take every inch they can whenever they can. We need to throw them out of office, not battle over who is more Corrupt™ – HRC or BS.
Let us, as a nation, keep our eye on the prize.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mnemosyne
@WarMunchkin:
If Hillary keeps referencing Hamilton, PR is in the bag. LMM is their favorite son right now.
Mnemosyne
@singfoom:
It’s because women aren’t full people like men are. Full stop.
starscream
NYT/CBS poll has Hillary up 47-41.
SiubhanDuinne
@Trollhattan:
Hadn’t thought of her in a long time. I’m always a little startled to be reminded that she was married to, inter alia, Dudley Moore and Pinchas Zukerman.
From Wikipedia:
That parenthetical cracks me up.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@singfoom: There is a way you can sorta square the circle. If you’re one of those people who worry about government tyranny and it not protecting the powerless, then you can convince yourself that a fetus comes before reproductive rights. But then, if you don’t trust the government to not impose tyranny, then how will a law against abortion help?
Hmm…
Never mind. ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Roger Moore
@debbie:
The goal isn’t to accomplish anything; it’s to have something to show the
rubesvoters as evidence that you’re doing something. Having them overturned by the courts is actually a net benefit for the Republicans because it a) guarantees they’ll be able to keep playing the game next legislative session, b) gives them an excuse to criticize the courts, and c) protects them from negative consequences of their legislation.Aardvark Cheeselog
@NCSteve:
It is early to be worrying about that.
Doug R
@Trollhattan: I dunno. I think you could get a lot of mileage out of Johnson weld.
Patricia Kayden
@Hal: Can we say unconstitutional? Another stupid rightwing law just waiting to be overturned. They just cannot stop harassing women and gays.
eemom
I’m concerned that this will pull votes from the dumbass Hillary-hating left, too — especially if there actually IS anything not batshit crazy about these people.
Major Major Major Major
@starscream: Quiet, you, that doesn’t fit the narrative.
Oh, but do be a dear and forward it to Ella in NM.
Gin & Tonic
@Feathers:
Funny, I don’t remember that brouhaha, although I still remember smoking weed on his family’s estate on Long Island. Oh, they weren’t there at the time.
SamR
I recall that hearing on the ambassadorship. Weld favored medicinal marijuana and Helms pointed to this to claim that Weld was a stooge of the Mexican drug cartels and that is why he sought the ambassadorship. I’m from MA, and my idea of Republicans had been people like Weld. Watching Helms’ crazy antics made me realize that most Republicans do not think like Bill Weld.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Major Major Major Major: that’s what makes them so attractive to Republican voters.
jon
Does Johnson/Weld sound more like a wrestling hold or an unfortunate sexual accident? I can only hope that whatever it is, it makes Trump sad.
singfoom
@jon: I think it sounds like an unfortunate sexual accident. But let me assure you that Mr. Drumpf has NEVER EVER had any problems, don’t you worry.
If in the event that he DID have a Johnson/Weld, he’d put the best people on it, the resolution would be YOOUGE. You can believe me, I’m telling you.
Major Major Major Major
@jon: sexual accident. duh.
ThresherK
@singfoom: Hey, now you’re getting it!
But seriously, “nothing to complain about” folk are very over-represented in Libertania. Was it Trevor Noah or Louis C.K. who had a bit of standup about how white men (straight, CIS) love the idea of time-traveling, but backwards?
ThresherK
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:Changing the votes after the clock has run out?
Makes me wonder why people are talking about following the rules at the GOP convention this summer.
Karen
@singfoom:
I’m more worried that they might pull from Hillary.
Karen
Won’t the libertarians have problems getting on the ballots?
Mike J
@Karen: They’re on in 33 states.
Mnemosyne
@Karen:
I’m not. The current loyal Democratic base is made up of African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans. I don’t see any of those groups deciding to go libertarian in any large numbers.
White voters vote Republican — in 2012, 62 percent of white men and 54 percent of white women voted for Romney. Those seem like the voters who are more likely to follow the libertarians off a cliff, not current Democratic voters.
ETA: Slight correction — 56 percent of white women voted for Romney, not 54.
Eric U.
I understand how you can be a pro-forced-birth libertarian, preventing “murder” is one of their allowed government functions. However, as a practical matter, in the pro-forced-birth republican dreamland that would occur if the republicans have their way, women would be forced to demonstrate that every miscarriage was not intentional. Virginia had such a bill for a while, but saner heads prevailed. If you could somehow magically go after only women that have had abortions, it might be different, but you can’t. So in a practical sense, outlawing abortion leads to a really heavy-handed government intrusion into normal life, and thus it doesn’t make sense to call yourself a libertarian if you believe in it.
RedDirtGirl
Friday NYC Meet-up at Old Town update:
Any time after 6pm at the tavern. As i said, they don’t take reservations, but if I give them a headcount in the afternoon, they should be able to set some space aside.
So far, as of right now, this is what I’ve got:
Me (lurker-instigator) I’ll be there at 6.
Robin
Ivan X
DaveNYC
Celia and ______
Sam
PurpleGirl
LAO
and maybe PsiFighter,
if we are still hanging out when he gets in from…Miami?
MDC and JAFD, we’ll see you at the next one.
Thanks AL for front-paging the event.
Matt McIrvin
It probably doesn’t amount to much either way, but I’m not sure this ticket won’t take more votes from the Democrats than the Republicans. A lot of Democrats regard Weld with vaguely positive feelings.
Poopyman
@Major Major Major Major:
Well, that’s what they make JB Weld for.
LAO
@RedDirtGirl: thanks for organizing. See you tomorrow! (I expect I should be there at 6)
Mandalay
Here’s a Florida man story that isn’t remotely amusing:
Any politician who sneers at Europe, and brags that we are the greatest nation on earth, should be forced to read this story out loud on camera, and then explain why we are so great.
Vico
Johnson is a bit of a crackpot, and Weld is a superannuated prep school boy. Should make an amusing pair to preach the libertarian gospel to the nerdly choir.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@ThresherK: It’s what they do. That’s how they passed Medicare Part D in the House (without paying for it, also too).
The GOP will grab every advantage they can. That’s why (among other reasons) they need to be made a tiny minority party.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mnemosyne
@Matt McIrvin:
A lot of Democrats overall, or a lot of white Democrats?
Seriously, guys, I don’t think some of you realize how (relatively) few white Democrats are left these days. We are vastly overrepresented here at B-J.
ThresherK
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: I remember that too well.
Mike J
@Matt McIrvin: Nobody basis their vote for president on who the Libertarians are running for vice-president.
Mike J
@Mike J: Err, bases. stupid fingers.
Major Major Major Major
I have the final round interview at that think tank tomorrow! Eek! Let’s all hope this is the last time I have to bother you about interviews!
agorabum
#FeelTheJohnson!
JPL
@Major Major Major Major: You will do great..
The Lodger
@singfoom: That’s the thing that convinced me Ron Paul was worthless early on. (Of course, there was plenty else later on.)
jl
@Baud:
:” This gives me ideas.”
The Baud base would view you having ‘ideas’ as a betrayal of everything your campaign has stood for.
dr. bloor
@Major Major Major Major: We’ll all be happy to supply references, of course.
A Ghost To Most
@Major Major Major Major:
Excellent! Cool, calm, confident. And watch out for the ‘in your ear’ question. Laugh to yourself when you get it.
debbie
@Roger Moore:
To a point maybe. The base is ticked off at the GOP Congress because they didn’t accomplish what they promised they would do, i.e. getting rid of ACA. That they tried more than 60 times doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they failed.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
I think you’re exaggerating a bit. Yes, whites as a group lean Republican, but it’s something like a 60/40 split, not a 90/10 split like blacks. Given that whites are still around 70% of the population, that means whites are still a majority of the Democratic vote.
Major Major Major Major
@A Ghost To Most: in your ear…?
Omnes Omnibus
@dr. bloor: I thought we wanted M4 to get the job?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
What’s hilarious to me and lost in a sea of irony, is for all the talk of “revolution”, the true revolutionary act is to vote for the first woman president after the first black president, which goes a long way towards smashing the white male power structure and exposing its racist operating system. That would mean dudebros of all ages voluntarily relinquishing their white male privilege and pitching in – power sharing – to help us repel the fascist orc army massing at the gates, so, we obviously can’t count on them. The rest of us will have to keep nailing down the progress Obama has made, without them. The common thread to all the “burn it all down” political factions is white male rage, and they’re the only ones who have the power to burn it all down, or stop it.
Belafon
A Ghost To Most
@Major Major Major Major:
High and tight pitch, trying to rattle you.
“He’s probably going to pitch you low and away, but watch out for in your ear.”
Field of Dreams
Roger Moore
@debbie:
I think it’s different when it’s the courts ruling the law unconstitutional rather than a failure in the regular political process. The Republicans have trained the base that there’s something suspect about the courts getting involved, though the usual inconsistency means they have no trouble when the courts overturn laws they don’t like.
Major Major Major Major
@A Ghost To Most: Ahha. Will do.
Belafon
@Roger Moore: So, 40% of 70% would be 28%, and there’s 30% of the rest of the population. But I think a lot more whites identify as independent than blacks or Asians, so we whites probably make up less. We would be a plurality. This listing of whites does includes Hispanic whites.
Mnemosyne
@Roger Moore:
I’m also assuming that this proposed Libertarian ticket would be much more attractive to disgruntled Republicans than it would be to white Democrats. Do you really see a significant number of Obama voters going for this ticket rather than voting for Hillary?
different-church-lady
Weld became governor because Mass dems decided to punish anyone connected to Dukakis after he lost in 1992. The primary resulted in John Silber (President of Boston University) winning over Francis X. Bellotti (Duke’s Lieutenant Governor). Silber was widely seen as being Hitler-like, only without the charming qualities. A fair number of dems crossed over to the mild-mannered republican, eventually came to feel he wasn’t so bad, and let him stick around for another term.
Weld gave Kerry a run for his money in 1996. If I recall correctly, the debates were considered to be unusually civil, intelligent, and substantive.
Mnemosyne
@Belafon:
So, wait, you’re saying that us white Democratic voters are … the 27 percent?
sigaba
@Mnemosyne: Stoner vote maybe, on the margins.
different-church-lady
@Mike J:
True, but the wildcard factor will be: would Weld make enough people Johnson-curious that he’d get the 5% he’d need to get included in the general election debates? Who knows how Trump would split his attention?
ETA: correction, it’s 15% — a much more unlikely bar.
shortribs
I haven’t listened yet, but Gary Johnson was on Joe Rogan’s podcast a couple days ago. I usually skip any overtly political guests of his as Joe’s political knowledge seems to be exclusively from reason.com and vice.com headlines-only, but considering it was a 2 hour 40 minute conversation I’m sure there were some choice libertarian nuggets dropped (not to mention Joe’s usual semi tongue-in-cheek conspiracy theories).
A Ghost To Most
@Mnemosyne:
How big is the Clinton-Derangement-Syndrome cohort among Dems? How many Bernie dead-enders will be attracted to the tiny Wierd Lib party
Iowa Old Lady
@Major Major Major Major: “Final” interview sounds promising. All crossables crossed.
Rolling Along
Adleson boards the Trump Train!
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/us/politics/sheldon-adelson-donald-trump.html?_r=0
Will spend upwards of ONE…HUNDERED…MILLION Dollars to help elect Trump! Super PACs are coming online, no more self funded nonsense! Many Romney veterans are being hired. The grown ups are back in charge….
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/us/politics/sheldon-adelson-donald-trump.html?_r=0
#Trumpzilla
#WarbucksAdleson
#WinningInThePolls
Mike J
@Iowa Old Lady:
Or vaguely threatening. But I have faith in M^4 (didn’t he take krav maga?) He can take care of them.
boatboy_srq
@singfoom: The key I have found to understanding libertarianism is that it’s an ideal political perspective for a preindustrial (and by definition pre-corporate) semi-democratic society where the voting population is entirely male. It’s steeped in the preconception of equality between negotiators in a trade, and in the idea that only men think at a high enough level to run a business or vote. Economic exchanges between farmers and/or skilled tradesmen work remarkably well under the philosophy – but then so does pre-Griswold determination by husbands what healthcare their wives and daughters should get.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@agorabum:
LOL. Perfect.
boatboy_srq
@Poopyman: I think I prefer the SteelStik TYVM – although the Marine Weld could be fun too… ,-)
Matt McIrvin
@Mnemosyne: Clinton still needs something like 35 or 36 percent of the white vote or she’ll lose. Normally that would be a pretty easy lift for a Democrat, but Hillary Clinton is Hillary Clinton, History’s Greatest Monster and a lot of the white people in my nearby vicinity love them some Trump.
Matt McIrvin
@different-church-lady:
And it started a string of Republican governors that culminated in Mitt Romney, and yet evidently Massachusetts Democrats have not learned their lesson.
Major Major Major Major
@Rolling Along: Shouldn’t you be off ramping up somewhere?
Major Major Major Major
@Mike J: I still do. Though I don’t think it’s going to be that kind of interview.
Immanentize
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: THIS. Factorial.
Matt McIrvin
@Matt McIrvin:
…538 Swing-O-Matic suggests the magic number is actually 37%, unless Hispanic turnout goes waaaay up, and I’m not willing to bet on huge increases even with Trump in the race.
Mary G
@Major Major Major Major: Good luck!
Frankensteinbeck
@A Ghost To Most:
None that would have actually voted for Sanders to begin with. People who think Clinton is too far to the right going for the Libertarian? Yeah, right. He might draw off the people who told themselves that they are totally liberal independent crossover voters and would support an independent bid against the Democratic establishment, then would go back to voting straight Republican like they always do. If he somehow drew off any voters, he would draw off way more Republican voters who hate Trump but who figure (correctly) Libertarians are basically Republicans under a different label. It’s sort of like how Palin managed to suck in a handful of female voters, and turned off a whole lot more.
@Matt McIrvin:
Trump is not getting a higher percentage of the white vote than Romney. He’s at least as much of an embarrassment and a buffoon, but that’s not the important part. The important part is that no matter how much they do slaveringly hate Hillary, the bigots who like Trump are not more motivated to vote than they were to stop the apocalypse of a first black president.
cckids
@Rolling Along:
That sounds . . . promising. They did such an excellent job getting President Mitt elected, after all. Will they be using that Orca software, too?
Anne Laurie
@Matt McIrvin:
I’m sure either he or Johnson will manage to destroy that vague positivity before November, even if they get any traction.
Mostly, I’m hoping some portion of the #NeverTrump Repubs will start talking them up… and immediately cause a split between the “real” conservatives and the True Party of Lincoln(tm) moderates. A mirror-image version of the split between the Hillbots and the Sandernistas, if you will.
I further hope that the schism will cause some portion of the usually-Repub “independent voters” to use the screaming as an excuse to stay home this time, because “partisanship” gives them a sad. Pundits have been openly “fearing” that will happen to us Dems, but as far as I can tell, not many reliable Dem voters ever mistook Sanders for an actual Democrat.
Anne Laurie
@Major Major Major Major: LUCK! All the luck to you!
PaulWartenberg2016
No, wait, that’s impossible, that’s the same weekend as the MegaCon convention.
Oh no. OH NO.
Are we gonna have Cosplayers in one convention hall while the Libertarians are in ANOTHER?!?!
Anne Laurie
@different-church-lady:
Yes, the drive-by radio boyz / Howie Carr almost did themselves an injury whining about how Bill didn’t “man up” and play dirty, like a real Repub would’ve.
Frankensteinbeck
@PaulWartenberg2016:
No worries. You can spot the cosplayers because their corsets are worn on the outside.
PaulWartenberg2016
The Libertarian convention is in a hotel, not the convention halls themselves… BUT the hotel is right next door to the Main (West) Hall! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo
(for those of you wondering, the traffic into the convention center is a FREAKING NIGHTMARE even when there’s just one thing happening. This and the Libertarian shindig at the same time is gonna make parking and traffic far far worse)
liberal
@Roger Moore: uh, Mnemosyne has at least once admitted to being mathematically challenged, so your proper but obvious point…uh, it’s not clear she’ll understand it.
chopper
@Rolling Along:
wow, so it’s winners all around. sounds like a lock.
PaulWartenberg2016
@Frankensteinbeck:
You don’t understand… All it’s gonna take is one Randian fan of Atlas Shrugged getting into a shouting match with a Macross Frontier cosplayer and BOOM, it’ll be the Pumpkin Spice Riots all over again.
Anne Laurie
@PaulWartenberg2016: Back in the day, there used to be a lot of sf/fantasy fans who were also registered Libertarians, or at least Libertarian-curious. If that’s still the case, the GLibs may’ve decided to get two cons for the price of one airline ticket/hotel room?
liberal
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
LOL. I assume you wrote that in parody?
liberal
@chopper: I’m more interested in what it says about Drumpf’s proprosed policy towards Israel. Though I guess like all the others he’s taking not one, not both, but about eleven sides on the issue.
liberal
@redshirt: Baker was obviously corrupt before he was elected governor. So, like many people everywhere, the Dems who voted for him here are, well, stupid.
Chris T.
The lolbertarians always seem to forget that their paradise is Somalia.
It’s good to see that Wrong to Rise is now Rolling Romney Round!
maryQ
I think it is time to retire the “republicans in disarray!” tag. They got their poop in one scoop. We are sooooooooo screwified.
dexwood
Gary Johnson. My former governor. Governor No as he was called because he did love the power of the veto. The first time I ever heard the Libertarian is just a Republican who smokes dope line was about Johnson. Jock jerk.
Matt McIrvin
@Frankensteinbeck:
If some third-party left candidate gets Nader 2000-sized numbers from disappointed Bernie supporters, that would come close to doing the trick. Not quite, but then we’re into the realm where random jinks in the numbers or vote suppression can swing everything.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@liberal:
LOL. I most certainly did not, but I should have added sexist, in addition to racist.
Miss Bianca
@singfoom: late to the party, but no idea, honestly. It’s just that some Libertarians are just right-wing authoritarians by another name, some are full-on ‘civil libertarians’ – not into vice laws of any shape or form (not just pot!), consider themselves live-and-let-live Jeffersonians, really. Not that familiar with the movement.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@maryQ:
We’ve got Obama. Once Bernie is dispatched, we’ll get No Fucks Left To Give Obama. :-D
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: yay! rooting for you!
Elie
@Mandalay:
I think its ridiculous to blame the government/our country about that. He had options. He just didn’t use them. Medicaid was designed for things like this as was Medicare. They have “dual eligible” — people who are Medicare eligible but can’t afford the Part B payments. They could have gotten both and Medicaid would have paid the deductibles or copays on meds if not outright paid for the meds, depending on the state ( it DOES matter what state you live in). He didn’t know, she didn’t know. So his ignorance and unfortunately probably poor communication with social services when they went to the doctor, resulted in him “fixin” things. Now the missus is dead he will be in jail. Good choice. Sorry, I refuse to bring out the violins on this one…Though its tragic, its not our system completely at fault his time…
Miss Bianca
@PaulWartenberg2016: and how will you tell the difference?
Elie
@Major Major Major Major:
Yay! Go Major, Major!
I am in the final part of my job search… hope to have offer early next week. Very excited…
rikyrah
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
The Misty Effect: HUGE lines, and the youngest and most diverse crowd I’ve ever seen at ABT. Amazing.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
It is Firebird o’clock here and the theatre is practically vibrating with excitement.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
Man, that was just a theatre full of love. Just love and gratitude for Misty Copeland all the way up to the rafters. It was beautiful.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
That said, I witnessed 3 cases of audience on audience behaviour policing: someone actually yelled at a Black woman to put her phone away.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
In a row near me a woman imperiously instructed someone to stop unwrapping something. Which was way more disruptive than the crinkle itself.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
White people, you’ll be shocked to learn, do not respond well when mostly white spaces suddenly become less white.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
Standard response to inappropriate audience behaviour is passive aggressive tsking. Not out-loud reprimands. I’ve never seen that, ever.
Chloe Angyal @ChloeAngyal
And certainly not 3 times in one night. Not in over 20 years of going to the ballet.
Armadillo
If I’m not mistaken, Weld appointed Judith Dilday as the first female African American probate judge (or maybe the first AA probate judge) in Boston. Not to say he’s a better choice than any Democrat, just that he may have done something right at some point in his career?
kd bart
By coincidence, on TCM at 1:15AM Eastern, Wild in the Streets. Some of the more passionate young Bernie Bros might view it as their fervent wish.
FOURTEEN OR FIGHT!!!
Matt McIrvin
@Miss Bianca: A few libertarians have done honestly great work on police abuses and rights of the accused. It’s the one area where I don’t automatically dismiss anything that is in Reason magazine.
Mnemosyne
@Matt McIrvin:
And how many of them voted for Obama?
That’s kind of my point. Romney voters are almost certainly going to vote for Trump. What I’m doubting is that white Obama voters are going to switch to Trump.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@rikyrah:
That’s the genteel, paternal, tut tutting tone policing northeast liberal flavor of racism.
Regnad Kcin
@liberal: Hope that’s hyperbole on your part. I’m as irredeemably liberal as they come, but I know the man personally, and that’s just not possible.
I wish the answer were that easy.
Regnad Kcin
@efgoldman: Not entirely. The Weld-Celucci [Patrick interregnum] -Baker period seems to break the previous pattern. Depending, of course, on which party you give credit for Ed King.
Anne Laurie
@Regnad Kcin:
Charlie did completely screw up Harvard Vanguard Medical Care by “transforming” it from an excellent medical service that leaked money into a far-less-effective medical service that made big dollars for the donor class. And he never stopped meeping tearfully about “hard choices” while doing so, losing no opportunity to present himself as a decent white man besieged by non-white moochers & immigrants, mostly women & children, who just wanted to steal money from “our state” while bringing their vile un-American diseases and filthy wimmen-part health issues into clean white neighborhoods with the aid of entirely corrupt also-not-white-male local government reps. That’s when some of us started calling him Chickenshit Charlie, and he’s done nothing but burnish that nickname ever since.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Ramalama
@different-church-lady: I crossed over to vote for a Republican that one time only because Bill Weld seemed like a breath of fresh air over that cretin Silber.
Two things that come to mind with Weld as governor:
1) Weld commissioned a study way back when that found something like 1 in 4 gay teens attempted suicide at least once in their lives. And then he tried to do something about that.
2) His policies included releasing a lot of mentally ill patients from hospitals and places. The result was that a lot of these people roamed the streets of Boston, homeless and mentally ill. Their presence could be felt everywhere all of a sudden. I worked for Mrs Fields Cookies on Boylston Street right across from the Boston Public Library, and we saw everything. Noticed the difference right away.
Matt McIrvin
@Mnemosyne:
No, but they might stay home, write in Bernie Sanders or vote for Jill Stein, which is 50% as bad.
TriassicSands
Low? Damn, the world limbo champion wouldn’t have a prayer of getting under that bar. Ants would have bruised backs. Low indeed.
RedDirtGirl
@LAO: Wecan chat about British crime procedurals until the others join us.
Ella inNew Mexico
Having to run a bare bones, direct-service non- profit during Johnson’s narcissistic tenure as Governor was not fun. He’s the kind of guy who would vetoe $100,000 in funding for children’s counseling programs in the 14 domestic violence shelters across our poor, rural state because it was “wasteful and excessive duplication of services” in a state that pretty much HAD NO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.Suck it little kids, even though you suffer from PTSD and are at extreme risk for school failure, drug and alcohol use and violence later on, your pain and your futures are less important than $7,000 a year to pay a part-time counselor.
Because he needed the money to pay CCC to take over our prison system in New Mexico, see.
He was a narcissistic and egocentric jerk who spent half of his time dismantling the already skeletal social support systems we had in place, the other half doing extreme sports and bragging about himself. Just another anti-government, anti-public schools, pro-business, “lock everybody upand throw away the key” kinda Republican.
But he likes pot legalization, so that makes him “interesting”. Fuck Gary Johnson.
john b
@ThresherK:
Louis CK definitely had a bit like that. But I doubt he’s the only person to have done it.