Good morning! Today's #WordOfTheDay is 'poltroon' https://t.co/2v011MTHD1 pic.twitter.com/1h5r8Xrz9r
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) July 6, 2017
Their social media director needs a raise. And an award. Hell, give them the whole damn internet.
The comments are priceless.
"Use it in a sentence"
Okay, A classic example of a poltr….
"Without mentioning a Republican."
I got nothing.
— seth thinks thoughts (@maestrosyndrome) July 6, 2017
Dear Dictionary,
"Poltroon" is a great word. Now can you give the definition of "shade?" Please and thank you.— Dona E. Bowens (@DonaBowens) July 6, 2017
I'm in love with you ? @MerriamWebster ? pic.twitter.com/diPAmHWzju
— DoraTweetting (@DoraTweetting) July 6, 2017
I include this last one just because, awesome kitteh gif.
— Gen Géricault (@ggericault) July 6, 2017
Merriam-Webster has been saving my sanity many days since the election. How is your day going? I’m stuck in neutral…with a long list of things to accomplish. You?
rikyrah
M-W has an excellent twitter trolling game.
rikyrah
Republicans are going to frame their updated Senate health bill, expected later this month, as a totally new bill! https://t.co/lWvSemCBHH
— Jennifer Haberkorn (@jenhab) July 6, 2017
They’ll try. They also tried to frame their bill as much different from the House bill. Wasn’t true, didn’t work. https://t.co/MyVBsdCdUt
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 6, 2017
rikyrah
GOP senator argues millions who will lose coverage under Trumpcare just don’t want it enough https://t.co/GsPe1wHb9S
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) July 6, 2017
rikyrah
GOOD!!
Today, 19 AGs are filing suit against @BetsyDeVosED for abandoning rules protecting students from abuse by predatory for-profit schools. pic.twitter.com/j7Rsz3VzzO
— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) July 6, 2017
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@rikyrah: The bitch deserved it.
That’s what that is
jl
An inauspicious start to the morning. I inadvertently put my alarm on ‘radio’ last night. So I awoke this morning at 6 AM to the words of our poltroon in chief bigot babbling about clash of civilizations and ‘the West’s will’ to survive or prevail, or exist, or some such nonsense I considered it a bad omen and am being very careful today. I think that was part of his stupid speech to the Poles during his visit there.
Also heard Trumpster admin threats of military action against North Korea after a year, followed by a reporter talking about how many people would die in such a misguided disaster.
bystander
@rikyrah:
Job killing regulations! Trial lawyer lobby!
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@jl:
Feature, not a bug. Is that still what the cool kids say?
jl
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Need to talk with anyone who will listen about GOP Big Lies on health care.
It’s just a lie for two reasons. First, most of the losses will be from cutting Medicaid and wrecking the employer health care market. Most of the rest will be setting policies that will encourage overpriced crappy policies on unstable individual markets that no one wants or can afford.
It’s kind of like getting rid of building codes, encouraging dangerous construction practices and making it almost impossible to sue for damages, and then saying, ‘Well, gee, no one wants to buy new houses anymore. Freedom! What’s the problem?”
Check Krugman’s twitter for some info and graphs on this topic.
jl
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Trumpsters are saying that after a year of… what, they don’t say, time to get tough. The previous hideously incompetent GOP president, Dub, started this failed and dangerous course on North Korea, and Trump seems determined to finish up and move on to frank and patent disaster.
EBT
stuck in neutral with a long list of stuff to do sounds like me
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@jl: Given polls on both versions of the bills, no one is buying this stinker. Its extremely unpopular and the GOP knows it. They’ve just come to the conclusion they know what is best and will act regardless of what the American public or relevant industries/experts think in order to get their tax cuts. What good will tax cuts do anybody when the US is a failing 3rd world state due to shitty healthcare and education systems?
rikyrah
Trump sticks to Obama’s ISIS plan, but hopes it looks different
07/06/17 11:20 AM
By Steve Benen
When Donald Trump claimed during the campaign to have a secret to plan to defeat ISIS “quickly and effectively,” he was obviously lying. Indeed, as regular readers know, it’s been clear for months that Trump’s plan would mirror the Obama administration’s plan – the plan Trump said was a failure – and Trump administration officials have little interest in abandoning Obama’s strategy.
The Washington Post reported last week that Trump’s “new” ISIS policy is nearly complete and it “looks very much like the one the Obama administration pursued.”
With this in mind, the Daily Beast reported an interesting tidbit yesterday.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl:
Graphs? They said there’d be no math.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
I’m missing something… how do we know MW is trolling and that today’s entry is not crazy random happenstance?
Brachiator
Breaking news:
The Looters of The Mar A Lago
Ethics. We ain’t got no ethics. I don’t got to show you no stinking ethics!
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@rikyrah:
Gotta make that big plan different from the black guy’s somehow or else the rubes just might see through the bullshit. More likely it’s so he can boost he pathetic ego
rikyrah
Republicans try to get Democrats to write a health plan for them
07/06/17 01:05 PM
By Steve Benen
Republicans in the White House and Congress have discovered overhauling the nation’s health care system isn’t as easy as they thought it’d be. This week, however, the Republican National Committee decided it’d be a good idea to turn the tables, demanding that congressional Democrats come up with their own blueprint. The Washington Post reported:
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Brachiator: Great. Now Trump can name a completely corrupt replacement that the GOP will confirm like lapdog.
Does that need Senate confirmation?
rikyrah
Trump administration raises alarm with dubious voting inquiries
07/06/17 09:20 AM—UPDATED 07/06/17 09:35 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump’s voting commission, led in part by notorious voter-suppression pioneers such as Kansas’ Kris Kobach, sent letters to every state in the nation last week, requesting full voter rolls, including the name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four Social Security number digits, and voting history for every voter going back more than a decade.
The move, not surprisingly, faced broad, bipartisan opposition – though the Trump administration prefers not to look at it that way. The White House issued a written statement yesterday, on Kobach’s behalf, that read in part, “While there are news reports that 44 states have ‘refused’ to provide voter information to the Commission, these reports are patently false, more ‘fake news.’”
We can certainly debate the semantics of the word “refused,” but Trump’s commission made a request for expansive amounts of information, and as of yesterday, officials in 45 states said they would either ignore the request or limit the responses to public data. There’s nothing “fake” about this.
But let’s not forget that Kobach’s letter wasn’t the only correspondence Trump World sent to states last week related to voting. The Huffington Post noted yesterday:
lollipopguild
@rikyrah: GOP: Our plan is to burn the house down and kill everybody inside. What’s YOUR plan?
rikyrah
David Petraeus: Trump’s fitness for office is ‘immaterial’
07/06/17 10:11 AM—UPDATED 07/06/17 11:10 AM
By Steve Benen
…………………
Rothkopf’s question for his fellow panelists was straightforward: “Do you think the president of the United States is fit to serve as president?” Given a chance to answer, Petraeus didn’t seem at all eager to respond.
From there, Petraeus went on to say he sees elements of this administration’s foreign policy with which he broadly agrees.
The response, while evasive, is nevertheless telling.
Asked if Trump is fit to serve as president, Petraeus, whom Trump considered as a possible secretary of state, might have been expected to say something along the lines of “yes” or “of course.” Another option might have been to say, “That’s a judgment for the American people to make.” That wouldn’t have been a great answer since the American people voted in larger numbers for Trump’s opponent, but it probably would’ve worked anyway.
But Petraeus didn’t go that route, instead arguing that it doesn’t matter whether Trump is fit for the office or not, since members of the president’s team are generally reliable. That’s more than just an unsatisfying answer.
Brachiator
Also, too. I was listening to an ABC news story yesterday about how the White House staffers were careful to arrange Trump’s travel schedule to Europe so that he would not be worn out. Immediately reminded me of Trump’s trash talking about Hillary’s stamina.
trollhattan
@jl:
Note to self: Self, go short on Samsung panel Teevees.
trollhattan
@Brachiator:
He’s already tuckered from trying to rip leaders’ arms from their sockets.
rikyrah
Report: Trump couldn’t find a Hamburg hotel room in time for G20 summit https://t.co/VfL8xbtV7E pic.twitter.com/UVmLyybVvq
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 6, 2017
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/5/17
Trump gives win to Putin by granting unearned meeting
Rachel Maddow reports on the recent political shift in Poland that is the context for Donald Trump’s visit, and notes that where previously a meeting with a U.S. president is an earned honor, what Vladimir Putin has done to earn his meeting with Trump is not clear.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/5/17
How Putin will try to manipulate Trump at their G20 meeting
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Vladimir Putin will likely tell Donald Trump things he wants to hear to manipulate Trump into serving Russia’s interests.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Poltroon is a great word used with great verve during the American Revolution at the Battle of Monmouth. From Ron Chernow’s “Washington: A Life”:
My gr-gr-gr-gr grandfather was there. Okay, he wasn’t there to witness the exchange but he fought as a 15-year old drummer alongside his father in the 7th Maryland.
rikyrah
Trump Trashes the United States on the World Stage
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 6, 2017 10:18 AM
If anyone had any doubts about whether or not Trump would confront Vladimir Putin with the facts about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, he put them to rest during a press conference in Poland today.
After a muddled acceptance from the White House of the facts related to Russia’s interference, today’s statement by the president more closely resembled what Putin has said than what his own intelligence services have documented and even the vast majority of Republicans have determined to be the truth.
Trump said:
In this country, we’ve grown accustomed to Trump’s lying. But on an international stage, this president just told a couple of whoppers. We know exactly who tried to interfere in the election, there are no doubts about that. The president said this after being briefed thoroughly on his meeting with Putin tomorrow. It’s clear that he has no intention of doing anything to hold the Russian leader accountable.
He also degraded our democracy in the eyes of the world by saying, “I think a lot of people interfere. I think it’s been happening for a long time.” If the President of the United States thinks that, he has a duty to gather evidence, prove his point and do something to restore faith in our electoral system. If he fails to do that, he demonstrates that he has no interest in preserving our democracy. However, it is much more likely that he simply made up the idea that “it’s been happening for a long time” in order to give Putin a pass.
Trump went on to repeat his lie about Obama doing nothing about Russian interference in the election. That’s nothing more than his typical pattern of lie, distract and blame. Once again, we’re used to that. But it’s pretty unprecedented for a sitting president to attack his predecessor on the world stage.
Finally, he mocked U.S. intelligence services in front of the whole world by suggesting that he doesn’t believe their reports on Russian interference by comparing it to this:
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@rikyrah: Especially, considering he has ultimate power over the members of his team (assuming he means WH staff and Cabinet officials) unless they pull a 25th on him, which is remote. Also, the people he surrounds himself with aren’t much better. And who gives a rat’s ass what Betrayus thinks?
Frankensteinbeck
@jl:
Nothing Trump says is policy. Surely we have all figured this out by now. He babbles the incoherent mush in his head, or reads a speech that is nothing but ‘tell this audience what they want to hear.’
rikyrah
We Can’t Afford a Mentally Unfit Commander in Chief
by Martin Longman
July 5, 2017 3:51 PM
The way David Petraeus describes U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump is hard to quickly summarize. I guess he’s basically saying that the foreign policy establishment, including the key figures in Trump’s cabinet, is like a really sturdy ship with lots of ballast and an excellent crew. While it might be true that the captain is charting an erratic zig-zag course, there’s little danger that the ship will get lost or capsize. In fact, the basic structure and crew is so solid that it’s “immaterial” whether or not the captain is mentally ill because he is incapable of doing any lasting harm.
This is nonsense, of course. Trump is destroying America’s credibility on the world stage, and there is now statistical evidence to support this. Pew Research recently surveyed people in 37 nations, and only the people of Israel and Russia have a better opinion of Trump’s America than they had of Obama’s. In most cases, the drop-off is very large. We’re down 83 points in Sweden, for example, and 75 points in Germany and the Netherlands.
Moreover, not every impulsive, ill-informed, ill-considered decision can be corrected by Trump’s staff and the foreign policy establishment. Petraeus cites a few cases of this happening, like when Trump seemed to waffle on the two-state solution in Israel/Palestine or the One-China policy. Petraeus assured us that the failure to reassure Europe about our commitment to Article 5 of NATO has been rectified and that our Syria policy is ultimately on a sound course. But some decisions can’t be taken back.
What happens when Trump gives an order that commits us to a course of action? And, however wise our foreign policy establishment might be (and recent history call this premise into serious question), what happens when they don’t agree with each other and a mentally ill person needs to make the final call?
Anyone who says that it’s okay to have a mentally ill captain isn’t a serious person. We’re now faced with making a decision about whether we can wait around until after North Korea has miniaturized their nuclear weapons to the point that they can place them on ICBMs before we respond. Does Trump understand what might be required of our nation if we decide to take preventive military action against Pyongyang. Does he know what will happen to Seoul and perhaps Tokyo? Does he even know what China did the last time we had a conflict on the Korean peninsula or what would be required to prevent a potentially nuclear-armed conflict with them?
rikyrah
Mark Penn Has Some Really Bad Advice
by Martin Longman
July 6, 2017 12:55 PM
…………………………………….
The way to look at this is not that the party has lost the support of white working class voters by doing too good of a job representing the people in their urban strongholds. The party has lost support from the white working class by doing a lousy job of representing the white working class. And there are a whole host of areas where the interests of the white working class and the Democrats’ urban base are not in conflict.
For Penn, the Democrats’ problem is that they’ve criticized the police and gone too far in pushing LGBT rights. They’re too soft on illegal immigration, and they’re proposing too many “socialist” solutions. But that’s how the Democrats represent their clients. Their problem isn’t that they do this too well. Their problem is that these issues aren’t addressing what is foremost on the minds of people living outside of the large population centers of the country.
If these people want someone to outlaw abortion, they’re going to hire the other firm. If they want someone to help them with the opioid epidemic then they might well hire the Democratic firm. If the Democrats would develop a plan for revitalizing small-town entrepreneurship and regional equality, they could take that plan to these communities and make a case that they’re best prepared to revitalize them economically.
If the Democrats have a problem, it’s their impulse to impose a uniformity on the party that just won’t work if the goal is to compete everywhere. Everyone seemed enthusiastic about Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy when he rolled it out as chairman of the DNC. Progressives want the party to compete everywhere. What they don’t want is to have the party speak with two voices on key issues. That’s understandable, but it’s easy to make the perfect the enemy of having any political power on the state or national level.
Too often, progressives operate from the reverse side of the same basic paradigm that Penn is using, which is that any emphasis on attracting white working class voters must of necessity involve a zero-sum calculation where they get the short end of the stick.
Admittedly, things can get uncomfortably fuzzy at the juncture where contentious issues meet. But progressives need to be mindful that civil rights, the environment and social justice are best served and protected when the broad left has majorities. If a little fuzz is the price for obtaining those majorities, the tradeoff is well worth it.
Living at all times at that intersection where divisions are emphasized and hashed out is not a productive way of going about our business. The productive course is figuring out how the party can serve the interests of potential clients in more communities without at the same time failing to represent the left.
Mark Penn doesn’t attempt this. At all.
Brachiator
@Frankensteinbeck:
The thing is, this kind of crap is fine for the rubes back home, but does not work with either enemies or allies.
So far, both Theresa May of the UK and Trump seem to be running on empty.
rikyrah
NEW: Here is a definitive collection of facts about Trumpcare you can point people to.
All sourced. C/o @TCFdotorghttps://t.co/HVoVcp6NUr pic.twitter.com/4rwvxR4VnZ
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 6, 2017
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: WTF is *wrong* with these clowns? It’s not just that they’re sociopaths – they seem actively brain-damaged.
rikyrah
“…63 Russians, some with political connections, [have] spent $100m buying property at seven Trump-branded luxury towers in Florida.” pic.twitter.com/s8rZamKvdM
— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) July 6, 2017
bemused
@rikyrah:
It’s not surprising that the GOP/Trump Death Panel would try in some way to pull Dems into their vile bill in pretense that they don’t hold the whole shitbag. Dems should be calling the GOP the ultimate death panel.
Peale
@rikyrah: We could use ISIS as a pretext for participating in the invasion of Qatar! That’s new and exciting!
Frankensteinbeck
@rikyrah:
We did. Hillary campaigned on it extensively. Nobody gave a flying fuck, because as has been shown in study after study, Trump voters supported him based solely on bigotry.
d58826
More winning – head of Gov’t Ethics office is resigning.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@d58826: More winning – Japan and the EU agree on trade deal.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Frankensteinbeck: But…but…her EMAILS!
Aleta
Thanks Ivanka!
+ fuck this fracked up misadministration
Peale
@rikyrah:
Honestly, I can only think of two solutions that Democrats are proposing that may be considered socialist.
I hope his party has left him. He can write again when we finally nationalize an industry.
ruemara
It’s depressing to see the US president championing despotic one party rule and know so many Americans are ok with that, as long as it’s their side. It’s depressing to see so man so called liberals spending most of their time caping for fantasy figure geriatric Ken doll Sanders. Resistance seems inchoate and disorganized but that’s really not the main problem. It’s also how utterly fucking clueless people are about things going on around them. Even those on the left. It’s frustrating and scary.
Other than that, just peachy.
Major Major Major Major
@jl:
My phone crapped out over the night and didn’t go off at all, but I just happened to wake up three minutes before it should have anyway. I had to deal with not-quite-ready coffee and a phone I thought was a $400 brick for fifteen horrid minutes (I’m 32, what am I supposed to do on the bus, read a book?) before the coffee finished & finally started kicking in and I remembered that I could do a hard reset on it.
So I guess I had a better morning, even though that was a pretty unpleasant fifteen minutes.
Aleta
Video clip:
Amir Khalid
@rikyrah:
As far as I can tell, Hillary was the one presidential candidate last year who wasn’t playing identity politics. Her message was always aimed at all Americans — more so than Wilmer, who was fixated on economic inequality and failed to win the confidence of the nonwhite party base; definitely more so than any of Donald Trump and the sixteen Republican dwarfs, who were completely focused on childish taunts.
Chris
Analogy overheard at work:
“It’s like mixing… two ingredients that don’t mix well together!”
Same guy, a little later:
“Is it the [X], the [Y], or the [Z] that has the ultimate responsibility?”
“That’s a big question. I don’t know. It depends on who has the ultimate responsibility.”
I wish the temp agency had warned me Dan Quayle was going to be here. I’d have gotten something cool for him to autograph.
Frankensteinbeck
@ruemara:
The news would certainly have you think so. Republican congressmen cowering in their office, avoiding town halls, and refusing to answer their phones do not agree.
Major Major Major Major
@Chris: Couldn’t find a potatoe laying around?
Aleta
@rikyrah: Thanks.
Chris
@Major Major Major Major:
Sadly, No!
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@ruemara: @Frankensteinbeck:
In my darkest moments, I believe that most Americans would be indifferent to living in a one-party police state so long as they got payed at the end of the week and there was stability.
But Frankensteinbeck is right, the resistance is having an effect. It helps that many of our opponents are incompetent assholes
Chris
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Only in your darkest moments?
Frankensteinbeck
And then dimwits on my Twitter feed retweet idiocy like ‘socialism has a lot better chance of working in the US than elsewhere since we’re the one country that can’t get invaded by the US’.
As overly militaristic as the US is, invading socialist countries is not our big deal. Unless you count Soviet-style Communism as socialist, in which case you might as well ask the Pope to rein in the Fundamentalists. because you have not the slightest fucking idea How Things Work.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: IMO bad systems take hold because they’re better for the median citizen’s bottom line than what was there before. If that system happens to be bad, if it’s the one available then people are fine with it unless there’s a better alternative. (This is the whole idea behind the Truman Doctrine.) Systems can turn bad in much the same way; the median American probably would be indifferent to living in a prosperous one-party police state. Many people around the world are, after all.
Fortunately for us, the only party that consistently delivers prosperity is also the one that opposes a one-party police state.
Major Major Major Major
@Frankensteinbeck:
Plenty of lefties do, like the ones who wear/display Soviet propaganda and think it’s cute as a cultural signifier.
tobie
@Frankensteinbeck:
This is what I will never be able to wrap my head around. Hillary had really brilliant ideas about how to revive manufacturing, create jobs for trades-people, support small businesses, improve Obamacare, etc. and literally no one heard about any of it in the primaries and general election, not because she didn’t talk abut it at campaign stops but because the cable networks didn’t bother to show this portion of her stump speech and the newspapers didn’t report on it either. I’m not sure what she could have done about this media embargo on anything having to do with policy…and this is the real challenge for the party in 2018.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Chris: I admit those darker moments of mine last longer than they used to. A year ago I never thought I’d be wishing death on others, but here I am.
I think, if that phony voter integrity commission was able to successfully win lawsuits against states to purge voter rolls and millions were disenfranchised as a result, I don’t think our side would go quietly into the night (And maybe not even less extreme Goopers).
You can’t expect that taking away the voice of millions in their own government is going to go very well
The Moar You Know
@Amir Khalid: Agreed. And that might have been a rather large problem.
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Post WWI Germans were faced with this situation. They were not indifferent. Most of them were thrilled. Of course, the majority of those had actually stared real-life starvation in the face. People forget that about Hitler’s rise. Within a few years, he’d turned a nation with no food into one with zero unemployment and full stomachs. People are willing to forgive a lot under those circumstances.
We have no such excuse. We’re just, by and large, racist chickenshit cowards. And the response would depend on which party the one was…if it’s the GOP, they’d be thrilled, Dems would bow their heads in sadness and protest for awhile. If it was Dems, you’d have armed insurrection all over the nation and that “police state” and most of our black population would be dangling from lampposts by the following day.
Both sides don’t do it…and can’t.
Major Major Major Major
@tobie:
Gone to Wisconsin, obviously. I hear that was the real problem.
david spikes
Gardening for a couple of hours before it gets to hot-it’s been in the 100’s here. Am planting a couple of new agaves.
Roasted brussel sprouts-fabulous-who knew?
The Moar You Know
@tobie: This right here is why she lost, fundamentally. I know what we do about the media problem…but it’s long-term and Dems don’t do long term.
We plain and simple need a left version of Fox. And the ruthlessness that comes along with it, the attitude that says “fuck the truth, here’s what matters.” The MSM made their choice back in the 1990s and it wasn’t to help Democrats or liberals. They’ll not help us, quite the opposite. We need to help ourselves.
jl
@Major Major Major Major: I’m phoned up, have an old flip phone and an iphone. But I have on old school radio alarm at home. I guess that is a nostalgia thing.
trollhattan
@Chris:
Potatoe potahtoe.
Sounds delightful. You should engage the person in the definition of solution versus suspension, then move on to excretion versus discharge.
tobie
@Major Major Major Major: Yes, and screamed that we should jail the banksters, though with no idea about crime we should charge them for. Who needs the rule of law in any event?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major: That would need to happen. Some kind of catastrophic event that either destroyed our national psyche or got millions killed that was the work of some kind of enemy, foreign or domestic, could work as well.
Lizzy L
8 this morning I brought my 14 year old dog Theo into the vet for surgery. He’s got a tumor and a resulting cyst the size of an orange on his sternum. Both will be removed. There is no other treatment, and it can’t stay there, the cyst is infected. The whole thing is fucking expensive (could go as high as $1400, depending on how long the surgery takes) and it’s risky, because old dogs don’t tolerate anesthetic all that well. I’m cleaning house, because I have to do something, and waiting for the call to tell me that he’s okay. It’s really hard to vacuum the rugs with my fingers crossed.
Major Major Major Major
@jl: I can use all of my important phone features (other than Neko Atsume) on my laptop, so having an extra flip phone laying around would be kind of unnecessary…
tobie
@The Moar You Know: Air America didn’t work. Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now doesn’t have much of a following. Maybe the climate is better now for a commercial Democratic media outlet. I dunno. But thinking you can appeal to people through reason clearly doesn’t work. I wish it were otherwise.
trollhattan
@Lizzy L:
Fingers and toes crossed for Theo!
david spikes
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Also that rethugs almost without exception got hit with the ugly stick. Paul Ryan is the best they can do and the inner rot is starting to show on that one.
We would be so fucked if they found someone smart and not physically repugnant-Ted Cruz and Yertle-I’m talking to you.
jl
@rikyrah: GOP is just lying about everything now. Doesn’t make any difference what Democrats say. GOP will lie about it. There is a GOP commercial on health care claiming that Democrats don’t have a plan, and it features the most outrageously dishonest video clips, taken of context, implying that Hillary, Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, have no health care proposals.
If anyone sees it, they should call up their local station and complain about it, Tell them that if they broadcast obviously dishonest ads of any kind, whether for snake oil or bad public policy, you will not watch the station anymore.
Democratic Party and anyone concerned about honesty and good policy need to public push back very hard, and make any kind of stink, protest, complaint that they can. One dangerous Trump innovation is to resort to The Big (Bigger, Biggest) Damned Bald Face Lie. GOP is using Big Lie tactics routinely now.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@The Moar You Know: I strongly disagree about what our reaction would be. There would some form of armed insurrection and gurreila tactics that harrass the government for years until it would collapse. I seriously doubt an openly authoritarian US would have much global suppport and Russia and China certainly wouldn’t want to see a strong United States.
trollhattan
@tobie:
I simply don’t find conservative and lib….not-conservative messaging can be packaged and delivered using the same platforms.
Ohio Mom
@Lizzy L: In my family, we go to nice restaurant while waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery. I don’t know why we do that, maybe it is spitting in fate’s face.
Still, if it wasn’t for distracting myself on different occasions, the house would be even messier.
Hope it’s good news.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@tobie:
Any numbers on that?
Major Major Major Major
@tobie: oh, no, she shouldn’t have screamed anything, then she would sound like your ex-wife, she shouldn’t talk either since she sounds like that one time a woman was better than you. She should’ve just gone to Wisconsin and stood around and looked pretty. Well, not pretty. Or ugly either. She should have gone to Wisconsin and stood around and been a man.
Amir Khalid
@Lizzy L:
The vet will have mentioned that there’s no such thing as risk-free surgery, but I hope the news on your old guy Theo will be good.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Lizzy L: Hope Theo turns out ok!
Steeplejack (phone)
@Lizzy L:
Sending healing thoughts for Theo.
MisterForkbeard
@ruemara: I’m sympathetic to one party rule, though I do realize it’s a horrible idea in the long-term. But when one of your two parties is abjectly insane and sold out to sociopathic lunatics, it really starts to get attractive. I mean, look at what California’s been able to do since the Democrats got a super majority in the state legislature. The state went from being a financial mess to a well managed one practically overnight, and we still have better services than practically any other state in the nation.
Then you turn this around and realize that while we (and Dems) generally have a good idea of what’s going on, the Republican base is in thrall to Fox/Rush/Breitbart/The_Donald, and they have the exact same opinion about us. They’re making a very logical decision but off of ludicrously flawed information, and don’t have the capacity to question their news sources or own assumptions.
Amir Khalid
@tobie:
When you say to someone, “You’re wrong about that, and here’s why,” that’s when they get all defensive and dig in.
MisterForkbeard
@Amir Khalid: No, no. She mentioned she was a woman once or twice, which meant that she was ALL identity politics all the time, and there were no policies whatsoever involved at all. If she’d ever talked about policy instead of playing the Woman Card, she’d be president today.
/s
Major Major Major Major
@MisterForkbeard:
This was only even an issue because of our stupid budget amendment that required a supermajority, that the stupid voters added to the constitution back in the tax revolt era.
ETA: Also California isn’t a one-party state, it’s just a state where very few people happen to vote for Republicans. There are no structural impediments other than the will of the voters.
MisterForkbeard
@MisterForkbeard: Can’t edit my prior comment so I’m replying to myself.
I actually have friends who believe this. They’re generally right-wing but not idiots, but somehow are SURE that Hillary was constantly playing up being a woman (with no examples), had no accomplishments (ignored all of them I could list), were sure she was corrupt (with no evidence), and were constantly angry and dismissive of anyone who DID vote for her. You’d only vote for her if you wanted a woman president or if you just hated conservatives that much.
There’s a lot of projection going on there.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
Interesting trivia from Adam yesterday — the Navy demotes commanders for cause at a rate 6 times higher than the other branches. IMO, this is because the commander of a ship can do a huge amount of damage if he fucks up, even in peacetime. He can kill a lot of his own people and damage billions of dollars in government property if he, say, manages to sink an aircraft carrier.
Petraeus was in the Army, so he doesn’t understand this.
jl
@Amir Khalid:
” As far as I can tell, Hillary was the one presidential candidate last year who wasn’t playing identity politics. ”
That’s in the eye of the beholder, so we have to be prepared to argue it, especially to voters susceptible to GOP bigot dog whistles.
GOP will make the case, implicitly for general audiences, though explicitly behind closed doors, that Hillary in particular and Democrats in general, even Bernie, were playing identify politics when they said it was not a good idea for a cop to consider every black person they encountered as a mortal threat, and therefor prepared to blow their heads off no matter what. Similarly with Hillary’s promise to continue the first black presidents’ s legacy.
Chris
@MisterForkbeard:
It’s not really an issue for me because the plain fact is that the Democratic Party is diverse and divided enough that in the hypothetical event where no one but Democrats won elections, you’d still get a plenty heterogeneous political system with lots of diverse points of view represented. Including, frankly, the Republican point of view. LGM had a post yesterday about an utterly sociopathic teachers’ union busting reform that’s being introduced by Rahm Emmanuel in Chicago – there’ll never not be a voice at the table for such people.
Frankly, a political spectrum with nothing but Democrats would be healthier, from that POV. Right now, the two existing parties are right-wing nihilists on one side, and everybody who doesn’t want right-wing nihilists to win on the other side. In a world with nothing but Democrats, you might actually start to get political debates between people who actually have realistic or non-sociopathic things to contribute, instead of the current situation where every political debate comes down to “Right Wing Nihiliism: Is It Good Or Bad?” (Remember, as has been said on these blogs multiple times in the past: there were worthwhile debates going on in 2009 about health insurance reform. They were just all happening between Democrats).
Sadly, it’s all completely hypothetical anyway.
Major Major Major Major
@MisterForkbeard:
If you take out the very last bit, I have several lefty friends who believe all this.
MisterForkbeard
@Major Major Major Major: Yep. In most states you could get by with bare majorities. Here, it took the Republicans consistently fucking things up for decades to get us to the point where Dems could take over everything and fix it.
And now I’m hearing (courtesy of awful sympathetic articles from FTNYT) that the poor oppressed rural voters are put upon by all the liberalness and are demanding that the votes or urban voters be worth less than their own amazingly pure rural votes. Seriously, this is apparently a movement.
Chris
@MisterForkbeard:
Same with Obama. They just knew that everybody voted for him because he was black, or “to prove you weren’t a racist.”
Then they went out and excitedly put up a few nonwhite Republicans, like Bobby Jindall or Herman Cain, in the hopes that “ooo, he’s going to be our Obama!” And were astonished when they didn’t immediately gain a huge national following, because it turns out that people weren’t, in fact, voting for the likes of Obama because he was black.
MisterForkbeard
@Major Major Major Major: And it’s a major problem. I couldn’t really think of a reason for otherwise smart people to believe this other than sexism, buying into conservative propaganda, or really hating the Obama years for some reason I can’t place.
One guy I’d known since high school was pretty left and we used to discuss politics constantly on Facebook. But then he started interjecting “Hillary, War Criminal” into every post and discussion, brought up unsubstantiated accusations from breitbart and RT, and generally went insane. I know him well enough to think he’s sexist and kind of an idiot, but it’s startling how bad the problem is.
Major Major Major Major
@MisterForkbeard:
Yeah, I saw that article, and you know what? Fuck their feelings.
@MisterForkbeard:
?????
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@MisterForkbeard: I read that. Pathetic. Sorry if you can’t win fairly in the marketplace of ideas, but that’s just too damn bad. The Democratic Party is not going to fuck over their own base to make you losers happy. Your proposals and ideas were rejected for a reason
Elizabelle
@Lizzy L: Best to you, Lizzy. Hope Theo is home safe and sound, to the newly vacuumed house, very soon.
MisterForkbeard
@jl: Someone else I know told me that Hillary was playing the woman card because she’d said “As a mother, I believe we should take care of our children” and another time how she mentioned she was about to be a grandmother. He was SURE this was an airtight argument, and thought it was unacceptable for her to do so. When I could show male politicians talking about fatherhood or being a new grandparent, he assured me this was a completely different thing. Likewise, when politicians broadcast Christianity, education or any number of other things. No, anything that reminded you the speaker was female was the only unacceptable choice.
The entire situation just whooshed right over his head. He genuinely thought this was self-evident.
Mnemosyne
@Amir Khalid:
I will push back on this a little bit because it’s one of those weird nuances of American culture: because Hillary was inclusive with her campaign and made sure the people of all races, genders, religions, and abilities were included (including straight white men), that means that she was constantly playing the race/gender/religion card right in front of everyone.
In the US media, the only way to not play the race or gender card is to make sure everyone involved is a white man.
Major Major Major Major
@Lizzy L: Ugh, that sucks. Positive feelings and such your way.
@Mnemosyne: And straight.
The Moar You Know
@MisterForkbeard: The mirror universe alternative: Kansas. One party rule. GOP. Closest thing to a failed state I’ve seen in my lifetime. Depends on the party, doesn’t it?
While the discovery that the Calexit referendum was financed by Russia means I sure as shit won’t be voting for it this time around, I am more than open to a legit Calexit process and strategy, designed and voted on by citizens of California. I really think at this point most of the US is simply dead weight that we’re carrying to our huge detriment. And, not to put to fine a point on things, but you put us head to head with any red state and there’s not going to be any social, economic, military or any other point of agreement between the two. Time to at least consider leaving.
But don’t vote for that goddamn referendum on the ballot in 2018.
Kraux Pas
@MisterForkbeard:
Well, I have good news for them!!! (applicable as of apportionment provisions of the Constitution going into effect during the 18th century)
different-church-lady
@lollipopguild:
“You mean like with gasoline and matches and stuff?”
“We haven’t thought it through that far yet.”
Mnemosyne
@jl:
Also, what you said. In the eyes of a lot of white Americans, Hillary “played identity politics” by being very inclusive and not making a big deal about how diverse our party is.
The Moar You Know
@Lizzy L: Oh God, I know that feeling very well. It’s horrible. I hope Theo comes out nice and problem-free.
MisterForkbeard
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I’m just going to quote myself from an earlier discussion about it. The entire thrust of their arguments were counter-productive and undemocratic, and it was appalling that no one was actually willing to tell the rural voters what their own plans would do to them.
It just reminds me that most people are completely willing to eject Democracy as soon as it suits their own narrow temporary interests.
@Kraux Pas: Yep! They’re literally already in the situation they asked for – they have disproportionate influence to the population at large. But they want an even MORE privileged position.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
Mmmostly. Peter Thiel is an honorary Trumper, after all. Gay white men are welcome as long as they’re enthusiastic about oppressing everyone else.
different-church-lady
@MisterForkbeard: Urban votes are ALREADY worth less than rural, thanks to the electoral college.
Mnemosyne
@Lizzy L:
I’ll keep happy thoughts in mind for Theo. May he be back on his feet and chasing squirrels in no time.
d58826
@Mnemosyne: And ‘ship of state’ is a metaphor. Doesn’t matter how many adults are in the room. Only one has the authority to sign the document.
Kraux Pas
@different-church-lady:
Most Democrats can conceive of a better implementation of Republican policies off the top of their head than 100 Republicans given an eternity could produce. Barack Obama and Deval Patrick taught me that.
d58826
@different-church-lady: I saw a number yesterday – 10% of the population elects 40 % of the senate. And most of that 40% is in red states.
I suspect the House has a similar imbalance
Kraux Pas
@MisterForkbeard:
My friend has actually been goin on about this cause since right after the election. He’s a Republican in the city. Maybe it’s just that Republican votes should be worth more. Maybe like Dem votes should be worth about 60% a Republican vote, seems legit.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: And extremely wealthy, but then, everybody’s welcome if they’re wealthy. Even Caitlyn Jenner.
Peale
@different-church-lady: Yep. But if you’d equally apportion districts by the number of natural born citizens or even eligible voters contained therein, you could effectively wipe out those urban areas even more. Imagine taking the New York City congressional delegation from 15 down to 6 and spreading those votes to upstate. Sure each NYC rep would represent one and a half million people, but that alone would probably guarantee a republican majority for another 40 years.
Chris
@Kraux Pas:
A thousand times this.
Like I said: to the extent that there’s anything worthwhile in Republican ideas, Democrats already have them (and a little more besides). Is there something worthwhile about capitalism, about a strong national defense, about churches having a positive role to play in civil society – sure, but Democrats already recognize all that, and have pretty much already sucked out and incorporated all of these things into their own worldview.
This goes back to the roots of modern liberalism in the Progressive and New Deal eras, where it wasn’t trying to be some kind of grand unifying theory like socialism or conservatism or classical liberalism, but trying to balance between existing ideas in order to combine, or find a midway point between, the good points of each while mitigating the bad ones. Progressivism was the original “third way” – don’t support a revolution that’ll overthrow the country, but don’t let it stay mired in its current faults either, change it into something that’ll keep the good points of what we have now while addressing the concerns of those who’re getting pissed at the way things are. It’s pretty much continued in the same spirit since. Its opposition, meanwhile, has just kept sinking further and further from even its purported values and towards violent nihilism.
Peale
@Mnemosyne: And not agreeing with Donald Trump that our cities are on fire and need more police, not less (simply pandering to her base. We all know what hellholes any city block with more than 1 black family is). Also, she could have helped herself immensely by agreeing that Hispanic Judges couldn’t be fair.
jl
@rikyrah:
” But a strange, flailing campaign by the Republican National Committee to demand a Democratic fix for the Affordable Care Act goes unusually far in misrepresenting what the opposition party is doing or saying. ”
It’s not ‘a strange, flailing campaign’ it’s straight up lying. I saw an ad on youtube. They have dishonest quotes and dishonestly edited video clips implying that Hillary Clinton, Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have no ideas at all for reforming health care. It’s just an obvious and stupid lie. I guess aimed at the lowest info voter, since how ignorant does a person have to be not to see that the whole message is a Big Lie right away? Well, sadly, probably enough people to make a difference.
Anyone who sees an ad from this GOP Big Lie campaign needs to call the local station and demand that they pull it. Tell then you won’t watch a station that broadcasts obviously dishonest BS.
ruemara
Guys. Having an effect does not mean it’s effective. Of course republican lawmakers are cowering. they’re normally bulletproof and there’s suddenly minimal pushback. But is it effective in the long run? Are we seeing a coalescing of resources to ensure effective resistance? I don’t know. I don’t see much work starting now to win 2018. And so much of it requires a really united left/Dem front, which I don’t see happening too well. It’s ok to think something is being done. I’m just saying that, hey, I don’t trust these people for stamina and voting. And why should I? Check out Our Revolution and Win The Future, because we really needed them to do whatever they’re doing to shit on everyone on their side. So much glory seeking bullshit among pretend allies.
@Lizzy L: Sending healthy vibes and tummy rubs to Theo.
Heidi Mom
@Lizzy L: Sending good thoughts to you and Theo.
jl
Just searched on youtube and I can’t find the thing now. But I don’t have time to wade through all the crappy youtube videos that came up in the search.
Tell anyone you know who is on the fence on calling Congress on health care, or being passive about the issue, that the GOP is straight up bald faced Big Lying on health care. The House and Senate bills are tax cut bills, paid for by wrecking the nation’s health care system. And wrecking it for everyone who is not filthy rich, whether they are middle class or poor, have employer health care insurance, or Medicaid, or on individual market. It’s straight up looting the nation’s health and economy for huge tax cuts for the top 1 percent.
Major Major Major Major
@ruemara:
Add to this that, unfortunately, many of our would-be allies are easily led around by foreign propaganda efforts…
jl
@ruemara:
” Of course republican lawmakers are cowering. they’re normally bulletproof and there’s suddenly minimal pushback.”
I think stopping the disastrous GOP health care theft is part of push for 2018. The GOP Big Lie on health care started 7 years ago when the kept promising that they had some coherent idea for a good replacement for the PPACA. Stopping their crappy proposal will make it much more difficult for them to pretend that they have not been lying for years. And will demoralize their supporters, since they will not have delivered on their most prominent political promise.
Iowa Old Lady
@rikyrah: The Ds should just send them a copy of the ACA.
Chris
@jl:
Yep.
I’d be cautiously optimistic for 2018 under any other circumstances. With Sanders, I’m seriously worried.
The Ancient Randonneur
Don’t have time to read through the entire comment section carefully but here is some very delicious Trump handshake fail. For some reason a lot of women just don’t want to shake his tiny paws.
rikyrah
@Lizzy L:
Sending positive thoughts to you and Theo.
The Ancient Randonneur
@rikyrah: @Iowa Old Lady: My solution is to send them the Medicare Act with the words “age 65 and over” removed.
Lizzy L
I got a call from the vet a little while ago. The surgery went well. Theo tolerated the anesthetic. (!!!!) The cyst & tumor were larger than they appeared to be from outside, so the incision is big, with lots of staples that will need to come out in two weeks. Theo is awake and He Wants To Go Home, thank you very much. They will keep him until late this afternoon, and if all seems well, I’ll pick him up around 4:30 pm. I’ve got pain meds and an antibiotic for him at the house.
I am very relieved and grateful — thank you for your support and good wishes. They help A LOT.
Jeffro
So I understand the crowd that greeted Trumpov in Poland a) had to be bused in, and b) whipped out a confederate flag as well.
I guess economic anxiety is bad over in Poland, too.
Iowa Old Lady
@The Ancient Randonneur: Good one!
I’ve been at B&N writing. While I was gone, did Trump shove any other world leaders to get in front of him?
trollhattan
@Jeffro:
Supah dupah news! Best wishes for Theo’s quick recovery and you getting some sleep.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Lizzy L: Good to hear that Theo came though OK.
Major Major Major Major
@Lizzy L: hooray!
And you have a clean carpet to boot!
Brachiator
@MisterForkbeard:
Sarah Palin is a woman, but was an idiot. Trump is a man, and is an idiot. And Trump is a faux conservative.
BTW, Bill Clinton was supposedly weak on war and disliked by the military. Again, supposedly. How did Hillary magically become a warmonger? Obviously, I’m not saying you believe this, to be clear, but I wonder where this nonsense comes from.
And the bottom line with Trump is that no one can tell whether he is being quiet about his foreign policy views or simply has no coherent vision of foreign and military policy. Obviously, I am being too kind. Apart from throwing his chest out and mutterings about making America great, he has no clue.
trollhattan
@Jeffro:
What, the Nazi flag was at the cleaners?
Mnemosyne
@Lizzy L:
Phew! Now you just have to deal with his unhappiness that they put a Cone of Shame on him and you won’t take it off.
jl
@Chris: I don’t see the point of worrying. I would be seriously worried if either Hillary Clinton or Sanders were the front people for the party going forward. But I don’t think that the 2018 midterms will hinge on either of them. Sanders seems to be fielding a bunch of progressive primary candidates who regularly lose and sink out of sight the day after the election. Not much impact. Might help with turnout. Sanders is still a broken record, spouting sections from his stump speech Sooner or later that will wear thin with everyone except his rabid fans.
Hillary seems to be in prolonged mourning over her loss. May her fanbase here and elsewhere gets shivers when they see her. I don’t see her helping much with increasing turnout.
I don’t want to have to worry about either one of them for moving the Democrats forward electorally over next cycles.
Mnemosyne
@jl:
She just spoke at the American Library Association’s annual meeting last month. I can’t wait to hear about how the speech puts her in the pocket of Big Library and we all have to resist. ?
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
When we had our boy tutored last winter the Kong Cloud Collar proved much better than the good old cone-o-shame.
jl
@Brachiator: I think the only things we know for sure about Trump’s stable underlying views is that he is an all-purpose bigot, and a con man.
I think three things have been constants over several decades of evidence on Trump’s foreign policy views. One, he is butt ignorant and ineducable. Two, he views foreign policy as an extortion racket to rake in dough from allies. Three, he mistakes his BS for great deals that everyone will line up to get in on. Other than that, I doubt he has any views or beliefs at all.
Jeffro
@trollhattan: ok that was confusing but I figured it out ?
trollhattan
@Jeffro:
Whoops, the reply was miss-aimed, like a Korean missile!
Amir Khalid
@Lizzy L:
Let us know when you get him home. You know we’re all pulling for him here at Balloon Juice.
jl
@Mnemosyne: I got no problem with Hillary speaking. I think both Hillary and Sanders have a set of views that they can pitch with conviction, but neither are good or innovative enough politicians to be reliable leaders going forward. Both have a set schtick which I think is positive and useful.
I really want to move beyond the Hillz/Berner era, and hope good leadership will emerge from Democratic ranks to move us forward. Don’t mean to be a downer on this. I wish either one of them were president now rather that the Trump disaster. Both could change but they would have to be willing to change some habits that I think limit their effectiveness for 2018 and 2020 that seem so ingrained that I don’t see them changing.
A Ghost to Most
Oath Keepers extorting mall goers in Ohio
They seem nice.
lollipopguild
@jl: Also he is our God-Emperor and his ass is the center of the universe and CNN,NBC and the Washington Post are not worshipping him properly.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl:
So you’re ready for the “Baud era”?
Major Major Major Major
@A Ghost to Most: I can smell the economic anxiety from here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: OMG, even the bamboo glows around BillinGlendaleCA!
trollhattan
@A Ghost to Most:
Mind=boggled.
Do the mall owners and other merchants approve of this nonsense?
Chris
@jl:
I’d really like to move past it too, but for that they need to take a back seat and let the new blood do its work. Hillary has largely done so, Sanders hasn’t. Which is partly due to the Democrats keeping him on, but I’m pretty sure they did that because they guessed, correctly in my opinion, that he was going to continue grabbing every microphone he could and bitching if he wasn’t given something to do.
Honestly, I had very little beef with the guy (and no more than normal for a Democratic candidate) during the primaries, or until after the election. My patience with him wore thin very quickly after that. He needs to go, now. And let someone like Keith Ellison or Elizabeth Warren do the work of representing his little corner of politics.
Lizzy L
@Mnemosyne: He doesn’t have a cone of shame. It makes him crazy to have his vision restricted. He has this nifty soft collar (found online) that looks like a bright blue inner tube. It does not restrict his peripheral vision, but it should keep him from bending his head down to reach the staples on his sternum.
I can’t tell you how relieved I am that he tolerated the surgery. A month ago it looked like he was dying of liver disease, and a course of antibiotic and prednisone (which he is still on) brought his liver enzyme numbers back to normal. Just like what happens to old humans…
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Your glow rubs off everywhere you go!
That pic is from the ‘Japanese Garden’? Where is that thing, anyway?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: It’s on Woodley in the Sepulveda basin next to the Tillman water treatment plant(it’s called ‘The Garden of Water and Fragrance’ and the plant is where both come from).
Amir Khalid
@jl:
If I were in Hillary’s shoes, I’d be in mourning myself. It has to be hard to be by far the better candidate, with the most inclusive message and the most comprehensive slate of policies, and still lose to the most unworthy person imaginable.
But she doesn’t strike me as being in mourning for a presidency that should have been hers. She’s still a popular person in her own right and she has a right to respond to that popularity. And she’s taking her turn at needling Trump, sure, but is it really any more than that? No one has reported any unprompted public whining from her over last November’s loss, and she doesn’t seem to be shaping up for another run like this one 2016 candidate I could name.
Chris
@Amir Khalid:
She has whined a million times less about losing than Donald Trump has about winning.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Chris: Heh, ain’t that the truth.
jl
@Chris: I don’t mind either Hillary or Bernie speaking out right now. I think we need all hands on deck for health care. I think rigid Democratic party people who were behind Hilary and rabid and unrealistic purity Berners will be there whether their two leaders are there or not, and more of a problem than the two pols themselves. I don’t thin those two people themselves are holding anyone back. But if I am ignorant, I am willing to be informed.
Hillary has shown that she can change her public perception in the past, and she can do so again. I think she just has to be more vocal and committed to specific policy proposals that people can believe in, and be less defensive with media and GOP attacks, more willing to tell her enemies to go stuff it, with a smile. And Sanders has to move on from being a grumpy ‘a-ginner’ who is all complaints and grand vision, and very light on actual things that can get done in the near term.
I’ll take anyone who can prevent more GOP rule, since that thing seems to be going steadily downhill. I can’t imagine what would be worse than Trump, but if there is something, the GOP: will cough it up. I couldn’t imagine what would be worse than Dub, but here we are, with Trump.
PPCLI
@rikyrah: You know, I’m beginning to suspect that Trump didn’t hire all the best people, the way he said he would.
eclare
@Lizzy L: So glad to hear the good news, I thought I remembered some medical issues from a while back. Yay Theo!
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks. I’ll check it out next time I am down that way. I found it on google maps. I’ve never ventured into Sepulveda basin much. I thought of it as a site for low rent golf courses and outdoor recreational venues suitable for putting over a vast, overgrown, sump.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: There’s The Japanese Garden, a wildlife refuge(the reason for the shoot), and the Sepulveda Dam(they film a lot of commercials there and it’s kinda cool).
ETA: If you are down here, a meetup with the local jackals would be in order.
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I remember venturing into the basin once a long time ago. Didn’t know about the Japanese Garden. I’ll let you know next time I visit, and expect you will provide an emergency number in case I get lost in the vast sump and need an extraction. The Japanese Garden is right next to the water treatment plant and within sight of civilization, so that should be safe to go to.
germy
It’s horrible when trolls are elected officials.
satby
@Lizzy L: Happy to hear Theo is doing well after his surgery! Hope you can keep him settled enough to heal up when he gets home!
sheila in nc
@Mnemosyne:
Correction: RICH gay white men.
Jeffro
@trollhattan: lol
Not a problem – livened up an otherwise boring day helping baby bro get to, and through, hernia surgery.
Amir Khalid
@jl:
Sorry, but I don’t see this as her problem. She had plenty of specific policy proposals last year, and she was as vocal about them as anyone could wish; but the media wasn’t interested in covering policy, so the unengaged majority was unaware of it.. And as much as I believe her policy proposals still need to be heard, and as much as I know that she is made of sterner stuff than most of us, I fear that her being vocal now would invite a sarcastic question: “Is Hillary still campaigning for 2016?”
jl
@Amir Khalid: We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. I thought her super wonky policy proposals were too small bore, to much tinkering around the edges of what Obama had done, and not suited to the political mood.of 2016. And Hillary wouldn’t clearly stand behind a few easy to grasp and simple principles that bound them together. So, I think inherently hard to sell and not inspiring to voters.
‘ I fear that her being vocal now would invite a sarcastic question: “Is Hillary still campaigning for 2016?” ‘
I think people fearing about what to do or say when attacked is a big problem with Democrats in the US. That is where someone who I dare not mention was a much better campaigner in 2016, and would just ignore the criticism and launch into his stump speech. If people liked the stump speech, they would ignore the BS criticism.
NotMax
Someone at Merriam-Webster an avid peruser of Balloon Juice, perhaps?
Woodrowfan
@Major Major Major Major: that sounds like the righties I know as well as the “moderates” and some of the lefties who lean berniebro. My NPR liberal friends thought she was fine.
Woodrowfan
@Lizzy L: glad theo is ok. Went thru that last with with Sonia. Not a tumor but being put under. Couldn’t wait to get her home to hug.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Just think, a few more weeks of this and you’ll be where I was at Jan 21, 2017.
ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I don’t think his being in the army has a lot to do with his understanding. I think it’s the direction he looks at everything from.
No One You Know
@EBT: Co-sign. There’s only so many ways I can “follow-up” for the jobs I’m interested in. So here I find myself!