The Texas GOP is attacking fan favorite Beto O’Rourke with this picture
Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans… pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4
— Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 28, 2018
It’s pretty obvious what the angle is here — Beto said he was in a punk band, but he’s dressed like a hippie in a flowery tunic that’s straight out of Haight Ashbury circa 1967. His facial hair is a little jam bandy, photoshop in a hacky sack and he could be at a Phish show. Nothing is more antithetical to the punk ethos than extended jams and feel-good vibes. This could hurt Beto badly among Black Flag dads in the inner-ring suburbs around Houston and Dallas, where the race will be won or lost.
Just kidding — all this photo proves is that a guy who now resembles a better-looking Bobby Kennedy used to resemble a better-looking young Keith Caradine. That, and the Texas GOP is running scared. Every time I put up the thermometer for Beto, the place blows up, as the kids say, so I upped the goal to $7500 and I’m putting up again.
Speaking of jam bands, after we did the last post raising money for Wyoming Senate candidate Gary Trauner, Gary himself emailed us to remind us that he’s a reader who shares John’s love of the Dead, and went to school in the town I’m from. He also shared an internal poll conducted by PPP showing that when voters learn about the candidates, the race tightens to 2 points. Not much money will spent on this race but Gary is legit candidate who has almost won statewide office in Wyoming before and ran unopposed in the Dem primary. I think supporting him is money well spent — you never know when a GOP candidate is going to implode or when a wave turns out to be bigger than the pundits expected.
jon
I think he’s the guy in the middle, not the floral shirt guy.
cleek
is that Noel Fisher or Giovanni Ribisi on the right?
Doug!
@jon:
He’s the guy in the floral shirt I’m pretty sure. I read an article saying so, and the guy in the middle looks like too much like Pee Wee Herman to be him.
C. Isaac
Rooting hard for Beto and will be voting for him in November.
He’s the candidate all the Texas Dems who’ve toiled in obscurity or busted their balls for little reward deserve. And Ted Cruz is a lying piece of shit that deserves to go down in a flaming heap.
skerry
zhena gogolia
@Doug!:
Yes, facial structure says it’s the guy in the flowers. doesn’t look like Haight-Ashbury, though.
geg6
Good news in my district. Seems the GOP is getting ready to yank funding from Keith Rothfus. The polls are great for Conor Lamb and it looks like Tom Wolf is cruising to reelection with a new Lt. Governor, John Fetterman. And Bob Casey looks completely safe. Hopefully, we’ll get a new state rep, a newcomer, Terri Mitko. There’s no polling on that email ace that I know of, but I’m hoping a Dem sweep carries her along.
Snarki, child of Loki
“Sorry, can’t debate. We have a gig.” ?
Debates would contrast Beto with the smarmy Lyin’ Ted. It’s hard to see how anyone watching the debate would leave without wanting to curb-stomp Cruz just to be rid of him.
greengoblin
Is it true that Beto won’t debate Cruz? Seems like a no brainer redo of JFK and Nixon optics.
geg6
I have no idea what auto complete was doing but that’s supposed to say “race” not “email ace,” whatever the hell that’s supposed to be.
Corner Stone
@skerry:
Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the “Moms Demand Action” movement, eh?
louc
Given the time frame, I’m guessing the floral dress is a tribute to — or ripoff of — Kurt Cobain. But that Tweet made me want to move to Texas just so I could vote for him. Backfired big time.
Immanentize
@Doug!:. Ha!
I was gonna comment: “Why is Paul Rebens in Beto’s band?”
Doug!
@Corner Stone:
Ha!
Immanentize
@Immanentize: Reubens….
Maureen Miller
I’d like to suggest the WA-5 Congressional race for targeting. Cathy McMorris Rogers, 4th in GOP House leadership, is facing her toughest opponent, Lisa Brown. The polls show them about 4-5 points apart. The congresswoman did do us the favor of bringing in Devin Nunes for a fundraiser where he spilled the beans about the GOP’s plans on Kavenaugh and Rosenstein.
Immanentize
PS. That is not a shirt he’s wearing — It’s a dress!!!
Doug, I saw a post at the GOS pitching an act blue for six state attorneys general. That looked like good use of scratch .
Doug!
@Immanentize:
I did something like that earlier…I may try it again.
raven
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air
greengoblin
Help. I am in moderation for some reason.
Immanentize
@Doug!:
Found the link:. act blue Attorneys General link
sdhays
@Snarki, child of Loki: It always puzzles me how much Ted Cruz’s supporters think that being a debate school champion makes a difference in his ability to “win” a debate. Sure, it’s nice experience to have, but winning a debate in a debate contest and winning a political debate are two different things. Just ask Al Gore, who wiped the floor with W in 2000 and still was told he “lost”.
He can make all the debate points he wants, but if he’s unappealing (his default mode), then it’s not going to help.
Immanentize
@raven:
Thanks for a little Dead.
Meanwhile, sending healing thoughts to Lil Bit.
Immanentize
@sdhays:
And Cruz was horrible in the 2016 debates. College debates are seriously rules and time bound. Cruz just made people want to punch him more.
raven
@Immanentize: She’s conked. I hope it’s the anti=barf stuff.
pamelabrown53
Question: I’ve always donated directly to candidates,soooo…how much of my donation goes to Beto and what % does ActBlue retain?
Immanentize
@raven: if she cat-crap poisoned herself, she might just be conked from the exhausting pain and puking. And maybe the drugs….
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@louc: If you want to see backfiring, check out the twitter reaction. Some of it here
https://crooksandliars.com/2018/08/texas-gop-goes-after-beto-orourke-leave
Or try to find the whole original twitter thread, it’s amazing. Both in what the Texas GOP thought constituted an attack, and the reaction.
Doug!
@pamelabrown53:
100% goes to Beto
sdhays
@Immanentize: I didn’t watch any Republican debates (I don’t have the stomach for it), but I didn’t recall him laying a glove on T-Rump (or anyone else). Of course, Hillary destroyed Spankee in the debates (even considering how the bar was so low that the media was complimentary that he didn’t just shit himself and wallow in his own filth while screaming racial and misogynist obscenities), and she still lost, so….
petesh
Dont know if this works here, but Beto and Willie should erase that old pic:
https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-992272238.jpg?crop=900:600&width=1910
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I think this is it (link is to the mobile site)
https://mobile.twitter.com/texasgop/status/1034580157707759621
TenguPhule
Still separated: Nearly 500 migrant children split from their parents remain in U.S. custody
Betty Cracker
Rooting hard for Beto and Gary!
A PPP poll found racist Trump toady Ron DeSantis trailing Andrew Gillum in the FL gubernatorial race and Bill Nelson edging reptilian GOP crook Rick Scott for the US Senate seat. Please FSM, let that be true! We’ve gotta work like we’re 20 points behind.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
a Republican incumbent in Texas playing the “why are you afraid to debate” game? Ted’s internal polls must be showing a tie (inherent eeyorism prevents me from saying any more).
This isn’t their only oppo
O’Rourke’s been pretty open about the arrest, so I doubt this will have any impact, but the reporter and editors should be listed as in-kind contributors to Cruz for this sentence alone
@pamelabrown53: act blue will ask if you want to leave a “tip”. Pretty sure that’s how they make their cut.
Chyron HR
Fixed.
Doug!
@Doug!:
(minus credit card fees I think — ActBlue doesn’t take anything.)
debbie
I lasted less than a minute listening to Glenn Beck this morning. They were discussing just how surprised liberals would be when they learned Beto was White.
Seriously? ¿Que?
Immanentize
@petesh:
I heard Willie is again on tour? I hope Beto can make a couple more appearances with him and help convince the red neck pot heads and bikers that he is OK.
TenguPhule
Thousands of Vietnamese, including offspring of U.S. troops, could be deported under tough Trump policy
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Remember, in Texas you can still speed and have an open container and not be arrestable. The only people who really care about DUI in Texas tend to vote Dem.
zhena gogolia
@geg6:
Maybe it thought you were talking about Hillary the e-mail ace.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And of course Beto has proposed a debate schedule, including debates in Spanish, and I doubt too many Texans don’t know that. Cruz is trying to insist on Friday nights, which as I understand it is the time of some deeply important religious festival in Texas so nobody is going to be watching political debates then.
I heard one of their weirder attacks, weirder than “he was in a band”, was “Beto uses a nickname”. Unlike Rafael Cruz.
raven
@TenguPhule: The Anthony Bourdain on Huston has a nice segment on a genteleman who was a boat person, US Marine and the principal of a highs school there.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
This was the Texas GOP’s response. Yeah, they’re running scared and this was flailing at its best
pamelabrown53
@Doug!:
Thanks DougJ! Will definitely be donating to Beto. Rarely does a politician elicit such a positive response. I’m pretty excited about Gillum here in FL. too. Thanks for the post.
oatler.
The ultimate slam against Cruz is publishing pictures of Cruz as a young man. Mime??
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: I love that reference to “people who use rad”. Are they thinking he’s gonna draw huge votes from 1989?
Immanentize
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
I saw that. Methinks they have no idea how big BuzzFeed is, or maybe even what it is. They got straight up crushed on Twitter too, although they forgot to mention that.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@oatler.: I thought he went as Michael Myers from Halloween for Halloween
I’m not sure which is more disturbing
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
Those people would have no place to call home and would be forced to live under an oppressive regime. What if Vietnam refused to take them? And could offspring born in the US really be deported as well?
Elizabelle
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
LOL.
trollhattan
@Immanentize:
While my buddy was living in Texas they tightened up the open container law: it was no longer legal for the driver to be in possession of such a container. Obvious joke was everybody now had to take a passenger along and the question was raised whether the dog could legally be in possession of said container.
zhena gogolia
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I love Cruz in The Crucible, and playing hoops. So funny!
Immanentize
@oatler.:
Even better, it was Mime Adam from “Genesis – not the band!”
Jr
@zhena gogolia: he looks like the guy from the Spin Doctors
Gelfling 545
@jon: He’s been widely identified as the guy on the left.
zhena gogolia
@Jr:
Yeah! Whatever happened to that guy?
lamh36
Sitting here watching the Homegoing servive for Aretha Franklin. Great so far.
Gelfling 545
@sdhays: It’s been my impression that college debate tean success does not generally carry over into real life. Condescending know it all not being a good political image.
zhena gogolia
I kicked in $50 because I like flowered dresses too.
Yutsano
@Jr: @zhena gogolia: I have no idea. But anyone else got “Two Princes” stuck in their heads now?
Chyron HR
@zhena gogolia:
He’s running for Senate in Texas, try to keep up.
Elizabelle
@lamh36: Have been thinking of you. Glad you’re able to do so in real time.
Have not missed a minute. And The Clark Sisters stole the show.
Immanentize
@trollhattan:
When I lived in Austin, there was a place called “The Party Barn” on Guadalupe (?) That was a drive through liquor store.
Just a side note — in Texas, unlike most states, one can be placed under arrest for pretty much every moving violation. Broken tailight? Arrested!
Which means the police can them search you and your car.
But not speeding or open container!
pamelabrown53
@trollhattan: @#53.
Friggin’ hilarious! What would happen if the dog was a St. Bernard with a mini cask around it’s neck?
cckids
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Urgh. Don’t remind me of that word. I have a cousin; he & the GF got pregnant at age 18, (in 1989), named the poor child Rad. I’d classify that as child abuse.
HinTN
@pamelabrown53:
They ask for a tip to fund their work during the transaction.
Aleta
Don’t yet see which thread people are using to talk about Patten, charged with failing to register in as a foreign agent This is a good summary of the stuff he’s not charged with, but seemingly involved with … but still indirect proof … but he’s cooperating so …
Raw Story
Lobbyist Sam Patten agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors after admitting to failing to register in as a foreign agent for his lobbying work for a Ukrainian political party.
Patten worked with Manafort … and suspected Russian intelligence operative Konstantin Kilimnik, who was indicted this summer in the special counsel probe.
…
Special counsel Robert Mueller referred the Patten case to the U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia as part of his sprawling investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia.
Patten worked at the Oregon officer of Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL Group, where he helped the data company develop voter targeting operations ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.
The lobbyist described that work on his professional website, saying that he helped conduct beta tests of voter micro-targeting that he boasted were “adopted by at least one major U.S. presidential candidate.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) hired Cambridge Analytica during his Republican primary run, but after he dropped out the data company was hired by Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who oversaw the campaign’s digital operations.
Mueller is investigating the company, which was owned by hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer.
There’s no evidence that Patten did any work for the Trump campaign or Cambridge Analytica, whose board included Trump’s campaign CEO and former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon.
But he played a central role in SCL Group’s work in Nigeria in early 2015, when the Cambridge Analytica parent company reportedly hired Israeli hackers to steal emails and dig compromising information on the candidate challenging incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan.
Russian hackers conducted similar operations against Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 campaign, and Mueller is investigating how the Trump campaign knew which specific voters to target with that hacked data on social media.
tobie
Nate Silver still has my ruby red district as a 1 in 100 chance of going blue but, I swear, I sense some momentum out there. Have been door knocking and phone calling and getting at worst polite and at best enthusiastic answers from people who didn’t vote in 2014 and 2016. I’m a born pessimist but have been feeling a renewed spring in my step.
EBT
How much longer do we have to pretend that the GoP isn’t the party of Racist; and that such people aren’t actually sub human?
Doug R
https://twitter.com/Rschooley/status/1034809662812479490
Elizabelle
Bill Clinton up. I think he just set a timer on his smartphone, while at the podium.
His voice is different.
Steeplejack (phone)
Trump tweeted that he’s going to do a joint rally with Cruz. He and Cruz are getting epically dragged in the comments, including copies of Trump’s classic “Lyin’ Ted” tweets.
Love the picture on this one.
Gelfling 545
@debbie: An O’Rourke being white is supposed to be surprising?
Jeffro
What’s this I’m seeing about some new documentary “Active Measures”? Looks pretty slick to me (meant as a compliment).
Here’s the trailer. May it be seen by many, many people…
lamh36
@Elizabelle: Yes… the Clark Sisters held it down!
tobie
@Aleta: Washington Post says Patten funneled Ukrainian money into Trump’s inauguration committee. Dominos falling.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
At B Bush’s funereal, I think it was, he looked and sounded very weak, then I saw him a few weeks later at a smaller event, and he was much stronger. Not quite his old self, but stronger. His strength seems to vary greatly since the heart surgery, with a Fristian TV diagnosis
Martin
I shouldn’t be too surprised, yet I am a little shocked that the GOP is going with the tactic of ‘my opponent is an interesting person while I’m a raging dickhole, please vote for me’.
Jeffro
@Steeplejack (phone): Good luck filling a fucking stadium, Trumpov…we’ll be waiting to see where you and douche-face choose to make your last stand.
Cheryl from Maryland
Donated to Beto and Abigail Spanberger yesterday. Chipped in for Gary (although I loathe the Dead). Thanks, DougJ, for keeping this going.
The Moar You Know
@debbie: with a last name of O’Rourke? Please. Now if you tell me he’s not part Irish ancestry, THAT would be a bit of a surprise.
I guess Beck’s back on the blow and booze again.
Aleta
Another court development this afternoon: Last night Trump and children filed to get a NYS lawsuit dismissed. Foundation is accused of being “a personal piggy bank to serve Trump’s business and political interests,” incl. for 2016 presidential campaign.
Raw Story
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
Bill Clinton’s good, but he’s going on too long.
Jeffro
More pressure on Manafort: close associate pleads guilty to helping make a ‘straw man’ donation to Trumpov’s inauguration.
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle: WJC seems a little more loose than usual. He seems to be wandering a little and stopping at odd breaks to regroup his thoughts.
Martin
My daughter turns 18 soon and we were talking about voting and how to choose. She’s declared that she’s going to favor lesbians that drop Monster Factory references and while I think that’s a great start, I advised her she might need to cast a slightly larger net.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Yutsano:
No, my earworm generator went for “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.”
trollhattan
@pamelabrown53:
That would be the best! Think the first challenge would be hoisting him into the cab of your raised eff-two fiddy.
debbie
@Gelfling 545:
No. More likely, it was just a way to get into the racist frame of mind so cherished by the GOP.
Martin
@Aleta: That might have worked when campaign donations to NY state politicians carried more career value than taking down a corrupt family that everyone hates.
For all of his other faults, Trump is also the perfect representative of the expression ‘knows the price of everything and the value of nothing’.
Elizabelle
@Corner Stone: He finished well, and in strong voice. Loved that he brought up Aretha on his smartphone.
Charming and meaningful speech, and I love how he spoke of the artists she admired and wrote of, who did not get the acclaim she did.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
Me too. MTV video specifically.
Elizabelle
@Cheryl from Maryland: Yea you!
zhena gogolia
This “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is killing.
Aleta
@tobie: Also from your link:
trollhattan
@tobie:
Have long since stopped being surprised but wow, the breadth and depth of the grift simply go over the horizon. If you can imagine that he did it, he did it. If you can’t imagine it, he did it anyway.
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle:
That threatened to be cornpony if it went too long but he cut it off with great skill and finished, as you say, strong.
debit
@tobie: I keep flashing back to Rachel’s questions about what happened to that money and how no one seemed to care all that much. I think Mueller cares and now has some answers.
pamelabrown53
@Gelfling 545: @#75.
Don’t you love it? Supposedly the GOP/ White Supremacy Party is informing us of Beto’s whiteness? …And that supposed to hurt him?
Here’s what might hurt Beto in a photo finish election: Trump’s renewed policy of denying Latinos with hispanic surnames in south Texas. Why NOW? Could it be voter suppression? Anyone who may have a birth attended by a certain mid-wife or physician is ON NOTICE. Totally cowed and keeping a low profile, i.e, won’t vote or anything else related to government..
In a race that could be decided by a few hundred votes, Trump just hugely intimidated a few hundred/thousand votes. Am I paranoid?
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: Do you not remember his 1988 convention speech? Famously long and over the limit.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: I think this is the best funeral I have ever seen in my life. It’s joyful.
Who is this lady in the silver dress? Lost the excellent Local 4 feed …
The Moar You Know
@trollhattan: I don’t know about legally, but if me and the dog are in the car with an open container, he’ll be the one drinking out of it. Fucker’s a little alcoholic. Most dogs will drink beer. But I’ve NEVER seen one go after wine or hard alcohol, but mine will happily drink both. No, I don’t give him wine or tequila, but this beautiful, cute golden retriever is a drink thief. Gotta watch him if I have people over.
Elizabelle
@pamelabrown53: No. That sounds very possible.
Bring on the good federal judges to stop this shit.
laura
@Martin: this may be of interest to your daughter as she comes into her politcal formative years:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/hornet.com/stories/political-truth-i-want-a-dyke-for-president/amp/
I was able to see this as a large outdoor installation at the 2017 Whitney Biennale and it was powerful!
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
I believe it’s Shirley Caesar.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Oh, I remember, but he learned his lesson from that, I thought.
trollhattan
@pamelabrown53:
“Ted’s” hubris is so all-consuming I can picture him rubbing his hands and cackling (Grandpa Munster voice, of course) over all these “gets.” That band pic–pure gold! “Beto” not his actual name–he’s doomed!
Truthfully, I’ve never encountered the name Beto in my life. Hard to envision it helping or hindering him.
Aleta
@Aleta: From the Guardian:
petesh
@Immanentize: Willie is indeed on tour, but he doesn’t play Texas again until after the election. Unless being in a TV ad counts, and I’m hoping for that.
Kay
@Steeplejack (phone):
He’s such an ass. “Major”. MAA-jor. I can’t stand the way he talks.
Leto
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ?? :@Immanentize:
https://twitter.com/TedGenoways/status/1034823829045096448
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Thank you. Pastor Shirley Caesar and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. CBSN has a live feed; finally saw the chyron.
NY Robbin
@pamelabrown53: We’ll be paranoid together.
J R in WV
@pamelabrown53:
When you donate to a candidate via ActBlue 100% of the donation goes to the candidate. If you wish, you may add a percentage tip to your donation, which bumps it up by that amount, So if you agree to donate $100 to Beto, and then agree to add a 10% tip for ActBlue’s operating expenses, you get $110 debited to your credit/debit card. You don’t have to donate anything to ActBlue.
I actually make a specific monthly donation to ActBlue, and do not add tips to my donations to candidates.
I am donating monthly to Beto and a number of other candidates for House and Senate. Amy McGrath in KY for one. Making your donation monthly is another option ActBlue asks about after you pick an amount. So if you are inclined to go monthly, think about making the initial amount smaller, perhaps.
You get emailed receipts for all those donations when they debit your account, and you can review your donations at ActBlue as well. It’s a well done system.j
Starfish
Danica Roem’s response to this was the best. Her responses to all of the the replies she got on Twitter were also great.
Uncle Cosmo
Someone with better image-editing skills than me is cordially invited to photoshop Crooze’s fugly mug into a Soviet-era flight suit with a big red star on the headgear or jacket & then identify him as “FailGunner” (or maybe “Flailgunner”) on the Tu-22M Backfire. IMHO that would be a hoot and a half……
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steeplejack (phone): @Kay: I’d say Beto’s still a long shot because Texas is Texas (but Cruz is Cruz, and “likability” is a real thing) but this is interesting on trump’s actual numbers there, at the link
Gelfling 545
@trollhattan: Says Rafael ”Ted” Cruz.
Martin
@laura: Thank you. That’s very much along her view of things. Seems there’s a bit of a move in that direction overall.
The Midnight Lurker
Thank you for posting this Doug! Working the phones this week for Beto! Canvassing over the weekend. Scored points with the Whataburger/skate boarding ad. Then CBS posted a bullshit headline. The GOP brought in their best people and a shit-load of money, and the very best they could do is this weak tea. This is old, old news used against Beto is a previous campaign BTW. Please donate, Juicers.
Don’t forget Colin Allred in TX-32 (closing in on Pete Sessions) and Ms. Johnson in TX-30 needs help holding her seat. Thanks.
Geeno
Nice to see that Danica Roem has Beto’s back in this.
Another Scott
Donated++ to both. Fingers crossed.
66 days to go. Eyes on the prize.
Cheers,
Scott.
tobie
@trollhattan: @debit: the corruption is so widespread and blatant. Just plain grift: you give me x dollars and I’ll do y for you. Schoolyard bullies have more sophistication.
The Moar You Know
@Starfish: She’s very, very good. Like her a lot. Buried in the replies to her post was this gem:
I’m going to be using “keep up the terrible work” for the rest of my life.
Patricia Kayden
@skerry: I would sneak him up in my bedroom right now!! The man is gorgeous. All joking aside, I hope he wins in November. Getting rid of Cruz is worth these petty “insults”. Go Beto!!
tobie
@Aleta: do we know who foreigner b is? Any likely suspects?
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I read that after Trump was elected, that he isn’t particularly popular in Texas. It makes me like Texas more, that they don’t like Trump. I didn’t DISLIKE Texas, but it’s interesting that even though they’re R’s they reject the big jerk. Good for them.
Yutsano
@trollhattan: Rafael was trying to accuse Beto of trying to make himself sound more Hispanic. Beto then showed a picture from when he was a baby wearing a shirt with Beto on it. Every single bit of “dirt” they try to present keeps boomeranging back on them. It’s beautiful.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
He looks and sounds terrible. Still some delightful and delicious flashes of the old Bill, and his speech — almost all delivered without referring to his notes — was vintage Clinton; but his voice was weak, he looked rather unsteady, and now I’m wondering if he might have had perhaps a series of small strokes or something. I want him to live for a good long time yet, but for the first time I’m really concerned about his health.
stinger
I don’t know what the “punk ethos” is, probably due to my excessive old age, but in the pics of Beto as a young man in a band, he can’t seem to pull off an expression of disdain, ennui, or aloofness as the others do. Instead, he is barely able to suppress a pleasant smile. He has an open countenance and looks cheerful and good-natured in most situations. Very appealing!
Gin & Tonic
@Aleta: In not-quite-related-but-close news, Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” was assassinated by bomb today. In a humorous twist, he was in a cafe called “Separatist” in downtown Donetsk. As some wag said on Twitter, Rest in Pieces.
Ukraine’s SBU (think like FBI) issued a statement saying, basically, looks like a business matter.
C. Isaac
@Yutsano: It’s beautiful what happens to a lying bullshitter when they all they can do is pull stuff out of their ass and don’t have any actual criticisms of substance.
Straight from one Texan: Fuck Ted Cruz
eemom
Ripple is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, imho.
Also, Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics while drinking Retsina, the juice of my people.
Another Scott
@SiubhanDuinne: Bill often sounds terrible when his allergies are acting up. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were part of it. But he also is aging, so that’s probably part of it too.
A very nice tribute to her by him.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m reminded of a Maine race in 2012 where the GOP tried to attack Colleen Lachowicz for being a gamer.
She won that race but it seems she lost to the Republican in 2014.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne: I was watching an interview with him and W, and Bill remarked that he was the first member of his family to live til age 70. That’s some pretty rotten DNA to overcome.
Leto
@Yutsano: Both he and the TX GOP are the Wile E. Coyote of campaigning. They just keeps stepping on rakes.
TenguPhule
Florida family terrorized by backyard squatter: A giant lizard that looks like something out of ‘Jurassic Park’
Friday? Must be Florida.
Roger Moore
@Betty Cracker:
Somebody’s afraid, because they’ve been sending out blatantly racist robocalls. Every Democrat in Florida needs to call on DeSantis to disavow the calls, and when he gives a lame “I can’t control who likes me” defense, they need to roast him for it.
raven
@eemom: Hey, I wrote back yonder but if you missed it, thanks.
debbie
@Yutsano:
Obama did that same thing in 2008. I wish more Dems would do the same thing.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Asthma will do that to a person’s voice.
trollhattan
@Leto:
Good one! Maybe we need Operation Rake Drop–carpet bomb the state with rakes.
debbie
@eemom:
I’m with you on Ripple. Life stops whenever it’s played.
Leto
A bit O/T but I hope Cheryl or Adam cover this: Exclusive: Iran moves missiles to Iraq in warning to enemies
More at the link.
SiubhanDuinne
@Immanentize:
Haha! I was actually in the hall for that! First time I had ever heard of him.
The length of that speech gave him instant national prominence. A few days later he was invited on the “Tonight” Show, and Carson said “That wasn’t your finest hour.” Clinton shot back “Hell, it wasn’t even my finest two hours!”
Patricia Kayden
@Betty Cracker: YES!! That’s fantastic news. I wish I could say the same about the gubernatorial race in Maryland. I haven’t seen any ads from the Democratic candidate, Ben Jealous, as yet and the current Republican Governor is leading in the polls. Sigh.
trollhattan
@TenguPhule:
Going to make a point of adding ” thwomping” to my everyday vocabulary.
On photo forums Aussies are forever comparing notes on critters–monitors included–that show up unannounced in their yards and houses. Thanks, but no thanks?
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: Yes. I was thinking small stroke too, because of the slurring. A little hard forming his words; something is up with the muscles around his mouth, it seemed.
Viva Bill Clinton. Hang in there.
Hillary seemed genuinely amused at some of his remarks, as though she had not heard them before.
Mike in NC
Just read where Fat Bastard is here in North Carolina today to campaign for two GOP congressmen who are trailing opponents. Latest poll has Trump at 60% negative/36% positive. His dyslexia will have him reading that as 60% favorable!
Elizabelle
@stinger: Beto is the Dave Grohl of punk rockers, perhaps. I mostly remember Kurt Cobain in the dress.
Leto
@Elizabelle: Same, Kurt in the dress while Dave would’ve been the middle guy in that Beto picture. Dave had at least shoulder length hair though.
raven
@Elizabelle: Back in the day here in Athens Mike Mills played on the Georgia Bar softball team and they ALL wore dresses at games.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne, @debbie
I didn’t listen to Clinton today, but my media-connected friend was at an event with him in 2016 and said at the time that he was getting that quavery “old man voice” thing, which he seemed able to overcome for speeches, etc.
He’s 72 and has had major heart surgery. And someone upthread mentioned that he’s the first in his family to even reach 70. Maybe it’s just an “old age” thing. It comes at different times for different people.
FelonyGovt
I’m quite old and shouldn’t be thinking this way, but that mugshot of Beto is smoking hot.
Dorothy A. Winsor
The weirdest thing to me is that Cruz is only 2 years older than O’Rourke, but he seems much older.
Elizabelle
Jesse Jackson up now; the Reverend William Barber up next.
HeleninEire
A final update on my work friend. Her mother took her off life support this morning. The “good” news is that her children were born here so they are Irish citizens. In addition, she has a brother here who she named as guardian. They will be raised here. So all is as well as it can be in this horrible situation. Thank you all for your support and extra thanks to Satby for putting me in touch with Tom. While we happily won’t need his services, it was heartening to have the information.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Elizabelle: Nirvana was a punk band, so I believe that means Dave Grohl is the Dave Grohl of punk rockers.
Elizabelle
@raven: My boys in REM. LOL.
And best to Lil Bit. Saw the photo of her and Bohdi, ready to ride around in style.
Patricia Kayden
@geg6: That’s great news indeed. Looks like we’re really going to get a blue wave after all.
Aleta
It seems wild that Patten and his company (formed 50-50 with a Russian national, Foreigner A) were doing all the work involving Congress (described in the filing document, copy at cnn) without registering as a foreign agent. (Even though Patten knew the law and had registered before for other jobs.)
The filing says his company was working for the Opposition Bloc (a Ukrainian political party) and for a “prominent Ukraine oligarch (Foreigner B).” (B is said to be Serhiy Lovochkin). Patten says he didn’t register because Foreigner B asked him not to yet.
So was this somwhat common practice? Did none of the Congress members who met with the foreign nationals have aides who checked on registration? Or did they know and ignore the law?
joel hanes
@debbie:
Ripple
Perfect earworm for the weekend.
Although I’m terribly partial to Brokedown Palace too.
Have you heard the Indigo Girls version of Uncle John’s Band ?
Corner Stone
@Kay: Texas does an oversized yooge amount of trade with Mexico. Even haters know where their bottom line is. Eventually.
Elizabelle
@HeleninEire: Good news about staying in Ireland. I hope the brother turns out to be an excellent guardian. How hard for those little ones, to lose both parents within 2 years. (What happened to their dad?)
Patricia Kayden
@Elizabelle: It’s been a nice funeral service so far. I really loved President Clinton’s speech. He really knows how to say the right thing at the right time. I also loved AG Holder’s comments — funny and poignant.
SiubhanDuinne
@eclare:
Wow, hadn’t heard that. He must feel lucky that he has been able to outlive them, but also perhaps a bit spook-ridden.
raven
@Elizabelle: I’ve got a call kinto our vet to see if the anti-barf meds should be knockin her out like they seem to be,
Here’s some Friday fun
The Dukes of September – Lowdown (Live)
Leto
@HeleninEire: I’m sorry for your loss.
A Ghost To Most
@eclare:
Not necessarily just DNA. Hard living as well.
SiubhanDuinne
@Patricia Kayden:
I also liked the way Debbie Stabenow wove together the simultaneous mourning for both Aretha Franklin and John McCain, pointing out that between them — though they were very different people — they represented everything that is good and positive about America.
Gravenstone
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Hatred withers the soul as well as the body.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne: He said that was why he became a vegan.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: I think David Letterman was also afraid of an early demise, like his father’s at 57. Although his mother lived to 96 or so. I hope Dave got her longevity genes.
Plus the son, late in life. That will help.
Corner Stone
@Geeno: It was heartening to see her limited remarks. But, WTS, The Hill has gone full on trash. If you read the rest of the article, beyond Ms. Roem’s comments, you will see some serious RWNJ framing.
Sister Golden Bear
@Patricia Kayden: Beto’s campaign should tweet out the mugshot with the caption: “Hey girl”.
Just sayin’…
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: I’m enjoying watching the folks in the background seats change, as at the Oscars. I think the Clintons have departed. And for some, it may be nature calling.
And I loved the grandchildren and niece. They were so poised, and so real. This funeral has brought home Aretha’s commitment to civil rights, and to her city.
Elizabelle
And her family! Showing up to cook for the younger ones. Making excellent fried chicken and potato salad.
bemused
Ted Cruz didn’t make a recent, really lame ad in which he was singing, did he? I fell asleep watching cable news and had the craziest dream he did. I think I need a break from the news.
Elizabelle
@Sister Golden Bear: Oh, that would be perfect! Email them, SGB. He’s got to do that!
raven
@Elizabelle: Nature calling! I just got tabbed to go to a retreat on an isolated island off the Georgia coast Tuesday and I get a room on the 3d floor with no head! No respect for old people!
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle:
*chokes*…ooohhh, mercy.
Amir Khalid
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I remember seeing a photo of Ted Cruz as an undergraduate. He had a fortyish air about him even at that age. He was, as I understand, the sort of young dude who liked to give that impression
Aleta
@Aleta:
Was this illegal practice somwhat common and accepted? Did none of the Congress members who were asked to meet with the foreign nationals have aides who checked on registration? Or did they know and ignore the law, or refuse the meetings but not report?
From From Doc 1 filed in USDC for DC (a copy of it at cnn)
Foreigner B is said to be Serhiy Lovochkin.
Steeplejack
@HeleninEire:
That’s good news about the kids (relatively speaking). Thanks for updating us and giving us some closure!
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Oh, and in Bill Clinton’s remarks, I loved the story he told about arriving early at the last concert she performed (an Elton John benefit). She “summoned” him over and when he approached her she greeted him with “How you doin’, baby?” LOL.
Also enjoyed that he had her perform in the Rose Garden during the state visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan. “I thought she might loosen them up a little bit.” LOL again.
HeleninEire
@Elizabelle: He died last year of cancer. The while situation is so sad. Sorina fought tooth and nail with him for 3 years, and then 6 months ago her Father died and then just a few weeks ago she had to go back to Romania because her father in law UNBELIEVABLY had a brain hemorrhage just like her. He will be OK. But we thought her streak of horrible times was over.
HeleninEire
@Leto: Thank you.
debbie
@joel hanes:
No, but it can’t be bad.
raven
@HeleninEire: She’s free if you believe in that sort of thing.
eemom
@raven:
Saw it. Thanks to you too.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/75a3bb85-9f3b-424c-b014-8ef96d958fc5#HkI9F5MwPQ.copy
Elizabelle
@HeleninEire: Wow. Tragedy was parked at her door. How sad.
SiubhanDuinne
@HeleninEire:
Oh, I’m glad the children will be able to stay in Ireland with their uncle. Thanks for the update, Helen.
eclare
@HeleninEire: That is stunningly heartbreaking.
raven
@eemom: Good deal.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: And I think WJC responded “better, now that I see you.”
This has been a wonderfully personal funeral. John McCain is getting “High Washington.” We are getting “Sister/Princess/Queen Aretha.”
I think this falls, again, under God having a wicked sense of humor.
Aleta
@Doug!: I apologize for not realizing until now this wasn’t an open thread. I’m sorry for my cluelessness !! OK to delete my comments.
Elizabelle
Or whatever you take for “God.” The universe. FSM.
HeleninEire
@raven: Thank you. I do, kind of, believe in that sort of thing. Mostly that nothing is better than pain.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Well, my mother died at age 58 — as had her father at the same age — both of cardiovascular stuff. So you can imagine that I approached my own 58th birthday with some trepidation (especially as I had had a heart attack several years earlier). Got through the birthday just fine, but seven months later I had quadruple bypass surgery! So much luckier than my mother and grandfather and here I am at 76! But I definitely know those complex emotions.
SiubhanDuinne
@Aleta:
Oops.
FelonyGovt
@HeleninEire: So sorry about your friend. What tragedy.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: You might be good for a century now.
HeleninEire
@SiubhanDuinne: Every thread is an open thread at Balloon Juice. It’s the raven rule. I follow it religiously.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Yes, I failed to include his reply, but it was great.
I do plan to watch McCain’s funeral tomorrow, assuming some nice FP puts up a link. Really want to see/hear Obama’s and W’s eulogies, and I’ve always been a real sucker for the Navy Hymn (“Eternal Father, strong to save”).
HeleninEire
@FelonyGovt: Thank you.
SiubhanDuinne
@HeleninEire:
?
Elizabelle
This funeral is such a banquet. Tyler Perry up now, and he’s going over well with the grandchildren. Great advice about hoping that grief comes on in waves.
And Cicely Tyson still to come.
Elizabelle
Ah. It’s Cicely Tyson in that enormous black hat.
debbie
@HeleninEire:
So sorry for you and your friend and her family. Thanks to the universe that her children will have a safe, loving place to land.
Bishop Bag
@Immanentize: Yup! Willie is on tour, Going to Vegas in October to see him at the Cosmopolitan…Then the next day he is playing with Phil Lesh and Friends at the Hollywood Bowl in LA
bemused
@HeleninEire:
So much sadness in the family and for friends. Good to hear that the kids will be able to stay there with a family member.
divF
To me, this looks like a riff on this album cover .
I know this is a dead thread, but I’ve been wanting to put this out there for a while.
J R in WV
@Immanentize:
IN Louisiana they have drive throughs that sell daiquris — there’s a plastic top pulled tight across the big cuppa rum and stuff. We got a cab in NOLA once after touring the Quarter to the restaurant where we had reservations, and when the driver pulled out, his beer fell into the door well by his left foot. We all laughed, it didn’t matter much as we were on city streets that were crowded, so, lo-speed all the way!
Dinner was great, too!! My work buddy and I were on government assignment, we sprang for wives to go with. Shows, bars with bands, we got a lot of work done 8-5 too.
JWL
In that photo, O’Rourke looks like a guy who does’t have a clue trying to look like a tough guy..
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
This may already have been said, as did not read the entire thread, but a punk band subverting punk fashion tropes by dressing like a jam band…is pretty punk rock.
Another Scott
Dead thread, but Wonkette has a good post up about Trauner and the Wyoming race today.
Cheers,
Scott.