This is Toffi. She tried her best and that’s all we can ask for. 12/10 and the couch is cancelled pic.twitter.com/dRfHhclbZL
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) November 27, 2019
And a little start-the-week-well self-indulgence, because she’s not just my favorite candidate…
Seems the ?@ewarren? campaign scheduled this Chicago town hall perfectly to ward off the impending narrative about dwindling enthusiasm pic.twitter.com/4bkKuhnQ6j
— Zak Hudak (@cbszak) December 1, 2019
Later, in Iowa:
Asked by an audience member about healing divides in the Democratic Party, Warren says the debates make it seem like Democrats are more divided than they really are: pic.twitter.com/yB6JKPEx05
— Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) December 2, 2019
I was waiting to see if/how Warren would shake things up; this event definitely has. Long, game answer on Medicare-for-all (walking through each step), some goofball crowd work.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 2, 2019
One woman asks Elizabeth Warren about a Senate impeachment trial, says she’s worried it’ll mess up her campaign by keeping her in DC
“Some things are bigger than politics, and one of them is the Constitution of the United States of America,” Warren responds pic.twitter.com/w2nnmlW7RU
— Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) December 2, 2019
Another not-so-typical Q from the town hall in Marion tonight. A lawyer asked Warren if McConnell should be disqualified from voting on impeachment
"On this one, you gotta let all of the folks who took the oath of office in the House in the Senate, come in and live that oath…" pic.twitter.com/h8fdotLE6K
— Deepa Shivaram (@deepa_shivaram) December 2, 2019
Ahead of the next phase of the impeachment inquiry, @ewarren tells #FoxNews she’s caught up on previous testimony, saying she’s also “done a lot of reading around it as well.” Says Trump used “American taxpayer dollars as bait & [used] a trip to the White House as a sweetener.” pic.twitter.com/ccMJTQ9YZ7
— Tara Prindiville (@taraprindiville) December 1, 2019
John Revolta
Toffi’s not a quitter. She will RISE AGAIN!!
OzarkHillbilly
Maine man dies after being shot by own booby trap at home
I was certain sure they spelled Florida wrong but no, it really was in Maine. Protip: Don’t booby trap your home. Just don’t. Get a dog. Teach it to bark at noises.
OzarkHillbilly
From the weratedogs twitter:
OzarkHillbilly
She’s a badass.
Baud
I’ve never understood the thinking behind treating crowd size as a substitute for poll numbers, but our side seems to do it a lot.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Republicans do it too. trump obsesses over it. I think it’s just a visual thing. Seeing is believing.
ETA: counting yard signs too
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
For my next rally, I’m going to give a speech to a stadium full of lawn signs.
David ??Booooooo?? Koch
@Baud: Chicago has a very diverse population, yet the crowd looked 99.5% white. somehow the mainstream reporter didn’t notice.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: HA! Can I come? Or are yard signs only allowed?
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Yard signs and bumper stickers. My supporters are diverse.
WereBear
@OzarkHillbilly: That’s what killed both Collier brothers, after all.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Apparently he called 911 also, but to no avail.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
JPL
OT If you haven’t already, read the Lisa Page article in The Daily Beast. Apparently trump’s fake or.gasm was a bit much for her, and I hope she continues to speak out. As the asshole himself would say, what do you have to lose. Has there been another time in history that a president performed a fake or.gasm on stage? Did MSM even cover it? After reading the article, I watched the clip and gotta say Meg Ryan could give him a few pointers.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: But not shitstains eh? snif snif…
@WereBear: A thrice told tale. I remember one guy who shot himself with his crossbow.
MagdaInBlack
@JPL:
Guessing the only “O” he is familiar with is the one in “get Offa me!”
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Good morning. ?
Baud
Steeplejack
@JPL:
Link to the actual article.
David ??Booooooo?? Koch
@Baud:
First Sestak, now Bullock — Bloombergmania is clearing the field.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
I check yard signs in the yards of neighbors known to be conservatives so I know who not to vote for.
debbie
@JPL:
They showed it several times around here. What an embarrassment he is.
Chyron HR
@David ??Booooooo?? Koch:
Daily reminder that whining, “Only my candidate’s supporters count because we’re the base!” is literally a Bernie-ass move.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning from San Antonio ?
What’d I miss news-wise?
Made it just fine, Qunoot have me a tour of the Riverwalk and Pearl District, had a great meal and slept from 8:30 until now.
And yeah, there was a shooting on my block yesterday, but the story is a bit hinky. No one seriously hurt.
rikyrah
rikyrah
rikyrah
Baud
@rikyrah: If that holds, expect another debate about whether we should allow Southern states to vote in the primary.
rikyrah
@satby:
Morning satby.
Hope your trip has been good ?
JPL
@satby: Have a wonderful time. When my sons were in elementary school we went X-mas time and the river walk was a big hit.
JPL
@Steeplejack: Thanks.
satby
@David ??Booooooo?? Koch: @Chyron HR: Chicago has a very diverse population balkanized into pretty segregated areas. Even if I still lived there, as a South-sider I wouldn’t haul my ass way the hell up far north to go to a town hall. But that crowd was probably diversified by Puerto Ricans and East Asians as well as ethnic whites.
Princess
Warren is smart to campaign in Chicago on her way to Iowa. We have a ton of delegates, we vote relatively early, and no one else is doing much here, though Harris got some key endorsements. Warren was here to get Jan Schakowsky’s endorsement.
Phylllis
@satby: The Spanish Governor’s Palace is worth the time.
chris
Fuck! Snow! Supposed to turn to rain later. For the next two days. Blech.
Kay
@Princess:
Yup. Warren is also a good personal politician, in the same way Biden is, and I think her campaign is attempting a shift to highlight that- hence the town hall and the interaction with individual voters. I don’t think she has the reputation for it like Biden does, but they think it’s a strength.
Hillary Clinton was actually good at it too, but she never got credit for it. One on one she was great. It’s a weird thing. It’s like they don’t get credit unless there’s a preconceived notion that it’s a strength.
Cheryl Rofer
@rikyrah: Aunt Thanksgiving’s thread is good on Biden’s appeal with black voters, and AP had a good article on the subject. It’s something I’ve been wondering about.
Kay
@rikyrah:
Biden is, by far, the favorite of white working class activist Democrats here- “the labor people”, we call them, and I think it’s simple for them. They trust him. They think on balance he will be fine for them.
It was like – Biden enters- whoosh!- they all go over there. I personally love them because they’re very reliable D voters and they’re extremely well-informed about the issues they care about, so workplace, wages, etc. Base Democrats who go to meetings, so not union voters generally.
Baud
@Kay:
I assume that carries over into other Midwestern states.
Kay
@rikyrah:
My middle son is switching from Bernie to Biden and I think it’s because he spends his days around IBEW members, because he sort of prides himself on not taking this seriously in an annoyingly “cool” way. They think he will be fine and can win, and they want to win.
Kay
@Baud:
It’s amusing because it’s so different than online. They’re just matter of factly Biden. Like it’s a given. They think I’m kind of eccentric so they ask me like I’m going to say “Gabbard! Of course. She’s a maverick”. They expect some specific weirdness from me.
Baud
@Kay:
More evidence that Bernie’s and Warren’s bases don’t overlap as much as you’d think.
Kay
@rikyrah:
It’s funny too because the long held dream of the Left wing of the Party is AA working class and white working class coalesce around a candidate. It just isn’t supposed to be a centrist candidate. In this dream.
Baud
@Kay:
Telling them you support Baud! 2020! would validate their suspicions.
satby
@Phylllis: thanks! I have some free time to tour around while Qunoot is in school today.
Baud
@Kay:
The Left wing wants to be top dog. Just like every other wing.
JoeyJoeJoe
On how John Kennedy’s current act is all just an act, he first ran for senate in 2004 as not just a Democrat (he switched to the GOP in 2007) but as the liberal Democrat in the race. Everyone runs in one primary in Louisiana, and the three big candidates were Kennedy, running as a liberal Democrat, a democratic congressman who ran as a moderate, and the Republican, representative David Vitter. Vitter was actually the first republican to win a Louisiana senate race post reconstruction. By 2008, Kennedy was running for senate as a Republican against Mary Landrieu.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I’m increasingly resigned to the idea that Biden will get the nomination, which I find utterly terrifying and depressing. Sure hope he picks someone great for a running mate. The conventional wisdom is that running mates don’t add much to a ticket, but a lot of CW has gone out the window, and for a candidate who’s pushing 80, the running mate choice matters.
PST
Especially in this weather! Warren was here a few weeks ago, however, in support of the teachers strike. Photos of her at that time included true Chicago cross sections.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
You know how I feel. On one hand, a Biden win would be poetic Justice for the way progressives shat on Hillary. On the other, it’s depressing because Biden offers no improvement on any front on what we could have had with Hillary.
I’m not terrified because I’ve given up trying to predict how voters will respond. Biden could win big or lose big and everything in between, and so could all the others.
chris
A couple of things for the Not-Cynical-Enough News, Canada Edition.
Yesterday Bert and I went for a walk in the little provincial park here. A cold, brilliantly sunny afternoon and we had the place to ourselves. A normal day until thishappened. Close-up.
Came home shaking my head, turned on the internet and discovered Holodomor Denial. In Alberta, of course, where Ukrainian names are very common.
Think I’ll stay home for a couple days. Be careful out there, they walk among us.
ETA: Link fail. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/u-of-a-edmonton-macdonald-holdomor-1.5377661
satby
@chris: when I go to public parks I always pick up the odd bits of trash and litter ?
Always try to leave a park a wee bit cleaner than you found it.
chris
@satby:
I left it as a warning to others.
Baud
@Baud:
I think of Bernie dropped out, half of his supporters would go to Biden. If Warren dropped out, half of her support would probably go to Buttigieg. Political coalitions are weird.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: the family was complaining the police didn’t take his multiple reports of minor thefts seriously, but it sounds like the real story is that he was slipping into dementia. But I’m unable to be sympathetic to someone who considers petty theft (if it even happened) a death penalty offense.
OzarkHillbilly
@chris: No matter where you go, the stupid is always closer than you think.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Me too. I don’t think anyone else can pull together the necessary (if perhaps not sufficient) groups.
I just don’t believe Vice President matters at all. I’d go back to picking one from a state we need, frankly. If they contribute anything it’s maybe that. I have yet to meet a single voter or activist who says “the VP really sealed the deal for me”. I think Biden got way too much credit for Obama’s performance with white people and that analysis was insulting.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: Families always want to blame somebody for the death of a loved one, it’s a human reaction to tragedy. They never want to admit that “Daddy did this to himself.”
ETA especially when they could have done something themselves.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay:
However, while canvassing for Obama in ’08 I met a # of voters for whom McCain’s pick of Palin made them question his judgement.
chris
@OzarkHillbilly:
Especially out here with the salt of the Earth. You know, morons.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I can’t think of a time when a VP choice made a huge difference, but times feel different, so who knows? I’ll drag my unenthusiastic ass to the polls for Biden if I must. But I’d feel a lot better about it if someone like Katie Porter or Stacy Abrams were also on the ticket. It would make a difference to me, but you’re probably right that most people don’t care.
JPL
@JoeyJoeJoe: He must really relish the power to go from a liberal to a Putin puppet.
OzarkHillbilly
@chris: There’s no shortage of stupidity no matter where one goes.
khead
@Betty Cracker:
@Kay:
I’m not. Give it time. At least until some votes are cast.
WereBear
@satby: That was also my take. And the family let him do it.
chris
@OzarkHillbilly: You’re right there. Maybe it’s more noticeable with the smaller sample size.
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: I think this is why Harris is polling so poorly. It’s two strikes as a WOC.
During the 2008 primaries I was asked if Obama had a chance. He was neck and neck with Hillary at the time. I said, “Sexism is stronger than racism” and I think that is still operational.
OzarkHillbilly
Ukraine Officials Linked To Giuliani Pressure Campaign Are Getting The Boot Over Corruption
Money quote:
There you have it folks, being a straight arrow is detrimental to a relationship with the POTUS.
OzarkHillbilly
@chris: I don’t know. I once watched two neighbors go at each other with baseball bats over the measliest of slights. And then the stupidity got squared when I saw my ex walk into the street waving the phone and saying she’d just called their landlord.
chris
@OzarkHillbilly: Sounds like a winner! (Very glad you said “ex.”)
chris
Nodding my head. Thread
OzarkHillbilly
@chris: We were well on our way apart by that time, tho I was still in denial about it. I’ve always had to learn my lessons the hard way.
Spanky
@Betty Cracker: The VP choice makes a huge difference every time a President dies in office. And if we elect an 80+ year old as President, you can bank on the VP assuming the office.
In fact, I will be banking on it – in that I’ll be rearranging my portfolio to take that into consideration.
ola azul
@WereBear:
Think yer right. All men regardless of stripe got the franchise before the first woman of any stripe did. Prolly notta accident of U.S. his-story.
Personally am in favor of a dickless Dem twin ticket (prez and vice) blessedly devoid of a y-chromosome.
Spanky
Which is a big plus in Ukraine’s relationships with the rest of Europe at this point.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: A straw poll at my family Thanksgiving in Wisconsin (not Madison) had 6 Biden (including my 18 y/o nephew), 1 Warren (my 73 y/o aunt), 1 Buttigieg (my 76 y/o dad), and 1 Harris (me). All these people (except the nephew) are long time Dems and enthusiastic Obama-Obama-Clinton people.
chris
@OzarkHillbilly:
You too? Well, I never…
Omnes Omnibus
So do blogs.
glory b
@Cheryl Rofer: From Auntie Thanksgiving:
“This means five decades of going to black churches, black colleges, NAACP dinners, and every other cultural institution important to black folks in trying to get their vote. That’s a lot of practice.”
moonbat
@khead: Thank you!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty Cracker: I don’t know about a VP choice affecting my vote, but I’m going to be bitterly disappointed if we nominate two white men.
Betty Cracker
@Omnes Omnibus: The 2016 election convinced me the party is pretty divided.
satby
@Omnes Omnibus: yep. Any of the top ones – (minus) Bernie would be fine. And though it gags me to say it, even Shouty McFingerwagger would be a modicum of improvement over the bastards in the office now.
But I’m not counting anyone out unless they drop until primary voting starts.
Dorothy A. Winsor
We’re in Montevideo, Uruguay. We walked off the ship and strolled through a market this morning. We usually buy mustard to take home to our son when we’re on trips. (Insert a Cole joke here.) So that’s what we looked for. This afternoon, we’re taking a tour.
satby
@Dorothy A. Winsor: enjoy! After finishing my last cup of coffee, I’m heading to the Spanish Governor’s Palace as suggested by @Phylllis: which turns out to be a five minute walk! Then the mission district.
Everyone have a great day.
Patricia Kayden
Gin & Tonic
Zelensky, speaking clearly and plainly:
Dorothy A. Winsor
@satby: You enjoy too! You need a vacation. We all do.
mrmoshpotato
@JPL: I’m intrigued. Tell me more about this Asm organization.
Gin & Tonic
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Buenos Aires tomorrow, then? Enjoy – so much to see and do.
glory b
@satby:
@OzarkHillbilly:
@satby:
@OzarkHillbilly:
@satby: Also, didn’t his security cameras show evidence of burglary? I had a friend whose husband was a property manager for a low income housing complex. He said that a first sign of dementia in some of the older residents there was accusing the maintenance employees of stealing from them.
Omnes Omnibus
@Patricia Kayden: Republican intellectuals?
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: Shoot, I clicked out of her thread too early. Did she write an earlier article that she is referencing?
Anyway, good information. I just hope Uncle Joe is up for the task if he becomes our candidate. I probably won’t vote for him in the primary, but I would be damn proud to vote for him in the general.
Betty Cracker
@Gin & Tonic: Good for him!
zhena gogolia
@JPL:
Very powerful.
satby
@glory b: yes, accusations of theft (of small value items) are often an early sign of dementia. The person has often just misplaced something. But, because they are forgetful they can become targets of theft too. If a family isn’t closely involved it’s hard to tell sometimes.
I’m really leaving now ???
Aleta
@Cheryl Rofer: Icymi, the AP article you linked is by Errin Haines (aka Auntie Thanksgiving).
Miss Bianca
@Cheryl Rofer: Oh, thanks, gonna read that one.
Miss Bianca
@Patricia Kayden: Damn, I forget, is McMullin still identifying as Republican or is he an independent now?
Chris Johnson
@Betty Cracker: You know what? I have a new hope about all this. Look at Trump. He is a complete bozo, but it’s not him wrecking the country, it’s other people on (or controlling) the Republican team who are NOT the President. He is rubber-stamping their shit, and doing a poor job of it, and it’s still doing a lot of damage.
I’m asking myself the question, ‘would someone like Harris, someone like Warren, be able to DO MORE when not actually the President’. Warren’s already done lots with the consumer-protection thing, and it took the Trump forces to dismantle that. Harris is a prosecutor.
What if Biden is willing to be a willing dumbass much like Trump, and just rubber stamp an agenda, but it’s OUR agenda?
It seems like that’s a really big question… and like our human nature is to want to consolidate all this into one Superman figure who is to do everything. And maybe that’s actually bullshit. I don’t actually want to vote Biden in the primary for that reason: I’d rather communicate to the elites by electing Warren, and I hope that would not actually be a less powerful position than what she could do outside the Presidency.
But, we’re a team, and it’s fucking important. And we have a HELL of a potent bench, who aren’t going to go away just because the ceremonial headpiece gets worn by someone more suited to being Homecoming Queen.
I’m not at all frightened about Biden getting the nomination. I would be frightened if it meant he was in charge. He’s old, and no more likely to be effective than Trump is, and if I can identify who really has power and I think they’re good (they are also going to be elected officials, nearly all the time) then we are not actually screwed.
Biden for Rubber Stamp. If he is so faithful to us, let him sign all our shit into law, unhesitatingly, and not screw any of it up. We have always needed way more than a chief executive, and that’s the thing the Republicans have screwed up for themselves, and we’re not suffering that problem at all. More Harrises, more Warrens, more AOCs and we’ll be fine with a Biden ‘leading’ it all. Have him sign our shit into law.
Miss Bianca
@Chris Johnson: OK, you have just managed to shift my perspective a bit, and for that, I thank you!
catclub
Biden as president pulling in Obama as senior advisor for policy would make a lot of RWNJ heads explode.
Possibly even more than Obama as President.
We live in hope.
catclub
@khead: somebody else said:
and you said:
I am with you. McCain got the nom in 2008 after being essentially written off in 2007. A leader of the week in a big field seems pretty common.
rikyrah
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Thank you for keeping us in the loop. This trip sounds DIVINE :)
rikyrah
@Miss Bianca:
Here is the article:
https://twitter.com/emarvelous/status/1201245453993598976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: That is a thing that is true of everyone running. If we get the Senate and keep the House, none of the people currently running (except Tulsi) would fail to sign good legislation. Hence the whole Team Broken Glass concept. I usually disagree with Chris Johnson and I do think he made his argument in the worst possible manner, but he is basically correct here.
NotMax
@Dorothy A. Winsor
In case you weren’t aware of it, on flights in the U.S. mustard is now classified as a liquid and if container is greater than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) can be transported only in checked luggage, not in carry on. Presumably holds true for flights to the U.S. as well.
Martin
As a corgi owner, the outcome of that was certain to me. My corgi is a big boy – cardigan welsh, not pembroke – and he can’t do stairs more than 1 because he high-centers on them. And even the one is like swimming the english channel level of difficulty. His treat is being picked up to sit on the outdoor swing with us. But it is not a graceful operation.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@NotMax: It’ll be in our checked bag. I see no reason to carry it.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: Thank you! Read it and thought it was really solid.
Chris Johnson
@Miss Bianca: Oh good. That really does make me happy as I’ve often been a thorn in the Balloon Juice side: my parents died a couple years ago and it took that (and inheriting as much as I’d usually earn in five years) to get a certain amount of security, and I calmed down.
I am sorry for how harsh I have been during the times when I was desperate, frightened, and saw no future. We may still have no future but it ain’t for lack of trying, and I would like to think I can learn from my mistakes (even if it doesn’t make me the exact clone of everyone else here). This distinguishes us from the wingnuts (and russian trollskis).
I still don’t want Biden, but he is part of a team and that’s what makes us powerful and resilient as Democrats. We could get Biden, or maybe even Sanders, and it wouldn’t be ‘game over man!’. It’s not a superhero we’re electing, and he or she is not solely responsible for fixing everything. Look to our bench, and our ability to fight through impossibly hard obstacles and disagreements.
I’m proud of that part. I wish I had more reliably picked the right side to be behind, but all I can do is the best I can from where I’m standing. :)
The Lodger
@Chris Johnson: I’d love to see a 2021 executive branch featuring about 5 or 6 of the Democratic candidates. Not necessarily with Joe in the Prez seat, but he’d be good on the team.