I’ve seen a bunch of people noting that Trump’s Wildwood rally last night lacked the zip his proponents have come to expect. Which might be related to something else media views noted:
Trump is having multiple neurological misfires tonight. In the future, his groupies will look back at these nights as the good ones where he could still talk.. sort of. pic.twitter.com/zciHD4CeTQ
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) January 29, 2020
Trump did indeed short-circuit… and he reacted in the way someone would if they know they're prone to these tics and have already developed masks to hide them. https://t.co/pVhvewmKjw
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) January 29, 2020
Guys, I think we need to talk about Grandpa https://t.co/hIRG6Cl0ab
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 29, 2020
Trump can’t walk properly & drags his legs at today’s March for Life. Watch his feet drag on the floor. Signs of his balance issue & brain deterioration. It will keep worsening. Later there was the usual speech interruption where his brain seems to short-circuit. Bad day for him pic.twitter.com/NlCa46cBfO
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) January 24, 2020
If you’re old, like me, you may recall that President Reagan was obviously deteriorating though the course of his second term. He was never that bright, but he increasingly lost his ability to hit his mark and rattle off his lines with a snap in his step and a twinkle in his eye. But the people around him were both skilled and dedicated when it came to covering up for him. Once he was out of office, they didn’t hesitate to short-circuit any Iran-Contra investigation by yowling that It would be too cruel to punish a dying man who had no idea what miscreant foreigners might doing under his imprimatur… successfully eliding a lot of the guilt of men like George H.W. Bush, his successor.
If you’re really old, or cherish long-held grudges, you’ll also remember Nixon’s phlebitis ‘scare’; when it looked like Tricky Dick might not have the good sense to get out of DC while he could, the GOP trial balloon suggested that the mere possibility of going to prison might kill Our President, which would be ‘murder by media’, tsk tsk.
Obviously, at the moment, the Permanent Republican Party finds Trump more useful in the Oval Office than he would be out of it (whether in jail, or in exile). But if the millipede’s worth of falling footwear continues, do they step away from their protective circle, let the world see how bad Trump’s mental state really is, and insist (once again) that we need to move on for the sake of national healing?
Van Buren
You know if he strokes out there will an entire cottage industry devoted to his martyrdom at the hands of crazed democrats who never let up in their persecution of him.
Dadadadadadada
I keep expecting the Lincoln Project or someone similar to take the GOP to task for committing elder abuse. It could go something like this:
[footage of a Trump misfire]: This is Donald Trump. He’s 74 years old and obviously not very healthy. And yet Republicans in Congress won’t let him stay home and rest. They keep forcing him out of bed into hostile environments where he’s obviously not capable of defending himself.”
[another Trump misfire]: hasn’t this poor man had enough? Republicans in Congress, have you no decency? Stop exploiting this helpless senior citizen. Let him retire in peace!”
debbie
I’m more worried about how physical the blaming will be. Guns and all.
Yutsano
@Van Buren: The murder theories will never end. Never. Even if he dies years from now.
Jerzy Russian
I wonder when was the last time someone rebooted him. It wouldn’t surprise me that they fell behind on the software updates, since they can’t do anything else without fucking up.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
It’s telling that he read off a teleprompter at one of his Nazi rallies where he always goes free form.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
this could explain his panicked trip to Walter Reed hospital, 2 months ago.
SiubhanDuinne
Nancy was devoted to her Ronnie, before, during, and long after his decline. I am hard-pressed to say the same about Melania. Yeah, she (grudgingly) holds his hand when the cameras are there, but I think she would give not a single fuck if Donnie were to collapse or start gibbering in the Residence.
PsiFighter37
Fuck that shit. Prosecute his ass even if his defense is purely babbling. Zero tolerance or moving on after this shitshow.
ziggy
He’s going to have a tough time with the state of the union speech. Even if he is acquitted before then, the stress is going to be horrendous, and his incapacity obvious . I wouldn’t be surprised if they come up with some excuse to put it off. I hope someone else does his makeup for SOTU.
The Dangerman
So, when he can’t walk up a flight of stairs to get on AF1 and they have to bring in a lift, maybe that will be the sign for him to stand down?
ETA: I’ve posted in the past that, as long as he doesn’t drop his pants on stage, FOX will say he won any debate, but … maybe he isn’t going to debate …
C Stars
Eh. I mean, everyone knows he’s nuts, and they love him anyway. I don’t think the GOP will get rid of him over being demented…it makes him relatable to a good portion of their party!
I’ve been taking a hiatus from politics, this blog, the whole shebang because it’s so tiresome and depressing. I mean, I still follow what’s going on every so often, but not with any enthusiasm. Anyway today my husband had left the car radio tuned to NPR and I listened the impeachment proceedings, just a few snippets between picking the kids up. I tried to be as objective as possible but the GOP defense just did not sound good, even giving them the benefit of the doubt. They came off as guilty and evasive and not particularly clever lawyers.
The question I came away with though, and maybe this is just a result of not being able to listen in any concentrated, linear way, was what exactly is their defense? To me it kind of sounded as though they are vaguely trying to imply that maybe the whistleblower planned this all out in advance with Biden (who is of course super corrupt, according to them)…but without giving any kind of specificity to that claim to make it actually stick. I’m just not making the connection between THAT conspiracy theory and the theory that whatever Trump did is fine. Like…why do they have to reach to the unspecific conspiracy theory, if Trump did nothing wrong in the first place. Just not a cohesive argument at all.
trollhattan
@ziggy:
That’s what the Adderall is for, Bigly speeches.
debbie
@C Stars:
You may be confused because there are multiple defenses. Among them: Abuse of power isn’t a crime and so isn’t impeachable; if the president’s actions were even a teensy bit in the public interest (aside from his own personal interest), it wasn’t an abuse of power; the Constitution is wrong; the president isn’t subject to the Constitution; etc., etc.
ziggy
@trollhattan: There is only so much you can cover up with drugs. I I suspect he is on a whole medicine cabinet of uppers and downers, statins, blood pressure and heart meds, etc…Then you start running into the side effects. He’s got the best doctors, the best meds, this is the best they can do.
C stars–this isn’t a “trial” for the Republicans, this is just another chance to smear Biden and demonstrate loyalty to Trump. The only qualification for the lawyers is that they look good on camera, play well on Fox.
oatler.
I don’t think he’s going to last through 2020. His arteries are clogged with hamberders.
Gravenstone
@Jerzy Russian: He’s clearly running on Win ME. Loaded down with malware, no doubt.
Martin
Something that I must unfortunately admit, my mom will be at his rally tomorrow. Mostly because it’s nearby and she’s curious. I’ve made it VERY clear that there are things that curiosity is not sufficient justification, and this is one of them.
Anyway, I may or may not get a report from her. Not getting one will probably tell me more than getting one.
Sab
@C Stars: Theory I heard on NPR this afternoon is the Republicans aren’t trying for a single good argument. They are going for a smorgasbord of arguments. Each Republican Senator can run with the one that will work in his or her state, and ignore the others, which often contradict the one chosen.
Democrats, on the other hand, are trying to develop multiple mutually consistent arguments.
Searcher
I hope if we end up with President Biden he has the decency to step to down and let his hopefully-Gen-X, well-qualified VP take over before he gets to this point.
Mary G
We should set up a betting pool on the day and time they pull the plug, because I’m fairly confident he won’t last until November if he keeps getting worse. Fox didn’t even blank out the person in their newsroom who was laughing at his trouble saying “criminal” when they cut away from he rally. Melania doesn’t seem to know or care how to do a cover-up, and has no one willing, smart enough, or loyal to help her.
Searcher
@Sab: You know, there’s a certain theory that’s a perfectly cromulent thing for defense lawyers to do in a criminal trial where there is a presumption of innocence and guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, especially when technically their client is guilty.
Just out of curiosity, does the notion of “presumption of innocence” and “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” exist for Senate trials, or is the Senate perfectly free to judge the President by any metrics they deem suitable, even ones that tend towards convicting the innocent to avoid sparing the guilty?
Jeffro
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I still think that was a full-blown panic attack, babbling to himself, rocking in the corner, that kind of thing.
Wingnuts: SO?!? HE EMERGED FROM IT 110% STRONGER!!
C Stars
@ziggy: That would make sense, because many of the answers the GOP lawyers gave seemed like just random recitations of unspecific accusations and unrelated talking points.
For someone who’s been out of the fray for a while, I have to say that checking my old regular haunts, like the Hill, CNN, The American Conservative etc., I’m reassured by the weary tone in the media. Everyone knows this is a farce, even those on the right, and everyone knows we all know this is a farce, and everyone’s getting less entertained by it and more just tired of the neverending Trumpian circus. It seems like something in our Democracy is still working if House Democrats can point out the circus and basically we all see it’s a circus, and how we react publicly is just a function of our political identification. Red Hat’s shenanigans have lost some of their entertainment value since the last time I checked in.
Roger Moore
@PsiFighter37:
I think it’s at least as important to go after all his lackeys and enablers. Make everyone too afraid to join the next criminal presidency.
dexwood
@ziggy: From what I understand, he isn’t required to show up to give the State of the Union speech, It can be delivered in writing.
sdhays
Is Dump capable of allowing his surrogates to claim he shouldn’t be prosecuted because he’s a pathetic, dying old man? As long as he is able to Tweet, I don’t see him allowing that argument to stand – he would consider it torture, and he doesn’t have the imagination to figure out how prison would compare.
Jeffro
@The Dangerman: They (his campaign) has already said as much.
Why should he debate? His press secretary only talks to Fox and no one says jack squat. They all lie, ALL day, and the GOP just winks and nods.
No need to debate, everyone on both sides of the aisle already knows what he stands for.
Jamie
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Holy hell, I thought that was like six months ago. Or a hundred years. Or six billion news cycles.
This fuckin’ administration is gonna kill us all through sheer exhaustion.
Jeffro
@debbie: Dershowitz’s argument today was a real leap – a president can do anything he wants to get re-elected, if he thinks his re-election is in the national interest. Because re-electing a Republican president is ALWAYS in the national interest.
Even RWNJ dad-o-mine had no response when I pointed that one out.
Searcher
@Mary G: I don’t think there’s a chance of the Republicans bailing before the election; there’s just no way for them to scrape together a backup-candidate.
If something does force their hand and Trump is removed, it’s going to be crazy. Will President Pence attempt to postpone elections to give the Republicans a chance for a primary? Will the election go through, with any Republican electors sent to the electoral college essentially unbound? Will Trump’s name still appear on the ballot, or can the RNC replace the name on a committee vote, same as for candidates in lower elections? What happens if Trump wins in November but is not a valid candidate at the time of the electoral college’s vote?
I mean, Christ, the possibilities are endless and we’re living in a timeline where we may need to answer these questions.
C Stars
@Sab: Ah, OK. Well that would explain it. The Dems definitely sounded noticeably more professional and cohesive from the 15 minutes or so that I got.
John Revolta
@Sab: Trial by Gish Gallop.
Jeffro
@Mary G: I truly think they’re just trying to get him to the finish line (Election Day) before he strokes out or has another psychotic break. After that, nothing will matter…another GOP administration will be in place, with all the judicial nominations and entitlement cuts that’ll bring.
If he’s gone by impeachment or for medical reasons before then, the whole party implodes. They’re all crabs of the worst kind, in a taped-together bucket.
Roger Moore
@dexwood:
This is correct. According to Wikipedia, Washington gave the SOTU in person, but presidents from Jefferson through Taft delivered it in writing. Wilson started the tradition of giving it in person, though it has occasionally been done in writing since then. The most recent example of the SOTU being given only in writing was lame duck Jimmy Carter.
SiubhanDuinne
@ziggy:
This is my “too bad, so sad” face.
Raven Onthill
@SiubhanDuinne: Pretty sure it’s Ivanka that’s covering; that’s why she keeps showing up.
grammypat
Sorta/kinda off-topic but indicative of this maladministration:
BWHAAAA. a 130ft section of his Wall fell down.
<snort>/
Gelfling 545
@Searcher: He addressed this point already, saying that because he’s an old guy he’ll need a sharp young vp, ready to take over if needed.
Roger Moore
@Searcher:
Hell no! He would try to bully the RNC to appoint him as the logical candidate.
sdhays
@Searcher: I hope he secretly plans to not run for a second term. It means his VP needs to be selected very, very carefully.
One of the possible benefits of running our own octogenarian is the apples-to-apples contrast. Biden may be older than Dump, but he’s got more actual energy and mental dexterity than Dump had when he was 50 years younger. Attacking Biden’s age won’t compare favorably with his opponent.
I’d still prefer someone younger, but at this point, I think it’s going to be Biden.
charon
@SiubhanDuinne:
Melania just holds his hand as he is walking, not otherwise. He needs her to balance, she is his 5′-11″ cane.
stinger
Wow, at least 3 terms triggered neurological misfires: “witch hunt”, “criminals”, and “Mexican government”. And I spotted those in watching less than 5 total minutes of the speech. There may have been more — many more.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Searcher: Before the convention, the convention would decide. After a nominee is selected, the RNC does a mini-convention in the case of a vacancy. After the election and before the EC votes…not sure what the mechanism is there, guessing the VP would probably get the EC votes.
charon
@The Dangerman:
Most Republicans will not care about the dementia. Fox will not cover it, they will just pretend it does not exist. (If they did care, they would already have shown that).
Sab
@Searcher: They are trying to import this criminal trial idea into a political proceeding. It’s weird. Like all the Trumpers can just take the Fifth and then we can’t prove bad intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
When the whole point isn’t to be “fair” to him. It’s to determine if he can’t be trusted (dishonesty, bad intentions or incompetence) to run the executive branch.
We aren’t trying to criminally prosecute him or them ( yet). We are trying to get him fired.
And I will shriek out loud if I hear one more Republican say it’s going against the will of the voters, when 3+ million more voted against him. What about our will? The electoral college voted for him. The voters didn’t.
NotMax
His physical at Walter Reed in February will doubtless report him to be the most healthy, robust individual ever to stride across the face of the planet – the very zenith of humanity.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, it’s not like any nominee is immortal between the nomination and inauguration day. You always need to plan for the contingency.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
World’s Greatest Deliberative Body
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Sab: And it’s not like if Trump was removed Hillary would be President, Dense would take over and Trump’s voters voted for him too.
Searcher
@?BillinGlendaleCA: So promoting the VP to the P is an obvious move, but what then do those delegates do with their VP votes? If they don’t unify behind another candidate, the opposing P candidate is going to become VP by default.
And if there’s any single candidate the electors can agree on as new VP, well, why not as the new P?
Kent
Since this is an open thread I thought you all should know I’m going make Klobuchar’s famous Hot Dish for the kiddos tonight. We shall see how they rate her:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/dining/amy-klobuchar-hotdish.html
Anyone know if there is a classic Elizabeth Warren recipe to try next?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
If I understand the context here, trump’s defenders want to see the Bidens’ banking records?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: It looks like if the President elect dies after the electoral votes are counted in Congress, the VP becomes President. Between the election and then, there’s not a federal procedure(some states may have something in place)
per the National Archives.
Sab
@Kent: That’s behind the paywall. I am midwestern. I need that recipe
Never mind. It is tater tot based, so possibly delicious but undoubtedly lethal for someone my age who doesn’t face subarctic winter.
Where are Biden, Buttigieg and Sanders recipes? Steyers? Bloomberg’s? Yang’s?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been waiting for that. The question seems well phrased to me, very calm and to the point, no histrionics.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Searcher: I looked it up and it’s in my reply to Baud. It basically depends on when the President-elect dies as to whether there’s a a procedure to handle it or not.
hells littlest angel
@SiubhanDuinne: If he collapsed, she’d leap into action, getting on the phone to tell his lawyer to get ready to read the will.
Mary G
@grammypat: Onto the Mexican side!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Sab: looks like comfort food to me, for a cold winter’s night
my kill-joy doctor probably wouldn’t agree
hells littlest angel
@Mary G: I’ll bet Trump has a hard time hiring reputable contractors.
Baud
@hells littlest angel:
He has a hard time paying them.
JPL
@Kent: It sounds disgusting. sorry
Kent
@Sab: See if this works. If not right-click and open in a incognito window
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/01/29/dining/28Hotdish3/merlin_167938932_01a23286-b62d-486b-ba4a-f12796430cd0-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp
JPL
@Sab: not only tater tot but canned cream of soups sodium overload
Martin
Why did Bernie ask such a stupid question? FFS, man, you’re running for President. Go ask Kamala for a good question.
Roger Moore
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
The 20th Amendment already says the VP elect takes over if the President elect dies before he can be inaugurated, so it would make sense to vote for the ticket as written. Then the VP candidate automatically becomes president and can appoint his own VP. If you try to give the votes to the VP candidate directly, you would need to come up with a replacement VP, and if you don’t then you’d be in for all kinds of confusion.
HinTN
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Electors are always free to vote for whomever they choose.
Kent
Oh, for sure. I normally cook out America’s Test Kitchen, Mark Bittman, NYT Cooking, and Milk Street type fare, mostly plant-based. But my kids tend to like this type of food so I thought I’d test the recipe on them.
Roger Moore
@charon:
Most Republicans will care about the dementia because they see it as a PR problem.
Sab
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yikes! I am on statins. Also cream of mushroom and cream of chicken both? My mother put one or the other in nearly everything, but never both.
My first husband was a Minnesotan. He liked stuff like that. When I cooked it for him routinely, he accused me of shrinking his clothes in the wash. Nope. You are just getting fat.
Kamala Harris had good recipes.
300% daily sodium in one bite.
Can we interest the White House?
TriassicSands
@debbie:
I think the way they want it to work is that if a (Republican) president thinks his own personal interest is in the public interest then any act following thereafter is not an impeachable act.
Trump thinks he’s the greatest president ever. It is obviously in the public interest that he remain president and be permitted to do whatever he wants to do in order to remain president.
Martin
Not remembering the correct name for US v Nixon does not inspire confidence in your assertions regarding the precedent of US v Nixon.
JPL
@Kent: ha My son once said why can’t we have a normal supper of ham and cheese sandwiches, so I understand. Now neither one of my sons would have a cream of something soup in their kitchen so there is that.
Baud
@TriassicSands:
Clinton should have used that defense.
Ksmiami
@oatler.: I keep hoping for a massive stroke or coronary incident
JPL
@Ksmiami: Amy needs to cook for him. just sayin
Sab
@oatler.: Feed him Amy Klobuchar’s potluck sodium carb riot.
I am Warren all the way, but I am okay with Amy as my president, but certainly not as my dietician.
Ruckus
@Gravenstone:
Loaded down?
He IS malware.
Ksmiami
@JPL: she could use a base of hamberders
Kent
My mother was a reluctant cook in the 1970s, mainly because it was expected of her. So I grew up on a lot of hamburger helper and cream of mushroom soup-based casseroles. Which were actually the good nights because otherwise she would revert to depression and WW2 era childhood fare like boiled potatoes and cabbage with little chunks of ham. Or fried liver and onions. But then we were 3 boys doing things like football so we basically just inhaled calories and could put down a gallon of milk per day.
I try to teach my girls four things before leaving home for college: (1) how to cook well, (2) how to manage their money, and (3) how to properly do their laundry, and (4) how to change tires and jump batteries.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore: That’s only after the vote of the electors is counted in Congress, before then, there’s not a federal procedure.
zhena gogolia
Schiff has been on fire today.
hells littlest angel
This is why for every $100 I steal, I donate $1 to charity. Presto — no crime was committed.
Baud
@zhena gogolia: He does seem to have superhuman qualities.
Immanentize
@HinTN: Actually not true. Unless by “free” you mean subject to fines and even jail time in some states. The Sup. Ct. Is considering the issue of faithless electors this term
Sister Golden Bear
So the new management (our company recently got bought out) announced major restructuring today, so I’ll be out of a job soon.
The good news is that we’re big enough that they were required to give 60 days notice, so I get paid through the end of March — and even if my work winds up before then, I still get paid. (Figuring out the transition is a discussion for another day with my boss.) Plus they’re offering severance pay, which is on the higher side, since I’ve been there 14 years. So at least there’s a financial cushion while I look for something else.
But yeah…
I’ll admit being in tech and being someone who’s older, who’s a woman, and who’s trans definitely makes things scarier. Even though I’m in a profession that’s in high demand. But ageism is a *huge* issue in Silicon Valley. And odds are I’ll end up having to take a pay cut — the stats on older workers having to take pay cuts is pretty grim.
Did I mention it’s a particularly shitty time to lose my job because I need to replace both the sewer line and my roof. Plus there’s other expensive deferred maintenance that can’t be deferred any more.
But for tonight, I’ll just focus on having a good cry and some good wine. Maybe a lot of good wine, and some edibles.
Sab
@Ksmiami: I think she did. 1 1/2 lbs beef plus the two types of canned cream soups plus the tater tots.
Proper casserole should have some (a lot of) veggies disguised therein, plus maybe some cheese.
JPL
@Kent: haha Truthfully some of my skills were created from the snob factor. In the late seventies in CT you didn’t use processed crap. Over time though you could really see how they replaced herbs with salt.
Gin & Tonic
@Kent: I taught my kids all those plus: how to drive a manual transmission car, and how to swim.
Redshift
@TriassicSands:
When Trump says “America,” he means “me.” (Try the substitution with any of his statements about how much better the country is doing, or about trade, they make so much more sense.) So of course anything that’s in his interest is in the country’s interest.
JPL
@Sab: I’m anxious to see how Kent’s family likes it.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Martin: What did he ask
Sab
@Sister Golden Bear: That’s unfortunate. Approximately where do you live? For some reason I assume San Francisco bay area. Is that right?
Sorry. Silicon Valley. Sort of there but not really.
Baud
@Sister Golden Bear:
That’s tough. Sorry to hear that.
Martin
@hells littlest angel: I don’t think a charity would count. But make sure you declare the stolen money as income and pay taxes on it, and then you’re kosher.
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Why should we believe Trump since he lies so much? (Paraphrasing)
Steeplejack (phone)
@Sab:
Here you go, from Epicurious: Klobuchar Tater Tot Hotdish. I have not checked this against the Times version.
Also, Cook’s Country has a good-looking recipe that substitutes their own sauce for the canned soup. I haven’t made it, but I remember bookmarking it for the next time we have a retro dinner at Sighthound Hall. I presume it’s behind their paywall. I’m too lazy to look on the phone, but might do it later.
Kent
@JPL: 20 min to go in the oven still. So I’ll have a report in 30 min.
Martin
@Baud: Right. I mean, what is anyone supposed to say about that?
Redshift
@Sister Golden Bear: Sorry to hear that, that sucks. I’ll pass along the info useful thing I learned that last time I was job-hunting, which you probably already know: take your graduation year off your resume, and only include ten years or less of work experience. I noticed a big difference in responses once they couldn’t tell how old I was.
clay
@Mary G: Bwahahahaha!!!!
So not only does Mexico NOT pay for the Wall, but they actually get to keep part of it?
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
zhena gogolia
@Sister Golden Bear:
Oh, God, I hope you find something good soon.
Kent
@Gin & Tonic: My kids are swimmers. We used to live in TX and had a pool. They were on the local youth swim club teams so weekends driving all over TX for meets. You wanna meet some insane parents, go to youth swim meets in Dallas or Houston. Yikes! Manual transmission I taught my oldest daughter when we in Costa Rica renting a manual transmission Mitsubishi 4×4. That was the last time I was in a manual transmission vehicle. Getting a Nissan Leaf for the next child so even things like oil changes will be passe.
Sab
@Kent: Sounds good but lethal for us olds. Sort of a once a year treat during a particularly harsh blizzard, after we spent all day shovelling the driveway and survived.
Would also work for kids on swim teams, but needs some veggies snuck in.
Immanentize
@Sister Golden Bear: that is rotten. Glad you got a cushion, but sheesh! What a year of changes you are experiencing. Hang in there.
Kent
@Steeplejack (phone): The Epicurious recipe is word for word identical to the NYT version posted about her. Apparently they are serving it at all her meet-ups or whatever they call those in Iowa. Trying to beef up her midwest cred.
Baud
@Martin:
Schiff basically didn’t answer the question and gave a good short speech instead.
Dadadadadadada
@Searcher: So you’re hoping he’ll drop out of the race 6 months ago?
Mary G
@Martin: Yeah, I just turned it on because I felt like I should watch at least a little bit, and Bernie’s question was a total waste of time. Liz Warren did better.
Adam Schiff is good, and so is Jerry Nadler. The other side seems to be relying on the fix being in.
zhena gogolia
@Martin:
Or ask Warren.
NotMax
@Kent
Add in (5) how to change a fuse/reset a circuit breaker and (6) how and when to use a plunger, and the vital bases are covered.
(I’m assuming your #2 includes how to balance a checkbook so am not listing that as a separate item.)
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
I can see why most progressives don’t prefer her. :-\
Kent
@NotMax: Those are two good ones. Also how to unplug the shower drain when the endless combination of long hair and conditioner inevitably clog it up. I’ll have to come up with a home maintenance list.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
Here’s the Cook’s Country version. Don’t know if it’s behind the paywall, because I’m a member. A lot of times you can search for the recipe name on Google and find that some other site has
misappropriatedreprinted it.randy khan
@The Dangerman:
I’ve thought for a while that he could decide not to debate. Even though I’m sure he thinks he won the debates with Clinton (Narrator: He did not), I suspect it would tick him off to have to share a stage with any of the Dems, particularly Warren and maybe even Biden, and he might see it as risky, too.
Immanentize
@Kent: Don’t you people teach your kids anything about birth control? Consent? STDs? Seems more useful than how to drive a stick these days.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
It may actually be illegal in the Central Time Zone to print a collection of church members’ recipes without including that.
Sab
@Kent: My comments have been about normal adult eating habits.
We were on swim teams in my childhood, with a dieting mother. I was ravenously hungry my whole childhood, because Mom didn’t think we need fed.
TS (the original)
@grammypat:
Anything he touches ….
Gin & Tonic
@Kent: My younger daughter’s husband says three things made him decide to marry her: she rock climbs, she drinks her coffee black, and she drives a manual transmission.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Read my other comment. If you don’t know how to drive a stick, you are that much less likely to be in a position where you need to know about birth control or STD’s.
Kent
Out of the oven.
Daughter #1 (the younger 13 year old more sophisticated one). “Oh my God….what did you do to the tater tots? seriously Dad, you are going to ruin tater tots for me forever”
Daughter #2 (the 16 year old politically-woke but pickier eater who doesn’t like vegetables) . Looks at it suspiciously….”OK, it’s actually not THAT bad)
My wife is vegan so she left the kitchen and won’t come back until it is cleaned.
Sab
@Gin & Tonic: The high bar is the rock climbing.
Gin & Tonic
@Sab: The higher bar is ice climbing, which she does, but he didn’t mention that.
WhatsMyNym
@Mary G:
What clowns – I can see it now “your house sunk because the foundation wasn’t dry yet:>
Kent
There are two parents in my family and 3 daughters. I cover the “dad” stuff like changing the car tire. My wife, who is a family physician covers all the women’s health issues. We have a division of labor. My wife did send the oldest off to college with a Nexplanon implant injected in her arm. She was taking no chances.
danielx
@Gin & Tonic:
Hear hear. Bonus points if you can hold a vehicle in position on an uphill grade just playing the clutch – just as a test, mind, it takes a lot of time off the clutch life cycle.
Dan B
@Sister Golden Bear: Sorry to hear about your work and home challenges. And the added crazy evangelicals don’t help. It’s great you’ve got some time to prep.
Hang in there, take time for self care, and rant here as needed. I’ve got a couple friends / acquaintances in the City who might have ideas.
West of the Rockies
@Sister Golden Bear:
My sympathies, Sister. Wine, a good cry, a late night phone chat with a friend sound in order.
Leto
@Kent: Sounds like you have three smart women. Particularly the 13 y/o who makes the best observation.
Sab
@Kent: So did they like it? I had all these opinions until I found out they were swimmers. I was hungry in my childhood because my mother made us swim although she had never actually done it. She could paddle in a pool, but never competitive racing or synchronized. She had no idea what the calorie requirements were. I ate sugar out of the sugar bowl because I was so hungry (sorry teeth.) Dog biscuits are tasty.
Feed your swimmers.
danielx
@The Dangerman:
Fox News would declare it a total win if he dropped trou and took a dump on stage on live television.
“President Trump showed his complete contempt for his debate opponent this evening!”
Okay, my bad – sorry in advance for that particular image.
Leto
@Sister Golden Bear: When it rains, it pours. So sorry this is happening. Hopefully in the morning things won’t look as crappy. Also jealous of your edibles :)
jl
The GOP and Trumpsters have been using an incapacity defense ever since he was inaugurated. It comes in various forms. Trump is just a world historical genius businessperson and innovator, so it will take him a long time to figure out how the US government works. No… OK, he won’t ever be able to figure it out, how could he be expected to, how could a brilliant business person understand the stupidity of government?
Trump doesn’t understand the role of president as a national leader and head of state, as well as executive, so he jokes a lot and just says random shit.
Trump isn’t a detail man, that is why he appointed the best, top, terrific people. So, he doesn’t really know what’s going on. His flunkies keep him in check…
So far, it has worked with the Trumpsters, and the corporate media news celebs and pundits.
Gin & Tonic
@danielx: Triple bonus points for holding a bicycle in position on an uphill grade (the “track stand.”)
Sab
@Gin & Tonic: FEED THOSE KIDS WHATEVER THEY WILL EAT.
Sab
@Gin & Tonic: Try unicycles. Not a recommended mode of transportation, unless you are trying to prove competence at something no one needs to be competent at. Kind of like a bear on a bicycle. Why would he do that, even if he can?
mrmoshpotato
@PsiFighter37:
Damn fucking right! None of this moving-on-for-the-country shit. We’ll move on to charges and trials for all this traitorous Nazi trash.
J R in WV
@Sister Golden Bear:
I’ve never understood why a company which buys another company would instantly turn the purchased company’s workers out. Why did they buy that company, anyway, if it wasn’t for the good job the current staff was doing?
But that doesn’t really help you out, if they’ve already made that irrational decision!
Good that you have a severance plan, and at least several months of work planned out. I can’t imagine you won’t be able to land a position fairly equal to your current job, perhaps better with a little luck. And some good advice up above about tuning your resume up a little bit. No dates needed, really.
When I was looking for work in the long ago, I liked to use my graduation date, as I was 34 when I graduated from the U with a BSCS. And of course looking for tech work here in WVa was very different from being in California.
Good luck, Sister!
Keep in touch, you have friends here!
Dan B
@Kent: LOL! We need a cookbook where you try recipes and include the family / friend reactions.
Reminds me of a friend, black gay guy from Alabamdana who had a White Trash Party every year, often at high falutin venues, and published a cookbook for all the attendees from their recipes. One year someone brought a dessert that was a midel trailer park with Twinkies as the trailers. Another year someone came as Cheeses of Nazareth. Other times there were actual recipes with combinations of hot dogs and salad – jello, etc.
Kent
@Sab: The recipe review is upstream in comment 123.
The crispy baked potato tots on top are OK but the gloppy mess underneath is bleah. Someone needs to tell Amy that a recipe with frozen tater tots, cheese, and creamed soup mix already has enough salt, you don’t need to add more.
We are not Minnesotans so have never done one of these tater tot casserole recipes before. Interesting cultural experiment. Kind of like making Ethiopian food at home or something. I can actually visualize a traditional Shepherd’s Pie recipe with tater tots replacing the mashed potatoes on top that would probably be OK. But this recipe is not that.
Gin & Tonic
@Sab: We did. That same daughter, who runs things like this, says that the fact that we didn’t mind if she had chocolate cake for breakfast when she was in middle school helped her keep a good outlook on food. They all eat more or less everything, because we never made food a battle.
Gin & Tonic
@Sab: I have a unicycle. I’m a little gun-shy after the broken arm, though.
Citizen Alan
I remember when Shrub was in office and his henchmen were arguing that the unitary executive theory allowed him to do anything he could plausibly claim to be in the interests of national defense, and I wondered if that could be used to justify flat-out having Howard Dean assassinated if there was a serious risk of him getting the Dem nomination on an anti-war platform.
Steeplejack
@Sister Golden Bear:
Sorry to hear that. My own tech career wound down somewhat awkwardly for different reasons, but I could feel the ageism around me, even in my 40s. I did a lot of contract gigs and interviewed with project managers in their 20s. Aside from technical issues, I often had to thread the needle between “not a fossil” and “Hello, fellow kids.” One guy even blurted out, “You’re older than my dad!” He didn’t mean it in an ageist way, he was just completely clueless, but jeez . . . (To his credit, I actually got that gig, but then the whole project got canceled soon after.)
But I digress. Just wanted to say that I can sympathize with some of what you’re going through. Feel free to vent here anytime. And, who knows, you may get some job leads.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
I believe standard practice is to use the legs for pedaling.
:)
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: Boy, now I learn this?
mad citizen
@zhena gogolia: That’s a GREAT question by Warren or whoever came up with it.
Steeplejack
@Kent:
I like Milk Street a lot. Every episode of the show has at least one thing I want to cook. I want to get one of the cookbooks, but I can’t tell which one has the most recipes.
debbie
@Jeffro:
I was kind of sorry Schiff didn’t snidely point out that Dersh is a criminal lawyer, not a constitutional lawyer.
Shana
@Sab: Yang’s at least might be more interesting.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
turned on MSNBC a few minutes ago, muted, and they were running a commercial with a miniature Alan Dershowitz gesticulating in a little box in the corner. I was curious to see who got the sound, Suburu and Applebee’s, or The Dersh, but not enough to unmute
Kent
I just subscribed to the web site which is supposed to have all the recipes on it. When I’m bored at work I can find a recipe and push it over to my iPad for cooking at home that night. My wife is a physician who frequently works late so I’m the main cook at home.
The only recipe I have made so far is the Lebanese Lentils and Rice with Crisped Onions dish. My wife liked it. I’m always searching for vegan fare for her that the girls will also eat. Not sure if this is paywalled or not: https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/lebanese-lentils-and-rice-with-crisped-onions-mujaddara
Sister Golden Bear
Thanks all.
@J R in WV: A good friend of mine is a merger-and-acquisitions lawyer who said that the private equity firm that bought us leveraged the fuck out of the deal, and reportedly the debt is more expensive than they figured, so they need to cut expenses so they can afford more hookers and blow, and yet another Maserati. Unfortunately, I’m 55, so it’s really important to get re-employed ASAP — even at a deep discount, and try trade up later — since any resume gaps are gonna be a killer. Plus the next recession will be coming sooner or later, and I want to have as much track record as possible with with new employer when it does happen.
This was going to be the year when I got my life back after all the stuff I’ve been through the last couple years. Sigh.
Kent
@Sister Golden Bear: My best wishes too. I went through the same thing 1.5 years ago at age 54 so I know how gut wrenching it can be.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Baud: She’s caught in the middle. Wilmer has the low information progressives who believe he’ll break McConnell’s use of the filibuster with the bully pulpit. Then Biden has minority and lunch bucket progressives (yesterday’s Q poll has him leading 49-17 among blacks). That leaves Warren high information progressives and professionals; which is why her plans and ability to construct arguments go over so well with this demo.
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
True.
One of the things that I hope to inherit from my mother (many years in the future!) is her collection of “wives’ clubs” cookbooks from the ’60s and ’70s. I’ve already gotten a few of them. Mostly Air Force wives’ collections. Lots of mediocre stuff of perhaps historical interest, but also some classics and some unexpected gems. Some of the more interesting collections are those where these American women were encountering and adapting different food traditions when they were stationed overseas, e.g., Turkey, Japan, even the European countries. Heck, even “Mexican food” was sort of out there back then. And she has some Creole and Cajun recipes from when we lived in New Orleans in the ’50s.
L85NJGT
King Bullshit:
John Revolta
This is not a Minnesota recipe. There’s garlic in it for Pete’s Sake! This is some kinda ethnic deal.
brantl
@Searcher: They can decide on any basis they want, including an Ouija board.
Shana
@Steeplejack (phone): I did a retro dinner a few years ago. I don’t remember the whole menu but it included beef stroganoff and jello mold salads. Everyone really liked it.
BTW, anyone want a jello mold? Only used once.
Steeplejack
@Kent:
I’m belatedly reading down through the comments. If you want to give it another go in the future, see if you can access the Cook’s Country recipe I posted. It fixes a lot of the problems and actually looks pretty good. (I haven’t made it yet.)
Nelle
@danielx: Coming off the ferry in Seattle and heading uphill, hitting a red light! The true test of stick shift driving.
John Revolta
The words “raid the pension fund” come to mind.
Eljai
@Kent: I grew up in Minnesota. My Mom used to make a tuna casserole that called for cream of mushroom soup, hard boiled eggs, with cheese and potato chips on top. Sorry if I made anyone retch, but it was one of my faves when I was 10.
Ruckus
@Sab:
Grew up with a guy whose mom cooked the same small portions for everyone in the family as what she ate. My buddy at 15 ate just a bit more than she did. For his afternoon appetizer – half a head of lettuce, a large tomato, a large cucumber, at the minimum. And then dinner. His breakfast was a half a box of cereal and a quart of milk. Her daughter and son in law came for dinner one night and he asked if she was trying to starve him. No one in the family had ever complained, she stocked the cupboards well, she just didn’t cook a large volume at dinner and everyone managed.
Steeplejack
@Kent:
Semi-paywalled. Wants me to enter my e-mail address. I might go ahead and subscribe.
brantl
@zhena gogolia: The only problem is the RWNJ slopeheads he needs to convince don’t understand words like ‘probative’ or ‘pertinent’.
Steeplejack
@John Revolta:
LOL, good point.
John Revolta
@John Revolta:Aannd I see at #155 that my fears were well founded. Sorry, Sister…………..but there are better times ahead!
Steeplejack
@Shana:
My brother is a serious cook, and one of our friends is a CIA graduate. And their whole gay posse has a soft spot for kitsch. So every once in a while there is a retro dinner right out of Sunset magazine circa 1965. Good times. Funny thing, they all laugh at the food, but it magically disappears.
andy
Like Grover Norquist advised the GOP- “Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States,” and The Party can take it from there. They sure do have their perfect Republican in The Leader, and as long as he doesn’t shit himself in public or do something that puts them in physical or financial peril, they couldn’t care less about his physical condition.
jl
@John Revolta: “This is not a Minnesota recipe. There’s garlic in it for Pete’s Sake! This is some kinda ethnic deal.”
Klobuchar’s wiki says that she is half Slovenian. I sense an ‘authenticity’ scandal in the air. Is Klobuchar ‘authentically’ Slovenian, or ‘authentically’ Midwestern? And this hits her right before Iowa! A campaign in disarray!
patroclus
My questions for the managers are: (1) what immediately preceded the Big Bang?; (2) what precisely is Dark Matter?; (3) what exactly is Dark Energy?; and (4) how specifically do the theories of relativity and large objects intertwine with the theory of quantum mechanics?
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
My mom, who would have been 102 this year, cooked a wide assortment of foods from around the world as I was growing up. Beef stroganoff, enchiladas/tacos, lasagna/spaghetti, were some of them. All of them were pretty good as well. Most of them she didn’t use any cookbooks. I was often amazed at the number of people who can not cook worth a damn and then I enlisted in the navy. If it wasn’t for the fear of starvation, not eating would have been better. Not every chow line was that bad but way too many were. The chow line at Great Lakes, went there for schooling, was the worst place for food I’ve ever seen by far. Gold metals for absolute worst. They forced us to go to lunch and have our trays filled. Which we would just take and dump in the trash, because hunger was actually better. My fave was Thursdays. Fillet of brontosaurus butt. From an original brontosaurus. Could not cut it with a razor sharpe knife. Same every Thursday. Not the same recipe, the same chunks of whatever the hell they were, they had a special bucket on Thursdays to dump them in, specifically not the garbage which was separate.
Sab
@Shana: Also healthier if you aren’t an adolescent competetive swimmer.
Small demograpgic, that.
Steeplejack
@jl:
Paprika! Where does she stand on paprika?!
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Biden is at 3 with 18 to 34 and Bernie is at 7 with 65+. Has this ever happened before? I have no idea how you bring these two groups together, or why they’re so far apart.
Kent
@Steeplejack (phone): If anyone is still here the Cooks Country upgraded Hot Dish recipe is paywalled but if you google “Cook’s Country tater tot hot dish” you’ll find people who have posted it to other wet sites
But honestly, I think just find any good shepherd’s pie recipe and swap out tater tots for mashed potatoes will be the better decision. Like say this one: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shepherds-pie-recipe2-1942900
Steeplejack
@Kay:
I hate to be cynical, but the yoots are a low-voting bloc and Biden probably reminds them of their dad—oops, sorry, granddad—whereas Sanders is definitely not their grandfather and talks a really inspirational line.
For the oldsters, Sanders just reminds them of that one cranky asshole neighbor that everybody puts up with. Whereas Biden is the neighbor who, if he’s running the HOA or whatever, we can all get back to not worrying about that crap.
Anne Laurie
I know this is a standing trope/joke, but seriously: That’s not how ADHD meds work. (Haven’t been on Adderall specifically, but yes I speak from experience.) It takes most people time & tweaking to get the dosage adjusted. And they’re dangerous for anyone with high blood pressure or related cardiac problems — I know Trump is officially ‘healthy’, but a dude in his 70s with his diet & exercise habits is looking for a sudden fatal myocardial infarction if he does a little prescription meth.
Quite probably, he’s being dosed with something, or a cocktail of somethings. But it’s nowhere near as easy/entertaining as Hey, Melania, hide the cold medicine…
Steeplejack
@Kent:
But if you’re jonesin’ for Tater Tots, it’s good to have that recipe in your back pocket.
MisterForkbeard
@Kay: I think that younger people have absorbed this whole “Biden is awful” thing, especially in the Bernie set. What they’ve heard is about his various bad choices, but didn’t live through those times.
They don’t know about extenuating circumstances (most Dems voted for the crime bill, Iraq was actually a hard vote for Democrats with national aspirations, etc.) and weren’t politically aware during the Obama years to really get him as a seasoned and rational hand at the tiller.
Instead, they have this sort of fantasy version of Bernie that doesn’t really exist. He’s always been on the right side of everything (except guns, immigration and crime), doesn’t have any past scandals or failure in judgment, and is only hated by The Establishment because he’s just so darned effective.
ETA: I should also note that they don’t know or don’t believe in his positive achievements, like VAWA. A lot of them simply seem to think those acts just happened because they’re common sense, not because someone like Joe drove them to completion.
Sister Golden Bear
@John Revolta No pension fund in our case. Hell, for years we didn’t even have 401k matching.
MisterForkbeard
@J R in WV:
I’ve been on both ends of the acquisition train, and it usually goes like this: Businesses buy other businesses for Intellectual Property, a Client List, or because they actually like the business and want to keep it going.
In the first two cases, you get rid of most of your workers because you’re not interested in maintaining the product. You get what you want by virtue of the acquisition itself.
In all three cases, you usually get rid of the IT, HR, Legal folks because their work can be mostly duplicated by existing folks in your organization. Maybe you retain 20% or so to keep up with the increased demand for those services.
In the last case, they sometimes want to keep the business running as its own business unit or subsidiary. In which case they let you keep your engineers and support folks. Rarely, they even augment that staff.
Kent
@MisterForkbeard: I think you pretty well nailed it. This is exactly my impression as well. And it is exactly the impression Bernie had deliberately cultivated vis a vis every other candidate. No wonder they all despise him
On the other hand, Biden had done Fuck-all to appeal to anyone under 40. And deliberately so. Consequently it’s his own fault.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kay: For the Youngs: Bernie is so obviously right about everything! Who could oppose him?
I actually agree with most of Sanders’ goals, but I’m an old man and twice in my lifetime, twice in my middle-age (33 and 49) purity leftists have put first the worst president since Nixon (at least) and then the worst president in history in office.
Also, I don’t have data or fancy studies or what-have-you about this, but my sense is that at least since Bush II, with the perception that Bush got everything he wanted (debatable) and ran roughshod over Congress, the Left, even a lot of centrists, seems to have fallen deeper into the cult of Presidency. If Obama couldn’t be as powerful as Bush is perceived/remembered to be, it must be because he was weak! He didn’t try! Bernie will shout righteously, and remember: He’s right! How will anyone dare stand against him!
For the Olds: Socialism.
How do you bridge that gap? No fucking idea. Obama got the Youngs twelve years ago. Today’s think he’s at best a failure, at worst a success in his duplicitous secret Republican plot to block the true progressive agenda.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent:
there’s a school of thought that he pushed Obama on gay marriage
Misterpuff
@J R in WV:
The buyer is not buying “the organization” but the org’s Customers. They are buying business.
Steeplejack
@MisterForkbeard:
Good point. And they think that the “common sense” things that they want now should just happen because a passionate person like Bernie is finally pointing them out. ?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Chris Coons to the rescue! There will be a bipartisan resolution that fails! Okay, okay, at least Coons is trying (if it’s what it looks like)
Romney continues to baffle me. He has always struck me as one of the most arrogant, self-important political figures I’d ever seen. An unwitting self-parody of the Master of The Universe type. And now he’s kowtowing to trump and (apparently) getting yelled at by natural-born sidekick, toady and lickspittle Lindsey Graham.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Damn, Chris Coons very Senatorially and Chris Coonsilly calling Manchin a moron for saying Hunter Biden is relevant.
John Revolta
@Sister Golden Bear: Well, so at least they’re not stealing it from you!
Kent
Oh, I agree entirely that Biden has accomplishments. I’m talking about the BIDEN CAMPAIGN. The “No Malarkey Express” What are they doing to appeal to anyone under 40?”
Show me anywhere on his web site that he talks about equality or LGBT issues of any kind. I just spent 5 minutes there and couldn’t find any mention of anything remotely related to that on his issues page: https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/
I don’t dislike Biden. I just don’t see anything he is doing to appeal to my 16 year old politically-woke daughter or my 22 year old less woke daughter.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent: Oh, I agree entirely that Biden has accomplishments. I’m talking about the BIDEN CAMPAIGN.
Ah, I see. Yes, I’m looking too and trying to imagine being a Young and looking for excitement there. Even as an Old, the phrasing on climate, just for starters, seems perfunctory and dull.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: “Criminal Justice Reform”, “A Plan To End Gun Violence”… the words are there, but… it all looks kind of slapped together.
Joe’s Plan for this, that and the other thing. I can almost see Ed Rendell and Dick Harpootlian, “Liz has all those “plans”, people seem to like that. Put “plan” up there a lot. Is this a Facebook or an internet? Is there a place near here with soup?”
John Revolta
@Kent: @Jim, Foolish Literalist: This is why Biden’s VP choice (should he get that far) is very important. Presumably, he knows this.
patrick II
@MisterForkbeard: I believe another reason is to raid the pension fund. I have had more than one friend have his pension drastically reduced when the new business is not held responsible for the original company’s pension deal.
MisterForkbeard
@patrick II: I could see that. Probably less common in tech – most tech companies never got into the Pension game.
Kent
Get rid of the two geriatric farts who have no fucking business running in their late 70s and imagine how different this campaign would look. Old white male ego is going to destroy this country. Swear to God. And I’m nearly one of them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent:
Counter-counter-factual/s: Kamala Harris has a fixed position on the most important non-trump issue in the Democratic Party before she launches her campaign, doesn’t hire her sister to run that campaign. Elizabeth Warren pays a little closer attention to the 2018 results and realizes that Lauren Underwood, Conor Lamb and Elissa Slotkin are more representative of the path to the White House than AOC, Bernie and Rose Twitter, sticks to her anti-corruption, anti-corporate (boss) agenda
ETA: not discounting sexism as an obstacle for both candidates, and racism for Harris, but they both made what I see as big mistakes
FlipYrWhig
@John Revolta:
Blue-sky prediction: Biden-Beto. Brings in someone younger without being a firebrand, white but with a good rapport with Southwestern Latinx people, and go with a sort of father-son vibe. A two-man ticket isn’t ideal by my standards but he’s going to get a lot of advice to not make any big sudden movements that could freak out the blue-collar dads he’ll be hoping to peel away from Trump. My spidey-sense is tingling on this one. You heard it here first.
Kent
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: There were a bunch of other candidates besides Warren and Harris, even if those two were favorites here. But yes, there were miss steps by both of them. On the other hand, Biden and Sanders have a ton of miss steps too.
John Revolta
@Kent: I’m with you. And yet, everybody who ran except the over-70s got basically no support.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent: true, but I think Warren and Harris were the only two who were ever front-runners, or close.
Then there’s fucking Andrew Yang and I think that even as a certified internet rando with a long history of predicting everything wrong I can’t figure out what the fuck is going on.
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
If they were white males none of those “mistakes” would have made any difference. They barely made a difference for these women.
Every campaign that does not succeed has similar “mistakes” that are not very different from the successful campaigns. People don’t vote on those things, as much as we think they do.
John Revolta
@FlipYrWhig: He could do worse. Beto didn’t stir up the AA voters as I recall but Biden does pretty well there on his own.
Kent
@FlipYrWhig: No way. Biden Klobuchar makes much more sense. She can actually help with the upper midwest. Plus will exite the middle aged female base that is the workhorse of the Democratic party. What swing state does Beto help bring home?
Kent
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: What is going on is that we haven’t had a single fucking person vote yet and are winnowing down our slate of candidates one by one based on polling of an electorate who mostly isn’t paying attention and mostly doesn’t answer phones anymore.
FlipYrWhig
@Kent: State-wise, he helps with Arizona. But I don’t think it’s so much a state-by-state thing as a youth/energy thing: you can send him to the college towns where Sanders has gotten big crowds and fire them up like 80% without having to commit to the whole Sanders agenda. I feel like Biden will be fine in the Midwest in the end because his blue-collar-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold shtick will work well in all the Big Ten states. Like I said before I haven’t seen anyone else make this speculation and it’s kind of my pet idiosyncratic theory but for whatever reason I keep coming back to it.
debbie
@Kent:
If you do FB, there are groups for Milk Street and for ATK/CC which have huge recipe files.