… Of giving every outside voter the bird. Winner of both (D) and (R) Dixville Notch primaries? The guy who’s not on the ballot!
NEW: And it’s 3 write-in votes for #Bloomberg in #DixvilleNotch making him the winner in the community’s midnight primary vote. #NHPrimary #NHPolitics
(pc @DixvilleVote pic.twitter.com/S76AokCaEg
— Ciara Speller (@CiaraSpeller) February 11, 2020
(But he does have money, which he is spreading around very generously. Tourism, including political tourism, is NH’s top industry. They approve of flatlanders showing up, spending money, and going away.)
Also, if past performance is any indicator, at least one of those (D) Bloomberg choosers votes the straight Republican ticket in the general election. Nothing personal, it’s just the Granite State way.
New Hampshire have been super frustrated — they’ve never had to wait this long to know which Iowa winner they’re supposed to reject.
— Tony Fratto (@TonyFratto) February 4, 2020
As @PeteButtigieg’s team was trying to leave the Youth Climate Town Hall, they were briefly blocked by satirical candidate Vermin Supreme.
“Boot head head!” he chanted at the mayor’s car. pic.twitter.com/jWG6q0tPL7
— Rob DiRienzo (@RobDiRienzo) February 5, 2020
Another NH tradition to keep an eye out for, tonight: Tying up the phonelines to delay result reporting.
Looks like a page was ripped right out of the NH GOP’s 2002 playbook.
This story is unfortunately all too familiar in #nhpolitics – where it’s happened before. By phone jamming, Republicans disrupted NH Dems’ election efforts, and 2 GOP operatives went to jail for it. https://t.co/k5zNdDc9rn
— Holly Shulman (@HollyShulman) February 6, 2020
The wild scene outside the big Democratic dinner in Manchester NH. Trump supporters are chanting “Hunter Biden!” and Native American chants at Warren supporters pic.twitter.com/b0gkGnxizw
— Matt Viser (@mviser) February 9, 2020
Scenes from the weekend. The McIntyre-Shaheen Democratic Dinner is essentially another tourist trap — all the top people from the NH Democratic party ‘welcome’ whomever buys a ticket to share a gymnasium for a few hours, just before the primary. Sufficiently generous donors actually get dinner; campaigns buy bleacher tickets for as many warm bodies as they can find / afford, to demonstrate their size & power. They don’t have to be eligible NH voters; they don’t even have to be Democrats:
Ben I have attended this Dinner in the past , one doesn't have to be rich to buy a ticket, When I attend my income was less than $25K . those seated tend to be party activist. btw suit jacket is optional…
— MikeofBoston (@griffbos) February 9, 2020
The #NHDem dinner was on the one hand the most compelling of all these cattle calls, and on the other, one of the strangest. 40% of primary voters won't be members of the Democratic Party. Half of this room (conservatively) does not live in New Hampshire.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 9, 2020
Can't get a photo out on this cell service, but biggest crowds at NHDem dinner are for Buttigieg, Warren, Sanders, and Patrick, making up for lost time with 800+ tickets.
Modest Klobu-crowd,#YangGang has folks in the nosebleeds, Biden folks taking up a fairly small corner.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 9, 2020
At the NH Dem Party McIntyre-Shaheen dinner (basically a big pep rally), the Biden section is really small. Not pictured is the Pete section, which is also really big pic.twitter.com/LHjgxLsvlS
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) February 9, 2020
Interesting and revealing dynamic in the arena: the Warren section cheers for some of Buttigieg's applause lines; the Sanders section does not, instead has booed occasionally pic.twitter.com/nYm1J1y3Kz
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 9, 2020
Certainly other sections chanted insults at some point, I've been told so many times that every candidate has an equal share of toxic supporters. https://t.co/mBp440ht98
— Iowasca Tripper (@agraybee) February 9, 2020
The tense, fluid state of the race in New Hampshire. "Uncertainty [is] more popular than many of the candidates." By ?@chelsea_janes? ?@AnnieLinskey? ?@mviser? https://t.co/z4fAIyaHP9
— Jada Yuan (@jadabird) February 9, 2020
It’s certainly ‘more popular’ with the political horse-race touts. Murphy the Trickster god grant this particular chapter is over and done with by Thursday morning, because Wednesday’s supposed to be a nice day, but there’s chancy weather moving in by midnight. Nothing makes reporters crankier than getting stranded by bad weather!
Betty Cracker
It’s all about the Klomentum, according to CNN!
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
4 years ago Sanders won 17 of 26 votes. Tonight he only won 4 of 27. (28 votes if you include the Bloomberg vote cast on the republican ticket).
NotMax
Yay!
If, as I do, you find the autoplay of previews for every single thing on Netflix while browsing through their programming to be an annoyance, they have now relented and offer an option to turn those off.
Must be done on the Netflix web site. Log in, find Manage Profile and click on it, then click on the profile you wish to alter (if you have more than one profile on your account, each must be changed individually).
Near page bottom there are two options which can be unchecked. One will turn off the autoplay previews, the other will turn off the default of automatically playing the next episode in a series. Uncheck the one(s) you want to disable and click the Done button.
It may take as long as 24 hours (or may not) for the change to be consistently locked in on your account profile when browsing Netflix’ offerings, but it will happen.
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: Thank you! The preview autoplay drives me nuts. I’ve been muting it ever since they enabled that annoying feature, but turning it off at the source is a better solution. Why did they do it in the first place? I can’t believe anyone was asking for that or prefers it to clicking for a preview.
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Who do you support in the primary?
Kay
There’s audio that he wasn’t able to censor.
You have to laugh at “GrassRoots TV” though. Perhaps…change that name?
Sab
Littlebritdifrnt : I have horrendously mis-spelled your nym. Worried about you. Please check in.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Something tells me it’s not Bernie… ?
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
I don’t know why people focus on crowd size. It never translates into votes. Wilmer’s crowds were much, much bigger than Hillary’s crowds and he still lost by 3,708,294 votes.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Kay: Anyone but Wilmer.
Completely non committed. Will wait until election day to determine who is best positioned to block Wilmer from losing 49 states.
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
So just full time anti-Sanders. Got it.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
For Warren supporters: if she wasn’t in the race who would you be supporting today?
Sab
@Kay: Me, not Dave, Warren all the way.
Sab
I am worried a lot about Littlebrit( absolutely mis-spelled her nym). In UK on west coast with hurricane or big storm.
Kay
I saw this ad and it really is misleading. Bloomberg probably wants to be careful with the revisionist history and censoring, because he’s speeding past politically motivated bullshit and rapidly approaching “liar”. Trump is a liar. Attacking Trump for being a liar is central to Bloomberg’s campaign. Bloomberg also being a liar is not a point in his favor.
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Just based on personal preference and not electoral considerations, Klobuchar, then Biden.
For as poorly as Biden is doing, his head to head polling against Trump has remained steady and is still the best.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Kay: As a life long Democrat, I dislike Sanders and all his attacks on Democrats. Ya know, I’ve never seen Warren attacking Democrats or railing against what Sanders calls “identity politics”. But primarily I’m against nominating someone who is unelectable. So if Mike Gravel had 25% of the vote I would be against him on electoral grounds, as well.
Betty Cracker
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: For me, probably Klobuchar? Would back Sanders over Bloomberg though.
@Sab: Hope she is okay. From what I’ve read, a lot of folks are still without power, but there weren’t many casualties, thank dog.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Weren’t you the one who posted here that Bloomberg’s policy papers were stolen from others?
Thief…liar….same neighborhood??
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Between the Bernie and Bloomberg infatuations, it’s clear I should have registered as an indepedent if I wanted to be respected by Democrats.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Klobuchar steadily moved from 6% on Feb 3 to 14% on Feb 9 in the Boston Globe tracking poll. She’s also raised $3 million after Friday’s debate.
Better late, then never – it seems she has momentum and perhaps it’s her day in the sun.
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
At that rate of growth, she should win NH easily!
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
But you’ll support Mike Bloomberg over him, although Bloomberg doesn’t “attack” Democrats- not this version of Bloomberg, anyway- he just pours hundreds of millions of dollars into state and congressional races to beat them.
Maybe if the anti-Sanders people had actually supported a candidate instead of spending all your time trying to stop Bernie there would be a front runner, and we wouldn’t end up with a moderate Republican.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Amy was booed at a rally and she smiled and said “Hi Bernie people!”
I love her for bucking the convention that women have to be warm and fuzzy.
It is my favorite thing :)
Baud
@Kay:
I didn’t see the video, but I can so picture her saying it with a smile on her face.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Baud: If she has a good 2nd place showing, she’ll get a lot of positive attention and she’ll be the primary landing spot for future voters looking to defect from Biden’s and Pete’s camp.
OzarkHillbilly
Blech.
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I hope so. It’d be a nice story too. People like a good story.
JPL
@Kay: Women rule. It doesn’t appear likely that Amy will gain any traction, but I do like her.
satby
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: well, if Warren wasn’t in the race I would be torn. Biden still outpolls Trump, but I really think he’s too old, so I would feel better supporting him knowing who he’d pick as a VP first. I personally prefer Pete after Warren, but would support Biden first before Pete if he starts doing better; then in order after those two Klobucher, Bloomberg, Sanders. If I am forced to choose between two carpet baggers, it’s Bloomberg before Sanders, because he’s the more competent of the two and he’ll beat on Trump like a drum.
Kay
@rikyrah:
I do think he’s dishonest. I think he looked at the field and determined he couldn’t run as an Independent so is running as an Independent on the D ballot line. Which is dishonest and means I can’t trust him on appointments or judges or anything. He probably doesn’t think it’s dishonest. He thinks it’s practical, any means to his end, but he’ll think the same way when he screws me and appoints a bunch of conservative economic people and judges.
I also think he’s going to have a huge problem with teachers unions, and since teachers unions were absolutely key to just about every D state win since 2012 they are hugely important to us. They have proved they can help win state races, and in states we often don’t win, like Louisiana and Kentucky, not to mention Pennsylvania and Michigan.
satby
Bernie isn’t a Democrat and has also poured money into races against Democrats, mostly primaries and obviously with less effect than Bloomberg. Neither is a Democrat, and if I have to choose I pick the guy more committed on gun control and climate who hates Trump more than he hates Democrats.
And let’s not forget that Bernie is also dishonest (I consider him a liar). The health records are just the latest example.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Kay: In the past I posted numerous comments on my support and donations for Harris. At one point I was criticized for posting so many photos of her rallies.
That said, my prior comment was clear: as much as I dislike Sanders, I primarily oppose him on electoral grounds. And since I said I will wait until the last week to evaluate who’s electable I’ve come to no decision on Bloomberg.
OzarkHillbilly
Meanwhile,
Baud
@satby:
If it’s Bernie vs. Bloomberg, I choose Canada.
satby
@Baud: well, if it’s Bernie vs. Trump you’ll be waiting in a very long line.
Kay
@satby:
So there can be no Democratic primaries. To back a Democrat running against a Democrat, as a Democrat, in a primary is disqualifying. Our whole presidential field are running against other Democrats.
Geminid
Driving to work yesterday I once again heard Hew Hewitt cheerfully telling his listeners he has already voted for Sanders in the Virginia primary, by absentee ballot. “I know Bernie will be tough to beat” (he lies) “but I want a clear choice.” (Virginia has no registration by party). Is this a factor in New Hampshire?
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: that’s awful! I hope Fazioli can make her another one. Insurance should cover it.
Baud
@Geminid: Yes.
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I don’t care if you end up supporting Bloomberg but to support him in defense of “Democrats” is nuts.
He worked as hard as he could to keep Congress Republican, which, incidentally, doesn’t really make any sense in terms of his support for gun regulation and action on climate change and perhaps calls his “coattails” into question, since for all I know he’ll continue to support Republicans in congressional races and people can and do split tickets. Whoever the “Bloomberg Voter” is could easily vote for Bloomberg and also vote for Republicans downticket. In fact, I would think that’s likely.
satby
@Kay: oh that’s not what I said. And this is a primary, so since it’s ok for Bernie to parachute in and run white guys against people of color I guess it’s ok for us to support other people against Bernie.
germy
We watched Black Lightning last night, and of course all the commercials featured black actors. (Advertisers understand target marketing). And of course we saw the Bloomberg “Obama thinks I’m great!” commercial.
They should have shown this:
satby
@Kay: and that is demonstrably true about a certain percentage of Bernie supporters, as we know from 2016.
Bloomberg is an anyone but Trump choice for people who want a hope of actually winning against Trump. Hope we dodge that.
Chyron HR
@Kay:
Glad to see you’ve realized Bernie’s a rat. (Yes, I know you were actually talking about someone else and completely oblivious to your accidental dunk on the Bernssiah.)
Anne Laurie
@Betty Cracker: I’m too fogged to track them, but LitlBrit used to have a blog (something like ‘critters by Brit’, maybe?) and also a twitter handle. Pretty sure Cole has her real-life addy — maybe if someone DM’d him, he’d at least check on her for the rest of us?
Kay
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I’d vote for Bloomberg over Trump but I wouldn’t have any illusions about it. He’s a Republican. He’s always been a Republican and he’s freaking 70 plus years old. The idea that he changed his entire life-long economic view in the last 6 months is bullshit. He’s not telling the truth. In fact, the best result for him is the GOP keep the senate- then he doesn’t have to do anything he promised to do and can just indulge his authoritarian view of government thru executive appointments.
In a way it will be nice. He’s essentially removed the public from his campaign, so we just show up on election day and complete this transaction. We give him the vote he paid for. No effort or interest by us required beyond that.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: yeah, evidently we’re going to commit daily verbal fratricide here. These primaries can’t be over soon enough.
Baud
@satby:
If current polling is at all indicative, this is all moot anyway because there’s a good chance that no one is going to the convention with a clear majority of delegates.
TS (the original)
@NotMax:
Kay
@Chyron HR:
Who do you support in the primary? Obviously not Sanders, but “anti-Sanders” isn’t a candidate. As we are finding out.
satby
@Kay: why would you think anyone would have illusions about Bloomberg? That’s a desperation choice.
And why do you think Bernie isn’t an authoritarian?
germy
@satby:
He poured money into races against Democrats in primaries. He supported other Democrats. Bloomberg poured money into Republicans running against Democrats.
In a sane timeline, Bloomberg would be a centrist Republican challenging Trump in a primary. But he knows the GOP has gone insane, preventing primaries. So he’s hopped into the Democratic side. Political parties are a convenience to him, same as Bernie. I read here that Sanders has registered as an Independent for his next run.
satby
@Baud: but I guess we have to have acrimonious spats about it daily anyway. Like gassing on a blog influences anything.
Baud
@satby:
I’ve seen a handful of pro-Bloomberg comments here, but I think most of us place him just above or just below Bernie in terms of rankings.
satby
@germy: my point, you have reinforced it:
JPL
@satby: lol I agree with you. The weekend threads can’t come soon enough.
germy
@satby: Yes, I did. I wasn’t looking for an argument
I feel like everyone’s on edge here, looking for a fight.
satby
So, anyone see the final episode of The Good Place? Phenomenal!
Edit: Still makes me a bit teary.
JPL
@Baud: no no no no no no
germy
Watched ABC news last night and Jon Karl was brought on to report “Democrats in disarray.” (He literally said this.) But it’s a primary. They’re competing with each other. Karl didn’t mention the GOP canceling primaries. I guess that means Republicans aren’t in disarray?
Then we switched to CBS News, and they’ve also got a Republican reporter giving analysis of the Democratic primary.
We’re old so we watch antenna TV news, but my wife and I shared a laugh.
Betty Cracker
@satby: If Bloomberg is a desperation choice, it’s premature desperation, IMO. We’ve got good candidates in the race, and only a tiny percentage of voters have weighed in. Bloomberg is proving advertising works.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: It was a 4 pedal Fazioli and he has said he will never make another because it was such a pain in the ass to do it before. At the rate of 150 made per year, I suspect she has a long line ahead of her.
Here is their Wiki page:
I wonder if the firm will survive him.
Kay
@satby:
I think Bernie is a weak manager. I never thought he was an authoritarian. Honestly satby you guys with Bernie have gone off the rails, IMO. The contradictions between your objections to Bernie and your acceptance of the exact same things from other candidates have reached the point for me that none of it makes any sense. I watched here as all of you attacked Bernie for kowtowing to Republicans or Trump voters or whoever the hell, and Mayor Pete is doing the same thing and it’s praised. I don’t care that Pete does it! It works for him. But there has to be some consistency.
ALL of these fucking candidates are attacking other Democrats, with the exception of Warren, and it doesn’t seem to be working out that well for Warren, although I admire her high standards. Only Bernie is slagged for it. You’re now defending Bloomberg, a Republican, on the insane grounds that he’s somehow a better Democrat than Bernie Sanders although Bernie Sanders has been a loyal vote in Congress for decades. It no longer hangs together for me. I think it’s anti-Bernie plain and simple. It’s no longer connected to real things.
And I DO think there’s a connection between the lack of any cohesive front runner and “anybody but Bernie”, because “anybody but Bernie” is not actually a positive position, just like “anybody but Trump” wasn’t a positive position in 2016.
OzarkHillbilly
Well he want those things fixed, he just doesn’t want it to cost him any money. Make sense now?
germy
@Kay: Someone here yesterday said that Sanders wasn’t in this race to win the presidency; his real goal is to destroy the Democratic party. Someone else a few days ago here said he is a paid agent of Russia.
Patricia Kayden
@Kay: President Obama engaged in “partisan attacks”? Was Bloomberg sleeping when on the day that President Obama was inaugurated, Republicans met up and vowed to oppose his every move? President Obama tried too many times to reach across the aisle but was met with hostility every step of the way.
debbie
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
My local news ran a report on NH. They ended with a clip of Trump at his NH rally. He burbled that millions of Democrats were leaving the Democrat Party and joining his movement.
I thought his use of the word “movement” was very interesting. Someone’s been watching BS.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
As far as I can tell, Bloomberg seems to be attracting Biden people who are worried about Biden’s ability to campaign with gusto against Trump.
Kay
@germy:
This is anecdotal and it’s just one (70% Trump county) but the Democrats here are yellow dog and they are looking for some direction. They mostly support Biden and I would have been fine with Biden but in my view he didn’t step up to the extent necessary and (forgive me, but it’s true) LEAD THEM.
For once in their adult lives they were more than willing to be led because they just fucking want to win and there was this…lack. We can blame Bernie. We can do that. But Bernie’s opponents are a hell of a lot more disorganized than Bernie is. He knows what he wants. He “leads” his crew, in his own sort of weak and annoying way. Rank and file Democrats wanted a team. The Party didn’t give them one to join.
sanjeevs
@germy: He was backed by Putin in 2016 per the Mueller report
https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-central-to-russias-pro-trump-2016-strategy-study-2019-4
And it sure looks like Sanders had a troll army backing him for the nomination again.
Maybe this is done without Sanders knowledge, but his appointment of Tad Devine to his team and his decision to continue to attack Clinton even after she mathematically secured the nomination would suggest otherwise.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
Seconded! It’s way too early to be this upset with other Democrats. For the luvvagod, focus on Trump and his planned decimation of the safety net.
Kay
@Patricia Kayden:
Obama ran a blatantly populist campaign in midwestern states in ’12 and that pissed a lot of very rich people off. I think it was smart, personally. It worked and obviously I agree with that general economic view so I was all for it. But that’s what Bloomberg is bitching about. The Obama campaign hammered Romney every day in Ohio on economic populism. It was the whole campaign, much more so than ’08. They were confident that’s what would beat him and they were right.
satby
@Kay: I’m not defending Bloomberg and I have no idea why you’re on this hobby horse today. I just outlined my voting priorities above and why. I am able to see why people might consider him a viable alternative to Bernie if they have to vote for a carpet bagger, but we have Warren, Biden, Klobucher, Buttigieg further ahead in line first.
and since you yourself just stated you’d vote for Bloomberg over Trump, which is the exact statement as pretty much everyone else I don’t know WTH is up with this whole discussion. You’re Bernie before Bloomberg as your last choice and some people have that flipped based on their personal rack and stacking. But everyone here thinks those are last barricades against the fascist.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: That’s my impression too, and maybe those ads have a lot to do with the migration toward Bloomberg instead of another candidate. It’s understandable that people would be panicky about Biden’s chances and looking for a lifeboat. But Bloomberg? The only two explanations that make sense to me are that people are buying into the ad hype or they think only a real plutocrat like Bloomberg can beat a fake plutocrat like Trump.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Geminid
I crack on Sanders to my friends, a lot, but see no need to do that on this forum. Coals to Newcastle.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: I’m just about to the point of checking out from the world for the next 9 months or so, maybe crawl back into the hole I came out of. It’s getting harder and harder to read the news for all the articles on how DEMs are doing it all wrong and we are doomed doomed DOOMED I tell you. They come from the DEM left, right, and center…
Meanwhile the only thing I read about trump’s campaign is in relation to the DEMs and how they are beating us at everything.
It’s all horseshit with just a kernel of truth at it’s center, bearing very little semblance to actual reality.
If I want horseshit I can go visit my ex.
Kay
@Patricia Kayden:
Romney had an investment connection to a downscale department store where I live. Bain had purchased the chain and were sucking all the value out of it. It’s gone, actually. They stripped it and the stores closed. The Obama Campaign were intensely interested in this- so much so that when I went to DC on a Balloon Juice trip that John didn’t want to go to they asked me about it. That’s how focused on economic populism they were. There’s only 8k possible D votes here. They wanted those votes.
Bobby Thomson
@Kay: Oh, please. This is more of that “all candidates have the exact same amount of toxic supporters” crap. Sanders doesn’t just criticize individual candidates to get an edge. He trashes the entire party and staffed up with Stein supporters. He let his supporters boo John Lewis. John Lewis. And he perpetuated the lie that he really won to the point where less than 40% of Democrats think Clinton won the 2016 nomination, and poisoned a generation against the Democrats with his bothsiderism from the left.
I’m pro-Democratic Congress and pro-Democratic state legislatures and governor, especially with this being a redistricting year. Sanders at the top of the ticket means a 49-state electoral landslide and the loss of seats across the country. Just wait until we’re carpet bombed with his statements from the 80s praising Cuba and the Soviet Union. This “social democrat” rebranding is nice but at odds with his historical record.
So, damn right I’m anti-Sanders.
Kay
@rikyrah:
Ooof, right? No wonder Mr. Mayor for Life censored the video. He now has the dubious distinction of being the only person who has ever censored video at that event, with the exception of Goldie Hawn.
I’ll listen to it because his comments on education will be, predictably, horrible. His idea for college funding used to be rich kids would pay more tuition and then we would transfer that money to poor kids. That was the plan. The poor kids must beg the rich kids to directly fund their tuition and just sort of HOPE that they do.
germy
@sanjeevs:
Tad is a careerist asshole who also worked on the John Kerry campaign. The Dukakis campaign. The Gore campaign. Now he’s working for Yang. All Russian agents?
Tad is one of those parasites who infest Democratic campaigns. When there are no campaigns here, he travels overseas. I believe with him, it’s all about the $$$
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay:
I thought that’s what the primaries were about. The GOP has given their voters a team to join. Personally, I like our way better.
ThresherK
This is a perfect microcosm.
I’ve been to the luxury resort which is Dixville Notch. Nice XC skiing. Nice mooses.
So, where do the workers who actually keep the place running vote in the primary?
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Done! thanks.
@Betty Cracker: Muting was my strategy, too, but I still hated the previews.
Bobby Thomson
@Betty Cracker: the only legitimate argument is that Bloomberg will spend what it takes in a Citizens United world to beat Trump. It’s a cynical take that accepts the auctioning of our government to the highest bidder, but better American oligarchs than Russian oligarchs, I guess.
I just don’t see it being good for Democratic candidates.
ThresherK
PS Why doesn’t Vermin Supreme try some of those stunts around the Neo-Nazis of the Republican party?
WaterGirl
@Kay: I couldn’t find the audio at your link. Was it there and I missed it?
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
After the billionaires, Bernie actually runs the most ads (because he’s good at fundraising and can afford to). People support who they see, I guess.
Just One More Canuck
@Baud: Canada needs more Baud
Morzer
@germy: Has anyone ever seen Tad Devine and Bob Shrum in the same room?
sanjeevs
@germy: Tad Devine worked for Dukakis and Kerry before he worked with Manafort in Ukraine.
Once you work for the Russian mafia there’s no going back to being a straight shooter.
WaterGirl
@germy: It’s appalling that those with the video agreed to block it.
I hope this audio gets played EVERYWHERE.
Morzer
@Baud: Just wait until Amy Klob wins Illinois with 105% of the vote!
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: getting the same feeling. Though I don’t know your ex.
WaterGirl
@Kay:
In a way it will be nice? I don’t get that at all.
rikyrah
germy
@sanjeevs: Warn Yang.
WaterGirl
@JPL: Even the Sunday threads have gotten a lot more political.
By evening, I can deal with it, but I find it particularly jarring on Sunday mornings.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: There are thousands of people just like her in prison.
Baud
@Morzer:
The judges will accept that result.
rikyrah
@Kay:
I rarely disagree with you, Kay, but the Bernie disdain is well earned. You don’t have to declare a party when you register in my state, but I have been a Democrat since I registered to vote at 18. Not cause I love all things Democratic, but everything that I believe is positive in this country has come from a Democratic Party Politician.
Bernie should never have been allowed to run in this party the first time, let alone the second time. I can’t put into words how angry it makes me that he is a Democrat when convenient.
The Establishment?
That’s me and all the other Black people who work on the ground level and get out to vote in elections, both glamorous and unglamorous.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I think that audio going public is the best news for the Democratic primary in the last two weeks.
I hope somebody puts that in a million different ads. Or makes it the entire ad.
Baud
@WaterGirl: MM hasn’t even put up his post yet.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Poor kids begging rich kids ???
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Who is the HER that is referenced in the tweet? I can’t make sense of it, and I even clicked the link. It looks like maybe the original tweet is gone?
Who is “her”?
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
Try here
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
She is a Black Blue Check who has shown nothing but contempt for Black Southern voters
A female Shaun King ??
Morzer
@rikyrah: I’d like to see the other candidates ask Bernie in public whether he’s a member of the Democratic party – and if he says he is, ask why he wasn’t one when he ran for re-election in the faroff days of 2018. If he admits that he isn’t a Democrat, ask him what he’s doing running for the Democratic nomination. Enough of this abusive relationship between Bernie and the Democratic party.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Thank you!
Kay
@Bobby Thomson:
I never supported Sanders – I supported Clinton in that primary and am supporting Warren in this one (unless Amy continues to interest me with her unconventional “I’m not nice” female thing) but I don’t think people give a shit, at all, about what Bernie Sanders said in the 1980’s and I don’t think anyone will ever win “49 states” with such a divided electorate.
I find the “binders of Sanders oppo” argument not persuasive. It’s all ancient and it’s always less scandalous than I think it will be, given the wind up to it.
Sanders absolutely could lose- even may be likely to lose- I think it’s going to be a brutal race, but so could all of these other people. I thought Biden would lose and I still would have supported him. I don’t think he’s a good candidate.
Steeplejack (phone)
@WaterGirl:
FeministaJones, linked in the first tweet.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah:
I am guessing that Black Blue Check is a Black Blue Chick autocorrect. But what is “Black Blue”?
So the “her” is a black woman who likes Biden?edit: Guessing from the avatar the the person who wrote the tweet is a black woman who supports Biden, referencing the “black blue” woman who is dismissive of black people?
zhena gogolia
@satby:
There is so much else going on — I really don’t get it.
Baud
This is why you have a coronation.
rikyrah
Kay
@Bobby Thomson:
What is interesting about this primary is how often Sanders has been the second choice of self declared “moderates”. That tells me they’re not so much “moderates” as probably not really ideological. If you’re choosing Biden or Bloomberg first and Bernie second you’re not basing that on ideology. I don’t know what they’re thinking- beats me. That contradicts a big piece of Bernie’s argument- that there is a huge group of secret Lefties, but it also contradicts Bernie’s opponents argument, that he is completely unacceptable.
Steeplejack (phone)
@WaterGirl:
A “blue check” is someone whose Twitter identity has been vetted/verified; a blue check mark shows up by their nym. A “black blue check” is a black person who has a blue check. See FeministaJones in my previous comment.
zhena gogolia
@Kay:
Sanders lost us the last election — I watched the Democratic convention and I know what he and his cult did, and I have not forgiven or forgotten. We still don’t have all the information on his tax returns or his state of health. Reliable reports are that the Repubs have a thick file of oppo on him that they’ll unleash at the right time. The Mueller Report indicates that Russian military intelligence referred to him as “We like him” in 2016, and we still don’t know what’s behind that. So I too am anyone but Sanders (or Gabbard, another Russian favorite).
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack (phone): But it said the first tweet was unavailable!
arghh!
Chyron HR
@germy:
Yang, most certainly.
rikyrah
Steeplejack (phone)
@WaterGirl:
But there was a link just above that that you could click. Even if the particular tweet was unavailable, it would take you to the person’s account and you could see who that was.
Kay
@germy:
I listened to Chapo Trap House last night. Not all of it. They’re too loud and they swear too much and they’re smug, which I can’t stand, but my youngest is a Bernie supporter and I try to see his side of things and he wanted me to listen. They have a theory that Mayor Pete is “intelligence”- you know, a person who has worked on that side and may be still an agent of the “security state” or whatever the fuck Lefties are always on about. And he was Navel Intelligence so there’s a tiny bit of truth there.
I think some of the Bernie opposition heads in that far a direction. I think it’s off the rails. Not that far off! But veering there.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
Black Blue Checks are very dismissive of Black voters, particularly older Black voters, who aren’t ‘woke’ enough for them. Black folks pragmatism is inconvenient to them?
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: My oldest told me the other day that right now he likes Sanders and Buttigiege. I didn’t know how to respond.
Patricia Kayden
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Each and every person everywhere should watch that video.
sanjeevs
@zhena gogolia: Not to mention him continuing to attack Clinton and not Trump after she sewed up the nomination.
For anyone who follows U.K. politics the parallel between Jeremy Corbyn and Sanders are disturbing. Another cranky left egomaniac with an online cult following.
And Corbyn led Labour to its worst showing since 1935.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Write him out of your will?
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack (phone):
Thank you! Seems like someone should write a little twitter primer for those of us who don’t use twitter but are exposed to tweets on a regular basis.
Kay
@zhena gogolia:
Bigger than the 50,000 public statements Bloomberg has made because apparently he accepts every invitation to every gathering of rich people and loudly opines on “throwing them against the wall”? Or the secret NDA’s?
They’ll attack all of them. Unless I miss my guess they’re about ready to start gunning for Mayor Pete. They already damaged Biden. We’ve seen that, right? They attacked the safe choice and did real damage. So much for “safe”.
I don’t find this persuasive. I don’t want to play defense all the time.
Princess
I think a lot of our problems come from the fact that Biden ran when he didn’t have the health or energy (and perhaps the political skill) to carry through to victory. The anybody-but-Trump vote that wasn’t pro-Bernie parked itself there, and it seemed like a good place to park. As it starts to look like not such a good place, the vote is fracturing, not surprisingly. People are Bloomberg-curious because they are looking for another strong bet. I think it’s awful. He’s a Republican and a racist. But when by black House rep endorses him and my black mayor flirts with the idea, it makes it look an awful lot to me like he has a strong chance at being the nominee, unless Klobuchar or Warren can become a focal point. It would be easier, frankly, if there were one of them. I’d vote for either, with Warren being my strong preference, but that’s the problem and why the race is fracturing. Most of us would vote for almost anyone and 25% of us would only vote for Bernie (in the primary at least.
Mr. Mack
@WaterGirl: Yup. And expect more of the same until late Fall.
I have learned that it is essential to unplug. Back in the early 2000’s, we literally burned the MSNBC logo into our television screen. My kids still laugh about that. I somehow tweaked my FB settings so that I will see a political ad for a split second, then it abruptly disappears. I am thankful. Even so, I have blocked people that post or, worse, share sketchy ads.
The one place I do not avoid (besides my little collection of trusted bloggers) is Balloon Juice. I have learned quite a bit here. It is a difficult group to break into, or break from. When the threads turn ugly i generally tap out. I have YEARS of experience in participating in snarky online debates…and realized it gets me, and ultimately us, nowhere.
I have even avoided sounding off for any particular candidate…thus far. That will change, but this ain’t my first Silly Season and November is quite a ways off.
Now the most important question I have is this:
Can you really come in as late as comment #29 with a blech?
JMG
My son worked on both Patrick for Governor campaigns here in Mass. and at Boston City Hall (works for the MTA in NYC now). He emailed me last night (just saw it this morning) and said his pollster acquaintances from one organization in Mass. had New Hampshire as Bernie 1st by a lot, Warren and Pete in a close tussle for second, and Klobuchar fourth and rising. Just one data point, but after such a result, would Biden continue? His heart sure doesn’t seem to be in it.
It seems to me that the one Bloomberg ad I see over and over is the one where he is pictured with Obama and has praise from Obama in it. So his positive message is “I like Obama” and his negative one is “Trump sucks.” This seems like a good way to catch the attention of less politically engaged Democrats.
Betty Cracker
IMO, Sanders and Bloomberg are both a threat to the Democratic Party as it exists today. They want to remake it in their image. Bloomberg is more subtle on that score and probably doesn’t give a shit about the long-term effect. He’s shrewdly (and somewhat dishonestly) using his past work with PBO to create a link between himself and the party’s mainstream.
But if Bloomberg buys the nomination and the general election is a battle between 1.2 billionaires, I think it will alter the character of American democracy in as fundamental way as a right-wing demagogue vs. a lefty populist match-up would.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
I could see that though. Maybe looking for inspiration? A big idea. I think people are allowed to pass over this lightly. People are busy and they have things they care about other than politics. I just want them to vote for the Democrat.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack (phone): That’s an awful lot of trouble to have to go through just to understand a tweet. Particularly when you don’t who the people are who are tweeting, or who they are referencing with pronouns in their tweet in the first place.
Steeplejack (phone)
@WaterGirl:
Don’t look at me! I don’t even have a Twitter account.
Betty Cracker
@rikyrah: She shoulda run!
Princess
Okay, I just got angry enough to tweet the Bloomberg video at my House rep who endorsed him. That’ll show him.
Baud
People are turning politics into religion, and we’re seeing the fundamentalism that comes along with it.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah:
Thanks, that’s enlightening. We are all fighting one another, everywhere. Even the (mostly) good guys.
Reading that made me think of what I’ve read of the younger generation of black people who fought for civil rights in the 60s, while some of their elders thought it was too dangerous. Do you think this might be another instance of younger black people (I assume blue check people on twitter are younger) fighting the pragmatism of their elders?
PsiFighter37
@Kay: You do realize Bloomberg was a registered Democrat until 2001.
Betty Cracker
@Princess: Sounds about right.
@Baud: Yep. I was struck by that when I got trapped in a grocery store parking lot by the town Christmas parade this year and a Trump float went by. Pretty sure there weren’t Obama, Bush, Clinton or Reagan floats. It’s a faith-based enterprise now, and some sects require members to abandon reason.
Morzer
@Baud: Just so long as we remember that there is no Baud but Baud and Balloon Juice is his prophet.
Shalimar
@Baud: If it really came down to Bernie vs. Bloomberg, I think I would choose Bernie based on agreeing with him politically on almost everything. But good God I cannot take 4 more years of narcissistic preening and twitter fights if he wins. I think I would drop out of following national politics completely.
WaterGirl
@Mr. Mack:
I dunno. But I’d say if you’re feeling the blech, it’s best to let it out, no matter what comment you’re on. :-)
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker:
Betty, I agree with everything you just said. Every single word.
These are dangerous times, and we need to fight like hell if we want to prevail.
zhena gogolia
@Kay:
Sanders has no positive qualities that I can identify. Bloomberg has, as a tweet above indicates, a laser focus on getting Trump out of there. That’s the emergency. If he can help us in the emergency, I don’t care about anything else. Sanders has no intention or ability to help us in the emergency.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: I know that is snark, and normally I would respond in kind, but it strikes a little too close to home right now. I fought long and hard for my sons, sacrificed more for their sakes than most divorced fathers would ever think of. And yet I have some close friends doing exactly that kind of stupidity to each other over political differences.
All I want to do is grab them both by the necks and slap the piss out of them, but neither is willing to even bring up the subject with me. They don’t want to hear what I have to say.
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly:
It does sound crazy at first glance, but I think it goes to show the it’s less about ideology and more about feeling a connection to a candidate, or feeling like they are someone you can trust.
Don’t ask me why anyone would think that Bernie Sanders is trustworthy. Well, anyone but a younger person who just wants to hear anybody tell it like it is, no matter how old they are.
Shalimar
@PsiFighter37: Bloomberg has always been a liberal and Democrat on social issues. That isn’t the problem. He’s a selfish asshole on economic issues and that will never change. He isn’t a good leader for a country truly based on America’s professed values.
WaterGirl
@Princess: I am guessing that you mean the Bloomberg audio? If not, I would be interested in knowing what video I missed that is anti-Bloomberg.
Steeplejack (phone)
@PsiFighter37:
Bloomberg’s “political affiliation” is meaningless; he is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He is a plutocrat.
Yes, he was a Democrat until 2001. And then he became a Republican to ease his run for mayor. Now he is suddenly a Democrat again to ease his run for the presidency. He picks the costume and accessories that help him get what he wants in the moment.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: Oh I see it, I know what it is: He likes them. He doesn’t like the others. But I see no way to respond to that particular sentiment without it being at least a little insulting. So instead I talk about the issues and the personal histories of the candidates, what they’ve done, where they come from, and try not to take sides.
Mr. Mack
@OzarkHillbilly: I have lived this. My son is a college senior. In the first two years, we were bombarded with Youtube videos he shared with us, almost always by supposedly Libertarian leaning personalities. Our approach was to ask him questions about why that resonated with him…but to never ridicule. (Not saying you’ve done that) He has moved on from those guys and is much more discerning about what he listens to and to whom he listens. Ultimately, I think all we can do is hope their hearts win out. My son has a good heart, it will serve him well.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yep, and the heretics are everywhere. They must be burned at the stake.
OzarkHillbilly
@PsiFighter37: trump was once a registered DEM too.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: Baud is Baud, I shall have no other Bauds before him.
Morzer
@OzarkHillbilly: Where do you stand on graven images of Baud? Acceptable? Unacceptable? Could be a maybe?
Betty Cracker
@WaterGirl: Well, it’s complicated, and I probably oversimplified! I have some sympathy for the people on the left who want to remake the party. I mostly agree with them on policy. But I don’t share their faith that unaffiliated people are going come out of the woodwork and flock to their banner.
I also get why people cling to the party as it is because they don’t think rebuilding the fire engine while the town is ablaze is a good idea. But the problem with that is there is always a fire. One reason I support Warren is she seems to balance the two ideas, recognizing the magnitude of the threat and necessity of change at the same time. But maybe these times are so extreme that message won’t get through, I don’t know.
Anyhoo, the point I was trying to make is I don’t think Bloomberg should be a Sanders alternative for anyone whose objective is getting rid of Trump and preserving the integrity of the party. He’s a change agent of a different kind, and not a more benign one, in my opinion.
Emma from FL
@Kay: I have been trying hard to stay off this fratricidal argument and I don’t expect to have anyone pay attention to a personal statement from a mostly lurker, but here goes.
I don’t like Mr. Sanders being in this race, because HE IS NOT A DEMOCRAT. He uses the Democratic party in order to trash the Democratic candidates and positions. And (in passing) I will not give a penny to any Democratic decision-making organization that has given him permission to do this.
At the policy level he reminds me of old-line communists in Cuba that watched a good old popular revolution slide into old-fashioned Latin American caudillo worship while insisting that the problem was that economic redistribution had not been properly carried out. They could see nothing beyond that. I don’t see any hint of seriousness when he speaks about anything but evening the playing field for the white working class.
I will vote for whomever emerges from the scrum. My favorites are: Warren, Klobuchar, Biden, but I will take anyone else, even Sanders. But it is quite likely I will have stress nosebleeds during any administration of his.
OzarkHillbilly
@Mr. Mack: Yep, the issues, who the person really is. Both my sons and I can discuss politics with each other. By and large we agree so any differences are at the margins. But as I said at 158, he likes them. In my 60 plus years I think there is only one person I voted for that I liked, and that had nothing to do with why I voted for them.
chopper
@Kay:
what if that consistency is “consistently concerned with electability”? i mean, koch said pretty clearly that his biggest concern is that he thinks sanders will lose badly in the general. that’s why he’s anti-sanders, he doesn’t want the democratic party to fail and crater.
i’m in the same boat, tho i think higher of sanders’ chance of winning the WH. but congress, no fucking way he’s gonna have any coattails at all.
Betty Cracker
@Mr. Mack: Our daughter is about that age, and we have a similar approach. We treat the disagreeable notions she brings home like an unsavory romantic interest: politely and with the knowledge that overt disdain is more likely to intensify her attachment and with faith that her good sense and kind heart will ultimately prevail. It’s worked out so far! :)
Princess
@WaterGirl: Sorry, Watergirl. Yes, that’s what I meant.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your Baud, am a jealous Baud, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Kay
@Emma from FL:
Thanks. I appreciate the explanation. He might give you stress nosebleeds or he might be more like he’s been the senate, where he made a deal to privatize part of the VA with John McCain. Part of the tragedy of Bernie supporters is there isn’t a whole lot of evidence that he’s actually a cut throat Lefty.
I think he would be a bad manager more than a good ideologue. He’s weak.
Kay
@Emma from FL:
And he does compromise. He’s quite risk averse. For example- if I had been Bernie Sanders adviser I would have told him to defend his gun position. He could have portrayed it as mavericky and interesting and used it fairly effectively with low interest voters in places like where I live, where guns are wildly popular. But he caved. Now he’s just the weakest Democrat on gun regulation. He pleases no one.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: I’m voting for the nominee. If it is Bloomberg and if he can buy Senate seats, maybe the House and Senate will pass a law prohibiting the buying of elections. In the land of IF, it can happen.
Kay
@Emma from FL:
I’m bitter because I think this is a sexist country, but I think it’s clear the strongest “leaders” in this race have been the women. Hands fucking down. Warren, Harris or Amy are tougher than any of the men.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: No Democratic Socialists, who are not interesting in flipping Republican seats but want to primary Ds in safe seats.
There are several prominent surrogates of the senator who write in the Jacobin, Intercept and other such outlets and on social media, how the the destruction of Democratic party is their goal and how its the establishment Ds who are the stumbling block in the achievement of the socialist nirvana. Establishment Ds is their short form for Ds who are not with BS.
They also hate Nancy Pelosi. They reserve their venom for Ds who disagree with them. Rs they want to court.
Morzer
@OzarkHillbilly: Hold on, so Baud’s position is that catporn is prohibited? I may have to rethink my commitments here and caucus for Grumpy Cat instead. (Yes, I know Grumpy Cat is dead, but I think there’s a solid chance of a bounce in the polls.)
Betty Cracker
@JPL: I’ll vote for Bloomberg over Trump if he’s the nominee, but I don’t think an oligarch who buys the highest office in the land will purchase reps and senators who will undermine his path to power. Not even in the land of IF.
schrodingers_cat
Why are we even debating about Bloomberg vs BS? I don’t see the point of this thread. Bloomberg has not won a single delegate yet nor has he been in any of the debates. We don’t have to dance like trained circus monkeys at the narrative that MSM throws at us.
On Super Tuesday I will vote for a Democrat not a leap year Democrat, nor the Wall Street billionaire.
Emma from FL
@Kay: I share the frustration. And the rage. But we’re living through what I pray is the last gasp of the white male supremacy culture. Unfortunately, in historical terms, those gasps tend to last a fucking long time.
JoeyJoeJoe
@satby: I did. Among my favorite parts were the wave speech, the first scene with Shawn, and the last scene with Jeff. I know someone who just started season three, so I’ll get to see their reactions to everything coming up.
Princess
@Kay: That’s my problem with Sanders. I can’t imagine him forming a cabinet and running an executive.
My problem with Bloomberg is I can see him helping us win the senate and keep the House, and then vetoing the bills they send up.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: BLASPHEMER! KILL THE HERETIC! KILL THE HERETIC!
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: Because it’s a mostly politics blog, we’re finally seeing votes in a much-anticipated primary, the “most electable” candidate is floundering, and polls show many of his supporters are migrating to Bloomberg? It may mean nothing — I think most people here get that. But of course we’re debating it!
OzarkHillbilly
I am so stealing that.
Kay
@chopper:
That’s fine! But I think we have to admit then (and I include myself in this) that the person we thought was the safest (Biden) is not that safe and not that popular. I thought Harris was hugely appealing – Democrats thought different.
We don’t know.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Discussion is good but people seem to be losing their shit and hyperventilating.
Keep calm and vote for your choice.
Kay
I admittedly love Warren and I was listening to a radio interview she gave in NH and I feel like I know her so I knew what the answer to “would you serve in someone’s administration?” would be-
and it was :)
She’d be thrilled and excited. She persists.
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: Maybe it’s because I’m a work-at-home shut-in without enough drama in my life, but I don’t mind heated discussions as long as it doesn’t devolve into lies and personal attacks. I sometimes learn things and am at least exposed to different points of view. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I know…
chopper
@Kay:
no, we don’t know. nobody really knows. but we can have an educated guess. for me, that educated guess is “nominating sanders will cause a bloodbath downticket”. because sanders has only ever really campaigned for one guy and that’s sanders. and he’s spent decades convincing anybody and everybody who will listen that the democratic party is terrible and sucks.
does anybody think sanders is gonna do jack shit to get manchin reelected? of course not.
this is the big, the number one, reason why i’m anti-sanders.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Following Indian politics since May is giving me more drama than I can handle.
noname
@Morzer: I see what you did there!
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: @noname: I had to go back for a 2nd look. Well turned indeed.
tam1MI
@Kay: Give us a viable alternative to Bloomberg that isn’t Bernie Fucking Sanders and we’ll gladly vote for him/her. Otherwise, if it’s Bloomberg versus Sanders, I’m With Bloomberg All The Way.
O. Felix Culpa
@Morzer: Dead thread, but made me laugh. I so want a graven image of Baud.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah:
I couldn’t agree with you more.