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Late Night Minor Consolation Open Thread: The Oval Office Occupant Is Miserable, Too

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Back during the original Gilded Age, when Americans were first debating our then-new power over the misfortunate citizens of Puerto Rico, political commentor Finley Peter Dunne famously remarked “no matter whether the constitution follows the flag or not, the Supreme Court follows the election returns“. The only credit I’ll give Chief Justice Roberts for his recent decisions in regard to protecting LBGTQ workers’ rights and pregnant women’s bodily autonomy is that he does, indeed, seem to be following the polls… and those polls do not look good for Roberts’ ‘conservative’ Republican fellows.

Horse-race touts at Politico — “Trump admits it: He’s losing”:

The president has privately come to that grim realization in recent days, multiple people close to him told POLITICO, amid a mountain of bad polling and warnings from some of his staunchest allies that he’s on course to be a one-term president…

What should have been an easy interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday horrified advisers when Trump offered a rambling, non-responsive answer to a simple question about his goals for a second term. In the same appearance, the normally self-assured president offered a tacit acknowledgment that he might lose when he said that Joe Biden is “gonna be your president because some people don’t love me, maybe.”

In the hours after the interview aired, questions swirled within his inner circle about whether his heart was truly in it when it comes to seeking reelection.

Trump has time to rebound, and the political environment could improve for him. But interviews with more than a half-dozen people close to the president depicted a reelection effort badly in need of direction — and an unfocused candidate who repeatedly undermines himself.

“Under the current trajectory, President Trump is on the precipice of one of the worst electoral defeats in modern presidential elections and the worst historically for an incumbent president,” said former Trump political adviser Sam Nunberg, who remains a supporter…

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Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The Way We Live Now

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I’m sure Cheryl and/or Adam will have serious, information-packed post about this later, but chroist jaysus, as the old folk used to say…

RECEIPTS:

Repubs: Hide the evidence, y’all!…

The Senate will incorporate the annual intelligence policy legislation into the National Defense Authorization Act — but only after stripping language from the intelligence bill that would have required presidential campaigns to report offers of foreign election help.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that Senate Republicans forced the removal of the election reporting provision as a condition to include the intelligence bill on the must-pass defense policy legislation.

Earlier this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved an amendment on an 8-7 vote from Warner and GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, which added a provision to the Intelligence Authorization Act requiring campaigns to notify federal authorities about offers of foreign election help.

That bill, however, was unlikely to get Senate floor time on its own, which is why it’s being included in the National Defense Authorization Act. The effort to strip the foreign election help provision from the intelligence bill was not a surprise, as acting Senate Intelligence Chairman Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, predicted earlier this month it would be removed before the bill was on the floor, because of an objection from the Senate Rules Committee…


And when they go, is there any way we can bar them from returning?

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Donald Trump Doesn’t Read

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I keep seeing it mentioned that the Russian bounty information was presented in the Presidential daily briefing, as if that is some sort of gotcha. Now granted, if Trump were a NORMAL President, it would be a horrifying indictment. But Donald Trump doesn’t read. And I don’t mean he doesn’t read the PDB, I mean he doesn’t read ANYFUCKINGTHING. If you put a gun to his head and said name three books he’s spit out “The Art of the Deal” because that involves him, the bible because he knows the rubes love it, and then you’d have to shoot him because he couldn’t fucking name a third.

If you wanted Trump to know something, you have to have whoever his current Grima Wormtongue is whisper it to him, someone on Fox and Friends talk about it, or stage a beauty pageant. Have some bottle blonde with fake cans come up the lectern for a Q&A in a bikini and say “My name is Destiny and I am from Southern California and I like long walks on the beach, Uggs, have a star tattoo on my ankle, and I think it is outrageous that Putin is paying the Taliban to kill American soldiers.”

Even then he might not give a shit, but at least he might have potentially processed the information.

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McGrath to take on McConnell

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It was a close race, but it looks like Amy McGrath is going to prevail over Charles Booker in Kentucky’s Democratic primary race. Votes are still being counted, but Vox (among others) has called it for McGrath:

Retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath will face off against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this fall, after winning a closer-than-expected primary against progressive challenger Charles Booker.

The primary proved to be a nail-biter up until the very end, with Booker and McGrath each pulling ahead at various stages of vote-counting. Booker dominated in Jefferson County, his home area around Louisville and a key area for Democrats. But ultimately, a weaker margin outside of Lexington wasn’t enough to make up McGrath’s showing in rural areas outside the two cities.

Despite election day in Kentucky being held on June 23, a crush of absentee ballots made it impossible to know statewide results until a full week later. Vox’s partner Decision Desk called the race on June 30, around 11:15 am. The week of delays could serve as a preview for the November general election, if it is close.

Congratulations to Ms. McGrath. Now go kick some senatortoise ass!

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From Bean to Cup

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The NTSB investigation metaphor is the perfect one for detailing how the Trump COVID response screwed the pooch, and James Fallows is the perfect reporter to detail it. He examines how the Trump administration destroyed the working relationship with China that the Obama and Bush II administration had nurtured and therefore lost the opportunity for early intelligence and intervention. He also shows that both Obama and Bush II had real, substantive plans ready to go. I’m not going to excerpt – read the whole thing.

Another good story that dropped yesterday was CNN’s piece on how Trump fucks up calls with our allies, especially those led by women. This part made me LOL:

One person familiar with almost all the conversations with the leaders of Russia, Turkey, Canada, Australia and western Europe described the calls cumulatively as ‘abominations’ so grievous to US national security interests that if members of Congress heard from witnesses to the actual conversations or read the texts and contemporaneous notes, even many senior Republican members would no longer be able to retain confidence in the President.

Those traitorous fuckers never had confidence in the President–they just have cowardly, fawning loyalty to him because to do anything else would endanger their precious little sinecures. So there’s nothing here to “lose,” and no matter what comes out about Trump, senior, junior or tween Republicans ain’t gonna change.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: The Heroes We Need Now

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… Dedicating her award to protesters around the country, the star said: “You’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain.”

“I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system.

“We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does.”

Beyoncé was presented with her award by Michelle Obama, who praised the star’s commitment to the black community.

“You can see it in everything she does, from her music that gives voice to black joy and black pain, to her activism that demands justice for black lives.

“And she’s doing it all while staying devoted to her children and the loved ones she holds dear,” she continued. “To my girl, I just want to say – you inspire me. You inspire all of us.” …

Finally, an anniversary reminder:

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Sure, Jan (Open Thread)

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Big “you’ve never met my totally hot girlfriend because she lives in Canada” energy in this tweet:

I don’t know for sure that Trump will lose the election, but all the data we have says he’s losing right now, and he knows it. It must be absolute hell for a fragile narcissist like Trump to contemplate the ego annihilation that a big fat rejection at the ballot box would bring. It was one thing in 2016, when he was angling for a media empire and didn’t expect to win. Now he’s been president for a few years, and the people will render their verdict.

Trump has been a failure for 74 years, but until now, he’s never been in a situation that other people’s money and a geyser of bullshit couldn’t turn around. It’s still possible that money and bullshit could turn this situation around too, but the clock is ticking. In the meantime, I hope he spends every waking moment screaming at the low-quality hires to do something and dreading the possibility of becoming the first one-term president of the 21st century.

Open thread.

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Election Year Open Thread: Readership Capture

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Allowing for the inevitable NYTimes animus towards Democrats, especially successful Democrats:

… As America’s first black president, now its first black ex-president, Mr. Obama sees the current social and racial awakening as an opportunity to elevate a 2020 election dictated by Mr. Trump’s mud-wrestling style into something more meaningful — to channel a new, youthful movement toward a political aim, as he did in 2008.

He is doing so very carefully, characteristically intent on keeping his cool, his reputation, his political capital and his dreams of a cosseted retirement intact.

“I don’t think he is hesitant. I think he is strategic,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a top adviser for over a decade. “He has always been strategic about using his voice; it’s his most valuable commodity.”…

“Obama has now been out of office for three and a half years, and he is still facing this kind of scrutiny — no one is pressuring white ex-presidents like George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter the same way,” said Monique Judge, news editor of the online magazine The Root and author of a 2018 article arguing that Mr. Obama no longer owed the country a thing.

Mr. Obama’s head appears to be somewhere in the middle. He is not planning to scrap his summer Vineyard vacation and is still anguishing over the publication date of his long-awaited memoir. But last week he stepped up his nominally indirect criticism of Mr. Trump’s administration — decrying a “shambolic, disorganized, meanspirited approach to governance” during an online Biden fund-raiser. And he made a pledge of sorts, telling Mr. Biden’s supporters: “Whatever you’ve done so far is not enough. And I hold myself and Michelle and our kids to that same standard.”…

On June 4, an hour or so before Mr. Floyd’s memorial service in Minneapolis, the former president called his brother, Philonise Floyd — a reprise of the calls he made to grieving families over his eight years in office.

“I want you to have hope. I want you to know you are not alone. I want you to know that Michelle and I will do anything you want me to do,” Mr. Obama said during the emotional 25-minute conversation, according to the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was on the call. Two other people with knowledge of the call confirmed its contents.

“That was the first time, I think, that the Floyd family really experienced solace since he died,” Mr. Sharpton said in an interview.

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Resist — Joyously

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Baby Trump inflatable

From commentor TonyD:

Here is our $99 Baby Trump balloon.

I tend to avoid social media because I dislike taking dips in toxic swamps. But I wanted to do something to speak out about the Poison Cheeto in Chief. So I got permission from my wife and bought myself a Baby Trump inflatable balloon for my birthday.

We mounted it on our our porch roof, which is close to 20 feet from the ground. I was concerned that we might experience broken glass or worse, and my neighbor Alex agreed, offering to set a pool and taking 12 days as to his estimate of Baby Trump’s life span.

Alex is one of the smartest people I know. He is a NYC EMT who was down at Ground Zero for several days from Sept, 12th on. Many laughed at him because he insisted on wearing a high grade mask, but now he’s still here and many of those who made fun if him are not…

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Lest We Forget Open Thread: Pence Is Every Bit As Dangerous As Trump

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Some people say, given the obvious deterioration of the Oval Office Squatter’s reelection campaign, that the Permanent GOP is preparing to shove Mike Pence to the front of the 2020 ticket — just in case. Let nobody forget that Pence is every bit as vile, dishonest, and dangerous to our joint American experiment as his ‘chief.’

Also, he is really, incredibly, remarkably-even-by-Indiana-Republican-standards stupid. The only difference between a Trump incumbancy and a Pence one would be less ‘entertaining’ press conferences and more overt theft by his kakistocratic handlers.

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The Village(s) Idiot(s) and Brave Resisters

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Republicans outnumber Democrats two-to-one in the mega-MAGA Central Florida retirement development known as The Villages. But that didn’t stop brave resisters from turning out to heckle a pro-police/pro-virus/pro-racism/pro-Trump golf cart parade recently:

Perhaps the most famous resister in the community that bills itself as “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown” is Ed McGinty, a mensch who has been conducting a one-man anti-Trump protest for months by parking a cart decorated with anti-Trump signs at busy intersections in The Villages. Slogans include: “Biden Will Kick Trump’s Fat Ass.”

McGinty was attacked after the golf cart parade protest but says he gave as good as he got:

He said he was “driving peacefully” along Old Camp Road when a man with long fingernails reached into his golf cart and punctured his neck while pulling him from the seat.

“Once out and standing I punched his nose with all I have,” McGinty said. “I believe I broke his nose because his eyeglasses went flying…”

McGinty then suggested Trump supporters sell all of their flags and signs “while there is a market for that trash.” He added that if anyone else wants to challenge him, they’ll find him six days a week on a corner in The Villages.

I salute you, good sir, and hope to raise a victory toast to you come November while the Trumpers sulk disconsolately on their lanais.

PS: This morning, an elderly man in a no-show job who divides his time between watching Fox News and cheating at golf retweeted that same clip above to express support for The Village idiots riding in carts:

Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!

By “the great people,” Trump means the old man who shouted “white power” at the 8-second mark. May his retirement become official on January 20, 2021.

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Late Night Open Thread: Parler, It’s Where the Kewl Kidz Are!!!

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Parler, per Wikipedia, is a “microblogging and social networking service launched in August 2018, promoted as an alternative to Twitter and particularly marketed to political conservatives in the United States”. (The article cites “Brad Parscale, Senator Mike Lee, and activist Candace Owens” as prominent early supporters, for what that’s worth.)

Benny Johnson, formerly ‘Buzzfeed Ben’, is a plagiarist currently serving as “chief creative officer at conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA”.

As you may have heard, Professional Conservatives are currently Big Mad at Twitter and FaceBook for those companies’ recent half-hearted attempts to staunch the sludge of hate speech, misinformation, and monetized lies. Lo, Mr. Johnson proclaims a Solution!

It’s the hot new craze!

Tom Cotton’s aide writes some advertising copy:

Report from Fast Company:

… I have to admit: The Parler site itself is well-designed and organized. It obviously takes many cues from Twitter in terms of features and layout, but it’s got some of its own bells and whistles, such as the ability to tip other users’ posts with influence points, which you must buy with a credit card. You can also vote up posts and “echo” them by hitting a little megaphone icon…

Of course, if Parler has your credit card info, it can sell your data, just like those other evil apps! And because I am an elderly cynic, when a company offers a chance for its marks to send money to their faves, I immediately wondered about the percentage of outright grifters among its users…

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Electoral Justice Open Thread: DC *Will* Be A State

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… Just as soon as we succeed in turfing out the GOP racists currently supporting the Oval Office Squatter. Goals!

Karen Tumulty, at the Washington Post — “Why the lopsided House vote in favor of D.C. statehood was so historic”:

Before Friday, the last time Congress considered the question of the District of Columbia becoming a state was 27 years ago. The measure failed in 1993 by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, with all but one House Republican and 40 percent of the Democrats voting against.

So the lopsided House vote in favor of D.C. statehood on Friday was a historic one, illuminating both the politically and racially charged moment that we are in and forces that have building for decades.

It passed along party lines, 232 to 180, with Rep. Collin C. Peterson, a Democrat from a conservative district in Minnesota, the only one in the chamber to break ranks and join the Republicans in opposition.

“I was born without representation, but I swear — I will not die without representation,” D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, a Democrat and a fifth-generation Washingtonian, said shortly after the vote…

Though the measure has 40 Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said it will not reach the floor. Even if Democrats win control in November, as looks increasingly possible, it’s unclear that statehood could garner the 60 votes it would need to overcome a filibuster…

(IMO, if we break McConnell’s majority, it won’t be all that hard to peel off some of the GOP cowards looking to get out from under the wreckage.)

And of course the Republicans, inside and out of Congress, immediately leapt to announce their allegiance to racism…

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GOP Venality Open Thread: #PutinsPuppet Gets His Strings Yanked

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I’m sure Cheryl & Adam will have more informed commentary later, but SRSLY: At this point, the Notorious P Tape is gonna be a live-on-air performance where Putin soils a kneeling Trump’s ‘very expensive silk’ tie, and Trump meekly comments, Thank you sir may I have another?

Is ‘Sure, Russia was paying a bounty on dead Americans, but when American intelligence found out, nobody bothered to tell Trump’ supposed to be some kind of vindication? What’s the message supposed to be — that everyone figured Trump knew about it already, or that nobody expected him to do anything about it but maybe tell some more lies?

I’d predict McEninny would be out of a job by Monday, except who the hell would they get to replace her?

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