User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
It Don’t Mean a Thing
A Sonny Rollins Saturday …
https://youtu.be/gActLqZZX68
Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
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…the Republican Convention of 1860 isn’t an exact analogy for the present day. Defeated front-runner William Seward was no Donald Trump. He was a sitting senator from New York and a giant of the then-young party. His views on race and immigration were too radical for some Republicans.
But the anecdote shows that brokered, or contested, or divided conventions have a long and colorful history in American politics. They’ve occurred periodically into the modern era. Both Democratic and Republican conventions were last truly contested in 1952.
Nor have they resulted in certain defeat due to a split party. Lincoln – well, no more need be said. And in 1952 Gen. Dwight Eisenhower won the presidency after defeating conservative favorite Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio at a bitter GOP Chicago convention.
“Six of the GOP’s ten brokered conventions have produced a nominee who went on to become president, with five of them winning the popular vote,” writes Trey Mayfield at the conservative website The Federalist
[….]
The Republican Party has had 10 conventions where no candidate had a majority of delegates prior to the first ballot. In seven of those, the candidate who entered the convention with a plurality, or the most delegates, lost.
two good segments to share from last night’s newshour:
DAVID BROOKS: ….. there are a lot of Republicans, including myself, who find him morally repulsive. And he’s just not — there are some things more important things than winning an election. And supporting a guy who tears at the social fabric, who insults the office of the presidency by completely unprepared for it, who plays on bigotry and fear, who is the sort of demagogue our founders feared would upset the American experiment in self-government, well, that kind of guy, you just can’t support, even if it means a defeat.
and this later:
MARK SHIELDS:
And they have taken a position basically that comes down to this. Barack Obama is the only president since World War II other than Dwight Eisenhower to twice win 51 percent of the popular vote. And what they want to say is, he’s got a three-year term for his second term.
So, by that logic, that logic, the people should decide. The 24 Republican senators who are up for reelection this year shouldn’t vote on anything between now and November, until the people have spoken. I mean, so I just really think they have taken a terrible political position, and I think it’s increasingly unpopular and eventually unsustainable.
DAVID BROOKS: Yes, but I agree with Mark philosophically. You are elected for four years and you get to nominate for four years.
As I mentioned on previous thread, I’m reading a Jefferson bio. 1776 is watched in our home on the Fourth of July as a family tradition. I knew that many of the songs were based on actual writings of the founders, but it still stunned me to read in the original letters, the quotes that became the most chilling song in the show:
Sanders campaign jumps the sheriff! In an effort to remain trumptastic in Arizona, Sanders sends Jane to Tarzan’s cell! I keep telling people, social democrats like to spend other people’s money as much as capitalists! Bern-out’s hair has been styled as of late and he has scraped the dried Brie off of his sports coat. He loves the money, too. Not as pure as his white hair. No candidate is pure and they all better be good liars…a poker face is a must for a POTUS.
The media has saturated us with profiles of the voters who are turning out for these anti-establishment candidates. There is the Sanders voter, a white, social-media-savvy millennial sick of corporate oligarchies and paying student loans. There is the alienated, white, working-class Trump voter, threatened by immigration and trade treaties and Muslims, someone far less interested in small government and the capital gains tax than the Republican donor class would like him to be. And there is the stridently conservative, small-government Cruz voter, a dedicated God-fearing culture warrior.
The voter we almost never hear about, however, is the Clinton voter. Which is surprising, since Hillary Clinton has won more votes in the primaries than any other candidate so far. She has amassed over 2.5 million more votes than Sanders; over 1.1 million more votes than Trump.
[….]
It’s certainly curious to presume, as many do, that Clinton’s supporters are somehow less enthusiastic than Sanders’s are. How is enthusiasm measured, if not by actual vote count? And they are doing so despite the media narrative surrounding their candidate, despite hearing very little about themselves in the media, despite her “damn” emails, despite Benghazi, despite her low Gallup favorables, and despite how everyone else is “Feeling the Bern.” If anything, Clinton might need to thank the press for consistently underestimating her. Perhaps this is why her supporters are coming out for her in such strength: to assert their existence in the face of a narrative that both overlooks them and disparages their candidate.
Democrats beware: Donald Trump is finding success well outside the Republican fringe
Doyle McManus
We’ve been all over, and the biggest story in all politics worldwide today is what’s happening with the Republican Party,” Trump told a rally in Tampa on Monday. “It’s a phenomenon…. Millions and millions of people are going out and they’re voting. But they’re not voting for Democrats; they’re down 35 % from four years ago. They’re voting for Republicans.”http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0316-mcmanus-trump-rubio-florida-20160316-column.html
Fox News Slams Donald Trump for ‘Sick Obsession’ With Megyn Kelly
by Nick Corasaniti
“On Friday night, after Mr. Trump called for a boycott of Ms. Kelly’s show, the network responded through a spokeswoman.
“Donald Trump’s vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and his extreme, sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land,” said Irena Briganti, a spokeswoman for the network. “Megyn is an exemplary journalist and one of the leading anchors in America — we’re extremely proud of her phenomenal work and continue to fully support her throughout every day of Trump’s endless barrage of crude and sexist verbal assaults. As the mother of three young children, with a successful law career and the second highest rated show in cable news, it’s especially deplorable for her to be repeatedly abused just for doing her job.”
Ms. Kelly, as she had in the past, has stayed out of the crossfire, opting not to respond personally to Mr. Trump’s provocations.” http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/18/fox-news-slams-donald-trump-for-sick-obsession-with-megyn-kelly/
OMG, pigs fly, i agree with Fox so-called news on this..
The last two weeks have been beyond busy, life and work. But, it has been fun. Last night I went out for beer with a couple friends. As usual the conversation flowed to politics. I had to point out that everyone, except for us, was watching basketball, horse racing or some video “gambling” thing. “Look around, look outside, until Labor Day we are the only ones interested in politics.”
Many people express their hate of the media covering Trump and the others because it bumps out their interests. America, minus a few activists, is not into politics until Labor Day. The current activity is noisy, but does not affect people. Come the good holiday then it becomes something in the average American house. This is not to say it is important what all politically active people are doing today. It is that the typical American is not into politics like us.
I played Rutledge in a production of 1776. Been 20 years ago now. Originally read for the role of Adams. Then I started working on Molasses to Rum. god how I loved that song and how I loved that role. Perhaps the most intense 6 or 7 minutes in American Musicals.
“So, by that logic, that logic, the people should decide. The 24 Republican senators who are up for reelection this year shouldn’t vote on anything between now and November, until the people have spoken. I mean, so I just really think they have taken a terrible political position, and I think it’s increasingly unpopular and eventually unsustainable.”
By that logic, if the country is attacked or the economy goes suddenly into the tank ala 2007, we should wait for the next president to respond. I hate to break it to Mitch and the gang, but the president is the president up until a new president is sworn in, and he or she retains all the rights,duties, and obligation of the office until that time. That’s the way it was designed.
Organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Hour is a global movement that encourages households, commercial establishments and public monuments to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour. In 2016, the Earth Hour will be observed on March 19, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, local time. Here’s a look at various cities and landmarks participating in the initiative over the years. (Pictured) Big Ben, London, England, on March 28, 2009.
Ptd is now corrected to BiD. Early typing is not always clean. Using voice control ends up with some foreign (as in planet) language. Volumes of coffee helps clear the crud out of the brain and makes the rest of the system functional.
Currently listening in on an American Red Cross Volunteer Connection webinar. Volunteering is not always in the field.
so imho gopers could have it both ways cause a recess appt expires at end of their session and newly elected prez Hillary (or god forbid the drumpf) can renominate him and the newly elected senate can advise and consent again (or not).
I think they are saving Sri (not gonna attempt his last name) for later, since he is younger than Garland.
Trump is the sauerkraut and Ted is the lima beans. The GOP hates ’em both, but they’ll choke form the beans cuz the cabbage stinks. Willard isn’t saying lima beans 2016, just beans to save the convention.
(No kraut on my veggie dog, just yellow mustard and Wickles relish. It’s gotta be Wickles.)
At Donald Trump’s protested rally in Salt Lake City Friday, at which the police told CNN a “couple hundred” protesters were present out of a crowd of about 500 to 600 people, the Donald once again made outlandish and false statements. Trump, an old and tiresome candidate, questioned Mitt Romney’s faith:
Are you sure he’s a Mormon? Are we sure?
That’s right, Trump who appeared to take great umbrage and waged a brief war of words with Pope Francis when Trump incorrectly thought the Pope questioned Trump’s faith, questioned Romney’s faith and did so in Salt Lake City — which headquarters the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no factual basis for Trump’s despicable questions of Romney’s faith, which is why Trump offered none. It’s just another outlandish and unsupported thing that Trump said, like when he questioned Ben Carson’s faith.
[….]
This shtick, like Trump, is getting old. Which makes me wonder if Trump’s age has something to do with Trump’s outlandish, despicable and clearly false statements. It might also explain why Trump might say one thing to one audience and then say the exact opposite thing to a different audience a short time later. Trump does this time and time again — reversing positions, back tracking and flip flopping far more than any candidate I can recall.
Writing at Politico Magazine, Michael Tortorello asks whether the Donald is too old to be President. He points out that Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Trump would all be among the oldest ever sworn into office — Clinton is the baby of the group, at 69 and 3 months; Trump (70) or Sanders (75) would replace Ronald Reagan as the oldest president in history. Then he notes that while we do get some indication of candidates’ health, we don’t know about their brains. Tortorello reports that science says brain function often declines noticeably at that age
excerpt from the long, but enjoyable the japan times‘ Fast-lane campaign of Donald ‘Drumpf’ stumps comics, bluster fact-checkers
However the Trump campaign ends, it has already left a television comedy legacy stronger than past political campaigns, Syracuse’s Thompson said.
“Political comedy on television has never been better,” he said.
As the Trump campaign took a darker turn last week, with demonstrations and violence at some of the candidates’ rallies, late-night comics kept up with him. Both Bee and Wilmore staged fake fights on their shows.
A Trump impersonator handed bottles to the two combatants on “The Nightly Show,” who proceeded to smash them over the other’s head.
“Who’s going to pay the medical bills?” Wilmore wondered.
I don’t like Willard, but I believe he wears the magic underwear.
Now, is he a “good” Mormon? I don’t know if his wheeling and dealing in the business world, and, the collateral damage to lives impacted by his maneuvers make him a good person of any religious affiliation.
Well, if Nancy Reagan was starting to run the show with her husband’s decline (and Mrs. Wilson during Woodrow’s infirmity), who do you want as presidential spouse, should there be some hidden ailment.
blueid, from this wiki report, jane doesn’t seem much as an ethical financial advisor compared to the others: Sanders was named President of Burlington College, a Vermont school, in 2004. Reports of dissatisfaction with her presidency surfaced in 2008, with some students and staff going to the press with assertions that blamed what they described as a “toxic and disruptive environment” on Sanders. In 2011, the college trustees, while crediting Sanders with acquiring a permanent campus for the 200-student college founded in 1972, called a meeting for September 2011 with an agenda item reading “Removal of the President” and accepted Sanders’s resignation. Sanders’s salary as President was $160,000, and she received a $200,000 severance. During her tenure as President, Burlington had an endowment of “about $150,000”. The college’s “finances took a turn for the worse” under Sanders’s leadership. The property purchased during Sanders’s presidency was the former headquarters of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The College based the real estate purchase on projections that enrollment would rapidly grow from fewer than 200 to as many as 750 students, with a corresponding income increase from tuition fees. Sanders’s negotiated price was based on the assumption that the College would be able to raise several million dollars in donations. The College was unable to make the promised payments, and, after Sanders had resigned, the Diocese settled with the College for between $1 and $2 million less than the agreed purchase price. Sanders later became a member of the Vermont Economic Development Authority
however, wiki did point out
“She has served in Sanders’s Congressional office as Chief of Staff and as Policy and Press Adviser”
If you finally get around to seeing “The Big Short”, it makes you do strange things like hunting around for who is Michael Burry. Because other odd people do things like this and everything is on the inner tubes, you find an article titled “What is Michael Burry Doing These Days”. The you do something even worse, you read it. At that point you are slightly this side of terror stricken because Michael Burry is buying water.
Bill Clinton may have dealings with Goldman Sachs but unlike the wife of Tedious, he doesn’t work for them. Jane Sanders has been known to be more than a little loose with the finances, and Melania may be pretty but I don’t have a clue about her bookkeeping abilities. Guess I still have to stick with Bill & Hill.
Hill & Bill. The status quo wins and the average Americans continue living in Suckerville. The Rolling Stone article from last October, explained it pretty well. “There Is No Real Hillary Clinton.” Her co-opting of Bernie’s stance on some issues is par for the course.
Who Is the Hillary Voter?
The media is obsessed with the Sanders voter and the Trump voter. Yet it is the Hillary voter who may have the last laugh.
by Eric Sasson
“We never hear that Hillary Clinton has “momentum”—what she has is a “sizable delegate lead.” No one this cycle has described Clinton supporters as “fired up”—it’s simply not possible that people are fired up for Hillary. No, what we gather about Clinton from the press is that she can’t connect. She has very high unfavorable ratings People think she is dishonest and untrustworthy. She is not a gifted politician. She is a Hated by so many. The list goes on.
Considering that narrative, one would expect Clinton to be faring far worse in the primaries. Instead, she currently holds a popular vote and delegate lead over Sanders that far surpasses Obama’s lead over her at this point in the race in 2008.
This is no accident. An examination of Clinton voters and their motivations might reveal that the narrative that most media outlets have been feeding us this election cycle is dubious at best. Because if the biggest vote-getter of either party is Hillary—by a large margin—then that suggests the electorate is not necessarily as angry as pundits claim. It further suggests that perhaps some people are tired of hearing about how angry they are, and are quietly asserting their opinions at the ballot box. If Democrats are so angry, Clinton would not be in the position she is today. Is it really so farfetched to claim that quite a few Democrats aren’t voting for Sanders precisely because he seems angry?”
Lol, this from the piece above as well… Damn stubborn for Hillary, you bet.. I was stubborn for Bill as well, never sorry!
“This, then, is the one thing the Clinton voter has in common with the Trump voter: a refusal to buy into the prevailing wisdom about their candidate. We always hear about how Trump supporters have remained loyal to him no matter what Trump says or does; their support is rock solid. We never hear that about Clinton, even though she has survived more scandals and accusations than the rest of the presidential field combined. It may very well be that Hillary voters are the most stubborn of all. Because they’ve heard it all for decades—and they are still showing up.”
Clintonites: How we beat Bernie on trade
Her broader economic message, combined with skepticism about TPP, won the Rust Belt.
By Annie Karni
““I absolutely think that her opposition to TPP was an important factor on why she won those states,” said Josh Goldstein, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO, which has yet to offer an endorsement in the race. “Any candidate who supported bad trade deals would have a difficult time earning the support of working people.”
Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan agreed: “Her vote against CAFTA [the Central American Free Trade Agreement], her being out against TPP, were important. That certainly did help her, but that’s half the loaf.”
The other half: “She won because her economic message is about the future, about how we throw gasoline on the good economic things that are happening, as opposed to just talking about the bad things. The young people in the industrial Midwest went to other places where the grass is greener. They want to come back home.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-trade-220985#ixzz43O88KUts
Okay. Today is a day that means a lot to me. Even more than the day I was drafted (which I do not know the date, just the results). Today means so much to me – oh wait a minute. This is my Sister’s Birthday! Dear Sister I love you and many more of these days.
Well. Was that not a nice thing?
Do something nice for your favorite candidates, give a fiver or ten or more. Go to their website and find the easy to spot “DONATE” button and click on it. Make sure you are not on a spoof site though.
Why do this? Because all candidates need more money than is in the bank, except for certain orange hair muck types. You are giving your money away. There is not even a tax write-off. But, you can buy some water for volunteers walking door to door. Even better is to donate some money and volunteer.
What you care about today may be gone in a year without supporting your candidate.
Half The Country Sees ‘Fascist Undertones’ In Donald Trump’s Campaign: New Survey
And just about as many say he encourages violence at his rallies.
“Half of America believes Donald Trump’s campaign exhibits fascist undertones, with only 30 percent disagreeing, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll. The sentiment isn’t contained to Democrats, who unsurprisingly are willing to agree with a negative statement about their political rivals. Forty-five percent of independents also say Trump’s campaign has echoes of fascism, as do a full 28 percent of Republicans.
About half the country believes Trump encourages violence at his campaign events, with just 34 percent saying he doesn’t. The rest aren’t sure. Meanwhile, 27 percent of Republicans say it’s acceptable to “rough up” protesters at political events.”
by Ariel Edward Levy http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-events-violence_us_56ec383ee4b084c672201de4
Demonstrators Block Road To Donald Trump Rally In Arizona
Some of the protesters chained themselves to their cars so they couldn’t be towed away.
By Sam Levine and Dana Liebelson
What’s Next for Bernie Sanders?
by Lincoln Mitchell
“Mr. Sanders, who has stuck to the same progressive principles for more than half a century, including more than three decades in public service, but who will likely not be the Democratic nominee this year, is now facing a choice. He can be remembered as the guy who helped elect Donald Trump, or he can support yet another centrist and establishment Democrat. This should be an easy choice, but to get from here to supporting Ms. Clinton, he will need something from her.
Ordinarily, somebody in Mr. Sanders situation would, after losing the primary campaign, want to line himself up to be the Democratic nominee in four or eight years. However, because Mr. Sanders is 74 years old, he will not be a candidate again. This also makes the vice-presidency, on the off-chance that it would be offered to him, considerably less valuable. Shifting from the Senate to the vice-presidency only makes sense for people who are either looking to run for President in the future or who have a strong bond with the presidential candidate. Neither applies to Mr. Sanders.” http://observer.com/2016/03/whats-next-for-bernie-sanders/
If Bernie actually went to work for the down ticket candidates to help insure a Dem majority in the Senate, he could probably snag a good committee chairmanship. Of course if he continues to be holier than thou St. Bernard, that might not work particularly since he is still designated as an Independent for his Senate Seat for the 2018
Tony – good stuff. What is next for Bernie? Staying too long makes him look like a guy who refuses to look at the fifteen minute timer. What I see is he and Trump were surprised at their acceptance as candidates. They never expected to even be considered.
And, yet. They hit a nerve. And, both are still in a very long time longer than they expected. The taste of candidate is enticing. But, at some point Sanders has to accept he is not going to get the brass ring. Unfortunately, trump will get more taste of it.
Right now Illinois is showing “barely GOP) Mark Kirk just broke ranks to call for SCOTUS nominee hearings. Duckworth must have him running scared.
The notes for this race reads: Mark Kirk was a very moderate representative, and for the past six years he’s been a very moderate senator. Unfortunately for him, “moderate Republican” was barely viable in the Republican wave of 2010 (Kirk won his seat by less than 2 points), and in presidential years Illinois turns very blue. The Senator’s tendency to put his foot in his mouth is not helpful, either. In just the last year, he has had to apologize for characterizing bachelor Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as “a bro without hos,” for describing black communities as “the one(s) we drive faster through,” and for accusing President Obama of trying to “get nukes to Iran.” If these liabilities were not enough, Kirk also suffered a serious stroke in early 2012, which was followed by a long and arduous recovery. He has been running a commercial, entitled “Courage,” that tries to curry favor by linking his military service and his fight to overcome this disability. That commercial would be much more helpful if his likely opponent was not Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs while serving as a helicopter pilot during the Iraq War. A charismatic two-term representative, Duckworth is the first disabled woman ever elected to the House, and the first Asian American to be elected to Congress from Illinois (she’s Thai). That said, she too has some political liabilities to contend with. She has no statewide experience, is presently the defendant in a lawsuit from her time as Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and she may not appeal to black voters (a critical Democratic constituency in Illinois). She passed her first test with flying colors, however, crushing Chicago Urban League President and CEO Andrea Zopp in the primaries. So, despite her potential weaknesses, Duckworth is likely to be elected Illinois’ new junior senator. The Democratic Party will pull out all the stops to see that happens, as they are already counting this seat as a +1 in their column. The first post-primary poll has Duckworth leading Kirk by 6 points.
Interesting quote from Josh Browns blog , The Reformed Broker
Murphy suspects that if Trump wins the Republican nomination, the country is “idiot-proof” enough that Hillary (who he adds “I’m not a fan of”) would beat Trump. The head-to-head numbers have consistently suggested such, which is why he’s long called Trump a “zombie frontrunner.” But when asked what unintended consequences he sees if Trump is elected president, he says that political consultants who handle overseas elections in sketchy places with corrupt politicians, as he himself has done on occasion, have a joke. “We like to say law, order, freedom — pick one, amigo.”
More seriously, Murphy suggests, “We turn into Paraguay. Which is probably an insult to Paraguay. Trump suing the attorney general because he tried to turn off the air-conditioning in the Rayburn building. It’ll turn into a bad reality show. And all the crap you see in foreign countries where the parliament members are suing each other and everything turns into a big legitimacy fight. . . . We lose everything. The brand will be destroyed.
“Then the problem becomes how are we the world’s reserve currency anymore? We get away with a lot of shit because people think we have a stable system. But if your banker comes in one day wearing a diaper, speaking gibberish, you’re going to pull your money out of that checking account. So that has a huge potential impact on our ability to protect our economic strength. We borrow a lot of f — ing money. Because people think the number one safest instrument in the world is the U.S. Treasury bond. And if we start making reality-show clowns in charge? Run on the American bank. You think the pissed-off steelworker in Akron has trouble now? Wait until we have a financial collapse and they take 25 percent off the dollar. He’ll be serving hot dogs in an American restaurant in China.”
Then he asks a serious question:
Sure, that’s one direction things could go. So, are we idiot-proof enough to prevent this from even being a serious possibility? Is there a large enough group of people who would actually love to see the whole thing burnt to the ground anyway?
No sense in giving the country over to total amateurs, as we now seem poised to do, Murphy implies. After all, when you need someone to fix your plumbing, you call a plumber — not a reality-show star whose only real accomplishment is “teaching Gary Busey to work the snow-cone machine [on Celebrity Apprentice].” If we need someone to fix the country, perhaps we should subject these applicants to at least the same expertise standards we apply to the Roto-Rooter man
another thing that don’t mean a thing: brokered conventions
a little history from christian science monitor:
…the Republican Convention of 1860 isn’t an exact analogy for the present day. Defeated front-runner William Seward was no Donald Trump. He was a sitting senator from New York and a giant of the then-young party. His views on race and immigration were too radical for some Republicans.
But the anecdote shows that brokered, or contested, or divided conventions have a long and colorful history in American politics. They’ve occurred periodically into the modern era. Both Democratic and Republican conventions were last truly contested in 1952.
Nor have they resulted in certain defeat due to a split party. Lincoln – well, no more need be said. And in 1952 Gen. Dwight Eisenhower won the presidency after defeating conservative favorite Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio at a bitter GOP Chicago convention.
“Six of the GOP’s ten brokered conventions have produced a nominee who went on to become president, with five of them winning the popular vote,” writes Trey Mayfield at the conservative website The Federalist
[….]
The Republican Party has had 10 conventions where no candidate had a majority of delegates prior to the first ballot. In seven of those, the candidate who entered the convention with a plurality, or the most delegates, lost.
two good segments to share from last night’s newshour:
DAVID BROOKS: ….. there are a lot of Republicans, including myself, who find him morally repulsive. And he’s just not — there are some things more important things than winning an election. And supporting a guy who tears at the social fabric, who insults the office of the presidency by completely unprepared for it, who plays on bigotry and fear, who is the sort of demagogue our founders feared would upset the American experiment in self-government, well, that kind of guy, you just can’t support, even if it means a defeat.
and this later:
MARK SHIELDS:
And they have taken a position basically that comes down to this. Barack Obama is the only president since World War II other than Dwight Eisenhower to twice win 51 percent of the popular vote. And what they want to say is, he’s got a three-year term for his second term.
So, by that logic, that logic, the people should decide. The 24 Republican senators who are up for reelection this year shouldn’t vote on anything between now and November, until the people have spoken. I mean, so I just really think they have taken a terrible political position, and I think it’s increasingly unpopular and eventually unsustainable.
DAVID BROOKS: Yes, but I agree with Mark philosophically. You are elected for four years and you get to nominate for four years.
Jace
As I mentioned on previous thread, I’m reading a Jefferson bio. 1776 is watched in our home on the Fourth of July as a family tradition. I knew that many of the songs were based on actual writings of the founders, but it still stunned me to read in the original letters, the quotes that became the most chilling song in the show:
Sanders campaign jumps the sheriff! In an effort to remain trumptastic in Arizona, Sanders sends Jane to Tarzan’s cell! I keep telling people, social democrats like to spend other people’s money as much as capitalists! Bern-out’s hair has been styled as of late and he has scraped the dried Brie off of his sports coat. He loves the money, too. Not as pure as his white hair. No candidate is pure and they all better be good liars…a poker face is a must for a POTUS.
Since we were speaking of transportation yesterday, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Miss Ella Fitzgerald have some excellent directions:
https://youtu.be/BJ_4cRG8B1g
new repubic: Who Is the Hillary Voter?
The media has saturated us with profiles of the voters who are turning out for these anti-establishment candidates. There is the Sanders voter, a white, social-media-savvy millennial sick of corporate oligarchies and paying student loans. There is the alienated, white, working-class Trump voter, threatened by immigration and trade treaties and Muslims, someone far less interested in small government and the capital gains tax than the Republican donor class would like him to be. And there is the stridently conservative, small-government Cruz voter, a dedicated God-fearing culture warrior.
The voter we almost never hear about, however, is the Clinton voter. Which is surprising, since Hillary Clinton has won more votes in the primaries than any other candidate so far. She has amassed over 2.5 million more votes than Sanders; over 1.1 million more votes than Trump.
[….]
It’s certainly curious to presume, as many do, that Clinton’s supporters are somehow less enthusiastic than Sanders’s are. How is enthusiasm measured, if not by actual vote count? And they are doing so despite the media narrative surrounding their candidate, despite hearing very little about themselves in the media, despite her “damn” emails, despite Benghazi, despite her low Gallup favorables, and despite how everyone else is “Feeling the Bern.” If anything, Clinton might need to thank the press for consistently underestimating her. Perhaps this is why her supporters are coming out for her in such strength: to assert their existence in the face of a narrative that both overlooks them and disparages their candidate.
The Pope is dumping Vigano! You’re fired (make that retired)! So many petitions sent to the Vatican to rid this guy of the Kim Davis stench.
We hate sauerkraut and we hate lima beans…but we hate sauerkraut more.
Lima beans 2016!!!
wonkette:
Make America ‘Moderate’ Again
Moderate John Kasich Requests ‘Civilized’ Bloodless Coup At Republican Convention
Who is keeping score with the Republican Perverts list these days? There’s a new addition.
New Hampshire State Rep: Kyle Tasker
He has resigned following his arrest for solicitation of a minor and drug possession.
BiD – We hate sauerkraut
Kraut Dogs forever! Wienerschnitzel Kraut dog.
The last two weeks have been beyond busy, life and work. But, it has been fun. Last night I went out for beer with a couple friends. As usual the conversation flowed to politics. I had to point out that everyone, except for us, was watching basketball, horse racing or some video “gambling” thing. “Look around, look outside, until Labor Day we are the only ones interested in politics.”
Many people express their hate of the media covering Trump and the others because it bumps out their interests. America, minus a few activists, is not into politics until Labor Day. The current activity is noisy, but does not affect people. Come the good holiday then it becomes something in the average American house. This is not to say it is important what all politically active people are doing today. It is that the typical American is not into politics like us.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rabbis-to-protest-donald-trump-at-aipac-summit/
Jamie,
I played Rutledge in a production of 1776. Been 20 years ago now. Originally read for the role of Adams. Then I started working on Molasses to Rum. god how I loved that song and how I loved that role. Perhaps the most intense 6 or 7 minutes in American Musicals.
bb, that wasn’t me that was blue in dallas who hates kraut.
me? why would god give us reubens if he didn’t love sauerkraut? I luuuve kraut and brats. even more kraut, brats and good irish beer
patd
Another kindred spirit thing going on. Reubens are one of God’s many gifts to taste buds.
Jace
Did your production keep in “Cool Considerate Men”? It’s not dramatic, but boy is it political.
“So, by that logic, that logic, the people should decide. The 24 Republican senators who are up for reelection this year shouldn’t vote on anything between now and November, until the people have spoken. I mean, so I just really think they have taken a terrible political position, and I think it’s increasingly unpopular and eventually unsustainable.”
By that logic, if the country is attacked or the economy goes suddenly into the tank ala 2007, we should wait for the next president to respond. I hate to break it to Mitch and the gang, but the president is the president up until a new president is sworn in, and he or she retains all the rights,duties, and obligation of the office until that time. That’s the way it was designed.
Jamie,
We did. Wonderful number!
Ps, I’d still like to play Adams
Sandy Hook & Bernie
Sanders Is Wrong About The Lawsuit
Mark & Jackie Barden write about their lawsuit against gun manufacturer
remember lights out tonight at 8:30 earth hour. here’s another reminder from msn weather:
Organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Hour is a global movement that encourages households, commercial establishments and public monuments to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour. In 2016, the Earth Hour will be observed on March 19, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, local time. Here’s a look at various cities and landmarks participating in the initiative over the years. (Pictured) Big Ben, London, England, on March 28, 2009.
Ptd is now corrected to BiD. Early typing is not always clean. Using voice control ends up with some foreign (as in planet) language. Volumes of coffee helps clear the crud out of the brain and makes the rest of the system functional.
Currently listening in on an American Red Cross Volunteer Connection webinar. Volunteering is not always in the field.
Another Great Voice
at least someone agrees with me. letter to the editors of hartford courant:
“Use Recess Appointment For Justice”
so imho gopers could have it both ways cause a recess appt expires at end of their session and newly elected prez Hillary (or god forbid the drumpf) can renominate him and the newly elected senate can advise and consent again (or not).
I think they are saving Sri (not gonna attempt his last name) for later, since he is younger than Garland.
Trump is the sauerkraut and Ted is the lima beans. The GOP hates ’em both, but they’ll choke form the beans cuz the cabbage stinks. Willard isn’t saying lima beans 2016, just beans to save the convention.
(No kraut on my veggie dog, just yellow mustard and Wickles relish. It’s gotta be Wickles.)
looks like redstate’s not a drumpf fan
At Donald Trump’s protested rally in Salt Lake City Friday, at which the police told CNN a “couple hundred” protesters were present out of a crowd of about 500 to 600 people, the Donald once again made outlandish and false statements. Trump, an old and tiresome candidate, questioned Mitt Romney’s faith:
That’s right, Trump who appeared to take great umbrage and waged a brief war of words with Pope Francis when Trump incorrectly thought the Pope questioned Trump’s faith, questioned Romney’s faith and did so in Salt Lake City — which headquarters the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no factual basis for Trump’s despicable questions of Romney’s faith, which is why Trump offered none. It’s just another outlandish and unsupported thing that Trump said, like when he questioned Ben Carson’s faith.
[….]
This shtick, like Trump, is getting old. Which makes me wonder if Trump’s age has something to do with Trump’s outlandish, despicable and clearly false statements. It might also explain why Trump might say one thing to one audience and then say the exact opposite thing to a different audience a short time later. Trump does this time and time again — reversing positions, back tracking and flip flopping far more than any candidate I can recall.
Writing at Politico Magazine, Michael Tortorello asks whether the Donald is too old to be President. He points out that Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Trump would all be among the oldest ever sworn into office — Clinton is the baby of the group, at 69 and 3 months; Trump (70) or Sanders (75) would replace Ronald Reagan as the oldest president in history. Then he notes that while we do get some indication of candidates’ health, we don’t know about their brains. Tortorello reports that science says brain function often declines noticeably at that age
excerpt from the long, but enjoyable the japan times‘ Fast-lane campaign of Donald ‘Drumpf’ stumps comics, bluster fact-checkers
However the Trump campaign ends, it has already left a television comedy legacy stronger than past political campaigns, Syracuse’s Thompson said.
“Political comedy on television has never been better,” he said.
As the Trump campaign took a darker turn last week, with demonstrations and violence at some of the candidates’ rallies, late-night comics kept up with him. Both Bee and Wilmore staged fake fights on their shows.
A Trump impersonator handed bottles to the two combatants on “The Nightly Show,” who proceeded to smash them over the other’s head.
“Who’s going to pay the medical bills?” Wilmore wondered.
“Mexico,” the Trump impersonator answered.
Trump says one thing to one audience, and something else to another? Now who else does that? Oh, that’s right. Hillary.
Bernie does not change message because he knows what he believes.
It’s too bad that so many Americans have succumbed to the lie of low expectations. The lie of the status quo.
I don’t like Willard, but I believe he wears the magic underwear.
Now, is he a “good” Mormon? I don’t know if his wheeling and dealing in the business world, and, the collateral damage to lives impacted by his maneuvers make him a good person of any religious affiliation.
Well, if Nancy Reagan was starting to run the show with her husband’s decline (and Mrs. Wilson during Woodrow’s infirmity), who do you want as presidential spouse, should there be some hidden ailment.
Melania Trump
Bill Clinton *Goldman Sachs
Jane Sanders
Heidi Cruz *Goldman Sachs
blueid, from this wiki report, jane doesn’t seem much as an ethical financial advisor compared to the others:
Sanders was named President of Burlington College, a Vermont school, in 2004. Reports of dissatisfaction with her presidency surfaced in 2008, with some students and staff going to the press with assertions that blamed what they described as a “toxic and disruptive environment” on Sanders. In 2011, the college trustees, while crediting Sanders with acquiring a permanent campus for the 200-student college founded in 1972, called a meeting for September 2011 with an agenda item reading “Removal of the President” and accepted Sanders’s resignation. Sanders’s salary as President was $160,000, and she received a $200,000 severance. During her tenure as President, Burlington had an endowment of “about $150,000”.
The college’s “finances took a turn for the worse” under Sanders’s leadership. The property purchased during Sanders’s presidency was the former headquarters of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The College based the real estate purchase on projections that enrollment would rapidly grow from fewer than 200 to as many as 750 students, with a corresponding income increase from tuition fees. Sanders’s negotiated price was based on the assumption that the College would be able to raise several million dollars in donations. The College was unable to make the promised payments, and, after Sanders had resigned, the Diocese settled with the College for between $1 and $2 million less than the agreed purchase price.
Sanders later became a member of the Vermont Economic Development Authority
however, wiki did point out
“She has served in Sanders’s Congressional office as Chief of Staff and as Policy and Press Adviser”
progressivestoday last year article: Exclusive: Bernie Sanders Used Campaign Donations to Pay Family Members Over $150,000
of course that’s not illegal, but does seem unseemly for bern to be looked upon as holier than the rest of them
If you finally get around to seeing “The Big Short”, it makes you do strange things like hunting around for who is Michael Burry. Because other odd people do things like this and everything is on the inner tubes, you find an article titled “What is Michael Burry Doing These Days”. The you do something even worse, you read it. At that point you are slightly this side of terror stricken because Michael Burry is buying water.
Have fun folks, and maybe you can take solace in the fact that Noah Smith says Michael Burry is wrong this time.
Bill Clinton may have dealings with Goldman Sachs but unlike the wife of Tedious, he doesn’t work for them. Jane Sanders has been known to be more than a little loose with the finances, and Melania may be pretty but I don’t have a clue about her bookkeeping abilities. Guess I still have to stick with Bill & Hill.
There is also the Clinton son-in-law and those speeches in which Hillary said/promised…we’ll never know because sunlight on that would be her undoing.
Melania, it is.
Hill & Bill. The status quo wins and the average Americans continue living in Suckerville. The Rolling Stone article from last October, explained it pretty well. “There Is No Real Hillary Clinton.” Her co-opting of Bernie’s stance on some issues is par for the course.
Enough politics. It’s the last day of winter.
Lol, this from the piece above as well… Damn stubborn for Hillary, you bet.. I was stubborn for Bill as well, never sorry!
“This, then, is the one thing the Clinton voter has in common with the Trump voter: a refusal to buy into the prevailing wisdom about their candidate. We always hear about how Trump supporters have remained loyal to him no matter what Trump says or does; their support is rock solid. We never hear that about Clinton, even though she has survived more scandals and accusations than the rest of the presidential field combined. It may very well be that Hillary voters are the most stubborn of all. Because they’ve heard it all for decades—and they are still showing up.”
Tony……….Bless you, my son………..keep the petals to the mettle……
http://trailmix.cc/home/2016/03/19/it-dont-mean-a-thing/#comment-13560
Lov yah Sturge!!
Will do, just gave another $25 to “Hillary for America” :0)
Okay. Today is a day that means a lot to me. Even more than the day I was drafted (which I do not know the date, just the results). Today means so much to me – oh wait a minute. This is my Sister’s Birthday! Dear Sister I love you and many more of these days.
Well. Was that not a nice thing?
Do something nice for your favorite candidates, give a fiver or ten or more. Go to their website and find the easy to spot “DONATE” button and click on it. Make sure you are not on a spoof site though.
Why do this? Because all candidates need more money than is in the bank, except for certain orange hair muck types. You are giving your money away. There is not even a tax write-off. But, you can buy some water for volunteers walking door to door. Even better is to donate some money and volunteer.
What you care about today may be gone in a year without supporting your candidate.
http://trailmix.cc/home/2016/03/19/it-dont-mean-a-thing/#comment-13564
Blue B
Very good advice.. Do what we can, yes..
If Bernie actually went to work for the down ticket candidates to help insure a Dem majority in the Senate, he could probably snag a good committee chairmanship. Of course if he continues to be holier than thou St. Bernard, that might not work particularly since he is still designated as an Independent for his Senate Seat for the 2018
Tony – good stuff. What is next for Bernie? Staying too long makes him look like a guy who refuses to look at the fifteen minute timer. What I see is he and Trump were surprised at their acceptance as candidates. They never expected to even be considered.
And, yet. They hit a nerve. And, both are still in a very long time longer than they expected. The taste of candidate is enticing. But, at some point Sanders has to accept he is not going to get the brass ring. Unfortunately, trump will get more taste of it.
Let’s not confuse Burlington the Shady with the stellar Middlebury College in the same state. What has Bernie had to say about Trump U? Two clubs?
All you military people out there, please don’t forget our sister, Tammy Duckworth. We need her as the junior senator from Illinois.
Nice Senate Races Map updated daily
Right now Illinois is showing “barely GOP) Mark Kirk just broke ranks to call for SCOTUS nominee hearings. Duckworth must have him running scared.
The notes for this race reads: Mark Kirk was a very moderate representative, and for the past six years he’s been a very moderate senator. Unfortunately for him, “moderate Republican” was barely viable in the Republican wave of 2010 (Kirk won his seat by less than 2 points), and in presidential years Illinois turns very blue. The Senator’s tendency to put his foot in his mouth is not helpful, either. In just the last year, he has had to apologize for characterizing bachelor Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as “a bro without hos,” for describing black communities as “the one(s) we drive faster through,” and for accusing President Obama of trying to “get nukes to Iran.” If these liabilities were not enough, Kirk also suffered a serious stroke in early 2012, which was followed by a long and arduous recovery. He has been running a commercial, entitled “Courage,” that tries to curry favor by linking his military service and his fight to overcome this disability. That commercial would be much more helpful if his likely opponent was not Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs while serving as a helicopter pilot during the Iraq War. A charismatic two-term representative, Duckworth is the first disabled woman ever elected to the House, and the first Asian American to be elected to Congress from Illinois (she’s Thai). That said, she too has some political liabilities to contend with. She has no statewide experience, is presently the defendant in a lawsuit from her time as Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and she may not appeal to black voters (a critical Democratic constituency in Illinois). She passed her first test with flying colors, however, crushing Chicago Urban League President and CEO Andrea Zopp in the primaries. So, despite her potential weaknesses, Duckworth is likely to be elected Illinois’ new junior senator. The Democratic Party will pull out all the stops to see that happens, as they are already counting this seat as a +1 in their column. The first post-primary poll has Duckworth leading Kirk by 6 points.
Interesting quote from Josh Browns blog , The Reformed Broker
Then he asks a serious question:
So what ya think?
Jack
An interesting Mike Murphy quote from the same weekly Standard article
Jack
Was joe the plumber a Roto Rooter man ? He certainly wasn’t plumb.
NEW THREAD