61 thoughts on “Here We Go”

  3. Some of you were worried about Trumpsky’s base showing up for Bernie.  On the other side, what if some who voted for Trump, now want to vote against him? They probably need to keep that on the DL in their family/community.  Iowa is all out in the sunlight, so some who will vote against SFB in November, might not participate tonight.  Well, I suppose they could say they just want Dems to have the weakest candidate and give that as a reason to their acquaintances for attending. Is it Maine that ranks candidates?  I like the idea of listing Warren, Yang, Klobuchar, Joe, Bernie, Steyer, Pete.

  8. Far as I can tell Biden’s best shot is to be 2d choice for Amy and Pete voters in precincts where they aren’t viable (at least 15% on 1st ballot). Warren probably can meet the threshold most places and split progressives with Sanders. 

  9. OK, so today we get to watch the beginning of the most overvalued event in the leap year – the democratic nomination process by caucus in a state that holds 1% of the total delegates available to any candidate for the nomination (1.73%) of the number needed to win the nomination) will not do anything to put the democratic nominee, whether it be someone who wins or doesn’t even make the second level in the caucuses. That will be followed by two primaries and one additional caucus before Super Tuesday.  the four pre-Super Tuesday nominating contests provide a grand total of 8% of the delegates needed to secure half of the total delegates needed for the nomination.  MSNBC has spent what, a week in the second smallest of the 4 states – presumably because the weather ain’t so bad in Ottumwa this year? How stupid are we to put so much emphasis on this idiotic contest?   Despite my distaste for the process there and the insignificance of the results to the overall nomination, I’ll take the low hanging fruit and predict that Bernie! will win tonight.  

  10. Anyone think the Chinese building a hospital in a fortnight is them showing that they could build a naval base, or air force field or army fort in that time too?  Or perhaps a series of hospitals if they were at war with some country and had heavy casualties.  They had to have had the plans stored away somewhere ready to put into action.  

  11. Blue Bronc, a thousand bed hospital 10 days.  Infuckingsane.  I suspect that Xi was indeed making a statement.  

  12. Pogo…  I bet Bernie wins here in NH too…  he did 4 years ago.
     
    Rick and I are buckling up for our phone to ring non-stop for the next week.  I know, I know…  every 4 years I complain about it here….  but it’s a HUUUUUUGE pain in the ass!
     
    I still think Super Tuesday will be the real contest.

  16. Two exceptions, Poobah, Gephart in ’88 & Harkin in 92.  It’s uncanny, but then again we’ve never had the insanely broad set of nominees we had this year.  

  17. KC, what polls are you looking at?  She was 2nd in the KQED/NPR poll released on about January 28, 14 points behind Bernie! and 1 point ahead of Biden.  She tied with Sanders in the KGTV poll @ 1/17, 10 points behind Biden, and has been 2nd or 3rd in the other polls released this year according to RCP.

  18. RR, I agree – NH is Bernie!’s to lose – he’s prohibitively ahead in the polls. Iowa and NH show what someone who doesn’t have shit for support among black voters can co in lily white states like NH & IA.  Based on my experience in NH (which granted has been many years ago now) racial support plays a bigger role in Bernie!’s NH support than policy.  I didn’t run into a lot of Democratic Socialists in NH when I was there, but then again the elder Sununu was governor, so who’da thunk otherwise?

  19. Pogo…  but you lived up north not too far from the White Mountains.  Here in the south on the Mass. border, there are a lot of Bernie Bro Brats.  With the exception of the governor (son of Sununu) our state is now blue.  And I predict that Sununu Jr. won’t make re-election this time.  It’ll be interesting to see who comes in second.  It should be Warren coming from Mass…. but…  we’ll know next week.

  20. Saw Amy on msnbc this morning. She was charming. She’s got to stop being charming and show that she can be a street fighter who can kick cabinet secretaries’ and Cong wannabees’ butts when they stray from the Law and/or her campaign promises. If she can convince me that she can by our SC primary she’ll have my vote; otherwise, it goes to Pete.

  21. Outside of the counties with big colleges, Bernie may not do as well as everyone thinks.   Liz, Amy or Pete might surprise everyone.
     
     I was waiting for something bigger with regard to Bloomberg’s ad.  His ad was directed at the African American community, at large.  SFB’s ad put the spotlight on the one African American who has benefited from his prez’duncy, and she only benefited because a Kardashian made an in-person plea for help.
    Did anyone else think the half-time show was political?   Aside from a Puerto Rican flag/American flag coat (which I just thought was pride of heritage), I didn’t really think of it as political.  Apparently, the kids singing were supposed to be in cages a la “the border.”  I just thought it was an artistic decision.     

  23. Maybe China is just better prepared and FEMA should take notes.  The drums are the opening of the Beijing Olympics were impressive and a bit scary, so the manpower, speed and teamwork’s with which they do things should not be shocking.  

  25. Can the House still issue subpoenas?  What about the new info that has come out since the trial began?   

  26. my bad Pogo she was ahead last fall 
    It’s not much different now 
    The survey, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, found that among likely Democratic primary voters, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont led with 27%, while former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts followed with 24% and 23%, respectively. The rest of the field remained in the single digits.
    https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-13/democratic-presidential-race-close-california-sanders-biden-warren

  27. BiD, can’t comment on the halftime show – I watched Djokavich in the Australian open during commercials and the halftime show.  I think the last Super Bowl halftime show I watched was in 2014 – Red Hot chili Peppers performed.  If I saw any of the halftime shows after that it was just in passing and without intent.  The golden age as far as I am concerned was 2002, then 2005-10.  Those I watched.  U2, McCartney, Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Who in that Order – performers I would have paid to go see.  

  28. I think the DNC rule should be that no state where the party’s nominee lost in the last general election should be given an early spot in the next primary calendar. Forcing candidates to waste such enormous time and money in states like Iowa, where the party doesn’t win is completely nuts.

  29. I have a friend who talked a long time about who can stand up to Trump’s 4th grade bullying, name calling, etc.  I think Pete has done a good job of it. Bernie certainly has a big mouth and is not want to use it. But I don’t know how smart he’d be doing that.  I also don’t know how well Warren or Biden would do.
    The Dems need a team of psychiatrists who specialize in narcissistic  personality disorder and bullying in all it’s forms as consultants.
     
     

  31. ”Can the House still issue subpoenas?  What about the new info that has come out since the trial began?“
     
    Yes.  They can just start a new impeachment investigation.

  32. Just when you think SFB (or in this case one of his allies) couldn’t be dumber, something new always comes up to disprove that thought.

    ***
    In December, news broke that a nonprofit group founded by a Trump ally raffled envelopes of cash to at an event targeting black voters in Cleveland. The event, hosted by the Rev. Darrell Scott’s Urban Revitalization Coalition, honored White House official Ja’Ron Smith and featured praise of Trump and his policies. The “$25,000 Cash Giveaway” was part of the group’s nationwide strategy to lure black voters into listening sessions about Trump. While many have rightly condemned this effort as cynical and disrespectful, it could also put the coalition and White House staff in legal trouble.
     

    The coalition was founded in 2017 as a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity and certified by the Internal Revenue Service in April 2019. Under the law, section 501(c)(3) organizations are “absolutely prohibited” from directly or indirectly participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for elective public office.
     

    The coalition claims that its events are nonpartisan, but it has taken numerous steps that belie the group’s support of Trump’s reelection bid. For example, the coalition website highlights its founders’ roles on the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, an organization that “strongly supports Donald J. Trump for President of the USA.” Last year, the coalition published a report stating that financial support helps the “URC continue to fulfill its mission and purpose as PROMISED by President Donald J. Trump to ‘Make America Great Again.’ ” The same report also bragged that the coalition is working to “increase the 8% African-American vote from 2016 by 25% in the 2020 Presidential Election.”
    ***

    Cynical and disrespectful?  Ya think?🙄

  33. Craig, I say do the early contests where Dems had a majority of the popular vote but still lost the electoral count.

  34. Bink, BiD, the answer to the subpoenas question is yes.  It can do so in its oversight role and it does not need to be in the context of an impeachment inquiry – and for the purposes of trying to get to generate an obstruction count in Impeachment Articles, shouldn’t be.

  37. https://jaimeharrison.com/
     

    Jaime R. Harrison is an American politician who served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017, and is an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Harrison is running for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina in the 2020 election. Wikipedia

  39. craig, angus king said he was moved by Schiff’s closer.  he also said he fears we’re moving away from our 200 year experiment of democracy toward an elected monarchy.

  40. One thing I know for sure: only if Dems nominate and elect someone not beholden to Iowa, NH, Nevada or SC for their success will we EVER see change. And Bloomberg is the only one making that play. 

  42. Poobah, I assume you do not believe that there are any among the 51 senators that voted against witnesses/evidence who have even any tiny degree of shame, and the jury is out on Romney and Collins. 

  43. Here’s some news from NYT:

    Rush Limbaugh Reveals He Has Advanced Lung Cancer
     

    The conservative radio talk show host said during a live radio broadcast on Monday that he would keep working, but would take some days off to work out a treatment plan.

    Too bad. You’ll forgive me if my sympathy stops somewhere short of El Rushbo.
     

  44. coverage of first round votes in Iowa precincts outside of Iowa had Amy first and second.  If that keeps up, things could get really interesting.

     

  46. LMAO the Iowans caucusing abroad in Florida… “Klobuchar 48, Sanders 1”

     

    😂

     

    😂

     

    😂

    The only candidates viable in the first round were Klobuchar, Biden and Buttigieg. Caucus goers in FL have to realign to one of them. pic.twitter.com/sJgGxoUm68

  51. ty jamie.  CC’s screencap makes me wonder if Iowan workers have a protected right to caucus or if the process favors the unemployed, retired, and idle rich.

    ty, also, CC. i shall unabate my breath.

  52. In one of those not important for the world to work things, the blue pill guy, Rush, announced he has advanced lung cancer.  I rarely speak ill of the dead.  In this case I do not need to.

  53. Manchin serves up half a loaf.  Better than none, but the question is how he’ll vote Wednesday.  We’ll see then whether they are brass. I have my doubts.

  54. If Liz can’t do it, I hope Amy can. And, here’s a good thing about candidates needing to spend so much face time with voters.  It minimizes the dirty trickery of GOoPervz/Russkies interfering with propaganda and instigating party in-fighting.    I’d love to just see a nationally-televised debate every other week.  No ads, no calls, no stump speeches/rallies.   Substance. Take the money out of it.   But, that’s not gonna happen, so more face time is better. I really prefer listening to debates on NPR.
      

  56. Bink

    There are satellite caucus sites for people who work swing shits, are in different states and even one in Paris France.  It still shuts out large segments of the population which is just one of the reasons I hate the caucus system.  For the first time this year, the state will announce the total popular vote as well as the caucus percentages.  It will be interesting to compare the difference.  All in all, it is still pretty messed up and open to a lot of cheating and manipulation.

     

  58. Steve Schmidt just uttered a great line re: SFB v. Bernie!  In our country the sociopath beats the socialist every day and twice on Tuesday in November. 

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