… OR SOLUTION?
A very astute friend in Massachusetts responds to my question about what happens if their Republican governor allowed to pick Warren replacement if she goes on Biden ticket:
“1. Unfortunately most local politicians in Massachusetts are not honest and ethical. Seeking to dilute their influence in the legislature and mayoral offices, voters fall for R candidates, even if as incompetent and two-faced as Romney and Baker. They both succeed by appearing to cooperate with the Ds. But aside from slashing taxes and thus allowing infrastructure to have crumbled, they help push through legislation that essentially is what the Ds have been trying to pass for years but can’t because of their corruption (a la Bulger). So Romney got associated with a healthcare bill. He wasn’t really bipartisan (so became a poor national candidate.)
2a. MA voters select the state Attorney General (as some states do). I think such people are seldom fit to be legislators. Their state job is to gather as much ammunition as possible to support a conviction or other action. These are not skills that lend themselves to compromise and creativity, which good democracy requires.
2b. We have had a series of present or past MA attorney generals run for senate or governor and almost always lose. Because they have a state-wide election machine — which allows them to win the AG seat — they get the nominations. But too often they are weak candidates, easily beat by “anybody.” Coakley for example was an unexceptionally poor candidate.
- When Kerry was pres candidate, MA put through a law that allows the governor to make an interim appointment. (It has been modified since.) So there is the chance that the Ds could lose a seat only in the interim IF they could allow a good candidate for the following election.
- It may be doubtful Biden and anyone can win without the Ds slso grabbing the Senate. (And if they don’t get Senate support, their winning the White House will be made as futile as Obama’s became after McC declared he would ensure total failure of O’s term.
So it might not be fatal to them if Liz runs as the Ds would have enough other senators till the next cycle.”
My take: I do want Liz, she mobilizes progressives, trustworthy to middle class, strong debater, media savvy, and if we get back to rallies she can draw crowds. Don’t think Kamala delivers any of that as well. Plus I’m convinced this virus trauma is going to move many voters to the left on universal health care, guaranteed income and a wealth tax. Nothing like a pandemic to make us all socialists. I’m focused on Obama then Trump voters, desperate middle income people who swung 2016 election in battleground states and despise status quo politicians, looking for authentic change against money elites. Not sure Joe gets them on his own without a rabble rouser like Warren.
the bye-don war-on ticket
john slams faux and faux friends inter alia at
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/john-oliver-slams-rush-limbaugh-fox-news-coronavirus-myths-1290848
Someone over the weekend noted that we need information on battleground state polling rather than national polls. RCP accommodates that. Of the top 7 battleground states trump lead in NC by 1.3 on the strength of 1 poll from before CV 19 started raging. Biden leads in AZ, FL, MI, MN, PA, & WI, although MI polling listed is 6 mo. old. SFB leads in only 1 poll after mid March. The polling is not as robust as it needs to be, but SFB can’t be feeling confident at this point.
His not being confident is not good news as it will only sink him to greater depths of desperation
Much like Alcibiades (except for the actually being willing to go into battle part) and so many others throughout history his only deity is the Great God Necessity.
Hubris (/ˈhjuːbrɪs/, from ancient Greekὕβρις) describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence,[1] often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance.[2] In its ancient Greek context, it typically describes behavior that defies the norms of behavior or challenges the gods which, in turn, brings about the downfall of the perpetrator of hubris. The adjectival form of the noun hubris is “hubristic”.
Hubris is usually perceived as a characteristic of an individual rather than a group, although the group the offender belongs to may suffer collateral consequences from the wrongful act. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence, accomplishments or capabilities.
Sturg, I think we’re already seeing that desperation. AstroTurf protests in battleground states, FL “guv “ opening beaches, nonstop lies about Biden during CV19 briefings. The list goes on. Problem for him is that over 60% aren’t buying the bullshit and say he responded too slowly and hasn’t acted to protect us.
“loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence, accomplishments or capabilities”
coming to you every day at the IMpotus (aka poutus)
briefingrally with non-reported campaign free media and taxpayer paid staff.I eagerly await 70%.
😉.
Oh, and did I mention that pro wrestling is among added essential services in FL? De Santis IS FloridaMan.
And since just bad isn’t bad enough…(WaPo)
Of course. Only the best.
Craig
If Warren is named it wouldn’t change my vote for Biden, but I sincerely consider it a mistake. Failure to name a woman of color much younger than Biden from a different part of the country is a slap in the face of all the parts of the base that got him to the nomination. That criterion would even exclude my beloved Amy.
That pretty much leaves:
Kamala Harris (California) 55
Michelle Lujan Girsham (New Mexico) – 60
Stacy Abrams (Wisconsin) -46
Catherine Cortez Mastos (Nevada) -56
Those are all I can think of at the moment.
I am with Jamie. Warren is not the best choice right now. I still consider Biden going with one term, and that does not even have an actuarial chart laying on the table.
Biden should ignore the neoprogressives they have no choice but to vote for him, the same for Blacks. Just keep hammering “staying home is a vote for Trump” As to the racist union retirees (aka Obama then Trump voters) , hey, they ain’t coming back. They got theirs screw the world.
The voters that need to be courted are the swing state white educated suburban voters that have traditionally voted Republican. They are believers in good government , honest government, public education and the public good. But they are “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” voters, and if it is broke then fix what is wrong, not throw the whole thing out and start over.
Biden’s biggest weakness right now is his age, he looks old, older than Trump. Any VP he picks will be given more attention than usual. So any VP candidate needs to pass the “can they be president” question because it will come. Warren can’t for most of the voting public and especially among the upper Midwest suburban swing voters who are critical to this election. Democrats have a chance to retake the senate, keep the house and the presidency. And do so for a generation. But they can’t do it by hugging tight to the Bernie neoprogressives.
Most folks don’t want crazy on the left any more than they want crazy on the right.
Jack
Jamie, based on your list, the alternative tickets then to Bye-don War-on could be
Bye-don Har-assed
Bye-don Mass-toast
Biden needs someone who isn’t coastal and resonates with upper Midwest values. Also, someone that doesn’t make you cringe if you put President in front of their name.
That makes Amy the one. imo.
Jack
I think picking Warren would be a stupid choice. Hell… she came in 4th in her own state of Massachusetts. Also…
So there is the chance that the Ds could lose a seat only in the interim IF they could allow a good candidate for the following election.
Exactly what does that mean? Which election? You do know that Warren was re-elected in 2018… which means her term isn’t up until 2024.
ps… what Jack said…
Pogo… I’ve recently read Rick Wilson’s 2nd book “Running Against the Devil”. He wants trump gone now. He kept saying… in all caps… and frequently throughout the book… that the only thing that mattered was the Electoral College… and only in those swing states that make or break an election. He advised Democrats to quit focusing on the “national election/and or polls”. And he said to stop talking about Hillary having won the popular vote.
I will quote part of his book… his language is rough… to say the least.
Now say it with your raging, Samuel-L.-Jackson-in-a-Tarantino-movie face: ” The only motherfucking game in town is the motherfucking Electoral Fucking College.”
I want Warren, too! However, there are good arguments against it with regard to Mass.
My second choice is Stacey Abrams. The more I read about her/see clips of her, the more I like her. She has a book coming out in June; she’s making a play for it.
My heart is with Warren.
Sturg- The entire country has been stepping in Trump’s steaming, piles of hubris for years. It gets smellier and deeper by the day.
I like Amy, too. Don’t we want to keep her seated where she is, as well?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/business/shake-shack-ppp-loan-sba/index.html
How did restaurant chains qualify for SBA payroll protection in the first place?
Can Rush, Faux, and, Trump’s other mouthpieces be cited for these protests that are endangering lives, as they ignore their state mandates to stay at home?
Anyone hear about Matt Bevin? 🙂
Renee, Samuel L., umm, Rick Wilson, is exactly right. “The only motherfucking game in town is the motherfucking Electoral Fucking College.” In those EC swing states Biden is ahead in all but one (and I question whether anyone can call NC a swing state and do so with a straight face. His margin in each is not a comfortable one, though, and if the CV-19 trend continues to flatten or even drop some, what advantage he has could drop with it. I was listening to MSNBC going over some polling that indicates that people are not hearing enough from Joe to have a real opinion about whether they believe what he’s saying about the crisis – only just over 55% had an opinion on whether they do or do not trust what he’s saying, and it was about evenly split. Of course even with over 40% of respondents not weighing in at all, Joe is within 6 or 7 points of SFB for truthfulness on the subject. If the missing were to come in at the same proportions as the responding folks, Joe would have a 20 point advantage. But who knows. Bottom line is that Joe will only benefit from exposure, and whoever is running his campaign better fucking figure out how to get that exposure for him.
Biden will make the same mistake that conservative establishment Democrats always make – they take the votes of the liberal/left wing of the Democratic party for granted. Biden will probably pick a woman who is perceived as more conservative than he is.
The establishment Democrats’ electoral strategy for the past 40 years has never changed. They think that the key to winning the White House is to appeal to “affluent white suburbanites who are moderate Republicans.” (Moderate Republicans are mythical beasts, like unicorns. No one has ever seen one, but the establishment Democrats are certain that they exist.)
Also, Biden LOVES to talk (endlessly) about all the wonderful things he accomplished in the Senate by making “bi-partisan compromises” with his many “Republican friends.” His definition of successful legislation was a bill where the Republicans got 90% of what they wanted and the Democrats got 10% of what they wanted. For Joe, this was a victory.
Thus, my theory is that “bi-partisan” Biden will pick a REPUBLICAN woman as his VP.
There are a handful of Republican women who have criticized Trump. Former New Jersey governor Christie Todd Whitman is one example. She has compared Trump to Hitler. (According to legend, the mythical moderate Republicans don’t really approve of Hitler. Yes, he did some good things, but he went a little too far.)
Impossible, you say? Not at all. If picking a Republican woman annoys the left wing of the Democratic party, as one of my many Massachusetts relatives would say (you have to imagine a thick Boston accent,) … “Whadda ya gonna do, dummies? Vote fa Trump?”
Pogo:
I agree with you. Those battleground poll numbers are what matters. Thanks.
Nash
When Democrats try your strategy they lose. Best example was HRC and what did it get her.
Clinton ran a get out the base , appease the left strategy and lost in the states where it counts. Her problem was going to far to appease the left. But as your comment reveals it was a lost cause and she would have been better off pulling a Sista Solja on a few left wing nuts then ignoring the Bernie left. Instead she gave them oxygen by treating their ideas as credible. It cost her the election in the suburbs she needed.
Jack
Looking at election history, the last time the Democrats put together a sustainable winning coalition was maybe Carter.
Clinton won because the Republican coalition was split by Pero.
Obama won because the world was falling apart and he was not part of the problem.
There is a good chance that Biden will win as the anti Trump not on any “ideas” he may put forth.
Jack
q. What borders on stupid?
a. Who lives next door to SFB
first, he’s got to win which means there’s got to have been an election. given probable vlad and MAGA-t tomfoolery plus viral 2nd wave even that’s iffy.
and second, physically removing don jon the con from the WH may be even harder. what if he refuses to go? MAGA-t’s rebellion?
Hillary Clinton’s problem was that she was Hillary Clinton.
Heaven forbid something happens to Joe, would we be stuck with Bernie as our nominee or would the DNC interfere/intervene?
Someone needs to make sure Trump knows that Pooh-tin is not his friend.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/russian-military-intercepts-us-navy-aircraft/index.html
Corey – What do you think about the anti-vaxxer Djokovic?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/tennis/novak-djokovic-vaccine-tennis-amelie-mauresmo-spt-intl/index.html
If he has antibodies, he would be exempt, wouldn’t he?
“Not trumps” is not going to be the same dynamic now as it was last time.
Now, “not trump” has long legs.
How do we get venues for tennis, concerts, etc., opened up without proof of anti-bodies or proof of vaccination? Will we even be able to get on a plane?
“Biden needs someone who isn’t coastal and resonates with upper Midwest values. Also, someone that doesn’t make you cringe if you put President in front of their name. “
jack, using your criteria, here’s one midwestener that fits that bill: Michelle Obama
Only thing I’ve heard about Bevin is that one of the men he pardoned has now been rearrested for a similar child rape crime
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-man-released-prison-ex-governor-matt-bevin-arrested-federal-n1178766
A nasty controversy is raging in all of the small seaside “tourist towns” along Oregon’s spectacularly beautiful Pacific Coast.
Because of the “Coastal Range” of mountains that runs parallel to the shoreline for hundreds of miles, there are no big cities on the Oregon coast, just small towns wedged in between the ocean and the mountains.
These towns are home to a very few permanent residents in the winter, but in the summer they attract a steady stream of millions of tourists from all over the USA, plus a significant number of international tourists and thousands of low-wage seasonal workers.
In the 1960s, Oregon passed a law preventing private ownership of coastal property, so unlike California (or Maine), rich people haven’t turned the coastline into a restricted “private’ domain. The entire coastline is public property, and the scenic views along the rocky coast are breathtaking.
Here’s the problem.
These small coastal towns are economically dependent on seasonal tourist spending. Most people who live there year-round own or work in restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, gift shops, art galleries, etc.
Because they are so geographically isolated, and sparsely populated in the winter, most of these towns have had no cases of Covid-19 infection. (So far.)
So … the fierce political debate raging in these towns right now is “Do we ask tourists to stay away this season and remain safe, or do we welcome them back, and risk seeing our small local hospitals become overwhelmed by very sick people?”
This is a place where the current “mixed messages” coming from the federal government are having a tragic impact.
On one side of the debate (the dominant side) you have politically powerful small business owners and their local low-wage employees who tend to think that the reported danger of Covid-19 is a “hoax.”
But on the other side of the debate are a substantial group of eldely “retirees” who are afraid of getting infected.
Over the past several decades, the coast of Oregon has become a VERY popular “retirement destination,” one of the most highly-rated places to “retire to” in the USA. The retirees tend to be more educated, affluent, and liberal than the native-born “locals.” They have been welcomed (especially by the local real estate sales agents) but are only tolerated as “outsiders” who are not supposed to “interfere” with local politics. News reports indicate that the “locals” are winning the debate and they would like it to be “business as usual” on the coast this summer.
BUT … the Oregon State Health Authority expects that the next rapidly exploding “clusters” of Covid-19 cases will be in the tourist towns on the coast, but ONLY if the (Democratically controlled state government) allows the tourist businesses to “re-open.” (We have a statewide shutdown in place of all “non-essential” businesses, and all of the various “tourist trap” businesses fall into this category.)
Most of these seaside towns have tiny hospitals with about 20 beds maximum, and no ICUs. Anyone who gets really sick gets loaded into an ambulance for a two-hour ride over the coastal range of mountains to one of the big cities in the Willamette valley which is about 80 miles inland from the coast.
As a retired business professor I can’t help but think that this situation would make a wonderful “case study for class discussion” because it includes elements of small business strategy, politics, economics, and even a bit of sociology, for the more thoughtful students. (Business students, as a rule, are not particularly thoughtful, but you do have to give the more intelligent ones something challenging once in a while, or they get bored.)
We live in a resort community and all vacation rentals have been suspended
We are celebrating 4/20 today……all day!
BiD, I’d be more concerned with hospitals – unless there is a rapid test for CV-19 infection how can hospitals open up for elective treatment and surgery. Can’t be done without ample quick screening tests.
Problems in the oil patch, WTI has plunged to under $3 a barrel and at times to $.01. If it goes any lower they will be paying people to buy crude oil.
Strange world we are living in.
Jack
resorty here. Rentals curtailed. Gov of S.C. announces he’s opening up the beaches tomorrow…..ALL the sunny beaches said emphatically—NO. NOT OPENING. DON’T COME. STAY HOME. NYET. NOT HAPPENING. etc.
Locals are split on be safe/danger is over-hyped. Poor dumb bastards.
Even after businesses are opened up, what once seemed essential has changed. Spending habits won’t return to normal. Priorities are different. Consumer confidence is in the crapper.
But the beaches…..essentially they have unanimously called the governor a dumb goober.
Folly beach tried to ease beach restrictions a week or so ago and they got mobbed and kicked everybody the hell back out.
They have cops on the bridge and you have to live there to get on.
Sonoma County is under a stay at home until 5/15 and everyone has to wear a mask in public
Depending on what is going on the stay at home could be extended.
Dr Debbie has fulfilled her potential for being not only useless but dangerous due to her willingness to torture reason in support of SFB
Well, I wondered about testing numbers the folks at Harvard’s center for ethics put out this paper, an interesting read. BTW, I understand we are currently testing about 150,000.
Can we test vaccines on the dumbasses who are protesting the lockdown? How about testing them on Rush and the talking heads at Faux Noise?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html
So, if oil is below $0, leave it in the ground.
Not exactly sure how a commodity price can be below zero, but Joseph Woelfel at Cramer lets us know it is.
Curious. I know we aren’t driving as much, but…
Let them die
The only vp criteria is how does this person help the ticket win? Nothing else.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/19/europe/italy-mafia-exploiting-coronavirus-crisis-aid-intl/index.html
Disgusting mafia types. Reminds me of…
I suspect that this was a squeeze on speculators. That and the refineries had all the oil they needed for the month. So if you are a producer you pay storage fees(if you can find it) and if a speculator then you dig deep and take the hit.
I bet there is an interesting back story that will only come out as years pass , after a few bourbons into retirement.
Jack
Interviews with protestors is like hearing SFB. It’s a hoax it’s an over reaction
Now where did they ever get an idea like that?
Hope there is a new hotspot around every demonstration. And with a little luck in areas where there isn’t enough medical supplies or medical personal
KGC
That was a bit like the discussion I had Saturday with a young man. He started with it is not that serious, I counter with a couple of anecdotes and said no if it gets into your community it is serious and a lot of people can die. he then tried to change the subject to China lied. I agreed with him and added “Just like Trump did too.) That kind of stopped it and we got to talking about masks, my allergies and the kid across the street who just went to the federal prison because of drugs and guns.
Jack
The demonstrations are a product of the Trump campaign.
So I heard Trump’s campaign paid to have the demonstration volunteers tested and only allowed negative people to participate
I think the best vp choice is Stacey Abrams. She would be electrifying. In a good way.
The price of West Texas Sweet dropped to 1c/bbl at 3:00 PM CDT. Suburban Houston must be jumping out of the buildings ‘downtown’.
There is more oil than they can store right now. This gives new meaning to the word fill.
There was a last name that popped up in a report a couple days ago about the FB groups rounding up the easy to scream types, it was the same last name that was in the “tea party” start up. Koch bros. For the “tea party” group, they hired buses and a few rabble rousers to go around the capital cities of the West screaming and yelling. The media (MM was what we used to use) loved it. Just as these current Darwin odds takers go around yelling and screaming for the media to cover SFB idiocy. Bought and paid for until the real losers get their stupidity up and spinning.
Jack – a squeeze was probably part of the day/week/month. Long time ago I used to work in the oil patch (Mobil and Amoco). Back when big bets and trades were common. Drill and bust. cycles. The Petroleum Club was wonderful. We got to go for the Christmas Holiday party. Nice place.
The story on Matt Bevin this morning is that he got his press secretary pregnant and he has left his wife and kids and moved in with her.
Watch a bit of the lie fest. The chump giving the presentation about swabs, Brad what’s his name of CMS would have his ass handed to him for his vagueness by my former boss, who was CEO of our local 250 bed hospital. Broad vague bullshit. Nothing more , nothing less. What does 30 million swabs in the next few weeks mean to you? It don’ mean shit to me.
Matt Bevin? I like this.
Lovely fucker, right?
Dumfuck’s reverse Mohawk is getting profound. His hair artists can’t cover it with his fake surf’s up bangs.
Trump is blocking the additional funding for payroll protection because he doesn’t want to also fund national testing. Trump wants to send American workers to their possible deaths by re-opening businesses without making testing available. Shame on you, Donald Trump. Shame on you for hating ordinary Americans.
Crackers – If it’s true that Repugz tested protesters, it won’t matter that much. Many have tested negative the first time, but positive later, as with sailors on that ship. I find it laughable that some of the dumbass, anti-science, low-intelligence protestors wore masks. Then, again, maybe it was to hide their identities. A little face mask breathes a lot better than a sheet.
Anyone notice that Fauci isn’t there today? I’m sure he pissed SFB and his idiots off this morning when he said:
SFB’s Head had to come close to exploding, or at least catching a flash fire, when he heard that Fauci said that.
Corey- I guess Bevin’s press secretary has a taste for sh/ . A lid for every pot.
I’m happy to see Fauci off the hook for these clown shows. Rather he be working instead of wasting 2 hours every day listening to dumbass.
pogo – Nothing other than a second wave that impacts him personally will wake up SFB…and that may not do it, either.
The lying is just fucking painful. And the media in the room have their questions prepared and don’t nail his ass to the cross for the lies he made in the last 5 minutes.
DAMN! I take my bird feeders into the garage every night around 7pm. Just as I was finishing the supper dishes… I see a bear take down my pole. It was only a yearling cub. But still… Rick and I opened the door screaming at it and banging pots and pans. It ran off into the woods and then turned around and watched us. We picked up the feeders… thankfully no damage… and took them into the garage. But the pole is plenty damaged. Poor birds… it’ll be a few days before they see those feeders again.
I’m out. Can’t stand the lying and MSNBC and CNN have given up and Are coverIng from the first lie to the last. I’ll go find even more meaningless bullshit to watch.
Rick Wilson has seen the light!
Last I heard, oil is -$37/barrel. Those in the know say buy oil tanker stock.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/georgia-brian-kemp-reopen-businesses-coronavirus/index.html
Looks like the Georgia Gov wants to sacrifice his citizens to appease Orange Julius. Gyms? Yes, let’s all sweat and breathe hard in an enclosed space. What could go wrong?
So, if you have a way to take 28K barrels of oil offa their hands, they’ll give ya a million bucks. Up is down.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/who-is-yumi-hogan/index.html
So, when Trump said he gave a list of numbers for states to call to try to secure tests and that the Gov of MD didn’t understand… Thank goodness for initiative a personal contacts, because TrumPence is worthless.
States and cities are not letting the Trump administration know when they have purchased supplies because too many times the feds come in and take the supplies and give them to their friends.
Jack
Trump has invited Governor Cuomo to the White House.
They had the dog, so the show just needed a pony.
Ya, I waz quoting the 4/24 delivery at 1c/bbl, later -1c/bbl .
-$37 is for spot oil. That is, you would have to take delivery on your contract. There is no more space in the depots, so you’d better bring an empty tanker truck.
“A Kentucky man whose state prison sentence for a 2014 sexual assault was commuted last year by former Gov. Matt Bevin has been arrested on federal child pornography charges, authorities said Tuesday.” – Info courtesy of Mr Pogo
So, has trump nominated this pervert to be the Labor Secretary yet ?
Nash is there such a thing as a dog and phony show? Not with Cuomo I bet.
XR, he’s certainly on the short list.
States and cities whose ppe was stolen by Feds should bill the WH. Take it to court. WTH ? Y Not ?
Or, sue the ripper party.
Equal Time ! Lock Them ALL up !
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/donald-trump-immigration-halt-coronavirus/index.html
To combat the “Invisible Enemy” and protect American jobs, SFB is locking down our borders to immigrants. I’m sure the MAGAts are OK with that lockdown.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/kim-jong-un-north-korea/index.html
Lil Lardball Kim’s bad habits have gotten the best of him. I wonder if the cofeve is in play, as well? If anyone coughs in NK, that’s probably the end of ‘em. Enforced distancing, level 10.
trump is locking the border to prevent ‘his’ ‘illegal aliens’ from escaping.
Just kidding.
If he’s pivoting to his ‘dirty, disease-carrying Mexicans’ image, it must mean that his internal polls show that the borders of his core are softening. Back to racism.
Dems could put up billboards in strong ripper neighborhoods with pix of dirty dick cheney asking, “Do you miss me now ?”
Maybe dirty dick nixon. Or, spiro.