The also rans have had plenty of opportunities in media coverage to establish themselves and they did not.Â
The voters are thinning this herd, not the media.Â
Flatus, that’d work but I prefer Watren/Booker. Mayor Pete for the Cabinet.Â
They’re both fine gents. The difference for me, I remember what Pete says, not so much so with Booker.
Liz is definitely doing well right now. I’d vote for her if she’s the nominee (Mrs. P says she wouldn’t, but then again she doesn’t vote, so who cares? But then again I’m in WV so who cares?) Of course they are the only 2 within the margin of error in that QU poll and everyone else is 11 points or more outside the MOE if Biden sets the floor. Bernie!’s dropping like a stone. Good. He’s not a Democrat.
The voters have not thinned the herd, the media has. Not a single vote has been counted. The polls are all name recognition and news coverage. The debates haven’t even been thinned down to a reasonable six. Bernie just had a heart attack, but his poll numbers while dropping are still way up in several of the polls.
If the nominee ends up being one of the elderly, I’ll hold my nose and vote for them even though I don’t consider either qualified for the top job, but I hope it doesn’t hand it to Trump. A large chunk of the young ones are threatening either Sanders, Green Party or nothing.
By not giving enough time to get through the earliest primaries, we are being cheated of the opportunity to make a real informed decision, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.
Mr Flatus,Â
Since you are going to Kurdistan anyway, would you please take napoleon bonespur with you ?
Thanks in advance.
Your admirer,
xrepublican
Jamie, I completely disagree with blaming the media. Voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, other early states have had ample opportunities to meet personally the candidates, evaluate them in person and the polls there are showing what they have decided, which is that Warren and Biden are their leading choices.Â
I’ve seen Klobuchar, Beto others frequently interviewed on CNN, MSNBC last several days, but if they’re not catching on it’s their problem, not the media’s fault.
There were four at first, and a platton of 1 – 3%ers. Harris attacked Biden, and slowly sank out of sight, because in 2020 Dems don’t want to see their candidates attack one another.
Then there were three, and a platoon of 1 – 3%ers. Bernie! had a heart attack, and sank out of sight, because in 2020 Dems don’t want a sickly candidate. Then there were two.Â
There hasn’t been enough difference between the candidates policies (‘cept yang, steyer, Williamson, and Delaney, who were never going anywhere anyway) to distinguish and float any also rans.
The big issues have always been, 1. who can beat trump, and 2. who can pull the longest coat tails.
To me, Biden and Warren have shown that they are the strongest in both points.
Â
Ms Jamie,
I have no doubt that in a debate Harris could break trump like a spaghetti noodle.Â
So could Booker and Pete.Â
(But why would any candidate give the rapist racist russian saboteur legitimacy by consenting to ‘debate’ him ?)Â
A day is an eternity in political campaigning, as you know as well as anyone else. In another day or two the surprise miracle that changes the political landscape could erupt, and one or two of the lesser candidates could suddenly catch on and roll. 13 months out nobody expected Woodrow Wilson, George McGovern, Barack Obama or donald trump.Â
John Kasich on Bernie (CNN): “I think his time has come and gone. His best shot was against Hillary and it didn’t work. He has attracted lots of people. He’s brought a lot of young people into politics and that’s been a good thing but I don’t think he was ever in it this time.”
Ms Fiona Hill told a story in which john bolton called rude giuliani ‘a hand grenade’ that would blow everything up. She called the criminous mulvaney/giuliani fiasco in Ukraine a ‘drug deal.’
The 1835 Treaty of New Echota precipitated tens of thousands of Cherokee joining the infamous Trail of Tears – giving up their ancestral homes in the south-east, to trek to what is now Oklahoma.
In a minor concession to the Cherokee people, buried within the treaty was a promise that the nation could appoint a delegate to the House of Representatives, to have at least some sort of say in the government that had forced them for their land.
Over the next two centuries, as the Cherokee struggled to establish themselves in Oklahoma, sought to overcome the trauma of being forced from their land, and the country went through a brutal civil war, the notion of sending a Cherokee representative to Washington DC was largely forgotten.
Until now. This month the principal chief of the Cherokee nation, Chuck Hoskin, appointed Kimberly Teehee as delegate to Congress – taking the federal government up on its nearly 200-year-old offer.
[…]
The Cherokee Nation has never sent a delegate to Congress before. While they are hopeful the House will honor the terms of the New Echota treaty, there will be a wait before – hopefully – Teehee can take up her post.
If she does, she will be able to advocate for the nearly 380,000 citizens of the Cherokee Nation, which spans almost 7,000 square miles in Oklahoma. The nation has its own elected government, but is reliant on the federal government financially. In 2019, Hoskin said, the Cherokee nation is thriving compared with previous decades. That influenced the decision to push for further representation.
[…]
The question now is whether politicians in Washington decide to let Teehee take up her post. The House could decide on its own that it is able to appoint a Cherokee delegate, but members could also deem that the Senate, and perhaps even the president also need to agree.
Teehee is optimistic she will be appointed, but knows that process will take time. In the meantime, she said she will push Congress to grant the Cherokee Nation the right that was promised in 1835.
“I want to take one step at a time, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. But I also want the discussion and the analysis and the process to keep moving. I hope that there’s no stall and that we’re all continuing to be motivated about this,” Teehee said.
“We’ve nearly 200 years, and we can wait a little longer. But I do want it done.”
.
XR
I’m aware of the debate potential that would probably have Trump in a fetal position. My point is, did anyone see that performance or even a smidge of it on any newscast. How many times did they air Warren’s little “marry one woman” quip? It has gone on from the beginning with Biden & Warren.
I realize I’m super sensitive due to 2016 where the positive coverage was constantly Trump and the negative was constantly “But her Emails” and MSNBC was practically on the Sanders campaign team. Craig is on the side of the news folks so he may just not hear how slanted even the supposedly legitimate news stations have become. They want dollars, eyeballs, and favorites more than they want what might be best for the country or what is good for an honest election. Â
amen
situational ethics query of the day:
Will Erdogan be prosecuted for war crimes in the International Criminal Court at the Hague if he orders/allows the bombing and killing of the war criminal ISIS/daesh prisoners while they are still imprisoned in Syria?
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son, acknowledged in an interview to be broadcast on Tuesday that he probably would not have been named to the board of a foreign company if his last name weren’t Biden, but he rejected suggestions by President Trump that he and his father had engaged in wrongdoing.
“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” Mr. Biden said in an interview with ABC News, which published excerpts from it on Tuesday morning. “But did I make a mistake based on some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden,” Mr. Biden told Amy Robach of ABC.
[…]
The younger Mr. Biden, who recently resigned from the board of a Chinese investment company, said his service there had become a “distraction, because I have to sit here and answer these questions. That’s why I have committed that I won’t serve on any board or work on any foreign entities when Dad becomes president. That’s the rule I’m going to adhere to.”
Mr. Biden, 49, said he had exercised “poor judgment” by getting involved in a situation that he compared to a “swamp.” But he blamed his father’s opponents, including Mr. Trump, for spreading a “ridiculous conspiracy idea” involving his work.
“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father,” he said. “That’s where I made the mistake. So I take full responsibility for that. Did I do anything improper? No, not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever.”
[continues]
hunter should have said this loud & clear the 1st time twit brought it up. would ‘ve been old news by now.
Mr. Biden, 49, said he had exercised “poor judgment” by getting involved …. “So I take full responsibility for that.”
In the most recent George Washington University Politics Poll, the senator from Massachusetts leads the Democratic field with 28 percent of the vote. Sanders is second at 21 percent, and Biden, the front-runner since his entrance into the race, is at 18 percent. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala D. Harris each draw 5 percent.
Although it’s just one survey, the findings suggest that Warren’s growing popularity, evident in other polls, comes from her increasing appeal beyond the party’s left wing. And with Warren also establishing herself as the second choice for many Democrats currently backing other candidates, she may be well-positioned to pick up more support as the field thins.
[…]
Warren has throughout the campaign had her strongest support from the most liberal Democrats. And, not surprisingly, 4 in 10 voters who call themselves “very liberal” say they would vote for her. But the survey confirms she is now winning over other voters. Among Democrats who call themselves simply “liberal,” she is polling at 33 percent, 12 points ahead of Sanders and 17 points better than Biden.
[…]
Biden, meanwhile, continues to hold a lead among moderate and conservative Democrats, with 28 percent. But in what may be a sign of concern, he is polling just 12 points better among those voters than both Warren and Sanders.
Warren’s improvement among less liberal Democrats also means she’s doing slightly better with black voters, who are more ideologically conservative than whites. Long mired in single digits, Warren is at 13 percent among black voters (and Sanders at 12) in the GW Politics Poll, though she still trails Biden at 35 percent by a significant margin.
[…]
Finally, the GW Politics Poll also suggests that Warren’s rise is not being driven mainly by an increase in support among female voters. In an analysis for FiveThirtyEight in September, Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux found that Warren’s polling for most of the campaign had been about three points higher among women than men. In a reversal, our survey has Warren as the first choice of 29 percent of men and 26 percent of women.
[…]
That suggests that an increase in the support of male voters is responsible for at least part of Warren’s recent trajectory. And the shift of the men’s vote may have come at Biden’s expense. Although Thomson-DeVeaux’s analysis found Biden polling roughly equally with men and women, in our survey he is at 22 percent among women but just 15 percent among men.
Carolyn and I just treked to Cape May, NJ, for the weekend. While there I visited with an old high school chum. I could see that he may be in the beginning stages of dimentia; it was his sort of blank stare as though he was searching for his thoughts.  My friend’s thoughts were there but they came out slowly along with that blank stare. I think I see the same thing in VP Biden.  I am serious, this is not an ugly comment.
It was in response to Ronan Farrow’s new book Catch and Kill but also covered network tendency to always take the easiest way out.
Musical interlude for the latest developments
Jamie… Â I share your opinion that the media largely wants dollars and eyeballs (which translates to dollars). Â IMO, that’s why CNN did it’s best to try to manipulate the Dem candidates into a food fight in their debate. Â Hope they do a better job tonight.
But Craig is correct about that here in NH we have ample opportunity to evaluate the candidates up close and personal. Â We take our responsibility as the first in the nation primary state very seriously. Warren is drawing huge and enthusiastic crowds here because of her message, charisma, and energy. Â I’ve never talked to anyone who said they were going to a political rally just because of what they saw on tv.
susan Collins quoted by the hill in their story today “Trump’s GOP impeachment firewall holds strong:”
Collins, who decried Trump’s call for China to investigate Biden as “completely inappropriate,” last week criticized Senate Democratic colleagues for rushing to embrace impeachment before the House investigation is complete.
She also criticized Republicans for racing to defend Trump before knowing all the facts.
“I am amazed that some of my colleagues have already made up their minds one way or the other before all the evidence is in and before the facts are known,” she told the Bangor Daily News. “I think that’s entirely inappropriate whether they’re for impeachment or against impeachment. Under the Constitution, the role of the senator is to act as a juror and that is what I did in the case of the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton.”
Renee
I trust NH more than IA simply because it is a primary while IA is a caucus. The whole causcus system is suspect no matter who wins because it freezes out so many voters and encourages cults. Â
Neither state reflects the complexion of the country, but at least with NH all of the registered voters get to vote. Following on the heels of NH & IA in February will be NV caucus and SC primary. At least a little more rflective of ethnicity, but the NV caucus in 2016 was a mess. Â
Ms Jamie and I don’t disagree on much, but we do on the topic of primaries vs caucuses.Â
I oppose sound bite elections, and that is the way I see primaries.
In my lifetime MN has ditched caucuses twice, and both times were disasters. In ’52 the repubs picked Taft over Eisenhower ! I mean, what the hell ???
So will Trudy take one fore the team — do they still cut convicts hair?
America’s mayor?  Let’s remember that he has never been anything but disgusting
He has used racist tropes his entire political career and he is a phony Catholic…..married three times!
He is the face of the Republican Party and SFB is the asshole
It is a lot cooler here now but because of the continuing high fire danger  no one is lighting their woodstoves
including us.   We look like the Michelin man we have on so many layers.Â
They should send Hunter Biden someplace where he can’t harm himself or others. Â
What moron thought it would be a good idea to let him start giving out interviews.
He is a hot mess and should be out of sight
I love Cape May – beautiful older homes –Â
A great place for a getaway weekend
Quite near one of my favorite spots in the world Towsend’s Inlet (near the Elephant Hotel)
Me thinks this time Iowa could be more important than NH because if Warren or Sanders win NH it’ll be discounted by the neighboring state factor
Live debate thread tonight (CNN 8pm ET)
Must admit I thought Biden at his presser yesterday he was staring at crowd in a strange way, but it was also poorly lit.
It’s been and continues to be a kind of “Immersion Technique” in watching all those westerns. The tv is on, stays on that channel, and whenever I’m in there,  there is a western on it, so given time put in  they all begin to kind of meld together, a blend. And lots of repeats.  I lose the titles along the way unless they should stand out somehow, but read the wiki on every one I see.  Only at certain times do I see the whole movie. Theres always a lot of Easter eggs for side trips:  Lawrenceville, Quantrell, Belle Star, Reno Brothers, Dalton Bros, Younger Bros, Earp Bros, James Bros, Butch and Sundance, Chittering, Custer, Hole-in-the-wall, Clantons , the Regulators, Pat and Billy…..all the bad guy actors, the damsels, the bankers, ranchers, and rustlers…..It’s too early in the study to be drawing conclusions, of course, but I’m beginning to see lines being formed.
Guy Madison
Ahhh, beautiful Cape May….when I think back to that August, Sept, and October in Cape May, I’m flooded with memories of arising at 5 am for calisthenics, running around the quadrangle holding a full Seabag above my head, doing push-ups till my arms wouldn’t work, waxing fire engines,  ahh, good times.  We did one night though, get to go in our little uniforms downtown (?) in a bus, get into formation (122 peoples) and march down the street to the community theater, file in and see “The Owl and the Pussycat” and then march back down the street to the bus. On both of our street marches that night, we had to march past a “U” shaped, 3 story motel, open end to the street, which happened to be maybe weekend quarters for Every Hippie in the World, and they were all hollering at us as we marched by.
“Baby Killers!” LoL.
I thought, “Ya buncha Goobers…..we’re the Coast Guard.”
XR
in 2016 WA had both Caucus and Primary. Only the Caucus counted towards delegates. It was so obviously slanted, that the law was changed. In 2020, the Presidential primary and total vote by mail will determine the delegates. The Democratic caucus will only have an effect on legislative delegates to the party convention.Â
Roughly 230,000 people participated in the Democratic caucus, The Stranger reported in March. In contrast, more than 660,000 Democratic votes had been tallied in the primary as of Tuesday, according to The Seattle Times. That lopsided reality makes it more difficult for Sanders to argue that his candidacy represents the will of the people.
Saw a Guy Madison just the other day….
”The Charge at Feather River”
The only way out of all this dysfunction is still: Â
VOTER TURNOUT.
Well, I think I’ve figured out why Sean Spicer is such a bad dancer (but I’ll never figure out how he keeps getting through the gauntlet week to week). From Wapo:
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s business dealings is justified, citing the scrutiny that the business dealings of Trump’s children has received.
“We’ve seen the scrutiny with the Trump family and all of their business dealings. If it’s fair for the Trumps, it’s fair for the Bidens,” Spicer said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” that focused mostly on his tenure as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“This is politics. This is fair game,” Spicer added.
Spicer said he sees a “big difference” between the business activities of the Trump children and the service of Hunter Biden on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
“There’s no expertise in the field,” Spicer said. “There’s nothing except for your last name, and frankly, not just your last name, but your connection to the sitting vice president, who’s overseeing the policy in that country.”
Stupid bastard can’t see and doesn’t understand what is and is not parallel. Here, Sean, let me help. Biden WAS vice president and his son was a businessman. He was offered a board position from a private gas/oil company located in a country we counted as an ally and took it while his father was pressuring the country to increase its fraud investigation – including into the company that Hunter took the board job with. That was investigated by Ukraine and two prosecutors have said the arrangement was not illegal.  SFB IS President. His daughter and son-in-law WORK IN THE WHITE HOUSE.  While working in the White House his daughter sought and secured licenses for her clothing (and shoes & jewelry?) from our largest trade adversary while SFB was threatening sanctions. I don’t know of any investigations done into Ivanka’s self-dealing. Â
And it’s one, two, three, one two, three…
Just watched my DVR of Hunter on Good Morning America. I like the guy, seemed flawed but genuine. Is what it is.Â
I want to know more about Ivanka’s involvement with voting machines
She’s among the last people I want to see involved in that industry
talk about situational ethics
Hunter Biden has a long history of being a fuck-up.  He must be very charming to keep landing on his feet.
But I also think he hasn’t only traded on his family name. I think he has a career track record that’s pretty good when you consider how many times he has been in rehab.  He has crashed and burned a lot but he also always been a pretty good earner.
the Week reports on mayor pete chiding lizzie which is certainly to come up at tonight’s debate:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has more than small donor money in her pocket.
After South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg attacked Warren and other candidates for relying on “pocket change” to fund their 2020 campaigns, Warren issued a typically outsized response. She didn’t call out Buttigieg by name, but instead pledged to avoid another segment of big-money donors and revealed a proposal to root out corporate influence in politics, essentially setting up a fight for Tuesday night’s primary debate.
Buttigieg on Monday defended his acceptance of big-money donations by saying “we’re not going to beat Trump with pocket change.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) issued a blatant rebuttal, but Warren took a more subtle approach in her Tuesday blog post by reminding readers she’d pledged not to take donations from federal lobbyists or PACs throughout her entire presidential run. In addition, Warren said she wouldn’t take “take any contributions over $200 from executives at big tech companies, big banks, private equity firms, or hedge funds.”
Warren then called on her fellow candidates to disclose if they’d given special titles to big-money donors — an attempt to expose if they’d been “hobnobbing with the rich and powerful,” she wrote. And beyond these “voluntary changes,” Warren discussed how, if elected, she’d stop foreign and corrupt influence in U.S. elections, “expand disclosure of fundraising and spending,” and establish public financing for federal campaigns. Find all of Warren’s proposal here.
what a pair!
they’ll make a lovely couple in debates running circles around don con and his sidekick.
Apparently one can merely tell trump that you rented a room and he’ll let you conquer Poland. That’s pretty cool, until your neighbor tells trump she’s rented two rooms.Â
If I were a candidate and asked about the Bidens I would day.  The Bidens did nothing wrong – you are repeating a Trump conspiracy theory.  Focus on the real law breakers and stop letting the media try to run the race.Â
I would attack Trump in every response and not attack any Democrats Â
yes, if you rent a room, the world is your oyster.
Looking at Hunter’s background, I would not be surprised if Burisma wanted him on their board because of his prior position as Executive VP with MBNA, his experience in the Commerce Department (under Bill Clinton) and his lobbying and venture capitol background with Eudora Global, and of course, BHR, which invested Chinese capitol in ventures outside China. (His partner Devon Archer also sat on the Burisma board – and I don’t recall a president or VP named Archer, so…) His name aside he had cred. While he might not have had direct experience in natural gas, his business and international trade and capitol, to say nothing of Yale law and big law firm experience, would seem like a good fit for Burisma, who was under a cloud from alleged money laundering. (As an aside, I sat on the board of directors of our local hospital and two local charities – I had a background in nothing that would be considered healthcare related prior to sitting on the hospital board and nothing in the charity area other than providing donations to charities. Regardless, my law background was perceived as valuable to those organizations at the Board of Directors level). And yes, I’m sure that Burisma was happy to have the son of the US VP on their board.
KC, now you’re singing from my songbook. Don’t accept the premise that the Bidens did anything wrong and attack SFB and Ghouliani’s lies.Â
Pogo
You would think that the Biden team would have issued all the info or if they did that reporters would have covered it. I am getting so sick of sound bites as opposed to depth from all sides.Â
Yes it’s good to agree !  I think the Democrats need to play their own game by their ow rules.
The media is so weak and pathetic.
I think right from the start it was said that the Biden charge was conspiracy theory stuff and in fact the charges had been investigated and were unfounded. This is the wift boat crap all over again Despite the fact the charges were endlessly proved untrue the media keeps covering it as if this issue has never been investigated
Another bad deal by the media and good peoplenget screwed.
Who can forget that ignorant stupid bitch from the j school at the University of pa (Annenberg) saying the story was how Kerry handled the charges not the truth of the charges she’s an idiot
Craig,
Must admit I thought Biden at his presser yesterday he was staring at crowd in a strange way, but it was also poorly lit.
This type of comment isn’t the first I’ve seen re Biden, a few even going so far as arm chair “onset” type remarks. No way of knowing if the sources are honest or the twitter feed of Sanders or Harris troops. It is a sort of pile on from previous “oops” Biden comments. Â
Well worth keeping an eye on for the debate tonight. The Biden campaign definitely doesn’t want this type of rumor growing unless there is some actual substance behind it.
Definition
Congress has the authority to hold a person in contempt if the person’s conduct or action obstructs the proceedings of Congress or, more usually, an inquiry by a committee of Congress.
Contempt of Congress is defined in statute, 2 U.S.C.A. § 192, enacted in 1938, which states that any person who is summoned before Congress who “willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry” shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 month imprisonment.
Before a Congressional witness may be convicted of contempt, it must be established that the matter under investigation is a subject which Congress has constitutional power to legislate.
Generally, the same Constitutional rights against self-incrimination that apply in a judicial setting apply when one is testifying before Congress.
Idiot should take a look at the history of folks held in contempt of congress. A letter won’t do.
Jamie,Â
Not sure what “all the info” is.  Seems to me that all the info regarding the investigations into Biden and Hunter on the issues of Burisma and China have been covered in the major press outlets. And I’m not sure what the Biden camp would have to release other than the denials of wrongdoing and statements regarding the investigations of Ukraine prosecutors affirming no wrongdoing – and that’s been done.
Never ever gloat in public, or under a roof.
I can gloat now and then out here on the deck, if something decent happens.
Mind you, that’s not a response to any comment, it’s just a sprung fully armed from the head of Zeus kinda thing.
It’s raining in old Caroline.
Pogo
I was talking about your defense. It is the best I’ve seen about Hunter. The problem, is that I haven’t seen that defense from the Biden campaign or any supporters. It is just one more example of media not actually covering the whole of any information available.
Warren, all the way!!!
Latest Ukraine subpoena: Â Pete Sessions
Wonder how, exactly, the NBA would be hurt “spiritually” with regard to supporting HK, LeB-Wrong? Â
Time to start threatening to boycott the next Olympics.
BiD
Sanders last time. Warren this time. Alrighty then. lol
Joe trying to go after Elizabeth is laughable. Â
She knows what she believes, why, and how she plans to move forward. Â
Pat- That’s a sadly perfect toon of Putie pulling the strings.  Wasn’t Syria a proxy war between the US and Russia?  And now, Russia is filling the vacuum left by Dumb Doomsday Donald not listening to his generals.  Is Donny going to try to take credit for getting our troops out of Syria?  He’ll only get credit for supporting terrorists with his ineptitude.
What did he say about not caring what happens there? Â It was looney.
Here’s hoping many Repugs grow a pair and start spilling the beans to get rid of the orange nut job. Â
Yep, Warren!
NEW THREAD
By the way, Bernie actually helped Warren by calling her a capitalist. Â Â
Liz & Mayor Pete as her VP
The also rans have had plenty of opportunities in media coverage to establish themselves and they did not.Â
The voters are thinning this herd, not the media.Â
Flatus, that’d work but I prefer Watren/Booker. Mayor Pete for the Cabinet.Â
They’re both fine gents. The difference for me, I remember what Pete says, not so much so with Booker.
Liz is definitely doing well right now. I’d vote for her if she’s the nominee (Mrs. P says she wouldn’t, but then again she doesn’t vote, so who cares? But then again I’m in WV so who cares?) Of course they are the only 2 within the margin of error in that QU poll and everyone else is 11 points or more outside the MOE if Biden sets the floor. Bernie!’s dropping like a stone. Good. He’s not a Democrat.
The voters have not thinned the herd, the media has. Not a single vote has been counted. The polls are all name recognition and news coverage. The debates haven’t even been thinned down to a reasonable six. Bernie just had a heart attack, but his poll numbers while dropping are still way up in several of the polls.
If the nominee ends up being one of the elderly, I’ll hold my nose and vote for them even though I don’t consider either qualified for the top job, but I hope it doesn’t hand it to Trump. A large chunk of the young ones are threatening either Sanders, Green Party or nothing.
By not giving enough time to get through the earliest primaries, we are being cheated of the opportunity to make a real informed decision, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.
Mr Flatus,Â
Since you are going to Kurdistan anyway, would you please take napoleon bonespur with you ?
Thanks in advance.
Your admirer,
xrepublican
Jamie, I completely disagree with blaming the media. Voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, other early states have had ample opportunities to meet personally the candidates, evaluate them in person and the polls there are showing what they have decided, which is that Warren and Biden are their leading choices.Â
I’ve seen Klobuchar, Beto others frequently interviewed on CNN, MSNBC last several days, but if they’re not catching on it’s their problem, not the media’s fault.
There were four at first, and a platton of 1 – 3%ers. Harris attacked Biden, and slowly sank out of sight, because in 2020 Dems don’t want to see their candidates attack one another.
Then there were three, and a platoon of 1 – 3%ers. Bernie! had a heart attack, and sank out of sight, because in 2020 Dems don’t want a sickly candidate. Then there were two.Â
There hasn’t been enough difference between the candidates policies (‘cept yang, steyer, Williamson, and Delaney, who were never going anywhere anyway) to distinguish and float any also rans.
The big issues have always been, 1. who can beat trump, and 2. who can pull the longest coat tails.
To me, Biden and Warren have shown that they are the strongest in both points.
Â
Just because I feel as if I’m being cornered:
Ms Jamie,
I have no doubt that in a debate Harris could break trump like a spaghetti noodle.Â
So could Booker and Pete.Â
(But why would any candidate give the rapist racist russian saboteur legitimacy by consenting to ‘debate’ him ?)Â
A day is an eternity in political campaigning, as you know as well as anyone else. In another day or two the surprise miracle that changes the political landscape could erupt, and one or two of the lesser candidates could suddenly catch on and roll. 13 months out nobody expected Woodrow Wilson, George McGovern, Barack Obama or donald trump.Â
John Kasich on Bernie (CNN): “I think his time has come and gone. His best shot was against Hillary and it didn’t work. He has attracted lots of people. He’s brought a lot of young people into politics and that’s been a good thing but I don’t think he was ever in it this time.”
Ms Fiona Hill told a story in which john bolton called rude giuliani ‘a hand grenade’ that would blow everything up. She called the criminous mulvaney/giuliani fiasco in Ukraine a ‘drug deal.’
Maybe she meant that it was a drug deal.Â
I believe Ms Hill. I believe BOTH Mses Hill.
Trump Jr. scams students for 50k
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/10/11/amid-outrage-and-fanfare-uf-hosts-donald-trump-jr/
tee hee – getting the last laugh in critterville?
the guardian:
.
XR
I’m aware of the debate potential that would probably have Trump in a fetal position. My point is, did anyone see that performance or even a smidge of it on any newscast. How many times did they air Warren’s little “marry one woman” quip? It has gone on from the beginning with Biden & Warren.
I realize I’m super sensitive due to 2016 where the positive coverage was constantly Trump and the negative was constantly “But her Emails” and MSNBC was practically on the Sanders campaign team. Craig is on the side of the news folks so he may just not hear how slanted even the supposedly legitimate news stations have become. They want dollars, eyeballs, and favorites more than they want what might be best for the country or what is good for an honest election. Â
amen
situational ethics query of the day:
Will Erdogan be prosecuted for war crimes in the International Criminal Court at the Hague if he orders/allows the bombing and killing of the war criminal ISIS/daesh prisoners while they are still imprisoned in Syria?
NYTimes:
hunter should have said this loud & clear the 1st time twit brought it up. would ‘ve been old news by now.
Mr. Biden, 49, said he had exercised “poor judgment” by getting involved …. “So I take full responsibility for that.”
another day, another poll
Carolyn and I just treked to Cape May, NJ, for the weekend. While there I visited with an old high school chum. I could see that he may be in the beginning stages of dimentia; it was his sort of blank stare as though he was searching for his thoughts.  My friend’s thoughts were there but they came out slowly along with that blank stare. I think I see the same thing in VP Biden.  I am serious, this is not an ugly comment.
Interesting article and video of Chris Hayes on The Path of Least Resistance.
It was in response to Ronan Farrow’s new book Catch and Kill but also covered network tendency to always take the easiest way out.
Musical interlude for the latest developments
Jamie… Â I share your opinion that the media largely wants dollars and eyeballs (which translates to dollars). Â IMO, that’s why CNN did it’s best to try to manipulate the Dem candidates into a food fight in their debate. Â Hope they do a better job tonight.
But Craig is correct about that here in NH we have ample opportunity to evaluate the candidates up close and personal. Â We take our responsibility as the first in the nation primary state very seriously. Warren is drawing huge and enthusiastic crowds here because of her message, charisma, and energy. Â I’ve never talked to anyone who said they were going to a political rally just because of what they saw on tv.
susan Collins quoted by the hill in their story today “Trump’s GOP impeachment firewall holds strong:”
Collins, who decried Trump’s call for China to investigate Biden as “completely inappropriate,” last week criticized Senate Democratic colleagues for rushing to embrace impeachment before the House investigation is complete.
She also criticized Republicans for racing to defend Trump before knowing all the facts.
“I am amazed that some of my colleagues have already made up their minds one way or the other before all the evidence is in and before the facts are known,” she told the Bangor Daily News. “I think that’s entirely inappropriate whether they’re for impeachment or against impeachment. Under the Constitution, the role of the senator is to act as a juror and that is what I did in the case of the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton.”
Renee
I trust NH more than IA simply because it is a primary while IA is a caucus. The whole causcus system is suspect no matter who wins because it freezes out so many voters and encourages cults. Â
Neither state reflects the complexion of the country, but at least with NH all of the registered voters get to vote. Following on the heels of NH & IA in February will be NV caucus and SC primary. At least a little more rflective of ethnicity, but the NV caucus in 2016 was a mess. Â
Ms Jamie and I don’t disagree on much, but we do on the topic of primaries vs caucuses.Â
I oppose sound bite elections, and that is the way I see primaries.
In my lifetime MN has ditched caucuses twice, and both times were disasters. In ’52 the repubs picked Taft over Eisenhower ! I mean, what the hell ???
So will Trudy take one fore the team — do they still cut convicts hair?
America’s mayor?  Let’s remember that he has never been anything but disgusting
He has used racist tropes his entire political career and he is a phony Catholic…..married three times!
He is the face of the Republican Party and SFB is the asshole
It is a lot cooler here now but because of the continuing high fire danger  no one is lighting their woodstoves
including us.   We look like the Michelin man we have on so many layers.Â
They should send Hunter Biden someplace where he can’t harm himself or others. Â
What moron thought it would be a good idea to let him start giving out interviews.
He is a hot mess and should be out of sight
I love Cape May – beautiful older homes –Â
A great place for a getaway weekend
Quite near one of my favorite spots in the world Towsend’s Inlet (near the Elephant Hotel)
Me thinks this time Iowa could be more important than NH because if Warren or Sanders win NH it’ll be discounted by the neighboring state factor
Live debate thread tonight (CNN 8pm ET)
Must admit I thought Biden at his presser yesterday he was staring at crowd in a strange way, but it was also poorly lit.
It’s been and continues to be a kind of “Immersion Technique” in watching all those westerns. The tv is on, stays on that channel, and whenever I’m in there,  there is a western on it, so given time put in  they all begin to kind of meld together, a blend. And lots of repeats.  I lose the titles along the way unless they should stand out somehow, but read the wiki on every one I see.  Only at certain times do I see the whole movie. Theres always a lot of Easter eggs for side trips:  Lawrenceville, Quantrell, Belle Star, Reno Brothers, Dalton Bros, Younger Bros, Earp Bros, James Bros, Butch and Sundance, Chittering, Custer, Hole-in-the-wall, Clantons , the Regulators, Pat and Billy…..all the bad guy actors, the damsels, the bankers, ranchers, and rustlers…..It’s too early in the study to be drawing conclusions, of course, but I’m beginning to see lines being formed.
Guy Madison
Ahhh, beautiful Cape May….when I think back to that August, Sept, and October in Cape May, I’m flooded with memories of arising at 5 am for calisthenics, running around the quadrangle holding a full Seabag above my head, doing push-ups till my arms wouldn’t work, waxing fire engines,  ahh, good times.  We did one night though, get to go in our little uniforms downtown (?) in a bus, get into formation (122 peoples) and march down the street to the community theater, file in and see “The Owl and the Pussycat” and then march back down the street to the bus. On both of our street marches that night, we had to march past a “U” shaped, 3 story motel, open end to the street, which happened to be maybe weekend quarters for Every Hippie in the World, and they were all hollering at us as we marched by.
“Baby Killers!” LoL.
I thought, “Ya buncha Goobers…..we’re the Coast Guard.”
XR
in 2016 WA had both Caucus and Primary. Only the Caucus counted towards delegates. It was so obviously slanted, that the law was changed. In 2020, the Presidential primary and total vote by mail will determine the delegates. The Democratic caucus will only have an effect on legislative delegates to the party convention.Â
Saw a Guy Madison just the other day….
”The Charge at Feather River”
The only way out of all this dysfunction is still: Â
VOTER TURNOUT.
Well, I think I’ve figured out why Sean Spicer is such a bad dancer (but I’ll never figure out how he keeps getting through the gauntlet week to week). From Wapo:
Stupid bastard can’t see and doesn’t understand what is and is not parallel. Here, Sean, let me help. Biden WAS vice president and his son was a businessman. He was offered a board position from a private gas/oil company located in a country we counted as an ally and took it while his father was pressuring the country to increase its fraud investigation – including into the company that Hunter took the board job with. That was investigated by Ukraine and two prosecutors have said the arrangement was not illegal.  SFB IS President. His daughter and son-in-law WORK IN THE WHITE HOUSE.  While working in the White House his daughter sought and secured licenses for her clothing (and shoes & jewelry?) from our largest trade adversary while SFB was threatening sanctions. I don’t know of any investigations done into Ivanka’s self-dealing. Â
And it’s one, two, three, one two, three…
Just watched my DVR of Hunter on Good Morning America. I like the guy, seemed flawed but genuine. Is what it is.Â
I want to know more about Ivanka’s involvement with voting machines
She’s among the last people I want to see involved in that industry
talk about situational ethics
Hunter Biden has a long history of being a fuck-up.  He must be very charming to keep landing on his feet.
But I also think he hasn’t only traded on his family name. I think he has a career track record that’s pretty good when you consider how many times he has been in rehab.  He has crashed and burned a lot but he also always been a pretty good earner.
the Week reports on mayor pete chiding lizzie which is certainly to come up at tonight’s debate:
what a pair!
they’ll make a lovely couple in debates running circles around don con and his sidekick.
Apparently one can merely tell trump that you rented a room and he’ll let you conquer Poland. That’s pretty cool, until your neighbor tells trump she’s rented two rooms.Â
If I were a candidate and asked about the Bidens I would day.  The Bidens did nothing wrong – you are repeating a Trump conspiracy theory.  Focus on the real law breakers and stop letting the media try to run the race.Â
I would attack Trump in every response and not attack any Democrats Â
yes, if you rent a room, the world is your oyster.
Looking at Hunter’s background, I would not be surprised if Burisma wanted him on their board because of his prior position as Executive VP with MBNA, his experience in the Commerce Department (under Bill Clinton) and his lobbying and venture capitol background with Eudora Global, and of course, BHR, which invested Chinese capitol in ventures outside China. (His partner Devon Archer also sat on the Burisma board – and I don’t recall a president or VP named Archer, so…) His name aside he had cred. While he might not have had direct experience in natural gas, his business and international trade and capitol, to say nothing of Yale law and big law firm experience, would seem like a good fit for Burisma, who was under a cloud from alleged money laundering. (As an aside, I sat on the board of directors of our local hospital and two local charities – I had a background in nothing that would be considered healthcare related prior to sitting on the hospital board and nothing in the charity area other than providing donations to charities. Regardless, my law background was perceived as valuable to those organizations at the Board of Directors level). And yes, I’m sure that Burisma was happy to have the son of the US VP on their board.
KC, now you’re singing from my songbook. Don’t accept the premise that the Bidens did anything wrong and attack SFB and Ghouliani’s lies.Â
Pogo
You would think that the Biden team would have issued all the info or if they did that reporters would have covered it. I am getting so sick of sound bites as opposed to depth from all sides.Â
Yes it’s good to agree !  I think the Democrats need to play their own game by their ow rules.
The media is so weak and pathetic.
I think right from the start it was said that the Biden charge was conspiracy theory stuff and in fact the charges had been investigated and were unfounded. This is the wift boat crap all over again Despite the fact the charges were endlessly proved untrue the media keeps covering it as if this issue has never been investigated
Another bad deal by the media and good peoplenget screwed.
Who can forget that ignorant stupid bitch from the j school at the University of pa (Annenberg) saying the story was how Kerry handled the charges not the truth of the charges she’s an idiot
Craig,
This type of comment isn’t the first I’ve seen re Biden, a few even going so far as arm chair “onset” type remarks. No way of knowing if the sources are honest or the twitter feed of Sanders or Harris troops. It is a sort of pile on from previous “oops” Biden comments. Â
Well worth keeping an eye on for the debate tonight. The Biden campaign definitely doesn’t want this type of rumor growing unless there is some actual substance behind it.
Gonna love to see Julie twisting in the wind. From Cornell’s Legal Information Institute:
Idiot should take a look at the history of folks held in contempt of congress. A letter won’t do.
Jamie,Â
Not sure what “all the info” is.  Seems to me that all the info regarding the investigations into Biden and Hunter on the issues of Burisma and China have been covered in the major press outlets. And I’m not sure what the Biden camp would have to release other than the denials of wrongdoing and statements regarding the investigations of Ukraine prosecutors affirming no wrongdoing – and that’s been done.
Never ever gloat in public, or under a roof.
I can gloat now and then out here on the deck, if something decent happens.
Mind you, that’s not a response to any comment, it’s just a sprung fully armed from the head of Zeus kinda thing.
It’s raining in old Caroline.
Pogo
I was talking about your defense. It is the best I’ve seen about Hunter. The problem, is that I haven’t seen that defense from the Biden campaign or any supporters. It is just one more example of media not actually covering the whole of any information available.
Warren, all the way!!!
Latest Ukraine subpoena: Â Pete Sessions
Wonder how, exactly, the NBA would be hurt “spiritually” with regard to supporting HK, LeB-Wrong? Â
Time to start threatening to boycott the next Olympics.
BiD
Sanders last time. Warren this time. Alrighty then. lol
Joe trying to go after Elizabeth is laughable. Â
She knows what she believes, why, and how she plans to move forward. Â
Pat- That’s a sadly perfect toon of Putie pulling the strings.  Wasn’t Syria a proxy war between the US and Russia?  And now, Russia is filling the vacuum left by Dumb Doomsday Donald not listening to his generals.  Is Donny going to try to take credit for getting our troops out of Syria?  He’ll only get credit for supporting terrorists with his ineptitude.
What did he say about not caring what happens there? Â It was looney.
Here’s hoping many Repugs grow a pair and start spilling the beans to get rid of the orange nut job. Â
Yep, Warren!
NEW THREAD
By the way, Bernie actually helped Warren by calling her a capitalist. Â Â