Hilzoy on how the Republicans got Donald Trump

by Doctor Science

Hilzoy, formerly of this establishment, has moved on from political blogging, but she’s active on twitter. The other day she wrote a tweetstorm that’s been storified as How the Republicans got Donald Trump. Excerpts:



— but you should read the whole thing.

The next day, she added a bit more, including a link to Amanda Taub’s long but excellent Vox article on the rise of American authoritarianism.

We can now all play Pretend Hilzoy Is Still Posting At Obsidian Wings, and discuss!


My take:

I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical. They created a right-wing information ecology large enough that people inside it could believe it contained the whole world, that there was nothing they had to go outside for.

The trouble is, right-wing media needs a *constantly* agitated audience, one that is afraid and/or outraged *all the time* — so that they can be soothed by the news org. and its advertisers, of course. And GOP politicians — and, what’s worse, big-money donors — are caught up in the bubble, too. The people who are supposed to be steering the party have become just as paranoid and agitated as “the base”. They can’t help the voters find the way out because they’re stuck there, too.

I’m also less sure than hilzoy that there *is* “a way back” for GOP voters. This process has been going on for 20 years or more — how can they get “back” to a psychic place they’ve never been? Especially given that a lot of their grief, as Taub’s article discusses, comes from the fact that America’s future is not going to look like the past.

My personal belief is that many things would improve if the RW media bubble could crack, but I don’t see how that can happen. Breitbart.com really does make FoxNews look fair and balanced, and of course it’s growing by leaps and bounds. How do we stop authoritarianism from being activated more and more, fear from being mongered, leading to the Dark Side?

Orator-MagnusZeller

477 thoughts on “Hilzoy on how the Republicans got Donald Trump”

  1. I suspect that the only way back for the Republicans as a party is that those who are totally caught up in the bubble decide that elections will never get them anyone acceptable and just walk away. Not least because they assume that pretty much anyone that they do elect is then part of the dispicable elite.
    If they walk, then the GOP would be faced with having to build a new (necessarily more moderate) base. It seems unlikely that they could do so; certainly not quickly. But it is a possible road back to sanity.

    Reply
  2. I suspect that the only way back for the Republicans as a party is that those who are totally caught up in the bubble decide that elections will never get them anyone acceptable and just walk away. Not least because they assume that pretty much anyone that they do elect is then part of the dispicable elite.
    If they walk, then the GOP would be faced with having to build a new (necessarily more moderate) base. It seems unlikely that they could do so; certainly not quickly. But it is a possible road back to sanity.

    Reply
  3. I suspect that the only way back for the Republicans as a party is that those who are totally caught up in the bubble decide that elections will never get them anyone acceptable and just walk away. Not least because they assume that pretty much anyone that they do elect is then part of the dispicable elite.
    If they walk, then the GOP would be faced with having to build a new (necessarily more moderate) base. It seems unlikely that they could do so; certainly not quickly. But it is a possible road back to sanity.

    Reply
  4. Whenever the discussion has turned to creating a new party (usually to replace the GOP), I have been skeptical. The only historical case we have of a new party shoving out an old one (the Republicans replacing the Whigs) was motivated by a huge single issue: slavery. And no matter how unhappy people are there just isn’t such a single issue at the moment.
    But now it occurs to me that we might have a different situation today. Not a new party displacing an old one. But rather an old one committing suicide, thus leaving an opening in the two party system for a new party.

    Reply
  5. Whenever the discussion has turned to creating a new party (usually to replace the GOP), I have been skeptical. The only historical case we have of a new party shoving out an old one (the Republicans replacing the Whigs) was motivated by a huge single issue: slavery. And no matter how unhappy people are there just isn’t such a single issue at the moment.
    But now it occurs to me that we might have a different situation today. Not a new party displacing an old one. But rather an old one committing suicide, thus leaving an opening in the two party system for a new party.

    Reply
  6. Whenever the discussion has turned to creating a new party (usually to replace the GOP), I have been skeptical. The only historical case we have of a new party shoving out an old one (the Republicans replacing the Whigs) was motivated by a huge single issue: slavery. And no matter how unhappy people are there just isn’t such a single issue at the moment.
    But now it occurs to me that we might have a different situation today. Not a new party displacing an old one. But rather an old one committing suicide, thus leaving an opening in the two party system for a new party.

    Reply
  7. Well. The grimmer possibility is the deepest bubble residents conclude they’re disenfranchised and take matters into their own hands. It’s not really a stretch given their rhetoric.

    Reply
  8. Well. The grimmer possibility is the deepest bubble residents conclude they’re disenfranchised and take matters into their own hands. It’s not really a stretch given their rhetoric.

    Reply
  9. Well. The grimmer possibility is the deepest bubble residents conclude they’re disenfranchised and take matters into their own hands. It’s not really a stretch given their rhetoric.

    Reply
  10. “I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.”
    It was hand in glove from the get go:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGG3vsnWLKI
    We’ve gone from Limbaugh as honorary unelected Congressman to a Democratic President not even being accorded the honor of having his Presidency considered legitimate, and now, having the Constitutional powers accorded to the Presidency via election ignored.
    I, as is clear, agree with Nombrilisme Vide that there is no way back, given that over the next eight months, they will have used up whatever is left of the radical revolutionary rhetorical head of steam they started on in 1979.
    So it’s either into the wilderness permanently or blowing the joint up …. literally … especially if Trump is nominated and loses in November.
    If he wins, there will be trouble enough.

    Reply
  11. “I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.”
    It was hand in glove from the get go:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGG3vsnWLKI
    We’ve gone from Limbaugh as honorary unelected Congressman to a Democratic President not even being accorded the honor of having his Presidency considered legitimate, and now, having the Constitutional powers accorded to the Presidency via election ignored.
    I, as is clear, agree with Nombrilisme Vide that there is no way back, given that over the next eight months, they will have used up whatever is left of the radical revolutionary rhetorical head of steam they started on in 1979.
    So it’s either into the wilderness permanently or blowing the joint up …. literally … especially if Trump is nominated and loses in November.
    If he wins, there will be trouble enough.

    Reply
  12. “I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.”
    It was hand in glove from the get go:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGG3vsnWLKI
    We’ve gone from Limbaugh as honorary unelected Congressman to a Democratic President not even being accorded the honor of having his Presidency considered legitimate, and now, having the Constitutional powers accorded to the Presidency via election ignored.
    I, as is clear, agree with Nombrilisme Vide that there is no way back, given that over the next eight months, they will have used up whatever is left of the radical revolutionary rhetorical head of steam they started on in 1979.
    So it’s either into the wilderness permanently or blowing the joint up …. literally … especially if Trump is nominated and loses in November.
    If he wins, there will be trouble enough.

    Reply
  13. From counts link, these “reasonable” people say:
    She said that with a “corrupt Hillary, silly little Rubio, and mean-spirited Ted Cruz,” they have “nowhere else to go” besides Trump, even though she admitted she was nervous about considering voting for him.
    I bet they came up with those views of the other candidates all on their own.

    Reply
  14. From counts link, these “reasonable” people say:
    She said that with a “corrupt Hillary, silly little Rubio, and mean-spirited Ted Cruz,” they have “nowhere else to go” besides Trump, even though she admitted she was nervous about considering voting for him.
    I bet they came up with those views of the other candidates all on their own.

    Reply
  15. From counts link, these “reasonable” people say:
    She said that with a “corrupt Hillary, silly little Rubio, and mean-spirited Ted Cruz,” they have “nowhere else to go” besides Trump, even though she admitted she was nervous about considering voting for him.
    I bet they came up with those views of the other candidates all on their own.

    Reply
  16. [Doctor Science] This process has been going on for 20 years or more —

    More, from Ronald Reagan’s “government is the problem” through Newt Gingrich’s policy of demonizing liberals, to creating our own reality to today’s de-legitimization of President Obama.
    Can there be a more vivid example of sowing the wind?

    Reply
  17. [Doctor Science] This process has been going on for 20 years or more —

    More, from Ronald Reagan’s “government is the problem” through Newt Gingrich’s policy of demonizing liberals, to creating our own reality to today’s de-legitimization of President Obama.
    Can there be a more vivid example of sowing the wind?

    Reply
  18. [Doctor Science] This process has been going on for 20 years or more —

    More, from Ronald Reagan’s “government is the problem” through Newt Gingrich’s policy of demonizing liberals, to creating our own reality to today’s de-legitimization of President Obama.
    Can there be a more vivid example of sowing the wind?

    Reply
  19. [Doctor Science] I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.

    Certainly, but let’s recall, for instance, Roger Ailes’ background,

    …media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush …
    Wikipedia

    I have often though that the Fox News budget should be counted as a political contribution to the GOP.

    Reply
  20. [Doctor Science] I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.

    Certainly, but let’s recall, for instance, Roger Ailes’ background,

    …media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush …
    Wikipedia

    I have often though that the Fox News budget should be counted as a political contribution to the GOP.

    Reply
  21. [Doctor Science] I am less inclined to blame the GOP as a political party for destroying their base’s ability to trust. I think the role of Limbaugh/right-wing radio and FoxNews was critical.

    Certainly, but let’s recall, for instance, Roger Ailes’ background,

    …media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush …
    Wikipedia

    I have often though that the Fox News budget should be counted as a political contribution to the GOP.

    Reply
  22. it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.
    the difference, of course, is that there are far fewer of them. and of course, they get exactly zero attention from the MSM or Congress. they aren’t spoon-fed insane conspiracy theories from their political leaders. and they can’t find 24 hours a day of conspiracy-mongering radio yakkers. and they certainly don’t have an entire TV network dedicated to feeding them nonsense.
    the GOP bred and trained their crazies, because they made for good draft animals – they could carry the GOP to victories. but now Trump has come along and grabbed the reins.

    Reply
  23. it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.
    the difference, of course, is that there are far fewer of them. and of course, they get exactly zero attention from the MSM or Congress. they aren’t spoon-fed insane conspiracy theories from their political leaders. and they can’t find 24 hours a day of conspiracy-mongering radio yakkers. and they certainly don’t have an entire TV network dedicated to feeding them nonsense.
    the GOP bred and trained their crazies, because they made for good draft animals – they could carry the GOP to victories. but now Trump has come along and grabbed the reins.

    Reply
  24. it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.
    the difference, of course, is that there are far fewer of them. and of course, they get exactly zero attention from the MSM or Congress. they aren’t spoon-fed insane conspiracy theories from their political leaders. and they can’t find 24 hours a day of conspiracy-mongering radio yakkers. and they certainly don’t have an entire TV network dedicated to feeding them nonsense.
    the GOP bred and trained their crazies, because they made for good draft animals – they could carry the GOP to victories. but now Trump has come along and grabbed the reins.

    Reply
  25. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I’m right here, at your service.

    Reply
  26. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I’m right here, at your service.

    Reply
  27. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I’m right here, at your service.

    Reply
  28. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I was inoculated by massive exposure to Ramparts magazine. The only current manifestations are occasional nightmares involving Jim Garrison.
    The GOP has been off the rails since the compromise of 1877.

    Reply
  29. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I was inoculated by massive exposure to Ramparts magazine. The only current manifestations are occasional nightmares involving Jim Garrison.
    The GOP has been off the rails since the compromise of 1877.

    Reply
  30. “it’s not too hard to find the distrustful and paranoid contingent on the left.”
    I was inoculated by massive exposure to Ramparts magazine. The only current manifestations are occasional nightmares involving Jim Garrison.
    The GOP has been off the rails since the compromise of 1877.

    Reply
  31. Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:
    http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/donald-trumps-big-lies
    Here’s the deal, though, he just absorbs these fictoids from the air all of us are forced to breath and that has been polluted by all of the usual Republican outlets, including Party operatives and media, and Republican officeholders and candidates across the country.
    His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    The entire edifice needs to be blown up, made extinct, killed, hacked to pieces, smothered in their beds.

    Reply
  32. Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:
    http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/donald-trumps-big-lies
    Here’s the deal, though, he just absorbs these fictoids from the air all of us are forced to breath and that has been polluted by all of the usual Republican outlets, including Party operatives and media, and Republican officeholders and candidates across the country.
    His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    The entire edifice needs to be blown up, made extinct, killed, hacked to pieces, smothered in their beds.

    Reply
  33. Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:
    http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/donald-trumps-big-lies
    Here’s the deal, though, he just absorbs these fictoids from the air all of us are forced to breath and that has been polluted by all of the usual Republican outlets, including Party operatives and media, and Republican officeholders and candidates across the country.
    His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    The entire edifice needs to be blown up, made extinct, killed, hacked to pieces, smothered in their beds.

    Reply
  34. Mittens is coming to destroy the bankrupt Cyberdyne Systems, and destroy Skynet and the Trumpenator!
    Because nothing will convince an electorate motivated in large part by anti-establishment angst like… the last Presidential Candidate nominated by that same establishment! Whose Veep choice is now Speaker of the House!
    The flail is strong in this one.

    Reply
  35. Mittens is coming to destroy the bankrupt Cyberdyne Systems, and destroy Skynet and the Trumpenator!
    Because nothing will convince an electorate motivated in large part by anti-establishment angst like… the last Presidential Candidate nominated by that same establishment! Whose Veep choice is now Speaker of the House!
    The flail is strong in this one.

    Reply
  36. Mittens is coming to destroy the bankrupt Cyberdyne Systems, and destroy Skynet and the Trumpenator!
    Because nothing will convince an electorate motivated in large part by anti-establishment angst like… the last Presidential Candidate nominated by that same establishment! Whose Veep choice is now Speaker of the House!
    The flail is strong in this one.

    Reply
  37. panic on the streets of Washington
    panic on the streets of Arlington
    i wonder to myself
    could life ever be sane again?

    Reply
  38. panic on the streets of Washington
    panic on the streets of Arlington
    i wonder to myself
    could life ever be sane again?

    Reply
  39. panic on the streets of Washington
    panic on the streets of Arlington
    i wonder to myself
    could life ever be sane again?

    Reply
  40. A few months ago I asked: “How is the GOP still a thing?”
    The consensus answer was more or less that if the GOP did not exist, it would have to be invented. In a system rigged for two major parties, the anti-Democrats basically have to coalesce into a single party, even if some of them hate some of the others.
    Well. How’s that working out?
    –TP

    Reply
  41. A few months ago I asked: “How is the GOP still a thing?”
    The consensus answer was more or less that if the GOP did not exist, it would have to be invented. In a system rigged for two major parties, the anti-Democrats basically have to coalesce into a single party, even if some of them hate some of the others.
    Well. How’s that working out?
    –TP

    Reply
  42. A few months ago I asked: “How is the GOP still a thing?”
    The consensus answer was more or less that if the GOP did not exist, it would have to be invented. In a system rigged for two major parties, the anti-Democrats basically have to coalesce into a single party, even if some of them hate some of the others.
    Well. How’s that working out?
    –TP

    Reply
  43. “Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:”
    That was a fun read. Everything Trump said was a lie and almost everything Drum said was a lie, also. (Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth. So how could it matter if his “pants on fire”.

    Reply
  44. “Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:”
    That was a fun read. Everything Trump said was a lie and almost everything Drum said was a lie, also. (Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth. So how could it matter if his “pants on fire”.

    Reply
  45. “Stuff Trump makes up because he is a lying demagogue:”
    That was a fun read. Everything Trump said was a lie and almost everything Drum said was a lie, also. (Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth. So how could it matter if his “pants on fire”.

    Reply
  46. Marty:
    almost everything Drum said was a lie, also
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.
    Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them
    — there was this *recession*, you might have heard of it.
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth.
    You seem to be an illustration for what hilzoy is talking about. You’ve been immersed in so much fact-free bullshit for so long that you don’t trust *anyone*, and you don’t have any sense for what’s bullshit and what’s likely to be true.

    Reply
  47. Marty:
    almost everything Drum said was a lie, also
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.
    Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them
    — there was this *recession*, you might have heard of it.
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth.
    You seem to be an illustration for what hilzoy is talking about. You’ve been immersed in so much fact-free bullshit for so long that you don’t trust *anyone*, and you don’t have any sense for what’s bullshit and what’s likely to be true.

    Reply
  48. Marty:
    almost everything Drum said was a lie, also
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.
    Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them
    — there was this *recession*, you might have heard of it.
    Which is why so many people just don’t pay any attention to any detail Trump says, because no one tells them the truth.
    You seem to be an illustration for what hilzoy is talking about. You’ve been immersed in so much fact-free bullshit for so long that you don’t trust *anyone*, and you don’t have any sense for what’s bullshit and what’s likely to be true.

    Reply
  49. His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    What you are basically saying, Count, is that the only thing different about Trump is that he’s saying it on MSM, rather than on talk radio or Fox News. Right?
    So the rest of the country is seeing just how crazy things are over there.

    Reply
  50. His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    What you are basically saying, Count, is that the only thing different about Trump is that he’s saying it on MSM, rather than on talk radio or Fox News. Right?
    So the rest of the country is seeing just how crazy things are over there.

    Reply
  51. His mouth is a megaphone attached to the completely full-of-shit Republican Zeitgiest manufactured over the past 40 years.
    What you are basically saying, Count, is that the only thing different about Trump is that he’s saying it on MSM, rather than on talk radio or Fox News. Right?
    So the rest of the country is seeing just how crazy things are over there.

    Reply
  52. Doc,
    Could you be more condescending? I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit. Better than the Obamaphiles that just discount the relative reduction in the number of people employed,or those on the right that pretend there aren’t more jobs now on an absolute basis.
    I understand that the Obama administration touts the number of people that are uninsured while not noting that they conveniently quit counting Illegal aliens the year the ACA was implemented. Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles sso high as to be useless.
    I agree with much of what hilzoy said, except that she,like most liberal/progressives, just listen to a different set of bs. So the fault she places on the GOP is really shared across the political spectrum.
    The risk, obviously happening but the extent unclear at present, is that a large number of independents and Democrats vote for Trump for the same reasons.

    Reply
  53. Doc,
    Could you be more condescending? I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit. Better than the Obamaphiles that just discount the relative reduction in the number of people employed,or those on the right that pretend there aren’t more jobs now on an absolute basis.
    I understand that the Obama administration touts the number of people that are uninsured while not noting that they conveniently quit counting Illegal aliens the year the ACA was implemented. Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles sso high as to be useless.
    I agree with much of what hilzoy said, except that she,like most liberal/progressives, just listen to a different set of bs. So the fault she places on the GOP is really shared across the political spectrum.
    The risk, obviously happening but the extent unclear at present, is that a large number of independents and Democrats vote for Trump for the same reasons.

    Reply
  54. Doc,
    Could you be more condescending? I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit. Better than the Obamaphiles that just discount the relative reduction in the number of people employed,or those on the right that pretend there aren’t more jobs now on an absolute basis.
    I understand that the Obama administration touts the number of people that are uninsured while not noting that they conveniently quit counting Illegal aliens the year the ACA was implemented. Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles sso high as to be useless.
    I agree with much of what hilzoy said, except that she,like most liberal/progressives, just listen to a different set of bs. So the fault she places on the GOP is really shared across the political spectrum.
    The risk, obviously happening but the extent unclear at present, is that a large number of independents and Democrats vote for Trump for the same reasons.

    Reply
  55. Marty: “I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit.”
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.

    Reply
  56. Marty: “I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit.”
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.

    Reply
  57. Marty: “I have a really good idea of what is true and what is bullshit.”
    Prove it, point by point. Unemployment rate, US tax rate, health insurance premiums, southern border immigration, Syrian refugees, education spending.

    Reply
  58. To some extent, my native skepticism verging on paranoia agrees with Marty regarding the availability of truth in America.
    I’ve always wanted to know what that fifth dentist knows that the other four enthusiastic ones refuse to question.
    And what are their names?
    However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gums and worked out of his “office” in a van down by the river, I don’t think I would conclude that he was a rational alternative to the other four guys, even if their shiny Burt Lancaster chiclets were flashing 1000-watt insincerity in all directions.
    If there was a point-shaving scandal in Olympic wrestling events and these guys were caught taking a fall, I would conclude that someone needs to clean up Dodge, but I wouldn’t bounce off the ropes and hire Vince McMahon to look into the manipulation, despite the fact that he would surely recognize it when he saw it, having made a professional life of it.
    One of my crackpot macro-theories is that America floats on a delicate membrane of half-truths, fibs, white lies, and barely plausible but elegantly conceived marketing strategies supported by huge advertising budgets, all exceptional in their sheer chutzpah compared to the rest of the world, and all effective in convincing us to buy the convertible underneath the buxom blonde in a bikini draped over the whole operation, but at some point, the sheer weight of these accumulated small prevarications delivered with a wink over 250 years will someday collapse the membrane, just because a plurality will stop believing all of the crap, though the human capacity for believing crap seems to have an exceptionally long half life.
    It’ll be like passengers on an airliner assuming in common that lift and thrust can overcome the force of gravity and then suddenly, one day, as one not believing it anymore, and all of the planes aloft will plunge to earth.
    Sort of.
    Maybe it’s like when Benjamin Franklin answered “A Republic, if you can keep it” to the question “What has the Constitutional Convention wrought?”
    Other than full employment for attorneys filling in the details, few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers, but they were expected to stick around and hear John Hancock’s pitch for his time share condos in Roanoke.
    Then Ben lay down on a magician’s table in his lady get-up and Thomas Jefferson sawed him in half as a way of diverting any further detailed questioning about who was three fifths of what or whether the right to bear cannons was permitted by the Second Amendment.
    Just buy the big presentation and sign here.
    No, the basement of this edifice doesn’t need a sump pump.
    Now, let me draw your attention over to the imported mahogany paneling hiding the cracked masonry work, so we can seal this deal.
    Would you like to talk to my manager about our undercoating program?

    Reply
  59. To some extent, my native skepticism verging on paranoia agrees with Marty regarding the availability of truth in America.
    I’ve always wanted to know what that fifth dentist knows that the other four enthusiastic ones refuse to question.
    And what are their names?
    However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gums and worked out of his “office” in a van down by the river, I don’t think I would conclude that he was a rational alternative to the other four guys, even if their shiny Burt Lancaster chiclets were flashing 1000-watt insincerity in all directions.
    If there was a point-shaving scandal in Olympic wrestling events and these guys were caught taking a fall, I would conclude that someone needs to clean up Dodge, but I wouldn’t bounce off the ropes and hire Vince McMahon to look into the manipulation, despite the fact that he would surely recognize it when he saw it, having made a professional life of it.
    One of my crackpot macro-theories is that America floats on a delicate membrane of half-truths, fibs, white lies, and barely plausible but elegantly conceived marketing strategies supported by huge advertising budgets, all exceptional in their sheer chutzpah compared to the rest of the world, and all effective in convincing us to buy the convertible underneath the buxom blonde in a bikini draped over the whole operation, but at some point, the sheer weight of these accumulated small prevarications delivered with a wink over 250 years will someday collapse the membrane, just because a plurality will stop believing all of the crap, though the human capacity for believing crap seems to have an exceptionally long half life.
    It’ll be like passengers on an airliner assuming in common that lift and thrust can overcome the force of gravity and then suddenly, one day, as one not believing it anymore, and all of the planes aloft will plunge to earth.
    Sort of.
    Maybe it’s like when Benjamin Franklin answered “A Republic, if you can keep it” to the question “What has the Constitutional Convention wrought?”
    Other than full employment for attorneys filling in the details, few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers, but they were expected to stick around and hear John Hancock’s pitch for his time share condos in Roanoke.
    Then Ben lay down on a magician’s table in his lady get-up and Thomas Jefferson sawed him in half as a way of diverting any further detailed questioning about who was three fifths of what or whether the right to bear cannons was permitted by the Second Amendment.
    Just buy the big presentation and sign here.
    No, the basement of this edifice doesn’t need a sump pump.
    Now, let me draw your attention over to the imported mahogany paneling hiding the cracked masonry work, so we can seal this deal.
    Would you like to talk to my manager about our undercoating program?

    Reply
  60. To some extent, my native skepticism verging on paranoia agrees with Marty regarding the availability of truth in America.
    I’ve always wanted to know what that fifth dentist knows that the other four enthusiastic ones refuse to question.
    And what are their names?
    However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gums and worked out of his “office” in a van down by the river, I don’t think I would conclude that he was a rational alternative to the other four guys, even if their shiny Burt Lancaster chiclets were flashing 1000-watt insincerity in all directions.
    If there was a point-shaving scandal in Olympic wrestling events and these guys were caught taking a fall, I would conclude that someone needs to clean up Dodge, but I wouldn’t bounce off the ropes and hire Vince McMahon to look into the manipulation, despite the fact that he would surely recognize it when he saw it, having made a professional life of it.
    One of my crackpot macro-theories is that America floats on a delicate membrane of half-truths, fibs, white lies, and barely plausible but elegantly conceived marketing strategies supported by huge advertising budgets, all exceptional in their sheer chutzpah compared to the rest of the world, and all effective in convincing us to buy the convertible underneath the buxom blonde in a bikini draped over the whole operation, but at some point, the sheer weight of these accumulated small prevarications delivered with a wink over 250 years will someday collapse the membrane, just because a plurality will stop believing all of the crap, though the human capacity for believing crap seems to have an exceptionally long half life.
    It’ll be like passengers on an airliner assuming in common that lift and thrust can overcome the force of gravity and then suddenly, one day, as one not believing it anymore, and all of the planes aloft will plunge to earth.
    Sort of.
    Maybe it’s like when Benjamin Franklin answered “A Republic, if you can keep it” to the question “What has the Constitutional Convention wrought?”
    Other than full employment for attorneys filling in the details, few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers, but they were expected to stick around and hear John Hancock’s pitch for his time share condos in Roanoke.
    Then Ben lay down on a magician’s table in his lady get-up and Thomas Jefferson sawed him in half as a way of diverting any further detailed questioning about who was three fifths of what or whether the right to bear cannons was permitted by the Second Amendment.
    Just buy the big presentation and sign here.
    No, the basement of this edifice doesn’t need a sump pump.
    Now, let me draw your attention over to the imported mahogany paneling hiding the cracked masonry work, so we can seal this deal.
    Would you like to talk to my manager about our undercoating program?

    Reply
  61. “Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles so high as to be useless.”
    Yes, a conservative, rationalized free market
    scheme for rationing healthcare to the sick and the poor.
    Because the rich aren’t going to stand for a national healthcare plan that tells them they can’t have that liver transplant after the age of 93, so costs must be kept in check somewhere.
    The high deductibles make it look like people are “shopping” and making rational, freedom-based decisions about which medical services to purchase in the medical “market”.
    See the above post about the membrane.
    “Honey, that lump in your abdomen seems larger since last week, don’t you think we should see someone.”
    “What’s our annual deductible, my little worrywart?”
    “Twelve grand I think”
    “Well, you let me know when that lump looks like a $12,001 job and we’ll load up the kids and go shopping, mmmmKay. No one is going to pull one over on me.”
    This is why the medical insurance market is unlike any other product known to humankind.
    It’s like if you went into McDonald’s and ordered the six buck cheeseburger and the kid in the dumb hat behind the counter said, well, first you have to pay a $500 deductible and then, and only then, may you eat.
    Imelda Marcos on the other hand, toting shopping bags full of luxury shoes with big deductibles, would get all the burgers she wanted.
    It’s the only industry in which they institute pricing to dissuade the people (the sick ones) who need their products the most from even thinking about buying the product.

    Reply
  62. “Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles so high as to be useless.”
    Yes, a conservative, rationalized free market
    scheme for rationing healthcare to the sick and the poor.
    Because the rich aren’t going to stand for a national healthcare plan that tells them they can’t have that liver transplant after the age of 93, so costs must be kept in check somewhere.
    The high deductibles make it look like people are “shopping” and making rational, freedom-based decisions about which medical services to purchase in the medical “market”.
    See the above post about the membrane.
    “Honey, that lump in your abdomen seems larger since last week, don’t you think we should see someone.”
    “What’s our annual deductible, my little worrywart?”
    “Twelve grand I think”
    “Well, you let me know when that lump looks like a $12,001 job and we’ll load up the kids and go shopping, mmmmKay. No one is going to pull one over on me.”
    This is why the medical insurance market is unlike any other product known to humankind.
    It’s like if you went into McDonald’s and ordered the six buck cheeseburger and the kid in the dumb hat behind the counter said, well, first you have to pay a $500 deductible and then, and only then, may you eat.
    Imelda Marcos on the other hand, toting shopping bags full of luxury shoes with big deductibles, would get all the burgers she wanted.
    It’s the only industry in which they institute pricing to dissuade the people (the sick ones) who need their products the most from even thinking about buying the product.

    Reply
  63. “Or that the 10 million extra people that have insurance mostly have catastrophic insurance with deductibles so high as to be useless.”
    Yes, a conservative, rationalized free market
    scheme for rationing healthcare to the sick and the poor.
    Because the rich aren’t going to stand for a national healthcare plan that tells them they can’t have that liver transplant after the age of 93, so costs must be kept in check somewhere.
    The high deductibles make it look like people are “shopping” and making rational, freedom-based decisions about which medical services to purchase in the medical “market”.
    See the above post about the membrane.
    “Honey, that lump in your abdomen seems larger since last week, don’t you think we should see someone.”
    “What’s our annual deductible, my little worrywart?”
    “Twelve grand I think”
    “Well, you let me know when that lump looks like a $12,001 job and we’ll load up the kids and go shopping, mmmmKay. No one is going to pull one over on me.”
    This is why the medical insurance market is unlike any other product known to humankind.
    It’s like if you went into McDonald’s and ordered the six buck cheeseburger and the kid in the dumb hat behind the counter said, well, first you have to pay a $500 deductible and then, and only then, may you eat.
    Imelda Marcos on the other hand, toting shopping bags full of luxury shoes with big deductibles, would get all the burgers she wanted.
    It’s the only industry in which they institute pricing to dissuade the people (the sick ones) who need their products the most from even thinking about buying the product.

    Reply
  64. The real unemployment rate is 42 percent. No it’s not. Depending on how you measure, the unemployment rate is currently between 5-10 percent.
    Its between 5 and 14.5% based on the numbers the government uses to measure it. Adding in the millions of people that simply aren’t counted anymore its much higher. The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.
    Partly true but incredibly incomplete
    ◾Americans are the most heavily taxed in the world. No. We’re about the least taxed major country in the world.
    No, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We have a combination of taxes in some states that make his statement true. Again, lets put in the caveat “major” and it will at least be partially true if completely non illuminative
    ◾Obamacare premiums are up 30, 40, 50%. Wrong. On average, premiums were up about about 9 percent in 2016. If you account for subsidies, the average premium went up about $8, an increase of 7 percent.
    Well, lets limit the increase to just 2016? or just some offerings? If you account for subsidies? What? The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down? They even tell you that on the website, “Most people were able to shop and save”.
    ◾Illegal immigrants are pouring across the southern border. Nope. For the past seven years in a row, net immigration across the border has been negative. More immigrants are going home to Mexico than coming to the US.
    Net immigration doesn’t mean people aren’t pouring across the border. It just means that we think more are pouring the other way. We cant actually count either one.
    ◾Among Syrian refugees, there are very few women and children. It’s mostly “young, strong men.” False. According to the UN, something around 10 percent of Syrian refugees are males between the age of 15-25. The rest are women, children, and older men.
    This is just bs from Trump.
    ◾When it comes to education spending “we’re number one per pupil by a factor of four.” Not even close. We spend about 5 percent of GDP on education. That puts us right in the middle of all major countries.
    So we changed what statistic we use in mid sentence. Did you get that? Not dollars per pupil, percent of gdp. Pick your statistic day.
    All crap.

    Reply
  65. The real unemployment rate is 42 percent. No it’s not. Depending on how you measure, the unemployment rate is currently between 5-10 percent.
    Its between 5 and 14.5% based on the numbers the government uses to measure it. Adding in the millions of people that simply aren’t counted anymore its much higher. The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.
    Partly true but incredibly incomplete
    ◾Americans are the most heavily taxed in the world. No. We’re about the least taxed major country in the world.
    No, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We have a combination of taxes in some states that make his statement true. Again, lets put in the caveat “major” and it will at least be partially true if completely non illuminative
    ◾Obamacare premiums are up 30, 40, 50%. Wrong. On average, premiums were up about about 9 percent in 2016. If you account for subsidies, the average premium went up about $8, an increase of 7 percent.
    Well, lets limit the increase to just 2016? or just some offerings? If you account for subsidies? What? The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down? They even tell you that on the website, “Most people were able to shop and save”.
    ◾Illegal immigrants are pouring across the southern border. Nope. For the past seven years in a row, net immigration across the border has been negative. More immigrants are going home to Mexico than coming to the US.
    Net immigration doesn’t mean people aren’t pouring across the border. It just means that we think more are pouring the other way. We cant actually count either one.
    ◾Among Syrian refugees, there are very few women and children. It’s mostly “young, strong men.” False. According to the UN, something around 10 percent of Syrian refugees are males between the age of 15-25. The rest are women, children, and older men.
    This is just bs from Trump.
    ◾When it comes to education spending “we’re number one per pupil by a factor of four.” Not even close. We spend about 5 percent of GDP on education. That puts us right in the middle of all major countries.
    So we changed what statistic we use in mid sentence. Did you get that? Not dollars per pupil, percent of gdp. Pick your statistic day.
    All crap.

    Reply
  66. The real unemployment rate is 42 percent. No it’s not. Depending on how you measure, the unemployment rate is currently between 5-10 percent.
    Its between 5 and 14.5% based on the numbers the government uses to measure it. Adding in the millions of people that simply aren’t counted anymore its much higher. The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.
    Partly true but incredibly incomplete
    ◾Americans are the most heavily taxed in the world. No. We’re about the least taxed major country in the world.
    No, we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. We have a combination of taxes in some states that make his statement true. Again, lets put in the caveat “major” and it will at least be partially true if completely non illuminative
    ◾Obamacare premiums are up 30, 40, 50%. Wrong. On average, premiums were up about about 9 percent in 2016. If you account for subsidies, the average premium went up about $8, an increase of 7 percent.
    Well, lets limit the increase to just 2016? or just some offerings? If you account for subsidies? What? The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down? They even tell you that on the website, “Most people were able to shop and save”.
    ◾Illegal immigrants are pouring across the southern border. Nope. For the past seven years in a row, net immigration across the border has been negative. More immigrants are going home to Mexico than coming to the US.
    Net immigration doesn’t mean people aren’t pouring across the border. It just means that we think more are pouring the other way. We cant actually count either one.
    ◾Among Syrian refugees, there are very few women and children. It’s mostly “young, strong men.” False. According to the UN, something around 10 percent of Syrian refugees are males between the age of 15-25. The rest are women, children, and older men.
    This is just bs from Trump.
    ◾When it comes to education spending “we’re number one per pupil by a factor of four.” Not even close. We spend about 5 percent of GDP on education. That puts us right in the middle of all major countries.
    So we changed what statistic we use in mid sentence. Did you get that? Not dollars per pupil, percent of gdp. Pick your statistic day.
    All crap.

    Reply
  67. “This is just bs from Trump.”
    Had a guy and his wife tell me this just the other day. And then ask me if I feel safe. He got it from the same guy who Trump got it from and now all three of them repeat it to each other so it’s now TRUTH.
    But, no I don’t feel safe. I feel like a crazy/angry American male armed by the NRA is going to blow me away at the library because late fees have gone up.

    Reply
  68. “This is just bs from Trump.”
    Had a guy and his wife tell me this just the other day. And then ask me if I feel safe. He got it from the same guy who Trump got it from and now all three of them repeat it to each other so it’s now TRUTH.
    But, no I don’t feel safe. I feel like a crazy/angry American male armed by the NRA is going to blow me away at the library because late fees have gone up.

    Reply
  69. “This is just bs from Trump.”
    Had a guy and his wife tell me this just the other day. And then ask me if I feel safe. He got it from the same guy who Trump got it from and now all three of them repeat it to each other so it’s now TRUTH.
    But, no I don’t feel safe. I feel like a crazy/angry American male armed by the NRA is going to blow me away at the library because late fees have gone up.

    Reply
  70. Marty really susses out the BS, except that every claim is backed with a link with detailed information. Let’s use the education claim for an example:

    We consulted data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — an international organization of 34 developed countries — and by the United Nations.
    Researchers and policymakers from groups across the political spectrum told us they put the most stock in OECD data, which includes spending from both government and private sources.
    Based on 2012 data, the OECD shows that the United States has generous education budgets, spending about 50 percent more than the average OECD country.
    But relative to the nation’s overall wealth, the United States was at the middle of the pack. Relative to the size of the economy or overall government spending, U.S. levels were within 1 percent of the OECD average.
    Additionally, the United States was not the top spender. Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway each spent more per pupil than the United States. In the case of Luxembourg, about 66 percent more per secondary school student.
    And similar UN data puts the United States eighth among all countries, behind several other developed countries and Macau, a semi-autonomous city inside China.
    We looked at a variety of other ways to crunch the numbers, but the United States never rose above No. 4. (see table) That was true even if figures were adjusted for purchasing power, the difference in what $1 buys from country to country.
    In fact, the United States would have to increase per student spending about $8,000 per year just to match Luxembourg at the high school level. To spend quadruple what Luxembourgers do would require a $70,000 per student boost.

    Whatever it is you think they’re underhandedly doing with the numbers, it’s laid bare in detail by the very people doing it so you can draw your own conclusions from the facts. Not much of a “Gotcha!” there.

    Reply
  71. Marty really susses out the BS, except that every claim is backed with a link with detailed information. Let’s use the education claim for an example:

    We consulted data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — an international organization of 34 developed countries — and by the United Nations.
    Researchers and policymakers from groups across the political spectrum told us they put the most stock in OECD data, which includes spending from both government and private sources.
    Based on 2012 data, the OECD shows that the United States has generous education budgets, spending about 50 percent more than the average OECD country.
    But relative to the nation’s overall wealth, the United States was at the middle of the pack. Relative to the size of the economy or overall government spending, U.S. levels were within 1 percent of the OECD average.
    Additionally, the United States was not the top spender. Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway each spent more per pupil than the United States. In the case of Luxembourg, about 66 percent more per secondary school student.
    And similar UN data puts the United States eighth among all countries, behind several other developed countries and Macau, a semi-autonomous city inside China.
    We looked at a variety of other ways to crunch the numbers, but the United States never rose above No. 4. (see table) That was true even if figures were adjusted for purchasing power, the difference in what $1 buys from country to country.
    In fact, the United States would have to increase per student spending about $8,000 per year just to match Luxembourg at the high school level. To spend quadruple what Luxembourgers do would require a $70,000 per student boost.

    Whatever it is you think they’re underhandedly doing with the numbers, it’s laid bare in detail by the very people doing it so you can draw your own conclusions from the facts. Not much of a “Gotcha!” there.

    Reply
  72. Marty really susses out the BS, except that every claim is backed with a link with detailed information. Let’s use the education claim for an example:

    We consulted data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — an international organization of 34 developed countries — and by the United Nations.
    Researchers and policymakers from groups across the political spectrum told us they put the most stock in OECD data, which includes spending from both government and private sources.
    Based on 2012 data, the OECD shows that the United States has generous education budgets, spending about 50 percent more than the average OECD country.
    But relative to the nation’s overall wealth, the United States was at the middle of the pack. Relative to the size of the economy or overall government spending, U.S. levels were within 1 percent of the OECD average.
    Additionally, the United States was not the top spender. Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway each spent more per pupil than the United States. In the case of Luxembourg, about 66 percent more per secondary school student.
    And similar UN data puts the United States eighth among all countries, behind several other developed countries and Macau, a semi-autonomous city inside China.
    We looked at a variety of other ways to crunch the numbers, but the United States never rose above No. 4. (see table) That was true even if figures were adjusted for purchasing power, the difference in what $1 buys from country to country.
    In fact, the United States would have to increase per student spending about $8,000 per year just to match Luxembourg at the high school level. To spend quadruple what Luxembourgers do would require a $70,000 per student boost.

    Whatever it is you think they’re underhandedly doing with the numbers, it’s laid bare in detail by the very people doing it so you can draw your own conclusions from the facts. Not much of a “Gotcha!” there.

    Reply
  73. hsh, pick your stat. Trump exaggerates and Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses. That is just as deceitful. I didn’t say Trump was honest, I said they all lie. Instead of saying we’re not first we’re fourth, to which lots of people would say oh ok 4th, he picks on that makes us less good.
    I will it admit it is a much trickier way to argue, exacerbating the trust problem. If you have to scour both sides to do what you and I just did it really creates a underlying trust issue.
    NOT relegated to just the GOP.

    Reply
  74. hsh, pick your stat. Trump exaggerates and Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses. That is just as deceitful. I didn’t say Trump was honest, I said they all lie. Instead of saying we’re not first we’re fourth, to which lots of people would say oh ok 4th, he picks on that makes us less good.
    I will it admit it is a much trickier way to argue, exacerbating the trust problem. If you have to scour both sides to do what you and I just did it really creates a underlying trust issue.
    NOT relegated to just the GOP.

    Reply
  75. hsh, pick your stat. Trump exaggerates and Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses. That is just as deceitful. I didn’t say Trump was honest, I said they all lie. Instead of saying we’re not first we’re fourth, to which lots of people would say oh ok 4th, he picks on that makes us less good.
    I will it admit it is a much trickier way to argue, exacerbating the trust problem. If you have to scour both sides to do what you and I just did it really creates a underlying trust issue.
    NOT relegated to just the GOP.

    Reply
  76. If Luxembourg would cut teacher and administrative salaries to the levels that Mexico, for example, provides to their educators, think of the money they could save.
    However, one advantage of getting rid of all these overpaid freeloaders is that they could join the ranks of the permanently unemployed and eventually quit looking for work altogether, thus further destroying Drum’s stats and boosting Trump’s
    Trump himself, via The Apprentice” contributed to nearly half the U.S. unemployment rate. He said “You’re fired!” to 45 million losers during the course of the show.
    Ask a conservative how to lower the unemployment rate and here is the answer:
    “First, we fire everyone except ourselves. Then we get rid of unemployment benefits.”
    F*ck off.

    Reply
  77. If Luxembourg would cut teacher and administrative salaries to the levels that Mexico, for example, provides to their educators, think of the money they could save.
    However, one advantage of getting rid of all these overpaid freeloaders is that they could join the ranks of the permanently unemployed and eventually quit looking for work altogether, thus further destroying Drum’s stats and boosting Trump’s
    Trump himself, via The Apprentice” contributed to nearly half the U.S. unemployment rate. He said “You’re fired!” to 45 million losers during the course of the show.
    Ask a conservative how to lower the unemployment rate and here is the answer:
    “First, we fire everyone except ourselves. Then we get rid of unemployment benefits.”
    F*ck off.

    Reply
  78. If Luxembourg would cut teacher and administrative salaries to the levels that Mexico, for example, provides to their educators, think of the money they could save.
    However, one advantage of getting rid of all these overpaid freeloaders is that they could join the ranks of the permanently unemployed and eventually quit looking for work altogether, thus further destroying Drum’s stats and boosting Trump’s
    Trump himself, via The Apprentice” contributed to nearly half the U.S. unemployment rate. He said “You’re fired!” to 45 million losers during the course of the show.
    Ask a conservative how to lower the unemployment rate and here is the answer:
    “First, we fire everyone except ourselves. Then we get rid of unemployment benefits.”
    F*ck off.

    Reply
  79. “The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.”
    I never figured that. Why would someone want to hire me and have me bankrupt their company health plan with my chronic, old guy, but low deductible goiter?
    Incidentally, the high deductibles in the silver and bronze plans provided by Obamacare are a prime example of the government being run like a private, all-American business.
    Besides, to the extent that the Left practices ageism in the work place (I’m talking to you, Hollywood) they are following conservative best business practices to maximize profitability, productivity, and avoiding the adverse aesthetics of the heartbreak of psoriasis queering their youth-oriented full marketing plan.
    Ageism is basically a high deductible instituted by American society to encourage us go away and die.

    Reply
  80. “The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.”
    I never figured that. Why would someone want to hire me and have me bankrupt their company health plan with my chronic, old guy, but low deductible goiter?
    Incidentally, the high deductibles in the silver and bronze plans provided by Obamacare are a prime example of the government being run like a private, all-American business.
    Besides, to the extent that the Left practices ageism in the work place (I’m talking to you, Hollywood) they are following conservative best business practices to maximize profitability, productivity, and avoiding the adverse aesthetics of the heartbreak of psoriasis queering their youth-oriented full marketing plan.
    Ageism is basically a high deductible instituted by American society to encourage us go away and die.

    Reply
  81. “The left writes this off to baby boomers retiring, not figuring they might be doing that because ageism is creating an awareness that there just wont be aa job. Few after 50, fewer after 55, nonexistent after 60.”
    I never figured that. Why would someone want to hire me and have me bankrupt their company health plan with my chronic, old guy, but low deductible goiter?
    Incidentally, the high deductibles in the silver and bronze plans provided by Obamacare are a prime example of the government being run like a private, all-American business.
    Besides, to the extent that the Left practices ageism in the work place (I’m talking to you, Hollywood) they are following conservative best business practices to maximize profitability, productivity, and avoiding the adverse aesthetics of the heartbreak of psoriasis queering their youth-oriented full marketing plan.
    Ageism is basically a high deductible instituted by American society to encourage us go away and die.

    Reply
  82. The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down?
    What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to.
    It obviously can’t be compared to alternative offerings. Because, after all, if someone has a better alternative available they would be going to that. In droves? Were they?
    So what you are saying is that, for someone who either couldn’t get (e.g. due to pre-existing conditions), or couldn’t afford, medical insurance, the price isn’t as low as it was last year. But it’s far lower than anything they could have gotten before the ACA. Assuming they could get anything at all.**
    ** On this, I speak from personal experience. I didn’t have insurance for a decade — pre-existing condition. And my wife only had insurance at a far higher price. Fortunately, decades of good financial management meant we could afford what we needed. But we were way outside the norm.

    Reply
  83. The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down?
    What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to.
    It obviously can’t be compared to alternative offerings. Because, after all, if someone has a better alternative available they would be going to that. In droves? Were they?
    So what you are saying is that, for someone who either couldn’t get (e.g. due to pre-existing conditions), or couldn’t afford, medical insurance, the price isn’t as low as it was last year. But it’s far lower than anything they could have gotten before the ACA. Assuming they could get anything at all.**
    ** On this, I speak from personal experience. I didn’t have insurance for a decade — pre-existing condition. And my wife only had insurance at a far higher price. Fortunately, decades of good financial management meant we could afford what we needed. But we were way outside the norm.

    Reply
  84. The price of the same policy, on the exchange, is between 7% and 30%, so are we averaging because most people went for a cheaper and less good policy so that kept the average per person down?
    What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to.
    It obviously can’t be compared to alternative offerings. Because, after all, if someone has a better alternative available they would be going to that. In droves? Were they?
    So what you are saying is that, for someone who either couldn’t get (e.g. due to pre-existing conditions), or couldn’t afford, medical insurance, the price isn’t as low as it was last year. But it’s far lower than anything they could have gotten before the ACA. Assuming they could get anything at all.**
    ** On this, I speak from personal experience. I didn’t have insurance for a decade — pre-existing condition. And my wife only had insurance at a far higher price. Fortunately, decades of good financial management meant we could afford what we needed. But we were way outside the norm.

    Reply
  85. AND there is a GOP debate tonight. Which candidate pulls out a rotting fish and tries to smack Trump with while yelling “charlatan!”?
    My $$ is on Rubes, and that he misses.

    Reply
  86. AND there is a GOP debate tonight. Which candidate pulls out a rotting fish and tries to smack Trump with while yelling “charlatan!”?
    My $$ is on Rubes, and that he misses.

    Reply
  87. AND there is a GOP debate tonight. Which candidate pulls out a rotting fish and tries to smack Trump with while yelling “charlatan!”?
    My $$ is on Rubes, and that he misses.

    Reply
  88. …Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses.
    He didn’t change anything. Who the hell knows what Trump was talking about? There’s no stat to support Trump’s claim, not even absolute dollars. Either way, Drum provides ready access to the various different ways of looking at the issue. I don’t see how that’s deceitful. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.

    Reply
  89. …Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses.
    He didn’t change anything. Who the hell knows what Trump was talking about? There’s no stat to support Trump’s claim, not even absolute dollars. Either way, Drum provides ready access to the various different ways of looking at the issue. I don’t see how that’s deceitful. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.

    Reply
  90. …Drum uses the one that puts us in “the middle of the pack” but changes the stat he uses.
    He didn’t change anything. Who the hell knows what Trump was talking about? There’s no stat to support Trump’s claim, not even absolute dollars. Either way, Drum provides ready access to the various different ways of looking at the issue. I don’t see how that’s deceitful. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.

    Reply
  91. hsh, Trump says “per pupil we spend” saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Nor meaningful.
    If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.

    Reply
  92. hsh, Trump says “per pupil we spend” saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Nor meaningful.
    If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.

    Reply
  93. hsh, Trump says “per pupil we spend” saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Nor meaningful.
    If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.

    Reply
  94. Sounds like the upshot is that Trump tells much bigger lies and that is his selling point.
    In that case, he’s got my vote.
    I want a leader a who can tell absolutely shameless whoppers instead of these run of the mill prevarications we’ve put up with all these years.
    No wonder Drudge loves Trump.
    If Cruz and Rubio could lie like Trump and with his brio, I’d vote for them. It’s funny to watch them try though.
    Actually, I have a brother just like Donald Trump. He lies like a rug and then when I challenge him, he wants to head into the backyard and kick my ass.

    Reply
  95. Sounds like the upshot is that Trump tells much bigger lies and that is his selling point.
    In that case, he’s got my vote.
    I want a leader a who can tell absolutely shameless whoppers instead of these run of the mill prevarications we’ve put up with all these years.
    No wonder Drudge loves Trump.
    If Cruz and Rubio could lie like Trump and with his brio, I’d vote for them. It’s funny to watch them try though.
    Actually, I have a brother just like Donald Trump. He lies like a rug and then when I challenge him, he wants to head into the backyard and kick my ass.

    Reply
  96. Sounds like the upshot is that Trump tells much bigger lies and that is his selling point.
    In that case, he’s got my vote.
    I want a leader a who can tell absolutely shameless whoppers instead of these run of the mill prevarications we’ve put up with all these years.
    No wonder Drudge loves Trump.
    If Cruz and Rubio could lie like Trump and with his brio, I’d vote for them. It’s funny to watch them try though.
    Actually, I have a brother just like Donald Trump. He lies like a rug and then when I challenge him, he wants to head into the backyard and kick my ass.

    Reply
  97. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.
    Although it is instructive that Trump is the runaway leader in one of the only two wasy to become the most powerful person on Earth, and Drum is a blogger.
    Yeah, Kevin scares me more too. Crazy cat person.

    Reply
  98. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.
    Although it is instructive that Trump is the runaway leader in one of the only two wasy to become the most powerful person on Earth, and Drum is a blogger.
    Yeah, Kevin scares me more too. Crazy cat person.

    Reply
  99. Any equivalency you might draw from a Trump-Drum comparison is a false one.
    Although it is instructive that Trump is the runaway leader in one of the only two wasy to become the most powerful person on Earth, and Drum is a blogger.
    Yeah, Kevin scares me more too. Crazy cat person.

    Reply
  100. “What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to. ”
    I an not sure I understand your point. The discussion was on the amount that insurance rates have gone up. Over some undetermined time. Drum picked one year. Then pointed to an article that said that the average cost per insured only went up x percent. Not factoring in whether they got the same coverage or not.
    I know from purchasing it myself that all of the better policies(zero-$500 deductible) went up significantly more than that. The number of options was significantly less and most offerings had deductibles over $6000. Many were $12000.
    The linked article then quickly tacked to the absolute number and how few people actually paid that due to the subsidy which has jack to do with how much the average policy increased in cost.

    Reply
  101. “What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to. ”
    I an not sure I understand your point. The discussion was on the amount that insurance rates have gone up. Over some undetermined time. Drum picked one year. Then pointed to an article that said that the average cost per insured only went up x percent. Not factoring in whether they got the same coverage or not.
    I know from purchasing it myself that all of the better policies(zero-$500 deductible) went up significantly more than that. The number of options was significantly less and most offerings had deductibles over $6000. Many were $12000.
    The linked article then quickly tacked to the absolute number and how few people actually paid that due to the subsidy which has jack to do with how much the average policy increased in cost.

    Reply
  102. “What did they go up compared to? To last year? That would be the market adjusting to experience with claims rates. You know, working like it is supposed to. ”
    I an not sure I understand your point. The discussion was on the amount that insurance rates have gone up. Over some undetermined time. Drum picked one year. Then pointed to an article that said that the average cost per insured only went up x percent. Not factoring in whether they got the same coverage or not.
    I know from purchasing it myself that all of the better policies(zero-$500 deductible) went up significantly more than that. The number of options was significantly less and most offerings had deductibles over $6000. Many were $12000.
    The linked article then quickly tacked to the absolute number and how few people actually paid that due to the subsidy which has jack to do with how much the average policy increased in cost.

    Reply
  103. few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers
    No, that was Jefferson, in Paris.
    Regarding Drum vs Trump: you can disagree with Drum’s reading of the factual information, but at least he’s working from a base of factual information.
    Trump just says stuff. True, not true, doesn’t matter. It popped into his head, so he said it.

    Reply
  104. few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers
    No, that was Jefferson, in Paris.
    Regarding Drum vs Trump: you can disagree with Drum’s reading of the factual information, but at least he’s working from a base of factual information.
    Trump just says stuff. True, not true, doesn’t matter. It popped into his head, so he said it.

    Reply
  105. few people know that while he was answering that question he was dressed as a woman in a blonde wig and a bustier and serving free cocktails to all comers
    No, that was Jefferson, in Paris.
    Regarding Drum vs Trump: you can disagree with Drum’s reading of the factual information, but at least he’s working from a base of factual information.
    Trump just says stuff. True, not true, doesn’t matter. It popped into his head, so he said it.

    Reply
  106. …saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Except that it’s not. Otherwise, you’re completely right.
    Forget all the information Drum links, too. Why would you take that into consideration?

    Reply
  107. …saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Except that it’s not. Otherwise, you’re completely right.
    Forget all the information Drum links, too. Why would you take that into consideration?

    Reply
  108. …saying by percentage of gdp we are in the middle of the pack is really nonresponsive.
    Except that it’s not. Otherwise, you’re completely right.
    Forget all the information Drum links, too. Why would you take that into consideration?

    Reply
  109. I am gratified that Marty wants much cheaper insurance and accessibility to medical care and must believe, as I do, that government grows on trees.

    Reply
  110. I am gratified that Marty wants much cheaper insurance and accessibility to medical care and must believe, as I do, that government grows on trees.

    Reply
  111. I am gratified that Marty wants much cheaper insurance and accessibility to medical care and must believe, as I do, that government grows on trees.

    Reply
  112. “However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gum”
    You need to reread your _Encyclopedia Brown_ books: the 5th guy would be getting his dental care from one of the ‘group of 4’. Conclusion…

    Reply
  113. “However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gum”
    You need to reread your _Encyclopedia Brown_ books: the 5th guy would be getting his dental care from one of the ‘group of 4’. Conclusion…

    Reply
  114. “However, if the fifth dentist turned out to be a guy with grime under his fingernails and a severe overbite consisting of dingy, broken teeth and rotting gum”
    You need to reread your _Encyclopedia Brown_ books: the 5th guy would be getting his dental care from one of the ‘group of 4’. Conclusion…

    Reply
  115. “If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.”
    Why not? We spend four or five times the amount any other country does on swimming pools, compared to both percentage of GDP and per head cost of drowning, plus swimming pools contribute to 30,000 shooting fatalities a year, and no one bats an eye.
    Maybe American kids are dumber than other countries’ and it takes moolah to catch up.

    Reply
  116. “If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.”
    Why not? We spend four or five times the amount any other country does on swimming pools, compared to both percentage of GDP and per head cost of drowning, plus swimming pools contribute to 30,000 shooting fatalities a year, and no one bats an eye.
    Maybe American kids are dumber than other countries’ and it takes moolah to catch up.

    Reply
  117. “If our GDP is big enough we could spend 4 or 5 times as much per student and be at the back of the pack by percentage of GDP.”
    Why not? We spend four or five times the amount any other country does on swimming pools, compared to both percentage of GDP and per head cost of drowning, plus swimming pools contribute to 30,000 shooting fatalities a year, and no one bats an eye.
    Maybe American kids are dumber than other countries’ and it takes moolah to catch up.

    Reply
  118. If we built a wall around all the swimming pools we would be much safer. We should also note that deporting them is not a realistic option. This policy would also put a dent in unemployment.
    Win win.

    Reply
  119. If we built a wall around all the swimming pools we would be much safer. We should also note that deporting them is not a realistic option. This policy would also put a dent in unemployment.
    Win win.

    Reply
  120. If we built a wall around all the swimming pools we would be much safer. We should also note that deporting them is not a realistic option. This policy would also put a dent in unemployment.
    Win win.

    Reply
  121. That’s a great painting, I wasn’t familiar with the artist though I think I know the period quite well. And without shouting “Weimar! Argggh” I think it’s fair to say that there are salient parallels which is scary… George Grosz anyone?
    Meanwhile here in merry old England a passenger has just been thrown off a plane because he was trying to organize a prayer meeting on his phone and someone screamed “terrorist”, incidentally he was black …
    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/03/man-removed-easyjet-flight-luton-prayer-message-phone

    Reply
  122. That’s a great painting, I wasn’t familiar with the artist though I think I know the period quite well. And without shouting “Weimar! Argggh” I think it’s fair to say that there are salient parallels which is scary… George Grosz anyone?
    Meanwhile here in merry old England a passenger has just been thrown off a plane because he was trying to organize a prayer meeting on his phone and someone screamed “terrorist”, incidentally he was black …
    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/03/man-removed-easyjet-flight-luton-prayer-message-phone

    Reply
  123. That’s a great painting, I wasn’t familiar with the artist though I think I know the period quite well. And without shouting “Weimar! Argggh” I think it’s fair to say that there are salient parallels which is scary… George Grosz anyone?
    Meanwhile here in merry old England a passenger has just been thrown off a plane because he was trying to organize a prayer meeting on his phone and someone screamed “terrorist”, incidentally he was black …
    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/03/man-removed-easyjet-flight-luton-prayer-message-phone

    Reply
  124. I wonder what measures I would take if Franklin Graham was sitting next to me on an airplane.
    I picture him being sucked through the window like Goldfinger.

    Reply
  125. I wonder what measures I would take if Franklin Graham was sitting next to me on an airplane.
    I picture him being sucked through the window like Goldfinger.

    Reply
  126. I wonder what measures I would take if Franklin Graham was sitting next to me on an airplane.
    I picture him being sucked through the window like Goldfinger.

    Reply
  127. @bobbyp: I call shenanigans; if you subtract that number from 100% you still get a much smaller number than Trump was asserting.

    Reply
  128. @bobbyp: I call shenanigans; if you subtract that number from 100% you still get a much smaller number than Trump was asserting.

    Reply
  129. @bobbyp: I call shenanigans; if you subtract that number from 100% you still get a much smaller number than Trump was asserting.

    Reply
  130. …Trump’s number was much bigger even than the completely made-up one claimed by Shadowstats, which is kind of mind-boggling.

    Reply
  131. …Trump’s number was much bigger even than the completely made-up one claimed by Shadowstats, which is kind of mind-boggling.

    Reply
  132. …Trump’s number was much bigger even than the completely made-up one claimed by Shadowstats, which is kind of mind-boggling.

    Reply
  133. Matt,
    If by “unemployed” you mean “not working full time” then the unemployed are about 40% of the total population-not far from Dumpf’s claim. However, that number would include children, the elderly in retirement, the jailed, students, the in-betweeners, and the sick, as well as those who are involuntarily unemployed (aka “the unemployed”).
    So shenanigans? Perhaps. 🙂

    Reply
  134. Matt,
    If by “unemployed” you mean “not working full time” then the unemployed are about 40% of the total population-not far from Dumpf’s claim. However, that number would include children, the elderly in retirement, the jailed, students, the in-betweeners, and the sick, as well as those who are involuntarily unemployed (aka “the unemployed”).
    So shenanigans? Perhaps. 🙂

    Reply
  135. Matt,
    If by “unemployed” you mean “not working full time” then the unemployed are about 40% of the total population-not far from Dumpf’s claim. However, that number would include children, the elderly in retirement, the jailed, students, the in-betweeners, and the sick, as well as those who are involuntarily unemployed (aka “the unemployed”).
    So shenanigans? Perhaps. 🙂

    Reply
  136. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?

    Reply
  137. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?

    Reply
  138. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?

    Reply
  139. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?
    Since the fetus is a person, they should count as unemployed, but only if they are actively seeking work (there is an innocence exception, but the paperwork is a real hurdle for most). Similarly, they should be counted in the census, and as a dependent for income tax purposes for the gestation period.* Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    *serial abuse of this tax shelter by getting pregnant and then terminating them should, it goes without saying, be discouraged.

    Reply
  140. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?
    Since the fetus is a person, they should count as unemployed, but only if they are actively seeking work (there is an innocence exception, but the paperwork is a real hurdle for most). Similarly, they should be counted in the census, and as a dependent for income tax purposes for the gestation period.* Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    *serial abuse of this tax shelter by getting pregnant and then terminating them should, it goes without saying, be discouraged.

    Reply
  141. And what about the fetuses? If a pregnant woman is (un)employed, does that count as two (un)employed people?
    Since the fetus is a person, they should count as unemployed, but only if they are actively seeking work (there is an innocence exception, but the paperwork is a real hurdle for most). Similarly, they should be counted in the census, and as a dependent for income tax purposes for the gestation period.* Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    *serial abuse of this tax shelter by getting pregnant and then terminating them should, it goes without saying, be discouraged.

    Reply
  142. Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    Clearly if they are property, they should only be counted as 3/5 of a person.

    Reply
  143. Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    Clearly if they are property, they should only be counted as 3/5 of a person.

    Reply
  144. Their status as property is unclear, an issue as yet to be addressed by any property rights infected GOP legislatures, much less our esteemed courts.
    Clearly if they are property, they should only be counted as 3/5 of a person.

    Reply
  145. Eminent domain, people. A womb, like a house, can be taken by eminent domain. The GOP riff-raff may oppose eminent domain when it comes to little old ladies’ houses, but young women’s wombs are a different story.
    –TP

    Reply
  146. Eminent domain, people. A womb, like a house, can be taken by eminent domain. The GOP riff-raff may oppose eminent domain when it comes to little old ladies’ houses, but young women’s wombs are a different story.
    –TP

    Reply
  147. Eminent domain, people. A womb, like a house, can be taken by eminent domain. The GOP riff-raff may oppose eminent domain when it comes to little old ladies’ houses, but young women’s wombs are a different story.
    –TP

    Reply
  148. i’ve been trying (and continue to try) to understand the Trump phenomenon. what I keep coming back to is “Berlusconi”.
    not an exact march, because nothing is, really. but close enough for an analogy.
    he’s our clown prince.

    Reply
  149. i’ve been trying (and continue to try) to understand the Trump phenomenon. what I keep coming back to is “Berlusconi”.
    not an exact march, because nothing is, really. but close enough for an analogy.
    he’s our clown prince.

    Reply
  150. i’ve been trying (and continue to try) to understand the Trump phenomenon. what I keep coming back to is “Berlusconi”.
    not an exact march, because nothing is, really. but close enough for an analogy.
    he’s our clown prince.

    Reply
  151. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.
    –TP

    Reply
  152. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.
    –TP

    Reply
  153. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.
    –TP

    Reply
  154. This from Drum’s play by play:
    “On national TV, Trump just defended the size and virility of his package. Seriously.”
    What else is new? Republicans have big swinging dicks. They’ve been telling us this forever.
    It’s how they f*ck the world. It’s how they will f*ck Americans with pre-existing conditions, presumably not the Elephantiasis Republicans on Obamacare, including the Republican women and their children, who plan to maintain the conditions their conditions are in so they can swing around their strap-ons when they facef*ck immigrants.
    Raise our little fingers and get the knives ready, and cut.
    The entire Party needs a gelding without local anesthetic.
    The Foreskin Fathers are so proud of their disgraceful scum standard bearers.
    Just kill the Republican Party.

    Reply
  155. This from Drum’s play by play:
    “On national TV, Trump just defended the size and virility of his package. Seriously.”
    What else is new? Republicans have big swinging dicks. They’ve been telling us this forever.
    It’s how they f*ck the world. It’s how they will f*ck Americans with pre-existing conditions, presumably not the Elephantiasis Republicans on Obamacare, including the Republican women and their children, who plan to maintain the conditions their conditions are in so they can swing around their strap-ons when they facef*ck immigrants.
    Raise our little fingers and get the knives ready, and cut.
    The entire Party needs a gelding without local anesthetic.
    The Foreskin Fathers are so proud of their disgraceful scum standard bearers.
    Just kill the Republican Party.

    Reply
  156. This from Drum’s play by play:
    “On national TV, Trump just defended the size and virility of his package. Seriously.”
    What else is new? Republicans have big swinging dicks. They’ve been telling us this forever.
    It’s how they f*ck the world. It’s how they will f*ck Americans with pre-existing conditions, presumably not the Elephantiasis Republicans on Obamacare, including the Republican women and their children, who plan to maintain the conditions their conditions are in so they can swing around their strap-ons when they facef*ck immigrants.
    Raise our little fingers and get the knives ready, and cut.
    The entire Party needs a gelding without local anesthetic.
    The Foreskin Fathers are so proud of their disgraceful scum standard bearers.
    Just kill the Republican Party.

    Reply
  157. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.

    It’s a little nutty, as at least Cruz and Rubes spent the debate bashing Trump left and right as something that would be terrible for the party and Country should he win the nomination/presidency… but I will support him if he’s the GOP nominee! Because it’s all tribal at the end of the day, I guess.

    Reply
  158. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.

    It’s a little nutty, as at least Cruz and Rubes spent the debate bashing Trump left and right as something that would be terrible for the party and Country should he win the nomination/presidency… but I will support him if he’s the GOP nominee! Because it’s all tribal at the end of the day, I guess.

    Reply
  159. So, all 3 non-Trumps allowed that they will support the GOP nominee even if it’s He, Trump. And He, Trump said that he will support the GOP nominee even if it’s one of the others.
    It’s the one thing any of them said that I’m willing to believe.

    It’s a little nutty, as at least Cruz and Rubes spent the debate bashing Trump left and right as something that would be terrible for the party and Country should he win the nomination/presidency… but I will support him if he’s the GOP nominee! Because it’s all tribal at the end of the day, I guess.

    Reply
  160. I have to say, in my mind there is no guarantee Trump would nominate someone in Scalia’s mold should he be President, although I suppose there’s certainly a greater chance than if Clinton wins.

    Reply
  161. I have to say, in my mind there is no guarantee Trump would nominate someone in Scalia’s mold should he be President, although I suppose there’s certainly a greater chance than if Clinton wins.

    Reply
  162. I have to say, in my mind there is no guarantee Trump would nominate someone in Scalia’s mold should he be President, although I suppose there’s certainly a greater chance than if Clinton wins.

    Reply
  163. I look forward to election night as Trump-backer Caitlyn Jenner runs into Hillary-backer Kim Kardasian in the Ladies Bathroom at FOX News between interview segments as the FOX staff run around measuring dicks, shrieking “Who’s gotta dick and how big is it?”, fact checking dicks, and trying to keep dicks in their proper places (O’Reilly and Hannity will ask for a show of hands), as the dickless North Carolina Republican contingent, led by dicktator Ted Cruz, covers its collective eyes and does a manual crotch-check outside the facilities, while Roger Ailes lays down the law that no dicks may enter the ladies room, but AK-47s are good to go:
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/yeah-im-guess-thats-not-going-to-happen.html
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/of-penises-and-potties-by-bloggersrus.html
    Shots will be fired, and Wayne La Pierre will immediately apologize and explain he forgot which one was for fun.
    Meanwhile, at the end of the night, a dickconsolate Marco Rubio will sob into dicksheveled Steve Doocy’s shoulder “Don’t you realize Donald Trump dresses Left!!!”, after which they’ll cut away to the victorious Trump unveiling his replacement nomination for Scalia:
    Scalia’s dick, cryogenically preserved as a reliquary since last month and thawed for the occasion, and unveiled hooked up to a car battery to electrify racist conservatives for its lifetime appointment.

    Reply
  164. I look forward to election night as Trump-backer Caitlyn Jenner runs into Hillary-backer Kim Kardasian in the Ladies Bathroom at FOX News between interview segments as the FOX staff run around measuring dicks, shrieking “Who’s gotta dick and how big is it?”, fact checking dicks, and trying to keep dicks in their proper places (O’Reilly and Hannity will ask for a show of hands), as the dickless North Carolina Republican contingent, led by dicktator Ted Cruz, covers its collective eyes and does a manual crotch-check outside the facilities, while Roger Ailes lays down the law that no dicks may enter the ladies room, but AK-47s are good to go:
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/yeah-im-guess-thats-not-going-to-happen.html
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/of-penises-and-potties-by-bloggersrus.html
    Shots will be fired, and Wayne La Pierre will immediately apologize and explain he forgot which one was for fun.
    Meanwhile, at the end of the night, a dickconsolate Marco Rubio will sob into dicksheveled Steve Doocy’s shoulder “Don’t you realize Donald Trump dresses Left!!!”, after which they’ll cut away to the victorious Trump unveiling his replacement nomination for Scalia:
    Scalia’s dick, cryogenically preserved as a reliquary since last month and thawed for the occasion, and unveiled hooked up to a car battery to electrify racist conservatives for its lifetime appointment.

    Reply
  165. I look forward to election night as Trump-backer Caitlyn Jenner runs into Hillary-backer Kim Kardasian in the Ladies Bathroom at FOX News between interview segments as the FOX staff run around measuring dicks, shrieking “Who’s gotta dick and how big is it?”, fact checking dicks, and trying to keep dicks in their proper places (O’Reilly and Hannity will ask for a show of hands), as the dickless North Carolina Republican contingent, led by dicktator Ted Cruz, covers its collective eyes and does a manual crotch-check outside the facilities, while Roger Ailes lays down the law that no dicks may enter the ladies room, but AK-47s are good to go:
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/yeah-im-guess-thats-not-going-to-happen.html
    http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/of-penises-and-potties-by-bloggersrus.html
    Shots will be fired, and Wayne La Pierre will immediately apologize and explain he forgot which one was for fun.
    Meanwhile, at the end of the night, a dickconsolate Marco Rubio will sob into dicksheveled Steve Doocy’s shoulder “Don’t you realize Donald Trump dresses Left!!!”, after which they’ll cut away to the victorious Trump unveiling his replacement nomination for Scalia:
    Scalia’s dick, cryogenically preserved as a reliquary since last month and thawed for the occasion, and unveiled hooked up to a car battery to electrify racist conservatives for its lifetime appointment.

    Reply
  166. And so Jenner says to Kardasian “Mine used to be bigger than yours.”???
    Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!

    Reply
  167. And so Jenner says to Kardasian “Mine used to be bigger than yours.”???
    Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!

    Reply
  168. And so Jenner says to Kardasian “Mine used to be bigger than yours.”???
    Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!

    Reply
  169. Look at it this way, Count. Keeping your crazy ahead of reality constitutes a “stretch goal”. (One of those things the HR departments in corporations love, because they think it keeps everyone working at maximum productivity.) Like most stretch goals, it is probably not achieveable….

    Reply
  170. Look at it this way, Count. Keeping your crazy ahead of reality constitutes a “stretch goal”. (One of those things the HR departments in corporations love, because they think it keeps everyone working at maximum productivity.) Like most stretch goals, it is probably not achieveable….

    Reply
  171. Look at it this way, Count. Keeping your crazy ahead of reality constitutes a “stretch goal”. (One of those things the HR departments in corporations love, because they think it keeps everyone working at maximum productivity.) Like most stretch goals, it is probably not achieveable….

    Reply
  172. GOP Primaries tomorrow:
    Louisiana 47 delegates
    Kentucky 45 delegates
    Kansas 40 delegates
    Trump was leading in all three but I think all those polls predate Super Tuesday. Will be our first indication of how the uber-establishment pile-on has gone over.
    On the debate last night, I think what the non-Trump faction succeeded in doing is making running for the GOP nomination no longer fun for The Donald. AFAICT Trump has, to date, been having the time of his life. Adoring crowds, mocking the other candidates, shooting his mouth off, being the star. Good times. But last night it finally seemed like work for him (maybe he was just tired).
    If the non-Trump elites can make the rest of the primary a calendar a slog, rather than uniting behind him if he, e.g., wins Ohio and Florida on 3/15, then he might just quit, even if he has a delegate lead. Then he could play kingmaker from the sidelines, which would be fun for him again.

    Reply
  173. GOP Primaries tomorrow:
    Louisiana 47 delegates
    Kentucky 45 delegates
    Kansas 40 delegates
    Trump was leading in all three but I think all those polls predate Super Tuesday. Will be our first indication of how the uber-establishment pile-on has gone over.
    On the debate last night, I think what the non-Trump faction succeeded in doing is making running for the GOP nomination no longer fun for The Donald. AFAICT Trump has, to date, been having the time of his life. Adoring crowds, mocking the other candidates, shooting his mouth off, being the star. Good times. But last night it finally seemed like work for him (maybe he was just tired).
    If the non-Trump elites can make the rest of the primary a calendar a slog, rather than uniting behind him if he, e.g., wins Ohio and Florida on 3/15, then he might just quit, even if he has a delegate lead. Then he could play kingmaker from the sidelines, which would be fun for him again.

    Reply
  174. GOP Primaries tomorrow:
    Louisiana 47 delegates
    Kentucky 45 delegates
    Kansas 40 delegates
    Trump was leading in all three but I think all those polls predate Super Tuesday. Will be our first indication of how the uber-establishment pile-on has gone over.
    On the debate last night, I think what the non-Trump faction succeeded in doing is making running for the GOP nomination no longer fun for The Donald. AFAICT Trump has, to date, been having the time of his life. Adoring crowds, mocking the other candidates, shooting his mouth off, being the star. Good times. But last night it finally seemed like work for him (maybe he was just tired).
    If the non-Trump elites can make the rest of the primary a calendar a slog, rather than uniting behind him if he, e.g., wins Ohio and Florida on 3/15, then he might just quit, even if he has a delegate lead. Then he could play kingmaker from the sidelines, which would be fun for him again.

    Reply
  175. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief. and it would throw the Dems into panic as they tried to cram a whole election worth of opposition into a few weeks.

    Reply
  176. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief. and it would throw the Dems into panic as they tried to cram a whole election worth of opposition into a few weeks.

    Reply
  177. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief. and it would throw the Dems into panic as they tried to cram a whole election worth of opposition into a few weeks.

    Reply
  178. My only real takeaway from last night was that Rubio was actually funny a few times. I mean I actually smiled when he pointed out we could see yoga because Trump was very flexible. Both he and Kasich seemed to enjoy it more than ever.
    And yes, Trump seemed like it was getting tiresome to have to remind people how unbelievable he is. He keeps using that word, I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

    Reply
  179. My only real takeaway from last night was that Rubio was actually funny a few times. I mean I actually smiled when he pointed out we could see yoga because Trump was very flexible. Both he and Kasich seemed to enjoy it more than ever.
    And yes, Trump seemed like it was getting tiresome to have to remind people how unbelievable he is. He keeps using that word, I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

    Reply
  180. My only real takeaway from last night was that Rubio was actually funny a few times. I mean I actually smiled when he pointed out we could see yoga because Trump was very flexible. Both he and Kasich seemed to enjoy it more than ever.
    And yes, Trump seemed like it was getting tiresome to have to remind people how unbelievable he is. He keeps using that word, I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

    Reply
  181. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief.
    Oh I think if he wins the nomination he will go all the way to November. I think he’s tired of all the GOP debates (thousands of them, it seems) and having to deal with Rubio/Cruz/Romney. If he is the GOP nominee, then he gets to pile on Hillary with the full support (I’m guessing) of the party apparatus, and only has to get on stage with her for a debate 3 times. There’s only one election day, instead of endless primaries and he only has to take fire from one direction rather than all sides.
    ISTM, if he quits, it will be in April or May.

    Reply
  182. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief.
    Oh I think if he wins the nomination he will go all the way to November. I think he’s tired of all the GOP debates (thousands of them, it seems) and having to deal with Rubio/Cruz/Romney. If he is the GOP nominee, then he gets to pile on Hillary with the full support (I’m guessing) of the party apparatus, and only has to get on stage with her for a debate 3 times. There’s only one election day, instead of endless primaries and he only has to take fire from one direction rather than all sides.
    ISTM, if he quits, it will be in April or May.

    Reply
  183. having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. the party faithful would rally behind Crubio or whomever, with a huge burst of energy and relief.
    Oh I think if he wins the nomination he will go all the way to November. I think he’s tired of all the GOP debates (thousands of them, it seems) and having to deal with Rubio/Cruz/Romney. If he is the GOP nominee, then he gets to pile on Hillary with the full support (I’m guessing) of the party apparatus, and only has to get on stage with her for a debate 3 times. There’s only one election day, instead of endless primaries and he only has to take fire from one direction rather than all sides.
    ISTM, if he quits, it will be in April or May.

    Reply
  184. “having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. ”
    That’s getting awfully close (past?) the HARD deadlines imposed by ballot-printing.
    Sure, the whining will be loud and sustained, the lawsuits will fly, but I’d guess that the GOP would be SOL in that case.

    Reply
  185. “having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. ”
    That’s getting awfully close (past?) the HARD deadlines imposed by ballot-printing.
    Sure, the whining will be loud and sustained, the lawsuits will fly, but I’d guess that the GOP would be SOL in that case.

    Reply
  186. “having Trump voluntarily quit in early October would be the absolute best outcome for the GOP. ”
    That’s getting awfully close (past?) the HARD deadlines imposed by ballot-printing.
    Sure, the whining will be loud and sustained, the lawsuits will fly, but I’d guess that the GOP would be SOL in that case.

    Reply
  187. I believe that, at least in some states, there is no provision for a party to change its nominee. The best they can do is move the VP candidate up.
    Even that requires extraordinary circumstances. Maybe the death of their Presidential candidate. But possible not including the Presidential candidate quitting, or being convicted (let alone merely indicted) of a major crime. Not sure how either of those plays out.
    We may be looking at interesting times indeed. Especially if both parties end up in similar situations with regard to their nominees.

    Reply
  188. I believe that, at least in some states, there is no provision for a party to change its nominee. The best they can do is move the VP candidate up.
    Even that requires extraordinary circumstances. Maybe the death of their Presidential candidate. But possible not including the Presidential candidate quitting, or being convicted (let alone merely indicted) of a major crime. Not sure how either of those plays out.
    We may be looking at interesting times indeed. Especially if both parties end up in similar situations with regard to their nominees.

    Reply
  189. I believe that, at least in some states, there is no provision for a party to change its nominee. The best they can do is move the VP candidate up.
    Even that requires extraordinary circumstances. Maybe the death of their Presidential candidate. But possible not including the Presidential candidate quitting, or being convicted (let alone merely indicted) of a major crime. Not sure how either of those plays out.
    We may be looking at interesting times indeed. Especially if both parties end up in similar situations with regard to their nominees.

    Reply
  190. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495812/-Police-confirm-Trump-campaign-wanted-peaceful-black-students-kicked-out-of-rally
    Trump’s goons and the howling pigs at the Republican debate last night need to be placed in a position of saying Auf Wiedersehen to their Nazi balls:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Bqycjw_tw
    See, I knew from 2010 and since when Republican armed paramilitary assassins were permitted to skulk without interdiction from law enforcement in the vicinity of Democratic townhall meetings during the Obamacare bullying, that Republican goons would feel no compunction about treating visitors to their rallies who they consider anti-American and subhuman like suspects to be bullied at will.
    Smith and Wesson’s stock is up big this week on blow-out quarterly earnings. It’s a shame it’s only Republican murderers getting ready for what is coming.
    http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/quickchart.asp?symb=SWHC&insttype=Stock

    Reply
  191. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495812/-Police-confirm-Trump-campaign-wanted-peaceful-black-students-kicked-out-of-rally
    Trump’s goons and the howling pigs at the Republican debate last night need to be placed in a position of saying Auf Wiedersehen to their Nazi balls:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Bqycjw_tw
    See, I knew from 2010 and since when Republican armed paramilitary assassins were permitted to skulk without interdiction from law enforcement in the vicinity of Democratic townhall meetings during the Obamacare bullying, that Republican goons would feel no compunction about treating visitors to their rallies who they consider anti-American and subhuman like suspects to be bullied at will.
    Smith and Wesson’s stock is up big this week on blow-out quarterly earnings. It’s a shame it’s only Republican murderers getting ready for what is coming.
    http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/quickchart.asp?symb=SWHC&insttype=Stock

    Reply
  192. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495812/-Police-confirm-Trump-campaign-wanted-peaceful-black-students-kicked-out-of-rally
    Trump’s goons and the howling pigs at the Republican debate last night need to be placed in a position of saying Auf Wiedersehen to their Nazi balls:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Bqycjw_tw
    See, I knew from 2010 and since when Republican armed paramilitary assassins were permitted to skulk without interdiction from law enforcement in the vicinity of Democratic townhall meetings during the Obamacare bullying, that Republican goons would feel no compunction about treating visitors to their rallies who they consider anti-American and subhuman like suspects to be bullied at will.
    Smith and Wesson’s stock is up big this week on blow-out quarterly earnings. It’s a shame it’s only Republican murderers getting ready for what is coming.
    http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/quickchart.asp?symb=SWHC&insttype=Stock

    Reply
  193. See, if the proper measures had been taken long ago against the designer jackbooted Republican filth terrorizing American democracy these past years, maybe things could have nipped in the bud.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot
    Not shooting them in the their heads then in Miami-Dade as they disturbed the peace with violence just means it will have to be done later in a much larger and deadly catastrophe, because their numbers are legion now and all of them are armed.

    Reply
  194. See, if the proper measures had been taken long ago against the designer jackbooted Republican filth terrorizing American democracy these past years, maybe things could have nipped in the bud.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot
    Not shooting them in the their heads then in Miami-Dade as they disturbed the peace with violence just means it will have to be done later in a much larger and deadly catastrophe, because their numbers are legion now and all of them are armed.

    Reply
  195. See, if the proper measures had been taken long ago against the designer jackbooted Republican filth terrorizing American democracy these past years, maybe things could have nipped in the bud.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot
    Not shooting them in the their heads then in Miami-Dade as they disturbed the peace with violence just means it will have to be done later in a much larger and deadly catastrophe, because their numbers are legion now and all of them are armed.

    Reply
  196. Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!
    Well, if we’re going to broach the subject of taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions, Ugh needs called onto the carpet, too.
    Three days (and counting!) of mental anguish, emotional distress, and the utter inability to get the dulcet tones of Phil Collins out of my poor, miserable head.

    Reply
  197. Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!
    Well, if we’re going to broach the subject of taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions, Ugh needs called onto the carpet, too.
    Three days (and counting!) of mental anguish, emotional distress, and the utter inability to get the dulcet tones of Phil Collins out of my poor, miserable head.

    Reply
  198. Count, you have a lot to answer for, for the things that you sometimes put in my head!
    Well, if we’re going to broach the subject of taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions, Ugh needs called onto the carpet, too.
    Three days (and counting!) of mental anguish, emotional distress, and the utter inability to get the dulcet tones of Phil Collins out of my poor, miserable head.

    Reply
  199. “After seven years of the cool, weak and endlessly nuanced ‘no drama Obama,’ voters are looking for a strong leader who speaks in short, declarative sentences,”
    — Dummy Jindal

    Jindal is a moron with a tiny penis.
    can i lead now?

    Reply
  200. “After seven years of the cool, weak and endlessly nuanced ‘no drama Obama,’ voters are looking for a strong leader who speaks in short, declarative sentences,”
    — Dummy Jindal

    Jindal is a moron with a tiny penis.
    can i lead now?

    Reply
  201. “After seven years of the cool, weak and endlessly nuanced ‘no drama Obama,’ voters are looking for a strong leader who speaks in short, declarative sentences,”
    — Dummy Jindal

    Jindal is a moron with a tiny penis.
    can i lead now?

    Reply
  202. What a shitshow:
    Like I said last night, #NeverTrump is really #EventuallyTrump. In a Kentucky radio interview today, Marco Rubio is forced to admit that #NeverTrump actually only applies for the primaries. Audio here.

    Reply
  203. What a shitshow:
    Like I said last night, #NeverTrump is really #EventuallyTrump. In a Kentucky radio interview today, Marco Rubio is forced to admit that #NeverTrump actually only applies for the primaries. Audio here.

    Reply
  204. What a shitshow:
    Like I said last night, #NeverTrump is really #EventuallyTrump. In a Kentucky radio interview today, Marco Rubio is forced to admit that #NeverTrump actually only applies for the primaries. Audio here.

    Reply
  205. I wonder what someone speaking in short, pithy sentences and words of few syllables would say about Jindal. Probably nothing he would want to hear.

    Reply
  206. I wonder what someone speaking in short, pithy sentences and words of few syllables would say about Jindal. Probably nothing he would want to hear.

    Reply
  207. I wonder what someone speaking in short, pithy sentences and words of few syllables would say about Jindal. Probably nothing he would want to hear.

    Reply
  208. Obama’s sentences are thousands of pages long.
    No one has read them. We don’t know what’s in them.
    But we know what we don’t like, and whatever it is that is in those sentences sounds Muslim, Communist, and Ebonic to us.
    Our sentences will fit on a postcard and we’ll issue one a year and the rest of you can just check the box that says “I agree, or else!”
    It will be a short, declarative sentence like Miss Bendusover taught us in the second grade.
    It will read: “F*ck you.”

    Reply
  209. Obama’s sentences are thousands of pages long.
    No one has read them. We don’t know what’s in them.
    But we know what we don’t like, and whatever it is that is in those sentences sounds Muslim, Communist, and Ebonic to us.
    Our sentences will fit on a postcard and we’ll issue one a year and the rest of you can just check the box that says “I agree, or else!”
    It will be a short, declarative sentence like Miss Bendusover taught us in the second grade.
    It will read: “F*ck you.”

    Reply
  210. Obama’s sentences are thousands of pages long.
    No one has read them. We don’t know what’s in them.
    But we know what we don’t like, and whatever it is that is in those sentences sounds Muslim, Communist, and Ebonic to us.
    Our sentences will fit on a postcard and we’ll issue one a year and the rest of you can just check the box that says “I agree, or else!”
    It will be a short, declarative sentence like Miss Bendusover taught us in the second grade.
    It will read: “F*ck you.”

    Reply
  211. I love that Rubio is selling #NeverTrump “merchandise”, but only for a short time.
    Get ’em while they are hot and while we mean it, because come July 22, (quick, show em the new bunting) the new models will be go on sale that read #Trump/Rubio Forever.
    MY God, we are a Vaseline-coated grift from sea to rising sea. America is a smiling huckster ringing the world’s doorbell and when you open the door, his red, white, and blue coat falls open to reveal the suicide vest.
    #Tippiecanoe and Tyler Too
    #Tippiecanoe … Tyler, Not So Much
    #Tippie Who?
    http://torontoist.com/2011/10/ford-releases-new-campaign-slogans-in-wake-of-swearing-controversy/
    http://mentalfloss.com/article/29295/11-presidential-campaign-slogans-went-beyond-buzzwords

    Reply
  212. I love that Rubio is selling #NeverTrump “merchandise”, but only for a short time.
    Get ’em while they are hot and while we mean it, because come July 22, (quick, show em the new bunting) the new models will be go on sale that read #Trump/Rubio Forever.
    MY God, we are a Vaseline-coated grift from sea to rising sea. America is a smiling huckster ringing the world’s doorbell and when you open the door, his red, white, and blue coat falls open to reveal the suicide vest.
    #Tippiecanoe and Tyler Too
    #Tippiecanoe … Tyler, Not So Much
    #Tippie Who?
    http://torontoist.com/2011/10/ford-releases-new-campaign-slogans-in-wake-of-swearing-controversy/
    http://mentalfloss.com/article/29295/11-presidential-campaign-slogans-went-beyond-buzzwords

    Reply
  213. I love that Rubio is selling #NeverTrump “merchandise”, but only for a short time.
    Get ’em while they are hot and while we mean it, because come July 22, (quick, show em the new bunting) the new models will be go on sale that read #Trump/Rubio Forever.
    MY God, we are a Vaseline-coated grift from sea to rising sea. America is a smiling huckster ringing the world’s doorbell and when you open the door, his red, white, and blue coat falls open to reveal the suicide vest.
    #Tippiecanoe and Tyler Too
    #Tippiecanoe … Tyler, Not So Much
    #Tippie Who?
    http://torontoist.com/2011/10/ford-releases-new-campaign-slogans-in-wake-of-swearing-controversy/
    http://mentalfloss.com/article/29295/11-presidential-campaign-slogans-went-beyond-buzzwords

    Reply
  214. I strongly suspect that #NeverTrump swag will come in handy this Fall.
    And there will be YOOOGE demand for it on ebay, by GOPers, after November.

    Reply
  215. I strongly suspect that #NeverTrump swag will come in handy this Fall.
    And there will be YOOOGE demand for it on ebay, by GOPers, after November.

    Reply
  216. I strongly suspect that #NeverTrump swag will come in handy this Fall.
    And there will be YOOOGE demand for it on ebay, by GOPers, after November.

    Reply
  217. The Clinton campaign might be able to pick up the sizable inventory of #NeverTrump swag real cheap after July 22 and do helicopter drops all the way to November.
    In fact, if they don’t, I’ll be very disappointed in their imaginations, not that I’m not already.

    Reply
  218. The Clinton campaign might be able to pick up the sizable inventory of #NeverTrump swag real cheap after July 22 and do helicopter drops all the way to November.
    In fact, if they don’t, I’ll be very disappointed in their imaginations, not that I’m not already.

    Reply
  219. The Clinton campaign might be able to pick up the sizable inventory of #NeverTrump swag real cheap after July 22 and do helicopter drops all the way to November.
    In fact, if they don’t, I’ll be very disappointed in their imaginations, not that I’m not already.

    Reply
  220. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495737/-Republican-says-Obamacare-saved-his-life-Thank-you-for-serving-me-even-when-I-didn-t-vote-for-you
    Then he said, “Hey, early April Fools, kids. Looking back on the whole ordeal, I’d much rather have died writhing in agony with no painkillers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills for my family than to have paid those high deductibles. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been hoodwinked into being a Socialist, so if you’ll excuse me, as a freedom-loving vermin a8shole Republican, I’m going to now shoot myself in the head and cavort with 77 celestial virgins who died of the clap after Planned Parenthood was defunded.
    See the suicide video at #ForeverTrump

    Reply
  221. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495737/-Republican-says-Obamacare-saved-his-life-Thank-you-for-serving-me-even-when-I-didn-t-vote-for-you
    Then he said, “Hey, early April Fools, kids. Looking back on the whole ordeal, I’d much rather have died writhing in agony with no painkillers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills for my family than to have paid those high deductibles. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been hoodwinked into being a Socialist, so if you’ll excuse me, as a freedom-loving vermin a8shole Republican, I’m going to now shoot myself in the head and cavort with 77 celestial virgins who died of the clap after Planned Parenthood was defunded.
    See the suicide video at #ForeverTrump

    Reply
  222. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/4/1495737/-Republican-says-Obamacare-saved-his-life-Thank-you-for-serving-me-even-when-I-didn-t-vote-for-you
    Then he said, “Hey, early April Fools, kids. Looking back on the whole ordeal, I’d much rather have died writhing in agony with no painkillers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills for my family than to have paid those high deductibles. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been hoodwinked into being a Socialist, so if you’ll excuse me, as a freedom-loving vermin a8shole Republican, I’m going to now shoot myself in the head and cavort with 77 celestial virgins who died of the clap after Planned Parenthood was defunded.
    See the suicide video at #ForeverTrump

    Reply
  223. I can’t really explain this, but I invented a new expression after reading that last link: all the panther piss in Texas, as in, “I wouldn’t [blank] for all the panther piss in Texas!”
    Carry on.

    Reply
  224. I can’t really explain this, but I invented a new expression after reading that last link: all the panther piss in Texas, as in, “I wouldn’t [blank] for all the panther piss in Texas!”
    Carry on.

    Reply
  225. I can’t really explain this, but I invented a new expression after reading that last link: all the panther piss in Texas, as in, “I wouldn’t [blank] for all the panther piss in Texas!”
    Carry on.

    Reply
  226. “That there may have been dinosaurs on Noah’s ark, and the reason there are no dinosaurs now is that Noah only brought baby dinosaurs that starved to death when he let them loose back on land.”
    Well, duh.

    Reply
  227. “That there may have been dinosaurs on Noah’s ark, and the reason there are no dinosaurs now is that Noah only brought baby dinosaurs that starved to death when he let them loose back on land.”
    Well, duh.

    Reply
  228. “That there may have been dinosaurs on Noah’s ark, and the reason there are no dinosaurs now is that Noah only brought baby dinosaurs that starved to death when he let them loose back on land.”
    Well, duh.

    Reply
  229. The RNC has warehouses full of #AllUpInThereWithCruz and #StuckWithRubio … JeezIsThatIt?!$!?? swag ready to go if the #NeverTrump gambit fizzles.
    Also #HowdyHueyLong, #TheNew4H -HitlerHeidrichHimmlerHess!, and #TakeYourBestShotSuckers! coffee cups, key chains, bumper stickers, and designer SK-47s ready to go if they decide to go full fascist BEFORE the election instead of keeping things on the down low like they are now.

    Reply
  230. The RNC has warehouses full of #AllUpInThereWithCruz and #StuckWithRubio … JeezIsThatIt?!$!?? swag ready to go if the #NeverTrump gambit fizzles.
    Also #HowdyHueyLong, #TheNew4H -HitlerHeidrichHimmlerHess!, and #TakeYourBestShotSuckers! coffee cups, key chains, bumper stickers, and designer SK-47s ready to go if they decide to go full fascist BEFORE the election instead of keeping things on the down low like they are now.

    Reply
  231. The RNC has warehouses full of #AllUpInThereWithCruz and #StuckWithRubio … JeezIsThatIt?!$!?? swag ready to go if the #NeverTrump gambit fizzles.
    Also #HowdyHueyLong, #TheNew4H -HitlerHeidrichHimmlerHess!, and #TakeYourBestShotSuckers! coffee cups, key chains, bumper stickers, and designer SK-47s ready to go if they decide to go full fascist BEFORE the election instead of keeping things on the down low like they are now.

    Reply
  232. Here’s what short, declarative sentences look like:
    https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/03/04/i-give-you-all-ive-got-to-give-rings-and-pearls-and-all/
    What part of “Fuck You” don’t we get?
    These are the ravages of Grover Norquist’s Americans For Tax Reform movement at the state and local level, where they now reside, pending a return to running the Federal Government into the ground.
    The short, declarative sentence of a baby with its head held under in the bathtub: “Glug …”

    Reply
  233. Here’s what short, declarative sentences look like:
    https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/03/04/i-give-you-all-ive-got-to-give-rings-and-pearls-and-all/
    What part of “Fuck You” don’t we get?
    These are the ravages of Grover Norquist’s Americans For Tax Reform movement at the state and local level, where they now reside, pending a return to running the Federal Government into the ground.
    The short, declarative sentence of a baby with its head held under in the bathtub: “Glug …”

    Reply
  234. Here’s what short, declarative sentences look like:
    https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/03/04/i-give-you-all-ive-got-to-give-rings-and-pearls-and-all/
    What part of “Fuck You” don’t we get?
    These are the ravages of Grover Norquist’s Americans For Tax Reform movement at the state and local level, where they now reside, pending a return to running the Federal Government into the ground.
    The short, declarative sentence of a baby with its head held under in the bathtub: “Glug …”

    Reply
  235. Digby linked to this–
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/secret-donald-trump-voters-speak-out
    The lefty Trump voters interest me– it’s basically a middle finger to the establishment vote, which I understand. Too risky and self destructive, of course. I think they are being stupid in the extreme, but I understand the temptation.
    The one person who really made my head explode supports the BDS movement against Israel, but also supports Trump’s call to keep Muslims out. Sometimes I think the reason we stereotype supporters of a candidate is because when you start looking at people as individuals, the results are often too weird to process.

    Reply
  236. Digby linked to this–
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/secret-donald-trump-voters-speak-out
    The lefty Trump voters interest me– it’s basically a middle finger to the establishment vote, which I understand. Too risky and self destructive, of course. I think they are being stupid in the extreme, but I understand the temptation.
    The one person who really made my head explode supports the BDS movement against Israel, but also supports Trump’s call to keep Muslims out. Sometimes I think the reason we stereotype supporters of a candidate is because when you start looking at people as individuals, the results are often too weird to process.

    Reply
  237. Digby linked to this–
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/secret-donald-trump-voters-speak-out
    The lefty Trump voters interest me– it’s basically a middle finger to the establishment vote, which I understand. Too risky and self destructive, of course. I think they are being stupid in the extreme, but I understand the temptation.
    The one person who really made my head explode supports the BDS movement against Israel, but also supports Trump’s call to keep Muslims out. Sometimes I think the reason we stereotype supporters of a candidate is because when you start looking at people as individuals, the results are often too weird to process.

    Reply
  238. I have to say that I’m somewhat gobsmacked by folks who say ‘Trump could be like Hitler’, and follow with ‘let him have his four years’.
    WTF?
    What the emails cited in the Guardian piece remind me of, exactly, are all the folks ca. 1980 explaining why they were breaking with their own personal histories to vote for Reagan.

    Reply
  239. I have to say that I’m somewhat gobsmacked by folks who say ‘Trump could be like Hitler’, and follow with ‘let him have his four years’.
    WTF?
    What the emails cited in the Guardian piece remind me of, exactly, are all the folks ca. 1980 explaining why they were breaking with their own personal histories to vote for Reagan.

    Reply
  240. I have to say that I’m somewhat gobsmacked by folks who say ‘Trump could be like Hitler’, and follow with ‘let him have his four years’.
    WTF?
    What the emails cited in the Guardian piece remind me of, exactly, are all the folks ca. 1980 explaining why they were breaking with their own personal histories to vote for Reagan.

    Reply
  241. Donald Johnson’s link is interesting. I cop to having some affection for the folks in there who believe Trump (the rest of the Republican candidates, too) will heighten the contradictions.
    However:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_German_National_Jews
    I think I’ll make up a quote from Naumann, the German Jew highlighted therein.
    “Nothing works right in Germany. Fools are in charge. My fellow Jews must assimilate and the Nazi Party will get use to us. Have you ridden a train lately? My Gott! Herr Hitler will get them running on time, and furthermore, the trains that now run from Berlin into Eastern Europe will be returning empty, as it should be, without those damned Polish Zionists filling them up! What this country needs is a good one-way train ticket.”

    Reply
  242. Donald Johnson’s link is interesting. I cop to having some affection for the folks in there who believe Trump (the rest of the Republican candidates, too) will heighten the contradictions.
    However:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_German_National_Jews
    I think I’ll make up a quote from Naumann, the German Jew highlighted therein.
    “Nothing works right in Germany. Fools are in charge. My fellow Jews must assimilate and the Nazi Party will get use to us. Have you ridden a train lately? My Gott! Herr Hitler will get them running on time, and furthermore, the trains that now run from Berlin into Eastern Europe will be returning empty, as it should be, without those damned Polish Zionists filling them up! What this country needs is a good one-way train ticket.”

    Reply
  243. Donald Johnson’s link is interesting. I cop to having some affection for the folks in there who believe Trump (the rest of the Republican candidates, too) will heighten the contradictions.
    However:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_German_National_Jews
    I think I’ll make up a quote from Naumann, the German Jew highlighted therein.
    “Nothing works right in Germany. Fools are in charge. My fellow Jews must assimilate and the Nazi Party will get use to us. Have you ridden a train lately? My Gott! Herr Hitler will get them running on time, and furthermore, the trains that now run from Berlin into Eastern Europe will be returning empty, as it should be, without those damned Polish Zionists filling them up! What this country needs is a good one-way train ticket.”

    Reply
  244. Marty: “(Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).”
    Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.

    Reply
  245. Marty: “(Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).”
    Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.

    Reply
  246. Marty: “(Net immigration has been negative for 7 years, odd that those stats changed so dramatically in Obamas first year of releasing them, but heck I’ll give it to Drum).”
    Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.

    Reply
  247. “Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.”
    Barack Obama, and John McCain, were accorded the honor in September of 2008, as mere candidates, before either of them was elected, or not, by the American people — they weren’t even lame duck Presidents, let alone President yet — of an invite to sit in on the meetings regarding the cascading financial crash by President Bush’s White House.
    But, now that Obama has been and is still elected President, his voice is shushed by the Republican Congress on all other of the country’s business.

    Reply
  248. “Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.”
    Barack Obama, and John McCain, were accorded the honor in September of 2008, as mere candidates, before either of them was elected, or not, by the American people — they weren’t even lame duck Presidents, let alone President yet — of an invite to sit in on the meetings regarding the cascading financial crash by President Bush’s White House.
    But, now that Obama has been and is still elected President, his voice is shushed by the Republican Congress on all other of the country’s business.

    Reply
  249. “Well, we now know that Mart is in the 1%, because the Great Financial Crash was beneath his notice.”
    Barack Obama, and John McCain, were accorded the honor in September of 2008, as mere candidates, before either of them was elected, or not, by the American people — they weren’t even lame duck Presidents, let alone President yet — of an invite to sit in on the meetings regarding the cascading financial crash by President Bush’s White House.
    But, now that Obama has been and is still elected President, his voice is shushed by the Republican Congress on all other of the country’s business.

    Reply
  250. Hilzoy’s notion that a road back needs to be created is a tribute to her humanity, but in practice, we could build a 16 lane superhighway back to sanity, and it would not make one whit of difference.
    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/trumps-ability-to-attract-evangelical-voters-confounds-analysts/
    About Trump and evangelical voters. In order to work with people, you have to believe that they are going to be consistent about what they say and do. The above proves that this doesn’t obtain with any on the religious right.
    Krauthammer has a tedious piece about how evangelical voters are going to Trump because they want to be ‘protected’, which may or may not be true (but you are not going to lose very often betting against what Krauthammer says), but this is absolutely right
    A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump evangelical voices have argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of the seven deadly sins.
    The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.

    Reply
  251. Hilzoy’s notion that a road back needs to be created is a tribute to her humanity, but in practice, we could build a 16 lane superhighway back to sanity, and it would not make one whit of difference.
    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/trumps-ability-to-attract-evangelical-voters-confounds-analysts/
    About Trump and evangelical voters. In order to work with people, you have to believe that they are going to be consistent about what they say and do. The above proves that this doesn’t obtain with any on the religious right.
    Krauthammer has a tedious piece about how evangelical voters are going to Trump because they want to be ‘protected’, which may or may not be true (but you are not going to lose very often betting against what Krauthammer says), but this is absolutely right
    A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump evangelical voices have argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of the seven deadly sins.
    The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.

    Reply
  252. Hilzoy’s notion that a road back needs to be created is a tribute to her humanity, but in practice, we could build a 16 lane superhighway back to sanity, and it would not make one whit of difference.
    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/trumps-ability-to-attract-evangelical-voters-confounds-analysts/
    About Trump and evangelical voters. In order to work with people, you have to believe that they are going to be consistent about what they say and do. The above proves that this doesn’t obtain with any on the religious right.
    Krauthammer has a tedious piece about how evangelical voters are going to Trump because they want to be ‘protected’, which may or may not be true (but you are not going to lose very often betting against what Krauthammer says), but this is absolutely right
    A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump evangelical voices have argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of the seven deadly sins.
    The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.

    Reply
  253. Wow that “The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.” is amazing. I’m going to have to steal that at some point.

    Reply
  254. Wow that “The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.” is amazing. I’m going to have to steal that at some point.

    Reply
  255. Wow that “The idea that the principles of the religious right are things that need to be acknowledged is just another one of those pieces of wisdom that has no basis in fact. A pity it took a person like Trump to show that was the case.” is amazing. I’m going to have to steal that at some point.

    Reply
  256. “Whoever is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.”
    I think with conservative Evangelicals, the problem is not that they can’t find a guy who is without sin (after all, without sin, where would they be, and besides it was probably Strom Thurmond or Jimmy Swaggart … rhymes with Dagny Taggart … who got HER in trouble in the first place?) but rather that the taxes on stones and the throwing hereof … usually at HER, and whomever else can be identified as the Other … are prohibitive.
    And we know who’s fault that is.
    The Republican Party’s Chamber of Commerce/Ayn Rand tax-hating base needs the religious right vote to put them over the top. The 49% require that extra bit of hate to get them to the promised land.
    As Mitt Romney told us, and Donald Trump took to heart as the key to winning.
    Ted Cruz is a whole nother sort of BalRog.
    Get rid of the taxes on stones and behold the spectacle of the Others being stoned tax-free … what an incentive … in the streets and they are well on their way to ridding themselves of the estate taxes, corporate taxes, Obamacare taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes too.

    Reply
  257. “Whoever is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.”
    I think with conservative Evangelicals, the problem is not that they can’t find a guy who is without sin (after all, without sin, where would they be, and besides it was probably Strom Thurmond or Jimmy Swaggart … rhymes with Dagny Taggart … who got HER in trouble in the first place?) but rather that the taxes on stones and the throwing hereof … usually at HER, and whomever else can be identified as the Other … are prohibitive.
    And we know who’s fault that is.
    The Republican Party’s Chamber of Commerce/Ayn Rand tax-hating base needs the religious right vote to put them over the top. The 49% require that extra bit of hate to get them to the promised land.
    As Mitt Romney told us, and Donald Trump took to heart as the key to winning.
    Ted Cruz is a whole nother sort of BalRog.
    Get rid of the taxes on stones and behold the spectacle of the Others being stoned tax-free … what an incentive … in the streets and they are well on their way to ridding themselves of the estate taxes, corporate taxes, Obamacare taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes too.

    Reply
  258. “Whoever is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.”
    I think with conservative Evangelicals, the problem is not that they can’t find a guy who is without sin (after all, without sin, where would they be, and besides it was probably Strom Thurmond or Jimmy Swaggart … rhymes with Dagny Taggart … who got HER in trouble in the first place?) but rather that the taxes on stones and the throwing hereof … usually at HER, and whomever else can be identified as the Other … are prohibitive.
    And we know who’s fault that is.
    The Republican Party’s Chamber of Commerce/Ayn Rand tax-hating base needs the religious right vote to put them over the top. The 49% require that extra bit of hate to get them to the promised land.
    As Mitt Romney told us, and Donald Trump took to heart as the key to winning.
    Ted Cruz is a whole nother sort of BalRog.
    Get rid of the taxes on stones and behold the spectacle of the Others being stoned tax-free … what an incentive … in the streets and they are well on their way to ridding themselves of the estate taxes, corporate taxes, Obamacare taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes too.

    Reply
  259. Yes, but we had to approve an Amendment last November to allow the State to keep the $66 million collected on marijuana taxes.
    Otherwise, jailbird Doug Bruce’s Tabor Amendment would have made them give it all back.
    Stoned Republicans from all over the country fly here in private jets and load up on weed.
    Which contradicts Ronald Reagan’s dictum that if you want less of something, tax it.
    Despite Nancy’s googly-eyes toward her husband.
    I don’t partake, though I wouldn’t mind dropping a hit of acid during the next Republican debate to see if the hilarity is heightened.

    Reply
  260. Yes, but we had to approve an Amendment last November to allow the State to keep the $66 million collected on marijuana taxes.
    Otherwise, jailbird Doug Bruce’s Tabor Amendment would have made them give it all back.
    Stoned Republicans from all over the country fly here in private jets and load up on weed.
    Which contradicts Ronald Reagan’s dictum that if you want less of something, tax it.
    Despite Nancy’s googly-eyes toward her husband.
    I don’t partake, though I wouldn’t mind dropping a hit of acid during the next Republican debate to see if the hilarity is heightened.

    Reply
  261. Yes, but we had to approve an Amendment last November to allow the State to keep the $66 million collected on marijuana taxes.
    Otherwise, jailbird Doug Bruce’s Tabor Amendment would have made them give it all back.
    Stoned Republicans from all over the country fly here in private jets and load up on weed.
    Which contradicts Ronald Reagan’s dictum that if you want less of something, tax it.
    Despite Nancy’s googly-eyes toward her husband.
    I don’t partake, though I wouldn’t mind dropping a hit of acid during the next Republican debate to see if the hilarity is heightened.

    Reply
  262. Corporations, who are the better sort of people, are not going to stand for wages finally starting to rise for the rest of humankind:
    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-sachs-ready-labor-crush-193412094.html
    The wait for rising incomes might be over, and that’s a big problem for those whose incomes have been rising since forever: among them the lucky Goldman Sachs guy who is making the forecast.
    All of those angry Trumpeters, Cruzifiers, and Ruboneoutios who are mad that their standard of living has been falling aren’t going to like it when their incomes finally start to rise under Obama, after being deliberately hobbled these many years by the economic austerity forced down their throats by the very people they are campaigning for.
    Expect drastic action — sharply rising interest rates, doubling down on anti-Union legislation, massive layoffs, and renewed efforts to off-load American jobs into the ether — if the Republicans take the White House.
    Rising wages will not be taken lying down at the expense of corporate productivity.
    And to the extent that rising wages mean a higher tax collection by the government and resulting lower deficits, that will be nipped in the bud too.

    Reply
  263. Corporations, who are the better sort of people, are not going to stand for wages finally starting to rise for the rest of humankind:
    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-sachs-ready-labor-crush-193412094.html
    The wait for rising incomes might be over, and that’s a big problem for those whose incomes have been rising since forever: among them the lucky Goldman Sachs guy who is making the forecast.
    All of those angry Trumpeters, Cruzifiers, and Ruboneoutios who are mad that their standard of living has been falling aren’t going to like it when their incomes finally start to rise under Obama, after being deliberately hobbled these many years by the economic austerity forced down their throats by the very people they are campaigning for.
    Expect drastic action — sharply rising interest rates, doubling down on anti-Union legislation, massive layoffs, and renewed efforts to off-load American jobs into the ether — if the Republicans take the White House.
    Rising wages will not be taken lying down at the expense of corporate productivity.
    And to the extent that rising wages mean a higher tax collection by the government and resulting lower deficits, that will be nipped in the bud too.

    Reply
  264. Corporations, who are the better sort of people, are not going to stand for wages finally starting to rise for the rest of humankind:
    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-sachs-ready-labor-crush-193412094.html
    The wait for rising incomes might be over, and that’s a big problem for those whose incomes have been rising since forever: among them the lucky Goldman Sachs guy who is making the forecast.
    All of those angry Trumpeters, Cruzifiers, and Ruboneoutios who are mad that their standard of living has been falling aren’t going to like it when their incomes finally start to rise under Obama, after being deliberately hobbled these many years by the economic austerity forced down their throats by the very people they are campaigning for.
    Expect drastic action — sharply rising interest rates, doubling down on anti-Union legislation, massive layoffs, and renewed efforts to off-load American jobs into the ether — if the Republicans take the White House.
    Rising wages will not be taken lying down at the expense of corporate productivity.
    And to the extent that rising wages mean a higher tax collection by the government and resulting lower deficits, that will be nipped in the bud too.

    Reply
  265. Trump! Does Rubes now drop out and endorse Cruz in an attempt to throw FL to him? Same for Kasich in Ohio? More importantly, make Trump go one on one with Cruz in Thursday’s debate. Whee!

    Reply
  266. Trump! Does Rubes now drop out and endorse Cruz in an attempt to throw FL to him? Same for Kasich in Ohio? More importantly, make Trump go one on one with Cruz in Thursday’s debate. Whee!

    Reply
  267. Trump! Does Rubes now drop out and endorse Cruz in an attempt to throw FL to him? Same for Kasich in Ohio? More importantly, make Trump go one on one with Cruz in Thursday’s debate. Whee!

    Reply
  268. Just a little more violence, Ann? Here’s to much more violence:
    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/272864-coulter-id-like-to-see-a-little-more-violence-from-trump
    After all, unless Trump himself actually shoots and kills someone in the street, cold-blooded killer Ted Cruz and the rest of this sorry-assed murderous disgrace of a political party will back and vote for Trump in November.
    Short of that, hey, Trump is a genius with the biggest photo-shopped dick among em. And he has no limits. I mean, Trump believes he’s a god among men. Cruz believes he’s God incarnate.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/cruz-hell-support-trump-shoots-37635389
    So really, what’s the downside for them of massive mob violence now… the stinking pigs?
    I mean, maybe a ton of dead people leading up to the election will take the edge off the murders of 15 million folks on Obamacare and Medicaid AFTER the election next January, and that’s just the first day, as they’ve promised.
    Have you listened to these howling subhuman Republican dogs bellowing for people without medical insurance to die in the streets?
    A lot of armed white racists, probably some of them on Obamacare, have been wound up and are ready to kill:
    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/03/how_donald_trump_happened_racism_against_barack_obama.single.html
    Here’s one of their own they could go after. See, the Republican Party elite wants their own political base dead and decimated. They’ve had nothing but contempt for them, all these years, except as a brownshirted paramilitary force to channel their racism and hatred for the poor.
    http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/12/national-review-writer-working-class-communities-deserve-to-die/
    Here’s a plan. Leaflet all-white thug Trump rallies with right-winger Williamson’s plan, in his own words, for their demise. Give them the addresses of Williamson’s home and the National Review offices and off they’ll go, ready to tear that f*ck to shreds in his front yard.
    Maybe Trump himself will read the juicy bits from Williamson’s Republican editorial to his assembled slavering, torch-carrying murderous followers from the stage.
    What this country needs a good old-fashioned lynch mob.
    The only hope between now and November is Republican-on-Republican violence. At least then we’ll get a chance take a good look at it, in slow-mo, so you can see with your own two eyes what an armed population of aggrieved, nativist, racist Republican filth, whipped into a frenzy by forty years of f*cking Republican hate will do to the rest of us once they steal our government and are united in their hate…. for us.
    What are you gonna do, put up your hands, and whine: “But I’m a moderate conservative! I voted for Ronald Reagan!”
    These monsters don’t give a sh*t about that.
    Many of Trump’s attack dogs will go straight to Cruz’s campaign if the latter wins the nomination.
    They aren’t going away.
    And if the Democrats win the Presidency and make any inroads at all in Congress, the right has expended its rhetorical ammo.
    It’ll be straight to killing violence for them.
    There is no Republican wilderness to retreat to. There is no regrouping. There will be no soul searching among the wiser, cooler heads in the monstrosity called the Republican Party, because there are none anyone wants to listen to, about how to widen their appeal, not after this display of savage, racist, nativist, Randian insanity, because there is no soul to find.
    There is only a bigger, more bloodthirsty soulless monster at the back of the Republican cave.

    Reply
  269. Just a little more violence, Ann? Here’s to much more violence:
    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/272864-coulter-id-like-to-see-a-little-more-violence-from-trump
    After all, unless Trump himself actually shoots and kills someone in the street, cold-blooded killer Ted Cruz and the rest of this sorry-assed murderous disgrace of a political party will back and vote for Trump in November.
    Short of that, hey, Trump is a genius with the biggest photo-shopped dick among em. And he has no limits. I mean, Trump believes he’s a god among men. Cruz believes he’s God incarnate.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/cruz-hell-support-trump-shoots-37635389
    So really, what’s the downside for them of massive mob violence now… the stinking pigs?
    I mean, maybe a ton of dead people leading up to the election will take the edge off the murders of 15 million folks on Obamacare and Medicaid AFTER the election next January, and that’s just the first day, as they’ve promised.
    Have you listened to these howling subhuman Republican dogs bellowing for people without medical insurance to die in the streets?
    A lot of armed white racists, probably some of them on Obamacare, have been wound up and are ready to kill:
    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/03/how_donald_trump_happened_racism_against_barack_obama.single.html
    Here’s one of their own they could go after. See, the Republican Party elite wants their own political base dead and decimated. They’ve had nothing but contempt for them, all these years, except as a brownshirted paramilitary force to channel their racism and hatred for the poor.
    http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/12/national-review-writer-working-class-communities-deserve-to-die/
    Here’s a plan. Leaflet all-white thug Trump rallies with right-winger Williamson’s plan, in his own words, for their demise. Give them the addresses of Williamson’s home and the National Review offices and off they’ll go, ready to tear that f*ck to shreds in his front yard.
    Maybe Trump himself will read the juicy bits from Williamson’s Republican editorial to his assembled slavering, torch-carrying murderous followers from the stage.
    What this country needs a good old-fashioned lynch mob.
    The only hope between now and November is Republican-on-Republican violence. At least then we’ll get a chance take a good look at it, in slow-mo, so you can see with your own two eyes what an armed population of aggrieved, nativist, racist Republican filth, whipped into a frenzy by forty years of f*cking Republican hate will do to the rest of us once they steal our government and are united in their hate…. for us.
    What are you gonna do, put up your hands, and whine: “But I’m a moderate conservative! I voted for Ronald Reagan!”
    These monsters don’t give a sh*t about that.
    Many of Trump’s attack dogs will go straight to Cruz’s campaign if the latter wins the nomination.
    They aren’t going away.
    And if the Democrats win the Presidency and make any inroads at all in Congress, the right has expended its rhetorical ammo.
    It’ll be straight to killing violence for them.
    There is no Republican wilderness to retreat to. There is no regrouping. There will be no soul searching among the wiser, cooler heads in the monstrosity called the Republican Party, because there are none anyone wants to listen to, about how to widen their appeal, not after this display of savage, racist, nativist, Randian insanity, because there is no soul to find.
    There is only a bigger, more bloodthirsty soulless monster at the back of the Republican cave.

    Reply
  270. Just a little more violence, Ann? Here’s to much more violence:
    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/272864-coulter-id-like-to-see-a-little-more-violence-from-trump
    After all, unless Trump himself actually shoots and kills someone in the street, cold-blooded killer Ted Cruz and the rest of this sorry-assed murderous disgrace of a political party will back and vote for Trump in November.
    Short of that, hey, Trump is a genius with the biggest photo-shopped dick among em. And he has no limits. I mean, Trump believes he’s a god among men. Cruz believes he’s God incarnate.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/cruz-hell-support-trump-shoots-37635389
    So really, what’s the downside for them of massive mob violence now… the stinking pigs?
    I mean, maybe a ton of dead people leading up to the election will take the edge off the murders of 15 million folks on Obamacare and Medicaid AFTER the election next January, and that’s just the first day, as they’ve promised.
    Have you listened to these howling subhuman Republican dogs bellowing for people without medical insurance to die in the streets?
    A lot of armed white racists, probably some of them on Obamacare, have been wound up and are ready to kill:
    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/03/how_donald_trump_happened_racism_against_barack_obama.single.html
    Here’s one of their own they could go after. See, the Republican Party elite wants their own political base dead and decimated. They’ve had nothing but contempt for them, all these years, except as a brownshirted paramilitary force to channel their racism and hatred for the poor.
    http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/12/national-review-writer-working-class-communities-deserve-to-die/
    Here’s a plan. Leaflet all-white thug Trump rallies with right-winger Williamson’s plan, in his own words, for their demise. Give them the addresses of Williamson’s home and the National Review offices and off they’ll go, ready to tear that f*ck to shreds in his front yard.
    Maybe Trump himself will read the juicy bits from Williamson’s Republican editorial to his assembled slavering, torch-carrying murderous followers from the stage.
    What this country needs a good old-fashioned lynch mob.
    The only hope between now and November is Republican-on-Republican violence. At least then we’ll get a chance take a good look at it, in slow-mo, so you can see with your own two eyes what an armed population of aggrieved, nativist, racist Republican filth, whipped into a frenzy by forty years of f*cking Republican hate will do to the rest of us once they steal our government and are united in their hate…. for us.
    What are you gonna do, put up your hands, and whine: “But I’m a moderate conservative! I voted for Ronald Reagan!”
    These monsters don’t give a sh*t about that.
    Many of Trump’s attack dogs will go straight to Cruz’s campaign if the latter wins the nomination.
    They aren’t going away.
    And if the Democrats win the Presidency and make any inroads at all in Congress, the right has expended its rhetorical ammo.
    It’ll be straight to killing violence for them.
    There is no Republican wilderness to retreat to. There is no regrouping. There will be no soul searching among the wiser, cooler heads in the monstrosity called the Republican Party, because there are none anyone wants to listen to, about how to widen their appeal, not after this display of savage, racist, nativist, Randian insanity, because there is no soul to find.
    There is only a bigger, more bloodthirsty soulless monster at the back of the Republican cave.

    Reply
  271. If you read Schachtel’s “I’m so shocked that I must, to preserve my journalistic integrity, resign from this den of prevaricators,” resignation comments, let me translate for you, ‘I joined this rat’s nest because I wanted it to serve, not as a journalistic enterprise, but as an unaffiliated media SuperPac for whomever the Republican Nominee for President is and for every other office of importance, including dogcatcher in November against the Democrat Party. Really, I refuse to put Trump’s dick in my mouth in this fashion. Andrew Breitbart’s dick in my mouth is plenty enough for me.”
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/breitbart-resign-trump-propaganda
    And:
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/our-principles-pac-ad-trump-women
    Another translation is required: “Look”, the subtext of the ad says, “we can’t have a President who says flat out that women should be treated like shit. However, after the Republican nomination is secured by someone other than Trump, then we will renew our commitment to treating that bitch Hillary Clinton like a piece of shit and then instituting policies that do the same for all other women.”
    Small print:
    “If Trump secures the nomination, there is no Plan B. Women will officially be treated like shit by the Party as a whole.”

    Reply
  272. If you read Schachtel’s “I’m so shocked that I must, to preserve my journalistic integrity, resign from this den of prevaricators,” resignation comments, let me translate for you, ‘I joined this rat’s nest because I wanted it to serve, not as a journalistic enterprise, but as an unaffiliated media SuperPac for whomever the Republican Nominee for President is and for every other office of importance, including dogcatcher in November against the Democrat Party. Really, I refuse to put Trump’s dick in my mouth in this fashion. Andrew Breitbart’s dick in my mouth is plenty enough for me.”
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/breitbart-resign-trump-propaganda
    And:
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/our-principles-pac-ad-trump-women
    Another translation is required: “Look”, the subtext of the ad says, “we can’t have a President who says flat out that women should be treated like shit. However, after the Republican nomination is secured by someone other than Trump, then we will renew our commitment to treating that bitch Hillary Clinton like a piece of shit and then instituting policies that do the same for all other women.”
    Small print:
    “If Trump secures the nomination, there is no Plan B. Women will officially be treated like shit by the Party as a whole.”

    Reply
  273. If you read Schachtel’s “I’m so shocked that I must, to preserve my journalistic integrity, resign from this den of prevaricators,” resignation comments, let me translate for you, ‘I joined this rat’s nest because I wanted it to serve, not as a journalistic enterprise, but as an unaffiliated media SuperPac for whomever the Republican Nominee for President is and for every other office of importance, including dogcatcher in November against the Democrat Party. Really, I refuse to put Trump’s dick in my mouth in this fashion. Andrew Breitbart’s dick in my mouth is plenty enough for me.”
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/breitbart-resign-trump-propaganda
    And:
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/our-principles-pac-ad-trump-women
    Another translation is required: “Look”, the subtext of the ad says, “we can’t have a President who says flat out that women should be treated like shit. However, after the Republican nomination is secured by someone other than Trump, then we will renew our commitment to treating that bitch Hillary Clinton like a piece of shit and then instituting policies that do the same for all other women.”
    Small print:
    “If Trump secures the nomination, there is no Plan B. Women will officially be treated like shit by the Party as a whole.”

    Reply

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