Throwdown In Motown (Part 2)
Whew! The second Democratic presidential debates are now officially in the history books. Thankfully, this will likely be the last marathon two-night debate round, as the third debate is likely to cut the field so significantly that those who qualify might all be able to fit on a single stage.
Before I begin discussing last night's debate, I have to address something I should have mentioned yesterday about the first night. It was on the front page of my notes, which only covered all the preliminary nonsense (like the annoying "ready to rumble" video intro CNN saw fit to subject us all to).
There was the presentation of colors, and the national anthem was sung, too, as well as an ad break (just to waste the maximum amount of time possible before the event actually began). But during the anthem, astonishingly, Tim Ryan did not put his hand over his heart. Now, Tim Ryan is a minor candidate and is certainly not going to be the Democratic nominee, but even so I would have expected more blowback about this visual gaffe. Especially from the right. But he appears to have largely gotten away with it -- again, mostly because nobody's paying him the slightest bit of attention in the first place.
OK, enough of that, let's move on to the second night. After another 15 minutes of wasted television time, the debate finally got underway. The second night resembled the first in one superficial way -- there were two candidates at the center of the stage taking heat from just about everyone else. The only big difference on Wednesday was that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were also lobbing potshots at each other (whereas Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren teamed up against all the moderates on Tuesday night).
This was to be expected, of course, due to what happened in the first round of debates. Harris had the breakout moment of the debate by wrangling with Biden over school busing. This inevitably led all the other candidates to attempt a similar takedown of Biden last night. It also painted a big target on Harris, after she experienced a healthy bounce in the polls due to her first debate performance.
What was also different than the first night is that the ideological lines weren't nearly as clear. While on the first night, the two at center stage were progressives fending off attacks from moderates, on the second night Joe Biden was defending the moderate positions and Harris was attempting to straddle both the progressive and moderate lanes simultaneously, while some of the potshots they were taking came from much more progressive candidates, while others were launched by even-more-moderate candidates. So it was a lot messier ideologically than the first night, when the battle lines were a lot more clearly drawn.
Something few have been commenting on since last night's debate is the fact that CNN intentionally refused to create what most people were expecting to be one of the biggest fights of the night. What with Donald Trump fanning the flames of racism on a regular basis over the past few weeks, it seemed likely that racial politics would be a big issue. Bizarrely, CNN refused to make it a big issue. They asked one truncated round of questions on race, but they only asked these questions of the following candidates: Michael Bennet, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang, Julián Castro, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Three white people, one Asian, and one Latino, in other words. CNN did not pose the race question to either Kamala Harris or Cory Booker, the two African-Americans on the stage, nor did they ask Joe Biden about it. This is political malpractice, folks. Why on Earth would you refuse to let the African-American candidates weigh in on Trump's racism? It boggles the mind. But, again, few in the media seem to even have taken note of this glaring mistake.
OK, let's get on with the reviews. As always, most of these quotes were hastily jotted down and might not be word-for-word accurate, but they do convey the sense of what was said. I should also point out that the alphabetic order of the candidates last night doesn't lend itself to the nice buildup it did in yesterday's column. Although, statistically, it was a bit odd because other than Andrew Yang we had a roster made up entirely of the front of the alphabet. Random choices mean random lists, in other words. But enough of that, let's dig into each of the candidates from last night.
Michael Bennet
Michael Bennet has kind of a Jekyll/Hyde style of speaking. When he's calm, he speaks very slowly and deliberately and his vocal tones tend to put you to sleep. But then in an instant he can get excited about something and suddenly he's loud and forceful and cannot be ignored. The disparity between the two speaking styles is at times almost jarring to experience.
Bennet is one of the moderates who think the party is going too far to the left and should instead chart a centrist route because otherwise Donald Trump's going to get re-elected. Whether this is true or not is a very open question, but Bennet did a good job making his case last night. He strongly fought against the Medicare For All idea as being too expensive and unworkable, and did a good job making the case that Democrats should have the courage of their convictions -- that if a public option is so much better, then over time everyone will choose it anyway, so why bother forcing them all into it? This is the strongest argument against instituting single-payer all at once, but the moderates don't often make this case clearly enough. Bennet did so last night.
What should have been Bennet's big moment fell a little flat, though. His claim to fame is that he was part of the "Gang of Eight" that wrote a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate with 68 votes. It then went nowhere in the GOP House, but it's still a pretty big accomplishment. But Bennet didn't really succeed in shifting the focus to what he had already done.
Bennet's best moment of the night came as an interjection into the continuing debate between Harris and Biden on school busing. Bennet forcefully pointed out that while what they were arguing about "happened 50 years ago," schools today are just as segregated as they were back then. The line went over very well and got a big round of applause. Bennet also did a pretty good job of refocusing the debate several times back to Donald Trump. Beating Trump should be the focus of everyone on stage, Bennet accurately pointed out.
Bennet's worst moment came at the very end, when he meekly seconded what Julián Castro had to say about impeachment, admitting: "You just said it better than I did."
Bennet likely won't be on the next debate stage, as it's hard to see him getting any sort of polling bump from last night's performance.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden came out swinging, last night. This was a marked difference from his first debate, obviously. There was a bizarre moment during the introductions, as when Kamala Harris walked out on stage, Biden shook her hand and said: "Go easy on me, kid." She didn't, but we'll get to her performance in a moment.
Joe Biden brought his "A" game last night. He was on top of things, he pushed back forcefully whenever he was attacked, and he scored some body blows on the other candidates as well. He was lively and engaged the entire night. His only rather strange quirk was being the only candidate who actually obeyed the moderators when they cut him off. As he did in the first debate, whenever challenged, Biden just abruptly stopped speaking, sometimes tossing out an "anyway" as a catchall closer. This was strange because none of the other candidates paid the slightest attention to being asked to stop speaking, for the most part.
Biden opened with a statement speaking directly to President Trump, where he strongly stated that "love it or leave it" is simply not acceptable in this day and age. His opening statement might just have been the best moment of the entire night for Biden, in fact -- it was that good.
Biden forcefully pushed back against progressive ideas all night long, beginning with healthcare. He derided everyone else's plans for Medicare For All, and defended his own idea of just adding a public option to Obamacare. He especially trained his criticism on Harris, whose own plan had just been unveiled. He even went full-on grandpa at one point, calling Bill de Blasio's plan "a bunch of malarkey." When laying out his own details, Biden occasionally got a little tongue-tied, but for the most part he stated his own position pretty well. He refused to take the bait of everyone else's attacks mostly by just ignoring facts contained within his own plan (such as the fact that not everyone will be covered).
Biden also refused to answer a direct question about Barack Obama's record on deportation. He was challenged directly by Bill de Blasio to state whether he told Obama all the deportations were a good thing to do or not, and Biden just refused to answer one way or the other, weakly trying to make the case "my conversations with the president are private." This was shot down immediately by Cory Booker, but we'll highlight that moment under his own segment. Biden's best line in this whole exchange came at the beginning, where he pointed out that "everything landed on Obama's desk when he became president but locusts."
Biden was also one of only two candidates to be interrupted by chanting from the audience, who took him to task during the deportation discussion. Biden seemed a little rattled by the interruption, but he regained his footing.
On criminal justice, Biden went on the offense against Cory Booker, deriding him for allowing the Newark police to use "stop and frisk" after hiring "the guy Rudy Giuliani used." This is a pretty effective way of making the point that "times were different 15 or 20 years ago," and that it's hard to see actions taken back then through the lens of where we are today. Biden made this "it was a long time ago" case at several points throughout the night, in fact. Biden also brought the fight on criminal justice reform to Kamala Harris, attacking her record as California's attorney general.
One counterpunch from Biden fell awfully flat, at least to my ears. Kirsten Gillibrand brought up what had to be an ancient op-ed Biden had written on the subject of women in the workplace (the very subject matter shows how long ago it must have been). Biden apparently used the phrase "deterioration of the family" to describe why he was against women in the workplace. Gillibrand hit him repeatedly, demanding that he explain what he meant. Biden refused to. But he got downright elitist as he tried to skewer Gillibrand for previously supporting him but now attacking him, pointing out that "the only thing that has changed is you're running for president." Well, duh. Biden seems astonished (and affronted) by the fact that when people run against you they actually will try to beat you -- something I wrote about earlier in relation to his reaction to Harris attacking him. Biden is actually pretty vulnerable on the "now that I'm running for president I've changed my mind" front, but none of the other candidates picked up on Biden's "now that you're running for president" line. I expect some will in the next debate, however, since Biden is indeed vulnerable on this front.
Biden had a few off-the-cuff moments, as when he mistakenly called Cory Booker "the future president" and when he told Bill de Blasio "I love your affection." But he successfully laughed them off in the moment, so they didn't do him any damage.
Joe Biden's worst moment of the night was self-inflicted, though. In his closing statement -- which is supposed to be a well-rehearsed canned statement -- he stumbled over his terms, first talking about "four more years" of Trump in the White House and then (bizarrely) "eight more years" of Trump. He also flubbed the mention of his website, instead incorrectly pointing people to a text number.
All around, though, Joe had a pretty good night. He showed the "fire in the belly" needed to become a presidential nominee, he fought hard and defended his positions (no matter what you might think of them), and he held his own against all comers. You could easily picture him taking his fight to Donald Trump on a future debate stage.
Cory Booker
Cory Booker turned in a pretty solid debate performance, easily living up to his status as the third-highest in the polls on last night's stage. He both dished it out and took it from Joe Biden, easily holding his own.
Booker was interrupted early in the night by a protest in the crowd, but I couldn't make out what they were screaming. Booker appeared a bit rattled, but he eventually got back on track.
Booker made the best case last night that Democrats should stop using Republican talking points to attack each other and instead, as his mother told him: "keep your eyes on the prize" of getting Donald Trump out of the White House. There was a diminished focus on Trump for the entire evening, so Booker bringing the subject up repeatedly was notable. On one level, he's right, but Democrats have to differentiate their candidacies somehow, so it can't just be a contest of who can hate Trump the most. But Booker made a strong case to the others to stop their squabbling.
Booker's best moment came in the midst of Bill de Blasio skewering Joe Biden over Barack Obama's record on deportation. De Blasio pressed Biden mercilessly to "answer the question," which Biden refused to do, insisting that conversations he had with President Obama were private. Booker was given a chance to chime in, and he hit Biden hard, pointing out that Biden was the candidate who loved "invoking Obama's name" whenever it was convenient, so Biden "couldn't have it both ways" and refuse to talk about Obama when it was inconvenient. This was an excellent point, and it was well made by Booker.
Booker also pressured Biden over his history of writing "every major crime bill since the 1980s." Biden is now claiming he's fixing all the problems, but Booker (and a few others) keep pointing out that he can't brag about putting out a fire that he started.
Booker had the most obscure folksy saying last night, when he accused Biden of "dipping into the Kool-Aid, and you don't even know the flavor." Since I've never heard this bit of folk wisdom, I have no idea what it means, making it impossible to comment on. The crowd loved the line, but it left me scratching my head.
As I mentioned, Booker largely lived up to his billing as the third-most-popular candidate on the stage last night. He rose to the occasion, he gave as good as he got, and he even managed to look very presidential at times (something few of the others managed, I should point out). He traded barbs with Biden without getting either angry or disrespectful, and he seemed like one of the most serious voices on the stage last night. All around, a pretty top-notch performance.
Julián Castro
Last time around, Julián Castro had a good debate night, mixing it up with his fellow Texan Beto O'Rourke. This time around, they drew different nights, and the absence of O'Rourke seemed to diminish Castro last night.
Castro delivered one canned talking point that was pretty good, but it didn't get much notice. When asked about his plan to decriminalize border crossing (make it a civil offense rather than a criminal one), he accused the moderator of using a "Republican talking point" and then said: "You're not electing me to follow. You're electing me to lead." That is an all-around great line for any candidate to utter, but somehow it lacked the punch it should have had (it did come quite early in the night).
Castro's best moment came against Joe Biden, after Biden made the case to keep border-crossing a criminal offense. Biden pointed out that they had both been in Obama's cabinet, but that he had never heard Castro raise the issue in a meeting. Castro shot back with a great retort: "One of us has learned the lessons of the past. One of us has not." The crowd absolutely loved this line.
Castro also didn't mince words about Trump, at one point baldly stating: "The president is a racist." This is true, and it's good to hear it bluntly stated by Democrats. Castro later got a big hand for pointing out that Donald Trump loves to take credit for things he shouldn't get any credit for -- especially when it comes to the economy Barack Obama turned over to him.
But for most of the night, Castro was pretty subdued. He seems to me to be one of those candidates who are running in a year they probably shouldn't have. Castro might have had a better chance in 2016, or maybe in another few election cycles. Perhaps that's just me, but he just seems somehow out of sync with what's going on right now.
Bill De Blasio
Bill de Blasio, New York City's mayor, is for some reason running for president.
De Blasio is pretty far toward the progressive end of the scale of those running, but he just isn't that well-known outside of the Big Apple, and he hasn't done much to make a splash yet. Last night he tried once again, but largely failed to create a breakout moment.
De Blasio wasn't afraid to attack others on stage last night, going after not just Biden and Harris but also various others (when pressed, he said that Michael Bennet was "fearmongering" on healthcare). Without Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren on stage to make the Medicare For All case, it was left to de Blasio to defend -- which he tried to do and succeeded to some extent.
De Blasio also mixed it up with Biden on Obama's deportation record, demanding to know whether Biden was complicit in the policy or not. Biden refused to answer, which set up a memorable exchange, but unfortunately for de Blasio it was Cory Booker who landed the biggest punch on Biden during it.
De Blasio's best moment was likely when he spoke about his efforts to get rid of lead in the water in New York City. He proudly noted what he had achieved, and ended with a call to "fix it" on a national scale. "It can be done," he closed with, which was a strong answer for him all around.
But no matter how hard he tried, de Blasio just never rose to the level of serious consideration to be the Democratic nominee for president. His agenda isn't that different than that of Sanders and Warren, and they're a heck of a lot more likeable. De Blasio tried to push his campaign theme "Tax the hell out of the rich" several times, most notably at the end where he gave "taxthehell.com" as his go-to web address.
Bill de Blasio, though, likely won't be around for the third debate.
Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard tried to create some breakout moments for herself in last night's debate, but she largely failed to do so.
Her two biggest moments both came in attacks on Kamala Harris. After Harris name-dropped Kathleen Sebelius for supporting her new healthcare reform plan, Gabbard accurately pointed out that of course Sebelius would be for it because Sebelius now makes money from a company that offers Medicare Advantage plans. This should have been a body blow to Harris, but it got kind of lost in her debate with Biden over their respective plans.
Gabbard's other big moment came when she ripped into Harris for her record as attorney general. Gabbard stated that Harris "put 1,500 people in jail for marijuana and then laughed about smoking weed" in an interview. Harris is indeed weak on this issue, as she was strongly against California legalizing recreational marijuana when she was the state's top cop. Gabbard used the statistic well, and her delivery was excellent as well, which is one reason why this line is getting some attention today.
But other than a few bright moments, Gabbard was pretty forgettable last night. It's highly doubtful she'll be on stage for the third debate, so last night was probably her swansong.
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand improved dramatically over her first debate performance, but it's doubtful whether it'll wind up doing her any good or not in the polls. The first time around, Gillibrand tried to horn in on every answer, interjecting herself into the fray as often as she could. None of that was on display last night, thankfully.
Gillibrand was with the progressives last night, helping defend progressive stances against the moderates' disdain. But she was in a decidedly supporting role, if not merely a bit player, in this ideological debate. Nobody else is afraid of her, so nobody bothered attacking her, to put it bluntly. She tried attacking others at various times, but even that mostly went unnoticed.
Gillibrand, surprisingly, had a very good moment on the question of racial politics. She admitted her own white privilege to the audience and still made a strong case for herself on race -- and the crowd loved her for it! She got a big hand, which was indeed surprising since she was possibly the whitest person on the stage. Gillibrand also, as previously noted, had a good exchange with Biden on women in the workplace, hitting him for his old op-ed and righteously demanding an explanation (which Biden didn't give).
But her best moment of the night came when Gillibrand delivered the funniest line of the night, that the first thing she'd do as president would be to "Clorox the Oval Office." She then followed up with a rousing call to attack climate change on the same level as J.F.K.'s moonshot, quoting his "we do it because it is hard" line very effectively. She ended by challenging the nation to enter into a "green energy race with China." This entire answer was well-delivered and well-received by the audience.
Gillibrand's worst moment was when she was caught napping during the back-and-forth between Cory Booker and Joe Biden on Obama's immigration record. Gillibrand was called on, and reacted with her imitation of a deer in the headlights. "Um..." she started with, and just left that hanging for far too long before trotting out a few weak talking points. This was almost on a par with Rick Perry's "oops" debate moment.
But again, few will care because Kirsten Gillibrand simply isn't a major candidate at all. She will almost certainly not be around for the next debate.
Kamala Harris
Kamala got top billing last night with Joe Biden, and she mostly lived up to the newfound attention. Her performance wasn't the breakout one she had managed in the first debate, but that was always going to be hard to top.
Harris had to pivot last night, from being Biden's chief antagonist to being both that and a target for other candidates to attack. Her rise in the polls put a big target on her back, in other words. For the most part, she handled this pretty well, although at times her delivery got a little shaky.
Harris got immediate attention as the first question was on her newly-released healthcare plan. She has been criticized for trying to be all things to all voters, and her new plan is part of this effort. She is for Medicare For All, but unlike the others who support it Harris would not make it single-payer. She would continue Medicare Advantage plans and allow the insurance companies to offer such plans to everyone. She would get rid of employer-based health insurance, but she would phase it in over 10 years rather than the shorter timelines others have proposed.
She got a lot of criticism for her plan, from both sides. Some complained it didn't go far enough, some complained it went way too far or would be too expensive. Throughout it all she did a pretty good job of defending her position, while simultaneously attacking Biden for being too timid and leaving 10 million people uninsured.
As noted, neither Cory Booker nor Kamala Harris got the direct question on race and racial politics, which was just downright bizarre. However, Harris did have one great moment during a discussion with Biden over his past chumminess with segregationists in the Senate, when Harris pointed out that if the segregationists had had their way neither she nor Booker would be a United States senator at the moment, nor would Barack Obama have ever become president. This was a well-delivered line, even if it was merely rehashing the debate she had last time with Biden.
I did notice something new with Harris, and it wasn't a good thing. Harris got almost snotty at times when dismissing the other candidates on the stage. Several times she pointed out how she "got things done" unlike those who merely sat in legislative bodies and talked about stuff. This is condescending, and it'd be wise for Harris to avoid making this point in the future. Just on tone alone it smacks of "you shouldn't even be on this stage with me," which is pretty elitist.
Harris was the champion of ignoring the time limits last night, and I'd be willing to bet she's near the top of the list of which candidates got the most airtime as a result. She just bowled over the moderators who tried to stop her, at times going on for whole extra paragraphs.
Harris is quite obviously making the case to the voters that she would be the best one to take on Trump. Joe Biden is no more than a stand-in for Trump, in a way. Harris going after Biden as hard as she can shows that she definitely has the fire in the belly to take on Trump in a debate. She largely achieved reinforcing this basic impression last night, although because she was also taking incoming fire she didn't do so quite as well as her first debate performance. But all around, Harris had a pretty good night last night.
Jay Inslee
Who? Oh, that white guy from Washington state who is running to be the head of the E.P.A. under the next Democratic president.
Forgive my snarkiness, but that's how it seems to me. Inslee is a one-trick pony, and even though his chosen issue is one of the top (if not the number one) issues voters want to hear about from Democratic candidates, it's just not enough to consider making him the party's nominee. He does have a rather impressive record as governor of Washington, but that's not really what he's running on, so it's kind of a second thought always.
Inslee did get animated when Joe Biden talked about coal and fossil fuel, and the two got in a heated exchange that Inslee largely won with: "We can not 'work it out' -- it's too late!"
Inslee's best moment of the night was when he took it directly to Trump, flatly stating: "We can no longer allow a white nationalist in the White House." This was strongly delivered, and I wish more candidates would state the case this starkly.
His worst moment should have been one of his best, as he challenged all the senators on stage to support getting rid of the filibuster, because otherwise nothing would get done with Mitch McConnell gumming up the works -- even if Democrats took back the Senate. However, his delivery of this call to arms was way too long-winded and by the time he got around to using the word "filibuster" everyone had tuned out. Which is a shame, because I would love to hear all the candidates debate whether this would be a good idea or not.
But Inslee is yet another candidate that won't be around for the next debate, so last night was probably his last time in front of a national debate audience.
Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang, once again, did not wear a tie to the debate.
Personally, I could not care less about sartorial distinctions, but apparently some do, as Yang pointed out in his closing speech.
Yang is also a one-trick pony candidate, with his big issue being a "universal basic income" of a thousand bucks a month for every adult.
As with Inslee and climate change, Yang's pet idea is an important one. Even if you don't agree with his solution, he's the only candidate addressing a monumental change the country is going through -- the automation of millions of jobs. Robots are the ones stealing our jobs, not immigrants, and Yang forcefully points this out every chance he gets. He's not wrong to do so, because the disruption this is causing is very real to many voters and will get even more real when jobs like truck driving start disappearing as well. Again, you may not agree with his solution, but kudos to Yang for correctly identifying a problem that most politicians are comfortable ignoring.
Yang's best moment was well-rehearsed, since he uses this line in every speech. During his opening statement, Yang trotted it out again: "I am the opposite of Donald Trump, an Asian man who likes math!" Yang had a big contingent of his supporters in the audience, who wildly cheered this and just about everything else he said throughout the night.
Yang may make the next debate stage, as his base is small but incredibly committed. He could get over the two percent mark in enough polls to return, so we'll likely hear from him at least one more time.
OK, once again that's going to have to be it for now. I'll have some overall conclusions about the two nights of Democratic debate, but they're going to have to wait until tomorrow's column, as this one is already long enough.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
M. Bennet
If every other First World Country can provide universal health care of high quality to its citizens, why can't the US? In fact, they all find different ways to achieve it. So, how hard can it be? Are we the USA special? Special used in the same sense as "slow" or "dim" or "dumber than a box of rocks." Bennet is making an excuse, not a case.
What a crock of Betty! Just more cake-filled commentary drawing fake battle lines between all of the cake-backed candidates! Shame on you cw for failing to pay due and proper attention to ideas like voting based on pie!
I've only read transcripts (CNN seems to have supressed live feeds ouside their network) but Biden seems to have had a strong night. A Biden without a few gaffes is probably an imposter. My sense is he helped his cause. For now.
Regarding Kamala Harris. I don't see anything inherently wrong with letting insurance companies participate in a universal health care program. I believe Germany does that. If I'm wrong, I'm sure some Germans will let me know. I had a great dinner with some German behavioral biologists last week....they all think Trump is an idiot scoundrel...but health care never came up. They were complimentary about our local wines.
[4] TS: Yes, Harris' bill allows the continued existence of private insurers but puts them out on something like the ACA Exchanges, decoupling health insurance from employment. I like that move but there are always "afraid of any change" types who won't.
Nypoet
I see no reason why Corporate Pie can't play a role in a
Ubiversal Pie Program...so long there is a Public Pie Option. Let's stop this unseemly pie fight.
Paula -5.
Other advanced countries achieve levels of health care giving comparable outcomes to ours at a fraction of the cost. What the Hell is wrong with us? Simple answer- corporate greed, and no attempt to rein it in. Biggest economic player in my home town.? Health care. They are building a second hospital system in the suburbs when the we already have in the city is modern and works just fine. A complete waste of resources.
Companies that manufacture and market drugs should be isolated from the drug research and testing process. USA drug patent law has become a license to grift. Influence peddling by drug companies aimed at doctors presciption prescription process is standard practice.
Another great summary, CW. :)
Dearest Democratic Candidates,
I will cut right to the chase.
You can debate it until you're Blue in the face, but it took nearly a century to achieve the idea first proposed by Teddy Roosevelt and progressive health care reformers around the time of the sinking of the Titanic, and successful passage of another Olympic health care bill in such a short time after the one centuries in the making has about as much chance of successful passage as the Titanic. That ship has sailed.
Now that that's settled, I have an announcement to make: The 2020 election is a referendum on Trump. Full Stop.
A debate answer about health care should discuss how Trump and Republicans have done everything in their power to take away health care (and still are) accompanied by you explaining how you'll protect that from happening. That's how you won the midterms, and that's how you'll win in 2020. It's not at all complicated.
You want "Big Ideas!"? It doesn't get much bigger than saving our Democracy and the system of checks and balances that our Founders entrusted to "We the People." The other minutiae is a waste of time. Now get your shit together for the Third Debate and stop all the bickering about petty shit. Class dismissed.
Also: I like the pie idea. ;)
Moved forward
Another One Bites the Dust
Wow. I did not even make it through a single day without having to update my list. Will Hurd has announced today that he will not seek reelection. Hurd almost lost his seat in the Blue Wave of 2018, and his opponent in 2018 is running again. TX-23 is ripe for the flipping, and that is one huge chunk of Texas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_23rd_congressional_district
Overall, the candidates stepped into CNN's buzz saw without ever seeing it coming.
The truth is, there's more that unites all of the candidates than what divides them. That gets lost in the bickering.
And, as someone pointed out, eventually they all have to support whomever wins.
I'm with Kick. The 2020 election is a referendum on Trump. Full stop.
Let's hope that the third debate isn't quite the gory battle that these two were..
But during the anthem, astonishingly, Tim Ryan did not put his hand over his heart.
A Democrat who hates America..
Shocking??
Hardly.... :^/
CNN did not pose the race question to either Kamala Harris or Cory Booker, the two African-Americans on the stage, nor did they ask Joe Biden about it. This is political malpractice, folks.
Agreed.. But we ARE talking CNN here, so..... :^/
Why on Earth would you refuse to let the African-American candidates weigh in on Trump's racism?
What "racism" would that be??
The "racism" of Bernie Sanders and Elija Cummings where President Trump joined them in condemning the shithole that is Baltimore???
Or would that be the "racism" where President Trump's policies has made unemployment for black Americans at it's LOWEST point EVER...
LOWEST... POINT.... EVER.....
Or maybe you mean the "racism" where President Trump went to bat for the black American rapper in Sweden???
Or it's possible you mean the "racism" where President Trump has enacted criminal justice policies and law that distinctly help black Americans who are incarcerated???
Or, is it the "racism" that prompted Rev Jesse Jackson to honor President Trump for his "lifetime of service to black Americans"..
Would that be the "racism" that you are referring to??
Com'on.. This is a REALITY based forum.. How can you accuse a person who has done all of the above and more FOR black Americans.. How can you accuse that person of "racism"??
I mean, President Trump is a pretty shitty "racist" what with him doing so much GOOD for black Americans..
Can the Party bullshit.. It's beneath you...
Let's see some FACTS that prove this "racism" you speak of..
For the record, let's agree to define "FACT" of racism as an action or statement that has NO OTHER POSSIBLE meaning but racism..
I'll be waiting.. And waiting... And waiting.. And waiting.. :D
Bennet is one of the moderates who think the party is going too far to the left and should instead chart a centrist route because otherwise Donald Trump's going to get re-elected. Whether this is true or not is a very open question, but Bennet did a good job making his case last night.
What's your opinion??
Do you believe the Overton window has moved too far Left to produce a viable General Election candidate??
It's a reasonable question.. :D
He strongly fought against the Medicare For All idea as being too expensive and unworkable, and did a good job making the case that Democrats should have the courage of their convictions -- that if a public option is so much better, then over time everyone will choose it anyway, so why bother forcing them all into it? This is the strongest argument against instituting single-payer all at once, but the moderates don't often make this case clearly enough. Bennet did so last night.
Sounds like you agree with Bennet in that regard..
It makes sense..
If something is so good, why not let Americans find their own way???
I would LOVE to hear an answer to that questions from the denizens of Weigantia.
But I know I'll be waiting.. and waiting... and waiting... and waiting.. :D
Bennet likely won't be on the next debate stage, as it's hard to see him getting any sort of polling bump from last night's performance.
Yep...
Democrats want Party Purity over pragmatism and reality...
:eyeroll:
Biden opened with a statement speaking directly to President Trump, where he strongly stated that "love it or leave it" is simply not acceptable in this day and age.
I beg to differ..
Love it or leave it with regards to America is even MORE important now than ever before..
Because we are seeing so many FACTS that show Democrats hate America...
You could easily picture him taking his fight to Donald Trump on a future debate stage.
Yea, but no one can see him actually being allowed to..
Biden's electability argument has fallen by the wayside, sacrificed to the gods of Party Purity... :^/
There was a diminished focus on Trump for the entire evening, so Booker bringing the subject up repeatedly was notable.
Yea.. Democrats attacked Obama more than President Trump..
That was a sight to behold. :D
Booker made the best case last night that Democrats should stop using Republican talking points to attack each other and instead,
Aw com'on.. Let's call them what they are.. Democrat Talking Points.. :D
Booker had the most obscure folksy saying last night, when he accused Biden of "dipping into the Kool-Aid, and you don't even know the flavor." Since I've never heard this bit of folk wisdom, I have no idea what it means, making it impossible to comment on. The crowd loved the line, but it left me scratching my head.
Yea, I am in the same boat with you on that one..
Would love to know what exactly that means..
As I mentioned, Booker largely lived up to his billing as the third-most-popular candidate on the stage last night. He rose to the occasion, he gave as good as he got, and he even managed to look very presidential at times (something few of the others managed, I should point out). He traded barbs with Biden without getting either angry or disrespectful, and he seemed like one of the most serious voices on the stage last night. All around, a pretty top-notch performance.
Chances of him winning the nomination?? :D
Castro's best moment came against Joe Biden, after Biden made the case to keep border-crossing a criminal offense. Biden pointed out that they had both been in Obama's cabinet, but that he had never heard Castro raise the issue in a meeting. Castro shot back with a great retort: "One of us has learned the lessons of the past. One of us has not." The crowd absolutely loved this line.
It would have been more effective if Castro could elucidate exact what that lesson would be??
That making Open Borders is GOOD for the country??
That a country without borders ceases to be a country??
Castro just disqualified himself as POTUS...
Castro also didn't mince words about Trump, at one point baldly stating: "The president is a racist." This is true, and it's good to hear it bluntly stated by Democrats.
I am sure, for Democrats, it IS "true" what with their flitty definition of "truth"..
For me, "true" means "supported by facts and reality"..
Do date, NO ONE has provided any FACTS to support this "truth"...
This is FACT...
Tulsi Gabbard tried to create some breakout moments for herself in last night's debate, but she largely failed to do so.
As I mentioned before, I expected Gabbard to break out into Martina McBride's WHERE WOULD YOU BE... :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3AhjFc8AiE
Her two biggest moments both came in attacks on Kamala Harris. After Harris name-dropped Kathleen Sebelius for supporting her new healthcare reform plan, Gabbard accurately pointed out that of course Sebelius would be for it because Sebelius now makes money from a company that offers Medicare Advantage plans.
Yea.. SNAP!! :D
But other than a few bright moments, Gabbard was pretty forgettable last night. It's highly doubtful she'll be on stage for the third debate, so last night was probably her swansong.
And again, it's because she is not Party Pure...
But her best moment of the night came when Gillibrand delivered the funniest line of the night, that the first thing she'd do as president would be to "Clorox the Oval Office."
I completely agree!! That was Gillibrand's BEST moment..
Basically she stated she wanted to get rid of all the coloreds and make the Oval Office whiter..
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I mean, look at it..
After fighting horrendously to break the glass ceiling and become the FIRST female President, her FIRST act as President???
Is to clean something...
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Love me or hate me, ya gotta admit..
THAT is hilarious!!! :D
She would get rid of employer-based health insurance, but she would phase it in over 10 years rather than the shorter timelines others have proposed.
To channel my inner Joe Biden..
If something has to wait 10 years to go into effect...
How good can it be??
Harris is quite obviously making the case to the voters that she would be the best one to take on Trump. Joe Biden is no more than a stand-in for Trump, in a way. Harris going after Biden as hard as she can shows that she definitely has the fire in the belly to take on Trump in a debate
All President Trump has to do is point out that Harris slept her way to her position as Senator..
Harris would be finis...
Inslee did get animated when Joe Biden talked about coal and fossil fuel, and the two got in a heated exchange that Inslee largely won with: "We can not 'work it out' -- it's too late!"
If it's too late, then why bother???
Yang may make the next debate stage, as his base is small but incredibly committed. He could get over the two percent mark in enough polls to return, so we'll likely hear from him at least one more time.
Not if the DNC has anything to say about it.
They are already altering the rules to prevent Yang from being on stage in September..
OK, once again that's going to have to be it for now. I'll have some overall conclusions about the two nights of Democratic debate, but they're going to have to wait until tomorrow's column, as this one is already long enough.
Excellent synopsis, CW.. :D
I felt as if I actually watched the debate myself!! :D
OK, now let's see what Weigantians have to say about things.. :D
Overall, the candidates stepped into CNN's buzz saw without ever seeing it coming.
Yea.. Who wants to vote for a candidate so out of touch..
I completely agree with you, Balthasar..
The truth is, there's more that unites all of the candidates than what divides them. That gets lost in the bickering.
But... But... But....
We are able to have differing opinions on how we best solve problems without having to resort to name calling and insults.
:D
And, as someone pointed out, eventually they all have to support whomever wins.
Yea??? That worked out SO well in 2016, right?? :D
I'm with Kick. The 2020 election is a referendum on Trump. Full stop.
Once again, that was Hillary's plan in 2016..
I am glad to see you people following it so faithfully..
hehehehehehehehehehehe
You really don't get it, do you my friend...
Let's hope that the third debate isn't quite the gory battle that these two were..
How could it have been such a "gory battle" what with Democrats being able to have differing opinions and being able to yada yada yada yada...????
Any answer??
No??
Yea, that's what I thought...
Silence gives assent.. :D
OK, now that THAT is out of the way..
Let's see what's happening in the world.. :D
Debates Identify Plenty of Democratic Divisions, but Not a Consensus Favorite
https://dnyuz.com/2019/08/01/debates-identify-plenty-of-democratic-divisions-but-not-a-consensus-favorite/
Looks like it's going to be a brokered convention... :D
Doesn't bode well for Party unity... :D
WASHINGTON — The two rounds of Democratic presidential debates, rather than bringing clarity to the primary or culling the field of 24 candidates, have instead laid bare the fragility of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as a front-runner and showcased the divisions over ideology and identity in a party that appears united only in its desire to defeat President Trump.
Having failed so far to dominate the debates, Mr. Biden tried on Thursday to quell liberal resistance to his candidacy by other means: He charged, in Detroit, that certain attacks from the left on his record and his policies amounted to attacks on former President Barack Obama and his legacy.
Blue on Blue attacks..
Who could have POSSIBLY predicted this!!??
Oh... wait.. :D
After nearly 10 hours of nationally televised and often contentious candidate forums, the Democratic hopefuls and their voters are plainly torn over how best to take on Mr. Trump and how aggressive a program they should embrace, particularly on health care and immigration.
And far from coalescing around a possible nominee, Democrats are also sharply divided over what kind of standard-bearer would best bridge the larger generational, gender and racial differences shaping the party in the 2020 race.
Looks like the debates have been a resounding failure.. :D
Mr. Biden demonstrated his vulnerabilities in the two debates, repeatedly offering halting answers, though he performed better in Wednesday’s forum than in the first one in June. But on the stage on Wednesday and at an event on Thursday in Detroit, he also adopted a new strategy: defending Mr. Obama from direct and implicit criticism from some of the other Democratic candidates, particularly Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, and Julián Castro, a former housing secretary.
Casting his liberal critics as generally hostile to the administration he served in, Mr. Biden said it was “bizarre” that some candidates were questioning the Obama administration’s record on immigration and other issues, a defensive tactic to remind primary voters of his connection to a respected former president.
"I'm Obama's guy" just doesn't pull the same weight it was expected to..
The fact that Obama hasn't endorsed Biden probably has a lot to do with that..
Hard to make the claim that you're "Obama's guy" when Obama is standing behind you, shaking his head and mouthing, "No.. He's not...uh uh..."
I'm just sayin'...
The rising tension over Mr. Obama’s legacy, most notably the Affordable Care Act, is a new crack in the party’s orthodoxy, as an ascendant progressive wing that favors transformative change raises questions about the incremental policies of the former president. After a few candidates used the Detroit debate to demand that Mr. Biden account for Mr. Obama’s record on issues such as deportations and free trade, Mr. Biden was joined by some of the former president’s advisers, who chastised the critics for committing political malpractice.
“The more time we spend attacking President Obama and his record and the less time we spend on what Donald Trump is doing to this country only serves to help one person — Donald Trump,” said Stephanie Cutter, a former top Obama campaign aide. “Everybody on that stage needs to keep that in mind.”
And yet, they constantly forget it with their infighting and attacks and such...
The biggest winner of the Demcorat debates is President Trump..
This is fact..
And there are strategic divisions as well, like the debate over whether to prioritize winning back the white voters of the Midwest or energizing African-Americans in cities across the region. In an implicit contrast with Mr. Biden and his focus on blue-collar whites, Mr. Booker described himself on Wednesday as uniquely suited to mobilizing black voters who could be decisive in states like Michigan.
In other words, Booker's campaign slogan is VOTE FOR ME CUZ I'M BLACK
Yea.. THAT's not the epitome of racism. :eyeroll:
There is something else that alarms establishment Democrats: While Mr. Biden’s grip on the race is clearly tenuous, no obvious, more compelling alternative has emerged from the center-left. And no one is yet in a position to displace Mr. Biden as the front-runner, or as the favorite of moderates and African-Americans.
And WHY is it alarming??
Because everyone knows that a candidate who supports infanticide, who supports Open Borders, who supports full and free healthcare for illegal immigrants, who supports slavery reparations, who supports throwing all Americans off the health care programs they like...
Everyone (who has more than 2 brain cells to rub together) knows that a candidate like that will NEVER be elected POTUS...
And while Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders electrified the left by stoutly defending their bold proposals on the debate stage, many in the party remain skeptical about their chances to defeat Mr. Trump. More worrisome to their two campaigns is that neither candidate has yet to demonstrate much appeal with African-American primary voters or, in Ms. Warren’s case, working-class Democrats.
Yep.. It's a stone cold fact that the Dem nominee will have to appeal to Independents, NPAs and Trump voters..
The Dem candidate simply CAN'T win without them..
And only Biden can have a shot at doing that..
At least, he COULD have had a shot.. But then he went and said he would eliminate fossil fuels which will eliminate 96% of everything Americans have and buy...
No American is going to vote for a POTUS that will eliminate:
Slacks
Drinking cups
Guitar strings
False teeth
Yarn
Petroleum jelly
Toothpaste
Golf bags
Roofing
Tennis rackets
Toothbrushes
Perfume
Luggage
Wire insulation
Folding doors
Shoe polish
Fan belts
Ballpoint pens
Shower doors
Cortisone
Carpeting
Artificial turf
Heart valves
LP records
Lipstick
Artificial limbs
Hearing aids
Vaporizers
Aspirin
Shaving cream
Wading pools
Parachutes
That's just a small SMALL taste of ALL the things Americans will have to give up if any one of the Dem candidates is elected..
Once again.. Nothing but the facts...
Part of the party’s challenge is that Ms. Harris’s viral moment on busing in June, and the higher threshold required to participate in the fall debates, encouraged candidates thirsty for higher poll numbers and more donors to go on the attack and to seek breakout moments. That has led to a stream of acrimonious challenges that sometimes bordered on grandstanding.
Which is EXACTLY why it was so utterly moronic for our resident cockholster (it's OK.. It's not a gay slur.. :D ) to claim that Democrats can discuss their issues without personal attacks.. :eyeroll:
Amid the tangle of ideological disputes and personal feuds that dominated the two rounds of debates, it fell at times to lower-profile candidates to exhort Democrats to focus on the bigger picture. Andrew Yang, a former tech executive, issued perhaps the most earnest plea, warning that the race was becoming an affair of “rehearsed attack lines” with candidates “playing roles in this reality TV show.”
“It’s one reason why we elected a reality TV star as our president,” Mr. Yang said, even as he unfurled a rehearsed line of his own.
CW, ya missed that one!
That's an awesome line!!! :D
@Balthasar
said on Thursday that he planned to “push our candidates to stop’” the intraparty bickering “and talk about the big issues that separate us from Donald Trump.”
“To pretend that we have these big, ideological differences, or to pretend that somehow, some of these candidates aren’t credible messengers on income inequality or injustice — that’s just not true,” Mr. Kildee said. “There’s a real danger when candidates’ individual interests basically trump — I hate to use that term, but trump our mutual interests.”
Asked if he hoped Democrats would settle early on a nominee, Mr. Kildee offered a cold dose of realism: “I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”
You see, my friend, there are SOME rational people in this country who want to know what Democrats are going to do to help them..
They know Democrats hate Trump...
But, according to you and Victoria, the BEST way to win their vote is to be the WE HATE TRUMP Party...
That was Hillary's plan in 2016...
And it was an abysmal failure..
But, according to you and Victoria, the BEST way to win their vote is to be the WE HATE TRUMP Party...
That was Hillary's plan in 2016...
OK, if I am being factually accurate (and I usually am) Democrats aren't the WE HATE TRUMP Party they were in 2016...
Now Democrats are the WE REALLY HATE TRUMP Party....
And THAT will have as much success as it did in 2016.. :eyeroll:
OK, one article down.. 11 more to go.. :D
OH and just so ya'all know.. A respected elder here in Weigantia pointed out that my comments were er.. somewhat long winded..
So I have decided to shorten my comments so as to make sure no one gets lost.. I realize a plethora and abundance of facts can be intimidating... :D
Thanx for the heads up, DSWS.. Much appreciated.. :D
BEGALA: By the way, Kamala Harris should have said some people need to be incarcerated. She should have turned to Tulsi Gabbard and said yes, I raised bail on people who create gun violence because gun violence is an epidemic. This is my problem, the whole two-day debate, is I believe many of these candidates seeking to win the nomination are setting themselves up to lose the presidency to Donald Trump.
TAPPER: By running so far to the left?
BEGALA: Yes.
-CNN THE LEAD
The facts can be found every where people..
Democrats are running too far Left to appeal to mainstream everyday Americans..
Those who deny this deny the facts.. Deny reality...
Is it time to take Marianne Williamson seriously?
https://news.yahoo.com/is-it-time-to-take-marianne-williamson-seriously-225000879.html
Com'on, people..
Ya'all just HAVE to know that the Democrat Party is in trouble when they start taking Moonbeam Marianne seriously..
:eyeroll:
The first night of CNN’s two-part Democratic presidential debate series featured strong moments from top contenders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but it was an unlikely candidate who drew the loudest support from the audience. Marianne Williamson spoke just nine minutes during the two-hour-plus debate, but may have left a lasting mark with her impassioned statements on race and the purpose of government.
The famed self-help writer has up until now been known as a wellness advocate who keeps company with celebrities like Oprah, Cher and Kim Kardashian. But on Tuesday, she turned heads with reasoned arguments on reparations for the descendents of slavery and the causes of the Flint, Mich., water crisis, while invoking New Age-y concepts like the “dark psychic force” of racism.
She was the most-searched candidate during the debate, according to Google Trends, despite regularly polling at – or below – 1 percent.
Oh great.. Democrats want to nominate Kim Kardashian's well-ness guru.. :eyeroll:
And here I thought that Democrats were serious...
Nets Ignore NYC Man Beaten for Wearing ‘Make America Great Again’ Hat
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2019/08/01/nets-ignore-nyc-man-beaten-wearing-make-america-great-again
Democrats... The party of peace and love and tolerance and respect.. :eyeroll:
"In a pig's eye!"
Dr Leonard McCoy, STAR TREK, Mirror, Mirror
Early Monday evening, Trump supporter and art gallery owner Jahangir Turan was walking down a street in Manhattan, New York wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat he had purchased at Trump Tower, when he was allegedly assaulted in broad daylight by a group of teens. News of the attack only grabbed national attention on Thursday.
Instead of reporting on the possible politically motivated attack in their own backyards, the flagship evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC were too busy suggesting Trump supporters at a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio that night were going to chant racist slogans.
While the networks were ignoring Turan’s swollen face, messed up eye, and fractured cheekbone, their local affiliates were covering his recounting of the assault. WNBC reported:
With a swollen face, bruises and black eye Jahangir “John” Turan -- owner of the David Parker Gallery which sells art work by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, among other celebrated artists -- says he was on his way to a meeting with a client after buying a MAGA hat when he came across a group of “kids,” who he described as being 18 to 20 years old, while walking on Canal Street toward West Broadway.
“Officials said 42-year-old Jahangir Turan told police he was on Canal Street in SoHo around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when was struck in the head from behind,” reported WABC. “Turan said he was leaving the N train wearing a MAGA hat when a group of teenagers yelled "F*** Trump[”] and attacked him.”
And the condemnation from the Left, including everyone here??
{{{ccchhhiirrrrrpppppp}}} {{ccccchhhhhiiiirrrrrrrpppppp}}
Non-existent..
Proving once again, that ya'all don't mind hate and violence and assaults...
As long as it's the RIGHT people who are hated and assaulted...
#sad
Ignoring politically motivated attacks on conservatives and Republicans was normal for the networks. CBS and NBC couldn’t be bothered to report on the beating of conservative journalist Andy Ngo by Antifa terrorists, which left him with a brain injury.
During the midterms last year, the networks turned a blind eye to a GOP headquarters in Florida getting shot up and the attacks against GOP candidates and lawmakers.
Yep.. The main networks are nothing but the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party...
Democrats express alarm over debate's negative tone
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/455849-democrats-express-alarm-over-debates-negative-tone
Once again, the facts are clear..
PUMA is in full swing within the Democrat Party..
The facts are all there for those who are willing to accept reality..
Democratic lawmakers were left shaken and worried by Wednesday night’s bruising presidential debate, which left some fearing the fight will hurt the party and result in a damaged nominee.
Senate Democrats are frustrated that candidates are spending too much time and effort attacking each other for relatively small policy differences, while not focusing their ire on President Trump.
Ya'all just HAVE to know that the Democrat Party is in trouble when they all but ignore President Trump in favor of attacking Odumbo... :D
I'm just sayin'...
“I’m of the view that we have always been a party of ideas,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.). “I think everybody should sort of consider that.”
She said there is “concern” within the caucus of the increasingly vicious attacks, particularly against the front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“People take sides and then they become hypersensitive and that just makes divisions all over the party and we don’t want that,” she said. “I want every one of our candidates to do well.”
Feinstein says there is concern of the increasingly vicious attacks???
How can this be!!???
Aren't Democrats the Party of those who can... lemme remember how it was put... who can have differing opinions on how we best solve problems without having to resort to name calling and insults.
Hmmmmmm I have to ponder this conundrum...
Russ,
As SOON as you made that comment, I *KNEW* I was going to have fun with it at your expense.. :D
All ya gotta do is admit you were wrong and I won't have any choice but to stop using it..
:D
Feinstein said colleagues are concerned that the candidates are pulling out the long knives six months before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses. That leaves plenty of time for resentments and factions to become fixed.
“This is so unusual because it’s so far ahead of an election,” she said, noting that attack ads are often reserved for the final weeks of a campaign.
Yep.. Exactly All the hate and hurt and attacks are going to be so ingrained that, by the time the General rolls around, no one will support ANYONE's candidacy..
It's Hillary/Bernie/2016 all over again..
I would LOVE to berate the Democrat Party for making all new mistakes..
But I can't because they are making the SAME mistakes over and over and over again..
Trio charged with smuggling Mexican boy, 9, into Texas to sell him for $2,500, officials say
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article233387437.html
Yea..
Democrats want to make sure that children stay with their "parents"...
Or, in this case, their child-traffickers..
Great job, Dumbocrats... :eyeroll:
Global Warming??
Backlash at barefoot Prince Harry and 'hypocrite
Greenerati': Eco-warrior elite who turned up at secret climate change Google camp in 114 private jets, helicopters and mega yachts are mocked for leaving their own carbon footprint
Prince Harry is understood to have given a passionate, barefoot speech at the secretive Sicily climate event
Buckingham Palace has today refused to say whether the Duke of Sussex travelled to Italy on a private jet
The mega yacht Rising Sun dropped A-list celebrities Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom off at the climate event
Some 114 planes were set to land in Palermo for the elite gathering which has faced claims of hypocrisy
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7309805/Backlash-barefoot-Prince-Harry-hypocrite-celebrities.html
WHAT Global Warming??
This is exactly why it's IMPOSSIBLE to take the hysterical hypocrites seriously...
ANYONE who preaches and whines about Global Warming yet still drives a car or in a car or uses any one of hundreds of thousands if not MILLIONS of items brought to us by fossil fuels is a hypocrite..
It's really THAT simple...
In the book RAINBOW SIX, Tom Clancy (may he rest in peace) had the PERFECT solution for hysterical Global Warming fanatical hypocrites..
Strip them naked and drop them in the middle of the Amazon jungle, thousands and thousands of miles from anywhere...
Works for me... :D
US pulls out of Reagan-era arms treaty, saying Russia 'made no efforts' to comply
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-ends-historic-arms-treaty-with-russia-after-putins-government-failed-to-come-back-into-compliance
But!!! But!!! But!!!!
Moscow Mitch!!! Trump is Russian Spy!!!!
{/sarcasm}
Like racism, this is another hysterical and baseless accusation that the hysterical Dumbocrats hurl at President Trump that has absolutely ZERO basis in facts or reality...
I look forward to ya'all joining the REAL world....
Probably won't happen before Jan 2025 when President Trump leaves office...
Big Labor warns 2020 Dems: Don't take union workers' support for granted
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/labor-union-afl-cio-richard-trumka-2020-democratic-presidential-candidates-lets-be-nore-honest-about-the-democratic-partys-record
Oh come now...
Taking constituencies for granted!??
That's the Democrat Party way.. ;)
As the Democratic Party shifts toward a more progressive identity, Trumka reminded 2020 candidates that unions would no longer support candidates simply because of their party affiliation. Unions historically played influential roles in getting Democrats elected through get-out-the-vote efforts, canvassing and other campaigning methods.
Democrats don't need American workers!!
They got the identity politics votes!!
:eyeroll:
Remind me again how the Democrat Party is the party of "peace" and "tolerance" and "respect"..???
Drink thrown at Matt Gaetz could get former political rival a year in jail after guilty plea
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-woman-pleads-guilty-to-throwing-drink-at-matt-gaetz-could-face-1-year-in-jail
I seem to have forgotten what with all the FACTS to the contrary.. :^/
Going for a record of 100 comments before I have to leave for the shop.. :D
Michelle Obama says there's 'zero chance' she'll run for president: 'It's just not for me'
https://www.foxnews.com/media/michelle-obama-says-theres-zero-chance-shell-run-for-president-its-just-not-for-me
What part of "NO" do Dumbocrats not understand???
"If you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It's a crime."
-Former VP Joe Biden
It's factual statements like this will insure that Biden is NOT the Democrat Nominee...
Forget Trump: Why many Dems are throwing Obama's record at Biden
It was one of many ways that those running for the 2020 nomination are increasingly turning on the record of Barack Obama, who left office just 2-1/2 years ago. How that helps them beat Donald Trump is a mystery to me.
The context was the Obama administration’s deportation of nearly 800,000 illegal immigrants. When Biden wouldn't repudiate that, Julian Castro said, "it looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn't." And Cory Booker chided Biden for not being willing to say whether he had dissented from the Obama approach.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/forget-trump-why-many-dems-are-throwing-obamas-record-at-biden
Attacking Obama.
Yea.. THAT'S the way to beat President Trump.. :eyeroll:
I swear, the Dumbocrat candidates just fell off the turnip truck..
Suddenly, the 44th president's record is being openly dissed by the new, more woke generation of those who covet the office he once held.
Biden, in a gaggle with reporters yesterday, called such criticism "bizarre."
"Like young adults seeking to break away from their father’s shadow," The Washington Post says, "the candidates who gathered in Detroit to debate the party's future this week repeatedly challenged Obama's record, both directly and indirectly, as too timid, misguided or insufficient for the moral challenge of the moment."
The party's entire health care debate is essentially a repudiation of ObamaCare. After all, Democratic presidents since Harry Truman wanted to do health care reform, and Obama got it done. His program had problems, kicked some people off their plans and hit others with big premiums. But it did expand coverage and is now relatively popular.
Party Unity My Ass!!
:D Dumbocrats are self-destructing before our eyes..
Who could have POSSIBLY predicted this!??
Oh.. wait.. :D
"I think the good news for Joe Biden is this was maybe the best he could do. And the bad news is this was maybe the best he could do."
-Obama Man David Axelrod
Again, it's not ME who is saying all these things..
It's Democrats who are saying all these things..
Democrats are lucky if they get a couple hundred at their rallies..
Trump decries 'wasted money' on inner cities, tweaks Democratic rivals at Ohio campaign rally
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ohio-campaign-rally-wasted-money-inner-cities-joe-biden-ilhan-omar
President Trump packs them in like a rock star!! :D
No doubt about it.. The enthusiasm is with President Trump...
Another good guy with a gun story..
Tennessee Uber driver shoots man who fired at him and his passenger, police say
https://www.foxnews.com/us/tennessee-uber-driver-shoots-hits-man-who-fired-a-gun-at-him-and-his-passenger-reports
Those who claim that the good guy with a gun is a myth??
Their full of kaa kaa...
Democrats Rebuke Obama’s Legacy at Their Own Peril
The fact that Biden was the only candidate to embrace the former president’s record made him the clear winner in Wednesday's debate.
https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/680558?unlock=UWM6KI55U77D1HH3
In a first for me...
Submitted without comment.. :D
Any Democrat watching the last two nights of presidential debates would be struck by the absence of praise for the party’s most popular president in memory: Barack Obama. Aside from Joe Biden, none of the 20 candidates on the debate stage had many fond memories of the legacy of the man that no Democrats dared criticize during his eight years in office.
That’s political malpractice. The day that Obama has become too conservative for the Democratic Party is the day that the Democratic Party has lost touch with mainstream America. And it’s why Biden, one of the few candidates to proudly tout his associations with the former president, came out on top Wednesday night.
Hehehehe
This bears repeating..
The day that Obama has become too conservative for the Democratic Party is the day that the Democratic Party has lost touch with mainstream America.
If there is any doubt that the Democrat Party has moved WAY Left, this proves it beyond ANY doubt...
Only a simpleton would deny the facts and reality...
“To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record. Build on it. Expand it. But there is little to be gained—for you or the party—by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President.”
-Eric Holder
Again, this isn't ME who is saying these things..
It's Demcorats..
CNN is still being miserly over its digital property. Comparing the full transcript of the debate with the 3 min. snips on You Tube, the transcript reads a lot better than the live action looks and sounds. CNNs "moderators" staged a cage match designed to produce noise and fury leading to...nothing much. I never liked CNN and now like them even less. Crap Not News.
CNN is still being miserly over its digital property. Comparing the full transcript of the debate with the 3 min. snips on You Tube, the transcript reads a lot better than the live action looks and sounds. CNNs "moderators" staged a cage match designed to produce noise and fury leading to...nothing much. I never liked CNN and now like them even less. Crap Not News.
Who would have thunked it..
Stig and I actually AGREE on something.
CNN is NOT news.. :D
I knew you would come around to my way of thinking, Stig..
First Neil and now you..
The takeover is proceeding nicely.. :D
Eugene Robinson: At the Democratic debate, much conflict but little clarity
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/08/02/eugene-robinson/
If the debates showed anything, they proved that the huge Left ward jaunt of the Democrat Party produced an unforseen side effect..
The Democrat Party hates Obama....
Who woulda thunked it...
Washington • After the second two-night Democratic candidates’ “debate,” Joe Biden remains a vulnerable front-runner. And it’s definitely time to start winnowing the field.
I put the word debate in quotes because this week’s encounter, hosted by CNN, was structured to maximize conflict and minimize clarity. In a typical exchange, one of the moderators — network stalwarts Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Don Lemon — would say something like, “Candidate X, your rival Candidate Y says you have poopy pants. How do you respond?” Candidate X would reply that Candidate Y’s mother has a moustache. Then they would go back and forth until Candidate Z chimed in with a touching story about meeting a mustachioed mother on the campaign trail who struggles with medical costs.
That's the state of the Democrat Party in the here and now...
Democrat candidates vie for how many people and groups they can hate... :eyeroll:
I'm Baltimore born, raised. 'Mob man' Trump's Twitter tirade shows he doesn't know a thing.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/08/02/dewayne-wickham-baltimore-twitter-donald-trump-rat-column/1889821001/
And yet, President Trump said the same things that Bernie Sanders has said.. The same things that Elijah Cummings has said..
Are they ignorant as well???
Seems to me if you have 3 different people, all from very VERY different areas along the political spectrum, ALL saying the exact same thing??
Seems that it would be this author who doesn't know a thing...
Rob Smith: Trump is delivering for African-Americans. Dems need to work with him to benefit Baltimore
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rob-smith-trump-twitter-baltimore-racist-democrats-elijah-cummings
Democrats don't WANT to benefit Baltimore..
They are happy to let Baltimore wallow in the stinking morass of poverty...
It took President Trump to get black American unemployment down to it's lowest point in history..
Not even Odumbo could accomplish that...
President Trump needs to slap down the Dumbocrats over Baltimore..
Place a call to the Baltimore mayor. Tell him, "Forget the Democrats.. Tell me what you need and I'll make it happen.."
Let's see if the mayor really cares about his constituents ("Thank you Mr President. We would welcome your help!!") or only cares about his Party ("Frak you, racist!!!") and to hell with his people...
It could go either way...
While I’m a strong supporter of President Trump, I have to admit that I was taken aback by the toughness of his tweets in the past few days pointing out problems plaguing Baltimore and criticizing Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings for not doing more to solve them.
Many people have taken the president’s tweets and subsequent comments as an insult to the citizens of Baltimore – a city with a population that is 63 percent black.
I can understand that perception, but I don’t believe that was the president’s point.
Instead, I believe Trump was trying to draw attention – and certainly succeeded in doing so – to unacceptable conditions in Baltimore and saying that Cummings and other Democratic elected officials have not done enough to improve those conditions.
Exactly..
The ONLY racism here comes from the Party that gave us the KKK.. The Party who made a PLAN to attack people and falsely accuse them of racism, just to shut down debate...
That Party is, of course, the Democrat Party...
“For decades, policies advanced by Democrats have … eliminated opportunity and wiped out good-paying jobs and even great paying jobs for the black community.”
-President Donald Trump
These aren't the words of a racist.. These are the words of a man who sincerely wants to help black Americans out from under the thumb of their Democrat slave owners...
Only a racist or a Party slave would see anything else...
Black unemployment is at a historic low. In Detroit, for example, the unemployment rate is so low that employers are taking a softer stance towards hiring ex-convicts than they had in the past.
And black entrepreneurs now have a better shot at starting small businesses of their own that have the potential to grow and create new jobs.
In addition, 90 percent of the more than 2,000 prisoners just released under the First Step Act signed by the president are African-American.
Ignore ya'all's Party slavery and actually think for yourselves..
Are these the actions of a person who is racist??
If ya'all are honest (I know.. BIG stretch) you would concede that they are not...
Trump may actually have done Baltimore and its black and brown residents a favor by highlighting bad conditions in the city.
By calling attention to high poverty, crime, rundown housing, rats and other problems afflicting Baltimore – as well as other U.S. cities with large black and brown populations – the president focused global attention on problems that have been around since before he was born.
You can’t deny these problems exist. Democrats and the media have pointed them out for decades. And black people have long complained about these problems as well. We want to see these problems solved – not swept under the rug.
By acknowledging these problems – in admittedly strong language – the president may spark change. The positive effect of the Trump Twitter attacks could be a bipartisan effort to improve the lives of minority populations and improve living conditions in our cities in the years ahead.
Which is EXACTLY what President Trump's plan was from the outset..
The fact that he was able to bitch-slap Dumbocrats was just icing on the cake..
"Sauce for the goose, Mr Saavik"
-Captain Spock, STAR TREK II, The Wrath Of Kahn
:D
The skin color of black elected officials like Rep. Cummings shouldn’t shield them from criticism for failing to do enough for their constituents of all races. All critiques are not rooted in racism.
This is EXACTLY ya'all's problem and the problem of Democrats in general..
Ya'all and they use the color of a person's skin as shield against legitimate criticism...
You can't criticize a black person or else yer a racist..
Those were the words of someone in this very forum during the Obama years..
Which is TOTALLY in violation of what Dr Martin Luther King preached..
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Dr King would be VERY ashamed of the Democrat Party today and would be a full on President Trump supporter.. Like his niece, Dr Alveda King..
Again.. These are the facts whether you agree or not..
Accusing President Trump of racism won’t change anything. What will turn things around is for Baltimore’s elected officials to be held to a high standard of accountability.
How about it??
Wanna drop the Smollet-esque bullshit racism accusations and actually work WITH President Trump for the betterment of Baltimore residents???
Naaawwwwww.. Of course not.. Ya'all would prefer the false accusations.. :eyeroll:
But hay..
Don't take my word for it.. Listen to the people of Baltimore..
“Trump is not racist … I’m glad he put (Cummings) on blast,” Michelle said. “The rats just didn’t come. These houses just didn’t get torn down, they’ve been like this.”
Michelle is not a racist who hates black people, nor am I. As black Americans, we want and expect elected officials to take action to improve our cities and improve the lives of all the people there.
Once again.. The FACTS.. And nothing BUT the facts..
Too many elected Democrats expect the vast majority of black voters will always support them, so the Democrats are not under pressure to deliver on campaign promises.
President Trump is delivering for African Americans. We’d be wise to not overreact to his inflammatory tweets and instead react to what he is doing, and urge Democrats to work with him to accomplish more to benefit Baltimore and other cities like it.
Nope.. Won't ever happen..
Democrats like their hate WAY too much to actually help black Americans..
Again.. If there is a flaw in the logic of any of these comments...
"I'm all ears..."
-Ross Perot
Mark Penn: Democrats' debate was a panderfest
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/455700-mark-penn-democrats-debate-was-a-panderfest
And NO... That's NOT a celebration of German tanks.. :D
By the end of this endless debate, spooned out in one-minute dollops, I walked out with a $1,000-a-month check, an extra grand if I’m a female, untold reparations dollars if I am African American, Medicare from birth covering everything I’ll ever need until death, and the right to cross the border without any real penalty if I’m from another country. Prosecuting criminals of any kind generally got a thumbs-down, while white privilege made me immune from racist police who were painted as villains. And there will be no more pointless wars, carbon emissions will be zero by 2030, and it may take 10 years, but the government will run almost all health care.
Yea.. The candidates who promise that really have a shot at being President Of The United States..
NOT....
While these same candidates earlier this week expressed outrage at President Trump for tweeting that Baltimore was a rat-infested mess, they all seemed to portray our entire country as in far worse shape than that Maryland oasis. America, it seems, is not the land of full employment, rising wages and decreased poverty. It’s not a country in which 90 percent have health insurance, almost everyone has a smartphone, and 64 percent own their home. It’s at heart a racist, misogynistic country dominated by fat cats and big corporations sucking the life out of us all. According to these candidates it’s a dark, dark place and, unless we usher them into office and save it through these programs and policies that start at a mere $30 trillion, America will continue to be a lost country.
And ya'all really wonder why everyone says that Democrats hate America??
:eyeroll:
Nearly every one of the candidates called for the impeachment of President Trump, and yet none of them called out a specific act that the president did to merit impeachment. They just said that former special counsel Robert Mueller outlined 10 of them and left it at that, ignoring that the Justice Department declared that these actions did not rise to obstruction of justice. Russia collusion as a theory has been abandoned.
They can't call out a specific act because they don't have any FACTS to support a specific act..
When not pandering to gender, racial or ethnic groups with offers of cash, the candidates attacked each other. They took turns trying to knock Joe Biden off his front-runner pedestal and, while the former vice president was at times wobbly, the consensus is that he held his own this time. He did, and he deserves some courage points for standing up for his record and releasing a health care plan based on expanding ObamaCare. And yet, one wonders how he will fare in a smaller group of candidates with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the mix, in later debates. Over the two nights of debating in Detroit, she probably did the best job of combining policy with a strong sense of activism.
It WILL be nice to winnow the field.. Right now, Democrats can delude themselves into thinking it's not THEIR candidate who is un-American, it must be one of the other candidates..
Once the # is down to 3-5, then there will be no hiding amongst the crowd...
America haters will have to declare themselves...
The debate’s format promoted an almost comic-strip view of the world with rapid-fire questions and responses. Generally, all of the questions were softballs that allowed the candidates to repeat their favorite stump-speech lines, or lines they crafted for the debate — and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) clearly was waiting to get in her line about using Clorox at the White House on the first day if she is elected.
Still cracks me up!!
A Democrat who wants to get rid of coloreds and make the Oval Office whiter!! :D
The first woman to break the glass ceiling and be elected President Of The United States!!
And her first official act is to clean something.. :D
You can't make this stuff up, people!!! It's hilarious!!! :D
But the Wednesday night debate was quite different, as the candidates reeled off prepared lines geared toward putting identity- and class-politics at the heart of the revival of the party and their advancement to the next round. This approach was discarded in the ’90s, only to return bigger than ever today, as each candidate sought to outdo the other with outlandish promises and oppo-research attacks.
Welcome to today's Democrat Party.. :^/
"And I'm spent...."
-Austin Powers
:D
JL,
Ya gotta admit.. This has got to be a personal best for me.. :D
Aww right I have some real work I need ta get to..
Talk to ya'all later.. :D
Moscow Mitch,
Putin's Bitch,
White House Disarray!
Oh what fun
to pack a gun
say the folks at NRA.
~Silly seasons greetings!~
Kick (9) and Balthasar (11)
Wow, you guys put the hot poker to troll nerve. 77+ posts on nothing before taking he/she took a breath. You're right. Full stop in debate. Scroll wheel intact.
Wow, you guys put the hot poker to troll nerve. 77+ posts on nothing before taking he/she took a breath. You're right. Full stop in debate. Scroll wheel intact.
And the little 16yr old just CAN'T stop talking about me..
Say, kid.. This space you gave me in your head is pretty empty.. Small brain and all that..
Mind if I redecorate... Put up some MAGA posters and the like??
You won't mind, eh? I mean, since you aren't using the space in here for critical thought.. :D heh
I mean, seriously. EVERY comment you make in here is only about me.. :D
"Quit trying to {ignore} me and {ignore} me!!"
-Morpheous
PWNED!!!
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I think it's hilarious how much ya'all claim I don't have anything to say..
Yet you can't stop reading my every word and commenting daily, oft times HOURLY how much you ignore me!!
There is a word for that..
PWNED
:D
Nationalism, Rightly Understood, Is a Necessary Ingredient of Political Success
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/02/nationalism_rightly_understood_is_a_necessary_ingredient_of_political_success_140920.html
Exactly..
How can you run for the leader of a country is you profess hate for the country you want to lead???
Historical and international perspective is supplied by one of the conveners of the well-attended National Conservatism conference in Washington last month, Israeli think tank head Yoram Hazony, in his 2018 book, "The Virtue of Nationalism." Hazony argues that nationalism first emerged in the northwest corner of Europe, in Tudor England and in the Dutch republic rebelling against the overlordship of the king of Spain. These were small maritime nations, growing rich through international trade even while threatened by massive monarchies. In the years of religious wars, they were the most religiously diverse and tolerant polities in Christendom.
Hazony contrasts nationalist states with what he calls imperialist polities, which include international organizations such as the United Nations and political entities such as the Holy Roman Empire, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, which was not just trying to govern Germany but to conquer "untermensch" peoples. As an Israeli, he is very much aware that his successful nationalist state is under constant attack from such imperialist bodies.
Nationalist states, he argues, can provide peaceful havens for those of differing cultural views and economic interests who share a common citizenship. They will, he argues, protect their individual liberties and (here some readers will disagree) abjure external conquests. "The best political order that is known to us," he writes, "is an order of independent national states."
Nationalism is not bad.. It is a force for good..
But Dumbocrats have tried, with varying success, to equate nationalism with WHITE nationalism, IE racism..
Which is like night following day because the Democrat Party gave us the KKK...
This is congruent with the words of two of President Trump's thoughtful speeches, delivered in Warsaw, Poland, in July 2017 and in Normandy on D-Day this year. In them he pays generous tribute to other nations' nationalism and how they have advanced human liberty. It is also congruent with the rhetoric of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he tries to give effect to British voters' decision to leave what, in Hazony's terminology, is an increasingly imperialistic European Union.
Hazony seems to me on solid ground in arguing that nationalism, rightly understood, can be a force for good. Trump's words on D-Day, and those of presidents before him on earlier anniversaries, should remind us that the Allies who cooperated in that enterprise were all led by nationalists -- America's Franklin Roosevelt; Britain's Winston Churchill; France's Charles de Gaulle; and the leaders of Canada, Poland, Norway and Australia.
Without nationalism, it's likely that Nazi Germany would have conquered the world...
Only parties with a strong nationalist strain have proved to be lasting -- including, over most of their histories, America's Democratic and Republican parties. Today we're told that Donald Trump's Republicans are dangerously and self-destructively nationalist. Headline speakers at Hazony's conference -- tech mogul Peter Thiel, Fox News' Tucker Carlson, national security adviser John Bolton, Sen. Josh Hawley -- seemed to disagree. And many observers are wondering whether Democratic presidential candidates' enthusiasm for open borders is a politically hazardous trashing of a sensible nationalism long essential for political success.
Exactly..
A western democracy and, by default, those that wish to lead western democracies can utilize 4 different forms of governance..
Liberal, Socialist, Religious and Nationalist...
Each has their problems... Socialist's problem is obvious.. They NEVER work because you always run out of someone else's money...
Liberal (the OLD style liberal, not these progressive assholes who call themselves "liberal") the free market and secular liberal can govern well enough in peace time but is ill equipped to defend itself when attacked. Not attacked in the political sense, but attacked in the literal sense.. That's why the liberals of 1916 UK were swept aside under the onslaught of Weimar Republic in WWI... The dominant Liberal party was all but wiped out by Mussolini in Italy in 1922 and France's liberals were crushed by Hitler's SS in 1940...
Nationalist governments are the only ones who have shown they have the liberal chops to create a lasting government that serves the people plus the wherewithal to DEFEND the people when hostilities arise..
In other words, Nationalist governments fare the best in all around governance..
I am a proud American nationalist...
Unfortunately, here in Weigantia I am surrounded by a sea of faux-liberal America haters...
But hay.. It's what makes life interesting.. :D
Amirite?? :D
"The tariffs imposed over the past year haven’t worked, and there’s no evidence another tax increase on American businesses and consumers will yield new results," the National Retail Federation said in a statement.
The NRF are pulling no punches - the announced September 1st round (if they even happen, bone spurs bozo has a record of wimping out at the last moment) hits consumer goods hardest and the markets noticed - the S&P Retail index fell 3.4% versus the 0.9% decline for the general S&P 500 yesterday.
Talking about bone spurs, you do know that they don't go away - once you have them, they remain unless you have surgery.
Who wants a bet there are none detectable in Trump's feet, and no surgery scars.
Who wants a bet there are none detectable in Trump's feet, and no surgery scars.
SO.. Now you want to inspect Trump's feet??
Funny how you didn't complain about lack of military service with Odumbo.. Or Epstein's best buddy, Clinton..
You have no moral foundation to complain about President Trump's lack of service, considering YOU have never served either..
Of all the Weigantians, I am the only one who has worn the uniform of our country's Armed Services.. Yes.. Armed Service*S*.. I was US Air Force and US Army during the Desert Storm..
So you can take your America hating faux indignation and shove it...
[7] TS: Yep.
A lot of people seem to be freaking out over the sparring that occurred in the debates (not just here). I don't mind it but many do. The problem for the candidates is that they have to convince voters they can "take on Blotus" and the only people they have to publicly practice on is each other.
[118] Paula wrote:
[7] TS: Yep.
Heheheheheheheheheehehehehehehhe
Now THAT is funny.. :D
A lot of people seem to be freaking out over the sparring that occurred in the debates (not just here). I don't mind it but many do. The problem for the candidates is that they have to convince voters they can "take on Blotus" and the only people they have to publicly practice on is each other.
The problem is that, when Democrats attack Democrats, they are creating Republican Campaign ads...
I am not surprised you cannot see the logic of this..
But it is a fact nonetheless...
RECORD 157,288,000 EMPLOYED
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/record-xxxxxxxxx-employed-july
Once again, President Trump proves that HE rules..
And Dumbocrats drool.. :D
WaPo, New York Times columns rip top Dem contenders for sucking up to ‘con-man’ Sharpton
WaPo, NYT op-eds blast top presidential contenders for rallying to Al Sharpton's defense
https://www.foxnews.com/media/wapo-nyt-op-eds-blast-defense-al-sharpton
Oh... SNAP.
Sharpton is being recognized for the racist con-man he is...
:D
The day keeps getting better and better.. :D
In a New York Times op-ed this week, Brown University economics professor Glenn Loury also asked why Democrats keep defending Sharpton.
"They’ve handed Trump an easy win and yoked themselves to a genuine bigot," he wrote.
"The problem for Democrats is that Al Sharpton actually is, as Mr. Trump put it on Twitter, 'a con man.' And not just a con man: Mr. Sharpton is an ambulance-chasing, anti-Semitic, anti-white race hustler."
In other words, Sharpton is a perfect fit for today's Democrat Party...
"If Democrats cannot distinguish between Mr. Sharpton’s hucksterism and genuine moral leadership on race and justice in America, I assure you that many moderate voters in battleground states will have no trouble doing so," he concluded.
Exactly....
More and more, the reasons why a Democrat won't win in 2020 is becoming apparent...
NYPD cop accused in Eric Garner chokehold case should be fired, judge says
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-cop-accused-in-eric-garner-chokehold-case-should-be-fired-judge-says
First off, this isn't a real "judge"... She's a "commissioner of trials".. Her anti-cop recommendations carry NO LEGAL weight..
Second, why should Officer Pantaleo be fired?? He did nothing but his job..
Garner was obese and he decided to fight the law..
The law won..
End of story..
If PC O'Neill fires Officer Pantaleo, O'Neill will prove that NYPD officers are out there alone.. With NO backup from 1 PP...
I don't think O'Neill wants to go down in history as the Commissioner who gave the 38,000 NYPD to the politician wolves....
Marianne Williamson Is a Harbinger of Doom for the Democrats
Marianne Williamson got the loudest applause of the night at the first Democrat debate in Detroit — and that says all we need to know about how extreme the Democratic Party has become.
The self-help author, representing the “flower children” wing of the party, managed to out-crazy the other candidates on the stage, dreamily rattling off positions that left even her most radical opponents struggling to defend their bona fides to an audience that was clearly hungry for even more crazy.
When the candidates were asked about reparations, for instance, Williamson dazzled the audience with made-up math, “calculating” that the country probably owes trillions of dollars to the descendants of slaves. In the interests of racial reconciliation, though, she’d settled on $500 billion. She calls this a “politically feasible” amount, because apparently she has no idea what those words actually mean.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/02/marianne_williamson_is_a_harbinger_of_doom_for_the_democrats_140910.html
If I were a conspiracy type along the lines of Truthers/Russia Collusion Delusion type, I would say that Williamson is a GOP plant designed to take down the Democrat Party..
But, being the REALITY-phile that I am, I simply conclude that the Democrat Party has gone off the deep end..
They are not just over the hill.. They are on the way to the rocks below..
When she channeled George Lucas to warn about the “dark psychic force” threatening America, for instance, Williamson was essentially declaring that anybody who has ever supported anything President Trump has ever done is the “enemy” of progressives such as herself.
The other candidates will undoubtedly take note of the impact she made with her unabashed insanity, and several will probably try to mimic her strategy, driving the whole primary field even further to the left than it is already. Make no mistake: Marianne Williamson was the clear winner of that debate, and that should terrify anyone who isn’t completely insane.
Which obviously excludes 95% of today's Democrat Party...
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/cartoons/images/2019/07/31/gary_varvel_gary_varvel_for_jul_31_2019_5_.jpg
Yep.. Yep... Exactly...
Trump Campaign Spotlights Biden's Vow to Ban Fossil Fuels
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/01/trump_campaign_spotlights_bidens_vow_to_ban_fossil_fuels__140916.html
Apparently, President Trump is a big fan of chrisweigant.com and follows my work.. :D
The Trump reelection campaign likely never imagined that a potential 2020 opponent would practically gift-wrap a made-for-TV negative ad on climate change during a Democratic primary debate -- much less one held in the fossil fuel-reliant Motor City.
But the morning after the second Democratic debate in Detroit, top Trump strategists were celebrating, declaring early victory in Michigan, Pennsylvania and other areas in the Midwest even though the campaign finish line is still 15 months down the road.
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden’s blanket statement that he would end Americans’ use of fossil fuels if elected president amounted to political suicide in parts of the Rust Belt where coal remains king when it comes to jobs and workers’ economic security, the Trump campaign argued.
I can picture at least TWO Weigantians (maybe even 3) who groaned and shook their heads when Biden declared he would eliminate fossil fuels if elected..
I can picture ONE Weigantian who laughed like hell and cheered.. :D
You can stick a fork in Biden.. He's done..
He just totally eviscerated his "electability" status...
“If you want to be the Democrat nominee, you have to swear by the radical Green New Deal, which Joe Biden has done,” Trump Communications Director Tim Murtaugh told RealClearPolitics. “He’s ruled out fossil fuels, which would devastate coal-producing states like Pennsylvania and kill countless jobs across the country, not to mention job losses for workers in natural gas and oil.”
Murtaugh accused Biden of displaying an “appalling lack of concern for auto and manufacturing industries” and related energy enterprises by signing on to the far left’s answer to climate change so early in the campaign.
“The economic catastrophe that would result from Biden’s radical position is hard to overstate,” he said. “We don’t know who President Trump’s opponent will be, but Joe Biden just said goodbye to auto and manufacturing workers, Pennsylvania and the Midwest.”
There is simply NO WAY that Biden can walk this back or pretend he didn't hear the question properly...
He is done.. Oh, he may hold on in the Primary.. He might even be the nominee..
But there is simply NO WAY that ANY Independent, NPA or Trump voter will consider voting for Biden..
SO, he IS done...
Ratcliffe goes down for being a resume-padding liar who's only qualification was being willing to amplify Blotus/alt-right conspiracy nonsense. He apparently "withdrew" rather than be denied.
Correctional Officer Pedro Rodríguez-Mateo
Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Puerto Rico
End of Watch: Thursday, August 1, 2019
And remind the few...
When ill of us they speak....
That we are all that stands between...
The monsters and the weak...
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/13839e8d10b9303c8d9aee50576e15b15f4844be91d15073a21097a85b780c50.jpg
Ratcliffe goes down for being a resume-padding liar
You mean, like Joe Biden did in the 1988 Election??
Another lousy Donald Trump pick bites the dust. I guess vetting is just too hard for the Trump Administration. Ratcliffe and his fake biography are out.
The hallmark of the Republican Party these days is being a hysterical bloviating fake who smoodges Fat Bastard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ADuDylCeU
It's comical to watch them genuflect at the feet of a criminal con.
Paula
133
I know, right!? Is anyone surprised that Trump makes yet another shitty hiring decision using the criteria of "what's best for Trump" instead of what's best for national security? Nope.
Victoria,
You mean, like when Odumbo nominated Tom Daschle???
Or, maybe you mean when Odumbo nominated Robert Chatigny...
Or you possibly could mean when Odumbo nominated Caitlin Halligan....
And so on and so on and so on..
Funny how you were completely silent on those failed nominations of Odumbo...
Nothing but Party slavery...
:eyeroll:
PWNED!!! :D
Left Jumps Trump For Saying What Democrats Have Said About Baltimore For Years
It's time to put aside partisan bickering and racism accusations. Like Trump or hate him, the fact is that the past 60 years in Baltimore have been a dismal failure.
https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/02/left-jumps-trump-saying-democrats-said-baltimore-years/
Apparently, Democrats are the racist ones, as they have been saying what President said about Baltimore for years..
Once again, the Dumbocrat Party's race card...
Less than a week ago, in a reply to Maryland’s Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, who made disparaging comments about the living conditions of asylum-seekers on the southern border, Trump told Cummings to focus his attention on his home district. “Cummings’ District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous and filthy place. … No human being would want to live there,” Trump wrote.
The so-called mainstream media was apoplectic, falling all over themselves to call Trump and his comments racist as quickly as possible.
Let’s rewind to a Dec. 8, 2015, speech Sanders delivered in Baltimore: “The fact of the matter is that America is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. But anyone who took the walk that we took around this neighborhood [in west Baltimore] would not think you’re in a wealthy nation. You would think that you’re in a Third World country.”
The reaction from the same media? Crickets.
And then we have the FACTS....
Facts Are Not Racist
Plain and simple. Trump and Sanders are correct in their assessment, both in 2015 and in 2019. Sadly, Charm City has been deteriorating steadily for decades.
Even former mayor Catherine Pugh (2016-19), during a walking tour in September 2018, condemned parts of her own city. “What the hell? We should just take all this sh-t down,” she said, regarding the dilapidated and boarded up buildings and row houses in east Baltimore. “You can smell the rats. Oh my G-d, you can smell the dead animals.”
While she was absolutely correct, nothing changed during her scandal-ridden administration, ending with her resignation in May of this year after she pushed a series of children’s books in exchange for city contracts. Were Pugh’s comments racist? What about the myriad reports by PBS, The Baltimore Sun, and the New York Times? All racist? No, none of them are.
They only racist ones are the ones with a -R after their name..
{/sarcasm}
Democrats who say the EXACT same things are NOT racists.. :eyeroll:
So it is in the delusional minds of the Party slave..
The Democratic Dynasty Hasn’t Helped
The Baltimore mayor at the time, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who assumed the mayor’s office following the resignation of Sheila Dixon after her conviction for embezzlement, handled the unrest in a most unprofessional manner, actually giving the thugs and miscreants open season to “destroy” their own neighborhoods.
“We also give those who wished to destroy, space to do that,” said Rawlings-Blake, who opted not to seek reelection in 2016. So, two of the last three Baltimore mayors resigned due to scandals, and the third surrendered the city to the dregs.
Frankly, the city has been slumping for decades under constant Democratic control — politicians who have continued to mishandle things the same way for decades, yet somehow have expected improvements. The last Republican mayor of Baltimore was Theodore McKeldin (1963-67), and the last time a Republican was elected to the City Council was 1939.
A *DEMOCRAT* said that Baltimore should give the thugs room to destroy..
And somehow, it's a GOP President who is "racist" for pointing out Baltimore is a shithole because of Dumbocrat rule...
Dumbocrat "logic"...
Project Baltimore reported that in 13 of 39 city high schools, zero students were proficient in math. Zero. Let that sink in for a minute. In six more Baltimore high schools, only 1 percent tested proficient. In roughly half the schools, 3,804 students attempted the exam, with a mere 14 proficient in math. Not 14 percent, 14 actual students. It’s no wonder the poverty rate in Baltimore is 22 percent.
Once again.. ALL because of Democrat rule... And, magically, the President is "racist" for pointing out the FACTS...
The murder rate in Baltimore is 56 per 100,000. Detroit is closest behind Baltimore, at 40 per 100,000. In 2015, 344 people were murdered in Baltimore — 318 in 2016, 342 in 2017, and 309 last year, with a projected number over 300 for the fifth year in a row. Baltimore is deadlier than Chicago and just under 40 miles away from Washington, D.C., but it may as well be 4,000 miles away for the lack of attention it gets.
The time is long overdue for people to roll up their sleeves, put aside their partisan bickering and name-calling, and face reality. The past 60 years have been a dismal failure, and calling people racist for pointing out the facts helps no one, least of all the vulnerable children.
Like Trump; dislike Trump. Either way, he was correct in what he said about Cummings’ district — specifically Baltimore. Cummings is too smart to disagree, but he has to play the same political game. People can stand in opposite corners, calling each other racists, but it will accomplish nothing. Meanwhile, cities such as Baltimore continue to fester and stink of urban rot, decay, and failing schools.
These are FACTS, people..
Not racism..
But you can't handle FACTS when they intrude on yer Party slavery delusion...
Column: Democratic debates reveal party predicament: ‘Save us, Michelle Obama, you’re our only hope’
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/john-kass/ct-democratic-presidential-debates-kass-20190802-bwgorvb65ngjnchvxxpcibhuvi-story.html
The desperation of the Democrat Party is always a source of amusement for me.. :D
NOW you people have gone and done it!!
CNN Reporter: Obama Exasperated Over Left-Wing 2020 Candidates
Progressives have been criticizing Obama Administration on Immigration, health care
https://freebeacon.com/politics/cnn-reporter-obama-exasperated-over-left-wing-2020-candidates/
Ya've gone and pissed off Odumbo!!!
No more Hopey-Changey crap for ya'all anymore!! :D
Hay, Balthy
CNN reporter Rebecca Buck on Friday said former president Barack Obama is "expressing exasperation" over the Democratic Party's movement to the left.
CNN's Newsroom co-host Jim Sciutto mentioned Obama wasn't pleased by criticism from Democratic presidential candidates and asked Buck what she was learning behind the scenes.
"As you know, Obama has been trying to stay out of this primary as much as possible, keeping quiet, and not making any endorsements even with his former vice president Joe Biden in the race," Buck said. "But privately Obama, our CNN colleagues are reporting, is expressing exasperation at how far left the party is moving on some policy issues and of course breaking with some of the things he did when he was president."
You still denying the massive push to the Left the Dumbocrat Party is taking???
Even ODUMBO sees it!!!
Face reality, sunshine.. Yer gonna lose... :D
Balthasar
11
I'm with Kick. The 2020 election is a referendum on Trump. Full stop.
Sure, policy does matter some. Last November's midterm elections were largely a referendum on two things and a combination of those two things: Trump and health care and Trump doing everything he can to take away health care.
Republicans felt the wrath of the voters at the ballot box in 2018, and the Rat Infested Fat Bastard still bloviating and still doing everything he can to take away health care via the courts is the gift that keeps on giving. The Republicans couldn't kill the ACA when they controlled both houses of Congress so promising to kill it when they don't takes a special kind of hysterical stupidity.
Also in the 2018 midterms, referendums to expand Medicaid passed in the Red states of Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah, while Maine and Virginia also expanded Medicaid following the 2018 midterms.
So here in Texas, the 2020 ground game is not much different than 2018: Lather, rinse, repeat... with some minor tweaks, of course. Last year we flipped TX-32 so next year it's TX-23, and we're certain Will heard about it. ;)
"Primaries are all about the legacy of the last president where the party is moving, and it's no secret that the Democratic Party right now has been moving far to the left policy-wise relative to the Obama administration," Buck continued. "And it is for many of these candidates a balancing act because Joe Biden of course is essentially a third term of President Obama."
Let me repeat that for the cheap seats..
and it's no secret that the Democratic Party right now has been moving far to the left policy-wise relative to the Obama administration,
So, when I said that the Democrat Party is lurching far to the Left and ya'all denied it six ways from sunday???
I was factually accurate and ya'all were full of shit.. :D
Gods, it's tough being factually accurate all the time.. :D
@Victoria,
Republicans felt the wrath of the voters at the ballot box in 2018,
BBBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
No, Democrats ran as Republican Lite and was able to squeak by with House control..
That won't happen in 2020... The House will revert to GOP control.. And President Trump will retain the Oval Office..
So here in Texas, the 2020 ground game is not much different than 2018:
In other words, Dumbocrats are going to lose in Texas.. AGAIN!! :D
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"It was odd. I mean, de Blasio made a full-on attack of Obamacare, essentially said we have no working health care system in America," she added. "But hello, we have Obamacare, so that means the system he's attacking and saying isn't working is Obamacare."
DeBlowHole is moron, everyone knows that..
NRA meltdown has Trump campaign sweating.
Republicans worry that the NRA and two other groups that have long formed the core of their electoral infrastructure will be effectively on the sidelines.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/03/nra-guns-trump-campaign-1395970
More good news for the party of the past.
Republicans worry that the NRA and two other groups that have long formed the core of their electoral infrastructure will be effectively on the sidelines.
NRA was never a really big part of President Trump's administration..
You grasping at straws, Junior..
Trying to deflect from the train wreck that is the Democrat Party..
You know it.. I know it.. Everyone here knows it.. :D
in 2020... The House will revert to GOP control.. And President Trump will retain the Oval Office..
...and pigs will fly, I swear it!
@Patrick,
Since yer hear, son...
Did you ever find any FACTS to support your bullshit claims about the Gilroy shooting??
No.. Of course not... :eyeroll:
in 2020... The House will revert to GOP control.. And President Trump will retain the Oval Office..
...and pigs will fly, I swear it!
Yea.. That's what you claimed in 2016, eh?
You were full of shit then and yer full of shit now.. :D
Aww right, people..
My time now belongs to my lovely trophy wife.. :D
See ya in about 5-6 hours.. :D
Give ya time to participate.. :D
Once again.. The uncontested champion of Weigantia!! :D
L Harvey [65]
This automatically works on the latest post, so on Monday evening it will switch to that column.
Here is the php code.
<?php
$homepage = file_get_contents('http://www.chrisweigant.com/');
$searchstring = '';
$divcontent = strpos($homepage, $searchstring);
$urlstart = strpos($homepage, "href=", $divcontent) + 6;
$urlend = strpos($homepage, "rel=", $urlstart) - 2;
$url = substr($homepage, $urlstart, $urlend - $urlstart);
$homepage = file_get_contents($url);
// Find Michale Comment
$michale = "Michale";
while ($foundtroll = strpos($homepage, $michale)) {
// Find associated <li
$commentstart = strrpos(substr($homepage, 0, $foundtroll), "<li class=");
$commentend = strpos($homepage, "", $commentstart);
$pagelength = strlen($homepage);
$part1 = substr($homepage, 0, $commentstart);
$part2 = substr($homepage, $commentend + 5, $pagelength - $commentend + 5);
$homepage = $part1.$part2;
}
echo $homepage;
?>
OK, so the html parser removed some of the tagging thinking it was an html command. For instance,
$commentend = strpos($homepage, "", $commentstart);
The search string is not an empty string, but:
less than sign + backslash + li + greater than sign.
If you want to stand up your own instance you can probably figure it out.
L Harvey [65]
Net, net - fairly simple piece of php that automatically applies the removal to the latest CW column.
TS [33]
As long as CW allows it ;)
There will be some bugs, but the code is very simple, so I should be able to make it better over time.
And you think making a code specifically for me is "ignoring" me??
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
TS [33]
As long as CW allows it ;)
There will be some bugs, but the code is very simple, so I should be able to make it better over time.
Yea.. YOU got it goin' on, Neil...
[33] Michale wrote:
OK, now let's see what Weigantians have to say about things.. :D
BBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Kick [9], endorsed in
Balthasar [11]
Now that that's settled, I have an announcement to make: The 2020 election is a referendum on Trump. Full Stop.
No. Absolutely not. Not even close.
This election is about turnout. All elections are about turnout. Swing voters are, almost by definition, a minuscule mixture that's mostly in the muddled middle. It's itty-bitty: lots of people identify as "independent", because everyone hates politicians and doesn't want to identify with either batch of them. But everyone knows which batch they hate more. It's incoherent: if you try to bring in one batch of swing voter, you drive away about half as many who don't like whatever that batch does like. When you have a candidate that people actually like, you both drive up your side's turnout and soothe the people on the other side who aren't really voters, just sort of loosely attached to the electorate.
"Our guy is enough less awful than theirs" is NOT a slogan that will bring your side to the polls.
Biden is too old. A key part of his original appeal as a running mate was that he would be too old to run in 2016, so Democrats with presidential aspirations would have no reservations about getting on the Obama bandwagon in 2008. He's been addled ever since his brain aneurysms back in the 1980s. He brags about palling around with segregationists back in the day, who actually called themselves "segregationists". He's a serial groper.
All of these facts are in the public domain, but it's also down the memory hole. Democrats aren't going to use it against their likely nominee. Republicans will have no qualms whatsoever about using it when he actually is the nominee. As soon as he has primary/caucus wins amounting to enough delegates for the nomination, we will get a flood of news hooks from that moment until election day, bringing all this slime out of the memory hole and into the limelight. Republicans know how to do that.
With Biden constantly in the slimelight from March 10 to November 3, Democratic-leaning "independents" will be decisively tipped from being riled up against Trump to being completely in despair about our country's political leadership. Republican-leaning "independents", meanwhile, won't hate him with the intensity the felt for Hillary, but they'll dislike him enough to vote.
This election will NOT be a referendum on Trump. Unless other help unlooked-for comes, it will be a referendum on our political system, with Trump as Exhibit A. His fans will vote yes, the rest will vote nothing, and he will get a second term.
[159]
(code)
If you guys are going to be excising everything from the name of The Prolix One to the next comment-start, am I going to have to refer to him by silly titles, as with He Who Must Not Be Named? Maybe I should ask what his full name is, so I can figure out an anagram with a gibberish middle name.
dsws
165
No. Absolutely not. Not even close.
Actually, that is 100% dead on accurate.
This election is about turnout. All elections are about turnout.
You don't say? *laughs* So for you to make the ridiculous claim that the election is not a referendum on Trump and is "about turnout" because they all are, you seem to be missing the point that elections can be about more than one thing.
Cut to the chase: Trump will attempt to make the election a referendum on "socialism" and the four freshman representatives known as the "squad" because he wants to run against them. However, this election is most assuredly a referendum on Trump.
As for the remainder of your post, you seem to want to argue basics, and it's highly likely that no one here is interested in a refresher course on politics.
It's incoherent: if you try to bring in one batch of swing voter, you drive away about half as many who don't like whatever that batch does like. When you have a candidate that people actually like, you both drive up your side's turnout and soothe the people on the other side who aren't really voters, just sort of loosely attached to the electorate.
"Batch"? *laughs* You're talking about voters as if they're cookies and either peanut butter or chocolate chip. A "candidate that people actually like"? That's a rather juvenile description. And in your scenario there, are we to assume that your definition of "people" is yourself and who you like? Seems like it.
"Our guy is enough less awful than theirs" is NOT a slogan that will bring your side to the polls.
Well, it's your slogan, and it does suck; I can assure you that no one will be using it.
As for your multiple assessments of Joe Biden, I disagree with them. You don't like Joe Biden. M'kay, got it.
Republicans will have no qualms whatsoever about using it when he actually is the nominee.
You don't say? *laughs*
This election will NOT be a referendum on Trump.
Yes, it will... just like the 2018 midterms were a referendum on Trump. Repeat after me: Trump and health care... and throw in the economy in 2020 (as always for presidential elections).
Do you think the record turnout for Democratic candidates in 2018 was composed millions of people that were motivated solely by the Democratic messaging? Nope. They were primarily motivated by Trump... and health care... and Trump's trying to take health care away. It hasn't been a year since the midterms, and nothing has changed... so far.
Not saying things can't change, just saying they haven't yet. :)