Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

His son was dying of cancer over a period of three years.

It would have been a bloodbath and Biden was in no condition to take it on given where he was personally. The Clintons would've amassed the entire Dem Party against Joe with twice the aggression aimed at Bernie.

You're sure of a lot, but you really don't know much.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

https://thinkprogress.org/proof-that...292#.wu93779qp

TM

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

I probably hate the other people to whom you're referring.

Make a list of politicians I like and respect. See how far you get.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

You're really so lacking in creativity that you can't think of measures that could be taken on existing and future student debt that don't harm, or even actually.... benefit, the banks?

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

That is a cuckoo pants investigation. Notice, I never cited it as a reason to dislike her. I think it's bullshit.

I don't think she was hiding Benghazi emails. I think it was CGI.

But the ongoing Benghazi investigation would make her destruction of emails en masse all the more deliberate.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

You know a bank that prefers "creativity" to having ongoing non-dischargeable revenue streams? The attraction there is all in the guaranteed payments. The default response is always Keep The Status Quo.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

She's such a neocon she put Richard Holbrooke in charge of sorting out Afghanistan.

I'm starting to think you just may be hopelessly uninformed.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

I know you didn't just confuse me with Sebastian. I know that could not have happened. If I were to make Vampire Weekend reference, I would have said, "Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl." Let's break it down. Vampire Weekend's "Step":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mDxcDjg9P4

The first couple of lines sound familiar, right? The melody, too, right? It's because, back in the day when you were a fan of conscious hip hop, you used to listen to Souls of Mischief "Step To My Girl":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvBmr_b-Rpg

But you knew back then that Souls of Mischief was cribbing lines from Boogie Down Productions "Why Is That?":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDOJj6LkrY

Which of course reminded you that BDP was just sampling, among others, the sly purring groove of Sylvia Robinson's "Pussy Cat", which is today's Daily Dose:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VovvAY5IBkE

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Biden's first run for President was pitiful. His second run rose to the level of mediocre, but still had a lot of deep problems to it.

Now, granted, he had eight years serving as a strong VP to a strong President, and used that time very well. He may be the second-most liked person in the Democratic Party today. More likely than Bill.

But he's smart enough to know that while he is pretty damn impressive in office he's only kind of so-so on the campaign trail. Could he have crushed Hillary and Bernie? I don't know. Hillary is not great on the stump, but she is a very keen strategist, and might well have put Bernie and Biden in a position where they were splitting each others votes. And Bernie IS a very good campaigner, even if he sucks as a legislator, and might well have beaten Biden in a one-on-one.

We'll never know, but I wouldn't assume he'd have had a cakewalk.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Unless you can get more revenue streams.

You're being purposely obtuse.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Hillary is not personally a great campaigner, but she has the best staff available.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

You do realize Bernie was handled with kid gloves, don't you?

He got his rallies, he energized his supporters, he'll get a nice book deal out of it, but he never had a chance and the nails were all in his coffin the day after super-Tuesday.

If someone had let me run the campaign, he would have been begging to get out of the race by the end of March.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

It's much more than this.

The single biggest reason she won was because she figured out what bridges she'd set fire to in 2008 and went and put out the fires and repaired them. She has done that meticulously.

And that was why the field cleared so fast, because as people sized up their key potential supporters, and called people they'd worked with for years, they started figuring out she'd already boxed them in.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

I think people were initially drawn to Bernie because they wanted an alternative to Hillary (rightly or wrongly). If Biden was an option early, I think he takes all the potential wind out of Bernie's sails before he even gets going.

Now, Hillary learned that a strong ground game is crucial and she's been setting that up for years. That may have been why Biden was scared off and why he may not have been prepared to actually run. I also think he based his hemming and hawing on how Hillary was perceived as SoS generally and didn't want that kind of fight. But I think he's looking back at his decision now and kicking himself given the ridiculous opinions people have of Hillary and who he would have to beat after he got past her.

Also, the ridiculous animosity towards Hillary that is keeping her from being up 25 points on Trump in the polls would not exist for Biden. People would be bending over backwards to vote for him.

TM

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

To be fair, you may well be better qualified to opine regarding sushi making than you are about old school funk.

never mind the bollocks, here's the Bradley effect question
 

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/...ld-trump-polls This came up as a fear in 2008 that the polls might not be accurate. It was not the case then, but could it be a thing now? I imagine one expressing support for Mr. Trump would attract some potential ridicule and even anger.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

You may overestimate Biden and underestimate Bernie.

I was pretty involved in 88 when Biden first ran. He was an incredible lightweight.

He did much better his second time out, but still was never really a contender.

Hillary's ground game was still so-so this time around, as you can see from all the caucus losses. But she really worked very hard for all the down-ballot races and she built bridges to all kinds of local leaders in the Party, from teacher's union activists to African-American preachers to gay rights advocates. She had an unmatched understanding of coalition politics.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Do you hate her more than other politicians? I thought yes.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

At our caucus at least, I don't think there was enough ground game possible to overcome the hordes of Berners that showed up for the first time (and left immediately after casting a vote in the presidential straw poll instead of sticking around for the actual caucusing).

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

I think Biden can be kind of gaffe-prone, and sometimes a bit creepy, but I would seriously consider voting for him over Trump (unless the Libertarians had nominated an actual Libertarian). He's a bit slow, but not corrupt. I am not voting for Hillary ever.

I am sure it's because I'm a misogynist who has been brainwashed by the right-wing establishment, though.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Maybe. Maybe not. Up until last year, Bernie had been saying the same shit whenever someone put a microphone in front of him and was largely ignored. I think people were not inspired by Hillary and turned to Bernie for inspiration. I'm not sure that happens if Biden was in the race at the right time.

Surely you don't think he's still a lightweight after all this time. He seemed to pick up how to play the game pretty well.

Your knowledge of the nuts-and-bolts of primary campaigns exceeds mine. I was using "ground game" as shorthand for all the shit you just listed.

TM

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

Of course I give a fuck about the Oxford Comma. how else are you going to convey your meaning? The fact that you don't tells me all I need to know.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

When lawyers laugh potential litigants out of their offices because they have nothing but their righteous indignation, the turned down litigants turn to the public information acts in an attempt to find some sort of smoking gun e-mail that proves that they've been done wrong. Innocent state agency lawyers who purposely avoided litigation and other discovery heavy practices then have to then drop everything they were doing because the request was so massive it's an all hands on deck situation. Then we sift through hundreds of thousands of e-mails that have nothing to do with anything. AND everyone in the agency becomes paranoid about us because "we can see their e-mails." I assure you, there's nothing more boring than going through someone else's e-mail.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

God no. I have scumbag fatigue re politicians generally.

I hate Cruz far more. And I detest every cultural conservative a lot more than Hillary.

I think she'd be a decent president, in fact.

Those who seek power are defective and should generally be degraded to get it. she uniquely wants it, badly... Strivers like that creep me out. I think they creep out most decent people.

Assholes like Trump also creep me out, for different reasons... Possibly the same ones that make Mussolini a tad unattractive.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

State FOIA acts... Reminders of the old rule: Never send an email on anything that can bite back later.

Why people stake out any dicey position in email still confounds me. It's like having a watergate tape machine running.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

Clearly, you do not give a fuck about Vampire Weekend.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

See Sebby, I didn't get any of those references. :/

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

But every case I've handled in the past 10 years my fave document is an email. People think they are talking on the phone and say the "truth." Yes it isa horrible burden to read through 300,000 pages of junk, but once you've found the magic email you build up the endurance. It is what litigation is about now.

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

I think he is a fantastic public servant who really knows how to spend his political capital.

But I think he is vastly better at governing than at getting himself elected.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

Oh, jesus fuck. I'll break it down one more time. Here's Vampire Weekend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g

Hmm, that "first the window, then it's to the wall" line sounds familiar. Oh right, they drop the Lil Jon clue right after that line. Here is the Lil Jon video. The actual Lil Jon lyrics are "To the window, to the wall! 'Til the sweat drop down my balls!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg

That opening 3-6-9 line from the Lil Jon tune? Yup. Old School. The 1965 Shirley Ellis hit, The Clapping Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWuSPPLtkEQ

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

The dead ones.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

About the affairs?

Re: We're in Bat(shit) Country
 

Speak for yourself. I looked into running for the school board when both my kids were in school. (Never got anywhere, but I looked into it.)

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

This is the best post in the history of these boards.

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

Just some straight ahead rare old funk to kick off the weekend. All the People with "Cramp Your Style" for the Daily Dose:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL70Xw-FteU

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

“An explorer is deep in the jungle, being led by a native guide. They are hacking their way through dense tropical growth when suddenly drums start pounding in the distance. The explorer freezes. His guide reassures him: “No worry. Drums good.” “The drums are good? No danger?” “Yes, Drums very good. Keep going.”

The explorer takes a deep breath and they trudge on. As the jungle gets thicker and denser, and dusk starts to fall, the drums continue, pounding louder, ever closer. The explorer asks again, “Are you sure those drums are okay… nothing to be afraid of? It sounds like they’re getting louder.”

“No. no worry. Drums very good. Confidence! They continue on.

As night falls and they start to break camp, the drums become even louder, more intense. The explorer cannot shake a sense that they spell impending doom, but his guide continues to reassure him: “Drums very good!”

Then, just as darkness settles most completely over the jungle, the drums suddenly stop. The guide’s face goes ashen! A sheer look of terror in his eyes!

The explorer asks, “What? What’s the matter? The drums stopped – is that bad?”

The guide responds, “When Drums stop, very bad! Awful! Terrifying! Bad thing coming! No good for anybody!”

“What!? What is it? What happens after the Drums stop!?!”

The guide responds: “Bass solo.”

Don't even know where to start...
 

So as a heads up, I'm going to be randomly responding to few posts over the last 3 weeks or so. Out of order. Whatever.

SlaveNo(I really need to change my name to FuckMyLife, since I'm clearly Biglaw slave again)More

Re: I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
 

Trump is going to win the popular and lose the Electoral College. It is rigged, but the low level nefarious district stealing won't affect anything at the Presidential level.

SlaveNo(That's the way the system works)More

Re: Interesting Perspective
 

Yes, $1MM to her slush fund.

And $42K to a golf tourney, that was co-sponsored by her Slush Fund.

By disclosing her returns and forcing the "tax" issue, she threw napalm on an existing Clinton Foundation problem.

SlaveNo(BTW - didn't ne'er do well Chelsea get paid close to $900K by such Slush Fund this year?)More

Re: We're in a Banana Republic
 

"So what?"

You think Hillary is above the rule of law. And that the rule of law should be disregarded if politically expedient for people "you" like. Perhaps BLM is correct - if you're white and rich enough, no one cares about your crimes. Even as the body count stacks and the millions get disclosed.

Cool. I'm glad you're on record for this.

I'd suggest that you, as an officer of the court, should be disbarred for such slackish (if not anarchist) views towards our legal system.

Who am I kidding, when Hillary takes over Oceania, I'm fucked.

SlaveNoMore(...dies for Thoughtcrime - And next up, Oceania beats Eastasia yet again. details in 10)