Re: By the way, which one's Pink?
 

You are only feeding Hank's delusion that he's the only honest person on the Board (perhaps in the world).

Maybe you should go to a 12-step program and offer people vodka shots and meth. That's less destructive.

Re: Mother should I run for president.
 

He's identifying one particular factor among many. Another way of making his point is pretty straightforward, which is that there are a number of rural areas in purple states where Dems have been making headway - upstate NY and Pennsylvania are the places I focus most on.

But there is no reason to assume that "progress" is the result of inexorable and inevitable forces. From what I can see it's driven as much by issues as by demographic trends (where Dem hopes in Texas have a lot more to do with demographic patterns). We're gaining in Binghampton and Saratoga mainly because the old guard Rockefeller moderate Republicans are dying off and their children are realizing their views just aren't welcome in the Republican party.

But there are lots of other trends, and the right candidate and strategy on the Republican side can nullify the supposed gains. Who knows, maybe Trump can convince these people he's Rockefeller's true heir.

Re: Mother should I run for president.
 

Likewise if Rs are in a bunch of rural districts with very few Democrats.

Both happen.

Re: Speaking of Satan....
 

My apologies.

You're a tough one. On the one hand, beach-babe hippy artsy chick from Southern California kind of screams Bernie.

On the other hand, the no-nonsense upstate New Yorker in you has to be a Hillary fan.

But, Bernie will be out of it by the time you vote, so I guess Hill.

Re: Mother should I run for president.
 

Indeed, and that is why I said the Democrats have [present tense] a structural advantage, rather than saying that they always have had and always will have a structural lock on the presidency.

As for Congress, I think there are more overwhelmingly Democratic urban districts than there are overwhelmingly Republican rural districts, though you are undoubtedly correct that it could hypothetically be otherwise -- it's just that we live in an increasingly urban country. To your point, redistricting makes a difference. Pennsylvania has 13 Republicans and 5 Democrats, thanks to the 2010 redistricting.

Re: Mother should I run for president.
 

You consider NY a purple state? I know upstate is conservative (believe me, I know), but the state would never go Republican in a presidential election would it? I can't believe with the population disparity between NYC/downstate and upstate there could be any chance of that. But I'm pretty far removed from following NY politics (now that my mom doesn't have Pataki to complain about anymore)...

Re: Mother should I run for president.
 

I'm thinking the upstate congressional districts. State itself is solid blue, but the congressional districts upstate used to be red and now are trending blue.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

No, just that racist.

The ink is black, the page is white.
 

If I may put my Earnest Doogooder hat on (didn't I have a sock with that name at the other place?), I think that Hank is occasionally serious here and occasionally correct.

And as for me, I do know that I misunderstood or misinterpreted something serious that Hank said here a long time ago about race, and made an ass of myself. I also know that I sometimes assume that my point is clearer than it actually is in what I've posted. So, I went back to look at the back and forth, and decided that I was Not Clear.

At any rate, speaking of race, bravo to Chris Rock for creating the phrase "sorority racism" to describe people in Hollywood who are not too different from me (other than their bank accounts) and to Mark Ruffalo for pointing out that #OscarsSoWhite can be fixed by all of the liberals who control the film industry.

I'm sorry, did you say something?
 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...uestion-219976

TM

Re: The ink is black, the page is white.
 

I'm thinking of having "Look, Rhonda, we like you but you're not a Kappa" sandblasted surreptitiously onto the façade of the Academy. If I can talk G3 into finanicing it, I think we can convince Adder to do the job.

Re: I'm sorry, did you say something?
 

Why wouldn't this fall under the "well-regulated militia" language in the 2d Amendment? Men who go around bullying women represent a dangerous and unruly class of the sort of rabble that can't be trusted to protect the People in a well-regulated manner?

Re: The ink is black, the page is white.
 

These are generous words from you. Did you know that Hank has no hair?

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I didn't realize I lived so close to Ted Cruz.

Because of relatively low turnout for primaries, they combined polling places this morning. There were two Democratic precincts and three Republican precinct where we ended up voting. And there were TONS of Republicans there. And lots and lots of media. Graham finished voting first and chatted with an AP guy for awhile while waiting for me. Turns out that Ted Cruz was about to come and vote. We counted 8 cameras in the doorway to the Republican voting room, and another four or five outside.

A few years ago, Graham and I were attempting to play tennis (to say I'm not very good is an understatement) at some courts at a nearby public park, and Graham swore that the guy on the court next to us was Ted Cruz. I thought that there was no way that he'd be on a public court instead of some club. But who knows?

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

A missed opportunity. You really want a yuuugge turnout of the Hillary and Bernie signs for these moments.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

The only hawkers outside were for Dems, but only local races. We were glad to get the hell out of there before it turned into more of a madhouse. Plus, my husband may have given the secret service detail cause to act.

Re: The ink is black, the page is white.
 

Yes, which provides further evidence of the sincerity of my post.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Read this. Explains a lot.

Also, bonus idea for Hank:

Michael Tomasky in NYRB.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

If you have not seens John Oliver's show from Sunday night, do so. It is almost poetic how ruthlessly he takes down Trump. And the internet snickered with glee, using words like "demolishes," "annihilates," "destroys, " etc. It was hilarious and eye-opening to even those most jaded about Trump. And it does not matter. Trump supporters are fanatical in a way that makes Trump impervious to the absolutely undeniable criticisms that he is an unrepentant liar, a failure as a businessman, and a thin-skinned, xenophobic bully. In fact, as Ty's article suggests, it is his precisely his thin-skinned, xenophobic, bullying tendencies that are at the root of his appeal. It simply does not matter to Trump supporters how many times he lies. It does not matter that anyone with even an atom of common sense knows that the idea of building a giant wall and making Mexico pay for it is so unbelievably far-fetched that to characterize it as ludicrous would be extremely generous. These people are acting out of baser instincts that make the completely devastating criticisms of those like John Oliver wholly irrelevant. They are actually the very same poisonous instincts that, in different ways, political operatives from both parties have been cultivating for years. When the real issues are terribly complicated and the world seems frightening, it is much easier to prey upon people's fears and anger than to explain complicated ideas. The Republicans always seemed to be better at it, but now it seems to have completely gotten away from them, and the result is absolutely fucking scary. You should also watch the Oliver piece from a couple of episodes ago about the New Zealand politician who got hit in the face with a dildo. Really good stuff. By the way, for anyone noticing, Trump came in a distant THIRD in Minnesota. Thank you very much.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

While I thought the Oliver hit on Trump was good, it was a little overrated. I'd rate the dildo bit higher.

Trump's third place finish in Minnesota was heartening. I thought the days of the Minnesota GOP being a bit different than the rest of the party were over, given people like Bachmann, but apparently there's a bit of the ol' above average left in the state.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

That's what the republicans get for killing the unions.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I read this, and I get an earworm of the Russian pop-song that goes, "I need a man like Putin!"

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I remember when you never, ever visited this board. Sigh.....

p.s. the I Don't Cares record is pretty good! Westerberg and Juliana Hatfield, for those who haven't been paying attention....

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I still don't. In fact, with political discourse being where it is these days, I am not able to get my head around even the abstract hypothetical concept of participating in a political chatting board like this. Now more than ever, I reaffirm my stance that I will never visit this board. Ever.

Re: Blog against the machine!
 

Flower, I am disappointed. This is a time of national crisis, and we all have to do our part.

Now is the time for blogging.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

This pretty well sums up that, while I am probably more likely to vote for the Libertarian candidate than actually pull the lever for a Dem, I fully acknowledge that such a collective action could hand the presidency and 3 SC nominations to HRC, and it is by far the least of the many evils.
#NeverTrump

http://bloombergview.com/articles/20...say-nevertrump

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...tial_race.html

the bitch is that Cruz and especially Rubio, match up better against Hil than Donald, but he is not that far behind.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Someone here told me that knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster and wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

...with tiny hands.

TM

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I guess I'm surprised by those polls because I do not believe Cruz can win a national election against a Democrat, even Sanders. He is extreme and he is a jackass, and people who know him do not like him ("A Bush alumnus told the New York Times’ Frank Bruni, ‘Why do people take such an instant dislike to Ted Cruz? It just saves time.’")

Meanwhile, Rubio is an incredible lightweight. It is amazing that he made it this far.

Trump is very, very good at what he does. And he offers the potential to bring new and crossover voters, something Cruz and Rubio do not. OTOH, lots of people hate him.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Lots of people hate Hillary too. So it sets up an election of who has more haters and whom do the majority of voters hate less. (None of this is to ascribe merit to the reasons for the hate of either candidate).

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Hillary's haters are overwhelming white men, most of them already Republicans. They are a lot of loud, crass assholes, but generally not swing voters.

They overlap heavily with the Obama haters.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I defense of the GOP, I think it will be more difficult for Trump from here on out. I have seen a fairly strong argument that it is not really Republicans, but Dixiecrats who are putting him over the top in the open primaries. Trump has not yet won an open primary, and Nevada, though it in theory has a closed caucus, also had election workers wearing Trump attire and failing to check id, and it's Nevada, so I don't think anyone is shocked at voting irregularities.

There are only 10 open primaries left, and there are a number of upcoming closed primaries that are winner-take-all. I am putting my faith in the fact that Trump hasn't broken 30% and has performed poorly with real Republicans in closed primaries. I think he knows this, and that explains his post-Super-Tuesday kinder and gentler Donald Trump that has emerged.

Between that, and the fact that the rules of the convention will be set in the future, I am hopeful that we can pull off a brokered convention and put in anyone but Trump. Heck even Romney, even though he was a crap candidate last time. At least I would vote for him.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

The question is: what's a republican?

Not to rain on your parade, but his worst performance on Tuesday was in Minnesota. It doesn't get any more open than a Minnesota caucus (aside from being a caucus instead of a primary). It's literally walk in off the street and cast a ballot.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Someone who is actually registered as a Republican voting in a primary open only to registered Rs, as opposed to someone registered as a Democrat, who votes in an open primary.

My understanding is that Minnesota is a modified open caucus, which means that Rs and independents can participate. And if you note, my point was that the 4 states Ted Cruz has won are all closed primaries (and that the one he didn't was riddled with illegalities), not that Trump has won every single open primary state. So you are not raining on my parade at all.

[I fully understand, though, that hope is not a strategy...]

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Agreed. It is quite funny.

The Internet is polluted with so much hyperbole because of shit sites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed that wherever a strong verb or adjective is used, one should stop reading after the first line. "Marco Rubio Bought a Coffee at Starbucks This Morning. What Happened Next is Amazing!"

Except that he is worth over a billion, and has built a solid brand, garish as it is, so that part about business acumen... #justsayin And no. That he screwed people in r/e development workouts does not undo his success. First, that's an essential part of that business. Second, that only proves the guy can artfully work through a really tough deal.

Only half of it. He's appalling. But the way he's totally blowing up the GOP is incredibly entertaining. If only Bernie would get traction and do the same to that crooked stuffed pantsuit and her soldiers on the D side. (I disagree with Sanders on almost everything, but he is the only person out there with integrity.)

Still, I like one thing Trump is doing. Among the lies, there are occasional kernels of candor that are fantastic. His defense of Planned Parenthood (even though he has to claim he'll defund it to placate the Jesus Crazies) is great. And telling a bunch of corporate Bush stooges that W lied to get us into Iraq and did not keep the country safe was excellent. If nothing else, that pumpkinhead killed the Bush dynasty, and for that we all owe him a debt.

Oh, that's overwrought. A lot of people know he's full of shit but view him as the only "hand grenade" candidate who can actually get enough votes to get to DC and truly make a mess of the system.

Bullshit. Trump's attracting lower middle class voters who want protectionism. Our media is focusing on the David Dukes and the Mexican wall nonsense because nobody in the Establishment wants to address the criticism that globalization fucks over a lot of average people. It's all about money. It's always all about money. Trump is fueled primarily by poor folks who want to roll back globalization.

Trump's full of shit. He'd run the country as a moderate. He'd drop the useful idiots like a hot rock the minute he was elected and start cutting deals. Yeah, it'd be fucking embarrassing to have him in office. But any more than having W in office? We've been an embarrassment for a long time. And you can look forward to many more Trumps in the future because this is the shit you get after decades of politicians promising shit they could never hope to deliver, and engaging in wars they couldn't hope to win. It's a rich tapestry of shit to which we've all contributed through apathy, greed, and stupidity. I can't think of a better gold plated figurehead to run this garbage scow of a country into the iceberg it deserves that a king clown like Trump.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

There is no such thing as "registered" with a party affiliation in Minnesota. Anyone who wants to can participate in a caucus (or vote in a primary, when we have those, which we don't for president). I'm not sure I've ever voted for a republican, but I could have joined the GOP caucus on Tuesday if I wanted to.

And I accept that Minnesota might be an outlier, and that Trump is certainly pulling in new voters who have not previously been registered with the party, but I'm skeptical that being closed is going to save the GOP.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

Donald Trump astutely took a fortune and built it into... a slightly smaller fortune than if he'd have invested his inheritance in an index fund.

A lot of those people also just happen to not like Mexicans, the Chinese and Muslims too, though.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

I was not a Hillary hater (frankly, she'll run things like a moderate Reagan Democrat, so the GOP hatred for her is baffling). But the way she's gamed the system to screw Bernie? And her plagiarism of his speeches? Fuck her.

Sanders is nuts, but he's addressing the root problems in the country. And his followers, however naive they might be, saw hope in the guy. As they begin to realize Hillary and the D Establishment had it gamed in terms of superdelegates and the timing of debates so that Bernie had not one but both arms tied behind his back, they inevitably become cynical. They learn the lesson that, no, in America, we do not tackle the nasty issues with any frankness. The best we give them is lip service.

Criminal justice reform? That died with Bernie and Rand Paul. Avoidance of pre-emptive wars and unnecessary interventions? Again, dead with Paul and Sanders. (Think Hillary is not going to be hawkish in the Middle East? Think she won't put boots on the ground? You're fucking deluded. It'll be hard finding daylight between her foreign policy and that of a neocon. Bank on it.) Oh, and wealth inequality? Hillary's owned by the rentier capitalists as much if not more than W, H.W., and Obama.

You can't win in this election. Whichever way you vote, you get Nix-- No. Wait. That's an insult to Nixon, who'd be seen as an unelectable liberal in either party today. No... This time around, the best you'll get is a stooge bought and paid for by special interests. The House always wins.

I must go now... people tell me Mitt Romney's going to say something important soon. I wouldn't want to miss that. I've had terrible insomnia lately, and there is no more effective cure.

Re: Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.
 

How did she game anything with Bernie?

He seems to have lost this fair and square. He's getting votes in caucuses among the party hardcore, she's getting them in primaries, where larger populations come out; he's getting them in the North, she's getting them everywhere; he just didn't have the horses. And they've had more than enough debates for my taste, and I've only seen about half of them.

Some of that is being new to the national stage, some of it is the message, some of it is the messenger.