US Politics, April 2020 -- Where's the Vax Returns?

Clark Gable is trending

not Chas Laughton?

too many misspellings most likely

Direct deposits, I iamagine.

poor Franchot Tone! Ignored in life and death.

the trump tweets that are written with a “stewie from family guy” implied intonation are the weirdest trump tweets. too easy!

Meanwhile, Virginia:

The leftward transformation of Virginia since President Trump was elected crescendoed over the weekend, with the governor signing into law protections for L.G.B.T. residents, gun background checks, no jail time for simple marijuana possession and early voting.

The flurry of new measures enacted by Gov. Ralph S. Northam, a Democrat, came five months after members of his party took control of the Legislature back from Republicans for the first time in more than 20 years. Mr. Northam had been facing a deadline of midnight Saturday for signing bills into law.

In Virginia, Democrats have developed a political advantage in the heavily populated northern suburbs of Washington, where Hispanic and Asian voters make up a growing part of the electorate, as well as in places with a significant African-American population like Norfolk.

Democrats have used that upper hand to remake a state that was once the seat of the Confederacy and known as a conservative bastion, one that the political scientist V.O. Key Jr. described as “political museum piece.” He wrote that, by comparison to Virginia, Mississippi was “a hotbed of democracy.”

Did anyone note yet that the conservative incumbent lost his Wisconsin supreme court seat? I refuse to allow myself optimism but...

At the risk of hyperbole, should Biden win Wisconsin, it will be thanks to this shocker.

Well, not just because of the change in judges — which obviously matters — but also to Democratic anger and motivation over the whole way the election was handled.

some found it easier to root for Capt Bligh when he went up vs Brando in '62

I mentioned it upthread, it was a real surprise to me not only because of what happened in Milwaukee but also b/c I saw Kelly signs everywhere, even in a city that leans Dem. I agree it seems like a sign but at the same time I wonder if Bernie staying in the race helped some since a lot of people were still motivated to vote for him

i think it's impossible to conclude anything either way about the general election from wisconsin. pandemic + only one side had a semi-competitive primary makes what you learn from turnout meaningless.

(i mean conclude anything about what it means for general election results. obviously it's good news for pending cases and likely legal malarkey.)

WI republicans clearly operated on the assumption that no matter how much they abused their powers of office to entrench themselves, that very abuse of power would shield them from any consequences. It's an operating practice which has been road-tested and has proved successful for a very long time for white racists in the ex-Confederate states, so it's easy to see why they've been trying it on for size.

Whoa: Senator Richard Burr not only engaged in obvious insider trading on the coronavirus after receiving intelligence reports on the looming pandemic, but he also sold his townhouse to a pharma lobbyist above market price for a tidy profit https://t.co/FX4tS6Lyqo

— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 14, 2020

damn, he's definitely going to be shamed by the rest of the GOP into an early resignation, now

Plus he shot Alexander Hamilton. What a dick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLJ2Vjv2x18

i think it's impossible to conclude anything either way about the general election from wisconsin. pandemic + only one side had a semi-competitive primary makes what you learn from turnout meaningless.

Agreed, kinda, when you take it on its own. But when you combine it with the results of pretty much every midterm or off-year election in a non-Confederate state (and some in Confederate states, too) since Trump assumed the presidency, a pattern does begin to emerge.

http://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/politics/california-economy-coronavirus-newsom/index.html

While Trump blathers on, it seems that governors, including Newsom--who walks a tightrope that Trump can't recognize, and instead mistakes him for his new best friend--will proceed cautiously.

thank god

BREAKING: Major U.S. airlines and Treasury Dept. reach deal in principle on government aid; announcement to come later today - sourceshttps://t.co/CxcP6Ql9O5

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) April 14, 2020

Dateline: Washington, D.C. -- In an expected development, the US Treasury Dept. and all major US airlines jointly announced a deal where the US government would provide major air carriers with a bailout consisting of $40 billion in large, unmarked bills, while briskly slapping minor US airlines for even thinking they deserved consideration.

LET'S GO AIRLINES!!! NICE!!!!!!

In case it wasn't sufficiently obvious, I made that up.

that richard burr thing seems like ... not a big deal. he sold a house for 12% over its assessed tax value. in a fast rising market like DC that seems totally reasonable? i paid 15% over the asking price for my house.

did you buy it from a politician of a senate committee that you were lobbying?

yes

well, then...

that makes you smart :D

CNN's fact-checker Daniel Dale (quoting a friend), in connection to Trump's modified claim now that he will grant permission to governors to do what they're already allowed to do: "It's like me giving all super models permission to date other people."

haha I guess it is pretty funny that so far all the big health care proposals to respond to the crisis (that have the support of leadership) are identical to the requests the health insurance lobby sent to Congress https://t.co/CKs8jCFK1N pic.twitter.com/venuHmZt76

— tyson brody (@tysonbrody) April 14, 2020

Gee really hope the msm pushes the “your check is delayed because of this dumb asshole” story

This is appalling on every level.

“The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name be printed on stimulus checks the IRS is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that is expected to slow their delivery by several days.” https://t.co/aTrWKoaHIc

— Frederick M. Hess (@rickhess99) April 15, 2020

and as surprising as the sunrise

It's the closest he'll get to having his picture on real money during his lifetime.

i mean you can electronically deposit checks nowadays, might as well wipe your ass with it first

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/14/coronavirus-us-live-donald-trump-briefing-deaths-rise-cuomo-fauci-latest-news-updates

great president you got there

Trump blaming the WHO for this is like someone blaming their alarm clock for being late from work , when they put it on snooze ten times before getting out of bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NYFq7ZJg4c

Some of the most odious thugs in the Aussie government plus the prime minister lining up to back trump in the WHO.

The US spy base in Australia also still flying staff and cargo in unchecked, while anyone else entering the continent gets locked up for 14 days in a city.

for fuck's sake can somebody just put a bullet thru the cunt already?

*FBI knocks on door*

for fuck's sake can somebody just put a bullet thru the cunt in the middle of fifth avenue already?

^ there, this one is okay to say

Pretty sure Trump is defunding WHO because of Sidney Poitier marrying a white woman in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

He pointed out yesterday (like he'd just realized it himself) that the two bodies who are very unfair to the USA, the WHO and the WTO, both begin with a 'W," but he stopped short of extending that to the WWE.

Or the WAR

Wobblies also historically very unfair to the USA

I am sensing a pattern here

On a Saturday in early March, Donald J. Trump, clad in a baseball cap, strode into the Situation Room for a meeting with the coronavirus task force. He didn’t stop by the group’s daily meetings often, but he had an idea he was eager to share: He wanted to start a White House talk radio show.

At the time, the virus was rapidly spreading across the country, and Mr. Trump would soon announce a ban on European travel. A talk radio show, Mr. Trump excitedly explained, would allow him to quell Americans’ fears and answer their questions about the pandemic directly, according to three White House officials who heard the pitch. There would be no screening, he said, just an open line for people to call and engage one-on-one with the president.

But that Saturday, almost as suddenly as he proposed it, the president outlined one reason he would not be moving forward with it: He did not want to compete with Rush Limbaugh.

No one in the room was sure how to respond, two of the officials said. Someone suggested hosting the show in the mornings or on weekends, to steer clear of the conservative radio host’s schedule. But Mr. Trump shook his head, saying he envisioned his show as two hours a day, every day. And were it not for Mr. Limbaugh, and the risk of encroaching on his territory, he reiterated, he would do it.

One of the officials involved directly in the effort said it wasn’t the first time Mr. Trump had discussed hosting a radio show from the White House. But if some in the room were unsure whether the president’s proposal was a joke, they knew his deference to Mr. Limbaugh was anything but.

When it comes to the president’s favored media figures, most observers tend to fixate on the Fox News lineup of Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. But several people close to Mr. Trump say that in the midst of a pandemic, he has come to keenly appreciate the extent of Mr. Limbaugh’s reach, and the fact that his show, perhaps more than any other source, offers a real-time metric of how the president’s decisions are playing with his supporters.

Now, as multiple voices vie for the president’s ear on the appropriate timeline for America’s path to normalcy, Mr. Limbaugh is amplifying Mr. Trump’s instinct for swiftness. And for this president, as well as much of his party, Mr. Limbaugh’s affirmation remains a powerful motivator.

“Talk radio is still a powerhouse when it comes to Republican voters,” said Jason Miller, co-host of the War Room podcast and a former Trump communications adviser. And the president, Mr. Miller said, “realizes how big a powerhouse Rush is.”

The White House declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s desire for a radio show.

GOOD MORNING

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/us/trump-radio-show-rush-limbaugh.html

And were it not for Mr. Limbaugh, and the risk of encroaching on his territory, he reiterated, he would do it.

i've always wanted rush to die. but now that it's so close, i'm concerned about the consequences