Wednesday, July 31, 2024
It Did A Few Times
Trump declines to say whether Vance would be ready to serve as president on day one. “Historically the choice for vice president doesn’t matter. You’re voting for me.”
— Heather Cherone (@HeatherCherone) July 31, 2024
Q: Is JD Vance ready on day one?
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 31, 2024
Trump: What?
Q: Is he ready on day one?
Trump: Well, the Vice President does not have any impact pic.twitter.com/J2sMAu1Y9k
Strange Obsessions
Vance isn't unique in his obsession with whether people have kids or not. On the Right it's all wrapped up with patriarchal views, fears of "racial contamination", and the desire for the subjugation of women, but even aside from that people are often weirdly concerned with whether or not people have children.
Unearthed video: JD Vance says he and Trump will “go to war against” childless people, who he calls “sad, lonely, and pathetic”: “They should feel like their life is inadequate” pic.twitter.com/dcLZ2wNxyd
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 31, 2024
Foreign Policy Guy
A "funny" thing about Biden is he's always fancied himself to be Mr. Foreign Policy Guy, which is a bit odd if you know his history and are looking at the newspaper at the moment.
Jargon isn't wisdom.
Jargon isn't wisdom.
Seems Bad
But this is all self-defense.
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of torture and mistreatment.I know, don't mention Gaza or the bad orange man wins.
The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.
Taboos
Leaving aside the issue of who in any sense deserves it, taboos against assasinating political leaders exist for a reason, and that reason isn't to protect people like me (who are not political leaders).
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in the Iranian capital Tehran, in an assassination that could further destabilize the Middle East and jeopardize Israel-Hamas negotiations.There have never been any real negotiations, just kayfabe for US domestic audiences and perhaps for people in the Biden administration
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Democracy Dies In Darkness
Many British journalists do not see it as their job to inform the public.
LONDON — Attorneys for Prince Harry and prominent U.K. politicians Monday accused Washington Post chief executive and publisher Will Lewis of concocting a story 13 years ago to shield evidence from police of possible crimes at Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids.
In court, the lawyers submitted a statement arguing that Lewis “fabricated a fake security threat” in January 2011 to justify the deletion of millions of emails dating from the start of 2008 through the end of 2010 — an act that those suing the company suggest is part of a wider coverup.
Why Would You Care About A Candidate's "Foreign Policy Judgment" You Weirdo?
Is it good that war is expanding into Lebanon? Is this Grown Up Foreign Policy?
It's weird that caring about this is now seen as some Brooklyn Hipster Podcaster niche concern instead of what is often at the center of presidential issues.
Even if you don't care about the extermination of Palestinians, isn't there something here we're supposed to care about?
Even if we don't care about Those People, it can all be a little disruptive to our Amazon product shipments.
What if the 3AM call is from... Lebanon???
It's weird that caring about this is now seen as some Brooklyn Hipster Podcaster niche concern instead of what is often at the center of presidential issues.
Even if you don't care about the extermination of Palestinians, isn't there something here we're supposed to care about?
Even if we don't care about Those People, it can all be a little disruptive to our Amazon product shipments.
What if the 3AM call is from... Lebanon???
Ethics
We can debate what their salaries should be, but "you get to have immense power and in exchange you agree to live with the relative poverty of a mid-six figure salary" seems like a reasonable trade.
Plenty of people would make the trade, just not the types of people they want there.
Plenty of people would make the trade, just not the types of people they want there.
I'm Sure Sam Alito Would Buy This
Amazing scenes from the world's most moral army.
The investigation into the soldiers was launched after a detained terror suspect was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus. He was arrested by the IDF in the Gaza Strip several weeks ago.
The right-wing Honenu legal aid organization, which is representing four of the reservist soldiers, claimed on Monday that its clients acted in self-defense in the incident.
Patron Politics
JD Vance advanced in politics mostly due to his excellent ability to kiss the ass of a particularly freakish rich guy, and not because of anything resembling the "people skills" we associate with politicians. Not all politicians have them, and we can debate how important they are for actually governing/legislating rather than just getting elected, but a political system that allows for people to advance by being good at working a room and appealing to people is better (all things equal) than one which merely promotes people who know which powerful asses to kiss.
We envy parliamentary systems (for many good reasons!), but centralized political parties do tend to promote people who know how to climb the ladder of a centralized bureaucracy instead of ones who know how to work a room. Most national British politicians (for example) would rather do anything but be in a room with their constituents.
Such systems can make candidates out of people who are successful in local politics, but instead tend to make candidates out of people who have been asskissing their way to the top within the central national party network. You can't just become an MP candidate for a major party by running in a primary.
We envy parliamentary systems (for many good reasons!), but centralized political parties do tend to promote people who know how to climb the ladder of a centralized bureaucracy instead of ones who know how to work a room. Most national British politicians (for example) would rather do anything but be in a room with their constituents.
Such systems can make candidates out of people who are successful in local politics, but instead tend to make candidates out of people who have been asskissing their way to the top within the central national party network. You can't just become an MP candidate for a major party by running in a primary.
Obviously the American political system is distorted by money and nepotism - that's how we have Senator Vance - but much of the political system is still populated by people who "do politics" in that somewhat idealized way. You can hustle your way from city council to state house to governor to president, from pressing the flesh at senior citizen centers to becoming a senator.
Probably "machine politics" is the closest comparison to centralized powerful political parties with internal candidate selection, and of course the US has some examples of that. Hi/bye Bob Menendez!
One big flaw in our system is that it definitely benefits politicians that know how to kiss the asses of national political journalists, who among other faults tend to be extremely dishonest about the roles they play. A good recent example was the nonstop coverage of a certain Florida governor whose name you've already forgotten.
Monday, July 29, 2024
Like Us
Jennings gets some applause for this, which he should:
It is notable and it tells us much that Jennings obviously committed a social faux pas, even if one we can chuckle about it, and not Barbara Walters for being Henry's dear friend.
Everyone knew what Kissinger was responsible for. It isn't secret or in dispute. And yet there he always was, sitting at the dinner table, a dinner which Peter almost ruined!
Henry Grunwald, father of Mandy, of Clintonworld fame.
Blinken will never lack dinner invitations, either.
At a dinner party in 2002, the ABC News anchor Peter Jennings buttonholed Mr. Kissinger, asking him, “How does it feel to be a war criminal, Henry?”, according to Ms. Walters, who described the evening in a 2006 interview with New York magazine. Mr. Kissinger said nothing in reply; his wife was deeply hurt.But the real question here is, "How does it feel to be at a dinner party, hosted by celebrity journalist Barbara Walters, with war criminal Henry Kissinger, Peter?"
It is notable and it tells us much that Jennings obviously committed a social faux pas, even if one we can chuckle about it, and not Barbara Walters for being Henry's dear friend.
Everyone knew what Kissinger was responsible for. It isn't secret or in dispute. And yet there he always was, sitting at the dinner table, a dinner which Peter almost ruined!
The question stunned the dinner guests, who included Time Inc. editor Henry Grunwald, who also died last year, and former ABC chairman Thomas Murphy. Grunwald told Jennings the comment was “unsuitable,” but Jennings persisted. “I tried to change the subject, but it was a very uncomfortable moment,” says Walters. “Nancy [Kissinger's wife] reacted very strongly and hurt.”
Henry Grunwald, father of Mandy, of Clintonworld fame.
Blinken will never lack dinner invitations, either.
Shorter Andrew Klavan
The purpose of the state is to force women to fuck me, because there's no way they'll do it voluntarily.
Even Fallon
He doesn't kick anybody "important" unless they're already dead.
“Just to give you a sense of how bad that is, here’s a list of things currently polling higher than JD Vance.”
Fallon then listed: “First, there’s sun-warmed egg salad. Next, there is the lice outbreak email from your kid’s school. And, finally, there’s people who use the word “Fri-Yay.”
Should We Take Him Literally Or Figuratively
This is probably a bad idea.
Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: And on day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory, and I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.
...
I want to start. First, Donald Trump's campaign claimed that this was about COVID mandates. Later on, they became a bit vague.I give PBS credit for not deciding on their own that Trump just meant Covid.
Mockery
Two of my grand theories of politics are that mockery (not lighthearted jokes, but genuine mockery mixed with contempt) is a genuinely powerful tool and that not-especially-tuned-in-voters assume that whoever is on offense must be correct and whoever is on defense must have done something wrong.
"Key Nuance"
One problem with politics is that voters refuse to believe what Republicans actually want to do. One reason for that is because reporters refuse to believe it (or pretend to) as well.
Also his "not bans" are actually bans.
Sunday, July 28, 2024
YEAH BOYEEEEEE
If I had a bit of extra money and was a bit bored I'd be some sort of patron like this.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
There is something almost too perfect about the demand from The Bitcoin Community for the federal government to buy up hundreds of billions of their libertarian fake money.
Gimmetarianism every time.
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Hey Elon, Name Just Two Of The Evangelists
I know he just means "white people" but he'd struggle to name Jesus's mommy.
Siri Show Me The Opposite Of Crony Corruption
This is from Politico.
This is in the family of "Politician X wants to raise taxes on the rich but did you know he is rich himself?" type pieces. The opposite of scandal or hypocrisy presented as if it is.
Friday, July 26, 2024
America's Worst Humans
Vivian then did an interview with NBC.
“I was in fourth grade. We went on this road trip that I didn’t know was actually just an advertisement for one of the cars — I don’t remember which one — and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high,” she said. “It was cruel.”Related to the previous post, of course.
It's July
Remember when this was all going to wrap about by the end of January and Biden was going to do a triumphant peace tour?
“Every single signatory to this letter treated children in Gaza who suffered violence that must have been deliberately directed at them. Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head.”Anyhoo, Harris is making better sounds at least. I understand she's not in charge.
Victory For Diversity
Unearthed audio: JD Vance calls for a “federal response” to block women in red states from traveling to another state to get an abortion pic.twitter.com/t9YAbFuoPc
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 26, 2024
Let's say Roe vs. Wade is overruled, Ohio bans abortion, um, you know, in 2022, let's say 2024, and then, you know, every day George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately black women to get them to go have abortions in California. And of course The Left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity. That's kinda creepy.
...
If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening, because it's really creepy. And, you know, I'm pretty sympathetic to that actually.
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
What Are Kids For
Vance's repeated position is that people should have kids and there's something wrong with people who don't - even people who adopt or are stepparents! - but he also reveals his very standard conservative view that children exist as only extensions of the parents.
A strange thing about this view is few who have it see their relationships with their own parents that way. Time begins with them.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Cokie's Law In Action
At this point it doesn't much matter whether Vance fucked a couch or not (the AP did a fact check and then pulled it - funny) because it's become part of the culture. I was at the hipster coffee shop yesterday and this was all anyone was talking about.
Walzpilled
I don't like Shapiro, and a couple of other floated names give me a bit of pause, but I mostly don't claim to have great insight into who the one true Veep candidate is. Could be sold on Walz!
Started/Going
Two days ago.
People seem to be surprised that it's still around! Even if we pretend it's never fatal (it still is), it's a bad illness!
"Currently we have had one athlete from the (water polo) team isolating with COVID which was detected last night. So as a precaution, they're not joining us this morning," Meares said during a press conference on Tuesday.Today:
"I need to emphasise that we are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo. The athlete is not particularly unwell and they are still training but sleeping in a single room," she added.
PARIS (AP) — Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team for the Paris Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19.Generally I find the level of official covid denialism to be a bit disconcerting. I'm not saying I have a handle on what the precise right level of concern/practice is, or how much we should be guided by Long Covid concerns, but it is still a highly contagious disease that can rip through your little sporting event and take down many of your athletes for 7-10 days or more. Most won't be performing at their peak!
People seem to be surprised that it's still around! Even if we pretend it's never fatal (it still is), it's a bad illness!
Loofa Man
Just an occasion to observe that in 2002, back when I started doing this very fine blog, Bill O'Reilly was the age I am now.
They Did It
Who knows what happens next - or precisely how we got here - but The Professional Democrats did manage to hand the baton to Harris in a clean fashion, resisting pundit and donor pressure to turn the relay into a synchronized swimming competition.
Good job, Professional Democrats!
Good job, Professional Democrats!
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Just Say No To Shapiro
A little bird at Penn informed me that Shapiro's behind the scenes pressure (of course) on both Penn and Philadelphia authorities was intense, though the administration at the former welcomed that.
In April, Shapiro’s office baselessly claimed that a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment on the Penn campus threatened student safety. “If the universities in accordance with their policies can’t guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local governor or local town councilor, whoever is the local leadership there, to step in and enforce the law,” Shapiro told Politico at the time. In May, he urged Penn to shut down the encampment completely. “The University of Pennsylvania has an obligation to their safety,” he said, once again alluding to non-existent threats to the physical wellbeing of Jewish students. “It is past time for the university to act, to address this, to disband the encampment, and to restore order and safety on campus.” The university complied; one day and 33 arrests later, Shapiro’s office said Penn “made the right decision.”It is important to remember that Penn is not a state institution, making Shapiro's involvement even more inappropriate.
Because It's Fake
Answered it for you.
Will the Tesla robotaxi have a steering wheel or not? Elon Musk won’t say.These things can't function without a significant "mechanial turk" component even in the most optimistic scenarios. People say the Waymos in SF work well enough, and I believe that, but they're a bit cagey about how much "remote intervention" is actually required, though this suggests it's quite a bit!
The Tesla CEO dodged several questions during an earnings call Tuesday about the status of the company’s long-promised autonomous vehicle, including whether it would have traditional controls like pedals and steering wheels.
It’s an increasingly important question left hovering over Tesla’s robotaxi plans, which have been already been delayed to allow more work on the prototype. Theoretically, a steering wheel- and pedal-less vehicle could take months, if not years, to be approved for public roads. A more traditional looking vehicle, meanwhile, could be released a lot sooner.
Big Loser
I'm laughing at Trump (likely) spending 4 hours per day pestering his advisers asking if he can dump the guy.
“Frankly, I don’t really understand the pick,” Enten told Erin Burnett on Tuesday’s OutFront. “And apparently, neither do the American voters because we take a look at the net favorable rating for JD Vance. That’s the favorable minus unfavorable. It’s in negative net territory. Look at that. Negative six points.”
Enten says he looked at every election since 1980 and could not find another veep selection with a net negative rating.
Will They Ever Learn
Seems like Elon made a boast to his buddies that got leaked to the WSJ which he's now denying
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has denied reports that emerged last week that he was planning to donate $45m a month to a Super Pac focused on getting Trump elected.Is it funny or not funny that even $180 million or so is chump change to Elon?
On Tuesday, Musk appeared on Jordan Peterson’s show, where he said the claim was “simply not true”. “I am not donating $45m a month to Trump,” he said.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Sounds Bad
I'm reading The Ministry for the Future now and, well, this is probably bad!
Global temperatures hit the highest levels in recorded history on Sunday, according to preliminary data from Europe’s top climate monitor — another worrying sign of how human-caused climate change is pushing the planet into dangerous new territory.
The Tragic Flaw
There is a tragic flaw in our precious constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president. ― Kurt VonnegutI'm not picking on Harris here, but I admit I can't imagine anyone - especially a POC woman - saying yes, yes, that is something I want to do.
Again - that isn't a criticism of her!
The contemporary corollary to that is you have to be some previously unobserved form of crazy to want to be Donald Trump's running mate.
Heckuva Job
The new Philly mayor basically sucks and this kind of "not thinking anything through" is a good example of precisely how.
Instead of using the city’s desk hoteling system, where hybrid workers shared desks on different days of the week, he was assigned to a cramped conference room in City Hall.She forced city workers to return to the office without any real plan for exactly what that would mean, or any consideration of the very real advantages of working from home (for some people and purposes).
There were six electrical outlets along the walls, far away from where workers were expected to sit. And nine people from different teams were assigned to the room.
THIS WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING
I am still amused at how the instant pundit reaction (including from many of your favorite "Democratic Strategists") was that Trump's shooting would CHANGE EVERYTHING and mean THE DEMOCRATS COULD NO LONGER CRITICIZE HIM BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE INCITING VIOLENCE and THAT PICTURE WOULD BE ICONIC FOR THE AGES. It was like 10 days ago and "we've" all forgotten.
Of course the attempted assassination of a major political figure is a big deal, but in a world of near-daily mass shootings it isn't as big of a deal as it might have been once upon a time. Remember when that guy opened fire on a congressional baseball game almost killing dozens? You barely do!
Of course the attempted assassination of a major political figure is a big deal, but in a world of near-daily mass shootings it isn't as big of a deal as it might have been once upon a time. Remember when that guy opened fire on a congressional baseball game almost killing dozens? You barely do!
There's nothing these people want more than to hold solemn roundtables about the yearning for "national unity" or some shit despite, well, the reality of everything!
I Am A Failure
The election of Trump in 2016 was a bit of a disappointment, but so was the response by every liberally-leaning engaged person to throw all their money into New York Times subscriptions thinking they were going to save us. The Times ran an opportunistic ad campaign after the election feeding that idea and people responded by opening their wallets. Maggie Haberman thanks you!
I don't think there's one correct model of journalism. Opinion journalism is fine, ideological journalism fine, crusading issue journalism is fine. It can all be good, including the American "balanced" model of journalism that most mainstream publications/outlets claim they aspire to.
However, one problem (there are a few) with the "balanced" model is it's easy to smuggle in an agenda behind it and claim your critics are just mad you aren't supporting THEIR agenda (over 20 years of hearing this). And Dash Sulzberger, the latest failson in the long line of a failed inbreeding experiment, has clearly - more than his predecessor - embraced agenda journalism, pushing specific issues in a "flood the zone" coverage, with little balance in the coverage or concern for maintaining an illusion of appropriate proportionality.
The problem isn't that the paper is doing that, precisely, the problem is that they're doing that while hiding behind their reputation and claimed model of journalism. I mean, they're just lying to you and to critics daily, implicitly and explicitly, about what they are. That's a problem!
tl;dr fuck that fucking newspaper.
I don't think there's one correct model of journalism. Opinion journalism is fine, ideological journalism fine, crusading issue journalism is fine. It can all be good, including the American "balanced" model of journalism that most mainstream publications/outlets claim they aspire to.
However, one problem (there are a few) with the "balanced" model is it's easy to smuggle in an agenda behind it and claim your critics are just mad you aren't supporting THEIR agenda (over 20 years of hearing this). And Dash Sulzberger, the latest failson in the long line of a failed inbreeding experiment, has clearly - more than his predecessor - embraced agenda journalism, pushing specific issues in a "flood the zone" coverage, with little balance in the coverage or concern for maintaining an illusion of appropriate proportionality.
The problem isn't that the paper is doing that, precisely, the problem is that they're doing that while hiding behind their reputation and claimed model of journalism. I mean, they're just lying to you and to critics daily, implicitly and explicitly, about what they are. That's a problem!
tl;dr fuck that fucking newspaper.
Monday, July 22, 2024
PUT A GOP DADDY ON THE TICKET
These fucking people.
Interesting... just had some calls with some veteran Democrats and there is hope that VP Harris considers some names beyond those mentioned for the VP slot... from retired military leaders to business leaders
— Robert Costa (@costareports) July 22, 2024
Childless Cat Ladies
Quite a few of those.
When he was running for Senate in 2022, Vance said the following about Kamala Harris and other female Democrats holding elective office:
"We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via the corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too. It's just a basic fact. You have Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. How does that make any sense when we've turned our country over to people who don't have a direct stake in it."
Oh No Elmo
Phony Stark "invents" things by writing, for example, 'make cool robot' on a napkin and then tells his workers to get it done in 6 months. It doesn't always work out well!
When will Tesla deliver on those Optimus robots we keep hearing about? It’s going to be a little while longer than first anticipated, according to CEO Elon Musk.Why would companies want a medicore (at best) general purpse humanoid robot instead of a highly accurate specialized machine? There aren't a lot of good answers to that, at least until "mediocre" becomes "excellent."
“Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026,” Musk tweeted on Monday morning.
Let Me Tell You About My Heroism
I am somewhat interested in the full sequence of events leading up to Biden dropping out, but The TRUTH is being obscured by competing self-interested narratives peddled to journalists. I'm not saying truth is unknowable, just that it isn't likely to be knowable at the moment.
Why does it matter at all? As I've been saying, a lot of people (electeds, pundits, journalists) have been behaving very very badly.
It's all a Cardassian mystery novel - everybody is guilty and the challenge is figuring out who, exactly, is guilty of what?
Why does it matter at all? As I've been saying, a lot of people (electeds, pundits, journalists) have been behaving very very badly.
It's all a Cardassian mystery novel - everybody is guilty and the challenge is figuring out who, exactly, is guilty of what?
SUMMER FUNDRAISING DAY 2
A lot has happened since day 1, and I need all your money keep my blogs mighty and powerful in these complex and changing times!
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Democrats Against Democrats
There can be some reasonable disagreement about whether a "moderate" Democrat is "more electable" - though it is important as always to note that what is coded "moderate" in DC often doesn’t reflect any kind of median position of the electorate - but the moderate brand is not the same as the "Democrat who likes to say every Democrat to his Left - all of them - sucks" brand. Political journalists pretend not to understand the difference when people like Manchin start causing shit.
There is actually going to be the "open convention" everyone dreams about, and if someone want to make it competitive they can. Just don't expect people to applaud! Go on TV, make the case, call some delegates and convince them to support you! That's politics, baby!
Biden, whatever his flaws and whatever he did subsequently, was a moderate (as coded in DC) Democrat when he ran in the primary in 2019-2020, not a "Democrat who hates Democrats." There is a difference.
"I think a lot of people would like to see a mini primary," Manchin said. "That's the process — find out if you have the strongest candidate, whether it could be Kamala or whoever else."What the fuck is he (or any of these people) talking about? What is a "mini primary"? How does this happen?
There is actually going to be the "open convention" everyone dreams about, and if someone want to make it competitive they can. Just don't expect people to applaud! Go on TV, make the case, call some delegates and convince them to support you! That's politics, baby!
But what observers often miss is that under the existing rules, the convention will already be “open.” Any candidate willing to run who can identify 300 delegates (no more than 50 from any one state) supporting them can have her or his name placed in nomination. This would be true for either a “virtual roll call” (what the DNC is currently planning for the week after August 1) or for a traditional convention roll call.
The flip side of this open process is important, too: Biden’s stepping aside means there is no mechanism for him to transfer support to Kamala Harris or anyone else. If Democrats think his endorsement of Harris as the nominee is a bad idea and someone’s willing to go public with a challenge and can amass 300 delegates, the nomination could go elsewhere. So you don’t really have to invent some elaborate new process to hold an “open convention”; the 300-delegate requirement operates as both a window for competition and a limitation on chaos.
Sunday, July 21, 2024
...The Democrats
I had this post (below the ---) queued up before the announcement and I am just throwing it up now as a caution. It seems they are lining up behind Harris - and the Hunger Games will not happen - but keep your eyes/ears open for all the dipshits who will try to encourage otherwise.
‐‐---------‐------------------------------------
When I first saw people discussing this, I assumed it was a bit of fantasy that Semafor cooked up as a "what if" just to enrage people. It does come from people who are less important than they think they are but important enough that people take their calls.
A neutron star dense ball of insane stupidity, all to try to block Harris.
The candidates could then introduce themselves either in traditional televised forums or — as the authors prefer — in a televised series that includes Oprah Winfrey moderating a forum on “Personal Journeys – and Your Big Dreams for America”; Mr. Beast and Zendaya moderating one on “America’s Future…And Issues Facing Youth”; and Kara Swisher and Reed Hastings hosting one on “Technology, Innovation, and the Next American Century.” The memo says that informal outreach has begun to moderators and television networks.All that would be left is for convention delegates to choose — either through a traditional series of votes, or through a ranked-choice process.
Nothing could be more ...The Democrats! than having three lunatic Republicans for the National Security portion of the Hunger Games.
Kara Swisher! These people are trying to kill me.
SUMMER FUNDRAISING DAY 1
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PEAK SORKIN
WE HAVE ACHIEVED THE SORKIN SINGULARITY
In that fucking newspaper, of course.
Mitt does have the advantage of youth. 77!
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Or Maybe A Cornhole Tournament
This would be the optimal way to select a candidate. Just don't let anyone know thet my favorite is a 3 time Olympic cornhole gold medal winner.
Sure Why Not
Just keep throwing out these ideas, the more the better.
Should he make that decision, there will have to be quick steps,” Lofgren said.“Maybe a vetting hosted by former presidents including Obama and Clinton would be helpful and help focus the attention,” she added later. “And whoever emerges, including Kamala Harris, would be a stronger candidate than if we tried to exclude a transparent public process.”
Just host a vetting. Why not.
Hunger Games
Not that what I type on this blog matters all that much these days - maybe it did a little once upon a time - but participating in the WHAT TO DO ABOUT BIDEN discourse feels like being part of the problem.
HOWEVER... I will say that the expressed fantasies about some sort of made up competition to "avoid" replacing Biden with Harris confirm the not-very-nice motives of many of the powerful people behind the ditch Biden movement.
We won't just have a fight over candidates, we will have a fight over the process to determine those candidates, and fight over the process for that process.
...The Democrats!
Friday, July 19, 2024
Afternoon
Early weekend because, uh, Crowdstrike broke all the computers at Eschaton World Industries.
that's just, like, your opinion, man
In the bin with the rest.
July 19 (Reuters) - The World Court said on Friday that Israel's settlement policies and exploitation of natural resources in the Palestinian territories were in breach of international law.
Oh Dear The Wallet Inspector Hit All The Journalists Again
Maybe the Trump campaign will have a new tone next week.
Seems Bad
A security software update nuked half the business windows computers on the planet.
I am not a tech genius but it does seem like being able to update every single computer globally simultaneously is its own security flaw.
It looks like the fix is a simple one, but that is 5 minutes per computer...
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Van
Dipshit gonna dipshit, but it can't be overtated how much certain progressive organizations treated Jones like a God, or at least His One True Prophet, circa 2010.
CNN’s Van Jones: “A bullet couldn’t stop Trump, a virus stopped Biden.”
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 18, 2024
Am I Clear
My basic positions through all this have been:
-The people who have been trying to push Biden out have gone about it the wrong way at every step, whatever one thinks of their goal
-The pressure from "big donors" and similar is at least partially due to bad motives
-The only rational replacement for Biden is Harris, and getting rid of Harris is part of the goals of people in the two points above (I recognize there is not one perfectly aligned set of people, precisely, but...)
-It is quite the trick spinning from yelling at The Kids to stop whining about ethnic cleansing, including blasting people for the absolute mildest form of objection expression of voting "uncommitted" in primaries, to pushing the guy out
-A lot of people in power have behaved very very badly, and I suspect that this is somehow the fault of The Left
Americaland Tales
Biden has Covid.
Whoever is scripting this satirical dystopia, about the waning days of a declining empire, is hitting some too obvious beats.
It's a clear callback to season 1, which had a tidy ending that was scrapped due to the show being renewed for a second season.
The show's alternating images of what we support abroad yet pretend to decry at home are pretty powerful.
"Mass Deportation Now"
Those signs at the RNC could have said "Mass Extermination Now." They aren't a policy wish, but the just respectable representation of the true desires of the MAGA chuds.
They aren't really picky about who.
Extermination is more practical than expulsion and feeds their real desires.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
And How Does That Work
Politico (find it yourself - feel bad for linking once today) has a piece about how Biden AND Harris have to go, through some magic uncontroversial process, confirming that jettisoning Harris has been a major goal along.
Carville is prominently featured, of course.
Glad these geniuses have decised they are in charge.
Sure Why Not
A mild distraction.
A former reality star who claimed she has been secretly dating a US Senator for the last year has decided to 'expose all of his dirty secrets' online - including his bizarre fetishes that saw him paying her to eat Taco Bell in front of him.
It's Only Been 128 Days Since Someone Tried To Kill Trump
Remember when that was going to change EVERYTHING?
Truth Tellers
Journalists should cover this stuff, but they are more likely to do so if several Dems regularly refer to "JD Vance, Alex Jones supporter."
Speaking Of Being In On It
We have had 8 years of versions of "today is the day Trump became president" in part because the very clever boys and girls of the press corps can't imagine that they are the victims of the wallet inspector.
Contempt
I suppose I am just guilty of something I frequently accuse reporters of - that they are unoffended by lies as long as they think they are in on it - but there is something extra offensive about Biden's people deceiving "their own side." And not just random voters, but electeds and delegates and the general top apparatus of that amorphous thing we call the Democratic Party.
The head of the DNC spent his day arguing with Nate Silver on twitter and, I dunno, man, anything else going on? Also, don't make me side with Nate.
I have never been on team "chuck Biden out" in part because the people who began it didn't seem like they had any idea what they were doing, but now nobody does.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Beat Sweetener Bingo
One tell is maintaining the fiction that Vance grew up in small town Appalachia and not suburban Cincinnatti.
Beat Sweetener Season
A bunch of reporters are currently auditioning to be the next Mag Habs.
Also some are going all in to be the Vance whisperer.
Welp
That's malarkey, man.
CNN — President Joe Biden told an interviewer he considers himself a Zionist who has also done “more for the Palestinian community than anybody” while calling for more aid to reach the Gaza Strip.He has done a lot, just not sure it is "for".
Aside from the willigness to overlook all the deaths (or support them), the commentariat's general unconcern with the constant stream of gibberish and lies on this subject has been "interesting."
Just because "you" choose not to see it, don't think other people shouldn't or come to conclusions about who these people are.
He Had That One Locked And Loaded
I am not going to read it but of course JD Vance is Ross's dreamboat candidate.
23 minute read!
Monday, July 15, 2024
Doomerism
I gotta admit I don't really understand the wave of "Trump's ear was bleeding, he had a cool photo taken, BIDEN IS DOOOOOOOOOMED!!!"
I mean, he might be doomed, but I don't think that's going to matter much!
Well, Dems going supine (their comfy place) in response to it might do it, but...
I mean, he might be doomed, but I don't think that's going to matter much!
Well, Dems going supine (their comfy place) in response to it might do it, but...
But I Watched All Those Movies
I'm not immune to propaganda (none of us are) and I will admit that decades of Copaganda films in which the Secret Service are the most professional of law enforcement agencies, its agents perhaps imbued with mild superpowers and certainly willing to sacrfice everything to protect their charges, had an impact on me!
I suspect they aren't quite that good.
I suspect they aren't quite that good.
Calvinball
Just have to laugh.
BIG NEWS - Judge Cannon dismisses classified docs case —> says Jack Smith appointment is unconstitutional pic.twitter.com/kA4fCaHTPp
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) July 15, 2024
...The Democrats!
Whatever the reality, why do so many of them use reporters for their therapy sessions?
But the second senior House Democrat offered one reason for why it might: "We've all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency."I mean, telling people that all is lost for the presidency isn't going to do wonders for fundraising and volunteer recruitment everywhere! Saying these things out loud isn't the best way to keep those House seats!
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Clancy Wiggum Is On The Case
Amazing stuff.
Responding to questions from The Washington Post, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Sunday that the agency relied on local police at the Trump rally to fill out significant parts of its typical array of specialized protective units — including its heavily-armed counter assault team that provided cover as Trump’s detail evacuated him and the counter sniper teams that ultimately spotted and killed the shooter.Amazing:
One local police officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The officer retreated down the ladder, and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump, and that’s when Secret Service snipers shot him, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Editorial Judgment
A good example of how reporting is always subject to profoundly important choices. Include this context or leave it out? That fucking newspaper* left it in this time.
*"That fucking newspaper, which in 2020 published an opinion piece by Tom Cotton that..."
Saturday, July 13, 2024
Ruh-Roh
Gunshots at Trump rally.
#BREAKING Trump seen with blood on ear as removed from rally stage by security: AFP pic.twitter.com/K3JIhbjQvZ
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 13, 2024
Hippie Shit
Not picking on the Biden campaign here, but I'm regularly struck how conventional wisdom is that to win the presidency you "campaign from the center" (after going left in the primary, if there is one), and that is not actually what Dems do.
Rudy!
Say goodbye to your money.
A federal judge in New York on Friday threw out Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case, paving the way for a litany of creditors, including two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation claim against him, to pursue and potentially seize his assets.
In his 22-page order, Lane cited Giuliani’s “continued failure to meet his reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor in possession” and called his behavior “troubling.” It restricts Giuliani from seeking bankruptcy protection for one year.
Was There Even A Sternly Worded Letter
Powerless smol bean US.
Former commanders of the Netzah Yehuda battalion, an Israeli military unit that has been accused by the United States of gross human rights violations against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank prior to October 7, have been promoted to senior positions in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and are now active in training Israeli ground troops as well as running operations in Gaza, a CNN investigation has found.If the Professional Democrats can spend weeks telling people the Biden's brain doesn't work, I think I'm entitled to highlight that some of the things he is doing are, in fact, bad.
Well He Is A Convict, A Rapist, and a Cheater
What is the bar for "facts" these days.
Neat trick the NYT has found, to dismiss all criticism as somehow Trump-like.
The president’s defiance, and the crowd’s enthusiastic response, helped give the Biden event at a Detroit high school gym the flavor of a Trump rally at times. When Mr. Biden referred to his political opponent, there were chants of “Lock him up” — which the president did not discourage. When he criticized news media coverage, big cheers followed, with his supporters turning to boo and point fingers at reporters.
Friday, July 12, 2024
Defund Joe Biden
More of that excellent messaging we've come to expect from The Professional Democrats.
“The Super Friends are assembling,” said a House Democrat who did not believe Biden's performance yesterday changed anything. “There’s a group of people who are going to go make their case to whomever they can get to at the White House that he needs to step aside and we’re going to get our asses kicked if he doesn’t.”
Putting It More Bluntly
"James Carville" (not just the man, but the clique he represents) has been screaming at "The Kids" (people under 30, a concept of his imagination) to shut the fuck up about ethnic cleansing for 9 months because of the bad orange man and now he's like "oh, wow, fuck Joe Biden, he sucks."
Which part of the shit sandwich, precisely, is he objecting to?
Which part of the shit sandwich, precisely, is he objecting to?
Ah, Well, Nevertheless
I thought he unveiled robotaxis in 2020.
(Reuters) -Tesla is delaying the launch of robotaxi by about two months to October as the design team was told to rework some elements of the car, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the decision.
Shares of Tesla, which is betting on self-driving vehicles over less-expensive cars, closed more than 8% down at $241.03 on Thursday following the news, ending 11 straight sessions of gains that had pushed the stock up 44%.
...The Democrats!
I know I'm repeating myself - I'm just a little flabbergasted and a bit speechless at the moment - but does the recent behavior of our political professionals and various others who imagine they are or should be in charge suggests that they have any idea what they're doing? Do we think they recognize the threat - one they demand voters recognize - of a Trump administration? What are voters to supposed to understand?
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Carville In May, Between April And July
Do we think this makes any sense?
Ah, no, you see, here's how it makes sense:
Even if you think those people should shut the fuck up, yelling at people who aren't on the payroll to shut the fuck up is not actually a political communications strategy, it is a blame strategy. We would've won if not for those meddling kids!
And it's especially funny that we've moved from that to yelling at the president of the United States and presumptive Democratic candidate for president to step aside!
“We keep wondering why these young people are not coming home to the Democrats,” the notoriously profane Carville said in a video on the Politicon website. “Why are blacks not coming home to the Democrats? Because Democrat messaging is full of shit, that’s why. Talk about cost of living, and ‘we’re going to help deal with this’. Don’t talk about f***ing Gaza and student loans.”Whatever one thinks about the issue, do you think "Democrats" are doing nothing but talking about Gaza? Does this make any sense at all?
Ah, no, you see, here's how it makes sense:
He argues that Biden’s poll ratings are suffering because Democratic activists are giving the impression that the party cares more about the Palestinian cause than struggling Americans. Gaza was placed 13th in a Harvard Harris poll this month of the most important issues facing the country. The top three were “price increases/inflation”, immigration and “economy and jobs”."Democratic activists" otherwise known as people not on the payroll, people not paid by the Democratic party, people who likely don't even call themselves Democrats, but people James Carville is sure should shut the fuck up, unlike James Carville.
Even if you think those people should shut the fuck up, yelling at people who aren't on the payroll to shut the fuck up is not actually a political communications strategy, it is a blame strategy. We would've won if not for those meddling kids!
And it's especially funny that we've moved from that to yelling at the president of the United States and presumptive Democratic candidate for president to step aside!
Worry About The People With The Money And The Microphones
Politicians get pressured every day by rich and connected people. This matters much more than people nobodies screaming at them online, which they rarely "hear" about anyway. The slow moving Biden coup has provided a good opportunity to see a bit of this in action. These aren't, mostly, incredibly skilled professionals who have their finger on the pulse, just people who are used to picking up the phone and being heard when they start yelling.
Like how did we go from this, in April:
Like how did we go from this, in April:
Longtime Democratic strategist and political commentator James Carville teed off on young voters who are considering not casting a ballot for President Joe Biden on Sunday, warning the “little fucking” 26-year-olds who could doom Biden of the dire consequences if Donald Trump returns to the White House.To this:
“So, I hear this a lot,” began Carville. “‘James, young voters are just not into this. It’s two candidates, one’s in their 80s, one is almost in their 80s, they’re concerned about things that Washington politicians, and you just can’t blame them for-‘ Oh, shit. Fuck you!”
Democratic strategist James Carville warned Democrats they are barreling towards an election loss in November if they stick with the “idiotic choice” of President Joe Biden at the top of their ticket.
Impeach
Many Dems oscillate between "if we can't pass it, don't try"* and "why won't the journalists do our job for us" and my guys the way to keep news alive is to keep feeding the news machine.
*They do love won't pass "message bills" that no one ever hears about, because it lets them stick a line in a campaign ad about how they voted for something (or their opponent voted against) but those aren't designed to feed the news machine.Corruption, without consequence, infects all it touches. Congress must exercise its powers to impeach.
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 11, 2024
The corruption of Justices Thomas & Alito constitutes a clear danger to our democracy. I moved to impeach them because it is the right thing to do for the American people. pic.twitter.com/eOscx9avE1
Likely Correct
Independently of what one thinks of Biden, this has all been rather strange!
No one looks goods in all of this!Seems like a reasonable timeline:
— David Dayen (@ddayen) July 10, 2024
1-the campaign to remove Biden was donor-led and ham-fisted
2-Biden was easily able to characterize it as from know-nothing elites
3-Dem electeds figured they couldn't dislodge him
4-Then they got really bad polling data in the last 24 hours
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Impeach
Someone knows how to play this game.
Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has introduced articles of impeachment against conservative US supreme court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, her office said in a statement on Wednesday.Can't depend on the Celestial Hall Monitors.
It follows calls from two US senators, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden, that the US attorney general should appoint a special counsel to investigate potential criminal violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Thomas.
Could We Have Handled All Of This Any Better
I know I'm repeating myself but "nudge by podcaster/journalist/donor/celebrity" combined with several months of a whisper campaign, without anyone just coming right out and saying what the issue is, other than a million euphemisms like "lost a step," is not helpful!
Hellmouth
It finally opens.
A massive sinkhole stretching 100 feet opened up in an Illinois park on Wednesday, swallowing a light pole in the middle of recreational fields and leaving a deep, gaping hole in its wake.
The Rules of Journalism
If Steph said this (or similar) about Trump he'd be, at a minimum, pulled until after the election.
George Stephanopoulos, sporting a T-shirt, shorts, and over-the-ear headphones, was traversing the New York City streets by foot on Tuesday when he was approached by a stranger who asked for his thoughts on President Joe Biden’s fitness for office.
“I don’t think he can serve four more years,” candidly replied the ABC News anchor, who had just sat down with Biden a few days earlier for his first on-camera television interview following the CNN presidential debate.
Oh, Elmo
Mechnical turks everywhere you are told about "machine learning."
Tesla's self-driving cars seem like a marvel of machine learning.They're dedicated to improving the commutes of their special customers. Amazing.
But in reality, the company relies on a small army of human "data annotators" who continuously improve how the cars drive by reviewing camera footage from thousands of Tesla drivers and teaching the vehicle how to behave like a human driver, like deciding when it's appropriate to use a blinker or identifying a construction cone.
Business Insider has learned that those annotators focus their efforts on two high-profile categories of drivers: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a select set of "VIP" drivers.
Tuesday, July 09, 2024
We Haven't Had That Spirit Here Since Twenty Sixteen
Hotel California came on in a restaurant where I was and I heard the line: "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969."
Occurred to me that the equivalent lyrics released in a song today would be as in the title (Hotel California was released in 1977) and that doesn't hit in quite the same way.
Occurred to me that the equivalent lyrics released in a song today would be as in the title (Hotel California was released in 1977) and that doesn't hit in quite the same way.
It's funny that even in 1977 you could invoke 1969 as some sort of lost era, whatever the precise intended meaning of the lyric.
Don Henley and Glenn Frey were 22/21 in 1969 and 30/29 in 1977.
Don't be shocked by a wave of Zoomer nostalgia when it happens!
Seems Bad
Hopefully that pier will be completed soon.
GENEVA (9 July 2024) – The recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza strip, a group of independent experts* said today.
The NYT Is Trash, HOWEVER
It isn't going to listen to your criticism. I've been running this very fine blog for 22 years now, and it is institutionally incapable of or unwilling to listen fairly to any criticism of its behavior emanating from anyone to the left of Joe Manchin.
It isn't going to "do better" or "learn its lessons." It (publisher, editors, reporters) knows exactly what it's doing!
I criticize the New York Times to make other people aware of its problems and to convince them that they shouldn't take it as gospel, as many dem-leaning people do daily.
One can't deny its influence, but the people who empower it are the ones who buy subscriptions and the people in power who validate it. I'm not trying to "work the refs" even in a good faith way. I'm interested in pointing out that these "refs" are not the refs! We should not empower these institutions - MSNBC, NPR, NYT - in this way!
People have long recoiled from this idea, as they want such institutions to exist. They want the Celestial Hall Monitors to award Truth Points to the deserving, to decide who has been naughty and who has been nice that day. They worry criticizing them undermines this valuable service. This is similar to wanting there to be a good Supreme Court, and thinking it is better to ignore its flaws than undermine its authority.
But that isn't their role! Don't let them act like it is!
It isn't going to "do better" or "learn its lessons." It (publisher, editors, reporters) knows exactly what it's doing!
I criticize the New York Times to make other people aware of its problems and to convince them that they shouldn't take it as gospel, as many dem-leaning people do daily.
One can't deny its influence, but the people who empower it are the ones who buy subscriptions and the people in power who validate it. I'm not trying to "work the refs" even in a good faith way. I'm interested in pointing out that these "refs" are not the refs! We should not empower these institutions - MSNBC, NPR, NYT - in this way!
People have long recoiled from this idea, as they want such institutions to exist. They want the Celestial Hall Monitors to award Truth Points to the deserving, to decide who has been naughty and who has been nice that day. They worry criticizing them undermines this valuable service. This is similar to wanting there to be a good Supreme Court, and thinking it is better to ignore its flaws than undermine its authority.
But that isn't their role! Don't let them act like it is!
If You Come For The King
Whichever side you think is "right" on this, has this been handled well? Have these people engaged in good political messaging for the Dem candidate for president? Could they have chosen to have done anything else at all if they weren't going to follow through?
Vibe check for tomorrow: A House Democrat deeply skeptical of Biden tells me "the dam is holding" and predicts "very few members will openly speak in favor of Biden stepping aside."
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) July 9, 2024
"As someone who wanted the reckoning and is disappointed that it's over, trust me: it's over."
Oof.
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) July 9, 2024
Nadler says he still has concerns about president Biden’s candidacy, but that those are “beside the point” now. “He's going to be our nominee, and we all have to support him."
Two days ago, Nadler called on Biden to end his candidacy in a private call.
via @mayacmiller
What Are We Doing Here
The country's liberal newspaper:
Longtime readers know I've had my problems with the New York Times forever, but I do think something new is happening here. They're becoming much more like a tabloid-influenced British newspaper. I actually don't think there's one holy model of journalism, or that papers like the Times ever came close to living up to the "objective, balanced" ideal of the American model of journalism, but the NYT is abandoning the pretense that it is trying.
If they defend themselves by invoking that pretense, then they aren't just mistaken but lying.
Monday, July 08, 2024
The Right To Pollute
Seems bad:
It didn’t occur to Sarah that these symptoms could be linked. But in January 2024, she walked into a town hall in Granbury and found a room full of people worn thin from strange, debilitating illnesses. A mother said her 8-year-old daughter was losing her hearing and fluids were leaking from her ears. Several women said they experienced fainting spells, including while driving on the highway. Others said they were wracked by debilitating vertigo and nausea, waking up in the middle of the night mid-vomit.
None of them knew what, exactly, was causing these symptoms. But they all shared a singular grievance: a dull aural hum had crept into their lives, which growled or roared depending on the time of day, rattling their windows and rendering them unable to sleep. The hum, local law enforcement had learned, was emanating from a Bitcoin mining facility that had recently moved into the area—and was exceeding legal noise ordinances on a daily basis.
Was There A Better Way
If we start from the premise that Biden should drop out, and people pushing for that have thought that for months (whether that's precisely true or not - who knows!), have those people handled this well? Are they continuing to handle this well? Is "nudge by journalist" the best way for Democrats to do things?
I blame lefty shitposters.
I blame lefty shitposters.
Hunger Games
One reason I have been very hesitant to get on the "fire Biden" bus is precisely because The Democrats would then likely do the dumbest thing, like this.
As I said I don't think they'd do that, but a large number of important people would be trying to rig up some system to get "their guy" in and do we think this would be an orderly, pleasant, noncontroversial process that would leave Dem voters happy?
As I said I don't think they'd do that, but a large number of important people would be trying to rig up some system to get "their guy" in and do we think this would be an orderly, pleasant, noncontroversial process that would leave Dem voters happy?
A Victory For Macron And The Sensible Center
And when the Right fails, Sensible Centrism is the hero again.
(Maitlis is a former longtime BBC journalist, still in journalism elsewhere - Attal did not stay as PM) A response from an actual French person who is somewhat of a Sensible Centrist herself, generally, if not a Macron fan.An absolutely huge shock - and delight for Macron. Who can argue his gamble paid off. Gabriel Attal most likely stays as PM https://t.co/AAlAK40ZeK
— emily m (@maitlis) July 7, 2024
he now has to face a united left opposition and there are more far right MPs in the Assembly than ever!!! why can't people see that it was a mental gamble by Macron, which only managed to not be a catastrophe because the left and a few centrists worked together!!! https://t.co/VelsbN81gq
— Marie Le Conte (@youngvulgarian) July 7, 2024
again, not to be a bore but if you're looking at the French election numbers and are pleased about the far right's unexpectedly poor performance, you overwhelmingly have to hand it to left-wing voters, not centrist and centre-right ones: https://t.co/oZvGRKjviS
— Marie Le Conte (@youngvulgarian) July 7, 2024
The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
I'm not saying the Sensible Centrist anglo press is filled with people who want the far right to win in France, but the way they breathlessly build them up (largely by people who, as I've said, know nothing of France's politics just like me) every election suggests a bit of wishcasting for some reason. BBC:
Even though Macron is the ultimate personification of the Sensible Center, its essence given Life, I think there's a widespread view that The Left somehow deserved to be punished for Going Too Far (despite not being in power anywhere ever). Because woke.
Basically a lot of people who imagine themselves to centrist/center-left sympathize with backlash politics, because they too are annoyed at trans people or whatever. "We warned you this would happen" kind of thing.