Jefferson has beliefs. Burr has none. (RNC, Day 2)
July 19, 2016 11:43 AM   Subscribe

Live Coverage of the Republican National Convention: Day 2. "The stated theme of Tuesday’s slate is “Make America Work Again” — a potential challenge of tone for speakers eager to sully Mrs. Clinton on a topic as sober as job creation, a night after blistering attacks on her foreign policy."

How to watch the Republican convention day 2: RNC live stream, TV channel, and schedule of events

@HillaryClinton 2,016 and counting: We're reading thousands of lawsuits involving @realDonaldTrump live on Facebook.
posted by roomthreeseventeen (1406 comments total) 44 users marked this as a favorite
 
Donald flew the coop at some point!

From an article on Donald skipping a donor meeting this morning: He had, they found out later, unexpectedly flown back to New York overnight with no word on when he might return.
posted by sallybrown at 11:47 AM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Mod note: For anyone thinking "hey this is a double" -- that would normally be true but we're experimenting with splitting up the convention posts by day. The discussion's in Metatalk, here.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:49 AM on July 19, 2016 [33 favorites]


Somehow I get the feeling they will manage to make day 2 more terrifying and depressing than day 1.
posted by Tarumba at 11:50 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Not wholly unexpected, surely? "Trump commutes to events" has been a running theme of the campaign.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2016


[For anyone thinking "hey this is a double" -- that would normally be true but we're experimenting with splitting up the convention posts by day. The discussion's in Metatalk, here.]

Thanks for the clarification LM, and for the post, r317.
posted by zarq at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Make America Work Again

Sounds like an endorsement of slavery.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:52 AM on July 19, 2016 [37 favorites]


Somehow I get the feeling they will manage to make day 2 more terrifying and depressing than day 1.

Well, yesterday was "brown people are going to kill you" and today is just "brown people are going to take your job" so they've got a bit of a hill to climb - but then again if anybody can do it, it's the Republican Party.
posted by mightygodking at 11:53 AM on July 19, 2016 [23 favorites]


breaking the convention thread into two pieces is actually pretty brilliant, i can now get the full stereophonic experience
posted by indubitable at 11:54 AM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


There is a small studio in my town called "You Will Dance!" that my wife and I always thought sounded as much like a threat as encouragement.

Make America Work Again has that same mouthfeel.
posted by Tevin at 11:54 AM on July 19, 2016 [43 favorites]


We need "Make America get paid again"
posted by Zalzidrax at 11:54 AM on July 19, 2016 [39 favorites]


I want the sound the gavel makes to show up as the sound for getting an answer wrong on a game show.
posted by vbfg at 11:54 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


In case anyone's wondering, the Tuesday call to order is not scheduled until 5:30PM Eastern Time. The full schedule is here.
posted by Jahaza at 11:54 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




Donald Trump Is Entering a Dark and Tangled Forest. He is likely to be eaten by a grue. It will be the best grue. Really a great, great grue.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:58 AM on July 19, 2016 [72 favorites]


Make America Work Again

Work Sets You Free.

Wait.
posted by emjaybee at 11:59 AM on July 19, 2016 [78 favorites]


If anyone is playing bingo, I have already been slut-shamed for being a Republican woman with a tattoo! On my arm! Like a harlot!
posted by corb at 11:59 AM on July 19, 2016 [231 favorites]


Jesus, what was that exchange like, Corb?
posted by Countess Elena at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Oh yes, I had forgotten (until now) that this shitshow was happening.
posted by Kitteh at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Make America Harlots Again.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [35 favorites]


So much Har. You'll be sick of Har.
posted by AndrewInDC at 12:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Corb, thoughts are with you like crazy today. Stay safe and stand firm!
posted by Navelgazer at 12:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Though those of us a bit or even a lot to the Left of Center have our fun with the Trump and Gang nomination, I do not yet find either in Bernie or Hillary an answer to the issue raised endlessly for these last few years: What will be done to save the Middle Class? Changing a minimum wage is nice but that is another issue. Babble about bring jobs back etc. sounds nice, though it will not happen, but that still does not address an issue that faces our young. Owning a home? Paying off college debt? High rents ? How to restore the middle class?
posted by Postroad at 12:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Aw, corb. Hugs to you.

(Also, there is no way you are the only woman there with a tat. )
posted by emjaybee at 12:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Make America Harlots Again.

I would watch this
posted by zutalors! at 12:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


I will only "work" in the RuPaul sense, thank you very much.
posted by The Whelk at 12:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [56 favorites]


I would work in the Tim Gunn sense as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


Make America Work It! Again
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Make It Work, Again, America
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [32 favorites]


What will happen today that could possibly top the clusterfuck that was yesterday?
posted by Theta States at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


For greater ease of reference, here's a link to the discussion thread for Day One of the Convention.
posted by New Frontier at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Make America Twerk Again
posted by kirkaracha at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


It's interesting stepping inside the Republican echo chamber, especially since Trump is a populist candidate running on a "not a washington insider" campaign, and yet he can't do a convention without speeches by those insiders willing to sacrifice their own credibility to gain some exposure.

No valid republican in his right mind (ahem) can possibly think that Trump is going to have any kind of coattails.

It's worth watching just to laugh at how desperately they are preaching to the choir.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Make America Put It's Thing Down Flip It and Reverse It
posted by cmfletcher at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [53 favorites]


corb, aren't you a veteran? I don't agree with you about a lot of things, but this shit is not cool at all, especially from a party that claims to "support the troops." Stay strong.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


What will be done to save the Middle Class? Changing a minimum wage is nice but that is another issue. Babble about bring jobs back etc. sounds nice, though it will not happen, but that still does not address an issue that faces our young. Owning a home? Paying off college debt? High rents ? How to restore the middle class?

"All right... all right... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what have the Romans done for us?"

Seriously, though, if you want an honest answer, take a look at... any speech either Sanders or Clinton have given this year? Some of the very things you claim they have no answer for -- college debt, to pick an easily-googleable topic -- are, like, actually things that both of them have produced detailed plans on. Not their fault if you haven't been paying attention.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


Make America Work Again

Work Sets You Free.

Wait.


I'm inclined to believe the idea that whoever put together Melania Trump's speech was a secret liberal and inserted the Michelle Obama stuff to fuck with Trump. If I were a speech writer or PR person at this RNC, I'd be trying to see how much Hitler I could insert into the speeches and banners before anyone notices.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


"Get up, America," says angry, sullen RNC, "It's time for work. Then, church." <- basically American politics for the past 30 years.
posted by Tyrant King Porn Dragon at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [24 favorites]


You bettah work, America!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


What will happen today that could possibly top the clusterfuck that was yesterday?

Delegate walkout during formal nomination vote, mass norovirus puking, violence inside or outside the hall, opening of the third seal, plague of locusts, the Harrowing, etc.
posted by theodolite at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [31 favorites]


Babble about bring jobs back etc. sounds nice, though it will not happen,

It can, and has, been happening.
posted by agregoli at 12:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Make America Go To Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


RNC is America's drunk, religious dad who beats us with the Bible because the Cowboys lost.
posted by Tyrant King Porn Dragon at 12:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [39 favorites]


If I were a speech writer or PR person at this RNC, I'd be trying to see how much Hitler I could insert into the speeches and banners before anyone notices.

I certainly can't imagine any way for that to backfire.
posted by beerperson at 12:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


America Work It Harder Make It Better Do It Faster Makes Us Stronger.
posted by praemunire at 12:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [23 favorites]


If this devolves in to Trump/Hamilton parodies, I'm out.
posted by Theta States at 12:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


What will happen today that could possibly top the clusterfuck that was yesterday?

This is like asking "What could possibly go wrong?" in the movies.
posted by emjaybee at 12:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Work, Work, Angelica,
Work, Work, Eliza
and Peggy.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


NeverTrump plan today is estimated to drop about 8pm, but the RNC may switch things at any time. We are trying to get some people not present on the floor and others challenging the reported vote of the chair.
posted by corb at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


What will happen today that could possibly top the clusterfuck that was yesterday?

Today they fit Mike Pence for the bee cage helmet.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [45 favorites]


If this devolves in to Trump/Hamilton parodies, I'm out.

I think you meant "this kid is out".
posted by anastasiav at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


If I were a speech writer or PR person at this RNC, I'd be trying to see how much Hitler I could insert into the speeches and banners before anyone notices.

They already sound like Nazis without the help.
posted by zarq at 12:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


What the hell is this on the schedule?
General manager of Trump Winery Kerry Woolard

posted by Theta States at 12:16 PM on July 19, 2016


I am having a double standard moment because I hated when Hillary kept attacking Obama during her 2008 campaign but I am looking at her Facebook feed and I just love all those ads against Trump. They are awesome.
posted by Tarumba at 12:16 PM on July 19, 2016


Most observers of the GOP convention in Cleveland are fixated on the disorder on the floor, Melania Trump’s apparent plagiarism of a speech by Michelle Obama, and the overly lengthy speech by a former three-star general. But something far more insidious occurred in the hall in Cleveland last night. - "I am not comparing the former mayor of New York City or Donald Trump to Hitler, but one would have to be ignorant of history to miss the severe and scary parallels between the mood, tone, and rhetoric of the Trump movement and the rise of the National Socialists in pre-war Germany. As a history major and part Jew, these details land a bit harder on me. On 9/11, I was sitting in my History of Nazi Germany class and as we watched footage of the towers falling, my professor remarked something to the effect of: “no matter what happens moving forward, we must not become like them.”"
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [63 favorites]


Make America [Work it, Make it, Do it, Makes Us] Again
posted by Foosnark at 12:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I hope Francis Ford Coppola bursts in on Kerry Woolard and they have a celebrity winery-off
posted by beerperson at 12:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Make America Work Again a Coal Mine
Going down, down
Working in a coal mine
Whew, about to slip down
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Continuing aftermath of Day 1 - here's what's on the front page of nytimes.com right now:

Questions Over Melania Trump Speech Set Off Finger-Pointing
Trump campaign and senior Republicans offered conflicting explanations for similarities between Mrs. Trump’s speech and Michelle Obama’s from 2008. The accusations laid bare lingering tensions within the party over the nomination of Donald J. Trump.


This is not 11-dimensional chess, this is just buffoonery.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


I spent about an hour last night with my 8-year-old and 11-year-old and MSNBC (on mute, of course) talking through anything they wanted to talk about. We discussed (among many other things) how we don't agree with what the people there believe, but we want them to be safe and to have what they need for a good life. Then my 11-year-old pondered for a second and said "Because if we don't, then we're no better than Trump is." And then I cried, Mefi. So simple, yet so difficult for some people.

Corb, I don't know you but I'm thinking about you and hoping you stay safe.
posted by altopower at 12:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [82 favorites]


Mod note: The "work it" jokes are fun but in the name of not racking up hundreds of comments before the night even starts, probably better to cool it with those.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Have You Tried Turning America Off and On Again?
posted by speicus at 12:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [138 favorites]


What the hell is this on the schedule?
General manager of Trump Winery Kerry Woolard


Obviously, more wining about Hillary.
posted by artdrectr at 12:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Okay, one more favorite for speicus and then we're done.
posted by yhbc at 12:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Trump campaign surrogate on MSNBC right now saying the speech thing last night does not rise to the level of a mistake because English is not Mrs. Trump's first language.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Also on the schedule:
Video
Hil-LIAR-y


Well, that'll be fun.
posted by Roommate at 12:24 PM on July 19, 2016


The party of personal responsibility, everybody.
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


So, about the RNC official that quoted MLP in defense of Melania - apparently, Twilight Sparkle does not approve of that message.

At this point, I am no longer counting anything out.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


English is not Mrs. Trump's first language

In which country is Plagiarism the national language?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [39 favorites]


Plagaria
posted by Sangermaine at 12:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [49 favorites]


On second thought, I don't want to be in the room where it happens.
posted by schmod at 12:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


If anything, the fact that English is not her first language proves that her grammatically perfect speech was reviewed and approved by someone (if not a team).
posted by Tarumba at 12:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Victorian clip-art comic, The New Adventures of Queen Victoria, has apparently been following the #nevertrump efforts.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Make Austin Weird Again
posted by Navelgazer at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


If you need more convention awfulness, be sure to follow Jared Yates' Twitter.
posted by entropicamericana at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'd have to look back at the transcripts, but it didn't come out as grammatically perfect, I don't think.
posted by zutalors! at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016


The campaign that just keeps giving!
posted by From Bklyn at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Echonia
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


If they had just done a quick mea culpa this morning (and maybe thrown a speech writer under the bus), this would have been over so fast. It says something about how narcissistically self-assured the GOP and Trump are that they can't even admit a mistake when it would be in their best interest.

There's a theory floating around that this was done purposefully to detract from the bad press Pence was getting over about supporting Iraq and some of the horrible legislation he passed as Governor aimed at LGBT people and women. That seemed far fetched but this is being handled so badly, you have to wonder.
posted by dry white toast at 12:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I learned German extremely poorly, but I'm pretty sure I could still lie in it.
posted by emjaybee at 12:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Has Trump ever admited a mistake, ever, in his entire life? Or apologized for anything under any circumstances? It seems kind of unlikely.
posted by Artw at 12:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


And here I thought Ronald Reagan telling the Lebanese Foreign Minister that his nose looked just like Danny Thomas was peak weird. With an actual Republican spokescritter citing My Little Pony as an excuse for plagiarism I have been proven wrong.
posted by sotonohito at 12:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


[The "work it" jokes are fun but in the name of not racking up hundreds of comments before the night even starts, probably better to cool it with those.]

america, you're fired
posted by pyramid termite at 12:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I had a really good chuckle this morning reading all of the theories floating around about how Trump the mastermind was playing 3D chess by slipping in the plagiarism so that the media would focus on that rather than the racist poo-flinging monkeys at the RNC. Hah! Only a few days ago Trump completely screwed up the VP announcement which was followed by the unveiling of that ludicrous TP logo. Trump's campaign is pile of dogshit that someone tracked in the house and nobody wants to take responsibility for.

The worst thing to happen to Trump was that he won the GOP nomination so easily. He came riding down that escalator and busted out some racist remarks and that was it, that was all he had to do. He didn't have to fundraise. He didn't have to come up with policies. He didn't have to run ads or schlep himself around to the talk shows. He didn't have to build a campaign and hunt down the smart people who know what they are doing when it comes to GOTV, raising money, or responding to social media. And apparently he didn't have to hire effective speech writers or good graphic artists. All he had to do was sit on his couch at home in his robe and talk to morning show hosts via the phone and once in awhile get into his own plane and fly somewhere to speak to large, enthusiastic crowds.

Any other candidate handed such a tremendous prize as the GOP nomination would think, "Now I get to work and do this thing." But not Donald. He is so conditioned to think of himself as the cleverest man in the room that he views this nomination as his just desserts and why bothering exerting himself? He won the nomination, didn't he? Why bother fund raising? Why bother memorizing speeches? Why bother pretending he gives a shit about God when the religious right is already convinced he is their man. At this point all he has to do is keep spouting racist claptrap and show up in front of the crowds.

He is going to lose spectacularly.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [73 favorites]


Has Trump ever admired a mistake, ever, in his entire life?

He thought Hitler made some good speeches.
posted by Rumple at 12:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Violence, Blood and Betrayal inside the Trump Potemkin Village
Remember, as embarrassing and as message stomping as this was, there's a pretty straightforward way to contain and end this story: "A speechwriter on our campaign got sloppy and made an inexcusable mistake. He let Melania and the whole campaign down. He's now resigned from the campaign."

Done and done.

That's just not how Trump works. When you're under fire, you attack. When you're caught, you lie. These are all things that can work in small settings, with small groups of people you can bully and intimidate, with yes-men and compliant media. It can also work before an electorate focused not on policy but on provocation, revenge and dominance. It is not sustainable at this level of national media exposure, with other power players in the mix who are not so easily cowed, bullied or tricked and with an electorate more focused on governing and the future.

I didn't want to quote too much, but the linked article also has Josh Marshall discuss the disturbing spectacle of the campaign parading out multiple parents who were there to stir up fears about undocumented immigrants and how this, along with the "lock her up!" rhetoric re: Hillary Clinton, has become the new normal in Trumpland.
posted by Salieri at 12:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


There's a theory floating around that this was done purposefully to detract from the bad press Pence was getting over about supporting Iraq and some of the horrible legislation he passed as Governor aimed at LGBT people and women. That seemed far fetched but this is being handled so badly, you have to wonder.

No, they really are just this incompetent. Even without the plagiarism thing, our mass media would find some other way of ignoring substantive issues to focus on some stupid superficial thing. It's what they do.

(The "second language" defence is just bizarre. Surely, we're not expected to believe Melania wrote her own speech? Or are they so down the false-authenticity hole that they have to pretend that professional speechwriters, like teleprompters, aren't used by literally everyone even slightly adjacent to politics?)
posted by tobascodagama at 12:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


I didn't want to quote too much, but the linked article also has Josh Marshall discuss the disturbing spectacle of the campaign parading out multiple parents who were there to stir up fears about undocumented immigrants and how this, along with the "lock her up!" rhetoric re: Hillary Clinton, have become the new normal in Trumpland.

Nice to see that getting some/any coverage.
posted by Artw at 12:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


We need a complete and total shutdown of speeches by Republicans until we can figure out what's going on.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [83 favorites]


The thing that this keeps making me think of - and god knows how the Democrats make this point in a way that gets people to vote for them - is the comparisons to 2008. The Obama campaign rolled with punches, brushed off bad nights during the primaries (some of the debate performances), it reacted calmly to external events (the ongoing financial crisis!). While there are legitimate complaints to have about President Obama, the campaign seems to have been a preview of his leadership style - perhaps to a fault, he has been thoughtful, deliberate, and calm, and he runs a pretty smooth ship relative to most presidents in my memory.

Quite aside from the terrifying rhetoric of many of the headliners at the RNC, the fact that the Trump campaign, such as it is, doesn't project any managerial competence is frightening. They can't figure out a message on what they could easily say was a boneheaded mistake by a staffer (which still seems like the most likely scenario). They have six different messages and most of them are straight-up trying to gaslight the public. How would they handle literally any crisis, foreign or domestic?
posted by dismas at 12:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]


corb, you don't know me, and probably don't know a lot of other Mefites here. But I think I speak for everyone in saying that we'd like to work out a way that you never have to pay for a drink again for the rest of your life.
posted by generichuman at 12:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [92 favorites]


It is not sustainable at this level of national media exposure, with other power players in the mix who are not so easily cowed, bullied or tricked and with an electorate more focused on governing and the future.

I want to believe.
posted by nubs at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Make America Work Again

On my RNC bingo card for tonight, I have "unions" "the EPA" "minimum wage" "OSHA" "retraining" and "taxes." I think it's a winning card.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


On my RNC bingo card for tonight, I have "unions" "the EPA" "minimum wage" "OSHA" "retraining" and "taxes." I think it's a winning card.

I don't see "wall" anywhere on your list.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Jesus wept. Make America Work AGAIN??

The US has the highest GDP per capita in the world. It's the most productive country ever. It's literally the hardest working nation ever to exist. And I say that as someone who is mostly "meh" on America as an abstract concept.

The US has the highest correlation of pay to productivity. Everything is already working exactly how you want it to you greedy fucks! Don't go and make people feel guilt they're not working enough.
posted by GuyZero at 12:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [85 favorites]


So, to get an idea of the C minus quality celebrities Trump has in store, for Making America Work night, he has Natalie Gulbis. Who is she?
A golfer who has one career LPGA win (2007) and who has netted zero dollars so far this year.
She had a TV show with her husband with four episodes. It received a remarkable 7 votes on IMDB.
But, most importantly, she posts bikini pics and was on The Apprentice.
In her favor, she does need a job.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't see "wall" anywhere on your list.

That's probably the gimme space in the middle.
posted by drezdn at 12:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Indeed he must be crushed. Because that 'somehow' is economic destruction redirected into race hatred.
posted by tivalasvegas at 12:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Ah, (among others I'm sure), David Frum made a similar point about the Trump team having zero crisis management ability (#5).
posted by dismas at 12:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


There's a theory floating around that this was done purposefully to detract from the bad press Pence was getting over about supporting Iraq and some of the horrible legislation he passed as Governor aimed at LGBT people and women.

The thing I don't understand about all of these 10-dimensional chess theories is: yeah, but that stuff doesn't go away. In two or three days we'll be done talking about the plagiarism, and then we can just go back to the tabled topic of how Mike Pence is a garbage person, or whatever. What, they're going to say it's old news? It was old news years ago! Nothing changed.

Of course, all of that assumes anybody is actually interested in doing any level of journalism and talking about facts re: Pence or Trump or whoever, and they patently aren't. But from a purely tactical perspective it doesn't pass the smell test.
posted by penduluum at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


There is no coordination! There's no plan! There really isn't even a campaign. It is precisely as disorganized as it looks. And it's still working somehow.

If the EU Referendum here in Britain has taught me anything, it's that this can work and work and work and work until they win.

Then everyone resigns
posted by dng at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [48 favorites]


If you need more convention awfulness, be sure to follow Jared Yates' Twitter.

On it! thanks for the tip
I'm also following Daniel Dale @ddale8 for updates
posted by Theta States at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2016


If Donald Trump Jr. uses the word "cuck" in his speech, throw the card out the window and down whatever bottles are within reach.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


So, to get an idea of the C minus quality celebrities Trump has in store, for Making America Work night, he has Natalie Gulbis. Who is she?

You mean you don't recognize the 363rd best women's golfer off the top of your head?

We were promised Tom Brady, denied Tim Tebow, and ended up with Natalie Gulbis and Fran Tarkenton for winners night. What a win!
posted by zachlipton at 12:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"It's literally the hardest working nation ever to exist"

I know this plays into the lazy immigrant stereotype, but for me (Latin American) and my husband (European) the most intense, most problematic aspect of cultural adjustment when we moved to the US was how damn hard American people work.

We are still struggling to keep up and we can't quite bring ourselves to give a shit about productivity as much as everyone around us seems to do. It's like downtime is a sin.

Even in your free time, like you have to come to the office on Monday and say I spent the weekend cleaning the house and running errands and then I finished 500 pages of non fiction (I have gotten disapproving looks for saying I read fiction in the past). I swear many times I have lied about what I did on the weekend because saying you were on the couch eating chips is just not an option.
posted by Tarumba at 12:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [138 favorites]


What will be done to save the Middle Class? Changing a minimum wage is nice but that is another issue.

It's actually entirely the issue. Minimum wage is a "rising tide raises all ships" issue.

When minimum wage is $15/hour, a "full time" employee can make $30,000 anywhere.

If you want any sort of skilled labor at all, you've got to offer $17.50/hr or $35,000/year.

We'll see a lot of office jobs pay out a bit more, and that's how the middle class gets reinvigorated.

The standard counterargument is that when they have to pay more, employers hire less. But with everyone making a bit more, everyone's freer to spend, the economy stays moving, and business is booming. An employer is going to hire the staff they need.
posted by explosion at 12:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [34 favorites]


So, I'm watching this whole election thing here from the Netherlands, and the only thing I can think of is, we're fucked, aren't we?
Between Brexit and Trump, we're totally fucked.

I'm getting another drink.
posted by Pendragon at 12:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Ah, (among others I'm sure), David Frum made a similar point about the Trump team having zero crisis management ability


Well, he would know.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


I'm glad to see that Josh Marshall's use of "derp" in relation to the Trump campaign is catching on. From that David Frum Atlantic article linked upthread:

Since Sunday, every journalist at this convention has been collecting examples of the Trump campaign’s failures and incompetence: the quarrel with Ohio Governor John Kasich, the absent senators and governors, the no-show donors, the convention’s financial embarrassments, the floor fight over rules, the lack of a proper schedule, and the defective apps and other technology. Suddenly, there is one easy-to-understand incident that encapsulates in one grim joke all this convention’s cavalcade of derp.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Between Brexit and Trump, we're totally fucked.

Tune in for the Democratic convention too, it's going to be a much better show than I think the stay crowd ever put on.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


And now Chris Hayes defends Twilight Sparkle's honor.

Dear reality, please stop trying to compete with The Onion.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [24 favorites]


FYI "derp" is a gross ableist slur.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [28 favorites]


What the hell is this on the schedule?
General manager of Trump Winery Kerry Woolard


"I'm not drinking any fucking Merlot!" -Melania Trump
posted by Mcable at 12:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


How 'bout that cheer for the Cavaliers? Oh wait....they're a team of minorities....crickets
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:55 PM on July 19, 2016




We were promised Tom Brady, denied Tim Tebow, and ended up with Natalie Gulbis and Fran Tarkenton...

That's Incredibl(y Sad)!
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


FYI "derp" is a gross ableist slur.

This is a minority opinion; the word is used largely in the same context as "brain-fart." While I acknowledge that some people think it's used to make fun of those with mental disabilities, that is not the general, popular usage.
posted by explosion at 12:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [37 favorites]


So tonight we can look forward to speeches by Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Chris Christie...and Tiffany Trump. Anyone want to take a guess at who Tiffany plagiarizes? I'm going with Malala Yousafzai's U.N. speech.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Yeah there is no 10 dimensional chess. While calling into Fox News to counter-program his own convention he lied and said that Cleveland was his choice for host city. It was chosen in 2014 before he was running. The NYT's claims he didn't even know the convention had to be in Cleveland.
posted by Uncle at 12:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


When minimum wage is $15/hour, a "full time" employee can make $30,000 anywhere.

I'd just like to note here that my husband, who has a high school degree and does blue collar office work, has worked for the same company for 27 years. He STILL, after all this time, does not make $15/hour. He's pushed, hard, but his wages are capped by "market rate" "wage bands" (ie: everyone in pay grade 3 makes between $xx.xx and $yy.yy per hour, with no flexibility at all), so until they increase the top of his wage band, he can't even get a raise. Last year, because his manager felt bad, they gave him a lump sum $500 "bonus" (which works out to a .24 per hour "raise") which, of course, doesn't carry over to any percentage raises that might come down the line. And he can't get promoted because he doesn't have a college degree.

He's not unique, at least not in our market. My guess is there are at least a hundred employees at his company alone that are in this same boat.

A $15 per hour minimum wage would be a godsend for my (very solidly middle class) family and many like it, because employers could no longer keep paying these poverty wages.
posted by anastasiav at 12:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [77 favorites]


So tonight we can look forward to speeches by Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Chris Christie...and Tiffany Trump.

That can't be right, I've heard of those people
posted by beerperson at 12:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


In electoral news:
@patrickdmarley: Federal judge rules Wisconsin voters who don't have IDs can cast ballots by signing affidavits swearing they are who they say they are.
In addition, the 5th Circuit still hasn't responded to SCOTUS' request for an en banc review of Texas' voter ID law, which they are required to do by tomorrow. This could be a BFD in November, because if these blatantly racist voter suppression laws get partially or totally overturned, there's a good chance they'll overturned in the rest of the south. It certainly wasn't an accident or coincidence that nearly the entire former Confederacy passed similar bills within hours of Shelby.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


If Donald Trump Jr. uses the word "cuck" in his speech, throw the card out the window and down whatever bottles are within reachthe house.

FTFY
posted by OmieWise at 12:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


10 dimensional chess

BTW in 2020 I will be running for president and the entirety of my platform will be reigning in nth-dimension-chess-metaphor inflation. BEERPERSON 2020: 3-DIMENSIONAL CHESS IS HARD ENOUGH TO IMAGINE
posted by beerperson at 1:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


along with the "lock her up!" rhetoric re: Hillary Clinton, has become the new normal in Trumpland.

I was struck by this too. Conventions are partisan, but they normally aren't quite so explicitly negative. Even the empty chair speech was an improvised rant that still, to the extent it had any focus at all, was focused on Romney. Last night we had "lock her up" and Flynn's insistence that Clinton immediately drop out of the race. It is staggering that the primary focus of a political convention be that the opponent be either jailed or drop out instead of grappling with a single policy difference.
posted by zachlipton at 1:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


...I caught like half the crowd booing when the totally business-as-usual parliamentary procedures were calling Mitch McConnell to his role. Is he hated by Republicans, too?

I think the default for Republicans now is to simply hate everyone.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


So tonight we can look forward to speeches by Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Chris Christie...

Will someone be monitoring Chris Christie's eye blinks for morse code distress signals?
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


McConnell, iirc, did some deals to prevent Gummint shutdown, in some of the debt limit showdowns of recent years.
posted by thelonius at 1:02 PM on July 19, 2016


odinsdream: There is no coordination! There's no plan! There really isn't even a campaign. It is precisely as disorganized as it looks. And it's still working somehow.

A lot of national leaders like Trump were supported by America during the anti-Communist years. Trump is not aiming for super-organized Nazi Germany, he's aiming for tinpot dictator. The easiest technique for a would-be tinpot is to be a bully on behalf of the "oppressed majority", using racism to focus anger on minorities instead of on exploitative capitalism.

If you think of blue-collar white America as the latest economic colony to be screwed over, it makes sense that colonial political techniques would work.
posted by clawsoon at 1:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


Let me get this straight... Trump's wife gave a completely speech at the Republic national convention, introduced by Rick Astley's "Never Going to Give You Up" which the chief strategist for the RNC defended by quoting Twilight Sparkle?

And everyone is playing this straight and treating it as a serious matter? Has no one had the self awareness to point out that this is completely and utterly ridiculous?
posted by Zalzidrax at 1:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [39 favorites]


Trump is not aiming for super-organized Nazi Germany,

Nazi Germany wasn't anything like "super-organized"; it was a mess, with overlapping authorities competing for power internally.
posted by thelonius at 1:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [23 favorites]


... introduced by Rick Astley's "Never Going to Give You Up" ...

No, no, it's weirder than that - she read the lyrics out as part of her speech.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [26 favorites]


I want to laugh at the total shit show but the rise of Trump (and everything else going on in the US, Western Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, and every-fucking-where else) is like literally nothing I've ever seen in my middle-aged life.

At this point, Trump could step out in a t shirt that says Make America White Again and rocket in the polls.

I'm not trusting anyone's reassurance that he can't win, although I pray that those reassurances are correct. In the meantime I think we're going to have to fight like hell to stem the fascist, no-nothing tide.
posted by latkes at 1:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Christie isn't speaking tonight. He's just going up on stage to shave Trump's face with a straight razor.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [42 favorites]


Wasn't Kevin McCarthy the one warning us about pod people? They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next...!
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah there is no 10 dimensional chess.

It's a checkers set, and Trump is trying to play tiddlywinks.
posted by the road and the damned at 1:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


There is no coordination! There's no plan! There really isn't even a campaign. It is precisely as disorganized as it looks. And it's still working somehow.

Because Republicans gonna Republican. There's a huge portion of the Republican base that's going to support the Republican nominee no matter what. There's no "surely this," moment for them, because they can comfort themselves with the idea that wiser Republican statesmen will hold the real reins of power over Trump, while also getting to feel smug about how their candidate isn't establishment and is so genuine and not an elite disconnected politician. This whole shitshow is just entertainment.

The one thing that might actually be a "surely this," moment is something that punctures Trump's masculinity and/or sphere of narcissistic personality disorder delusion. Because clearly facts don't matter, blatant lies don't matter, a mess of a campaign doesn't matter. This is all about feeling and base instinct. Trump is a strongman demagogue, so the thing that actually would be a "surely this" moment is something that reveals him to be weak. And not in any facts-based way, like poll numbers or maybe even fundraising numbers. But personally, mentally, and/or emotionally weak.

I think if Hillary times it right and is careful, she or one of her surrogates can engineer such a moment. Or it might come naturally. Dude's not exactly stable, I think we can look forward to at least one meltdown.
posted by yasaman at 1:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [34 favorites]


Wasn't Kevin McCarthy the one warning us about pod people?

{img src='DonaldSutherlandPointing.jpg'}
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


There is no coordination! There's no plan! There really isn't even a campaign. It is precisely as disorganized as it looks. And it's still working somehow.

My suspicion is that 95% of the campaign apparatus doesn't actually matter at all, at least at the Presidential election level. Most people are going to vote the way they're going to vote, and there's very, very little that's likely to change any of that, not raising money or any of the stuff they do with the money they've raised, not meeting with voters and convincing them to vote for you, not choosing a likable and well-qualified vice-president or other high-level members of your staff, not pulling off a convention that effectively sells you and your party as the best choice. Given the last year, it doesn't even look like constantly being an utter lying, bigoted ass in public matters that much. Wonks and media types want that stuff to matter because it's easy to cover, can be exciting if done well, and shows that a candidate has a basic level of competence, which is what we're supposed to want in a candidate, but when the rubber hits the road the overwhelming majority of voters just go for the same party they've always voted for. A few people won't, but on a national level, especially given the way the electoral college works, it's just not enough to make much of a difference.
posted by Copronymus at 1:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


Chess? Pfft. He's playing Trump: The Game and firing anyone who beats him. That's why the campaign staff is so small.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I haven't been following this close at all but...

Has there been an update on this yet:

"From an article on Donald skipping a donor meeting this morning: He had, they found out later, unexpectedly flown back to New York overnight with no word on when he might return."

?
posted by I-baLL at 1:12 PM on July 19, 2016


FYI "derp" is a gross ableist slur.

This is a minority opinion


"Derp" in its popular use comes from chan culture, in imitation of South Park. I doubt Stone and Parker has explicitly stated their inspiration for the noise, but it's pretty obviously a variation on the horrible "durr"/"doy" sound people used to make (all the fucking time when I was growing up) in mockery of people with Down's Syndrome and other developmental issues.

The fact that the source of the noise and those responsible for popularising it have a history of being shitty to disabled/neuroatypical people should be a giant red flag.
posted by tobascodagama at 1:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [40 favorites]


I was actually just talking with a Trump supporter, except he's not a trump supporter in his mind. He said he'd literally vote a damp sock into office over Hillary Clinton, because of the supreme court. He does prefer Trump to Cruz, because Cruz is 'too religious' and Trump 'will just do what they tell him" and that the "President doesn't have much power anyway. So he can't do anything too bad."

This is a guy who, on the surface, seems relatively sane.
posted by gofargogo at 1:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Most people are going to vote the way they're going to vote, and there's very, very little that's likely to change any of that

It would be just hilarious if after all the expensive ads, all the bullshit, all the protests and the rallies, we somehow discovered that in all of the US there were just twelve undecided people to begin with, and they all ended up voting for the Pirate Party.
posted by Tarumba at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2016


My suspicion is that 95% of the campaign apparatus doesn't actually matter at all, at least at the Presidential election level.
Silver lining: the ever-increasing cost of the campaign trail is one of the most expensive jokes us peons have ever been able to play on the ruling class.
posted by -1 at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Dems seem so intent on just arguing better so that they can convince those poor, misinformed Republicans.


No I think they're trying to get Independents/undecideds.
posted by zutalors! at 1:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Trump is a strongman demagogue, so the thing that actually would be a "surely this" moment is something that reveals him to be weak. And not in any facts-based way, like poll numbers or maybe even fundraising numbers. But personally, mentally, and/or emotionally weak.

I'm not even sure that would do it; whatever that moment looks like, I fear it will be spun beyond recognition into something that is cast as Trump being "real" and everyone else as being big meanies who are picking on him. There is no rationality left; no predictability in understanding the outcome of any event on this campaign trail of chaos.
posted by nubs at 1:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Mod note: A few comments deleted. Let's let the "derp" thing rest - the point's been made, and folks can read up on the objection to it. Ditto the prescriptivist/descriptivist derail. And please don't use the edit function to add or change content; just make a new comment.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


There's no "surely this," moment for them, because they can comfort themselves with the idea that wiser Republican statesmen will hold the real reins of power over Trump, while also getting to feel smug about how their candidate isn't establishment and is so genuine and not an elite disconnected politician.

If there was going to be a "Surely this..." it should have been the fact that his credentials as a pro-life candidate are a complete joke. His voters in the primary sent the message clearly that no principle matters more than having the loudest, angriest bigot in charge to piss off the liberals.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


y'know when Trump loses, all those "surely this" comments will become retroactively unironic
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


And to GOTV among the Dem base.
posted by yasaman at 1:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


A 3% down payment on a 150k house for a first-time buyer would be $4500

you guys have $150,000 houses? Where I live the average is literally 10x that.
posted by Hoopo at 1:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


If anyone is playing bingo, I have already been slut-shamed for being a Republican woman with a tattoo!

I wonder what they're going to do when they find out she's a woman with Opinions.

Or maybe I should fear that.

In any case, how is the "Buy Corb drinks for the rest of her life" GoFundMe campaign going?
posted by happyroach at 1:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Has there been any significant protesting outside the RNC? I feel like there was all kinds of scary hype, but haven't heard or seen anything besides small groups with signs.
posted by gofargogo at 1:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Surely, we're not expected to believe Melania wrote her own speech?

Josh Marshall's argument is that you go with the stupidest explanation. That might explain the rickroll -- that she somehow rickrolled herself because, hey, it gets in your head -- and the plagiarism.

Dems seem so intent on just arguing better so that they can convince those poor, misinformed Republicans.

I don't see that at all from the Clinton campaign. I see the urge-to-convince from unaffilliated Dems, just as I saw it from Remain in the UK referendum, but the Clinton campaign is laser-focused on projecting basic grown-up competence and then bringing out the Obama coalition in the same numbers that delivered victories in 2008 and 2012. It's not about convincing 'independents', either, because independents are mostly people who are either partisans who don't like admitting it, or people who'll vote based upon what a random celebrity says or how someone looks or what they had for breakfast on election day.
posted by holgate at 1:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]




I managed to score floor passes to the 2004 DNC in Boston. It was a Tuesday and my tactic was to just be friendly at the nearby bars and see if someone would offer me a pass. And it worked! The previous pass holders were much more interested in slipping off to a hotel room than watching a speech by that newcomer Barack Obama.

So that makes me wonder... are we going to see a President on that stage tonight?

(I mean, besides Invisible Obama looking for his chair)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


we somehow discovered that in all of the US there were just twelve undecided people to begin with

This is kind of the premise to a fun short story by Isaac Asimov from 1955.
posted by Sangermaine at 1:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


This says they're doing the roll call early, because shenanigans?
posted by quaking fajita at 1:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Has there been any significant protesting outside the RNC? I feel like there was all kinds of scary hype, but haven't heard or seen anything besides small groups with signs.

Jared Yates Sexton has just sent a couple of tweets about a building protest outside
posted by nubs at 1:30 PM on July 19, 2016


Drudge: Roger Ailes Leaves Fox News With $40M Parachute

Well, I'm sure Fox News will become less awful now, and just the same awful with a new younger CEO.
posted by entropicamericana at 1:31 PM on July 19, 2016


Wright State University [near Dayton, Ohio] has withdrawn as host of the first presidential debate, scheduled for September 26. The school cited the escalating costs for security, which rose from an initial estimate of $3.5 million to over $8 million.

Unlike private universities, Wright State cannot restrict public access to its campus, which added to the security challenges, the university said.

The event had been expected to generate between 14 and 25 million dollar [for the local economy.

Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY will be hosting the debate instead. Hofstra University hosted a debate in 2012, and had previously agreed to serve as an alternate site, if needed.

Dayton Daily News | WHIO
posted by Herodios at 1:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]




A 3% down payment on a 150k house for a first-time buyer would be $4500

Also figure in the fun of getting a loan on a first-time house while putting only 3% down, eating things like closing costs and related fees, and figuring what kind of interest rate + PMI you would get stuck with in that kind of economic nightmare situation.
posted by delfin at 1:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Drudge: Roger Ailes Leaves Fox News With $40M Parachute

You know, Fox, if you want revenge for how he embarrassed your company you could always give his job to Keith Olbermann.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


We are all here looking at Trump because no one listened to Julia Sugarbaker in 1991.
posted by emjaybee at 1:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


While many of us laugh at the circus taking place in Cleveland, recall, if you will, that it was Bill Clinton that was largely responsible for ridding the firewall FDR put in place to protect against economic ruin. Who, then, would have imagined The Republican Platform’s Surprise Revival of Glass-Steagall Legislation" Did they check with Warren or Bernie on this?
posted by Postroad at 1:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Well, I'm sure Fox News will become less awful now, and just the same awful with a new younger CEO.

Unbeknownst to most, Twitter has been holding tryouts for years
posted by beerperson at 1:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Has there been an update on this yet:

"From an article on Donald skipping a donor meeting this morning: He had, they found out later, unexpectedly flown back to New York overnight with no word on when he might return."


There is one hilarious update, which is that they changed the photo-op description to: "The group was led out to the football field, where the Cleveland Browns play, to take pictures before they were let go" and tacked this onto the end:

"Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the championship record of the Cleveland Browns."
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Trump is not aiming for super-organized Nazi Germany, he's aiming for tinpot dictator.

I've been saying for months now that Trump is the American equivalent of a flamboyant third-world strongarm despot. The kind of narcissistic sociopath who awards himself an extravagant 37-word title and a chest full of unearned medals, parades around in parade about in leopard print and lamé, and treats presidenting as a riotously capricious lark.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 1:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [28 favorites]


Brian Beutler: The Racial Motivation for Putting Hillary in Prison
This is the rhetorical innovation that transforms the entire convention, indeed the entire campaign, from a familiar string of racial dog whistles into a sermon of racial entitlement. As it happens, America hasn’t been this safe in decades and unemployment is near its pre–Great Recession low. But it is still possible to call to mind lost times, real and imagined, when whites were more culturally dominant than they are today, when the economy worked better for more people (or at least for white people) than it does right now, and crucially, when political leaders were primarily concerned with helping the winners in past racial and social hierarchies preserve their incumbency. This has been Trump’s m.o. from the outset: to say this stolen idyll should be reclaimed forthwith.

It’s ironic that a 68-year-old white woman stands in the way of a return to white racial entitlement, but to the extent that Clinton is the key obstacle, she must be taken out of contention. Clinton’s unique status as the right’s object of abuse and imagined scandal for nearly 30 years, and her apparent determination more recently to affirm her enemies’ suspicions of her, have fed the idea that imprisonment is the appropriate means of removing her. If Bernie Sanders were the Democratic nominee, he’d be delegitimized as a socialist and a committer of treason. If President Barack Obama weren’t term-limited from running again, Trump would be whipping up the same mob with different words. No matter whom Democrats nominated, Trump and his supporters would find a pretense for claiming that the candidate wasn’t entitled to hold office.

What makes “lock her up” more unsettling than some analogous birther chant, though, is that calling Clinton a crook isn’t as inherently toxic or self-marginalizing as calling Obama a Muslim foreigner, and it puts Clinton in the practically impossible position of proving a negative. For the lack of cooler heads prevailing in the GOP, millions of people now see jailing Clinton as the only way to get what they feel has been taken from them. This is not normal in America. It is banana republic politics. It is elemental to Trump’s candidacy. And it isn’t going away.
posted by zombieflanders at 1:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


Drudge: Roger Ailes Leaves Fox News With $40M Parachute

Add Megyn Kelly to the Roger Ailes sexually harassment file.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


In more reports from the #nevertrump delegates gathering and coordinating now: Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman, and people are asking me if I can guarantee their safety because they are being threatened by white supremacists at their hotels. This is the America we live in now, people.
posted by corb at 1:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [148 favorites]


Donald Trump is like some of the enterprise sales people I've dealt with over the years. Promise them everything, let the devs and designers clean up the mess afterwards while randomizing their roadmaps, pocket the commission. Repeat.

It's a lazy sort of dictatorship. It means you never really create a strategy; you just keep dealing with the mess in front of you.
posted by dw at 1:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


thinking of you corb. that is terrible!!!
posted by sallybrown at 1:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Silver lining: the ever-increasing cost of the campaign trail is one of the most expensive jokes us peons have ever been able to play on the ruling class.

Two threads ago, clawsoon suggested that Hillary's proposed amendment against Citizens United could be "what will finally bring the Koch brothers on board with Trump."

I rather wonder if maybe it would be the other way around, that they could now be realizing that a forced disarmament would save them money that maybe hasn't been so well spent of late.
posted by fedward at 1:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Corb, stay safe.
posted by Pendragon at 1:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I get bummed when I think about friends on FB who are newly minted libertarians, or flirting with it because apparently jumping from Sanders to Johnson makes sense to them...?

I blame tech/silicon valley, etc (and I say this as a developer). Let the market it sort it out? Nah. Let the tech sort it out.
posted by defenestration at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Stay safe corb. FYI - we're seeing some stuff on Twitter about the roll call vote being moved up an hour to try to keep the #nevertrump delegates from participating.
posted by nubs at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2016


Hey you guys, I just realized something. Milania Trump is from Ljubljana. What if she's a plant and the entire Trump campaign is being secretly directed by Laibach as an NSK performance piece?
posted by infinitywaltz at 1:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]




Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman,

um, what? This needs a bit of unpacking. Seriously what the hell?
posted by yesster at 1:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman...

Wait. What???
Shouldn't a pregnant woman be revered by a "party of life"?
W.T. F??????
posted by Thorzdad at 1:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


you guys have $150,000 houses? Where I live the average is literally 10x that.

I mean...what are you trying to get at with this? Most of the United States would see $150K as a perfectly logical home price. Maybe kind of a steal in a lot of places, but not insanely so. Shit, I live in the US's third largest city but I could buy a condo for $150K, so long as I was willing to have a slightly longer commute.

Yes, there are (in every nation) small enclaves of disproportionately high costs of living, but I fail to see how that makes the minimum wage debate somehow a failure? I mean okay, maybe $15/hr isn't enough to get someone above water in SF or Manhattan; should we hang the other 99.9% of the nation out to dry because of it?
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [32 favorites]


Can anyone on Twitter tag @delegaterevolt and @delsunbound with roll call shenanigans?
posted by corb at 1:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Maybe she did write it all herself. Maybe Melania doesn't want go down in history as the wife of the racist dictator-clown universally recognized as the worst president in American history and put the rickroll and plagiarized stuff in her speech on purpose.

God I can't wait for the post-election campaign tell-alls to come out
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman,

Have any of the news channels discussed this treatment of the anti-Drumpf side? It seems to me if the anti-Drumpf delegates are scared to even go to the bathroom alone, as corb has suggested, that this is something that ought to be known to the rest of the country. Yes, the forcing of the rules vote yesterday was viewable to those with enough time and ability to watch it, but constant threats from fellow delegates would seem to be a seriously important thing.
posted by dnash at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Thorzdad: Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman...

Wait. What???
Shouldn't a pregnant woman be revered by a "party of life"?


You'd think, but evidently, they only revere the function of a woman's uterus.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 1:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


He is going to lose spectacularly.
Remember when his campaign was just a punchline for both parties, because who in the world would ever actually vote for Donald fucking Trump in sufficient numbers to give him the nomination? It was like that time Gary Coleman ran for governor of California, haha, good one! Yet here we are.

I sincerely hope that the Clinton campaign and Democratic machine find a way to unify/mobilize enough voters to defeat Trump, but I'll be white knuckling it all the way through to election night. In any reasonably rational/sane political environment, Trump would never have gotten this far. All bets are off.
posted by usonian at 1:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [34 favorites]


Have any of the news channels discussed this treatment of the anti-Drumpf side? It seems to me if the anti-Drumpf delegates are scared to even go to the bathroom alone, as corb has suggested, that this is something that ought to be known to the rest of the country.

The last thing Anderson Cooper wants is brownshirts at his door.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:53 PM on July 19, 2016




Can someone get those #nevertrumps wearing cameras and mics so they can broadcast the intimidation?
posted by mrzarquon at 1:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


A few people won't, but on a national level, especially given the way the electoral college works, it's just not enough to make much of a difference.

Dear Despairing People: please remember the general election *has not even begin yet* before you decide it's all over.
posted by aught at 1:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


He is going to lose spectacularly.

“God Himself could not sink this ship!”
posted by acb at 1:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]



Thorzdad: Trump's Party of Life just threatened to hang a pregnant woman...


Is anyone recording this stuff? I mean, come on, tiny cams and recorders are ubiquitous nowadays. Hell, just turn on the voice memo recorder on your iphone. Did nobody think to equip themselves with evidence gathering devices before they ventured into what was sure to be a snake pit of conflict? Not a jab at you personally, Corb, but actual evidence of these shenanigans, shared with the media, would go a long ways to either legitimating your movement or at least protect you from some of the more horrific and egregious verbal assaults.
posted by Chrischris at 1:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Thorzdad: Shouldn't a pregnant woman be revered by a "party of life"?

There was similar nastiness reported in the last thread about a guy in a wheelchair. The rhetoric has become so loud that some people can no longer hear their own compassionate thoughts. They see a pregnant woman or a guy in a wheelchair - people who need reasonable accommodation - and they hear a talk radio voice yelling that it's someone playing the victim card trying to take advantage of hard-working taxpayers.

That makes me sad.
posted by clawsoon at 1:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [19 favorites]


What makes “lock her up” more unsettling than some analogous birther chant

Among the things that makes it unsettling is, I don't recall ever hearing these folks having a theory of specifically what law Clinton is alleged to have broken (although I suppose many of them reject the finding that the email server affair is not criminal conduct).
posted by thelonius at 1:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Can anyone on Twitter tag @delegaterevolt and @delsunbound with roll call shenanigans?

done
posted by Theta States at 2:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]




Otherwise, a nice big nametag saying:

Hi! I'm with #Nevertrump and we are recording everything you say and do! Have something to share to me (and your employer and the world at large)? Go ahead, and you too might get to be on CNN!

might go a long ways to preventing certain folks from spewing their nastiness.
posted by Chrischris at 2:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


21st Century Fox Verified account
‏@21CF
21CF statement: Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. The only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement.


¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by Drinky Die at 2:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Nate Silver at 538: “Election Update: Clinton’s Lead Is As Safe As Kerry’s Was In 2004”

Ouch. I'm scared. Hold me.

Also, guys... I'm starting to think that Melania was the plagiarist. Not a speechwriter. Melania.
posted by Justinian at 2:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Can anyone on Twitter tag @delegaterevolt and @delsunbound with roll call shenanigans?

@delegaterevolt RTed a photo of the pregnant woman who was threatened, so I think they are on it.
posted by Theta States at 2:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Sing it with me, people: Polls conducted before August have no more predictive power than they did in February.
posted by The Gaffer at 2:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


There was a 3-point gap in February, too, wasn't there?
posted by clawsoon at 2:07 PM on July 19, 2016


Nate Silver at 538: “Election Update: Clinton’s Lead Is As Safe As Kerry’s Was In 2004”

Yeah I dunno. I can see what Bush said about terrorism and security and not changing horses in midstream and all that and why it won him the election along with the swiftboating. I just can't imagine any path for Trump to gain the votes he needs to gain like Bush did. What could he possibly say that would change the minds of minority voters or women who are disgusted by him at this point?

A Clinton implosion of some kind is possible but incredibly unlikely and I think it's the only way she loses.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've been saying for months now that Trump is the American equivalent of a flamboyant third-world strongarm despot. The kind of narcissistic sociopath who awards himself an extravagant 37-word title and a chest full of unearned medals, parades around in parade about in leopard print and lamé, and treats presidenting as a riotously capricious lark.

Oh my god, he's our Turkmenbashi
posted by Ragged Richard at 2:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Sing it with me, people: Polls conducted before August have no more predictive power than they did in February.

I appreciate this. And were this a race between, like, Kerry and Romney I'd be fine. I don't want Romney to be President. Primarily because of his Supreme Court picks. But seriously, we'd survive. The country would survive.

This isn't that. Until the polls show Hillary Clinton with a 12 point lead or greater I'm going to continue freaking out.
posted by Justinian at 2:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


Hey, guys, I'm on my fifth drink. Is this going to be a long night ?
posted by Pendragon at 2:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Nate Silver at 538: “Election Update: Clinton’s Lead Is As Safe As Kerry’s Was In 2004”

What a ridiculously trollish headline to go with for that article. The actual article says:
But Clinton remains ahead of Trump in the clear majority of polls. She leads by about the same margin that Barack Obama did heading into the conventions in 2008, and by a somewhat larger margin than Obama did in 2012.
But
While Obama won twice with pre-convention leads of about that margin, John Kerry went into his convention with a lead of about 3 percentage points in 2004, but lost to George W. Bush. And in 2000, Bush had about a 4-point lead on the eve of the conventions, but lost the popular vote to Al Gore.
So overall...sometimes a lead of this margin at this point means wins, and sometimes it doesn't. Thanks, Nate.
posted by Sangermaine at 2:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


What could he possibly say that would change the minds of minority voters or women who are disgusted by him at this point?

I don't think he has to say anything if the media is reporting that Hillary has it in the bag. One way to ensure she doesn't have it in the bag is to depress turnout by making people think the election is a formality. (cf. Brexit.)
posted by tonycpsu at 2:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Nate Silver at 538: “Election Update: Clinton’s Lead Is As Safe As Kerry’s Was In 2004”

"The campaign is going to feel really long..."

Going to?
posted by tobascodagama at 2:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


If Bush taught me anything it's never to ascribe to cleverness what can be explained by stupidity.
posted by bq at 2:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I didn't see this come up in the other thread, but there was some chatter on Twitter that Patricia Smith is Sean "VileRat" Smith's stepmom and that they weren't on speaking terms? I haven't found any corroboration elsewhere though.
posted by murphy slaw at 2:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




Sean Smith started a thread years ago on Something Awful about crazy emails threads your crazy parents forward. So, there's some history suggesting he would not be pleased with developments.
posted by chainlinkspiral at 2:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I've been saying for months now that Trump is the American equivalent of a flamboyant third-world strongarm despot. The kind of narcissistic sociopath who awards himself an extravagant 37-word title and a chest full of unearned medals, parades around in parade about in leopard print and lamé, and treats presidenting as a riotously capricious lark.

Oh my god, he's our Turkmenbashi


Trevor Noah is pretty sure he's seen this type of leadership before, in African Presidents.
posted by numaner at 2:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


NRO: Delegates may attempt to place Ted Cruz's name in nomination. He wouldn't win, but it would slow down and frustrate the process.
posted by Jahaza at 2:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Nate Silver is reduced to linkbaiting in order to hedge his bets. Trump's primary victory has really unhinged him, and now he's overcompensating, joining the media hype machine that claims there's battles where there are none. Sad.
posted by Apocryphon at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


is there any good reading to be done about how the GOP became aware of outrage fatigue and then weaponized it
posted by murphy slaw at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Having worked with Sean Smith/Vilerat for years on SA I can tell you pretty unequivocally that he would be against Donald Trump or the Republicans or whoever politicizing his death, although he would also have found it darkly funny.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [50 favorites]


Melania's Plagiarism Actually Just Shows How Vapid Political Speeches Are
Far from embarrassing Melania Trump and the GOP, then, it should be deeply humiliating for Democrats that their rhetoric is so bloodless and hollow that it can easily be spoken word-for-word in front of a gang of crazed racists. Instead of asking “why is Melania Trump using Michelle Obama’s words?” we might think to ask “why is Michelle Obama using the right-wing rhetoric of self-reliance?”
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 2:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


thank you, the hotness of that take shall warm my hovel for a fortnight or better
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [42 favorites]


Is anyone recording this stuff? I mean, come on, tiny cams and recorders are ubiquitous nowadays. Hell, just turn on the voice memo recorder on your iphone. Did nobody think to equip themselves with evidence gathering devices before they ventured into what was sure to be a snake pit of conflict? Not a jab at you personally, Corb, but actual evidence of these shenanigans, shared with the media, would go a long ways to either legitimating your movement or at least protect you from some of the more horrific and egregious verbal assaults.

For anyone ever thinking about recording interactions, the Digital Media Law Project is a good resource on whether the state you are in is one or two party consent, and whether you're free to record out and about in the world when there's no reasonable expectation of privacy. Ohio is pretty accepting.
posted by phearlez at 2:18 PM on July 19, 2016


But glancing through his posts in that thread, he doesn't mention explicitly which relatives they come from or mention estrangement. I'm not digging through his entire post history, though.

Also I feel like this is veering a little bit towards swift boating of Patricia Smith and sort of weirds me out. I kept wanting to mention the vilerat/crazy e-mails from relatives thread connection to people last night but couldn't figure out how to do it without feeling gross. I think she's wrong about what happened in Benghazi, but rumor-mongering about her relationship with Sean seems a bridge too far for me (a person who didn't know Sean personally.)
posted by dismas at 2:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


If you can't get to numaner's African dictator video (like me, here in Canada), you can watch it here. It's worth checking out.
posted by clawsoon at 2:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


on the one hand i really appreciate that the editorial boards of major newspapers are writing opinion pieces like this

on the other hand i despair that the right wing has so tainted their constituents' perception of the news media that none of these articles will sway their supporters in the least
posted by murphy slaw at 2:19 PM on July 19, 2016


The US has the highest GDP per capita in the world. It's the most productive country ever. It's literally the hardest working nation ever to exist. And I say that as someone who is mostly "meh" on America as an abstract concept.

At the risk of being 'Well, ACTUALLY' guy, that GDP chart you linked to only includes about eight countries. The US comes in about 10th in the world, albeit that the countries ahead of it are generally very small countries that either fluked into oil wealth or are low-tax financial centres.
posted by Pink Frost at 2:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Having worked with Sean Smith/Vilerat for years on SA I can tell you pretty unequivocally that he would be against Donald Trump or the Republicans or whoever politicizing his death, although he would also have found it darkly funny.

If anything, they should have at least adopted his dragon tattoo as a symbol of strength and virility.
posted by Apocryphon at 2:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Also I feel like this is veering a little bit towards swift boating of Patricia Smith and sort of weirds me out.

yeah, that's a totally fair assessment. dropping it. it's gross enough that they weaponized a relative's anguish without second-guessing her authenticity
posted by murphy slaw at 2:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Far from embarrassing Melania Trump and the GOP, then, it should be deeply humiliating for Democrats that their rhetoric is so bloodless and hollow that it can easily be spoken word-for-word in front of a gang of crazed racists. Instead of asking “why is Melania Trump using Michelle Obama’s words?” we might think to ask “why is Michelle Obama using the right-wing rhetoric of self-reliance?”

Because a record of self-reliance is a good thing in a POTUS, someone on whom we all might need to rely.

Weirdest way to shift the blame to Mrs. Obama.
posted by ocschwar at 2:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


I fail to see how that makes the minimum wage debate somehow a failure?

I didn't say anything about the minimum wage debate being a failure, no idea where you got that idea. I was just surprised at the apparent cost of housing wherever that was. pretty much in any major Canadian City you're looking at $400,000-$600,000 average. I'm actually jealous.
posted by Hoopo at 2:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


She did have a line in the speech about the government saying she wasn't "immediate family," though, which was kind of a headscratcher for me and I haven't seen it explained anywhere
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Until the polls show Hillary Clinton with a 12 point lead or greater I'm going to continue freaking out.

You're going to be freaking out until November.

The Trump strategy will be to turn Dem voters into non-voters, with the assistance of institutional vote suppressors on a state level, and a national campaign that insults, scares, trolls, disillusions, intimidates. It is going to be more difficult to do the intense, widespread and visible voter outreach that occurred in '08 and '12 when the opposition runs on grievance and anger and coddles the people taking names and making threats within a convention hall. Some local Clinton campaign HQs will need police protection. Knocking on doors and leafletting and even putting up yard signs is going to require more personal bravery than in recent history.
posted by holgate at 2:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


OK, it looks like that roll call vote being moved up was a false alarm. Sorry, corb, for passing along bad info from twitter.
posted by nubs at 2:23 PM on July 19, 2016


Melania Trump’s Claims That She Got a Degree Are About As Honest As Her Speech
If you were to read Melania's bio on her website, she claims that she graduated from the University of Slovenia with a degree in design and architecture.

But, according to two biographers from Slovenia named Bojan Pozar and Igor Omerza, Melania didn't get a degree. In fact, she didn't graduate at all. As it stands, Melania is a college dropout.
All the Different Things the Trump Campaign Said About Melania Trump’s Speech
“First of all, we think that Melania’s speech was a great speech. Obviously Michelle Obama feels very similar sentiments toward her family. We’re comfortable that the words that she used are personal to her.” — Mr. Manafort at a briefing Tuesday morning

“I don’t blame her. Some of these things are pretty common types of themes.” — Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman
How Melania Trump’s Plagiarism Happened
Trump surrogates parroting “common words and phrases” as a defense must think the American public is truly moronic—yes, the speech included nearly 60 of the same words, arranged exactly the same way. That’s plagiarism—also known as theft. It’s a direct insult to the American public that the Trump campaign is so sloppy and has such shoddy work ethic that they put so little effort into preparing a woman who might be First Lady of our country for the most major public speech she would ever deliver.

My worst nightmare is sending the person I work for on stage with remarks that are less than perfect: a mistake that the press will seize on, or a joke that falls flat. That’s why White House speechwriters paced the halls, reading their words aloud, making sure their final draft was perfect before a first draft ever went to the President.

Someone should have done the same thing for Melania Trump.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


At the risk of being 'Well, ACTUALLY' guy, that GDP chart you linked to only includes about eight countries. The US comes in about 10th in the world, albeit that the countries ahead of it are generally very small countries that either fluked into oil wealth or are low-tax financial centres.

Yeah I do realize that but as you note they're all outliers driven by low populations and strange GDP numbers driven by the oil or finance industries. GDP per capita is an imprecise number anyway and I think we all agree that among broad-based large countries the US the the leader in terms of economic productivity overall. In more specific metrics it's not but it's usually close to the top.

The notion that America is somehow "not working" in terms of people doing labour is farcical. Americans work themselves to death.
posted by GuyZero at 2:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


If anything, they should have at least adopted his dragon tattoo as a symbol of strength and virility.

The hottest flame wars, the vilest tats, all at your fingertypes.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have informed all of my lefty friends that none of us have fought Trump anywhere near as hard as a Republican lady I've only ever "met" online. corb, I admire the hell out of you right now. Stay safe.

OK. I think I need to unplug from all this for a while.
I'm supposed to pay my bills by writing sci-fi/fantasy nonsense. I can't do stuff like that while watching an actual horror show unfold. Besides, there's really nothing more I can do right now, anyway.

(I'm sure "unplugging" will last all of like four hours. Sigh.)
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [35 favorites]


It's the laughably Xhosa thing to do.
posted by Apocryphon at 2:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Trump surrogates parroting “common words and phrases” as a defense must think the American public is truly moronic

More like they're aware that the balkanization of news into ideological groups means these people will probably never see the exact side-by-side. So they can make this baldly false claim and their folks, who are primed to see The Opposition as liars who turn everyday talk into racism, will just believe it.
posted by phearlez at 2:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


The notion that America is somehow "not working" in terms of people doing labour is farcical. Americans work themselves to death.

GDP per capita is a measure of productivity not how much we work, though. In terms of hours per worker, the US is nowhere near the top.

(If your thesis is: "Americans are plenty productive, we don't need to work harder" then I agree 100%. But we are not the "hardest working" in terms of hours/stress/etc).
posted by thefoxgod at 2:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


In terms of hours per worker, the US is nowhere near the top.

I would suggest that a massive ditch-digging (and filling-in) program isn't in anybody's interest, but then again it's probably the actual GOP job creation platform.
posted by GuyZero at 2:32 PM on July 19, 2016


I would suggest that a massive ditch-digging (and filling-in) program isn't in anybody's interest, but then again it's probably the actual GOP job creation platform.

Wall Building.
posted by zarq at 2:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Music update: "Roll With the Changes" -- for a party that wouldn't change a thing, ever.
posted by zachlipton at 2:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Okay, I know this is a whole new day and I should let the Melania Trump plagiarism thing go, but I'm laughing too hard at this.

Once again, Josh Marshall: To phrase the principle in Occam's terms, it tells us 'the stupidest scenario is always to be preferred'. And what was the stupidest possible scenario? Right: Melania wrote the speech herself. ... In a brief moment of megalomania I imagined myself like Einstein, unwilling to accept the full implications of Relativity.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Damon Young at VSB - The RNC: Where Steve King Defends White Supremacy and Melania Trump Disproves It:
I won’t say too much more about poor Melania, because every joke worth making has already been made. Instead, I’ll just say that the only person feeling worse than her about her speech this morning is Steve King. All that fuss about the master race. And then, a couple hours later, the Grand Wizard’s wife refutes that entire argument by stealing the words from a regular Black girl from the South Side.
posted by palindromic at 2:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


My armchair bet is that the floor nastiness will contribute to Trump's fundraising and volunteer gap after the convention. (Similar to how Dittohead dislike of McCain as a RINO correlated to his own gap.) People who decide not to sign checks or participate in the infamous Rovian phone trees don't make for sexy news though, which thrives on signal-boosting cranks.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 2:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]



Poll: Latinos Overwhelmingly Negative On Trump After Convention 1st Day
Monday's speeches consisted almost entirely on immigration and security, and several speakers shared personal tragedies which they attributed to the threat of terrorism and lax immigration and security. More than seven in ten Latinos who viewed the convention said they would describe a Trump rally as either "dangerous" or "violent."
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Until the polls show Hillary Clinton with a 12 point lead or greater I'm going to continue freaking out.


Until I'm no longer having arguments with lifelong Dems who insist that Hillary is unfit to be president, I'm going to continue to freak out. I'm hoping my cohort is unrepresentative of larger trends because I see some people I previously considered reasonable slowly turning their Hillary hatred into a place where breaking for Trump at the last minute wouldn't be surprising. I know more than a few people who have turned to right-wing sources for their fix of anti-Hillary messages now that the Sanders campaign has wound down. People who still vocally support Obama! Logic has left the building for a scary percentage of the electorate on both sides of the aisle
posted by billyfleetwood at 2:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [43 favorites]


Mrs. Trump said she would write the speech herself.
posted by sallybrown at 2:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


And here we go! Hope you're all ready to Make America Work Again.
posted by zachlipton at 2:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


billyfleetwood: same same same. scares me to death.
posted by dismas at 2:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


They are all dressed in European outfits
posted by Tarumba at 2:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


People who decide not to sign checks or participate in the infamous Rovian phone trees don't make for sexy news though, which thrives on signal-boosting cranks.

On the other hand, it is a sign of how truly, fundamentally messed up things are, that we are effectively cheering on people who would give Ted Cruz the nuclear codes.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


So a bunch of white people wearing traditional European costumes just led the pledge of allegiance to show how international we are or something.
posted by zachlipton at 2:46 PM on July 19, 2016


It's also ironic that the country Trump wants to build that wall against is actually the hardest working country (in terms of hours) on Earth.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


(Since Republicans always talk about hard work as an absolute virtue, that presumably means Mexicans are the most virtuous people on Earth to them, right? Somehow I don't think they're going to embrace this idea though...)
posted by thefoxgod at 2:48 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm sort of in the opposite position, in that most of the Republicans I know absolutely insist they will never ever ever vote for Trump - he's a joke in my entire social circle (sort of centrist). Only 2 people so far have admitted to me they will vote for Trump. Otherwise, a handful of passionate Hillary voters, a large swath of lukewarm/reluctant/grumbling Hillary voters, and a couple handfuls of people who refuse to vote.
posted by sallybrown at 2:48 PM on July 19, 2016


What is going through their heads during this Sikh prayer, what...
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


a Sikh woman leading the invocation!

* image of exploding heads in that one Dave Chapelle skit *
posted by numaner at 2:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


This invocation from Harmeet Dhillon (a Sikh-American as she described herself) is a pretty big deal. She's been active in fighting discrimination against Sikhs, which has risen a lot after 9/11.

I hate to think what kind of hatred is happening on twitter though.
posted by zachlipton at 2:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Weird since yesterday they were all "Judeo Christian" nation, that didn't make sense.
posted by Tarumba at 2:51 PM on July 19, 2016


Didn't corb say on the other thread that she didn't want connection back to mefi? Seeing a screenshot on twitter. This ok?
posted by zennie at 2:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Ryan: "We're not changing, it's Trump, deal with it."
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:51 PM on July 19, 2016


> Didn't corb say on the other thread that she didn't want connection back to mefi

Yes, she explicitly said she didn't want MeFi mentioned, and that she wanted to be paraphrased.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Some background on Harmeet Dhillon (former chair of the San Francisco Republican Party, to the extent that's a thing) and her views.
posted by zachlipton at 2:53 PM on July 19, 2016


Yeah if you see a screenshot on twitter linking her back to here please ask it to be taken off. Go through twitter's reporting with privacy concerns.
posted by numaner at 2:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


You're going to be freaking out until November.

Yes, now you're catching on.

I expect to be freaking out until November, if I live that long.
posted by Justinian at 2:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I hate to think what kind of hatred is happening on twitter though.

hi I checked because I enjoy pain

they're cool with it because "sikhs hate muslims"
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Sessions deciding that saying "we're entrenched" is too straightforward, decides to say that the political climate is literally like the trench warfare of World War I, where there were trenches.
posted by cortex at 2:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


they're cool with it because "sikhs hate muslims"

It's just idiocy all the way down.
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on July 19, 2016


they're cool with it because "sikhs hate muslims"

ugh I just remembered the Hindus in India last month that wished Drumpf happy birthday.
posted by numaner at 2:55 PM on July 19, 2016


Trash Fire Day 2 has officially started. Jeff Sessions is up there officially nominating Trump.
posted by Justinian at 2:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


i can't listen to him anymore, i muted the stream, i'll expect you guys to tell me when it's over!
posted by numaner at 2:58 PM on July 19, 2016


So based on the audio on my feed the crowd couldn't tell whether to chant Trump! or USA!. Aren't there supposed to be leaders coordinating this stuff?
posted by zachlipton at 2:58 PM on July 19, 2016


What states are expected to not nominate Trump?
posted by Tarumba at 2:58 PM on July 19, 2016


Instead of asking “why is Melania Trump using Michelle Obama’s words?” we might think to ask “why is Michelle Obama using the right-wing rhetoric of self-reliance?"

LOGIC.

Politician's wife gives standard-issue political speech: HORRIFYING EMBARRASSMENT
Other politician's wife STEALS standard-issue political speech: NOT NEARLY AS BAD!

About what I'd expect from the last person on earth who defends Abigail freakin' Fisher.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Tru-SA! Tru-SA!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:59 PM on July 19, 2016


C'mon Minnesota. Don't let me down!
posted by RedEmma at 3:00 PM on July 19, 2016


MSNBC is reporting there won't be any protesting states.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:01 PM on July 19, 2016


DONALD TRUMP IS AN AWOOOOOOOOOVEMENT!
posted by Talez at 3:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Sessions: I sincerely believe that Donald Trump is the singular candidate to put this country back on track. Also I cannot say the word "warrior" because I have trouble with my R's.

Ryan: Off to a good start, All Riiight.

Chris Collins: comes out laughing (Maybe he heard Sessions pronouncing "warrior.") But enough jocularity. Barrack Obama makes us a loser country. It's time to take back our country, The Great United States of America. President Trump is going to build a wall and do enough other pie in the sky bullshit that we will be winners! Donald Trump is not just a candidate, Donald Trump is a movement!

and here, dear reader, I fall into giggles because a 'movement" can also have a medical definition.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


"This is not a dream. It is deadly serious."

Yes, yes indeed.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Dammit, people, you're not nominating Trump as President; you're nominating him as the party's candidate, with the belief that he will go on to become President. It's stupid nitpicky showboaty formal stuff but at least get it right.

But anyway the next speaker opened with a joke about how he never shows up in his wife's sex dreams.
posted by cortex at 3:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


On NPR, a reporter explained that the roll call of states will be orchestrated so that New York is the state that puts Trump over. Some states will defer their votes, so that the numbers align with NY's tally. Now...If I were wanting to throw a little "fuck you" into things, and I was head of a delegation ahead of NY that could put Donny over, I'd do it and take the piss out of NY.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Admiral Ya-a-a-mamoto... those foriegner names are hard.
posted by Jahaza at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"America made the world a better place."

[citation needed]
posted by thefoxgod at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


McMaster comes out and makes some corny joke about his wife, Peggy, and his "wildest dream."
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016


But anyway the next speaker opened with a joke about how he never shows up in his wife's sex dreams.

Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice.
posted by Talez at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


This jerkhole just quoted CS Lewis. No. I am Not Happy.
posted by Justinian at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Ahh geez this guy just quoted Tora! Tora! Tora!
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:05 PM on July 19, 2016


It's deleted.
posted by zennie at 3:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Sometimes I just sit and try to imagine what it must be like to be Paul Ryan. A hollowed-out little haunted-doll of a person. What does Paul Ryan think of when he thinks about himself? How does Paul Ryan hear his own inner monologue? What phantasms descend on Paul Ryan at night, stretch out their claws at him and shake their chains? What does he take joy in? What does he think he's good at?
posted by penduluum at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


"you're nominating him as the party's candidate, with the belief that he will go on to become President."

Technically, they're nominating him to be nominated to be President. After they nominate him for the nomination they will vote on whether to nominate him.
posted by Jahaza at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"Per-HAPS! You have not seen Donald Trump with the people?"

That's accurate.
posted by AndrewInDC at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


~But anyway the next speaker opened with a joke about how he never shows up in his wife's sex dreams.
~Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice.


And, apparently, catering to the cuckold fetish crowd.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"a reporter explained that the roll call of states will be orchestrated"

And yeah, if we've seen one thing this election cycle, it's that these RNC delegates sure respond well to directions.
posted by mosk at 3:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


> a reporter explained that the roll call of states will be orchestrated so that New York is the state that puts Trump over

Why is this? Because he's from New York and they're being nice?
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:09 PM on July 19, 2016


What does he think he's good at?

Leg day?
posted by orrnyereg at 3:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


The corpse in the library, tradition that your home state should put you over.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016


Why is this? Because he's from New York and they're being nice?

Basically. This kind of pageantry is common.
posted by zachlipton at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016


Why is this? Because he's from New York and they're being nice?

Pretty much. There's a lot of symbolism in all of this stuff. Like there was a shitfight about Ohio being in the second row instead of up the front as is tradition for a hosting state.
posted by Talez at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016


"The sleeping giant of American Spirit has awakened and has sounded the tocsin"..... oh McMaster you and your two dollar vocabulary. I'm sure half the audience heard "..sounded the toxin."

Oh no now he is using Buffalo Springfield lyrics: Somethings Happening Here
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


> What does he think he's good at?

Talking like a tobacco auctioneer? Sectetary secetary secetary!
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"Seketary"

Can't unhear it.
posted by vverse23 at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


did he just shush the convention , rather than bang the gavel???
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


*golf claps for roomthreeseventeen on the title for this post*
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Paul Ryan literally repeatedly shhhhhhhing the crowd while the stream mix has the crowd mix all the way down makes for some primo creepiness.
posted by cortex at 3:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Paul Ryan shushing the crowd just made my gorge rise unexpectedly
posted by penduluum at 3:12 PM on July 19, 2016


did he just shush the convention , rather than bang the gavel???

But the booming midi gavel is the best part! Does it have its own Twitter handle yet?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Paul Ryan shushing is your new least favorite ASMR video
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [32 favorites]


Are we going to see corb on camera?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:14 PM on July 19, 2016


Here we go.
posted by Sophie1 at 3:14 PM on July 19, 2016


Here it comes: Roll Call!

Alabama
: Home of the greatest rallies for Donald Trump! (you sure that's what you want to be remembered for?)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Did the guy from Alaska just say Donald A. Trump?
posted by egregious theorem at 3:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh no now he is using Buffalo Springfield lyrics: Somethings Happening Here

Which is actually a song about hippies rioting against a curfew law.
posted by peeedro at 3:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


You know, I just had this flashback to 2008,when Trump was a total joke and it just hit me, this is happening. It's nuts.
posted by Tarumba at 3:15 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh no now he is using Buffalo Springfield lyrics: Somethings Happening Here

To be fair, there's no shortage of a "man with a gun over there."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Alaska: Just choked on the name Donald J. Trump
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:15 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh no now he is using Buffalo Springfield lyrics: Somethings Happening Here

Well, something is happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear. There likely is a man with a gun over there.
posted by nubs at 3:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Did the guy from Alaska just say Donald A. Trump?

I heard Donald Day Drump
posted by numaner at 3:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I second that great Mefite from Oregon, Cortex, by saying whomever is mixing audio for the livestream is doing a terrible job.
posted by Jahaza at 3:16 PM on July 19, 2016


Did the guy from Alaska just say Donald A. Trump?

Alaska is close to Canada, so maybe it was Donald, eh? Trump.
posted by peeedro at 3:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Maybe Ryan just speaks parseltongue
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


wait, I missed something, how did Alaska's all 28 go to Trump when he got like 11 in their primary?
posted by numaner at 3:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


MSNBC: This is the first time that hundreds of unreleased delegates will be counted by the RNC however the RNC decides.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


You don't often see this many not-TV-camera-ready people speaking on TV at the same time, and it's kind of endearing even as I believe they're doing their level best to annihilate this country and civil society in general.
posted by penduluum at 3:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


arizona...nuthin' to be proud of but heat
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:18 PM on July 19, 2016


Arizona: Madame sektarrry from the hottest state for job growth I drunkly announce 58 votes for Donald J. Trump
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Alaska's tongue-flub aside, what was with them reading out their votes proportionately, but all of them being lumped with Trump? Did Alaska just try to start some Never Trump action and get shut down?
posted by Panjandrum at 3:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


there was a shitfight about Ohio being in the second row instead of up the front as is tradition for a hosting state.

"Nothing's by accident."

So far as I can tell, Ohio's 66 delegates are still pledged to Kasich.

Kasich met with them this am and reportedly Trump's name was not mentioned.
 
posted by Herodios at 3:21 PM on July 19, 2016


Alaska's tongue-flub aside, what was with them reading out their votes proportionately, but all of them being lumped with Trump?

Sounds like the unreleased delegates of other candidates are being put wherever the party wants them.
posted by nubs at 3:21 PM on July 19, 2016


Go home California, you're drunk.
posted by zachlipton at 3:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


That lady is lost.
posted by cashman at 3:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


wait, I missed something, how did Alaska's all 28 go to Trump when he got like 11 in their primary?

Alaska's Republican party rules say that delegates are reapportioned when a candidate drops out. Since all the non-Trump candidates have dropped out, all the candidates have been reapportioned to Trump.
posted by Jahaza at 3:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


It's just making me sick to see all these young Californians enthusiastically cheering for Trump. I feel like I don't understand people any more.
posted by Salieri at 3:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Delete your convention.
posted by delfin at 3:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [19 favorites]


MSNBC: This is the first time that hundreds of unreleased delegates will be counted by the RNC however the RNC decides.

Ah, democracy.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"It is my pleasure to nominate Donald J Trump for President of the United States."

For those of us who grew up in the 80s: just take a beat and savor that for a second. Let that bang against the inside of your skull like a loose can of Tab in a cornering Le Car.

All through my youth Trump was a punchline. When a comedic payoff required outsize demonstrations of venality, tasteless excess, empty bravado, and implacable ego, Trump was the object. Not to Godwin myself so quickly, but in that way he was kinda like Hitler, or, say, Nixon: the actual living embodiment of a certain kind of base human experience -- at least, when a lazy metaphor would do. Rapaciousness personified.

That this parade of doughy rictuses are saying these things about this walking metaphor -- it is so profoundly weird. Are we living in a simulation? Somebody run a Tron lightcycle into me.
posted by milquetoast at 3:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [118 favorites]


So that was the big revolt? A couple abstentions from Colorado?
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on July 19, 2016


daaamn that booing at Colorado
posted by numaner at 3:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation, and the rules of the convention, we have made a terrible mistake.
posted by nom de poop at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


uh oh, what's DC up to??
posted by numaner at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Hey here we go
posted by penduluum at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Ok there are people screaming "no" and "roll call" from the DC delegation like they're being tortured.
posted by zachlipton at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Arkansas: Casting for fish and casting votes. WhooHoo

California: Mr. Chairman, I am the mother of three boys! It is so important that my sons have jobs. Donald Trump is the candidate that can provide for my boys. California is 100% rock solid for Trump. (No boasts about California, just a lot of chanting "We want Trump.")

Colorado: 31 votes for Cruz, 2 abstain, 4 votes for the next President Donald J. Trump! some booing heard.

Connecticut: Announces they are the home of Pez

Delaware: Lots of blather about the Millennial Republicans are going to take over the state legislature.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


oooooooooooooooooooooooh snaaaaap!
posted by numaner at 3:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Is Cruz still scheduled to speak at this thing? Are we going to see him bend the knee or is there any chance the last squamous hope of #NeverTrump might go rogue once he has the mic?
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


DC just got f'ed.
posted by Sophie1 at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm going to declare it now; we're fucked. Take notice of the empty chairs, but I don't think we have enough for the challenge we were hoping for. Empty chairs are Trump abstentions.
posted by corb at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


DC reported 19 anti-Trump votes.

All of their votes went for Trump.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


And Washington DC what the hell
posted by Tarumba at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


holy shit, they just totally snubbed DC!
posted by numaner at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016


So that was the big revolt? A couple abstentions from Colorado?

Democracy Now!'s broadcast from Cleveland today (alt link) is (as usual) quite different from the coverage of the RNC I've seen on any of the cable channels and covers the revolt in detail. Also includes a debate (transcript) with Kendal Unruh, Colorado delegate and a leader in the national Never Trump movement, and Raju Chinthala, an Indiana state delegate who is backing Donald Trump.
posted by XMLicious at 3:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


If anyone needs another palate cleanser of happier convention times...

Hillary Clinton nominating Barack Obama
posted by Salieri at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Seems like this story's gone a bit under the radar today with all the other things going on in Cleveland, but: fuck Lou Holtz.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Milquetoast, that was amazing.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016


Uh, I don't think Florida gave LeBron shit.
posted by peeedro at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"The state has no income tax and we have 600 miles of..."

OOOOOH! I KNOW THIS ONE! TOLL ROADS!

"pristine beaches"

What? Whatever you reckon, mate.
posted by Talez at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


All through my youth Trump was a punchline. When a comedic payoff required outsize demonstrations of venality, tasteless excess, empty bravado, and implacable ego, Trump was the object. Not to Godwin myself so quickly, but in that way he was kinda like Hitler, or, say, Nixon: the actual living embodiment of a certain kind of base human experience -- at least, when a lazy metaphor would do. Rapaciousness personified.

this was my experience as well. I could never wrap my head around his popularity on TV, let alone as a political candidate. this is stupefying.

I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Plagiarism is NOT magic.

(This is amusing me in a trainwreck sort of way.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Smartass stuff I didnt get to post earlier:

Trump surrogate... saying the speech ....does not rise to the level of a mistake because English is not Mrs. Trump's first language

Says the party of people who whine cos they dont want to hear a five second message about Press Two for Spanish.

Trump could step out in a t shirt that says Make America White Again and rocket in the polls.
At my infamous "Sunday at the BBQ with Teapublicans" my 21-y.o. nephew told me this country doesnt work because of diversity, it works DESPITE it.

Have You Tried Turning America Off and On Again?
No, but the Republicans have tried kicking it, repeatedy.

Christie isn't speaking tonight. He's just going up on stage to shave Trump's face with a straight razor.
"These are my friends, see how they glisten..."
posted by NorthernLite at 3:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Empty chairs are abstentions but not all state chairs are reporting them.
posted by corb at 3:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


DC delegate on MSNBC: Trump has not earned my vote in November.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

Accelerationism didn't save us in 2000, and it won't save us now.
posted by jackbishop at 3:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [50 favorites]


I'm starting to think that Melania was the plagiarist. Not a speechwriter. Melania.

Makes total sense. Explains why no one has been fired. She just probably googled an example to follow and left in a few too many lines from the original.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


All through my youth Trump was a punchline

Is Robin Leach still alive and able to introduce him? Because that would just round this out.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


It's like they're all on that bomb with Slim Pickens a-whoopin and a-hollerin.
posted by nom de poop at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


Jesus you guys they are literally nominating a Bloom County punchline.
posted by skycrashesdown at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [45 favorites]


Guam: "Viva Trump--" and their mic is immediately cut off.
posted by egregious theorem at 3:31 PM on July 19, 2016


Connecticut: Announces they are the home of Pez

as a slight deraily aside i just want to mention that this easter there was a free easter egg hunt event at the Pez factory and the egg hunting field was, ahead of the official hunt-opening-whistle, rushed by what Pez officials later described as "greedy locust parents" who not only grabbed all the candy they could get their hands on but also stole candy from other children's baskets

this ends the pez derail
posted by poffin boffin at 3:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


Are we living in a simulation? Somebody run a Tron lightcycle into me.

Trying to follow this from the exotic United Kingdom. If it's any comfort, I can say from recent experience that when you've been through the looking glass a few times you no longer care which way is what. Trump seems to be Hitler, but the Hitler played by Lorenzo St duBois.

How is this madness playing with the general electorate?
posted by Grangousier at 3:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Jesus you guys they are literally nominating a Bloom County punchline.

FORGET THE REPUBLICANS THIS IS THE MEADOW PARTY'S YEAR I CAN FEEL IT
posted by entropicamericana at 3:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [19 favorites]


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

Is your friend white and straight? Because just another check-in that the non-white, non-straight people of America would prefer not to be the canaries in the coal mine before everything burns.
posted by nakedmolerats at 3:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [74 favorites]


Idaho: famous for potatoes and proud of being the most Republican state in the nation.

God help us all.
posted by Salieri at 3:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Idaho: Where old white racist Californians go to retire.
posted by entropicamericana at 3:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


ProTip: You have to tilt the Connecticut delegates heads back to collect their votes.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

accelerationism doesn't work lol
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


How is this madness playing with the general electorate?

Literally nobody knows, and anybody who says they know is lying to you. I wouldn't even trust anybody who said they could tell you who the general electorate will be. There's 100% heat and 0% light right now, it won't all settle out until mid-August at the earliest.
posted by penduluum at 3:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Announcer misreads a 2 as a 7 and briefly allots Cruz 70 votes.
posted by cortex at 3:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


so like for contrast

I volunteered two days at the DNC doing check in stuff for volunteers. I was scheduled to volunteer today, but I had to take the day off, because of exhaustion and health issues.

The exhaustion was because well it's been hotter than Satan's ass crack and also I am an introvert. I HAVE NEVER BEEN AROUND SO MANY HAPPY BEAMING CHEERFUL PEOPLE since I dunno the last time I went to church. I am all for happy, it just wears me out because I'm like the quiet person who is reading a book when she should be socializing.

Yesterday I was on button detail and the buttons are cool but you know, orgasms are better. And this one staffer said, "thank God you're here today. People yesterday were screaming in joy over the buttons and I couldn't do" this other thing because people were having button orgasms.

The rainbow button instigated a lot of happy screaming. So, you know. It's happy here in Philadelphia.
posted by angrycat at 3:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [71 favorites]


Illinois? Finest governor in the nation?

Did the norovirus also infect the RNC with delusion?
posted by Talez at 3:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


(I knew that comment would get piled on, so please think on it: I've heard so many people express the sentiment of "maybe we should just burn it down" and it terrifies me. This party nominated a VP that openly thinks my marriage should not exist and would happily not allow me to adopt children.)
posted by nakedmolerats at 3:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


holy shit, they just totally snubbed DC!

Republicans snubbing and/fucking over DC is practically on their platform and has been for a very long time.
posted by zombieflanders at 3:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


Well I want to vomit, does that count?
posted by corb at 3:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


RNC would love the Illinois Governor, since that asshole has been completely obstructionist, like a toddler.
posted by agregoli at 3:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm on the bus home from work so not watching...what happened with DC's votes?
posted by dnash at 3:37 PM on July 19, 2016


some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

I agreed with this when I misread it as "on something"
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Idaho produces three things: potatoes, pyramid schemes, and racism.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm on the bus home from work so not watching...what happened with DC's votes?

They announced as if none of their delegates go to Trump, but it doesn't matter because the RNC rules are that bound delegate votes are counted as they are "supposed to" no matter what the delegates say.
posted by zachlipton at 3:39 PM on July 19, 2016


Well I want to vomit, does that count?

Maybe it's just the norovirus rather than creeping existential dread?
posted by chimaera at 3:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


corb, I still want more details about this hanging-a-pregnant-woman thing.
posted by stolyarova at 3:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm on the bus home from work so not watching...what happened with DC's votes?

They announced their votes for other candidates (I think Kasich and Cruz), but their votes were all counted for Trump. This is because the DC GOP party rules state that their delegates are bound to vote for a candidate placed in nomination at the convention and only Trump was placed in nomination and the secretary counts their votes according to the DC rule and not according to the announcement.

(We don't care about your sports teams.)
posted by Jahaza at 3:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Thank you, Jahaza! I just tuned in...
posted by mochapickle at 3:42 PM on July 19, 2016


Breaking news: The Melania speechwriter gave his final draft that he handed to the Trump campaign yesterday. Does not include any of Michelle Obama's speech.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Yeah, I'll give a postmortem after I stop hating everything and trying to figure out how we could have done it better. On the bright side, a reporter has offered drinks on him!
posted by corb at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [37 favorites]


corb, I still want more details about this hanging-a-pregnant-woman thing.

Yeah, what was this about?
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hallie Jackson reporting that John Scully (well known speechwriter) released the draft of Melania's speech he turned over to the Trump campaign; it contained none of the plagiarized bits.

Maybe... maybe Melania did the rickroll and the plagiarism on purpose... to sabotage her evil husband? An hero.
posted by Justinian at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [30 favorites]


Matt Scully was the speechwriter, but none of the contested portions were in his draft per MSNBC.
posted by Sophie1 at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2016


Ok thanks. I like that they at least spoke their votes for others.
posted by dnash at 3:43 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm assuming the delegates have been told something like, "You have exactly forty seconds to wax rhapsodic about your state and then we're cutting you off, Academy Awards style," because otherwise I'm sure we'd still on be fucking Arkansas.

Anyone who's been, what's the time limit? And what do they threaten you with for going over?
posted by Salieri at 3:44 PM on July 19, 2016


Whoops, Matthew Scully. John Sculley was CEO of Pepsi. I think he was the dude in the Jobs movie too.
posted by Justinian at 3:44 PM on July 19, 2016


Maine's got a guy with a homemade Cruz hat standing behind their chairman. Like he's literally taped something that says Cruz onto a hat.
posted by zachlipton at 3:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Hahah, I made Sophie call him John Scully as well.
posted by Justinian at 3:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Some real conspicuous cheering there from the Maine delegation for the (majority) Cruz chunk of their delegates, lack thereof for the Trump chunk.
posted by cortex at 3:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Maybe Melania is the first in a series of "Fuck You's" from the Trump family to the RNC.
posted by yesster at 3:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Steve Schmidt is reporting that none of the plagiarized portions was written by Scully.
posted by Sophie1 at 3:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


holy crap MD, I'm from there and I don't think the Orioles are worth mentioning
posted by numaner at 3:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Michigan passes?
posted by stolyarova at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2016


Wait what? Michigan passes?
posted by egregious theorem at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2016


Fun Fact: The Massachusetts RNC delegation is the entire Republican voter base of Massachusetts.
posted by Talez at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


You better believe they do.
posted by cortex at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2016


MICHIGAN PASSES
posted by numaner at 3:47 PM on July 19, 2016


What does that mean?
posted by Tarumba at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016


Yeah Scully isn't taking the fall here. They'll find a 24 year old intern fresh out of B-school to throw to the wolves if they have to. Trump will promise him a nice cushy job in a few months if he takes one for the team.
posted by Justinian at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


You can pass? What the fuck can you knock, can you call Uno
posted by nom de poop at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [41 favorites]


a guy with a homemade Cruz hate standing behind their chairman

This is up there with my most favorite typos I have read.

I now long for honesty -- let's make all the Donald's supporters wear homemade Trump Hate designations.
posted by bearwife at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Holy shit, that's one speechwriter who is clearly telegraphing he's not falling on a spear for this one.

Yeah these guys have longstanding professional reputations. Whoever they are willing to burn their careers for, it's not Melania Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Actually I'm looking forward to using this to teach plagiarism in my comp classes in the fall. I teach mostly PoC so it will be like do you REALLY want to be like this shit stain of a situation?
posted by angrycat at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


If any of my fellow Iowans feel that they need a t-shirt to apologize for Steve King, as usual, Raygun can hook you up. Kim Weaver, King's (long, long, long-shot) Democratic opponent, tweeted that Raygun will be doing a fundraiser for her campaign.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


LOVE TRUMP'S HATE
posted by stolyarova at 3:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Mr. Secretary, New York abstains, courteously.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


You can pass? What the fuck can you knock, can you call Uno

Phone a friend, maybe?
posted by egregious theorem at 3:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wait what? Michigan passes?

Perfectly normal. This is how they fix things so New York (or whatever state they choose) gets to be the one who pushed the nominee over the top. They'll come back to Michigan.
posted by zachlipton at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Maybe think the Michigan thing is just so New York can put Trump over the top?
posted by Salieri at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Does Missouri not have anything other than sports teams, radio shows, and politicians?
posted by numaner at 3:51 PM on July 19, 2016


swamp ass
posted by poffin boffin at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


THE DONALD WAS BORN OVER THE TOP!!!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2016


He's still going to get more than 45% of the votes, nationwide. Because a lot of people would rather vote for this festering human dumpster fire than vote for Hillary.

I find it very depressing to realize that people I know, who congratulated me and perhaps even helped me celebrate my marriage this past January... some of those people will vote for the candidates who want to annul and annihilate my marriage.
posted by rmd1023 at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Michigan passes, pass incomplete, fourth down. Michigan sets up to punt.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


(Oops, beaten by zachlipton!)

So, question: is it a fact that Scully's draft was in fact the actual submitted draft? How do people know? I don't know what to believe any more!

Although that certainly fits in with what I was hearing this afternoon, that Melania herself was the one to make the changes.....
posted by Salieri at 3:53 PM on July 19, 2016


holy crap MD, I'm from there and I don't think the Orioles are worth mentioning

HEY NOW
posted by sallybrown at 3:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Yeah, judging by this Detroit Free Press article from the 15th, it sure doesn't sound like Michigan's delegates are rejecting Trump en masse:
"I’m excited about a decision that I trust Trump to make. I don’t know much about Pence, but I trust our nominee," said Maddock, a Milford resident, Trump delegate and member of the platform committee at the Republican National Convention. "I don’t think he would be willing to relinquish power to anyone that he doesn’t want" to be president if that becomes necessary.
posted by palindromic at 3:54 PM on July 19, 2016


WTF? That guy from Nevada just said Las Vegas was "the most entertaining capital city." It's not. Carson City is the capital of Nevada.
posted by stolyarova at 3:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [32 favorites]


Salieri, I assume he forwarded the email that he sent to the Trump people, with the original time stamp.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"In the great state of Nevada, where Blue Lives Matter." Seriously?

And then he went on to say that Las Vegas is the capital of Nevada. It's Carson City, right? I don't like to question the loud passionate Nevada guy about his own state, but I'm confused.
posted by zachlipton at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


holy crap MD, I'm from there and I don't think the Orioles are worth mentioning

I would have gone with crabs and/or Old Bay myself
posted by egregious theorem at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Does anyone know if I can change my party registration before November and still be able to vote?
posted by corb at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [80 favorites]


Trump Fam Fan Fic: Ivanka told Melania it would be wonderful idea to add this bit (insert plagiarized part) to show the world how much she, Melania, loves Donald.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


to be fair, I don't think any sports teams are worth mentioning, like Maryland doesn't have a ton of better things.
posted by numaner at 3:55 PM on July 19, 2016


is it a fact that Scully's draft was in fact the actual submitted draft? How do people know? I don't know what to believe any more!

Calm down, Mulder, I'm sure there's a perfectly rational and scientific explanation.
posted by Panjandrum at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Michigan is clearly going to check raise. Everyone else should check behind!
posted by mosk at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Ugh, Corey Lewandowski. I hate this guy.
posted by Justinian at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


It's Carson City. I live there.
posted by stolyarova at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Las Vegas won the capital from Carson City in a poker game last year.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


"I represent New Hampshire, Massachusetts's shopping mall."
posted by Talez at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Oh gross, I forgot that Corey Lewandowski was a delegate.
posted by Salieri at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016


I wish I could find it now (maybe someone else has seen it?), but someone claimed on Twitter that Melania's absence from the Trump/Pence photo op this weekend was a protest against what she felt was Trump's advisors leading him wrong / not letting him listen to his gut on the VP choice. I wonder if the late-breaking addition to the speech was an additional shiv? And that's why Manafort is throwing her under the bus (which we wrongly interpreted as Manafort lying)?

p.s. I'm glad but puzzled as to why they aren't dragging Barron Trump out for lots of "daddy and me" photo op things to humanize Trump?
posted by sallybrown at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


That man from New Hampshire is terrifying
posted by Tarumba at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016


I was cringing more at the "Maryland: Little America" mention.

I'm pretty sure many many MD republicans, including some in my family, are not "proud" to have their state cast its lot with Trump.
posted by zennie at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's that Corey Lewandowski? Holy fuck.
posted by penduluum at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"In the great state of Nevada, where Blue Lives Matter." Seriously?

Probably referring to this.
posted by zarq at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Yup, the gentleman does not know his own capital. What a great representative!
posted by bearwife at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


More importantly, did the Scully draft have the rickroll?
posted by theodolite at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


who's yelling? and what are they yelling?
posted by numaner at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016


Does anyone know if I can change my party registration before November and still be able to vote?

Does this matter or is it symbolic? Because there's nothing preventing you from voting Dem down the ticket regardless of your registration, right?
posted by murphy slaw at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Wait, is CNN still paying the fuck? They are such garbage.
posted by Artw at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Oh I guess political dynasties are cool as long as they're on your team. /s
posted by stolyarova at 3:58 PM on July 19, 2016


More importantly, did the Scully draft have the rickroll?

You joke but... I'd actually like to know the answer to that question myself. I would bet heavily on "no".
posted by Justinian at 3:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Did Michigan pass so that some specific state can be the one to (symbolically) put him over 1,237?
posted by cashman at 3:58 PM on July 19, 2016


It's unfair of me to imagine that NJ delegate Christie's Son will use this opportunity to make an improvised plea for his father's release.
posted by cortex at 3:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


...I didn't realize Chris Christie's son was also a delegate. And sorta cute.

I feel so dirty
posted by Salieri at 3:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Does anyone know if I can change my party registration before November and still be able to vote?

Does this matter or is it symbolic? Because there's nothing preventing you from voting Dem down the ticket regardless of your registration, right?


Yeah you don't have to change registration to vote in the General for the whole ticket.
posted by numaner at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016


Wait, is CNN still paying the fuck? They are such garbage.

While he's still getting money from the Trump campaign, no less. They're not Fox News yet, but they're getting awfully damn close, and closer by the day.
posted by zombieflanders at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


corb, assuming I read and remembered correctly and you are in Washington State, you have to make any changes by October 10th.
posted by Apoch at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


"FIRST FEMALE HISPANIC GOVERNOR!"

* weak ass cheer among a bunch of racists and sexists *
posted by numaner at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Cashman - New York.
posted by Sophie1 at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


New York passes? Why?
posted by marguerite at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2016


corb: Washington's Democrats welcome you!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


They're trying to make Ohio the state that puts him over the top, is that it?
posted by cashman at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Is anybody like me an agnostic and yet wants the stereotypical Judeo-Christian God to come down and sternly put an end to this nonsense?

Or it could be aliens.
posted by angrycat at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


New York passes? Why?

So they can push Trump over. Sadly, not literally.
posted by Talez at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Oh, they didn't have enough votes to get him over, and can vote again once they can?
posted by marguerite at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016


Just remember to rank the candidates in order of preference on your ballot and you'll be fine.
posted by zarq at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2016


No, they're making NEW YORK the state to put him over the top. The candidate's home state is traditional.
posted by Justinian at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


New York passes? I see a lot of Trump yellow-hat enforcers running towards the stage.
posted by penduluum at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Is anybody like me an agnostic and yet wants the stereotypical Judeo-Christian God to come down and sternly put an end to this nonsense?

Or it could be aliens.


Why not both?

*prays for Thor*
posted by Salieri at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Thanks - didn't preview
posted by marguerite at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016


As somebody who has gradually transitioned towards the D's, I've been amazed how positive and friendly they are (apart from the brocialists).
posted by stolyarova at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Presumably they'll have New York plus several other states pass, having the non-passers add up juuuuuust to below the threshold for majority; then New York takes the first post-pass vote and puts him over the top?
posted by cortex at 4:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Obviously the speechwriter didn't write the plagiarized parts—by definition.
posted by snofoam at 4:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


you don't have to change registration to vote in the General for the whole ticket.

I want to get the slime of a party that just intimidated delegates to nominate Hitler Lite the FUCK OFF ME.
posted by corb at 4:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [166 favorites]


what if they all pass then somebody catches the golden snitch before NY gets to vote?
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


New York represented by DTJr.
posted by Sophie1 at 4:05 PM on July 19, 2016




Las Vegas might not be the capital of Nevada but it's the capital of the United States of Party. WOOOOOOO!

Wakes up next morning with terrible hangover wondering how Trump got elected.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]




Good for you, Ohio. <3
posted by stolyarova at 4:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is the worst game of Hearts
posted by beerperson at 4:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


you don't have to change registration to vote in the General for the whole ticket.

I want to get the slime of a party that just intimidated delegates to nominate Hitler Lite the FUCK OFF ME.


I figured. I wholeheartedly welcome you to the club!
posted by numaner at 4:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Melania Trump is just as polarizing as Donald:
Unfavorable 34%
Favorable 31%
No Opinion 22%
Never Hear Of 13%
Then they have letters:
There are more important issues in the world than whether Melania Trump gave proper credit to her sources or not. Ranks up there with being “politically correct”; nice but diverts from what is really important. Her message was way more important and appreciated.
So now not plagiarizing is the same as being PC-- not necessary. So I guess plagiarize away, folks.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


This sounds like a disgusting and heart breaking experience corb. Fwiw, I am sorry you went through this. I hope one day the republican party can clean up their act.
posted by Tarumba at 4:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Ohio, mother of presidents, first of her name, called Dumb-bringer, queen in the ... kind of upper central area
posted by penduluum at 4:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


seketary of agiculture
posted by nom de poop at 4:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


So I guess plagiarize away, folks.

Kampf Mine
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


I hope one day the republican party can clean up their act

I, for one, cannot wait to have honest disagreements with a principled opposition party instead of tearing my hair out about the death cult that the GOP has become.
posted by murphy slaw at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [41 favorites]


I doubt corb is going to be on TV. I'm sure she's hiding in the back of the room so as not to appear to support El Presidente
posted by zug at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016


The Art of the Kampf
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Is it just me or is there not much energy in the room? I recall conventions past, both parties, this part of the show was much more energetic.
posted by vrakatar at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Yes that is exactly what I would love to have, Murphy slaw.
posted by Tarumba at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016


Kampf Mine

The Art of the Struggle.
posted by acb at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Brian Leherer is interviewing this guy who is a Really Successful Businessman who is happily successful and is voting for Trump.

For love of God why?

I mean Germany was in sort of a different place prior to Hitler. I guess the whole q of what the fuck is our excuse is going to be prime non-fiction material for the next decade.
posted by angrycat at 4:11 PM on July 19, 2016


> it was Bill Clinton that was largely responsible for ridding the firewall FDR put in place to protect against economic ruin

I too, believed that the repealing G-S as part of the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 led to the meltdown, but there are reasonable arguments to be made that "Glass-Steagall was a shadow of its former self by the time 1999 rolled around."

Clinton was president for 8 years & there's more than the G-S repeal in that bill. The article says: "Clinton’s hands aren’t clean of the financial crisis, because his administration played no small part in the longer term deregulatory trend."

G-S isn't a terrible shorthand for banking regulation in general, but restoring the firewall alone won't make us safe.
posted by morganw at 4:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


So I guess plagiarize away, folks.

If it feels good, do it.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 4:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Is that her husband next to Ivanka?
posted by Justinian at 4:11 PM on July 19, 2016


Yeah, I'm sitting with eight others up here in the gallery. Some of it for abstention challenge, some for "I want no part of that."
posted by corb at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]


New York represented by DTJr.

Of course they are. Is he the canned-hunt big tough safari man, or the one who looks like a Buffy vampire? Or are they the same? I get confused by the Bullshit Borgias.
posted by holgate at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2016



Good for you, Ohio. <3

Of course.

But wait until later. Once the nom is over the top, state delegations -- especially those with a 'favourite son' in the running -- having made their point, often petition the chair to change their votes.

It's part of the same political theatre that brings 'passes'.

Not my first rodeo.
posted by Herodios at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Why couldn't the Trump kids have rebelled and become travelling, folk-singing Anarchists or something?
posted by spinifex23 at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


I mean we knew it would happen, but hearing the words. They've gone and done it. God help us all.
posted by zachlipton at 4:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


That's Eric Trump, son #2.
posted by Sophie1 at 4:13 PM on July 19, 2016


In the streets live streaming
Unicorn Riot (currently changing batteries)
Rebelutionary_Z
dahboo7

police scanner
posted by phoque at 4:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


That's Eric Trump, son #2.

Thanks.
posted by Justinian at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2016


There are more important issues in the world than whether Melania Trump gave proper credit to her sources or not. Ranks up there with being “politically correct”; nice but diverts from what is really important. Her message was way more important and appreciated.

I said in th other thread that this would be a big deal for African American women. I can say without exaggeration that every single non-work related conversation I had today featured this plagiarism, most with a dash of the Steve King, and involved women showing me tweets and memes and sharing group text conversations. This plagiarism isn't a non-issue to African Americans by any means.
posted by OmieWise at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


Now we are all sons of bitches.
posted by penduluum at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Tiffany Trump is speaking tonight, so no doubt Trump's campaign staff is going through that along with a copy of the lyrics of every Katie Perry song.
posted by PenDevil at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


They're playing some shitty jazz version of New York, New York and it feels like Vera Lynn singing over the shots of exploding atomic bombs
posted by The Whelk at 4:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Man, Kanye is missing a massive licensing opportunity for making Bound 2 the official song of the ratfucking of RNC delegates.

Bound to Doanld Turmp

I'm sure there's someone better than I who could adapt the lyrics
posted by Existential Dread at 4:15 PM on July 19, 2016


do they just stop now? or do they keep going through the rest of the states?
posted by numaner at 4:15 PM on July 19, 2016


So I went to make a sandwich and came back to Reince Priebus, a song, trooping of the colors, a Jewish blessing and now The Turtles Happy Together again.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:15 PM on July 19, 2016


I said in th other thread that this would be a big deal for African American women. I can say without exaggeration that every single non-work related conversation I had today featured this plagiarism, most with a dash of the Steve King, and involved women showing me tweets and memes and sharing group text conversations. This plagiarism isn't a non-issue to African Americans by any means.

I mean yeah, nor is it a non-issue for plenty of other people either, but black women weren't voting for Trump in statistically significant numbers anyway. Trump was already polling at 0% of the black vote in key swing states like OH. Does it matter just how much they dislike him?
posted by zachlipton at 4:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I havent watched much of any conventions in awhile (I'm just reading the PBP), but I remember all this stuff -including the passing- from those I did watch.

And oh corb, don't tease us. Seriously, yes, you could look into your options. (It's hard for me to say this, but even if you can split your ticket, perhaps that's an avenue.) And sorry that what should be a fun experience is so *eek* for you.
posted by NorthernLite at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm watching both the RNC and the Unicorn Riot streams, simultaneously.

Whilst the convention blandly plays 'New York, New York', the unpermitted protest outside has been declared an 'unlawful assembly' and the police are starting to get shovy with protesters.

Unicorn Riot Feed.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


corb, I'm incredibly sorry it's all going down like this (sorry for us all), and I assume you'll probably want to switch to Independent, but I must say that we'd be awfully proud to have you in the Democratic party.
posted by you're a kitty! at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [19 favorites]


I am linking to this Wall Street Journal article comparing Facebook likes of Clinton- and Trump-likers (ie, those fb users who liked either Trump or Clinton, but not both) by state, mostly because I love this caption under the Trump-likers Athletes map: Green represents football players not named Tim Tebow (orange).
posted by palindromic at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Am I watching the same thing that you guys are watching? Rules? Susie Hudson? Have I slipped into some past life slipstream?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2016


shrill is tweeting a bunch of basketball reaction gifs right to the nomination and this iguodala one is really just perfect
posted by burgerrr at 4:18 PM on July 19, 2016


oh good, they're going to continue this farce.

I've been watching mostly to see what corb and her crew can do, but that's done. I'm going to go catch pokemon now.
posted by numaner at 4:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Trump was already polling at 0% of the black vote in key swing states like OH. Does it matter just how much they dislike him?

If it motivates them to Get Out The Vote it matters a lot. If all demographic groups turned out equally Trump's coalition isn't remotely big enough to win. It would be a blowout. But they don't, Trump's white, older base turns out more consistently than other groups.

So if this makes people angry and gets them to vote it could make a big difference in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc.
posted by Justinian at 4:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [23 favorites]


Dang, Rhode Island is going full on partisan rancor FUCK THE DEMS with their airtime.
posted by cortex at 4:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


To be fair, that was the entire population of Rhode Island.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


I guess the nomination being finalized means they don't care how long you take, because this fucking dude has been yammering about Rhode Island for two or three minutes now. It was good for confirming my stereotype about Rhode Islanders being unable to talk about anything other than Rhode Island but whoever has mic cutting power really needed to reign that guy in.
posted by Copronymus at 4:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I mean yeah, nor is it a non-issue for plenty of other people either, but black women weren't voting for Trump in statistically significant numbers anyway. Trump was already polling at 0% of the black vote in key swing states like OH. Does it matter just how much they dislike him?

I kind of think so, since the talk that generalizes the response to this discounts broadly a demographic group for which this is a big issue. I feel like generally it's pretty good to be clear about the boundaries on the general pronouns that we use. I think in electoral terms the issue is less Trump and more the future of the GOP.
posted by OmieWise at 4:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Yeah, to counter Trump is going to require a GOTV effort that is massive, to compensate for the 2010 gerrymandering specifically meant to minimize those non white votes.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


shrill is tweeting a bunch of basketball reaction gifs right to the nomination and this iguodala one is really just perfect

I love Iggy, but this one just feels so right.
posted by cashman at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


To be fair, that was the entire Republican population of Rhode Island.

FTFY
posted by numaner at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


They're playing some shitty jazz version of New York, New York

A real missed opportunity to haul out "Miami 2017."
posted by octobersurprise at 4:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


I mean Germany was in sort of a different place prior to Hitler. I guess the whole q of what the fuck is our excuse is going to be prime non-fiction material for the next decade.

Hitler was elected Chancellor in January, 1933. 83 years ago. He was elected President in August of the following year. His taking office was preceded and followed by a series of acts that stripped German Jews of their rights and made them second class citizens. Anti-semitism began to ramp up in both Europe and Germany during the mid to late 19th century (1800's.) An 1881 petition (The Anti-Semites' Petition,) signed by over 200,000 Germans, urged the government to rescind Jewish emancipation, prevent Jewish immigration (and "alien domination") and expel us from being teachers, judges or civil servants. Hitler's rise was the culmination of at least five decades worth of anti-Jewish rhetoric and legislation.

It has been over 70 years since the Holocaust. There is no excuse. There is no justification. And the parallels between Republican rhetoric regarding Muslims and Islam (and all other minorities,) and Germany before and after Hitler took power should be chilling to anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of history.
posted by zarq at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [99 favorites]


Whenever someone says "make america great again" I'm mentally replacing "great" with "white" to stay sane.
posted by Talez at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


OK that was very weird. I figured out I hit the wrong refresh button on my phone so I was watching C-Span's video from yesterday. I'm back in the present.

Rhode Island: Donald Jray Trump!

South Carolina: Home of the Chanticleers! Home of some place that was voted Best Vacationing Place Evah!

South Dakota: Home of Great Faces and Great...sp sp Spaces!

Tennessee: No Income Tax, a State that is # in auto manufacturing and a bunch of Republican legislators. Our Pro-Life State votes for a bunch of different guys!

Texas:
On behalf of our great Governor who couldn't be here tonight because he burnt hisself and the 12th greatest economy in the world and where every Texas Loves the Police more than themselves. And then Fan Fic about Hillary calling up Donald to concede.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


And so it goes.
Corb, as an Okie Republican, I'll keep voting for the least objectionable candidates and against the right-wing nonsense that comes down from the legislature. Someone has to help steer to the center, even if it seems like small potatoes at times. Some objections are better than complacency.
posted by TrishaU at 4:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Thanks for allowing me to experience this nadir of history through this thread instead of having to actually watch or listen to it.
posted by bearwife at 4:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [55 favorites]


This is a sad day for the United States. And there are a lot more ahead. But the very small part of me left over from my days as a preteen Republican is crying tonight. I remember my father explaining to me the core precepts of the two parties -- that the Democrats were for larger government, to make certain everyone got the protection and help they needed to live and live well; and the Republicans were for smaller government, to make certain people had the ability and privacy to control their own lives on their own terms -- and him explaining that where you fell was a balancing act, because all of that was important to us as Americans -- helping our fellow man, ensuring safety and equality, and leaving our lives and choices up to us. There used to be room for principled people of character in both parties.
posted by sallybrown at 4:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [135 favorites]


Don't you dare bring Alexander Hamilton into this travesty, Mr. US Virgin Islands
posted by zachlipton at 4:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


U.S. Virgin Islands: Shout out to Hamilton! and "Lets make the Caribbeans Great Again!"
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hamilton would have perhaps lamented that the rise of Trump is exactly why he didn't trust democracy as a structure for selecting leaders
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


Utah! WTF!

it's like watching a train wreck, I can't stop
posted by numaner at 4:31 PM on July 19, 2016


Well, go Utah. They lingered on him to see if he was going to say anything good about Trump, and he was just "yeah, I'm not going to."
posted by corb at 4:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


Based on the Unicorn Riot stream, the police ordered the protesters to disperse, then are herding them all somewhere and not letting them disperse.
posted by zachlipton at 4:32 PM on July 19, 2016


Chair "votes for Cruz" RNC: "We count the votes for Trump."
posted by corb at 4:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Now I'm just hanging there to hear what WA is gonna do. Sorry corb that it turned into this. We'll get you enough alcohol to forget.
posted by numaner at 4:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


South Carolina: Home of the Chanticleers! Home of some place that was voted Best Vacationing Place Evah! Beacon! Home of the triple chili-cheese that'll make you shit your pants!
posted by octobersurprise at 4:36 PM on July 19, 2016


Whoa, corb did you get one of those rad hats?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Vermont: Quotes Calvin Coolidge! 1 vote for Kasich, 2 for Rand Paul, and 13 for Trump

Virginia: Chose to go with a spokesman who has trouble saying the word Virginia.

Washington: The Evergreen state we are standing tall! Especially now that we are wearing foam Christmas trees on our heads.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


This is a huge shitshow, but WA's hats are great.
posted by The Gaffer at 4:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Nothing. Nothing is what WA is gonna do (all votes to Trump).
posted by zachlipton at 4:36 PM on July 19, 2016


aw they didn't try anything. But now I want a pine tree hat.
posted by numaner at 4:37 PM on July 19, 2016


One of those hats lives back in my hotel room and will go to the first mefite who wants it and promises to volunteer for Clinton.
posted by corb at 4:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [74 favorites]


Kasich just had a chance to split the party on MSNBC but blinked.
posted by vrakatar at 4:37 PM on July 19, 2016


Those aren't hats. That's actually what our heads look like in Washington.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [49 favorites]


WA State is putting a positive spin on our active volcanoes, are all wearing Evergreen tree foam hats, and gave all 44 delegates to Trump.

corb, I am so sorry. Seattle will get you properly drunk when you return.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Well, welcome aboard, corb. I hope that a new party which is right for you can form out of the ashes of this debacle. It would be nice to have principled, worthy opposition among the parties instead of the bullshit we have now.
posted by jackbishop at 4:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Me corb me! I've already done phone banking and voter registration and I have more stuff scheduled!
posted by cooker girl at 4:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


One of those hats lives back in my hotel room and will go to the first mefite who wants it and promises to volunteer for Clinton.

I volunteer as tribute!
posted by leotrotsky at 4:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Wisconsin, you really lost a chance here with the foam cheeseheads.

I'm really disappointed in you.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


West Virginia is proud of its athletes Sam Sneed and Sam Huff, who are dead and 81 respectively.
posted by zachlipton at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Hey corb - just wanted to say this: As a Canadian, I obviously have no vote or say, and if I were a citizen of the US, I would never vote Republican.

Of course, I pay attention because the US has a profound effect on our country, whatever course its elightened or not-so-enlightened citizenry votes for, owing to size, connections and proximity.

But I do admire the fact you went in there to look people in the eye and tell them you won't stand for this..thing - whatever we want to call it. And we can agree it's horrible. And that says something about you - because it sounds scary as hell. Political differences aside, you did good this week.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [62 favorites]


W. Virginia: I'm holding up a coal miner's hat and this campaign is personal to us but I had to look down to see who we vote for. Donald J. Trump.

And now another W. Va dude has recognized Melania as the next FLOTUS but I think he mispronounced her name and then he had to make a nasty remark about Bill Clinton and his wife.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2016


on behalf of telecaster players everywhere, i express my utter disgust with g.e. smith whoring himself out to the RNC. fuck off g.e., just fuck off.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


I'm in full conspiracy mode: Impossible to convince me that Melania's speech wasn't intentional plagiarism to drive a couple of news cycles and get the mad-dog rabid masses fired up about the "lamestream media" picking on Melania.
posted by Room 101 at 4:42 PM on July 19, 2016


Also I have a Woman Card from Hillary. It is awesome and I am officially a card-carrying woman!
posted by cooker girl at 4:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


So MSNBC is reporting that Trump is going to address the convention at 9pm ET. Is this really the plan? Show up as a "surprise" every single night?

Weirdly, it's the 10-11pm hour that the networks are covering, but I'm sure they would have thought of something like that if they had a campaign staff.
posted by zachlipton at 4:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


But they called 44 votes for Trump with only 29 delegates on the floor. So we have the ability to submit a challenge that will probably be promptly ignored.

Cooker girl gets a tree hat!
posted by corb at 4:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [31 favorites]


If anyone needs another palate cleanser of happier convention times...

Hillary Clinton nominating Barack Obama


I know this is not The Way It's Done, but I'd love it if Obama would be the one nominating Clinton this time around.
posted by longdaysjourney at 4:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


There used to be room for principled people of character in both parties.

I feel that the Republican party became the first totally postmodern party, which is ironic given postmodernism's foundation in academia, and Republican antipathy to the same. They are a party that is nearly totally divorced from facts, and with Trump's rise that has only become more true. For as much as the right sneers at identity politics, that is very much all that they have (although I think that there are important differences between that term as its applied on the left and the right). Trump is a pure expression of an aspirational identity with next to no policy to back it up. The identity politics on the left are based in economic best interest and the furtherance of liberty: it makes sense to back a feminist who wants to get you paid dollar for dollar, and it makes sense to elect a person who believes that you should have equal treatment under the law regardless of your skin color. For the right, and for the increasingly lower educated-white-aging-dead-enders that seem to totally comprise it (seriously, look at those convention pictures), they are voting for a globalist failure of a billionaire who's mostly kept his riches through deception and fuckery. They are indeed voting for their own execution, but at least they get to be valorized in the process. That is precisely the type of politics that the right has been accusing the left of since the 60s. It's a grotesque reversal that would be eye rolling if it was written into a novel.

That's postmodernism in a nutshell. The selling of an image, a feeling, an identity with nearly nothing real behind it. The ascendency of the market in all forms, the decimation of truth and reality, the victory of the image. All of the lefty cultural critics of the 60s and 70s who first established that category would be... I'm not sure... both aghast and delighted to see the spectacle on TV that's calling itself the RNC.
posted by codacorolla at 4:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


I hope that a new party which is right for you can form out of the ashes of this debacle.

That's impossibly hard to do unless the Republican Party completely craters to the point of literally being unable to function as an organisation; the US's system, being first-past-the-post on steroids, enforces a duopoly with extreme prejudice.

Some political theorists even go as far as to say that the equivalents of parties in other multiparty democracies (particularly proportional ones where coalition governments are the norm) are not the Democrats and Republicans but factions within the two silos (libertarians and theocrats in the Republicans, social democrats, socialists and various minority/interest-based factions in the Democrats)
posted by acb at 4:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


on behalf of telecaster players everywhere, i express my utter disgust with g.e. smith whoring himself out to the RNC. fuck off g.e., just fuck off.

As a stratocaster guy, I hereby pledge my solidarity.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


on behalf of telecaster players everywhere, i express my utter disgust with g.e. smith whoring himself out . . .

G. E. Smith is not a tele man; he'll play anything. He might be seen with six different guitars on an average SNL broadcast. The only sure thing is that he'd be seen. Must've been in his contract.
 
posted by Herodios at 4:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Does anyone know if I can change my party registration before November and still be able to vote?

As someone who is a solid Democratic voter, and has very little love for the Republican party, I feel really sad that the Republican party has driven away corb, and tens of thousands of other corbs across the country. These are good people who share the better values of the party, and they've been driven away by bigots, liars, and grifters.

The RNC is devouring and disposing of their best, and for what? A complete scumbag who clearly and obviously doesn't give a shit about them or their values, or anything but himself.

Stupid stupid stupid.
posted by leotrotsky at 4:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [65 favorites]


Welcome to the Blue Side, corb. We have gluten-free cupcakes, and you can pick up your Prius over on the left.
posted by tobascodagama at 4:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [30 favorites]


Fuck yeah AK!
posted by corb at 4:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Here comes an attempt to contest the recording of Alaska's vote by a hoarse, angry fella.
posted by cortex at 4:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Alaska making some noise!
posted by vrakatar at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016


GO ALASKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
posted by mynameisluka at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wow, still can't believe those idiots really nominated Donald Trump.
posted by DynamiteToast at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh shit
posted by cmfletcher at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016


My Ibanez is an independent. But not one of those Libertarian independents or an old-school Bernie independent. More like a too stoned to remember who it voted for independent.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


For the RNC Bingo folks, they just showed a man in a suit with a cowboy hat on, on stage.
posted by cashman at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2016


We differ on several of those points, my Ibanez and I. Not saying which ones, though.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Wow. now this is getting interesting!
posted by Sophie1 at 4:52 PM on July 19, 2016


Did they cut to a musical interlude or am i watching the wrong stream
posted by Lord_Pall at 4:53 PM on July 19, 2016


How long will this take and can all the states do it, like some sort of procedural filibuster?
posted by vrakatar at 4:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Reince and Paul Ryan look like the principal and vice principal debating whether to let everyone go to recess early.
posted by Sophie1 at 4:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


musical interlude Lord_Pall
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:54 PM on July 19, 2016


I know the plagiarism thing is kind of a dead horse, but Eliza Dushku shared this (ironically, without attribution) on her Instagram, which I thought was pretty amusing.
posted by tobascodagama at 4:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Do they run musical interludes when there's drama?
posted by Lord_Pall at 4:55 PM on July 19, 2016


Left wondering if this is one of those moments that future generations will talk about in their "if I had a time machine" conversations.
posted by nubs at 4:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Just looked at Earth Wind and Fire's twitter, hoping they had an FU to the RNC for using September. Nothing yet.
posted by cashman at 4:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


That is what happened, Lord_Pall. AK requests a poll, Paul Ryan starts hemming and gesturing off mic with Reince Priebus and some other guy, and then I guess they decide the whole "let's stand her obviously not knowing what the fuck to do now in front of the whole convention" thing is a bad look and have the band kick it.
posted by cortex at 4:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


They never turned the mikes off. Beautiful. Trying to get back from the gallery.
posted by corb at 4:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


This version of 'September' is terrible, but I could dance all night.
posted by box at 4:56 PM on July 19, 2016


So are the bigwigs in charge of the mics today? Or is the music too loud to get anything that's being said on the floor? Both?
posted by zennie at 4:56 PM on July 19, 2016


Hitler was elected Chancellor in January, 1933. 83 years ago. He was elected President in August of the following year.

Not exactly. He fused the offices of President and Chancellor after President von Hindenburg died in August 1934, after which Hitler had a sham plebiscite to retroactively legitimize this action.
posted by dhens at 4:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Hope the DNC is taking notes and are prepared for when the BernieBro delegates ask for roll call votes and such.
posted by Justinian at 4:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Some poor devil in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (twitter handle: @RNC) is tweeting their fingers to the bone tonight explaining that they're a Canadian police department and not responsible for any of this.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 4:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [24 favorites]


AK requests a poll, Paul Ryan starts hemming and gesturing off mic with Reince Priebus and some other guy, and then I guess they decide the whole "let's stand her obviously not knowing what the fuck to do now in front of the whole convention" thing is a bad look and have the band kick it.

AKA: Poll Dance
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


My thanks to everyone updating here, because this is the only format in which I could remotely tolerate this, and my sympathies to corb from a fellow Washingtonian. If we're ever both at a Seattle meet-up, I'll buy you a drink.
posted by skycrashesdown at 4:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Now: Shake (as in, Your Booty, At The Disco) because the band is just straight up free-associating at this point or something.
posted by cortex at 4:59 PM on July 19, 2016


As I posted on Facebook:

GOP delegation from US Virgin Islands, casting votes for Trump:
Mentions the fact that US citizens in territories are second-class citizens (that's good)
Mentions that the USVI was the first place "in the US" where slavery was abolished. (omitting the fact that this happened when the Virgin Islands were a Danish colony)


The delegation from PR also expressed their desire for statehood.
posted by dhens at 4:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


The delegation from AK just expressed their desire for statehood to be revoked.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


Is the woman in the blurred leopard-print not actually an Alaskan delegate? Why doesn't she get a kuspuk?
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Not exactly. He fused the offices of President and Chancellor after President von Hindenburg died in August 1934, after which Hitler had a sham plebiscite to retroactively legitimize this action.

Good catch.

I'm upset about tonight. Wrote without thinking. Thanks for the correction.
posted by zarq at 5:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I mean this has no chance in hell at changing the final outcome, but with any luck they can gum up the works long enough to screw up this evening's convention schedule, which was already going to be screwed up if Trump is really doing a surprise appearance in an hour.
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hope the DNC is taking notes and are prepared for when the BernieBro delegates ask for roll call votes and such.

The irony is palpable.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:03 PM on July 19, 2016


IRFH: Are you being sarcastic or is this real?
posted by Sophie1 at 5:03 PM on July 19, 2016




Even if all this maneuver does is cut into Trump's convention bump, it'll be for the good.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


How long does it take to count Alaska? What is going on?
posted by zennie at 5:05 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm somewhere I can watch but not hear the coverage - right now Ryan & Cowboy Hat look like they're having a friendly chat about their golf games or something.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:05 PM on July 19, 2016


IRFH: Are you being sarcastic or is this real?

Remember, folks, this is the RNC thread -- please observe hamburger tag usage guidelines.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


New York represented by DTJr.

New York, You’re Bringing Me Down
posted by Going To Maine at 5:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Now for an Isley Brothers entry in the "is this music a coded message" mixtape:

It's your thing, do what you wanna do.
I can't tell you, who to sock it to.

I'm not trying to run your life, I know you wanna do what's right.
Give your love now, to whoever you choose.

posted by cortex at 5:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah, Trump angers easily, his staff are green as fuck, this is a good idea, force them into errors. Welcome to big-time politics, jerkwads!
posted by vrakatar at 5:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


oh please let another state do the same
posted by cmfletcher at 5:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


How long does it take to count Alaska? What is going on?

The Alaska rep just said they agreed it was 12 votes for Cruz, 11 votes for Trump, 5 votes for I think Rubio.

But the RNC secretary recorded it as 28 votes for Trump!
posted by cashman at 5:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh god, Ryan's gavel isn't working so here we are with the shushing again. And now Reince is stumbling through explaining the rule mentioned up thread about reallocating candidates who dropped out.
posted by cortex at 5:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah, Trump angers easily, his staff are green as fuck, this is a good idea, force them into errors. Welcome to big-time politics, jerkwads!

To quote Tony Soprano quoting Sun Tzu: "If your enemy is of a choleric temper, irritate him."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Sophie1: Sarcastic. I was equating calling for a poll to saying: "Fuck this noise."
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


That was supposedly Alaska's rules for if someone dropped out. But the Alaska rep said they agreed at the convention that it would be suspended, and they would vote 12, 11, 5.
posted by cashman at 5:08 PM on July 19, 2016


Riot, Alaska, riot! Pick up your chairs! Throw them!
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Alaska didn't like that.
posted by peeedro at 5:08 PM on July 19, 2016


Meanwhile, ash is falling like snow around my house and the sky is red. I feel like hell is closing in.
posted by Sophie1 at 5:09 PM on July 19, 2016


They aren't letting us back Fuckers
posted by corb at 5:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


There's another "Donald Day Trump," this time from Ryan.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Who is Donald Day Trump?
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:09 PM on July 19, 2016


Donald Day Trump it is.
posted by zennie at 5:10 PM on July 19, 2016


Donald Day O'Trumpet!
posted by mochapickle at 5:10 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm going to go drink with reporters now.
posted by corb at 5:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [90 favorites]


Maybe he's a nice fella. Can't be worse than this Jay guy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


There's another "Donald Day Trump," this time from Ryan.

Que sera sera.
 
posted by Herodios at 5:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Did I hear them boo McConnell?
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:11 PM on July 19, 2016


Have a double, corb. You deserve it.
posted by Lyme Drop at 5:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Dear Democrats: See this vote contesting thing happening right now? Don't do this next week. Let Bernie's votes get recorded. Let your convention look fair and aboveboard.
posted by dnash at 5:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [35 favorites]


"I already know his head", a Lt. Gov somehow decides is a good turn of phrase to utter.
posted by cortex at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Who is Donald Day Trump?

Wait, if Ryan read the name wrong, does that mean a non-existent person is the actual nominee? Heh.
posted by dnash at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Some call him.... Mike.
posted by thefoxgod at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


As someone who is a pretty solid Democratic voter, and has very little love for the Republican party, I feel really sad that the Republican party has driven away corb, and thousands of other corbs across the country.

The RNC is devouring and disposing of their best, and for what? A complete scumbag who clearly and obviously doesn't give a shit about them or their values, or anything but himself.


I am reminded of a friend of mine who was a Republican when I met him, but could not stand the religious right wing of the party (he had Galt's motto on a plaque on his desk, I used to rib him that he should get Galt's speech but it'd cover all the walls and say CONTINUED IN NEXT CONDOMINIUM). He and I used to have political debates until we started agreeing far too much; we decided that it'd be a good thing if we ever started arguing again because it meant that he'd found a modern Republican that he could support.

But I take exception to the notion that the Republican Party drove away anyone _for_ Trump. The Republicans built a machine over many decades; huge, noisy, repetitive and obnoxious. It was designed with very specific purposes in mind: to hold up flash cards reading PATRIOTISM and ISLAM and ISRAEL and TAXES and JESUS and ABORTION and have voters respond like Pavlov's dog. It elected Dubya and a lot of Senators and a lot of Congresspersons and a lot of Governors and a lot of state and local legislators and it took the place of being an actual party.

This was not for Trump's benefit. Trump merely said "nice machine, I'll take it, and your flash card voters too" and waddled off with the nomination by pandering better than anyone else.

The machine is still there. It still gets their desired results down-ticket. For now.
posted by delfin at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [48 favorites]


Well, thanks, America, for handing me the terrible 50/50 chance of going back to visit family within a four-year span. What the shit.
posted by Kitteh at 5:13 PM on July 19, 2016


All this anthropomorphizing of Alaska makes me wish that the only Alaska that matters was at the Republican convention.
posted by Bookhouse at 5:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"I already know his head", a Lt. Gov somehow decides is a good turn of phrase to utter.

Why is your penis orange, honey?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Dear Democrats: See this vote contesting thing happening right now? Don't do this next week.

Yes, Sanders should release his ballots to vote for Clinton. Then the delegations can focus on bragging about their states, not tracking votes. The states didn't even brag at all! The Dems can do better.
posted by fitnr at 5:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Maybe Donald Day Trump is exempt from admiralty law.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


Is it just me or is this really like amateur hour up there? No one seems to know what they're doing, very little enthusiasm, microphones not working, etc., etc.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]





Oh god, Ryan's gavel isn't working so here we are with the shushing again.


How does a gavel not work?
posted by drezdn at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


Yes, Sanders should release his ballots to vote for Clinton.

He absolutely should. We're past the point where he has anything to gain from being anything but 100% in her corner for this election.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


I think that's a euphemism.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Look, it happens to lots of gavels, ok?
posted by tobascodagama at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [50 favorites]


How does a gavel not work?

Apparently when it's made in the USA.
posted by Talez at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Is it just me or is this really like amateur hour up there?

The principals here are Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, I'm amazed the lights are on.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


So they've got a ton of speeches to get through in the next few hours, not to mention that Trump is supposedly showing up at 6pm ET, and he wasn't on the schedule. This is total amateur hour waitingtoderail (eponysterical!). We have to wade through the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, an actor/avocado farmer, the GM of Trump Winery, and the 363rd best women's golfer, among others, to also get such headliners as Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Chris Christie.
posted by zachlipton at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yes, Sanders should release his ballots to vote for Clinton.

He absolutely should. We're past the point where he has anything to gain from being anything but 100% in her corner for this election.


He's already endorsed Clinton anyway, so this would make sense.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The RNC is devouring and disposing of their best, and for what? A complete scumbag who clearly and obviously doesn't give a shit about them or their values, or anything but himself

It's been repeated endlessly, but the Republican Party has been courting this for years. Back in '07-'08, I watched an old boss (at a sex shop, ironically) slip from slightly kooky conservative to full blown racist Tea Party conservative pretty quickly. The bullshit and language that's being used today differs only in the volume.

Now, if only we could swap the podium out with a glass case full of dildos...
posted by AtoBtoA at 5:22 PM on July 19, 2016


Make America's Gavels Great Again!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


How does a gavel not work?

Turns out he was literally holding it backwards, swinging it by the round bit and hitting the platter with the handle.
posted by cortex at 5:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [43 favorites]


Somebody better put a cork on his fork.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Not kidding.
posted by cortex at 5:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [133 favorites]


So to speak
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Classic Paul Ryan. I wonder if someone showed him how to do it correctly?
posted by drezdn at 5:24 PM on July 19, 2016


He's looking straight into the camera and calling me the Great Creator and it feels a bit awkward.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


State chairs lied that abstentions would be counted. 1/4 WA walking out.
posted by corb at 5:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [25 favorites]


tl;dr: "Dear Lord, Thanks for making me white. I deserve this. Amen."
posted by Talez at 5:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


He's already endorsed Clinton anyway, so this would make sense.

(Although, at the same time, I really don't see any harm in letting the final delegate counts stand as they are.)
posted by tobascodagama at 5:26 PM on July 19, 2016


If I was a gavel, and had the misfortune to be held by Paul Ryan, I wouldn't be too keen on working either.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 5:26 PM on July 19, 2016


oh gods cortex that gavel footage you are a miracle.
posted by vrakatar at 5:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


He held it firmly, but gently
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Apparently only men have died in combat. Yay?
posted by zennie at 5:27 PM on July 19, 2016


Hi I'm Paul Ryan, I'm 43 and my biggest accomplishment in life is putting on my suit correctly 431 days in a row! And counting!
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Twitterers, go make #GavelFail a thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I'm only a man

a man who follows people on twitter who retweet other people
posted by cortex at 5:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


In Ryan's defense, I think the spot he was hitting the gavel with is supposed to be mic'd, or some kind of electronic pad. If he actually whacked it with the business end, and it was working, it would probably be unpleasant.
posted by AndrewInDC at 5:28 PM on July 19, 2016


In Ryan's defense, I think the spot he was hitting the gavel with is supposed to be mic'd. If he actually whacked it with the business end, and it was working, it would probably be unpleasant.

yeah, dat gif tho
posted by tonycpsu at 5:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Nancy Pelosi gave him the gavel last year. He should know how to use it by now.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


But wouldn't the mic be calibrated for using the gavel like a gavel?
posted by thefoxgod at 5:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


If a backward gavel is used, everything that follows it is unofficial.
posted by drezdn at 5:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [60 favorites]


ZomebodysZelseZuccess
posted by cashman at 5:33 PM on July 19, 2016



But wouldn't the mic be calibrated for using the gavel like a gavel?


Sure, if you hire the union soundpeople.
posted by drezdn at 5:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [55 favorites]


Maybe it's a metric gavel.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Selling point for Donald Trump for President: Capable of being happy for friend making money.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:34 PM on July 19, 2016


#gavelgate
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


UFC guy's speech was oddly one of the least bloody-thirsty things at the convention so far. Loud and blustery and such but mostly just "Trump believed in my success, and he's a fighter!" at length.
posted by cortex at 5:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I feel terrible for the rest of the world, not living in the greatest country EVA
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


There are 17 more speakers on the program after this
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The musicians are the best thing on the stage tonight. Let's just roll with it... oh, rats. On with the show.
And Rule 37b puts Alaska's votes to Trump. And here comes the vice presidential nomination for Mike Pence.
If (please no) we get a Republican president, we had better pay attention here. We've had a president who really wasn't all there in my lifetime, so getting Pence by default is very likely.
Assuming Trump doesn't resign the day after the election.
I fail to see what he's getting out of the presidency. Power? Money? Anything that he doesn't already have as a successful businessman? The stress alone, coupled with the constant frustration of not having the choice to make his own snap decisions, will bowl him over.
Trump is not a team player. I don't expect him to last in office, if he gets there. So that puts Pence in the presidency and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as vice president.
Is this what is good for America?
posted by TrishaU at 5:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


TRUMP REALLY LIKES UFC!!!
posted by bongo_x at 5:37 PM on July 19, 2016


We have to wade through the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, an actor/avocado farmer, the GM of Trump Winery, and the 363rd best women's golfer, among others, to also get such headliners as Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Chris Christie.

Don't forget Tiffany! You always forget Tiffany.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


UFC! UFC! UFC!
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Poland.
posted by box at 5:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Almost forgot it.
posted by drezdn at 5:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


*tap tap tap*
*tap tap tap*
ahem
*tap tap tap*
*tap tap tap*

posted by Paul Ryan's Gavel at 5:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [127 favorites]


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens? They should consider changing that.
posted by zachlipton at 5:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens? They should consider changing that.

TIL
posted by Drinky Die at 5:40 PM on July 19, 2016


Those were the good old days, box
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:40 PM on July 19, 2016


This woman really missed her calling in stand-up. I know the content is bonkers but I love the delivery.
posted by Drinky Die at 5:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


These are not very interesting scandals Leslie Rutledge is coming up with.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:41 PM on July 19, 2016


If this country had humane health care, I would be asking my doctor that I be put in a medically-induced coma until Election Day for the sake of my mental and emotional well being, and my request would be granted.
posted by tzikeh at 5:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens? They should consider changing that.

Arkansauces
posted by Thorzdad at 5:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


A REAL Arkansas Woman!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:42 PM on July 19, 2016


Try to remember, conventions tend to suck, especially this part, the speeches. I promise you next week or so the DNC will have moments even someone as liberal as me will find cringeworthy. Don't get me wrong, Trump and his campaign are awful, but convention coverage is notoriously bad, and really more important for parsing by pundits and strategists. They are like a rare American slime mold worthy of study, I guess.
posted by vrakatar at 5:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


OH, you did not just diss RBG!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


What needs to happen is that the score needs to be run up against Trump. Everybody shows up, everybody votes. Because it is critical for the future of the country which requires a powerful demonstration that running this type of campaign will get your ass epically kicked. Like for the history books.
posted by Ironmouth at 5:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


Rutledge says "Hillary needs to go to her own house and not the White House. And take Ruth Bader Ginsburg with her." This is, er, really not a very good speech.
posted by zachlipton at 5:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Speaking as an Arkansan: Leslie Rutledge? Bless her heart.
posted by box at 5:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


"Update your resumé" isn't usually meant as an optimistic thing to say.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Maybe they accidentally bought a joke gavel only realized at the last minute that it just makes a honking noise if you use it the proper way and all the local gavel stores have notoriously inconvenient hours.
posted by ckape at 5:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


I figured Earth Wind & Fire were not pleased their song September got used. They just tweeted: "Another unauthorized use (September) at the Republican Convention, against our wishes - Earth, Wind & Fire".
posted by cashman at 5:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]


"Make America Work Again" is the theme tonight so I'm curious how many jobs putting Hillary in jail is going to create?
posted by Drinky Die at 5:45 PM on July 19, 2016


If this country had humane health care, I would be asking my doctor that I be put in a medically-induced coma until Election Day for the sake of my mental and emotional well being, and my request would be granted.

Hate to say it but we need everyone to chime in on how Donald Trump can never be president, ever. Which is painful to have to do. But its our duty and our ass if he wins.
posted by Ironmouth at 5:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Mike Muskasey speaking is putting me to sleep. Where's the red meat?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


This old man is putting everyone to sleep.
posted by vrakatar at 5:47 PM on July 19, 2016


jinx Brandon
posted by vrakatar at 5:47 PM on July 19, 2016


The backwards gavel thing is pretty common in the House, for those of you who don't recreationally watch C-SPAN; they use it to say "quiet down" without going "WHAM! MOTION DENIED".

Still funny though.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Could be wrong, but I really doubt the DNC will include as much overt racism and bonkers shit, TBH. I suspect at worst bits of it might be a bit twee and boring.
posted by Artw at 5:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


heh, just as you guys posted those comments, I answered a phone call with "I'm on the way, because Mike Muskasey is putting me to sleep."
posted by zachlipton at 5:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Rudy is looking up at Muskasey like who's lost his mind and regressed. oh wait
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:48 PM on July 19, 2016


Well I thought Bob Balaban did a fine job
posted by penduluum at 5:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Andy Wist can read a teleprompter very well!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:49 PM on July 19, 2016


Some of us here aren't able to watch the thing, perhaps some of you would be able to explain what you're reacting to instead of just reacting?
posted by everybody had matching towels at 5:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


(Mike Mukasey is boring and I think he looks kinda like Bob Balaban)
posted by penduluum at 5:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


The End Times
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


What the hell CNN? In a dark time, GOP offers positive vision

More like in a positive time GOP offers dark vision. So, so very dark.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


a bunch of racists are yapping on the teevee merle
posted by poffin boffin at 5:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


It's a SHAM-OW commerical
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"'Murka: Apply directly to the head!"
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


i'm pretty sure trump prefers heroes who didn't die.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 5:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) is up now. That's been what, 4 speakers in the last 15 minutes? That's just bad programing, quantity over quality.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Men and women dancing at a club in Orlando.
posted by box at 5:54 PM on July 19, 2016


RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISTS SLAUGHTERING AND BRUTALIZING
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 5:54 PM on July 19, 2016


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens? They should consider changing that.

For a long while part of the state thought it should be ar-KAN-sas. This may be a holdover.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:55 PM on July 19, 2016


People on Twitter are having fun sharing screen shots of the article that Mukasey wrote in January about how a Trump presidency would imperil national security. Guess he's changed his mind?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:55 PM on July 19, 2016


Uh, Senator Johnson seems to think that Barack Obama is running.

WHO SPIKED THE PUNCH?! and can i have some?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:55 PM on July 19, 2016


The entire Republican primary race: bad programing, quantity over quality
posted by Apocryphon at 5:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens?

FUN FACTS

The state is ARkinsaw, but there's also an Arkansas City that's ArKANziss City, and the Arkansas River is pronounced as both ARkinsaw and ArKANziss at different points along its course.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Chris Cox up now, NRA Political Victory Fund/Chair.

I suspect he'll mention guns or something.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:57 PM on July 19, 2016


Aaaand here comes the fun guy. That's a typo--the gun guy. The gun guy.
posted by box at 5:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Why does Clinton want mothers and their children killed in their own homes?
posted by bongo_x at 5:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Is it just me or is the crowd pretty lackluster?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


MSNBC just mentioned they are trying to get back on sched after the Alaska delay, Trump wants to go live (from NYC I think, via satlink?) at 9, must not keep the dictator waiting. Hence the quick speakers.
posted by vrakatar at 5:59 PM on July 19, 2016


Y'all who were worried there wasn't enough red meat? Here comes Chris Cox, who is nauseatingly good at this.
posted by penduluum at 6:00 PM on July 19, 2016


Describing NRA as "the oldest civil rights organization in America" is despicable.
posted by carmicha at 6:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


Nauseating, sure.
posted by mochapickle at 6:01 PM on July 19, 2016


Here comes Chris Cox, who is nauseatingly good at this.

He seems pretty tame and unmemorable.

Next up, professional golfer Natalie Gulbis!!!!!!! If you don't know that is, don't worry, nobody does.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


guns have been heard from, now golf is up.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


god that's like calling the klan "community organizers"
posted by poffin boffin at 6:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [25 favorites]


Save some booze for the ghost of George Orwell.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:02 PM on July 19, 2016


Now watch this drive.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


here comes the gun guy
he sure is a fun guy!
bang bang bang!
posted by murphy slaw at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


So that puts Pence in the presidency and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as vice president.

The Speaker does not become VP in that situation. The new President appoints a VP, who must be confirmed by the Senate.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


guns have been heard from, now golf is up.

Nah, let's combine them.

Coming up on ESPN 8: The Ocho -- It's Shootin' Golf!
posted by tonycpsu at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I think Rachel Madow has started drinking.
posted by vrakatar at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


she's a Christian woman. and a pro golfer. everybody better listen up, you don't get an opportunity like this every day.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


If an actor shouldn't be "forcing their views on others," certainly that applies to golfers too?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


So I'm watching Jphnson yammer on about how America is never going to confront the danger of Radical Islamic Terrorists (cheers from the audience when they hear those magic words) and I notice a lady with a cheese hat on. She's probably about my age, 50 pushing 60, and I just can't imagine myself doing that. Does she think it's funny or zany? Does it make her feel patriotic? I can't put myself in her shoes.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:04 PM on July 19, 2016


1. The legislative branch
2. The executive branch
3. The judicial branch
4. The NRA
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Boys and Girls Clubs? Underpaid women?
posted by box at 6:04 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh look! It's Tracy Flick!
posted by carmicha at 6:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Ironically, Trump's miniature golf course is yuge.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 6:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Golf woman is talking about how Trump is fighting gender injustice. Crowd responds as you expect. Baffled.
posted by bongo_x at 6:05 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh my god he appeared like the 'father' spokesperson in Equilibrium.
posted by cashman at 6:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Y'know, following this thread without actually watching the RNC is amazingly like listening to a previously unreleased Firesign Theater album.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [49 favorites]


His Redness has graced us with is presence, via monitor!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


trump will NEVAR FORGET.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:06 PM on July 19, 2016


He is really terrible at reading from a teleprompter.
posted by Ndwright at 6:07 PM on July 19, 2016


Really though, why the squinting? Does he need glasses? Do the staging lights bother him? Is he a creature of darkness?
posted by zennie at 6:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Whuh-oh, teleprompter is slipping
posted by penduluum at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016


Just so many other things.
posted by box at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Oh, she got all of that one! The crowd is standing on its feet here at Cleveland. The normally reserved Cleveland crowd is going wild... for this young Cinderella who's come out of nowhere
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


I am not from Wisconsin, but I can't think of a time when I would not wear a cheese hat in a silly situation.
posted by lauranesson at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


MAKE AMERICA GRATE AGAIN!

'cause he isn't annoying enough on tv.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Rebuild our depleted military, take care of veterans, get rid of ISIS. Can't wait to "discussing of that".
posted by lazaruslong at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Trump looked uncomfy, like he was getting a barbed wire enema.
posted by vrakatar at 6:08 PM on July 19, 2016


Ladies and gentlemen, the single most punchable face in America!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


following this thread without actually watching the RNC is amazingly like listening to a previously unreleased Firesign Theater album.

anyone know at what time is scheduled the youth-sex on parade?
posted by murphy slaw at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Interesting, there's a lot of Hilliary hate going on. They mention her constantly, almost more than Trump.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


What's the deal about Hillary allegedly lying about why her parents chose her name?
posted by carmicha at 6:11 PM on July 19, 2016


Baghdad Bob reference, there's a deep cut from the ol' boneyard.
posted by penduluum at 6:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Is there a YouTube live stream with Maddow instead of cooper?
posted by lazaruslong at 6:12 PM on July 19, 2016


The real reason was to hide that she's a Muslim.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


"rockstar senators" passive aggression to the primary voters.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:12 PM on July 19, 2016


Mitch McConnell is evil incarnate, but at least he can give a decent speech.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Mitch Mconman trying to boost the downticket races, actually claimed congress does things.
posted by vrakatar at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2016


Carmicha, see here.
posted by penduluum at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Baghdad Bob

I have seen a small resurgence of the meme in recent weeks
posted by thelonius at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2016


All I ask is that Trump be overcome by norovirus tonight as he takes the mic after his grand entrance. The rest will be pooping.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


I think this Mitch McConnell speech is to protect the down ticket by claiming that Congressional Republicans have been effective.
posted by carmicha at 6:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


RADICAL ISLAMIC MOSQUITO VIRUS
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




Hillary was so cool, she was named for the first guy who climbed Everest before he climbed Everest.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


HOG FARMER HAIRY REEDS
posted by lazaruslong at 6:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska is on stage with other members of the freshman Senate class. He's dynamic and handsomer than Mitch McConell, so there's that.

Response still seems fairly lackluster, compared to previous years.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:18 PM on July 19, 2016


~you guys have $150,000 houses? Where I live the average is literally 10x that.
~you should move to Kentucky bro


Or, Indiana. I'm getting my home ready to sell. 3 bedrooms, office, 2 baths, 2 car garage, 2200sq.ft., almost a 1/2 acre lot. I'll be lucky to get $125k for it. You have to live in Muncie, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


" Democracy is a series of choices. We republicans have made our choice."


Yep.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Ryan is talking to Bernie voters right now.
posted by gatorae at 6:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Wait...Hillary Clinton was named after Tenzing Norgay?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [45 favorites]


Oh god I always forget just how much I hate Paul Ryan's smug, lying condescension
posted by sallybrown at 6:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


wonder if mcconnell is hoping for Trumpism to blow over before he has to run for reelection or if he's just planning to retire to a hollow log near a nice pond
posted by murphy slaw at 6:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


I'll take four days of politically correct moralizing over four days of racism, fear and war-mongering. The blatant anti-intellectualism of Paul Ryan's characterization of Democrats is pretty annoying. Apropos of nothing, at Packers' games it makes me giggle when spectators solemnly remove their cheeseheads for the national anthem.
posted by carmicha at 6:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


Ryan talking about the Democrats moralizing for 4 days. I'm sorry? We're not the party peeking in your bedroom, bathroom, pants and doctor's office.
posted by Sophie1 at 6:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [41 favorites]


Paul Ryan gives decent speech. He's still a Republican and lying through his teeth, but he does well with connecting with people and a few zingers.

But Paul, the Reagan years are long gone too! Let it go dude!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:25 PM on July 19, 2016


*gasp!*
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Paul Ryan gives decent speech. He's still a Republican and lying through his teeth, but he does well with connecting with people and a few zingers.


For now, just get him off the stage before the dry mouth kicks in.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


When it's about ideas the advantage goes to us.

Only if there's no constraint that they be reality-based.

Well, scratch that. You lose on creativity too.
posted by perspicio at 6:26 PM on July 19, 2016


sorry i had to turn off npr's coverage and listen to roderick on the line to regain my perspective

thinking about getting some pump chili
posted by entropicamericana at 6:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


I've seen only two black people in the audience so far, and I swear they looked like they were about to leave.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


probably invoking the gipper in the hopes that he will gain his teflon powers and make the trumpslime slide right off him
posted by murphy slaw at 6:27 PM on July 19, 2016


SHOW US YOUR ABS PAUL, SHOW US YOUR ABS!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:27 PM on July 19, 2016


What is "pump chili," Precious?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Aaaand here comes the fun guy. That's a typo--the gun guy. The gun guy.

Does this look like it says "gun" or "gub"?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


So here’s what we have: An unenthusiastic convention floor, a Trump apparatus that doesn’t make sure the nominee’s wife is speaking new words, and a convention management system that didn’t get the most elementary process wired.

This matters because the delegates on the floor of the convention are the worker bees of the party—the people who work their hearts out to raise money and get others to volunteer and help them corral other voters. Their enthusiasm is crucial to generating the political momentum neighborhood by neighborhood across the country. If they are depressed, that depression is going to affect the election.

And they are. They are depressed.

posted by My Dad at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


The aspirational stuff is Ryan's rough draft for his 2020 stump speech.
posted by carmicha at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Ryan knows he's the front runner for 2020. Welcome to endless election cycles.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Paul Ryan gives decent speech.
This convention is certainly showing why sometimes you want a career politician doing the politics.
posted by vrakatar at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Why are those other people always dividing us? WHY?
posted by uosuaq at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


jeffpearlman ‏@jeffpearlman 24m24 minutes ago
An amazing figure: Only 18 of the 2,472 delegates at #RNCinCLE are black.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


Hahaha yes Republicans NEVER divide people up into little groups and play them off each other. /atheist
posted by gatorae at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Paul Ryan is sugarcoating what has been the same bile and downright evil policy ideas these clowns have been pushing for decades. He only sounds sane because his dogwhistles are still dogwhistles. Disgusting. Now shitting on identity politics and calling liberals the divisive, anti-social progress party. Gross.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Paul Ryan, have you no dignity at all?
Holy shit.
posted by dougzilla at 6:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Did anyone find a black person in Paul Ryan's "selfie" with the new interns?
posted by drezdn at 6:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Paul, you've got'em fired up! Show us your abs and they'll crown you king!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Spakes. What''s on table.
posted by box at 6:31 PM on July 19, 2016


Ryan knows he's the front runner for 2020.

He's not good enough. He's missing that Obama 2004 zing factor, and is transparently fake (his face, if not his words, says "god, look at all these little shits").
posted by sallybrown at 6:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


"Let's take our fight to our opponents with better ideas!"
Parsing can be a challenge, sometimes.
posted by uosuaq at 6:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


jeffpearlman ‏@jeffpearlman 24m24 minutes ago
An amazing figure: Only 18 of the 2,472 delegates at #RNCinCLE are black.


And yet several states had black delegates announcing their votes in the roll call, far more than random odds for 18/2472 would suggest. I thought Republicans didn't believe in affirmative action.
posted by zachlipton at 6:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


So, Ryan's position in 2020 is going to be he reluctantly supported Trump, but did not grovel before him like that one dude in 300 *cough*Chris Christie*cough*?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:35 PM on July 19, 2016


"Let's take our fight to our opponents with better ideas!"

Hey media, a nice question for him now might be, "What ideas?" and "Do those ideas include mass deportation of immigrants and registration of Muslims?"
posted by Drinky Die at 6:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Oh boy it's Chris Christie time? Joy.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:36 PM on July 19, 2016


*sigh* Republicans repeatedly defund healthcare for the military, then talk about how much they love the troops. Amazing how that one keeps going.

Chris Christie up next!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


We will never again in our lifetimes see a Republican nomination process like the one Paul Ryan thinks he is setting himself up for in 2020. It has ceased permanently to exist.
posted by penduluum at 6:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Oh boy it's Chris Christie time? Joy.

Reek Reek it rhymes with Weak.
posted by Justinian at 6:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


Only 18 of the 2,472 delegates at #RNCinCLE are black

I am completely & utterly not kidding when I say that by this point I have had an equal number of black musicians on stage for various RNC-associated events.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


1 sentence in and he's already lying his face off.
posted by Sophie1 at 6:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Has anyone actually spoken about Trump? Extra points if they spoke with genuine enthusiasm. *

* Trump talking about Trump doesn't count.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


I wish with all my heart Christie would use this platform to rip Trump a new one, revealing himself to be playing a long con.
posted by sallybrown at 6:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


There they go with the "lock her up" chants.

Do they not understand what happens to countries when they start jailing political opponents?
posted by Justinian at 6:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [34 favorites]


Crown chanting "Lock Her Up"
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:39 PM on July 19, 2016


Keeps saying her middle name like she's a kid that dad is gonna yell at. Gross. And the lock her up chant begins.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:39 PM on July 19, 2016


He really is going for attorney general huh.
posted by cashman at 6:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


He's playing a long con, all right, just not that one.
posted by perspicio at 6:39 PM on July 19, 2016


oh good a kangaroo court!

Disbar this disgusting coward.
posted by sallybrown at 6:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Christie auditioning for Attorney General.
posted by vrakatar at 6:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Did Christie ever have occasion to notice in his career as a prosecutor that trials usually involve a defense of some sort? Or are we adopting a new justice system?
posted by zachlipton at 6:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


And yet several states had black delegates announcing their votes in the roll call, far more than random odds for 18/2472 would suggest. I thought Republicans didn't believe in affirmative action.

Nah, they were just the most qualified delegates to help paper over the GOP's minority outreach problems.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Keeps saying her middle name like she's a kid that dad is gonna yell at. Gross.

Just a reminder that she's a feminazi man-hating witch who wanted to keep the last name she was born with until she was shamed into changing it.
posted by sallybrown at 6:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Oh my god the shouts of "guilty" are bone-chilling.
posted by penduluum at 6:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


SHE TURNED ME INTO A NEWT!
posted by Drinky Die at 6:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [26 favorites]


Call and response jury now. Jesus.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


So another empty chair speech?
posted by cmfletcher at 6:41 PM on July 19, 2016


Christie's gonna present the facts against Clinton now! As he presents "facts" he asks the crowd if she's guilty or not guilty. Guess what the crown thinks?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:41 PM on July 19, 2016


Yup, just had to turn Christie off. Everything he's saying about Clinton is a complete lie. Apparently she singlehandedly overthrew Qaddafi in Libya and caused ISIS. This is fucking awful.
posted by dnash at 6:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Guess what the crown thinks?

Wait a sec, Trump isn't king yet.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I thought tonight was about jobs?
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


It is actually shocking to me to see a former US Attorney behaving in this manner. This is repulsive.
posted by sallybrown at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [41 favorites]


GO CLOSE A BRIDGE YOU DESPICABLE SLOB
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [25 favorites]


Assad was a different kind of leader. He was the kind that proclaims people guilty without a trial. Nobody would do that here.
posted by zachlipton at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Sentence first, verdict afterwards.
posted by Justinian at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I thought tonight was about jobs?

Well, yeah, the convention has created jobs for dozens of racist misogynist blowhards.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Again with the Quaddafi - Saint Ronnie bombed him! Shouldn't he have been overthrown?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:44 PM on July 19, 2016


Did anyone find a black person in Paul Ryan's "selfie" with the new interns?

Nah, it's like the Obama campaign staff or a Huffington Post meeting in there.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 6:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


My god this really is the second coming of Nazi Germany.
posted by sallybrown at 6:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


dnash: "Apparently she singlehandedly overthrew Qaddafi in Libya and caused ISIS. "

But at the same time, she didn't singlehandedly overthrow Assad, and is therefore directly responsible for all the deaths in the resulting civil war. Logic!
posted by Rhaomi at 6:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Crucify her! Crucify her!

oops I got confused
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


AHHH IT IS LIKE JERRY SIENFELD AND WILSON FISK GOT IN A TELEPORTER ACCIDENT!
posted by vrakatar at 6:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


If Trump wins, I think he and Christie will find a way to actually put Hillary Clinton in jail. I never in my life thought I would see something like this in my country.
posted by sallybrown at 6:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Every time I see #RNCinCLE, I read it like it rhymes with "popsicle"
posted by mothershock at 6:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


This is absolutely revolting. I'm at a loss.
posted by youarenothere at 6:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I think Christie's stream of BS and the crowd chanting may be my limit. Surely there are more Pokemon to be found.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


This is literally a witch hunt.
posted by mochapickle at 6:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


the onion coverage is pretty good
posted by you're a kitty! at 6:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


There's something very contemptuous about the way Christie is manipulating the crowd, er, mob into a rabid froth. They're props, and don't know it.
posted by carmicha at 6:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


save alive nothing that breatheth - cute! Nice try.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I read #RNCinCLE as wrinkle. Which is how I'd like to take this moment in the quilt of America.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2016


I just saw an actual 'thumbs down' from someone in the crowd
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2016


But will we burn her or crush her with a large stone? Is the question.
posted by sallybrown at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2016


DROWN HER AND SEE IF SHE FLOATS
posted by gatorae at 6:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Anybody catch what the crowd just shouted that made Christie stop and chuckle? It was three syllables, the mics picked it up but I couldn't make it out.
posted by penduluum at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016


BUILD A BRIDGE OUT OF HER
AND CLOSE IT
posted by murphy slaw at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [65 favorites]


First weigh her against a duck.
posted by ocschwar at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


this is a scene from monty python. BURN THE WITCH!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Do they not understand what happens to countries when they start jailing political opponents?

I'd like to say 'no, this is just politics turned into WWE' but yes, they understand it deeply.
posted by holgate at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


You guys are just confirming I made the A++ right choice in leaving convention, past the "dangerous" protesters, and buying cupcakes, instead of listening to those speeches.
posted by corb at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [102 favorites]


BUILD A BRIDGE OUT OF HER
AND CLOSE IT


Metafilter is over. murphy slaw wins.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Christie: We have a man, we have a man, we have a man, we have a man.
posted by mochapickle at 6:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Do they not understand what happens to countries when they start jailing political opponents?

Of course they do. They think it's a lovely idea.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


My drinking game (if you see a person of color, drink!) sucks. Can I count people in shadows?
posted by kirkaracha at 6:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


penduluum: "lock her up"
posted by fitnr at 6:52 PM on July 19, 2016


Christie's line "...less charm and more lies.." was the zinger of the night.
posted by vrakatar at 6:52 PM on July 19, 2016


Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round up

This is a low flying panic attack
Sing a song on the jukebox that goes

Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live
posted by Windigo at 6:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


The people chanting and getting worked up, letting the fascist fury wash over them... just think what they are taking back to their families, schools, jobs, friends, employees, coworkers. There is a horror movie on TV right now, but think of the anthology series to come.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [26 favorites]


this crowd freaks me out. i want to believe that this creepy ass display (and the lack of a coherent set of ideas) will freak out undecided voters and encourage democrats to vote but i do not feel like i have my finger on the pulse of undecided voters.
posted by dismas at 6:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Tiffany Trump has provided a glimmer of an anecdote about her father: he wrote notes (contents unspecified) on her report cards!
posted by carmicha at 6:56 PM on July 19, 2016


It's weird how Michelle Melania's speech last night didn't have any personal anecdotes like Tiffany's does.
posted by gatorae at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is so cringeworthy.
posted by cashman at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2016


Tiffany: Trump encourages everyone to pursue their dreams and never puts anyone down!
posted by mochapickle at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I will give a billion dollars to the first Trump that offers an honest-sounding anecdote about dear ole' Dad; all of this stuff sounds like baloney. Come on, one fart joke!!!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"In person, my father is SO REAL."
posted by lazaruslong at 6:58 PM on July 19, 2016


"Donald Trump is a man of vision."

O_0
posted by youarenothere at 6:58 PM on July 19, 2016


My impression is only about 20% of the crowd was going along with the "lock her up" and "guilty" nonsense, and most of them are just sitting stoically on their hands. And a ton of empty seats. I get the fascist overtones but really it's a lukewarm response.
posted by Rumple at 6:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


The people chanting and getting worked up, letting the fascist fury wash over them... just think what they are taking back to their families, schools, jobs, friends, employees, coworkers.

My significant other and I were just talking about how crappy the next four years are going to be for women, regardless of how the election works out.
posted by infinitywaltz at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Tiffany Trump has provided a glimmer of an anecdote about her father: he wrote notes (contents unspecified) on her report cards!

She did actually say something there. She said the notes reflected more what her teachers wrote about her than just the letter grades. The suggestion being he values effort and character as much as results.

It wasn't a bad speech for a 22 year old who just watched another woman in her family get negative national attention for a snafu in a similar speech.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


Ben Carson is on the card, so I'm staying up for that comedy gold. Tiffany was a snooze.
posted by vrakatar at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hey- y'all dragging Melania now, but wait until Day 4, when she's going to appear on stage in a bugle-beaded mini dress to perform her 1966 hit, "River Deep, Mountain High."

I don't know about you, but I'm excited!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


And now, the moment we've all been waiting for...... Kerry Woolard of Trump Winery!

Trump employee earns her paycheck.
posted by zarq at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"never puts anyone down"

Is this a joke, or did she really say that?
posted by zakur at 6:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]




I can't believe he just straight up thrust an advertisement for his business in here. Why are so many so blind to such rank shamelessness?
posted by youarenothere at 7:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Damn. I've run out of gin. Probably the best for my liver, though.
posted by mollweide at 7:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Why do I feel like Tiffany Trump is the city mouse to her country cousin Rebecca Ann Leeman?
posted by Rykey at 7:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Mitch McConnell on stage now bragging about subverting the Constitution to not vote on judges. Lovely.
It's ok. Trump said on 60 Minutes that the Constitution is an amazing thing but we shouldn't let it allow us to commit suicide as a nation. So fuck the Constitution, basically. Unless it's the 2nd Amendment.
posted by xyzzy at 7:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


"Well I take whatever I want. And baby, I want you" &tc. Gross. They used this song last night too.
posted by carmicha at 7:02 PM on July 19, 2016


I don't think I can stay up for Ben Carson, sadly, and that's even before he starts talking. Will someone LMK if he also says that trump never put anyone down?
posted by rmless at 7:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Am I the only person who thinks of American Psycho whenever they see Donald Trump Jr.?
posted by uosuaq at 7:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


Orange must run in the family.
posted by zennie at 7:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


We're gonna get it back (from the minorities)
posted by rmless at 7:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


And weird combing.
posted by zennie at 7:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


(rmless, I get the impression Ben Carson often can't stay awake long enough to hear himself speak)
posted by uosuaq at 7:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Damn. I've run out of gin.
posted by mollweide at 9:01 PM on 7/19

Oh god. Never run out of gin!
posted by Floydd at 7:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


"As a proud son and family member..." Wtf robot
posted by lazaruslong at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


"Donald Trump is a man of vision."

If you don't make sure that you make the holes in the sheet large enough, your vision will be restricted.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


"Pouring sheetrock!" Whoops. Caught it.
posted by Floydd at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


CLINTON/VRAK 2016 FREE GIN ON DEMAND
posted by vrakatar at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Pouring sheet rock and hanging concrete!
posted by lazaruslong at 7:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


At least Ben Carson usually has something nice to say. Help calm us with your awkward, careful hand gestures, Dr. Carson.
posted by sallybrown at 7:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


There are going to be many books written about this convention. Where's Norman Mailer when you need him?
posted by waitingtoderail at 7:09 PM on July 19, 2016


/contemplates gin trip.
posted by Artw at 7:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


OK this fucker makes me want to puke.
posted by wallabear at 7:09 PM on July 19, 2016


"We learned from people who had doctorates...IN COMMON SENSE."

OH YEAHHHHHH BOIIIIIIIIII tell us who the REAL AMERICANS are you little phony scumbag.
posted by sallybrown at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Alex Pareene on Tiffany Trump: 'The speech is not "my father raised me" it is "my dad has always been nice to me."' (Her parents divorced when she was five; she's lived with her mother in California ever since.)
posted by holgate at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


I wonder if the profs at Wharton also had degrees in common sense.
posted by rmless at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Junior's line about being comfortable in a Caterpillar... just... what?
posted by Rykey at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Where's Hunter S. Thompson when you need him?
posted by uosuaq at 7:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


I demand a live demonstration of all Trump children's construction skills.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


Why are so many so blind to such rank shamelessness?

I've told this story before, but a few years back, my boss gave a bunch of us tickets to something called the Get Motivated seminar. It was held in an arena. It featured a series of celebrity speakers (including Eli Manning and.Giuliani) alternating with sales pitches for expensive day trading seminars and software.

The scam was so transparent it was laughable.

It was a mix of conservative politics, platitudes and stock market conditions. The salespeople gave the same pitch each time, starting by saluting troops, then moving liberals, then talking about how easy it is to make money day trading.

I thought there was no way anyone could fall for such a clear con but during every break, hundreds of people were signing up for the four-figure per day seminars. I had a co-worker who went in ultimately for close to a year's salary and made zilch back day trading (rather than recognize she'd been coined she told us she just wasn't smart enough to make day trading work for her).

Anyhow every time I listen to Republican conventions, I marvel at how much they sound like con jobs and how effective they are for a certain portion of humanity. Meanwhile, they're surely figuring out ways to soak all these poor chanting fascist suckers for every ounce of their money.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [30 favorites]


FREE GIN ON DEMAND

Martini/Rossi 2016
posted by peeedro at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Am I the only person who thinks of American Psycho whenever they see Donald Trump Jr.?

"I'm in touch with humanity"
posted by one_bean at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Born on 3rd base
posted by cmfletcher at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I used to watch The Apprentice, and when Trump started putting this punchable creature in the boardroom I wondered wtf he was thinking because he is so fucking loathesome. Now I realize he was laying the stage for tonight. Sigh.
posted by gatorae at 7:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"And now, I have to return some videotapes."
posted by one_bean at 7:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Pages...boooooo
posted by rmless at 7:12 PM on July 19, 2016


Clinton on twitter: If you think Chris Christie can lecture anyone on ethics, we have a bridge to sell you.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [97 favorites]



"As a proud son and family member..." Wtf robot


If you are a friend, press one. If you are a family member, press...

*beep*

If you are a current wife, press one...
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


"As a proud son and family member..." Wtf robot

how dare you, he loves his glorified flesh prison
posted by poffin boffin at 7:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Pissant.
posted by carmicha at 7:14 PM on July 19, 2016


when Trump started putting this punchable creature in the boardroom I wondered wtf he was thinking because he is so fucking loathesome.

#whereisCarolyn #bringbackCarolyn

(Oh wait Trump fired her to make way for Ivanka...)
posted by sallybrown at 7:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




Is it me or is this guy the worst so far?
posted by clorox at 7:15 PM on July 19, 2016


Who would you rather call... ghostbusters!
posted by rmless at 7:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


He's better than anyone last night.
posted by notyou at 7:16 PM on July 19, 2016


Criminals don't follow laws so gun laws are dumb.

And drug laws?

...
posted by Drinky Die at 7:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Those crony elites... whoever THEY are...
posted by Rykey at 7:17 PM on July 19, 2016


Crony elite decries crony elites.
posted by vrakatar at 7:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Last night... It was GOP platitudes poorly delivered, to an audience that had already left to get drunk. Tonight it's much tighter.

As am I.
posted by notyou at 7:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


He's better than anyone last night

Yeah he's actually doing well and hitting the points and it's depressing.
posted by nom de poop at 7:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah he's actually doing well and hitting the points and it's depressing.

I'm glad he's not running.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees

It's even worse than the headline suggests:
If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers, Trump ally, Chris Christie, said on Tuesday.

Christie, who is governor of New Jersey and leads Trump's White House transition team, said the campaign was drawing up a list of federal government employees to fire if Trump defeats Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

“As you know from his other career, Donald likes to fire people,” Christie told a closed-door meeting with dozens of donors at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters and two participants in the meeting.
posted by sallybrown at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


Rutledge says "Hillary needs to go to her own house and not the White House. And take Ruth Bader Ginsburg with her." This is, er, really not a very good speech.

True, but it could be a very good sitcom.
posted by asperity at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [36 favorites]


"A president who won't use the office for personal enrichment."

I had to leave the fucking room.
posted by wallabear at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [25 favorites]


He is scary and a good speaker and even scarier for being a good speaker.
posted by rmless at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


He practiced. It sure helps.
posted by vrakatar at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I think Trump Jr just kicked off his election campaign. He'll be running for something in no time.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]




PunchableTrump 2020!
posted by gatorae at 7:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think Trump Jr just kicked off his election campaign. He'll be running for something in no time.

That could be the point of all of this. Yup, someone on MSNBC just said it too.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


I'm glad he's not running.

Now there's a petrifying thought. Jesus.
posted by wallabear at 7:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Well, that was horrifying.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't care what state you're from, or how long you've lived there. Who does care? I moved around a lot as a kid, so I don't have the perspective of a lifelong Whateveran. Maybe people with home towns care about such things.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I think Hunter would have already gone stark raving insane were he to have been on this convention floor. I want to see Steadman's drawings of it as well.
posted by Windopaene at 7:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Oh god I actually had to google Trump Jr. to make sure his middle name didn't start with a D.
posted by clorox at 7:23 PM on July 19, 2016


> Oh god I actually had to google Trump Jr. to make sure his middle name didn't start with a D

Ooooh, that would've made for some good TV.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:24 PM on July 19, 2016


Errr, A, not D.
posted by clorox at 7:24 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm picturing the Bush family watching this on TV right now.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Is anyone else watching the fools in the background on CNN holding up their little signs sneakily? It's kinda adorable
posted by rmless at 7:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


And boy do those retired miners need nurses.
posted by zennie at 7:25 PM on July 19, 2016


Where's Hunter S. Thompson when you need him?

He saw this shit coming and checked out early.

Which is basically a more-extreme version of why Tom Lehrer quit performing: at a certain point, this whole circus stops being funny.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Hillary's Twitter feed is v good tonight.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees

Night of the Long Knives
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


I'm picturing the Bush family watching this on TV right now.

Barbara, please focus your nuclear glare on this event. You're our last best hope.
posted by sallybrown at 7:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


If Trump wins, I think he and Christie will find a way to actually put Hillary Clinton in jail. I never in my life thought I would see something like this in my country.

Assuming Trump is still a birther, I've wondered if he might try to go after Obama.
posted by homunculus at 7:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Where's Hunter S. Thompson when you need him?

My bad. I grabbed his corpse, stuck some magnets on him, inserted it into a coil of copper wire and he's been turning my electric meter back at a ridiculous rate.
posted by Talez at 7:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]


Watching this with the S.O. Is a bit odd. That's a +$380 dress.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:28 PM on July 19, 2016


could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees

I said it in the other thread, a Trump win would be the end of the professional civil service. Whatever you think about government workers, they're almost universally highly educated, professional career administrators and subject matter experts unbehloden to a particular president or party, and have been since the mid 19th century. Trump would throw away 150 years of institutional knowledge and professional competency in favor of installing his loyal, clueless, syncophants.

You want the end of democracy? Try to run the largest most sophisticated society, economy and military in human history without a professional civil service. A return to the spoils system would be disastrous.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [81 favorites]


Chris Christie was just on MSNBC, I have no doubt in my mind that a Trump win means Attorney General Christie bringing charges against Clinton.
posted by gatorae at 7:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama

I'm a federal employee and I can tell you right now that the prospect of working for a Trump administration is more and more horrifying - maybe it's just as well that I could possibly get fired. Also, this "purge" sounds an awful lot like what's going on in Turkey right now...
posted by photo guy at 7:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


"Double down on Obamacare"

Does this mean universal single-payer? That'll work for working Americans! Do it!

"That tells you who your doctors are"

That would be private-sector insurers and HMOs.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Also, thanks TD Strange, couldn't have said it better myself.
posted by photo guy at 7:32 PM on July 19, 2016


+$380 dress

Any comment about dress cost should go straight down the patriarchy hole, regardless of party.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [38 favorites]


I'm a federal employee and I can tell you right now that the prospect of working for a Trump administration is more and more horrifying

My debate is which is the more ethical path - resign in protest, or continue working to do what you can for your country from the inside? Of course, I'm not sure of Trump's priorities - by the time the civil servant purge comes, I may already have been jailed for supporting Black Lives Matter...
posted by sallybrown at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I'm at that point of fatigue and regret where a little part of me that was kinda jocularly excited to hear Carson ramble has crawled into the corner and I'm just kinda like, okay, well, here's another thing happening.
posted by cortex at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


human Xanax Ben Carson may be the end of me
posted by lazaruslong at 7:35 PM on July 19, 2016


Also, if you're going to spend a lot on a dress (and $400+ isn't a lot at all on the scale of what dresses go for), then major national TV appearances seem like a... perfectly rational time? It's not the dress's fault that this convention is a shitshow!
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Dr. Ben just said that secularists use political correctness to make people sit down and shut up. I heard something different about who was making people sit down and shut up.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


I thought I had made it to stay up for Carson but clearly I am asleep bc WTF is he saying
posted by rmless at 7:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


by the time the civil servant purge comes, I may already have been jailed for supporting Black Lives Matter...

I literally help implement Obamacare in a government-funded health clinic focused on the LGBTQ community and am a brown gay social democrat.

I will be the canary in your mine
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [59 favorites]


I assumed the cost of the dress came up because somebody on stage was pulling a Democrats-are-out-of-touch $400 haircut thing, but from the responses I'm guessing not?
posted by tobascodagama at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016


Was driving home while listening. That was absolutely disgusting and terrifying. It felt like Chris Christie was channeling Goebbels there. Ugly and shameful.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Saul Alinsky!
posted by octothorpe at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"Where they can be cultivated for their votes."

Vote farm!

"Saul Alinsky"

"Booo."

"Lucifer."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Carson using the word deleterious was so jarring. Like reading a YA novel and all of a sudden someone says some shit like exegincies
posted by lazaruslong at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


> I thought I had made it to stay up for Carson but clearly I am asleep bc WTF is he saying

Something about Hillary being a Satanist as far as I can follow.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2016


CARSON: CLINTON IN BED WITH BIG LUCIFER
posted by cortex at 7:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


That's weird, I didn't even *have* a bingo card this evening, and now there's one in front of me with "Saul Alinsky" checked off.
posted by uosuaq at 7:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [20 favorites]


Clinton --> Alinsky --> Lucifer --> Money --> HILLARY IS THE DEVIL
posted by gatorae at 7:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"Somebody who acknowledges Lucifer!"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"IN GOD WE TRUST " wasn't added until 1956.
posted by Windigo at 7:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Yeah Carson did not let me down.
posted by vrakatar at 7:40 PM on July 19, 2016


This is fucking scary.
posted by Talez at 7:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Carson using the word deleterious was so jarring. Like reading a YA novel and all of a sudden someone says some shit like exegincies

He's a brilliant man, you just tend not to notice because politics is not an area where he is brilliant.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]


I really don't remember learning God would up and desert us in our time of need just because we acknowledge Lucifer in a book, but ok.
posted by sallybrown at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


If we elect HRC God will abandon us
posted by lazaruslong at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




Yay, Code Pink!
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


"Oh yeah. Time to celebrate. Get on up!"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:41 PM on July 19, 2016


THEY ARE PLAYING SEX MACHINE NOW

WHAT
posted by cortex at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


Data point: my brother went to visit our relatives in West Virginia coal country last week. Almost to a person, they're big fans of George W. Bush, flag-waver types, many of them coal miners. Not big fans of Obama, Muslims, or non-Christians in general, which they've revealed in varying degrees of racist and xenophobic sentiments over the years.

When he came back I expected him to tell me about the uncomfortable conversations about the election he'd had to dodge, not wanting to start any arguments and all. So when he told me that at a family gathering, "Of course the election came up," I cringed. But he said that everybody who was there there thinks Trump is a joke, and they won't vote for him.

Along with almost every other thing that's happened this election cycle, I don't know what to make of that. But it's good to know Shelley Moore Capito doesn't speak for all those coal miners she pretends to care about.
posted by Rykey at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [31 favorites]


Huh, is attacking HRC on her senior thesis an actual GOP talking point? I'm guessing so, by the fact the thesis has its own wikipedia page.
Rodham researched the thesis by interviewing Alinsky and others, and by conducting visits to low-income areas of Chicago (near where she grew up - but not in the same neighborhoods) and observing Community Action Programs in those areas. Her thesis adviser was Wellesley professor of political science Alan Schechter.

The thesis was generally sympathetic to Alinsky, but offered a critique of Alinsky's methods as largely ineffective, all the while describing Alinsky's personality as appealing. The thesis sought to fit Alinsky into a line of American social activists, including Eugene V. Debs, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Walt Whitman. Written in formal academic language, the thesis concluded that "[Alinsky's] power/conflict model is rendered inapplicable by existing social conflicts" and that Alinsky's model had not expanded nationally due to "the anachronistic nature of small autonomous conflict."

In the acknowledgements and end notes of the thesis, Rodham thanked Alinsky for two interviews and a job offer. She declined the latter, saying that "after spending a year trying to make sense out of [Alinsky's] inconsistency, I need three years of legal rigor." The thesis was praised by all four of its reviewers and Rodham, an honors student at Wellesley, received an A grade on it.
quelle horreur

And the GOP's War on Thinking About Stuff continues.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [31 favorites]


Guys, you really don't want to use American flags to cover up the protestor's sign.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [30 favorites]


Possible reason for Carson bringing up Saul Alinsky: Breitbart and its ilk are saying the Michelle Obama's 2008 speech was plagiarized from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Snopes says not.
posted by carmicha at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The government is trying to rule us, guys! Take America back!
Van Jones rolling his eyes is great.
posted by rmless at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016


Protestor with "no racism no hate" (i think?) flag on screen being covered up by guy in suit with American flag...
posted by thefoxgod at 7:42 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


MSNBC reports their copy of Carson's prepared remarks did not include references to Lucifer or Alinsky.
posted by vrakatar at 7:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


THEY ARE PLAYING SEX MACHINE NOW

WHAT


But they didn't sing the word SEX. Or it was muted?
posted by mochapickle at 7:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


NO RACIST

NO HATE

Good for code pink. Good for the sign bringer.
posted by notyou at 7:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


People blocking the Code Pink protestor whose banner simply says "No Racism. No Hate." With an American Flag.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


I assumed the cost of the dress came up because somebody on stage was pulling a Democrats-are-out-of-touch $400 haircut thing, but from the responses I'm guessing not?

My bad. I found my S.O.'s stream-of-conciousness observation interesting because it was not something that would occur to me.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:44 PM on July 19, 2016


What wait is Carson doing a Johnnie Cochrane reverse chewbacca defense to indict Hillary?
posted by vuron at 7:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Straight from Lucifer to avocados, guys.
posted by rmless at 7:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The avocado farmer says women are not single-issue voters; we are focused on only one thing?
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:45 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm 32 and the Young and the Restless feels like it was 100 years ago sorry but who cares? And yes I like guacamole but not so much violent fascism so thanks for creating a venn I never considered before
posted by lazaruslong at 7:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [18 favorites]


Oh because of the avocados...I thought the green screen was broken.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:46 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh, thank you MSNBC, for availing us the wisdom of Omarosa.
posted by wallabear at 7:46 PM on July 19, 2016


The Devil's Pear, surely.
posted by notyou at 7:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Guys! Guys! Something GOOD happened today!
Twitter Just Permanently Suspended Milo Yiannopoulos!
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [59 favorites]


I hope the Alaskan delegation didn't get thrown out the door without coats.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


I don't believe for a fucking second that this person and her execs have worked 80 hour weeks with no pay. Nope.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:47 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


The avocado farmer says women are not single-issue voters; we are focused on only one thing?

Avocado comes from the Nahuatl word for testicle, so I think what's she's saying is that female Trump supporters love nuts.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Mr Corpse just shouted: "They're you're employees! So why don't you pay them enough that they can buy insurance?"
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


People blocking the Code Pink protestor whose banner simply says "No Racism. No Hate." With an American Flag.

That's a little on the nose isn't it?
posted by dismas at 7:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Chris Christie’s week from hell: Five of the governor’s appointees have drawn the attention of federal prosecutors over corruption allegations. Former Port Authority chair David Samson, Christie's close ally, pled guilty to federal bribery charges last week

Huh, that seems to be an interesting data point in the VP flailing that we saw from Trump last week.
posted by codacorolla at 7:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


If they hitchhike, nobody will pick them up. #notalaskaanymore.
posted by notyou at 7:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


People from Arkansas are called Ar-KANS-ens?

People from Are-can-saw have been Are-kanz-an since the 70s. Everywhere but Kansas the river is pronounced like the state. In Kansas, it is pronounced are-kanz-as. Old timers are and will always be Arkansawyers.

Thus ends the latest dispatch from The Land of OpportunityNatural State.
posted by wierdo at 7:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Wow, does this mean that Twitter is actually going to take horrendous trolls seriously? What's next Reddit actually cleaning up their cesspit?
posted by vuron at 7:50 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


"My local union boys."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:51 PM on July 19, 2016


"Small business." Let's not forget that the overnight paper market locked up in 2007-2008 because of financial deregulation. That meant smaller business couldn't borrow "overnight" commercial paper to make payroll because of a LACK of red tape that would have otherwise stopped the subprime meltdown.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


This is such crap. If your rate went up your plan was shit. Which means it wasn't actually helping anyone except your employer's minimal conscious.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Kansas has always been the land of The Day After for me, so thanks for that clarification, wierdo.
posted by notyou at 7:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


She just Unfrozen Caveman Lawyered avocado economic regulations
posted by lazaruslong at 7:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Someone on FB called the RNC 'a dung beetle restaurant disguised as a convention'
The sound cut out. Now Tiffany Trump is on. I sincerely hope she was spared the norovirus. She's kind of thin.
The convention is so scripted.
I used to watch conventions the way other people watch the Super-Bowl.
My favorite part was the attempt to get a roll - call vote. I appreciated how organized it was.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Purges and show trials, on top of mass deportations and the chilling of opposition.

Well, at least Americans get to see just how many of their peers will vote for it. Some will argue (as with Brexit) that they didn't pay attention to what was promised -- and the media and its pursuit of ratings and ad money will have its role here -- but it's as clear as it gets here.
posted by holgate at 7:53 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Yeah. It's a bunch of strawmen, but it is much clearer tonight than last. The takeaway is gonna be the competence of the org. Expect a bump. Hold the line.
posted by notyou at 7:55 PM on July 19, 2016


Wow, does this mean that Twitter is actually going to take horrendous trolls seriously?

If you give them three or four years, yeah. Of course, if Trump wins, Twitter will be turned into a service where you aren't allowed to post but M*l* and his shitpuppets are.
posted by holgate at 7:55 PM on July 19, 2016


If your rate went up your plan was shit. Which means it wasn't actually helping anyone except your employer's minimal conscious.
My uncle swears that his rates went up after Obamacare. His wife (who manages insurance issues as part of doing HR for a gigantic company and is also in charge of family healthcare issues) mouthed to me from behind him, "No it didn't." Never let the facts get in the way of beliefs.
posted by xyzzy at 7:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [36 favorites]


Oh god, American Muslims for Trump. Is this a joke?
posted by Justinian at 7:55 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The avocado farmer says women are not single-issue voters; we are focused on only one thing?

... I'm guessing climate change? As a single issue that isn't just one thing. Avacado farmers really care about changes in rainfall.

Or something. Is this a riddle? I'm confused.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Who will pick the avocados?
posted by carmicha at 7:56 PM on July 19, 2016


She's not making enough avocado metaphors. How about "I know that when you leave guacamole out for too long it turns brown. Well the same thing happens when politicians are in Washington too long."
posted by zachlipton at 7:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Oh god, American Muslims for Trump. Is this a joke?

Horrifyingly, no.
posted by zarq at 7:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Purges and show trials, on top of mass deportations and the chilling of opposition.

You forgot forcing out career civil servants.
posted by thelonius at 7:56 PM on July 19, 2016


Okay token muslim bro "smells success in the room" I can't even
posted by lazaruslong at 7:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Surprised at no audible boos after he mentioned allah
posted by lazaruslong at 7:58 PM on July 19, 2016


There are several people left in the audience.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:58 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


"I can smell the success in the air."

Well, this is tepid.

C'mon buddy. If you're gonna stump for Trump, drop the "lā ilāha illā allāh" and fully commit.

No?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:58 PM on July 19, 2016


Oh god, American Muslims for Trump. Is this a joke?

That final S, maybe.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [49 favorites]


My Polish friend said they had elected an entire government of Trumps when talking about their recent elections.

Was partying with a whole bunch of Polish-Americans earlier this month and I was told "all the old Polacks are going for Trump." The younger ones I was with disliked Trump, hated Hillary, had liked Bernie, and were showing interest in Johnson. Anyone have any numbers that split out "white ethnics"? Think that would be interesting to see.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 7:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Band: LOVE TRAIN.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Love Train? Really?
posted by mochapickle at 7:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Good God Sahid.... how much do you have to hate yourself to be the speaker for "Muslims for Trump"? Even the Log Cabin Republicans have a few issues this election cycle. Anyone else read their "ad" in USA Today or online?

http://www.logcabin.org/pressrelease/log-cabin-republicans-to-gop-platform-committee-in-usa-today-sad/
posted by newgrl at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


New Thread!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Here comes the rhino murderer... Oooops did I say that? I meant Donald Trump Jr.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


You forgot forcing out career civil servants.

I meant to cover that with 'purges'. Trump will have uuuuuuuge purges. The best purges, the biggest purges the world has ever seen. Will make Erdogan look like he can't purge for shit.
posted by holgate at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Both nights when they've done the voice vote for adjournment, there's been a tiny handful of people hollering "no!" like they just want this party to keep going, right to the break of dawn, we can't stop now.
posted by cortex at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


Okay folkfriends I'm gonna mix a nightcap and keel over. We'll be okay, these buffoons can not possibly win, see you tomorrow night.
posted by vrakatar at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm relying on you guys since I'm not watching (my SAN score is too low to risk a 2d6 SAN loss tonight) but please tell me she's pronouncing avocado like the character from Mystery Incorporated.

George Avocados
posted by vuron at 8:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


"If you miss it. I feel sorry. Sorry. Sorry for you."

They left out:

All of you brothers over in Africa
Tell all the folks in Egypt, and Israel, too
Please don't miss this train at the station
'Cause if you miss it, I feel sorry, sorry for you

posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:01 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


corb, you holding up?
posted by mochapickle at 8:02 PM on July 19, 2016


CNN correspondent giving a tepid cheer for the relevance of The Young and the Restless. "It's been the most popular soap opera since 1989!" This is a presidential convention.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:02 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


That's a little on the nose isn't it?

Good evening, have you been to 2016 yet? No? Oh, let me show you around....
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Can't do anymore of this. See you all tomorrow!
posted by lazaruslong at 8:03 PM on July 19, 2016


Hey! Chachi Fonzarelli was the most popular member of the family since that trip to Hawaii.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Gotta say - doing the new thread for each one of these is a good system for a painful thing.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


I'm still disappointed in the media -- and I'm talking "liberal" media like MSNBC and CNN and NPR -- giving legitimacy to the Trump campaign. This is why Trump doesn't need a campaign war chest of cash. Every media outlet is giving him everything he needs. Buying air time would be superfluous.
posted by yesster at 8:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [30 favorites]


So did they go a whole day without a train wreck here? Great, here come the "Republicans unite and look more presidential than ever!" headlines.
posted by mmoncur at 8:06 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm still kind of expecting a book burning or maybe hanging effigies of various Democrats before the end of this convention.

If we are going for theatre I want something more Grand Guignol and not this lame stuff, don't they know that they seriously need to up their game in the wake of Game of Thrones over the top plotlines to get a solid TV rating? Trump hasn't even been going full Ramsay Bolton on Chris "Reek 2.0" Christie.
posted by vuron at 8:07 PM on July 19, 2016


The only reason Tiffany and Donald Jr.'s speeches are being lauded as providing humanizing personal anecdotes about the candidate is because we've been provided so little. For the most part, they followed the pattern of asserting characteristics without any accompanying illustrative vignettes.
posted by carmicha at 8:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Corb went drinking with reporters about an hour and a half ago...

And she has decided to join the Washington State Democratic Party.
posted by Windopaene at 8:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [47 favorites]



I'm still disappointed in the media -- and I'm talking "liberal" media like MSNBC and CNN and NPR


CBS was talking about the empty seats. MSNBC was talking about all the fun! swag! Shameful. Fire Brian Williams please.
posted by zutalors! at 8:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I hope they're buying. She's fuckin' earned it.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Corb went drinking with reporters about an hour and a half ago...

The wisest choice for all concerned, I think. If you're going to kill brain cells, alcohol is a better option than watching the RNC.
posted by nubs at 8:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


We live in a grim era.
posted by humanfont at 8:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I thought MSNBC was "liberal"? Seems like they've been letting a lot of shit pass in their "analysis".
posted by Windopaene at 8:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


do we? compared to 1968?
posted by zutalors! at 8:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


"Michigan passes?

Michigan is clearly going to check raise. Everyone else should check behind!
"

Y'all clearly aren't from Michigan.

You pass when you don't want to order up Trump. #euchre
posted by klangklangston at 8:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


Depressing realization I just had was how much preferable even Boris Johnson would be as a US president to Donald Trump. At least when he's called out on his rhetoric and exaggeration he's capable of walking it back rather than doubling down.
posted by Creosote at 8:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


MSNBC has a very slight liberal slant that they try to balance with sheer idiocy.
posted by gatorae at 8:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


You pass when you don't want to order up Trump. #euchre

WELL PLAYED
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


What's the deal about Hillary allegedly lying about why her parents chose her name?

Way way back in the day, she was asked about her name and said that she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary. Trouble is, Clinton was born October 26 (yay b-day buddies!) 1947, and Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made their ascent of Everest in On May 29, 1953, when she was 5 years old. Certain conservatives latched onto this not as a pretty inconsequential belief she'd clearly mistakenly picked up as a child, but rather as part of an EPIC PATTERN OF LIES! Sort of like what they did with Al Gore and his series of not-actually-lies.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


We live in a grim era.

You want grim? Imagine this crowd when Trump loses. That's gonna make all this look like a love-in.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Conservatives do pick some of the weirdest shit to obsess about.
posted by octothorpe at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


Though it may get lost in the perpetual motion machine that is this thread, I would like to state for the record: corb, should you ever visit New Orleans your drinks are on me. Even at the fancy joints. Thank you for your efforts in trying to keep this flaming shitshow on the rails.
posted by komara at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


MSNBC really only has Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow, and both of them are somewhat contrained by a) keeping their jobs after what happened to Melissa Harris-Perry and b) working under the same parent company as real-NBC and Comcast. Chris Matthews is ostensibly "liberal", but also is a complete tool of but-both-sides-ism and absolutely cannot control his raging harddon for GOP daddy figures. Oh, and they also give Joe Scarborough 4 hours of airtime every single day. So yea, "liberal" is pretty relative.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


Imagine this crowd when Trump loses. That's gonna make all this look like a love-in.

I'll take that over a neofascist takeover of the federal administration, thanks.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [28 favorites]


I thought MSNBC was "liberal"?

Maybe once upon a time, but constant criticism moved the Overton window. C.F. NPR.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


I pretty much disagree with Corb on virtually every issue but that's what makes our democracy strong, that we both have a right and a venue to express our ideas and hope that those ideas can influence public policy.

I think what is so scary about the modern Republican party is the complete willingness of some within that camp to trade away all sorts of rights and liberties in return for some vague promise of security from a tin pot dictator and wannabe fascist. Trump has no actual plans for achieving anything and actually seems disinterested in governing as if the role of the President is to just sit on a throne watching gladiators fight to the death while being fed chilled grapes by scantily clad slaves.

I mean not that a mash-up of Spartacus and House of Cards wouldn't be gripping television but I would prefer it to be made of 13 episode arcs and not a low budget reality tv show.
posted by vuron at 8:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]


MSNBC really only has Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow

You forgot Lawrence O'Donnell, who is quietly progressive and interesting in the 10 O clock hour.
posted by zutalors! at 8:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]


Welp. I gotta hand it to these guys -- the first two nights of this convention have changed me.

Previously I was someone who was completely unenthused by the Democratic candidate and planning on holding his nose and pulling the lever for her only because of the importance of defeating the wretchedness of the other side.

Tonight I'm still completely unenthused by the candidate herself, but this parade of vile filth and shameless encouragement of rage and hatred has met my worst expectations -- and I've now pulled out my credit card, given money to her campaign, and signed up for volunteer opportunities to help out, determined more than ever to defeat the wretchedness of the other side.

Once that's done I guess I'll go back to holding my nose and trying to make sure we have a better alternative in 2020. For now, though, the most important part is making it that far.
posted by jammer at 8:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [73 favorites]


MSNBC gets progressively more liberal as seniors go to bed for the evening. When most people are at work it's full of raging conservative propaganda. Maybe not Fox and Friends bad but still pretty awful.

It's really only after people go out for their early bird special that MSNBC gets moderately liberal and even then it's mainly by comparison. But let's be honest MSNBC is still probably more conservative now than when it had Olberman.

Of course Olberman was a completely tool so maybe going slightly more conservative was a net positive.
posted by vuron at 8:25 PM on July 19, 2016


Yet more plagiarism. Lol. Just lol.
posted by yasaman at 8:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [21 favorites]


god DAMN did i pick the wrong year to quit drinking
posted by murphy slaw at 8:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


Yet more plagiarism. Lol. Just lol.

Guess we know who wrote Junior's speech.
posted by dersins at 8:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


You forgot Lawrence O'Donnell, who is quietly progressive and interesting in the 10 O clock hour.

Lawrence O'Donnell was a top aid for Sen Moynihan also a writer and producer on the West Wing. He even played Pres. Bartlett's dad in a flashback.
posted by nathan_teske at 8:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Anyhow every time I listen to Republican conventions, I marvel at how much they sound like con jobs and how effective they are for a certain portion of humanity. Meanwhile, they're surely figuring out ways to soak all these poor chanting fascist suckers for every ounce of their money.

Joey Michaels, have you read Rick Perlstein's "The Long Con"? The long and short of it is that a lot of conservative "activism" is ginning up fear among the rank and file to sell them shit.
posted by dhens at 8:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


I like how these commentators are praising "The Kids" like they're 8 and 12 years old. Stay classy journalists and Congresspeople.
posted by zutalors! at 8:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Guess we know who wrote Junior's speech.

Hilary Clinton?
posted by Artw at 8:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yet more plagiarism.

holy shit. unbelievable. but I guess anything is believable at this point
posted by triggerfinger at 8:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ronald Raygun?
posted by futz at 8:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I pretty much disagree with Corb on virtually every issue but that's what makes our democracy strong, that we both have a right and a venue to express our ideas and hope that those ideas can influence public policy.
posted by vuron at 10:20 PM on July 19


Same here. I can't agree with the Ted Cruz sentiment (or many other issues), but you have to admire her for going into the belly of the beast and risking lots by attempting to redirect things in a manner she finds preferable.

She was also invaluable to Mefites, IMO, for her on-the-ground reporting. Closest I'll ever get to attending a convention.

Great work, corb. Thanks.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


With Comic-Con San Diego happening right between the PartyCons, the widow of 'Peanuts' Creator Charles M. Schulz is Rocking the Vote at Comic-Con. Finally, a 3rd party with potential...
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


MSNBC gets progressively more liberal as seniors go to bed for the evening. When most people are at work it's full of raging conservative propaganda. Maybe not Fox and Friends bad but still pretty awful.

...


...


huh. yeah.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:34 PM on July 19, 2016


During the French Revolution a man was seen running to try and catch up with a mob ahead of him. "Who are you?", someone asks him. "I'm the leader of the mob."

You had better damn careful if you are going to whip up a mob.
posted by vac2003 at 8:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [27 favorites]


there's been a tiny handful of people

"Look at those delegates. Are they small delegates? And he referred to my delegates -- if they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there is no problem. I guarantee you."
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm reminded of when the political blogger John Cole, who'd been a Republican 'warblogger' for years and years but was ideologically a libertarian centrist, finally gave up on the GOP over the Terry Schiavo fiasco.

corb shouldn't need to have to join the Democrats. There should be a party that fits her like a glove -- she'd be towards the right of something like the Christian Democrats of Europolitics -- and politics should be about feisty disagreement and a bit of compromise and occasionally one side getting a bit of wind behind them for more radical changes that the other side will subsequently peg back but grudgingly acknowledge actually work quite well. Politics will be sane again when corb is in a right-leaning political party.

But there's a broader failure of politics going on as the 21st century finally begins, and that's fucking scary. Not least because in Moscow and Beijing those in charge will say 'really, we're meant to follow the voice of the people, when in other countries they do shit like that?'
posted by holgate at 8:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [19 favorites]


Seems like Frank Buckley may have wrote Douchebag Jr.'s speech. So, not technically plagiarism. This time. Just recycled Trump = Reagan propaganda.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


yeah it goes from plagiarism to being just...sorta lame
posted by dismas at 8:37 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Still amateurish in the extreme.
posted by sallybrown at 8:38 PM on July 19, 2016


corb - you wouldn't be where you were if you hadn't made a number of commitments that I disagree with, perhaps strongly. But wherever you live in this great state, I'll happily go there and pay for drinks all night.
posted by wotsac at 8:38 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Ryan is talking to Bernie voters right now.

ha ha good fucking luck
posted by en forme de poire at 8:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


Twitter Just Permanently Suspended Milo Yiannopoulos!

"This is the end for Twitter", lol.

When your question regarding your battles with Twitter posed in all seriousness in front of the White House press-corp is widely derided, perhaps that would have given him a heads-up what an asshole he is.

Apparently not.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 8:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Not least because in Moscow and Beijing those in charge will say 'really, we're meant to follow the voice of the people, when in other countries they do shit like that?'

I met some government officials from China earlier this year, and yes, that is exactly what they are saying.
posted by brambleboy at 8:41 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]


So, not technically plagiarism.

Not technically, but I'm guessing any sane candidate/party would have avoided even the possibility of being accused of plagiarism, given last night. It doesn't matter if the same guy wrote it, it's a stupid thing to do.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:44 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm reminded of when the political blogger John Cole, who'd been a Republican 'warblogger' for years and years but was ideologically a libertarian centrist, finally gave up on the GOP over the Terry Schiavo fiasco.

Or Charles Johnson of LGF giving up when he realized the right was catering to open fascists and other extremists.

I hope you don't have to stay Democratic long term corb if you are doing that. My hope is enough Republicans will come to their senses after this election loss to either take back the party or leave it and somehow take part in a new coalition that returns conservatism to reason.
posted by Drinky Die at 8:45 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


But there's a broader failure of politics going on as the 21st century finally begins, and that's fucking scary.

2016 may be the year the 21st century finally begins. Let that sink in.
posted by monospace at 8:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]


My hope is enough Republicans will come to their senses after this election loss to either take back the party or leave it and somehow take part in a new coalition that returns conservatism to reason.

I hope that the Democratic Party becomes the christian-democratic equivalent that it basically is in its bones, and that an actual Left party comes up to oppose it when the Republicans implode.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [29 favorites]


So it seems like the takeaway from today will be "things getting back on track" and not, say:

- Delegate revolts
- Christie's fascist kangaroo court speech and the chants of "lock her up"
- Carson's drop-in to suggest Clinton is aligned with Lucifier because of a note in the acknowledgments section of a book published 45 years ago written by someone Clinton admired
- The complete lack of logistical planning that led to Trump's video appearance missing the network hour, but ensured prime-time coverage for the avocado farmer speaking to a half empty room, despite the same situation happening last night and the relative ease with which it could have been improved tonight. While not exactly the most serious of sins, it fits with the mold of "you don't even have a real campaign" because anybody with any experience would have seen this coming.
posted by zachlipton at 8:49 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]




2016 may be the year the 21st century finally begins. Let that sink in.

I think it began in late 2015. I've thought for a while [self-link] that centuries begin 'late' mathematically: there's a lot of accounting that's done at the beginning of a century before second-order new stuff kicks in, and if you compare the 1910s to the 1900s, the 1810s to the 1800s, the 1710s to the 1700s -- this is admittedly an Occidental worldview -- then modern centuries start in the mid-10s.
posted by holgate at 8:54 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


The all white MSNBC "road crew" are wearing sneakers and talking about how hard their day was and how great Paul Ryan and Christie did. Then they all recited "Lock Her Up!" all together.

Liberal media, ladies and gentlemen.
posted by zutalors! at 8:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [33 favorites]


I mean there is a certainly ridiculousness over quibbling over the fact that someone repurposed their own writing in a speech that would be read by someone who passes the entire thing off as his own words (and we all go along with that fiction), but this is still not how speechwriting is supposed to work, and you'd think that after last night any sensible person would avoid any whiff of plagiarism tonight.
posted by zachlipton at 8:59 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


They're scrapping the bottom of the barrel for speechwriters willing to work with the Trump Klan. It's the C-team at best at this point.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:03 PM on July 19, 2016


So much for "Make America Work Again".
posted by wallabear at 9:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


MSNBC gets progressively more liberal as seniors go to bed for the evening.

MSNBC has never been the same since Téa Leoni left the network during that Extinction Level Event.

They just can't keep good help. It's a management thing I suppose.
posted by lampshade at 9:04 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


My god. I know that this has been said already...

but after the debacle that Milania's speech was, don't you think (I mean really think about running future speeches through a new fangled software apparatus called Google at the very least?)

Is there anyone thinking at all in the trump camp? Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that there is no thinking. To think or not to think is is kind of a question that strains the the brain unthinking thinker. How does thinking happen? Can you think "I need to write a speech" and then Google speeches and vomit out a speech that someone already speeched? Yes you can! And here is where the thinking or lack thereof comes in.

Are you (the speech googler) so thinked out that you can't imagine or consider that people will notice that you you stole someone else's thinks and thoughts?

Or are you so secure in the blind allegiance of your unthinking followers that you can regurgitate other peoples famous speeches and expect zero repercussions from your base?

Think about that. That is where we are right now. Opinions are facts. Facts are partisan. Original thought is debatable. Up is down.

This plagiarism would usually get you kicked out of an institution of higher learning. This is the Republican party in 2016.
posted by futz at 9:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


So, what better way to spend a few days on the boiling shores of hell than with everyone's best buddy, Norovirus?
posted by Thorzdad at 9:05 PM on July 19, 2016


Also (on preview, as wallabear points out, because I try not to plagiarize), it was supposed to be "Make America Work Again" night. Yet the only jobs we heard about are coal miners, avocado farmworkers, vineyard employees, "Standard Waterproofing," and I guess UFC fighters? There's a distinct lack of message discipline.
posted by zachlipton at 9:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


Paul Ryan is sugarcoating what has been the same bile and downright evil policy ideas these clowns have been pushing for decades. He only sounds sane because his dogwhistles are still dogwhistles. Disgusting. Now shitting on identity politics and calling liberals the divisive, anti-social progress party. Gross.

Honestly, if the worst thing about Trump is Trump himself, the second-worst thing is that career sociopaths like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the Republican leadership get to be "sane moderates" just by not gesticulating quite as much and knowing when not to literally shout.
posted by threeants at 9:08 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


Also (on preview, as wallabear points out, because I try not to plagiarize), it was supposed to be "Make America Work Again" night. Yet the only jobs we heard about are coal miners, avocado farmworkers, vineyard employees, "Standard Waterproofing," and I guess UFC fighters? There's a distinct lack of message discipline.

They literally have no jobs plan besides tax cuts for the rich and mass deportations. Maybe the mass deportation program counts as public works program, but other than that, what would they say?
posted by dis_integration at 9:09 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]




I mean, if the avocado rancher is hiring after I get purged, I do love avocados. I hope they'll match the general schedule pay scale.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:10 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


We're going to need to see your citizen papers and your loyalty stamp.
posted by Artw at 9:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


They talked about how much Hillary sucks because they have nothing else to say. I guess as far as jobs we can all get drafted into the military when he starts a ground war in Syria and pulls us into the apocalypse. Those of us who aren't building The Wall, anyway.
posted by gatorae at 9:11 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


I bet that wall won't even keep the kaiju out.
posted by Artw at 9:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [41 favorites]


If you support Trump you are in no way a "sane moderate". Every single one of these republicans who endorse him better be tainted forever as the ones who allowed this to happen in every election from now until the GOP goes poof in a burst of grace.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:12 PM on July 19, 2016 [14 favorites]


corb: you're being rightfully praised a lot in this thread, so I just want to add that in all of this disgusting display over the last two days (so far) you've been the force reminding me that despite everything we see, we can communicate, work together, discuss ideas, and love one another across the political and ideological spectrum. You've reminded me that it doesn't have to be like this, that the "other" is neither monolithic nor my enemy, that we can be better than this.

And I haven't felt that way in a long time. Thank you.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [79 favorites]


This plagiarism would usually get you kicked out of an institution of higher learning

My old college sent out an email blast to students this morning reminding them of their academic standards and the severe repercussions for plagiarism, and to not be fooled by the media's lax take on the general issue of stealing others' works.
posted by carsonb at 9:14 PM on July 19, 2016 [26 favorites]


I'm filing my N-400 this week.

I don't know if I'll get everything back before the October 19th deadline here in MA but here's hoping. Maybe we should have bought a house in New Hampshire instead of MA to help with turning NH bluer but we didn't want to be whacked twice on tax.
posted by Talez at 9:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm filing my N-400 this week.

Good luck and congrats!
posted by zachlipton at 9:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I still think it's plagiarism. Presuming F.H. Buckley was hired to ghostwrite Donald, Jr.'s speech, his job was to put original words in Donald Jr.'s mouth--preferably while remaining uncredited and invisible. FH Buckley made Donald Jr. an unwitting plagiarist of FH Buckley, just like [$Whoever] made Melania an unwitting plagiarist of Michelle Obama's (or her invisible uncredited speechwriter's) work.
posted by carmicha at 9:18 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Can I, as a Canadian who is somewhat frightened and confused by your electoral process at times, ask a question here - why would it be necessary for corb (or anyone else) to change her registration from R to Independent or to D? Does the ballot you are given reflect your registration - i.e., if you are registered D, you get a ballot that doesn't list R candidates? I'm just a little flummoxed, I guess, because corb's question appears to indicate that she might not have enough time to change before voting, and I can't see why that matters.
posted by nubs at 9:19 PM on July 19, 2016


Self-plagiarism
posted by triggerfinger at 9:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


nubs, it's symbolic in this case.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:23 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


(If that doesn't work out before the election, voting a straight D ticket as a registered Republican might be an even stronger rebuke to the party establishment, though I guess only if you get exit polled.)
posted by en forme de poire at 9:24 PM on July 19, 2016


Ah, ok, thanks. I was hoping that was what it was about, but wasn't sure.
posted by nubs at 9:25 PM on July 19, 2016


I mean really think about running future speeches through a new fangled software apparatus called Google at the very least?

Plugging all of the prepared speeches into the standard Google search or into any sort of web-based plagiarism-checker would at least leak those speeches to Google or the anti-plagiarism site, and I would assume that a number of other parties are probably monitoring internet traffic related to the convention.

Not to say that the Trump campaign would be thinking about that, or that such leaks are even the sort of thing that would be a material security problem in this case. Just, if anyone is giving a speech in Turkey criticising Erdogan anytime soon, be careful how you check your script for plagiarism.
posted by XMLicious at 9:26 PM on July 19, 2016


Running speeches through plagarism detection software is pretty common among professional speechwriters, because the entire point of their job is to not embarrass the people they write for, even accidentally.
posted by zachlipton at 9:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]






This is a reminder that if you haven't read 'The Paranoid Style in American Politics' or 'Fascinating Fascism', you should, and if you haven't read either recently, you should read them again.
posted by holgate at 9:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [16 favorites]


Can I, as a Canadian who is somewhat frightened and confused by your electoral process at times, ask a question here - why would it be necessary for corb (or anyone else) to change her registration from R to Independent or to D? Does the ballot you are given reflect your registration - i.e., if you are registered D, you get a ballot that doesn't list R candidates? I'm just a little flummoxed, I guess, because corb's question appears to indicate that she might not have enough time to change before voting, and I can't see why that matters.

Everyone gets the same ballot -- I think she just wants out of the GOP for now due to recent events, but is concerned that there might be a database SNAFU that affects her ability to vote in the general election. However, from the Washington state website (and from my voter registration card), though it looks like they don't register you with a party affiliation anyway...
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 9:35 PM on July 19, 2016


The good news is when they talk about tax policy we can expect plagiarism:

Reganomics
Capital Gains Relief
VooDoo Economics
Supply Side Economics
Job Creators
Trump Brand Tax Bullshit
posted by cmfletcher at 9:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't know if I'll get everything back before the October 19th deadline here in MA but here's hoping.

Won't happen, I'm afraid. With Hispanic permanent residents who felt secure for decades filing in large numbers now that they don't feel secure, the N-400 processing time is now 6-9 months, depending on where you file. I was surrounded by people of varied backgrounds doing their N-400 biometrics back in May when I renewed my green card -- I'm not ready to take the citizenship plunge myself, though I thought a long time about it -- and I'm pretty sure they'll be registered as soon as they swear the oath.
posted by holgate at 9:38 PM on July 19, 2016


Laura Benanti on Colbert show as a certain speech-giver.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:39 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]


why would it be necessary for corb (or anyone else) to change her registration from R to Independent or to D? Does the ballot you are given reflect your registration - i.e., if you are registered D, you get a ballot that doesn't list R candidates?

It varies from state to state. In states that let you register with a party, it may affect which ballot you're given in a primary election. In other states, it's mostly symbolic. In Minnesota, where I live, there is no party registration at all.
posted by gimonca at 9:43 PM on July 19, 2016


Artw: " Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees"

Oh JFC...

“As you know from his other career, Donald likes to fire people,” Christie told a closed-door meeting with dozens of donors at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, according to an audio recording obtained by Reuters and two participants in the meeting.

Christie was referring to Trump's starring role in the long-running television show "The Apprentice," where his catch-phrase was "You're fired!"


Tim Heidecker preaches it in 2011
posted by symbioid at 9:49 PM on July 19, 2016




Nubs,
Don't panic.

The party primary process varies and is an FPP unto itself. We're into the general election.

The general election is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. All registered voters are permitted to participate. We tally the popular vote by each state and the winner of each state wins the right to send delegates to select the next president. These delegates are chosen by the winning party but not legally bound to vote for the president/vice president. The parties pick their most loyal members for this duty.

The delegates are allotted to each state based on the number of congress-people (proportional to population + 2 senators for each state). If the party nominees win the state, their delegates head to DC to select their ticket for president and vice-president.

There are 538 (that's where the website got it's name) delegates available for the selection of president/VP. The ticket that wins 270 delegates crosses the 50% threshold and wins. You can find maps online that show how many delegates are available for each state.

Should there be a situation where no candidate reaches 270, the election is sent to the house of representatives. This has only happened in the early years of the country.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:03 PM on July 19, 2016




So basically lazy, lazy writing by Buckley. Got it.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:17 PM on July 19, 2016 [6 favorites]


"Kill your darlings" is clearly not a thing for Republican speech-writers.
posted by holgate at 10:19 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]


Self-plagiarism is still kind of a newish, unsettled thing, as new publication technologies displace the old. We don't hold it against Chris Rock when he tells the same joke in arena after arena. Freelancers and stringers used to be able to repurpose copy outlet to outlet, with no worries.

The Google changes that.
posted by notyou at 10:20 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


Let's call it a lazy writer grabbing a paycheck for a job he doesn't give a shit about.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]


So basically lazy, lazy writing by Buckley.

Serious question - does he do any other kind?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:27 PM on July 19, 2016


I'm filing my N-400 this week. ... I don't know if I'll get everything back before the October 19th deadline here in MA but here's hoping.

You should have decent-but-not-fabulous odds. biscotti filed... late April-- I don't have the date we sent it but the first NOA is dated 25 April -- and her swearing-in is 4 August.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:28 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


My major take-away from today is that the Republican party - represented by Paul Ryan and Rinse Penis (thank you, autocorrect) - have shown through their actions that they genuinely embrace and endorse Trump. Furthermore, they will go to great lengths yi protect him from being embarrassed by their rank and file members.

The Republican party can try to equivocation on this matter, but they've demonstrated that they own Trump and his campaign. Actions speak louder...
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:29 PM on July 19, 2016 [11 favorites]


Self-plagiarism is still kind of a newish, unsettled thing

Well, no.
posted by Artw at 10:30 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


I guess it depends if Trump or the RNC is writing the check.
posted by notyou at 10:31 PM on July 19, 2016


They played "Love Train" tonight too? Ahem. (See 2:10)
posted by NorthernLite at 10:32 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Well, yes. It's settled from the POV of editors and publishers. Don't fucking do it. We'll get burned. And then we'll burn you.

There are still plenty of freelancers who try it... because they used to and because that's how the business used to work.

It doesn't anymore. Holdouts remain.
posted by notyou at 10:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


I make dozens of typos on my own, but why would my autocorrect turn "equivocate" into "equivocation?"
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:36 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


My old college sent out an email blast to students this morning reminding them of their academic standards and the severe repercussions for plagiarism, and to not be fooled by the media's lax take on the general issue of stealing others' works.

I have to wonder if this just reduced thier fundraising goal by about 40%?
posted by futz at 10:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


represented by Paul Ryan and Rinse Penis (thank you, autocorrect) - have shown through their actions that they genuinely embrace and endorse Trump

Yup. Priebus, Ryan, McConnell, and all them are actually on board with totally writing off non-anglos as part of their coalition for at least a couple of decades and doing clear if probably not as long-lasting damage to their party's reputation with women.

Really kind of surprising after the efforts they'd made at least towards latinos.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:40 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


> Sometimes I just sit and try to imagine what it must be like to be Paul Ryan...

> Now shitting on identity politics and calling liberals the divisive, anti-social progress party.

also btw from a UK perspective, but applicable i think in a US context...
The centralizing-decentralizing axis
Here's a theory: one of the most important, yet under-rated, divisions in politics is that between centralizers and decentralizers. This isn't quite the same as the authoritarian-libertarian axis used by Political Compass, or Haidt's liberty-oppression axis. For one thing, the axis I have in mind is often an instrumental one – it's about how our values are best achieved – rather than one of values themselves...

[T]he division should be regarded as being about how to achieve social change: can it be done merely through conventional parliamentary means in which a 'strong leader' and good messages break through to voters? Or does it also (or instead?) require a broader social movement to counteract the massive ideological and media obstacles the party faces? My sympathies are with the latter. But that's not my point. Instead, the point is that there is mutual incomprehension here, in part because of a failure to see what the issue is... And here, even the so-called neutral media are in fact horribly biased here.
Centralization versus Pluralism: "driven by a fundamental contradiction between the logic of economics and the logic of politics."
posted by kliuless at 10:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


The Republican party can try to equivocation on this matter, but they've demonstrated that they own Trump and his campaign.

Or that Trump owns the party. And as Jeet Heer wrote tonght, it'll take a while to de-Trumpify it, even if the GOP loses in an unequivocal way that overturns their gerrymandered House majority.

This should be a indictment of the reckless cynicism of Ryan and McConnell. If they believe that Trump will be a distracted wastrel president who'll grant them a SCOTUS pick and rubber-stamp whatever comes out of Congress, and that they can block the hardcore authoritarian shit, which is certainly the impression they give, then they are not fucking fit to hold public office.
posted by holgate at 10:52 PM on July 19, 2016 [25 favorites]


Priebus, Ryan, McConnell, and all them are actually on board with totally writing off non-anglos as part of their coalition for at least a couple of decades and doing clear if probably not as long-lasting damage to their party's reputation with women.

Not that this excuses them in any way, but I think a LOT of the Republican consolidation behind Trump can be explained by Scalia's death and SCOTUS. They've had the third branch majority for so long, their minds literally cannot process a world in which they don't control SCOTUS in a 5-4 majority for any major decision, and it pushed the last few remaining "moderate Republicans" (where moderate is defined as "has one iota of interest in effective or legitimate governance of the country") across the line into the teapartyTrumplightZone.

American politics has enjoyed an unusual balance on the Court for nearly 30 years, which has seen an unprecedented lack of turnover on the Court coupled with an unprecedented rise in division and partisanship in the country at large. Divided as it is, the Court actually acted as a stabilizing force, and that is now in jeopardy. Whether you think that's a good thing and a more activist Court along the line of Warren, or the worst thing imaginable because it'snot the right kind of "activist" anymore (where "activist" can only be defined as such when it's in service of more liberal polities") is probably 1:1 predicative of support for Trump.

It's not at all an exaggeration to say that the overriding goal last 45 years of the Republican Project has been to control the Supreme Court, and now by all rights that project should be dead along with Scalia. But they've managed to extend it by throwing away every last norm in American politics, and they cannot back down from that now after already betraying any semblance of adherence to the rule of law.

They're already all in on fascism, there's nothing left to lose.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:03 PM on July 19, 2016 [44 favorites]


hurry up meteor we're all counting on you
posted by poffin boffin at 11:06 PM on July 19, 2016 [9 favorites]


Worth reading:

Weimar Germany and Donald Trump
How traditional and radical conservatives come to speak a common political language—that ultimately benefits the extremists

posted by Joe in Australia at 11:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]




It is so easy, I would like to interject from afar, to get the sense that everyone who is supporting Trump understands what they are supporting and why. Please remember that ideological systems do not work this way. Even white supremacists are often well-meaning. They abide by a value system. They watch netflix. Some take good care of pets, donate their (lame-ass white-people) clothes to charity, visit their relatives in the hospital.

That they do not understand how most of their life experiences have been facilitated as much or more by people of color than by the "Founding Fathers" is not entirely on them. Ignorance is a virus easily spread. We have to build entire countries just to educate human beings as new generations are born and raised because that's how much goddamned work it takes to do anything more than sleep, eat, fuck and kill.

If we cannot humanize our enemies, they win. Humanization is our gift, and our power, and we cannot let the fear distract or excuse us from this fundamentally human responsibility.

Please, please, please. Find in your heart a sympathy for your fellow man who has fallen into a pit and taken up friendship with the snakes. Do not blame him for his deepest of misfortunes. He needs you and I more than he ever has. (I use said-pronoun with emphatic intent.)

The one with the gun your head, too. Forgive them, ask them what's wrong, tell them it's going to be ok. They who love the deepest will survive. That's all that makes survival worthwhile in the first fucking place.
posted by an animate objects at 11:13 PM on July 19, 2016 [36 favorites]


As to the notion of fighting for your life, I don't believe in violence and I do believe in tragedy.
posted by an animate objects at 11:16 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yup. Priebus, Ryan, McConnell, and all them are actually on board with totally writing off non-anglos as part of their coalition for at least a couple of decades and doing clear if probably not as long-lasting damage to their party's reputation with women.

I’m not sure that telling your coalition that it did a bad job choosing a candidate and needs to get stuffed is a particularly good strategy for short term victory either; it certainly didn’t do the Democrats any favors the time they rejected McGovern for Humphrey.

Trump remains a freak outsider to the party, and he has no infrastructure to remain politically viable after this election (though who knows about that, honestly). If he goes down in flames, the door is open for the next R candidate to reject Trump as terrible on almost any grounds, and to then make the changes pitched by the RNC in its 2012 report. In four years, Susana Martinez could be coming for Clinton.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:22 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]




In four years, I think latino voters' reaction to Susana Martinez will be only marginally more positive than black voters' reaction to Alan Keyes.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've only really been following the Adventures of Corb in this thread, and admire the hell out of her for her bravery in going in there, and reporting back. But also saddened that she's talking about changing her party.

corb - if you ever get across the pond, Amsterdam is another place where you never need to buy your own drinks.
posted by daveje at 12:06 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


FWIW, corb doesn't need to change any party registration because Washington State does not have party registration. She might want to take her name off the Republican fundraising mailing list, though...
posted by litlnemo at 12:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Memo to Corb: I'm convinced that supporting Trump will be the Republican equivalent of voting for the Iraq War -- a massive ball and chain shackled to the leg of every Republican who chose wrong.

Unlike with Democrats though, you might need to start your own party. Good luck.

PS I'm in Portland, travel to Washington State frequently, and my drink offers are more practical than most. Memail me if interested.
posted by msalt at 1:02 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


As to the notion of fighting for your life, I don't believe in violence and I do believe in tragedy.

Violence believes in you, though
posted by thelonius at 1:10 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Oceans rise, empires falll, but I'm touched by how much love corb is getting here. Bravo, Metafilter. You're good people.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:11 AM on July 20, 2016 [12 favorites]


I know, I know, I forced the Hamilton reference there. See you all in the day 3 thread.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:16 AM on July 20, 2016


THEY ARE PLAYING SEX MACHINE NOW

James Brown was, for a while, famously Republican, outspokenly supporting Nixon.
posted by acb at 2:21 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Lots of comments about the Buckley quotes, and nobody notes Trump Jr. changed "What should be an elevator to the upper class..." to "Our schools used to be an elevator to the middle class."?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 3:30 AM on July 20, 2016 [29 favorites]


So you wonder if the campaign gave the speech writers half a day's notice to write these things. It seems in character with their standard operating procedure and it would explain why the writers felt the need to crip from other works.
posted by octothorpe at 4:38 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Even white supremacists are often well-meaning.

I strongly disagree.
posted by sallybrown at 5:14 AM on July 20, 2016 [33 favorites]


daveje: I've only really been following the Adventures of Corb in this thread, and admire the hell out of her for her bravery in going in there, and reporting back. But also saddened that she's talking about changing her party.

corb - if you ever get across the pond, Amsterdam is another place where you never need to buy your own drinks.


Seconded, on both the sentiments and the place.
posted by LanTao at 5:18 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think you meant "crib," Octothorpe, but in the case of this campaign I think your typo is spot-on. Don't edit it.
posted by Rykey at 5:19 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Turnitin: "... there is a one in one trillion chance that a sixteen-word phrase matches another phrase of the same length just by coincidence. As the number of words matching increase, the probability of a purely coincidental match goes down by orders of magnitude."
posted by octothorpe at 5:27 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


Oh, yes. "crib" not "crip".
posted by octothorpe at 5:28 AM on July 20, 2016


new coalition that returns conservatism to reason

The foundation of conservatism is reaction, not reason.

They want to go backward, not forward.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 5:28 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

Only a child or fool who doesn't realize how many people would suffer could think this.
posted by aught at 5:30 AM on July 20, 2016 [36 favorites]




Even white supremacists are often well-meaning.

I mean of course, in the universe of things they know, they are making the best decisions they can. That is not morally correct, that is simply human nature.

That they are so self-serving that they actively seek to not stop and think if maybe the constraints of their known reality prevent them from gaining information that will expand their understanding of the world is what makes them immoral.

Very few people don't mean well. Most people think god is on their side when there's a war. Everyone thinks they are the goodies. That is a low bar.

What we want is for people to recognize that the more privileged you are, the stronger your duty is to work hard at acquiring the mental scaffolding that allows you to understand the realities of those who were not as lucky.

Saying "they mean well" is just an argument from ignorance.
posted by Tarumba at 6:00 AM on July 20, 2016 [13 favorites]


Even white supremacists are often well-meaning.

Depends how low you define the bar.
posted by acb at 6:01 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Lots of comments about the Buckley quotes, and nobody notes Trump Jr. changed "What should be an elevator to the upper class..." to "Our schools used to be an elevator to the middle class."?Good catch.

I actually had several thoughts about that passage. First, that the Trump campaign is simply inuring us to the idea of plagiarism. We get plagiarism in speeches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and by Thursday when Trump speaks he will be able to crib from any speech he likes and the media will just roll their eyes and ignore it,

Second, by talking about the plagiarism we are not talking about the content, namely this idea that it is the schools who are to blame for the disappearance of the middle class, not the Republican agenda of funneling money to the 1% via tax cuts and incentives.

Finally the vilification of the public schools is the real message here because it paves the way for the replacement of government schools with private schools-- more ways that the Republicans shovel the money into the pockets of the rich. Think Trump University but for elementary schools. And not only does that mean busting the Teachers Union (with the end result being teachers sinking into the lower class) but it also means the private schools can ensure that the lower class youth remain dumb and uneducated with the classes in Republican Science (climate change, what climate change?) Republican History (white men are the only important guys in history) and Religion.

I had to turn off the computer and go watch West Wing when McConnell was speaking, I couldn't stand the torrent of lies and spin coming out of his mouth. Blaming the Democrats for not passing any bill for Zika funding was when I lost it.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:02 AM on July 20, 2016 [22 favorites]


The foundation of conservatism is reaction, not reason.

They want to go backward, not forward.


I understand where you're coming from, but I actually disagree. In many ways I (still) consider myself a conservative. I like tradition. I think it's important to maintain institutions that have stood the test of time, that have spoken to and served all kinds of human beings, not just the ones who happen to be 51% of the population of humans in my political unit at the beginning of the 21st century.

I think that liberals and leftists can often get ahead of themselves and can, with all good intentions, end up breaking shit that they didn't anticipate would break.

I also think that sometimes institutions and systems can get really fucked up, and it's important to recognize that sometimes you need radical change.

A healthy body politic needs people who will say "This is a problem that we need to fix now" and people who will say "Hang on, let's think about the possible outcomes here."

That's what the US doesn't have right now. Most of the sane people in both of those groups are in one party, and that party isn't really set up to have that conversation, as we saw so painfully over the multiple thousand-comment posts during the primaries.

Regardless of whether FPTP or STV or whatever is the "ideal democracy" (and conservatives' place in that argument should be to poke at the whole idea that there can be a platonic ideal without much reference to historical situatedness) -- you need a yin and a yang.
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:03 AM on July 20, 2016 [20 favorites]


Third Eye Blind was playing for charity, to boot! Never have I been more proud of my residual fondness for a '90s alt-rock band.
posted by nicebookrack at 6:03 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


I truly did not expect to wake up this morning and think "wow, Third Eye Blind are kind of awesome."
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:05 AM on July 20, 2016 [54 favorites]


Best revenge is your (charity) paper, 3EB!
posted by nicebookrack at 6:11 AM on July 20, 2016


I also think that sometimes institutions and systems can get really fucked up, and it's important to recognize that sometimes you need radical change.

It was only this year that I learned that the Progressive Movement was a reform movement from the right, not left, coopting much of the socialist left's reform impetus to reform the conservative establishment.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 6:15 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


> "First, that the Trump campaign is simply inuring us to the idea of plagiarism."

Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Trump knows what he's doing.

He doesn't not unknow inexactly what he's not not doing.
posted by kyrademon at 6:16 AM on July 20, 2016 [28 favorites]


I don't like Third Eye Blind's music, but now I like Third Eye Blind.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:31 AM on July 20, 2016 [13 favorites]


Trump does seem to be the incarnation of the theory of consciousness where actions happen first and motivations are filled in afterwards.
posted by Artw at 6:36 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]




Even white supremacists are often well-meaning.

I am so glad I finally read On Bullshit just before the election began, because its concluding lines are basically the one thing I would yell at every American through a megaphone these days.
The contemporary proliferation of bullshit also has deeper sources, in various forms of skepticism which deny that we can have any reliable access to an objective reality and which therefore reject the possibility of knowing how things truly are. These "anti-realist" doctrines undermine confidence in the value of disinterested efforts to determine what is true and what is false, and even in the intelligibility of the notion of objective inquiry. One response to this loss of confidence has been a retreat from the discipline required by dedication to the ideal of correctness to a quite different sort of discipline, which is imposed by pursuit of an alternative ideal of sincerity.􏰘􏰉 Rather than seeking primarily to arrive at accurate representations of a common world, the individual turns toward trying to provide honest representations of himself. Convinced that reality has no inherent nature, which he might hope to identify as the truth about things, he devotes himself to being true to his own nature. It is as though he decides that since it makes no sense to try to be true to the facts, he must therefore try instead to be true to himself.

But it is preposterous to imagine that we ourselves are determinate, and hence susceptible both to correct and to incorrect descriptions, while supposing that the ascription of determinacy to anything else has been exposed as a mistake. As conscious beings, we exist only in response to other things, and we cannot know ourselves at all without knowing them. Moreover, there is nothing in theory, and certainly nothing in experience, to support the extraordinary judgment that it is the truth about himself that is the easiest for a person to know. Facts about ourselves are not peculiarly solid and resistant to skeptical dissolution. Our natures are, indeed, elusively insubstantial—notoriously less stable and less inherent than the natures of other things. And insofar as this is the case, sincerity itself is bullshit.
tl;dr: "I meant well" is not an excuse for the real effect that your real actions have, in reality. And your intent doesn't fucking matter, just as promising yourself you'll work out doesn't make you fit.

(The counterpart takeaway is that it's maybe not worth it to attack people as if their intent mattered, and to focus on their actions. Sort of the "that's racist" versus "you're a racist" distinction—the former doesn't allow a person to entrench within their identity the way the latter does. That's a kind of mercy, I think.)

Anyway. Glad I read it. You should read it too.
posted by rorgy at 6:39 AM on July 20, 2016 [46 favorites]


Michael Kranish: Trump’s courtship of black voters hampered by decades of race controversies
The first front-page news story about Trump was a 1973 report about the federal government’s lawsuit against him and his father in a racial bias case. Trump denied discriminating against black housing applicants and settled the case without admitting guilt.

Several years later, after Trump had expanded his real estate empire by building casinos in Atlantic City, a former executive from his business accused him of making racist statements. John O’Donnell, who was president of the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and later wrote a memoir about his experience, said Trump blamed financial difficulties partly on African American accountants.

“I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza — black guys counting my money!” O’Donnell’s book quoted Trump as saying. “I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. Those are the kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else. . . . Besides that, I’ve got to tell you something else. I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is; I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”

O’Donnell said in an interview that he admonished Trump not to talk that way.

“You’re sitting there listening to him talk in stereotypes about black people being lazy and that it was a trait in his mind. And you just go, ‘Oh my God,’ ” O’Donnell said.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [29 favorites]


I think that liberals and leftists can often get ahead of themselves and can, with all good intentions, end up breaking shit that they didn't anticipate would break.

Among my techie friends, I am absolutely a conservative, in the sense that I'm cautious about fancy new things and wary of claims that some new breakthrough something-or-other is going to fix society forever. I'm also a conservative among my radical Marxist friends (who come in various flavors), all of whom have more faith in their chosen would-be panacea than I possibly could. Which isn't to say I don't love all their causes dearly—I just doubt there's as huge a difference between them and the cultural forces they believe themselves to be against as far as fundamental methods of behavior go. Which is to say: the ends don't always justify the means, and too often one rebellious generation becomes the one that oppresses the next.

I really wanted to be a conservative when I was younger. I resisted calling myself a liberal for a long time (and I still avoid it if I can). I'd love for the Overton Window to get pushed far enough left that I could be the grouchy old man in whatever radical, ultra-equal, ultra-loving society emerges.

For now I take refuge in being meta-grouchy, i.e. grouchy about the fact that I don't get to be a conservative grouch. One day... one day.
posted by rorgy at 6:47 AM on July 20, 2016 [14 favorites]


I also think that sometimes institutions and systems can get really fucked up, and it's important to recognize that sometimes you need radical change.

That's exactly my fear about the idea of firing all of the civil servants and replacing them with sycophants and cronies. I fear this would be a way to make the Federal Government appear so small you can drown it in a bathtub so inept there will public outcry to abolish it. Think what havoc Donald Trump, Jr. could do if he and his friends took over the administration of the Federal Bureau of Land Management. They could issue so many hunting permits that the Bison go extinct. They could cover Mt. Rushmore with advertisement. They could charge so much admission that only the wealthiest could watch Old Faithful erupt. They could stop monitoring the plague so that it is allowed to spread through the wildlife and start affecting humans. And when the public gets outraged, the Republicans can just say, "Told you. Public land is better left to state control."
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:48 AM on July 20, 2016 [16 favorites]


So now gawker has noticed that the Chris Cox listed in the program was not the Chris Cox who they actually invited, helping to explain why the gun guy was featured on jobs night.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:51 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


That's exactly my fear about the idea of firing all of the civil servants and replacing them with sycophants and cronies.

Absolutely. But that isn't remotely a conservative idea. That modern "conservatism" is actually exceedingly radical makes these conversations very hard to have in good faith. Ryan and McConnell, not to mention Trump, are about as conservative as a hurricane.
posted by OmieWise at 6:52 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]




Jared Yates Sexton: This convention is like the night where you take your buddy out for beers after a breakup and neither of you want to be there.

His whole feed is good, but I absolutely LOVE descriptions that are as apt as this one is, and resonate so strongly with known but usually poorly expressed emotions.
posted by OmieWise at 6:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [9 favorites]




This Year’s RNC Has the Lowest Share of Black Delegates at Any GOP Convention in a Century
At last official count, there were expected to be a total of 18 black delegates at the Republican National Convention this week. Yes, eighteen, or roughly 0.7 percent of the 2,472 national delegates in Cleveland.

The fact that black Republicans weren’t scrambling to get a front-row seat to watch their party nominate Donald J. Trump for president isn’t a shock. This is a man, after all, who tweets out bogus claims about black-on-black violence and tries to rile up overwhelmingly white crowds with us-versus-them talking points. Still, a little context is in order. This year’s share of black delegates is the lowest one at a Republican national convention in more than a century. Yes, century.
Los Angeles Times: Second night of RNC is fueled by festering personal rage with the subtext 'We Hate Hillary Clinton'
Often accompanied, at least on CNN, by screen crawls detailing their previous denouncements of Trump, few could bring themselves to actually praise Caesar.

But they were all happy to bury Clinton.

Indeed, with very few exceptions, Donald Trump spent much of the evening as He Who Must Not Be Named.

In a moment out of Orwell or Oz, Trump himself did appear, beamed onto the enormous screen behind the main podium so he could accept the official nomination. But among the endless parade of speakers addressing the crowds at Quicken Loans arena, he was rarely the topic of conversation. They were all too busy inciting the convention’s predictable anti-Clinton sentiment to Roman amphitheater-like intensity.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


So now gawker has noticed that the Chris Cox listed in the program was not the Chris Cox who they actually invited

Like I said last night, amateur hour.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I imagine most White Nationalists are capable of comporting themselves with a degree of dignity in social situations, I imagine that they are capable of loving their families, I imagine that they are concerned about various economic and social issues much like other Americans.

However they also view members of minority groups as being inherently inferior and less deserving of dignity and respect.

They want anyone who is not White to either return to their country of origin or quit reproducing and die out. Any interracial relationships are described a "cuckolding" which seems to combine both racism and sexism because apparently white women can't resist themselves and need to be protected by the white men.

It's an awful awful world view that I'm past trying to understand. I know a lot of liberals are still stuck in the respectibility politics where we have to be tolerant of intolerance because it's not their fault that they are [whatever]ist as fuck.

I'm sorry that's just a logical trap, being intolerant of intolerance does not make you intolerant or a bad person.
posted by vuron at 6:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [14 favorites]


Michael Kranish: Trump’s courtship of black voters hampered by decades of race controversies

Racism is not a "controversy."
posted by dersins at 7:00 AM on July 20, 2016 [30 favorites]


I think the controversy, such as it is, is whether the GOP is constitutionally racist and if so how much, not whether racism is anything other than repugnant atavism.
posted by Devonian at 7:04 AM on July 20, 2016


I'd also like to add my voice to those expressing their admiration and respect for corb, and also to mention that I've sent the Great Eagles to pick her and her friends up from the slopes of Mount Doom. Probably a good idea if she finds a rocky outcropping to perch upon in the meantime.
posted by um at 7:07 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


RNC delegate heckles ‘American Muslims for Trump’ founder with shouts of ‘No Islam!’ during prayer
Tapped to lead one of the RNC’s many moments of prayer, Tarar was there to show the Republicans, and the world, that despite his onetime promise to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, Donald Trump still had supporters within the Muslim community. It was a message, however, that at least one convention attendee was entirely unwilling to entertain.

While Tarar lead the hall in a prayer “for a strong America, for a safe America,” which asked God “to make us strong to fight terrorism all over the world,” an as-of-yet unidentified delegate reportedly screamed “No Islam!”…to the apparent chagrin of those nearby.
Who didn't see that coming?

Wait, Was Dana White’s RNC Speech Was Repayment For Hosting UFC 28?
Judging by his comments on the race back in September, White doesn’t seem to think very highly of what Trump brings to the table, saying, “I’m not too thrilled with any of the options right now.” [snip]

I’m not saying Dana White isn’t a conservative — presidents of multi-billion dollar corporations usually are — I’m just saying that he’s DEFINITELY aware of Donald Trump’s malignant shortcomings and willing to look past them because of some obligation to Trump, who hosted UFC 28 in 2000 at his now bankrupt Tal Mahal Atlantic City casino (a dramatic step up from the backwater fairgrounds the previous 27 had been booked at).

But ya, he’s gonna make a great President because he once made money on cage fighting. Duly noted.
I'm waiting for the Winery Lady to be interviewed and tell everyone, "Yeah, he is my boss what do you expect? You want me to bad mouth the guy?"
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:08 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Waking up still with the bad feeling that Trump is going to get elected. The convention did not actually implode (and it looks like it won't) and that's maybe enough? Clinton's a pretty bad candidate, and conservatives may be disgusted with their nominee now, but they will come back.
posted by nom de poop at 7:09 AM on July 20, 2016


NPR was very upbeat about how yesterday just seemed like a regular convention after the first day of fouling up.

Is this the year I stop contributing? (Like, surely this?)
posted by allthinky at 7:10 AM on July 20, 2016 [8 favorites]


Clinton's a pretty bad candidate

Leaving aside the polling and everything else that suggests that Clinton is really the favorite here, I disagree that she's a bad candidate. I think she's a great candidate. But that doesn't really matter. What matters is what you think will motivate Republicans to vote for Trump that won't motivate Democrats to vote for Clinton? I mean, if Trump scares you because he'll get out R voters because his name has an R after it, why won't Clinton do the same for D voters?

This is a serious question. I'm confused.
posted by OmieWise at 7:12 AM on July 20, 2016 [24 favorites]


NPR was very upbeat about how yesterday just seemed like a regular convention after the first day of fouling up.

Is this the year I stop contributing? (Like, surely this?)


I stopped donating when the bulk of their coverage during the 2008 financial crisis was embarrassingly fawning pro-bank propaganda. Join the club of mug-less, tote-less people!
posted by winna at 7:18 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


Clinton's a pretty bad candidate

I have not always been HRC's biggest fan (oh, 2008, what a time it was), but there is no sane metric by which this could possibly be true. She is an extraordinarily qualified candidate. Sometimes she isn't as appealing or relatable as some other politicians have been, but as is so painfully obvious, the country could do a LOT worse. Think back to how she handled herself in the congressional hearings on Benghazi in the face of absolutely absurd partisan grandstanding. Now put that on a stage next to Donald Trump in a debate setting. Is there any circumstance in which she doesn't make him look totally out of his depth?
posted by wabbittwax at 7:20 AM on July 20, 2016 [48 favorites]


Jezebel has their own take on the anti-Hillary merchandise for sale at the RNC. Lots of the same old stuff but a couple that were new to me (something about her falling off the back of Trump's motorcycle.) After saying the black vendors didn't want to talk politics, they just wanted "to do their job," the white vendors were happy to talk about their political views
“I don’t know about calling women bitches,” I told him cheerily, snapping the photo.

“This one it’s all right,” he reassured me. “She’s done more dirty than any normal woman.”

“OK!” I said, taking my leave.

“Sorry!” he shouted after me, in a segue I didn’t quite understand. “Done slammed my peter in the car door one too many times!”
Which I take to mean the women in his life are none too crazy about his views?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:21 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


For now I take refuge in being meta-grouchy

Metafilter -- Decision 2016: take refuge in being meta-grouchy
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:21 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


I stopped donating when the bulk of their coverage during the 2008 financial crisis was embarrassingly fawning pro-bank propaganda. Join the club of mug-less, tote-less people!

If you want progressive reporting, listen to Democracy Now. If you want reporters who are basically Obama liberals (i.e., fawning pro-bank propagandists, status-quo warriors) then NPR gives you that in a very palatable format. It's the New York Times of radio.
posted by dis_integration at 7:22 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Secret Life of Gravy: This Year’s RNC Has the Lowest Share of Black Delegates at Any GOP Convention in a Century . . . there were expected to be a total of eighteen, or roughly 0.7 percent of the 2,472 national delegates in Cleveland.

Welcome to Ohio, Republicans.*
Welcome to Cleveland.**

--------------------------------------------------------------
* Trump polling at 0%, -/-3 among black Ohioans
** 2010 Census: 53.3% 'black', 37.3% 'white'
posted by Herodios at 7:23 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Jeet Heer: The GOP Will Be the Party of Trump for a Long Time
The Trumpification of the GOP could be heard in the voices of the delegates as they not just enthusiastically nominated Trump, but echoed his rhetoric about “Making America Great Again” and “Crooked Hillary.” Trumpification can be found in party stalwarts such as RNC Co-Chair Sharon Day, who said of Hillary Clinton on Tuesday: “As first lady, you viciously attacked the character of women who were abused at the hands of your husband.” Arguing that Bill Clinton is a rapist is common among Trumpian agitators like Roger Stone and Alex Jones, but now it’s become the official doctrine of party officials. And it was a Trumpified political party that kept yelling “lock her up” as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie assumed the role of a prosecutor laying down the case against Clinton.

Trump likes to claim that his campaign isn’t just about himself, but is now a “movement” beyond his control. This is accurate. While Trump has displayed remarkable political instincts in figuring out what GOP voters wanted in their heart of hearts, he hasn’t created those voters. To borrow a distinction from the philosopher Sidney Hook, Trump is not an event-making man so much as an eventful one: a man who caught the rising tide of a moment.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:23 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I still can't get over the pregnant woman at the convention with corb being threatened with hanging. I just can't even.
posted by cooker girl at 7:24 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


Re "meaning well": Meaning well towards the people who closely share your genetic material (i.e. your family) is pretty much the lowest bar one could ever set for human behavior. The fact that some people can't even manage that much does not make this standard any higher.

So yeah, once again, I am not enjoying this meme that I am obligated to be understanding and magnanimous towards open racists, misogynists, homophobes and xenophobes. Maybe when they're not perilously close to giving leadership of the country to a fascist, we'll talk. Until then? I'm not really interested in coddling your white supremacist asses.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:25 AM on July 20, 2016 [20 favorites]


NPR was very upbeat about how yesterday just seemed like a regular convention after the first day of fouling up.

Is this the year I stop contributing? (Like, surely this?)


I unprogrammed my NPR car radio button yesterday. Their coverage is shamefully uncritical and it seems to be only getting worse. I don't know that I'd even call it journalism anymore.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:26 AM on July 20, 2016 [9 favorites]




The RNC’s “Make America Work Again” Evening Had No Plans to Make America Work Again
No jobs plans, little economic policy at a night devoted to jobs and the economy.
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said that Donald Trump "supports businesses of all sizes" and "make it possible for them to grow and succeed," but had no evidence for this assertion. His idea, basically, was that Donald Trump likes businesses. That…is not a plan. [snip]

Rutledge was followed by former U.S. Attorney General who laid out a not-particularly-exciting but essentially accurate case against Hillary Clinton focused, again, on her email use. Regardless of the merits—and I think the merits of the case against Clinton are indeed quite strong—this seemed beside the point: Unless the GOP's jobs plan is built around creating work for a fairly small number of political hacks and lawyers, this is not going to make America work again.

After Rutledge, a waterproofing company owner and Donald Trump supporter from Brooklyn named Andy Wist spoke. He explained that actor Adam West, and not he, was Batman. Also, he liked Trump. That's pretty much it.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:27 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


If you want progressive reporting, listen to Democracy Now

I have a lot of respect for Amy Goodman individually, but it's silly to suggest that Radio Pacifica is any less ideologically slavish than the NYT. It's progressivism is only slightly more up to date than Worker's World.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:31 AM on July 20, 2016 [8 favorites]


If you want progressive reporting, listen to Democracy Now. If you want reporters who are basically Obama liberals (i.e., fawning pro-bank propagandists, status-quo warriors) then NPR gives you that in a very palatable format. It's the New York Times of radio.

I'd also add Citizen Radio and Radio Dispatch to that pile. Those are progressive podcasts who are also talking about this garbage fire. (Citizen Radio also does a lot of mental health stuff, as well as some jokes throw in for good measure.) Basically, US TV "news" outlets are a damn joke as are most of the newspapers. Mainstream media has gotten so terrible.
posted by Kitteh at 7:32 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]




“She’s got mama’s legs,” Trump told a TV interviewer of infant Tiffany in 1994. “We don’t know whether or not she’s got this part yet,” he added, cupping imaginary breasts, “but time will tell.”

It continues to astonish me that the gross, creepy and disgusting things he says about his daughters don't horrify Republican "values" voters.

This was said when she was an infant. Repulsive.
posted by zarq at 7:34 AM on July 20, 2016 [45 favorites]


Done slammed my peter in the car door

who even calls it that anymore
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:34 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


Waking up still with the bad feeling that Trump is going to get elected. The convention did not actually implode (and it looks like it won't) and that's maybe enough? Clinton's a pretty bad candidate, and conservatives may be disgusted with their nominee now, but they will come back.

Trump needs more than just conservatives to win. Take a deep breath.

Start with the 270 to Win 2016 Tossup Map. Figure that it will take a landslide of ridiculous proportions to budge any of those states that are currently colored in, in which case we will know just how fucked we are long before it happens.

Take every toss-up state that was within 5% of going to Romney in 2012 -- Florida, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina -- and give them all to Trump. Paint the others Clinton blue.

Feel any better?

A Trump victory CAN HAPPEN. This is not a victory lap a full quarter out from November. But this is a very good starting point for Team Mystic.
posted by delfin at 7:36 AM on July 20, 2016 [9 favorites]


I imagine most White Nationalists are capable of comporting themselves with a degree of dignity in social situations, I imagine that they are capable of loving their families

I imagine that, in many cases, the love that authoritarian conservatives (which would include white nationalists) have for their kin would be contingent upon the family members knowing their place. They love their wives as subservient chattels, and their love for a child would probably end if the child announced that they were gay, became politically liberal, or paired up with someone outside of their race.
posted by acb at 7:37 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


Playing a show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a crowd of Republican convention-goers the night Trump was confirmed as the GOP nominee could have been the least rock-and-roll gig of all time. Well played, Third Eye Blind.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:38 AM on July 20, 2016 [8 favorites]


Done slammed my peter in the car door

who even calls it that anymore


I know, I've called it the car wing ever since we got our long promised flying cars.
posted by OmieWise at 7:39 AM on July 20, 2016 [16 favorites]


Vox: The Republicans waged a 3-decade war on government. They got Trump., Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


by Thursday when Trump speaks he will be able to crib from any speech he likes and the media will just roll their eyes and ignore it

Trump will channel 1968 Nixon in speech:
Previewing the most anticipated speech of the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump's campaign chairman said Monday the presumptive GOP nominee will model his convention speech after that of Richard Nixon's in 1968 [transcript].
posted by kirkaracha at 7:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Speaking today: Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz, Eric Trump, Scott Walker, Laura Ingraham, Pam Bondi, and Marco Rubio via video.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


> It continues to astonish me that the gross, creepy and disgusting things he says about his daughters don't horrify Republican "values" voters.

Trump has proven that none of that shit actually matters to a lot of those voters as long as he hates the same people they hate.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [23 favorites]


From the NY Times link about picking the VP
according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?

When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.

Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?

“Making America great again” was the casual reply.
Jesus wept.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:42 AM on July 20, 2016 [60 favorites]


I listened to the most recent of Slate's Trumpcasts ( A Delegate From Carl Paladino’s Naughty List) and a delegate from Utah is describing a scene much the way corb does. She is a #nevertrump and has felt harassed and been threatened.

I can't watch it on TV. I had NPR on last night but turned it waaayy down for Christie's witchhunt chant and couldn't bring myself to reengage. It's all just awful.

Thank you to those who have the stomach to watch and report and a special thanks for corb for living thru it.
posted by readery at 7:43 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


We're doomed.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:43 AM on July 20, 2016


I owe you a Coke.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:43 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Marco Rubio via video

"Hey, sorry, there's something wrong with this Skype thing"

/hairdryer

"Oops, sorry, we're going into a tunnel for the next six hours. Try again in 2020?"
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:43 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


Diet Coke please
posted by wabbittwax at 7:44 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have a lot of respect for Amy Goodman individually, but it's silly to suggest that Radio Pacifica is any less ideologically slavish than the NYT. It's progressivism is only slightly more up to date than Worker's World.

Who suggested that Radio Pacifica wasn't ideologically slavish? dis_integration only wrote that Democracy Now! reported news from a progressive point of view, which it does. It's a surprisingly rare perspective, but that rarity makes sense when you consider that the Democratic Party, its membership, and the news outlets which serve them are mostly moderate rather than liberal.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:44 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann

the 2012 winners, I believe, of the Cassandra Award for Unfortunately Ignored Political Commentators
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:45 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


His whole feed is good, but I absolutely LOVE descriptions that are as apt as this one is, and resonate so strongly with known but usually poorly expressed emotions.

I keep thinking of “very much like the bizarre euphoria at the end of an hour of vomiting”
posted by acb at 7:45 AM on July 20, 2016 [9 favorites]


Who suggested that Radio Pacifica wasn't ideologically slavish? dis_integration only wrote that Democracy Now! reported news from a progressive point of view, which it does. It's a surprisingly rare perspective, but it makes sense when you consider that the Democratic Party, its membership, and the news outlets which serve them are mostly moderate rather than liberal.

I suppose I agree, strictly literally. That wasn't really the drift of dis_integration's comment as I took it though. I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't consider either to be less 'propangandist' than the other even if I, too, prefer Democracy Now's propaganda. For the most part.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:48 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Speaking today: Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz, Eric Trump, Scott Walker, Laura Ingraham, Pam Bondi, and Marco Rubio via video.

in a surprise twist, it is not the VP nom, former Speaker of the House, etc., etc., but people who share the same name but are otherwise unrelated
posted by indubitable at 7:50 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


...When [Michelle]Obama stepped to the podium in 2008, her speech was not only a referendum on her husband's fitness for the presidency, but on her fitness for the position of first lady. Trump labored under no such pressure Monday night. Yes, the wives of powerful men are always under extreme scrutiny about their dress, comportment, intelligence, and performance of femininity. [Melania] Trump is no exception. She has and will face sexism. But even the brouhaha over exposure of her nude photo shoot in British GQ has fallen out of the news cycle. Trump did not have to prove the worthiness of white women to be granted the status of ladyhood, in the same way that Obama had to do as a representative black woman in 2008.

...Instead, Melania Trump or her speechwriters chose to plagiarize several lines of text from Obama's 2008 speech. After a journalist exposed the plagiarism on Twitter, the Trump campaign vehemently denied that use of direct quotations from Obama's speech constitutes plagiarism.

...Paul Manafort, the head of the Trump campaign, argued that this is all an elaborate ruse by the Clinton campaign. "This is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, how she seeks out to demean her and take her down," Manafort claimed.

Clinton has nothing to do with Trump's choice to steal Obama's words. And it is an insult to every thinking American to suggest otherwise. I am a college professor. I have had students plagiarize material. And those students have received severe consequences for plagiarizing far fewer words than Trump has done.
The Response to Melania Trump's Plagiarism Is an Example of White Privilege
posted by y2karl at 7:50 AM on July 20, 2016 [22 favorites]


nom de poop: Waking up still with the bad feeling that Trump is going to get elected. The convention did not actually implode (and it looks like it won't) and that's maybe enough?

A suggestion: watch the convention on PBS.

On the first night of the convention, producers at MSNBC, FOX and CNN obviously noticed that when they panned the crowd, people rarely seemed excited. So now most of the crowd shots you see on those networks are tighter and of just a few people at a time. The exceptions have been during speeches deliberately intended to rouse the crowd: Giuliani. Christie. Clarke. Il Piccolo Fascista (Giuliani) screamed at the crowd for half an hour and riled them up into cheers. Christie's mock trial/stakeburning featured call and response with the same intent. And Clarke praised police officers while dismissing Black Lives Matter, so that was red meat for the convention delegates and attendees.

Watch PBS though, and they're still doing big pans of the crowd, who have seemed lackluster. People are on their phones, looking bored in their seats and not paying attention. Very few journalists are commenting on it though.

The RNC is attended by the Republicans hardcore base. It should be a fawning, riotously happy crowd, but many of 'em seem kinda meh.
posted by zarq at 7:51 AM on July 20, 2016 [24 favorites]


in a surprise twist, it is not the VP nom, former Speaker of the House, etc., etc., but people who share the same name but are otherwise unrelated

Not that it matters, because they'll all be preempted by Trump, delivering remarks via a Skype call from his bathtub.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:52 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Are the FEC's reports on June fundraising numbers coming out today, or later this week?
posted by yasaman at 7:55 AM on July 20, 2016


in a surprise twist, it is not the VP nom, former Speaker of the House, etc., etc., but people who share the same name but are otherwise unrelated

On that note, Did the GOP Invite the Wrong Chris Cox to Their Convention?
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I suppose I agree, strictly literally. That wasn't really the drift of dis_integration's comment as I took it though. I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't consider either to be less 'propangandist' than the other even if I, too, prefer Democracy Now's propaganda. For the most part.

Fair enough. Different news outlets adopt different editorial lines. Some of them state their biases. Others don't. You can't rely on just one source for your news and analysis.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:59 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.

So Pence is the real candidate? The man who can't tell the difference between an abortion and a miscarriage?
posted by dnash at 8:00 AM on July 20, 2016 [15 favorites]


Politico: Donald Trump Is Shocking, Vulgar and Right - "And, my dear fellow Republicans, he's all your fault." Tucker Carlson, 28 JAN 2016

The Telegraph: Donald Trump is the nominee. The Republicans have nominated the Bluth family, Tim Stanley

Praxis: The Republican Industrial Complex Has Turned Missteps Into Millions, Matthew Sheffield
The corruption and incompetence that are pervasive throughout all wings of the American Right is something that receives almost no attention whatsoever from conservative media figures. Besides Erickson, it seems to be something that is ‘just not done.’

Given how enmeshed many corrupt Republican consultants are within the party’s more centrist ranks, it’s not exactly a surprise that moderate conservative writers haven’t criticized them much. Strangely, however, the more fire-breathing columnists have not been too interested, either. Besides generic condemnations against “The Establishment,” only columnist Ann Coulter has ever really gone after the many consultants who are terrible at doing their jobs but terrific at keeping them.

That is terribly unfortunate because the reality is that there are scores of Republican campaign consultants and candidates who are serial failures and yet somehow manage to keep getting hired.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:00 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Not that it matters, because they'll all be preempted by Trump, delivering remarks via a Skype call from his bathtub.

This was the most amazing part to me about last night. Trump showed up in Cleveland Monday to do a WWF walkon, and then flew back to Manhattan even though he'd have to fly right back in a few days. I mean, I know the Cleve isn't that great, but they have nice hotels everywhere. Way to let Ohio know you think they're a great state totally worthy of your time, Donald.
posted by dis_integration at 8:12 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.

Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?

“Making America great again” was the casual reply.


Trump isn't running for President of the United States. He is running for President of the Galaxy.
posted by delfin at 8:12 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]




I shared my disgust with NPR on Facebook yesterday and was promptly treated to a rousing defense of their fairness. Said defender told me I should be glad they don't "editorialize" or mix opinion with reporting like other outlets. This was, naturally, a Republican, though a couple of liberal-minded friends agreed.

I suppose sharing my reaction would be editorializing.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 8:15 AM on July 20, 2016


Trump is more like a mayor than a president - a terrible, corrupt populist mayor that everyone knows is bent and venal, who doesn't bother to hide it, but people vote for because that's what mayors are, and everyone enjoys it when they get caught but won't lift a finger to make it happen.

I don't truly understand how such people get and keep power, but they do. I think that if I understood that better, I'd understand Trump's appeal, but it's so far from any mindset I'm capable of forming I have better luck empathising with the life cycle of slime molds.
posted by Devonian at 8:16 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Melania Trump is, of course, a native of Slovenia -- a connection she shares with between 80,000 and 100,000 Clevelanders -- the largest Slovenian population outside of Slovenia itself.

WCPN, the local NPR station continues* to broadcast a Slovenian Hour once a week with news, talk, and music presented in Slovenian. (There are similar programs in Ukranian, German, Polish, Hungarian, and Slovak.)

The local Slovenian consul general is the only foreign diplomat in the state of Ohio.

Melania Trump holds special resonance for Cleveland's Slovene Community (NPR audio and transcript)

Melania Trump gets a little love -- but not a lot -- from Cleveland Slovenians after RNC gaffe (Cleveland.com)

Slovenians in Cleveland react to Melania (NYT Video)
We'd like her to come arond so we get to know her; and for her to know us and how we try to preserve the culture.

We would love to have her at the Slovenian Museum and Archives to see what we do to try to get people from America here in touch with their families back in Slovenia.

At least say one word in Slovenian. At least, "hvala" -- That's "thank you".
-----------------------------
* They took over this duty from WZAK, which used to be the Pan - Eastern European "ethnic" programming station. It went "urban contemporary" around 1980. WCPN went on the air about the same time.
posted by Herodios at 8:18 AM on July 20, 2016 [13 favorites]






Anyway, I don't think I'm watching any more of this horror show. At least not today. I'm not even sure why they need two more nights of it at this point?
posted by dnash at 8:24 AM on July 20, 2016


BREAKING NEWS: Axe Cop names Mr. Hankey as running mate.
posted by y2karl at 8:27 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm not even sure why they need two more nights of it at this point?
It's free airtime, the kind Drumpf loves (although a little less than the airtime NBC PAID HIM for on The Apprentice, complete with 'Reality TV' producers making him look good)
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:28 AM on July 20, 2016


I truly did not expect to wake up this morning and think "wow, Third Eye Blind are kind of awesome."

Nor did I. But that's some brass balls: "A video shared on Twitter shows the band getting booed, followed by singer Stephen Jenkins replying, “You can boo all you want but I’m the motherfucking artist up here.”
One woman told the band on Twitter that she has “never been more disappointed.”

From their official Twitter account, Third Eye Blind responded, “good.”
posted by octobersurprise at 8:28 AM on July 20, 2016 [43 favorites]


Devonian: I don't truly understand how such people get and keep power, but they do. I think that if I understood that better, I'd understand Trump's appeal, but it's so far from any mindset I'm capable of forming I have better luck empathising with the life cycle of slime molds.

You might look at the work of the great American sociologist, C. Wright Mills. In "The Conservative Mood" he dissects all the pathologies that give rise to figures like Trump. Here is one nugget:
[A]longside the very rich, and supplanting them as popular models, are the synthetic celebrities of national glamor who often make a virtue out of cultural poverty and political illiteracy. By their very nature they are transient figures of the mass means of distraction rather than sources of authority and anchors of traditional continuity.
Wright also sees the problems in the opponents of conservatism: feckless liberals and dispirited radicals. There is much in his work that accurately diagnoses the persistent pathologies of American politics. Any real therapy has to take him into account.
posted by No Robots at 8:28 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


Trump showed up in Cleveland Monday to do a WWF walkon, and then flew back to Manhattan even though he'd have to fly right back in a few days.

Increasingly, as I think about this, Trump reminds me of Howard Hughes in his insistence on spending as much time as possible inside a chain of comfortable and secure nests he's built for himself. He also, pretty famously, doesn't like to shake hands.

Really makes me wonder if he has a very serious phobia.
posted by anastasiav at 8:29 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


Trump is more like a mayor than a president - a terrible, corrupt populist mayor that everyone knows is bent and venal, who doesn't bother to hide it, but people vote for because that's what mayors are, and everyone enjoys it when they get caught but won't lift a finger to make it happen... I don't truly understand how such people get and keep power, but they do.

I wonder whether, in a polarising culture war, the corruption can't sometimes be an advantage. (i.e., You know this guy's a crook who doesn't care about the rules, but you also know he's on your side, and against the liberals/elites/foreigners. Would you rather have someone who played by the rules and pulled his punches? The enemy, after all, is evil and won't pull their punches.) I suspect that's what worked for Rob Ford, for example.
posted by acb at 8:34 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


I'm the guy who thought "Drumpf" was a good insult and still thinks so today. I'm gonna read ALL the epic eviscerations on Salon after writing this comment.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


"I'm the guy who thought "Drumpf" was a good insult and still thinks so today."

Because making fun of people's names is so hilarious, right?
posted by I-baLL at 8:37 AM on July 20, 2016 [10 favorites]


No Robots - thanks. I like the narrative of diagnosis and treatment, it reframes the way I feel about current politics from a medieval awe and fear of unknowable forces visiting uncontrollable havoc to a modern approach of empiricism, analysis and synthesis.

In which I believe, to the bottom of my soul. I must remind myself of that more often, and I shall read your recommendation with considerable interest.
posted by Devonian at 8:38 AM on July 20, 2016


Because making fun of people's names is so hilarious, right?

Yes. It's extremely ftw and Viral
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]



Because making fun of people's names is so hilarious, right?


Hill-arious, surely?
posted by Devonian at 8:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Growing up with a last name that rhymes with Hitler and being reminded of it by every bully, I learned to be a LOT more humble from the experience and think Dishonest Don and his ilk need a lot more name-based ridicule.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:41 AM on July 20, 2016


That modern "conservatism" is actually exceedingly radical makes these conversations very hard to have in good faith.

The word means, at this point, the radical movement that some wish to distinguish from a past era of "real" conservatism. The old meaning of the word has been effaced, and it's a kind of genetic fallacy to insist that it really means something that it used to mean. If someone tells me they are a conservative, I'm not thinking, well, maybe Bismark had a point, you know? I'm wondering which of my neighbors they intend to deport.
posted by thelonius at 8:41 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


For temporary relief from RNC Outrage, if you use the Chrome browser, I highly recommend getting the MeFi Project's Own "Fuck Shit Up" extension which, when clicked, adds many, many "fucks" to the text on your current webpage. I find the giggling fits it inspires helpful.

Example:

When Kasich’s fucking adviser asked how this would be the case, Fucking Donald Jr. explained that his fucking father’s vice fucking president would be in fucking charge of fucking domestic and foreign policy.

The fuck Then what, the adviser fucking asked, would Trump fucking be in charge of?

“Making America fucking great again” was the casual reply.

posted by papercake at 8:42 AM on July 20, 2016 [17 favorites]


These threads have become so long that the The Drumpfinator plugin (link to Chrome version) doesn't work anymore.
posted by mfu at 8:42 AM on July 20, 2016


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down. some days i wonder if he isn't on to something.

Anyone who even remotely subscribes to the theory that we should just burn it all down and build it back up is, at best, suffering from a massive weight of unconsidered privilege. It's easy to say stupid shit like that when you're pretty sure the ones suffering during the conflagration won't be you and your family.
posted by tocts at 8:44 AM on July 20, 2016 [33 favorites]


Growing up with a last name that rhymes with Hitler and being reminded of it by every bully, I learned to be a LOT more humble from the experience and think Dishonest Don and his ilk need a lot more name-based ridicule.

If only they had called him Adolf Twitler ... too much Win for one Internet to hold, methinks
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:46 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Because making fun of people's names is so hilarious, right?

He's been a punch line for decades, even if making fun of his name is low-hanging fruit.

This aired 18 years ago.
posted by zarq at 8:46 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins

No, you don't.
posted by beerperson at 8:49 AM on July 20, 2016 [85 favorites]


I highly recommend getting the MeFi Project's Own "Fuck Shit Up" extension which, when clicked, adds many, many "fucks" to the text on your current webpage.

That would have been the My Dad extension, had I invented it.
posted by y2karl at 8:50 AM on July 20, 2016


From the article that The Card Cheat posted on Tiffany Trump's speech: "It was almost too easy to psychoanalyze —to see a young woman eager for the attention and approval of a father she barely knows. Alas, Donald wasn’t in Cleveland to watch his daughter’s big debut. He had flown back to New York for the night."

Damn. Goddamn. I have a thing about parents ignoring their kids, and that triggered it.
posted by clawsoon at 8:53 AM on July 20, 2016 [46 favorites]


jinx, clawsoon; I was about to post the exact same clipping. Way too sad :( She even said in the speech that she had never really done anything that big before. Why would her father not want to be there to see it?? And give her a hug afterwards???!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:54 AM on July 20, 2016 [20 favorites]


Watch PBS though, and they're still doing big pans of the crowd, who have seemed lackluster. People are on their phones, looking bored in their seats and not paying attention.

The devil's advocate part of my compels me to ask if this might just normally be the case at a national convention between big speakers?

It's not something I really follow so I can't say what those shots would have looked like at RNCs past.
posted by VTX at 8:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


"He's been a punch line for decades, even if making fun of his name is low-hanging fruit. "

You're not making fun of him by calling him Drumpf. You're making fun of people with the last name of Drumpf by associating it with him. There's a lot of things to make fun of about Trump. Making fun of him by calling him by the last name of his ancestors makes no sense to me.
posted by I-baLL at 8:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


oh god i'm so tired already of pointing people to unbiased news about hillary and trying to convince people that the reason they don't she's trustworthy is because the GOP has been smearing her character for 25 fucking years AND IT'S ONLY JULY.
posted by cooker girl at 8:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [18 favorites]


Why would her father not want to be there to see it?

The best you can hope for from Trump with regards to respect is that he doesn't spend the time counter-programming you by calling into other shows while you speak. His actual attention isn't available for anyone but himself.
posted by phearlez at 8:56 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Mod note: Y'all maybe just search the site for "Drumpf" and go re-read the thrilling previous iterations of this argument instead of cosplaying it again in here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [38 favorites]


> I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins

I used to think this way too, until I thought about what kinds of people most suffer when "the world burns" and, spoilies, it's not the people you hope it would be.
posted by Tevin at 8:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


"I highly recommend getting the MeFi Project's Own "Fuck Shit Up" extension..."

Is there an extension that replaces "party of Lincoln", "Republican party", "GOP" and their variants with "party of Trump"? That'd be the schaedenfreudiest.
posted by klarck at 8:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Btw, will there going to be a Day 3 thread or is this it?

EDIT: Or should I ask this in the MetaTalk thread?
posted by I-baLL at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I can think of two mindsets that would lead to rooting for Trump. I'm not saying they're good mindsets, but I think they are real and they're out there.

1) It would be fun. Think how crazy it would be. He'd kick ass in Washington. It's not like the place can get worse, right? Sure, he's an asshole, but he's the kind of asshole we need. Getting to hear someone say crazy shit and not care about all the boo-hoo, you're not allowed to say that — wouldn't it be a blast? It would be like clearing the sinuses on Washington, put the whole thing on a level people can get excited about, not a bunch of bullshit.

2) This is a dark, scary world and we need a strongman. We can't mess around with weakling Democrats or we'll be wiped off the map.

Notice that #1 is basically lighthearted. It involves taking a risk, a what-the-hell kind of attitude. #2 is dark and fearful. Also notice #1 is kind of party-independent, but #2 is pure GOP partisanship.

They're incompatible. And, for my money, Trump stands a better chance of winning with #1. People will vote for him because Hillary is boring. She reminds them of the bureaucrats who run meetings and blah blah. She's like the person from corporate running the mandatory sensitivity training session (again, this is not my view, but it's my best guess about others).

The RNC, so far, has gone in for a weird mix of #2: The Terrifying and some version of "my dad is really a kind guy." No one is falling for that. Even people who are voting for him think Donald Trump is an asshole. That's what they dig about him.

But the more you terrify voters the more they'll want to go with what they know, and the fun of voting for a novelty act seems less appealing. If the RNC were being run right, it would be a crazy carnival, transgressive, kind of nuts but very entertaining. This is just dark and confusing. I very much doubt Mike Pence + mucho Benghazi is going to change that.
posted by argybarg at 8:59 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


[If someone wants to make a Day 3 thread, I think they have the mods permission. I can't do it because of the 24 hour rule and will be out when it expires.]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:00 AM on July 20, 2016


Why was he back in New York yesterday, anyway? I can't imagine there's anything more important than one's own convention.
posted by mochapickle at 9:00 AM on July 20, 2016


[Y'all maybe just search the site for "Drumpf" and go re-read the thrilling previous iterations of this argument instead of cosplaying it again in here.]

I hereby propose that on MetaFilter we call all rehashing of old arguments that have previously been had on site "cosplaying." Can I get a second?
posted by OmieWise at 9:01 AM on July 20, 2016 [24 favorites]


If the RNC were being run right, it would be a crazy carnival, transgressive, kind of nuts but very entertaining

There's probably still time to call Insane Clown Posse in to play the RNC.
posted by acb at 9:01 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Why was he back in New York yesterday, anyway? I can't imagine there's anything more important than one's own convention.

Particularly strange since this morning Trump tweeted, from New York, how the people of Ohio will remember the jobs created by the convention come November. I guess the hotel workers where he could have stayed might not...
posted by OmieWise at 9:02 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


There's probably still time to call Insane Clown Posse in to play the RNC.

Everybody can punchline that for themselves, yes?
posted by Grangousier at 9:03 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


homunculus: Captain America Calls Out Republicans After Melania Trump Speech

Thank you, Chris Evans, for continuing to be the best Cap out of all of the Caps.

Now go to Wakanda and unfreeze Bucky! I'm sure he'd have a thing or two to say about the current state of affairs. (Punching is a perfectly acceptable alternative.)
posted by Salieri at 9:04 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


Everybody can punchline that for themselves, yes?

No. Please explain the joke
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 9:05 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Growing up with a last name that rhymes with Hitler

...Pittler? Is it Pittler?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:06 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


Everybody can punchline that for themselves, yes?

I did and I don't get it.
posted by mazola at 9:06 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Dolores!








/ObscureSeinfeldReference
posted by yhbc at 9:08 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


"Now there's a petrifying thought" In the face of a lot of putrefying thought. I guess I should come out of my ivory closet, but why? I would only hear these speeches daily, not just at election time. I was raised a military brat, and lived in the margins of thought and speech, which was all carried on my men. I was expected to find them attractive enough to prance and pose and ultimately go for one of them, and then introduce the process to my daughters when it came their time. Where some see the amazing political process, I see ugliness. The systematic degradation of our education systems then supplanted by "web info" you are seeing the end of us as even a minimally rational society.
posted by Oyéah at 9:08 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh, just that Insane Clown Posse seemed like pretty good description of the RNC as it is.
posted by Grangousier at 9:09 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Ohio, the mother of presidents, proudly casts its 66 votes for Governor John Kasich!”

With states still voting, many Ohio delegates left the floor.

While some Ohio delegates say they’ll vote for Trump, others are holding out.
“The wall . . . that’s ridiculous, that we’re going to deport people and build this big wall . . . I just don’t think he has a common-sense approach, or thorough understanding, of foreign policy.”

“[Trump] and his staff have engaged in 144-character insults for the past nine months, and that isn’t a campaign. . . . If that stops, and they put forward serious, conservative proposals . . . he has me. But I haven’t seen that yet.”
So I was right, but I was wrong. This year, it appears that no delegations moved to change their votes to the nom to express solidary. Thus, a contested and contentious convention. A broken rather than brokered convention. Suppose "brokered" implies the existence of a broker and no such has appeared.

Here's the breakdown:
1725 Trump
 484 Cruz
 125 Kasich
 123 Rubio
   7 Carson
   3 Bush
   2 Paul


Kasich got the most votes among non-cartoon-villain Republicans, which came from 15 states. In a -- increasingly unlikely -- normal election year, he'd've had a more realistic chance. And Kasich'd be a candidate I'd be determined to defeat but resigned to lose to. Stronger emotions appy this season.
 
posted by Herodios at 9:10 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


"Why was he back in New York yesterday, anyway? I can't imagine there's anything more important than one's own convention."

According to Reuters (in an article from January of this year), he flies back to NYC every night to sleep at home.
posted by I-baLL at 9:14 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


TBH, I would probably fly home every night in that position, too. I hate not sleeping in my bed.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:15 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Obama shouldn't have teased Trump with that gaudy cartoon about how the Trump White House would look, back at the Correspondents Dinner. He must have taken the challenge then. The last 20 years has produced wounds on the psyche of this country, and the RNC is blatant evidence of this, along with a strong indictment against the unnamed ones, who actually let the dogs out.

Awww Trump sleeps at home. He can't travel without his special equipment coming to light.
posted by Oyéah at 9:17 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


The #1 option, of the RNC being a crazy transgressive carnival of political incorrectness and smashing shit up for the hell of it, sounds like a juggalo festival of some sort, all Faygo and bare boobies and stuff. For better or worse, they went with the #2 option, which sounds like 1990s Woodstock crossed with Lord Of The Flies; survival paranoia, hate and preapocalyptic psychosis. Much darker, though possibly less likely to translate into an election victory.
posted by acb at 9:17 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


>I actually have a smart, liberal friend who hopes that DT wins, just to start the fire that burns the whole thing down . . .

I used to think this way too, until I thought about what kinds of people most suffer when "the world burns" and, spoilies, it's not the people you hope it would be . . .


When I was young, I used to say things like that to people.

Now that I am old, I only say things like that to my television set.
 
posted by Herodios at 9:18 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]




Actually I don't think they consciously went with the #2 option, it just collapsed into it. Apparently Guiliani and a GOP strategist worked for hours on a speech with a positive tone, then he walked on stage and improvised his screaming nightmare.

The problem with fun is you have to sustain it. Trump's voters have enjoyed the crazy ride. But now it's going over the cliff.
posted by argybarg at 9:21 AM on July 20, 2016


I can think of two mindsets that would lead to rooting for Trump. I'm not saying they're good mindsets, but I think they are real and they're out there.

1) It would be fun. Think how crazy it would be. He'd kick ass in Washington. It's not like the place can get worse, right?


I've seen this concept referred to as the Nolan Joker theory of Trump's popularity, i.e. people putting faith in "[men] they don't fully understand."

2) This is a dark, scary world and we need a strongman. We can't mess around with weakling Democrats or we'll be wiped off the map.

Which I guess makes this the Snyder Superman theory of Trump's popularity.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:26 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


this morning Trump tweeted, from New York, how the people of Ohio will remember the jobs created by the convention come November.

Byron York: Trump-Kasich feud could have disastrous consequences in November

Honestly, I imagine President Trump rage-starting a war, then insisting everything's fine.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:30 AM on July 20, 2016


Seen on Cracked, of all places

Cracked does some pretty amazing work, actually, and does some great deep dives into news and social justice issues. Right from the front page we have When Rape Victims Get Caught Smiling (We Won't Believe Them) and 8 Ways the Legal System Screws Rape Victims and over on weird world we get 16 Things 'True' Story Movies Got Wrong About Real People and 5 Famous Inventors (Who Stole Their Big Idea)

When you consider what misogynist shitfests some other online comedy outlets are they're sort of amazing.
posted by phearlez at 9:34 AM on July 20, 2016 [27 favorites]


Apparently Guiliani and a GOP strategist worked for hours on a speech with a positive tone, then he walked on stage and improvised his screaming nightmare.

Bath salts are a hell of a drug.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


If Hillary Clinton flew home every night to sleep in her own bed there would be howling about wasting fuel and Secret Service resources.
posted by zutalors! at 9:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [28 favorites]


argybarg: Apparently Guiliani and a GOP strategist worked for hours on a speech with a positive tone, then he walked on stage and improvised his screaming nightmare.

Source? I'd be interested to read about that.
posted by Superplin at 9:41 AM on July 20, 2016


> Even in your free time, like you have to come to the office on Monday and say I spent the weekend cleaning the house and running errands and then I finished 500 pages of non fiction (I have gotten disapproving looks for saying I read fiction in the past). I swear many times I have lied about what I did on the weekend because saying you were on the couch eating chips is just not an option.

fwiw...
Heather Havrilesky: "We've integrated all the pressures of the commercial realm into our personal lives, applying the same extremely competitive expectations to love, friendship, family, and even our internal state of mind."

Chris Arnade: "Our economic policy, driven by this rationalism, has morphed into a national version of the Hunger Games, pitting every worker against each other."
posted by kliuless at 9:45 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


Oh, just that Insane Clown Posse seemed like pretty good description of the RNC as it is.

In what way
posted by beerperson at 9:49 AM on July 20, 2016


I am disappointed the new thread doesn't have a Hamilton reference in the title. Can I put in a reservation for "Watching it Bern" for Monday night's DNC thread?
posted by zachlipton at 9:49 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


My choice for Hamilton reference is "... looking for a mind at work" (which I was too late to put into the upthread jokes).
posted by Francis at 9:51 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Someday I'll listen to Hamilton!

(Also, I make no judgment on future thread titles but I think if there isn't one titled It's Hot As Hell In Philadelphia poffin boffin will literally kill us all.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:51 AM on July 20, 2016 [7 favorites]


Find in your heart a sympathy for your fellow man who has fallen into a pit and taken up friendship with the snakes.

Ah, fun with metaphors. We can all play that game.

How about the person who has been repeatedly warned snakes are dangerous, arrogantly tells you they don't believe what all the nature guides say about poison snakes, who curses the mongooses who are the snakes' only check, and marches laughing and happy into the pit to pet and feed the snakes, and then to carry the snakes out to set them loose on the world even as you shout warnings?

I am having a super-hard time mustering sympathy for that bunch of evil-enablers, or feeling bad about my intense anger and frustration at their irresponsibility.
posted by aught at 9:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I wish for a title of a DNC thread that UNIRONICALLY states "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", but that may be too much to ask.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:01 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Mike Pence + mucho Benghazi

You just named somebody's next band, argybarg.
posted by Rykey at 10:17 AM on July 20, 2016


Oneswellfoop, what else would you name your DNC threads next week?
posted by Dashy at 10:18 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


The best you can hope for from Trump with regards to respect is that he doesn't spend the time counter-programming you by calling into other shows while you speak

I am dreading the inevitable Clinton / Trump debates, not because I don't think Clinton could wreck him on every policy point, but because he's not going to even bother having a debate in the sense of an exchange of ideas. Trump will be on his best behavior if he merely plays on his phone ignoring Clinton whenever she speaks, as opposed to interrupting and talking over her every ten seconds or just straight-up catcalling her to flash her tits on camera.

My emotional combo of fremdschämen and feminist fury are going to make me implode.
posted by nicebookrack at 10:31 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


I am dreading the inevitable Clinton / Trump debates

Obviously any potential inflection point is moderately terrifying this side of, well, everything so far this year. But I think there's a nonzero chance of Trump totally melting down on live national TV in a slot that normal non-political undecided types actually watch.

Can he hold it together for two hours or will he snap? My money's on the latter. He is constitutionally unable to pivot to Reasonable / Presidential Candidate Level.

I'm sure that Team Hillary is coming up with all sorts of ideas for things that she can say/do to set him off or make him look ridiculous.

And honestly that is the key policy question of this election: "Is white nationalism ridiculous or is it an acceptable part of mainstream American discourse in 2016?"

It needs to be shown up as ridiculous. The people have to stand up and reject this or there is no point in even talking about other policy.
posted by tivalasvegas at 10:45 AM on July 20, 2016 [10 favorites]


Oneswellfoop, what else would you name your DNC threads next week?

The Gang Rigs an Election
Sweet Dee Becomes the Democratic VP Nominee
Dennis Fights a Bernie Bro
posted by Talez at 10:53 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


meet me in the pit metafilter
posted by poffin boffin at 10:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


That's why I'm not doing the Election threads, but if forced:

DNC title threads:
Philly: City of Sisterly Love
Media: It's False Equivalence Time!
Bill Takes The Mic (and is never gonna give it up)
Vilsack: Worst Name in Politics
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:11 AM on July 20, 2016


Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Trump knows what he's doing.

The myth of their incompetence is dangerous. Trump and his advisors know exactly what they are doing, but their agenda might not exactly map on to what you would expect or want a candidate for national political office to be doing.
posted by aught at 11:11 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


The likelihood of Donald Trump totally melting down during a debate is nearly 100%. Which is why he will try to avoid them.

Remember, he won the first big Republican debate by not even showing up.
posted by yesster at 11:11 AM on July 20, 2016


Trump and his advisors know exactly what they are doing,

I have yet to read anything about the Trump campaign that makes me think this is true, except in the most literal "I am sitting in a chair, speaking to Rudy Giuliani in English; we are both wearing suits" sense.

MetaFilter: I am sitting in a chair, speaking to Rudy Giuliani in English; we are both wearing suits
posted by Spathe Cadet at 11:17 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


It doesn't matter if they're competent or not, they've been successful and that is it's own brand of competence.

They just might get their incompetent asses elected and bring their incompetence to the White house. It would be like running a country next to one run by a child king. They're obviously dangerously incompetent but they've still got absolute command over powerful resources so they MUST be dealt with in that context. I don't know what that relationship should look like but "casual dismissal" isn't going to work.

Just take the threat seriously, we can all laugh about how incompetent they were after they've lost.
posted by VTX at 11:22 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


I didn't say I wasn't taking it seriously; I said I don't think they know what they're doing.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 11:27 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Trump has always been incompetent where it counts... management, decision-making, even salesmanship. His only skills are self-promotion and intimidation. Which in an election in America 2016, may be more valuable skills than anything else.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:33 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


I have yet to read anything about the Trump campaign that makes me think this is true,

They have cowed the media into giving them free coverage of their ideological campaign in the guise of uncritical news coverage, they've exploited American undercurrents of racism, jingoism, and post-9/11 paranoia like no one else before ever has, and they've bent a large number of their staunch political enemies to publicly do their bidding and support them as they grasp for even greater power and influence in our nation. Next stop, Presidency, unprecedented numbers of executive orders, appointing corrupt SCOTUS justices when the eldest of the current bench retire, and, if a GOP majority holds in the House and Senate, a Constitutional convention.

Don't think it can't happen, the way we naively assumed Trump's nomination could never happen.
posted by aught at 11:34 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


Good, then we can stop talking about whether or not they're incompetent, they are or they aren't, it doesn't matter either way, their incompetence isn't going to lose this for them. It should, but it hasn't yet and I'm done waiting around for it to happen.
posted by VTX at 11:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


The myth of their incompetence is dangerous. Trump and his advisors know exactly what they are doing ...

I mean, I think it's dangerous to regard Trump or his handlers as merely clowns and I think that for some very broad value of "know what they're doing" his handlers do know what they are doing. They know how to cater to the Orange One's every whim and they know how to help keep him in the news and they know how to pour gasoline on fires. And this has been sufficient because it's all that Trump wants and its all that his supporters want. But on the other hand, by any standard of "wanting to win to govern"—even as right-wingers—they have shown themselves to be, repeatedly, unprecedentedly incompetent. Trump and his Trumpies are vandals and much of the rest of the GOP seems content to hope they can get first dibs on the wreckage. When the whole plan is to bust shit up, it's not necessary that the plan is detailed.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:41 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


Good, then we can stop talking about whether or not they're incompetent, they are or they aren't, it doesn't matter either way, their incompetence isn't going to lose this for them. It should, but it hasn't yet and I'm done waiting around for it to happen.

I think it does matter and I find analysis of it kind of interesting.
posted by zutalors! at 11:45 AM on July 20, 2016


US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorses Hillary Clinton from RNCinCLE
The endorsement came following the second night of the Republican National Convention, which was themed "Make America Work Again." But Palomarez said he did not hear any speakers discuss Trump's plan to address the concerns of business owners.
posted by carsonb at 11:47 AM on July 20, 2016 [10 favorites]


According to Reuters (in an article from January of this year), he flies back to NYC every night to sleep at home.

So, uh, how would this work in a theoretical Trump presidency. He sleeps at home and rents out the White House residence on Air B'n'B? He commutes during star visits to China or wherever?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:47 PM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


He sleeps at home and rents out the White House residence on Air B'n'B?

Solving the national debt one night at a time!
posted by Talez at 12:54 PM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]


According to Reuters (in an article from January of this year), he flies back to NYC every night to sleep at home.

Can't he just bring his favorite pillow with him? That's going to be a real problem campaigning west of the Rockies.
posted by msalt at 1:07 PM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]


My choice for Hamilton reference is "... looking for a mind at work" (which I was too late to put into the upthread jokes).

Isn't "The Room Where It Happens" the obvious choice? Or have we done that already?

HZSF: I don't even like musicals but Hamilton is a great soundtrack.
posted by msalt at 1:09 PM on July 20, 2016


I watched the White House performance of the first three songs and enjoyed it, but I'm bad at sitting down and listening to/watching things.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:21 PM on July 20, 2016


Hey come join us at the new thread.
posted by mochapickle at 1:25 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think it does matter and I find analysis of it kind of interesting.

I'm curious as to how you think it makes a difference. I mean, in terms of things that can strategically be used against Trump's campaign, absolutely spot on, but my perception is that people are saying, "Look at how incompetent these clowns are, they're going to lose for sure. All we need to do now is sit back and enjoy our popcorn."

I was saying it when he first announced that he was running and continued to say it through his campaign for the nomination. Assuming that they really are incompetent (and I think they are) they keep winning and keep gaining momentum. Maybe it's because of their incompetence somehow, maybe it's despite the incompetence, but betting on their incompetence to lose the election for them is a losing bet.
posted by VTX at 1:31 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think the fact that they are absolutely unprepared for a national election is something that continues to make an appearance and I think it's funny and interesting. It's remarkable to compare it to the professionalism of the HRC campaign.

I'm not "betting" on anything, I'm just watching it unfold.

As improbable as Trump getting the nomination was, the only way he can win the election is if the minority vote is massively suppressed. I'd rather spend my actual time and attention making sure that doesn't happen than to try to think that whatever Trump says or does is really swaying the majority of the voting public. It simply just doesn't seem to be true.
posted by zutalors! at 2:11 PM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


I just hope Hillary and Co. are smart enough to spend a big pile of their war chest on Get Out The Vote activities, from volunteers driving voters to polling places to an army of lawyers in every state that might pull some voter suppression. Meanwhile, I'm headed to the Day III Thread. Howsabout you?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:24 PM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


aught: I am having a super-hard time mustering sympathy for that bunch of evil-enablers, or feeling bad about my intense anger and frustration at their irresponsibility.

You're maybe thinking about them the same way that conservatives think about Muslims - there's no point negotiating or convincing, the only solution is to destroy their power. Doesn't matter if they're doing bad things or just enabling them, the whole lot is bad and deserves an angry response.

I sympathize with you. But from a practical point of view, I've been told that approach doesn't work as well as the Aarhus model, previously.
posted by clawsoon at 2:34 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


I just hope Hillary and Co. are smart enough to spend a big pile of their war chest on Get Out The Vote activities, from volunteers driving voters to polling places to an army of lawyers in every state that might pull some voter suppression.

They are.
posted by dersins at 9:26 PM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Meredith McIver has been mentioned in news articles with Trump for at least a decade. It's not really funny to pretend she doesn't exist.
posted by dilaudid at 9:42 PM on July 20, 2016


Meredith McIver has been mentioned in news articles with Trump for at least a decade.

I mean, so has John Miller.
posted by dersins at 10:41 PM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]


If I had to had to bet on who within the Trump camp thought they could get away with that bit if plagiarism and wasn't going to have anyone tell them otherwise John Miller would probably be my bet.
posted by Artw at 11:10 PM on July 20, 2016


Kaine on the TPP:

"I see much in it to like. I think it’s an upgrade of labor standards. I think it’s an upgrade of environmental standards, I think it’s an upgrade in intellectual property protections,” he explained. “I do see at least right now that there is one element that I do have some very significant concerns about. And that is the dispute resolution mechanism. And I’ve got a lot of concerns about that."

I'll admit it, that's about where I am, I guess. Do you have a good, reasonably objective reader on the TPP so I can know more than just that it's a bad word?
posted by argybarg at 12:20 AM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]


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