"Dude, did that guy in front of us ask the stewardess if the snack cart had live mice?"Rat Patrol wrote: ↑26 Sep 2018, 12:14am...and that feeling you get when you realize it's Ted Cruz who's been sitting in front of you making quiet but disconcerting nasal piggy noises for the entire transcontinental flight:Rat Patrol wrote: ↑25 Sep 2018, 11:33pm
Emotionally functioning humans typically don't do things like this in public.
The Future of the Republican Party
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Silent Majority
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Play fortune teller, have a guess on whether Kavanagh gets crammed onto the court. I'm guessing yeah? Cos the Republicans play dirty and are desperate. The obvious play from the start for them was to choose some extremely right wing lady, but now there's too many people who won't be able to be seen to be defeated.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
The part that gives me pause is that forcing Kavanaugh thru doubtless weakens the GOP electorally, something that their internal polling must confirm, unless they really believe Kavanaugh will be some kind of pep pill that excites the base more than it does the opposition. If Congressional Republicans are true zealots, I guess they see it as a fair trade, but these weasels are also massive egotists who don't want to lose their next election. So, I dunno. Or maybe Flake or Corker go out in a blazing middle finger to Trump (much less likely). I lean to forcing him thru, but my faith in them being craven egotists scared of voters leaves some room.Silent Majority wrote: ↑26 Sep 2018, 11:55amPlay fortune teller, have a guess on whether Kavanagh gets crammed onto the court. I'm guessing yeah? Cos the Republicans play dirty and are desperate. The obvious play from the start for them was to choose some extremely right wing lady, but now there's too many people who won't be able to be seen to be defeated.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Now that the FBI's investigating, I would think that the thing that's going to sink Kavanaugh—assuming he gets sunk—is lying about his drinking. The several accusations of sexual assault might be too difficult to prove, but him being a blackout drunk seems easy enough to find ample witnesses to refute. And given that he testified that he was a moderate drinker who was in no ways a stumbling, pass-out boozehound in high school and college, that's a straight-forward lie before the judicial committee. Assuming that the so-called fence sitters really are on the fence, that's a massive refutation that he's a stand-up, honest guy. On the face of it all, that should sink him. Another case of "not the crime but the cover-up." Or it'll force Republicans to flat out admit that they don't fucking care about a guy lying before them as long as it's their guy.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Flake and Corker may hate Trump but that might make them only slightly less horrible than their colleagues but still awful human beings.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
He testified that he drank legally as an 18 year old, but the drinking age had already been raised to 21 when he was 17 so he straight up lied under oath about that. FBI should have that one squared away in all of 5 seconds if they want.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Yeah but the right has been playing up the whole line of crap that the FBI are agents of Hillary so they can dismiss anything negative that comes up.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
That's a whole other issue, tho, inasmuch as the crazies are going to be outraged if he isn't confirmed for any reason. But to the fair-minded person, him saying his drinking was legal when it wasn't is irrefutable. And if a dozen people all claim, yeah, he was a serious fucked-up drunk—better if they have diaries from the time that say as much—that also points to him lying before the committee. And that doesn't have anything to do with the multiple claims of him being a sexual predator. His alibi about character is the easiest to puncture and establishes him as a liar. Frankly, if the FBI doesn't pursue that angle along the way, that suggests something fishy because it's so dammed obvious.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
It's the week delay that'll do him in. Already there's one more classmate stepping forward this morning claiming he was a blackout drunk. You've got the other witnesses who were denied time last week agitating for their own investigations/hearings. It's a week for women to crash the Congressional switchboard calling their reps, and to get the marches organized. And it's a week for endangered House incumbents and their donors to freak the fuck out to their Senate colleagues that this is killing them, so the money is going to speak loud and clear.
It's going to get so unmanageable that there'll be little bandwidth for McConnell to even get facetime with his swing votes. Merely SCHEDULING the vote will become more an ordeal than guaranteeing the outcome...and that's why they were in such a rush. Once it's got a life of its own--and it does now--chaos begatting more chaos ends up doing what organized opposition can't.
It's going to get so unmanageable that there'll be little bandwidth for McConnell to even get facetime with his swing votes. Merely SCHEDULING the vote will become more an ordeal than guaranteeing the outcome...and that's why they were in such a rush. Once it's got a life of its own--and it does now--chaos begatting more chaos ends up doing what organized opposition can't.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Excellent point. These kinds of controversies can never be fully controlled by either side, but you put yourself in a disadvantageous position by being rigid and closed. And it's shown that the GOP's response at every stage has been crude and clumsy. They've butchered this so badly that even if they don't get their guy confirmed, they've still managed to motivate a lot of women—including conservative women—to vote and vote against them. A less authoritarian party would demand the heads of Grassly and McConnell for the complete shitshow, but they'll likely double down and see a need to hunker down further.Rat Patrol wrote: ↑29 Sep 2018, 1:44pmOnce it's got a life of its own--and it does now--chaos begatting more chaos ends up doing what organized opposition can't.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
WaPo reporting that the FBI has contacted his second accuser, so no limiting this to the scope of the single accusation. I don't want to make declaratives since we live in Hell World, but Brett should be pretty fucked.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
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Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
Odds of him angrily withdrawing, citing a leftist—hell, far left—conspiracy and seeking to spare his family further trauma?
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Re: The Future of the Republican Party
I lost what little faith in humanity I had when Trump got elected. I do hope he goes down but and am under no illusion that a replacement would be a better human being. Not being a drunken rapist is a pretty fucking low bar as it is.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑29 Sep 2018, 2:03pmExcellent point. These kinds of controversies can never be fully controlled by either side, but you put yourself in a disadvantageous position by being rigid and closed. And it's shown that the GOP's response at every stage has been crude and clumsy. They've butchered this so badly that even if they don't get their guy confirmed, they've still managed to motivate a lot of women—including conservative women—to vote and vote against them. A less authoritarian party would demand the heads of Grassly and McConnell for the complete shitshow, but they'll likely double down and see a need to hunker down further.Rat Patrol wrote: ↑29 Sep 2018, 1:44pmOnce it's got a life of its own--and it does now--chaos begatting more chaos ends up doing what organized opposition can't.
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Re: The Future of the Republican Party
The hope—and it's all a relative scale here—is that is the Democrats can retake the Senate, someone absurdly right-wing won't be pushed thru. I've also read that Kavanaugh was pushed on Trump by advisers who perhaps would lose influence by tying the pumpkin to a rapist and, more importantly, a failure. So does he then turn to someone more “moderate”? It'd be amusing if Garland ends up a compromise pick if it comes to that.
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft