GOP Petard

For decades, the Republicans have been running campaigns based around hatred of anyone who is not a white anglo-saxon protestant male. If you are any other color, gender, religion or ethnic origin, you are persona non grata to the Republican party.

It has been phenomenally successful with this strategy. Their wins have been tremendous. YUGE!

With this strategy of always appealing to the mean little white man in every voter, they have managed to have a stranglehold on the Supreme Court, a stranglehold on the House of Representatives (by having control of Congress during census and redistricting years, this is how they do it) a stranglehold on many state legislatures. If you are angry at the ‘establishment’ and the way you have lost ground over the years, and that you’re always afraid that some Muslim is going to chop off your head some night when you’re sleeping, then you should ask yourself if maybe you let Republicans persuade you to vote for them one too many times.

But now, the GOP is freaking out because they didn’t anticipate that voters would be so irate, so irrationally angry, so fed up with the way everything is run, and probably confused by the sensation that maybe they’ve been suckers for close to 40 years, that they would actually vote for a guy who can’t seem to get his fake tan right in spite of his million dollar grooming budget.

Their only hope at this point is to get some of the rest of their candidates to drop out and have more reasonable voters coalesce around the alternative to Mr. Creamsicle. What’s really weird is that a more reasonable voter is now considered to be a more devout, evangelical white anglo-saxon protestant voter. Frankly, I fail to see the difference between voting groups except the evangelicals are less rude and do not swear. Otherwise, they’re just as unreasonably and uncompromisingly conservative.

What gets lost in primary season is what about the rest of us? You know, those of us who live in cities and on the coasts in the most populous states. Why do we always find ourselves held hostage by places like Texas? And why is it that Democrats can’t get their act together in downticket races? Will Hillary have coat tails this year and will she bring in more progressive people into Congress or just another bunch of student body presidents? Because, in this respect, I’m as skeptical as a Donald Drumpf voter but in my case, more likely to turn to a Bernie Sanders type alternative, in spite of Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s hand picked bland congressional candidates. But I digress. We could have a field day with Debbie in another post.

In the meantime, grab some popcorn and watch the Republicans try to stop Drumpf. If they can. They don’t have much to work with. I just can’t see Cruz as a viable candidate and Rubio looks like a lightweight. Hillary would crush him like a bug in debate (unless Congress sees no alternative but to pre-emptively indict her for no reason. Would they do that? Um, yeah, I could see it.) Not that Republican voters care all that much about whether Hillary is a formidable, experienced, very well qualified opponent. It’s impossible to be rational with very angry people.

Maybe Republicans have gone too far with the Rush Limbaughing and the Glenn Becking and the Muslims Under the Bedding?

Nahhh.

Super Tuesday Cocktail Party

Hi there, boys and girls. It’s that time again – SUPER Tuesday. My Tuesday was pretty good as Tuesdays go, but I wouldn’t call it super. But it might be really special for someone.

Will Hillary lock up the nomination tonight or will Massachusetts and Vermont make her wait a little longer? (Awww, we love you Bernie) Will Donald Drumpf continue his winning streak and make the rest of the world shrink back in horror? Will Cruz try Botox to improve his face? Will Rubio stay in middle school indefinitely? So many questions!

Tonight, we’re in the Super Tuesday state of Colorado at Breckenridge, which has some of the best powder and easy skiing trails for beginners that seem to go on for miles… Ahhhh. Take off your skis, have a seat by the fire, sip your Moscow Mule and let’s watch the returns together.

Florence is our host for the evening. Please leave your coats and concealed weapons with her. Rico is serving up Creamsicles tonight as his special cocktail but you can order anything you like. The servers are circulating with a selection of small plates catered from Steubens in Denver. Ever wonder why the shrimp and grits are so rich? They use cream cheese in the grits. We also have some “organic” brownies. People who are shortlisted for job interviews should probably pass on these.

Our musical entertainment tonight is one of my old favorites, The Vince Guaraldi Trio. Check out them glasses. In my family, we used to call them “birth control”

 

Wow! Check out this Bossa Nova from Vince, Bola Sete, et al:

How did we live before the internet and YouTube? When Reagan made that crack about the government showing up at your door saying it was here to help, he probably had no idea that the Department of Defense’s Internet protocol would change our lives and that the guy at the door would be the FiOS installer.

Well, he was a conservative Republican after all. So, there’s that…

Anyway, sit back, relax, say hi to old friends, make some new ones. Have some of katiebird’s fine boxed merlot

Update: Hillary has won Virginia and Georgia, Bernie takes Vermont! No surprises here. Looks like predictions are accurate.  OMG, the spread is YUGE!!

With 0% counted so far, Trump is projected to win Massachusetts. Hmmm…

Bernie takes Vermont by almost 90%! Marco Rubio isn’t expected to even take Florida when it’s his state to vote. tsk-tsk.

How the GOP screwed up with Trump: Winner Take All Primaries.

ROTF! Republicans are in deep denial about whether the attacks on Trump are working. (It’s Winner Take All, you twits)

Cocktail party tonight?

Should we watch the fallout from Super Tuesday together?

If Creamsicle wins, we can make some bold predictions. Or at least have a few brief moments of schafenfreude while the Republicans freak out.

What say you all?

Word Association

I was reading Jeralyn at TalkLeft this morning and I think she makes an interesting point that will be completely ignored by major media:

I may be in the minority on this, but I don’t give much weight to winning the rural, less populated states with few delgates. Particularly those that aren’t likely to go Democratic in the general election. (Idaho, Utah, Alaska, etc.)

The Tweetys and Russerts will probably call these “big” states thinking that most geographically challenged Americans will not realize he means big in terms of square miles, not population density. But is this true? Or is there a specific image that comes to mind when Americans hear the names of these states? For example, here are the things that immediately spring to my mind when I think of Obama states:

• Georgia- Gone With the Wind
• Utah – Mormon underwear
• Idaho – potato
• Alabama- sharecroppers
• Alaska- polar bears
• Colorado – Aspen
• Connecticut – Lieberman and Hartford Insurance
• Delaware- credit card interest rates (not just the cards, the *interest* rates)
• Kansas – prairie
• Minnesota -Jesse Ventura
• Missouri – pro-life
• North Dakota – Fargo

I will be the first to admit that I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drummer and I’m a little different than my peers and neighbors. But if I have most of the cultural references correct, I get a sense of rural, isolated, ethnically not diverse, corporate, african-american, conservative, quirky.

Now, let’s look at Clinton’s states:

• New York- New York City
• New Jersey- What exit?
• California – 5th largest GDP in the world
• Massachusetts- MIT, PHD, M-O-N-E-Y
• Arkansas- razorbacks
• Tennesee- TVA dams
• Arizona- desert
• Oklahoma – Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

The overall feeling I get from Clinton’s wins is diversity, creativity, energy, liberal, government successes, openness.

In the states where Clinton lost to Obama, except for very conservative states or backyards, the nargins were small (Missouri, Connecticut, New Mexico). That indicates that her base is solid but that Obama may have tailored his message to a specific population. In CT and MO, there is a large african-american population. It could have gone badly in NJ as well but NJ has an open primary where independents can declare at the polls and vote their preferences. I think this is what happened in NJ, which suggests that there are plenty of independents who find Clinton a reasonable alternative to a Republican challenger. In fact, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in yesterday’s NJ primary by 2:1. If Obama was really a draw for them, here was his chance to show it. Not only that, he vastly outspent the Clinton campaign who were sticking to a budget. Obama lavished the state liberally with a flood of cash for canvassers and signs and organization. He gave the Clinton camp the willies. And he still lost here- by 10 points.

What I think we are seeing is that both women, independents and the creative class went for Clinton in greater numbers than had been anticipated. (They might all be part of the same group) While the more conservative voter and blacks went for Obama. Now, come fall, if Clinton is the nominee, she can win back those black voters. But if Obama is the nominee, it’s unlikely he will ever carry Utah or Idaho or Alaska and it wouldn’t really matter anyway.

Tell me where I got this wrong because the # of states won don’t mean a hill of beans. Clinton won the heart of the country, the creative, energetic, diverse, progressive heart.

The Cocktail Hour- Super Tuesday

Update: Dear Friends, it looks like NBC has called it for NJ. With 36 %, Hillary leads 56% to Obama’s 42%. She’s doing very well in a lot of other states as well. It is a blowout in NJ. It’s not even close. Do me a favor: don’t gloat. The Obamaphiles are in for a severe shock to the system. Try to be nice. Delegates are awarded proportionally so this is still a competitive race. Don’t rest on your laurels. Don’t burn your bridges.

Polls are closed here in NJ. Many thanks to all of those who went to the polls today to take our country back. I’ve been on pins and needles all day and getting really anxious. Let’s unwind together and watch the returns.

Welcome to the Cocktail Hour, that time of the day when we beat our swords into swizzle sticks and toast one another for a job well done. I am your hostess, Goldberry. To the left of the door is the bar with our faithful, friendly, bartender with flair, Rico. Tonight’s featured drink is a *Mojito Diablo*, for those of you ready to make a Faustian bargain to see Hillary elected. But you can order anything you like.

Tonight’s featured singer is Madeline Peyroux, a modern chanteuse who channels Billy Holiday. You can find her CD, Half the Perfect World at amazon or iTunes.

Here’s a nice little cut from the CD:

Trigger words are definitely not in fashion these days, so if you are embarrassed to be seen with them, feel free to leave them off with our lovely Check Room attendant Florence.

The waiters will be circulating with some jalapeno poppers, shrimp diavolo and pineapple-jalapeno-mint salsa.

Please drink responsibly and tip your wait staff generously.

NJ Voters: Don’t take this state for granted!

If you live here, you know what I’m talking about. This is a flaky state and too often, the party takes it for granted that the vote will go in one direction or another. If you are planning to vote for Clinton, don’t expect anyone else to do the heavy lifting for you. You only have a short time left to go to the polls and vote. The vote is going to be close and every vote counts. Now, get out there and when you get back, you can kick back and have a beer and watch Tweety sink into a deep depression from which he may never recover.

UPDATE:  OK, New Jersey, you have about 1 hour to get out there and vote for Clinton.  She’s slipping in this state by about 5 points according to exit polls.  So, pick up the kids, buy them a pizza and get thee to the polls as quick as you can.

Vote for HRC and Make the Wingnuts’ Heads Explode!

Tweety will drown in Aqua Velva spit!

Watch Colmes do the Funky Chicken while Hannity busts a carotid!

See Bill O’Reilly sobbing into his loofah!

Tucker will use his bow tie to hang himself!

There will be “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria…”

The Apocalypse will be upon us, the Rapture will come and all the fundagelicals will be whisked away, leaving the rest of us behind, dancing in the streets, singing to the winger owned media that tried to kill Hillary’s candidacy:

All you West Coasters, boogie on down to the voting booth and tell the wingnuts goodbye! Make up Your Own Mind. Give them fits, apoplexy, strokes (is that redundant?). Make History!

Technical question: Is DailyKos straining under the weight of massive Super Tuesday page hits or is it just experiencing one Big Obamagasm?  I haven’t been able to reach it for most of the afternoon.  Is it just me?

I voted for Hillary and it felt soo GOOD!

Oh, yeah, baby! Wish I could have done it a dozen times.

Some quick notes for New Jerseyans:

1. Hillary has a crappy ballot position. She’s number 4 from the left. Barack Obama has numero uno. The position on the ballot is assigned by lots. Her representative just drew a bad number. I almost pushed the button for Obama because I didn’t read the ballot that was mailed to me. Don’t let it happen to you!
2. I had to declare my party. This was really weird because I am registered as a Democrat. Voted Democrat all my life. Ran as a Democrat, WON as a Democrat. In this precinct, there is no one bluer than moi and everyone knows it. And YET, there was no party affiliation in the log by my name. The poll volunteers said a lot of people had no party affiliation and she too found that unususal. It’s not a problem in NJ as long as you are a registered voter. You can vote for whomever you like as long as you declare at the poll. Update: I am reporting this irregularity to HillaryHub’s form for polling problems. You know me, I’m paranoid and my tin-foil antenna are twitching. I put nothing past the Republicans, who virtually own my county. If there is a way they can take out their strongest opponent by making it look like an open primary to their Republican base, they just might do it. Anyway, it’s worth keeping an eye on, especially if the number of Obama votes exceeds the number of Democrats in my precinct who voted in the last general election.  Update 2:  The pollingproblems link is correct but they must be bombarded right now because I can’t get to the form.  Spring for some extra bandwidth, guys.  You are going to need it.
3. These two things put together, along with some other things, make me think that NJ is going to be very, very close and Clinton is going to need every vote. So, if you are a NJ resident and you are registered, get out there! The weather is no drearier than it usually is at this time of the year so there’s no excuses.