Wednesday Open Thread [9.30.2015]

MICHIGAN–PRESIDENT–DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY—FOX 2 Detroit/Mitchell: Clinton 35, Biden 28, Sanders 22, Chafee, O’Malley, Webb
GEORGIA–PRESIDENT–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY—WSB/Landmark: Trump 31, Carson 18, Fiorina 13, Rubio 9, Bush 8, Cruz 8, Huckabee 4, Kasich 2, Paul 1
NORTH CAROLINA–PRESIDENT–DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY—PPP: Clinton 37, Biden 30, Sanders 17, Webb 3, Chafee 2, O’Malley 1, Lessig 0
NORTH CAROLINA–PRESIDENT–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY—PPP: Trump 26, Carson 21, Fiorina 12, Rubio 10, Cruz 9, Huckabee 6, Bush 5, Kasich 4, Christie 2, Santorum 1, Jindal 1, Paul 0, Graham 0

As President Obama and top congressional leaders “prepare to launch negotiations on a two-year budget deal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is maneuvering to cut key Democrats out of the talks,” Politico reports.

“The ambitious budget goal, outlined by McConnell on Tuesday, could help ease the threat of repeated government shutdowns until after the 2016 elections. But drama is already unfolding behind the scenes with McConnell’s private suggestion that the discussions be limited to just him, President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), according to Democratic sources — a proposal that the president and outgoing speaker have rejected.”

Wall Street Journal: “The talks are fresh and unlikely to be wrapped up before Mr. Boehner leaves office on Oct. 30. It is unclear whether his successor, likely Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), would be interested in participating in them.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says Ted Cruz is finished in the Senate.

Said Paul: “Ted has chosen to make this really personal and call people dishonest in leadership and call them names, which really goes against the decorum and also against the rules of the Senate, and as a consequence, he can’t get anything done legislatively,” Paul told Kilmeade. “He’s pretty much done for and stifled, and it’s really because of personal relationships, or lack of personal relationships, and it is a problem.”

He added: “I approach things a little different, I am still just as hardcore in saying what we are doing is wrong, I just chose not to call people liars on the Senate floor and it’s just a matter of different perspectives on how best to get to the end result.”

First Read: “You can tell who is interested in remaining in the Senate after this presidential contest — and who isn’t.”

Politico: “By moving to quarantine Cruz from the rest of the conference over the past three months, the majority leader demonstrated that he’s learned the lessons of the Cruz-backed government shutdown in 2013 and the Texas senator’s rogue strategy last winter that helped Democrats confirm a raft of judges in the lame duck session. In doing so, McConnell cemented his position atop the Senate GOP, dashing any hopes among House Republicans, or conservative activists, that his future might be in doubt.”

“The message is clear: McConnell isn’t going anywhere, and everyone in the Senate knows it. Even Cruz won’t say he should resign.”

Ted Cruz is your Republican nominee for President. He will lose spectacularly, and finished out his term until 2018, and then retire back to Canada/Texas for some Wingnut Welfare.

Remember how the deficit and debt were horrible horrible problems under President Obama?

“Yet the release of Donald Trump’s tax plan adds to the number of major GOP presidential candidates who propose to cut all taxes — but especially those for the wealthy — as deeply, or deeper, than Romney proposed. The lesson Republicans seem to have drawn is to simply stop worrying about balancing the budget. The plans would blow open deficits over the next decade that economists estimate ranging from $3.6 trillion to $12 trillion.”

Vice President Joe Biden’s schedule over the last month looks a lot like that of a presidential candidate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Since the beginning of September, Mr. Biden has held events with nearly every Democratic constituency that would be critical to any White House bid—from women and African-American voters to environmentalists, Latinos and union workers… This weekend, Mr. Biden will deliver the keynote address at the annual dinner of the country’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization, the Human Rights Campaign, and on Saturday, he spoke at a concert focused on combating global poverty that drew thousands of young people.”

Ezra Klein says Donald Trump’s poll numbers are dropping because the media is not focusing as much attention on him. The correlation is damn strong:

Gov. Sam Brownback wants Kansans to be ready for the zombie apocalypse. Well, since his policies have killed the state’s economy and educational system, perhaps zombies are a concern for Kansans.

Donald Trump did not like the Pope’s “little car.”

Don’t fuck with Elizabeth Warren, who I wish would run for President. Or at least run with Biden on an early unified ticket.

Joe Nocera:

I wonder, in fact, whether even now Trump is a serious candidate, or whether this is all a giant publicity ploy. Once a real developer, Trump is largely a licenser today; the more famous he becomes, the more he can charge to slap his name on buildings or perfume or men’s suits.
I’m not alone in wondering this, of course. Several Republican consultants I spoke to openly questioned whether Trump is in it for the long haul. “You would see him spending a lot more money if he were putting together a true national infrastructure,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist.

There’s one other thing. All his life, Trump has had a deep need to be perceived as a “winner.” He always has to be perceived coming out on top. That’s why, ultimately, I don’t think he’ll ever put himself at the mercy of actual voters in a primary. To do so is to risk losing. And everyone will know it.

He’ll be out before Iowa. You read it here first.

LOL. Maybe. I figure he will be out once he does not win Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump hates losing and losers. So when he becomes one, he will cut and run on this campaign faster than his second marriage.