DL Open Thread Thursday, June 3, 2021

All of us who thought Biden for President was a dreadful mistake are settling down for a hearty meal of crow these days — Smilin’ Joe turns out to be the GOP’s bane, and for a very simple reason: They’re having a devil of a time demonizing him. The evidence comes from the hothouse world of conservative publishing*, where the presses are all cranked up with nothing to run.

His presidency may be young, but industry insiders have told me in recent weeks that the market for anti-Biden books is ice cold. Authors have little interest in writing them, editors have little interest in publishing them, and — though the hypothesis has yet to be tested — it’s widely assumed that readers would have little interest in buying them. In many ways, the dynamic represents a microcosm of the current political moment: Facing a new president whose relative dullness is his superpower, the American right has gone hunting for richer targets to elevate.

Of course they have. Because other than calling Democrats names, Republicans have no idea what politics is for or about.

Why is Biden popular? My money’s on “exhibits basic competence,” because if you strip away all the half-assed fascism the story of the Last Guy is simple: He couldn’t manage a Rita’s water ice stand, let alone the U.S. government. A historian runs down the failures of the most inept presidency in history.

The fake news that Chris Coons is a “confidant” of Joe Biden continues apace. The New York Times is the latest media operation to fall for this happy horseshit.

Is there any branch of GOPerworld that isn’t run by bullies and babies? The Federalist Society, the organization devoted to putting unqualified Republicans in lifetime federal judgeships, got its shorts in such a knot over a satirical flier distributed by a Stanford University law student that it got the university to put a hold on the student’s degree before the university figured out that making fun of fascists is protected speech. The student, whose flier claimed the Federalist Society was sponsoring an insurrection on Jan. 6, has a point — one prominent graduate of Stanford’s law school is Missouri fuckstick and insurrectionist leader Josh Hawley.

A new report concludes that more than 32,000 people have died in police custody since 2000 — a number quite a bit higher than what had been estimated. The FBI is supposed to keep track of this but doesn’t.

Do you know anyone working at an Amazon warehouse? You might be visiting them in the hospital one of these days — OSHA records show that Amazon warehouse employees get injured at twice the injury average.

An inspiring story about activists in Florida fighting to give convicted felons their voting rights back. It hasn’t been easy — Republicans keep playing Calvinball, changing the rules frantically to keep the 20% of the state’s Black voters off the rolls — but the activists soldier on.

The floor is yours.

*Conservative publishing thrives despite the fact that most Republicans don’t read books. They’re purchased as a way of funneling money to favored “authors,” usually in bulk so they make the best-seller lists. Gaming the rules of a game is the only way Republicans can compete, because they’re mostly mediocre white fuck-ups.