DL Open Thread Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024

Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, but in a way that allows any interpretation of the data you like. He got 54.6% to Nikki Haley’s 43.1%, which is far from a landslide. But the Northeastern state was probably Haley’s best chance at a victory. Or was it? Haley has vowed to stay in the race, probably a smart decision considering that Trump’s increasingly frequent “senior moments” are finally getting the media attention they have long deserved. As is often the case, Josh Marshall has the best analysis.

On the Democratic side, Dean Phillips got 20% in the unofficial Democratic primary – the results don’t count because the party told the state, which insists it must hold the first primary (they even have a state law to that effect), to go fuck a buffalo. He says he’ll drop out only after he has more name recognition. He says he’ll base that decision on poll results. Those would be the same polls that were 10 points off on Trump’s margin of victory.

One thing you can count on with conservatives: Because nothing is ever their fault, they turn on each other at the earliest opportunity. Today’s example: Reprehensible shitheel Oliver North, who once was president of the NRA, testified against reprehensible shithead Wayne LaPierre in his corruption trial. This is the conundrum in the age of Trump: You end up rooting for people you despise because they oppose people you abhor. Haley vs. Trump. Disney vs. DeSantis. I could go on but I won’t.

Target fired a bunch of workers, including one in Delaware, for buying limited-edition Stanley travel mugs “against company policy.” I’d boycott them for being such assholes, but I already don’t shop there.

Mother Jones this morning dropped an enormous series on American oligarchy, more than a dozen stories. I haven’t had time to wade through them yet, but it’s getting kudos from people who have.

The floor’s yours.