Alby's Latest Posts
Aug. 10 Open Thread: It’s Racists All the Way Down
When Jason330 wrote the other day that Ken Simpler must be a racist simply because he’s a Republican, I probably wasn’t the only reader who winced. But Jason isn’t the only one who has put two and two together. Laura Ingraham brought it out into plain view earlier this week when she went on a […]
Aug. 9 Open Thread: Even ‘Fox & Friends’ Viewers Support Medicare for All
If there’s one thing centrists love to tell us, it’s that America isn’t ready for “radical” progressive ideas like Medicare for All. Somebody forgot to send that memo to Fox News viewers. “Fox & Friends” ran a scare segment about how expensive that would be, using that Koch brothers study that found it would cost […]
Aug. 8 Open Thread: Crony Government
Kudos to Pro Publica, where investigative journalists used FOIA laws to find emails showing that the Veterans Administration is in effect being run by three rich guys who belong to Mar-a-Lago. They have no qualifications for this role, but then, neither does Trump. This is the sort of thing political satirists used to make up […]
Aug. 7 Open Thread: For Midterm Voters, Any Democrat Will Do
Many liberals are too accustomed to the malfeasance of the Democratic Party to appreciate that midterm voters don’t care whether Democrats are neo-liberals or progressives. Viewed in horse-race terms, all signs point to a wave that will swamp Republicans in the House. Remember the lesson of the current Congress: A party’s internal conflicts are easy […]
That Closing-In Wall Just Fell Down
I think the chances are about 25% that Republicans try to talk Donald Trump into resigning office before the new Congress is sworn in next January. No, I’m not engaged in wishful thinking, and I’m not saying it’s especially likely, since those are the same odds I give Republicans of finding their ass with both […]
Aug. 6 Open Thread: The Endgame Begins
Yesterday was the best day for anti-Trumpism since his election. His own tweet removed the fig leaf Republicans have been hiding behind ever since the Trump Tower meeting went public: He admitted the meeting’s true purpose while maintaining that meeting with foreign nationals to receive stole documents is “totally legal” and “happens all the time […]
Aug. 5 Open Thread: A Wave That Could Reach Russia
Maybe “blue wave” is the wrong way to think about the midterms because, as the Cook Political Report reminds us, the momentum builds every day Trump remains unpopular. Races are being moved toward Democrats not because of what Democrats are doing, but because of what Republicans are failing to do. Did left-wing Hillary haters put […]
Aug. 3 Open Thread: Just Ignore Trump’s Tweets. That’s What His Wranglers Do
Remember when Donald Trump said he was pulling out of the G7 meeting agreement? Apparently neither does he, which is just how his wranglers want it. The have a long-standing habit of failing to follow through on nonsense Trump says, and unless someone reminds him later, there’s rarely any follow-through on Trump’s part. That’s probably […]
Aug. 2 Open Thread: Liberals Are Not Popular, But Liberal Ideas Are
When people say, “I worry that voters will be scared of a leftist agenda,” they’re really saying, “I’m scared of a leftist agenda.” Polling demonstrates this over and over again — people label themselves conservative but approve of all sorts of programs that are unabashedly liberal. Here’s another one that shows surprising strength even for […]
Aug. 1 Open Thread: Head to Head, Biden 7 Up on Trump
In news that’s certain to pique the interest of a certain former vice president, polling shows Joe Biden thumping Trump 44-37 in a head-to-head matchup. On the other hand, while 80% of Democrats picked Biden over Trump, 87% of them chose a generic Democrat, meaning 7% of the Democrats polled wouldn’t go for Joe. Trade […]
July 31 Open Thread: Democrats Have a Billionaire Sugar Daddy
To hear the conservative unwashed tell it, George Soros is the sugar daddy for everything from Nazis to Commies to — worst of all — Democrats. In reality, the party has its own super-donor to rival the GOP’s Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson and the Mercer family. You probably have heard of Tom Steyer as the […]
July 30 Open Thread: Even the NRA Says Florida Sheriff Botched ‘Stand Your Ground’ Case
The Florida sheriff who refused to arrest Delaware native Michael Drejka for shooting an unarmed black man in a convenience store parking lot misapplied the law in the case, according to both the NRA and the Florida lawmaker who authored the state law. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan is toast, but he still thinks he can […]
July 29 Open Thread: Democrats Tell Leftists, ‘Don’t Wreck the Party, That’s Our Job’
Inside-the-beltway pundits see Democrats all over the political spectrum winning elections and write that the intra-party warfare is overblown. Those outside the beltway have a clearer view: The neo-liberal “moderates” will give up power when leftists wrest it from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s wrinkled, arthritic hands. Here’s a political cartoon to illustrate the point. […]
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