Alby

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Nancy Pelosi Building Her Own Coffin

Filed in National by on June 27, 2018 2 Comments

Nancy Pelosi is a goner. When the Democrats retake the House, she will not be elected Speaker, and it’s her own doing, because she has alienated members from both the right and left wings of the party. Michael Tomasky had a piece this morning (see the Open Thread) about the cluelessness of the Democratic establishment, […]

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June 27 Open Thread: Youth Will Be Served

Filed in National by on June 27, 2018 19 Comments

Many people are taking the primary victory by Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over a 20-year incumbent as a positive sign for more liberal policies, but Michael Tomasky sees her as part of the same demographic current that helped conservative Democrat Conor Lamb win in western Pennsylvania: Democrats are going younger. It’s an interesting take, highlighted […]

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Confronting the Confrontation Question

Filed in National by on June 27, 2018 20 Comments

Yes, you hate her, but give Sarah Huckabee Sanders credit — she served Trump well by tweeting out her experience at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va. Her job is to distract the media from whatever the current Trump horror might be, and she changed the subject masterfully. It happened last Friday and we’re […]

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Don’t Give Up

Filed in National by on June 26, 2018 3 Comments

I know it looks bleak. But remember that the system was set up to reflect the will of the people. A minority government can only hold out so long, and every action taken by this one makes it more probable that the GOP dies in flames. Despite losing the popular vote by 3 million, they’re […]

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June 26 Open Thread: Orange Pig Attacks Noisy Hogs

Filed in National by on June 26, 2018 7 Comments

By which I mean Trump attacked Harley Davidson for moving some of its production to Europe in response to retaliatory tariffs imposed in Trump’s trade war. This, naturally, prompted a wildly disproportionate and misinformed Twitter attack, as America’s orange pig ranted against the maker of America’s iconic-because-purposely-obnoxious motorcycles. This puts H-D in a tight spot, […]

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Chris Coons, Mr. Quick Study

Filed in Delaware, National by on June 26, 2018 3 Comments

You can’t slip anything past Sen. Chris Coons. He sat for an interview yesterday with WDEL, in which he said — better sit down — that Trump needs to be better informed and that he’s not a king. “I’ve had direct, in-person conversations with [Trump] about immigration policy, and he, at the time, was strikingly […]

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Wagner’s Disgrace Is Big Boost for Davies

Filed in Delaware by on June 25, 2018 65 Comments

Today’s Department of Labor ruling in favor of Kathleen Davies in her dispute with her former boss, Auditor Tom Wagner, was no doubt satisfying for her in a professional sense. It showed that there was no factual foundation for the allegations against her, and pointed pretty clearly to another employee of the office who stepped […]

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June 25 Open Thread: I Say, My Good Man, Jailing Babies Seems Not Quite Cricket

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 25, 2018 14 Comments

The headline is my crack at showing the proper level of civility apparently required when pointing out to certain of our fellow citizens that they are monsters — a notion to which I, along with some of my leftist fellow travelers, cry, “Bullshit! With a capital SHIT!” Josh Marshall: [I]t is simply too comical to […]

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June 24 Open Thread: No Dinner For Sarah

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 24, 2018 4 Comments

Most people prefer simple narratives to complex ones, which is why Nicholas Sparks sells a lot more novels than, say, David Foster Wallace. It’s also why, amid the falling debris of Festung America, people have fastened onto the story of a small-town Virginia restaurant that refused service to Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The restaurant is in […]

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June 23 Open Thread: The Cruelty Is Politically Motivated

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 23, 2018 9 Comments

Anyone who thinks the controversy over Trump’s immigration policies will cost Republicans bigly in November had better sober up. The issue is doing exactly what Trump wants — firing up Republicans so they’ve as motivated to vote as Democrats are. And it’s working. There are some uncomfortable facts that Democrats who see the issue as […]

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June 22 Open Thread: Do U Care? Well, Do U, Punk?

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 22, 2018 27 Comments

I have never for a moment thought that Melania Trump cared — her resting face says “bored rich model” better than words ever could — so I can only begin to guess her actual motivation for wearing the now-infamous $39 jacket printed with “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” Obviously she knew what she was […]

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June 21 Open Thread: Trump Head-Fake Fools Nobody

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 21, 2018 18 Comments

The family separation controversy cooled off for a few hours yesterday as Trump promised to sign an executive order ending the practice. What he did instead was declare we would now operate what Samantha Bee called “Mommy and Me prisons,” which also sets up a battle with the federal courts. The separation policy has at […]

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Breaking: Trump Says He’ll Sign Executive Order to End Separation of Families

Filed in National by on June 20, 2018 13 Comments

It’s Trump, so I’ll believe it when I see it, but he says he’s “signing something”, meaning an executive order, later today to end the practice. I’ll applaud after I see the details. The legislative solution was going to incarcerate families together, but it was pointed out that it would merely punt the problem to […]

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