Where the heck is the New POLITICS Thread?

by **Phan In Phlorida** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 17:32:18

VoxOrion wrote:
drsmooth wrote:Obama demonstrated his leaderiousity;

In all seriousness, being time keeper is the antithesis of leaderiousity. I've never been in any context where an important person took that role.

Wait... are you saying drummers aren't important? :cry:

by **VoxOrion** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 17:39:03

Well, more important than the bass player...

by **drsmooth** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 19:25:15

VoxOrion wrote:
drsmooth wrote:Obama demonstrated his leaderiousity;

In all seriousness, being time keeper is the antithesis of leaderiousity. I've never been in any context where an important person took that role.

I'm pretty sure I never once mentioned timekeeping in my little lighthearted summary.

And I'm pretty sure that I paid more attention to those proceedings than anyone here, including you, because my life is that much more pathetic than anyone else's.

So what the hell are you talking about?

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 19:46:01

So these past few days have been bad for powerful Harlem Democratic politicians

by **CalvinBall** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 23:49:03

so federal unemployment and COBRA end monday? if i understand that correctly i know a handful of people who will lose health insurance and one family who will have pretty much nothing.

by **VoxOrion** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 00:44:48

drsmooth wrote:
VoxOrion wrote:
drsmooth wrote:Obama demonstrated his leaderiousity;

In all seriousness, being time keeper is the antithesis of leaderiousity. I've never been in any context where an important person took that role.

I'm pretty sure I never once mentioned timekeeping in my little lighthearted summary.

And I'm pretty sure that I paid more attention to those proceedings than anyone here, including you, because my life is that much more pathetic than anyone else's.

So what the hell are you talking about?

I'm talking about what I said - you commented on his leaderosity, and I'm responding that I thought his role of playing timekeeper was undignified. YMMV. I got that you were joking, which is why I started with "In all seriousness".

by **jerseyhoya** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 02:19:08

Kornacki on Rangel and Pelosi

by **drsmooth** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 08:41:26

VoxOrion wrote:
drsmooth wrote:
VoxOrion wrote:
drsmooth wrote:Obama demonstrated his leaderiousity;

In all seriousness, being time keeper is the antithesis of leaderiousity. I've never been in any context where an important person took that role.

I'm pretty sure I never once mentioned timekeeping in my little lighthearted summary.

And I'm pretty sure that I paid more attention to those proceedings than anyone here, including you, because my life is that much more pathetic than anyone else's.

So what the hell are you talking about?

I'm talking about what I said - you commented on his leaderosity, and I'm responding that I thought his role of playing timekeeper was undignified. YMMV. I got that you were joking, which is why I started with "In all seriousness".

ok, I see now.

There was probably a time when a POTUS would not have had to play Kindergarten Kop with roomful of Senators & Representatives.

That time, sadly, is not now.

They don't respect each other, or those who elected them; what makes you think they'll respect any but the very topmost elected guy on matters of shutting up (they didn't, by & large, even do that very well - one of their few truly bipartisan achievements)?

by **drsmooth** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 13:59:35

Entertaining piece on Senator Truckdriver in this week's NY Times Mag. Bits like the following:

[Senatorial daughter] Arianna told me that he showed up for his first real date with her mother, Gail Huff, a TV newscaster to whom he has been married for more than 23 years, in pink leather shorts. It’s family lore.

The pinkish color drained from his face when I asked him about it during a conversation in his campaign office just before we took off in the truck. He clarified that the shorts weren’t something that he went out and purchased — it wasn’t like that at all. “I did the couture shows, and instead of paying in cash, they paid in clothes,” he said. “And one of the things I had to wear were leather shorts. And these happened to be pink.”

As he told the story, he seemed, almost in spite of himself, to get into it. “If I wore these now,” he said, “I’d get shot. But it was the ’80s. Pastels were in. It was all pastel-y.” The shorts went with his tan at the time and a pair of white shoes that he owned, so he gave them a whirl. “Gail comes out and she’s like, ‘Those are pink shorts.’ I said: ‘Yeah, you like them? They’re great. Comfortable. Feel this leather.’ ” With this last phrase, he slowly stroked the side of one of his thighs, apparently miming the gesture he made in front of her.

He emphasized: “This isn’t cheap leather. This is, like, $750 shorts back then.” He shook his head at the memory. “Crazy stuff.”

Hatchet job? reasonable assumption. Done with his understanding & winking assent? Hard to see how he wasn't on board.

Hard to dislike a guy who can laugh at himself; so should we all. Laugh.

At ourselves.

Not at him. I did not mean that.

by **Monkeyboy** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 19:47:36

jerseyhoya wrote:Reading about these strikes in Greece in the face of cuts they're doing to try and prevent the country from completely collapsing makes me want to go to Greece with a machine gun and just mow these people down.

But the real issue is, how will all this stuff affect my honeymoon there this summer.

by **drsmooth** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 20:23:13

jerseyhoya wrote:Reading about these strikes in Greece in the face of cuts they're doing to try and prevent the country from completely collapsing makes me want to go to Greece with a machine gun and just mow these people down.

before you lock & load, dude, take note of what a legit conservative has to say about Greece - you may be aiming your weapons at targets nearer at hand

by **jerseyhoya** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 02:33:38

If I have to root for Jon Runyan and John Smoltz in the same year, I give up

by **dajafi** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:26:57

jerseyhoya wrote:If I have to root for Jon Runyan and John Smoltz in the same year, I give up

You beat me to it on the Smoltz thing.

He'll run against The Gays and CBP, no doubt.

by **TenuredVulture** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:46:02

Lt. Gov. and father of the Arkansas Lottery and Clintonista Bill Halter will challenge the vulnerable Blanche Lincoln in the Dem primary. He's more left than Blanche. Republicans are rejoicing.

by **jerseyhoya** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:50:04

I know we disagree about this, but I think Blanche is just about unreelectable at the moment. Democrats would do well to run just about anyone else, especially if they're not a creature of Washington.

Side benefit for Dems on the primary challenge is this might force her into supporting reconciliation for HCR. I don't know if she had signaled one way or another on it so far.

by **TenuredVulture** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:54:24

jerseyhoya wrote:I know we disagree about this, but I think Blanche is just about unreelectable at the moment. Democrats would do well to run just about anyone else, especially if they're not a creature of Washington.

Side benefit for Dems on the primary challenge is this might force her into supporting reconciliation for HCR. I don't know if she had signaled one way or another on it so far.

Blanche has a chance, if only because with so many Rs running for the nomination, there's a good chance they'll nominate some loon like Jim Holt.

Halter is very much a Washington guy--he grew in Arkansas, but only recently returned and ran for Lt. Gov. So I don't know that he's a stronger candidate than Blanche.

by **Houshphandzadeh** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 14:07:28

I could've sworn I saw on tv last night that they extended unemployment benefits, but I'm having a hard time finding confirmation online. Anyone know?

by **drsmooth** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 14:21:54

Houshphandzadeh wrote:I could've sworn I saw on tv last night that they extended unemployment benefits, but I'm having a hard time finding confirmation online. Anyone know?

What you may have heard was the loud castigation of the Senator from teh Phillies re: his refusal to vote for it w/out evidence of some counterbalancing cuts to help pay for it:

http://new.wtaq.com/news/articles/2010/ ... less-bene/

by **jerseyhoya** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 18:17:40

The left's embrace of primarying Blanche Lincoln (most posts on the front page of kos are about supporting the challenger) reminds me a lot of the GOP primarying Lincoln Chaffee in 2006. The party was on a sinking boat that was also on fire, and our activists were busy focusing on trying to make sure a backup guitarist from the cruise ship band, who was already probably going to be fired from his job, didn't get hired for the next cruise, even though he was the best they could reasonably hope for getting.

Analogy sucks I know. I was trying to be very illustrative.

by **TenuredVulture** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 18:23:23

jerseyhoya wrote:The left's embrace of primarying Blanche Lincoln (most posts on the front page of kos are about supporting the challenger) reminds me a lot of the GOP primarying Lincoln Chaffee in 2006. The party was on a sinking boat that was also on fire, and our activists were busy focusing on trying to make sure a backup guitarist from the cruise ship band, who was already probably going to be fired from his job, didn't get hired for the next cruise.

I'm no fan of Lincoln, but it's dumb for Kos and Moveon to target her this cycle. The difference between Lincoln and Chafee though is that Chafee's vulnerability was caused by the GOP attacks, while Lincoln was vulnerable long before kos et al could even locate Arkansas on a map.

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Where the heck is the New POLITICS Thread?