February 23, 2018

"Eager to be seen as leading the debate, Trump tossed out ideas like so much fish food."

WaPo's Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker toss out random red meat in "‘We’re going to take action’: Inside Trump’s shifting stance on gun rights," teased on the front page as "How Trump cast himself as the main protagonist in the unfolding gun drama."

Presumably "fish food" is an intentional allusion to an incident that came in at #6 on President Trump's "2017 Fake News Awards": "CNN FALSELY edited a video to make it appear President Trump defiantly overfed fish during a visit with the Japanese prime minister. Japanese prime minister actually led the way with the feeding."

Also in the new article:
The president, who has often struggled to convey empathy, clutched a slim notecard with reminders about how to communicate with the grieving — “I hear you,” read one — that officials said White House Communications Director Hope Hicks jotted down during a huddle with Trump to prepare for the event.
So he held a piece of paper that had 5 notes from Hope Hicks? Wouldn't you think you'd want to look at the transcript to see how many times the man you portray as empathy-challenged used the phrase Hope Hick wrote down for him? I checked. Here's the transcript. The answer is zero.

Maybe that note card will make the 2018 Fake News Awards list. Remember this story about George H.W. Bush?
There was no card, but it did sound like a talking point accidentally read out loud. H.W.'s idiosyncratic locutions could have been portrayed as charming and evidence that he really was speaking straight from the heart. As George W. Bush put it in "41: A Portrait of My Father":
At one town hall, he delivered an underwhelming line to New Hampshire voters: “Message: I care.” No doubt he did care, a lot.
That was 1992, and H.W. Bush went on to lose his bid for reelection. It was the last time a U.S. presidential incumbent lost — the time the man had to read his empathy from a card. It didn't happen then, and it didn't happen with Donald Trump. But if it makes sense to you, if it strikes a chord, if it rings true, it is true.

113 comments:

Triangle Man said...

“I feel your pain.” That man could empathize the pants right off an intern.

rhhardin said...

Empathy is a bad sign in the president in any case.

It's democracy-imploding.

tim in vermont said...

Trump actually doesn't struggle to convey empathy, that's why he IS POTUS. Liberals struggle to resist it. That's their rally cry.

rhhardin said...

Emotions allowed in a president.

1. Oh shit.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

CNN really is like a Clinton.

Lie? No problem.
Lie about the lie? No problem.

tim in vermont said...

You guys should move to New Hampshire. Bloggable, livable.

rhhardin said...

It ought to be called empathxx.

rhhardin said...

I thought of fish food as chum, what you throw out to attract sharks.

Ann Althouse said...

"You guys should move to New Hampshire. Bloggable, livable."

We're thinking about that!

Would be good for election blogging... which I had not thought of as a factor.

My main factor: Aesthetics.

Second: Taxes.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Imagine the hack-D press interviewing the guy who wrote Clinton Cash, for a year.
Clinton Cash is far more accurate than the tabloid gorilla feelz pimped by MSNBC-Tur(D).

tim in vermont said...

I missed shaking GHWB's hand by a couple of minutes as his motorcade pulled up to my voting place as I left.

tim in vermont said...

Saw Jesse Jackson give a speech on a makeshift platform at the mall.

Leland said...

What we have here is a bad troll. They don't challenge your ideas and make you think. They challenge you by flinging poo at you and demanding you accept it.

tim in vermont said...

Mark Steyn lives there. You should write him.

Michael K said...

At least WaPoo got the cowardly deputy story right.

If you think about New Hampshire, Hanover is like Madison but the property taxes are similar.

When I was there, there was no sales or income tax. Democrats have been fleeing Massachusetts and bringing their voting pattern, though and I don't know about now.

I liked it a lot but went back to California for family.

tcrosse said...

"You guys should move to New Hampshire. Bloggable, livable."

You could be neighbors with P.J.O'Rourke and Mark Steyn.

Unknown said...

re- the cowardly deputy..
I am all for arming teachers with semi-automatic handguns, because they are going to be facing a kid that they know. They believe in kids or they wouldn't be teachers.
They will not shoot willy-nilly, they will talk, cajole, implore the kid to do the right thing. They will probably only fire after being wounded themselves.

Oso Negro said...

93% White people in New Hampshire and only 1% Blacks. So not much action in the local high schools threatening to spill over into the community at large.

tim in vermont said...

Why is it always about race with you? You some kind of Moby, Oso?

rhhardin said...

New England is a land of unattractive homes and rocky soil.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

The Two Minutes Hate has become the Two Minutes Cry.

Genuflect to empathy and post sadness on Facebook.

Conduct polls to gauge the sadness.

Evaluate the response to determine where and what to gain.

Bury the bodies.

The Germans have a word for this.

Danno said...

Ann said ..."Second: Taxes."

The property taxes in NH are 3rd highest in the U.S., but they don't have a sales tax or an income tax, though they do tax dividends and interest. You should check out what the property tax on a home to your standards might be before dismissing NH. I'm sure you may still have some taxable income to report besides your government? pension and sales tax is not nothing especially if you buy a new car every so often.

http://www.politifact.com/new-hampshire/statements/2012/jul/23/jackie-cilley/no-income-or-sales-tax-new-hampshire-does-rely-hea/

Sebastian said...

"But if it makes sense to you, if it strikes a chord, if it rings true, it is true."

Slight overgeneralization, considering the common denominator in the actual stories.

"But if it makes sense to progs, if it strikes a chord with progs, if it rings true in the MSM, it is true to progs."

Darrell said...

The Left is a steaming pile of shit--including its Media arm.
No news here.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Good job on catching the fake news: the real story is Hicks doing her job, Trump doing his. I love stories about how fake news has been with us for a long time, and before the Internet it pretty much had to come from the mainstream media. Sometimes reporters who had seen a candidate in action were itching to get a bad story out, so they looked for an excuse to do so: Muskie's tears, which might have been melting snowflakes, are an example. Bush Senior looking surprised at a grocery scanning machine. Did this mean he had never bought groceries in his life, since he had servants, or simply that this was a new type of machine? Or even more simply he was trying to make a trivial event seem more important? Bush Senior's "idiosyncratic locutions" must have been partly an attempt to overcome his own WASP reserve; I seem to recall "Don't cry for me, Argentina." Dan Rather was caught on the fake National Guard story on Bush Junior, but Rather probably went to a lot of cocktaill parties with people who were convinced Bush Junior was a "Fortunate Son" who avoided combat in Vietnam.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

tcrosse said...

You could be neighbors with P.J.O'Rourke and Mark Steyn.

Screw O'Rourke and Steyn. You could be neighbors with Ignorance is Bliss!

( I expect you wouldn't want to be. I live in a rural area of a small town, picked for its good schools ( resulting in higher property values and taxes. ) I assume you don't care so much about the local school district, and would value living within walking distance of a walkable downtown. Concord might be a reasonable option. )

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Empathy is probably not really a strong suit for the Pumpkin

'I've never been so unimpressed by a person in my life:' Teen shot in both legs by Florida school shooter blasts Trump for disappointing condolence call in which he called the gunman 'a sick puppy'

Samantha Fuentes was shot in both legs and has shrapnel behind her right eye

She said she felt no reassurances from the president, and said she's 'never been so impressed by a person in my life'

Told her he'd heard she's big fan of his, and she's 'pretty sure he made that up'

'He didn't make me feel better in the slightest,' Fuentes told the New York Times

Bob Boyd said...

Eager to capitalize on the moment Democrats cast blame like baited fish hooks.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Teen should be blasting the people who dropped the ball. It wasn't Trump.

Trump is not a super hero in charge of the local Sheriff's office.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

The beginning of the end? First National Bank breaks ties with the NRA following customer outrage after Parkland shooting

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

"'He didn't make me feel better in the slightest,' Fuentes told the New York Times"

This kind of thing will be handled better when Oprah is President.

The Germans have a word for this.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

When corrupt democrats get kids killed. CNN and ARM blame Trump.

Hagar said...

Perhaps we should wait to hear "the cowardly deputy's" story before we get our indignation meter too far up. I am pretty sure he will sue his sheriff for defamation and we will get to hear more about this.

Wince said...

"Eager to be seen as leading the debate, Trump tossed out ideas like so much fish food."

I need those politicians that you carry in your pocket, like so many nickels and dimes...

After all, we are not communists
.

tcrosse said...

'He didn't make me feel better in the slightest,' Fuentes told the New York Times

Well, he doesn't heal the sick or raise the dead, either. Possibly not in the job description.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

39 warning signs not enough for dick-jerking Hillary supporting local Florida officials. Blame Trump and NRA!

Browndog said...

Liberals have found the one cop in America they can support. A coward, who sheltered in place in his safe space while students were being slaughtered, as to not introduce yet another gun into the school, making the situation worse.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

If the Beatles were to write "The End" today the line would be:

"In the end the love you take is equal to the love you fake."

Excuse me for a moment: I am going to go listen to "Happiness Is a Warm Gun".

The Germans have a word for this.

tcrosse said...

The Italians have a gesture for this.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

If it's true that a fish doesn't know it's wet, then what's our excuse?

Dave said...

Aesthetics and Taxes. Tennessee. Ask the lovely redhead what she thinks. Cookeville is pretty nice or any suburb of Nashville, Knoxville. Chattanooga is also pretty great, especially the "mountain" suburbs such as signal or lookout. The only issue: it mostly rains in the winter and it can be a lot of rain. But you can dress and go out in the rain same as you can any weather. The upside to that is lots of fresh water lakes, rivers, streams.

Big South Fork River and Recreation Area (Natl Geo best kept wilderness secret! shhh)
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=big+south+fork+river&t=canonical&atb=v84-4_b&iax=images&ia=images

Also, I am impressed with the random act of journalism you committed.
"Wouldn't you think you'd want to look at the transcript to see how many times the man you portray as empathy-challenged used the phrase Hope Hick wrote down for him? I checked. Here's the transcript. The answer is zero."

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Hagar said...
Perhaps we should wait to hear "the cowardly deputy's" story before we get our indignation meter too far up. I am pretty sure he will sue his sheriff for defamation and we will get to hear more about this.


I largely agree with this. My local high school is a very large building. Figuring out what the hell was going on in there during a shooting spree would not be trivial. The optics are bad but this is what cops do, they protect themselves first, which is a big part of why there are so many killings by cops in the US. They shoot first rather than take any personal risk. This is always subsequently justified as being part of their training.

Bob Boyd said...

The failure of the deputy when the moment came reminds me of that Joseph Conrad novel 'Lord Jim'. A great book. Not a great deputy.

roesch/voltaire said...

The point is not whether he used the list but why Hicks felt he needed that list in the first place and judging from his responses and phone calls to the victims apparently he needs some sort of empathy list.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“He didn't make me feel better in the slightest,' Fuentes told the New York Times”

The girl’s wounding is tragic.
This quote, and ARM’s belief that it is significant, is hilarious.

Is there a Trump the Unempathetic Priest tag?

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

"The president, who has often struggled to convey empathy, clutched a slim notecard with reminders about how to communicate with the grieving..."

CNN hosts get to use a teleprompter for this kind of thing.

Of course, everyday people may have trouble finding the words, too. From Hallmark's website:

Sympathy messages: what to write in a sympathy card.

Examples

“We are so sorry for your loss.”

“I’m going to miss her, too.”

“I hope you feel surrounded by much love.”

“Sharing in your sadness as you remember Dan.”

"Sorry for your loss. We will get a Gun Control bill written in your name."

“Sending healing prayers and comforting hugs. I am so sorry for your loss.”

“With deepest sympathy as you remember Robert.”

“I was saddened to hear that your grandfather passed away. My thoughts are with you and your family.”

“Remembering your wonderful mother and wishing you comfort.”

“It was truly a pleasure working with your father for 17 years. He will be deeply missed.”

“Thinking of you all as you celebrate your grandmother’s remarkable life.”

“We are missing Anne along with you. With heartfelt sympathy,”

“Thinking of you and wishing you moments of peace and comfort as you remember a friend who was so close to you.”
“Our family is keeping your family in our thoughts and prayers.”

“Holding you close in my thoughts and hoping you are doing OK.”


Okay: the fifth one might not have actually been on the list.

But another example:

Paul McCartney's first public comment on John Lennon's murder in December 1980 - "it's a drag."

The Germans have a word for this.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"The horrible dictator Nazi Trump dind't make me feel better."

fify.

Curious George said...

"Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
I largely agree with this. My local high school is a very large building. Figuring out what the hell was going on in there during a shooting spree would not be trivial. The optics are bad but this is what cops do, they protect themselves first, which is a big part of why there are so many killings by cops in the US. They shoot first rather than take any personal risk. This is always subsequently justified as being part of their training."

The actions are 180 degrees different. In the first case, it's an officer failing to respond or take action to keep himself safe and allowing the bad guy to do evil. In the second it's an officer who has responded and has taken personal risk and does take action to stop a bad guy from doing his evil.

You are a moron.

Michael K said...

ARM has missed the real news about guns and the NRA. Gun sales will be up big time the next few months while the MSM and the Democrats whip up this media frenzy.

I expect NRA memberships to spike, also.

Obama was the best gun salesman in history.

Curious George said...

Here's some real Presidential empathy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38_wP-Vf3hU

Michael K said...

"You are a moron."

No, ARM is a walking example of DNC talking points., He rarely gets one wrong.

Ann Althouse said...

"( I expect you wouldn't want to be. I live in a rural area of a small town, picked for its good schools ( resulting in higher property values and taxes. ) I assume you don't care so much about the local school district, and would value living within walking distance of a walkable downtown. Concord might be a reasonable option. )"

You're right about schools & downtown. Thanks for the tip about Concord.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Curious George said...
In the second it's an officer who has responded and has taken personal risk and does take action to stop a bad guy from doing his evil.


The vast majority of killings by cop are avoidable.

Nearly a thousand people are killed by cops each year in the US. In many countries the number is zero or single digits. We have trained a force of incompetent cowards. Their reliance on guns is part of a broader social dysfunction.

tcrosse said...

"You are a moron."

No, ARM is a walking example of DNC talking points., He rarely gets one wrong.


Embrace the power of 'And'.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

ARM wants super hero Obama to make the phone call.

I don't think Obama made phone calls.

Gretchen said...

I think Trump actually wants to solve big issues, and he really could care less who gets pissed off. I believe he actually does understand the average person more than Obama or Bush did. While Trump is wildly wealthy, working in real estate makes it necessary to deal with construction workers and other non-college educated people. I doubt Obama had a single acquaintance who wasn't Ivy League.

He realizes gun-free zones are an invitation to creeps. Having well-trained armed personnel throughout the school increases the chances of getting the shooter effectively.

pacwest said...

"Perhaps we should wait to hear "the cowardly deputy's" story before we get our indignation meter too far up."

Yes to this.

bolivar di griz said...

Apropos of nothing:


https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/02/marching-for-israel-in-calcutta/


bolivar di griz said...

Well that's convenient:


www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/23/police-officers-guard-home-deputy-assigned-to-florida-hs-who-never-went-in-during-shooting-report.html

Paul said...

Correct Gretchen. I also think his is really listing.

Unfortunately the MSM, no matter what he does, will try to show it as a bad thing.

It is just their nature.

Drago said...

ARM: "The beginning of the end? First National Bank breaks ties with the NRA following customer outrage after Parkland shooting"

LOL

What a lefty groupthink perspective.

Since the Lefty "movements" are always scripted and controlled top down ARM and his pals dont even possess a mental framework to recognize a group that is driven and motivated completely by its grass roots membership.

This is precisely why the left did not recognize or understand the tea party movement. Every day was an exercise by the Lefties to identfy a tea party "leader" that could be "frozen" and attacked Alinsky style.

The NRA is a 5M member organization that is impervious to the lefties Soros/Bloomberg attack dollars.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Althouse- just my two cents. I think you could not be happier anywhere else. In Madison, you have the lake, the walking and biking trails, the downtown. All the stuff you love to do almost every day. Grass ain't always greener.

Michael K said...

We have trained a force of incompetent cowards. Their reliance on guns is part of a broader social dysfunction.

I certainly hope you are determined never to call one.

No thought about why they are more likely to have to shoot than cops in France, for example , who were shot down outside the magazine offices because they were unarmed.

No mention of the fact that the Muslim jihadi who drove over pedestrians on the Parliament bridge was stopped only because a bodyguard for an MP was armed and shot him.

As I said, a walking talking DNC talking point.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Drago said...
This is precisely why the left did not recognize or understand the tea party movement.


Do deficits still matter?

I understand BS when I see it. Either tools of the GOPe or hypocrites, your choice.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Drago said...
The NRA is a 5M member organization


The KKK had a lot of members at one point.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

MK, repeating NRA talking points.

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Birkel said...

Since the NRA was formed, in large part, as a response to the KKK, ARM could not be more ridiculous.

Disarming blacks was the first goal of the KKK, a Democrat organization.
The NRA had a different agenda.

I heartily endorse all Democrats who wish to run on the anti-gun agenda.
Make ARM great again.

bolivar di griz said...


But of course:

https://nypost.com/2018/02/22/deputy-who-didnt-stop-florida-shooting-thinks-he-did-a-good-job/

Fabi said...

Beloved Comrade Armapov wet the bed again last night after dreaming about big scary guns!

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Birkel said...
Since the NRA was formed, in large part, as a response to the KKK


Hmmm.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

The KKK had a lot of members at one point.


2/23/18, 9:17 AM

Please point to some NRA literature which advises members to use guns to target people they don't like or to use their guns for anything else besides recreational target shooting, hunting and self-defense. For that matter, point to an NRA member who has committed a mass shooting.

Otherwise, the comparison is, well, stupid and dishonest.

I'd like to know if the NRA is advising people to run out and shoot innocents, since, thanks in part to your comments, I did what I should have done years ago and joined the other day.

Tim said...

Portsmouth, NH is a very pretty town. Lots of history, very nice walkable downtown. Not far from Boston and not far from real countryside.Also, ocean.

tim in vermont said...

I lived in Concord for a while, travelled widely there in fact. (Different Concord.) Kind of a small town, got relocated so I left. Portsmouth is my favorite. I also used to live in Derry and West Running Brook was the boundary of my back yard. (True) and The Road Less Traveled passed by about a mile away (joke.)

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

From the article A Butthurt Man linked to:

"In response to urban gun violence often associated with immigrants, especially those from Italy, the NRA’s president, Karl Frederick, helped draft model legislation to restrict concealed carry of firearms in public. States, Frederick’s model law recommended, should only allow concealed carry by people with a license, and those licenses should be restricted to “suitable” people with “proper reason for carrying” a gun in public. Thanks to the NRA’s endorsement, these laws were adopted in the majority of states."

So - restrictive gun control laws were used to deny minorities their right to gun ownership? Well, I'm certainly glad the NRA has changed its' stance and doesn't support those laws any more!

The article basically admits that gun control laws were instituted in this country because of bigotry and racism and Butthurt Man somehow thinks that bolsters his case.

Idiotic.

Chuck said...

Althouse, you make a good and a fair point with this post.

Additionally, as you allude, the anti-Republican media have done this before, very notably, with a great many others not named Trump.

I see that you didn't apply the "Trump Derangement Syndrome" tag to this. Fair enough. It might get the general all-purpose "anti-Republican media" tag.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Tim, my older sister has a friend who settled in Meredith, NH (her hubby is originally from Boston) and likes that area a great deal. She did say people who are used to Southern and Midwestern friendliness might initially be put off by New England reserve. She's reserved herself, so it didn't bother her much.

I can't say. The New Englanders I've known didn't seem terribly reserved to me. I've only been to Vermont, not NH. Vermont is certainly pretty. It's my understanding that NH is a bit more rugged and less pastoral than Vermont. Fewer moonbats too.

Birkel said...

ARM

When you type "hmmm" but you mean "I hope nobody actually reads the link" it is an ineffective strategy.

Democrats disarmed blacks so the Democrats could abuse the blacks.
Now Democrats want me to disarm of my own accord?

Hard pass.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

So you admit that your original statement was bullshit and have now moved on to new bullshit?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I just love to see the media going overboard on Trump. It just makes him stronger.

If I was advising his opponents, I would tell them to do the opposite of whatever their instincts tell them. I only say that because I know they wouldn't listen. They just can't help themselves.

FullMoon said...

Cops ignore school criminals in order to get govt money


The primary problem was the policy conflicted with laws; and over time the policy began to create outcomes where illegal behavior by students was essentially unchecked by law enforcement.

Birkel said...

No, ARM. I admit that you tried to deflect with an article that did not address my point directly. I further admit that what you linked supported the point I was making by referencing later events that are coincidental to my point.

Please continue to make the argument that 1868 = 1920.

I know you prefer words but that math should not be beyond you.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Tweet pointing out that there were armed guards at every recent mass shooting goes viral as Trump's plan to end school massacres by giving teachers MORE guns is slammed as 'colossally stupid'

Drago said...

ARM: "The KKK had a lot of members at one point."

My only regret is I lack the influence to make ARM the Chief Media Strategist for the DNC. Still, one can hope that the dems as a whole run full speed with every little narrative/meme that ARM offers up.

From ARM's keyboard to the DNC "gods" ears......

We are so lucky to have political opponents like ARM and LLR Chuck.

Birkel said...

Again, ARM, I wish you great success as you support politicians who run on the anti-gun platform.

I'm sure you'll do well.

Drago said...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration/prez_track_feb23

snip: "The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove."

Ouch.

Far left and their LLR allies hardest hit.

Drago said...

Oh, wait a moment.

Perhaps ARM is simply having fun with us by pretending to be Freder or LLR Chuck!

In that case, well played ARM. You really had us going there for a minute.

Michael McNeil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael McNeil said...

“Eager to be seen as leading the debate, Trump tossed out ideas like so much fish food.”

1) Am I the only one to respond to this by thinking: I love this news about Trump. Just “tossing out ideas” — what a concept! That by itself ought to put paid to the leftist and MSM notion that Trump is a “moron,” but of course it won’t. (See ARM just above, as case in point.)

2) The “like so much fish food” gibe no doubt is a dog whistle from the MSM to all “useful fool” leftists who never got the news update and still fondly imagine that Trump really did put his figurative foot in it last year, by (supposedly crassly) dumping out a box of fish food (during a fish-feeding photo-op while visiting Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe) — as the media gloatingly and glaringly proclaimed to the skies — whereas actually the Japanese leader had himself just emptied out his own box into the pool just before, providing the example for Trump. Perhaps the reporter never noticed the later corrections. Either way, it’s actually pretty stupid (for the media!) to refer to now.

Yancey Ward said...

What the WaPo writers are objecting to is that Trump doesn't just wear the antagonist role they and CNN had laid out for him.

Drago said...

Yancey Ward: "What the WaPo writers are objecting to is that Trump doesn't just wear the antagonist role they and CNN had laid out for him"

The "republican easy target" box that the LLR's of the world are so very, very desperate to put Trump in so that the dems can return to power by shooting at stationary targets.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Rasmussen, cough, cough.

Drago said...

ARM: "Rasmussen, cough, cough"

That's right.

Rasmussen is wrong.

Completely wrong.

Time for you and LLR Chuck to double down on your lefty talking points. It's all "upside" for you!

Remember, and make sure you internalize this completely: Donald Trump has NO path to 270.

None. Whatsoever.

So feel free to weaponize the DOJ/FBI/CIA/NSA/ODNI against your domestic political opponents. I mean, whaddya have to lose? What could possibly go wrong?

"Madame President". Get used to never, ever saying that about Hillary Clinton!

Nikki Haley, however, hmmmmmm. BTW, I can' wait to see how LLR Chuck organizes his future attacks on her because that would be the "principled conservative" position....

Birkel said...

ARM links to New Republic and then scoffs at Rasmussen.
Hilarious.

The trend lines of all the polling outfits are coincidental.
Scoff at all of them, ARM.

Birkel said...

Drago,
May I field that one?

LLR Chuck will, with great sincerity and after long thought, simply not be able to vote for Haley because she worked to pursue the ends that Chuck announces he desires...

Because Haley did it while working in service to evil incarnate, Donald Trump.

Richard Dillman said...

Maybe it was an allusion to phish food, a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream popular with young people, marshmallow in chocolate ice cream, etc.
About moving. I’ve lived in 5 different states, and I’ve learned that utopia doesn’t exist. The Latin derivation of u-topia literally means no
place. What you don’t pay in income or sales taxes you will pay for in other ways. Your fiscal obligations will balance out somehow.
There is no free lunch.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Richard Dillman said...

There is no free lunch.

True, but some lunches are significantly more expensive than others.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I Appreciate Assault Weapons. And I Support a Ban.

This guy is not a complete idiot. His basic argument is that an assault weapon makes his concealed pistol largely useless for self-defense. He has enough sparks in his noggin to figure this out at least. Shame he doesn't also recognize that his pistol neutralizes the weapons that genuinely manly men traditionally brought to a civilian conflict.

Birkel said...

Yes, ARM, we appreciate that you would disarm us completely.

Hard pass.

Michael K said...

I'd like to know if the NRA is advising people to run out and shoot innocents, since, thanks in part to your comments, I did what I should have done years ago and joined the other day.

I'm going to put my "NRA Life Member, Patron Life Member" sticker on the back of my car today.

This leftist hysteria will be a boon for members and gun sales.

I should go out and shoot a couple hundreds rounds through my P 38 pistol this weekend. I've hardly used it since getting it for Christmas. It's actually a P 4 but not a lot of people know the difference,.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Michael K said...
I'm going to put my "NRA Life Member, Patron Life Member" sticker on the back of my car today.


I assume it is a cheap car.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Michael K said...

I should go out and shoot a couple hundreds rounds through my P 38 pistol this weekend. I've hardly used it since getting it for Christmas. It's actually a P 4 but not a lot of people know the difference,.

P 34?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

"More than 2 million Americans are now hooked on some kind of opioid, and drug overdoses — from heroin and fentanyl in particular — claimed more American lives last year than were lost in the entire Vietnam War. Overdose deaths are higher than in the peak year of AIDS and far higher than fatalities from car crashes. "

"[Opioids have] now been responsible for a decline in life spans in America for two years in a row, a decline that isn’t happening in any other developed nation. According to the best estimates, opioids will kill another 52,000 Americans this year alone — and up to half a million in the next decade."

The opioid death cult and gun death cult have considerable overlap.

Michael said...

ARM

I am wondering why the smart party does not hitch up this anti gun moment and ride it to victory in the fall. It is the right thing to do because not doing so is not who we (you) are, no? Instead of yammering on and on about the NRA and the evil Republicans why does the smart party just do something? The children demand it. Go all in with your belief, with your heart. Call for a repeal of the second amendment after, only after, you call for the confiscation of all guns in private hands. Just like Australia. Or tell us that you really and truly don't give a shit and prefer to yammer on about the killer NRA.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Beclowned Commenter AReasonableMan said...

His basic argument is that an assault weapon makes his concealed pistol largely useless for self-defense. He has enough sparks in his noggin to figure this out at least.

That is not his basic argument, it would be an incredibly stupid argument if it was. The vast majority of shootings occur at distances well under 40 yards.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

You should read a little more carefully. He is referring specifically to the situation were there is someone with an assault rifle.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

You should read a little more carefully. He is referring specifically to the situation were there is someone with an assault rifle.

Nothing un-careful about my reading. How many mass-shootings in this country happen at > 40 yards?

Las Vegas is the only one I know of. The D.C. snipers were probably at > 40 yards, but they were doing single-shot killings, so a bolt-action would suit their purposes.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This is a good article by Sullivan, directly relevant to the twin death cults.

"It’s been several decades since Daniel Bell wrote The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, but his insights have proven prescient. Ever-more-powerful market forces actually undermine the foundations of social stability, wreaking havoc on tradition, religion, and robust civil associations, destroying what conservatives value the most. They create a less human world. They make us less happy. They generate pain.

This was always a worry about the American experiment in capitalist liberal democracy. The pace of change, the ethos of individualism, the relentless dehumanization that capitalism abets, the constant moving and disruption, combined with a relatively small government and the absence of official religion, risked the construction of an overly atomized society, where everyone has to create his or her own meaning, and everyone feels alone. "

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Ever-more-powerful market forces actually undermine the foundations of social stability, wreaking havoc on tradition, religion, and robust civil associations...

Yeah, it's market forces doing that. Right.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

More responsible gun owners.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Ignorance is Bliss said...
Yeah, it's market forces doing that. Right.


If you actually understood anything about how this country works you would feel ashamed for writing this.

tim in vermont said...

How has aggressively countering market forces worked out in Venezuela, as the latest example? I sort of agree with beloved commenter, but the solution of handing the vast power over to a government that the press refuses, in the main, to hold to account seems unwise.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

CPAC is a gun free zone

Unbefuckinglieavable.

Birkel said...

Your anti-gun candidates will surely win, ARM.

Run with that. With scissors.