It's a topic I'm following, and I've recently blogged about. I said it a week ago: "The socialists are to the Democratic Party what the Tea Party was to the GOP."
So right now, all I want to do is put up something I cropped from one of the photographs:
"Dr. Abdul El-Sayed tried to attract young voters," and he did. They came toddling in wearing shorts, shuffling in slides and sneakers.
If I were a NYT essayist, I'd muse that they are showing us what real, human, embodied and, yes male power can look like.
ADDED: After publishing this post, I dashed off a question to Grok, "Can the males wear shorts and slides to the revolution?" Answer:
Yes. Revolutions have historically been pretty flexible on the dress code, especially for the rank-and-file.The French Revolution’s sans-culottes (“without breeches”) made a point of rejecting aristocratic knee-breeches in favor of practical working-class trousers, short jackets, and wooden clogs—comfort and egalitarianism over formality. Later reformers, including Britain’s interwar Men’s Dress Reform Party, actively pushed shorts, open-neck shirts, and sandals as healthier, freer alternatives to stiff suits. Campus “shorts campaigns” (like Dartmouth in 1930) treated bare legs as a minor uprising against stuffy norms.Shorts and slides (or similar easy footwear) fit right into that tradition of rejecting unnecessary formality. They’re practical for hot weather, movement, and not caring what the old regime thinks looks “proper.” Modern protests and cultural shifts have repeatedly shown people showing up in whatever lets them move and stay cool. As long as you can run, stand, or throw metaphorical (or actual) bricks without your outfit getting in the way, the revolution generally doesn’t issue a formal invitation requiring a suit.
So lace up—or rather, slide on—and join. Just maybe pack a change of clothes if things get messy.
The same question, asked to ChatGPT, gets this:
If you mean The Revolution as a particular restaurant/bar/event, tell me which one (or give me the city). “The Revolution” is ambiguous, and dress codes can vary.
Speaking of pants and given my interest in the songwriter Lorenz Hart, I want to add that I was listening to the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" this morning, the Ella Fitzgerald version, with all the verses, and I was struck to hear the lines: "I'll sing to him, each spring to him/And worship the trousers that cling to him."
AND: The song title is punctuated like that, without an Oxford comma. I myself use the Oxford comma, but I'm not going to edit the punctuation. Here are a few more lines from that movie about Hart ("Blue Moon"). The Hart character is speaking to the writer E.B. White:
You can't move a comma, you can't invent a comma. But now, if I consult my Strunk & White, "The Elements of Style," I see that Rule 2 is "In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last." So I guess if E.B. White had written the song, it would have been "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." But doesn't that look fussy?I cannot tell you how much I enjoy your essays. Nothing has given me more pleasure; I’m in love with your language... I’m in love with your punctuation. You can’t move a single comma. Am I right? You’re a musician, White.
Mga Post
86 (na) komento:
Younger people (candidates) are naturally better looking, too.
So these young socialist-communist-Islamic anti-Jewish leftists are winning.
Again- All in the age of vapidity and the rejection of history and truth.
Just because one or two lefty goobers wear bad shorts (and white socks!!) doesn't mean you can condemn all men to a life of hot, itchy legs.
Fight the Matriarchy!!
What did Fidel, Che and Stalin wear when they were murdering millions?
ChatGP is obviously "on the spectrum," as they say. Be nice to ChatGP.
Don’t get all googly eyed now. They are wolves in shorts and slides.
If your contribution is going to be holding signs, then shorts would work. But look at photos from Antifa riots. Dress code - face mask against tear gas; gloves to keep hands from getting torn up while throwing bricks; long pants with knee protectors for protection against concrete sidewalks and hot roads where you kneel while launching bottle rockets and bricks from catapults plus you'll need protection when the police grab you, throw you down and cuff you on the ground. So I'd say shorts mean you are a revolutionary spectator like a football fan and other clothes are needed for real revolutionary work as other clothes are needed for the players on the football team.
It's not the Matriarchy, it's the Pantriarchy.
Go back and look at pictures of the civil rights marches during the 1960s. I'm always impressed by how nicely dressed everyone is. The ladies wear dresses and most of the men wear suits.
I find it hard to believe that a substantial number of American Democrats, however young, were clamoring for socialism or communism in the way that a substantial number of American Republicans were clamoring for taxation reform.
I can believe that young Democrats were like, "This is BORING*," and the wave of DSA candidates has given them something fun and exciting to do. That doesn't make the ascendancy of the DSA any less scary to me, but I don't want to tar great swaths of young people with a communist brush.
* We have learned that young people, who are overrepresented among Democrats, have been on ADHD meds and SSRIs in terribly high numbers since childhood. And, they spent at least a year (in, say, Florida) and perhaps as long as five years (in, say, California) feeling consequential by wearing a mask and not touching anyone or anything. But even COVIDophobia fades eventually, and now they need something else to make them feel consequential again. Youth requires it, ever since we decided that youth rules.
I am addicted to the Oxford Comma.
"Billionaires are bad" - except that many leftwing billionaires are paying for the anti-billionaire vapidity.
A "shorts campaign" at Dartmouth? Up in the North Woods of New Hampshire? There's not a lot of shorts weather between September and May.
The Tea Party movement famously had kids in strollers or in hand, obscuring any men in shorts shots. But that photo of the men would fit the famous MSM slur of "teabaggers" better than all Tea Party movement.
I'm going to cross-post a comment I made in the just-previous post of Althouse's:
"Back in 1991, Bill Miller--a political consultant based in Texas and who, somewhat unusually, worked for both the GOP and the Dems--coined the phrase "Politics is show business for ugly people." So there's that. However, I also think the climate is a little different now."
Colleen Brown: Yes!
The leftwing media are offended that those horrible tea-baggers wanted a government that worked on behalf of tax payers.
Major difference between Tea Party and DSA - the Tes Party wasn't being funded by the Chinese govt.
Oxford Comma, 2008, Vampire Weekend
Dezis
𝘍𝘰𝘹 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘭: 𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯"
𝘍𝘰𝘹 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘭: 𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵
"𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸"
𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
• 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦: 39%
• 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦: 61%
𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥: 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 39% 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴
𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭
• 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺: 33%
• 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺: 67%
• 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 27%
• 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 73%
𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 & 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴
• 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯: 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺.
• 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱: 75% 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 34% 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 "𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴".
• 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵: 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 ~ 𝘍𝘖𝘟 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴
(Slightly unfair as 100% of multi-millionaires and billionaires are better off under the Trump regime.)
Overpromised?
• Lower grocery prices!
• Lower energy costs!
• Avoid forever wars in the Middle East!
That’s what confidence artists do. They will tell what you want to hear. They will exaggerate their accomplishments. They promise to do what you want. They shower you with superlatives. They will be your best friend.
And it’s really hard to admit you have been taken.
Let me know when the IRS unlawfully audits them to get their donors and “oxferd comma” shenanigans begin.
“Power springs from Tommy Bahama and the Banana Republic!”
—— Mousey Tongue
The men in shorts are Mensheviks. They'll be the first to be eliminated.
This is probably as good a place as any to register my continuing bafflement as to why the PGA doesn't let the players wear shorts, as the pros are staggering around in the 98 degree/60 % humidity in Memphis.
Apparently Charlie Hoffman agrees with Althouse (in 2020)
"Charley Hoffman is the chairman of the player advisory committee, helping to make recommendations to the board of directors, and is among those tour players who wouldn't want to wear shorts.
"As much as I like to wear shorts being a Southern California kid, I just think the product looks a lot better, a lot more clean [with pants]," Hoffman said. "Not sure if that is the older side of me. I don't mind shorts, but I tend to believe it's more of a professional look with pants.""
To me, the marketing benefits of the pros wearing shorts would seem to overwhelm any concerns about "professionalism." The caddies already wear shorts (thanks to Tiger Woods and Steve Williams). And these are young, athletic guys who walk at least 6 miles every day.
Also, the PGA let Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson wear really hideous bell bottoms in the 70's and 80's, and the game survived. Give me shorts instead of that!
Colleen Brown- Excellent observation. The lunch counter protests had young, well-groomed, respectably dressed black students politely requesting a hamburger sandwich from store cafes. Service was refused and they would calmly sit in protest. Racists would taunt, throw condiments and insult them to try and get an adverse reaction. THOSE were the photos that struck home across America. The injustice was prima facia.
Today's protestors are not respectable, not simply asking for equal treatment. Instead they are the rabble, and the rabble has never achieved its goals. At best the mob can be foot soldiers for a competing oppressor regime in waiting.
Have any Presidents been photographed wearing shorts except for Nixon (walking on the beach in shorts and wingtips) and Obama (playing golf, however badly)?
While we are on the subject of the Oxford Comma, what about "The Oxferd C0mma?"
If for no reason other than the deliberate misspelling and the use of 0 rather than O to avoid search and FOIA requirements, the subject would seem to be compelling to the curious. Jim Comey has a lot to answer for.
MAGAS SCREAM "Long live the duped" and the band played on.Just make believe it aint happening.The only retort "RED SCARE"
Wilbur: I remember Bill and Hilary famously being photographed in bathing suits (Ick!) and Bill "jogging" in Tom Sellick shorts. Neither was a good look. Also W in bicycle shorts.
serious question:
did ANY (HAVE any) DSA candidates win a nomination for a non-safe district? i'm guessing that since the Democrat party is Always in charge, of counting ALL votes, anywhere, that in a place where a DSA nom MIGHT endanger the dems; the vote counters count them out (talking about Wisc Gov).
AOC is from a notoriously safe district.. can someone show a place where a DSA win is risky?
This whole trope about shunning the progressives or Trump wins is Israeli propaganda. Israel is so unpopular in the US that unless you are in certain states where the first loyalty is to a foreign country, like Tel Aviv Ted, you have to convince people to vote for you without admitting that is what you are doing. The strategy is to not allow the voters any choice that doesn’t support Israel. Good for the Democratic base, I will be voting with them.
Trump just announced that we are going to seize part of Iran, and destroy the rest for Israel. Except for a lot of you guys, who are dying off, most people don’t support genocide.
The DSA and the TEA party are not the same thing.
One believes in the United States and supports freedom and prosperity for its citizens.
The other is a traitorous movement allying with foreign invaders to destroy the country.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LB0000031Q020SBEA
The actual state of the US economy--essentially GDP minus government spending.
Inflation: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi
Household income: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N
Crime: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/home
Yeah, let's put the Democrats back in charge! We all feel so much better when things are truly fucked up!
LIV Golf, which Trump killed by start his unprovoked war in the Persian Gulf, allows shorts. Whatever, watch that if you find men’s bare legs a turn on; unlike you lot, PGA golfers can afford the kinds of fabrics that look good and are comfortable.
...their thing is always their Tea Party, their Joe Rogan, their Rush Limbaugh...
...the Revolution will not be televised...except from the waist up...
...USGA and PGA allow shorts early in the week for practice days. Liv golf allows shorts all the time but the PGA public relations team doesn't approve of Liv Golf...
...Amateur events USGA let's shorts go att...
Nobody watches LIV golf. Trump didn't kill it.
But for those who are paying attention:
"The most recent LIV Golf tournament was LIV Golf New York, held from August 6–9, 2026, at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey. The tournament was won by Joaquín Niemann." Per Google AI
Maybe if they changed the schedule so that they played August and September tournaments in places like New England, Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest instead of Memphis, Baltimore and Atlanta, the rule would seem less absurd. But I still think that the opportunity to sell lots and lots of shorts (and shoes) would take precedence.
And apparently there are big schedule changes in the works.
Capitalism and democracy were derived directly from the social and political processes. This is why they work as implemented. Marxism and socialism were derived purely from academia as thought experiments. This is why Marxism fails in practice and why young people flock to it - it sounds great during dorm room bullshit sessions.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘚 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺--𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘋𝘗 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Cherry-picking a few economic and crime charts and concluding “therefore, Democrats” is a weak form of analysis.
The GDP claim also needs correction: the cited FRED series is not “GDP minus government spending,” but real final sales to private domestic purchasers—and it actually increased from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026.
Inflation is still a real concern, and voters are right to care about prices and household finances. But using these indicators to directly assign blame or credit to a party skips the key issue of causation.
Otherwise, “the numbers look bad, therefore vote for my team” is political arithmetic, not economics.
Marcus Bressler said...
“I am addicted to the Oxford Comma.”
Hey, man; need a hit of the OG OC? I got the good stuff. I call it “Eaton’s refinest”. None of that Cockney comma, “Glass o watah” stuff.
Exactly
The DSA and the TEA party are not the same thing.
One believes in the United States and supports freedom and prosperity for its citizens.
The other is a traitorous movement allying with foreign invaders to destroy the country.
One of my favorite local Judges retired a few years ago. When asked what the looked forward to most in retirement, he replied: "Not having to wear pants."
Tuq'r Jaq is going to vote Dem.
Are we shocked?
Soy boy legs.
.”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘚𝘈 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘌𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨”
America is supposedly facing a full-scale DSA “invasion,” despite the fact that its 2026 endorsements amount to a handful of House candidates and no Senate candidates at all.
Still, a small faction is routinely portrayed as an approaching Red Army. DSA is growing and worth scrutiny, but claims that “the DSA is coming” ring hollow when it can barely field a caucus.
That raises a simple question for Republicans: if they have a strong policy record, why rely so heavily on fear-mongering about a dozen socialist candidates? Nothing signals confidence quite like campaigning against a Bolshevik bogeyman.
Leg muscles definition for bike riding vs e bike floating
Good to know the judge was wearing pants under the robe/behind the bench all those years. CC, JSM
Do DSA clean up after showing up?
IEE, the devils greatest accomplishment was convincing people he doesn't exist. That's what the DSA is desperately trying to do.
That stuff has to be stamped out while it can still be stamped out. Not after its become a kingmaker faction. CC, JSM
As read on X, "stepstool Abdul" signified his childlike persona ans, as shorts are OK for children, Althouse should accept he and his supporters wearing of them.
I have no verifiable data to support this, but I've long suspected a partisan divide between those who use the Oxford comma and those who don't.
"Omit needless words!"
Said Strunk to White.
"You're right,"
Said White,
"That's nice
Advice.
But Strunk,
You're drunk
With words --
Two-thirds
Of those
You chose
For that
Fiat
Would fill
The bill!
Would not
The thought
-- The core --
Be more
Succinct
If shrinked
(Or shrunk)?"
Said Strunk:
"Good grief!
I'm brief
(I thought)
P'raps not ...
Dear me!
Let's see ...
Okay!
Just say
'Write tight!'
No fat
in that!"
"Quite right!"
Said White,
"Er -- I mean 'Quite!'
Or, simply, 'Right!' " (From the book, Shrinklits)
"Campus “shorts campaigns” (like Dartmouth in 1930) treated bare legs as a minor uprising against stuffy norms."
Depression era. Maybe they were just getting ready for a world in which all they could afford were cut-offs. Nelson Rockefeller (Dartmouth '30) excepted of course.
…there was a shorts at Dartmouth controversy a few years back but it wasn’t the guys it was the women and the butt cheeks hanging out. A few of the campus fussbudgets determined it wasn’t appropriate attire for campus and surprisingly a consensus was reached amicably…or if it wasn’t I never headd about escalation…
Not sure where it fits in with current events, but there is no "Cambridge comma."
"We do not normally use a comma before and at the end of a list of single words:
They travelled through Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland."
Wilbur said...
"The men in shorts are Mensheviks."
I await a "Mensheviks in shorts" tag.
Shorts and slides - whatever.
It's the guys in sandals that we need to worry about.
So, who in the Democrat party is going to play the part of Mitch McConnell and scuttle the socialist/communist movement in their party?
"The socialists are to the Democratic Party what the Tea Party was to the GOP."
This is close to the opposite of what I think: The DSA are the left-side of the Democratic party and are trying to pull the party left. The Tea Party were mainstream Republicans who wanted the party to resist Obama's plans by refusing to give Obama some of what he wanted through compromise. They were called "obstructionists" by the left for a reason--they wanted their party to fight, not surrender.
"The GDP claim also needs correction: the cited FRED series is not “GDP minus government spending,” but real final sales to private domestic purchasers—and it actually increased from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026."
You really are that stupid. Not that I'm surprised.
What does an increase from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026 tell you about the state of the economy? The real economy, not the government spending economy?
"But using these indicators to directly assign blame or credit to a party skips the key issue of causation.
Otherwise, “the numbers look bad, therefore vote for my team” is political arithmetic, not economics."
That is precisely what you did, doofus. My point is that "the numbers" look just fine, which you would understand if you could read a chart and/or understood statistics. Instead you shout about polls, which is "political arithmetic, not economics."
"That raises a simple question for Republicans: if they have a strong policy record, why rely so heavily on fear-mongering about a dozen socialist candidates? Nothing signals confidence quite like campaigning against a Bolshevik bogeyman."
What questions does it raise for Democrats, who are tearing themselves apart over the "Bolshevik bogeyman?"
And since you are so deeply concerned about the Republicans, why shouldn't they take political advantage of the rise of the DSA in the Democrat party? Isn't that smart politics, smart guy?
As wildswan touches on, any serious insurgency requires a stout pair of boots.
Whatever short term electoral success the DSA may have, I’m not worried about them. Underneath the coat of fresh paint, they’re dry rot in the Democrat’s house. The longer it goes unaddressed, the more catastrophic it will be for their whole crappy edifice.
"Good to know the judge was wearing pants under the robe/behind the bench all those years. CC, JSM"
Recalls a great episode of "Justified."
Yes, the moment when the children take over.
I worship the Oxford commas that cling to the shorts on you
The Tea Party analogy is a good one. The comments suggest that the Tea Party analogy is more effective in terms of organization than in terms of its core beliefs. The DSA and this progressive movement are still growing and not entirely aligned with socialism (or communism).
As the Tea Party discovered, when a committed group wins primaries, beats out established candidates, and pushes the main party to change, it can have a significant impact, even if it’s not the largest group. Both aim to take control of the nominating process away from party leaders.
I love, love, love, love me some Rodgers & Hart. I have since early childhood and always will.
In case anyone's interested:
Here is a version of the song from 1950 sung by Vivienne Segal, the woman who debuted in 1940's original broadway production of Pal Joey.
And here is the full original lyrics. Don't miss the last verse!!!!
I have many, many versions of this song, covered by a very wide array of singers. But I am particularly fond of Segal's, and, after all, she originated the vision that Rodgers & Hart wrote for the 1940 debut.
OMG, that voice! And from back when people could sing on stage and project without personal mics! I am SO. blessed to have been exposed to this from such an early age.
I got to meet Rodgers by the way, about three times, when he was trying to launch his musical "Rex" in 1976. It was a pre-Broadway tryout at the DuPont Playhouse, and, OMG, everything that could go wrong, did (literally, scenery fell over and everything). What a disaster.
Still, I was so thrilled. Both of my parents, who played in pits for musicals my entire young life, were regulars at the Playhouse (in Wilmington, DE) when productions hired local musicians for the pit from the early 1970s until the mid-'90s. And my Dad was also a music professor at the UD, and both parents were involved in the local musicians union (my mom often did freelance booking of musicians). So we were lucky to have the opportunity to meet all sorts of greats from time to time. I was a very well-trained child when it came to being in an audience or present at rehearsals, so they'd bring me along when possible.
Meeting Rodgers was a thrill, but I would have loved to meet Hart more. Of course, that was out of the question since he did almost 20 years before I was born.
“ This is probably as good a place as any to register my continuing bafflement as to why the PGA doesn't let the players wear shorts, as the pros are staggering around in the 98 degree/60 % humidity in Memphis.”
Just one of the many ways men are discriminated against.
“ Under the Ladies Professional Golf Association dress code, shorts, skirts, and skorts must be long enough to completely cover a player's bottom area at all times, whether the player is standing or bent over, even if under-shorts are worn. Violations risk a $1,000 fine.”
Obviously no one wants to see men in Daisy Dukes, but the LPGA standard seems reasonable.
My own standards are somewhat lower, probably why beach volleyball is the only women’s sport I watch.
or higher
Vampire Weekend, Oxford Comma
The TEA Party is/was the Republican base. If people want to make comparisons to the DSA, you must admit THAT is the Democratic base.
Go for it.
@Boatbuilder: You’re right about one thing: real final sales to private domestic purchasers increased, and that’s evidence of a reasonably healthy private economy. I don’t dispute that. In Q2, it actually rose 3.9% at an annualized rate. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
In the same BEA release, real GDP grew only 1.5% in Q2, while the gross-domestic-purchases price index rose 5.7% and the PCE price index rose 5.1%. So while private domestic demand was strong, the broader macro picture also included relatively weak overall growth alongside elevated inflationary pressure. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
But this is where the interpretation matters. An increase in one aggregate tells us the private economy is growing; it does not, by itself, establish that “the numbers look just fine” across the entire economy, nor does it imply that current policies require no change.
And you’re right that economic data alone don’t prove which party caused a particular outcome. That’s precisely why your conclusion doesn’t follow from the chart either. “Private demand is growing” is a statistical observation. “Everything is fine” and “there is no need to change policy” are normative judgments that require a much broader evidentiary basis.
So no, I don’t need to “understand statistics” better. I’m distinguishing what the data actually show from the policy conclusions you’re trying to draw from them.
Peaceful Warrior: "The DSA and this progressive movement are still growing and not entirely aligned with socialism (or communism)."
Hmmn. That would be news to the Democratic SOCIALISTS of America. https://www.dsausa.org/ Maybe someone should tell them.
IEE--More bullshit. What the data actually show is that the economy is growing steadily, including real wages, while inflation is moderate. You keep putting out posts claiming the world is coming to an end and the economy is doomed because Trump!!!, and when you get called on it you weasel by pretending you never insinuated anything negative and the situation requires deeper analysis, as if you were engaged in some good faith intellectual exercise. You're a troll and a weasel. Go away.
The teaparty was good the dsa are evil communists
nayah nyah: the dsa is good (if misguided) the teat party was evil fascists.
so there.
Did the law school revue ever feature male students cavorting to "Who Wears Short Shorts? (We Wear Short Shorts!)" for the delectation of the female faculty?
Made famous by Nair commercials in the 70s and 80s, the song was actually a 1957 single by the Royal Teens.
The communist democrats and their media are trying to equate the tea party which wanted less spending with the communist democrat party. Who want open border, abolish police, abolish the senate, the Supreme Court and the rest of our constitution. That is the talking point that has gone out. Never let them get away with it, anyone stating it is lying. Just flat out lying, anyone.
The data don’t indicate an economic crisis, but they also don’t support a victory-lap narrative. Real GDP grew 1.5% annualized in Q2, down from 2.1% in Q1, while real average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% year-over-year through June.
https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/gdp-advance-estimate-2nd-quarter-2026
Inflation remains a key constraint: the Q2 PCE price index increased at a 5.1% annualized rate, with core PCE up 3.4%.
Taken together, this is not a story of strength or stability, it’s an economy losing momentum while prices continue to erode purchasing power. Slower growth, stagnant real wages, and persistent inflation point to an environment where households are still under pressure, even if headline indicators avoid signaling outright distress.
"Rex," a musical about Henry VIII.
What could possibly go right with that?
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