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Tag Archives: debate

Sycophants got to sycophant

09 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Josh Hawley, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Corona virus, COVID-19, debate, Donald Trump, flatbed truck, Josh Hawley, missouri, pandemic, roid rage, social media, sycophant

The Ivy League vision of a flatbed truck.

Josh Hawley (r) can’t help himself:

Josh Hawley @HawleyMO
As Democrats have been hoping & begging for, the Commission on Presidential Debates cancelled in-person debates for the rest of campaign. Now cancel the Commission. It’s a disgrace #LetThemDebate
8:00 AM · Oct 8, 2020

Sycophants got to sycophant.

Some of the comments:

During a Kennedy-Nixon debate, each candidate was in a separate studio. Why do the debates have to be in-person? I guess because if the President can’t have it his way, he’ll take his ball and go home.

This is exactly why I left the Republican Party. The old white dudes will be gone soon enough, but the next generation of #GOP is even worse. Republicans are a party of the past – no forward thinking, no big tent. The party is about to implode & they refuse to see it.

The President (and a handful of his closest aids) contracted the coronavirus. Why on earth would you think it’s a good idea to debate in person? Uhh.

Are you serious? Trump has COVID. People who claim to be pro-life sure as hell are cavalier with the lives and health of others.

But they didn’t cancel the debate, Senator. It’s your guy who’s refusing to debate, no matter how you spin it, and he did it so fast that it looks like he’s relieved. Spin that.

Taking your ball and going home, Senator Karen?

Maybe you shoulda prayed harder.

The Commission made the correct decision here. This administration’s failure to be transparent about their positive diagnoses shows they cannot be trusted. No one should want to be near any of them right now.

You think Trump has them on the run after his tour de force performance in the first debate, huh?

Heh.

Tell us more about the “cancel culture”

Josh hasn’t heard that Trump has COVID.

Yeah, the whole “let’s not risk exposing debate teams, the crew setting up the debates, family and friends, to the coronavirus,” truly is a Dem thing.
How horrible, amiright?

He doesn’t want them to be able to cut him off and switch screens.

Do you just think COVID isn’t a thing?

I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as any soulless disease vectors either.

The president is infected with a contagious and deadly virus bc he did not follow safety guidelines that could have protected himself and others. But he feels 20 years younger bc he was injected with human embryonic stem cells. Thoughts?

Trump is the super spreader. You go stand by him and then go hug your family….is that a good idea?

Heh. Sen. Josh Hawley (r): you first, asshole (April 15, 2020)

The president still had Covid …..when was his last negative test ?

Your party, the Republican Party, is a super spreader. What did you expect?

We should defer to Hawley on this one; he’s a bit of an expert on disgraces.

Does this mean that you’ll only be appearing on Fox News if you can be in the studio?

Oooh. That one left a mark.

“The most dangerous place to stand in Washington D.C. is any place between Senator Josh Hawley and a live microphone” – Charles P. Pierce

Maybe y’all need to work on the whole “Our entire party is a biohazard” thing.

Do you ever say anything worthwhile?

If the #PlaguePresident can’t infect others, what’s the point?

Josh, he has Covid, he doesn’t shut up, no one wears a mask that is connected to him, he doesn’t think the rules apply to him, he doesn’t answer questions and really is anyone undecided still?

Wait a sec – I thought y’all were against “cancel culture” #ChickenTrump

Pro-COVID fascist has objections.

Wow. Trying to out Tweet the president this morning, Josh? You gotta pick up the pace and go ALL CAPS.

When was the last time the President tested negative for Covid?

You can cancel your presidential hopes, too.
It will never happen.

Heh.

Josh Hawley (r) [2016 file photo].

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

About last night

08 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

debate, Kamala Harris, Mike Pence

Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

Obviously.

Ian Sams
@IanSams
NEW POLL OF CNN DEBATE WATCHERS:

Who won?

KAMALA 59%
Pence 38%
[….]
10:41 PM · Oct 7, 2020

Matt McDermott @mattmfm
2016 VP debate winner (CNN poll):
Pence 48%
Kaine 42%

2020 VP debate winner (CNN poll):
Harris 59%
Pence 38%
10:45 PM · Oct 7, 2020

There you go.

Momala!

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

debate, Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Vice President

For the debate win:

Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

Pete Buttigieg @PeteButtigieg
So proud of @KamalaHarris tonight.

She powerfully made the case for why we must end the chaos and restore decency by electing Joe Biden.

It was reality vs fantasy on health care, the economy, Covid, racial justice, climate and so much more.

We’re going to win this.
10:00 PM · Oct 7, 2020

The fly came in second. Mike Pence was atrocious. Mike Pence didn’t answer questions.

Mother Pence (r) didn’t wear her mask on stage. Contrary to the rules.

The moderator was useless. The final question was gaslighting writ large.

From the Biden/Harris campaign – rapid response:

Joe Biden @JoeBiden
Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly.
[….]
9:33 PM · Oct 7, 2020

Jason Kander @JasonKander
That fly was in Pence’s hair a long time. It should quarantine.
9:20 PM · Oct 7, 2020

The beauty of social media

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Missouri General Assembly, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

debate, missouri, religion, social media, Twitter

Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman (r) [2019 file photo].

On Twitter:

Last night:

MaryElizabethColeman @meaccoleman
To call yourself an Irish Catholic while actively working against the teachings of the Catholic Church is …transparent.
9:07 PM · Sep 29, 2020

Well, the use of “teachings” [plural] is quite transparent.

Kyle Garner (D) [2015 file photo].

One of many series of responses:

Kyle Garner @KyleGarnerMO
Republicans “Attacking a person’s faith is off limits!”

Also Republicans:
[….]
1/
12:35 PM · Sep 30, 2020

He continues:

So let’s talk about the teachings of the Catholic Church: What does the Church say about feeding the hungry? Caring for the sick? Welcoming the stranger? Worshipping gold? Protecting God’s creation Earth? Telling the truth? Paying fair share of taxes? 2/

Using the Lord’s name for your own purpose? Following false prophets? I could go on. Now let’s look at your leader vs the man you’re attacking. Biden is a lifelong Catholic & attends service regularly. Trump gassed Americans to hold a Bible upside down and feuded with the Pope 3/

In fact, the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church you lie about following, denounced Trump as “not Christian” specifically for his violent cruelty to people. And that was before he set up concentration camps to sterilize women on our border. 4/

So spare us your pharisaical objections while you chant for Barabbas. You worship a man and elevate a Party that is the antithesis to Christianity and all Christ called us to be. end/

Wise men decided a long time ago: “…our Constitution was designed to avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings…”

For the win

29 Tuesday Sep 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

debate, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, social media, trolling right wingnuts, Twitter

Heh.

Joe Biden @JoeBiden
It’s debate night, so I’ve got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready.
[….]
6:25 PM · Sep 29, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) [2020 file photo].

That was then…

12 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in media criticism

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Chuck Todd, Coronavirus, COVID-19, debate, Hillary Clinton, media criticism, pandemic

Hillary Clinton [2016 file photo]

“…’Hillary Clinton was at times, even, you could argue, overprepared,’ Chuck Todd, the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, commented in his analysis of the debate…” – September 2016

They knew. They all knew.

We knew.

Now what?

You know, your candidate is kind of okay, but too many of his true believers are real assholes

20 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in meta

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bernie Sanders, campaign, cult, debate, delegates, meta

While we’re at it, NBC’s Chuck Todd is a useless tool.

Senator Bernie Sanders (D) [2016 file photo].

In 2016, at the Missouri State Democratic Convention the four elected positions on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) went to supporters of Bernie Sanders.

In the period since 2016 the DNC revised the 2020 party presidential caucus/primary/convention process to exclude so-called “Super delegates” (Uncommitted Party Leader Elected Official) on the first presidential nominating ballot at the national convention. These PLEO delegates would/can vote if no candidate for the nomination receives 50% + 1 on the first ballot. In addition, as what has always been the case, committed delegates are only bound on the first ballot. After that they can vote for anyone.

The last time a Democratic National Convention went to a subsequent ballot for the nomination of the party’s presidential candidate was 1952.

In 2004, in part of the process in Missouri to elect committed PLEO delegates (by the state party committee), I was asked, in passing, of my interest in running for one of those allocated delegate spots by a representative of a candidate I did not support or vote for in the Missouri primary. I declined. If I had managed to get elected as a delegate I would have been committed to that candidate on the first ballot. If there were any subsequent ballots, in this hypothetical situation, I would have most definitely voted for another candidate.

One of the rules of the delegate selection process is that all candidates have the right of approval for any individual running for one of their national delegate spots. In Missouri these are allocated by formula based on the outcome of the presidential preference primary vote.

In 2016, at the state Democratic Party Convention, 88 individuals filed for eight at-large Hillary national delegate slots. Hillary’s campaign did not strike any individuals from that list. The eight delegate slots were filled by the vote of the Hillary caucus. At the same convention 21 individuals were listed as vying for seven nation delegate slots allocated to Bernie Sanders. I was curious about the disparity. I later learned that over 100 individuals had filed the paper work to run, but the Bernie Sanders national campaign struck most of those individuals from their approved list, without apparently notifying them of the how and why. This upset a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters at the state convention. So much so that there was a motion from the floor to open nominations for national delegate slots from the floor.

Why would a national campaign piss off so many of their supporters? It wasn’t until last night that I finally understood a possible explanation for the underlying why.

In 2016, if, for some reason, the 2016 convention went to a second ballot (brokered), the Bernie Sanders campaign only wanted true believers in their delegate slots. A true believer be more likely to stick with their candidate over multiple ballots, after being released from that first ballot commitment.

Last night NBCs Chuck Todd asked a process question of all of the candidates. If one candidate had a plurality and not 50% + 1, should they be entitled to be the nominee. All of the candidates, but one, replied no, there’s a process in the rules to deal with the selection of a nominee in that situation. The lone dissent: Bernie Sanders.

The irony here is that Bernie Sanders supporters on the DNC (including the four elected from Missouri in 2016) ostensibly voted to approve the caucus/primary/convention rules for 2020, which also removed the vote of uncommitted PLEO delegates on the first ballot.

There is no rule that allows for a plurality of delegates to select the party’s nominee. None.

Here’s a hypothetical situation. Candidate A has 35% of the delegates, candidate B has 30% of the delegates, and candidate C has 21% of the delegates. No one gets to 50% + 1 on the first ballot. Candidate B and C and their delegates come together – one will be the presidential nominee, one will be the vice presidential nominee. On the second ballot they get 51% of the vote. That’s how a subsequent ballot can select the party’s nominee.

After Chuck Todd’s admittedly stupid process question and Bernie Sanders’ dissenting opinion there were discussions on social media, with some Berniebros going on about the unfairness of it all. With the same temperament as the responses from 2016. Think about that for second. Their revolution’s representatives to the DNC ostensibly voted for those rules. Now, somehow, they’re unfair. They feel entitled enough to want to replace their rules midstream with some nonexistent plurality rule. Because.

I like Bernie Sanders. I find his ideas compelling, though he’s not my first choice. I find myself listening to him and appreciating his voice. And then I encounter a significant (not all) number of his supporters, too many, who are serious assholes. [Fuck you if you start in with me, “what about?”] And then I remember 2016 all over again.

Previously:

Your $27.00 won’t get you into heaven anymore (June 19, 2016)

A text from Bernie 2020 (December 18, 2019)

Nevertheless, she persisted (February 20, 2020)

Nevertheless, she persisted

20 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

debate, Democratic Party, Las Vegas, Nevada

There was a Democratic Party presidential candidate debate in Las Vegas, Nevada last night. Who won?:

1. Elizabeth Warren

She’s the one.

@markos “What Warren is doing to Bloomberg? Imagine her doing it to Trump.”

@JoyAnnReid “Elizabeth Warren came to this debate with a clear plan and Bloomberg in her sights and she is executing that plan with authority, and side-swiping her rivals onstage too. It’s honestly not even close. #DebDebate”

@laurenthehough “The thing about @ewarren is she knows, now matter how dead the monster looks, you fucking kill him again.”

@CharlesPPierce “That Warren answer on foreclosure was a serious bit of leadership.”

@tonymess “The invisible one is winning. @ewarren”

@AoDespair “And this, good people, is why Warren Is my first choice. Progressive politics and a taste for the jugular in a political contest that will only get uglier as we march to November. I want her coming off the top rope with a folding chair on Donald Trump.”

@curtismharris “Elizabeth Warren is channeling an inner fury that only comes from grading papers that have no thesis statement.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) [2019 file photo]

2. Joe Biden

Joe’s a nice guy. I like Joe.

Vice President Joe Biden (D) [2014 file photo].

3. Bernie Sanders

@JRubinBlogger “maybe it is Buttigieg or Klobuchar but Bernie’s yelling old man routine is quite noticeably irritating tonight”

If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.

@EricHolthaus “Bernie Sanders: “Mike Bloomberg owns more wealth than the bottom 125 million Americans. That’s wrong. That’s immoral.””

@Johngcole “Bernie is right. You don’t earn a billion dollars. You take it.”

Senator Bernie Sanders (D) [2016 file photo].

4. Amy Klobuchar

@kenklippenstein “buttigieg vs. klobuchar was so much repressed midwestern rage I thought they were gonna open a black hole”

@RachelEPotucek “”Are you saying I’m dumb?” @amyklobuchar calling out @PeteButtigieg’s tone is everything”

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) [2019 file photo]

5. Pete Buttigieg

@Will_Bunch “Never find someone who hates you the way Amy Klobuchar hates Pete Buttigieg”

@MBersin “Translation: “The two most Jewish candidates on this stage.””

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) [2019 file photo].

78. Mike Bloomberg

It was like watching a mink coat get clubbed.

@CharlesPPierce “I am stunned at how really bad Bloomberg is at this.”

@justinbaragona “Bloomberg brought a wallet to a gun fight tonight”

@andizeisler “Listen, some pundits may say that it was unsporting for Elizabeth Warren to kick off this debate by ripping Mike Bloomberg’s arms off and using them to punch him in the dick, but i respectfully disagree”

@MEPFuller “Michael Bloomberg is paying hundreds of millions of dollars to do this to himself.This is what we call a “self-own.””

3,256. Chuck Todd

Useless. The pundit class’ conventional wisdom is going to kill us all.

@CharlesPPierce “Chuck ends with an idiotic horse race question.”

@MBersin “The invisibility hand of Chuck Todd strikes again. What a useless tool. #DemDebate”

@Wolfiesmom “I just yelled, ‘Oh my God shut up Chuck Todd’ out loud in my hotel room by myself if you’re wondering how I’m feeling about the #DemDebate”

Erasure

19 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in media criticism, Resist, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#resist, Chuck Todd, Claire McCaskill, debate, Elizabeth Warren, erasure, media criticism, MSNBC, NBC, Nevada, nomination, president, social media, thumb on the scale, Twitter

Former Senator Claire McCaskill (D) [2018 file photo].

This morning, after their polling and reporting yesterday evening erased Elizabeth Warren (D):

Claire McCaskill @clairecmc
This is going to be interesting. Bloomberg on the debate stage tonight. Tune in and join us for pre debate and post debate analysis. @msnbc @BWilliams @NicolleDWallace
6:46 AM · Feb 19, 2020

I just had to respond:

Michael Bersin
So, is the pre debate analysis going to erase @ewarren? Is the debate coverage going to pixelate her face and mute any of her responses? Just curious.
6:50 AM · Feb 19, 2020

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) [2019 file photo].

Last Night’s Democratic Party Presidential Debate – summarized

13 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in media criticism, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

debate, Democratic Party, media criticism, president, social media, Twitter

Amanda Marcotte @AmandaMarcotte
I swear, pundits are literally the only people who think that paying a dollar in taxes is somehow more expensive than paying two dollars to an insurance company.
7:21 PM · Sep 12, 2019

And, it’s not like I love my health insurance company.

Jackson County Dems @jaxcodemocrats
Gentle reminder: everyone on the stage tonight would make a better, smarter, safer President than what we have now.
10:19 PM · Sep 12, 2019

Uh, yep.

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris
The #DemDebate was three hours long and not one question about abortion or reproductive rights.
9:49 PM · Sep 12, 2019

Beto O’Rourke @BetoORourke
Three hours, not one question on abortion—with women’s rights under attack across our country.
9:47 PM · Sep 12, 2019

Synchronicity.

Andrea González-Ramírez @andreagonram
So…. candidates got the beauty pageant question instead of being asked about:
– labor rights
– abortion
– child care
– paid family leave
– LGBTQ+ rights
– student debt
– sexual harassment
– minimum wage
– etc.
#DemDebate
9:34 PM · Sep 12, 2019

And the pundits, whining on morning infotainment television about not hearing enough detail from the candidates, ignore the fact that they couldn’t state their name and address in the time allotted for answers in this “debate” format.

Nioshii @Nartist
I think if there’s one thing we can all agree on this morning it’s that majority of pundits suck.
6:33 AM · Sep 13, 2019

It’s still early.

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