You live in Texas though so it's not surprising that that would be the rumor you hear.
I was guessing Buttigieg, for similar reasons.
Christ, this is the kind of news that would make me want to yell at my TV if that's where I was seeing it. It's unfalsifiable at this point, nonsubstantive, and a choice between two bad options. (Between Biden and O'Rourke, I'd prefer O'Rourke so this is good news in that sense, but there are probably at least 5 candidates I'd prefer to either of them.)
I feel a tiny bit guilty, having negative opinions on posts around here so often, but negative opinions on news in general are basically normal and healthy these days anyway.
A bunch of Obama's top campaign people joined Beto's campaign, right? I thought that Obama's circle was supporting Beto was reasonably well-known.
Good for him, for keeping that under wraps.
If I am going to be forced to endure a 20 month campaign, then I want to get the benefits of an extended primary. I want the best campaigner to rise to the top. Obama can keep his vanity preferences to himself.
Obama is not going to publicly endorse anyone before the Convention (unless the nomination is aready decided). He wants to give one more inspiring, rabble rousing, nationally televised speech in his lifetime, and the 2020 Convention is the obvious time. He knows that if he endorses anyone, he will enter the hall to booing.
He probably doesn't even talk to any of the candidates privately at this point, since anything he says might be leaked. He likes the image of being above the fray.
I feel a tiny bit guilty, having negative opinions on posts around here so often,
Nah, no one reads Unfogged for the posts!
1 kind of ruined my guessing, but thanks for taking the effort to put stuff below the fold.
1: True, but the source wasn't particularly Texas. I MUST PROTECT MY SOURCES so that it doesn't sound quite as many degrees removed as it is.
He wants to give one more inspiring, rabble rousing, nationally televised speech in his lifetime, and the 2020 Convention is the obvious time.
Why just one? He's still quite young, and ex-presidents live a long time these days. He could give a speech like this at every Dem convention for decades to come.
"Heard a rumor"?? WTF kind of reporting is this? I heard a rumor that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian.
I wouldn't have said Moby was that easily shocked.
"I heard a rumor" sounds silly but ominous at the same time after watching that show.
You can tell Clinton is straight because of her symmetrical haircut.
Also, the decades of marriage to a man.
it was allegedly one degree removed from his innermost circle! What's more legit than that?
Also now I'm humming:
How do rumors get started?
started by the careless people and
they get mad, say something they had,
and somebody else was mumble.
Hey didja hear about Gina? Some say she must be loose.
She should stop with those Fiber One bars.
I heard a rumor that all connections in St. Louis are still good, but there's no plane at the gate in Omaha.
Hey, there is a plane. The moral of the story is always believe rumors.
There's nobody getting off the plane. Now I feel special, because they brought a plane in just for us.
Nevermind. They're just slow as Karo from the freezer.
I thought Obama was going to spend his post-presidency campaigning up and down the land against voter suppression.
Apparently, he spends all his time sending me email about giving money to candidates in various Senate races.
Ans signing massive TV deals.
Ay, ay, ay! (I have no idea how to spell that - it's like "eye-eye-eye", like the Frito Bandito song). Er, I thought Obama was enamored of Kamala Harris. If it's Beto, I will be annoyed -- Beto's a lightweight who should exit the field and run for the other Texas Senate seat. Obama should keep his mouth shut, I think; it annoys me that he doesn't give Elizabeth Warren any love.
9 and 18: To say that your source isn't particularly Texas-oriented and is one step away from Beto's inner circle seems contradictory.
Likewise, your failure to discount a rumor like this sourced from a campaign sympathizer is pretty credulous.
What I'm saying is: A bright career awaits you at the New York Times!
Obama's inner circle, not Beto's inner circle!
Ay, ay, ay! (I have no idea how to spell that - it's like "eye-eye-eye", like the Frito Bandito song)
Ay-yi-yi?
Anybody can know a former member of Congress. Just Sunday, I walked into Village Inn and a former member of Congress was walking out.
"This way to the congress egress."
It was Village Inn, so he was at the register. They don't take your money at the table there, because they aren't fancy.
Was he working the register? I assume that after you lose your Congressional seat, your two options are Village Inn cashier or lobbyist.
33: And if Shrek's wife is there, it's "This way to the Congress egress ogress!"
it was allegedly one degree removed from his innermost circle! What's more legit than that?
It's one degree too many. I might believe it if I got a personal call from Michelle.
Also, 27 looks right from this distance.
I do appreciate all the reporting that suggests Obama is losing his goddamned mind at Joe's inability to take a hint.
And if Shrek's wife is there, it's "This way to the Congress egress ogress!"
But when he returned to the cash register, Moby cried, "Don't regress from the congress egress, ogress!"
38: Which hint is Joe having trouble noticing? Just, like, Joe, you shouldn't say "poor people are just as good as white people"? Or is this more broadly, that Joe's past his prime and should cede the field to what are, after all, a bunch of very viable, qualified candidates; that the Democratic Party is moving on, and we're kinda post-Obama?*
* I don't know if that's true. For progressives, Obama is/was not a far step from the technocratic incrementalism of Hillary Clinton, which is bad. For a lot of plain old liberal democrats, that's fine.
38: Which hint is Joe having trouble noticing?
Obama not endorsing him?
Heh! Somehow I hadn't even taken that into account. I just assumed Obama was courteously staying out of it, as he should. No doubt there are all kinds of backroom, private discussions taking place among all the players, so I suppose if Obama isn't being particularly welcoming of Joe's candidacy, that should be a pretty big hint.
Wish Beto would just drop out and run for Senate in Texas again. I think he could beat Cornyn and though I think it's pretty obvious he would be a pretty bad President I think he'd do an excellent job of representing Texas in the Senate.
What makes you think he could beat Cornyn? Are you implying that Texas would split Trump-Beto, or do you think Trump is actually in play?
40 I think of Obama as already having been post-Biden, and brought him on as a sop to older folks.
44 I hear our local analogue of this a whole lot. To the point that it's become amazingly tiresome. In our context, it's true that no one would have a better shot at [senator] than [presidential candidate] but that's a long way short of path for [presidential candidate] is so clear that it justifies 18 months of gruelling work.
Certainly, though, no Senator from a state with a Republican governor (like VT or MA) ought to be running for president. If they win, we lose the seat. And that loss makes the already dim chances of taking over the Senate even dimmer.
Certainly, though, no Senator from a state with a Republican governor (like VT or MA) ought to be running for president. If they win, we lose the seat. And that loss makes the already dim chances of taking over the Senate even dimmer.
That's an interesting argument (which I hadn't heard before). My gut reaction is that losing a Senate seat for 2 years is a reasonable cost for having an attractive presidential candidate, but I'm not sure about that. It is an interesting reason to prefer somebody else to Warren or Sanders.
Looking up more information on that question.
The good news for Democrats is that both Massachusetts and Vermont have laws that call for expedited special elections to fill Senate seats, so an appointed Republican might not be in place very long (unless of course the appointee were to win the special election). But at least during the appointment period, Republicans would have an edge in the Senate. And that could delay confirmation of the new Democratic president's Cabinet and judicial appointees, as well as the passage of White House-backed legislation. Other bad news for Democrats: If the appointee were to run in the special election, there's at least a small chance that person could win and keep the seat in GOP hands.
A President Warren or President Sanders could shorten the amount of time that an appointed GOP senator would be in office, however, by resigning from the Senate before January 2021, when the presidential inauguration would take place. According to the laws of both states, if Warren or Sanders were to quit the Senate in November 2020, after winning the general election, the Massachusetts special election would likely be in mid-to-late April, and the Vermont special election would happen by mid-February. If they waited until January 2021 to resign, the Massachusetts election would be in June, and the Vermont one would happen by April.
I'm not sure what's off-blog anymore or not, so I'll just say that somebody has a cake recipe and I just made it for the first time after seeing it in the other place. It was delicious and easy. And I'm sorry I doubted the recipe for not having any salt.
The mind boggles to think what mediocrity the governor of Vermont would select as the Republican Senator. There are 9 cities in Vermont and one has a Republican mayor. There are about 6 Republicans with more than 10 years service in the state legislature. Jim Jeffords is long dead. It'll either be ex-governor Jim Douglas or, like, this guy.
As long as there isn't a mirror in the room.
44 I hear our local analogue of this a whole lot. To the point that it's become amazingly tiresome. In our context, it's true that no one would have a better shot at [senator] than [presidential candidate] but that's a long way short of path for [presidential candidate] is so clear that it justifies 18 months of gruelling work.
I can't tell if you're agreeing with me or disagreeing with me. You're tired of people saying they think it's unlikely that Montana would split, and therefore Bullock shouldn't bow out and run for senate? And therefore the argument is tiresome about Texas? Or at least has a clear, obvious answer?
I think Beto should run for Senate because I think he'll cost more money to beat than whoever else will run, leaving fewer Republican resources for other states or less money for Koch brothers to spend on counterfeit wine. But I can see how that would really not appeal to him.
45: easy solution. If Warren or Sanders win the nomination, they should resign from the Senate immediately, in July, as Bob Dole did in 1976. Then there will be time for a special Senate election before Inauguration Day. They're not going to do much as Senators while running for president anyway, and the Trump majority increasing by one for part of 2020 won't matter. Added bonus: no embarrassing missed votes.*
*In 2004, Kerry and Edwards were both sitting Senators. The Republicans controlled the Senate, and set up a few votes to make it look like Democrat-favored bills lost by a single vote when they were on the campaign trail (in fact, the votes were close only because of Republican abstentions; if the candidates had voted the bills still would have lost).
Beto, Bullock, and the others know about the Senate races in their states. It's pointed out to them -- and to basically everyone else -- every damn day. I don't know, maybe letting them make their own decisions about what kind of life they want to have, rather than having the same exact conversation every day for a whole year.
And that's skipping over your correct point, which is that the notion that they would surely win is often based on not very much.
Montana voters have a fairly long record of ticket splitting. A lot of us are counting on it for the congressional race, and for the tier B seats. The governor's race is not going to be easy, not at all. But compared to the Senate race -- Bullock might not be crazy to think he has a better chance against Trump than he does against Daines.
What he's doing now is spending most of a year telling rural white folks in Iowa that the Democratic party is on their side.
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Off to Athens Greece for a week of conference and a week of leave and I've never been so hungover in an airport before. I'd consider a bit of the hair of the dog but I don't think my Fremen cow-orkers who are also going to this conference will appreciate it.
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" It is strange knowing that people all over the world are talking about my penis"
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The mind boggles to think what mediocrity the governor of Vermont would select as the Republican Senator. There are 9 cities in Vermont and one has a Republican mayor. There are about 6 Republicans with more than 10 years service in the state legislature. Jim Jeffords is long dead. It'll either be ex-governor Jim Douglas or, like, this guy.
Do they have to be from Vermont? Otherwise, Trump of course.
57: That's why the rule is go to the doctor after four hours. And to not let someone you just met inject things into your penis.
45: I think you need a special election in MA. They changed the law when Kennedy was dying to have a brief appointment, but it was very brief.
59: I'm happy with the broader "don't let anyone, including yourself, inject you with anything, unless they are a trained medical professional and it is medically necessary" rule myself. The puzzling bit (apart from the obvious "what were you thinking you utter imbecile") is the aside that he lost his job as a result!
Eric Trump should buy a condo in Stowe.
49
The mind boggles to think what mediocrity the governor of Vermont would select as the Republican Senator... It'll either be ex-governor Jim Douglas or, like, this guy.
Or maybe someone from an appointed position, like her. I don't know anything about her personally, but, full disclosure, my father, a Republican at the time, once held her position. He lost the job when the governor who appointed him to it, Dick Snelling, died in office and the lieutenant governor from the other party appointed someone else.
55
Beto, Bullock, and the others know about the Senate races in their states. It's pointed out to them -- and to basically everyone else -- every damn day. I don't know, maybe letting them make their own decisions about what kind of life they want to have, rather than having the same exact conversation every day for a whole year.
On a personal level, they should do whatever brings them the most joy and pursue whatever cause they believe in. So should we, Donald Trump, and Ralph Nader. That's easy!
Like a German homosexual male couple, one of whom injects unapproved medicines into his penis, we are now down to just one Koch.
Tangible, written proof that my pun was relevant.
I don't really want to read the link at 57.
to which the only possible retort is "man up"
The problem restated in CharleyCarp-friendly format.
I still don't know why he lost his job, though. Maybe this wasn't recognised as sick leave?
I 100% do not give a shit what kind of life Democratic politicians would like to lead. The future of the fucking Republic is at stake. I would run for the fucking Senate myself if I thought it would make a difference. If the best thing Beto can do for the country is run for Senate, he should fucking screw his courage to the sticking place and do it. Jesus fuck I can't believe I have to say this.
74: I'm sure Beto thinks he is doing what's best for the country.
By Benthamism, the best thing you can do with your life is remind every man you see that he should promptly seek medical attention if an erection last for more than four hours. John Stuart Mill is harder for me to figure out.
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NMM 2 David Koch. (If you were Ming to David Koch in the first place, I suggest therapy.)
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"I was so inspired by the care I received in hospital that I want to channel that into training as a Reiki healer".
This person has terrible judgement.
To be honest, this guy has not had a great experience with actual working medicine. If he'd pulled a random Reiki healer instead of a random nurse in that club, they would have been much less likely to have access to stolen drugs to inject into people, and there are no cases yet of people overdosing on qi.
60. They changed it in 2004 from an appointment to a special election, to prevent then-governor Romney (R) from appointing a Republican if Kerry (D) won the Presidency. In 2009, when Ted Kennedy (D) was dying, they changed it to allow a temporary appointment so Gov. Deval Patrick could put a Kennedy friend in the Senate, and then later have a special election. All worked according to plan, except that Scott Brown(R) defeated Attorney-General Martha Coakley and served out the term. (rule of thumb: state Attorneys-General never advance to the Senate or Governorship).
|| Last week my brother was in town on his way to his high school reunion. We started talking people from our high school classes that became famous. I mentioned the 2 people from my class that achieved some level of fame -- an ex-Senator, and the CEO of Overstock.com.
PA has Corbett go from AG to governor, but he was a tool and a one-termer.
81: By 2019 standards, he's sane enough.
rule of thumb: Bullock.
It's hard to find much optimism that we're going to win the Governorship next year. The leading Republicans are (a) the AG, a fairly conventional Republican who at least believes in the system and (b) our congressman, an asshole zillionaire whose interest in public office is totally baffling. One actually encounters Dems who contemplate voting in the Republican primary next year -- split between those who would vote for AG Fox to get a mainstreamer and those who'd vote for Gianforte thinking he'd be easier to beat.
79: sure, "I had a terrible experience with standard medicine, and have decided to embrace qi instead" makes a certain kind of sense. (It would be a bad idea, but there's a coherent rationale.) But "I had great care from standard medicine! It inspired me to embrace the exact opposite!" is just weird.
80: (rule of thumb: state Attorneys-General never advance to the Senate or Governorship)
Kamala Harris begs to differ.
(On the Dem side, we have a couple of guys -- the Lt Gov, the House Minority Leader -- who'd make perfectly fine governors. Whether they're well known enough for their authenticity to actually win is the concern. The daughter of beloved former congressman is polling whether she should enter the race. Perhaps Jeff Bridges should check in with Walt as to whether he owes it to the country to run for the seat.)
86: As does that rat bastard Andrew Cuomo.
Everyone knows Californians aren't real Americans.
91: I suppose that same group of people also knows that New Yorkers aren't real Americans.
Here's an old Larry Sabato piece from 2010 about state AGs becoming governors.
Since 1984 there have been exactly 250 state AGs, but only 28 (a mere 11%) became governor.
That seems like a glass-half-empty reading to me. One could also write that as: Fully 11 percent of state AGs go on to become governor!
Lietenant governors become governors at double that rate, Sabato says, but mainly because they succeed a governor who dies in office.
So what you're saying is, AGs are self-limiting because their legal training makes them averse to assassination.
Here, for example, Spitzer who was AG immediately before Ratface Andy also became governor. And who knows what would have happened with Schneiderman if he hadn't self-immolated.
80: (rule of thumb: state Attorneys-General never advance to the Senate or Governorship)
Pennsylvania only started electing the Attorney General in 1980 as a response to the corruption in the Milton Shapp administration. However elected attorney generals seem to also be corrupt.
LeRoy Zimmerman - remember Budd Dwyer? He was the Pennsylvania state treasurer. Before killing himself live on TV he read a statenent about governor Thornburgh and Zimmerman's bribery and corruption, which Ed Meese and the federal justice department intervened to cover up.
Ernie Preate - resigned in disgrace, went to federal prison for a year
Mike Fisher - lost primary for governor. Appointed to be a Third Circuit judge by GWB. Still there.
Tom Corbett - became governor
Kathleen Kane - resigned in disgrace because of unethical conduct investigating the other party's scandals. Not able to carry out plans to run for Senate.
Josh Shapiro - doing well so far
20% success rate as a career move so far.
Pennsylvania sounds like a real hellhole.
89: First. Looking through California's list of AGs, I spy not only Jerry Brown but also Pat Brown, Earl Warren, and George Deukmejian. Xavier Becerra could well join them during the lifetime of this eclectic web magazine.
95: Only one state governor has been assassinated while in office, and and he was sworn in on his deathbed after he was shot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goebel#Assassination_and_aftermath
I feel one of us is taking this too seriously.
101: Unnützes Erinnern /und vergeblicher Streit
Bud Dwyer's sense of being victimhood in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary make it a marvel that Trump hasn't given him a posthumous pardon.
Yes, I should point out that Dwyer was being investigated for taking bribes and that's why he felt his career was over, and he wanted to release the dirt on others as well. "These guys get away with it and the little guy from Meadville is stuck holding the bag"
He was convicted and facing a huge prison term.
In conclusion, Pennsylvania is a real hellhole.
There was also the baby that got shot by a deer hunter while the baby was in his parents' house on his dad's lap. I can't find a news story that says the hunter was charged.
Based on your own testimony deer pretty much wander into houses whenever they want, so, you know, maybe not unreasonable.
You're supposed to know what is behind whatever you are shooting at. It was one of the rules the gun-people were firmest about back before they decided "no negative consequences of gun use for white people" was their guiding rule.
110: "Always shoot towards the wrong side of the tracks, kid"