Marcopalypse Now!

Mickey Kaus explores the no-longer Phantom Menace., with polls showing Rubio in second and coming on hard in New Hampshire.

All very interesting but not if it ends with a candidate that can be defeated by Hillary. Of course, the height of that bar is hard to predict since she is melting down over Goldman Sachs and the email minefield awaits.

So just thinking out loud - every four years the table-pounding conservatives are told they need to get behind some electable RINO. And every four years table-pounding lefties are told they need to get behind some sensible moderate (do remember, Bill Clinton was part of the Democratic Leadership Council, whose goal was to lead the Dems out of the fever swamps of the left and back to the political midlands).

But this may be the year when both parties can practice Mutually Assured Insanity! Let's root for the final brawl between Cruz and Sanders. Both wings get they (we?!?) want and either put the country on Cruz Control or we Feel the Bern. Or we elect Mike Bloomberg. Because at heart the country still trusts multi-billionaires who made their money on Wall Street. Uh huh.

STRAY THOUGHT: James Carville famously opined that the 1992 election was "Change versus more of the same". That was paired with "It's the economy, stupid" and "Don't forget health care".

So is the 2016 election something different? Or, if this is change versus more of the same, what does Hillary represent to Democrats, and what about Sanders?

And on the Republican side, Jeb Bush? Really? But the other candidates can symbolize change from the current Obama morass, at least. But who represents change from Washington's "business as usual"?

 

Comments

[henry]

But who represents change from Washington's "business as usual"?

Carson, who is running on empty.

Fiorina, who is not at the debate right now.

----
probable business as usual but with a new set of flunkies:

Trump

possibly Cruz

[henry]

Of course Jeff's favorite, Ivachiw would be a change from business as usual.

[Thomas Collins]

I think UMass Lowell tracking is giving a more accurate view of the race than ElGlobo, but Rubio is also doing well in that poll (although that poll shows Trump further ahead).

[Jeff Dobbs]

This was not the Marco thread I was calling for.

[narciso]

There's the Jonathan last link that might be of interest.

[rse]

henry-don't forget to book your ticket for Stanford's first ever Social Innovations forum in May. http://ssirfrontiers.org/

Oh, the plans that will be made for us.

[Appalled]

Y'know, Rubio is the biggest RINO slayer of the big 3 candidates...

Kaus is looking for the second coming of Dick Gephardt -- which is a questionable GOP model, if you ask me.

[Jeff Dobbs]

henry:
Fiorina, who is not at the debate right now.

Well, literally none of them are at the debate right now.

[NK]

henry@235, pls

[narciso]

Pronoun trouble.

[Porchlight]

Oh wow, the DLC. I'd forgotten all about them after the prog purge.

[lyle]

“[i]t will be resolved, but I have to add if there’s going to be a security review about me, there’s going to be security reviews about a lot of other people, including Republican office holders, because we’ve got this absurd situation of retroactive classifications.”

If a Republican did what this hag did, the MFM would have lynched him or her by now. And the Ds would be gleefully desecrating the corpse. On live TV.

[NK]

I have mixed feelings about this. Al-Jizz pays $45M to Mort Zuckerman: https://commercialobserver.com/2016/02/al-jazeera-pays-boston-property-45m-for-midtown-lease-termination/

[Dave (in MA)]

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/construction-crane-collapses-manhattan-injures-2-article-1.2521130 The guy who was sitting in the car that got crushed by the crane was not the fatality.

[Porchlight]

I have to hand it to her, she can counter an argument. A form of the evergreen "Bush did it too." LIVs roll over and go back to sleep.

[Rick Ballard]

Aha, I've found the Typhuspad bad words triggers.

TC,

Trump's predominant d-emographic performed by historical standards in Iowa (didn't show), the d-emo is 10% smaller in New Hampshire but it does have many more hours to not show up in so it will be a much better test of non-performance.

The Cruz predominant d-emo is much smaller in New Hampshire but they sure showed up above strength in Iowa. That may not transfer to New Hampshire, leaving Rubio in really good shape for the "last minute surge" which will be used to explain pollsters inability to recognize the bleeding obvious.

[henry]

rse, I'm incapable of not making a profit. Won't fit in at the Stanford confab.

[NK]

TomM-- you may be interested in this. The glories of Danny Malloy -- 2 of the 10 worst office markets in the nation are in tiny Ct: https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/office/these-are-the-10-us-cities-with-most-vacant-office-space-54684?single-page

[Threadkiller]

In a Spanish-language interview Sunday with the network Univision, Sen. Marco Rubio, the leading Republican on the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform group, made his strongest statement yet that legalization of the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants must happen before any new border security or internal enforcement measures are in place, and will in no way be conditional on any security requirements. "Let's be clear," Rubio said. "Nobody is talking about preventing the legalization. The legalization is going to happen. That means the following will happen: First comes the legalization. Then come the measures to secure the border

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rubio-in-immigration-reform-legalization-comes-first-it-is-not-conditional/article/2531504

From FreeRepublic

[Rick Ballard]

Typhuspad test

demographic

[Porchlight]

NK, they cheated a bit and included Fairfield County as a "city" in the list. They talk about GE of course, but the photo is of Stamford, I think.

[Porchlight]

Saw a new coinage on HotAir just now:

FOXe

I like it.

[NK]

Porch-- Fairfield Cty is a 'metro' area for real estate market purposes. It's all apples to apples. The Ct you grew up in is DEAD. Killed by Lowell Weicker, Danny Malloy and the permanent Dem Legislature. The voters will claim "we didn't know." Jackasses.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I have to admit I have been impressed with those, otherwise unknown to me, conservative ratings which place Rubio's conservative scores considerably higher than I thought they would be and not that far behind Cruz.
If his record is any indication he would govern considerably more conservatively than W did, which admittedly is a fairly low bar.

He sure shot himself in the foot with his Gang of 8 misadventure.
I doubt he's the man the hour calls for; a man who could begin the crushing of the welfare state but I doubt Cruz is as well. Perhaps one or both of them could plant the seeds of its destruction through policies which lead to some electoral realignment.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Interesting, Rick.

I haven't put up a post in a long time because of TM's prolificalitinessity - and the only way to try and "teach" typhus is to keep promoting something it put in the naughty bin back to regular comments - something I can only do on my own posts.

[Old Lurker]

Love it Porch.

FOXe indeed.

[James D]

Ig, Rubio's support ot the campus rape bill disturbs me, and I'm afraid it's a portent of what we might see from him as President.

If he just voted for it at the end of the day, that's one thing. But he's an active supporter, which shows:

He doesn't understand the harm such legislation does.

He doesn't see how he's helping to reinforce a central message the Dems/progs are pushing.

It's bad policy, and it's worse politics, and there is zero reason for him to be doing it. If that's an example of the klind of outreach he'll be making as President, I have big problems with that.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Porch:
I have to hand it to her, she can counter an argument. A form of the evergreen "Bush did it too." LIVs roll over and go back to sleep.

And the MSM snaps-to:

Note - the article itself made no mention of private email servers - only private email addresses.

But the LIVs ain't got time to spend the 3 1/2 minutes to actually, you know, read the article. The headline is enough to plant notion in their noggin that Hillary didn't do anything everyone else was doing.

[Porchlight]

If his record is any indication

There's your problem right there. I always thought of him as a Jeb Bush protegee who rode the TP wave somewhat convincingly in 2010. 5 years including one year of running for President just isn't long enough to judge IMO.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

How do you pronounce that?

FOX-ee as Huggybear might have said it on Starsky and Hutch or;

FOAKS as Barry might say it while describing all the foaks he's foaked in the rear the last seven years?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--5 years including one year of running for President just isn't long enough to judge IMO.--

Where does Rubio rank with you re Trump, Porch?
You seem more supportive of the latter but that could be my perception only.

[lyle]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/an-awful-candidate/article/2000940

Since I'd rather pass a kiney stone than listen to this screeching, horrible hag, I was not aware of this. Unaware but certainly unsurprised:

If you've spent any time watching Hillary Clinton over the years, you may be surprised to learn that the subject she's most passionate about right now is not health care, or job creation, or foreign affairs, or feminism, or The Children, but gun control. This may have something to do with the fact that gun control is the only issue on which Clinton has been able to position herself firmly to Sanders's left.

Which is why at most campaign stops in New Hampshire, Clinton is introduced first by former astronaut Mark Kelly and then by Kelly's wife, Gabrielle Giffords, the former member of Congress from Arizona who was shot in the head in 2011 and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Kelly speaks movingly about Giffords's and Clinton's ability to fight through adversity. Giffords, who has difficulty talking, then says a few words — no more than a handful of sentences — before introducing Clinton. And the candidate then opens her remarks by talking about gun control. This routine is repeated several times a day, across the state. It is as ghoulish as it is transparent.

[snip]

On the stump, it's striking how bereft Clinton is of both humor and joy. How can you have a speech that takes shots at Donald Trump and isn't funny? Somehow, she does it. She's against free college, she says, because "I will not pay for Donald Trump's kids to go to college." That's her big laugh line; try the veal.

[Old Lurker]

Gang of Eight and Jame's 3:17 Campus Rape love affair are plenty sufficient for me to vote against him, Porch. I have hated people for a lot less!

[Thomas Collins]

Rick, your analysis would indicate that ElGlobo's poll is doing a better job of measuring likely voters than UMassLowell tracking. It will be interesting to see whether Trump's numbers continue falling in UMassLowell tracking.

As far as Cruz goes, if Cruz finishes third in NH behind Trump/Rubio or Rubio/Trump, the rest of the field's donors need to do some serious thinking about whether it is worthwhile spending more money on a candidate who couldn't top Cruz in NH.

[Old Lurker]

James' :-)

[Sandy Daze]

TK, your link to Mr Rubio's comments is to a Byron York column, from 6/10/13 12:00 AM

i.e.: Marco Rubio: In immigration reform, legalization comes first — ‘It is not conditional’
It is not like Mr Rubio just made the comments... his comments were almost all of three years ago; plenty of time to (ahem) evolve.

For me, his weaseliness on the G-8 immigration bill is all I need to know about him.

I thoroughly distrust him.

Saying that, if he is the nominee I will vote for him, I will crawl over broken glass to vote for him over the dem--but that does not mean I trust him one bit.
~~~
Have not caught up on all the back and forth; could someone please update me on the Mr Rubio as a dancer at Miami night-spots allegation, and a participant in the "foam parties" etc ?

Any shred of legitimacy there or more disinformation ? Has his campaign HQ issued a denial, or are they ignoring the allegation?

[Beasts of England]

FOXe - bwahaha!!

[narciso]

The first seems dubious sandy, the other possible, it seems like they stitched this out of primary colors, where they pretended razorback wasn't the sleazy candidate.

[JMHanes]

TK:

Why did you eliminate Rubio's final sentence?

“Let’s be clear,” Rubio said. “Nobody is talking about preventing the legalization. The legalization is going to happen. That means the following will happen: First comes the legalization. Then come the measures to secure the border. And then comes the process of permanent residence.” [Emphasis mine]

It seems like a substantive omission, does it not?

[Jeff Dobbs]

Sandy:
Any shred of legitimacy there or more disinformation ?

From what I can tell - and I have very very little interest in researching it - the primary source of the info/or the primary source of pushing it now is Wayne Madsen.

If anyone is unfamiliar with him, let me introduce you to my good friend, narciso.

[James D]

Just to be clear, my problem with Rubio on the campus rape bill is that it's BOTH bad policy and bad politics.

He's doing something harmful and unconservative that won't win him any votes, and will give the Dems ammunition to use against fellow Republicans. That's the part I really don't understand about his stance on the issue.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Meanwhile the F-35 is still a trainwreck.

Now, a lot of the problems mentioned sound like ones susceptible to eventual fixes, but let's hope this fiasco will once and for all kill the idea of a tweener that can be tweeked to perform various roles, all of them poorly, rather than designs dedicated to the one task they will primarily perform, like say the F-22.

[James D]

Ig, that's what happened with the Space Shuttle, too. You'd think someone would have learned the lessons from that.

[narciso]

Like they said in the avengers 'you can smell the crazy on him'

[lyle]

J. Goldberg makes a good point:

My problem with Sanders is that he’s ultimately a coward. He talks a great game about being dedicated to a “political revolution,” but he is utterly unwilling to employ the means required to achieve the ends desired.

For instance, Sanders is happy to denounce the political system as corrupt, but refuses -- save by innuendo -- to connect the corruption of the political system to the corruption of House Clinton.

[snip]

Then there’s the whole sordid mess of her husband’s presidency -- and I’m not even talking about his playing Baron-and-the-Milkmaid with the intern. The Clintons rented out the Lincoln bedroom, sold pardons -- including to a shadowy fugitive billionaire! Talk about catering to the “billionaire class” -- and drained so much money from foreign donors (some of it laundered through a Buddhist temple) that 94 people either fled the country, refused to testify, or pled the Fifth.
Bernie Sanders has to believe Hillary Clinton is part of the problem. But he won’t say so, save to prattle on about Clinton’s super PACs and speaking fees. That’s amateur-hour stuff. It’s academic-seminar-level griping, not revolution-fomenting. He wants to talk about the system, but he won’t do what is minimally required to change it. And right now, the first step on that long road is steamrolling Hillary Clinton.

[Buckeye]

I would prefer several candidates over Marco, however I think the establishment is thoroughly convinced we have developed a "taste" for shit sammiches.

[Buckeye]

particularly the ones shoved down your throat.

[pagar a bacon, country ham and sausage supporter]

"it's striking how bereft Clinton is of both humor and joy."

I have never understood how a Democrat could feel any humor or joy.

These are people who believe in killing children because they are inconvenient.

http://www.numberofabortions.com/

[Dave (in MA)]

FOXe

I like it.

You, and Wilbur Mills.

[rse]

henry-I thought you's appreciate how the taking class wants to be the planning class.

[Jim Miller]

Jeff Dobbs - There's another little difference between the Clinton and the Powell-Rice email stories: Powell and Rice's aides may have received emails that should have been classified, but so far there is no evidence that they sent any from their personal accounts.

Given the number of emails that people in that position receive -- and the difficulty of classification in some instances -- it would be surprising if they did not receive a few emails that might deserve classification.

Somehow I don't think that point will be in many of the network news stories.

[pagar a bacon, country ham and sausage supporter]

http://twitchy.com/2016/02/04/that-demands-answers-gabriel-malor-asks-who-decided-to-investigate-powell-rice-emails/?utm_source=twtydaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

IMO, there are politicians that need to go to jail over this.

[henry]

rse, they don't appreciate how bad i am at doing what the government tells me to do. Or my complete deafness to planners of all types.

[Threadkiller]

It does, JMH. I used the quote provided by FreeRepublic.

I will read the link more closely now.

Thank you.

[Threadkiller]

JOM ahead of the curve once again!

Any YouTube questions on FOXe?

Posted by: Threadkiller | January 28, 2016 at 09:33 PM

:-)

[JMHanes]

Sandy Daze:

"For me, his weaseliness on the G-8 immigration bill is all I need to know about him."

I'm not sure if you're refering to H. R. 3762, but if so, I think his vote was entirely defensible . Legislation devised in the heat of the moment is rarely good legislation.

I also think Ted Cruz has done some heavyweight weaseling on the subject of "legalization," himself, and I'd love to know what Trump's final position on the 11 million or illegals currently residing in the U.S. (disproportionately represented in the construction and hospitality industries!).

[Dave (in MA)]

Beasts isn't laughing now.

[lyle]

Today's utterly predictable and disposable factoid:

https://pjmedia.com/trending/2016/02/05/pharma-bad-boy-martin-shkreli-is-a-big-democrat-donor/

[Jack is Back!]

C-Span2 has an interesting House of Commons Home Affairs Committee meeting with reps from Twitter, Google and FB discussing how to restrict the terror connections and use.

[Threadkiller]

I don't see it as an issue, JMH.
In order:
1) First comes the legalization.
2) Then come the measures to secure the border. 
3)And then comes the process of permanent residence.”

[Sandy Daze]

JMH - not going to take time to review the HR 3762, I am going with my gut recollection of the moment in time, wherein Mr Rubio seemingly switched sides on immigration, joined up with the likes of Mr Schumer and others.

All we get is yada yada yada. If Mr Schumer has a position on immigration, I know that position, by definition, is not a conservative position. I do not need to know more.

Idiomatic expressions are simply a short-hand way of making quick judgments.

"Birds of a feather flock together."

To recall who was in the Go8:

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-IL

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-AZ

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC

Sen. John McCain, R-AZ

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY

A-huh.

I stand by my earlier comment:
I thoroughly distrust Mr Rubio.

[JMHanes]

Took me a week or more to figure out what the lower case "e" stood for when I first returned to JOM. The list of euphemisms/nics I'm still trying to figure out is a long one. Who is/are the Medici, for instance?

[Jane]

Okay, I admit I'm slow:

So what does the "e" stand for?

[Threadkiller]

eSTABLISHMENT

[Old Lurker]

Really TK?

I thought this works too:

eXCREMENT

Just kidding.

[narciso]

The bushs, financiers turned political dynasty.

[lyle]

I think Ignatz linked this but it's grimly worth relinking:

https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2016/02/05/full-speed-to-disaster/

Syria is now a grim monument to a mad Western policy, made not the less insane by the fact that one of its chief architects is running for office to complete president Obama's third term. What went off in Syria was the bomb of human stupidity, abetted by invincible hubris and accelerated by the unquenchable fire of fanatical dogmatism. The result was ruin.

None of it was necessary yet all of it was in one sense inevitable. Human beings inflict this on themselves every seventy years or so, forget, then do it again. How will it end? Soon, one can only hope.

[Threadkiller]

In a little-noticed interview earlier this year with Univision’s Jorge Ramos, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) declared that, as President, he would keep Barack Obama’s executive amnesty for DREAMers in place until it was permanently codified through legislation.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/02/marco-rubio-jorge-ramos-will-keep-obamas-first-executive-amnesty-place-legislative-amnesty-enacted/

[Skoot]

Boy, Hillary looked terrible last night. And by terrible I mean she's a whale! Holy cow. I'd guesstimate her BMI around 33 these days. Funny, cause Fat Bill probably scored a 32 when he used to jog around in short shorts with fry grease stains on his shirt.

[Threadkiller]

That is better, OL!

[lyle]

eJACULA...

Ok, I won't.

[Threadkiller]

eGADS, lyle!

[Threadkiller]

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/sheldon-adelson-owned-las-vegas-newspaper-endorses-rubio-n512421

What is the dreamer count in Las Vegas?

[narciso]

Alright you're on report.

[Porchlight]

Great points by Goldberg.

Iggy, I don't know how to pronounce it, you're right. But I love the way it looks.

That makes Megyn a FOXe lady...

[JMHanes]

Sandy Daze:

Face palming here. I thought you were talking about the visa situation with regard to Group of 8 countries et al that got so much attention in an early debate. The Gang of 8 contrivance is certainly the more obvious impediment.

[Porchlight]

Any YouTube questions on FOXe?
Posted by: Threadkiller | January 28, 2016 at 09:33 PM

Way to go, TK! I should have known a JOM would have been ahead of the crowd.

Jane, in GOPe the e stands for "establishment." So FOXe is a reference to the establishment peeps who run the joint.

[Porchlight]

The JOM lexicon is one of my favorite things about this place.

[Jim Miller]

Jane - I'm pretty sure something like this was intended: Megyn Kelly is certainly FOXe.

(The spelling is wrong, but that's not unusual these days.)

[Thomas Collins]

Whoa! Enough of these Foxe and Foxy impostors. See the below link for the REAL FOXY (possibly NSFW, although relatively benign).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjfPK9o_EQo

[Beasts of England]

I stand with Fanne Foxe!! Was that from the fifties? lol

[Threadkiller]

http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/12-tips-for-artfully-using-facebook-for-politics/

[Captain Hate]

IMO, there are politicians that need to go to jail over this.

Oh, pagar, you're such a kidder...

As long as Malor stays away from THAT ONE TOPIC he does good work.

[Skoot]

"How will it end? Soon, one can only hope."

Not likely with Vlad getting such good live fire training for his Su-35S fighters while Kerry stands around with his dick in his hand.

[boris]

The Cruz ploy looks reasonable to me.

The bill would do X, Y and Z

Cruz amends to remove Z

Bill fails because Z was the only feature its proponents really wanted.

Z was the most bad worst feature of a bad policy. Thus removing Z made the bill less awful. Hence an "improvement".

Does that imply Cruz wanted X and Y to be implemented?

No, because making something less bad and also less likely to pass is a reasonable strategery if you oppose X, Y and Z.

[Thomas Collins]

Fanne Foxe achieved her fame in the 70s, BOE.

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1908008_1908007_1907985,00.html

[Jack is Back!]

Fanny Fox? I remember one friday night at a bar in Dewey Beach where half the capital hill crowd were wearing Willbur Mills for President T-shirts. And that was after the fountain incident.

[Dave (in MA)]

TC@4:30 PM, that's where Mo Vaughn was frequently found. He claimed it was because he liked the food.

[Dave (in MA)]

That was back in the olden days when sex scandals involving Arkansas politicians actually meant something.

[Beasts of England]

I'll be damned. I didn't know she was the Tidal Basin Bombshell. That's awesome!!

[Thomas Collins]

Yes, there is always an enticing buffet at the Foxy Lady, Dave (in MA).

[Thomas Collins]

Yes, that is Fanne, BOE. Danced in Boston and swam in DC! She'll be 80 years old this year.

[JMHanes]

TK:

Thanks for the explanation. I appreciate your practice of linking to original source material very much.

[Beasts of England]

We can post NSFW links at JOM? Hang on, be right back...

[Old Lurker]

As long as you keep the sound down, Beasts. You are still on probation.

[Thomas Collins]

I was being especially careful, BOE. Far more provocative pics of cheesecake and beefcake have been posted here than what appears on that YouTube video! :-)

[Miss Marple]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/5/obama-depicted-as-murderous-devil-downtown-moscow/

Actually, I think this is not far from the truth.

[Dave (in MA)]

There's a new, stripper-free (so far) thread.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Was that Destiny swinging from that pole?

[Beasts of England]

lol, OL!! That was in December of 2014 - my probation ended six weeks ago! :)