Warren Fades; Democrats Worried UPDATE: Cory Booker Drops Out

Posted on | January 13, 2020 | 1 Comment

With the final pre-Iowa debate looming Tuesday night, the 2020 presidential campaign is looking shaky for Democrats. Unless you believe Joe Biden can beat Trump — and I’m not sure Biden can even make it to the end of February — any Democrat has got to be worried about Bernie Sanders, the avowed socialist, becoming their 2020 nominee.

For most of last year, the way for Democrats to avoid this Biden/Bernie dilemma was obvious: Elizabeth Warren was, on the one hand, wired into the party establishment and, on the other hand, willing to go whole-hog on the kind of anti-“Corporate America” theme that Sanders represents. Also, as an identity-politics bonus, Warren was female and thus could appeal to the women still butthurt over Hillary’s defeat.

Alas, things started going bad last fall for the Warren campaign, which was forced to fire national organizing director Rich McDaniel amid accusations of “inappropriate behavior.” Warren, who had actually been leading in Iowa (in early October, she had a 5-point lead on Biden in the Real Clear Politics average of Iowa polls), began fading quickly, and by early December was in third place behind Sanders and Pete Buttigieg in the RCP Iowa average. Meanwhile, two billionaires — Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg — began pouring millions of dollars into their vanity campaigns, with the result that Steyer now leads Warren in the most recent polls of two early states, Nevada and South Carolina. (Hat-tip: Lawrence Person’s BattleSwarm blog.) Considering the reports that Warren is having fundraising trouble, she may be doomed, and meanwhile Bernie is still chugging along, which brings us to another problem now confronting Democrats:

Only white candidates have qualified for [Tuesday’s] Democratic presidential debate, the first time in this election cycle that no minority contender will make the stage. It’s a dynamic that critics say threatens to undercut the party’s rhetoric of inclusivity.
The race for the 2020 Democratic nomination kicked off last year with a historically diverse pool of candidates, including two black senators, a black mayor, a Hispanic former Cabinet secretary and an Asian businessman. Since then, all have either dropped out or failed to qualify for a spot on the stage, determined by poll numbers and donations.
Now the specter of an all-white debate in the mostly white state of Iowa is prompting concern among party activists.
“Both the way the primary is set up and the way debates are done are a problem,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, a racial justice organization. “The system they have designed has suppressed the most loyal base of the Democratic Party.”
He added: “Anyone with an understanding of civil rights law understands how the rules can be set up to benefit some communities. The Democratic Party should look at the impact of these rules and question the results.”

Yeah, baby — “the most loyal base” is being “suppressed” — that paranoid sense of betrayal might not turn many black voters into Republicans, but it sure as heck sounds like an ill omen for Democrats when November rolls around. “Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen . . .”

UPDATE: Breaking just now:

Democrat Sen. Cory Booker is ending his presidential campaign, he announced Monday morning, and will set his sights on reelection to the U.S. Senate. https://t.co/qlodRiHsSb

— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) January 13, 2020

Obviously, this proves that the Democrat Party hates black men.

Category: Debates, Democrats, Iowa, Polls

Rule Five Sunday: Texans Cheerleaders

Posted on | January 12, 2020 | 1 Comment

a– compiled by Wombat-socho

This being playoff weekend in the NFL, it seemed appropriate to serve up an appetizer from one of the contending teams’ cheerleading squads. This is from the Texans/Patriots game on December 1.

Navel superiority

Ninety Miles From Tyranny brings Hot Pick of the Late Night, The 90 Miles Mystery Box Episode #860, Morning Mistress, and Girls With Guns; at Animal Magnetism, it’s Rule Five Cultural Regions Friday and the Saturday Brunettenarok.

EBL’s herd of heifers this week includes Greer Garson, Tanya Tucker, Dolly Wells, Vijaya Selvaraju, Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Claire Duburcq, and Meghan Markle.

A View From The Beach serves up Paris Jackson, Fish Pic Friday – Mutton Snapper, The Internet Never Forgets, Are You Busy Tomorrow?, Russiagate Ramble On, Bringing the Heat to Fight the Australian Bush Fires, On Tattoo Tuesday . . ., Muddy Monday, Palm Sunday, and Nobel Laureate Retracts Paper, Cites Shoddy Supervision.

Proof Positive’s Vintage Babe of the Week is Claudia Cardinale, and Red Pilled Jew returns with Pretty Faces.

Thanks to everyone for the luscious linkagery!

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Category: Rule 5

FMJRA 2.0: It’s No Game

Posted on | January 12, 2020 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Rule 5 Sunday: New Year Double Scoop Delight!
A View From The Beach
Proof Positive
EBL
Ninety Miles From Tyranny
Animal Magnetism

Crazy People Are Dangerous
EBL

Why Do ‘Incels’ Want War With Iran?
Bacon Time
EBL

FMJRA 2.0: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
A View From The Beach
EBL

Did You Donate for … Uh, ‘Fire Relief’?
357 Magnum
EBL

#FakeWWIIIFacts Valerie Jarrett Reportedly In Deep Depression Since The World’s Most Interesting Man Was Droned In Baghdad
Pushing Rubber Downhill
EBL

Ricky Gervais Burns Hollywood: ‘You Know Nothing About the Real World’
Dark Brightness
Pushing Rubber Downhill
EBL

In The Mailbox: 01.06.20
357 Magnum
A View From The Beach
EBL

The SomethingAwful Meltdown: It’s Kind of Like LGF, Except With SJW Trannies
EBL

Did Arsonists Cause Australia’s ‘Crisis’?
Dark Brightness
EBL

ABC News ‘Reporter’ Dons Hijab to Promote Iranian Propaganda
EBL

In The Mailbox: 01.07.20
A View From the Beach
Proof Positive
EBL

Breaking: Iran Attacks U.S. Forces in Iraq
EBL

‘We’re Going to War, Bro’
EBL

Democrats: Pro-Iran or Anti-American?
A View From The Beach
EBL

The Cult of Climate ‘Science’
357 Magnum
Locomotive Breath
EBL

Mexicans in Kansas
EBL

The Biden Legacy
A View From The Beach
EBL

The Babylon Bee Is The Future Of Comedy, Not Dave Chappelle
EBL

Ayatollahs and Democrats
EBL

Iran Shot Down Plane Full of Canadians
357 Magnum
EBL

A ‘Hate Crime’ CNN Won’t Mention
EBL

In The Mailbox: 01.10.20 (Morning Edition)
357 Magnum
A View From The Beach
Proof Positive
EBL

In The Mailbox: 01.10.20 (Afternoon Edition)
Proof Positive
EBL

Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge
EBL

In The Mailbox: 01.10.20 (Evening Edition)
Proof Positive
EBL

Top linkers for the week ending January 10:

EBL (26)
A View From The Beach (7)
(tied) 357 Magnum & Proof Positive (5)

Thanks to everyone for all the linkagery!

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Category: FMJRA Award

A Dark Day for Democracy

Posted on | January 11, 2020 | Comments Off on A Dark Day for Democracy

Jan. 10, 2020, will forever be known as Black Friday — a day that will live in infamy — when the Democratic Party lost its last hope:

Author Marianne Williamson ended her 2020 Democratic presidential campaign on Friday after failing to gain traction in a crowded Democratic field.
“I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible opportunity to share our message. With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now,” Williamson wrote in a message to supporters.
“The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I don’t want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them,” Williamson continued.
Williamson pledged to fully support the Democratic nominee.
Williamson had not qualified for the Democratic debate next week. The spiritual author had laid off her campaign staff nationally, a former staffer confirmed to CNN last week.
After launching her campaign in January 2019, Williamson told CNN she was running to bring a “moral and spiritual awakening” for America.
“Nothing short of that is adequate to fundamentally change the patterns of our political dysfunction,” Williamson told CNN’s John Berman at the time.
Williamson’s campaign has been little-noticed in recent months, as focus shifted to the Democratic contenders who were meeting the party’s fundraising and polling thresholds to qualify for debates and Williamson repeatedly missed the cut.

Sole Voice Of Reason Drops Out Of Democratic Race https://t.co/bxbqzjhMgI

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 10, 2020

https://t.co/qP2ZDiD193
Marianne Williamson drops out of Democrat Primaries ?@PatriarchTree @smitty_one_each @WombatSocho pic.twitter.com/oqTfcP1kua

— Evi L. Bloggerlady (@MsEBL) January 10, 2020

Marianne Williamson's Failed Candidacy Still Exposed A Major Democratic Blindspot On Faith https://t.co/KpA51m1n0d @FDRLST #AAG #AAG2020

— All American Girl (@AIIAmericanGirI) January 10, 2020

Of course, you know what this means — my plans to become U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu have suffered yet another setback.

Category: Democrats, Vanuatu

In The Mailbox: 01.10.20 (Evening Edition)

Posted on | January 11, 2020 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Remember, links for the FMJRA are due tomorrow by noon Pacific.

OVER THE TRANSOM
Ammo.com: Black America Before LBJ
Locomotive Breath: In 2011, Quds Force Commander Soleimani Sent Agents To Bomb Washington DC
357 Magnum: Chicago’s Recipe For More Crime
EBL: Buck Henry, RIP
Twitchy: Teen Who Scooped Everyone With Latest Iowa Poll Has A “Vendetta” Against CNN
Louder With Crowder: Jillian Michaels Refuses To Apologize For Calling Lizzo Fat
According To Hoyt: The World Needs Heroes
Monster Hunter Nation: Out Today – Gunpowder & Embers
Vox Popoli: Paul Krugman’s Eichenwaldian Moment, also, Patreon Trolls For New Creators

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Friday Hawt Chicks & Links – The She-Devil Edition
American Conservative: The Obama Administration Wrecked Libya For A Generation
American Greatness: Intel Community’s IG Is The Link Between FISAGate & Impeachment
American Power: Angry Black Lady Gets Angry At Jillian Michaels
American Thinker: Susan Rice Lies Again
Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Cultural Regions Friday
Babalu Blog: Pitbull Apologizes To Cuban Exiles For Support Of Pro-Castro Musical Group
BattleSwarm: LinkSwarm For January 10
Cafe Hayek: Open Letter To Martin Gurri
Camp of the Saints: One Of The Greats has Passed – Neal Peart, RIP
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
Da Tech Guy: My Offer To The Outraged Senator Duckworth, also, The Left’s New Definition Of “Crossfire”
Don Surber: NeverTrumper Realizes It Backfired
The Geller Report: No Mistake – Iran Fired Two Missiles At Airliner Killing 176 Civilians, also, Ilhan Omar Explodes After Minnesota County Votes To Ban Refugee Resettlement
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, Gnats & Elephants
Hollywood In Toto: Underwater Is A Fifth, Maybe Sixth-Rate Alien Ripoff, also, 1917 – A Bracing War Drama Marred By Contrivance
JustOneMinute: Media Q&A
Legal Insurrection: CNN Fails To Mention Its Iranian Guest Threatened To Kill American Hostages in 1979, also, College Administrator Suspended For Suggesting Iran Should Pick American Targets For Bombing
Power Line: Pete Buttigieg, Sane Democrat? also, We Now Know – The Steele Dossier Bacillus
Shark Tank: Dr. James St. George Enters Race To Replace Ted Yoho
Shot In The Dark: From Bonn, Frankfurt-am-Main Is The East
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday – Capital Punishment
This Ain’t Hell: Sgt. Slaughter Called Out On Stolen Valor, also, “I Answered The Call Of Duty, Served My Country – And Got Fired For It”
Victory Girls: A Toothless War Powers Resolution
Volokh Conspiracy: Seattle Public Library Reaffirms Rights Of Trans-Skeptical Feminist Group (And Everyone Else)
Weasel Zippers: 2011 – Pelosi Says Obama Didn’t Need Congressional Approval For Attacks On Libya, also, Toronto Cops Threaten Journalist For Calling Soleimani A Terrorist
Mark Steyn: Harry Kiri

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Category: Linkagery

Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge

Posted on | January 10, 2020 | Comments Off on Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge

by Smitty

Offstage, the director nods. I step into light.
“None of this madness,” a sweeping gesture captures the previous action, “has made sense.

Your mind cycles through the events and characters, connecting dots in a vain attempt to draw order from chaos.
Relax.
The good news: there *is* a point to all of this.
The bad news: the fulness of that point is too much for this medium; as with a mountain on a map, all you get are some topological line hints.
Again: relax. Spread joy, not sorrow, and await the moment the final understanding grips you.”

Return to darkness.
—
via Darleen

Category: Friday Fiction

In The Mailbox: 01.10.20 (Afternoon Edition)

Posted on | January 10, 2020 | 1 Comment

– compiled by Wombat-socho

After experimenting with it in this morning’s post, I’m going to hold off on adding any links people send me until this evening’s post, since I can’t access Gmail here and manually copying HTML links from my phone is a major pain. As always, contributions to the Hate Chicken & Diet Coke fund are appreciated.

OVER THE TRANSOM
EBL: Paul Krugman Tries To Explain How CP Got Downloaded On His IP
Twitchy: John Kerry & Samantha Power Lament “Trump Destroyed What We Built”
Louder With Crowder: Jillian Michaels Asks “Why Do We Celebrate Lizzo Being Fat?”

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Big Companies Hate Innovation But Love Regulation
American Conservative: A Trump Voter’s Lament
American Greatness: New Lawsuit Claims Rod Rosenstein Led Task Force That Spied On Sharyl Attkisson’s Computers
American Power: After Leaving 60 Minutes, Lara Logan Makes Comeback On Fox Nation
American Thinker: Progressive Eco-Group Admits Renewable Energy Is A Hoax
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Colorado News
Babalu Blog: Elite Cuban “Black Berets” Caught On Video Beating Civilians In Villa Clara
BattleSwarm: Iran’s Retaliation – A Big Nothingburger
Cafe Hayek: Open Letter To Sam Hammond
Camp Of The Saints: The Spirit Of 1969 Unleashed
Da Tech Guy: Quaint Things Under The Fedora, also, Climate Change Isn’t Responsible For The Australian Bushfire Crisis
Don Surber: Investigate Obama Stopping Operation Cassandra
First Street Journal: Another Idea To Fight #ClimateChange That The Left Won’t Like
The Geller Report: Bill Clinton Seen In New Photos On Epstein’s Plane With Sex Slave, also, Watch Ilhan Omar Laugh While Discussing U.S. Casualties In Iraq
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post Of The Day, also, A 3D View Of The Crab Nebula
Hollywood In Toto: How Little Women Soft-Pedals Modern Feminism
JustOneMinute: Compounding Iran’s Worries
Legal Insurrection: Buttigieg Suggests Trump to Blame For Iranians Shooting Down Ukrainian Airliner, also, MSM Freaks Out Over Trump Blaming Obama For Funding Iranian Aggression
Megan McArdle: Trump Does The NATO Two-Step
The PanAm Post: Why Chavismo Is Winning In Venezuela
Power Line: Ilhan Omar – The PTSD Of A Clown, also, Trump Wins In Court On Border Wall
Shark Tank: Brian Mast – Many U.S. Military Deaths Paid For By Obama
Shot In The Dark: Saint Paul – Good News & Bad News
The Political Hat: How Cultural Marxism Destroyed Education, also, Euthanasia In Killer Canada – Killing Without Consent, Alzheimer’s Society Against Those With Alzheimer’s, and From Hospice To Execution
This Ain’t Hell: Who’s The FBI’s Most Wanted American Terrorist? also, Sailor’s Wife & His “Boat Boo” Brawl At Navy Christmas Party
Victory Girls: Sanders & Warren Choose Iran Over America
Volokh Conspiracy: Above The Law Post Not Libelous Or “Unlawful Discrimination” Notwithstanding Its Supposed “Homophobic” Insults
Weasel Zippers: To Fact Check Trump, MSNBC Turns To…Known Liar Susan Rice, also, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Compares Soleimani’s Death To Elvis, Princess Di
Mark Steyn: Ayatollahs & Undertakers