Trump's Team of Toadies and It's 2016, Again

Let's be clear about this: Trump has every right to surround himself with a team of toadies who will not tell him anything that he hasn't already tweeted.

What it says, though, is that Trump is a low-wattage autocrat who cannot stomach anyone telling him anything he disagrees with. Other presidents have tried to surround themselves with the best and brightest people. Trump surrounds himself with ass-kissers and suck-ups. So, for example, if Trump gets the notion that the way to stop Covid-19 is to require people to wear flea-collars, nobody's going to tell him any different. Because, as has been seen over and over, no matter what the subject, Trump thinks that he knows more than anyone else.

But hey, all that is good in the minds of the Trumpanzees.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, they are recreating the former Republican party's experience with Trump in 2016-- A candidate who has not identified with the party and who may be running away with the nomination.

Jesus, Bernie, Wake Up!

It's fucking over. You made a valiant try and went far further than anyone thought you would.

You've lost. Fold your tent and go the fuck home, already.

One Down, One Not

Ted Cruz hoisted the white flag. The #NeverTrump campaign has slipped beneath the waves, leaving only the wreckage of a national party.

Bernie beat Hillary in Indiana.

Clinton's Delegate Lead

(I'm not putting up a link, as it won't survive over time.)

Hillary Clinton supposedly has a significant lead in delegates. However, most of them are "superdelegates" of which there are 712. They are all party loyalists, of course, and most have said they support Clinton, whi is the candidate of the establishment.

However, that support is as firm as overcooked pasta. In the words of Sammy Tonin: "You want to survive in this business, you have your money on the horse that's out front." If it appears that Bernie Sanders is going to win the nomination, the superdelegates will abandon Clinton. They might not like Bernie, but they'd rather be seen as coming in late than not at all.

If You're a Democat and You Own Guns

You'd best go down to the polls/caucus sites in the primary season and vote for Bernie Sanders.

Calling Clinton “a true national leader and advocate for the safer nation we all want and deserve,” the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Dan Gross told voters gathered in Ames that Clinton is the only candidate in the 2016 truly committed to gun safety.

Don't sit on your hands, go vote. Show the Bloombergians that their approval is "the kiss of death" in electoral politics.

Republicans who can cross over and vote in the Democratic primary should do that.

Guess Who Just Locked Up a Few Ten Million Votes

And sent a chill down the spines of the Statist Lobby:

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders announced his support Wednesday for removing marijuana from a list of the most dangerous drugs outlawed by the federal government — a move that would free states to legalize it without impediments from Washington.

On the Dem Side: Five Becomes Four

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said Tuesday he is dropping out of the Democratic race for president and is considering his options about how he might "remain as a voice" in the campaign.

In the race for their party's nomination, that leaves Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and two other clowns who will likely drop out in the near future.

The Money Race

When it comes to campaign donations, Clinton is leading, followed by Sanders. Both of them raised far more money than they've spent so far.

George Pataki, on the other hand, at the end of the third quarter, had barely enough cash on hand to buy a Chevy Spark.

None of this means much of a crap, as expect the Republicans to take full advantage of the legality of "affiliated super PACs" to amass huge amounts of unlimited-donation money to run "honest Injun, we don't coordinate with the campaigns" ads. Johnnie Ellis Bush has a super PAC that has raised over $100 million, but, given that he's not gained any traction in the polls, those 0.1 percenters who have been funneling cash into his PAC must be wondering what they are getting for their hard-stolen money.

Only Sanders and Trump don't have affiliated super PACs. There is a non-affiliated super PAC for Trump, "Hispanic Citizens for Donald Trump", which, so far, has raised no money.

I Agree With The Donald on This

George W. Bush was a “disaster” as president, according to Donald Trump.

Trump, the billionaire running for the Republican presidential nomination, gave Bush that label during an interview on Fox News Tuesday night. Trump also faulted Bush for what he called “one of the worst decisions ever made”: the Iraq war. “I think [Bush] was a disaster, and I think it was one of the worst decisions ever made,” Trump said. “[Bush] has totally destabilized the Middle East. If you had Saddam Hussein, you wouldn’t have the problems you have right now.”

Trump also, in the same interview, expressed his support for the use of eminent domain, with will drive the glibertarians nuts.

I disagree with The Donald on most things, but I do admire him for having the balls to say what he thinks without caring how it will resonate with the voters, in essence: "This is where I stand, vote for me if you want."

Which is unlike every other candidate in the race, except Bernie Sanders. And that may be why Sanders now has over a million people giving him cash love.

Bernie, Bernie, You're Fucking Up

He seems to think that there is a "middle" on gun control.

I don't understand why Democrats can't break their addiction to gun control. It costs them a shitload of votes. There are millions of people across this country who might otherwise be open to Sanders' messages on economic fairness and support for working families. But if he keeps blathering about gun control, he won't have those voters listening to him.

Sanders would seem to be in favor of the same crap that, when the then-current congressman in Vermont said such things, gave him a window to run for the Congress. If he had hewed to that line back then, he'd still be the mayor of Burlington.

It seems pretty moronic to me to take positions that have been proven to cost your party elections, but hey, that's why I'm not a politician, I guess.

Bernie Sanders is Either Very Polite

or very, very stupid. An article about the debate on health care insurance among Senate Democrats had this nugget:

Senator Sanders said the debate Thursday “went up a few decibels higher than it usually does in caucus meetings.” He said he had told [Senator] Baucus that more than 60 percent of the public and more than 80 percent of Democrats supported creation of a public insurance plan. “It’s difficult to understand why we can’t give the American people what they want,” Mr. Sanders said.

It's not difficult to understand at all. Sen. Baucus has taken millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry. That's why Stephen Colbert suggested sending your medical bills to Baucus. Industries do not give millions of dollars to any one politician because they are boosters of the democratic process. They give that kind of cash because they are getting something for their money and Baucus has been giving them very good value for their money.

Bernie Sanders was probably being polite. He has to know what is going on.

And it will probably get worse once the fascist wing of the Supreme Court removes all restrictions on corporations financing politicians.