Even $100 Million+ Only Goes So Far; Khcheb! Edition

As of right now, JEB! is coming in fourth in South Carolina. Trump is first, Rubio and Cruz are a handful of votes apart, and Bush is far behind, with just over a third of the votes of Cruz-io and nearly tied with Kasich.

Kasich has been campaigning on a shoestring. Bush raised well over a hundred million, between direct donations and dark money to his "leadership PAC" which is prohibited from quote coordinating unquote things with his campaign. He burned through about a third of that in New Hampshire and came in at a level that came nowhere near matching the money that was spent.

My suspicion is that the donation river has dried up for Bush. He needed to do well in South Carolina to persuade the oligarchs to re-open the taps, but he hasn't. One has to wonder how long he can keep going before his coffers run dry.

Update: No further than tonight:

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush has dropped out of the Republican race for US president after failing to rank high in the first three state primaries. ... "Today I am suspending my campaign," an emotional Mr Bush told his supporters.

Somewhere, the shade of Terri Schiavo is laughing.

"I Wuz Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard"

That's apparently Johnny Bush's latest claim to fame.

Given what people remember about Abu Ghraib, it's pretty gob-smacking to think that he's going to brag about the Florida NG running the place.

The last former governor to brag that signing off on supply chits for the National Guard was "foreign policy experience" was the former half-term governor of Alaska.

Let's be clear about this: When the National Guard deploys, they do it as part of the Army or the Air Force. At that point, they are state forces in name only. They work for the military command structure and the Feds pay the troopers. They get the same active duty military pay and privileges of any other person on active duty. The guard soldiers/units are "federalized" and the state government has zip point shit to do with it.

While it might have arguably been good for the soldiers' morale to have their governator come visit them in the field, at that point, all the politicians doing that could promise was to help iron out any problems back home, in their states.

Claiming any foreign policy cred from a National Guard deployment is pure, unadulterated horseshit.

Oh, the Irony Is Just Too Rich; JEB! Edition

Jeb Bush, facing increasing pressure in South Carolina after lackluster showings in early contests, brought his older brother, George W. Bush, and the former first lady, Laura Bush, to vouch for his decency and judgment here in a race that has been driven in recent weeks by coarse language, anger and personal insults.

Asking Dubya to vouch for anyone's decency would be like asking Bernie Madoff to vouch for someone's honesty.

Or has everyone forgotten that Bush's campaign smeared John McCain in South Carolina by spreading rumors that McCain was crazy, his wife was a lesbian and that McCain had fathered a black kid? Few national politicians can do the job while holding onto their honor, but Bush shredded his like it was cheap toilet paper.

"Don't Cry, Lindsey, We'll Face Political Oblivion Together."

(H/T)

Feel free to come up with your own caption.

Inconsequential Political News; GOP Ed.

South Carolina senator and former presidential candidate Lindsey Graham endorsed Jeb Bush for the Republican nomination on Friday, saying the former Florida governor would make the best commander in chief in a time of war against terrorism.

Graham said that John Ellis Bush has "the ability to bring the world on board", but so far, Bush hasn't managed to bring many voters on board.

Politico calls the Graham endorsement "a major get" for Bush. That's a little puzzling, since Graham's supporters, outside of his home state, probably could have all been comfortably seated in a single city bus. Graham's poll numbers were consistently within the margin of error of zero support.

Conclusion: Graham's endorsing Bush fails to pass the "So What Test".

The Strategic Lunatics of Ft. Fumble, as Well as the Clinton/Bush Administrations

Based on a series of "table-top" war games, it's becoming clear to the Pentagon that if the Russians go into the Baltic states, there is little NATO can do to stop them.

This situation rests on the shoulders of the Clinton Administration, which entered into talks with the Baltic nations about them joining NATO, and with the Bush Administration, which signed the deal in 2004.

For the casual observer may wonder why it took the running of a series of war games to show that the Baltics are damn near impossible to defend. One might think that all it should have taken was to look at a fucking map.

The planners, faced with the inability to muster enough forces (and to keep them supplied, a topic that is almost never mentioned in the press), are talking about the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

That is insanity on a very great scale.

For the nukes would have to be detonated over Baltic territory. Using them against Russian forces on Russian territory is asking for a larger nuclear response. The Russians aren't going to say: "Oh, they nuked us, but those were tactical nukes." No, Gentle Readers, they are going to take that as an attack on the motherland and if there is anything more sacred in the Russian Oligarchy than money and power, it is the motherland, the Rodina.

The Russians will regard a nuclear weapon being detonated on their soil in the same way that we would.

Need I go on from there?

"LEB"?

"Low Expectations Bush"?

Jeb Bush has tried everything.

His campaign allies have blanketed the airwaves with almost $30 million in ads. Aiming to shake the "low-energy" tag and prove his toughness, Bush hit Donald Trump as a carnival barker unfit for the serious job of being President. He attacked Sen. Marco Rubio, suggesting his former protégé was a dilettante in a hurry. He cut staff, hired a debate coach, and pledged that "Jeb Can Fix It."

Bush is now polling at 3% -- and dropping.

Or Trump's killer insult: "Low energy". Including his "leadership" PAC, Bush, as of last summer, raised well over $100 million. The oligarchs who poured that money into Bush's coffers have to be questioning what they got for it.

One thing you have to say about The Donald, it takes balls (or stupidity) to speak before a room full of Jews and ladle out some anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money.

"Yah, Sure, My Super PAC Doesn't Coordinate With My Campaign"; Johnny Bush Edition

The outside political group supporting Jeb Bush's bid for president with tens of millions of dollars in television advertising is considering placing organizing staff in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The strategic move would follow the decision of his formal campaign to refocus its efforts on the two early-voting states.

Ol' Johnny Ellis's campaignis in real trouble, so what if the law frowns on coordinated efforts?

Johnny E. has raised a shitload of money, but with a brother who was arguably the worst president since Harding, a father who was a president and a grandfather who was a senator, there isn't another candidate running who is more a creature of the establishment than Bush.

In this cycle, being an establishment GOP candidate is like rubbing one's body with powdered plutonium mixed in with serum of Ebola.

Shorter JEB: "I Know How to Get Involved in Pointless Wars Because I am a Bush."

Ol' Johnnie Ellis "Low Energy" Bush must be sinking pretty low in the polls if he's desperate enough to clamp onto Chimpy's legacy.

Turning a budget surplus into massive deficits. Getting the United States into two pointless wars, costing trillions of dollars. Plotting the commission of war crimes in the West Wing of the White House. Oh, and stealing elections, can't forget that. Much to be proud of.

His dad had the political guts to do what was necessary to fix the budget and he paid for that with his job. Neither Chimpy 1.0 or 1.1 have ever shown that sort of courage.

Stupid, Stupid Republicans

When the Supremes decided Obergefell v. Hodges, they gave the GOP a "Get Out of Jail Free" card on the issue of gay marriage. The GOP could have said, to their batshit component: "Look. We're not in favor of gay marriage, either. But it's now the law of the land. And we're never going to get a constitutional amendment passed on this. So fuggedaboudit. Let's move on."

But no.

I'll bet that Rince Prebus is chugging a triple of Scotch every time he sees a story about the Asswipe of Rowan County. He knows that there is a large cohort of younger voters who not only don't give a shit about this issue, they get more and more turned off by the GOP brand as idiots like the Canadian Usurper blather on how someone's particular religious beliefs entitle them to break the law.

Interlude:

Here at Our Lady of Metallic Cartridges, we believe that Our Lord has commanded us to carry firearms at all times. So when you are stopped by the TSA for carrying a 1911 (praise John M. Browning!) through the checkpoint, inform them that you have a deeply-held religious belief that requires you to be armed as you go about the land.

We now resume our regularly-scheduled program.

About the only Republican running for the White House who not only understands that, but is speaking out about it is..wait for it... Donald Trump.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Friday that he wished a Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, was not jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but he added that the Supreme Court has ruled and it is "the law of the land."

"You have to go with it. The decision's been made, and that is the law of the land," the real estate mogul said Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

The Donald may be despicable on many issues, but he's had enough experience with courts and the law to know that when a case has gone through its final appeal, you suck it up and move on.

Which is what they all should have said. But most of them aren't that smart.

John E. Bush, of course, is trying to find middle ground in an issue with no such space. Because one thing about ol' ¡JEB! is that he's allergic to is taking a stand that might imply that he has to is to provide leadership (and stick his neck out). Oh, he's very good at running to get out in front of the torch-bearing mob, but he's not good for much else.

¡JEB!: Low Energy and Corrupt!

As Governor of Florida, little Johnny Ellis Bush arranged to have Lehman Brothers manage a goodly chunk of Florida's pension money. A few months after that deal was done, Johnny E. left office and went to work for, you guessed it, Lehman Brothers as a consultant. For which he was paid over a million smackers a year in order to help replenish the ol' coffers.

¡JEB! has made tens of millions of dollars based on his vast expertise of, what, exactly? Governor of one of the more fucked-up and corrupt states in the country? Or just for being a member of the Oligarchy?

(H/T)

Anchor Babies

An article about the origin of the term and what's the practical effect of such a child.

For a guy who had a selling point that he could speak Spanish and had close ties to the Hispanic community, ol' Johnnie Bush seems to be determined to undermine his campaign over the issue.

John E. Bush Thinks the Government (and Hackers) Should Have Access to All of Your Shit.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Tuesday that encryption makes it harder for law enforcement to track down “evildoers” — and called for a “much better, more cooperative relationship” with Apple, Google, and other tech companies that are building uncrackable private communication apps into their new products.

When it was pointed out to ¡JEB! that hackers would also be able to read unencrypted data (or encryption with back-doors), all he could do was to look not too stupid and say "good point".

It's not just emails or text messages, of course. Banking and financial data are all encrypted to try and keep it out of the hands of hackers. But that concept was apparently novel to ol' ¡JEB!.

At this point, it's beginning to look as though Chimpy was the smarter one.

Clinton & Bush: Bought and Paid For

They're both the darlings of the corporate world, including the banksters.

Weathervanes, GOP Edition

On June 16th., The Donald, in his declaration of candidacy for the presidency, said this:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people.”

July 1st: George Pakati (whose been crushed to the floor of the GOP Presidential Short Bus) asked why other GOPers aren't condemning Trump. Which wasn't exactly brave of Pataki, given that he waited to see if this was going to be an issue before saying anything.*

July 3rd: Marco Rubio said:

“Our next president needs to be someone who brings Americans together – not someone who continues to divide.”

Ol' Johnny Bush waited until the following day to "take the remarks personally."

Then, yesterday (July 5th), Rick Perry chimed in to call Trump's remarks "offensive".

It takes real courage and leadership to wait to see which way the political winds are blowing before hoisting a sail.
_____________________________
* In the glorious tradition of "tell me which way the people are marching, for I am their leader."

QOTD; JEB Edition

From an email:

"JEB's listing Dubya as a 'top foreign policy adviser' is like listing Ted Bundy as a consultant on women's issues."

And yes, it's "JEB", not "Jeb". Those are his initials; his campaign wants people to call him "JEB" because "John Ellis Bush" sounds like the name of the loan officer at Bank of America who is cheerfully foreclosing on your home.

Jeb Bush Claims to be Hispanic?

Apparently so.

You may now feel free to mock him at will.

Jeb Bush is a Commie

Really. How does one grow up in Texas and live in Florida and not own a freaking gun? Too many of those clowns are typical pols, they only got into guns because it's politically expedient. If their base didn't like guns, they'd all be in favor of sending out the ATF to raid your house.

No shock that Secaucus Fats doesn't own a gun. He's from Joisey, he'd have somebody else do it for him.

(H/T)

Waffle House; GOP's Religion-Based, Pro-Bigotry Legislation

Indiana and Arkansas backed off their "We Don't Serve Yer Kind" laws. If the AP report has it right, the Indiana law would cut the ground out from the Pizza House of Homophobes.

First off, who the hell has ever seen a gay wedding that was catered by a pizza joint? Anyone?

Second, the Homophobic Pizza House did a nice job of trolling the Christian Taliban, by cashing out with a half-million dollar payday. See, normally, a business like that has to have a convenient fire in order to take the money and run.

Probably goes without saying that the Christian Taliban is now feeling like the true victim in all of this. Which seems to be their default position. 70+% of Americans identify as Christian, but the zealots of the Church of the Dead God love to find every possible excuse to cry that they're being martyred.

Then there is Jeb Bush, a political weathervane. He was one of the GOP politicos who supported discriminatory laws, until he saw how unpopular they really are.

Sucking Up; EtOH Edition

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have changed their tune about ethanol subsidies in order to curry favor with Iowa voters.

Potential Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Scott Walker told Iowa voters on Saturday that they supported government policies to boost ethanol use, a change in position that could help their prospects in the corn-growing state.

Speaking at an agricultural forum in Des Moines, the two White House hopefuls said a 2007 law requiring ethanol use should be kept in place despite their general distaste for subsidies and mandates. Both have criticized supports for the corn-based fuel in the past.

The sad thing is that there is nothing really remarkable about any of this.