BREAKING: Bill Kristol and Ana Navarro reveal their tests results:

1/1024th Republican.

Trump Administration Urges Saudis To Stick To Killing Random Yemeni Civilians

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-administration-urges-saudis-to-stick-to-killing-r-1829713565

BREAKING: Bill Kristol and Ana Navarro reveal their tests results: ~ Snoopy at October 16, 2018 4:29 AM

What is this thing social conservatives have with saying moderate Republicans are RINOs or not real Republicans? Bill Kristol is not a vocal social conservative, therefore, he must be marginalized, if not completely destroyed, no matter how much good he may have done the party in the past.

Left wing Democrats (and, today, mainstream Democrats) have the same tendency - to ostracize what would otherwise be sympathetic, but not fanatic, members of their own party. Instead of opening a "big tent" and accepting more-moderate Democrats like Dianne Feinstein, Sam Nunn, and Joe Lieberman, they attempt to destroy them, to purge the party in order to "purify" it.

Out of that tendency on both sides to purify the party, we have gotten hyper-partisan politics.

Both parties are coalition parties. Mainly built by distaste for someone in the other coalition party. Having one member of the group trying to marginalize another member of the group to enhance their own power is pretty normal. And not a new thing Conan.

It's not new, Ben, but it's gotten out of hand lately.

I remember when the Republicans were a three-tier party - social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and pro-business progressives - where George HW Bush (pro-business progressive) could coexist alongside Barry Goldwater (fiscal conservative), Jesse Helms (social conservative), and Strom Thurmond (social conservative).

And I miss the old Democratic Party, with sensible moderates like Sam Nunn, Zell Miller, Joe Lieberman, Paul Tsongas, and Daniel Patrick Moynahan. No one in today's Democratic Party is fit to wash their feet.

Not that it was "better" in those days. The fights were still pretty fierce and the name-calling pretty bitter, but getting the better end of a compromise was the objective then. Institutions were respected and defended; Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) castigated his own party's president, Bill Clinton, over Clinton's stepping on Senatorial privilege.

Parties understood in the past that to have a program last, it should be signed off on by members of both parties in a compromise. When Dwight Eisenhower became president, he wanted to do away with Social Security, but it had been approved in a bipartisan vote before the war, so Ike didn't have the support, even in his own party, that he needed to end it.

Related:

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2018/10/15/oh-boo-hoo-max-boot-has-the-sadz-because-lefties-arent-exactly-welcoming-him-since-he-switched-sides/

Lil' Billy Kristol is on record saying that the only way to save the country in 2018 is by voting Democrat. Conan, you're a smart guy, and maybe you can figure out how to square that particular circle. But when he says that, I hear "I hate Trump so much that I'll cut my nose off to spite my face".

What is Nancy's agenda?

repeal the tax cuts
open borders
amnesty for illegals
resumption of the regulation state

Lil' Billy is interested in selling cruise tickets, subscriptions to his print media, and talking a good game. Actually doing something and pushing forward elements of a conservative agenda? that's an awful lot like work.

By historical standards I don't know that it is much out of hand Conan. As for understanding the need for bipartisanship, the Democrats thought they had won. They didn't think they needed the other party anymore. After all they were supposed to be in power from now on. So they passed a lot of things without any support from the other party and they did away with the filibuster to make that easier. And now they are learning the hard way why you need the support from both parties.

And as IRA mentions, when you start stumping for the other party how can you be surprised when your former party has unkind things to say about you? Calling Kristol a RINO is quite tame. He went one way and the party went another. In all honesty he isn't a Republican any more.

In case you need a refresher about why more than a few people don't trust the media further than a hurricane can throw them.

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1051523821642113025

Ask, and ye shall receive!

https://twitter.com/JohnEkdahl/status/1051924296338157571/photo/1

Amy's lawyer told 'em. But did they listen?

https://twitter.com/marcorandazza/status/1051966812160552961

When did "I stand for the flag, and kneel at the cross" become controversial?

https://lidblog.com/leader-resign-defend-usflag/

Basically anyone to the right of Chairman Mao must be purged from the Democrat Party. And they're not entirely sure about Mao.

If firing was good enough for Roseanne, it's good enough for you, Chuckie.

There’s only one reason to avoid quoting Wendig’s Twitter account – to defend him against his own words. Why? He’s a Leftist, and therefore requires a certain amount of protection by like-minded reporters. It’s also essential for media outlets to craft a narrative against conservative figures as opposed to putting the blame where it belongs.

On Wendig.

Also left out of the media narrative? Wendig apparently had little problem with Barr losing her job, her signature show and millions of dollars for a single, ugly Tweet.

https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/chuck-wendig-twitter-hate/

Oy.

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have recommended that 31 papers from a former lab director be retracted from medical journals.

The papers from the lab of Dr. Piero Anversa, who studied cardiac stem cells, “included falsified and/or fabricated data,” according to a statement to Retraction Watch and STAT from the two institutions.

https://www.statnews.com/2018/10/14/harvard-brigham-retractions-stem-cell/

Oh, Florida man!

The looter was reportedly shot and killed by a state fire marshall. Exactly what the looter planned to do with the car isn’t clear. And now we’ll never know.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/10/daniel-zimmerman/panama-city-looter-shot-and-killed-while-trying-to-steal-a-police-car/

Lil' Billy Kristol is on record saying that the only way to save the country in 2018 is by voting Democrat. ~ I R A Darth Aggie at October 16, 2018 8:11 AM

I was unaware that Kristol had begun stumping for the opposition party. Perhaps, Republicans should ask what, if anything, they did to turn a former stalwart against them?

And perhaps Kristol should ask himself if turning on the Republican Party is good for his business; National Review is not exactly a darling of liberals or Democrats. He may find that he dislikes a Pelosi-Harris-Warren ascendancy even more than he dislikes the Trump ascendancy.

He could have, instead, argued for Republicans to resist the parts of the Trump agenda with which he disagrees.

I still dislike the RINO rhetoric slung about by social conservatives against Republicans who don't vote in lockstep on social issues.

The looter was reportedly shot and killed by a state fire marshall. ~ from a link by I R A Darth Aggie at October 16, 2018 9:00 AM

When did Florida start arming fire marshalls?

"Republicans should ask what, if anything, they did to turn a former stalwart against them?"

He was a neverTrumper. He got emotional and yes it looks like it hurt his business. As for arguing and convincing, it isn't like much of his views were based in logic. Look at Crid. He is in the same place Kristol is. How much logic is involved in 'Have you ever kissed a girl?' or 'You guys never read my excellently sourced data!'. Especially since everyone had read it and fully taken it into account years ago.

He got emotional.... ~ Ben at October 16, 2018 10:02 AM

One should always approach politics as a dispassionate party. Is this candidate better or worse than the other one(s)? Do I get more of what I want with this candidate or with that one?

Trump's an ass, but his policies are generally in line with stated Republican goals - less regulation, lower taxes, beefier defense posture, realpolitik in foreign policy, originalists on the Court, etc. Even where his interests are not immediately in line with stated Republican goals (e.g., trade) his stance (i.e., his use of tariffs) appears to be a negotiating tactic rather than part of a fixed policy.

Trump is more of what conservatives want than less, albeit, in an ugly package. His will be a consequential presidency - much to the chagrin of both parties.

Trump's campaign style in the last election was populism, and therein lies the danger with him - the spread and growth of populist politics, on both sides of the aisle.

I was at a seminar earlier this week and met a guy from Ohio. He talked about going back to Ohio to visit relatives and how the decay of America's manufacturing heartland has left people disillusioned, depressed, and adrift. The laid off workers blame NAFTA and free trade with countries with lower wages.

Trump connected with that despondence in a way that Clinton could not; in a way that Cruz, Bush, and Rubio could not. Every non-Trump candidate in 2020 will be running a campaign with at least a nod to populism.

Trump's campaign style in the last election was populism

Sorta, I saw it more as the blunt uncaring unfiltered diatribe of a person sick of political correctness

I really do think had anyone other than Hillary "won" the DNC primaries Trump would have lost, especially had Clinton never even entered the race

...especially had Clinton never even entered the race ~ lujlp at October 16, 2018 10:40 AM

She was the millstone around the Democratic Party's neck - too leftist for right-moderates and not left enough for the Democratic Party's fanatical base. She was a '70s establishment liberal running forty years too late, disconnected and adrift.

To this day, she won't admit her "basket of deplorables" comments killed her, even among non-supporters of Trump. It exhibited an arrogance that confirmed just how disconnected she was from working class reality.

Hillary's avatars were celebrities and millionaires. Trump's was Joe the Plumber.

When did Florida start arming fire marshalls?

Good question. *starts digging* Ah, here we are, Title XXXVII, Chapter 633, Section 14:

Agents of the State Fire Marshal shall have the same authority to serve summonses, make arrests, carry firearms, and make searches and seizures, as the sheriff or her or his deputies, in the respective counties where such investigations, hearings, or inspections may be held; and affidavits necessary to authorize any such arrests, searches, or seizures may be made before any trial court judge having authority under the law to issue appropriate processes.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/633.14

The state CFO also serves as the State Fire Marshal, and appoints minions to carry out the law.

Addendum: the history section of the Florida Senate page indicates that section goes back to 1943, but I am unclear how to find the original language and if they authorized arming the state fire marshals.

Meanwhile, in Beantown.

So Elizabeth Warren is a fake Indian — the evidence is in, her own “evidence,” as vague as it is, and it proves what all of us have been saying since 2012.

She’s not an Indian according to the bylaws of the various Indian nations. She doesn’t meet Bureau of Indian Affairs standards. She … is … not … an … Indian. Period.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/howie_carr/2018/10/howie_carr_fake_news_matched_only_by_the_fake_indian_s_fake_math

Make America Date Again?

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/new-app-for-trump-singles-makes-dating-great-again

Instapundit.

Hostility to men and elderly people could become hate crimes. The whole idea of “hate crimes” is stupid, but hey, sauce for the goose. . .

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/310537/

So.. What's to blame? Soybean or Atrazine?

Squirrel 'with very large breasts' drives Japanese social media wild

https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/1052137348237017088

Winning.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/310476/

Buzzfeed Ben misses the lesson. It isn't about what the media chooses to raise up. Twitter allows Trump to bypass you and reach out directly to people. And those people will amplify the message without your blessing, be they for the message or against it.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/bensmith/donald-trump-elizabeth-warren-2020-campaign

Welp. This is an unforced own goal. You're about to see what "prairie tough" looks like, soon to be ex-Senator Heitkamp.

At the bottom of the letter is a long list of North Dakotan women who are identified as sexual assault survivors. However, some of the women named in the ad say the campaign did not seek their permission. “A lot of these people listed, including me, did not give anyone permission for our names to be posted,” Kady Miller wrote on Facebook. “I don’t even support Heidi Heitkamp and I am not a domestic abuse survivor.”

"This is completely unprofessional," commenter Keeley Beck, who also found her name on Heitkamp's list, wrote. “I want justice,” she added. “For myself and others who were illegally used and taken advantage of for corrupt, infactual, political propaganda.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2018/10/16/group-of-women-shocked-heitkamp-idd-them-as-sexual-assault-survivors-without-permission-n2528908

"Agents of the State Fire Marshal shall have the same authority to serve summonses, make arrests, carry firearms, and make searches and seizures, as the sheriff or her or his deputies...." ~ I R A Darth Aggie at October 16, 2018 12:01 PM

Wow. My Dad used to work regularly with Florida's State Fire Marshalls and never mentioned that they were armed.

The DoD creates a "super sandwich".

http://mentalfloss.com/article/560629/theres-easier-way-use-cheese-grater

> Look at Crid.

You always will, as if haunted... I enchant, even when mute.

"In case you need a refresher about why more than a few people don't trust the media further than a hurricane can throw them."

As if they are not robots... As if we need so many people to repeat the exact same stories... but of course it's about generating revenue, not conveying news.

"Twitter allows Trump to bypass you and reach out directly to people."
And I suspect he knows that the world doesn't run on Twitter, even as Twits may be horrified at the idea that their opinions aren't law.

In a recent admissions year, white students in 20 underrepresented states—which Harvard calls “sparse country”—received a recruitment letter if they scored 1310 or higher out of a possible 1600 on the combined verbal and math components, according to the plaintiffs’ exhibit. In all U.S. states, Asian-American women had to score at least 1350 to receive a letter, while Asian-American men had to score at least 1380.

The PSAT is considered a preview of how a student may score on the SAT.

Black, Hispanic and Native American high-schoolers nationally who scored at least 1100 received a letter, the plaintiffs’ exhibit showed.

https://archive.fo/RMMop

Would it kill the ACLU to use a meat shield that doesn't sound like a Valley Girl?

https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1051626960537808898

"Trump is more of what conservatives want than less, albeit, in an ugly package."

And opposition to that ugly package is essentially what neverTrump is. There isn't much objection on policy. It is all about appearance. And many people who publicly stood up as neverTrump are finding it hard to get a job with the Trump administration (for obvious reasons) and political pundits who went neverTrump are also struggling.

As for if the Dems has selected someone other than Hillary, I don't know. She certainly came with huge negatives. But I don't know if Sanders would have won. Or especially someone like Warren or Biden. Of course we'll never know. And given how inaccurate the polls were there isn't much to backup speculation.