Combat! - Page 60 of 406 - A blog by Dan Brooks

Trump says “jive” instead of “jibe,” embarrassing self, also calls on Russia to hack Clinton again

By Dan Brooks in Uncategorized July 27, 2016 2 Comments

“My fellow Americans: ain’t I a stinker?”

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today with, we can only assume, another guy named Joe, Vice President Biden said Donald Trump “knows nothing about foreign policy, nor should he, based on his background.” On the Today show, which Joe Morning will take over in the event Matt Lauer dies, President Obama warned the billionaire could still become president. But Trump’s campaign is dead in the water as of this morning, when he made a terrible gaffe in his press conference. Quote:

[Obama is] the most ignorant president in our history. His views of the world, as he says, don’t jive, and the world is a mess.

Jibe: a verb meaning to be in accord with, to agree. Jive: noun, a form of slang associated with black American jazz musicians, or verb, to taunt or sneer at. He might as well have said “for all intensive purposes.” Trump is sure to catch a lot of jiving after people hear his malapropism, in the next few days before he officially withdraws from the race. Oh, before I forget, he also said Russia should find Hillary Clinton’s missing emails. Video, sweet video, after the jump.

As Sanders concedes, Democrats declare crying Robin Hood crying Peter Pan

By Dan Brooks in 2016 Election July 26, 2016 0 Comment

Sean Kehren, known to the internet as Crying Peter Pan, in his Robin Hood hat

The Democratic Party came together last night in Philadelphia, if not in camaraderie. In the end, Vermont senator and beautiful dream Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to elect Hillary Clinton, as we knew he must. But it took some wailing and gnashing of teeth. The delegation from California booed near continuously, and chants of “we trusted you” became audible over Elizabeth Warren. Ostensible show-woman Sarah Silverman lost control of the crowd when told to stretch it out before Paul Simon, first telling the audience she’d been instructed to kill time and then refusing to join Al Franken’s attempts at jokes. Hot-takers loved her remark that Bernie-or-bust rowdies were “acting ridiculous,” but the night’s most affecting moments were in the reaction shots. A lot of Bernie delegates cried during his speech, including the man pictured above, whom the internet has dubbed Crying Peter Pan. In fact, that’s a Robin Hood hat, which he wore to symbolize the proposed “Robin Hood tax” on Wall Street. Delegate Sean Kehren also informs Liz Goodwin that he was crying because he was moved by Bernie’s call for unity, not because he was sad his candidate lost. Is there any better metaphor for the 2016 Democratic nominating process than misidentifying Robin Hood as Peter Pan?

Fix in, chairwoman out, planned unity off as Democrats convene in Philadelphia

By Dan Brooks in 2016 Election July 25, 2016 1 Comment

Thanks, Prisma!

Remember when Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Donald Trump were going to divide the Republican Party amongst themselves? Remember when we worried aloud, biting our cheeks to keep from snickering, that the GOP would suffer a contested convention? Here’s video from the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, in which delegates boo their nominee:

The DNC was in the news this weekend, starting Friday afternoon, when Wikileaks published over 20,000 emails proving party leaders connived against the Sanders campaign. The leaks probably came from Russian hackers, who likely dumped the information to sow division among Democrats and abet Kremlin favorite Donald Trump. That’s what the panicked faithful said, anyway. On Sunday, Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned as chair of the DNC. She promised to gavel the convention to order and oversee its proceedings, but after delegates from her home state met her with jeers at breakfast, she withdrew. Now the party is without a master, and Hillary’s power to command loyalty among Democrats is compromised on the eve of her ascension. Oh yeah—and Trump pulled even with her in the polls.

Friday links! Oh good, ethnic nationalism edition

By Dan Brooks in 2016 Election July 22, 2016 2 Comments

Yeah, it looks like we’re doing this.

Donald Trump spoke for 75 minutes at the Republican National Convention last night, alternately aggrandizing himself, predicting doom, and assuring us he’d fix it. The theme of the evening was Make America One Again, which was a refreshing change from Monday’s theme, Make America Scared of Brown People. Yet Trump seemed to double down on separation. He adjusted his promised ban on Muslims to a ban on people from countries Muslim terrorists have “penetrated.” He did not mention any black lives that may have mattered, but he presented cop killing as epidemic, even though fewer officers have been murdered during the Obama administration than during any administration in the last 30 years. Then Trump promised to “end crime and violence very soon.” Today is Friday, and the Republican Party has nominated for president of the United States an ethnic nationalist campaigning on law and order. Won’t you consider fixing up the attic with me?

Zinke stands on principal before RNC, rolls over during

By Dan Brooks in Montana Politics July 21, 2016 0 Comment

Commander Zinke addresses the RNC in front of an OS X Lion desktop.

Commander Zinke addresses the Republican convention before an OS X Lion desktop.

On Saturday, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R–MT) took the bravest stand of his political career. He resigned his position as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, citing his objection to a plank in the party platform that called for federal lands to be returned to the states. Commander Zinke feels strongly about federal land management, as befits an admirer of Teddy Roosevelt. It’s understandable that he kept his commitment to address the convention on Monday night, because pulling out 48 hours beforehand would be a dick move. Too bad the evening’s program turned out to be a parade of dicks, rubbing against each other until everyone was too sore and sticky to stand up any more, with Zinke coming in to mop up.

That’s an unpleasant metaphor, but it was a lot nicer than Monday night’s prime-time show. Zinke was scheduled to speak at 8:45pm EDT but didn’t take the stage until after 11:30. His openers included Rudolph Giuliani and the sheriff of Milwaukee County arguing that Black Lives Matter is racist, plus five different people whose relatives had been killed by illegal immigrants. The theme of the evening was “Make America safe again,” but the message was “black and brown people make America dangerous.” After his openers emptied the hall with hours of what Charles Pierce called weaponized grief, Zinke got up and did his SEAL schtick for six minutes, tacitly endorsing the craziness that came before.

It was disappointing to watch him do that after his courageous gesture last weekend. Why did Zinke stand on principle re: land management but not re: xenophobia, police brutality, or torture? That’s the question under inquiry in this week’s column in the Missoula Independent, which is a real criticism sandwich. I praise Zinke for taking a stand on our national parks. I praise him for being one of the few new Republicans with the biography to stand up to terror paranoia. But I criticize him for buying in, however passively. We’ll be back tomorrow with Friday links.