245 Comments
User's avatar
тна Return to thread
Al Bellenchia's avatar

Loons to the left, loons to the right. Stuck in the middle with Bulwark?

Expand full comment
Tedow's avatar

I really hate this take. The loons on the left are recognized as loons even by those ON the left, and they are relegated to the fringe where they can safely rant and rave without hurting anything. The loons on the right are literally running Congress right now. Stop both-sidesing this.

Expand full comment
SoCal's avatar

Cannot agree with you more!

Expand full comment
Fake American's avatar

We got loons in the middle too! See one Joe Manchin toying with running no labels. I believe he was sainted here at the Bulwark as well. Which one is more likely to hand Trump a victory, Manchin or that other guy whose name I've already forgotten?

Expand full comment
TW Falcon's avatar

I wouldn't underestimate the damage Cornel West could do by peeling black voters away from Biden in a very close election.

Expand full comment
Christine's avatar

Black voters are practical people. ThatтАЩs how we got Biden.

Expand full comment
Badger1848's avatar

This assumes the People's Party can even get on the ballot in many states that matter. Kanye's ratf*ck candidacy didn't and he had the full (informal) backing of Trumpworld

Expand full comment
TW Falcon's avatar

He'd only have to swing the outcome in a few swing states in order to flip the election to Trump or whomever.

Kanye was a crackpot. West is sane and serious.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jun 6, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Brent_in_FL's avatar

Yeah, right.

"You could call it a houseboat, but that would be like calling Air Force One a plane. Within the sunny, air-conditioned confines of the custom-built, 65-by-20-foot, three-story steel hull, David has packaged more space and amenities than most apartments and condominiums and many houses. The 1,500 square feet of interior living space embrace 3 1/2 bedrooms (including a 14-by-20-foot master suite), 3 1/2 bathrooms, and a bright and open living/dining area (complete with a granite dining table) where the DeLanceys have comfortably entertained as many as 50 people to watch a Blue Angels air show or the colorful start of major yacht races on the bay.

"Canadian Tad Roberts has worked as a naval architect since the 1980s, responsible for some of the most iconic yacht designs of his generation. Roberts and Fickett both place the value of Almost Heaven at about $300,000, noting that unlike yachts whose furnishings are built into the boat, ManchinтАЩs consists of freestanding household items (and a lot of throw pillows). The Delanceys told the Post they spent $900,000 building and outfitting the boat. The cost to build the boat new could be anywhere between one- and two-million dollars, according to the experts interviewed for this article." -from the West Virginian TImes

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jun 6, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Maggie's avatar

1,500 square feet is generous but not palatial. I'm glad there's enough space for him to entertain on his boat. He gets it done in DC.

Expand full comment
Brent_in_FL's avatar

I grew up on boats. If it's 65 feet long and isn't a work barge... that's a yacht.

Please remember this is not his primary residence either.

And no, saying someone has a yacht is not "slander".

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment removed
Jun 6, 2023
Comment removed
Expand full comment
Angie's avatar

Speak for yourself, I like him ....of course I am not a progressive, just a normal liberal

Expand full comment
Bridget Collins's avatar

And West Virginians.

Unlike Sinema, Joe Manchin probably is the only Democrat who could win in West Virginia.

And he will probably beat Justice. As long as he can run as a contrary Democrat.

Expand full comment
Fake American's avatar

I'd bet against that proposition. WV has left him behind. His contrary Dem routine isn't going to save him from the conservative propaganda machine. My self styled moderate WV in-law who mainlines Fox News has had many new complaints about him to share in the last year. She may still vote for him because her town has personal experience with Jim Justice but still his prospects seem rocky at best. Probably why he's toying with a No Labels lifeline.

Thank goodness he saved the filibuster so McConnell could do the honors of getting rid of it when it is advantageous to Republicans though. May his name be praised.

Expand full comment
Bridget Collins's avatar

Maybe.

I don't have a relative in WV so my take may be dated.

But Justice is corrupt and has been for years.

Here's my bet.

If Manchin does hold onto his seat, McConnell can kiss any cooperation from him good bye. Justice is the best shot of Republicans flipping a senator who has been highly useful to them.

But Manchin is likely to see that as a betrayal.

So if he loses, they're in a great place.

But if he wins, it will be in spite of them.

And Joe Manchin doesn't strike me as a forgive and forget kind of guy.

Expand full comment
TW Falcon's avatar

I don't understand the vitriol against Manchin. As Bridget Collins mentioned, he is probably the only Dem that could win in WV. He votes with the party on most issues, and the high profile issues were he hasn't would have sealed his doom in the upcoming election.

I don't know WV politics but it seems to me that his future might be more secure if he switched parties. That wouldn't be a good thing.

Expand full comment
No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

I understand that there is a reflex to punch left here, but we should examine who is actually running the country and in what fashion they are governing before we actually do punch left.

Expand full comment
TomD's avatar

I punch Left at any candidate whose views would guarantee another Trump victory.

Expand full comment
No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

I guess Manchin is to the left of Trump, so punch away.

Expand full comment
TomD's avatar

I don't like Manchin, but he's the opposite of the kind of candidate I was referring to. He doesn't scare the Right.

Expand full comment
No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

I donтАЩt understand your original critique in that case. Because Biden certainly isnтАЩt left. He scares the right. But has already beaten Trump and positioned best to beat Trump again.

Expand full comment
Maryah Haidery's avatar

Does Biden really тАЬscare the right?тАЭ I guess this is a hard question because right wing voters are so different from right-wing establishment types. And even within those categories, there are lots of subtypes.

In my mind, the people who тАЬscare the rightтАЭ in terms of the Republican establishment are Democratic politicians with broad popular appeal like Bill Clinton or Barrack Obama. Think about how aggressively the Republican establishment attacked each of them. Biden? Not so much.

Expand full comment
Maryah Haidery's avatar

So we should only punch who then? Minorities? LGBTQ people? immigrants? Strong women? and people who want common sense gun control? Because it seems to me that those are folks who seem to тАЬscare the rightтАЭ the most.

Expand full comment
TomD's avatar

I was talking about candidates, not minorities. Think about the word "unelectable."--why that is.

Expand full comment
MillennialExistential's avatar

This is so frustrating.

Look at what the mainstream Republicans are doing! Look at what this fringe third party candidate who will have no political impact is doing!

Both sides amirite? *wink*

Expand full comment