I passed on the mocha latte at Dairy Queen: LOLconservatives

[davy]

Has anybody read the interview with David Mamet in this morning's NY Times Magazine? Jesus H. Christ. What's with that guy, and when did it happen?

[dieblucasdie]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525

Murdoch installed Ailes in the corner office on Fox's second floor at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. The location made Ailes queasy: It was close to the street, and he lived in fear that gay activists would try to attack him in retaliation over his hostility to gay rights. (In 1989, Ailes had broken up a protest of a Rudy Giuliani speech by gay activists, grabbing demonstrator by the throat and shoving him out the door.) Barricading himself behind a massive mahogany desk, Ailes insisted on having "bombproof glass" installed in the windows - even going so far as to personally inspect samples of high-tech plexiglass, as though he were picking out new carpet. Looking down on the street below, he expressed his fears to Cooper, the editor he had tasked with up-armoring his office. "They'll be down there protesting," Ailes said. "Those gays."

[dieblucasdie]

I just love the idea of Roger Ailes as an old, fat, conservative Batman, looking out over Mnahattan, fist clenched.  "They're out there somewhere.  Those gays."

[Thermofusion]

This new video for Herman Cain is spectacular:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOFB-2yJzCY

[FreddyKnuckles]

Dude, the United States is EXACTLY like Godfather's Pizza

[Thermofusion]

At least one of them is a has-been franchise with aging infrastructure that everyone else views with a mixture of odium and embarrassment.

[coldforge]

And the other is the United States of America! Right?

Did I do it?

[Antero]

Hahahahaha campaign logo awkwardly photoshopped onto train.

Also, speaking generally, "CEO" has to be the single most useless qualification for president.

[jm]

but it's got executive right there in the title

[jm]

This new video for Herman Cain is spectacular:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOFB-2yJzCY

So far my favorite part is when the lyrics were "upside down" and the PICTURE WAS UPSIDE DOWN guys

[dieblucasdie]

In another sign that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appears to be on the verge of running for president, her Congressional Chief of Staff is now leaving the office -- to take up an unspecified "exciting new position" with her.

You know, I was dreading the GOP primary, but with Huckabee out, Gingrich in, the Palin sideshow becoming increasingly bizarre, and now this, I'm thinking this primary is going to be awesome. 

It's likely going to come down to Romney vs. Hard-right alternative to Romney.  Support will probably coalesce behind Pawlenty for the latter position, but please please please, if there's a God who love me, he'll make it Bachmann.  Or at least Santorum.

edit:  Also, have any of y'all actually heard an interview with Gary Johnson?  Oh MAN, he has the potential to steal Ron Paul's thunder on the crazed-libertarian front.  This is going to be awesome.

[justinh]

Pawlenty is basically a less Mormon Romney without any kind of legislative accomplishments outside of "holding the line on taxes" (which is code for accomplishing nothing).  He has also more fully apologized than Romney for his briefly moderate position on global warming.  And he can be proud that he mercilessly cut state-run health and human services programs to avoid higher taxes while Romney gave Mass the evil universal health care.

[Antero]

I've seen Pawlenty's picture plenty of times, but I can't remember what he looks like and I always feel that I'm spelling his name wrong.

[jm]

Yeah, Pawlenty and Cantor look exactly the same in my head.

[justinh]

Think hockey hair + skinny weaselly looking guy or a young Mr. Burns

[dieblucasdie]

It'll be pretty amazing if the Romney-isn't-a-real-conservative crowd ends up rallying around someone as boring as Pawlenty.  Though I suppose it's also possible that Romney will just run away with the thing from the get-go, especially if the GOP primaries are winner-take-all again.  Does anyone know if that's the case?

[FreddyKnuckles]

I haven't heard of any plans to change it.  Romney has a pretty good shot at running away with it from the get-go.  People are writing him off in Iowa but those people are forgetting that he took a very close second to Huckabee there the last time around and also has the other candidates severely out-organized and out-spent there.  There's a strong contingent of Iowa delegates who are either a) sick of Iowa propelling unelectable sociopaths and 2) can be bought off with a little attention.  Then comes New Hampshire, where he'll easily win, unless, of course, Guiliani decides to jump in (LOL), but he'll probably still win there, especially if he manages to pull out Iowa.   He'll lose SC, unless he wins both Iowa and NH, in which case he'll have a real shot at taking the state.  Probably still get smoked there though. 


Also, no one I know thinks of Pawlenty as the alternative to Romney because he's somehow a better conservative.  Most of the people that are inclined to think Romney is too moderate are inclined to think the same about Pawlenty.  The "real" conservative candidate was probably Gingrich until he took on the holy Paul Ryan.  It's gonna be a split between all the low-level jokers, with Bachmann getting the lionshare of the far right vote.  Gingrich, Bachmann, Santorum, Herman Cain--they'll all split the votes leaving Romney sitting pretty.  Pawlenty is in no man's land, really.  He's not got the hardcore conservative cred, and he's not got the polish or dinero that Romney's got.

[dieblucasdie]

Oh yeah, sure, I just mean that, at a certain point, that far-right support is going to coalesce behind one of those "low-level jokers"--basically whichever one stays in the race the longest. Pawlenty seems too moderate now, but his strategy is definitely to hit Romney from the right, so after a few debates your friends may change their tune. 

[FreddyKnuckles]

Nah, man, this new breed is all about the small tent all or nothing bullshit. Voted for TARP? No thanks. Supported cap and trade? No thanks. Made an off hand comment about medicare reform? Dead to me.

By the time any support forms around a Joker (still guessing bachmann), Mitty will have an insurmountable lead.

Bachmann's got all the ingredients. 

[DCDave]

And then every article will be about how he drove Staples into the ground and created a more liberal version of "Obamacare", which everyone seems to forget.

[DCDave]

And Sarah Palin will "campaign as a 3rd party candidate" and take the money home.

[justinh]

Yeah, I can't see the base going for Romney.   Somebody would step in as the "true conservative" or the Tea Party folk would stay home.

[elpollodiablo]

Is it okay for me to be completely dismissive of someone based on their Mormonism? I'm guessing the answer to that is no, but I have a very, very hard time taking anything those people have to say seriously.

[YojimboMonkey]

tough one. if you'd said scientologist I'd say totally, but neither one of us is in a tax bracket where we're going to casually meet scientologists. mormons have a sillier version of dancing for sky daddy than many that's for sure.

I dated a mormon girl once. She had webbed toes. I'm not sure if that's like a superpower mormons get or if it was just her.

[YojimboMonkey]

btw have you heard the Book of Mormon soundtrack? Hilarious and profane