Hope n' Change is writing this commentary before the Thursday night GOP debate which is predicted to devolve into a bare-knuckle street fight if any of the remaining candidates hope to derail the runaway Trump train before his nomination becomes inevitable. Which would, of course, be huuuuuuuge.
But even before the debate, we can tell you that we're feeling very much like the character in today's cartoon: a visitor to a strange, stupid world that we don't recognize, and on which we were surely dropped by mistake.
Hillary Clinton really did hurl the blood of young Sandy Hook victims at Bernie Sanders as she accused him of not supporting gun legislation as draconian as she wants. Bernie, in turn, says that Hillary made poverty worse in our nation through her support of Bill Clinton's welfare reforms which required able-bodied people to (gasp!) look for work while receiving benefits.
And as much as we're trying to find something - anything, really - to like about Donald Trump, when he puts on his angry "duck lips" face and calls Ted Cruz a "sick man" and a "weak little baby," it's impossible to see him as anything other than a petulant, bullying 9-year-old who is eager to play with nuclear weapons.
And although the electorate is clamoring for "outsiders" in this political cycle, we feel like we're the real outsiders because we can't even identify with most Earthlings anymore. And not just when it comes to politics, but also cultures, communication, and commonality of purpose. Not just in our own wounded United States, but throughout the world.
Maybe we're just having a bad day. But we feel like strangers in a strange land and, frankly my dear, we'll be damned if we can understand what the grok is going on.
Won't you please take me along for a ride...?
DEBATE UPDATE
Okay, now we've seen the GOP debate and it was every bit as rip-roaring as expected. As usual, Ben Carson got almost no time to talk but came across as the nicest guy on the stage. Rubio and Cruz tag-teamed Trump, and both were eloquent and convincing. Kasich got less time, but every answer impressed favorably: it's hard to argue against a guy who has experience as a Governor and in Washington, and who has succeeded in both roles.
Unsurprisingly, Trump was petulant, argumentative, and vague - and seemed off his game when being challenged on policy positions (or being asked for specifics) by his opponents. Hope n' Change doesn't know if this will affect his numbers on Super Tuesday (can anything affect his numbers?) but for anyone really paying attention, it was a tough night for The Donald.
20 comments:
Thanks @Stilton for watching that for me. I really couldn't.
Ironically, I spent this evening watching Warren Beatty's 1981 bio-pic Reds", about an American "journalist" John Reed (Beatty) and his wife Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) who get caught up in the Communist revolution in Russia, and tries to generate the same in the US. It's actually an excellent movie that catches what was going on in the world at the time, and the embryonic Progressive movement in America. The irony of it is that although it's sympathetic to the socialist cause, it really does expose the hypocrisy of the Progressives, and that of Reed & Bryant, who try to sell Progressive sexual liberation to themselves and those around them, but in realty harbor and live traditional middle class values.
Beam me up Scotty, there’s no intelligent live here.
It is interesting about Trump testifying on July 10th on the Trump University fraud case.
It appears that there is a case in California and New York. I wonder if that news does any damage?
In other news: Ohio police hunt for bald man in string of. Rogaine thefts.
If I find him I would tell him that: “Jim Beam works better than Rogaine. Drinking Jim Beam doesn’t grow hair, but you don’t care as much.”
And that goes for politicians too!
Set Phasers to Numb- shoot me , me, please, please shoot me first.
Hello,
The link in the email doesn't work on your latest post.
02-26-2016 at 1:07am.
Bill Moore
Spent the debate watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Let's see, Trump was Foghorn Leghorn, Rubio was Bugs Bunny, and Cruz was Daffy Duck. Wait, what? That was the debate? Could've fooled me!
Most remotes do have a "brightness" control, but that never works when watching politicians.
Move along, there is nothing to grok here.
I was lucky enough to escape for 2 hours Wednesday night, watching the 75th anniversary edition of The Maltese Falcon on the big screen. It was great, Bogey and crew in the classic Dashiell Hammett story with Casablanca on the horizon, but I kind of hated to return to 2016 when it was over. I guess we've blown right through 1984 and are headed for 2525 quicker than I thought possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic
I didn't watch the dee-bate either. Instead, I watched some of my teen aged great grand children. Yay, they do less damage once they enter into their teens: Unlike politicians. But, on the other side; The Donald is coming to a town just two mountain ranges away Monday and I have a ticket. Yay. I hope they let me take a small bottle of moonshine in.
@John the Econ- I really couldn't miss this particular debate. It was the last major event which could influence the Super Tuesday elections, about which I care very deeply. And there were enough fireworks to keep me from dozing off, although I did get a cracking headache out of it all.
I haven't seen "Reds" in decades - maybe I should give it another watch.
@Joseph ET- Considering your screen name, I'm surprised you didn't make a "phone home" joke about hitching a ride back to space (grin).
I'm not familiar with the details of the "Trump University" case, but I'll be looking into it (AND "polish workers") today. Regarding the Rogaine thief, he's obviously a liberal. If he was conservative, he'd find the daily news to be sufficiently hair-raising.
@REM1875- If I had a phaser that could be set to numb, I'd be pulling the trigger on myself until I got carpal tunnel syndrome.
@Bill- D'oh! Yes, I forgot to include the link to today's page in the email that goes out to folks. For what it's worth, the link is always exactly the same - it just takes you to http://www.HopeNChangeCartoons.com. If you enter that on Monday, Weds, and Friday you'll always see whatever is latest.
@Jim Irre- I actually like the idea of adding Looney Tunes elements to the debates. I think we need more anvils, dynamite, baseball bats, and sound effects.
@Geoff King- I never thought of trying the "brightness" control that way - too bad it doesn't work.
@TrickyRicky- Ironically, the former president of Mexico referenced that very movie yesterday, saying of Donald Trump's idea "We won't pay for that Maltese Falcon wall!"
Seriously, what a great movie that is. Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Bogie, and crackling dialogue. It's funny that I keep seeing the new (and ever more affordable) generation of televisions with giant curved screens, 4k resolution, and 3d...but I'm never tempted because most of my TV watching is non-widescreen black and white films on Turner Classic Movies.
Regarding the song 2525, I've always found it annoying as heck with doofy lyrics. It is preposterously catchy, though. Thanks for the earworm. Now I'll have to listen to something else to get it out of my head. "Surfin Bird" ought to do the trick...
@Fred Ciampi- I'll look forward to hearing your reaction to an actual Trump event. And as far as sneaking in some moonshine, just tell Trump's security people that it's actually holy water that you bought from two Corinthians.
The Byrds clip is fun and funny; good one.
The only game that counts this year is defeating Clinton who already has that rigged race won. And I'm starting to get a bad feeling those who can defeat her will be eliminated early and the R. nominee will blow it as Romney did. I hope that's very wrong and will not be a concern later this year. I'd feel a little better if Trump starting taking the legs off of Hillary so we can see how that works before the main event. That lying witch won't die easy and I'd like it to start now; but maybe the "wait" strategy will work for whoever gets the nod.
I think all I will be able to vote for in our Primary IS Trump. Our Primary isnt until May 3. We never get to vote for who we would like to. Either its pretty much over or my pick has dropped out.
Yeah, hes a hot head and spews his mouth off but maybe this is what we need. We have Rubio, Cruz and all the other Republicans in Congress and the Senate just kicking the sand and saying "oh, ok, whatever you want Democrats. Even though we have majority, ok." Maybe getting Trump in will shake up the Republicans and make them start behaving like Republicans.
Just for fun, here's a couple of links to articles that speculate about the chaos that could ensue if (1) Trump and Sanders lose their respective nominations and then team up for an independent run; and (2) Michael Bloomberg enters the race as a third party candidate and siphons off enough votes so that no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, throwing the election into the House.
Both scenarios are highly unlikely, but fun to consider.
1. Trump/Sanders
2. Bloomberg
My view is that Hillary and all the Republicrats but Trump talk about getting tough with Putin. Trump seems to want to deal with him in some sort of reasonable manner. Having seen the aftermath of heavy artillery up close and personal, I gotta go with the Trumpet--at least for now. But for that one issue, all I see from this crowd is babbling BS.
Granted, the Trumpet wants to make America great again, but how can he overcome the results of a half-century of bad ideas? IOW, color me pessimistic...
Best regard,
Desertrat
This just in: Christie endorses Trump. Seriously. The aliens just got pushed closer to engaging the blaster mode. "Stupid Tuesday" just got more interesting, if not just more stupid.
Meanwhile, only in Democrat-land can working for a living be considered more impoverishing than collecting welfare. It's a prime example of how Progressivness not only robs people of wealth, but of their self-esteem as well.
Trump University: Forgot about that. Quite frankly, anyone dumb enough to think that having a diploma with "Trump University" on it deserves whatever happens to them. On the other hand, perhaps that's where all the new hires at the State Department will be coming from a year from now. Probably can't be any worse than what we have running it now.
A blogger, Bill Powell, shared this as his reason for hoping that Trump can handle problems. This comment was posted under a WSJ article by Peggy Noonan title "Trump and The Rise of the Unprotected". The blogger: " The current crop of DC politicians are just like the ineffectual middle management suck ups in that funny skit. Trump is like Gordon Ramsey coming in to quickly stop the things that matter - 24+ trillion in debt + swarms of illegal immigration of third world socialists to bankrupt us and terrorists to rape and kill us."
Current DC establishment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUIQX5esnNo
Almost Live! - Middle Management Suck-Ups
youtube.com ·
Dennis Prager on FB quoted Kimberly Strasser of the WSJ. "The Nevada entrance polls show the billionaire won voters who are angry with the federal government, who want an “outsider” in the office and who want “change.” They don’t care about policies. They want someone to “stick it to the man.”
And therein lies Mr. Trump’s vulnerability. Because, you see, Donald Trump is the man." -- Kimberley Strassel"
@TMay, good points; the bureaucracy that has been growing exponentially over the last two decades, and like cancer, almost only exists to sustain and serve itself while producing little of value to the people they supposedly exist to serve.
And I actually remember the "Almost Live! - Middle Management Such-Ups" sketch. Really miss that show. (Was a kind of local SNL for Seattle, and much funnier) I much preferred Bill Nye as "Speedwalker" than as the phony global warming anti-science guy.
Kinda funny how Chris Christie is now endorsing a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator with duck lips. And hey, wasn't it Christie who said(while campaigning for the GOP)that if you haven't been a Governor, you are not qualified to be President? Funny, I don't remember Trump ever being Governor of any state. Is there a possibility that Chris may be sucking up for a VP position?.......
Mrs. SoCal and I LOVED watching Rubio and Cruz givin' it back to Trump last night; FINALLY.
AmyH, Ted Cruz has never gone along with the other morons in the Senate. He is the only one there with any principles and stands up for what he believes is constitutionally correct. You can look up the two Senator candidate's voting records if you want to know what their true core beliefs are. Trump has NO consistent core beliefs. They change with his current audience.
If the final preliminary candidates turn out to be Sanders and Trump, is there some way that the DC politicians can disregard the public vote and put up a name (or names) that they have selected.
It seems quite clear that D.C. is not at all happy about Trump's lead, and I doubt that they like Bernie any better. I'll be watching to see just how dirty they can be!
@Cat Mama,
The DC politicians are trying desperately to "put up a name... that they have selected." The DC politicians are trying to avoid the public vote, and have done what they could to that end. Maybe the public is telling the DC politicians something the pols are trying not to hear.
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