As the vice president introduced her new running mate at an energetic rally in Philadelphia, he quickly demonstrated his ability to deliver searing attacks against Donald Trump and JD Vance.
America’s introduction to Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota began with a half-hour of cheering for Vice President Kamala Harris and ended with some of the sharpest attacks Democrats have leveled against former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
Before a raucous crowd in Philadelphia, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz presented the Minnesotan as a folksy former schoolteacher and football coach who had inspired his students, served in the military and improved his constituents’ lives.
But it was his ability to deliver searing yet accessible attacks against their Republican opponents that won Mr. Walz a place on the national ticket, and during his first rally, he did not miss his marks.
“Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us,” he said. “First of all, he doesn’t know the first thing about service. He doesn’t have time for it because he’s too busy serving himself.”
Then came the dagger. “Violent crime was up under Donald Trump,” he said, before pausing for effect. “That’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”
About time the Dems had some charismatic candidates who are willing to push back against the bullying of Republicans instead of taking the high road.
Thank God. Finally sounds like they believe in themselves which gives other people a reason to believe in them. Finally fighting.
Unfortunately this approach takes the focus away from policy, but since people doesn’t seem understand what’s at stake it’s a necessary change.
I think a lot of things started to go wrong right after Hilary said “When they go low, we go high”.
Back then they were labouring under the assumption that the Republican Party (and voters) actually had a sense of shame; that if you stick to the “political” fights rather than throwing some shade, you’ll eventually come out on top.
Now they (finally) know better. You gotta throw some shade in with that policy, and if you can make the shade humorous, all the better. Because the only thing Trump cares about is being seen as ‘strong’, and that’s why this whole ‘weird’ thing is working as well as it has.
It was Michelle Obama who coined that, but you’re right otherwise.
Now they (finally) know better.
I kind of doubt Clinton and Biden approve of this shift and still think taking the high road is the right way. Biden is still taking the high road!
And that’s why they lost; and would have lost again.
Wonder if there were a bunch of strategists who have been cooking this strategy for a few cycles already, but they were never allowed to unleash it.
Basically couldn’t have come any later really. They’re already coming out the gates scrabbling with just 3 months and change until voting starts.
Only having them campaign for a few months is refreshing. I’d love to see it happen more often.
Plus it minimized fascist election fuckery…it’s not zero and we need people watching electors that think they can lie… Trying to subvert the will of the voters should be considered treason and treated as such legally.
America is one of the only countries with such a long election cycle. Up here in Canada it’s much shorter thankfully. Get it over with and let people get on with their lives.
And importantly, let the politicians actually get something other than fundraising done in a term.
Not that I ascribe this to strategy, but I wonder if this will work in their favor. The last minute change of jockey has been dominating the news since it happened, and pushing Trump’s ridiculous things to the side. This ticket will have huge and new name recognition in voters’ minds, and a lot less time to get mud to stick
I think it will definitely work in their favor, and I hope it kicks off a trend towards a shorter election season, but the corporate media will resist that.
Wow, no wonder republicans are pissed off.
They have old man tiny hands and the couchfucker to try to counter these guys.
Kamala + Walz? The GOP is screwed.
… if normal people vote.
Sigh. Normal people do vote. Republicans haven’t won a national popular in 20 years, and the fluke that won in 2004 only did so because of 9/11. He also won his first term by Supreme Court decision.
Showing up is not our problem. There is zero chance Kamala and Tim don’t absolutely trounce their opposition. The fascists know this, so they will try to subvert democracy instead of win within the system.
That’s because the “Did Vote Too” vote is split by the two parties. Clearly we need one of them to drop out to defeat the real enemy.
Edit: although the real real enemy is FPTP and the EC which is the root of all this nonsense.
I can’t stop thinking about how ingenius the couch joke is. The reference is obvious if you know the meme but oblique enough to maintain plausible deniability, but it doesn’t matter because guess what, Republicans can’t even complain about this without giving further airtime to the ridiculous meme itself. It is a serrated takedown.
You nailed it… “if you’re denying, you’re losing”
I’m out of the loop on that one. Can you explain it to those of us who missed it, please?
The Internet is memeing about Vance being a couch fucker. He tried to refute it by saying he never had sex with a couch to completion, which obviously was a self own.
Walz said yesterday that he’s happy to debate Vance, if Vance can get his ass off the couch.
Just so you’re aware that refutation was also spoofed.
Whole situation remains funny af though. And Walz is adept at twisting the knife.
Man, it’s tough to tell what is real these days.
It’s really not, people just have shit critical thinking skills.
Circular reporting is just one thing that can make this more difficult. Checkout the cycle in this xkcd:
Ok but people fall for obvious BS all the time that should be easy to spot if you know the first thing about how humans work. Take this example of a “refute”; no one would put out a statement that exposes themselves in such a straightforward, matter-of-fact way. People just aren’t like that. Even if someone were to go crazy, it wouldn’t manifest like that. And before you say “Well I don’t know, people have been doing a lot of weird stuff these days, so I can see it happening!”, find me one real example that would be comparable. A public figure, openly and directly acknowledging their sexual deficiencies in a non-joking, official manner.
That’s why I say critical thinking skills are shit these days. People never stop and think “Does this make sense?”.
he never had sex with a couch to completion
Uhmmm… what? Why would he say that? Was there actually some truth to the claim that he had sex with a couch, or what?
None. He just did a really bad job refuting it. Honestly, it’s such a goofy meme that most adults would just ignore it, but these are Republicans we’re talking about. It’s incredibly easy to distract them with frivolous stuff.
Even better, there was some website explaining and refuting it all, but then it was taken down lol.
Even better it was the bastion of objective Journalism the Associated Press (AP). They took it down because they can’t prove he didn’t fuck a couch.
Edit - I love this because it’s the same as the old “Did Glenn Beck rape and murder a girl in 1990?”. He’s never come out to say he didn’t.
That’s because Beck, while being a faux emotional cryptofascist shit bird, wasn’t a fucking moron and knew that the only way to stop someone JAQing off is to ignore them. Only partially because JAQing off was his primary MO.
Did Glenn Beck rape and murder a girl in 1990?".
Were just asking questions!
Yeah, they couldn’t prove that Vance never fucked a couch, just that he didn’t say he did in a book. But no one was quoting the book anyways, not after the meme started.
He tried to refute it by saying he never had sex with a couch to completion
There is no way I’m believing he said that without a primary source.
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Idk, I can’t stop thinking about the end of that Tool song.
It worked well otherwise.
God damn that was a hell of an entrance.
i wonder if he has a license to throw those haymakers.
He does. It’s a license to thrill.
I was gonna say I wish she’d chosen someone younger since she herself is much younger than Trump or Biden and that’s a decent selling point in the current state of affairs
And then I looked it up and he’s only a year older than her. The passage of time really hasn’t affected them equally.
Black don’t crack
He was also a school teacher for 20 years, so that’s aged him 10 years more, at least.
He said something like, “You don’t supervise the lunch room for 19 years and come out with a full head of hair.”
This is hilarious and very similar to a joke my wife (a high-school teacher) made. It’s got to be a common takeaway for people who know.
I just had to observe how my high school peers behaved in the lunch room, and guessed that kids today are about the same.
Walz became the nation’s Dad as he entered the national political stage. When I think of all the lions that came from that part of the country, he is definitely on the list.
Super stoked, and everything I am reading and seeing of him only makes me more excited.
It’s a shame he’s a teetotaler now, he has the highest “I could have a beer with him” score of any candidate I’ve ever seen.
He can just be the “I could have a root beer with him” candidate then.
Yeah. Actually he seems like he’d be totally okay with you having a beer
Learn to hang out with people without alcohol involved instead of treating their choice to not drink as a problem.
It was a reference to the type of appeal that the media made a big deal about George W. Bush having. Learn to let a joke go by without seizing the opportunity to talk down to someone.
You’re making jokes about strangers’ sobriety and then clutch at pearls that someone “talks down” to you? That’s rich. “When in doubt, DARVO!” right?
You sound like you need a drink.
You sound like you have a problem if you can’t imagine a better answer to frustration than alcohol. Or you’re just a prick trying to mock the idea of sobriety.
Both.
I’d have a nonalcoholic beer with him any time!
They actually make a lot of REALLY tasty ones now, which makes my life as a beer-loving ex-drinker a LOT easier when there’s a football game on, for example 😁
I tend to find nonalcoholic beers taste a bit… thin. I tend to go for a bitter (I’m British, there’s a load of really good traditional regional bitters about) rather than an IPA or wheatbeer, or anything else. Do you find that and just don’t mind or am I just drinking the wrong things?
(I’m not tee total, I just don’t drink much cos I’m usually driving)
Some cheap ones are, sure, but a good nonalcoholic beer tastes like a good beer WITH alcohol does. I haven’t tried one myself yet as they aren’t in stores here, but apparently a Guinness 0.0 tastes exactly like the classic alcoholic stout.
As for bitters specifically, duckduckgo keeps giving me cocktail bitters even when I limit my search to the UK and specify “English Bitter” “best bitter” or “bitter beer” 🤦
I’ll take another look then. Thanks.
No problem 🙂
They can be a bit thinner, but considering how much Neck Oil is in your face I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Its more the lagers that just taste of malt juice that I dislike.
If you want stuff that isnt thin then Laser Crush by Beavertown is pretty good, and Special Effects by Brooklyn is amazing considering its 0.5%. (IMHO).
Both can be picked up at either Tescos or Sainsburys.
And as mentioned, Guinness 0.0 tastes the same. I’ve had that a few times at Twickenham, and its just as good but it could have been the atmosphere.
What surprised me more was that I was recently out in California, and most supermarkets I visited either didn’t have an option or only had one Athletic, which you can get in Tescos but is probably one of the weaker IPA options.
I’ll have to go to Sainsburys and see if I can grab some of one of those two then. And you’re the second (third?) person to mention Guineess 0,0 so I’ll give that a go too - stout isn’t my favoruite but it’s far from the worst
Another thought is the Big Drop Paradiso Citra, which is not quite as good as the other two, is still very nice and I’m not sure about Saintsbury’s, but I can get it in my local Tescos.
I’m not a big fan of the other Big Drops, but the Citra is nice when the sun is out.
Yeah, I wouldn’t normally choose stout. I picked it because it was going to be first drink of the day during a longer hot spell.
Turned out surprising good.
Ooh, what’s your favorites? I’m not a teetotaler, but I don’t sleep as well after drinking so most of the time I’d rather just have an NA beer. I’ve never been a fan of IPAs, unfortunately, so I’m pretty meh on most of Athletic’s offerings. My favorite is from a local brewery (Bauhaus Brew Labs) called Nah, it’s a non alcoholic Helles.
I’m not a fan of overly hoppy beers (of which IPAs are the worst by definition) either heh.
I can’t recommend the nonalcoholic versions of Leffe Blonde or Brune highly enough!
They taste exactly like the “normal” version, which is high praise if you ask me. So if you like Belgian Trappist style beer and don’t want the alcohol, those are definitely the way to go IMO.
If you’re more into a refreshing wheat beer, the Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc 0.0% will do you well too, my absolute favorite for a hot summer day!
If you just want a regular pilsner that doesn’t cost too much but is still hella tasty, my favorite “daily driver” is Bavaria nonalcoholic.
I hope any or all of these are available in your area and to your taste!
I was really disappointed with the NA beer in California when I visited. Athletic had three types that were stocked in the various grocery stores I visited, but they all tasted exactly the same.
There was an NA Mango that I saw in one but nowhere else. Surprising really when we can get Brooklyn Special Effects over here in the UK. I was expecting at least a match in options.
Good luck with your hunt!
I’d have rated Al Franken higher but he’s pretty much left politics for good at this point.
He runs a weekly political podcast at least
Ms. Harris? Last time I checked shes married…
Ms is not Miss
“Missus” is pronounced as “Missiz” and abbreviated “Mrs.”
“Ms” is another title of respect used to address a woman, and it’s pronounced as “Miz”. It’s often used when a woman’s marital status is unknownIt’s also used in many places as just a default for women, like we use Mr. It seems that using Mrs. (and needlessly pointing out someones marital status) is getting outdated and probably should IMHO. It’s how we treat men so I think it’s fair.
Yea I like Ms. cause it’s just easier. All of them are Ms. I don’t want to differentiate Mrs. That’s pretty absurd.
Yeah, despite the fact that I personally use Mrs. for myself (both to honor the fight for my right to marry and to differentiate myself from my wife who uses Ms.) I don’t really use it for anyone else unless I know she prefers it. It’s outdated and on its way out
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Was Walz booed at for the Springsteen bit? Am I out of the loop on something?
They might have been yelling “BRUUUUUUCE”. It confused me when I watched one of Springsteen’s old concerts and thought the crowd was booing him.
I thought it was boos at first but it was definitely “BRRUUUUCCCEEEE!”
I think it was a good-natured jab and the boo was more for the idea of their governor going to Jersey to see Springsteen, but that’s a guess and I bet someone local has a better take.
It wasn’t booing. It’s a Springsteen thing to chant BRUUUCE.
Thank you, that makes perfect sense.
Springsteen concerts often sound like he’s getting booed, because people are chanting BRUCE. That’s probably why he said it too, to kinda clarify.
Thanks, makes sense!
I was really disappointed that he didn’t throw actual punches.
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