Another thing we learned from the Senate Intelligence hearing, many of the "Bernie Bros" were Russian trolls.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Dr. Thomas Rid of Kings College London’s Department of War Studies explained that polarization makes societies vulnerable to manipulation by disinformation campaigns. 

Russia, Rid explained, according to CBS News, likes to use “unwitting agents” to carry out its work. WikiLeaks, Twitter and “overeager journalists” all contributed to Russia’s efforts to destabilize the U.S. by disrupting its 2016 election. 

Democratic committee co-chair Sen. Mark Warner (VA) asked the panel if they had any doubt that Russia had attempted to interfere in some aspects of the 2016 election. Alexander said not only did he have no doubt, he could get very specific. 

“Senator, I think what they were trying to do was drive a wedge within the Democratic Party between the Clinton group and the Sanders group,” said Alexander. “And then in our nation between Republicans and Democrats.” 

Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) reported earlier this month that during the 2016 election, their social media feeds and pro-Sanders Facebook groups were inundated with what they now believe were Russian bots spewing anti-Hillary memes including fake news stories about Clinton using a body double and murdering her ideological opponents. Over time the anti-Clinton online faction became known by the nickname “Bernie Bros.”

I think that many of us have already come to realize that this is true, however I think it needs to be repeated frequently so that we are all on guard the next time. 

And it must also be pointed out that none of this trolling would have worked if there were not so many people desperate to accept the lies and to spread them far and wide around the internet.

I am sure that many of you watched in real time as I confronted some of this misinformation here on IM only to be labeled a "Hillary-bot" or accused of "working for my queen," or "supporting the Wall Street candidate."

And it worked. I lost thousands of visitors during the primary, and no matter how often I pointed out that people were being manipulated by false information, I was simply accused of "being in the tank for Hillary" and that was the end of the conversation.

If you look around today you can see it still happening, with people attacking the DNC and blaming them for Trump's victory, just as they have been directed to do by the Russian trolls.

Remember the Russians want to undermine our entire democracy, and the first step in doing that is to make people distrust the two parties.

So at this point we have to ask ourselves if we are part of the solution to this problem, or just another of the Russian's "useful idiots."

So today is the final final primary day open thread. (The last final primary day open thread was the next to last final primary day open thread.) Update!

Why is he always yelling?

So today is Washington DC's primary day.

There are 20 delegates up for grabs, and apparently this is very important to Bernie Sanders and the Bros.

Speaking of Sanders earlier today, like any good hostage taker, he gave his list of demands for the DNC.

Speaking just a few blocks from Congress with campaign manager Jeff Weaver and national spokeswoman Symone Sanders (no relation) at his side, Sanders ticked off his list of priorities to change the party. Story Continued Below 

"We need a person at the leadership at the DNC who is vigorously supporting and out working to bring people into the political process," Sanders said, before stressing the need for "the most progressive platform ever passed by the Democratic Party. A platform which makes it crystal clear that the Democratic Party is on the side of working people." 

The Vermont senator called for replacing Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, enabling open primaries so non-registered Democrats can vote, and better staffing to prevent long lines and difficulty being able to vote. Sanders pointed to Arizona, where both Democratic and Republican officials denounced the long lines and fewer polling stations available in the March 22 primary. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won that contest. 

By the way I watched an interview with Debbie Wasserman Schultz earlier today and it is pretty clear she has no intention of vacating the job voluntarily.

Sanders also called for the end of super delegates: .

The idea that we had 400 superdelegates pledged to a candidate some eight months or more before the first ballot was cast is to my mind absurd. And we need to also make sure that superdelegates do not live in a world of their own but reflect, reflect, the views of the people of their own state." 

I certainly hope that somebody has taken the time to explain to Bernie that even if the DNC concedes on the issue of super delegates it will not help him this time around.

Changes @BernieSanders wants to Dem party:
-New leadership
-Elimination of superdelegates
-Same day registration for voting
-Open primaries

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 14, 2016

Is it a socialist thing that even if you lose a nomination you believe that you have the right to completely restructure the entire party?

Later today, after polls have closed in Washington, Bernie and our next President are going to have a meeting.

During which I imagine Hillary will put Sanders into a headlock and refuse to let him out until he concedes the nomination.

I will update this post when we get the results of the primary, as well as the results of the Clinton/Sanders powwow.

Update: Okay so Hillary is now the projected winner in DC, which really should surprise absolutely nobody. 

So when Sanders goes into his meeting with Hillary it is with the knowledge that he has lost the last seven out of ten primaries, and therefore has no right to demand a damn thing.

No Bernie Bros, Sanders did not actually win California.

So if you got anywhere near Reddit early this week, or really most anyplace on social media, you probably stumbled across a link claiming that there were millions of uncounted ballots in California and that, either we still did not know who won California for sure, or they had been counted and we now "knew" that Bernie Sanders won the state and the corrupt corporate media stole this final victory from his campaign.

Many of these websites also claimed that there were incidences of voter fraud being reported in real time during the primary, but that seemed mostly due to some faulty machines, some disorganized polling places, and of course poorly prepared Sanders supporters.

Even before the uncounted ballots were tallied up Politifact gave the reporting that Sanders would win California a "Pants on Fire" rating.

Well now those uncounted ballots have been counted, and as expected it changed nothing.

No change in the margin: still exactly 12.7-pt lead. https://t.co/KJ18u1U4cO

— Will Jordan (@williamjordann) June 10, 2016

By the way I have every confidence that supporters of Bernie Sanders will continue to cry foul and refuse to accept that this election was not stolen from him.

Which is really sad because the Sanders' campaign actively fed into this conspiratorial thinking and may actually have helped to disenfranchise thousands of young voters who may take decades to ever trust the system enough to participate again.

Unless of course they succeed in convincing Sanders to run as a third party candidate.

In that case Sanders will of course still fail to win the presidency but he can take solace in the fact that he will become one of the most hated men in America if his clumsy attempt undermines the Clinton campaign and allows Donald Trump to emerge victorious. 

Primary day open thread. Update!

This will be my last primary day open thread and thank Odin for that.

Today's offering will be, in the order that their polls close,  New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and finally California.,

New Jersey's polls should be closing right now.

The polls in North Dakota, South Dakota, and New Mexico close in about an hour.

Montana is next in about two hours.

And finally the big Kahuna California will close at about 7:00 PM AK time.

At this point there is of course no real suspense as Hillary is already the presumptive nominee, but it will still be interesting to see how certain states vote and if Sanders is actually able to steal California away from Clinton.

As always I will update this post as polls close and information is available.

Update: Well this doesn't bode well.

Asked by @LesterHoltNBC if his campaign ends tonight, Sanders says he'll keep trying to turn super delegates pic.twitter.com/zf6XLJbpR3

— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) June 7, 2016

At some point you are just embarrassing yourself.

Update 2: Donald Trump is speaking right now and reaching out to Bernie Sanders supporters who were victimized by a "rigged system."

Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders supporters: "We welcome you with open arms" https://t.co/oZz0jUmo8i #PrimaryDay https://t.co/HeiM2uj1D1

— CNN (@CNN) June 8, 2016

I bet he really thinks he can get some of them to come over to the dark side too.

And who knows, maybe he's right.

Update 3: Hillary just won New Jersey. Well that's one down.

Update 4: Sanders wins North Dakota. (It is the last caucus state.)

Update 5: In the speech she is giving right now Hillary Clinton just referred to herself as the first female presidential nominee in history.

Oh it is on now!

Update 6: New Mexico has been called for Hillary now as well.

Update 7: Hillary has now won South Dakota.

Update 8:

Speaking is hard for me. But come January, I want to say these two words: "Madam President." #ImWithHer

— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 8, 2016

By the way Hillary is leading in California.

Update 9: Sanders has won Montana with a whole 21 delegates up for grabs.

So the President called Bernie Sanders......what do you think he said?

Courtesy of CBS News:  

President Obama called Sen. Bernie Sanders Sunday afternoon, according to a source familiar with the conversation, reports CBS News' Julianna Goldman. 

The call between the two lasted 30-45 minutes, CBS News' Nancy Cordes reported. Sanders also spoke with the president by phone in mid-May. 

The Vermont senator took the president's call on the side of the road in the financial district in San Francisco, at around 2:30 p.m. ET. Atwood said that as the press bus drove by, Sanders could be seen standing on Market Street, legal pad in hand, as he talked on a cell phone. 

Atwood asked Sanders about the conversation Tuesday, but he declined to say much about it. 

"I have spoken to President Obama many many times about many issues, and I really think it's not appropriate to talk about my discussions with the president," he told Atwood. "I try to keep that private."

The Sanders campaign stressed that the President and Bernie have talked multiple times during the campaign season, but none of that really matters.

What matters is what President Obama said to Sanders only two days before the June 7 primaries, since we now know that he is anxious to jump into this race on Hillary's behalf and start going after Donald Trump.

Whatever was said it apparently was not something that Bernie Sanders enjoyed hearing.

But whatever message President Obama delivered, it wasn't cheerful for the Sanders campaign: The mood soured, and he huddled with wife Jane

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 6, 2016

Yeah, I think most of us have some idea as to what that conversation was about

Bernie Sanders promises a contested convention in Philadelphia. Update!

Courtesy of CNN: 

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday vowed to continue his fight for the Democratic nomination beyond the primary season, telling reporters at a news conference in Los Angeles that he plans to go after Hillary Clinton's superdelegates. 

Clinton currently has 2,313 total delegates -- 1,769 of which are pledged and 544 of which are superdelegates -- and she is expected to cross the 2,383-delgate threshold in the next few days to clinch the nomination. But Sanders, who has 1,501 pledged delegates and only 46 superdelegates, says he can still woo enough of her superdelegates between now and the Democratic convention in July to swing the nomination his way. 

It's a tall order.

It is not just a tall order, it is an impossible order. (By the way after the Virgin Island primary Hillary picked up seven more so her total is now 1,776 pledged delegates.)

All Sanders can hope to accomplish with his take no prisoners attitude is to cause disruptions and chaos at the convention to the great amusement of the Republican party.

If he hopes to weaken the party that so graciously allowed him to run under their banner, and their eventual candidate, this is how you do it.

P.S. I heard a pundit today say that the difference between Hillary Clinton accepting her inevitable defeat in 2008 and graciously nominating Barack Obama, is that she still hoped to have a future in the Democratic party, whereas Sanders on the other hand is an elderly man with nothing to lose as he is not even really a Democrat.

P.P.S. It looks like some folks are tired of Sanders' shit.

.@BernieSanders just tried 2 take the stage at a Spanish-language festival at Plaza Mexico. He was denied. Staffer said, "This is OUR event"

— Sam Sanders (@samsanders) June 5, 2016

I think we are going to see a lot more of this in the coming days and weeks.

P.P.P.S. By the way this is a recent tweet from Elizabeth Warren.

This is what Democrats united to beat @realDonaldTrump look like. Get ready, Donald – we're coming. pic.twitter.com/p8dFtvr9NV

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) June 5, 2016

Make of it what you will.

Update: Hillary wins Puerto Rico. And the hits just keep on coming.  

The guy attempting to challenge Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida, is attacking her over the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran. Wait, what?

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

Much of Canova’s campaign literature emphasizes his opposition to the nuclear agreement with Iran, a position shared by many in the district’s large and active Jewish population. Wasserman Schultz backed the deal. 

“She’s Jewish; I’m not. But I’ve had a Jewish stepdad for 40 years, and I was a volunteer on a kibbutz. . . . And she voted for the Iran agreement,” he said. “Either she got duped by [Obama deputy national security adviser] Ben Rhodes or she was in on it.”

So to be clear this Canova guy is attempting to attract the Jewish vote by using Right Wing talking points to attack DWS over a deal that she probably had virtually nothing to do with.

Is he not aware that the Iran deal is very popular among Democrats? Or that they get very defensive when somebody attacks their President in order to earn political points?

Cause they do.

But hey, Bernie Sanders supports him right? So I guess he has that going for him.

Wait, does this mean that Sanders is also against the Iran deal?

I think some intrepid reporter needs to ask him that very question.

Bernie Sanders supporters plan to file injunction in California to extend primary and allow more independent voters the opportunity to interfere in the process.

#BREAKING: Bernie #Sanders backers will seek emergency injunction in federal court on Friday, May 27, in #CAPrimary https://t.co/Dt6vMnh80g

— SF City Attorney (@SFCityAttorney) May 27, 2016

Courtesy of ABC News: 

Attorneys representing a group of Bernie Sanders supporters informed San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera Thursday night that they plan to file an "emergency request" with U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup in the city today "for a preliminary injunction" in California's June 7 presidential primary," Herrera's office said. 

"I think it's unfortunate -- and selfish, frankly -- that these plaintiffs would inject confusion and uncertainty into an election that has been underway for weeks," Herrera said in a statement Thursday night. "San Francisco's Department of Elections and its employees have been doing an exemplary job, and I'm equally confident that our co-defendants are also meeting or exceeding their legal duties. This lawsuit is without merit, and there is no basis for an emergency injunction. I intend to fight it aggressively." 

The release continued, "The activists are seeking sweeping injunctive relief in their suit, including provisions to force 58 counties to segregate ballots already cast by unaffiliated voters; to allow "re-votes" by those voters for presidential primary candidates; and to extend the state's voter registration deadline -- which passed on May 23 for eligibility to vote in the June 7 primary -- until election day itself." 

Bill Simpich, one of the San Francisco-based lawyers representing the group, said, "The main relief we are asking for is for the independent voters -- non-party preference or NPP -- to be able to vote for president on June 7 without tying up the voting lines and avoiding a situation of mass confusion.”

I think it's pretty obvious what is going on here.

The Bernie folks know full well that if they can open this up to the "non-party preference" crowd that it will allow the Trump supporters to help them steal this California primary away from Hillary, and give Sanders the momentum going into the convention that he has been talking about for the last week.

You know the Bernie Bros made a big stink by accusing the DNC of changing the rules the last minute in Nevada, which did not happen, so what do they say now about their obvious attempts to rig the system in their favor?

Bernie Sanders is now actively supporting DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's opponent in the primary.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Bernie Sanders says he is supporting the primary opponent of Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 

Sanders, speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview airing Sunday on "State of the Union," said, “well, clearly, I favor her opponent. His views are much closer to mine than as to Wasserman Schultz’s.” 

Tim Canova is challenging Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 23rd congressional district, which holds its primary on Aug. 30. 

Sanders also told Tapper that if he were to be elected president, he wouldn’t want Wasserman Schultz leading the DNC. His remarks come amid a longstanding feud between Sanders and the Democratic party apparatus during the Vermont senator's run for the presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton. 

I think most of us are quite aware that there is a long standing feud between Sanders and Schultz, and his supporters have been calling for her to step down for months now. 

But let's be clear he is not simply calling for her to leave her post as the head of the DNC he wants her out of Congress completely. Where she has served since 2005.

That seems a little extreme to me.

And I think it just goes to prove that Bernie Sanders really holds a grudge, and I wonder what that means going forward after the Democratic convention in July?

Welcome to the New York primary, and remember to drink responsibly. Update!

John Kasich not pictured because, you know, who cares?

Okay so this is a big one my friends, as there are 247 delegates up for grabs on the Democratic side.

If Hillary does as well, as has been predicted, there will be increased pressure on Sanders to leave the race.

If she does not quite as well and still wins there will be increased pressure on Sanders to leave the race.

And if Sanders wins by a small margin there will be increased pressure on him to leave the race.

Essentially no matter what happens tonight there will be increased pressure on Sanders to leave the race.

As for the Republican side with 95 delegates up for grabs, well Trump is going to take the lion's share of those there is absolutely no doubt.

Let the games begin!

Update:  MSNBC is calling the New York primary for Donald Trump. No surprise there, but more notably they are calling the Democratic primary "too early to call."

That does not sound good for Hillary.

Update 2: MSNBC is calling New York for Hillary with 61% of the votes.

Sarah Palin flames out in Wisconsin. Update!

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin didn’t get the reaction she wanted during her speech promoting Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy to the Milwaukee County Republican Party on Friday night. “What the heck are you thinking, candidates? 

What the heck are you thinking when you’re actually asking for more immigrants — even illegal immigrants, welcoming them in,” Palin said of Trump’s opponents. “Even inducing and seducing them with gift baskets: ‘Come on over the border and here’s a gift basket of teddy bears and soccer balls.” 

But footage of Palin’s appearance showed audience members looking at her with bemused expressions. The Washington Post noted that the former vice-presidential candidate had received no applause eight minutes into her speech, though there were “some eye rolls and phone checking.”

Holy crap, it felt like she was delivering this speech in a morgue.

This is typically where I would say that this is the craziest Palin speech ever, but let's face it these are the kinds of speeches that she gives, and they are ALL batshit crazy.

Here are some twitter responses from those who actually witnessed this self immolation first hand.

.@SarahPalinUSA in Hall of Presidents in Serb Hall tonight for @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/DZbsnyEu0Y

— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) April 2, 2016

Sign of Trump attempt at message discipline: Sarah Palin appears to be reading a speech, or at least notes, at Milwaukee GOP dinner tonight.

— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) April 2, 2016

Palin's fastball is gone. She got applause 3x in 19 minutes: for touting the Packers, for hitting Hillary and when she finished. That's it.

— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) April 2, 2016

Palin on if crowd responsed well to her in Milwaukee: "Well I think so–I didn’t get booed. You know–I don’t know." pic.twitter.com/vj7WXhz5yT

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) April 2, 2016

Yet more evidence that Donald Trump is trying desperately to lose this GOP nomination.

Update: It appears that Palin is a little hurt by all of the criticism her Wisconsin speech is receiving.

Found one conservative outlet willing to take her side.

Hey, Gobsmacked Lamestream Media... Listen UpAbout those soccer balls and teddy bears I "claimed" last night in...

Posted by Sarah Palin on Saturday, April 2, 2016

Yeah, I don't know who they are either.

Yep Sarah Palin is in Wisconsin to help Donald Trump lose that primary.

Courtesy of the Trump Tramp's Facebook page:  

Just touched down in the great state of Wisconsin to ‪#‎Stump4Trump‬! Wisconsin's middle class has been hurt by DC politicians' out-of-touch policies worse than any other state - 100,000 jobs lost to Mexico and China thanks to trade deficits with countries that cheat on our "agreements." 

Donald J. Trump has fought for American workers and against trade deficits for decades in the private sector, unlike his competitors who actually support Obama's reckless TPP and TPA deals that are entirely unfair to the U.S. worker! As President he'll bring manufacturing jobs back home; his interests are OUR interests, and his trade policies will finally put America first. Watch this clip of Donald Trump 20 years ago standing up for American workers! 

Here is the Oprah clip that Palin is referring to which essentially demonstrates that Trump was just as much of an arrogant asshole twenty years ago as he is today.

Personally I think that Trump is sending Palin in there so that when he loses the primary, and polls now show him trailing Ted Cruz by about ten pints, he can simply chalk it off to the Palin curse.

After all, what else is she really good for these days?

Donald Trump wins South Carolina primary. Update: Jeb Bush suspends campaign!

So Trump wins again, even after essentially blaming 9-11 on George W. Bush and getting into a pissing match with the Pope.

So apparently everything we have been told about Republicans and family values is pure BS.

It looks like second place is currently a knock down drag out between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, with Jeb Bush coming in at a very distant fourth.

So once again this essentially illustrates why Democrats need a powerhouse to go up against the GOP nominee.

Right now it is almost impossible to argue against the fact that Trump is going to win the GOP nomination. And if he does he will run an incredibly negative campaign.

Like it or not in order to fight back we need a candidate who, first of all has been under attack from the Republicans for most of her adult life, and secondly knows how to land a solid punch.

If one looks back at Trump's history you quickly learn that he has an incredibly thin skin, and that he has an especially strong reaction to criticism from women. (Remember his disgusting attacks against Rosie O'Donnell.)

Hillary will know how to use that to her advantage, as will Bill.

In fact I believe that this is the fight that Bill Clinton is itching to have.

As much as I admire Bernie Sanders, this is like nothing he has ever seen before.

On the other hand it is like Hillary Clinton has been training for this her entire life.

Update: Jeb Bush just announced that he was suspending his campaign. 

If I had been told that this was a possible outcome at the beginning of this election cycle I would have never believed it.

All bets are off now folks.

So is Jeb Bush on the verge of dropping out of the race?

Wall Street source tells me top Jebber calling donors: He will drop out unless he finishes "strong third" in South Carolina.

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) February 18, 2016

Okay so I saw that tweet yesterday, and my first response was "bullshit."

I mean there is no way that Jeb, with his name recognition and so much money at his disposal, is not going to stay in for the long haul.

Right?

But then this courtesy of Politico: 

A top Jeb Bush adviser on Friday morning repeatedly dodged the question of whether the former Florida governor will stay in the presidential race if he disappoints in South Carolina, instead saying the campaign is laser focused on Saturday's primary. 

Okey dokey.

So look I get it, being Jeb Bush right now must suck balls.

I mean everyday he must wake up and say, "Dammit! It's not a dream, I really am being crushed by Donald Trump."

And that would be enough to grind down anybody's will, not only to campaign, but just to go on living even.

But if Bush does indeed drop out after Saturday, that is going to cause the kind of after shocks throughout the GOP the likes of which I don't think we have seen in decades.

And it really will be down the rabbit hole for the entire 2016 race. Assuming we have not been down that hole this entire time of course.

Bill Clinton compares Bernie Sanders campaign to Tea Party. Ooh, that's a little low.

Courtesy of Real Clear Politics:

BILL CLINTON: It's not altogether mysterious that there are a lot of people that say, well, the Republican party rewarded the Tea Party. Just tell people what they want to hear, move them to the right, and we'll be rewarded, except they didn't get anything done. 

Then that's going on now in our party. If you don't deal with the fact that we are too politically polarized and we keep rewarding people who tell us things we know they can't do because it pushes our hot button, we can't go forward together.

You know I love me some bill Clinton.

And I am a Hillary supporter. More or less.

However it might be a good idea to think about muzzling the Big Dog. At least during the primaries.

I'm just not sure that he is helping.

Okay I lied, I KNOW he is not helping.

New Hampshire Primary Open Thread. Update!

Okay so here we go again.

Right now the polls have Bernie Sanders leading in the Democratic race, and Trump trumping his opponents in the GOP race.

I actually think that is pretty accurate, so I do not expect to be surprised by much this evening.

But having said that this is the 2016 race, so just about anything is possible.

The polls closed at 7:00 PM Eastern Standard time so the results are being tallied as we speak.

You can keep track by clicking here, or for more drama follow along on Twitter.

Update: So sorry folks I was at some appointments and not able to  update the blog before now.

So yes as predicted Bernie Sanders won (By a whopping 19 points) and Hillary of course is second.

And also as predicted Donald Trump easily won as well, but more surprising is that John Kasich (Who?) came in second.

And yes since the Donald won, guess who is taking her victory lap:

NH Living Up to State Motto: "Live Free or Die" 

NH competitive primary reveals this independent state's choice for a leader who will free our country from our out-of-touch government. Congratulations Donald J. Trump! 

No doubt voters there asked themselves the question we should all ask before pulling the lever: Will this candidate allow me to be freer? Or not? Are his issues intended to make us freer? Or more dependent on politics-as-usual in Washington? It takes an outsider, beholden to no one but We the People, to shake it up and shake off the bureaucratic shackles that have stymied American exceptionalism. 

Thank you to Granite Staters for standing solid behind our next President who'll let you make America great again! 

Now, on to South Carolina - can't wait to see the energized electorate ‪#‎stump4trump‬ in the Palmetto State!

Of course Palin had nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do with Trump's victory.

But that will certainly not stop her from lapping up any reflected glory, even though most of her supporters now spend their days lobbing insults at her on Facebook. 

Mike Huckabee joins Sarah Palin in endorsing Joe Miller. Bit late don't you think Huck?

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

 The Republican primary is Tuesday, and the major candidates include Miller, Treadwell, and Dan Sullivan. 

Huckabee, in a statement provided by Miller’s campaign, is quoted as saying that Miller “embodies the kind of values our country so desperately needs.” 

Miller “is unequivocally pro-life, pro-family, and pro-traditional marriage,” the statement quotes Huckabee as saying. “And above all, he understands that life and liberty come from God.” 

Miller last week was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, but Huckabee’s support might be even more valuable. 

Yeah, no kidding.

At this point an endorsement from Satan would be received more warmly by Alaskans than one by Palin.

Personally I am not sure why Huckabee is bothering considering that Miller is currently trailing both Sullivan and Treadwell. Besides the election is today and I doubt that many primary voters will even be aware of this endorsement before the polls open.

It's almost like Huckabee simply wants to get his name mentioned during the Alaska primary in case he decides to run for president in 2016. 

The Dispatch also noted that Treadwell received a last minute endorsement from astronaut Buzz Aldrin, which is probably even less helpful than the Huckabee endorsement. 

The favorite, Dan Sullivan's big endorsement came from Condoleezza Rice, another name that probably does not impress very many Alaskans.

For my money the most important endorsement in this race came from Palin. Not because it could help Miller in any way, but because it was the final nail in his political coffin.

Sarah Palin is a doing that endorsin' thing again.

Courtesy of the Klondike Kraken's Facebook page:

Thank you, Lamar Alexander, for the respect and integrity you’ve shown in your many years of public service in Washington. With the new challenges in D.C., the time has come for new leaders who are willing to stand up to the political establishments and the Obama administration and say, “no mas!” (This and "cojones" may be the Spanish words that Sarah Palin even knows. And I am sure that Spanish speakers really enjoy hearing her use them.) Unfortunately, advocating and voting for amnesty, cash for clunkers, bailouts, raising the debt ceiling, and many controversial Obama administration nominees has marred the incumbent’s record. It’s time for a change. (What? You were reasonable and voted with the President on occasion? Well then you fail the completely irrational Right Wing purity test, and you have to go.)

Joe Carr is the new voice Tennessee needs in the U.S. Senate! Joe is a citizen legislator who brings his small business experience to bear in the Tennessee General Assembly. He’s stood up to those in his own party, fighting to enact some of the toughest illegal immigration legislation in the country and working to make Tennessee the 4th most business friendly state in the nation. Joe knows that government is most often the problem, not the solution, and he will work to reduce the size of our federal bureaucracy and always use the Constitution as his guide. (So to sum up, Joe is an ideologue, hates Mexicans, and will work to obstruct any progress in Washington. Perfect!)

It’s a disappointment that after so many years in office Senator Alexander has refused to debate Joe Carr in this campaign.  (That might be because Carr is so far behind in the polls that Alexander can barely see him in his rear view mirror.) Really, it’s pretty unbelievable because the good people of Tennessee deserve to hear from both these candidates to know who will be on their side and who will choose the Washington status quo. 

The conservative grassroots patriots in Tennessee have clearly spoken. When I visited there earlier this month, I was impressed by all the energy and momentum behind Joe Carr. (And exactly where did you see that?) Please join me in supporting him as the Volunteer State’s next Senator! 

- Sarah Palin

Interestingly enough when Carr wanted to host a fundraiser he did NOT invite Sarah Palin. Instead he invited conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham.

Who was able to attract a whopping 500 Tea Party activists to a hotel in Nashville. Which as we know is probably about 450 more than Palin would have attracted.

The Teabaggers are enthused about their possibility to pulling off another upset after Eric Cantor was kicked to the curb last month. However Alexander is a cagier candidate and has been preparing for a challenge from the Right all along:

“He’s covering all his bases,” said John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville who conducted polling on the race. “He shows no serious weaknesses.”

But even if he did have a chance, with Palin now waving her shriveled monkey paw at him he is all but doomed.

So now that the curse has once again been unleashed the fun is in watching it slowly strangling the life out of whatever hope Carr once had of emerging victorious. 

Kind of like watching a Tea Party puppy slowing being swallowed by a snake.

The queen of the sore losers wants an investigation into why HER candidate did not win in Mississippi.

WTF? They ALL lost?

Courtesy of Snipey Wiglashes Facebook page:

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Liberals? 

As we pointed out last week, there were several potentially illegal political games afoot in Mississippi to motivate Democrat voters to "switch" over to the GOP for a day to help save a 42 year Republican member of Congress. (In other words Thad Cochran was better than Chris McDaniel at turning out the vote, including attracting Democrats to vote for him. You know, like Ronald Reagan.) On top of that, millions of dollars from out of state liberal billionaires like Mike Bloomberg poured in at the last minute on that same incumbent’s behalf. You have to ask yourself why? (They didn't want a lunatic like McDaniel in the Senate? Just a guess.) When a primary election is lost fairly, I am all for unifying behind the victor and joining forces to fight in November. (Yeah, right!) When an election is questionable, with potential legal violations, politics MUST be put aside and the irregularities MUST be fully investigated. Regardless of party, we owe it to voters and to democracy within our Republic. (You know I don't remember hearing any of this when Democrats supported Joe Miller in the Alaska Republican primary of 2010 because they thought that the Democratic challenger would have an easier time beating him than beating Lisa Murkowski. Where was this outrage then?) The integrity of the vote speaks directly to the integrity of those who serve and the trust we ask the American public to put in our institutions. I told Chris McDaniel last night that I stand with his effort to get to the bottom of this (Well he's doomed now.) – he needs to know average, but tremendously concerned, citizens want to make sure the integrity of last night’s results in Mississippi are verified. Voting shenanigans never cease to amaze, but they had better cease altogether for the sake of ethical elections. And any GOP “architect” behind these abhorrent voting shenanigans should be ashamed of this Pyrrhic victory for the establishment. (I cannot believe that a woman who ran as a Republican in Alaska, where the GOP breaks rules in virtually every single election, has the gall to to be "amazed" at any "shenanigans.") If we find out it's true that some of the characters alleged to have masterminded this Mississippi hijacking are the same ones who've tried to destroy other Republicans’ careers, they need to be taken to task and only be hired by unethical campaigns. Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, shame on us. And if any news organization ignores a free and fair elections issue like this, then whether left-leaning or center right, their silence will speak volumes. (Oooh, I bet every journalist is shaking in their boots over THAT threat.)

- Sarah Palin

Look, here's the thing. When candidates that Palin supports lose elections it makes her look like she  has no idea what the fuck she is doing and does not inspire ignorant people to send her their hard earned money so that she can get more botox, pay Track to stay out of trouble, and hire people to help her write awesome Facebook posts like this one.

So rather than accept the fact that McDaniel got spanked by a more experienced, better connected, politician she is going to side with the butt hurt conservatives who just hate it when facts screw up how they want to see the world, and roar her pitiful roar, gnash her terrible teeth, roll her wonky eyes, and stamp her star spangled shoes, until she gets her way or is distracted by the next shiny new primary that comes along.

(By the way speaking of frustrating facts perhaps Palin needs to take a look at these facts.)

Joe Miller is trying to win the Republican Senate nomination by being the dumbest candidate available concerning climate science.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

The tea party-affiliated candidate for Alaska’s open U.S. Senate seat is challenging his Republican primary opponents to “come clean” about their beliefs on man-made climate change, saying he’s the only true skeptic of the bunch. 

In a Saturday statement, Senate candidate Joe Miller said his primary opponents — state Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former natural resources commissioner Dan Sullivan — had “joined with climate change alarmists” to try and regulate greenhouse gas emissions, despite the fact that both men have well-tracked anti-climate histories. Treadwell, for example, is known for openly questioning the validity of climate science, while Sullivan led the charge in the U.S. Supreme Court to strip the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. 

“Clearly, both of my primary opponents have joined with climate change alarmists to push for top-down federal regulation,” Miller said. “It’s unclear how empowering the federal government to control even more of our economy, on the authority of dubious scientific claims, comports with free-market economics and Constitutional liberty.” 

Sullivan’s position on the reality of human-caused climate change has been dubious at best. But Miller nonetheless called him out, saying he “unequivocally accepted the premise that climate change is man-caused and embraced numerous mitigation strategies: including a national goal of steep reductions in the consumption of fossil fuels.” 

Treadwell, he said, has voiced support of “a similar agenda,” proven by the fact that he once testified before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 2009 touting a plan to “us[e] cleaner fuels and methods to avoid emissions of soot, black carbon which promotes Arctic warming.”

Boy Miller certainly understands is under educated demographic doesn't he?

Since Miller's base is made up of Fundamentalist Christians, and information allergic Teabaggers, he probably realizes that if he can get them to turn out in big numbers in order to keep these other two "science believers" out of the running.

Of course the problem with that. for the Republicans, is that if they are lured toward the fringe and start openly denying the facts surrounding climate change they will be crucified during the general.

Especially since the recent National Assessment report identifies Alaska as "ground zero" for climate change.

It looks like Miller is doing Senator Begich's job for him again.

P.S. By the way we may have found Miller's perfect Lt. Governor candidate:  

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan (R) told a local Chamber of Commerce Wednesday that if he were leading the state, he'd fight for Alaska's rights, including seizing land controlled by the federal government to develop oil production, radio station KRBD reported. Sullivan's remarks were widely circulated on Tuesday. 

“One of the things I’ve suggested, too, is that if I was governor today, I’d probably invade ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge],” Sullivan said. “What are they going to do, shoot you? Well, they might. But martyrdom goes a long way sometimes.”

It looks like somebody's been drinking the Cliven Bundy Kool-aid. 

Sometimes I am so embarrassed to live here.