"every trick in the book" = candidates stepped back altruistically so that the greater good might prevail
That's an utterly incomprehensible notion to these masters of the universe.
THE sentence of the day: A Macronist incumbent in the Marseille region came in 3rd in her seat. She just dropped out to support the left. She said, about why she's maneuvering to block the far-right:
"Defeats happen, but you can never recover from dishonor."
Somewhere in the space that 142 "Biden yeah or nah" stories took up at the NYT, they coulda covered a few things like a multi-state GOP effort to boost child *malnutrition*.
Some of Macron's candidates fell on their swords. Some left bloc candidates did.
The lesson is that people in power, but not the top person, had to made sacrifices. Hint hint, Adam Schiff. Try going on TV and being loyal, not back-stabbing (I could name several others, but I think the point is made
"The preliminary results upended widespread predictions of a clear victory for the National Rally," says the NYT just now.
Wait, who made these predictions of a massive victory for the National Rally again?
Oh yeah, these guys did:
The GIGANTIC difference in ad buys between Trump and Biden suggests the Republicans are having serious money problems. Can't Maggie talk to any of the Trump whisperers about that for a minute?
He's not 'making news', as if his risible effort to "What, who, me?" Project 2025 isn't far more of a news peg than half of the gossip whispering they're doing about Joe.
The NYT is as unhappy about this as one might expect. It turns out polling & predicting got it wrong, so now the narrative they're going for is 'months of chaos.'
Maybe that will be, but, see above for how bad they are at predicting.
Man i have been saying for a minute that voters everywhere are rejecting fascist shit and it’s only the media that makes us think otherwise, but it’s nice to see that in play right now
Most pundits thought Le Pen and her far-right coalition would take over today. The polls just closed in France, and it’s clear they were soundly beat. It’s almost like the pundit class does a lot of talking out of their ass.
Somewhere in their Bible translations, it seems someone slipped in a passage saying "Then Christ said, Woe unto the poor, for you must be as nasty and brutish as you will unto them."
It's not in all versions, but pretty much the Gospel according to Republicans.
I think for.some in the MAGA base, it's not the thrill of it, but rather that they are miserable, perhaps immiserated, and abused by large forces they perceive as beyond their control.
Punishment and cruelty at least feel satisfying. It's the worst version of "misery loves company."
Ridiculous.
Pivoting to the actual opponent here is no more 'denying reality' than the earlier 'coronation' comment.
Your love of hyperbole is a thing, I guess. Have fun with it.
Endless conversations about Biden when the target is Trump is a problem. Its not just your vote, it's the fretting and negativity when the focus needs to be on the looming threat of MAGA chaos.
“They want to eliminate national parks” is a very simple way to get just about anyone on the Stop Project 2025 train. Are there much more glaring and life-threatening goals of P25? Yes but even your most bigoted cousin does not want to see the parks system sold for parts.
