Read the Salon article and I really enjoyed it... except for one minor detail in comparing McCarthy’s “sins” with Warren’s - McCarthy’s brother-in-law was the guilty party; not McCarthy!

I agree with the article’s premise completely and think McCarthy is pond scum that has taken human form, but why blame him for someone else’s crimes? Unless he is on the board or had any part in the company getting the contract, why he deserves being blamed for anything is unclear.

Thanks for the link, I missed this story!

[2] -

That's an interesting idea. I think Chris Christie used this playbook on Bridgegate. He held a presser with no end -- he swore he'd stay there and answer every single question every single reporter asked, and then he did so. Astonishingly, exactly what you predict did happen -- the media got bored with the story, and Christie could just point to that presser and move on.

It's certainly an idea worth thinking about.

C. R. Stucki [3] -

I'm actually on the record (kind of) agreeing with you, but somewhere in a previous comment thread. I think I got into it with Michale (remember him?) about the label and said "Fauxcahontas" at least made playground-insult sense of a sort, whereas Pocahontas was just silly. I mean, I wasn't agreeing with the label, just having a semantic argument. But I do agree, "Faux-" makes more sense, as an insult.

-CW

Dems have to find ways to deal with GOP slurs/slanders.

You know, Paula, I'm beginning to think that is not the biggest part of the problem. The bigger problem may be the political intelligence of the vast majority of Americans who may not think about politics much of their waking day.

The question remains, though - how do Democrats talk to these people and counter the Republican line and/or the Trump appeal. Probably worth a column or two or three ...

Note* I made a resolution at New Years to be less inveighed with the idiocy of US politics...A tough row to hoe, it's cloying.

What's truly shameless is the nausea-inducing double standard leveled across the board politically between men and women. Fresh-man/woman, Ilhan Omar tweets erroneously about some 'ZOG' nonsense and is excoriated, Trump attaches a Star of David to an anti-Clinton post, and it's page 6 in a matter hours. A complete knuckle-dragger, such as Trump, can witter-via-twitter endlessly, yet all the Warren, Klobuchar and Harris narratives all seem to swirl around likability? Egads.

Trump is as likable as low-grit arse wipe, thicker than two short planks and replaces two fingers down the throat as a means to stop the world from spinning, not a peep about whether people 'like him'...The women, thus far fielded against Trump, all well heeled, educated individuals, are subjected to the misogynous sliding scale of 'likability' as if they don't so much as make a stump speech, but a bid for Miss Congeniality at a sleazy Trumpian beauty pageant.

Speaking as someone who endured years of Maggie Thatcher's particular brand of 'likability', you can be assured, better a politically savvy woman over a dullard-man, all day. I get sexism in politics. Maggie had her 'misandry-moments', but they almost always seemed to be channeled through her (long suffering) husband, Dennis, to keep her own back-benchers to heel. However, there has to come a time, an Eva Peron moment almost, when a society drops its gender hang-ups and hears the message over the messenger.

PS. Felicitations to all in this year of our Bob, 2019.

LL&P

I, frankly, hope Northam doesn't resign. He made a mistake when he was young. He has stated he isn't a racist, and more importantly, his actions for decades have shown no racism. Accept his apology and move on.

I also hope that Omar is taken at face value - naive and subsequently apologetic. Accept her apology and move on.

I'm really tired of the intolerance on the left. Michale used to go way overboard in his pearl-clutching about this subject, but there is truth to this.

We've got important things to do. If only perfect people can participate, we'll be weakened.

Oh, and it is time for Al Franken to come back.

Yes. Dems have to find ways to deal with GOP slurs/slanders. Repubs are masters at making allegations and beating nonsense to death, always with the help of media. Once they make an accusation that catches fire in some way they will simply repeat it forever, no matter how many times it is debunked.

I think Warren should schedule an all-day summit on this issue, invite media, and answer every single question every lazy-gotcha journalist wants to ask and every anti-Warren boob wants to repeat until everyone's bored to death and it's clear there's nothing left to say. Thereafter post the whole thing on her website and refer any future questioner there.

In the course of answering the stupid, bad-faith questions she should analyze the questions and explain and illustrate how they are intended to do damage and that is their only purpose. It could be a great teaching opportunity.

Of course, FOX would take parts out of context and would try to keep the thing going and America's morons and bad-faith actors would do likewise. But I think it's possible big chunks of MSM could be shamed out of playing along.

Further, some data shows that the more Blotus calls her Pocahontas, the more Dems perceive the issue to be purely partisan slander. And that's the important thing - Dems need to fully understand how bad faith this stupid issue is. The repubs can pound sand.

Warren received a standing ovation from tribal leaders and other Native attendees as she approached the stage. She called on Congress to take more action on Native issues, including “the alarming number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls,” suicide rates among Native people, housing, health care and addiction.

But most of her remarks were spent praising Native women, saying she was there to lift up Native voices. She specifically mentioned Reps. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) ? the first two Native women elected to Congress ? and Andrews-Maltais, who was given an award.