https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/28/why-congressman-james-clyburn-was-the-most-important-politician-of-2020

i hate to ruin your buzz, but i've known michale a lot longer than you have. if he made a wager, he'll honor it. if he's not here at the moment, it's almost definitely not to run away from any of us. he might even be consciously avoiding the space to 'let us have our celebration in peace,' so to speak. unless we hear otherwise, guided by the last fourteen years or so of precedent that's what ought to be presumed.

JL

all of the above. yes, this time most of them happened to get the final binary outcome of the presidential election correct. but that's about all one can say for them. the same mistakes as 2016 were repeated on a massive scale, with biden's overall margin of victory padding the massive state-level measurement errors.

JL

Regarding your most over rated pick: pollsters. By pollster, do you mean those that just sample potential voter preferences, or do you include prognosticators (531 and the big 3 TV networks) that predicted odds of the actual pathway to Biden’s EV margin were about 30%. Not as high as some higher EV outcomes, but not exactly wildly unlikely. If you placed your bet on Trump you lost, even though you did a bit better than the most likely electoral forecasts by 531 etc.

i am sure you're having as interesting a holiday season as the rest of us, but we really are curious as to what you think of all our comments. one thing that in my mind has always set this website apart from the chaff is that you're willing to get down in the cheap seats and discuss issues with the unwashed masses. smell notwithstanding.

JL

Once I read the offering over twice I just swept through and cuffed my thoughts down, which give or take, were essentially those of the collective. Of course, the ubiquitous flailing at some form of democracy 2.0 of Mr Harris is always a treat, in the same way, the last forty years of M*A*S*H reruns are reassuring that change happens quickly and slowly to suit everyone's pace.

One thing stuck out though, opinion of AOC and her style seems to run the gamut here. I figured to be in the minority where she was concerned, I know CW thinks the world of her, and that's his bag, I assumed, incorrectly that CW had more cover on the subject with plebs herein. As I said above, I like her, and someday she'll make a fine addition to Dem backbench, but it will take a few congressional units of time before she can be sprung from the kiddie table. Italyrusty referred to AOC's run to teachers desk to snitch, [the]"Boldest Political Tactic" which is utter nonsense obviously, as it more wine and a moan for being told she was a 'fucking bitch' by some clown or other in the schoolyard. It's snotty little episodes like this that will keep her career at a snail pace. Her speech afterwards barely made the grade as political theatre, let alone a thundering rebuke of sexism and putting in their place for the morally bankrupt GOP. She'll need a much tougher outer coating if she wants to follow the good ole boys up the greasy pole. What has been described as a win for her was, in fact, a humiliating, unmitigated own goal that the more seasoned women of the house let her run with, despite their better judgement. As she matures into a true Liberally-minded politician, she'll know that when you're told where to go, and how to get there by a sibling of the house, you politely remind the person that they can have some snapshots of their mother conducting her weekly bukake duties for the Cleveland Browns...at cut-rate, and smile like we know she can and proceed to the chamber fully compensated for the slight. We all thought it was amusing when Trump feigned insult and bitch-slap when during his impeachment, Adam Schiff thought the time was ripe to mock-mimick Trump in a thought process soliloquy... Trump added more stupid to it by whining for days that Shiff was making up evidence and lying to Congress when even his own lackeys wouldn't buy into the pearl-clutch. AOC did the same thing and got the same result, a few pats on the back and a couple of there there's, and a collective... 'why don't you go have a little lie-down, the nasty man (who has no shame and therefore couldn't be shamed unless you wrapped his shame around a brick and threw it at him' has gone now...'

Maggie Thatcher spun in the grave that day. The Iron Lady was a formidable, albeit tedious personality, and she knew full-well, in politics, you either give as good as you get, or you get out.

LL&P

***Dept. of Attempted Talking Points***

(1)

Once again, Repugs are in a tizzy over the Federal deficit. It's never a problem when they want to give the rich another trillion dollar tax break (see Trump, George W and Saint Ronnie) but it's the opposite story the moment that it's time to help the rest of us. Go figure, huh?

If the deficit is truly a problem we should jack the top marginal rate back up to 91%, where it was during all the years that America was building the largest middle class in history. After all, for all the things we need to do in America, where else are we going to get the money?

(2)

Many voters in red states are reflexively against "Big Government." But every time there's a hurricane in Florida or Texas all of the sudden it becomes America's Problem and We the People of (to a large extent blue) America are expected to cheerfully cut a check for billions.

Oh yeah, and Big Government is just fine when it comes to supervising women's uteruses.

(3)

Trump's scotching the Covid relief deal that his own Steve Mnuchin negotiated with Congress is a big "fuck you" to the American voters who failed to keep him in office and to the Republican Party that failed to nullify a free and fair vote. He didn't get his way so he's going to burn it all down, nothing more and nothing less.

As one Twitter wit wrote (I'm paraphrasing), "Hey Trumpsters, you were scared that Biden would defund the police. Trump just defunded our troops."

* Biden will enjoy an extended 'honeymoon' with the Republican-controlled Senate. They are (not so secretly) relieved to see the back of Trump and so will approve all but one or two of Biden's cabinet picks. And more COVID-19-related funding. And several 'bipartisan' funding issues, perhaps even "infrastructure" ( one can no longer even read that word without laughingly adding "week")

* Biden will prove his centrist bona fides by tamping down investigations of the Trump era. In doing so, he will neither satisfy 'Trump country' nor the Democratic activists. The former continue to be blissfully ignorant of how many ways they suffer the due to Trump administration policies and (in)action. The latter (like me), who still hold a huge grudge against Obama ignoring the Big Banks' culpability in causing the 2008 'Great Recession' will once again be proved right: the powerful ALWAYS escape punishment.

* Mitch McConnell will die or retire, finally proving yhat those 'bruised' hands were a sign of major health issues.

* No Supreme Court justice will die or retire. However, The wife of Justice Thomas will continue to draw unwanted attention, stimulating renewed discussion about both Anita Hill and whether and when to impeach a Supreme Court Justice

* With Trump gone, 'the media' will suddenly realize that - who could have known?!?! - California has absolutely horrifying COVID-19 statistics. And it has a Democratic governor and the legislature is safely Blue. "So COVID-19 mishandling wasn't Trump's fault, if a DEMOCRATICALLY-controlled state is the absolute WORST!" This will be accompanied by a steady weakening in the polls of every elected official in California, portending heavy losses in 2022.

* "Islamic terrorists" in Africa will cause every war hawk to clutch his pearls (or whatever the appropriately manly response is) and DEMAND that the Pentagon budget continue to explode. Meek Democrats will be unable to develop an effective counter-message and surrender, in exchange for an equal amount of funding for 'social issues'.

* New documents will expose massive Trump corruption, either related to Russian interference in 2016, the Ukraine blackmail that resulted in his impeachment, or a new "pay to play" scandal. 'The media' will mostly ignore this, saying "That's so 2020". Meanwhile, Dr Jill Biden will commit some horrific blunder, like wearing white before Memorial Day, and 'the media' will go into a tizzy.

LL&P

Anti-theists give the gift of silence during this tiresome homage because we prefer to remain the 'bigger person' year-round and by conceding the floor, the 'transient people of faith' see pragmatism in its purest form and return to the ranks, albeit contritely.

*note; Awards for people for within their chosen field really are unimpressive as an event, they carry the same weight with me as an A would if I created my own subject and marked my own final paper, or worse...A MacDonalds employee of the week.

In the real world, you do your job you get to keep it, get promoted, catch a raise or get slipped a bonus. Award 'shows' are ego strokes for public figures for the hoi polloi to thrill over. Media's contribution to our 'Bread and Circuses'...cheers.

---Biden, for sure...No doubt he accepted on behalf of the American people, they won equally.

---Trump, a no brainer (x2). An obvious winner of losing, and because he's an accredited No-brainer.

---All four contenders, made stronger, were it not for the real winner, the one the four others in one way or another, better or worse, thank for their nomination... Miss-handling CV19. one way or another, all four mentioned owe their limelight to this event (ongoing).

---No comment, obviously. If Moscow 'the Minsk that stole SCOTUS' Mitch can't get an award for being an arsehole, albeit an annoyingly good one, then surely 'a turncoat' cant be exalted either. Unless hypocrisy is subjective within its own definition.

---Sure, I can get behind that, Biden's most effective campaign gambit was the one that the times called for. It not only dulled Trump's attempts to tear away at him, it caused Trump its fair share of unhinged moments (adding to the ones we all knew Trump would bring to the party anyway)

---Perky, cute, sweet...Bingo. Charismatic...No-go Too heavy a lift for my definition. I've been wondering just where she fits in, but here is not it. I do like her, but her phraseology is a variation of that of a beat-cop or stereotypical Drill-Seargent, using unnecessarily long and imprecise words to emulate intelligence makes one a boor, not charismatic. I do like her, and her ideas are quite correct, she'd be better served if she lost the snottiness and went back to talking the talk that got her in office, undiluted, easily understood policy suggestions. Her rapport with constituents in a bigger arena is doomed unless she drops the airs and graces that the GOP gifted her by putting her on the national stage. 'The radical-left' was an effective cudgel and AOC happily played along. Needs most improvement...that's her award, IMHO.

---Agreed wholeheartedly, with tweaking. It was a monumental bum rap for the right-wing voter, it was all their whatsits come at once for everyone else. Suppressing your own voter base with disinformation rarely ends in an election win... well not your win, to be sure.

---No contest, Biden gave a lesson in political savvy that should go down in history in countless categories, I was convinced the day Trump was inaugurated that Biden was to Trump as Nixon was to China. Vaticinating at the time to anyone who would listen..."Cue the Biden comeback" Why 2016? Simple, Biden would have beaten Trump easily then were it not for circumstances beyond his control. His son's death, the party machine misreading the political climate and thrusting Clinton into a race about race against a racist. My opinion then and now hasn't changed, after the spectacular job Obama did under constant fire and withering obstruction, white America was going to vote for the next white man who runs. Last time I checked, Clinton wasn't black. This misogyny holding women back from the presidency should end in 2024 or will end in 2028.

---Great choice, although Abrams might have been overlooked earlier in the evening for consideration.

---An award seemingly built for one, perfect fit. Stable genius, the lowest bar there is... Avoid manure. Maybe the 'left-wing Fascists' could take a bow.

---I'm torn between the winner and Trump actual photo op just after gassing a peaceful demonstration, which while jaw-droppingly vulgar and rage-inducing, it's the only one most people would spit out in a quickfire round of any Q&A gameshow.

---Hands down

---See above. A thing can be both at once. Disagree? Then I suggest you read Dickens. (Tale of Two Cities, if you need a better nudge...lol)

---Amen.

---Yup... Annus horribilis.

---WaPo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/

Stale dated but nuff said.

---Why not, it's an insipid award in this setting. If awards were confetti, Elon Musk phoned this one in for adding 100 billion to his wealth this year, with the cherry on top being as stoned as a mason while doing it.

Doffs his cap.

---Honourable mentions, all valid. Fauci goes here at the top. With permission, I'd include all the WH staff who chose truth over fielty to 'His Nibs' and spoke with courage in front of the house impeachment committee. They knew it was career suicide, they also knew it was a fool's errand and still gutted it out regardless. That's the America I used to know, that's the grit that's missing in today's political class, with minor exceptions.

---Fauci may still be a winner here.

The American Voter redeemed themself in spite of the torrent of shit thrown at them 24/7.

Well done all, you earned it. We'll not mention you merely cleaned up your own mess on aisle Trump.

A good penultimate offering, I'm sure the final instalment will be equally on point.

Remain safe all, if anything good can be said about 2020 that hasn't already been mentioned its that the miserable prick is almost over.

The dawning of the post-Trumpian era is at hand, it feels like that first refreshing, deeply drawn breath of spring one inhales that reinvigorates the soul after a long miserable winter.

Live long and prosper

Vivre longtemps et prospérer

Leben und gedeihen

???? ???? ??? ?????????

?????

Leve lenge og blomstre

???? ?? ?????? ???? ???

...and for Michale and his Russian asset

???? ????? ? ??????????

LL&P

Destined For Political Stardom
pete buttegieg

Destined For Political Oblivion
bill barr

Best Political Theater
November 4 - December 7 vote counting/recounting

Worst Political Theater
rudy giuliani on borat moviefilm sequel

Worst Political Scandal
Louis DeJoy using his position as postmaster general to intentionally slow down the mail.

Most Underreported Story
The incredible success and efficiency of tele-health medical visits, which covid-19 forced insurance companies to cover.

Most Overreported Story
donald trump refuses to accept that he's lost. again. and again. and again.

Biggest Government Waste
extensive testing, production, distribution, publicity and all other government spending on hydroxychoroquine sulfate

Best Government Dollar Spent
free covid testing

Boldest (and ballsiest) Political Tactic
jim clyburn waiting until just before the south carolina primary to give his endorsement.

Best Idea
katie porter's use of an existing statute to empower the CDC director to make a commitment he damn well should have made already.

Worst Idea
a tie between injecting bleach and live, mask-free rallies

Sorry To See You Go
John Prine, Trini Lopez, Kobe Bryant, chadwick boseman

15 Minutes Of Fame
the crazy people who attempted to kidnap and murder the governor of michigan, and their SNL spoof.
also, miles taylor (aka "anonymous")

Best Spin
"This is not normal, and we must never treat it like it is." - bernie sanders, DNC

Most Honest Person
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

Most Overrated
the entire political polling industry. still.

Most Underrated
the importance of face masks and social distancing.
also the raw number of people who still got out and voted for donald j. trump (74,222,593).

This is a good read.

BTW did Michale pay off his lost wagers yet? Inquiring minds want to know. Heh.

Yo, italyrusty this too is an excellent and well thought out slate of, er, winners. I especially agree with DiFi's enormously bad political theater moment following Amy Covid Barret's Supreme confirmation hearings.

I disagree with "Most Overrated -- AOC." She is a sparkling talent and gives voice to the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," the something pussy "Hope and Change" Obama turned his back on once in office. As y'all have figured out by now, I hold Obama directly responsible for Trump even having a prayer of winning election in 2016.

As far as Repugs running nationwide against AOC, how would this be any kind of news? If you're old enough you'll recall that the Repugs nationwide ran against Jimmy Carter well into the 1990s and will continue to run against Nancy Pelosi so long as she draws breath. So it's nothing new and therefore nothing to be afraid of.

I think of it in terms of Repug herd immunity:

They'll be diffidently sticking their heads out from their turtle shells to (mildly, at first) criticize, only to duck their heads back in. But the moment that enough of them grow a pair the floodgates will open because there will be too many of them for Trump to effectively admonish.

Trump will denounce "Deep State" "RINOs" but Repug voter's demonstrated memory issues (e.g. "Mexico will pay for the wall") will save the day. Where else can these Repug voters go?

*Now that Joe is about to assume the Presidency I think we can go back to capitalizing the word President, amirite?

* Destined For Political Stardom - N Y Attorney General Letitia James - it's unclear whether Biden and moderate Democrats will investigate the many, many instances of Trump corruption. But there's little doubt that Ms James will continue to do so. We can fully expect an explosive indictment (or 3) in the next couple of years, perfectly positioning her for the next campaign, whether for State governor, U S Senator, or ?

* Destined For Political Oblivion - Matt Gaetz. Thus far, he has gotten media attention for being so far up Trump's ass that he will soon be visible behind Trump's tonsils. This is in spite of his wafer-thin political accomplishments -and- the perplexingly under-investigated news of his 'adoption' of a barely-legal young man. While he may continue to win re-election, only Faux News will invite him on air, and only until the Trump aura fades.

* Best Political Theater - the mayors of New York City and Washington D C painting "Black Lives Matter" on the street - in the case of the former, immediately in front of Trump Tower!

* Worst Political Theater - Sen Feinstein embracing Sen Graham at the end of future Justice Comey's hearings, almost tearfully gushing, “Thank you so much for your leadership.”

* Worst Political Scandal - Michael Flynn's admission of guilt, followed by his plea withdrawal, followed by Attorney General Barr using the DOJ to strong-arm the court to do Trump's bidding

* Most Underreported Story - Lady G, aka Sen Lindsay Graham, being a well-known client of rent boys. His anonymous accuser didn't deliver the goods. I, for one, want to know whether MORE hush money exchanged hands.

* Most Overreported Story - COVID-19 deniers decrying the loss of 'freedom' because they are kindly ASKED to protect the health and welfare of their fellow Americans

* Biggest Government Waste - the coronavirus 'PPP loans'. No surprise that hastily-passed legislation + Republican-controlled Treasury's "light touch" regulation = thousands of examples of fraud

* Best Government Dollar Spent - CDC and NIH pandemic-related funding

* Boldest Political Tactic - AOC's impassioned speech on the floor of the House. She highlighted Yolo's hateful words, noting that she is roughly the age of one of his daughters and noting that she is someone's daughter, too. She turned a moment of hate into a teaching moment, melting the heart of even the most misogynistic father (except perhaps Trump)

* Best Idea - Universal Basic Income - the moment 'the markets' tanked, the Republicans couldn't climb over each other fast enough to pass legislation sending checks to every taxpayer. If Democrats can keep 'on message' (a doubtful prospect, but one can hope), it will be difficult for Republicans to keep the 'high ground' now.

* Worst Idea - Rudy Giuliani leading a 'crack team' of lawyers into battle -and- being their most effective spokesman

* Sorry To See You Go - RBG

* 15 Minutes Of Fame - The Kraken aka Sidney Powell

* Best Spin - "I won more votes than Obama got in 2012" said loser Trump

* Most Honest Person - Michael Cohen - after his fall from grace, he has been the most forthcoming about all of the terrible things he did for Trump.

* Most Overrated - AOC - though she is a strong liberal voice, she need not fear being primaried. The Democratic Party needs to include her voice, but NOT give it too much weight. Otherwise, they risk losing even more badly in rural America

* Most Underrated - the governors of Oregon and Washington State. The media (rightly) paid LOTS of attention to the potential for violence in Michigan, mostly ignoring the other governors who were equally eloquent (and effective) in defusing a potentially explosive situation

vouchers to be fair are an honestly different perspective on the function of government. if the funding source for the voucher were uncoupled from the local public schools, i'd have no problem making it a part of public policy. the trouble is when the infrastructure costs have followed the students out of the system, and that's a big problem for the students who are left behind. in a less toxic political culture this issue could be addressed by good-faith negotiation between liberals and conservatives.

my biggest beef with the term is over its conflation of conservative private school vouchers targeted for the poor and working class (which actually make things MORE equal not less), and the neoliberal movement toward forcing public schools to compete for funding and students both with each other and with charters who tend not to be accountable to anybody (which exacerbates the inequality within each stratum of economic class). whether by exam or word-of-mouth network or "lottery," these policies give the elite schools the power to choose their students, but only benefit those few students with prior advantages, whether cultural, educational, raw talent or dumb luck. this system's proponents view it as breaking down barriers and promoting meritocracy, but that's a lie.

with a few rational adjustments to protect the funding of students left behind, the former (small-c conservative) type of system could be a true market-based complement to give many poorer students a real alternative, and keep centrally planned public schools from remaining overly stagnant.

the latter system, for which "school choice" has ironically become the watch-word, has dramatically limited the real choices for the vast majority of students in this country. funding has been slashed to the bone for programs in music, art, theater, libraries, athletics, and god knows how many other access points children used to have for a variety of careers and hobbies. because failing to match standardized test scores in core subjects (english, math, science, history) with schools who have systemic advantages over them has resulted in decent schools being closed or taken over by management companies who are generally less competent than the leaders for whom they're taking over, this ultimately has made the situation for the vast majority of students worse, not better.

so, a wealth of choices for very few, and even fewer choices for almost everyone else. "school choice" my ample derriere.

JL

Not sure what "school choice" means for you to object to. Is it about 'vouchers'?

I understand "pro-life" to mean anti abortion, and I am NOT anti-abortion, but I object to the idea that the earliest or the beginning stages of the unbroken continuum of human life can be classified as 'sub-person', or 'sub-human', while the declining/deteriorating stages cannot.

i would like to propose an addition to the banned terms list: "school choice"

just like its companion misnomer on the abortion issue ("pro-life"), this term should not be allowed to be used without the howls of derisive laughter it deserves. as a reminder, those who claim to care about "life" are quite clearly favoring a life that isn't technically even a person yet, and have no trouble completely ruining the life of an actual human being in the process.

similarly, the "choice" that slides off the tongues of self-styled education reformers (from betsy devos to rahm emanuel to arne duncan) is asking society to grant extra, generally unnecessary choices to a privileged few, while starving the few remaining options available to anyone else. whether this deceptive frame is promoted within the realm of conservative austerity or neoliberal competition, it boils my blood every time the term goes unchallenged. now that there's going to be an actual educator in the white house, PLEASE kindly add "school choice" to the list of banned terms.

JL

Must be hell to discover who and what among them are worth listening to and who is mostly full of shit.

as with all things american, the best way to show one's appreciation for independent journalism is monetarily. thus, at the top of the screen, you'll find a nearly-filled green bar with kittens. there's a week to go until new years, so if you happen to have some change hidden under the cushions of the couch...

Genetic engineers deserve far more credit for the rapid rollout of COVID vaccines than the Industrialists who bankrolled the science. Assuming, of course, that the vaccines actually perform as well in the field as the did in the trials. Medicine has never conquered the flu...it just keeps the casualties to a manageable level in most years. I don’t expect the COVID Clade will be much different....or that the public and politicians will learn any durable lessons.

Anyhow, I always enjoy this annual column - and especially when I’m mentioned in the dispatches.

This is my first post written on my new IPad 10 ...which the US Government will most likely pay for in the near future. My venerable IPAD 2 will soldier on at the YMCA providing treadmill music at the YMCA...when I get inoculated sometime spring-ish. To all classic rock fans: Radio Paradise....best on the web! Check it out.

My sanity has been maintained in 2020 at least in part by the weekly injection of your FTP columns.

Congratulations on a year-end column that is an eloquent, heartfelt, and clever recap of the year. While I may not have chosen your 'winners', I can't fault a single one. Your thoughtful analysis is marvelous!

Thank you for giving us an early Christmas present!
(Speaking of which, I was CERTAIN this would be published on 25 December - I'm glad I decided to double-check!)

Here's what I'll be focusing on for the next 28 days of lockdown in Ontario ...

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-03-17/coronavirus-deep-listening-music-albums?fbclid=IwAR33u1mSDg-13yE6y5uNCHmRh_bC4YuM9HOemRB9otuRWk632Ba_AZ6Uo7E

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NdIwV_bOqs

To quote verbatim in its entirety the Spartan response to Philip ii of Macedonia:

"If"

JL

I haven't read this column yet but, you know I will. I just wanted to thank you for all of your columnes this year - you are the world's best political blogger and have been for many years!

The biggest winners of 2020 are, by far, the American people. The American people, or at least for the time being a pretty good majority of the American people saw the wisdom in voting out Trump and voting in Biden. That gives me so much hope for the future that I can't even put it into words.

I haven't sent my pledge in yet - because I win the award for the world's worst procrastinator, every year, hands down. (I'll let you know when it should arrive)

Wishing you a very merry Christmans and the happiest of New Years!

I still stand for McConnell as 'Best Politician'. As you seem to imply, you actually agree except that you despise him so much you can't stand to give him your column's honor on this. I feel your pain, but really ... didn't he get everything he wanted this year, entirely thanks to his political skill?