Nicholas Kristof says Republicans are a cult of personality

Thus Spake Kristof

Video evidence:

Social media line of the night

Courtesy of our friend Gino:

The Dems need fresh blood... So they trot out another Kennedy...

Should work great.

Mostly open thread

Don't have much to say, so we will call this an open thread. I would call your attention to this article from the Atlantic. Pull quote:

The most popular public forum at Reed is Facebook, where social tribes coalesce and where the most emotive and partisan views get the most attention. “Facebook conversations at Reed bring out the extreme aspects of political discourse on campus,” said Yuta, a sophomore who recently co-founded a student group, The Thinkery, “dedicated to critical and open discussion.”(The Atlantic used first names for students out of concern for online harassment.) Raphael, the founder of the Political Dissidents Club, warned incoming students over Facebook that “Reed’s culture can be stifling/suffocating and narrow minded.”

It can also be bullying. When the parent of a freshman rebuked RAR for derailing a lecture, a RAR supporter tagged the parent’s employer in a post. In mid-April, when students were studying for finals, a RAR leader grew frustrated that more supporters weren’t showing up to protest Hum 110. In a post viewable only to Reed students, the leader let loose:

To all the white & able(mentally/physically) who don’t come to sit-ins(ever, anymore, rarely): all i got is shade for you. [... If] you ain’t with me, then I will accept that you are against me. There’s 6 hums left, I best be seein all u phony ass white allies show-up. […] How you gonna be makin all ur white supremacy messes & not help clean-up your own community by coming and sitting for a frickin hour & still claim that you ain’t a laughin at a lynchin kinda white.

The RAR leader proceeded to call out at least 15 students by name. One named Patrick defended himself, saying in part, “I didn’t realize this was [your] opinion of me as a friend. … I will not give you my support simply because you are leading a noble cause.” The leader referred to that defense as “white supremacy.” Another leader used a vulgar insult, followed by “White tears white tears.”

That's a long pull quote, but it's a long article. Stay with it, though. Perhaps the fog is lifting, just a little.

Chez Che

Che Guevara has now been gone for 50 years. The world may not be a demonstrably better place because he's been gone -- we never run out of monsters entirely. But he was a monster. And all the hagiography and t-shirts in the world don't change the story.

Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you

You're likable enough, Mr. President.

In re Sarah Palin's endorsement of the Donald

I don't think it matters that much. There's likely a pretty significant overlap between those who dislike Sarah Palin and those who dislike Donald Trump, just as there's significant overlap between the fans of both. Trump will pocket the endorsement and move on. And Palin will do whatever it is she's doing these days.

We are living in interesting times.

I sell the things you need to be

Ann Althouse, pining for the fjords:

When was the last President who got support from his party's follow-on candidate? John McCain ran away from George W. Bush, and Al Gore distanced himself from Bill Clinton. You have to go back to 1988 to find a candidate who reinforced his party's President.

I'd like to see Joe Biden enter the race with the focused message that Obama has been good, and I am offering America not change, but continuity. Otherwise, it's a grim 15 months we face, with a President getting torn down from all sides. I'm not saying I want a continuation of Obama, only that I want one voice in the debate arguing for the continuation. We need that and we deserve to hear that, not merely, within the President's party, Hillary and Bernie fighting to get better distance between themselves and our President.

Emphasis in original. Why anyone would want continuity is beyond me, but let's consider the following statement. "Otherwise, it's a grim 15 months we face, with a President getting torn down from all sides." I would argue that we're going to face a grim 15 months in any event.

And why on earth do we need or deserve to hear an argument for continuation? Continuation of what? Question for the audience -- can you think of an Obama legacy that deserves to be preserved?

I exploit you still you love me?
I told you one and one makes three