I was too chicken to fight back whenever I was bullied as a kid (and still am as an adult, to be totally honest), but I wanted to, despite my weak limbs. So it brings me no small amount of joy to see that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are finally going all out in their criticisms of Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden in recent days. The time for civility (hahaha just kidding it was never time for civility) is over!
As the New York Times reported, Warren is continuing to ramp up her attacks on her Democratic rivals:
In the speech, delivered at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester, Ms. Warren called unnamed rivals “naïve” for their willingness to believe that they can produce meaningful change without directly challenging the wealthy and powerful. She also criticized Democrats for limited political thinking that often bows to Republican whims.
“Unlike some candidates for the Democratic nomination, I’m not betting my agenda on the naïve hope that if Democrats adopt Republican critiques of progressive policies or make vague calls for unity that somehow the wealthy and well-connected will stand down,” she said, according to prepared remarks.
Here’s Warren on Biden: “Unlike some candidates for the Democratic nomination, I’m not counting on Republican politicians having an epiphany and suddenly supporting the kinds of tax increases on the rich or big business accountability that they have opposed under Democratic presidents for a generation.”
And here’s what the Times reports that she said about Buttigieg:
Without saying his name, Ms. Warren noted that Mr. Buttigieg “calls people who raise a quarter-million dollars for him his ‘National Investors Circle,’ and he offers them regular phone calls and special access. When a candidate brags about how beholden he feels to a group of wealthy investors, our democracy is in serious trouble.”
And on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders posted this nice lil dig at Buttigieg captioned, “I’m very glad Mr. Buttigieg is worried I’ve been too easy on billionaires.”
My money’s on Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders winning this one.
After bullying her in September, Donald Trump has once again bullied Greta Thunberg, TIME magazine’s Person of the Year, as well as a teenager. Don’t worry, Thunberg has jokes though!
After Trump wrote that Thunberg needs to “work on her Anger Management problem” and that she should “go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend,” she updated her Twitter bio to read, “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
A source tells me that Melania Trump’s Be Best initiative folded immediately after Thunberg updated her Twitter bio.
Meanwhile, The View’s Meghan McCain decided to share her opinion that Thunberg did not deserve to be named TIME’s Person of the Year. “It’s hard for me to talk about Greta Thunberg because she’s 16, and I still don’t believe in attacking underaged people,” McCain said, while attacking an underaged person. “I disagree with her, I think everyone knows how I feel about climate change as religion on the left, but I’m not going to attack a 16-year-old in the same way I don’t agree with attacking Barron Trump.”
- We won’t be seeing Cory Booker at next week’s debates. [The Daily Beast]
- Speaking of, we have four debates to “look forward to” next January and February and oh my god, when will it stop. [New York Times]
- The Trump campaign believes impeachment is helping his reelection efforts. [Washington Post]
- Kentucky’s newly elected Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order allowing people with non-violent felony convictions to vote after they complete their sentences. While a very big step in the right direction, why exclude people who were incarcerated for committing violent crimes? [The Guardian]
- Over in the U.K., Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party look to be heading towards a decisive victory. Brexit, here we come! [Washington Post]
- Let’s end on a WTF, Mike Huckabee?!? note, shall we.