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As I pointed out six years ago, Julian Castro is an inoffensive box-checker of a politician, and we may be seeing a lot more of him.
From Politico:
Ready for Julián?
Practicing Spanish, taking advice from Bill Clinton, Castro builds his case to be Hillary’s running mate.
By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE 01/22/16At home, Julián Castro’s been spending more time reading and watching television in Spanish, trying to get his speaking skills up to speed.
On the job as Housing and Urban Development secretary, he’s been carefully working the levers in Washington, with coaching from Bill Clinton and a twin brother who’s a popular and up-and-coming congressman himself.
Starting Saturday, he’ll be out on the trail for Hillary Clinton in in Nevada, Iowa and Maine.
He’s plotted his rise carefully, studying and strategizing with a clear goal in sight. But if Clinton picks him to be her running mate, it’ll be more about perfectly fitting his party’s moment and the nearly non-existent Democratic bench than about his 18 months as a HUD secretary who hasn’t left a deep mark at his agency, the White House or the housing world.
Castro’s got a made-for-campaign commercials biography, and an undeniable savvy that’s helped him spin a job as a part-time mayor of San Antonio into an unusually successful 2012 Democratic convention keynote and then the answer to the second term Obama White House’s own search for more diversity in the Cabinet, without having to wait until he could win statewide in Texas.
Since he got to Washington in 2014, Castro’s invested in building relationships with key members of Congress, paying close attention to the people who have control of HUD budgets and who might make good political connections to have down the line. He’s used the allure of getting to hang out with a possible future vice president to make fans out of housing industry leaders who nonetheless have trouble citing anything specific they like about his work, streamlined a famously dysfunctional bureaucracy and walked the hallways to improve employee satisfaction so much that several HUD employees who rolled their eyes at his appointment now say he was a needed change.
Along the way, Castro’s inner circle of aides and advisers have come to see Clinton’s running mate decision as a pretty simple math problem: it’ll be a white man, a black man or a brown man, they figure.
And then they run it down from there: the white man’s Sen. Tim Kaine, and though he’s got a lot of good government experience and the geography that could help with Ohio and Pennsylvania on top of his own Virginia, they say that at 58 he’d be too old to provide a generational contrast to the 68-year old Clinton, and too white for a campaign being defined by immigration reform and Black Lives Matter and Donald Trump’s attacks on minorities. Yes, Kaine speaks Spanish—and fluently, from his days as a missionary in Honduras, as opposed to Castro, who like so many first-generation Americans, had parents who only spoke English with him—but they don’t think it’ll go over too well for Clinton to try explaining to Latinos that at least the white guy she picked over a Latino speaks their language.
If it’s a black man, they say, then it’s Deval Patrick or Cory Booker. Patrick’s out, the Castro circle figures, because Massachusetts doesn’t help Clinton and that Bain Capital job he took after leaving office is a killer. Booker’s possible, though maybe a New York-New Jersey ticket’s a bit much.
Castro declined comment on any of the gaming out. But ask the Castro circle if there’s any other Latino they can imagine Clinton picking and they stammer. Xavier Becerra, they say skeptically, their voices trailing off as they stretch a question mark out the last vowel in the California congressman’s name. And at 57, they figure, he’s also too old.
Castro’s a young-looking 41, a lower-level Cabinet secretary with a record that’s most distinguished for not having anything go wrong. He’s the former mayor of the seventh-largest city with a record that includes a big win in implementing universal pre-K, but the job is technically part-time and pays only $3,000 per year. (Most of the municipal government is run by an unelected city manager, though many San Antonians expect the mayor to act like they’re full-time.)
One interesting aspect is that the Castro twins, are as far as I can tell from searching out their long lost illegitimate father (a retired schoolteacher in San Antonio), are representative mestizo Mexican-Americans, which might (or might not) be important in a business where so many Hispanic celebrities are either almost all white or are significantly black, but are seldom notably mestizo.
But, weirdly, they look more sort of Filipino than Mexican.
Also, I’ve never seen an explanation of why Julian is the Anointed One rather than identical twin Joaquín. Perhaps a political consultant decided at some point that Joaquín’s name was too hard for Anglos to spell properly?
A good pick. This will energize the latino youth to vote their interests.
Hey Steve, in your old blog you also mentioned Ze’ev Chafetz parody about Julian Castro being groomed by Jews to be a top politician.
For those who don’t know Chafetz is a Israeli-American born in Detroit (he wrote a famous book about the city ‘Devil Night’) who is spokesman for the Likud party (Neocon masters).
Wrong: That would be 'Devil's Night' (source: iSteve)
'... who is a spokesman for the Likud party...'
Wrong tense: He hasn't been a spokesman for the Likud party since Begin was PM. (source: iSteve)
'in your old blog'
Wrong: this blog not the old one: https://www.unz.com/isteve/julian-castro-being-there-for-hillary-clinton/
(source iSteve)
Three errors in 100 words. Not bad.
Too dark this dog will not bark or hunt. This Julian is too ridiculous by an order of magnitude. We all know Hillary has never done anything but this Julian is even worse. How old is this dufus? 38? Just looked and he is 41.
Team Hillary will not pick him for vice president. His mocha_ness via the Aztecas will remind too many voters of Hussein Obama.
Castro is certainly a possibility, but I have a moderately strong feeling it will be Booker. Running against him in the Democratic primary for Senate were two popular House members, both of whom are personally quite close to Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi almost immediately endorsed Booker (in the first week of the race, I think), and signaled to other prominent Democrats to do the same. In some ways, this is justified by the fact that he was a more prominent figure than his opponents, but it seemed more likely to me that he was thought of as a strong VP choice for 2016, were he a Senator, given the importance of African-American turnout in the last two elections.
At least Castro admits to being an AA admittance at Stanford.
I doubt if Hispanic voters are going to be voting for people who say things like, “Mee casa, soo casa” whether in a broad Midwestern accent or like an authentic Mehikano.
I watch a little bit of Univision frequently, just to aid my comprehension, and I note three things: (1) being able to come to the US, or stay, or return, is an important plot point. (2) Bilingualism is also an issue, even showing up in commercials. (3) Despite the carrying on about Mestizos, the vast majority of the people on this network (which presumably caters to all Hispanoamericanos) look like they just got off a plane from Madrid.
This tells me that Spanish speakers in the US are (1) anxious about their status, (2) want to assimilate but also keep track of their roots, (3) aspire to be Spaniards.
The other thing I would note is that, unlike American television, virtually everyone is straight and looking to hook up with someone of the opposite sex. In addition, the women are always dressed to kill, and act that way, too. Say what you like, but it is refreshing.
episode-1) Boy meets girl
episodes 2 - 25) Boy gets distracted by various sulty temptresses with heaving bosoms while girl gets distracted by various ultra-macho caballeros
episode-26) Boy and girl get married by a priest (or maybe even by the Bishop) in a grand colonial church with a lot of white doves fluttering around.
Hard to criticize, really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAV3bOJaQuYReplies: @Brutusale
Hoolian Castro…..most under- qualified VP nominee in history?
Interesting racial angle here. Both Cruz and Rubio are White Cubans…but Hoolian Castro is the kind of guy whose barrio nickname would be ” El Chino.”
On an unrelated topic of general interest to the steveosphere: I suspect some new world records will be coming soon if this is true:
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/01/22/transgender-people-will-be-allowed-to-compete-in-the-olympics-without-surgery/
Just to head it off before someone counters with Palin: She was a governor of a large state and had very high approval ratings. Regardless of her merits, she was certainly more “qualified” than Julian Castro would be.
That quintessential intellectual of modern times, Tina Fey, has proven that Palin said she can see Russia from her back yard, so Palin must be fool!
“But ask the Castro circle if there’s any other Latino they can imagine Clinton picking and they stammer. Xavier Becerra, they say skeptically, their voices trailing off as they stretch a question mark out the last vowel in the California congressman’s name. And at 57, they figure, he’s also too old.”
Julian needs better advisers. Clinton thinks that she is fit to serve at age 68, despite having serious health issues. Even if the democrats win the next two terms, that only puts Becerra at 65, which is fine with modern healthy living.
Maybe the Castro camp thinks they can get the ‘El Chino’ vote?
Becerra did some of his undergrad degree in Spain. How’s that for Spanish aspirations?
But can he spell potato?
NewJersey educators wer given a card with spellings on them and potato was spelt as potatoe so only Dan Quayl spelled the word correctly.
#DemocratsRSoStupidReplies: @Reg Cæsar
Isn’t the sec energy, Ernie Moniz, the obvious Hispanic choice? Accomplished, smart, savvy and a Clintonista.
Too bad iSteve Male of the Year Enrique Marquez is otherwise occupied. He checks all the demographic boxes!
Out of all the crazy things going on in our politics today this is the probably the most offensive & pathetic thing to date.
This man has no experience & with Clinton’s age could very well be POTUS of the USA. How cynical do you have to be to potentially saddle the country with the most unqualified POTUS ever?
This is a microcosm of the inanity of the modern democrat party where identity trumps merit or the well being of the country. I only hope they go down in flames this November. This is absolutely appalling.
Hillary/Hoolian 2016!!
OT
Oscars cave in: Academy announces mass overhauls to membership and voting rules to promote diversity after boycott threat over lack of black nominations (UK Daily Mail)
Like the character “Chino” in West Side Story.
Trump should pick Dr. David Duke for his running mate. He won a majority of the white vote when he ran for Governor of Louisiana in 1991:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duke#1991_campaign_for_Governor_of_Louisiana
I watch a little bit of Univision frequently, just to aid my comprehension, and I note three things: (1) being able to come to the US, or stay, or return, is an important plot point. (2) Bilingualism is also an issue, even showing up in commercials. (3) Despite the carrying on about Mestizos, the vast majority of the people on this network (which presumably caters to all Hispanoamericanos) look like they just got off a plane from Madrid.
This tells me that Spanish speakers in the US are (1) anxious about their status, (2) want to assimilate but also keep track of their roots, (3) aspire to be Spaniards.
The other thing I would note is that, unlike American television, virtually everyone is straight and looking to hook up with someone of the opposite sex. In addition, the women are always dressed to kill, and act that way, too. Say what you like, but it is refreshing.Replies: @jay-w, @syonredux, @Anonymous
Yeah, I haven’t watched any telenovelas recently, but — at least up until a few years ago — the standard plot-line was:
episode-1) Boy meets girl
episodes 2 – 25) Boy gets distracted by various sulty temptresses with heaving bosoms while girl gets distracted by various ultra-macho caballeros
episode-26) Boy and girl get married by a priest (or maybe even by the Bishop) in a grand colonial church with a lot of white doves fluttering around.
Hard to criticize, really.
Oscars cave in: Academy announces mass overhauls to membership and voting rules to promote diversity after boycott threat over lack of black nominations (UK Daily Mail)Replies: @Anonymous
That’s pretty funny, since the black market for Hollywood movies is negligible. A black boycott of movies would have basically no impact on Hollywood’s box office.
I agree even though San Antonio has twice as many people as Alaska.
What makes them think that Hillary will be the one choosing a running mate this summer?
For those who don't know Chafetz is a Israeli-American born in Detroit (he wrote a famous book about the city 'Devil Night') who is spokesman for the Likud party (Neocon masters).Replies: @anony-mouse, @Jim Bob Lassiter
‘He wrote a famous book about the city ‘Devil Night’
Wrong: That would be ‘Devil’s Night’ (source: iSteve)
‘… who is a spokesman for the Likud party…’
Wrong tense: He hasn’t been a spokesman for the Likud party since Begin was PM. (source: iSteve)
‘in your old blog’
Wrong: this blog not the old one: https://www.unz.com/isteve/julian-castro-being-there-for-hillary-clinton/
(source iSteve)
Three errors in 100 words. Not bad.
Okay I know this really shallow but sheesh Julian Castro has an ugly mug. I don’t want see this guy when he turns 50.
That aside, Castro would be an awful choice for VP, even by modern Democrat standards. All I can remember about this guy is the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing debacle. Not good.
Bernie’s running mate would be the other Castro.
For those who don't know Chafetz is a Israeli-American born in Detroit (he wrote a famous book about the city 'Devil Night') who is spokesman for the Likud party (Neocon masters).Replies: @anony-mouse, @Jim Bob Lassiter
Maybe she’ll pick Gus Arellano.
I watch a little bit of Univision frequently, just to aid my comprehension, and I note three things: (1) being able to come to the US, or stay, or return, is an important plot point. (2) Bilingualism is also an issue, even showing up in commercials. (3) Despite the carrying on about Mestizos, the vast majority of the people on this network (which presumably caters to all Hispanoamericanos) look like they just got off a plane from Madrid.
This tells me that Spanish speakers in the US are (1) anxious about their status, (2) want to assimilate but also keep track of their roots, (3) aspire to be Spaniards.
The other thing I would note is that, unlike American television, virtually everyone is straight and looking to hook up with someone of the opposite sex. In addition, the women are always dressed to kill, and act that way, too. Say what you like, but it is refreshing.Replies: @jay-w, @syonredux, @Anonymous
Another observation on Latin American TV: It’s dumber than a box of rocks. Seriously. I would say that the typical show is pitched at an IQ level of about 94-95.Watching it makes one long for the Anglo middlebrow….
Telenovelas are aimed at about 85 IQ.
A nice popular comedy show like Chespirito or La Hora Pico is aimed at 95.
Cantinflas used to be aimed at 105 IQ if you wanted to get most of the jokes. His old comedies are still great.
But most popular American TV isn't exactly The Wire or Arrested Development either.Replies: @syonredux, @neutral
I don't think an IQ in the mid-90s is quite as low as you think it is (there's been a LOT of IQ inflation since the advent of online IQ), and seriously, have you watched anything on ABC, CBS, or NBC of late? Its all pretty much geared to about a 6th grade level of intellect.
Castro has the gayface. He’s the Hispanic Lindsey Graham.
Never occurred to me, but come to think of it, I believe you’re on to something there.
here’s a photo of a > hillary/julian 2016 < bumper sticker:
http://classicalvalues.com/2016/01/is-the-election-over/
That’s the first thing I thought when I saw his picture. I just assumed he was gay for a while until I actually googled it and saw he has a wife. I was legitimately surprised.
“Latin American TV: It’s dumber than a box of rocks. Seriously. I would say that the typical show is pitched at an IQ level of about 94-95”
Telenovelas are aimed at about 85 IQ.
A nice popular comedy show like Chespirito or La Hora Pico is aimed at 95.
Cantinflas used to be aimed at 105 IQ if you wanted to get most of the jokes. His old comedies are still great.
But most popular American TV isn’t exactly The Wire or Arrested Development either.
You’re being charitably generous with your target audience IQ estimates. But the real 190 IQ stuff comes into play with don Fernando’s Sábado Gigante variety show on Univision. Don Fernando is an uber successful Jewish Chilean national TV personality who has parlayed a gift of babaso gab into a mega fortune entertaining 80 IQ Mesoamericans whilst playing grab-ass on stage with some of the hottest Hispanic hotties to be found anywhere.
Back on topic: This silly article demonstrates that the growing disconnect between the various elites in this country and the mass of ordinary people has reached intimidatingly dangerous levels. Historically, this kind of divide has been a harbinger of revolution.Replies: @syonredux, @AndrewR
Why wasn’t Villaretardo in the mix? Couldn’t climb down off a Telemundo reporter long enough to qualify?
If Hillary picks Castro, you’ll know right away that she’s learned nothing and doesn’t have it anymore. Lots of Democratic advisors believe the same nonsense that Republicans who wanted Rubio did. If Hillary can’t outthink them, she’s going nowhere.
To win the election, Hillary just needs to seize a couple swing states. Even against Trump, her most dangerous challenge, she needs only one or two with her structural advantages in Electoral College. Pick Sen. Warner or Sen. Kaine and she has Virginia locked down. Against any Republican but Trump, that’s the election right there. Absolutely none of them can win without Virginia and those guys really know how to carry Virginia. (Both have been really popular governors before the Senate.)
Sure, they’re unfashionable old white men, but they’ll win the election for her.
Against Trump, Booker initially seems like a possible candidate, but I’m pretty sure you can’t motivate the Black vote in America by picking a gay Black man. Black voters haven’t yet read the memo about how Democrats must venerate the gays above all else.
Trump might put PA or even MI or WI or NJ into play to overcome VA. Still, locking down VA makes Trump’s job much harder.
Blacks still love Michael Jackson. Race trumps perv cooties. If the competition is between their saint and our perv, our perv wins for almost any value of "their" and "our". It's human nature.
You might pick a VP to attempt to swing a demographic group, (Sarah Palin and downscale white women, Joe Lieberman and the Jewish vote, Mondale picking Ferraro) but that's something that crosses state borders.
Maintaining peace within the party coalition (Obama reaching out to DC, Romney picking Heritage/CAto conservative Ryan, McCain picking a conservative darling, Bush picking Quayle as a conservative olive branch, eastern Dukakis picking southwestern Bentsen, Reagan picking Bush as an olive branch to the moderates, etc.)
With the NR's "Here I Stand AGainst Trump" issue, it's on Cruz to show how large an electoral bloc Buckley-Reagan-Goldwater conservatism can rally.Replies: @Wilkey, @(((Owen)))
Telenovelas are aimed at about 85 IQ.
A nice popular comedy show like Chespirito or La Hora Pico is aimed at 95.
Cantinflas used to be aimed at 105 IQ if you wanted to get most of the jokes. His old comedies are still great.
But most popular American TV isn't exactly The Wire or Arrested Development either.Replies: @syonredux, @neutral
Yeah, but even Anglo middlebrow stuff like Law & Order seems impossibly highbrow in a Latin American context….
To win the election, Hillary just needs to seize a couple swing states. Even against Trump, her most dangerous challenge, she needs only one or two with her structural advantages in Electoral College. Pick Sen. Warner or Sen. Kaine and she has Virginia locked down. Against any Republican but Trump, that's the election right there. Absolutely none of them can win without Virginia and those guys really know how to carry Virginia. (Both have been really popular governors before the Senate.)
Sure, they're unfashionable old white men, but they'll win the election for her.
Against Trump, Booker initially seems like a possible candidate, but I'm pretty sure you can't motivate the Black vote in America by picking a gay Black man. Black voters haven't yet read the memo about how Democrats must venerate the gays above all else.
Trump might put PA or even MI or WI or NJ into play to overcome VA. Still, locking down VA makes Trump's job much harder.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Glossy, @Discordiax
“a gay Black man”
Do we know that for sure? The other rumor I heard about why his private life seems pretty opaque was that he had a white girlfriend.
Lately, he’s supposed to have a girlfriend in California, who has a Jewish last name and could be part black.
Still, a white girlfriend makes him just as bad a choice for Hillary as being gay would. Worse, even, because the sisters will not vote for that. No way.
One of the dads on my son’s baseball team 12 years ago was an actor from Mexico, a handsome, distinguished looking fellow. His dream was to get a big time American show creator like David Kelley to partner with him in translating one of his middle-brow dramas about lawyers or doctors into Spanish for Univision. It sounded like a good idea, but it never seemed to take off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duke#1991_campaign_for_Governor_of_LouisianaReplies: @SFG
I hope you’re joking, but around here you never know. You realize that would probably cost him around 30 percent of the *white* vote, right?
Does “having a wife” really mean anything?
I’m not surprised. Airing a Hispanic version of Boston Legal on Univision sounds about as likely as Univision producing a Hispanic version of Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective….
Yup, spot on– Villaregosa does seem to have a “Mi Salchicha” problema.
He’s not out of the closet like Lindsay Graham or Amy Klobuchar but the rumors are strong. It could well be that Booker has white girl fever and prefers to have people think he’s gay so as not to ruin his political future.
Still, a white girlfriend makes him just as bad a choice for Hillary as being gay would. Worse, even, because the sisters will not vote for that. No way.
“Are representative Amerindian Mexican American”
“But, weirdly, they look more sort of Amerindian than the mixed race offspring of mediterraneans, indios and blacks we call Mexican”
Fixed it for you oh wise human physical anthropology guru.
My father had an eye for women. (Just to be clear, he really liked and respected them too.) He couldn’t speak a word of Spanish but enjoyed watching the telenovellas and Saabado Gigante. He made me aware of the pulchritude on display in those venues. I still watch occasionally.
Back on topic: This silly article demonstrates that the growing disconnect between the various elites in this country and the mass of ordinary people has reached intimidatingly dangerous levels. Historically, this kind of divide has been a harbinger of revolution.
The disconnect has grown dangerously large, but it's not between the elites and the mass of ordinary people. It's between the elites and the mass of ordinary whites.
To win the election, Hillary just needs to seize a couple swing states. Even against Trump, her most dangerous challenge, she needs only one or two with her structural advantages in Electoral College. Pick Sen. Warner or Sen. Kaine and she has Virginia locked down. Against any Republican but Trump, that's the election right there. Absolutely none of them can win without Virginia and those guys really know how to carry Virginia. (Both have been really popular governors before the Senate.)
Sure, they're unfashionable old white men, but they'll win the election for her.
Against Trump, Booker initially seems like a possible candidate, but I'm pretty sure you can't motivate the Black vote in America by picking a gay Black man. Black voters haven't yet read the memo about how Democrats must venerate the gays above all else.
Trump might put PA or even MI or WI or NJ into play to overcome VA. Still, locking down VA makes Trump's job much harder.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Glossy, @Discordiax
you can’t motivate the Black vote in America by picking a gay Black man
Blacks still love Michael Jackson. Race trumps perv cooties. If the competition is between their saint and our perv, our perv wins for almost any value of “their” and “our”. It’s human nature.
He’s anonymous, so of course he’s a troll meant to attempt to derail us. Actually, I wish Steve would disable anonymous comments because they never contribute a single thing.
The last quoted line is “(Most of the municipal government is run by an unelected city manager, though many San Antonians expect the mayor to act like they’re full-time.)”
Many San Antonians expect the mayor to act like who are full-time?
Also, would “Me and Julian Down by the Schoolyard” make a good campaign song?
The gayest gay face I’ve ever seen.
I watch a little bit of Univision frequently, just to aid my comprehension, and I note three things: (1) being able to come to the US, or stay, or return, is an important plot point. (2) Bilingualism is also an issue, even showing up in commercials. (3) Despite the carrying on about Mestizos, the vast majority of the people on this network (which presumably caters to all Hispanoamericanos) look like they just got off a plane from Madrid.
This tells me that Spanish speakers in the US are (1) anxious about their status, (2) want to assimilate but also keep track of their roots, (3) aspire to be Spaniards.
The other thing I would note is that, unlike American television, virtually everyone is straight and looking to hook up with someone of the opposite sex. In addition, the women are always dressed to kill, and act that way, too. Say what you like, but it is refreshing.Replies: @jay-w, @syonredux, @Anonymous
Maybe not, but if Julian Castro can do this I’ll vote for him…
OT: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/business/economy/a-somber-view-of-americas-pace-of-progress.html
Back on topic: This silly article demonstrates that the growing disconnect between the various elites in this country and the mass of ordinary people has reached intimidatingly dangerous levels. Historically, this kind of divide has been a harbinger of revolution.Replies: @syonredux, @AndrewR
My tastes run towards Anglo women: Ava Gardner, Jaclyn Smith, Caroline Munro, …..
Also, I’ve never seen an explanation of why Julian is the Anointed One rather than identical twin Joaquín.
Julian was the first one to get married. A great test of “all other things being equal…” — selling yourself as a family man breaks the tie, even in [the current year].
That’s Don Francisco (born Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld). Don Fernando is a Spanish porn star with yellow fever.
To be honest, I much prefer the Italian Castros.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/business/economy/a-somber-view-of-americas-pace-of-progress.htmlReplies: @Anonymous
Don’t go see the movie Brooklyn unless you want to get very sad about how nice things used to be. The America of that time was like the beautiful young Irish lass with sparkling eyes. In a short time America turned into an ugly, old, decrepit Red Foxx telling vulgar jokes.
To state the obvious, Hillary has little choice. No way the Democrats can ever again run a ticket with two whites, especially two white men (i.e., if Biden or Sanders is the nominee).
This goes double if the Republican ticket does not comprise two white men.
The Republicans may fall into the same trap, and might consider Rubio or Cruz acceptable to fill the quota, despite their dubious adherence as real “Latinos.”
“… his 18 months as a HUD secretary who hasn’t left a deep mark at his agency, the White House or the housing world.”
He did pull the trigger on the Affirmatively Allocating Affordable African American Housing program. That’s gonna sting.
Telenovelas are aimed at about 85 IQ.
A nice popular comedy show like Chespirito or La Hora Pico is aimed at 95.
Cantinflas used to be aimed at 105 IQ if you wanted to get most of the jokes. His old comedies are still great.
But most popular American TV isn't exactly The Wire or Arrested Development either.Replies: @syonredux, @neutral
On the topic of IQ and TV shows, how do you know what the viewership IQ of a TV show is ? A follow on question is which shows have the highest IQ watchers ?
He did pull the trigger on the Affirmatively Allocating Affordable African American Housing program. That's gonna sting.Replies: @Jason Roberts
I thought that too, but do you think anyone, even Trump, will mention that as a negative?
But more qualified than the current occupant of the Oval Office was in 2008.
This man has no experience & with Clinton's age could very well be POTUS of the USA. How cynical do you have to be to potentially saddle the country with the most unqualified POTUS ever?
This is a microcosm of the inanity of the modern democrat party where identity trumps merit or the well being of the country. I only hope they go down in flames this November. This is absolutely appalling.Replies: @Escher, @Neuday
To repeat my previous comment: the most unqualified POTUS ever is currently occupying the White House.
Thaink ya vury mucho Elvis for the correction. That Presidente Brandy sure can work a fella’s head.
To win the election, Hillary just needs to seize a couple swing states. Even against Trump, her most dangerous challenge, she needs only one or two with her structural advantages in Electoral College. Pick Sen. Warner or Sen. Kaine and she has Virginia locked down. Against any Republican but Trump, that's the election right there. Absolutely none of them can win without Virginia and those guys really know how to carry Virginia. (Both have been really popular governors before the Senate.)
Sure, they're unfashionable old white men, but they'll win the election for her.
Against Trump, Booker initially seems like a possible candidate, but I'm pretty sure you can't motivate the Black vote in America by picking a gay Black man. Black voters haven't yet read the memo about how Democrats must venerate the gays above all else.
Trump might put PA or even MI or WI or NJ into play to overcome VA. Still, locking down VA makes Trump's job much harder.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Glossy, @Discordiax
Local politicians don’t have the local influence they used to have. VP picks don’t “carry their state” anymore.
You might pick a VP to attempt to swing a demographic group, (Sarah Palin and downscale white women, Joe Lieberman and the Jewish vote, Mondale picking Ferraro) but that’s something that crosses state borders.
Maintaining peace within the party coalition (Obama reaching out to DC, Romney picking Heritage/CAto conservative Ryan, McCain picking a conservative darling, Bush picking Quayle as a conservative olive branch, eastern Dukakis picking southwestern Bentsen, Reagan picking Bush as an olive branch to the moderates, etc.)
With the NR’s “Here I Stand AGainst Trump” issue, it’s on Cruz to show how large an electoral bloc Buckley-Reagan-Goldwater conservatism can rally.
Except that Romney was really picking a guy who believed exactly what he did, pretty much. Paul Ryan could've been mistaken for Mitt Romney's son. They were both Chamber of Commerce Cheap Labor conservatives. Neither wanted anything to do with fighting the leftist culture on campuses, shrinking gov't (except those programs, like social security, that Republicans actually kinda support), or fighting the race wars the left is waging. They want cheap labor, low taxes, and reduced regulations for business, and that's pretty much it.
They ultimately were both so unpopular that they didn't win a single home state: Ryan didn't reel in Wisconsin, and Romney couldn't win in Michigan or Massachusetts. Winning Massachusetts was never going to happen, but the loss of both Michigan and Wisconsin is pretty much unforgivable. They're the states Ronald Reagan would've won with ease.Replies: @Reg Cæsar, @Discordiax
“without having to wait until he could win statewide in Texas.”
When I first heard a note of enthusiasm about Julian Castro after the 2012 keynote address at the Democratic Convention, I immediately raised the question of how he was going to achieve statewide office in Texas after the mayoralty in San Antonio. Apparently, somebody in a position to make things happen must have come to the same conclusion. Hence, we got Julian Castro nominated to the HUD position, thus getting him kicked up to the federal level, thus by-passing the statewide Texas problem, his cul-de-sac.
Dan Quayle immediately comes to mind. He was picked as GHWB’s running mate in 1988 in order to give a youthful balance to the ticket. But Quayle had not only been elected to the Senate from Indiana, a statewide office, but he had been reelected both to his House seat and his Senate seat by the largest margins for those particular offices up to that time in Indiana history. I was no Quayle fan, but I think his pick as GHWB’s running mate possibly short-circuited a promising political career and prevented a possible future run as Republican nominee for President. Of course, his selection of the neoconservative Bill Kristol to be his VP chief of staff didn’t help at all.
@deariem
NewJersey educators wer given a card with spellings on them and potato was spelt as potatoe so only Dan Quayl spelled the word correctly.
#DemocratsRSoStupid
Just like Tip O'Neill could have impeached Ronald Reagan had he not terminated the air traffic controllers.
Surprisingly, in Mexico “El Chino” or “La China” is not used for someone with an Asian or Chinese appearance. It’s used as a nickname for someone with curly hair.
My neighborhood mechanic is very white and European looking, but we all call him “El Chino” because he has curly hair.
There are two competing theories as to why this is. One looks to Asian slaves in Old Spain (Chinos) and black/mulatto slaves (with afros) in the New World, and posits the two ideas got kinda mixed up. The other traces it to the native Indian word for “curly.”
The first idea is even weirder (associating curly hair with “dirty” or lower classes), since Mexicans with the curliest hair tend to be Jewish and fall in the upper class. Young curly-haired Euro looking folks are everywhere in Mexican advertising. It can get nauseating.
BTW, I think Julián looks extremely gay. Or like an E.T. Well, a gay E.T.
In the USA, though, Hispanics seem to mostly use it to refer to guys with an Asiatic caste to their features.
Another odd one is "rubio/rubia" ( blond/blonde).The word derives from the Latin "rubeus" (red), but it somehow came to mean blondReplies: @Sleep
“Another observation on Latin American TV: It’s dumber than a box of rocks. Seriously. I would say that the typical show is pitched at an IQ level of about 94-95.”
I don’t think an IQ in the mid-90s is quite as low as you think it is (there’s been a LOT of IQ inflation since the advent of online IQ), and seriously, have you watched anything on ABC, CBS, or NBC of late? Its all pretty much geared to about a 6th grade level of intellect.
I wonder how many times Steve had to interrupt the writing of this piece to laugh out loud at the prospect of–Did I read the name correctly: Julian CASTRO??–as Lady MacRodham’s veep. Steve, I commend you for your professionalism in being able to purse your lips, grit your teeth, suppress a snicker and forge ahead.
That may be true, but to me she sounds like she needs English lessons just as badly as Castro needs Spanish lessons.
So, in effect she's playing a character that the elites love to hate, thus keeping her in the spotlight, and her constituency (feeling, rightly, insulted themselves by proxy) come to her defense at which time she can sell them reality TV shows and books. She's managed to become very wealthy by way of politics without even spending very much time in the perfunctory elected governmental jobs that usually come before the wealth. She lifehacked politics.Replies: @ben tillman
He’s having an “event” in Manchester NH (where I am now) on Monday afternoon. Free food at a Mexican place included! Should I go?
“Please join the New American community for an informal discussion about Hillary and her vision for the future”–from a flyer handed out in the line for the Hillary event last night.
BTW, I think I’ve been underestimating Hillary’s appeal as a candidate. She’s pretty good speaker, and comes across as more appealing than on TV. I had kind of assumed any Republican could beat her (and I would prefer her to the more neoconnish ones) but I don’t think that’s so, if her health holds up. My new prognosis: Trump might have a chance.
I know nothing of Cory Booker other than Wikipedia.
At 46, he never married, and dates Gayle King (61 year old), Oprah Winfrey’s best friend. Gayle King’s Wikipedia page does not mention Booker at all.
A few minutes ago, I showed Booker’s photo to three of my blue collar African-American male employees. They immediately said he was gay because of his soft face and lack of facial hair. Conversation went down hill from there.
Well then he's a shoo in for VP because he's a two-fer - black and gay!
Speaking of gay, I read on twitter (from a reputable source) that Rubio was arrested at age 19 in a Miami cruising park.
This is a very typical look for Meso-American Indians, which is why many upper-class Hispanics sometimes refer to them disparagingly as ‘chinos’.
Maybe they don’t want Joaquín to have to give up his House seat? Julián, at the moment, has no elected office to lose.
You might pick a VP to attempt to swing a demographic group, (Sarah Palin and downscale white women, Joe Lieberman and the Jewish vote, Mondale picking Ferraro) but that's something that crosses state borders.
Maintaining peace within the party coalition (Obama reaching out to DC, Romney picking Heritage/CAto conservative Ryan, McCain picking a conservative darling, Bush picking Quayle as a conservative olive branch, eastern Dukakis picking southwestern Bentsen, Reagan picking Bush as an olive branch to the moderates, etc.)
With the NR's "Here I Stand AGainst Trump" issue, it's on Cruz to show how large an electoral bloc Buckley-Reagan-Goldwater conservatism can rally.Replies: @Wilkey, @(((Owen)))
“Maintaining peace within the party coalition (Obama reaching out to DC, Romney picking Heritage/CAto conservative Ryan…”
Except that Romney was really picking a guy who believed exactly what he did, pretty much. Paul Ryan could’ve been mistaken for Mitt Romney’s son. They were both Chamber of Commerce Cheap Labor conservatives. Neither wanted anything to do with fighting the leftist culture on campuses, shrinking gov’t (except those programs, like social security, that Republicans actually kinda support), or fighting the race wars the left is waging. They want cheap labor, low taxes, and reduced regulations for business, and that’s pretty much it.
They ultimately were both so unpopular that they didn’t win a single home state: Ryan didn’t reel in Wisconsin, and Romney couldn’t win in Michigan or Massachusetts. Winning Massachusetts was never going to happen, but the loss of both Michigan and Wisconsin is pretty much unforgivable. They’re the states Ronald Reagan would’ve won with ease.
My point. Expecting a local "favorite son" to swing a states' Electoral Votes in your direction is a thing of the fairly distant past. See also "Al Gore, Tennessee 2000." (You might swing a demographic by particular appeal to that demographic, but that's not the same thing.)
As for the Upper Midwest, as the GOP has gotten more Southern, its flavor turns off a certain number of Greater NEw England types. Bama fan and Cheddarhead are different tribes. That can be overcome by a greater threat from outside the tribe (black crime in Milwaukee, immigration driving down wages, keeping overseas Muslims overseas), but it's a real factor.Replies: @ben tillman
But he wasn’t running San Antonio. He was just a ceremonial figurehead.
You might pick a VP to attempt to swing a demographic group, (Sarah Palin and downscale white women, Joe Lieberman and the Jewish vote, Mondale picking Ferraro) but that's something that crosses state borders.
Maintaining peace within the party coalition (Obama reaching out to DC, Romney picking Heritage/CAto conservative Ryan, McCain picking a conservative darling, Bush picking Quayle as a conservative olive branch, eastern Dukakis picking southwestern Bentsen, Reagan picking Bush as an olive branch to the moderates, etc.)
With the NR's "Here I Stand AGainst Trump" issue, it's on Cruz to show how large an electoral bloc Buckley-Reagan-Goldwater conservatism can rally.Replies: @Wilkey, @(((Owen)))
Kaine was governor of VA with a huge loyal turnout machine he inherited from Warner and made his own. A senator won’t carry his state anymore just by local identity, but a very strong machine pol can still drive turnout and loyalty. And governors have a local history with industry and money that depended on patronage that no one in Congress can match.
That’s what Kaine can give Clinton.
Cruz can’t deliver anything at all because his whole coalition is ideological. Senator Scott (R-SC), on the other hand, can help keep the establishment together and drive — as you mentioned — a national demographic that Trump needs. Trump won’t need help in SC, but Scott will help in PA, NJ, MI, and OH quite a lot.
It’s already clear that those are the wise choices: Kaine and Scott. And I expect Trump and Clinton’s campaigns are well run enough to choose them.
At 46, he never married, and dates Gayle King (61 year old), Oprah Winfrey's best friend. Gayle King's Wikipedia page does not mention Booker at all.
A few minutes ago, I showed Booker's photo to three of my blue collar African-American male employees. They immediately said he was gay because of his soft face and lack of facial hair. Conversation went down hill from there.Replies: @Jim Don Bob, @Anonymous
North Carolina Resident said, “A few minutes ago, I showed Booker’s photo to three of my blue collar African-American male employees. They immediately said he was gay because of his soft face and lack of facial hair.”
Well then he’s a shoo in for VP because he’s a two-fer – black and gay!
I like Kasich as a Trump veep. Brings Ohio, plus assurance to many establishment Republicans that someone in the administration knows something about government. Not a neocon. Praised Jim Baker at a town hall recently.
“Finally, Hugh, in regard to Syria, understand that Assad is an ally of Iran who wants to extend that Shi’i radicalism all the way across the Middle East,” he said. “He has to go. And for the Russians, frankly, it’s time that we punched the Russians in the nose. They’ve gotten away with too much in this world, and we need to stand up against them, not just there, but also in Eastern Europe where they threaten some of our most precious allies.”
Threatening a nuclear power over places we don't need to be, that's the ticket.
This man has no experience & with Clinton's age could very well be POTUS of the USA. How cynical do you have to be to potentially saddle the country with the most unqualified POTUS ever?
This is a microcosm of the inanity of the modern democrat party where identity trumps merit or the well being of the country. I only hope they go down in flames this November. This is absolutely appalling.Replies: @Escher, @Neuday
Where have you been the past eight years?
Hillary/Hoolian 2016!!
It’s going to be hard to come back from the personal hostility and nastiness Kasich unloaded onto Trump in the debates. Kasich was running from the start to be Bush’s veep, not Trump’s.
Isn’t the appeal of the Castros supposed to be some fever dream of turning Texas “blue” in the near term and assuring Democrat electoral hegemony? Beccara is from already solidly “blue” California.
You left out handsome.
Dunno; Hoolian’s CV is really, really thin….
Yeah, the Mexican use of the word as a synonym for “curly” is odd.
In the USA, though, Hispanics seem to mostly use it to refer to guys with an Asiatic caste to their features.
Another odd one is “rubio/rubia” ( blond/blonde).The word derives from the Latin “rubeus” (red), but it somehow came to mean blond
Except that Romney was really picking a guy who believed exactly what he did, pretty much. Paul Ryan could've been mistaken for Mitt Romney's son. They were both Chamber of Commerce Cheap Labor conservatives. Neither wanted anything to do with fighting the leftist culture on campuses, shrinking gov't (except those programs, like social security, that Republicans actually kinda support), or fighting the race wars the left is waging. They want cheap labor, low taxes, and reduced regulations for business, and that's pretty much it.
They ultimately were both so unpopular that they didn't win a single home state: Ryan didn't reel in Wisconsin, and Romney couldn't win in Michigan or Massachusetts. Winning Massachusetts was never going to happen, but the loss of both Michigan and Wisconsin is pretty much unforgivable. They're the states Ronald Reagan would've won with ease.Replies: @Reg Cæsar, @Discordiax
Ronald Reagan won Massachusetts with ease. Well, with a little help from John Anderson the first time.
NewJersey educators wer given a card with spellings on them and potato was spelt as potatoe so only Dan Quayl spelled the word correctly.
#DemocratsRSoStupidReplies: @Reg Cæsar
And imagine the furor had he corrected the teacher in front of the children!
Just like Tip O’Neill could have impeached Ronald Reagan had he not terminated the air traffic controllers.
I wouldn’t even call him notably mestizo. He probably does have Caucasian ancestry but he looks full Aztec. If anything he looks part East Asian. A homely, noticeably gay-looking East Asian.
Kasich? Not a bad choice actually.
Half of me thinks this is an affected thing for her. If you’ll recall, she didn’t speak in that manner when she was first picked from relative obscurity by McCain – most notably, her RNC speech sent a shiver down the Democrats’ spines (imagining they had spines). She’s sort of adopted the persona of the parodic, SNL version of herself. My theory is that the attacks against her (which, if you recall, were horrendous and media-led) made her cynical and limited any further political career advancement. At the same time, when people attacked her, they were also attacking the broad swath of America and specifically the women who identify with her. She realized that she could monetize this phenomenon and thereafter the cookier, malapropist Palin emerged precisely because it attracted the sneering condescension of the elites. It forms the basis of her ongoing popularity, which she has managed to extend well beyond the short time horizon other losing VP candidates have enjoyed (cf. Lieberman and Edwards, for example).
So, in effect she’s playing a character that the elites love to hate, thus keeping her in the spotlight, and her constituency (feeling, rightly, insulted themselves by proxy) come to her defense at which time she can sell them reality TV shows and books. She’s managed to become very wealthy by way of politics without even spending very much time in the perfunctory elected governmental jobs that usually come before the wealth. She lifehacked politics.
Back on topic: This silly article demonstrates that the growing disconnect between the various elites in this country and the mass of ordinary people has reached intimidatingly dangerous levels. Historically, this kind of divide has been a harbinger of revolution.Replies: @syonredux, @AndrewR
You’re half-right.
The disconnect has grown dangerously large, but it’s not between the elites and the mass of ordinary people. It’s between the elites and the mass of ordinary whites.
Except that Romney was really picking a guy who believed exactly what he did, pretty much. Paul Ryan could've been mistaken for Mitt Romney's son. They were both Chamber of Commerce Cheap Labor conservatives. Neither wanted anything to do with fighting the leftist culture on campuses, shrinking gov't (except those programs, like social security, that Republicans actually kinda support), or fighting the race wars the left is waging. They want cheap labor, low taxes, and reduced regulations for business, and that's pretty much it.
They ultimately were both so unpopular that they didn't win a single home state: Ryan didn't reel in Wisconsin, and Romney couldn't win in Michigan or Massachusetts. Winning Massachusetts was never going to happen, but the loss of both Michigan and Wisconsin is pretty much unforgivable. They're the states Ronald Reagan would've won with ease.Replies: @Reg Cæsar, @Discordiax
“Ryan didn’t reel in Wisconsin, and Romney couldn’t win in Michigan or Massachusetts. “
My point. Expecting a local “favorite son” to swing a states’ Electoral Votes in your direction is a thing of the fairly distant past. See also “Al Gore, Tennessee 2000.” (You might swing a demographic by particular appeal to that demographic, but that’s not the same thing.)
As for the Upper Midwest, as the GOP has gotten more Southern, its flavor turns off a certain number of Greater NEw England types. Bama fan and Cheddarhead are different tribes. That can be overcome by a greater threat from outside the tribe (black crime in Milwaukee, immigration driving down wages, keeping overseas Muslims overseas), but it’s a real factor.
Clearly, the optimal Republican VP pick is Brett Favre.
My Cheesehead mother-in-law on Favre: "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Hmm, the “Hispanic” who needed the nice Jewish lady from his chief of staff’s shul to teach him Spanish or the blue-eyed “black” guy?
At least Castro admits to being an AA admittance at Stanford.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAV3bOJaQuYReplies: @Brutusale
No matter, Julian will have some ‘splaining to do!
Wait a God damn minute.
That quintessential intellectual of modern times, Tina Fey, has proven that Palin said she can see Russia from her back yard, so Palin must be fool!
Kasich is another neocon chickenhawk:
“Finally, Hugh, in regard to Syria, understand that Assad is an ally of Iran who wants to extend that Shi’i radicalism all the way across the Middle East,” he said. “He has to go. And for the Russians, frankly, it’s time that we punched the Russians in the nose. They’ve gotten away with too much in this world, and we need to stand up against them, not just there, but also in Eastern Europe where they threaten some of our most precious allies.”
Threatening a nuclear power over places we don’t need to be, that’s the ticket.
The word you were searching for was “pretty”.
You ever get the feeling the old progressive/liberal Wasp and Jewish elite finds the intellectual and political mediocrity of POC an unambiguous feature, despite such embarrassments as the Castros? Despite stepping right into our bizarre ethno-political set-up, they are inept at organizing and advocating for themselves. Their imagined place is an inferior one, in a one-party America run by, our elites imagine, their grandchildren.
Charles Manson thought he’d provoke a race war in the Sixties, and when blacks took over but found themselves unable to govern he and his hippies would emerge from the desert to run things for them. Basically the Democratic Party’s plan for the next twenty years. God help us.
This may be wishful thinking, but I don’t think Hillary is going to make it to the nomination on account of the email server investigation. Not that I believe Obama’s Justice Department would actually indict her, but I can’t imagine she sticks it out if an FBI investigation that reveals sufficient evidence to put before a grand jury becomes public knowledge in the middle of the campaign.
Julian Castro (and his wife) do look very asian. They would easily pass as locals in all the ASEAN nations:
Perhaps Castro reminds Obama of a friend from his boyhood in Indonesia?
To win Minnesota and lose Wisconsin?
My Cheesehead mother-in-law on Favre: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
So, in effect she's playing a character that the elites love to hate, thus keeping her in the spotlight, and her constituency (feeling, rightly, insulted themselves by proxy) come to her defense at which time she can sell them reality TV shows and books. She's managed to become very wealthy by way of politics without even spending very much time in the perfunctory elected governmental jobs that usually come before the wealth. She lifehacked politics.Replies: @ben tillman
Perhaps. Her manner of speaking reminds me of the speech of Roseanne Barr, another person with Jewish ancestry who played a downscale white on TV.
My point. Expecting a local "favorite son" to swing a states' Electoral Votes in your direction is a thing of the fairly distant past. See also "Al Gore, Tennessee 2000." (You might swing a demographic by particular appeal to that demographic, but that's not the same thing.)
As for the Upper Midwest, as the GOP has gotten more Southern, its flavor turns off a certain number of Greater NEw England types. Bama fan and Cheddarhead are different tribes. That can be overcome by a greater threat from outside the tribe (black crime in Milwaukee, immigration driving down wages, keeping overseas Muslims overseas), but it's a real factor.Replies: @ben tillman
Despite Bart Starr’s best efforts.
In the USA, though, Hispanics seem to mostly use it to refer to guys with an Asiatic caste to their features.
Another odd one is "rubio/rubia" ( blond/blonde).The word derives from the Latin "rubeus" (red), but it somehow came to mean blondReplies: @Sleep
I’ve wondered about that myself. I used to think it just meant that blonde people, women especially, tend to have lighter skin, which in Spain would stand out as being pinkish. But then I realized that perhaps they just lumped red hair and blonde hair together, since both were rare in medieval Spain, but red hair was the rarer and thus the more noticeable of the two. Then later on the meaning shifted to blondes only when they created a new word specifically for red hair: pelirrojo. Those are both just my theories, I have not actually asked anyone about it before.
At 46, he never married, and dates Gayle King (61 year old), Oprah Winfrey's best friend. Gayle King's Wikipedia page does not mention Booker at all.
A few minutes ago, I showed Booker's photo to three of my blue collar African-American male employees. They immediately said he was gay because of his soft face and lack of facial hair. Conversation went down hill from there.Replies: @Jim Don Bob, @Anonymous
For understandable reasons given the types of jobs they do, blue collar guys tend to be a lot more macho than middle class guys. Having a “soft face” and lacking facial hair characterize a significant proportion of middle class men, most of whom aren’t gay.
Nearly every single African American man I've met has some facial hair: white collar, blue collar, ministers, police, unemployed, etc.Replies: @SPMoore8
There you go again. Where’s your proof of Palin’s cryptic Jewish ancestry?
I understand your point, (and it is different for whites), but I specifically meant African American men.
Nearly every single African American man I’ve met has some facial hair: white collar, blue collar, ministers, police, unemployed, etc.
When I was in, I was mostly on board ships (even though I was an infantryman) and the inspection protocol was very strict, thus, I ended up shaving twice a day. That is why I have had a beard ever since.
Nearly every single African American man I've met has some facial hair: white collar, blue collar, ministers, police, unemployed, etc.Replies: @SPMoore8
Part of that is simple biology; most blacks have curly hair, shaving curly hair tends to lead to ingrown hair (“razor bumps”) in an extreme and painful way (“pseudofolliculitis”). Some of the black guys I knew in the Marines had to go to great lengths with various depilatories in order to appear as clean shaven as possible. For these reasons anyway some stubble is common, if not facial hair as such.
When I was in, I was mostly on board ships (even though I was an infantryman) and the inspection protocol was very strict, thus, I ended up shaving twice a day. That is why I have had a beard ever since.
I’d be utterly shocked if she still remained semi-functional during a second term of office. Frankly, I’m not even sure about the odds of her even surviving a first term of office, let alone being healthy enough to govern. Even for a relatively lazy President who delegates as much as possible and spends a lot of time on the golf course, the Oval Office is still an incredibly stressful and demanding place.