US Politics, April 2024: "Are You Better Off Today Than You Were <Checks Notes> Four Years Ago?"

more of this please

Discussing the deaths in a car crash in 1972 of his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and young daughter, Naomi, the president told Stern he then contemplated suicide.

“I used to sit there and just think I’m going to take out a bottle of scotch,” Biden said. “I’m going to just drink it and get drunk.

“I just thought about it, you don’t need to be crazy to commit suicide. I thought, ‘Let me just go to the Delaware Memorial (Bridge) and jump.’”

He also encouraged listeners experiencing mental health issues to seek therapy.

damn

Post a picture with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. https://t.co/X5W61xGISd pic.twitter.com/qFQ63FTBQU

— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) April 27, 2024

a political genius

We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.

If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping,… pic.twitter.com/bKhpUkchHV

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 26, 2024

Noem ‘24: Fuck Them Animals

The way I instinctively rested a hand on Widget, who was conked out next to me on the sofa as I read about that horrible murdering bitch.

What a weird story to latch onto as a way to show your tough decision-making abilities. A.) be an incredibly irresponsible dog owner, and then B.) kill the dog to make up for your own failings. Oh well! That’s just how we do it in Dakota.

"Vote For Me, or and I'll Kill This Dog..."

I've killed a dog
And I've killed a goat
Had my gun right down its throat
SO WHAT
SO WHAT

And I won’t think twice to stick this barrel
Straight down Cricket’s throat
Believe me when I say
That I got something for her punk ass

Noemi creating the Checkers 2024 moment.

trying to one up Mitt.

Trump has famously never had a pet of his own, and doesn't like dogs (he often uses the phrase "...like a dog" in a negative way), so this will not be a liability if she's campaigning to be VP.

Not with Trump, but with folks in general? You don't mess with man's best friend, as Mike Vick found out.

Ah yes, he who :checks notes: got a slap on the wrist and then continued on to a storied career in the NFL.

I fully expect Republicans to take this in stride and make a full shift to be the party of pet murder

michael vick actually not a bad choice for trump's VP.

it's fucked up but there probably is a small cohort of conservatives who relate to stories about shooting your own animals. when i was a kid i had to listen a loved one shoot my favorite cat, Snuffles, in a garbage can in the woods. snuffles had been bitten by a neighbor dog the day before and was in bad shape. instead of humanely putting him down or taking him to a vet, he was put in a garbage can and dragged to the woods. me and my sister stood outside and heard the gunshot and cried. a week later, snuffles returned home, recovered, and lived for several more years until my family gave him away (...that's what they told me they did, at least) without telling me while i was in college. the story i was told was that he didn't have the heart to shoot snuffles, so he fired a gunshot nearby to "scare him away" instead.

a lot of people treat their animals like scum, and i guess they feel so bad about it that they try to elevate their cruel behavior into some sort of tough guy "well it's gotta be done on a farm" thing. or you know, "sometimes you gotta put your dog on top of your moving vehicle".

people would put cats in bags and throw them in the river. when they had too many cats. or kittens. no big deal. kinda insane.

i still remember when people would just have a box of kittens or puppies outside the supermarket. just take one if you need one. we have too many.

nah there are a lot of crazy dog folks out there, some of whom seem to value dog lives more than human lives, if *this* is the one thing people know about your VP pick it's pretty bad

oh for sure! yeah i mean i don't think it's a winning move for kristi noem! she's definitely fucked up and she has definitely fucked up

lmao

Ready for the weekend 💙 🐾 pic.twitter.com/DlD0rf4UOf

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) April 26, 2024

Nice

my uncle, who is a cowboy who lives on a ranch, used to shoot his dogs. he's a big trump fan now. this is a mindset

Learning your craft entirely in the context of South Dakota's local politics would be a bad school to graduate from if you want to be a nationally successful politician.

Vick did 2 years in the can though. Should have been more, but not exactly a slap on the wrist. Wouldn't mind seeing Noem get at least half that.

while I agree all elected Republican officials deserve to be in jail I don't think this is an active investigation just a fun little story she somehow thought would make her look tough

Not with Trump, but with folks in general? You don't mess with man's best friend, as Mike Vick found out.

Yeah, I agree with this. I was just saying it won't hurt her with Trump, but it's just one more thing that is seemingly OK with him (and his ever-shrinking cult) but repellent to normal people.

how does stuff like that land in a book though? isn't there an editor at some point? you'd think national politicians would have and would want multiple layers of vetting to make sure they don't, you know, brag about killing their pets

These are people who only talk to each other and to people who think like them. I guarantee the ghostwriter and editor were both quizzed extensively about their political beliefs before they got the gig.

"Do you shoot dogs or eat them? Do you shoot dogs and eat them?"

Apparently there's a theory circulating that Noem doesn't want to be Trump's VP, but doesn't want to offend him by turning him down, so this is her way of taking herself out of contention and making it seem like it was his idea.

In order to get her book written and published in time to deter Trump she must have had a clairvoyant for a consultant.

I don’t know, I used to think (way back) that school shootings would be THE issue that finally turns people off towards guns and even the GOP at large. And these are children we’re talking about. But all it did was make people double down on how great guns are. If Trump makes Noem his running mate, people will be shooting their dogs left and right like it’s the thing to do.

I think there is some truth to the idea that a lot of folks in this country care more about dogs than they do people though

oh hell yeah. millions do.

"In 2022, Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets, up nearly 11% from 2021 ($123.6 billion)."

"The US Dog Food Market size was estimated at USD 46.1 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach around USD 55.8 billion by 2032..."

Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and Trump ally, wrote on X, “You can’t shoot your dog and then be VP.”

Shooting your lawyer, however...

it's fucked up but there probably is a small cohort of conservatives who relate to stories about shooting your own animals.

100%, I've encountered them - their attitude toward animals differentiates them from all those weak-ass libs who are soft on animals etc..

That story gets put in the book precisely because she wants to establish bona fides with those people, it's like Sarah Palin shooting wolves from helicopters. (Which also didn't work because they're in too deep to realize people who are cool with this stuff are a distinct minority.)

That’s probably what she was going for, but it’s quite a misfire. Unlike … the one that killed Cricket.

The cruelty is the point, after all.

Maybe it’s to show a contrast with Biden, who didn’t have what it took to shoot his dog when it kept biting people.

“You can’t shoot your dog and then be VP.” for May Thread Title.

you can shoot your human hunting partner and be a VP

it's encouraged in fact

Didn’t Joni Ernst brag about castrating pigs in her campaign ads?

https://historycolored.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TeddyRooseveltElephant-1024x720.jpg

Mitt Romney put down many a varmint in his day.

gonna watch correspondents' dinner. colin jost. hilarity is ensured!

Didn’t Joni Ernst brag about castrating pigs in her campaign ads?

― Never fight uphill 'o me, boys! (President Keyes), Saturday, April 27, 2024 6:54 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yup - to make some point about cutting pork barrel spending iirc