{"id":77760,"date":"2020-02-13T17:34:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T22:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=77760"},"modified":"2020-02-13T17:34:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T22:34:47","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-february-12th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=77760","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, February 12th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday, February 12th, 2020…but before we begin, two graphics which prove what goes around sometimes does<\/span><\/em> come around:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hat tip to Balls Cotton for the inspiration, and the incomparable Stilton Jarlsberg for making a concept reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reports Smollett has specifically requested his prison soap NOT be on a rope and<\/em><\/span> be of an especially<\/em><\/span> slippery formulation remain unconfirmed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a related item forwarded by our old friend Sandy Hill, here’s…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Yeah, THAT oughta work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, scan the following three headlines…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dead birds seized in Washington from passenger arriving from China<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

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Four Members of China\u2019s Military Indicted Over Massive Equifax Breach<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

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Oops…sorry, wrong graphic:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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U.S. Officials Say Huawei Can Covertly Access Telecom Networks through \u201cback doors\u201d designed for use by law enforcement<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

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…then<\/em> contemplate this<\/em><\/span> sorry state of affairs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coronavirus tests U.S. medical system’s unhealthy reliance on China for drugs, supplies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

The basic building blocks of U.S. health care are now under the control of the Chinese Communist Party<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Did we learn nothing<\/em><\/span> from our decades of dependence on oil from foreign sources oftentimes inimicable to U.S. interests?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next up, Jim Geraghty tells us why Little Mike is…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bernie\u2019s Dream Rival<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

Sanders would relish a fight against Mike Bloomberg<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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“…Sanders will ask Democrats if they really believe<\/em><\/span> their party\u2019s nomination should be for sale<\/em><\/span>, and he can fairly argue that if Bloomberg had spent only $5 million<\/em><\/span> so far, no one would be discussing him as a serious contender for the nomination.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomberg isn\u2019t just<\/em><\/span> a billionaire; he is, by some measures, the eighth-richest man in America<\/em><\/span>. At one point he owned\u00a014 properties of various levels of lavishness, including three Hamptons estates simultaneously.<\/span> He considers himself a climate-change activist<\/em><\/span>, but he has a personal fleet of private jets and helicopters<\/em><\/span>. Everything about<\/em><\/span> Bloomberg screams<\/em><\/span> \u201cManhattan elite.\u201d<\/span> He\u00a0co-hosted lavish parties with Harvey Weinstein<\/em><\/span>. He\u00a0says of his girlfriend, \u201cWe\u2019ve only been living together for 19 years.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomberg doesn\u2019t practice what he preaches<\/em><\/span>; the man who crusaded to ban large sodas and trans fats<\/span> \u201cdumps salt<\/span> on almost everything, even saltine crackers<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0He devours burnt bacon and peanut butter sandwiches<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> He has a weakness for hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and fried chicken, washing them down with a glass of merlot<\/em><\/span>. And his snack of choice<\/em><\/span>?<\/span> Cheez-Its<\/em><\/span>.\u201d His ego<\/em><\/span> is simply Trumpian, declaring, \u201cI am telling you if there is<\/em><\/span> a God, when I get to heaven, I\u2019m not stopping to be interviewed.<\/span> I am heading straight in. I have earned<\/em><\/span> my place in heaven.<\/span> It\u2019s not even close.\u201d<\/span> (Au contraire<\/span>, mon Michael!<\/em>)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

…People don\u2019t tell billionaires \u201cno\u201d often, and while any mayor of New York City has to develop a thick skin, there are some stories that suggest Bloomberg can get short-tempered and prickly. In 2008, the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0noted that once the mayor stopped needing favors from people,\u00a0his temper flared more openly: \u201cSuddenly, as he enters the twilight of his term, he is openly dressing down commissioners<\/em><\/span>, taking obvious shots at officials who disagree with him and invoking the royal \u2018we<\/span><\/em>\u2019 while refusing to answer questions whose topics or phrasing he finds distasteful<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Democrats see themselves as the party of the poor and middle class, the party of minorities, and the party of women. Bloomberg\u2019s record<\/em><\/span> offers land mines<\/em><\/span> for all of these groups<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Just wait<\/em><\/span> until the Trump campaign learns about the 1990 pamphlet,\u00a0The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg,\u00a0<\/em>where the future mayor is quoted as saying, \u201cI know for a fact<\/span> that any self-respecting woman<\/span> who walks past a construction site, doesn\u2019t get a whistle, will turn around and walk past again and again until she does get one<\/span><\/em>,\u201d \u201cIf women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they\u2019d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale\u2019s<\/span><\/em>,\u201d and calling a woman a \u201chorsey-faced lesbian.\u201d<\/span> My<\/em><\/span>, what a contrast with Donald Trump<\/em><\/span>!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, there\u2019s a lot of evidence that Bloomberg is something of an entitled jerk<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Upon<\/span>\u00a0discovering the pamphlet way back in 2001, Michael Wolff wrote<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span>\u00a0that voters shouldn\u2019t be surprised to learn that the \u201cbottom-line, my-way-or-the-highway charismatic CEO is as likely to be the most emotionally stunted, attention-craving, socially maladroit, casually cruel, spectacular boor in the room<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By contrast, a lot of Democrats (and even some Republicans) who don\u2019t necessarily agree with Bernie Sanders think he\u2019s principled, consistent, and sort of amiably cantankerous. He knows socialism is controversial and wears the label anyway because it\u2019s what he actually believes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Bernie Sanders would attempt a form of political jujitsu, turning every Bloomberg ad into another shameless attempt to buy support that could not otherwise be earned<\/em><\/span>. He would turn Bloomberg\u2019s towering strength<\/em><\/span> \u2014 a\u00a0money bin to rival Scrooge McDuck\u2019s<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0\u2014 into a giant symbol of everything Democrats can\u2019t stand about politics and the current state of the country<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As a candidate, (or<\/span><\/em>\u00a0as<\/em>\u00a0a<\/em> human being<\/em><\/span>)<\/span> what is<\/em><\/span> Mike Bloomberg without<\/em><\/span> his personal fortune? Nothing<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

To be more specific…<\/strong><\/p>\n