July 15, 2014

Joe Biden sends me an email with the subject line: "Alright, Ann."

That seems kind of nasty.

It continues:
If you've been watching what's been going on in Washington lately, then you get why Barack is so eager to get out and spend some time with people like you, Ann.
Alright, Joe, whaddya mean by people like me?

Alright, what does Joe mean by "people like" me?
  
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43 comments:

Guildofcannonballs said...

It's a sly reference to Frankin's Stuart Smalley.

Goldarnit, people like me.

John henry said...

It's the new code for "You people"

That makes it racist.

Throw in sexist as well, just by way of no harm.

John Henry

FortWorthGuy said...

I think it is odd that the vice president refers to the president by his first name. Not President Obama. Or Mr. Obama. But Barack.

The Drill SGT said...

alternately, you dumb people who send us money based on these continuous, but lame, appeals

Oso Negro said...

Query for the Professor - Have you experienced actual remorse for your decision to vote for Obama in 2008 as yet? Do you still believe John Cain would have been a worse selection?

madAsHell said...

Too bad it's so difficult to convey vocal fry in an email.

DKWalser said...

I think they think that "ordinary people" equals their fans. People who are critical of them are not ordinary -- they're racists, sexists, homophobes who are anything but ordinary, decent people.

Bob Boyd said...

I assume he means English-speakers who aren't afraid to throw out a fraught word like "vulva."
Obama's tired of hearing his hip young advisers who are all "my 'gina n shit".

Mrs Whatsit said...

Cripes. Here are our elite intellectual superiors, who know so much better than we do what government should do to us on our behalf. And they can't even spell.

Anonymous said...

Terrible Reading Comprehension Guy says:

Althouse, this email wasn't just sent to you, I suspect: I bet they sent it to countless others besides yourself, including people not named 'Ann'. As such, there is no specialness in your receiving it, much as you'd like to portray this otherwise. Althouse, as a blogger you should wise up to these things.

lemondog said...

You neglected White Guilt people.

Wince said...

After all these years, Joe Biden still thinks we're all as thrilled as he is with the personalization of mail merge.

"," {mergefield: firstname}

MadisonMan said...

Query for the Professor - Have you experienced actual remorse for your decision to vote for Obama in 2008 as yet? Do you still believe John Cain (sic) would have been a worse selection?

You, A LAW PROFESSOR!!

John henry said...

Fort Worth Guy

Why shouldn't he call Obie "Barrack"? Or even Barry?

Obie, as well as most politicians seem to think it is OK to call us by our first names. See the email in question. Not to Ms or Professor Althouse but to "Ann"

Obie, when he talks about Biden at all, tends to call him Joe Biden or just Joe.

If pols are going to call me by my first name, I am going to call them by their first name.

John Henry

John henry said...

Don't know about Ann but I have had no regrets whatever about my support for Obie and the crew in 2008 or 2012.

As a liberal I think he has done more to advance our cause than anything else in the past 100 years.

Would Ron Paul have been a serious candidate without Obama? Would Rand have won the Senate? Would he and Cruz be serious contenders for the big chair?

Would we even have the Tea Party?

Yes, I am a fan of Obama. He has been a horrible president. But it is his horribleness that is stopping the runaway handbasket to Hell that we have been in for so long.

Romney, and especially McCain, would have focused on improving the seats, perhaps improving beverage service in the handbasket. They would have done nothing to slow it down.

Obama, by design or by incompetence, has a chance of actually applying the brakes before we run off the cliff.

I think it is probably by incompetence but we know so little about him that sometimes I think he is doing this on purpose. I just can't believe that anyone could be as incompetent as he is. Either way the end result, liberalism, is the same and I am happy about the destination.

Obama was our only hope in 2008/12.

John Henry

Eleanor said...

As a schoolmarm, the Vice President's use of "alright" instead of the proper "all right" bothers me.It is a second grade spelling issue.

Anonymous said...

You're evidently similar in some way to all the people Obama cut in line in front of at that barbecue place in Austin.

jaed said...

He* thinks he's saying "the little people"...

... but he's really saying "the fanbois and fangrrrls".

* Not Biden, but whoever wrote this, and doesn't know how to spell "All right". (Or worse - something that just occurred to me - does know how to spell it, but is convinced that The Little People misspell it and thinks condescending to their mistakes will help win their trust. Ugh. That thought makes me want to take a shower.)

Anonymous said...

I think he imagines a union man, from his hometown of Scranton, weary after a day taking coal from the ground, sitting on a barstool as Fightin' Joe Biden, sleeves rolled up, delivers a knock-out speech about expanding the 'middle-class'.

'Have an O'Douls with Joe. He's NOT slowin' down.'

Paul Kirchner said...

Do you still believe John Cain would have been a worse selection?

Worse is hard to establish. Definitely bad, but in a different way. We'd be fighting all over the Middle East and have passed the amnesty bill.

Skeptical Voter said...

I love these intimate one on one messages that the Democrats send out. Frankly I'd rather flunk a Wasserman test than shake hands with Joe Biden. Stupidity is contagious.

My late father (he's been gone ten years now) somehow continues to receive similar messages from Al Franken, Organizing for America, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Now Dad lived (and died) 100 miles away from my house, but somehow my postal mailbox continues to fill up with messages and missives addressed to him. Maybe he forgot to vote in last year's elections.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Heck, I'd be honored to be contacted by the vice president, even though I didn't vote for him.

Think of the influence you might have now, "Ann", now that the vice president has given you his ear.

If the vice president had initiated correspondence with me, I know what I would say:

Mr. Vice President-- Joe-- thank you for your kind words. I'm really looking forward to spending time with Barack. I've been wanting to see that new Planet of the Apes movie (I hope that isn't racist) and I haven't had anybody to see it with. But Barack will have to pay his own way. Is Michelle coming? I hope not.

Anyway, maybe you and the president can help me figure out what that weird noise is that my car makes when I turn left. And why my toilet doesn't flush properly.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon-- Joe!!

Sincerely,
Tyrone

Oso Negro said...

Madison Man - Sorry for the typo! Sticky keyboard this morning.

Anonymous said...

People like us, your rulers, your lords. People like you, the little people.

Dear Leader really wants you, the little people, have a chance to worship him in person. Alas, Dear Leader is busy hobnobbing with the moneyed people, so people like you can only worship him from afar. So sorry for your loss.

Richard Dolan said...

"Alright, Ann."

Alright is not all right, purveyors of dumbed-down dictionaries be damned.

Michael K said...

They probably know you voted for him. Did you also contribute ? That will put you on the list for decades.

Todd said...

Skeptical Voter said...
I love these intimate one on one messages that the Democrats send out. Frankly I'd rather flunk a Wasserman test than shake hands with Joe Biden. Stupidity is contagious.

My late father (he's been gone ten years now) somehow continues to receive similar messages from Al Franken, Organizing for America, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Now Dad lived (and died) 100 miles away from my house, but somehow my postal mailbox continues to fill up with messages and missives addressed to him. Maybe he forgot to vote in last year's elections.
7/15/14, 10:21 AM


Odds are you have miss voting in more elections since his passing than he has. It is very likely that he now has a perfect dem voting record, hence the continued correspondence. Might want to check into that...

Sam L. said...

Mainly, he means people who have been fooled, and will be fooled again, given the opportunity.

Heyooyeh said...

Does the Republican Party not send out messages like these?

dwick said...

Get over yourself, Ann...
You're just one of the millions of Barack's 'folks'-

paul a'barge said...

Almost all of us here know Althouse doesn't like to be addressed by her given name. It's common knowledge.

So, Biden is an uncommon idiot.

MathMom said...

Why do they always refer to him as "Barack"? Is it to continue this faux "I'm just an ordinary guy who shoots pool and enables terrorists", leanin' over the podium, doin' that "g"-droppin', whistlin', bro shit he's been doing lately?

I never got any communications from the Republicans saying "George" wanted anything.

It's phonies, all the way down.

Sydney said...

"People like you..." Definitely the little people peons. People not in the "like you" categor- the big money contributors with whom they spend most of their time (and attention)

West Texas Intermediate Crude said...

My letter from Joe today was not personalized- the salutation was "Alright, friend-"

BUT- the subject line was, "My old friend Sarah Palin is back."

So, if I'm a "friend' and Sarah Palin is an "old friend," does that mean that Sarah and I are equal in Joe's esteem? I hesitate to point out to him that I would be delighted to be Ms. Palin's friend, but that I am a few years older than she is (but not as old as Joe). Does the "old" refer to how long he has been "friends" with Ms. Palin, or that she is perceived to be old? Is he referring to real friends or Facebook friends?

I'm confused. Professor, can you help me understand? Is it good to be Joe's friend, or is it good only if you are not an old friend. Help!

Sorun said...

"Barack is so eager to get out and spend some time with people like you, LaKeisha.

And, yo, the GOP wants to put y'all back in chains!"

Anonymous said...

Skeptical Voter said...
Odds are you have miss voting in more elections since his passing than he has... Might want to check into that...

7/15/14, 12:43 PM

Even a hint of disenfranchising someone's dad because he is dead is un-American, unpatriotic. Every vote, including a dead person's counts. In fact theirs should count as many times as needed to elect a Democrat.

chillblaine said...

Must-Be-Nice Guy says

Wow! You got a letter from the Vice President? Must be nice.


Could not resist an homage to our "beloved" "commenter" Betamax.

Ann Althouse said...

"They probably know you voted for him. Did you also contribute ? That will put you on the list for decades."

No. I give no money to anyone.

But many years ago, when Russ Feingold was first running for office, he called me personally, repeatedly, until it just seemed easier to fork over $500 than to figure out how to say no.

I made another donation to Russ and one to his erstwhile brother-in-law and one or two to someone local whom I knew personally.

That's absolutely it.

The Godfather said...

It occurs to me (re Joe Biden) that the. US will continue on its decline until we reject -- passionately! -- the proposition that the refusal of Congress to do X is a mandate, or even an excuse, for the President to do something approximating X.

Brando said...

"It occurs to me (re Joe Biden) that the. US will continue on its decline until we reject -- passionately! -- the proposition that the refusal of Congress to do X is a mandate, or even an excuse, for the President to do something approximating X."

The only people who support that proposition are those who (a) strongly support the president and (b) strongly abhor the Congress that opposes the president. Every one of these Obama supporters would suddenly reject executive encroachment the minute a Republican is in the White House and the Democrats control Congress. It is depressing though that there's not enough respect for processes and rule of law to make partisans prefer such limits even when it means not getting their way on specific policies.

Executive power has been gradually growing for a century, and we're just now seeing it taken to its absurd conclusion. But perhaps enough overreach by Obama and a strong repudiation by moderates will be enough to turn back the tide.

Brando said...

"No. I give no money to anyone.

But many years ago, when Russ Feingold was first running for office, he called me personally, repeatedly, until it just seemed easier to fork over $500 than to figure out how to say no.

I made another donation to Russ and one to his erstwhile brother-in-law and one or two to someone local whom I knew personally.

That's absolutely it."

Well, that explains it. These direct mail money grubbers will latch on to any lead, no matter how tiny, to bombard you with pleas for more cash. A small donation decades ago is enough to put you on the list.

I'm Full of Soup said...

What happens in Washington can't be that bad. Afterall, Slow Joe Biden has spent his last 41 years in the Imperial City.

Nichevo said...

I beg to observe that "Alright" is not grammar. Or did we lose that war?