Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / OK. Now I’m Thankful.

Reader Interactions

120Comments

  2. 2.

    fourlegsgood

    Cue the whining about how a “liberal” jury in Austin, TX just was MEEEEEEAN to Tom Delay.

    I’m just glad to see the hammer get hammered, even though it’s long overdue and it doesn’t change the fact that his bullshit worked and the state of Texas is now totally and completely fucked.

  10. 10.

    Dr. Squid

    Too bad he dragged it out so long or he could have had Dubya pardon him.

    Edit: State charges. Rick Perry still governor. Never mind.

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Tom L, I just want to say, your choices of paintings to illustrate your posts are always as inspired and spot-on appropriate as DougJ’s song title riffs. “The Laundress” foer a money-laundering post — brilliant.

    Happy Thanksgiving. Yes, this will make it an especially gratitude-worthy holiday!

  18. 18.

    General Stuck

    Be interesting how the wingnuts and teatards react to this. Whether it will be hypocritical screams of liberal bias and criminilization of politics, or praise as consistent with the tea tard meme of evil corrupt government, even if by one of their own.

    I place money on the hypocrite model.

  19. 19.

    IM

    To be honest, I think your criminal justice system is much to harsh. 5-99 years just for money laundering?

    But then Delay probably was a big proponent of tough of crime. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

  20. 20.

    Ash Can

    @General Stuck: I saw that too. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of a sentence he ends up with. Even though I know that mob bosses and gang leaders can still run their crime syndicates from prison, this has to at least put a crimp in DeLay’s style. And at least he won’t be running around loose in DC or Austin.

  21. 21.

    Mike in NC

    As horrible as the new GOP-majority House is going to be, at least it won’t have Tom Fucking Delay (or Dick Dickhead Armey).

  22. 22.

    JPL

    How many actually watched Bristol dance. I went on ABC.com and made it through a third of her dance routine. Can we say boring. As for Delay…….YES! Made he rot in jail.

  25. 25.

    Suck It Up!

    @fourlegsgood:

    you didn’t hear? She also said:

    in a pre-show interview, Bristol brought the petty behavior into full swing, saying that, if she won, it would be “a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom, and hate me.”

  26. 26.

    BGinCHI

    I’m guessing Fred Hiatt is on the phone right now to Caddel and Schoen requesting a column on why Obama ought to pardon Delay. You know, for the good of the country.

    Can Rick Perry actually pardon him?

  28. 28.

    bkny

    via wapo:

    DeLay has chosen to have Senior Judge Pat Priest sentence him. He faces five years to life in prison on the money laundering charge and two to 20 years on the conspiracy charge. He also would be eligible for probation.

    hmmmm, from life behind bars to probation — i’m just guessing it will be on the lower end of that scale.

  29. 29.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    Waaah! Activist Juries!!

    And he wasn’t convicted by a jury of his peers neither! How many people were old rich white ex-CongressCritters who used to be exterminators huh?

    Awesome verdict. Awesome choice of illustration.

  31. 31.

    Poopyman

    Dancing Behind Bars, eh?

    I doubt even Goodhair would be dumb enough to pardon him without a plausible reason, and I haven’t heard one yet.

    I could be wrong though. Texas is a strange place ….

  34. 34.

    Ellie

    @Suck It Up!: I haven’t watched any of DWTS, and the only thing I’ve felt toward Bristol is pity for being swept up in a circus not of her making. However, with that quote, it’s clear that the resentful apple didn’t fall far from the petty tree.

  38. 38.

    gbear

    My reason to be thankful is that a conservative high-ranking MN congressman was arrested (and released) for lurking around outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul while carrying a loaded handgun.

    His excuse was that he was looking for a woman that he thought had dumped him after having met him for coffee ONCE. He drove into a strange neighborhood miles from his district and walked around looking for her car. Did I also mention that the congressman had a divorce pending and has been one of the prime movers in making sure that GLBT folks NEVER are allowed to have any kind of equal partnership rights? This guy is a real piece of work.

  40. 40.

    Arbiter

    From September 28, 2005, at hughhewitt.com:

    THE DELAY INDICTMENT

    by Hugh Hewitt

    A Texas prosecutor with a history of abuse of his office, Ronnie Earle, has indicted Tom DeLay. Earle is a sort of Jim Garrison without the integrity. Soon to follow: Giant MSM coverage, show trial, acquittal and exoneration, DeLay’s return to Majority Leader for another 20 years.

    Link: http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/615c42d4-660c-47df-abcd-595d67b8ad95

    Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

  41. 41.

    Tonal Crow

    The Yahoo commentariat are already calling him a “corrupt Democrat”. Has Fox “News” done the same yet?

  42. 42.

    abo gato

    What always pisses me off about the righty’s is that they always think a jury is just fucking perfect when they convict some poor loser and give him the death penalty…..yay to the justice system!!

    Then a jury listens to all the evidence and awards a large sum of money to someone who was horribly injured by a huge corporation…..and oh how they cry for tort reform! How awful are those idiots, we need jury nullification right now!! How horrid are the trial attorneys…..

    horseshit. just plain horseshit from the right.

  45. 45.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @bkny:

    Duh. He’s white and this is in Texas. If he was brown he’d get life. Since he’s white (and conservative!), he’ll get probation. When it comes to shitty politicians and courts, Texas delivers.

  46. 46.

    Kathy in St. Louis

    I honestly never thought this day would come. I had lost all faith that there was anything that a Republican politician could do that would be considered a crime, especially in Texas.

    Now, if there is anyone out there who would like to sniff around Roy Blunt of Missouri to see what all he was doing during those years, I would personally appreciate it. As a Missouri resident, I am embarrassed that he was just elected our senator over a lovely woman in a very nasty race.

  48. 48.

    MattR

    @gbear: The best part of that was that he claimed he met the girl on an online dating site but he couldn’t remember its name (or the girl’s either for that matter)

  50. 50.

    mr. whipple

    Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, “The Laundress,” between 1884-8

    Just the sort of Frenchie liberal elitist thingy that real Merkins hate.

  52. 52.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    Love the Laundress reference. Tucker Carlson was the WORST dancer ever. Bristol should have gone after week three when her spanx showed.

  53. 53.

    mr. whipple

    @Mike in NC:

    As horrible as the new GOP-majority House is going to be, at least it won’t have Tom Fucking Delay (or Dick Dickhead Armey).

    Gotta hand it to Republicans, they have an endless supply of dickheads.

  55. 55.

    kindness

    A jury of his peers.

    Does that mean everyone on the jury had also been convicted of money laundering? Man, Texas is wilder than I thought.

  56. 56.

    dmsilev

    To repeat a word coined by Josh Marshall, it appears that we have arrived at Hammerdammerung.

    dms

  57. 57.

    liberty60

    The only way this could be better is if the jurisdiction was under Joe “America’s Toughest Sheriff” Arpaio.

  59. 59.

    Linda Featheringill

    @fourlegsgood:

    Texas prisons have a reputation for being unpleasant.

    However, I doubt if a man of his age would be placed in with the general population, anyway.

    And yes, I’m sure Tom’s lawyers can find a private prison somewhere.

    [but it still feels good, doesn’t it?]

  62. 62.

    Cat Lady

    I never EVER believed this would happen in Texas, so I’ll fucking take it. Tom Delay is a pustule on the ass of humanity, and maybe he won’t be asked to dance preen or opine for the village anymore. One down, a gazillion to go.

    BTW, he always set my gaydar off, big time. I think he’s one of those big time closeted Republican mofos.

  63. 63.

    Dennis G.

    This is great news. Tom DeLay was and is a crook and a total bastard. One can only hope they throw the book at the bastard and that the appeal process fails. Of course if Tom takes it to the Supreme Court it is a safe bet that the Radical Roberts Court will find a way to free their old pal.

    Happy news and something to be thankful for!

    Cheers

  64. 64.

    General Stuck

    @Ash Can:

    Tom DeLay was never a real conservative.

    He passed the prescription drug bill, so that is their out to throw him under the bus. On the other hand, the liberal menace activists judges and juries are also too a plague on the land. So we shall see.

  67. 67.

    Joseph Nobles

    Convicted felons lose the right to vote in Texas. The former House Majority Leader has lost his right to vote in an American election. It is time to crack open a bottle of Beaujolais nouveau.

    Poor Mr. DeLay. The only path to conservative rehabilitation is the golden streets of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship. Confess your sins and love your fellow man!

  69. 69.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    This is what happens when you start looking back. President Obama cannot be pleased.
    .
    .

  70. 70.

    mr. whipple

    Of course if Tom takes it to the Supreme Court it is a safe bet that the Radical Roberts Court will find a way to free their old pal.

    According to SCOTUS, $=speech. So, TD wasn’t laundering money, he was speechifying.

  71. 71.

    General Stuck

    Was just reading some comments on this story in The Austin Statesman, and a couple of commenters opined that the appeals court in Tx, is full metal wingnut, especially the lady chief judge. So they were pretty much convinced the verdict will get overturned. I don’t know anything about the justice system in TX, other than they like to execute people, sometimes innocent people. but that’s another topic.

  72. 72.

    Mike G

    A jury of his peers would be Lee Atwater, Chuck Colson, Ferdinand Marcos, Augusto Pinochet, Joseph Goebbels and Lavrenti Beria.

    The good news is he’ll do time in Texas prisons, which are miserable shitholes of rotten food and violent, abusive guards thanks to the intolerant, supremacist, punishment ideology of the party he served with his criminality.

    But being Texas, his buddies in the power structure will no doubt find him a cushy ‘special situation’ in which to do his time, because Repig lawnorder harsh rules are to keep the little people down, and don’t apply to the anointed.

  78. 78.

    Jager

    No one has mentioned this (I think) Delay found guilty a day before Thanksgiving and the sentencing portion of the trial is 4 days before Christmas, how nice for him….

  79. 79.

    gbear

    @Linda Featheringill: I’m not so sure that his story isn’t a lie. Either way, I’m glad that he got busted, got disowned by the republican party, and got his sorry mug plastered all over the news. What a creep. I bet his soon-to-be-ex has some laughs over thanksgiving.

  83. 83.

    Anne Laurie

    @Cat Lady:
    __

    BTW, he always set my gaydar off, big time.

    You sure you’re not thinking of Rick Perry? I frequently confuse the two myself, but it’s Perry sets off my friend-of-Dorothy radar.

  84. 84.

    bkny

    i wonder if more than a few congressmen aren’t watching this one closely… never, ever expecting the hammer to be found guilty.

  86. 86.

    Mike in NC

    @General Stuck:

    I don’t know anything about the justice system in TX, other than they like to execute people, sometimes innocent people. but that’s another topic.

    Remember, presiding over executions — even of retarded people — was Dubya’s very favorite part of the job of governor. Does he cover that in the new book?

  87. 87.

    grandpajohn

    and the quote of the day from the man who has expert knowledge about how these things are arranged

    This is an abuse of power,” he said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice. I still maintain my innocence. The criminalization of politics undermines our very system.”

  91. 91.

    General Stuck

    @Mike in NC:

    Does he cover that in the new book?

    Dunno. But his momma confirms the fetus in a jar story in his book. Except she claims the maid did it.

  93. 93.

    burnspbesq

    @Bob Loblaw:

    A minimum security, white collar federal prison?

    Nope, he was convicted on state charges.

    Is it mean of me to hope that his ass gets hauled off to Huntsville?

  94. 94.

    Michael Bersin

    Jury convicts DeLay in money-laundering case

    …He complained that the “criminalization of politics undermines our system….”

    Twelve years ago:

    Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.):

    “…I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.

    Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

    Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

    The president has many responsibilities and many privileges. His chief responsibility is to uphold the laws of this land. He does not have the privilege to break the law…”

    Uh, yep, karma is a bitch.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Once

    I’m wondering . . . does anyone else think Delay could “die” like his buddy Ken Lay did? I know, I know . . . kinda conspiracy theory, but still . . .

  102. 102.

    eemom

    @General Stuck:

    He looks like whipped butter. priceless.

    particularly if you have a really good memory for random stupid shit like I do, and recall his mug shot photo when he first was charged with this crime back in ’06-’07 or whatever. He had this big, shit-eating grin on his face, like “my ass is SO gonna walk from this.”

    Ah. You just can’t buy this kind of contentment.

  103. 103.

    Maody

    @Jim, Once: yes, that’s it.

    @Tom Levenson: thought you would at least find it pretty interesting. I love that you post good art – makes me feel like I fit in here because surely I’m not as smart as most of the folks who comment on BJ.

  104. 104.

    AlanDownunder

    Why is it that practically all the people who complain about the “criminalization of politics” seem to be involved in the politicization of crime?

  105. 105.

    Jim, Once

    @Maody: Yes. The art is a wonderful addition. And I couldn’t say it any better than you do, Maody. So many smart, funny, talented folks here …

  107. 107.

    jwb

    @General Stuck: Yes, this was my thought as well. It’s pretty much wingnuts all the way up the appeals process, and at the end of it all, there’s always Rick Perry to issue the pardon. But my guess is that it is overturned on the first appeal—unless, for some reason, the Texas Goopers prefer Delay in prison.

  109. 109.

    Cat Lady

    @Anne Laurie:

    DeLay has a Liberace in the closet thang about him. Rick Perry has more of a Gary Condit/Scott Brown glamour-shot-of-himself-on-his-credenza thang about him. Not sure which is worse.

  110. 110.

    billgerat

    @efgoldman:
    I wouldn’t say that. I know a man who stabbed and slit the throat of a young woman in Houston because she ratted on the gang he was in. He got 20 years, spent 6 in a Texas prison, then was released on parole for the next 14 years. When he moved out of state & didn’t notify his parole officer, they put a warrant out for him. When I turned him in, they declined to prosecute because they felt it wasn’t worth their time. If you ask me, Texas will imprison someone for life for selling a gram of pot, but murderers get off easy.

  112. 112.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    @Suck It Up!:
    .
    .

    some of you really need to stop riding his dick. stop embarrassing yourself.

    I would think you’d be embarrassed not to know the difference between riding someone’s dick and riding someone’s ass.
    .
    .

  113. 113.

    eemom

    @General Stuck:

    that’s the one! thank you. tee hee.

    Also, this:

    He remains free on bond, and his sentencing was tentatively set to begin on Dec. 20.

    Merry Christmas, Bugman.

  114. 114.

    asiangrrlMN

    Holy shit. I can’t believe it. A Republican actually found GUILTY? Could this be the first in many (please)? Well, even if not, I savor it. I bet the sentence will be on the low side, but still. I never thought he’d be convicted at all.

    @Jim, Once: Wow. Great picture. I’m glad Maody thought of it, and you were able to post it.

    @Jim, Once: Agreed. And, I do include myself in that comment. Ha! I crack myself up.

    @gbear: Holy shit. That’s just…I actually hope his story is a lie, otherwise, I would not want to be that woman. “I always carry a fully-loaded gun with me.” Why the fuck for?

  115. 115.

    billgerat

    Those 6 that he was in, I can’t say. But still, with the rep Texas has, he should have been in 14 and paroled for 6. I don’t care what the reason was, when you stab an 18 year old girl 3 times in the stomach and then slit her throat, leaving her body on a city street, in any state you should serve more than 6 years in the joint.

  116. 116.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    What I would love to see on the news is reporters asking RNC members how they feel about belonging to an organization that was used for criminally laundering money. Since DeLay was found guilty for laundering money it’s clear that the RNC assisted with the crime.

    RICO their asses!

  117. 117.

    c u n d gulag

    I love the commenters here, but I’m not even going to look through all of them because it’s probably been said before, but I just have to scream this- Tom’s going to do “HAMMER-TIME!!!!!!!!!”
    Please, please let it be the 99 years! Though, I’m sure he’ll keep appealing until he finds a jury of his real peers, fellow crooks, or a judge who’ll give him probation.
    Still, this is on this crooks permanent record. Though, I’m sure when you’re pissing on this grave, this won’t be noted on the stone. So, if you’e a guy, just spell ‘guilty’ with your pee.

  118. 118.

    billgerat

    It must be nice to get to choose the judge that sentences you. DeLay will likely get a sentence of a couple of years and a fine, with time off for good behavior which will mean in 6 months he’ll be released into a half-way house, and then the Teapublicans will rehabilitate his image and turn him into a hero by calling him a political prisoner and noting that what he did back then can now be done legally under existing campaign rules. Hell, if Newt can still be a game player after all his immoral serial cheating, why can’t Tom?

  119. 119.

    Origuy

    The schadenfreude is deep over at Juanita Jean’s. One of the commenters over there said about the possibility of an appeal:

    before it goes to his buddies on the Texas Court of Appeals, it has to go through a three judge panel on the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin. The are not all Republicans.

    and another on a pardon:

    in Texas, the Governor can only pardon with a recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Parole. I would bet that Gov. Goodhair stays as far away from this mess as he can. He may be stoopid, but he ain’t crazy.

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