(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)
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Speaking of walking away from those boring old responsibilities, I don’t think we’ve yet paid proper attention to Republican Thaddeus McCotter’s recent GBCW dramatics. As reported by Ben Jacobs at the Washington Monthly:
Thaddeus McCotter, a five-term Michigan Republican with a personality as idiosyncratic as his first name, resigned from Congress yesterday. Of course, he did so on Facebook. By political standards, this was the most normal thing about his resignation.
McCotter was a quirky but relatively successful Congressman from the Republican suburbs of Detroit. Then, last year, he decided to run for President. His campaign lasted for 11 weeks. After being shut out of debates and receiving only 35 votes in the Ames Straw Poll, McCotter decided to call it quits. Although his presidential campaign had been a total failure, it didn’t seem likely to damage him too badly. After all, McCotter had a relatively safe seat in Congress to return to—-not to mention all of the advantages of incumbency.
But this turned out not to be the case. McCotter managed to become the first incumbent in modern history to fail to submit the necessary petition signatures for re-election and thus not qualify for the ballot. In fact, his campaign submitted 2000 signatures to the Michigan Secretary of State, only 1000 of them needed to be valid. Instead, just 244 made the cut. Apparently, many of the signatures submitted were simply xeroxed copies of each other. The result was a political trainwreck. After some initial bluster, McCotter eventually decided against trying to mount a longshot write-in campaign for his seat. But then, things got really weird…
“Idiosyncratic”, it’s the new “borderline certifiable”! Cynic Dave Weigel at Slate takes a more acidic angle as “Thaddeus McCotter Resigns, and a Nation Enters a Lengthy Period of Mourning and Reflection“:
After he managed to hire a charlatan to collect his ballot petition signatures, after he was forced to run as a write-in candidate for his seat, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., talked to Alex Pappas. [warning: Daily Caller link]
NBC’s Chuck Todd on Tuesday asked on Twitter, “Will McCotter join Bob Dornan who allowed longshot presidential ambitions cost him a house seat months later?”
Asked to respond, McCotter said, “Chuck Todd is an idiot then. Am I wrong? All right, Chuck, how did ending the campaign in September impact the gearing up to run for re-election where I would have had only that one opponent on the ballot? How did that affect my petition? The people that think that are idiots.”
Yes, well — today, McCotter has announced that he’s quitting Congress (it returns to work next week), confirming for all time that he was just bored with the job. “The recent event’s totality of calumnies, indignities and deceits,” he said, “have weighed most heavily upon my family.”…
Apart from silly people throwing tantrums in public, what’s on the agenda for the dregs of the weekend?
MikeJ
OT: this shit isn’t funny anymore. I had to plug in my roll away a/c.
According to the Kinsey report
Every average man you know
Likes his lovey-dovey to court
When the temperature is low
But when the thermometer goes right up
And the weather is sizzling hot
Mister Adam, for his madam, is not
85F is too darn hot.
Anya
Apparently I owe the IRS $23,000 and some change. No one knows how the fuck they came up with that number. My fault though for not filling taxes for 2 years (I was moving from Canada to the US, getting married, etcetera, etcetera…)
PeakVT
Just got done reading this story about the push for charter schools in Philly. The details are somewhat boring but the overall dynamic is disturbing.
SiubhanDuinne
@MikeJ:
Thats so funny, I was singing “Too Darned Hot” to myself this afternoon. And yes, yes it is.
MikeJ
BTW, when you talk about Mitt’s offshore accounts to your wingnut friends, tell them to look up Matthew 6:21.
sb
Been awhile since I threw a tantrum in public so I might try that. :)
Yutsano
@Anya: That’s why. Fortunately it’s also adjustable. Call them Monday and request two things: a 60 day extension to full pay and the address to mail in a substitution for return. By the time the extension expires you should have at least a sign they’re starting the reversal process. But get them done FAST so you’ll get that time frame working for you. Trust me: this is what I do all day.
Litlebritdifrnt
It has been another day of 100 temps here. Heat index has been 110 to 115. I am sick of it. You cannot walk outside without it being almost impossible to breath. I went outside to hang out some laundry and I had to take a wad of paper towels with me to mop up the sweat as it poured off my brow. There was a brilliant discussion on Up With Chris Hayes about Climate Change, everyone should watch it.
PeakVT
I think David Koch needs to explain this story.
Matthew Reid Krell
You forgot the accompanying video:
Nigel Incubator-Smith
Anya
@Yutsano: Would I still get the extension even though I received the assessment on May 28th? I was out of the country for 6-weeks and just opened my mail. I am really nervous but I am shocked that they assessed it this high. I actually didn’t make that much in 2010, aside from investments (thanks to grandpa), I had very little income.
P.S. thanks a lot for the explanation. I was slowly losing my mind.
Yutsano
@Anya: Is the assessment for 2010? And did you get a final notice of intent to levy? You might be able to get 120 days, but I can’t know for sure without seeing your file. Regardless yes you can still request the 60 days.
Xecky Gilchrist
“Idiosyncratic”, it’s the new “borderline certifiable”!
He must not be rich enough to be “eccentric.”
Mr Stagger Lee
@PeakVT: Read the story, one of the people quoted the Zambrellis take the cake.
First of all Mr. Z maybe you wouldn’t be bashed if you actually created jobs, and frankly 25% of you banker/stock-broker-hedge manager scum ought to be prosecuted and in jail picking up the soap in the showers, if he actually bit your hand, oh by the way hasn’t the stock market kicked ass since the MuslimKenyanSocialist been in office? Just Saying.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
Dregs of weekend agenda: Beer.
BSoSR +1, 2 coming up shortly.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
@MikeJ: 85F is too darn hot???
I’m looking forward to getting back down to 85 next week so I can turn the A/C off.
debit
@Anya: You can also, if they won’t give you the extension, call your senator and ask them to intervene. I had a client who hadn’t filed for ten years and was being levied. He filed, should have been caught up and got a refund, but they yanked his 2011 refund as well. I called Franken’s office. They were very helpful.
Anya
@Yutsano: This is dumb on my part, but first I received LT 26. Of course I did not take any action (again, becasue I did not make income in 2010), and now they filed the return for me and made that crazy assessment.
Suffern ACE
Today while reading the Times of India in the hotel, I learned that competitive eating has come to India, that the quest to declare the Sudoku world champion will kick off soon as the Indians attempt to find their champion to send to Croatia, the underreported World Cup of Swamp Football is being held in Beijing (take that, London. China has your number), and that Barney Frank is a Republican congressman from Massachusetts. When did that happen?
Gozer
I got a vasectomy on Friday and neglected to get the good drugs from the doc. I thought I could get by with motrin and some ice on my boys, but I might call and get a script for something more useful. especially with the work week coming up.
This god awful heat is not helping either.
Suffern ACE
Oh, and for those of you trapped in the heat – you should have been in Delhi. The monsoons stopped and the high was about 90, humidity low. The evening breeze reminded me of hawaii. Nicest day weather wise I have ever had here.
Anya
@debit: WP ate my comment. Anyway, I’ll follow Yutsano’s suggestion and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll call Sen Gillibrand’s office. If that fails then hire a tax lawyer, as my husband suggested.
Thanks for the suggestions. This place if full of expersts.
Yutsano
@Anya: A final notice (LT11) is delivered by certified mail. If you don’t have one of those yet you have time. You may even be in the 120 day period but again I don’t know for sure.
WP eted my edit. FYWP.
Wrye
So is there then no republican candidate for that seat?
piratedan
@Matthew Reid Krell: my fave MP skit of all time
Anya
@Yutsano: No, this a “Substitute for Return,” and it gives me 30 days to file Form 1040 and other crap. I still don’t get where they got the $23,000. Also, I’ve already passed the 30-days.
Anyway, I will follow you’re advice and call them first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks a lot for the explanation. It sounds a lot less dire than I initially thought.
the Conster
@MikeJ:
When the weather’s hot and sticky
That’s no time for dunkin’ dicky
When the frost is on the punkin’
That’s the time for dicky dunkin’
Jebediah
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Moron does not understand economics. Demand is the engine of the economy.Demand is driven by the icky, worthless not-rich. You know, maybe people who don’t understand the systems shouldn’t be voting.
Scott Alloway
@Anya: Been there. In a nice, yet tongue-in-cheek letter, ask them where they got their figures,. Then ask for the extension as they don’t have THEIR numbers right. It’s up to them to prove your income.
Anya
@Scott Alloway: I don’t think I can mess with the IRS. This teaches me a lesson though, NEVER, EVER file late.
RedDirtGirl
Don’t forget that he was also discovered to be penning a racy tv pilot about Detroit that was somewhat off-color. That probably didn’t help matters.
Zach
Reading this:
a really sick part of me wants the LaRouche candidate in congress.