I'm going to be super blunt here:
Human beings on foot in the desert will die without water. Men, women, kids will all die because they simply can't carry that much water with them & he's doing this in the name of Christianity and to save women & kids from imaginary sex camps.
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) July 2, 2018
Wonkette summarizes J.J. McNab’s latest depressing domestic-terrorism news:
In early June, a conspiracy nutter, pretend veterans advocate, and wannabe rightwing star named Lewis Arthur got himself about two weeks’ worth of social media fame after he decided that an abandoned homeless camp in the desert near Tucson, Arizona, was actually a child sex trafficking site, complete with a “dungeon” and a “rape tree.” No evidence whatsoever, but he seemed so certain about it that some local TV stations that should have known better gave it coverage, and the wingnuttosphere glommed on to it as the latest “proof” of the vast imaginary pedophile network that started with #Pizzagate and later morphed into the insane QAnon troll drama that the kids are so into these days. The Internet, which has an attention span shorter than Donald Trump’s, moved on to other things, but instead of gracefully fading away like Numa Numa videos, Arthur is determined to regain his brief moment of online glory. He seems determined to be a complete asshole about it, and may just end up getting people killed.
As the invaluable militia-watcher JJ MacNab explains, a month after his brief fling with being the hottest new shit in wingnut world, Arthur finds himself with stagnating online support, mostly because “People have gotten bored watching hour after hour of Lewis pointing to trash and calling it proof that traffickers were there just before he and his crew ran them off.” …
As MacNab notes, Arthur seems to have decided on a new tack: Instead of looking for the child sex traffickers that he can’t seem to find, Arthur and his “Veterans on Patrol” (a group Arthur originally started to help homeless vets; he himself has never served but is very big on military-speak) will now start going after illegal immigrants, because obviously a bunch of loons in the desert looking for migrants to harass will bring an end to the child trafficking, too.
Lewis Arthur has a real cool plan: He’s gonna go out and find every single cache of supplies left to help migrants, “confiscate” the water, food, and medical supplies, and then place them in national parks and monuments (and maybe national forests — he seems unclear on the concept) so they can be used by Americans. At one point he claims he and his group will “re-open” the national parks, which he seems to think have been shut down by the constant flow of human traffickers and drug mules all over public lands…
Long story short: Lewis Arthur certainly isn’t going to be setting up any water stations in national parks. But the damn fool’s likely to destroy water supplies for migrants crossing the desert in Arizona’s summer heat, and that may very possibly lead to people dying. You wouldn’t be amiss in sending a few dollars to Humane Borders, which has this crazy idea that even though crossing the border is illegal, it shouldn’t be treated as a death sentence.
As the NYTimes is bound to assure us if — Goddess forbid, when — Arthur’s nutball stunting causes an actual tragedy, it’s not as though Donald Trump / Paul Ryan / Mitch McConnell were directly responsible. But Trump is the man who gave Arthur and his fellows explicit permission to “knock the shit outta” everyone not a bigoted xenophobe… and the entire Republican coalition are the ones whose endless energy have been directed, not at reducing the harm their Dear Leader can do, but at guaranteeing maximal damage for their own personal power.
efgoldman
Whatever happens, the RWNJs will deny all responsibility and try to make it Obama’s/Dems fault.
What’s worse than vile? That’s them.
The Dangerman
Feature, not bug.
Kay
Uh, oh. Somebody better get a hold of Roseanne.
Teddys Person
@efgoldman: We really do need a new vocabulary to describe RWNJs and thier actions. We passed deplorable several months ago.
TenguPhule
And the real human traffickers must be licking their lips thinking “nobody is going to miss a couple of nice exploitable younglings here and there.”
The human scavengers are going to be out in force on the southern border.
Roger Moore
@Teddys Person:
Evil. The word you’re looking for is “evil”.
jl
Let’s hope these nuts do try to make a big media splash by moving a big cache of supplies to a park, with cameras rolling.
Then park rangers or BLM police can arrest them for littering. Problem solved. You are welcome.
Edit: There will be a big wingnut outrage social media campaign about sinister Deep State NPS ranger coup plotting, but there would be something like that anyway, so no net damage done.
debbie
@Kay:
I am impatient to see Jim Jordan’s tearful news conference.
JPL
This is what happened today a few miles from where I live, when the chaperone ran into the store.
https://twitter.com/MPetchenikWSB/status/1014214126946668544
It’s just a heartbreaking story.
Yutsano
@efgoldman: Manslaughter. Bring up the entire crew on manslaughter charges. If there’s a county DA down there that has the huevos to do it.
Yarrow
@Teddys Person: I’m okay with that word being “traitors.”
Yutsano
@JPL: JFC WHYTF DOES A SPECAL NEEDS TEEN HAVE A FUCKING GUN???
Jesu Christe I am so done.
JPL
@debbie: It won’t happen! Jordan has denied it, and Ryan will say it’s unfortunate.
MomSense
I’m sorry but I cannot forgive anyone who contributed in even the smallest way to this trump nightmare. The Republican Party is now the party of psychopaths and their enablers. I hate them. I’ve never felt rage like this before. Fuck civility.
JPL
@Yutsano: I assume, and at this point that is all you can do, is that it was the chaperone’s.
Because of bears and copperheads, it is not unusual to have a gun while going camping. The question should be why the f..k was it loaded. It could have been in the glove compartment or under the seat, but at this point it doesn’t matter. I’m heartbroken, because the chaperone was obviously a good guy, as the others were. The chaperone should be charged imo, though.
This story really hurts.
trollhattan
@JPL:
“Source says it appears accidental.”
No such thing as a gun “accident.”
TenguPhule
@MomSense:
Been that way since Reagan. They were just better at hiding it back then.
gene108
@JPL:
Where were they planning on going camping that they needed a gun? There’s must be plenty of campsites in Georgia, where you can camp at and not need a gun at all.
Raoul
So there is supposedly a vast pedo network in the desert, and in basements of (basementless) pizza parlors, and all that.
But tell these same total nutballs about Ohio wrestling and Jim Jordan, and they will totally tune it out.
Cultish behaviour is … cult-like.
A Ghost To Most
@Roger Moore:
We would have also accepted “fascist”.
trollhattan
Sounds like a Craig’s List ad: “Grifter seeks bigger grift. No fatties or olds.”
Raoul
@JPL: Ryan is on record saying he’ll wait for the full Ohio school investigation.
No mention (of course!) about a House ethics inquiry as that could have legs of its own. Nope, he’ll just wait. Preferably till he has retired from the speakership.
trollhattan
@Raoul:
Stuff happens in the desert, yano? Mansons, Mormons and such.
debbie
@JPL:
Well, I take heart from the spokesman’s statement that the allegations are serious:
Too soon to call him Jim “Sandusky” Jordan?
A Ghost To Most
@TenguPhule: Since 1968. Don’t forget Noxin.
Raoul
Mnemosyne
@JPL:
And the chaperone left a couple of special-needs kids alone with a loaded gun because … ?
Yarrow
@JPL: Why did special needs kids have access to a gun? That’s insane.
JPL
@gene108: I wrote more at 14, but I am in moderation for some reason. Because of copper..heads it is not unusual, but why was it load.ed. This is a situation where it appeared to be all good guys, but the only that should be accountable is the owner, which we assume is the chaperone.
This particular area is safe.
Yutsano
@debbie: Ahh yes.Ol’ Paulie Blue Eyes furrows his eyebrows in concern then goes on to do…absolutely nothing. Because this has nothing to do with desecrating Social Security or Medicare nor snuffling even more huge tax breaks to his rich enablers. Nope! But he is CONCERNED, can’t you see that???
JPL
@debbie: Whoa! That is one level above unfortunate, and thank you for linking to that.
TenguPhule
@A Ghost To Most: They had a few honorable Republicans willing to impeach Nixon.
lamh36
jacy
@JPL:
I don’t think there are “good guys” if a gun accidentally discharges. And using a gun for snakes — well, as somebody who grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and has run across her share of rattlers, that’s just stupid. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that you’re far more likely to kill another person than a snake. Doesn’t make it any less tragic, but the “accidents happen” excuse is just not going to fly.
JPL
@Raoul: and others hahah
trollhattan
@lamh36:
How can I not love her? I can’t, I can’t not love her.
“Pour.” Pore, pore Donny, never went to class did he? Paid some poor schmuck to take the tests.
trollhattan
@jacy:
This. Scared people tote firearms. Scared people make mistakes.
rikyrah
Anyone been following the hashtag #SecondCivilWarLetters?
Some of them are very funny.?
rikyrah
@lamh36:
JK is not playing with you??
jacy
@trollhattan:
I learned to shoot when I was 12, and when I used to drive from the University of Wyoming home four hours each way alone, I carried a loaded pistol under my seat. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to shoot somebody — the idea was that if my car broke down out in the big empty and someone threatened me, I could wave the gun behind a locked car door and they might think twice. In my experience, people who feel like guns are really going to make them safer are too terrified to effectively use a gun. I gave up all my guns when I had children, and haven’t had one since. Just won’t keep one in the house. A gun is an “accident” waiting to happen. I miss trap shooting, but, eh, I can live without it.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
They will NEVER BE FORGIVEN??
TenguPhule
I assume we will soon be at war with North Korea.
Every accusation is a confession.
Luthe
@lamh36: Well, Kids These Days* on these here Intertoobz like to capitalize words For Emphasis (like they did back in the 1700s). Of course, the Kids These Days are also well-versed in proper spelling and grammar and purposefully choose not to use it, unlike certain orange balls of lard.
*I spend enough time on Tumblr to peripherally count as one of said Kids. The latest linguistic creation to emerge from the blue hellsite is a written version of rhetorical speech. It’s fascinating to watch the evolution of the written word online.
zhena gogolia
@TenguPhule:
Does he ever stop bragging? Does he think that’s attractive? Why do his followers think it is?
I’m married to a highly accomplished, intelligent man who NEVER BRAGS. I don’t know why anyone would be attracted to bragging. It’s one of the most disgusting of the many disgusting things about Twitler.
lamh36
A reenactment based on court transcripts!
eclare
@jacy: Also bears? I’ve been camping in AK, we took bear spray and special cans to store food in. You just don’t need to mix guns with a group of teenagers, special needs or not.
Steve in the ATL
@jl: “deep state NPS” lol!
@Yutsano: “JFC WHYTF DOES A SPECAL NEEDS TEEN HAVE A FUCKING GUN???” they were going cave diving and who knows what lurks down there
@JPL: have you ever tried tried shoot a snake? You have to be an expert marksman or use a shotgun. A pistol would be useless unless you’re at point blank range.
JPL
@jacy: Before moving to GA, I lived in Dallas and never knew folks who had guns. When my sons were of babysitting age in GA, I discovered it wasn’t unusual for neighbors to have loaded weapons in their nightstands. As I mentioned this is a low crime area. Anyway, I suggested that they mow lawns for extra money.
As much as I wish they would charge the gun owner, I don’t see it happening.
trollhattan
@Steve in the ATL:
I seem to remember there’s “snake shot” .22 ammo comprising tiny shot that scatters. Maybe I’m hallucinating. Something like that would seem a lot less harmful to a large, human-size mammal that “got in the way.” But I’m sure plenty of Big Boys tote their Glocks for vermin killin’. Because reasons.
JPL
@Steve in the ATL: I was trying to excuse the person who owned the gun. If you are at all familiar with the area of Roswell, it happened just north of North Fulton Hospital.
TenguPhule
Via Wapo.
EVERY SINGLE FUCKING THING.
Kay
@debbie:
Christ. 14 sports programs over a decade. 1500 estimated victims. No one did anything.
We are desperately in need of law enforcement in this country. Turns out they’ve been focused on the wrong people. All those tens of thousands of criminal defendants shuffling thru the justice system for property crimes and minor drug offenses and Ohio State was running an athlete sexual abuse ring for a decade and no one said anything.
Call 911. They’re going to get away. It’s an emergency. We need a national hotline number to report white collar crime. There should be billboards- If you see something, say something.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@TenguPhule: The real human traffickers are buying their victims from ICE, who is conveniently “disappearing” them from any records.
Allegedly.
Disclaimer:
Not claiming that I’ve heard any reports on this, these are just my darkest fears.
Kay
How perfect is it that GOP leaders are meeting with the Russian wing of their Party on the 4th of July?
Cooking up some election year goodies for the folks back home! I’m sure it will involve race-baiting!
They get fucking PAID for this. We pay them to promote this international alliance of authoritarian racist ideology.
debbie
@Kay:
They won’t get away with it. Justice always wins out … eventually. The problem is that the victims have been damaged long before the crimes come to light.
The rampancy of sexual-based abuse in this country is staggering. My statistics are like 10 years old (from when I worked with local nonprofits), but 1 in 6 boys are sexually assaulted before they turn 18. Of this number, 80% had been abused by an adult they had trusted. Eighty percent. No wonder we’re so fucked up. We have trust issues.
WereBear
@rikyrah: I love it. Too funny.
Shell
Cause god knows, if I found some random bottle of mystery liquid, maybe water, along the forest path, Id drink it right down without a thought
eclare
@debbie: Yeah, POS wails on about MS-13, but inevitably, the abuser is a coach, pastor, troop leader, relative, or teacher. It’s so sad.
SiubhanDuinne
@lamh36:
Donald, your a Moran.
Kay
Mark Knoller
Verified account
Still earnestly repeating everything he says. Over and over and over. This isn’t reporting. It’s taking a transcript. Tape it on your phone and they can all go home.
Don’t you have to add value to get paid? If you can be replaced with a 100 dollar device you might want to consider new work.
Another Scott
@Kay: OT – If Alain is listening…
FYWP is telling me that I can edit your comment, Kay. Something’s still not quite right in the code…
Cheers,
Scott.
Kay
@debbie:
These are sick organizations. Something has gone terribly wrong in there if no one did anything. It’s systemic. They created a culture where people were at their absolute worst- cowardly, self-serving, with all the wrong incentives. They forgot why they supposedly go to work every day- the students. If they didn’t protect and aid them they all failed.
Kay
@Another Scott:
Go ahead and edit! Write something mean about Baud. The more bizarre the better!
Balloon Juice needs kerfuffles occasionally to stay lively. Start some trouble.
B.B.A.
@trollhattan: Pruitt would, of course, have no reason to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, and no reason not to fire Mueller.
SiubhanDuinne
@Kay:
It saddens me beyond measure, but for the first time in my almost 76 years on this spinning rock, I don’t feel the least inclined to celebrate, or even acknowledge, American Independence Day. The country my ancestors fought to establish is wildly unrecognisable, and the national icons — founders, Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, flag, Sousa marches, and fireworks — leave me numb and uncaring on this 242nd birthday.
Makes me unutterably sad. I hope I’m over it by next year.
Brachiator
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Resistance continues.
Links
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/07/03/ice-family-detention-protest-christ-church-cathedral-put-jesus-cage/753946002/
Felony Govt
@SiubhanDuinne: I feel the same, and like you, it makes me very sad and also angry. I hope by next year we’ll have some reason to celebrate.
A Ghost To Most
Shorter anti-troll tips: Fuck civility!
Mary G
A Ghost To Most
@SiubhanDuinne: In Mueller We Trust.
SiubhanDuinne
@Felony Govt:
Thank you for sharing my feelings and for not blithely telling me to just cheer up and get over it. Here’s to 2019!
Spanky
@SiubhanDuinne: I see what you did there.
Yarrow
@Kay:
Well, I don’t know if it’s mean, but it certainly is suspicious that both Baud and Corner Stone have been gone at the same time and returned on the same day. I think Baud needs to address rumors swirling around the Baud!2020! campaign that Poco is in danger of being dumped as running mate and replaced with someone else? Could Corner Stone be angling for the VP job?
Miss Bianca
@Yutsano: I know. It’s WTF-ery all the way down. I’m with you, I’m just so done.
WereBear
@SiubhanDuinne: I hope you are too. As rotten as things are, I find the pushback is a thing of beauty.
That makes me proud to be an American.
opiejeanne
@TenguPhule: sadly, you may be right about a war.
SiubhanDuinne
@Spanky:
:-)
Brachiator
I am now addicted to these 2nd Civil War letters.
Kay
@SiubhanDuinne:
Me too. I love the 4th. Next year will be better. A political observer here that I trust- he’s a retired magistrate and was a Reagan delegate so has seen some things- told me that if the economy takes a dive Trump will fall as fast as he rose. He thinks Trump hasn’t generated any goodwill, has nothing “in the bank” so a bump in the road will take him down fast. He contrasted with Obama, who “reached across the aisle” and was a decent and admirable person – people liked him despite a slow recovery. He says Trump doesn’t have that, and one of the reasons smart people build bridges is because they know they will need allies when it’s bad. I’ve been thinking about it and it rings true to me. That the economy is his achilles heel. That’s the soft spot. It’s all he’s got. Take that away and he’s just a racist. mean-spirited blowhard. Nothing to fall back on. Nothing in the bank.
Omnes Omnibus
What the everloving fuck is a rape tree? Never mind, I don’t think I want to know.
Yarrow
Kay
@Yarrow:
Couldn’t happen to a bigger asshole. Apparently he was telling the students he was too cowardly to protect that he would be President one day. Stop him now before we get stuck with another ethical bankrupt. Imagine if someone had held Trump accountable as a younger man. Shame, that.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: I’ve met him a few times when I was living in Columbus. He is simply an asshole.
Jager
@trollhattan:
We have friends who live in North Scottsdale, their house is on big lot carved out of the hilly desert. Old Bill whips the cover off his gas grill and there’s a big rattler sleeping under the grill. He freaks and runs in the house and gets his brand new Glock 9. Keep in mind he has zero experience with guns, he bought one because his neighbor said he needed one, “Because you never can tell what might happen out here.” He’s shaking like a leaf and is going to try to shoot a snake under a stainless steel gas grill. I told him to put the god damned gun away, I got the garden hose and blasted the rattler with water and it took off as fast as it belly could carry it.
schrodingers_cat
@lamh36: This happened before too, although not on this scale. Immigration is a civil matter so you don’t have a right to an attorney in immigration trials.
If we really want to point fingers the blame belongs to the law passed in 1996. Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_Immigrant_Responsibility_Act_of_1996. Vox has a good rundown. It is one of the those supposedly bipartisan bills that the media loves but are disastrous policy.
Yarrow
Brachiator
@Kay:
I’m not sure what difference this would make. The Republicans in Congress will still need Trump. And Trump will probably retain his raging ego and a good chunk of his supporters. He won’t be chastened by failure, but will keep trying to shake things up.
CaseyL
@SiubhanDuinne: I’ve been grappling with very similar feelings. I keep thinking how the GOP gains power, trashes everything it can get its hands on, and then we elect Democrats to clean up the mess. The Democrats clean up the mess, then the GOP comes back in and trashes it all again. Over and over.
Bill Clinton handed off to Bush a decent economy and high standing in the world; Bush gave us Iraq, ruinous tax cuts, a drowned New Orleans, legitimized torture, and a thoroughly crashed economy.
The Obama Administration got the economy going again, made huge progress in social change, rehabilitated ourselves to the rest of the world somewhat… and then we got, not just Trump, but the GOP in charge of everything. I can’t think about the damage they’re doing without wanting to see them all die in a fire. Them and their patrons, the oligarch-wannabes.
And if there is a Blue Wave this November… then what? Unless we can address the rot at the heart of our institutions – and we have as a country little appetite for that, because the upheaval would need to be massive, unshakeable, and prolonged over a number of years – we’ll get at best another holding action. One where most of the tools we use to make things better will be crippled. No SCOTUS, a compromised census, a nonfunctioning State Department, a looted and gutted EPA, Heritage Foundation judges scattered throughout the Federal judiciary…
I just don’t know. It’s hard to be hopeful.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Kay: My mom used to say “be good to the folk on the way up, cause you’ll need ’em on the way down”.
Kay
@Brachiator:
he doesn’t think he would retain a good chunk of his supporters. He thinks the support is soft and it could crater quickly.
Not the MAGA’s obviously, but the GOP stalwarts at large. He’s at 40. Doesn’t take a whole lot to get him to Bush’s 25%.
Trust and goodwill are cumulative. They’re built. He’s got a crap foundation. It amused me because the magistrate is also a banker – he’s on bank boards. I used to tease him that he was the “1%” (he’s not) but he follows politics and was aware of Occupy. He thinks of it as banking good will for when you need it. That’s how you do it in small towns. You can’t run everyone off because at some point you will be in trouble.
Mary G
It’s the Young Turks, so a large grain of salt is needed, but this is worrying:
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m with you, but after reading some of the #secondcivilwarletters, I feel cleansed. And ready to fight!
Dear Ma,
At dawn, we are preparing for the Battle of Custer County to begin at the Democratic Party Picnic. We have plenty of kale chips, and we are stocked up on LaCroix sparkly water. Now I must bid you adieu, as The Open-Carry Guitar Brigade awaits me. Pray for your beloved MB
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: There are a lot of people who voted for T because he had an R after his name and he was not HRC. Our friend who voted for T falls into this category. The cult is a small subset of the people who voted for him in 2016.
lamh36
@Brachiator: lol…they are pretty good
cliosfanboy
@lamh36: I am missing something here
Omnes Omnibus
@cliosfanboy: How many books has Rowling sold?
trollhattan
@Jager:
You just made my weekend, which it just so happens starts now. :-)
“Think of the poor grill.”
lamh36
Well, well…Fox co signaling it’s time for Pruitt to go
sukabi
@trollhattan: wow, Pruitt must have some REALLY BIG scandals lurking under the radar that make his 18 ongoing ethics investigations look like child’s play.
“Hey, how’s about I take over Justice for the next nine months or so, clear up any investigations that are causing you trouble. While I’m at it I’ve got a couple of things of my own to shut down, and then I’ll be outta your hair.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: OT: But have you seen this?
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh yes, I have, and I love it!
(We just got done doing “The Tempest” and “The Miser” for our little town’s Shakespeare Festival. Going thru’ a bit of withdrawal, so thank you!)
ETA: It’s amazing how resonant “The Miser” is in The Age of Trump, btw. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose ain’t innit!
Brachiator
@Kay:
RE: he doesn’t think he would retain a good chunk of his supporters. He thinks the support is soft and it could crater quickly.
Ah. I think your friend is wrong about Trump’s support evaporating.
In any event, I don’t see any of this having a material impact on Trump’s behavior or his presidency.
I look to election defeats to help us contain him or slow him down.
He also seems clearly to be Putin’s poodle, and I expect mischief to continue.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Stenographs are considerably cheaper then 100 bucks these days, or so I’m told.
thalarctosMaritimus
@Luthe:
That does sound fascinating, but I’m not exactly clear on what you mean. Could you give an example or two?
Amir Khalid
@Mary G:
Why go private? (He asked innocently.) ICE could surely ask to use the US Army’s weapons training facilities, which are eminently suitable, are located at any Army base, and would presumably be the lowest-cost option.
Jager
@lamh36:
Maybe we can find out how the hell he bought a $650.000 house when he was making 38 grand a year back in Oklahoma
rikyrah
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
My fears too??
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@sukabi: Whelp, I think we just found our next Supreme court justice nominee with Pruit….
*Barf*
Ruckus
@Roger Moore:
Sorry, the word is fuckingevil.
Evil just isn’t explicit enough.
Lizzy L
@Brachiator: Agree.
The only thing that is going to make a difference is the blue wave in November. We have to take either the House or the Senate. Maybe we can take both.
Kayla Rudbek
@Mary G: quite troubling IMAO. I know someone who was previously at INS before they merged with Customs to form ICE. Apparently at that point they adopted the Customs firearm/shooting standards, which the INS shooting instructor could meet with his eyes closed. And now they want to play with military grade weapons?
Brachiator
One more 2nd Civil War letter
Dearest Mother,
I survived the Bowling Green Massacre a fortnight ago but our supply chain was hard hit. Quinoa is rationed and we have less than a gallon of IPA left per soldier. We captured a NASCAR site from the Red Hats but all they have is Cheetos.
#secondcivilwarletters
J R in WV
@Roger Moore:
Another good word for the Republicans is “despicable” for me. I use it a lot, lately. Because they are despicable!
Steve in the ATL
Bear in mind also that JJ MacNab is a lifelong conservative republican
Dev Null
@TenguPhule:
Guessing that they feel that now that they’ve taken home all the marbles, they no longer have to pretend.
And the Republicans who weren’t psychopaths have left the party or been driven out.
Dev Null
@lamh36: @sukabi: I saw this comment:
and then this:
and wonder if Ingraham has been tipped off to polling that shows corruption scandals hurting the R brand and/or the existence of that Really Big Scandal, and close to the midterms.
Last time I looked Pruitt generated 3 scandals in a single day, and within the past week it’s come out that he put his PAC treasurer in charge of the EPA records office, where she supervises release of records to the public.
So yeah, “the scandals will continue until morale improves.”
Dev Null
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]:
Wait, wut?!?
Expecting to be told that I’m wrong, but I do not believe that Pruitt could be confirmed by the Senate. If reports are true that Трамп is worried that Mike Lee couldn’t be confirmed, what are the chances of a Pruitt confirmation?
Yeah, it’d be a typical Трамп troll move to nominate Pruitt, but srsly … Goopers are already getting annoyed at the damage that Pruitt is doing the brand; it’s not just Ingraham. Besides, what are the chances that no serious dirt would come out on Pruitt before the confirmation vote?
Aardvark Cheeselog
When I was growing up, there were still snake pit loonie bins where people like Arthur used to be sent. Those got closed in the 70s, and were supposed to get replaced with a bunch of community mental health programs. But the Reagan gang cut the funding for those programs so the net result was basically closing the state-supported mental hospitals and replacing them with… nothing.
I doubt that the movement conservatives around the 1st Reagan term actually intended to create a class of public nuisances like this, but it sure does keep helping them out.