Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

I was promised a recession.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

He really is that stupid.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Runnin’ Out of Fools

Runnin’ Out of Fools

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There sure are a lot of Republican geriatrics contracting COVID.  Rick Scott is 67.  Giuliani’s son, not a senior citizen, was at the batshit crazy press conference in a small room with his dad, and the son is positive.   So, none of Trump’s crack legal team can be part of the effort to steal the election by pressuring Michigan legislators to do (exactly what? I dunno.)


Even with the level of care they’re going to get, odds are that one of these guys is going to either be debilitatingly sick or die.   And one of those guys could be a senator, in a state that might not be flippable in an ordinary election, but specials are, as we all know, special. Or, perhaps a couple of them are senators who will be in the ICU for months, thus denying McConnell a majority even if we don’t completely flip Georgia.

Anyway, thoughts and prayers.

Reader Interactions

107Comments

  4. 4.

    cain

    That would be 2020 to see us flip the senate because GOP are morons and can’t take care of their own health. I’m going to be super happy if we flip the senate on the backs of deaths of GOP politicians who were COVID deniers.

  5. 5.

    evap

    I wish that one of them has given it to McConnell, although it might be impossible since he doesn’t appear to be human.

  7. 7.

    piratedan

    @Nicole: I understand being better than them, but do so with the full awareness that Senator Imhofe had no issues wishing divine retribution against his fellow Senators Byrd and Kennedy for the totally hateful idea of making healthcare affordable to people.

  8. 8.

    Citizen Alan

    As recently as ten years ago, I would not have imagined myself hearing that Republicans politicians have contracted a serious and potentially deadly disease and then immediately begin gaming out how it would affect things politically before any other considerations. I would have considered anyone feeling the way I feel now to be a ghoul. I think more than anything else, I hate the Republicans for making me the way I am today.

  13. 13.

    Nicole

    @piratedan: Don’t get me wrong, should the worst (for them, that is) happen, I’m not exactly gonna be shedding any tears; I just don’t actively wish for it. Or at least I tell myself not to actively wish for it.

  16. 16.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Apparently that AI ghost of Hugo Chavez, Soros has in that super computer in his basement is doing excellent work brainwashing these Republicans they have the fake virus.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    “All aboard the S.S. Bilious.”

    Selected Captain’s log entries:

    Day 3 – Weather excellent, passengers suck.

    Day 5 – Storm signs increasing. Passengers still suck.

    Day 9 – Seas choppy. To think I could have gone into computer repair instead of this gig. Passengers really suck.

  18. 18.

    bbleh

    And like the massive outbreak in the northern Plains states, led by such denialist loons as Ricketts, Parsons and Noem (Honorary Grand Marshal of the greatest superspreader event in US history) …

    Nobody could have predicted … ! 

  19. 19.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Nicole:

    Can we have there be a long misery of illness followed by death for them? I want their immediate  families to be miserable, too.

  21. 21.

    Hey Blue

    @Kristine: I suspect Cole and I share a different favorite.

    I won’t slave for beggar’s pay, likewise gold and jewels
    But I would slave to learn the way to sink your ship of fools

  22. 22.

    Bill Arnold

    @Citizen Alan:

    As recently as ten years ago, I would not have imagined myself hearing that Republicans politicians have contracted a serious and potentially deadly disease and then immediately begin gaming out how it would affect things politically before any other considerations. I would have considered anyone feeling the way I feel now to be a ghoul.

    Mortality, specifically a non-zero probability of death in any given timespan, is a part of the human condition and should be a part of all such planning. What’s unusual now is that it is skewed;; Republicans (including older Republicans) are taking larger personal risks than Democrats because their political canon demands extra risk taking, i.e. not taking anti-SARS-CoV-2-spread precautions seriously.
    So don’t feel guilty. It’s their egregious risk-taking behavior, which will also kill innocents.

  23. 23.

    Lapassionara

    I just saw where some of the Pennsylvania Republican legislators have tested positive for Covid. Maybe this will slow down their efforts to mess with the election results.

  31. 31.

    cain

    My aunt (by marriage) ‘s brother just died. He was a pillar of the family, and he died horribly from cardiac arrest brought upon by complications with COVID. It’s just a sad. He was such a good man as well.

    It sucks when good men (and women) die, and these monsters get the mild edition.

  32. 32.

    jonas

    @Geoduck: I’m wondering if his pallid, bruised appearance as of late hasn’t something to do with some treatment he’s taking prophylactically against Covid, or that he tested positive and is taking some drugs and not telling anyone.

  33. 33.

    Brachiator

    Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows sidelined after the election by coronavirus so Dave Bossie stepped in to guide strategy. Then Bossie sidelined by covid, and Rudy Giuliani became front man on election battle. Now Giuliani can’t be in the room because his son has the virus.

    I continue to be amazed that members of the Trump Cult (or Chumps for short) didn’t have the brains to pay lip service to The Donald’s “I am more powerful than the Fake China Virus” crap and take reasonable steps to protect themselves.

    Sheep of fools.

    Dipsheeps.

  36. 36.

    catclub

    @Nicole: Let’s not say I wish them to die. Let’s say I wish them a very loooooooong recovery.

     

    Let’s say I wish their heirs a prosperous new year.

  37. 37.

    HumboldtBlue

    @cain:

    My nephew ran into the reality today when his 40-year-old coworker told him her husband had died.

    It’s only getting worse and will continue to worsen until Biden gets into office and starts addressing the reality.

  38. 38.

    Ken

    So how does the Majority Leader election work if members are absent?  Say they gather to vote on Jan. 3, and it’s 50-48 then (Georgia being in the “pending” column), but 4 of the R senators are out sick. Do the 48 D’s elect the leader?  Does there have to be a new election after the Georgians show up, or after the sick R senators make it back?

  44. 44.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @cain:

    It sucks when good men (and women) die, and these monsters get the mild edition.

    Ron Johnson arranged a whole Senate hearing yesterday around accusing doctors, in the person of Dr Ashish Jha, head of the public health dept (I believe) at Brown University, of lying about the effectiveness of hydroxychlorquinebecause reasons.

    yes, that was yesterday, in the Year Of Their Lord 2020

    I don’t wish death on them… I guess….  (I may not particularly wish it away from them…), but the worst and dumbest prominent people get mild cases, and that leads to further minimization of the disease.

  45. 45.

    LuciaMia

    Did I read that Trump is still planning in person White House holiday parties? Who the hell is gonna come?

  46. 46.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Kristine: Excellent taste! I love that song. That World Party CD was one of the very first CD’s I purchased back in the day.  Now they’re collecting dust along with my LPs….

  49. 49.

    Tony Jay

    @Citizen Alan:

    At the start of the last American Civil-War the great and good of Washington DC travelled to the site of 1st Bull Run to enjoy a nice picnic while observing what they expected to be a classically organised battle in the Napoleonic style. In the event no one really knew what they were doing and victory went to the side who made the fewest mistakes.

    Four years later Sherman’s veteran army went through the heart of the Rebel South like a heavily bearded machine and had zero shits to give about the damage they had to inflict as long as it broke the Rebellion’s spirit.

    The longer a War goes on consciences become callused and the easier it becomes to see your enemy as something that, first and foremost, needs crushing.

    And this War has been going on for a looooooonnnnng time.

  50. 50.

    Redshift

    @Nicole:

    Don’t get me wrong, should the worst (for them, that is) happen, I’m not exactly gonna be shedding any tears; I just don’t actively wish for it. Or at least I tell myself not to actively wish for it. 

    I still try to stick with the apocryphal quote attributed to Twain: “I have never wished any man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.”

  51. 51.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Citizen Alan: Sort of like Miles O’Brien telling a Cardassian why he dislikes Cardassians so: the war with the Cardassians turned him into a very bitter man.

  53. 53.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @Kristine:

    The captain’s in a coma, the lieutenant’s on a drunk;
    The owner’s in his cabin with his special friend, the monk;
    The midget’s on the bridge, dispensing platitudes and junk –

  54. 54.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @cain:

    I’m so sorry to hear that. Far too many good people have died and will continue to die because of the GOP’s malice. You have my condolences

  57. 57.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @LuciaMia:

    Did I read that Trump is still planning in person White House holiday parties? Who the hell is gonna come?

    Never mind that. I’m panting to know what Melania‘s lame-duck “Fuck Christmas” decorations are going to look like this year.

  59. 59.

    different-church-lady

    Look, I know the virus doesn’t care what your politics are, but it sure seems like the virus cares whether you take it seriously or not. And if that tracks with your politics, well…

  60. 60.

    Formica

    @Villago Delenda Est: @Citizen Alan: Sort of like Miles O’Brien telling a Cardassian why he dislikes Cardassians so: the war with the Cardassians turned him into a very bitter man.

    Once again demonstrating that the Dominion War was the best Star Trek story line ever.

  61. 61.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @cain:

    I’m really sorry. That just sucks all to hell and back. Please give your aunt a virtual hug from an on-line stranger in the memory of a good man.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    @Ken:

    The members of the parties pick their respective Senate leaders. They aren’t constitutional offices, so the body as a whole doesn’t get a vote.

    Senate.gov:

    Majority and Minority Leaders

    Elected at the beginning of each Congress by members of their respective party conferences to represent them on the Senate floor, the majority and minority leaders serve as spokesmen for their parties’ positions on the issues. […]

    The mechanics of how they do it if Senators are sick might get interesting. (I assume that since it’s not a constitutional position, the party members could decide to send a proxy.) Whatever the case, you can bet that whichever party has the majority of the won races will find a way to select their majority leadership.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  68. 68.

    geg6

    @Nicole:

    You are a better person than I am.  I’m hoping they all end up on ventilators, gasping out their last breaths, alone and unmourned.

  71. 71.

    OzarkHillbilly

    odds are that one of these guys is going to either be debilitatingly sick or die.

    I want better odds.

  73. 73.

    geg6

    @cain:

    I’m so sorry.  My sympathies to you and your family.  It’s terrible that innocents must die to salve the ego of a small, cowardly, deeply stupid man. It’s infuriating and criminal.

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    @different-church-lady:

    Look, I know the virus doesn’t care what your politics are, but it sure seems like the virus cares whether you take it seriously or not.

    As others have said, it doesn’t matter if you’ve decided you’re through with the virus; the virus hasn’t decided it’s through with you.

  75. 75.

    Aziz, light!

    The FSM doesn’t love us enough to kill off the worst of these clowns. And Trump will live to be 90 just to spite us.

  76. 76.

    wmd

    If McConnell gets it and dies his successor would be appointed be Brashear – a Democrat. He’s been more careful than a lot of his caucus, but he’s 78. He’s a more likely to die than the already infected other KY senator.

  79. 79.

    jeffreyw

    @Kristine: I noticed an oddity when browsing albums at Amazon, often the albums were cheaper when buying the physical disc than if you downloaded the MP3.  Adding to the oddity, they would offer to Auto-rip the album for free so you got the disc shipped for free and the MP3 for less than just the MP3 by itself.

  80. 80.

    Kent

    @Another Scott: 

    Exactly. The identity of the majority leader is meaningless. Controlling a majority of the votes on January 3 is all that matters. If Dems have a majority of votes they can do what they want. But it will only last for as long as they keep their majority. The minute enough Republicans show back up to work they are back in control.

    And Dems will need an actual majority, not a tie because until Jan 20 Mike Pence breaks any ties.

  81. 81.

    Uncle Omar

    @jonas:&n@jonas:  @32 I would suggest that he overdosed on his blood thinners. If I remember he had a hear attack at some time in the past and one of the post attack treatments is some sort of blood thinner. Aspirin, or in more serious cases warfarin (key element in rat poison, so you know that’s what he’s getting) Eliquis, or something of that nature. A couple of days of forgetting that he took the pill in the AM and doubled or tripled up later could cause internal bleeding that makes his paws turn purple. It would be too bad if his forgetfulness lasted for a couple of weeks and his blood all seeped out through his skin. Hopes and prayers.

  82. 82.

    TriassicSands

    @Nicole: Let’s not say I wish them to die. Let’s say I wish them a very loooooooong recovery.

    When Trump became infected, a moral philosopher wrote a column in the Times arguing that we should all wish Trump a speedy recovery. To do otherwise was, I guess, immoral.

    But, is it actually moral to wish a speedy recovery to someone that you know* is not only going to do tremendous damage to our democracy, but will cost other people their lives through action, inaction, and malevolence? What one wishes has no effect on any actual outcome. I may wish that someone would die, or if I were religious, I might pray that they die, but neither my wish nor my prayer will have any effect on the fate of the person involved. Wishing death for someone might make me mean-spirited, and it might coarsen our public discourse, but it also might mean that I care more about the lives of all the people who won’t be spared if someone like Trump survived.

    We don’t have to needlessly coarsen our public discourse by saying we hope someone will die. However, neither do we have to pretend that wishing an evil person a “speedy recovery” is a meaningful moral act. And if it is just an empty vocalization, then it is simply hypocrisy.

    A few simple questions: How many of you think the world would be a better place if Donald Trump had succumbed to COVID-19? How many of you think our democracy would be better off if he’d died? (For example, if Pence had assumed the office of president, do you think he would be refusing to cooperate in the transition now?) And finally, how many of you think that his death would very likely have resulted in fewer other deaths among the general population?

    *Did I or we “know” that Trump would go on to do horrible things if he survived? With other people, there may be uncertainty, but, if anyone in the world is incapable of change (for the better), it is Donald J. Trump.

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    @Kent: Yup, but it could be chaotic. The next Congress could end up starting similar to the 107th Congress:

    * January 3, 2001: Senate was evenly split (50-50) between the two parties. Democrat Al Gore — the out-going Vice President — gave the Democrats the tie-breaker and majority control for the 17 days between the January 3 swearing-in of the new Congress and the January 20 inauguration of Republican Vice President Dick Cheney. First Lady Hillary Clinton, wife of President Bill Clinton, became the first presidential spouse to serve in Congress.

    * January 20, 2001: George W. Bush became President of the United States.

    * May 24, 2001: Senator Jim Jeffords, previously a Republican, declared himself an independent and announced he would join the Democratic caucus, giving the Democrats majority control, effective June 6, 2001.[2]

    A 50:50 tie gives wavering senators lots of power, and there have been many instances of switches.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I doubt they have any wavering senators on the R side, unless one of them is visited by the ghosts of past, present and future.

    Do you think the Dems have anyone who is wavering?  That would suck beyond belief.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: I’m not making any predictions, and I don’t have anyone in mind.  I doubt that any Ds would leave.

    Politicians want to stay in office.  If the NY AG and Biden’s DoJ find as much rot as we suspect – or more – then there will be pressure for GOP Senators to find a way to save their skin and leave the flaming hulk of Donnie’s GOP behind.  They’ll be doing the sums and differences…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Kristine

    @jeffreyw: Amazon bundles items so many different ways. With books, they sometimes offer the free audiobook, which is normally way more expensive than the ebook or hardcopy. You usually have to sign up for an Audible trial, but still.

  89. 89.

    divF

    @Uncle Omar:

    warfarin

    Every time I see that name, I smile. The WARF in warfarin stands for “Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation”, who held the patent. It’s a great story.

    I used to go to the WARF building at UW-Madison, which at the time was a high-rise in the middle of cow pastures, during the 1970-80s when the Army Math Research Center was there.

  92. 92.

    Ian

    @TriassicSands:

    That NYT moralist is full of sh*t.  What is good for the goose is good for the gander.  The man should have been offered a choice between bleach and Hydrocholorox (spelling?).

  93. 93.

    Uncle Omar

    @WaterGirl: The only Dem that might waver is Manchin.  He seems awfully close to it sometimes.  If Susan Collins were coming up for re-election in 2022 instead of just sneaking through this year I could see her jumping ship to at least declaring herself an Independent and caucusing with the Dems.  If there were some giant pork project sitting out there in a purple state that could only get funding through the House if the Senator(s) from that State were Dems, that might convince a semi-moderate R to turn his/her coat from red to blue.  It happened in the other direction in Colorado when Ben “Switch-horse” Campbell went from D to R in order to get the Animas-LaPlata Project built in the Durango area.

  94. 94.

    Barbara

    The only thoughts and prayers I have right now are for my country. I no longer care what happens to any of these obscenely entitled assholes.

  95. 95.

    chopper

    i’m sure rudy himself is either positive or will show up as positive in the next few days. and he’ll end up alright cause 20 large a day affords some pretty good medical care.

  96. 96.

    BruceFromOhio

    So, none of Trump’s crack legal team can be part of the effort to steal the election by pressuring Michigan legislators to do (exactly what? I dunno.)

    It involves a candle, a pentagram, some chicken entrails, and souls for sale.

  97. 97.

    bluefoot

    @cain:  I”m so sorry about your aunt’s brother.

    These monsters get the best medical care we can buy for them, while they are happily trying to strip everyone else of medical care, any kind of financial support, and representative government. Whether they are dying fast enough is an exercise I will leave for the reader.

  98. 98.

    ballerat

    My wife looked at the Mesa county covid dashboard tonight and started to cry. Five old people died from covid today. She didn’t know them. But she cried nevertheless.

    Five deaths from covid in one day is bad for our county.

    Today too the county health department announced there are no more ICU beds available.

    Today as well the trumpers held a rally out in front of the health dept building. Because, I guess, they think the health department people are oppressing them with science and facts.

    This county voted for Trump and trumpism by at least 2:1. They helped send Q-anon cult members like Lauren Boebert to Washington.

    Covid deniers are now killing the old people of this valley. The county is big enough it’s not anyone they will mourn, apparently.

  99. 99.

    Anya

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  I despise that guy more than any other senator, mainly because on top of being amoral he’s a cretin tool.

    I side eye Wisconsin for voting for that guy. But then again, Iowa votes for the old guy and fake ass Joni Ernst so…

  101. 101.

    J R in WV

    @Tony Jay:

    Thanks for this concept, Tony. It helps me be less guilty-feeling about the way I feel about the Rs ruining the country.

    Sherman and his troops didn’t kill enough of the state’s rights slavers, did he? Should have hung everyone who ever owned a slave, that may have cured the disease.

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    @WaterGirl:

    Do you think the Dems have anyone who is wavering?

    Joe Manchin might waver — especially if he can’t tell which way the axis of power will tilt. He’s pretty much a venal bastard.

  103. 103.

    kindness

    Don’t wish ill on others.  Bad zen.  Instead believe in instant karma.  The yin-yang thing you know.

  104. 104.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:

    Man speak truth.

    shitforbrains has been who he is for decades. He’s not smart enough to even recognize that he could be a lot better off if he changed and because he’s incapable and ignorant he is not going to change and nothing can or will change that. He’s not going to have a come to anyone moment, He’s not going to gain 60 IQ points and become average, and he’s not going to stop being the fucking asshole he is, even with his last breath. He continues to say and do stupid, ignorant, racist crap because that’s who he is and all he is.

  106. 106.

    Ruckus

    @Barbara:

    Nice to meet you, my name is Ruckus and I’d like to be considered a member of your club.

    People who want to turn back time, race relations, gender relations, and see people on our side die, simply for the concept of equality  surly should not get the benefit of the doubt, not when they bring weapons to a peaceful demonstration and actually kill people or beat them up for doing what is one of our founding principles, free speech. It is time that a political ideology that was wrong 200 yrs ago, was defeated by our forefathers in WWII should not be rewarded for grand theft of country and population.

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