Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Bark louder, little dog.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

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

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

This fight is for everything.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Come on, man.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

After roe, women are no longer free.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / It’s All a Big Game When It Isn’t a Grift

It’s All a Big Game When It Isn’t a Grift

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I really hate these people:

The TL;DR of the call was this: Senator Johnson knows that Joe Biden won a free and fair election. He is refusing to admit it publicly and stoking conspiracies that undermine our democracy solely because it would be “political suicide” to oppose Trump. I find this unconscionable.

Meanwhile:

Scooplet: Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has been telling colleagues and allies that he plans to challenge the Electoral College votes when Congress officially certifies Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, as long as a Senate Republican joins him in the long-shot effort, sources tell your Huddle host.

Brooks confirmed his plans in a phone interview, adding that he is still considering objecting to the vote-counting process even if no one joins him — though he acknowledged that would be more of a symbolic protest. Brooks, echoing President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud without providing evidence, argued that the election was “badly flawed” and that most mail-in voting is “unconstitutional.”

“In my judgment, if only lawful votes by eligible American citizens were cast, Donald Trump won the Electoral College by a significant margin, and Congress’s certification should reflect that,” Brooks said. “This election was stolen by the socialists engaging in extraordinary voter fraud and election theft measures.”

These people are scum.

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  1. 1.

    Kristine

    Brooks confirmed his plans in a phone interview, adding that he is still considering objecting to the vote-counting process even if no one joins him — though he acknowledged that would be more of a symbolic protest.

    Pelosi will kick his ass.

  2. 2.

    PsiFighter37

    Mo Brooks is stupid enough to believe what he is saying. I am sure some senator will lend their name out to this effort – might very well be that assclown Tuberville. That said, that doesn’t really lead to much – I remember when Boxer did it in 2004, and it did zip to change anything.

  4. 4.

    Lapassionara

    At last count, Biden had 7 million more votes than Trump. Trump’s job approval ratings hovered in the low forties for most of his term, and the pre-election polls indicated that Biden would win both the popular vote and the electoral college. How any sane person could question Biden’s victory is beyond me. In case after case, Trump’s lawyers have assured the judges that they are not alleging fraud, yet they run to the press and throw out wild accusations with no basis in fact. These get amplified, and our country moves closer to being ungovernable.

  5. 5.

    dww44

    So, this Republican Becker who writes about Ron Johnson’s public denial of Biden’s electoral victory but privately admits that Biden won is saying it’s okay to come out and confirm Biden’s victory and to also praise Trump for the good things he did. Serious question, here, what good things? I’d love to see a list of what Republicans believes are good things that Trump did. I want to confirm my own thinking that what they think is good tends to be all out cruel and selfish and grifty.

  6. 6.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    They and their halfwit supporters like talking a big game, but here’s a bigger one – if they really, truly try this, then the safeties are off in a lot of places.  Regardless of my wife’s blasé dismissal of what life would look like (“millions of people have managed to carve out decent lives under authoritarian dictatorships”), I want it to hurt.  I want conservative Senators to know they can’t expect to go to fine restaurants without servers and cooks spitting in their food, and I want them to be fearful in public settings so that their backs are to the wall for the sake of protection.  I want wealthy donors to sweep their cars for explosives every morning, and I want them fearful for their children lest they be taken from schools and nightclubs.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    Yo Cheeseheads!

    He is refusing to admit it publicly and stoking conspiracies that undermine our democracy solely because it would be “political suicide” to oppose Trump.

    Your senior Senator is nuttier than squirrel turds.

  8. 8.

    lowtechcyclist

    He is refusing to admit it publicly and stoking conspiracies that undermine our democracy solely because it would be “political suicide” to oppose Trump.

    Last time I checked, many people continued to live whole and productive lives after committing ‘political suicide.’  If it’s more important for them to remain in Congress than to tell the truth to their own constituents, that’s quite a choice.

  9. 9.

    jc

    And everyone knows who the Rs consider to be the only “lawful” votes and the only “eligible” citizens, and who aren’t, wink wink. If only Trump had gotten a second term, the Rs could have finished the job of disenfranchising all of those inconvenient blah people and their ilk.

  10. 10.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    As I think about those retired idiots McInerney and Flynn, I resent every fucking dime that goes to their overgenerous pensions.  With McInerney in particular, I’d personally enjoy smacking the tapioca spoon from his filthy mouth.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    and that most mail-in voting is “unconstitutional.”

    Let me guess. Good wholesome Republican absentee voting is perfectly fine, but communist Democrat mail-in voting is evil. Despite, of course, them being the same thing.

  12. 12.

    mrmoshpotato

    “This election was stolen by the socialists engaging in extraordinary voter fraud and election theft measures.”

    Ooga booga soshellisums!  Hey, Mo!  Fuck your government-funded healthcare!

  14. 14.

    Cmorenc

    Most Republican officeholders going along with refusing to affirm the legitimacy of Biden’s win don’t really believe the election was illegitimate or stolen, but rather are doing so to attempt. to tactically weaken he Biden administration right out of the gate, and legitimize intransigent refusal to cooperate with Biden in any constructive way

  15. 15.

    Chyron HR

    @Lapassionara: 

    the pre-election polls indicated that Biden would win both the popular vote and the electoral college

    Yes, but Republicans were lying to the pollsters to make you think Biden was going to win, so he couldn’t have actually gotten enough votes to win.

    Source: Dilbert Guy

  19. 19.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Lapassionara:

    In case after case, Trump’s lawyers have assured the judges that they are not alleging fraud, yet they run to the press and throw out wild accusations with no basis in fact. 

    Because if you do that in court, the law can give you a big ol’ wallop to your dumbass, fascist-enabling face.

    The chickenshit motherfuckers.

  20. 20.

    Hoodie

    @dww44: The “good things” are all about money.  They give him credit for juicing the stock market and increasing their perceived wealth.  He did juice the markets, but by inducing a sugar high of stock buybacks, coupled with a tidal wave of money flowing into the markets because of record low interest rates.  You can get some wealth effect in economic activity from this, but it also usually leads to high levels of debt because people are borrowing based on inflated assets, all of which, of course, is quintessentially Trumpian. This attitude about Trump is not much different from “he made the trains run on time.”  The GOP can be characterized by IGMFY, myopia and very short time horizons.

  23. 23.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Cacti:

    McInerney wants military tribunals and the suspension of habeas corpus for insufficiently obedient members of the media.

  25. 25.

    Sebastian

    Mr Brooks has to be made an example of what happens when you break your sacred oath to The Republic and The Constitution.

  27. 27.

    planetjanet

    @Cacti: We need to use the word fascists more often.  Call them out as fascists every time they degrade democracy.  Like republicans have done with the word socialist.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @planetjanet:

    Call them out as fascists every time they degrade democracy.  Like republicans have done with the word socialist.

    Doesn’t quite work.  Most Republicans have no compunction about lying about their fascism.  A significant portion of our voters don’t want Dems to condemn socialism.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    @planetjanet:

    We need to use the word fascists more often.  Call them out as fascists every time they degrade democracy.  Like republicans have done with the word socialist.

    Yes.  Because they are fascists.  (Good on ya Donnie Dipshit for going full rip-the-mask-off.)

    Unlike the ooga booga Commies that the Democrats supposed are.  “Want affordable healthcare?  Why do you love Lenin?!”

  35. 35.

    planetjanet

    So I had to search to see who this McInerney person is that was mentioned above.  I assume this is Lt. General Thomas McInerney.  One link went to a Military Times article, but the rest looked like some strange alternate universe.  I think Military Times is legit, but am not posting just to be safe.  His latest screech is that five Army soldiers were killed in a firefight with CIA personnel in Germany who were running a server farm to rig the election.  I am wondering why he isn’t getting medical attention.  Something is not right with that man.

  36. 36.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Cacti:

    Sydney Powell

    I think there is something seriously wrong with her, as in mentally ill or experiencing neurological degeneration. As Quinerly and others have pointed out, she was once very bright and accomplished (completed college in two years, entered law school at 19). Something has gone terribly awry and I suspect it’s beyond being addled by QAnon et al.

  37. 37.

    LuciaMia

    Sydney Powell looks like she just stepped into her own professional noose

    She and Levin have yet another press conference this afternoon. Did Barr’s announcement make them cry?

  38. 38.

    MisterForkbeard

    @LuciaMia: She’s working with Mark Levin? Oh my. Definitely not a good sign of her sanity – that guy is a giant ball of psychosis, lies, and ambition.

  40. 40.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Sebastian:

     

    Also filed a lawsuit yesterday which claims Detroit is in Wisconsin.

    This goes back a few seasons ago when the Packers absolutely owned the Lions on the gridiron. That beatdown was so thorough that the city of Detroit was signed over to the state of Wisconsin after the game.

    In the event that that error cannot be explained by obvious stupidity on the part of Trump’s lawyers, this is the best theory I can come up with.

  43. 43.

    Frank Wilhoit

    @dww44: He kept the Democrats out of power for four years.  To the people you are wondering about, that is necessary, sufficient, self-justifying, and paramount.  Nothing else really matters.

  45. 45.

    Frank Wilhoit

    @Hoodie: No.  There is no such thing as greed, except as a secondary manifestation of sadism.  No one wants anything for themselves, but only to hurt others.  Until you understand this, you understand nothing.

  48. 48.

    CraigM

    Look, if we add in all the minority votes that got suppressed in the southern states, and split them based on how demographically similar voters voted (essentially reweighting the votes to correct for suppression) then several senate seats would flip from red to blue. Why not refuse to seat or recognize senators from states where voter-suppression changed the outcome if Dems take both Georgia seats?

    The largest vote fraud, essentially the only vote fraud, in this country is the Republican-led purging of voter rolls and under-resourcing of elections in urban areas.

    In my judgement, most elections in states of the former confederacy, including that of Mr. Brooks, were invalid and should be done over. I’ll volunteer to supervise.

  50. 50.

    kindness

    Oh John I am so sorry.  You get the Politico newsletter?  You really don’t have to take one for the team like that.  No one should be subjected to their nonsense.

  51. 51.

    The Moar You Know

    Republicans eliminating mail voting would destroy them.  So, y’know, please proceed.

  52. 52.

    jonas

    It’s fun to see all the people who were laughing and pointing at the women who submitted affidavits alleging various assaults by Brett Kavanaugh (and Donald Trump) now going on and on about how anonymous affidavits alleging voting irregularities are absolutely the gold standard of unimpeachable truth in any context and should be grounds for overturning a presidential election. On that basis, they should have called, at minimum, for Kavenaugh’s drawing and quartering.

    Re: the complete absence of external male genitalia on Sen. Ron Johnson — I think one thing that Trump voters get off on, almost as much as thinking they’re “owning the libs” by doing something or other, is knowing the power they hold over elected Republicans. They’re like ol’ Gil on the Simpsons where he’s trying to sell newspaper subscriptions over the phone and the person on the other end tells him to dance:

    Please you gotta help ol’ Gil! What’s it gonna take to keep you on the phone? Dance for you? But you wouldn’t even see it…alright I’m dancing

    Pathetic.

  53. 53.

    catclub

    @CraigM: In my judgement, most elections in states of the former confederacy, including that of Mr. Brooks, were invalid and should be done over.

     

    When Doug Jones won an Alabama statewide election in 2018 he lost all but one congressional district there – but won that one by about 80-20 I suspect.

  54. 54.

    Gin & Tonic

    @SFAW: Thought of you this morning. I listen to WBGO (Newark) over the Internet sometimes, and in a local news segment they had DeBlasio talking about the need for blood donors. So the brilliant idea to incentivize them, is to enter all donors in a drawing for Jets tickets.

    Shows you why this guy was such a pathetic Prez candidate. Incentive? Hah! I’d suggest if you *don’t* donate blood you should be forced to attend a Jets game.

  56. 56.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has been telling colleagues and allies that he plans to challenge the Electoral College votes when Congress officially certifies Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6

    Exactly like those two idiots (in Michigan?) who refused to certify, then did certify, then went “Oh, no, we would take it back if only we could!”  Performative assholery.  They’re chanting their shibboleth.

    refusing to admit it publicly and stoking conspiracies that undermine our democracy solely because it would be “political suicide” to oppose Trump.

    This, at least, I understand.  Forget reelection.  The base is deluging everyone who gets their attention with death threats.  A good chunk of Republican voters are hysterical and desperate that their gravy train of cruelty, their four years of riding high on white privilege, may be over.  They are clinging to their last scraps of hope, in that stage of denial where they scream furiously at anyone who tries to tell them the truth.

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    @SFAW:

    charge them ALL with Sedition. Make them PROVE they did not commit it.

    Now, come on. You know that isn’t how it works. Prosecutors have to show strong evidence that a crime was committed by the person(s) on trial.

    Defendants can just sit back and have their lawyer say at the end of the trial, “The prosecution did not show that my clients have anything to do with this revolutionary movement!” Though that seems risky to me.

    Sometimes that works even in real life, as opposed to Law and Order, but more usually there are witnesses and evidence going both ways.

  58. 58.

    Jinchi

    In my judgment, if only lawful votes by eligible American citizens were cast, Donald Trump won the Electoral College by a significant margin

    They don’t even bother arguing that he won the popular vote anymore.

  59. 59.

    patroclus

    @Frankensteinbeck: Mo Brooks’ threat is more serious than the Wayne County guys.  If he gets a Senator to go along (Cruz? Paul? Cotton? Tuberville?  There are plenty of candidates.) in objecting to the counting of the electoral votes, then we are almost certainly facing an impasse on January 6.  If not resolved then or soon thereafter, then we are looking at the President Pelosi option.  Which might be advantageous for us because Pelosi would be able to do things that Biden presumably won’t do, such as immediately firing Durham.  Biden wants to avoid criticism and appear bi-partisan; Pelosi would be under less severe constraints because the Republicans, having clearly played hardball, will be ripe for some real payback.

    I’m not predicting this will happen, but this has already gone on for so long and the Trump base is clearly digging in; hence, I wouldn’t be too surprised if that’s where we’re heading.  If it does happen, I do think the Republicans will ultimately cave because they will like a President Pelosi a lot less than President Biden.

  60. 60.

    SFAW

    @J R in WV:

    Sometimes that works even in real life, as opposed to Law and Order, but more usually there are witnesses and evidence going both ways.

    You’re a real killjoy ya know.

    Yes, I know you’re right. I was pissed, let it get the best of me.

  61. 61.

    Jinchi

    @Baud: A significant portion of our voters don’t want Dems to condemn socialism.

    That’s because Republicans have effectively redefined “socialism” in America to include public schools, Social Security, Medicare and minimum wage laws among other extremely popular programs. Anyone under age 40 has no real memory of the Soviet Union and doesn’t relate “socialism” to a repressive autocratic regime. They think of Bernie Sanders, not Stalin.

    Liberals, on the other hand, have effectively tied fascism to armed Nazis walking down main street, threatening to murder dissenters.

    Which, you know, is what fascists are.

  63. 63.

    Seanly

    Mo Brooks and the sway-backed horse he rode into town on are more than welcome to go fuck off and die in a fire. Same with all these wussy R politicians who acknowledge Trump lost & Biden won, but embrace Trump’s BS out of fear.

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