Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

You cannot shame the shameless.

This fight is for everything.

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

I really should read my own blog.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

After roe, women are no longer free.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

This blog will pay for itself.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Infrastructure week. at last.

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

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Character

Character

by | 105 Comments

This post is in: 

Here’s about as close to feel good or respite as I can get–stories that show character.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ-3) helped clean the floors of the Capitol after the mob had been dispersed.  He just seems like a kind, gentle soul.

Rep. Jason Crow’s (D-CO-6) account of what happened in the House chamber is harrowing.  Crow was the one photographed comforting Susan Wild (photo in story).  Crow was the last member to leave the chamber, intentionally.  He’s a former Army Ranger with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, married, with young children.

Crow and Rep Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7), a former Marine and Iraq vet, used their training to demonstrate to other members how to put on their gas masks.  Here’s a picture of Gallego directing other members, and a story about how he later had journalists shelter in his office.

Edited to add:  Capitol Hill Police Officer and Veteran Brian Sicknick, killed by a fire extinguisher wielded by a terrorist, wrote this to his local paper in 2004:

“Bush’s foreign policies are one reason the world has become as dangerous as it is,” wrote Sicknick. “I don’t know why everyone is brainwashed that only Bush can protect us.”

The letter included two lines that rang particularly true in recent days as Trump refused to acknowledge his November defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.

“I implore everyone to vote their conscience in the upcoming presidential election,” wrote Sicknick. “No more rewarding incompetent politicians with a second term.”

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I’ve always found Gallego pretty impressive. I’m surprised he doesn’t get more attention from political twitter, at the very least. I think I remember Suzanne saying why he might struggle as a state-wide candidate, but I can’t remember the reasons.

  2. 2.

    Benw

    Good on them. It’d be nice to know the the names of the staffers who rescued the EC certifications. I know they’re largely a formality but I’m glad those fucking assholes didn’t get the satisfaction of destroying them

  3. 3.

    debbie

    And then, on the other hand, we have Glenn Beck’s manufactured outrage. One of his (Blaze) reporters photographed one of the terrorists posing in Nancy’s office, pointing to her computer monitor which had an open document/email displayed. As a result, CNN and other outlets are investigating him and everything in his past. “Who are the real terrorists?” Beck fulminated.

    On the positive side, Beck was communicating on air with him during the riot and asked if they looked like Antifa. The reporter said they were not Antifa, they were “our guys, and he knew that because he knew them. If anyone needs on-site confirmation, they should dig up that broadcast.

  5. 5.

    Ken

    Rep. Jason Crow’s (D-CO-6) […] was the last member to leave the chamber, intentionally.

    You mean that other Colorado representative, the one who bragged she was going to conceal-carry in the Capitol building, didn’t stay behind to cover their retreat?

  6. 6.

    Ken

    @debbie: The reporter said they were not Antifa, they were “our guys, and he knew that because he knew them.”

    That and they were live-tweeting the event and updating their facebook walls. The only way any of them were Antifa is if they’ve been deep undercover operatives playing the role of white supremacists and Trump supporters (but I am redundant) for the last four years.

  7. 7.

    Kattails

    I hope I can manage to follow through on the notion to ink up my calligraphy pens and write thank you notes to people like this– and maybe buy a nice blood red ink to send “fuck you you traitorous scum” to the likes of Cruz.  The photos of Kim cleaning up the floor had me all misty.

  10. 10.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:   Yup.  They’ve had a long drought.

    I remember Ronald Reagan’s funeral being described as “Woodstock for Republicans.”  Always thought that was clever.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    If Geminid (I think) peeks in:  you put up a good link about Abigail Spanberger’s courage during the insurrection  from a local Richmond TV station, and I cannot find it.  Will you put it up again?  Thanks!

  12. 12.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Ken: Go read Talking Points Memo’s article on the Sedition Karen who was killed; her politics are all over the place. I wouldn’t be to surprised if a lot these people keep on switching sides.  They do come across as bunch of people who are viewing real life as one giant World of Warcraft like MMORG, so having a MAGA persona and Antifa Persona isn’t out of the question.

  14. 14.

    lapassionara

    The St. Louis Post Dispatch said that Trump had conceded that he lost the election.  I did not think he went that far.

    OTOH, the editorials blasting Hawley have been good to read.

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I watched a few seconds of a selfie-video she took of herself screaming and ranting while driving– which seems to be a thing with them– and I wondered how she is allowed to operate adult scissors, much less an automobile.

  19. 19.

    Kattails

    Over at the Hoarse Whisperer, he is making bad puns about the guy who tased himself. Comments worth following. I’m sorry to be enjoying this, but there you have it. NMFTG.

  22. 22.

    lapassionara

    @dmsilev: I never thought he was going to attend the inaugeration.  And after Wednesday, I think Biden should take the oath in Justice Roberts’ SC chambers.  There should be no “steps of the capitol” stuff at all.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    This is amazing, and scary. Clyburn’s every day office, as opposed to (I’m assuming) the Whip’s official office, doesn’t have his name on the door. Longer quote at the link

    Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla · 18m
    House Majority Whip Clyburn on @SIRIUSXM: “They went where you won’t find my name, but they found where I was supposed to be. So something else was going on untoward here.”

    This is like the ransacking of the Parliamentarian’s office. Eric Swalwell said he would get lost looking for it, and these goobers don’t know what a Parliamentarian is or does.

  25. 25.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Guys, guys – I realized that maybe, just maybe Giuliani isn’t as smart or good as people always said he was…..

  26. 26.

    Barbara

    @Jake Gibson: It was incorrectly reported earlier. He was on life support and it sound as if they were waiting for family members to come from New Jersey before making any final decisions. He died last night.

  27. 27.

    different-church-lady

    The idea that there’s going to be utterly insufficient accountability for all of this is just eating me alive right now. I don’t believe in God, but He’s the only one who could give Trump his punishment at this point. Hawley and Cruz will continue on their political paths. Sociopaths will continue to make up a scary percentage of congress. Domestic terrorists will continue to get people killed, and there’s just no way the DOJ and FBI will be able to keep up with them. Half the invaders won’t even get caught, never mind do an hour in jail.

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Trying to think of which MoC were most likely to have been working with the mob:
    Mo Brooks spoke at the incitement rally

    Matt Gaetz

    Louie Goehmert

    Gym Jordan

  30. 30.

    Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix

    Sorry, forgot to link to the story about the Capitol PD officer, post updated.

  33. 33.

    Cacti

    I have a feeling…nay…I’m practically certain that as a final waving of his ass at the country, Donald Trump is going to pardon all of the animals from the MAGA Putsch.

  34. 34.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    And the Clyburn thing is strange. Why him of all the leaders?

    Only guessing, but maybe because he is widely credited (or blamed, depending on your POV) with helping Biden win the D nomination and ultimately the presidency.

    Also, black, because why not?

  36. 36.

    Kattails

    It’s been mentioned before, but Clyburn says they found the place where he works, not the place where his name is on the door.. “something  else untoward was going on here.”

    I want the perpetrators of this to be tracked relentlessly, to be looking over their shoulders like “who are those guys?”.

  37. 37.

    piratedan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  well…. its Arizona and while we’re going purple, its not all the way Blue yet…. He (Gallego) initially was going to run for the Senate against McSally but Kelly’s hat was also in the ring and Kelly had a pretty bullet-proof resume and having Giffords in his corner, Gallego probably did the right thing and ceded the field to Kelly. He is well thought of here but as far as I can tell, doesn’t have a single defining bumper sticker quality that helps him establish his lane (which is weirdly something that appears to be a need about AZ politicians with national office aspirations). We are developing a good bench in AZ of pols and with continued luck, we’ll kick out the Governor and continue to make inroads at the state lege level.

  38. 38.

    Cacti

    @Baud: I’ve been wondering from the start, not whether the coup plotters had help on the inside, but how much did they have?

    A number of things about this story make it seem like internal malfeasance was afoot.

  39. 39.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Baud: It’s not strange if it was GOP staffers were the one’s who trashed the Majority Whip and Parliamentarian’s offices.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    For the inauguration, of course, yet on top of that security planning for Biden’s first SOTU needs to have begun yesterday. Tough balance of having it adequately in place on site (and in fully mustered readiness beyond the Hill) without appearing as a heavy-handed police state but that can be accomplished with intelligent forethought, a first step identifying and bypassing 45’s diehard political zealots still in DoD.

  41. 41.

    L85NJGT

     

    They were after the order of succession – VP, speaker, president pro tempore.

    Something went to shit. My guess is when that woman got ventilated the amateur clowns lost their revolutionary fervor, and there weren’t enough nested operators to bring it home.

  42. 42.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    There was clearly a list and some detailed directions. They’d have bought some delay on the replacement electoral certificates (they’re executed in quintuplicate), and would have to come from state capitols – and potentially intercepted along the way.

  45. 45.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Generally speaking, in inauguration years the Inaugural Address is deemed to be the incoming President’s first SOTU. So there won’t be a separate speech of that kind in 2021.

  46. 46.

    Cacti

    Here’s a fact that all Dems should rub freely into the face of any Republicans until the end of time:

    The MAGA Putsch killed more people than Benghazi.

  49. 49.

    Aleta

    -1   At The Root, Berlinda Nibo’s account of being attacked by a white supremacist mob as she walked through her LA neighborhood.  Photojournalist Raquel Natalicchi “confirmed to The Root that about 20 police officers were present but did not intervene in the mobbing—prompting her and two other bystanders to ultimately rescue Nibo.”

    -2    An account by Erin Schaff, staff photographer for the NYT (paywalled):

    I could hear protesters on the first floor of the Senate side of the Capitol, so I went downstairs, following the noise. …    I looked down the hall to the Rotunda and saw what looked like a hundred people running around, yelling and pulling around a podium. I took a bunch of photos and then went to the ceremonial doors to the Rotunda, where a single police officer guarded the door against a throng of hundreds outside.

    The mob massed together and rushed the officer, forcing open the door, and people flooded in. I ran upstairs to be out of the way of the crowd, and to get a better vantage point to document what was happening. Suddenly, two or three men in black surrounded me and demanded to know who I worked for.  Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry. They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them. They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away.

    After that I was hyperventilating, unsure of what to do. I knew I needed to get away from the mob and hide my broken camera so I wouldn’t be targeted again. I ran into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s suite, but people were vandalizing her office, so I kept moving. …  I found a spot to hide my camera in there, then stood watching the crowd from the balcony and filming from my phone, which was all I had left.

    “This will be the start of a civil war revolution,” a man next to me said.  At that point, the Capitol Police had started deploying pepper spray or tear gas, and I knew I needed to find a place to hide. I didn’t know where I could go since I no longer had my congressional credentials. I ran to the third floor, opened the first door I saw and hid in a hallway. …  But then the police found me. I told them that I was a photojournalist and that my pass had been stolen, but they didn’t believe me. They drew their guns, pointed them and yelled at me to get down on my hands and knees. As I lay on the ground, two other photojournalists came into the hall and started shouting “She’s a journalist!”

    … The two other photographers grabbed my hands and told me it would be OK, and to stay with them so they could vouch for me. I’ll never forget their kindness in that moment. —Erin Schaff, staff photographer

  50. 50.

    trollhattan

    Since this is America’s Benghazi X1,000, can we expect newly elected Darryl Issa to hold a gazillion hearings?

  51. 51.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @L85NJGT:

    I’m giving the whole plot about a 40% possibility of success at the onset. It may have gone to shit when Pence decided to be more active.

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: and whysoever might Aaron here use the word “slimy” to describe Chuck Schumer. “You can just see it”

    “We wanted to have a few words” with Mr. Schumer, he said. “He’s probably the most corrupt guy up here. You don’t hear too much about him. But he’s slimy. You can just see it.”

    But they could not find Mr. Schumer’s office. He said they asked a Capitol Police officer, who tried to direct them. But they appeared to have gotten nowhere near the minority’s leader’s office. They ended up smoking a few cigarettes inside the building — “We can smoke in our house,” Aaron said — and one of his friends, who would not give his name, joked that he had gone to the bathroom and not flushed.

    Jefferson’s noble yeomen in the flesh.

    Aaron was smarter than some of his cohorts in that he refused to give his last name or let his picture be taken, which IANAL but may suggest “consciousness of guilt”? He did give his first name, hometown (Indianapolis) and profession (construction worker). And what are the odds he left a digital trail from Indy to DC?

  53. 53.

    Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix

    @The Moar You Know:  I think they might win

    Also, to respond to other comments:

    Why did they want to go after Clyburn — black man with power.

    Schumer is “slimy” — he’s Jewish and these folks think Hitler got a lot right.

    Not super complicated.

    Finally, I don’t know how Trump issues a blanket pardon to the protesters because AFAIK and IANAL, but pardons are for specific individuals, and we’re still identifying them.

  57. 57.

    trollhattan

    Meanwhile, in Oregon.

    (CNN) A Republican state legislator may have let protesters into the Oregon Capitol last month during a closed session, according to state police and officials, resulting in a showdown that left two people arrested.
    “Oregon State Police (OSP) has confirmed and informed us that Representative Mike Nearman did open a door to allow demonstrators into the building,” Oregon Speaker of the House Tina Kotek said Thursday during a press briefing on Capitol security plans.
    A spokesman for the state police confirmed to CNN that Kotek’s statement was accurate but did not provide further details on an investigation or whether Nearman could face charges.
    CNN reached out to Nearman’s office but did not receive a response.

  59. 59.

    Cacti

    Impeachment and removal of Trump before his term ends is vital for our national security, because there’s one final penalty the Senate can and must impose:

    Banned for life from holding any future Federal office.

  60. 60.

    cmorenc

    @Baud:

    Yeah, what’s up? What the hell would be in the parliamentarians office of interest to any one? And the Clyburn thing is strange. Why him of all the leaders?

    The answer to your question is threefold:

    1. Clyburn was instrumental in Biden winning the nomination;
    2. Clyburn was an instrumental influence in Biden selecting Kamala Harris for VP;
    3. Without Clyburn’s influence (see points 1 and 2 above), the Ds would have had a much tougher time defeating Trump (even with the Ds attempting to employ alleged electoral fraud).
    4. I said the answer is threefold, but Clyburn being black probably also had something, er quite a bit to do with it also.
  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    @NotMax: At Pelosi’s presser yesterday she said that:

    • Inauguration planning has been going on for months (recall the stories about helicopters flying over DC to check radiation levels)
    • Biden’s people are in charge of it
    • It was going to be scaled down a lot because of COVID-19
    • She wasn’t going to say more about it because of security concerns
    • She hoped that there would be a bigger celebration in the future, when COVID-19 is under control

    I’m sure they’re constantly reviewing security, and will continue to do so and make necessary adjustments.

    At least that’s what I heard.  Corrections welcome.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Benw: Good on them. It’d be nice to know the the names of the staffers who rescued the EC certifications.

    Most of them are young women, and due to the hazards of being female on the internet, they might not want their names known at present.

    I agree with you: their resolute actions in the face of danger are worthy of high accolades.

  65. 65.

    trollhattan

    @Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix:

    Watched Rachael Maddow last night for the first time in ever, and she did a terrific job summarizing Wednesday’s madness, at one point singling out the “Camp Auschwitz” guy to reinforce who it is we are truly dealing with.

    The “Blazing Saddles” scene where they’re hiring people to attack Rock Ridge? It’s like that.

  70. 70.

    ballerat

    And not one Republican congressperson showed leadership like Crow or Gallego?

    Of course not.

    Instead I see our county Republican party chairman release this:

    “We are disappointed in any Republican who participated in violent acts, but also note there were agitators on the Left who were dressed as Republican supporters who engaged in some of the acts as well. Nothing we saw justifies the shooting of the Trump supporter in the Capitol.”

    It goes on to blame BLM/Antifa protestors, the Left, Democrats and the Democratic leadership.

    So this is the narrative the traitors have settled on for the Capitol assault: It was other guy! They dressed up to look like us!

    I’m seething with rage. This is a coordinated attack on our democracy at all levels, led by Trump and abetted by the Republican party at all levels and rightwing media.

  71. 71.

    IsraelTopshelf

    “No more rewarding incompetent politicians with a second term.” The same goes for the center-right Dems (as Obama self-identified) if they don’t bring all the traitors and their enablers to justice, at the same time that they deliver on all those great “build back” promises. Yes, they won and the madman will be out soon. But true progressive patriots will replace them soon if they fail to deliver, now.

  72. 72.

    L85NJGT

    Was there a self taser actually involved in the heart attack? That sounds internet rumory. I wouldn’t be surprised if opioids were a contributing factor to the death of the woman who was crushed in the crowd. She had a pretty rough history.

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:The Carter pardon was very specific to a particular set of laws, it was a “blanket pardon” in that everyone who was or who might be prosecuted for draft avoidance was pardoned, but it was in no way a blanket pardon for those people for all crimes they might have committed.
    Linky

    I know it’s a bit technical, but Trump could pardon everyone for federal trespass crimes, but he could not pardon whomsoever for whatsoever.

  78. 78.

    lee

    Biden should be sworn in prior to going outside for the ceremony.

    Biden can then have a public swearing in with Kamala in a safe undisclosed location.

    Biden speachifys outside.

    Done.

  80. 80.

    Origuy

    Pelosi was on the floor when this started, wasn’t she? Why was her computer unlocked? If I get up from my work computer for ten minutes, Windows locks it and I have to enter my password again. When we were in the office, my boss would lock his computer every time he stepped away. I’m not piling on her particularly; I think the Congressional IT office needs to be more proactive. Just one more security issue among many.

  81. 81.

    Kattails

    @L85NJGT: Apparently self-tasered his own nuts in the process of trying to steal a portrait of Tip O’Neill, at least according to the Hoarse Whisperer’s twitter feed. A subject of some punning.

    He’s also got a video up retweeted from Rex Chapman of newly sworn in Illinois (R) Rep. talking in front of the Capitol at the QAnon event.

  82. 82.

    ballerat

    The exhortation of the insurrectionists before the assault by Republican speakers to spread Covid, and the willfulness of Republican congressmen to do the same while sheltering in close quarters with other congresspeople has not gotten enough media attention

    They were intentionally trying to infect as many people in the Capitol as possible with a deadly disease. This is germ warfare. This point has not been made by the media.

  84. 84.

    NotMax

    @Origuy

    Having a senior staffer monitoring it for anything so vital it must immediately be passed on to her while on the floor would not seem to be an out of place guess about why.

  85. 85.

    lee

    @Origuy: As an IT guy that works with our security team, I’m not surprised.

    Getting technology professionals to actually change their passwords, not click on phishing links or open unknown attachments is a major headache.

    I can’t imagine what it is like working with politicians.

  88. 88.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  Donald “I want my Gorilla TV” Trump thinks everything is one Big Time Wrestling event so that’s no surprise. The twat staged a coup because it would get good ratings.

  89. 89.

    Ken

    @lee: Especially since the average age of politicians is well into the “but the computer told me to ‘click here’ to update my video software” range.

  90. 90.

    zhena gogolia

    @Ken:

    My new one is that “Continue” means “Yes, I do want this service that I never asked for.” I had no idea. Baud taught me that one.

  91. 91.

    zhena gogolia

    A chilling revelation from the wise and informed Fiona Hill, Trump’s former Russia advisor. Now we know exactly why all the living former Secretaries of Defense suddenly called on the military to refrain from political involvement. They knew Trump’s attempted coup was underway. pic.twitter.com/uJIVuv2k9u— Evan McMullin ?? (@EvanMcMullin) January 8, 2021

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @Origuy: Pelosi’s “office” probably has several/many staff people.  It was probably one of their computers – is my guess.  (I haven’t checked.)

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  94. 94.

    Origuy

    @Another Scott: My concern still applies to the staffers. Before they evacuated, they should have spent five seconds locking down their computers. I wonder if they’ve ever had a fire drill

    And I do understand about the difficulty getting people to be security-conscious.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    @Origuy

    The expectation that Capitol police would keep the office secured is understandable. And while maybe not properly described as panic, their evacuation was surely more rushed and less organized (insofar as following a checklist of procedures) than a fire drill.

  96. 96.

    lee

    @Origuy: Funny story about auto-locking your computer.

    Our IT managers decided to disable all screensavers except blank (meh ok) and force the auto-lock at 10 minutes.

    I told them they are making my computer less secure because I had mine set at 1 min and the only reason it wasn’t 30 seconds is because 1 min is the minimum.

    They looked at me like I had suddenly grown another head. I explained I have access to some very sensitive systems and that I always Win+L to lock before I walk away but sometimes it doesn’t register if I have a processor heavy application running.

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: the article is pay-walled. I’ve seen these rumors that Cheney (and maybe others) were getting panicked calls from people currently in the Pentagon. Has that been confirmed?

  98. 98.

    Don K

    Kim represents the part of NJ where I grew up, and it’s good to see he doesn’t think himself above helping to restore things in the Capitol to the way they were. Also good to see that part of NJ elect a Dem to two terms.

  99. 99.

    JustRuss

    @trollhattan:

    The “Blazing Saddles” scene where they’re hiring people to attack Rock Ridge? It’s like that.

     

    So they were all Methodists? I knew it!!

  100. 100.

    Central Planning

    @cmorenc: I understand what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree with those reasons for what a logical terrorist would think about.

    But really, how many adipose anarchists know one or more of those facts about Clyburn?

  103. 103.

    AM in NC

    @ballerat: I agree.  This was a massive super-spreader event, and if done on purpose, it is biological warfare.  And the GOP Representatives who refused to mask, even after being begged to by older Democratic Reps., should all be named and shamed for being completely vile, selfish, and dangerous people.

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