It’s been 7 hours since the last thread… where is everyone?
Who are your 5 favorite United States Senators? The ones you are most excited about or that you find most inspirational. Which senators don’t you know?
My consistent favorites in 2021:
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
- Sen. Sherrod Brown
- Sen. Raphael Warnock
- Sen. Jon Ossoff
I am reserving slot #5 because that one is a rotating position for me.
Who the heck are these guys and what should we all know about them?
- Tom Carper
- Maria Cantwell
- Catherine Cortez Masto
- Maggie Hassan
- Martin Heinrich
- Ben Ray Lujan
- Jacky Rosen
- Tina Smith
- Chris Van Hollen
Confessions
- I have apparently been conflating Markey and Merkley
- I know Ron Wyden is one of the good guys, but I have no idea of specifics
- I did not know that Jack Reed was still in the senate; I thought he retired years ago. What has he been up to lately?
Representatives are fair game, too, but I don’t have a handy link for them like I do for the Democratic Caucus.
Open thread.
Update: Republican Challenge: Who are the worst 5 Republican senators? You only get to pick 5 10!
zhena gogolia
Chris Murphy
Richard Blumenthal
Raphael Warnock
Whitehouse
Warren
Booker
Oops that’s 6
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: What do you love about Chris Murphy?
debbie
Gotta go with Sherrod.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
I’m his constituent, and he’s very informative and informed and always takes the positions I want him to take. He’s a great speaker too.
rikyrah
My favorite Senators?
The two from Georgia
The great one from Ohio married to Connie
Whitehouse
Hirono-She is on permanent NFTG
guachi
I’m watching restored Laurel and Hardy (mostly) sound shorts I bought on blu-ray. Lots of good stuff.
Battle of the Century and Brats are my favorites so far. Berth Marks is pretty good, too.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: That’s okay, you can have one of mine. :-)
WaterGirl
@debbie: Love Sherrod Brown, but does he get all 5 of your slots?
mrmoshpotato
@guachi:
A sausage sketch?
Arclite
Schatz
Wyden
Hirono
Warren
Brown
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
I get weekly e-mails from Murphy with stuff like this:
WaterGirl
@Arclite: Schatz is one of the senators who sometimes gets slot #5 for me, but I have to confess that when I saw his photo on the page I linked up top, I realized that I was picturing him as one of the beefier western governors!
Minstrel Michael
I’m a Masshole myself, but I think Warren would be my favorite no matter where I called home. The only reason I wasn’t screaming for her in the primaries was that she’s way too valuable exactly where she is, as a substantive legislator with a finely tuned bullshit detector.
And Warnock and Ossoff make me think we should amend the constitution to require every senate race to go to runoffs.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Why, yes he does! There’s Labor Sherrod, Jobs Sherrod, Living Wage Sherrod, Fair Taxes Sherrod, and Public Education Sherrod, just to name a few!
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
Just don’t confuse Markey Merkley and Malarkey and I’ll be fine, I promise.
bk
Jackie Rosen is one of my senators, and she is terrific. However, don’t go to her FB page, because most of the commenters are morons.
WaterGirl
@debbie: Fair enough!
OzarkHillbilly
McConnell, Hawley, Cotton, Cruz… Oh wait a minute, I thought you meant my favorites to hate.
So, Warren, Duckworth… Durbin? He’s up there. I don’t know. Ossoff, Warnock, and Kelly could be in the running but only time will tell.
WaterGirl
@bk: Tell us about Jacky Rosen? I had never heard of her.
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly: I guess I take Durbin for granted. He’s my senator, and he’s good.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Minstrel Michael:
We have built in runoffs here in California(with the Jungle Primaries) and we still end up with DiFi.
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly: Ooh.
Challenge for everyone: who are the worst 5 Republican senators? You only get to pick 5.
MattF
Van Hollen is a good guy, the former representative of my MD district (now represented by Jamie Raskin). Van Hollen was rising into the House leadership, but decided to go for the Senate seat. He beat Connie Morella for the House seat, which was a pretty big deal at the time— Morella was an actual liberal Republican, more lefty than most Democrats at that time on social issues. Her defeat marked a turning point in local politics— the number of successful local Republicans is now zero.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
She was good during the impeachment (the first one).
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
McConnell
Hawley
Johnson
Cruz
Cotton
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: Moscow Mitch,
Cancun Ted,
Hawley,
Kennedy,
and Blackburn.
OzarkHillbilly
@WaterGirl: Every time he hits the news I’m like, “You go, man.” Sherrod Brown should be in the mix as well.
Phylllis
Sen. Warnock is my new hero. Also, Warren, Booker, and Hirono. As for Reps, I love my former Rep, Jim Clyburn (now stuck with Joe Wilson, ugh!). Jackie Speier is also great.
zhena gogolia
@Phylllis:
Ooh, I mixed up Jacky Rosen and Jackie Speier. It was Speier who was good in impeachment. I know nothing about Jacky Rosen.
ETA: Her website is truly horrible.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: @?BillinGlendaleCA:
I just looked at the Republican senators list I just linked up top. I’m not sure I can pick just 5. Whose idea was it to limit it to 5, anyway
edit: Maybe I can come up with 5 Rs that I don’t have a visceral reaction to.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Okay, I feel better now. Wondered how I had missed her in the first impeachment!
Super Dave
Jackie Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto are my Senators from Nevada. Given the number of right wing nut job crazies in the rural areas of Nevada, I’ll take any Democratic Senators I can get. They’re WAY better than Manchin!
WaterGirl
@Super Dave: Ah, so fairly conservative then? Relatively speaking? But as progressive as you’re gonna get in Nevada?
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Basically you just have to list them all. I guess Romney could be in the “least worst” position, just below Murkowski.
JoyceH
Senator Mark Kelly has a twin brother Scott who was also an astronaut. I’m not sure I knew that before today.
MattF
As for Bad Senators, I think Hawley is the worst, followed closely by Cruz and Cotton.
ETA: Worst Representative is a tough call.
OzarkHillbilly
@WaterGirl: To be honest, I gotta throw Blunt on the top of that list. He is smart enough to know exactly how destructive trump is, but he let ambition and greed overcome the better angels of his nature (I know, you didn’t think he had any. he used to). And now that he can’t stomach anymore? He’s cutting and running, just like the coward that he is.
Xavier
Martin Heinrich used to be my city councillor, he’s almost certainly the handsomest man in the Senate. A reasonably good guy, but no Sheldon Whitehouse. Ben Ray Lujan is our new junior senator, son of the long time speaker of the NM House and cousin be of our governor, also fine but likely no Tom Udall.
zhena gogolia
@MattF:
Come on, McConnell has to be first.
WaterGirl
@Xavier: For most handsome, I’ll see your Martin Heinrich and raise you Jon Ossoff.
OzarkHillbilly
You can blame me. I’m used to taking the blame.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I’m with you on those two being the least bad.
TomatoQueen
Warner/Kaine (my own VA senators), Murphy/Blumenthal (for my Dad in CT), Warnock and Ossoff for hope, and Schumer for all of us.
There is not one Republican in the Senate to whom I would trust a burnt-out match.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Lindsay Graham also needs to be on that list, but I don’t know who to throw off to make room for him.
MattF
@zhena gogolia: Yeah, McConnell is bad and effective in his badness. But it’s possible to embarrass McConnell. Remotely possible, but that’s still a step above Hawley.
WaterGirl
@TomatoQueen: Warnock and Ossoff do give me a tremendous amount of hope for the future of the Democratic party.
Ksmiami
All Republican Senators are worthless, craven and despicable- so id say all 50.
WaterGirl
@MattF:
I would respectfully suggest that what you suggested there is simply not possible.
WaterGirl
@Ksmiami: Who do you like best on our side?
guachi
I’ll go with Crenshaw as the worst Republican Representative. The clowns of the Republican Caucus are easy choices but we know they are clowns. Too many people pretend Crenshaw has anything good to say but every time I see a tweet of his he just comes across as really, really dense.
dnfree
I like Durbin too. He’s low-key but thoughtful and effective. I was on my local (Illinois) school board at the turn of the century, and at the annual Illinois School Board Association meeting in Chicago, he spoke to a sub-group called LUDA (Large Unit District Association, for urban-ish K-12 districts). I still remember him saying that around the turn of the last century, this country was building high schools all across the country. “What are we building at the turn of this century?”, he asked rhetorically. “Prisons.”
FelonyGovt
Warnock
Booker
Hirono
Duckworth
Kelly
On the R side,
McConnell- has to be worst
Cruz
Hawley
Cotton
Rubio
Damn, so many to choose from..
And I just Googled Martin Heinrich. Yes indeed… although Booker is really attractive too.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: We might have to raise the limit to 6. Because surely Lindsay Graham needs to be on that list.
Ajabu
Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, Sherrod Brown, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren.
I could go on & on…
As for the Repukes: There are 50 of those psychotic, brain dead scumbags. Occasionally I find Willard to be temporarily tolerable…
They should all DIAF. It’s really America or them. Coexistence is impossible.
dnfree
@JoyceH: the brothers participated in a study in which Scott stayed in space and Mark stayed on earth and the changes caused by being in space were compared.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-twins-study-results-published-in-science
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: You’re absolutely right. I realized after the fact that I had left ol’ Lindsey off the list.
Suzanne
WORST
Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, Ted CRUZ, Tom Cotton
WaterGirl
@Ajabu: Nice to see you here!
WereBear
I have Schumer, who has found his spine lately, and Gillibrand, who I like very much. However, this is unbalanced by my Rep, Elise Stefanik. (spit)
A general shoutout: Watergirl has asked for significant posts & thread for the blog anniversary, and a favorite was several years ago. My google fu has defeated me at the moment.
It was an open thread with a link to a picture of a dog’s behind that looked like a holy figure? With “dog spelled backward is god” or something?
The puns in the comments were so hilarious we got a mention on the Daily Kos front page?
I’ll continue looking, but it is a challenging set of words to search with…
WaterGirl
@WereBear: That might be a job for Steeplejack or Another Scott, both of whom have far better google fu than I do.
Sounds like a classic thread, though, for sure. I hope someone finds and submits the shaving the cat’s ass tread, too.
Steeplejack
Packing the court . . .
Baud
@WereBear:
https://balloon-juice.com/2011/11/16/open-thread-signs-and-miracles/
bk
@WaterGirl: Not at all, they are both reliably liberal
Baud
@Steeplejack:
That is fly.
WaterGirl
@Baud: What did you search for to find that???
WaterGirl
@bk: Oh, good. I will try to make a mental note to remember them, thanks.
Sebastian
Charlie, the bestest of good boys, just passed away and I am losing it
Baud
@Sebastian:
I’m very sorry.
Steeplejack
@guachi:
Speaking of Dan Crenshaw, Bro’ Man the ophthalmologist says Crenshaw may be shopping for a cane and a seeing-eye dog soon. His detached (or “detaching”) retina is a very serious problem that doesn’t have a slam-dunk cure. Sorry to hear it, but, damn, these GQPers make it hard to feel sympathy.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Googled:
Other MJS
@JoyceH:
Scott spent a year on the ISS and Mark was the “control”.
Barbara
I had a nice white wine with dinner and I am preparing to watch women’s volleyball while eating ice cream. I probably couldn’t even name 5 senators right now, but I do know that Chris van Hollen is a great guy. Also really like Chris Murphy.
Betsy
Worst R senators — “All of them, Katie”
Josie
@WereBear:
I don’t know about that post, but some time ago there was a meme with the behind of a pug looking like a Christ figure. I remember it because my son has a pug, and we all agreed that Emma did indeed have the Christ figure with arms outstretched on her bottom. We still laugh about it.
Sebastian
@Baud:
thank you Baud
Lyrebird
@zhena gogolia:
Sen. Murphy has been unflagging in supporting gun safety measures after Sandy Hook, too.
Sen. Hassan ROCKS… long-time important person in the Granite State. I don’t know about her record in the Senate as much as how she got there.
Sure Lurkalot
I could listen to Rev. Warnock all day long. He cuts to the chase with amazing eloquence. I am also quite impressed by Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. He’s not my rep (Diana DeGette is) but he has the smarts and the compassion to be an effective legislator.
debbie
@MattF:
One word: Jordan.
Mike in NC
@zhena gogolia: Excellent choices for the rottennest of the rotten.
loanword
Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown are reliable progressive senators and Senate leaders who are holding onto seats in reddening Wisconsin and Ohio. I see no favorite Democrats above whom I contest, but I want to honor these two for holding Senate seats in states that have become difficult to win, and assertively and effectively.
mrmoshpotato
Open thread, eh?
“Somehow the button made the criminal pantless. He is without pants.”
Barbara
@Sebastian: Oh, I am so sorry. They wrap their paws around your heart and it hurts so much when they have to let go. Please be nice to yourself.
Betsy
I feel we should be able to list 10 Republicans, because at least half of the Republicans in the Senate are only there because of the constitutional bias towards states with lower populations. Naming 10 is the electoral equivalent of naming 5, but adjusted so that actual voters have equal representation in the Senate in proportion to population.
Josie
@Sebastian: So sorry for your loss.
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
This is NC. The land of Jesse Helms. Beat that. Our own unbearable cross, forever.
WaterGirl
@Sebastian: oh, no. So very sorry. If you want to share a photo of your boy, you can send it to me and I’ll add it to the thread. Again, so very sorry.
OzarkHillbilly
I’m sorry, but what with the previous posts about Jesus on dog’s butts, I read that as “I am preparing to watch women’s butts in volleyball…” which I have to admit sounded pretty good to this sexist dog.
WaterGirl
@Barbara: And he’s on my who the heck is this senator list. I will make a note.
Barbara
@OzarkHillbilly: NCAA. It’s one of the few sports I genuinely enjoy watching.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: All hail the Baud and his unbeatable Google-fu.
Barbara
@WaterGirl: Maryland.
Betsy
@WaterGirl: True, but you can sure tell when he’s been hit in a tender spot by his howling ridiculous “outrage”, like when he threatened to make Senate process *break down entirely* if the filibuster was altered or removed .. ..
WaterGirl
@Betsy: You make an excellent case. 10 it is!
Craig
@WaterGirl: and Rand Paul. and Joni Ernst. and Mike Lee
OzarkHillbilly
@There are those who call me…tim… (Still posh): Josh Hawley is still alive.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I would have thought all those extraneous words would have confused google. Well done.
FlyingToaster
Best Senators:
Senator Professor Warren, who is still putting out policy papers
Dick Blumenthal, for calling out Facebook on vax lies
Tammy Duckworth, because she’s awesome
Sherrod Brown — though I like his wife more
Sheldon Whitehouse for taking on dark money
Maggie Hassan is the former governor and current junior Senator from New
HamsterHampshireWorst Senators (as opposed to all 50 GOP?):
Ted Cruz — and everyone knows why
Josh Hawley — for being a Nazi
Tom Cotton — for being a closet Nazi
Susan Collins — with her furrowed fucking brow
Rick Scott — separated at birth from Voldemort
Steeplejack
@Baud:
Super fly!
Villago Delenda Est
Senators: Wyden
Merkley
Warren
Ossoff
Warnock
Dem Reps:
DeFazio
AOC
Porter
Demmings
Waters
Worst GQp Senators?
McConnell
Hawley
Cotton
Cruz
Johnson
Fuck it, every last one of them sucks swamp water.
Sebastian
@WaterGirl:
Charlie was in the Balloon-Juice Pet Calendar.
He ran away last Sunday, was found by animal services but had to spend the night in the shelter. His chip still had my rx-wife’s info so they released him to her on Monday morning. Narcissistic bitch she is she immediately used it as leverage to force her estranged daughter to talk to her, didn’t let my daughter to see and hug him.
I had to call the cops to her house on Wednesday evening to get him back home. He seemed lethargic but ok. We brought him to the groomer today where he pooped twice during bath and then had a cardiac arrest. The vet did CPR and they got a faint pulse back but no more brainfunction.
My daughter and I were able to hug him and pet him one last time while bawling our eyes out.
NotMax
Congress: The most ho-hum incarnation of Mystery Date ever?
Villago Delenda Est
@Sebastian: You have my deep sympathy. It’s never easy to lose such a dear friend. And the circumstances only make things orders of magnitude worse.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
I found it by searching for:
site:balloon-juice.com dog butt holy figure
(The “site” part restricts the search to this site.)
Then I saw that Baud already found it. Well done!
Steeplejack
@Sebastian:
Sorry to hear it. My condolences on your loss. ?
WaterGirl
@Sebastian: Oh my god, what a nightmare, Sebastian. My heart breaks for you and your daughter.
edit: oh no, Charlie in the red chair? Charlie was one of my favorites for the calendar.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Please reassure us that search didn’t spit out any recipe threads.
:)
neldob
Here’s a shout out for Patty Murray, the pro-family, liberal senator from WA, as a favorite Democratic senator.
OzarkHillbilly
@Sebastian: Fuck. Been there, done that with the whole pathological ex too. Well, not exactly that but similar. So sorry.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Yeah, I know how to search that way, i just never dreamed that dog butt holy figure would bring it up.
Well done, both of you!
Villago Delenda Est
@OzarkHillbilly:
I used to get blamed for raid wipes in World of Warcraft even when I was offline.
Another Scott
@Sebastian: That’s so horrible. :-( Sincere condolences to you both.
Best wishes and remember the good times,
Scott.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m just relieved to have moved from Iowa to Illinois and thus have traded in Ernst and Grassley for Durbin and Duckworth
Villago Delenda Est
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Incalculable upgrade.
Rob
Worst Republicans? How about
Cruz
Cotton
Johnson
McConnell
Paul
Sebastian, I am saddened to read about Charlie’s passing.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I’m surprised it brought up only one post.
Matt McIrvin
Two of my favorites are actually mine: Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
Putting in Warnock and Ossoff was a big thrill. And I kind of like Cory Booker.
Betsy
@WaterGirl: Glad I could help with that.
This thread is really enjoyable and it’s cool to hear about faves and stinkers from actual constituents. Great topic.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Sebastian: I’m so sorry. It rips your heart out, we know
WaterGirl
@Matt McIrvin: I find both Warnock and Ossoff to be inspirational. They are the real deal. Both of them.
FelonyGovt
@Sebastian: That’s all so awful. Condolences to you and your daughter.
Mike in NC
@There are those who call me…tim… (Still posh): Used to think a Jesse Helms could not get elected today in North Carolina, but then the Orange Clown won it twice.
FelonyGovt
Favorite Dem Reps would be mostly Californians:
Ted Lieu (my Rep)
Maxine Waters
Katie Porter
Adam Schiff
Joe Neguse
NotMax
Open thread?
45 minutes or so spent sharpening a bevy of kitchen knives, a task long overdue.
Thing I never quite understood – the protective glove packed with some units. The whole point is to make knives sharp, folks. They have a handle; don’t grab them by the freakin’ edge.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: Why does CA get all the good reps?
Actually, that’s not true. We have some great new reps, like the one in the earlier thread today. Mondaire Jones.
Plus, he has a really cool name. Mondaire.
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
It was the third hit. I averted my eyes after that. “When you delve into the Google, the Google delves into you.”
HeleninEire
Hey WaterGirl I just saw and responded to your email. Yeah I don’t get it either!! No worries! :)
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
You don’t know until you try it. And if it doesn’t work you try something else.
OzarkHillbilly
@Villago Delenda Est: I always tell my wife, “Go ahead, blame me. I have big broad shoulders.” Not really, I was a wiry little fuck who lifted 100# sheets of drywall over my head all day every day. Until I couldn’t.
Still, my ex blamed me for everything (some of which really was my fault)(and I admit it) So did my sons (most of which they now realize was due to their own youthful stupidities). but hey, everybody needs a scapegoat, right?
It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Things are going so well that Michael Moore hasn’t been on tee vee in months.
He only pops up to whinge about Dems.
HumboldtBlue
I have no more words. Just none. No fucking words.
patrick II
Best Democratic Senators. Warren, Whitehouse, Warnock, Warner, Wyden.
Worst Republican Senators.
Lifetime Achievment Award: Moscow Mitch McConnell
Worst Newcomer: Josh Hawley
Worst Republican Senator From Texas (harder than it appears): “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane” Ted Cruz
Best Senator from Kentucky: Faux Libertarian Rand Paul
Worst Flip flop by a republican Senator: Lyndsay Graham.
Most Oblivious Russian Tool: Ron Johnson.
Sebastian
@Another Scott:
ThanK you. The last conscious moment together is what he loved the most: cuddled in my lap in the driverseat, looking out the window, enjoying loving scratching and responding to it with tender licking of my hand.
We were able to tell each other “I love you”
Fuck
CarolPW
@Sebastian: Wow. Losing them is never easy but this one is pretty bad. I am so sorry it happened.
I hesitate to even mention it, but is it still possible for the vet to have a tox screen run a blood or tissue sample? Came to mind because I ran a lab that did those kinds of analyses, and it may settle some questions.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
“I shall avert my eyes at the necessary moment.”
:)
HumboldtBlue
I was also unaware that Karen Carpenter was a badass drummer.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: I just didn’t think there was enough to work with. Clearly I was wrong!
cain
Merkely and Wyden have been amazing senators for us. I’m super happy with them.. and everyone else that have been mentioned here.
The democratic senate and house members have been wonderful people when compared to the people on the GOP side. People I can be proud of.
WaterGirl
@patrick II: Love your categories.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Love my Oregon Dems in Congress, especially Jeff Merkley – he’s been trying to take down the Filibuster since his first day in the Senate!
Other favorite Senators…
Patty Murray
Rafael Warnock
Sheldon Whitehouse
Kamala Harris (she’s President of the Senate – does that count?)
WaterGirl
@Sebastian: ?
:: tears ::
zhena gogolia
@Sebastian:
Oh, I am so sorry.
piratedan
for the worst GOP senators, I’m going to go for the ones who show glimmers of humanity and never cease to unfailingly follow in lemming-like fashion the remainder of their caucus over the cliff:
Romney
Collins
Murkowski
Thune
Toomey
I will grant you that these glimmers are often months, if not years apart… the thing is, the remainder are just irredeemable assholes, ambitious fucktards, or pawns encapsulated in their party dogma. So I write those people off as lost causes, onto a melting ice-flow, gently pushed into the ocean to drift away into the mist.
The five above, know that they’re peddling bullshit and if you put them in a chair, with no cameras and a quality beverage, might even confess that they know better but have no courage, no convictions, no moral or ethical compass driving them to do what is right. THAT is what I find so remarkably distasteful.
WaterGirl
Well, at this rate, we will either have 10 threads before midnight, or nothing until the COVID thread in the morning.
Anyway, consider this the most open of open threads. I am signing off for the evening, but if something comes up, Steep knows how to reach me.
Hugs to you, Sebastian.
HumboldtBlue
Here’s something wonderful, Christopher Walken being the coolest man on the planet 20 years ago.
Villago Delenda Est
@piratedan: Thune is a worthless slime mold. All the backbone of a Portuguese Man-O-War.
None of the rest are of any value, either, but Thune stands out with “says one thing for the cameras, votes the other way when it actually counts.”
Ken
I can’t decide. Sitcom premise? Hallmark Channel movie? Soft-core porn?
Wow, an actual experiment involving the twin paradox. (No starship, but there is a relativistic clock difference between the surface and low earth orbit — the GPS systems have to take it into account.)
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
@Mike in NC: and there’s Tillis.Dang.
UncleEbeneezer
@FelonyGovt: My Rep Judy Chu is great too.
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
@HumboldtBlue: thank you. The world needs more this.
Villago Delenda Est
@HumboldtBlue: Should these twits catch it, no medical care for them. Let them die in agony.
Baud
@HumboldtBlue:
Pre 9/11 America was a different place.
NotMax
@Ken
“Hilarious highjinks ensue when they switch places on the day of liftoff for a mission on the ISS.”
surfk9
@debbie: My Congressman came to our Democratic club meeting today. I asked him if Jordan was as big of an asshole when the cameras weren’t rolling and he said that there was no difference. He was an asshole 24/7
JPL
@Sebastian: I’m so sorry, and I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through. Hugs to both you and your daughter.
SeattleDem
Glad to see someone else mention Patty Murray. She doesn’t do big announcements and talk shows, but she gets people to get shit done! She was known as the hardest working member of the State Senate, where her dogged digging in to every bill’s details drove the Republicans crazy. When I hear she has been assigned to something, I figure she’ll convince enough of her colleagues to see it her way that things will get fixed. Her experience as a pre-school and pre-service teacher was probably good training for working with legislators.
Bill
No one mentioned that moron, Inhofe, with his snowball disproving global warming. He used to be the worst, but so many more execrable characters have come along in the last few years.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken:
One of these things is definitely not like the others!
Ksmiami
@WaterGirl: Sherrod Brown, Markey, Warnock, Ossoff, klobuchar… basically though I see it as my financial and civic duty to help elect more and better Democrats. The GOP needs to go extinct
Ksmiami
@Villago Delenda Est: you have such a way with words…reas ipsa.
Zelma
@Sebastian:
Such a sad story. My sympathies on the loss of a beloved pet.
Benw
@Sebastian: I’m so sorry – it’s so hard
Mary G
@Sebastian: Condolences on your loss of Charlie. You will never forget him.
HumboldtBlue
@There are those who call me…tim… (Still posh):
Glad to help.
@Villago Delenda Est:
Indeed.
Auntie Anne
@WaterGirl – Tom Carper is a product of “the Delaware Way”, meaning he is a very pro-business Democrat who likes low taxes. What others call a DINO. He’s better on the environment than Coons (our really awful Senator), but that isn’t saying much. Delaware democrats are not progressive, and I still hold a grudge against Biden over some of the crap he pulled as “the Senator from MBNA” for years (student loans for example).
HumboldtBlue
@Baud:
Yeah it was.
Zelma
What strikes me is the qualitative difference between Democratic Senators and their Rethuglican counterparts. Frankly, our worst – Manchin Semina<?> – are superior to their best. I’d say the third worst is possibly my own Menendez, but his sins pale beside those of the best Republican. And he may be a bit corrupt but he isn’t an idiot. And here’s a frightening thought: the Rethuglicn Senators are head and shoulders above the Republican representatives.
Obvious Russian Troll
America’s Worst Senator: Mitch McConnell. (Least controversial choice here.)
America’s Dumbest Senator: Ron Johnson. (There is some fierce competition here.)
America’s Douchiest Senator: Rand Paul.
America’s Slimiest Senator: Ted Cruz. (I feel this doesn’t quite get across how bad Ted Cruz really is. There are worse Senators in most individual categories you could name–e.g., Rand Paul is definitely douchier, in my opinion–but Ted Cruz is the second or third worst in so goddamn many categories. Like Al Franken, though, I like Ted Cruz more than most people do–and I fucking hate Ted Cruz.)
America’s Most Seditious Senator: Josh Hawley. (Has that fucker resigned yet?)
Although I’m in Toronto now, I vote in Wisconsin. I can’t believe that we have both Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin at the same time. It does say something about the schizophrenic nature of Wisconsin politics (aided by gerrymandering and voter suppression).
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Worst Republicans, not in any order…
Collins, Johnson, Graham, Hawley, Cotton, McConnell, Grassley, Scott of Florida, Blackburn and Cornyn.
bluefish
Do not have a clue. Plus too tired to find out out how Cole is doing dealing with August and Everything After. You all are tight. I like that. I get so very blue. Then I go on with cooking, cleaning, bill paying, laundry. Dealing with humans. Trying not to worry. Living with myself. Bring the crows. I get it.
Plus I got the 2021 Calendar from BJ and think I gave it away to my much loved vizinha at Noel. Italiana. Loves cats.
I have faith in our country but, Lord, am tired. And hopeful. I love you all. Thank you for taking care of me. In a good way. Lurker.
We must start talking about how degrading this has been in the most basic way. And Capote was a fool for saying that Blake Edwards didn’t know how to translate Holly. God bless Audrey.
Plus frak fascism. Should be obvious.
D
JoyceH
@Ken:
I was momentarily excited to learn that while in space Scott Kelly’s telomeres lengthened – thought, so space travel makes you YOUNGER? But then when he returned to earth, his telomeres returned to their normal length. So if space travel does indeed make you younger, you’d have to stay in space to maintain it.
As for the bad senators list, I can’t believe how little attention Johnson and Kennedy are receiving. I think Kennedy is the worst of the two, since I’m pretty sure Johnson is genuinely stupid, whereas Kennedy is playing a part.
J R in WV
@Sebastian:
So sorry for your loss… it is always so very hard!
Take care, keep in touch.
zhena gogolia
@bluefish:
God bless Audrey, indeed. I love her.
debbie
@surfk9:
Yeah, not surprising. I am really hoping redistricting hurts him.
J R in WV
@Sebastian:
OH, no, that’s so much worse than losing your darling pet under more normal circumstances. So sorry for the whole FU situation, as well as the loss of Charlie. What a pretty guy he was…
debbie
@HumboldtBlue:
“It was the trees.”
Dan B
@neldob: I like Patty too. She doesn’t have the charisma of some but she gets things done.
Maria Cantwell has a bit of corporate bent but Patty seems to keep her in line.
Two favorite Dem Reps. are my former Pramila Jayapal and my current Adam Smith. They’re solid progressives and fight the good fight.
karensky
Fave Dem Senators: Elizabeth Warren (MA), Maisie Hirono (HI), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Bob Casey (PA), Chris Murphy (CT),Brian Schatz (HI)
Worst Republicans – all of them.
Dan B
@SeattleDem: Patty Murray the worker bee that makes it all work if there is a chance to make things better. Maria was a Microsoft Executive with that mindset until Patty steered her in a better direction.
Bill Arnold
My Republican Senatorial Rogues’ gallery:
McConnell, Hawley, Cotton, Cruz, Graham
(There are others; these each get a browser tab of google image search results.)
Sebastian
@J R in WV:
He was indeed. We realized just now that he passed away at the same day and the same time when we picked him up five years ago. 4/24 2:45pm
WereBear
@Baud: Baud you rock!
RaflW
Dead thread, but LOL that Tina Smith didn’t get a mention in 181 comments. She definitely lives in the shadow of senior MN delegate member Amy Klobuchar.
Smith was Gov. Dayton’s Lt. Governor when Al resigned. She got appointed, and has held the seat at the off-cycle election, and again two years later. She’s a solid, sensible Dem. A touch more progressive than A.K., but not the sort to frighten the middle.
Luigidaman
Sherrod Brown is a friend. He is as nice as you would imagine. He’s also a Cleveland Indians fan, like myself.
Kosh III
Marsha Blackburn (live in Nashville, we’ve seen airhead in action for too too many years.)
Moscow Mitch
Cuba Cruz
Susan Collins
Marshamarshamarsha first last and always the worst.