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

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

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

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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Thursday Evening Open Thread: The GOP Death Cult Has A New ‘Idea’

Thursday Evening Open Thread: The GOP Death Cult Has A New ‘Idea’

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a Thursday morning press conference that a failure to keep the government open would be the result of the Senate Republicans taking an anti-vaccination stance.

“We’re not going for their anti-vaxxing, so if you think that’s how we’re going to keep government open, forget that,” Pelosi said.

Some Senate Republicans are threatening to vote down a stopgap government funding bill unless it strips enforcement provisions from the White House’s vaccine mandate for larger employers…

The House of Representatives came to a bipartisan agreement on Thursday to vote to keep the government open through mid-February, after the previous stopgap vote in September extended the funding through Dec. 3. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the government would stay open but was urged by members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus to do whatever it takes to strip out the vaccine mandate.

“How do they explain to the public that they’re shutting down government because they don’t want people to get vaccinated?” Pelosi said Thursday of Senate Republicans. “Why don’t you ask them? This is so silly that we have people who are anti-science, anti-vaccination saying they’re going to shut down government over that.”

“We will get it done, and we’ll get it done in a timely fashion,” she said, adding, “We anticipate that the Senate will pass the legislation.”

Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he would allow the bill to keep the government open to pass but first wanted a vote on his amendment to defund the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for businesses…

“Unfortunately, it seems Republican dysfunction could be a roadblock to averting an unnecessary and dangerous shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Thursday. “If there is a shutdown, it will be a Republican, anti-vaccine shutdown.”

Thursday Evening Open Thread: The GOP Death Cult Has A New 'Idea'

(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  2. 2.

    satby

    Nonna P lays it on the line. Good for her calling the press stupid for asking what the Dems will do and telling them to go ask Republicans.

  3. 3.

    Joe Falco

    JFC, if Republicans want to have their politically motivated amendment vote so they can use it in the political campaigns to show off how horrible they are, let them.

    “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Sun Tzu

  4. 4.

    Chetan Murthy

    Heh, Nonna P. used the word “silly”, but I bet she was thinkin’ of a few other words that start with “s”, maybe one that starts with “f”.  Goddamn, it must be frustrating to deal with these imbeciles.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Some Senate Republicans are threatening to vote down a stopgap government funding bill unless it strips enforcement provisions from the White House’s vaccine mandate for larger employers…

    It’s Bizarro world vogueing.

  6. 6.

    VOR

    They must know they are killing their own voters. But it seems they don’t care. It’s an entire party of sociopaths led by a narcissist.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Great cartoon. It’s not even exaggerated to make the point. This is literally what the Red Hat Brigade have been saying.

  9. 9.

    germy

    https://dailygazette.com/2021/12/02/rotterdam-to-use-arpa-funding-for-old-kmart-renovations-town-park/

    There’s a dying mall in Rotterdam (Schenectady NY county) with an abandoned K-Mart.

    The town of Rotterdam will use funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to buy land for a town park and to pay for the cost of renovating the old KMart at the Viaport Rotterdam for town office space.

    Local Republicans are struggling with the idea:

    Board member-elect Joe Mastroianni asked the board to hold off on approving the funds during the public comment period at the town’s board meeting Wednesday night.

    “It’s a little disconcerting,” Mastroianni said about the project.

    The old K-Mart is dead.  The building is rotting.  This would convert it to town offices, and benefit the mall.  But because Biden is involved, the local conservatives can’t get behind it.

  10. 10.

    sab

    @VOR: They are always breeding new young sociopaths. There is something amiss in their educational system, from charter and parochial schools on up to legacy admittance IVY League Law Schools.

  13. 13.

    sab

    @satby:  She does that a lot. Effective moms and grandmothers are pretty good at cutting to the chase. Stop the BS and tell me what you are asking. Otherwise I will assume what you are asking and it may be what you need not what you think you want

    ETA: As if I need to tell you that.

  14. 14.

    debbie

    @germy:

    The Chamber of Commerce (led by the recently retired Rep. Steve Stivers) is anti-anti-mandates, and he’s been pretty blunt about that. The GQP’s use of “small government/pro-business” statements are really nothing more than a way to disguise of their Q-ness.

  15. 15.

    sab

    @debbie: What? (fans self and pearls with conviently available fan) You think the parents knew what was going on in those exclusive schools they paid so much for admission and tuition?!

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    Pelosi: This is so silly that we have people that are anti-vaccination saying they’re going to shut down government over that and you’re asking me what’s our message

    Nancy SMASH is not here for your bullshit!

    Great comic by Jack Ohman.

  17. 17.

    oatler

    Tom Cotton just got swatted down by Sheehan. Of course., next one up is Oklahoma jackwagon James Lankford

  18. 18.

    sab

    @debbie: My local Chamber of Commerce broke away from the national  about ten years ago because the national was so insanely anti-union, and local businesses could not survive if they went to war with “unions” in general and their locals in particular.

  21. 21.

    mrmoshpotato

    @debbie:

    I like “silly.” Silly is for children, and these clowns are definitely acting childish. 

    Also, FOX would look like dumbasses blowing a gasket over the word “silly.”

  22. 22.

    smith

    Still trying to figure out how this is a winning political strategy. More than 70% of Americans of voting age are fully vaccinated, most of them willingly. The last poll I saw the majority of Americans support vaccine mandates. Whose vote are they going to gain by doing this? I don’t see how they can do more than consolidate votes they were already going to get.

  23. 23.

    Spanky

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Goddamn, it must be frustrating to deal with these imbeciles.

    These are artisanal imbeciles, handpicked by their owners precisely because of their ability to formulate such low quality questions, then write up their columns in a way that pushes the owners’ point of view.

  24. 24.

    debbie

    Having an Abortion at Your Second Home

    For those of us lucky enough to have second (or third) homes in places like Provence or Tuscany, an unwanted pregnancy could be an invitation to a vacation.— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) December 2, 2021

    I think this is truer than DougJ realizes.

  25. 25.

    Cermet

    @debbie: No, many of them designed this exact form of government but for slavery; they were very sick monsters so we reap what those animals sowed for the U. S. of a/o’s

  27. 27.

    Kalakal

    In a sane world trying to cause a shutdown in order to prevent a vaccination program in the middle of a pademic that’s already killed 800,000 people would lead to political extinction. Anyone suggesting it would be laughed off the stage.

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    @germy

    County government here moved the DMV into the vacated Woolworth’s space at a mall. Better than the dowdy, cramped line of 3 – count ’em, 3 – service windows stuck underneath a county owned gymnasium complex, with one or two rickety, splintery outdoor benches to wait on but that newer one was hardly amenable to being an ideal configuration. The older place was renowned for slamming the windows shut on the stroke of 4 o’clock. No matter if you were being waited on at the time, the window thumped down, leaving no choice but to try again the next day.

    I suspect the mall landlord began demanding exorbitant rent as it wasn’t all that many years later the county built its own freestanding (and much, much more spacious and user friendly) facility.

  31. 31.

    Brachiator

    @debbie:

    For those of us lucky enough to have second (or third) homes in places like Provence or Tuscany, an unwanted pregnancy could be an invitation to a vacation.

    Would make a great Netflix series, “Unwed in Provence.”

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    A New Hampshire man who threatened to hang six members of Congress if they did not “get behind Donald Trump” will spend 33 months in federal prison, according to officials.

    Ryder Winegar, 34, of Amherst, was sentenced for six counts of threatening members of Congress and one count of transmitting interstate threatening communications, acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley for the District of New Hampshire announced Wednesday in a news release. Source

  37. 37.

    Argiope

    @Leto: My Big Fat Greek Abortion?

    Thanks for the laughs, everyone–I’m definitely slaphappy but it’s a nice break from enraged so I’m going with it for now.

  39. 39.

    trollhattan

    Heard a hospital administrator in Soweto interviewed this morning, and she said they’re packed yet again with covid patients and this time, instead of elderly it’s youngsters. Maybe, just MAYBE this time the supposed grownups who don’t “feel” masks and social distancing and are just too darn immune for this pesky bug will quit that shit and get themselves and their kids vaccinated.

    Yeah, it’s late.

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    @NotMax:

    “They’re gonna hang him
    “From that hangin’ tree”
    How did this freedom-lover propose to do this six-pack of hangin’, all by his ownself?

  43. 43.

    Uncle Omar

    @VOR: It’s a long-term strategy.  Most of the dead “voters” will be in gerrymandered Republican districts.  It won’t matter if they lose 500 or 5000 voters in those districts, the Republican will still win.  And, they can blame Biden and the Democrats for the deaths because they didn’t do enough to fight the pandemic.

  44. 44.

    MisterForkbeard

    @smith: It’s all signalling to their base, and trying to get others to view the vaccine mandates as “extreme overreach”.

    If they can get the media to even entertain the idea and treat it reasonably, they win because approval of the mandates will go down and they won’t treat the CDC or the Whitehouse as authoritative figures. Basically, the whiners will get all the attention.

  45. 45.

    MisterForkbeard

    @UncleEbeneezer: The Youngs have been showing up more and more recently.

    Basically, they’re less vaccinated than elders and are taking a lot less precautions. Therefore, a lot of them end up in the hospital. That’s all it takes.

  48. 48.

    VOR

    @Uncle Omar: I agree. They are going to let their own voters die from preventable illness, then blame Biden. It’s like killing your own parents and then asking for mercy as an orphan. Meanwhile Murdoch and all the Fox News staff will get vaccine boosters.

  49. 49.

    Eunicecycle

    My daughter just texted that both of the hospitals where she works have dropped the vaccine mandate because of the federal judge blocking it in our circuit (Ohio). She’s pretty livid, although since the cutoff is tomorrow hopefully most people have gotten it.. But now the assholes that held out can’t be fired.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    Consumer alert.

    If you didn’t know that tool manufacturer DeWalt made wireless headphones, don’t worry — we hadn’t either until they started catching on fire. The DeWalt-branded Jobsite Pro Wireless Earphones are being recalled by manufacturer E-filliate for safety concerns of overheating. The company said the recall affects about 301,000 units, which were were sold in stores including Home Depot and Lowes between December 2019 and July 2021.

    The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on December 1st and said there had been 61 reports of the headphones overheating, including five fire incidents and four minor burn injuries. Source

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Timothy Burke @bubbaprog 2h
    The state of Missouri commissioned a study to see if mask mandates worked. When the results came in, showing they saved lives, the state blocked publication in order to maintain its attempt to force cities like St. Louis to end their mask mandates:

  53. 53.

    Dan B

    @smith: If th GQP is going for “pleasing” the base on vaccines they’re increasingly winnowing out the mildly sane.  Will the only people left be brownshirts, klan, Aryan Nation, and wannabe murderous psychopaths 2.0?  Is anyone in the GOP leadership gaming out what happens when their base wants a shooting war but they all start shooting at anything that moves at the first backfire?  Leopards blowing everyone’s faces off!

  54. 54.

    Peale

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “The CDC says that masks and social distancing works.”

    MO Legislature: “Maybe on them Chinese and Japanese, but we’re from Missouri. Completely different people. We need to study this again.”

    “Report”: Missourians are actually like other people.

    MO Legislature: “This report is obviously been put together by woke socialists.”

  55. 55.

    Fair Economist

    @trollhattan: A frightening possibility is that Omicron is less extreme in affecting the elderly more. The age gradient is much steeper for CoVID than the flu. What if Omicron has a flu-like gradient?

  56. 56.

    Emma from Miami

    I am sorry to hijack this thread with non-political stuff but I need advice. A couple of months ago my elderly (anywhere from 13 to almost 14) Schnoodle was diagnosed with Cushing’s. He was put on meds and all seemed to be going well. Today, however, he’s very lethargic (he’s the original chase anything that moves boy), sleeping a lot and snoring like a freight train, even refusing his favorite (only) snack. He did eat his meals. Supposedly the lethargy is a side-effect of the Cushing’s.  He’s currently sleeping on my yoga mat at the foot of my bed, another new place he never visited before.

    Does anything sound familiar?

  57. 57.

    smith

    @Dan B:  Someone here once mentioned that cults often spiral inwards, demanding more and more extreme beliefs and behavior as proof of loyalty, and cutting out more and more heretics at the edges. Watching Republicans primaries over the last ~20 years, you can see this phenomenon, as candidates have stampeded ever rightward.  It’s discouraging, though, that it hasn’t led to more electoral losses. The Rs did lose a lot of suburban women last time around, but they seem to have attracted a fair number of previously non-voting people, who I guess were just waiting for a party that was sufficiently insane.

    Still wondering how the anti-vaccine position plays out in this context, though, since the number of people who say they are unalterably opposed to getting vaccinated has steadily declined over the last year. Just holding on to deadenders doesn’t look like it would be worth all the effort they’re putting into it.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trollhattan:

    just MAYBE this time the supposed grownups who don’t “feel” masks and social distancing and are just too darn immune for this pesky bug will quit that shit and get themselves and their kids vaccinated.

    heard on MSNBC today– I was only half paying attention– that vaccination rates this past week are the highest since May, if I’m remembering right.  Maybe omicron scares them more because it sounds more like a Michael Crichton novel, or a movie based on one.

  61. 61.

    Kent

    @Uncle Omar:@VOR: It’s a long-term strategy.  Most of the dead “voters” will be in gerrymandered Republican districts.  It won’t matter if they lose 500 or 5000 voters in those districts, the Republican will still win.  And, they can blame Biden and the Democrats for the deaths because they didn’t do enough to fight the pandemic.

    That is what all the Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine bullshit is about.   Biden and Big Pharma hasn’t allowed people to get cured using horse deworming paste so all these deaths are on him and the “deep state”

  62. 62.

    ThresherK

    I like the Ohman cartoon, but where is the Beltway (mainstream) Blob asking Joe Biden “Why are you bungling Covid?”

    Getting across the idea that the GOP’s horseshit is continually sanitized and amplified by the “moderate” press is not a difficult barb to make in an editorial cartoon.

  63. 63.

    Gravenstone

    “Stupid”, Madam Speaker. The word you’re looking for is “stupid”, not “silly”. “Assinine” is an acceptable alternative.

  64. 64.

    schrodingers_cat

    @sab: I replied to your comment in the last thread, just wanted to clear up any misunderstanding. I was talking about the reason why the press treats elected Republicans and Dems differently.  I was not speaking of individuals.

  66. 66.

    Emma from FL

    @zhena gogolia: vet is currently closed. This is a nownownow. He is now shivering as if he were very cold. It might just be an adjustment to the meds that is needed. There is an emergency hours vet somewhat near by. My sister is on her way to pick me up and we’ll be taking a ride over there.

  68. 68.

    J R in WV

    Our little kitten, 15 Y O Spike is (hopefully) recovering from a sinus infection. She has lost a lot of weight, now on antibiotic nose drops 3 times a day, oral antibiotics once a day, She hates me for dosing her — yet seems to be eating a lot more now.

    So I’m hoping she’s doing well now.

    A tiny cat who climbs onto my right shoulder and holds on TIGHT and purrs. Ouch! But I love her a lot. Hoping she does well over the next few days. Also has thyroid issues, last vet visit the Dr said “It’s more important for her to gain a little weight than to stay on the Thyroid diet!” but of course that’s the car fud we have on hand right now.

    Good night, all!

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