Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I really should read my own blog.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

The words do not have to be perfect.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

In my day, never was longer.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Optimism opens the door to great things.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Welp, there it is

Welp, there it is

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“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

― George Orwell, 1984

From a NYT report on the Republican National Committee’s shindig in Salt Lake City (where I hope they’re freezing their balls off — oh wait…):

WASHINGTON — The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it “legitimate political discourse,” formally rebuking two lawmakers in the party who have been most outspoken in condemning the deadly riot and the role of Donald J. Trump in spreading the election lies that fueled it…

On Friday, the party went further in a resolution slamming Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger for taking part in the House investigation of the assault, saying they were participating in “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

It was an extraordinary statement about the deadliest attack on the Capitol in 200 years, in which a mob of Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the complex, brutalizing police officers and sending lawmakers into hiding. Nine people died in connection with the attack and more than 150 officers were injured. The party passed the resolution without discussion and almost without dissent.

Mitt Romney was the lone dissenter, according to The Times. Romney’s niece, who has repudiated their shared name because the sloshing orange bag of liposuction clinic medical waste who rules their shared party demands it, “presided over the meeting and orchestrated the censure resolution.”

Speaking of Ronna Not-Romney McDaniel, I just realized I often confuse her with the Huckaspawn woman who also served Orangmandias and is now running for governor of Arkansas. It’s nepotism grifters, all the way down.

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

202Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    The RNC now has security in Salt Lake City interrupting conversations, asking reporters for their room numbers and telling them they should not be interviewing people. For a party that might, in some normal universe, be celebrating its midterm prospects, this is peak insecurity

    — David Siders (@davidsiders) February 3, 2022

    I was sitting in a hallway accessible to the general public when the hotel’s head of security approached, saying the RNC told him to instruct me to leave the premises and not return until Friday’s “open press” event. I’m a paying guest of the hotel. https://t.co/SDle9toEzL

    — Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) February 3, 2022

  2. 2.

    SFAW

    I realize what the RNC (and the rest of the Partei of Traitors) did is not technically Treason, but I think someone should make them deny that they’re committing it. EVERY FUCKING DAY (both committing it, and making them deny it).

  3. 3.

    frosty

    “… sloshing orange bag of liposuction clinic medical waste”

    BC, once again a masterpiece of invective.

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    We’ve been through the looking glass for a long time, but this cements it.  This from the RNC is so far over the top that it’s frightening on a whole new level.

  5. 5.

    SFAW

    @germy:

    Be interesting to see if the FTFTFNYT ever mentions this casual fascism in any type of news story.

    I don’t know whether I’d take the “over” or the “under,” because I’m not sure how to apply that concept. Maybe “never”?

  6. 6.

    Baud

    He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the orange spray-on tan. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Shit Gibbon.

    ― George Orwell, 1984 (revised)

  8. 8.

    mrmoshpotato

    Wow.  Just doing away with any plausible deniability that they hate democracy.

    RNC: Heads, we win.  Tails, we try to overthrow the government.

  9. 9.

    germy

    @Baud:

    “How many fingers am I holding up?”

    “Well, they’re awful short. Hard to tell.”

    “Bring the cage and the rats”

  11. 11.

    Brachiator

    The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it “legitimate political discourse,”

    I look forward to some tortured, inane comparison, repudiation and/or condemnation of the BLM movement.

    Richard Nixon: if the president does it, it’s not illegal.

    GOP: If white mobs do it, it’s not an insurrection

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    Been telling people that the GOP was a fascist party since the 1980s. Now it’s official.

  15. 15.

    gene108

    @germy:

    Those security guards are going to get a stern condemnation in this evening’s news for interfering with a free press.

    I wonder what the Republicans attending the conference think about these security guards harassing the free press?

    Unlike President Biden’s uncouth comments to Peter Doocey, these Republicans haven’t directly done anything to the free press.

  17. 17.

    p.a.

    Well I guess the next time we hear a Rethug spouting shit, hitting them with a steel pipe is political discourse.

    Not advocating, juuuussst saying…

  19. 19.

    MomSense

    This is metastasizing rapidly.  There is no “looking ahead” on this.  We have to prosecute Trump and all the conspirators or we are going to end up with terrorism and civil war.

  20. 20.

    tokyokie

    @MomSense:

    This is metastasizing rapidly.  There is no “looking ahead” on this.  We have to prosecute Trump and all the conspirators or we are going to end up with terrorism and civil war.

    We might anyway.

  21. 21.

    scav

    So, is beating cops with flagpoles now a protected valid free expression of political speech?  Or, does it have to be beating them with flagpoles specifically?

     

    ETA.  Plus the whole breaking and entering thing — making off with stuff and smearing excrement on walls.  Wheeeeeee!!! It’s all politically justified!

  23. 23.

    SFAW

    @Leto:

    Well they’re planning another mid-west diner soiree,

    “In the Dew Drop Inn Diner in South Cornhole, Iowa, we interviewed some of the locals to see why they still love President Donald Trump, and whether there’s anything Sleepy Joe Biden could say or do that could win them over.

    “Mr. Fred Clodhopper, who says he supported the ‘Democrat Party’ until 2016 — he says he had serious concerns about Hitlary’s e-mail server giving away Tippity-top Secret information to “the commies” a/k/a California Democrats — recalled a time when white people were not forced to look at their racism, and lamented the ‘woke’ terrorism of making him treat Blacks with dignity and respect. ‘I tell ya, it’s getting so’s I can’t even burn a cross without some lie-beral getting all up in my face. Why’n’t they mind they own bidness*?’ he opined”

     

    and so forth.

    ETA: * Yeah, I realize “bidness” is more associated with Texas and vicinity. Tough shit.

  25. 25.

    Leto

    @SFAW: hope you get the byline you deserve. Can’t wait to see you on the magic talking box! //

    Again, don’t understand how you operate a country with roughly 50% of it living in cloud-fucking-coo-coo land.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    This from the RNC is so far over the top that it’s frightening on a whole new level.

    I interpret their actions as that they are scared shitless. Call me a cockeyed optimist, call me a Pollyanna, call me a rose-coloured-glasses-half-full kind of gal, but I take some comfort from their panicky endgame behaviour. (Not that I am in any way complacent. Oh no. It will get uglier before it gets better, and we have to remain insanely vigilant and active. But this reads to me like the beginning of the end for the GOP.)

    (Lightly edited.)

  28. 28.

    MazeDancer

    Maybe Bari Weiss will figure out a way to call encouraging COVID genocide merely “legitimate political discourse”.

    So, if celebrating Mr. Biden’s heroic accomplishments this week, including those shiny job numbers, isn’t distraction enough, can highly rec “Reacher” on Amazon Prime.

    Well cast, well written crime caper. Good for an 8-ep binge.

    And, no, have not read the books.

  29. 29.

    Leto

    @Baud: Hope WaterGirl marks this as where the next name transition happens. The lore of SiubhanDuinne, SuburuDianne, SiubhanDuinne: Mob Enforcer, and now Suburu Pollyanan continues!

  30. 30.

    Captain C

    “legitimate political discourse,”

    This should be hung like a concrete albatross around the necks of every Republican running for office.  Have an ad showing cuts of the worst excesses of the January 6 rioters, including footage of the literal shit they smeared all over Congress.  “Candidate X and his party think this is reasonable/legit political discourse, when in fact it’s thuggish and completely un-American.  Vote for [Democratic candidate], the real American.”

  31. 31.

    SFAW

    @Leto:

    You’re far too kind. But one commenter who really does an excellent job is “keta” over at LGM. His/her stuff is outstanding. [Note: sometimes he/she does make a non-satirical comment, but reading his/her long-form comments is one of my (non-guilty) pleasures.]

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    Since we don’t have a party membership system that allows the RNC or state committees to deny a ballot spot to a politician, censuring Cheney and Kinzinger has no practical effect by itself. I did read that the RNC’s actions would allow them to put money and personnel behind Harriet Hagedorn(sp?), Liz Cheney’s Trump-endorsed challenger. Hagedorn’s campaign fundraising currently lags far behind Cheney’s.

  34. 34.

    Ksmiami

    @SiubhanDuinne: they’ve scared off moderate life long Republicans like my parents- and they offer nothing to avg Americans so we just need to defeat the extremists and scatter the remnants to the wind

  38. 38.

    SFAW

    @MazeDancer:

    Well cast

    Any version that doesn’t have 5-foot-5 Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher is a win. I was kinda hoping for Chris Hemsworth, but that’s mainly because he’s the only actor I’m aware of who was big enough to be Reacher. Hoping that this guy turns out to be a decent actor.

  39. 39.

    gene108

    @SFAW:

    Be interesting to see if the FTFTFNYT ever mentions this casual fascism in any type of news story.

    What fascism?

    We don’t know why the security guards did what they did, but liberals just want to run off and blame Republicans for any damn thing they feel like. Your woke mafia hates freedom of speech, whether it’s Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Rogan, or anyone else who fights your indoctrination.

    So quit acting like you care about what happened.

    For all you know these liberal indoctrination stormtroopers journalists created a hostile situation for other hotel guests and conference goers.

    There’s not one bit of evidence you have that any Republican attendee authorized these actions. Where’s the recorded statement where Ronna McDaniel gave an order to security? There isn’t one.

    You got nothing but crazy conspiracy theories with no proof.

  41. 41.

    Leto

    @mali muso: Just going to drop this interview here again in case people missed it:

    New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer discusses the conservative beliefs and influence of Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. She’s a right-wing activist and has been associated with some groups involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

    NPR Fresh Air (45mins) Is Ginni Thomas A Threat To SCOTUS?

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    ? Haha, Baud. ?

    But seriously, I cannot function if I’m labouring under the belief that these sociopaths hold all the power. I’ll admit my refusal to give in to despair is a psychological defence mechanism (and I fight it every day, not always successfully), but I know that if I resign myself to the idea that they are winning and will prevail, I might just as well curl up and die. Not yet. Not bloody yet.

  48. 48.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ksmiami:

    they’ve scared off moderate life long Republicans like my parents- and they offer nothing to avg Americans so we just need to defeat the extremists and scatter the remnants to the wind 

    Can we drown the remnants in a bathtub instead?

  49. 49.

    Geminid

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think the RNC is definitely scared of Trump and his voters. And they are very short sighted. Republicans see Senate and House majorities within their grasp, so close they can taste them. The RNC is desperate to win this year, no matter if it means placating the party’s radical wing. They believe they have to win with the voters they attracted in 2020, and they may be right about that.

    I think they are wrong, though, about Congressional majorities being within their grasp.

  50. 50.

    J R in WV

    Not a lawyer, so asking questions. Conspiring together before a crime makes everyone on the listserv guilty of all the crimes, if I understand correctly…

    How about working together post crime to help those who committed the actual insurrection escape all punishment by turning the crime into “legitimate political discourse”? Shouldn’t that make those pushing the “legitimate political discourse” coverup as guilty as those who were beating cops, breaking windows, spraying poison and smearing feces??

    In other words, helping criminals escape after the crime occurs, doesn’t that put you inside the conspiracy??? Should these folks be scheduled for FBI interviews asap? Would that slow this bullshit down a bit?? Hiring good criminal defense lawyers to sit in on your FBI interview, isn’t that expensive? Will the RNC pay for that for all these criminal conspiracy members?

  51. 51.

    Leto

    @germy: She’s part of the larger conservative apparatus that’s destroying everything. She does have a more unique status in that she fills the role of Grima Wormtongue, but Thomas is still a POS with or without her. Her family sounds like really delightful people…

  52. 52.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    The GOP is counting on the traditional benefit they get of not being collectively accountable.  Candidates in swing districts will simply avoid this issue, and lots of people will tell us and other voters that its unfair to tar those candidates with what the RNC has done.

  53. 53.

    trollhattan

    Solar energy, a story in two parts:

    February 4, 2022 at 11:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard

    President Biden “has renewed for four years Trump-era tariffs on imported solar panels that were set to expire this weekend as his administration tries to boost US manufacturing of clean energy infrastructure,” the Financial Times reports.

    New York Times: “But the Biden administration also moved to double the amount of solar cells that can come into the country without facing tariffs, and said it would begin talks with Canada and Mexico to export their products to the United States duty-free.”

    It’s official: California energy regulators are retooling their controversial proposal to slash the subsidy paid to homeowners who generate excess electricity from their rooftop solar panels. In a short email Thursday to solar advocates, utility executives and other stakeholders, the California Public Utilities Commission said it is delaying a vote to give the agency’s new leader time to “analyze the record and consider revisions to the proposed decision.”

    The proposal was released by agency staff in mid-December and was scheduled for a vote by the five-member commission Jan. 27. Now that’s on hold “until further notice,” the email said. The original plan triggered outrage from the solar industry and became a major political fight, with TV ads and the prospect of a ballot initiative to nullify the commission’s plan. Gov. Gavin Newsom signaled last month that the proposal was being massaged, telling reporters that “we have work to do” on the solar proposal.

    Roughly 1.3 million homeowners and business owners have rooftop solar panels, making California the leader in production of solar energy. A major factor in solar’s growth: PG&E Corp. and the other large regulated utilities are required to pay hefty credits to customers who ship their excess power into the grid.

    Utilities and some consumer advocates say the rate constitutes an overly-generous subsidy, worth a combined $3 billion a year, for the comparatively well-to-do customers who constitute the majority of solar owners. The commission’s original plan would slash the compensation and, for the first time, charge these customers a monthly hook-up fee depending on the generating capacity of their solar panels. Most customers would pay about $40 to $50 a month to their utilities. Solar advocates complained that the proposal would cripple the industry’s growth — and hamper the state’s efforts to fight climate change and build an all-green electricity grid. State law says the grid must be 100% renewable by 2045.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article258052518.html#storylink=cpy

    My quickie takes are 1. the fossil fuel industry’s ball clamps are cinched tight on the majority of politicians and we’ll have to fight them like hell for, like, our entire lives to loosen them. Biden administration may be responding in part to the realization that offshoring semiconductors has created a dangerous situation but the idea that North America can make PV panels fast enough and cheap enough to meet climate goals is daft and dangerous.

    2. Your utility is not your friend, and California is an important battleground to see how much clout consumers hold over them. Support for household solar is widespread (one area where hippies and Trumpers agree) and for fuck’s sake, we have 300 sunny days/year here in the metroplex and solar roofs should be the rule, not the exception.

    ETA, this sunny Friday afternoon, 61% of California ISO’s electricity deliveries are renewables, 80% of which is solar. CAISO comprises most of California.

  54. 54.

    SiubhanDuinne, Cockeyed Pollyanna

    I posted a comment a few minutes ago using a new nym. It went into moderation, as I fully expected. But now it has disappeared altogether, and while it wasn’t one of the World’s Great Comments, that makes me sad.

  55. 55.

    Baud

    @J R in WV:

    Conspiring together before a crime makes everyone on the listserv guilty of all the crimes, if I understand correctly…

    No. Only conspirators are guilty. If just you and germy use BJ to plan a conspiracy, the rest of us aren’t guilty of anything unless we participate in your plans in some way.

    @J R in WV:

    How about working together post crime to help those who committed the actual insurrection escape all punishment by turning the crime into “legitimate political discourse”?

    If the RNC’s statement had any effect on the ability to prosecute, there might be a crime.  But the RNC’s statement doesn’t have any effect beyond politics.

  56. 56.

    Juju

    How long has rubbing feces on the walls and statuary of the nation’s capital been “legitimate political discourse”?

  58. 58.

    Captain C

    @Baud: Let’s be fair, trying to overthrow democracy and assaulting cops while you’re at it is exactly the same as prancing around the Senate floor like a drunk Dolores Umbridge cosplayer while screwing ordinary people (and your own party) with bad votes on important bills.

  60. 60.

    Brachiator

    The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it “legitimate political discourse…

    This is quite remarkable, in a very bad way. Where is the GOP going with this? Do they think that the current trials and convictions are improper?

    Has any reporter asked them about this?

    So much for the GOP supposedly caring about the rule of law.

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    @MomSense:This is metastasizing rapidly.  There is no “looking ahead” on this.  We have to prosecute trump and all the conspirators or we are going to end up with terrorism and civil war.

    trumpov’s and the GQP’s corruption is so deep, they must feel that they have to stay ‘all in’ or else people will start going to jail, the Russian dark money spigot gets turned off for their campaigns, and…and…Dems will stay in power.

    The horror.

    F*** ’em.  Full steam ahead, 1/6 Commission.  Make it so obvious that these corrupt scumbags broke the law, that DOJ has to prosecute.

  62. 62.

    Quiltingfool

    This is very, very off topic (reading the RNC stance on Jan 6 makes me sick, those traitor supporting shitbags); to keep my sanity, I spend most of my time making pretty or cute quilts.  I’ve got one to show you today, just to make you laugh!  It features cats, so if you aren’t crazy about cats, skip on past.

    It is in my Etsy store, but here is a link to a photo on my Pinterest page.

    Oh, if you are interested in purchasing it, contact me through my Etsy store and I will send you a link for 10% off – just for Balloon Juicers!

    https://pin.it/aID290k

  64. 64.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I’m not sure how big an issue the events and consequences of January 6 will be to most voters. Maybe they should be, but a lot of people will be more concerned about the economy and then education, transportation, health care- so called kitchen table issues. I suspect Democratic candidates will campaign accordingly.

    Of course, if the Republican opponent wants to make support for the insurrectionists a part of their campaign I think a Democrat in a battleground district could call the opponent out to good effect. Otherwise, this will be a secondary issue for most Democratic candidates, I think.

  66. 66.

    J R in WV

    @SFAW: ​
     

    Be interesting to see if the FTFTFNYT ever mentions this casual fascism in any type of news story.

    Actually, wasn’t Ms Cracker quoting the FTNYT in her original post about the Salt Lake Hate Fest?

    Indeed, I looked, and she wrote “From a NYT report on the Republican National Committee’s shindig in Salt Lake” so maybe so, huh!

  71. 71.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I should like to make a complaint. Several minutes ago, I wrote a reply comment to someone, changed my nym in accordance with prevailing opinion, and posted it. As I fully expected, it went into moderation. BUT THEN IT JUST UP AND DISAPPEARED. My feelings were hurt, so I wrote another, gentle, comment under the same new nym. Again, that comment was first in moderation and THEN JUST UP AND DISAPPEARED. My feelings were so hurt the second time that I JUST UP AND DELETED the new nym. Forever.

    Hmmph.

  72. 72.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: I think they are, too.

    I know they are terrified of trumpov, because of his threats and his mob and his utter indifference to anyone’s future but his own (and probably because he could squeal on all of them about the Russian dark money laundered through the NRA and into many a GOP official’s campaign).  I think that many of them are also quite compromised/being blackmailed into submission.

    But…he pulled just about every occasional GOP voter in American to the polling place in 2020 and it wasn’t enough, not by a long shot.  GOP Reps and Senators won handily on those same ballots.

    Maybe they’re just hanging in there until he chokes to death on well-done steak or something.  I know Melania is!  =)

  73. 73.

    Baud

    @Geminid: That makes sense.  Unless the GOP candidate was at Jan. 6 or expressly embraces Jan. 6, most voters simply won’t care that the candidate is a member of the sedition party.

  74. 74.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @germy: “If you want a vision of the future Winston, imagine a recurring charge to a credit card – forever”

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    OT but too funny not to share: a judge has just blocked “Governor” Youngkin’s removal of mask mandates in Virginia schools.

    State Senator (and D majority leader) Louise Lucas – who is an absolute HOOT – just tweeted that the Gov should “try watching Schoolhouse Rock one more time until you get it”

    I’M DEAD

  76. 76.

    J R in WV

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Can we drown the [Republican] remnants in a bathtub instead?

    Hey, any reason we can’t use the toilet in the restroom of the garage tire shop that works on our vehicles? Seems more appropriate to me…

  77. 77.

    Other MJS

    Republicans at all levels should be asked publicly and constantly whether they agree with this.

    Edit: @Baud: I hope you’re wrong, and that hammering goopers with that can make a difference in close races.

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    @J R in WV:

    Hey, any reason we can’t use the toilet in the restroom of the garage tire shop that works on our vehicles? Seems more appropriate to me… 

    How did that toilet hurt you?

  80. 80.

    gene108

    @SFAW:

    The neat thing is, some RNC shill will put forth your “response,” verbatim. [If they haven’t already.]

    I think if there’s serious pushback against the RNC from the media, Tucker Carlson will be leading the scripted pushback with a “where’s the proof?” segment.

    Tucker: Where’s the proof Republican leadership ordered security to harass journalists? Is there a recording of Chairwoman McDaniel giving the order? This is just more baseless speculation on the part of the liberal media.

    @germy:

    the hotel’s head of security approached, saying the RNC told him to instruct me to leave the premises

    See above. Where’s the recording that actually shows RNC leadership* giving this order.

    *I harp on leadership, because if there’s a recording of an RNC official giving an order, it’ll most likely be from a mid- or junior level official “acting without authorization.”

  82. 82.

    hueyplong

    All this tells me is that the GOPers know they’re in deep shit in the upcoming televised hearings and they’re getting out in front of the story to try to delegitimize it because there is no dealing with the merits/substance of it and they won’t even have stonewallers on panel for the telecasts due to their (McCarthy’s) incompetent handling of the lead-up to where we are.  They’re acting in fear instead of power.

    I imagine Fox will have the committee in the background, without sound, while RW talking heads decry the partisanship of it all.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    @J R in WV:

    No.  It’s the equivalent of Lost Causers who claim that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery.  It’s a lie about history.  It’s outside the scope of the law.

  87. 87.

    trollhattan

    @Frank Wilhoit:

    Do you think Utah would pitch Senator Mittens aside for a Trumper? I don’t, strictly because I don’t believe Mormons were ever comfortable pulling the lever for Trump, even though they’re a red Western state. Oh, him instead of “That Hussy with a mere one child” was probably easy.

  88. 88.

    Redshift

    @Alison Rose:

    I really don’t like this version of the multiverse in which I have to occasionally think well of Mitt Romney. 

    His being slightly less awful than the rest of them doesn’t mean you have to think well of him. In this instance, I would say it just means you leave him off the list of people you’re thinking ill toward.

  90. 90.

    SFAW

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Although I understand your hurt feelings, I am a little amazed — not “surprised,” Mrs. Webster — that you did not don your Mob Enforcer aspect and deal appropriately with … someone.

  92. 92.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @SiubhanDuinne: I interpret their actions as that they are scared shitless

    They scared shitless of the upcoming Red State Terror. The whole thing was an attempt to do a Knife of the Long Sporks on Liz Cheny.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne, Cockeyed Pollyanna: Are you sure it disappeared? I see the Sybil comment, guessing that might be the one you are thinking of?

    Let me know if it’s not.  Now that your first comment as Cockeyed Pollyanna has been approved, you are free to change to and from Subaru Diane, Mob Enforce and Pollyanna.

    As fast as your head can swivel! :-)

  94. 94.

    Redshift

    @trollhattan:

    I don’t, strictly because I don’t believe Mormons were ever comfortable pulling the lever for Trump, even though they’re a red Western state. 

    Are you following the Utah state government and congressional/Senate reps lately? They’re as trumpy as anywhere. We all wanted to believe those nice Mormons wouldn’t really support an asshole like trump, but there’s really no evidence that turned out to be true.

  95. 95.

    Feathers

    Having read the books and not seen the Tom Cruise movies, Chris Hemsworth is not the right guy to play Jack Reacher.

  96. 96.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Frank Wilhoit: Remember Mittens it the Mormon Savior.  The guy been told his entire life he is destined to save the country in some great crises. It should be no surprise that Mittens acts more human the more he’s attacked.

  101. 101.

    Mallard Filmore

    @J R in WV: 

    Should these folks be scheduled for FBI interviews asap? Would that slow this bullshit down a bit??

    I think it would slow this down. These politicians are not career low level criminals that can shrug off spending a year in prison.

    The prospect of spending any time locked up will be a big shock to any plans they have for their future easygoing life. “Scared Straight” is not just for inner city teens.

  102. 102.

    Redshift

    @Jeffro:

    OT but too funny not to share: a judge has just blocked “Governor” Youngkin’s removal of mask mandates in Virginia schools. 

    Woot! The lege passed a law last year requiring schools to follow CDC guidelines to the maximum extent possible, so it doesn’t seem like it can hold up, but you never know.

    When the executive order came out, I felt it was a good sign that Mark Keam, a friend who I helped get elected to the House of Delegates, and who is never a fire-breathing partisan, said, “You cannot override a law with an executive order. It’s as simple as that.”

  103. 103.

    Baud

    @trollhattan:

    Twenty percent of Californians have contracted covid and two percent of Californians have died from covid.

     
    Where did you see this? This suggests Covid has a death rate of 10%.

  104. 104.

    AliceBlue

    @Jeffro: I just a story on HuffPo (sorry don’t know how to link) about a woman calling out Youngkin for not wearing a mask in a grocery store.  He was there touting his proposed removal of the grocery tax.  It went something like this:

    WOMAN:  Hey governor where’s your mask?

    YOUNGKIN:  We’re all making choices here.

    WOMAN:  You’re in Alexandria, read the room buddy!

    (I gather he didn’t get a lot of votes in Alexandria).

    I love this woman.

  106. 106.

    MisterDancer

    @MattF: Pence just made this whole ordeal much more interesting.

    I don’t think they can bury this statement in a news cycle, but we’ll see.

  109. 109.

    Ohio Mom

    @Quiltingfool: Nice melding of traditional quilt design and contemporary cartooning.

    On the topic of the post, that NYT article has 1.4k comments and a quick scroll through part of the thread shows only fury at the Republicans. We are mellow here on this thread in comparison.

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    @Captain C: They need to make a video composite of all the cops being beaten, crushed in doorways, etc with this on the bottom of the screen at all times:

    One year later, the Republican Party declares this “legitimate political discourse”.

  118. 118.

    Geminid

    @Baud: The calculus may vary from district to district. Abigail Spanberger will be running in the new Virginia 7th district composed of Northern Virginia suburbs and exurbs. Spanberger may hit the Insurrection issue harder than, say, Sharice Davids would in the Kansas 3rd.

    Speaking of Sharice Davids, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly just vetoed the Republican legislature’s Congressional redistricting plan. Republicans there have a veto proof majority, but it’s unclear whether leadership can wrangle an override. The Republican plan would carve half of Wyandotte County out of the 3rd District, giving Davids close to a 50-50 district. If Kelly’s veto is not overridden the matter will go to the courts. I think that’s where Kansas redistricting ended up last time.

  120. 120.

    SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer

    @WaterGirl:

    Well, now they’re back, 35-40 minutes after posting. Perhaps I’m just impatient. But still feeling salty, so I’m keeping Mob Enforcer for now.

    P.S.  Thanks for releasing me from the dungeon.

  124. 124.

    tokyokie

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Maybe the way Mittens becomes the country’s savior is to denounce tfg and join the other party. I’ve thought for a while now that Mittens doesn’t have his eye on the White House, but rather on becoming president of the LDS Church someday.

  125. 125.

    Ohio Mom

    @zhena gogolia: Thank you for the video, watching it was fun and heartening. What an inspiration that shopper is.

    But I have to say, the Governor is right, groceries should not be taxed. Stopped clock I guess.

  128. 128.

    Gravenstone

    @mali muso: Maybe she’s looking to trade Clarence in on a younger model? I mean, he’s going to exhaust that decrepit corpse he’s been rattling around in one of these days. Then what good will he be?

  129. 129.

    Gravenstone

    @Geminid: I did read that the RNC’s actions would allow them to put money and personnel behind Harriet Hagedorn(sp?), Liz Cheney’s Trump-endorsed challenger.

    Um, what was stopping them before? Tradition? Like that means a fucking thing these days?

  132. 132.

    Old School

    Not sure if this story has been discussed here or not.

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Local Black Lives Matter activist Pamela Moses was sentenced to six years and one day in prison following her November 2021 conviction, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich announced Monday.
    Moses founded Black Lives Matter Memphis and was a candidate for Mayor of Memphis, but lost the general election on October 3, 2019.
    She was convicted in November of illegally registering to vote in 2019.

    I see Maddow had a story on it.

  133. 133.

    Feathers

    @Redshift: Mormans may be “nice,” but the Republican target market today is authoritarian follower, so the Mormons fit right in. They also have whatever makes people good marks for the whole MLM scam scene, so that sets them up for Trumpism as well.

  135. 135.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: A couple of days ago @Dave Wasserman had this interesting take on redistricting:

        New: for the first time, Dems have taken the lead on @CookPolitical’s 2022 redistricting scorecard. After favorable developments in NY, AL, PA et al, they are on a track to net 2-3 seats on new maps vs. old ones.

    These projections are based on past performances, which I’ve heard do not predict future results. There will be plenty of battleground districts Democrats have to fight for, but this is better than I thought it would be a few months ago.

  137. 137.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ksmiami:

    As happens so frequently (in my life, at least), W. S. Gilbert provides the apt line:

    “Something lingering, with boiling oil in it, I fancy. Something of that sort. I think boiling oil occurs in it, but I’m not sure. I know it’s something humorous, but lingering, with either boiling oil or melted lead.” — The Mikado of Japan, from The Mikado

  141. 141.

    HinTN

    @Jeffro:

    F*** ’em.  Full steam ahead, 1/6 Commission.  Make it so obvious that these corrupt scumbags broke the law, that DOJ has to prosecute.

    I’ll be happy if they get a credible case in front of the public this summer. It’s ALL on the table in these mid-terms.

  143. 143.

    Frank Wilhoit

    @Feathers: Have you read The Book of Mormon?  On nearly every page, God is reaching down and killing somebody.  Whoever wrote that sh1t had some serious issues.  (I may say this here, because I was stopped on the street by Mormon missionaries ~1985, while I was trying to carry groceries home, and a copy was given to me, on condition that I actually read it and then write a book report on it for a Mormon bishop in Idaho.  I did.)

  144. 144.

    WaterGirl

    @Ruviana: Subaru Diane’s new nym is not gone. It’s now in the WordPress database.  She can choose to never use it again, but it’s been approved and it’s still useable.

  146. 146.

    Geminid

    @Gravenstone: Generally, official party bodies never work against their own incumbents. The RNC is abrogating that tradition. What stopped them before? They might have thought that Hagedorn wouldn’t need the help. Or maybe Trump only recently demanded this. He’s not a very thorough strategist.

  148. 148.

    Kay

    Zachary D. Carter
    @zachdcarter
    ·7h
    This is the best labor market in 50 years. I’m still baffled at the reluctance on much of the left to take credit for it. This is a vast improvement over the 2008 recovery driven by policy changes the left spent years clamoring for.

    Just a huge missed opportunity – I will never understand why they didn’t point to it as a success. It would have meant crediting Biden so they just couldn’t bring themselves to do it. If you get your wish where the government pumps in a shit-ton of money at the bottom in a crisis and it works, why would you not be shouting that from the rooftops?

  149. 149.

    Jeffro

    @AliceBlue: yes!  #ReadTheRoom (or something like that) is trending on Twitter.

    Youngkin’s a complete jackass, surrounded by the usual malicious GQP Koch-boys.  He’s going to have a rough four years.

  150. 150.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: I suspect we will hear more about some Dem player who helped organize and guide this effort across the country…AFTER all the maps are finalized.

    And to that person, I say…here’s to you, ma’am! (cheers)

  151. 151.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Old School:

    Rachel contrasted the six years in prison for a black woman with four white men in three different states, three of whom got probation and one of whom was slapped with a whole intolerable three days in jail.

    The thing that really burns is that Ms. Moses made a point of going to her parole officer to make sure she was eligible to register to vote. Parole officer said yes and, at Ms. Moses’ request, wrote a letter that Ms. Moses could present to election officials. Mind you, this was just so she could register — she hadn’t yet cast or attempted to cast a vote when she was arrested, tried, and sentenced. The judge accused her of “tricking” officials.

    Each of the four white dudes, OTOH, actually cast fraudulent ballots in the names of various dead relatives. They committed actual election fraud, and went essentially unpunished. Pamela Moses tried to do everything legally and by the book, and for her carefulness she’s going to prison for six fucking years.

    This whole thing is just an appalling miscarriage of justice. Is there anything we can do apart from donating to the ACLU Legal Defence Fund?

  155. 155.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HinTN:

    Yeah, it reappeared after its inexplicably long absence. Perhaps I’ll use it if and when my mood improves ;-)

  160. 160.

    catclub

    The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it “legitimate political discourse,”

    Wait I thought the line was that they were all antifa provocateurs dressed as confederates.
    Not actual republicans.

  162. 162.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Republicans gerrymandered the last map very aggressively in states they controlled, and they had a hard time getting much more advantage this time around. Kind of like pressing a load of olives the second time. On the other hand, Democrats controlling the process in their states were pretty ruthless this time.

    There are still pending court cases, but most redistricting will be final soon. Then I hope that one of this forum’s superbly talented, wonderfully informed, and indefatigable front pagers will put up a post on redistricting.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @PJ:

    What’s wrong with your nym?

    Ah. That’s a long, complicated story, not without its moments of sadness, and incorporating some suspenseful episodes, but ultimately breaking through to an ecstatic future of boundless love, light, and freedom.

  164. 164.

    Anyway

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    This case is so aggravating. The difference in treatment should be spread far and wide. Spam the FTFNYT, WaPO, local news, CNN, Axios etc. Dem party officials will not push this but these cases should be common knowledge among political journos.

  166. 166.

    Kay

    @Old School:

    I think if this had been a Republican President who put in a very conservative policy plan to address a  crisis and that resulted in the best labor market in 50 years every single conservative would have been out crowing that it was proof every single conservative was right.

    They would have said “sure there’s inflation but full employment! Look at the wage gains on the lower end!” That just didn’t happen.

  169. 169.

    catclub

    @Geminid: ​
     

    After favorable developments in NY, AL, PA

    How bad was Alabama? IN the election that the Democrat won for Senate 2017? 2018? , the Democrat still lost all but one of 7 congressional districts.

  171. 171.

    Old School

    @Kay: True, but I saw “BidenBoom” trending earlier today, so it isn’t that nobody is promoting good news.

    But yes, it should be done more.

  174. 174.

    Brachiator

    @Kay:

    This is the best labor market in 50 years. I’m still baffled at the reluctance on much of the left to take credit for it.

    The Democrats should push this all over the place. Send it to journalists. Have short, snappy visuals and animations posted all over social media.

    Send some copies to Senator Manchin.

  175. 175.

    Geminid

    @catclub: I think the development in Alabama was a win in a suit filed under the Voting Rights Act.  Virginia Democrats gained a seat in 2016 due to a VRA lawsuit. The new Virginia 4th District was won by the excellent Dan McEachin.

  179. 179.

    catclub

    @Brachiator: Send it to journalists.

     

    Good luck with that. CNN headline this morning was “Markets falling in response to positive labor report”.

  181. 181.

    WaterGirl

    @Raoul Paste: I sent email to ruemara asking how much it would cost to make such a video from Jan 6 footage.  I feel pretty confident that we could collectively afford to pay her to make that video, if she is up for doing it.

  185. 185.

    cain

    @hueyplong: Yes, it does sound like they are in a panic. That statement was ridiculous.

    Cheney is going to be the head of the party soon enough. If there is a bloodletting this year – she will have enough chutzpah to start moving the party away from fascism. I hope.

  186. 186.

    cain

    @SiubhanDuinne: Each of the four white dudes, OTOH, actually cast fraudulent ballots in the names of various dead relatives. They committed actual election fraud, and went essentially unpunished. Pamela Moses tried to do everything legally and by the book, and for her carefulness she’s going to prison for six fucking years.

    Her lawyer should share the blame. But that judge? How the fuck do you trick a parole answer with “can I register to vote”? The judge has no idea whats’ in her mind, and there is no evidence of the contrary. He should be disbarred.

  189. 189.

    cain

    @Anyway: ​
     
    Shouldn’t the labor unions be pushing this as well to their members?
    Every dem should be out in public talking about this good news.
    Even better, that job report was really good and it beat expectations.

  191. 191.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @cain:

    Aside from the plain-vanilla SiubhanDuinne, I also have SiubhanDuinne, Mob Enforcer and, as of today, SiubhanDuinne, Cockeyed Pollyanna.

  195. 195.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @cain:

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    She was apparently represented by a lawyer. But honestly, I don’t see how she deserves any blame. IANAL but when the Department of Corrections issues a letter saying Pamela Moses is off probation and eligible to register to vote, and she presents that letter in good faith to the Board of Elections, and then a day or two later Corrections says “Oopsie, our bad, you’re not eligible after all, we made a mistake, heh heh” I don’t see how any of that is on Ms. Moses or her attorney. And in any case, the disparity in sentencing between her and those four white guys who forged dead relatives’ signatures and actually double-voted just has me seething. It’s so blatantly unjust.

  196. 196.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    Lobby the president to commute her sentence or give her a pardon?

    As was discussed endlessly during Trump’s reign of error, the president can only pardon federal offenses.  These cases are all based on state law, so the president can’t do anything.

  198. 198.

    WaterGirl

    @Roger Moore:

    As was discussed endlessly during Trump’s reign of error, the president can only pardon federal offenses.

    Yes, I know that.  I just didn’t pay any attention to who had brought the charges.

  201. 201.

    brantl

    @cain: A Cheney isn’t going to move away from real facism, just away from other peoples’ flavors of facism. The Cheneys have an in-house brand that they are quite proud, and jealous, of.

  202. 202.

    brantl

    @Roger Moore: He could put a great big spotlight on it, and he could call up the state’s ACLU and give them the Uncle Joe heavy lean on the shoulder, and say, “I got your back, now you get HERS!”

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