In one of the morning threads, I shared an excerpt of a CNN report about prominent Republicans breaking with RNC Chair Ronna Not-Romney McDaniel for the resolution that censured apostates Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and declared that the violent January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol was “legitimate political discourse.” Here it is again:
“I think Republicans ought to stop shooting at Republicans, including the chairman,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the GOP leadership, told CNN.
Asked if McDaniel should step aside, Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota said: “Oh, I don’t know. Ultimately, it will be up to the RNC. But it’s just not a constructive move, when you’re trying to win elections and take on Democrats, to take on Republicans. It’s just not helpful.”
Privately, Republicans began to reach out to McDaniel — including her uncle, GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who exchanged texts with her over the weekend. While Romney said McDaniel is a “wonderful person and doing her very best,” he said he had made clear to her how he viewed the matter.
“It could not have been a more inappropriate message,” Romney said before adding: “Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us.”
As one of y’all noted, it’s remarkable that Thune didn’t say McDaniel shouldn’t step aside. He’s a politician, so he knows what leaving someone twisting in the wind like that signals. Also, Romney’s comment in the last graf is pure gold. I’m not fluent in LDS Nice, but I think he’s saying, “Fucking shut the fuck up, you dumb motherfucker.”
Now McConnell is on the bandwagon:
Mitch McConnell breaks with RNC on Jan. 6: “We all were here. We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 8, 2022
I mean, fuck Mitch McConnell in every orifice with every oxidized farm implement in the barn for voting against Impeachment 2 and blocking a full bipartisan investigation into the attack on his workplace. But that ghoulish old weathercock generally knows which way the Republican wind (I can’t even) is blowing (don’t even). So could this pivot mean the Trump Hindenburg is approaching the fatal mooring mast?
Probably not! I’ve got too much trauma from every unrequited “there, THAT will fucking do it, at long fucking last” to hope for something different this time.
But then horrid Florida Governor DeSantis appeared on Fox News today and claimed Democrats are behind the murmurs suggesting that Trump is fed up with the ungrateful whelp DeSantis’s overweening ambition. Cool story, but Trump basically called DeSantis gutless recently, which undercuts the plausibility of his DT + RD 4Ever friendship story. And there’s the fact that although Florida is a large state, it ain’t big enough for two galaxy-sized egos.
Also, do we think Trump is going to stop insisting that Republicans lie about his election loss? Do we think Trump is going to become less extreme about the January 6th attack? No. No we don’t.
Anyhoo. Whatever. Who knows. But I sure do love to see them squirm.
Open thread.
Jeffro
I’m dying, and I think you’re 110% right. =)
The Dangerman
I’m fluent in both Jive and LDS Nice and your translation is spot on.
Rusty
Trump can’t run with Desantis for VP since the presidential and vice presidential candidates need to be from different states. Of course Trump could declare residency in some other state (TX?), but I am guessing as governor Desantis can’t realistically change his. That said, Trump’s ego wouldn’t let him change from Florida, because he would look like the lesser having to change. So I think we are at least saved from the two of them on the same ticket. (I fear Desantis more than Trump because he is more ruthless. Trump didn’t manage to destroy the government because he lacked the attention span, agencies could hunker down, do studies and wait for Trump to get distracted by the next shiny object. Desantis has the focus to wreck most agencies for a generation.)
Geminid
@Jeffro: Trump has been agitating for Republican Senators to replace McConnell for a while now. They just ignore him.
WaterGirl
First Pence and now the turtle? I am thinking that the word must be out that the Jan 6 commission has some really damning evidence against some key players, and these guys are trying to get ahead of the game.
“Oh, those other people were going for insurrection; I spoke out against in in Jan 2021 and I’m speaking out against it again now. I am not for subverting democracy. I am the guy who can lead the Republicans (who are left once the committee gets going) out of the wilderness.”
cain
@WaterGirl: Hopefully they get replaced when it comes out. That will make things more interesting – of course, every Republican state legislator is going to overturn everything. Our “Activist Judges!” SCOTUS is going to be all in on the steal. But we’ll choke that turtle when we get to it.
eclare
@Rusty: Kimmel mused on his show last night that if TFG runs again, DJTJ would also be on the ticket.
Insert Munch’s The Scream here.
delk
Lacks legal standing—making it wayyyy to easy there.
cmorenc
We are about to find out in 2022 and 2024 whether a majority of the electorate is sane and can surmount voting obstacles.the gop is trying to erect to create firm extremist minority control of government
eclare
@delk: I see what you did there!
WaterGirl
@delk: Do you have a link for any of that? Because without context I am not sure how to read this:
“Lacks legal standing—making it wayyyy to easy there.”
delk
@WaterGirl: Here you go
KSinMA
Betty Cracker, you’re marvelous.
eclare
@WaterGirl: He is in a wheelchair is how I took it. He has also been accused of lying about the car accident in which he received his injuries.
Geminid
There was fallout from the mazi demonstration in Orlando. Orange County police announced that they had arrested Burt Colluci, leader of the “National Socialist Movement,” for battery with a hate crime enhancement. Two of his followers were also charged.
The nazis were demonstrating next to an intersection. A UCF student says that when he pulled up they saw the Israeli flag on his license plate holder, surrounded his car and spit on him. He got out, gave one a shove and was then punched and pepper sprayed. Some of the incident was caught by news cameras. The student may himself be charged with battery, police say.
From the Jerusalem Post
The Moar You Know
Not yet, but the coming GOP civil war – leaders vs. Trumpentariat – will give me a lot of personal satisfaction.
geg6
First, redistricting hasn’t quite worked out the way they planned. It’s looking much better for Dems than anyone had any right to think. It’s not a done deal, but it’s not the doom and gloom I was hearing about just a couple of months ago.
Second, has anyone won anything big lately by hugging Cheetoman? If they have, I am not recalling it. He doesn’t seem to have the best coattails. Not really since 2018, I think. And his coattails don’t seem to have been improved by losing in 2020. Even Youngkin, who is basically Trump wearing fleece and Columbia outerwear, wanted nothing to do with him.
And third, the 1/6 Committee and various other investigating agencies and journalists seem to have turned on a gusher of information about him, his cronies and their roles in 1/6 and the run up to it and the aftermath that rivals Old Faithful.
They are running scared re: the midterms. Now we just need to work really hard to make their fear real.
laura
The internecine war for the control of the republican party is going to be lit as the fascists strangle what remains of the big money boys and the booger eaters cry out for more and more strangling and mah freedumbs and dilemma that faces the media – which side to pick? Funny old world.
And I have to admit, I’m spending way too much time lurking on Marcy Wheeler’s twitter feed @emptywheel watching her hand FTFNYT’s Josh Dawsey his sorry ass for his personal achievements in stenography in covering an aspect of Ronna Romney McD’s bullshit about a little old lady, recently widowed, being bullied by the J6 investigation. It’s a thing of beauty and it’s a powerful fuck you to the village and the rotting remains of the republican party apparatus.
debbie
@Jeffro:
“Don’t make me make you ride in the cage on the top of the car!”
geg6
@laura:
For those of us who don’t twit, can you summarize?
mrmoshpotato
Throw all of yourselves into the fucking Sun instead. Yes?
debbie
DeSantis knows Democrats have nothing to do with TFG’s disenchantment, but it would be too much for his fragile ego to bear to lose TFG’s love. He’s just not that into you, RonBo. //
The Moar You Know
This will be interesting. Republicans, by their nature, are followers. The simple question is this: with two distinct entities yelling at them – GOP leadership on the one hand, bloated President Loser-man on the other – who will the little Republican Party toddler choose to run to?
Frankly, if I had to put money on it I bet on Trump, because he says all the words that make GOP voters tingly in their nether parts, and the part of the GOP that used to sit in quiet back rooms and do deals to keep the serfs in their pigstys is going to find itself without a party. Don’t get me wrong: this would be the absolute worst case outcome for the United States. It really would. These people need to lose early, often, and keep losing as punishment for their bad choices. But I also know that this is a nation of idiots.
Baud
Looks like Cornyn is going soft on the Second Amendment.
TKH
Republicans in disarray!
Geminid
@The Moar You Know: The establishment and the radicals were fighting in Virginia for years before Trump showed up. Eric Cantor’s primary loss in 2014 wasn’t the first or the last battle between the factions. One reason Youngkin won is that he papered over party divisions with money.
Congressional Republicans are trying to hold the party together because they think that Congressional majorities are in their grasp. If they can’t pull this off their party is in for a real civil war.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Turtle is a weird one, he seems to get Trump is an esoteric danger to everyone but Trutle is caught up in own games to just get rid of Trump.
Hoodie
It’s probably wishful thinking, but I’m rooting for this schism to turn into a gaping chasm. It’s pretty clear the establishment GOP wants to be rid of Trump because they know that, ultimately, he’s a loser. They want wink-wink-nudge-nudge type of politics where the quiet parts stay quiet and reactionary GOP pols wear fleece vests. However, there are a lot of signs that the crazies are not going to let that happen now that they’ve tasted power. McCarthy has no control of the nutjobs of the House GOP caucus. The SC is now dominated by right wing ideologues and religious fanatics, leaving Roberts with a similar situation. And, of course, Trump is still alive and can cause all kinds of problems for them.
MattF
I agree generally that Republicans are, ever so slowly, detaching from Trump and his various psychopathologies. But. The reason for clinging to Trump was to claim the loyalty of his followers. Maybe Rs are going to now make a play for D voters. Maybe the idea that Dems will be able to hold on to a majority in the House is starting to look plausible. Maybe they are suspecting that ETTD. Whatever the truth may be, however, don’t imagine that Republicans are now any less cynical or power-hungry.
Gin & Tonic
Sometimes I find myself thinking of Ken McElroy of Skidmore, Missouri. People tolerate things until they can’t.
Geminid
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I think McConnell will try to neutralize Trump. McConnell would have the bloated churl poisoned if he could get away with it. He can’t, so he is will try to limit the damage before the midterms.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I don’t believe Trump will be able to resist going after DeSantis. I hope he ruins the guy’s reelection hopes.
Ben Cisco, MSCIS Padawan
Rooting for INJURIES!!
They are all such horrible people.
WaterGirl
@eclare: Ah, I get it now, thank you.
Geminid
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m hoping Trump also damages Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s prospects. Trump is driven by his grievances, and has no loyalty to the party he joined only a few years ago.
Gin & Tonic
Good thing cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is mathematically secure, and not subject to governmental control
Brachiator
Not too much to say after that. Fox News is the House of Lies, and the GOP politicians know how to play that game.
WaterGirl
@Geminid:
That hardly seems fair. A bunch of nazi thugs surrounded the car and spit on him, and he gets charged for fighting back?
oldgold
You don’t tug on Superman’s cape;
You don’t spit into the wind;
You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger; and,
You don’t trust Republicans to do the right thing.
Bill Arnold
@Gin & Tonic:
Jebus. I did not recognize the name, town or state, but knew exactly what story you were invoking.
Old School
@geg6:
Ronna McDaniel talked about “an elderly, recently widowed friend” that the Jan. 6 committee was targeting and terrorizing.
This unnamed person turned out to be Kathy Berden, RNC committeewoman for Michigan, who played a leading role in submitting fake electors for Michigan.
Marcy Wheeler is retweeting Michiganders whose votes would have been invalidated as a demonstration that it wasn’t a victimless crime.
eclare
@oldgold: Nice lyrical rework!
Marmot
Just called Cornyn’s office to thank him for doing the right thing. I did not say “for once.”
Baud
@Old School:
In the good old days, old widows would get one free act of sedition.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: The student, David Newstat, has not been charged yet. The DA has to decide if his shove was an illegal battery or not.
Newstat will be tough to convict. The grandson of a Holocaust survivor, he will be a sympathetic defendant. And if his car had been surrounded a jury might decide he was in his rights to shove the man.
Orlando TV station Fox 35 interviewed Newstat after the incident. The interview should easily be found. The Jerusalem Post article also linked it. I pulled that article up by looking up “Jerusalem Post Orlando nazi.”
Mallard Filmore
@WaterGirl:
In my fever dreams, the FBI rounds up GOP senators that were involved in the 1/6 activities. Then the Democratic leadership in the Senate calls a quorum, passes a rule change on the filibuster (taking some GOP senators out allows Manchin and Sinema to be bypassed). Voting rights bill is passed.
SpaceUnit
If Republican intra-party fighting ever leads to shots being fired I would start a Go Fund Me to supply ammunition.
West of the Rockies
It would be utterly sublime if we really are close to a BIG REVEAL from the 1/6 Committee. I would love a series of, “Turns out, Trump literally wiped his ass on The Constitution–here’s the video… Turns out Jordan and Pompeo are long-time lovers…Turns out Kushner is a pedophile… Turns out, MTG murdered a kid…” You get the idea
I know it won’t go thusly. But some real and serious shit would be great.
surfk9
@laura:
I too am spending way too much time there. It’s the twitter equivalent of eating popcorn while watching a slow moving wreck
Sure Lurkalot
@WaterGirl: On the other hand, Marc Short, Mr. Flypaper’s COS:
Trump Had ‘Snake Oil Salesmen’ Giving Him ‘A Lot Of Bad Advice’ On Pence’s Authority
Sure, Marc. Read the room, buddy.
Patricia Kayden
What the …?
laura
@Old School: I’d wandered off and missed geg6’s comment/query. Your reply is appreciated, concise and accurate. All I could add is that the recently deceased Mr. Berden, like his Mrs. was one of MI’s fraudulent electors intending to overturn the votes of 2.8 million Michiganders including Marcy Wheeler. In a just world, that little old lady should be facing hard time.
Patricia Kayden
@Hoodie: Republicans deserve to get the Titanic treatment based on their adoration and veneration of Trump. Had he won, they’d be kissing his pasty behind. Most of them couldn’t even impeach him after he instigated a violent insurrection. Cowards.
Gin & Tonic
UK’s “Stop the War” coalition really shows its ass here by their choice of graphic.
mrmoshpotato
Duplicate.
Still the in comment box after posting. Weird.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
I now realize I may have insulted Bernie Sanders by comparing him to Corbyn.
Just curious, do you think the U.S. is ramping up the threat of war?
ETA: Code Pink! There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.
Geminid
@Sure Lurkalot: Reports are that January 6 Committee investigators have spent some hours interviewing Marc Short. I think his public testimony will be very interesting.
Baud
@Patricia Kayden:
Obama Calls Kanye West a ‘Jackass’ – Rolling Stone
TriassicSands
This is sooooo Republican. It’s all about winning elections and doesn’t mention anything about doing what’s right or recognizing the legitimacy of Kinzinger and Cheney’s position. Thune is what passes for a “principled” Republican in 2022 — the only principle is winning elections.
mrmoshpotato
The turtle-faced, fascist motherfucker voted against conviction after Impeachment 1 as well. So fuck ‘im twice!
Ksmiami
@Ben Cisco, MSCIS Padawan: All of them Katie. Republicans are cartoonishly villainous cretins.
Ksmiami
@TriassicSands: it’s not like the GOP has an actual platform other than break government and grift…
catclub
@eclare:
wouldn’t Ivanka be more likely?
WaterGirl
@Marmot: What did he do that was the right thing?
TriassicSands
There’s an OP-ED in the Post today about Trump being about to run out the clock on some of the potential charges for obstruction of justice — without a peep from the Justice Department. Are they even investigating the Mueller report’s instances of obstruction of justice? Or will the statute of limitations once again save Trump from accountability?
WaterGirl
@Patricia Kayden: What’s the phrase? He is not right in the head, as they say.
eclare
@Patricia Kayden: Especially since for some reason Barack was asked about when Kanye tried to take some award away from Taylor Swift, and Barack referred to him as a jackass.
ETA I see Baud got there first
Danielx
It IS starting sound like one of those deals when the president says “I have complete faith in so-and-so”, where the translation is “start pulling the pictures of your I-love-me wall, asshole, you’re embarrassing me”.
TriassicSands
@Ksmiami:
Well, they do stand for FREEDUMB!!!
No masks. No vaccines. No social distancing. No pandemic.
Oh, and the autonomy of the human body as long as it isn’t a female body carrying an unwanted pregnancy.
debbie
@Geminid:
Not much of a stretch to call what happened a hate crime.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: I think the US government would do well to listen carefully to the Ukrainian government.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: No thank you.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
My impression was that the criticism was that U.S. statements were creating panic, not that they was making an invasion more likely. But I may be misremembering.
sab
@laura: Tried to disenfranchise Marci Wheeler. Oops.
My apolitical sister even reads emptywheel. Jan 6 really shocked her. She has lived near autocratic governments her whole life. She never thought we would be where we are.
debbie
@Patricia Kayden:
Sadly, I clicked. Kim refused to give him the address for their daughter’s birthday party. ??♀️
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl:
Haha. The Republican party as these assholes see themselves in the
funhousenot-traitorous-fascists mirror was taken out to the wilderness generations ago, shot point blank and buried.EmbraceYourInnerCrone
I am personally rooting for injuries, I hope the Republicans split and the bat shit insane faction brings them all down. But that means I need to kick a little in for any and especially the upcoming races that don’t get enough attention or cash. Off to do some research. I hope to Not bequeath the new iteration of the third reich to my soon to be born granddaughter but the number of Good Germans even here in Connecticut is seriously scary…
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: I may not be correctly understanding your question. Is “the US ramping up the threat of war” and “[the US] making an invasion more likely” intended to be equivalent? The US requiring diplomatic personnel families to leave and “recommending” that US expats leave is certainly unhelpful (and is being widely ignored by all the expats of my acquaintance) but the only determinant of likelihood of an invasion is one V. V. Putin.
Less talk would be better.
cope
@Geminid: Florida’s recently enacted “Anti Riot Law” has a kill with your car provision that allows somebody in a car confronted with protestors to mow them down with impunity. He should have stayed in the car and driven through them yelling “I HATE ORLANDO NAZIS!!!”, then he could have skated.
Sure Lurkalot
@Geminid:
Well, I sincerely hope the spin that Trump was hoodwinked into the various plots and plans to overturn the election is seen for the utter bullshit that it is.
sab
@Patricia Kayden: He’s bipolar and mostly off his meds. I cut him some slack
ETA I never thought I would say it, but I feel very sorry for both of them.
Starboard Tack
According to the NYT. I hope this helps get rid of Dejoy.
p.a.
What will Fox News’ role be in preventing a Rethug civil war, or deciding the winner if there is an outbreak?
The pig people (h/t driftglass) Fox helped create/energize a) want to hear the quiet parts shouted, want blood, but b) also want to be told what to do, want to know who is the recipient of every day’s 24 hours of ragehate.
(After the voting machine manufacturers’ lawsuits, I think OAN, Newsmax networks are bit players, if they were ever more than that.)
Geminid
@cope: There may not have been anyone right in front of him. Newstat certainly could have driven away, but he decided to make a stand. He will come out of this fine.
Ken
I thought Florida was one of the states where he has the right to run over protestors if they’re in the road.
EDIT: I see Cope answered me.
eclare
@sab: And their four children. This has the potential to get really ugly.
Betty Cracker
@Patricia Kayden: He’s nuttier than a squirrel turd.
Geminid
@Sure Lurkalot: Short will be asked specific questions about events he has personal knowledge of. I don’t think he’ll have a chance to spin anything even if he wants to. The Committee is staffed with pros. The chief investigator, Tim Heaphy, served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia during the Obama administration.
Tom Levenson
@Betty Cracker: Awesome image.
trollhattan
@Baud:
Yet again, Obama’s not wrong.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: I started to write “That boy ain’t right.” and then I remembered that West is black so I didn’t want to use “boy”.
So I went with he’s not right in the head. Yours was better.
trollhattan
@Starboard Tack: Has Biden appointed enough folks to the Postal board to give DeJoy the heave ho? IIUC that’s the only to ditch him.
Baud
@Starboard Tack:
Nancy P still getting it done.
Starboard Tack
@trollhattan: I believe his picks haven’t been approved yet.
p.a.
Holy shit, the future costs mandate was Rethug sabotage to destroy the most unionized dept of USG, shocked as shit so many voted along w Ds to kill it.
Starboard Tack
@Baud: It was truly bipartisan and should pass the Senate.
Mike in NC
Stupid Ronna McDaniel should have been rejected for a cashier’s job at Walmart.
Marmot
@WaterGirl: Saying McDaniel shouldn’t censure Cheney. Don’t tell me I’ve misinterpreted again!
Ella in New Mexico
@delk:
Which is pretty much what all the leaders of the Confederate States and Jefferson Davis would have asserted, as in, it wasn’t the LEGITIMATE US Government they were waging war against…
They were still fucking traitors and lost but you can see how these twirps are deluding themselves
MisterForkbeard
@debbie: DeSantis knows Dems have nothing to do with it. But this is a standard Republican whine (everything is THEIR fault and made up).
But it’s also an attempt to manipulate Trump into liking him.
“Sir (with tears in my eyes), the Democrats are behind all these horrible rumours that you don’t like me.” Because Trump hauls off on stuff all the time if he thinks Democrats are involved at all.
laura
@sab: None of us did…well maybe except Silverman.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Feel free to stick with BC’s original once then.
phdesmond
@KSinMA:
indeed she is!
UncleEbeneezer
Here is a long but interesting look at the evolution of the Boogaloo Movement:
“Abstract: The Boogaloo movement, which coalesced online in late 2019 and manifested offline in 2020, has quickly evolved into a significant domestic violent extremist threat. It has also proven to be deeply challenging for online monitoring and evaluation due to its adaptive use of memes and coded language that blurs the lines between irony and incitement. Offline, a disrupted violent plot in Nevada targeting a racial justice protest, acts of accelerationist-inspired violence in California, and attempts in Minnesota of material support to a foreign terrorist organization underscore the gravity of the diverse threat the Boogaloo movement poses—and the need to take it seriously. The Boogaloo movement has resonated within the United States’ domestic extremist landscape through appeals to the nation’s revolutionary origins. And an accelerationist faction within Boogaloo has sought to instigate decentralized insurrectionary violence. As a big-tent movement with the ability to quickly adapt its messaging, its presence, fractured or not, will likely continue in 2021 and beyond.
January 2021 marked one year of overt, offline Boogaloo movement activity in the United States by the movement’s members, often referred to as the “Boogaloo Bois.”a The movement has gained national notoriety in that time, due as much to its eclectic aesthetic of colorful Hawaiian-themed apparel as its connection to disrupted violent plots—namely, the attempted kidnapping of a sitting U.S. governor.1 In 2020, members of the movement were accused of plotting to use Molotov cocktails during a Black Lives Matter protest, conspiring to materially support Hamas, and murdering law enforcement personnel.2
The rapid evolution of the Boogaloo from niche internet forum meme to mainstream mobilization narrative in hardened violent extremist milieus suggests it presents a unique security challenge for both social media companies and U.S. law enforcement agencies going forward. The Boogaloo movement’s ambiguous, broad framing of American revolutionary ideals cloaks an inherent message of necessary violence against the U.S. government as a perceived authoritarian threat. This article will examine the history of how the Boogaloo movement arrived at its current state, detail the movement’s embrace of insurrectionary violence offline, provide a brief forecast of the movement, and suggest responses to the threat.”
ema
@Patricia Kayden:
Kanye West sends his minions to threaten and harass election workers and actively works to destroy our country. Who wouldn’t want to help such an outstanding citizen?
Craigie
@cope:
That or shot them all and then claimed he was just standing his ground.
WaterGirl
@Marmot: You may be right. I saw it as “don’t take potshots at our own side, even if they are traitors to the republican party”. I didn’t see that as commendable. But you are right that he stood up against censuring her.
satby
@Starboard Tack: The Senate still hasn’t confirmed all of Biden’s Post Office Board of Governors nominees (and guess which members are holding that up?). Until Biden’s people are confirmed, DeJoy won’t be fired.
debbie
@MisterForkbeard:
That’ll never work. TFG is threatened by the very thought of DeSantis running for the presidency. TFG’ll never stop badmouthing DeSantis until he’s dead.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: Reading “fuck him twice” sounded too much like sex with the turtle. Shudder. Is he even married? Never mind, disgusting creature, I don’t want to know. :-)
How do the Republicans spouses and children not spontaneously combust with shame???
Tazj
Something is going down or things look better for Democrats in the midterms. Whatever is happening you can be sure that McConnell didn’t suddenly see the light and is deciding to do what’s best for the country, he’s doing what will benefit him and Republicans right now.We all know he and his party could have ended a lot of this with Yes votes for impeachment. If he thought he could have gone all the way to the midterms without saying anything bad about Trump he would have.
sab
@laura: Yep. Yet here we are. Nationwide Jim Crow and not just for minorities.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: Well, now that I read the Jerusalem Post article a third time, I see that it was one of the nazi “NSM” members who said deputies told him that the student would likely be charged. This may have been the cops “shining on” the nazis.
Also, one of the nazis was charged with grand theft. Maybe he took the student’s phone. Orlando TV station Fox 35 and other local media should have the scoop.
sab
@ema: Because he is mentally ill.
Baud
@Tazj:
Maybe Biden’s gracious words at the National Prayer Breakfast moved him.
Anon
@WaterGirl: should have stood his ground like Rittenhouse
Geminid
@Craigie: Those “Run down protesters” and “Stand your ground” laws are for murderous assholes. Newstat did the right thing.
geg6
@WaterGirl:
He is married to one of the most repugnant women on earth, Elaine Chao. They deserve each other.
MisterForkbeard
@Ella in New Mexico: Hasn’t Cawthorn talked about “2nd amendment solutions” and so on? Didn’t he endorse the actions on Jan 6th?
He did endorse and engage in insurrection. He’s stated that he’d do it in the future, too. This is just to generate outrage from his base “How dare Dems accuse him…” while providing some legal cover for his lawsuite.
geg6
@sab:
Sorry but having lived with someone with bipolar who also went off his meds on a regular basis, being mentally ill does not mean the person isn’t an asshole. Believe me, mentally ill people are just like everybody else and their illness only seems to intensify the person they are. My brother was a very kind, introverted and passive man and his illness intensified that passivity and introversion even when he was manic. He did crazy stuff and had lots of delusions but he was still passive and introverted. Kanye is an asshole and his mental illness only makes him more of an asshole.
Another Scott
@delk:
In other words:
Good, good. There have to be consequences for these yahoos running roughshod over the system of government our parents and grandparents fought and died to protect.
(via CherylRofer)
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: I had the same thought. Contrary to what our progressive betters think, Biden is good at this and knows what he is doing.
sab
@geg6: I totally agree. We have several such in my family. But that doesn’t mean they are pure asshole. On their meds they often are decent people. Off their meds they aren’t. And some are assholes no matter what the state of their medication.
I am just saying there may be a reason for bad behavior. Even celebrities are just people when at home.
sab
@schrodingers_cat: The difference between liberals and progressives in a nutshell.
CaseyL
“Slowly and then all at once”?
FSM, I hope so. Oh, how I hope so.
But I won’t believe it until the GOP/GQP is a pile of burning rubble, winning no national elections, state lege majorities, or governorships anywhere outside of maybe FL, SC, AL, MS, TN, MO and OK. Even that’s too many, but it’s not enough to swing the rest of the country.
different-church-lady
When you’ve lost Mitch McConnell…
Ancient Atheist
@Gin & Tonic: I opine that Putin is nothing more than a tin-horn gangster willing to kill his opponents. He is no tactical genius, just dangerous. He has however spread his oligarch friends into important political arenas. That needs to be stopped. I say RICO the lot of them, seize their assets and send them home penniless.
Dan B
@CaseyL: Arkansas? Not too many people there.
BTW did you see the Seattle Times cover story? We go to Iron Springs next to the Copalis River where evidence of the origin of the Great Wave of Kanagawa’s origin was discovered.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl:
LOL!
I’m not even sure what decade it was that shame no longer became a thing for these bastards. It definitely was some time last century.
J R in WV
@UncleEbeneezer:
When I want to dress up without a necktie, I wear colorful silk Aloha shirts that Wife gave me. Does that make me a target for arrest as a Boogaloo bois??? Cause I’m not like that….
mrmoshpotato
@mrmoshpotato: Oh, spouses and children. Not sure why they’d combust in shame of their Rethuglican parents or husband/wife.
WaterGirl
@Tazj: Totally agree with every word you wrote.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I snorted. Literally. Such an attractive sound!
WaterGirl
@geg6: Oh, I knew that. I must have blocked it out. That has to be a marriage of convenience.
daize
OT! So, introducing our new kittens, who have not quite shared their names with us. We adopted them from a lovely rescue/foster org in our area 10 days ago. Kitties are just about 4 months old. They look so deceptively docile! Morning maniac music, as Grace Slick says. They are a joy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/194976643@N03/51871080944/in/dateposted-public/
CaseyL
@daize: They’re adorable! Congrats, and enjoy!
CaseyL
@Dan B: ??? No, I didn’t, and SFAIK the Great Wave was inspired by Mount Fuji in some strange way. What’s going on in Copalis???
daize
@CaseyL: Thank you!!@CaseyL:
Thank You!
lowtechcyclist
Guess “shut your fucking face, unclefucker” was right out, given their familial relationship.
karen marie
Oh, Betty, you are an absolute fucking delight.
SFAW
Reason Number N (where “N” is a large positive integer) of why I love you
SFAW
@sab:
I understand why you’re cutting him slack, and you’re a good and compassionate person for doing so — far more than I am, certainly — but he’s rich enough and smart enough to hire someone to make sure he’s never “off his meds.”
SFAW
@Craigie:
I thought that only works if the ones getting shot are brown or black, and the shooter is white?
satby
@daize: So cute! Need names shared when decided ?
Eunicecycle
@daize: very cute!
Quaker in a Basement
@eclare: Bah! Beelzebub will take up ice sculpture before TFG picks Jr. ahead of Ivanka for anything.
Circularreasoning
@Geminid: ironically, if he had shot them all claiming reasonable fear for his life he would be a stand your ground, NRA hero! New Rittenhouse.
evodevo
@WaterGirl: Why yes, yes he is…to the heiress to a Chinese shipping conglomerate. Who, by the way, was a cabinet-level appointee in two different Repub administrations