Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The willow is too close to the house.

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

A consequence of cucumbers

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

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

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

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

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

“woke” is the new caravan.

We still have time to mess this up!

You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Late Night Open Thread: #GOPsNextCrisis

Late Night Open Thread: #GOPsNextCrisis

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Not sure what sparked the original alarmism that set off this mocking hashtag — possibly news of the Gop Death Cult’s defeat in Ohio? — but I’ve enjoyed some of the quips…

Reader Interactions

84Comments

  1. 1.

    Damien

    The raisins thing has my vote, because it not only ruins your portion for you, but fixing your problem requires ruining literally everyone else’s. It is a chef’s kiss analogy for the modern GOP.

  2. 2.

    Danielx

    Yea verily, backstroking through a River of schadenfreude. Of course, Act II will be the usual suspects clamoring about shenanigans in the vote count.

  4. 4.

    DMcK

    @Damien: ​
      I read it as “not enough Black voters/candidates for their potato-white-supremacist caucus to hide behind”, but your take works just as well!

  9. 9.

    DMcK

    @Yutsano: ​
      Kill what, exactly? It was THEIR ballot initiative they sent on a suicide mission. And “not enough time to campaign” after the pummeling it suffered is flop-sweat excuse-making that gets ordinary people fired.

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    12 hours without internet chez NotMax. Helluva day on Maui. Intense howling winds ongoing, multiple fires visible in the distance in various directions from the porch.

  11. 11.

    Mousebumples

    @NotMax: Yikes! Good to see you around, but please take care of yourself. We’ll be here after this round of weather in sanity passes.

  12. 12.

    Nukular Biskits

    @Yutsano:

    So


    How much time passes until the legislature tries to kill this again?

    I don’t see OH Republicans trying this same thing again after having their asses handed to them at the ballot box. But, then, I don’t know OH politics and you’ve got to consider “OWNING TEH STEWPIT LIBTARDS! HYUCK!HYUCK!HYUCK!” is  powerful motivator for the right.

    What interests me is how state lawmakers here in MS are viewing this.

    Our original ballot initiative process was struck down as unconstitutional by our state supreme court a couple of years ago and the MS Leg has yet to get around to addressing that.  Feature, not a bug, I suppose.

    Anyway, there was some movement this last session about restoring the process to meet court requirements, but there was a lot  of infighting amongst Republicans over what issues would not be allowed to be voted on part of any ballot initiative.  And, yes, abortion rights was one of those issues they wanted to permanently ban from having the citizens to ever consider at the polls.

  13. 13.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I hope Trump’s trial is soon.  His behavior in court should be interesting.  Someone pointed out that he has been quiet and normal inside the court room so far.  That’s true, but he has only been in the court as a defendant a couple of times, for very short periods, while the topics are lawyerly rather than directly about him.  He has avoided personally attending civil trials like the plague.

    Eight hours of having his vile acts described to a jury while he has to shut up and watch will be very different.  The guy is easily bored, thin-skinned, and has major impulse control issues.  On the other hand, he clearly does understand the danger when it’s right in his face, and he’s a pathetic coward.

    Could be fireworks.  He could just sit there and be torturously miserable.

  15. 15.

    WereBear

    I predicted he would never make it to jail because he’s already decompensating and in a way the real stress has yet to begin.

    Am I the only one who thinks the Trump sketches from court look way too idealized?

  16. 16.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Am I the only one who thinks the Trump sketches from court look way too idealized?

    No. You’re not.

    I wonder who the courtroom artist voted for in 2016?

  19. 19.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Nukular Biskits: On NPR this morning they had an OH GOPer on saying with abortion and weed on the ballot this fall they were totally going to bounce back and win big. So it sounds very much like they’re going to double down on losing issues if what this guy said is the actual plan. I think they’ve spent so long doubling down to avoid primaries that they really can’t conceive of doing anything else.

  22. 22.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Baud: IDK the guy just mentioned it with abortion. My guess is legalized medical or recreational use.

  23. 23.

    hueyplong

    At first glance, “We didn’t give ourselves time to run a proper disinformation campaign” doesn’t seem like the most attractive argument.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Eight hours of having his vile acts described to a jury while he has to shut up and watch will be very different.  The guy is easily bored, thin-skinned, and has major impulse control issues.  On the other hand, he clearly does understand the danger when it’s right in his face, and he’s a pathetic coward.

    Good points. Is there still any discussion about televising his trials?

    ETA. Even when Trump behaves in a formal venue, he tends to let loose at a subsequent rally or on his social media platform. But now even pulling these stints puts him in jeopardy. The walls are closing in on him, and he is losing the ability to work his misdirection cons.

  25. 25.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Something I heard last night was that the Ohio GOP had been saying just a little while ago “no more August special elections. Ever. They’re a bad thing.”

    Then somebody realized that reproductive rights were going to be on the ballot in November and they said “Damn, we gotta change the law really quick so that doesn’t get on the ballot. August special election!”

  27. 27.

    SectionH

    @NotMax: E kala mai au. Damn. IIRC you live up country, and I won’t bother you for more news. I’ll just be worried sick and watching the news on my own. E Ê»oluÊ»olu e palekana.

  30. 30.

    Bedraggled and Bedazzled

    Gonna delurk to give long-delayed thanks to Anne Laurie, John, and so many others here for all their hard work. I’m feeling very lucky to reap the benefits of such sharp intellects.

  32. 32.

    sab

    @Baud: Legalizing recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana is already available, which still k8nd of amazes me since this is Ohio.

  34. 34.

    SectionH

    @NotMax  Lahaina?  I just can’t

    eta
    OGG at least seems to still be open. (\

    Our friends lived down the road, around the corner and up the hill a bit  from JHM back then. I loved that little airport
    edited again – I so hope Gavin steps up NOW to send help. Afaict we’re not burning up yet this year.

  35. 35.

    sab

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Everyone keeps saying how historically the turn out is low in August, and then they cite last year’s turnout as proof. Last August when we voted we weren’t even sure what our Congressional district was because the Republicans had been screwing around with redistricting all summer (and Sec of State Frank LaRose’s office couldn’t be bothered to post the current map before the election.) Genius Matt Huffman also led the charge on that, ignoring the redistricting law that had just been passed by voters at 70+%. He thinks voters forget. Apparently we don’t.

  39. 39.

    sab

    @Baud: It has been on the ballot before  and lost bigly. They think it energizes their base, like gay marriage used to. I think the last time it was just a bad proposal. Marijuana smokers I know even voted against it.  It was really restrictive on the pool of potential sellers. Seemed sort of corrupt to many.

  42. 42.

    SFAW

    So if they (try to) BAN PRISMS!!!!, will they also ban PINK!! Floyd (because Dark Side of the Moon and BarbieOMFGOMFG!!)?

  43. 43.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @sab: The GOP are nostalgic for the “good old days” when a black teenager’s life would be ruined by buying a nickel bag.

  44. 44.

    sab

    @Argiope: Wasn’t the law banning August elections passed in December 2022? And late Spring 2023 they were already planning the next August election.

  45. 45.

    Kay

    @sab:

    I wonder though. A lot of people who supported legalization now believe too many kids are smoking pot, including me. It isn’t the “smoking pot” so much (and I always believed it should be decriminalized) it’s that they didn’t regulate the potency, as they do in some other countries. I would be more comfortable with it if it were “proofed”, like booze is. The truth is they can’t be all fucked up thru their teens and not miss a lot and A LOT MORE of them are using. I just think we are going to pay for this down the line.

    The illegal pot they seized in the 1980s was 1.5% THC. Some of it now is 30%. Cap it at 7 or something. Put some regulations in.

  47. 47.

    Percysowner

    @Yutsano: Once it looked like this with tank they went on to plan B. They are going to the supreme court saying that the amendment language in November that the Secretary of State approved, that the Supreme Court approved is flawed and must be removed some nonsense about not citing all the code sections it effects. I guess they get points for persevering.

  48. 48.

    TS

    @Percysowner:

    I guess they get points for persevering.

    They NEVER stop. Took them 50 years to get rid of Roe v Wade but they never stopped trying until they found trump and McConnell willing and able to help.

  49. 49.

    Ocotillo

    @SFAW:  Actually when Pink Floyd came out with the 50 year anniversary box of Dark Side of the Moon, there was a mini-uproar that Floyd had gone woke.

    BTW, am I the only one noticing the abortion vote will be this November which is beneficial for the GOPers as the issue will be decided by the Nov 2024 election.  Best to get it taken care of but from a political perspective, it would be nice to have the issue to goose turnout in 2024.

  50. 50.

    snoey

    @Kay: Both those numbers are suspect at best. There was plenty of good weed back then and current 30% is a marketing claim based on a selected bud rather than the crop as  whole. Once the market matures it will be more like alcohol and sold on taste and image rather than raw proof. Folks in Maine are already getting a large premium for tastes better.

  51. 51.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    No, but it’s crazy easy to get with a straw buyer. The culture around it seems different than alcohol to me- like people who are legal see no issue at all with buying it for underage people. I’m in the part of Ohio that borders MI and that’s where they’re getting it – OH’s regulatory scheme is a PIA for people so they just go to MI.

    The longer I’m around them the more fragile I think that age group is – you can just… lose them and it doesn’t take that much. I also think it should be studied more- we know a lot about nicotine and alcohol, less about THC. We need to follow large groups of pot smokers who initiate at 18 and see what happens to them.  I feel like the industry, like the booze and nicotine industry, resists real analysis and  regulation. There’s a glut too, so prices are dropping. It’s very powerful and cheap.

  52. 52.

    sab

    @The Thin Black Duke:  I know a couple of kids that happened to. It’s taken a couple of decades to get their lives back on track.

    @Kay: I see your point on the strength thing. But I’d rather have them using pot than booze or heroin, like ours did.

    I still think tobacco is more of the gateway drug than pot ever was. Addictive, carcinogenic, and you only start because of peer pressure.

  53. 53.

    Soprano2

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: They truly believe they are the majority of voters, even in the face of an ass whooping like they got in Ohio yesterday. Turns out even Republican voters don’t like being told that they shouldn’t have any voice at all in their constitution.

  54. 54.

    oatler

    @Kay:

    One of those “not your parents’ weed” stories that come along every few years. “We were kind of lying all those times before, but this time it’s real!”

  55. 55.

    Kay

    @snoey:

    I hope so. I wish the culture around it among the proponents was different too, honestly. Don’t tell people it’s “harmless” anymore than one would tell people booze or a nicotine patch is harmless. In my experience kids are convinced there is no possible harm at any usage level. They assure me it’s “not addictive” – hand wave, hah ha- when they are clearly using at a chronic, daily level even if it doesn’t have the same “addiction” profile as other drugs.

  56. 56.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WereBear:

    Am I the only one who thinks the Trump sketches from court look way too idealized? 

    No.  Not at all.  Some courtroom sketch artists don’t make him nearly ugly enough.

  58. 58.

    Kay

    @sab:

    Well obviously heroin is worse but I don’t think this is how substance abuse works – “I have this pot so I won’t try heroin” is just not how it goes. There’s not this switching out that people seem to think – it’s just added to the menu of drugs that people use or don’t use.

  59. 59.

    Kay

    @oatler:

    Well, ok but I think you have to address the actual potency since now it’s a product and can be (and is) standardized and measurable. They’re not inventing 30%. They’re testing a consumer product. It’s on the label. This isn’t tales told by DEA agents. It’s produced, standardized and packaged.

  60. 60.

    sdhays

    @Frankensteinbeck: I can’t wait to see the courtroom sketch of Trump passed out and drooling on the table because it’s been too long since anyone said the word “Trump”.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @Ocotillo: ​
     

    there was a mini-uproar that Floyd had gone woke.

    10 years ago, I would have thought you were quoting an Onion headline (ignoring that “woke” used as a pejorative is a recent invention, of course). Now, however …

    Effing ridiculous.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    I don’t want to go back to criminalization. I just want people to be sensible and treat it with the same caveats, cautions and regulations as the other legal drugs. And do real studies of long term heavy use at high doses so people can be informed.

  66. 66.

    snoey

    @Kay: The standardized claim is the problem. Growers get away with submitting their state fair trophy selection for testing. What you get in the bag you buy isn’t the same. I know what 25+ % weed is and I have bought buds labelled as such that weren’t even close.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @snoey:

    I would say regulate them better then. No booze producer would get away with “this is between 40 and 80 proof, whatever”. It’s this kind of casual, laissez-faire approach I object to. I think it’s naive. This is an industry. Treat it like one. They’re not in this for your health.

    They want to be in the stream of commerce, legal for 350 million people, they have to grow up and act more responsibility. They won’t, so let’s just skip the requests and regulate them properly. It’ll save time.

  70. 70.

    Kay

    @sab:

    I know my opinion isn’t that popular among Democrats and liberals.

    There’s a definite mainstream group of older users who will be supportive though. I am surprised by how many daily gummy and vape users there are among people our age, judging by what my clients tell me. I don’t care about them – they can do whatever they want other than I worry a little about them because they are breaking the law carrying from MI into OH. But no one pulls over 60 year old white people in nice cars :)

  71. 71.

    snoey

    @Kay: No argument here. There is a balancing act though between moving people away from the black market and not too tightly regulating the legal market. If the Ohio med market is such a pain that people drive to Michigan that means that other people still calling that guy.

  72. 72.

    Freemark

    @Kay: Being serious now regulating by THC content would be difficult for a grown product. Alcohol is 99% manufactured. Even  ‘naturally’ produced things like low volume wines are easy to adjust for alcohol content. Partly because wine production is a extremely mature industry and it’s liquid. Regulating weed would be like trying to regulate  broccoli by its sulfurous compound content.  Manufactured things like vapes could be regulated pretty easily but grown items are much more difficult. There is also the problem of federal regulations making it extremely hard to do studies.

    Because legalized marijuana is so new abuse will be more rampant as the new fad. It will take some time to adjust to the new reality. Both regulatorily and culturally. I mean, as I type this the Apple dictionary won’t even acknowledge marijuana as a recognized word.

  73. 73.

    artem1s

    not enough time to campaign

    funny, the NO side had just as much time as the YES side to get out their message. I guess relativity is Marxist too.

  74. 74.

    Wag

    @Kay:   Based on experience here in Colorado, the bigger issue is the need to regulate dosage with edibles.   Sometimes a dose is half a gummie. Who ever eats half a gummie?  The other isssue is edibles take time to kick in, and then the effect lasts much longer than smoking.  The delay encourages additional dosing and the prolonged effect creates its own issues.  At least with smoking one can get pretty immediate feedback about how each hit it affecting you.

  75. 75.

    artem1s

    @Nukular Biskits: ​ 

    there was a lot of infighting amongst Republicans over what issues would not be allowed to be voted on part of any ballot initiative. And, yes, abortion rights was one of those issues they wanted to permanently ban from having the citizens to ever consider at the polls.

    So Confederates.

  76. 76.

    artem1s

    @sab: Seemed sort of corrupt to many.

    local LEO’s were going to get to review applicants and decide who got licensed to grow. how could that possibly go wrong?

  77. 77.

    Quiltingfool

    I agree with Kay.  Recreational pot is legal in Missouri, so no one needs to be sneaky about getting high, but
now it seems people who were very careful about using, and had to somewhat ration their intake now are going hog-wild on being baked ALL THE TIME because they can run to the store for more!

    See, pot works pretty good for me in relieving arthritis pain, but I don’t want to use because of the mental fog.  I like to be productive (those quilts ain’t gonna sew themselves, lol) and pot usage doesn’t seem to encourage productivity.

  78. 78.

    artem1s

    @Baud: ​ 

    Are teens allowed pot? They’re not allowed alcohol.

    They aren’t allowed cigarettes either but they get plenty of second hand smoke from their adult family members who smoke. Cigarette usage rates are directly tied to exposure in the home. The woo crowd, anti-vaxxers, and habitual pot smokers completely buy into the notion that pot is a miracle drug and will cure anything. Parents self medicating and giving it to their kids and encouraging their kids to self medicate is already a real problem. Vaping is where you already see kids using. They are stealing from their parents just like we stole cigarettes and booze from our parents.

  79. 79.

    Miss Bianca

    @artem1s: Speaking as a pot smoker myself, I have to say I’m really glad I wasn’t a stoner as a teen. Because yes, it really does affect brain development until you’re in 20s, if I’m recalling my research correctly. Yes, it does need to be treated as seriously as alcohol or tobacco or any other drug.

    The problem with the way most “anti-drug” education is presented to kids, tho, is that it seems to emphasize moralizing over science, and a lot of it in my day was such over-the-top fear-mongering that any reasonably bright kid could reach the  conclusion that most if not all anti-drug messaging is propaganda and bullshit.

    Dunno if/whether things have changed on that front – I haven’t kept up.

  80. 80.

    The Lodger

    @Kay:  Oregon makes the pot producers list the THC and CBD percentages on the label, and identify the lab that tested each batch. So it’s possible.

  81. 81.

    Geminid

    @Quiltingfool: There are strains of cannabis that are bred to be very low in THC but rich in other cannabinoids. People can use products made from these strains to relieve pain without the disorientation or anxiety THC can produce.

    To read the ads, CBD oil can cure just about anything, except maybe credulity as to natural remedies. I hope now that restrictions on research have been relaxed, scientists may be able to actually document the efficacy of cannabis for treating some medical conditions. It’s definitely a good analgesic, and I think that’s one reason the NFL loosened their enforcement against players’ cannabis use.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    @Wag: People cut gummies up all the time. My friend Joan brought some back from Boston, and would eat a quarter of an energetic variety in the morning and a quarter of a more restful one in the afternoon. She rarely smokes weed so her tolerance is low. Ehen Joan gave me a few I would cut them in half.

    Another friend is pretty good at making edibles; gummies if she’s using alcohol to extract the THC, caramels if she’s using butter. Debbie sometimes uses the butter in a grilled cheese sandwich.

  83. 83.

    Shana

    @Baud: They could do what they did in Virginia, which was legalize recreational use but refuse to set up a mechanism for retail sales. There’s a dispensary that’s been ready to open for over a year near my house. Signage, lights interior all set up (not sure about stock) but it can’t open since there’s not regulation in place.

  84. 84.

    Chris T.

    @Geminid: We—well, Spousal Unit—use edibles here (Washington) for messed-up body (post cancer surgery, liver issues, etc). They’re labeled on the packaging for THC, CBD, CBG, etc., content. S.U. is also doing research as well as logging effects; CBG seems to be the main effective ingredient at this point.

    There are a lot of cannabinoid compounds in the plant itself, and much more research is really needed here since there are lots of receptors for these things in gut and brain (and probably other parts of the body).

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