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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

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Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Deplorati Donny-Brook

Deplorati Donny-Brook

by Betty Cracker|  April 1, 20241:05 pm| 105 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

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I thoroughly enjoyed this CNN account of Republicans rhetorically punching each other in the snot-locker, stomping fellow caucus members’ insteps and kneeing one another in the beans with great force. The donnybrook concerns an upcoming GOP primary in the Virginia 5th between arch-conservatives Bob Good, the incumbent and GOP House Freedom Caucus chief, and challenger John McGuire.

House GOP reps are blasting each other with a level of rancor I can’t recall seeing before the whole party went feral. It’s hard to guess who is on the side of whom, given that everyone involved is a hard-right creep:

“Bob Good didn’t come here to govern. He came here to be famous,” [Derrick] Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, told CNN. “Bob Good’s wearing our jersey, and he’s not on the team.”

Van Orden added: “If you look at what we have not been able to accomplish in this Congress, it’s predominantly because of Bob Good and his ilk.”

Van Orden is a gigantic dick in his own right — you may recall him as the asshole who screamed and cursed at Senate pages who were lying on the floor in the Rotunda taking photos at the end of their term last year. And speaking of massive fore/dickheads:

“This is the most important primary in the country,” said [Florida Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who led the charge to oust McCarthy and has targeted two other sitting Republicans in their primaries so far this cycle. “Bob is our masthead. Bob Good is our leader among House conservatives to get us on the same page to ensure that it is the people’s interests that rise above the special interests. They know that they hate us. But you know what, there are more of us.”

Good backed DeSantis in the primary, which is the focus of most of the verbal slap-fights. Earlier this year, Trump advisor Chris LaCivita told a Virginia paper that “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him.” But LaCivita declined the opportunity to slam Good anew for the CNN article, so perhaps Trump’s attention is on other things right now, like hoovering up RNC money.

Other members of the Deplorati also expressed opinions on Good:

Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Trump Cabinet member who is backing McGuire, added: “We can do a lot better than Good,” he said. “We can do great.”

And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – who was booted from the Freedom Caucus last year after sparring with her GOP colleagues – has endorsed McGuire, saying Good “cannot be trusted and will work against Trump.”

“John McGuire endorsed and supported President Trump while you stabbed him in the back,” she posted on X.

Good angrily dismissed her.

“Nobody cares what Marjorie Taylor Greene says or thinks. And she’s a one-man show, she’s grandstanding and she wants attention,” Good said.

It would be a shame if these irredeemably terrible people kept hurling insults at each other, right up until the June primary vote! (I assume they’ll all scuttle back under their rocks if Trump opens his fat orange yap to endorse one of the candidates.)

I know nothing about the district, but my guess is if it elected Good, it probably isn’t gettable for Democrats. (Maybe knowledgeable friend of the blog Geminid or someone else with local knowledge will weigh in with a more informed take?)

Anyhoo, here’s hoping crushing pressure and high temperatures harden already hard feelings into a diamond-like consistency in the House GOP. Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    April 1, 2024 at 1:07 pm

    Paging Geminid.

  2. 2.

    CaseyL

    April 1, 2024 at 1:07 pm

    They all have guns, right?  I think they should have a duel:  Let God Decide.

  3. 3.

    Another Scott

    April 1, 2024 at 1:10 pm

    The CNN report apparently left out a bunch of important stuff about Good’s opponent. BlueVirginia.us:

    See below for video of CNN’s “report” (in air quotes) this morning on the nasty VA05 Republican primary between far-right-extremist/theocrat/bigot Rep. Bob Good and challenger John McGuire, who is literally an insurrectionist and also far-right, plus a Trump/MAGA fanatic. Yet in its “report,” CNN fails to mention that McGuire is an insurrectionist and far-right extremist and even falsely claims Bob Good is being challenged from the “center right” (!!!).

    The “center right”??? Is CNN actually arguing that Kevin McCarthy and his allies aren’t super conservative (definitely NOT “center-right”) themselves? And again, more to the point – John McGuire is a Trump cultist (he was literally in the pro-Trump mob outside the US Capitol on 1/6/21) and about as far right as you can get (the comprehensive VAPLAN scorecard for the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session rated McGuire THE most right-wing member of the State Senate). For whatever bizarre reasons, CNN mentions none of that. But wait, there’s more! That’s right, CNN also almost completely misses the big story here, which is that McGuire’s primary against Good is, in large part, fueled by Trump wanting to take out Good for “disloyalty,” specifically Good having endorsed Ron DeSantis for president over Trump.

    In sum, CNN’s report is a really, really bad joke, the worst of political “journalism,” and a perfect case study in how the political “mainstream media” in this country is helping to put our democracy in grave danger.

    P.S. Whoops, almost forgot to mention some of “center-right” McGuire’s endorsers: Rudy Giuliani (’nuff said), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (total nutjob/extremist), Rep. Derrick Van Orden (who was at the so-called “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall on 1/6/21), Rep. Ryan Zinke (Trump’s horrendously bad, corrupt, global-warming-denier Secretary of the Interior), etc. Also, although Trump hasn’t endorsed McGuire – yet! – Trump’s campaign manager Chris LaCivita recently stated that “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him.” So yeah, Trump might as well have endorsed McGuire. Not that CNN’s “report” mentions any of this.

    I’m not tired of all the winning yet, are you??

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  4. 4.

    Dangerman

    April 1, 2024 at 1:12 pm

    Marjorie Taylor Greene … (says) Good “cannot be trusted and will work against Trump.”

    Well, shit. I agree with MTG this morning. To my knowledge, this is a first.

    I’m thinking extra long, extra hot shower to wipe off that feeling. I’ll have to warn my roommates to ignore the screaming of the scalding from my scolding.

  5. 5.

    Origuy

    April 1, 2024 at 1:13 pm

    Anyone seen good April Fools Day jokes?

    The best one I’ve seen so far is Duolingo on Ice.

  6. 6.

    John S.

    April 1, 2024 at 1:15 pm

    The 5th district includes the majority of Southside Virginia. Within the district are the cities of Charlottesville, Danville, and Lynchburg.

    It’s a 75% white, mostly rural district where the median income is low and only a quarter of the population has a college degree (and more than 10% never finished high school).

    In other words, it’s Trump country.

  7. 7.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 1:18 pm

    Tiedrich nails it yet again.  So entertaining (perspective goggles activated). The part about Duty to Warn near the end is *chef’s kiss

    https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/comer-fudd-is-a-rake-stepping-glutton

  8. 8.

    Sherparick

    April 1, 2024 at 1:19 pm

    The thing is this district may be gettable. Good won easily in 2022 mid-terms, but the Dems did not put any money in the race. In 2020, Good did not even get 53% of the vote.

  9. 9.

    Old School

    April 1, 2024 at 1:20 pm

    @Origuy:

    Anyone seen good April Fools Day jokes?

    It’s Midwest centered, but I enjoyed the one about adding movies to gas station pumps:

    The Midwest collab of the century. pic.twitter.com/eRGhgjhhJg— Kwik Trip (@KwikTrip) April 1, 2024

  10. 10.

    MazeDancer

    April 1, 2024 at 1:21 pm

    Waiting for Johnson to put a Ukraine bill on the floor and Marge to pounce.

    There are so many liars online now, cannot bear an April Fool’s joke.

  11. 11.

    cope

    April 1, 2024 at 1:36 pm

    “Deplorati”…that’s funny.

  12. 12.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 1:37 pm

    oh dear LORT I just saw a new campaign ad by McCormick (R-ussian) running here in PA where he highlights, I shit you not, wrestling!  In a gym with mats 😆😂🤣 howsat for sticking a finger in Gym Jordan’s eye?!! But I guess it will fly over the heads of those in the cult.

    🎶

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y71iDvCYXA

  13. 13.

    Geminid

    April 1, 2024 at 1:41 pm

    The 5th CD will likely be out of Democrats’  reach for the rest of this decade, but the primary is an interesting intraparty fight. McGuire has a real shot because Good has made enemies, especially because his was one of the 8 Republican votes that cost McCarthy his Squeakership.

    Good has his allies, and last week Reps. Matt Gaetz, Chip Roy and former Rep. Mark Meadows staged a 3-day tour of the district. They called it “The Freedom Fighters” tour. The venues were mostly restaurants so the events were RSVP.

    Sen. McGuire is one of the many ex-special forces Republicans being elected to office in red districts. The biggest thing he’s got going is that he endorsed Trump early and has Trump’s endorsement. Good endorsed DeSantis and McGuire isn’t letting anyone forget it.

    There is a Virginia news site, Cardinal News, that specializes in Southside and Southwest Virginia news, and they are covering this race fairly closely.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    April 1, 2024 at 1:43 pm

    From a book published in 1811, an Easter Monday curiosity.

    “Anybody got change for a groat?”
    ;)

  15. 15.

    NickM

    April 1, 2024 at 1:49 pm

    In other news, Trump’s Truth Social stock — trading under the abbreviation DJT — is down more than 25% today.  I guess this means the dump part of the pump’n’dump cycle is kicking in, but it seems like it’s way too early for him to be dumping a lot of stock.

  16. 16.

    Jeffg166

    April 1, 2024 at 1:52 pm

    Republicans and disarray. Sad.

  17. 17.

    Mike E

    April 1, 2024 at 1:54 pm

    Yay injuries! Go go go!

  18. 18.

    Origuy

    April 1, 2024 at 1:57 pm

    Another Poisson d’Avril

    The Orvis MegaTÜL

  19. 19.

    Tony Jay

    April 1, 2024 at 1:58 pm

    Cheesegrater to cheesegrater combat, handstands, legs akimbo.

    Whoever loses, the gene pool wins.

  20. 20.

    Denali5

    April 1, 2024 at 1:59 pm

    @NotMax:

    Did not appreciate the photos of young girls scantily dressed and moving provocatively on this site. Seemed pretty close to child porn.

  21. 21.

    MattF

    April 1, 2024 at 2:04 pm

    @NickM: WaPo article on Truth Social stock (gift link). I lost count of the number of red flags.

  22. 22.

    Old School

    April 1, 2024 at 2:08 pm

    @NotMax:

    “Anybody got change for a groat?”

    Merriam-Webster says that a groat is worth four pennies.

  23. 23.

    TKinNC

    April 1, 2024 at 2:09 pm

    I live in NC, right below VA-5. As Geminid says, as currently drawn, it is very R but Ds did win the seat in 2008 when Tom Perriello was elected by less than 800 votes. I attribute that to gay cooties which spread to Virgil Goode from one of his staffers due to a scandal in Danville involving a restaurant and theater but wikipedia doesn’t back me up on that. I’m probably misremembering, but I did like that short-lived restaurant on N Main St.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    April 1, 2024 at 2:10 pm

    @Denali5

    Always a problem with any site which allows free public posting of images. I (of course) do not endorse any such practices but short of creating and maintaining a web address of my own the options for sharing are limited.

  25. 25.

    Scout211

    April 1, 2024 at 2:10 pm

    @Denali5: Did not appreciate the photos of young girls scantily dressed and moving provocatively on this site. Seemed pretty close to child porn.

    Numerous commenters have asked other commenters to please give a synopsis of what is posted at the link, for many reasons including what you are saying.

    But these surprise links are still here on balloon-juice and some jackals enjoy them.  I would suggest that you do what many commenters do.  Just move on and don’t click on any links if there’s not a clear description of what you will find at the link.

  26. 26.

    Timill

    April 1, 2024 at 2:11 pm

    @Origuy: I liked the new Nerdle code of conduct, which includes (inter alia):

    “Prime numbers are considered lucky. Any guess containing a prime number will earn bonus points equal to the sum of the factors of that prime number (other than 1 and itself).”

    “Odd numbers will be restricted in all future nerdles: an odd number may only appear in a solution if the multiple of its prime factors is also odd.”

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    April 1, 2024 at 2:16 pm

    Back-stabber? It’s time to become front-stabbers, you glorious Republicans.

  28. 28.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    April 1, 2024 at 2:18 pm

    @Old School: got any groat clusters I could chew on?

  29. 29.

    frosty

    April 1, 2024 at 2:18 pm

    @Origuy: ​
     OMG this is a hoot! I loved this comment from “An Orvis Employee”

    The premium model does include AI and is fully Bluetooth capable. The Ai is so advanced it will automatically update your cars extended warranty for you.

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    April 1, 2024 at 2:18 pm

    @Origuy: ​
    It will sell. Anybody who knows the fly fishing set understands.
    One for the cycling set.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    April 1, 2024 at 2:21 pm

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    “Grubs again. Grumble, grumble.”

  32. 32.

    frosty

    April 1, 2024 at 2:23 pm

    @trollhattan: ​”It will save you two minutes on a 10,000 kilometer race.”

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    April 1, 2024 at 2:28 pm

    @TKinNC: Virgil Goode had baggage for sure, and Perriello also had Barak Obama’s coat tails in 2008. A Republican beat him in 2010, and then redistricters made the district redder.

    The seat came open in 2018 when Rep. Tom Garret retired due to alcoholism. Ironically, a meeting of the Republican District Committee selected vodka distiller Denver Riggleman to run (Riggleman is actually an Air Force vet-turned intelligence contractor so his Nelson County distillery is a third career).

    Riggleman won in 2018 by about 6 points and then in 2020, Bob Good and the Bible Thumpers knocked him out in a convention held at Liberty University, Good’s former employer.

    Good went on to beat a strong Democratic candidate, Cameron Webb, by 5 points. Then redistricters made the district redder and Democrats nominated a weak candidate in 2022 because the two other candidates could not get enough signatures make the primary ballot. Good beat him by around 14 points.

  34. 34.

    ETtheLibrarian

    April 1, 2024 at 2:33 pm

    @CaseyL: That sounds like a natural and fitting end for where this is going.

  35. 35.

    Anotherlurker

    April 1, 2024 at 2:33 pm

    @Mr. Bemused Senior: Heavy on the 30 weight!

  36. 36.

    bbleh

    April 1, 2024 at 2:38 pm

    They can’t help it.  They inevitably turn on each other, like angry dogs in a cage, or like the Nazis in Berlin as the Russians were closing in.  And their insatiable need to perform and grandstand just increases the mutual irritation (and keeps it all publicly available).

    They’re no longer a party of ideas or even of effective governance.  It’s no wonder a guy like TIFG is their leader and avatar.  And very importantly: the majority of their supporters approve actively, and the other “Good Germans” hold their nice White noses and go along because tax cuts or something.

    GOP ’24: More Depraved Than You Thought Possible

  37. 37.

    Nina

    April 1, 2024 at 2:42 pm

    My parents live in this district.  Blue Charlottesville was lumped into the Lynchburg/Appamattox district in order to squelch any chance they get to ever be represented in Congress.  Dad is as always supporting the Democratic opposition but he knows it’s an uphill battle.  My late uncle told me that Good is a very talented retail politician, “there isn’t a church barbecue or little league game in the district that he doesn’t manage to get invited to, and usually show up for’.

  38. 38.

    Bostondreams

    April 1, 2024 at 2:43 pm

    @Geminid: I actually was at a conference with Riggleman a few months ago. It was former members of congress, both Dems and Reps of both an older vintage and more recent folks. And Riggleman was vociferously, almost angrily, anti-Trump and his supporters. Totally still a republican, but he called them a threat to national security, which seems to be his big focus.

  39. 39.

    cain

    April 1, 2024 at 2:46 pm

    @Sherparick:

    The thing is this district may be gettable. Good won easily in 2022 mid-terms, but the Dems did not put any money in the race. In 2020, Good did not even get 53% of the vote.

    Why can’t we challenge every district? I don’t know what the logistics was or what the hard choices are but we need to try for every district – if we can knock off these far right wingers – we can go a long way. Every statehouse should be a target.

    The statehouses is where the infection has started and we need to stop it there – it can’t just be federal level.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 1, 2024 at 2:47 pm

    @frosty: Two minutes? Shall we tell you of the 3,500 km race where the difference between first and second place was 8 seconds? (1989 TdF, for those not following along)

  41. 41.

    Chief Oshkosh

    April 1, 2024 at 2:47 pm

    @TBone: I’ve always disliked how Billy Redden was “discovered” and cast in the role of the banjo kid from Deliverance. Tiedrich uses the cliche in the opening to his piece on Comer. It’s an example of punching down, IMO, and it’s not needed for Tiedrich to make his point.

  42. 42.

    cain

    April 1, 2024 at 2:49 pm

    @NotMax: Actually, have you considered – https://pixelfed.org/? Great way to share public posting of images. Basically, the mastodon version of instagram.

  43. 43.

    cain

    April 1, 2024 at 2:52 pm

    @bbleh: They’re no longer a party of ideas or even of effective governance.

    I can’t recall during my lifetime of them ever a party of effective governance.

  44. 44.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 2:55 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: IMO punching on Comer is only possible in that downward direction since he’s such a lowlife.  I don’t harsh on anyone using a Deliverance banjo reference to illustrate that kind of depravity, but to each his own.  Blackface in old movies is the same for me – I don’t get offended or change the channel because it is our history and I don’t get so offended that I look away. It really happened, but that doesn’t mean I condone it, I just acknowledge it.  And move on to brighter days using my knowledge of that history.

  45. 45.

    David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch

    April 1, 2024 at 2:55 pm

    The War Between the States Snakes

  46. 46.

    frosty

    April 1, 2024 at 2:55 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: ​
     That line was from his link to a cycling April Fool. I thought it was ridiculous but apparently not!

  47. 47.

    Mousebumples

    April 1, 2024 at 2:56 pm

    Hoping we can support whoever wins the Dem primary in August to kick the Jan 6ther Van Orden out of Congress.

    Not my District, so I’ll let local voters decide who they want to support, but they have a few options.

  48. 48.

    Another Scott

    April 1, 2024 at 2:57 pm

    @Scout211: I haven’t clicked this particular link, but the image sharing site in question shows the picture that NotMax uploaded, along with a bunch of other stuff that the site wants you to click, around it.  It’s the other stuff that can be objectionable.

    IOW, NotMax describing the picture wouldn’t have helped in this case.

    I see that others have suggested other sites.

    HTH a little.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  49. 49.

    TaMara

    April 1, 2024 at 2:58 pm

    @TBone: That entire article was a thing of beauty

  50. 50.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 2:59 pm

    @TaMara: 😍

  51. 51.

    Belafon

    April 1, 2024 at 3:02 pm

    @cain: Because money is a finite resource, no matter how much is given, and wining control of Congress is more realistic goal than “challenging for every position.” The money spent on trying to beat Greene in 2022 would have been better spent elsewhere.

  52. 52.

    NotMax

    April 1, 2024 at 3:02 pm

    @cain

    Thanks, but having to create (and potentially monitor) an account not my bag.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:03 pm

    philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) posted at 10:22 AM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
    CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh is sentenced to another 40 years for stealing from clients and his law firm.
    (https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1774819517635375232?t=MvyaHxhUuLaCS8cQNb1rLQ&s=03)

  54. 54.

    bbleh

    April 1, 2024 at 3:04 pm

    @cain: there have been times when they’ve been pretty effective — ie effective at getting what they want — eg during the Reagan years.  But now they can’t even get what they want.

  55. 55.

    Melancholy Jaques

    April 1, 2024 at 3:05 pm

    @cain:

    I can’t recall during my lifetime of them ever a party of effective governance.

    Thing is, their idea of effective governance is pretty much tax cuts and roll back the 20th century. They’ve also done a pretty effective job of turning the supreme court and federal courts into right-wing bastions against all things Democratic.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    April 1, 2024 at 3:08 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Good. Wasn’t his murder conviction iffy and risks getting overturned on appeal?

  57. 57.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:11 pm

    David Darmofal (@david_darmofal) posted at 6:20 AM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
    It’s not Christianity that Trump’s infusing into his rallies, it’s “Christian” nationalism. https://t.co/X0PhBVg1oK
    (https://x.com/david_darmofal/status/1774758776748319042?t=u1MC1Ka1HDJeeUckXbavqQ&s=03)

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:11 pm

    Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) posted at 10:17 PM on Sun, Mar 31, 2024:
    No Kristen Welker, an orange terrorist attacking a judge and his child isn’t a reminder of a deeply divided nation, it’s a reminder that an unstable dangerous criminal remains free instead of in jail just like you keep reminding everyone daily that you’re a propagandist.
    (https://x.com/TheRickyDavila/status/1774637096441114754?t=RhJuBaM2Nt_Pmts4r-H_Tg&s=03)

  59. 59.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:12 pm

    @rikyrah: 😆❤️

  60. 60.

    bbleh

    April 1, 2024 at 3:13 pm

    @rikyrah: “Christianist,” like “Islamist” terrorism: all form, no substance.

  61. 61.

    Chief Oshkosh

    April 1, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    @TBone: Comer is a US Congressman. It’s actually punching up when one of us mere mortals drags him. Billy Redden was a dirt-poor local teenager that looked different and so was chosen to represent “an inbred from the backwoods.”

    The blackface analogy is…confusing to me in this context.

    Anyway, not a huge deal, and I’m probably the only person that thinks about it this way, but I think it’s pointlessly cruel on two levels (to Redden and to people with intellectual challenges) and takes away from Tiedrich’s otherwise good points. Maybe I’m overly sensitive to the allusion as I’ve used it before, it just struck me as especially out of place coming from Tiedrich, which got me thinking about my own behavior.

  62. 62.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    That Well-Adjusted Biden Guy (@What46HasDone) posted at 1:19 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
    It is really underrated how much Joe Biden is actually the “healthcare pls” President. Not only did he pass a legislative expansion of both Postpartum Medicaid and the ACA exchanges, but he’s rewritten so many rules to make coverage better and qualification easier.
    (https://x.com/What46HasDone/status/1774864051949973851?t=80E77UgUA3A0qqq0tFhCWg&s=03)

  63. 63.

    cmorenc

    April 1, 2024 at 3:17 pm

    @John S.:

    That’s simply stunning that a Va state house district that includes Charlottesville (site of UVa) is nonetheless so overwhelmingly red otherwise that it’s a safe R seat, even given gerrymandering.  Did the leg while under R control split up Charlottesville across two districts, the way the R leg in NC split blue Asheville between two congressional districts, to insure that the Ds could not capture it even with a conservative “blue dog” dem, and the Tenn leg split solidly blue Nashville across three districts to make it impossible for a D to win a congressional seat?

  64. 64.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:18 pm

    @NotMax: it’s the internet, we all take our chances!  It’s all a big crapshoot, just like real life.  I just had to buy a new washing machine but I didn’t go to Consumer Reports, I just bought a Maytag and hoped for the best.  I’m too old for wasting much time – if I don’t like it, I’ll move right along to something else.  Site maintenance seems tedious, like looking for unbiased appliance reviews. Anybody wanna buy a very slightly used Maytag? 🤣

  65. 65.

    Bill Arnold

    April 1, 2024 at 3:21 pm

    @TBone:
    Nice piece. Here’s the text of “The Shallow State” tweet:

    Trump is having a hypomanic episode. Post after post after post. Short posts. Reposts. At least 50 of them so far today. His gut is a simmering stew of agitation, rage, and desperation. His malignant pathologies rule him, filling his head with fantasies of violence and revenge alongside visions of regaining his grandiosity.
    BUT TODAY, THERE’S MORE. He has a NEW fear now. He’s losing his mind – his acuity. He knows it now. He hates himself for it. He hates being pulled back, not being able to absorb adulation at rallies. He hates hearing people tell him he needs to be careful.
    Neither you nor I can EVER feel the kind of desperation and rage Trump feels now. This is a man terrified that all that he is, and all that he ever said he was – his entire lifetime of secrets and lies and false constructs – is crumbling into ash.
    This is a malignant narcissist in decline.

  66. 66.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:21 pm

    @Bill Arnold: SO delicious, nom nom nom!

  67. 67.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:22 pm

    Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) posted at 2:08 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
    REMINDER: Donald Trump has until the end of the business day, Thursday, April 4th, to post a $175 million bond to stay execution on the judgment held by NY AG Letitia James.
    (https://x.com/KatiePhang/status/1774876579060924562?t=CACBXHA-f7jeF0zO7Bk5ug&s=03)

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    April 1, 2024 at 3:23 pm

    @TBone

    Wisdom is the jelly for the peanut butter of age.
    :)

  69. 69.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:25 pm

    @rikyrah: tickety tock, motherfucker!  I am preparing to be disappointed by some asshole fascist bailing him out and will be happily surprised if he fumbles it on his own instead.  May the Judgment amount LIVE IN INFAMY and remain at half a billion, that is my prayer!

  70. 70.

    Bill Arnold

    April 1, 2024 at 3:25 pm

    @rikyrah:

    It’s “Christian” nationalism.
    They happily call themselves “Christian Nationalists”, or at least many do.
    I prefer “Christian Supremacists”; though many will find that offensive, it is more accurate.

  71. 71.

    craigie

    April 1, 2024 at 3:26 pm

    Other members of the Deplorati …

    Excellent.

  72. 72.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:26 pm

    @NotMax: 💙 now you’re really barking up my tree 😆 PS I forgot to tell you, if you make that soup, use only half the amount of pickles called for.  I used 3 instead of 8 and it’s still good and sour.  I’m looking forward to it again tomorrow (with bacon & scallion garnish), today is beef chuck roast in the crockpot with good chianti, diced tomato, lots of mushrooms and onions and the other leek.  We’re living on leftovers for a few days.  I’m really glad I tried that yummy Spring soup recipe!

  73. 73.

    coin operated

    April 1, 2024 at 3:35 pm

    I follow the Shallow State twitter and it’s pretty good.  He predicted about a month ago that the time between public appearances would start to grow as Trump’s dementia accelerates and his handlers struggle to keep him in check. It’s been…what…two weeks since his last rally?

    Can’t wait to see the daily meltdowns after he leaves the courtroom. These will be epic indeed…

  74. 74.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:39 pm

    @Baud:

    I was afraid of it…especially since I think he’s guilty as all phuck.

  75. 75.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2024 at 3:40 pm

    It’s all they have.

     

    Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 0:05 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
    It really can’t be overstated how much the GOP is wagering on hate winning the day this election cycle. They’re basically hoping they can keep pointing at trans people while saying “yucky” & migrants while saying “scary” & that’ll be enough to persuade people to vote for them.
    (https://x.com/atrupar/status/1774845607372284296?t=gIY15Uyb08aZpvENn47v0w&s=03)

  76. 76.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: I will never believe that, next to Comer, I am a “mere mortal” who must punch up to reach land a good left hook.  Was Billy Redden not the product of inbreeding (was he simply the product of his surroundings)?

  77. 77.

    jimmiraybob

    April 1, 2024 at 3:48 pm

    “…before the whole party went feral.”

    …before the whole party went John Birch Society.

  78. 78.

    TBone

    April 1, 2024 at 3:49 pm

    @rikyrah: so obvs guilty, he couldn’t check his privilege even on trial for murdering his own family. I wonder about all the other, as yet undiscovered, victims of his addlepated, drug addicted, murderous dumbfuckery.  If Deliverance was a suburban, white, rural County, he’s the mascot.  And his evil ancestors too.

  79. 79.

    cain

    April 1, 2024 at 3:52 pm

    @Belafon:

    Sure absolutely but sometimes being able to put some money can move the needle. If we avoid districts as not worthy because they are gerrymandered we are doing ourselves a disservice.

    If they are gerrymandered then we need to focus on the judge races so that we can overturn the maps.

  80. 80.

    sdhays

    April 1, 2024 at 3:54 pm

    @rikyrah: Oh, good! I was assuming it was 10 business days so we’d have to wait for next week.

  81. 81.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 1, 2024 at 3:54 pm

    @cmorenc:

    That’s simply stunning that a Va state house district that includes Charlottesville (site of UVa) is nonetheless so overwhelmingly red otherwise that it’s a safe R seat, even given gerrymandering. Did the leg while under R control split up Charlottesville across two districts, the way the R leg in NC split blue Asheville between two congressional districts, to insure that the Ds could not capture it even with a conservative “blue dog” dem, and the Tenn leg split solidly blue Nashville across three districts to make it impossible for a D to win a congressional seat?

    Charlottesville is a city of only 45,000. (And even that’s a lot bigger than when I was there.) It’s easy to swamp it with red parts of the state. Less than half the size of Asheville, let alone Nashville.

  82. 82.

    Ruckus

    April 1, 2024 at 3:57 pm

    @bbleh:

    GOP ’24: More Depraved Than You Thought Possible

    My mind sees depravity in every nook and cranny – because I’ve been seeing rethuglicans standing in the way of humanity for well over 6 decades. And all they are doing now is getting stupider and stupider and more desperate as the days go by and more and more people see what they really are. Their kind of conservatism only works when one first knows of it by getting stabbed in the back, but they continue to play their ignorant, stupid games right out in the open with the entire world watching, with almost zero delay. What rethuglicans actually want is the old days, like before this country was actually formed, when they could own people and when their outhouse was far enough away from their living quarters that they could say their shit doesn’t stink. And actually it doesn’t – it reeks.

  83. 83.

    Misterpuff

    April 1, 2024 at 4:04 pm

    @NickM: The Greater Fool Theory working on April Fools Day.

    I thought about profiting on the MAGA high flyers but I did not  want to contribute One Little Bit to Hair Furor even for profit.

    Also didn’t want get out on that rickety construction (and possibly be left holding the bag).

    Greater Fool Indeed!

    That said , Looks probable that DJT ends up in the Patapsco River soon.

  84. 84.

    Old School

    April 1, 2024 at 4:06 pm

    Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling posted her idea of an April Fool’s Day gag today, describing various criminals, a model, a TV presenter and others – all of whom identify as trans women – as women before writing, “Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.”

    Rowling’s multiple posts on X/Twitter today were a response to a new hate crime law in Scotland that the country’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said is designed to stem a “rising tide of hatred.” Advocates of Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Act say the measure provides greater protection against threatening or abusive behavior “intended to stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

    Rowling, whose opposition to recognizing the preferred pronouns of transgender people has been repeatedly denounced as transphobic, challenged the new Hate Crime law today, writing that if her April Fool’s posts qualify as an offense under the new act, “I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.” (A resident of Edinburgh, Rowling said she is currently out of the country.)

  85. 85.

    Ruckus

    April 1, 2024 at 4:07 pm

    @cain:

    Well if your idea of effective governance is slavery and whips and chains then they are the party of effective governance. Because that’s what the hard core rethuglicans want. They’ve seen liberalism blossom over the last 200 or more yrs and they want no part of it. It has made this a better country to not have the things going on that were at least part of the reason it started in the first place. But it gets harder and harder as those that think their paleness makes them better constantly lose.

  86. 86.

    Ruckus

    April 1, 2024 at 4:14 pm

    @Bill Arnold:

    This is a malignant narcissist in decline.

    I don’t mind him declining, I mind that we have to all see it and put up with it. I mean just because he fucked around and is now finding out, we all have to suffer too?

  87. 87.

    Eyeroller

    April 1, 2024 at 4:15 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Charlottesville is artificially constrained by some weirdness in Virginia law (I am not from here) so you must include Albemarle County into the entity that people think of as “Charlottesville,” but even if you do that the metro area has a population of only about 160,000.

  88. 88.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 1, 2024 at 4:21 pm

    @cain:

    Why can’t we challenge every district? I don’t know what the logistics was or what the hard choices are but we need to try for every district – if we can knock off these far right wingers – we can go a long way. Every statehouse should be a target.

    The statehouses is where the infection has started and we need to stop it there – it can’t just be federal level.

    It somewhat depends on what you mean by ‘challenge.’  If you mean try to make a race of close to all 435 Congressional districts, and close to all state legislative districts, of course it can’t be done.  As Belafon said @51, money is a finite resource, and money spent to try to create viable races in deep-red districts is money not spent on more winnable races.

    That said, I’m for at least having a candidate in as many races as possible. Have a boot camp for first-time candidates to give them an idea of what they need to do to run a campaign, have the party handle as much of the back-room stuff as possible, give them a few thousand dollars as seed money to get their campaigns off the ground, and see what happens.  That’s a lot different, and likely way more productive, than people contributing millions to the opponents of MTG and Mitch McConnell.

    The reason I’m for doing this is simple: you can’t win people over if nobody’s there trying to do it. We should want to at least show the flag, so to speak, in as many districts as possible, so that people hear what we’re about from a person who lives in their district, rather than from Fox News or even ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/etc.  The work of turning a state or district blue is a long-term project, and while demographics can do some of the work, it can only do so much if we don’t show up.

    That said, one big problem is finding candidates to run in those deep red districts.  It’s a lot of work to be a candidate, and it takes a special kind of person to deal with running a race that has next to no chance of winning.  And the increasingly feral right (with all due respect, jimmyraybob, I don’t recall the Birhers being anything like this) makes it a hell of a lot more challenging by threatening public figures they don’t like, which definitely includes Dem candidates.  (This is a threat to democracy that needs to be dealt with – Federal law enforcement, at least, needs to devote meaningful resources to tracking people down and trying and convicting them when they threaten candidates and other public officials, especially minor ones like election workers, school board members, and local public health officials. But I digress.)

  89. 89.

    Jeffro

    April 1, 2024 at 4:28 pm

    It grosses me out to no end that Matt Gaetz has actually been physically present in my district.  Almost as much as it grosses me out that Bob Good is (gag) my (dry heave) Congressman.

    But it thrills me that they’re all knocking each other around like this!  Rooting for MAJOR injuries!!

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    April 1, 2024 at 4:30 pm

    @Eyeroller: I think the combined population of Charlottesville and Albemarle County is closer to 110,000.

    Virginia law gives cities the upper hand when it comes to annexation, but in the 1970s Charlottesville and Albemarle County signed a revenue-sharing agreement whereby Charlottesville gets a share of tax revenues instead of annexing its fast-growing suburbs.

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    April 1, 2024 at 4:30 pm

    @John S.: it’s really something that the otherwise dark blue city of Charlottesville (and much of pretty blue Albemarle County) is represented by a scarlet red moron like Bob Good.

  92. 92.

    Tony Jay

    April 1, 2024 at 4:33 pm

    @Old School:

      A resident of Edinburgh, Rowling said she is currently out of the country.

    Holidaying in Albania? Looking to meet likeminded people and exchange ideas on exclusion and the importance of keeping things pure?

    Imagine wanting to be a Dementor. smdh

  93. 93.

    Bill Arnold

    April 1, 2024 at 4:36 pm

    @coin operated:

    the time between public appearances would start to grow as Trump’s dementia accelerates and his handlers struggle to keep him in check. It’s been…what…two weeks since his last rally?

    Eventually, hopefully soon, major media will be willing to regularly gently hint that DJT’s new no-rally schedule might be due to something other than the relative poverty of his campaign.

  94. 94.

    Spanky

    April 1, 2024 at 4:37 pm

    @Tony Jay: Hey! Even dementors have standards.

  95. 95.

    Spanky

    April 1, 2024 at 4:38 pm

    @Bill Arnold:

    DJT’s new no-rally schedule might be due to something other than the relative poverty of his campaign.

    Can’t find a venue where the crowd would be safely upwind?

  96. 96.

    lowtechcyclist

    April 1, 2024 at 4:39 pm

    @Eyeroller:

    Charlottesville is artificially constrained by some weirdness in Virginia law (I am not from here) so you must include Albemarle County into the entity that people think of as “Charlottesville,” but even if you do that the metro area has a population of only about 160,000.

    Actually, Albemarle County’s population is only about 115,000.  And much of that is nowhere close to being part of the C’ville metro area even now; there’s plenty of rural red still in the county.  Biden won Albemarle County in 2020 by 42,466 to 20,804, and the difference was probably C’ville proper, with the rest of the county being a draw at best. But plenty of red Virginia out there to swamp that margin in a Congressional district either way.

  97. 97.

    Spanky

    April 1, 2024 at 4:41 pm

    @Spanky: And speaking of sweet scents, how come I can’t find a Roseraie De L’Hay in stock anywhere on the North American continent?

  98. 98.

    Tony Jay

    April 1, 2024 at 4:45 pm

    @Spanky:

    Not the way Madam Voldumbridge plays it.

    The last decade or so has seen quite a few British-based celebrities show themselves up as nasty little fuckers with sick souls. JKR is one of them.

  99. 99.

    Kayla Rudbek

    April 1, 2024 at 4:55 pm

    @Origuy: I received a good one from Adventures in Tandem (tandem bicycle touring) email for The Tandem Bachelor reality show.

  100. 100.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    April 1, 2024 at 5:15 pm

    @Origuy: I just realized I hadn’t seen any April Fools pranks yet today, kind of been living in a cave.

    Thanks for the Duolingo link. I recommend you click through to “Find Tickets”.

    I had the thought that maybe the BBC did one of their clever spoofs. Instead I find that they were taken in by somebody else’s.

  101. 101.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    April 1, 2024 at 5:19 pm

    @TBone: I often go for a basic model of appliances. During lockdown our dishwasher crapped out, and due to those supply-side issues the basic one we ordered kept being delayed and delayed.

    Finally after I don’t know how many months, I opted for a different model, one that was in stock, that cost $100 more. We love that thing! Lesson: Go ahead and pay a little more if it’s going to make a big difference.

  102. 102.

    Nix Besser (fmr. steppy)

    April 1, 2024 at 7:32 pm

    I just wish to say that I have not read or heard the term “snot-locker” in many moons and it brought a wide grin to my face. Ms. Cracker, you are a tremendous writer.

  103. 103.

    Paul in KY

    April 2, 2024 at 9:42 am

    @Dangerman: I sure hope she’s right about this!

  104. 104.

    Marge

    April 2, 2024 at 9:45 am

    @cmorenc: If you look at the district it is shaped like the Eiffel tower. The dems are concentrated in the tall narrow part and then the r’s have the broader middle and base. They also divided Nelson County so that the dem retirees vote in the very red district on the other side of the Shenandoah mountains. I live here and it is very frustrating. Tom Periello was a fabulous congressman who won narrowly in 2008 but was beaten by the tea party in 2010. Even Denver Riggleman, a rep, was a better congressman than Good. We had a very good candidate in 2020 but gerrymandering was too steep a hill to climb.

  105. 105.

    Matt

    April 2, 2024 at 10:00 am

    They should have a cage-match to decide who’s the candidate:

    get a big steel cage like WWE uses

    put all the relevant candidates inside

    weld the door shut

    and the important step: turn the lights out, lock the doors, and forget about the cage

    Truly, that would be Making America Great Again, one cage full of starved wingnut corpses at a time.

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