Pennsylvania lawmaker to President Trump: "Why don't you come after me you fascist, loofa-faced s***-gibbon" https://t.co/jwvZLwUZby pic.twitter.com/ofD4MUR9wi
— CNN (@CNN) February 9, 2017
A man for our season, per CNN:
… [State Sen. Daylin] Leach’s outburst was inspired by a Politico article about a meeting Trump recently had with sheriffs from around the nation and a conversation during that meeting about asset forfeiture. That’s a legal practice in which a law enforcement agency seizes money and property that may have been obtained through criminal activities.
According to the article, Rockwall County, Texas, Sheriff Harold Eavenson mentioned that a state senator in Texas wanted to change the asset forfeiture law. The change would require that a person be convicted of a crime before his or her assets could be seized.
“Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career,” Trump replied, according to Politico.
Leach is a Democrat whose Facebook feed is full of anti-Trump postings, though none were addressed directly to the President.
He has previously co-sponsored bills that attempted to reform asset forfeiture laws in Pennsylvania, his spokesman, Steve Hoenstine, said Thursday in an email.
After the Politico article ran, Leach posted on Facebook: “Hey! I oppose civil asset forfeiture too. Why don’t you come after me you fascist, loofa-faced s***-gibbon!!”…
Still later, Leach wrote on Facebook: “S***-Gibbon” goes viral! Maybe someday it will be written on my tombstone….or his.”…
Local outlet Philly.com seems to admire Sen. Leach’s stance:
He championed legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.
He spoke in defense of abortion rights during an emotional debate in Harrisburg.
But it wasn’t until State Sen. Daylin Leach posted the Tweet Heard Round the World that the Montgomery County Democrat went viral…
As of Thursday afternoon, the tweeter-in-chief had not responded. But many others had: a thousand phone calls, more than 12,000 retweets, nearly 30,000 likes… His voicemail box, which holds 150 messages, was full because no one had time to clear it. Interview requests had come from as far away as London.A few, he said, were angry callers shouting personal insults. One respondent on Twitter labeled Leach “an intolerant leftist totalitarian ideologue,” while another upbraided him for “an immature and unprofessional comment.”
But Hoenstine said the message in “90 percent” of the calls was, “‘Hey, I’m from Denver,’ or ‘Hey, I’m from Boise,’ or ‘Hey, I’m from Alaska — I saw what Daylin said and I appreciate it.'”…
Leach said Thursday that his tweet was a spur-of-the-moment response and not a strategic missive to increase his national profile. Hoenstine, too, said he had no idea that the senator had sent the tweet until after it went live and a notification landed in his email inbox…
Apparently Sen. Leach has prior history, per Dan McQuade at Phillymag, “The Pennsylvania state senator got thousands and thousands of retweets…”:
Daylin Leach has been making jokes on the Internet about as long as I have…
But thanks to Twitter, everyone literally is now a comedian. And so Daylin Leach is back at it again on his Twitter account, where he tweets with abandon, clashes with critics, and dishes out sarcasm: “But its fair, because both rich and poor alike are free to donate $6,000,000 to federal candidates each cycle.”…
We made COSMO!!! I always thought I would but b/c of my marriage proposals that ended in the ER, or my innovative work with Taffeta.
— Daylin Leach (@daylinleach) February 10, 2017
Moving right along…
Robert Kennedy said he "saw things that never were". #Trump does to. but he means school buses full of "illegals" wearing Hillary buttons
— Daylin Leach (@daylinleach) February 11, 2017
Baud
He’s gained another follower.
danielx
A man after my own heart.
trollhattan
Can Betty join his speech-writing staff?
Ohio Mom
A new fan here, too.
I barely understand how asset forfeiture can be legal after a conviction but really, how could there not have been court cases striking down the idea that there can be pre-conviction asset seizures?
Obviously, IANAL.
jl
@Ohio Mom: IANAL either. And I would like to know too. I think the deal is that you can get it back if you are not convicted of a crime, but the burden of proof is always ever after, on you, not the state, not the cops who took it. I don’t understand how that is constitutional. I guess it is a process and it is doo (as in doo-doo), but that doesn’t make it right.
efgoldman
@trollhattan:
Can he join Betty’s speechwriting staff?
Cole, if you’re out there, offer this guy a front page slot.
TaMara (HFG)
I’ve been following him all week. Just awesome.
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
Then Trump should have lost all his stuff years ago.
Baud
@Ohio Mom:
@jl:
I’m not an expert, but it’s an old procedure that makes it easier for the government go after any property associated with a crime even if no one is convicted. I’d imagine in the old days it was used to capture smuggled goods. Like many things, the war on drugs led to its expansion.
All of this is subject to correction by someone who knows what they are talking about.
Major Major Major Major
@efgoldman: let’s just all join each other’s speech writing staffs. Full employment for Juicers!
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
I get those all the time, but most of them are from people who belong to groups such as ‘Deplorables for Trump’ who also like ‘The Angry Patriot’, ‘Conservative News Today’, etc.
Strangely enough, the pro-patriot groups generate a lot of posts that defend people who knob-polish Vladimir Putin.
I wonder why….
debbie
@Baud:
Back in the days of the Salem Witch Trials, the sheriff kept the property (including cows, horses, etc.) for himself. I can’t remember the guy’s name, but he was one of the wealthiest men in town.
gene108
I am just glad Shitgibbon has made it into the vernacular.
Another Scott
Alec Baldwin is hosting SNL tonight. He and they have a mountain of material to work with. It could be one for the ages…
Cheers,
Scott.
Villago Delenda Est
Asset forfeiture is bullshit, and anyone with the slightest familiarity with the Constitution (well, so much for Donald) should know it.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
There is such a dearth of courage among white men – the only voices that carry weight – that this is considered to be brave, when actually, this should be the least of what we’re hearing from our elected officials when the entire executive branch has been handed over to the Russians. The fact is that it’s the constituents pushing them to be brave, which isn’t very brave, but hey, we’ll take it where we can get it.
Baud
@Another Scott: Might have to record it.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@Villago Delenda Est:
Civil Asset Forfeiture is total bullshit because it craps all over that whole ‘presumption of innocence’ thing.
Criminal asset forfeiture is something else entirely.
You know the difference, but I’m sure Dolt 45 doesn’t know and wouldn’t care even if he knew it.
lollipopguild
@Major Major Major Major: I thought everyone was working for George Soros.
Baud
@debbie: Yeah, but those ladies were found guilty.
hovercraft
Appart from the word leftist they could be referring to the Trumpenfuror. These people know we can all see and hear him when he speaks right? Projection has always been a trademark of the right, but this is a whole new level.
Another Scott
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s an old idea, and it took off under Reagan (of course). The argument is, it’s a civil action against property – not a charge against a person.
The Economist:
(See the original for embedded links.)
Of course it’s a nonsense legal argument, and it’s just a way for the cops to easily steal.
Anything that directly results in more money going to police departments as a result of their own actions is going to happen more. (Cui bono?) The quickest way to cut back on it is to stop the proceeds from going directly to the cops.
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@Another Scott:
Baldwin’s Trump, McCarthy’s Spicer, and O’Donnell’s Bannon. Could be among the most epic SNLs ever!
ETA: I’m imagining big here, of course. I have no idea whether this is what Lorne Michaels has in mind. But a girl can dream.
Another Scott
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s an old idea, and it took off under Reagan (of course). The argument is, it’s a civil action against property – not a charge against a person.
The Economist:
(See the original for embedded links.)
Of course it’s a nonsense legal argument, and it’s just a way for the cops to easily steal.
Anything that directly results in more money going to police departments as a result of their own actions is going to happen more. (Cui bono?) The quickest way to cut back on it is to stop the proceeds from going directly to the cops.
Cheers,
Scott.
Major Major Major Major
@lollipopguild: any day now I’ll be getting that check in the mail…?
Another Scott
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s an old idea, and it took off under Reagan (of course). The argument is, it’s a civil action against property – not a charge against a person.
The Economist:
(See the original for embedded links.)
Of course it’s a nonsense legal argument, and it’s just a way for the cops to easily steal.
Anything that directly results in more money going to police departments as a result of their own actions is going to happen more. (Cui bono?) The quickest way to cut back on it is to stop the proceeds from going directly to the cops.
Cheers,
Scott.
debbie
@Baud:
And then exonerated after they’d been executed.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@hovercraft:
When Trumpistas on FB & Twitter use polysyllabic words arranged into complete sentences, odds are it’s from a new meme that’s circulating and not their original handiwork.
They should at least try to appear original and rewrite it using no big words & small incomplete sentences.
Baud
@debbie: by a bunch of bleeding heart liberals, no doubt.
chris
Good news from New Mexico, “In first post-Trump elections, progressives sweep school elections helped by record voter turnout”
Resist. Persist.
Sab
Putin hijacked auto correct?
Mike G
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):
With Temper Tantrump in the White House, the irony is strong with this one.
Baud
Not to beat a dead hypocrite, but libertarians used to be vocally against civil asset forfeiture.
Baud
@chris: Baud! 2020! looking up! Anyone know where I can find some speechwriters?
Patricia Kayden
@chris: That’s truly great news. Hope we see more of this nationwide.
Patricia Kayden
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman): Those are people who voted for an intolerant bigot, right? Please.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Beck Bennett’s shirtless Putin has been really great too.
In other SNL news:
Another Scott
@chris: Excellent, indeed. Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
sukabi
@jl: asset forfeiture = legislated theft…
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: The quality of writing you find here for free, you want to go hire someone? Give me a break.
Villago Delenda Est
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman): I sit corrected. Our Law Enforcement Officers should know better, but they’re recruited nowadays more for their loyalty to the Thin Blue Line rather than their loyalty to the Law.
chris
@Baud: Bodes well, no?
Major Major Major Major
@chris: this is fantastic news.
El Caganer
Am I pushing the comparison too far when I think that Trump reminds me of the character Dim in A Clockwork Orange? “Uh, uh, uh -not to be calling me Trump no more. President call me.”
Mike in NC
Shitgibbon must be freaking out tonight after report of North Korean missile test. Shelter in place!
Villago Delenda Est
@Yarrow: VoteVets is a great group, and they’re going right after Shitgibbon, deliberately, that draft dodging fraud.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@Patricia Kayden:
Correct.
Unfortunately the Trumpista ranks include some of my family.
My father is an intolerant Muslim-hating bigot who thinks Jack Van Impe tells the literal word of God & my uncle Jerry hates ‘inner city welfare cheats’.
Mike G
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):
When my uncle was in the hospital a half-dozen years back, my aunt said the nurses were drawing up lists of patients to euthanize “because of Obamacare” — two years before it went into law.
An acquaintance lives in Section 8 housing, works part-time at a state-funded junior college, and gets the rest of his income from an injury lawsuit against the county — and bitches constantly about taxes and welfare.
joel hanes
@jl:
I think the deal is that you can get it back if you are not convicted of a crime
Nope, not usually. You don’t even have to be formally accused of a crime, ever, or arrested.
Sometimes people sue to get their stuff back and win. Not often.
Ruckus
@Villago Delenda Est:
I’ve taken to calling it the
Ain’t nothing very thin about it any more, if there ever was.
Peale
@joel hanes: yep. You have to sue to get it back. Or technically the asset has to sue. You sue on behalf of the asset.
mainmata
I’m from the other side of the state but he’s got my virtual vote.
RM
John Oliver had a really good video about civil asset forfeiture here. It’s pretty terrible and ridiculous and tbh everyone should be against this bs.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@debbie: I think his last name was romney
LongHairedWeirdo
@Ohio Mom: There’s nothing untoward about demanding the forfeiture of any tools used to commit a crime, or the proceeds of the crime. But that requires a conviction.
Civil asset forfeiture is nominally legal because there is due process – against the object. If an officer catches you with lots of cash, the case will be “The state of (your state) against $4328.92” and thus, due process will be carried out. That it harms you is disregarded, since, after all, they suspect that was drug money (or whatever). But this argument has been accepted by the courts.
It’s great for making money for police departments and cities and states, and it doesn’t affect enough people to create a critical mass, so it’s accepted. It’s a big sign of how unhealthy our society is – it goes against principles espoused by both sides of the aisle. But still a clear, obvious and “useful” injustice is allowed.
Chris T.
One of the fascinating things about asset forfeiture is that the asset itself is accused of the crime. “Ohh, you bad $100 bill! You stole a $100 bill! I’m takin’ you to mah jail!” I think the John Oliver video (@RM) mentions this.
Ohio Mom
@LongHairedWeirdo: That helps a little. You rob a bank, or someone’s house and take their jewelry, you’re caught and found guilty, obviously you can’t keep the money or the diamond necklace. But doesn’t the stolen/recovered property go back to the original owner?
I watched the John Oliver video. The idea that the police could seize a couple’s house because their son was caught with illegal drugs — how can the house be given due process? This is even more inane than the idea that a corporation is a person.
Can’t someone make enough of a case to take this to a higher court? What level courts have accepted this as well, acceptable?
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom:
The Supremes.
ETA: Bennis v. Michigan, 516 U.S. 442 (1996)
Ohio Mom
@Omnes Omnibus: never mind then.
Sigh.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom: It wasn’t even a case about civil forfeitures – it was a case about the innocent owner defense. Good sense and decency lost. The idea of forfeitures is long established.
Aleta
But if the asset is the accused, shouldn’t it be released after it has done the time?
Adrift
@gene108:
Yes!
Adrift
@Another Scott:
I am normally not up late enough to watch but I am making an exception tonight.
Adrift
@Another Scott:
Yes, the cases are “US vs. $2,038.00” and “US vs. 1978 Oldsmobile”. It’s completely ridiculous and extremely sad considering people are stripped of their assets for no good reason. They have to prove they (or their property) are not guilty of an accusation.
Adrift
If anyone is still following this thread it has come to my attention that I have an unusual knack of commenting at the end of dying threads. I should change my nym to ‘threadkiller’
Ohio Mom
@Omnes Omnibus: I found a very long — but comprehendable to me — article on the Bennis case. Only read the first 14 pages, didn’t go on to read the whole history of forfeiture.
I was left disgusted. Also saddened to see RBG on the wrong side. And the irony of it all being over a junker of a car.
NMgal
@chris: Thanks for the link, chris. Cheering from the great white north (where it was 65 today at 7250 feet, global warming is a Chinese hoax why do you ask)
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom:
Not even Douglas or Brennan were perfect.
laura
@Adrift: Fight you for it!
Another Scott
@laura: No, it’s me! It’s me!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Adrift:
You are a piker compared to J R in WV, the current king.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack (tablet):
I’ve been here a long time, live on the best coast and am a night owl.
I think I hold the record.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Ruckus:
Not even. J R will roll by and close a thread the next day. And you’re not even the latest of the West Coast night owls.
Sab
@Adrift: welcome to my world
Ruckus
@Steeplejack (tablet):
I’ll have to do better. Hey! A new goal.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
I think I got you beat, old man. Well, when I come here regularly, that is. I’ll cede the rest to you, however.
ETA: In olden days, commenters used to be big on “First!” I guess that has flipped.