Today’s edition of Politico Playbook has as fine an example of Murc’s Law (only Democrats have agency or any causal impact on American politics) as you’ll ever see:
POLITICO Playbook: Dems’ dicey decision: Punish Boebert or not?
IS AN APOLOGY ENOUGH? — The drama surrounding Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT’s (R-Colo.) Islamophobic comments about Rep. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) is about to heat up as lawmakers return from Thanksgiving recess this week. Sources tell us a faction of Democrats is expected to push leadership to strip Boebert of her committee assignments or censure her after she joked about Omar, who is Muslim, being safe to ride with in an elevator because she wasn’t wearing a backpack…
The situation highlights the slippery slope Democrats created when they removed MTG from her committees over comments she made before entering Congress. Where do Democrats draw the line? If Democrats don’t lower the boom on Boebert, what message would it send to the Muslim community? But if they do, what message does that send to those who apologize for saying something wrong?
Republicans have their own divide to navigate. Greene took to Twitter to tweak Boebert over her apology, writing that “the Jihad squad are undeserving” of one. The apparent split — the two were thought to be friendly before this — could complicate McCarthy’s effort to calm the waters. Watch Boebert’s rhetoric this week, too. We’ll soon find out how sincere her apology was, particularly if she maintains her current posture amid Greene’s criticism.
Emphasis theirs, dog help us.
PP doesn’t elaborate because horserace, but Greene was stripped of committee assignments for trafficking in racist and anti-Semitic tropes and advocating violence against elected Democrats — which she continues to do as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Why haven’t Democrats fixed that problem, I wonder?
Also, how fucking laughable is it to allude to “McCarthy’s effort to calm the waters”? JFC. McCarthy is a weak feather that fell off a vulture’s butt into class 6 rapids. He’s been spinning in a vortex right under that perched vulture’s asshole ever since, hoping a rip-current of insanity deposits his sorry ass in the Speaker’s office. “Calm the waters,” my God, as if that haircut is capable of righting a listing teacup.
Weird also that there’s no examination of how Boebert’s (and Greene’s, etc.) bigoted comments might alienate the Muslim community and other Americans who disapprove of U.S. congresspeople enthusiastically smearing millions of fellow Americans. The GOP’s feral children get a pass from the likes of Politico and its imitators because that’s just the nature of the party, so it’s not even worthy of notice, but do tell us more about that “slippery slope Democrats created.”
Open thread.
Ksmiami
Unless Garland shifts gears, I don’t see how we avoid violence
chrome agnomen
i like to think we’d get along just fine, but please never let me get into a sniping contest with the cracker lady.
WaterGirl
Holy fuck, how did i miss this one? WTF is wrong with these people?
WaterGirl
Wag just sent me this from an article about Boebert:
Gin & Tonic
Looks like Lukashenko’s “tourism” business is ending.
Brantl
When have you ever seen the child that is habitually irresponsible, taken to task as thoroughly as the responsible one, when he/she’s been believed to have f’ed up? Nobody goes through the song and dance for the millionth time, with the child that does it all the time. Even the media (right or left or middle) know what the score is: the only adults left in the room are the democrats.
Roger Moore
@Ksmiami:
It’s much too late for DOJ to stop right wing violence. There has been low-level violence for a long time, and the final year of the Trump Administration doing nothing while right wing mobs overran state capitols and finally the 1/6 attacks gave them much too much a taste for it. The DOJ can react and try to send people to prison, but the violence is likely to get worse before it gets better.
different-church-lady
Fuck you Omicron. And fuck everything else too.
Old Man Shadow
Washington press walks past a bully forcing a kid to punch himself in the face and asks, “Why doesn’t that kid stop hitting himself?”
Joe Falco
OT: The president is on TV explaining the newly detected COVID variant to the American people and that it’s a cause for concern, but not alarm. Get your vaccine shot or your booster shot and wear your mask in public settings indoors. In other words, another day I’m grateful Biden is in office and not the Orange Cancerous Mass.
Hildebrand
Other than the deranged, bigoted perfidy of the Republicans themselves, the beltway press is easily the biggest danger to the republic because they continually prop up the villains of the GOP.
And for what? Can adding zeros to their bank accounts be their only objective? That’s what it always seems to boil down to – and for the life of me, I cannot fathom this as the only goal of life.
different-church-lady
@Brantl: It’s like Lord of the Flies, rewritten so that the plane crashes because the kids murder all the adults while they’re still flying.
burnspbesq
@Ksmiami:
Look, just shut your fucking pie hole about DOJ. The rules about grand jury secrecy have been explained repeatedly. You don’t know shit about what’s going on because you’re not supposed to know. You’re just trolling, and I’m sure you know that. So kindly stop.
different-church-lady
@Hildebrand:
Kicks.
Kay
I love that Boebert lied about the whole exchange- just invented this whole thing, complete with dialogue.
It’s interesting that’s not even mentioned. She’s not just a bigot- she’s a bragging, pathetic liar of a kind everyone is familiar with “and then I said- zinger!” – yeah sure you did. In reality she won’t even look at the people she smears when she encounters them. She’s a coward.
Kay
@Joe Falco:
All Biden can do is the next right thing with the pandemic. If he puts together enough right things he’ll have as good an “approach” as can be had.
Geminid
I trust House Democratic leadership on this. They can’t expell Greene or Boebert without seventy Republican votes, so that will not happen. As for pushing a reprimand or a censure, I am fine with that if they do, and I’ve got no problem if they don’t. Speaker Pelosi may have bigger fish to fry, and she doesn’t have to prove how tough she is to me.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Boebert and Greene and what’s-her-name, Mace, was it? The lady who said catching COVID was better than getting vaccinated on Fox and then said she was pro-vaccine on CNN or something like that?
They’ve caused me to rethink my recent go-to insult involving the serrated knife and the corkscrew.
topclimber
Open thread, so here’s something about Beto in Texas.
Lt. Governor, currently one Dan Patrick, famed for being the first Republican elected to his post since 1873, gets to basically run the Senate and control the budget process. It is like he is second–or maybe first?–in terms of one person who wields political power in Texas. Too bad he is a Reconstruction era RINO.
Beto and his posse need to run against both Gov. Abbott and his sidekick Patrick. If only there was a way to refer to Abbott and Costello, and the damage they have wrought, and gain the Village-certified title for best put-down in an early swing state election at the same time!!!!
cope
If the roles were reversed, what do you imagine the GQP reaction would be?
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@cope: We’ve already seen it: they built a gallows on January 6.
Kay
@Geminid:
I’d be tempted to just let em rip if I were Pelosi. They all have to up the ante to beat the next lunatic. Let this be all the conservative side of the House does- make up elaborate lies to tell their constituents.
JMG
The primary character trait of the median American voter is ingratitude. So Biden and the Democrats might as well do what they believe is best for the country without expecting any reward.
quakerinabasement
That “calm the waters” paragraph?
Jesus, Betty. Got a light?
different-church-lady
@Kay: Odd that she made the tactical mistake of apologizing. Completely against today’s GOP playbook, gonna kill her
streetgutter cred with the base.Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Are there more worthless heaps of dogshit than the Washington press corpse? Why won’t they do their fucking jobs? Who the hell do we have to sleep with to get them to do their jobs? Because at this point, I’d think about sleeping with Ted Cruz to get them doing this right for a change.
opiejeanne
@burnspbesq: Thank you.
Kay
@JMG:
Agree. I think Biden is a genuine “humantarian” in the sense that he actually cares if people live or die, so he doesn’t really have another option. This is a fundamental disagreement on whether it matters if fewer people die. The Republican position is it does not matter- they were mostly old, they were sick, masks fog up my glasses, whatever. No mitigation effort is worth even a slight inconvenience.
different-church-lady
Christ almighty, even the espresso isn’t doing its job this morning…
opiejeanne
@topclimber: People liked Abbott and Costello, so that won’t have the effect you want.
Kay
@different-church-lady:
People should attend all their town halls and events. God knows what elaborate lies they tell their fans.
They learned well from Dear Leader. The constant fucking lying isn’t even a story anymore. If she had invented a slightly less offensive encounter with a colleague- complete with dialogue- it would just be “Tuesday”.
topclimber
@opiejeanne: I know it needs work. Maybe Abbott and Cruella?
ETA: Patrick was the one who thought seniors should be willing to die so the economy might live. Principled right-to-lifer, Cruella be.
cain
@Joe Falco:
The orange menace would have looked at omicron as another political thing and will do absolutely nothing. Well scratch that, he will because it means he can stop any kind of immigration from Africa. He’ll make a huge hay and stop all traffic between here and Africa.
Once he comes here, he’ll blame Africa and start talking about but the Kenyan Flu or Black Plague or some other nonsense.
Betty
I am wondering how you top “a weak feather that fell off a vulture’s butt”. I know you will though!
WaterGirl
@Joe Falco: I have a post up for anyone who wants to watch Biden’s short speech
And he’s thanking the country that shared in the information, saying they should be lauded for sharing information so quickly.
West of the Rockies
@topclimber:
Why not mention Paxton, too, and call them The Three Stooges?
topclimber
@West of the Rockies: A Troika jerks if ever I seen one.
rikyrah
@different-church-lady:
Since we didn’t listen to Ms. Delta,
Cousin Omicron has now come to visit.
Matt McIrvin
@cain:
All traffic of black people between here and Africa; white people from there will be A-OK (or as close an approximation to that as they can legally get away with). Because that’s how Trumpists think about pandemic controls; it’s about which kinds of people they think are “dirty” or “clean”, not about anything approaching actual epidemiology.
rikyrah
@Hildebrand:
Their desperation to ‘ both sides’ everything is the essence of their clowning.
rikyrah
@Kay:
The same people who ignored Ms. Delta
Will continue to ignore Cousin Omicron.
For the rest of us?
Protect yourselves from the lying unvaccinated.
Kristine
Oh, Betty, we are not worthy.
Fair Economist
@topclimber:
Abbott and Pastello. Close enough.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: Greek Letters doesn’t give a shit. Greek Letters just takes what it wants.
bluegirlfromwyo
@Kay: Yet they have absolutely no problem patting themselves on the back for inconveniencing others with raising any child, no matter what the situation, in the name of “life”. That juxtaposition bugs the hell out of me. Just tell us you’re entitled to nose around in other people’s business, but not vice versa, so we can have a honest debate about your superiority.
JMG
I’m boosted, I wear a mask indoors where required or requested. I had a negative test two weeks ago (required by Air France for international travel). I just can’t let myself get too weirded out by omicron until more is known, since I can’t do anything more.
West of the Rockies
@cain:
Trump certainly would (or will) use Omicron’s origin point to display his grotesque racism.
Jerry
NEW PROPOSAL
topclimber
@Fair Economist: I am sure BJ can come up with one Beto just can’t pass up.
Gravenstone
It’s slow going, but if Democrats are consistent in their punishment, and Republicans continue to be abusive shitheads, eventually there will only be Democrats on the House committees. Win/win!
Geminid
@topclimber: O’Rourke and the rest of Texas’ Democratic candidates can be counted on to hit Republicans hard. Their state has had one party rule long enough that Democrats can use the potent theme of, “Throw the Rascals Out!” More colorful words might be substituted for “rascals.”
I expect Democrats will nominate a decent candidate to run for Lieutenant Governor. I find one of the Democratic candidates for Texas Attorney General especially interesting. Joe Jaworski was Mayor of Galveston, and his grandfather, Leon Jaworski, served as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunal. The elder Jaworski is well known as the Watergate Special Prosecutor appointed to replace Archibald Cox. The selection of Leon Jaworski for this post may have been the only good thing Robert Bork ever did, certainly in his professional life.
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
It’s not just that Garland can’t talk about what he’s doing because of DOJ and Grand Jury rules. Right wing violence is something that’s been brewing for a very long time. Before he was a judge Garland was a federal prosecutor under Clinton who was most famous for prosecuting Timothy McVeigh. So yeah. Garland knows about right wing violence and has experience dealing with it, and it’s not something that’s waiting to happen unless he does something. It’s something that has been happening for a long time, and he needs to deal with the Trump-era DOJ ignoring it.
LongHairedWeirdo
I’m sorry – I thought we lived in a world where *no* comment made by an elected, or campaigning, Republican could ever require examination – a naive and oversensitive reporter might still feel obligated to note that it was “red meat for the base” and it doesn’t matter if they are literally threatening to bash in the heads of their fellow Americans in the name of patriotism.
Eunicecycle
@cain: and the press should point out that it was first uncovered in South Africa but most likely did not originate there. SA has an excellent system to identify new strains.
Eunicecycle
@cope: Nancy would have taken care of it already. The D rep would be gone.
topclimber
@Geminid: I am curious whether any of the Dems who decamped to DC to publicize A&C’s voting rights putsch might be good candidates for Lt. Gov. Someone with seniority, experience with sharp elbows, and committed to core Dem ideals.
Brachiator
@Eunicecycle:
It is ironic that the Greek letter naming convention was supposed to eliminate simplistic geographic designations for the virus and its variants.
Elizabelle
@Eunicecycle: Spain would like a sad word about naming conventions and pandemics.
Cameron
@Geminid: I saw in the Texas Tribune that they couldn’t be bothered fixing the grid, so a lot of Texans are going to be mighty cold again this winter.
Soprano2
@Kay: You forgot “They mostly live in blue states/cities that don’t vote for Republicans”, which is what they thought was going to keep being the case until it wasn’t.
Geminid
@topclimber: State newspapers like the Texas Tribune have coverage of the race. And Wikipedia has article a out the office that has a section on the Democratic primary contest. I skimmed it, and the only name I recognized was that of political operator and pundit Matthew Dowd, who once upon a time was a staffer for Petrocratic Senator Lloyd Benson. When someone mentioned Dowd here a few weeks ago, people were like, “Matthew Dowd? Ewww.”
Soprano2
Our Republican rep doesn’t ever have town halls, because he knows that the “R” after his name means he can get elected regardless of what he does, so there’s no way to question him in public ever. He’s running for Roy Blunt’s Senate seat now, so he may actually have to answer a relatively difficult question or two; I bet he’ll have a lot of trouble with that, because he’s literally never had to do it before.
Geminid
@Cameron: If that’s the case, Republicans had better pray for good weather this winter. Freezing at the kitchen table is a “kitchen table issue” if there ever was one. O’Rourke cited last year’s freeze in his campaign announcement video, in his second sentence I believe.
topclimber
@Geminid: It is odd that such a powerful position has attracted no notables.
Perhaps AG is easier, and that’s why Jaworski chose that. Paxton is a dream opponent.
Geminid
@topclimber: Paxton may not be the mominee. At least not if Louis Gohmert has anything to do with it. Gohmert would be perfect for a Three Stooges ticket.
Cameron
@Geminid: One of my sisters has the pleasure of living in Louie’s district.
zhena gogolia
Quoted for beauty.
WaterGirl
This post is definitely an example of Betty Cracker in tip-top form!
zhena gogolia
McQarthy is a haircut. So so true.
Gawd, I hate that man.
way2blue
Not to mention—Boebert didn’t apologize (i.e., retract her quip). She said she was sorry if she offended any Muslims.
Miss Bianca
@Kay:
*What* town halls? They don’t do town halls – and their “events” are limited to Republican-only ventures. Ask me how I know.
Signed,
Bitter Democrat (and reporter) in Boebert’s district
Geminid
I noticed that the Politico article featured in the post described a “faction” in the Democratic Caucus that is pushing for tough measures against the CO-3 Congresswoman. I have to wonder if there really is such a faction, or if the reporter is using interviews of members before they have returned to Washington to try to set up intra-caucus strife, creating another “Dems in disarray” story.
Ksmiami
@Roger Moore: I know… I’m trying to warn the Polly Anna’s..
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: Well, Boebert did appear last month at Pueblo’s Columbus Day ceremony. She gave the kind of speech that wows conservative audiences, but it did not impress one Pueblo resident:
I know you heard the story before, but I could not resist once more featuring Ms. Consentino’s simple eloquence.
Ksmiami
@rikyrah: and hope Covid clears the dry tinder…
Ruckus
@Hildebrand:
When money is the most important part of life, having more of it is the goal. And this is a huge part of conservatism, having the right people have the most/all the money. The story has always been that there isn’t enough money for everyone to be successful so there has to be in and out groups, to control who gets money and who gets screwed. It is of course not stated that way out loud, because that would be crass.
Brant
@different-church-lady: THAT should be s rotating tag line!
Amir Khalid
If Lauren Boebert truly regrets her Islamophobic crack about Ilhan Omar, if she really sorry she said it, she should accept any sanctions imposed on her by House leadership. One, it’s not at all the same as being punished twice for the same offence: having to apologise is not a punishment. Two, it’s no good claimimg you’re sorry if you won’t take your medicine.
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid: All of this.
Pittsburgh Mike
Politico is always writing stupid s*** like that. And worse, they don’t allow comments, so I can’t call them s***-for-brains. So I took them out of my news feed, since if they’re always wrong and they won’t let me insult them, well, what’s the point of reading them?
TL;DR — don’t read Politico!
Citizen Alan
@Roger Moore: I mean, shit, we’re in something like the 5th decade of a sustained right-wing terrorism campaign against abortion providers. The only difference is that it’s spread out to all liberal constituencies.
Citizen Alan
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: Just do what I do: Tell them to go Brandon themselves.
Citizen Alan
@Gravenstone: Not that I’m complaining b/c I think it’s inevitable either way, but when the Republinazis eventually retake the House, I foresee them stripping Dems of their committee assignments for utterly trivial things like forgetting to put their hand over their hearts when the National Anthem is playing.
John S.
@Citizen Alan:
They won’t even bother to concoct trivial reasons like that. They’ll simply strip Democrats of everything for no other reason than being Democrats, and the media will claim “both sides”.
Miss Bianca
@Amir Khalid: I can assure you that Lauren Boebert does not regret her Islamophobic crack one little bit. That woman is a walking weeping sore of white Christian supremacy. Allow me, as one of her constituents, to apologize to all Muslims on behalf of all the CD-3 voters who are continually mortified by her behavior.