when you are gonna take back our country but lose to a wet circular highway https://t.co/2o0B12alET
— kilgore trout, death to putiner (@KT_So_It_Goes) March 9, 2022
look, i will drive around in a circle for as long as it takes to meet my unspecified demands, and that’s a fact, jack https://t.co/ywfimBRCyc
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) March 9, 2022
Nearly a dozen organizers of the so-called “People’s Convoy” met with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) Tuesday morning in the Capitol, but the truckers were light on details about how they intend to “escalate” their protests after two consecutive failed attempts at disrupting the Beltway. Lead convoy organizer Brian Brase told The Daily Beast following the presser that the anti-vaccine mandate truckers plan to stick around the metro area for an indeterminate amount of time, potentially moving their camp closer to D.C. (from their current base at a speedway in Hagerstown, Maryland) if their unspecified demands are not met. “This is a process that we are hoping to do diplomatically,” Brase said. “We’re in it for the long haul.” He continued: “We could go indefinitely, right now, if that’s what it takes. We are not going away.” During the press conference—which was occasionally tense when truckers berated reporters in the room—organizers touted what they believed to be their victories over the past two days to the approval of both senators in the room. “God bless all of you,” Johnson said at one point. “I think your stories are so powerful.” …
Ron Johnson thinks that what the People's Convoy is doing is "incredibly important" because it's taking attention away from his ties to Russia.
— Rex Zane (@rexzane1) March 8, 2022
OFF-RAMP!
The People’s Convoy canceled driving the beltway around DC today “due to weather.”
This is the first time they’ve done this and comes a day after a chaotic, fruitless meeting with extremist-sympathetic politicians.
Here’s the weather causing them to skip their freedom loops: pic.twitter.com/m4FBolhg5H
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 9, 2022
• Despite organizers claiming money for gas & other needs isn’t an issue, growing irritation that drivers aren’t being compensated and rigs have been running bobtail (aka no cargo box, which reduces fuel use — also makes it easier/safer to drive).
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 9, 2022
There’s been testing-the-waters mentions from organizers about focusing on state capitals/thinking about next steps. Comes as no surprise they’d start dripping that as we near closer to “actually we uh, need to use this space now” time. However— https://t.co/Lpnc0iZqsH
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 9, 2022
Some folks have noted driving bobtail is actually less safe because there’s fewer brakes and the vehicle is designed to function best with a load, but they’re supposed to be driving slowly anyway and they’ve had bobtails with them the whole time.
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 9, 2022
As the effectiveness of the protest, plus ticking clock on how long they can stay at the Speedway become more prominent, concerns have shifted to prioritize trucker-specific issues: Insurance companies flagging drivers, DOT revoking licenses, lack of reimbursement/pay.
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 9, 2022
Brase’s comments read increasingly desperate for attention so tamping down on giving them any would fizzle them out pretty efficiently. Everyone who’s been posting to #convoywatch or trying to generate sharebait might want to consider the role media plays in dying movements.
— talia jane #convoywatch (@taliaotg) March 10, 2022
Baud
My only concern is that they turn violent to get attention. Otherwise, fizzle away, bobtails.
brantl
A little rain stopped these doughty truckers. Maybe they are doubty truckers. Or just trucknuts.
Poe Larity
How about we get DougJ on the CB Radio there?
What young Russians think about Putin?
Mike in NC
Why were these wingnut goobers hanging out in Hagerstown? It was sort of a dump when we last passed through. Wife liked to do shopping in downtown Frederick, which was pretty cool.
Suzanne
@Mike in NC: The only notable thing about Hagerstown is that there is a Popeye’s Chicken at which my family has managed to eat multiple times. Like, on multiple trips. It’s so weird.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
We thought we were going to war with NORK at the time….
I’ll always remember the way that little girl marches into the room like a boss, as we said at the time
(Marie Yovanovich coming up on MSNBC if it interests anyone else, as it does me)
Ohio Mom
You can tell how dumb they are because D.C. is full of wonderful things to see and do and they are ignoring all of them. I bet they’d like the Air and Space Museum, for starters.
dmsilev
Well, we can’t help but be impressed with their clarity of purpose.
debbie
They’re afraid to get their trucks wet? ? ? ?
Suzanne
I got caught in this same rainstorm today, in Philly. I still managed to walk to and from work and to and from lunch.
Soooo much horn honking outside. I wonder if the Freedom Convoy is here.
debbie
This reminds me: Has Mike Lindell filed his giant lawsuit to get rid of all voting machines?
raven
@Mike in NC: They rallied at a race track.
p.a.
I posted this a year ago on fbook from a John Rogers series of tweets (possibly seen here first and not on his twitter):
“… This term was coined, I heard, by actor Hank Azaria, who was complaining about a show he was on and asked “who’s carrying the idiot ball this week?” The modern conservative intellectual movement is now reduced to passing around the idiot ball.
Dr. Seuss is this week’s idiot ball, and in order to be part of the show, you have to carry it. You have to make bad faith or stupid arguments to be part of the show. The difference is, now, *everybody* has to pass the idiot ball around, all episode.
Freedom Fries. Antifa. Dr. Seuss. Millions of missing ballots. Neanderthals. Ordinarily smart people have to pretend to be earnestly dumb and make idiotic arguments about each of these, or be tossed from the show…
… So now, you have the shorthand. Whenever you hear some ridiculous fake scandal or outrage, you can just chalk it up to “Oh, it’s this week’s Idiot Ball” and it says everything you need to know about both the subject, and the person carrying it.”
John Rogers
MagdaInBlack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: This time I laughed out loud when mom came skidding thru the door. Thanks for posting that.
delk
When does the glory seeking ass clown announce that he’s running for office?
hueyplong
@Mike in NC: Wait, you think wingnut goobers staying in a dump is something that needs splainin’?
raven
@hueyplong: They coulda gone shoppin!
Ohio Mom
@MagdaInBlack: Yes, I laughed too, it’s still funny even though the dad comes off as a jerk.
I hope they appreciate that they were trend setters, there have been lots of unintended sights during Zooms these past two years.
JoyceH
I really hope they stick it out through the weekend. Weather report is calling for a “bomb cyclone”, which ought to be real fun in the living compartment of a big rig.
raven
@Ohio Mom: If they go back through Chattanooga
The International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc.
Kalakal
Amateurs. Everyone knows that The Way to get attention is to hang around in an Ohio diner
NotMax
different-church-lady
Meanwhile everyone else is taking off their masks and getting on with life.
trnc
Well, he announced his 2020 run on January 21, 2017, so I’m not exactly sure where that leaves us this time around. I’m guessing that the lack of a similar announcement this time has more to do with the “Waddya mean? I already won” con.
hueyplong
@JoyceH:
If drizzles bothered them today, they’ll need to skedaddle late tomorrow or early Friday if heading west unless they want some of the bomb cyclone.
Fleeing or surrendering, the standard confederate choice of options.
Ken
@dmsilev: I was half-expecting they would be co-opted by the people pushing “gas prices are too high,” but I guess driving in circles to protest gas prices was a bridge too far.
Ohio Mom
@raven: Someone needs to make a calendar with each day listing another obscure museum.
West of the Rockies
Wish we had some Ukranian farmers with tractors to haul away some of those stupid trucks.
NotMax
@Ohio Mom
Would run out of dates well before running out of museums.
;)
RSA
@Mike in NC:
Hagerstown is in Washington county, which went 60+% for Trump in 2016 and 2020. Western Maryland in general is pretty conservative, despite being one of the most reliably Democratic states overall (thank Baltimore City for that, mainly).
But agreed on Frederick! I was there just a few weeks ago, on a sunny weekend, and it felt good to be out among people wandering along the historic downtown streets.
Kent
So near as I can tell, Fox news got a bunch of these goobers fired up to copy the Canadians and go do a convoy to Washington. Except that they didn’t really have a coherent cause. You see everything from Stop the Steal to anti-vax bullshit to pro-Trump nonsense to even old tired POW/MIA flags as if there are still prisoners being held in Vietnam?
So a bunch of these dipshits jumped up to do it but with no real organization or purpose and when they all got to DC it was like “now what?” DC is about 5-10 times larger than Ottawa and there are serious fleets of tow trucks ready to haul their asses away to suburban MD impound lots as anyone who has ever parked illegally in DC knows. A bunch of them black-owned businesses that have no sense of humor about another bunch of MAGA dipshits descending on THEIR city after the debacle of 1/6.
So now they are circling aimlessly scared to actually go into the city because they have non plan and nowhere to go. While at the same time gas prices are going up and up so their trip back home to CA or TX or wherever is going to cost hundreds more than their trip out. Oops.
Redshift
@Mike in NC:
Partly because Hagerstown is solidly Republican, and Frederick is now slightly Democratic, but more likely because whoever owns the speedway in Hagerstown was willing to let them stay there.
That’s why their “plan” to relocate to Fairfax is so laughable – there’s nowhere in the extremely Democratic county that would let them park and camp.
Benw
The People’s Can’tvoy
bbleh
@Benw: oh no, it’s a CON-voy all right.
VOR
@trnc: announcing a run has certain legal implications which might impact his fundraising. And raising money is TFG’s top priority. Ambiguity is probably better for him.
bbleh
@Mike in NC: @Suzanne: @hueyplong: @RSA: @Redshift: It’s also a MAJOR interstate junction: 81 and 70 go right through it, and it’s very close to where 68 takes off and 70 merges with 76/PA Turnpike. Very trucker-friendly, lots of support facilities.
Benw
@bbleh: ha yea that also works!
Mike in NC
@RSA: Many years ago we did a ‘murder mystery train’ ride at Christmas that terminated in Winchester, MD. That was a lot of fun.
frosty
And Prince George’s County. Montgomery and Howard help keep Maryland blue, too.
RSA
@Mike in NC: That does sound fun! A real train ride? How cool. I don’t know Winchester; it’s maybe an hour from where I live now, northwest of Baltimore (having moved here from Raleigh, NC).
delk
@trnc: was referring to the convoy leader.
Mike in NC
@RSA: In 1989 my company laid off our entire office in Newport, RI and relocated me to Germantown, MD. So I spent about six years assigned to a Navy Reserve unit in Baltimore. I loved that city.
Betsy
Can you imagine if 40 pedestrians got together and had a protest. Wow, that would really send a message.
The media would cover it for days and days.
It would also be bigger than most right wing protests that don’t involve a sociopathic politician giving a hatespeech.
Librarian
Hagerstown is also a few miles north of the Antietam battlefield.
Oklahomo
When I read Kilgore Trout’s tweet my first thought was maybe the beltway is like the motorway in Good Omens: a demonic sigil that feeds off of traffic deaths.
Betsy
@Kent: when you compare their asshattery to actual legitimate real protests organized by people like Stacey Abrams or the women’s march, you realize that these flaccid dumbasses have never been challenged, and as a result have no grit or integrity or any guiding principles of any kind because things have always fallen pretty much their way and they’ve never had to scratch for what they have or define who they are in a positive way because they’ve always had the attention and respect that White men get everywhere they go.
Betsy
@Ohio Mom: Because of the air and space inside their heads?
I’ll see myself out
HumboldtBlue
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That will never not be laugh out loud funny. The jaunty tyke, the cruising baby, the desperate mom, just pure gold.
burnspbesq
@Redshift:
NRA headquarters?
brendancalling
@Mike in NC: what company? I grew up in Newport, lived there til 91.
Mike in NC
@Librarian: We did a honeymoon in WV that included Antietam, Harper’s Ferry, and Sherperdstown. Had a great time.
Mike in NC
@brendancalling: Vanguard Technologies, which quickly became known as Nonguard Technologies as it went under.
Poe Larity
wrong thread
MikefromArlington
These losers should take the news of mask mandates, etc going away, claim mission accomplished, and head back to their antipathy filled, bitter lives, clinging to their ar-50s and little red fictional books.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I have absolutely no idea what that’s about, even after clicking over to twitter. Can you explain?
cain
@RSA: Why do we call them conservative? It so wierd since they don’t abide by any of the principles of conservatism that I see. More like neoliberal trash.