The Conversation -- October 4, 2023
How Nadine Menendez Got a New Mercedes After Killing a Man with the Old One. Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "... in December 2018..., Nadine Arslanian, the soon-to-be wife of Senator Robert Menendez, was zipping through the darkened streets of suburban New Jersey in a black Mercedes-Benz sedan [when she hit a pedestrian crossing the street].... The crash that ensued just after 7:30 p.m. killed the man, Richard Koop, 49, almost instantly. His body was thrown to the curb just steps from his home and badly mangled, according to the Bergen County medical examiner. After brief questioning, the police concluded that Ms. Menendez, who was alone in the vehicle, was 'not at fault.' She was released without a summons. What happened that night in the borough of Bogota outside New York City was not reported for years.... But now..., the episode adds a startling dimension to [the Menendez] scandal.... Prosecutors said in ... charging papers that Ms. Menendez needed a car so badly after a December 2018 'accident' that the senator, a Democrat, was willing to try to suppress an unrelated criminal prosecution for a New Jersey businessman in exchange for a $60,000 Mercedes convertible. [Emphasis added.]...
"Interviews, police reports, dashcam footage, audio of 911 calls and other records reviewed by The New York Times also raise additional questions about the inquiry into the collision itself, which was reported earlier Wednesday by The Record of New Jersey.... One witness at the scene said in an interview that officers appeared to know who Ms. Menendez was and treated her with striking deference. Police recordings captured the voice of a man who identifies himself as a retired police officer from a nearby department. He can be heard saying he came to the scene as 'a favor' to a friend whose wife knew Ms. Menendez.... The police reports indicate [Ms. Arslanian] was never tested for drugs or alcohol, and was allowed to leave the scene...." Politico's story is here.
Now that Kevin McCarthy is out as Speaker, we can expect more reasonable people to run for the job. Like this guy: ~~~
Hill: "Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday announced he would seek the Speakership." Great! Everything should go very smoothly. ~~~
~~~ Trump Won't Rule Out Accepting Speakership. Matt Dixon of NBC News: "'A lot of people have been calling me about speaker,' [Donald] Trump said Wednesday morning outside a New York City courthouse for the third day of New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million civil fraud trial against him. 'All I can say is we will do whatever is best for the country and other Republican Party and people.... The current rules of the Republican House conference actually prohibit someone charged with a felony from serving in leadership. Trump is facing dozens of felony charges." MB: Time to change the rules! ~~~
~~~ Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) formally threw his hat into the ring to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), pushing the need for unity in a letter to colleagues." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Did I mention that besides dumping their speaker, these yahoos did so without having any sort of plan -- as far as we know -- about how to replace him. So far it looks as if they're just going for holding vote after vote where GOP members vote for various candidates, with none receiving a majority, while Democrats all vote for Hakeem Jeffries.
Marie: Call me the Oracle of D.C. As I speculated earlier Wednesday... ~~~
~~~ Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: "Kevin McCarthy was behind interim Speaker Patrick McHenry's move to kick former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer out of their office spaces, two Republican sources told CNN. GOP Rep. Garret Graves told reporters on Wednesday that McCarthy is getting the office that McHenry has ordered her to vacate.... Sources close to Pelosi and Hoyer say it was retaliation for Democrats siding against McCarthy in voting to vacate the speaker's chair Tuesday. The unofficial offices are located near the House floor.... House Republican leadership also kicked Hoyer out of his Capitol hideaway office, his office confirmed to CNN on Wednesday."
Most Frivolous Lawsuit Ever. Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "Rudy Giuliani sued President Biden for defamation Wednesday over his comments calling the former New York City mayor a 'Russian pawn' during a 2020 presidential debate." This is the same Rudy Giuliani who admitted he "mounted a sustained smear campaign against [two election workers/private citizens] by repeatedly accusing them of committing voter fraud to change the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia' and claimed the women were passing back and forth USB sticks passing around USB ports "as if they were vials of heroin or cocaine." Moreover, the evidence developed so far indicates Rudy did serve as what could accurately be characterized as a "Russian pawn," when he bought into false conspiracy theories pressed by pro-Russian Ukrainians.
Lawrence Hurley of NBC News: "The Supreme Court appeared unlikely Tuesday to scuttle a federal agency set up to protect consumers from predatory lenders and other unlawful financial services practices as the justices considered a constitutional challenge backed by business groups. Both conservative and liberal justices seemed skeptical of the theory pushed by the plaintiffs that the mechanism allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, to be funded directly by the Federal Reserve is unconstitutional.... The legal question before the Supreme Court on Tuesday rests squarely on the conclusion reached by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in October of last year that the bureau's funding mechanism was unlawful. The court concluded that the funding structure, whereby Congress does not directly appropriate funding, runs afoul of the Constitution's directive requiring it to do so. That is despite the fact that Congress itself set up the CFPB and approved the current funding structure when it passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010." ~~~
~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox weighs in: "By the end of the argument, even Justice Clarence Thomas ... appeared fed up with [former Trump solicitor General Noel] Francisco's inability to articulate a coherent argument [against CFPB funding]."
Although "Justice" Clarence Thomas recused himself from a case brought by his former clerk John Eastman AND in which Thomas's wife Ginni was involved, Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams notes that Thomas thought it was fine to weigh in on a New York City rent-control case in which Thomas's benefactor Harlan Crow has a vested interest. Revolving Door Project executive director Jeff Hauser said, "Crow's industry lobbyist of choice, the National Multifamily Housing Council, filed an amicus brief urging the 2nd Circuit to take up the challenge to New York City's rent control law in 2021.... While the NMHC did not file a brief for the case before the Supreme Court, there should be little doubt that Thomas and his clerks are aware of NMHC's, and therefore Crow's, interest in the case." Thanks to RAS for the link.
MEANWHILE, Thomas-Crow matchmaker Leonard Leo has determined he also is above following normative laws and practices: ~~~
~~~ Heidi Przybyla of Politico: "Judicial activist Leonard Leo is not cooperating with an investigation by Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb for potentially misusing nonprofit tax laws for personal enrichment, his attorney confirmed. David Rivkin, Leo's attorney, said in a statement to Politico that Schwalb has 'no legal authority to conduct any investigatory steps or take any enforcement measures' because Leo's multi-billion-dollar aligned nonprofits -- which poured millions into campaigning for the nominations of conservative Supreme Court justices and advocating before them -- were organized outside of D.C. Leo's consulting firm, CRC Advisors is registered in D.C. and his main aligned nonprofit, The 85 Fund, used a D.C. mailing address for at least a decade."
Samantha Delouya of CNN: "On Wednesday, more than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest not-for-profit health providers, walked off the job, marking the largest health care worker strike in US history. The striking employees, who work across California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and Washington, DC, are represented by a coalition of eight unions that comprise 40% of Kaiser Permanente's total staff. The vast majority of the striking workers are in West Coast states. The strike began at 6 am local time, and will run through Saturday morning." Thanks to RAS for the link.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bye-Bye, My Kevin, Good-Bye
The office of the Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant. -- Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), presiding officer, October 3
House of Chaos, Ctd. Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "The House voted on Tuesday to oust Representative Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, a move without precedent that left the chamber without a leader and plunged it into chaos. After a far-right challenge to Mr. McCarthy's leadership, eight G.O.P. hard-liners joined Democrats to strip the California Republican of the speaker's gavel. The 216-to-210 vote reflected the deep polarization in Congress and raised questions about who, if anyone, could muster the support to govern an increasingly unruly House G.O.P. majority.... Soon after, Mr. McCarthy told Republicans behind closed doors that he would not seek to reclaim the post, ending a tumultuous nine months as speaker. Republicans said they would leave Washington until next week, with no clear path to finding a new speaker of the House.... It was the culmination of bitter Republican divisions that have festered all year, and capped an epic power struggle between Mr. McCarthy and members of a far-right faction who tried to block his ascent to the speakership in January. They have tormented him ever since...." The AP's story is here.
Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Mere hours after becoming the first House speaker ever removed from the position, [Kevin] McCarthy held a stem-winding, nearly hour-long news conference -- at times indignant and combative with the gathered press, at times appearing relieved.... He talked about his mom buying gas at Costco. He had complaints about Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). He went after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), again and again, for ousting him. He admitted to privately seeking out then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for advice, while publicly criticizing her. He compared Vladimir Putin to Hitler.... Without the constraints of the speakership, McCarthy declared something he would not when serving as speaker: that the House as an institution is broken. He blamed Democrats for it -- though Democrats pointed to his own politicized behavior as the reason they did not save him Tuesday.... It was the capstone to an unprecedented day that started with McCarthy's name hanging over the entryway to the speaker's suite and ended with him walking out of his former office with a box tucked under his arm."
Here are a few highlights from the New York Times liveblog, which ran yesterday as the House drama unfolded (all also linked yesterday):
Catie Edmonson: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that he would not try to broker a deal with Democrats to defeat a hard-right effort to oust him, even though he has little chance of hanging onto his leadership post without their support. In an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box,' Mr. McCarthy said Democrats would 'decide whatever they're going to do. And we will live with whatever happens.' Democrats 'haven't asked for anything' in exchange for voting to support him, Mr. McCarthy said, 'and I'm not going to provide anything.'... House Democrats were set to meet on Tuesday morning to consider whether to bail out Mr. McCarthy. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday that the party would 'come to a collective decision at the end.'"
Edmondson: Speaker Kevin McCarthy [said] he planned to call a vote on Tuesday on the right-wing move to oust him from his post, after declaring that he had no intention of giving Democrats any concessions in exchange for helping him survive." ~~~
Luke Broadwater: "Speaker after speaker in the Democrats' closed-door meeting rose to speak against helping McCarthy, saying he can't be trusted and Democrats must remain united against helping him, said Representative Mark Takano of California. 'We don't have an obligation to save this speaker.'"
Kayla Guo: "McCarthy conceded to reporters that if five Republicans voted to oust him, and Democrats stay united against him, that he would lose the speakership. Does that seem likely to happen? 'Probably so,' he said. But he added that he remains confident he'll survive. 'I just don't give up.'"
Edmondson: "In a letter to House Democrats minutes ahead of an expected vote, the Democratic leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, wrote: 'Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair.'"
** Edmondson: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy has lost the vote to kill Representative Matt Gaetz's bid to oust him, 208 to 218. That tees an up-or-down vote to remove McCarthy."
Carl Hulse: "Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is named interim speaker under a law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks in the event of a vacancy in the office."
Edmondson: "The House on Tuesday voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, a move without precedent in modern history that left the chamber without a leader and plunged it into chaos. Democrats joined with a small group of hard-liners in Mr. McCarthy's own party to strip the California Republican of the speaker's gavel in a 216 to 210 vote. It was the culmination of a bitter power struggle between Mr. McCarthy and members of a far-right faction who tried to block his ascent to the speakership in January and have tormented him ever since, trying to stymie his efforts to keep the government funded and the nation from defaulting on its debt." Update. Then this: "Shortly after the vote, Mr. McCarthy announced in a closed-door meeting with Republicans that he would not run for speaker again, and Republicans left the Capitol and prepared to return to their districts for the next week with no clear path forward."
From the CNN liveblog: "The US House of Representatives has voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy in a historic vote on Tuesday. The vote on the motion to vacate was 216-210 with eight Republicans voting to remove McCarthy from the speakership. The Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy were: Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Nancy Mace and Matt Rosendale. The House will now need to elect a new speaker, but there is no clear alternative who would have the support needed to win the gavel. No House speaker has ever before been ousted through the passage of a resolution to remove them." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: The good news for My Kevin: I'm guessing he will get an official speaker's portrait, to hang somewhere around the House side of the Capitol.
Classy! Nicholas Wu & Daniella Diaz of Politico: "As one of his first acts as the acting speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry ordered former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday, according to an email sent to her office.... 'Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,' wrote a top aide on the Republican-controlled House Administration Committee. The room was being reassigned by the acting speaker 'for speaker office use,' the email said.... The former speaker blasted the eviction in a statement as 'a sharp departure from tradition.'..." MB: Maybe the office is being "re-keyed" for McCarthy. McHenry was certainly well-aware that Pelosi was on the West Coast Tuesday; she missed the votes yesterday to accompany Dianne Feinstein's body to San Francisco and to attend Feinstein's memorial service. "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' staff helped Pelosi's office make the move...."
~~~ Post-Mortems
The Long Good-bye. Carl Hulse of the New York Times: Kevin McCarthy's "extraordinary ouster that ... left the House in chaos was the culmination of a tumultuous nine months that began in unprecedented fashion in January with 15 roll call votes to claim his gavel and ended in unprecedented fashion with a single one to vacate the speaker's chair. In between, the gregarious Californian, previously known more as a backslapper and prolific fund-raiser than a legislative wizard, narrowly pulled the country back from the brink of crisis -- twice. But he took many other actions, and said many things, that antagonized hard-line Republicans, Democrats and the White House. When the critical moment came, no one was willing to race to his rescue....
"With the G.O.P. base increasingly hungry for insurgency and confrontation, Mr. McCarthy found himself out of step, a problem that is likely to plague any candidate who tries to succeed him.... Mr. McCarthy practiced almost abject obeisance to the far right -- right up to the moment they decided to take him down. He gave them concession after concession to win their votes to become speaker, then went back on some of the ones they cared about most.... Along the way, he also deeply alienated Democrats, even though he was forced to turn to them at key moments, both to avoid a calamitous federal default in May and a government shutdown last weekend."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "... Tuesday's events are much larger than [Kevin] McCarthy, for they made it clear, if there had been any doubt, that the Republican Party has lost the ability to govern. McCarthy's term began in chaos, with his 15 rounds of balloting. It lurched from crisis to manufactured crisis, with a needless debt ceiling showdown, failed votes and pulled bills on the floor, recriminations and name-calling in Republican caucus meetings, the launch of impeachment proceedings on fabricated charges, and last week's near-shutdown of the government. Now, it is ending in chaos, with Republicans openly savaging each other on the House floor and all legislative functions ceasing while the majority party tries to pick its next leader.... It's just a matter of time until [Rep. Matt] Gaetz [R-Fla.] -- and the many others like him -- render McCarthy's successor a failure, too. This is all they know how to do."
A Party about Nothing. John Harris of Politico in Politico Magazine: "For nine months, McCarthy had the title and the gavel and a Capitol suite with a nice view. But he never really held the office of speaker in anything like the historic meaning of that job. He never inspired fear. He sought favor from GOP colleagues -- 210 of whom actually stayed with him until the end -- but he had scant influence to bestow favors in return. He wasn't associated with any particular governing idea. At the start, his speakership was effectively an optical illusion. At the end, it was an exercise in self-abasement.... For a quarter-century, every Republican to ascend to the speakership has descended from it with his standing diminished. It's a line that travels from Newt Gingrich to Dennis Hastert to John Boehner to Paul Ryan to McCarthy.... A party that used to have an instinctual orientation toward authority and order -- Democrats fall in love, went the old chestnut, while Republicans fall in line -- is now animated by something akin to nihilism. The politics of contempt so skillfully exploited by Donald Trump is turned inward on hapless would-be leaders like McCarthy with no less ferocity than it is turned outward on liberals and the media." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Harris is understating the House GOP's inability to govern. Since 1931, there has been only one Republican speaker other than those Harris names. That was Joseph Martin, who served from 1947-1949 & 1953-1955 (when the GOP caucus ousted him from leadership).
Stephen Groves of the AP: "Where the House goes from here, no one can say." ~~~
~~~ Wait, Wait! Here's a Brilliant Idea to "Make the House Great Again"! Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) announced late Tuesday he will file paperwork to nominate former President Trump to be the next Speaker of the House. 'This week, when the U.S. House of Representatives reconvenes, my first order of business will be to nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,' Nehls said in a statement. 'President Trump, the greatest President of my lifetime, has a proven record of putting America First and will make the House great again.'"
The Civil Trial of an Uncivilized Thug
Here are NBC News' live updates of Day 2 of Donald Trump's fraud trial.
New York Judge Tells Trump to STFU. Steve Reilly & Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud trial on Tuesday issued a gag order after the former president attacked his clerk by name and shared her image on social media. 'Personal attacks on members on my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won't tolerate it [in my courtroom],' said New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. He added later to 'consider this a gag order for all parties from posting about any members of my staff.' The judge rebuked the 'untrue and personally identifying posts' about a staff member. 'Schumer's girlfriend ... is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, along with a picture of the clerk and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The post appeared to show a photograph of Greenfield standing next to Schumer, without any more context. Fact-checkers note that false rumors about Schumer and infidelity appear to trace their origins to a now-shuttered satirical website." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Trump had been a real president, you would not believe he had targeted a court clerk with a damaging story that included her personal identifying information or that his "source" for the story was a shut-down satirical website. But it's Trump, and you just shake your head. Even as a thug -- his greatest talent -- he's an amateurish screw-up.
Marie: Earlier yesterday, I linked to a story by Jake Traylor of NBC News, who noticed that "... Donald Trump is lashing out at political and legal foes in increasingly violent terms as his campaign to return to office accelerates." Traylor isn't the only one who noticed: ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump had a lot to say on the first day of the fraud trial against him and his company. Speaking to reporters at a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, he dismissed the judge as a 'rogue' justice and said he did not 'think the people of this country are going to stand for it.' And..., 'This is a disgrace,' he said, 'and you ought to go after this attorney general.' The remark urging people to 'go after' a top elected official in New York, by a former president whose invective has become a familiar backdrop of American life, was part of a pattern of increasingly sharp language from Mr. Trump.... His calls for supporters to refuse to 'stand' for what he insists is a broad miscarriage of justice -- are front and center in nearly every statement he makes." MB: You need merely put together his remark about people's not standing for the New York trial with his urging to go after Letitia James to see a nearly direct plea to harm James. There oughta be a law. (Also linked yesterday.)
Olivia Rubin & John Santucci of ABC News: "A number of ... Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Fulton County election interference case have received plea deal offers or have been approached about potentially making a deal by the District Attorney's office...."
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The manufacturers of 10 expensive medications have agreed to negotiate with the federal government for lower prices for Medicare recipients, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday. The pharmaceutical companies said they would begin talks with the government even as several of them were suing the administration, arguing that the new law authorizing the negotiations -- and steep potential penalties if drug makers opt out -- is unconstitutional." The NBC News report is here.
Orlando Mayorquin of the New York Times: "With a growing number of satellites orbiting the Earth and space junk increasingly becoming a concern, the Federal Communications Commission announced on Tuesday that it had for the first time fined a company for failing to properly dispose of a dead satellite. The commission said that Dish, the television provider, had agreed as part of a settlement to pay a $150,000 fine for failing to thrust its defunct EchoStar-7 broadcast satellite to a higher altitude and into a designated space junkyard zone where it would pose little threat of colliding with active communications satellites and other spacecraft. As part of the settlement, Dish admitted liability, the F.C.C. said."
Maeve Reston & Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "Laphonza Butler was sworn in as the third female Black U.S. senator in history Tuesday -- bringing greater diversity to the upper chamber after nearly three years in which there have been no Black women serving in the Senate.... Butler, 44, a onetime labor leader who was most recently the head of Emily's List, was tapped by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to fill the term of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died at 90 last week. The last Black woman to serve in the Senate was Kamala D. Harris before she became vice president. Harris and Butler have been close since their paths crossed much earlier in their careers in California political circles, and the vice president administered the oath of office to Butler on Tuesday afternoon."
Lindsay Whitehurst & Claudia Lauer of the AP: "Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after a plea deal imploded, putting the case on track toward a possible trial as the 2024 election looms. His lawyer Abbe Lowell said in court he plans to file a motion to dismiss the case, challenging their constitutionality." (Also linked yesterday.)
Scott Dance of the Washington Post: "Early analyses show global warmth surged far above previous records in September -- even further than what scientists said seemed like astonishing increases in July and August. The planet's average temperature shattered the previous September record by more than half a degree Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit), which is the largest monthly margin ever observed."
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Arizona Senate Race. Maggie Astor & Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Kari Lake, the Republican former news anchor who refused to acknowledge her loss in the Arizona governor's race last year, filed paperwork on Tuesday to run for Senate, setting up what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country as Republicans try to win back the chamber. The incumbent, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party last year to become an independent, has not confirmed whether she will run for re-election, but a prominent Democrat, Representative Ruben Gallego, is already challenging her. Mark Lamb, a right-wing sheriff and an ally of ... Donald J. Trump, is also running." The NBC News story is here.
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Canada. Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "Canada's House of Commons voted in Greg Fergus as its first Black speaker on Tuesday, following the resignation of the previous speaker, who had invited a Nazi veteran to Parliament. Fergus, a member of the Liberal Party representing Hull-Aylmer in Quebec, was elected as the 38th House speaker in a secret ballot in the 338-member House, beating six other candidates.... Fergus, who has served as a member of Parliament since 2015, chairs the Black Caucus in Parliament and has held senior advisory roles in a number of ministries."
News Lede
New York Times: "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for being pioneers of the nanoworld. The new laureates discovered and developed quantum dots, semiconductors made of particles squeezed so small that their electrons barely have room to breathe.
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Reader Comments (12)
Important update from the FDA about the October shipments of
Covid tests for the new variant:
Some of the tests have the wrong expiration date printed on the boxes.
Mine has exp. 07-02-23. The correct date should have been 02-02-24.
Go to www.fda.gov/covidtestdates
It takes a lot of looking but eventually you will find the test number.
Still trying to sort it all out (just as I imagine Kevin is doing this morning).
Is it possible that this massively unethical empty suit who bribed his way into the a few months of public prominence has by dealing with the Democrats to keep the government open martyred himself on the very grounds of the common good that his party despises?
Or that, in vivid contrast to his genuinely skilled predecessor, does it mean that he just can't count votes?
Oh, so much voter fraud! It's everywhere.. even in the Villages, of all places...
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/10/04/another-resident-from-the-villages-accused-of-2020-election-voter-fraud/
Maybe all the press's "Thomas recuses" headlines were a little premature
"'A Travesty': Clarence Thomas Refuses to Recuse in Case That Could Benefit Billionaire Benefactor
"Crow's interest in these cases is unambiguous, as is the depth of Thomas' relationship with his patron," said the head of the Revolving Door Project."
More strikes
"75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers walk off the job. It’s the largest health care worker strike in US history"
Also your cellphone is going to scream at you today
"America’s national emergency alert test is coming to your phone at 2:20 pm ET today:"
Hey, at least Kevin McCarthy lasted longer than that sad spectacle of a prime minister, Liz Truss. Maybe that can be his next campaign slogan: Can Outlast a Head of Lettuce.
One of the GOP House's standards (so to speak) is that all members should be able to speak.
Speak! boys and girls!
Good boys!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMPhjAHsNZM
Elizabeth,
But like Liz, MyKevin was also trussed. Talk about sad spectacles. Trussed but not trusted. By anyone.
And don’t look now, but the next trussed up turkey Speaker could be Gym Jordan. Hey, at least one thing we can say for sure. If he gets to be PoT Speaker of the Month, while he’s gaveling democracy down the drain, should any sexual abuse occur, he won’t see nothin’. 🙈
So I’m going out on a limb to predict that, at least until the next congressional elections in 2024, we could have as many Party of Traitor Speakers as we had over the last 38 years. Gym’s turn at fucking the country
This is the best description yet, "DiJiT Accordian Hands"...
""Outside of the courtroom, Trump ranted and raved, using his signature accordion hands, claiming James and Engoron were "corrupt" and that they have "no case.""
Is it possible to piss on someone's grave before they're buried?
Maybe he was just a MyPillow fluffer...