Has any GOP in Congress had a more pathetic devolution than
by ACross (2024-01-29 12:18:19)
Edited on 2024-01-29 12:19:01

Elise Stefanik? She is loathsome.

What a bunch of losers in Congress - both the house and senate.

Senate:

Markwayne Mullin - OK. As much of a meathead as IrishKnight.

Rand Paul - KY. What a loon.

Tommy Tuberville - AL - I think at one time some suggested this born again, dumb as a post dullard would be a good candidate for ND HC.

Ron Johnson- WI - talk about a crazy, conspiracy fantasist mental defective.

JD Vance: from self-styled savior of the opioid underclass, now chasing likeses from Trumpworld.

House:

Gym Jordan
Andy Biggs
Elise Stefanic
Scott Perry
Paul Gosar, DDS, LOON
Lauren "Hand Dookie" Boebert
Marjorie "Starla" Taylor Greene
Andrew Clyde
Matt "Holtz Room Haircut" Gaetz
Eli "Sweet Suit" Crane

I think Stefanik takes the cake for wholesale, full girth, opportunistic idiocy. Calling the verdict last week "further weaponization by Biden of the courts" , calling the January 6th convicted criminals "hostages" - it doesn't get any more pathetic.




Mike Lee is up there. *
by Cash  (2024-01-30 23:43:49)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply


and JD Vance *
by veets  (2024-01-31 10:05:03)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply


Nancy Mace. *
by Angel  (2024-02-05 09:00:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply


Well......since we are rolling here.....
by kentdorfman  (2024-01-29 21:41:44)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

See link for amusement only!


The only reason one of my senators didn't make your list
by BottleofRed  (2024-01-29 20:01:18)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

is because he hasn't been there long enough to distinguish himself among the crackpots. But make no mistake, Ted Budd is a loon.


I wholeheartedly endorse this post *
by acrossdmiddle  (2024-01-29 16:47:25)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply


There's probably no state that has fallen further
by shillelaghhugger  (2024-01-29 15:36:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

than Arizona.

I say this with a lot of embarrassment, as a native.

We used to have a crew of Republicans that, flaws included, were something to be proud of.

McCain, Kyl, Flake, Renzi, Shadegg, Franks, Salmon and others.

Our Democrats used to be better as well, save Grijalva. He's always been bad.


Gaetz uses mousse.
by The Holtz Room  (2024-01-29 14:11:10)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

His hairline is also betraying him.


Insert by reference all my posts about not supporting ...
by barney68  (2024-01-29 13:07:21)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

any GOP candidates down the ballot. This is why. And it will continue to get worse as long as people like Stefanik believe that fealty to every MAGA fever dream is the path to political advancement.


Had McConnel sacked up during the impeachment trial
by ratinatux  (2024-02-04 21:21:16)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

None of this would be an issue


It is not rational to say all GOP Congressmen
by ACross  (2024-01-29 14:11:58)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Are bad. There are some good ones. Like Gallagher from Wisconsin. He has disappointed me on occasion. I understand that he and others need to watch their political backsides. It is a tough time for the good ones. On both sides.


The issue is
by AquinasDomer  (2024-01-29 15:02:50)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

If push comes to shove and MAGA pressures him he'll cave, they all will. And he helps determine the balance of power which helps put MAGA nuts in the speakers chair.


A pretty solid line of demarcation exists.
by Kali4niaND  (2024-01-29 14:48:25)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Did you vote for or against Congressional counting of electoral votes for the 2020 election?

I think about 140 GOP members of congress voted "Nay". They're all on the naughty list. The remainder can be considered 'good ones'.


My former GOP Congressman voted Yay.
by Revue Party  (2024-01-29 19:01:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

He got promptly drummed out by a sex scandal, replaced by a dipshit who was endorsed by Michael Flynn.

You line is a pretty good one.


It's about political power, the likelihood of reelection, ..
by barney68  (2024-01-29 14:33:28)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

and the ability to be part of "the majority" even if the crazy tail is wagging the dog. Like it or not, every GOP candidate who wins an election, and I'm talking as far down the ballot as dog catcher, encourages those who might be sincere public servants to cower before the power of MAGA. If they cross MAGA, they may be primaried or subjected to threats of physical violence. If they do as told, the general public is still willing to put them back in office.

Lindsey Graham put it pretty plainly: "we can't win without them" and "them" by extension is their cult leader. It's about winning and the key is to show Lindsey and the rest that "you can't win with them, either."

There is only one issue before the GOP: are they willing to tell the truth and put the nation ahead of their career and party? The GOP is simply discarding truth tellers, such as Cheney, while elevating Stefanik. Remember that they could have rid themselves of Trump in 2021 had they the courage to vote what they knew to be true. Instead, they all fell in line because they feared MAGA but not the general public.

To put the question another way, did Gallagher vote for the current GOP leadership, including Stefanik and Johnson? If he did, he is putting career and party ahead of the Constitution and telling Stefanik, who knows better, and Johnson, who may not, that what they are doing in service to their cult leader is ok because it is working.


That is my issue with Haley right now.
by wpkirish  (2024-01-29 14:26:09)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

She is unquestionably better than Trump but not if she is still beholden to the MAGA types who are running the House. She has started to attack Trump more but from what I have seen has stopped short of calling him unfit or walking back her pledge to support him if he wins the nomination.

Even when she attacks him she does not come out and say he is unfit for office. Woke up in middle of the night and could not fall back asleep. Flipped on meet the press. The host asked her if the Carroll verdict disqualified Trump from the Presidency. Haley responded the voters not courts should decide who is qualified. The host pressed the question a couple times and got the same response. I thought it was very lawerly answer designed to keep both sides happy.

Welker should have asked if Haley believes a man convicted of sexually abusing a woman is unfit to hold the office. Probably would have gotten the same response but a more direct question.

If the issue is to defeat Trumpism and return the Republican Party to its former rational status I dont think that can happen while appealing to both sides.


I don’t think she can get elected without winning the MAGAs
by acrossdmiddle  (2024-01-29 16:51:38)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

She needs them to win. Plain and simple. It’s like a Democrat bashing a crooked black politician. It ain’t gonna happen if that Dem wants to win. Someone rational and mature needs to unseat Trump before any good can be done. If that means not offending the deplorables, so be it.


I dont disagree she needs the Trump voters to win in the
by wpkirish  (2024-01-29 17:22:01)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

general election. The problem is how do you keep those voters and then no go along with what they want once you are in office. I dont think the defeat of Trump in and of itself with lead to the defeat of Trumpism. Do you think Hawley or Cruz or a host of others are going to change if Trump loses and the Senate is supposed to be the adults in the room. Over in the House MAGA is in full control.

Many of these officials walked away from Trump after 1/6 only to come back when they decided they needed him. If you have not already seen what Stefanik said about 1/6 and the need to prosecute the people she now calls political hostages. How does a President Haley who is indebted to those politicians and voters take a different path?


It will be like Biden and the extreme left
by acrossdmiddle  (2024-01-30 21:35:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Haley would have to accommodate some of the MAGA agenda (if that’s even possible depending on their representation in Congress), but she would steer away from the extreme positions in an effort to move the nation forward. I don’t know if she could end the MAGA movement but it’s better than the alternative.


I think that is a false equivalency
by wpkirish  (2024-01-31 00:04:44)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

The far left has no where near the power over the Dems that the MAGA has over the Republicans. McCarthy had to pander to them to win the Speaker’s chair and then promptly lost it. The new Speaker was happily referred to as MAGA Mike Johnson until he realized he needed to govern and the Freedom caucus immediately started talking about dumping him.

I will grant you the college loan issue. Other than that Biden has not been controlled by the left and even that they got less than they wanted and it may be he actually believed it was the right thing to do. He has stayed strong in support of Israel despite complaints from the left. The WH and Senate Dems have engaged in good faith negotiations on the border without appearing to demand anything for dreamers in order to obtain funding for Ukraine. And Israel. That would not make the left wing happy but he is still doing it. Meanwhile the MAGA caucus said they would not agree to those without border policy changes but won’t take yes for an answer.

I will make another plug for Adam Kinzinger's sub stack. This from his piece today the full link is below

The GOP no longer negotiates in good faith, at least once the former President speaks up. How many times do they move the goal posts? I saw this many times over my 12 years in the house, the Freedom Caucus makes a demand that seems unreasonable, and once it’s met they then withdrawal that demand to an even more extreme position until alas, the demands cannot be met, the deal collapses, and they can then blame the “RINOS and Democrats.” Democracy cannot function when one party consistently negotiates in bad faith. This is governing by children..


So let's stop allowing these people to appeal to both ...
by barney68  (2024-01-29 14:38:13)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

sides!

MAGA is absolutist: do it our way or be cast into outer darkness.

The rest of the voting public should feel the same: reject MAGA or be cast into outer darkness. Letting all those GOP politicians who say "but I'm not part of that, wink, wink" get away with it allows the GOP as a whole to drift further into MAGA's clutches every day.


You really need to take a longer and less emotional view
by ACross  (2024-01-29 16:04:32)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Quit barking at the moon and flipping MAGA voters the bird on the highway. Trump has a short shelf life. He may beat Biden, and Biden and Democrats bear some blame.

I would encourage more constructive engagement that vomiting emotion all over the place about Trump bringing the world to an end.

Support local and state GOP candidates like Marine Domer who will be charged with the responsibility of cleaning up this mess.

Plenty of good GOP candidates have been caught up in the flotsam, jetsam, and excrement of bad timing. Cheney and contemporaries for starters. Matt Ryan. Mark Green.

Send a check to Julie Raque Adams in KY.


Had Trump lost big in 2020
by AquinasDomer  (2024-01-29 15:08:27)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Say Biden won by 3 more points and taken NC/Florida and the dems took 2 more senate seats I can guarantee you the Republicans would have dumped MAGA/impeach Trump. Instead they (McConnel types) made the calculation that they could win with MAGA more easily than without and kept playing footsie with them. Beating Biden in 2024/keeping the tax cuts in place/preserving the balance in the SCOTUS were seen as more important than stopping a literal insurrection lead by a Strong Man.

These people should be punished at the ballot box until they decide they've been in the political wilderness for too long and change.


Almost total agreement.
by barney68  (2024-01-29 15:19:07)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

My quibble, and it may not even be that, is the word "punished." That seems to be about something in the past. I prefer "coerced" or some such because I want to change future behaviors.

They have to be convinced that their political fortunes are toast with MAGA. All the way down to dog catcher.


I guess I use punished
by AquinasDomer  (2024-01-29 15:30:23)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

To mean seeing negative consequences. The only thing these guys care about is winning. They won't change until MAGA is seen as a way to ensure you lose.

The thing is, with the makeup of the party and the way we draw districts, most of these guys see more danger in losing a primary than a national blow out election. Most Republican House/Senate members are in R plus 10 seats. Some I'm concerned the MAGA doom loop is just going to continue and worsen as the McConnel types are replaced by the JD Vances of the world.


"Total crackpot."
by Revue Party  (2024-01-29 12:28:59)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Liz Cheney says about her.

They're all crackpots. Dangerous, cowardly, opportunistic crackpots.

Slow hand apparently finished fifth in a straw poll for her new, carpetbagged district. Hopefully she'll disappear from the scene.

I cannot believe this country, this party has sold its soul for the biggest loser, Trump. There's no line he can cross that will turn them.

I think you're right in that Stefanik is taking the top prize. Maybe it's because she didn't start this way and has some alleged intelligence. Hers has been a longer character arc. Boebert, Gaetz and MTG were clearly imbeciles from the start.

Hostages. FFS.


No shortage of smart people who've sold their souls.
by manofdillon  (2024-01-29 13:01:19)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Off the top of my head, just among GOP senators, you have Cruz, Hawley, Lee, and Vance as prime examples of people whose credentials and pre-Trump histories demonstrate that they do, in fact, know better. You may well disagree or dislike some or all of them, but none of them is an idiot or a crackpot. Just naked opportunists and self-preservationists.


"They know better. Just naked opportunists."
by eriendfan  (2024-01-29 15:11:47)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

That is the key to these evil people. They made a decision to openly put their desires ahead of the good of our nation. Without any concern about our democracy.

How do you do that? How bad a person do you need to be?

I pray that, as Liz Cheney states, that history will make them regret their decisions.


I was wondering if our great grandchildren...
by Revue Party  (2024-01-29 18:52:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

...would be calling Eggs Benedict Eggs Trump, but alas, the dish is not named after that particular American traitor.

If our democracy survives, January 6th will be known as one of the darkest days of the Republic.


I don't think they're idiots.
by Revue Party  (2024-01-29 13:19:11)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

But they're definitely crackpots.