Vaccines, Infrastructure, and Kids In Cages: US Politics April 2021

Wait, he had one?

Luke Ball, the communications director for Rep. Matt Gaetz, has resigned, according to a person familiar.
Ball quit out of principle, according to the person. @LACaldwellDC

— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) April 2, 2021

after years of doing a job that required he have no principles, he found a principle

This is why you always involve your key support staff in your orgies with child sex slaves, and get it on video — so they can't quit on you when you come to a few bumps in the road.

When @SpeakerBoehner was recording his audiobook I was told by sources that during these wine-soaked sessions he would deviate from the book’s text and insert random violent attacks on @tedcruz. Well, here’s some tape (listen to the end): pic.twitter.com/NFCQ2QFdTT

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) April 2, 2021

lmao!!

Fuck John Boehner obviously BUT he's also right about a lot of that stuff obv. I'm watching this dynamic play out in real time here locally, where our dominant county GOP is being progressively taken over by crazies. It used to have two pretty well-defined factions: the "silk stocking" crowd, who hate taxes but are relatively socially moderate and believe in functional competent government, and the more rural-based GOBs who mostly view local government as a patronage program. Now we have this whole third contingent of suburban evangelical libertarian anti-mask Trumpoids — a good many of whom have moved here recently from out of state, fleeing "Taxifornia" or whatever — and they are huge assholes who basically hate everyone, including the established party people. They have no governing philosophy beyond never raise taxes and pwn the libs, they're terrible at government, and they're big on social media theatrics. Not a promising evolution.

of course boehner can both be right about how he's helped destroy the country _and_ an asshole

Let us never forget this hero: pic.twitter.com/bWIk5zAe6s

— MaryJoy (@tweetsfromhere) April 2, 2021

Gaetz's chin is a poem.

Feel like you're underrating his forehead

https://i.redd.it/3222a1v87v661.jpg

Something's up

🚨🚨Capitol staff just got this text message

I’m in the Capitol and will keep everyone posted here. pic.twitter.com/ydQGyCJcof

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 2, 2021

This as well

Large police presence and two stretchers being brought out pic.twitter.com/EmidoLP0PT

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 2, 2021

Gaetz's chin is a poem.

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, April 2, 2021 11:29 AM (forty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

A villainelle

Kinda reminding me so far of that tragic case a few years back

Appears that a car smashed into the barrier. Two people are on stretchers. Can’t see whether it’s an officer or civilian pic.twitter.com/Ud5WYGyKFu

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 2, 2021

There are reports (unconfirmed) that two @CapitolPolice officers have been shot.

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 2, 2021

Helicopter landing in lawn.

🚨🚨A helicopter just landed on the east front of the Capitol. I’ve never seen anything like this before. ever. pic.twitter.com/LxV0mywRSe

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 2, 2021

CRITICAL INCIDENT: USCP is responding to the North Barricade vehicle access point along Independence Avenue for reports someone rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers. A suspect is in custody. Both officers are injured. All three have been transported to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/4TXIdulJc6

— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) April 2, 2021

yikes

This is bad, but sadly predictable. The Trump coup attempt will reverberate for at least a couple more years.

Why would antifa do this

Cop and suspect are dead.

oh man Capital Police not having a good year

Robert Contee of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department has just said at the briefing outside the US Capitol that the attack by a man driving a car at Capitol Police officers “does not appear to be terrorism related”.

so he's white

hm

Whoa. MLB announces it is pulling this year's All-Star game and the amateur draft from Georgia. pic.twitter.com/QqJzR3lAcy

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) April 2, 2021

so he's white

Well there must be some reason they're dismissing the terrorist angle. If it was Europe the first reaction to a car being driven at people who are then attacked by knives would be to assume it's an Islamist attack.

"terrorism" is a highly elastic term that has been stretched so far that it has lost most of its meaning. if, for example, the attacker was socially alienated and politically disaffected, but this attack was purely a demonstration of that fact rather than an attempt to change anything in any particular direction, does that make it "terrorism"?

awesome (re MLB)

Tremendous!

wow that seems uh...pretty big

hit 'em where it hurts, in their bank accounts

Does the all-star game really bring in much revenue for the area? Doesn’t seem that devastating - 29 cities survive its absence every year

OK I'll take a symbolic hit as well

Er, I mean the other 29 mlb teams, plus all other cities

Symbolic hit though, hell yeah!

Now we have this whole third contingent of suburban evangelical libertarian anti-mask Trumpoids — a good many of whom have moved here recently from out of state, fleeing "Taxifornia" or whatever — and they are huge assholes who basically hate everyone, including the established party people. They have no governing philosophy beyond never raise taxes and pwn the libs, they're terrible at government, and they're big on social media theatrics. Not a promising evolution.

yeah good way of putting it - while you could argue GWB ultimately did more evil (which I myself would've argued until Covid hit) there at least seemed to be some semblance of humanity there. I never felt like Bush hated America. they at least pretended to care about what's true and what's false. idk to what extent we have Facebook to blame, or if the combination of 9/11 and a black president just caused half the country to lose their minds, but it does seem the right has passed the point of no return and it genuinely makes me scared about what the future of this country is going to look like.

The All-Star game is worth tens of millions in added revenue, which isn't chicken feed, but major cities generate billions in economic activity. A lot of it is prestige. This is bad publicity and it is tied directly to the actions of GA republicans.

also wrt to the BLM game cancellations last year individual athletes and teams (as a collection of players, not management per se) now know they can really fuck shit up by just refusing to play

it's a big deal. sports boycotts were a big part of the electoral backlash to north carolina's anti-trans stuff IIUC.

it's also honestly kind of surprising

I have no doubt it took a lot to get Manfred to do it.

also there's the fact that MLB isn't known as a "progressive" league like the NBA nor are they desperately trying to overcorrect the way the NFL is

What a week! (Given it's Brown sharing this and she has her sources, I'm inclined to thing the Daily Mail is on to something.)

"Gaetz's arrest is said to be imminent after the alleged victim, who has not been named, testified before a Florida grand jury this week saying she had sex with the conservative Republican before she turned 18, https://t.co/GJvXjxKQiq has learned. " https://t.co/Lci46QovWC

— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) April 2, 2021

Wow, that's made my day.

I'm just gonna get on the record and say it: I never liked that guy

if just one of these evil motherfuckers ever experienced any consequences it would be great

Countdown to rumor that it was George Soros’ daughter/ a plot to entrap

The rumor won't save him from prison, but it will reassure the hopelessly conspiracy-addicted that the deep state exists. otoh, the hopelessly conspiracy-addicted are gonna reflexively protect their beliefs no matter what, so they are not in play.

Georgia might not be done getting slapped around — apparently NJ (where I live) is offering tax breaks to studios to stop filming in Georgia and start filming here.