Jim Jordan, Killer Clown

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You’ll want to read Marcy’s post about Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on politicization of the Department of Justice.

One thing that continues to bother the hell out of me: Republican Rep. Jim Jordan’s clown-y assholishness. It’s now his brand. He’s the GOP caucus’s id — the Goofus-looking, tantrum-throwing, jacket-avoiding persona happily adopted by the right-wing as a model for their party.

He’s a creepy bad clown whose running gags and interstitial bits aren’t funny or amusing; they’re meant to harass, ridicule, and obstruct Congress’s little-d democratic processes.

While he was repeatedly offered other GOP members’ time during the hearing to question the witnesses called before the committee, he made a point of not wearing his mask and yelling at the same time.

(Aside: there’s a paper waiting to be written about clowns who refuse to wear masks.)

He attended the rally in Tulsa this past weekend and like nearly everyone else in that venue in attendance, didn’t wear a mask and is now potentially an asymptomatic carrier of COVID-19.

With this routine Jordan didn’t respect the well being of his fellow members of Congress. He showed he’s willing to hurt other members of Congress for his personal and partisan political aims.

Just scroll through the hearing video beginning with his opening remarks at 9:26 —

Perhaps Jordan was chosen as HJC ranking member to do all the heavy lifting for the GOP side of the committee exactly because he yells during his tantrums, attracting media’s attention thereby starving Democrats of oxygen for their side.

While his outbursts have been annoying in the past, this time Jordan forcefully pushed aerosolized exhalation through the hearing room Wednesday after being in proximity with others exposed to COVID-19 with Team Trump in Tulsa. He may have deliberately blown biological material around the hearing room, like so:

And perhaps he was chosen because his district OH-4 isn’t likely to give him a lot of crap since a good-sized chunk is rural.

OH-4 is also not as heavily impacted by COVID-19 as other more urban congressional districts in Ohio.

The counties in his district are Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Crawford, Logan, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby and Union counties and parts of Erie, Huron, Lorain, Marion, and Mercer counties. Check them against the most recent COVID-19 data for the state of Ohio:

County Confirmed Deaths Cases per 1M people Recovered
Ohio – total 47651 2772 4127 No data
Adams County 20 1 703 No data
Allen County† 261 38 2460 No data
Ashland County 46 0 865 No data
Ashtabula County 413 42 4075 No data
Athens County 29 1 448 No data
Auglaize County† 93 3 2029 No data
Belmont County 516 21 7356 No data
Brown County 50 1 1119 No data
Butler County 1301 41 3516 No data
Carroll County 46 3 1598 No data
Champaign County† 37 1 930 No data
Clark County 703 8 5106 No data
Clermont County 300 6 1506 No data
Clinton County 55 0 1312 No data
Columbiana County 1033 59 9603 No data
Coshocton County 64 0 1732 No data
Crawford County† 126 5 2904 No data
Cuyahoga County 6111 346 4811 No data
Darke County 230 25 4355 No data
Defiance County 43 3 1106 No data
Delaware County 449 15 2518 No data
Erie County* 221 22 2879 No data
Fairfield County 438 15 2978 No data
Fayette County 45 0 1553 No data
Franklin County 8310 378 6311 No data
Fulton County 54 0 1270 No data
Gallia County 9 1 291 No data
Geauga County 372 41 3990 No data
Greene County 187 9 1148 No data
Guernsey County 49 3 1227 No data
Hamilton County 4337 191 5419 No data
Hancock County 68 1 906 No data
Hardin County 108 11 3373 No data
Harrison County 12 1 757 No data
Henry County 23 0 820 No data
Highland County 39 1 898 No data
Hocking County 75 7 2552 No data
Holmes County 169 3 3954 No data
Huron County‡ 144 1 2420 No data
Jackson County 17 0 512 No data
Jefferson County 75 2 1090 No data
Knox County 36 1 588 No data
Lake County 390 17 1697 No data
Lawrence County 55 0 880 No data
Licking County 351 11 2099 No data
Logan County† 51 0 1116 No data
Lorain County 889 67 2947 No data
Lucas County 2534 299 5759 No data
Madison County 179 8 4124 No data
Mahoning County 1682 227 7089 No data
Marion County‡ 2717 36 41035 No data
Medina County 441 31 2545 No data
Meigs County 10 0 422 No data
Mercer County‡ 259 8 6342 No data
Miami County 413 30 4015 No data
Monroe County 83 16 5691 No data
Montgomery County 1465 22 2725 No data
Morgan County 6 0 399 No data
Morrow County 111 1 3185 No data
Muskingum County 71 1 823 No data
Noble County 6 0 408 No data
Ottawa County 124 23 2995 No data
Paulding County 22 0 1133 No data
Perry County 26 1 716 No data
Pickaway County 2150 41 38400 No data
Pike County 19 0 664 No data
Portage County 382 58 2364 No data
Preble County 55 1 1307 No data
Putnam County 107 15 3120 No data
Richland County 296 4 2397 No data
Ross County 89 2 1137 No data
Sandusky County* 112 13 1844 No data
Scioto County 28 0 353 No data
Seneca County† 31 2 549 No data
Shelby County† 55 4 1115 No data
Stark County 977 107 2605 No data
Summit County 1839 202 3407 No data
Trumbull County 771 57 3684 No data
Tuscarawas County 454 10 4908 No data
Union County† 73 1 1384 No data
Van Wert County 20 0 699 No data
Vinton County 22 2 1646 No data
Warren County 649 20 3020 No data
Washington County 120 20 1943 No data
Wayne County 343 52 2993 No data
Williams County 60 1 1596 No data
Wood County 345 51 2730 No data
Wyandot County 55 4 2424 No data
Key:
† = District OH-11
‡ = County split with OH-11
* = Pivot county

Based on the data above provided by The New York Times updated yesterday, there have been only 134 deaths in the counties which make up the Ohio 4th Congressional District, even with the hot spot at the prison in Marion, Ohio.

Note, too, that Jordan’s district OH-4 is more than 90% white, unlike nearby OH-9 (Rep. Marcy Kaptur) or OH-11 (Rep. Marcia Fudge), with a higher per capita income.

Compare to Cuyahoga County which makes up part of OH-9 — it’s had at least 346 COVID-19 deaths.

All of which means that Jordan’s career is relatively unaffected by COVID-19. He can be casually racist by ignoring the number of Black and other non-white deaths in Marion’s prison facility because the rest of his district won’t feel the pain of their loss — the mostly-minority incarcerated are disposable to white rural conservatives.

He can be deliberately threatening to Democrats in Congress because it’s encouraged by the White House.

Jordan won’t worry about anybody else getting COVID-19 because he can continue to be nothing more complicated than a loud, irritating clown and still earn his party’s support.

He’ll even get backup from other clowns in his party like Louis Gohmert banging on the desk during the course of the hearing to obstruct witness testimony — neither being sly Harlequins but an evil clown with a village idiot sidekick.

Not merely an evil clown, either, if Jordan intended to threaten and hurt other members of Congress.

Jim Jordan, killer clown — an existential threat to members of Congress who have to put up with him while they represent the rest of us.

 

This is an open thread.

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111 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    Long past any modicum of manners about this crap.

    I hope Jordan gets COVID-19 and I hope he gets it where it matters — right in his nutsack.

    Who’s running against Jordan, you may be asking. Shannon Freshour is. Give her some help if you can.
    https://shannon4ohio.com/

    EDIT — 8:30 p.m. ET: For some reason the image from the study of oral fluid droplets, aerosolized exhalation, and mask use “fell off” the page. I’ve added another image back, hope it sticks.

    • Tom says:

      Doesn’t President Trump have all the GOP gonads stored in a secret locked drawer in the Resolute desk, right next to his love letters from Kim Jong Un? When he’s feeling stressed, he reaches in and squeezes a few.

  2. P J Evans says:

    If the House has rules about decorum, jackets, and masks while on the floor, they should enforce them. Otherwise, get rid of the rules.
    Make it obvious which party respects rules and laws.

    • John Paul Jones says:

      I’ve watched Nadler in previous hearings, and he seems incapable of running a tight show. That said, the obstructionism of the current crop of Republicans goes way beyond anything seen previously, Jordan particularly. Gowdy at least seemed on occasion to have a vestigial conscience, but as Rayne says, Jordan is all id (much like other jocks I’ve known; they spend years getting rewarded for it on field of competition).

  3. Pete T says:

    Thanks Rayne – Yes, he is up for re-election and yes, it’s Shannon Freshour as his D opponent. Couldn’t;t have picked a better surname. Does anyone know how hard the Ds are backing her?

    I figure this is a major long shot, but maybe The Lincoln Project has a few coins to, at least, annoy Jordan.

    A few more favs.

    Phil Her is running against Matt Gaetz – R FL1
    https://ballotpedia.org/Phil_Ehr

    Hank Gilbert is running against Louie “tap tap” Gohmert R TX1
    https://ballotpedia.org/Hank_Gilbert

    I think Jim’s local rep is up for re-election too.

    Pete

    • MB says:

      The Lincoln Project, in addition to producing anti-Trump ads, has also produced at least one pro-Biden ad and surprising (to me) an ad for Steve Bullock who is running for senate in Montana. Don’t know if they’re planning to produce any ads for House representative candidates, though.

      • Rayne says:

        It’d be nice if they picked off a few to irritate, forcing the party to spend money it wouldn’t otherwise cough up. This killer clown is likely to remain in office because the spread between him and Freshour is still rather large — but one ad might tighten things enough to force the clown to spend money.

        This is the one election cycle no strong or reliable +R seat can go untested. Force them all to play defense.

        • Eureka says:

          Oh, and I was _just_ wondering where the heck Bloomie is with all of his cash for helpful ads. I thought that was his plan (at least before he somehow got involved with Biden’s campaign).

          Sighing at all of that primary cash with which he could have instead burned Jordan et al. to the ground. Still plenty* left over to do so, were he so inclined.

          *I mean I’m not his accountant, but this seems like the safest assumption one could make.

        • Rayne says:

          I dunno about Bloombito. I never really trusted him to simply plunk down cash to help against Trump’s re-election without also fulfilling some other personal agenda at the same time. He’ll want to shield the Bloomberg brand.

          Would be nice if he did something to counteract local TV stations owned by Sinclair, though. They haven’t yet been a factor but they will be.

        • Eureka says:

          [This was part of my 848p reply, had to step away before I could get it in:

          While I am loathe to cheer billionaires ruling our campaign systems: they already do; this is at least an American one; and, the snark is more about Bloomberg’s gestalt of intentions, i.e., putting his money where his mouth was. ]

          —

          Oh, agreed- I don’t trust him either; that comment was dripping pretty hard. Perhaps he’ll care to White Knight it somehow (so he can claim a debt from Biden and a place in the hearts of liberals everywhere seat at the table), maybe near the end +/- in tight places (contra Sinclair is a good specific suggestion).

          What I do wonder, especially with the rich folks’ systems propped up pretty hard with various gov interventions, is if the very rich would have any reason to prefer Biden at this point. What’s the diner safari word on them? It’s like the more Trump pushes us into the cavern of depression, the better they all make out (notwithstanding things like that recent blurb about, say, the top 25% hoarding more money lately, with successively lower income quartiles spending relatively more).

  4. Tracy Lynn says:

    I have to agree with PJ—if there are rules, why aren’t they being enforced? This clown isn’t going to stop with the antics if someone doesn’t make him stop. He is the worst with that “Own the Libs” mentality and I assume it plays well with his base. Which only means he will continue to do it until someone defeats him, in which case he’ll be in line for some White House job if Trump is re-elected.

  5. ThomasH says:

    Since he won’t wear a mask during his histrionic virus dissemination rants, can Nadler spray disinfectant at him while he’s aerosolizing?

  6. soothsayer says:

    Ha, all I could think of with this headline and Jim, are these lyrics

    You start a conversation
    You can’t even finish it
    You’re talking a lot
    But you’re not saying anything
    When I have nothing to say
    My lips are sealed
    Say something once, why say it again?

    Psycho killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?
    Fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, far better
    Run, run, run, run, run, run away
    Oh-ho-ho
    Psycho killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O52jAYa4Pm8

    • ThomasH says:

      Wow! Good one! Triggered a memory: I attended a Lower Sproul Plaza Noontime concert By the ‘Heads. Just before they segued to Psycho Killer, Byrne announced from the stage that former supervisor Dan White had just assassinated Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone! Then it was on to P.K.! The week before, at the same noon concert series, I watched the B-52s perform. When I got out of the plaza, I noticed all the pedestrians walking on Telegraph Ave were very subdued and looked unhappy. When I got back to work I found out that the news of the Jonestown mass murder had just been announced.

  9. earlofhuntingdon says:

    How poetic that Chris Matthews nightly 7.00 pm time slot might be filled by Joy Reid.

    • Rayne says:

      YES. Finally, a Black woman in a decent time slot. It’s been since Gwen Ifill, may she rest in power, since a Black woman had an evening slot in a news/opinion program. And in Tweety’s slot to boot.

      He’s still on the radio though, caught him this week on local NPR affiliate. Still an annoying blowhard making the same stupid centrist content.

      • bmaz says:

        I dunno, if they had picked Zerlina Maxwell, I’d be on board. But Joy Reid is a historic homophobe and fabulist. She is no better than having a jerk like Tweety in the chair. She can go straight to hell.

        • Rayne says:

          First, Reid has apologized for her homophobic remarks. I’ll let the LGBTQ+ community decide what they feel about her going forward; they don’t want her you can believe there will be a shit storm about her.

          Second, the slot calls for somebody who’ll be more incendiary than not. The public put up with Tweety in that slot for more than two decades in spite of all his abuse of women guests; I think we can put up with Reid for a year.

          Lastly, Maxwell would be an outside hire where Reid has an audience already built within MSNBC. You’re just not the audience.

        • bmaz says:

          Reid tried to lie out her ass. Funny how that is a career killer for some, but not her. She is not even very good, and I am forced to watch her on weekends. Just no.

          And, by the way, Maxwell is a certified genuine MSNBC expert “family” commentator, exactly like Reid was before, over her homophobic and ignorance, was elevated to weekend star. The difference is Maxwell is smarter and less burdened by ignorance than Reid. What a crock of shit.

        • MB says:

          You could instead watch Ali Velshi, who has now has a new weekend show, morning time slot, just prior to AM Joy.

        • Rayne says:

          I’m not disputing your opinion. I’m disputing anybody forcing you to watch her.

          How do you feel about Wendell Potter? Is his about face on a career for the health care insurance industry okay? Because he’s just one example we do cut slack and give second chances depending on how serious the persons are about making things right. And again, I’m not the one damaged by any Reid has said or done; the LGBTQ+ audience will tell us if they can’t abide her and I’ll listen to their lead.

        • bmaz says:

          He was wrong. He finally admitted it. Reid has done nothing but lie dissemble and cover up.

          One has a national weekly, and purportedly daily, national platform; the other does not. If you think these two are equivalent, you are reaching for unicorns.

        • Rayne says:

          No, the other one will be actively engaged in shaping public policy on what will be the biggest budget line item next to military.

        • bmaz says:

          To quote Michael Cohen: “Says Who?”

          One is a tweeter, one has a national platform. Surely you know the difference.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          My apologies if I touched an old sore spot. I haven’t gotten over losing Indiana Jones the giant Rhodesian Ridgeback a few years ago.

        • bmaz says:

          Oh not at all Molly. Kiki had a great 13+ year run, which is pretty good for a huge fluff dog like that. Nothing but good times. We still miss her, but her time came. And condolences as to Indiana Jones too.

        • FL Resister says:

          Joy Reid is a bit too canned for my taste.
          Her failure to recognize a guest caused her to pose a lengthy opinion question before said guest was even on. She was evidently forgiven for this gross negligence due to disconnects under the circumstances.
          But for me this indicated a larger problem of nerves and insecurity that comes with wanting something too much.
          On Jim Jordan, he should have been made to either put his mask on or be told to leave the room. We saw him at the covidpalooza in OK sitting shoulder to shoulder maskless.

        • Rayne says:

          “Her failure to recognize a guest caused her to pose a lengthy opinion question before said guest was even on.” << this is a production problem. Wonder who the producer was for that segment?

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Since you haven’t a strong opinion, then apart from Zerlina Maxwell, whom would you recommend?

    • Rayne says:

      Thanks! It sucks that there’s no safe filter program for Windows 10 to produce clown faces. Instagram has them but I’ll damned if I ever use a Facebook-owned platform just for this.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      It does make Gym Jordan look neater than I’ve ever seen him. I think it’s the tie, pulled almost all the way to the neck. It has none of that he-man gap, which says, “I’m Juror No. 10,” or “I’m home from work, honey, WTF is my beef?”

  12. civil says:

    Multiple people have claimed that Jim Jordan was aware of the sexual abuse at OSU and didn’t report it, some listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jordan_(American_politician)#Ohio_State_University_sexual_abuse_scandal .
    I see that Shannon Freshour has addressed this some: https://twitter.com/ShannonFreshour/status/1220049709227745281
    I’d like Congress to have hearings about how to better support reporting and investigation of abuse by powerful people, with a bunch of witnesses testifying under oath about abuse by coaches, by politicians of both parties, …, but I doubt they’ll do it.

  13. Nehoa says:

    If you want to see Gym Jordan’s real constituency, you should see this YT video of Type O Negative of Cinnamon Girl. Really great in a very creepy way. You will all be shocked, shocked I tell you if I were to say that he died young from too many testosterone infusions.
    https://youtu.be/BO9aD4mzSE8. Please edit link if a problem.

    • vvv says:

      I never heard the testosterone thing. Wiki reports, “Steele died of sepsis caused by diverticulitis (initially reported as heart failure)….” He was said to be a heavy drug user and alcoholic, and his songs were often about addiction and depression, and broken heterosexual love affairs, including suicide attempts. Not too sure that’s the Jordan constituency, whatever that might be …

  14. Eureka says:

    Here’s some trash in want of talk, and something for which his fans should level him straight:

    How bout them Tom Brady repeated rona rules violations, and his rather Trumpian meme-ing about it? And in the context of his launching and hawking TB12-branded “immunity” supplements on his social media during a pandemic, no less.

    Summary blurb here, with link about supplements at bottom (there are better sources with more details and time depth*, but this one has an embedded video where NASA imagines sunsets on other worlds):

    Tom Brady: Buccaneers work out in Tampa despite growing coronavirus cases – Sports Illustrated
    https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/06/26/tom-brady-buccaneers-workouts-coronavirus

    *e.g. as linked here, re back in April violating shutdown orders:

    Tom Brady’s coronavirus message: ‘Only thing we have to fear is fear itself’
    https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/tom-bradys-coronavirus-message-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself/

    Other QBs have been documented working out this month in Texas and Florida, said to be in smaller groups (though I don’t know if others are still doing so after the local surges caused the NFLPA to recommend against it, as with Brady — who was also working with larger groups).

    I don’t think that those facts make it fair game to disregard the suite of Brady’s actions because ‘what about’: the whole vibe is a hot mess that needs to be attenuated by disapproval.

  16. Molly Pitcher says:

    A big OT, but REALLY galling, according to the NYT:

    Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says
    The Trump administration has been deliberating for months about what to do about a stunning intelligence assessment.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html

    I wonder if the IC has let this ‘leak out’, finally, to put a thumb on the scales of the election ? Kinda puts Trump in a tight spot with his base.

    • Vicks says:

      Perhaps the leak about Trump doing nothing about Putin putting a bounty on the heads of American soldiers has something to do with Trump’s claim he is going to pull troops out of Germany?
      It would have been helpful if these enablers would have squawked when Trump broke our promise to the Kurds and left the door open for Turkey to invade Syria and slaughter them.
      I will take this as a sign the ship may finally be going dow.
      .

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Molly, about that thumb-on-scales analogy, I would consider any IC leaks as political payback, sure. But they would also be whistleblower-like acts of resistance to this administration’s persistent lies, double standards, secrecy, retribution, and intimidation. A delicate balance needs to be struck – and the IC is not known for striking it – but if used with restraint, such leaks would be acts of patriotism. Trump cheated last election; he will cheat much more this time round.

      Trump has lied about his competence, his acts, his failures to act, his alliances with Putin and others. He has corrupted an easily corruptible Republican Party. He has worked hard to dismantle the US Government and the post-1945 world order. Both need substantial revision. (The global South needs to be included as a player, for example, instead of as a place from which to extract resources.) But, as is true of his desire for a second term, Trump has no plan, no reforms, no purposes in mind.

      Donald Trump destroys because it’s his nature. Like a Star Trek villain, he feeds on the notoriety, the chaos, and his reputation as the uncouth outsider who breaks the china because he doesn’t know which fork to use. He destroys because others, seemingly Putin, have persuaded him it’s a good thing, and that they will give poor Donald a bone, if he does it. That might be ego massage, electoral help, and another bid for a Trump Tower Moscow. (Besides, I hear there’s no extradition treaty with Russia.) What Trump will really achieve is a more isolated, vulnerable, sick, and fractured America.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        I would hope that the IC felt it their patriotic duty to leak this. I have the feeling the country is owed it after how the Russian interference was dealt with in 2016/17. There had to have been a better way to handle it than what was done.

    • harpie says:

      Many people are talking about what Trump has done [and NOT done] for/to Russia since finding out about their actions in MARCH, but John Weaver adds something important to the conversation, here:

      https://twitter.com/jwgop/status/1276874255632863234
      9:45 AM · Jun 27, 2020

      In light of all @realDonaldTrump has done for Putin lately — G-7, withdrawing 25,000 troops from Germans — all after being informed of Putin paying a bounty for dead Americans, the sabotage of Voice of America takes a new light.

      Adam Klasfeld about that on June 4:
      https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1268693432089956354
      7:57 PM · Jun 4, 2020

      Right-Wing Filmmaker and Bannon Ally Michael Pack Confirmed to Head Voice of America, […] [Courthouse News link]

      And Wendy Siegelman retweeted [6/4]: https://twitter.com/deepakguptalaw/status/1268715442853548036
      9:25 PM · Jun 4, 2020

      There’s too much happening right now. But this deserves attention. Trump just installed a Bannon ally and right-wing propagandist to oversee Voice of America, which is no longer constrained by a bipartisan board. VoA can easily become another tool in the authoritarian’s toolbox.

      • subtropolis says:

        When I first learned about the evisceration at VoA/RFE my first thought was of the impending referendum in Russia on changing their Constitution so as to allow Putin to reign indefinitely. While they have largely silenced the Russian Press, there were yet holes through which honest reporting might reach citizens.

    • Doug Fir says:

      Just think of how the people in uniform, and their closest supporters, will feel about this. Commander Bone-Spurs’ popularity with these folks is gonna take a hit.

      • Rugger9 says:

        Indeed, it will as nothing makes soldiers and sailors more angry than being betrayed. I was quite furious with Reagan and Bush 1 for selling the missiles and F-14 spare parts to fund the Contras because we had to address that threat while in the Gulf and transiting the Straits of Hormuz escorting tankers.

        Scarborough thinks McConnell knew as well, and as noted above in this section of the thread there were a lot of curious coinkydinks going on between March and now which now have an explanation that binds them together into a coherent process.

        As I noted in the next thread, I want to see how Dan Crenshaw, Tom Cotton and the rest of the (small) GOP veteran contingent will discuss this, and why not Bolton too?

        Treason requires aid and comfort to an enemy, does the AUMF qualify naming the Afghan terrorists as legitimate targets make them an enemy for application of the word? Let’s hear from the lawyers on this, but we certainly have used the AUMF as our license for a weapons-free environment subject only to the Geneva Conventions (when we feel like following them).

        • bmaz says:

          I am not sure that has been fully tested yet, but would think it fairly arguable it could be. The case of Adam Gadahn gives the background. That makes it possible. Beyond that, there would be the question as to how direct and material the “aid and comfort” is. This is, as opposed to most claims of TREASON! is a really fair question though.

        • P J Evans says:

          A lot of people are thinking it should count – it’s pretty close to “aid and comfort”, at least.
          (I didn’t want to bring it up here. It’s a nice day out.)

        • Ken Muldrew says:

          Trump is so awful that before he’s done, he will even have Popehat exclaiming that, yes, it is indeed RICO.

  17. pablo says:

    Have an opt-out clause for mask in committee meetings. Get it in writing, then build a plexiglass shield box, preferably opaque, around their seat in the hearing room.

  18. CD54 says:

    OT but important:

    Why isn’t EVERY Democrat EVERYWHERE running for election screaming the exact same thing:

    Donald Trump and Republicans are trying to KILL YOU! (See Covid-19 negligence combined with STEALING your health insurance.)

    • Hannah says:

      Oh… we do…. the only thing is that this is not the only matter we have to talk about. Btw, the brainless worshippers of that criminal-in-chief don’t care about that. You see and hear that every single day.

      As harsh as it may sound, the virus is not the only thing that will kill people. This criminal adminstration is taken/has taken umpteenth regulations back which we put in place to protect the environment and therefore the lives of the people. They allow to pour poison into the water, on the fields, destroy protected areas and so on. We faught years and even decades to stop that. And now we have to do it all over again. And we will.

      • Mooser says:

        Perhaps Trump will run on facilitating the transfer of wealth to a younger generation. After all, the MAGA-virus can be self-replicating

  19. Hannah says:

    Well….. JJ seems to think that his only job is to scream around, being rude and disgusting, disturbing every single hearing. It is always the same, doesn’t matter what the hearing is about. I have never heard him saying anything worthwile. And the only time I have seen him with a jacket was at Elijah Cummings funeral. I was disgusted to see him there at all.
    Since Doug Collins is of the same cloth…. we will get rid of him.. yeah…. he is running for Senate, so he won’t be in the house after January 2021 because he can’t run for both in the same time… We only need to hope that he does not get into the Senate.
    We only need to get rid of JJ. And Gohmert. And Gaetz. And Nunes. And Lesko. And… and….

  20. harpie says:

    Wow! [via Quinta Jurecic]:

    Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs, Princeton University

    https://twitter.com/andyguess/status/1276916364830298114
    12:32 PM · Jun 27, 2020

    “The @Princeton University Board of Trustees has today voted to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from the University’s School of Public and International Affairs, which will now be known as the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.” This was the right thing to do.

    https://twitter.com/Princeton/status/1276916407473778691
    12:32 PM · Jun 27, 2020

    The #PrincetonU Board of Trustees has voted to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from the School of Public Policy and International Affairs and residential college. [link]

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Yep, that’s a big deal. Born in 1856 and educated at Princeton, U.Va. Law, and Johns Hopkins, Wilson was raised in Virginia and worked in Georgia and Maryland, before becoming Princeton’s president. He shared the dominant Southern culture of the time, from the Confederacy to Jim Crow, and was a committed segregationist. His attitudes toward civil rights in general seem to have been, they’re OK, as long as those who have newly obtained them – African Americans, immigrant workers, the working and middle classes – did not get too uppity about having them, lest he be forced to correct them. His WWI administration, which imprisoned Eugene V. Debs, for example, was especially hard on dissent.

  21. punaise says:

    There is strong competition nominations for the Darwin Awards, Slow-Motion division – starting with some of the sharper tools in FL (the “things gotta breathe” lady and the others like her that seem to think the bible prohibits masks.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Yep, along with that ranting don’t-muzzle-me-like-a-dog guy who seems to have groomed his hair and beard to look exactly like an Airedale.

      • OmAli says:

        I don’t want to see him. I treasure the memory of my 2 Airedales and don’t want it sullied!

    • P J Evans says:

      I’ve seen a couple of videos on Twitter with people wearing masks and oximeters, showing that they don’t block oxygen. One was a medical guy who also showed that mask don’t keep CO2 from leaving your system. The other was a young woman who wore different kinds of masks, and showed that they don’t affect O2 levels.
      If you really can’t wear a mask, you probably shouldn’t be out.

  22. earlofhuntingdon says:

    I love Donald Trump’s fashion sense. He always thinks he looks fabtastic. But most men of his girth would not emphasize it by wearing a white golf shirt and dark pants. At a distance, the result suggests the grim work of a tugboat’s deck hands, laboring to get their lines on a heaving ocean liner so that they can bring it safely into port.

    (I assume, at some risk, that white was not the only color his club’s golf shop had that day. Mr. Trump, it seems, prefers not to have his body man pack for him. Trousers excepted, he just grabs what he wants from the shelves, leaving it to some minimum wage drudge to figure out what’s gone and who’s supposed to pay for it. I suppose if white is his preference – how fitting – he would need a new shirt every time he plays, because he’d never get the orange make-up out of it.)

    Mr. Trump’s management priorities are no better. His campaign staff, on orders, apparently removed thousands of social distancing signs from seats in the arena in Tulsa, despite local rules mandating them. The intent was to persuade guests to slide close to each other – and to create the mirage of a full house when two-thirds of the seats were empty. Now, several of his campaign team and members of his Secret Service detail are down with Covid-19, which Mr. Trump tells us is all behind us. Will he ever tire of so much winning? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/27/trump-campaign-stickers-social-distancing-tulsa-video

    • Eureka says:

      Related, ABC news is reporting that Pence’s “bus tours” in AZ and FL are being “postponed.” But Pence will still travel to AZ FL TX to meet with health officials, they said. Also another event still planned. So Pence has selected that slimming black shirt from the pro shop they are trying to reduce conspicuousness, for a moment anyway.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Someone on twtr wisely pointed out that had the campaign left the seat signs in place, the room would have looked fuller and the campaign would have had an excuse for the empty seats. As it is, they gave themselves the worst of both worlds, the standard outcome in Trump world.

    • P J Evans says:

      I’ve heard that, yes, he grabs a new shirt every time he plays, because he always leaves an orange ring around the collar.

  23. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Donald Trump should be off to the Russian Front for pulling another Sgt. Schultz. This time, he knows nussink about that bounty a Russian intel unit put on US & UK service personnel in Afghanistan several months ago. Yet, there has never been an American president as intensely interested in Russian approval as Donald Trump. He just spent an hour and a half on the phone with Putin.

    If no one had really told him about that bounty – despite knowing it could cause a firestorm on three continents – Trump would have flailed the staff members who kept quiet. That Trump’s SpokesBarbie – Kayleigh McEnany – formally denied that Trump or Pence “were briefed,” simply confirms that they were. Donald Trump chose to do nothing. His head-in-sand, ass-in-the-air White House lies because it’s all Trump knows how to do.

    Theater commanders should have known so that they could warn their people. State, Defense, and intel agencies would have known. White House staff would have known. The UK government should have known. It would have told a similar list of its own people. All that is before you get to question, “What’s the American response?” I’m trying to imagine the GOP’s response had Russia or Iran declared a similar bounty in 1979, and Jimmy Carter did nothing. Or if Russia or China had done the same during the Vietnam war, and LBJ and Nixon did nothing. (We’d probably discover that we suddenly had plenty of time to read, but would be disappointed to learn that we’d broken our only pair of reading glasses in the rubble.)

    A proper response from the US could have taken many forms. Silence is not one of them. Coming from Trump, it says that he doesn’t care how many bodies pave his way to re-election. His only concern is asking Putin, “Please sir, may I have another.”

    • Mitch Neher says:

      Trump rewarded Putin with an invitation to the G7 summit and a draw down of US troops from Germany.

      That’s worse than doing nothing.

  24. OmAli says:

    Where are the calls for resignation? Although I honestly worry that if he resigned, Pompeo and someone like Haley would be on the ticket in November. Warmonger, evangelical nutcase, authoritarian, misogynist, liar, corrupt and greedy – he tics all the right boxes. A brutal “strongman” like Mike might be the answer to McConnell’s prayers.

      • OmAli says:

        I really hope he has reason to worry, and that the Dems won’t choose to simply “look forward to heal the country”.

        Would a pardon protect him? If so, could he be threatening Pence and McConnell that if he isn’t pardoned he will let loose on the entire GOP and blow all the skeletons out of the closet?

        Maybe Pompeo or the new candidate will swear to keep Bill Barr as AG to protect him.

        I know, I haven’t done my homework and am just trash talking. It IS Sunday!

      • Mitch Neher says:

        Presidential “pocket” self-pardon.

        Trump doesn’t have to accept what he has already granted himself until he’s indicted.

        In the meantime, it’s a state secret–just like the Russian bounties on US troops were supposed to be.

        (Well . . . At least Bolton didn’t know about that. Or did he?)

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Cotton belongs on that list. And don’t forget the stealthy Liz Cheney. With remarkably little time in Congress, but with her mom and dad’s help, she has worked her way up to the no. 3 House Republican.

      But, I agree with bmaz. Trump must be obsessing about criminal and financial liability, state as well as federal, after he leaves office. He has ruined his “brand,” and must be worried about where the next billion will come from. A government pension and the proceeds of the rubber chicken circuit wouldn’t pay for his golf. Even a Tony Blair level of income wouldn’t pay the vig to Vlad. Only his employees will be at his beck and call, and they will be harder to come by.

      He has groomed his family to love, honor, and obey only winners, so they won’t be much comfort unless Trump can successfully dangle the will in their faces. (Not much good if you’re senile, or if governments and private litigants are chasing your last dime.) Like GW Bush and Dick Cheney, Trump will travel abroad only at his peril. He will be both forgotten and forever vilified. That’s not a future that has much attraction for Big Don. Karma’s a bitch.

      • vvv says:

        Re Liz Cheney, who seems hard as piece of rock but mebbe brittle, I was very surprised but amused to see her “real men wear masks” tweet featuring her problematic father wearing one (some wag here tweeted the pic with a funny caption of, “because masks make good targets” or similar), clearly taking a shot at the admin.

        “Taking a shot”, yeah.

  25. Eureka says:

    Holy ish LOL: Meanwhile, in the race for TN 04:

    Christopher J. Hale: “My opponent pulled a gun on his first wife & shot it, pressured her and a mistress into three abortions, & illegally prescribed pills to a patient he was sleeping with. Me? I didn’t do any of that. I’ll give you health care though. Chip in right away. [actblue donation clicker with the text banner: “If you pull a gun on your wife and shoot it, you shouldn’t be a member of congress”]
    https://twitter.com/chrisjollyhale/status/1277036253360390144

    It’s a thread, gets even better.

      • Eureka says:

        Yes, refreshing! It’s easy to be honest, especially with the candidates GOP is hosting (lately).

        Aside to you Jenny, since you’ve shared related videos: our dog (and his people) had to say goodbye to our beloved mailman buddy (new route), we will miss him.

  26. Eureka says:

    Re 2020 general:

    Remember how I had commented about PA’s first (primary) election with substantial mail in ballots, how they had robocalled us repeatedly with drop box locations (said boxes were hugely important to turn out, especially given not-new-this-year delays in receiving ballots, in terms of getting them back in time)?

    So this is happening — all explained in Lai thread, with doc screenshots:

    Jonathan Lai 🙊 賴柏羽 : “Trump campaign is suing PA elections officials over mail ballot drop boxes and poll watchers. Joined by the RNC and U.S. Reps. Glenn Thompson, Mike Kelly, John Joyce, and Guy Reschenthaler. Suing PA Dept of State and all 67 county boards of elections. https://t.co/xTuiBtpJL2”
    https://twitter.com/Elaijuh/status/1277655673573199877

    Trump campaign sues Pa. over 2020 election mail ballot drop boxes
    https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/trump-campaign-lawsuit-pennsylvania-mail-ballots-20200629.html

    • Eureka says:

      Related (Pennsylvania’s diners remain CLOSED to Salena Zito):

      In Erie County, a swing county that helped deliver Pennsylvania to Trump in 2016, a smaller but more in-depth focus group on June 16 illustrated how the president’s actions have repelled even some one-time supporters. In a panel of nine swing voters, seven said they would support Biden if the election were held now, according to Engagious, a public-opinion firm that has surveyed swing voters around the country.

      The focus group included six people who supported both President Barack Obama and Trump, and three who voted for Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. Four of the six Trump voters now favor Biden.
      Asked for one word to describe life between now and the election, the nine people offered: unbearable, turmoil, s—show, chaotic, exhausting, financial crisis, cautious, stressful, anxious.

      (internal links removed, emphasis in original)

      America’s twin crises are highlighting Trump’s biggest weaknesses
      Donald Trump’s handling of coronavirus and George Floyd protests endangers his reelection
      https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/trump-coronavirus-george-floyd-protests-2020-election-20200628.html

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