"Sphincter Politicians on Parade”

[LFC]

Oct 21, 2022 15:49:17 GMT pnwguy said:

So of course since he was running as a Republican, he’ll get elected.

"Those Democrats are all pedophile groomers! Got to vote to Make America Great Again and defeat Satan"

One commenter I read said that they would have known it was Republican without the party being mentioned. The GOP just attracts these kinds of people like flies to shit.

[pnwguy]

Oct 21, 2022 16:03:28 GMT goldenvalley said:

Oct 21, 2022 15:49:17 GMT pnwguy said:

So of course since he was running as a Republican, he’ll get elected.

"Those Democrats are all pedophile groomers! Got to vote to Make America Great Again and defeat Satan"

Has he said yet that he had a problem but is repenting?  That seems to be a magical statement for some that transforms a sinner into someone who is electable.  

"God has forgiven me, so only a corrupt Deep State and Fake News Media would hold it against me!"

[LFC]

Vapid doesn't even begin to sufficiently describe the emptiness of her head, heart, and soul.

[andydp]

That didn't take long...  This is from a person who let Preas Trump call his wife ugly but went on to support him.

'Who Knew He Could Stoop Any Lower?' Ted Cruz Called To Resign After Mocking Stroke Survivor Senate Candidate John Fetterman

Ted Cruz is being criticized online after the Texas senator openly mocked Senate candidate John Fetterman for his poor performance during a recent debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On Wednesday, as Cruz appeared in Franklin, Tennessee to endorse GOP House candidate Andy Ogles, the 51-year-old controversial Texas senator ridiculed Fetterman for a series of awkward exchanges he made on Monday while debating Dr. Oz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/who-knew-he-could-stoop-any-lower-ted-cruz-called-to-resign-after-mocking-stroke-survivor-senate-candidate-john-fetterman/ar-AA13tZ5f?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=03925fa9ea0d4b2fbcdaa6dd091cd52f

[pnwguy]

Oct 28, 2022 16:28:35 GMT andydp said:

That didn't take long...  This is from a person who let Preas Trump call his wife ugly but went on to support him.

'Who Knew He Could Stoop Any Lower?' Ted Cruz Called To Resign After Mocking Stroke Survivor Senate Candidate John Fetterman

Ted Cruz is being criticized online after the Texas senator openly mocked Senate candidate John Fetterman for his poor performance during a recent debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On Wednesday, as Cruz appeared in Franklin, Tennessee to endorse GOP House candidate Andy Ogles, the 51-year-old controversial Texas senator ridiculed Fetterman for a series of awkward exchanges he made on Monday while debating Dr. Oz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/who-knew-he-could-stoop-any-lower-ted-cruz-called-to-resign-after-mocking-stroke-survivor-senate-candidate-john-fetterman/ar-AA13tZ5f?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=03925fa9ea0d4b2fbcdaa6dd091cd52f

Cruz would polish Dumpster's toadstool on camera if it kept him in power.  People who assumes he has a bottom point are fooling themselves.

[andydp]

Too good to keep to oneself

[goldenvalley]

Oct 28, 2022 17:28:54 GMT pnwguy said:

Oct 28, 2022 16:28:35 GMT andydp said:

That didn't take long...  This is from a person who let Preas Trump call his wife ugly but went on to support him.

'Who Knew He Could Stoop Any Lower?' Ted Cruz Called To Resign After Mocking Stroke Survivor Senate Candidate John Fetterman

Ted Cruz is being criticized online after the Texas senator openly mocked Senate candidate John Fetterman for his poor performance during a recent debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On Wednesday, as Cruz appeared in Franklin, Tennessee to endorse GOP House candidate Andy Ogles, the 51-year-old controversial Texas senator ridiculed Fetterman for a series of awkward exchanges he made on Monday while debating Dr. Oz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/who-knew-he-could-stoop-any-lower-ted-cruz-called-to-resign-after-mocking-stroke-survivor-senate-candidate-john-fetterman/ar-AA13tZ5f?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=03925fa9ea0d4b2fbcdaa6dd091cd52f

Cruz would polish Dumpster's toadstool on camera if it kept him in power.  People who assumes he has a bottom point are fooling themselves.

Cruz has always been odd and has no agenda beyond doing or saying whatever it takes to gain a title like Senator or President.  I saw his comments in response to a reporter asking him how can you make nice with Trump after he called your wife ugly and your dad an assassin. Cruz said he didn't take it seriously, it's politics, and his wife thought the ugly comment was funny.  Another norm gone...thou shalt not insult someone's wife no longer applies in the political world of Cruz.

[LFC]

Madison Cawthorn continues to be a completely self-absorbed piece of garbage. From what was written about him this has been the case at least since college but probably his entire miserable, worthless, selfish life.

The disappearance of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who lost his primary and is on his way out of Congress, has been well documented.

Both his Washington and North Carolina district offices appear to have been cleaned out. His name was wiped from his Cannon Building office. His staff is reportedly not taking on any new constituent cases, and he’s bought a house in Florida. He’s made heavy use of voting by proxy and was the only sitting member of Congress spotted supporting Donald Trump at his 2024 Mar-a-Lago announcement.

Now, incoming Representative-Elect Chuck Edwards (R), who toppled Cawthorn in a crowded primary field in May, is offering up his current state Senate office for Cawthorn’s constituents.

“We’ve heard reports that NC-11 district offices are closed and phones are not being answered. At the same time, our Raleigh office is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of federal issues being brought to us by constituents,” she said, adding that it was clear constituents needed help “navigating the federal government.”

Cawthorn’s office did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.

Some amount of preemptive cleaning out and packing up is not unusual for outgoing members of Congress.

“Departing members are required to be cleared out of their D.C. offices by Nov. 30,” Peter Whippy, communications director at the Committee on House Administration, told TPM. “It’s common for them to be out earlier than that.”

A handbook for members says that after they leave their offices, they’re moved into a cubicle with some basic office equipment.

“No one expects that he’s gonna stay in his office until term is done,” Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, told TPM. “But the degree to which he quit working is unusual. He’s the Where’s Waldo of American politics.”

“The majority of his constituent offices have been closed for months,” he added.

[LFC]

Florida Republican who sponsored ‘Don’t Say Gay’ indicted on Covid relief fraud charges

They're never just one brand of garbage.

[andydp]

Being gay or a supporter of gay rights is an abomination.  Stealing money from the government is OK

'Don't Say Gay' Florida lawmaker indicted on fraud charges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida lawmaker who sponsored the controversial law critics call “Don't Say Gay” has been indicted on charges of defrauding a federal coronavirus loan program for small businesses, officials said Wednesday.



www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/don-t-say-gay-florida-lawmaker-indicted-on-fraud-charges/ar-AA151IZY?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=cd9e531527b247bdb944b1eed6831228

[LFC]

Kansas Kris Kobach is still a piece of shit.

Remember Kris Kobach?

The longtime scourge of voting rights and immigrants is now the incoming attorney general in Kansas – and he’s facing a $30,000 FEC fine for campaign finance violations during his 2020 run for U.S. Senate.

[LFC]

Lucky Florida.

Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn confirmed Friday he has moved to Florida.

Rumblings of a potential move away from North Carolina, the state he represented in Congress, began to emerge as early as September when Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers, Florida.

But Cawthorn never publicly confirmed his move until throwing his support for House speaker behind the nomination of Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida.

“There are many reasons I moved to Florida,” Cawthorn wrote Friday on Instagram. “One of the big contributing factors is that I know Byron Donalds is a leader in this state. That means this state will always be on offense to safeguard our future. Byron for Speaker.”

[goldenvalley]

Jan 10, 2023 19:52:10 GMT LFC said:

Lucky Florida.

Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn confirmed Friday he has moved to Florida.

Rumblings of a potential move away from North Carolina, the state he represented in Congress, began to emerge as early as September when Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers, Florida.

But Cawthorn never publicly confirmed his move until throwing his support for House speaker behind the nomination of Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida.

“There are many reasons I moved to Florida,” Cawthorn wrote Friday on Instagram. “One of the big contributing factors is that I know Byron Donalds is a leader in this state. That means this state will always be on offense to safeguard our future. Byron for Speaker.”

I can't find it now but I saw a tweet from the guy who now represents the district Cawthorne did.  It was a general statement asking constituents to let him know if they had a matter that the Cawhtorne office was dealing with for them.  Apparently there are no records of it.  That makes me think he did no constituent service.  That's why there is no record.

[LFC]

A shoutout to Arkansas's new governor and her battle against things that aren't actual issues.

I absolutely LOVE this.

[goldenvalley]

Jan 11, 2023 19:01:43 GMT LFC said:

A shoutout to Arkansas's new governor and her battle against things that aren't actual issues.

I absolutely LOVE this.

I daresay she'll find it easier to be governor than it was to be Trump's press secretary.  Now she can yell and scream at people instead of being yelled at by someone.

[LFC]

I'm going to start putting George Santos stories here since he's well on his way to being the Sphincter Politician of the Year, especially now that both the voting lies and the grift is becoming obvious. In full due to paywall.

A bizarre new George Santos fabrication has been highlighted by New York magazine.

The fabulist member of Congress from New York has become known for his wild claims, including many that could be easily debunked. But even by his own standards — and by those of the elaborate Trumpworld election-theft mythology — this one is odd.

“They did to me what they did to Donald J. Trump — they stole my election,” Santos said, speaking at a Trump rally on the Ellipse one day before the insurrection.

“For 14 days I was congressman-elect of the Third Congressional District of New York, the first-ever biggest upset for a Republican in New York City,” he continued. “And what did they do? When they were too busy printing 280,000 ballots in my district and shipping them to Pennsylvania, they sneaked in a few for my opponent.”

That would mean that Santos was understood to be the winner of his race until November 17 or 18, 2020, when, in his telling, the voter fraudsters in Queens working to steal Pennsylvania’s presidential election got their act together and stole the election from Santos, too.

This, needless to say, is entirely false.

It also doesn’t align very well with the election-theft story told by Donald Trump himself, who knew by early morning after Election Day that he had to find a way to Stop The Steal, which, by his and his lawyers’ telling, was already underway. By the second half of November, Trump’s team was already filing, and losing, legal challenges to the election.

By Santos’ telling, it was only then that the bad actors got around to stealing the election from him and handing it to Democratic incumbent Tom Suozzi. (Suozzi would later give up the seat to run for New York governor.)

But Santos’ story positions him as being just like the Big Guy himself — he won, and his election was stolen. But his fabrication one-ups Trump just a tad: he didn’t just win by a healthy margin, but by a historic one. And the communist conspiracy to steal his win was even more bizarre and shambolic than the one Trump alleged — but, alas, it succeeded nonetheless.

[LFC]

As expected, George Santos's campaign finances were a complete clusterfunk. Welcome to the grift!

Profligate spending. A pile of inquiries from federal regulators about campaign finance improprieties. And a “Holocaust painter” in Florida who feels betrayed. 

It’s a bizarre list of items for anyone to leave in their wake, but in this case, it’s the detritus of the winning 2022 congressional campaign of the serial fabulist George Santos. Now, in exclusive interviews with TPM, two staffers on Santos’ campaign react to the recent revelations about his lies and wonder if they should have seen the warning signs sooner. 

One veteran political operative, who briefly worked with Santos’ campaign, said they quit because it was apparent there were issues. 

“I got nervous and I got defensive that things were not on the up and up. I felt like things were not right,” said the operative, who requested anonymity due to professional concerns.

According to the operative, doing their “due diligence” and going through the campaign’s books left them with many questions. This included the fact that, at the time, Santos had not yet filed a personal financial disclosure. 

“I thought that the lack of a financial disclosure, the messiness of the books, and the reporting were not great,” the operative said. 

The Republican operative Santos briefly worked with had another major concern, they told TPM. Namely: “Who are we spending money with?” 

The operative said they felt there were “weird, weird things” on the campaign’s books including what looked like “personal spending” and an overall “burn rate” that was far too high to run a healthy campaign operation. 

“I don’t know why we were at Il Bacco all the time,” the operative said. “It didn’t seem like we needed to be doing that.”

Other expenses veer away from the extravagant and into the suspect. The Santos campaign paid $43,088.21 to The One57 Group LLC, a company run by campaign staffer Sam Miele. Miele misrepresented himself as chief of staff to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) while raising cash for Santos from deep-pocketed Republican donors, according to a report from CNBC that was confirmed by the operative TPM spoke with. On an archived version of One57 Group’s website, the firm bills itself as a triple threat: real estate, capital investments, and “business & political.” The site also included a disclaimer that the company was unrelated to “The One57 building located in New York City,” the Manhattan skyscraper for which it was apparently not named. 

When the operative tried to ask about their concerns about how money was being spent, they said the campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, stonewalled them. 

“Nancy Marks was a challenge. She was not forthcoming,” the operative said. “I could never get an answer or even just a weekly report of what’s our cash in and cash out.”

Marks has not responded to multiple requests for comment. 

Along with being the treasurer of Santos’ campaign, records indicate Marks was involved with a strategy firm tied to Santos and executives at Harbor City, the alleged “ponzi scheme” where he once worked. A holding company registered at Marks’ home address was listed as an authorized member of the firm, Red Strategies USA, LLC, which received over $110,000 from the campaign of Tina Forte, an unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate in New York. Forte’s treasurer was DeVaughn Dames, a former Harbor City executive who is also linked to other businesses associated with Santos. Dames and Forte have not responded to multiple requests for comment. 

[LFC]

More on Santos's campaign finance nonsense.

Late in the 2020 election cycle, one regular Republican donor said they were getting bombarded with messages asking them to contribute to a New York congressional candidate named George Santos. The donor, who asked that their name be withheld since they are not a public person, checked in with then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who, at the time, was representing a House district adjacent to the one where Santos was running on Long Island. 

“I did reach out to Lee Zeldin and I said, ‘You know, who’s this George Santos? I’m getting nonstop phone calls, texts, everything,’” the donor recounted in a conversation with TPM. 

According to the donor, Zeldin noted Santos was a “gay Republican.” Those are two of the aspects of the story Santos presented on the campaign trail that actually seem to be true. The donor was glad to offer Santos their support. 

“That kind of diversity for the party, I thought, would be good,” said the donor. “So, the next time someone from his campaign called, which was probably very soon after, I gave my credit card over the phone for a $1,000 donation.”

Santos lost the 2020 race soon afterward. However, the donor’s brief interaction with Santos’ first unsuccessful House bid was the beginning of a long odyssey that they said resulted in more than $15,000 in false credit card charges. Some of that money inexplicably went to the campaign of Tina Forte, another Republican congressional candidate in New York whose campaign had links to Santos. 

“It’s just wrong on so many levels,” the donor said. 

Santos and Forte did not respond to requests for comment on this story. His campaign finances have come under scrutiny amid revelations that he lied about his resume en route to winning a House seat last year. 

TPM’s analysis of reports Santos’ campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed extensive irregularities including charges for clothing and meals, cash totals that didn’t add up, improperly labeled contributions, and donations that went over the legal limit. Those issues raised red flags with the FEC and resulted in a complaint filed by a watchdog group on Monday. 

Daniel Weiner, a former FEC senior counsel who is currently the director of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, suggested the problems with Santos’ election operation were a product of “a Wild West era in campaign fundraising.” Even in that context, Weiner suggested the issues in Santos’ filings pushed the envelope. 

“The Wild West campaign finance environment generally sometimes leads people to forget that there are rules and you can’t just skirt all of them. It’s a good example of a sort of culture of cutting corners and bending the rules that has developed that’s unfortunate,” said Weiner. “In this case, the Santos campaign appears to have taken it to an extreme in several instances.”

FEC records show the donor who spoke to TPM gave at least $2,000 to the Santos campaign between March and June of 2021. According to the donor, they did not intend to make any contributions following their initial donation for Santos’ 2020 run. When they saw the charges on their credit card statement, the donor reached out to WinRed, a platform for Republican donations that was used by the Santos campaign. 

[LFC]

More Santos insanity.

Fabulous Fabulism

It’s not a trickle or a drip or a leak. The veritable floodgates have opened on George Santos:

• Volleyball. There’s the lighter side, like his made-up collegiate volleyball experience (remember, Baruch College has no record of Santos ever enrolling there):

George Santos on tape here lying about being a volleyball star at Baruch College, and claims he got two knee replacements as a result. pic.twitter.com/6FU9itVjLa
— Steven Dennis (@steventdennis) January 15, 2023

• Campaign finances. There’s the more serious campaign finance irregularities, one element of which TPM detailed in a new exclusive over the weekend: “Campaigns Linked To Santos Left Donors Feeling Ripped Off After Questionable Credit Card Charges”

• Ponzi scheme connection. There’s the questions about what kind of work Santos was actually doing, with the Wall Street Journal offering new insights: “George Santos Raised Money for Company the SEC Says Was a Ponzi Scheme.” CNN goes there too: “George Santos said accused ‘Ponzi scheme’ he worked at was ‘100% legitimate’ when accused of fraud in 2020”

• Russia connection. There’s the almost unbelievable Russian oligarch angle explored by the Washington Post: “New details link George Santos to cousin of sanctioned Russian oligarch”

• When did Kevin McCarthy et al. know? There’s the serious emerging question of how early did leading Republicans learn of Santos’ serial lying, spotlighted over the weekend by the New York Times: “Santos’s Lies Were Known to Some Well-Connected Republicans”:

In the run-up to the 2022 contest, Dan Conston, a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy who leads the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House Republican super PAC, also confided in lawmakers, donors and other associates that he was worried information would come out exposing Mr. Santos as a fraud, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations who insisted on anonymity to describe them and declined to provide more detail.

[goldenvalley]

The allegations against Santos are just jaw dropping; an all around liar about absolutely everything.   But even more jaw dropping is that House Republicans are just fine with him being in Congress.  A body with a vote seems to be the only qualification necessary to be a Congress member, unless that body claims to be a Democrat.  

[pnwguy]

Jan 17, 2023 19:34:41 GMT goldenvalley said:

But even more jaw dropping is that House Republicans are just fine with him being in Congress.  

A lot of them are kicking themselves that they didn't think to lie so boldly.  It would have made their campaigns much easier.  They are more than 'just fine'.  They see him as the future of GOP victories.

[LFC]

On the latest episode of "All in the Scamily"...

For scandalized Rep. George Santos (R-NY), politics is apparently a family business. 

Santos’ sister, Tiffany Lee Devolder, played a leading role in a little-known organization called Rise NY PAC. TPM reviewed thousands of state and federal campaign finance records related to the New York state-registered political committee, created in January 2021, and spoke to Republican operatives with knowledge of its operation.

The PAC formed what one New York GOP operative described as a supporting pillar of the myth that Santos constructed for himself. The committee received contributions from many of the same people who donated to his congressional campaign, appears to have employed staff who worked on his campaign, and, to top it off, was run by his sister, Devolder. It served as a vehicle to burnish his hitherto nonexistent credentials while also sprinkling money across the various related figures and businesses who swirled through Santos’ orbit. 

Attention on Devolder and Rise NY PAC comes as reporters and the public dissect Santos’ ascent to Congress, examining the various tales that the serial fabulist told during his rise. Devolder and Santos did not respond to requests for comment. And Santos’ sister isn’t the only interesting character involved in this chapter of his story. Rise NY PAC connected Santos to Scott Presler, a MAGA movement conspiracy influencer with a seven figure following on Twitter. 

[goldenvalley]

Jan 18, 2023 0:57:00 GMT LFC said:

On the latest episode of "All in the Scamily"...

For scandalized Rep. George Santos (R-NY), politics is apparently a family business. 

Santos’ sister, Tiffany Lee Devolder, played a leading role in a little-known organization called Rise NY PAC. TPM reviewed thousands of state and federal campaign finance records related to the New York state-registered political committee, created in January 2021, and spoke to Republican operatives with knowledge of its operation.

The PAC formed what one New York GOP operative described as a supporting pillar of the myth that Santos constructed for himself. The committee received contributions from many of the same people who donated to his congressional campaign, appears to have employed staff who worked on his campaign, and, to top it off, was run by his sister, Devolder. It served as a vehicle to burnish his hitherto nonexistent credentials while also sprinkling money across the various related figures and businesses who swirled through Santos’ orbit. 

Attention on Devolder and Rise NY PAC comes as reporters and the public dissect Santos’ ascent to Congress, examining the various tales that the serial fabulist told during his rise. Devolder and Santos did not respond to requests for comment. And Santos’ sister isn’t the only interesting character involved in this chapter of his story. Rise NY PAC connected Santos to Scott Presler, a MAGA movement conspiracy influencer with a seven figure following on Twitter. 

Interesting that the sister is using Devolder as her last name.  Apparently George did that in the past too.

[LFC]

Oh, George. A dog's surgery? Reeeaaaally?

There’s now no shortage of George Santos stories — his various criminal exploits, scams, secret identities, non-existent jobs. But I read a story this evening that made me wonder if I’m living in a simulation and whether any of this can be true. The latest expose reveals that Santos once used his sham pet charity — Friends of Pets United — to set up a GoFundMe for a dog who had a tumor and needed expensive surgery. The dog’s owner, a disabled vet, didn’t have the money for the surgery for his service dog, Sapphire. A veterinarian pointed Osthoff toward Santos’s charity figuring they might be able to help with the costs. So Santos sets up a GoFundMe for Sapphire’s surgery. It raises $3,000 for the charity. Then Santos disappears with the money and the dog dies.

I read this, and maybe you read this, and think, “Okay, since Santos is such a horrible guy people are just coming out of the woodwork now with George Santos urban legends.” But read the story. It has a remarkable level of documentation. It happened!

Here’s a particularly ugly part of the Sapphire story. These are texts threads between Santos and Sapphire’s owner, which were published with the original article in Patch. Santos has already been giving Osthoff the runaround and is now telling him he’s going to keep the money and give it “to the next dog.” He’s justifying his refusal to use the money for the intended purpose.



He’s blaming Osthoff, suggesting he’s trying to mooch off Santos and his charity. But note the part where Santos says how it was the credibility of Friends of Pets United that raised the money. So Sapphire doesn’t really have any claim to the money anyway.

Santos waves off Osthoff because he and his charity’s level of integrity is so high they can’t be allowing Osthoff to ride with Sapphire to the vet. Then Santos says Friends of Pets United is a 501(c)(3) and like every 501(c)(3) they have to go through exacting audits. But remember that reporting has shown that Friends of Pets United was not a 501(c)(3). While it’s difficult to prove a negative, we can be pretty certain that Friends of Pets United didn’t exist at all. But it was definitely not a 501(c)(3). So while scamming this guy out of the $3,000 raised to help save Sapphire’s life, Santos is bullying the guy about the sheer magnitude of his integrity. This is deep level sociopathy. But even that doesn’t quite capture it.

[indy]

From Josh's story:

This isn’t outrage talking. It’s something between bafflement and fascination. I know there are terrible people out there and people like Santos who to me is a sort of ridiculous terrible. But so many scams and it never caught up to him? He goes from pocketing charitable contributions to raising millions and winning a House seat?

Really? How about a scam artist winning the presidency? Remember Trump's charity that he never contributed to and bought himself stuff with the money? I think Josh ought to be over any sort of bafflement over this sort of behavior.