"Sphincter Politicians on Parade”

[LFC]

Jan 13, 2022 14:37:40 GMT LFC said:

Matt Gaetz's high school sweetheart, a.k.a. the 17-yr old girl he was "dating" just a few years ago, appeared before a grand jury.

Ruh-roh, Matt.

Gaetz’s Ex Gets Immunity

Prosecutors granted Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) ex-girlfriend immunity before she reportedly testified in front of a grand jury last week in the sex trafficking investigation into the GOP congressman, according to CBS News.

[goldenvalley]

Jan 18, 2022 19:28:19 GMT LFC said:

Jan 13, 2022 14:37:40 GMT LFC said:

Matt Gaetz's high school sweetheart, a.k.a. the 17-yr old girl he was "dating" just a few years ago, appeared before a grand jury.

Ruh-roh, Matt.

Gaetz’s Ex Gets Immunity

Prosecutors granted Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) ex-girlfriend immunity before she reportedly testified in front of a grand jury last week in the sex trafficking investigation into the GOP congressman, according to CBS News.

The problem with the Gaetz case is that everybody who is or was closely allied with him are questionable people.  Who but people who were equally sleazy would hang out with this guy?  He doesn't strike me as someone who is good at pretending to be anything but a spoiled rich guy who enjoys the spotlight.

[pnwguy]

Jan 19, 2022 2:26:48 GMT goldenvalley said:

Jan 18, 2022 19:28:19 GMT LFC said:

Ruh-roh, Matt.

The problem with the Gaetz case is that nobody who is or was closely allied with him are questionable people.  Who but people who were equally sleazy would hang out with this guy?  He doesn't strike me as someone who is good at pretending to be anything but a spoiled rich guy who enjoys the spotlight.

He is Don Jr, with a less rich dad.

[LFC]

This lying, manslaughtering asshole is so bad that even South Dakota Republicans don't want him around but he's planning on running for state AG again.

The man South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg ran over and killed in 2020 was stuck in his windshield for an undetermined amount of time after he was struck.

That was the testimony on Tuesday of an investigator who spoke during an impeachment hearing in Pierre, the state capital, nearly a year after Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanor charges for the crash that killed 55-year-old Joe Boever on Sept. 12, 2020.

Ravnsborg—who has a lengthy history of driving violations—said he had called his father and had been surfing the web on one of two phones he had with him, including looking at a right-wing blog post about the Biden family and China, despite the fact that state law forbids a driver from using a hand-held mobile device.

The impeachment process, launched during the 2021 session, was halted to allow the legal process to run its course. Ravnsborg finally pleaded to a pair of misdemeanors while a third count was dropped.

He paid a pair of $500 fines, plus court costs, and that was that. The attorney general never appeared in court, nor did he surrender his driver’s license. He was arrested for speeding four days before his case was set to go to trial.

Ravnsborg also reached an undisclosed settlement with Jenny Boever, Joe Boever’s estranged widow, who had filed a civil suit.

Now Ravnsborg, who is seeking a second term, is being challenged for the Republican nomination by former Attorney General Marty Jackley, who was defeated by Noem in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. There is no primary for the AG position; the nominee will be selected at the South Dakota Republican State Convention this summer.

[LFC]

Louie Gohmert. It's almost like that's all that needs to be said.

A Grim Gohmert Tale

On Nov. 9 2021, Gohmert declared that if he could raise $1 million in 10 days, he’d run for Texas attorney general. On Nov. 23, Gohmert had a happy announcement: He was able to raise that amount of money in that time frame and would therefore be throwing his hat in the race as promised. On Thursday, the Texas Tribune reported that the Republican didn’t get anywhere near $1 million in those 10 days, according to new campaign finance filings.

• It was only about $27,000, according to the Tribune.

• Gohmert didn’t reach $1 million until Dec. 31, in fact.

• The GOP lawmaker insisted on Thursday that he definitely did raise $1 million in 10 days, during which he got “both contributions and commitments” from donors. Also, “getting all of the money in-house took more time,” he claimed.

I guess poor Louie if feeling that his brilliance is being overshadowed by the likes of Gaetz, MTG, and Bimboebert so he's looking for a more prominent outlet.

[LFC]

Madison Cawthorn decided a virtual hearing on how toxic chemicals kill our soldiers was a great time to show off by waving his dick gun around.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee took Wednesday as an opportunity to hold a virtual hearing on how toxic chemicals are killing U.S. soldiers. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) took the hearing as an opportunity to clean his gun.

Cawthorn, the youngest current member of Congress, fiddled with his black pistol while one witness explained how university medical researchers could help the government examine how burn pits are harming military service members.

“It was immature. He’s a child. He lacks common sense. I think the congressman was overcompensating for something that he lacks and feeling inadequate among the heroes on that call,” said John Feal, a 9/11 first responder who was at the virtual meeting.

Feal was one of at least two people at the Veterans’ Affairs meeting who noticed what Cawthorn was doing. Both were infuriated. But the general public couldn’t see it, because the two-hour virtual hearing was held over Zoom—which meant that those tuning in could only see the person speaking.

Cawthorn worked on his pistol out of sight for several minutes, two people told The Daily Beast, but it became plainly visible during the testimony of Jen Burch, a veteran who spent six years in the Air Force serving in Japan and Afghanistan.

[LFC]

Although I don't think it will work I like the tactic of trying to get some of the worst Republicans declared ineligible to run for reelection. It brands them as treasonous for months on end and is a classic case of "what's good for the goose...". Rep. Madison Cawthorn is one of those in the crosshairs but his attorney is attempting to use the defense that Confederate traitors were granted amnesty back in 1872. It's pretty much an outright admission that he's an anti-American traitor.

A lawyer for Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) cited an 1872 congressional action granting amnesty to Confederate soldiers to defend his own client’s eligibility for office.

The argument from Cawthorn lawyer James Bopp Jr. came in response to a legal effort to have Cawthorn declared ineligible for office because he allegedly “encouraged, and upon reasonable suspicion helped aid, the insurrection” on Jan. 6.

The legal challenge, from a group of North Carolina voters backed by the organization Free Speech For People, alleges that Cawthorn violated the third section of the 14th Amendment, which states, “No Person shall be a […] Representative in Congress […] who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress […] to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”

On the phone with TPM Wednesday, Bopp said “there are substantial constitutional defenses, which include the fact that Congress passed the 1872 Amnesty Act, which removed all persons whatsoever from the disability under Section 3 as a result of engaging in an insurrection or rebellion.”

Though the Amnesty Act applied at the time to Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War, nothing in the law prevented it from being applied in the future, Bopp argued.

“There’s nothing in the Amnesty Act that says it’s only applicable to the Civil War, and it was very broad in its terms,” he said.

Ron Fein, legal director for Free Speech For People, told TPM in a statement that “Mr. Bopp’s argument is contradicted by history and common sense.”

[LFC]

Josh Marshall has more on the 1872 defense.

[LFC]

We have a quack doctor and state senator out of Kansas who persuaded Republicans to advance legislation that would protect him from his COVID quackery.

Sen. Mark Steffen succeeded Tuesday in persuading Republicans on a health panel to advance legislation that would clear him from punishment by state regulators for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.

The Hutchinson Republican and anesthesiologist revealed last month he was under investigation by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. He proposed legislation that would block the board from taking action against doctors who prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine for off-label uses.

Steffen amended and expanded the bill during committee action Tuesday to give doctors free range to use any drug for COVID-19 treatment and require pharmacists to fill the prescription, while removing protections for both doctors and pharmacists from civil liability if patients are harmed by the treatment. Lawmakers also added language from another of Steffen’s bills that would allow children to opt out of any kind of vaccine requirement at day care facilities and schools without being questioned.

The GOP-led panel then gutted a House bill that dealt with pharmacy regulations, inserted the Steffen bills and advanced it on a voice vote to the full Senate.

[andydp]

I really wish this was the Onion.

Marjorie Taylor Greene confuses 'gazpacho,' a soup, and 'Gestapo,' the Nazi secret police


www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-confuses-gazpacho-and-gestapo-2022-2?amp&fbclid=IwAR20wXigB14OeFArQzESk2Fj8uGN3oDo4Gt21B8utZLeNGJx_S-n_8v7Vp4

Meanwhile, Andy Borowitz is self-flagellating because this was too stupid to even consider as satire.

[AnBr]

Feb 10, 2022 20:07:27 GMT andydp said:

I really wish this was the Onion.

Marjorie Taylor Greene confuses 'gazpacho,' a soup, and 'Gestapo,' the Nazi secret police


www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-confuses-gazpacho-and-gestapo-2022-2?amp&fbclid=IwAR20wXigB14OeFArQzESk2Fj8uGN3oDo4Gt21B8utZLeNGJx_S-n_8v7Vp4

Meanwhile, Andy Borowitz is self-flagellating because this was too stupid to even consider as satire.

I was wondering why all of the gazpacho nonsense was popping up all over the place.

[AnBr]

The gazpacho police were behind the Spanish indigestion.

[AnBr]

[LFC]

[LFC]

[LFC]

[goldenvalley]

It's fun for we elites to snark about MTG and Bobert but it's ultimately counterproductive.  The true believers don't care if these people are wrong about things, in fact it may be part of the appeal. The reaction, even if it's just making fun of these folks, illustrate how they rile up the elites and libs, just as Trump did.  That means they win!

[LFC]

Feb 11, 2022 17:17:36 GMT goldenvalley said:

It's fun for we elites to snark about MTG and Bobert but it's ultimately counterproductive.  The true believers don't care if these people are wrong about things, in fact it may be part of the appeal. The reaction, even if it's just making fun of these folks, illustrate how they rile up the elites and libs, just as Trump did.  That means they win!

It's called gallows humor. It doesn't change anything but it can provide a temporary smile in a situation that is truly dire.

[andydp]

Also available: Secret Jewish Space Laser Corps (including a Goyin division)

dissentpins.com/collections/gazpacho-police?utm_source=CTC%20FB&utm_medium=CTC%20-%20Prospecting%20-%20Testing%20-%20ABO&utm_content=Carousel%20-%20Gazpacho%20-%20COLL.&utm_campaign=2%2F10%20-%20AQ%20-%20Broad%20(Gazpacho)&fbclid=IwAR3uvcxfP_2o9X0VnH_HJkL-7QmVSAl-PG7uOPAEsyJPjN2JyQDij5PQS6w

[goldenvalley]

I saw a good one

The Gazpacho police are coming for your mazel tov cocktails!

[LFC]

Another corrupt politician misusing campaign funds just got hit with a $125,000 fine. Bold of hypocrisy mine.

The other shoe has dropped for Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ).

His campaign committee has agreed to pay a $125,000 federal fine for misusing donor money and associated reporting violations, according to new Federal Election Commission disclosures.

The investigation, which found “reason to believe” that the violations were “knowing and willful,” was the FEC twin of a separate congressional ethics probe that fined the Arizona Republican $50,000 in 2020 for nearly a dozen violations. The inquiries centered around Schweikert’s dealings with his former chief of staff, political consultant Oliver Schwab, specifically payments to Schwab’s personal credit card and firm.

The agreement was signed Jan. 12, and the FEC released the documents almost a month later on Friday. As part of the agreement, the Schweikert campaign admitted to breaking three federal laws—all related to expenses.

The violations occurred sporadically between 2014 and 2018. In that time, the campaign misreported about $50,000 worth of expenses as going to straight Schwab, without disclosing the subvendors Schwab then paid.

Those reports also did not correctly describe another approximately $78,000 in payments, applying generic “consulting” labels instead of the true categories, which included web services, food and beverage, and gifts.

Finally, the campaign converted about $1,500 to personal use, including by reimbursing staffers who covered Schweikert’s personal costs out of pocket—including dry cleaning and flight upgrades.

As part of the agreement, the campaign has also filed a series of corrected reports from the time of the violations, clarifying the expenses. The reports came in on Thursday night and acknowledge that the campaign has directly repaid the vendors, which include the Capitol Hill Club, an art store, and the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

Schweikert, who touts his commitment to defending fiscal responsibility, first entered Congress on the initial Tea Party wave in 2010. He belongs to the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, serves on the Ways and Means and Joint Economic Committees, and was among the 138 House Republicans who objected to Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election—however, he only objected to ballots from Pennsylvania, not his own state, where he had won re-election with about 55 percent of the vote.

The $125,000 FEC fine for the “2020 Fiscal Hero” is more than double the penalty he incurred from the House ethics probe, which, in addition to the financial wrongdoing, also found that Schweikert impeded congressional investigators.

[LFC]

Cawthorn sounds worried about being disqualified from his cushy, work-free, fact-free, competence-free gig.

Sad Trombone

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), an eager foot soldier in Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night that a group of North Carolina voters who are trying to get him disqualified from running for office are “actually very close” to succeeding.

• Cawthorn accused the North Carolina State Board of Elections, which argued earlier this month that it had the authority to kick him off the ballot, of trying to “subvert the will of over 700,000 Americans.” You could argue that the North Carolina Republican isn’t being hypocritical here. After all, he tried to subvert the will of millions of Americans, not 700,000.

• Cawthorn’s lawyer is citing a congressional action that granted amnesty to Confederate soldiers to defend his client.

[LFC]

Remember Tulsi Gabbard? She has apparently decided the grift is better on the right.

Tulsi Gabbard To Speak At CPAC

You read that correctly: American Conservative Union Chair Matt Schlapp announced on Monday that former Democratic congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is speaking at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, which begins on Thursday (and which promises to be “#AwakeNotWoke”).

Gabbard’s palling around with conservatives took a bit of an awkward turn on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show last night:

[pnwguy]

Feb 22, 2022 15:39:38 GMT LFC said:

Remember Tulsi Gabbard? She has apparently decided the grift is better on the right.

Was that ever in doubt? The GOP puts most Mafia families to shame.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 22, 2022 19:29:16 GMT pnwguy said:

Feb 22, 2022 15:39:38 GMT LFC said:

Remember Tulsi Gabbard? She has apparently decided the grift is better on the right.

Was that ever in doubt? The GOP puts most Mafia families to shame.

She was mostly a Libertarian, not a Democrat when she was in the primary race for the nomination.  I guess there's no money in that.