Something happened today in Congress, via Twitter:

Top Conservative Cat ‏@TeaPartyCat
BREAKING: After Kevin McCarthy withdraws from Speaker race, Republicans give up on governing and disband Congress until 2017. 1:45 PM – 8 Oct 2015

D Wasserman Schultz ‏@DWStweets
McCarthy’s announcement is proof positive of Republican disarray at every level as Tea Party extremism takes control of the House GOP. 12:31 PM – 8 Oct 2015

“Takes?” That happened quite a while long time ago.

Jennifer Hayden ‏@Scout_Finch
GOP picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. [….] 3:34 PM – 8 Oct 2015

Jesse Lee ‏@jesseclee44
The years of pundit debate over who was at fault for bipartisan agreements being near-impossible seem rather quaint right now. 6:00 PM – 8 Oct 2015

Yeah, I bet all the folks who elbow each other to get those invitations to the inside the beltway conventional wisdom cocktail weenie circuit parties are red faced right now.

Mark Takano ‏@RepMarkTakano
It seems like we’re having a hard time finding the next Speaker, so I created a Craigslist ad to boost our search. [….] 3:55 PM – 8 Oct 2015

Also, a grifter, working the long con:

October 08, 2015, 05:27 pm
Gingrich open to return to Speakership
By Bradford Richardson

Newt Gingrich said he would consider taking up the Speaker’s gavel again if called upon to by House Republicans.

The former Speaker initially denied any interest in a return to Congress, but when pressed in an interview with radio show host Sean Hannity on Thursday, admitted he would consider it if he had the votes….

My take on it:

Michael Bersin ‏@MBersin
[insert your deity here] doesn’t love Show Me Progress enough to make Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) Speaker. Just the run on our archives alone… 4:54 PM – 8 Oct 2015

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

After reading what David Atkins has to say about Donald Trump’s current ascendancy among GOP presidential candidates and what it suggests about the nature of the GOP base, it occurred to me that his speculation about what puts the red in all that GOP red meat could explain why, out of all Governor Nixon’s vetoes of GOP legislation, the lege failed to override only Right to Work, HB116. Atkins asserts that:

Trump’s extremist positions on immigration and foreign policy, combined with his vulgar, racist and sexist remarks, are so obviously appalling that for him to continuously lead the GOP field not only proves the Mann/Ornstein thesis that the Republican Party has grown uniquely extreme, but also shows that problem extends beyond Republican Party leadership to the actual voters themselves. Even more, the fact that Trump’s apostasy on taxes and healthcare has not significantly damaged him is a demonstration that GOP voters are not actually so committed to the libertarian supply-side economics of the Republican Party as they are to using the power of government to benefit traditionally powerful whites at the expense of women and minorities.

So how does right to work fit into this picture? Of the several bills that will potentially have a real impact on the  lives of working families, only HB116 has a hardcore white working class constituency that understood how the issues affected them and, consequently, opposed the bill. There’s no way that standing against right to work can be spun as giveaway to minorities in the time-honored Republican way.  

Just consider the contrast between the response to the veto of HB150 as opposed to HB116.  GOP lawmakers overrode the veto of HB150, which ties the duration of unemployment benefits to the state’s unemployment rate, with alacrity. Consider further that the group likely to be most out of sync with the state’s official unemployment rate are African-Americans. African-Americans experience significantly higher unemployment than any other group. The out-state GOPers that dominate Jefferson City evidently don’t anticipate any serious disaffection among their predominantly white constituency if they are perceived as denying “special” unemployment benefits to “those” people.

The same principle likely applies to the override of the veto of SB224 which denies the state’s A+ scholarships to non-citizens, that is to say, the foreign born children of undocumented immigrants who otherwise meet all the requirements of the program. I’m sure I don’t have to explain the motivation behind this piece of cruel pandering to white privilege. If you’re not sure what I’m getting at, just consider the immigration bonanza Donald Trump is currently mining and the anti-immigrant gold rush it has started among his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.

It has to be significant that of all the GOP-sponsored bills that would increase income inequality and hurt working families, only the right-to-work bill – with an appreciable white constituency – wasn’t resuscitated by our GOP-dominated legislature’s veto override session. Of course, I’m grateful that right to work for less went down no matter the reason, but it does imply that Atkins’ theory about the the racism and ideological vacuity of today’s GOP base – what’s good for me, is not for thee if you’re brown, Muslim or female – may provide us with the correct platform from which to regard our political adversaries.

Since Democratic Senator Ted House completed his term in 2002, not one St. Charles County’s state senator has completed their full term. Only Republican senators have been elected since then, and they have all quit early choosing personal gain over their sworn duty to serve their constituents.

The latest Republican quitter is Senator Tom Dempsey who has been purchased by billionaire Rex Sinquefield to do his bidding as an insider lobbyist. Instead of doing his best for over 200,000 residents of our county, Dempsey has cashed in his chips for personal profit and kissed the foot of an autocratic want-to-be king.

Unfortunately for citizens of St. Charles County, Dempsey is just another in an ever lengthening list of St. Charles County Republicans who have deserted their posts early for their own monetary advantage. Republicans have a sordid history of running up the white flag of surrender more often than the French Army.

In 2005, Sen. Jon Dolan quit for the well paid cushy job of lobbyist for the Missouri Healthcare Association. In May of 2007, Dempsey’s predecessor Sen. Chuck Gross bailed out early when his mentor former Senator and now County Executive Steve Ehlmann made him an offer he couldn’t refuse to become Director of Administration for St. Charles County.

Perhaps the greediest of the quitters was former Senator Scott Rupp.  In the middle of last year’s legislative session, Rupp summarily quit to take an appointment to the Missouri Public Service Commission.  This part time job pays a whopping $105,570 while still allowing Rupp to keep his patronage banking job.

It shouldn’t be lost on voters, three of these quitters, Dempsey, Gross, and Rupp all took jobs as vice presidents of banks while in office even though none had degrees in finance or any banking experience. So their hands were getting well greased before they actually quit.

Add to these senatorial quitters two key house members. In 2007, former House Pro Tem Carl Bearden walked out on his constituents to also follow the green money trail of Rex Sinquefield. Then in 2010, Sally Faith promised not to run for Mayor of St. Charles if citizens would reelect her to the House. Six months later she was sworn in as mayor.

The picture is clear for voters. The Republicans they have been electing to do the people’s work are more about their own financial futures than the future of St. Charles County.

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump

So many “politically correct” fools in our country. We have to all get back to work and stop wasting time and energy on nonsense! 7:29 AM – 8 Aug 2015

Not even close.

In the wake of the vigorous calls to finally repudiate the Southern “Stars and Bars” Battle Flag after a Confederate flag-waving racist brutally murdered nine African-Americans in order to spark a race war, some members of the House of Representatives believed that it was important for our lawmakers to take a stand on the propriety of its public display in the House:

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., introduced a privileged resolution banning the Confederate flag from the House and House office buildings, unless it is displayed at a member’s office. The goal of his resolution is to remove the Mississippi state flag from the Capitol, which displays the Confederate battle flag in its upper left corner.

“I’m convinced that an effort to remove this flag from the hallowed halls of the House of Representatives is the right thing to do,” Thompson said on the floor.

Unfortunately, his fellow Republicans, including the GOP members of the Missouri delegation, preferred to equivocate:

Due to the nature of Thompson’s resolution, the House would have been forced to vote on the divisive issue, but on Thursday GOP leadership moved to send the resolution to committee, avoiding a floor vote for now.

The House voted along party lines, 240-184, to refer the resolution to the House Administration Committee. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., was the only Republican to vote not to send the resolution to committee.

While this strategy on the part of Republicans may have seemed like a clever way to avoid committing on a politically fraught issue, the stark nature of the division in the voting – Republicans against Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus – nevertheless provided, as Roll Call suggested the vote might, the defacto “first opportunity in recent history to get members of Congress to record their stances on Confederate imagery’s place on government property.”

With this vote, Missouri’s Republican House delegation made it clear that they, along with the rest of their GOP tribe, just want the whole issue to go away. On the one hand, it seems that the Confederate Flag is losing whatever respectability it ever had and to defend it might invite public shaming. On the other, to repudiate it openly would be to offend many of the diehards who whole-heartedly support the real meaning of the flag – and I don’t mean the mint julep that also figures in the so-called “Southern heritage” that defenders of the flag blather on about. These are the folks, after all, who make up the hardcore Republican base. Nothing like getting bitten on the backside by your own hitherto reliable Southern strategy.

This impression is backed up by the deep silence to date from the Republican Missouri delegation on the question of the Confederate flag. Visit our GOPers Web pages. You’ll find no mention of the vote, no mention of the flag controversy. Google their names in conjunction with confederate flag. Nada.

Maybe its early yet, but I’m willing to bet that the Missouri GOP reps won’t say a thing unless some interviewer puts them on the spot – and then we’ll hear about “states rights” – Mississippi gets to decide about its flag, not Congress, right? – or more of the specious drivel about the flag meaning different things to different people, and we must respect all points of view, correct? And then, of course, there’s always history. Like history’s going to go away if we don’t enshrine its bad actors (and actions) in our public places. Like it isn’t especially important that we call out those who seek to whitewash those bad actors.

The flag’s meaning has always been clear. And it’s always been shameful. It’s about the 12.5 million Africans kidnapped out of Africa and sent to the United States (minus the nearly 2 million who died or were murdered en route). It’s about their descendants born into forced servitude. It’s about an entire economy that depended on this horror to survive and the fat-cat perpetrators of that system who started a treasonous, deadly war to preserve a way of life that depended on economic hegemony over an entire race. Lest you doubt:

In Germany, the censorship of Nazi symbols is still a matter of debate — with many wrestling over the dual necessity of preserving liberal freedoms while also recognizing the evils of the Third Reich. Far-right and even neo-Nazi groups exist and organize in the country, but raising the Nazi swastika is a red line that no one can cross.

Instead, at times, some European fringe groups have come up with another symbol to represent their hateful creed: the Confederate flag.

Sooner or later, our Missouri Republicans will have to take a stand. Will it be with the white backlash inspired by the election of the first black president? Or will they recognize the backlash inspired by the excesses of racists emboldened by their very own recent rhetoric? It’s a no-win situation; in the words of the song:

Mr. Backlash, Mr. Backlash

Just what do you think I got to lose

I`m gonna leave you

With the backlash blues

You`re the one will have the blues

Not me, just wait and see

         From Blacklash Blues (Nina Simone)

Via Sean Nicholson:

Sean Nicholson ‏@ssnich

Mike Pence is coming to MO. Soon. #MOLeg [….]

6:27 PM – 31 Mar 2015

The flyer for Camden County Republicans Lincoln Days dinner at the Lodge of the Four Seasons on April 11th

Perfect timing.

Previously:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): teh gay are so icky (June 5, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): on court rulings – Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional (November 7, 2014)

Best quote of the day comes from economist Jared Bernstein’s blog:

House Republicans released their budget today, and I found it to be…um…how can I put this nicely?…orthogonal to reality

“Orthogonal to reality.” And here I thought we’d exhausted all the ways that there were to describe GOP delusions. Bernstein amplifies his remarks:

The policies put forth in this document suggest that America’s main problem is that the poor have too much and the wealthy, too little. The budget plan “corrects” this perceived imbalance by deeply cutting programs that help low- and middle-income people, and cutting taxes on those with high incomes, capital gains, multinational corporations and “pass through” business income.

Of course, as he notes, GOPers claim that this recipe results in growth that floats all our boats. Sadly, as Bernstein observes after pointing out the rather obvious problems with this logic:

I too believe in the American people and growth but I don’t believe in magic asterisks or tax cuts that pay for themselves. It’s great to have faith, but math is good too

Read the entire piece – it’s quite brief. And remember that part about the importance of math. I think that the observation is pertinent to the budget Missouri’s Republican-dominated legislature wants to impose on us. Something on the order of what is sinking Kansas, Wisconsin and a whole host of states with like-minded legislatures. That’s where the phrase “orthogonal to reality” becomes relevant to us as well. Just think, Scott Walker is destroying Wisconsin with this same mumbo-jumbo and, as a result, he’s a front-runner for GOP presidential candidate.

By now most Missourians who are even remotely tuned into state politics have heard that Lt. Governor Peter Kinder was contending that his $86,000 salary was not enough to stave off penury. His proposed solution: a per diem allowance of $103 for each day he spends in Jefferson city doing – wait for it – essentially nothing. But, hey, who can blame him? His cohorts in the legislature not only get that exact per diem allowance, but make out like bandits with gobs of lobbyist swag that likely doesn’t come his way that often.  

Unfortunately for Kinder’s endangered quality of life, it seems his peers in the legislature either didn’t take his situation seriously or were unwilling to risk the ire of constituents who are managing to eke out a living on considerably less than $86,000.  There’ll be no per diem for Lt. Governor Kinder. As a consequence, I surmise that he might be in a bad mood. He’s facing abject poverty, after all.

And bad mood might be the only way to explain his latest news-making move. The Lt. Governor has decided to weigh in on the topic of racism and the Ferguson uproar. And what he had to say either demonstrates the type of displaced anger that leaves one making ill-considered remarks that one regrets later when emotional and mental equilibrium are restored, or it’s just racist, dim-witted dribble. Judge for yourself:

The lieutenant governor of Missouri says “there is more racism in the Justice Department” than in the St. Louis area, pointing the finger at President Obama and the Justice Department who, he says, often incited “the mob” in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown back in August of 2014.

“The whole blow up of this protest movement was based on the lie that never happened of ‘hands up don’t shoot,'” Peter Kinder, the Lt. governor told NewsMaxTV’s Steve Malzberg Show Monday. “But it’s bad enough the protestors were behaving that way but we have a right to expect more from the attorney general, the head of the Justice Department of the United States, and the president of the United States. And instead what we got too often from them was incitement of the mob, and, uh, encouraging disorder in Ferguson and distributing the peaceable going-about of our lives in the greater St. Louis region.”

Kinder added President Obama and Eric Holder “took one side” following the death of Michael Brown. Asked why, he said the Justice Department was “staffed with radical, hard-left radical, leftists lawyers.”

He called the Justice Department under Holder, “not like any Justice Department in American history” and “Eric Holder is unlike any previous attorney general.”

“Many of them have spent most of their careers defending Black Panthers and other violent radicals,” he added. “

So the entire “blow up” was the result of a “lie”? Evidently, Kinder didn’t read or lacks the capacity to process the Department of Justice (DoJ) report on Ferguson policing and justice systems. Nor does he seem to understand what a mere spark can do to a field that’s ready to burn. But, just as the mayor of Ferguson claimed that the thorough DoJ investigative report doesn’t constitute “proof” of racial misbehavior, Kinder thinks that we can disregard the well-substantiated facts recounted in the report because “Eric Holder is “unlike any previous attorney general” – which is to say, he’s black and, hence, ipso facto, in cahoots with radicals whose legal careers have been limited to “defending Black Panthers and other violent radicals.”

Is this resentment feeding on resentment? A sad, resentful man appealing in turn to the white resentment that fuels so much of the right wing? Do you think maybe Kinder wants a little appreciation from the types who think that the state of race relations leans a little too much toward those damned “takers.” Do you think he might be trying to erase the memory of the ridicule he excited the last time he stuck his head up into the light and demanded poverty relief?

I wonder, though, do you think that if people had to supply supporting evidence for such absurd claims before anyone would report on it, they’d think twice about what they had to say? What is the correct label for someone who puts ugly, unsubstantiated libels into the public record? And fails to take it back, apologise, explain that he was in a funk, had a headache, whatever, when he’s called on it (not too stringently, admittedly) by the media?

I recollect the efforts of St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Tony Messenger to avoid, in his own words, contributing to “this state’s political problems, rather than elevating the discourse” after the dust-up about hateful political rhetoric that occurred in the wake of Tom Schweich’s recent suicide. Specifically, he apologised for calling a State Senator Kurt Schaeffer a fool when, he said, it would have sufficed to point out that one of Schaeffer’s legislative efforts was foolish. His mea culpa, no matter how admirable, bothered me – I hope to have more to say about it in the future – because if discourse is to be elevated, all the participants have to agree about the height of the plane on which they are going to get together and discuss. Otherwise, those who insist on going alone to the most elevated level will have nothing do do except shout into the wind.

Peter Kinder has revealed himself as one of those people who experience uncontrollable vertigo when confronted with the ladder that leads to that higher space. They confuse ideological labels with facts, the expedient with the good, their own good with that of everyone. Such people can do lots of harm – and are doing so daily in the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress and statehouses across the country. Such behavior is demonstrably foolish. And we call those who act foolishly fools, among other things. The correct label for Peter Kinder is fool, among other things. No apology will be offered.    

Pass the popcorn.

Senator David Pearce (r) [2014 file photo].

John Hancock refuses to step down as some Missouri GOP lawmakers call for him to quit

By JASON HANCOCK and DAVE HELLING

The Kansas City Star

03/12/2015 10:45 AM 03/12/2015 2:23 PM

[….]

….Gary Romine, Mike Parson and David Pearce held a press conference in Jefferson City on Thursday calling for John Hancock to resign as the chairman of the Missouri Republican Party

[….]

….Negative campaigning, the role of political consultants and unlimited campaign contributions have “led to a very negative kind of campaign that none of us are proud of,” said Sen. David Pearce of Warrensburg….

[….]

Senator Pearce (r) has had significant experience with unlimited campaign contributions. He term limits out and cannot run for reelection in 2016. As far as we know Senator Pearce (r) has not announced he’s running for statewide office (or any other) in 2016. But, according to his campaign committee, there is a possibility:

C010192: Pearce For Missouri

Po Box 202 Committee Type: Candidate

Jefferson City Mo 65102 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….] Established Date: 10/01/2001

  Termination Date:

[….]

Election History

Election Year Primary Outcome General Outcome Political Office

2016 Statewide Office

2012 Successful Successful State Senator District 21

[….]

[emphasis added]

And that doesn’t mean good.

At the White House petition site:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

File charges against the 47 U.S. Senators in violation of The Logan Act in attempting to undermine a nuclear agreement.

On March 9th, 2015, forty-seven United States Senators committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony, punishable under federal law with imprisonment of up to three years.

At a time when the United States government is attempting to reach a potential nuclear agreement with the Iranian government, 47 Senators saw fit to instead issue a condescending letter to the Iranian government stating that any agreement brokered by our President would not be upheld once the president leaves office.

This is a clear violation of federal law. In attempting to undermine our own nation, these 47 senators have committed treason.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, Government Reform

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 25,529

Total signatures on this petition 74,471

[emphasis added]

Update:

That’s a lot of signatures in a few hours…

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 0

Total signatures on this petition 102,756

[emphasis added]

Update II (6:56 a.m. 03/11/15):

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 0

Total signatures on this petition 136,300

[emphasis added]

Update III (8:02 p.m. 03/11/15):

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 0

Total signatures on this petition 183,600

[emphasis added]

Update IV (7:27 a.m. 03/12/15):

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 0

Total signatures on this petition 209,731

[emphasis added]

But wait, there’s more:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Senator Tom Cotton’s letter to Iran is a direct violation of the Logan Act and should be prosecuted.

Senator Tom Cotton and 46 others have written an Open Letter to the Iranian Government as an attempt to influence and interfere with our President’s current negotiations.

This is a violation of the Logan Act, a United States federal law that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. It was passed in 1799 and last amended in 1994. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony, punishable under federal law with imprisonment of up to three years.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Defense, Foreign Policy

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 92,400

Total signatures on this petition 7,600

[emphasis added]

We petition the Obama Administration to:

File charges of treason against the 47 Senators who sent letter to Iran.

Attorney General of the United States of America please file TREASON charges against the 47 Republican Senators who sent a letter to Iran. Too undermind the President’s dealing to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons program. They are risking the security of this nation by their underhandedness and should be charged accordingly. All 47 Senators including Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). Should be formally charged and prosecuted by the laws of this land and the United States of America’s Constitution.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Defense, Foreign Policy

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 96,302

Total signatures on this petition 3,698

[emphasis added]

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Immediately file charges against the 47 Senators who have sent a “warning letter” to Iran, under the Logan Act.

A call for criminal charges to be filed for the 47 Senators who are undermining the President’s ability to conduct negotiations with Iran to PREVENT war.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Defense, Foreign Policy, Government Reform

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 97,337

Total signatures on this petition 2,663

[emphasis added]

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Address and prosecute the clear violation of the Logan Act by the Republican senators’ March 9th open letter to Iran.

The open letter to Iran’s leaders by 47 senators of March 9th, warning them that any nuclear deal they sign with the Obama administration won’t last after Obama leaves office, is a clear and direct violation of the Logan Act and is treasonous. This action must not go unaddressed. We petition the White House and the Justice Dept. to take immediate and decisive action.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Foreign Policy

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 98,439

Total signatures on this petition 1,561

We petition the Obama Administration to:

File charges against the Senators who sent a letter to Iran.

On March 9th 2015, members of the Senate of the United States sent a letter to the leaders of Iran urging them to go against the Obama administration over a nuclear deal. The letter was organized by Senator Tom Cotton and had the signatures of a total of 47 Senators. This was a clear violation of law and those Senators crossed a huge line when they tried to sabotage the negotiations of the Administration. Foreign policy should be dealt by the executive branch, not the legislative. Not only does the letter attempt to undermine negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but it is written in a condescending tone that could do great harm to the United States’ security. That is why we urge the Administration and the Justice Department to file charges against those Senators who signed the letter.

Published Date: Mar 09, 2015

Issues: Defense, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security and Disaster Relief

Signatures needed by April 08, 2015 to reach goal of 100,000 99,372

Total signatures on this petition 628

[emphasis added]

It’s in the republican majority’s nature. Everybody else gets the grotesque overreach. They probably don’t.

Previously:

Sen. Roy Blunt (r): Next! (March 9, 2015)

Is Roy Blunt a “traitor,” “reckless and feckless,” or simply an embarrassment? (March 10, 2015)