Some specimens in the Republican mindset nowadays — one frame after another.
Despite the age, racism, and whiteness:
? Today, while heading to the House floor for votes, I respectfully asked my colleague @RepHalRogers to put on a mask while boarding the train. He then poked my back, demanding I get on the train. When I asked him not to touch me, he responded, “kiss my ass.” (1/3)
— Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) February 8, 2022
Nutshell via CNN late this afternoon:
Beatty, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a string of tweets, “Today, while heading to the House floor for votes, I respectfully asked my colleague @RepHalRogers to put on a mask while boarding the train. He then poked my back, demanding I get on the train. When I asked him not to touch me, he responded, ‘kiss my ass.'”
“This is the kind of disrespect we have been fighting for years, and indicative of the larger issue we have with GOP Members flaunting health and safety mandates designed to keep us and our staff safe,” Beatty continued. “@RepHalRogers, when you are ready to grow up and apologize for your behavior, you know where to find me.”
Rogers told CNN Tuesday, “My words were not acceptable” and said he apologized to Beatty on the House floor and in a statement said he “expressed my regret to her, first and foremost.”
However, as with all racist assholes, before an apology came there was a public backlash, and since Rogers is running again this year:
His apology came after members of the Congressional Black Caucus gathered on the House steps to condemn Rogers for “assaulting” Beatty and demand a public apology.
“It’s despicable that someone could physically and verbally assault another member of this chamber,” said Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, the first vice chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“We are here in solidarity to call on that member to formally apologize to our Chair, and to understand the seriousness of his actions, and the lack of decorum that he exhibited today.”
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries echoed that message, saying, “He needs to apologize, man up, apologize immediately, before this escalates to a place he doesn’t want this to go.”“Who does Hal Rogers think he is? How dare he put his hands on anyone, man, woman or child? How dare he assault Joyce Beatty? How dare he jab her aggressively in the back? How dare he verbally attack her? How dare he say ‘kiss my a**’? Who do you think you are?” the New York Democrat added.
White old guy who doesn’t give a shit.
Noted this conclusion from (Cincinnati, Ohio) The Enquirer, also late this afternoon:
Rogers, who is 84 and was first elected to the U.S. House in 1980, is running for reelection this year to his 22nd term, where he is considered a strong favorite to win.
Last year, Rogers was fined $5,000 for skipping a full security screening as he entered the House chamber — a new rule put in place after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection — but he later won his appeal, arguing he did so due to “a simple misunderstanding.”
Simple as a cruel, racist asshole.
Meanwhile, across the Capitol another Kentucky Congresscritter went against the grain — MoscowMitch twitches toward the truth today:
Well this is a fascinating development https://t.co/iChzvIMZVg
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) February 8, 2022
Story per The New York Times this afternoon:
The remarks from Mr. McConnell, the normally taciturn Kentucky Republican, added to a small but forceful chorus of G.O.P. lawmakers who have decried the action that the Republican National Committee took on Friday, when it officially rebuked Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger for participating in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, accusing them of “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
Mr. McConnell repudiated that description, saying of the events of Jan. 6, 2021: “We saw it happen. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”
He made the remarks to reporters outside Senate Republicans’ closed-door weekly lunch, where his aides had signaled in advance that he was to make an important statement on the R.N.C.’s action.
Mr. McConnell’s comments were a rebuke of how far the party has gone to deny the reality of the violence that unfolded during the bloody assault on the Capitol, sending lawmakers from both parties running for safety.
More than 150 people were injured in the attack, which led to several deaths, and nearly 750 individuals have been criminally charged in connection with it.
MoscowMitch is shitty, no way around it, yet like Liz Cheney, maybe has some a small speck of humanity (or an alternative reason the public is unaware of right now), and then again he might change his mind tomorrow. Assholes gauge which direction the wind is blowing, just in case there’s a fire.
Bonus Republican shitstorm (h/ tweet tengrain):
McCarthy: “Make an appointment with my office”
McConnell: "It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next. That's what it was," https://t.co/h1qHmZLOGe
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) February 8, 2022
Reportedly, McCarthy did answer the question while in the hallway but later had to correct/clarify it twice. Another prime example of Republicans running from Jan.6, in this particular case, actual running.
Once again, here we are…
(Illustration out front: ‘National Buffoons,’ by Daryl Cagle, found here).