Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best And Most Absurd (1/13)

Absurd: No one cares, Mitch 

Sen. Mitch McConnell once rebuffed then-Sen. Joe Biden’s effort to gain his support for a bill by arguing its merits. Former President Barack Obama recounted in his book “A Promised Land” that “McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said, ‘You must be under the mistaken impression that I care.’” Fast forward to the MAGA/Trump-fueled insurrection of the U.S. Capitol. Just before the Capitol fell, McConnell had given what was unquestionably the grandest, most stately speech of his career in defense of American democracy and institutions (like the Senate) — which starkly contrasted how ruthlessly malevolent his “leadership” has been for over a decade. It was as if he was directly rebuking his very own obstructionism, demolition of institutional norms, relentless stoking of partisan division and resentment, and four years of enabling a lawless president (i.e. coordinating an impeachment defense with Trump’s White House) — a methodical, relentless assault that mentally and emotionally fractured the traitors who heard the call of a fascist leader to storm the Capitol. So, on the morning he learns he has lost his majority in the Senate, he tried to rewrite his own history of destruction. History smiled and said, “You must be under the mistaken impression that I care.” 

Thorn: A house full of pricks 

A bouquet of thorns to Kentucky House Republicans who filed a petition to impeach Gov. Andy Beshear for executive orders he issued in response to the coronavirus state of emergency, alleging he violated both the Kentucky and U.S. constitutions. Both the Kentucky Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in respective challenges that Beshear’s executive orders are legitimate. But, apparently House Republicans know better. A big-ass thorn to Speaker of the House David Osborne, the Prospect Republican who said that the House is required to take action after receiving the petition under the law, and that, “We have to take it seriously,” according to The Courier Journal. OK, maybe procedurally it must be taken seriously, but in reality it needs bipartisan condemnation. Given the attempted coup of the U.S. government last week, it is wildly irresponsible and dangerous for him to legitimize this heinous assault on Beshear, democracy and facts.

Thorn: Extremism and the Kentucky State Police 

A Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy has been reassigned after attending last Wednesday’s insurrection at the Capitol. He claims to have done so peacefully, but five public defenders have called for the sheriff to “reevaluate” the deputy’s status in the department. Of course, late last year, the student newspaper Manual RedEye reported that the KSP used a Hitler quote in their training material. They have serious issues.   

Thorn: To the rest…

And to any Kentuckian — and people beyond — who participated in the violent riot that left people dead and threatened democracy, go fuck yourself, you’re a terrorist. 

This article appears in January 13, 2021.