I’m glad that Hakeem Jeffires has decided to fight fire with fire, in the mode of Gavin Newsom and J.B. Pritzker. Chuck Schumer is of another age and this is difficult for him. And I’m not saying that we should all go roll in the gutter with Trump and the GOP. But unfortunately, civility is taken for weakness and so at some point it becomes necessary to deal with the bully on the bully’s terms. I believe it is that simple, although I hate the example that is being made to younger generations. Take a look.
Happening now: Rep. Mike Lawler confronts Leader Jeffries, asking him to sign onto the one-year ACA subsidies bill
Getting heated… pic.twitter.com/t2eEHvW8Ij
— Rachel Schilke (@rachel_schilke) October 8, 2025
Mike Lawler is widely despised. He represents a swing district in New York and he’s been accused of racist behavior, including wearing blackface. That doesn’t go over well. But what has escalated the sentiment against him is the fact that he is perceived as being two-faced, presenting a *moderate* face to the public and then aligning himself with MAGA and extreme right-wing politicians. Lawler has been accused of saying that Democrats “hate America” which of course has fueled the opposition against him.
A lot of people are devoted to getting Lawler out of office. On that basis, it makes a lot of sense that Lawler would attempt to save his own bacon, namely the ACA subsidies. But he didn’t get very far with Hakeem Jeffries, now did he?
But it is refreshing that finally there is some Republican focus on the ACA subsidies, which is the key element to the government shutdown and not the nonsense Mike Johnson is spewing about Medicaid for illegal aliens. Or the nonsense Trump spews about money for transgender surgeries and open borders being the issue.
How to deal with prevaricating liars, lying.
Keep telling the truth, loudly.
Truth trumps all their mendacity.
As Jon Stewart says: Schumer is a human flat tire.
I’ve said it before. (And I’m speaking from personal experience) When you find yourself caught up in a bar fight it doesn’t matter if you were part of how it started. You just have to recognize and accept the situation and then do ANYTHING you have to to make it out the door with a minimum of bruising and bleeding. Hit, including using beer bottles, glasses, broke table or chair legs if you can get your hand on such things. Kick including in the crotch, gouge, bite – whatever it takes.
Especially if you happen to be in some dive that’s not in your home town. The locals can spot outsiders from the moment they walk in and will gang up on them just for fun. That’s what the GOP has been doing for years. Walking around the bar harrassing and beating up Democrats who try to reason their way out of trouble. Worse, if you try to leave you can find yourself the target that gets the big ruckus going. Your choices are to try and plead or cower and hope you don’t get roughed up too badly which seldom works. Or you can fight your way out into the parking lot, summoning every bit of viciousness inside you. Enough to startle them as some of their own get hurt and majorly. You need to do that so they don’t chase you into the parking lot. Make them tend to their own wounded pal(s) for a bit. Enough time for you to get the hell out of the parking lot and if you’re lucky without them seeing what you’re driving in and out of town.
THAT is what I keep saying we need to do. Hit back on the GOP. Watch them howl in outrage over suffering pain instead of just dishing it out. Make them realize that if they want to hit we’ll hit back and just as hard. Only then will they (grudgingly) sit down and start trying to work out ways to get things done. It’s said good legislative deals are when neither side walks away happy because neither gets everything it wants. But you know what? Sometimes you can get enough of what you want IF you are willing to get in the ring and fight. Take some punches? Yep but if you can dish back what you get and even dish out more than you take the next day when you feel the aches and pains you can smile at having won.
Sometimes you get the bonus of earning their respect. Even if they don’t respect you, they now know there’s a line they shouldn’t cross without pain to themselves.
Lawler got his FUX News clip, just as planned. FUX will edit it to show Lawler as the reasonable pleader for healthcare, Jeffries as the bullying abusive street thug denying care for poor Americans. That’s how the GOP/FUX partnership works, always has.
“you can’t force people to like you. If they don’t respect you, you can make them fear you. If you keep showing respect to those who don’t respect you, then you become a doormat.” Ray from Mr. InBetween