Let history record that when the GOP collapsed, it did not do so in a classy fashion. No, it went out rude, crude, and downright lewd. None other than Lauren Boebert has been floated as a possibility to helm the House of Representatives, in the eventuality that Mike Johnson is toppled. As I am wont to observe, there is no low they won’t go.
Rep. Laura Boebert (R-CO) as the successor to slam the House gavel was breezily broached by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Thursday while dressing down Johnson.
Asked who could do better than Johnson in the prestigious post, Gaetz replied, “I don’t know… Ms. Boebert could do better.”
Boebert, who is facing reelection and switching districts after Rep. Ken Buck retired, made a cameo on ousted Rep. George Santos’ weekly Twitter call-in show.
She was asked point blank if she would consider taking over Johnson’s job if he were to be muscled out, and she apparently is already ready to reject it while rejoicing about how they both “completely ruined [Johnson’s] life.”
Boebert told Santos, “If I were speaker of the House, I would have to go to the GOP conference meetings,” she said. “I am not subjecting myself to that every week that we come to Washington, D.C. Absolutely not.”
Santos then tried to knock the job itself as one that is the poison pill of D.C. careers.
“I’ll say this for you, Lauren, quite frankly, it is the job nobody wants, and it is the job no one actually deserves,” he said. “We took Mike Johnson, perfectly minding his own business, loving life, teaching on the side, having fun, teaching civics… and destroyed his life! Completely ruined his life!”
“Bless his heart.”
This is all a funny ha ha joke to these people. It’s not surprising in the case of Matt Gaetz. He comes into politics in a way that many people do not, through an inherited position, basically. Even though we live in a democracy — for now — and House seats are not inherited like fiefdoms, there are exceptions. Daddy Gaetz paved the way for Baby Gaetz and Baby Matt lives in such a gerrymandered district that his House seat and political career is basically a guaranteed sinecure. That is, unless he does something truly stupid like run for Governor of Florida, then he’ll find out in a heartbeat how loathed and despised he is outside of his congressional district.
That might actually be a lesson that would do Gaetz some good. Boebert is on the downslope of her brief political career, or at least that is conventional wisdom at this time. If she did attempt to take over as House Speaker, it would only add to her legend as a complete and utter ignoramus. It would give her a new way to fail publicly.
I don’t think that this is much beyond speculation and joke at this point. This is MAGA. This is a group of individuals, enthralled to Donald Trump and following his freak show example, that does not take governance seriously. I suppose it had to come to this at some point. Every great nation eventually gets to a jaded and debased place and now it’s our turn. Maybe human nature itself basically precludes democracies from lasting beyond a certain point. We may be about to find out.
I wouldn’t agree with Mike Johnson on almost anything, but he’s finally figured out how to use his power and is doing the right thing. His days as speaker may be numbered, but he’s taking the high road out.
No one wants or deserves the job? Maybe not on the GOP side since they tend to eat their Speakers who actually know how the place works, or instead pick some asshat bomb thrower like Gingrich. Democrats have handed the Gavel to some icons. Jim Wright. Tip O’Neil. Nancy Pelosi. I think GOPers are just jealous. Is Bobo serious about not wanting the job? Maybe. It would after all take away time from the kind of performance jackassery she’s really there to do. But if it were to happen talk about the GOP going down with Bobo. (Yes, pun intended. I couldn’t resist)
So…when does the stripper pole get installed?
Did Matt run his idea past Margarine Traitor Green first?
If Margarine didn’t object, then hell HAS truly frozen over. Or melted completely. (It all depends on whether your concept of hell is a flaming pit or an ice palace–most Christian theology proposes the “fiery” thing but Dante floated the “ice” concept.)
I lived in Pensacola. The sheriff there in the 80s was a drunk who also owned a,car dealership. None of his deputies dared to take him on even when he was driving drunk. Instead they contacted the guys in the next county once they caught him heading over there, and he was arrested and lost his license.
Who you know is more important than than what you know in the South.
Tangentially, more important than what you know or who you know, is who knows you😉