We’ve heard that the cover up is frequently worse than the crime. It’s rare, however, that the apology is worse than the original insult. Almost unheard of, in fact. But Joni Ernst managed to pull it off. If there’s a psychologist in the house, here, I would give good money to get some insight into the gaslighting going on here. At first Ernst starts out sincere and I thought, good, this is the proper move to make. You made an ass out of yourself and you’re making an amend. And then it got weird. Take a minute and seven seconds and watch this travesty.
JFC pic.twitter.com/XUYRPDN63a
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 31, 2025
You see what I mean? It went from sincerity to sarcasm to some really weird ass religious moment. And the second or third time you watch it, it plays worse than the first. Here’s the back story if you missed it from yesterday.
JONI ERNST: “They’re not eligible for Medicaid.”
CROWD: “People will die!”
ERNST: “Well, we all are going to die.”
That’s not policy, that’s nihilism in pearls.
The GOP has gone from “pro-life” to “death comes for us all” real fast.They’ll cut your care, shrug, and then… pic.twitter.com/DIx3JS13dB
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) May 30, 2025
So you see how this is playing. It was a cynical quip and then she did a mocking faux apology for it, which only makes this situation work. Yes, technically we are all going to die. I, for one, would already be dead but for the intervention of modern medicine. Penicillan has saved my life on more than one occasion. I used to get strep throat a lot as a child.
I know many people who are cancer survivors or who only alive because insulin can treat their diabetes. Medical science allows us to live longer than at any other time in history. This is a blessing. But of course, it’s entirely possible to tweak the healthcare system so that more people die sooner — and yeah, I guess you can offer up the *rationale* that we’re all gonna die anyhow.
It is real. And this woman is a POS. She utterly lacks compassion. And this is far and away not the first time that Ernst has been shown to be lacking. The time before last when she ran for reelection, she did not know what the price of a bushel of soybeans was. And this is a senator from IOWA? And doesn’t know something that basic?
Then we saw her on the right path with Pete Hegseth. But that didn’t last, once the threat of being primaried reared its ugly head. So we have Ernst to thank, in large part, for SignalGate and two $60M airplanes falling off the same carrier in one month. And trust me, the situation at the Pentagon and the Department of Defense is going to get worse.
But Ernst has let the mask drop here. She’s not a public servant, she’s in it for money and power and she will kneel and do whatever her overlords in MAGA tell her to do. There’s no independent thinker here. Ernst is a follower, she is no leader. I hope this little stunt tanks her. Maybe not this stunt, per se, but the attitude towards life and death and how it all will hit the fan when Medicaid is cut, will finally catch up to her.
Iowa deserves leadership in the Senate, not a jaded, characterless fraud like this. It’s illuminating to hear that the GOP doesn’t care how many of its constituents it kills. Good to know.
Maybe she should read the parable that illustrated people who died and expected Jesus to know them since they repeatedly used his name, BUT FAILED TO FOLLOW HIS COMMANDMENTS. He told them he didn’t know them. Then he welcomed those that didn’t claim to know him or used his name in life, BECAUSE THEY TOOK CARE OF THE POOR, THE STRANGER IN NEED, etc. He reportedly told them when you did these things you were doing them to me. She belongs in the group that follows the father of all lies, although Trump must be a star pupil with the constant lies that spew from the sewer of his soul. John, in his gospel, laid out the perfect description of these hypocrites in chapter 8:42-47. Read the gospels much ms ‘christian’? Apparently not. Read that section and remember YOUR LEADER lied 21 times per day during his first term, much less with all the traitorous shit since, as the Washington Post tabulated. FACT lady. I know you only believe in money, but let’s not forget if you acceptJesus rising from the dead, you can’t deny his warnings about the Devil. In for a penny in for a pound babe.
In the past 24 hours I’ve had some back and forth with a guy I was good friends with back home. Lower middle class like me but without a college education he built a nice life for himself and a govt. contracting business that serviced the military. Down in Fayetteville. When he found out I’d moved to the Raliegh area he got in touch and was all excited to have me start coming down and going fishing sometimes again. Then Trump came up and while we’ve had some nice exchanges we’ve also had some major tiffs since then. And he never again mentioned me coming down for a visit.
Well, he posted a video he thought was cute. It was of a conservative comedian mocking trans people and Palestinians in this country who want peace in Israel and Gaza. It was about how if they went to Gaza they’d be killed for being gay, or trans etc. Bill thought it was funny as hell so I called him out on it since he professes to be Christian. I recounted for him what Jesus taught and that it wasn’t conditioned on anything but serving god by serving others, especially those most in need. And that countless people have helped others despite profound differences. I suggested he think about his attitude.
He responded today and there were three lines in his reply: I’ve thought about it. Fuck the Trans. Fuck Muslims.
So I tried one more time and cited Matthew 22 verses 36-40 and again that Jesus didn’t place conditions on loving and helping one another. I doubt it will do any good. But if I’m wrong and there IS a heaven and hell people with his attitude will be in for a rude surprise for exactly the reasons you talked about. I’m still in a mean-spirited mood tonight and derive pleasure from the thought of people like this showing up at the Pearly Gates because god was in a ‘mood’ and wanted to make a point and have some fun doing so. And these asshats would be told exactly WHY they weren’t getting in, and have a trapdoor upen beneath them that would drop them down to hell. Imagining the sounds of them screaming NOOOOOOOOO entertains me.
her talking about the tooth fairy?
The tooth fairy bit was her way of mocking her critics as if they don’t understand that everyone dies. That was the tooth fairy bit. The truth is that her critics understand this better than she does, because for so many it is a life or death issue. It was obvious to everyone but Joni Ernst that the lady who yelled out “People will die” meant “People will die if they can’t get the necessary medical care.” But she had to decontextualize it as if it was a ridiculous thing to say, and then get all sanctimonious about how Christian she is. Joni Ernst’s version of Christianity is more like Jonestown than Christianity. Medical care just gets in the way of that Jonestown model. Ernst firmly believes that the United States government should turn itself into Jonestown by dismantling health insurance, public health measures, and all social services.
The only thing good about this is that this has gone over the red line even for even the major media.
Wow. If I were living back in the midwest and found myself coming up on a bad car accident and she was bleeding out from a severed artery in her leg, or about to die from being unable to breathe due to a “sucking chest” wound yes, since I know what to do for those and other traumatic injuries I’d help even her. But before doing so I’d remind her of her comment and tell her “Well, as you say we’re all going to die so why should I get all bloody trying to help you? How about I just offer thoughts and prayers as you lose consciousness and DIE?” I’ll guaran-goddamn-tee you she’d be begging me to help her!
My only criticism with Brian Allen’s tweet about the “GOP has gone from ‘pro-life’ to ‘death comes for us all’ real fast” is that the GOP has NEVER been “pro-life”; they’ve been “pro-fetus.” Once that fetus is done “baking” and “comes out of the oven,” it’s on its own. No concern of the GOP any more.
But, it really is ironic since, it was just 15 years ago, during the great Affordable Care Act fight, Sarah Palin (so ironically) was leading the charge against it (probably in her last gasp at political relevance) by claiming one of the Act’s worst aspects was the institution of “death panels” which would “condemn granny to death.”
Who woulda thunk that the GOP would be railing against “death panels” in 2010, only to be reminding us “we all are going to die” in 2025?
I think the tooth fairy bit was more about the government providing health care the way the tooth fairy leaves a kid a quarter. Republicans have long used comparisons like this to equate benefits we pay for with magical benevolence they don’t want to spend our money on.