Insight

“He who wants peace must prepare for war.” —Claudius (10 BC-54 AD)

For the Record

“For the 2nd time ever, a UN ‘Human Rights’ Council member has been booted from the body. Russia was just suspended, for obvious reasons, per a General Assembly vote. It’s a small & welcome gesture. Problem: Remaining members include China, Cuba, Sudan… The panel is a farce.” —Guy Benson

“The riot on January 6th was wrong. Any violence on that day should be punished… But make no mistake, the Democrats’ response is also wrong. For 15 months, Democrats have used January 6th as a blank check to trample on civil rights and congressional norms.” —House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy

“Florida Democrats lost 41,000 registered voters in Miami Dade in the last year. When Desantis became Governor Democrats had a 260,000 vote advantage. Now Republicans have a 101,000 vote lead. One more indicator of the Biden disaster. And a tribute to Desantis as Governor.” —Newt Gingrich

“Our Democratic colleagues are on track to confirm our next Supreme Court justice. And do you know what won’t happen? Top Republicans will not imply she’s illegitimate. We will not call for court packing. I won’t be joining any mobs outside her new workplace and threatening her by name.” —Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell

Belly Laugh of the Week

“People sometimes talk about standing on the shoulder of giants. Well, Judge Jackson will go down in history as an American giant upon whose shoulders others will stand tall. And our democracy will be better off for it.” —Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer

Dumb and Dumber

“Legislators who are contemplating these discriminatory bills have been put on notice by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services that laws and policies preventing care that healthcare professionals recommend for transgender minors may violate the Constitution and federal law. To be clear, every major medical association agrees that gender-affirming healthcare for transgender kids is a best practice and potentially lifesaving.” —White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Hate Fashion

“In a Senate where there’s Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton is the lowest of the low. … This little maggot-infested man … does not deserve to have that pen. He doesn’t deserve to be in the United States Senate representing the good people of Arkansas. … [The GOP] is a party built on fraud, fear, and fascism, and they don’t deserve to be in power.” —Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison

Non Compos Mentis Awards

“The greatest, and sickest irony of the @GOP’s new political strategy is that they are appealing to the most prurient fears of white Christian parents, while passing bills and maintaining alliances that normalize child brides and rape as a legitimate means of procreation. If Democrats were anything like Republicans, they’d long ago have begun calling them the pro-rape, pro child marriage party and accusing them of forcing women to be child-birthing slaves of the state, while banning the teaching of what slavery is to keep the chattel docile. I genuinely fear that before long, America will look a lot more like Russia or Hungary or even Afghanistan than any one of y'all can imagine. Because Republicans are aggressive in their pursuit of social and political control, while just about everyone else is pretty disengaged. … It is through the Supreme Court, that the white Christian right hopes to impose its Taliban code and procreation-centered ideology on us all. It’s Putinite fascism mixed with Talibanism. And it’s what they hope to impose on us: unbreakable rule by far right Christian ideologues, coal & oil polluters, heeled corporations & the super rich. With all rights hoarded by white Christian men & everyone else under firm control.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

“Now we know the real reason why Republicans incite epic meltdowns and moral panics around the notion of respecting trans women, or acknowledging the fact that non-binary and trans people menstruate: because it threatens the GOP’s own definition of a woman as ‘weak, male property.’” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

And Last…

“The problem is that the oil is in Louisiana and Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas and North Dakota and Alaska and in many other states. But the dipsticks are in Washington, DC. This is a problem of simple economics.” —Senator John Kennedy