The decline to moral bankruptcy of the GOP

Oh and former speaker Boehner?

He just announced he’s becoming a pot legalization lobbyist today.

Embrace your future, Paul Ryan.

Boehner doesn’t need to be a TV talking head. He’s a partner in third-largest lobbying firm in the country and he gets an additional $400K/year for being on Reynolds Tobacco board of directors. TV talking head is just one (and hardly the most lucrative) path open to these guys.

Another retirement in a potentially competitive district, not to be lost in this shuffle. Wow.

Ross’s district is about 50 miles east of Orlando, but in a region where there’s been a steady influx of Puerto Rican immigration over the last year.

Tampa Bay Times reporting it as confirmed.

So on the day after the President is reportedly clearly considering creating a Constitutional crisis by firing Rick Rosenstein or Robert Mueller, and on the day after the CBO comes out with a new estimate that the Tax Cut bill plus the new Republican spending bill going through congress will raise the deficit by a trillion within a year, both Ryan and Ross retire.

I’m sure both guys were likely to do so before that, and perhaps planned to announce at some future point. But it’s hard to ignore that timing and think that both guys just had a “Fuck it” moment last night and decided that today was the day.

I’m not sure I agree with that assessment.

I just came here to post that. How funny is it that within hours of Paul Ryan announcing he’s done, John Boehner tweets out :

https://twitter.com/SpeakerBoehner/status/984022770752290818

“My thinking on cannabis has evolved” indeed. I picture Boehner kicked back in his home office, cranking up the Blue Oyster Cult CD and lighting up a celebratory doobie every time the GOP does something stupid. “Don’t fear the reaper. Baby I’m your man. La, la, la, la, la!”

That was true up until 2013. Now, Florida 15 runs from the western fringe of Orlando suburbs diagonally down to the fringes of Tampa. Includes Lakeland but not Winter Haven.

Remarkable what being paid can do to your thinking on a policy matter.

I’m all for a bit of schadenfreude, and Boehner’s more than earned his place in one of the less savory Bosch triptychs, but hell. If pols want to come over to the right side of an issue, I’m all for it.

Pretty much. Do I have issues with Boehner? Certainly. Will I exceriorate him for his previous stances now? Probably not.

Which part? It’s absolutely true that Ryan is unpopular - just as much so as Pelosi.

It’s just that Dems don’t respond in the same way to “Bogeyman from the opposite party is coming to eat your children!” PR that the GOP does, so you don’t see Ryan trotted out as the Great Satan as often in campaigns. Even more importantly the media looooooves to pull down Pelosi and looooooves to fluff Ryan beyond all reason, so it’s hard to see what the underlying public sentiment is (namely: we hate all politicians, but we hate House members most of all.)

I think Ryan’s bigger problem is that the right-wingers also hate him.

He insisted he will be “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future.”

http://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hysterical-laughing-gif-9.gif

I dunno. Why don’t I wait for you to answer your own question though?

There. Anything else?

(8 year old me would tell you that broccoli is the devil’s own vegetable, and that consuming it would lead to certain death in moments. 50 year old me would tell you that broccoli is not a favorite among vegetables, but I will eat it for courtesy or if prepared in certain dishes. In both cases, the poll answer is “I do not like broccoli. Broccoli is unpopular.” However, that dislike as a feeling that leads to an action is much different.)

The GOP is essentially only going to be left with its absolute worst members. The real cream of the garbage, if you will.

This will either result in a complete implosion of the GOP, or the utter destruction of the country.

Place your bets, folks.

‘Utter destruction’ for $400, Alex.

Don’t be pessimistic … we can have both!

I love the subheading from this Atlantic article about Mr. Ryan’s departure. More pithy literary references in political stories, please.

What’s the reference? (He asked, abashedly.)