Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate KariLake (R) attacked Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) as the “AOC of Arizona” on Sunday night, a week after the progressive Democrat announced he’s running for Senate in 2024.
Since losing to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) in November’s election, Lake has pushed false claims about election fraud and taken her grievances to court. She is also rumored to be mulling a Senate run of her own.
Speaking to supporters at a rally Sunday night, Lake repeated unfounded claims that fraud allowed Democrats to win despite what she described as “bad candidates.”
“Have you seen the latest one they’re rolling out? The guy’s name is Ruben Gallego. He is the — we call him the AOC of Arizona. And that may actually be an insult to AOC,” Lake said in a jab at prominent progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Lake said Gallego “could not string three or four or five words together and make a coherent sentence,” comparing him to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) in an apparent insult of the senator’s auditory processing issues as a result of a stroke.
Gallego parried back on Twitter with a dig at the failed gubernatorial candidate.
“We call Kari Lake the Kari Lake of Arizona and yes that is an insult,” Gallego wrote.
An outspoken critic of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.), Gallego announced last week that he’ll run for her upper chamber seat.
Sinema, who stymied a number of Democratic initiatives in the last Congress’s 50-50 Senate, ditched her party just after the midterms and became an independent.
Sinema’s move puts Democrats in a tough spot if she runs in 2024, forcing them to decide whether to support the more moderate incumbent or a more progressive challenger, which may have a tougher time against a Republican in the purple state.
“I’m better for this job than Kyrsten Sinema because I haven’t forgotten where I came from,” Gallego said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
“I think she clearly has forgotten where she came from. Instead of meeting with the people that need help, she meets with the people that are already powerful.”
Mark Ruffalo on Friday also advised Elon Musk to leave Twitter.
US Politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) on Wednesday claimed that her Twitter account was experiencing technical issues after she criticised its new owner Elon Musk on the platform.
“This is what my app has looked like ever since my tweet upset you yesterday. What’s good? Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Yo @elonmusk while I have your attention, why should people pay $8 just for their app to get bricked when they say something you don’t like?
This is what my app has looked like ever since my tweet upset you yesterday. What’s good? Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me 🤔 pic.twitter.com/e3hcZ7T9up
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 3, 2022
Retweeting, AOC’s post, actor Mark Ruffalo on Friday also advised Elon Musk to leave Twitter and continue running Tesla and SpaceX. “You are destroying your credibility. It’s just not a good look,” Mr Ruffalo wrote.
Also Read | China To Send Monkeys To Space To Study How They Reproduce There: Report
To this, Mr Musk was quick to reply. “Hot take: not everything AOC says is accurate,” he said.
Hot take: not everything AOC says is 💯 accurate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 5, 2022
Notably, Mr Musk’s online spat with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez began when she took a dig at the new Twitter owner over the blue tick fee. “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that “free speech” is actually an $8/mo subscription plan,” she wrote.
Replying to her, Mr Musk then reiterated his stance on his blue tick fee and quipped, “Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8”.
Also Read | Man From Ohio Attacks Asian American Student, Blames Him For Covid
Meanwhile, after taking over, Elon Musk has caused a stir with his initial moves. Twitter sacked half of its 7,500-strong staff on Friday. On Saturday, the platform rolled out its subscription-based Twitter Blue service for $8 a month which includes a blue “verified” badge and other features.
According to the iOS notification, other benefits in the update also include “half the ads”, a feature that would allow users to post longer videos and priority ranking for quality content.
Featured Video Of The Day
Financial Strength Critical For ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’: Finance Minister
Wearing specially made green bandanas with “Won’t Back Down,” they marched from the Capitol to the Court, which has been fenced off for weeks, since shortly after the leak of the draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Within two minutes of their arriving, police began ordering them to “cease and desist.” Instead, they sat on the street, and were one by one led off by officers as they chanted, “The people, united, will never be divided.”
The US Capitol Police tweeted: “Demonstrators are starting to block First Street, NE. It is against the law to block traffic, so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests.”
Capitol Police later said they had arrested 34 people total, including 16 members of Congress.
Among those arrested:
Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark of Massachusetts
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer had sounded off on the funding issue:
Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan)
Schumer from Senate floor on 3-wk CR ahead of Fri’s gov’t shutdown deadline: “No one & certainly not my Republican colleagues want a Republican gov’t shutdown. So I’m hopeful they will cooperate will cooperate with us to pass this necessary CR which every single Democrats wants.” https://t.co/XnW3AQKPji pic.twitter.com/eLJBXbPWPZ
February 15, 2022
15:34
Remington to settle some liability claims in 2012 Sandy Hook shooting
Remington, the manufacturer of an assault rifle used to kill 20 schoolchildren and six adults in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, has agreed to settle liability claims for the families of nine of the victims.
This will be the first time a gunmaker is held responsible for a mass shooting in the US, and comes one day after the four-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, when Joe Biden called for such accountability to take place.
“Congress must do much more – beginning with requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers,” Biden said.
Aaron Katersky (@AaronKatersky)
Remington has agreed to settle liability claims from the families of 9 people killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a new court filing, marking the first time a gun maker is held to account for a mass shooting in the United States.
February 15, 2022
Details of the settlement are still unclear, but in July, Remington offered $33m, which was substantially less than what the victims’ families were seeking. In a February court filing, their attorneys estimated the wrongful death claims likely totalled in excess of $225m, rising above $1bn with punitive damages.
Updated
15:19
The federal government runs out of money at the end of the week, but the usual tense will-they, won’t-they drama of a government shutdown has been muted with by the situation in Ukraine.
Punchbowl News is reporting that the senate is currently stuck on two unrelated government funding snafus.
One of the two snafus stems from Marsha Blackburn, the Republican senator from Tennessee, who is holding out on a three-week stopgap funding bill because she believes that the Biden administration is trying to set aside money to hand out crack pipes. Though the White House has denied this, Blackburn is allegedly waiting on the Biden administration to formally respond to her concerns before she allows the bill to go through.
The last tussle comes from several Republican senators, led by Mike Lee of Utah, who are demanding a vote on the amendment to ban the federal government from funding a vaccine mandate for federal workers, contractors and the military.
However, Punchbowl News noted that these last-minute disputes have become standard for the senate ahead of funding talks, and will likely be resolved – there likely won’t be a shutdown.
14:39
Yesterday we reported on how Mazars, the longtime accountancy firm for the Trump Organization, had cut ties with Donald Trump after admitting in a court filing that nearly a decade’s worth of Trump’s filings should “no longer be relied upon”.
The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe has more details here:
14:26
AOC: ‘very real risk’ US democracy will not exist in 10 years
Ahoy there, live blog readers. Happy the Valentine Candy is on Sale Day.
As it has been in recent weeks, much of the focus in Washington has been on Ukraine, and the imminent threat of a Russian invasion. Make sure to check out our live blog here for live updates as the situation unfolds.
Meanwhile, in the US, progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been making waves as she campaigns for progressive candidates in Texas and talks about turning the once staunchly red state blue.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC)
Ted Cruz could never pic.twitter.com/lGAO45uuy2
February 13, 2022
Today, her New Yorker interview raised more eyebrows when she said there was a “very real risk” that democracy would not exist in the US 10 years from now.
David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf)
“What we risk is having a government that perhaps postures as a democracy, and may try to pretend that it is, but isn’t.”–@AOC in a must-read interview with David Remnick @NewYorker. She is what a Member of Congress & a leader should be.https://t.co/BxH04JZwIl via @NewYorker
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said ABC’s suspension of Whoopi Goldberg over her comments about the Holocaust wasn’t necessary, arguing that Goldberg has already been forgiven by a key Jewish organization.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) noted that the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, “accepted her apology.”
“I think whenever there’s a learning moment like this, what’s super important is the relationship between that person and the community they’re making amends with,” the New York congresswoman told TMZ.
Greenblatt appeared on “The View” on Tuesday after Goldberg came under fire for saying that the Holocaust “wasn’t about race” during the show’s Monday broadcast.
The ADL head told Goldberg and her co-hosts on Tuesday that the Holocaust was a “singular catastrophe” that was motivated by a “racialized anti-Semitism.”
Whoopi Goldberg was suspended from “The View” over comments she made about the Holocaust.ABC
Greenblatt also tweeted that Goldberg was a “long-time ally of the Jewish community” and that her apology “is very much welcome.”
Ocasio-Cortez told TMZ that forgiveness from Greenblatt should suffice.
“I think we really kind of take the Jewish community’s lead on this and they seem to see that her apology was authentic and want to move on,” she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says ABC’s suspension of Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t necessary since she’s already been forgiven by the Anti-Defamation League.AP
Goldberg first argued that the Holocaust went beyond race during a discussion on “The View” about a Tennessee school district’s decision to ban “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about a Holocaust survivor.
“The Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race,” she said repeatedly. “It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”
ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt said he has accepted Goldberg’s apology for saying that the Holocaust “wasn’t about race.”LightRocket via Getty Images
She then repeated the statement on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” that evening.
The host walked back the remarks on Twitter later that night amid widespread outrage.
The suspension handed down by ABC News president Kim Godwin drew furious reaction from Goldberg’s co-hosts, who felt it was unwarranted.
Other staffers at the network thought it took Godwin too long to punish Goldberg.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tested positive for COVID-19, her office said in a statement on Sunday.
“She is experiencing symptoms and recovering at home,” the statement said. “The Congresswoman received her booster this fall and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow CDC guidelines.”
The CDC recommends that Americans who test positive for COVID-19 and develop symptoms isolate for at least five full days. After those five days, the CDC says that people can stop isolating if they are “fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved.”
The CDC says that “If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test towards the end of the 5-day isolation period. Collect the test sample only if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved.”
COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the country, with an average of nearly 700,000 new cases reported per day, according to the CDC.
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb suggested Sunday on “Face the Nation” that the Omicron surge may have already peaked in areas like New York City — where Ocasio-Cortez lives — Washington, D.C., Maryland and possibly Florida.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. House Democrats held the news conference to introduce a resolution to remove Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) from her committee assignments over Islamophobic attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Alex Wong / Getty Images
According to govtracker.us, more than 100 members of Congress have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Capitol physician Brian Monahan said in a memo to lawmakers on January 3 that the positivity rate among lawmakers had jumped from 1% to 13%. Monahan recommended telework when possible.
“Congressional offices, Committees, and Agencies should immediately review their operations to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible,” Monahan said in the memo. “Electronic means to facilitate all-virtual or hybrid- type meetings or hearings should be emphasized. Employing agencies should review their efforts to promote all required measures to sustain workplace and employee health and safety. Capitol food vendors and dining facilities will emphasize carry-out, delivery, grab-and-go type food options to reduce assemblies of people dining together in inside spaces (a high-risk viral spread activity). Any group activity indoors should promote strict mask-wear compliance.”
The House has not held any floor votes since December 14, and was scheduled to return from the holiday recess on Monday.
Download our Free App
For Breaking News & Analysis Download the Free CBS News app
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tested positive for COVID-19 and is recovering at home – just over a week since she was spotted partying without a mask in Florida, her office said on Sunday.
“Representative Ocasio-Cortez has received a positive test result for COVID-19. She is experiencing symptoms and recovering at home,” the statement said.
“The Congresswoman received her booster shot this fall, and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow all CDC guidance.”
The lefty Dem’s positive test result comes just over a week after she was spotted maskless enjoying drinks with her boyfriend while on vacation in Miami as omicron cases soared across the nation.
The progressive “Squad” member was photographed with boyfriend Riley Roberts sitting outside at the Doraku Izakaya and Sushi restaurant on Dec. 30, sipping a cocktail and checking her phone.
AOC’s maskless winter getaway was criticized on social media by supporters of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has taken a strong anti-mask stance.
“Welcome to Florida, AOC! We hope you’re enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL’s leadership,” read a post from the Team DeSantis Twitter account in response to the photo.
AOC embraces Billy Porter with a hug maskless. jacob_lanoux/Instagram
The Sunshine State’s lieutenant governor Jeanette Núñez also chimed in, writing, “@AOC’s New York state of mind clearly doesn’t mind being in the free state of Florida…mask free of course.”
Former White House press secretary and Florida native Kayleigh McEnany tweeted that AOC’s travel choice was “interesting.”
“I guess she enjoys the freedom-loving utopia of Florida over her mandate-ridden New York!” added McEnany, now a co-host on the Fox News midday show “Outnumbered.”
Ocasio-Cortez shot back at the Team DeSantis tweet the following day, writing: “Hasn’t Gov. DeSantis been inexplicably missing for like 2 weeks? If he’s around, I would be happy to say hello. His social media team seems to have been posting old photos for weeks. In the meantime, perhaps I could help with local organizing. Folks are quite receptive here :)”
AOC dances maskless at Miami Drag Queen bar.Brendon Leslie/FCV
“I’d also be happy to share some notes from @GovKathyHochul’s work in NY since he seems to be in need of tips!” she added in another tweet.
She also fired back at former Donald Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes, who called out Roberts for “showing his gross pale male feet in public (not at a pool/beach) with hideous sandals,” as seen in the photo.
“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet,” AOC wrote. “Ya creepy weirdos.”
The Congresswomen reproached Texas Senator Ted Cruz in February after he took a family vacation to Cancun while his state experienced a deadly winter storm that knocked out power to millions and left 23 dead.
“If Sen. Cruz had resigned back in January after helping gin up a violent insurrection that killed several people, he could’ve taken his vacation in peace,” she tweeted at the time. “Texans should continue to demand his resignation.”
DeSantis taunted AOC in a press conference last week when he was asked about her trip.
“If I had a dollar for every lockdown politician who decided to escape to Florida over the last two years, I’d be a pretty doggone wealthy man, let me tell ya,” DeSantis, 43, said
Senate Democrats are signaling they plan to take more of a hardball approach to pressuring Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinOn The Money — Dems lay blame for Build Back Better blowup McConnell: Manchin’s opposition to Biden plan ‘great shot in the arm for the country’ Harris says ‘stakes are too high’ for Build Back Better to be about Manchin MORE (D-W.Va.) to support their climate and social spending agenda after months of kid-glove treatment failed to deliver his vote.
Democrats are threatening to drive a wedge between Manchin and his many lower-income constituents who stand to reap billions of dollars in federal benefits if Build Back Better passes, including an enhanced child tax credit, lower Medicare-negotiated prescription drug prices and subsidies to cover the cost of childcare.
Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerManchin says he will not vote for Build Back Better: ‘This is a no’ Senate confirms 40 judges during Biden’s first year in office, the most since Reagan Cruz to get Nord Stream 2 vote as part of deal on Biden nominees MORE (D-N.Y.) on Monday said Manchin will have to repeatedly defend his opposition to these popular programs by voting on the floor and took a subtle shot at his colleague for trying to dictate national policy through an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend.
Democratic aides say that Manchin can expect more tough treatment from Schumer and other Democratic lawmakers who are now under new pressure from the party’s base for failing to deliver on the “big, bold” agenda they promised earlier this year.
“He has had absolutely no pressure,” said one Democratic aide, citing Manchin’s friendly meetings with the at the White House and at Biden’s home in Delaware this fall that failed to produce results.
“Biden’s got to grab him by the lapels and say, ‘Listen, this ends now,’” the aide added, warning there’s little prospect of passing another piece of major legislation before the 2022 midterms if Build Back Better fails to pass.
Democratic senators have said for months they were reluctant to apply too much pressure on Manchin for fear that it might backfire and only goad him to dig in his heels more firmly against progressive priorities such as major new investments for renewable energy and expanded Medicare benefits.
There was also the looming threat that Manchin might leave the caucus and declare himself an independent. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell: Manchin’s opposition to Biden plan ‘great shot in the arm for the country’ Ocasio-Cortez: Democrats need to to ‘crack down’ on ‘old boys club’ in Senate The day democracy almost died MORE (R-Ky.) told reporters before the break that he would love to have Manchin join his caucus, though he acknowledged it wasn’t a likely possibility.
But now Biden, Schumer and other Democrats risk looking ineffective after Manchin flatly spurned their many entreaties with his bluntly stated opposition to Build Back Better on Fox News.
“He’s going to blow up the president’s agenda so I think you have to play hardball but there are different ways to play hardball,” said Steve Jarding, a Democratic strategist who formerly advised the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“He’s making them looking ineffective,” he added.
On Sunday, White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiStaffer who had contact with Biden tests positive for COVID-19 McConnell: Manchin’s opposition to Biden plan ‘great shot in the arm for the country’ Harris says ‘stakes are too high’ for Build Back Better to be about Manchin MORE released a blistering statement that took Manchin to task for backing out of a deal Biden thought he had agreed to in October.
She said Manchin would have to explain his opposition to the bill to “families paying $1,000 a month for insulin,” to “two million women who would get the affordable day care they need to return to work” and to the “millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax credit,” which expired last week.
A day later, the White House was taking a much softer approach, with Psaki emphasizing Biden’s desire to work with Biden at the daily briefing.
Biden met with Manchin at the White House in late September and late October as well as at the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, but without having any major results to show for those meetings.
The White House said that Manchin signed off on a $1.75 trillion framework at the meeting in Delaware, which Schumer also attended, but Manchin this week disputed he had agreed to anything.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated Monday, Schumer took at not-so-subtle jab at Manchin.
“Senators should be aware that the Senate will, in fact, consider the Build Back Better Act, very early in the new year so that every Member of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television,” Schumer vowed.
The Democratic leader warned that he would force Manchin to vote multiple times against Biden’s top priorities to hammer home the message that the West Virginia centrist is standing in the way of reforms that are designed to help low-income people in his home state.
“We are going to vote on a revised version of the House-passed Build Back Better Act – and we will keep voting on it until we get something done,” Schumer wrote.
A second Democratic aide said Schumer’s threat was remarkable because only days ago he pushed back on members of his caucus such as Senate Majority Whip Dick DurbinDick DurbinBiden’s relationship with ‘Joe-Joe’ Manchin hits the rocks Democrats mull hardball tactics to leapfrog parliamentarian on immigration Democrats end year reopening old wounds MORE (D-Ill.) who were pushing to force Manchin to take a vote on Build Back Better before Christmas.
The aide said Schumer knows many progressives in his party are angry over the failure to deliver Manchin’s vote and doesn’t leave a potential challenger any openings ahead of his re-election campaign in New York next year.
“It’s performative,” said the aide. “It’s hard not to view this through the lens of his coming primary.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezOn The Money — Dems lay blame for Build Back Better blowup Hillicon Valley — Dems press Amazon on warehouse collapse Democrats press Amazon about fatal warehouse collapse MORE (D-N.Y.), a leading House progressive who has often criticized Manchin, in August did not rule out a primary challenge against Schumer.
Ocasio-Cortez on Monday said Manchin committed “an egregious breach of the trust of the president” and said “it’s an outcome that we had warned about well over a month ago.”
“Of course we have every right to be furious with Joe Manchin but it’s really up to leadership in the Democratic Party who made the decision to get us to this juncture and how we’re going to move forward and I think right now that the Democratic leadership as a very large number of tools at their disposal,” she said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“And it’s really about time that we take the kid gloves off,” she added.
Senate progressives have also vented their frustration since Manchin told Fox host Bret Baier that he is a “no” on Build Back Better.
“I suspect that the people of West Virginia are like people in every other state. They want to lower prescription drug costs. They want Medicare to cover vision, hearing and dental. They want to continue $300 per child monthly payments. They want the wealthy to pay their fair share,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie SandersBernie SandersEquilibrium/Sustainability — Underground abortion network links to Mexico The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Manchin explains BBB opposition, slams Dems Republicans, ideology, and demise of the state and local tax deduction MORE (I-Vt.) tweeted Monday.
He reposted an interview he did with CNN’s “State of the Union” in which he called out Manchin for failing to meet his constituents needs.
“Mr. Manchin says he’s representing the people of West Virginia,” Sanders said. “I told Manchin, by the way, I’ll pay for the damn poll in West Virginia on those issues. See how the people of West Virginia feel.”
Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenThe politics of an independent Fed Hillicon Valley — Dems press Amazon on warehouse collapse Politicians and celebrities who have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the holidays MORE (D-Mass.), another leading Senate progressive, applauded Schumer’s promise to force Manchin to vote on Build Back Better, potentially multiple times, even though he told Fox: “I tried everything possible. I can’t get there.”
“The American people expect the Senate to deliver on the Build Back Better plan AND protect the right to vote. Inaction is not an option: our democracy is under assault and our economy is not working for working people. Enough talk. It’s time to vote,” she tweeted.
It takes a lot these days to become the most odious Republican in Congress, but Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) got there this week after the House formally censured him for tweeting murder anime that targeted his colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
While President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law this week, Meyers explained that “Republicans spent their Wednesday defending one of their most unhinged members.” In his own defense, Gosar said that if he has to follow in the footsteps of Alexander Hamilton, who was the first member of Congress to face a censure vote, “then so be it, it is done.”
“I love when these idiots try to sound smart and adopt a defiant tone by using dramatic language like ‘so be it, it is done,’” Meyers replied. “You don’t sound like a Founding Father, you sound like Cousin Greg.”
And to Republicans “complaining that this is a waste of time,” the Late Night host said, “This whole thing would have been much easier and taken up much less time if you’d just been willing to step forward and say it was a deeply stupid tweet. But to be fair, he is a deeply stupid man.”
From there, Meyers broke down some of the worst defenses from the “dumbest people in politics,” including Louie Gohmert, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz. “Our political system can’t function like this,” he said, “where one party, for all its many flaws, tries to govern responsibly and the other wants to burn everything down.”
Meyers ultimately connected the dots all the way to the anti-Democracy movement on the right, because “the same people defending Gosar are the ones who tried to overturn the election on January 6th.” Ultimately, he said that there’s “no behavior too grotesque” for the GOP to defend, whether it’s Donald Trump endorsing the idea of melting down voting machines to make prison bars or Gosar’s “deeply stupid tweet.”
For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has issued a withering response to Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) after he posted a cringeworthy anime clip that showed him killing her. Gosar’s clip depicted himself as the hero of Japanese anime series Attack on Titan, and it showed him slaying Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joe Biden with swords. The clip was flagged as “hateful conduct” by Twitter, and now Ocasio-Cortez has responded after landing in Scotland for the COP26 conference. “While I was en route to Glasgow, a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me,” she wrote. The congresswoman predicted Gosar will face “no consequences” for his post, and added: “This dude is a just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway. White supremacy is for extremely fragile people & sad men like him, whose self concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself.” Gosar’s digital director, Jessica Lycos, defended the video, writing in a statement: “Everyone needs to relax.”
