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💣 The Disastrous 118th Congress - "My Kevin" McCarthy "Fuc*ing Fuc*wad" Mike Johnson, House Speaker /Clowns

Trying to make sense of a crazy world, with limited success mostly
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💣 The Disastrous 118th Congress - "My Kevin" McCarthy "Fuc*ing Fuc*wad" Mike Johnson, House Speaker /Clowns

#1

Post by Luke »

Well, here we go with the ungovernable, gridlock-focused, show pony 118th Congress tomorrow. There's no way these idiots can't even get a Speaker, right? Right? :lol: Just do not believe they won't get it together. If they don't, we can name them the Kamakazi Kongress.

16 mins ago - Politics & Policy
McCarthy still short on votes in bid to become speaker

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has begged countless lawmakers — and offered extraordinary concessions, including allowing members to easily fire him at any time — to secure the votes for speaker.

Why it matters: Republicans will take control of the House as the 118th Congress begins on Tuesday, but McCarthy still does not have the votes he needs to become to become speaker as a handful of lawmakers have vowed to oppose him. Top members of his team tell Axios they're optimistic about pulling it out. But they can't point to an exact route — always a danger sign. McCarthy unveiled a package of rules changes on Sunday for the incoming Congress in an attempt to win over Republican holdouts to his bid for speaker of the House, Punchbowl News reported. The rule changes amount to concessions to conservatives, who previously demanded similar changes. The changes include what was considered a "red-line" for McCarthy: making it easier to force a vote on removing the speaker.

McCarthy's proposed rule actually hand a knife to his skeptics, allowing for any five GOP to call for a vote to boot him at any time. In a letter of response, several hardliners still refused to commit to backing him. "He's empowering every part of the conference," a top GOP aide told Axios. The rules package also proposes ending the use of proxy voting and remote committee proceedings implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as fines for not complying with mask mandates or security screenings before entering the House floor. It also proposes a vote to form a select subcommittee on “the Weaponization of the Federal Government” under the House Judiciary Committee, as well as a select committee on "the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party."

Between the lines: McCarthy has been yielding to the right on ask after ask for weeks — ever since it was clear he was in trouble because the midterms gave him such a narrow majority. Yet even close allies privately say it's "hard to see a path" to the 218 votes McCarthy needs when the new Congress opens tomorrow, Punchbowl News reports.

By the numbers: If the full House is voting — the assumption of McCarthy's team — he can only lose four. Five conservatives have declared themselves "no" votes, and there's another five to 10 McCarthy has to worry about. The conservatives, Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mt.) and Bob Good (R-Va.) have all vowed to vote as a united bloc in the speaker vote. But it's not clear that's a blood pact. Some of their individual concerns could be satisfied in the frantic private horse-trading that went on over the Christmas break and continues today.

The bottom line: The top GOP aide said 200+ members are firmly behind McCarthy. Dozens and dozens of them have declared themselves "only Kevin."
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/02/mccart ... le-changes

Rules package: https://punchbowl.news/rules-package-hi ... 20Combined

Still not happy:





Without the Anna Delvey of Congress, George Santos, the GQP will only have a THREE vote majority. Like with "My Kevin" (DL2XIT's nickname for him), at best Kevin has the same split as Nancy Pelosi had in the 117th Congress. It is UNIMAGINABLE that Pelosi would have left the gate not even knowing if she had the votes. This two years of GQP House is going to be hilarious fun watching them screw up like Keystone Cops. The not-so-funny part is the gridlock we're going to see, not getting anything done to help people. But voters will be watching, and the predictable FAIL will boomerang on them in 2024.


hahahahahahahahaha





Shockingly, Mark Levin is ANGRY!


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#2

Post by Ben-Prime »

"The 118th Congress: Proof that CONgress is the opposite of PROgress"
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.

- Charles Mackay, "Eternal Justice"
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#3

Post by AndyinPA »

They are not conservatives; they are radicals.
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#4

Post by Frater I*I »

AndyinPA wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 11:33 am They are not conservatives; they are radicals.
And if they can't run the country, they'll burn it all down, after all the Dems can't do anything for the country when it's a pile of cinder and ash... :cantlook:
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He's got the answers to ease my curiosity, He dreamed a god up and called it Christianity"

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#5

Post by bob »

Ben-Prime wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:55 am "The 118th Congress: Proof that CONgress is the opposite of PROgress"
This always has been a peeve of mine: the opposite of pro- is contra-, so the opposite of progress would be contragress.

Or, yaknow, regress.
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#6

Post by MN-Skeptic »

bob wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:03 pm
Ben-Prime wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:55 am "The 118th Congress: Proof that CONgress is the opposite of PROgress"
This always has been a peeve of mine: the opposite of pro- is contra-, so the opposite of progress would be contragress.

Or, yaknow, regress.
I would assert the statement is acceptable because of poetic license.
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#7

Post by pipistrelle »

bob wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:03 pm
Ben-Prime wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:55 am "The 118th Congress: Proof that CONgress is the opposite of PROgress"
This always has been a peeve of mine: the opposite of pro- is contra-, so the opposite of progress would be contragress.
As always, it depends...
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#8

Post by raison de arizona »

McCarthy is apparently feeling confident. Video of his stuff going into the Speaker suite.
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#9

Post by humblescribe »

bob wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:03 pm
Ben-Prime wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:55 am "The 118th Congress: Proof that CONgress is the opposite of PROgress"
This always has been a peeve of mine: the opposite of pro- is contra-, so the opposite of progress would be contragress.

Or, yaknow, regress.
For Roberto:

https://www.etymonline.com/word/progress

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=regress

The smart people back in the day decided that re- was a better option to be opposite pro- in this instance.

Besides, the prefix con- means with or together.

What is vexing to me is the prefix in(m/l/r)-. Generally it means not as in impossible or inadequate. But it can also have various other meanings that have evolved or fallen into desuetude over the centuries. Inflammable means very flammable, as opposed to nonflammable.

Perhaps bob can explain why inculpate means to accuse while inculpable means to exonerate or be free of blame. :towel:
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#11

Post by pipistrelle »

"investigative agenda"-yeah, nothing to help Americans, just more "Benghazi!" level "but Hunter's [alleged] laptop!".
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#12

Post by tek »

GOP Leader McCarthy has moved into the speakers suite but if he fails to secure 218 he will have to move all his stuff back out
the way things are going, there's gonna be a lot of moving in and out of that office.
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#13

Post by Luke »

This is absolutely fabulous. Listen to the Fox & Friends guy Griff, his voice pitch gets higher & higher & higher. OMG. They are really just going run off the cliff with no plan. Bob Good R-VA says he doesn't care what happens. "We're willing to risk everything to save this Republic."


hahahahahahaha


Video (IDK how to embed it, but it's hilarious:) https://www.foxnews.com/video/6318103399112




FOX & FRIENDS Published January 2, 2023 8:52am EST
Virginia GOP congressman vows he will not support McCarthy for House speaker: 'Part of the swamp cartel'
Rep. Bob Good among group of Republicans opposing Kevin McCarthy's speaker bid

Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said Monday on "Fox & Friends" he will not vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to become House speaker. A vote is scheduled for Tuesday in the new GOP-controlled House, but it remains unclear whether McCarthy has enough support to become speaker.

BOB GOOD: I won't vote for Kevin McCarthy tomorrow. He's part of the problem. He's not part of the solution. I'll be following the will of my constituents, the voters from Virginia's Fifth District, hundreds of which have told me over the past couple of years not to support Kevin McCarthy. What I told them when I started my first term two years ago is I would judge him by what he did as minority leader. And there's nothing he's done to earn my vote. There's nothing that indicates to me that he's going to change his pattern since he's been in leadership where he's part of the swamp cartel. He's the reason on the Republican side why we passed massive omnibus spending bills like just got rammed down our throats by Republicans in the Senate. He was part of that in leadership, since he's been in leadership over the past eight years. There's nothing about Kevin McCarthy that indicates that he will bring the change that's needed to Washington or that's needed to the Congress, or he'll bring the fight against the Biden-Schumer agenda and represent the interests of the voters who sent us to Washington to bring real change.
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#14

Post by Luke »

Made sure Bob Good knows we're behind him all the way*. Please support Bob & the other up to 15 GOP Reps who are planning to vote NO. :P





* Until the GOP is so FUBAR we are able to elect Hakeem Jeffries or even bring Nancy Pelosi back :lol: The exploding of heads for that would be one of the great moments in American History. Not happening, but then again, who the fu*k would have thought they'd be so screwed up they'd be eating their most popular choice? McCarthy got 85% of the votes before. So anything is possible when speaking of MAGA messes and disasters.


:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:


ETA: Of course, since MAGA has no sense of humor and can't tell sarcasm if it was a pie that hit them in the face, they are lapping up these tweets. Is it bad and wrong I'm ginning them up and setting them up for the inevitable horrible failure that's coming? :smoking:


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#15

Post by raison de arizona »

Signed by nine representatives.
Late in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Kevin McCarthy gave his first comprehensive, written response to proposals offered in good faith on December 8 to articulate key values we believe must be championed — and led — by any candidate for Speaker of the House.

Mr. McCarthy’s title, “Restoring the People’s House and Ending Business as Usual,” is a welcome and telling admission of the longstanding and deep dysfunction of the House of Representatives and statement of aspiration to begin to set it right in the 118th Congress. Regrettably, however, despite some progress achieved, Mr. McCarthy’s statement comes almost impossibly late to address continued deficiencies ahead of the opening of the 118th Congress on January 3rd.

At this stage, it cannot be a surprise that expressions of vague hopes reflected in far too many of the crucial points still under debate are insufficient. This is especially true with respect to Mr. McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker because the times call for radical departure from the status quo — not a continuation of past, and ongoing, Republican failures. For someone with a 14-year presence in senior House Republican leadership, Mr. McCarthy bears squarely the burden to correct the dysfunction he now explicitly admits across that long tenure.

Thus far, there continue to be missing specific commitments with respect to virtually every component of our entreaties, and thus, no means to measure whether promises are kept or broken. Moreover, some in the Republican conference have expressed that absent universal support for Mr. McCarthy, they would reject even the progress made to date regarding rules and changes to bill text availability, single subject and germaneness requirements, and other structural changes for the good of the body and every member. Mr. McCarthy’s statement also continues to propose to restrict the availability of the traditional motion to vacate the chair as a means of holding leadership accountable to its promises; we have from the beginning made clear that we will not accept following Nancy Pelosi’s example by insulating leadership in this way. We also note that the statement fails completely to address the issue of leadership working to defeat conservatives in open primaries.

The progress made thus far has been helpful and should guide our thinking going forward.
https://justthenews.com/sites/default/f ... sponse.pdf
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#16

Post by SuzieC »

ETA: Of course, since MAGA has no sense of humor and can't tell sarcasm if it was a pie that hit them in the face, they are lapping up these tweets. Is it bad and wrong I'm ginning them up and setting them up for the inevitable horrible failure that's coming? :smoking:

No it's not wrong! Nor bad! Keep doing it!
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#17

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

:popcorn:
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#18

Post by RTH10260 »

they want no stinkin' spotlite on themselves especially new friend Santos
McCarthy Proposes Gutting Office of Congressional Ethics in Bid for Speaker

Eric Cortellessa
Tue, January 3, 2023 at 12:39 AM GMT+1

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. attends a portrait unveiling ceremony for Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the U.S. Capitol on December 14, 2022. Credit - Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spent the first two days of the new year trying to shore up GOP support for his bid to be Speaker by releasing a series of proposals aimed at winning over hard-right detractors who stand to torpedo his ascension.

The part of his proposed changes to House rules that drew the most attention was allowing just five House members to call for a vote at any time on ousting the Speaker; that would render McCarthy beholden to the most extreme members of his caucus, should he get on their wrong side. But buried in the text was another provision that could be highly consequential for the new Congress being sworn in on Tuesday: language that would effectively gut the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), as the independent panel faces pressure to investigate lawmakers who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Most significantly, McCarthy’s proposal would require OCE to hire its staff for the 118th Congress within 30 days of the resolution’s adoption, a requirement that sources familiar with the process tell TIME would make it exceedingly difficult for the office to have the resources it needs to conduct its investigations, given how long it takes to hire candidates for roles in the federal government. The proposal would also block OCE from hiring new employees over the next two years if someone leaves their position, sources say.

“Republicans get to take control of the House, and on their first day in Congress, they are not trying to take a hammer to the OCE—they’re being a little smarter about it—but they’re taking a scalpel to it,” a Hill source familiar with the ethics process tells TIME.

The resolution would also impose eight-year term limits for members of OCE’s eight-member board, which is composed of four Democrats and four Republicans. The move would result in three of the four Democrats being forced to vacate their seats effective immediately. While the new Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, would be able to appoint replacements, the changes could still significantly slow down the panel’s work and zap it of valuable institutional knowledge.

“This could easily kill the only body that’s investigating ethical issues in Congress,” says Kedric Payne with the Campaign Legal Center. “There’s no investigations in the Senate. And the only investigations that happen in the House of any significance are done by the OCE.”

“This is a very smart way to do it,” adds Payne, a former OCE deputy chief counsel. “Because it looks as though the office still lives, but, in fact, it doesn’t.”




https://www.yahoo.com/news/mccarthy-pro ... 34583.html
(original: Time)
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#19

Post by Luke »

There is absolutely no reason this should be happening. If they can't even play nice enough to elect their own stupid Speaker, they will get NOTHING done with a 4-vote margin (3 if Santos goes down) and 2024 is going to be like 3 parties running, Democrats, GOP & whatever the fu*k the MAGA party is. Thank you Suzie, I agree and hope everyone will support #NeverKevin and #ThirdPartyNOW on your social media. In addition to this lunacy, there are actual MAGA influencers who are on board with an America First Party. Let's enthusiastically encourage that! ;)

Conservatives threaten to withhold critical McCarthy support, hours before speaker vote
Further developments Monday indicated the GOP leader's staunchest critics still aren't ready to give him the votes he needs, despite his last-ditch efforts to shore up support.
With the House slated to start voting on who will command the gavel around midday Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy remains short of the necessary 218 votes. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
By OLIVIA BEAVERS and JORDAIN CARNEY 01/02/2023 04:31 PM EST Updated: 01/02/2023 05:46 PM EST

Kevin McCarthy has already moved into the speaker’s office, even as an influential conservative group urges members to vote against him unless he concedes to key rules changes. With the House slated to start voting on who will command the gavel in less than 24 hours, McCarthy remains short of the necessary 218 votes. And his last-ditch efforts, including a long list of concessions he released to his conference over the weekend, has done little to sway his most ardent detractors. And even as McCarthy predicted concessions he made to the House rules are helping him pick up support, his opponents and skeptics spent Monday lobbing new criticisms his way. “Why didn’t we get McCarthy’s proposed rules package at least 72 hours in advance?” tweeted Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), a Freedom Caucus member.

Electing a speaker is typically a symbolic moment, with the vote decided weeks if not months ahead of time. But absent a sudden flip among his detractors, McCarthy’s bid for the gavel will prompt a historically rare showdown, marking just the second time since the Civil War that the race could go beyond one ballot. In fact, many Republicans are bracing for votes that could last multiple days, as McCarthy’s allies vow to only vote for him and five conservatives promise to oppose him, with no clear alternative candidate. McCarthy met briefly with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of his most ardent opponents, as well as Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), neither of whom have committed to voting for the California Republican. But while Gaetz quipped heading into the meeting that they could be on “the verge of a New Year’s miracle,” he said afterward that the talk was “brief and productive” — and, critically, that he and five others are still “no” votes.

The conservative Club for Growth released a whip notice for the speakership vote on Monday, urging a no vote on McCarthy — without explicitly naming him — if he didn’t concede to various rules being pushed by some of those opposing him, many of them members of the House Freedom Caucus. Those lawmakers’ demands have included allowing any one member to force a vote on the House floor to depose a speaker. The Club for Growth also mirrored those members’ calls for prohibiting the Congressional Leadership Fund, a campaign committee closely aligned with McCarthy, from “spending money or providing grants to any Super PAC to engage … in open Republican primaries or against any Republican incumbent.” The group also took issue with the lack of “true conservatives” being represented in leadership.

The fresh signs of trouble come as McCarthy convened a strategy session on Monday evening with dozens of his supporters. The meeting, according to GOP attendees, was meant to motivate his backers, as they gathered in the speaker’s office for the first time, and McCarthy vowed to fight no matter how many ballots it takes. “There’s still a few things up in the air,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who attended the meeting. “[But] I think he gets there. The question is when.” Despite not yet having a lock on the gavel, McCarthy is spending Monday working out of the speaker’s office, a tradition routinely granted to the speaker-elect. If he falls short, he would have to move back out of the prestigious office.

Republicans are preparing for a grueling day Tuesday. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a McCarthy ally, predicted Republicans will go “however long it takes.” But the first vote would provide some early indications on how the day would play out, he added. “The way the alphabet works, you’ll know on the first ballot pretty quickly. And then we’ll figure out how it grinds out,” Armstrong said, referring to the alphabetical process for calling on members to cast their votes. Armstrong predicted that it would be a “long night.” When asked if that meant votes would last until Wednesday’s early hours, he quipped back: “January 10th?” Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who McCarthy opponents are backing as a figurehead for their frustration, described the Californian as being in “total bargaining mode” but that he doesn’t believe McCarthy “will ever get to 218 votes.” Others issued more cryptic takes: “Some people who run campaigns against the swamp sure are quick to wilt in the face of challenges (to different degrees) to that very swamp…” tweeted Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Monday.

But as McCarthy’s opponents take a hard line, some of his supporters are reviving their own threats. McCarthy ally Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Monday his previous warning — that a band of moderate Republicans would work with Democrats to elect a centrist GOP speaker, if conservatives tank McCarthy — remains on the table. “If a few won’t be part of the 218 members we need to govern, we’ll then find other ways to get to 218,” Bacon wrote in an op-ed in the Daily Caller. Some Republicans have floated Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as a possible alternative to McCarthy if he fell short, though his No. 2 is vowing to support him. However, Bacon told reporters on Monday night that if McCarthy withdraws he and a bipartisan group would put forward another name besides Scalise. :| “I love Steve but … I just don’t think it’s fair to say we want Kevin’s scalp, so then we’ll take Steve. I think you’re paying ransom money to the hostage takers by doing that,” Bacon said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/0 ... e-00076026

Ritchie Torres @RitchieTorres 6h

Kevin McCarthy's ambition to be Speaker is being held hostage by the far right.

The division and dysfunction of House Republicans stands in contrast to the unity of House Democrats around Hakeem Jeffries.

A tale of two Houses is unfolding. Governing vs Grandstanding.
The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln 6h
Remember, if Kevin McCarthy is talking, he’s lying.




Easy to forget, but Rick and Adam are Republicans :lol:


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Here's how the Gateway House of Boys sums it up:

Conservatives will either get a neutered McCarthy beholden to them or a new speaker altogether. Not a bad place to be.

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What a fabulous start for the Mighty 118th! :boxing:
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#20

Post by AndyinPA »

I think he'll eventually get it, maybe mostly because, who else? But I'd love to see him have to go through several votes to get there.

Whoever it is, it's going to be an awful freak show in the House for the next two years.
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#21

Post by SuzieC »

Incredible freaking shitshow. My husband, who is less political than me, kept shrieking at the evening news tonight: "Kevin, you suck! Kevin, you're a loser!"

I don't want to be glued to the TV but I have an early yoga class after which I will be glued to the TV.
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#22

Post by pipistrelle »

It's not wrong, but I'm betting some of those suckers are bots.
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The 118th Congress with Pretzel Kevin "Only Kevin" "My Kevin" McCarthy, Speaker? /Clowns

#23

Post by raison de arizona »

Juliegrace Brufke @juliegraceb wrote: House conference meeting sounding animated, with one source in the room saying McCarthy told the conference “I’ve earned this job.”

One McCarthy supporter said “Kevin just gave the best speech I’ve heard.”

Per one source in the room, Rep. Lauren Boebert yelled “bullshit.”

“Otherwise massive standing O,” per the lawmaker.


Firey speech by Kevin (used GD 😱)
He will negotiate no more.
He will stay and fight on the floor if there are only 4 standing with him,” another source in the room tells me.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
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The 118th Congress with Pretzel Kevin "Only Kevin" "My Kevin" McCarthy, Speaker? /Clowns

#24

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

"Kevin is basically whatever you want him to be. He lies."

Sounds like a young Bill Clinton.
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The 118th Congress with Pretzel Kevin "Only Kevin" "My Kevin" McCarthy, Speaker? /Clowns

#25

Post by p0rtia »

Except that in addition to the smooth-talking lies, Clinton also had a devastating ability to tell the truth quite a lot of the time.

Also, he was a fox.

:oldlady:
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