Why?
Why are they doing this?
Why are they doing this right now?
Why are they trying to act like this isn’t hypocritical?
Why is this woman wearing a mask today but didn’t have one on during the superspreader soiree at the White House?
So many questions and no answers, but I was happy to see that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had on a medical grade mask, and not the leather mask with the zipper over the mouth that he normally wears around the White House, during the Supreme Court Confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett on Monday.
And everything went about as well as you’d expect. Democrats argued that this is some straight bullshit, considering America isn’t just in an election year; in some states, people have already begun voting. And America will have a new president in less than 30 days and we’ve not had a new stimulus package in some 150 days despite the House approving the HEROES Act five months ago.
Republicans—or as they prefer to be called, “Trumpesticles”—basically argued that they run the Senate, and therefore the world, and they can do whatever they want to do. But, of course, they hid it behind that white entitlement voice that sounds like concern and sincerity wrapped in puzzled bewilderment. You know that thing they do where they ask a rhetorical question as if they are really looking for the answer. The whole thing is a dog-and-pony show, but the most disingenuous part had to be Barrett in her red dress and black face covering looking like a fucking handmaid. She was all masked up during this event but she was a straight maskhole when she and her family went to what turned out to be a goddamn coronavirus cotillion.
The best questions were asked by my favorite Trump impersonator on Twitter:
Highlights from the opening day included the next vice president of the United States (God, if you’re listening, it’s me Stephen) California Sen. Kamala Harris— who’s in the unprecedented position of running for VP while questioning a Supreme Court nominee during an election—calling out Republicans for rushing through a Supreme Court nominee rather than pass a stimulus to help struggling Americans. And God, yes, Christianity, or a morbid version of Christianity, was in full discussion on this first day. But the star of this show was Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar:
Oh and if you’re wondering why God hates Lindsey Graham, look no further than Trump’s favorite eyelash using beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s words about Merrick Garland against the Democrats.
Ugggh. We don’t endorse people at The Root, but if you clicked this link and it took you to Jamie Harrison’s donation page and you donated, then that’s on you.
But if you are wondering why we are discussing this in a fucking pandemic while we wait for America to right itself and vote this orange bag of puss out of office (come on God, pick up the phone!), it’s because the president lost all hope of getting rid of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) legislatively, so he’s trying to stack the court with a judge who has expressed opposition to the ACA. The president also won’t come out and say that he’ll respect the results of the election should he lose, which means the election results could end up going to the Supreme Court and Trump’s hedging his bets.
And what does any of this have to do with the fact that America is sick, unemployment is higher than a giraffe’s balls and unemployment benefits aren’t enough to buy both Cinnamon Toast Crunch (or for those of us really struggling, Cinnamon Wizards that come in a clear plastic bag) and whole milk?
Not one fucking thing.