Impeachment made Joe Neguse a star. Now what?

Joe Neguse’s star has risen since his widely praised performance in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial — everybody in Washington agrees on that. There’s just one problem: risen to what?

The sophomore House Democrat has nowhere to go back home in Colorado, at least not anytime soon. The governor, Jared Polis, is just 45. Michael Bennet, the senior senator, is 56 and popular. And John Hickenlooper just arrived in the Senate after knocking off Republican Cory Gardner; he won’t be up for re-election until 2026.

Still, Neguse, a lawyer who first ran for office in 2014, has all the ingredients for a long career as a House Democratic leader. At 36, he’s already a national figure thanks to his careful demolition of Trump. After winning a safely blue seat in 2018, he promptly landed in House leadership as Democrats’ freshman representative before winning a caucus-wide election this term to help run the party’s messaging arm, a position typically reserved for longtime lawmakers. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her longtime deputies, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), expected to retire in the coming years, Neguse could leap up a leadership ladder that usually takes members years if not decades to climb.

It doesn’t hurt that fellow Democrats all see Neguse as a nice guy — quick with a smile, self-aware and self-deprecating. He’s got a compelling personal story as the son of Eritrean refugees and hasn’t become a GOP target like some of his higher-profile colleagues. In a Washington typically dominated by the loudest and brashest voices, Neguse stands out as a member whose sheer friendliness has convinced colleagues to vault him to prominence.

But ask him about his seemingly limitless opportunities and he’s quick to mention the lure of his Colorado home — swearing that he hasn't thought much about his future in the Capitol.

"Five years from now, I hope I’m coaching my daughter’s Little League team," Neguse said when asked how he envisions his career in the medium term. He acknowledged a desire to be in Congress too, and certainly didn’t rule it out, but said the challenge of being away from his wife and daughter is "part of the analysis.”

To the extent he wants to capitalize on his newly high profile, Neguse already has senior Democrats in his corner.

“We’re like brothers, at least from my perspective,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the team of impeachment managers at last week’s trial, “although he keeps saying I’m the father figure."

“I just think he has accomplished a lot in a short period of time in Congress to establish himself,” adds Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who ran the House’s first impeachment trial against Trump.

Neguse, a member of the Judiciary Committee, has been central to every major Trump-focused investigation since Democrats took the House in 2019. He helped lead a band of allies to keep the pressure on to impeach Trump over the findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, before explosive revelations about the president’s threats to Ukraine supercharged the effort.

While other Democrats involved in Trump oversight caused friction within the party for pushing past where Pelosi was ready to go, Neguse emerged unscathed.

Now Neguse is one of four co-chairs running the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, the panel ostensibly tasked with shaping the caucus’ messaging. With four equal leaders, it’s hard for any one person to stand out there. But the position keeps Neguse at the leadership table and in the room as Pelosi and her team make critical decisions about the party's agenda.

As House Democrats start to prepare for a change at the top for the first time in two decades, the private chatter about who might ascend in the next crop of leaders — from the speaker on down — has only intensified.

But younger members like Neguse, and a growing crop of fellow Democrats, are feeling the strain of extended stays in Washington while spouses and children stay home remain in their districts. Neguse said he gets support from an informal group of Democrats in his age group who commiserate over being away from their families for long stretches.

Reps. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) are part of that group, Neguse said, and "some of my closest friends in the Congress." He mentions former Rep. Max Rose, who was defeated in 2020, and Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.) as well.

"It’s nice to have a sounding board of colleagues and friends who you can talk to about managing all the different complications that can come from living on the road," he said.

His feeling of longing was at its most intense a month ago, when Neguse placed what he thought might be his final call to his family during the Jan. 6 insurrection that overran the Capitol and sent lawmakers fleeing for safety.

“I texted my wife. I told her I loved her very much, I love my daughter … very much, to tell my parents I was fine and that everything was OK,” Neguse told POLITICO at the time.

He wasn’t actually sure everything was OK, he added then. “It felt like the right thing to say.”

Now Neguse is back in Colorado for a brief respite after Trump’s whirlwind second impeachment trial ended Saturday in acquittal. Democrats predicted that Neguse and the other managers would be remembered not for failing to secure a conviction, but for making a compelling case against Trump despite long odds.

“The only advice I gave, because this is such a different case and such a different time than it was when we were prosecuting our trial, was just to try to be sensitive that you’re speaking to two different audiences,” said Rep. Jason Crow, a fellow Colorado Democrat who was a prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Neguse’s concise argument for the trial’s constitutionality earned quick plaudits from allies and adversaries alike, and he saw a measure of success in his closing speech on the trial’s last day — which he tailored to appeal specifically to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

Neguse’s closing speech referenced one of McConnell’s heroes: John Sherman Cooper, a Kentucky senator during the 50s and 60s. And it included a conspicuous reference to the Senate’s 1986 vote to override Ronald Reagan’s veto of a bill imposing sanctions on South Africa during apartheid.

“Two senators who are sitting in this room, one Democrat and one Republican, voted to override that veto,” Neguse said during his closing remarks. The Republican who cast the politically volatile vote to override Reagan's veto was McConnell. (The other was Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-Vt.], who presided over the impeachment trial.)

McConnell ultimately voted to acquit Trump on procedural grounds that Democrats dismiss. But the Kentucky Republican then turned around and ripped Trump in a fiery speech that sounded like it could just as easily have been in support of a conviction. Neguse was listening closely to the GOP leader.

McConnell's "statement was so remarkable because it largely mirrored the language we had used during the court of the trial,” Neguse said later, recalling that he and the other managers watched it in real time from a holding room just off the Senate floor.

"We took solace in the fact that on the merits, it was clear that we had [convinced] far more than 57 senators who ultimately voted to convict."

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Opinion: McConnell may get the last laugh

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell finds himself in an unenviable position. On the one hand, Democrats have called him a hypocrite for voting to acquit former President Donald Trump in the recent impeachment proceedings before the US Senate, even as McConnell argued (as did, presumably, the seven Republicans that voted to convict) that Trump bore "moral responsibility" for the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol. On the other, Trump viciously attacked McConnell in a Tuesday press release, calling him a "dour, sullen, unsmiling political hack."
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Trump impeachment manager says she’s filled with ‘glee’ at prospect of questioning McCarthy about Capitol riot

Del. Stacey Plaskett said she is filled with "glee" at the prospect of questioning House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy regarding a phone call between him and former President Donald Trump during the Capitol riot in January.

Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024

In a weekend interview, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a major Trump ally, suggested that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might be a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 should former president Donald Trump decide not to run.

On the Fox News Channel, Gaetz stated that “he was proud of” DeSantis, and went on to say that, “the truth is that the Biden folks know that if Donald Trump is not the candidate in 2024, the leader of our movement will be Ron DeSantis.”

RELATED: Global Warming Activist Matt Damon Travels In Private Jet For New Marvel Movie

Tackling COVID-19 In Florida

In recent days, the Biden administration has floated the idea of domestic travel restrictions, possibly targeting Florida, in the wake of a report from the CDC indicating that Florida currently has the highest amount of cases of a U.K. variant of COVID known as B.1.1.7.

DeSantis blasted the Biden White House, saying the idea of travel restrictions was “absurd” and “a political attack on the people of Florida.”

He also called out the Biden administration for suggesting the restrictions, saying it was “ridiculous to impose while relaxing restrictions on the U.S.-Mexico border.” 

While the nation is still feeling the effects of COVID, Ron DeSantis managed a state with minimal lockdowns and an elderly population that was taken care of first.

Because Florida is a state with a large portion of the population over 65, right now, it leads the nation with the highest vaccination rate among senior citizens.

Rep. Gaetz also stated, “people see that in Florida, businesses are opening, unemployment is dropping, home buying is increasing, and that type of prosperity is very attractive to people who are having to endure lockdowns in other parts of America.”  

RELATED: Trump Returns To Public Spotlight, Delivers Blistering Statement On ‘Political Hack’ Mitch McConnell

Is DeSantis A Name To Watch?

Ron DeSantis may become a name to watch simply for the fact that he takes on the media in Trump-like fashion.

Recently, DeSantis was criticized for Super Bowl celebrations that could possibly spread more contagious strains of COVID-19.

DeSantis fired back, “The media is worried about that obviously.” He went on, “You don’t care as much when it’s a peaceful protest, you don’t care as much if you are celebrating a Biden election. You only care about it if it’s people you don’t like.” 

DeSantis has long been a critic of what he says is a bias in the media against conservatives.

He supports a bill in the Florida legislature that would impose penalties on social media companies whose algorithms are perceived to favor one candidate over another.

RELATED: Biden Bans Use Of ‘Illegal Alien’ In Official Communications Involving Illegal Immigrants

Trump Would Be A Supporter 

There is much speculation that Donald Trump will run for a second term as president in 2024. Ron DeSantis is up for re-election for Governor in 2022.

Trump will almost certainly be an avid supporter of DeSantis’ gubernatorial re-election.

There has also been some speculation as to whether Trump may start a third party. On Saturday, seven Republican Senators voted to convict Trump on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

While many of those Senators were just re-elected, one, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is up for re-election in 2022. Trump could very well support a primary challenger should one emerge.

Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump already has a challenger for 2022, who may also enjoy support from Trump and his supporters. 

Trump also lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who recently made the comment that “Trump didn’t get away with anything yet.”

McConnell’s comments came after he voted against convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial.

The former president fired back, calling McConnell, “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

If Trump remains popular in Florida – and doesn’t run for President in 2024 – it will definitely be an advantage for Ron DeSantis.

The post Rep. Matt Gaetz: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Could Make Presidential Run In 2024 appeared first on The Political Insider.

Trump is back, he’s rabid as ever, and the GOP is sure to be collateral damage

Fresh off his Senate GOP acquittal, Donald Trump reinserted himself into the national political arena with none other than a 625-word screed lashing out at GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack." 

Credit where credit's due—the assessment isn't entirely off the mark. But it was the second portion of that sentence that cued up the 2022 fight to the death between Trump and McConnell. "If Republican Senators are going to stay with him," Trump said of McConnell, "they will not win again." He also accused McConnell of getting played “like a fiddle” by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and declared McConnell’s “Beltway First agenda” a loser compared to his own America First agenda. Trump’s broadside was entirely predictable after McConnell tried to absolve his own acquittal vote by declaring Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the lethal Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

Overall, Trump's statement, issued through the pro-Trump PAC Save America, was a lesson in revisionist history. He took credit for the victories of House GOP candidates last November despite the fact that a decisive number of ticket-splitting voters rejected him personally at the ballot box. He 100% scapegoated McConnell and Georgia's GOP officials for the Senate runoff losses in which Trump helped thoroughly muddle the message of the GOP senators. And he claimed credit for McConnell's own reelection, writing, "Without my endorsement, McConnell would have lost, and lost badly." Oh, Trump also generously threw in a non sequitur about McConnell's "substantial Chinese business holdings," a swipe at both McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao, who has family business ties to China and resigned from Trump's Cabinet following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

But the lasting impact of Trump's first opportunity to refill the political air with his noxious fumes was his declaration of war on whatever is left of the McConnell wing of the party (frankly, not much, which I plan to write about over the weekend).

"I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First," Trump pledged. In other words, the price of admission in Trump's tent is ultimate loyalty—the surest way to boost the party's most dismal sycophants to any number of Republican primary victories.  

McConnell, on the other hand, has been perfectly clear that his sole criteria for candidates is their ability win a general election. “I personally don’t care what kind of Republican they are, what kind of lane they consider themselves in,” McConnell told The Wall Street Journal. “What I care about is electability.” McConnell added, "That may or may not involve trying to affect the outcome of the primaries.”

But the 2022 Senate map virtually ensures that Trump and McConnell are on a collision course. A total of 34 seats are up in 2022, 20 of which are held by the GOP. With key races for control of the chamber taking place in swingy states like Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, McConnell will almost surely favor different candidates than Trump for some of those races. And even in races where they manage to agree, Trump's massive overcompensation for his flagging ego all but guarantees he'll manage to muck up the message for Republican candidates—witness Georgia.

McConnell declined to issue a response to Trump’s outburst, but he deployed his braintrust of former aides to channel his inner monologue. 

“It seems an odd choice for someone who claims they want to lead the G.O.P. to attack a man who has been unanimously elected to lead Senate Republicans a history-making eight times,” Billy Piper, a former McConnell aide, told The New York Times. “But we have come to expect these temper tantrums when he feels threatened — just ask any of his former chiefs of staff or even his vice president.”

It’s on.

Meghan McCain Says The ‘Only Way To Become A Good Republican Is To Become A Democrat,’ According To The Media

On Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” Meghan McCain lashed out at the media, saying that according to them, “the only way to become a good Republican is to become a Democrat.”

Sunny Hostin Rants Against Republicans 

McCain said this in frustration after her cohost Sunny Hostin went on yet another outrageous rant against Republicans.

“This is the Republican party today,” Hostin said. “It’s the MAGA party. It’s the QAnon party. It’s the Confederate flag, statue-loving party. It’s the Trump party. That’s the party of today.”

“Those who refuse to be that type of party get censured, get nasty letters from their families, get ostracized,” she added. “That’s what our country is looking at today, the party of white supremacy, the party that carries swastikas into the Capitol.”

That’s when McCain went off.

McCain Fires Back

“It’s easy to say that the Republican Party is only the party of QAnon and all these things,” McCain said. “If that’s the truth, the Democratic Party is the party of socialism and cancel culture and no responsibility and ramifications for any of your actions. You can burn down cities like Kenosha, and it’s fine. These are broad-stroke platitudes.”

“As much as the Left wants to act like Republicans are only QAnon supporters, part of the problem is when I hear that, I automatically get very tribal and say I don’t want the left,” she added.

Related: Meghan McCain Attacks Nikki Haley For Asking For Trump To Be Given A ‘Break’

“To me, I’m the most intensively pro-life person that I know of, particularly on mainstream TV,” McCain added. “I believe that abortion is murder. I know that the opposite party says there are some people that don’t agree with me, think that abortion should happen up to late-term.”

McCain Doubles Down

“I think the idea that the Republican Party is just one swath it’s just not nuanced,” McCain concluded. “The problem I have is the only way to become a good Republican is to become a Democrat, according to the media. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

McCain is a Republican who was against Donald Trump during his presidency. She regularly clashes with her cohosts, however, as they are all liberals who are against many of her conservative values.

Read Next: Meghan McCain Unleashes On Biden, Fauci, And Amazon Over Hypocrisy – ‘I Was Lied To’

This piece was written by James Samson on February 17, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
House Republicans Send Brutal Message To Pelosi – Demand Answers From Her On Security Decisions Before Capitol Riot
Graham And McConnell Feud Erupts In Senate
Pelosi Fires Back After Top Republicans Demand Answers About Capitol Security Before Riot – Deflects Blame

The post Meghan McCain Says The ‘Only Way To Become A Good Republican Is To Become A Democrat,’ According To The Media appeared first on The Political Insider.

Editorial Roundup: North Carolina

Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:

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Feb. 16

The Greensboro Record & News and the Winston-Salem Journal on the North Carolina Republican Party’s decision to censure U.S. Sen. Richard Burr for voting to convict Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial:

In our imagination, we picture Sen. Richard Burr, ...

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This week on The Brief: Elie Mystal, the impeachment vote, and potential for a third party

On this week’s episode of The Brief, hosts Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld talked all things post-impeachment and the potential for the rise of a third major party in American politics. This episode’s featured guest was Elie Mystal, legal expert and writer at The Nation.

Markos and Kerry opened the show by discussing Trump’s second impeachment trial and what the process has shown about his lasting influence on the Republican party. Markos noted that Trump has hurt the party substantially, as demonstrated by the most recent election cycle, when Democrats captured the trifecta of the U.S. House, Senate, and the presidency. Moreover, Trump is the only the third president in 100 years to lose reelection. Yet, Trump’s hold over a significant chunk of GOP voters remained clear from the way Republican leaders responded to his incitement of the insurrection. As Kerry added, “Mike Pence wouldn’t even stand up for himself and his family after it became clear that Trump had targeted him.”

Elie Mystal joined for the first half of the episode to weigh in on the impeachment trial and share his thoughts on its sudden end on Saturday. As Mystal described, the Republicans in the U.S. Senate bore responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6, and that made unifying in convicting Trump more difficult:

The Senate, I think, was cowardly in a way I think we expected them to be. They themselves were complicit in the insurrection. That, I think, was something that was lost during the House managers’ [line of questioning] … They were trying to convince Republicans to come onto their side, and by trying to convince Republicans, that means you can’t call them out for their complicity in the violence … Republicans did everything that Trump did—except try to kill Mike Pence.

Mystal cited the attack on the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ campaign bus in Texas, where Trump supporters almost ran the vehicle off the road, and how Trump expressed support for the people who committed that dangerous act. Trump had long been stoking this violence, he said, as well as Republican senators like Marco Rubio, who expressed support for attacks like these.

Regarding the Democrats’ strategy, Kerry wondered aloud about witness intimidation and if it might have occurred the night before the closing arguments were to be heard: “What happened in that negotiation that they ultimately decided not to call witnesses? Was it Democrats backing off? Was it witnesses drying up?”

The trio then discussed the aspect of freedom of speech in the impeachment case and the Brandenburg test, which Markos asked Mystal to explain. The test is one that helps “determine when inflammatory speech intending to advocate illegal action can be restricted,” or basically when free speech isn’t protected.

Lastly, Markos, Kerry, and Mystal discussed Joe Biden’s pick of Merrick Garland for attorney general; the hopes Mystal has for the work Garland will do as AG; and the fact that Trump can still be tried for a multitude of other crimes, especially at the state level in places like New York and Georgia. Ending on a positive note, Mystal said, “I don’t know if ultimate responsibility will come to Trump, but some of these people that have been enabling him for four years, especially people like Rudy Giuliani—one of the things that Trump has shown is is that while he may be Teflon, people around him ain’t.”

After their conversation with Mystal, Markos and Kerry talked about what has happened since Trump left office and how he continues to have a hold on the Republican Party. Kerry floated the idea of a third party becoming a prominent force in the coming years and noted that support for a third American political party is at an all-time high—as evidenced by the results of a recent Gallup poll. As she explains, the infrastructure exists for a third party to rise, led by someone like Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), a Republican who voted in favor of impeachment. A number of voters are changing their affiliation away from Republicans.

Kerry listed several reasons as to why she believes this:

1. The GOP’s image is plummeting.

2. There’s more support than ever for a third party.

3. Tens of thousands — a unique number of voters — are changing their affiliation away from being Republicans.

4. You have a bunch of former GOP officials who know both the governance side and the political side, the electoral side, of running a party.

Markos indicated that Trump represented a major turning point for the GOP. As he said, “How did Donald Trump get that many more votes? … And it’s one thing for him to win in 2016 when you don’t really know who he is, or you’re smitten by the fact that he’s a celebrity. But to see four years of Trump chaos and say, ‘Yeah, I want more of that.’ That’s what hurt me most on election night.”

Kerry agreed, saying, “The situation from the insurrection has really opened up a gaping wound in the Republican Party that cannot be fixed. They cannot paper over this.”

As Markos and Kerry closed out the discussion with an audience question, they came to agree that a third party is more likely to emerge from never-Trumpers, rather than die-hard Trump fans.

You can watch the full episode here:

The Brief is now streaming on all podcast platforms near you!

Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

A Few Words From the February Birthday Table

"It was immigration that taught us it does not matter where you came from, or who your parents were. What counts is who you are." —Congresswoman Barbara Jordan

"I have said this before, and I will say it again: the vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy." —Congressman John Lewis

“If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” —Charles Darwin

Continued...

"To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best." —Bill Russell

"I don't have a short temper, I just have a quick reaction to bullshit." —Elizabeth Taylor

"The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but can not do at all, or can not so well do, for themselves, in their separate, and individual capacities." —President Lincoln

"The life of a nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." —Frederick Douglass

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart." —Erma Bombeck

"Guys, is this inauguration speech running too long? No? You sure? We're cool? Great. As I was saying…" —President William Henry Harrison

And the classic:

“You don’t need no gun control. You know what you need? We need some bullet control. That’s right—I think all bullets should cost five thousand dollars. Five thousand dollars per bullet. You know why? Cuz if a bullet costs five thousand dollars, there would be no more innocent bystanders.” —Chris Rock

If you’re marking another year around the sun this month, Happy Birthday...and many blessings on your camels. And now, our feature presentation...

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Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Note: In what may be the most notable metaphor of 2021, Trump’s Atlantic City Casino is getting imploded at 9am. You can watch it here. I know I will.

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By the Numbers:

3 days!!!

Days 'til Cherry Pie Day: 3

Number of congressional seats that Arizona, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon are each expected to pick up as a result of the 2020 Census: 1

Number of Americans represented by the Senators who voted to convict the 45th president on the charge of inciting an insurrection: 202 million

Number represented by the senators who voted to acquit him: 125 million

Patients who have been hospitalized with the flu since October, compared to 400,000 last season: 165

President Biden's typical workday hours at the White House: 9am-7pm

Number of presidents who worked for the U.S. Postal Service: 2 (McKinley, Lincoln)

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Mid-week Rapture Index: 187 (including 3 tribulation temples and 1 year of bad calls by right-wing Christian prophets).  Soul Protection Factor 8 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.

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Puppy Pic of the Day: There's snow time like the present…

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CHEERS to meteorological musings.  Back in 1998 Maine got walloped with a huge ice storm; it took years to recover from it, and even today you can see "ampu-trees" that bear the scars. Yesterday we were reminded of it when we got hit with a mild version of it that thankfully melted off pretty fast. So we can sympathize with the folks in the south who have been taking the brunt of nature's wrath with a once-a-generation visit from Mr. Freeze. But Texas utilities, you need to stick a crowbar in all y'alls wallets and get your shit together:

Equipment literally froze in the single digit temperatures and stopped working.

Then, as reserves diminished, ERCOT asked transmission providers to turn off large industrial users that had previously agreed to be shut down. But the situation deteriorated quickly, requiring rotating outages that have lasted hours for many Texans.

Texas, Sunday.

Electric generating plants did not properly winterize their equipment, said Dr. David Tuttle in the latest episode of the Y’all-itics political podcast. Tuttle is a research associate with the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. "There are things that can be done, but it will cost some money," he added. "About every decade we have these long-sustained periods. And then, you know weatherization is supposed to happen, and then, it doesn't because it costs money."

It's bad enough that the utilities failed their customers and put millions of citizens in potentially life-threatening situations. But even worse, now Texas Republicans can't stand on the sidelines and snicker at the haplessness of archrival California's wildfire-causing utilities. Congratulations—you just all-hat-and-no-cattled yourself in the foot.

CHEERS to making the world safe again for rugrats. Is our children learnin'? They are now, thanks to overdue CDC guidelines for opening schools that both the Biden administration and teachers unions (who appropriately applaud the expulsion of the previous administration) have agreed to:

“Today, the CDC met fear of the pandemic with facts and evidence,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in a statement. “For the first time since the start of this pandemic, we have a rigorous road map, based on science, that our members can use to fight for a safe reopening." […]

Before eating that yummy paste, wash those dirty hands.

"Of course, this set of safeguards should have been done 10 months ago,” said Weingarten, adding that the AFT released recommendations in April similar to those in the CDC plan. “Instead, the previous administration meddled with the facts and stoked mass chaos and confusion.”

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, called the roadmap “a good first step.”

The plan includes guidelines for hand washing, social distancing, masks, and vaccinations. Also: all purple nurples must be given using extendo-clamps, and all swirlies may only be administered in toilets with automatic flushers.

CHEERS to today's edition of "Me, That’s Who!!!"  In its coverage of President Biden's plans for boosting the economic recovery and creating jobs, CNBC quotes this quizzical wunderkind who rakes in the big bucks for his precision analysis: 

“It’s quite remarkable that [President Biden] is facing an historic economic downturn in the same way that President Obama did,” said Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick.

“Who could have imagined that would have been the case over a year ago?”

This has been today's edition of "Me, That’s Who!!!"

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BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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Pole dancing bear.. pic.twitter.com/Szy4kksTgH

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) February 15, 2021

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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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JEERS to premature check-outs. Sad news today from the world of hoteliering. Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson has died. As with Alex Trebek and Congressman John Lewis, it was pancreatic cancer. He was only 62. He'll be buried with a mint on his pillow. One side of his headstone will say "Do Not Disturb" and the other will say "Maid Service, Please."

CHEERS to legal libations.  On this date in 1933, the U.S. Senate passed the Blaine Act, which effectively ended prohibition.  Who says Christmas comes in December?

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Ten years ago in C&J: February 17, 2011

OMG! to hell freezing over and pigs flying!  A bank—JPMorgan Chase—has done what no other megabank has ever done in the history of the universe with the sole exception of that one time during Jupiter's Olthblark era: they said they were sorry:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Tuesday announced new programs geared toward military customers and veterans, and apologized for overcharging thousands of active-duty service members on mortgages and improperly foreclosing on more than a dozen. … "We deeply apologize to our military customers and their families for these mistakes."

As for their non-military customers, bank officials say they can still go screw themselves.

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And just one more…

CHEERS to U.S. Mint-y freshness. Sadly, the state quarters collections—both the original series started in 1999 and the "America the Beautiful" collection honoring our national parks—have run their course. The last in the series, honoring the Alabama stomping grounds of the Tuskegee Airmen, was released last month. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop checking out the new arrivals from the Mint. The latest is literally one of a kind. Last week Congress unanimously approved the Congressional Gold Medal for Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who…

"…put his own life on the line and successfully, single-handedly leading insurrectionists away from the floor of the Senate Chamber.

Officer Goodman lures the Republican party insurrectionists away from the Senate chamber entrance.

Officer Eugene Goodman performed his duty to protect the Congress with distinction, and by his actions, Officer Goodman left an indelible mark on American history."

Since 1776, when George Washington received the first one, the medal has served as "Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions." And unlike other medals and coins produced by the U.S. Mint, each CGM is unique to that person or organization. Here's how the medal was made for ALS-awareness advocate for former NFL player Steve Gleason:

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Best part about winning your own official Congressional Gold Medal besides knowing that your country is grateful for your contribution to society? Unlimited turns of the crank in the Rotunda at the official Congressional Gold Medal gumball machine.

Have a happy humpday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial

"If you’re all about immersing yourself in a futuristic, apocalyptic, grimy-lived-in world, then sit back and soak in the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool full of Bill in Portland Maine's candy corn. Go in expecting something that isn’t empty-headed in ways that make its escapism tedious and you’ll be disappointed."

Roger Moore

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