"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...
Birthdays Cont’d...
"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—especially you lovable leap year babies. And now, our feature presentation...
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Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, February 15, 2024
Note: Today’s note is in a minor key today. I'm feeling villainous.
Annual inflation rate in December and January, respectively: 3.4%, 3.1%
Estimated portion of Americans over 75 who still work, up from 1-in-20 in 2012: 1-in-12
Number of Super Bowl LVIII viewers last Sunday, the largest TV audience since the moon landing: 123.4 million
Current score at Rotten Tomatoes for the new Marvel Universe movie Madame Web: 17%
Average number of times the human eye blinks in a year: 4,200,000
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them.
I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this [Iraq] war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.
CHEERS to the usual drill. The special election in New York’s 3rd congressional district, where Tom Suozzi romped to a landslide win over all the Republicans’ hopes and dreams, is behind us. And that means it's time for the media to trot out…The Takeaways!!! Let's Google and see how many they came up with this time:
The New York Times: 5 takeaways
NPR: 5 takeaways
The Cook Political Report: 4 takeaways
The Hill: 5 takeaways
The Washington Post: 3 takeaways
ABC News: 4 takeaways
NBC News: 5 takeaways
Politico: 6 takeaways
CNN: 5 takeaways
And so on and so forth. But one takeaway lords over all others: Dems rule, MAGAs drool.
JEERS to a master class in Wasting Everybody's Time 101. Having nothing better to do, the MAGA-brained leaders in the House set up a do-over vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on charges of [TBA] and succeeded by one measly vote. And now, according to the rules…
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said in a statement, “The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period [Feb. 26]. Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside.”
Way to go, Republicans. That'll really fill the potholes.
JEERS to incivility. On this date in 1798, the House of Representatives was the site of the first congressional brawl, when much knocking of noggins occurred after a hurling of insults followed by Rep. Matthew Lyon (Democratic-Republican-VT) spitting in the face of Roger Griswold (Federalist-CT). Among the weapons that were wielded: fireplace tongs. Based on his expression, the guy recording the minutes just got tonged in the crotch...
And if you look toward the lower left corner, you’ll see a dog is present in the chamber. That would be Thaddeus T. Woofington from the great state of New York. He only lasted one term. Once he got tax cuts for the Wilson company passed, he spent the rest of his life working a cushy job at a pro-tennis-ball think tank. Crafty canine.
CHEERS to unleashing the romantic within. My credit card isn't happy with me this morning, because yesterday I went all-out for my sweetie Michael—doing fine after his emergency appendectomy last week—on Valentine's Day. First I gave him the latest miracle weight loss plan. Then I got him a box of Hair Club for Men and lifts for his shoes. Then a cordless nose-hair trimmer. And finally, new vacuum cleaner bags and a lifetime supply of Windex. I know you're jonesin' to know how much he loved them. I'm jonesin' to tell ya! And I'll be sure to let you know just as soon as he lets me out of this crawlspace. (Y'know, with a little ketchup these cockroaches wouldn't taste half bad...)
CHEERS to a life well lived. Three indispensable bills were introduced in 1964: me, a new civil rights act, and the inventor of Pop-Tarts. Sadly, this morning we note that one of them has suffered an irrevocable setback. Bill Post, the inventor of Pop-Tarts, has gone to the great toaster in the sky at 96:
By the age of 21, Post was the personnel manager of [Kellogg's] and worked in all aspects of the business, including sales and production. That’s when Kellogg’s executives approached him.
The height of human civilization.
The executives had an idea for something "like a piece of pie, the shape of a slice of bread, fork marks around the edge, two pieces of dough with some filling in" to put in a toaster. Post took the idea and turned it into a real product. […]
The Pop-Tarts debuted to the public in 1964 with four original flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon and apple-currant. The toaster pastry remains a favorite among customers 60 years later, with around three billion sold in 2022.
If you plan on going to his funeral, get to the church early. It's expected to be jam-packed.
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Ten years ago in C&J: February 15, 2014
JEERS to today's least-surprising opening sentence in an environmental news story:
The natural gas system in the United States is leaking far more methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, into the air than official estimates say, according to research released Thursday.
The natural gas industry says it will make all the leaks go away by using a method they like to call disappearing all the research released Thursday.
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And just one more…
JEERS to socialism. Makes me so mad! The government takes our hard-earned money and then turns around and "distributes" its services to everyone equally. Like, for example, how they build public streets and then "distribute" their use to the vehicles of all the unsuspecting drivers. Even worse, look at how they send out large trucks with attached blades to distribute “snowplowing services” to those streets. My god, where will it stop? Next thing you know, they'll be offering the public the right to distribute "names" to those plows, and ohhhhhh I wish I were joking…
Heckuva job, Minnesota. Or should we now start calling you…..Mini Moscow?
Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
"A wide variety of health benefits have been observed from regular Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool use."
House Homeland Security Chair, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election, citing Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment as a reason to retire from Congress and return to his home district after serving three terms in Washington, D.C.
"At the start of the 118th Congress, I promised my constituents to pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. Today, with the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home," Green said in a statement. "In the last few months, in reading the writings of our Framers, I was reminded of their intent for representatives to be citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home. Our country – and our Congress – is broken beyond most means of repair. I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington."
"As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country – but in a new capacity," Green continued Wednesday, not disclosing if he will run again for governor in 2026, where the seat will up for grabs because Republican Gov. Bill Lee is prohibited from running under Tennessee’s gubernatorial term limits.
"I am grateful to my wife, Camie, and my family, for standing beside me and for their service to our nation," he continued, announcing his retirement.
"During my time in the Army, they sacrificed dad and husband to multiple deployments – and as I have served here in Congress, they have supported me as I’ve been away most weeks," he said. "I also want to thank the constituents of Tennessee’s 7th District for the unbelievable honor to serve them in Congress – whose vote of confidence was not only evident in the wide margins in each election, but also without ever having a single primary opponent in my three elections. And finally, I want to thank my staff, whose unmatched hard work, dedication, and talent have resulted in our many victories and one of the lowest turnover rates in Congress."
Green is the fifth Republican committee chair to forgo re-election. The others are House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., and House Select Committee on China Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.
Gallagher was one of just three Republican House members to vote against the impeachment of Mayorkas, joining with all House Democrats and preventing an initial measure from going forward. After that bid failed, a second attempt succeeded Tuesday, making Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876.
As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Green spearheaded a months-long investigation of Mayorkas, his policies and his management of the department, ultimately concluding Tuesday that his conduct in office amounted to "high crimes and misdemeanors" worthy of impeachment.
At the beginning of the 118th Congress, Green was selected as Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, becoming the only member of Congress to be selected at the start of his or her third term to chair a major legislative committee this century, his office said.
Green previously served as an Army surgeon and in the state Senate and is from Montgomery County.
Green flirted with running for governor in 2017, but suspended his campaign after he was nominated by former President Trump to become the Army secretary. He later withdrew his nomination amid criticism over his remarks about Muslims and LGBTQ+ Americans, including saying that being transgender is a disease, according to the Associated Press. He also urged that a stand be taken against "the indoctrination of Islam" in public schools and referred to a "Muslim horde" that invaded Constantinople hundreds of years ago.
After winning his congressional seat in 2018, Green once again made headlines after hosting a town hall where he stated that vaccines cause autism. He later walked back his comments.
Last April, the Trump campaign announced Green would be a part of the Trump 2024 Tennessee Federal Leadership team.
In 2022, Green's middle Tennessee congressional seat was among seats that Republicans drastically carved up during redistricting. The 7th Congressional District was redrawn to include a significant portion of Nashville. The congressional map is now facing a federal lawsuit, but that case is not scheduled to go to trial until April 2025.
The GOP primary to replace Green is on Aug. 1, and candidates have primary ballot acces until the April 4 deadline, according to the Federal Elections Commission. So far on the Republican side, Caleb Stack has pulled petitions to run for the congressional district Green will vacate at the end of his term.
In a brazen attempt at a political comeback, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who stepped down about five years ago amid now-dismissed criminal charges linked to her using taxpayer dollars to carry on an extramarital affair with her city-employed bodyguard, announced in December that she would run for Green's U.S. House seat as a Democrat.
"I expect candidates who agree with Mark Green or are even more extreme will announce campaigns, and I look forward to taking on whoever makes it through that primary," Barry said in a statement.
Tom Suozzi beat Republican Mazi Pilip in Tuesday’s special election on Long Island, unleashing a tidal wave of punditry about his winning formula–openly tackling such issues as illegal migration and crime rather than avoiding them.
I always caution against drawing sweeping conclusions in one-off local races, and this election in a snowstorm is no exception.
The underlying factor was Santos, the outlandish, lying, fabricating lawmaker who won the seat with a made-up resume, was expelled by the House and is under indictment. Voters felt hosed by the Republican publicity hound, and maybe the Dems were more motivated to vote.
Sure, Suozzi deserves credit for seizing on illegal migration and crime rather than avoiding such explosive issues – and doggedly distancing himself from President Biden. But he also has to run again in the fall.
Trump, for his part, blamed Pilip, "running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America…I STAYED OUT OF THE RACE, ‘I WANT TO BE LOVED!’"
A subtle Valentine’s Day message?
The move against Mayorkas, the first against a Cabinet officer in 150 years, is about the politics of symbolism. Republicans know full well the Democratic-controlled Senate is not going to convict him. This was about keeping the spotlight on one of the GOP’s best issues.
But if the press saddled Johnson with a humiliating defeat last week, it has to credit him with a big win now.
Both episodes shed light on the fractious politics of the Hill. Just when it looked like the Senate might pass a bipartisan border security bill–which included military aid to Ukraine and Israel–Donald Trump ripped it and the package was dead.
Now the Senate appears ready to pass a stand-alone military aid bill by a filibuster-proof majority. But Johnson says he won’t bring it up for a House floor vote.
That would bury it, unless a handful of Republicans join with Democrats to force a vote through a discharge petition.
Think about it: the United States, unable to help two major allies because of election-year politics, especially Ukraine, which remains under siege by Vladimir Putin.
And that’s why Biden took the rare step of delivering a televised speech on Tuesday.
His predecessor gave him an opening by saying he wouldn’t protect any NATO member who didn’t pay its fair share in military costs. And if that were the case, Putin and Russia could "do whatever the hell they want."
Biden, in his speech, accused Trump of siding with the Russian dictator, calling the comments "dumb," "shameful," "dangerous" and "un-American."
Put aside whether Biden is right or Trump is trying to pressure delinquent allies. Joe Biden passed up a softball Super Bowl interview. So why is he getting in front of the cameras now?
One, he’s trying to get push Congress to pass the military aid bill.
Two, he’s trying to change the subject from his own questionable memory in that wake of that stinging special counsel’s report.
Three, he is finally heeding the advice of those who say he needs to do more television to prove his competence and dim the focus on every gaffe or misstatement.
What’s fascinating is the spin of each party when it comes to backing their candidate.
Democrats are hitting the airwaves saying Biden is sharp and laser-focused in private, and counsel Robert Hur has no business airing his personal criticism of the president’s mental acuity.
Republican Rep. Mark Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, unexpectedly announced Wednesday that he would retire after just three terms representing Tennessee's 7th District.
Green, a hardliner who rose to national infamy in 2017 after Donald Trump tried to name him secretary of the Army, was eligible under GOP rules to serve two more terms as the top Republican on this powerful panel, which makes his departure all the more surprising. But he explained his decision by emphasizing his dissatisfaction with Congress.
"There's also just the frustration of trying to get something done here," he told Axios. "This place is so broken, and making a difference here is just you know, just it feels like a lot of something for nothing." Green is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, which has played a central role in fomenting dysfunction on Capitol Hill.
Whoever replaces Green, though, likely won't be much different. His constituency, which includes western Nashville as well as nearby suburbs and further-flung rural areas, backed Donald Trump 56-41, so the winner of the Aug. 1 Republican primary will be the favorite to succeed him. The candidate filing deadline is April 4.
Once in office, Green spent his time attacking Muslims and LGBTQ+ people. He declared in 2016, "If you poll the psychiatrists, they're going to tell you transgender is a disease."
And in a speech to tea partiers the following year that soon became infamous, the senator said that he would "not tolerate" teaching the "pillars of Islam" in textbooks. He also specifically told an attendee who raised fears of armed violence from people who "don't belong here, like Muslims in the United States" that he'd asked a "great question."
Green launched a bid for governor in 2017, but he dropped out a few months later, after Trump nominated him to become the Army's top civilian official. However, Green's history of ugly rhetoric was too much for even the Republican-led Senate, and he had to withdraw his nomination.
The episode was anything but a career-ender, though. Green soon entered the race to replace Rep. Marsha Blackburn after she kicked off what would prove to be a successful Senate campaign, and no one ended up opposing him in the primary for her safely red House seat.
After easily winning the general election, the incoming congressman once made the sort of news he'd become known for by advancing a conspiracy theory claiming that the Centers for Disease Control was hiding data on a link between vaccines and autism.
Even before he was sworn in, the new congressman-elect began considering a bid to succeed retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander around that same time, but he ultimately decided to stay put. Green, who exchanged messages with then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about overturning the 2020 election in the months after Joe Biden won, never had trouble winning reelection.
Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green on Wednesday announced that he won't run for a fourth term, pointing to the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just the day before as among the reasons it is "time for me to return home."
Michael Genovese, President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University, joins Rosemary Church to discuss the significance of the New York special election and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green is expected to announce plans to retire as early as Thursday, marking a surprise exit for a prominent committee chief.
Green is expected to announce he will not seek reelection just days after he spearheaded the GOP push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to two Republicans familiar with his plans. His exit is already coming as a shock to his colleagues given the win he'd notched with the Mayorkas vote.
Green demurred during a brief Wednesday interview when asked if he planned to retire.
“Today, I am running for election,” Green told POLITICO, while declining to discuss the matter further. He later confirmed his resignation to Axios.
Green, a former Green Beret, showed an eagerness to rise in the ranks after being elected in 2018. He made a bid for the top spot of the House Oversight Committee before later securing the gavel leading the Homeland Security panel. While at the helm this Congress, he made it a clear mission to hammer the Biden administration on the U.S.-Mexico border as the rate of illegal border crossings soared.
He ultimately proved successful in steering the Mayorkas impeachment this week, but only after the party faced an embarrassing vote miscalculation the week before where they failed to properly count the votes.
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.
What's Happening?
- House Republican warns of serious national security threat related to space
- Mayorkas becomes first cabinet secretary to be impeached since the 19th century
- Democrat Tom Suozzi triumphs in special election to replace Santos
On the eve of Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached in a historic vote over his mishandling of the illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Three Republican lawmakers, Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., jumped the aisle to vote against the impeachment.
The 214-213 vote came after the first impeachment failed earlier this month. Every House Democrat showed up to protect the cabinet secretary, including Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who temporarily left the hospital where he was recovering from surgery to cast his vote. Once Rep. Steve Scalise returned to D.C. from a cancer treatment, the GOP had the numbers to advance the articles of impeachment.
House Republicans have accused Mayorkas of violating his oath to defend the U.S. by failing to secure the border and "refusing" to enforce immigration laws.
The three Republicans who voted against impeachment on Tuesday have criticized Mayorkas' handling of the border but expressed reservations over whether it rose to the level of impeachment. McClintock warned it could set a precedent for political impeachments that could harm Republican officials in the future.
This is the first time a Cabinet secretary has been impeached by the U.S. Congress since 1876.
It's now up to the Senate — where Democrats run the show — to hold an impeachment trial.
'SERIOUS' THREAT: House Intel Chair Turner issues vague warning on 'serious national security threat,' urges Biden to declassify…Read more
'WILLING TO TRADE': Republican senators rally support to add 'meaningful' border security to House's foreign aid package…Read more
'DEVASTATING REPUDIATION': White House claims Suozzi's victory in NY special election speaks volumes about GOP, Trump…Read more
WHITE HOUSE DODGE: Sullivan avoids details when pressed on 'serious national security threat'…Read more
'HEY EVERYBODY!': WH compares Ronny Jackson to 'Simpsons' character in email to Fox Digital…Read more
BACK AGAIN: Who is Tom Suozzi? A look at the Democrat who flipped Santos' seat blue…Read more
BLAME GAME: Haley faults Trump for New York special election loss…Read more
'EVERY SINGLE PENNY': Lara Trump says RNC funds will go to electing father-in-law Donald Trump…Read more
'INCOMPETENT': New poll reveals the top 2 issues negatively affecting voter confidence in Biden…Read more
PENCE HITS BACK: Former VP Mike Pence's policy think tank pushed back on Vance claim that foreign aid has a hidden 'impeachment time bomb'…Read more
