AZ GOP Gov Candidate Kari Lake Takes Bold Stance Against Curvy Women On 'Sports Illustrated' Covers
She’s just the worst.
The Arizona primaries are August 2, and it’s gonna be a long hot summer of crazy for the GOP candidates. FiveThirtyEight rates this year's election for governor as a toss-up. Perhaps that’s because the potential nominee is MAGA kook and Big Lie promoter Kari Lake, who doesn’t shy away from publicly revealing how terrible she is.
Lake was incensed that Sports Illustrated put a model on its cover who is larger than a size zero. She ranted, “To try to act like that’s the epitome of health is just crazy. To tell our boys in school that they can be girls and vice versa ... "
Trump\u2019s candidate for AZ Gov Kari Lake is upset over the SI Swimsuit Edition cover: \u201cIt\u2019s insane .. We\u2019re not going to sit idly by and be quiet, and put our hands on our lap, and follow Miss Manners rules anymore. We\u2019re gonna get out there and do some guerrilla warfare.\u201dpic.twitter.com/BuXeulj5fR— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1653160334
So, last week, Yumi Nu was revealed as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model. Nu is Asian American and curvy. This apparently drove some fools crazy, specifically Jordan Peterson, who tweeted, "Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.” He’d responded to a photo of Nu looking beautiful, which visibly undercut his point. However, no one’s forcing Peterson to find Nu attractive. All so-called “authoritarian tolerance” demands is that people like Peterson recognize that they aren’t the sole arbiters of taste.
It’s not clear why Lake combined her fatphobia with transphobia in some twisted Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of bigotry. However, she’s not about to sit back and let curvy women exist in peace.
LAKE: It’s insane and we’re not going to play into it anymore. We’re not going to sit idly by and be quiet, and put our hands on our lap, and follow Miss Manners rules anymore. We’re gonna get out there and do some guerrilla warfare.
This is what Lake seems to think we must stand up against.
Yumi Nu 'shaking' over SI Swimsuit cover reveal https://trib.al/H9q8II1\u00a0pic.twitter.com/CQC3ELLW2F— New York Post (@New York Post) 1652721812
The MAGA life is so empty that even this inoffensive cover fuels their grievance fires. Miss Manners hasn’t really commented on swimsuit magazine etiquette, but even if she did, Lake won’t listen. She’s going full-out guerrilla warfare against human decency and basic respect for others.
LAKE: We’re gonna come out and vote. We’re coming out swinging. And we’re gonna save this country. We’re starting here in Arizona because Joe Biden is a nightmare. I’m glad to hear that Elon [Musk]'s not voting for him.
President Joe Biden has nothing to do with Sports Illustrated swimsuit covers. That’s not within his scope of work. Elon Musk is MAGA’s new “it” boy, but his mother, Maye, is actually one of the four cover models. (The others are Kim Kardashian and Ciara.)
PREVIOUSLY: Is Trump-Endorsed Kari Lake Too Coup-Coup For Arizona Gov?
We get it, though: A curvy woman of color doesn’t meet the fascist aesthetic. True art bears the graven image of the mad MAGA king, Donald Trump. Lake announced this weekend on social media that “when” she wins the governor’s race, she’ll hang this ugly-ass portrait of Trump in the executive’s office. She shouldn’t have a problem cramming most items on her domestic agenda into the first 100 days if they are all this pathetic.
Kari Lake announces she will be hanging this painting in the AZ Governor\u2019s Executive Office \u201cwhen we win.\u201dpic.twitter.com/ukTmNlda85— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1653267248
Lake is still the frontrunner for the GOP nomination because the party is a fascist dumpster fire. She has vowed to ban critical race theory and the teaching of sex education before fifth grade. If elected governor, she wouldn’t have much sway over who Sports Illustrated puts on its swimsuit covers, but she would take charge of the state’s elections. She might declare Trump the winner of Arizona’s electoral votes in 2024 before the polls even close.
Her campaign is an existential threat to democracy. We miss when we could just dunk on her for being an asshole.
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Jan. 6 Committee Ready To F*ck Up Primetime For Nation's Most Famous Couch Potato
And Liz Cheney is leading the charge.
If you'd told us in 2019 that we'd be rooting for Dick Cheney's daughter, we'd have told you to put down the crack pipe. And yet here we are, and here's GOP Rep. Liz Cheney giving 'em holy hell yesterday as she accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
“This sacred obligation to defend the peaceful transfer of power has been honored by every American president except one,” Cheney said. “The question for every one of us is in this time of testing, will we do our duty, will we defend our constitution, will we stand for truth, will we put duty to our oath above partisan politics?
“Or will we look away from danger, ignore the threat, embrace the lies and enable the liar?” Cheney continued. “As we face a threat we have never faced before — a former president attempting to unravel our constitutional republic — at this moment we must all summon the courage to stand against that.”
This is consistent with reporting from the Washington Post last week that Cheney is pushing harder than the Committee's Democrats to go after Trump and subpoena the congressional Republicans who helped him try to overthrow democracy.
So let's give credit where credit is due: Liz Cheney has shown remarkable courage, bucking her party's insistence on creating an alternate universe in which Donald Trump won the 2020 election, only to be thwarted by a massive yet undetectable fraud. She got booted out of leadership and will likely lose her congressional seat, but she's not backing down. Mad props.
This morning, Hugo Lowell of the Guardian reports that the January 6 Select Committee has scheduled six hearings, with the first occurring Thursday, June 9, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The last hearing will take place on June 23, also in primetime. There will also be 10 a.m. hearings on June 13, 15, 16 and 21.
Each presentation will focus on a theme and feature witness testimony, with video and still images projected on screens to reinforce the narrative. Lowell reports that the hearings are divided into color coded teams:
The “purple” team has focused on the militia groups, while the “gold” team has examined Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. The “red” team has looked at Stop the Steal, the “green” team at the financing for January 6, and the “blue” team at the government response.
Looks like we'll be hearing a lot about the plot to reject electoral votes for Joe Biden and substitute them for those cosplay electors Rudy Giuliani and his pals were rounding up in the swing states. And we'll be hearing a lot about the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, their potential for violence, and their connections to Trump world. As Lowell notes, "the select committee is attempting to connect Trump’s political plan for January 6 and the militia groups’ violence at the Capitol in what could form evidence that Trump oversaw an unlawful conspiracy."
And speaking of violence, CNN reports that Mark Meadows's assistant Cassidy Hutchinson returned for a third session with the Committee last week, at which she confirmed again that her boss was told there was a potential for violence on January 6, and he went ahead with the event anyway.
Sounds like it's going to be a Live-Blog-A-Palooza here at your Wonkette. BRING IT!
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Sentient Mayo Candidate Challenging Marjorie Taylor Greene Spreading Little Excitement In GOP Primary
Yawn.
Jennifer Strahan is the dull, safe Republican running against incumbent GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th district. A poll from January showed Greene with 60 percent support to Strahan's 30. However, Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s defeat last week in his primary sparked hope in many that Greene could have an equally brief “grand opening/grand closing” congressional career.
Political consultant Fred Wellman tweeted, "Cawthorn lost for a lot of reasons but the lesson is they are not invincible. Stop telling me a one-term Congress member who has done nothing for their district can't be beaten. Marjorie Taylor Greene needs to be next. We can beat her. Support @Marcus4Georgia and send her home.”
Marcus Flowers is the Democrat challenging Greene in November. He’s raised a lot of money from decent people who hate Greene, but the district is solidly Republican. The best chance to beat her is during the primary.
PREVIOUSLY: Here’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Very Serious, Very Dull GOP Primary Opponent
Although Strahan has the backing of several GOP PACs, the state’s Republicans have not mobilized against Greene the way the North Carolina GOP did against the (alleged) orgy tattler. Some House Republicans have reportedly been helpful to Strahan, but won’t go public either because they're cowards or they're just acting out of basic self-preservation. Greene is bonkers, and it sounds like her constituents think so too, according to this CNN profile on Strahan:
One business owner, who had trepidatiously put a Strahan sign in her shop window, said Strahan would be more effective in Washington but requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation -- specifically the fear of receiving a threatening voicemail from the congresswoman.
"My stomach is churning just talking to you," the shop owner said.
We'd sure like to know more about why that business owner is scared of threatening voicemails from Greene!
CNN quotes supporters of Greene who say they love that she’s “bold” and “states her opinion." Steve Walker, age 66, said, “They hate her so I like [her.]” Who’s “they”? The “people in charge up there,” he says, even though Greene is one of them. Greene represents an authoritarian movement within the GOP that the party leadership is apparenlty powerless to resist, but her supporters appreciate that she “tells it like it is."
CNN did find some voters in the 14th who claimed they liked Greene’s politics "but not her demeanor.” This is bullshit, because there’s no hidden depth beneath her gross demeanor. Her racist, transphobic, cruel, hateful rhetoric is all there is. That’s her politics. They don’t really want a more polite, PG-rated Greene. Anyone who tries will simply read as a weak RINO who’s not fully committed to hurting the right people.
"As long as there's a Republican in that spot, I'm OK," said Lorrie Heiken, a 54-year-old self-described "MAGA" supporter who does not believe President Joe Biden won the 2020 election but also thinks the QAnon conspiracy theory -- and Greene's promotion of it -- goes too far.
Meanwhile, Strahan has “bravely” stated the obvious — "Joe Biden is our president.” — but she consistently avoids directly answering the looming question about whether she would’ve voted to certify the 2020 results. “To coup or not to coup” is not even an easy, reflexive “no” among the supposed adults in the room. This is typical for Strahan’s rhythmless tap dance routine.
Strahan says she disagrees with the Democratic House majority’s decision to remove Greene from her committees because of past statements supporting political violence. However, she also claims Greene’s absence on committees makes her ineffective, so that’s why voters should pick her instead. She’s Schrödinger's spineless candidate. Besides, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly said that he’ll reinstate Greene on committees if Republicans regain control, which renders moot a key argument for Strahan’s campaign.
Strahan can’t even pass the Liz Cheney/Adam Kinzinger test. She’s twice stated she’d support Donald Trump if “he’s our nominee.” Sure, he’s undermined faith in our elections and incited a violent assault on the Capitol, but hey, she really enjoyed those 2017 tax cuts.
If Republicans deserve a better class of candidate than Greene, Strahan hasn’t shown she’s much of an upgrade.
[CNN]
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Trump Stooge David Perdue Headed For Second Annual Election Loss In Georgia
Sad!
Donald Trump’s instrument of petty revenge, David Perdue, is headed for an old-fashioned ass-whoopin' in the GOP Georgia governor’s primary Tuesday. According to the New York Times, Perdue's death rattle of a campaign is "ending the race low on cash, with no ads on television and a candidate described even by his supporters as lackluster and distracted."
It turns out Georgia doesn’t have enough voters who appreciate candidates they find lackluster and distracted.
Perdue has consistently trailed incumbent Governor Brian Kemp in the polls, despite running an overtly racist campaign based around Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 election.
A recent Fox News poll shows Kemp crushing Perdue 60 to 28 percent. This would more than clear the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a June runoff, while also humiliating Perdue, a former senator who at some point in the past actually won elections. It’s becoming hard to remember.
While campaigning Thursday in Woodstock, Georgia, Perdue remained defiantly in denial about the poll, which is hardly an outlier.
“Hell no, I’m not down 30 points,” insisted Mr. Perdue, whose campaign did not respond to requests for comment for this article. “We may not win Tuesday,” he added, “but I guaran-damn-tee-you we are not down 30 points.”
PREVIOUSLY: Loser Ex-Senator David Perdue Set To Lose Another Rigged Election In Georgia
Perdue concedes that he may not win Tuesday, but he’s seemingly confident it should at least take a couple hours before Dave Wasserman tweets “I’ve seen enough.”
How did such a terrible campaign go so wrong? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a fellow Trump stooge, claims that “Perdue thought that Trump was a magic wand ... In retrospect, it’s hard to understand David’s campaign, and it’s certainly not the campaign those of us who were for him expected.”
Trump had pressured Perdue to run against Kemp, who refused to drive the getaway car during Trump’s attempted theft of Georgia’s electoral votes (that was a metaphor; there was no literal car). Gingrich is playing willfully obtuse when he says he doesn’t understand Perdue’s campaign. Its entire rationale was clearly to punish Kemp because he obeyed the law. There was no other logical reason to primary a sitting governor, especially when the Democratic opponent is future President of Earth Stacey Abrams.
PREVIOUSLY: Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp Slightly Less Of A-Hole When Standing Next To Trump-Humping Loser David Perdue
Perdue pointedly refused to debate actual policy with Kemp during their cage match last April. He kept hammering the Big Lie and blamed Kemp for not just Trump’s loss but his own, which made him look weak and pathetic. His opening statement was a time capsule of MAGA grievance over 2020:
The Perdue opening statement is a time capsule of this moment in GOP politicspic.twitter.com/rQdeolydWC— Shane Goldmacher (@Shane Goldmacher) 1650844762
Georgia Republicans have seemingly moved on to newer grievances and cultural resentments. Perdue’s tired cover of Trump’s Big Lie just failed to chart. Trump had more success with Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania GOP governor candidate he endorsed at the last minute when it was obvious he’d win the primary. Typical for Trump, he slapped his name on an already thriving enterprise, but when he tried to build Perdue's campaign from the ground up, it collapsed in on itself.
This is hardly a story of good vs. evil, though. It’s more Southern-fried Godfather. The Times details how Kemp “exploited the powers of his office to cut off Mr. Perdue from his allies,” which is described as savviness instead of corruption. Back in March, Kemp’s allies made Perdue’s cousin, former Gov. Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
Mr. Kemp also appeared to punish those who crossed him: One congressional seat was drawn to exclude the home of a candidate whose father, a Perdue supporter, had publicly criticized the governor.
And he offered goodies to voters, including a gas-tax holiday that conveniently runs through the end of May, just past the primary.
Politics is local, and Kemp demonstrated what a sitting governor can achieve while a former president and senator can only whine impotently.
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