No…not this kind…

This kind…

And this kind…

Anyone who has followed my blog over the long years will remember a period where I decided it was appropriate to hand out the occasional “Shitbag of the Day” award. There were many to whom I bestowed this award, mostly Republicans around our nation. While many of them have since moved out of public political life, there are some who remain in front of the pack even years later. One stand-out who I would expect would easily move from his Shitbag status into the Asshole category would be a perennial favorite would be Lindsey Graham, always a standout who moves easily between other assholes without hesitation.

To be clear, assholes come in several different varieties.

We have the Southern flavor –

We have the Mid-West variety –

We have the Southern style –

And let’s not forget the West –

And they are not just men –

But let’s not just pick on Politicians. Assholes abound in the private sector also.

And before we move to the main point, I can’t forget probably one of the biggest assholes in my time –

But today, I think there is one individual who demands much more attention and leads the Republican chase for the biggest asshole of the moment.

Yes, it is Ronald Harold Johnson, Republican Senator from Wisconsin, known as “America’s Dairyland”; it is particularly famous for its cheese. Ron has spent the last 4 years kissing the former President’s ass at every juncture. He has vehemently defended him in both Impeachment trials. Last spring as the Covid-19 pandemic was rapidly growing, he argued that the economy needed to open back up because people die all the time – here is an excerpt from the op-ed he authored:

“Every premature death is a tragedy, but death is an unavoidable part of life. More than 2.8 million die each year — nearly 7,700 a day. The 2017-18 flu season was exceptionally bad, with 61,000 deaths attributed to it. Can you imagine the panic if those mortality statistics were attributed to a new virus and reported nonstop?”

Ron has also consistently dismissed the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol noting “this didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me”. He has had no problem spreading conspiracy theories after he read the account of a single eyewitness during the first public Senate hearing on the Capitol insurrection which suggested there were professional provocateurs in the crowd egging people on. Johnson read from an article published by the Federalist that argues “agents-provocateurs” and “fake Trump protesters” were behind the assault on the Capitol, rather than actual Trump supporters.

While most of these stands taken by Johnson would easily move him into the category of Asshole (and a rather large one at that), just yesterday, March 4th, as the Senate began their effort to pass the latest Covid-19 relief legislation, Ronny felt it important to force the entire bill – almost 700 pages – be read aloud in the Senate chamber, an almost 10 exercise in wasting time. The icing on the cake? Ronny left the Senate well before the reading was completed which was at around 2am. He was likely back in his DC apartment, dreaming of large chunks of cheese. This last act of Republican stall tactics undoubted brings Ronny to the head of pack of current assholes so let’s all recognize him for who he is.

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Now, as I approach the point of going on too long (apologies) there is one other area I feel a need to address. It could logically fall into the discussion on assholes but since Sen. Ron held such a lead today it does take somewhat of a back seat.

Okay, so the US is now at around 525,000 deaths from the virus. Assholes around the country are opening businesses and removing restrictions around masks and the like (see – you can’t get too far away from assholes no matter where you look!) but the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) has decided it is time to ensure their flock of idiots makes this whole process a bit more difficult and dangerous. Thank goodness we still have the Pope:

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I would think that these US Catholic Bishops’ might just have some other larger issues on which they could spend some time and effort.