The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for April, 2022

Let's begin with a trip down memory lane, shall we?

My first Ass Clown Award was presented on April 17th, 2011 - almost exactly eleven years ago. That award was a post script to that day's Cartoon Saturday spillover post, and was presented to Der Furor*. At the time, of course, the orange buffoon was merely a political gadfly with delusions of political adequacy. I wrote that the award was presented

"in recognition of his boundless egotism and willingness to embrace long-discredited birther conspiracies in an attempt to make himself look like a meaningful candidate for president."

Sadly, Der Furor did run for president - twice - and was elected to his single term by a subset of Americans to whom his bombast and racist ignorance mirrored their own fears and prejudices. Time has shown the sad result of our indulgence of his crudity and hatefulness. 

Looking back at my records of the Ass Clown Award presentations I've made over the years, I was struck by the fact that Republicans or other extremely conservative individuals or groups constitute the largest percentage of awardees. In fact, the first six awards presented in the current year have all gone to those categories, with the exception of the sharing of the March Right-Cheek Award with despicable Russian president Vladimir Putin ... who has been inexplicably lionized by many on the American right. 

I have long been sensitive to the charge that I somehow unfairly target the social and political right, ignoring those who some perceive - rightly or wrongly - as eligible winners on the political and social left. I think this is a ridiculous charge, if only because the right provides such an immensely larger, target-rich environment for scorn. Nevertheless, there are eligible Ass Clowns on the left, who have avoided awards only because they are so glaringly overshadowed and outnumbered by those on the right. And so it is that I have decided to present 

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for April, 2022

 

to

Senator Joe Manchin (D, WV)

Senator Manchin is often described as a "conservative" or even a "moderate" Democrat, but he is a Republican in all but name. He has consistently refused to support the more liberal social and economic programs of the Democratic Party, hewing regularly to a more conservative line even when such a position is clearly contrary to the interests of the citizens of his economically depressed state. In an evenly-divided Senate where every vote counts, he has consistently used his position as a spoiler to sabotage programs espoused by the party to which he claims to belong.

The state of West Virginia ranks 48th out of 50 states for economy, 47th out of 50 for health care, 45th out of 50 for education, and 50th out of 50 for infrastructure. At a time when the environmental dangers of fossil fuels are undeniable, Senator Manchin consistently votes in line with the interests of the coal industry (which is, of course, important to West Virginia, but in which he has major investments and political connections). Although West Virginia is quite poor and economic distress is widespread, Senator Manchin lives in Washington on board his $200,000 houseboat** and drives a Maserati rather than a pickup truck.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right-Cheek Ass Clown Award for April, 2022, is presented to Senator Joe Manchin, the "Democratic" senator from West Virginia, along with a Gohmert Stupidity Scale score of 30,000. He might as well be a Republican.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* Der Furor has won a total of 14 Ass Clown Awards since that day, including the Ass Clown of the Year award for 2015.

** It's been described as a "yacht," and some would claim that it's a good deal for a place to live in DC, although it would be far beyond the means of the average West Virginian and doesn't provide very good "optics" for someone who fancies himself a man of the people.