The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2023

The relentlessly depressing news had caused me to despair of being able to select a suitable winner for this period. I was greatly tempted to use today's award to note the most recent dishonorable conduct of such paragons of wretched behavior as Der Furor, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and Empty G, but an online discussion with my friend Eve-Angeline caused me to look backward - past the behavior of today's lunatics - to recognize one of the people who worked hard to make today's rampant political ass clownery possible.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, I am presenting the tinfoil and toilet paper crown of

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2023

to

Newt Gingrich*

Newt Gingrich, during his twenty years (1979-1999) as a member of the House of Representatives for Georgia's 6th District, House Minority Leader, and Speaker of the House, was largely responsible for creating the conditions which laid the groundwork for the chaotic dysfunction of today's House. He has been "credited" by political scientists with undermining democratic norms through his refusal to compromise on legislation and the ethical shortcomings which resulted in a reprimand from the House and his ejection from his position as Speaker of the House in 1998.

Mr Gingrich's combative approach to politics, embrace of hateful language, and relentless hyper-partisanship laid the groundwork for Der Furor's later ability to ignore democratic norms and squander the dignity of a functioning representative government. He openly questioned the patriotism of Democrats, accused them of corruption, compared them to fascists, and accused them of wanting to destroy the United States ... all activities that comprise the standard playbook of today's GOP. In addition, he previewed today's scorched-earth Republican politics by encouraging and overseeing several major shutdowns of the federal government in an attempt to achieve his political goals.

No longer in government, Mr Gingrich continues his disruptive political role, fanning the flames of disunity by supporting Der Furor's baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election and continuing to eschew compromise as a sign of weakness rather than a principled attempt to find common ground with one's opponents. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Left-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2023, is political gadfly and general nuisance Newt Gingrich ... Georgia's greatest gift to political chicanery until the advent of Empty G.

Have a good day, and be sure to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday, when we will honor our proliferation of political snakes with a salute to - who else? - Medusa. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* This is actually Mr Gingrich's second award, but his first as a solo awardee. On November 23, 2011, I presented a shared Ass Clown Award (this was prior to my adoption of the Right-Cheek/Left-Cheek/On-Crack system) to the "Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction" (the so-called "supercommittee") and to Mr Gingrich for his assertion that child labor laws were "truly stupid" and undermined the work ethic of America's children ... an amazing position coming back again in today's cruel and ugly GOP.