The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2024

With the dawn of a new month comes new opportunities to recognize achievements in ass clownery. As we've noted before, this is an election year, and so the prevailing level of dumbassery is greatly magnified through the lens of hyperpartisan politics. It would be possible to bestow one of these awards every day and not run out of qualified candidates ... and that would just be within the GOP/MAGA cesspool.

But we will avoid national level politics this week and turn instead to the state level, where worthy ass clowns also deserve recognition ...

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers,

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown Award

for

February, 2024

is presented to

Missouri State Senator

Nick Schroer (R, District 2)

I was alerted to the Ass Clown potential of this individual two weeks ago when Mike (himself a Missouri resident, more's the pity) posted about Senator Schroer's proposal of a new law allowing Missouri senators to duel with agreed-upon weapons "in the well of the Senate at the hour of high noon" to "rectify the perceived insult to the senator's honor."

Yes, Dear Readers, at a time when the nation is beset with problems requiring a Solomonic degree of serious thought and hard work, a Republican (of course) state senator has decided that some disputes between legislators are so serious that they require the opposing legislators to duel to preserve their "honor" ... and not only to duel, but to do it indoors, in the well of the state senate. Professor Joanne Freeman of Yale University, a historian of political violence, tweeted:

“... back in the day, they were smart enough to take dueling OUTSIDE. The draft [senate resolution] that I saw suggests doing it in the chamber. This doesn’t show guts or bravery or manhood – if it’s supposed to. It shows utter stupidity.”

Utter stupidity. I couldn't have said it any better.

Some people (my ever-suspicious wife included) think this may be a joke, but I doubt it. These days, when rioting MAGAts build gallows at the Capitol to hang the Vice President, and ignore laws they don't agree with, I'll believe just about anything.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the tinfoil and toilet paper crown denoting the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2024, is presented to Missouri GOP state senator Nick Schroer. If you live in Missouri, I'm sorry.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday, when we can laugh at something that's actually funny, rather than sad. More thoughts then.

Bilbo