The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2026

Earlier this week, I presented an out-of-cycle Special Award to Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth. I noted in that post that I find it increasingly depressing to note the vast number of people in today's America who deserve these awards. In times past, I was able to reach down into the ranks of everyday Americans to find awardees whose behavior reflected the broad range of social, political, religious, economic, or simple everyday buffoonery that was sometimes funny and frequently harmless, but rarely dangerous.

Nowadays, the ass clownery has gone from funny or harmless to definitely dangerous.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, with a sense of true, utter horror, I designate as 

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2026

Der Furor

with special recognition in a supporting role to

The GOP Congressional Delegation

While I appreciate the legitimate criticism that he represents the lowest of low-hanging fruit, having previously won this award 22 times (including two Ass Clown of the Year designations and a Lifetime Achievement Award I have since withdrawn), his behavior in the last week has so far overshot the bounds of dignity, propriety, and respect for the office of the Presidency that I can think of no one more deserving of condemnation by all good Americans and people of good will everywhere.

We have long known that Der Furor has an embarrassingly fawning relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, but that relationship this week broke all restraints of propriety, responsibility, and respect for our international standing when - after more than a decade of pretending that he would honor American support for Ukraine and our European allies, he openly embraced Putin and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of responsibility for his country's invasion and devastation by Russia. He also announced an agreement unilaterally to drop Congressionally-mandated sanctions and purchase hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian oil ... a move that will provide a funding windfall for Putin's aggressive war while providing virtually no impact on supplies of diesel fuel for American consumers.

The full history of Der Furor's entanglement with Putin and Russia was clearly and comprehensively laid out in Professor Heather Cox Richardson's "Letter from an American" on October 10th. I encourage you to read it and consider the treasonous behavior of a man twice elected to the presidency by Americans who believed he shared their values and would do right by them. He has shamelessly, brazenly sold out his followers, the nation, and our allies. I can express my thoughts no better than Professor Richardson did in the final paragraph of her essay: 

"... at this point, how much more evidence is necessary to assess that [Der Furor] has undermined U.S. national security and is working for Russia? And how much longer will Republicans in Congress continue to protect him as he does it?"

And speaking of Republicans in Congress ...

The abject failure of Congressional Republicans to hold Der Furor to account for his brazen self-enrichment, flouting of the law, and seizure of powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution, has created and fed a monster they can no longer control, even supposing they wanted to. The occasional pusillanimous, tentative objection to Der Furor's worst excesses is almost always provided by individual Republicans when it is safe to do so and will make no difference in the outcome. Indeed, the House of Representatives, under the "leadership" of Speaker Mike Johnson, has a well-documented history of simply running away into recess rather than risking the chance that Der Furor and his party could face the consequences of their actions. Congressional Republicans, both in the Senate and the House, are of use only for casting fact-free, innuendo-laden sound bites at witnesses unable to protect themselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award for October, 2026, is presented to Der Furor, whose stain on the honor and dignity of the presidency and the nation will take generations to remove, and the Congressional GOP Delegation, which continues spinelessly to protect and enable the steady destruction of the nation it has sworn to serve.

Have a good day. The 2026 midterm elections are only 18 days away - your chance to bring sanity, decency, and accountability back to Congress and let Der Furor know that his days of unchecked corruption and abysmal leadership are numbered. Make sure you are registered and that you make your voice heard!

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo