Are We the Baddies?
The English comedy team Mitchell and Webb are probably best known for a sketch everyone calls “Are We the Baddies?” If you’ve never seen it, take a minute right now and watch. If you have, take a minute and watch it anyway because it’s hilarious:
I’ve been thinking about this sketch for the past couple of days, but really, the feeling has been growing ever since Hair Gropenfuhrer reoccupied the White House. Between Sissy SpaceX throwing that salute and skyping into a Nazi rally, SecDef Pete “Onward Christian Soldiers” Hegseth conceding Europe to Putin, and our lizard man vice president cozying up to fascists only made it worse. Then, yesterday morning, corn-dog-eating-surrender-monkey President Trump posted the following on his cut-rate Twitter knockoff site, Truth Social:
That’s right, cats and kittens, the rot reaches all the way to the top. Okay, sure, it started at the top and worked its way down, but you know what I mean. The entire executive branch has capitulated to a thug and is ready to hand him the prize he desires but couldn’t get on his own. I don’t know about you, but I feel a little sick.
Wait, What???
There has been pushback against Donnie Dumbass and his bucket of bullshit, though. And, you’ll never guess where it’s coming from: Republicans. That’s right, gang, the call is coming from inside the house! And, it’s not just one or two, either. A metric shit ton of them are speaking up. Okay, that’s a little hyperbolic but still, a lot of Republicans on the Hill are not happy with Trump’s blatant brown-nosing of his idol, Vladimir Putin. One of my senators, Thom Tillis (R-NC) said, “There is no moral equivalency between Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy. President Putin is evil, and he has to be stopped.”1 And, check out this statement from Lindsay Fucking Graham: “When it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others.”2 Although, I do expect that one to be walked back at any minute since that seems to be his shtick.3 It isn’t all tough talk from the right, however. Sen. Lisa Murkowski took a tone that was, well, a little mealy-mouthed, saying “I would like to see that in context, because I would certainly never refer to President Zelensky as a dictator.”4 If only that was where it ended. But, of course, it didn’t. Some of the bone spur bandit’s toadies allies in Congress were a little more, let’s say “effusive”. According to Missouri’s Eric Schmitt, Trump is The Man(™). "The war's gone on long enough and I think he's going to deliver on that," he said."How we get there, I trust President Trump. He's a master negotiator and I think he's going to get to a lasting peace.”5 North Dakota’s Kevin Cramer agreed, saying "Watch Donald Trump masterfully bring an end to the war in your country and don't expect to get everything you want and don't expect Vladimir Putin to get everything he wants, but a permanent peace which I think almost every Ukrainian wants."6 You guys might want to wipe your chins. Looks like you dribbled a little something while you were down there on your knees.
But, the strongest words came from John Kennedy (R-LA), and former Vice-President Mike Pence.. Kennedy had harsh words for Putin, saying he is “a gangster with a black heart” and makes “Jeffrey Dahmer look like Mother Teresa.”7 He also said Putin “has Stalin's taste for blood.” Pence, who appears to have grown a massive set of balls since January 6th, said “Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.8” Damn, Mike, throw that thing on the table and let us all know what you’ve got.
Don’t Count Chickens Before They Hatch
There is a part of me that thinks maybe the Republicans are finding their backbone and will finally stand up to our tin pot president. There is another part of me, a much more cynical part, that thinks my optimism is badly fucking misplaced. That, just like after Donnie sicced a mob on them as they tried to do their job, their integrity and independence will have the staying power of a fart in a tornado. To be perfectly honest, I’m desperately hoping for the former while fully expecting the latter. As for how it all plays out, we’ll just have to wait and see.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-zelensky-putin-ukraine_n_67b6402ce4b050f805a0c8a0
ibid
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4383307-graham-backtracks-on-earlier-jan-6-criticism-of-trump-it-depends-on-what-the-conduct-is/
https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1892267310968136035
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/19/republican-senators-zelenskyy-ukraine-trump/79221698007/
https://www.wunc.org/2025-02-19/gop-senators-fact-check-trumps-ukraine-rhetoric-while-still-backing-his-strategy
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senator-kennedy-breaks-rank-with-trump-on-ukraine-putin-is-a-gangster/vi-AA1znU9a?ocid=1PRCMSRT
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/19/gop-hawks-reactions-trump-anti-ukraine-00204985