Assholes Of the Week

[Howey]

Yes, folks. we have broken a record. We have an asounding number of approximately 435 assholes of the week this week.

The Republican House of Representatives, led by the incompetent John Boehner, have flipped off Hurricane Sandy victims and skipped town!

It takes some major cajones, doesn't it?

Late Friday, the Senate approved a $60.4 billion bill to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy, including grants for homeowners and businesses, and investments in regional infrastructure for projects like hospitals and transit systems. All the funding needed to pass was House approval.

Last night, however, House Republican leaders announced after passing the fiscal agreement that there would be no more votes in this Congress -- effectively killing Sandy aid and forcing the process to start over. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged the GOP to reconsider.

It wasn't supposed to go this way. Earlier in the day, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) seemed prepared to bring a smaller Sandy aid bill to the floor -- the Senate was even prepared to approve it by unanimous consent today -- but without explanation, House GOP leaders reversed course last night.

In addition to the Democratic leadership, a bipartisan group of lawmakers representing affected areas quickly condemned Republican leaders for deliberately ignoring Sandy victims, but to no avail. House Speaker John Boehner's office said he's content to deal with the aid package in the new Congress, when it will have to start over in the Senate.

"This is an absolute disgrace and the Speaker should hang his head in shame," Rep. Eliot Engel, (D-N.Y.) said.

Several lawmakers, including Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), are launching 11th-hour lobbying campaigns this morning, hoping to persuade Boehner to reverse course today, but there's been no indication from the Speaker's office that he's open to changing his mind.

[Howey]

Former Republican 2016 frontrunner, Chris Christie:



"There's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims the House majority, and their Speaker, John Boehner."

[Howey]

Say goodbye to the Violence Against Women Act too...

From Sen. Patty Murphy:

"The House Republican leadership's failure to take up and pass the Senate's bipartisan and inclusive VAWA bill is inexcusable. This is a bill that passed with 68 votes in the Senate and that extends the bill's protections to 30 million more women. But this seems to be how House Republican leadership operates. No matter how broad the bipartisan support, no matter who gets hurt in the process, the politics of the right wing of their party always comes first."

[Howey]

From the brilliant Dave Weigel (who really needs to get his heart checked):

Time and again, Washington is shocked by two incredibly well-known facts about House Republicans. One: They believe all of that stuff they tell their conservative audiences, from the town halls to the Sean Hannity remote feed. They ran in 2010 promising never to raise taxes and to take a samurai sword to the budget. Whatever Paul Ryan asked them to cut, they voted to cut. Two: Most of these members come from safe districts where the only threats to re-election are primary challenges or death by natural causes.