The government shutdown has now dragged on for more than a month, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid, a situation that seems to be getting more dire by the day. Amid that pain, the Republicans are doing what they do best: squabbling with each other like little weenies.
The Washington Post published a story Wednesday night about a private luncheon between Republican leaders that apparently got pretty heated:
“This is your fault,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at one point, according to two Republicans who attended the lunch and witnessed the exchange.
“Are you suggesting I’m enjoying this?” McConnell snapped back, according to the people who attended the lunch.
Johnson spokesman Ben Voelkel confirmed the confrontation. He said Johnson was expressing frustration with the day’s proceedings — votes on dueling plans to reopen the government, both of which failed to advance.
Damn Ron, get him! You whine him right outta the room, buddy!
Who else is whining? Mike Lee, you want some? Of course you do. Whine it out buddy:
One of the Republicans, Sen. Mike Lee (Utah), also spoke out in the lunch. He explained that if Thursday’s votes were merely a party-line exercise, there should be more changes to the nation’s asylum laws, according to one of the people who attended the lunch. Lee also expressed concerns about getting assurances for votes on his amendments.
Did anyone else want to whine to Mike Pence without actually saying what everyone knows—that this whole crisis is manufactured by our giant squalling baby president? You bet they do!
Senators also voiced their concerns about the shutdown directly with Pence, who was in attendance.
“Nobody was blaming the president,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), speaking about the lunch to reporters afterward. “But there was a lot of frustration expressed about the situation we find ourselves in.”
“Nobody was blaming the president.” Yeah, because you’re all a bunch of giant cowards who would rather spend time trading insults than address the root of the problem.
There’s a bit more in the Post’s story (McConnell has a weird quote about a mule), but you get the gist. The vultures are turning on themselves. I hope they pick each other clean.
Correction, 1/25/19 12:55 p.m. An earlier version of this post made reference to Ron Johnson’s spokesperson rather than Johnson himself.