Every once in a while, when I’m wondering what the hell is going on in this God-forsaken planet after watching bad things being heaped on even worse things and then covered with a mélange of stupidity, something happens to drag me up from the depths of despair.
In this case, it was the January 6th Commission’s video clips juxtaposing Josh Hawley, Missouri’s very junior Senator, with his clench fist raised in support of the “demonstrators” on that day with the clip of Hawley booking it to safety as his chosen people stormed the Capitol.
If you haven’t seen the sprint yet, you could be the only one to have missed it. The internet glitterati have picked up this theme and attached music (Chariots of Fire theme, Born to Run, etc) in several soul-satisfying memes. “Everywhere” is probably not broad enough to describe where this will pop up which is probably not a good look for Hawley’s political future. It’s tough to be seen as the male version of Joan of Arc when the entire universe is laughing at you.
Josh is one of the new breed of politicians to infect our government with a virus far worse than Covid. They exist in a subset of both major parties called the Power at any Price caucus which condones any behavior that advances their personal agenda which is (circling back now like a snake eating its tail), power. Josh has a resume similar to many of the far-right rabblerousers of recent years; B.A. from Stanford, Yale Law. If your mind is experiencing a small ping, that is because this sounds a lot like Ron DeSantis (Yale, Harvard Law); Ted Cruz (Princeton, Harvard Law) and J.D.Vance (Ohio State, Yale Law).
Josh also has a lot in common with several Supreme Court nominees who somberly nodded their heads and stated that Roe was decided law while crossing their fingers behind their backs. (You remember those bobble heads, right?) Hawley was first into the pool in declaring that he’d challenge the electoral vote count, giving Mitch McConnell substantial agita. He even succeeded in raising the usually taciturn Mitt Romney’s blood pressure to boiling when the Senate reconvened after the assault. A clip of the moment where Romney bellowed “YOU started this” is one I’d pay real money to see.
Josh’s style is one you might call “metrosexual”. He and his bros Jared Kushner(saved from bankruptcy by MBS) and Stephen Miller (Igor’s second cousin) could be a cover shoot for GQ Magazine: slim profile suits, power ties and snarky leers. What ties them together more than their look is their unbridled and undisguised hunt for power by any means. Most photos of the men show them with lips closed since an open mouth shot would reveal their forked tongues.
Hawley’s term expires in 2024, so two more years of Bozo. But by then we’ll have more important fish to fry.
