QOTD -- Gonzo Republicans

"It was a joke, a stunt, a Jackson Pollack masterpiece of artfully splattered BS. It showed utter contempt for the Constitution, the institutions of American government, and the minds of Republican voters.

"That's gonzo politics in practice. It differs from the frequently violent theatrics that engulfed Congress during the years leading up to the Civil War in one crucial respect: Lawmakers in the 1840s and ‘50s actually believed in things. They actually supported and opposed slavery and its spread. They actually cared about the scope and limits of states rights. And were ultimately willing to kill and be killed over the dispute.

"Today's Trumpist Republicans care about nothing beyond maintaining and expanding their own political power. And they will say anything, and increasingly do anything, to keep it — including turning American democracy into a farce and themselves into laughingstocks." -- Damon Linker, writing about the "Brooks Brothers Riot 2.0", the most recent example of rotted- out Republicans' absolute hypocrisy in service of maintaining power for its own sake.