Miss Information – Speaking of Apes

by | Apr 29, 2023 | Editorials and Opinions, Newsletters

Who knew Republicans were such jokesters, but these days they’re funnier than a barrel of flatulent monkeys.

It turns out that January 6 was not an insurrection. It was a laugh riot, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declaring, “I want to tell you something: If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won . . . Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.” About those who criticized her statement: They were “trying to weaponize a sarcastic joke I made.”

And of course, there’s the unrelentingly funny Former Guy. In the throes of COVID, Trump said testing should be slowed down because too many tests were coming back positive. A spokesman later claimed that Trump was “obviously kidding.”

Trump calling President Obama the founder of ISIS? Or Trump biblically referring to himself as “the chosen one”? Democrats just don’t understand sarcasm.

You invite serious consequences if you joke about bombs in airports. But so-called jokes designed to blow up democracy are now legitimate Republican discourse. Claiming their incendiary words are jokes grants them deniability, no matter how implausible.

In his memoir, Steve Pearce, Chair of the New Mexican Republican Party, wrote—in all seriousness—that a wife should “voluntarily submit” to her husband, just as the husband should “lovingly lead and sacrifice”.

Retrograde ideas don’t preclude wit, however. Explaining why he believes environmentalists are nuts, Pearce joked, “People are declaring that we descended from apes. Now, I know that’s not true. The argument that we descended from sheep is still an open question. But the ape idea is completely out of line.”

Speaking of apes, Pearce and his MAGA buddies really need to evolve. But with a mindset like theirs, don’t hold your breath.

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