Pelosi’s March to the Sea

Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter?PHPSESSID=9ec81ca572a79fa52a131cccdfffc983" target="_blank">The U.S. Army</a> (Creative Commons)

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Georgia Rep. Paul Broun (R-Oath Keepers), in addition to spelling his name wrong, also is something of a lunatic. In 2008, he compared the Bush-era bank bailout to “a huge cow patty with a piece of marshmallow stuck in the middle,” which he was “not going to eat.” (Imagine if Eric Cantor had brought one of those to the health care summit!) He was also among the first to warn that then-President-elect Obama might lead us down the slippery slope to a radical socialist dictatorship, using language that would vex even Texas schoolbook purveyors: “That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany…he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.” So naturally, when he took to the floor of the House last night to discuss the imminent passage of health care reform, great things were expected. And Broun did not disappoint. In his words: “If ObamaCare passes, that free insurance card that’s in people’s pockets is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the war between the statesthe great war of yankee aggression.”

It all depends on how the Congressional Budget Office scores it, of course…But I think the news that the health care bill not only covers millions of uninsured Americans, but also apparently frees the slaves, could be enough to win over on-the-fence Democrats.

Distateful though it may be (Lee Fang calls Broun’s language “racial” and “militant”), Broun’s analogy is actually a really fun one. Obama is obviously Abraham Lincoln in this scenario, which is pretty neat. Taking it even further, congressional Democrats (pictured above, “jamming the bill through”) are the Union Army: Harry Reid is Ulysses S. Grant (minus the drinking, of course); Nancy Pelosi is William Tecumseh Sherman; and Joe Lieberman is, of course, George McClellaninfuriating, backstabbing, and incompetent. Who’d I miss? Let me know in the comments.

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DEFEND THE TRUTH. DEFEND JOURNALISM.

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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