Elise Stefanik- Willfuly dishonest...and built to stay that way

No matter how you say it, it still comes up "sociopath"

Just a typical tourist day….

The less a person knows, the more certain he is that he is right, and ... no weapons yet invented are of any use in a struggle with stupidity.

• Elizabeth von Arnim, The Solitary Summer

Before we get too far along, I want to establish two benchmarks that will inform everything that follows:

1. January 6, 2021, was not a day of peaceful protest

2. Those serving time for crimes they committed that day are NOT “hostages.” They are “convicts.” In this case, words matter.

And yet, some Republicans- including Orange Jesus- seem not to have received the memo or just don’t care. They’re going to push the party line, which is the Trumpian line, the truth be damned.

“I have concerns about the treatment of January 6 hostages?” WTF? Yes, this is the new Republican propaganda being pushed by idiots on the Far-Right like Rep. Marjorie Trailer Greene (R-GA) and now Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). If you look up “sociopath” in a dictionary, it’s very likely you’ll see a photo of Elise Stefanik embedded in it.

OK, so for those of you in the studio audience who may be somewhat reality-impaired, allow me to introduce the definition of “hostage,” so we’re all singing from the same hymnal:

If you look at that definition clearly, you’ll notice that none of those convicted of crimes committed on January 6 fit the definition of “hostage.” There is, however, a word that does describe them:

You see, the people who stormed the Capitol, broke into offices, defecated in the halls of Congress, and occupied the House chamber “fucked around.” In other words, they committed crimes. Many were arrested and then “found out” or were convicted of crimes and then incarcerated for those crimes.

That’s what happens to convicted criminals- felons- or “convicts.” They become “guests” of the state for a specified period of time as a means of atoning for their particular crimes. It’s what happens when you “fuck around” and then “find out.”

Becoming a “hostage” is what happens when you’re taken against your will and held for ransom in an undisclosed location. That’s fundamentally different from being a “convict,” where everyone knows where you are, you have regular visiting hours, and you get three meals a day.

Hamas takes hostages, and when last I checked, there were six Americans still being held hostage by Hamas after the October 7 attack in southern Israel. Do their families know where they are? No. Do they have regular visiting hours? No. Were the hostages “fucking around?” No. And did they “find out?” Again, no.

That would mean they are, in fact, hostages.

Rep. Stefanik is smart enough to know the difference between “hostage” and “convict.” That she’s choosing to play the Republican propaganda game is on her, and it’s shamelessly in character. She’s a sociopath devoid of a conscience or even a moral center.

I’ll assume that at one point, Rep. Stefanik had a functional sense of right and wrong and perhaps even a touch of honor. Perhaps she may even had a modicum of dignity and a shred of integrity. Alas, political power has gone to her head, and she’s now a shameless, corrupt, power-hungry drone without a shred of compassion or human decency.

Rep. Stefanik has become the Right-wing equivalent of a talking asshole who supports Orange Jesus unreservedly and will do and/or say whatever needs to be elucidated to clear the path for him. She has no morals, conscience, or concern for others. Her performance in the recent hearing with three Ivy League university Presidents amply demonstrated her lack of concern for anything but her Right-wing agenda. She doesn’t care who or what she destroys along the way.

In the 2:19 of that video, do you see peaceful tourists? No, you don’t, because House security officers don’t usually draw loaded weapons and point them at peaceful, law-abiding tourists who took a wrong turn looking for the Capitol gift shop.

The people behind the camera were soon to become known as “convicts,” not “hostages.” The fact that Rep. Stefanik has chosen to conflate the two should be highly offensive to anyone who has a grip on reality and any respect for our judicial system.

The problem is that Rep. Stefanik, like the GOP in general, has no interest in governing or supporting America’s judicial system. She wants to create chaos and confusion and thus aid in making it easier for Donald Trump to win in November. She’ll do whatever she believes needs to be done and justify it to herself and the country as patriotism and love of country.

It’s not about making America better or improving American governance. It’s about generating enough smoke, noise, confusion, and supercilious bullshit to allow the GOP to sneak Trump over the finish line.

That’s it. That’s all. Winning by whatever means necessary- be it underhanded, immoral, unethical…perhaps even illegal. Because once Mango Mussolini is back in the White House, things will be different. This includes the judicial system, which will undoubtedly lose any appearance of impartiality. DOJ will become a weapon that Trump can wield against his enemies and adversaries. Justice will no longer be blind.

And those behind bars may actually become “hostages.” But that’s not what they are now. Rep. Stefanik tarnishes both herself (hard to believe she could sink any lower, I know) and Congress with her cheap, tawdry, and amateurish partisanship.

Then again, Rep. Stefanik is the Queen of cheap, shameless partisanship. I’d say she should be ashamed of herself, but that would assume she can process shame, which may be giving her far too much credit.

Sociopaths like Rep. Stefanik rarely give a fuck about anything that doesn’t benefit them directly.

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