Today's Worstest Person In The World: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
He may qualify for TWO piles of horse shit
When it comes to the US Senate and doing truly, deeply shitty things, NO ONE can pee in the sandbox with the skill and aplomb of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). The junior senator from Kentucky is to compassion and caring what Torquemada was to forgiveness and charity. Sen. Paul would steal candy from babies if he thought he could score a few cheap political points.
One of many Conservatives in official Washington who openly has a problem with aiding Ukraine in its fight to defend its homeland against Russia, Sen. Paul just took a big ol’ metaphorical dump on the latest Ukrainian aid package. ‘Cuz he’s a deficit hawk, don’tchaknow?
The top Democrat and Republican in the US Senate joined forces in a rare moment of unity on Thursday in an attempt to pass $40bn in aid for Ukraine, only to be stymied by a single Republican lawmaker: the Kentucky libertarian Rand Paul.
Faced with the prospect of an extended delay for the package that passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, sought to move forward on the aid package only to be blocked by Paul, a fiscal hawk who objects to the amount of spending proposed.
Now, you might think that Sen. Paul might be moved by the opprobrium of those in the Senate and official Washington who’d like to hang him by his testicles in the Capitol rotunda…but not the junior Senator from Kentucky.
‘Cuz Honey Badger don’t give a f**k.
As the Ukraine aid bill became caught in the Senate’s procedural gears, Schumer pleaded for fast action: “The package is ready to go, the vast majority of senators on both sides of the aisle want it.”
He added: “If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demands … all he will accomplish is to single-handedly delay desperately needed Ukraine aid.”
But Paul was not moved.
Sociopaths tend not to care what others think of them, nor are they particularly concerned about what impact their actions might have on others. And Sen. Paul is the gold standard when it comes to sociopaths. So people might die in Ukraine because he’s delaying the aid package? Big deal; it’s not like they’re Americans or anything.
Hey, he’s trying to reign in a Congress known for spending as if money grows on trees.
And did I mention that Honey Badger don’t give a f**k??
Paul is demanding that the legislation be altered to require an inspector general to oversee spending on Ukraine. Without his agreement, the Senate must follow a lengthy process stipulated by the chamber’s arcane rules.
McConnell, Paul’s fellow senator from Kentucky, weighed in, saying: “Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. They’re only asking for the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged invasion. And they need this help right now.”
This has nothing to do with Sen. Paul’s “concern” about runaway government spending. Instead, he’s merely trying to complicate things for President Biden because…well, because he can. And because politics, don’tchaknow?
And did I mention that Honey Badger…well, you know….
Because when you get down to it, it’s a midterm election year, so anything Sen. Paul can do to booger things up for the President, the better he thinks things will be for Republicans in November. So Ukrainians are dying as they defend their homeland; Republicans have midterms to win.
Joe Biden had asked Congress to approve an additional $33bn in aid for Ukraine. But lawmakers decided to increase the military and humanitarian funding.
“This is the second spending bill for Ukraine in two months. And this bill is three times larger than the first,” Paul said before formally blocking the aid package. “Congress just wants to keep on spending, and spending.”
Well, yeah, Congress DOES want to “keep on spending and spending.” First, Ukraine is a valued US ally fighting a proxy war against Russia- and our aid is partially responsible for the success they’ve had thus far. Second, it’s a helluva lot better to be sending Ukraine money and materiel than to have American boots on the ground fighting in what could become World War III.
Of course, Sen. Paul, like most Republicans, resents having to send money to an enemy of his Russian handlers. Anything he can do to delay that process can only harm Ukrainian interests.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Sen. Paul’s response here:
“[W]e cannot continue to spend money we don’t have.” Yeah, I’m going to have to call “bullshit” on the junior sociopath Senator from Kentucky.
Interesting, isn’t it, that there never seems to be money for things that matter, things that can do some good- yet $2 billion continues to roll through the front door of the Pentagon. Every. Single. Damned. Day.
Oh…and Congress sends $20 billion in subsidies to Big Oil that the industry doesn’t need to be profitable. Yet no Republican, including Sen. Paul, seems to have a problem with that.
Right…and there was plenty of money for Donald’s Trump tax cut for the oligarchy. There’s always enough money for the Defense budget and for propping up the oligarchy. Yet, for the relatively small $40 billion chunk requested to help an ally in dire need, Sen. Paul exercises his prerogative to hold things up? Hypocrisy doesn’t begin to describe what he’s up to here.
Despite what Sen. Paul and Donald Trump, Jr. may have to say, the intent behind this move is pretty transparent, and the junior Senator from Kentucky is sufficiently sociopathic to pull it off.
No, Ukraine won’t win or lose based on Sen. Paul’s craven parliamentary bullshit. The aid will be approved, probably sometime this week, and it will get where it’s supposed to be in time to do some good, but Paul’s machinations aren’t exactly burnishing his bona fides as a statesman.
Then again, Honey Badger don’t give a f**k. It’s not like he knows or cares about anyone in Ukraine.