Short attention span musing

...From the "Is anyone really surprised by this?" file:

From AP -

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia registers as independent, citing ‘partisan extremism’

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Friday he has switched his registration to independent, raising questions about his political plans since the move could help his chances should he seek elected office again in a state that has turned heavily Republican.

Manchin, 76, has often been at odds with the Democratic Party and an obstacle to many of President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities. But he played a central role in helping Biden get a landmark climate change and health care bill over the finish line in 2022.

Maybe he can caucus with Kyrsten Sinema.  Probably not gonna happen though.

Both would want to be considered the leader of that particular caucus, and she may be the one person in the U.S. Senate who is as utterly self-focused as him (and that's saying something in a body that numbers Ted Cruz among its members.)

...From the "It worked so well on January 6, 2021 so it should be done again." file: 

From Reuters -

Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict

Supporters of former President Donald Trump, enraged by his conviction on 34 felony counts by a New York jury, flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, revolution and violent retribution.

After Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, his supporters responded with dozens of violent online posts, according to a Reuters review of comments on three Trump-aligned websites: the former president's own Truth Social platform, Patriots.Win and the Gateway Pundit.

Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection.

“Someone in NY with nothing to lose needs to take care of Merchan,” wrote one commentator on Patriots.Win. “Hopefully he gets met with illegals with a machete,” the post said in reference to illegal immigrants.

On Gateway Pundit, one poster suggested shooting liberals after the verdict. “Time to start capping some leftys,” said the post. “This cannot be fixed by voting."

...From the "It's not just the GOPer base." file:

From Axios -

GOP senator aims to block floor action over Trump conviction

Eight Republican senators are vowing to vote against any spending bills, judicial nominees or other Democratic legislation brought to the floor in protest of former President Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges.

[snip]

Driving the news: "Strongly worded statements are not enough," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who led the effort, tweeted. "Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable."

• He was joined by two Trump VP contenders — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Oh.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — as well as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) who recently announced a bid for GOP leader.
• Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) also joined.
• Lee plans to keep the letter open for the foreseeable future, and is calling on more Senators to join their pledge of non-cooperation.

...From the "One can be despised by lousy human beings and still be a lousy human being." file:

Also from Axios -

Johnson urges Supreme Court to "step in" on Trump verdict

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for the U.S. Supreme Court to "step in" to overturn the guilty verdict against former President Trump in his New York hush money trial.

Why it matters: It's one of the starkest examples yet of Republicans, furious about the jury's decision, calling for some form of intervention to protect the ex-president.

Johnson has faced withering criticism from the loons in his caucus who are more right-wing than he is.

...From the "At least in Arizona, 'petty snit' is an accepted partisan position." file:

From AZMirror, written by Caitlin Sievers -

House Republicans who investigated AG Mayes say she should be impeached

A group of Arizona House Republicans is calling for the impeachment of Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes based on allegations that she abused her power, neglected her duties and “committed malfeasance.” 

House Speaker Ben Toma created the House Committee on Executive Oversight in late March, specifically to examine the duties and powers of the attorney general, to investigate allegations against Mayes and to make corresponding recommendations to the House amidst allegations from Republicans that Mayes was unconstitutionally picking and choosing which laws to enforce. 

Mayes, along with all the Democrats assigned to the committee, refused to participate in its meetings, calling the entire undertaking a “sham”. Republicans on the committee chided the Democrats for skipping out. 

In a letter to Toma on May 28, Rep. Jacqueline Parker, the San Tan Valley Republican who chaired the panel, recommended that the House adopt a resolution to impeach Mayes for “malfeasance in office.”  

 The committee's agenda from 4/17 is here.

Speaking of "malfeasance," the fake electors hadn't yet been indicted; if they had been, I'm pretty sure that would have been added to the laundry list of unfounded Republican whines/complaints about Mayes.