Helpful Wingnut Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) Now Writing Democrats' Campaign Ads For Them

Not afraid to be servicey!

As we’ve mentioned for a couple days running, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of the leaders of the far-right “Freedom Caucus,” is not one bit happy that Speaker Mike Johnson betrayed his rightwing colleagues by not shutting down the federal government in a quixotic attempt to cut spending, ban abortion, declare China illegal or even wipe that dirty pro-immigration poem off the Statue of Liberty. He hasn’t yet disinvited Johnson from his birthday party or demanded his purity ring back, but he sure is angry that Republicans haven’t managed to parlay their few-seat majority into a complete remaking of American politics, or at least something rightwingers want, like defunding the EPA or reinstating Donald Trump as president.

After Democrats did the heavy lifting Tuesday to pass a “clean” temporary funding bill that’s now in the hands of the Senate, Roy just couldn’t help crying in a Wednesday floor speech about how unfair it was that federal workers will get through the holidays without having to work without pay or scrimp to feed their families, while rightwing insurrectionists didn’t get anything all in exchange.

His cri de butthurt was quickly retweeted by Democratic politicians and smartasses, because wasn’t it nice of him to say right out loud that he and his Republican pals haven’t accomplished a damn thing all year? If you’re a real masochist who has done very bad things and need to punish yourself, Roy’s full speech was a grievance-filled 55-minute stemwinder, but here’s the half-minute that seems destined to show up in a lot of Democratic campaign ads next year — minus the last 10 words.

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CHIP ROY: One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing. One. That I can go campaign on and say we did. One! Anybody sitting in the complex, if you want to come down to the floor and come explain to me, one material, meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done besides “Well, I guess it’s not as bad as the Democrats.”

The Hill reports — damned if we’re paid enough to watch a full 55 minutes of this man — that Roy contended that Republicans were really letting down the famous American heroes whose monuments are all over Washington DC, mostly by not shutting down the government like real Patriots would:

“We’re pissing it all away. We’re giving it away. All that they fought for, all of those freedoms, we are giving it away. Why? Because we’re too cowardly to stand up and do our job,” Roy said, shouting on the House floor. “‘Oh, no, a shutdown.’ Are you freaking kidding me? ‘Oh, we can’t have a shutdown heading into Thanksgiving, what will they say or do?’ How about we stand up and fight?”

Would Washington or Lincoln have tolerated a federal government staying open for business? Apparently not.

Still, Roy probably won’t have to worry too much that he’s given Democrats handy content — 28 seconds, perfect for a campaign spot — for election ads, or even that his fellow Republicans have failed so badly at giving him anything to run on next year. After all, Republicans in the Texas Lege helpfully gerrymandered Roy’s 21st Congressional District so it went from a 10-point Republican advantage before redistricting, to a 24-point advantage now. Roy could probably win reelection even if he included that embarrassing video in his own campaign spots.

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Democrats Yet Again Save America From Government Shutdown, Maybe Should Be Running The House?

Tricksy House Speaker (?) Mike Johnson (??) Might Avoid Government Shutdown If His Own Caucus Lets Him

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[The Hill / WaPo]

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