159 Comments
User's avatar
Diane Battista's avatar

“senator “Mike Lee needs to resign immediately.

I use the term senator very lightly in referring to him. He is disgrace to the office..

And he’s doing all of this being paid by the taxpayers.

Time for him to go.

There should be nothing but massive cries, nonstop, calling for his resignation

Just like there was to get rid of Elon Musk

And not just from the people in his state

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

More should’ve been done when Paul Pelosi was smashed in the head with a hammer when they were making fun of him and trying to say he was gay, and that was gay lover blah blah blah, making all their jokes

Expand full comment
bitchybitchybitchy's avatar

Well, Republicans have been demonizing Democrats successfully for a long time.

This assassination followsJanuary 6th the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer and the attack on Paul Pelosi, after initial shock, all of these acts were forgotten or shrugged off.

Expand full comment
LYNN COOK's avatar

Love that.MSM ! 😟

Expand full comment
Janet Wilson's avatar

18 states have recall protocols via petition for Representatives to the House of Congress...not only should all states have that ability, it should extend to Senators. Right now, Senators cannot be recalled, only expelled.

Interesting that these tweets and giving the finger to constituents participating in the No Kings protests (you can't write this stuff) got no reaction from Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

If Lee does not resign, he should be expelled.

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

If Mike Lee had any sense of decency or shame, he would resign and go away quietly

Expand full comment
Janet Wilson's avatar

Yes but the kind of person who makes tweets like that after a homicide, and also drives by constituents to give them the middle finger? By definition has no sense of decency or shame.

Expand full comment
Christine's avatar

He doesn't have any. And he thinks this trolling is going to get him places in MAGA world. Maybe he's right. It's sickening.

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

Time to have consequences

Expand full comment
Chandu's avatar

When you talk about decency or shame, most of the elected republicans think those are items you can buy in a grocery store. But then again, they will not buy because the prices are still kinda high right now.

Expand full comment
Dave Yell's avatar

It won't happen. He won't even be censored.

Expand full comment
Robert Jaffee's avatar

Correct, he probably raised $1 million plus just off the emails and texts in the last 24 hours. It pays to own the libs.

If you can’t get these clowns to care about thousands of kids being slaughtered during mass school shootings, then I doubt a politician or two will matter in the end.…..:)

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

Like objects

They objectify everything

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

Isn’t that disgusting outrageous that they’ve had mindset to

OWN the libs

Such a malignant narcissistic, psychopathic need to control and own everybody and everything

Expand full comment
Robert Jaffee's avatar

Exactly, it’s all about power and control. And when your entire existence is a joke, then power is your only option…:)

Expand full comment
David Court's avatar

No "like", Dave, but concur completely.

Expand full comment
Dave Yell's avatar

When it comes to Mike Lee there is nothing to like.

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

The mind of just filled with filth and evil

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

It is reported that Mike Lee took down the three posts that he put about the murders of the lawmakers in Minnesota

This does not matter

He’s only doing it to try to protect his Senate seat

He needs to be accountable

He must RESIGN

Along with Joni, Ernst

Expand full comment
Diane Battista's avatar

Right along with Joni Ernst

Expand full comment
dcicero's avatar

It'd be better if the good people of Iowa just voted her out, though. That's what she deserves.

Expand full comment
Laura Bevan's avatar

I am truly appalled. In addition to the horror of the killings, two teenagers lost their beloved parents and became orphans in a matter of seconds. Anyone who thinks the assassination of any public official is funny has some serious mental health issues. A US senator should be censured and shunned. How low have we sunk that none of his Republican colleagues have said anything! 😡

Expand full comment
graceg's avatar

It's hard to be shocked anymore, but Mike Lee successfully shocked me. This is the most appalling behavior I have ever seen from a US senator. Sickening.

Expand full comment
Denise Wallace's avatar

It was shocking to me because his tweets were purely evil.

Expand full comment
Cathy G's avatar

Yep. He managed to make us forget about depraved Joni Ernst.

Expand full comment
eah's avatar
Jun 17Edited

The Hortman children also had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize their Golden Retriever, whose bullet wounds from the attack were too severe to repair. The Hortman family were volunteer puppy-raisers for a charity that trained Golden Retrievers to be service and emotional support dogs for veterans. Their Golden Retriever was one of the puppies who became a family pet instead of progressing to service dog training. To me, this highlights the disparity of character between the Hortmans and Mike Lee.

Expand full comment
LYNN COOK's avatar

Mirrors what we see in the congress today....one party wishing to build upon their prior successes, reach across the isle...the other bent on destruction for personal greed. , no matter the cost to America or the World. Mike Lee.is sadly just an Edward Munch portrait

.of what.the repulsican .party of today has become...not the old Party.of Lincoln.

Mike Lee IS THE PORTAIT of today's trumpism...lower case deliberate.

Expand full comment
Marcia's avatar

Today, as always, I phoned my US senators (Grassley and Ernst). As usual, my call went to voicemail— giving me less than 2 minutes to make my case before the hang up,— BUT that was enough time time to say “as my Senator, I call on you to vote for censure of Utah Senator Lee for his obscene lies regarding the murder and attack on legislators in Minnesota and I implore you to vote NO! on the terrible reconciliation bill, AKA, the ‘Well, we’re all going to die’ Bill”.

Will my call make a difference? I don’t know, probably not. But it will make more of a difference than not calling, and it relieved a little stress.

If you have a GOP Senator or two, give ‘em a call— you’ll find that you can point out multiple senators’ inhumanity in a short amount of time!

Expand full comment
Christine's avatar

I have been so upset about this. I thought nothing could shock me anymore. Good analysis - thank you, Joe.

Expand full comment
graceg's avatar

Wow, thank you for highlighting Sen. Tina Smith - impressive and refreshing. Good for her and good for her staffers. It's too rare that we see direct confrontation when it is so clearly called for.

Expand full comment
Dan Miller's avatar

Read the letter from Smith's COS to Lee if you can find it. It is a classic burn.

Expand full comment
LYNN COOK's avatar

👏👏...well said, Grace.

Expand full comment
Richard Dorset's avatar

Rather than the xeeting being his brand, maybe Mike Lee’s actions reveal exactly what he appears to be-an amoral and reprehensible POS whose behavior is beneath that of a normal human being, much less a US Senator. Of course, Sen. Tina Smith would have had to approach him in a respectful way to comply with Senate decorum because God forbid a Dem. Senator would behave as Lee does with many of his Republican colleagues not far behind

Expand full comment
Barbara larson's avatar

Always a woman calling out the shameful behavior!!

Expand full comment
Michael Ferguson's avatar

I've always thought character mattered. I've always thought politicians who talk a lot about it are lying.

Expand full comment
Slide Guitar's avatar

Or that voters who talk about it are suckers.

Expand full comment
Marjorie Rutherford's avatar

I'll echo some other comments and say I was (somehow) shocked and deeply upset by Mike Lee's callous, disgraceful tweets this past weekend. It makes me wonder if there will ever be a return to normalcy, even if we manage to fight back this authoritarian wave. Are people so rotten that they think joking about a murder (while the killer is still at large!) is acceptable? All because the victims weren't in their political party? I don't know how Mike Lee can come back from that...especially if he is treating the sorrow he's exacerbated as a joke. I don't understand why every single person in public office hasn't called this behavior out. I can't imagine the grief people are feeling right now and to have a parasite like Mike Lee able to feed off of their misery is a true horror of modern society and social media.

Expand full comment
JAMES ROY LEE's avatar

Bashing politicians like Mike Lee is ultimately unsatisfying, because they don't care and it doesn't go to the root of the problem. The problem is the voters. I'm not sure what kind of degenerate simpleton would vote for Mike Lee, but they are as thick in Utah as mosquitoes in the Alaskan bush.

Expand full comment
Janet Wilson's avatar

I agree voters have a responsibility, but that responsibility extends to Lee's party, Congress as a whole, and the president as well. This kind of shockingly crude behaviour needs to be called out at all levels. Loud and clear.

Expand full comment
Denise Wallace's avatar

Really good point. The state appears to elect soulless people . Remember the Governor walked upon the graves of the fallen in Arlington to help Trump make a political ad . I think he did finally apologize after the uproar.

Expand full comment
Maria MP's avatar

They elected Mitt Romney who may not have been perfect but would never been this classless, cruel or disgusting

Expand full comment
Denise Wallace's avatar

I had the privilege of being a Massachusetts native when Mitt Romney was Governor. While I never voted for for him , I can honestly say he was so respectful . Remember-he was elected as a Republican Governor in a Democratic state. History will be good to him.

Expand full comment
Christina Ronnberg's avatar

Where are the good people of Utah?

Expand full comment
M. Trosino's avatar

Not in DC apparently.

Expand full comment
dcicero's avatar

Re: Mike Lee

Is Mike Lee's behavior what's expected these days from Mormons? Seems different from what I've experienced in the past.

Expand full comment
Nancy J Waters's avatar

Indeed. Even if one might be inclined to think of Mormons as cultish and repressive, they are usually, in my experience, nice. I can't imagine Mitt Romney would approve of this behavior!

Expand full comment
Timothy M Dwyer's avatar

That’s just two cults instead of the normal one for most Republicans in elected office

Expand full comment
Joe S's avatar

"BasedMikeLee", what an embarrassing handle for a middle aged senator, it's pathetic.

Rotting is a good metaphor for this phenomenon. These internet and social media silos seem to truly rot people's brains and souls until there's nothing left and they can no longer sift truth from fiction.

Expand full comment
Janet Wilson's avatar

I think it merely allows them to sink to their true level. Which at least is revealing...

Expand full comment
Robin's avatar

I've been online for more than 25 years , back to the Usenet. I am not a paragon of human virtue and I am in many ways a misanthrope. Yet I have somehow managed to not sink to the level of publicly mocking the murders of people (of ANY party or ethnicity or religion). I didn't even mock Trump last year. We spend alot of time blaming social media and the internet for bad behavior when it's still just humans on the keyboards. Social media has just taught those of us who still have some basic decency how horrible people really are.

After all, we aren't that many decades removed from popular public hangings.

Expand full comment
Janet Wilson's avatar

I take your point, but I think there is a toxic and unique nexus of anonymity and the opportunity for like minded creeps to create a sense of community on social media. They are therefore able to create a self-reinforcing echo chamber that gives them an inflated sense of representation, numbers and normalcy.

In the old days, these folks would be the odd duck shouting at people from street corners: no way to avoid public censure and no way to collect in numbers (given their low numbers in the population as a whole).

Expand full comment
Kim Nesvig's avatar

There was a time when Republicans in Congress actually exhibited a sense of decency. Now they have none.

Expand full comment
Justin Lee's avatar

Political bodies have always had their share of psychopaths, but the advent of social media now makes it easier for psychopaths to show their true colors. It seems like the largely Mormon state of Utah might want to reconsider whether they are best represented by a psychopath in the Senate.

Expand full comment
Stelladona's avatar

Start by a good CENSURE

Expand full comment
TomD's avatar

Utah called, message for Mike: "Get to effing work..."

Expand full comment