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Paging Joanne Freeman! Paging Joanne Freeman!

John Fea   |  November 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

What happened in Congress today? Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) apparently elbowed Tim Burchett (R-TN) in the hallway. Burchett called it a “clean shot to the kidneys.”

Here is CNN:

GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee accused former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of elbowing him in the kidneys Tuesday morning while Burchett was talking to a reporter, the latest sign of how tense the dynamics are in the House GOP conference.

Burchett, who was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, has been heavily critical of the former speaker and the alleged altercation is indicative of the pressure cooker dynamics in the House GOP right now.

Burchett criticized McCarthy for being a “bully” as he described his altercation with the former House GOP leader where he says McCarthy elbowed him in the kidneys while he was talking to a reporter in the hallway outside the GOP conference meeting.

Read the rest here.

And then there was the near throwdown between Teamster president Sean O’Brien and Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin.

Watch:

If that’s not bad enough, Mullins went on Fox Business News and called for a return to duels and canings.

Watch:

Mullin suggests that members of Congress should normalize having fights and duels again so "we have some type of respect, because we know there's going to be consequences for your actions." pic.twitter.com/cS7JJKhYAl

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 14, 2023

So much for Christian love:

Last month, Sen. Markwayne Mullin told a group of religious-right activists that as a Christian, he is called to love his political opponents: "Even if you disagree with me, I still love you, I still respect you." https://t.co/I4UheT4Nqf pic.twitter.com/YmFdI5fwEm

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) November 14, 2023

Yale historian Joanne Freeman has spent a lot of time studying 19th-century violence in Congress. She is the author of The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War.

Professor Freeman is answering the call:

Welp.

Looks like I'll be on CNN talking about congressional violence at 11:00 PM ET.

— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@[email protected]) (@jbf1755) November 14, 2023

<goes offline to grade a paper and then checks email>

WTF HOLY CRAP THE PRESS IS FILLING MY INBOX.
A SECOND NEAR-VIOLENT CONGRESSIONAL INCIDENT?

Man, oh man.

I'll have more to say soon…

— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@[email protected]) (@jbf1755) November 14, 2023

1. Oh lord.
2. Please stop providing fodder for Field of Blood volume two.
3. Republican congressmen are shoving each other, calling names, and chasing after each other.
4. Can they govern?
5. WTF? https://t.co/CsEno25Bet

— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@[email protected]) (@jbf1755) November 14, 2023

This was what southern congressmen said in the 1840s & 1850s: dueling was good because people watched their words if they thought they might get shot for them.

In 2023, consequences SHOULD be you get called out for such threats by allies who expose such nonsense for what it is. https://t.co/VnFybrxGsi

— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@[email protected]) (@jbf1755) November 14, 2023

RECOMMENDED READING

Historian Joanne Freeman on the near scuffle between Mike Rogers and Matt Gaetz On January 6, 2021 there was violence on the House floor. Violence almost broke again on January 6, 2023 Blogging the 12th vote for Speaker of the House Trump is indicted. Historians weigh-in.

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