April Fools! And the joke is on them and their party!

By Steve Otto

Today is April 1. There was a time when I used to try and come up with elaborate jokes to celebrate this day; "April Fools Day." Over the years I just don't seem to come up with great jokes to play on people. But not to worry. As with most years, there are those in the news who have made jokes of themselves. They really aren't that funny, but they have made jokes of themselves and their Party, the Republicans. For example here is the story of  Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop who made a complete ass of himself,charged with driving under the influence and trying to elude law enforcement:

"The Kansas City Star reports that the payments can continue even though Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop turned over the bulk of his duties before he was charged Friday in the March 16 incident in Topeka. But he has given no indication he plans to resign or give up his prestigious leadership position, meaning he continues to hold powers that can’t be delegated and remains influential."

Then there is  the story of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who is under investigation by the Department of Justice for a sexual relationship he allegedly had with a 17-year-old girl. Again, this is not really funny. It should be an embarrassment to this legislator and his Party. It is not that I don't expect people to get into this kind of trouble. But the Republicans are the party that is pro-police; remember, "blue lives matter." They are also the pro-moralist party, the party that opposes immoral ideas, such as legal abortion and legal marijuana. Not all Republicans are like this, but enough of them are that such violations of the law, should be an embarrassment. In simple words, for a lot of people, these are unfortunate incidences where grown men got caught with their "pants down" as we like to say. But when you pontificate on morality and support stricter drunk driving laws and other law and order issues, getting caught breaking such laws is an embarrassment. In other words, they made the joke up, all I had to do is print it. I wish I could say this is funny, but it is more of a humiliation, for the Republican leaders, and all of the other people involved in these unfortunate circumstances.

So happy April Fools!