1y ago

'Stand your butt up': Fistfight nearly breaks out during Senate hearing until Bernie Sanders steps in

www.nbcnews.com 'Stand your butt up': Fistfight nearly breaks out during Senate hearing until Bernie Sanders steps in

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a former MMA fighter, had challenged the president of the Teamsters union, Sean O'Brien, but Sanders shut them both down.

politics @lemmy.world

www.nbcnews.com /politics/congress/stand-butt-fistfight-nearly-breaks-senate-hearing-bernie-sanders-steps-rcna125140

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So this was at the bottom of the article where McConnell weighs in “this is why congress shouldn’t run for 5 weeks straight, things get weird.” Wtf, what about everyone else in the world that works 52 weeks straight. Just another example of how out of touch some representatives are.
- It's a jungle out there
  
  It makes me wonder how we keep from goin' under
- I'm surprised he didn't say 2 weeks with all of his long pause time jumps.
  
  He didn't say "two weeks", but it might have taken him two weeks to say it.
- The mean age of the senate is 65.3 years old.
  
  What about the nice age?

What the fuck is going on in America.
Can you please not elect the school yard bully who possibly has an acquired brain injury from the time they were a cage fighter?
- The problem is these people are voted in by states who comprise of residents who have brain injuries, misogynistic views, extremist ideals, and/or a myriad of other skewed thoughts.
  So unfortunately we get stuck with the consequences of other state's resident's decisions
  
  The real problem is over 50% of the voting age population just doesn't vote
- "Jerry Springer Goes To Congress" is what happened. Republican strategists know full well that most blue collar people who vote Republican are stupid, hateful, and eat this trashy shit up with a spoon. It's intentional.
  
  Ironically, Jerry Springer was a pretty good mayor in Cincinnati, but he was also an idiot who got caught when he wrote a prostitute a check.
- Our school systems have failed us and we are finally seeing the results.
  On top of that christian nationalists have taken over the republican party.
  This is your daily reminder to vote responsibly.
- American legislatures are surprisingly civil historically speaking when compared to other legislatures. We've had TWO incidents of legislative violence (Sumner slavery incident and 6 January incident). Meanwhile, in Britain, Parliament devolves into a shouting fest every week during Prime Minister's Questions and don't forget how happy Parliament was to send people they didn't like to the gallows in the past. The French legislature did the same.
  Taiwan's legislature turns into a free-for-all fistfight whenever the government presents a controversial bill. Japan's National Diet members will literally eat the paper to prevent a bill's passage.
  
  Taiwan doesn't fuck around lol
  
  We've had TWO incidents of legislative violence (Sumner slavery incident and 6 January incident).
  I mean I guess it depends on your definition of "legislative violence", but I feel like you are forgetting a certain "states rights" incident here...
  
  Meanwhile, in Britain, Parliament devolves into a shouting fest every week during Prime Minister’s Questions
  Does it?
  
  We're not as bad as the other guys, so we're okay how we are?
  Nonsense.
- College football coaches are still good though, right?
  
  Also no.
- A lot of people have chimed in and I'm surprised to not see the main culprit mentioned.
  We have a MASSIVE propaganda problem. We have a press/media system that has COMPLETELY failed in all ways possible, fallen to the typical greed that "ruins" most corporations (quality). We have a population driven to believe that the only people you can trust are people you already agree with so you get your news from Faux News or worse johnny jackass's random podcast with a smattering of Facebook memes and uncle Jimmy's racist rants about Obummer.
  Unfortunately I believe we're absolutely fucked. We're a zombie nation trudging along a path to violence that we will not steer away from. The propagandists are pushing us there and we won't stop them as we have afforded them 1st amendment protections that they absofuckinglutley have taken advantage of and hide behind.
- The people that should lead us want nothing to do with politics, and I don't think anyone can blame them. That leaves the castle gates wide open for wackos.
- Don't tell this guy about how often Congress devolved into fist fights, cane beatings and duels during our countries early years.

"Sir, this is a time; this is a place. You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here."
Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stopped the altercation from happening, yelling at Mullin: “Stop it! No, no, sit down! You know, you’re a United States senator."
Markwayne was upset about a fuckin tweet. Shame on Oklahoma for voting him in. This is what you get from a MMA fighter, he tries to fight people. 😂
- Republicans: All Trump is guilty of is a few mean tweets.
  Also Republicans: If somebody tweets something mean about me, I will fucking kill them.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stopped the altercation from happening, yelling at Mullin: “Stop it! No, no, sit down! You know, you’re a United States senator."
  Bernie is a treasure.
  
  It was all bluster anyway. But good on Bernie for stopping that nonsense.
  
  Can't be the only person who read this in Bernie's voice.
- Ever been to Oklahoma? They don't know the word shame
  
  I hear they're OK with everything
- Oooh, ooh, I hope Gym Jordan, Fivehead Gaetz, Jimbob Squarehead Comer, and Margarine Traitor Greene will offer to fight me for the very mean tweets I've sent them!!!
  
  Ted Cruz offered Gym Jordan to fight Ron Perlman. Ted is such a pansy he has to have a rape apologist fight his fights.
- We can be two consenting adults.
  Two consenting adults, eh? 😏 I feel like that phrasing is almost always used before the words in the privacy of their own bedroom. If Markwayne wanted to get topped that bad he should have just asked; why are bottoms like this?
  #LittleManSyndrome
  In a funnier but still depressing timeline we might have gotten the first congressional actual dick measuring contest 😆
- You heard it here first. If you can beat him, you get the Senator crown.
- The entire episode devolved, with Mullin and O'Brien calling each other names not normally heard in committee hearings, but they did not get physical.
  Sanders yelling at him was then followed by him sitting down while they just kept insulting each other. It's like when your dog wants to fight another dog, and it obeys your order to sit, but still won't stop barking aggressively,
- Man-with-two-first-names syndrome.

Can we please just have adults represent us. This buffoonery is embarrassing.
- The adult broke it up.
  
  I'm so thankful for Bernie. I have high hopes for AOC and his other prodigies.
- 1/3 of this country is buffoonery
  
  Unfortunately it's more then that...
  
  Too many
- That requires adults to vote for them

"Then stand your butt up then," said Mullin.
"You stand your butt up," said O'Brien.
It's kind of funny to me that these grown men were about to have a fight in the middle of a congressional hearing over a mean tweet, but saying "ass" isn't appropriate.
- They never would have fought
  I watched the video and they both kept saying they would but wouldn't actually do it. Then both accused the other of being a thug/bully for wanting to fight but also a coward for not fighting.
  Theyre the kids that act tough and pick fights in front of teachers knowing nothing can happen.
  
  Now it might just be my bias, but I feel O'Brien was taunting trolling, while the hard-right guy was posturing. Of the two, I expect the hard-right guy to be more of the unstable child in the situation, but also agree probably not willing to actually fight. With O'Brien or however it's spelled, I feel like getting that reaction was his win... but again probably a lot of personal bias.
- I mean, there were duels back in the day, but I feel ya.
- "I am standing up." - #LittleManSyndrome
- I really wish they let those two have a knife edge death match like off Yu Yu Hakusho. I would have paid to watch that.
- They can be ejected and fined for cursing.

President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. That's where that country is headed.
- At least he cared about his fellow Americans.
  
  And had enough wisdom to realize he didn't know everything and enlisted the smartest person available for assistance.
- President Camacho saw his people in trouble, so he sought out the smartest man alive, and empowered that man to make real changes. This caused some unforseen consequences because of how comprehensively bad the situation had gotten, but upon seeing positive results they championed and promoted Not Sure.
  These are politics so virtuous that they can only be fictional.

I'm oddly disappointed the sentence didn't end with "with a steel chair"
- I was waiting for a meandering story ending with the Undertaker throwing mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table.

Sanders bringing back The People's Elbow.
- I smell the cooking
  
  It's gefilte fish

So much little dick, snowflake, peaked in middle school energy coming from this guy, it's just absolutely sad.
- And we somehow expect more from a cage fighter? Most of the fighters I have met were nice to a point but have super super fragile egos.

Wtf is happening
- The decline of American democracy.
  
  I mean yes, but we've had a man beaten to within an inch of his life on the floor of congress before so this isn't unprecedented.
- A probable boost in popularity. Wouldn't be the first time violence elevated someone's profile. What happened when Republican Greg Gianforte body-slammed a reporter.
- House o' representin'
- Misunderstood masculinity.
  
  Performative masculinity.

I'm sorry... Markwayne?
What kind of stupid fucking name is that.
- My uncle Bubbafred could beat him up.
- It's too common these days, and honestly, it's just an evolution of hyphenated names. Why even have the hyphen? Just smoosh 'em together and nobody will notice.
  
  You know, I was just thinking how stupid the name sounded until you pointed this out. I still think it's stupid, but now it at least makes sense how we got here.

You guys remember this country fought a war against itself, right?
- A lot of countries have had civil wars
  
  Ah... well, that makes it ok then.

These republiQans lost they damned minds.
- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJV752DxXk

MMA fighters are all loose cannons. You don't just decide that your life's calling is to knock the piss out of another man by any means necessary. That's psycho shit. So is threatening violence on a union president. If only Republicans understood that hatred isn't a political ideology and doesn't cash checks.
- I dunno. My boss at my current job is a former MMA fighter and I don't really consider him to be a "loose cannon". He's actually really chill. I mean, if you push him, maybe, but in general he's a really cool and supportive guy.
- If only Republicans understood that hatred isn’t a political ideology and doesn’t cash checks.
  It does seem to be the undertone of other things though that do cash checks. Unfortunately.
- I have limited experience but I had a former MMA champion as a customer and he had been childhood friends with one of my coworkers and he was super nice and respectful
- They know their constituents eat it up. It's theater. Thanks, Jerry Springer.
  
  No, they are all already like that, and their constituents eat it up. It's not a charade, they're not playing 5D checkers or whatever, they're literally cognitively challenged bullies and that is basically the whole Republican voting demographic.

The creators of Idiocracy did not have the imagination for this.
- Haha, you got that right!

I love how Bernie was the one that broke it up.
- Based Bernie.

The senator has two first names... in his first name.
What are people expecting here?

Yet Mullin cowardly hides under a row of seats during Jan 6.
- Yeah he should have definitely stood his ground, unarmed, against an angry, violent and armed mob of lunatics. Like stfu you would do the exact same given the circumstance.
  
  But we don't act like big tough guys who try to fight people on the senate floor. We know we are weenies he just acts like he isn't one. Did that break it down for you hun 💖?

Uduslly this type of toxic masculinity screams closet case to me.

Teamsters boss is right, the senator is a clown. Saying stupid things to get in the news.
- I wish that Obrien had handled this better rather than leaning into the macho chest-beating. He could've really made this guy look like even more of a doofus if he'd have just been like "Sorry, are you offering to fight me on the house floor right now? I'd like to speak to someone competent".

Idiocracy was supposed to be an absurd comedy, not a suggestion!

Mullin needs to go back to his crappy plumbing company. Wasn't he the one hiding while his suposed buddies invaded the place a couple of years ago?

Should be immediate loss of position when you threaten to fight anyone in congress
- That will take a ⅔ vote and that's not likely. Otherwise the people of Oklahoma can do it in 2027.
  
  But they won't. They make it absurdly easy to vote here if you're 100 years old, but if you work for a living it's difficult.

Mullin might benefit from a little historical research on the activities of the Teamsters' union.
- Step 1: Challenge a teamster to an honest round of fisticuffs.
  Step 2: Mutually approach your opponent arms raised to protect your face.
  Step 3: Wake up (potentially in the hospital) at least a fair fraction of an hour later.
  Step 4: Find out, dazed and confused, that you were concussed right before the fight proper initiated from the bludgeoning of a baseball bat upon your skull by a second teamster.
  Step 5: Resolve to never fuck around again.
  
  True, you're going to fight all of them, if you want to, or not.

I’m so embarrassed for Oklahoma
- It's a real joke-lahoma

Abe Lincoln would have wrecked them
- yeah I kinda wish we could bring Abe and Teddy Roosevelt back to whip the shit out of the GOP... their shame should know no bounds.
  
  Abe would beat the lot of em bloody. But Teddy would probably ask what type of modern firearms we have nowadays and then proceed to shoot up congress.

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!”
https://youtu.be/UAeqVGP-GPM?si=yR_t0JpTDdRJDKKr

yeah, but Teamsters don't show up to a fight without preparing, including having already dug the other guys grave.
- Nah, we's not like that no mores, kid! Come around back to this cornfield and we will talk about some things.

That cannot be his real name
- His full name is: Markwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Mullin
- Oklahoma
  
  Lol

Stay classy Oklahoma.
- https://lemmynsfw.com/pictrs/image/2a60b17b-45c7-4816-a555-10e57c635989.webp

Not a good idea to try to get psychical with the teamsters.

fuckin neanderthals

Someone's overcompensating. It would have been interesting to see Mullin and O'Brien side by side:
https://twitter.com/AP16623882/status/1724510992296804632

The title makes it seem like Sanders ripped his shirt off and beat some ass. Which I would like to see, actually.
- I, for one, would like Sanders' shirt to stay precisely where it is.
- Ideas like this is why I'm excited for AI. An animation like that will probably be easy to make in the near future and it would be hilarious.

Best country in the world!
- Make America a Third World Nation Again

'nearly'
yawn

MMA. oh man I used to work with a Muay Thai guy. Body builder, ate nothing but protein. Suspected a lot of roids. They stand there and kick each other in the head. smh

Goddamn I love Sean O'Brien

"You're cruisin' for a bruisin' BUDDY!"

And the US takes another step towards devolving into an African third world nation...
- Don't put down African nations like we don't have the CIA to keep things that way.
  
  I know, I know. The simile gave a bad taste in my mouth, but it was only rhetorical. The point, I mean, not the taste.
- and Idiocracy
- Americans have been fighting each other in the Senate since the beginning. People used to cane each other in Congress.
  
  The caning of Sumner. I know of that even as a EU citizen. But which only strengthens the point- the Republicans are reactionary to the point of reintroducing barbaric practices of the 18th hundreds.
- Can some one fact check my random knowledge dumpster of a brain?
  I feel like at some point I heard or read that "third world" referred to countries who did not take a side during the cold war. Is this accurate?
  Technically the term third world has nothing to do with the developmental status of a country, but it happened to take on this second meaning because lower GDP countries tended to stay out of the conflict? The West and their friends were "first world" and Soviets and their comrades were "second world"?
  
  It's basically a bullshit term and shouldn't be used, I only did for comedic and or rhetorical effect. But it has no academic use, if we let it rest at that. It's little more than economic racism.

With a name like that, had better make sure he isn't married to his cousin.

I'm just saying (somewhat jokingly) banana republic. Please decent US people, stop this shit. it's causing so much anxiety over the pond. I just can't anymore.

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