Balloon Juice – Wednesday Morning Open Thread
Amazing pic my spouse just took with phone of NASA SpaceX CRS-35 launch. Distance is in the 100 mile range.
— Betty Kraken of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 6:52 AM
That Mississippi Senate race is sneaking up on the Republicans.
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 7:49 PM
sharks smell blood
— ghost malone ergo propter bones (@proptermalone.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Honestly my first reaction when these morons were all falling for the grifters’ latest hoax was that Talarico should let it go for a while to see how many Republicans would take the bait and start saying outrageously idiotic and foolish things. He did and they did.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 8:22 PM
WATCH: Andy Harris has a crash out after his constituents laugh at him for trying to blame higher gas prices on… Democrats.
“You are rude!” #MD01— American Bridge 21st Century (@ab21.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Sen. Ossoff: “Congress is full of congressmen’s sons who are only in Congress because their daddies were congressmen, just like Mike Collins, who are perfectly happy to send other people’s children to die in a war. How is this war a success, Mike?”
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) October 13, 2026 at 8:40 PM
OSSOFF: Mike Collins called for killing immigrants by throwing them to their deaths out of helicopters. I’d like to hear if Mike Collins stands by that statement. Do you still believe in the extrajudicial killing of immigrants?
MIKE COLLINS: *changes topic*— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 13, 2026 at 8:12 PM
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Tales from the Media Murmuration:
Tapper is a cynical opportunist. As such, he can be trusted to be a reliable indicator of which way the wind is blowing. This and other moments suggest he believes maga is a spent force. He might evem mention Trump’s dementia after the midterms.
— The Editorial Board (@editorialboard.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Um, Trump chose to go to war with Iran. Republicans in Congress refused to rein in his ability to do so. The Straits of Hormuz were closed as a result. And you tell me it just “happened”.
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) October 12, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Mike Johnson: “The nightmare scenario…If this group took over, heaven forbid, they would turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body. They’d spend every day investigating the president, the first family, the Cabinet, donors to the party.”
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) October 13, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Another topic ripe for post-midterm Congressional investigation: Who’s bought pardons from Trump?
Trump is now signing pardons on stage at his rally in Alaska (note that the documents are brought on stage by Natalie!)
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 13, 2026 at 9:06 PM
I’ve said before that the entire thesis of Trump is “I can just force you to do what I want at any moment”, and every time this collides with reality, they have genuinely no idea how to react (see also: their attempts at martyring Charlie kirk)
— Sky Marchini (@sky.skymarchini.net) October 13, 2026 at 1:02 PM
The Republican Party is going to get worse before it gets even worse, you’re hearing it more & more as the chickens come home to roost
— Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST (@chathamharrison.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Upon further questioning, it turns out she tended bar at a Chinese restaurant
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) October 13, 2026 at 7:44 PM
