Some unidentified cool people tagged the homes of two of the nation’s most powerful politicians this weekend with graffiti demanding more than a measly one-time payment of $600 to meet all of our survival needs during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Cops told CBS San Francisco that they got a call about an incident at House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Bay Area home in the early hours of Friday morning. Someone or someones, plural, had spray-painted a crossed-out “$2K” on her garage door followed by “CANCEL RENT! WE WANT EVERYTHING” and two anarchy symbols. On the ground, lay a puddle of red paint and a severed pig’s head. I love art! And as a lover of art, let me explain what this art is about: Pelosi had been pushing to raise the $600 stimulus payments to $2,000 last week. That would be great and more than $600, obviously, but definitely nowhere near as helpful as canceling rent, which would help millions of struggling people avoid losing access to stable housing in the coming months. Therefore, cancel rent. Art! I’ve heard of it.
Anyway, a day later, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s Louisville home received a similar treatment, The Courier-Journal reports, with “W[H]ERES MY MONEY,” “FUCK MITCH,” and “MITCH KILLS POOR” sprayed in red across the front of his house. This art is easier to explain: McConnell blocked efforts to raise the stimulus checks to $2,000 in the Senate, calling it “socialism for rich people.” (“The majority leader helped lead this body to pass Trump’s tax bill,” Vermont senator Bernie Sanders responded. “You want to talk about socialism for the rich Mr. Majority Leader?!”) Ergo, fuck Mitch, Mitch kills poor, etc.
McConnell commented on the graffito tagging on Saturday, calling it a “radical tantrum” from a “toxic playbook” in a statement to The New York Times. Pelosi has yet to utter one (1) peep.