COVID on a Houseboat

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

South Carolina's senior senator, Lindsey Graham (R), was feeling a bit peckish yesterday and decided to walk himself over to the House side of the Capitol where he was examined by the House physician.  Graham said that he had flu-like symptoms and what felt like a possible sinus infection.  His "infection" turned out to be of a more serious nature.  It was COVID.

Graham apparently was quick to cough up the fact that he was "fully" vaccinated, which is likely responsible for his symptoms, so far at least, being mild.

In checking Graham's social history in order to track the path of possible infection, it was revealed that he had attended a soiree the previous Saturday evening aboard Senator Joe Manchin's "houseboat" - along with Manchin and five other United States Senators.

On board in addition to Manchin and Graham were senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Catharine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Coons (D-DE), and John Thune (R-SC).  Throw in the odd spouse, a bar tender or two, and a few lobbyists to direct the evening's conversation, and it might have been quite a crowded affair - a great breeding ground for the "delta variant" or "moderate" obstruction of the Biden agenda.

Some might regard Manchin's "houseboat" to be as much of a story as the close encounter that the entire group had with COVID.    The "houseboat" which Manchin refers to as a recreational vessel, is docked in the Potomac River and serves as his home when he is in Washington, DC.   

But it is bigger than the boats of which most Americans are familiar.  Manchin's boat, which he has named the "Almost Heaven" in honor of one of West Virginia's four official songs, is big enough for him to live on and entertain his fellow senators on drink-laden cruises up and down the Potomac.  Manchin once told Time that Senator Chuck Schumer was so comfortable aboard "Almost Heaven" that he jokingly refers to it as "his" boat.  

Some Republican wags even go so far as to call Manchin's floating home and entertainment venue a "luxury yacht," but the humble Manchin is having none of that.  At the very most it is a simple "houseboat."

Republicans, like Betsy DeVos, own yachts - and Democrats, at least Democrats who must run for re-election in the hills and backwoods of West Virginia, don't.   Pictures of Manchin's "houseboat" are widely available on the internet.   "Almost Heaven" is a beautiful vessel, much more closely related to one of DeVos's sea-going excesses than it is to Travis McGee's "Busted Flush."

Joe Manchin bought his "recreational" boat for a bargain price of $220,000, and, according to PolitiFact, immediately turned around and insured it for $700,000 - a situation that might look to some like he got a great deal because of who he is and what he does for a living.  (The median sales price for single-family homes in the DC area is above a million dollars - according to an article in a recent Newsweek.)

So, to recap, Lindsey Graham has a mild case of COVID, even though he has had his shots, and he may have shared his unfortunate condition with as many as six other United States Senators - and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia lives on a houseboat on the Potomac River where he occasionally shares a beer to two with other Senators, and where they could perhaps be devising public policy away from the prying eyes of the nosey public.

Neither of those situations are good for America.

Nothing to see here, folks - just business as usual in our nation's capital.  Please move along.