March 23, 2017

"I just googled 'mutton busting,' which was a new topic for many of us yesterday, when one of the Republican senators asked Gorsuch about taking his clerks to the Denver rodeo."

"Now I really want to see it in action," wrote Amy Howe, at SCOTUSblog, where they were doing something I just can't bring myself to do, live-blogging the Neil Gorsuch confirmation hearing.

But how can you not know about mutton busting?!



You'd think these eastern elite types would at least have seen it on PBS. What's the point of funding PBS if you're not even up to speed on mutton busting? I think this relates to why people don't understand how Trump won the election.

The NYT also made much of the mention of mutton busting:
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, wanted to hear about the Denver rodeo. And Judge Gorsuch, elusive all week as Democrats have strained to pinpoint his judicial leanings, turned instantly expansive.

“Mutton busting, as you know, comes sort of like bronco busting for adults,” he began on Tuesday. “You take a poor little kid, you find a sheep and you attach the one to the other and see how long they can hold on.”

He went on.

“…You know, it usually works fine when the sheep has got a lot of wool and you tell them to hold on — I tell my kids hold on monkey-style, you know? Really get in there, right? Get around it…”

The Democrats stared blankly.

“…Because if you sit upright, you go flying right off, right? So, you want to get in. But the problem when you get in is that you’re so locked in that you don’t want to let go, right? And so, then the poor clown has to come and knock you off the sheep.”
Key line:  The Democrats stared blankly. 

In real life, the rich clown has come and knocked you off the sheep.

37 comments:

Barry Dauphin said...

Didn't the rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask lose his job? Surely, the Dems paid attention to that rodeo.

Birkel said...

Brava, Althouse.

robother said...

Wake up, sheeple!

Owen said...

Professor A, you are having way too much fun here.

Kevin said...

"What's the point of funding PBS if you're not even up to speed on mutton busting?"

Exactly. It's only public if you define public as a gerrymandered slice of the populace.

rehajm said...

What's the point of funding PBS if you're not even up to speed on mutton busting?

This is brilliant.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many PBS viewers have ever been to a Rodeo?

The population sets outside of residents of Texas, Oklahoma, Denver, Salt Lake, Sacramento, and a dozen Western State Capitals is fairly disjoint.

Darrell said...

The population sets outside of residents of Texas, Oklahoma, Denver, Salt Lake, Sacramento, and a dozen Western State Capitals is fairly disjoint.

Nah. The Rodeo used to make it to big cities like Chicago, where I live, back in the 50s and 60s. Before the animal cruelty protesters. I've been.

PB said...

I can hear the keyboard keys tapping as outraged "liberals" write to the ASPCA and DCFS to register complaints about animal cruelty and child endangerment.

mezzrow said...

I've never been mutton busting, but I've been on some projects that turned into a goat rodeo.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I tell my kids hold on monkey-style, you know?

That's gotta be racist!

Ignorance is Bliss said...

According to the Urban Dictionary monkey style is rubbing ones genitals in a quick exciting fashion to fruition like a Rhesus monkey. This act would happen several times an hour.

And he tells his kids to do that. To a sheep.

Republicans are sick.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Unless, of course, he was referring to the Monkey Style burger from n-N-Out.

In which case it sounds pretty good.

Titus said...

rodeos are cruel to animals.

CWJ said...

"I tell my kids hold on monkey-style, you know?

That's gotta be racist!"

Oh, it will be. It will be.

jaydub said...

Here in Spain sheep are called "chicks," so mutton busting takes on a whole new meaning.

Bill said...

The New Yorker did an article about mutton busting a few years back. I think you may have even blogged about it at the time.

Virgil Hilts said...

If you go to a small town rodeo (we have been to a couple in Colorado) and see the teenage kids from the farms you feel guilty raising your kids in the cities. A lot of these teenagers may not end up being fascinating dinner table conversationalists, but very few end up as worthless SJWs.

tcrosse said...

Woolly bully.

Known Unknown said...

"rodeos are cruel to animals."

I'm sure you have links upon links upon links to back up this assertion.

Maybe they are, but I've yet to see the brilliant Anderson Cooper exposé on those poor sheep and their terrible children overlords.

Lucien said...

So next time a Democratic Congresscritter says "This is not my first rodeo" . . .

Wince said...

Blogger Barry Dauphin said...
Didn't the rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask lose his job? Surely, the Dems paid attention to that rodeo.

Yeah, but did anyone notice this rodeo clown in the Hillary Clinton costume?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Muffed the metaphor. It's the winners who have held on who have to be knocked off the sheep by the clown. We will see that in the health care vote.

David said...

Is it possible to get a poster of that edition of the Daily News? Making Newspapers Great Again!

Rusty said...

Titus said...
"rodeos are cruel to animals."

Not to mention what a 2000 pound bull can do to a human.

Another section of the American population for ARM to despise.

Birches said...

Some of my friends' kids do mutton busting. Truthfully, I didn't know about it until we moved here to CO. My Idaho raised spouse was well aware however.

MadisonMan said...

I've been to a rodeo, I think. Didn't like it. Too crowded.

Michael K said...

When I was a child we went to the Roy Rogers rodeo at the Chicago Stadium.

My first real book was "The Book of Cowboys," which I got when I was 8. I gave it to my son for his kids a few years ago It was published in 1936.

About two weeks ago, Tucson almost shut down for a week for The Tucson Rodeo and its Parade.

I think we went to the Roy Rogers rodeo more than once as it came to Chicago every year. We used to go to the Ice Capades, too.

hombre said...

'Key line: The Democrats stared blankly.'

There are two reasons for this:

1. Although rodeos are not uniquely American, they are very American. Democrats believe it is un-American to be very American.

2. PETA wackjobs are part of the Democrat base. Every nutty notion of every nutty group in the base must be accommodated. Cognitive dissonance can be resolved by denial, lying or shouting.

Mark said...

There are fewer clown rodeos as big as the U.S. Senate.

With Schmuck Shumer's announcement that the Dems are going to filibuster, what with all the other obstructionism merely for the purpose of sabotage and trying to overthrow the government as if this were a third-world country, it is time to abolish the current "filibuster" not only for Supreme Court appointments, but for all legislation.

The original purpose of the rule was to allow for comprehensive debate, and not to unconstitutionally require a super-majority on all legislation. That is what they should go back to. Instead of cloture votes requiring 60 votes to "cut off" a debate that is entirely illusory, if folks want to filibuster, they should be allowed to talk on the floor for as long as they want, but then once they stop or otherwise give up the floor, it is time to vote.

Rules are supposed to serve liberty and self-government, not undermine them. And when the rules become destructive of democratic government, it is time to change the rules.

mockturtle said...

I had never heard of 'mutton busting' before the hearings. I feel so enriched!

hombre said...

Since Schumer promised to has invoke the Filibuster, McConnell ought to invoke the Reid Option immediately.

There are no good guys here, only assholes. The bravest asshole wins.

Michael K said...

" The bravest asshole wins."

The biggest asshole wins. No fair invoking gays who use Kotex.

cornroaster said...

Ignorance is Bliss said...
According to the Urban Dictionary...

The Urban Dictionary and Rodeo may well be mutually exclusive.

JaimeRoberto said...

We have mutton busting at our rodeo here in the suburban Bay Area. It's almost as much fun to watch as the wild cow milking contest. I'm surprised the animal rights crowd hasn't protested it yet.

Bill said...

Here's your original post.

Gahrie said...

"rodeos are cruel to animals."

Crueler than raising them to be slaughtered for food?

If forced to choose, I would choose carnivore over vegetarian.