Oklahoma loudmouth says opponents need to get punched in the face, cites beating of Massachusetts senator in 1856

Markwayne Somethingorother, the junior senator from Oklahoma, didn't actually throw down with Teamsters President (and Medford native) Sean O'Brien yesterday, due to a stern talking-to by Bernie Sanders, but he wanted to.

Mad Markwayne, upset by some mean tweets that O'Brien aimed his way, told right-wing media that "every now and then, you need to get punched in the face" and that it's even a venerable Senate tradition, going back to 1856, when some congressman from South Carolina rushed onto the floor the Senate and used a gutta-percha cane to beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner nearly to death, the Hill reports.

The US Senate itself describes what Oklahoma's cage fighter was referring to: In 1856, Sumner, a prominent anti-slavery statesman, had given a five-hour speech against admitting "Bloody Kansas" to the Union as a slave state, in which he denounced two Democratic senators in particular, Stephen Douglas of Illinois (yes, that Stephen Douglas) and Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

He denounced Butler as being in love with a mistress - "who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight - I mean, the harlot, Slavery."

Three days later, while standing near his Senate desk, Sumner was approached by Preston Brooks, a member of the House and a Butler relative. Brooks carried a cane made of gutta-percha, made from the latex of certain Malaysian trees (today used mainly to fill root canals) and topped with metal:

Moving quickly, Brooks slammed his metal-topped cane onto the unsuspecting Sumner's head. As Brooks struck again and again, Sumner rose and lurched blindly about the chamber, futilely attempting to protect himself. After a very long minute, it ended.

Bleeding profusely, Sumner was carried away. Brooks walked calmly out of the chamber without being detained by the stunned onlookers. Overnight, both men became heroes in their respective regions.

Surviving a House censure resolution, Brooks resigned, was immediately reelected, and soon thereafter died at age 37. Sumner recovered slowly and returned to the Senate, where he remained for another 18 years. The nation, suffering from the breakdown of reasoned discourse that this event symbolized, tumbled onward toward the catastrophe of civil war.

So that's what Rage Boy (R-MMA) supports.