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Stranger things have happened. Republicans sure do love their actors like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I wouldn't write him off if he decides to throw his name in the hat as a potential replacement for Sen. John Kerry: Affleck leaves door open for Senate run:

With longtime Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as a top contender to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, one looming question is: who will take Kerry's place in the Senate? Among the names thrown around as a possible successor: actor Ben Affleck.

Affleck sat down with CBS News "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer this week and, when asked about a possible Senate run, it was clear that Affleck has mastered Washington's skill on how to keep the door open without making any commitments.

"Well, one never knows," he explained. "I'm not one to get into conjecture. I do have a great fondness and admiration for the political process in this country, it's a big deal for me to come down here and be on your show that I've watched so much. But I'm not going to get into speculation about my political future.

"I like to be involved -- right now I'm really happy being involved from the outside in government, advocating for the Congolese, taking this move that I made, 'Argo,' and it's really become a springboard for dialogue about our relationship with Iran, which is, you know, as Hillary Clinton said, the most pressing foreign policy issue today -- so I got a lot on my plate."

Affleck, who will appear on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, was in Washington this week to testify before the House Armed Services Committee. Read on...

Jon Stewart took a shot at the House Republicans for what their logic might have been when deciding to use a scene from The Town to inspire their members to vote for John Boehner's debt ceiling bill.

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Lawrence O'Donnell took Republican House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy to task for the reports that the "good Christian" showed his fellow GOP House members a clip from The Town during a closed-door meeting, encouraging them to vote for John Boehner's latest proposal for raising the debt ceiling that he already knows is D.O.A. in the Senate.

TPM has more on that here -- CRAM IT! ALL Senate Dems Tell Boehner His Debt Limit Plan Is DOA.

And here's more from The Huffington Post on that meeting with McCarthy 'The Town' Clip Played By Kevin McCarthy At GOP Meeting Ahead Of Debt Ceiling Vote: Report (VIDEO) :

Amid contentious negotiations taking place in Washington on the issue of raising the debt ceiling, the Washington Post offers a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes during a closed-door meeting among House Republican lawmakers on Tuesday.

The gathering took place as some conservative members of the chamber remain at odds with their GOP colleagues on a plan put forth by House Speaker John Boehner to lift the nation's deficit limit. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Tuesday morning that at the time he was confident the proposal did not have sufficient GOP votes to pass.

According to the Post, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sought to foster a sense of unity among House Republicans at their meeting by playing a clip from The Town, a 2010 crime thriller starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner.

In the segment of footage reportedly shown, Doug MacRay, a bank robber played by Affleck, says to his friend Jem Coughlin, played by Renner, “I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we're going to hurt some people.” Jem then responds, "Whose car are we gonna take?"

Republican aides tell the Post that Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a Tea Party-backed lawmaker with a penchant for making eyebrow-raising remarks, told his colleagues after the clip was shown, "I’m ready to drive the car."

After showing the beginning of the clip from the movie that McCarthy quoted, O'Donnell reminded everyone of just what McCarthy was using to "inspire" his fellow Republicans.

O'DONNELL: That's right, good Christian Kevin McCarthy tried to inspire the party that believes this country was founded on Christian values and should be governed by Christian values, by showing them a film clip about some distinctly un-Christian Boston career criminals who were on their way to beat the living s**t out of a guy.

And as Lawrence noted here and the article at the Huffington Post pointed out, Ben Affleck responded this way:

On Wednesday, Affleck -- who wrote and directed "The Town" -- said that he too found the whole scenario a touch bizarre. And in a statement his spokesperson provided to The Huffington Post, he suggested that Republicans use a different one of his movies next time they need to whip votes.

"I don't know if this is a compliment or the ultimate repudiation," said the actor, who is currently in Turkey directing and starring in "Argo," an adaptation of the Tehran hostage crisis. "But if they're going to be watching movies, I think "The Company Men" is more appropriate."