Monday, April 22, 2019 2:44 PM
More Damning or More Embarrassing? (2019Apr22)
As the damage gets worse, we begin to see more clearly how the enemy operates. We have the media, which makes a game, a contest, and a skit premise of every reported factoid (of which there are shamelessly few). For-profit ‘news’ is not designed to do what serious people do—sit and have a think. And, by never doing that, they create the illusion of a world where everything is a game show and the only enemy is silence.
Then we have the Republicans, who have determined that America = Cash—and everything else is meant to maintain the existing elite and a status quo that inexorably slips through their fingers. The Republicans don’t just eschew ethics—they openly deride ethics as the mark of a pencil-necked weakling.
Unfortunately, we also have the Democrats, who have the upper hand now only because of the horror-show the Republicans have become. Nearly twenty have declared for a presidential race that’s a year-and-a-half away—when many of them should be too actively busy with an overdue impeachment to think about anything else. Senator Warren came out and basically said if we don’t impeach, we condone—we become complicit and Trump becomes what America stands for. I have to agree.
I bought the Mueller e-book transcript for $2.99 and read chunks of both volumes—it is unpleasant reading. If I were Trump, I would find the entire report extremely embarrassing—getting off due to a combination of ignorance of the law, laughable incompetence, and outright disregard for his orders.
Luckily Trump doesn’t feel shame like humans do—I believe he’s already tweeted that the report is ‘all lies’. Since the report undoubtedly includes Trump’s written responses to questions, this is one of many instances where Trump inadvertently condemns something he’s a part of—just part of that crazy charm he has. What a rascal.
But, aside from all that embarrassingly air-headed hijinks surrounding Trump’s efforts at Obstruction, there’s also Volume One, which reads (and I’ll paraphrase) as follows: “Trump-guy 1 did criminal act. Trump-guy 2 acted as enemy agent. Trump-guy 3 lied to a bank. Trump-guy 4 is a fucking traitor for money. Etc.” –or something to that effect. You get the idea. But Trump didn’t.
Apparently, Trump had no idea that everyone on his campaign squad was a traitor or an embezzler. When he found out, he did his best to use Presidential powers to shield his buddies from justice. Plus, he was working the Trump Tower Russia deal the whole time—and lying about it.
So, case closed. Or, not really, because there are fourteen on-going investigations, thirteen of them secret, about which we don’t even have any dirt. I seriously doubt that those cases will ameliorate what is already public condemnation, in black and white, from the redacted Report. So, case closed, on the face of it. For any Democrat to argue now that there is a political upside to letting Trump finish his term unimpeached—well, given recent events, I’d guess he’s being paid by Putin, too.
