The Unraveling of the Russian Collusion Hoax

 

Am I the only one who senses something downright Maoist in Mueller’s innovative “not exonerated” standard? Can one be indicted for non-exoneration? Whatever happened to guilty/not guilty? Or prosecutable/not prosecutable?

I guess that’s what Joe Biden would dismiss as “white man’s jurisprudence.” “Too binary,” as the kids would say.

I can hear Mueller’s defenders read directly from his hagiography: “But he’s a Republican!” Spare me. At the highest echelons of Washington’s political class, the difference between Republican and Democrat is about as meaningful as the Yankees’ pinstripes and road grays: the entire dugout is still on the same team. (That is to say: lawyers.) Mueller’s well-practiced mien of excruciating probity notwithstanding, his impeach-signaling to Democrats is about as subtle as when my tax guy kicks me in the shin beneath the table when I go on too long in answering questions from the IRS.

Speaking of the IRS, it’s increasingly clear that the FBI is just another federal agency dominated by careerists. It’s fitting that its reputation describes an arc parallel to that of the man who once led it, as well as that of his successor, James Comey.

In the public imagination, the FBI was one of those rarest of federal agencies, sort of like the Veterans Administration – before the veil was removed from it. No more. No longer is the FBI perceived as populated in the main by apolitical Joe Fridays who are interested only in the facts, wherever they may lead. 

Frankly, its tattered reputation is a happy development and one that is long overdue – just ask Martin Luther King.

I know, I know: spying is such an ugly word. I’d love to see Representative Adam Schiff similarly condescend to an audience of African Americans regarding the FBI’s behavior toward Dr. King. It’s no coincidence that Schiff – the face of the National Security Left – also possesses the most punchable face in Washington. Which is really saying something. 

The unraveling of the Collusion Hoax has had its predictable effects on the Democratic primary, most amusingly the accelerated pace that noted failure and presidential hopeful Beto Don’t-Call-Me-Francis O’Rourke waffles on the impeachment issue. You know somebody has a problem flip-flopping on an issue that even Joe Biden has remained consistent on. But then again, is it really a flip-flop if Beto ends up where he started? Better kiss the wife, hug the kids, and hit the lonely highway in search of an answer…

But I should give Beto a break. About the only good news for his campaign of late is that he still has a stranglehold on the coveted Lilith Fair vote.

But what about the man in the middle of it all? I refer, of course, to President Trump, who clearly relishes his exoneration, standing there like Robert Conrad with an EverReady battery on his shoulder, daring Nancy Pelosi to knock the battery off: “Go ahead – I dare ya.”

Pelosi, for her part, is trapped between a rock and a hard place: to impeach Trump or to not impeach Trump. That is the question.

What will she do? What should she do? Answer: impeach Trump in effigy and hope that it’s enough to appease her party’s wild-eyed base.

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  1. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Haha! That meme deserves another.

    • #1
  2. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    Mueller *is* a political hack.  It is amazing that after years of corruption at the top of the FBI, nobody within the organization has spoken out against said corruption.  It appears to be 100% careerist and 0% patriots.  Maybe the leak of the King recordings is the work of a lone patriot that is willing to expose the abuses of the FBI.

    Beto has now put the dial on ’11’.  Whatever the topic, he will be the most extreme.  However, the louder and more animated and more extreme he gets, the more he seems like a crazy man.  Not a good way to win votes in a crowded field.  That is how you win class clown in junior high, not a presidential nomination.

    Impeachment is a loosing issue for Dems, but they can’t control their hatred of Orange Man.  They would do better talking about health security for soccer moms, but they have Trump on the brain and politicians are slaves to the twitter mob.

    • #2
  3. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Love the picture!

    • #3
  4. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    David Deeble: Mueller’s well-practiced mien of excruciating probity notwithstanding, his impeach-signaling to Democrats is about as subtle as when my tax guy kicks me in the shin beneath the table when I go on too long in answering questions from the IRS.

    Mueller sort of made a hash out of the FBI motto “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” didn’t he?

    • #4
  5. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    David Deeble: I refer, of course, to President Trump, who clearly relishes his exoneration, standing there like Robert Conrad with an EverReady battery on his shoulder, daring Nancy Pelosi to knock the battery off: “Go ahead – I dare ya.”

    • #5
  6. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    David Deeble: What will she do? What should she do? Answer: impeach Trump in effigy and hope that it’s enough to appease her party’s wild-eyed base. 

    Mission: Win a Democrat majority in the US House of Representatives in 2020.

    Execution:

    Phase 1. A plethora of committees will institute a plethora of investigations into a plethora of “corrupt” acts of both private citizen Donald Trump and President Donald Trump.

    Phase 2. A series of death matches, often in Federal Court, between the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump.

    Phase 3. The House Judiciary Committee begins an “investigation” and hearings to determine if there is sufficient evidence to pass an impeachment resolution.

    The implementation of each successive phase is entirely dependent on the finger tip feel of Speaker of the House. Remember, above all else, the commander’s intent is to accomplish the mission. The removal of President Trump or his loss to a Democrat in 2020 would be a happy byproduct. It means nothing if the mission is not accomplished.

    Casualties are expected to be excessive. Ground gained will be held at all costs. Allies will be sacrificed with abandon. If necessary, the moral and legal structures of a 250 year old republic will be destroyed.

    TO SAVE IT.

     

     

     

    • #6
  7. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Every time I consider the wild-eyed Democrat advocates’ calls for impeachment, I try to conjure in my mind, what will be the basis or charge for such an action?  What will the Senate be asked to find Trump guilty of? Nothing in the Mueller Report even comes close. So what?

    • #7
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):
    What will the Senate be asked to find Trump guilty of?

    “Orange man bad!”

    • #8
  9. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Stad (View Comment):

    Love the picture!

    That’s what happens to people who devote their lives to producing swamp gas. 

    • #9
  10. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    DonG (View Comment):
    he seems like a crazy man. Not a good way to win votes in a crowded field.

    I remind you that he is running for the Presidential nomination as a Democrat.

    I think his craziness is entirely rational.

    • #10
  11. Sweezle Inactive
    Sweezle
    @Sweezle

    All I want to know is why this “report” took more than two months. 

    • #11
  12. Eridemus Coolidge
    Eridemus
    @Eridemus

    One thing has always mystified me, but maybe I’m just looking for better behavior than human beings can typically adhere to in politics.

    In a sane world (which we may not have any more) no party would dwell on how awful they think their former opponent is, like some sick mental problem, and expect to consolidate the country that way. They MIGHT get enough people on board to tip them back into power, but at what cost?  Whoever supported Trump won’t just think it was a fair contest, and go back to the kind of compliance they want as a state of affairs. A democrat “win” will seem illigitimate after a solid 4 years of press attacks and twisted reporting, and leave us as divided as ever. We will still have no new ideas except socialism to debate, and no reason to think the winners in such a dirty context are just inherently ”superior.”

    • #12
  13. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Eridemus (View Comment):
    In a sane world (which we may not have any more)

    When were we in that place? When has a sane world ever existed?

    • #13
  14. EtCarter Member
    EtCarter
    @

    lol…Mr. Deeble has said / written some of the funniest stuff I’ve come across when I’m surveying “political news”, and it’s usually just when I need a laugh. thanks

    • #14
  15. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    Nancy really is in a pickle. Impeach the President and so energize her base to get involved in 2020, adding the enthusiasm of rage when Trump is inevitably NOT removed by the Senate – although also dramatically energizing and angering Trump’s base to zealously fight the Dems way harder in 2020, making key Electoral College flips more difficult? Not impeach the President, quieting the waters, but also dragging her Party into a fracturing internecine struggle, as well as inviting apathy and even protest third/forth/fifth-party voting in 2020 – however energizing Trump’s base to spike the ball in the end zone and work even harder to defeat the leftist surge of the Dems? 

    Unfortunately for Nancy, the answer to all the above is “Yea, that could really happen.”

    • #15
  16. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    The purpose is to distract from investigating Obama/Hillary and their senior appointees.   The only question is whether it works to help them lose the election.

    • #16
  17. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Pacify the extremists in Congress and the Democratic base.

    Continue to pick away at the administration.

    Provide running room so the party nominee can appeal to the center.

    That’s a pretty tall order.

     

     

     

    • #17
  18. Eridemus Coolidge
    Eridemus
    @Eridemus

    @arahant

    When has a sane world ever existed?

    Oops to clarify, I didn’t mean sane world like super beings in charge of it….just that in all the nastiness of former elections I have witnessed in late 20th century history, the focus was never just on “other man bad” as much as this one might be. That’s the tone of speeches and general non-issue type noise that has been coming from Democrats in the press, Congress, etc. every time they get a chance. Who would be the saner guide(s) to set the compass of their eventual candidate in some other direction after whipping up their loyalists for a tar and feathering other people aren’t particularly lusting for? And can the socialism of the few democrats in any way discussing policy be toned down? 

    • #18
  19. Hugh Inactive
    Hugh
    @Hugh

     

    I wonder how Ruth Bader Ginsburg is feeling.

    • #19
  20. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Arahant (View Comment):

    David Deeble: I refer, of course, to President Trump, who clearly relishes his exoneration, standing there like Robert Conrad with an EverReady battery on his shoulder, daring Nancy Pelosi to knock the battery off: “Go ahead – I dare ya.”

    They say never to wrestle a pig in the mud because you only get dirty and the pig likes it.  Well, Trump leads the MSM to the briar patch over and over again, and they still get all scratched up while Trump emerges unscathed . . .

    • #20
  21. Rightfromthestart Coolidge
    Rightfromthestart
    @Rightfromthestart

    The Dems never rest on their laurels or even stop to take a break , each gain is pocketed and on we go to the next thing immediately. IF they were successful in removing Trump from office or even if it’s done via election, their next move, and I mean within hours , will be to declare every single thing done by Trump to be illegitimate especially Gorsuch and Kavanaugh  they will start demanding that every bill signed by him be declared null and void. 

    • #21
  22. CarolJoy, Above Top Secret Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret
    @CarolJoy

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):
    “not exonerated”

    • #22
  23. CarolJoy, Above Top Secret Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret
    @CarolJoy

    Eeyore (View Comment):

    Nancy really is in a pickle. Impeach the President and so energize her base to get involved in 2020, adding the enthusiasm of rage when Trump is inevitably NOT removed by the Senate – although also dramatically energizing and angering Trump’s base to zealously fight the Dems way harder in 2020, making key Electoral College flips more difficult? Not impeach the President, quieting the waters, but also dragging her Party into a fracturing internecine struggle, as well as inviting apathy and even protest third/forth/fifth-party voting in 2020 – however energizing Trump’s base to spike the ball in the end zone and work even harder to defeat the leftist surge of the Dems?

    Unfortunately for Nancy, the answer to all the above is “Yea, that could really happen.”

    Also no sea current has changed among the voting public  in any way shape or form that those who have no allegiance to either party are any less important than they were in 2008 and 2016.

    In fact, more and more people of color realize that the entire notion of ID politics is a ruse, and no one can win at  that game. (Except the politicians who manage to fool some of the people some of the time.) As long as the economy stays strong, as long as the Secret Service is able to do its job, Trump will win again in  2020.

    • #23
  24. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret (View Comment):

    Eeyore (View Comment):

    Nancy really is in a pickle. Impeach the President and so energize her base to get involved in 2020, adding the enthusiasm of rage when Trump is inevitably NOT removed by the Senate – although also dramatically energizing and angering Trump’s base to zealously fight the Dems way harder in 2020, making key Electoral College flips more difficult? Not impeach the President, quieting the waters, but also dragging her Party into a fracturing internecine struggle, as well as inviting apathy and even protest third/forth/fifth-party voting in 2020 – however energizing Trump’s base to spike the ball in the end zone and work even harder to defeat the leftist surge of the Dems?

    Unfortunately for Nancy, the answer to all the above is “Yea, that could really happen.”

    Also no sea current has changed among the voting public in any way shape or form that those who have no allegiance to either party are any less important than they were in 2008 and 2016.

    In fact, more and more people of color realize that the entire notion of ID politics is a ruse, and one no one can win that game. As long as the economy stays strong, as long as the Secret Service is able to do its job, Trump will win again in 2020.

    I wouldn’t be so sanguine. I think it’s going to be hard for Trump to win re-election. The Democrats will pull out all the stops. Trump will have to work harder than he did in 2016. And he ran at an exhausting pace in 2016. But he certainly seems to draw psychic energy from barnstorming across the fruited plains.

    It seems his best line of attack is “promises made, promises kept”. A message that should resonate with the mushy middle. The ten to twenty percent of the voters who elect most Presidents. The potential flaw, are those voters in the right states. It will come dawn, again, to Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

    • #24
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