Mueller Report: the beat goes on (just like I said)
The funniest thing about the news lately concerns the Republican Party. They seriously thought that after their guy, Barr, put out his propaganda sheet, RussiaGate was over.
We are now rolling on the floor laughing out loud.
Republicans: IT’S NOT OVER! In fact, it’s just getting started.
We now know (although we’ve suspected all along) that Barr’s little letter was a complete farce. Mueller’s own team didn’t buy it! In order to get hired as Attorney-General, Barr performed a very public act of kissing Donald Trump’s fat rear end, in what is called in political circles “sucking up.” Barr obviously got the job by promising he would protect Trump no matter what. Now, he’s following through on his promise, and is protecting Trump no matter what. That “no matter what” includes Barr’s professional reputation, which has been shredded and will remain in the toilet; but perhaps at this end-stage of his career, he doesn’t care. Morel likely, his descendants will, as they will be asked about this for many years.
With the stunning revelation late yesterday, courtesy of the New York Times, that “some members” of the Mueller team are unhappy with Barr’s characterization of the Report, RussiaGate, including collusion, is again a Big News Story. I knew, and many of you knew, that Barr was lying in his letter when he said Mueller had exonerated Trump entirely. Trump consciously lied when he claimed the same thing. That was the deal they’d struck.
Trump: When this Report comes out, you need to immediately shield it from public view, and issue a statement that it exonerates me 100%.
Barr: Right, chief.
Trump: The Report will eventually have to come out, but we’ll stonewall as long as we can, and in the meantime, the impression that I’m exonerated will sink into the public’s mind.
Barr: Brilliant strategy, Mister President. You can count on me!
Only they miscalculated. The only part of the public that thinks Trump has been exonerated are the psychos at Breitbart. Nobody else’s mind has been changed a bit: Americans still believe Trump did all kinds of nasty things, and moreover, his approval ratings actually dropped after Barr put out his propaganda.
It now appears that Team Trump is going to fight to the bitter end against letting the Mueller Report get out. Fine; but the American people (again, excepting the Breitbart/Limbaugh cult) won’t buy it. The overwhelming question will remain: What is Trump trying to hide? That’s a question reasonable people will ask each other at the dinner table, by the office water cooler, in Starbucks. And reasonable people will conclude that Trump has plenty to hide.
I’ve always said, despite Trump’s reputation for Teflon, as soon as the first chink appears in his armor, the spread of rot will become uncontainable. It won’t take all that many Americans turning against him to entirely change the political dynamic. Let’s say 50% of Americans are solidly against him. Thirty-five percent are for him, even if he should admit to being a child predator. The remaining 15% are squishy. All that Democrats need is for a majority of them to conclude that (in Pelosi’s words) Trump “just isn’t worth it,” and they’ll be shopping around for someone clean in 2020. It might be a Democrat; it might be an independent; it might be a moderate Republican like Romney, should he choose to run (and I don’t think he has the guts, but you never know). With all the House investigations just getting underway (including into Trump’s taxes—again, what’s he afraid of?), the damage to him is getting more severe everyday day.
Do Democrats enjoy inflicting damage on Trump? Not particularly. We’d much rather have a decent, honest administration, even if it’s under a Republican president. But Trump started this war of attrition with his foul, vulgar lowness. Democrats had no choice but to fight back with everything we’ve got. We did; we will continue doing so.
More tomorrow.
