March 25, 2019

Noodling Around: Reactions to Barr's Memo

I've got me a bowl of piping hot ramen here, so let's do some noodling around, shall we?

I'm reminded immediately of the quote that's often attributed to Richard Nixon,"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

It comes to mind because it seems that many people are misstating what AG William Barr's letter to Congress said, or didn't say, and what it meant, or didn't mean, either on purpose or because they really don't know what it said because they just read the headlines, not the articles.  It's a hot mess, just like my noodles.

So, what do I know, after 22 months of Mueller's investigation, the hundreds of search warrants and subpoenas and interviews and the 30-some-odd indictments?

The president has egg on his face and poop on his shoes. Donald Trump, who spent two years blasting the FBI, the Justice Department, and just about everyone involved in the investigation as partisan hacks, clueless witch-hunters, angry Democrats and more - now finds himself having to say what a great job they did, whether he wants to say that or not, because those are the very people who found (to the best of our knowledge, anyway) that he did not and his family did not and his administration did not formally collude or conspire with the Russian government.

At the same time as he's now touting his (ahem) total exoneration, he's suggesting that there are many people who have committed treason against our country via their participation in the investigation. He's claimed that no one's mentioning their names, but he's mentioned their names, but he didn't mention their names when he called them out namelessly.  Like I said, poop on his shoes. Treason is a serious allegation, even when it's uttered by a complete charlatan.

Adam Schiff, put up or shut up. Schiff, the California Democrat who is now chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (some might say that's an oxymoron but that's a tale for another day), has said that his Committee has tangible proof, ample evidence, of collusion; he's said that for about a year now. Just like Trump and his treason claims, Schiff has to come clean with his evidence, sooner than later. Like now.

Mitch McConnell is the worst thing to come out of Kentucky ever, except maybe Reba McIntyre as Colonel Sanders.  The latest example? He refused to allow a vote on the non-binding resolution asking for release of the full Mueller Report, which passed the House by a 420 - 0 vote. He can go pound salt with his iron fist, or something. I mean, even Trump, even today, said he would have no problem with the full report being released. Even today, after his attorneys said that his written answers to Mueller's questions shouldn't be released, Trump said that the whole darn thing should be made public. What the heck is wrong with McConnell?

Congress is already investigating, and they want more. After weeks of complaining about how much money the Mueller investigation has cost the taxpayers (and completely ignoring that it might end up making money, after all is said and done) now the R's want to investigate the investigators who, you'll recall, found no collusion. I mean, I can see them investigating if there was a finding of collusion, but since their reality TV star president is now safe from that particular allegation, you'd think they would not want to spend a whole lot more time talking about this stuff.

Lindsey Graham basically promised James Comey a turn in the Senate Intelligence Committee's hot seat (yes, another oxymoron, I know) which won't go well for Graham, if Comey's previous testimony is any indication. Comey doesn't break under pressure, while the senators who will be questioning him will be so busy trying to make a fundraising video that they'll look ridiculous by comparison. And let me just confess that Peter Strzok was my favorite Congressional witness ever, with the exception of Matt Damon doing Brett Kavanaugh on SNL.

And the Dems are no better on this, believe me. I swear they'd investigate their own mama if they could find a reason or make one up. And yes, the fundraising video making is a driver here, as well.

Impeachment must be off the table. It simply must be off the table, I don't care how badly people want it, I don't care how many House members want it, it can't happen. First of all, it won't be successful - the House probably wouldn't go for it and there's not a snowball's chance in Death Valley that there'd be a positive vote in the Senate.  The timing will be horrible -- we're already knee deep in the 2020 race, and trying to impeach him during the election campaign almost guarantees another four years of Trump lying and Pence staring. Please -- don't blow the chance to get him out of the White House, It's going to be hard enough without forcing the Dems to hop around on their self-inflicted foot wounds Don't do it.

Governing. They're supposed to be governing. Enough said? Enough said.

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