Knock Knock. Who's There? Presidential Defenders

Presidential defenders who?

Presidential defenders who are making complete fools of themselves, that's who.

Take Senator Lindsey Graham (R-White House).  The senator, who also serves as acting Secretary of Defense for Impeachment, has suggested that the Trump Administration is so incompetent and hopeless that they couldn't possibly have pulled off a quid pro quo.

Seriously, the Administration's Ukraine policy, if you could even call it that, was incoherent and nobody was in charge, or everyone was in charge and what a mess and these people couldn't 'policy' their way out of a paper bag if their ability to avoid a Congressional subpoena depended on it, or something.

Yep - in this case, the whole is actually less than the sum of its parts, and because of that, no impeachable offense has occurred. So he's writing the whole thing off, Graham is; he's not interested in looking at actual transcripts of actual depositions or anything, he's just going to play golf with the president and let it go at that.

This is a new and interesting twist on the administration, which is the one we deserve (also according to Graham) and is also the political equivalent of the Keystone Cops. Or maybe of Wile E. Coyote, not sure.

As I said, this is only the latest in a string of 'defenses' the president, his advisers, family members, and scaredycat politicians who do what he says under fear of losing their jobs, have shared with us.

Other lines of defense may or may not include:

• It didn't happen, but if it did happen, it's OK because it's not a crime (a consistent theme with Trump and his minions). 
• And even if it IS a crime, he can't be investigated or charged with anything. But impeachment isn't about crimes, it's a political remedy. (Keep reading...) 
• And even if Congress has oversight responsibility expressly defined in the Constitution, it doesn't matter, because the economy. You know, the black unemployment rate, something that not a SINGLE Republican (and not more than probably a handful of Democrats) ever cared to mention before? Yeah, that's why none of this impeachment stuff matters.
• Impeachment is a sham, just like those phony emoluments.
• The president is not being allowed to face his accuser like he's entitled to in a court of law. I love this one, coming from folks who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, but aren't embarrassed to pretend they don't know the difference between impeachment and a criminal proceeding. 
• They had depositions in secret (a common procedure, as these folks know) to hide what was going on from us (no, not really) and we had to STORM THE GATES to get in the room (because most of us aren't on the Committee handing the depositions) and the Democrats are acting like a bunch of Soviets.
• Well, now that this is PUBLIC we're going to refuse to participate because this is a PARTISAN WITCH HUNT and a HOAX!
• Read the transcript (which is what they call the document clearly noted THIS IS NOT A TRANSCRIPT) it was a beautiful call and nothing that's pretty can be evil, right?
• The president is the Commander in Chief of the country, (which, of course, he is absolutely NOT) and he can do what he wants, and he didn't do anything wrong.
• And even if something did happen, it wasn't Trump.  It was Giuliani. 
• No, wait it was Mulvaney.
• No wait, it was Sondland.
• No, wait, it was Vindman. He's a never-Trumper. He speaks UKRAINIAN!
• It was (fill in the blank).
• But Joe Biden... 
• But Hunter Biden... 
• But Biden the golden!
• But the whistleblower once worked for a Democrat. No wait he worked with Joe Biden. That  completely negates the fact that multiple have corroborated what the whistleblower said (and more).
• But the whistleblower's attorney's tweets!
• But even if the House comes up with articles of impeachment, Senate Republicans won't go along with it.

Just stop. 

Everyone says they want the facts, except when it comes to actually getting the facts. In the face of that, the Republicans are literally - not just Joe Biden literally, but literally throwing everything at this that they can get their hands on.  

It's time to stop talking and start listening. Hear the evidence, read the evidence (and, can I ask, have you read the Mueller Report yet?), and listen to the official arguments when they are presented. 

And then, stop embarrassing yourselves, all of you.

This is not about why someone's nickname is Masha, for Pete's sake.  This is not about political parties. It's not about who is the biggest loser, or the sorest loser.

It's about whether the president of the United States used his office to attack a US citizen who happens to be a political rival, or in any way abused his office for personal gain. That's what this is about.

No one should be afraid of the facts.