Octopus Overlords

So every other year the DOJ is going to shut down *investigations* of candidates? How could this go wrong?

McConnell really hit the jackpot.

I am speechless. Somebody get the lights on the way out.

What concerns me isn't the headline per se, it's everything that's implied by this. It isn't entirely crazy for investigations against political candidates to need to be vetted through the AG especially after Clinton. It is a mostly reasonable thing designed to paper over the problems underneath. Mostly reasonable meaning it sounds great until you look two steps ahead and draw a bright line to Trump's noise about announcing his candidacy 2 years ahead of an election.

This memo doubles down on Garland's number one priority IMO - protecting the DOJ first. Yes and I believe it leaves the American people a distant last. The DOJ was badly damaged by the Trump AGs and especially Bill Barr. We saw several instances of political interference with prosecutions and other shenanigans. We've also seen no hint of any accountability for the bad behavior in the DOJ. It went into a memory hole.

So what does Garland do to show that the DOJ is a stable institution? He releases a mostly reasonable memo that shows continuity between Garland's DOJ and Barr's DOJ. He is chanting the DOJ is in a normal operating state and it always was.

Help me out here. I've read both memos this morning (Garland's and the Barr memo it references) and it appears to read that the DOJ can't investigate without specific approval of the AG.

So this isn't a blanket squash of any potential investigation simply because someone declares their candidacy, but rather it would require Merrick Garland to personally show a spine (one that has been entirely absent so far) before anything could potentially happen.

That about right?

Yeah that's pretty much it. It raises the Barr (har har!) on investigations. It's not crazy - you've however correctly IMO read between the lines and I'm arguing it's more. But still that's the essence of the plain text. However, Garland is to put it mildly ridiculously cautious. And a Trumpist would hardly be restrained by this policy.

My thesis is increasingly that many in the Democrats and their appointments are actually on the side of the fascists and this is just a game while they seize power. Just as occurred in Germany.

A significant number of federally elected officials certainly are part of an "elite class" that is disconnected completely from the day-to-day existence of most Americans. They've made it so they make money off the laws the pass (or squash) so I guess this is what happens.

waitingtoconnect wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:08 am My thesis is increasingly that many in the Democrats and their appointments are actually on the side of the fascists and this is just a game while they seize power. Just as occurred in Germany.

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stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:23 am

waitingtoconnect wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:08 am My thesis is increasingly that many in the Democrats and their appointments are actually on the side of the fascists and this is just a game while they seize power. Just as occurred in Germany.

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This model is certainly easier to consume than the one we are likely dealing with which is a complex governance failure.

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:23 am

waitingtoconnect wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:08 am My thesis is increasingly that many in the Democrats and their appointments are actually on the side of the fascists and this is just a game while they seize power. Just as occurred in Germany.

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Drazzil isn't always wrong, he just usually sounds that way.

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 11:08 am

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:23 am

waitingtoconnect wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 10:08 am My thesis is increasingly that many in the Democrats and their appointments are actually on the side of the fascists and this is just a game while they seize power. Just as occurred in Germany.

You've been subscribing to Drazzil's newsletter.

Drazzil isn't always wrong, he just usually sounds that way.

There is a reason they aren't fighting like crazy to save democracy. Remember Pelosi's net worth is 9 digits and she isn't alone.