The Republicans got a gift thanks to Merrick Garland apparently believing he was living in 1996 when you could say “The Glorious Glory of Our Glorius System shall mean absolutely no rat fuckery” without sounding like a clueless, out-of-touch human. I am talking, of course, about the Hur report, the one that portrayed Biden as an old man with glasses on his head asking “Where are my glasses?” and forgetting everything because holy crap he’s really old.
If you read this blog, you likely are aware of what I am talking about because you pay attention to such things. Robert Hur was selected by Garland because, for some reason, a Democrat can never ever ever investigate anyone, neither Republican nor another Democrat, or else the Justice Statue will start crying under her blindfold. Or something.
Garland said a lot about even-handedness when he announced Hur was the man for the job but the thing is, well, Republicans are batshit nuts now. Hur is not just a Republican but one from the Trump administration, which means the man was likely angling for a sweet gig in the next Trump administration. He editorialized the hell out of the special investigator report, blowing past Department of Justice guidelines like he was some kind of Jim Comey.
The combination of running hard with one of Trump’s (and much of the DC media’s) main talking points, i.e. did you know Biden is old and feeble, and completely ignoring silly things like rules, mores, and guidelines makes it kind of obvious. These are considered A+ attributes for a potential Trump appointee. He couldn’t be more obvious if he showed up at a Trump rally in the front row and started jumping up and down yelling “pick me pick me, oh great and amazing sir!”
This gift is something that the GOP is making clear they will try to make the kind of gift that keeps on giving. Because of course, they will.
They are going to try to attach it to the impeachment hearing, which is already a big joke to begin with. They are also demanding transcripts and videos, no doubt for campaign commercials. Just can’t wait for commercials next fall showing Biden saying “uhhhhh, I’m not really sure what date I put the documents in the garage” from some Super PAC like Citizens Who Are Not Fascists Just Really Concerned. Heavily edited, of course.
They also want to haul Hur in front of a Republican congressional panel, where they will no doubt treat Hur like he is The Greatest American Hero and do their outrage cosplaying like they are a much dumber version of Yosemite Sam.
Will any of this matter for the election? Hard to say but at least we have nine months to counter it. It could very well be one of those things where a potential problem ends up being an opportunity if the Democrats play it right. Part of that might be to tell Garland to please shut up, because I could easily see him defending Hur’s honor, not understanding what exactly it is he is doing.
By the way, I don’t think there’s anything nefarious about Garland. I think it’s more Elite Lawyer Brain, as is outlined very well here by Paul Campos over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money. I do not know exactly what Biden should do with Garland, there are pros and cons to canning him and letting him stay. But he needs to be treated as a loose cannon because of his dead-eyed devotion to an outdated ideal of appearing non-partisan above all else. It is hard to argue against the idea that he is not the man for the moment. So, keep him under wraps as much as possible.
All that said, what will it all mean in the end? I do believe that eventually, once more people are paying attention and accept Trump is going to be the nominee, Trump’s terrifying antics will overshadow “BIDEN IS OLD” stuff. I think this is already in the early stages of showing up in polls. But the thing is, we don’t really want to give the GOP any ammunition, because as we can all see, they will milk that cow until it screams.
The last word goes to Brittany Howard.