Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I was promised a recession.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Everybody saw this coming.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The words do not have to be perfect.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Vulgar Speculation

Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Vulgar Speculation

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Barr solicited his position as Trump’s latest coverup guy — he could hardly wait to upgrade his obituary from “GOP loyalist who leaked salacious details of the Lewinsky record”. So he’s probably achieved a status bump, which I hope he’ll be very happy to remember…


Reader Interactions

15Comments

  1. 1.

    Jerzy Russian

    Here I am in another time zone unable to sleep, wondering if I can take the next dose of cold medicine. I take small comfort in the possibility that Barr is likewise unable to sleep.

  2. 2.

    Jay

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Hot bath with eucalyptus oil, cup of hot brandy with lemon juice and honey, Vicks on the chest, Tshirt to save the sheets, go to bed and sweat it out,

    The hot brandy, lemon and honey doesn’t do anything for the cold,

    Except make you not give a rats ass you have got one.

  3. 3.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Jay: My options at this hotel are limited at the moment. Theraflu and DayQuil work pretty well for me in stretches of a few hours.

  5. 5.

    Gin & Tonic

    That tweet from Lemieux is one of the most awkwardly-constructed “English” sentences I’ve read on that platform in some time. Three times through before I thought I knew what he might be trying to say.

  6. 6.

    sdhays

    The Yglesias tweet is so true.

    I don’t really agree with The Hoarse Whisperer. I think it’s more likely Barr will dig in rather than fold quickly. He must’ve known that the House would respond this way and he should also not be surprised by these leaks, so I just don’t see him changing course now.

  7. 7.

    Searcher

    So I know that officially the report is supposed to go to Barr and Barr act on, distribute, release it, etc, as appropriate.

    But what are the odds & legalities around someone else delivering the report to Congress? Mueller’s team has started leaking to the press now, something unprecedented during the last two years. I’d wager that at least a half dozen of them, if not all of them, kept complete copies of everything, regardless of whether that goes against procedure.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    @sdhays:

    I think it’s more likely Barr will dig in rather than fold quickly.

    I agree. I think the odds are more like 1:2 (if I understand how “odds” work, which I probably don’t). In other words: stonewalling and coverup are the operational philosophies, and with Traitor Turtle having their back, it’s probably not a bad choice for them.

    I think it would be Good Humor if Barr were charged with Obstruction of Justice. Not sure who could/would do it, but a kid can dream.

  9. 9.

    artem1s

    @sdhays:

    I think it’s more likely Barr will dig in rather than fold quickly. He must’ve known that the House would respond this way and he should also not be surprised by these leaks, so I just don’t see him changing course now.

    Maybe, but I kind of think he might be the kind of guy to go full metal John Dean. He’s more self aware than Comey (who is just now waking up to the realization that his October surprise is why we are all in this mess), that’s for sure.

  10. 10.

    Amir Khalid

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Let’s see if I can simplify it. Here goes:
    From

    The fact that Greenwald, Taibbi, and the other football-spikers seem to have failed to consider the implications of the fact that Republican elites are actively suppressing the actual report will never stop being hilarious

    to

    That Greenwald, Taibbi et al. have not asked what it means that Republican elites are actively suppressing the report itself is hilarious.

    I think that’s a decent edit.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    @Amir Khalid:
    Or better yet

    Republican elites are actively suppressing the report itself. That Greenwald, Taibbi et al. have not asked what this means is hilarious.

  12. 12.

    Chris Bubb

    Has anyone noticed that Trump is always saying this or that thing is “disgraceful” or “a disgrace”? Part of it may be his limited vocabulary, but I am also just continually gobsmacked by his chutzpah. This asswipe does disgraceful things EVERY DAY. Almost every hour! He really has no standing to complain about anyone’s conduct at this point, but he does it all the time. It’s just one more thing in a sea of crappy things that he does, but it grates on me.

  13. 13.

    Dev Null

    @Chris Bubb: This has been a topic of discussion at Chez Null, for a different reason: “disgraceful” isn’t meaningful in this context.

    I’m arguing for latter stages of early stage dementia: “not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.”

  14. 14.

    Dev Null

    @sdhays: As someone said somewhere (er, sorry …), they must have figured, “What do we have to lose?”

    And Trump can always pardon Barr, amirite?!? So it isn’t as if Barr is risking anything.

    (spoiler: I’m not entirely serious. Barr’s participation in the Iran-Contra coverup back in the 90s was entirely cost-free AFAICT, so it’s possible that Barr figured “wash, rinse, repeat”. If that’s the case, Barr might indeed have had a sleepless night.)

  15. 15.

    JGabriel

    Caring for Vets (@mama2fluffs) April 4, 2019:

    But as the illustrious @TheRickWilson says, “Everything Trump touches Dies.” #ETTD

    I wish that were true. If it were, all his companies would be shuttered by now, would have been shuttered before Bush II was even elected, and NBC would have gone out of business when they aired The Apprentice.

    The true statement is: Everything Trump Touches Turns To Shit (#E4TS). His companies, everyone he’s ever worked with or known – they’re all shit. Just like his administration.

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