Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Petty moves from a petty man.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Repub Venality Open Thread: If Bill Barr Were Capable of Shame…

Repub Venality Open Thread: If Bill Barr Were Capable of Shame…

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… He’d never have outlived his part in the Iran-Contra GOP insurgency, much less his second AG stint under TFG. Bill Barr’s lifelong career has been using ‘the Law’ to hide bodies, not all of them metaphorical, for the Republican Party. He’s not gonna give up that gig at this late stage, at least while he sees the glimmer of a chance that he and his fellows will get to rewrite whatever history exists after a second Trump stint in the Oval Office.

Jon Chait, at NYMag — “Donald Trump Snatches Final Shred of William Barr’s Dignity“:

Barr’s place in the Trump firmament is peculiar and unique in a way that challenges the expectations of both men. The universe of Trump officials is broadly sorted by its levels of complicity. At the high end of the scale are those officials who went to work for Trump to limit the damage he could do to the country (James Mattis, John Kelly) and who became despised deep-state traitors. At the bottom end are those who enlisted willingly in his most criminal and authoritarian schemes (Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon) and who left as MAGA heroes.

Barr defies the scale. He enthusiastically supported Trump’s efforts to pervert the Justice Department into a tool of personal abuse (which Barr justified on the basis of his constitutional theory that presidents should properly exert direct control over the operations of the entire bureaucracy, including law enforcement). Barr bought Trump’s idea that he was the victim of a vast deep-state plot and threw himself into the task of rewriting the department into a machine to protect the president and investigate his enemies. His sole request was that Trump allow him to maintain the appearance of propriety by abstaining from public demands that Barr prosecute certain targets and let go certain allies.

Trump, characteristically, refused to grant Barr this fig leaf. Barr, characteristically, gave Trump what he wanted anyway…

Barr’s whole strategy since leaving the administration has been to reframe his service as a strategic effort to advance conservative-movement principles. Barr called Trump unfit and incompetent and pushed Republicans to choose a more effective nominee. His grounds for opposing Trump always pointed toward an eventual reconciliation, though. He opposed his former boss not on the grounds of being an authoritarian but on the grounds of being too ineffective…


Reader Interactions

57Comments

  2. 2.

    Citizen Alan

    There are no republicans who have any moral charactor or decency or any redeeming characteristics at all. Absolute garbage, every single one of them.

  3. 3.

    VFX Lurker

    Bill Barr, Mitch McConnell, Republican voters, Putin, Fox news, talk radio, social media, voter suppression in red states, the Electoral College…it’s not just TIFG. All his accomplices brought us to this point.

  4. 4.

    Another Scott

    @mrmoshpotato: +1

    When you can’t even rise to the standards of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, well, you’ve got some pretty rock bottom standards.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  5. 5.

    eclare

    TIFG looks and sounds pathetic in that last video.  How his cult worships him as some god-king I will never understand.

  6. 6.

    cmorenc

    The one bright side to Trump’s feelings of disrespect for Bill Barr is that Trump would likely never nominate Barr for a seat on SCOTUS, should one come open.  The downside is that there is no shortage of ambitious sociopathic Fed-Society assholes for Trump to pick from who would actually be far worse than even Barr

    But if we’re going to play fantasy bad RW Scotus pick, which would be worse – Barr or Aileen Cannon?  Let’s hope this exercise will forever be in the domain of fantasy rather than reality.

  8. 8.

    LadySuzy

    My concern: he has a high profile and he may give “psychological permission” to a lot of “not crazy” republicans to vote for Trump.

    I hope Liz Cheney strikes back HARD at him. VERY HARD. She is even more high profile than Barr.

    Barr is totally blinded by ideology. And has always been a partisan hack. He must have always told himself that every action is justified if it keeps conservatives in power.

    The man is intelligent. But he is an extremist and has been able to disguise it in the past. No more.

  10. 10.

    Jackie

    @eclare:

    TIFG looks and sounds pathetic in that last video.  How his cult worships him as some god-king I will never understand.

    He is their personal Whiner god. He whines on their behalf.

  12. 12.

    eclare

    @Suzanne:

    He ran for Senate in 2020, but he lost to Tuberville in the primary.  True to form, TIFG endorsed Tuberville and sent out derogatory tweets about Sessions.

    When will these idiots learn that loyalty only goes one way with TIFG?  I guess never.

  13. 13.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: I was wondering too.

    He gave a speech to Alabama college Republicans in January.

    During the event, Sessions criticized the legalization of marijuana and members of the Trump administration who spoke against Trump, citing the importance of party loyalty.

    Party first, as always. Even when a monster takes over.

    UA College Democrats criticized the decision to host Sessions, calling it “a slap in the face to those who value equality and justice.” UACD cited Sessions’ restrictive immigration policies and restrictions of civil rights when he served as attorney general.

    He’s still a monster.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  14. 14.

    Dangerman

    So, this is what it would be like living in a Blazing Saddles world.

    Morons.

    Talk me off the ledge, but I think Trump could be convicted, serving time in either More-A-Larceny or some prison, and he is still getting re-elected. Because Judges and Morons. He will lose the popular huuuuuugely but will get enough Swings to pull it off.

  15. 15.

    VFX Lurker

    From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo today, regarding TIFG’s narcissistic approach to foreign defense (gift link):

    For what it’s worth, this is the thing that worries me most about a second Trump presidency. At least in concept we have some real ability to undo or fix things that get broken or deformed within our society and state. Easier said than done, certainly. But we as a society, as a republic, control most of the levers. Internationally, it’s very different. Once big parts of the global system get broken we can’t easily put them back like they were. We could do that more or less on our own muscle in the 1940s and 1950s. But it’s not the 1950s anymore. Once big wars break out, in addition to the horrific downsides of big wars, you can’t just put things back the way things were.

  16. 16.

    Jackie

    Is anyone watching the NYPD entering Columbia University? It seems low key at the moment…

  18. 18.

    RaflW

    “Which is incapable of solvin’ even the sollest problem. We are an institute in a powerful death penalty. We will put this on.”

    There’s so much to be furious and depressed about, but the failure of the press to report on Trump’s rapidly decaying brain is among the worst. Adding in the obscene obsession with Biden’s age just makes it deadly farce.

  20. 20.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … TheHill.com:

    New York state Sen. Timothy Kennedy, a Democrat, has won the Empire State’s special election to fill retired Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins’s seat in Congress, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.

    Kennedy defeated Republican Gary Dickson in New York’s 26th Congressional district for the seat, which was expected to stay in Democratic hands — but the race still drew scrutiny as the GOP grapples with a razor-thin majority.

    Both candidates were picked by local party officials to be their respective nominees for the special election. Kennedy will serve out the rest of Higgins’s unexpired term.

    Higgins resigned from Congress this February after nearly two decades in the House, citing growing dysfunction and the “slow and frustrating” pace of progress in D.C., and now serves as president and CEO of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. The longtime lawmaker was among a number of House members who announced they wouldn’t seek reelection amid frustration with chaos on Capitol Hill.

    The New York district runs along the Niagara River, including the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. A 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo prompted Kennedy to champion gun safety legislation in the New York state Senate.

    […]

    Good, good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  24. 24.

    SpaceUnit

    @Jackie:

    You made me start watching.

    I watched the protest and arrests at the USC campus the other day, and it was one of the most polite and cordial things I’ve ever seen.  Both the police and the protesters were extremely restrained.  Seemed as though the reporters were disappointed.

    ETA:  That protest ought to set an example for both protesters and law enforcement.

  27. 27.

    The Pale Scot

    @Timill:

    As per, I’m cleaning up my parents long neglected abode. The amount of towels they have is fucking unbelievable. They were fucking ready for sher

  28. 28.

    Parfigliano

    Fuckin shitheel national press still trying to keep scum like Mattis and Kelly viable for future GOP admin positions by peddling the lie that they worked under Trump to limit the damage that could be done.

  29. 29.

    Jackie

    👿

    “A panel of federal judges has tossed out Louisiana’s new congressional map, striking the state’s second majority-Black district just months after it was signed into law,” Politico reports.

    “The ruling, if it stands, could be a win for Republicans, since Democrats were almost certain to win the newly drawn district.”

    I so hope it’s overturned! AND overturned in time for this Nov.

  31. 31.

    Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)

    I wonder, when did Barr lose his moral compass? No doubt it was long before he lost his virginity.

    Sorry for the image. It made me reach for another vodka bottle, myself

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    @The Pale Scot

    Per Douglas Adams, be prepared.

    …a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag [non-hitchhiker] discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with. Source

  35. 35.

    Quadrillipede

    @The Pale Scot: That is fascinating…

    Where humans can rely on language to understand an assignment, non-verbal animals have to find out for themselves what the rules of a particular situation are. Kuchibhotla suggests this difference could account for why mice take on this continually shifting approach to a task. “Verbal or written instructions collapse the mental space of exploration. Once you know what you’re supposed to do, there’s no need to explore. That’s one of the hypotheses we have–that in the absence of instructions humans will [also] engage in continuous exploration.” He’s currently conducting follow-up research in human behavioral trials to determine if that’s true.

  36. 36.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @SpaceUnit: I don’t know about USC, but UC Berkeley has plenty of experience dealing with protests, and likewise — at least when I attended — protests (and occasional arrests) were usually orderly affairs. The trouble usually happened when protests got really big and the campus police ended up using mutual aid to call in outside cops, who were prone to head-cracking approaches.

  40. 40.

    wjca

    @RaflW: There’s so much to be furious and depressed about, but the failure of the press to report on Trump’s rapidly decaying brain is among the worst.

    Which would be better:

    1. Widespread reporting about TIFG’s deterioration now.  Followed by the Republicans finding a different candidate.  Who would almost have to be less incompetent at doing bad things.
    2.  Such reporting waiting until mid-September, by which time he will have gotten much worse and it’s too late to replace him on the ballot.

    Yes, the media are falling down on the job, big time.  But, as a matter of electoral tactics, which works better for winning the election?

  42. 42.

    prostratedragon

    @RaflW:  Oh, really?! With all the cops at Columbia, gotta wonder who’s left? I noticed some response vehicles arriving from uptown direction on Amsterdam; maybe they were coming from there.

    …

    Seems the clearances began at CCNY a couple of hours after Columbia. Since there are many fewer student residents, the place might be a lot quieter for now. WABC news report.

  44. 44.

    zzcool

    I tried an interesting* experiment with my almost 5 year old son the other day.

    I held a chocolate Easter egg in front of him and I asked him “imagine that you could do absolutely anything you wanted in the world, but if this egg ever comes to life and says ‘that’s not allowed’ then you aren’t allowed to do it. It is the only thing stopping you from doing what you want. What are you going to do with this egg?”

    His response:”eat it”

    Which is what infuriates me about the whole presidential immunity question in front of SCOTUS at the moment.

    It is a concept that even a child understands.

    If the only obstacle to a fascist president committing crimes is the impeachment and conviction by Congress, then they will eat that Easter egg.

  47. 47.

    prostratedragon

    Gee, it’s mi-i-ighty quiet in here …

    “How Columbia’s Student Uprising of 1968 Was Sparked by a Segregated Gym”:

    Word of the occupation spread across campus and into Harlem, but inside Hamilton Hall, tension was building between the black SAS students and the majority-white SDS. The SDS wanted to take an administrator hostage and use the occupation to draw attention to their anti-war work, but the SAS wanted to stick to their issue of stopping construction at the gym. Finally, the black students asked white students to leave the building.

    Though the move was painted by white commentators as an expression of black militancy, Bradley says it was a strategic choice on the part of the African-American protesters. “The black students knew that it would be difficult for the university to approach a black-occupied building, especially in light of all of the uprisings in Harlem,” he said. By confining their gym-related protest to a single building, black students could represent the community’s opposition to the gym while other students broadened the occupation to reflect their opposition to the war and other issues.

    Finally, on April 30, 1968 the University gave NYPD the go-ahead:

    Their first destination was Hamilton Hall, where all 86 students surrendered without a fight. “They knew what police could do,” says Bradley. “It wasn’t just a story or tale or lore—they would kill young black people if necessary.” Meanwhile, police met resistance from white protesters. They made over 700 arrests and injured over 100 students, clearing out the buildings as protesters stampeded.

    Maybe it’s the feng shui of Hamilton Hall, or maybe both sides decided in the end not to go back there again.

  48. 48.

    Chet Murthy

    @prostratedragon: [btw, link doesn’t work]

    A segregated gym in NYC in 1968?  Really?  Wowsers.  I was 3yo, in India, so I really have no basis to judge, but wow, that’s surprising.  I know there was de facto segregation of various sorts all over the North, but I didn’t realize that explicit segregation could still be attempted.

  49. 49.

    Princess

    @Parfigliano: I don’t know about Mattis but Kelly is a stone cold racist who was fully down with the Trump agenda. He just thought Trump himself was an unreliable buffoon. Barr is pretty much the same. He’s looking for a Salazar-type dictatorship with a scotus fig leaf. There’s no real difference between him and the Evangelicals except his autocracy is Catholic-flavoured.

  51. 51.

    Anne Laurie

    @Chet Murthy: A segregated gym in NYC in 1968? Really?

    ‘Explicit’ does not necessarily mean ‘codified in law’ — it can mean quite the opposite!

    When I was growing up in NYC (I would’ve been 12 or 13 in 1968), I was  told there was an African-American saying:  In the South, they don’t mind how close you get, as long as you don’t get too high; in the North, they don’t care how high you get, as long as you don’t get too close.  As a white kid, I wasn’t aware which gyms might have been (unofficially, but no less strictly) segregated by race.   Since I had no Black neighbors or schoolmates, I had the luxury of not *having* to be aware.  But I do remember protests about various segregated public & semi-private spaces, and my reaction was Oh, yeah, not exactly surprising in this case.

    Such sites — parks, gyms, swimming pools, ‘good’ schools — were gradually, often painfully, desegregated when Black people started protesting their exclusion.  Not being able to use a college gym ranked, I would assume, lower on the priority list than (for instance) getting admission to the college.

    Change doesn’t happen ‘organically’, and often not nearly as quickly as we assume it must’ve…

  53. 53.

    Baud

    @Anne Laurie:

    not nearly as quickly as we assume it must’ve

     
    Yeah, I feel people nowadays forget how long things take and then depressed when progress doesn’t happen more quickly.

  55. 55.

    AM in NC

    @Boris Rasputin (the evil twin): When he was appointed AG it was reported that he bullied Jewish students in high school. Bullied them because they were Jewish.

    He’s always been an Opus Dei fascist determined to Lord it over anyone and everyone he can.

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    @AM in NC:

    So, Pat Buchanan, with a (slightly) less annoying voice, and (slightly) less obvious hatred of people not like himself.

    ETA: OK, I don’t really know if Buchanan was/is an Opus Dei nutjob. Po-TAY-to, to-MAH-to.

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