This is a thing of beauty.
Rep. Dan Goldman demolishes a lot of the spin surrounding the Durham report in short order pic.twitter.com/WUl5oDJIwi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 23, 2023
This, too!
Rep. Goldman: "So why are my colleagues trying to undermine the FBI? Why are they asking to defund the FBI? … if you can undermine the investigator … then you can undermine our entire system of democracy. That is the authoritarian playbook 101." pic.twitter.com/rN1RNeZ2Nd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 23, 2023
It’s really best when you watch Dan Goldman in action, but here are the Cliff notes for anyone who doesn’t watch.
Tweet 1:
“First, let’s talk about the Durham report.
They failed to consider that the original tip that set off the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was that the Russians was going to be disseminating hacked emails that were going to help Donald Trump. And they did exactly that, in July! But the committee ignored that. They focused instead on the internal information known by the FBI, and that is not what set off the investigation.
He goes on from there, talking about what a failure the Durham investigation was. One guilty plea, sent to them from the Inspector General, and two acquittals. Not sure if he used the word abysmal or not, to describe the investigation, but even if he didn’t that was his clear message.
Tweet 2:
Why is your committee tryin to undermine the FBI? To defund the FBI? He lays out the way in which that is right out of the authoritarian playbook.
Dan Goodman is very effective.
I think Dan Goldman and Marc Elias are heroes of our time. Without either one, imagine where we’d be. Feel free to mention other heroes of our time in the comments, if you want.
Open thread.
Omnes Omnibus
Baud?
lowtechcyclist
Whatever happened to GOP Sen. Frist?
ETA: not a hero!
WaterGirl
I worked 10 hours for my clients yesterday, and then gardened on top of that. Today, only 2 hours for clients but 9 hours mostly gardening but with some house cleaning thrown in.
Good thing I could microwave my leftovers for 2 minutes for dinner or I would have gone to bed hungry. 30 minutes of reading, and I was so inspired watching Dan Goldman (!) that it gave me a burst of energy to write the post.
I don’t care if it is only 7:45, I’m going to bed!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Not Steve from WTF?
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl:
A management side lawyer? Fuck that.
mrmoshpotato
Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Night night.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
She said “our time,” not “all time.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I don’t read so good.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: hahaha
WaterGirl
Thanks for the laughs. ‘night, all.
zhena gogolia
I love Dan Goldman. I fell in love during Impeachment I. I had no idea he was an heir to Levi Strauss. He doesn’t act like it.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: Why? Does he wear Wranglers?
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus: You know what I mean!
joey5slice
Dan Goldman is my congressman.
I did not vote for him in the primary.
I will probably vote for his primary opponent, if he draws one.
He knows how to put on a show, and that’s a valuable skill for a politician, but he’s a one trick pony.
Well, two tricks. One is being showily tough on Trump, and the other is using all that sweet sweet jeans money to buy the primary from actual progressive heroes who want to help the people of Brooklyn instead of giving themselves a platform to perform from.
I’m glad you all are enjoying his show. I’d prefer he do something good for the people of the New York 10th.
Geminid
@joey5slice: So who did you want in the primary?
joey5slice
@Geminid: first, let me say that I should have waited 10 minutes before hitting submit, as I would probably not have posted the comment at all. I’m in a foul mood today, but I don’t really want to stir things up or rain on anyone’s parade.
With that out of the way: I voted for Jo Anne Simon, my assemblywoman, who is a real hero. Disability advocate, deeply involved in the community and with local charities before getting into politics, and on the right side of just about every issue. I’m a huge fan.
Goldman was my last choice once de Blasio dropped out. He didn’t *stand* for anything. He didn’t seem to *believe* in anything. But, you know, he did good on TV and he had a lot of money.
Carlina Rivera, Mondaire Jones, even Elizabeth Holtzman, blast from the past as she was – we had some good candidates! But instead we got Dan Goldman.
And listen: he’s good on TV! That’s important! It’s not like Democrats in the House are able to do much else right now. But one of the benefits of living in the deep blue People’s Republic of Brooklyn should be that I get to feel truly proud of my Congress critter. And I don’t. I just don’t.
i can’t help but wonder whether ranked choice voting might have led to a different outcome. He “won” the primary with less than 26% of the vote. Three quarters of the voters wanted someone else. Who knows what the outcome would have been – he may have come out on top anyway – but it’s had to feel good about the guy you wanted least winning with only 1/4 of the votes.
Anyway, sincerely, I hope everyone enjoys the show. He’s good at that! And dammit, we need some of that. I should have kept my foul mood to myself.
Geminid
@joey5slice: I was just curious. I followed the primary some, but I wanted to hear from a district resident and I appreciate your response.
This outcome reminds me of the primary to select Rep. Kennedy’s successor in 2020, when Kennedy ran against Senator Markey.
Jake Auchingloss won the primary in his southeastern Massachusetts district with a low 20s percentage, and then won easily in November.. He was more moderate than the other candidates, and some people complained that a “deep blue” district should be represented by a more liberal politician.
Auchingloss had no major opponents last year, though.
JustRuss
Since the thread’s open, my cat, after grazing on the back 40, just attempted to puke on my carpet. I managed to slide a sheet of paper in front of her just as she let fly, catching it just in the nick of time. Probably my biggest win of the day. Pathetic, but I’ll take it.
Manyakitty
@JustRuss: whatever prevents a puke mess is a win in my book.
Steeplejack
@JustRuss:
👌