Trump's Co-Conspirators

As we fight the effects of the various "firehoses" being employed by unfit neo- fascist shitgibbon Donald "Rump" Trump (firehoses of lies, of distraction, of blame- shifting, etc.), we must contnue to make note of those in the Republican party- before- country tribe who are aiding and abetting him.

Of perhaps greatest scope and effect in this collusion is the right- wing media, led by Fox "News" and the rest of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, Breitbart, InfoWars, and countless spittle- flecking hate radio hacks like Oxycontin Rush Limbaugh. Michael Tomasky notes the effect this has in assisting Rump's diversionary smokescreens, and the "propaganda imbalance" between right and left:

On Monday, three stories came out that under any other president, certainly under Barack Obama, would have been three-day mini-scandals—at least. But under Trump, they’re either so dwarfed by the running narratives (Russia; shambolic White House; tweets) or so unsurprising coming from him that it’s hard not to just shake our heads and move on. 

These little scandals drive home to me what may be the single starkest lesson of these first 70-whatever days of Trump: that the right-wing media has enormous agenda-setting power in this country. [snip]

The left has no remotely equivalent attack machinery. It doesn’t exist because there’s no market for it. It wouldn’t work. Liberals just don’t have the same hunger for red meat. They have a hunger for it, but not the same hunger, not anywhere near. [snip] 

The Trump administration already has racked up so many scandals, failures, and sleazy deals that I guess it’s inevitable that some of them slip by. But just keep this propaganda imbalance in your mind. It explains why these near-daily controversies just fade away. Imagine where he’d be in the polls if all of these got the attention they deserve! 

Among the other co- conspirators in Rump's efforts to disrupt, obfuscate and derail investigations into his and his cohorts' deep connections with Russia are party- before- country politicians like Rep. Devin "Clouseau Lite" Nunes and Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz.

Sometimes, this results in active collusion with Rump's efforts, as in Nunes' bollixed efforts to validate Rump's claims of being "wire tapped" by President Obama.

Sometimes it's passive collusion of the sort practiced by Chaffetz (Hillary Clinton's Inspector Javert), whose attitude now toward Rump's blatant corruption and conflicts of interest is "nothing to see here, move along."

Then, of course, you have Rump's version of The White House Plumbers Unit clumsily trying to find out who the FBI was investigating =cough= Michael Flynn =cough=, a gambit that's now been exposed and amplified by the White House's diversionary Susan Rice "unmasking" nothingburger.

We pause to repeat this tweet that captures the essence of what's going on here in plain sight:

Why is everyone investigating my bank robbery when the real crime is the invasion of privacy from those bank surveillance cameras?

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 1, 2017

It's no surprise that human/ turtle hybrid and reptile with no moral compass Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell (Testudo- KY) has now joined the active Rump collusionists (anything for those tax cuts for the wealthy!):

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday evening said that he had asked the Senate Intelligence Committee to look into reports that Susan Rice asked for the names of Trump associates to be unmasked in intelligence reports. 

"I have asked the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Burr, Sen. Warner, to conduct a bipartisan investigation of this whole episode," McConnell told Fox News when asked about Rice. "They will conduct it. Hopefully at the end we will find out what happened and they will issue a report, I hope, on a bipartisan basis."

Our expectation is that, as they "find out what happened," the results will only serve to substantiate the fact that there were legal and national security considerations that involved Rump's associates and campaign being in contact with Russian agents and go- betweens.  But when you're desperately trying to buy time and cover up potentially treasonous activities, it seems any diversion (even one that ends up boomeranging on you) will do. It also seems one of the primary lessons from the Watergate scandal of 45 years ago has been lost to these hacks: it's not the crime, it's the coverup that gets you.

They may have forgotten, but history will remember.

BONUS: Here's one news program that won't be part of the diversionary tactics.

BONUS II:  John Cole has a good piece on the puke funnel process.

Portrait Of A Villain: Rep. Jason Chaffetz

When last seen, the slimy Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz (Weasel-UT) was rightfully getting his ass booed by constituents at a town hall meeting.  So what's the latest from this soulless guardian of democracy?

The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who has refused Democratic requests to investigate possible conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump, is seeking criminal charges against a former State Department employee who helped set up Hillary Clinton's private email server. 

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday asking him to convene a grand jury or charge Bryan Pagliano, the computer specialist who helped establish Clinton's server while she was secretary of state. (our emphasis)

So, as far as investigating nut- in- chief Donald "Rump" Trump's connection with Russian President Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin or Rump's lack of transparency in ongoing business "deals," Chaffetz is adopting the "nothing to see here, move along" approach with a side of "but let's go back to Clinton emailghazi!!"  Chaffetz is perhaps the epitome of the party- before- country Republican; it's hard to imagine someone more concerned with his own political skin and the survival of his party of deplorables than Chaffetz.

As Norm Ornstein aptly put it,

When the history of this dark period is written, Jason Chaffetz will go down as one of the real villains

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) February 16, 2017

Despicable.

Why You Should Vote Straight Ticket Democrat, Cont.

We're seeing more and more reasons why voting a straight Democratic ticket is the only option to restore some measure of sanity to our federal government.  This remains a good reason. And this. Here's another:

Jason Chaffetz, the Utah congressman wrapping up his first term atop the powerful House Oversight Committee, unendorsed Donald Trump weeks ago. That freed him up to prepare for something else: spending years, come January, probing the record of a President Hillary Clinton. 

“It’s a target-rich environment,” the Republican said in an interview in Salt Lake City’s suburbs. “Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain’t good.” 

In a tweet Wednesday night, Chaffetz reaffirmed his distaste for Clinton and his refusal to endorse Trump — but reversed his plans not to vote for the Republican nominee. 

If Republicans retain control of the House, something that GOP-friendly maps make possible even in the event of a Trump loss, Clinton will become the first president since George H.W. Bush to immediately face a House Oversight Committee controlled by the opposition party. (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama lost Congress later in their presidencies.) 

And other Republican leaders say they support Chaffetz’s efforts — raising the specter of more partisan acrimony between them and the White House for the next four years.

That would be the same publicity hound Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz who made a fool of himself this past summer in his quest to kneecap Secretary Clinton with FBI Director (and lifelong Republican) James Comey playing the uncooperative witness.  He also likes to bully women who testify before his committee, again with disastrous results. So, planning more witch hunts seems like a recipe for further humiliation for young Jason.

Of course, Chaffetz and his fellow nihilistic troglodytes are only concerned with doing their part to obstruct and delegitimatize yet another Democratic president. (He's too much of a spineless coward to stand up to neo- fascist nitwit Donald "Rump" Trump, but he's ruff and tuff when it comes to his plans to hamstring a future President Clinton!) Since he and many of his colleagues are in deep red states or are gerrymandered into safe seats by Republican state legislatures, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by once again refusing to be part of a functioning government. Does that sound like something you want for another 4 to 8 years?

But, while it's unlikely Democrats will pick up enough seats to win back the House (the average predicted is 8 - 12 seats, not the 30 needed), it's still within the realm of possibility.  What matters is turnout, the margin of Clinton's victory (over 8% could flip the House), and whether those Clinton voters vote straight Democratic ticket.  We hope enough people are tired of the games being played that undercut democratic governance and harm us as a nation to vote Republicans out. The problem goes way beyond Rump and needs to be rooted out, one election at a time.

BONUS: Jamelle Bouie's smart take on this: "The Republican Party has decided to react to Trump by recreating the conditions for another Trump."

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party - Nothing To See Here

You may recall sputtering rage bomb Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz (R-Zygote) who recently birthed a spectacular FAIL when he tried to bully and smear Planned Parenthood's President Cecile Richards at a House committee hearing September 29.  Well, what has his subsequent sleuthing turned up?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday that the GOP's investigation into Planned Parenthood's use of federal funds hasn't turned up anything.

"Did I look at the finances and have a hearing specifically as to the revenue portion and how they spend? Yes. Was there any wrongdoing? I didn't find any," he said during a Judiciary Committee hearing on the family planning provider.  (our emphasis)

Never fear, though!  Like the similarly bogus Benghazi!!! "hearings," there's money to be fleeced from the rubes and poll numbers to be driven down, so Republicans plan to go forward with their "investigation" of fetal tissue research programs (including Planned Parenthood's) and, of course, hold government hostage in their fruitless attempt to de-fund the popular women's health provider.