Teaching a lesson about partisan games by playing partisan games isn't teaching. It's retribution. No one's hands are clean here. I'm old enough to remember the grinder they put Bill Clinton through. Then shut Al Franken out with behavior Trump has been accused of even worse. I don't view any of this as some reformist revolution. It's a race to the bottom, and you guys are using mental origami to justify it.whiterock said:You illustrate the problem, exactly. Republicans always say that - "we should not do what they do...we are better than that." As a result, the bureaucracy fears Democrats, but not Republicans. They cover up, they delay, they refuse to acknowledge problems, they redefine statute to suit political exigencies, etc.....to benefit Democrats.....while subjecting Republicans to unrelenting lawfare. Remember Sen. Stevens from AK? Remember Russia Collusion? When has such ever happened to Democrats? Look how hard DOJ worked to hide Hunters blatant law breaking, while condoning early morning SWAT raids for contrived process crimes by Republicans. With Trump, they took the criminal prosecution route, searching closets of the private residence of a former POTUS over classified documents, rather than making the slightest attempt to resolve the issue in civil court over the limits of presidential powers (which was the actual issue at hand). Meanwhile, fmr Senator Biden, who had no Presidential powers claims at all, is given a pass because he is too senile to be prosecuted successfully (even though he's the sitting POTUS). Such an over-the-top double standard at play.... We've reached the point where no Republican is safe from anything if these kinds of things are allowed to stand.ATL Bear said:The fact you want the Justice department to fear any political party is worrisome. That is the recipe for politicizing law enforcement. How about we be better than the opposition?whiterock said:You are reacting to an instinct to protect an institution which has just shown itself to be a clear and present danger to your liberties and mine.KaiBear said:whiterock said:How? Please explain.KaiBear said:whiterock said:genius choice. Printers at DOJ are on overload getting resume's ready for jobs at Democrat law firms.KaiBear said:
Bizarre choice, unless Trump plans to go scorched earth.
Guess what comes around, goes around.
After what Garland did, total reset is in order. Let him do the dirty work, then let someone else come in & rebuild it properly.
This pick weakens Trump.
Trump campaigned on the idea that the DOJ had been politicized.
The American People agreed and elected him.
Why should he NOT pick an intelligent, well-spoken, fearless disruptor to go there and actually disrupt?
I didn't see it coming (i.e. didn't think of him as an option) but how can be be surprised at a pick like this? Trump has a track record of actually trying to accomplish his campaign promises. Could we reasonably expect him to select an establishmentarian to show up, change a few light bulbs, then tell us how important it is that we back off & let DOJ do its job of administering a dual standard of justice? (i.e. what all of his predecessors have done). After what Trump has been thru, wouldn't we expect him to seek transformative reform? How do we get transformative reform without breaking glass?
The appointment is divine poetic justice.
Gaetz is arguably a victim of a politicized DOJ.
There could be no better signal to send to Javier than to appoint Valjean as his boss.
It's like Nolan Ryan whizzing a 100mph fastball at your chin.
A lot of DOJ rats will grasp what this appointment portends and be out the door before Trump is inaugurated.
I erupted in laughter when I heard the news on the radio. it's a great big Foxtrot Uniform to the establishment, and boy do they have it coming.
Time wasted on 'retribution', is time ( and political chips ) that could be better spent on legislation that aids the American people.
One man's "retribution" is another man's "reform."
A POTUS can accomplish a lot without a single piece of legislation. He can write Executive Orders which have substantial impact on agency activities. And, of course, he can hire/fire people.
It's a horrible / juvenile selection that ruins Trump's momentum.
It's delivering on a promise to the American people.
He has only got 4 months to 2 years to get his agenda done.
Exactly. He's signaled that he is going to move very swiftly.
This AG selection screws everything up.
For Democrats.
The AG selection which really screwed everything up was Jeff Sessions.
We do need a DOJ. Unfortunately, the one we have is running amok. It needs a LOT of reform. I don't care if they break tail lights, scratch paint, tear upholstery, etc...... I want a housecleaning so thorough that the survivors are more afraid of Republicans than they are Democrats.
Anything short of that is a systemic failure by the Trump admin.
We either do exactly what the Democrats have done, OR we clean house. I'd prefer the latter - we investigate a couple of those involved in it, and run off all who stood silently by. Just one perp walk will do. We must instill bureaucrats with fear that the GOP will be just as ruthless as the Democrats. Given how far the disequilibrium has gone, it will take a bomb-thrower to do that. Worst thing we could do is appoint another Jeff Sessions, who will go along with the status quo, or Bill Barr, who will limit the nonsense but defend the institution from serious reforms. It just ensures that all the progressive nonsense embedded in the woodwork remains in place to engage in insurgency and worse.
I have a high-school classmate who is a career DOJ prosecutor. Fine human being. Whip smart, principled, conservative, etc..... We eat breakfast a few times a year. The organization is full of guys like that. But the top floor is rotten to the core. Time to clean house. We simply must, for the good of the organization AND the Republic, make sure that future generations of DOJ employees get taught the history about the grief that happens to those who go along with partisan games.
You want to clean house? Fine. It's after that where the scary stuff happens. You want reform? Stick to the DOJ's purpose instead of playing Game of Thrones.
