So this is something I'm calling a lightning round (patent pending), just a quick reaction to a weird day. There was always some hope among many that Mueller was there to save the nation. It seemed so perfect, Vietnam war hero, member of the power elite, incorruptible and Republican saving the Republic from Trumpism and disaster. Alas, fairy tales are just that, there is no simple Cincinnattus putting down the plow and coming to the rescue. In fact, Mueller's team did exactly what it was supposed to do, conducted an investigation and presented the facts. Did he goes as far as many hoped, no. But he left more than enough for a normal Congress to work with, where an impeachment investigation could dig up even more information and frankly does not have the same high standards of a federal court and judge. (see Clinton later 1990s)
The scariest thing that happened is not that this nation of rubes elected a narcissistic, criminal, sociopath. The founding fathers knew this was going to happen. They came from a world of multi-generational syphilitic monarchs who would periodically run nations into the ground or a virtual buzzsaw. They knew they needed a remedy against the mobs, a somewhat anti-democratic (but republican) concept to paradoxically protect democracy itself. But they could not have predicted the clown car that political parties have become. (actually Washington, Hamilton and Madison all warned of factionalism) The real scary thing that happened is that despite the protections the founding fathers framed in the Constitution, knowing exactly that this type of Presidency would exist, never expected the the electoral college and impeachment (including senate trial) could fail so miserably, being unable to predict that they would be overridden by a feckless gang of party first, nation if it is convenient Republicans.
All the information is out there and Americans have dug in on what side they are on with the issue of conspiracy with a foreign power (or at least not preventing it )and more so the more openly obvious obstruction. In the Mueller report, the most important thing was the Russian involvement, he was clear about that. The collusion/conspiracy piece was always going to be difficult to prove, particularly when the real intelligence and counter intelligence material could never be used in open court. (history in years will really illuminate the truth) There is of course a preponderance of evidence that all these motherfuckas engaged the Kremlin to win the election put complete beyond a reasonable doubt proof, well let's say they got people that are good at avoiding that.
The only real new thing coming out of the Mueller testimony today will be how the GOP toadies would embarrass themselves as Americans. Representative Nunes, a nation turned its lonely eyes to you. There were many willing accomplices, the expected Louis "goo goo eyes" Gohmert (R-InfoWars) and Matt "I'll drive" Gaetz (R-Floridaman) with their usual moronic insight into situations, who somehow can wake up in the morning and raise enough money from imbeciles to fuel their quixotic efforts towards peak idiocy. Old Texas Louis capped off his piece by introducing his own "Mueller Unmasked" screed into the Congressional Record. It wasn't just the usual rubemagnets, nearly every Republican who were obviously working hand in hand with the White House fell over themselves to protect the President, trying to deflect to the usual bogeymen of Clinton and Obama, re-repeating Fox and Friends and Gateway Pundit conspiracy theories to you start to really second guess your own sanity. Many were light weighted attacks on Mueller's character, using what was not an oscar worthy performance on the part of the Director against him. We've got to a point where everything needs to be a show and it is all in support of their leader, the greatest showman. Years of service, knowledge, experience and patriotism don't matter. A man trying to protect his country, long after he should have been comfortably retired belittled by a bunch of well dressed thugs. The constant bringing up of questions that he could not answer, due to intelligence reasons, (as well as executive privilege, which is somewhat ironic), was designed to make the case look weaker while really making this nation weaker. Among the craziness (and I only got a chance to listen to a bit while I was in traffic) was a conversation about the word "exonerate" not being an appropriate word in a legal construct. Nearly every bit of what the GOP was selling where it wasn't designed to deflect was a lawyer's dodge.
At some point for the good of the Republic, our leaders need to put country ahead of party and ahead of the monarch. No amount of tax cuts, deregulation and right wing judges can balance out the hole that is being dug. If not it is implicit to us as citizens to change our leaders. Difficult to do in a country that is so divided.
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