Discussion
Isaac Saul takes a more moderated stance on if Democrats should go after Republicans for their crimes. "it starts to look like political persecution" he says and then reminds Bouie and Osburn of how that combined with the PA assassination attempt on Trump in the last cycle.
But, I think this is missing the point.
"It starts to look like political persecution" when it's done for political reasons.
1/
YouTube
When Republicans want to accuse Democrats of "lawfair" they say "Russia Russia Russia" what does this mean? It means that the crimes were so confusing and technical that some of the public saw them as a cynical power grab by Democrats.
But right now a large portion of the public are as alarmed by corruption as they are by the terrible economy.
Is that corruption real? I think it is. But, we need to prove it. I sincerely believe that we are being robbed. 2/
The self-dealing, the insider trading, the STEALING is the issue that is easiest to understand. It is much harder to show that republicans have treasonous hearts.
Near the start of this disastrous presidency border tsar Tom Homan was caught taking a bribe of cash in a brown paper bag. Start with that. Who else was involved? If Homan is protected by a pardon, what about the source of the bribe?
I will say something critical of some Democrats next... 3/
I worry that some intrenched political animals in the Democratic party are more wary of going after these kinds of easier to understand and more provable financial crimes since it means cleaning their own house to some extent too.
Going after the source of a bribe might lead to some pillar of the community who has also on occasion helped a Democrat.
Sacrifices must be made. Purify your own and then the public will trust you to clear your enemies too.
4/4
Something I've heard saying about broken windows policing is "broken windows should start at the precinct".
Basically can't start policing on quality of life issues until the department has been purged of anything that even kind of smells like corruption.
I think the same applies here. If the Dems start by cleaning out their own ranks, for example insider stock trading, going after corruption in the Republicans would be viewed favorably.
@futurebird if they fear this they should see themselves out.
I think they need their best commentators on this when televised to constantly bring it back to “look how republicans/Trump have stolen xx from the American people/vulnerable populations” with very easy to read receipts. Katie Porter white board it. With photos. And as I say this I think of the attempt to smear Jack Smith; it all needs to be true and not lies or innuendo. With the fraud and grift occurring right before our eyes, this shouldn’t be too hard.
I self-assess often whether what I’m saying seems “fair” and I don’t think I’m deranged against republicans here. I’d like less Democratic fraud too.
This was the same issue, I think with a certain set of files. It would be horrible if that just fell off of the radar simply because more Democrats have power. That would confirm every cynical suspicion of the kind of voters who don't recognize the social harms done by Republicans with their bigotry.
Do you really CARE?
@futurebird It suggests that if I commit enough crimes as a civilian they can only prosecute me for *some* of the crimes, otherwise it looks like persecution.
That's hogwash.
If they've committed crimes, they should be held to account for the crimes, no matter how many they've committed.
The whole "consider the political consequence" and finger in the wind poll following tendencies of some Democrats are why so few people trust them.
You need to really believe in the things that you do.
Crimes are... crimes, right? They don't become not crimes if not seeing them helps you with an election.
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@futurebird David French of the NY Times makes a pretty good argument that Congress should impeach government officials that are actually doing the bad stuff for Trump. Congress has the power, and the President does not have the power to pardon the convictions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/opinion/trump-slotkin-corruption-impeachment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KlE.bfdB.2O0cu-DoKJzT&smid=url-share
Opinion | Impeachment. It’s Not Just for Presidents.