The further to the left or the right you move, the more your lens on life distorts.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Chasing

By definition, a gambling addict is a loser—both figuratively and literally. That doesn't mean you can't feel sorry for such addicts and hope they can overcome their addiction, but they are losers.

The modus operandi of a gambling addict is always the same. Make a bad bet. Lose the bet. To recoup the money lost, make an even worse bet. When you lose that one, double down and when you lose yet again, double down again. Within the gambling community, this approach is derisively called "chasing."

More on chasing later in this post.

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To the surprise of absolutely no one, and I do mean no one, the collusion/obstruction fantasies of the Democrats went into overdrive with the release of the Mueller report. The 3-ring circus designed to keep focus away from a real scandal that actually did happen, will continue at least through the 2020 elections, and should Donald Trump gain a second term as president, it will continue for the next four years as well. In the fevered minds of people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, nothing short of impeachment (the trained hamster in the media used the term 309 times on the day the report was issued) and Trump-in-chains will suffice. Never mind that a special counsel and his partisan group of investigators found NOTHING after two years of looking ... the circus goes on.

Rick Moran comments on this idiocy:
Somewhere buried deep in the Mueller report is incontrovertible evidence that the president of the United States is a Russian spy. I know it. I just know it. It has to be there.

And I just know that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice. How can he not be? He's guilty of so much that the obstruction is, I'm sure, just the tip of the iceberg.

How do I know? Ask any Democrat ...

To their credit, Democrats are refusing to give up. Maybe if we haul Mueller before a congressional committee, he'll change his mind and accuse Trump of all sorts of things ...

Just what is it they expect Mueller to say that he didn't say in his report? Democrats can always dream, I suppose.

When AG Barr appeared before the press and gave a shortened version of the Mueller report, there was widespread speculation that hidden inside the massive document were little tidbits that, if taken out of context and sufficiently massaged by the media, would "prove" Trump guilty, guilty, guilty.

They may yet find such "evidence." While there is certainly exculpatory evidence in the report, there will also be hints that Trump's actions were borderline and that perhaps Democrats could craft a case out of snippets of unrelated material.

But this still isn't likely. If Mueller wanted to indict Trump, I doubt anything would have stood in his way. Instead, while "exoneration" might be too loaded a term, he didn't really come close to indicting or recommending the indictment of a sitting president.
Like gambling addicts, the Democrats and their trained hamsters in the media are "chasing." They made a bad bet on "collusion." They lost that bet and any real credibility they might have. But like a gambling addict, they doubled down and made another bet on "obstruction." Again they lost, arguing that the figurative deck was stacked, the dice were loaded—anything but the truth—there was no collusion and no illegal obstruction*. But chasing is their game, so they're doubling down yet again, this time with congressional investigations tinged with McCarthyesque innuendo and partisan state investigations that will publish results, I'll bet, just before the 2020 elections..

Like the gambling addict, they chase—and they have no shame as they chase. Like the gambling addict they are losers, both figuratively and literally. And like the gambling addict, they don't care who they hurt, what damage they do, or the consequences of their actions.

They. Are. Chasing.

I suppose you can feel sorry for them and hope that they will be cured. But that doesn't make them any less the losers they are.

FOOTNOTE:
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* In the main, the only people who truly enjoy a circus are children. Adults attend and watch, but are not generally enthralled. One of the few adults in the room as the circus proceeds is Attorney General William Barr. This is what he had to say about "collusion" at a press conference preceding the release of Mueller's report:
“In assessing the President’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context. President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion. And as the Special Counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks. Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated with the Special Counsel’s investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims. And at the same time, the President took no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation. Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the President had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation.”
Indeed it does.

UPDATE-1 (4/19/2019):
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Mollie Hemingway has been one of the most astute commentators reporting on Mueller Probe and the Democrats' pathetic "chase" to somehow justify a position that their own special counsel has proven wrong. This twitter exchange between Hemingway and Maggie Haberman of the NYT along with Brian Stetler of CNN (two of the most partisan and egregiously dishonest of hundreds of trained hamsters in the media) is instructive:

UPDATE-2 (4/19/2019):
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Roger Simon comments:
The longer the Democrats obsess over the Mueller report and the possibility of obstruction, the bigger hole they dig for themselves.

The reason is simple. The average American -- what Groucho Marx used to call the Barber in Peru (Indiana) -- not the army of Beltway lawyers, will scratch his/her head about why someone should be charged with obstructing justice for a crime he did not commit and did not even occur (i. e. collusion with Russia).

Yes, they understand there are legal niceties, but the bottom line remains. And those same middle American "Peruvians" realize -- how could they not -- that Donald Trump was under unprecedented assault from the media and Democrats from well before he first sat down behind the desk in the Oval Office. They further are completely familiar with Trump's personality, his thin skin, his outspokenness, and are able to see him as a man responding emotionally -- sometimes to his own detriment -- to those almost entirely unjustified accusations. Most people will sympathize or at minimum be able to understand this as a defensible human reaction rather than obstruction of justice in a legal sense.
All of that is true. But the Dems are "addicts," and addicts (whether you're addicted to gambling or Trump hatred) don't think clearly -- they "chase" and then "chase" some more. It's pathetic, really.

UPDATE-3 (4/19/2019):
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It would be hard to argue that among the most enthusiastic "chasers" is Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff is an inveterate liar who the trained hamsters in the media provide with a continuing and large platform. Not only is he provably dishonest, he is a TDS addict. Scott Jennings comments:
Congressman Adam Schiff really hurt Democrats by raising the bar on collusion. For two years, Schiff and other Democrats in Congress repeatedly claimed there was evidence of collusion. Time and again, Schiff said he had “direct” evidence of Russian collusion and, since Barr’s initial summary letter, has yet to back down. In fact, Schiff has doubled down on his claims, going even further out on a limb that Mueller sawed off today. Politically, Schiff blew up a balloon for the Democrats that Mueller popped. Loudly.

Keeping quiet or at least making more measured statements would have kept the egg of the collective face of the Democratic Party. Schiff failed as a Democrat and as a leader on the House Intelligence Committee. He should step down as Chairman immediately, as he clearly was more interested in politically damaging Trump than getting to the truth. Democrats would be better served as a party if he resigned from Congress and went away altogether.
Schiff is a hate addict who is chasing. And addicts never stop chasing until there is an intervention and aggressive treatment. The Dems have no intention of intervening, viewing Schiff's lies and bluster as a positive. Given that they not only tolerate but applaud people like Schiff, the Dems have forfeited their right to lead.

Tens of millions of Americans do not want to be governed by addicts who thrive on hatred, the politics of personal destruction, and cliched political statements about how much they care about the common man (while whispering among themselves about "deplorables"). Maybe that's why the Dems dream about impeachment. At a subconscious level, they know their hatred is obvious and because of it, they'll struggle in the upcoming election. But as addicts, they just can't help themselves.