It's Mueller Time... More Or Less

It had to happen sooner or later but a few hours ago Bob Mueller delivered his Putin-Gate report to Trump's handpicked Attorney General, William Barr, "bringing to a close," according to the NY Times, an investigation that "has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over" the fake illegitimate "president" (AKA- Individual One) for nearly two years. "Barr will decide how much of the report to share with Congress and, by extension, the American public. The House voted unanimously in March on a nonbinding resolution to make public the report’s findings, an indication of the deep support within both parties to air whatever evidence prosecutors uncovered. In a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, Mr. Barr wrote, 'I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.' ... Even though Mr. Mueller’s report is complete, some aspects of his inquiry remain active and may be overseen by the same prosecutors once they are reassigned to their old jobs within the Justice Department. For instance, recently filed court documents suggest that investigators are still examining why the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort turned over campaign polling data in 2016 to a Russian associate whom prosecutors said was tied to Russian intelligence." But what we do know is that there will no no more indictments from Mueller and that the investigation ends without Trump sitting down to answer Mueller's questions.

Earlier today, the Daily Beast published a provocative column by Republican Party standup comedian Rick Wilson, Profiles in Chickenshit From the Grand Old Party as Trump Spits on John McCain’s American Greatness. It should help you remember that if we ever get the Mueller report, it should be read as an indictment not just of Trump and his grifter family and his inner circle, but of the whole GOP as well. "Damn near every elected member of the Republican Party failed another easy test this week as Donald Trump lost his grip on reality and spent days attacking the late Sen. John McCain," write Wilson. "They tripped over their own dicks in the face of Trump’s egregious bullying, racing for political cover and sacrificing their few remaining shreds of dignity because they fear this mad president more than they love their own honor. Starting this weekend, Trump has tweeted six days’ worth of escalating insults on Twitter and in person at a rival who died seven months ago. Like I said, it’s an easy test: As elected leaders, as Republicans, as conservatives, as Americans, this was a moment to honor McCain and to call out the president by name for failing to do so. Party loyalty isn’t a suicide pact… or is it?"

Only Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), neither of whom will ever have to face the voters while Trump is in the White House, passed the low bar test.

Let me help the rest of our supposed leaders. Here’s what you say to Donald Trump as he continues to Ahab McCain’s legacy:

John McCain was an American hero with more courage and decency than you will ever have. You are wrong and your behavior is despicable, Mr. President. For the good of the country, please shut the fuck up.

Too much? Try:

John McCain is a role model and example for every American. His heroism was a service to our country or a light in a dark time and I am honored to follow his example of public service and commitment to the nation before politics, and people before party. You would be best served by shutting the fuck up.

Wilson, apparently doesn't like the 78% of Republican Fox viewers who think Trump is a better president that Abe Lincoln, George Washington and FDR. He advised the GOP senators that "keeping your mouth shut may keep Trump’s vicious, grunting, prole army on your side for now, but you live on in history as cowards so divorced from the American ideal your accomplishments will be lost and your names remembered only as a cautionary tale to others aspiring to lead, and serve."

When David Drucker wrote his Republicans resigned to Trump losing 2020 popular vote about the glories of the electoral college this morning, no one knew that Mueller was poised to release the report today. He wrote that "senior Republicans are resigned to President Trump losing the popular vote in 2020, conceding the limits of the flamboyant incumbent’s political appeal and revealing just how central the Electoral College has become to the party’s White House prospects. Some Republicans say the problem is Trump's populist brand of partisan grievance. It's an attitude tailor-made for the Electoral College in the current era of regionally Balkanized politics, but anathema to attracting a broad, national coalition that can win the most votes, as past presidents did when seeking re-election amid a booming economy. Others argue that neither Trump, nor possibly any Republican, could win the popular vote when most big states are overwhelmingly liberal." He warns that Trump's "team, planning for higher voter turnout in 2020 but privately bracing for a second popular vote defeat, is moving to build on 2016 by going on offense in Democratic-trending battlegrounds that Trump lost to Clinton by surprisingly narrow margins. Some states on this list were targets three years ago. Trump is prepared to commit substantial resources to Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Nevada despite 2018 midterm election results suggesting tough sledding there ahead. New Hampshire may also be a target." If Trump's reelection is dependent on Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada and New Hampshire-- or on keeping Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, we can all rest easy tonight, no matter how long it takes for the Mueller report to come out.