Thread by @Dreamweasel

So I’m genuinely undecided about Merrick Garland right now. I’ve got pro- and anti-Garland voices in my feed, and believe there are legitimate arguments on both sides.

(1/x)

Of course, Democrats have to make their case above ground and by the book. And it’s probably naïve to think that we can land the big fish without convicting many, many intermediate perps along the way.

However.

(2/x)

It is also naïve to suggest court outcomes are objective, or that they are immune to external factors such as urgency, or the perception thereof.

In layman’s terms: the longer this drags out, the less likely that anything will happen to Trump.

Does anyone dispute this?

(3/x)

Mind you, none of this will matter to Trump’s base as long as Trump is personally unaffected. (It’s one trait that they share with Trump himself.)

100 people from the insurrection could be sent to jail. But if Trump ran again, the GOP would still vote for him.

(4/x)

Forgive my cynicism, but unless the 1/6 Commission tangibly prevents another insurrection from happening again, it all seems like a waste of time. And such a thing is extremely likely to happen again if Donald Trump escapes unscathed.

(5/x)

I’m not sure if everyone picked up on the sarcasm of my post from yesterday. To clarify: Garland’s words are absolutely correct, but such a mealymouthed statement does less than nothing to correct for the “urgency” deficit that I feel is a danger to this investigation.

(6/x)

https://twitter.com/Dreamweasel/status/1478822324090589188

At this point, “Trump does whatever he wants and gets away with it” is the template with very few exceptions. (The 2020 election was indeed one of them.)

I don’t know precisely how Merrick Garland must proceed to break that cycle. My fellow Democrats are divided as well.

(7/x)

Dot the i’s, cross the t’s, but don’t let this linger. The clock is ticking, and GOP Congressional victories are all but inevitable in November. The very fate of American democracy hangs in the balance, and more people should realize how that is precisely what’s at stake.

(8/8)