Quick takes on the Trump "target letter"

 I have stated, repeatedly, that I did not believe Garland would indict Trump on any 2020-related charges, but it looks as though Jack Smith wants to do so, and while Garland could stop him, the thing that Merrick Garland most wants to do is known, in colloquial terms, as "nothing."  With Jack Smith there, doing nothing means deferring to Jack Smith, which means more Trump indictments.  Will Trump be convicted?  The basic jury processes remain the same.  The clarity of the facts and the law make it remotely possible that even Republican jurors would vote to convict on the Mar-a-Lago Papers case, but a conviction on 2020 election matters?  Republican jurors are going to vote to convict him on that?  Not going to happen.  I am uninterested in what legal analysts have to say on the matter.  Jurors cannot separate that question from their partisan beliefs.  They cannot.  No matter what they say, no matter what they tell the judge during jury selection, no matter what law school professors say about jury instructions, this cannot happen, no way, no how.  Donald Trump cannot be convicted on anything related to 2020.  If Trump shot Fani Willis in the head, live on national tv, Republicans would still back him on it because of their embrace of 2020 conspiracy theories.

Which leads me to my next observation.  Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson are standing up to Trump, but you can safely ignore them.  Actually, though, you can ignore the rest because they are falling in line behind Trump, precisely as we all knew they would.  So why are they bothering to run?  If you cannot challenge him on multiple, criminal indictments, then why run against him?  I truly don't get it.

If I were advising Trump, here's what I'd tell him to do whenever he deigns to show up for a debate.  Demand that everyone on stage raise their hands if they agree that he was the greatest president in American history.  They'll cringe and cower and shit their pants... and raise their hands.  Maybe Chris Christie won't, but he doesn't matter, and Trump then asks anyone who raises their hands, why are you challenging me if you say I'm the greatest in American history?

The best argument for libertarianism is the capacity for politics to attract worthless people.

Otis Taylor, "Jump Out Of Line," from Fantasizing About Being Black.