Merrick Garland outwits Republican Senator John Kennedy
Allow me if you will to tell you a story. It’s a story of a group of cowards called the GOP. The GOP has only one goal — get power at any cost. But they also have an Achilles Heel — a huge one. And that is — many of these politicians are really stupid.
And sometimes, their stupidity lights up in unique and very telling ways. The following is such a time. There was a hearing being conducted on the budget for the Justice Department. Of course, the head of the Justice Department — Merrick Garland — was present. So was Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.
And Kennedy, like so many Republicans before him, showed his Achilles Heel, loud and clear in the form of fishing. Fishing for a soundbite, that is. You see, readers, Kennedy was trying to use this hearing to get Garland to say something stupid.
Kennedy wanted a soundbite — a good one — to cry wolf and falsely paint the DOJ as hating the police. Only Kennedy was on the wrong end of the stick. Of course, like many ignorant souls, he wasn’t aware of that, and he left no stone unturned in his desperate quest to make Merrick Garland falter Silly rabbit.
Here is how the scene played itself out:
Kennedy: “What percentage of cops in America do you think are bad cops?”
Garland — “a very small percentage.”
Kennedy: “like, how small?”
Garland — “I don’t have a number.”
Is it less than 10 percent, Kennedy asks? Less than five?
Garland: “We believe that most police officers follow the constitution and their practices; most police departments do.”
Kennedy — “do you think most cops are racist?”
This continued for a while. It was, however, a Herculean task for Kennedy. And it became painful watching as he gamely struggled to make Merrick Garland look bad — all to no avail. In the end, Kennedy didn’t get his soundbite. He did, however, make himself look like a fool. It wasn’t the first time.
To Kennedy, I would say: beware of brilliant Attorney Generals bearing gifts — Garland’s gift was brilliance — and awareness of duplicitous traps thrown out by ignorant and desperate Republicans. Is it any wonder Kennedy walked away with nothing to show for it except his own stupidity?.
