Law And Order

 Frank Wilhoit said the following:

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit:

There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

There is nothing more or else to it, and there never has been, in any place or time.

That immediately sprang to mind in the online aftermath of the FBI's raid on Mar A Lago. The so called "Law and Order" party has - as always - fulfilled the other dictum about conservatism: Every accusation is a confession. Their constant raving about antifa and Democratic lawlessness was simply cover for the most corrupt administration in the nation's history. What was striking about the response from those closest to Trump was how they went after the FBI.

Think about that for a moment. The Republican Party - who ran somewhat successfully in 2020 on opposing "defund the police" - are now talking about eliminating the FBI. Admittedly, it's the Lauren Boeberts, Matt Gaetzs and Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world who are saying this, but many of the more mainstream adjacent Republicans are echoing this.

My "favorite" talking point is "If they can do this to a former president of the United States, they can do this to you." Let's leave aside the fact that they were apparently there to seize documents illegally removed from the White House at the end of Trump's presidency, though I can't imagine the average American has classified documents laying around the house. 

No, the critical thing is that because Trump is famous and powerful, he should not be held accountable to the law.

If you're Eric Garner selling loose cigarettes on the streets and the police choke you to death, well, he "should have complied" and he was "no angel." Blacks and others are an "out-group" that the law must bind, but not protect. The law is there to protect Donald Trump, "rich" White guy, but not apply to him. Trump can break the law with impunity because he's Trump.

We are seeing the same line of attack with the long overdue addition of people working for the IRS that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act that just passed the Senate. The GOP are going to argue from now until Election Day that Biden wants to come after everyone for tax evasion when the law is clearly designed to go after the wealthy and large corporations who are evading taxes. 

Once again, every accusation is a confession. The loudest screams about the IRS coming for Joe Sixpack are from people who have been cheating on their taxes. The idea that Biden would politicize the IRS comes from the party of Trump, who would absolutely politicize the IRS and, in fact, appears to have done so.

Every single caterwauling wail about "politicizing the DOJ" is bullshit. If this investigation was about classified documents Trump illegally possessed, then he was breaking the fucking law. That's the story!  Full stop! The idea that Trump should somehow be above the law is another example of a fundamentally Unamerican idea that has nestled in the bosom of one of our two parties. 

Former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh has noted that quite a few Republicans have started to move away from Trump in light of the January 6th hearings and just general fatigue. Yesterday's search has triggered Cleek's Law and they are now returning to the fold. Trump is now a target of a "political witch hunt" instead of an actual criminal investigation. So the GOP will eventually rally around Trump, simply because he's being attacked for being, you know, a criminal.

Walsh portrays this as a problem, because he wants the GOP to rid itself of Trumpism. In the long run, I think that's important. The question is: how will Trump's rampant criminality play with non-Trumpist independents? Currently, the GOP is saddled with Dobbs, and I'm sure they want to change the subject. The "IRS are coming for your money" was a potentially fruitful line of attack - not because it's accurate, but because taxes is in their wheelhouse. If they pivot to "How dare the Biden administration hold Trump accountable for breaking the law"...I don't think that will pay off outside the base.