As always, it’s a struggle to know with Republicans whether their idiotic blatherings and actions are because of their ignoramus party dogma or dementia.  Hatch, at 84, with 42 years in the Senate, had been drooling insane economic opinions and swooning over Donald Trump until his home state newspaper finally opined that he had to retire and join afternoon Jell-o brigade.  Grassley, also 84, has been right behind his Utah bingo partner in defending the indefensible and selling out whatever credibility they may have had in the apparently apocryphal golden age of the Senate, sometime in the magic long ago that Beltway Wonks here tell about.

Grassley and Lindsay Graham (who is not so old that his lack of scruples are excused by likely being institutionalization worthy, and yet proves himself just as unworthy of the institution known as the Senate) are supposed to be investigating Russian interference in our election as part of the Judiciary Committee.  But as all good Republican lackeys, they’ve decided that actually doing their jobs would be bad for the party – which is actually a rational decision, it’s just not an honorable one.  So the first criminal referral coming out of their partisan asscheeks is a recommendation that the FBI charge former MI6 agent and author of the Steele Dossier, Christopher Steele with some crime, anything will do.

When the Nixon administration went after Daniel Ellsberg for the leak of the Pentagon Papers, you could understand it.  It was wrong and a miscarriage of democracy and justice, but you could understand it.  Ellsberg had revealed state secrets in order to show the American people the vast level of deceit that had been sold as governance during the long national nightmare of Vietnam.  It made a lot of very important people look ridiculous who couldn’t afford to be made to look ridiculous.  Now they shouldn’t have been lying and committing war crimes in the first place, but that’s besides the point.

In this modern case of the police arresting the whistleblower instead of investigating the criminals, you have to completely ignore a years worth of not only great reporting but actual self-incrimination by the Trump gang to do this.  You have to ignore the danger that Trump is in the White House.  You have to ignore over 200 years of precedent of honor, statesmanship and good governance in our history.  And so long as we’re ignoring things ignore a couple thousand years of western civilization, eastern civilization, the entire concept of truth, and everything that ever made sense, ever!

Mr. Grassley’s decision to recommend criminal charges appeared likely to be based on reports of Mr. Steele’s meetings with the F.B.I., which were provided to the committee by the Justice Department in recent weeks.

It was not clear why, if a crime is apparent in the F.B.I. reports that were reviewed by the Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department had not moved to charge Mr. Steele already. The circumstances under which Mr. Steele is alleged to have lied were unclear, as much of the referral was classified.

But as we know the FBI were in the tank for Hillary, have all gone gay and Jewish and vegan and as attractive as Graham may find that, he has to do his duty and point out to them their job.  Guys like Grassley and Graham were once thought to be above and beyond the GOP clown car that might bay at the moon on Hannity.  But it’s been awhile now since anybody in that sense foresaken party could be exalted as “one of the good ones.”

THERE ARE NONE!  THEY ALL HAVE TO GO! PLEASE!