Short Term Thinking

Republicans have allowed their rat-fuckers so much leeway to do their thing, the results are starting to eat away at their long-con strategy.

The story of Ed Whelan is a case-in-point.

Politico:

Ed Whelan may have just crossed a line he can’t jump back over.

Yesterday, Whelan, the president of the Ethics and & Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank, and an assertive supporter of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, took to Twitter to lay out a Hardy Boys-inspired scenario, suggesting that Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Kavanaugh of attempted rape in high school, might have been mistaken about the identity of her alleged sexual assaulter. Using a mash-up of yearbook photos, Zillow information, Google Maps and Facebook, Whelan laid out a “case” that another man, a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Georgetown Prep—whom he named and provided a current photograph of—might have been the person Ford has in mind. After his wild theory received widespread criticism, Whelan deleted the tweets, and tried to walk back the accusation this morning.

But, if it’s false, it’s already too late to protect him against a possible defamation claim.

The common law of defamation isn’t that complicated. To be liable, the defendant must make an intentionally or negligently false statement about the plaintiff that tends to cause reputational harm, and harm must actually ensue.

Desperate to fill the federal bench with guys like Kavanaugh, the Daddy Staters are throwing caution to the wind, and forgetting what their operatives are telling us thru their idiotic short-term tactics.

Ed Whalen's attempt to deflect from the Blasey-Ford issue isn't just stoopid on is face.

By mounting this bullshit Scooby-and-the-gang "defense", they signal that at least some of them know (or have reason to strongly suspect) that something did in fact happen. 

They're admitting to the allegation that Dr Ford was assaulted. Which is why it got swept under the rug almost before it got out. Almost.

And of course, it fits with all the other shitty things Republicans have been doing:

• Nothing happened - you're lying
• OK, maybe something happened but it's not illegal, and it happened too long ago to worry about
• OK, something happened and it was illegal, but it's not a big deal - everybody does it
• OK, Something illegal happened and it's a big deal, but