(Photo
by
Saul
Loeb-Pool/Getty
Images)
A
while
back,
Jonathan
Turley’s
single-minded
mission
to
be
on
cable
news
every
night
led
him
to
accidentally
pen
a
defense
of
sex
trafficking
to
own
the
libs.
Maybe
it
was
the
start
of
a
trend!
The
GW
law
professor
who
was
so
deeply
offended
that
Democrats
weren’t
as
peaceful
and
accepting
of
all
peoples
as
Donald
“They’re
Eating
The
Dogs”
Trump
has
put
aside
his
concerns
over
combative,
demeaning
rhetoric
and
thrown
his
lot
in
with
Trump’s
selection
of
Matt
Gaetz
to
serve
as
Attorney
General
on
the
strength
of
the
latter’s…
less
than
two
years
working
as
a
lawyer.
That’s
not
a
lot
of
experience,
but
as
Gaetz
himself
might
say,
age
is
just
a
number,
man.
The
“legitimate”
grievance
Trump
has
with
the
DOJ
is
twofold.
First,
that
his
own
first
administration
Justice
Department
leadership
went
along
with
stifling
an
obstruction
investigation
and
kidnapping
children,
but
drew
the
line
at
stealing
an
election.
Second,
that
Biden’s
Justice
Department
tried
to
prosecute
him
for
stockpiling
top
secret
documents
in
his
bathroom.
This
was
the
same
case
that
JONATHAN
TURLEY
thought
was
“extremely
damning”
until
he
realized
that
wasn’t
what
his
attention
benefactors
wanted
to
hear
and
he
started
explaining
that
it
really
was
no
big
deal
because…
reasons.
So
the
“surge
protectors”
that
Turley
is
talking
about
stripping
away
are
the
ones
that
keep
presidents
from
stealing
elections
or
selling
nuclear
codes
to
Putin.
This
is
a
trick
Turley
pulls
often,
not
necessarily
praising
or
criticizing
a
Trump
move
but
assigning
it
“legitimacy”
and
an
air
of
“boldness.”
It’s
as
good
as
cheerleading
to
an
audience
that
thrives
on
grievance
politics
and
authoritarian
imagery
while
allowing
Turley
to
pretend
that
he’s
not
just
a
MAGA
press
secretary
using
the
pretense
that
his
remarks
wouldn’t
be
seen
as
partisan
without
the
baggage
those
Fox
audiences
bring
to
the
table.
Except
he’s
talking
to
that
audience
and
very
deliberately
choosing
his
message
to
push
these
buttons.
Dems
in
disarray
is
a
punchline
in
media
as
the
sort
of
analysis
dumb
people
make
to
sound
smart.
Much
like
suggesting
that
legislators
can’t
chew
gum
and
walk
at
the
same
time.
There’s
no
warrant
for
the
claim
that
Democrats
have
to
pick
and
choose
a
limited
number
of
nominations
to
challenge.
Democrats
won’t
not
look
at
Pete
Hegseth’s
mounting
sexual
assault
and
white
nationalism
allegations
just
because
Matt
Gaetz
is
the
subject
of
what
is
—
reportedly
—
a
damning
ethics
report
about
statutory
rape.
That’s
not
how
lawmakers
work!
But
Dems
are,
in
fact,
in
the
minority.
Which
is
much
more
problematic
than
being
in
disarray.
If
the
Gaetz
nomination
or
placing
a
Fox
reporter
in
charge
of
the
Department
of
Defense
or
eventually
making
Hulk
Hogan
Treasury
Secretary
or
whatever
encounters
any
problems
that’s
entirely
on
Republicans
refusing
to
play
ball
with
Dear
Leader.
Alas,
that’s
not
a
useful
path
to
an
evening
Fox
News
hit,
so…
it’s
all
about
the
Democrats
having
to
exhaust
ephemeral
political
capital.
But,
hey,
maybe
it
sells
books.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.