What to watch for today in Comey's testimony

Congressional hearings are almost never about the witness. They are about the Representatives or Senators strutting around in front of the cameras. This is especially true for Comey's testimony today since Comey's written statement was released yesterday. If you haven't read it yet, you can read it here. There isn't much that wasn't already known. Comey verified that Trump pressured him to drop the Flynn investigation, demanded personal loyalty and generally acted like a mafia don rather than a president, but Comey did say that Trump wasn't personally the subject of an investigation. That last part hadn't been publicly verified by Comey before, and I really want to know what, "that thing" is. Trump was probably trying to bluff about having blackmail material on Comey, or some stupid shit like that, which would match his bullshit on the threat to release secret audio recordings of their conversations, but really, this isn't what matters.

As I said, congressional hearings aren't about the witness. They are about the legislative peacocks--- those with cocks the size of a pea-- strutting their feathers. Legislators pretend they are asking questions, but the questions are basically just speeches. Democrats will ask speeches that attempt to goad Comey into declaring that Trump committed "obstruction of justice" by firing him (which is ridiculous, since Trump already admitted that to Lester Holt), and Comey will probably refuse to say it outright. He will mostly stick to the wording of his prepared testimony. He'll be a fucking robot. The question is whether any Republican deviates in any way from the Republican Party line right now. Here are the likely lines of question-speechifying from Republicans:

1) Trump is not personally the subject of investigation, therefore Trump is innocent, therefore fake-news-conspiracy-blah-blah-blah.

2) What about Clinton's emails?

3) What about Rod Rosenstein's review of your job performance?

Here's Lindsey Graham's reaction to Comey's prepared statement. Graham is basically going with, um, #1. (See what I did there?) That is really important and telling given who Lindsey Graham is. Graham was one of the people who thought, for some reason, that he could run for president in 2016. He thought that, having been John McCain's rentboy for a decade or so, the old maverick juice would have given him the magic powers to win a nomination that he really had no business winning. He... lost. He was also one of the people who really, really hated Trump. There was even an incident where Trump did one of the Trumpiest things Trump has ever done . He gave out Graham's personal cell phone number. Why? Just because Trump is a total fucking douchebag. Now, it did lead to this...

However, would you forgive Trump after this? I wouldn't. Remember Ted Cruz? Trump accused Ted Cruz's father of being involved in the Kennedy assassination, and also called Cruz's wife ugly. Cruz has been beaten into submission too because not one of these tough guys has any courage, honor or integrity. None of them will defend their fathers, wives, nor anybody, and they will all roll over and submit to Donald Trump in the end.

Graham is doing that. He has decided that #1 is his option. And this is Lindsey Graham-- who hated Trump from the beginning, and personally understands that Trump is a despicable piece of fucking shit. He gave out Lindsey Graham's personal cell phone number, just so that his fucking brownshirt army would make that phone number unusable. Graham will submit. Everyone in his party will likely submit.

Pay no attention to James Comey. He doesn't matter today. Watch the Republicans. They will show you the exact means they will use to pretend that Donald Trump has never done a single bad thing in his life. And even Lindsey Graham will sacrifice pretty much anything to defend Donald Trump.