Rootin Tootin Rudy Misses the Big Picture

 If you believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen by a nationwide network of democratic party operatives then you know who Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are. They are the mother, daughter faces of the big steal. The two poll workers are rock solid proof Donald J. Trump was robbed not just in Georgia, but everywhere else he lost. They smuggled in suitcases of fake ballots, hid them under tables before counting them. They were in possession of a mysterious flash drive.  

How do you know this? Well Donald Trump and his lead attorney at the time, Rudolph Giuliani told you so. They told you over and over and over. Prior to January 6th, 2021, Rudy took the entire show on the road to the Georgia legislature and other disputed states, whipping the faithful into a frenzy. He even concocted a creatively edited video allegedly showing Freeman and Moss committing their dark and evil deeds. Giuliani and Trump called them treasonous. At one point Trump went so far as to hint stealing an election was just a side gig for Freeman--her main source of income was selling drugs.

When Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss testified in front of the congressional committee investigating the January 6th failed coup they both, under oath, swore their lives had been ruined.  According to Freeman she had lost, "her name and reputation." Moss said she had stopped going out, even to the grocery store because she was afraid someone would recognize her. Both mother and daughter have received death threats from Trump fanatics. 

Not quite two years ago they sued the former mayor of New York City for defamation. As these things do the suit has been roaming the halls of the court system ever since. 

Tuesday, on paper anyway, Rootin Tootin Rudy Giuliani basically said, "Oh, by the way, all that stuff I said about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss--I lied."

According to the Giuliani camp this admission shouldn't be a cause for celebration around liberal home fires. Rudy came clean simply to save time and money in court. His lies, though they were premeditated, deliberate, and egregious, were free speech protected by the constitution. They were, in the end, viable political tactics. Besides, Freeman and Moss weren't hurt by them at all. 

We can argue that last point, certainly Freeman and Moss will. However, America's mayor seems to be missing a bigger picture here. In order to save a few bucks on attorney fees he just told millions of Trump cultists, hundreds of them now in jail, or on trial, they were cold bloodedly manipulated into believing a grotesque myth.  There was no election fraud after at all.   

Or, to paraphrase Tim Matheson in the movie Animal House, "Hey Flounder, you fucked up. You trusted us."

Of course, it remains to be seen how many of these dim bulbs will believe Giuliani's confession. None of them even blinked an eye when Sidney Powell told a court, "No reasonable person," would believe her contributions to the election fraud conspiracies.

And, let's face it, there is probably a whole chunk of them who won't even hear about it. It is doubtful Newsmax and OAN will mention it, much less dwell on the ramifications. After all, the people who believe Trump is still in charge, well, except when bad shit happens, aren't avid viewers of CNN, or MSNBC. 

It is also unclear how Giuliani's words will effect the case Atlanta DA, Fani Willis is bringing against not just him, but Trump and others as well. The charges of illegally trying to interfere with the election in Georgia look a lot more serious and real now. 

Why yes, Your Honor, we did try to overturn the results of a statewide election even though we knew it was legitimate. It was a matter of free speech.

Despite what has happened and is happening Donald Trump's traveling carnival and freak show rolls on. No matter what the evidence, no matter how gruesome the crimes the majority of republicans either don't care or are so frighted of his base they are paralyzed. The whole GOP seems in some sort of hypnotic trance--a bird mesmerized by the great orange serpent. To them, Rudy Giuliani is just another disloyal cretin cast aside by The Savior. 

Such is the current state of the party of Lincoln.

 

7-28-23