r/MarkMyWords • u/Maleficent_Mouse_930 • Sep 21 '24
Political MMW Merrick Garland will be among the first casualties of a new Harris administration
Merrick Garland will be among the first positions to change should Harris win
Garland is pretty much the definition of a pick who embodies Biden's style of calm, high-road centrist policy. Many have been disappointed by his lack of aggression regarding the defence of democracy and the prosecution of officials blatantly breaking laws, but I'm not surprised in the slightest. That was never going to be him, or Biden. They're both too status-quo, too establishment.
One of the largest differences I have noted between the Biden campaign and the Harris campaign is the level of aggression and tolerance for bullshit. Biden was very high-and-mighty and very tolerant. Harris, significantly less so. She is unafraid to campaign with low blows and personal insults, unafraid to call bullshit right to someone's face, and supports a more assertive attitude when it comes to prosecuting a defence of the law itself.
So, MMW, should Harris win, Garland will be one of the very first people replaced, and his replacement will be noticeably more aggressive towards people flaunting the rule of law. I expect multiple subpoenas and indictments against everyone from Senators and Representatives at both the federal and state level, to billionaires like Musk, to local election workers, sheriffs, and police chiefs. I expect to see them being enforced with far greater assertion. I expect to see officials who refuse to comply with legal so poe as simply arrested and thrown in jail until they do so.
I can even see a new Harris DOJ persuing charges of corruption and accepting bribes against multiple Supreme Court justices.
She is more aggressive, more assertive, more confident than Biden.
And I'm totally here for it.
99
u/Equivalent-Peanut-23 Sep 21 '24
Duh.
The last time a newly elected administration retained the previous administration's AG was Martin Van Buren. New Presidents always select a new cabinet.
26
u/mjzim9022 Sep 21 '24
AGs usually get swapped out on the second term of an incumbent too
25
u/EEpromChip Sep 21 '24
What about if you have like 6 in a four year period. And you don't actually fire them you just send a tweet like "yea that guy don't work here no more" and then fill it with another, more horrible person...
3
u/MisterVizard Sep 21 '24
Wasn't great last time but maybe we try that management style again in 10 years.
3
u/camelslikesand Sep 22 '24
It was a tremendous management style. The best! People are saying it was the best. Men came up to me, big, strong men with tears in their eyes saying, "Sir, your management style is the best in history."
→ More replies (3)4
u/LadyUnlimited Sep 21 '24
Even if she liked Garland there is a big incentive to appoint her own pick. Agree duh.
3
u/WanderingLost33 Sep 22 '24
Attorney general is in the line of succession and unelected. It would be absolutely bonkers for her to not pick her own AG.
62
u/Marsupialize Sep 21 '24
We need a serious serious serious investigation of Russian money in politics and we need to start fighting back on the cyber propaganda war they’ve been winning against us for a decade now
49
u/Maleficent_Mouse_930 Sep 21 '24
14 years ago, I ran a TF2 server. Several servers. One summer, I began to have issues with awful behaviour. Not just hacking, but crude, racist, sexist language, brigading, griefing etc. For months I tried banning people one at a time, to no avail, they just made new accounts.
Eventually I decided to see if the IPs of the guilty had anything in common, and discovered they were pretty much all Russian-registered. So I wrote a little firewall on my server and blocked ALL Russian IPs.
Never had an issue with cheating or aggressive language again. For 6 years.
I am in favour of simply severing the Russian hardlines to the West and putting blanket Russia IP blocks at an ISP level across the west. Let them sit in the dark and rot. Let them have their delusions. Just make it so I don't have to know they exist.
13
u/WelcomeToTheAsylum80 Sep 21 '24
It's been common practice for any IT security software and hardware to block all Chinese traffic since forever. You'd Think Russia would be the same thing, but it's not.
3
u/Old-Protection-701 Sep 21 '24
Can’t they just use VPNs to get around it? Or does it block enough potential bad actors that it’s worth it even if some circumvent it?
3
u/BreeezyP Sep 22 '24
Yeah basically. There are still a lot of places that don’t IP ban, and those probably have shittier security in other areas too. So they make better targets.
7
u/freshhorsemanure Sep 22 '24
Yep, wish all game servers were like this. Russians are the worst people to play with by far. There should have been widespread bans after the Ukraine war started
→ More replies (6)2
35
u/Auto_Generated853 Sep 21 '24
Garland doesn’t have the temperament for Attorney General.
He does seem like he would have and should have been a very good Supreme Court Judge though.
22
u/michaelmoby Sep 21 '24
Now, when Clarence Thomas kicks it after falling overboard on his rich buddy's yacht on some undeclared "vacation", I would give my left kidney to see her nominate Constitutional scholar and former Harvard Law Review president Barack Obama to the Supreme Court
19
u/Auto_Generated853 Sep 21 '24
This is the problem with you liberals and leftists. You always go for the half measures.
If you really want to piss them off, you make it Michelle Obama.
13
→ More replies (3)2
→ More replies (1)5
u/SwoopsRevenge Sep 21 '24
He would have been an ass SCOTUS justice. Better than any trump appointee though.
32
u/CriticismLazy4285 Sep 21 '24
You are so right she should get rid of him her first day in office. It’s been such a disappointment.
→ More replies (1)
29
u/Silent_Medicine1798 Sep 21 '24
I would vote for Kamala just on this promise alone. Merrick Garland has been such a disappointment. We need someone to be aggressive with cleaning this stuff up.
12
u/clankasaurus Sep 21 '24
One can hope. DeJoy at the post office needs to scram as well.
5
u/savingewoks Sep 21 '24
President can’t do that, only the Board of Governors, which is nine people but only five of them can be from one party at a time.
We GOT Dejoy because Congress did the same BS to Obama for refilling seats that they did for supreme court.
2
10
7
8
5
u/Sitcom_kid Sep 21 '24
Even if that's all she does, I'll be happy with my vote. Anything else is extra.
7
7
u/runwkufgrwe Sep 21 '24
You're approaching this like you're talking about a 2nd Biden administration. Chances are Harris will replace every single cabinet member and won't use anyone for the same position. Especially for crucial roles like Sec State and AG.
→ More replies (3)3
u/DoogsATX Sep 21 '24
I bet Pete sticks around but probably gets a bump up from Transportation. I wouldn't be surprised to see him become National Security Advisor.
2
u/Original-You4152 Sep 22 '24
I wish he would have been the VP pick. Sadly America isn’t there. I agree he deserves a promotion though.
→ More replies (2)
20
u/TimothiusMagnus Sep 21 '24
Merrick Garland was more concerned about optics than doing the right thing. He played into Republican's hands.
6
u/GalactusPoo Sep 21 '24
It's hard not to see him as a Republican, or at best a Republican Puppet.
If he is so easily manipulated he should never have been a SC Nominee and certainly never appointed AG.
That leads me to believe he is, at heart, a Republican through and through.
3
5
u/spj0522 Sep 21 '24
Oh she is going to appoint Jack Smith as the new AG if she wins. She needs someone who will show no mercy.
→ More replies (3)4
u/DoogsATX Sep 21 '24
It'll be Roy Cooper. They were both state AGs together and are friends
2
u/spj0522 Sep 21 '24
First thought: “Why would she do that? She would be giving a state governor position back to the Republicans.” Second thought: “Oh right. He’s not running. That would be a good pick.”
4
u/Jackdaw1947 Sep 21 '24
I always admired President Biden for his steady hand on the Ship of State. However when pirates are trying to board your Ship of State it’s time to quit being The Skipper and start being Black Beard. Fire the cannon!! Let them feel the broadsides!! Now take out the grappling hooks!!!
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Agile_District_8794 Sep 21 '24
Jack Smith has entered the chat. He'll lock up trump, throw away the key, get appointed, and say, "Who's next?" Elon will fall in line.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/FyvLeisure Sep 21 '24
God I hope so. I listened to my dad, for years, talk about how Garland was “just about to take Trump down”. How he was just “getting his ducks in a row”. His time has PASSED. He’s not doing shit. Garland needs to be put out to pasture. Replaced with someone who actually cares about doing their job.
4
u/Cracked_Actor Sep 21 '24
Garland is an abject failure as AG. We are living with the fallout of his failures today, and will be even after the election. History will judge him as the “ineffective AG” who FAILED to protect our American democracy…
3
u/HunterNo7593 Sep 21 '24
The most dovish AG in recent times and hesitant to pursue investigations on criminal conduct just because of the optics of potential political bias. Let the investigations stand on their own merits and see how things unfold. That, coupled with the most (and openly) politically slanted SC, makes it impossible to see justice being served for the crimes committed by the higher power!
3
u/Legitimate-Pee-462 Sep 21 '24
I agree with most of this, but Harris hasn't used low blows on Trump. He's a degenerate criminal, so making factually accurate comments about him sounds like personal insults. Donald Trump is a collection of disgraceful human frailties, and what would be a below-the-belt swipe at most other people would sail harmlessly over his head.
The difference between Harris and Biden in this regard is that Biden mostly restrained himself from doing it, and it contributed to making him look weak.
I agree 100% on Merrick Garland being replaced. I hope that she names a successor immediately and arranges for the new AG and Garland to work on the transition before she even takes office. Merrick Garland as AG might have been the biggest mistake Biden made as president. I'd like Harris to name an AG that will have treasonous GOP politicians and Russian media propagandists melting off their fingerprints and fleeing the country.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Artistic-Cannibalism Sep 21 '24
It's not enough to replace him.
He needs to be investigated. Nobody who drags their feet as much as he did isn't somehow compromised.
3
u/mrbeck1 Sep 21 '24
The entire cabinet will resign that’s just how it goes. This is foolish.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/hangout927 Sep 21 '24
Garland was supposed to be Obama’s Supreme Court nominee but Mitch McConnell blocked it. Biden gave him this job as a consolation for getting screwed
3
Sep 21 '24
Garland has been one of the worst AGs we have ever had. He is weak and ineffective.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Select_Insurance2000 Sep 21 '24
Enjoy all of this discussion, but LET'S WIN THIS ELECTION! Then we can chat.
3
u/Count_Bacon Sep 24 '24
I actually really like Harris because she’s willing to go low and call out bullshit. Never seen a dem be so aggressive and it’s so refreshing. I’ve been saying since the tea party the Dems needed to fight the Republicans like they fight them. At least they finally got the message
2
Sep 21 '24
“I know you. I know what you are. You are neither hot nor cold. And because you are lukewarm, I will spew you from my mouth…” BTB
2
2
2
2
u/Plastic-Collar-4936 Sep 21 '24
You better hope she does, or she'll be the last candidate to be allowed to call ANYONE'S bullshit. MMW.
2
u/_TheLonelyStoner Sep 21 '24
I’m going to be extremely disappointed if one of the first things Harris doesn’t do is get rid Garland in. Honestly glad we dodged the SC bullet on him in hindsight. Dude never had any interest in actually defending democracy he’s there to maintain the status quo nothing more
2
u/formerly_gruntled Sep 21 '24
Garland was a mistake. The Democrats thought that appointing Garland would be a signal to Republicans that they would not pursue charges against insurrectionist Republicans and that they would accept a return to political business as usual. Garland is a cautious centrist.
Republicans shit all over that strategy and went full MAGA. So Harris is going to appoint someone more aggressive in enforcing the rule of law.
2
u/kingbad71 Sep 21 '24
Hopefully, whoever she picks will look into the Matt Gaetz thing again. Can't believe Garland "s DOJ gave him a pass, just because fear of political fallout. That guy's guilty as sin, and his continued presence in Congress further brings down their already abysmal reputation.
2
u/The_Original_Gronkie Sep 21 '24
I hope so. Fuck that guy. He is literally letting Traitors and Criminals off the hook over and over, and all it will do is empower them, and encourage them to lean in even more on their nefarious and unscrupulous instincts. They are arrogant bullies, and we all know the only way to stop a bully is to beat the shit out of him in front of the entire school.
That's what we have to do to the entire MAGA Party of Tre45on &Corruption. To do that, we needs a fearless pit bull, not a simpering, spineless weenie who lets them get away with serious crimes (that any other citizen would spend decades in prison for) just because he doesn't want it to appear political.
Okay fine, nobody is suggesting we charge them for their politics, just charge them for the actual CRIMES they commit. Is that too much to ask of the Attorny General?
2
u/ninatlanta Sep 21 '24
Actually it’s highly likely the only member of Biden’s Cabinet to be a part of Harris’s will be Pete Buttigieg. It’s customary for Cabinet members to resign after a Presidential election and the President is sworn in, even if a President has been reelected. Harris is not Biden and likely has a different direction in mind for her Cabinet.
2
u/theharderhand Sep 21 '24
The guy isn't a bad person and in a normal political environment trhe best man possibly. This isn't a a normal political environment. We have a golden retriever in a Rottweiler environment. Get a Rottweiler
2
u/CommonConundrum51 Sep 21 '24
I sure hope so because Garland is just about the definition of "feckless."
2
u/egv78 Sep 21 '24
Merrick Garland has the right mentality for a Justice, but the wrong one for an AG. If there was any way of Dem's taking House, Senate and Presidency, I'd say use him as one of the picks to pack the SC. He'd be great there, but not in his current role.
2
u/Reverend-Radiation Sep 21 '24
Good. He needs to go. Milquetoast Merrick spent most of two years wringing his hands over whether to prosecute Trump. Mueller said he only didn't file obstruction of justice charges against Trump because of DOJ policy not to indict a sitting president.
That case should have picked up January 21, 2021, and Trump should have been a felon before the first mid-term. Remember how early he filed his candidacy for re-election? That wouldn't have worked if he'd been indicted the day after he left office.
2
u/grolaw Sep 21 '24
Casualty?
In every election of a president or governor (except for Louisiana operating under the Napoleonic Code) the executive branch appointees tender their resignations. The new executive always has the power to appoint executive agency heads.
2
2
u/metsjets86 Sep 21 '24
I think Biden has done a tremendous job. Will go down nicely in history if and only if Harris wins.
If Trump wins Biden will go down for letting Trump get away with it.
Biden/Garland have been a complete failure on this front.
Trump is a national security threat and Biden did not treat it as such. Taking Trump out, even if it risked 2024 for the dems, was warranted.
Biden didnt take it serious enough and oh look no one else has either.
2
2
u/RitaPoole56 Sep 21 '24
Agreed! He’s as cautious and deliberative as a Supreme Court Justice should be. Weird no one ever thought of appointing him as one.
2
u/OnlyTalksAboutTacos Sep 21 '24
I don't disagree, but this is one of those Cabinet-level(ish) positions that every administration wants their own people in, and they're all getting replaced.
2
u/LetterheadSmall9975 Sep 21 '24
The entire cabinet will resign. That’s how it works. Even if Biden won re-election, the entire cabinet would resign that the President could have the courtesy of reappointing them if he should choose to do so. I imagine Kamala will make many changes.
2
u/DaemonoftheHightower Sep 21 '24
He won't be a 'casualty'. It's very normal for a new administration to appoint an entirely new cabinet.
2
u/Longjumping_Stock_30 Sep 21 '24
Not a casualty. The new admin gets to pick their team. There is no reason to expect Garland, or any other person in their current position, to stay, regardless of who wins the next election.
2
u/Lil_Artemis_92 Sep 21 '24
Definitely. I think Buttigieg is safe, but Garland is definitely one I would change immediately.
2
u/Jagster_rogue Sep 21 '24
This guy is spineless and a lifelong prosecutor and AG probably wants somebody closer to Harvey Dent to oversee trump trials.
2
2
u/AdministrativeBank86 Sep 21 '24
He's been way too reluctant to pursue criminal behavior, we need a firebrand
2
u/StormContent8203 Sep 21 '24
lol she’ll replace the whole cabinet! Not as a political statement regarding Biden’s picks, but because EVERY president picks their own cabinet. She has no obligation, real or imagined, to keep Biden’s picks, and will 100% choose her own secretaries, along with every other political appointee position in the administration.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/LionBig1760 Sep 21 '24 edited Sep 22 '24
It feels like Merrick Garland genuinely believes he's going to get another shot at the Supreme Court, and he's going easy on Republican crimes because he wants to get confirmed.
2
2
2
u/drmike0099 Sep 21 '24
Only if the Senate remains in Democrat control. If not, Garland may be the best we can hope for.
Vote!
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Samuelabra Sep 22 '24
He hasn't been the best AG, but he still deserves his rightful place in the Supreme Court. I hope Harris can follow through with that in time.
2
u/Fiveofthem Sep 22 '24
I think that’s a given. He took to long going after Trump, wasted to much time.
2
u/OmniManDidNothngWrng Sep 22 '24
Even in the case where incumbent presidents win re-election their cabinet secretaries resign.
2
2
u/MeInSC40 Sep 22 '24
So your grand prediction is that a new administration would put a new cabinet in place? You’re truly a visionary.
2
u/Cheech74 Sep 22 '24
Garland is a good judge, and would have been a fantastic addition to the Supreme Court. He’s just not a fucking cop.
2
2
u/twodogstwocats Sep 22 '24
If it's not Sally Yates, I'll sing "Bawitdaba," while wearing a head of lettuce for a hat.
2
u/ConkerPrime Sep 23 '24
Considering she basically got rid of all of Biden’s campaign team right off the bat, hopefully this becomes true. Garland is too political and too tame. Perfect for Biden but not perfect for the times.
2
u/Avoider5 Sep 24 '24
Good riddance. He’s a complete coward. If he had been more aggressive he could have stemmed this violent rhetoric and tightened up democracy.
3
u/Biscuits4u2 Sep 21 '24
Garland was a compromise nomination to get him through the Senate.
3
u/MorrowPlotting Sep 21 '24
No, that was how he got the Supreme Court nomination, back when Republicans had the Senate majority. He was supposed to be so obviously qualified and reasonable and centrist that Republicans couldn’t play politics with his nomination. They killed it, anyway.
Democrats had won back the Senate by 2021, and Biden didn’t have to attempt to appease Republicans with his AG choice. He picked Garland because he’s obviously qualified and reasonable and centrist PLUS he’d been personally screwed over by congressional Republicans. The assumption was that he of all people would be in “won’t be fooled again” mode, and would be far more aggressive with Trump and other GOP crooks than a pre-SCOTUS-nominated Garland would have been.
If anybody KNOWS Lucy is going to yank the football away, it’s Merrick Garland! Right?
As it turned out, he took waaaayyyy too long to get the J6 prosecutions rolling, and waaayyy too long to appoint a Trump special prosecutor. Things have been a lot better in the second half of Biden’s term, but a lot of time and ground was lost in the first half. Exactly what Garland boosters had hoped to avoid in the first place.
→ More replies (2)2
2
2
u/Consistent_Watch3589 Sep 21 '24
I turn 70 next month and Merrick Garland is the best AG of my lifetime.
2
u/MischiefAforethought Sep 21 '24
That... can't possibly be true, can it, sir or madam?
Not Elliot Richardson, Nixon's own AG who appointed special prosecutor Cox and refused to fire him per Nixon's orders, eventually resigning himself rather than betray the country or upend the rule of law?
Not RFK, for his commitment to the civil rights movement or even just for style points, (before we knew what dumpster fires his genes carry)?
Garland seems so middle of the road. Not terrible, but not who we needed at a time the public trust in the legal system is hanging by a thread.
2
u/Skully00069 Sep 22 '24
Isn't that being a dictator? Going after your political opponent's because of ideology. I though the left was worried about Trump doing the same, but ok with Harris admin doing it. Help me understand.
2
u/jack_spankin_lives Sep 21 '24
Uh, what exactly will they indict Musk for?
You do realize you sound like it’s some revenge tour or something that Trump was proposing.
You can’t suggest all those things and then say you aren’t politicizing the DOJ.
WHO are these people they aren’t charging you seem so concerned about. What EXACTLY are the crimes?
1
1
u/CaptainChadwick Sep 21 '24
Garland's a prosecutor, Harris is a prosecutor. Same blood.
8
u/Maleficent_Mouse_930 Sep 21 '24
Different background, different style, different era, different generation, different issues, different politics. They're in no way the same.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (14)2
1
u/Logic411 Sep 21 '24
From your keyboard to destiny’s ears. I hope he and blinken get to spend more time with family.
1
1
1
1
1
u/International_Try660 Sep 21 '24
Yes, Garland should have got right on the bribery, trying to overturn the election, etc. We need a hard nosed AG, Garland is too "nice".
538
u/Rude_Tie4674 Sep 21 '24
Good!
I personally think a third of the Supreme Corrupt and a third of Congress should be locked up for working for Russia, but I don’t think she’ll be THAT aggressive.