With the kinda-sorta retirement of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Republicans are going to need a new boogieman. They probably have it in Attorney General Merrick Garland. And just like they did with Dr. Fauci, they’ll do it by vilifying and making a bunch of horrible shit up to the point that his life will be in danger. Maybe they should put Rand Paul in charge of the operation since he did such a great job of exposing what an asshole he is while trying to discredit Dr. Fauci.

Dr. Fauci is an American hero and the top infectious-disease expert in the country. He guided us through the coronavirus pandemic. For that, he was attacked by fans of the guy who downplayed the virus while hundreds of thousands of Americans died. Dr. Fauci was vilified by fans of the guy who promoted fake cures and told us to ingest bleach.

Talking to Fox News’ Neil Cavuto this week, Fauci said, “If somebody says that hydroxychloroquine works and is the miracle cure and I say it’s not, then I’m the bad guy to some people. When in fact it never did work, and it doesn’t work now.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Fauci told us that science changes as we learn more. When our knowledge of the virus grew, and strategies, advice, and policy changed, Republicans accused Fauci of being inconsistent and even of lying. There are still people who believe the Earth is flat.

Republicans blamed Fauci for face mask mandates, the closing of schools, and the closing of businesses despite the fact he never set any of those policies. Yet, Tucker Carlson has called him a “Mussolini-type dictator.” Lara Logan directly compared him to Nazi physician Josef Mengele. The jab for the vaccines to the virus were even nicknamed after him, Fauci-Ouchie.

It gets worse. Many Republicans like Rand Paul either insinuated, suggested, or outright claimed that Dr. Fauci created the coronavirus. Conspiracy theorists in Qanon claim he created the virus in a Wuhan lab and unleashed it upon the world, most likely to hurt Donald Trump. How did Dr. Fauci know that Donald Trump would bungle the government’s response to the pandemic so badly? Some have even accused him of giving Trump the coronavirus that nearly killed him.

Taking a shot at Fauci, and missing, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said yesterday, “I just have one rule of thumb. I really don’t trust anyone that keeps a mural of themselves in their office.” I guess he missed all those Trump murals when he was down at Mar-a-Lago kissing the orange ass. Fortunately for McCarthy, Trump’s ass was an easier target for his lips to hit.

Fauci does have a mural of himself in his office, probably less because it’s of him and more because it was painted by Joan Baez and presented as a gift. Donald Trump buys murals of himself, usually with money that was donated to his fake charity with the intention of helping children with cancer. Donald Trump even has fake Time Magazine covers featuring him in his resorts. Does McCarthy have a rule of thumb for that?

You know Fauci is a good guy because the bad guys hate him. They vilified him to the point that he was receiving death threats, which is something Republicans do now. They trash heroes to the point that their followers attempt to kill them. Last Thursday, a man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for sending threatening emails. One of the emails featured the subject line: “Hope you get a bullet in your compromised satanic skull today.” Another one, out of the seven he sent, said, “You and your entire family will be dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire.” I usually just get, “hope your dick falls off, Libtard.” It hasn’t.

Two weeks ago, a MAGAt heard all the Trump and Republican attacks on the FBI and decided to visit the bureau in Cincinnati with an AR-15 and a nail gun. He was killed. Donald Trump actually told Attorney General Merrick Garland that he wants to turn the heat down, yet he’s the one sending goons to kill the attorney general and FBI agents. Trump has NOT made any public statements calling his goons off. Of course, this is the same guy who ordered white nationalist terrorists to attack the Capital to overturn the election he lost.

Dr. Fauci will leave his position as chief medical adviser to President Biden and will step down from his job for the last 38 years as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He plans to teach, write, and mentor the next generation of scientists. Republicans need a new boogieman. They have one in Merrick Garland.

One member of Congress claimed Garland was personally going after Trump because it was Trump who denied him a seat on the Supreme Court. No. That person was Mitch McConnell. Garland is doing his job, and like Fauci, he’s being vilified for it.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning of “an increase in threats and acts of violence” directed at FBI personnel. The bulletin said the threats were “occurring primarily online and across multiple platforms,” and that some were specific in identifying proposed targets and tactics, as well as weaponry. You know, shit like AR-15s and nail guns.

These threats were instigated by Trump and Republicans attacking the FBI, DOJ, and Merrick Garland, with many claiming the search of Trump’s home was political and that they’ve even planted evidence. Many have asked Trump, “How did you declassify planted evidence?”

Republicans are demanding that Garland release everything he knows about the investigation while not asking Trump, “Hey…why did you steal classified government documents?”

If Republicans take Congress in November, then you can expect a lot of hearings calling the Attorney General to testify. These hearings will be public gotcha political posturing that will only serve to waste time. They’re also talking about hearings on Hunter Biden’s laptop and….more hearings for private citizen Dr. Fauci.

Dr. Fauci says he’s changing roles and not retiring. He’s definitely not retiring as the Republican’s boogieman, but I’m sure it’s a role he’ll be capable of sharing with Merrick Garland.

Music note: I listened to some Cowboy Junkies and Mazzy Star.

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