The Democratic National Committee is looking for a new chairperson. Virtually everyone recognizes that the Party has been inept in its messaging, yet it need not wait to improve its public relations efforts. This should give it an idea:
John Banner, the actor who made "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing" famous in the mid 1060s'- early 1070s' sitcom, Hogans Heroes, serves as inspiration for Donald Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Pam Bondi.
Questioned by Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono in her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Pam Bondi did the fictional Hans Schultz proud.
At 4:35 of the video below, Hirono can be seen asking the former Attorney General of Florida
Meanwhile, though, you have an incoming President that said "I have the absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department. And in fact, President-elect Trump considers a DOJ to be his law firm. I ask you this: if Preisent-elect Trump asks, suggests, or hints that you, as Attorney General, should investigate of his perceived political enemies, would you do so?
After the nominee and the Senator get into a little tiff about the latter evidently failing to meet with the former, Hirono asks "I would like to know whether if the President suggests, hints, asks, that you, as Attoreney General should invstigate one of his political enemies?" Bondi responds
Senator, I certainly have not heard the President say that. But what I will tell you is two-thirds of Americans have lost faith in the Department of Justice and it's statements like that, I believe, that we will continue to lose faith....
On December 29, 2017, President Donald Trump was asked by The New York Times about Hillary Clinton's emails. Pivoting to the Russia investigation, he contended
I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department. But for purposes of hopefully thinking I'm going to be treated fairly, I've stayed univolved with this particular matter.
At 1:38 of the video, Hirono can be seen stating "I want to ask you a factual question, who won the 2020 presidential election?" Bondi, once deeply involved in election denialism, remarked "Joe Biden is the President of the United States." The Senator noted "I can say that Donald Trump won the 2024 election. I might not like it but I can say it. You cannot say who won the 2020 presidential election. It's disturbing that you can't give voice to that fact."
Disturbing, and significant because the Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer (and prosecutor) of the USA and Trump
has repeatedly called for retribution for this supposed
2020 fraud, saying to “START ARRESTING THE POLL WORKERS AND WATCH HOW FAST THEY
TELL YOU WHO TOLD THEM TO CHEAT,” and those involved “should all be ARRESTED
for cheating and Election Fraud…GET TOUGH REPUBLICANS.” He has even raised
grievances about the 2016 election. In one post, he asked if a former FBI
official who was investigating his ties to Russia will “get the Death Penalty
for treason.”
Immediately following the election denialism discussion, there followed an exchange abour the attempted coup:
Hirono: Are the felons convicted of breaking into the Capitaol on January 6 hostages or patriots? I'm quoting Trump, as President-elect Trump has said repeatedly. Do you agree with his characterization of the felons that I referred to?
Bondi: I am not familiar with that statement,Senator.
Hirono: I just familiarized you with that statemnt. Do you agree with that statement?
Bondi: I'm not familiar with it, Senator.
Hirono: No answer.
At a rally in Newton, Iowa on the third anniversary of the insurrection, Trump declared
You get indicted once or twice if you kill people, but then you get put in jail so you don't get indicted after that.... If you are a certain person, you don't even get in trouble if you do, okay. But if you're with us, they put you in jail. Look at what's happened with the J6 hostages. The hostages- That's a horrible thing.
He claimed also "Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages" and "Release the J6 hostages, Joe (Biden). Release them, Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe."
Between the two exchanges is one in which Hirono and Bondi discuss/not discuss my favorite Trump quote. Not because he is right, because he is not, but because of all the criticism of Trump as "racist," this one seemed designed to prove his critics right. Hirono notes "he (Trump) has also said illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. He said that in December 2023.
Do you agree with that statement?"
Do you agree with that statement?"
Bondi replied "Senator, I am not familiar with that statement. But what I can tell you is I went to the border a few months ago...."
As the Senator apparently was referring to, Trump had posted on Truth Social in December of 2023 "illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. They're coming from prisons, from mental institutions- from all over the world." Bad enough, but worse was his claim the day before at a rally in New Hampshire that
They let- I think the real number is 15, 16 million people into our country.When they do that, we got a lot of work to do. They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done.They poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America, not just to three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world. They're coming into our country from Africa, from Asia, all over the world.
This, a reference to immigrants themselves "poisoning the blood of our country" was marginally worse than referring to the process of immigration " poisoning the blood of our country." Brazenly racist is slightly worse than blatantly racist but repetition allowed us to understand fully that he is racist. The only thing worse would have been had the ex-President bragged "I am racist and proud of it"; well, maybe.
Senator Hirono should have brought the receipts- date, place, and exact quote. Still, it became obvious that the nominee for Attorney General is thoroughly dishonest and completely without integrity. It is difficult, though, to satirize or ridicule Pam Bondi, choice of an incomparably dishonest politician elected to a second term as President, for being bereft of character.
So ridicule her as reimniscent of Sergeant Schultz.Design a t-shirt, probably a sweatshirt also, with John Banner's likeness replaced with that of Panela Jo Bondi. It probably wouldn't be enough to derail her nomination but it would justifiably undermine her credibility- and would be fun, too.
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